Princess Celestia listened intently to Twilight as she explained everything that had transpired on their journey to defeat Misfortune, interrupting only once when Twilight informed her of the soul twine between Discord and Fluttershy.
"Twilight, I am very proud that you were even able to perform a soul twine. That is a difficult spell, but it should not be taken lightly. Do you understand the implications of twining a mortal soul to an immortal soul?" Celestia looked at her pupil gravely.
Twilight paled before responding, "Well, I know the implications of the soul twine, but I never even thought about Discord's immortality... I looked through all the soul twine books, and it didn't say anything about mortal or immortal souls..."
Celestia reached over and put her hoof on her student's shoulder, reassuring her and stopping the hyperventilation process. "You couldn't have known, Twilight. There isn't a lot of literature on the soul twine, and what little there is rarely speaks of the consequences." The Princess turned to Discord and Fluttershy, who had been listening to the whole exchange with confusion. "When one twines an immortal soul to a mortal soul, there is a chance that the mortal soul's life will be extended much longer than would have been possible normally."
Discord looked over at Fluttershy, who was thinking it over carefully. She rolled her hooves together before responding to Princess Celestia, "So, I'll live a longer life now? How long is this going to be, exactly?"
Celestia shook her head. "I cannot be certain. It has never been done before. Starswirl the Bearded once hypothesized that in this situation, the mortal soul could live up to five hundred years more than normal." Celestia looked over at Fluttershy sympathetically. "Fluttershy, I know this is a lot to take in. Trust me, finding out that you are going to outlive most of your friends is one of the hardest things to hear."
When Fluttershy didn't respond, only sat there looking at her hooves in deep thought, Princess Luna spoke up from the other end of the table. "I think perhaps it is time for everyone to get some rest, sister. They've had a long journey and I'm sure they are very tired."
"As always, you are right. You all may stay here for the night and catch the train to Ponyville tomorrow."
Everyone bade the Princesses a good night before heading to their individual rooms, Fluttershy and Discord going to the same room. Fluttershy walked around silently for a while, only half listening to Discord's babbling as she got ready for bed.
"My dear, I don't believe it. You are going to live a longer, happier life and what's even better, you get to spend it with me! Won't that be just loads of fun?!....Fluttershy? Fluttershy are you even listening?" Discord materialized in front of her and poked her in the nose, snapping her out her trance and causing her to blink several times before giving him a small smile.
"Oh, I'm sorry Discord... I was just, um, thinking." Fluttershy looked down at the ground, a sad look crossing her face.
Discord frowned at her before taking her small face in his paw, looking into her eyes. "What's the matter? Don't you want to live longer with me?"
Fluttershy gave him a reassuring smile, "Oh, but I do! The more time I have with you, the better... but..."
Discord coaxed her into talking more when she didn't continue, "But....? But what, my dear?"
"Well, it's just that, um, what about my friends? I'll outlive every single one of them... I'll have to watch them die and attend their funerals and-and... oh I just can't think about it!" She tore herself from Discord and threw herself face down on the bed, crying into the blankets.
Discord looked after her sadly before going to the bed and sitting on the edge. He sat there for a moment before looking back at her, "Do you... do you regret soul twining with me?"
She sat up and tearfully responded, "Of course I don't regret it... but... I don't know, this is just going to take a long time to adjust to."
"If you had known you were going to live longer at the time, would you have still decided to soul twine with me?" Discord asked, looking at her hopefully.
Fluttershy sighed, "Of course I would have, Discord. That's not the point, though. You understand, don't you?"
Discord wrapped his body around her, "Of course. Let's get some sleep, we can talk about it more tomorrow."
Fluttershy yawned widely and nodded, snuggling into him. Discord soon fell asleep, soft snoring filling the room. Fluttershy, however, was having a hard time falling asleep. Yes, her body was tired and wanted her to sleep, but her mind kept rolling around around, keeping her from it.
Finally, she sighed in defeat and slowly disentangled herself from Discord's sleeping form, walking slowly and quietly across the room and to the door. Once out in the hallway, she made her way to the kitchens, hoping that some warm chamomile tea would help put her mind at ease enough to get some shut eye. She hadn't realized, of course, just how big the Canterlot castle really was, for she soon found herself wandering hallways that she didn't recognize. She meandered through the darkened hallways, lit only by elaborate torches along the walls that cast strange shadows and flickered ominously. Fluttershy was just starting to imagine monsters slinking in the shadows when a voice behind her startled her, causing her to squeak.
"Fluttershy, what are you doing wandering the halls by yourself?" Princess Luna had been doing her night patrols, accompanied by her night guards.
"Oh!...Princess, I was, um, just trying to find my way to the kitchens... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get in the way or anything." Fluttershy hid behind her mane, looking at the ground.
"Don't be silly, you're not in the way at all. If you'd like, I can escort you to the kithens." Luna smiled warmly at her,
