It had been about a week since Twilight, and later Starlight, had gone away.

Spike was getting wary of his newfound power over Equestria. As the de facto leader in Twilight’s unexpected absence, he was overwhelmed with the various tasks he had delegated for himself and his friends and colleagues. Cadence and Shining Armor had travelled back to the Crystal Empire, along with Thorax back to the Changeling Hive. Even his pony friends, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Rarity still had to travel back and forth between Ponyville and Canterlot, as day-to-day tasks never stopped, even in the midst of what certainly was a royal and political crisis. Applejack had to check on Big Mac and Applebloom’s progress for the season’s harvest at Sweet Apple Acres, and Rarity was busy designing dresses for the next Grand Galloping Gala, an occasion sure to be marred with much disdain and controversy after all that had happened since the last celebration. Pinkie Pie was tending to her duties at Sugarcube Corner, while caring for the ageing Mrs. Cake, who was dealing with an unfortunate illness. Even with the help of their twins–now in their early adulthood–Pinkie Pie rarely had a moment of peace in the shop. Rainbow Dash was indisposed helping Spitfire design training lessons for a batch of recruits at the Wonderbolt Academy. Finally, Fluttershy had gone back to visit her animal sanctuary and pay respects at the grave of her deceased pet rabbit, Angel Bunny. The elderly rabbit had passed away peacefully in his sleep after a long life of mischief.

Even Zecora had to travel back to Ponyville, as her status as the town’s resident medicine woman meant she was often crowded with ailing visitors who sought out her unconventional methods rather than pay increasingly exorbitant hospital fees. Great. Now Spike was thinking about the Ponyville Hospital, which always reminded him of the healthcare situation in Equestria. It was a royal headache, no pun intended.

Only Discord remained, a fact that would have been perfect to play some O and O, but there wasn’t time for such things during the daytime. Every day for the past few weeks since Twilight and Starlight had gone away, he was awake before the sun rose and asleep until well after his room was flooded with moonlight. His tail dragged on the cold wooden floor and even Discord’s antics couldn’t make him smile. He could understand why Twilight broke down so often. He would too, if he wasn’t forced to be the calm, reassuring face for a city in an uncertain limbo. Now, he and Discord were walking to his office, a rare moment of quiet before being faced with the mountainous responsibilities of the day.

“Discord!” One of the guards yelled at the draconequus, who had momentarily turned the curtains into Swiss cheese.

“Sorry!” Discord said quickly, although the glint in his eyes said otherwise. He snapped his fingers, and the curtains returned to normal, although the guard was grumbling about it as he walked abc to his assigned post.
As they walked, Discord was quietly fuming at the refusal of his unconventional castle decor. “Honestly, what is with these uptight ponies? Celestia forbid a handsome fellow like myself give this castle a little pizzazz.” He rolled his eyes.

“I don’t think cheese curtains count, Discord!” Spike said, although he was grinning.

“Hmm ... .then what counts as pizzaz to Canterlot? More red carpets and depressing curtains? If I had my way there would be a portrait of me in every room, to remind everypony of my greatness!”

Spike grunted. In the decade or so since Twilight’s coronation, Discord’s silliness had only grown, along with his self-importance. Now, as a very high-ranking member of Twilight’s staff, Spike feared that Discord’s ego was….actually warranted. He shuddered at the thought. Now that Discord was so powerful, perhaps he would have settled down now that he had gotten the recognition he craved. But nope! He had just gotten sillier and more annoying. But it was all in good fun, because guy’s night had only gotten more elaborate the few times a year that all had enough free time. Last time, Discord had gotten special permission from Princess Twilight to briefly turn the castle’s hallways into a slip and slide. Spike had been mercilessly tossed onto the wet ground and had nearly collided with one of the guards, which only made the whole situation funnier.

A gentle buzz went off in his bag, and he opened his phone to check who was calling. Cell phones were a very new device in Equestria, but they were much less taxing to use than having scrolls come out of his mouth every so often. The caller-ID showed that Ember, his dragon friend, was calling. Spike wasn’t really looking for romance at the moment because he was so busy, but Ember had insisted that one of her childhood friends would be perfect for him. According to Ember, this lady dragon was really into comics, had a lot of close friends and family, and was studious and smart but not neurotic. She even worked as a professional baker, specialising in gem cakes, which were Spike’s favourite dish. It was a match made in heaven, according to Ember. Spike would have to see. Would he ever have time for romance with Equestria in such a state. Also, it still was a gentle pang every time he saw Rarity with her “special somepony”, although he was of course happy that they were happy. He sent a text back to Ember, saying he would agree to go on a date with this dragon. He didn’t know why he said yes, exactly. He didn’t exactly want to, really. But Equestria had been in such a crazy state lately that he needed something to kind of look forward to.

