It's All In Your Head

"Sometimes I try to do things, and it just doesn't work out the way I wanted to..."

-Institutionalized (Suicidal Tendencies)

        I couldn’t sleep.  Not that I ever would anyway.  After everything I had witnessed, everything I touched and recorded and felt through every fiber of my being; they still called me a liar.  Sure, it was a well known fact that Twilight Sparkle was prone to fits of temporary insanity before.  But this time was serious.  More serious than ever before.  This wasn’t about some missed report, or worrying about what the future held.  I had a good idea what the answer to the latter was.

        Now, here I was, placed in the cramped and tiny mental ward of the Loveheart Memorial Hospital.  The pony in the room next to mine wouldn’t stop barking like a dog, and the constant badgering by the auburn stallion with the blue mane wasn’t helping my frayed nerves.  Did he even work at the hospital?  I didn’t know.  All I knew, was I could relate to Rainbow Dash’s hate of being cooped up.  It was different being shut inside when I tossed myself into something I really enjoyed.  But this was against my will, and everything was on the line.

        Even my best friends, who had learned several times over to take my problems seriously and be there for me; couldn’t bring themselves to believe something so outlandish.  For a brief moment, even I doubted myself.  Was I just imagining all of this?  Sure, I knew of the horrors locked within the depths of Tartarus; but the darkness I had encountered and warded off temporarily was nothing like them.  In fact, it didn’t seem to fit within our universe at all.  Not even Princess Celestia had an answer for the bubbling blackness I had seen slithering off the walls and clouding up the skies.

        The only thing I had to go on, was a name.  The single name whispered in a thousand voices as the darkness seeped into my very being.  My magic tainted and my body feeling as if it were being dissolved.  Through the pain and sickness, I heard the name that the darkness wanted me to praise.

        Aerebus...

        “Dinner time!” A voice sang as that brown earth stallion entered the room once more.  I frowned as I looked at the pony smiling at me.  His blue mane done up in a mullet that I thought looked ridiculous.  Another attempt to feed me the happy pills that he claimed made the monsters go away.  Part of me wanted to punch him for mocking me in my time of need.

        “Do you even work here?”  I finally asked, breaking the heavy silence in the air.

        “I volunteer,” the stallion cocked a brow.  “Son of one of the nurses.  Why do you care?”

        “Well then I hardly think you’re in authority to give me ---”  I was cut off when I noticed the brown earth pony frown.

        “I have more authority than you think, Miss Sparkle,”  the stallion shook his head slowly.  “I just want to help you get better.”

        “Then get me out of here!”  I snapped, thumping my forehooves on the bed.  “You believe me, don’t you?”

        “I don’t know what to believe, honestly,” he spoke as he placed the tray on my lap.  “You seem nice enough, and I’ve seen you around before.  You don’t appear to be crazy.”

        “Then let me go!”

        “That...” the stallion paused, “I don’t have authority for.”

        “Ooooof course you don’t,” I rolled my eyes.  There was that inherent sarcasm again.  The nurses hated me for that.  “Look, um...”

        “Holly,” the stallion finished, giving a brief nod.

        “Holly?  Look, Holly.  I don’t know if I believe it all myself either.  But so far, you’re the only one who has listened to me.  Even if you think I’m insane like all the others, can you at least help me?”  My eyes began to grow misty as thoughts of failure invaded my mind.  All my friends, Ponyville, Equestria itself...would fall to this darkness.  All because I couldn’t stop it.

        “I can’t afford to do anything like that,” Holly shook his head.  “You understand, don’t you?”

        “Yeah,” I replied flatly, staring at the wall across from me.  “I understand.”

        Holly gave a weak smile and then left the me to my bleak thoughts.  I stared at the food on the plate, but I wasn’t the least bit hungry.  If anything, I felt cold.

“I can help you, you know.  All you have to do is ask.”

“I’d rather Equestria be swallowed up in living darkness than EVER ask you for help,” I hissed through my teeth, not caring if Holly overheard me talking to myself.  I looked over to the chair for guests to see a familiar sight sitting in it.  One of a mismatched creature, wearing an arrogant grin.  It was all too common for me nowadays, but that was the least of my problems.  If anything, I came to accept the new resident inside my mind, as he strangely made for good conversation.

