Would you dance with me, Twilight?
Would you dance with me, Twilight?
Deep breaths, Twilight, deep breaths. The moment of truth had come at last and she was not about to mess it up with her nerves. A ruler must be cool, calm, collected, poised and ready for anything.
“Hey, Twilight, why are you standing there?”
Twilight took to the air at the sudden addition of Spike’s voice to her internal pep-talk. Landing on the smooth marble, she turned to face her number one assistant. Her eyes unconsciously traveled to the ridiculous peacock quill sticking out from behind his ear. Deciding not to run down that rabbit trail, she focused instead on the brilliant sunrise over Canterlot. “Sorry, guess I got lost in thought.”
“Aw, don’t worry about it, Twi.” Spike hopped up and down with ill-concealed glee. “We’re running Equestria by ourselves for three whole days.”
Twilight raised an eyebrow, “We?”
Spike chuckled sheepishly, fidgeting with his quill. “I mean you of course . . .” He patted her on the leg. “Don’t be so nervous, Twi! They trusted you to handle the place while they went to Saddle Arabia. That’s pretty cool. Plus,” he gesticulated around the heavily ornamented room, “this is a pretty nice setup.”
It was all she could do to stop herself from giggling like a little filly. She glanced around at her spacious new living quarters, levitating the list she had compiled the night before. “Ready, Spike?”
“Ready, Twilight.” Spike trotted over, eyeing the list with interest. “May I?”
“Of course, Number One Assistant.” Twilight handed him the list, proceeding to the door. “First up is our meeting with the nobles, we don’t want to be late.”
Spike jerked a nod, following her out into the hallway like a second shadow. Despite the early hour, there were three guards waiting for them outside the chamber. It was difficult not to feel a touch embarrassed by all the security, though she did her best to smile warmly. “Good morning.”
The oldest guard jerked a nod, “Morning, Milady.” The guards moved into position, not speaking another word, as if their lives depended on remaining as stoic as possible lest the world come to a screeching halt.
Honestly, would it hurt to be a bit more cheerful? Though, Twilight had to admit, she felt the slightest touch of pride knowing that the guards were serving her for the next few days. Taking her most confident stance, the Princess of Friendship proceeded to her first day as sole ruler of Equestria. You can do this, Twilight, you can do this.
The sun had long since set by the time Twilight managed to stagger into her chambers. Her legs were drawn closer and closer to the polished marble floor as if it were calling her to join it. She was half tempted to, but she dragged herself the rest of the way and onto her awaiting covers. “Finally.”
Twilight burrowed under the sheets, allowing the crisp linen to drown out the heady scent of cologne still clinging to the inside of her nostrils. Two hours. Two hours of listening to wheezy stallions discuss petty political squabbles in a closed room. As if they had anything genuinely important to talk about.
Then she just had to organize and update the guards’ training regimen. That earned her more than a few dirty glares for messing up the lives of the last ponies she wanted to offend. Just thinking about the following dinner with the local business ponies made her skin crawl. Why had she insisted on that speech? It was supposed to be an informal get-together, not a ceremony!
Twilight’s nighttime brooding came to an abrupt halt when an unwelcome presence in the room made itself known. “So sorry to intrude upon a lady’s bedchambers, but I just had to know if the rumors about your brief reign of power really were true.”
Gasping in surprise, she shot herself upward to be confronted with the last pony— er, being—she wanted to see perched at the foot of her bed. With his gaunt face and large yellow eyes, the draconequus would have been a terrifying sight to see in the dark had she not already met with him under circumstances equally as unannounced and unnerving. Good Celestia, what could he possibly want at this hour?
“Discord, what—”
He placed his talon in front of her mouth and ushered her to hush up. “Ah-ah-ah, no need to start interrogating me just yet. I’m only here for a friendly nighttime chat. Insomnia, you know.” He gave her an unconvincing pout, curling up onto her bed like a kitten.
Of course. Her curiosity to get into Discord’s mindset and understand just where he drew his boundaries—if he did at all—remained strong. However, it did not outweigh her annoyance at him for breaking and entering. She had to resist the urge to pull the blankets further up her body before deciding she would not give him the pleasure of appearing flustered by his antics.
“Need I even ask what you’re doing here, or are you just going to give me some cryptic nonsense about your ‘chaotic nature’?”
