Equis: Interlude

Chapters

Mama
Hunger
Decisions
Pinkie Pieces
Seeds of Trouble
Battle of Perception
New Face
Seriously?
Epilogue: Freakout
Chaos!

Mama

She had only just hatched, and already the world was so strange. Her instincts told her things should be different. There was too much life in the air. It was confusing, and she didn't know how to feed. She could sense dozens of creatures around her, far too big for her to handle as she was.

She was going to die in the middle of a feast.

"Someone...help..." she skreed. She didn't think anyone would hear her. She could feel none of her own kind. She was going to die, alone...

And then she felt it. A Queen. She could feel the mind impressions of a Queen, right there in the center of all the life forces she could sense. The others...they obeyed her. A Queen that could control the prey? She would help her!

Floating forward, she nuzzled the Queen which was not of her kind, but had a mind strong enough to make Queens bow. The confusion of emotions settled.

The Queen spoke, but the sounds had no meaning to her. Her thoughts, though...her thoughts came through clear. What are you, little one?

She did not know how to communicate well yet. She was only just hatched. But perhaps the Queen could understand her. "Mama?" she skreed. "Help?"

Motherly love wrapped her in its warm embrace, stronger and more full than any she could have imagined. Again there were words, but the thoughts were stronger. I'll take care of you...I'm your Mother now...

"Mama..." she skreed happily, nuzzling the Queen, for she was her Queen now.

Sapphire...

That thought came through with images. One image was a gemstone, but the other was...her? She did not understand.

Come, Sapphire.

As she felt the Queen's call underlying the meaningless words, she understood. The Queen had given her a name. Her name was Sapphire.

"Coming Mama!" she skreed happily, eagerly floating after the Queen, orbiting around her obediently. The warmth of the Queen's thought and heart sustained her in this earliest stage. Soon, the Queen would guide her to food. Then she would feed, and grow strong, to obey the Queen's will. This was The Path.

It did not matter that the Queen was the wrong shape, or too small. The Path was not wrong. It could not be wrong. The Queen would guide...Sapphire right.

Fluttershy led the strange creature back to her cottage. She had never seen anything like her. A tiny blue jellyfish that levitated on its own...

Then again, she was probably an alien creature, something left behind during the recent conflict. The egg sac had been in the wreckage of a ship, after all. At first, Fluttershy had been terrified. So much of what had come from the stars had been...scary...

But then the little one had called for help...and then nuzzled her. She had called her Mama. Fluttershy knew all about imprinting, and knew that the little one had imprinted on her. That wasn't something she would ever back away from.

And so Sapphire would have to be introduced to all her other animal friends. Mr. and Mrs. Deer seemed a little nervous about her, but were relaxed in Fluttershy's presence. The other larger animals had similar viewpoints at this point.

Entering the cottage, she smiled at Sapphire. "This is your new home," she said softly. "I hope you'll be comfortable here."

Sapphire floated around the front room of the cottage, nuzzling various things, investigating. Fluttershy couldn't help but giggle when she attempted to explore the sink and got flustered when she got wet.

Most of the smaller animals of the cottage stayed in their little homes, whether holes or hanging houses, watching Sapphire warily. "It's alright, everyone," Flutterhsy said softly. "This is Sapphire. She'll be living with us now. Come say hello."

While her reassurances calmed them somewhat, most of them only stuck their heads out a little to look. Angel, however, hopped up firmly, ready to establish his usual dominance of the household.

Fluttershy smiled. "Angel, this is Sapphire," she said softly, making introductions. "Sapphire, this is-"

"Food!" Sapphire skreed, diving forward and latching her little tendrils around Angel's face. Angel screeched in fear and pain, flailing around as both began to glow with a rainbow light that flowed into Sapphire.

"Sapphire, no!" Fluttershy commanded firmly. "Stop it right now!"

Sapphire froze. When the Queen had brought the small creature and indicated it, she had thought it was food. But when she began to feed, the Queen's anger had struck her. She didn't understand. Had she done wrong? "Food?" she skreed her confused question.

"No." The Queen's thought was firm and angry. "Friend, not food."

