Nuzzle

Chapters

Nuzzle
Cuddle
Fly
Date
Celebrate
Confess

Nuzzle

Cucumber sandwiches. Even after all that happened, he was still good at making cucumber sandwiches.

Discord was rather surprised, really. It had only been a week and a half since…since Discord’s moment of misjudgment with Tirek. Besides the library being blown to smithereens and transforming into Twilight’s well-deserved castle, most things in Ponyville and the rest of Equestria had turned back to normal. Unicorns practiced magic, the Pegasi continued roaming the sky, and Earth ponies still proved themselves valuable on the land with their strength. It was as if nothing had changed.

Except Discord. He definitely changed.

He hadn’t expected to be forgiven so quickly. He especially hadn’t expected an invitation to a picnic with the Elements of Harmony today during the sunny afternoon. Not so long ago, after Discord had realized his mistake and was imprisoned by Tirek’s power, he had expected forgiveness and friendship to be the last things he would gain after betraying the ponies—his friends.

And yet, ten days later, there he was, arriving at the fence around Fluttershy’s quaint little cottage with a platter of sandwiches in his grip.

When Twilight Sparkle had invited Discord to the picnic yesterday after they bumped into each other on the road, he had asked Fluttershy if he could meet up with her before going. As much as Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Apple Jack, and Rarity insisted that they were all now friends, Discord still wanted Fluttershy by his side for when they arrived. In a way, he hated how he relied on her for comfort; but then again, it was nice to have such a thing in the first place.

And it’s not like she had to know that she comforted him, either. All he simply said was that it would be nice to walk there with her and chat. And of course, Fluttershy, being the kind pony she was, thought it was a splendid idea.

Yes. Splendid indeed…

He paused, and knocked on the door. He could have teleported himself inside the house, but that was from before. Now, after his second and truly sincere reformation, he respected Fluttershy and her privacy.

Of course, Fluttershy didn’t need to know he respected her either. Draconequuis weren’t supposed to be so…good like that.

But then again, Discord was the only Draconequus on the planet, so that didn’t really mean anything.

“Just a moment!” he heard Fluttershy’s soft, sugar-sweet voice call out. Soon the knob squeaked from being opened on the other side, and there was Fluttershy, her saddle pack strapped to her back with Angel Bunny on top. The bunny eyed Discord with a hint of dislike. Who knew a bunny would be harder to please and befriend than Rainbow Dash?

“Oh, hello Discord!” Fluttershy said, with an adorable smile on her face and her aqua eyes aglow with delight. She took a few hoofsteps back and opened the door wider for him. “Please come in! I’m still getting a few things ready. I hope you don’t mind waiting…? Of course, you can go ahead though, if you want…”

“Dear Fluttershy,” Discord said, returning the smile and accepting the invitation inside. “I have no need to rush.”

“Thank you,” she said, and then eyed the plate. “Ooh, are those…?”

“That they are!” he said, showing her the plate. “My famous cucumber sandwiches, just as you like them. Your friends will finally have the golden opportunity to experience my culinary expertise, lucky them,” he said, and a chef’s apron and hat suddenly appeared on himself. Most ponies would have had a fright at Discord’s neverending tricks of magic, but Fluttershy was far too used to her friend to even bat an eyelash.

“Oh, yes,” Fluttershy said. “I’m sure they’ll all just love them. Maybe even you and Applejack can discuss food. She loves to cook, too.”

“Ah, well, perhaps, Fluttershy. But do go on dear, and get your things ready. I’ll even watch Precious here, if you so desire,” he said, eying Angel Bunny with a toothy grin.

“Oh, you mean Angel? Well then, that would be lovely! I can’t let him anywhere near the food yet, or else he’ll just eat it all himself when I’m not looking. Won’t you, Angel?” she said to the snow-white rabbit, with an adoring croon to her voice.

Despite his squeaks and squabbles, she left him in the living room with Discord while she gathered her things.

Angel wasn’t having it though. He ‘hmmphed!’ at Discord, and gave him what Discord assumed was the bunny version of the stinkeye.

“Oh, I’m so frightened, little bunny. For what could I ever do against you, you’re so fierce,” he said, crossing his arms and returning the look. “I could easily have you at my mercy in a second, little thing. But luckily for you, I’m not going to! This time, I truly am reformed. So you should really get over your little distaste for me, little furball. I’m not going anywhere.”

Angel began to talk in his rabbit language, and like Fluttershy, Discord understood animal speech. When one lives thousands of years, you learn such things. A few squeaks and sniffles, and Discord replied with a sigh.

“Yes, yes, you have all the reason in the world not to trust me,” he said, and despite the rabbit’s protests, Discord placed his paw and claw around Angel’s little torso and brought him up to his yellow and red mismatched eyes. “But I can assure you one thing, you fuzzy little squirrel…”

Angel grumbled. Discord knew perfectly well that he was not a squirrel…

“I will not betray Fluttershy ever again.”

“You won’t what?”

Opening the door with her rump, Fluttershy came out of the kitchen with a pitcher on her back, on top of her pack.

Before Angel could let out a sound, Discord spoke for both of them. “Oh, nothing important, Flutters,” he said, covering Angel’s mouth. “We were just…bonding, you know. Mere chit-chat.”

“Oh, well I’m glad you two are getting along! There’s nothing better than friends who get along and can be friends themselves.”

Discord nodded. “I agree wholeheartedly,” he added, though Angel still struggled against the draconequus’ grip. “Now, would you like me to carry that pitcher for you, my dear?”

“If you wouldn’t mind…” Fluttershy said, before the pitcher suddenly vanished from thin air and reappeared in Discord’s claw.

“Not in the slightest, my dear,” he said, and put Angel down and back on Fluttershy’s back. Well, it was more like he dropped Angel down, but only from a short distance. Discord wasn’t the best with animals, but he wasn’t the worst, either.

Angel huffed and crossed his forelegs. He wasn’t going to get his way today.

“Now, shall we go?”

“Oh, Fluttershy, before we meet up with our other pony pals, I would like a moment with you.”

Fluttershy looked up at her mismatched companion, the sunlight beaming off his one sharp fang. Before, such a carnivorous canine tooth would have scared her off like a filly, but now it was nothing more but a part of Discord’s unique appearance.

“Um…” A confused look came upon her face. “I don’t mean to sound smart, but…haven’t we been having a moment? It’s only been you and me so far.”

Discord chuckled. “I guess that’s true, but the park is not a long way from now, and I want to give you something since it is just the two of us. Wouldn’t want our little friends to feel left out since they didn’t get a present, would we?”

“A present? You…got me a present?”

“Well, not really got…”

“But it’s a present…for me?”

“Of course, a present for you!” he insisted, looking more closely at the mare. “Why the incredulous voice? Is it so odd of me to want to give you a present?”

“No! No no no, that’s not what I’m saying,” Fluttershy said quickly. She didn’t want to offend him; she didn’t like offending anypony. “It’s just…well, why? It’s not a holiday…”

A hearth magically appeared around Discord’s neck, with ornaments hanging on his ears, to represent Hearth’s Warming Day.

“And it’s not my birthday…”

The hearth and ornaments were replaced with a birthday hat and a sudden shower of confetti.

“So why a present…for me?”

Discord smiled, and the birthday paraphernalia disappeared. A large rock big enough for the two of them sat by the road on purpose, to act as a makeshift bench. He sat himself down and patted the empty space next to him for her to sit, and she obliged.

He folded his paw and claw together and waited for his companion to make herself comfortable. Once she did, he wasted no time and started to speak.

“Tell me, Fluttershy…Who reformed me?”

Fluttershy put a hoof to her lips in thought. “Well…A number of ponies did, I suppose—“

“Ah ah ah!” he said, placing a claw against her lips. “I’m only looking for the name of one pony, Fluttershy, and while I know many have played their part in my reformation thus far, I ask you again—who reformed me? Whom did Celestia leave to show me the magic of friendship, despite everypony’s—including my own--reservations?”

“Well…” She looked down at the rock, a slight blush on her face. “Me, I guess.”

“Yes, you,” he said, and Angel Bunny, who had sat atop Fluttershy’s head the whole time, rolled his eyes as if saying “Get to the point, already.”

Discord, of course, disregarded the rabbit’s attitude. “You are the one who originally reformed me. You were my first friend, in all my thousands of years on the planet. And while I was perfectly fine living my exciting life on my own…”

“Discord…” Fluttershy interrupted. “I don’t think you were perfectly fine. I think you were—“

“And while I was somewhat fine living my exciting life on my own,” Discord started again before Fluttershy could finish, “I will admit…Your friendship was something I unexpectedly wanted. I was just as surprised as you were when I found that I did not like you walking away from me on the ice all those months ago, when you told me not to call you a ‘friend’ anymore. I never thought I would have cared enough to actually get rid of the ice and return Applejack’s farm and those pesky beavers back to normal, just to return to your good graces.”

Discord found himself unable to look Fluttershy in the eye while saying this. He never really told her in exact words how much her friendship meant to him, and it was…

Well, embarrassing, to say the least.

But he turned back to meet her eyes when the corner of his own eyes saw her smile. “It was a wonderful surprise though,” she said, bringing her hoof down against his paw on his lap. “I hadn’t thought all my kindness had worked, but it did, and I’m so glad we’re friends.”

“As am I, Fluttershy, though I admit, I still do not think I deserve such a thing as precious as your friendship.”

“Discord…”

“But, you are too kind and merciful to punish me in such a way,” he interrupted yet again. “I know that now.” His paw gently held her hoof.

They smiled at each other, and Angel Bunny put his face to one of his paws. How cheesy were these two?!? If they were such good friends, why didn’t they just run off and get married already?

Discord found himself staring at her too much, and cleared his throat. “Anywho,” he said, quickly letting go of her hoof (Was that a look of disappointment in her eyes?), “what I’m trying to say is because I have so much to thank you for, one little present isn’t that big of a deal…It’s just a small token of my…extreme appreciation for your services toward my well-being.”

Fluttershy giggled, a small melody of mirth that pleased Discord’s ears whenever he heard them. “A thank you is enough, Discord.”

“Well, it’s too late for that now,” he said, crossing his arms. “And by the way…I couldn’t help but notice, my dear…When I presented Princess Celestia with those flowers after the Tirek incident, you seemed a bit off for a mere moment,” he said, a gleam in his eye.

He was still such a teaser, even after everything.

“O-Oh!” she squeaked, and her blush returned. “D-Did I s-seem that way to you?” She started rubbing the side of her right foreleg with her left one, a nervous tendency of hers that Discord was more than aware of. It was too cute, but he couldn’t stop and stare now.

“Well, maybe you were still having problems after Tirek took your energy. It could have been a side effect. Or perhaps you just looked sad from the lighting in the castle,” he explained, enjoying the look of nervousness on her face as he continued to talk.

You are just too adorable not to tease, my dear, he thought with an ever-widening smile.

“Or—and this is the theory I’m most fond of—you were upset because you wanted flowers too?”

She brought her eyes back to him, and she swallowed down a gulp.

Bingo.

“I…Well…I…”

“You…?” he said.

“I…” Her voice got lower and lower, till it was only a small little squeak.

“…I like flowers too…”

Discord laughed. Not an evil or condescending one, but one of happiness and friendliness. He half-hugged Fluttershy with his scaly, birdlike arm in comfort, still laughing.

“Oh my dear, I know you do!” he said. “You are just too easy to tease, little Fluttershy!”

This did her no comfort, and her voice rose back to normal level. “Oh, I’m sorry, Discord! You didn’t get me a present because you saw me jealous, did you?”

He stopped laughing to look at her. Angel Bunny, who had hopped off Fluttershy earlier to nibble on a dandelion, continued to glare at Discord. Whiskers twitching, His face said something like “He had better not mess this up!”

“I didn’t mean to act so selfishly…” she continued. “I just—well, I—“

“Whoa, whoa, Fluttershy! I did not sit down with you to make you feel so guilty, my dear!” he said, taking her by the shoulders. “As I said, I’m only teasing. And besides, what’s so wrong with thinking of yourself every now and then? I mean, look at who you’re talking to! I’m the epitome of selfishness. I mean, really! Celestia forbid you ever think of yourself instead of every other living creature one the planet every once in a while! Why, you should get jealous more often, in fact. Yes, I would like to see that.”

Fluttershy sniffled. “So…why bring it up?” she asked. “Why does it matter that I was…jealous…of Celestia? And please, please don’t tell her…!”

“Not to worry, darling,” he said. He held out his paw and a small box poofed onto his palm. “I wouldn’t dream of telling her. And I only bring it up because you were right.”

“Right? About what?”

“You deserve something too! Something even better than flowers!” he said. He handed her the box. “Here! And just so you know, I only teleported the gift from my dwelling in the forest, just now. I actually made it by hand.”

Her mouth dropped to a small, delicate ‘o’. “You made it?”

Despite trying his best to be a good friend, he couldn’t help but sigh. What was with all the incredulity here? “Yes, I did. I believe handmade things are believed to show more appreciation than the store-bought bauble, hmm?”

But Fluttershy had opened the box and let out a small gasp. “It’s so…cute!”

Inside was a small hairclip. The clip itself was a pale golden color, and glued to it was a large felt flower with bright baby-blue petals.

“It’s nothing much,” he said, suddenly rubbing the back of his head with his paw. Why was he doing that? “But I thought such a thing would suit you. And not only is it a flower like you wanted, but…it looks like the flower the Breezies gave you. I know how hard it was for you to let that gift go.”

It had been hard. As simple as it was, Fluttershy had loved that flower. She had pressed it in a book so it would last forever, and had been planning on framing it before she had to use it to make a key.

“Do you like it?”

He didn’t want her to know just how badly he wanted her to like it. Even Angel Bunny was intrigued, and watched Fluttershy for a reaction.

“You made this yourself?” she asked once again, her eyes lingering a few seconds more on the clip before bringing her gaze back up to meet his.

“Oh yes,” he said, and examined his paw. “The dried hot glue took hours to get out of my paw. Even ripped some of the fur out,” he said, showing her a damaged spot of his paw. But before she could freak out about it and ask him if he needed assistance with it (which he could tell from her face she was just about to do) he assured her that he was fine. “Nothing I can’t handle, dear. It hardly even hurt. It was just hard to clean out, is all. But don’t avoid the question…”

He asked her again. “Do you like it?”

“Like it?”

A pause.

Discord wasn’t sure if that meant she didn’t, or a common cliché was about to unravel before his very eyes. Either way…

“I love it!”

Yup, cliché, he thought with a small smile.

But he let that slide as she jumped against him and wrapped her forelegs around him in a hug. He was not only accustomed to her hugs by now, but he welcomed them with open arms. He enjoyed her hugs immensely, to a degree to which he was not willing to admit.

“Oh, thank you thank you thank you!” she said again and again. “It’s so thoughtful!”

And then it happened.

She brought her face to his.

Cheek to cheek.

And rubbed her face against him.

“Huh…?’

Rub rub rub.

His face grew hot. Didn’t she realize how close her face was to his? Why, any closer to her lips and he could—

Rub rub rub.

It felt nice, though.

He could feel her fur against him, and he wondered how it looked, whatever they were doing, on a giant rock right next to the sidewalk.

Rubby rub rub, rubbity rub.

And then it ended far too quickly, and Discord looked away before she could see the red on his face.

“I’m going to wear it right now!” she said, her face flushed with happiness. Taking a hoof, she clicked it on, right above her left ear.

“How…does it look, Discord?” she asked him rather shyly. Once he composed himself, he allowed his eyes to gaze upon her pink tresses.

Of course, he thought she looked…

“Lovely,” he said, smiling again and allowing himself to stroke her once in the mane. “Just as I thought it would! Now, isn’t this better than a couple of wilting flowers?”

She laughed. “It is!” She looked back up at him. “Really and truly, Discord. Thank you.”

“Happy to do it. Now, shall we get going?”

But what had that face rubbing meant? Why had she done that?

She had never done that before, he thought, touching his face every time Fluttershy wasn’t talking with him or looking his direction. He stared at her as she happily trotted in front of him, Angel hopping alongside her. We have embraced before, in a hug, yes. But what was she doing with her face? What did it mean?

I just don’t understand. At my age, I’m quite familiar with pony culture…

“We’re almost there, Discord. We use this spot for a picnic every time we have one,” Fluttershy explained sweetly. “Isn’t that right, Angel Bunny?”

Though Fluttershy was one of the few ponies Discord could ever get himself to give his full attention to, he was far too preoccupied in his thoughts to listen to her. He didn’t even process the fact that she was talking. If Fluttershy hadn’t been leading the path, he probably would have run into a tree of some sort.

I’m quite educated on most pony rituals and holidays, after years and years of chaos and just mere observance…

“Angel, no. No, Angel. Please don’t eat that, you’ll get full before you even have your picnic lunch. We don’t want you to get a tummy ache…”

Her words were ignored again, along with Angel’s grumbling and squeaking at Fluttershy’s wise yet joy-killing words.

Have I seen ponies do that before, rubbing their faces on one another? I feel like I have…It’s usually during a happy occasion. But I never really thought about what it meant...

“Discord.”

It was obviously another way of her thanking me for the clip, but the hug would have sufficed. So why? Why would she do that, and why to me?

“Discord?”

Ugh, I hate not knowing the answer to these things! I am Discord, Lord of Chaos! Why am I letting such a—

“YO DISCORD!”

The wind was, quite literally, knocked out of him as a rainbow seemed to crash right into his stomach, and he fell over.

“Wha-Umph!” he yelled, struggling to breath as his gut was kicked by powerful hooves

“R-Rainbow Dash!” Fluttershy called out.

Sure enough, Discord found himself on his back with the little sky blue Pegasus on top of him, her rainbow mane a nice contrast to the sky above. “Get your head out of the gutter, Discord!” Rainbow said, her face coming up to his. “Couldn’t you see that Fluttershy was talking to you?”

“Ah, Miss Rainbow…” He coughed, still trying to get his windpipe back in order. “How nice to bump into you, as always.”

“Oh ha ha,” she said, jumping off him and fluttering her wings, now adrift with the current. “Whatever, Dissy.”

“I do not like that name.”

“Don’t like what name?” Pinkie Pie said, bouncing in on cue to join in on whatever was happening, which Pinkie always assumed was fun.

“Dissy,” Discord said with distaste. “It makes me sound like some pedigree poodle.”

He turned himself into a gray poodle for emphasis, though his head remained the same. It was a rather comical picture, to which Pinkie giggled. Rainbow Dash just gave Discord a look that said “You’re so weird” and turned around to the other ponies just a few steps away. “Whatever, Discord, just come on over and join us already, huh? Or are you too slow?”

Discord growled. This pony always knew how to grate on his nerves. While Rainbow Dash had told other ponies that the two of them were indeed now friends, their relationship consisted of them mostly duking it out through teases and challenges.

It was all just friendly competition, of course.

“Slow? And just what, my dear, are you implying?”

“Well, you are like, a bazillion years old,” Rainbow said, as Tank the turtle whizzed up to his owner for an affectionate pat on his smooth shell. “Even Tank here could outrace an old geezer like you.”

Fluttershy just shook her head. If that’s the way these two were going to get along…

“OLD GEEZER?!?!?” Discord roared, scaring Tank away to join the other pets under an apple tree nearby the picnic area. “I’ll have you know that though I have lived a long time, little pony, I have the physique of a young stallion! A fire-breathing dragon!”

“Then get your patchwork butt over here so we can eat already!” she shouted back at him, and zipped her way down to the others. “I’m starvin’, already!”

“Patchwork bu—Why, that little…!”

A hoof lightly touched his small shoulder, and he turned to see Fluttershy hovering next to him. “Let’s just go join them, shall we?” she said, giving him a soft smile.

Discord shook his head. “Yes, yes, of course. I can’t let that mare get to me…”

“Don’t worry, Discord!”

The draconequus looked down to see the bright pink pony trotting next to him, a smile of sunshine on her face. He had forgotten that Pinkie Pie was even there. He didn’t mean to, but she was sneaky in her own way, either making herself very easy to spot or just hanging from the sidelines until she could jump in on the action. He rather admired her for that trick.

“She only does it because you’re friends! She makes fun of me too sometimes. Like one time, she said that I eat like a dragon! And I was all ‘but I’m not a dragon’ and she was all ‘well, you eat as much as one’ and then we laughed and ate, like, a DOZEN cupcakes! EACH!” She hopped at the end for emphasis, as if eating that many cupcakes was earth-shattering news. “And that’s a lot of cupcakes!”

Discord shared a look with Fluttershy, and they both chuckled at Pinkie Pie’s antics. Leave it up to her to ease any tension, and all be fine.

Twilight was the first at the picnic blanket to give them a greeting, with Rarity and Applejack to her left, and Spike to her right. “Hey guys!”

“Hello Twilight!” Fluttershy called back, grabbing her pack and opening the flap. “I brought the salad like I promised, and the lemonade. You still have it, don’t you, Discord?”

“Of course, of course, my dear Fluttershy.” He carefully shook the closed pitcher for emphasis.

“And Discord brought his cucumber sandwiches! They’re so very delicious. I just don’t know how many I’ve had, they’re so good.”

Discord’s chest huffed from all the praise, like a frog filling his lungs for air as a show for a potential mate. “They are quite divine, if I say so myself.”

“Divine, bovine,” Rainbow Dash said, waving off his pride. “Can we just dig in already?” She landed on the picnic blanket and grabbed a plate. “I’m sooo hungry!”

“Are you hungry, dear? Because I could have positively sworn you told us that not thirty seconds ago,” Rarity said, a touch of friendly sarcasm to her voice.

“Well, I am!”

“We’ll eat soon, girls, let’s just wait for Fluttershy and Discord to get all their things together,” Twilight said, always the sensible and unofficial leader of the group. She smiled at Discord. “I can’t wait to try your sandwiches, Discord.”

Twilight had been so much friendlier to him after his accident with Tirek, and the friendliness was mutual. Discord had sucked in his own pride and even expressed to Twilight the night she saved him that he was more than just grateful to her; he was glad. Though she was nearly a copy of that know-it-all, annoyingly angelic Celestia, Discord was now able to see Twilight as her own pony, not as Celestia Junior. Besides, as Fluttershy always reminded him…It was Celestia who originally gave Discord a second chance in the first place, so he should re-evaluate his opinion of Celestia as well.

Though to Discord, it would always be Fluttershy to whom he would credit for the improved quality of his life.

And, once again, that was something he wouldn’t tell her, of course. Oh no. No one could know how much Fluttershy meant to him; not even Discord himself was aware of how much he adored her. And none of the ponies could ever no how much their acceptance meant to him either, though he was quite aware of that already.

No. He wanted their perception of him as a chaotic, crazy old draconequus to stay the same as long as they were friends—though Fluttershy was more than welcome to think he was a sweetheart as well. A handsome sweetheart, even.

“I can’t wait to hear your praise after you eat them, dear Twilight.” He snapped his fingers and a colorful red serving tray appeared in the middle of the picnic blanket, his sandwiches now arranged atop it in a visually pleasing arrangement.

“They look mighty fine, Discord, mighty fine,” Applejack said, and allowed herself to take the first one and eat it in one bite.

Crunch crunch crunch. She slowly chewed it, a thoughtful look on her freckled face. She swallowed it with a loud gulp, and it ended in a smile. “Tastes as good as it looks! Discord, I knew you were a master of makin’ things crazy, but you’re not a bad cook either!”

By the time Applejack had finished saying this, all the ponies had tried them—well, all had one except Rainbow Dash. She shoved about seven of them into her mouth, rather than one.

“Yummy yum yum YUM!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, rubbing her tummy for emphasis. “Delicious! I’ll admit, it’s not as fun or amazing as your chocolate rain, but these are still really good!” She shoved another in her mouth.

“Fluttershy definitely wasn’t kidding,” Spike said, finally putting his two cents in on the conversation. “Though, I think it’d be better toasted.” He flamed his sandwich in his green fiery breath till it browned to his liking. “Ah, that’s better.”

“Simply divine, darling. And cut just like they would be in a regal or upscale gathering. I commend you for that,” Rarity added, delicately nibbling on her wedge of sandwich. “Oh, if only we could have started out as friends, rather than fighting in the first place. Fighting is so brutal. You cannot look fashionable when your face is red with abominable rage.”

Discord could only nod in agreement. “You would know best, Rarity. If you ever need a model for your clothing, my handsome stature would make your clothing look ever so popular.”

Rarity paused to look at him. How to respond to such a thing? Surely, he was joking? They were friends now; she didn’t want to offend him…

“No, no, no, don’t say a word, dear,” Discord said before she could mutter a word, a hand on his forehead and the other at his heart. “I know what you’re thinking…”

“You—You are?” She laughed weakly at him.

“Oh, yes, and you’re quite correct. If I were to model for you, why, your business would surely fail.”

“Oh, no…I wouldn’t say that darling! Why, if you do want to try on my fashion, I’m sure we could—“

“Oh, no. If I did that, and the photos made it to the public…” He spread his mismatched arms out wide. “You’d sell your clothing faster than you could make it, and the demand would just be too high. Supply and demand would go so, dare I say, chaotic, that you just wouldn’t produce them fast enough. Yes, you’re right, Rarity. Best we don’t do that, then. Very clever of you.”

Once Rarity realized he was joking, she laughed—though more out of relief than from humor. He was now a nice enough creature—he had a lot of work to do, but he was a good enough friend now that she didn’t have the heart to tell him that the way he looked…well…

She couldn’t honestly imagine him attracting anypony.

As she thought of this with guilt—though she should not have, for thoughts are private and only in sharing them would she falter—she noticed something shine in Fluttershy’s hair. A clip.

It was simple—a little felt flower on a golden snap clip. The felt flower petals matched the Pegasus’ eyes, and Rarity approved of the gold clip as well, as it went better with Fluttershy’s soft, buttery yellow coat than a silver one would have. While it was a very elementary design, sometimes less did more, and Rarity was excited to see Fluttershy sport at least one accessory in her lifetime.

“Fluttershy, darling, wherever did you get such an adorable little clip? Why, it’s so simple, but so chic!”

Fluttershy had been eating the baked apples Applejack brought when Rarity’s compliments rang in her ears. “Huh? Oh, you mean this?” She brought a hoof up to her hair, pointing to the clip. “You like it?”

“Like it? I love it! It’s so very you!”

A small blush appeared on Fluttershy’s face, a common look of hers whenever she was complimented. “Thank you Rarity. It’s actually funny that you mention that, because I just recently got it from—“

Oh no no no no no! It was okay for everypony to think he was friendly now, but he did not want the girls knowing just how much of a heart he had gained in just a short amount of time. His affections for Fluttershy, though Discord himself did not know just how much love he held in his heart for her, were not to be known by anypony! He had his pride at stake!

Fluttershy let out a squeak of surprise when a paw suddenly covered her mouth. “Fluttershy!”

“Hmm? What is it Discord?” she asked, her eyes widening at his sudden urgency. Suddenly, over by the pets, a small apple hit Angel Bunny on the top of the head, and Owlicious was right above him on the branch. The rabbit, thinking the bird had hit him deliberately with the apple, starting ranting at poor Owlicious in rabbit squabble, hammering his fist in the air.

But the wise owl knew better, and eyed the draconequus from a small distance away. He had seen the purple glow of magic send the apple down towards Angel’s head, hitting him more gently than a falling apple would have, but hard enough to agitate the small mammal.

“I think you may want to check on the animals—it looks like your squirrel over there is having a squabble with the flying rat.” Discord pointed over at the gathering of animals.

Twilight gasped. “Owlicious is not a flying rat!”

“And you know Angel is a cute, sweet, innocent little baby bunny,” Fluttershy said.

“Okay, okay, whatever!” Discord grumbled. “The point is, you should go check on them, Fluttershy.”

Angel Bunny got more animated in his grumbling, and started trying to throw acorns at the poor owl. Fluttershy grew agitated. “Oh dear! Angel Bunny, no! That isn’t how we treat our friends!” She galloped over to stop him from causing a fight.

Discord sighed within himself. Mission accomplished. Now they can all forget about my little gift for Fluttershy.

“Besides your blatant insult to my pet owl,” Twilight added as Discord relished in his own relief, “don’t think I didn’t notice your little trick.”

It was Discord’s turn to be surprised, and his eyelids opened completely as he stared at the violet alicorn. “Beg pardon?”

“You may be able to sense magical imbalances in all of Equestria, but I am the Element of Magic.” With the dainty grace of a princess, she set her cup of lemonade down next to her plate with her alicorn powers. “Not to mention, it’s very easy to see the purple glow of your magic, Mr. Lord of Chaos. I saw you hit Angel Bunny with the apple.”

All five of the ponies and one dragon had their eyes on him. He was cornered.

This had not been the first time Discord was victim to stares. He had been subjected to much worse—the glowing hatred of thousands of eyes. To him, this should have been nothing.

But these were his friends, and they knew he was hiding something. In his chaotic days before he turned, he never had anything to hide. It was as if Fluttershy’s butterfly cutie mark had turned into the real thing, and fluttered around in the pit of the draconequus’ stomach.

He didn’t cherish the feeling, but did his best to keep his cool.

“I’ve no idea what you’re talking about.” He crossed his arms, looking away with a defiant look in his face.

Yet, one small feature gave him away.

Spike couldn’t help but grin. He was always the object of embarrassment, getting teased (in the friendliest of ways, of course) about his size, his cuteness, his affection for Rarity. But now the tables had turned, and he no longer had to fear Discord. “Then why are you blushing, huh?” he retorted, his smile still on his lips, eyes slit with a mischievous glint in his lizard-like eyes. “Too hot for ya out here?”

The girls giggled, and Twilight, being the bright pony that she was, was pretty sure why.

“You gave her that hairclip, didn’t you?”

All present, except for Twilight and Fluttershy (who continued to attempt to calm the bunny down and figure out what happened), gasped.

“You gave Fluttershy a present?” Rainbow Dash nearly couldn’t believe it.

“And that certainly doesn’t look like something Ponyville vendors or any other town close by sells, as I know them all personally,” Rarity added. “But to think that you could have possibly made something by hand—!”

Pinkie Pie hopped up and down, various foodstuffs all over her face from her enthusiastic eating. “Discord made a gift! Discord made a gift! We should have a party, to celebrate Discord giving a gift!”

Applejack just smiled, her right hoof posed over her left. “Well, I’ll be…”

And Discord was done with all the disbelief.

“Is it so hard to believe that I am able to do something as simple and—and nice as give a friend a gift?!? Is that really so hard to take in?!?” he started to ramble, his tone high but not loud enough for a certain pegasus to hear. “Fluttershy was surprised from it too! Is it really all that unbelievable?!?"

"I mean, I know I made my mistakes. Trust me, my de—no, my friends, no one knows better than I about my regretful past. I know I did things so bad, so evil, so chaotic that there is no way to candy coat the seriousness of the blows that I have put against Equestria!"

"I know I was a villain. I know I was bad. I know that I don’t deserve any of this! I know, alright?!? I shouldn’t have made that deal with Tirek, I know that, you know that. I’ve apologized for what seems like an infinite number of times for this mistake. And yes, I know that I don’t have to say I’m sorry again!"

"But all of you know what I did to Fluttershy! You saw her cry! She cried…because of me…”

He looked at the ground. He did not mean to go on a rant like this. He did not plan on spilling his inner thoughts and fears and woes out to everypony around. But he started, and he could not bring himself to stop.

He covertly took a look at Fluttershy. Smiling encouragingly at Angel Bunny (who no longer was insulting the owl, but staring at the bird with suspicion), she attempted to get him and Owlicious to hug and make up.

She has such a beautiful soul, he thought. Nothing like me.

“I broke her heart,” he said, lowly but loud enough for them to hear. “I broke not only her trust, but I broke her heart. Friends are capable of such things, I hear. They can break each other, and that’s what I did to her. And then, after I realized my mistake, and you had saved me, Twilight…What did I do?”

None answered him, not a word. Even Pinkie Pie, who often struggled with social protocol in serious situations, hung on to his every word and didn’t dare interrupt him.

“I apologized to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna with flowers, but did nothing special for her, the pony who helped me through all of the changes in my life. I did nothing for Fluttershy, who put up with my antics, and let me release my chaotic energy into the world when suppressing it became too stressful on me.”

Twilight couldn’t help herself, because her pursuit of knowledge was forever within her. “Stressful?”

He took another quick glance at Fluttershy, since Discord did not want her to hear any of his words. Luckily, though the fight between Angel and Owlicious was essentially over, Tank had gotten his propeller stuck on a branch, and Fluttershy was helping him untangle it, while Gummy the alligator attempted to chomp on Applejack’s Winona—another trouble Fluttershy would probably correct before returning to the group.

“Imagine having a colony of ants in your body,” Discord began to explain. “Your legs, your arms, your face. Everywhere. You would have a constant itch, an irritating urge to move about, to comfort and relieve yourself, and to act. My chaotic energy is such a feeling. If I do not use it, my body grows antsy and agitated. It is not painful in the traditional sense of the word, but it makes me frantic and stressed. If I do not act on my powers, I grow restless, senseless, and I am unable to function properly unless I make everything else dysfunctional. That is why both times, when released from my stone prison, I had to act on my magic right away. Being turned to stone did not erase my consciousness; it is not like being frozen in ice over time. I was aware of everything, including my urge to act. It was chaos within me, and it was worse than any illness I could possibly have."

"Fluttershy came to learn this soon after she befriended me, and she always allowed me to perform my magic around her, and her house, so I would not feel uncomfortable. At first it scared her, and I did not necessarily want to scare her. Joke around with her, yes, and sometimes I did want to startle her—but never terrify her. That is why she is so accustomed to my ways now—because I needed her to be so I could release my chaos. She did it so I…so I could be happy."

"And yet, I had the gall to only present the Princesses with a gift, when I did not thank the pony closest to me. And so, I made her that little clip. It looks like the flower the Breezies gave her, because she valued that gift to no end, and though I hurt her and broke her heart, she forgave me. And so, I made that clip with my own paw and claw, burnt myself with hot glue, stabbed myself with the scissors a few times by accident…so Fluttershy could have a physical representation of her worth to me. A gift by my magic is an easy thing, but Fluttershy’s gift was not made in the same fashion as the flowers to Celestia were. I didn’t want to do it that way, because though I’ve come to respect all of the Princesses, I thought Fluttershy deserved something more special than that."

"And because she valued the flower, I made the clip in hopes that she would love it just as much as the Breezies’ gift, if not more so, because…”

He wasn’t sure how to end his speech. Because why? He knew, but at the same time, he didn’t know.

And because he was confused, he said nothing, and only looked back at them.

No one voiced what went through their heads, but they all knew the answer to what Discord was confused about. Even Spike, who faced the same trials and tribulations as Discord, knew what was going on.

Discord loves her.

“I…” Rarity started, moved by the pure emotion and tenderness Discord showed in his words. “I…I’m more than positive, dearie…That Fluttershy will cherish that gift for the rest of her days, I assure you.” She smiled at him, and the serious air around the small group loosened up a bit. “Did you not see her face when I asked her about it? Why, she practically lit up like a—“

“Like a Discord lamp!” Pinkie Pie supplied. “The biggest, shiniest, lightbulb-iest Discord lamp in the WORLD!” Her hooves rose in the air, and the sudden movement had her roll back, about to hit the ground. A pillow suddenly appeared in the grass to break her fall, a safety precaution that was unconsciously brought upon by Discord with a snap of his fingers. He couldn’t have a pony that valued laughter as much as he did to break her back, after all, could he?

And he DID laugh. “Lightbulb-iest? Sweet Pinkie, you really should write yourself a dictionary, so your friends understand you.”

“If Twilight writes for me, I’ll do it!” she stated, still on her back atop the pillow, but pointing her hoof in the sky from determination. “That book would be GREAT!”

All of them laughed, and Discord took the time to appreciate the now pleasant and even peaceful moment. Who knew I would ever enjoy something as opposite to chaos as peace? He wondered, but took no alarm from it. Instead, he just smiled, and watched his dear Fluttershy examine Winona’s tail after finally extracting Gummy from her. She began to pet the friendly dog, which flipped over and presented Fluttershy with a stomach to rub. “Who’s a good girl?” she said, smiling and giving in to the dog’s simple wish. “Who’s a good girl?”

Discord brought his attention back to his nearer company. “Perhaps it would, Pinkie Pie,” he said. “Then you could explain to me the parts of pony culture that have somehow escaped me, despite the fact that I have lived since the beginning of time.”

“Like what?” Applejack asked. “What could you possibly not know about pony culture? Most ponies aren’t as complicated as the big city folk or anythin’. We’re not that different.”

“Maybe not, but when Fluttershy thanked me for my gift, she acted most peculiar.”

This got everypony’s attention. “Oh?!?” Rarity began. She was such a romantic. Even if it was Discord, she had to admit—the thought of star-crossed lovers was exciting. “What did she do?”

“Well…” Another blush seemed to radiate off his face, and he was not able to meet anypony’s eyes once again. “She hugged me, and I’m fairly used to that. But then she…”

“YES?” All six of them said in unison, practically demanding an answer out of him. Discord’s ears perked up at the sudden uniform exclamation.

Well, that escalated quickly, he thought.

“She…rubbed her face all over me.”

Rainbow Dash was in no way, shape, or form a stupid pony, but because she learned in different ways from everypony else, she was in no way shy about admitting her confusion. “What?” she asked, rather bluntly.

“It’s just as I’ve said. She rubbed her face…on my face. Her nose too. It was…I mean, it was well intentioned, I’m sure. Perhaps it’s an animalistic habit she learned from her gift with the forest creatures?” He stroked his beard. “I assume it was another form of physical thanks, but it baffled me. It was…awkward, but it wasn’t bad either…”

“Do you…” Twilight started putting the pieces together. It wasn’t that hard to crack, to figure out what Discord was trying to say. It’s just that everypony usually knew what he was talking about, so nopony ever phrased it the way Discord did. But Discord was not a pony, and so there was no need for teasing. “Do you mean to say that Fluttershy nuzzled you?”

“OHHH!” Pinkie Pie jumped over to Discord, and invaded his personal space, shoving her face inches from his. “A nuzzle! She nuzzled you! That makes sense!”

“She nuzzled me? Is that what you ponies call it?” Discord said, unaffected by Pinkie’s intrusion on him. He wasn’t exactly always respectful of personal space himself, either, so it didn’t bother him.

Of course, Pinkie Pie wasn’t Fluttershy either.

Rainbow Dash practically barked with laughter. She could barely keep herself up straight, because she was laughing so hard. “Oh my gosh, you really don’t know?!? Twilight’s right, dude. She just nuzzled you!”

“’Just’ nuzzled me? What does that mean, exactly? What makes one want to nuzzle the other?”

Eager to teach a potential student, Twilight took a sip of lemonade and explained. “Nuzzling is a common display of either thanks or affection among ponies. It’s done either to express gratitude to somepony for doing something you appreciate, or just as a general way of showing or giving affection to somepony close to you.”

“And in your case, sugarcube,” Applejack said, putting a hoof on Discord’s lion-like arm, “I’d say Fluttershy did it in terms of both things.”

Discord blinked. “So she nuzzled me because…?”

“Because she was grateful and because she likes you!” Spike exclaimed enthusiastically. In a way, Spike was assuming that Fluttershy liked Discord more than just a friend, though in all honesty, he unconsciously did it to give him hope to continue to pursue the pony of his dreams. But he was young and free to dream, so nopony worried about it too much. “She stepped it up a notch!”

“Did she now…?” Discord said. He was unsure why, but suddenly, he felt very happy. He felt...like he had no weight, that he was lighter than usual—as if he were already in the air.