        “Do you really mean that?”  Discord asked, leaning forward in the chair as if awaiting me to prove him right.  “I felt it too, you know?  But unlike you, I know what Aerebus is...to some extent.”

        “And let me guess,” I sighed, returning my stare to the adjacent wall.  “You’ll only tell me if I free you?”

        “Smart girl,” Discord grinned.  “Either way, Equestria is doomed, so...”  he teleported to my bedside to look me right in the eyes.  “Better the devil you know...”

        “I’d rather Equestria not be destroyed at all, thanks,” I muttered.  I could feel my features growing dark as I eyed the creature wandering about the room.  Discord paused to stare at a painting, seemingly lost in thought.

        “This is so...ugly,” he turned to me and threw his hands in the air.  “It’s too orderly! Too much symmetry!”

        “It’s a landscape, there is no symmetry...”  I rolled my eyes.  He could be so dense sometimes it seemed.

        “No, no, no!”  Discord shook his head.  “I mean the Golden Ratio!  The universe isn’t meant to be orderly at all!  It was born from chaos!”

        “From chaos comes order,” I smirked.

        “Perhaps.  But there is one thing constant in this, or any other universe,” Discord returned to my bedside to look me in the eyes once more.  “Regardless of our mutual hatred for one another, we’ve gotten along pretty well in this symbiotic relationship as it were.”  He leaned in closer, and I could swear I felt his hot breath on my snout.  “But rest assured, Aerebus won’t be as nice.”

        “Ooooh, I’m so scared,” I broke eye contact to give an insulting eye roll.

        “You should be!  You felt his evil when he touched you.  Now look at yourself!”  Discord pointed to the mirror over the sink in the small bathroom.  I glanced at it, then back to Discord, tilting my head in confusion.  Was something wrong with me?

 “Go look!”  He beckoned, gesturing to the mirror even harder than before.  I gave a shrug and pulled myself from bed.  I cried out as I fell to the floor, pain shooting up my side.  It felt like thousands of needles stabbing me in the flank.

My body felt like it was made of stone as I carried myself across the short distance to the bathroom.  Placing my shaky hooves on the basin for support, I pulled my weight upwards so I could look into the mirror.  My eyes crushed shut and teeth clenched on instinct as I fought the pain in my inactive muscles and the sudden bone chilling cold I felt throughout.

        Finally cresting the sink, I slowly opened my eyes.  They painfully adjusted to the harsh lighting reflecting off the sterile white walls and tile floor as part of me expected to see some horrible scar, or an eyepatch.  Or at the very least a messed up mane.  But I saw none of that.

In fact, I didn’t see anything but the wall behind me...

        “Really quite fetching, if I do say so myself,” Discord mused with a smug grin.

        My mouth hung open as this revelation began to sink in.  All at once, a surge of sadness, anger, and hopelessness coursed through me; crashing at the shore of my heart.  The sudden wave of emotion made my headache much worse than it was before, and my stomach began to twist and retch at the thoughts of what I had become.  With nothing left to do and nopony left to turn to, I closed my eyes...

        And screamed...

***

        I could play therapist to my friends all day if I had too.  Even if I never really knew what I was talking about or giving myself a headache over the enigma of Pinkie Pie.  But there was something oddly disconcerting and unnerving about being on the other side of the couch, so to speak.  The soft cushions felt hard as a rock as my body tried to reject the reality that, yes, ponies thought I was insane.  I couldn’t relax if I wanted to, there was no time.

Everything was going to be destroyed, and here I was stuck telling the same story to the same pony who didn’t believe me.  Sure I could deny that I was insane, but the constant reassuring wave from Discord standing across the room always made me doubt even that was true anymore.

        “We’ve really got to stop meeting like this...” Holly gave a smile.  He was trying his best, but his effort wasn’t getting me anywhere.  “You’re a nice pony.  You want to get out of here so bad, why do you keep going crazy?”

