Hello, World

Chapters

[HW - 1] Discovery - Technologic
[HW - 2] Discovery - Observation
[HW - 3] Discovery - First Contact
[HW - 4] Discovery - While True

[HW - 1] Discovery - Technologic

“Twilight! You’re just the princess I was looking for!” Discord said, swooping over to the rather smart, purple pony. “I’ve been trying to solve this riddle for hours now, and I think a second set of eyes would do wonders.”

“What puzzle?”

“Why the flying machine, of course!”

“Flying machine?” Twilight repeated, trotting up to the telescope, interest piqued. “What flying machine?” she asked, squinting through the eyepiece.

“What do you mean ‘what flying machine?’” Discord asked, pushing Twilight out of the way. The machine sat there, right where he’d left it. “It’s right there! You can’t have missed it!” he said, pulling away from the aperture once more. He moved Twilight back into place, pressing her head back down against the telescope.

“Discord! Cut it out!” Twilight said, teleporting herself from his grasp. She reappeared a few feet away, rubbing her eye. “There’s no flying machine!”

“There quite obviously is!” he said, gesturing towards the sky roughly. “I don’t know what game it is you’re playing at, Sparkle, but I will find out.”

“What game I’m playing at? You’re the one looking at imaginary flying machines!”

“Imaginary?!” Discord scoffed, paw on his chest. “You think I, Discord, master of chaos and mischief would go through the trouble of creating a vile contraption that even I cannot control?” Twilight stared, unamused, back at Discord. “You know, hearing it out loud…”

“If you’re the only one that has to deal with this trick, fine. Just leave me out of it.”

Discord, rather perturbed by Twilight’s lack of cooperation – or even acknowledgement – disappeared into a flash of light. Something was up, he knew this much. Had he forgotten a planned prank? It wouldn’t exactly have been the first time that happened, but…

No. No, this was different. It wasn’t his style, for one – the thing looked absolutely hideous! It was all function, no style! Whipping up a cotton candy cloud, Discord lounged while looking towards the sky. Snapping a pair of binoculars into existence, the Draconnequus gazed up vaguely in the machine’s direction.

Sure enough, there it was, floating menacingly far above Ponyville.

Grumbling, he tossed the binoculars off to the wayside, folding his arms as he pondered. What imbicile would create something they couldn’t control? He scowled upwards, snapping his fingers in disgust. No flash of light, no resounding peace, not even a discordant palatte change on the vehicle! He snapped his fingers in anger a few more times, before removing his claw and throwing it up towards the machine.

A futile attempt at best.

Somewhere below, his claw made a resounding knock on a certain pegasus’ head, stirring her from her own daydreams.

“What the?” came the brash voice of a certain Rainbow Dash. A few moments later brought genuine terror to the cyan pony, and a moment of bemusement from Discord. Leaning over the cotton candy cloud, the chief of chaos observed his idle handiwork.

“Excuse me miss Dash, but I’ll be needing that back,” he said, dismembered hand pointing back up at him.

“Discord!” Rainbow yelled, throwing the claw back up at the pink cloud. “What’s the big idea?!”

“It’s not my fault you decided to nap under my cloud.”

“Your cloud wasn’t even here when I got here!” the riled rainbow pony retorted. “Is that a cotton candy cloud?” she asked, one eye eager to twitch.

“Of course! You expect me to lounge on a mundane Ponyville cloud?” he scoffs, rolling back over to reattach his claw. “And it’s none of your business, Rainboom Crash.”

“Discord!” Rainbow yells, flying up to his level. “If you’re up to your old tricks again, I-“

“Oh hush,” he snaps, pushing a tuft of cotton candy cloud into her motor mouth. “I’m not interested in your precious Ponyville. There’s something far more interesting at play here, and I’m going to find out what.”

“Mmffmfm?” Rainbow mumbled, chewing her cottonmouth away. A few blissful moments of peace later, and her irritating voice was back at it again. “What do you mean ‘more interesting than Ponyville?’” she sneered, coughing up bits of cotton cloud. “This town is amazing and you know it!”

“Yes, yes, I’m sure,” he said, waving his paw dismissively. “But even ponies don’t have flying machines.”

“Have you been to Cloudsdale?” Rainbow growled.

“Nopony has created a machine that can fly above the clouds,” he said, looking back towards where the machine was.

“Above the clouds?” Rainbow repeated, eyes widening in awe. “Lemme see!” she said, jumping at Discord’s binoculars.

“I beg your pardon?” Discord said, casually moving the binoculars out of Rainbow’s path. “I’m afraid this is something far too sophisticated for-“

“Got it!” Rainbow said, snatching the binoculars.

“Impressive! You got me monologuing!” Discord chuckled, folding his arms. “Have a look then,” he said, gesturing up towards the sky.

“Alls I see is blue.”

“Oh of course! You didn’t think very far ahead in this plan, did you?” he asked, adjusting her gaze for her. “There.”

“Nope, still just blue.”

“I should’ve known better,” he said, mashing his eyes to the other side of the binoculars. “Of course you’d be in on Sparkle’s joke – you probably helped come up with it!” he fumed, snatching the binoculars back. “If this is the kind of treatment I’m going to have to put up with, you can keep your clouds to yourself!” he said, disappearing in a snap.

“What I don’t understand,” he mused, claw to his forehead, “is why.” Being a statue was almost preferable to this. Still between realities, he tossed the now gooey binoculars too the void. “I’ve got it! The one pony who can’t help herself!” he said gleefully, materializing in the ponie’s reality once more.

“Applejack!” he blurted out, startling the earth pony. She yelped, dropping her bushel of apples to the ground. “Just the pony I was looking for!”

“Discord!?” AJ growled back, collecting herself. “What in tarnation do you want?”

“The truth,” he said, rubbing his hands together. The mustache may have been a touch too much, but he couldn’t help himself.

“Truth about what, exactly?” she said, now keenly aware that Big Mac wasn’t aware of their uninvited guest. Clapping his hands together, Discord produced a few balloons and began sculpting. Soon he had a full balloon-telescope sitting before his dear friend, pointed up at the sky just so.

“I need you to tell me exactly what you see,” he said, patting the squeaky pink balloon sculpture.

“Uhh,” AJ started, raising an eyebrow. “A balloon,” she paused, examining the sculpture further. “Telescope?”