Discord gasped in mock horror but failed to conceal his pleasure. “My dear Twilight, you’re not suggesting I’ve become predictable, are you? Never the matter, though, I did actually come for a very specific reason. Other than to admire your lush accommodations, of course.” He nodded approvingly, looking all around the room like a real estate agent.
Twilight crawled back out of bed despite the protest of her aching joints, deciding that peace and quiet would be impossible as long as Discord stayed. And it was an undeniable fact that Discord was not quick to rid others of his company. “Fine then. Get on with it.”
He smirked, hovering just a few inches above her. What she wouldn’t pay to see him at eye level with someone else for just one day. “I came to congratulate you!” He punctuated this with a wild arm gesture that sent confetti flying everywhere and onto her clean floor. Rolling her eyes, she levitated the mess into a single pile, making a mental note to clean it up later.
“Congratulate me on what?”
The volume of his laughter echoed around her high-ceiling room. “Don’t play modest with me, we all know how thrilled you are to be taking over during the absence of Equestria’s beloved false gods. I’m personally proud of you. What are you going to to legalize first; national opposite day? I’ve been waiting for that one for centuries.”
Twilight felt her annoyance overflow from her stomach into her throat, causing her to growl and tensen up. He hadn’t come to ‘congratulate’ her, he had come to mock her in the dead of the night. Not that that wasn’t to be expected from Mr. Ulterior Motive.
“Do you even have the slightest inkling of the responsibilities I’ve been bestowed with here?” her voice came out a little more brittle than she had intended, but nothing that a boisterous personality such as Discord would be able to pick up on.
“Call it what you want, but you can’t deny that having the throne all to yourself certainly beats spreading after school specials across Equestria, doesn’t it?”
That particular jest felt like a poke against the ribs more than anything. Everything had to be a joke to him. Her duties, the good of Equestria, heck, maybe even his friendship with her. There didn’t appear to be a single thing in the world that Discord couldn’t make light of. “Maybe it beats having nothing to do with my life other than teleporting into my friends’ bedrooms and ridiculing them!”
Seeing the Lord of Chaos' expression soften a good amount at her outburst calmed her, as brief and subtle as it was. She could never wish to hurt any of her friends. But Discord was different from her gal pals. He was just so . . . irritatingly fascinating in his ability to hide his own vulnerabilities and make a game out of those of others. The measly spark of concern extinguished soon enough though, and he returned to sporting that complacent grin that she had come to dread.
"Not to call out the corncob for being yellow, but am I sensing some stress from my second favorite princess?" Discord half-singsonged. Without so much as a second's time to register what was going on, an excessively large tub of ice cream was materialized into her hooves. Twilight shoved the poor excuse for a gag onto the floor. Seriously?
"Of course not! Unlike some individuals, I'm quite used to being burdened with huge responsibilities. Celestia wouldn't have tasked me with this job if she didn't believe I could do it." She tried to swallow. Now if only Celestia's faith in her alone could run an entire nation.
"Twilight. I'm going to have to teach you a thing or two on the art of deception, because I'm afraid that's one class you'd definitely get an 'F' in."
She flushed. "I—it's no surprise the master of lies himself would see deception everywhere. I said I was confident I can oversee my duties, and I meant it." Twilight stuck in her chin in the air, though found herself dodging eye contact with the impromptu guest. One had to wonder, just how far out of his range of power mind reading was. Behind those wide red-and-yellow eyes were thousands of years worth of lies and cover-ups. Would further denial only be giving the cat more string to play with? Discord cocked his head and gave her the same look she must have been giving him; the expression of a pony staring into an enigma.
"Please, you ponies have that 'tangled web' saying for a reason. You're quite obviously one poke in the side away from a psychotic breakdown."
"You might be right. And that 'poke in the side' just invited himself into my living space." If she gave him what he came there looking for, perhaps he would get bored and leave before her exhausted emotions got the better of her. Instead, his interest only appeared to be piqued even more.
"Ha! Admitting I'm right is the first step."
She rolled her eyes. "The first step to what? Ending up in a lunatic asylum?" Discord chuckled at her witticism. Not a grating loud laugh of mockery, but a laugh with some genuine mirth that almost struck her as pleasant. Almost.
"That too, but I was referring to the first step rolling with the punches in life."
"Excuse me?"