        “It’s not like I choose to go crazy,” I sighed, finally starting to relax on the couch.  “But lately it seems the whole world is stacked against me, you know?”

        “Go on...”

        “You’ve heard all of this before, why bother?”  I shook my head, covering my eyes with my hooves.  Holly was silent as I shuddered a few times.  I was resisting the sudden urge to hit something.  Holly couldn’t see the little dance Discord was doing on the inside of my eyelids.  “Just call me insane and send me back to my room.”

        “Well, ‘insane’ is such a speculative word.  I mean, I like to wander into the Everfree Forest for fun, just to study animals,” Holly replied, his chest puffing out slightly in confidence.  “I’m studying to be a vet, after all.”

        “A vet?!”  I bolted upright on the couch.  Was he serious?  “If you’re studying to be a vet, why are you here?!”

Holly shrugged, glancing to nothing in particular.  “Ponies are mammals too, right?”

        “Ugh...I don’t believe this!”  I slumped back onto the couch, eyes watering like I was ready to flood the room with tears.  “See, I told you.  The whole world is against me!”

        “Now don’t go blaming all your problems on me!”  Holly replied, his voice a mix of irritation and pity.  “Why don’t you start from the beginning?”

        “You just won’t believe me,” I whispered, shaking my head slowly.

        “Whatever this is, real or not, it’s obviously got you worried.  Something like that doesn’t just happen,” Holly nodded firmly.  “Now, tell me.”

        I looked across the room, feeling like I was seeking some form of permission to continue.  Not that I needed permission, especially not from him.Discord was there, of course, nodding his head and gesturing for me to talk.  I could feel Holly’s eyes staring at me as I did this odd ritual.  Resigning to my fate, I laid back upon the couch and began to talk.

***

        “Where do you suppose it came from?”  the small dragon asked, staring at the cover of the old book with wide eyes.

        “I don’t know, Spike,” Twilight replied, equally enraptured by the intricate designs and gold leaf upon the musty tome.  It wasn’t often that books shown up unannounced, and Twilight certainly didn’t order any such literature.  Though she had begun an initiative to try and keep Ponyville stocked with works from other areas such as the Gryphon Kingdoms and even some of the folklore passed down to Zecora and Chief Thunderhoof, Twilight found it extremely difficult to find any works by the dragons that had been translated into Equestrian.  The unicorn always had the doubt that nopony would appreciate this injection of culture anyway, but at least it gave her something to read when she couldn’t sleep.

        Now here she was, staring at a tome that was clearly written in dragon.  Twilight inwardly slapped herself when she asked if Spike knew what it said.  Of course he wouldn’t, he was raised to understand their language.  Whatever this book said was obviously important.  Or at the very least, taken seriously.  Without a second thought, the unicorn’s horn gave a bright glow as her magic began ripping several large research books off one of the higher shelves.  “There has to be something here I can use to translate, or at least understand what it’s about.”

        “Maybe Zecora could translate it?  She seems to know stuff like this,” Spike shrugged, returning his green eyes to the book before him.  He didn’t know much about his own kind outside of what he experienced for himself.  If that was what it took to be a dragon, he’d rather be a pony.  Besides, he couldn’t live with himself if he lost Rarity over something as trivial as fitting in.

        “Maybe, but I kind of want to do this.  I hate bothering somepony else if I can do it myself,” Twilight shook her head, pouring over a particularly thick book in front of her.  She enjoyed the fact that other than Zecora, she was the most knowledgeable pony when it came to dragons.  Through trial and error, personal experience, and the usual bugging Princess Celestia and Zecora; Twilight was confident she could solve this mystery herself.  Her eyes fell on a small section of translated words to work from.  “Aha!”  Turning her eyes back to the mystery book, she examined the first sentence on the random page she opened to.

   “‘Faal dilon yah nahkriin’,”  her diction would make dragons cringe.  “hmm...”  Twilight glanced between the two open books until she pieced together the words.  “‘The dead seek vengeance’.  Well,” she pulled back from the books and stared ahead, “that doesn’t sound real nice.”