Sapphire released the creature, which backed away, giving off fear and anger. "Friend?" she skreed, not understanding the concept.

She felt pain from the Queen, but it was quickly pushed aside by warm love and comfort. "You will learn," the Queen's thought instructed.

Sapphire accepted this. The Path decreed that the Queen would teach the Hatchlings how to live in the world. Still, the small taste of Food had awakened Sapphire's hunger, and she needed more. "Food?" she skreed hopefully.

"Food?" the Queen's thought inquired.

At first, Sapphire didn't understand the question. The Queen, not knowing what Food was? But then, the Queen was the wrong shape. Perhaps her senses weren't quite right. "Food!" Sapphire skreed, doing her best to convey the image of the world around her that she saw, the delicious Food contained in each creature and floating through the air, the floating food beyond her ability to eat.

The Queen was silent for a time. Then the Queen's leg rose against Sapphire's tendrils. "I feed you," her thought declared.

Sapphire hovered, confused. Feed? On the Queen? This was not right. This was not natural. How would she survive if she ate the Queen?

"Not too much," the Queen's thought instructed. "Just what you need."

Sapphire's confusion did not abate, but she obeyed. Wrapping her tendrils around the Queen's leg, she began to feed, going very slowly, much slower than she had with the Food-which-apparently-wasn't-Food. She could not take too much. She could not kill the Queen. That was wrong...unthinkable.

The Path was strange, but obedience to the Queen was absolute. Still, Sapphire observed the Queen's emotions and thought firmly. She promised herself to stop the moment either began to flag, whether she was full or not.

Fluttershy steeled herself as she felt some of her energy draining into Sapphire. The image she was able to get from Sapphire seemed to indicate that she ate magic, or possibly life energy. She didn't really understand enough about the various kinds of energy to know which Sapphire had meant, but she could tell that all the animals around her - including herself - had it, and that a good amount was floating in the air. Perhaps it was simply energy that Sapphire fed on.

Either way, Fluttershy was Sapphire's Mama, and that meant it was her responsibility to provide her with food. She hoped Sapphire understood what she'd said when she'd instructed her to control her feeding. She was still newborn, and babies understood so little. Sapphire didn't even understand the concept of a friend yet.

Fluttershy would teach her. That was all there was to it.

As Sapphire released her, Fluttershy smiled. "There now," she said softly. "That wasn't so bad, was it?" She felt the beginnings of weakness and exhaustion as she pulled Sapphire close to nuzzle her.

"Mama..." Sapphire skreed, nuzzling her back. Though Fluttershy didn't catch it, worry was palpable in the little creature's voice.

Hunger

The Queen takes care of me. That is what is supposed to happen. That is The Path.

But the Queen insists I feed from her. She grows weaker. I take less and less each day. Each day, the hunger grows. The Queen should recover, but she does not. She works so hard to tend the others, those-who-are-not-food. She does not get enough food and hibernation of her own to restore the Food I take from her. She is growing weaker.

Those-who-are-not-food are worried. The larger ones speak to each other in ways I do not understand. They try to speak to me, holding out limbs, but I cannot understand. The Queen says they are not-Food, so I must not feed from them.

But if I feed anymore from the Queen...will she survive?

It has been many light-darks since Hatching. I should know the number words by now, but I have not grown enough. I have not eaten enough. The Queen has gone out, to get food for herself and the others. I remain here in the Home.

I have made a decision. I will feed no more from the Queen until she has recovered. If this means I die of hunger, so be it. To take the life of the Queen would be far worse. I will die surrounded by the Queen's love and compassion, surrounded by Food, and unable to eat.

...is this The Path?

Fluttershy walked carefully through the market, gathering the food she needed for the week. She was stockpiling a bit more in the high energy fruits and vegetables than normal, hoping to counteract the tiredness she'd been feeling ever since she started feeding Sapphire. She would never imagine blaming Sapphire for her weakness. She was Sapphire's Mama, after all. It was up to her to feed Sapphire, and teach her how to behave.