But I am firmly on the ground…My chaotic energy is not being used for flight now…Whatever is this sensation that I’m feeling? He thought. Dear Celestia, what is happening to me?

He was so stuck in his own thoughts that he didn’t notice Rarity mumble in Twilight’s ear.

“He doesn’t even realize that he loves her, does he?”

Twilight smiled. They all were starting to grow quite fond of Discord, and she was no exception. “Yes, but can you blame him?” she spoke, not directly in Rarity’s ear, but in a low volume nonetheless. “He’s never even had friendship in his life before Fluttershy took him in, so it makes sense that something deeper than that would confuse him.”

At the corner of Twilight’s eyes, she saw yellow, and she turned her head to see Fluttershy happily trotting back over to them. The first place she went to was directly by Discord’s side.

Discord’s face turned a deeper shade of red, realizing the pony of discussion and the object of his affections was suddenly by him. “Oh, Fluttershy,” he said, rubbing the back of his head and trying to be nonchalant. “It’s…It’s about time you got back! I say, how are you to spend time with your friends if you’re always with the animals?!?”

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” she said to him, looking up at her wonderful, chaotic companion. “It was just one thing after the next. I’m sorry it took me so long.” She smiled up at him. “Did I miss anything?”

“N-No, of course not,” he quickly answered, his cool façade suddenly fading. “Were we to do anything exciting, we would have waited for you.” He stabbed a cupcake Pinkie had brought with a lion claw, licking all the pink frosting off it before popping the cake into his mouth in one try. “Do try the cupcakes though, they’re quite delicious. But…” He looked over at Pinkie Pie. “It’s still no chocolate rain.”

With a snap, chocolate rain appeared, and Pinkie Pie squealed with delight and immediately immersed herself in the rain, under the chocolate-filled cloud. Rainbow Dash and Spike eagerly joined her, with no fear of chaos in their hearts to keep them from such tasty weather.

Discord clawed another cupcake, ready to eat it, and was surprised to see Fluttershy take the treat by her teeth and popping the cupcake off his claw. Though there was no close contact, it still surprised him. For Fluttershy, letting him feed her was a rather bold thing to do.

“Oh, yum!” she said. “You’re right, it’s scrumptious! Oh, wait, I almost forgot!”

“Animals acting up again?” Applejack asked, fanning herself with her hat.

“No, I just forgot to tell you all about my clip…”

Applejack, Rarity, and Twilight Sparkle, for a brief moment, shared a knowing look. They were no longer surprised to see Discord’s face turn red. They knew now how he felt.

He loved Fluttershy.

“Oh? What about it?” Rarity quipped, as if she knew nothing.

“Discord made it for me!” Her wings suddenly sprung out from her sides, and she gracefully and assuredly flew in the air. “He made it all for me, as a thank you, which of course wasn’t needed, but it was so sweet.” She looked at him tenderly, and Discord looked away.

Good Celestia, this is too much for me all in one day. Your friendship is going to send me off the deep end, my dear Fluttershy, he secretly told her in his mind. It was a good thing Fluttershy was not psychic.

And he was sent into further surprise when he suddenly felt something soft against the side of his head.

A nuzzle.

Fluttershy, giving Discord, Lord of Chaos, a public display of affection, in front of all their friends.

“Thank you again, Discord. It means a lot to me.”

YOU mean a lot to me. But Fluttershy didn’t dare say that aloud. It took enough courage from her just to nuzzle him in front of their friends.

Discord did his best to ignore the giggling, but he smiled despite himself. He found himself nuzzling her too.

He rather liked nuzzling, he figured out.

“My dear Fluttershy…”

Nuzzle nuzzle, rub rub.

“You are more than welcome.”

Author's Note

If there are any grammar problems, I might have missed them, but it's possible I also grew confused with the formatting of the website. Any constructive criticism is welcomed and appreciated!

Cuddle

Author's Note

It's so much shorter...I'm sorry!!! But I hope you like it.

Cuddle

Fluttershy was sick with an illness.

Discord was sick with worry.

“You don’t feel well?” he asked her, as the shy, sweet, Easter yellow Pegasus slowly walked over to the door. “Is it bad?”

Before Fluttershy could lift a hoof to exit the front door, Discord floated over in front of her, inspecting her with keen yellow eyes and red irises. “Is it measles? Mumps? How’s your head?” He lifted his lion paw to her forehead. His eyes widened at the touch. “It’s hot! Oh no no no no no, my dear. This is not the time for you to go out and feed your animals. You must stay in bed.”

“B-But, but, but…” she began to protest. “I need to…to…Ah…Ah…ACHOO!”

Discord snapped his fingers, and an umbrella appeared in his grip before her sneeze could give him a nice cold shower. “My point exactly. You are sick with a cold, and you have a fever of…” He touched her head again. “102 degrees exactly. There will be no work for you today, my dear Fluttershy!”

“Discord…” she croaked. Her throat ached, and she sounded like a frog had replaced her voicebox. “If I don’t go take care of those poor little hungry creatures, who will?”

“Most of those creatures are perfectly capable of taking care of themselves,” he answered. “The only ones that really need attending to are your chickens and Angel Bunny. I shall take care of it.”

He snapped his fingers, but nothing happened directly inside the house. “There, all done. I even fed the ones who don’t need such help,” he answered her. “Now, go to the couch, and I’ll bring you some tea.”

“Discord…I can’t let you wait on m-me…” she tried to whine. “I can…can…”

A claw covered her snout before she could sneeze, stopping it altogether. “I know you can take care of yourself, Fluttershy. And I want to make my darling best friend forever-whatever feel all better!”

Another snap, and Fluttershy suddenly appeared at the couch with a blanket on top of her.

“Now, you rest while I brew you some tea and honey, honey,” he said.

Normally, he would’ve made a joke of the situation and magicked up a maid’s costume to make fun of himself for taking care of her. And had it been Twilight or Applejack or any other pony, he would have.

But for some reason…

I do not want her to see me in a dress, he thought.

So, he switched to a butler’s uniform, a crisp black suit—without the mustache.

(And miles away, Spike the Dragon felt slightly disappointed, his upper lip suddenly itchy. He had no idea why.)

The image still got a slight giggle from Fluttershy—a sound as melodious to Discord as a violin—before a barking cough interrupted the musical laughter.

He made sure to add an extra dollop of honey to the steaming tea he made her.

His Fluttershy wasn’t to bark like a dog!

“Are you comfortable?”

He had done everything to make it so she was, in fact, comfy. A single fluffy pillow filled with goose down supported Fluttershy’s head, and a warm green blanket wrapped her like a butterfly in a cocoon—a thought that made Discord laugh, since her cutie mark was composed of such insects.

“What’s so funny…?” she croaked again.

“Oh, nothing, nothing, Fluttershy. Don’t speak a great deal, it’ll make your throat hurt.” In his hands, he wrapped the blanket tighter around her. “There, that’s better. Are you warm enough? Or are you cold? Do you need more blankets? Perhaps some entertainment? Or are you tired?”

A smile showed up on Fluttershy’s lips. I…I think I like this, she thought to herself as she watched the reformed draconequus fret over her. I don’t know why, but it makes me happy…to see him so worried about me…

“Oh, I almost forgot!” he replied, and he suddenly reached towards her hair. “Your hair clip! Shall I remove it for you? The pressure of it could give you a headache.”

She was surprised when she found herself shielding the clip. “N-No!” she shouted, though because of her condition it was more of a loud, croaking whisper. “D-Don’t…!”

Discord blinked at her. Such a strong reaction for her, he thought, wondering if maybe the sickness was making her antsy. While for most ponies (especially strong-willed ones like Rainbow Dash), a shout would have made sense, it was something unheard of when it came to sweet, meek ponies like Fluttershy. “Why not?” he asked her. “Surely taking it off would be better, wouldn’t it? You can’t sleep in such a thing, and you need your rest!”

A blush the shade of her hair appeared on Fluttershy’s face. “I…always…”

“Hmm? Always what?”

“I a-always wear it. I…sleep in it…all the time. I only take it off when I bathe…so it won’t rust or come apart.”

It was as if the blush divided in two and emerged onto Discord’s face as well. He had made Fluttershy the hair clip that they were discussing—made it with his own claw and paw. In fact, the burns left from the glue had just finished healing the day before.

You…never take it off? He asked her in his head. You like it that much?

His heart thumped more vigorously now, and a warmth spread over his body, like he was slowly being doused in hot fudge. It was a pleasant feeling, if not even better than pleasant.

“Oh. Well then…” Not for the first time that week, Discord rubbed his head and stroked his beard. “I suppose then…if you’re used to wearing it.”

“It feels wrong without it,” she added. “I love it…very much.”

What she wanted to say was “I love you…very much.”

But she didn’t dare, and she wanted to ease the tension in the room. “D-Discord?”

“Y-Yes?” he asked. Oh great. Now I’M stuttering too! What is it that you do to me, Fluttershy?

“I’m cold.”

She wasn’t lying, actually. Though the blanket was nice and wooly, her body just couldn’t get warm. Perhaps it was the stitching—it was crochet, and there were large gaps in the wool, as was the design.

“You are? Really? Hmm, that blanket usually does an excellent job of keeping me warm,” he mused, eyeing the blanket as if it disappointed him from its failure to keep his darling pony warm.

“Well, not to worry! I can easily conjure up more. Or perhaps even a heater! Or—“

“Y-You could lay here with me, maybe.”

She was just full of surprises today. “My dear, your illness is making you delirious!” he said to her, and checked her temperature. It was actually down by a degree, he could tell from his hand and his magic. “Do you even know what you speak of?!?”

“B-But I don’t want a blanket…I think…” Her face started to resemble Big Macintosh’s coat. “I think having a friend to cuddle with would do better.”

Cuddle? She wants…? His heart sped up faster. She wants me to cuddle with her?!? Me??

The corners of his mouth twitched. He wanted to smile, he wanted to shout in glee. He didn’t know why, but he did. But he stopped the urge, to keep his wits about him.

“You…know what cuddling is, don’t you?” Fluttershy asked him. She wasn’t being mean or coy; that wasn’t her style, obviously. She just thought he looked confused.

“Wha..? Of c-course I do!” he suddenly snapped, his embarrassment taking his judgment from him temporarily. While Fluttershy knew Discord would never hurt her, she jumped at his sudden loud voice.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” he apologized, not meaning to cause her distress. “I didn’t mean to yell at you, my dear,” he explained, his voice now softer, so soft that no pony got to hear it like that except for her. “I was just…surprised, is all.”

“Why?”

“Because, well…I’m Discord, Lord of Chaos. I’m not exactly Mr. Snuggle Wuzzykins.” A teddy bear appeared with his magic, and he tucked it into the crook of Fluttershy’s foreleg. “I’ve never really cuddled with anypony before. I never…wanted to.”

“O-Oh…” Fluttershy grew sad. Silly me, she thought, chastising herself. I’m just a silly filly, with silly feelings. You need to stop this, Fluttershy. He would never…

For a millisecond, she saw Discord disappear, and then she felt a long, snakelike body behind her. Discord’s arms bear-hugged her around the torso, with her head tucked under his chin, his beard hanging from the side of her face, but not so much as to obscure her vision.

“But I’m certainly willing to embrace you and keep you warm, Fluttershy. For you.”

Fluttershy’s blush remained, as it couldn’t get any redder than it already was. “I…I don’t want you to cuddle with me if you don’t want to,” she told him. She was glad he held her from behind her, so he couldn’t see her face. “Just because we’re friends doesn’t mean you have to.”

“I want to.”

Slowly and intimately, their tails intertwined with one another, a twist of red and pink with a white tuft at the end.

“I really do.”

Slowly, she started to smile, and her eyelids suddenly grew heavy. “Thank you…This is nice…” She hugged a portion of Discord’s arms with her hooves, feeling protected and cared for.

And maybe even loved, though she didn’t want to assume so.

But I can hope, right?

Before her eyes closed, she felt something soft and warm touch the top of her head.

A kiss. A small, innocent, chaste one, but a kiss nonetheless.

I don’t know what I’m doing, Discord thought. I don’t know what I’m feeling. I don’t know why I’m kissing her now.

His lips broke away from her head.

But I think it’s love. I can’t be certain, as I know near to nothing of romance, but…

“Hmm….” She couldn’t fight her eyes any longer, and her eyes closed. She fell asleep.

The smile on her face was angelic and prominent. Discord couldn’t miss it.

He smiled back, even though she couldn’t see it.

I think it’s love.

Fly

Anypony who knew Fluttershy knew she was a weak flyer.

But today—this average, ordinary day---by golly, she was going to really soar, as if her life depended on it.

But it wasn’t her life she was concerned about.

While Angel Bunny was known to be a somewhat selfish and easily angered creature, he did have his virtues—good points that made him Fluttershy’s most valued animal companion in the first place. One of them was that he was always there to bring messages to Fluttershy for any living thing—no matter what it was—that needed her assistance. For that, the little furry guy always had his ears perked up and open. He was Fluttershy’s loyal messenger.

And that morning, as Fluttershy examined her honeysuckle plants while speaking with her hummingbird friends, Angel Bunny had a message for her.

The message had been carried for miles and miles of forested land, all the way across the innumerable acres of the Everfree Forest. Animals all across the land knew of Fluttershy’s kindness and caring attitude towards all living things. Gossip was not only a pony practice.

From an eagle, to a deer, to a fish, to a squirrel, then a bluebird, a turtle, a cricket, a snake, and finally a cardinal, the message was brought to Angel in a frenzy. After speaking with the cardinal (who had been named Rose after meeting Fluttershy, who fixed her broken wing a few seasons ago), Angel had rushed to his pony’s cottage, hopping as fast and furious as possible.

His legs burning and aching with overuse, Angel Bunny huffed, but didn’t waste any time when he finally got the Pegasus’ attention, interrupting her conversation with the hummingbirds.

“Angel! Oh my goodness, what’s gotten you all excited?” she asked her fuzzy baby, nuzzling him in hopes of comforting him. “What’s wrong, sweetie?”

All of his squeaks and peeps meant nothing to the average pony, but Fluttershy was special—she understood any animal’s chatter, almost as well as her own language.

Fluttershy gasped. “There’s an injured bear? In the mountains?”

He continued to tell her the story, animated in his jumping, paw flailing, and nose twitching.

“And she can’t move and leave her cave? Oh no, that’s horrible! I’ll be there right away, and I can—“

She turned to leave and pack her things, but Angel wasn’t done yet. He clicked with his teeth, uttered a few more squeaks, and looked at her with worried eyes.

“There’s a cub?!? Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear! Why, if the mother isn’t fit to protect her cub, then anything could—“

She didn’t dare finish her sentence. She shared a look with Angel. They knew what it meant.

She rushed into the house as fast as she could. Carefully, but as fast as she possibly could, she gathered everything she would need for her rescue trip—formula, food, bandages, antiseptic fluid, a first-aid kit, cloth, medical tape…The mother had a sprained leg and flesh wounds, and Fluttershy not only needed to wrap and bandage her, but care for the cub as well.

A few more supplies, and she was ready. There was no time for a petsitter, no time to let her friends know what was going on. She was already a slow flyer, and needed to leave effective immediately. Hastily grabbing a piece of paper and a marker, she took the writing utensil in her teeth and wrote a message on the page for anypony who may come to visit.

Had to leave for an emergency. Will be back as soon as I can, might be a week or two. If you could, please check on the animals. Thank you so much!

Fluttershy

She quickly taped it to the door, and Angel stood there waiting for a goodbye.

She kissed him on the head between his ears. “Thank you so much, sweetie,” she said, her voice warm but urgent. “Look after the house for me?”

The bunny saluted her, nodding vigorously.

“Thank you!” Her wings flapped open, and a rare determined look was set on her face. She took off. “I love you!” she yelled back at Angel.

Fluttershy’s friends always secretly thought that Angel Bunny didn’t care for Fluttershy. He was selfish, irritable, cranky, and somewhat unappreciative of what the Pegasus did for him. Angel knew that’s what they thought of him, too.

But they were wrong on one thing.

Fluttershy meant everything to him.

Fluttershy heard him squeak back to her, the words sincere and affectionate in his rabbit language.

Only she knew what he said.

Be safe! And I love you too!

She flew high above the Everfree forest, higher than she normally dared to. But she had to stay clear of this foliage; the dangers hidden in all of the vegetation could easily hurt the Pegasus, or even worse…

And if something happened to Fluttershy, the bear and her cub wouldn’t have a chance.

It took her the entire day to fly there, all across Everfree to a cave just outside the opposite side of the forest. Had it been Rainbow Dash, she would have gotten there hours earlier. But Fluttershy was not Rainbow Dash, and it took her a great deal longer to get there.

Almost there…Just a little longer…

When she finally arrived at the cave, her wing muscles screamed with overexertion. Fluttershy wanted nothing more than to collapse right where she landed and sleep until dawn.

But she had a job to do, and it was important enough to keep her awake and alert—one of the reasons she deserved the cutie mark she proudly showed upon her flank.

She found the bear cub first, a curious little thing that walked clumsily over to her at the entrance of the cave, curiosity and fear both easily seen in it’s dark, innocent eyes.

“Hello there, small one,” she said to the cub, her voice soft and sweet. “Don’t worry. Fluttershy’s here now. Everything will be alright.”

The baby bear, at the sight of Fluttershy’s motherly presence, immediately felt calm and safe. Grateful for her appearance, it stood up on two legs and placed his paws on her chest, something resembling a hug, but not quite.

“That’s a good little boy,” she cooed, putting a hoof around him. The bear sniffled, emitted a high-pitched whine, so relieved that he couldn’t help but let out some of his stress. “Shh, hush now, quiet now, sweet baby boy.” She stroked his fuzzy little back, already in love with the cub. She released her hold on him and looked at him, a smile still on her lips. “Now, where’s your mommy, sweetheart?”

She followed the cub, now back on all four of his paws, a little farther into the cave, where his mother lay in a corner on her side. Her body was covered in scratches and bodily wounds, but she obviously was not able to put any sort of weight on her back left leg.

The bear, hearing about Fluttershy from other creatures, felt immediately saved at the sight of the pony. She could see what the other animals saw in her—kindness seemed to radiate from the pony’s eyes. She felt no need to protect herself or her cub, and the panic she had felt the whole time, useless and in pain, immediately disappeared.

“Hello there, Momma Bear,” she greeted, slowly walking up to her with a gentle smile. “You know who I am, don’t you?”

The bear nodded; at least animals could communicate with at least a nod yes or a shaking no with ponies. She tried to further communicate: “Rrrrr…”

“Yes, I know, it hurts, doesn’t it? Poor girl! You fell down a hill by accident and rolled into a thorn bush, didn’t you?”

“Grrraaah.”

“Yes…It must’ve been so difficult to try to walk back here and keep an eye on your baby. It’s a good thing you weren’t far away from home! You are a wonderful momma. And now you can rest a bit, and let me take care of you. Everything’s all right now.”

In her own bearish way, she seemed to smile weakly, and laid her head down on the ground. “Hurrrrrr.”

“Yes; I’ll feed him first, and then we’ll take care of you. It won’t be long, I promise.” She turned to the cub. “Are you hungry, little fella?”

With a higher-pitched sound matching his mother’s, he eagerly replied that he was more than ready to have some milk. In a smaller compartment of Fluttershy’s pack were ice packs in which Fluttershy stored milk. Sitting on her hindquarters and holding the cub by supporting his back with one hoof, she brought a bottle to his mouth and he sucked one entire bottle empty. Luckily, Fluttershy was prepared for that, and had plenty more in her bag.

The next thing she did was give the mother some berries, enough to fill a good-sized bowl. “I know you must be hungry too; please, eat. It’s all for you.”

Gratefully, the mother dug into the berries, and Fluttershy took the moment to address to her sprained leg. After cleaning up some of the minor injuries on the superficial skin layers of the leg, she wrapped it in a roll of adhesive bandages, thick enough to add more support to the leg if she needed to use it. Luckily, Fluttershy guessed it wouldn’t be too much longer before the bear would be on her feet again, and Fluttershy could go home.

Because she wasn’t leaving until she knew they were going to be okay.

She stayed for three days. She constantly cleaned, re-bandaged, and cared for the sprained leg of the mother; Fluttershy had named her Faith, since she had trusted the pony since the very beginning. She also cared for the cub she now called Bounce, a creature that enjoyed romping around with Fluttershy after she fed him.

Fluttershy had been able to get by from some food and water she packed herself, and also from foraging outside the cave. Since the cave was outside the perimeters of Everfree Forest, she was free to roam around the area beyond the cave and forage for berries and other edible plants. Fluttershy had a vast knowledge of forest life, for she read all about it in her free time over the years, so she was able to tell the edible from the inedible.

Thanks to the Pegasus, the mother healed quickly, just as Fluttershy had guessed, and the bear was able to walk well enough to finally fend for herself and her cub on her own.

Fluttershy was free to take off.

But the day was not a forgiving one. A terrible storm raged outside the cavern. Rain pounded against the ground, but that wasn’t what concerned Fluttershy.

The problem was the wind.

It was blowing so hard it echoed inside the cave with a reverberating volume so high that it was hard for her to speak as she gave her farewells to her new friends. Despite her fear, Fluttershy put on a brave face; she couldn’t have Faith worry about her, and Bounce was a perceptive cub that could sense tension well. So, she hid her worries.

“When the storm calms, please, make your way over to the cottage. I know you bears don’t need to worry about the creatures in the Everfree forest like ponies do, so if you just go north here, it should take you about three days to get here. I want to be able to keep an eye on you two, and I have another bear friend that would love to have some company.”

Faith growled a friendly agreement to do just that, and Fluttershy hugged the two of them.

And then, gulping while they weren’t looking, she warily flew into the blurry skies.

Five minutes. As the wind blew south, against her path of flight, Fluttershy
lasted only five minutes before the wind overwhelmed her and sent her into the ground.

She crashed, hit, and bumped against tree and branch, back and forth like the metal ball of a pinball game, screaming the entire time. She landed to the ground with a thud, and she groaned in pain, gasping and shuddering in the wind.

Right in the Everfree forest.

I have to keep going… she thought, trying to get up on her legs. I can surely do at least that? I’m not that…

The wind whistled as it whipped against her body, trying to resume her desperate flight back home. Her wings ached and burned with overuse, tired from the strain against the wind, and the rest of her body suffered with it, and she tumbled back to the ground before she could rise even six feet off the ground.

“N-No…” she whimpered, her eyes shut tight in efforts to keep tears from flowing.
“Why?!?”

Why am I so weak? If I were Rainbow Dash, or any other pegasus, this wouldn’t be happening. Twilight would do better than me, and she hasn’t even had her wings for a year!

An old familiar feeling of self-pity and hatred welled up in her stomach. She was good with animals, sure, but what good was she as a Pegasus? Why was she born with such useless wings? She didn’t deserve them; anypony else would do better with such a gift.

All I do is flit around and talk to my bird friends and sing like some silly schoolpony.

Once again, she steeled herself to get up, and though she felt she would buckle over from pain and exhaustion—the wind was just that strong enough to exhaust her—she decided to hoof it. She was so tired and miserable that she didn’t even have as much room in her heart for other feelings such as fear.

Though in the back of her mind, she knew that the condition she was in made her the perfect prey.

To Fluttershy, she was a daughter of the sky who had failed her lineage. No matter how hard she tried, she would always be weak. Old memories of her as a filly, being bullied for being unable to fly well during her foalhood, haunted her mind.

Though many of those memories included Rainbow Dash protecting her from such bullies, many of them ended with a small Fluttershy hiding somewhere far away from everypony else, crying to herself. Her parents weren’t around anymore to comfort her, and she had been alone, sad, useless, and weak.

Just as she was now.

A sudden, wooden crack in the bushes brought fear back to Fluttershy’s attention, and she attempted once more to fly despite her self-loathing towards herself due to her weaknesses.

Her wings flapped out, desperate for the relative safety of the sky—surely if she was scared and determined enough, she could overcome this weakness, just this one time?

Just once, just once, I just need to be able to fly well just one time!

A large stick that had been picked up the wind hit her side by her wing, and she was startled. She went down, down, down, once more under the dark canopy of the forest…

Her wings were frozen, unable to fold themselves in. The force of Fluttershy’s fall was too great; the gravity working against her seemed to double in power two-fold…

“Ahhhhh!"

She landed on her right side. Her wing had still been unable to fold in from the shock, and it had been crushed on impact. Her wing was broken.

A homemade hairclip tumbled to the ground beside her.

And Fluttershy, unconscious, was stuck in a world of darkness all on her own, darker than the cave from whence she came.

She was done for.

“Ohhhhh, windy day, windy day, carry me away away! Wind, wind, I love the breeze, with more power than a draconequus sneeze! Windy day, windy day, the best kind of weather I say! Wind, wind, in the sky, take me up high, high, high!”

Discord seemed to be having a grand time letting the wind carry and drop him to and fro, as he sang his own original and badly written little ditty. He had decided to spend the day to himself outside of Ponyville, for the storm was so full of craziness that he didn’t even need to create any chaos himself for enjoyment. The only thing he needed his power for was protection, since the wind was alarmingly fast and could easily smack him around were he not capable of controlling his own direction. Luckily, his powers allowed the draconequus to move any way he wanted, allowing the wind to toss and turn him when he wanted, but able to go against it should he need to.

It was as if the wind were his own roller coaster ride, and it was free of charge.

“Ah,” he breathed in happily, allowing a sweep of wind to cushion and carry him northwards, and he moved his body horizontally as if he were lounging on a couch, his arms crossed behind him to support his head. “Now, this…This is the life. Those ponies must always control the weather, and never let Miss Mother Nature take care of her world by herself. Well, she needn’t worry; I appreciate her. Hoo hoo!” He slid down another breeze as if it were a slide, and another gust caught him.

“If only my friends would give such weather a chance. They would love it! Well, perhaps not all of them, but certainly Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie would, and perhaps even Applejack would enjoy romping around in it. Rarity would just worry about her hair getting messy, and Spike would be clutching onto his dear mommy Twilight while she tumbled to and fro worriedly, along with dear Fluttershy…”

Fluttershy…

Despite her lack of appreciation for the chaos of the natural world, Discord’s heart thumped at the thought of the pale yellow, pink-maned Pegasus.

He laughed at the thought of her out here with him. Surely she would be scared out of her wits, trying to get Discord to be sensible so they could head back home, to where things were safely monitored by weather Pegasi.

“She’d be all, “Oh no, Discord, th-this is far t-too dangerous! A-Aren’t you terrified?!? Ahh, help meeeee!’” he mocked her, his magic transforming his voice to the high-pitched silken voice of Fluttershy. He pretended to plummet towards the ground, as if he were to fall to his death, screaming in his imitation voice of his pony friend.

“But then I’d heroically capture her before I let the world take her away from me and our friends, and she’d look absolutely astounded, her eyes filled with adoration!! Adoration—for moi!”

He stood now on a cloud, keeping flurries from breaking the cloud apart. “But of course, I would be oh-so-humble, and take her back home so she needn’t fear anymore, because that’s the kind of guy I am. And she would make me something delicious to eat, and I would make us some cocoa, and then we’d stay up all night and talk, and she would most definitely…most definitely…”

His face almost unbelievably switched to one of delighted mirth to a hopeless kind of sadness. “She would most definitely not…fall for me.”

He let his magic go, and the cloud was quickly brought apart by the winds. Discord started to free-fall.

“I must be practical,” he started talking to himself, his voice very matter-of-fact as an effort to ignore the emotional ball of disappointment he felt weighing against his newly-formed heart. “Though practicality is not really my style, I cannot let such a thing as love allow me to forget who I am and what I represent. Though I am the Lord of Chaos…”

He did a perfect 360 degree flip and landed to the ground lightly on his feet, using his magic as a shield against the wind.

“I am not so great as to pursue those I see as even greater. And Fluttershy, as I see it—“

“Ahhhhhh!”

Discord’s ears popped up, upright and stiff, searching for sound. “Ah, what was that, I wonder? It sounded like…No, no!” He waved the idea off. No way would she be here, he already had established that! It was too scary for her.

“Just an echo, Discord. Just an echo.” After all, he had just imitated her voice not only a few minutes ago.

But did echoes even last that long? And why didn’t he hear it before?

“I really must be going crazy. I mean, I was always crazy, but now I’m legitimately out of my mind. I wonder if I’ll find that fun or not…”

Another scream. “Ahhhh!”

His ears went erect again. He didn’t dare say another sound.

The scream continued, and though the wind picked up in gusto, and in turn grew louder as it shook the foliage and tumbled rocks about, Discord couldn’t mistake the owner of the sound. The scream tore his heart in fear.

“Ahhhhhhhh!”

She was here?

Of all places?

Why in the world was she here?

”Fluttershy!”

He flew to the sky so fast that a cloud of dirt was left in his wake, soon evaporated by the violent winds of Mother Nature.

She wasn’t far away, and her bright coloring made her easy to spot. She wasn’t even half a mile away before he saw a tiny yellow dot against the ground, the wing on her visible side at an awkward angle away from her body.

He positioned himself like an arrow, darting towards her, and landed with a thud.

Fluttershy did not go unconscious for long. The sound and force of Discord’s landing was enough to wake her up, and she moaned.

Her body ached, but her side with the broken wing stung and burned with pain. She yelped in agony.

“Fluttershy, Fluttershy! My dear Fluttershy!” He sat on his back legs and lowered himself a bit to make himself more level to her. “Sweetness, what’s wrong?” His voice lowered to a pitch with a softness only Fluttershy got to hear.

She looked at him, and her large teal eyes widened in surprise, her hair and tail whipping with the wind. “Dis---?” She moved slightly at the sight of him, excited, but that irritated her more and she gripped her teeth. “Annnnngh!”

“Hold on, wait,” he said to her, laying a paw on her to keep her still. “Your wing, it’s broken, isn’t it?” He had to make sure, so he could use his magic properly. When Fluttershy could only nod, a snap quickly followed.

Before Fluttershy knew it, she experienced no more pain. Her wing wasn’t broken anymore; it had healed, and her minor wounds also disappeared, as if they were never there.

But before she could try to see if she was well enough to walk, she felt herself slowly rise from the ground. At first she thought maybe the wind was even stronger than she thought, and was about to bring her back up into the sky with its own grip on her, just so it could scrape her up and break her more. Then she found herself against a soft, brown, furry chest, and a claw came up to keep some of her flowing mane out of her eyes. Another snap, and her missing hairclip was suddenly in the draconequus’ paw, and he clipped her prized hair accessory back into her hair where it belonged.

“Discord.”

He looked back down at her. “I don’t know what happened, nor do I know why you are out here, outside of Ponyville. But I don’t care if you have the most urgent, most important business in the world out here. I don’t care if you have an animal in need. I don’t care if you have a MILLION animals out here in need!”

His voice had risen with each word he spoke, and while Fluttershy looked at him with a surprised look from the sudden anger, she felt no fear. No; she was safe now.

“I’m taking you home, right now! Where you’ll be safe!”

Snap!

A flash of light, and Fluttershy found herself still in Discord’s arms, but in another place entirely. A familiar place, warm and safe, surrounded by various food bowls, cages, and furniture.

“I’m…home…” She couldn’t believe it. Was she not in peril just minutes ago, with a broken wing, unable to fly or do anything?

“I’m home!”

She jumped out of Discord’s arms in joy, her wings unfolding as she flew around in her cottage, twirling and swooping around, while miraculously not running into anything.

But Fluttershy knew her home better than anywhere else, and there was no wind here to bring her down.

“I’m home I’m home I’m home I’m home I’m home!”

While Discord had originally planned on talking with her (sternly) about what exactly had happened, he couldn’t help but grin at her. It was rare to see her so energetic, even if it was just the energetic residue left from her earlier terrors.

”I’m home!”

Discord wasn’t paying enough attention to himself, and Fluttershy bolted straight to him with a speed great enough to impress even Rainbow Dash. She put all four hooves against Discord’s chest, and he found himself suddenly against his back, Fluttershy on top of him—the victim of a tackle. “Umph!”

“I’m home, Discord!”

Before he could react, Fluttershy put her nose against his. It wasn’t an eskimo kiss; she just touched hers to his gently, gratefully. A nudge.

“Thanks to you.”

Discord’s face turned red. “Ah, ah, well, ah…” Quickly he grasped her by the torso and set her back on the ground, quickly sitting up. “I couldn’t just let you suffer out there on your own now, could I?’

Shaking himself out of his funk, he gave her a serious look and resumed what he had planned on doing. “And speaking of which, what were you doing out there? Do you even realize what kind of danger you were putting yourself in, outside of Ponyville, alone? And in a storm? I mean, had you asked me to come along, you would have been fine, and nothing would have happened. I would have been able to protect you. But you didn’t! And the wind was too much for you, wasn’t it?”

It looked as if a stallion were admonishing his foal, Fluttershy suddenly full of shame and sadness as she looked to the wooden floor.

“Fluttershy, you and I both know—Goodness, all of Ponyville and maybe even Equestria knows—that you are a weak flyer! So tell me, what in your mind told you that you could even fly out there without harming yourself? Hmmm? I mean, do you know just how terrified I was when I heard you screaming? Why, if luck hadn’t been on our side…Well, I could have lost you! So, please, Fluttershy, do enlighten me on why you had such a ludicrous idea? I’m the one who gets those, not you! And that’s because I have the magic to be safe! You put yourself in danger! And I simply cannot tolerate—“

He had gotten so wrapped up in his lecturing of her that he didn’t register her sniffling until it was too late, and fat tears suddenly plopped against the floor, while some continued to race each other falling down her face.

“Fluttershy?”

“I know.” Her voice didn’t tremble. Her crying was abnormally quiet. She was sniffling, but that was all there was to it. She cried without a high whine from her throat, as she usually cried when she was upset. “I know I’m a weak flyer. I’ve always known that. After all, if I had been Rainbow Dash, would you have been so worried?”

He blinked at the question. “Well, I would have worried, yes. You ponies, no matter who it is, are not used to such weather.”

“But would you have been as worried? She’s a strong flyer; you know she would probably make it home okay. She probably wouldn’t have gotten her wing broken. She wouldn’t need help. So you wouldn’t be as worried. Don’t you agree?”

She had a point. “Yes, of course. But I’m afraid I don’t see where you’re getting at,” Discord answered. “We’re talking about you, Fluttershy, not Rainbow Dash. She was, as we all know, built for speed. You were not.”

She still refused to meet his gaze as she hoofed at a stray piece of loose string on the floor—probably from one of Fluttershy’s throw pillows. “No, I wasn’t. I wasn’t built for speed. I wasn’t built…”

Her tears suddenly increased two-fold. “I wasn’t built for anything!”

She suddenly started sobbing hysterically. “I don’t deserve to have these wings! I don’t deserve to be a Pegasus!” She was wailing, louder than Discord had ever heard his friend say anything. Her snout started running, her whole body shook with the pain of sadness and feeling meaningless. “I’m just so useless!”

“What? Useless? You?!? Why, Fluttershy, you are going absolutely bonkers! Calm down, my dear, p-please…” He hesitantly put his arms out to comfort her, but somehow was unable to go ahead and embrace her. He wasn’t exactly good in these kinds of situations.

He wished he were. He hated seeing Fluttershy like this. The last time she had cried from sadness was when he had broken her heart when he betrayed Equestria by helping Tirek. The familiar pang of hurt, with a tight throat and a heavy heart, returned to Discord, though this time he wasn’t sure what the cause of her pain was.

I didn’t do something…did I?

But he didn’t have to reach out for her. Instead, she came to him. She crashed against his stomach and clutched at him as if he were her life support and couldn’t live without him. Discord, whose tail had been lying on the ground to the side of him, suddenly felt her tuck her tail under his.

“W-w-why,” she said, still crying as hard as she could, stuttering and gasping for air. “Why, Disc-c-cord? Why was I b-born a Pegasus when I c-can’t ev-ev-even fly?!?”

Without hesitation, Discord finally got to his senses and embraced her, his arms around her torso and his tail twisting around hers. He said, with his voice much warmer and without anger, said,“Now, now, Fluttershy, what kind of a question is that? You were born a Pegasus because your parents were Pegasi. What you can and cannot do has nothing to do with that.”

He pulled back enough for her to look at him, and he couldn’t help but mess with her a little and grinned teasingly. “Need I explain the birds and the bees to you? Because I must say, that is not a conversation I planned on having with you today. But if I must, I will.”

His magic magically brought birds and bees into Fluttershy’s cottage, and the bees buzzed around her head, gently touching their bodies against her face—little bumblebee kisses. Birds landed on her mane, but were careful not to mess it up or loosen her hair clip.

Despite the embarrassing subject Discord brought up, especially considering the feelings that brewed between them, Fluttershy giggled despite her mood, and her tears let up a bit. “Oh, y-you cute little bees, you’re t-tickling me, hee hee…”

“Well?” Discord pushed, extending a talon to let a bluebird land on his claw. “Need I explain how all the little fillies and colts are brought about, Fluttershy, or can you spare me the strangeness of having such a conversation with you?”

She blushed, and wiped her teary eyes. The bees moved themselves away from her face, and she shook her head. “N-No, please, I know all about, um…” she glanced at her flying insect and avian friends. “The birds and the bees.”

Both Discord and the flying creatures satisfied, Discord magicked them back outside, silently thanking them for cheering her up. “In that case, there is no reason for you to be upset. What’s so bad about being a Pegasus? It’s not that you cannot fly at all; you just don’t fly all that well. But you fly well enough to fulfill your purpose of helping your little animals. Is that what you were doing out there in the forest, Fluttershy? Helping some of your creature friends? Because I honestly cannot see any other reason you would venture outside of Ponyville alone unless there was a crisis.”

She nodded, and told him of Angel Bunny’s message and the dire incident regarding the bear and her cub. “I had to help them. If I hadn’t…Oh, I don’t even want to think about it.”

“And you were there for a few days, so it wasn’t that you left during the storm; you had to come back?” Discord reasoned.

“Yes. Faith got—“

Discord wrinkled his brows. “Faith?”

“The mother bear. I named her Faith.”

“That’s a little adorable.”

Fluttershy allowed herself to smile a little. “Isn’t it? She was so cute. Her cub was even cuter, and I named him Bounce.”

That wasn’t exactly what Discord meant, but he let it slide, and let Fluttershy continue.

“Faith got better, and there was no more reason for me to stay. I was running out of food and water, and I had to get home anyway to care for the other animals and see my friends, like you and the others. But—“

“—But that was today, when the storm started,” Discord finished for her. “But you felt the urgency to get home and went gallivanting into the storm anyway? And it was too much for you, and you got hurt, and then nearly gave me cardiac arrest?”

He pulled her closer to him, tighter. They had never broken the embrace, simply loosened it. Now, he wanted her closer to him again, closer to the heart she almost stopped, but made more alive as she cuddled against him.

He wondered if she could feel how fast it was beating.

In return, she hugged him tighter as well, and brought her head against him, under his chin.

“Yes. Because I’m a horrible Pegasus.”

“You are not a horrible Pegasus.”

“Then why can’t I fly as well as most Pegasi? Why was I bullied so much as a filly because I couldn’t do as well as the rest? What’s the point of it if I can’t even use my wings correctly? Oh, Discord, sometimes I just feel so…so…”

He felt her slump against him.

“Worthless.”

His eyes widened. Her? Worthless? His Fluttershy?

No.

“That is positively the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard of,” he responded. “You are not worthless Fluttershy. Perhaps crazy, after what you’ve just told me a second ago, but you are not worthless. You are the most valuable of us all. Do you not remember me telling you, after you told Twilight you and the others weren’t worth risking Equestria for, that you were worth it all? All the magic, all the power, all the world? Why, I would give it up in a second, just to protect you and make you happy.”