        “Zombies?!”  Spike leapt into the air like somepony just stabbed him in the rear.  “We better bolt the door!  Board up the windows!  I got to find Rarity!!”

        “Spike!  Calm down!”  Twilight snapped.  “It’s just a book!  A really...strange book.”  Her gaze returned to the open tome in front of her.  Her curiosity was piqued now, as she wondered what else the book said.  The mare shook her head at the prospect of staying up all night to try and decipher the whole thing.  She bit her lip and looked out the window to see the sun was beginning to set.  “I’m never going to sleep until I know what this says fully.  I’m going to Zecora’s.”

        “What?!  Don’t leave me here alone with the zombies!”  Spike stopped his frantic hammering, almost swallowing the nails he held in his mouth.  Twilight saw that several windows were already covered with wooden planks.  Where did he get those from anyway?

        “There are no zombies!”  Twilight rolled her eyes.  “If you’re that worried, you can stay with...”

        Spike was already out the door and down the road.  “...Rarity...”  Twilight sighed as she levitated the book gently into her saddlebag.  Wandering into the Everfree Forest at night with an ominous tome wasn’t the best of ideas, but Twilight was surprised to find she was eager for such adventure.  She had changed a lot thanks to her friends and experiences defeating evil.  The old Twilight would be terrified, or at the very least, logically reluctant to partake of such an endeavour.

Spike will be fine.  Rarity will take good care of him while I’m gone.The unicorn paused to reassure herself one more time.  Despite her newfound taste for boldly strolling into the unknown, her old habit of analyzing everything to the last detail refused to die.  She knew the path to Zecora’s by heart now; and, barring any random encounters with astray wildlife, knew she would be fine too.  Hefting the saddlebag onto her back and shifting the weight to be comfortable, the mare closed her eyes and channeled her magic.  Her horn began to glow, becoming a makeshift flashlight.  She smiled at the fact such a simple spell could be so useful, and began her journey.

        What Twilight didn’t see, however, was a cloaked pony watching her from the shadows.

***

Strolling down Stirrup Street, the main thoroughfare of Ponyville, Twilight couldn’t help but notice that it was getting darker than usual.  The smell of precipitation on the increasing wind indicated that a storm was on the horizon.  Rainbow Dash had assured Twilight that there wasn’t any ‘wild weather’ for miles, which this memory made the unicorn more alert than she was before.  A little bit of rain would feel nice after the humidity of the day, but Twilight didn’t really want to be out in a thunderstorm.  She briefly thought if she should find Dash and ask about it, but assumed that the pegasus was already on the job.  Far be it from her to tell the others how to do their jobs.

Carousel Boutique was visible in the distance, the windows shining like beacons in the darkness.  Twilight sighed as she weighed her options.  She had already come too far to turn back now.  Maybe Rarity could loan her an umbrella?  The unicorn trotted up to the door, pausing to glance at the sky.  The stars were slowly being blocked by the approaching clouds, making Twilight feel a bit uneasy.  She raised a hoof, hesitated, then knocked on the gilded door.  Giggling and the sound of shuffling feet could be heard approaching before Spike answered, wearing an adorable white robe that Rarity must have made for him.

        “Oh!  Hey, Twilight!  Worried about me, huh?”  Spike smiled.

        “Actually, I was going to ask Rarity for an umbrella,” Twilight replied, glancing back at the sky.  Spike followed her stare to the inky clouds above.

        “I thought you said it wasn’t supposed to storm?”  the dragon noted.  Rarity had come up behind him, placing a hoof on his head.  Twilight eyed the floral print pattern silk pyjamas and giggled softly.  Those two, I swear.

        “Who is it, dear?  Oh!  Twilight!  What brings you here?  Spikey Wikey said you were going to Zecora’s.”  Rarity turned her own gaze to the sky.  “But this dreadful storm is coming.  I’ll have none of that!  Come inside before you catch your death of cold!”

        “I just wanted to borrow an umbrella,” Twilight shook her head, a smile creeping across her face.