Several of her animal friends had been badgering her to let them take some of the burden of feeding Sapphire, to let her feed from them on occasion. Fluttershy had refused each time. With how aggressively predatory Sapphire had been on first encounter with Angel, she was worried Sapphire might not be able to control herself once she latched on. Besides, the larger animals were too big all around for Sapphire to latch on anywhere.

She swayed a little as she walked, smiling shyly at those she recognized around the market. Admittedly, some ponies still avoided her after what had happened with Iron Will's seminar, but she tried not to think about that. Besides, it had made it a little easier to get what she needed at market.

She glanced at her list and blanched. She had looked up an energy restoring smoothie, one that guaranteed to replenish lost vigor and vitality, and had been gathering what she needed to make it for herself. The one ingredient left was cherries...and unfortunately, there was still only one merchant in Ponyville who sold cherries.

As she approached the gruff looking stallion behind the stall, she managed a smile. "I'd...like some cherries, please," she said softly, managing to force the words out.

"Ten bits," he replied blatantly.

"Oh...okay...I think I have that much..." Reaching into her bit pouch she fumbled out three before reaching in deeper. At that point, her hoof slipped and she stumbled against the stall. "I'm sorry!" she said quickly, struggling to right herself, only to fall flat on her rump.

"You okay, miss?" the salespony asked, suddenly seeming far less surly.

"Just a little dizzy," Fluttershy hastened to say. "I'll be fine."

"Fluttershy?" Rainbow called out, winging down beside her. "You alright? I saw you stumble. You never stumble."

"Just dizzy," Fluttershy repeated. "Just needed some...cherries...for an energy smoothie...but I'm a bit short on bits-"

"I'll handle it," Rainbow interrupted. She turned to the stallion. "So how short is she-"

"We've already completed our transaction," he said firmly, taking the three bits on the counter and bagging two baskets of cherries for Fluttershy.

Fluttershy blinked in shock. "But that's not-"

"You really ought to practice your haggling," he interrupted with a wink. "Takes all the fun outta sales if you give in on the first offer."

"Oh," Fluttershy replied, feeling a trifle foolish. "Um...thanks...er, sorry...er, thanks?" She slipped the cherries into her saddlebags.

"You gonna be okay getting home?" Rainbow asked worriedly.

"I'll be fine!" Fluttershy insisted with a smile. "You don't need to worry, Rainbow Dash." Nodding to herself, she made her way home, swaying a bit.

Rainbow Dash stared after her as she left, confused and worried. Turning, she flew off to Golden Oaks, determined to tell Twilight her worries and mobilize the whole group.

The Queen has told me the Friends are coming over today, and that I am to be on my best behavior to make a good impression on them. I do not understand any of this. I still do not understand Friends, nor do I understand behavior beyond doing what the Queen instructs. I also do not understand how a feeding impression can be good or bad, or why she wants me to make a good one on Friends, when I'm pretty sure Friends has something to do with those-who-are-not-food.

I have not yet informed the Queen about my decision. However, I know I will have to today. I'm beginning to lose focus, and it's becoming harder to stay in the air.

But I welcome death over loneliness. I cannot bear to be alone in my core. That is unnatural. That is not The Path.

...I'm sorry, Mama.

Fluttershy carefully set up the tea party with the help of her animal friends. Pinkie had stopped by just a little bit ago - not long after Fluttershy had gotten back from the market - and had asked if it was okay that this week's tea party was moved to today and hosted at Fluttershy's. Fluttershy hadn't had the heart - or the energy - to refuse. As a result, all her friends would be there soon, and she was barely able to stay standing. Making it to market and back had taken more out of her then she had expected. With her animal friends help, however, she had it all ready with time to spare.

Taking a seat at the table, she rested a bit to recover her breath. She'd meant it only to be a few moments, but before she knew it, there was a knock on her door. Before she could react, Angel had hopped to the door and opened it.

Fluttershy smiled as Pinkie Pie bounced in, followed by Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Spike, and Applejack, in that order. Despite her smile, however, every one of them looked at her worriedly as soon as they saw her. As they took their seats, Rainbow turned to the others and said, "See? I told you!"