He admitted this without shame or embarrassment, and Fluttershy’s mouth dropped open. “You…would? For…For me?”

“As Pinkie Pie taught me…” He released her for a moment, and put a paw to his heart. “Cross my heart…” He then flapped his miniscule wings. “And hope to fly…” A cupcake with icing the color of Fluttershy’s coat materialized into thin air and smashed into Discord’s smaller eye. “Stick a cupcake in my eye.”

“Pinkie Pie Promise…” she muttered. If she hadn’t cried already, she felt she would have, right then and there. She was touched, thrilled by this confession of his.

“I…would do the same for you too,” she said, blushing. “Cross my heart…” She crossed hers with a hoof. “And hope to fly…” she flapped her wings. She grabbed the remains of Discord’s cupcake on the floor and squashed it against her left eye. “Stick a cupcake in my eye.”

He smiled at her tenderly. “Well then, what do you have to worry about? You have the Discord stamp of approval…”

A stamp of Discord, popping out of a black circle with a silly look on his face and his arms in the air, appeared on Fluttershy’s forehead.

“So how could you possibly feel worthless?”

Sitting on her haunches, her tail still around Discord, she sighed. “I guess…it’s just hard, having something you can’t use as well as you should…Something that’s a part of you, something you can’t change. I’m a Pegasus; Pegasi are supposed to fly. Only a few Pegasi have troubles flying. Scootaloo still hasn’t learned, but late bloomers are common. I’m certain she’ll fly eventually, and well. Her wings beat as fast as a hummingbird’s. She just needs to grow a little more and she’ll be a fine flyer. But me…As a filly, I couldn’t beat my wings as fast as Scootaloo can at her age. I couldn't do any of it. I can only fly fast enough in times of emergency, like the time I had to save the Breezies from tumbling to the ground and I had to catch them. Adrenaline can make anypony do that for a few seconds. But with my own strength…Well…” She unfolded her wings. “They’re only good enough for showing baby birds how to fly.”

“Well, I’d say teaching baby birds to fly are pretty important, especially the orphan ones you look after. That makes your wings pretty useful,” Discord offered, firmly believing his speculation.

“But it’s not enough. Sometimes I just sit in my bed at night, and think that I wasn’t meant to be a Pegasus…That somepony else deserves my wings more than I do. I’m the only Pegasus who lives on land. I should have been an earth pony. Goodness, I’d probably even make a better unicorn than a Pegasus!”

She started to slump again. “These wings are the reason I don’t like myself very much, sometimes.”

“Well, I love your wings,” Discord said almost immediately after that. “They make you who you are, my dear. And let me tell you something missy, if Mother Nature didn’t want you to be a Pegasus, then she wouldn’t have made you one.”

“Mother…Nature?” Fluttershy looked at him quizzically. “Who is that? Does she live in Ponyville? Why does she want me to be a Pegasus?”

Discord sighed. “I must say, I really must be old, to still remember the concept of Mother Nature. It’s an idea all creatures had before the Pegasi developed and fine-tuned their methods for controlling the weather, a long time ago, far before you were ever born.”

“Wait…” Fluttershy adorably brought a hoof to her chin. “So Mother Nature isn’t a pony?”

“No, no, no, my dear.” He took her back in his arms again. It was storytelling time. She complied, more relaxed than before, and leaned into him.

“Mother Nature is just a name for the idea that nature is mysterious and has its own ways of doing things. Nature does what it wants, and it is the only true order of the world. Nature is all that happens everywhere without being controlled. Nopony can truly ever take hold of Mother Nature and tell her what to do.”

“I’m…not sure I understand.”

“It’s complicated, but also very simple,” he continued, and began stroking her mane. The pony sighed, allowing herself to smile a little. For being the entity of chaos, Discord always comforted her.

“Think of Mother Nature as a kindly old mare who takes care of all the living things in the world—ponies, plants, bunnies, dragons, timberwolves…Everything with a life, including me. She brings water to all life with rain, warms them with the sun, cools them with the wind, and gives them the means to continue life on the world forever—as in offspring. She is able to overlook all of it, almost like a god. Does that make more sense, Fluttershy?”

“Yes, I think it does! So she’s like a princess. She’s like Celestia and Luna, only…She looks over everypony and every animal and every plant and everything, even Celestia, Luna, Twilight…and you? And she has powers greater than anypony, or draconequus? And she’s the reason there are foals, and babies, and plants…all of it?”

“Ah, yes, now you’ve got it!” In his glee, he picked her up, releasing her tail with his own, and twirled her around, and she laughed. They landed on the floor, with Fluttershy on his lap. “That’s exactly it, Fluttershy. And the most beautiful thing about Mother Nature…Can you guess what it is?”

Putting a hoof to her chin again, with Discord silently praising her for how cute she was, she thought about it. “I don’t know. Is she perfect?"

“Oh, she is, Fluttershy. She most certainly is, but that's not what I meant. She knows everything about how the world works, and she knows of what has come and what is to be. And she makes no mistakes. And if she makes no mistakes, but controls all that is brought into this world, then what does that make you, Fluttershy? You were born a Pegasus, and Mother Nature knows what she is doing. You have a purpose, my dear. You are a Pegasus because nature made you that way, and nature is incapable of making a mistake. We call it Mother Nature, but there is nothing sentient about nature, in all honesty. Only sentient things can make mistakes.”

Holding her by the shoulders, Discord looked at her seriously.

“You are not a mistake, Fluttershy. You are not a ‘bad pegasus’, by any means. Anypony that has told you that has a serious misunderstanding of how this world works, and if anypony tells you differently, I will be more than happy than to add some destructive chaos into his or her life. Because no one makes my Fluttershy feel worthless when she is the exact opposite. She is, in fact, the best of us all.”

Fluttershy’s face flushed red, and she smiled so sweetly that it took all Discord’s strength not to risk to take the relationship further by kissing her, even though she was too embarrassed to look at him. “I’m not truly the best, Discord…Nopony is.”

“Oh, I dare to challenge anypony who says that, even you. But what I must know, Fluttershy, is this: do you believe my words? Do you really and truly believe that you are a mistake? Or do you now believe me when I say that you are fabulous?”

Fluttershy giggled. “You sound like Rarity!”

“Well, she has a persona that spreads like a disease. A fashionable disease, but it’s an illness all the same,” he said, chuckling himself.

“Well, I think you’re right, Discord. I really can’t control that I was born a Pegasus…” She glanced back at her wings, but no contempt for them was reflected in her eyes. “But if I was meant to be one—and I must have been, because I am a Pegasus…Well, then I’ll just be the best Pegasus I can be.”

“And you are the best Pegasus, Fluttershy. Don’t tell Rainbow Dash, we can’t hurt her feelings—but you are.”

Her hooves cupped his face suddenly, and he just stared at her.

“And you,” she returned, nuzzling him. “Are the best draconequus.”

“Uh, well, that really doesn’t mean much,” he pointed out. “I’m the only draconequus.”

“That’s because Mother Nature only needed one, because no other one could compare.”

Though she blushed knowing what she was about to do, she kissed his cheek with tenderness and certain boldness. And this time, it was Discord’s turn for his mouth to drop.

It was only a second, a moment too short for his liking. She pulled her lips away from his face, and she crossed her left foreleg over her right and rubbed it, shy again with all boldness gone. “Was…that okay?”

He didn’t make her shyness better right away, as he stared at her in disbelief for a while longer, making the moment more awkward and embarrassing rather than warm and loving. But then he broke into a grin, and suddenly he slipped under Fluttershy, and she found herself against his back.

“D-Discord!” she yelped, her hooves wrapped around his neck to stay on top of him. “Wh-what are you doing? What’s gotten into you?”

A flash, and Discord magicked them outside. The sun shined above them, and the sky was clear with swirls of cloud on a blanket of baby blue.

“Nothing’s wrong, Fluttershy!” he said, and suddenly he shot himself into the sky. “Hold on!”

“What? Wait, Discord, I can—“

“No, I want you to ride on my back,” he said as the wind blew against them. “We’re going to leave the Ponyville borders, and I’m going to show you more of Mother Nature’s work without the work of Pegasi interfering with her weather. Nature still has a hold on Ponyville, making things grow and change, but she has the strongest hold on the earth without the magic and Pegasi work of the pony world. I want to show it to you, and you’ll be safest on my back.”

“Oh, well…Okay…” She smiled. “I trust you.” Still hugging him to hold on, she laid her head against his neck. “I’ll be safe out there if you’re with me.”

He turned his neck and head to look back at her. “Yes, you will.”

“But why did you suddenly want to? What’s the rush?” she asked.

“Oh, there’s no rush, Fluttershy, no rush at all. It’s just that…” He looked back towards the sky ahead, so she wouldn’t see the red on his face.

“It’s just what?” she pushed him.

“It’s just that, well, Fluttershy…”

“Yes?” She rubbed her head against his neck.

“You make me want to fly.”

Author's Note

Sorry for the long wait!!! This one turned out to be a long one, huh? I hope you liked it. As always, constructive criticism is not only accepted, but appreciated!! I'll be back with more Fluttercord as soon as I can! Thanks for all your support, bronies and Pegasisters. Or is brony a coed term now? I could never figure it out...

Date

Fluttershy awoke from her bed, yawning and raising her hooves in the air for a stretch.

“Ahhh….” As her eyes adjusted to the light of the morning, she smiled to herself.

Why, I don’t think I’ve slept so soundly in ages! I slept like a foal.

She giggled to herself at the thought, and rose out of bed. After doing her normal bedroom routine (brushing her teeth, taking a shower, brushing her mane and tail, etc.), she returned to her bedroom as she always did, to greet her bird friends.

It was a beautiful day, with the sun shining and, of course, birds singing.

A cardinal, a bluebird, and a small finch flew up to her window in greeting.

“Oh, hello, my friends! Why, it’s so beautiful today!” she said, looking around with her head poked out of the window. “You wouldn’t think winter was coming, it’s so pretty! With the bright sun, and the beautiful fall leaves…”

The birds chirped in response. Oh yes! It’s wonderful, and the leaves are so pretty!

“I’m glad you agree!” she answered. “Oh, but I will miss all of you so much when you migrate south for the winter.”

The birds squeaked. Don’t worry! We’ll be back! But since it will be soon, won’t you please sing with us? One last time, before we go?

Fluttershy beamed at them. “Oh, what a lovely idea!” She hopped out of her window, something only a Pegasus could do without anypony being alarmed. “Let’s go!”

Fluttershy’s most prized instrument—her beautiful vocals—soon filled the sky with a personal favorite song of hers.

Oh, there’s music in the treetops
And there’s music in the vale
And all around the music fills the sky~

As she sang, she fed all of her animals, whom she valued dearly as her forest friends.

There’s music by the river
And there’s music in the grass
And the music makes your heart soar in reply!

She then went into a long length of simple “ah’s” with her voice, hitting every key perfectly without fail, as she fed some squirrels by the tree…

”Ahhhh, Ahhhh, Ahhh, Ahhhh AHHHH ahhh a—“

Suddenly, a long, snake-like, furry creature came shooting out of the tree trunk, right in Fluttershy’s face.

“Fluttershy!”

“Ahhhhh!” she screamed, her ‘ah’s’ suddenly not so musical anymore. Her wings seemed to spring out from her side, and she flew up into the tree branches at a speed Rainbow Dash would have found impressive.

“D-Don’t hurt me!” she yelled, clinging to a branch upside down. Since her head faced the sky, she did not see her sudden visitor. “Oh please don’t hurt me!”

“Fluttershy.”

She was too alarmed to stop and listen to the voice. “I’ve so much life left to live!”

“Fluttershy…”

Big fat, worried tears ran down her face. “I don’t even taste very good!”

Discord sighed and smacked his head in exasperation. She was so adorable, but at times way too excitable. He stretched his neck up towards the branch where his new marefriend hung like a fall leaf hanging on for dear life.

“Fluttershy, dear, you really need to calm down. ‘Tis only me, Discord, your devilishly handsome Draconequus!”

She stopped shivering and turned her head. “Discord?”

“You know, darling, you really should learn to—“

”Discord!”

This time he was the surprised one as the butter yellow Pegasus lunged herself at him, hugging him by his elongated neck.

Smiling warmly, he shrunk his neck back to normal size, and returned the hug. “Hello, Fluttershy,” he said rather tenderly (why, he had never used such a voice before he reformed!). “I’ve missed you.”

“I missed you too,” she replied, and she nuzzled his face. Without pause, he returned the gesture, neither embarrassed or ashamed—though the fact that they were alone helped him show more affection towards her.

They let go after the nuzzle, and Discord summoned a giant mushroom for him to sit upon while Fluttershy continued to fly low to the ground.

“I apologize for scaring you, Fluttershy….Though, now that I think about it, I must say…” he glanced at her, and he couldn’t stop himself.

“That was hilarious! Oh, you should have seen the look on your face!”

Fluttershy’s eyes flew open in surprise and slight confusion. “Huh?”

He landed on his back and ended up rolling off his mushroom. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a pony jump so quickly, and so high!”

He continued to guffaw with laughter while Fluttershy’s eyes lowered and her lips turned to a frown. “But you scared me! I thought you were going to eat me!”

That just made Discord laugh harder. “Eat you? Eat you?!? I wouldn’t have done that even if I hadn’t been reformed! I’d rather eat paper and glue than eat a pony! Ahahahahaha!”

“It’s not funny!”

Discord’s laughing started dying down as he paused to remove tears of mirth from his eyes. “Ahaha, yes it is. You were just too scared to notice. Oh, I don’t think I’ve laughed that hard since…since…Well,” he brought a claw to his lips in thought. “Since you tried using The Stare on me? Hmm…Well, I’ve laughed a lot since then, but I laughed so hard at that…”

He paused to look at her, and while she wasn’t trying The Stare on him again, he certainly didn’t like the look of extreme anger on her face.

“You…You…” She hadn’t remembered being so angry since she screamed at the Palace animals from the Galloping Gala a few years ago. “Oh, you make me so mad, Discord! You were so sweet to me a week ago when you told me how you felt, but now this! Did going away for a week right after suddenly make you decide you didn’t want to be nice to me anymore?!? Don’t you…”

Her shoulders lowered, and the fire in her eyes sizzled away as if doused by a glass of water. She slowly descended from the air and sat on her haunches against the green grass. “You…You still want to be my very special somepony, right…?” She looked away from him, as if the ground were more interesting than his face.

Discord blinked. “Oh, Fluttershy…”

He floated next to her and sat. “You do know you’re the first thing that came to mind as soon as I came back, don’t you? Hmmm?”

Shyly, she looked back up at him. “I…was?”

He wrapped an arm around her, bringing her closer to his side. “Oh, yes. Couldn’t get you out of my brain all week, in fact!”

To show her, he reached into his own ear, and out came a small toy Fluttershy. He squeezed it, and a squeak emitted from it. “No matter how hard I tried, you were always in my head.”

He placed the Fluttershy doll in her lap. “It was quite a struggle, trying to focus on my mission and not think about you. Oh, it was dreadful!” he said overdramatically. “I finally get my sweetheart, and then Princess Celestia drags me on the most boring trip ever! Ugh, it was horrible.”

“Oh…” she replied, already softened by Discord’s words. “It couldn’t have been that bad, was it?”

“Are you kidding me?” he answered, letting go of her and getting up, walking back over to the mushroom. “I was like a showcase pony, Celestia showing me off to the other pony countries, showing how I wasn’t a threat anymore! Not only that, but Celestia…Ugh!” He pounded a fist into his claw to let out some frustration.

Fluttershy gulped. Why was she so important now? “W-what about her?”

He turned back to her. “As you already know, Celestia and I grew up together. The Celestia you know may be regal and kind, but the one I know is very good at teasing me.”

He sat against his mushroom again. “She knows about us, dear.”

“She—she does?!?”

“Oh, does she ever!” he scowled. “She forced it out of me, forced my heart to come off my sleeve!”

He pulled his heart out of his chest, beating in his palm. Fluttershy didn’t gasp; it was simply an illusion, and it wasn’t gross or anything—there was no blood, no leaky tissue, no anything. Discord was mischevious and full of chaos, but he wasn’t disgusting.

This is just Discord, she thought lovingly, her heart jumping for a moment. I don’t think I realized just how much I missed him!

“And she just kept bringing it up whenever I was feeling bored and wanted to pull a prank or two! But she used you as a way to get to me!”

“Used me?”

He nodded. “Oh hohoho, she did. She would always bring you up in front of others when I got fidgety, itching to use my magic.”

He pointed his paw towards a dead leaf on the ground and made it into a giant kite.

Fluttershy couldn’t hide the satisfied smile on her face. “Did it work?”

“Did what work?” he asked as his eyes focused on the leafy kite, using it to smash clouds apart in the sky like hammer on rock.

“Did talking about me in front of everypony keep you from…” She paused, not wanting to offend him. She knew he had to use his magic multiple times a day—it was a requirement his body and magic demanded of him. Not using it only gave him pain and serious discomfort, and using it actually kept him healthy and happy.

Discord noticed the pause. “I was a complete and utter delight throughout the entire thing,” he answered her. “I did not cross any lines, if that’s what you were thinking.”

“But you said—“

“It would have only been a harmless prank or two on a few ponies, a couple of ambassadors. Nothing important, you know—something Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie would do. But I couldn’t, because Celestia would bring you up and how we were together, and I wouldn’t be prepared, and…”

A gust of wind passed through the area, and Discord’s kite smashed to the ground.

Discord’s face turned red.

Fluttershy only smiled wider. She walked over to his kite, picked it up, rose to the sky, and sent it back flying again. Her hair whooshed with the wind, the sun lit up against her, and her eyes sparkled.

It was so cheesy and something to be read in a romance novel, and yet Discord couldn’t help but think she looked beautiful, and he wished he could have spent his week with her instead. He could look at her all day; she was fascinating.

“The girls kept bringing you up too,” Fluttershy said. “They kept asking me if I missed you, and for details on what happened in the forest and how we spent time together before we even became each others’ special someponies, and it was…”

She watched the kite fly away, because Discord had let it go.

“It was nice, but….” She turned to him and giggled. “It’s kind of embarrassing, isn’t it? When ponies ask about the two of us?”

He chuckled too. “Huh. Well, at least you didn’t have a bunch of prudish old ponies laughing at you for it, along with Celestia.”

He vanished for a second and then reappeared, flying by her side. “But at least I’m back and don’t have to do that again.”

He wrapped his arms around her once again and held her for a moment, smiling as she returned the embrace.

“Are you doing anything today, Fluttershy?”

He couldn’t see it, as her head was against his chest, but her mouth turned to an ‘o’ and her eyes lit up with surprise. Was he going to ask her on a…?

“No…” she slowly answered, lifting her head up and meeting his eyes. “Why?”

“Well, I have a favor to ask of you, my sweet.” He let go of her and started to fly up higher. “One that requires you to come the castle in Canterlot.”

Her eyes grew bigger, a feat Discord thought wasn’t possible. “The castle? Oh, Discord, that’s a bit far away, if you wanted me to get there today.”

“Not a problem dear!” he said, waving her comment off. “I’m Discord, remember? I’ll just send a portal outside your cottage door that’ll send you right to the palace grounds. Problem solved!”

“Oh, of course, but…why the castle?”

“Well, as you know, that’s where my official living space is, though you know full well that I much prefer the hominess and comforts of yours,” he answered, and the two continued to ascend to the sky. “But now that we’re together, I think it best to stay there awhile. Can’t have you getting tired of me, now, can we?”

She gasped. “Discord! You know I would never get tired of you! After all, I lo—“ She stopped herself, turning red. She looked away. “Um, I mean…”

Discord smirked. “You what, Fluttershy? I don’t think I heard you correctly.” His left ear grew about ten times bigger, hovering over Fluttershy. “You said you what, now? You ’lo’ me? I have no idea what that means. Perhaps some pony lingo I’m unaware of?”

“I-It’s nothing!” she answered. “B-but that’s not the point. You know you can stay at my cottage as often as you like. Why does being more than friends mean you can’t?”

Discord, not wanting to embarrass her (at least, not for this particular reason—he loved embarrassing her when it came to him), didn’t tell her the truth—that they were a couple now, and that he didn’t want anypony getting the wrong ideas about what he was doing in her cottage. She was far too innocent for such things.

Instead, he lied. “I just want to work on having a place of my own for a while, is all. The living quarters Celestia granted me at the castle are so boring. I need to work on giving it some chaotic pizazz, you know what I mean?”

Fluttershy tried to ignore the disappointment she felt in her heart at the thought of him absent in Ponyville even more often. “O-Oh, okay,” she answered sadly. “I guess that makes sense.” She sighed.

As she looked up she saw Discord staring at her from only a few inches away, but upside down. He was flying right above her, craning his neck down to look at her.

“But of course, I’ll visit you so often, you’ll hardly notice I’m not at the cottage,” he answered, and then took a risk by kissing her forehead. “No need to worry about that.”

He was relieved to see her eyes light back up again, ecstatic from his affections. “Oh, good!” she answered. “I was worried! This week was hard enough.” She blushed again.

“You’re telling me! Like I said, I didn’t want to go with Celestia. She probably did it on purpose just to torture me.”

“Oh, I don’t think so…”

“She did, and she knows it! But we’re getting off topic.” He rotated himself so he wasn’t upside down anymore and floated beside her. “There’s some things I’d like to get done to work on my new home, and I’d like you to come help me. I don’t think anypony else can do it, after all, since you know me best.”

“Oh, well, I’d love to help then,” she answered happily. “I can come today, if you want me to.”

“Excellent!” A sudden poof of confetti randomly rained upon them, and a few trumpets floating in the air started playing a happy tune before disappearing after about twenty seconds.

Then, Discord started distancing himself from her, about to go back to Canterlot.

“Be outside your cottage at six thirty sharp!” he called after her. “Just go on through, and you’ll be there before you know it!”

She laughed at his mirth. “Alright! I’ll see you then. Goodbye!”

Sunglasses appeared in his eagle claw, and he placed them on his head. “Arivederci, my sweet!”

He poofed away, and Fluttershy sighed.

Maybe he’ll ask me on a date another day.

Despite her disappointments, she did as she was told and was outside her cottage at the given time. As soon as six-thirty struck, post meridiem, a large white portal showed up.

Fluttershy gulped. She wasn’t one to go through portals, and the thought of something going wrong scared her. What if it sent her somewhere else? What if Discord made a mistake?

A small push against her leg startled her thoughts, and she looked down to find her precious Angel Bunny beside her.

Squeaking in bunny language, Angel said I still don’t like Discord…

Fluttershy sighed. “Oh, I know, Angel. I wish you would give him a chance. All the others ha—“

He put a small white paw up to her, getting her to stop talking. But, I can tell he cares about you. I’m sure this portal thing is fine, so go on. Stop being a scaredy-pony! Why do I always gotta look after you, huh?

Fluttershy giggled, especially since technically, she was always looking after him. “Okay, Angel. You’re right. Thank you, sweetie. You’re such a good little bunny!”

She stopped to kiss his head and nuzzled him, and Angel grumbled like an embarrassed son. He pushed her face away. Yeah yeah yeah, stop kissing me and go already! I’ll look after everything, so go ahead!

“Okay, thanks Angel! I love you!”

Bah, whatever. You too.

With one last laugh, she walked through the portal, unafraid, thanks to her bunny.

It was as if she had been looking at a picture of her cottage, turned the page, and suddenly there she was, at the foregrounds of the Royal Palace in Canterlot. She blinked; she had forgotten how incredible Discord’s portals were, and hoped they weren’t common enough to put the Ponyville Train out of business.

She was interrupted in her amazement by a beautiful, lovely voice. “Fluttershy. It’s so wonderful to see you again. I hope portal travel treated you well?”

She gasped, and turned to find Princess Celestia standing there. “Princess!” she exclaimed, and quickly bowed before her. “I-it’s an honor,” she stated nervously, as if she had never spoken to the Raiser of the Sun before.

Celestia laughed. “There’s no need for that, Fluttershy. We’re friends, remember? You don’t need to bow.”

Embarassed, Fluttershy rose back up on her hooves. “Oh, of course!” she answered. “I’m so sorry. I forget that you don’t like it when I bow, sometimes. I hope it’s okay, really, um, and I’ll go, if it’s inconvenient. Um, should I, perhaps…?”

She stopped when Celestia put a hoof under the shy Pegasus’ chin to look at her. “You know you are always welcome here.”

Princess Celestia, in Fluttershy’s opinion, had to be the most calming and understanding Princess in all of the world, besides maybe Twilight. She immediately felt calmed and reassured. “Thank you,” she said, smiling genuinely at one of Equestria’s most beloved alicorns of all time. “I feel very welcome.”

“Good! Now, if you would just follow me, I’ll take you over to Discord.”

“Oh, you knew I was coming, Princess?”

“I did,” Celestia answered her. “And I’m afraid I never properly thanked you, Fluttershy, for all you’ve done in the past for me. I thanked you publically, but I never talked to you alone about how much I appreciate all you have done for Discord.”

“O-oh!” Fluttershy smiled and did nothing to hide her red cheeks. She went off in a tangent about her very special somedraconequus without even realizing it. “It was nothing, really. Discord really is very sweet, and kind, and funny, and he’s a bit mischevious, but he’s actually very charming once you get to know him. Why, he’s the most charming pony—uh, Draconequus—I’ve ever met! And, and, and I know he’s made his mistakes, like teaming up with Tirek, but he was just confused, and misunderstood, and he missed his freedom. But I can’t blame him for that. He wasn’t used to his new life yet. He never stopped caring about me, not really. He didn’t want to hurt me, and he still wasn’t sure if I really cared about him, either. But I did care, and I saw regret in his eyes when I started crying about what he did. And I knew right then that he—“

She stopped, realizing she had just gushed about him for what seemed like ages. “Um…”

Celestia only smiled even more warmly towards her. “He always wanted other ponies to open their hearts to him.”

Fluttershy’s ears perked up at her words. “I know…He just didn’t want to admit it, did he?”

The alicorn shook her head. “He didn’t,” she confirmed. “He was too prideful, and he didn’t want to show all the ponies who scorned him how much their opinions of him truly hurt him. They detested the way he looked, and thought his powers were a curse rather than a gift. That’s why he became a villain, long long ago: because no one gave him a chance to be good. Nopony offered him friendship…”

Fluttershy’s heart plummeted. She never heard this before.

“And nopony loved him.”

Tears pooled at Fluttershy’s eyes. “Oh, Discord…I didn’t know…”

“Nor did I, and I grew up with him at the beginning of time,” Celestia said. “I’m afraid I was one of those ponies who looked down on him, and turned his heart to stone before the rest of him could.”

“Oh, well…” Fluttershy stuttered, trying to make Celestia feel better. “Nopony knew, right? He acted out of pain, instead of talking…”

“Yes, but friendship, as you know, is a thing that is shared. He did not reach out to me, yes, but I did nothing to reach out to him either.”

“But you were younger then…”

Celestia nodded. “I was, and lacked the same wisdom that kept me from saving my sister, who turned into Nightmare Moon.”

Celestia looked towards the castle, and smiled. “Discord is not the only one who has become a better pony, Fluttershy. And it’s thanks to you that this was possible—that we were all able to make amends, and have peace with one another.”

“O-oh no,” Fluttershy answered, shaking her head. “You give me too much credit, your highness. Um, Twilight, and all my friends—well, I wouldn’t even be the pony I was if it weren’t for them. We all worked hard to help you, together. Especially Twilight, and that’s why she’s a Princess now, and…”

Too flustered to speak more, she shook her head to clear her thoughts before she spoke again. “You think too highly of me.”

“I don’t think I do, Fluttershy,” Celestia said. “I chose you to reform Discord because you are the embodiment of kindness. And while Twilight and your friends are also five of the nicest ponies I shall ever have the honor of knowing, they do not love quite the same way you do. You love without fail, and you love without fear.”

“Oh, but I’m afraid all of the time…” Fluttershy began.

“Yes, but you give all creatures a chance, and you all give them an opportunity to have a place in your heart if they let you. And that, Fluttershy, is a quality that is hard to come by. Even though you have faced so much pain, even though ponies mistreated you for years as a filly, condemning you for what you couldn’t control—you have a heart bigger than all of Equestria, and that’s why Discord reformed himself. It took him a few tries to get it right, but he’s truly reformed now. I wasn’t sure before, but now I truly can tell he is changed for the better. And that’s because of you, and it’s because of your golden heart that Discord loves you.”

She met her eyes with the Pegasus’, hoping to get her point through. “He loves you so much, Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy’s throat was tight. She was warm, sad, tingly, uncomfortable, overjoyed, nervous…She felt so many things at once that she didn’t know how she felt.

“Thank you” was all she could croak before a few joyful tears escaped her eyes.

Celestia opened the door to the palace, happy for the Element of Kindness. “There’s no need to thank me for the truth,” she said, and put a hoof on her companion’s shoulder.

“Now, let’s take you to Discord. I’m sure he’s anxious to see you.”

“Discord, I fail to see why you could not be straight with her. Why did you lie?”

The Draconequus froze after tilting a picture of himself and Fluttershy crookedly against the wall, as he liked it.

He plastered a fake smile on his face. “Lie? Why, I’ve no idea what you speak of, Princess. Why would I lie to her?”

Princess Luna stared at the rest of Discord’s room, unflinching at the blinding, clashing colors of the checkerboard floor and the mismatched walls. Though his room certainly portrayed Discord’s ideals of chaos, it did nothing to deter Luna. Discord did nothing to surprise her anymore, and she was always as calm and composed as her moon.

“You asked her to help you make your headquarters at the castle more livable, and told her she was the only one qualified to do so. And yet, your space is nothing but chaos, and you are done.”

She entered the room, and allowed a smile to show on her face. “Tell me, Discord: what are you planning? Why did you not just tell Fluttershy that you wanted to spend time with her alone tonight for a romantic evening? Were you embarrassed? Shy, perhaps?”

Discord gulped, and he cleared his throat and grumbled. “Ah, what is this, Luna? An interrogation? Trying to solve a case, huh?”

He snapped his fingers and Luna found herself in a detective costume, with a fedora and an overcoat.

She sighed. “I just cannot see why you refused be honest with her.”

“I’m not Applejack, that’s why!”

Shrugging off the coat and throwing the fedora away from her head, she approached him. “But it would make her happy to know that you wanted to make tonight special. Why be embarrassed? She is already aware of your feelings for her. Do you doubt her feelings for you? Is that it?”

He grimaced. “Must we really speak of this now? Fluttershy will be here any minute, and I must make sure everything is perfect for her!”

He snapped his fingers, and vanished from the scene. He found himself at the very top of the palace. Celestia’s sun was slowly descending, coloring the sky in a magnificent array of oranges, reds, and pinks of all different hues. Beautiful.

Sitting in the middle of the palace top was a small table, with a few lit candles and covered dishes.

Fluttershy and Discord’s table.

The moon was Luna’s, but the night itself, as far as Discord was concerned, would belong to them.

“I am sure it will be perfect.”

Discord actually jumped. “Luna!” he barked, turning to the dark-colored Princess. “I am the one that startles ponies by showing up out of nowhere. How did you get there without me noticing?”

Luna laughed. “That is not important,” she spoke. “But you may wish to know that there is a smudge on one of the glasses on your table.”

“What?!?” He went to the table, spotted the smudge, and magicked it away as fast as he could. “Thank you, I guess,” he muttered. “Sheesh. It’s bad enough Celestia knows about this. Did you have to know as well?”

“My sister and I know everything that goes about in the castle,” Luna answered, making herself comfortable by leaning against the palace wall opposite of Discord. “You did not think this would be a secret kept from all of the palace, did you?”

“Oh, whatever!” he yelled. “Don’t you have a moon to raise or something?!?”

“Oh, I have an ample enough amount of time for that, Discord. What I want to know is, why are you still insecure? Do you not truly think that Fluttershy returns your affections?”

Once again, Discord froze. He grit his teeth as her words struck a chord in his heart.

“I see your nightmares, Discord. I see them, along with all the dreams of everypony in Equestria. And yours are of concern to me.”

He looked back at her, his eyes anything but joyful to look at her. They held not only frustration for the Princess of the Night, but also of fear.

“Why should you care?”

“Because we are friends.”

“Are we?”

“We have had our differences, and we have not always been kind to one another. Now that you are reformed, I have wished more than once that we had given you a chance, and not turned you to stone.”

Discord crossed his mismatched arms. “You and me both, sister.”

“If you wish me to be like a sister to you, then you shall have it,” she answered, though she knew he was only being sarcastic. “And, like a sister, I wish to give you advice.”

Discord’s look of disdain disappeared, secretly touched by her words, just as Fluttershy’s declaration of Friendship to him had done a year ago. “Oh?” he said.

“Yes. My advice is to be honest with her, Discord. Tell Fluttershy what you fear. Tell her tonight. I want you to enjoy your romantic evening with her, of course, but you cannot ignore this. If you do, your fears and insecurities will eat at you, until you cannot control it. I know; it happened to me.”

He frowned, thinking of Luna’s past. “Nightmare Moon, I presume?”

She nodded. “Yes.” She met eyes with him. “So, tell her. She will understand. You know she will. Nopony is more understanding than she is. She will be able to soothe your soul, and make you feel loved.”

Discord sat down, the talk too heavy for him to stand. “And how are you so sure of that?”

“Because…” She grinned at him—a genuine, full-blown smile that Luna used only when she was truly delighted with something. “I see everypony’s dreams, remember?”

Discord grew confused. “Yeah, so?”

“Why, Fluttershy is a pony, is she not?”

He rolled his eyes. “Yes, Captain Obvious.”

She ignored his insult. He was embarrassed, so she let it slide. “I know what she dreams of, Discord. Every night.”

Now that caused Discord to wake up. “You’re right…You do, don’t you?”

He grinned. “Oh, you’re clever, Luna. I never gave you credit for that! So, Luna, my dear, tell me…” He slinked towards her. “What does she dream of?”

Luna smirked. Discord is not as unpredictable as he gloats he is, she thought, amused.

“Does she dream of me? Is that what you wanted to say? If she does, I hope they’re good ones. Not nightmares…”

“Oh, I do not know if I should tell you, Discord,” she answered him. “You not only insulted me, but also Captain Obvious, one of the best soldiers to ever serve this kingdom. It is a shame he retired early…But that is not important. No, no…” She turned away from him, definitely teasing him now. “I do not think I will tell you. I do not share the dreams of ponies with others without their permission, anyway.”

“Aw, c’mooooon” he complained. “You’re just going to bait me like that and then leave me hanging?”

He turned to a bat, his antlers still visible, and hung upside down in front of Luna from an edge in the castle wall.

She laughed. “Yes, I am,” she answered frankly. “But I will tell you two things: are you ready?”

He turned back to himself and sat on the chair again. “Yes.”

“Yes…?” She was really milking him now, and Discord groaned. It was nice—to have something he wanted and use it to tease him him—for once. Usually, it was the other way around.

“Yes, ma’am. Ugh, if I vomit later, it’s your fault.”

She shook her head with a smile before answering. “One: Fluttershy’s dreams in the past week have been nothing but joyful ones, it’s only players being herself and you. She has not slept so deeply and soundly for years.”

Discord’s eyes grew big and shiny and he bit his lower lip in happiness, a happy ‘squee’ sound emitting from his throat.

“And second…”

“Yes?!?!?”

She smiled at him, and looked back at the door that served as the entrance to the castle roof.

It started to open.

“She’s here.”

Her arrival was too quick for Discord to hide his excitement from Luna. “Flutter--!”

Celestia came out of the door, and Discord’s happy and expectant expression was immediately replaced with one of frustration. “Oh.”

Celestia and Luna only laughed. “Don’t be so disappointed, Discord,” Celestia said, and looked back towards the open door. “She’s right here.”

A buttermilk-colored foreleg stepped from the shadows of the door, and out came Fluttershy, slowly and nervously. “H-hello…” she said, nearly whispering and smiling shyly at Discord, rubbing her foreleg with the other.

“Fluttershy!”

He rose up in the air and tackled Fluttershy with an embrace. “Finally! What took you so long?!?”

“O-oh, am I late?” Fluttershy asked. “I went to the portal on time, I shouldn’t be…I’m sorry for keeping you waiting, Discord.”

“Ah, you’re on time, I’m just eager! Come, come, I’ve something to show you!”

He pulled the pony away from the princesses, as giddy as a foal on his birthday, and the Princesses slowly made their exit.

“Have fun,” Celestia said under her breath. Luna closed the door behind them.

Tonight, Luna would make sure the night would look perfect for them.

“So you really didn’t need my help with your room,” Fluttershy stated as she looked at the cute little table and chairs Discord had set up for them. “This really was just a way for you to…”

She kicked at a small pebble on the ground, her face reddening. “To ask me on a…date?” She said, as if it were a question. She looked up at him, hoping for an answer.

Discord smiled sheepishly. “What can I say? I wanted to surprise you!” he said, raising his arms in the air with flourish. “I went through all the annoying, boring trouble of asking the Princesses for permission to use the roof for this. They teased me to no end, but I knew they would let me, once I told them it was for you.”

“For me?”

“Well of course! I’m not with any other pony, you know. And who else would I do this for? Celestia? Pinkie Pie? Pffft! No way.”

Her heart beat fast. “It’s lovely…” she said. The sky began to darken, but the colors of the sunset were still bright enough to admire. “And the sky is just beautiful.”

“Indeed,” he agreed, though that wasn’t the beauty he was admiring as he stared at her. “Nothing but perfection for my Fluttershy!”

She continued to smile shyly at him, his words making her face as pink as the sunset.

Discord returned her smile, and he pulled the first chair out and gestured for her to sit.

“Thank you…” she said, taking a seat. “Aren’t you the gentlepony?”

“Oh, and there was a time when you thought I wasn’t?” he joked, knowing full well that there had been, indeed, a time where she thought that. But he ignored the thought, and sat himself down in the chair next to hers.

He snapped his fingers, and the glasses on the table instantly were filled with chocolate milk, one with a straw for Fluttershy’s usage and one without.

Fluttershy giggled. “Your favorite drink, of course. Will you be drinking the milk or the glass today?”

“Hmmm,” he pondered, wondering what he was in the mood for. “I think I’ll just have the milk this time; the glass is always good, but I do that mostly to just startle ponies. The actual beverage is always better. But of course, I’m being ignorant, how horrible of me! Do you want to drink something else, Fluttershy?”

She shook her head, and sipped some of the sweet milk from her straw. “No, of course not. I haven’t had chocolate milk in too long. B-besides, I’m just glad…to be here.”

Discord gulped. “You mean…here, with me? Because the castle never struck me as a place you’d be especially fond of.”

“Oh, the castle is pretty, of course,” Fluttershy answered, taking a napkin and wiping her face to avoid a possible milk mustache. “But of course I mean with you…I was actually hoping that…Well…”

“Yes?” he encouraged her. Anything she had to say about the two of them, he needed to hear. He was still so unsure of the situation; Luna wasn’t lying about that. He knew Fluttershy wasn’t a liar, but in his deepest heart of hearts, he still had trouble believing she could love a beast like him. What had he done to make him so lovable to her, anyway?

It just wasn’t right, it seemed.

“I was hoping we’d spend some time alone together, like this.” She rubbed her foreleg, blushing, staring at the table. “O-of course, n-not that we haven’t been alone together. We’ve had tea together so many times, and you always visited me in the cottage, I don’t mean that. Oh, not that I didn’t love spending alone time with you before all this happened! It’s just…I just wanted to spend time with you, as more than that, and, and, and…”

Discord could see Fluttershy growing more nervous, her breathing growing more intense with anxiety. He laid a claw on her shoulder, and put a paw under her chin to lift her face up, so he could look at her.

