The Taxonomy of the Lower Reaches of the Discordian Dimensions

Starswirl and Twilight rushed up from their seats when Fluttershy materialized in the lab.

"You're back! Where's Discord? Did you find anything?"

Fluttershy was still reeling from everything. "I...I..." she began, then she collapsed.

"Let's get her to the couch!" said Starswirl.

The alicorn and unicorn lifted her with their magic and gently placed her on the couch cushions.

"I'm fine," Fluttershy was saying. "Just very tired."

Suddenly she remembered the parchment she had in her saddlebag.

"The description!" she said, pointing to the bag. "Discord found the monster and he wrote a description of it!"

Starswirl opened the bag and pulled it out.

"We need to get this information to Princess Celestia and Princess Cadance as soon as possible," said Twilight. "I'll have Spike take a message immediately." She galloped out of the room with the parchment.

"You saw the monster?" said Starswirl.

"Yes. In fact, Discord caught it. But then it escaped again."

"Where is it now?"

"I don't know. It was gone when I woke up."

"Woke up?"

"Yes. It attacked me, but I'm fine now. I promise." She didn't want everyone making a fuss over her when there were more important things happening right now.

"Attacked you?"

"Please, I'm fine." Suddenly she remembered something. "Wait! There's something about the monster Discord left out of the description. It changes colour."

"Changes colour..."

"It turned white before it attacked me."

"I'll let Twilight know right away before she sends off that letter!" said Starswirl, getting up to leave. He placed his hoof over hers and looked at her.

"Are you sure you're alright, dear. You can tell me, you know."

She nodded and attempted a smile.

"Alright then." He headed up the stairs.

"It attacked you?" shouted Scriptum. Fluttershy jumped. She hadn't seen him there.

"Yes, but I'm fine now I..."

"Discord is such a selfish horsehole!" shouted Scriptum. "He put you in harm's way without a moment's thought for your safety!"

Fluttershy couldn't help but feel like she was being handled with filly gloves again.

"Um, it wasn't quite like that. We caught the animal and we thought it was trapped, but it got out."

"That's precisely what I mean! He thought it was trapped but clearly he was being careless as usual. Fluttershy, he didn't even come back with you. What kind of friend would just 'send you on your way' after you were attacked by a dangerous creature?"

Fluttershy's heart sank a little. A friend whose heart I just broke.

"Listen, it doesn't matter. I feel fine. Discord looked after me."

"We really should get you to the hospital! What if you end up like that other pony?"

"I feel fine," she said for what felt like the umpteenth time. She really didn't want to continue talking about this, and she suddenly felt extremely overwhelmed by everything. "Listen, I think I need to lie down in bed. It's been a long day."

"Are you sure you're feeling okay? Do you want me to hold you while you rest?"

Fluttershy thought of the letters she assumed had been written by the pale blue stallion before her. She just wanted to be alone. She had hurt Discord's feelings, she had thought the messages on the species sheets were from one person and not another, she had been attacked by a chaos animal, and the pony at the hospital was still in critical condition. She really didn't want to be alone with anything but her thoughts.

"T-that sounds nice, but right now I think I need to just rest and think about a few things," she said softly.

"Are you sure?"

She nodded and started to make her way to her room.

"Well, let me know if you need anything," said Scriptum. He reached out to touch her but she brushed past him hurriedly.

Once Fluttershy was alone in her room she shut the door behind her and sank to the floor against it.

The tears rushed out unchecked. She felt so awful about hurting Discord. She hadn't meant to, she knew that, but at the same time the look on his face when he realized she was interested in someone else hurt her kind heart. He had put on a brave front, but she knew her friend only too well- he was dying inside. He had tried putting on a brave front when he felt threatened by Tree Hugger as well. This was a whole other level of pain though.

Then there was Scriptum. She had feelings for him, but how much of it was real when she had based a lot of the situation on assumptions about who exactly had written her those messages? Yes, Scriptum did appear to be a nice and shy pony like herself, but the person who had written those things had been her friend.

She wished none of this had happened.

A wave of exhaustion suddenly overcame her and she got to her feet slowly and climbed into bed. The duvet covers felt soft and welcoming, but she feared sleep wouldn't come right away.

