Cucumber Sandwiches

Chapters

The Power of Pairs
Permission
The Center of Time
Following the Path
Their Downfall
The Return

The Power of Pairs

"Oh, thank goodness," Fluttershy exclaimed excitedly, "I was worried! You haven't been answering my letters for weeks!"

"I am deeply sorry. I had a sort of... problem," the draconequus replied.

"What sort of problem?"

"I will tell you all about it when we are inside. The ponies around here still give me weird looks," Discord looked away from the yellow mare to catch the eyes of a mint-colored pony who was, from what he could tell, judging him silently, "though I guess that is to be expected, regarding my history with this place."

"Don't mind Lyra. She gives everypony weird looks." Fluttershy side-stepped, allowing Discord to enter the hut. Fluttershy closed the door behind him. "So, what sort of problem are you talking about?"

"Let's just say that trying to play poker with a certain pile of goo is not the smartest idea. It took me forever to get the slime off of the ceiling, and I am sure I missed a spot, though I do not know where. I just know that I will find it at a very inconvenient time and then I will have to stop whatever I am doing to clean it up."

Fluttershy put her hoof to her muzzle and, her faced scrunched, asked, "how did slime get on the ceiling?"

"The Smooze is a really sore loser," Discord smiled.

" Oh my!" Fluttershy smiled in return. The sight of her lips turned up sent a feeling of happiness through Discord, as it does all the time. Out of all the ponies on this world, her's was the only smile that he actively tried to obtain. As he was reminiscing over her smile, a question flew over his mind that he had never thought about before. He didn't know if he should ask, due to the risk of making her upset. Then again, a simple snap could fix the situation if it starts going awry.

Discord took a deep breath in. Even if he could reset time, he still didn't want the image of the mare crying in his mind. Discord, calm down he thought. She won't get sad... hopefully... maybe... just get it over with while you have the chance...

"Fluttershy... where are your parents?"

"My parents? They live in Manehattan. My mother is the owner of Manehattan Manes, a mane stylist place, and my father works for a big company."

Discord let out a breath of relief to the knowledge that the question didn't offend her and that her parents were still... here. "That's nice."

"What about your parents?"

The question rolled around in his head for a while, his mind going blank. He hadn't ever really considered about his parents. He frankly assumed he didn't have any, him being the spirit of chaos and all. Everything had to come from somewhere though... right? Right. Answering that left him nothing to respond to his friend in front of him though. What should he say, that he doesn't have any? Say that he doesn't remember them? No, that wouldn't-

"I don't remember them," he blurted.

Great job, Dipcord...

"Oh no, I am so sorry. So, you have, like, no memories what so ever?"

"I don't really mean I don't remember them. I mean more like... like..."

"What do you mean?"

Discord steadied himself. "I mean more like I don't know if I ever had memories of them."

"Uh..."

"Oh, never mind. Let's just get on with our time, seeing as we don't have an infinite supply of it."

"Yeah, okay." Fluttershy pointed to the red couch that sat under the window. Discord followed her hoof and sat down. "Do you want anything to eat," she asked as she started her way towards the kitchen. "Crackers, hay, cucumber sandwiches?"

"Just the sandwiches I guess."

Fluttershy came back out moments later and laid a plate with triangular sandwiches occupying the surface. As he looked at them, he got a strange feeling. It was a feeling he had never had before. The sandwiches triggered something, something deep inside his mind that even he, a being as powerful as him, had not been able to feel it until an object, sandwiches no less, caused it to rise. The feeling that arose was not by itself though. With it, it pulled along another feeling. He knew this one well. Determination. The feeling that told fools that they had something that they thought they could accomplish. The feeling that only lead to sorrow. It lead him to be turned to stone. It lead him to take over Equestria. It lead him to side with an enemy he thought was his friend. Why was he getting it now?

"Are you okay, Discord?"

He realized he had been staring at the floor. He returned his attention to the concerned eyes studying him. "No. No, I am not."

"What's wrong? Do you need a doctor?"

"No, especially since the doctors you have here are not knowledgeable of my anatomy. No, this problem is beyond any helping hooves you can hire."

"Can you tell me?"

