>A screeching whistle woke you up the next morning
>With a sudden jolt, you sat up in your bed and saw Discord stood at the side of your bed
>"Come on! Rise and shine Anon!"
>He exchanged his whistle for two pots that he then began to bang together right in your ears
>"You've been here for a whole week and you don't have a single lead!"
"Alright, alright! I'm awake!"
>"But you're not UP!"
>Slowly, you crawled out of bed with the sound of two rusty pans clashing each other until your feet reached the ground and you stood up straight
>"Perfect! Now come on, we've got work to do!"
>And with a flash, he disappeared from your bedroom
>This was what Discord had in store for you
>His idea of 'helping' was more... Motivation
>But, technically, he was right
>You had been there for a week and had very little to go on in terms of information about your arrival in Equestria
>It all seemed too specific, too good to be true and too many people were involved for it to be a coincidence
>And maybe that's why Discord sought help, he knew this too
>You sat back down on your bed, rubbing your tired eyes
>You needed to shower, get changed, have breakfast and then... Prepare for whatever it was Discord wanted you to do
>And what were you going to say to Silver? Just disappear with what explanation?
>"I must say, you do take your time"
>The sudden voice from behind you made you jump back off your bed
>Silver? She was led on your bed, resting her head with a forehoof
>Oh, of course
"Discord, piss off. I'll be ready in a bit."
>With a grunt, he disappeared with a flash
>You're never going to be able to trust everyone whilst Discord was around
>Unless he was in sight, you'd always be cautious that he was actually someone else
>To be honest though, you should always be cautious of Changelings anyway
>Maybe Discord served as a friendly reminder of this
>He never did this in the show, was he just doing it to fuck with you?
>Well, it was working
>Right, shower first
>You made your way to the bathroom, just as you had every other morning,
>Opening the door, you were stopped in your path by a lion's paw in your face
>"Oh dear, Anon, you don't need to shower!"
"What? Of course I do."
>Discord shook his head, disappointingly
>You weren't going to go around dirty
>Especially whilst also condemning those who do the same
>No Draconequus was going to stop you
>"No, I mean..."
>Discord snaped his eagle claw, and in an instant you were clean
>Not only clean, but wearing a clean set of clothes
>Ones you didn't actually have
>Well, that was useful
>He might have had selfish intentions but at least having Discord around was useful
>You couldn't really complain
"Oh... Thanks Discord"
>You couldn't believe what you were saying
>"You're welcome Anon, now... Breakfast?"
>A flash, and Discord was gone once more
>Fine, whatever, just go down stairs
>Silver was probably asleep, if she hadn't already been woken up by Discord, so you'll have to make something yourself
>That was fine, she had made breakfast for you every other day you'd been in her house
>It was about time you did it yourself
>Walking down the stairs, you admired your new outfit
>It was just your sort of style
>And more importantly, it was actual clothes
>You appreciated Rarity's work, but she was still learning the basics of crafting human clothes
>You heard a smash coming from the kitchen, like a glass being dropped on the floor
>What was Discord doing?
>Knowing he was there waiting for you, you were in no rush to get down
>As you slowly made your way into the kitchen, you saw Discord stood around holding a glass in his hand
"What was that noise?"
>"What noise?" he replied innocently
>There was no shattered glass anywhere in sight
>Whatever, it didn't matter
>Going to the sink, Discord poured you a glass of water and placed it on the kitchen table
>"Now, Anon, what would you like for breakfast?"
>Well, what could you have? You thought to yourself, wondering what Discord had up his figurative sleeves
"What's on the menu?" you joked to him
>Little did you know, he would take that a little too seriously
>He appeared behind you suddenly wearing the outfit of a waiter
>"You can have..."
>He began, as he took a look at a notepad in his hand
>"You can have the vegetarian options, starting with the soup of the day"
>As he said, it appeared
>"You know, they say good things about Thursday's child. This could be your lucky soup!"
>"Or, hay garnishing on a tower of pancakes as high as the ceiling?"
>Again, it appeared before you
>"But of course, you're a human! Primarily a meat-eater, yes?"
>"How about steak! Rare?"
>"Medium Rare?"
>"Well cooked?"
>"Or perhaps a whole chicken?"
>"Or just the breast?"
>"Or the drumsticks?"
>"And what about the last dozen eggs it laid before it met a gruesome end?"
>"But this isn't enough, I bet you're so hungry you could eat a horse! Or, perhaps a pony!"
>In front of you appeared... Silver
>Asleep, tied up with her legs behind her back, an apple in her mouth surrounded by various salad dressing
>"I call it Silver on a Silver Platter!"
>What the fuck
>This was a bit too far
"Discord." you said, trying to suppress your anger
>"Yes?"
>You couldn't let him get to you
>You wouldn't hear the end of it
>You had offered to help him... Or the other way around
>You had to be patient with him
"Just... Something simple."