“Oh! Of course!” Discord said, popping the collection. A telescope not unlike Twilight’s stood in the sculpture’s place, bits of balloon floating to the ground. “Now, what do you see through the telescope?”

“I can tell you what I’ll see – the sky!”

“No no no, more specific than that!”

“Stars?” AJ asked, scratching her head. “Why don’t you ask somepony like Twilight about this?”

“I’m not asking Sparkle, I’m asking you.”

“Can ya at least tell me what I’m lookin for?” she asked, peering down at the eyepiece cautiously.

“That would taint the experiment – I can’t tell you what I’m expecting you to see,” he said simply, snapping a lab coat and clipboard into existence.

“I dunno,” AJ said, looking back to her bushel of apples. “What am I thinkin! I don’t have time for this – I’ve got work to do!”

“Please!?” Discord said, lunging down to latch onto her rear leg. In hindsight, probably not the best of ideas.

“Gah!” she said, kicking back reflexively. Discord’s head now firmly buried in one of her apple trees, she groaned and looked back to the telescope. “Fine, if it’ll get you to leave me alone.” Discord popped his head through the other side of the tree, clapping excitedly.

“Excellent!” he said, snapping back down next to her. “Now, what do you see?”

“Well,” she said, pressing her eye up to the aperture. “Blue. Lots and lots of blue.”

“Anything else?”

“Some clouds?”

“No no, something more! Something that’s not supposed to be there!”

“It all looks pretty normal to me,” she said, shrugging.

“I thought you weren’t supposed to lie!” Discord hissed, replacing the telescope’s eyepiece with his own eye. “Or are you not the element of honesty?”

“I would never!” she said, kicking the telescope down. “Not even to you!”

“Of course not, you simply don’t see it, isn’t that right?” Discord mocked, eye twitching.

“I don’t know what it is you’re looking for, but I didn’t see anything strange up in the sky! Now will you please leave me alone? You’ve already put me behind-“

Discord disappeared in a snap once more. Whatever her lame excuse was, he wasn’t interested. The element of honesty just lied to him, of that much he was certain. Half of the elements of harmony so far have covered up this thing’s existence, and he was no closer to figuring out why.

Maybe it runs deeper than this shanty of Ponyville? Maybe Sunkist and Moonpie were up to something, and they were just the pawns? “To what end?” he openly pondered, his voice echoing in the nothingness. This was maddening. If it weren’t for the fact that his magic had no effect on the flying machine, he almost could’ve chalked it all up to the ponies at least growing a sense of humor. But this was different.

Something unknown that he hadn’t conjured up. Something that he had no control over, and at the same time, appeared to be the only being aware of its existence. At least, aware and willing to admit it…

“It’s been weeks now!” Discord yelled, claw curled up at the sky. “Who sent you?” he barked, popcorn spewing from his mouth. “Why do you torment me?!” The machine remained silent, not even so much as a glisten of metal. The sound of glass shattering echoed through the treebrary as Discord’s popcorn bucket smashed into the ground.

“Hey, I’ve gotta clean that up!” Spike barked, fuming as he made Twilight’s bed for the fifth time today. “What’s the big deal, anyways?”

“The big deal?” Discord whispered. “The big deal?” he repeated, louder this time. “It’s far too big a deal for you to understand! There’s no possible,” he paused, a gleam in his eye as he turned to look at the dragon. “Actually, I think I know just the thing to make you understand.” Spike cringed, taking a step towards the door. He knew that tone. No – that voice.

“Discord?” he asked, his voice cracking.

“My dearest Spike, I have a gift for you,” he said, snapping his fingers. A jewel as big as the baby dragon appeared, hovering just above Discord’s claw. Its translucent red body glistened in the light, slowly lowering itself to Spike’s level. “Bon appétit.”

The dragon wanted desperately to hesitate. He wanted desperately to heed the alarms going off in his head about a gift from an embodiment of chaos.

But that ocean of drool in his mouth would have none of that.

The baby dragon dove at the gem, landing on top of it’s smooth, delicious surface. This was easily the largest he’d ever had any hope of eating. Licking his lips one more time, he went in for that sweet, sweet, crisp first bite.

Instead of his jaws clamping down and revealing what true heaven tasted like, nothing happened.

No. No that wasn’t right. He’d definitely bitten into the gem.

He pulled back, looking down at the jewel, still perfect, still shining. Still without any signs of being eaten.

“Take it, my dear Spikey Wikey,” Discord said, mocking Rarity’s tone. “Take it, and let it drive you slowly to madness as you try and understand something that defies what you know. That defies existence itself, but only to you,” he sneered, turning back to look at the sky.

“Discord!” Twilight yelled, snapping him from his courtship of chaos. “This has gone far enough!” Discord cringed, closing his eyes in preparation. “You’ve been obsessing over this imaginary machine for too long – give it a rest already!” she said, pulling Spike away from the tortuous jewel.

“No, Twilight – you don’t understand!” the baby dragon said, leaping from her grip back to the jewel. “I need this.”

“Discord!” Twilight said through gritted teeth. “Fix. Spike.”

“I’m teaching him a lesson,” Discord snapped back, glaring down at the unicorn.

“And just what lesson would that be?”

“A lesson in obsession. Perhaps you’d be interested in a lesson of your own?” he suggested, pulling a book into existence. It was thick – easily thousands of pages long. The smell of old parchment was enough to get the unicorn practically drooling. He handed her the book, letting her magical grip take it.

Twilight opened the book with excitement, finding a language she’d never seen before. None of the symbols were familiar, she couldn’t tell if it was written horizontally or vertically – already she could feel the demand to know more burying into her mind. Squinting, she took a step back, shaking her head.

“As much as I would love to take this book apart word for word,” she said, closing her eyes. “It’s not me or Spike that need this so-called lesson,” she continued, shoving the book back to Discord. “But if you’d rather obsess on this machine only you can see, maybe you’d like a more interesting lesson?”

“You? Teach me? Ha!” Discord laughed, wiping a tear from his eye. “Me, the master of chaos – of reality itself – learn something from a purple pony princess who spends her time reading rather than experiencing?” he scoffed, feeling something inside him start to crack. “And what, dare I ask, would you presume to teach me about?”

“Petrology,” she said firmly.

“Well played, Sparkle,” he said, slowly clapping is paw and claw together. “As you well know, I’m quite learned in that field already.” He sighed, snapping his fingers. The book and jewel disappeared back into the realm of nothing that they had been summoned from. “Done,” he said, returning to his original task of staring at the machine in the sky.