"My problem is with my feelings, Fluttershy. My feelings, as a spirit, work together. I rarely feel one emotion at a time, though those are normally the best times. When feelings come in pairs, by my nature, they mean something. Spirits are all about pairs, whether those pairs are together or seperate, such as water and earth, and light and darkness. Pairs are powerful, especially this one."

"Uh, okay... I think I get it. What is this "pair of emotions" you have right now?"

"If I am correct on my judgement, the feeling you get when you feel bad for something is called guilt, correct?"

"Yeah."

"It is as I feared. Guilt and Determination, the most dangerous pair in existence. The pair that lead those such as Sombra, Chrysalis, and even Luna. This pair foretells a quest which, most of the time, leads to destruction of the owner of the emotions."

"So, what do we do? I may not understand all of what you are saying, but I am smart enough to know that the expression on your face means trouble."

"I truly don't know what to do. I have never experienced the two paired." He looked out the window. "Emotions are not just plain feelings. They come at certain times for a specific reason, normally being drawn by something. And I believe I know what that thing is."

Fluttershy, now sitting in a chair, scooted forward slightly. "What do you think it is?"

"It is something I have never thought of before, that I had only thought about today."

"Your parents?"

"Exactly," he agreed. "My mind has basically told me it is time to figure out what has happened to them, if "they" are even a thing."

"Do you need any of my help? I can-"

"No." Discord turned to look at the yellow pony. "No. Those who help the ones in my position normally end up nearly as bad, if not worse."

"So what are you going to do?" She had a puzzled face on. Discord could tell she really wanted to help, even after he had told her what had just been said, which warmed his heart."

"I will need to do things, chaotic things. Bend time and space, create paradoxes, ruin prophecies. Unfortunately, that won't go down well with Twilight. I will need her permission to continue this forward. Knowing her position, I would assume she knows the power of pairs. Hopefully that knowledge will get me further."

"I really hope she will understand. I know this must be hard for you, but I am here with you always."

Discord stared, unblinkingly, at her for a moment, and then replied a measly, "thank you."

He stood up and snapped his fingers, a trench coat appearing around his shoulders along with a fedora upon his scalp. He mainly did if for show, which was normal, and keeping his original self with him throughout this journey, and not wavering from it, will be almost necessary. "I must be off. The longer I wait does nothing for me, and I hope to get this over fast enough to be back here by next week. Farewell, and," he turned towards the door, "thanks."

He walked out of the hut and stared into the sky. He would hope a moment like this would never come, but it had and there was no point in dwelling on it. He looked down the path winding away from the natural cottage, seeing ponies going about their own business.

He snapped and was gone with a poof, leaving a yellow pony staring out of the window, worried about her friend and hoping he would keep true to his morals and to be back soon.

"Be careful, Discord."

Permission

"-and Equestia was safe yet again from Ahuizotl, and Daring Do returned to her home, a new treasure in her hooves," Twilight read aloud as she closed the book. Her favorite series had been stored on her shelf collecting dust for so long, she decided to re-read the series. She set the book on her nightstand as she picked up a new book from a stack. She studied the cover, which depicted Daring Do running from a cone of fire. The title read Daring Do and the Fire of Hunder. She didn't remember this one well, so she was excited to revisit it. She fixed her position and opened the book, just as a rumble shook through her.

She checked the time and gasped. She had been reading for five hours straight and had forgotten to eat lunch. She closed the book and set it on her bed as she painfully rolled off of the mattress. She took a moment to stretch, a succession of pops escaping from her aching bones. She stood up straight and made her way out of the room, through the crystal hallway and to the kitchen. She opened a cabinet and removed a plate, which she set on the counter. She opened the cabinet to get some bread but was instead met with a face staring right at her.

"Why hello, Twilight," Discord exclaimed.

"Ah!" Twilight, in response, fell on her back, wings extended, and winced at the pain. "What are you doing in my cabinet, Discord?"

Discord climbed out of the door and landed on his feet, extending an arm to assist Twilight to her hooves. "I am in a very deep predicament."

