Memories: Chapter Eight

Memories~A MLP/Discord Fanfic

Part Eight

~I awoke alone. Cold, wet, covered with scratches, and with a large bruise on my face. I immediately regretted everything I had said to him. It was so incredibly idiotic of me, I surprise myself. What could have aroused such anger in me? I fear that I have made a life-changing mistake...~

Twilight caught a glimpse of Serenity standing by a road. Every time she tried to step onto it, it swerved away as though purposely avoiding her...then another of her dodging hail that looked like gumballs in a violent storm. She witnessed brief flashes that went from one suspiciously miserable experience to another and she began to wonder if Discord was deliberately trying to make things hard on Serenity.    

Then suddenly, she was back at that village. The one where Serenity had played in the sugar-snow. It hadn't changed much, except that some of the houses were floating around at odd angles now. That was new. Twilight looked around to see various ponies going about doing seemingly normal things. Some were selling produce, some were talking with neighbors, and a few foals were playing tag together. It was a peaceful scene, if one ignored the floating houses and twisting green clouds in the background. But where was-

"Out of the way freak!"

"Yeah! Bad-luck bringer!"

Twilight turned to see a couple young ponies rush passed a pony covered in dirt...and blinked, "Serenity?"

Serenity looked like a beggar-pony. Her bones were sticking out from lack of food, her mane and coat were caked in mud, and her tail was filthy. The young ponies laughed cruelly at her as they shoved passed but she didn't even respond. Her normally bright violet eyes were lifeless as they stared straight ahead; Twilight half expected to see some drool dripping down from her mouth.

Her heart went out to her though, "Poor thing..." Twilight looked around but nopony seemed to notice or care that there was a pony in need in their midst. Suddenly a rumbling came from above and everyone stopped what they were doing and looked up at the gathering pink clouds. Some tensed as though prepared to flee. Others merely glared at the sky, daring it to do its worst.

A crack of thunder, closely followed by lightening caused a few to flee to their houses. Then the rain began. Twilight felt herself smile as it hit the ground around her, "Oh! So the chocolate milk must have been an old favorite of his."

Shame she couldn't have any. She was kinda thirsty.

A sound came from behind her and she saw that Serenity had also looked up. Her mouth slowly curved into a smile and opened to receive the chocolaty treat from the sky. The ponies didn't seem to appreciate the rain as much as she though. They quickly ran indoors, closing everything up as they went. Nopony bothered to ask if Serenity wanted to go indoors as well.

"Yum," Serenity's voice was hoarse from disuse, "So...refreshing..."

Twilight licked her lips and sighed, looking up longingly. Now she really wanted some chocolate milk...then she froze. One of the clouds was coming closer. It was a small cloud but...it had a tail. She smirked to herself as it got close enough for her to see the two horns above it. Either Discord had decided to become a cloud for the day or he was riding it for some reason.

She looked back at Serenity. Her eyes were closed so she had yet to notice anything odd about the cloud as it drifted over and passed her. Serenity's eyes opened just enough to see the cloud moving away before stumbling to her hoofs, "W-wait! Come back!"

Twilight could only watch as Serenity walked beneath the cloud, eyes closed, mouth open, as it slowly led her outside of the village. Down a dirt road it led her, far from where anypony lived. Suddenly, it stopped and dissipated with a pop. Serenity's eyes opened and she looked around sadly. With a sigh she sat down, "Shame..." tilting her head back up, she yelled, "That was a good idea Discord! Chocolate milk for rain! I liked it!"

She dejectedly lay down on her stomach, completely unaware of Twilight's startled yelp as Discord appeared behind her. With a superior expression, he floated over her, lightly sprinkling sugar, "I'm glad you liked it."

Serenity gasped, "Discord?!" and looked up in disbelief. He grinned down at her, "My dear, dear Serenity. Two months is far too long."

"D-Discord," Serenity sat up with tears in her eyes, "You have no idea how happy I-"

"Have been with my own kind?" Discord lightly suggested. Serenity shook her head, "No! I've been miserable with them! I'm happy to see you!"

He raised an eyebrow, "Really now?" he leaned down till his nose almost touched her's, "Don't tell me you've missed stupid ol' me."

"Stu-oh no!" she hid her blushing face, "Please don't...everything I said...I regret every word..."

"So..." he admired his claws, "You're saying that everything you said was...."

"Wrong, so so wrong."

"And that it also was-"

"Completely stupid of me. I didn't truly mean a word of it! Please forgive me!"

"Hm," he gave her a thoughtful look, "Asking me for forgiveness now? What to say to that?"

Serenity stared up at him pleadingly. His eyes twinkled as he finally let out a laugh, "You look like a lost puppy!"

She blinked, "Then you're-"

"Overjoyed at seeing you again!" he picked her up and twirled in a circle, "I never noticed how truly dull my castle was without you there to make me laugh!"

