Forgiven

by ashiida

Rating: everyone
Tags: Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Spike, Fluttershy, Discord, Twilight Sparkle
Length: 3755

Discord consults a certain alicorn princess on the topic of forgiveness.

Did the ponies really forgive Discord, or had they just said so?

Of course they did, but Discord has his doubts. How could they forgive him like that, after all of the awful things he did to them? To find answers, Discord seeks out one that he'd rather not seek out: Twilight Sparkle.

Published 2014-05-18 22:50:04 UTC
Last updated 2014-06-18 03:44:37 UTC

Chapter One: Lack of Understanding

“Discord, what are you—“ Twilight began, but stopped herself and took a deep breath. Getting upset at Discord will not help, and as the newly appointed Princess of Friendship, she knew better than to get annoyed so suddenly and have her usual blatant sarcasm she had when around him. Exhale. “…Do you need something, Discord?” She started over, speaking slowly but surely. She tried her best to keep her tone of voice irritation-free. It only took her a few moments to notice that the usually smiling draconequus did not wear his usual goofy grin. In fact, he wore a face that resembled the one that he wore while in one of Tirek’s bubbles. A look of pure sadness.

“I do Twilight, I do. I just.... I need to speak with you, if possible.” Discord said. His silk-like voice had an odd trembling edge to it. It wasn’t like Discord to be nervous or scared. It was downright odd, and not the good odd, the bad one. Twilight stepped back some, allowing Discord to enter her home. She closed the door behind him.

“Fluttershy stopped by earlier. She was worried about you.” Discord’s ears twitched, and his face sunk even more.

“Oh?” He said simply, as if he wasn’t truly listening. His insane mind seemed to be in a far off place; even farther away than the edge of Equestria.

“Yes,” Twilight hesitated. “…she said she had written you several letters. All of which you discarded or simply didn’t receive in the mail.” Looking at Discord like this was too much to bare, and without thinking, Twilight sputtered, “are you okay, Discord?” The draconequus stared at something distant for awhile, and then looked at Twilight, shaking his head ‘no’ ever so slightly.

“I’m not.”

“Is it because of the throne? If you want one that badly, I’m sure Princess Celestia could—“

“No Twilight. It’s not because of the throne. It’s because of you.” Twilight blinked. Me? I’m the reason he’s sad? I’m the reason he’s been ignoring Fluttershy?

“What have I done to you? I’ve done nothing but accept you. There’s no reason to be angry or sad about my actions, I don’t understand—“ Discord held up a paw, signaling for Twilight to stop. He shook his head..

“That’s just it. It’s what you haven’t done.” He sighed. “You haven’t punished me. You haven’t turned me to stone. I haven’t even been scolded once. I don’t get it.”

“We’re friends, there’s hardly any need for me to scold you!”

“But why, Twilight. I need to know the reason. That isn’t a good enough answer.” He placed his talons over his eyes and began massaging his temples. “I traded friendship for magic. I tricked you and all of your friends. I tricked Fluttershy, the only one in this place that trusted me for most of the period that I was reformed. I don’t deserve this, so why do I have it?” He turned away from Twilight, removing his talons from his forehead. He laid his arms to his sides, so perfectly in place you’d think they had been glued there. “I just want to understand.” Twilight stood bewildered for a moment.

“W-Why’d you come to me about this, and not Fluttershy?” She said, avoiding his question the best she could. She wasn’t entirely sure she could muster out an answer so quickly.

“You’re the one who made the sole decision, not Fluttershy. Of course she played a big role, but I’m closer to her than I am to you. I would’ve hated to come to her, the poor gentle thing, and tell her about this. I’d worry her sick.” Twilight couldn’t help but agree. Fluttershy worried over things very easily. There was this one time that Spike had gotten a small splinter in his claw, and Fluttershy had been absolutely drastic. Spike had insisted that he was fine, but Fluttershy kept asking him question after question about if it hurt, even after she had removed it. “If it weren’t for you,” Discord continued, “I would still have been in Tirek’s grasp, and Equestria would have most likely have been lain to ruin unless you could’ve came up with something else to defeat him.” He paused and frowned. “I’m getting off topic, aren’t I?” Whilst stroking his beard with his lion paw, he snapped his talons. In a quick flash of light, he and Twilight were in the castle living room, sitting across from each other in chairs placed neatly in front of a crystal fireplace. “Much better,” he muttered silently.

