Teardropby KidatHeart5ChaptersPrologueA "Normal" Day in EquestriaThe Mysterious AlicornFinding TeardropDiscord's ConfessionHollow ShadesBlack Forest BearsWoodland SerenadePrologue“Ooh! What have you got there?” Discord asked in mischievous curiosity. “The Elements of Harmony,” Celestia answered as a pink force field surrounded her and Luna. “With them, we shall defeat you,” her sister added. Discord couldn’t help but burst into laughter. These pony sisters were making fools of themselves. “You should see yourselves right now.” He laughed. “The expressions on your faces. So intense. So sure of yourselves.” He was so busy laughing that he didn’t see the sisters join horns and emit a rainbow beam that headed towards Discord. “Hilarious!” he continued to laugh hysterically. ZAP! Everything went black for Discord at that moment. It took a few moments for him to realize what had happened. His dream avatar began thinking, “What happened to me? Have I been…turned to stone? I-I-I can’t move! Oh, drats! The sisters have managed to defeat me! I have to find a way out of here!” Suddenly, he was sucked into a tunnel. “Aaaaah!” he screamed. In what seemed like a moment, he was suspended in mid-air. When he realized what happened, he was floating gently downwards. He looked around the tunnel and saw many objects floating in their places. He said to himself, “Ooh! This would be my kind of place.” Discord tried to fly back up, but some unseen force kept dragging him down. He grunted, “Why…can’t I…go back…up?” After some minutes of trying, he finally sighed in defeat, “Oh, poo.” He looked around in amazement, for the unnatural was very normal for him. He soon came upon a rocking chair and decided to sit down. “Well, I guess I could stay here until I’m free from my stone…” he said, “…prison!” As he saying the last word, he fell out of the chair. Fortunately, he was floating again. He only sighed of relief before he felt gravity pulling on him when he got to a very tight space. Discord caught his breath when he reached a tunnel alike to the one above. But he felt like something was different. He thought about it before… TWANG! He noticed that he was hanging upside-down from a curtain rod. He fell to the floor and placed himself upright. He walked down another tunnel, this time paved with tiled linoleum. Discord said to himself as he came to a chamber of doors, “This is exactly how I envisioned Equestria. Now, I’m sure one of these doors must lead me back home.” But before he could try one of the doors, a white rabbit came running beside him. “Hey!” he cried. “What…?” He tried to gather what he just saw when he suddenly felt something bump against him. Discord turned to see an unfamiliar figure. It had a brown mane, but no tail. It had glasses, but no ears. It had limbs, but no hooves. But what was most striking of all was that it was…pale. It also wore strange clothes not only on its upper body, but also its legs. Discord was frightened, but also curious. He slowly asked the figure, “What are you?” It looked up and Discord saw the most interesting blue eyes behind the glasses. He felt dazed by its appearance, especially when it stood up on two legs...like him. “Oh, excuse me,” it spoke in a feminine voice. “I don’t believe I’ve seen anyone of your kind before.” “What do you mean?” he asked in a confused tone. “I’ve seen many fantastic creatures one wouldn’t find in the normal world,” she explained. “I’ve never met a creature like you before. What are you?” “Well,” he cleared his throat, “I’m a draconequus. I’ve come from the land of Equestria…and quite possibly still am…in body form.” “Body form?” she asked. “You see, I’ve been turned to stone by the Royal Pony Sisters and here I am in dream form,” he answered. “Excuse me, but is Equestria where special ponies live?” she inquired. “You know, Pegasi? Unicorns?” “Sure,” he replied. “Pegasi, unicorns, and Earth ponies. Oh, if you’re really lucky, you could be an alicorn…” he grumbled, “…like the sisters who turned me to stone.” “What are alicorns?” she asked. “They have the wings of a Pegasus, the horn of a unicorn, and the heart of an Earth pony,” he explained in a bored and annoyed tone. “The last part makes me want to gag.” “Ponies with both horns and wings?” she said amazingly. “Wow! I’ve never seen any pony like that before!” “Well, since I answered your questions, it’s time to answer mine,” he said. “What are you?” “I’m a human,” she replied. “Okay, so just what are humans?” “We’re a mammalian species who are very smart and think what other animals can’t,” the human explained. “We live in societies and have towns and villages.” “Equestria has those,” Discord scoffed. “Really?” she asked. “I never knew that. What’s it like?” “Well, before I turned it inside out during my chaotic reign, Equestria was a boring place with ponies who act like you,” he quickly gave an answer to her question. “What? They talk and act like humans, but they’re still ponies?” the human gave an astonished smile. “I never knew that!” “What? You’ve never heard of such a place where you from?” Discord gave her a confused look. “I thought you said you met creatures that are not from your world.” “Okay, here’s the thing,” she sighed. “I and many other people are not like regular humans. We have magical powers and can travel from universe to universe. We never knew about you or Equestria before…” “Wait, wait!” he interrupted her. “You’re magic?” “Yes,” she said. “So you must know of a way out of here!” he grabbed her in hopeful joy. “Well, I can because I’ve been here many times,” she explained. “What?” he let go of her in confusion. “You’ve been here before?” “This is Wonderland,” she nodded and gestured the chamber. “Oh, good!” Discord clapped and floated. “You must help me find a way home!” “The only way we can do that is to go through Wonderland,” she motioned her arm toward a door. “Well, come on!” he said excitedly as he grabbed her wrist. “Let’s go!” He raced towards the door and stopped at it. He was about to open it when the human said, “But I don’t even know your name.” “Oh,” Discord replied as he put his paw on the knob, “it’s Discord.” He opened the door to find a slightly smaller door. “What…Hey!” he cried in bewilderment. He gave the human an angry glance and asked, “What’s the big idea? Are you trying to trick me…ooh, whatever-your-name-is?” “It’s Rose,” she answered. “Rose?” his scowl relaxed and then twisted in confusion. “That’s a funny name.” “So is yours…Discord,” she retorted. “Ha, ha, ha,” he sarcastically laughed. “At least the ponies back home didn’t find my name weird. Now, getting back to the matter at hand, what’s with this door?” “Oh, allow me,” Rose said as she grabbed for the second knob. She opened it to reveal another door like the one before. Discord watched on in confusion as she continued to do this until the smallest door finally opened up to a space. “After you,” she gestured for Discord to enter. “Wow,” he gave an astounded half-smile. “You sure do know your stuff.” “I know,” she acknowledged his compliment as he squeezed through the small space. She then crawled in after him, but got stuck for a few moments. She pulled herself free and panted, “Phew! I guess I’m not who I used to be.” So thus their adventure in Wonderland began. First, Rose ate the growing cookies and cried a pool of tears. Next, they came across the Tweedles and went to the White Rabbit’s house. Unfortunately, though, Discord mistakenly ate a cookie, which made him grow and cramped inside the house. Then, Rose shrunk him and her and met the talking flowers. Discord slept during their song number and he and Rose continued on their trek. To Rose, this adventure was routine, but to Discord, this was something brand-new. He knew he was able to create this type of environment back in Equestria, but he never knew such a world as this. He felt like this could be home, but something in him yearned for Equestria. Finally, they strode along the magenta-colored path. Discord knew for sure that he would be home soon and Rose could reverse his stone state. Suddenly, a broom dog was sweeping away the path. Discord wanted to scream and shoo the dog away, but he didn’t want to freak out in front of Rose. The dog approached them, but he stopped and went around them before continuing to sweep away the path. Discord simply refused to believe that this was the end of the path. He raced up ahead while Rose shouted, “Discord, wait! There’s a fork in the road!” “Fork in the road?” he scoffed. “What are you talking about…?” He stopped as he came to a fork in the road and a pole with two signs pointing either way. Rose came up to him and said, “See? I’ve tried it before.” Discord could do nothing but look downcast and return to where they came. She led him to a clearing with a rock in the center. As they sat down, Discord sighed, “So that’s it. We can’t go anywhere else.” He turned to Rose and angrily pointed at her, “And you said you knew the way around here. I can’t believe you lied.” “What?” she said in bewilderment. “How did I lie to you? Didn’t I just take you all across Wonderland and guided you? Didn’t I do all of that for you?” “Well, if you’re such the ‘expert’, then how come we haven’t found a way out of here yet?” he sneered. “As I’ve learned on my adventures here, this is the part where you must confess your sorrows in order to continue onwards,” she explained. “Well, how does that help us?” he scoffed. “A new path opens for us only if we feel sad or low,” Rose said. “I, for one, have never felt such pain in my life,” he said. “That’s unfortunate,” she told him, “because then you’ll never be grateful for the things you have.” “I don’t need to be grateful,” Discord differed. “I have my powers to keep me happy.” “Yeah,” Rose said, “and that’s not enough, isn’t it?” He looked at her for a long time and sighed, “No, I guess not.” “Haven’t you had someone to love or to care for?” she asked. “Surely there must be someone back in Equestria.” “It’s ‘somepony’, and no, I haven’t,” he corrected her. “I’ve had no one but myself back there. It was just me against the world.” “Seriously?” she pondered. “I made everything in Equestria like I wanted it, because I’m the master of chaos,” Discord held his head high. “I don’t need any pony to make me happy. Those meddling sisters had to go spoil my fun!” “Just what were you doing in Equestria that made them turn you to stone?” Rose asked. “Oh, I just rearranged it so that it’s the opposite of its boring self,” he replied. As he explained what he did to Equestria, she became less pleased with him. After he finished, she said, “Sounds to me that you made some serious trouble. No wonder the sisters turned you to stone.” “That’s why you can come back with me and reverse the spell on me,” Discord told her. She hesitated, “I don’t think I can do that.” “What?” he turned to her in surprise. “Why not?” “This seems like the type of magic that does justice,” she replied. “It’s not very easily reversible by someone like me. I’m only learning.” “Why didn’t you tell me this before?!” Discord grabbed her and shook her. “I didn’t know that’s what you wanted,” Rose explained. “Also, I might land in big trouble if I did something to undo what the sisters did.” Discord paused and let out a big sigh. He set her down and said, “I suppose I’ll be stuck in stone for a very long time. I thought that you might be the one to help, but I guess not.” “I’m sorry if I couldn’t be of more help to you,” Rose apologized. “I wish I could help, but I don’t know how.” “Mind if I spent the rest of eternity here in Wonderland?” Discord asked. “I’m getting you out of here so you can return to your body,” she said. “That’s what I can do.” He hesitated, “Maybe I don’t need to go back to my cold and drab stone body. I feel more at home in Wonderland. I could stay here for the rest of eternity.” “And what?” Rose shot off. “Be all alone?” They sat in silence for a few moments while she regretted saying that comment. Discord pulled his legs toward his torso and said, “I’ve never been more alone in my life.” “Nobody wants to be,” she whispered. He stared at the ground as he explained, “Even if I do go back, I’ll have nopony to turn to.” “At least you’ve got one good friend: me,” Rose said as she leaned towards him. Discord was surprised when she gave him a kiss on the cheek. He stuttered, “What did you do that for?” She smiled, “Just so you know someone cares for you.” He blushed, “Nopony ever gave me a kiss before. You’re the first.” “I guess it makes me lucky, then,” Rose shrugged happily. “No,” Discord smiled. “It makes me luckier.” He sniffled and quickly said, “Oh! Excuse me!” He conjured up a hanky and continued, “Er, cold coming on.” Rose gave him a dubious look and he said, “Okay! Just because I got turned to stone doesn’t mean I really am! I have feelings, too, you know!” She smiled, “I thought you did.” She astonished him even more when she hugged him. Discord felt different for the first time since he could remember. He felt all mushy inside. It grossed him out, yet warmed him up at the same time. Then, he knew what that feeling was: love. Even though he was a dream avatar, he could still feel Rose’s warm embrace. Then, Discord felt something swelling up inside. He had to let it out some way. Just as Rose let go of him, he stood up, walked towards one side of the clearing, and pressed his hanky to his face. All he could choke out was, “Oh, look what you’ve done! I haven’t felt this way in a long time and now…” Rose gasped, “Oh, I’m so sorry!” “No!” Discord sobbed. “What you did was wonderful! In fact, it was so wonderful that it made me…” She ran towards him and consoled him. He was so busy sobbing that he didn’t notice the surroundings disappearing. His tears only stopped when he heard a familiar humming. He and Rose turned to see the Cheshire Cat appearing with a tree. When he asked Discord what he was doing, the latter only blushed and hid the hanky behind him. He stammered, “Er, just hanging out here looking for a way back.” He made the hanky disappear after that. After their encounter with the Cheshire Cat, Discord and Rose went through the tree and entered the maze. Soon, they met the cards and the King and Queen of Hearts. However, after a mishap during croquet, they were put on trial. Afterwards, they fled and eventually found the doorknob again. Rose realized they came to the end of their adventure. She said to Discord, “This is it, Discord. We’re going to go our separate ways.” He held her hands in his paw and claw and begged, “When can I see you again?” “I don’t know, but I hope it’ll be soon,” she shook her head. He smiled, “I hope so, too.” He saw her smile for only a moment before everything became blurry. He felt himself swirling and landing somewhere. When he gathered himself, he saw that he was back in his own body. He sighed, “This is going to be a long wait.” Even though he was stone for more than a thousand years, he eventually forgot the girl he explored Wonderland with. He convinced himself that it was just a dream and soon plotted his revenge against the ponies who imprisoned him. A "Normal" Day in EquestriaIt didn’t seem like long ago that he was free from being stone the first time and hid the Elements of Harmony so the ponies who now wielded them couldn’t use them. He lured them into the labyrinth and reversed the personalities of five of them. He enjoyed his second rule before the Mane Six reconciled and used the Elements of Harmony to turn him to stone for the second time. He wasn’t trapped for long when Princess Celestia decided to free and reform him. He thought it would be impossible to turn good, but when Fluttershy treated him like a friend, he soon realized the error of his ways and promised to use his magic for good instead of evil. Even though he didn’t truly change his mischievous ways, he helped ponies in his signature way. This day seemed no different than the rest. It was the same thing year after year for everypony. For Discord, though, this was his first time. Hearts and Hooves Day was coming up and the ponies were getting excited for the festivities. Discord wanted to gag, but Celestia tasked him with assisting the Mane Six. Naturally, he caused some mischief like conjuring a breeze to blow away Rarity’s decorations. He also set the timer an extra few minutes and burnt Applejack’s caramel apple sweets. It was only after he added a few silly things to Twilight Sparkle’s list did the Mane Six suspect something was up. They confronted him about it as soon as they knew who was behind it. “Discord,” Applejack said, “we know that you’re the one behind the ‘accidents’.” “Yeah,” Rainbow Dash agreed. “What is with you?” Discord rolled his eyes and sneered, “If you must know, I don’t particularly like this holiday.” Pinkie Pie cried, “What?! What’s not to like about Hearts and Hooves Day?” Rarity chimed in, “It’s only the most romantic holiday of the year!” “Yes,” Discord differed. “Well, the very thought of it makes me gag. I mean, what’s the point of going around and making googly eyes at somepony?” Twilight Sparkle chuckled, “Oh, Discord. There’s a lot you don’t know about love.” “Oh?” Discord glared at her. “And I suppose you’re some kind of ‘expert’ on these things?” “Come on!” Pinkie jumped. “We’ll show you.” Discord could do nothing but sigh and reluctantly follow the Mane Six. As they took him all around Ponyville to show him what Hearts and Hooves Day was all about, the Mane Six sang a number about it. Discord, needless to say, was less than ecstatic about their singing. When the ponies stopped singing, though, Discord still wasn’t convinced that Hearts and Hooves Day was something special. “A pretty good show, ponies,” he clapped. “Only…*yawn* I find this holiday less than exciting. It’s all too mushy for my taste.” “Well, Discord,” Twilight Sparkle pointed out. “One day, you’re going to find your special somepony and then you’ll learn the meaning of true love.” But Discord mocked her, “‘Then you’ll learn the meaning of true love.’ Yeah, what’s the word I’m looking for? Oh, yeah.” He stuck his tongue out in a disgusted way and gagged, “Blech!” He turned around and walked away. Rainbow Dash shouted at him, “Just wait, Discord! You’re going to find somepony you want to love! But when you get near her, she won’t love you!” The rest of the Mane Six scolded at her, “Rainbow Dash!” Rarity chimed in, “Well, I have to agree with Rainbow Dash. He’s never going to find somepony who’ll love him.” “That’s enough, both of you!” Fluttershy glared. As the Mane Six walked away, Discord was watching them from the trees. He was disheartened by what he heard, so he hung his head low and went deeper into the woods. He soon came across the swimming hole and leaned in to see his reflection. He sighed, “Rainbow Dash and Rarity are right. No one could ever love a draconequus.” He scowled and continued, “So what? I don’t need love. I can handle myself perfectly in Equestria.” He sighed again, “Yeah, it’ll be perfectly boring. I need to change up my lifestyle a bit. But how?” Just then, he heard giggling in the distance. He turned to see a pony couple walking together. This gave Discord a great idea. He smiled mischievously, “Of course. Why didn’t I think of it sooner?” He snapped his paw as he continued, “I’ll find myself a wife! But first, I need to disguise myself.” He gestured himself and said, “This simply will not do!” He snapped his paw and transformed into an alicorn. He still retained much of his true appearance, but with hooves instead of his regular limbs. His horn was as blue and crooked as his goat horn was. He still had his mismatched wings and his tail was white. His face was long like a stallion and his mane was the same. “There!” he inspected himself. “I look just like a stallion!” He then chuckled, “Ready or not, mares. Here I come.” ***** He went all around Ponyville trying to woo the single mares. But they all rejected him by screaming and/or ran away. Some even threw food at him. By the end of the day, Discord was walking solemnly and thought, “Well, I guess that’s it, then. Nopony wants me.” “Discord?” he heard a familiar voice ask. He lifted his head to see the Mane Six. “Is that you?” Applejack asked as she squint her eyes. “Yes. Of course, it’s me,” he replied in an annoyed tone. “No offense,” Rainbow Dash slowly said, “but I don’t think you can fool anypony with that disguise.” Rarity held out a mirror and agreed, “Especially when you have *ahem* most of your features.” Discord looked into the mirror and saw that he still looked like himself in pony form. He sighed, “I guess you’re right.” He transformed back into his original form and sadly said, “You were right all along. Nopony would want me.” “That’s not true,” Fluttershy consoled him. “You’ll find somepony.” “But how can I know for sure that she’ll be the one?” Discord asked. “Believe me, Discord,” Twilight said. “I know what it’s like to be in love with somepony. “You find yourself suddenly nervous. Your heart will begin to flutter, and you start to be nicer to this pony than any other pony. You can’t stop thinking about them and you feel like your happiness depends on this pony.” She sighed as she found herself thinking about Flash Sentry. She quickly snapped out of it and continued explaining, “That’s how you know when you’re in love.” Discord blinked for a few moments and shook his head rapidly. He gathered himself and said, “Thank you for that little talk, Twilight. However, I must head home and hopefully feel better by morning.” “Take care of yourself, Discord,” Fluttershy said. “I will, my dear,” Discord waved and disappeared in a flash of light. The rest of the Mane Six looked at Twilight and smirked. She looked at them and asked, “What?” “Oh, don’t try to hide it, sugar cube,” Applejack grinned. “You’ve got a crush on somepony.” “Is it that guard in the Crystal Empire?” Rarity asked. “Wha…Girls,” Twilight chuckled. “Even if I did have a crush, I don’t see him much.” “Who knows?” Pinkie Pie said. “Maybe you’ll see him at the Hearts and Hooves Day Ball.” The ponies looked at her in confusion before Fluttershy broke the silence, “I hope Discord will find somepony soon. I hate to see him sad like this.” Twilight Sparkle reassured her, “Don’t worry, Fluttershy. I’m sure there’s somepony for Discord out there. He just has to find her.” The Mysterious AlicornThat night, Discord lied in his bed, tossing and turning as he slept. In his head, a fascinating dream was occurring. He was looking straight at a bright light. He thought, “Am I dying?” Just then, an entrancing silhouette appeared from the light. It had wings and a horn. It also had a long, flowing mane and bright eyes. Discord squinted as he saw that it was an alicorn. All he could see of her was her silhouette and eyes. “Discord,” she called out in a beautiful voice. Discord wasn’t sure whether or not he felt love at that moment. She approached him and batted her eyes at him, “Discord, honey. I’ve looked everywhere for you, and now I found you.” Discord gulped, “Are you my special somepony?” She rubbed against him and responded, “Why, yes I am.” He didn’t know whether to be grossed out by this mushy stuff or to embrace her. But just as he was about to put his arms around her, he noticed something was happening to him. As soon as the alicorn drew back from him, he saw that he was turning to stone! He cried, “What did you do to me?” She chuckled evilly, “You see, Discord. I never truly loved you. No pony ever will!” Her eyes turned red as she laughed maliciously. There was nothing Discord could do but shout in horror, “NOOOOO!” Discord woke up with a start. He panted as he calmed himself down. He told himself that it was just a dream, but now anxiety filled him. “Even without the Elements of Harmony,” he spoke to himself, “could the alicorns still turn me to stone? Couldn’t they just pluck the Elements from the Tree of Harmony and return them before the plunder seeds would grow again? Do they have another way of turning me to stone?” He scoffed and lightly slapped himself in the face. He continued, “No, you nincompoop. You have Fluttershy to protect you. It’s the alicorns you’ve got to be careful around. For all I know, they could act all nice and then wham! They could strike you where you stand. “I’ve got to make sure I don’t fall in love with an alicorn, because who knows? She might betray me!” The next morning, Discord received a letter from Fluttershy. It was an invitation to the Hearts and Hooves Day Ball. She wanted him to join them in their fun. Discord knew that meant risking being around any alicorns, but he didn’t want to disappoint his dear friend Fluttershy. He sighed and paced around, pondering at what to do. Should he attend the Hearts and Hooves Day festivities or stay at home where it’s safe from alicorns who could turn him to stone? He knew he could trust Fluttershy, but what about the others? Then he remembered the time he tested Twilight’s friendship to see whether or not she would help him despite being a princess. She had proven herself to be his friend by going to the ends of Equestria for him when he pretended to be sick. He knew the Twilight wouldn’t do any harm to him. Surely she could protect him from any bad alicorns…or the princesses. He considered the princesses because there was the possibility that they could turn against him. But then again…there was the Mane Six. In that instant, Discord knew what to do. At the Hearts and Hooves Day Ball at the town Hall, ponies gathered there to party away. The alicorn princesses, including Cadance and Shining Armor, were there to celebrate. This made Discord, who was dressed in a lavish tuxedo, uneasy. He knew the princesses had the power to overpower him where he stood. But he had the Mane Six to protect him in the event that happened. As long as he was in their company, he was safe…mostly. He snapped out of his thoughts when Fluttershy nudged him and asked, “Discord, are you sure you don’t want to dance?” He sighed, “That’s very kind of you, my dear, but I’m afraid I have to refuse.” Fluttershy knew that he was troubled about something. She asked, “Is something the matter? Are you still upset because you haven’t found your special somepony yet?” He replied, “It’s not that, Fluttershy. It’s just…Well, it’s better if I didn’t have a date tonight.” Fluttershy knew it was for the best to leave him alone for the moment, so she turned and talked with her friends. She whispered, “I’m worried because Discord is alone tonight.” Pinkie Pie said, “Really? I thought he’d have somepony by now.” Rarity chuckled, “Oh, my dear Pinkie Pie. You can’t just expect it to happen. Your expectations are the stuff fairy tales are made of. Take this, for example: he’s sitting there, all alone.” Discord could do nothing but stare at the wall. “Suddenly, something catches his eye…” A sparkle flashed in the corner of Discord’s eye. “…and he looks…” He turned to see a pony he had never seen before. “…for there she is.” This particular unicorn wasn’t commonly seen around Ponyville. She had a dark red coat, a blue mane with gray stripes held back with two diamond teardrop barrettes, and the most gorgeous violet eyes. She was wearing a lavender gown with rectangular, transparent straps on either shoulder that complimented her eyes. She seemed unsure of this place as if she hadn’t been here before. She probably hadn’t. “The pony of his dreams,” Rarity continued at a distance. Discord was entranced by her beauty and…he felt like there was something else there, but he couldn’t place it. Before he knew what he was doing, he was already walking towards her. Pinkie Pie caught sight of this as Rarity continued, “He’s never seen her before, but he doesn’t care.” Pinkie followed the direction of where he was walking. She soon saw the young unicorn who had Discord’s attention. She could still hear Rarity finish, “His heart is telling him that this, this pony, is the one destined to be his bride.” Discord walked up to the unicorn and cleared his throat, “Excuse me, miss?” She turned to him with a gasp. He apologized, “Oh, sorry! I didn’t mean to startle you.” The unicorn chuckled nervously, “No, I should be the one apologizing. I’m Teardrop, by the way.” Discord replied as he extended his paw, “I’m Discord, the master of chaos, but now a mischief-maker for good instead of evil.” Teardrop chuckled, “Oh, really?” He said, “Don’t get me wrong. I’ll do naughty things sometimes, but I use my powers for good thanks to some friends.” “That’s nice,” Teardrop smiled. While Discord and Teardrop were conversing, Pinkie was amazed at how much everything transpired the way Rarity said it would. Rarity, however, didn’t notice it and chuckled, “I mean, come on, dearest! You really believe that would be what would happen to Discord tonight? Ha! The poor creature doesn’t have anypony tonight.” Pinkie scowled at Rarity for not believing what she just said. “Any pony?” she said as lunged at Rarity and squished her face in her hooves. “HA!” She turned the unicorn in Discord’s direction and pointed at the couple, “What do you call that, then?” Rarity looked on in amazement as she saw Discord talking with a young pony nopony ever met. Pinkie could only laugh at her triumph and asked, “Who is that pony hanging out with Discord?” “I haven’t the slightest clue!” Rarity shook her head. Discord extended his claw and asked, “Would you consider dancing with the one and only master of chaos?” Teardrop grinned as she put her hoof in his claw, “I thought you were the good mischief-maker.” Discord answered as they walked towards the center of the room, “Well, I can be whoever I want to be, and tonight, I choose to be a dancer.” Teardrop only giggled. All attention focused on the couple in the center of the room. Romantic music began playing and the lights changed into soft colors. Discord lifted Teardrop to his chest and extended her right hoof with his claw. Though it was only he who was dancing, it felt like the two moved in harmony. Discord was always a fine dancer, but tonight, he got so caught up in his emotions towards Teardrop that he was losing control of his steps. When he realized he was faltering, he apologized, “Sorry. I don’t usually do this.” He straightened his dancing for a few moments, but again he almost tripped. This time, he almost fell, were it not for Teardrop putting her hind hooves on the floor to catch him. The two found their noses pressing against each other. Discord almost blushed as he chuckled nervously, “Oh, my! This is quite awkward, isn’t it?” Teardrop chuckled, “You’re telling me.” When they returned to dancing, Discord was sure that he’d found the right pony. She did, after all, have a sense of humor and was witty. He felt something buzzing within him. It was unlike anything he felt before, but it made his legs wobbly. He didn’t want to drop Teardrop this time, so he asked her, “Would you care if we went out to talk for a bit?” She smiled, “Why not?” He set her down and went towards the door. Discord noticed that Teardrop was looking all around. He followed her gaze and saw the other ponies looking at them in astonishment. He scowled at them, “Hey! Go back to doing your own business!” The ponies immediately did just that. Discord had conjured up a swinging bench near the town hall. He and Teardrop discuss how she had heard about him through legend and word-of-mouth. Discord gloated for a bit, but it was all for humor as Teardrop giggled. He asked, “So, how did you get the name ‘Teardrop’?” She answered, “My mother gave it to me. I have these incredible abilities I can do with tears.” Discord said in surprise, “Really? What can you do?” Teardrop sighed, as if it was a huge relief to get whatever she had to say off her chest. “Okay,” she said, “I can take tears from ponies’ eyes even when they’re not crying.” She put a hoof to her eye and accumulated a tear. She put it to her horn and levitated it. She continued, “I can colorize it into the different emotion the tear was shed for.” She then proceeded to change the colors within it. Discord sat there amazed at her gifts. But Teardrop put a hoof up and said, “I have more gifts than you know, and they’re not limited to tears.” Discord smiled, “Perhaps you’d like to show me.” Teardrop suddenly became quiet and uneasy. She hesitated, “I’m afraid I can’t at the moment.” She then suggested, “I have an idea. Let’s go back inside and meet your friends.” She made her way back inside while Discord rose from the bench slowly. He was curious to know why she acted funny at that moment. He followed her back inside when suddenly, Derpy zipped up to them and plowed into Teardrop! Derpy giggled, “Whoops! Sorry!” Discord scolded at Derpy, “Hey! Watch who you crash into, Der…” His voice trailed off as he noticed something that wasn’t there before. A long rip on the back of Teardrop’s dress revealed a pair of wings! At first, Discord thought they were Derpy’s wings, but these ones were dark red, like Teardrop’s coat. He couldn’t believe his eyes, and neither could the rest of the ponies. They had turned their attention to the accident and were shocked to learn that Discord’s mystery pony sported wings! Even Celestia was shocked by this as well. Teardrop, noticing the crowd’s attention, immediately got up and flew out the door. Celestia turned to the Mane Six and commanded in an urgent manner, “Girls! Don’t let her get away!” Rainbow Dash complied, “I’m on it!” She zipped out of the town hall and chased after Teardrop. Rainbow Dash tried to halt her, but Teardrop ignored her. What amazed Rainbow Dash that very instant was that Teardrop dived into the Everfree Forest…at a faster speed than Rainbow herself! Rainbow stopped in mid-air as she managed to utter, “Wha…” She had to stick to her job and dived in after Teardrop. She searched all around the forest, but the mysterious pony had already vanished. Discord still tried to gather what he just saw. He thought, “An alicorn? I fell in love with an alicorn?” He stood there in disbelief and confusion. He had that nightmare about that shadow alicorn recently. Could she be the one? Suddenly, something sparkled in his eye and he turned to see a diamond barrette that fell from Teardrop’s left side. He picked it up and all the wonderful feelings about her had been renewed. He turned to the open door and vowed quietly, “I will find you, Teardrop. And when I do, I want to be with you always…no matter if you’re an alicorn or not.” Author's Note Okay, quick question: if one was an alicorn by birth but not discovered for years, would she already be royalty or does she need to create her own brand of magic? I personally think that she would need princess training. Finding TeardropThe day after Hearts and Hooves Day, Ponyville was buzzing with bewilderment about what happened at the ball the night before. Some were very amazed that Discord had managed to find somepony to be his date. But others were more shocked that his date was actually an alicorn. Nopony had ever seen another alicorn since Twilight Sparkle. Even Discord himself was stunned that Teardrop was an alicorn. Many ponies wondered if she was a fake, but Discord knew that everything about her was all too real. The princesses must’ve known that, too. They sent out search parties to locate the vanished alicorn. Discord was worried that they would find Teardrop to be a threat. He was very relieved to find that the search parties were unsuccessful. Yet, he was also concerned that he might never see his sweetheart ever again. He was summoned to the Royal Chamber by Princess Celestia. The Mane Six had been called, too. The Royal Pony Sisters and Princess Cadance were gathered with them as a royal guard and Flash Sentry returned from the last search party. The royal guard reported, “I’m sorry, your Highnesses, but we still have found no trace of the alicorn who disappeared.” Celestia nodded in understanding, “Thank you for your efforts. You are dismissed.” The royal guard and Flash Sentry left as the latter gave a glance at Twilight Sparkle. She blushed in response. Princess Luna turned to her sister, “This alicorn is very elusive, sister. What other options should we try in order to locate her?” Celestia turned from her sister and peered at the stained glass window, “I was not aware there was another alicorn.” Rainbow Dash said, “Maybe she’s not even a real alicorn.” Twilight Sparkle turned to her and disagreed, “Why else would she have run off if she wasn’t really an alicorn?” Celestia looked at the Mane Six, “Twilight provides a good point. Still, I’d like to know who she is and whether or not she’s really who she is.” Twilight asked, “Are you saying that Queen Chrysalis could be posing as another alicorn?” The Princess of the Sun nodded, “That is a possibility.” Discord waved his paw and claw, “Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Your Highnesses, I’ve danced with Teardrop that night and she’s very real to me. She does have a name, you know.” Cadance apologized, “We’re sorry. We didn’t even know her name. Apparently, you were the only one.” Luna asked, “Do you know anything else about her that could help us?” Discord was hesitant, but replied in fear of invoking the alicorns’ wrath, “She has tear-related powers. She can summon a tear even without weeping and can colorize it to the emotion the tear was shed from.” Rainbow Dash added, “Oh! And she can fly super, duper fast. Faster than me!” Discord looked at her in surprise and asked, “Really?” Rainbow Dash nodded. Discord turned and thought, “That alicorn can do amazing things! She’s my kind of pony!” Luna put a hoof to her chin and wondered, “You said she disappeared in the Everfree Forest, correct?” Rainbow Dash replied, “Yes, your Highness. She did.” Luna continued, “Nopony should be able to fly that fast into the forest without crashing. Perhaps she had some portal to go back to wherever she came.” Celestia said, “Excellent theory, Luna. Maybe that’s what she did.” She turned to the Mane Six and continued, “I want you to see Zecora and ask her about Teardrop.” She looked at Discord and ordered, “I want you to go with them, as well.” Discord stammered, “What? Why?” Celestia explained, “You were the only one she talked to that night. You could help us search for her.” He shot back, “So you could turn her against me?” Cadance shook her head, “Discord, we won’t do anything like that.” Discord crossed his arms and spoke softly, “I hope not.” Pinkie Pie whispered to her friends, “Uh-oh. Somebody’s got it ba-ad.” Discord glared at Pinkie, who became quiet. Celestia nodded, “It’s agreed, then. Go to Zecora to find out where Teardrop is. She might know. And when you find Teardrop, bring her back to Canterlot if she is indeed an alicorn.” Discord retorted, “She’s as real an alicorn as you are!” The ponies were shocked by his angry reply. Celestia broke the silence by ordering the ponies, “All of you may be dismissed.” Discord was about to leave when she beckoned him, “Discord, may I speak with you?” He turned and sighed in exasperation, “Yes, Princess Celestia?” Celestia said, “Forgive me for not realizing how much you care about Teardrop. I didn’t know you had feelings towards her.” Discord said, “But you were there the night I danced with her.” “I was,” she nodded, “but I am surprised now by how much you displayed love for her even if you don’t realize it.” Discord was confused now, but then saw that Celestia made sense. He did feel for Teardrop in a way he hadn’t before. “Celestia,” he lowered his head, “do you suppose she loves me?” She chuckled, “I suppose the only way to find out is to find her. Go forth and bring her back to Canterlot.” Discord became alarmed and asked, “Why do you want Teardrop brought back with us to Canterlot?” Celestia flashed a smile, “I’m very curious about her and would like to know more about her. But if she doesn’t want to come to Canterlot, then we must respect her wishes. I do, however, want to wish you well on your journey.” She winked at him before he left the Royal Chamber. Discord felt a glow in his heart that was a hope to find Teardrop and marry her. Discord and the Mane Six traveled to Zecora’s hut to obtain leads to Teardrop’s location. Zecora answered the door and smiled, “Ah, welcome all to my abode. Why have you traveled on this road?” Twilight Sparkle explained, “We thought you could help us find a mysterious alicorn who showed up at the Hearts and Hooves Day Ball.” “There’s another alicorn?” Zecora lifted her head in surprise as she spoke. “Was she one when she was born?” Twilight shook her head, “That’s just it. We don’t know. Princess Celestia would like for us to find her and take her back to Canterlot.” Discord interjected, “But she doesn’t have to come back with us if she doesn’t want to.” The Mane Six turned to him in surprise while Zecora saw something in his eyes. She smiled, “Oh! This is quite different, I see. Is she your special somepony?” Discord stammered, “What? What would make you say that?” Zecora chuckled, “There’s no denying it from me. Affection hides from nopony.” For the first time in his life, Discord blushed. Applejack asked him, “You really like this girl, don’t you, Discord?” He chose not to say anything, so Twilight turned to Zecora and inquired, “Do you think you can help us find Teardrop? She’s the alicorn we’re looking for.” Zecora nodded, “For the answers, follow me. In the water, we will see.” The Mane Six and Discord followed her to a table. They sat down and waited while Zecora boiled the water. The ponies all looked at Discord slyly. He said, “Ponies, don’t look at me like that! It’s not my fault I have a crush on Teardrop!” Pinkie Pie grinned, “Ah-ha! I knew you had a crush on her!” “Haven’t you felt the same way about somepony?” Discord asked. The ponies just giggled while Discord simmered in annoyance. Fluttershy spoke, “It’s okay to feel this way, Discord. You don’t have to hide it.” He said, “So what if I’m not denying my feelings for her? What’s it to you?” Applejack said, “Come on, Discord. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. Everypony goes through this.” Rarity added, “Yes, so what if you’re a draconequus? I mean, none of us would ever expect for you to find somepony…” Applejack ribbed her with her elbow. Rarity became silent after she cried out, “Ow!” Discord put his chin on his paw and sarcastically grumbled, “Oh, you’re very helpful, Rarity. Thank you.” Zecora placed the bowl of water at the center of the table. She extended her hoof and asked, “Discord, may I have the barrette? The one at the ball Teardrop left?” Discord gave the diamond barrette to Zecora and she touched the water with its tip. The ripples expanded and new ones continued to form while a silhouette of a cloaked unicorn appeared in the water. Zecora said, “To find the alicorn that is she, a sorceress you must first see. She will act as your guide to find the one that hides.” Twilight looked up and asked, “Where can we find this sorceress?” The zebra took a wooden spoon and stirred the water until a new picture appeared. This picture was of a town surrounded by woodland. Zecora explained, “If more about her you wish to know, then to Hollow Shades you must go.” Fluttershy stammered, “Isn’t Hollow Shades where the Black Forest Bears are?” Rainbow Dash said, “I thought you could tame most animals.” Fluttershy shook her head, “Timber wolves aren’t the only animals I’m afraid of. The Black Forest Bears are dangerous compared to them.” “Oh, come on, Fluttershy!” Discord scoffed. “You’ve faced against all kinds of dangers before. Surely, you and your friends can handle BFBs.” The ponies gave him glares and he said, “What? I thought it would be a better way of calling those nasty bears. No matter. If they want to keep me from finding this unicorn, they have to bring me down first!” Zecora chuckled, “I didn’t say she was a unicorn. But she did have powers when she was born.” The Mane Six and Discord gave her confused looks before she reminded them, “It’s getting late in the day. You should all be on your way.” Twilight thanked her as she and her friends headed out the hut. Discord, however, remained behind and turned to Zecora. He requested in a soft voice, “Say, uh, I had this weird dream about an evil alicorn who turned me to stone. I was wondering if you could tell me whether or not Teardrop will turn me to stone.” Zecora said nothing, but complied. She stirred the water and squinted at the faint picture that appeared. She explained, “A stone body, I can see well. But of whose, only time will tell.” This worried Discord, yet it intrigued him. If the stone body Zecora saw in the water wasn’t his, then whose was it? Discord's ConfessionDiscord and the Mane Six boarded the next train for Hollow Shades. Twilight Sparkle brought along books about the strange place she hadn’t been to before. Rarity brought along outfits and camping equipment (which Applejack hauled) in case they should ever “camp out in those dreadful woods”. The group could only groan in exasperation. During their train trip, Twilight came across an interesting section of one of her books. “Hey,” she said, “it says here that there’s an event that only the residents of Hollow Shades get to see. When the sun sets on the longest night of the year, an alicorn appears and creates an aurora borealis known as the ‘Winter Lights’.” “Ooh! That sounds colorful!” Pinkie Pie jumped up. Fluttershy agreed, “And pretty, too.” “That’s an awfully nice thing for one of the princesses to do for them,” Applejack smiled. “But it says here that they don’t know who the alicorn is,” Twilight explained. “All they ever see of this pony is the horn and the wings. But I can tell you this much: I don’t think it was one of the princesses.” Discord slammed his fist into his claw and deduced, “Then it must be Teardrop! Who else could it be?” Twilight interrupted him, “Now, hold on. We don’t exactly know if it’s her, yet.” “Oh, come on, Twilight!” Rainbow Dash flew over her. “You haven’t seen any other alicorns besides the princesses, yourself, and Teardrop, have you?” Rarity said, “Well, I suppose Rainbow Dash is right. Teardrop could be the one who’s creating the Winter Lights.” She gasped at a revelation and continued, “But what if it could be that sorceress Zecora sent us to find?! What if she’s an alicorn, too?” Discord chuckled, “Oh, come on, Rarity! You can’t be serious? “How could the sorceress be an alicorn? That picture of her definitely shows her being a unicorn!” Twilight pondered, “Yes, but Zecora said that the sorceress wasn’t really a unicorn. She just had magical powers at birth. Maybe she became a unicorn later in life?” Rainbow Dash suggested, “Or maybe it’s Queen Chrysalis disguising herself so she can trick us again. I think she’s got Teardrop held captive and is using the Winter Lights to feed off the happiness of the ponies living in Hollow Shades!” Fluttershy was hiding under the bench and shakily asked, “Why did you have to remind us of her?” Discord knelt down beside Fluttershy and scolded Rainbow Dash, “Rainbow Dash, you’re scaring Fluttershy! Me, too, for that fact.” Twilight said, “Oh, you guys. Zecora wouldn’t send us to find this sorceress if she knew it was Queen Chrysalis.” Applejack agreed, “I think she’s right. This sorceress must a very reliable source if Zecora wanted us to find Teardrop.” “Right,” Discord stood up. “She might be our only hope of ever finding my sweetheart again!” The Mane Six looked at him with wide eyes. Discord stammered, “Err…of finding Teardrop again.” He smiled nervously and shrugged his shoulders. However, Rainbow Dash scoffed and shook her head, “Yeah, right. We know you’ve got it bad for Teardrop. Who’s blaming you?” “So?” Discord retorted. “What if I’ve got it bad for Teardrop? I’ve got nothing to hide. She’s the only alicorn who truly understands me, who is funny, compassionate…” He sighed as he continued in a dreamlike tone, “…charming, gorgeous, radiant…” He soon took notice of the Mane Six, who looked at him with smirks. “Oh, darn!” Discord muttered as he face-palmed with his claw. “I blew my own cover!” Twilight reassured him, “Don’t worry, Discord. We’ll find her.” Fluttershy agreed, “Yes, and I’m sure she’ll be happy to see you again.” Discord smiled half-heartedly, “I can only hope so.” That night, Discord had another nightmare. He was searching all around for his fair Teardrop. “Teardrop?!” he called as he looked all around. He was in a bright surrounding, nothing but yellow light. Then, he heard a distant call. “Discord?!” it cried. “Is that you?!” His heart fluttered at the sound of her voice. He ran towards the direction it came from. “I’m coming, my dearest!” he shouted. He was so joyful when he heard her call again, “Where are you?! I need you!” “Don’t you worry, sweetheart!” he replied. “I’m on the way!” Then, he saw her. She was laying on her fours facing a bright light. He leaped up and changed into superhero attire in mid-air. He landed near Teardrop and said, “Da-da-da! Super Discord is here! You have nothing to fear, darling.” “Oh, don’t I?” her voice spoke in a menacing tone. “Huh?” Discord said in confusion. Teardrop stood up and turned towards him. What he saw was horrifying. Teardrop had glowing red eyes and her mane and tail became like Nightmare Moon’s mane and tail. “Did you really think I was interested in you because you were funny?” she asked as her voice became distorted. Discord stepped back in fright and hurt. “No…” he whispered. “Well, I just used that opportunity at the ball just to get close so I can…” she explained as she lowered her horn. It emitted a dangerous red glow with orange sparks. She continued, “…eliminate you!” As she said that, she shot at Discord. He saw that he was turning into obsidian and cried, “Teardrop! Don’t do this to me! NOOOOO!” He woke up with a yell. This yell was more anguished than frightened. He was so shaken up from his nightmare that he was trembling to his core. Luckily, he didn’t manage to wake the Mane Six. At that moment, he felt like he needed to go outside for fresh night air. Princess Luna had been scouting the fields outside of Canterlot for any trace of Teardrop. She did, however, spot a train with a strange figure on the roof of one of its cars. She flew down towards the train only to see that the figure was not an alicorn. It had a horn and an antler. It also had a slender body with mismatched wings, legs, and arms. In that instant, Luna knew exactly who it was. However, when she descended onto the roof of the train car, she also knew that something was up with him. Discord was lying across the roof in a manner of being…sorrowful. She thought that this was unlike Discord, so she walked slowly towards him. “Discord?” she asked. “Is there something of matter?” Discord turned his head only so slightly and mumbled, “Like I didn’t know it was you, Princess.” Luna paused, and then asked again, “Is there something bothering you? You should not keep your emotions bottled up, like I once did.” He could not deny her the truth of his pain, so he sat up alongside the edge of the roof and sighed, “I’m worried about Teardrop. What if she turns against me? What if how she acted before was all just a big charade?” Luna sat down beside him and saw their shadows touching the rail tracks. She remembered how she had been in her sister’s shadow before her fall and despite all that had happened, her sister still willingly loved her. She smiled at the thought of such a love and wondered if Teardrop and even Discord were going through that themselves. She reassured him, “If you feel deeply for Teardrop, then there might not be any doubt she feels the same way about you. Only a love like that is hardest to hide.” Discord wished he could believe Luna, but he wasn’t sure. No…not “unsure”. It was more like “afraid”. He was afraid to take her advice because if he did and Teardrop rejected him, he would break into a million pieces. He couldn’t take that chance. He scoffed, “How can you be sure of that, Luna? You’re Luna, the Princess of the Night, not Cadance, the Princess of Love.” Then, deep within himself, he felt a heavy pain. It wasn’t like any physical pain, but this was so emotional that it felt very real. He couldn’t bury it, for he knew what it was. It was the pain of potential heartbreak that could come should Teardrop reject him. It was mixed together with his fears and anxiety. As much as he hated to admit it, Discord knew that Luna was right. At this, he thought snidely, Aren’t all alicorn princesses? Discord could only sigh, “All right, you’ve made your point. But what should I do about it? Can I just go up to Teardrop, bring her back to Canterlot, and ask her to marry me?” Luna looked at him with wide eyes. This made Discord chuckle at the idea, “Of course I won’t! But how can I tell if she loves me? I am, after all, a draconequus. Surely, nopony can ever expect to marry one! Pshaw! I can marry whoever I love, and I love Teardrop!” At that moment, he realized that he had just confessed his love for Teardrop. But of course, almost instantaneously, he remembered how the other ponies reacted when he disguised himself as a stallion. He hadn’t fooled any of the mares with his disguise, so why wouldn’t it be different with Teardrop? He felt a familiar swelling inside him that he could not contain. Before he knew it, he blurted out, “But what if Teardrop won’t love me? What if it’s all…” At that point, he could barely get the words out and tears were brimming in his eyes. He managed to choke out, “…a lie?” He leaned back on his left side with his paw and claw clutching at his heart. Luna felt sympathy for him as he struggled to keep his emotions and doubts at bay. She knew what it felt like to be in such pain. She didn’t think she would ever be loved again after she transformed into Nightmare Moon and back. However, if she had been fortunate enough for the ponies to love her again, then perhaps it would take a special somepony to love Discord. Her heart felt a pang of sympathy as she looked at Discord’s bent body. It shook as Discord tried to hold back his sobs. All Luna could hear were sniffles, but that was enough for her to do something. She put a hoof on his shoulder and he turned his head to her. She saw the tears edging his eyelids and Discord gasped as a tear slid down his cheek. Luna caught his tear with her hoof and used her horn to levitate it. “If you truly love Teardrop,” she told him, “then you’ll know just by showing her how much you care.” Discord slowly began to smile and Luna flashed one back. She gave the tear back to Discord as he held it in his paw. He looked at it and realized that Teardrop could interpret the emotions it was shed for should Discord fail to find the words to describe what he felt. In that moment, he knew just what to do with it. “You know,” he said in a cheerier tone, “Teardrop can colorize this tear to know exactly what I was feeling moments ago. That might convince her I love her deeply.” He chuckled quite mischievously, but then remembered that there was a princess present. He looked over at Luna, who looked ambivalently, and chuckled nervously, “I mean, I’m sure when she looks at this tear, she’ll know how affectionate I am for her. Who knows?” He cupped his claw underneath the paw that held the tear and pulled them close to his chest as he continued, “I might just win her over.” Luna warned him, “Remember, Discord. Your tear might reveal to Teardrop how much you feel for her, but you must try to earn her love without manipulation or crocodile tears. That tear alone will not make her fall in love with you that easily. True, it may make her more sympathetic towards you, but for both of you to be happy, you each must accept and trust the ponies you truly are. If the love between you is true love, then you must see inner beauty within each other. I may not be an expert in love, but I can have Princess Cadance offer you advice.” Discord suddenly became uneasy and embarrassed. He shook his head and waved his claw as he quickly said, “No, no, no! I don’t think you need to tell Cadance that it’s me.” He chuckled slightly and continued, “Why don’t we make this just between the two of us, hmm?” Luna looked uncertain, but then sighed, “All right. We’ll keep this a secret until the time comes.” Discord’s ears perked up as he said, “Oh, wonderful! Thank you, Princess Luna! Oh, you’ve been too kind!” She rolled her eyes and mumbled, “I know.” She bid him good luck on his journey and flew off. Discord looked once again at his tear and conjured up a vial. He placed his tear inside and looked hopefully at it. Hollow ShadesThe Mane Six and Discord finally arrived at Hollow Shades at noon. Although they knew the sun would be high in sky, at Hollow Shades, it was different. It was dark and there was barely any light peeking through the trees. It definitely wasn’t gloomy; it was more like…homey. It had a comfortable feel to it that didn’t make you feel on edge or jumpy. Despite how dark Hollow Shades was, it was more like a den than a pit. “Wow!” Pinkie cried. “It’s so dark I can’t see anything!” “Oh, Pinkie.” Discord scoffed. “You’re just exaggerating.” Just then, Pinkie rammed into a dim streetlight and fell down. “Then again…” Discord reconsidered. The group didn’t have much luck with the residents they met. If Hollow Shades was known for one thing, it was privacy. The town and the forest themselves served as refuge for any wanted crook, framed pony or creature, hermits, or ponies wanting to get away from civilization. As a result, the group’s questions didn’t get through much. They then decided to try somepony who had established themselves here. They eventually found Trail Mix’s Supply Store and saw that the sign also said that he offered directions. “Oh, thank goodness!” Rarity sighed. “I was getting tired of this drab and bleak place.” They went inside to find a lot of equipment, but no owner. Twilight asked, “Hello? Is anypony here?” Suddenly, they heard a rustling on the other side of the small building. This made them jump a bit before an Earth stallion popped up from behind the counter. “Oh, I’m sorry!” he spoke as he adjusted his glasses. “I usually scare ponies when I do that.” They walked up to the counter and Twilight introduced herself and her friends. The stallion broke into a smile and chuckled, “I just can’t believe my luck! Princess Twilight and her friends are here! You’re known all around Equestria! Oh! And Discord, too? The one and only master of chaos and disharmony? It’s surely a pleasure to meet you all! “I’m Trail Mix, the fine owner of this establishment. How may I help you?” Applejack spoke, “Well, see, we’re looking for a sorceress around these here parts. Do you know her?” Trail Mix scoffed, “Shucks! We’ve got many magical creatures here! “There’s the wizard down the street, the one by the library…Oh! And also three of them on the corner of Three-Way Avenue.” Discord