>All the food, and of course Silver, disappeared from the table
>He was beginning to test your patients
>"What kind of thanks is this? I've spent such a long time thinking of things to cook for you and you want 'something simple'?" he said, almost insulted
>You could make it through this, don't worry Anon
"Discord. Most of that sounded... Delicious, but if you want me to be ready quickly then I would like a small breakfast."
>"Bacon and egg?"
>Now he was speaking sense
"That would be perfect Discord."
>Meat
>For your first time since you arrived in Equestria a week ago, meat
>You'd missed that
>And you couldn't deny, Discord knew how to magic up some nice bacon
>Just what you needed
>But, Discord himself, couldn't stop pacing the kitchen
>What was he doing?
>You took a sip from your glass of water
>"I have to say Anon..."
>Oh, here you go
>Some kind of backhanded compliment
>Well, after what you'd seen this wouldn't be the worst you'd seen of Discord
>"You managed that really well!"
>Was that it?
>Were you missing some ulterior motive behind that sentence?
>"I'd been following you for the past few days, and the progress you were making was promising."
>Well, that was both reassuring and slightly creepy
>"But what about you? How thick was your skin?"
>Had he been testing your 'cool'?
>"Could you handle a date with Discord?"
>You sure hope that wasn't a serious question
>And sure hope that yesterday didn't have anything to do with it
>"Well, I've got some good news for you..."
>Standing next to you, he reached out eagles claw
>Did he want you to shake your claw?
>Unsure whether you could trust him or not, you quickly reached out and grabbed his claw
>If he was going to do something, do it quickly
>A noise
>Noise makers?
>Party poppers?
>Confetti and balloons?
>Were you suddenly in Sugar Cube Corner?
>Was Discord actually Pinkie Pie all along
>"You passed!"
>Oh... Nothing sinister?
>He was actually trying to be a good friend
>His methods were unusual, but you supposed it made sense
>Right?
>"Okay! Now that's sorted, let's go and meet some bronies!"
"Where is Silver?" you asked Discord the two of you left the house
>"For now, here."
>Discord walked besides you in the form of Silver
"Discord, just walk around as yourself."
>"Oh no, I'm undercover!"
>You weren't really sure about this, it seemed like he was enjoying himself a bit too much
>"Don't worry, the real Silver is asleep. She's getting some of the best rest she's had in a while."
>Well, his attitude had improved far much since you first spoke to him yesterday
>You were inclined to believe him
"Alright then, fine. What ideas do you have?"
>"What do you mean?"
"I mean, you said we had work to do. What work do you want to do?"
>"I don't know, you're the one who's been making progress with this case. I was relying on you!"
"I've hit a dead end, I don't know what to do."
>"Well, what did you work out yesterday?"
>This was going to take some explaining
>You sighed
"Back home, people make characters based on the TV show."
>"That kind of thing happens here too, you don't think Rainbow Dash has a Daring Do fan-character?"
>You couldn't help but laugh at the thought of that
>Some self insert, mary sue Daring Do character
>Anyway, back to the point
"People who had these characters have taken the name of their character, but they don't know that. They think that was always their name."
>"And how is any of this important?"
"Well, it's an odd thing to do. Don't you think? It almost seems like it has to have been done specifically."
>"It might not be on purpose."
>What was he getting at?
>"It could just be a result of the transdimensional transportation."
>...What?
>"This world is one of fiction in your world, and it's one that they create their own fiction for. Maybe their minds adjusted to the fictional world."
>Thoughts of the magical mirror and Equestria Girls came to mind
"But nothing else?"
>"Well, no physical changes of course otherwise you'd all be ponies."
>Discord was actually... Really quite smart when he put his mind to it
"So, you think that this is just a coincidence? That no one actually planned it out?"
>"I'm not saying that, I'm just saying it's possible that whoever did this didn't intentionally strip you of your memories."
"Someone with the power to bring a few hundred people from one world to another and they mess up?"
>"It's a possibility."
>You were starting to doubt how much sense Discord was making
>"Maybe, you're all rats!"
"Rats?"
>Discord, as Silver, disappeared before you and returned on your shoulder in the form of a small, brown rat
>"Lab rats, specifically!"
>He whispered into your left ear, before running over your shoulders to your right ear
>"Maybe whoever is behind this running a test!"
>He reappeared by your side as Silver
>You were glad no one was really paying attention to you, or Discord would have blown his own cover that he insisted on keeping
>"But when I say test, do I mean testing this kind of powerful magic... Or testing you?"
>"Or perhaps both!"
"Testing us? Like what you did this morning?"
>"Yes, almost. Testing if your good enough! If you're the right material for... Whatever their grandiose plan contains!"
>It was an interesting thought
>But as you considered it further, you couldn't really think of anything that had happened over the past week that could have been a test
>Come to think of it, you couldn't think of what "test" would involve sending a bunch of you to live seemingly normal lives in Equestria
>"Or perhaps, you've missed something!"
>Missed something?
>What could you have missed, you'd hardly tried to find anything yet
>Was Discord telling you that you'd fallen at the first hurdle?