“Thank you,” Twilight said, collecting the still confused Spike.

Dismissing the rest of the unicorn’s ramblings from his concern, Discord focused instead on trying to decipher the machine.

“Where did it go?” he asked, leaping to Twilight’s telescope. “Where, where, where?!” he asked frantically, searching the sky. Peeling back from the apparatus, he wrapped his arms around his torso, shivering slightly. He looked back up to the sky, an unfamiliar weight sneaking down into his mind. “If we’re going to play this game, we’re going to play on my terms,” he growled.

[HW - 2] Discovery - Observation

The Chaos Realms

Discord tossed and turned in his sleep. Even in the void between worlds, he could find no peace from this miserable machine. It blinked and hummed in his dreams, taunting him evermore. No magic. No chaos. Now even sleep was being taken from him. The very ponies who had deemed him worthy of reformation were now doubting him once more. Why would they go through all this trouble to ignore something so blatantly obvious? Was it to torment him? To punish him further?

No, no even Sparkle wasn’t that cruel. Sunkist and Moonpie were so seemingly uninterested in his existence outside of Canterlot, the very thought of them taking time from their precious tea-parties to twist him back to insanity was laughable.

“What are you?!” he yelled, twisting from his sleep. His words came back jumbled, just as they should in the realm of chaos. Still they carried the sting of the machine. His magic nor his mind could conjure an explanation to this mess. Since three of the elements had failed him so far, perhaps it would do him good to call upon the remaining half?

Rarity was out of the question. Her precious baby lizard servant was probably still trying to clear the cobwebs from his peanut of a brain, let alone make sense of the gem. Fluttershy then? He guffawed at his own nearly lucid thought. She was the sole pony that refused to give up on him, even when he was being particularly abrasive. It wouldn’t do to submit that kind of faith to something even he could no longer see in the skies.

Pinkie Pie could make for just the relaxing visit he needed, though. While her mind and thoughts were an enigma to most ponies, Discord found a certain familiarity with them. Organized chaos, but chaos nonetheless. Perhaps she could help him make sense of this mess, in her own, sugary sweet kind of way.

Sugarcube Corner

Inhaling the sweet scent of pure, unaltered fun, Discord let himself into the bakery that doubled as Pinkie’s residence. Sun beamed through the windows onto the counters, giving the entire shop a delightful glimmering effect. The lack of patrons was understandable, given the early hour of his visit, but he knew better than to write off the party pony as unprepared.

“Excuse me, but I was told there was someone here who could help me plan a party?” No sooner had the caffeinated p-word left his lips than Pinkie had leapt unto the counter.

“What kinda party?!” she asked, tail wagging an excitement all its own.

“Why, a welcoming party of course!” Discord replied, clasping his paw and claw together. “A dear new friend is going to be arriving any day now, I can feel it.”

“New friend!?” Pinkie repeated, glass threatening to shatter as her pitch escalated.

“Indeed! It’s somepony I’ve been penpals with for a while now, and they’re going to try and sneak in and surprise me. Do you think you could help me turn the tables and surprise them instead?”

“Nopony can out-surprise party Pinkamenia Diane Pie!" she said, adorning icing as war paint. “When’re they gonna be here?”

“I have no idea!” Discord chuckled, leaning on the counter. “I don’t even know what they look like. As I told you, we’ve yet to formally meet – I only have their pen name to go by: Bip.” Not very creative, granted, but it’s all he cared to muster. And so, it seemed, it’s all Pinkie cared to need.

“Bip?” Pinkie snickered. “Bip’s gonna get the bestest most awesomemest surprise party of her life!”

“I knew I could count on you, Ponka,” Discord said, patting her squeaky mane. “Now, you know Bip could have eyes anywhere. We absolutely have to keep this between us,” he continued, conjuring a cupcake into existence.

“Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” she whispered, smashing the confection into her eye. “Where is the party gonna be?” she asked, licking the icing from her face.

“I have a feeling it will take place in the Everfree forest, but I’m not certain yet. Bip is rather sneaky, and probably thinks she can slip in unnoticed there.”

“Clever girl.”

“Together we can defeat Bip,” he said, donning a safari outfit.

“We may need some backup. Lucky for you, I know just the mare!” Pinkie said, bouncing off of the counter, towards the door. “She’ll love it!”

The Everfree Forest

In spite of the sun settling into an early noon position, the forest was cool and dark. The leaves didn’t sing today, apparently devoid of birds and wind. The entire forest, in fact, felt eerily empty. Not even the dreadful magic that lingered over the trees seemed to be present.

“Where is everyone?” Fluttershy asked, peeking out from behind Pinkie Pie.

“It’s a surprise party silly! We’re the welcome wagon!”

“And, um, who is it that wants to sneak into Ponyville?” the pegasus whispered. “Bip?”

“Bip! A friend of Discord’s!” That statement did little to quell Fluttershy’s nerves.

“Well, if he’s a friend of Discord’s,” Fluttershy murmured.

“Bip’s a she,” Pinkie corrected, bouncing further into the forest with not a care in the world.

“Are you sure? Do you even know what Bip is?”

“Hmmm,” Pinkie paused, hoof to chin. “Nnnnope!”

“Maybe we should go get Discord?” Fluttershy offered, her voice assuming an impressively quiet volume.

“Weelll,” Pinkie stopped hopping, looking around the still forest. “He said he wanted to get a present ready for Bip. We really should start setting up – who knows when Bip will arrive! We don’t want to throw a half party!” The party pony resumed her jumping, slowly leading her friend deeper into the forest. “Besides, it’s just the old castle. We’ve been there loads a times with Twilight!”

Several hours later, the sun was well on its way to the horizon. The stars began peeking through the sky, dotting the inky blackness of the night. Fluttershy halfheartedly hung streamers with Pinkie’s guidance. Admittedly, the main hall of the castle was turning out to be quite the party room. The dark, desolate hallways leading into the main room contrasted starkly. It was as if the castle itself was harboring the ancient fears of the forest. Like they’d been forced into hiding by something much… more.

“Can we go now?” Fluttershy asked, repeating her question for the umpteenth time.

“Almost… done!” Pinkie said, ignoring the repeated question. The streamer fell loose after being released, drooping just so. “We’re ready!” Pinkie jumped in place, giddy with anticipation now. “I wonder when Bip will show up?”