“Now, now, my darling Pegasus,” he told her. “No need to fret.” He smiled wider. “I understand what you’re trying to say. I wanted to go on a date with you too.”

She smiled, but she was confused. “If you did, then why didn’t you just ask me? Why did you lie?”

Oh no, not this again! Am I in trouble? Discord thought, feeling slightly panicked.

“Well…”

She didn’t look angry, at least. She just stared up at him, waiting for an answer.

His ears drooped, and he stared at the ground. It wasn’t a look that suited him; Fluttershy had seen it before—in fact, she had seen it far too many times in the past few weeks—and it always hurt her heart to see the silly, mirthful Draconequus down.

“Discord—“ Fluttershy said, before a deep, rumbling sound interrupted her. Feeling her stomach rumble, a look of horror flashed across her face, and she turned crimson.

The Draconequus’ sad face disappeared, forgetting his worries temporarily at the sound of Fluttershy’s hungry stomach.

“Oh! Of course, you’re hungry!” He chuckled at her embarrassment. “No need to blush, dear Fluttershy…You probably haven’t eaten since lunch, and it’s getting late. I can fix that.”

With a snap, the lid of Fluttershy’s platter rose, and food appeared. A haysteak covered in a tomato-based marinade was the main food of Fluttershy’s plate, along with a side of sliced grilled carrot flavored in a caramelized glaze. A side salad of lettuce, radish, carrot, and deviled egg appeared beside the dish. It was all arranged in a professional and artful display, as if made in the fanciest restaurant in Canterlot.

Surprisingly, Discord served himself the same thing, going for actual food rather than paper, glass, or whatever else he was able to eat. That food just wasn’t proper for a date, he reasoned.

And of course, he became a vegetarian when he reformed, for the sake of all his pony friends—and especially Fluttershy, who would have shuddered at the sight of any meat.

His beloved Pegasus gawked at the food. “Oh my goodness!” she marveled, looking at the food as if it were a painting rather than her dinner. “Discord! This looks amazing!”

A small smile graced his face. “Of course it does; but taste is what truly matters, does it not? Go on, eat. You’re starving!”

Not needing more prodding, she eagerly took a bite of the steak. She chewed it thoughtfully, and Discord could see she was enjoying every minute of it. “Mmmm…” she practically purred, swallowing and eagerly leaning towards her plate for another bite. “This may just be the best thing I’ve ever tasted! Discord, you’re so talented!”

He smirked. “My magic allows me to do many things, yes; all I have to do is read a recipe, and I’m able to make it with magic.”

“Really?”

“Oh, yes. I took that recipe from the royal chef’s cookbook just this afternoon…” He looked right, then left, and then leaned towards her, a paw shielding the side of his face. “But let’s keep that between you and me; nopony but the royal chef is supposed to use those recipes!” He giggled mirthfully.

Fluttershy only smiled, shaking her head. She didn’t want to reproach him for stealing a recipe; she didn’t want to spoil the night with such a thing, and besides, what did it hurt, taking a look at a cookbook?

“You’re so silly, Discord.”

Discord took a bite of steak. “That’s news to you?”

She only giggled.

They continued to eat their dinner, though an uncomfortable silence sometimes occurred, and they tried filling it in with small talk.

“These carrots are really good.”

“Yes, sweet, but not too much so.”

Silence…

“Did you go to Saddle Arabia on your trip?”

“Ugh, yes! Even the land there is boring! Nothing but sand for miles!”

“I’ve never been there.”

“Don’t go there.”

“But aren’t there a lot of interesting animals there?”

“Meh, I suppose. I can always take you there for a day in the future, if you want.”

“Really?”

“Of course. One snap of my fingers and we’d be there.”

More silence…

“…Sun’s almost all the way down.”

“Yes. I can’t wait for the stars to come out.”

“It won’t be too much longer, dear Fluttershy.”

“We can look at them together.”

A smile. “Yes.”

………

“Discord?” Fluttershy said, breaking the third bout of silence.

He turned to look at her as he finished the last bite of haysteak. “Hmm?”

“I…I don’t mean to be demanding, or rude, or mean or anything…But…you never answered my question from earlier.”

“Oh…Really? And what question was that, my dear?” Discord asked, feigning innocence. Of course, he knew exactly what she was talking about. He was just hoping she would forget that she ever asked him that without getting an answer.

“Why did you lie and tell me you needed help with your room? Why didn’t you just ask me on a date? You know…” Her hair fell adorably over her face, hiding one of her eyes. “You know I would have agreed, don’t you? I-I don’t mean to pressure you, I promise I’m not angry at you. Oh, am I being too persistent?” she asked. “I don’t mean to be, I really don’t.”

“No, no, Fluttershy, it’s alright,” he said, trying to soothe her nervousness. “It’s a perfectly understandable question. I…shouldn’t have lied to you, I know.”

“Then why?”

He closed his eyes tightly, and grit his teeth. It made him look angry, but really, he was just trying to suppress his emotions. He had let them get away from him once, when he and Fluttershy talked in the forest a week ago; he did not want them to leak out this time. He always prided himself as being as solid as a rock, never breaking down or letting anything get to him. He hated it when he showed any sort of pain to others. He knew he needed to correct such an attitude, especially with Fluttershy, but old habits were hard to break.

“Please don’t be angry…”

Discord stopped at the sound of Fluttershy’s sweet voice, filled with concern for him, and fear that he was mad at her. He unclenched his teeth and opened his eyes, relaxing the muscles of his face.

He stroked her hair. “I’m not angry at you, Fluttershy. Not at all. I’m just…”

He paused, and thought of Luna. He didn’t want to think of another mare at a time like this, but he only pondered her words.

Tell her. She will understand. You know she will. Nopony is more understanding than she is. She will be able to soothe your soul, and make you feel loved.

She had been right about all but one thing.

“She already makes me feel loved. It just seems too good to be true.”

“What?”

Discord did not realize he had spoken out loud; usually he was more careful than that.

“Oh, nothing nothing!” he said, trying to make her forget what he said. “Just thinking to myself, darling, nothing to worry about.”

But Fluttershy knew better. “Too good to be true? Discord, is that what you really think…of us?”

Discord let out a giant sigh. Fluttershy was always so much more perceptive than she led other ponies to believe. Nopony ever gave her enough credit for all that she could do, and sometimes, they only seemed to focus on her flaws.

But not Discord. Definitely not him.

“How could I not, Fluttershy? I never thought, in a million years, that I would end up with somepony such as yourself. I…”

He felt a hoof cover his paw, and he gripped it gently.

“I don’t deserve you, Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy gawked at him incredulously. “What?”

Despite his mood, Discord had to chuckle. Her reaction was just so…so Fluttershy. “Don’t look at me like I just told you I’m dying, Fluttershy. Really, you’re much too modest. You know…”

His amusement wore away. “You know it’s true. That I don’t deserve you, that is. You have to know that. Everypony knows that. And it just…Well, it really is very unnerving!”

With that conclusion, he looked around him. A kind, gentle, thoughtful, beautiful Pegasus. A darkening sky, dying but desperate to stay beautiful with the colors of the sun. A castle for royalty. Candles for romantic lighting.

And then, he looked at his hands, his legs, his feet, his tail.

Which one of this doesn’t belong? Take a guess! he thought jokingly, but grimly as well.

“In fact, maybe this whole thing just wasn’t a good idea. A horrible one, actually!” He stood up from the chair.

“W-what?” Fluttershy dared to say. Her heart suddenly felt as if it were about to fall into her stomach. She didn’t like where this was going. Cautiously, she got off her chair as well. “Disord, I don’t understand what you’re thinking. Please, just tell me.”

She put a hoof on his chest, over his heart, looking up and into his eyes.

“Let me in, Discord.”

She tapped her hoof again. “Let me into your heart, and tell me what’s wrong.”

It was an incredibly cheesy line, Discord couldn’t help but think, but it was also so touching he didn’t know what to do. Run—no, fly away? Tell her that this was all a mistake, and that she should just forget about him? Go off, find another stallion, marry him and start a family with him instead—that was the logical thing to do. She’d be much better off that way, he thought.

“Discord? Look at me.”

He obeyed her, and opened his mouth to speak. “Maybe we shouldn’t be together after all, Fluttershy.”

It broke his heart to say such a thing, but he stayed strong.

She froze, and her eyes were already starting to moisten. “H-huh? W-what? What…What are you saying, Discord?” She started to laugh, though it was anything but happiness. “That’s…That’s not a very nice joke, Discord. You can do m-much b-better than that. You—“

He put a claw to her lips.

“I’m not joking. I wouldn’t joke about this.”

He could see she was about to burst out in tears, and he was quick to keep her from getting the wrong idea. “No no no, Fluttershy, no,” he soothed her, moving his claw to capture the single tear that had escaped her eye. “That’s not what I…I’m not saying I don’t want to be with you, Fluttershy, okay? That isn’t what I’m saying at all. Oh, now dear, please don’t cry, I can’t stand to make you cry.”

Now it was Fluttershy’s turn to grip her teeth and stare at him angrily. She stomped a hoof against the floor. “Then what are you saying, Discord? I-I mean, goodness! You say we shouldn’t be together, b-but then you say you want to be with me? Discord, I don’t understand! Help me understand. You were fine and happy this morning; you said you still wanted me to be your marefriend when I asked you earlier today! So what’s going on?!? You’re confusing me, Discord! You’re always confusing me!”

She flew up and pointed a hoof at his face. “Stop confusing me, and stop with the riddles, and tell me what’s going on so….”

Her face softened at the sad look on his face. “So I can help you. Please tell me…”

She hugged him, and put a hoof on his face. “Please?” she asked again, quietly and sincerely. “I just want to help you. Because…”

Her face reddened, but she smiled, looking at him with nothing but love in her eyes. “I love you, Discord…”

His throat turned to nothing but a hard knot, making it hard for him to breathe. Though she had said those magical three words to him once before, and it had only been a week ago, it still choked him up. He had been living thousands—no, millions of years without even an ounce of compassion, friendship, or love. And looking at her now, as she was trying so hard to open him up and crack his hard exterior shell open, he felt like he was going to melt.

He wanted to say it back. He wanted to kiss her, to say “I love you too”. He opened his mouth to do so, but then…

Flashbacks came back to his mind, pictures of a weeping Fluttershy, an angry Fluttershy, a Fluttershy turning her back to him, flying away, never to come back. Another stallion, unspecific and too hazy in his mind to remember in detail, stood with her, close to her, laughing, talking, gazing at her…

”Oh, honey, I’m so much happier now, being with you. I don’t know what I was thinking, being with Discord. Oh, he was just so awful, I should have never given him the chance…”

The strange stallion only nodded enthusiastically, agreeing with her.

“But it’s all alright now, now that he’s out of my life and with you in it.…I love you so much!” the dream Fluttershy said, bringing her face closer to him.

Kissing him.

Nuzzling him.

It killed Discord on the inside.

This was the dream that Discord had been having ever since he became her special somedraconequus. This is what haunted him at night.

“It’s my dreams, Fluttershy,” he said. “They show me my fears.”

She stared at him, concerned and smitten. “Tell me all about them,” she whispered soothingly to him, embracing him and stroking his neck. “I’m listening.”

And so he recounted it to her, all of it—how each night, he dreamed of Fluttershy growing tired of him, falling out of love with him, and eventually leaving him altogether for somepony else. How in the dream, Fluttershy screamed at him, telling him to never show his face around her ever again, calling him a monster and other names that changed every night, but hurt all the same, and how he would not only lose her as a love interest, but also as a friend, because he was nothing but a loser, a monster, a nuisance. At least, that’s what Dream Fluttershy would always say to him.

“And it’s true,” he said, after telling her all he could of his nightmare. “You’re too good for me, Fluttershy. And I’m afraid of losing you.”

Fluttershy was astounded by the dream. “Well, no wonder you would be afraid of such a thing…” she said to him soothingly, nuzzling his face. “The pony I am in your dreams…Well, she’s awful! Absolutely awful!”

“That’s interesting, because that’s what you say about me in my nightmare.”

“Well, Discord, that Fluttershy is not me. She’s just a figment of your imagination and…”

She smiled and shook her head to herself. “Didn’t I tell you to stop putting me on a pedestal? Didn’t you say the exact same thing to me, about losing me, last week? Don’t you remember what I said?” she asked him, smiling and holding his head up with her hooves.

“I do,” he answered, voice low. “And I know you said that; but what if you change your mind?”

“I won’t.”

“How do you know?”

“Will you ever change your mind about me, Discord? Will you ever decide that I’m actually just a silly little pony who just tries to keep you away from your freedom? Will you ever try to use our friendship against me, and try to manipulate me?” she asked him seriously, but without anger.

He gasped, and grabbed her with his claw and paw.

“What? I…Never! I know I did that before, but I’m truly reformed now, I couldn’t. Oh, Fluttershy, how could you possibly think that? You’re crazy!”

She smiled. “You’ll never change your mind?”

“No!” he practically yelled, looking at her with a desperate look. “I’ll never go down that road again! Ever! Tirek was a fluke, but I—“

This time she stopped him talking with her hoof, covering his lips. “That’s right. You won’t change your mind. I know you won’t. I trust you. So can you just trust me when I say to you that I will never ever change my mind about you?”

“But…Fluttershy, this is different! My life is better because of you!” he protested. “You were never a villain like I was. How exactly have I improved your life? Why do you even love an old, crazy draconequus like me? Why…”

He brushed a claw against a stray strand of Fluttershy’s mane. “Why me?”

“Oh!” she brightened, and she flew up higher to get a better look at him. “There’s a thousand reasons why, Discord! It would take me so much time to tell you all the reasons why you’re the stallion for me.”

He blushed, though he wasn’t paying attention to the rising heat in his face. “What? Really?”

“Yes,” she smiled, her own face growing a bit warm. “My life has gotten so much livelier with you in it, and I’ve had so much fun being with you. You’re the most gentlepony I’ve ever met, and you’re always paying so much attention to me. You…You make me feel special, Discord. My friends are always there for me, and do their best to make me happy, but…”

She lowered herself to the ground, and folded her wings. “I-I don’t mean to sound selfish, but…Nopony has ever made me their first priority. My parents…They were always ashamed of me. They didn’t like having a long-legged, awkward Pegasus who couldn’t fly very well for a daughter. When I got my cutie mark, and told them I was going to live on the ground…Well…”

She kicked at some imaginary dirt in the ground. “They told me they never wanted to see me again, and kicked me out of their lives forever. I don’t really have a family anymore.”

Discord’s feelings were at war in his heart. Pity, understanding, and love for his Fluttershy softened him and touched his soul, while anger and perhaps even a little hatred for her parents hardened him and made him want to punch something. “Fluttershy…”

“And my friends, well, like I said, they’re just wonderful. But with five ponies and one dragon, well…Sometimes I have trouble getting a word in, and sometimes my shyness keeps me from doing what I need to do or say, and they don’t always hear me, or think of me when I need them to. Oh, I know I do the same thing, of course I do!” she said guiltily. “That’s just what happens sometimes with friends, and my shyness is my fault, not theirs. We all sometimes have trouble helping each other, with so many other friends and responsibilities to attend to. But at the end of the day…”

She rubbed her foreleg. “They all have other ponies or friends to go to. They have family. Pinkie Pie doesn’t live with hers, but the Cakes love her like family and treat her like one of their own. Not only that, but her sisters visit her. Twilight has Spike with her constantly, and I’m still not sure whether they are more like brother and sister or mother and son, but they love each other nonetheless, and Twilight’s also got her brother, her sister-in-law, and Celestia…”

“Rarity has her sister, and their parents live close by. Applejack’s life is dedicated to her family, which is spread all over Equestria!” she said, her forelegs spread out to emphasize just how big the Apple Family is.

“And Rainbow Dash…” A look of shame seemed to cross her face. “I hate to admit it, but…I’m jealous of her, at times. I don’t hold it against it, no, never!” she quickly said after, looking at Discord in a panicked way before he could possibly accuse her of such a thing. “It’s just…Rainbow Dash lives alone, but she goes to Cloudsdale a lot to see her family. They’re all so proud of her, because she’s one of the fastest, most amazing Pegasi out there.”

She smiled sadly. “I have no doubt that she will one day become a Wonderbolt, like she dreams. Her family knows it too. My parents…always wondered why I couldn’t be like her.”

“Fluttershy…” Discord began, but she stopped him.

“I-It’s okay, r-really,” she said, awkwardly moving some hair out of her face, behind her ear with the rest of her mane. “I don’t blame Rainbow Dash for it at all. She’s truly one of my heroes, to be honest. She always stood up for me, and actually threatened to toilet paper my parents’ house when she heard I was kicked out.” She giggled at the thought. “She is nothing but loyal. She really is in her element, she always has been. She’s always been there for me.”

“But…” Discord prompted her.

“But…I never had anyone that was just for me. I had my animals of course, yes, and I love them with all my heart. I would be nothing without them, along with my friends,” she said. “The animals are the reason I am who I am today. They saved my life, once upon a time. They give me purpose, and they love me. I love them.”

“Then what do you need me for?” Discord asked her. “I’m not nearly as good as a friend as the other Elements of Harmony are. I’m not as innocent and cuddly or as lovable as your animal friends either. You could use somepony much better, Fluttershy. You deserve better.”

“There is nopony better, Discord. Don’t you see?” Tired of standing, she sat back down, and Discord did the same.

“You saw me, Discord. You didn’t take me seriously at first, but when we became friends, you showed me your entire world, and you let me show you mine. You showed me tricks and told me jokes with your magic, and you did everything you could to make me laugh. Whenever you came to Ponyville, it was usually to visit me. And not only did you tell me things about yourself that you told nopony else, but you always listened so well when I spoke. I never had to repeat myself, even if I whispered.”

“But of course!” he said. A foam finger with the phrase “# 1” in large white font appeared on his claw. “You have and always will be my Number One Pony, my dear. Everything you say and do is important to me, something I want to be a part of!”

He realized he started talking a little too enthusiastically about her, and cleared his throat. “Ahem.” He looked away from her for a second before muttering “Fluttershy, number one!”

She laughed. “See? You always make me laugh.”

He smiled tenderly at her. “I should hope so. That’s all I ever want to do, really. Your laugh is quite…intoxicating, actually.”

She smiled back, and pushed the strand of mane that was always escaping her back behind her ear yet again. “Th-thank you. B-but…Can you see why I chose you now, Discord? You are always there for me, like I’m always there for you. You’re fun, and sweet, and you always....You always make time just for me, and you look out for me, and you…make me a priority.”

She put a back leg on the ground, and scooted her chair closer to him, so they were side by side.

She leaned against him. “It’s nice, to have someone put me first for once…That’s only one of the reasons why I chose you, why I fell for you, but it’s the one thing you’ve done for me that nopony ever has. I made you my friend, and you made my life more fun, and less lonely, and you visited me all the time. You wrote me letters, and made me feel like I was important and special. And that’s how I realized just how important and special you are, too.”

“Fluttershy” was all he could manage to say. As Fluttershy leaned against him, she felt his fur against her face, and at first she thought perhaps it was the wind that was making it seem as if his coat was flowing downward.

But as it continued to rub against her face, she grew curious and lifted her head to look at him.

She gasped. “Discord!”

“Huh? What?!? What’s the matter?!?” he shouted, suddenly alarmed by her face.

“You’re melting!”

“Eh?”

He looked down, and saw that he was, indeed, turning into a puddle, spilling onto the chair and the floor. He was down to his knees, his feet and lower leg now goo on the ground.

“Oh!” He laughed at himself, and simply snapped his fingers, and his feet and lower legs returned back to normal. “There, all fixed! Oh wow, did I scare you, dear Fluttershy?”

“Scare me?!? W-what happened?”

“Oh, nothing much; you just caused a magical reaction, is all.”

She stared at him, horrified. “Me? I did that?”

He nodded. “Ever heard of that metaphor? Such as ‘I melt for no pony’ or ‘my heart melted’; things such as that?”

“Y-yes.”

“Well…” He leaned his head against his paw and grinned. “My magic and my tricks can make such a metaphor reality. Perhaps you should get used to it, should you ever say such kind words to me again. You really had me swooning there, Casanova.”

“Casa--?” She had no idea what he was talking about, but she got the gist. “So…I made you melt?”

“Dear Fluttershy, you’ve been making me soft ever since the day you called me your friend. Taking that a step further has only doubled the effect.” He stared at his feet. “And apparently made it into a lovely visual representation.”

“Oh, I didn’t think it was so lovely! D-don’t melt again, it scared me…”

“Hmm…” He just smiled at her, gazing at her affectionately, and Fluttershy could only turn red, though she loved it whenever he looked at her like that. “I really am a fool, aren’t I? I should learn not to pay so much attention to things as unmeaningful as nightmares.”

“It’s okay, I understand,” she said. “Nightmares are scary. I’m just sorry that’s the way I’m portrayed in them. I wish you had told me about them sooner.”

“They were only a representation of my fears, anyway,” he said. “Because I used to be a villain, and you have always been perfection. I never thought I deserved you. And to be honest, I’m not sure I ever will.”

“Don’t worry,” she comforted him. “I’ll convince you that you deserve me. Besides, I’m the one who gets to decide what I deserve, don’t I?”

“Yes, but you never give yourself enough credit, Fluttershy. You’re so much better than you think.”

“I think the same thing about you. You don’t give yourself enough credit either, Discord. I think you’re an absolute sweetheart, and you’re wonderful.”

His cheeks turned pink. “Perhaps, and I promise you I will work on my fears, but…We just don’t make sense, Fluttershy. You and I, together like this. None of it does.”

Fluttershy beamed, secretly amused that he said such a thing. She nuzzled him, and in a low, shy voice, she said:

“But what’s the fun in making sense?”

His eyes widened, and he stared at her. She cleverly used his own line against him, and there she was, gazing at him, giving her time to him in one of the most special ways possible, showing him just how much he mattered to her.

She understood him. She always did. She knew him better than anypony else, and had covertly opened his heart and squeezed into it, making it hers and only hers. In return, she gave him her own heart. She gave him that power, and trusted him with it, despite all he had done, because she was his angel, who intertwined her life with his so he would never have to be alone again, always by his side.

She gave him kindness, she gave him love. He gave her all the excitement and fun that chaos could bring, gave her a reason to laugh and try new things, and he returned that love.

She knew that Discord wasn’t an evil villain. She knew that he was always much more complicated than that, and she always gave him her attention. She not only tried her best to understand him, but she put herself in his shoes so that she did understand him.

She did all of that, just for him, out of kindness and love, because to her, he was worth it.

All these thoughts buzzed through his head, but he did not melt. Not this time.

Instead, he quickly lowered his neck to her level, took her shoulders in his paw and claw, and kissed her lips gently.

Fluttershy’s eyes widened at the sudden kiss, but slowly closed as she pressed her lips back against his, and put her hooves around his neck.

They had shared a kiss before, but it was not like this. The kiss before had been nothing but a quick seal for the deal, an innocent and childlike way to physically show their affection. It hadn’t even lasted a second.

This kiss, however, was one that lingered as much as possible, with candles illuminating their faces, the stars finally showing themselves and lighting the night sky as the two continued to hold one another as they relished in the sensation of the kiss. Her lips were so soft, and his were so warm, and they heard nothing, sensed nothing but the feel of each other.

They held it a long as they could before breaking apart, and Fluttershy immediately shoved her face into his chest afterward, releasing his neck and putting her hooves around his torso instead.

“Fluttershy?” he said, holding her and stroking her mane, his chin against the back of her head.

“Yes?”

“I forgot to tell you one more thing. Quite silly of me, really…”

“What is it? I’m listening.” She turned her head so her cheek was against him instead, and perked an ear upward to hear him better.

“I love you too, you wonderful, beautiful, amazing mare you!”

He grabbed her torso, breaking her hold on him, and lifted her into the air, and she squealed. “Discord!”

“What? You’re a Pegasus, you should be used to being this high off the ground!”

He whirled her around in a circle, and she laughed beautifully, enjoying their happy time together as the cool wind whipped through her hair. “Put me down!”

“I don’t think soooo!”

“I can’t see the stars with you whirling me around!”

“Oh, you weren’t even looking at them!” he replied, stopping his twirling to look at her. “You were too busy cuddling yourself against me to look at them!”

“Well, I’m ready to see them now.”

“But I’m not done dancing yet!” This time he took her by the hooves and started dancing with her in an exaggerated manner, twirling them both around in circles. “C’mon, Fluttershy! Dance with me! You need to be more footloose!”

She laughed again. “I don’t have a foot!”

“Hoofloose, then!”

Still giggling, she pulled her hooves away from him and flew above his head, (“Hey! You get back here, you!”) only to land on top of him, holding herself up with her wings and holding on to his horns with both forelegs. “There…” she said, making herself comfortable and wrapping her tail lightly around his neck as if it were a scarf. “Now I can see them, and oh, they are just so pretty.”

“Fluttershy, my head is not a seat!”

She looked at him upside down and pecked him on the lips, her face red again by her boldness. In turn, Discord was surprised, but most definitely not unhappy by it.

“Well, I suppose, if you really want to sit there, who am I to stop you?”

So he leaned against the barrier of the castle roof, a few feet away from the table, with Fluttershy on top of him, to look at the sky. His claw glowing, the stars swirled in beautiful patterns, in whirls and bursts like fireworks, putting on a show for his dear marefriend.

Fluttershy hopped off Discord and put herself in the crook of his arm to watch. She said nothing, but her eyes, as Discord glanced at her, said everything. They shined in amazement.

“So, despite the deep talks and the misunderstandings, can I say I did well for the first date?”

“Oh yes,” she answered, taking her eyes off the stars for a moment to look at her Draconequus. “You did a wonderful job. I hope…” She poked her hooves against each other. “I hope we have a lot more of them…”

“How about tomorrow then? I think there might be a fair coming in!”

“Oh! So soon?”

“You can stay in a room in the castle—Celestia won’t mind, I’m sure—and we can head out tomorrow morning and spend the whole day together.”

“R-Really? You’d spend the entire day with me?” She flew up and stared at him, eyes full of excitement.

He gave her a smile. “I can think of no better way to spend my day.”

“Even without chaos?”

He laughed, giving Fluttershy a hug. “I can go without chaos for one day, I’d say. I caused quite a lot of chaos just to decorate my room!”

“Oh my…” she said, putting a hoof to her chin. “Your room is probably more chaotic than when you put my house upside down…”

“It’s a masterpiece, if I say so myself.”

“Oh, I’m sure it is,” she said truthfully, beaming at him. “After all, I helped you with it, right? That’s the whole reason I came down here.”

“But of course.” He stroked a finger against her face, and she closed her eyes from the feel of it, feeling at peace. “Why else would you come all the way down to Canterlot to see me?”

“I have no idea,” she answered, though they both knew the real reason as they touched foreheads with closed eyes, just enjoying their closeness. “But I think maybe I should stay another day, to help you finish the room.”

“Oh, thank you, Fluttershy. I need all the help I can get.”

“Oh, you’re so welcome, Discord.”

He laughed, and rubbed her head. “But truly, thank you, Fluttershy.” He lifted her chin. “I can’t thank you enough, for all you’ve done for me. And I have a hunch that those dreams won’t be bothering me anymore.”

“Oh, I’m so glad!” She beamed, and hugged him again. “I was so worried, when I sensed something was wrong. I want you to be just as happy as I am.”

“I am, Fluttershy…” His claw glided over the clip in her hair as he stroked her mane, the one he had made for her as his feelings for her had begun to grow. “Thanks to you, I am.”

And so they kissed one more time under Luna’s moon and stars.

But for that one date…The night belonged to them.

Author's Note

Well, there you go. Aw man, did this chapter take me forever to write...but I enjoyed writing it.
Give me your honest opinions, because while I know I could end it with this chapter, I think this one won't tidy it all up yet. I want to stop it in a good place with not just Discord's relationship with Fluttershy, but with all the Mane 6 and Spike. I mean I'll still have some fluff in it, but you can't write a fic like this without forgetting it's not just MLP, but "Friendship is Magic". Ol' Cordy needs to finish up in this story with all the ponies! All of them!!
But I need all the feedback I can get because I don't think I can stop the Fluttercord. And if I'm going to do that, I have to make sure I get the characters right! I haven't been into a shipping this badly since Numbuhs 3 and 4 in Codename: Kids Next Door...(Who, for those who know, I still ship wholeheartedly. I guess I'm into the whole "opposites attract thing", kind of.)
One more to go! Thank you Bronies, Pegasisters, fans, and the generally intrigued!
And special thanks to ButtonMash for editing!!!! <3

Celebrate

A butterfly amidst yellow. A star in light purple. A balloon floating in pink, a diamond surrounded by white, a cloud with a rainbow lightning bolt in the blue. An apple in a field of orange, and a spew of green flame alight in dark purple.

A light pink heart for the gray.

For months, she sewed. She sewed in all her spare time, after feeding the animals, after seeing her friends, after dates and outings and chores.

It was hard work. She never put so much effort into a project before. Sure, she had sewed a lot of things in the past. All of her close friends had something she had sewn for them—it was a labor of love she saved for those that truly mattered to her.

But this—this was perhaps the most important thing she had ever tried to make.

And it wasn’t the most important thing because it was for Discord—well, it was, but not because he was her special somepony. That would have implied that he was more important than her friends, and in Fluttershy’s heart of hearts, that wasn’t true. They were equally important to her, just in different ways.

But this was important, because it was Discord, a creature who wasn’t used to receiving gifts from ponies who cared about him, much less those that loved him. She suspected that, once the surprise party started, he would receive the first gifts of his life.

Tomorrow, Discord was going to be shown just how important he was. He would need it.

And while Fluttershy was the kindest pony around, who cringed at the thought of herself being anything but nice, she couldn’t stop herself from hoping…

That he would love her gift the most.

Another stitch, one after the other. It was almost finished.

She smiled. Oh, I can’t wait to see the look on his face when he sees—

Bap bap bap!

She froze at the sound of the door being knocked on.

That’s odd; I wasn’t expecting company today…

“Oh Fluttershy!” a familiar voice singsonged through the door. “Guess who decided to come down a day early?!?”

Usually, the thought of her beloved Draconequus arriving earlier than anticipated would have thrilled her to the point of overwhelming excitement. But this time, she only gasped, her teeth clenched in nervousness. She glanced at the large amount of yarn and fabric at her lap, and gathered it up in her hooves as fast as she possibly could.

Oh no! I have to hide this, fast!

“Fluttershy!” Discord called.

Her head whipped left and right, searching desperately for a place to hide her gift. She felt a paw tap at her back foreleg, and Angel Bunny appeared by her side. Hopping up and down nervously, he pointed a paw towards the fridge, the other holding the kitchen door open.

“Oh, good idea, Angel Bunny!” she praised him, whispering enthusiastically. It was a bit impractical, but it was a good hiding place big enough for the bundle. And she only needed to keep it there until she found a better place…

Flying to the kitchen, she shoved the mass of yarn into the main compartment of the fridge, losing a bottle of ketchup, a head of lettuce, and a carrot in the process. Angel Bunny grabbed the carrot, hopping off with it before Fluttershy could notice.

Discord perked an ear up. “Fluttershy, is everything alright in there? Did I hear a crash?”

Get. In. There! She thought, her teeth grounding against each other as she tried getting it all into her fridge. A piece of cake fell and splat against the floor as a bottle of cider rolled across the kitchen.

Discord stroked his beard as he listened to the racket from outside. What is that mare up to?

“Fluttershy, I would be more than happy to come back at a better time…”

Before he could continue, the door opened, Fluttershy smiling up at him. Usually, Discord ’s face would have lit up at the sight, but her smile was wide and forced.

“Uh…”

“Discord!” She flew up and wrapped her forelegs around his neck in an embrace. “What a wonderful surprise!”

He blinked, but did not hesitate to return the hug. “Hello, my sweet!” he greeted, stroking her hair with his claw as he held her with the other arm. “Having problems at the cottage today, are we?”

He broke the embrace, pushing her back on the shoulders gently so he could look at her. “Or were you being chaotic without me?” he asked her, pouting and putting on his best puppy eyes.

“N-no!” she replied, his face inspiring instant guilt within her. “I wasn’t—I mean—“

Discord laughed, relishing in the cuteness of his marefriend. “Only kidding, my heart, only kidding!”

He snapped his fingers, and a bundle of carrots appeared in his paw. “Not only did I come a day early, but I bring my usual gift of friendship for your beloved squirr—I mean, your Angel Bunny.”

He heard a small “hmph!” below him, and looked down at Angel. “Ah, hello there, Squeaky!” he greeted the rabbit, picking him up by the torso and giving him a small hug against the chest. Fluttershy smiled at them, though Angel Bunny wasn’t nearly as elated about it as she was. He pushed against him with all his might with one paw, the other desperately grabbing for the carrots.

“Now, now, Angel, calm yourself,” he said, putting the rabbit down and looking at him with his head upside down. “Being a good friend means you have to be patient, if I’m correct?”

The rabbit crossed his arms together in a huff, tapping his foot against the ground. “Waiting ain’t exactly my thing. Hand it over, Dishrag.”

“Dishrag? Huh, no one’s ever called me that before,” Discord replied, stroking his beard. “Touché, Squeakers. You really are starting to earn my respect.” He handed the rabbit the carrots, Angel smiled enthusiastically, hopping into the house to put his stash with his stolen carrot from the fridge. “Jackpot! I guess Dishrag ain’t so bad…” Angel squeaked under his breath, hoping his owner and the Draconequus didn’t hear the compliment.

Discord shared a knowing look with Fluttershy. “Looks like he’s warming up to me.”

“Oh, I know. He doesn’t like to admit it, but he really does like you,” Fluttershy beamed.

“Carrots will do wonders for friendship, I suppose,” Discord replied. His smile turned to a smirk, and soon Fluttershy found herself being wrapped by Discord’s entire body. “What would happen if I gave you a carrot? Would you warm up to me, hmm?” He summoned another carrot in his claw and dangled it in front of her face.

She giggled, playfully batting it away. “I’m pretty sure I already have, carrot or no…”

Satisfied, he snapped his claws and the vegetable banished, and pulled Fluttershy in again for another hug.

“Ah, I missed you!” he exclaimed, laying his chin on the top of her head. “It was far too long, my dear.”

Fluttershy sighed, laying her head on his chest. “I missed you too, Discord. How long has it been since we’ve seen each other? Two weeks?”

“Two weeks, three days, fifteen hours, twenty minutes, and…” A pocket watch poofed into Discord’s claw, a monocle on his left eye. “37 seconds exactly.”

Initially she gawked at him with a surprised look, but then shook it away. Really, should she be all that surprised that he counted their time apart that accurately?

Discord chuckled at that. “Still, though, no matter how long it was, it was still too long. That’s why I’m early, you see. A tad rude of me, perhaps, to show up early, but…” He struck a dramatic pose, his claw clutching at his chest where his heart was, the other draped across his forehead. “I just couldn’t go without you any longer, darling! To be away from you, and from our bestest pals, for more than half a month? I couldn’t wait another moment, or I’d have surely died!” He collapsed on the ground, his tongue rolled out and across the grass.

Fluttershy shook her head. “It’s no trouble, really! I’m glad you’re here. Like I said, I missed you…We all missed you.”

His head popped up. “Really? Even Rainbow Dash?”

A happy nod. “She told me herself she missed somepony having a cloudball fight with her.”

His head rose a little higher. “Spike?”

“Of course! He finally perfected that muffin recipe you gave him, and it came out perfectly. We know, because Derpy kept asking him for more!”

His neck elongated an inch more. “Rarity?”

He was just going to go on and on until he knew about all of them, so she filled him in on it before he could ask. “Rarity bought and saved a tub of ice cream for you two so you can eat it and—and these are her words, not mine—‘moan and complain about everything together’. And Twilight has been reading on books about you, finding discrepancies between the texts in hopes that you could tell her what really happened. Also, Pinkie Pie told me she concocted a paper-and-sprinkle flavored cupcake for you to try, and Applejack saved some bruised apples for you, since they’re your favorite.”

She took a long breath. She normally didn’t talk so much all at once, and almost forgot to breathe.

“Oh, happy day!” he flew into the sky, and bursts of confetti and balloons appeared from nowhere. Pink bubbles shaped like hearts floated around Fluttershy, lightly bouncing against her until they popped, releasing a noise that resembled the sound of loud smooches. It made her blush and laugh, swishing them around with her tail.

“And what did you do in the midst of missing me?” he asked her floating back down. “Stare at my picture longingly as you stared at the lone space next to you? Make a portrait of me?”

Since the door was open, he teleported himself onto the couch. Sprawled over it, he put one leg over the other while his arms were spread, one leaning on the top of the couch cushions, the other dangled over the side. “Go on, Fluttershy: draw me like one of your French girls!”

She had no idea what he was talking about on the last part, but she laughed anyway at his dramatic flair. “Oh, Discord! It’s good to have you back.”

“And it’s good to be back! Let me tell you something, Love, this last mission was so--“

She already knew what he was about to say. “Boring?”

“Fluttershy!” he fake-gasped, a claw to his mouth. “Is that a smirk on your face? Are you being coy with me? Oh my, we really have come very far, my dear! I do believe I’m rubbing off on you. We’re even finishing off each other’s…?”

He gestured for her to speak, but she didn’t get the notion. “Huh?”

He rolled his eyes, but the smile never left his face. “Sentences, Fluttershy. We’re finishing each other’s…?” He repeated the whole thing over again, but this time Fluttershy understood.

“Oh! Sentences!”

He laughed good-naturedly. “There you go! Anyhow,” he said, floating above her in a pose as if he were laying on his stomach, “back to the previous topic. My trip was dreadfully, painfully, mind-numbingly dull.

Fluttershy’s eyes quickly glanced towards the direction of the kitchen, allowing herself to enjoy Discord’s surprise visit, but not forgetting her original mission. She took a small, nearly unnoticeable step sideways towards the kitchen. “Oh? What did you have to do this time?”

He flopped back on the couch. “Nothing too taxing, just not very entertaining, if you ask me. All I did was gallivant around Equestria and take note of any other non-pony citizens. Apparently they haven’t kept very good records on anypony that isn’t a pony, and my job was to make sure they were respected in the community and acting properly and yadda-yadda-yadda.”

She was a bit surprised to hear that. “What? But that doesn’t seem like the kind of task she’d give you. I mean, I know Princess Celestia knows better than I do about what you’re suited for—“

Discord laughed at that. “Hardly! You know me better than anypony, Flutterdear.”

“Even so, I thought she’d put you up to…more active kind of work. Chaotic work, I guess? Maybe dealing with some, um, mean ponies, or monsters or something…?”

She inched more towards the kitchen, which failed to go unnoticed as Discord’s red irises followed her path and swept towards the kitchen. Curious, he lifted a back leg and scratched at his neck like a dog, “I wish that was the kind of work she gave me! But good ol’ Tia knows that would be far too enjoyable for me. Better to make me her personal errand bo—“

He stopped, frozen, and a voice echoed in his head, one deeper and far darker than his own.

Join me, Discord, and reclaim your greatness. Unless, of course, 'pony errand boy' is the role you've always wanted to play in this world.

“Discord…?”

He shook his head, conjuring a rubber squeaky hammer to hit himself in the brain with. “Sorry, dear, I just blanked out for a moment. It’s exhausting, doing background checks on Griffons and Minotaurs and other creatures.”

Pausing in her creep towards the kitchen, she gave him a concerned look. “But you looked startled for a moment. Are you okay?”

“Lovely, my dear! How could I not, when the pony I love most is right by my side?” He rose, floating off the couch and landing in front of a blushing Fluttershy. “I think the real question is, are you okay? You seem to be in a hurry, somewhere. The kitchen, perhaps?”