>"Tell me Anon, when you arrived in Equestria where were you?"
"It was a lake, about a 10 minutes walk out side of town. I think that's where most people arrived too."
>"Did you ever consider why that lake? It seems odd, don't you think, that you would all appear in the same spot?"
>He was right, you hadn't considered it
>It did seem strangely specific
>"Tell me Anon, you've been here for a week and you didn't even think to check that lake you arrived from?"
>Perhaps he was onto something
>Was that lake magical?
>Did it have some kind of portal back to Earth
>Could it be something so simple
>...A portal that was activated in your sleep?
>You were doubtful, but there was no harm in trying at least
"Okay then, we'll go to the lake."
>"Excellent!"
>With a stomp of his hoof, and a flash of light, you suddenly appeared by the lakeside
>The quick way around, you supposed
>From the looks of things, no one had bothered to clear up the clothes that were dumped here
>The same clothes, and some more, that you saw when you arrived a week ago still remained, untouched
>You could probably give these to Rarity for inspiration
>The two of you walked to the edge of the lake and looked down into the murky water
>The faint sunlight shining through the misty clouds reflected on it's perfectly smooth surface
>"Right, hop on in then. I could always give you gills! Or turn you into a fish?"
"If anything, I'd prefer the gills."
>Discord's face lit up with glee at the sound
"But I'm a perfectly capable swimmer!"
>He sighed and crossed his arms
>"Suit yourself."
>Here goes, you didn't know what you were looking for but this was the best lead you had at the moment
>Fuck it, you jumped into the lake
"Shit! This water is freezing! You want to help, can't you do something about that?"
>Discord shrugged
>"Like what?"
"I don't know, make the water a bit warmer?"
>"And threaten to disrupt the wildlife in the water? Anon, I'm disappointed you think I'd so such a thing!"
>He turned his back on you
>Fine, you were on your own
>It'd be fine once you got your head underwater, right?
>Without a second thought, you dived under the surface of the water
>Cold
>Dear god it was cold
>It reminded you of the day you arrived
>A bit of you worried that you'd never rise back out of the lake and would just wake up in your bed
>Maybe it really was all a dream and it was coming full circle
>The feeling of dread overwhelmed you for a moment
>You shot up out of the water for another breath of air
>"What did you see?" Discord called from the edge of the lake
"Nothing, didn't get a good enough look."
>You didn't plan on telling him what really happened
"Give me another go, I'll try again."
>As before, you dived under the water
>It didn't seem as cold as it did earlier, maybe that was a good sign
>Maybe it meant that you would be able to get a good look around
>The water was murky
>You could see very little
>The occasional small fish
>Some plant life
>Nothing that obviously stood out as unusual or out of the ordinary
>Maybe there was something hidden?
>Perhaps, but there was no way you'd be able to tell
>This was useless
>As quickly as you could, you returned to the surface of the water
>"Anything that time?"
"Nothing. It's just an ordinary lake."
>You climbed your way out of the lake again to meet Discord
>A towel wrapped around you that Discord conjured at will
"Thanks", you said as you began to dry yourself
>Handing him back the towel, you sighed
"Well, that was pointless."
>"Not so much! We can cross 'the lake' off the list of 'things that are important'!"
>Well, you couldn't argue with that
>Discord was a "glass half full" kind of guy by the sounds of things
"Anything else you want to cross of that list whilst we're at it?"
>You, however, were not in this circumstance
"I'm pretty sure that going to sleep didn't do anything, eating hay didn't do anything, kissing a Draconequus didn't do anything. Did you cross those all off 'the list' too?"
>You said sarcastically
>With another flash, you and Discord found yourself back in Ponyville town square
>"Alright, so what else is on the agenda today?"
>Well, this wasn't as relaxing a day you had hoped it'd be
"Look, Discord-"
>He shook a hoof in your face
>"Anon, we're in public. Call me Silver."
>No
>No, you didn't want to call him 'Silver'
>That was stupid
>It's not like anyone could hear you anyway
"Silver, you're just going to have to be patient."
>Discord titled his head to the side and gave you a puzzled look
"We might not find anything today, we might not find anything tomorrow, or the day after. You can't just keep pushing for information if we have no leads."
>He flopped his ears and gave you a look with a pair of big, puppy dog eyes
>"Well what do you propose I do, hmm?"
>Well, you can't deny he had proven useful
>...Somewhere
>And he did seem to genuinely care about this whole situation
>At least, he cared about wanting to know the truth
"Tell you what, how about if you find something interesting come and find me and if I find something interesting then..."
>Wait, how could you find Discord?
>Where did he live?
>He was at Fluttershy's cottage, but did he live there?
>Did he live in the castle?
>Did he live anywhere?
>Did he need food? Sleep? Shelter from the weather?
"I'll try and find you."
>"Oh, don't worry Anon. I'll always be around when you least expect it!"
>He said before walking into an alleyway to hide from the ponies around you and disappeared in a flash