She had a lot to think about. Fluttershy had her own secrets.

Scriptum was fuming. How dare Discord be so careless with Fluttershy! He knew he shouldn't have been stuck here writing the species sheets. He should have gone with her to make sure everything was okay. He thought of the mare that he knew was only a few rooms down from his. She was soft and shy and sweet. The perfect mare to take home to meet his parents, and society dinners in Canterlot and perhaps even to the Grand Galloping Gala. And yet here she was, hanging around with a former criminal! His initial assessment had been correct- Fluttershy was just too kind for her own good. She needed protecting, especially from people like the draconequus.

He remembered the day Tirek had invaded and stolen everyone's magic, his included. Scriptum and his parents had been enjoying dinner in a cafe in downtown Canterlot, when they heard the screams. He would never forget the look on the snow white unicorn's face as it ran towards him.

"Run!" they had screamed. "Run for your--"

Suddenly the unicorn had stopped in mid run, as if it was paralyzed, a look of terror and pain frozen on its face. Then it fell to the ground, weakened.

Before Scriptum could ask him if he was alright, he felt his own magic draining from him.

It had actually hurt.

At first the sensation was like that of a hoof that had gone to sleep, but as more and more of his magic was seeped out of him it felt like his nerves were on fire. He was about to scream when he collapsed onto the ground, the pain replaced by extreme fatigue and a dull ache in his joints. His parents were laying next to him, also looking very frightened. His mother in particular had looked terrified.

Scriptum had never felt such fear. Nothing like this had happened in Canterlot in his lifetime. Even the return of Nightmare Moon had not been this terrifying, and besides, Luna was now once again a gentle and wise ruler alongside the Princess of the Sun. Tirek seemed relentless.

He watched the centaur tower above them as the magic was sucked out of his family. For one terrible moment, he was worried Tirek would lift one of his great hooves and crush them all. Instead the centaur looked down at them coldly as if they were nothing but resources to be harvested--which to him they were--and turned and walked off to find his next set of victims.

Scriptum knew Discord had been involved. He hadn't seen the draconequus that day, but he knew what had happened. Discord had betrayed them all. The Princesses, his friends and most of all Fluttershy. He had given them all to the centaur, and while Tirek had initially stolen their magic, Scriptum shuddered to think what else might have happened during Tirek's reign if Tirek had been successful in defeating Twilight. He knew there were awful people out there who liked to enslave mares in particular. And to think, Discord would likely have just stood by and laughed while it happened.

"You go and check on Fluttershy," said Starswirl to Twilight. "Leave this with me and I'll get it to the archivist. We're going to need this description to be sent out to all the leaders in Equestria and possibly stick up some posters around various towns. And we mustn't forget to include that the thing seems to change colour, as Fluttershy said."

Twilight nodded. She was concerned about the Pegasus, especially after she had heard she had been attacked. She also needed to know where Discord was.

The Princess walked down the hall to Fluttershy's room. She knocked tentatively on the door with her forehoof.

Fluttershy started at the noise.

"I said I wanted to be left alone!" she implored.

"Oh...I'm so sorry, Fluttershy! I didn't mean to wake you," said Twilight. "I'll go now..."

"No!"

Twilight stopped. "No?"

"No. I mean, yes. Um, I mean, yes you can come in."

Twilight opened the door a crack with a creaking sound and poked her head round.

In the dim light she could see Fluttershy. Her mane was dishevelled and she had clearly been crying. She had the covers pulled up around her chin and her ears were flattened against her head.

Twilight moved into the room and lit the bedside lamp using her magic.

"Fluttershy? What happened."

"Oh, Twilight! I hurt him. I didn't mean to, but I did."

"Are you talking about Discord or Scriptum?"

"Discord!" she wailed. "He thought I had feelings for him but I...I don't now. I can't. And I met a nice pony and nice ponies don't do hurtful things like betray you and laugh at you and I just wanted someone who wouldn't do those things who was nice and I...I..."

She broke down into sobs.