        “Nonsense!  I will not have my friend out in this weather!  You can go to Zecora’s any time!”  Rarity insisted.  “Come in!  We were just about to have tea and cookies, courtesy of Pinkie Pie of course.”

        “She’s here too?”  Twilight asked, smiling at her friend’s generosity.  It was pointless to argue with her fellow unicorn when she was in an insistent mood.

        “No, but she came by earlier today.  Brought me a big platter of leftover cookies and said something about me not going to be able to fit in my dresses,” Rarity rolled her eyes, a slight smirk on her face.  “I’m glad Spikey Wikey came over, otherwise I probably would have eaten them all myself.”

        “I never figured you to do such a thing,” Twilight replied, setting her saddlebags by the door.

        “Stress does dreadful things to you, darling.  You know that,”  the white mare waved a hoof and gave a wink.  Twilight blushed at the slight towards her own mental breakdowns.  How she wished she would just gorge on junk food instead of acting like...

        “You like my robe?”  Spike asked, holding out his arms and spinning around to show it off.  “It’s so soft!”  He ran a hand over the opposite sleeve, enjoying the feeling against his scales.

        “You look adorable, Spike,” Twilight smirked, trotting into the center of the boutique’s lobby.  In the middle was an ornate iron table decorated with the cookie platter and a candelabra.  The flickering candles provided the only light in the room, and placed in front of the table was Rarity’s fainting couch.  “Are you sure it’s okay?  I mean, I don’t want to interrupt,”  her eyes landed on Spike and she flashed the dragon a reassuring smile.  Spike blushed, but smiled back.

“Oh nonsense!”  Rarity trotted over towards the table.  “We were just keeping each other company, isn’t that right?”  She rubbed a hoof on Spike’s head, drawing another blush from him.  “Have a seat!”  She gestured to the couch, which Twilight happily obliged.

“So, Spike says you found a book written in dragon?”  Rarity asked, levitating a cookie up to her mouth.  “I never thought those brutish beasts could be capable of such things,”  she glanced over to Spike, who wore a frown.  “Um...present company excluded of course.”

“I was going to see if Zecora could translate it for me,” Twilight replied, trying to hover a cookie of her own up to her hungry snout.  Her red aura blinked and fizzled out, dropping the treat back onto the plate.  “Darn...”  Rarity opened her mouth to voice her concern, but paused when she saw Twilight rub her temples with her hooves.

“Is everything alright, dear?”

“Hm?  Oh, yeah...I’m just...tired I guess.  Thank you for inviting me in out of the storm.”  A rumble of thunder signaled the storm’s arrival, and the soothing sound of rain pattering against the windows filled the silent foyer.

“Well, I certainly won’t have you two walk back home in this mess!”  Rarity looked out the window and shook her head.  “Looks like you’re spending the night with me.”  Spike didn’t even try to hide his joy.  Twilight just gave a weak smile, her eyes showing how exhausted she had become.  “There’s a spare bed in my inspiration room, feel free to make yourselves to home,” Rarity pointed to a room in the back.  “Spike, you can sleep on the sofa.”

The dragon gave an audible groan, making the unicorns chuckle a bit.  Rarity jerked her head to get her coif out of her eyes and blinked seductively.  “Unless, Spikey Wikey is scared of the big mean ol’ storm?”

Spike wanted to protest to being treated like a baby, but he caught on and kept his mouth shut.  He could be scared of the storm.  He nodded, trying not to let his poker face slip.  Rarity let out an undignified giggle at this display, then gave an exaggerated sigh.  “I suppose I could sleep out here with you, if it’ll make you feel safe.”

        The little dragon tried not to explode right there on the spot.  Twilight was too tired to muster anything but a smile, before dragging herself off to the room in the back for some much needed sleep.  Every step she took seemed to sap more of her energy, until she could barely acknowledge the boutique around her.  The unicorn never knew if she made it to the bed, because she was already asleep.