“Discord, I don’t see what you’re getting out. I forgave you. I forgave you because we are friends. I don’t see why you need an explanation.” Discord placed a paw firmly on his face.

“Because I can’t grasp the reason! Friendship, whatever. It doesn’t seem like a valid reason to simply forgive me so suddenly.” He crosses his paws. “And I will not leave you until I receive a better explanation.”

Twilight sighed. It was going to be a long night.

-

Fluttershy worriedly sent off another letter. It was way past postage hours, but her bat friends were kind enough to deliver letters at night time for her. No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't take her mind off of Discord. Was he okay? Did he need help? What if he was hurt? Could he even get hurt? If he could get sick, he probably could get hurt. The thought of Discord being alone and hurt frightened the pegasus.

“Angel Bunny, I’m leaving you in charge. I’m going to go look for Discord.” The white rabbit thumped his foot in protest. “Angel, Discord is a very important friend of mine. If I was missing, he would do the same. I promise to be back soon. I left you a fresh salad in the kitchen.” She said softly before strapping on her saddlebags and exiting her home. “Oh my… I don’t even know where to start looking! Discord never told me where he lived…” She sighed, and a quick rustling of leaves made her jump in fright. “Whoozat?! W-Who’s there?” She squeaked, but noticed the rustling hadn’t come from around her, but from the Everfree forest.

“The Everfree…” she whispered. “O-Of course! The Everfree is untamed and scary. Discord has have his home somewhere in there, but where…?” She sighed. “I wish I didn’t have to go in alone, but if a friend is in need, I’ll try my best to be there for them. I just hope he is in here. Somewhere…” Fluttershy took a deep breath and adjusted her saddlebags.

And then she entered the forest.

Author's Note

Gosh darn my posts are never lengthy.

Anyways, chapter one! OooOOooOOooo, what'll happen to Fluttershy?

Chapter Two: Leucrotta

Discord. Hasn't. Shut. Up.

Twilight thought with a grumble as she sat across from Discord, sipping her freshly refilled cup of tea that he had generously provided her with. The draconequus had failed to understand anything about the concept of forgiveness, which was shocking to Twilight, seeing that he was a pretty intelligent guy. But then again, Discord hadn't learned anything about friendship until he truly had it hit hard on him. Discord seemed to be more of one who learns from experience, Twilight concluded with a satisfied nod, and turned her attention back to Discord.

"So you're saying that if I do something, and someone else forgives me, that means what I did is completely forgotten, erased from their minds?" Discord said, scratching his head. "That's pretty foolish if you ask me."

"Discord, it's like friendship. If someone is your friend, you should forgive them for something they've done if thy apologize." Twilight took another long sip of her tea, and placed the cup on a table by the chair she was sitting in. She adjusted her wings behind her. Leaning on them wasn't very comfortable.

"Yes but..." Discord began, but stopped himself mid sentence and stood up abruptly. He glanced around, his ears perked and his eyes widened.

"Discord? Is something wrong?" Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow at Discord's peculiar behavior. Discord continued to stand their, occasionally turning his head but remaining silent. Eventually, his face relaxed.

"My apologies Twilight," Discord said, taking a seat again. "I just had the strangest feeling. I'm sure it's nothing." He still wore a slightly mortified look, and Twilight couldn't help but wonder what had made Discord act like that.

-

Fluttershy cautiously trotted down the path of the Everfree Forest, looking around uneasily. Her pupils had shrunk down three sized at least, and her body shook in fear. "D-Discord...? You can come out now..! I-I'm worried are you okay...?"