"I noticed it too," Pinkie pointed out. "Fluttershy, you look kinda...faded."

"Are you alright, darling?" Rarity asked worriedly. "You're looking a little under the weather."

"Are you sick?" Twilight asked, looking terrified. "Did you catch some sort of sickness from our off planet visitors that our immune systems have no defense against that's going to wipe out life as Equis knows it?"

Spike stared at Twilight with flat eyes. "And you said my comic books gave me outlandish ideas," he scolded, getting rueful laughter from some and a roll of the eyes from Twilight. "But you do look bad, Fluttershy, I hate to say."

"You look more worn out than a farm dog keepin' track of her litter o' 20," Applejack added. "Ya need ta take it easy, Flutters! Whatever's got ya like this, it can't be good for ya."

Fluttershy struggled to smile reassuringly. "It's nothing worrisome, everypo-everyone," she said softly, glancing apologetically at Spike, who waved her correction off like it was nothing. "I just recently got a new animal friend to take care of. She sees me as Mommy, and...she's a little more work to take care of than I expected."

"Oh, darling!" Rarity gasped. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"Can we meet her?" Pinkie demanded eagerly. "Can we meet her?"

"You always show off your new animal friends!" Rainbow pointed out. "What's different this time?"

Fluttershy flushed. "Well...I was a little nervous because...I'm pretty sure she's alien."

Twilight gasped. "A creature from another world? An infant you're taking care of? Oh, this I have got to see!"

"Yeah!" Spike agreed. "Don't keep us in suspense!"

"Go on!" Applejack encouraged. "Trot the little lady out here so she can say hello."

Fluttershy nodded. "Alright," she agreed. "Sapphire?" she called, turning towards the kitchen. "Come meet my friends!"

There was a very soft skree from the kitchen. "Mama..." Sapphire slowly floated out of the kitchen.

Fluttershy gasped at the sight. She was no stranger to the way Sapphire's gelatinous body shifted colors based on her mood, as she'd seen it before. Normally, she was a bright blue, filled with love. Fluttershy wasn't surprised to see yellow tinging the blue, signifying her anxiety and nervousness about meeting the others. But crisscrossing her body were streaks of unhealthy looking grey. "Sapphire!" she called out worriedly. "What's wrong?" She hadn't looked like this when she'd left for market that morning.

"...hungry..." Sapphire skreed softly, floating haphazardly around the room.

"Then you need to eat!" Fluttershy insisted, stretching her foreleg out. "Come here and-"

"NO!" Sapphire shrieked, the skree pitched at a tone that grated everyone's ears. "No more Mama Food...Mama weak. Anymore and...Mama die. No more Mama Food...till Mama better..."

Fluttershy gasped. "But Sapphire...if you don't eat...you could die!"

"Then Sapphire die," Sapphire skreed softly. "Die in Mama's love..."

Sobbing, Fluttershy wrapped her wings around Sapphire, hugging her tight. At that moment, the worried babble of her friends broke through her fear and worry.

"Fluttershy, what's wrong with her?" Twilight asked. "Why isn't she eating? Is there anything we can do to help?"

"What does she eat, anyway?" Applejack asked curiously.

Fluttershy swallowed nervously. She knew she had to save Sapphire...but this was asking a lot, even from friends. "Well...there is something..." As everyone looked to her eagerly, she took a deep breath. "Would it be okay if Sapphire latched onto to all of you and ate you, just a little bit?" She gave her best friendly, hopeful smile, a quiet squee escaping her as she did so.

Elsewhere in the house, a pin could be heard to drop.

Decisions

Fluttershy glanced around at her friends nervously. The silence and stares lasted for a full five minutes. Then everypony reacted at once.

"You have an alien creature that eats ponies?" Twilight demanded. "What have you been feeding her? How long has this been going on? What-"

"Now hold on there!" Applejack yelled. "You're gonna try ta feed us to your critter? Since when did you get like that? Since when did you start with-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Rainbow gasped in shock. "She's some kinda alien space parasite? Is she gonna take bites out of us like a zombie? Drain blood like a vampire? What is-"

"What do you taste like to Sapphire?" Pinkie demanded. "Butterflies? Sauerkraut? Cupcakes? Oh, I wonder what I'll taste like! I bet cotton candy! Or balloons! Or raspberry jelly! Or chimicherrychangas! Or-"

Rarity had fainted.