        Rarity hummed to herself as she prepped for the night, mud mask and cucumber slices in their proper places.  Her mane was done up in thick curls, the curlers almost too big for her head.  More adorned her tail, keeping them both in their signature style.  The white unicorn couldn’t help but chuckle at the jealousy other mares had over her mane style.  After checking all the locks and closing all the curtains, Rarity’s grin grew wider as thoughts of her Spikey Wikey cuddled up next to her began to play out.  She knew he was gentlecolt enough to not do anything rash.

The unicorn paused when she heard mumbling from a dark corner of the boutique.  Lighting her horn with magic, Rarity grabbed a nearby golf club and hovered it in striking position.  Ponyville never had a crime problem, per se.  But it helped to be prepared in case something other than a pony decided to take advantage of a lady and her hospitality.  Slowly she inched towards the source of the sound, subconsciously holding her breath.  The light of her horn fell on a form in the middle of the hallway, rising and falling gently with each breath it took.  A quick glance, and Rarity could see Twilight’s cutie mark.

The poor dear must be completely exhausted.  The white mare shook her head as she loosed a chuckle.  Using her magic, she gently began to drag her lavender companion to the spare bedroom.  Once Twilight was safely in bed, at the expense of messing up the finely made sheets, Rarity sighed in relief and once again returned to thoughts of being with Spike.

Finally making her way back to the foyer after her little distraction, she saw Spike could no longer wait for her and was fast asleep.  A smile crossed her lips as Rarity trotted quietly to the sofa and climbed on, positioning herself so Spike was resting against her flank.  He squirmed and buried himself deeper into Rarity’s side, between her flank and foreleg.  The unicorn blushed slightly, but thought nothing more of it as she rested her head on her hooves and drifted off into her own fashionable dream.

***

I was used to the vivid dreams that my overactive imagination could produce, but the one I was in the throes of currently was a bit too real for my liking.  The smell of flowers and dew overwhelmed me as I took in the surroundings.

It looked like the library, only bigger.  Instead of being housed within a tree, it was now filling an expanse of what appeared to be the Everfree Forest.  Sunlight gave everything an ethereal glow, drawing my attention to the elaborate dining table in the middle of it all.  I suddenly recognized this as my ‘happy place’ that I went to.  When stress threatened to make me do undesirable things, I would close my eyes and pretend to be here.  Sometimes it worked, sometimes not.  But it was an option all the same.

But I certainly didn’t relish this trip to my isle of seclusion for too long.  Because now sitting at the table was someone I thought I would never see again.  Logic stipulated that my imagination wouldn’t punish me like this.  But the back of my mind began compiling a detailed counterpoint that I didn’t like.  Could this be the reason for my behavior in the past?  I shuddered thinking about it.  All this time...

“Oh, hello there!”  The guest waved, an ignorant smile on his face.  “Come over!  Have a seat!  I’ve got wine, tea...oh...and cheese!”  He paused, blinking as he examined the contents of the overfilled table.  “Oh wait, no cheese...never mind....”

“What...what are you doing here?”  I asked, dumbfounded yet too shocked to do anything.  I wanted to sound angry, but the better part of me wanted to know more about this strange phenomena.

“What does it look like I’m doing?  I’m having tea in the garden,” he shrugged, gesturing to the teacup held in his paw.  “Don’t look at me like that!  I can be sensitive!”

“HOW are you here?”  I decided to change her question to a more direct one.

“Always seeking answers, but never willing to accept them when they come,” he shook his head,

tossing his teacup over his shoulder.  A loud explosion erupted from behind him, but neither of us flinched.  “You want the truth?  Fine!  I’m here because you put me here!”

“Why would I do something as foalish as that?!”  I snapped, reeling back in shock.

        “Well, not like you had a choice in the matter,” he shrugged.  “After all, you did crumble under my influence without me even being there!  You were so cute when you were vulnerable!”

        “GET OUT!”  I snapped, stomping a hoof.  The creature only laughed, making me blush slightly in embarrassment.  Finally, he stopped his laughter and wiped his eyes.

        “I can’t!  You’re keeping me here!  I am a product of your imagination after all.  Or...maybe I’m not...”  he gave a grin that made my skin crawl.

        “What’s your game, Discord?”  I narrowed my eyes, ready to charge at him and toss that damn table in his face if I had to.