"Whaaaaaaat about Celestia?!" Serenity smiled as she whirled around. Discord stopped, "Ugh, gag! Don't talk to me about our sunny Celestia. She's worse than before, she even has her rooms magically protected against me! Not that that can keep me out but it's the thought behind the action that irritates me. And Luna's been NO fun at all since you left. It's mope over here, sniffle over there. She's so depressed it's...depressing! What am I supposed to do with that? And then..."

Discord cheerfully chatted on and on. Twilight had never heard him talk so much. Serenity stayed silent during the entire time, smiling up at him adoringly. Eventually, when he was on the subject of a house walking around on giant chicken legs, he adjusted her so she was being carried in the crook on his lion arm and started casually walking along the road.

After a while Twilight noticed Serenity's eyes had closed. The slow, easy sway of Discord's stride must have lulled her to sleep.

"-and that reminded me of that trick we pulled with the eggs. You know, the spotted ones?" he glanced down at her, his expression softening, "That made the ground...change color..." he stopped walking and gazed at her, his mouth curled up. With a sigh, he gently tickled her nose until she sneezed, "Achoo!"

He snickered and poked her stomach, "I've missed you Serenity. Ready to come back to my castle for good?"

She smiled sleepily, "Yes...and I'm never leaving again."

"You better not," he shifted her to his other arm, "If you do, I might have to severely punish you," his tone was casual and light but his eyes were sharp as knifes, "And nothing would displease me more than that. Do we have a deal?"

"Deal," she held up a hoof. Instead of shaking it, Discord threw her up into the air. There was a flash and he caught her with another laugh. Twilight sat down, letting out a breath; they were back in the palace. The throne room actually.

Twirling around in circles, they glided up and down the clouded walls in a complicated dance that ended with Discord leaping up into his hammock. They plopped into it, happily chuckling and giggling. Discord wiped away some stray tears, "Ohhoohohoo! We have to celebrate! Throw a party, grow a chocolate garden, something!"

Serenity's resulting giggle was cut off by a yawn, "Actually...can I sleep first?"

"Sleep?" he asked incredulously, "You want to sleeeep?"

She nodded.

"Oh fine!" he flopped backward dramatically, "You can sleep all you want. But! But when you wake up...we party!"

He lay there, with his hammock swinging back and forth, grinning at Serenity who was looking back expectantly. He raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"Aren't you going to poof me to my room?"

His lips turned up in a grin, "Nooo...I'm not letting you out of my sight," his arms quickly wrapped around her and he turned over with her clutched in his grasp. Serenity blushed furiously, "Hey! Let me go!"

"No," he pushed his nose against her's and stared at her. She stared back for a full twenty seconds before blinking, "Fine...I don't mind sleeping in your hammock," to show this was true, she put her head down and closed her eyes. Discord grinned like a delighted child and put his head down too. Yawning, he closed his eyes as though to sleep.

All was quiet...for about a minute.

"Serenity?"

"Mmph?"

"Could you tell me what happened while you were with the ponies?"

She sighed, "Must I?"

"..."

"Okay fine," she sighed again, "They were...okay at first. They thought I was...strange. You know, since I was taller than them...but mostly because I didn't have a...a cutie mark."

Twilight blinked. That was right! Serenity had never gotten her cutie mark! She was so used to seeing her without it, she hadn't noticed before. There she was though, a blank flank if ever she saw one. She wondered why...until she suddenly realized that neither Celestia nor Luna had their cutie marks either. Had Discord done some spell to keep their talents at bay? Had he feared what they might become? She wished she could ask.

"They didn't bug me about it too much at first...don't be mad but I would tell them how to get around certain tricks of yours. Like the long-legged bunnies you made? I told them catcalls made them faint. And also about the laughing fruit...and the exploding apples. As long as they were tricks that I knew about, I could tell them ways to get around them. Usually. I just wanted to help them out...so they'd like me..."

Discord's eyes remained closed though his mouth was pursed in a disapproving frown.

"It worked at first...but then all these new jokes started appearing and...I couldn't help them anymore. I did figure out how to deal with the floating houses though. That was a tricky one."

He opened an eye, "You figured THAT one out?"

She nodded sleepily, "It took me a couple hours but yes..."

He closed his eye, "Impressive."

"Thanks," she yawned and snuggled closer to him, "That was all though. I had no cutie mark thus no talent they could use, was an inch taller than the tallest stallion, and had no social skills. To them...I was a useless freak...so they didn't bother with me anymore..." she sniffed, "There was one pony who was incredibly kind to me when everyone else was not though...but she disappeared one day and I have no idea what became of her...do you know what happened to her? Her name was Bunnysoft."

"Name rings a bell..." Discord let out a breath, "I think...yes, she is dead as of a week ago."

Serenity's head snapped up, "What?!"

His paw pushed her head back down, "Old age. I think it was supposed to be old age."