"Allow me demonstrate." With a snap of his talon, Discord whisked away all the furniture and turned the marble into a violently purple dance floor. The worst bit had to be his shimmering white suit complete with false diamonds and ugly tophat. “Voila!”
Twilight glanced up at the ceiling where a chrome discoball spun lazily in the still air. “Classy,” she drawled sarcastically then flinched as music that Pinkie would have called ‘funkalicious’ blaired from nonexistent speakers. “Seriously?! It’s like ten o’clock, Discord. I am not dancing, especially not to that.”
He clucked disapprovingly. With another crack, his outfit and the discoball vanished in a cloud of smoke. Twilight found herself slipping on a well-worn wooden dance floor illuminated by flickering oil lanterns. The obnoxious disco music had vanished, replaced by a soft fiddle tune.
Discord omitted the obligatory snide comment, holding out his paw instead. A small smile creased the corners of his mouth, “Would you dance with me, Twilight?”
“Wh—why?”
“Well . . .” He glanced out the window at the moonlit balcony. “It’s a really nice night. Be a shame to waste it, don’t you think?”
“I’m sure Luna would understand.” Though, she felt her resolve wither as she searched Discord’s eyes. He’s really serious about this. “I don’t know, Discord. I can’t really . . .”
“That’s of no consequence.” His smile broadened, paw still outstretched. “Come and dance with me.”
“Fine, but one dance. Just one.” Reluctantly, she took it, allowing Discord to raise her on her hind legs.
He gave a laugh gentler than any she had ever heard him use before. “You won’t regret it, my dear.” Just as naturally as if he had rehearsed it, Discord guided her in the first steps with a gentle pressure from his paw.
Twilight found herself focusing on her hooves, trying not to think about how unbalanced she was on two legs. And yet, no matter how often she stumbled, Discord supported her like it had been planned from the beginning.
“Don’t worry so much, Twilight.”
“But, I keep messing up . . .”
Discord leaned down and shot her a playful smirk. “What? It’s just one dance.”
Using my own words against me, huh? Well, it couldn’t hurt, could it? Sighing, she stood a little straighter and turned her gaze upwards. Just one dance . . . Let him have his fun.
To her surprise, Discord did not take advantage of her lessoned focus on the steps. Instead, he continued to lead so subtly that she felt like they were gliding along the floor. After she determined he was not going to lead her into a wall, Twilight allowed herself to relax and listen to the music. A slow folk melody, one she could have sworn she heard at a historic fair. Despite being dated, Twilight found the tune extremely beautiful.
She had become so absorbed in the rhythm of the dance that she nearly missed Discord’s uncharacteristically soft voice. Blinking, she looked him in the eyes. “Huh?”
“I asked if you were enjoying the dance.”
“Yeah,” she squeaked, trying not to give him the satisfaction of knowing how much fun it was.
He chuckled. “That’s good. I was worried.” There was a pause, then, “You seem down, what’s wrong?”
“I . . .” Why’s he so curious? Still, it felt undeniably comforting to have somebody to talk to. She could only hope he wouldn’t make fun of her. “I messed up today. The nobles—they didn’t like my decision making. Then the guards got mad at me for messing up the training regimen and then the local business ponies—” Twilight paused, realizing how boring this would be for Discord. “Guess this sounds stupid, huh?”
Discord shook his head. “Not at all. I had a similar slip up just this week.”
Somehow I doubt that. Discord didn’t mess up, not unintentionally anyway. “What? Did you accidentally match your socks or something?”
“Nothing quite that amusing. I,” he bit his lip, “I fear I upset Tia again.”
“Oh . . .” Judging from his pained expression this meant a lot to him. “What happened?”
“I misunderstood a request of hers. Accidentally filled her throne room with Brie cheese rather than picking up her new crown from the town Bree.”
Twilight gave an unfeminine snort. “Seriously?”
He actually blushed. “Ye—yes! I can be serious sometimes.”
“Sometimes,” she stressed.
Discord continued to lead in silence as the music played on. Twilight might have lost herself again if his grip had not tightened ever so slightly on her shoulders. “You’re doing alright . . .”
“Huh? Yeah, well . . . you’re doing the leading—”
“No-not that,” he stammered, cheeks darkening in the lantern light. “I mean with the responsibilities. Not just anypony could pull that off.”
“‘Pull it off?’” Was he mocking her again? “I didn’t ‘pull it off,’ Discord! It was a total disaster!”