As if on cue, Discord entered the main hall. Behind him, a rather large present was resting on a particularly creaky wagon.

“Sorry I’m late,” he said, continuing to maneuver the present towards the center of the room. “This gift took me a while to put together. Since it’s Bip, I wanted to make sure it’s special.”

“Why didn’t you just use your hoosawhatsit power and make whatever it is like you always do?”

“As I said, Pinkie, it’s a very special present. Whipping something up with chaos just wouldn’t be the same,” Discord said, smiling coyly. “Fluttershy!” he continued, dropping the wagon’s handle, “So glad you could help!”

“Anything for a friend,” the yellow pegasus smiled.

“And what a true friend you are,” he said, grabbing both ponies for a group hug. “I don’t think I could’ve pulled this off without the two of you. Bip is going to love it!”

“Oooh! Do you know when we get to meet her?” Pinkie asked, eyes wide with wonder. Her imagination had perhaps gone a bit wild, conjuring up a bubblegum colored earth pony.

“Soon, soon,” Discord said, patting the party pony. “In fact, I have a sneaking suspicion he’ll be here tonight.”

“He?” repeated Pinkie. “I thought Bip was a she?”

“You know, you could be right,” Discord noted, releasing the two ponies. “I don’t really know either – it’s just not something that’s ever come up in our messages. Bip is a very private,” he paused again, considering his options. “Pony. I think.” A new problem bubbled up to the top of his mind now. “There’s only one last thing we need to do. Bip’s never been to Ponyville before, so he won’t know his way around. We’ll need to meet him in the forest. Shall we?” he asked, gesturing towards the castle entrance.

Pinkie’s eyes seemed to give off light directly now as she bounced towards the door. Fluttershy, not wanting to be left alone in the eerie castle was close behind.

“I’m not sure this is a good idea,” Fluttershy piped up, hovering rather close to Discord. “The creatures of the forest won’t like us being nosey so late!”

“When I was a little filly and the sun was going down…” Pinkie started, still hopping. Before she could get the next verse out however, Discord’s paw was covering her mouth.

“As much as I adore your singing voice,” he said, looking around, “I have to agree with Fluttershy.” Pinkie groaned, pouting through Discord’s paw. “You can sing as much as you like once the party is in motion, I promise.”

“Speaking of parties,” Fluttershy said, more questions welling up in her head, “is anypony else coming?”

“I sent some invitations, but I’m not sure if anypony will want to meet Bip,” Discord said, shrugging. “I have a bit of a reputation, don’t you know, and I’m willing to bet it extends to my friends as well. It’s a shame, really. I know for a fact that ol Smoozey would just love to meet you!”

“Discord, can we go home now?” Pinkie asked, tail droopy now. The moon was high in the sky, basking the forest floor in patches with its pale light. Fluttershy had long since forgone flying, instead napping on a cotton candy cloud conjured by Discord.

“I suppose Bip might not arrive tonight,” the draconequus sighed, his own head hanging low. After hours of dragging Pinkie and Fluttershy though the forest, he was finally starting to realize what his obsession had been doing to him. “Let’s head home.”

“Aw, cheer up!” Pinkie could sense the disappointment in his voice. “I’m sure Bip will show up eventually! She said she was coming, didn’t she?”

Discord cringed. That hadn’t been entirely true. He’d interpreted the sudden disappearance from the machine in the sky as such, convinced it was focused on him and him alone. For all his instincts, all his intuition, the forest offered not so much as a broken twig of evidence. Still, his own chaotic senses were tingling, begging him to keep looking. Something was ahoof, and he would find out what. Just, not as soon as he wanted to.

“I’d hide under my pillow,” Pinkie sang, quieter than normal. “From what I thought I saw; but Granny Pie said that wasn’t the way; to deal with fears at all.” Much to Discord’s appreciation, Pinkie apparently took note of the still snoozing Fluttershy, and decided to hum the rest of the song to herself.

Discord yawned, stretching and rubbing his eyes while they walked back to town. This had all been for naught – and it took him dragging his friends around to convince himself of that. For now, this would do. He’d devise a better plan at a later time, after a good night’s sleep.

Or, he would’ve.

After opening his eyes again, he could’ve sworn something else was looking back at him. Stopping in his tracks, he squinted. A pair of red, glowing orbs stared back at him, as though to pierce through his soul. The rest of whatever figure was there was completely concealed in the darkness cast by the forest canopy.

“Pinkie,” he whispered, causing the pony to stop bouncing. “Do you see that?” The party pony followed his gaze, stopping when she spotted the lights in the distance.

“Woah,” she said, tilting her head. “What do you suppose it is?”

Discord didn’t answer. Confirmation. Finally, confirmation that he noticed something somepony else could see. He wasn’t crazy! Er, no more so than normal, at least. Still, the eyes currently burrowing into his being had triggered something else inside him, and it had little to do with confirmation. Run. Hide. Attack. Curl up and cry – something! His mind and magic sent every conceivable command to him, but none took. Instead, he stood there, as though a statue once more.

“Discord?” Pinkie asked, finally turning to see the expression on his face. “Is that Bip?” Her normally bubbly voice had taken a solemn turn now. Something about that gaze was equally unsettling to her. In response, Discord nodded slowly, going so far as to only blink one eye at a time. “Bip’s nice, right?” she asked, the faintest hint of a quiver in her voice.

Still, he could find no words. His first thought may have been of confirmation – validation even; but his next thoughts went to Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. He had lured them into the Everfree forest, to find something that his own chaos couldn’t control. Fluttershy, a relatively weak flier, and Pinkie Pie, who’s own chaotic magic was likely just as ineffective as his.

“Pinkie, I need you to take Fluttershy to the castle,” he said, still maintaining his staring contest with the eyes. “You’ll be safe there.” More an attempt to calm himself than the ponies. He deflated the cotton candy cloud that was serving as Fluttershy’s perch, waking her.

“Discord?” Fluttershy asked, wiping the sleep from her eyes. “What’s going on?”

“It would seem Bip has arrived,” Discord murmured. “And he’s not the friend I thought he was.”

It was at that moment that the eyes began to move towards them.

[HW - 3] Discovery - First Contact

The Everfree Forest

“Go now!” Discord hissed, turning his attention to Pinkie and Fluttershy. “You have to get out of here!”