waved his paw and claw and said, “No, no, no! You see, this particular sorceress we’re looking for is cloaked and can be the only one who can help us find an alicorn.” Trail Mix beamed, “Say, I know where you can find an alicorn!” The Mane Six and Discord leaned close to hear what he said as they asked, “Yes?” Trail Mix nodded and said, “Yes! She’s right there!” He pointed at Twilight as he continued, “How blind are you?” Discord shook his paw and claw in exasperation and growled, “No, that’s not the alicorn we’re looking for!” Twilight specified, “You see, she’s neither one of the princesses or me. She’s somepony we never met before, and we hope that finding this particular sorceress can help us find her. She wears a cloak and has a short mane with her ends curled up.” “Er, which one are you talking about?” Trail Mix asked in confusion. “The alicorn or the sorceress?” Rainbow Dash clarified in an annoyed tone, “The sorceress! Duh!” He chuckled, “Oh, right! Sorry. I got confused there.” He turned his back to the group as he scoured through the items behind his counter. He continued, “Okay, I think I know the pony that fits your description.” He turned back towards them and laid out some records and a photo of the sorceress. He explained, “Her name is Rose. She showed up one day and lives at the foot of Foal Mountain.” Discord couldn’t help but wonder when he looked at Rose’s picture. Though she had red and blue streaks in her mane, a pink coat, glasses, and blue eyes, she looked amazingly like Teardrop! He thought about the possibility that she could be Teardrop’s twin. He also considered that the reason why Zecora didn’t call her a unicorn was probably because she was an alicorn! He soon disposed of those thoughts because he thought it wasn’t possible for a pony to be born an alicorn…especially if it was twins! Trail Mix continued, “She’s a very skilled and powerful unicorn. She comes to the village every now and then for food and supplies. She usually brings her daughter along, but only at night.” Twilight asked, “She has a daughter?” “Yep,” he replied. “She does baby-sitting jobs and helps people at night. She’s only ever around at night.” Pinkie asked, “Why does she only appear at night?” “No one knows for certain,” he answered, “but it’s probably because there are crooks around and her mother probably doesn’t want anything bad to happen to her.” “Well, isn’t it less safe at night?” Twilight asked. Trail Mix replied, “Trust me. It gets too dark at night for any crime to happen. You’re more in danger of disappearing into the woods than for any random crime.” Fluttershy stammered, “Um…are-are there by a-a-a-a-any chance…” She gulped and continued, “…B-b-black Forest Bears in those woods?” Trail Mix chuckled, “Why, sure there are! But that’s only if you’re deep in the woods enough to be sensed by them.” “Excuse me?” Twilight asked. “’Sensed’?” He said, “You see, it’s so dark that their sight isn’t so good. They rely on their other senses such as hearing and smell. Why, they can even detect heat!” Fluttershy shook behind Rarity as she whimpered, “See? This is why they’re so scary!” “Oh, come on, Flutters!” Rainbow Dash scoffed. “You’re seriously not going to let the BFBs get in the way of finding Rose, are you?” Trail Mix asked, “BFBs? Is that what you’re calling those bears?” His face lit up and he smiled, “I gotta use that nickname! It’s a cool one! Thanks!” Rainbow Dash winked, “No problem!” Black Forest Bears“Rainbow Dash, are you sure you’re reading that right?” Twilight asked. Rainbow held the map Trail Mix gave them as she hovered above the ground. “Of course I am, Twilight!” Rainbow Dash scoffed. “I’m probably the best navigator in all of Equestria!” “Well, excuse me, Miss Navigator,” Discord grabbed the map from her. “You’re looking at it upside down.” He turned it right-side up and looked at it. He rotated it upside-down again and said, “But you know, I think you’d do better with upside-down directions.” He gave it back to Rainbow Dash and she only glared at him. Applejack said, “Hey, y’all. Let’s stop standing here and get a move on, already.” “I agree,” Discord spoke up. “We must find the sorceress so she can lead us to Teardrop.” As he marched forward, the Mane Six exchanged stunned glances. Twilight asked, “Have you ever seen him so determined like this?” The rest of the ponies shook their heads. ***** It was getting close to sunset and the group could not find Rose or the foot of Foal Mountain. There were trees without end and the darkness crept in the surroundings and the group. Rainbow Dash remarked, “Boy, if Trail Mix gave us these directions, he’s sure living up to his name.” Fluttershy shook, “Oh…If we don’t find Rose or get out of the woods soon, I fear the bears will get us.” Discord scoffed, “Oh, Fluttershy. There’s nothing to worry about. Look, there’s some bit of daylight left. We should make to Rose before the BFBs get us.” Twilight said, “I hope you’re right.” But as what little light they had in the woods began to disappear, the group (Discord included) could only feel fright start to spread in their souls. They became cautious so they could not accidentally trip on anything. They huddled closer together and slowed down. Then, they heard a frightening growl. Soon, more growls followed. The group gasped as they tried to see what the sources of the sounds were. All they saw were pairs of deep scarlet eyes peering through the dark. Those eyes slowly emerged from the woods and Discord and the ponies saw that the eyes were attached to snarling bears! The bears had dark fur with striking resemblance and feeling of pine needles. Their sharp claws could cut through the hardest wood. Their teeth could gnaw a tree in half in just a minute. Several of these ferocious beasts closed in on the ponies and Discord. Twilight blasted her magic at them and repelled a couple of them at a time. Discord joined in and created a magical wave to blast the creatures away. Soon, most of the ponies (except Fluttershy, of course) fought against the bears. Rarity used her magic to grab…a twig. Discord raised his eyebrow and sarcastically asked, “Really?” He snapped his fingers and the twig became a club. Rarity found this hard to hold with her magic. She wobbled with it and accidentally hit a BFB with it. Rainbow Dash cheered, “All right, Rarity!” Discord cried, “Hey! I deserve some of the credit here!” They continued to fight off the BFBs, but they began to see that there were too many of them. They were surrounded by the vile bears and they huddled together. “Well,” Discord shook, “any last words?” Most of the ponies shouted, “Discord!” Fluttershy said, “Um…yes.” But she couldn’t bring herself to say them as the bears edged closer and closer to Discord and the ponies. They braced themselves for what would be the end. “Habet arcere!” a voice rang out. Suddenly, a blue light blasted several bears away from the ponies and Discord. They looked up and though they saw nopony, they heard the voice cry out, “Oremus!” Immediately following that spell, a blue force field surrounded the friends. They were gaping at what they were seeing. As soon as they saw that the bears were being defeated by continuous blasts of blue light, Rarity jumped up and down and shouted gleefully, “Oh, we’re being rescued! It’s a miracle!” Pinkie bounced higher and cheered, “Hooray! We’re saved!” Twilight stopped the ponies and said, “Now, hold on. We don’t know if the battle’s won, yet. Let’s just wait and see.” Though they couldn’t hear the conflict, they saw the bears being effortlessly defeated and soon driven away by the caster of the light blasts. The force field then came down and Discord and the ponies stepped forward to meet their savior. Twilight hesitantly said, “Hello? Are you there? We would like to say ‘thank you’ from saving us from those bears. So, please come out and let us see you.” There was silence for a few moments until the voice spoke out, “You’re the Princess Twilight Sparkle. For what purpose have come here?” Twilight answered, “Well, we are looking for a sorceress. Her name is Rose. Have you seen her?” The voice replied, “You already found her.” The pony to which the voice belonged stepped out of the brush and revealed herself. She had a cloak over her pink coat, red and blue streaks in her mane, and blue eyes behind her glasses. She said, “I am she.” The ponies were stunned, Discord especially. For a moment, he thought he’d seen her kind of eyes before. And that voice…Oh, where did he hear that voice before?! Rainbow Dash said, “Wow! You sound really young for someone like you!” Rose chuckled, “Trust me; I’m older than I look or sound.” She turned and said, “Come; I’ll take you to my home, where we will discuss the matter of your arrival.” She lit her horn as she walked into the brush and the ponies followed her. Discord, who just snapped out his thoughts, called out, “Hey, wait for me!” Woodland SerenadeShe led them to the edge of the forest and into the young night. There was a cozy little hut near the foot of Foal Mountain. The distance between the hut and the mountain was covered by grass and specked with flowers here and there. The hut wasn’t too shabby; it had two floors and was surrounded by flowers and arts and crafts. Such beautiful pieces of art hung at the door, the windows, and even the walls. The ponies could only gaze and admire them. Rose used her horn to magically open the door and ushered them in. Discord, still looking at the hut’s exterior, rammed his face into the top of the doorway. “Oops!” he cried out dizzily. “Excuse me!” Rose giggled as Discord leaned in and entered the hut. She lit a candle and some lanterns to shed light into the hut. The newcomers looked at the room in amazement. There were many things and knick-knacks here. There were books, powders, magical items, and so many other wonderful things. Discord cried, “Wow! You must have the biggest collection in all of Equestria!” Twilight skimmed the books’ titles and said, “This is amazing! You have books here that even I don’t have! How did you obtain such tomes?” Rainbow looked at Rose in confusion and asked, “Did you get that? Because I didn’t.” Rose chuckled, “Simple. She asked how I could’ve gotten books like that.” Rainbow Dash said, “Oh, uh…thanks.” Rarity gasped at the many pieces of art displayed in the room. She ecstatically asked, “How ever did you come across such priceless treasures like these?!” Rose smiled, “I have been to many places before I came here. Some of them are from places you’ve never heard of.” Rarity asked hopefully, “Could you tell me where I can find pieces like these?” Rose hesitantly answered, “Err…that may take some time to clarify, but I could bring you back some more if I get the chance to travel again.” Discord said, “All right, all right. Let’s not get too caught up with Rose’s collection. We’re here to find somepony.” Rose asked, “Really? And just who are you looking for?” He explained to her, “Well, she’s somepony who looks a lot like you, only she’s an alicorn.” Her eyes widened with surprise as she exclaimed, “An alicorn? Are you sure she really is one?” Before Discord could tell her more, they all heard singing in the distance. He asked the ponies as he looked around, “Did you hear that?” The ponies all nodded. Discord turned his ear to where he heard the singing loudest. It was very familiar; so familiar that his heart began to race at the sound. Now he heard a voice he knew belonged to a particular pony. He floated to the window where he heard the voice most distinctly. As he looked out, he gasped and thought, Could it be…? He saw birds and animals flocking around a pony. A pony with a horn and wings… He almost cried out her name as he flew out the window in an excited rush. Before he came within a few feet of her, he ducked behind the bushes on the edge of the forest. He decided that he was going to surprise her while she was singing and flying in the air. He waited for the right moment and grabbed the animal she was dancing with when it was near the bushes. He told it, “Excuse me, but I believe this is my cue.” Right when Teardrop stopped twirling in the air, Discord flew right up behind her and placed his arms on her as if he was dancing with her. He began to sing with her before she noticed he was right there. She turned around in shock and gasped, “Discord!” He smiled, “Hello, Teardrop. I’m so glad to have found you. I missed you so much.” Teardrop stammered, “H-h-how did you find me?” “I guess true love, that’s what!” he shrugged happily. He turned towards the hut and the ponies now standing outside. He shouted, “It’s okay! We found her!” Pinkie Pie leaped up and cried, “Yay! We found her! Now we can take her back to Canterlot so Princess Celestia and everypony will know who she is!” The rest of the Mane Six face-hoofed. Teardrop cried, “Wait, what?!” Rose stepped in front of the Mane Six and said, “Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold up! Nopony is going to be taking her to Canterlot without the consent of her mother!” Discord asked, “All right. And just who is her mother?” She answered, “I am.” Discord and the Mane Six looked at her in shock. Rainbow Dash said, “Whoa! Mind blown right now! You’re Teardrop’s mom?” Rose nodded as Teardrop flew towards her. “Yes,” she answered, “and my daughter’s not going anywhere without my permission. “If you like, you could stay with us to ask us questions. You seem like a trusting bunch. And perhaps, in time, I could let Teardrop go back with you to Canterlot. Make yourselves at home while I talk with Teardrop.” Rose and her daughter went back indoors as Discord and the Mane Six stood outside, still dumbfounded by what just happened. “OK,” Applejack said slowly. “Did not see that coming.” Rarity panicked, “This is terrible! What are we going to do?! We can’t just return to Princess Celestia empty-hoofed! She’ll think we’re the laughingstocks in all of Equestria!” Discord interrupted her, “Hold it, hold it. Relax; I think I know just what to do.” He flashed a mischievous grin, causing Twilight alarm. She warned, “If you’re thinking about using hypnosis on Teardrop…” Discord retorted, “What? Why in the world would I ever do that to the pony I love? No; I’m just simply going to use my dashing charm and debonair wit to woo her to come with us. Or me, for that matter.” Rainbow Dash doubtfully remarked, “Yeah, um…about your charm and wit.” Discord glared at her, “Oh, what’s it matter to you? It’s Teardrop I need to win over. “Now, if you excuse me, I’ve got a date with destiny.” He marched inside and the ponies, choosing to ignore his remark, followed him. Rose made dinner and all the ponies and Discord ate. The Mane Six and Discord practically bombarded Rose and Teardrop with questions and while they answered some, they deflected others. Twilight asked Rose, “What were the spells you used to save us from the bears?” The cloaked pony answered, “I translated some words in Latin, a language not familiar in Equestria. Latin makes for powerful spells.” Twilight asked once more, “Did you learn Latin during your travels?” She shrugged, “Eh…more or less.” Rainbow Dash soon noticed that Rose had never taken off her cloak since they met her. She asked, “Excuse me, Rose? Why do you wear that cloak even at the dinner table?” Rose glanced at the cloak and answered playfully, “I wear it because it makes me more mysterious. There’s more to me than meets the eye.” All the ponies and Discord chuckled at her answer. It was Discord’s turn to ask a question. He asked, “Rose, how can your daughter be an alicorn? Did she do some heroic deed, create her own magic, or what?” Rose sighed, “In a way, she did create her own magic, but she was born an alicorn.” The Mane Six and draconequus looked at her in confusion and surprise as they said, “Huh?” Teardrop explained, “You see, my mom’s so powerful that she can create clones of herself, although with an independent personality.” Discord and the Mane Six cried, “What?!” Discord asked her mother, “Rose, is this true? Is Teardrop actually a clone of you?!” She nodded, but this only brought more questions to Discord. He continued to ask, “But how? You may look the same, but you have different coats, eyes, and manes! And you have glasses, but she doesn’t!” He sat there as he tried to gather this new piece of information. Rose answered calmly, “Yes, she is my clone, but she acts differently than I do. Besides, I treat her more like a daughter because I gave birth to her.” The Mane Six and Discord still looked at her and Teardrop in shock. Teardrop explained, “So, yeah, it’s also why I don’t have a dad.” Fluttershy cried, “Oh, you poor thing!” Teardrop smiled, “Don’t worry; I still have my mom. I spend a lot of time with her.” Twilight exclaimed, “Wow! This is a lot to take in.” Rose said, “See? Now you know why I asked you to stay with us. There’s a lot you don’t know about us and it may be hard to understand. Trust me; some things will be easier to explain once you get to know us more.” The purple alicorn gasped, “Oh! I almost forgot! We haven’t introduced ourselves. I’m Twilight Sparkle. This is Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie. You’ve probably already met Discord.” Teardrop chuckled, “We’ve heard all about you through word-of-mouth and newspapers.” Pinkie Pie said, “See? I told you! We’re famous!” Rarity primed her mane and asked, “Ooh! Is it because of my extravagant line of fashion?” Rainbow joined in, “Is it because of my awesome feats of heroism and flight?” Pinkie jumped up and down, “Or is it because of my super fabulous, super duper parties?” Rose smiled, “Actually, all of the above. And the news that Twilight became an alicorn princess.” This made Teardrop uneasy and she asked Twilight, “Now, that you all know I’m an alicorn and if I come back to Canterlot with you, will I have to train to become a princess?” She answered, “Tell you what? I’ll ask Princess Celestia for you when I report back to her.” Both mother and daughter’s eyes widened and Rose asked, “Just what will you report back to the Princess? Are you going to reveal us to her or the rest of Equestria?” Twilight shook her head and smiled, “Oh, no, no. I wouldn’t do that. This will be just for the Princess alone. I’ll just tell her we found Teardrop and that she doesn’t want to leave her home yet. I’ll also ask if she’ll become a princess because she’s a natural alicorn.” Rose and Teardrop both sighed in relief and the latter graciously thanked Twilight, “Thank you, Twilight Sparkle.” As soon as dinner was finished, the Mane Six and Discord headed off to bed. When he saw that Teardrop wasn’t getting ready to go to bed, he asked Rose about it. Rose answered, “Oh, she’s a night owl. She hates missing out on all the beautiful things that happen only at night.” Discord suggested, “Well, if she’d like, maybe I can stay up with her.” Teardrop hesitated, “Um…you did come a very long way just to find me. Why don’t you get some rest and we can spend tomorrow night hanging out. How about that?” Discord shrugged and yawned as he bade Teardrop and her mother a good night. When the visitors were all in bed, Teardrop sighed. Rose put her arm around her daughter as the latter asked, “Will they ever know the truth about me?” Her mother consoled her, “They will, in time. Just have patience. They’ll know soon enough.” Teardrop sorrowfully asked, “But what if they don’t understand?” Rose shushed her, “They will. I have faith in them.” Author's Note Yes, what Teardrop was singing near the woods was Once Upon a Dream. That was also where I took inspiration for Discord and Teardrop's reunion from.