"What "predicament" are we talking about," she asked as she gave him a suspicious look, turning her head slightly to one side, "accidentally turned your stove into a killing machine? Accidentally turned the trees into giant monsters?"

Discord rolled his eyes, "no, Twilight."

"Then what is it?"

"Seeing as you are a pony of immense power and understanding," Discord explained, "you must know the power of pairs?"

"Of course I do," Twilight raised a hoof to her chest and held her head high, "I studied many years on the topic. Why do you want to know?"

"You surely know the most powerful pair in existence, right?"

She studied him nervously, "are we talking physical, mental, or social pairs?"

"Mental."

"So," she considered, "Ignorance and Knowledge?"

"I believe you will find that I am talking about the most powerful."

She backed away from him slightly, "you don't mean Guilt and Determination?"

Discord hung his head. "Yes, that one." He looked up at her once again to find Twilight's eyes full of true fear.

"Discord, what is going on?" She stood up straight again to show authority. "Tell me."

He pointed to his chest, "me being a spirit does not make those news any more tolerable. I have never had this pair inside me, and it has simply arose today."

Twilight walked over to him, "do you have any thought on what could have brought this on?"

"I was at Fluttershy's when a specific topic came up. I believe the emotions have arisen due to me thinking of my parents."

"You have parents?" Twilight considered the possibility. "Most spirits are merely created into existence, not born."

"That is the thing, Twilight. I don't know if I have parents or not. My body has decided that it is time to answer that question, I guess."

Twilight nodded slowly for a moment. "So, with that out of the way, what do you need me for?"

Discord snapped in response, a chalk board appearing next to him and a stick of the material appearing in his claws. "You see, as a spirit, I have a vast knowledge of history, science, and many other topics." Discord drew a diagram. "Spirits are-"

Twilight cut him off, "yeah, yeah, they're connected to all knowledge though mind waves only reachable by-"

Discord regained control of the conversation, "beings of immense power. The thing is though, seeing as how I am a well known being, there would definitely be research on my history. Trust me, I have heard many crazy ones. Did you know some think I am Star Swirl? Hilarious!"

Twilight chuckled a little, but then regained her focus. "So, you're saying that there would be knowledge on your history? I guess that makes sense." She turned away from him and started to pace.

"The reason I came here, Twilight," Discord continued, removing the board and chalk from existence, "was to get your permission."

She stopped to a halt and looked him straight in the eyes. "What are you thinking of doing?"

He stared unflinchingly at her. He knew that getting her word would be difficult, but he was up to it. "I need to use my magic to travel through my history, Twilight."

She turned her body so it was facing him. "You realize the dangers of this task? You could destroy Equestia as we know it with one accidental snap at the wrong time!"

He made a motion for her to calm down, but she did not look any calmer, the fire still burning within her eyes. "I realize the dangers, Twilight. I realize you are just trying to protect your ponies and everyone else on this planet. Tell me, though, is it worth it to save these ponies if the consequence is letting this dangerous pair run through my veins? Even now, I think that I could have the feeling wrong. The thing is, the feelings haven't faded at all sense when I first received them."

She put her hoof to her chin and stared at the floor. The silence became awkward until she suddenly spoke, "are you sure you want to go through with this, Discord?"

He considered the question. Did he truly want to? What if he found out a horrible truth? He thought long and hard and responded.

"No."

Twilight looked surprised. "You don't?"

"No, I don't." Twilight still stared at him weirdly. "That doesn't mean I don't have to. I think that the best fate for your subjects is to let me go through with this. Not letting me could go worse."

She calmed her expression a bit. "Then I give you permission." This was met with an ecstatic glance of joy from the draconequus. "I trust your judgement, Discord. I this is what you think is right, then I won't stop you."

Discord nodded, truly surprised at the response he heard. He didn't even trust himself at times. Learning that the princess trusted him warmed his heart right up. "Thank you for your time, Twilight."

As he headed out, he stopped as he heard a weary, "just be careful. I know Fluttershy would never get over losing you. To tell the truth, I don't think any of us would."

He stopped, turned, and nodded to the purple alicorn behind him. With a snap of his fingers, he was gone from the castle, the sound ringing throughout the crystal halls.