Her eyes grew wider. “W-what? N-no…I have no need to be in the kitchen, right now, at this moment…”

Discord could tell it was a lie by the way she refused to look him in the eye, and smirked at himself.

“Oh, alright. Perhaps I should just go into the kitchen myself then? I think I’m feeling rather famished.”

He took a large, exaggerated step towards the kitchen entrance.

“W-wait…” she squeaked.

Another step. “Oh, I can’t possibly wait, Fluttershy. I require immediate sustenance, and my appetite is practically imploring for something that can only be found specifically in your kitchen at this very moment.”

He found himself at the entrance, and intentionally reached for the swinging door slowly.

“Almost theeeeere…” he teased.

Suddenly Fluttershy flew over him, with barely an inch between her and the ceiling, and landed in front of him. “No, you can’t go in there!” she yelled, eyes open wide.

“Oh?” he asked in pretend innocence, blinking at her with big yellow-red orbs, his eyelashes suddenly much longer than usual. “Why ever not, dear? Is your kitchen off-limits to me now?”

His face switched back to his normal expression of interested eyes and a cocky grin. “Or are you possibly hiding something…?”

She swallowed very audibly. “Y-you can’t…” she said again, doing her best to keep a straight face and look back at him. “Because…”

He stared.

“Um….”

“I’m waiiiiiiiting~” he sing-songed, and a lightbulb seemed to flash over Fluttershy’s head.

“The kitchen is being remodeled, you see!” she lied, plastering a fake and cheesy grin at him. “It…It needed updating, and everything before was just so old and…well, it was practically falling apart! And so the kitchen is just an absolute mess right now, you can’t go in!”

“Then where are you storing all your food and feed supplies?” he asked. “At Rainbow Dash’s place in the clouds? Hmm?”

“N-no…I just, um…”

“Or maybe you’re….” Theatrically, with a claw covering his mouth, he gasped. “You aren’t lying to me, are you Flutterdear?”

Sweat started to bead at her forehead, and her teeth clenched. She looked side to side, as if Discord were a tiger and she a cornered rabbit. “I-I-I…”

Oh no, he’s onto me! I can’t have him find his present…And if he found it, then he would ask why, and I’d have to tell him about the—

And that’s when Discord started to laugh. “Ahahaha! Ah, Fluttershy, you really make it too simple for me! Ruffling your feathers…”—he fingered at one of her wings—“is really far too easy!”

He backed off, away from the kitchen. “If you have something in there you don’t want me to see, then that’s fine. I’ll die of curiosity, but I’ll let you keep your secret—for now. After all, we all have a few things we don’t want others to know, eh?” He gave her a wink, and Fluttershy blushed.

“Discord…”

He yawned, interrupting her, and Fluttershy glanced at the window, the sky turning orange from the setting sun. “Oh my. I didn’t realize how late it was getting. I have to go secure the chicken coop.” Trotting to him, Fluttershy pecked Discord on the snout, and smiled. “Why don’t you go to the guest bedroom and get some sleep? You must be tired. It hasn’t been very long since you got back from your latest trip. You can sleep and then we’ll have breakfast together in the morning.”

“That sounds perfect,” Discord yawned again, stretching his arms out and making his way to the stairs. “Just don’t stay out too late partying with Pinkie Pie. You know what happened last time.” He gave her a knowing grin, and Fluttershy smiled embarrassedly, remembering a few weeks ago when she had drank too much apple cider with Pinkie Pie, and the two had danced with her animals all night.

Needless to say, Discord brought it up any chance he had. She was cute when she was embarrassed, after all.

“W-will do…”

She made her way out as he disappeared upstairs. She stayed outside the door until she couldn’t hear his footsteps from inside anymore.

She looked left…

Looked right…

…And started galloping towards town.

She had friends to see.

He awoke to a red sky, afloat in a ball of concentrated magic.

Magic that he himself had not produced.

“What…?”

On his back, he flipped over, his assorted feet squeaking against the magic bubble that trapped him. The bubble itself wobbled a bit as he scrambled about, but stayed in its general area, amongst six more bubbles to his left.

The one most immediately to his side was Fluttershy. She was stuck as he was, her hooves against the inside of the bubble, gazing outward. Tears cascaded down her cheeks, and she cried out in heaving sobs. The sounds of five other cries meshed with hers, and as he looked about, he saw Rarity, Rainbow, Pinkie, Applejack, and Spike. Together, they floated in the air, a circle of entrapment.

All of them were clearly overcome with grief, their eyes nothing but waterfalls of salty tears, unable to make a sound other than the reverberating gasps and cries of loss.

He turned his head frontward, and looked below, towards the ground.

Twilight Sparkle, the newest Princess of Equestria, the Element of Magic, the glue that held the group of friends together...

She lay on the ground, unconscious, bruised, and beaten.

She’s not…? Discord gulped, and refused to finish the sentence, even in his own thoughts.

Towering above her stood Tirek, laughing triumphantly.

“Fools! Your tears mean nothing to me!” he yelled, their agony spreading a sick grin across his crimson face. “Do you want my pity? You will get none from me. I am not my idiot brother…I am not Scorpan! I am Tirek, and you all obey me now!”

The ponies trembled at his presence, but their sobbing did not cease. Tirek didn’t seem to mind, and his eyes set themselves on Discord.

“Ah, yes, Discord…”

The Draconequus gulped, but did not shrink against him. “Tirek.”

“I have to thank you, I suppose, Discord. Your treacherous ways helped me reach my full potential much faster than I could have on my own!”

Discord sneered at him, canines glinting in the light. “Wrong. If it hadn’t been for me, you would have never reached your full potential. You are nothing but a pathetic excuse for a blood-sucking tick.”

Tirek growled back. “You’d best watch your words, Lord of Nothing,” he shot back. “You wouldn’t want to see me hurt anypony close to you, would you?”

Discord looked at the alicorn on the ground. “You already have.”

“Ha! You were never close to that one, especially now that you’re the number one traitor in all of Equestria. You even told me yourself that there was only one mare you cared about.”

The centaur’s gaze then traveled over to the yellow Pegasus floating next to him, and Discord’s coat bristled out like an angry cat’s, his eyes flying open in terror.

Oh, I’m not doing this for me. I’m doing this for my friends! But just between the two of us…It’s mostly for Fluttershy!

“No…”

Tirek’s arm shot out towards Fluttershy, breaking her magical bubble and bringing her into his fist. She shrieked, gasping at the pain from the force of his hold on her.

“Fluttershy!” Discord threw his body against the side of the bubble, doing all he could to break the magical barrier that kept him away from the outside. He had to get to her, before—

“Now watch, as I take her away from you forever!”

Tirek raised his arm, ready to throw Fluttershy to the ground and—

“NO!” Discord cried out.

“Terror of Sleep, begone!”

A blast of magical light burst forth upon Tirek, and everything around Discord—the ponies, the landscape, and Tirek himself—disappeared, and he was surrounded in nothing but white, as if he himself were just a drawing on paper.

Landing in front of him, Princess Luna stood.

Discord growled—not to her, but to himself, slapping his claw against his forehead in frustration. “A nightmare!” he shouted, his face somewhat clenched in anger. “Another nightmare…”

“I am sorry, Discord,” Luna said, taking one step closer to him. “I have many subjects, all with their own nightmares, and I did not realize—“

“What is wrong with me?!?!?” he shouted, ignoring Luna completely out of his own frustration. “This is the tenth dream…The tenth! The first four, after I began my relationship Fluttershy…The one where she cheated on me, broke my heart…And Fluttershy was able to assuage my fear, and that particular nightmare ceased, but now this?!?!?”

“Discord…” She put a hoof on his chest. “It is normal to—“

“Not for me!” he answered, his body still tense with his own turmoil. “I used to never have nightmares, Luna. You know that. I only had dreams of chaos, of fun, of prosperity and opportunity for anything and everything! But now, I either sleep without a dream at all, or I suffer from a nightmare. And now, they’re nothing but reminders of my betrayal, of the day when I broke Fluttershy’s heart and put all my friends—and all of Equestria—in danger.”

He turned his head back towards her, his hands in fists, and looked her in the eyes. “But do you know what the worst part is?”

She said nothing, knowing she would not be able to get a word in until he shouted some of the anger and confusion out of his system. Right now, the only chaos he needed to release was the chaos of his own feelings, and nopony understood such a thing as much as she did, the former Nightmare Moon.

But Discord didn’t need an answer from her, and continued on. “The worst part is that I fall for it every time! Every time, I forget it’s just a dream. I, the greatest distorter of reality the world has ever known, forget that none of it is real, and the nightmare overpowers me and makes me believe that I’m going through the whole Tirek incident all over again! I let it take over me, and control me, and terrify me, and it does nothing but gets worse. And tomorrow…Ugh, tomorrow…”

He deflated and sat down, his hands open against the white ground. He sighed.

“Thank you, Luna.”

For a second, Luna was surprised, but then immediately softened. A small smile graced her calm, collected face, and as with all her subjects, she took a hoof to caress the side of his face, and looked at him.

“You are welcome, my friend. It is my job to look after all of my subjects—and friends—during the night. You need not be ashamed, Lord of Chaos. The dreams are from your own mind. You merely only trick yourself, when you believe in your nightmares. All ponies do it, great and small, powerful and weak. There is no need to scold yourself.”

Her smile widened. “You are great, but you are not that great.”

Discord smirked, though he heard the truth in her words. “I suppose that’s true. And I appreciate your words, sis,” he answered. He remembered the time when Luna told him she was willing to act as a sister towards him, if he wished, and…he actually did, surprisingly. “But it still hurts my pride a bit. I don’t exactly like remembering the past, and I don’t like being tricked, even if it is myself doing it. And…”

His ears drooped. “The guilt devastates me. It is the reason I dread the morning. By tomorrow…It will have happened exactly one year ago.”

“I know, Discord.” She stroked some of the fur on his face. “I know you have not looked forward to tomorrow, and that is why you came to Ponyville early. The nightmares and the regret you face…That is a result of the conscience you now hold in your soul,” Luna said. “And the hardest battle to win is always the one against yourself. But you must conquer this, Discord. You have already learned from this mistake. All you need to do is forgive yourself, and continue doing the right thing. Your friends and your love have forgiven you, including me. Why can you not do it yourself?”

Discord pouted, and crossed his arms. “Oh, and you forgave yourself after your big mistake so easily?”

“No. It took time.” She grasped his hands in her hooves, a gesture brought on by her own sisterly affection towards him. “But it is rewarding, when the time finally comes, and you are able to move on and forgive yourself. And your time is coming soon.”

She smiled. “Your life has been long, Discord, but it has only just begun. I look forward to watching you walk through it in harmony.”

“Oh, blech!” Discord said, pretending to wretch, but unable to hide the blush on his face or the glimmer of hope in his eyes. “Thanks Luna; excuse me while I gag from this disgusting display of affection between us.”

“Oh, so you have affection for me too, brother?” she asked, one brow cocked up in interest. Her smile remained, though it was more of a friendly, mocking smirk.

“Oh, whatever!” Discord shouted. “Can I just wake up now, before you infect me with your sentimentality?”

“It is still early in the night,” Luna said. “But if you wish to awaken, then you shall.”

Her wings emerged from her side, beating against the wind as she ascended. The white disappeared, replaced with the night sky, the only light emitting from stars and moon. “I shall see you soon, Discord. Very soon.”

“Yes, fine, see ya, Lulu,” he called back. “Maybe next time you won’t be so disgustingly soft on me! You’re much more fun to argue with. Isn’t that what siblings are supposed to do, anyway?”

She only laughed.

“Wake up.”

She disappeared.

And so, he woke.

Luna had been right; according to the clock beside the bed on the nightstand, he had only been sleeping for two hours. The window showed the glittering stars and a full moon, this time without Princess Luna.

Wide awake now from the dream, he pulled himself off the bed and opened the window.

Maybe a quick flight will help me stay at ease.

Just as he was about to jump off, he remembered just where he was.

I suppose I should check to see if she’s still awake, he thought as he floated across the room, closing the window back up. I wouldn’t want her to see me away from bed and not know where I am. Though she knows better, she would still worry.

A short distance down the hallway, he saw her bedroom door slightly ajar. He gazed in, not stepping inside himself, and saw the bed as freshly made as it had been since morning.

That’s odd…

“Fluttershy?” he called from the top of the stars, before sweeping down to the first floor. “Are you still awake, dear?”

He looked around the small cottage, but there was no Fluttershy in sight. Various animals lay asleep in their cages, or just on a select place on the floor or furniture. He paused in his search as he stared amusedly at Angel Bunny, who was collapsed on the couch, his arms and legs spread as he lay on his back. His small, white belly was distended from overeating, and bits of carrot lay caught in his furry face and whiskers. A half-eaten carrot had rolled away from him, caught between the green cushions of the couch.

Little thief. Chuckling, he searched the house again, but still no Pegasus.

Growing worried, he teleported outside to her front yard. The chickens were secured in their pen, asleep in the hen house, and all other animals had retreated back in their homes, or had been left inside the cottage.

It’s unlike her to be out at night like this.

A picture of Tirek holding Fluttershy in his tight grasp flashed in Discord’s mind, but he shook it away. That had been only a dream. Discord did not need to give his dreams that much power. Now, he just needed to find his marefriend.

Taking up to the skies, he flew over the forest until he found himself above Ponyville, all the while scanning the ground in hopes of seeing Fluttershy. As each second went by, he found himself growing more anxious, not knowing where she was. Turning soft could do that to a Draconequus,

Nopony seemed to be up that night, for Discord didn’t see a living thing in the streets, no ponies outside of their homes. He flew a longer distance, nearing Sweet Apple Acres.

“So we just need to distract ‘im tomorrow until you’re ready, Fluttershy? I dunno if that’ll work. You know how he is.”

Discord’s ears immediately perked, not only at the mention of his marefriend’s name, but also at the voice. He knew that feminine voice with the charming southern twang.

Applejack!

He saw them from about half a mile away, and quietly lowered himself to the ground, hiding behind an apple tree, grateful for the convenience of finding them at Sweet Apple Acres, where it was easy to hide.

All of them are there! he marveled, staring at his friends from only a mere distance away, six ponies and one small dragon grouped together by the Apple family barn. He knew spying wasn’t exactly the thing a friend should do, but he couldn’t deny the small bit of hurt he felt at the base of his heart.

They met up without me! In the middle of the night, too. What on earth could they possibly have to discuss at this hour? Though he had no audience, his chest still puffed out, and his lips pouted, resembling an angry, overgrown child.

Even Fluttershy didn’t tell me!

“O’ course, I don’t mean any disrespect by that, he’s my friend too,” Applejack said quickly. “It’s just, well, he can be hard to distract. Not to mention, I’m not sure I’ll be able to do that. Feels kinda like lyin’ to me.”

“You don’t have to distract him, AJ,” Twilight said, her and Rarity’s horns aglow to provide them all with a little more light than the night offered. “Just one of us has to. You, Rarity and Pinkie Pie can’t, but I’m sure Rainbow Dash or me could do it.”

Twilight looked up at her friend, the only one of them in flight. “Think you could do it, Rainbow?”

“I dunno…” Rainbow Dash answered, tapping her chin in thought. “I guess I could. We could have a cloudball fight!”

“Then that’s settled,” Twilight concluded. “In the morning, Rainbow Dash can go to Fluttershy’s and distract Discord, while Fluttershy can go and meet Big Mac once they’ve left. The rest of us can stay in town and work on things there. He’ll never know a thing, if we’re careful.”

Discord froze behind the tree, shocked by Twilight’s words. Distract him? They had been talking about him this whole time? What did he need distracting…?

Wait…Big Mac?

He knew of that stallion, Applejack’s big brother. He was the big, burly red fellow, with the orange mane and short tail. A nice enough guy, Discord had reckoned. He was quiet and reserved, his only utterings usually a cheery “Eeyup” or “Nope”. They didn’t know each other well, but Discord had never had a reason to dislike him, and on occasion he had pondered over whether he could befriend him or not.

But…

Fluttershy is meeting with Big Mac in the morning? In… He gulped. In secret? Why, that sounds almost like…

Anger flared inside of him, a short, low growl escaping from his throat, his ears pinned downward against his head. His shoulders tensed as his hands flexed to knuckles, and he grit his teeth.

But it only lasted a moment, and Discord had to shake himself to relax. Wait, Discord. Wait a moment. This is Fluttershy we’re talking about. Fluttershy! The Element of Kindness! She may not be the Element of Honesty, or Loyalty, but I know her. She would never do this to me. Even if she did…

He looked at her from his hiding place. She sat on her haunches next to Spike and Twilight, and though she looked a mite worried, she wasn’t panicky or tense. That was a good sign.

Her conscience would never allow her to do such a thing. Not to me. Not to anypony.

He stood up a little straighter. “You have a lot of secrets you’re keeping from me, my dear…” he muttered, too low for anypony to hear. “What are you hiding…?”

“Oh, I hope it works,” Fluttershy said, a hoof on her heart. “If he finds out, well…It would ruin everything. And we’ve all worked just so hard on this. I mean, I was so happy to see him, of course…But we just needed a little more time before he arrived! And now you’re all inconvenienced because of me…”

“Don’t you fret your sweet little head, Fluttershy,” Rarity said, straightening some of Fluttershy’s hair away from her face. “We’ll figure it out; just because Discord came a little earlier doesn’t mean we need to put our dresses in a twist! You just worry about meeting up with Big Mac, and we’ll do the rest. Isn’t that right girls? Spike?”

They all answered with a resounding “Yeah!”, and the meeting seemed resolved. They said their goodbyes, and Fluttershy hugged them all, giving her thanks. She seemed much more relieved now than before.

Discord fought against his fears, his mind racing. Fluttershy wasn’t cheating on him; she wasn’t. She was better than that, and he knew it. Sure, she wasn’t immune to falling in love, and it was possible that she could fall for another stallion one day and leave him…

But she was too kind to cheat on him. No. She would never deceive him like that.

But it still bothered him, even as he flew back to the cottage. Her words, and the whole conversation in general, didn’t leave his mind. He was slightly ashamed of himself for thinking of Fluttershy doing such a thing, but he couldn’t help it.

And to be honest, he kind of wanted to find Big Mac and stare him down until he cracked and told him what was going on, and maybe pull a prank or two over him.

But it was late, and he wanted to get back to the cottage before Fluttershy did. He couldn’t risk her finding him gone, and possibly finding out that he had spied on her.

Just like she couldn’t seem to risk Discord finding out about her meeting with Big Mac.

Fluttershy yawned as she made her way to the front door of her cottage. What a night! It was a good thing she had run into Rainbow on her way into town. Dashie had helped her gather the others so they could meet by the barn, where nopony else could be bothered in their homes by the sound of their chatter.

The chicken coop had, in truth, been secured earlier that evening, along with all the animals fed and taken care of. She was free to go inside.

Careful to be quiet, as not to wake Discord, she went to her kitchen. Opening the fridge door, her gift for Discord tumbled out, along with the groceries she had hastily stuffed in with it. Rearranging the fridge now that it was no longer needed for a hiding place, she straightened everything back and then flew upstairs, her gift in her hooves. She entered her room, and put the soft fabric into the closet, on a rack at the top. Discord never went into her room without her permission, out of common courtesy; she didn’t have to worry about him finding it there.

She had seen Angel Bunny on her way in, passed out on the couch, and moved back towards her bedroom door to go back downstairs and retrieve him. He always slept with her on her bed, and she especially wanted him near in case he woke up with an illness, seeing as he had consumed too many carrots in one day for a single small rabbit like him.

Clicking the door open with a hoof, she swung it sideways to make her exit.

“Back home late, I see!”

“Oh!” She walked into Discord, who appeared the moment she had the door opened. “Discord! You’re…awake?”

“Last time I checked I was,” he replied, and leaned a claw against the wall beside her door. He lowered his eyes at her, pretending to be suspicious. “But that’s not the issue at hand here, is it? What took you so long, Flutterdear? Surely the chickens didn’t give you that much trouble? I could’ve helped, had I known they caused you such strife. You know how much I enjoy messing with the chickens!” He grinned at her.

“Oh, uh, yes…The chickens did take me longer than usual to gather together…” Fluttershy answered, eyes averting away from his gaze while she thought of what to say. “But I had a few other things to do, so that’s what took me so long.”

“Really?” He crossed his arms, and lowered his neck to be closer to her eye level. “What kind of things, pray tell?”

Her forehead was growing clammy from sweat, and she bit her lip. “Um, nothing very important. I just…needed to go into town for a minute.”

“This late at night? Whatever for?”

“To…return a book to Twilight!”

Discord tapped his chin. “I don’t remember you leaving with a book. Did you come back inside and retrieve it?”

“Y-yes. I did.”

“And it was so urgent that you had to take it back to Twilight in the black of night?”

“She…She needed it!” Fluttershy said, and squeezed past him and trotted at a fast pace down the stairs. “She needed it as soon as possible, for a spell.”

Discord followed her, floating behind her as she made her way to Angel. “And what would you be doing with a spellbook, Fluttershy? You’re a Pegasus, not a Unicorn. Certainly you wouldn’t have a use for such information? Unless, of course…”

He slithered passed her and then came back up to her level once he was in front. “You’re secretly a Unicorn now? Perhaps even an Alicorn Princess, like dear Twilight? Do you have a horn hidden underneath all that pink hair of yours?” He brushed a forelock of her hair, tucking it behind an ear.

“Oh, D-Discord…That’s silly,” she answered, pretending to find it humorous, and forcing a weak laugh. “I would make a terrible Unicorn, much less an Alicorn Princess…”

“I beg to differ, but that’s not the point. After all, if you have no magic, why…”

He grew closer to her, and she backed up, until she felt the wall against her flank.

“…Would you need a spellbook?”

“I…” Her mind scrambled for an answer, but nothing that made sense or seemed legitimate came to mind. “Um…”

Suddenly, Discord’s arms shot out, and his paw and claw rested against the wall. Fluttershy found herself standing on her back legs, her hooves resting on Discord for balance. He trapped her, though this caused her no real alarm—he would never hurt her—but it confused her.

“Dis—“

She was interrupted when Discord’s head suddenly jerked forward and she felt his lips clasp onto hers. Her eyes shot open in surprise, her pupils constricting in shock. But it only lasted for a moment. She couldn’t resist it. Relaxing, she circled his neck with her forelegs and kissed him back, leaning into him.

It felt wonderful; they hadn’t kissed in quite a while, so she welcomed it all the more.

Discord was the first to move and break it, a satisfied smile on his face as Fluttershy stood there in a daze.

“Like that, did you?”

She blushed. “Uh…Uh-huh…” she replied, nodding. “Um…”

“Well then!” He sprang up into the air, floating above her. “I really should be getting back to bed, and so should you, darling. You must be so tired, after dealing with all that pesky poultry and returning a spellbook that you couldn’t even use.”

She gulped, feeling guilty from all the lies. But hopefully, she would tell him the truth, soon enough. “Yes…I’m very….” A yawn then escaped her lips. “Tired…”

With a small chuckle, he scooped Fluttershy up in his arms while gently wrapping Angel in his tail, holding it still as not to wake the rabbit. He flew slowly up to the second floor, and entered her room.

He deposited the rabbit on the end of the bed and moved the covers.

“Y-you’re tucking me in?” Fluttershy squeaked, nervous at the situation. Discord didn’t come into her room often, and the thought of it made her tense.

He didn’t answer, fluffing a pillow with his paw, with Fluttershy in the crux of his eagle arm.

He gently lowered her onto the bed. She was quite nervous, but happy from his kiss and the gentle way he held her. She met his eyes, silently asking what he wanted her to do.

“Just lay down, sweetness. You need to rest if you’re to wake up early like you usually do. I’m sure you have a…very busy day tomorrow.”

She took no note of the pause in his speech, and instead lay on her back as Discord covered her with a sheet and blanket.

He lowered his head again, and this time Fluttershy knew what he was going for, and tilted her head slightly upward.

He kissed her lips, then again on the forehead. “Goodnight, my heart.”

Her eyelids lowered, heavy with fatigue. “Goodnight, Discord.

He smiled, and was about to leave when she spoke again.

“Discord?”

“Yes, Fluttershy?”

She clacked her hooves together. “About tomorrow…”

Ah, of course. She knew the significance of tomorrow as well. Discord had to keep himself from wincing. He had hoped she would have forgotten.

“What about tomorrow?”

“Well…Discord…Are you feeling okay?”

He blinked. “I’m fine,” he assured her, taking her hooves in his paw and claw. “I’m happy, I’m healthy…You know, for a crazy Draconequus, that is,” he joked.

She didn’t laugh. “Are you sure? Because…I think, maybe, you came back early for a different reason.”

“Oh?” He sat on the edge of her bed. “Missing you isn’t a good enough reason?”

“No, of course not.” She shook her head in disagreement. “But you know what tomorrow is, don’t you?”

“Ha,” he laughed bitterly, staring at the floor, refusing to look her in the eye. “How could I forget?”

He heard a rustling noise, and looked to find that Fluttershy had shifted to the other side of the bed. She patted the other side of it, looking straight at him.

He stared back, not quite sure what to think of this. Is she asking me to…?

“I….” Her face turned crimson. “I, um, d-don’t want you to have nightmares tonight, or have trouble sleeping because of tomorrow…so I thought, maybe…If I was with you…?”

He was stunned, both by her boldness and her insight on the situation. Sure, he had already suffered from a nightmare, but for her to be able to tell that it was bothering him…

Cautiously, he accepted her invitation and slipped under the covers, though he didn’t dare touch her. Instead, he let her come to him, slowly inching closer to him and laying her head against his chest.

“May I hold you, Fluttershy?” he dared to ask in a near whisper. He felt her nod her approval as she murmured a yes, and he cuddled himself against her, keeping her in his arms.

“It’ll be okay, Discord…” he heard her say as she started drifting off to sleep. “You have…nothing to be sad about…”

He watched her fall asleep, her breathing even and relaxed in slumber. Not only did he smile at her lovingly as he grew tired, but he chastised himself for his earlier foolishness.

I’m sorry, Fluttershy, he apologized to her in his head. I know you would never hurt me…I always knew that.

He kissed her forehead once more, before closing his eyes.

Though the curiosity of what she was really up to never left him, and he had no reason to trust Big Mac.

Unfortunately, he had the exact same nightmare again that night, this time without Luna flying in to help. Discord woke up with a start, his neck jerking up as he gasped.

He grunted. Again! he thought angrily, before noticing the warmth radiating from his side. Looking over, he noticed Fluttershy leaning against him, her soft breaths blowing against his coat, with a small quiet whistle at the end of each exhalation.

He sighed in relief, glad that he didn’t wake her, and disappointed that her presence did not stop the nightmares.

At least it ended before Tirek could…

He shuddered at the thought.

Rays of sunshine hit his face, and he realized that morning had arrived. “And so it begins,” he whispered to himself, images of a year ago entering his mind’s eye.

“Mmmm…?”

He turned to find Fluttershy walking up, amused that his whispers had stirred her instead of his abrupt awakening. The mare was always full of surprises.

She turned so that she lay on her stomach, planting her back hooves on the bed, with her forelegs stretching out in front of her face, yawning.

Discord tried stifling a laugh. She wakes like a dog or cat!

“Oh!” Her eyes finally laid on him, and he could see her mind catching up with recent events as she stared. “Discord…” She blushed, but smiled. “Good morning. Did you sleep well?”

“Quite pleasantly,” he lied, not wanting to disappoint her. “Seems like you were all I needed to put me at ease, Flutterdear.”

Her wings flapped in happiness, pleased with his response. “Oh, I’m so glad! I was worried…”

“There’s no need to worry, my heart. I can take care of myself.”

“I know. But when you love somepony…”

She never finished the sentence, as her eyes laid on the alarm clock on the nightstand. “Oh, oh dear!” she exclaimed, flying off the bed. “Discord! It’s eight in the morning!”

He frowned. He had wanted to know what she was going to say. Then, he remembered.

She needs to meet Big Mac this morning…

He wiped the disappointed expression on his face and relaxed, pretending to play it cool. “Oh? Is it, now?”

“Yes! Oh, I need to get going, or I’ll be late!” She started flying around, picking up a groggy Angel Bunny, placing him on the floor, and flying over to her dresser. Grabbing a brush, she rapidly ran it through her hair while looking out the window.

“At least it’s a nice day out! Thank goodness…Rainbow Dash had told me it would be nice, but you never know, sometimes. Oh, but I’m dawdling!” Practically throwing the brush to the floor, she opened the door. “I have time to have a quick breakfast with you, Discord, but then I really need to go.”

Lazily rolling off her bed, with an aloof look on his face, he floated downstairs beside her. “What’s the rush, Fluttershy?” he asked her, glancing her way. “You’ve just been a busy bee ever since I got here!”

A headband with bouncy antennae appeared on his head, a white flower tucked behind one of his ears. “I thought we’d get to spend the day together.” He put on a pout, as if he had no idea what was truly going on.

She stopped mid-flight and turned to him, making him stop in the air as well. “And we will, I promise!” she assured him, a worried look on her face. “Oh, Discord, I’m so sorry; I know you just got here. It’s just a few errands, I promise. I have to get…things for lunch today! And supplies! We’re going to have lunch with all our friends today, you see. I’ll only be gone a while, and…and then I’ll come back around afternoon, and we’ll head out together.”

He raised a bushy brow at her. “Really?”

“Yes!” She held his head with her front hooves and hugged his head. “I promise; today will be wonderful for you. For all of us. And you don’t need to dwell on the past—or anything negative—today. Okay...?”

A nuzzle from her. Rub rub, rubbity rub.

She was just too sweet, He desperately wanted to know what was going on, but he found himself nuzzling her back, a sigh escaping from him before he could stop himself. She was more calming to him than ice skating and hot chocolate.

Rubby rub rub, rubbity rub.

“I’ll try not to. It won’t be easy, but I’ll try,” he said, honest with his words now.

“It’ll get easier as the day goes on,” she assured him, and they headed to the kitchen. “And besides, guess what? Rainbow Dash told me she would come by while I was gone and keep you company! Isn’t that nice?”

“Oh, yes, nothing better than a babysitter to make my day!” he joked sarcastically, rolling his eyes. “She can keep little Discord busy while his mommy is out. Maybe she’ll even buy him a popsicle!”

A bonnet suddenly appeared on his head, a lollipop in his claw. He gave it an enthusiastic lick with a forked tongue, then crunched it and ate the entire thing at once, stick and all. He licked his lips as Fluttershy shook her head.

“You know I don’t mean it that way.”

With a snap and a serious look on his face, his bonnet disappeared. “I know, but still. I don’t need distracting…What did you think I was going to do, hmm? Spy on other ponies? Trick them? Because honestly that would be a good guess, but I wouldn’t cause trouble…At least, not that much.” He smirked, once again hinting to her that perhaps he knew a little more about the situation than he let on. In a way, he wanted her to figure it out. He wanted to tell her that he knew she was keeping something away from him—that he wanted to know what it was, and he wanted to know it now.

But he had to be patient with Fluttershy. Such an interrogation would only push her away, and he could never do that to her. So he shoved away his desire to question her, and behaved himself.

“I know you don’t. Rainbow Dash just wanted to spend some time with you, and have a cloudball fight.” She frowned. “Don’t you want to?”

“I never said I didn’t,” he answered back. “I just wanted to make sure this wasn’t some babysitting setup to watch over the Big Bad Draconequus.”

Okay, that may have been pushing it. He realized that. He knew that Fluttershy didn’t think him a bad guy. But he was still a bit hurt that she was lying to him, despite it all.

Why lie to me, love?, he asked her mentally. Why?

It was kind of lonely, and it reminded him of days gone by that he had rather not remember, especially today.

Her stare bored into his, serious but without anger. “It’s not.” She flew back over to him. “It’s not.”

“Okay, okay.” He rose paw and claw up to admit defeat. “I understand; I’m not being babysat! Good thing too, because I’m not sure Rainbow Dash has the temperament for such a task.”

“Oh, I’m not so sure about that…”

They continued having idle chat as they ate muffins on the couch. Spike had made them from Discord’s recipe. He had made them well, which pleased Discord, but even delicious muffins could not keep either Draconequus or Pegasus from their inner anxieties of the day ahead.

They were grateful for the knocking against the door.

“That must be Rainbow Dash!” Quick as a whip, Fluttershy zoomed to the front door and opened it as Rainbow raised a hoof for another knock. “Dashie!” she greeted her with Pinkie-like enthusiasm. “Good morning!”

“Hey, Fluttershy,” Rainbow greeted, unaffected by Fluttershy’s outlandish outburst. She could tell it was from nerves. Giving her a smile, she poked a head in and looked around. “Discord around? I figured we could head out, even though it’s…” she yawned. “…Freakishly early. I don’t know how you do it, Shy.”

“So you got yourself up early just to see your ol’ pal Cordy? Oh, I’m touched!”

The sky blue Pegasus turned around. “How many times are you gonna randomly teleport into conversations?” she asked, her brows furrowed. “It’s getting kind of old!”

He shrugged. “You can’t teach a new dog old tricks, I guess.”

“That doesn’t make any—“

“But enough about me, what about you, Dash?” He put a paw on her shoulder. “What compelled you to rise from bed so early in the morning? Did you really miss me that much? Awwww.”

He grabbed her, forcing her into a hug. “I missed you too, pal! Your brash and bold attitude is so endearing, I don’t know how I went so long without it! Especially with you insulting me every five minutes. Oh, yes. Quite missed that.”

Rolling her eyes with a smile, she gave him a quick squeeze around the torso and then pushed him off. “Yeah, whatever. I just got up early and couldn’t go back to sleep, okay?”

“Oh, yeah, sure,” he teased, though in his mind he took her words and analyzed them for any clues. “I’m sure you just rolled off your favorite sleeping cloud after dreaming of me and thought ‘Huh! You know what? I really wanna go see my handsome devil of a friend, Discord!’”

She barked in laughter. “Ha, fat chance, Patchwork! Why don’t you shut your yap and let’s get going then? Fluttershy’s gotta go anyway, don’t you, Shy?”

“I do,” she said, already placing her saddle on herself. “You came just in time. I’m about to go off and meet Big—“

She gasped and placed a hoof over her lips, while Rainbow Dash grit her teeth, shaking her head at her while trying to subtly point at Discord.

Discord’s heart nearly jumped up his windpipe and out of his throat. Don’t want to let out your secret now, do you?

“Meet Big? Who, pray tell, is Big?” He stretched his neck so that it went all around Fluttershy. “I thought, my dear, that you had errands to run. You said nothing about meeting anypony named ‘Big’.”

She gulped. How could you, Fluttershy? she reprimanded herself. This whole day was your idea, and you’re going to ruin it for everypony!

Rainbow Dash quickly tried covering for her. “She’s meeting up with, uh, Twilight!” she said, using the first pony that came to mind. As soon as it left her mouth, she knew it was a mistake.

It took all of Discord’s energy and resolves to not start laughing up a storm. He snorted, trying not to laugh. Pictures of an overweight purple Alicorn danced in his head. “Big Twi—“ He snickered. “Big Twilight? You call her that? Oh, that sounds real friendly!”

Fluttershy stared at Rainbow incredulously. She only shrugged back and whispered back, “I had to come up with something.” Discord was too busy trying to stifle giggles to hear her.

“We don’t mean big like that,” Fluttershy said. “We only meant…” She shared another look with Rainbow. “We meant…that she’s big, as in, she’s famous!”

Oh, this was rich. “Oh, I see!” Discord feigned understanding. “As in Twilight is…big stuff, eh?” It was getting harder and harder not to erupt in laughter. “Big Twilight, the Princess of Friendship, is that it?!?”

“Yes!” Fluttershy answered, thinking she had convinced him.

Finally, he began to calm down. “I’m guessing she needs to run some errands with you as well, then.”

Fluttershy nodded her head. “Right!”

“Well, then, be sure to tell her that her friend Cordy said ‘Hello, Big!’” He grinned, snickering, and Fluttershy only laughed half-heartedly, rubbing her foreleg.

“Um, yes. Of course, I’ll tell her. So, you two have fun, and I’ll see you later.”

“See ya, Flutters. C’mon, Discord.” Rainbow started heading for the skies, and Discord was quick to follow, waving goodbye to Fluttershy. “Don’t keep me waiting too long, darling Fluttershy!”

Fluttershy continued to wave goodbye until the two had disappeared out of sight. When she was sure they were gone, her whole entire body deflated, a long sigh escaping her. Angel Bunny hopped beside her, cramming some muffin into his mouth.

“Oh, that was close…” she muttered to him, petting him absentmindedly to help soothe her. “I’m surprised he hasn’t figured out anything yet. At least…I don’t think he has…”

The thought only made her more nervous, and that wasn’t going to get her anywhere, so she straightened back up. “I’ve got to go meet Big Mac and then help everypony in town; Angel, look after things while I’m gone, okay?”

He nodded. Fine. Bring me back some cake tonight!

She trotted away, smiling and shaking her head. “We’ll see, Angel…”

She looked into the direction where Rainbow Dash and Discord had gone.

“We’ll see.”

Discord did his best to convince Rainbow that the fluffiest, best clouds for their game could be found over Sweet Apple Acres. He was hoping that if he insisted enough on it, she would relent and allow them to go there just to get him to shut up.

He knew it was a long shot; after all, he knew she was in on Fluttershy’s secret.

Of course, he did it anyway, and she was relentless.

“I told you, Dipcord, I know where the best clouds are! I’m part of the weather team here, remember?” she said, scowling and shooting him a glare. “And I know for a fact that the best clouds are right over the Everfree forest! We pushed the fluffiest ones over there yesterday so we could have clear skies over town today.”

“I beg to differ, Rainbow Crash,” he replied, floating with his back to the ground, his arms behind his head for him to rest against. “You can push those clouds and break them up as much as you want, but that won’t stop them from moving. And judging from today’s wind, they’ll be heading in the direction of Applejack’s farm.”

Rainbow sighed. He wasn’t wrong. “Well, I didn’t have to work on the clouds this morning—I took the morning off so I could spend time with a stupid Draconequus—but I’m sure the team moved any wandering clouds back to the forest. Okay?!? Trust me, I know what I’m doing. Besides—“

She landed on a particularly fluffy, fat cloud, which jiggled to and fro as she stepped onto it. “These clouds are perfect!”

He couldn’t argue; the clouds over the forest today were practically giant blobs of cotton candy, perfect for their game. “Gah, I suppose so,” he said, defeated, as he fingered a tuft of the cloud. “I guess it doesn’t matter in the long run, anyway. I’ll still win, as I’m quite a natural when it comes to smashing your sorry face with cloudballs.”

His sneer at her was returned, followed by a critical laugh to his face. “As if! I dominated you last time. In fact, I predict that I’ll win again, and make it twice in a row!”

“Is that a bet, Dashie? You know how I love bets.”

They met nose-to-nose, glaring and smirking as they each argued over victory.

“You’re on, Patchwork! If I win, you have to clean the windows on my house for a week.”

Ugh, he hated doing windows. “Fine,” he allowed. “But if I win, you have to answer any questions I ask you for the rest of the day.”

She pulled back, confused. “What?”

“You heard me, Dashie.” He circled around her in an attempt to intimidate her. “Lately, I’ve been wondering a lot about what you and our friends are up to. I’ve a suspicion the seven of you are up to something, and I want to know what. And if I win…I plan on finding out, and you won’t be able to argue.”

“I—“ A single sweat drop slowly made a path down her forehead, and she bit her lip. “I don’t know what you’re talking about! We’re not up to anything! And even if you did win, and I had to answer your questions, you know that I could just lie to you! So it’s a stupid idea anyway.”