Fluttershy forced herself to swallow. Be assertive, Fluttershy. Discord is your friend! "B-But what if he doesn't even live here..." Fluttershy mumbled as she continued trotting. A breeze had picked up, and her mane was being blown to tangled bits. Fluttershy knew that Everfree weather was unpredictable, which meant it could thunder or worse at any given moment. She didn't like that.

Fluttershy nervously continued down the trail, the wind slowly getting stronger and stronger. A rustling was heard in the leaves, and Fluttershy quickly turned her head in the direction of the noise. "Discord?" She asked hopefully, approaching the bushes from which the noise came from.

"Fluttershy!" A voice from the bushes called back. Discord's voice. Fluttershy sighed, relieved.

"Discord, you had me so worried!" She exclaimed, approaching the bushes.

"Fluttershy!" Discord's voice called again, but it sounded more distant. Fluttershy cocked her head to the side, confused.

"Discord, are you alright? Where are you going?" Fluttershy bent down and crawled into the bushes. Discord's voice called her name again, and Fluttershy followed, becoming more and more worried. Now that she thought of it, his voice did sound urgent. Was he in trouble? "Oh no! What if he's being dragged away against his will? What if something terrible has him?" Fluttershy bit her lip. "Don't worry Discord, I'm coming!" The pony broke into a gallop, weaving carefully through thickets, branches, brambles, and all the other things you'd find in a forest. Discord's voice continued calling to her, and eventually she saw light in the distance.

"Discord!" She said with a relieved sigh, shutting her eyes and crawling through the last thicket into the light. She opened her eyes at the sound of something behind her, and she turned around quickly to see a stone roll in front of the thicket she had crawled through to get here. It didn't take Fluttershy long to realize that she was not in the open, but in a cave. There were multiple torches around, illuminating the rather small cave. She looked forward, taking her attention off of the stone blocking the door. "You're not Discord...."

In front of Fluttershy stood an odd creature that looked like a mix of a dog, wolf, and lion. The combination itself looked awkward, and it made the creature all the more intimidating. It's teeth looked rather sharp, and Fluttershy quickly understood that this was not a creature like the Manticore or Steven Magnet, who were both beasts that were rather friendly. No. This creature had an evil aura to it. It just felt... wrong.

"Fluttershy!" The creature cooed, it's voice sounding exactly like Discord's.

"Y-You were the one calling my name! How did you... How are you...?" Fluttershy blinked, confused. A laugh rose from the back of the creature's throat, this time sounding like Chrysalis.

"Don't be afraid, pony," it said, now with Pinkie Pie's voice. "I only want a snack..." Mr. Cake's voice said, and the creature licked his lips.

"What are you?!"

"What am I?" Came Fluttershy's own voice. "I am called Leucrotta." Now the voice was distorted. It sounded scary, and Fluttershy could feel herself shaking.

"Please don't eat me... I promise I don't taste good..."

"Nice try, pony." It said. "But it's been a long time since I've had a decent meal." And then Fluttershy felt her body being shoved against the cave wall, and a jarring pain spread throughout her head. Then the world went black.

-

Discord stared at Twilight, listening but not listening. Something was not right. He could feel it. Twilight had pulled a chalk board from a cranny in the castle, and was now drawing images with chalk. Discord had no idea what she was talking about, and right now he didn't entirely care.

"Twilight," he interrupted her mid-sentence, and she turned her head, giving him a slightly confused, slightly annoyed glare. "Something is wrong." This certainly caught her attention.

"What?"

"I don't know what it is, but something is wrong." He tapped his index fingers together nervously. "It's kind of like the feeling I have when a disturbance in the magical balance. It's a rare feeling, but it's certainly there. I am the spirit of chaos, after all, I'm drawn the disharmony like a bee is drawn to honey. It's second nature," he explained. "But this is different. It isn't magical, it isn't entirely disruption. It's just a feeling in my gut that I have. I don't understand it entirely myself, but it's there."