Prologue“Ooh! What have you got there?” Discord asked in mischievous curiosity. “The Elements of Harmony,” Celestia answered as a pink force field surrounded her and Luna. “With them, we shall defeat you,” her sister added. Discord couldn’t help but burst into laughter. These pony sisters were making fools of themselves. “You should see yourselves right now.” He laughed. “The expressions on your faces. So intense. So sure of yourselves.” He was so busy laughing that he didn’t see the sisters join horns and emit a rainbow beam that headed towards Discord. “Hilarious!” he continued to laugh hysterically. ZAP! Everything went black for Discord at that moment. It took a few moments for him to realize what had happened. His dream avatar began thinking, “What happened to me? Have I been…turned to stone? I-I-I can’t move! Oh, drats! The sisters have managed to defeat me! I have to find a way out of here!” Suddenly, he was sucked into a tunnel. “Aaaaah!” he screamed. In what seemed like a moment, he was suspended in mid-air. When he realized what happened, he was floating gently downwards. He looked around the tunnel and saw many objects floating in their places. He said to himself, “Ooh! This would be my kind of place.” Discord tried to fly back up, but some unseen force kept dragging him down. He grunted, “Why…can’t I…go back…up?” After some minutes of trying, he finally sighed in defeat, “Oh, poo.” He looked around in amazement, for the unnatural was very normal for him. He soon came upon a rocking chair and decided to sit down. “Well, I guess I could stay here until I’m free from my stone…” he said, “…prison!” As he saying the last word, he fell out of the chair. Fortunately, he was floating again. He only sighed of relief before he felt gravity pulling on him when he got to a very tight space. Discord caught his breath when he reached a tunnel alike to the one above. But he felt like something was different. He thought about it before… TWANG! He noticed that he was hanging upside-down from a curtain rod. He fell to the floor and placed himself upright. He walked down another tunnel, this time paved with tiled linoleum. Discord said to himself as he came to a chamber of doors, “This is exactly how I envisioned Equestria. Now, I’m sure one of these doors must lead me back home.” But before he could try one of the doors, a white rabbit came running beside him. “Hey!” he cried. “What…?” He tried to gather what he just saw when he suddenly felt something bump against him. Discord turned to see an unfamiliar figure. It had a brown mane, but no tail. It had glasses, but no ears. It had limbs, but no hooves. But what was most striking of all was that it was…pale. It also wore strange clothes not only on its upper body, but also its legs. Discord was frightened, but also curious. He slowly asked the figure, “What are you?” It looked up and Discord saw the most interesting blue eyes behind the glasses. He felt dazed by its appearance, especially when it stood up on two legs...like him. “Oh, excuse me,” it spoke in a feminine voice. “I don’t believe I’ve seen anyone of your kind before.” “What do you mean?” he asked in a confused tone. “I’ve seen many fantastic creatures one wouldn’t find in the normal world,” she explained. “I’ve never met a creature like you before. What are you?” “Well,” he cleared his throat, “I’m a draconequus. I’ve come from the land of Equestria…and quite possibly still am…in body form.” “Body form?” she asked. “You see, I’ve been turned to stone by the Royal Pony Sisters and here I am in dream form,” he answered. “Excuse me, but is Equestria where special ponies live?” she inquired. “You know, Pegasi? Unicorns?” “Sure,” he replied. “Pegasi, unicorns, and Earth ponies. Oh, if you’re really lucky, you could be an alicorn…” he grumbled, “…like the sisters who turned me to stone.” “What are alicorns?” she asked. “They have the wings of a Pegasus, the horn of a unicorn, and the heart of an Earth pony,” he explained in a bored and annoyed tone. “The last part makes me want to gag.” “Ponies with both horns and wings?” she said amazingly. “Wow! I’ve never seen any pony like that before!” “Well, since I answered your questions, it’s time to answer mine,” he said. “What are you?” “I’m a human,” she replied. “Okay, so just what are humans?” “We’re a mammalian species who are very smart and think what other animals can’t,” the human explained. “We live in societies and have towns and villages.” “Equestria has those,” Discord scoffed. “Really?” she asked. “I never knew that. What’s it like?” “Well, before I turned it inside out during my chaotic reign, Equestria was a boring place with ponies who act like you,” he quickly gave an answer to her question. “What? They talk and act like humans, but they’re still ponies?” the human gave an astonished smile. “I never knew that!” “What? You’ve never heard of such a place where you from?” Discord gave her a confused look. “I thought you said you met creatures that are not from your world.” “Okay, here’s the thing,” she sighed. “I and many other people are not like regular humans. We have magical powers and can travel from universe to universe. We never knew about you or Equestria before…” “Wait, wait!” he interrupted her. “You’re magic?” “Yes,” she said. “So you must know of a way out of here!” he grabbed her in hopeful joy. “Well, I can because I’ve been here many times,” she explained. “What?” he let go of her in confusion. “You’ve been here before?” “This is Wonderland,” she nodded and gestured the chamber. “Oh, good!” Discord clapped and floated. “You must help me find a way home!” “The only way we can do that is to go through Wonderland,” she motioned her arm toward a door. “Well, come on!” he said excitedly as he grabbed her wrist. “Let’s go!” He raced towards the door and stopped at it. He was about to open it when the human said, “But I don’t even know your name.” “Oh,” Discord replied as he put his paw on the knob, “it’s Discord.” He opened the door to find a slightly smaller door. “What…Hey!” he cried in bewilderment. He gave the human an angry glance and asked, “What’s the big idea? Are you trying to trick me…ooh, whatever-your-name-is?” “It’s Rose,” she answered. “Rose?” his scowl relaxed and then twisted in confusion. “That’s a funny name.” “So is yours…Discord,” she retorted. “Ha, ha, ha,” he sarcastically laughed. “At least the ponies back home didn’t find my name weird. Now, getting back to the matter at hand, what’s with this door?” “Oh, allow me,” Rose said as she grabbed for the second knob. She opened it to reveal another door like the one before. Discord watched on in confusion as she continued to do this until the smallest door finally opened up to a space. “After you,” she gestured for Discord to enter. “Wow,” he gave an astounded half-smile. “You sure do know your stuff.” “I know,” she acknowledged his compliment as he squeezed through the small space. She then crawled in after him, but got stuck for a few moments. She pulled herself free and panted, “Phew! I guess I’m not who I used to be.” So thus their adventure in Wonderland began. First, Rose ate the growing cookies and cried a pool of tears. Next, they came across the Tweedles and went to the White Rabbit’s house. Unfortunately, though, Discord mistakenly ate a cookie, which made him grow and cramped inside the house. Then, Rose shrunk him and her and met the talking flowers. Discord slept during their song number and he and Rose continued on their trek. To Rose, this adventure was routine, but to Discord, this was something brand-new. He knew he was able to create this type of environment back in Equestria, but he never knew such a world as this. He felt like this could be home, but something in him yearned for Equestria. Finally, they strode along the magenta-colored path. Discord knew for sure that he would be home soon and Rose could reverse his stone state. Suddenly, a broom dog was sweeping away the path. Discord wanted to scream and shoo the dog away, but he didn’t want to freak out in front of Rose. The dog approached them, but he stopped and went around them before continuing to sweep away the path. Discord simply refused to believe that this was the end of the path. He raced up ahead while Rose shouted, “Discord, wait! There’s a fork in the road!” “Fork in the road?” he scoffed. “What are you talking about…?” He stopped as he came to a fork in the road and a pole with two signs pointing either way. Rose came up to him and said, “See? I’ve tried it before.” Discord could do nothing but look downcast and return to where they came. She led him to a clearing with a rock in the center. As they sat down, Discord sighed, “So that’s it. We can’t go anywhere else.” He turned to Rose and angrily pointed at her, “And you said you knew the way around here. I can’t believe you lied.” “What?” she said in bewilderment. “How did I lie to you? Didn’t I just take you all across Wonderland and guided you? Didn’t I do all of that for you?” “Well, if you’re such the ‘expert’, then how come we haven’t found a way out of here yet?” he sneered. “As I’ve learned on my adventures here, this is the part where you must confess your sorrows in order to continue onwards,” she explained. “Well, how does that help us?” he scoffed. “A new path opens for us only if we feel sad or low,” Rose said. “I, for one, have never felt such pain in my life,” he said. “That’s unfortunate,” she told him, “because then you’ll never be grateful for the things you have.” “I don’t need to be grateful,” Discord differed. “I have my powers to keep me happy.” “Yeah,” Rose said, “and that’s not enough, isn’t it?” He looked at her for a long time and sighed, “No, I guess not.” “Haven’t you had someone to love or to care for?” she asked. “Surely there must be someone back in Equestria.” “It’s ‘somepony’, and no, I haven’t,” he corrected her. “I’ve had no one but myself back there. It was just me against the world.” “Seriously?” she pondered. “I made everything in Equestria like I wanted it, because I’m the master of chaos,” Discord held his head high. “I don’t need any pony to make me happy. Those meddling sisters had to go spoil my fun!” “Just what were you doing in Equestria that made them turn you to stone?” Rose asked. “Oh, I just rearranged it so that it’s the opposite of its boring self,” he replied. As he explained what he did to Equestria, she became less pleased with him. After he finished, she said, “Sounds to me that you made some serious trouble. No wonder the sisters turned you to stone.” “That’s why you can come back with me and reverse the spell on me,” Discord told her. She hesitated, “I don’t think I can do that.” “What?” he turned to her in surprise. “Why not?” “This seems like the type of magic that does justice,” she replied. “It’s not very easily reversible by someone like me. I’m only learning.” “Why didn’t you tell me this before?!” Discord grabbed her and shook her. “I didn’t know that’s what you wanted,” Rose explained. “Also, I might land in big trouble if I did something to undo what the sisters did.” Discord paused and let out a big sigh. He set her down and said, “I suppose I’ll be stuck in stone for a very long time. I thought that you might be the one to help, but I guess not.” “I’m sorry if I couldn’t be of more help to you,” Rose apologized. “I wish I could help, but I don’t know how.” “Mind if I spent the rest of eternity here in Wonderland?” Discord asked. “I’m getting you out of here so you can return to your body,” she said. “That’s what I can do.” He hesitated, “Maybe I don’t need to go back to my cold and drab stone body. I feel more at home in Wonderland. I could stay here for the rest of eternity.” “And what?” Rose shot off. “Be all alone?” They sat in silence for a few moments while she regretted saying that comment. Discord pulled his legs toward his torso and said, “I’ve never been more alone in my life.” “Nobody wants to be,” she whispered. He stared at the ground as he explained, “Even if I do go back, I’ll have nopony to turn to.” “At least you’ve got one good friend: me,” Rose said as she leaned towards him. Discord was surprised when she gave him a kiss on the cheek. He stuttered, “What did you do that for?” She smiled, “Just so you know someone cares for you.” He blushed, “Nopony ever gave me a kiss before. You’re the first.” “I guess it makes me lucky, then,” Rose shrugged happily. “No,” Discord smiled. “It makes me luckier.” He sniffled and quickly said, “Oh! Excuse me!” He conjured up a hanky and continued, “Er, cold coming on.” Rose gave him a dubious look and he said, “Okay! Just because I got turned to stone doesn’t mean I really am! I have feelings, too, you know!” She smiled, “I thought you did.” She astonished him even more when she hugged him. Discord felt different for the first time since he could remember. He felt all mushy inside. It grossed him out, yet warmed him up at the same time. Then, he knew what that feeling was: love. Even though he was a dream avatar, he could still feel Rose’s warm embrace. Then, Discord felt something swelling up inside. He had to let it out some way. Just as Rose let go of him, he stood up, walked towards one side of the clearing, and pressed his hanky to his face. All he could choke out was, “Oh, look what you’ve done! I haven’t felt this way in a long time and now…” Rose gasped, “Oh, I’m so sorry!” “No!” Discord sobbed. “What you did was wonderful! In fact, it was so wonderful that it made me…” She ran towards him and consoled him. He was so busy sobbing that he didn’t notice the surroundings disappearing. His tears only stopped when he heard a familiar humming. He and Rose turned to see the Cheshire Cat appearing with a tree. When he asked Discord what he was doing, the latter only blushed and hid the hanky behind him. He stammered, “Er, just hanging out here looking for a way back.” He made the hanky disappear after that. After their encounter with the Cheshire Cat, Discord and Rose went through the tree and entered the maze. Soon, they met the cards and the King and Queen of Hearts. However, after a mishap during croquet, they were put on trial. Afterwards, they fled and eventually found the doorknob again. Rose realized they came to the end of their adventure. She said to Discord, “This is it, Discord. We’re going to go our separate ways.” He held her hands in his paw and claw and begged, “When can I see you again?” “I don’t know, but I hope it’ll be soon,” she shook her head. He smiled, “I hope so, too.” He saw her smile for only a moment before everything became blurry. He felt himself swirling and landing somewhere. When he gathered himself, he saw that he was back in his own body. He sighed, “This is going to be a long wait.” Even though he was stone for more than a thousand years, he eventually forgot the girl he explored Wonderland with. He convinced himself that it was just a dream and soon plotted his revenge against the ponies who imprisoned him.
A "Normal" Day in EquestriaIt didn’t seem like long ago that he was free from being stone the first time and hid the Elements of Harmony so the ponies who now wielded them couldn’t use them. He lured them into the labyrinth and reversed the personalities of five of them. He enjoyed his second rule before the Mane Six reconciled and used the Elements of Harmony to turn him to stone for the second time. He wasn’t trapped for long when Princess Celestia decided to free and reform him. He thought it would be impossible to turn good, but when Fluttershy treated him like a friend, he soon realized the error of his ways and promised to use his magic for good instead of evil. Even though he didn’t truly change his mischievous ways, he helped ponies in his signature way. This day seemed no different than the rest. It was the same thing year after year for everypony. For Discord, though, this was his first time. Hearts and Hooves Day was coming up and the ponies were getting excited for the festivities. Discord wanted to gag, but Celestia tasked him with assisting the Mane Six. Naturally, he caused some mischief like conjuring a breeze to blow away Rarity’s decorations. He also set the timer an extra few minutes and burnt Applejack’s caramel apple sweets. It was only after he added a few silly things to Twilight Sparkle’s list did the Mane Six suspect something was up. They confronted him about it as soon as they knew who was behind it. “Discord,” Applejack said, “we know that you’re the one behind the ‘accidents’.” “Yeah,” Rainbow Dash agreed. “What is with you?” Discord rolled his eyes and sneered, “If you must know, I don’t particularly like this holiday.” Pinkie Pie cried, “What?! What’s not to like about Hearts and Hooves Day?” Rarity chimed in, “It’s only the most romantic holiday of the year!” “Yes,” Discord differed. “Well, the very thought of it makes me gag. I mean, what’s the point of going around and making googly eyes at somepony?” Twilight Sparkle chuckled, “Oh, Discord. There’s a lot you don’t know about love.” “Oh?” Discord glared at her. “And I suppose you’re some kind of ‘expert’ on these things?” “Come on!” Pinkie jumped. “We’ll show you.” Discord could do nothing but sigh and reluctantly follow the Mane Six. As they took him all around Ponyville to show him what Hearts and Hooves Day was all about, the Mane Six sang a number about it. Discord, needless to say, was less than ecstatic about their singing. When the ponies stopped singing, though, Discord still wasn’t convinced that Hearts and Hooves Day was something special. “A pretty good show, ponies,” he clapped. “Only…*yawn* I find this holiday less than exciting. It’s all too mushy for my taste.” “Well, Discord,” Twilight Sparkle pointed out. “One day, you’re going to find your special somepony and then you’ll learn the meaning of true love.” But Discord mocked her, “‘Then you’ll learn the meaning of true love.’ Yeah, what’s the word I’m looking for? Oh, yeah.” He stuck his tongue out in a disgusted way and gagged, “Blech!” He turned around and walked away. Rainbow Dash shouted at him, “Just wait, Discord! You’re going to find somepony you want to love! But when you get near her, she won’t love you!” The rest of the Mane Six scolded at her, “Rainbow Dash!” Rarity chimed in, “Well, I have to agree with Rainbow Dash. He’s never going to find somepony who’ll love him.” “That’s enough, both of you!” Fluttershy glared. As the Mane Six walked away, Discord was watching them from the trees. He was disheartened by what he heard, so he hung his head low and went deeper into the woods. He soon came across the swimming hole and leaned in to see his reflection. He sighed, “Rainbow Dash and Rarity are right. No one could ever love a draconequus.” He scowled and continued, “So what? I don’t need love. I can handle myself perfectly in Equestria.” He sighed again, “Yeah, it’ll be perfectly boring. I need to change up my lifestyle a bit. But how?” Just then, he heard giggling in the distance. He turned to see a pony couple walking together. This gave Discord a great idea. He smiled mischievously, “Of course. Why didn’t I think of it sooner?” He snapped his paw as he continued, “I’ll find myself a wife! But first, I need to disguise myself.” He gestured himself and said, “This simply will not do!” He snapped his paw and transformed into an alicorn. He still retained much of his true appearance, but with hooves instead of his regular limbs. His horn was as blue and crooked as his goat horn was. He still had his mismatched wings and his tail was white. His face was long like a stallion and his mane was the same. “There!” he inspected himself. “I look just like a stallion!” He then chuckled, “Ready or not, mares. Here I come.” ***** He went all around Ponyville trying to woo the single mares. But they all rejected him by screaming and/or ran away. Some even threw food at him. By the end of the day, Discord was walking solemnly and thought, “Well, I guess that’s it, then. Nopony wants me.” “Discord?” he heard a familiar voice ask. He lifted his head to see the Mane Six. “Is that you?” Applejack asked as she squint her eyes. “Yes. Of course, it’s me,” he replied in an annoyed tone. “No offense,” Rainbow Dash slowly said, “but I don’t think you can fool anypony with that disguise.” Rarity held out a mirror and agreed, “Especially when you have *ahem* most of your features.” Discord looked into the mirror and saw that he still looked like himself in pony form. He sighed, “I guess you’re right.” He transformed back into his original form and sadly said, “You were right all along. Nopony would want me.” “That’s not true,” Fluttershy consoled him. “You’ll find somepony.” “But how can I know for sure that she’ll be the one?” Discord asked. “Believe me, Discord,” Twilight said. “I know what it’s like to be in love with somepony. “You find yourself suddenly nervous. Your heart will begin to flutter, and you start to be nicer to this pony than any other pony. You can’t stop thinking about them and you feel like your happiness depends on this pony.” She sighed as she found herself thinking about Flash Sentry. She quickly snapped out of it and continued explaining, “That’s how you know when you’re in love.” Discord blinked for a few moments and shook his head rapidly. He gathered himself and said, “Thank you for that little talk, Twilight. However, I must head home and hopefully feel better by morning.” “Take care of yourself, Discord,” Fluttershy said. “I will, my dear,” Discord waved and disappeared in a flash of light. The rest of the Mane Six looked at Twilight and smirked. She looked at them and asked, “What?” “Oh, don’t try to hide it, sugar cube,” Applejack grinned. “You’ve got a crush on somepony.” “Is it that guard in the Crystal Empire?” Rarity asked. “Wha…Girls,” Twilight chuckled. “Even if I did have a crush, I don’t see him much.” “Who knows?” Pinkie Pie said. “Maybe you’ll see him at the Hearts and Hooves Day Ball.” The ponies looked at her in confusion before Fluttershy broke the silence, “I hope Discord will find somepony soon. I hate to see him sad like this.” Twilight Sparkle reassured her, “Don’t worry, Fluttershy. I’m sure there’s somepony for Discord out there. He just has to find her.”