Fluttershy folded in on herself. "Perhaps I could have phrased that better," she whimpered, mantling her wings protectively around Sapphire.

"Hang on!" Spike shouted, jumping onto the table and getting everypony's attention immediately. "Lets all take a few deep breaths and think. Fluttershy wouldn't be feeding ponies to her animals, even if they did eat ponies! But she says she's been feeding Sapphire, but Sapphire won't eat now. So let's hear her out, okay?"

Silence reigned for a few seconds, and then the others lowered their heads, mumbling apologies.

"You were saying?" Spike asked as he sat back down. "Oh, and sorry about stepping on the cookies."

"It's quite alright," Fluttershy assured him. "And thank you, Spike." She then turned to the others. "I...I'm not sure exactly how it works, but...Sapphire eats energy. I'm not sure if it's life energy or magic, but she needs to drain it from a living creature. She can do so without causing permanent damage...if the feedings are more spaced out than they have been with me...and probably if the one being fed on gets more rest than I've been getting. It won't be harmful. I'll make sure Sapphire understands not to eat too much and hurt you." She turned her most pleading expression on all of them. "Please help...I...I couldn't bear it if she died..."

The table fell silent once again as everyone turned to their own thoughts.

Twilight was torn between fascination and fear. A chance to study a creature from another world! And one as fascinating as Sapphire seemed to be. Ever since Samus had left, Twilight had turned back to her studies to put off addressing the emotional turmoil the war had left her with, and something brand new to study was almost too good to pass up. But at the same time, there was a high probability this was a Space Pirate creature. She still had nightmares about the Space Pirates...especially the one she'd been forced to kill in her own library. The war had violated the sanctity of the Golden Oaks, her sanctuary, and with Samus gone, every noise at night had her startling awake, envisioning the armored aliens crawling through...

She banished the thoughts, turning her focus back to Sapphire. The Space Pirates didn't care about others. Sapphire was refusing to feed off Fluttershy - to the point of starvation - rather than hurt her. That was...fascinating.

Rainbow Dash was a little nervous about the idea of letting a creature feed on her. That raised all sorts of unpleasant possibilities out of her comic books and the Daring Do novels. But at the same time, she knew there was no way she could let Fluttershy lose Sapphire. Just thinking about what that would do to her set Dash to shuddering. Besides, she didn't use all that much energy on a normal day anyway. She could just take longer naps.

Applejack, now that she understood what Fluttershy had meant about letting Sapphire 'eat them just a little bit', failed to see the conflict. Ponies ate fruits, vegetables, grain, and a few other things depending on preference or diet choices. Dogs, cats, and griffons ate meat. Dragons ate gems, and whatever else they could get their claws on. No creature could help the way they were made, only how they behaved. It wasn't Sapphire's fault she ate energy from other creatures, and she was making the choice to find a way to do it without hurting anyone. Far as Applejack was concerned, that meant Sapphire was good. It wouldn't be right of her to turn her back on a good creature in need.

Rarity felt a little queasy at the idea of letting another creature feed on her. On the one hoof, she'd read a few too many vampony novels to greet the idea of being fed on with equanimity. On the other hoof, she'd read one too many vampony novels of the other sort to not be at least a little fascinated by the idea. And beyond that, it was Fluttershy begging her help for her poor, alien child. There were tears in her eyes as she pleaded. Rarity could never bear to see Fluttershy cry. She would have to do this.