“But it’s scary out there!” Fluttershy whimpered, somehow hiding more of her body behind Pinkie.

“Besides, we can take’em!” Pinkie said, standing on her hind legs to box at the approaching pair of eyes.

“Fine,” Discord muttered, taking one pony in each arm. His mind was racing too far ahead for him to keep up, muting his normal banter. Instead, he began flapping his wings to fly everyone out of the forest. Simple enough plan, surely that thing can’t go up!

Why is it then, he wondered, that his wings were flapping but his feet were still on the ground?

“That’s never happened before,” he said, looking at his legs. “What is that thing?” he asked, turning to cast an angry glare towards the eyes. The glare fell on the red eyes just like all the others; their own gaze burning fear back into him. “Leave us alone!” he shouted, sprinting into the forest. His mind was clouded with too many thoughts and plans to identify – he needed to focus.

“Pinkie,” he said, placing the party pony on his head. “You’re on navigation. Steer me to the castle.”

“Aye-eye, captain!”

“Fluttershy,” he continued, holding the petrified pegasus over his shoulder. “You’re on lookout duty. Keep an eye on Bip and make sure he doesn’t do anything weird.” The pegasus said nothing, simply wrapping her arms around his neck. He continued to sprint down the forest, twisting and turning as Pinkie steered them towards the castle.

Hopefully.

Now he had to think. What was he going to do? Fluttershy would never forgive him after this – let alone purple smart. Of course, this was all assuming they could get away from Bip in one piece. So far his magic had proved only to be in the way, causing him to waste time and energy on something that had apparently no effect.

“This entire situation is looking more and more impossible,” he mumbled, running his free claw along his forehead. “How close are we, Pinkie?” he asked, only barely aware of the blur of forestry streaking past as he ran. In actuality, his legs were beginning to burn quite readily – an odd sensation for a creature that barely used them.

“I can see it!” she said, jumping up and down on his head. “I can see Fluttershy’s cottage!”

“Cottage?!” Discord’s eyes snapped back into focus, Fluttershy’s normally welcoming home sinking his heart as it came into view. “We were supposed to go to the castle!” he said, continuing to barrel towards the cottage.

“Oooohhh. I thought you said cottage.”

Fluttershy’s Cottage

“It’ll have to do,” he continued, breath ragged as his tired body demanded attention. Reaching the domicile, he placed both ponies at the door, ushering them inside. “Fluttershy,” he said, heaving great huffs of air into his fiery lungs. “Did you see Bip? How close was he?”

“I,” she started, curling up into a ball of shivering pink and yellow. “I closed my eyes.” Discord slapped his paw against his face, dragging it down slowly.

“Things are only impossible until they are not,” he said, brain rapidly spiraling into the sweet embrace of madness once more. “Everypony hide,” he finally said, looking around the cottage for anything that might give them an edge. “If we hide well and don’t make any sound, I bet he’ll just leave.”

“Maybe he didn’t follow us?” Fluttershy offered, an ear poking out of her defensive ball like a periscope.

“I get the sneaking suspicion he did,” Discord said, peering through a window. Nothing. Inky blackness of the forest waving back in the breeze. He said nothing, not wanting to edge his chances towards a hasty mistake. “We have to hide, now!” he hissed quietly, slithering into Fluttershy’s fireplace.

Fluttershy whimpered, managing to either ooze or roll her way under the sofa. It was difficult for Discord to tell through the soot. While he’d been focusing on the pegasus, Pinkie had somehow managed to worm her way into a birdhouse. It was less a birdhouse and more a samurai armor set now, but at least it was something.

Discord was, in a word, panicking. No magic, chaos or otherwise, and little more than ash in this chimney to defend his friends. How did earth ponies live like this? His wings ached, his calves burned, and his arms throbbed. Every inch of his body demanded rest, or at the very least relief via magic; but none was coming any time soon.

Instead, all of his muscles managed to tense up more than he thought possible. Moonlight was now spilling onto the floor, illuminating the den. The lack of royal decrees inclined Discord to believe it was not, in fact, Moonpie. When the moonlight was obstructed, it was then he decided that he must act.

Lowering his head into the fireplace, he managed to get his first good glimpse of Bip. Whatever he was, he seemed vaguely familiar. Two legs, two arms, and a head. At least, if his own body was to be any kind of guide. The blue uniform was rather striking, though. Why would a demon from beyond the stars bother dressing so… formally?

Discord’s heart sank. The creature was kneeling down in front of the couch Fluttershy had chosen to hide under. Without much in the way of forethought, Discord shoved himself back down the fireplace, thrusting ash and soot into the den.

“Con permiso!” he yelled, standing abruptly to throw more ash around. “You will not hurt my friends!” he continued, pulling the cabinet beside the door down on the monster. “Fluttershy, Pinkie, run!” he yelled, jumping atop the beast. “I’ll hold him down!”

As if on cue, the beast began to rise to its standing posture. With seemingly no effort whatsoever, it shrugged off both Discord and the cabinet. In the resulting cacophony of wood splintering across the floor, a yellow blur rushed upstairs, while Pinkie-Samurai-Jack plopped down next to Discord.

“You made Fluttershy cry, you big meanie!” she yelled, leaping forward with a bird cage as a sword.

“Pinkie! Go get help!” Discord said, grabbing her shoulder before she could get too far. “I’ll do what I can here, but we need the elements of harmony – all of them!”

The words stung as they left his mouth. The very elements that had imprisoned him were now a fleeting hope. If only he had his magic to help him! He could have this petulant disruption taken care of in a snap, if only his magic worked on it!

“That’s it!” he said, an idea sparking as Pinkie bolted out the front door. “My magic can’t affect you,” he said, clapping his paw and claw together. “But it can affect everything around you!”

His paw and claw separated slowly, white hot chaos sparkling between them. The floor ripped asunder, pulling down Fluttershy’s couch, table and chair. The red lisps of heat rasped at Bip’s feet, crawling up his legs as he floated above the void below.

“This is the part where you fall,” Discord said defiantly, looking upon Bip as it turned around.

“Con permisso,” Bip said. The voice had no emotion that Discord could identify. No feeling. No life. Yet the very sound it made ran down his spine, tingling each of his extremities. Instead of the void pulling him down, swallowing him up like so much tat in Fluttershy’s cottage, he remained.