"But..." Serenity was looking up at him, "She didn't seem very old..."

He shrugged, "Sadly, ponies die...fortunately, more are born everyday."

"I wonder...when I will die..." Serenity softly murmured and both Discord's eyes shot open. He blinked and lifted his head to look at her. His eyes flickered then narrowed as though he had suddenly realized something.

Abruptly ruffling her mane, he grinned down at her, "Enough of this! We're supposed to be going to sleep!" he curled back around her and blew in her ear, "Tell me the worst and best parts already."

She chuckled, "The best part...Bunnysoft's cooking. Worst part...oh, everything else I guess..." she turned around and snuggled deep into his chest fur, "Missing you I think...I think that was the worse part....missing you..."

She became silent. Discord's eyes were open, blankly staring ahead of him. Though they didn't move, Twilight could tell he was rolling something over in his mind. Something...over and over and over again.

Twilight sat there for a while, wondering why the memory had yet to move on. It eventually became apparent that Serenity was asleep...and still the memory stayed. That was odd. If it was Serenity's memory, shouldn't it fade out when she lost consciousness? Twilight had this feeling of anticipation, like something was going to happen, but what? And why?!

Her answer was not something she could have guessed.

Discord's eyes suddenly focused. Slowly, carefully, he shifted his body so he was leaning over Serenity's sleeping form. His eyes flicked back and forth, as though checking to make sure they were alone and then...Twilight's mouth fell open as he dipped down to gently press his lips against Serenity's.

"...eh, ew," Twilight stuck her tongue out, totally not appreciating the romantic scene before her, "That's it?"

As though in answer, Serenity's body began to glow a soft yellow. It started from her lips and slowly seeped throughout her limp form. When her entire body was glowing, Discord carefully, reluctantly pulled away and she looked normal again.

"There..." he combed a claw through her mane looking embarrassed, even bashful. He leaned down again to gently kiss her forehead while his facial coloring radically altered to a bright pink. Readjusting himself around her, he snuggled her close, smiling like one who had a delightful secret...

And the scene finally began to change.

"Thank you!" Twilight yelled to no one in particular. She felt extremely uncomfortable after what she had just witnessed. The feeling was only magnified as thoughts of Discord touching her during his short reign of chaos came unbidden into her mind.

"Oh gross no!" she shook her head, "I did NOT need to see that!"

Or had she? She stopped, remembering the glow, "What was that anyways?" she murmured to herself, "What did he do to her? Put some sort of magical tracking device on her?"

Flickers of color surrounded her along with the sounds of laughter.

~I almost never see Celestia anymore. The one time I remember seeing her she looked really guilty about something...but she was also happy to see me back so I couldn't ask what was wrong. Luna seems elusive as well. I caught her in my library a few times, claiming to be looking for books on lore but...I don't know...when she is with me, I feel like she's distracted by something. Fortunately, I am not lonely because Discord hardly lets me out of his sight...~

"Soapy roads. Best idea EVER!"

Twilight giggled at the sight of Serenity and Discord lounging in a giant pumpkin with their hoofs and claws dangling over its edges. They both wore sunglasses and had a fishing rod with a light bulb at the end.

"I'm glad you like it. I personally thought it was...unimaginative."

"What?!" Serenity waved a hoof in the air, "I loved it! Skating for hours was great and you HAVE to admit that is was fun seeing everypony else slip around. Hahahaahaa!"

Discord stretched his arms back, his tail flipping his rod around a bit, "It was so simple though. I'm usually far more creative."

Serenity waved her hoof dismissively, "Simple is good sometimes. Besides," she grinned at him, "As long as it was fun, who cares if it was simple or not! Ponies are still floundering around down there," she laughed, "I say it's a success!"

Discord tilted his head to the side, smiling at her, "Fine. If you say it's good, it's good," he licked a talon and put it in the air, "I don't see why we're not catching anything today. There's no wind!"

"Maybe our bait's bad," Serenity looked down her line and Discord shook his head, "No, the bait's good. It must be the sun," his sunglasses slid down his nose as he glared up at it, "It hasn't gone down in hours."

"That reminds me," Serenity casually asked, "Do you actually control the sun and moon and all their crazy antics?"

He smirked at her, "Not really. I tweak them now and then but they're more fun left to their own devices."

"Oh," she squinted at the sun, "Maybe you could tweak them now?"

He shrugged, "Maybe later," he snapped a finger and they appeared in a room filled with marshmallows. Serenity squealed as she bounced, landed, bounced, landed, bounced up and passed Discord, then finally landed on the ceiling. She remained up there, laughing hysterically as Discord continued to flip around.

They played in that room for a while, throwing the marshmallows around like pillows when they became bored with the bouncing. Eventually their game exceeded the confinements of the room. They ran through the halls, Discord magically conjuring more marshmallows to toss.

It was a fun day to witness. Twilight was pulled here and there, giggling when items were thrown right through her....