The Center of Time

Discord stood motionless in a grassy plain, staring unblinkingly towards the sunset slowly advancing across the horizon. He had decided that this was the place he would perform the time travel. It was far away from any towns, just as a precautionary measure in case something went wrong. He didn't expect anything to go wrong, though. He had more time travels under his belt than anyone in existence.

So why was he so hesitant to do it?

He didn't know why. Was it that he was too afraid to face the truth? Or was it that he was scared that he would mess something up?

"Why haven't you done it yet," a voice asked from behind him. He turned to see Twilight staring at him, emotionless.

"I am trying to figure that out myself."

Twilight walked so she was beside him and stared to the sunset. "Fluttershy is going to miss you."

Discord hung his head. "I hate to put her in this position, but I suppose it is the only option."

"You don't have to be afraid of what you will find, Discord. No matter how you came to be," she looked at him, "you are still our friend."

Discord nodded slightly. "I know."

"So," Twilight got to the point, "where are you aiming to travel to?"

Discord looked back out to the sunset. "I don't exactly know, Twilight. I don't even know how old I am, so that doesn't help me. I guess my best bet is to travel to the Center of Time."

Twilight gave him a puzzled look, "what is that?"

"You see, time didn't appear and immediately start moving. Time started from somewhere, where everything branches out from. That is the Center. You know about alternate dimensions?"

Twilight gave him a glare, "duh. I traveled to one three times."

"Well, time isn't a whole new thing for each dimension. Time is actually what runs the dimensions."

"What do you mean?"

Discord snapped and a glowing orb appeared in front of Twilight. "This is the start of time, or what you can call the Center of Time." He snapped again and a line came out and split into two, which split into more, making what looked like a sideways tree. "Time always progresses. It never stops. Whenever anyone, and I mean anyone, comes to a point in life when there is more than one option, it creates more dimensions. Depending what choice the being makes, it will determine what dimension it will follow into. At the same time, in another dimension, it makes a different option. Time is the same in every dimension."

Twilight nodded. "Okay, so you want to go to the Center. What will you do from there, though?"

"I will use some magic that will basically lead me to the path in which I was created."

"Won't it be hard to get to the Center?"

"Not really. The Center is a big ball of energy so it should be relatively easy to lock on to."

Twilight and Discord stood there in silence for some time, then Twilight spoke, "you should get going. The sooner you get this over with, the better."

"Yeah." Discord put his finger and thumb together. "Can you do some things for me?"

"What do you need?"

"Time here will still be progressing while I am gone. It is not like in movies. I will not be able to come back like a minute after this. For everyday I am gone," Discord took out a sheet of paper, "do this spell."

Twilight levitated the sheet to in front of her. "What is this?"

"Whenever you do it, it will cause a small build up of energy in time. It'll make it easier for me to get back."

"Anything else?"

Discord stared off into the sunset. "Visit Fluttershy everyday."

Twilight nodded. Discord put pressure between his thumb and finger and turned to look at Twilight. She nodded again, giving him the signal to go. He slid the fingers away from each other, the sound reaching his ears just before his vision went black.

As his vision returned, he was met with the sight of... nothing. He quickly turned his head, scanning the nothingness. There was absolutely nothing, not even dust. He tried to yell, but nothing escaped his lips. I knew I would screw this up he thought, just fucking great. He tried to walk, but to no avail, for there was no ground beneath his feet.

As he thought about what he had done, a small light in the distance caught his attention. He squinted to try and see it better. Was it alive? Did it belong to something alive?

His eyes expanded as he realized it was getting closer at an alarming rate. It got closer, closer, and closer. It was so bright, contrasting with the emptiness around him, making him have to blink as it got even closer and took over most of his vision. That was the time he realized just what the light was.

It was an explosion.

A huge fucking explosion.

He, by instinct tried to turn and run, when he remembered that he couldn't move. He had to do something or he would be killed by the impact. He snapped but nothing seemed to happen. Did it not work in this place? Was magic unable to affect this place? He accepted his fate as the explosion got closer. Just when he thought it would hit him, he clenched his entire body.