"Hey," said Twilight softly, putting her arm around the distraught pegasus. "Hey, it's okay." She was trying to make sense of Fluttershy's ramblings. What did she mean by "I don't now?" Did she mean...? Twilight shook her head.

"I want to help you, but in order to do that you need to tell me what happened. Obviously if you'd rather not you don't have to, but please know that I'm here for you, Fluttershy."

"Discord's in love with me."

Twilight nodded. She and the others had suspected that something like this was brewing.

"And you don't return his feelings so he's upset."

"Y...Yes. And he's upset about me and Scriptum."

Twilight sighed. She knew the draconequus felt threatened by anything that could potentially jeopardize his friendship with Fluttershy. This was perhaps something he found even more threatening. It seemed no one had ever taught Discord about how to manage emotions and wants and fears. He just rode the wave of whatever feeling crashed down on him and seemed completely at its mercy. Twilight did, however, notice that Scriptum had not yet been buried alive or hung upside down from the ceiling like a piñata; that was one good thing, at least.

"Oh, Twilight. I don't know what to do."

Twilight thought for a moment, her hoof on her chin. "At the moment? I don't think you have to do anything. It's not on you to fix this. I know Discord must be hurting, but you have been straight with him from the outset that you were seeing other stallions. If Scriptum makes you happy then it's really not Discord's place to tell you who you can and can't see."

"He hasn't done that."

"Well that's good."

Twilight was puzzled. Normally by now the draconequus would have pulled some sort of prank or possibly terrorized Scriptum in a similar manner to Tree Hugger. What was his game?

Maybe he doesn't have one this time. Maybe he's really, really upset.

Twilight was pulled from her thoughts when she heard Fluttershy whisper: "what if he hates me?"

"Oh, Fluttershy. No, I'm sure Discord doesn't hate you. He's just hurting. He'll come around."

I hope.

"It probably sounds cliché," said the Pegasus softly, "but my Mother warned me about Discord."

"Oh?"

"Yes. She said she didn't want her daughter hanging around with a convicted criminal. She said she was worried about me, that I was too trusting.  But he was really trying, Twilight. I know he was. And then..."

"Tirek."

"Yes."

"Everyone thinks I'm a naïve, stupid little pony," Fluttershy said angrily. "Did everyone think I didn't know Discord was a former criminal? Of course I did. But I also know he was a lonely person who just needed a little kindness. But now everyone thinks I'm just an airhead who could break like glass. Even Scriptum."

"Have you talked to Scriptum about this?"

Fluttershy played with the ends of her blanket nervously. "No, I'm not sure how he's going to react. Besides he doesn't know about...about. I'm not sure I'm ready to talk with him about certain things regarding Discord."

"Fluttershy, if you don't mind my asking, what did you mean when you said 'you didn't have feelings for Discord now'"?

"What did you think I meant, Twilight?" Fluttershy said softly.

"You loved him."

"Yes...I mean no! I mean, I don't know. It felt like that was starting to happen. He was really trying. He wanted to learn more about friendship. He...he would do nice things for me. He took me on field trips. Only they weren't ordinary field trips. We went to the Horsetralian Outback! He showed me all these amazing animals like quolls and wallabies. He said he liked seeing me laugh. He was...sweet. Nobody believes me when I say Discord can be sweet. They just pity me and think 'poor, naïve Fluttershy. Hanging around with Discord again. She's going to get her heart broken.' And I did, Twilight. I thought Discord had changed, and he gave me... gave us to Tirek, and he laughed at me when he did it. It felt like when those ponies from flight school used to bully me and call me names, only worse. So my mother was right. I should have gone out with a nice stallion and not hoped for...whatever it was I was hoping for. I still want to be Discord's friend, but my mother was right."

She was rocking back and forth, trying to soothe herself.

"Am I a bad pony, Twilight?"

"What?! No, no of course not!"

"Then why does it feel that way?"

"I don't know. But you couldn't help the way the situation turned out, so please don't blame yourself. It's not your fault that you have feelings for a nice stallion. In fact, I'd say it's a perfectly normal reaction to being hurt- wanting someone kind and loving. I hope it works out for you two."

"And Discord?"

"I hope it works out for him too, but he has to come to terms with how he's feeling himself. Don't feel guilty for something you can't help."