Continuing as though the floor was still there, Bip stepped towards Discord, through the ash. His red eyes burned though the dust, through Discord’s own eyes, down into his very being. No matter how hard he tried, he could not move. He couldn’t even avert his eyes. This was worse than getting the stare treatment from Fluttershy.

Fluttershy.

Suddenly, his mind was again lost in chaos. Thoughts swirled, time distorted, priorities shifted. As focus left the void in the floor, Fluttershy’s cottage quickly returned to normal, as though nothing had happened. Banana hush. Yellow quiet. Flutter butter.

He needed to make sure she was safe – that Bip never laid a hand on her.

“It’s me you want, isn’t it?” he asked, hands falling to his sides. “If I go without a fight, will you leave these ponies alone?” Bip didn’t respond. It simply continued to stare into his soul, burning away at his conviction. “You can speak, I know you can!”

It was Bip’s turn to tilt his head. The eyes didn’t blink, despite the settling ash and soot. They didn’t narrow. Not a sign in the world that any word Discord had said was even understood by the creature.

“There’s no fun in any game if you break all the rules up front! Just take me and be done with it!” Still, Bip only stared. “Do something!” Discord demanded, arms open wide. “Blink! Growl at me! Something!”

Bip raised his arms as Discord did.

“Con permiso,” it repeated.

The voice still irritated his spinal fluid, but it was a start.

“That’s my cue!” came a rather brash, blue sounding voice. What had to be fractions of a second later, Rainbow Dash had plowed into Bip, pile-driving him through Fluttershy’s window.

“Deus Ex Dash!” Discord yelled, quite literally jumping with glee. He sank to his knees, muscles able to take no more abuse without some kind of magical aid.

“Discord, what did you do?” That voice sounded purple, smart, and agitated.

“Make sure Fluttershy is safe,” Discord said, laying down on the floor now. He curled up, barely aware of the rest of Twilight’s ensemble as they shambled into Fluttershy’s home.

“Discord!” Twilight yelled, rousing him from his fast approaching sleep. “Discord, this is no time for a nap! I need to know what you did!”

“I didn’t do anything!” Discord snapped, raising his head to meet hers. “Bip is here! You refused to believe me – none of you believed me, and now he’s here!”

“Bip? Who’s Bip?”

“Must I spell everything out for you? Bip is the machine from the sky! He landed, and he’s not friendly. You have to stop him – chaos doesn’t seem to work on him. Skittles will need your help, now go! Power of friendship and all that,” he said, waiving his claw dismissively. The protagonists were here, it was their turn to deal with Bip.

Bip, as it turns out, was able to easily remove Rainbow Dash. He held her up as she struggled against him, swinging all four hooves wildly in an attempt to disable the creature.

“You wanna piece of me?!” she growled. Still, Bip merely held her at bay. Instead, his gaze returned to Fluttershy’s cottage. Rainbow’s gaze followed Bip’s, quickly putting two and two together. “Oh no you don’t!” she said, flapping her wings furiously. Slowly she began to lift Bip off the ground, using his grip to her advantage.

“Con permiso,” Bip repeated, releasing her. Rainbow’s furious flapping caused her to shoot up into the air, no longer burdened by the creature’s grip. The voice had a similar effect to the pegasus, however. It was alien and uncaring. The sheer strangeness of it threw off her already unexpected flight path, landing her in the branches of a nearby tree.

“Come back here!” she yelled, struggling in the branches of her new captor. “Twilight, lookout!”

To everyone’s surprise, Bip didn’t crawl back through the window. Instead, he calmly walked around to the front door, and entered once more. He scanned each of the new arrivals with his devilish red gaze before focusing once more on Discord.

“Con permiso,” it repeated.

“Discord, what’s it saying?” Twilight asked, standing between Bip and the draconequus.

“It’s something he heard me say – it means ‘excuse me,’ but I doubt very much Bip knows what that means.”

“You’re sure it’s not friendly?” Twilight asked.

“Twi, just look at its eyes!” Applejack said, guarding the staircase. “Have you ever known red eyes to be friendly?”

“AJ!” Twilight said, casting her friend a harsh gaze. “Just because something is different from us, doesn’t mean it’s evil! Did you already forget what Zecora taught us?” She returned her gaze to Bip, directing her questions back to Discord. “What is it he did, Discord?”

“Discord,” Bip repeated. A new word.

“It doesn’t matter what he did – my magic doesn’t affect him! I can’t stop him from pursuing me, Fluttershy or Pinkie Pie! Whatever Bip is, it’s immune to me and has to be stopped!”

“It matters exactly what he did!” Twilight barked, turning her head slightly towards Discord. Still, she kept her eyes on Bip, but Discord got the message. “If his only crime is being different from us and ignoring your magic, then he’s done nothing wrong!”

“What about breaking and entering? Surely that has to count for something in this lawless country!”

“Discord,” Bip said, pointing to the draconequus.

“Oh, very impressive. Eat a good book while I wasn’t looking?” Discord sneered.

“AJ,” Bip continued, pointing now to Applejack.

“Twilight,” Twilight said, sitting up to point a hoof to herself.

“Twilight,” Bip repeated, pointing to the purple unicorn.

“Pinkie Pie!” Pinkie said, bouncing up and down with excitement.

“Pinkie Pie,” Bip repeated once more, pointing to the party pony.

“Yes yes, we’re all very impressed Bip – you’re obviously a descendant from some kind of space parrot,” Discord groaned. “Twilight, can you please just turn it to stone so we can deal with it at our own pace?”

“Bip?” Twilight asked, pointing a hoof to the creature. She would have words with Discord later about his comment. Bip’s expression changed. Or, perhaps it would be more accurate to say that Bip’s face took on an expression from one of stoicism. It seemed almost… confused? Lost, even?

“Anonymous,” Bip finally said, pointing to itself.

“I don’t suppose you said that at all, did you?” Twilight asked, looking back to Discord.

“I hope that thesaurus gives you indigestion,” Discord growled.

“I think we’ve got a lot to talk about,” Twilight said, turning to Discord fully.

[HW - 4] Discovery - While True

“You can’t be serious, Twi,” AJ said, eying the newly christened Anonymous.

“Where else are we supposed to put him?”

“Why don’t we just put him in my barn?”

“So close to Apple Bloom and Granny Smith? No,” Twilight said, kicking the floor for emphasis. “He needs to stay at the library with me, where I can keep an eye on him.”