Pinkie Pie wondered whether Sapphire would prefer strawberry or chocolate for her birthday cake. This wasn't because she considered the issue at hand unimportant, or had forgotten what was being talked about. She'd taken one look at the situation and realized that of course they would agree to feed Sapphire from their own energy. She just needed to wait until everyone got over the shock of the introduction and event long enough to realign their moral compass to their usual north. So, since it had already been resolved - but hadn't already been resolved yet - she decided to move onto more important thoughts, such as planning Sapphire's birthday and Welcome to Ponyville parties.(1)

She could see that Spike was of her opinion, since he had pulled out a scroll, wrote six names on it, and then torn it up and tossed the pieces in a hat, just in case the order was decided to be random. She wondered how Twilight would feel about Spike volunteering to feed the baby energy eater. Spike may have been a baby dragon, but dragons had tons of energy, especially since he could grow super giant overnight just from hoarding.

After a time, Twilight raised her head and glanced around at everyone. Rainbow gave her a firm nod. Rarity's nod was a bit more hesitant. Applejack's was just as firm as Rainbow's had been. Spike gave her a thumbs up. When Pinkie finally noticed the question in her gaze, she grinned widely and nodded vigorously. Twilight sighed, steeling herself. "We'll do it," she told Fluttershy.

"Oh, thank you!" Fluttershy squealed happily, lunging forward to hug them all.

"Hungry..." Sapphire skreed weakly. "...hungry..."

"Oh no!" Fluttershy whimpered. "She needs to feed soon..."

Steeling herself, Rarity stepped forward. "For you, Fluttershy, I will go first."

Fluttershy nodded. "Sapphire, Rarity says it's okay for you to feed on her. She's at full strength, but don't take too mu-"

"FOOD!" Sapphire skreed aggressively. Before anyone could stop her, she'd lunged forward and wrapped her tendrils around the tip of Rarity's horn.

Sapphire ate greedily, barely remembering the Queen's warning not to take too much, doing her best to slow down. But it tasted sooo good after eating so little for so long. And there were two types of Food here coming out the point she'd latched onto, targetted for the high concentrations of Food she could sense inside. Not only that, from what Sapphire could tell, the not-Food-that-is-sometimes-Food, queen-like-that-is-not-Queen that she was currently feeding on was enjoying the feeding, which added an extra tasty tang to the Food.

She continued to feed until the hunger pangs eased enough for clear thought. While she didn't detect any weakness yet in the one she currently fed on, she didn't want to take too much. She released, floating backwards, skreeing apologetically, expressing apologetic intent rather than any actual words.

Once Sapphire released Rarity's horn, the unicorn staggered back before quickly sitting down, her face burning with embarrassment. Twilight had her hooves over Spike's eyes, much to the young dragon's confusion.

"Oh...my..." Fluttershy glanced up at Sapphire, who was now blue with streaks of yellow nervousness and red hunger, but having lost all trace of grey. "Sapphire, I think maybe you shouldn't eat from horns anymore."

"But Food so tasty there," Sapphire skreed, pouting. "Get two foods, need less."

"Get two foods?" Fluttershy asked in confusion.

"Fascinating!" Twilight gasped eagerly. "It seems Sapphire feeds off life energy and magic! Feeding from Rarity's horn allowed her to absorb both, meaning she needed much less to fill up. Probably feeding from the focal point of a pony's magic would do the same thing, whatever that focus was. For unicorns, its the horn. For pegasi..." She turned to Rainbow. "I need to test this! Rainbow, let Sapphire feed from the base of your wings!"

"Wait, what?" Rainbow demanded in shock as her eyes and wings popped open in response.

"Food!" Sapphire skreed, diving in to latch onto Rainbow's left wing joint.

Rainbow tensed as the feeding began, then slowly relaxed. "Huh. Looked a lot more intense for Rarity. It's...kinda soothing."

"That's because all the energy was being drawn forcefully up the entire length of Rarity's horn, causing a physical and magical sensory overload," Twilight explained as Sapphire released Rainbow, once again fully blue. "The same thing would have probably happened to you if she'd latched onto your wing tip instead. She should probably stick to the base of the horn from now on."

Sapphire started to skree her understanding, only to let out a loud, "Skrr-rupur!"

"Sapphire!" Fluttershy scolded. "Say excuse me!"

"Excuse me," Sapphire skreed back as many present laughed.

