DAiE Ch. 5 p. 2 - The Fire

>You are Doctor Anonymous.
>And right now, you don't know what to do.
>You clutch the sobbing Pinkamina to your chest. Or she's clutching you, you can't tell.
>You look onward at the billowing cloud of smoke, the bright fire below hurting your eyes.
>The weather team in the sky above has gathered a large number of rain clouds to try and calm the blaze, but they won't be able to save the workshop.
>The best they can do is keep the chemically fed inferno from consuming all of Ponyville.
>You don't know what to say, you don't know if there is anything -to- say.
>You just hold Pinkamina, and stare into the fire.
>It takes a moment, but you realize something.
>What Discord told you made perfect sense now.
>You're going to make this right.

>You can't help but grin, as you remember your discussion with him.
>It had been last week, the last time you spoke with Discord.
>Your days were filled with Pinkamina, and at night you would often invite him into your mind, or visit his, to keep your promise.
>You often wondered how in the world you dealt with the sheer random nature of the two.
>That night, you had laid down in bed and answered Discord when he came calling.
>You found yourself in your old lab, back in your own world. But, something was amiss.
>It was empty.
>The primary lighting was off, and only the dim blue axillary lights at the floor illuminated your path.
"Hello?"
>You called out into the darkness, moving forward slowly.
>It was not unlike Discord to play games like this before greeting you. Finding him was always part of the fun.
>But this was less fun. This was home, with an unpleasant twist.
>Advancing through the metal corridor, you couldn't help but hear footsteps behind you.
"D..Discord?"
>You looked carefully behind you. Only the cold, dark silence was there.
>It wasn't till you turned around till you saw your pursuer.
"AAGH!"

>You were greeted with the bright white of a banana cream pie being shoved into your face, toppling you over.
>"Gotcha!"
>Discord laughed hysterically as the darkness of the abandoned lab faded away, leaving you in the mutable dreamscape.
>You pry the pie off your face, licking up what deliciousness you can and wiping the rest off.
"Okay, okay, you got me. Was it really necessary to show me... home?"
>Discord smiled, offering you a hand up. You reach up, and grab it, promptly pulling the fake hand out of his grip and falling back onto your ass again.
>"Oh, lighten up, Doctor. You'll see home again soon, I think. How are your calculations with Pinkie coming along?"
>He finally helps you up in earnest, dusting you off slightly with his furry paw.
"It's coming well. I don't think she knows what I'm searching for, though.
>The draconequus gives you a wry smile. "Have you thought anymore about staying in Equestria?"
>You sigh, shaking your head.
"I can't. There's too much I... my world needs me. Equestria is a loving place, with no great plagues and no great poverty. There's too much I can do to help."
>Your friend gives you a sad smile. "I know -I'm- going to miss you. You're the only one I've been able to reach, y'know."
>He slithered through the air in his serpentine way, and you give that a bit of thought.
"Why is that?"

>He grins. "Your mind, good Doctor, is... frankly, quite chaotic."
>You frown at him, and he laughs. "Oh, don't look so sour. I think it's a good thing."
"You would, wouldn't you?"
>"Of course I would! Liking it unpredictable is the only predictable thing about me!" He chuckles, manipulating the dreamscape into a pleasant beach as you two walk.
>He pulls out his umbrella, jamming it into the sand, and unfolds a beach chair, settling into it as he sips from a coconut. "So, tell me about your little encounter with two certain salesponies."
>You look down, and see that your labcoat has vanished and your pants are now a pair of swim trunks. Rolling your eyes, you fall over into the warm sand.
"Nothing much to tell. They were greedy, controlling idiots and they got what was coming to them."
>"Yes, yes, and how did Pinkie take it?"
>Not well.
"She... didn't like me being violent. She doesn't like violence."
>"That's not entirely true."
"What?

>He leans over the beach chair, still sipping from his coconut drink. "There's a side of our dear Ms. Pie that you haven't seen yet, Doctor. You two are even more alike than you think."
>You sit up, giving him a scrutinizing glare.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
>He smiles. "She... represses certain things. Certain urges. Not unlike yourself, she lets it all build up, and it's unhealthy. You should try getting out some of that aggression with her, sometime."
"Are you our psychologist now?"
>Suddenly, you're in a well-stocked office, the sand you were lying on is a fainting chair and Discord is dressed in a suit, with a peculiar mustache on.
>"Oh, vhy yez I em. Tell me aboot your zex life, herr doktor."