The Mysterious AlicornThat night, Discord lied in his bed, tossing and turning as he slept. In his head, a fascinating dream was occurring. He was looking straight at a bright light. He thought, “Am I dying?” Just then, an entrancing silhouette appeared from the light. It had wings and a horn. It also had a long, flowing mane and bright eyes. Discord squinted as he saw that it was an alicorn. All he could see of her was her silhouette and eyes. “Discord,” she called out in a beautiful voice. Discord wasn’t sure whether or not he felt love at that moment. She approached him and batted her eyes at him, “Discord, honey. I’ve looked everywhere for you, and now I found you.” Discord gulped, “Are you my special somepony?” She rubbed against him and responded, “Why, yes I am.” He didn’t know whether to be grossed out by this mushy stuff or to embrace her. But just as he was about to put his arms around her, he noticed something was happening to him. As soon as the alicorn drew back from him, he saw that he was turning to stone! He cried, “What did you do to me?” She chuckled evilly, “You see, Discord. I never truly loved you. No pony ever will!” Her eyes turned red as she laughed maliciously. There was nothing Discord could do but shout in horror, “NOOOOO!” Discord woke up with a start. He panted as he calmed himself down. He told himself that it was just a dream, but now anxiety filled him. “Even without the Elements of Harmony,” he spoke to himself, “could the alicorns still turn me to stone? Couldn’t they just pluck the Elements from the Tree of Harmony and return them before the plunder seeds would grow again? Do they have another way of turning me to stone?” He scoffed and lightly slapped himself in the face. He continued, “No, you nincompoop. You have Fluttershy to protect you. It’s the alicorns you’ve got to be careful around. For all I know, they could act all nice and then wham! They could strike you where you stand. “I’ve got to make sure I don’t fall in love with an alicorn, because who knows? She might betray me!” The next morning, Discord received a letter from Fluttershy. It was an invitation to the Hearts and Hooves Day Ball. She wanted him to join them in their fun. Discord knew that meant risking being around any alicorns, but he didn’t want to disappoint his dear friend Fluttershy. He sighed and paced around, pondering at what to do. Should he attend the Hearts and Hooves Day festivities or stay at home where it’s safe from alicorns who could turn him to stone? He knew he could trust Fluttershy, but what about the others? Then he remembered the time he tested Twilight’s friendship to see whether or not she would help him despite being a princess. She had proven herself to be his friend by going to the ends of Equestria for him when he pretended to be sick. He knew the Twilight wouldn’t do any harm to him. Surely she could protect him from any bad alicorns…or the princesses. He considered the princesses because there was the possibility that they could turn against him. But then again…there was the Mane Six. In that instant, Discord knew what to do. At the Hearts and Hooves Day Ball at the town Hall, ponies gathered there to party away. The alicorn princesses, including Cadance and Shining Armor, were there to celebrate. This made Discord, who was dressed in a lavish tuxedo, uneasy. He knew the princesses had the power to overpower him where he stood. But he had the Mane Six to protect him in the event that happened. As long as he was in their company, he was safe…mostly. He snapped out of his thoughts when Fluttershy nudged him and asked, “Discord, are you sure you don’t want to dance?” He sighed, “That’s very kind of you, my dear, but I’m afraid I have to refuse.” Fluttershy knew that he was troubled about something. She asked, “Is something the matter? Are you still upset because you haven’t found your special somepony yet?” He replied, “It’s not that, Fluttershy. It’s just…Well, it’s better if I didn’t have a date tonight.” Fluttershy knew it was for the best to leave him alone for the moment, so she turned and talked with her friends. She whispered, “I’m worried because Discord is alone tonight.” Pinkie Pie said, “Really? I thought he’d have somepony by now.” Rarity chuckled, “Oh, my dear Pinkie Pie. You can’t just expect it to happen. Your expectations are the stuff fairy tales are made of. Take this, for example: he’s sitting there, all alone.” Discord could do nothing but stare at the wall. “Suddenly, something catches his eye…” A sparkle flashed in the corner of Discord’s eye. “…and he looks…” He turned to see a pony he had never seen before. “…for there she is.” This particular unicorn wasn’t commonly seen around Ponyville. She had a dark red coat, a blue mane with gray stripes held back with two diamond teardrop barrettes, and the most gorgeous violet eyes. She was wearing a lavender gown with rectangular, transparent straps on either shoulder that complimented her eyes. She seemed unsure of this place as if she hadn’t been here before. She probably hadn’t. “The pony of his dreams,” Rarity continued at a distance. Discord was entranced by her beauty and…he felt like there was something else there, but he couldn’t place it. Before he knew what he was doing, he was already walking towards her. Pinkie Pie caught sight of this as Rarity continued, “He’s never seen her before, but he doesn’t care.” Pinkie followed the direction of where he was walking. She soon saw the young unicorn who had Discord’s attention. She could still hear Rarity finish, “His heart is telling him that this, this pony, is the one destined to be his bride.” Discord walked up to the unicorn and cleared his throat, “Excuse me, miss?” She turned to him with a gasp. He apologized, “Oh, sorry! I didn’t mean to startle you.” The unicorn chuckled nervously, “No, I should be the one apologizing. I’m Teardrop, by the way.” Discord replied as he extended his paw, “I’m Discord, the master of chaos, but now a mischief-maker for good instead of evil.” Teardrop chuckled, “Oh, really?” He said, “Don’t get me wrong. I’ll do naughty things sometimes, but I use my powers for good thanks to some friends.” “That’s nice,” Teardrop smiled. While Discord and Teardrop were conversing, Pinkie was amazed at how much everything transpired the way Rarity said it would. Rarity, however, didn’t notice it and chuckled, “I mean, come on, dearest! You really believe that would be what would happen to Discord tonight? Ha! The poor creature doesn’t have anypony tonight.” Pinkie scowled at Rarity for not believing what she just said. “Any pony?” she said as lunged at Rarity and squished her face in her hooves. “HA!” She turned the unicorn in Discord’s direction and pointed at the couple, “What do you call that, then?” Rarity looked on in amazement as she saw Discord talking with a young pony nopony ever met. Pinkie could only laugh at her triumph and asked, “Who is that pony hanging out with Discord?” “I haven’t the slightest clue!” Rarity shook her head. Discord extended his claw and asked, “Would you consider dancing with the one and only master of chaos?” Teardrop grinned as she put her hoof in his claw, “I thought you were the good mischief-maker.” Discord answered as they walked towards the center of the room, “Well, I can be whoever I want to be, and tonight, I choose to be a dancer.” Teardrop only giggled. All attention focused on the couple in the center of the room. Romantic music began playing and the lights changed into soft colors. Discord lifted Teardrop to his chest and extended her right hoof with his claw. Though it was only he who was dancing, it felt like the two moved in harmony. Discord was always a fine dancer, but tonight, he got so caught up in his emotions towards Teardrop that he was losing control of his steps. When he realized he was faltering, he apologized, “Sorry. I don’t usually do this.” He straightened his dancing for a few moments, but again he almost tripped. This time, he almost fell, were it not for Teardrop putting her hind hooves on the floor to catch him. The two found their noses pressing against each other. Discord almost blushed as he chuckled nervously, “Oh, my! This is quite awkward, isn’t it?” Teardrop chuckled, “You’re telling me.” When they returned to dancing, Discord was sure that he’d found the right pony. She did, after all, have a sense of humor and was witty. He felt something buzzing within him. It was unlike anything he felt before, but it made his legs wobbly. He didn’t want to drop Teardrop this time, so he asked her, “Would you care if we went out to talk for a bit?” She smiled, “Why not?” He set her down and went towards the door. Discord noticed that Teardrop was looking all around. He followed her gaze and saw the other ponies looking at them in astonishment. He scowled at them, “Hey! Go back to doing your own business!” The ponies immediately did just that. Discord had conjured up a swinging bench near the town hall. He and Teardrop discuss how she had heard about him through legend and word-of-mouth. Discord gloated for a bit, but it was all for humor as Teardrop giggled. He asked, “So, how did you get the name ‘Teardrop’?” She answered, “My mother gave it to me. I have these incredible abilities I can do with tears.” Discord said in surprise, “Really? What can you do?” Teardrop sighed, as if it was a huge relief to get whatever she had to say off her chest. “Okay,” she said, “I can take tears from ponies’ eyes even when they’re not crying.” She put a hoof to her eye and accumulated a tear. She put it to her horn and levitated it. She continued, “I can colorize it into the different emotion the tear was shed for.” She then proceeded to change the colors within it. Discord sat there amazed at her gifts. But Teardrop put a hoof up and said, “I have more gifts than you know, and they’re not limited to tears.” Discord smiled, “Perhaps you’d like to show me.” Teardrop suddenly became quiet and uneasy. She hesitated, “I’m afraid I can’t at the moment.” She then suggested, “I have an idea. Let’s go back inside and meet your friends.” She made her way back inside while Discord rose from the bench slowly. He was curious to know why she acted funny at that moment. He followed her back inside when suddenly, Derpy zipped up to them and plowed into Teardrop! Derpy giggled, “Whoops! Sorry!” Discord scolded at Derpy, “Hey! Watch who you crash into, Der…” His voice trailed off as he noticed something that wasn’t there before. A long rip on the back of Teardrop’s dress revealed a pair of wings! At first, Discord thought they were Derpy’s wings, but these ones were dark red, like Teardrop’s coat. He couldn’t believe his eyes, and neither could the rest of the ponies. They had turned their attention to the accident and were shocked to learn that Discord’s mystery pony sported wings! Even Celestia was shocked by this as well. Teardrop, noticing the crowd’s attention, immediately got up and flew out the door. Celestia turned to the Mane Six and commanded in an urgent manner, “Girls! Don’t let her get away!” Rainbow Dash complied, “I’m on it!” She zipped out of the town hall and chased after Teardrop. Rainbow Dash tried to halt her, but Teardrop ignored her. What amazed Rainbow Dash that very instant was that Teardrop dived into the Everfree Forest…at a faster speed than Rainbow herself! Rainbow stopped in mid-air as she managed to utter, “Wha…” She had to stick to her job and dived in after Teardrop. She searched all around the forest, but the mysterious pony had already vanished. Discord still tried to gather what he just saw. He thought, “An alicorn? I fell in love with an alicorn?” He stood there in disbelief and confusion. He had that nightmare about that shadow alicorn recently. Could she be the one? Suddenly, something sparkled in his eye and he turned to see a diamond barrette that fell from Teardrop’s left side. He picked it up and all the wonderful feelings about her had been renewed. He turned to the open door and vowed quietly, “I will find you, Teardrop. And when I do, I want to be with you always…no matter if you’re an alicorn or not.” Author's Note Okay, quick question: if one was an alicorn by birth but not discovered for years, would she already be royalty or does she need to create her own brand of magic? I personally think that she would need princess training.