Fluttershy nodded reluctantly.

"Did Discord say when he was coming back?"

"No," whispered Fluttershy. "He just said he was going to track down the monster."

"Well, if anyone can find a creature of chaos, he can."

"He pretended like everything was fine. But I know it wasn't."

"Fluttershy," said Twilight, putting her hoof gently on her friend's arm. "Please don't worry. I'm sure Discord will come around eventually. And you really cannot blame yourself."

She stood up to take her leave.

"Try to get some sleep, hun. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

"Twilight?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

The alicorn smiled at her friend, and gently closed the door behind her.

Fluttershy lay back down on her pillow. All she could think about was Discord.

Discord floated in the vast emptiness of space in a foetal position. He wasn't sure precisely how long he had been drifting across the cosmos. It could have been anything from hours to weeks. Remnants of stars glowed dimly in the distance. The draconequus had laid waste to an entire galaxy, and he was now spent. It had felt good destroying humongous asteroids and billions of miles of planets and stars, but it had done nothing to get rid of the pain in his heart.

Fluttershy.

He wanted her badly--her touch, her love. They all felt like a soothing emollient after that accursed statue. True, touch had taken a while to get used to (he still wasn't used to Pinkie Pie touching him- she came on too strong) but he knew the day he had first leaned into Fluttershy's touch that he was lost. She was so...amazing. After all the things he had done she wanted to be his friend. But at the same time he had felt confused by the situation. He wanted to cause chaos, especially after a thousand years of being in solitary confinement. It felt so freeing and comforting to get loose his magic after all that enveloping greyness. He shivered as he thought about it. Greyness...nothing but greyness and the sound of pony's voices as they passed his statue. Occasionally a couple would have a lover's tiff under his pedestal and he felt his power grow as he absorbed the disharmony between them, but moments like that were rare.

When he got out of the statue the first time it had been because of a situation like this. Only--and he still found it bitterly amusing--it had been schoolfoals arguing with each other. He had absorbed the disharmony just enough to feel the stone around him crack--then he knew he would be free. He remembered the feeling of scrabbling towards the light desperately, then he flew upwards and it was like shedding a terrible crushing weight.

And he had let loose. Flying houses, fields full of popcorn, bunnies with stilt legs, barking stallions, very inclement weather...the list when on and on.

Then he had decided that he really did not want this to happen again, so he hid the elements. Oh, Celestia thought he was going to just leave well enough alone after all that? Hell, no. He was going to mess with her new protégé and her friends and he was going to enjoy every minute of it.

Of course he had his flank handed back to him and ended up back in stone, this time with a look of abject terror on his face, because this time he had knew what was coming. He had actually screamed until he was hoarse inside his stone prison, but of course, no one had heard him. He could hear everything, but no one could hear him. After a while he began to wonder if he really had escaped from the statue the first time. It was entirely possible he could have hallucinated the entire incident.  He had been lost in hallucinations before. There had been hundreds of incidents through the centuries where he believed he was free and spreading chaos, only to be kicked in the teeth when he realized the grey emptiness was back and he could do nothing.

Then the second time he had been released, he had flexed his chaotic muscles instantly, and then focused on the face of the pony he had corrupted in the maze the first time. She was back, and his hallucinations did not seem to repeat themselves as a rule. Was she real? It was laughable that she and the others thought he was going to entirely play ball. Sure, he'd go along with this stupid charade of Celestia's to avoid anymore time in the stone box, but there was no way he was going over to the side of friendship.

Of course he had been wrong about that too.

But that didn't mean everything was okay again. As Discord began to know Fluttershy better, he also realized that something was very, very wrong.

He had been deprived of touch and smell and taste for so long that he often woke up from terrible dreams screaming. One evening he spent the night on Fluttershy's couch after a pleasant dinner and tea. He had awoken to the sight of her lovely, concerned face.

"Discord, are you okay? You...were crying out in your sleep. Like you were pain."

For some reason he had instinctively scanned the look of concern on her face for any hint of deception. It had been an automatic reflex, but the look in her eyes was 100% genuine. She was worried about him.