"You can track magical unbalance," Twilight said, repeating what Princess Celestia had told her when explaining why she had chosen Discord to track Tirek. Obviously, that hadn't ended entirely well, but it was still a mental note she took on Discord. After all, she was still trying to understand all of his abilities, such as limits and things like that. Discord was a very, VERY, confusing character. "Can you track this feeling as well?"

Discord seemed to focus on something nonexistent for what seemed an eternity, and then nodded. "Yes, I believe so."

"Great!" Twilight said with a grin. "Where's the source of this thing?" Her grin soon faded after seeing the grimace planted upon Discord's face.

"It's coming from the Everfree Forest."

-

Fluttershy's head throbbed, and when she opened her eyes her vision was fuzzy. After a few blinks, her vision cleared, and she found herself inside a cage made of... BONES? Fluttershy seemed to shrink five sizes after seeing the terribly cliché cage she had been locked inside. It didn't take her long to notice the other ponies inside the cage. Golden Harvest, Roseluck, and Zecora sat in the corner, huddled together. "Zecora?" Fluttershy gasped, approaching her zebra friend. "How did it get you?"

"Using the voice of friends from town, the Leucrotta managed to trap me, making me look as foolish as a clown." Zecora said, furrowing her brow. "This beast is truly tricky, and has put us into a situation that is quite sticky. You see, it will gather many ponies into its cage, and then feast upon them in a starving rage. I had a potion that would get rid of our foe, but I used of the said potion long ago."

Fluttershy frowned. How many more ponies would he gather before he would eat them? Was she the last one he needed? And most importantly, where was the Leucrotta?

Author's Note

Written over a period of sleepless nights. No reason why I'm writing late at night, because it gives me bizarre ideas, mine adding insane mythological creatures and a wild pointless Zecora.

Hey, it's kind of like her role in Princess Twilight Sparkle! She's just there for plot relevance! Alright, that helps. Anyways, forgive me for this chapter, it's terrible.

Prologue

Do they really trust me?

The question clawed on Discord’s brain like a bear trying to break into a bee hive. It had been nearly a week since the events with Tirek, and nobody had heard from the draconequus since. A turmoil of emotions crashed and burned in Discord’s heart, and he knew that he would need to do something about it eventually.

Had he apologized? Yes. Had they forgiven him? Yes. Had he put on a mask, hiding his true emotions at a vital point? Yes. But still, the very thought that he had betrayed them at a vital point had left a wound on Discord. A wound that wouldn’t be healed so quickly.

He tossed and turned, lying frigidly on a branch of his thinking tree. Why had he trusted Tirek? Had he truly been foolish enough to believe his lies? Freedom. He had bought into thinking he would be truly free. Hadn’t he already learned a lesson about this? You can’t always have it your way. If that was the case, why did he buy into Tirek’s manipulation?

Discord clutched his head. He had been thinking about this way too much over the past week, but he couldn’t escape from the guilty lump in his throat. He uneasily glanced over to the unopened pile of letters that rested neatly upon a floating dresser. Each was addressed from Fluttershy, his first friend. He had truly wanted to open them and read them, but he couldn’t find the courage to do so. He slumped back on his branch.

Discord you old fool, you can’t stay in this tree moping about.

“Well, I can’t just go and talk to Fluttershy, she’d be upset that I hadn’t told her sooner!”

Then don’t talk to Fluttershy.

“Whoever could I—no... I’m not going to talk to her.”

Oh yes you are, you’re going to set things right!

“...If you insist.”

-

“Spike! Spiiiike?” Twilight called, looking left and right for her dragon assistant. She was afraid he’d gotten lost in the castle again, like he’d done nearly fifty times in the past three days! She’d limited his exploring to the main hallway, kitchen, bedroom, and throne room. Anywhere else would need adult company.

“Right here, Twilight!” came a friendly voice, and Twilight peered down the banister of the large crystal staircase to see Spike on the bottom floor of the palace.

“How’d you—oh nevermind. Spike, come here, you nearly had me worried sick!”

