Twilight doubted she’d fully understand or appreciate the magic of friendship even if she lived as long as Celestia. That applied to both the incredible joy that came from spending time with those close to her and the very literal arcane power that came from that togetherness and that had earned her her wings.

One bit of the latter that she’d been noticing more and more was a sort of sixth sense for her friendships, a shading of her mental state that sometimes kicked in when with her closest compatriots. Rainbow Dash had her feeling more competitive, Applejack more motivated, and so forth. But it really stood out when she started feeling that connection with Discord. It was hard to express the sensation; she’d never felt anything like it before. It was a kind of frantic stillness, a single moment of anticipation stretched across eons without straining.

Perhaps unwisely, she’d mentioned it to him, and he’d… Well, he’d been Discord about it. “I appreciate your attempts at poetry,” he’d said, “but most ponies just call that ‘anxiety.’”

But he hadn’t been able to look her in the eye when he’d said it.

Now that feeling was stronger than ever, but at least Twilight knew the source. She stood in one of the few stable points in the chaotic sub-dimension that Discord called home, staring in wonder at a tremendous device hovering above the ground, beyond even the almost miraculous technology of the humans. It coiled like a solid steel seashell, lines of energy flowing in and around it and discharging into other constructs floating above the shallow, stepped bowl of a Pegasopolitan-style amphitheater.

Discord had decided the place was perfect for a magic show.

“I’m surprised you’re doing all this for Trixie,” Twilight told him from their seats in the front row. Not that it was a packed house. Twilight and Trixie's close friends were in attendance, along with a few curious aberrations that had settled in to see what the bizarrely static lifeforms had planned.

“Well, you know how it is. We met while rescuing you from Her Buggy Highness after a rare moment of competence saw her kidnap the lot of you." Discord's smirk stretched past the boundaries of his face. "In your case, I imagine it involved distracting you with a rare book while a drone clubbed you from behind.”

“Ha ha,” Twilight drawled. Though she wasn’t able to look him in the eye when she said it.

“And I admit, her resourcefulness even in that blasted antimagic field impressed me. A little." Discord draped an arm over the mare on his other side, giving her a fond smile. "We’re talking about a pony who isn’t Fluttershy here, after all.”

Fluttershy simply tittered behind a forehoof. Twilight tried to be happy that she was happy, saying “Of course” through a smile that was at least less strained than it used to be.

“In any case, Trixie and I haven’t kept in touch as well as we could after the medal ceremony, and I figured someone had to take the first step to remedy that." Discord swept a hand across the arena. "So I provided the venue of a lifetime, where cause and effect are more… suggestions, all the better to make things more magical."

Twilight gave a wary glance at the mechanism overhead. "That thing isn't dangerous, is it?"

"One of the least dangerous things in my realm." Discord shrugged. "Which isn't saying much, but it's nothing you'll notice."

That prompted a longer, warier look at the device. "What exactly won't I notice?"

"Well, technically speaking, it does hasten the heat death of the universe—"

"Discord."

"But when I run out of usable energy," he continued, not even acknowledging Twilight's outburst, "we'll have far bigger things to worry about."

After a calming breath and a reassuring look from Fluttershy, Twilight ground out, "I have a number of concerns there, but we can discuss them after the show."

"Indeed. I'm looking forward to—”

Trixie's amplified, seemingly sourceless voice interrupted Discord in a way Twilight had never managed. “Fillies and gentlecolts! Creatures of all species! Prepare yourselves for an evening of wonder and amazement." Smoke burst from the center of the stage, the silhouette of a rearing unicorn visible within. "For you will bear witness to the greatest performance yet by the one, the only, the Great and Powerful Trrrrixie!”

The smoke stopped spreading after a few seconds. Twilight was close enough to see it had stopped moving entirely, every particle of the vapor stabilized like architectural cloudcrete. Within, Trixie wobbled as she tried to stay on her hind legs.

After a few more moments, her forehooves clacked onto the stage and she muttered "Trixie is experiencing technical difficulties."

“I mean, I’m not complaining,” Rainbow Dash called from several rows up, reclining across the seating.

“Trixie will ignore that if she can get a gust from the audience.” Twilight took no satisfaction in hearing the same frustration from Trixie that slipped into her own tone when dealing with the mare. Any claims otherwise could never be proven in a court of law. Besides, she did offer her own wingpower to the requested breeze.

It did nothing to help, nor did Dash's efforts to break up the smoke more directly.

"It's so weird," she said, poking at it. The smoke wobbled in a way vapor never should. "I've never bucked a rubbery cloud before."

“Oh." Discord proceeded to say one of the worst things Twilight could ever hear from him. "Oh dear.”

“Discord!” Trixie shouted.

“That could have been any incredibly handsome draconequus.”

It was hard to tell through the smoke, but Trixie may have thrust an accusing forehoof at him. Certainly some kind of dramatic gesture. “You promised me the best venue I’d ever performed on!”

“No, no, no, I promised you the most fantastical venue. And when I say cause and effect are suggestions here, I’m not just spouting hyperbole like some ponies I could mention." Discord jabbed a talon at the looming device. "I really mean that the chronomajig up there screws with them in ways even I can’t predict. In this case, the smoke dispersing.”

“Well, get rid of it, then! I can’t perform if nocreature can see me and I don’t want to hear another word from you, Rainbow Dash.”

Dash flashed a horseapple-eating grin from her new lounging spot on top of the smoke. “I didn’t say anything.”

“I’m not getting rid of that doohickey! Spare moments would clutter up the whole plane if I did. I’d have to start doing ponies favors just to get rid of them.” Discord shuddered at the thought.

“The smoke, you stupid noodle!” It was that moment when Twilight recognized that some of the antagonism she felt towards Trixie was envy of the other mare's courage to say things that Twilight didn't dare mention. Not that she'd ever tell Trixie.

Discord snapped. Nothing happened. "Hmm." He tugged at his goatee in thought. “Pinkie, you aren’t—”

Pinkie brought her head up out of the literal trough of popcorn she'd bought from a concession stand that had stopped existing the moment Twilight had tried to order something. “I learned my lesson after last time.”

“Ugh, never mind, found the smoke bomb.” Trixie's hornglow shone through the smoke, and the entire cloud lifted. She casually tossed the bomb aside, sending the entire thing across the horizon and leaving Rainbow Dash frantically flapping back into the stands. “Now, as Trixie was saying, prepare for the show of a lifetime!” Trixie reared up again, as fireworks launched out of cunningly hidden mortars... and stopped in midair without exploding. “Oh, come on!”

Twilight flew back to her own seat, her soft comment hidden under Trixie's booming profanity. “I thought Trixie was your friend.”

Discord raised an eyebrow. “Twilight, haven’t you realized it? This is how I treat most of my friends." He grinned, or at least peeled his lips back to reveal teeth. "After all, you’re one of them.”

And a chill ran down Twilight’s spine as she felt a hint of amusement that definitely wasn’t hers.

Author's Note

I have opinions about the Assassin's Creed crossover mini-set, but I couldn't stop thinking about this particular interaction in the context of our favorite showmare. Thus, dusting off Story Shuffle for a non-random pair.