(1) This is my perspective on Pinkie Pie's thought process, especially after Party Pooped. She's certainly not an idiot, and not really scatter brained. She's highly intelligent, but has a hard time connecting one thought to the next in a manner that's logical to others. A good metaphor would be an nth-dimensional pachinko machine, with each ball being an individual train of thought, with every peg and exit being a different aspect of information stored in her mind.

Author's Note

I did not expect this chapter to necessitate bumping the story rating to Teen. But after that bit with Rarity...I decided to err on the side of caution. This is Hasbro and Nintendo after all, not Disney.

Pinkie Pieces

After the extra strong feeding from Rarity and Rainbow - and learning that locking onto a pony's magical focal points gave Sapphire more energy - it was determined that Sapphire would be okay for at least a day before needing a major feeding, and if she took small feedings from the base of Fluttershy's wings rather than her hoof, she would be able to sustain herself between major feedings without weakening Fluttershy. It was also decided - rather vocally and insistently - that Fluttershy was to spend the rest of the day in bed while her friends - both pony and animal - saw to her recovery. As a result, Fluttershy was her old self two days later, and Sapphire was keeping herself stable while waiting for her next big feeding.

Fluttershy had decided to mediate between Sapphire and Angel, since the pair had not gotten off on the best foot on first meeting, what with the former trying to eat the latter. For this reason, Fluttershy, Sapphire, and Angel were out in Ponyville Fields having some tea when Pinkie Pie raced up to them out of breath. "Doing...anything...fun?" she asked as she gasped for breath.

"Not especially," Fluttershy replied. "Are you here to feed Sapphire?" At that moment, Pinkie Pie fell over. "Though...you look kind of tired for that..."

Sapphire didn't fully understand what was going on with the-Queen-says-Pinkie-Pie. As best as she could understand the Queen's explanation, the food-that-was-not-Food-but-sometimes-is was a quasi-Us like Sapphire was supposed to be with others like herself, except there weren't any like herself. This apparently had something to do with the term Friend, which Sapphire still didn't quite get...though she felt like she was halfway to understanding it.

The-Queen-says-Pinkie-Pie was trying to unite with all of the others at once in an activity called 'Fun'. Apparently, the Queen wasn't presently having any. Sapphire wasn't certain about that, since 'Fun' was apparently supposed to be enjoyable, and she greatly enjoyed every moment with the Queen, even if The Bunny King didn't like her much. She knew the Queen called The Bunny King something else, but that was what he called himself, according to what Sapphire had absorbed from him before being called off.

Presently, Sapphire was helping the too-small-to-be-Food creatures ease the-Queen-says-Pinkie-Pie's emotional maelstrom. Sapphire tried to listen to what she had been attempting, but she did not understand words well yet.

Before long, Rainbow Dash and the-Queen-says-Applejack approached, and presented the-Queen-says-Pinkie-Pie with a brand new conundrum.

Fluttershy stared after Pinkie Pie as she raced away from the animal picnic. "Well, Pinkie Pie was sure acting strangely," she admitted.

"Pinkie Piece is strange," Sapphire skreed in agreement.

"Sapphire, her name is Pinkie Pie," Fluttershy corrected.

"Pinkie Piece," Sapphire argued. "Not Pinkie Pie."

Fluttershy tilted her head in confusion. "Umm...I don't understand what you mean."

Sapphire grumbled in meaningless skrees for a time, streaks of orange frustration staining her calm blue shine. Fluttershy recognized this combination of noises and colors as when Sapphire wanted to say something but didn't know the words to say it yet.

"It's alright," she comforted, wrapping a wing around her alien child. "You'll find the words someday. Your vocabulary gets bigger everyday."

Sapphire responded petulantly with a skree that was rather rude.

"Though I think you're learning a little too much from Rainbow Dash," Fluttershy replied, blushing.

When the swarm of Pinkie Pieces arrived, Sapphire grew angry. She didn't know how or why all these pieces of the-Queen-says-Pinkie-Pie wound up operating independently of the-Queen-says-Pinkie-Pie, but they were wrecking the 'Fun'! At one point, Sapphire lost her temper and latched onto one of the Pinkie Pieces, thinking that a slight drain of energy would calm that Pinkie Piece down a bit.