Discord caught onto the message Spike was sending back to Ember and gave him a knowing smirk, nudging him in the ribs good-naturedly.

“So….you have a special somepony…..very nice!” Discord’s claws were clasped together and his eyes had a chaotic glint in them.

Spike gulped. It was always hard to tell with Discord, but he hoped the chaotic creature wouldn’t try to prank him or something. “Well…” he said, shifting his feet, a blush spreading across his face. He hadn’t even met the pony! Why was he already getting butterflies in his stomach? Maybe the elements or something already knew Ember’s dragon friend was the one and were sending him some funky signals. Or he had eaten something bad the night before. He had been chowing down on too many red gems lately….

“Well…not a special somepony….but a special somedragon, I guess?” His voice went high-pitched at the end, like he was asking a question to himself.

Discord’s eyes lit up. He knew how much Rarity’s gentle rejection many years ago had hurt his friend deeply and was thrilled that his buddy was getting back into the dating scene. “Ooooh,” He said, his voice teasing and shrill. “Tell me more!” He snapped his fingers, and a bewildered-looking Big Mac suddenly appeared beside them. He was clearly in the midst of picking apples, because a few of them appeared beside him on the floor.

“Um…yup?” Big Mac asked, always the pony of few words.

“Discord!” Spike shouted. “We agreed you can’t do that, remember? We told you that, like ten years ago buddy!”

“I know….I know…” Discord said, but everypony knew he would never quite listen to that message. “I’ll try to ask ponies before I teleport them instantaneously using my infinite powers of chaos.” His ears became droopy, and he held a single rose to Spike, in a mocking apology. Spike swatted the flower away, and just gave Discord a dirty look.

“So Big Mac, you’ve probably been wondering why I teleported you here without prior warning or consent.”

“Yup.”

“Well, Spikey-Wikey here has a special somedragon in his life, and we are going to be his wing- creatures.”

“Yup”

“Which means, when Spike goes on his date in a few weeks, we need to be on standby to make sure nothing goes wrong.”

Spike interjected. “I don’t need dragonsitters! It’s a date, not a haunted house!”

Discord ignored him, waving his claw to silence Spike with his magic. “Well, Big Mac, are you up to that?”

“Yup!”

Both Big Mac and Discord shared a grin for the frustration they were causing an increasingly red-faced Spike, steam practically coming out of his ears as he couldn’t speak a word.
“Sounds great! I’ll give you the rundown on Spike’s new lady-friend! Make sure to study up on it every day! We need to be prepared for anything!”

Discord took a scroll out thin air and snapped his fingers, and a tiny version of himself started writing down everything Spike had been thinking about earlier. Things like “needs confidence” and “reads too many comics” appeared in chaotic rainbow writing, each letter a different size and colour. Except for the font, which was a basic, but annoying comic-sans. Typical Discord. He would nonconsensually mind-read a close friend, and then write it down in the worst font ever.

Big Mac received the scroll like he was receiving an ancient text, and carefully set it aside in his satchel, which was old and worn from years of field work. He snapped it shut, and gave Discord a nod, ever committed to his vow of saying as little as possible.

Discord shook Big Mac’s hoof so furiously that the pony was ricocheted up and down the walls. Discord snapped his fingers, and the blur of red and brown stood still again, Big Mac’s eyes all over the place, dizzy beyond belief. Just as Big Mac was able to balance on his hoofs again, Discord snapped his fingers again, sending the pony back to Sweet Apple Acres. He then snapped his fingers to give Spike his voice back.

Even though he had all the words in Modern Ponish available to him now, it was a solid minute before Spike said anything at all. He was too busy feeling sorry for Big Mac, who was probably trying and failing to get his bearings after being dropped out of and back into a hectic work day with no warning. Although for ethical reasons he should have been peeved at Discord for taking control of his dating life and disrupting the work day of his friends, it was always a bit funny. However annoying it was, it was a bit of chaos in a routine that had fast become draining.

The dragon and Draconequus started back down the long hallway, ready for another day to lift up the weight of the world.

Author's Note

Second, funnier part of Spike's Interlude. Thought this story needed some more lighthearted stuff. This takes place right before Twilight comes back.