Finding TeardropThe day after Hearts and Hooves Day, Ponyville was buzzing with bewilderment about what happened at the ball the night before. Some were very amazed that Discord had managed to find somepony to be his date. But others were more shocked that his date was actually an alicorn. Nopony had ever seen another alicorn since Twilight Sparkle. Even Discord himself was stunned that Teardrop was an alicorn. Many ponies wondered if she was a fake, but Discord knew that everything about her was all too real. The princesses must’ve known that, too. They sent out search parties to locate the vanished alicorn. Discord was worried that they would find Teardrop to be a threat. He was very relieved to find that the search parties were unsuccessful. Yet, he was also concerned that he might never see his sweetheart ever again. He was summoned to the Royal Chamber by Princess Celestia. The Mane Six had been called, too. The Royal Pony Sisters and Princess Cadance were gathered with them as a royal guard and Flash Sentry returned from the last search party. The royal guard reported, “I’m sorry, your Highnesses, but we still have found no trace of the alicorn who disappeared.” Celestia nodded in understanding, “Thank you for your efforts. You are dismissed.” The royal guard and Flash Sentry left as the latter gave a glance at Twilight Sparkle. She blushed in response. Princess Luna turned to her sister, “This alicorn is very elusive, sister. What other options should we try in order to locate her?” Celestia turned from her sister and peered at the stained glass window, “I was not aware there was another alicorn.” Rainbow Dash said, “Maybe she’s not even a real alicorn.” Twilight Sparkle turned to her and disagreed, “Why else would she have run off if she wasn’t really an alicorn?” Celestia looked at the Mane Six, “Twilight provides a good point. Still, I’d like to know who she is and whether or not she’s really who she is.” Twilight asked, “Are you saying that Queen Chrysalis could be posing as another alicorn?” The Princess of the Sun nodded, “That is a possibility.” Discord waved his paw and claw, “Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Your Highnesses, I’ve danced with Teardrop that night and she’s very real to me. She does have a name, you know.” Cadance apologized, “We’re sorry. We didn’t even know her name. Apparently, you were the only one.” Luna asked, “Do you know anything else about her that could help us?” Discord was hesitant, but replied in fear of invoking the alicorns’ wrath, “She has tear-related powers. She can summon a tear even without weeping and can colorize it to the emotion the tear was shed from.” Rainbow Dash added, “Oh! And she can fly super, duper fast. Faster than me!” Discord looked at her in surprise and asked, “Really?” Rainbow Dash nodded. Discord turned and thought, “That alicorn can do amazing things! She’s my kind of pony!” Luna put a hoof to her chin and wondered, “You said she disappeared in the Everfree Forest, correct?” Rainbow Dash replied, “Yes, your Highness. She did.” Luna continued, “Nopony should be able to fly that fast into the forest without crashing. Perhaps she had some portal to go back to wherever she came.” Celestia said, “Excellent theory, Luna. Maybe that’s what she did.” She turned to the Mane Six and continued, “I want you to see Zecora and ask her about Teardrop.” She looked at Discord and ordered, “I want you to go with them, as well.” Discord stammered, “What? Why?” Celestia explained, “You were the only one she talked to that night. You could help us search for her.” He shot back, “So you could turn her against me?” Cadance shook her head, “Discord, we won’t do anything like that.” Discord crossed his arms and spoke softly, “I hope not.” Pinkie Pie whispered to her friends, “Uh-oh. Somebody’s got it ba-ad.” Discord glared at Pinkie, who became quiet. Celestia nodded, “It’s agreed, then. Go to Zecora to find out where Teardrop is. She might know. And when you find Teardrop, bring her back to Canterlot if she is indeed an alicorn.” Discord retorted, “She’s as real an alicorn as you are!” The ponies were shocked by his angry reply. Celestia broke the silence by ordering the ponies, “All of you may be dismissed.” Discord was about to leave when she beckoned him, “Discord, may I speak with you?” He turned and sighed in exasperation, “Yes, Princess Celestia?” Celestia said, “Forgive me for not realizing how much you care about Teardrop. I didn’t know you had feelings towards her.” Discord said, “But you were there the night I danced with her.” “I was,” she nodded, “but I am surprised now by how much you displayed love for her even if you don’t realize it.” Discord was confused now, but then saw that Celestia made sense. He did feel for Teardrop in a way he hadn’t before. “Celestia,” he lowered his head, “do you suppose she loves me?” She chuckled, “I suppose the only way to find out is to find her. Go forth and bring her back to Canterlot.” Discord became alarmed and asked, “Why do you want Teardrop brought back with us to Canterlot?” Celestia flashed a smile, “I’m very curious about her and would like to know more about her. But if she doesn’t want to come to Canterlot, then we must respect her wishes. I do, however, want to wish you well on your journey.” She winked at him before he left the Royal Chamber. Discord felt a glow in his heart that was a hope to find Teardrop and marry her. Discord and the Mane Six traveled to Zecora’s hut to obtain leads to Teardrop’s location. Zecora answered the door and smiled, “Ah, welcome all to my abode. Why have you traveled on this road?” Twilight Sparkle explained, “We thought you could help us find a mysterious alicorn who showed up at the Hearts and Hooves Day Ball.” “There’s another alicorn?” Zecora lifted her head in surprise as she spoke. “Was she one when she was born?” Twilight shook her head, “That’s just it. We don’t know. Princess Celestia would like for us to find her and take her back to Canterlot.” Discord interjected, “But she doesn’t have to come back with us if she doesn’t want to.” The Mane Six turned to him in surprise while Zecora saw something in his eyes. She smiled, “Oh! This is quite different, I see. Is she your special somepony?” Discord stammered, “What? What would make you say that?” Zecora chuckled, “There’s no denying it from me. Affection hides from nopony.” For the first time in his life, Discord blushed. Applejack asked him, “You really like this girl, don’t you, Discord?” He chose not to say anything, so Twilight turned to Zecora and inquired, “Do you think you can help us find Teardrop? She’s the alicorn we’re looking for.” Zecora nodded, “For the answers, follow me. In the water, we will see.” The Mane Six and Discord followed her to a table. They sat down and waited while Zecora boiled the water. The ponies all looked at Discord slyly. He said, “Ponies, don’t look at me like that! It’s not my fault I have a crush on Teardrop!” Pinkie Pie grinned, “Ah-ha! I knew you had a crush on her!” “Haven’t you felt the same way about somepony?” Discord asked. The ponies just giggled while Discord simmered in annoyance. Fluttershy spoke, “It’s okay to feel this way, Discord. You don’t have to hide it.” He said, “So what if I’m not denying my feelings for her? What’s it to you?” Applejack said, “Come on, Discord. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. Everypony goes through this.” Rarity added, “Yes, so what if you’re a draconequus? I mean, none of us would ever expect for you to find somepony…” Applejack ribbed her with her elbow. Rarity became silent after she cried out, “Ow!” Discord put his chin on his paw and sarcastically grumbled, “Oh, you’re very helpful, Rarity. Thank you.” Zecora placed the bowl of water at the center of the table. She extended her hoof and asked, “Discord, may I have the barrette? The one at the ball Teardrop left?” Discord gave the diamond barrette to Zecora and she touched the water with its tip. The ripples expanded and new ones continued to form while a silhouette of a cloaked unicorn appeared in the water. Zecora said, “To find the alicorn that is she, a sorceress you must first see. She will act as your guide to find the one that hides.” Twilight looked up and asked, “Where can we find this sorceress?” The zebra took a wooden spoon and stirred the water until a new picture appeared. This picture was of a town surrounded by woodland. Zecora explained, “If more about her you wish to know, then to Hollow Shades you must go.” Fluttershy stammered, “Isn’t Hollow Shades where the Black Forest Bears are?” Rainbow Dash said, “I thought you could tame most animals.” Fluttershy shook her head, “Timber wolves aren’t the only animals I’m afraid of. The Black Forest Bears are dangerous compared to them.” “Oh, come on, Fluttershy!” Discord scoffed. “You’ve faced against all kinds of dangers before. Surely, you and your friends can handle BFBs.” The ponies gave him glares and he said, “What? I thought it would be a better way of calling those nasty bears. No matter. If they want to keep me from finding this unicorn, they have to bring me down first!” Zecora chuckled, “I didn’t say she was a unicorn. But she did have powers when she was born.” The Mane Six and Discord gave her confused looks before she reminded them, “It’s getting late in the day. You should all be on your way.” Twilight thanked her as she and her friends headed out the hut. Discord, however, remained behind and turned to Zecora. He requested in a soft voice, “Say, uh, I had this weird dream about an evil alicorn who turned me to stone. I was wondering if you could tell me whether or not Teardrop will turn me to stone.” Zecora said nothing, but complied. She stirred the water and squinted at the faint picture that appeared. She explained, “A stone body, I can see well. But of whose, only time will tell.” This worried Discord, yet it intrigued him. If the stone body Zecora saw in the water wasn’t his, then whose was it?
Discord's ConfessionDiscord and the Mane Six boarded the next train for Hollow Shades. Twilight Sparkle brought along books about the strange place she hadn’t been to before. Rarity brought along outfits and camping equipment (which Applejack hauled) in case they should ever “camp out in those dreadful woods”. The group could only groan in exasperation. During their train trip, Twilight came across an interesting section of one of her books. “Hey,” she said, “it says here that there’s an event that only the residents of Hollow Shades get to see. When the sun sets on the longest night of the year, an alicorn appears and creates an aurora borealis known as the ‘Winter Lights’.” “Ooh! That sounds colorful!” Pinkie Pie jumped up. Fluttershy agreed, “And pretty, too.” “That’s an awfully nice thing for one of the princesses to do for them,” Applejack smiled. “But it says here that they don’t know who the alicorn is,” Twilight explained. “All they ever see of this pony is the horn and the wings. But I can tell you this much: I don’t think it was one of the princesses.” Discord slammed his fist into his claw and deduced, “Then it must be Teardrop! Who else could it be?” Twilight interrupted him, “Now, hold on. We don’t exactly know if it’s her, yet.” “Oh, come on, Twilight!” Rainbow Dash flew over her. “You haven’t seen any other alicorns besides the princesses, yourself, and Teardrop, have you?” Rarity said, “Well, I suppose Rainbow Dash is right. Teardrop could be the one who’s creating the Winter Lights.” She gasped at a revelation and continued, “But what if it could be that sorceress Zecora sent us to find?! What if she’s an alicorn, too?” Discord chuckled, “Oh, come on, Rarity! You can’t be serious? “How could the sorceress be an alicorn? That picture of her definitely shows her being a unicorn!” Twilight pondered, “Yes, but Zecora said that the sorceress wasn’t really a unicorn. She just had magical powers at birth. Maybe she became a unicorn later in life?” Rainbow Dash suggested, “Or maybe it’s Queen Chrysalis disguising herself so she can trick us again. I think she’s got Teardrop held captive and is using the Winter Lights to feed off the happiness of the ponies living in Hollow Shades!” Fluttershy was hiding under the bench and shakily asked, “Why did you have to remind us of her?” Discord knelt down beside Fluttershy and scolded Rainbow Dash, “Rainbow Dash, you’re scaring Fluttershy! Me, too, for that fact.” Twilight said, “Oh, you guys. Zecora wouldn’t send us to find this sorceress if she knew it was Queen Chrysalis.” Applejack agreed, “I think she’s right. This sorceress must a very reliable source if Zecora wanted us to find Teardrop.” “Right,” Discord stood up. “She might be our only hope of ever finding my sweetheart again!” The Mane Six looked at him with wide eyes. Discord stammered, “Err…of finding Teardrop again.” He smiled nervously and shrugged his shoulders. However, Rainbow Dash scoffed and shook her head, “Yeah, right. We know you’ve got it bad for Teardrop. Who’s blaming you?” “So?” Discord retorted. “What if I’ve got it bad for Teardrop? I’ve got nothing to hide. She’s the only alicorn who truly understands me, who is funny, compassionate…” He sighed as he continued in a dreamlike tone, “…charming, gorgeous, radiant…” He soon took notice of the Mane Six, who looked at him with smirks. “Oh, darn!” Discord muttered as he face-palmed with his claw. “I blew my own cover!” Twilight reassured him, “Don’t worry, Discord. We’ll find her.” Fluttershy agreed, “Yes, and I’m sure she’ll be happy to see you again.” Discord smiled half-heartedly, “I can only hope so.” That night, Discord had another nightmare. He was searching all around for his fair Teardrop. “Teardrop?!” he called as he looked all around. He was in a bright surrounding, nothing but yellow light. Then, he heard a distant call. “Discord?!” it cried. “Is that you?!” His heart fluttered at the sound of her voice. He ran towards the direction it came from. “I’m coming, my dearest!” he shouted. He was so joyful when he heard her call again, “Where are you?! I need you!” “Don’t you worry, sweetheart!” he replied. “I’m on the way!” Then, he saw her. She was laying on her fours facing a bright light. He leaped up and changed into superhero attire in mid-air. He landed near Teardrop and said, “Da-da-da! Super Discord is here! You have nothing to fear, darling.” “Oh, don’t I?” her voice spoke in a menacing tone. “Huh?” Discord said in confusion. Teardrop stood up and turned towards him. What he saw was horrifying. Teardrop had glowing red eyes and her mane and tail became like Nightmare Moon’s mane and tail. “Did you really think I was interested in you because you were funny?” she asked as her voice became distorted. Discord stepped back in fright and hurt. “No…” he whispered. “Well, I just used that opportunity at the ball just to get close so I can…” she explained as she lowered her horn. It emitted a dangerous red glow with orange sparks. She continued, “…eliminate you!” As she said that, she shot at Discord. He saw that he was turning into obsidian and cried, “Teardrop! Don’t do this to me! NOOOOO!” He woke up with a yell. This yell was more anguished than frightened. He was so shaken up from his nightmare that he was trembling to his core. Luckily, he didn’t manage to wake the Mane Six. At that moment, he felt like he needed to go outside for fresh night air. Princess Luna had been scouting the fields outside of Canterlot for any trace of Teardrop. She did, however, spot a train with a strange figure on the roof of one of its cars. She flew down towards the train only to see that the figure was not an alicorn. It had a horn and an antler. It also had a slender body with mismatched wings, legs, and arms. In that instant, Luna knew exactly who it was. However, when she descended onto the roof of the train car, she also knew that something was up with him. Discord was lying across the roof in a manner of being…sorrowful. She thought that this was unlike Discord, so she walked slowly towards him. “Discord?” she asked. “Is there something of matter?” Discord turned his head only so slightly and mumbled, “Like I didn’t know it was you, Princess.” Luna paused, and then asked again, “Is there something bothering you? You should not keep your emotions bottled up, like I once did.” He could not deny her the truth of his pain, so he sat up alongside the edge of the roof and sighed, “I’m worried about Teardrop. What if she turns against me? What if how she acted before was all just a big charade?” Luna sat down beside him and saw their shadows touching the rail tracks. She remembered how she had been in her sister’s shadow before her fall and despite all that had happened, her sister still willingly loved her. She smiled at the thought of such a love and wondered if Teardrop and even Discord were going through that themselves. She reassured him, “If you feel deeply for Teardrop, then there might not be any doubt she feels the same way about you. Only a love like that is hardest to hide.” Discord wished he could believe Luna, but he wasn’t sure. No…not “unsure”. It was more like “afraid”. He was afraid to take her advice because if he did and Teardrop rejected him, he would break into a million pieces. He couldn’t take that chance. He scoffed, “How can you be sure of that, Luna? You’re Luna, the Princess of the Night, not Cadance, the Princess of Love.” Then, deep within himself, he felt a heavy pain. It wasn’t like any physical pain, but this was so emotional that it felt very real. He couldn’t bury it, for he knew what it was. It was the pain of potential heartbreak that could come should Teardrop reject him. It was mixed together with his fears and anxiety. As much as he hated to admit it, Discord knew that Luna was right. At this, he thought snidely, Aren’t all alicorn princesses? Discord could only sigh, “All right, you’ve made your point. But what should I do about it? Can I just go up to Teardrop, bring her back to Canterlot, and ask her to marry me?” Luna looked at him with wide eyes. This made Discord chuckle at the idea, “Of course I won’t! But how can I tell if she loves me? I am, after all, a draconequus. Surely, nopony can ever expect to marry one! Pshaw! I can marry whoever I love, and I love Teardrop!” At that moment, he realized that he had just confessed his love for Teardrop. But of course, almost instantaneously, he remembered how the other ponies reacted when he disguised himself as a stallion. He hadn’t fooled any of the mares with his disguise, so why wouldn’t it be different with Teardrop? He felt a familiar swelling inside him that he could not contain. Before he knew it, he blurted out, “But what if Teardrop won’t love me? What if it’s all…” At that point, he could barely get the words out and tears were brimming in his eyes. He managed to choke out, “…a lie?” He leaned back on his left side with his paw and claw clutching at his heart. Luna felt sympathy for him as he struggled to keep his emotions and doubts at bay. She knew what it felt like to be in such pain. She didn’t think she would ever be loved again after she transformed into Nightmare Moon and back. However, if she had been fortunate enough for the ponies to love her again, then perhaps it would take a special somepony to love Discord. Her heart felt a pang of sympathy as she looked at Discord’s bent body. It shook as Discord tried to hold back his sobs. All Luna could hear were sniffles, but that was enough for her to do something. She put a hoof on his shoulder and he turned his head to her. She saw the tears edging his eyelids and Discord gasped as a tear slid down his cheek. Luna caught his tear with her hoof and used her horn to levitate it. “If you truly love Teardrop,” she told him, “then you’ll know just by showing her how much you care.” Discord slowly began to smile and Luna flashed one back. She gave the tear back to Discord as he held it in his paw. He looked at it and realized that Teardrop could interpret the emotions it was shed for should Discord fail to find the words to describe what he felt. In that moment, he knew just what to do with it. “You know,” he said in a cheerier tone, “Teardrop can colorize this tear to know exactly what I was feeling moments ago. That might convince her I love her deeply.” He chuckled quite mischievously, but then remembered that there was a princess present. He looked over at Luna, who looked ambivalently, and chuckled nervously, “I mean, I’m sure when she looks at this tear, she’ll know how affectionate I am for her. Who knows?” He cupped his claw underneath the paw that held the tear and pulled them close to his chest as he continued, “I might just win her over.” Luna warned him, “Remember, Discord. Your tear might reveal to Teardrop how much you feel for her, but you must try to earn her love without manipulation or crocodile tears. That tear alone will not make her fall in love with you that easily. True, it may make her more sympathetic towards you, but for both of you to be happy, you each must accept and trust the ponies you truly are. If the love between you is true love, then you must see inner beauty within each other. I may not be an expert in love, but I can have Princess Cadance offer you advice.” Discord suddenly became uneasy and embarrassed. He shook his head and waved his claw as he quickly said, “No, no, no! I don’t think you need to tell Cadance that it’s me.” He chuckled slightly and continued, “Why don’t we make this just between the two of us, hmm?” Luna looked uncertain, but then sighed, “All right. We’ll keep this a secret until the time comes.” Discord’s ears perked up as he said, “Oh, wonderful! Thank you, Princess Luna! Oh, you’ve been too kind!” She rolled her eyes and mumbled, “I know.” She bid him good luck on his journey and flew off. Discord looked once again at his tear and conjured up a vial. He placed his tear inside and looked hopefully at it.