“Are you saying you have a reason to lie to me, Rainbow? Would all of you have a reason to? And it wouldn’t by any chance have anything to do with what today represents, would it?”

He stopped circling her. “Those are just a few of the questions I have, and I’ll accept nothing else. And if you don’t agree, then I think I’ll leave you to your own devices and head over to Sweet Apple Acres. Maybe have a chat with Big Mac. I’ve been meaning to try and befriend the fellow anyway.”

She gasped. “How did you--?!?”

He raised a claw to her lips. “Ah ah ah, Rainbow Dash. I’m going to be the one asking the questions, not you. So…”

He stuck out his lion’s paw. “Do we have a deal, or not?”

Rainbow Dash gulped, knowing what she had to do. She had no other choice.

She stuck her hoof into the palm of his paw. “Deal!”

They turned back-to-back, and settled at opposite ends of the cloud. They each starting grabbing tufts of the cloud, and molded and shaped it to their mind’s vision.

“You know…” Discord began, shaping a long rod of cloud into something resembling a column with the help of his magic. “I wouldn’t blame you if we played with handicaps this time…”

“Pfft!” Rainbow laughed, raking the cloud with both forelegs to gather up more of the ethereal substance. “Puh-lease! You think playing without using your magic will help me get an advantage? Get real, Dipcord! You wouldn’t have a chance against me if you didn’t have your magic! I can beat you, with and without!”

He only laughed back. “Huh! Fine then; you’ll be sorry!”

In only a matter of minutes, the forts were ready. Discord, always with an eye for detail and beauty, had built himself a cloud castle, with a high wall for him to battle behind and take cover, should he need it. Rainbow Dash was not so articulate, and had only built a large, domineering wall for herself. Both forts were about the same height and length, as was the rules of their game. Anything else didn’t matter.

“So the forts are set! Let’s hope you have enough strength in ya afterwards to summon up some tissues. You’re gonna need ‘em, since you’ll be cryin’ from a beatdown by Rainbow Dash!”

Discord only shook his head, as if she were a ridiculous filly. “Are meaningless words the only things that pour out of that colossal mouth of yours? Let’s just get started, shall we?” His eyes turned to red and yellow spirals, and his canines showed—his battle face.

Rainbow furrowed her brows with a smile and a determined sparkle in her eyes. “It’d be my pleasure.”

The game was essentially the same as a snowball fight, but cloud fluff was a lot trickier to deal with. A cloudball could be thrown in the same way as a snowball, but it traveled a shorter distance before it dissipated into thin air. The only way to hit an opponent was to get close, so they couldn’t just perch behind their forts and throw to the other side. In order to get hits, players had to run across the cloud towards the enemy side in hopes of clobbering the opponent. The winner was determined by who got to the other’s base first without being hit by a ball. However, if an opponent got close enough, the other player could backtrack to their own fort and take cover behind his or her fort wall, and hit the opponent before they reached the fort.

If a player got hit by a ball, they had to go back to their fort and make the way across all over again.

It was the kind of game that was usually more fun the more ponies there were to play. But in the case of Rainbow and Discord, they enjoyed going one-on-one. The banter that went on between them made it all the more exciting.

“On the count of three!” Rainbow said, behind her fort wall. “1...”

Discord set his knees apart, but pretended to be aloof. He flicked off a bit of cloud sticking out of one of his castle towers, evening the sides out.

“2…”

He made a spectacle of yawning and stretching his arms.

“3!”

The game started slow, with each eying the other down, waiting to see who would be the first to leave the safety of the fort.

Rainbow made a sudden step to the side, causing Discord to mimic her before she moved back in. Then Discord made a sudden jump, and Rainbow jumped in the air as well, a cloudball in her hooves.

They teased each other for a few minutes before Rainbow had had enough. She blasted straight up to the sky like an arrow, then forward, heading straight for his nimbus castle.

Discord jumped out from behind his wall and flew upwards to meet her head on.

As he got closer, fifteen perfectly formed cloudballs, surrounded in a coat of purple chaotic magic, levitated out of the cloud. Discord shot his hand out towards Rainbow’s direction, and the balls followed suit, zooming towards her.

She dodged the first five that were aimed for her side, then did an aerial backflip to avoid the ones nearing her face. The remaining balls whooshed right past her, making her hair fly back in the breeze.

Discord had seen the two cloudballs curled in Rainbow’s tail as she backflipped, and moved quickly when she flung them towards him with a speed that only Rainbow Dash could pitch. Just when he thought he was safe, Rainbow produced another ball right out of her tousled mane, and tried aiming it towards his back as she zoomed past him.

He circled back around, avoiding the ball, and rocketed towards her, flames bursting from his back legs. It allowed him to speed up and catch up to her, and he hit her back with a cloudball before she could reach the fort.

“Aw, great…!” she griped, and turned back around to head back to the fort. This gave Discord a chance to replenish his cloudball supply and make his way towards her fort, so he summoned more balls and blasted towards the other side of the cloud before Rainbow could make it back to her fort.

“You’re going to make this too easy, Dashie!” he called.

Seeing him gain upon her fort, Rainbow stepped it up a notch in speed, leaving an intense rainbow in her wake as she flew with all her strength. She managed to crash to the ground before the Draconequus could make his way there, and made another two balls with both her hooves and tail.

Peeking from the fort, she saw he was only about five feet away. She threw both balls his direction with all her might, while at the same time making a stack of them with the dexterity of her tail.

Discord slowed a bit as he dodged both projectiles, laughing and getting cocky.

“Take this, slowpoke!”

Using her tail as a sling, she shot five balls straight into his face, making him fall to the surface of the cloud.

“Haha!” She stuck her tongue out at him, and started running towards the other side as he composed himself.

He couldn’t lose time, so he got to his feet and made three giant leaps back to the fort, a feat only he could only do with magic. He only stayed behind his fort wall for a second, then jumped back towards Rainbow Dash.

Then it became an all-out war. Eventually the two stopped running towards the forts and just focused on trying to get each other out of the field. Balls were thrown to and fro, both players zig-zagging out of the way to stay clear of the flying pieces of cloud. They were blue-rainbow and gray-brown blurs in the wind.

“Give it up, Rainbow Dash! You’ll only embarrass yourself!”

“Never!”

“I wonder what the Wonderbolts would say about this? They probably would have destroyed me by now!”

“Oh yeah?!?”

“Yeah!”

“Well...” She paused only in speech, still whipping freshly made balls made by her tail and throwing them towards Discord’s blurry figure, trying to think of a comeback.

“Oh, what’s wrong, Rainbow?” he asked her jokingly, dodging a slew of cloudballs by hugging close to the cloud and throwing a giant one her way. “Am I being too rough on you? I wouldn’t want to make you cry!”

She scowled at him. “ Make me cry? Who do you think I am!?” Angrily, she crunched a ball together with her hooves. “Fluttershy?!?”

Suddenly, Discord froze. Memories played in his mind as clearly and vividly as a movie reel.

“Why are you doing this? I thought we were friends…!”

“Oh, but we were! But Tirek offered me so much more than just tea parties. Surely you saw this coming?”

”I didn’t! I really didn’t…”

Without even noticing it at first, Discord was pelted with a dozen cloudballs. He was completely covered in fluff. Rainbow zipped past him, and got to his fort.

He didn’t even flinch. As he landed against his back from the torrent of projectiles, he could only stare at the sky. His mind was blank, but a sour, sick feeling took place in his stomach. Guilt overwhelmed him.

“Aw yeah!” Rainbow raised her hoofs in the air ecstatically as she landed behind the wall of Discord’s cloudy castle. “I won! Oh, oh yeah! Go Rainbow! Oh yeah! Go Dash! Go Rainbow Dash!”

She rose back up in the air and landed her eyes on Discord. “Ha!” She pointed a hoof at him, flying to him. “You lose, and now you have to clean all of my windows for a whooooole week! But don’t worry, I’ll be sure to get you lots of Whinnydex, and then—“

She stopped taunting him, and pulled back in surprise at the horrified, frozen look on Discord’s face as he lay there motionless.

“Um, Discord?”

Nothing.

She inched closer. “Patchwork?”

Landing on the ground, she peered at him, her head over his face. “Yo, dude! Earth to Discord!” She waved a hoof over his eyes, hoping to get him out of whatever weird trance he was in. “”Snap out of it! C’mon, what’s wrong with you? I couldn’t have hit you that hard, could I? They’re made of cloud, for Celestia’s sake!”

He didn’t even blink.

“Discord! You’re freaking me out! Discord!”

Her screaming finally got him back to his senses, and his eyes met hers. “Huh…? Oh. I’m sorry, dear. Were you saying something?”

She gaped at him. Now she was really worried. He was speaking way too politely to her now, even calling her ‘dear’. That didn’t fit the kind of friendship they shared.

“Discord, what’s wrong with you?!?”

He made a motion to sit up, and she backed out of his way so he could. Rubbing his head, he sighed. “Nothing’s wrong, my little pony. I just…lost it for a moment, I suppose.”

“Lost it? Lost it! Discord, you completely blanked out! You had me worried!”

Normally, he would’ve given her a satisfied grin and made a joke of her showing compassion for him, but he was too taken aback by the memories and the day to do so.

“No need to, Rainbow. I’m fine.” He stood up and dusted the fluff off of him.

Rainbow flew back up to his face. “Okay, dude. I may not be the best at dealing with emotional stuff, but I can still tell that you aren’t ‘fine’. What is up with you today? Is it…”

She looked away for a moment, unable to meet his gaze. “Is it because today’s…?”

He sighed. So she knows it too.

“I hate to be rude, Rainbow Dash, but I think I’ll be going now. I’ll see you later, I’m certain.”

He descended from the clouds, but Rainbow didn’t leave him alone and followed.

“Wait! Discord. Don’t go. C’mon, we only played one game!”

He huffed at her. “Shouldn’t you be happy? You beat me. Massacred me, even. I think that’s enough embarrassment for one day.”

“But…But…”

“But nothing!” He turned back to her, suddenly angry. “Just…Just leave me be, why don’t you?!? Go, talk to your friends, and keep your secrets! See if I care! All I’m good for is deceiving everypony! After all, it’s apparent that you and everypony else remember my horrible betrayal from exactly a year ago, today. So why should all of you need to tell me what you’re up to? I don’t care! Fluttershy can talk to Big Mac all she wants, and meet with you in secret every single night for the rest of my days! It doesn’t matter!”

“Wait, Disc—“

But before she could even finish his name, he disappeared.

Uh-oh.

Everything was ready.

All of the food and goodies, made by Pinkie Pie and Applejack, were finished and ready to be served. Rarity had wrapped all of the gifts from the town in the finest gift wrap and ribbon Spike brought out to her, and stacked them up in a pyramid that even a pharaoh would admire. The decorations Pinkie Pie got for the celebration were all set up in the town square.

Fluttershy stood beside Twilight Sparkle, overlooking the checklist Twilight had made.

“Looks like the only thing left is getting the key from Big Mac. Did he have it for you?” Twilight asked her friend, levitating a quill in the air.

“Oh, yes,” Fluttershy answered happily, giving a joyful flap of her wings. “He made sure his friend Key Lime had it made and delivered to him on time. He had it for me this morning.”

“Good!” She made a swift check on her list. “Then let’s just do a quick look-through of everything and then you can go—“

“Fluttershy! Twilight! Everypony! We got problems!”

In whooshed Rainbow Dash, landing straight in front of the two while the rest of the town looked at her.

“Problems? Oh no…What’s wrong?” Fluttershy asked concerned, suddenly nervous. “What happ—“

She stopped herself, realizing that a certain somedraconequus wasn’t with her. “Wait…Why aren’t you with Discord?”

She looked around her friend, trying to catch Discord, wherever he was.

“He disappeared! One second we were having a cloudball fight, and everything was fine, but then he froze up and then totally freaked, and vanished. But that’s not even the worst part…”

Spike and the rest of the gang gathered around her, listening to her story. “Whoa, whoa, whoa—hold it right there, sugarcube. What happened, exactly?” Applejack asked.

“There’s no time to tell the whole thing,” Rainbow said. “The point is, Discord’s missing, and he knows we’ve been keeping secrets from him, and he’s super mad about it.”

Pinkie sprung up, gasping. “Oh no! Without Discord, there’s no use to having a party. and if there’s no use to having a party then all these happytastic balloons and superlicious cupcakes will go to waste and if that happens then nopony will smile and Discord won’t smile and no smiling means frowning and frowning means sadness and Discord was probably already sad because of today and—“

Rarity covered Pinkie’s mouth with a hoof. “Breathe, darling! The party shall go on, I’m sure of it. We just need to find him. Fluttershy, have you any idea of where Discord may be?”

“I don’t know! Oh, poor Discord! I should have known not to leave him alone today.” She covered her eyes with her hooves, trying not to cry. “I thought that maybe he was hinting that he knew something was going on yesterday, but I didn’t think this would happen. I was hoping he wouldn’t catch on. Oh, Discord…”

Twilight put a reassuring hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder. “It’s not your fault, Fluttershy. It’s nopony’s fault. We’ll find him. We found him the last time he flew off in an angry mood, didn’t we?” She smiled at her. “And that didn’t end up so bad, did it?”

A small smile graced Fluttershy’s face, and she wiped away the few tears hanging to her long lashes. “No, it didn’t. You’re right, Twilight, thank you.” She hugged her friend. “Let’s find him.”

Big Mac whistled as he trotted happily down the trail that went through the countryside of Ponyville, free from a cart full of apples for once.

Not much apple bucking had needed to be done that morning, and nopony ordered apples that day because of the upcoming surprise celebration for Discord. He was grateful that he had a bit of free time for himself before he had to go over to town square. Fluttershy had invited him to accompany her there after retrieving the key from him, but he had politely refused. As much as he liked spending time with friends, he was an ambivert, and liked to spend time taking walks in the quiet by himself when he could. He was going to go to the party for the rest of the day anyway, and Fluttershy didn’t seem to mind his refusal.

He took the time to admire the beautiful land that surrounded him. Colorful wildflowers covered the fields and hills, with the occasional tree or two dotting the terrain.

Everything looked normal, except for the one tree that seemed to sprout both a goat leg and a dragon leg from a branch.

Wait a minute.

He did a double take at the tree, eyes wide.

“Huh?”

Walking off the path and making his way to the trunk of the tree, he stared at the legs. He knew whose legs they were.

“Discord?”

The legs seemed to stiffen, and the Draconequus leaned down from the branch, looking at the pony upside down.

“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me.”

The draft pony cocked his head, not quite getting what Discord was saying. “Huh?”

“Out of all the ponies to find me—It could have been any other pony, I don’t care which—it had to be you. Well, what do you want? Fluttershy isn’t here, if that’s what you were hoping for. I trust her, but that doesn’t mean I trust you!”

He flicked a claw at his snout. “What do you want with my mare, hmm? You want her all for yourself, don’t you? Fluttershy and my friends aren’t the only ones with secrets around here, after all.”

Big Mac only blinked at him. What on earth was he talking about?

Discord groaned, jumping off the branch and landing on his mismatched feet, rubbing his forehead. “Are you mute? Say something already!”

“Uh…”

Discord winced in anger. “Ugh, okay. You enjoy answering yes or no questions, don’t you? Fine, I’ll play along. But just so you know, I’m quite aware that you met Fluttershy in secret this morning, so don’t even bother trying to lie about that, got it?”

Swallowing, he nodded. “Eeyup.”

“Good. Now we’re talking—literally and figuratively! So, I’ll cut to the chase: do you love her? Do you love Fluttershy?”

Oh. Oh. That’s what he was worried about?

Calming down, Big Mac confidently shook his head. “Nope!”

Discord gave him the stink eye. “Oh really? And you’re telling me the truth?”

“Eeyup!”

“Truly?”

“Eeyup.”

“You’re not lying to me.”

“Nope.”

“Hmm.” Discord stroked his beard, still glaring at him. “I’m not sure I believe you. Fluttershy’s a pretty little thing—one any stallion would be lucky to have. And you both have a lot in common. You’re both quiet, somewhat reserved, passionate about what you do. She’s more fragile than you are, and she says more than one syllable at a time, but you’re similar enough. Are you quite certain you don’t have any unrequited feelings for her?”

Big Mac grew more uncomfortable at his gaze. “N-Nope! Nope nope nope, no way.” As big as he was, he still seemed to shrink as he spoke with the Draconequus. “We’re jus’ friends, I swear.”

“The pony speaks!” He clapped both hands and sparks appeared out of nowhere. “The stallion knows more than two words of our language! Huzzah!”

With confetti getting all over his hair, Mac shook his mane and decided he had had enough and glared at the Draconequus. He had almost forgotten that this creature was reformed now. Mac had gotten intimidated by him for nothing.

That, and Fluttershy was Mac’s friend, too. Discord couldn’t lay a finger on him.

Boldly, he snorted at Discord pointedly, stomping a hoof to the ground. “Cut it out.”

The mocking expression on Discord’s face was replaced with one of suspicion and slight intrigue. He snapped his fingers, and the sparks stopped.

“Getting cocky now, are we?”

Big Mac snorted again. “You got everything all wrong—getting’ upset for no reason. And I talk this way ‘cause I don’t need to say much. I don’t like runnin’ my mouth when I don’t need to. Not like somepony I know.”

Discord’s fang gleamed in the sunlight. “Was that an insult towards me, the Master of Chaos?”

“Ya mean the one that’s wrapped around Fluttershy’s hoof all the time? Eeyup.”

Big Mac smirked at him. He actually smirked.

“Why you insolent little…!”

With a knowing smile that Discord seemed to miss in all his anger, Big Mac turned and ran back the way he came, towards the path, back to the farm.

From there, he would head to the square.

Discord raced after him, the anger a good channel for him. It helped him forget everything he had been worried about before. Tirek, Fluttershy’s secrets, that horrible empty feeling he sometimes felt when he wasn’t included in things—all that was shoved to the back of his mind in anger.

And so began the chase.

Discord enjoyed the distraction. He hadn’t felt this angry in ages, and anger was better than anything else he had felt that day. So, instead of doing it the easy way and using magic to thwart the pony, he allowed the chase to continue, letting the stallion always be just out of reach.

But he had to admit; for a big guy, Mac was fast. So fast that Big Mac didn’t even notice the group of ponies that were just ahead of him, and he crashed into the yellow one leading them all before he could stop himself.

“W-wait, Big Mac…!”

“Huh?” A gasp. “Woah!”

Crash!

Discord, who had been flying low to the ground behind Mac, managed to dig all four of his limbs to the ground, skidding to a screeching halt before he could add to the mangle of ponies in front of him.

Before the Draconequus could even process what was happening, Spike and the rest of the Mane Six rushed to the aid of the ponies.

“Fluttershy! Big Mac! Are y’all alright?!” Applejack asked worriedly as she tried to help her brother sit on his haunches while Twilight did the same with Fluttershy. “We didn’t even see ya comin’ ‘til it was too late! You were flyin’ like an apple-crazed bat outta Everfree!”

“I see stars…” Fluttershy said, her head slowly rotating as her eyes stared into nowhere. “Oh dear, so dizzy…”

“Stars?!? How can you see stars?! It’s stll the middle of the day, silly! Oh, and look! We found Discord!” Pinkie giggled. “It’s like a game of hide-and-seek, kinda! We found you!”

Though Pinkie’s odd observations usually intrigued him, Discord could only rush to Fluttershy's side in a panic. “Fluttershy, are you alright?”

He whipped his head to Big Mac. “Why don’t you watch where you’re going, buddy?!?”

Mac shook himself back to his senses. “It—“

“It was an accident, Discord!” Applejack answered for him. “Like I said, we didn’t even see him comin’, so it was nopony’s fault.”

“Yeah, take a chill pill, dude!” Rainbow said, bonking Discord on the head. “And she’s only here because we all had to stop what we were doing to look for you. Again.”

“It is quite an inconvenience when you run off without at least telling us where you’re going, Discord,” Rarity admonished, giving him an unhappy look. “Not to mention, it just isn’t proper.”

“Wha…? Now you’re all ganging up on Discord, huh? Of course, today of all days would be the time to do that, wouldn’t it?”

He snapped his fingers, and soon all the ponies, minus Fluttershy, were dressed in matching leather jackets and fedoras. He snickered at the sight. The mirth was erased, however, at the feel of a gentle hoof laid against his lion arm.

“Discord…”

He looked down at Fluttershy. She immediately latched herself onto him, clearly upset. “Discord! Oh, I’m so glad Mac found you!”

“Found me? You’re not telling me he was looking for me, was he?” He glared again at him.

“I—“

“He wasn’t lookin’ for anything!” Applejack said. “He didn’t even know what was goin’ on. He was just takin’ his daily walk before he came back to town, weren’t ya, Big Mac?”

He nodded. “Eeyup.”

“Well, you know who doesn’t know what’s going on?” Discord said, raising himself back up after Fluttershy let of him. “Me. I know you are all keeping something from me.” He pointed an accusatory claw at all of them. “Especially you, my dear.” He looked at Fluttershy. “I have to say, I don’t like all these secrets you’ve been so hush-hush about. You didn’t see Twilight last night to return a book, and you didn’t run errands this morning; I know that for a fact.”

A horrified look took over her face, but Discord stopped her before she could utter a word.

“I know you saw Big Mac this morning, and I know you met with all our friends last night. In secret. Without me.”

His ears drooped, and his anger melted into sadness and disappointment. “Why have you been lying to me?”

His eyes swept across the group, looking each of them in the eye.

“Why have all of you been keeping secrets? I can see why you didn’t like it when I did so; it’s annoying, among friends.”

He gently laid his paw atop Fluttershy’s head. “Especially with those who are a bit more so.”

Fluttershy looked as if she were about to cry. His pained expression crushed her, even though she had a good reason.

“Wait, Discord.”

He turned his head to the Alicorn Princess, and was surprised to see a smile on her face.

“You should come with us before you make everypony feel bad about themselves and make a few wrong conclusions.”

She saw his protest coming, so she shut his mouth with a hoof. “Just do it, Discord. I promise we’ll tell you everything. It’s time for you to find out, anyway. It’s almost time.”

She winked at Fluttershy. “Isn’t it, Shy?”

Her horn glowed, and a clock appeared in front of the yellow Pegasus. She snapped out of her sadness as she looked at it and gasped.

“Oh my goodness, you’re right! Oh, Big Mac, you really did find Discord in time, thank you!” she said to him, and flew in the air, hooking Discords’ arm around her foreleg.

“Discord, we need to go, or we’ll be late!”

The Draconequus blinked. “Late? Whatever for?” He slit his eyes. “Don’t tell me you’re still talking about having lunch with everypony, are you? Because I’m pretty sure—“

He felt a shove on his back, and turned to find Pinkie pushing him farther up the path.

“Go go go, mister! We have a super special secret to tell you!!!”

He rolled his eyes. “Sheesh, fine, fine. Take me away then.”

He looked back at Fluttershy as he kicked off the ground to glide in tandem with her. “But I demand answers.”

“And you’ll get them, I promise.”

She squeezed his arm.

I just hope you like it.

The town seemed barren. Nopony was around.

It was so empty that a tumbleweed bounced along the square, the only sound that of the rushing wind. It only seemed to increase the silence that surrounded the small group.

Discord was so confused by the lack of hubbub that he looked to the sky to make sure the sun was still up.

Odd.

Pinkie’s hopping increased two-fold as they stood in the midst of the town. “It’s time! It’s time! It’s time!” It was hard for her not to reveal anything to Discord, but nothing could stop her excited grin and twitching tail.

“Time for what?” Discord asked. “Where is everypony? Was there a fire? A hurricane?” He stroked his beard. “A tornado? Ooh, I do love a good tornado. I like to lasso them up like a cowboy and ride them into the sunset.”

Wait. That thought was ruining his look of discontentment. He shook his head. “Not that it would have pleased me…Seeing as my friends are being so mysterious around me.”

He crossed his arms. “Not even a good tornado could lift my spirits, I’m so unhappy.”

Fluttershy bit her lip, but the others just rolled their eyes with smiles. Twilight touched Discord’s shoulder, then flew over to the front of the town hall that sat right in the middle of the square.

“Why don’t you just come here, Discord. It’s time for you to find out.”

“Find out about what? Twilight, mystery really doesn’t become you!” Discord turned to all of them. “It doesn’t for any of you! Tell me, or I swear to you, I’ll die!”

A sudden poof revealed him on a hospital bed, his tongue lolling out as if he were on his death bed.

Twilght nodded to Fluttershy. “I think you should do the honors. Don’t you agree, everypony?”

All of them nodded, even Pinkie Pie.

Fluttershy finally smiled genuinely, and flit over to the very top of town hall. Discord followed her every move, and as she hovered to the building, he noticed a giant roll of parchment that seemed to be attached to the top wall of the hall.

“What is—“

Fluttershy made a swift movement, and the parchment unrolled.

Ooh, a banner?

His eyes scanned the bubble words written across it, each letter a different color and pattern that clashed with one another.

Merry Choasmas!

“Merry....?”

“SURPRISE!!!!”

The force of the shouts caught him off guard and he flew backward as the entire town emerged from various hiding places. Pegasi flew out from scattered clouds or open windows. Earth Ponies and Unicorns jumped out of doors, walked out of bushes and plants, or slid out from behind buildings.

Twilight’s and Rarity’s horns glowed along with every other Unicorn’s, and a stage suddenly appeared from under the banner.

Fluttershy flew back to his side, as the rest of his friends looked to him to see his reaction.

“What...What is happening?” His neck flexed down to look at Fluttershy. “Fluttershy, what’s going on? Why are all these ponies…Why do they look so happy to see us? What in the world does ‘Merry Chaosmas’ mean? Does it have anything to do with…But it couldn’t, could it? But it has the word ‘chaos’ in it.”

He took her by the shoulders. “What’s going on?!?”

“Ooh, ooh, let me! Let me!” Pinkie hopped, holding up a hoof! “Fluttershy, please?!?!? Can I tell him, please?!?!?”

Fluttershy giggled, and nodded. “Sure, Pinkie. I thought you would.”

“It was all Fluttershy’s idea!” she shouted in Discord’s face, hopping around in tight, happy circles. “She went to Princess Celestia, and she told her that it would be a great idea to cheer you up if we had a celebration all for you! She made a superstition and everything!”

Twilight laughed. “Pinkie, I think you mean petition.”

“Yeah, that’s what I said, isn’t it? Anyways, she made a petition, and the whole town decided that a celebration was great, but we should make it a new holiday of chaos! It would be a great idea! And we decided to make it today, since this is the one-year anniversary of the day you really did stop being such a meanie mean-pants, and you helped saved the day and helped Twilight get her key and her castle and her throne, and you made amends with Fluttershy, and according to Fluttershy that’s the day she actually fell in love with you—“

Discord blushed at this as the torrent of information crashed into his brain, trying to process this. A holiday? For him? Because of what happened with Tirek?

A surprise party for an ex-traitor?

Fluttershy fell for him then?

Fluttershy blushed harder than him, letting out a high-pitched “eek!” and covering her face with her hair and hooves. She knew Pinkie would probably tell Discord everything, but not that much.

“—And so Celestia granted Fluttershy’s wish, and made it a new national holiday in your honor, and guess what?!?!? I came up with the name! Nopony else could think of anything good, and Fluttershy thought I would be able to think of something since I’m so good at celebrations and holidays, and of course I was so flattered, but I immediately thought “chaosmas” sounded great! I don’t know what the ‘mas’ part means, but I thought it would sound really really good!!!”

She hopped right into his face, smooshing her nose against his.

“Do you love it?!? There’s balloons and cupcakes and music and cupcakes and confetti and cupcakes and presents and cupcakes and friends here just to see you—and cupcakes!!!”

Suddenly, Discord’s throat went tight, and he couldn’t say a word.

This was the secret they had all been hiding? A surprise party? No.

A surprise holiday?

Once again, Rarity reminded Pinkie to breathe. “Why don’t you go eat a cupcake, dearie? Discord needs some time to process all of this, I believe.”

Giggling, Pinkie backed up from Discord. “Okay! Spike, come eat some with me!”

“Ha, alright!” He ran off with the party pony to a table full of goodies while Rarity turned back at Discord with a wink.

“She didn’t forget to mention this was all Fluttershy’s idea, did she not?”

“But we all backed her up, a hundred percent!” Rainbow Dash added, nudging Fluttershy happily as her friend continued to blush. “We all thought it was a great idea. But Shy here wanted to keep it a secret from ya, and surprise you. That’s what we’ve all been keeping from you.”

“And Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Princess Cadence should all be here soon to celebrate with us,” Twilight told him.

“Actually, they’re already here. Look!” Applejack pointed to the sky, and true to her word, all three princesses emerged from the sky, and landed gracefully to the ground.

All the ponies began to gather around the stage platform. The three princesses gathered to the side, while the Ponyville Mayor made her way to the microphone in the center of the stage.

“Fillies and gentlecolts,” she began. “I am beyond honored to open today’s celebrations. Never have I been more proud to be the mayor of our humble town, with the most loving and understanding citizens I have ever met in all my years in Equestria.”

“Today is the beginning of a new tradition…A new holiday that not only celebrates the balance between harmony—“

She pointed a hoof at the Princesses, Twilight now standing among them.

“—and chaos, but also honors the one creature that makes that balance happen. His heart was once made of stone, but has now been reformed into a heart full of love and friendship, a heart we all know and love ourselves. A year ago, he made a mistake; a mistake that still plagues him to this day.”

“However, he seems to forget one thing. It was he who guided the Elements of Harmony into solving the mystery of the Tree of Harmony, only by marking the dog-eared pages of a journal. It was he who repented and presented Twilight Sparkle with the key to her element, allowing them to blow Tirek away from his tyranny and back into his prison. It was he who helped all of Equestria get magic back.”

“Yes, he teamed up with Tirek. Yes, he helped him suck the magic out of everypony…”

Discord lowered his head, and closed his eyes in shame. What kind of holiday was this? The speech had flattered him in the beginning, but now he only had a heavy heart at the memories of last year.

“But I know one shy, beloved little pony who bravely wishes to speak to you all, though it isn’t the most comfortable thing for her to do. Fluttershy?”

Discord’s eyes shot up. He hadn’t even noticed Fluttershy making her way up to the stage.

Fluttershy? You?!? You’re going to talk to everypony?!? About me?

She took the microphone. She was trembling, but Twilight, with Spike on her back, walked to her and stood beside her, lending her their support. She took a deep breath, and faced the town.

“Not so long ago, Princess Celestia came to me for a request.”

Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and a cupcake-filled Pinkie Pie stood next to Discord on both sides, each with a hoof against Discord’s back. Rarity nudged him.

“Fluttershy worked so hard on this, you know; she wrote this speech herself, too.”

The knot at Discord’s throat only tightened as a gooey, pleasant warmth overtook him.

“She asked me to reform a creature that had been imprisoned in stone for a second time, a punishment that my friends and I put him in. I wasn’t sure I could do it—I wasn’t sure I was good enough. I never thought I was somepony special. I was always reminded I was the Element of Kindness, but I didn’t think much of it. I still wasn’t sure of myself. But Princess Celestia put her faith in me, so I decided to put faith in myself too. And suddenly, I knew what to do.”

“I won’t go into the whole story…It’s long and complicated, with angry beavers and ice-skating and an upside-down cottage.”

The crowd laughed, and even Discord smiled a bit. What a day that had been. It hadn’t seemed so long ago.

“But the important part is that I befriended this creature—a creature I realized had been misunderstood, and only wanted to share his powers with those who could appreciate it. He was chaotic, and he was quick to feel and act on his own whims, but once I took the time to know him, I knew he was good.”

She locked eyes with him, and Discord felt butterflies in his stomach. The warmth increased ten-fold.

“Discord is good.”

“He was misunderstood and lonely, and he wasn’t used to having friends. He didn’t know how to trust anypony, and he didn’t know how to reach out to others and try to understand other points of view. But…But how could he? How could he try to understand, when nopony had ever tried to look at things from his perspective? I tried, and sometimes I struggled with it. But I tried, and I found out I loved his company. I loved his friendship. I…”

She gulped, blushing. “I grew to cherish him more and more as the days went by. But…he didn’t know that. I never told him. I didn’t see him as much as I wanted to. But I didn’t try very hard to see him, either. We wrote letters, but that wasn’t enough.”

“And because he had been so lonely for so long, and because nopony understood him or tried to meet his own needs for love…How could he know that my friendship was true? How could he know that my other friends really wanted him around? How could we all understand one another? How could we let Discord be himself, when he couldn’t even use his powers?”

“And that’s why, a year ago, he helped Tirek. He wanted friendship, but he wanted chaos too—because it’s his job to spread chaos. But nopony would let him be a friend and be chaos at the same time without judging him. Tirek offered what he wanted, and pretended to understand him, and twisted Discord’s thinking. And so Discord made a mistake.”

“Everypony makes mistakes.”

More ponies turned to Discord, who stood towards the back of the crowd.

He had been among many crowds of ponies before. But in those times, they had all been threatening to hurt him, to prod him with their pitchforks and shovels, to turn him into stone.

This time though…They smiled at him. Compassion showed in each pony’s eyes.

They accepted him.

“What is happening…?” he whispered.

“You’re making more friends, darling,” Rarity whispered. “You’re being accepted into Ponyville.”

“’Cause, well, you’re actually kinda cool, for a messed-up chimera thing,” Rainbow added.

“She means that in a good way, Sugarcube. That’s about as much outta her as you’ll ever get in the way of compliments.”

“Hey!”

He chuckled half-heartedly at AJ and Rainbow, and gave a smile of appreciation to Rarity. Quickly though, he turned his attention back to Fluttershy—always to Fluttershy.

Fluttershy took another deep breath and continued. “But Discord righted his wrong, and he has shown to everypony that he’s a sweetheart. He may have made a wrong choice a few times, but who doesn’t? He’s only pony. He just looks a little different.”

“He helped save the day in the end, and learned what true friendship is. My friends finally accepted him and became his true friends. They learned to love each other, and I learned…that I already knew what he already was: a Draconequus that loved chaos and magic, but craved for love and friendship too. He told me that I was worth more than I thought, and I learned that there was so much more to chaos than I imagined. Discord is more than good, and so is his chaos. Chaos has its place in the world, just like harmony does. And only Discord can show us that. He can show us the good in chaos.”

At the end of the speech, Fluttershy’s shyness returned, and she hid behind her hair. “Th-thank you. P-Princess Celestia?”

The Princess walked to the microphone, but not before lifting Fluttershy’s chin.

“That was beautiful, Fluttershy. I’m so proud of you.”

The Pegasus blushed again, and smiled. “I just…wanted…to make Discord happy.”

“You already have, my beautiful Fluttershy.”

There was a hitch in his voice, but that was all. Fluttershy blushed, noticing that Discord had made his way to the front of the crowd, standing in front of the stage. Fluttershy stood at the edge of the stage, so it was easy for him to reach for her, pull her off the stage, and embrace her against his chest, right in front of the crowd

He tightly had his arms around her, his head buried in her hair.

“You’ve made me happier than you’ll ever know.”

He tried to ignore the gushing, ‘awww’ing noises of the ponies around him as Fluttershy hugged him back. He didn’t like showing affection to her publicly, but he figured she deserved it. She had just made a speech for him in front of all of Ponyville, after all.

“Discord.”

He lifted his head out of Fluttershy’s hair and loosened his arms around her a bit, and looked up at Celestia.

“Could you please step up on the stage for just a moment? I’d like to be the first to give you a gift or two. If that’s alright with you, Fluttershy?”

She turned her head from his chest, blushing. She could only nod her approval.

He stepped on the stage, but only released Fluttershy when he made his place next to Celestia so she could stand beside him.

“Discord.” The Princess of the Sun looked up at him, surrounded by all the other Princesses.

“I realize you do not want to be bound to any country, but if you’d please indulge me…” She smiled.

Her horn glowed, and a legal document appeared, with four signatures signed at the bottom. “I hereby announce today, on the first Chaosmas in the history of Ponykind, that Discord is now and forevermore a recognized and revered citizen of Equestria!”

Discord couldn’t believe it. This gave him full rights in Equestria, and was the highest measure of confidence a Princess could give to any non-pony in their lands. He never thought he’d get that kind of trust—at least, not from Celestia, Luna, or Cadence.

The document floated down to his paws, and he gently rolled it up, and placed it in an imaginary pocket in his coat.

“Thank you, Celestia. Luna. Mi Amore Cadenza.”

He said it with as much appreciation as he had when he thanked Twilight for saving him from Tirek.

He smiled at Twilight. “Twilight Sparkle. Thank you.”

She and Spike smiled back. “With pleasure.”

Luna stepped in. “Allow me to inform you of your second gift. It’s one that will renew itself every Chaosmas to come.”

“Oh?” Discord said. “And what is that?”

“It will be a part of the celebration itself,” Luna informed him. “Though I’m afraid it will require some…work on your part.” She grinned as Discord grimaced.

“Work? What kind of a gift is that? I thought this day was supposed to be all about honoring me?”

Another wave of laughter from the crowd. Fluttershy giggled. She was happy to see him get his sense of humor back, fake arrogance or not.

“On this day forth, Discord, you will be allowed to spread chaos all across Ponyville, where the official celebration takes place!” Luna bellowed loudly for all to hear. “With the exception that nopony is hurt and all magic be erased by midnight, you are to spread your magic in any way, shape, or form as you wish! Soapy roads, cotton candy clouds, and any other forms of chaos you wish for, shall be allowed on this very day, of every year—forever!”

Discord’s mouth fell open to the point that his lower jaw smashed a whole into the flooring of the stage.

“What? Are you…”

He noticed the surprise of everypony at his jaw, afraid something was horribly wrong with him, so a rotating lever appeared on his cheek. He took his paw and turned the rod, his jaw squeaking back up to his face until his mouth was open at an appropriate length. He snapped his fingers, and the hole in the stage was fixed.

A smile made of nothing but pure delight and excitement lighted his face up. “Are you completely and utterly serious, Lulu? I can do whatever I want to this town for the entire day, using my chaotic magic? Nopony will end up forking me with a weapon? I won’t get turned to stone?”

Suddenly, an outfit of a police officer appeared on him. “Are you telling me the truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?”

All the princesses looked at one another, grinning. Unanimously, they shouted “Yes!”

“I can’t believe it…”

His smile grew wider and wider.

“I can’t believe it!”

Sparks flew off of him, his excitement was too grand.

“Well then, this is a party for me, is it not? Isn’t that what you said, Pinkie?”

The party pony jumped up so high that she was easily seen over the crowd. “You bet! Do you love it?!?!?" she asked him yet again.

“Very much so!”

The clouds above the sky suddenly burst open, with not only raindrops of chocolate milk, but also sprinkle confetti and gummy worms that glowed like the sun.

“What are we waiting for everypony!” He flew high up into the air above the crowd.

“Let’s party!”

The stage was suddenly lined with state-of-the-art concert equipment. A purple, chaotic glow surrounded Vinyl Scratch, and Discord placed her in the middle of the equipment. Realizing what he wanted her to do, she became the DJ and scratched some records.

“Let the chaos begin!”

He unleashed his chaos right away. The roads and sidewalks became soapy, and he created rubber tubes for ponies to ride in, so they could use the roads as a kind of slip ‘n slide.

He turned the building of Sugarcube Corner into actual cake, and when a pony bit into it, the cake magically rebuilt itself, as if it had never been bitten.

Grass was turned into all different colors of the rainbow, and as ponies walked through it, the grass chimed like bells, each a different decibel based on what color it was.