>You can't help but laugh.
"Oh, come off it, Discord. You and I both know it's..."
>"Nonexistant?"
>Your laughter stops.
"Not for lack of want."
>"So... make a move. You know our little pink party pony likes you."
>You blink.
"She... likes me?"
>Discord's jaw drops.
>And then he laughs.
>He laughs so hard that his mustache falls off.
>"You.. you... oh, chaos!"
>He laughs so hard that he falls out of his plush leather chair.
>You find this signfiicantly less funny.
"Pinkamina... -like- likes me?"
>"You're so... hahaha!"
>You cross your arms, and wait for him to stop.
>"You're so oblivious!"
>Oh, come on.
>You pick the draconequus off the ground and look him in the eyes.
"Come off it, you're serious?"
>He gives you a snicker, before your glaring shuts him up.
>"For such a smart fellow, you're a complete idiot, Doctor. She's head over hooves for you."
>...
>"And I think you're pretty fond of her yourself."

>You sigh, sitting back down onto the couch.
"Are you kidding? Of course I like her. She's funny, and energetic, and sweet, and... startlingly clever. When we first met, I had her pegged for a babbling idiot, with the way she behaved, but she's..."
>"She iz efferytink you want, ja?"
>Oh, science, the mustache is back on.
"More."
>"So, why, dear Doctor, haven't you tapped that yet?"
>Damnit, Discord.
"Well, first off, she's a pony."
>"Which means something entirely different here in Equestria than it does in your home world."
"Fine. First, she's an extradimensional sentient alien pony."
>"Better, but I still fail to see the problem with a little inter-species romance. I mean, have you -looked- at my family tree?"
>He laughs, waving around his assortment of odd limbs, and it earns a chuckle from you, before you look away in deep thought.
"Look, even if I could get past the fact that she's a pony... it's not happening."

>Discord frowns. A real, genuine frown. "Why not?"
"She... she deserves better."
>"Better?"
>You sigh.
"Look, Discord. I... I have a problem with intimacy. A big problem. You know that."
>"You're going to have to get over it at some point."
"I don't think you understand. When Pinkamina hugs me? I enjoy it. But when I get home, I scrub the dirt and grime and germs from my body, compulsively. And that's with someone I -like- hugging."
>His frown grows bigger.
"She... deserves someone, or somep0ny, who can give her... more."
>You pause. The words catch in your throat.
"Someone less broken."

>The office vanishes. You're back on the plains, the quiet field that you first met Discord in.
>You see him, in the memory, being chased by Celestia.
>And he appears next to you, sighing as he watches it play out again as well.
>"Do you know what I regret, Doctor?"
"...telling her?"
>"No, no, I don't regret telling 'tia my feelings. I regret.. taking no for answer."
>You look over to him.
>"I regret simply accepting it. Saying that things were good enough the way they were, and that I could find what I wanted somewhere else. It drove me a bit mad, Anonymous. And it ended... badly."
"...what would you have done, if you could go back?"
>"I don't know. But it wouldn't have been the same thing."
>You give a long pause as the Discord in the memory poofs away, leaving the filly Celestia to fly off in search of him.
>"Just... don't do something you'll regret, too, Doctor."
>Is he... smiling?
>"Oh, and a word of advice. Your assistant, Albert. He's got a device that lets him record things that happen, right?"
"He's equipped with video recording equipment, yes."
>He grins at you.
>It's a grin that you can only share as you're pulled back into the present.
>Making sure to hold Pinkamina closely, you stand up, carrying here away from the roaring blaze.
>"Wh... where are you going?"
"I'm taking you home, Pinkamina. You don't need to see this anymore."
>On your way, you bend over to pick up a small metal module, left in the bushes.

>You drop Pinkamina off with the Cakes, who were worried sick when they saw the fire coming from her workshop.
>They thank you, and take her up to her room, but not before she gives you one long, sad hug.
>On your way home, you take out the camera, and flip open the LCD.
>As you watch what was recorded, an undoubtedly malicious grin makes its way across your face. You're angry, furious even. But the opportunity that's presented itself is... well.
>In the morning, you would make a point of finding a certain pair of unicorns.
>You had a business proposition for them.