Nothing happened though. He slowly opened his eyes, to see nothing once again. It was the same blackness as before. That was what he thought, until he saw another little light. Oh great he thought going to do this again, huh? Then he noticed that it was not growing. The light did not expand nor shrink. It was just, there.

His attention got drawn away as he saw more lights flash into existence. That was when he realized what he was seeing.

The creation of the universe. The lights were newly born stars.

As the adrenaline evaporated in his body, he returned his attention to the task at hand. He snapped, hoping that the spell would actually work. As he snapped, no sound came out, but he suddenly got "instructions" of what to do to follow the path that would lead to his creation.

He was on his way to understanding.

He was on his way.

Following the Path

"So, first things first. I have to," Discord consulted his mind, "create a bunch of rocks?" He had never used this sort of spell before and it was confusing to know what it was trying to tell him. It took a lot of focus and also access to the deepest part of the user's mind. "Do I really have to create a bunch of floating rocks? Okay..." he snapped, creating trillions of rocks of varying sizes and shapes. "I now have to," he focused in his mind again, "make some of them out of ice? I hope I did this spell correctly." He snapped again, turning a few of the rocks into ice. He consulted his mind yet again, doing what it told him to do. He continued the lines of instructions that instantly snapped into his mind, making some of the rocks have gravitational pulls, increasing the sizes of some of the stars, and creating many different types of materials.

It was all going fine, him doing what his mind told him to do. He didn't know how long he had been doing it for, but it felt like forever. He just kept snapping and snapping, that is, until one set of instructions passed his mind. They were odd and not what he had been expecting. They were the instructions to turn some of the bigger rocks into planets, including one that needed to have Water and Earth, one of the well known pairs. This planet he was guessing was Equestria. Following what his mind told him, reminding himself that this was how he was going to get the knowledge he chased, the knowledge that his emotions were forcing him to chase.

The planet was made out of a slightly smaller rock than he was guessing it would be. Then again, it was still huge compared to him. As he snapped, water, dirt, and life bursting out of the ground, a new set of instructions passed his mind. They told him to go to the planet he just created and create many different organisms. He snapped and reappeared on the surface of this new planet, the grass soft on his toes. He snapped, rabbits and deer and other creatures popping into existence. The next set of instructions appeared in his mind, the instructions to create the reining beings of this planet, but not in the form he was expecting. He created an earth pony, a unicorn, and a pegasus. They looked nothing like they did on the present Equestria, but they were what he was told to make, so he did.

After the instructions of making this planet, he was told to move on to the next. Then the next. Then the next. He had not been aware how many planets there were. Boy, would he have a lot to tell Twilight when he got back. He kept moving, thousands of planets bursting into existence by his claws. He started to think. He was basically just riding along time. He was not actually doing this in the actual reality. Was this wrong? He was taking away how everything should've come along and forcing it to come along. As he thought about this, that one emotion, guilt, was getting stronger. He pushed the question aside and kept working.

All was going well. He created planet after planet and was going along with what had to be done. He finally came to the last planet, one that would be made out of a huge rock, about two thousand times the size of Equestria. He focused on what he had to do with this one. The instructions floated their way into his mind. This would be a cold planet, snow and ice covering the ground year round. He thought to himself that this had to be one of the planets that didn't matter. He would just freeze it and move along with the path. He snapped and the rocky surface slicked over, a white powder covering some of the planet. He was about to snap to leave this planet when more instructions regarding this planet passed his mind. This had to be a mistake. What could be so important about this place, a floating snowball?

He just had to finish this and he could get back on track to finding out what he needed to know. He had to create mountains, caves, icebergs, and plenty of other things. He thought it was all just a waste of time. He thought that the entire time he was working on this planet. He thought it all until the last set of instructions came in. He stopped just to focus on what he was thinking. Could this actually be? Was this actually the place...

He immediately started to work on this instruction. He had to focus on this very intensely. He had never made an organism this complex before. It combined many systems of different animals and had a very weird bone structure. He couldn't believe what he was actually doing, but it was what his mind told him to do. He snapped, the effort of creating these things taking the breath out of him. For a minute, nothing happened. But then the things burst into existence.