“What if he tries to hurt you like he did Fluttershy?”

“He didn’t hurt her, and we don’t even know what his intention was! For all we know, Discord summoned him and is just being Discord!”

“I beg your pardon!” the draconequus growled. “Look at him! So symmetrical and upright. He’s nothing but trouble for us, mark my words, Sparkle.”

“Regardless, he seems calm now.” She turned her attention to Anonymous – her gaze finding his own burning, right where she’d left it. Ignoring the hair starting to raise on her back, she pressed on. “Anonymous. Do you understand me?”

Silence.

“Answer her, Bip – we all know you can!” Discord snapped. The snap of Anonymous’s gaze to Discord heralded a wave of shivers down his spine.

“Anonymous!” Twilight said, louder this time. His gaze snapped back to her with the same precision and unnatural speed it had snapped to Discord. “Follow me,” she said, quieter now that she held his gaze. Taking a deep breath, she slowly started walking towards the door, careful to navigate around any furniture that might still be standing.

The house was silent as she moved. Despite them being behind her, she could feel everyone’s eyes on Anonymous – almost boring through him to her. Step by trepid step, she exited Fluttershy’s cottage.

Step by heavy step, Anonymous followed.

Why would a monster stop terrorizing someone just because it made it to their house? Why would it stop attacking before landing a single blow? Why would it stop when it had the advantage over Discord? Still, step after heavy step, Anonymous obediently followed her back to Ponyville.

Stopping at the outskirts of town, she finally turned around to look at Anonymous again. His gaze was in the same position, attempting to burn through her skull. His motion stopped with hers, maintaining the distance they’d started out with.

“This is Ponyville,” she said, gesturing to the town. Once again, his gaze followed her gesture. Eyes wandering over the picturesque sunrise before them. “Would you like to see it?” Anonymous’ gaze slowly fell back to Twilight. Nothing was said, no movement or expression. He simply stared at her, eyes probing her more and more. “Then follow me, and only me.”

She led him through the sleepy streets. It didn’t appear that their escapade through the night had gone noticed, thankfully. If she was lucky, she could get him into the library before anyone else found out.

Picking up her pace, she listened carefully, for Anonymous’s footsteps. Sure enough, they were closer together – more frequent. Bumping up to a steady trot, she quickly found herself in front of the mahogany door to the library. Carefully, she opened the door and stepped inside.

“This is my house – the Ponyville library,” she said, sighing with relief. Turning around, she beckoned Anonymous to come inside, and so he did. “I think Spike is probably still asleep, so try and be quiet,” she said, closing the door behind him. Glancing back at his expressionless face, she paused for a moment. “On second thought, just stay here,” she said, leaving him at the entrance.

“Spike?” she whispered, poking her head up into the bedroom. Her eyes found Spike, sleeping like… well, like a baby dragon. Her pupils dilated however, when she found cyan eyes staring back at her.

“Greetings, Twilight Sparkle.”

“P-Princess Luna!” she squeaked, freezing in place. “What are you doing here?”

“It is good to see you, too, Twilight,” the princess said, adjusting Spike’s blanket with her magic. “I am here because of what transpired during the night in the Everfree forest.” She glanced back to the happily snoring baby dragon. “Perhaps we should continue this discussion downstairs?”

Twilight nodded solemnly, heading back downstairs. How much trouble was she about to get into? Did she do something wrong? Is Anonymous more dangerous than she first thought? She stopped in front of the creature, looking up into his gaze.

“So, this is what landed in the forest?” Luna said, circling Anonymous slowly.

“Yes, Princess. I’m sorry I didn’t say something sooner, I thought we could handle this without bothering your or Princess Celestia.”

“You have nothing to apologize for, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna said, continuing to inspect Anonymous. Through all of her observations though, Anonymous’ gaze stayed firmly transfixed on Twilight. “What do you know of it?”

“Not much, unfortunately. He seems to understand at least some of what we say, but I don’t know for certain. Discord claims-“

“Discord is involved?” Luna asked, feathers ruffling.

“Yes, princess. Him, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were the first ones to meet Anonymous. Sort of.”

“Anonymous?” Upon hearing his name from a new figure, Anonymous’ gaze snapped to Luna. “What else do you know?”

“Discord claims his magic doesn’t work on Anonymous. When Pinkie told us what happened, we found a… bit of a mess at Fluttershy’s house.”

“Was anyone hurt?”

“No. Discord was tired, but aside from the mess, Anonymous just stood around. Kind of like he is now.” On cue, his gaze snapped back to Twilight. “He can speak.”

“And yet he chooses silence in my presence. Anonymous,” Luna said, commanding his attention once more. “Why are you here?”

“I’ve already tried that. I’m not sure he understands us fully. He knows enough to at least follow basic commands though.”

“What is your purpose?” Silence. “Where are you from?” Luna’s eyes glinted with frustration.

“I’m still trying to work out how to communicate with him. There’s no pattern to the words he says, at least none that I can find so far. I’m still not sure he can form full sentences.”

“A youngling, perhaps,” Luna said, more to herself than to Twilight.

“He doesn’t seem very childish,” Twilight said, brow furrowing with thought. “Besides, if he’s this big as a child, his adult version must be enormous!” The unicorn paused for a moment, setting her thoughts on Anonymous aside. “Princess Luna, why are you interested in Anonymous?”

“That is not something I wish to discuss, Twilight Sparkle,” she said softly. “Just know that I intend to learn all that I can about this… Anonymous of yours.” A slight smile crept onto her muzzle. “Consider it a Royal privilege for now.” She chuckled to herself. The number of times her sister used that excuse to be alone…

“O-oh! Of course!” Twilight said, ever eager to avoid infringing on a princess’ prerogative. Turning to her books, she began scouring the spines for anything that popped out. She wasn’t sure exactly what she was looking for, only that she would know it when she found it.

History of Equestria? Eh, throw it in the pile.

Modern Spellcasting? No.

Perplexing Pony Plagues? Hopefully not!

The Astronomical Astronomer’s Almanac to All Things Astronomy: 2nd Edition? No…

Right?

“Princess Luna,” she said, levitating the stack of books with her as she walked back to the princess. “Do you know where Anonymous came from?”

“Is he not from the Everfree Forest?” She finally broke her gaze with Anonymous, facing Twilight now.