“Be there in a jiffy!” And there he was, seconds after his words. Twilight blinked with curiosity, wondering how the dragon had managed to climb the stairs at such a speed. She shook her head, trying not to think on it.

“I thought you had gotten yourself lost again, Spike! You can’t just do that! Haven’t I told you that you’re to be accompanied,“ Twilight was interrupted by a series of knocks at her front door. “—oh never mind, could you get the door for me, Spike….”

“Yes ma’am!” Spike saluted with a silly grin, and leaped onto the banister, sliding down it like the child he was. Once he reached the bottom, Spike ran towards the large crystal gates and opened them. Behind them was a small yellow and pink figure.

“Fluttershy!” Twilight exclaimed, spreading her wings and gliding down to the first floor. “What brings you here?”

“Oh, um, I hope I’m not interrupting anything…” Fluttershy said, her eyes not exactly focused on Twilight, but on the intertwining structures of the palace. “I’d like to speak to you, I-If you don’t mind.”

“Uh, sure! I’m not really doing anything right now, so, okay!” Twilight exclaimed as Spike closed the door and ran over to join the two.

“Hey, I’ve got an idea, why don’t you two talk over tea? I’ve got a great herbal recipe that Zecora gave me when she came to the castle! I’m dyin’ to use it Twi!” Spike jumped up and down in excitement, and the alicorn had no choice but to give in.

“Do you have time for tea, Fluttershy?” She asked, a gleam of hope shining in her big purple eyes.

“Believe me, I have all the time in the world.”

-

Now seated at the table in the immense dining hall, Twilight could be seen staring at the oddly frazzled Fluttershy. She wasn’t used to seeing her usually calm friend like this. “So Fluttershy, what was it that you wanted to talk about?”

“It’s Discord.” Fluttershy bursted out, like she’d been holding the words in for years. “He hasn’t been responding to any of my letters.” She blinks, eyes locked on her tea cup. “I-I’ve been sending quite a few. Before recent events he would respond to them within minutes, hours at the most, but it’s been a week! I’m worried about him, Twilight.” At loss for words, Twilight looked at her friend, and their eyes met. Fluttershy looked on the verge of tears.

“Fluttershy, if I’d have spoken with Discord, I’d be sure to let you know firsthoof.” She paused, trying her best to carefully choose her words. “There isn’t much I can do about him not responding to your letters… I would take you to where he lives, but I don’t think anyone knows where that is, not even Princess Celestia.”

“I suppose you’re right, Twilight…” Fluttershy sighed, and stood. “I believe I’ve finished my tea. Angel Bunny will be expecting his noontime snack soon.”

“Fluttershy, I—“

“No Twilight, its okay. I’m sure Discord will respond soon. He is a very busy draconequus after all…” The Pegasus stands and begins trotting for the door before quickly turning. “W-Which way is the door again, Twilight?”

“Keep going straight, and it’s the third door to the left. It’ll take you to the main stairwell.”

“Thanks, Twilight.” And she was gone. Twilight soon heard the front door echo open and shut, and she knew it was too late to follow and comfort her friend.

-

KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.

Twilight’s ear twitched at the noise. It had been a few hours since Fluttershy had left, and the sun was soon to set. “Who could that be?” She said aloud, although Spike was in the master bedroom sleeping and nopony was around to hear her. She stood and set down the book that she had been reading, and trotted to the main hall where the double doors were located. Using her magic, she opened both doors simultaneously, and was greeted by a very tall figure.

“This isn’t a bad time, is it?”

Discord.

Author's Note

Trying my hand at writing fan fics. I've never actually written long literature before, aside from papers for school.

So here we are, a prologue, yaaay! Honestly, I have no idea how long it'll take me to write the next part, but with summer approaching I'll have a lot of free time.

Hope you enjoy what I have so far! ^^;;

ALSO, this is NOT a Fluttercord or Twicord shipfic, please don't read it like that. Friendshipping only, please!