Hollow ShadesThe Mane Six and Discord finally arrived at Hollow Shades at noon. Although they knew the sun would be high in sky, at Hollow Shades, it was different. It was dark and there was barely any light peeking through the trees. It definitely wasn’t gloomy; it was more like…homey. It had a comfortable feel to it that didn’t make you feel on edge or jumpy. Despite how dark Hollow Shades was, it was more like a den than a pit. “Wow!” Pinkie cried. “It’s so dark I can’t see anything!” “Oh, Pinkie.” Discord scoffed. “You’re just exaggerating.” Just then, Pinkie rammed into a dim streetlight and fell down. “Then again…” Discord reconsidered. The group didn’t have much luck with the residents they met. If Hollow Shades was known for one thing, it was privacy. The town and the forest themselves served as refuge for any wanted crook, framed pony or creature, hermits, or ponies wanting to get away from civilization. As a result, the group’s questions didn’t get through much. They then decided to try somepony who had established themselves here. They eventually found Trail Mix’s Supply Store and saw that the sign also said that he offered directions. “Oh, thank goodness!” Rarity sighed. “I was getting tired of this drab and bleak place.” They went inside to find a lot of equipment, but no owner. Twilight asked, “Hello? Is anypony here?” Suddenly, they heard a rustling on the other side of the small building. This made them jump a bit before an Earth stallion popped up from behind the counter. “Oh, I’m sorry!” he spoke as he adjusted his glasses. “I usually scare ponies when I do that.” They walked up to the counter and Twilight introduced herself and her friends. The stallion broke into a smile and chuckled, “I just can’t believe my luck! Princess Twilight and her friends are here! You’re known all around Equestria! Oh! And Discord, too? The one and only master of chaos and disharmony? It’s surely a pleasure to meet you all! “I’m Trail Mix, the fine owner of this establishment. How may I help you?” Applejack spoke, “Well, see, we’re looking for a sorceress around these here parts. Do you know her?” Trail Mix scoffed, “Shucks! We’ve got many magical creatures here! “There’s the wizard down the street, the one by the library…Oh! And also three of them on the corner of Three-Way Avenue.” Discord waved his paw and claw and said, “No, no, no! You see, this particular sorceress we’re looking for is cloaked and can be the only one who can help us find an alicorn.” Trail Mix beamed, “Say, I know where you can find an alicorn!” The Mane Six and Discord leaned close to hear what he said as they asked, “Yes?” Trail Mix nodded and said, “Yes! She’s right there!” He pointed at Twilight as he continued, “How blind are you?” Discord shook his paw and claw in exasperation and growled, “No, that’s not the alicorn we’re looking for!” Twilight specified, “You see, she’s neither one of the princesses or me. She’s somepony we never met before, and we hope that finding this particular sorceress can help us find her. She wears a cloak and has a short mane with her ends curled up.” “Er, which one are you talking about?” Trail Mix asked in confusion. “The alicorn or the sorceress?” Rainbow Dash clarified in an annoyed tone, “The sorceress! Duh!” He chuckled, “Oh, right! Sorry. I got confused there.” He turned his back to the group as he scoured through the items behind his counter. He continued, “Okay, I think I know the pony that fits your description.” He turned back towards them and laid out some records and a photo of the sorceress. He explained, “Her name is Rose. She showed up one day and lives at the foot of Foal Mountain.” Discord couldn’t help but wonder when he looked at Rose’s picture. Though she had red and blue streaks in her mane, a pink coat, glasses, and blue eyes, she looked amazingly like Teardrop! He thought about the possibility that she could be Teardrop’s twin. He also considered that the reason why Zecora didn’t call her a unicorn was probably because she was an alicorn! He soon disposed of those thoughts because he thought it wasn’t possible for a pony to be born an alicorn…especially if it was twins! Trail Mix continued, “She’s a very skilled and powerful unicorn. She comes to the village every now and then for food and supplies. She usually brings her daughter along, but only at night.” Twilight asked, “She has a daughter?” “Yep,” he replied. “She does baby-sitting jobs and helps people at night. She’s only ever around at night.” Pinkie asked, “Why does she only appear at night?” “No one knows for certain,” he answered, “but it’s probably because there are crooks around and her mother probably doesn’t want anything bad to happen to her.” “Well, isn’t it less safe at night?” Twilight asked. Trail Mix replied, “Trust me. It gets too dark at night for any crime to happen. You’re more in danger of disappearing into the woods than for any random crime.” Fluttershy stammered, “Um…are-are there by a-a-a-a-any chance…” She gulped and continued, “…B-b-black Forest Bears in those woods?” Trail Mix chuckled, “Why, sure there are! But that’s only if you’re deep in the woods enough to be sensed by them.” “Excuse me?” Twilight asked. “’Sensed’?” He said, “You see, it’s so dark that their sight isn’t so good. They rely on their other senses such as hearing and smell. Why, they can even detect heat!” Fluttershy shook behind Rarity as she whimpered, “See? This is why they’re so scary!” “Oh, come on, Flutters!” Rainbow Dash scoffed. “You’re seriously not going to let the BFBs get in the way of finding Rose, are you?” Trail Mix asked, “BFBs? Is that what you’re calling those bears?” His face lit up and he smiled, “I gotta use that nickname! It’s a cool one! Thanks!” Rainbow Dash winked, “No problem!”
Black Forest Bears“Rainbow Dash, are you sure you’re reading that right?” Twilight asked. Rainbow held the map Trail Mix gave them as she hovered above the ground. “Of course I am, Twilight!” Rainbow Dash scoffed. “I’m probably the best navigator in all of Equestria!” “Well, excuse me, Miss Navigator,” Discord grabbed the map from her. “You’re looking at it upside down.” He turned it right-side up and looked at it. He rotated it upside-down again and said, “But you know, I think you’d do better with upside-down directions.” He gave it back to Rainbow Dash and she only glared at him. Applejack said, “Hey, y’all. Let’s stop standing here and get a move on, already.” “I agree,” Discord spoke up. “We must find the sorceress so she can lead us to Teardrop.” As he marched forward, the Mane Six exchanged stunned glances. Twilight asked, “Have you ever seen him so determined like this?” The rest of the ponies shook their heads. ***** It was getting close to sunset and the group could not find Rose or the foot of Foal Mountain. There were trees without end and the darkness crept in the surroundings and the group. Rainbow Dash remarked, “Boy, if Trail Mix gave us these directions, he’s sure living up to his name.” Fluttershy shook, “Oh…If we don’t find Rose or get out of the woods soon, I fear the bears will get us.” Discord scoffed, “Oh, Fluttershy. There’s nothing to worry about. Look, there’s some bit of daylight left. We should make to Rose before the BFBs get us.” Twilight said, “I hope you’re right.” But as what little light they had in the woods began to disappear, the group (Discord included) could only feel fright start to spread in their souls. They became cautious so they could not accidentally trip on anything. They huddled closer together and slowed down. Then, they heard a frightening growl. Soon, more growls followed. The group gasped as they tried to see what the sources of the sounds were. All they saw were pairs of deep scarlet eyes peering through the dark. Those eyes slowly emerged from the woods and Discord and the ponies saw that the eyes were attached to snarling bears! The bears had dark fur with striking resemblance and feeling of pine needles. Their sharp claws could cut through the hardest wood. Their teeth could gnaw a tree in half in just a minute. Several of these ferocious beasts closed in on the ponies and Discord. Twilight blasted her magic at them and repelled a couple of them at a time. Discord joined in and created a magical wave to blast the creatures away. Soon, most of the ponies (except Fluttershy, of course) fought against the bears. Rarity used her magic to grab…a twig. Discord raised his eyebrow and sarcastically asked, “Really?” He snapped his fingers and the twig became a club. Rarity found this hard to hold with her magic. She wobbled with it and accidentally hit a BFB with it. Rainbow Dash cheered, “All right, Rarity!” Discord cried, “Hey! I deserve some of the credit here!” They continued to fight off the BFBs, but they began to see that there were too many of them. They were surrounded by the vile bears and they huddled together. “Well,” Discord shook, “any last words?” Most of the ponies shouted, “Discord!” Fluttershy said, “Um…yes.” But she couldn’t bring herself to say them as the bears edged closer and closer to Discord and the ponies. They braced themselves for what would be the end. “Habet arcere!” a voice rang out. Suddenly, a blue light blasted several bears away from the ponies and Discord. They looked up and though they saw nopony, they heard the voice cry out, “Oremus!” Immediately following that spell, a blue force field surrounded the friends. They were gaping at what they were seeing. As soon as they saw that the bears were being defeated by continuous blasts of blue light, Rarity jumped up and down and shouted gleefully, “Oh, we’re being rescued! It’s a miracle!” Pinkie bounced higher and cheered, “Hooray! We’re saved!” Twilight stopped the ponies and said, “Now, hold on. We don’t know if the battle’s won, yet. Let’s just wait and see.” Though they couldn’t hear the conflict, they saw the bears being effortlessly defeated and soon driven away by the caster of the light blasts. The force field then came down and Discord and the ponies stepped forward to meet their savior. Twilight hesitantly said, “Hello? Are you there? We would like to say ‘thank you’ from saving us from those bears. So, please come out and let us see you.” There was silence for a few moments until the voice spoke out, “You’re the Princess Twilight Sparkle. For what purpose have come here?” Twilight answered, “Well, we are looking for a sorceress. Her name is Rose. Have you seen her?” The voice replied, “You already found her.” The pony to which the voice belonged stepped out of the brush and revealed herself. She had a cloak over her pink coat, red and blue streaks in her mane, and blue eyes behind her glasses. She said, “I am she.” The ponies were stunned, Discord especially. For a moment, he thought he’d seen her kind of eyes before. And that voice…Oh, where did he hear that voice before?! Rainbow Dash said, “Wow! You sound really young for someone like you!” Rose chuckled, “Trust me; I’m older than I look or sound.” She turned and said, “Come; I’ll take you to my home, where we will discuss the matter of your arrival.” She lit her horn as she walked into the brush and the ponies followed her. Discord, who just snapped out his thoughts, called out, “Hey, wait for me!”
Woodland SerenadeShe led them to the edge of the forest and into the young night. There was a cozy little hut near the foot of Foal Mountain. The distance between the hut and the mountain was covered by grass and specked with flowers here and there. The hut wasn’t too shabby; it had two floors and was surrounded by flowers and arts and crafts. Such beautiful pieces of art hung at the door, the windows, and even the walls. The ponies could only gaze and admire them. Rose used her horn to magically open the door and ushered them in. Discord, still looking at the hut’s exterior, rammed his face into the top of the doorway. “Oops!” he cried out dizzily. “Excuse me!” Rose giggled as Discord leaned in and entered the hut. She lit a candle and some lanterns to shed light into the hut. The newcomers looked at the room in amazement. There were many things and knick-knacks here. There were books, powders, magical items, and so many other wonderful things. Discord cried, “Wow! You must have the biggest collection in all of Equestria!” Twilight skimmed the books’ titles and said, “This is amazing! You have books here that even I don’t have! How did you obtain such tomes?” Rainbow looked at Rose in confusion and asked, “Did you get that? Because I didn’t.” Rose chuckled, “Simple. She asked how I could’ve gotten books like that.” Rainbow Dash said, “Oh, uh…thanks.” Rarity gasped at the many pieces of art displayed in the room. She ecstatically asked, “How ever did you come across such priceless treasures like these?!” Rose smiled, “I have been to many places before I came here. Some of them are from places you’ve never heard of.” Rarity asked hopefully, “Could you tell me where I can find pieces like these?” Rose hesitantly answered, “Err…that may take some time to clarify, but I could bring you back some more if I get the chance to travel again.” Discord said, “All right, all right. Let’s not get too caught up with Rose’s collection. We’re here to find somepony.” Rose asked, “Really? And just who are you looking for?” He explained to her, “Well, she’s somepony who looks a lot like you, only she’s an alicorn.” Her eyes widened with surprise as she exclaimed, “An alicorn? Are you sure she really is one?” Before Discord could tell her more, they all heard singing in the distance. He asked the ponies as he looked around, “Did you hear that?” The ponies all nodded. Discord turned his ear to where he heard the singing loudest. It was very familiar; so familiar that his heart began to race at the sound. Now he heard a voice he knew belonged to a particular pony. He floated to the window where he heard the voice most distinctly. As he looked out, he gasped and thought, Could it be…? He saw birds and animals flocking around a pony. A pony with a horn and wings… He almost cried out her name as he flew out the window in an excited rush. Before he came within a few feet of her, he ducked behind the bushes on the edge of the forest. He decided that he was going to surprise her while she was singing and flying in the air. He waited for the right moment and grabbed the animal she was dancing with when it was near the bushes. He told it, “Excuse me, but I believe this is my cue.” Right when Teardrop stopped twirling in the air, Discord flew right up behind her and placed his arms on her as if he was dancing with her. He began to sing with her before she noticed he was right there. She turned around in shock and gasped, “Discord!” He smiled, “Hello, Teardrop. I’m so glad to have found you. I missed you so much.” Teardrop stammered, “H-h-how did you find me?” “I guess true love, that’s what!” he shrugged happily. He turned towards the hut and the ponies now standing outside. He shouted, “It’s okay! We found her!” Pinkie Pie leaped up and cried, “Yay! We found her! Now we can take her back to Canterlot so Princess Celestia and everypony will know who she is!” The rest of the Mane Six face-hoofed. Teardrop cried, “Wait, what?!” Rose stepped in front of the Mane Six and said, “Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold up! Nopony is going to be taking her to Canterlot without the consent of her mother!” Discord asked, “All right. And just who is her mother?” She answered, “I am.” Discord and the Mane Six looked at her in shock. Rainbow Dash said, “Whoa! Mind blown right now! You’re Teardrop’s mom?” Rose nodded as Teardrop flew towards her. “Yes,” she answered, “and my daughter’s not going anywhere without my permission. “If you like, you could stay with us to ask us questions. You seem like a trusting bunch. And perhaps, in time, I could let Teardrop go back with you to Canterlot. Make yourselves at home while I talk with Teardrop.” Rose and her daughter went back indoors as Discord and the Mane Six stood outside, still dumbfounded by what just happened. “OK,” Applejack said slowly. “Did not see that coming.” Rarity panicked, “This is terrible! What are we going to do?! We can’t just return to Princess Celestia empty-hoofed! She’ll think we’re the laughingstocks in all of Equestria!” Discord interrupted her, “Hold it, hold it. Relax; I think I know just what to do.” He flashed a mischievous grin, causing Twilight alarm. She warned, “If you’re thinking about using hypnosis on Teardrop…” Discord retorted, “What? Why in the world would I ever do that to the pony I love? No; I’m just simply going to use my dashing charm and debonair wit to woo her to come with us. Or me, for that matter.” Rainbow Dash doubtfully remarked, “Yeah, um…about your charm and wit.” Discord glared at her, “Oh, what’s it matter to you? It’s Teardrop I need to win over. “Now, if you excuse me, I’ve got a date with destiny.” He marched inside and the ponies, choosing to ignore his remark, followed him. Rose made dinner and all the ponies and Discord ate. The Mane Six and Discord practically bombarded Rose and Teardrop with questions and while they answered some, they deflected others. Twilight asked Rose, “What were the spells you used to save us from the bears?” The cloaked pony answered, “I translated some words in Latin, a language not familiar in Equestria. Latin makes for powerful spells.” Twilight asked once more, “Did you learn Latin during your travels?” She shrugged, “Eh…more or less.” Rainbow Dash soon noticed that Rose had never taken off her cloak since they met her. She asked, “Excuse me, Rose? Why do you wear that cloak even at the dinner table?” Rose glanced at the cloak and answered playfully, “I wear it because it makes me more mysterious. There’s more to me than meets the eye.” All the ponies and Discord chuckled at her answer. It was Discord’s turn to ask a question. He asked, “Rose, how can your daughter be an alicorn? Did she do some heroic deed, create her own magic, or what?” Rose sighed, “In a way, she did create her own magic, but she was born an alicorn.” The Mane Six and draconequus looked at her in confusion and surprise as they said, “Huh?” Teardrop explained, “You see, my mom’s so powerful that she can create clones of herself, although with an independent personality.” Discord and the Mane Six cried, “What?!” Discord asked her mother, “Rose, is this true? Is Teardrop actually a clone of you?!” She nodded, but this only brought more questions to Discord. He continued to ask, “But how? You may look the same, but you have different coats, eyes, and manes! And you have glasses, but she doesn’t!” He sat there as he tried to gather this new piece of information. Rose answered calmly, “Yes, she is my clone, but she acts differently than I do. Besides, I treat her more like a daughter because I gave birth to her.” The Mane Six and Discord still looked at her and Teardrop in shock. Teardrop explained, “So, yeah, it’s also why I don’t have a dad.” Fluttershy cried, “Oh, you poor thing!” Teardrop smiled, “Don’t worry; I still have my mom. I spend a lot of time with her.” Twilight exclaimed, “Wow! This is a lot to take in.” Rose said, “See? Now you know why I asked you to stay with us. There’s a lot you don’t know about us and it may be hard to understand. Trust me; some things will be easier to explain once you get to know us more.” The purple alicorn gasped, “Oh! I almost forgot! We haven’t introduced ourselves. I’m Twilight Sparkle. This is Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie. You’ve probably already met Discord.” Teardrop chuckled, “We’ve heard all about you through word-of-mouth and newspapers.” Pinkie Pie said, “See? I told you! We’re famous!” Rarity primed her mane and asked, “Ooh! Is it because of my extravagant line of fashion?” Rainbow joined in, “Is it because of my awesome feats of heroism and flight?” Pinkie jumped up and down, “Or is it because of my super fabulous, super duper parties?” Rose smiled, “Actually, all of the above. And the news that Twilight became an alicorn princess.” This made Teardrop uneasy and she asked Twilight, “Now, that you all know I’m an alicorn and if I come back to Canterlot with you, will I have to train to become a princess?” She answered, “Tell you what? I’ll ask Princess Celestia for you when I report back to her.” Both mother and daughter’s eyes widened and Rose asked, “Just what will you report back to the Princess? Are you going to reveal us to her or the rest of Equestria?” Twilight shook her head and smiled, “Oh, no, no. I wouldn’t do that. This will be just for the Princess alone. I’ll just tell her we found Teardrop and that she doesn’t want to leave her home yet. I’ll also ask if she’ll become a princess because she’s a natural alicorn.” Rose and Teardrop both sighed in relief and the latter graciously thanked Twilight, “Thank you, Twilight Sparkle.” As soon as dinner was finished, the Mane Six and Discord headed off to bed. When he saw that Teardrop wasn’t getting ready to go to bed, he asked Rose about it. Rose answered, “Oh, she’s a night owl. She hates missing out on all the beautiful things that happen only at night.” Discord suggested, “Well, if she’d like, maybe I can stay up with her.” Teardrop hesitated, “Um…you did come a very long way just to find me. Why don’t you get some rest and we can spend tomorrow night hanging out. How about that?” Discord shrugged and yawned as he bade Teardrop and her mother a good night. When the visitors were all in bed, Teardrop sighed. Rose put her arm around her daughter as the latter asked, “Will they ever know the truth about me?” Her mother consoled her, “They will, in time. Just have patience. They’ll know soon enough.” Teardrop sorrowfully asked, “But what if they don’t understand?” Rose shushed her, “They will. I have faith in them.” Author's Note Yes, what Teardrop was singing near the woods was Once Upon a Dream. That was also where I took inspiration for Discord and Teardrop's reunion from.