        “No game,” Discord shrugged.  “Perhaps it’s some deep complex psychological issue.  I robbed you of your friends, you gave up all hope and folded like a lawn chair, then I popped up in your head to cause trouble later.  Sounds about right.”

        “That doesn’t make any sense!”  I shook my head violently.

        “Good!  That means I still got it!”  Discord flourished with his talon and gave a formal bow.  “Maybe it’s like that one disorder, where you sympathize with your captor?  For all I know, being so utterly devastated and alone made you think that’s how I felt.”

        “Please,” I rolled her eyes, ignoring the sickening feeling in my stomach at that logic.  “Like I would ever feel sorry for you.”

        “Oh you don’t have to feel sorry for me.  If anything, I should feel sorry for you.You see, Twilight Sparkle, while we’re here shooting the breeze and pointing fingers...or hooves in your case...at each other about why I’m here, something terrible is going on out...there,” Discord pointed to the sky.  My eyes followed and widened as I figured it out.

        “Is that why my magic wasn’t working?”  I asked, lowering my head to glare at Discord again.  My eyes must have betrayed my true feelings, as Discord gave an unnerving smile.

        “Oh, so NOW you want me to help you!  Here I thought you wanted me to leave!”  Discord made an over dramatic show of folding his arms and sticking his snout into the air.

        “Well, since I’m stuck with you I might as well make you useful,” I replied flatly.  Discord dropped his act and stared at me with a slightly dumbfounded expression.

        “My, my, my....every bit Celestia’s pupil...”  Discord shook his head slowly, a smile creeping across his lips.

        “What’s that supposed to mean?”  I snapped.  “What’s going on!”

        “I could tell you, Twilight...but then that would be boring!  No, it’ll be more fun to watch you find all this out for yourself, then come crawling to me on bloody hooves.”  Discord threw his arms in the air as if he was going to lunge at me and give me a hug.

        “I want answers!”  I snarled, my horn glowing hot as I prepared to launch some terrible spell at the mismatched beast before me.  Could I even do magic in dreams?  I didn’t know, but I wanted to find out.  Anything to wipe that disgusting grin off his face...

        “Why not ask Trixie?  She’s the reason for this darkness finding its way here, after all,” Discord sighed as he looked at his claws.  “I know how worried you are, after how bad you felt when you read that hilarious article about her.”

        “SHUT UP!”  I scrapped my hooves on the ground like I was ready to charge.

Does he know everything?  Oh, Celestia!

“Get out before I MAKE you leave!”  The flush from my anger, coupled with my heart racing, and the white hot glow from my horn made me feel unbearably hot,  My horn felt like it was ten times the size of my head as the abrasive magic coursed through it, waiting to unload into Discord’s ugly, stupid, face.

        “No, I think you’d want to apologize to Rarity instead,” Discord smirked as he prepared to snap his fingers.  That casual look of indifference in his eyes drove me crazy.  Almost as if he didn’t know the measures I would take to purge him from my brain.  Even if it meant doing something extreme.  I would not have this....this monster...idly playing with my personal thoughts and emotions!

Or perhaps, that smile meant he knew I would bore a hole in my skull to get rid of him...

        “Why would I ---”

***

        Twilight shot awake just as the blast from her horn launched, punching a hole in the wall across from her.  Rarity and Spike came barging into the room a few seconds later and froze at the sight before them.  The purple unicorn was soaked with cold sweat, the blankets crumpled into a heap on the floor.  The glow of her horn started to dull as she caught her breath.

        “Twilight!  What happened?”  Rarity finally asked, hoof to her chest in alarm.

        “Sorry...”  Twilight muttered, glancing down at her sweaty body.  Her stomach knotted at this sudden deluge of information.  Her normally analytical mind was now scrambling around frantically trying to make sense of all these things.  Why was Discord in her head?  How was he even there to begin with?  And what was he trying to warn her about?

        “I need a drink...”  the unicorn sighed, kicking her hind legs to sit up.  Her head began to spin at this sudden force, and she promptly fell off the mattress and onto the floor.