He let out a sigh then patted her on the head awkwardly. "It's nothing, Flutters. Just a bad dream, obviously. Go back to sleep."

"Are you sure? I could make us some cocoa and we could talk about it..."

"No!"

She look startled.

"Er...no." he said in a softer tone. "It's fine. Really. Just one of those things, and I'm sure it will all be forgotten once I get some sleep."

But he hadn't slept for the rest of the night. He was absolutely terrified of closing his eyes, in case he opened them again and instead of being met with Fluttershy's face he was met with the grey nothingness again.

"Horsefeathers," he whispered into the darkness once Fluttershy was back in her room.

He lay there, listening to the sounds of the house settling and thought of the pony who wanted to be his friend sleeping above him.

The dreams continued to happen, as well as terrifying gaps in his short-term memory, which he didn't dare mention to Fluttershy. Sometimes he couldn't remember what he had said moments before. He hid it well. The last thing he wanted was for ponies to know he had weak spots.

One day he had collapsed shivering on the floor of Fluttershy's cottage. She found him, and after making sure he was okay, lay next to him, covering him with her soft wing. He nearly started crying then and there. No pony had ever been so kind to him.

He reached out for her and touched her face.

Please be real.

She didn't flinch at his touch. Maybe she wasn't real.

But I want her to be.

Don't be silly, his mind told him. Beautiful, nice mares want nothing to do with ruffians like you. You know that only too well.

"Discord?"

"Yes?" he asked her, snapping back to the present.

"You were staring into space again. Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yes. Yes, I am. I'm...just tired is all. You ponies have a lot of pep in you and I guess you forget these old draconequus bones are eons old."

He smiled at her.

"Well, okay," she said. "Just please tell me if anything's wrong, alright?"

"I'm right as rain, Flutter Nutter. Like I said, just a bit of fatigue. Even us incredibly handsome and powerful chaos mages get tired sometimes."

She shook her head and smiled at him.

"As long as you're sure."

And she touched his face with her hoof. And he had leaned into it automatically, like the sucker he was.

Discord hungered for touch. Even before the statue it had been something he wanted. It was rare that a pony wanted to touch him, and especially rare for one to want to sleep with him.

He did have his share of lovers before the statue had disrupted his existence, though they were nearly always short lived affairs that usually ended with Discord sneaking away before things could get too complicated. But always, he went back to wanting touch. To the incredible feeling of knowing someone wanted to run their hands or hooves all over him and not be repulsed by the fact that they had slept with the Lord of Chaos.

Discord had wondered if Fluttershy would ever want to touch him like that. He doubted it, but that didn't mean he didn't fantasize like any other male.

He had tried to kid himself that it was just because she was pretty, but deep down he knew that wasn't true. He was falling in love with her.

She always looked so happy to see him.

It couldn't possibly be real.

So he had thrown it away, joining Tirek and writhing under the centaur's touch instead. Not his ideal choice of partner, but whatever. He needed to be touched; jolted if possible into reality, whatever it took-whether it be sex, chaos or flinging oneself against a wall. He didn't care.

Of course that had been the biggest mistake of his entire life, and one he was sure he was still paying for.

Discord's head snapped up in the darkness of space as he heard a noise. Space was meant to be void of sound. Maybe he had imagined it.

He was about to drift off again when the sound repeated: three sharp knocks, as if someone was banging on a door.

As if on cue, a door appeared in space before Discord. He grabbed hold of the handle.

"Better see who it is," he muttered.

Starswirl assessed the view before him as Discord opened the front door of his house.

The chaos god looked even scruffier than usual, if that was possible. His mane stuck out in tufts, his feathers and fur looked unkempt. He looked like he hadn't slept for days. He sported an equally bedraggled bathrobe and held a cup of tea in his claw.

Starswirl took one look at the draconequus's tired, red eyes and dishevelled form and instantly formed an opinion.

"You're in love with her," he said.

"In love with who?" said Discord, trying to force an innocent grin.

Starswirl sighed. Discord could be a terrible liar for a trickster.

"With Fluttershy."

"I don't know what you are talking about."

"You want to explain to me why we haven't heard from you for days then? Why Fluttershy came back alone and said that you needed some time to yourself?"

