"You know, Fluttershy darling, I never expected you to have such... flashy things."
"Oh, they were a gift from Rarity." Fluttershy smiled, adjusting the soft silk ribbon in her hair.
"Of course they were." Discord stroked the garish, gold, diamond-encrusted plates with one talon before setting them out on the table. Glancing over at Fluttershy, he chuckled to himself, then appeared behind her. "You're doing that all wrong." She blushed profusely.
"I'm sorry..."
"Don't be sorry." It irritated him when she apologized for things that weren't her fault. Taking the ribbon, he hurriedly removed the knot and smoothed it out, then, in a single second, her hair mane was braided and then fell into loose waves, the ribbon mingling with her soft pink mane.
"Thank you.", she smiled, and stood up. He followed her to her bedroom, where she opened her closet. Inside, she pulled out the soft green dress Rarity had made for her as well.
"I must say, what she lacks in plateware style she makes up for in figuring out fashions for people."
"But that comes from her Element!"
"If you think about it subjectively.", he said levelly. Reformed as he might be, the Elements weren't his favorite subject. Angel scampered up his back as Fluttershy vanished into her closet to dress.He waited a few minutes, as to give her a chance to finish, then kicked Discord in the back of the head. He made himself a second face and glared at Angel. "I believe your pet is impatient." Angel nodded imperiously and hopped off him and over to the closet, sliding a pocketwatch under the door. Fluttershy squealed.
"Goodness! We're going to be late!" She hurried out and smiled at Discord, right as the telltale knock sounded
"I'll get it, you go get dinner.", he offered, and she nodded. Opening the door, he gave a somewhat sarcastic bow as the other five piled in and sat aroiund Fluttershy's table. She brought out a plant lasagna and set it down. Everyone served themselves.
"I'm dreadfully sorry Fluttershy, if I had known you had company I would've canceled."
"Oh, no worries, Rarity, Discord was more than happy to help and he certainly did his part in making sure everything was done on time." She smiled again.
"Well excuse me if I don't eat that.", Spike huffed, then glanced out the corner of his eye at Rarity.
"Don't worry, Spike, Discord made something for you too!" A platter appeared in front of Spike, bearing a glittering pie. He inhaled, then his mouth started watering and without a moment to lose he started eating, shoveling food into his mouth. Rarity grimaced, and faked a smile, inching away from him. Giggling, everyone else started eating.
"So Twilight, how are your new Alicorn studies going?", Fluttershy asked.
"Pretty well. Tough, but well.", she said, seeming distracted.
"Tough's right. Everything's gotten harder these days! Did you know that a whole acre of trees we didn't plant are growing? We considered cuttin' em down but Granny Smith said to wait 'till next season!"
"I believe that might have been my fault.", Discord said, nibbling distastefully at his food. "I figured I'd drum you up more business and I didn't think you'd notice."
"Are you kiddin' me? I have Big Mac count those trees every single Applebuck season!"
"I'm sorry.", he said. Fluttershy glanced at him, an approving expression on her face.
"Aw, it's alright, just don't do it again, or else Apple Bloom, Big Mac and I will be worked to the bone, and apple buckin's hard enough as it is."
"So Fluttershy, why is Discord here? Did Celestia send him?"
"No, he's here for a vacation before he goes down to the Crystal Empire.", she replied.
"He chose to vacation in Ponyville?", Rainbow Dash scoffed.
"Yes. My best friend lives here, in case you'd forgotten.", Discord responded tersely. Fluttershy blushed.
"Uh-huh. Likely story." Rainbow raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms.
"Um, come on, everypony...", Fluttershy started softly, but it was too late. Accusations were lobbed and insults thrown, and she sunk down in her seat. Things got really heated and then a loud sound tore through the arguing, the sound of a belch. A scroll flung across the table and into Twlight's half-eaten plate. She unrolled it, using her horn to remove the lasagna from it.
"Princess Twilight Sparkle: You and your friends are required to come to Canterlot immediately for an emergency meeting. It's urgent that you get here as soon as possible." Everyone stood up.
"This sounds bad...", Fluttershy said, shrinking slightly.
"You have to go, Fluttershy. If this is a real emergency we're gonna need all hooves on deck.", Applejack said, patting her on the back. Fluttershy trembled slightly, but followed her friends outside, where, to their surprise, was a team of Canterlot's flying horses. They all hopped into the carraige and they were all flown to the castle.
--
At the castle, Celestia was waiting for them with Cadence and Luna.
"Princess Celestia!", Twilight exclaimed, hurrying over to her side. "What's happened?"
"Inside, quickly. Shining Armor is waiting for us." They walked in, Fluttershy trailing behind with Discord. She hung her head.
"What's wrong, Fluttershy?"
"I'm no good in an emergency. What if I make a mistake and ruin something?"
"Don't fret about something when you don't even know what it is.", he replied, nudging her forward. Princess Celestia led them to a room filled with only a table and chairs. Cadence sat down next to Shining Armor, who was already seated and looked very haggard. She nuzzled him gently and he looked up, nuzzling back. Then he noticed Twilight.
"Have you told them yet?", he asked.
"Not yet." She seated them all. "My Little Ponies, a very serious problem is on our hooves." Twilight opened her mouth, but silenced at the look Luna gave her. "And this problem is not a problem that the Elements of Harmony alone can solve."
"What kind of problem can't be solved with the Elements?", Twilight began again, only to be silenced by Celestia this time.
"War has broken out between the Crystal Ponies and the Pegasi. They won't listen to reason and there's no sign of what started it. It's not only a mystery, but a fight that could very well spread to the rest of Equestria." Fluttershy gasped, her shuddering getting worse. "Each of you has a job to do, but we're only sending two of you right now. Applejack and Rarity are going to meet with the two leaders to figure out the cause and to keep the problem from spreading. And Twilight, you are being recalled here, into Canterlot, in case we need to teach you a protection spell. Our goal is to keep as much of Equestria as we can salvaged, do you understand?" Everypony nodded. "Good. I have a train cart reserved for you, Applejack and Rarity, and a room for you, Twilight. The rest of you are dismissed, and you'll find your flying carts available." Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash hurried out and into the rapidly worsening weather.
"Okay, this is bad.", Rainbow Dash said, staring at the dark clouds. "That means that the Pegasi from Canterlot who do the most of the weather aren't controlling how much water is being used. Lightning flashed across the sky and a crash of thunder rocked them. Fluttershy squealed, ending up careening into Discord who just barely managed to keep them both in the carraige. Then suddenly there was a flash of light and they were all scattered around on the ground near Fluttershy's cottage. They hurried in and once the room was lit, and everypony was dry, it wasn't so bad. Fluttershy set them out beds, after refusing to let them out into the weather. She silently hurried into her room.
"Are you okay?" She jumped slightly, whimpering softly, looking over at Discord, who was leaning against her wall.
"War...", she mumbled. He used his magic to release her hair from it's braid and started brushing it, taking care to use gentle, even strokes.
"Don't worry. Maybe it'll all work out and we won't need to worry about it anymore. Maybe they won't even need you to go anywhere.", he said soothingly, stepping back when her hair was gleaming and even softer than when he'd started. She gave a half-hearted smile.
"I suppose you're right.", she said, looking up at him. He scooped her up and tucked her into bed, then left, blowing out her light as Angel hopped up against her.