There was a soft scuffing sound as Discord slid to a halt, holding her in place as the music faded to a gentle hum in the background. His eyes met hers, uncharacteristically serious, but somehow maintaining a level of honest concern. “But you learned from it, did you not?”
“Ye-yes . . .”
“We all make mistakes, Twilight. You can’t expect to get it down on the first go-round.” He glanced around the room as if searching for the words. “Life’s a dance, Twilight.”
“What? Seriously?”Of all the profound nonsense to spout, he had to pick that?
“Yes, seriously.” His low chuckle made her skin tingle as if the sound were static electricity racing across her coat. It felt strangely right, and she could not help but listen intently to his next words. “Life’s a dance. No one’s born knowing how to do it all.”
She made to retort, but he chuckled again, taking her breath away just like that.
“I’m no exception, Twilight. I’ve had to learn the hard way on more than a few occasions. Why, just look at the mess I made trying to run Equestria!”
“Well, that’s true I guess,” she breathed, trying to avoid his unwavering, gentle gaze.
“Of course it is! And you know something? Tia and Lulu weren't born knowing how to run a country. They messed up plenty of times, but they always pushed past it.”
“But, they’re so . . .”
“So what?”
“Perfect,” she squeaked.
“No one’s perfect, Twilight. Oh they might act like they’ve got it all figured out—I know I do—but that’s almost never the case.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“But I’m not like them, I’m . . .” a nervous wreck.
“—A beautiful, talented young mare who always manages to see the good in ponies.” His voice became if possible, even softer, “You think Celestia chose you to be a princess to amuse herself? No . . . she chose you because she saw what you can be, what you can bring to Equestria.”
Discord’s eyes fell to the flickering lantern light, smallest of smiles breaking across his face. “Like I said, life’s a dance. You don’t start out knowing the steps and you’ll step on a few toes—er hooves in the process. Sometimes you get to lead and sometimes you get to follow. Sometimes you’ll fall flat on your face! But,” he turned back, lifting her chin with a claw. “you’ll never learn how much fun the dance can be if you give up halfway through.”
Twilight did not know what to say, but placed her hoof carefully into his outstretched hand. “I think I’m starting to see . . .”
Discord smiled, and leaned so close their muzzles almost touched. His warm, sweet breath proved more intoxicating than any wine. Before she even registered why, she pressed her muzzle to his. She released him, looking down hurriedly. “Sorry, Discord I-I don’t know what came over me, I—”
Twilight did not get to finish the apology as Discord returned the kiss. Nothing could have prepared for the gentle, purely loving way his muzzle met hers. He continued as if nothing and no one in the world mattered to her. She closed her eyes, amazed that her heart could beat that fast and manage not to burst. Then, slowly, he broke it. “Sorry,” he said huskily, looking redder than she had ever seen him.
“Why are you apologizing?” she practically cried. “It felt really, really good. I never knew you felt that way. I-I . . .”
“I’m just full of secrets, aren’t I?” he smirked, running his hand through her mane. “Sooo . . . we could just forget this happened or—”
“—No!” She flushed at her sudden volume. “Please . . . no . . . I-I want to . . . One more dance?”
Discord looked genuinely taken aback. “Al-alright.” He held out a hand, “Let’s see where this evening takes us . . .”
“Yes,” she breathed, taking it. The music gradually rose in volume once more, drowning out her still shallow breaths. To her surprise, Discord began to hum to the music. She closed her eyes, allowing herself to fall under the spell of the moment once more . . .
Author's Note
And that's a wrap!
I've been working on this story for months and months now. I originally got the idea from this song, but had trouble figuring out how best to go about setting it up.
Then comes my friend Miranda Laufeyson who graciously agreed to save my sorry butt and help get this story finished. I can't thank her enough for all the help. The lead in to the dance with Twilight and Discord was all her. She's the best collab partner a girl could ask for and we work brilliantly together. Expect more from the two of us in the future!
Though I used the John Michael Montgomery song for original inspiration, I got a LOT from one of my favorite songs by the Infamous Stringdusters.
Thanks so much for reading! As always, comments are ever appreciated.
— Bluegrass
P.S. I'm still on long hiatus, but I'm not stopping my collab work with Miranda (we're still writing on our novel). Updates for my stories are all on hold. Thanks for the continued understanding!