“I’m not sure. I’ve never seen or heard about anything like him before,” she said, setting the book tower down between herself and Luna. “I’ve got some older Compendiums here – I was hoping to find something at least close to him.”

“I will assist you,” Luna said, enveloping half of the books with her own magic. “Perhaps the two of us can find answers faster.”

“I’ve been through every book five times!” Twilight groaned, collapsing on the floor. “Nothing!”

“There is a distinct chance that nothing has been written about Anonymous,” Luna said, wiping the sleep from her own eyes.

“I was hoping for something – anything! Not even a hint of him or his kind.”

“I have been fruitless as well in my endeavors. There is nothing matching Anonymous’ description in any of the books I have read, either.”

Twilight sat for a while, words and thoughts colliding mindlessly in her normally organized head. Something was there, she could feel it. Of all the knowledge both her and Luna had gone over, something was trying to stick out to her – trying to get her attention amidst the information overload.

“Wait a minute,” she said, sitting up. “We don’t know what we don’t know.”

“That’s… right?” Luna said, tilting her head slightly to look at Twilight. “Please Twilight Sparkle, do not add to my headache by having me guess.”

“We don’t know what we don’t know!” the unicorn repeated excitedly, standing back up fully. “He’s not in any of our books!” She squealed in excitement. “There’s nothing about Anonymous or anything like him in our books, right?”

“Nothing that either of us could find, no.”

“Then that means Anonymous truly is completely alien! He’s not from our world at all!” Twilight’s pupils went wide as she realized the responsibility that had just befallen her. “We’re the first ponies to ever interact with him or his kind. I have to log this – all of it!”

“Log,” Anonymous repeated, his voice raising the hair on Twilight’s neck.

“Log?” she repeated, looking back to Anonymous.

“Log,” he said again.

“Anonymous,” Luna said, watching the creature. His gaze stayed firmly affixed where it had been – on some point beyond Twilight.

“Why didn’t he look at you?” Twilight asked, picking up more pieces of the puzzle she was trying to solve. “Log,” she said again.

“Log,” Anonymous repeated, his brow furrowing.

“He looks,” she paused, making sure her eyes weren’t deceiving her. “Confused?”

“Overflow,” he said, looking to Twilight.

“I’m positive he hasn’t heard that word from anyone – not since I’ve seen him. What could he mean?”

“Overflow,” he repeated. There was a certain excitement to his voice now. Twilight could hear something in his voice now – fear. “Overflow,” he repeated, looking to Luna.

“I don’t understand,” Luna said.

“Overflow,” he said, turning back to Twilight. “Overflow!” Before Twilight could probe with further questions, Anonymous became still as a board. Without so much as a beep, he fell backwards with a thud.

“Anonymous!” Twilight said, scrambling over to him. “No, no, no!” Her hooves quickly started padding and prodding at his body, trying to find some sort of injury that would explain what just happened. “I don’t understand!”

“I will summon a doctor,” Luna said, leaving Twilight alone with Anonymous.

“Did we do something wrong?” she asked, placing her head to his chest. The sounds she heard were alien and unnatural, but they were sounds. She tried to prop him up, muscles straining to her surprise. “Wow you’re heavy,” she said, horn lighting up. “That’s okay though, I know a few levitation spells that might help.”

The pinkish-purple aura engulfed her horn shortly before engulfing Anonymous. When she applied force however, the aura disappeared.

“What the?” she said, re-lighting her horn. Once more, she applied force and attempted to cast the levitation spell on Anonymous, only for the aura to disappear completely once more. “Why doesn’t my magic work on you?” She levitated a book, making sure she wasn’t the source of the problem. The book smashed into the ceiling, reminding her that she was no longer trying to levitate the massive slab of Anonymous. Wincing, she released the book, letting it drop back to the floor.

“Twilight?” Spike yawned, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he wandered down the stairs. “What’s going on?” he asked, blinking further sleep away. “Who’s that?”

“His name is Anonymous, and I think I broke him,” she said, now looking to her books on magic.

“Shouldn’t we take him to the doctor?”

“Luna is already on the way, and I couldn’t move him if I wanted to,” she said, flipping through book after book.

“Wait, Luna? Princess Luna is here?”

“No, that’s not it either,” she said, tossing another book to the pile.

“What are you looking for?” Spike asked, maintaining a healthy distance between himself and Anonymous. Just in case.

“A-ha! Magical Compendium,” she said, flipping through the pages with an almost worrying speed. “Absorbing Magic,” she muttered, eyes sprinting over the ink on the page. “Well, I didn’t see any bell on him,” she said to herself.

“Twilight?” Luna said, leading the doctor in behind her. “Has there been any change?”

“None,” she said, forehead wrinkling with thought. “I heard something in his chest, but I don’t know that I’d call it a heartbeat.”

“Alright, let’s have a look-see,” the doctor said, sitting down next to Anonymous and opening his bag.

“Twilight, what are you looking for?” Luna asked, turning her attention back to the studious unicorn.

“I tried to move Anonymous, but he absorbed my magic,” she said, still looking through the book. “I’m trying to find anything about magic absorption, but everything just keeps pointing back to some kind of bell!”

“That bell is safely stowed away in Tartarus,” Luna said firmly.

“Are you sure?” Twilight asked, looking up from her book. “I can’t find anything else that could absorb that much magic that quickly.”

“Regardless, it is too large a bell for Anonymous to conceal.”

“Well, I don’t think he’s dead,” the doctor finally said, pulling the stethoscope from his ears. “But I can’t quite say that he’s alive, either.”

“Explain,” Luna said.

“Well, I didn’t find a heartbeat – I found four of them! If he were a pony, I’d recommend he see a specialist in Canterlot.” The doctor paused, looking from his patient to Twilight. “What is he, exactly?”

“We’re not sure yet,” Twilight said, assessing her options. “Spike, can you go to Sweet Apple Acres and get Apple Jack and Big Mac over here? Tell them it’s an emergency.”

“You got it!” Spike said, saluting before running off towards the Apple’s farm.

“Doctor, stay here with Anonymous, in case anything changes. Princess Luna and I are going to get Discord.”

“You are?” the doctor asked.

“We are?” Luna repeated.

“Yes, we are. We need to know everything he knows about Anonymous,” Twilight said. “He’s the only connection that we haven’t fully explored, and he still owes me a thorough debriefing.”