Discord's heart ached. Even now she was looking out for him. It just made him want her more. Her kindness felt like a drug. He almost wished she had been cruel to him, it might be easier to bear.

"I'm not in love."

"Please! You admitted before this project started that she didn't feel the same way about you. What was I supposed to glean from that?"

"Maybe I overestimated my feelings."

"From what I can see, you seem to have underestimated them. When was the last time you had a shower?"

"What's the point? Being clean is a pointless exercise if everyone hates you anyway."

"You can't let yourself go down this hole, Discord. Your friends need you."

"Do they? Because they seem to be getting on just fine without me."

"You know that's not true..."

"Yes it is! Especially now that Mr. Wonderful has come onto the scene." The vicious, bitter tone in Discord's voice got rid of any doubt Starswirl had with regards to his feelings about Fluttershy. "I wouldn't be surprised if Twilight and Fluttershy hate my guts."

"Oh come now! You know that's not true!"

Discord turned so that his back was to Starswirl. His voice went very quiet.

"And it's what I deserve.  I can't do anything right, and it's not like it's even completely unintentional because I thrive on doing the wrong thing, so it's all my fault, and I know it's my fault. Because it's true. I am unlovable."

"Discord..."

"I. Am. Unlovable. There, I said it."

Discord turned to face Starswirl again, and the unicorn was surprised to see that the chao god's eyes were wet. There was also a wild, pained look in them.

"Why is it so easy for everyone to deal with this crap if this is what everyone goes through?"

"I don't understand what you mean."

"I'm not sure I do either, but apparently you all go through your lives loving someone who doesn't love you back."

"Well, yes we've all been there."

"Then explain to me what I'm supposed to do to make this awful feeling go away?"

"There's not much you can do. The only cure is time."

"Is that it?" snapped Discord.

"Is what it?"

"Time? That's all? Well, I've got all the time the world. And then what happens after that? More being unloved? And after that? Shall I just set up real estate in the Land of the Unlovable?"

Starswirl tried to keep calm. Trying to talk to Discord about this was like trying to comfort a teenage filly who had just been dumped by her first love, only Discord was much more passive-aggressive about the whole thing. He was clearly hurting, but was completely impervious to any advice given to him.

"You don't get it.," said Discord, picking at a loose thread on his bathrobe with his talon. "I thought...I thought she felt the same way about me for one amazing moment. She felt good. Being around her felt good. I let my guard down, I thought it was safe to let my guard down because I thought I had proof she loved me. I made the mistake of thinking someone could actually do that again, because I'm an idiot. The whole time it was him. There's no way I can fix this. I no longer want to do the project."

Starswirl swivelled to look at him. "You can't quit! We need you on this project! You're the brains behind it all!"

"Right. You want me around when you need something, but when I need something who gives a flank, right?"

"It's not like that..."

"Oh, but it is."

"You're wrong Discord. Your friends care about you."

"What did Fluttershy say?"

"Oh, um. Well she gave us the description of the beast and said you were still looking for it."

"That's all, huh?"

"Well, yes but she looked very tired and everyone had a long day by that point, Discord."

"It's okay. I'm sure she had a restful sleep in Book Boy's arms."

Discord was torturing himself. Starswirl wished he could make the draconequus stop.

"Discord, I know that you're hurting right now, but there's a pony in hospital that's sick and may be dying. We need to continue to hunt for the monster."

"And what if I don't feel like it?" said Discord, turning and walking back into his living room.

"Then your friends will think you've abandoned them."

"So let them," said Discord. He was now laying down on the couch, and facing away from Starswirl.

Starswirl visibly paled. "You can't mean that."

"Can't I?" came the low, dangerous growl. "It's all I've known. Maybe someone else can enjoy it for a change."

Now it was Starswirl's turn to feel furious.

"You'd just abandon your friends like that? Because someone doesn't return your romantic attentions?"

"They abandoned me first."

"No! They didn't Discord. They're still there for you. You just refuse to see that."

A haughty snort was Discord's only response.

Before he could stop himself Starswirl growled "Twilight was right, you are selfish."