There was Discord, standing in the freezing weather of this planet, staring at a herd of about twenty of them. The things... they were...

They were draconequii. Discord had created his own species. He created them on an icy planet about a light year away from Equestria.

The instructions stopped flowing through his head. Unfortunately the only thing he had solved was opening up more questions. He wouldn't answer any of them, though, at this time. He had to speed up time. For every minute he thought, a minute passed in Equestria. Every minute he was here, a minute passed for Fluttershy.

With the thought of his friend controlling him, he snapped, and time went flying forward. Further and further he went, until he stopped. He didn't know how long he had just been standing there, for when time finally went back to normal, he was in a glass box, being stared at by little draconequii. He had been standing here long enough to be turned into a relic. As he started to move, the shock of what had happened draining from his body, the children started to whisper to others around them. Discord snapped and reappeared outside of the building, a huge structure made out of snow and ice. He looked around. There were many buildings along with caves that were lit up. This had to be the right time. It all seemed so familiar. He looked around more, a certain mountain catching his attention.

More importantly, there was a cave near the top of that mountain that was lit up with a warm and inviting yellow glow.

He started heading there, leaving the building alive with commotion as the most mysterious relic had just disappeared.

Their Downfall

Discord made his way to the cave, the snow under his feet crunching with every step. As he advanced, he kept looking around at the fellow draconequii, the sight sending a weird thought throughout his body. It hurt him to know that all of these beings were dead in his actual time. At least he didn't remember any of them, that is, if he had ever known them.

After a while, he reached the base of the mountain. Stairs were carved into the slope, allowing a quick and relatively easy climb to the top. His claws kept him from sliding off them, and he made his way to the top, the stairs getting narrower and narrower the closer he got to the top. He advanced upwards, eventually reaching the level that the cave he was drawn to was accessible from. There was a platform that wrapped around the mountain where many different caves sat that seemed to be attached with some kind of super glue. From what Discord could tell, there was no evidence of magic in this place. All of the buildings were rough around the edges and things like this platform weren't made of the best craftsmanship. Luckily, the platform held his weight and he walked the length of the mountain until reaching a hole in the wall.

It was quite circular, obviously being formed by hand. The cave descended downwards a few feet and then reached a wall that housed a singular square window and a door. The light was from a torch placed above the door. The cold weather of this planet obviously was cold enough to keep things frozen, even when a heat source was nearby. Discord advanced down the slope to the wall and lifted his hand up. He hesitated, and pulled his hand away from the door. He instead snapped and appeared right inside the door.

The cave houses were well made, with corridors leading forwards and splitting off at points, creating more hallways. The floors were made of ice for a nice and shiny look. Torches lined the inside of the halls and rooms, the light reflecting off of the icy floors. He had no trouble sneaking around noiselessly.

He walked forward to where the hallway held two doorways. To the left was what seemed to be a kitchen, and to the left a living room. He advanced further, coming to a split in the hallway. To the left was a hallway with two doors, both closed, and the right held one open door. From the right, he could hear the sound of talking, a language that he didn't understand but still kind of made sense. He decided to investigate the right first.

He went through the hallway and tried to open the door to the left. It creaked open, revealing an empty room with a window. Through the window, he could tell that the light was taking over the darkness. He closed the door and opened the other one in the hallway. It creaked open as well, but showed something different.

There was a bed, a table, and a chair all made out of a thick ice. On the table sat a book, and in the bed lay a little draconequus. Discord stared at the child. That couldn't be him, could it? His thoughts were cut off when he heard the chatting advancing his way. Discord couldn't risk being seen in another's house. He had to think of something fast. He snapped, and hoped that his disguise would hold.

Two draconequii entered the room. One was taller than the other and sported a long, curly beard. The other was a very thin figure, her hair flowing and much less choppy than the other's, presumably the father, the other being the mother. As they entered the room, they scanned around to no avail. They saw the same things that Discord had seen, the bed holding a sleeping child and the ice table supporting two books, with the ice chair pushed in.