Windows of every building became like the windows of funhouses. Fillies and colts enjoyed staring at their altered appearances based on each mirror.

Some flowers became animated, and walked around the town as if they were little two-legged creatures, and put on circus acts for the ponies to watch—trapeze acts, flips, and dances were done by roses, gardenias, pansies, dahlias, sunflowers—any flower Discord could get his magic on.

Some flowers, though, were kept normal, and Discord placed one behind an ear of each mare in town. His friends got crowns of flowers. Fluttershy got both a crown and enough leis to cover her entire neck.

He put funny, crazy hats on all the stallions. Big Mac got a giant cowboy hat on his, and his favorite stuffed donkey laid atop it. Discord winked at him.

“I’m sorry for earlier, Mac. I wasn’t in a right state earlier…Well, less right than usual, that is. Forgive me?”

Big Mac smiled at him. “Eeyup!” He stuck a hoof out. “Friends?”

Discord didn’t hide his eagerness, and took the hoof in both paw and paw and shoot it vigorously.

“Friends, most definitely! Ah, I knew you were a good egg! I knew it all along!”

Of course, eggs came raining down on the two of them. Mac only chuckled.

“You were only teasin’ me ‘bout Fluttershy n’ me, then, huh?”

“Pfft, obviously!”

Spike got a hat from Discord too—a fancy top hat. Spike really liked it, but he sighed to himself.

“It would be really nice if I could just have—“

Discord suddenly appeared beside the dragon in a cloud of smoke. “Spike!”

Spike snapped out of his sigh. “Huh? Yeah, Discord?!?”

“I mustache you a question!”

Discord snapped his fingers, and a long, black, luxurious mustache appeared on Spike’s upper lip.

Spike gasped, and he jumped towards the sky in joy. “A mustache! A mustache for me! Aw, Discord, thank you so much!” He hugged Discord around the neck, both arms and legs around him. Discord laughed, and pat the small dragon on the back.

“Glad to be of service!”

“Discord?”

He turned from Spike, and looked at his beloved mare. “Yes, dearest darling-est Fluttershy?”

She blushed, and Spike only shook his head. He hoped he wasn’t that way around Rarity.

She blushed. “Um, it’s time for presents.”

“Presents? For moi?”

“Of course!” She took his claw. “Come over to the table.”

He couldn’t believe the mound of presents that presented themselves before him on a long oak table besides the stage. All the ponies took a break from partying to watch.

“Don’t tell me I’ll be getting these every year?” he asked her. “I couldn’t possibly…”

“Sure you could!” Rainbow crashed into him from the back, pushing him towards the table. “We know you don’t really need to ask for anything since you can get it all with magic, but who doesn’t want presents? You don’t even have a birthday, do you? Go for it!”

“If anypony deserves it, it’s you,”’ Fluttershy added sweetly. “Go ahead.”

He blushed, and rubbed the back of his head. “Did…Did you get me a present, dear? Shall I open that first?”

She shook her head. “If it’s okay…if you don’t mind…Could you open mine last?”

“Last?!? That’s so long!” he groaned. A present dropped on his head from above, and he looked above at Rainbow Dash.

“Stop your groaning and just open mine first, alright? Ya better get started anyway, you have a ton here.”

Pinkie ecstatically jumped up and down. “Ooh, ooh, and then me! You’ll open mine! Oh, I just love watching ponies open presents! You have so many to open! I can’t wait to see what you got!”
.
The presents were overwhelming. He had never felt so appreciated before. It seemed as if everypony had gotten him something he or she thought he’d like. He enjoyed them all—some were flowers, some candy, others funny knickknacks like funky decorations or funny ties —generic gifts ponies got if they didn’t know him well yet.

Rainbow Dash gave him a special baseball cap with a picture of a tornado in the front.

“I thought you could wear it when we were playing around. Helps the sun from getting in your eyes.”

He put it on right away, conjuring up a mirror. “Ah, I look fabulous. It will help me reclaim my victory for our next match.”

“Keep dreamin’, buster!’

Pinkie Pie gave him a rather touching gift: a photo album. “So you can record all your memories with us!” she said, and opened it up to the first page. “I even started it for you, see? Look!”

She pointed to a photo of him and the others having a picnic. “This was one of our first picnics together! Ha, and look how messy our faces are! We had an eating contest, remember?!?”

The next photo was of him giving Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie a lift in the air on his back. Applejack and Rarity looked terrified, but he and Pinkie looked like they were having the time of their lives. Twilight and Rainbow looked amused by the display, flying in the background, while Fluttershy flew beside them, concerned.

Discord chuckled. “I remember all of these. Good times, eh Pinkie?”

“Yeah! With lots more to come, right?”

“I don’t see why not.” He gave her a hug, which she enthusiastically returned with a vigor that squeezed Discord’s windpipe a little too tightly.

“Pinkie…can’t….breathe!”

“Ah, whoopsies! Sorry.”

The next of the gifts from his friends was Rarity’s. She gave him a vial of cologne that smelled like smoke and spice, and he rather liked it. Apparently she had taken up perfume-making as a hobby, and thought Discord could use it. “I had Fluttershy smell it before I gave it to you,” she whispered to him mischeviously. “She found it rather delightful, so you may want to wear it often.”

She gave him another wink. Discord only stared at her blankly, not wanting to give her the satisfaction of embarrassing him, but not before putting a quick spritz of it on his wrists.

Applejack gave him an assortment of teas in a nice little wooden keepsake tea box that she made with Apple Bloom’s help. Spike gave him a small collection of gems, for the two shared a taste for rubies, sapphires, and emeralds. Discord popped a small piece of peridot into his mouth while brewing some of Applejack’s tea with a magical kettle he conjured in mid-air.

Twilight, of course, gave him a book. Discord had to groan.

“Really, Twilight Sparkle. Why am I not surprised? Though I don’t see a title on it.” He opened up the cover to see that the pages were blank. Twilight pointed to the wrapping from her gift on the table.

“Discord, you didn’t even see everything I got you. Look, I have a quill for you too.” A crazy-looking quill levitated out of the pile of wrapping scraps, with long, multicolored, clashing feathers adorning the top, almost resembling a duster.

He gave her a look. “And you expect me to do what with this? Write all my corny, disgusting lessons in the magic of friendship for all to hear?”

She shook her head with a laugh. “No. I want you to write a biography, Discord. Didn’t Fluttershy tell you I was looking at histories about you in the castle?”

He shared a look with Fluttershy, stroking his chin. “Oh, yes, I recall her mentioning something about that. She mentioned discrepancies between the texts? Can’t say I’m surprised. You can describe a monster in so many colorful ways.” He floated upside down, looking at the Alicorn questioningly. “Did you see the one that mentions how I boiled ponies in a cauldron for soup? Or the one where I kidnapped all the foals in Canterlot in demand for all the gold in the kingdom? Oh!”

He sprang back up. “My favorite is the one where I turned all the ponies into gems and unleashed the Diamond Dogs and timberwolves upon them! What massacre. Honestly, none of the suggestions those authors gave me had enough chaos involved. Quite sad, really. Too bad ponies actually believed it, once upon a time.”

“And that’s why I want you to write what really happened in the last couple thousand of years—or however far back you can go in your memory,” Twilight answered. “I think it would be a good idea, don’t you? Like you said, most of the books were nothing but lies and exaggerations. You could tell the truth, and then everypony would know exactly what you’ve been through.”

“You really think ponies will want to read that?” Discord asked her. “I’m not sure they’ll want to relive through some of my…past deeds.”

“If you tell them how you were thinking and feeling at the time, it could help ponies reevaluate what they think of you. Like Fluttershy said, you were misunderstood a lot of the time.”

She touched his claw with his hoof. “This can help with that. Things are already improving for you, so imagine what a book could do.”

She had a point, so he wrapped his claw around her hoof. “I’ll…consider it, Twilight.”

“Did I mention you can make the book as chaotic as you want?’ Twilight asked. “I made the book as plain as possible. You could use invisible ink, glowing ink, smelling ink…You could make the pages different colors and pages, maybe pull an illusion or two. Whatever you want!”

He grinned at the thought. “You know me far too well, Princess! If you agree to help me, I will take you up on that offer. Besides,” he twiddled the quill back and forth in his claws. “I must put this quill to good use.”

“I’d be happy to help.”

Finally, after Discord had a mountain of wrapping paper thrown into a giant trash bag and set it on fire, it was Fluttershy’s turn.

She was very nervous, and moved slowly towards the table, where she grabbed her saddle pack and took out not one, but two packages. One was in a royal blue gift bag with shiny silver tissue paper, and the other was nothing but a small, mustard yellow packet.

She handed him the bag first, and sat on her haunches. “I, um…” She knocked her hooves together. “I hope you like it…”

He gave her a gentle smile, conjuring chairs for the both of them to sit on while the rest of the crowd mingled around them or watched them with interest. “Oh, I know I will, Flutterdear. It could be a rotten banana peel and I’d still frame it next to my bed.”

With more care than he generally showed, he slowly undid the tissue paper and reached his paw down into the bag. Out came a giant mound of fabric with a mix of familiar colors arranged in a pattern of squares—a quilt.

“Each square represents one of us, see?” She pointed out one of the pink squares with balloons. “That’s Pinkie, and that one next to it is Applejack, with the orange and the apples…”

“You made this for me, Fluttershy?” Discord asked, eyes scanning over the quilt as he laid it across his knees. “I know you love to sew.”

She nodded yes, and her hoof absentmindedly touched the flower hairclip in her pink locks. “I wanted to make you something you could keep forever, like you did with me. It took me a long time to make it…That’s why…” She blushed and gulped. “That’s why I had trouble answering the door yesterday, Discord. I had been finishing it when you came back early, and I…I hid it in the refrigerator. So you wouldn’t find it.”

Discord burst out laughing. “That’s why I couldn’t go into the kitchen then? Not because it was having work done on, but because…you were cooling down a quilt?” He started guffawing, floating up and whirling about in the air in mirth. “Ah, I knew you were hiding something!”

“You hid it in the fridge?” Rainbow Dash asked incredulously.

“Yes, out of all the places in the world, why would you hide it there?” Rarity asked her. Fluttershy shrugged, hiding behind her hair.

“It seemed a good idea at the time...”

“What does my square look like?” Spike asked her, taking a corner of the quilt as it hung from Discord’s grasp. “I don’t have a cutie mark.”

“Oh, you’re the purple squares with the green flames, see?” Fluttershy answered, glad for the distraction. “Do you think that fits you, Spike? I would have showed you, but I didn’t want anypony to know. Oh, it’s not good enough is it? I wasn’t sure.”

“No, that’s great!” Spike said. “This is really impressive, Fluttershy!”

Discord was about to acknowledge his agreement and thank her when he noticed another thing about the quilt. “What about the gray one, here, dear?” he said, flicking a claw to the gray square with the heart in the middle. “I don’t recall befriending a gray pony with a heart cutie mark.”

Fluttershy’s face reddened even more, and played with a pebble on the ground that Discord had made red with green glitter. “It’s yours.”

“Mine?”

“That’s the square for you. I mean, your face and neck are gray, and…um…the heart is…” She kicked the pebble away from her. “The heart is…from me to you…”

“Oh my goodness, that is so precious!” Rarity intervened, wrapping a foreleg around Fluttershy and nuzzling her. “A heart for Discord! That’s so darling, I think I might faint! It’s just so romantic… Oh, the things you two do to me.” She put a hoof to her forehead. “I really can’t take it sometimes, I swear.”

Discord blushed, and once again couldn’t find the words to match what he was feeling.

“I…I see. Well. That’s…Heh.” A tiny smile adorned his face as he felt his heart swell. “Thank you, love. I’ll treasure it forever—both the quilt and the heart.” He gave her a wink.

“The quilt should be able to fit your bed nicely,” Fluttershy added. “Not that I’m assuming you’ll want to use it for your covers, but I made it to go with the guest bed. That’s your bed now, anyway.”

He blinked. “What? My bed? Whatever do you mean?”

With one hoof, she took his paw and placed the small yellow packet on his palm, and closed his fingers around it.

“Your second gift.”

Discord looked at the packet, and lifted the flap with a single talon. With one claw, he reached into it, and felt a loop and lifted it up, hanging from his finger.

A key.

It was small and brass, with a circular head with a simple, cursive ‘D’ etched onto it. He had seen a similar one—the one Fluttershy carried around with her, only hers had an ‘F’ scratched onto hers. He knew of it because sometimes she let him borrow it when she was away—the key to her cottage.

“Is this what I think it is, Fluttershy?” he asked her, unable to believe himself just yet. He didn’t want to hope he was right, but he couldn’t help himself.

Was she asking him to move in with her?

“It’s your own key to the cottage,” she told him, moving a bit of hair out of her face. She had continued to hide behind it, but moved it behind an ear so he could see her smile. “I…I thought, maybe…If you’d like…It could be our cottage? I know you have a room at the castle, but you stay with me every chance you get. Not that I don’t love that, because I do, but…You’re a citizen now, so you can live wherever you want. You don’t have to stay in Canterlot anymore.”

She rubbed a foreleg and stared at the colored, chiming grass. “I thought you could take the guest room. The only others who use that room are the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and they don’t mind giving it over to you. You can decorate it however you want. I-I might be overstepping boundaries, I’m sorry. But I thought it would be…nice…if we shared a home together…”

A home? Us? You? And me?

“I’ve…never really had a home before.” His voice cracked again, and his heart beat fast while his throat continued to constrict, making it hard to speak. “I’ve lived places…But never a home.”

“Well…” She held his claw with both of her hooves, and touched them to her forehead, her eyes closed.

“You do now.”

After presents, a cake was given to Discord. Both Pinkie and Applejack decorated it with sprinkles made from rock and wood chips, and the cake itself had real mounds of dirt mixed with chocolate. The cake was tye-dye, with frosting of all different colors and flavors swirled on the surface of the cake. Candles littered the top of the three tiers, and Spike put them aflame with his green fire. Discord blew them all out by playing a magical horn, and cheers went all around. The first bite was as delicious as it was chaotic. The other ponies and Spike were content eating more normal cupcakes.

They continued to party all day, with Discord performing more tricks and doling out chaos all over town.

Celestia, Luna, and Cadence had to depart early as it was time for the shift from day to night, so they bid farewell. Discord surprised the three of them with a group hug.

“Thank you, ladies. I’m still waiting to become an Alicorn princess, but I am still beyond grateful.” He grinned at them. “I have a favorite holiday now, after all.”

He spread his hands and flowers and confetti flew out towards the three in a blast.

“Merry Chaosmas!”

They snorted the confetti off their noses, shaking and smiling their heads. “I cannot believe I am saying this, but I may actually miss you being in the castle,” Luna said.

“So will I,” Celestia added, giving Discord an additional hug. “You and your friends need to come and visit. Until then, do you think you could send me a letter every now and again? As friends? I’d love to read about what you’ve learned.”

He stuck out a tongue and pretended to retch. “Ugh, Tia! Really? Come on, now…”

Celestia’s smile shrunk, and she looked disappointed.

“Oh, don’t be like that…” he sighed. “Fine, I’ll do it.” He flicked a talon at her. “But only if you write first! Then I’ll respond…Maybe.”

Celestia’s smile returned. “Then I’ll write to you soon.” She turned to her sister. “Shall we get going?”

“Yes. Merry Chaosmas, Discord.”

He waved goodbye as they flew off, and turned to Cadence. “And I imagine you need to get back to the Crystal Empire? And your husband too, of course. It’s a shame Shining Armor couldn’t make it. I never formerly apologized to him for our last meeting.”

Cadence laughed. “He forgave you a long time ago for that, Discord. Trust me; anypony that gets along with his sister is fine with him. So all you need to do is keep on Twilight’s good side, and I’m sure you’ll be able to do that.”

“Huh,” he mused. “I suppose that’s why he grew attracted to Twilight’s former foalsitter?” He smiled suggestively at her.

Cadence only shook her head with a smile. “Oh, Discord Discord Discord. It’s amazing; you changed for the better, and yet…You never change!”

“I’d be doing Equestria an extreme disservice if I changed too much,” he said. “Give your hubby a hello for me, dear.”

“Will do. Oh, and by the way…” Her horn glowed, and a glass of water popped into Discord’s paw.

“Here; I know you’ve always wanted one. Merry Chaosmas!”

He nearly fell over laughing.

With Luna back at the castle, the sky darkened and the night took over.

Everypony was getting tired, so Discord ended the night with beautiful fireworks of every color. The finale was made up of fireworks that took the shape of a parade of ponies and floats. As the parade finally exploded, the words “Thank You” showed up in the sky, followed by a “Merry Choasmas!”

Then, the party and the sky show were over.

Discord snapped his fingers once more, and the town returned to normal immediately.

“Ah,” he sighed, pleasantly tingly and tired. “I haven’t been able to use my powers like that for a long time.”

“I’m sure it felt nice for ya,” Applejack said, standing besides Granny Smith, Apple Bloom, and Big Mac. “But the rest of us better be gettin’ back to the farm; we got apple buckin’ to do in the mornin’.”

“Yeah, I’m....” Rainbow yawned, “wiped! That was an awesome party, but I better hit the sack.”

The entire town seemed to agree, and got back with their families and friends to get ready for home. Each said goodbye to Discord, which he thanked gratefully. He shook each pony’s hoof vigorously, causing them to vibrate up and down with his magic. He gave the little ones noisemakers with a wink.

“Use that; your parents will love it!”

Twilight pulled a tired Spike onto her back, the dragon already falling asleep as he lay across her. “Well, today was a great success, it was so much fun! But I better head back and put this little guy to bed.” She turned to Discord. “I imagine you’ll move in as soon as possible?”

He smirked at her, his mismatched eyes twinkling. “Are you kidding me? I snapped my fingers and sent all my stuff to the cottage hours ago. I’ll be going home with Fluttershy as soon as I bid all my farewells. Can’t deny a single pony a goodbye to the Draconequus of honor now, can we?”

She rolled her eyes good-humoredly. “Of course not. Well then, I guess that means I’ll see you soon! Goodnight Discord. Goodnight everypony.”

“G’night.”

“See ya.”

“See you, darling.”

“Byeeeee Twilight!”

“Goodnight, everypony,” Fluttershy said. “And I can’t thank you enough for all of your help.”

“No problemo! It was super fun!” Pinkie Pie said cheerily. The others voiced their agreement, and hugged goodbye again.

Soon, everypony went home, with everything cleaned up thanks to Discord poofing it all away. Even Applejack had allowed it, seeing as everypony was so tired. All that was left were him and Fluttershy.

“Discord?”

“Yes, my sweet?”

“Are you ready to go home?”

Home.

He grinned at her.

Our home.

“More than ever.”

She beamed back at him, lit up like the night sky, and took his claw as he pulled her up for the flight back.

“Then let’s go.”

All of his things were indeed in his room, with other modifications besides. All four walls were different patterns of different colors. Each panel of his single window had a different shade of glass, covered by a polka-dotted curtain. The floorboards went in a zigzag pattern, with a striped carpet by the foot of the bed.

A Discord lamp sat on his nightstand, and Discord put another lamp in the muse of Fluttershy—a gift from Princess Cadence—next to the dresser. It was appropriate, since his singing harp, Louise, stood by the dresser, which just so happened to also resemble Fluttershy.

His last touch was his favorite gift of all—Fluttershy’s quilt. He laid it across the bed, staring at the squares before he slid under it, fluffing his pillow.

His first night in his official new home.

But something was missing. He couldn’t wrap his head around it. This day had been one of the best days of his life—he figured he should be content. But as he lay there, he just couldn’t calm himself. He wanted something, but he didn’t know what.

He heard a door creak open.

“Um…Discord?”

Ah! Yes, of course. That was it!

It’s not a something, but a somepony! Oh, Discord, you numbskull. Obviously!

“Fluttershy!” he exclaimed, immediately rising from his bed, floating and grabbing her quickly before getting back into bed again.

He immediately held her to him. “I was having the worst time getting comfortable. Then I remembered—you shouldn’t have let me sleep with you last night. I’m afraid you’re my new teddy bear. Congratulations!”

She laughed. “Your teddy bear?”

“Well, not that I ever had a stuffed animal, not really,” he answered, putting his forehead on hers. “But you’re a much better substitute, anyway. Prettier, too.”

She blushed at that. “I…I’m not that pretty…”

“Oh, don’t you even start. You’re the prettiest thing in Equestria, and that’s all there is to it. Now, how do I even begin to thank you for everything you’ve done for me today? Or, wait, not even today, but everything you’ve done for me in general? I…”

His voice took on a more serious tone, and he touched the side of her face with his claw. “I’m so very lucky to have you, Fluttershy.”

He nuzzled her.

Rub rub rub. Rubbity rub.

She responded in kind. Rub rub. “You don’t have to thank me, Discord…I’m lucky to have you, too.”

“Oh, but I must,” he disagreed. “Do I need to imitate Twilight and make a list? Let’s see.”

He let go of her and turned so his back was on the bed, and a scroll and his new quill appeared in the air. The scroll was topped with the title “Fluttershy: How She Changed My Miserable, Lonely, Stony Life For the Better, Though I Once was Reluctant to Admit It.”

“First, you give me my first friend.”

It appeared next to a number one on the list, the scroll writing it down.

“Then, you continued being my friend even after Celestia claimed your mission was over, and you wrote me letters everyday, even if I didn’t always write back.”

That was number two.

“Thirdly, you forgave me for betraying you and your friends, even though you were the only one that truly trusted me. The fourth would be helping me reach out to your other friends so we could be close. Fifth, helping me see my worth in the world. Sixth, always being by my side if I needed help. Seventh, opening up your home to me when I had nowhere to go or was bored…”

The list continued on and on.

Eight: “Allowing me to use my chaotic powers around you whenever I needed.”

Nine: “Giving me my….” His cheeks burned. “First kiss, and becoming my special somepony. I suppose you could say this one’s my favorite on the list, so far…Ugh, Fluttershy, you really softened me up, you know that? I’m disgustingly sweet now.”

Ten: “Actually, let’s just make that its own thing. It’s quite a big deal, after all—and certainly a feat nopony else ever accomplished. Loving me. We’ll make that number ten.”

Eleven: “First date!”

Twelve: “You got me to try getting along with animals, and now all those blasted birds won’t stop landing on me. They think I’m some sort of hedge or something. But, at least animals don’t scurry away from me anymore. Though Angel Bunny is a challenge all on his own…”

He stopped to ponder that. “Did Angel Bunny even approve of me moving here? Where is he, anyway?”

He stared at her. “In fact, why did you even come in? Did you want to check on me before I decided to keep you here?” He grinned. “You really should have seen that coming.”

She smiled back, a faint splash of a blush on her face. “I had to talk to Angel for a bit, but I got him to agree. But it’ll take some time for him to get used to it. He’s over in my bed, asleep. He wouldn’t let me leave to see you when he was awake. He doesn’t quite trust you all the way yet. But just give him some time. He will soon, I’m sure. He’s just not good with change.”

He raised a quizzical eyebrow at her. “And you were so eager to leave because…?”

She squeaked, and covered her face with the quilt. “I…I just wanted to check on you…and I thought maybe…um…”

“You thought maybe you could be my teddy bear again? Wanted to snuggle with your handsome Cordy? I can’t blame you. I’m quite comfortable to lean against. Why…”

He pulled her over and laid him on his stomach. “I’m more comfortable than a bed, I’d imagine. Go on, lay down. Give it a go.”

She laid on top of him, smiling. He pulled the covers over the two of them. She sighed and closed her eyes.

“Fluttershy. You didn’t let me finish my list,” Discord whispered in her ear.

A shiver went up her spine at his closeness, and she opened an eye. “Oh...How many more reasons could there be? I didn’t do that much.” She shoved her face against his chest, her hair spread out over her.

He tipped her chin back up. “Oh, but today was the next reason, Fluttershy. It ties in with a few of the others on the list, but it was still the nicest thing anypony has ever done for me. Fluttershy, you started a holiday for me. I don’t think a lot of ponies do that for others, you know…At least, not with success. Why did you do it?”

She shifted a bit, straightening her neck so she could look at him more comfortably.

“Well, you don’t have a birthday, and I knew how much you dreaded today. You didn’t seem to understand, though…You helped us defeat Tirek as much as you helped him, and it was all just a big misunderstanding. You don’t need to feel bad anymore, Discord. And I wanted to make sure you never dreaded this day of the year ever again, so I spoke with Celestia. I wasn’t planning on making it a holiday, though. Just a celebration for you, that you and me and our friends could have each year. But it…It really caught on.”

“Pinkie Pie?”

She nodded. “Pinkie Pie. She told everypony, and that’s when the petition started to make it a holiday. Of course, it’s not like I wasn’t thrilled!” she assured him. “It may have not been my idea to make it as big as it got, but I was ever so excited that it did.I insisted to be in charge of everything, with the help of the others.”

“And what about meeting Big Mac this morning? I know it had something to do with today’s extravaganza, but before I knew of your plans, it was driving me crazy.” His eyes swirled around for effect.

“O-oh, yes…Rainbow and Big Mac told me all about that…” She gulped, and she looked looked down at his chest, ashamed. “Oh Discord, I didn’t mean to worry you!” She wrapped her hooves around him now. “I only met up with him to get your house key! He’s good friends with a pony that can make keys and other things, and I had to go to him to get it.”

He smiled down at her. “Hush, hush…” he whispered to her, stroking her hair. “I was being foolish, chasing Big Mac like that, afraid of you two meeting together.” He sighed. “Just goes to show you I’m not quite as kind or understanding as you are.”

“Oh no, I wouldn’t say that at all. I was…jealous…of Celestia when you gave her those flowers, remember?”

She smiled as she touched her hairclip. “But then you gave me this, and I knew the whole thing had been silly. I went through the same thing. It’s okay.”

She laid her head back down, and he began stroking her some more. She sighed once more.

“The last on the list was that you gave me a home.”

She smiled as she lay there, but kept her eyes closed. “This was always your home, Discord.” She moved up a bit until her head was immediately under his chin. “I would have given you a key earlier, but Celestia had to keep you under watch longer. Not that she didn’t trust you already, but…”

“But a Princess can never be too careful, and I had a little more time left to go before she could let me me move out. Ugh. What a bore she is.”

“Discord…”

“What? You’d rather I praise her? I can’t have you jealous again!”

“Eep!”

He laughed, having turned her back over so know she was on the bed and he was looming over her. “What? I’m not going to hurt you.”

“I-I know, but…”

She was interrupted by a kiss from him, as he stroked her cheeks with both of his thumbs.

He stopped it for a moment, raising his head. “I would never hurt you. Ever.”

“Discord,” she touched his cheek with a hoof. “I know.” She got back up on her hooves. She initiated a kiss herself, sinking into him. He held her in his arms.

---Flashback---

We’re not worth it!” she shouted, desperately trying to knock some sense into Twilight. What she really mean was “I’m not worth it!”

And Discord spoke. “Oh, but you are, Fluttershy. You’re the pony that taught me that friendship is magic. And now, I have neither.”

Nopony seemed to notice the stunned look on her face as she stared at his unhappy form, her ears up and alert. She was worth all that? He thought she was that valuable?

But…he had betrayed them, had he not? So surely, she wasn’t that much to him?

“I’m sorry.”

Was there something else in his eyes besides the regret? Her heart thumped against her ribcage. Why had it hurt so much, this betrayal? Why, if he meant to hurt them, could he not watch as Tirek sucked their powers out? He had looked away. She saw him, and he hadn’t looked happy.

He hadn’t wanted to truly hurt them. Not really. She knew it. So why did it hurt? Why did she see him so differently from the others? Why was she always looking for him, smiling at his antics, giggling at his jokes even though the others didn’t find it funny?

Why had she been looking so forward to the tea party that never came? She had meant it when she said she wouldn’t miss it. She wouldn’t have missed it for the world.

Why was she so happy that she was worth the world to him, now?

But in her heart, the answer was there. She just couldn’t stare at it in the face.

“I know.”

----end flashback---

She said it once more as she broke apart from him. “I know.”

He held her head in his hands. He looked deep into her eyes. “I love you, Fluttershy. I love you, and I can assure you that I always will, forever. You are my home. My everything.”

It was the most beautiful thing she had heard from him, and she couldn’t help herself but cry. He only held her, smiling serenely, as she hugged him back, overjoyed but overwhelmed. Neither of them had ever felt so wanted, so loved. It had been such a long time coming.

“I love you too,” she sobbed. “I really, really love you.”

“My sweet…” he nuzzled her one last time, her tears landing on his face.

Rub rub rub.

“If that isn’t a reason to celebrate, I don’t know what is,” he whispered.

They continued to hold one another until they fell asleep, meeting up again in their dreams.

And a claw gently held a hoof over a pink heart, forever housed in gray.

Author's Note

And that's the end of this oneshot series! There are several things I wish to acknowledge:

1) Thanks to all for your support, kind words, and feedback! I appreciate all of your patience, I truly do.
2) Thank you to ButtonMash for being my awesome editor! You're so sweet.
3) I realized sometime while writing this that I subconsciously stole the Titanic reference with Discord from this comic and therefore feel a great need to put the source here for all to see if you wish: http://cog-dis.deviantart.com/art/Disharmony-page-5-466608149?ga_submit_new=10%253A1404854575
4) I may or may not have taken a risk with Big Mac here...First of all, I apologize to any Fluttermac lovers who may be reading this (because though it's fluttercord, maybe you're a double shipper, or you were curious, or maybe just a hardcore Fluttershy or Discord fan who likes to read anything with that character). I do not mean to bash any shippers--I do dislike certain ships, but I totally understand why people like certain ones, and respect opinions. If you wish to know, I actually sort of liked fluttermac before, and I used to dislike fluttercord because of the age gap! But then it all changed with the finale....Oh, and to Dislestia fans who may have seen that thing that was on Equestria Daily (but got deleted, I believe), just know....A ship can only be sunk if you let your imagination do so!
5) Also, some may think I made Big Mac OOC here...But this is my personal take on his character. I think that while Big Mac is quiet, and maybe even a teeny bit shy, I think it's mostly because he just chooses not to say much. And by the way I've seen him on certain episodes, Big Mac does show his anger when he needs to, such as the Apple Pie episode when he gets frustrated with Applejack over packing the cart. I don't think he would just take an insult or whatever or keep quiet. I think he'd do what I had him do in this story--stand up for himself and maybe even talk back a little. That's not being mean--he just doesn't let people make fun of him!!! That's just how I see his character, and I shall stand by that.
6) Perhaps this chapter was too long...But just know that I tried my very, very best to keep all the advice I've been given in mind....Trying to keep characters in character, trying to show the story instead of tell, trying to not put too much dialogue. Maybe the speeches were too long, maybe I explained things too much, maybe the cloudball fight was unnecessary (but I like that scene, and it was more action-y than anything else I've done)...But I tried really hard, I truly did. I take the advice given to me very seriously.
7) Once again, THANK YOU!

Confess

“Thanks for helpin’ me with cleanin’ all these buckets, guys,” Applejack said to her friends, placing one last pristine bucket down on a stack of others, fitting into each other to make a tower. “Normally it’s just us Apples that do it, but Granny Smith didn’t get a wink of sleep last night ‘cause of a bad back and needed to rest today. And Cheerilee asked Big Mac an’ Apple Bloom to teach the class all about livin’ on a farm, so it was just me today. I’d do it myself, but then it’d take forever.”

“I don’t blame you for wanting help,” Twilight Sparkle said, using her magic to scrub off the last spot on her final bucket with a towel. “Using the buckets all season long to hold the apples makes them rather…”

She looked over to Spike, who seemed to be having trouble walking across the wooden plank floor of the barn. With each lift of his foot, a squelching noise emitted from the separation of his foot from the floor.

“Sticky.”

“You’re telling me!” Rarity complained, applying some sanitizer to her hooves. “I’m going to need one long shower to get all of the apple juice out of my coat and mane. But…” The glamorous pony turned her head to look at her cowgirl friend. “It was worth it, since it helped out a friend.”

“Well, I can’t thank all of ya enough,” AJ said again. “I’m mighty grateful. Especially since even Discord helped out without using any of his chaos or magic!”

Discord sat between Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie at the right side of the barn, his tongue temporarily at the side of his mouth in concentration as he cleaned the bottom of his last bucket. At the mention of his name, he stopped. “Hmm? Oh, what, this? Well, as much as I despise cleaning, I supposed it was the least I could do for you, what with all I’ve done in the past.”

As all the ponies and dragon started to protest that he should forget the past, he raised a paw. “I know, I know, the past is the past, blah blah blah. But trying to make up for it with good deeds, no matter how utterly boring they may be, can’t possibly hurt, can it? Although, I must say, Applejack, I still don’t see why I must refrain from magic. This could have been done in a snap had you not forbidden me from literally doing so.”

Rainbow Dash stacked a bucket on top of the one Applejack just placed. “Yeah, AJ,” the cyan Pegasus said, watching the tower for a bit to make sure it didn’t topple over before turning to her friend. “I mean, I get all about understanding the value of work, but c’mon! If Discord cleaned everything, we could’ve all hung out doing something a little more fun, and Discord’s magic would have actually made him useful for once!”

She turned to Discord and smiled mischeviously, making sure he heard her playful insult.

He did, indeed, and Discord grinned back, one eyebrow arched. “Why, Dashie, do I dare think that you are teasing me? You, of all ponies? After all, you’re always so polite! Perhaps you should go in timeout!”

He snapped his finger, and Rainbow Dash teleported to the corner of the barn with a bucket on her head. “I thought you might want to hide your face, since you’re so ashamed of insulting somepony as wonderful as I. You’re quite welco—“

The bucket came at him from above, Rainbow Dash flying as high as the ceiling, and it landed on the Draconequus’ head with a fwump.

“You were saying?”

Discord, forgetting that he could simply magick his new facial gear away, struggled to get the bucket off, and Fluttershy floated above him to help him take it off.

“Ak gin gif id!” he said, muffled by the bucket.

“Oh dear, oh dear, I’ve almost got it, just wait a second, Discord,” Fluttershy pulled.

It finally came off with a pop!, but its removal had been so forceful that Fluttershy shot backwards to the wall of the barn where all the buckets, minus a few, had been stacked. She crashed into one of them, and all the buckets were sent crashing down onto her.

“Fluttershy!” Discord and Rainbow Dash shouted as they moved in with the others to help the yellow Pegasus from under the mountain of apple buckets. Spike climbed to the middle of the pile and removed the highest one to reveal Fluttershy’s head, her teal eyes wide with surprise.

“You okay, Flutters?” Spike asked, throwing a few more buckets away from her so she could move. “Are you hurt? I-I could send a message to—“

But he was interrupted by the musical laughter of the Pegasus, suddenly finding the situation extremely funny.

Pinkie Pie, who firmly believed that laughter was the most contagious thing on the planet, started laughing too. “Hee hee hee!” the pink party pony giggled, her hoof on her chest. “I don’t know what we’re laughing about, but…Hahahaha!”

Suddenly everypony (and dragon, and Draconequus) found the whole thing a riot, and the entire barn was soon filled with laughter amongst good friends.

“You two really are a pair sometimes, you know?” Fluttershy said Rainbow Dash and Discord once the laughing started to dissipate. “It reminds me of that day Applejack and Rainbow Dash competed to see who the biggest daredevil was.”

“Oh?” Discord said, looking at the two ponies. “You two did that? Why, I wish I had been there! That must’ve been a sight! And I would have loved to compete.”

“We can have another contest then once the weather gets warm again,” Applejack said after one last chuckle, picking up her hat that had fallen off when she had been shaking with laughter. She firmly placed it on her head. “But with winter comin’, it’ll be hard to do that when snow is comin’ from the sky.”

“Yeah, but I’d totally be up for it after Winter Wrap-Up!” Rainbow Dash said. “Not only with AJ, but with the Master of Chaos himself? It’ll be fun to wipe the floor wit his face after I beat him!”

“Who says you’d win? Maybe I will, and show Mr. Big Stuff here what it’s like bein’ a daredevil!” AJ countered.

“Girls, girls, please don’t fight!” Discord said, but in a pleasant tone. “Especially when it’s so obvious I will beat you both!”

“No way!”

“Ain’t happenin’, Sugarcube!”

After Discord was allowed to use magic to stack the buckets back, and make sure that Fluttershy was without injury, they moved together out of the barn and moved into the Apple home for some cider and freshly made apple cider donuts.

Discord and Fluttershy were the last to go and grab some food from the kitchen, as the others had already taken their portions and headed to the living room carpet to eat and chat.

Fluttershy and Discord were in high spirits, smiling from such a good day with friends, even though bucket cleaning was surely an odd way to bond. Discord offered to carry her plate himself using magic, and she of course thanked him, and giggled.

“My, My, Fluttershy,” Discord said as their cups of cider and plates of donuts started to levitate in the air, thanks to the Lord of Chaos. “You sure are a chucklebox today. Care to tell me why?” he asked her, smiling.

She stopped giggling but smiled up at him, her grin reaching her eyes that were large and sparkling, as big as dinner plates. It made his heart jump.

“I’m just really happy Discord. It’s so nice to have all of us together, laughing and having a good time without having to worry about a thing.”

Discord nodded. “I will always love chaos, but I never knew how I could appreciate the niceties of peace as well. I’m coming to love it almost as much, in truth. It’s quite odd.”

“Maybe, but I’m mostly happy for you.”

He stared at her, and pointed at himself. “Happy for me? Whatever for?”

“Everypony has really started to accept you. And my friends, my best friends in the entire world, are now your friends too. That’s why I laughed so hard at the bucket incident. It wasn’t just funny, but it happened because you and Rainbow Dash have become such good friends. You’ve become good friends with all six of them,” she said, looking back at the room to see all her friends happily being together.

“I mean, look Discord.”

He turned his vision to where she was looking.

Spike sat next to Rarity. He ate his first donut too fast, and some green fire spit out of his mouth in a dragon version of a burp. “Oh, excuse me…” he said, blushing and looking at Rarity apologetically. Rarity only laughed. “Oh, my little Spikey Wikey,” she said, putting a foreleg around him in a hug. “You are just too cute and adorable when you’re embarrassed!”

Spike blushed even harder.

Applejack, Rainbow, and Pinkie discussed what AJ, Rainbow, and Discord could do to compete to see who was the biggest, bravest pony in Equestria, though this time it would be in good fun and wouldn't get out of control as it had the first time, with just the two ponies. Pinkie Pie had already made herself the judge, and was bouncing up and down at the thought of such a fun event while stuffing her face with donut.

Twilight Sparkle just sat contentedly in the middle of them all, sipping at some cider and delicately munching on a donut after giving Spike a small punch on the shoulder to tease him after burping in front of his crush. She saw the Draconequus and Pegasus watching them all. She just smiled and waved.

They waved back.

“See Discord?” she said, looking back at him. “A while back ago, none of them would have been so calm with you here in Applejack’s kitchen. But now you’re their good friend, and they treat you just like anypony. They’re beginning to love you, just like I knew they would!”

Discord smiled at her. “Ah, yes, well. I won’t lie to you, Fluttershy. It’s…” A small blush formed on his face, a sight Fluttershy had seen many times and was now familiar to her. “It’s rather nice…”

“And that’s because…?” she prompted him.

He chuckled, and brought Fluttershy up in his arms and gave her a noogie. It was a bit of déjà vu, since the last time he gave her a noogie, it had been when he had just been released from his stone prison in hopes that Fluttershy could reform him. That time, Discord had done it to make her uncomfortable and had rubbed her head a bit hard.

Now, Discord only teased her as a friend and maybe something more. “Because Friendship is Magic, I know, I know!”

She laughed, trying to get away from Discord’s noogie, though she didn’t mind the embrace. “That’s right, but Discord, stop, haha! The others are waiting!”