Discord turned to look at him, a look of shock on his face, then his expression changed to that of resignation. Without even trying, Starswirl realized he had just vindicated some of Discord's fears.

Oh, bum.

"Fine," said Discord, rolling over again. "I'm selfish."

The tension in the room made Starswirl feel as if he had overstayed his welcome, but he decided to try once more.

"Discord...we..."

"Just go," came the snarl. "Before I do something I'll regret."

Starswirl shook his head. He was pretty sure Discord already had.

Fluttershy was worried. Several days had passed and no one had heard from Discord. She knew Starswirl had gone to look for him but she feared the worst. That monster was still out there.

But that wasn't all she was afraid of. She still couldn't shake the fear that she had hurt him beyond repair. She almost wished he'd show up and cause a scene. Anything but this awkward silence.

Maybe it was time to talk to Scriptum. She needed a shoulder to cry on besides Twilight's.

She walked up the stairs to the library, feeling rather fatigued by everything.

They had searched everywhere for the creature or more portals, but so far there had been no signs of either. Twilight and Starswirl had tried developing an anti-venom for the creature using the samples of jelly material they had found, but they soon realized that they had nothing to test it on except the poor pony at the hospital. That could be dangerous. Starswirl had argued that it might be the pony's last hope, and Twilight said it hadn't come to that yet, so that they should wait to test it until there was no other choice and it was a last resort. Twilight had lamented that she wished Discord was here. He knew more about chaos than anyone and his knowledge was sorely needed.

Fluttershy reached the top of the stairs still lost in thought, then wandered into the library. Scriptum was at his desk, scribbling furiously. She smiled a little. He was so committed to this project.

"Hello," she said, smiling at him.

"Hi," he said, a little too tersely. She wondered if she had imagined it.

"I was wondering if you'd like to have a break and a cup of tea?"

"Why?" he snapped

She was taken aback.

"Um...because I enjoy your company and I was wondering if you wanted a break."

"Do you really enjoy my company, Fluttershy? Or do you prefer the company of former felons who treat you like dirt?"

"What?!"

Scriptum picked up one of the species sheets and thrust it into her face.

"Is this what you do? Lead several stallions on at once as some sort of mind game?"

It was Discord's sheet about her. Oh no, she didn't want to go through this whole thing again from the different side of the coin.

"Wait, no. You don't understand...!"

"Don't I? Because it seems pretty cut and dried to me. I've seen the way he looks at you and touches you. Maybe you flirt back at him for all I know. Are you crazy, mare? He'll just hurt you, again and again. You know he will. He gave you to Tirek."

Fluttershy's ears drooped.

"Scriptum, listen to me. I didn't know it was Discord who wrote that and I wouldn't have responded the way I did if I had known. I thought it was you because you write things in his handwriting style."

Scriptum snorted. "You expect me to believe that?" But part of him was hopeful.

"I thought it was you who had written those things, because you seemed like a nice pony. Most stallions don't say things like that about me. They just say I'm pretty, which I don't even think is true, but...I...I..."

She couldn't think of what else to say.

Scriptum gaped at her. She was one of the most beautiful mares he had ever seen and she didn't believe it. But he also fixated on the phrase "most stallions." How many were there, vying for her attention?

Before he could stop himself he said "Fluttershy, are you one of those mares that likes bad colts?"

Not for the first time that evening, Fluttershy looked shocked.

"Is that what you think of me?" she said angrily

"Wait, no. I'm sorry. Please...I'm sorry Fluttershy. It's just that I'm stressed out with all this work and I saw the species sheet and I just snapped. Please..."

He got up and walked towards her, taking her hooves in his own.

"Let me make it up to you. How about I make us that cup of tea?"

She looked at the ground for a second then nodded.

"Hey," said Scriptum. "Hey...I'm sorry, okay?" He ran his hoof across her cheek and planted a soft kiss on her lips.

"Okay," she whispered.

Starswirl arrived back at the castle at dusk. He walked up the stairs to the library with a heavy heart. Twilight and Spike were looking through leatherbound tomes for scrying spells as he entered the room. The Princess looked up from her spell book as a haggard looking Starswirl came through the door.

"Twilight, it's time I told you everything."