The mother walked over and woke the young child. She said something to the child, and he immediately got up and walked out of the room with the parents. He wasn't sure, but he thought he had heard Discord in what the mother said. Discord abandoned his disguise, returning into a creature with mismatching body parts, spitting out a piece of paper as he did. He continued out of the room and left the house, looking for the trio. He spotted them heading towards a rectangular building.

He snapped and joined the trio a few yards away, following in their footsteps. The group stopped right outside of the building. The mother leaned down and kissed the child handing him a bag of something. He hastily entered the building and the two started away. As they passed Discord, they looked over and waved. Discord waved in return, trying to not look like an idiot.

Discord looked around until most of the draconequii had returned to their homes or to other buildings and then followed the child inside. Unlike the caves, the buildings had almost no separate rooms. This place appeared to be a school, with many tables lined up in a row, chairs circled around them. On the wall opposite the door, there was a screen of ice, steamed up by a cauldron at the foot of it which contained boiling water. There was a draconequus standing near the ice board, staring at every child that entered. Discord quickly disguised himself again to avoid being noticed. He molded his body to be much smaller, making him look like any other kid in the place. That should keep him unnoticed for now.

He made his way to a chair at the same table the one child sat at along with many other kids. The teacher spoke aloud in the language again and the children got to work. Discord just sat there and hoped that no one would notice him. He watched the one child get to work, inscribing things on a slab made of ice. Discords attention was attracted to one child talking to one sitting beside him. The one pointed to the child, and then proceeded to poke him. The one child batted away the ones and stayed on his work. The persistent kid proceeded to poke him again and again. The child started to get angry, and called over the teacher. The teacher came over and pointed at the one who was poking the other child.

The child continued without hesitation.

Eventually, after a while, the child started to swat away the others hand more violently, and it escalated to where the one poking him stood up and punched the kid in the face. The child hit the floor hard. He got up, but just got punched again. Where was the teacher?

The child got up again, and the one punched him harder than ever. The child got up again and faced the other child. The other child threw another punch, and the child caught it. He had the face of anger, true anger. Snaps could be heard as the child proceeded to crush the child's hand, leaving him on the floor crying. The child picked up the tool he had been using to write and slammed it downwards. A sickening sound could be heard, as the tool penetrated the child's skull and killed him. Blood oozed from the open wound, and the other children got up to help the dead child to no avail. The teacher came over and almost fell over from what he saw. The child, getting angry that they felt pity for the dead kid, put his hand into a fist and punched another kid, the one the dead child had been talking to. The mob of children got on top of the kid and held him down. Discord decided he had stayed long enough. He started to head out as the sound of someone screaming rang to his ears. The child was going crazy. Discord looked back to see the sight of the kid, snapping his fingers as other children and eventually the teacher fell to the ground. Discord had to get out of here.

He exited the door, returning to his normal body. He needed to hide and fast before he himself dropped to the floor.

The child exited, continuing to snap in the direction of other draconequii around the town. Each and every one of them fell to the floor in a pool of blood. Discord eventually found a pile of snow to hide in. The shivering was annoying, but it was worth it to not die by a child's hands. What exactly had happened back there? Why did that kid get that kind of power? Is that what happened when pairs go too far? What pair could cause that though? Discord realized that it was the pair Anger and Hopelessness that had caused the child to go crazy, a pair almost as dangerous as Guilt and Determination.

The sounds of snapping and bodies falling lifelessly to the ground stopped, and Discord removed his head from the snow pile, seeing what was just a great city turned into ash. The caves had caved in and the buildings had collapsed. The planet seemed so much darker without the light of the caves and buildings. He saw only one silhouette, the one of the child, crying alone. Discord snapped to the cave he had met the child. Collapsed, the hand of one of the parents poking from under the snow and ice.

His species had been wiped out, wiped out by one of their own.

The Return

Discord walked the empty streets. The same streets that used to be bustling with fellow draconequii. The only thing that occupied this city now were the lifeless bodies of the species, Discord, and the crying child. Discord didn't know what to do. He still felt Guilt and Determination, so going back to his own time wasn't an option. What more knowledge could he get, though, and how would he get it?

Discord, thinking of the only was to suppress the feeling he had, advanced towards the crying child. The sound of sobbing became more intense as he got closer, filling his ears and his heart. He could only imagine what the child felt. He had just tried to stop the bully, and ended up wiping out everyone he knew.