“Oh, alright!” He let her go. “So…You’re happy because…I’m happy?”

“Well, I’m happy that we’re all happy, Discord,” she corrected him. “But let’s just say I’m especially happy that you are.”

“Well, then, what else could I ask for?”

The two made their way over to the carpet, filling the gaps in the circle of friends, and Discord politely patted the space beside him for her to sit. He waited for her to get comfortable before he placed her food and drink in front of her with his magic.

“Thank you,” she said to him, a small blush on her cheeks. He was such a gentlepony, after all! “Very much.”

His pinky claw sticking up as he lifted his mug of cider, he said “You’re quite welcome, dear Fluttershy.”

They began to munch on Applejack’s gifts of thanks, and everything seemed quite normal to them at first.

“AJ, I do have to say, I could magick up any cider or apple I wanted, but I don’t think it’d be as good as yours, my friend,” Discord said.

“Oh, yes!” Fluttershy agreed. “No one can beat AJ’s homemade—“

She paused, noticing her friends peculiar behavior. For the past minute, they had all been staring at her and Discord, frozen in whatever they had been doing before they stared. Rarity and Twilight both had been levitating their drinks towards their lips. Spike had been holding his plate, already finished with his first serving of donut and had been licking the plate clean. Rainbow had obviously been chewing on a mouthful of donut before she started staring. AJ had just been sitting on her stomach, reaching for another bite of her snack, and Pinkie’s tongue was frozen as she had been licking the sugar off her face.

“W-what…What is it? Is something wrong?” Fluttershy asked. A hoof touched her cheek hesitantly. “Is there something on my face? Discord?”

“I don’t see anything,” he answered. “Are we having a staring contest? Because nopony told me about it! Isn’t staring supposed to be rude?”

“N-no, you…We just…Well…” Twilight began. “We’re not being rude, but…”

“You guys are holding tails!” Pinkie Pie shouted, suddenly springing up on all four hooves, pointing at them.

Startled and with wide eyes, the two looked at each other in surprise, and then looked at their tails.

They were indeed entwined.

The two were frozen.

“Well well well!” Rarity smiled furtively. “I don’t recall it being Hearts and Hooves Day, but you two certainly don’t care, do you?”

“We, uh…” Fluttershy said.

“Well…” Discord started.

“FLUTTERSHY!”

The Pegasus jumped in surprise as Pinkie Pie rushed up to her, putting her pink face so close to her that their snouts touched. Pinkie’s blue eyes were so big they seemed to take up half her face.

“Wh-what?!?” she asked her nervously. She wasn’t mad at her friend; she knew Pinkie Pie always meant well, even if her energy did sometimes go off the deep end and come off as jarring, maybe even rude. But Pinkie Pie always did the things she did because she loved her friends and always meant well. And what pony could be mad at her for that? But she still made Fluttershy uncomfortable or nervous at times. She just couldn’t help it. Fluttershy loved Pinkie Pie, though, nonetheless.

“Is Discord your special somepony?!?!?”

Fluttershy’s eyes couldn’t get any wider, nor could they look any more terrified. She started quivering, her body now covered in a cold sweat. She couldn’t have this happen, not here, not now…Not with the Draconequus she loved right beside her, who had no idea of how she felt for him! She hadn’t prepared for this!

Oh, what am I to do now?!? I’m not ready to tell him how I feel! I’m not ready to tell anypony how I feel! I need to sort it out first, prepare myself, because Discord could never love a shy little Pegasus like me…I just can’t!

Discord saw that Fluttershy was disturbed, but he mistook it for something else because he couldn’t read her mind.

It brought a painful feeling into his chest, as if Fluttershy had punched it with her hoof, though he knew she would never physically do such a thing.

Is the thought of loving somepony like me really that petrifying?

He caught Fluttershy gulping, unable to look anypony in the eye. He tried to catch her gaze, but she only jerked her eyes away from him.

Yes it is, he thought, and he felt like his heart had just plummeted into his stomach. Of course it is.

She spoke. “Sp-special somepony? D-Discord? With me? As my…?”

Before she could actually answer the question, Discord stood up, and Fluttershy could feel that her tail grew lighter as tension was released from it. She looked to her tail.

It had no scaly red swirl mixed in with her pink strands.

“No,” he answered for her. His voice was low, sad.

Hurt.

“We’re not like that. We are just friends. That is all.”

“Discord…” Fluttershy said. She knew what he said was true; they weren’t together as a couple at all, as she knew all too well. Sure, Discord was spending more and more time with her as time passed, and started sleeping on her couch or in her guest room rather than in the Everfree forest or back at the Royal Palace. He practically lived in her cottage now. But she never fooled herself into thinking it was because he returned her feelings of love.

And all they had done (that could be taken out of context as a romantic relationship rather than a platonic one) was nuzzle and hold tails. That wasn’t very much at all.

But hearing him say that they weren’t anything more than friends still cracked her heart, because she loved him so.

“We just hold tails sometimes, big whoop,” Discord said, his hurt look suddenly disappearing and shrugging his shoulders. “We didn’t even notice it, it’s so commonplace…”

He started masking his disappointment, and making things worse between them.

“I mean, I don’t have to hold Fluttershy’s tail. Really, as long as the pony’s my friend, I’ll hold anypony’s tail!”

The crack in Fluttershy’s heart started to lengthen, slowly tearing it in half.

“Discord, really, it’s nothing to be embarrassed of,” Twilight said, noticing the pained look on Fluttershy’s face and immediately wanting to come to the rescue. Over the years of gaining (and in Spike’s case, keeping) friends she loved and adored, along with keeping Equestria safe as an Element of Harmony and now as a Princess, she had developed a sort of a hero complex. But Rarity and Applejack noticed it too, and wanted to help. The three of them were the most perceptive when it came to tense situations, especially when delicate feelings were involved.

“Yes, yes, there’s certainly nothing wrong with affection amongst, um, friends!” Rarity said, faltering on what to name whatever relationship Discord and Fluttershy shared. She was sure they loved one another; it was unmistakable. But she couldn’t just say that to their faces now, could she?

Poor darlings are embarrassed enough as it is, she thought sadly.

“Yeah, y’all can hold tails all you want,” Applejack said. “We’re sorry we got so startled. We’re all just a bunch of silly fillies. We just didn’t know you were the tail-holdin’ type of friends, that’s all.” She grinned sheepishly.

“No no no, you’re right!” Discord said, holding his paw and claw out to silence them. “After all, Fluttershy and I are truly just friends! But we daren’t trick the public into thinking we are anything more than that. We understand the reason for your alarm! Isn’t that right, Flutters? Fluttershy, ol’ pal?”

She wanted to cry, she really just wanted to sob. But she held tears back, and just looked up at the Draconequus that was breaking her heart, because he thought she had broken his first.

“Y-yes…”

Discord sighed internally, but kept his eyes on Fluttershy without showing anything on his face. “And Celestia forbid that anypony think you would want such a thing…”

Then his face broke. “…With me.”

Fluttershy blinked. “W-what? No, that’s not…”

He floated upwards, shaking his head to get rid of the feelings he knew showed from his expression. “Well girls, it’s really been fun,” he said, a fake grin now glued onto him as badly as googly eyes on a rock. “But I’m afraid I have much to attend to, and I really can’t dawdle any longer. And Fluttershy…”

“Discord, wait, you have the wrong idea, really!” Fluttershy protested. “I was just—“

“I’m afraid I won’t be staying in your guest room tonight, nor your couch. As wonderful as it’s been, we just can’t do anything to risk the rumors you fear so much. And besides…I think I’m rather tired of you.”

He snapped his fingers, and he was gone.

“Discord!” she yelled one more time.

But it was useless. Discord left, with nopony knowing where he had gone.

“Discord!”

But he wasn’t joking. He wasn’t coming back.

Maybe even never! Fluttershy thought, imagining a future without Discord, without him as a romantic interest, without him as friend.

Had she lost him for good? Had they all?

“Discord!”

She crashed to the ground, hugging herself with her hooves and covering her face with her wings. “Tired of me! He said he was t-tired of m-me!”

Rainbow Dash scowled. “What a jerk!” she shouted, unable to see her oldest friend so upset without feeling enraged. “What the hay was all that for?!? You didn’t do anything wrong, Fluttershy!”

Pinkie Pie was frozen, a hoof on her mouth. “I...I feel like…this might have been my fault…If I hadn’t asked…”

Her poofy, curly pink hair suddenly went flat.

“This ain’t nopony’s fault, Pinkie,” Applejack said comfortingly. “Not yours, and not yours, Fluttershy!”

“Yes it wa-ha-ha-as!” she cried. “He-He-He got so mad, b-because I-I-I w-was s-so surprised by the question! And he thought…he thought…”

Her tears started to slow, her crying suddenly quieter, as she got lost in a revelation.

“He thought I was disgusted by the idea of him being my special somepony.”

She sprung back up on all four legs.

“He thinks I could never think of him that way, and that hurt his feelings! Oh no! I hurt his feelings! And not only that, but it’s completely wrong! I—“

She paused and suddenly saw that all six of her friends were inches away from her, waiting for her confession.

She decided to give them the satisfaction of knowing. They were her closest friends, and they were going to find out anyway. And besides, Discord needed to know—he needed to know now, so they could sort things out.

“I love him!”

“Ohhhhhh!” Rarity jumped, looking as if she just got an entire new wardrobe for Hearth’s Warming. “Oh, darling, this is so exciting! I mean, I must say, I had no idea Discord was your taste, but he’s turned into a good enough fellow, I suppose! Not really my cup of tea—he’s a bit too uncivilized and mismatched for my tastes, and he’s not even a pony, but he has the heart and soul of a pony, now that he’s truly reformed—but these aren’t the stone ages now, are they! These are new times, with free love and affection! Why, you could marry a dragon and no one would protest!”

Spike lit up at that idea.

Rarity rushed up to Fluttershy. “Oh, I’m just so happy for you, darling!”

“B-But he’s not my…special somepony…” Fluttershy practically whispered. “Why be happy for me?”

“Because he will be, as soon as you tell him,” Twilight said, a confident sparkle in her eye that suited her name. “He will be.”

“I doubt it…I’m nopony special…”

Rainbow laughed. “Yeah, you’re only the Element of Kindness, after all. Nothing special about that!”

“But what are we waitin’ for?” Applejack grabbed Fluttershy. “You got a Draconequus to find! Let’s go!”

“You’ll help me find him?” She asked them.

“I will,” Pinkie Pie answered her, walking up to Fluttershy shamefully, her lifeless straight hair covering her eyes in a way that didn’t suit her. “It’s the least I could do. I blurted out what we were all thinking. I’m the reason you fought. I’m so sorry, Fluttershy!”

Her eyes filled with tears. “I know sometimes I go a little nutso, but I don’t mean to make you sad! I just wanna make you smile!”

Pinkie Pie was soon wrapped in an embrace by Fluttershy. “Silly filly,” she said to her friend in a kindly voice. “I know that! I’m not angry at you at all. So you hush now about that, quiet now, it’s just as Applejack said. It’s nopony’s fault. There’s no reason to be sorry. We’re still best friends forever.”

A watery smile replaced Pinkie Pie’s frown. “Really?”

“Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!”

The Pinkie Pie Promise brought the party pony’s hair back to life again, curls springing back to place. The light returned back to her eyes, and a smile the size of an upside-down rainbow grew on her face.

“Well then, we have a search party to hold! I’ll get the cannon!”

He could have gone back to the castle, but he really didn’t feel like doing that. If he did that, Celestia and Luna would try to have some friendly conversation full of questions, and while he really did start to have a liking for the princesses, he didn’t feel like talking to anypony at the moment.

So the only place he could really think to go was the Everfree forest. Nopony ever dared to go in there unless absolutely needed, and he had no reason to fear a creature there.

He sat at the edge of a pond, staring at his reflection.

“Well, Discord, look where you’ve gotten yourself now,” he said, starting a conversation with himself. “Aren’t you just the clever one, allowing it all to come down to this. You know, your life never really seems to go smoothly, does it? And by smooth, I don’t mean a lack of chaos, but a lack of…happiness.”

The birds sang happily in the trees. Discord wanted to turn them into something that could sing a sadder tune for him, but he didn’t have the energy at the moment.

Well, actually, he did. He was just feeling a bit lazy.

“I mean, sure, you’ve had good times every now and again. Back when you were a villain, you would always manage to get in a little bit of fun before the ponies barged in and spoiled it. But now that I think about it…”

His ears drooped along with his eyelids.

“It really wasn’t all that fun, all by myself with no other creature to enjoy it with me. They didn’t appreciate it.”

He stuck his back legs into the water, and lay against the ground on his back. There was a clearing in the forest at the pond, allowing him an excellent view of the sky.

The clouds, white and puffy, were perfect for shaping them into whatever he felt like making them. Pointing at them with a talon, he moved the clouds with his magic, to and fro, until he made a cloud that resembled himself.

“You always thought you had everything you needed…As long as you had your magic, you thought you would be content.”

The cloudy depiction of himself had been made with a smile, and with a sweep of his claw, it turned to a frown.

“But you know better than that now, don’t you, ol’ Cordy?”

With his magic, Discord forced Cloud Discord to nod in agreement with him.

“Maybe it would have been better if you had stayed a statue of stone.”

The cloud suddenly reformed itself into a depiction of Discord’s pose as he had been turned to stone once again by the Elements of Harmony.

“At least then you would not have learned how to gain a heart. But then again, maybe I had a heart all along, like in that story with the scarecrow pony and that yellow brick road.”

A small heart showed up on the left side of Cloud Discord’s chest.

“Of course, you would not have noticed had it not been for her…”

He set his cloud self-portrait to the side and started on a new cloud creation. When he was finished, it was a flawless rendition of Fluttershy, though in Discord’s mind, it wasn’t nearly as perfect as the real thing.

“Ah, Fluttershy. Celestia just had to ask you to reform me, didn’t she? And if you hadn’t agreed, I wouldn’t have this problem. Really, darling, this is your fault. You should really stop being so nice and agreeable. And adorable. And appreciative of my magic. Oh, curse you, Fluttershy! Why do you have to be so…”

A cloudy outline of a heart surrounded the Pegasus cloud.

“Lovable??!??”

He grumbled to himself. He grabbed a small rock on the ground and started hitting himself in the head with it. To most ponies it would have looked silly, but Discord’s coping mechanisms were always…abnormal.

“Stupid!” Hit. “Stupid!” Hit. “Stupid!” Hit.

He thought of an event that occurred not long ago, back when Fluttershy had taken an emergency trip far across the Everfree forest to take care for an injured bear and her cub. The bears had turned out fine, thanks to her. They had even taken residence near her cottage with her other bear friend and made a little family together, visiting Fluttershy often. No, the bears hadn’t been the problem.

The problem had been when Fluttershy had tried to return home, when a windy, rainy storm had sent the weak-winged Pegasus down to the ground, injuring her to the point where she couldn’t move. Thankfully, Discord had been there to help. He mended her wounds with his magic and took her home. She had been shaken up, but mostly she had felt bad about herself as a weak Pegasus. Luckily, Discord had lived a long time, and despite the fact that he sometimes was a bit…absurd, that by no means meant he wasn’t short of wisdom. He soothed the pony, and it made them closer.

But Discord, sitting there in the dying grass as the weather grew colder with winter approaching, thought that perhaps the advice he had given her was slightly off.

“I lied to you, Fluttershy.” he said to the sky, staring at the cloud of her. “I lied. Not about you, of course. I would never lie about you.”

His face seemed to droop even more as his mood plummeted when he thought he couldn’t feel any worse. “But…” he began. “Mother Nature actually did make one mistake.”

With the raise of one talon, he made an abrupt slashing motion.

Cloud Discord broke in half, as if a sword had stabbed him diagonally. It disappeared forever.

“Me.”

Twilight actually had to keep herself from sniffling.

I had no idea Discord felt this way.

“Twilight, shhh,” Rainbow Dash whispered harshly, as she clung to a branch at the edge of the clearing. Discord was lying only yards away, staring at his clouds. “We can’t have him hear you.”

“I’m sorry,” she told her friend, wiping a single tear away from her hoof. “It’s just…He’s so depressed! Now that we’re friends, I can’t stand to see him like this.”

“There’s no need to worry, Twi. We found him, didn’t we? Once we get him to talk to Fluttershy, then he’ll be fine.” She paused for a moment, thinking. “’Course, I’m not sure I’ll be fine, if they end up being the kind of couple that makes kissy faces all the time, but at least they’ll be okay.” Rainbow shuddered at the thought of it. She wasn’t exactly a romantic pony.

The two had been listening to Discord talking to himself for only a few minutes. Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle had decided to fly over Everfree to see if they could find the Draconequus, since it was one of his favorite spots around Ponyville. The others were waiting outside the forest entrance, waiting for them to come back.

They hadn’t meant to really spy on him; they had only planned on finding him and then convincing him to go talk to Fluttershy.

But they couldn’t resist hearing Discord talking to himself and revealing his innermost feelings. It was so unlike him, after all. So they had ended up hearing almost everything Discord had said, and watched him use the clouds as his modeling clay in fascination.

“When should we go talk to him, anyway?” Rainbow Dash whispered to Twilight again. “We can’t having him know we were spying on him. We gotta play it cool, act natural.”

“And spying on me from a tree isn’t natural enough, I suppose?”

The mares nearly fell off the tree as Discord teleported in front of them. Twilight had to clutch onto her branch to keep herself from flipping over.

“Oh, uh, hey, there, Discord pal!” Rainbow Dash said. She took out a pair of sunglasses from out of nowhere and placed them on her head. “’Sup?’

Twilight just shook her head, while Discord stared at her. “You’re kidding right?”

“Don’t know what you’re talking about. Me and Twi were just chilling here,” Rainbow answered, now standing on her back legs on the branch and leaning on the trunk. She lowered the sunglasses to look at him. “But since we ran into you…”

“Stop right there, Joe Cool,” Discord said, putting a paw up as a signal to stop. “A bit of advice for the future though, Dashie: don’t tell other ponies to be quiet when you’re spying on somepony. I didn’t hear Twilight at all, but the sound of your whispers were about as loud as trumpets.”

For emphasis, a trumpet materialized out of thin air, and he blew on it.

“Ah!” they shouted in unison. Making his point, his instrument poofed into nothingness.

“Now, then. What are you two spying on me for? Because correct me if I’m wrong, but aren’t friends supposed to respect others when they want some alone time? Some privacy?”

“Discord, we’re sorry,” Twilight jumped in. She stepped off the branch and lowered herself to the ground, with Discord joining her. Rainbow stayed on her branch.

“We really didn’t mean to listen in on your…Uh…”

“Self-reflection?” Discord supplied.

“Y-yeah.” She nodded sheepishly at him for a moment. “Our intention wasn’t to spy on you. In all honesty, we were just looking for you.”

Discord raised an eyebrow. “Oh really?”

“Yeah!” Rainbow Dash jumped off her branch and spread her wings, gliding down to Discord’s eye level. “If you don’t believe us, ask Applejack! She’ll tell you the truth, you know that!”

“Applejack? And why, pray tell, would Applejack know of this? What is going on?”

The two ponies shared a look, and Twilight took a step forward. “We aren’t going to beat around the bush with you, Discord. Spike, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie, and Fluttershy are outside the forest, waiting for us. Rainbow and I were flying over the forest to see if we could spot you. We told Fluttershy—“

Discord had a very good idea of where the conversation was going. “Oh no.” He held up his paw and claw, waving and shaking his head. “No no no no no no no. I refuse to speak with her.”

“But Discord, she only wants—“

He interrupted Twilight again, folding his arms. “Not no way, not no how.”

“Aw, c’mon, dude! This is getting out of hoof!” Rainbow argued. “You know Twi and me saw you totally going all gaga over Fluttershy, moaning and groaning about how much you love her. It was disgusting!” She put two hoofs together and tried to imitate Discord’s voice. “’Oh, Fluttershy, why are you so perfect? Oh woe is me, my life is so hard, wah wah wah wah!’”

She put her face up to his and poked him hard in the snout. “You completely flipped out over Fluttershy’s reaction to Pinkie’s question, a question that all of us had in mind!”

Her deep magenta eyes seemed to grow more intense with anger.

“And you think you’ve got it rough? What about her, huh? What about Fluttershy?! You were so busy being a jerk that you told her that you were tired of her, which makes no sense, because lately, it’s like you two are glued at the hip! Do you have any clue just how sad that made her?!?”

Rainbow’s fury only added to Discord’s own anger. “Oh, you’re lecturing me now, Rainbow Dash?!? It’s not like you’re known for always thinking clearly, or never acting on your anger without considering other pony’s feelings! You don’t have any idea—“

“Guys! Guys, stop fighting!” Twilight shouted, coming over to them. They were way too close to each other for comfort. Their snouts were crushed together, their eyes glaring at each other, their teeth grit. Twilight flew between the two and kept a hoof each against their chests, in order to keep them apart so they didn’t tear at each others’ throats. “We’re all friends now, remember?!? And Discord, don’t you care about what Fluttershy—“

“I told you, I’m not talking to her!” Discord exploded, his shout so loud that it left both ponies’ ears ringing. As the always-on-the-alert Rainbow Dash tried rubbing her hurt ears, she caught a bush at the side of the clearing shaking side to side. Was it an animal? A timberwolf, possibly?

“Why not?” Twilight asked him, who didn’t see the bush.

“I just can’t, okay?!? I can’t! How can I, after what just happened? How can I look at her, and tell her that I…”

The bush shook again.

His shoulders shook, and then they sagged, his arms drooping to his sides. “That I wouldn’t mind it…”

“Guys,” Rainbow said.

They paid no attention to her. Discord was too depressed, and Twilight was too excited about finally getting to the Draconequus. “Wouldn’t mind what?” she prompted him gently, smiling gently at him.

“Guys!” Rainbow tried again.

“I wouldn’t mind being her—“

“GUYS!”

“What?!?” They turned to look at her.

“Something's in that bush…” she whispered, using her eyes to point over to it. They followed her gaze, and Discord ‘harumphed’.

“More spies, I bet.” He gave the two ponies a dirty look as he snapped his fingers, and the bush disappeared.

The ponies gasped as Discord continued glaring at them, his eyes still away from the spot he just de-forested.

“Fluttershy?!?” They said in unison.

At the sound of her name, Discord froze.

“Umm…I-I’m sorry…”

Slowly, Discord rotated his neck, his face unchanging, his eyes wide with surprise and anxiety, towards the owner of the voice.

There she was, sitting on her haunches, making a circle of dirt in the ground with her hoof, holding all three of their gazes. “It’s just that, um, you two were taking a long time, and, um, I decided that m-maybe I should look too? I can at least fly over the forest, like you two, and I-I-I just couldn’t…”

She shrunk as she stared at Discord. “I got more a-anxious just waiting with the others…” She reverted her eyes from him to her hoof, pushing it harder into the dirt as she traced her circle. “S-so I c-convinced our friends to let me go, and I heard arguing as I f-flew over here, and I heard D-Discord, and…Y-you all started talking about me, but I d-didn’t want to interrupt, yet I w-wanted to hear…I couldn’t help myself…”

Discord was still frozen, staring at her in disbelief. She eventually raised her head to stare back, sheepish and blushing, and it remained that way.

The air seemed to grow thicker with tension, and Twilight put a hoof on Rainbow Dash’s shoulder. She could tell that Rainbow Dash wanted out of there just as badly as she herself did. “Ma—ybe we should leave you two alone to talk, since Fluttershy seems to be here already…”

“Y-Yeah!” Rainbow Dash said a bit too eagerly, and the two unfurled their wings and began to ascend to the sky. “You two talk and, uh, Discord, you’ll be able to protect Fluttershy, won’t ya? Since it’s the Everfree, and all…”

The only thing Discord changed in his posture, in order to acknowledge her question, was nod. Yes, of course he would protect her. How could he not?

“Great!”

“See ya!”

The two flew away as fast as they possibly could. “Come back and meet with us when you’re done!” Twilight shouted as they made their escape.

Her shout echoed, and then dissolved into quietness, the only ones left being a scared and heartbroken Draconequus and a nervous, infatuated Pegasus.

Fluttershy continued to say nothing, but she slowly walked over to the Draconequus as if he were a scared baby bird who had fallen out of the nest, away from his mother.

She stopped when they were only a foot or two from each other—it would take only a few steps for Discord to get close enough to touch her, but he made no move.

“D-Discord…”

Her voice suddenly brought him back to the world, no longer frozen in space. “I don’t want to hear it,” he told her, turning away from her and walking towards the pond. “I already know what you’re going to say, and I just can’t deal with that at the moment. I’m sorry.”

“Already know what I’m—“ A look of anger flashed across her face. “How can you say that?” Her voice didn’t rise in volume, but it was certainly sterner than it was before. “Can you tell the future now? Because I don’t think you can.”

She flapped her wings and flew over him, only to land in front of him before he could walk any further. “We were having a lovely time today,” she began, her eyes locked onto him. She didn’t need to use The Stare to get him to stop in his tracks. “We were having fun, and everything was going fine until they caught us holding tails, because we didn’t notice we were doing such a thing. And just because I got a little nervous from Pinkie’s question, you assumed what was going through my mind at the time, and because of that, you got angry and never listened to what I had to say. And now you’re doing it again.”

“I—“ he began to protest, but Fluttershy was up in a flash and shut him up by covering his lips with her hoof.

“But you will listen to me now, and we’re going to fix this, because I don’t like fighting with you! I don’t care if you want to talk to me or not, I’ll just keep following you until you realize that I’m not going away, not ever, until we make things right, because friends stick together, and I’m not going to give up on you. You might not think you’re worth it, but I do.”

She removed her hoof, and lowered her voice to a whisper. “So will you please just listen to what I have to say?”

He looked at her serious expression, and knew that she wasn’t kidding around nor backing out. He knew that while Fluttershy was a nervous, timid pony, she also had a stubborn resoluteness to her that was able to get things done when it was absolutely necessary. At that very moment, he realized he loved that about her, along with a thousand other reasons. A list of her lovable qualities went through his head, almost too fast to process, and he immediately started to soften, his icy attitude towards her melting away.

And because of that, his voice grew tender, despite his earlier harshness with her. “What is it, dear Fluttershy?”

“I…” She paused, and her face grew crimson. “I…I just…w-wanted to say…”

“Go on,” he prompted her, and took a hoof with his paw. “I’m listening.”

Though she found his sudden affection odd after all that had happened, it still soothed her, and she found her voice again. “I know you thought that I was maybe repulsed by what Pinkie Pie suggested. I could see that’s what you believed, when I looked at you then. You thought that I didn’t like the idea of…”

Her voice grew lower. “You being my special somepony. Is that right?”

I suppose the cat’s out of the bag, now. Normally he would have conjured up a bag to literally pull a cat out of it, but now was not the time for such tricks. Now was time for seriousness. “That’s right,” he confirmed. “And I got angry. But I couldn’t help but agree with you, because, well.”

He shrugged weakly, his body feeling ten times heavier than usual. “I’m me. You’re you.”

“What do you mean?”

“What do you think it means?”

She blinked, and then broke her gaze with Discord because a shape in the sky caught her eye. Discord followed her gaze, and his eyes landed on the Cloud Fluttershy that the wind had not yet broken, still under the rule of his chaotic magic.

“Is that…?”

“Yes.”

“Did you…?”

“Yes.”

“But why?”

“Because I could. Because I was bored. Because I missed you. Because I didn’t want to be fighting. Because…” I love you He stopped himself. “Just…because.”

She blushed again, and looked up to the sky. “I look awfully lonely up there.”

“What? Why?” he asked her. “And what’s that got to do with what you have to say?”

“I-I’m just saying that I think would be much better off if she had…somepony special with her.”

Discord’s mind was in a scramble. For once in his life, he was absolutely confused. Fluttershy was not one to play with words or play games. He was. No wonder he got under so many pony’s skins with his wordplay…

“Well…maybe not somepony special,” Fluttershy said, rubbing her foreleg, still looking up at her cumulus self. “Rather…somedraconequus special—“

Discord felt his heart jump. What?

She turned to him. “—with her.”

She scooted just a tiny bit closer to him. Slowly, but surely, she put a hoof on his arm, never breaking the gaze between them, despite her red face.

“You and me…”

His eyes dragged down to her hoof on his lion arm. With movement just as slow and gentle as hers had been, he removed her hoof with is eagle claw.

Fluttershy squeaked, thinking she had been rejected, but he only moved her hoof only to place it directly on top of his paw, and covered it with his talons.

“Fluttershy.” His red irises met her blue ones. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying? That you…you want to not just be my friend, but you want...you want to be with me?”

She smiled, though she broke their gaze and blushed while moving a strand of pink gossamer hair behind her right ear. “Make a Discord Cloud.”

“What?”

“Make a Discord Cloud,” she repeated, pointing to the sky with her hoof. “I’m not going to say anything more, mister, until you make a Discord Cloud.”

Blink blink. “Why? And besides, I already made one! But he’s gone now.” He waved his own comment away, as if it were nothing, but Fluttershy thought differently.

“Gone! So you took him away from Cloud Me?”

“Wha…? Fluttershy, it’s a cloud. I got rid of one that that I made to look like me, but I kept one that looked like you. Because they're clouds. Why does that matter so much to you? Why can’t you just, just, just…Tell me what you want me to hear already! Why are you torturing me so?!? You tell me to stop being stubborn and stupid and to listen, but now all you talk of are clouds! Tell me already!”

She straightened her spine, and sat on her haunches. Looked away and closed her eyes.

“No.”

“No?!?” She was driving him crazy!

“No. Make a Discord Cloud. I won’t be happy until you do. And then once you make a Discord Cloud, I’ll ask you to be my special somedraconequus. Because I will not have you put me on a pedestal, and make a cloud to look like me, when you won’t even do it right.”

Discord’s mouth dropped. “What did you just…?”

She stood up, and put her hoof under his chin. She popped his mouth closed.

“Discord…”

“….”

“Please?”

He had no idea what she meant by the please—whether it was to make a cloud, or to be her special somepony-draconequus-colt-draco-friend-whatever, but it didn’t matter, because his answer would have been the same.

“Of course, dear Fluttershy.”

He didn’t break her gaze though. He simply pointed a talon to the sky. He continued to watch her as she pointed her head up to look, and watched her smile as she saw a Nimbus Discord next to Nimbus Fluttershy.

“Just allow me to…dare myself to make one more adjustment.”

A spark of his fingers snapping, and an equal sign next to the cloud portraits appeared.

Another snap. Next to the equal sign was a heart.

“Just one more.”

A question mark.

Fluttershy Cloud + Discord Cloud = heart ?

Her smile only grew wider as she lowered her head to look at him for the millionth time that day.

“I was nervous from Pinkie Pie’s question because you weren’t my special somepony,” she began, voice low but as warm and smooth as hot chocolate. “And I was afraid they would ask questions, and you would find out how I felt. That I didn’t see you as just my friend. That I…”

As she talked, only Discord could see was her. Her. Beautiful, perfect, Fluttershy. Talking about him in a way he never thought possible.

This isn’t actually happening…

“Well…”

Because it definitely can’t be happening. Not to me. Right?

“I wish you were my special somepony. I want you to be my special somepony.”

Dear Celestia, it’s actually happening to me.

“So…w-will you?” Though she smiled, nervousness and uncertainly came to light in her eyes.

He wanted to shout. He wanted to scream. He wanted to jump. All of it he wanted to do, only in pure and utter joy.

But he had to keep calm. He had to hide his emotion. This was Fluttershy. He was Discord. They weren’t supposed to go together.

“If I did, things would be tough,” he told her in all seriousness. “As you’re all too aware, Fluttershy, I’m not a pony. I’m a spirit of chaos. You’re the epitome, the symbol, the embodiment of kindness. And not only do our personalities show it, but our physical selves as well.”

He pointed to himself. “We don’t match. We never will. And ponies will notice. They may try to break us apart, Fluttershy. If we take this chance, things could go sour between you and me. If we try this, we also tempt breaking up our friendship. And Fluttershy…”

He lowered his head even further, clutching both of her hooves now as firmly as he could without hurting her, and placed his forehead against hers.

“I can’t lose you. Ever. It would…”

His face resembled the day she walked away from him on the frozen pond, her skates alone in the middle of the ice—large, shiny irises, looking as if he were to drown himself in tears. “It would ruin me.”

He shut them to keep himself from crying. He wouldn’t do it, not now. It was all so strange. Fluttershy just admitted to having feelings for him. Why wasn’t he being selfish, and reveling in the joy of requited affection? Why was he approaching it all so cautiously, and giving her a chance to back out of this?

Just so he wouldn’t risk losing her? Because he would rather have her as a friend forever, rather than a marefriend for a while and then possibly nothing at all if the relationship ended? Was that why?

Yes, of course it was. He couldn’t imagine a life without Fluttershy now that she was in it, and he didn’t want his love for her to break anything between them.

“I need you...” he whispered.

He looked at the clip in her hair, and stroked the strand it held against her head. “I want to say yes, I truly and honestly do,” he told her. “But I don’t know what will happen. I don’t know if we’ll last. And that scares me, Fluttershy. Not much scares me, but that does—more than I care to admit.”

As his claw came to the end of a stroke in her hair, he moved it to under her chin, supporting her head. “Will we be able to be friends forever, no matter what happens?”

The anxiety from Fluttershy’s confession had left her eyes and left nothing but affection and love on her face. “Discord, I know we might not last forever…as a couple, if we become one. I’m not a filly anymore,” she said, and nuzzled his head. “I know that. And I know that…someponies wont’ approve of us. I know it might be hard. But…”

She stopped nuzzling him and instead put her snout against his. “I wouldn’t risk being your marefriend if I thought we wouldn’t always be friends, no matter what. But you know what?”

“What, dear?”

“For all these years, as I’ve become closer with Twilight, Rainbow, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie, Spike…As I’ve made such best friends, I’ve learned many things. We’ve been through a lot. We’ve fought, we’ve argued, we’ve had our ups and our downs.”

She broke their noses apart and leaned against his chest. She smiled as he brought an arm around her, holding her close. He didn’t even think about doing it—he just did.

Their tails came together in a swirl of pink and red.

They did that without thinking, too.

“But we’re all still together. And me and you? We have been friends for little more than a year now, still together. We’ve been through a lot, you and me. And to me, that’s proof that we’ll always be close friends, no matter what.”

“…Even if we become more than friends? No matter how long that may be?”

“Yes…” she sighed happily. “Whether we last for a day or forever, Discord. You’ll never lose me.”

His other arm came around her too, and she found herself being pushed against him in an embrace.

“Fluttershy.”

She could feel him trembling, his shoulders shaking.

He was sobbing.

She said nothing. She only continued to smile, and wrapped her hooves around his skinny, snakelike body.

“Fluttershy.”

She rubbed his back.

“I love you, Fluttershy. I don’t deserve you, as a friend or anything more, but I swear to you, darling, I’m all yours if you’ll have me. I love you.”

She wasn’t surprised when tears came to her own eyes. She was so happy.

“Oh Discord…” She rose her head out of his chest and met his eyes. “You’ve got to stop putting me on a pedestal. It’s just me: Fluttershy. Your friend…No—“ Her cheeks turned pink. “Your marefriend. I don’t think I’m any better than you at all. You deserve to be happy, Discord, and I’m so, so glad that…that you love me…”

She held his face with his hooves. “Because I love you, too.”

“Dear goodness, Fluttershy,” he replied, using his paw to wipe tears away from his face. “That Celestia…She really knew which pony would be able to tug at mine heartstrings, hmm?”

She giggled. “Yes, but I’m sure this wasn’t part of her plan. Though I’m sure it won’t be a problem with her. You know, we won’t be the first couple that isn’t the same species, you know.”

“Really?” He seemed excited at the thought. He didn’t delude himself into thinking ponies wouldn’t be against it, but at least they weren’t the first to fall for another species.

“Oh, yes. There have been a couple marriages between species, all of which Celestia approved. I know, because I’ve read on them.”

“Oh?” he raised an eye on her. Though his heart still pounded and his adrenaline still ran, his humor started to return. “And what exactly would compel you to read such literature, Fluttershy? It doesn’t sound like the sort of research Twilight would recommend to you. Hmm?”

She blushed at him. “I might have been curious, since…I was experiencing it myself.”

“Hmm,” he nodded, grinning ear to ear. “If only I had known you were interested in such things. Then maybe I would have told you sooner.”

“W-well…At least you know now.”

“Yes.”

They shared a tender gaze at each other, before the silence started to feel a bit awkward.

“You know…” Discord broke the silence. “I may have lived a long time, but I have no experience in this…kind of thing. I’m not exactly a hit with the ladies. But then again, I was never interested…until I reformed and became friends with you.”

Fluttershy stared at the ground, hugging herself. “I don’t know anything about it either. I know all about friendship…b-but not about….l-love.”

As she had her hooves around herself, blushing, with a nervous frown on her face, but nonetheless happy, Discord found her irresistible.

“So you’ve never been kissed, I suppose.”

“Eep!” She jumped up, her hoof covering her mouth. “K-kissed?!?” she blurted. “Like….” She started to whisper. “…on the lips?”

Discord kicked at the dirt, staring at a rock. “Well…Yes. I wasn’t planning on kissing your ears or something. That would just be anticlimactic.” He looked at her again. “I-I’m just saying…”

He scratched his head, and Fluttershy was relieved to see him just as nervous as she was, as red as she was. “We could try it. Just for a second. Nothing fancy," he said.

Their eyes locked.

“Um.” She gulped. “O-on the c-count of th-three?” she suggested.

“That…sounds like a good plan. Shall I start?”

“O-okay.”

“E-excellent.” He massaged his throat and then cleared him. “Ahem. Well then.”

He laid on his stomach, so he would be easy for her to reach. They only stood a few inches apart now.

“O-one...”

He started stretching out his neck towards her, and she brought her face closer.

“T-two…” she whispered.

Only a moment more.

“Three!” they said in unison.

As fast as they could, they closed the distance between them, eyes shut tight. Their lips touched in a quick, chaste kiss. It was only a second, a kiss usually only foals in puppy love shared. But they were new at this, and that was all they were ready for at the beginning of this beautiful relationship. It resulted in a high clicking noise as they broke apart.

Mwah!

It ended as soon as it began, but for them, it was a big step, a step they planned on taking together.

Their eyes opened as they pulled away, followed by a bashful grin of Fluttershy’s, while Discord’s was just plain goofy, yet adorable.

“Well then!” he said, in such high spirits he felt he could fly to the moon and back. “Fluttershy, my beautiful darling, my partner in kindness and chaos…”

He offered her his arm. “Shall we go meet up with our friends now and subject ourselves to the torture of a thousand questions in regards to our new relationship?”

Fluttershy laughed, and she put her foreleg through the crook of his arm. “Yes, Discord. Let’s.”

Snap!

They disappeared from the clearing of the forest, as they teleported to their friends.

But little did they know that their friends knew that it had ended well.

Why?

Because, off in the distance, they could see two clouds—one resembling their beloved butter-yellow Pegasus, and the other their new friend of Chaos.

A large, cloudy heart encased the two.

And at the sight, nothing but cheering ensued.

Author's Note

Ah, I'm not sure how I feel about this! I like it, but some seems a bit rushed, other parts seem awkward, but I really liked a lot of the concepts and ideas I used, and the cute little kiss that was way too chaste for their age was awesome, but I'm nervous. Excited. Nervouscited. Please let me know what you think! I'd love your feedback. I hope you all at least liked it. As always, I'm a big girl--I can take some constructive criticism, and I take it very gratefully. Thank you, friends, for reading and for your patience!