"Hello," Discord said as he approached.

The child swung around hastily, surprised by the sound of someone other than himself. "Don't come closer," he threatened, tears still rolling down his face, "I.. I can hurt you!" He put his finger and thumb against each other.

Discord put his hands into the air and said calmly, "calm down. I'm not going to hurt you."

The kid still didn't look calm, but his eyes became less fiery, though his body stayed clenched. "What do you want? How do you understand me?"

Discord walked over to the kid and sat down next to him. "To be honest? I don't know. I don't know what I want. I don't know why I can understand you. I just really don't know anymore." Discord stared at the snowy ground.

The child studied him with cold eyes. "I thought I was the only draconequus that spoke this language." His stance became less tense, knowing that someone else was different as well.

"Obviously not," Discord spoke, still staring at the ground. "What is your name, kid?"

The child left his stance and went to sit by Discord. "I'm Discord. What's your name?"

Hearing that made Discord stare even lower. "Discord."

The child looked at him. "Weird, huh?"

Discord looked back at the kid, putting on a fake smile. "Yeah, weird. So, what happened back there?"

Child Discord stared down at the ground, same as Discord. "I didn't want it to turn out this way." A tear dropped, scattering the snow where it landed. "The kids, the teacher..." he paused, "my parents."

Discord put an arm around the kid, "hey there, it'll get better."

The child sniffled and wiped his eyes. "You promise?"

Discord looked into the sky. The stars shined brightly, contrasting with the dark times the kid, or, he guessed, he was going through right now. "I promise."

The child leaned against Discord, the tears running down Discord's fur, leaving streaks of matted down fur. He wept profusely, a weak, "thank you," escaping his quivering lips. Discord pulled the child into a hug. "Where are you from," the child asked after letting his sadness out.

Discord pondered what to say. "I'm not from around here."

"You aren't?" The child started to back away from Discord. "Then why are you being so nice to me? Are you mocking me? Trying to make me sad?"

"What? No, I just-"

The child backed onto his feet. "You are just trying to be mean. If you don't know me, then why else would you be doing this?"

"Trust me, I know you."

"You said you weren't from around here. Who are you? Don't give me anymore 'I'm Discord as well' bullshit."

"Look, I am not mocking you. I know you are going through tough times, and I want to help."

"What're you gonna do? Take me away with you and turn me in to someone for murder?"

"No, I am not going to-"

The child started to walk away. Discord got onto his feet and followed the kid. "Stop following me!"

Discord stopped. He knew there was no use in trying to explain to the kid. He understood. After killing everyone you knew, you probably didn't want encouraging words from someone who looks like your people who wasn't actually from there. "What are you going to do now, Discord?"

The kid stared, anger entering his eyes again. "I-I'll leave!"

Discord looked around, "where?"

The kid took a deep breath biting his lip. "Screw you. Nothing will get better! I hate you!" The child snapped and was gone. Discord stood, staring at the spot he was just seeing himself. He didn't know what would happen to the kid, but something would happen that would make him forget this.

Discord walked back to the school where all of the destruction started. There was nothing among the rubble. Nothing that is, except for a bag.

A bag of cucumber sandwiches.

His favorite.

Discord soon returned to his time, seeing Fluttershy and everypony else once again. The scene of the broken civilization would never leave his mind, and the knowledge he had gained would haunt him forever. At least his emotional pair was gone. That was the only good thing. The only good thing.

Oh, Discord! You're early," Fluttershy exclaimed. A few days after the incident, Discord had returned to his normal life, being the best troll in Equestia and spending time with his friends more than ever.

"Why yes I am. I figured that my day wasn't that busy so I thought we could spend more time together than planned?"

"Well, come on in!"

Discord entered the cottage, taking a seat on the red couch with the window overhead. On the coffee table in front of him sat a plate.

A plate of cucumber sandwiches. Discord looked at Fluttershy, a smile on her face. He had friends who loved him and whom he loved. He had a true home. He had a good life.

"I made a promise," Discord said, "and I most definitely kept it."