Rather than the Pinkie Piece calming down, however, it was fully absorbed into Sapphire, body, life energy, and magic. Apparently, the Pinkie Piece was too small a piece of Pinkie Pie to function independently without the spell matrix that created them, which collapsed when Sapphire fed. This was interesting.

Fluttershy gasped. "Sapphire...what did you just do?" she stared in horror at the place where one of the Pinkie Pies had been before Sapphire had latched on and absorbed her.

"Not Pinkie Pie!" Sapphire skreed. "Piece of Pinkie Pie. Incomplete copy! ...I have more words now!"

Fluttershy blinked. "Wait...are you saying most of these Pinkie Pies bouncing around are just...little pieces of the Pinkie Pie we know, somehow operating independently of her?"

"Not-Food make little Food look big!" Sapphire confirmed. "...why Pinkie Pie sad?"

"You...you can tell which Pinkie Pie is the real one?" Fluttershy asked in surprise.

"No not-Food in Pinkie Pie. Lots in Pinkie Pieces. When eat Pinkie Pieces, not-Food breaks and goes away."

"We need to tell Twilight, quick!" With that, Fluttershy raced off, Sapphire in tow.

Sapphire wasn't entirely sure what the Queen, the-Queen-says-Twilight-Sparkle, and the-Queen-says-Spike were talking about, but apparently they were very happy about Sapphire. This was all Sapphire really needed to know, because she had been Praised.

You did good, Sapphire.

That had been the Queen's words, and it had made Sapphire very very happy. As such, she floated around the Queen's head in joy, teasing her strands with every pass.

After a time of discussion, the Queen gave her an order.

Find Pinkie Pie.

Skreeing confidently, Sapphire made a beeline for her goal, the Queen and the others in hot pursuit.

"Pinkie Pie!" Twilight called out as she skidded to a halt in front of the depressed looking Pinkie Pie sitting at the mushroom table as the other Pinkie's bounced around, shouting about 'Fun'. "Is that you?"

"I don't know!" Pinkie replied. "Am I the real Pinkie? Am I one of the Mirror Pool copies? How would I kno-ho-ho-how?" She began to blubber.

Fluttershy gasped. "The copies dissolved when Sapphire fed off them," Fluttershy pointed out. "If Sapphire feeds on you and you stay in one piece, you're the real Pinkie!"

"But what if I dissolve?" Pinkie asked. "Was I ever real? Am-"

Before Pinkie could continue, Sapphire burrowed into her mane and latched on near her skull. Both of them flashed briefly in Rainbow colors, though predominantly pale blue.

Twilight frowned as she watched this. If it had been predominately pink, it wouldn't have made her think, but this reminded her of what it had looked like when Sapphire had fed on Rarity and Rainbow. Rarity's rainbow colors had been predominately dark purple, and Rainbow had been primarily magenta. Now that she thought about it, she realized that was the colors of their Elements of Harmony. Was Sapphire somehow absorbing Harmony energy, in the same way Celestia and Luna had implanted the Element Energy into Samus?

Pinkie, meanwhile, giggled and snorted. "That felt funny!" she said happily as Sapphire detached.

"Taste funny!" Sapphire skreed, her skree sounding a bit like a giggle itself. "Can eat Pinkie Pieces?"

Fluttershy glanced towards Twilight, frowning. "Umm...would it hurt anything if Sapphire ate the Pinkie Pieces-"

"The what?"

"That's what Sapphire calls the mirror pool clones," Fluttershy explained.

Twilight frowned, rubbing her chin. "Well...you said Sapphire implied that the mirror pool energy that sustains the copies vanishes when she eats them?"

"Actually, she said it went away," Fluttershy corrected.

"Went...where?" Twilight asked.

Fluttershy glanced up at Sapphire. "Where does the not-Food go?" she asked.

"That way," Sapphire skreed, jerking towards the Everfree Forest.

"Hey!" Pinkie shouted. "That's where the Mirror Pool is!"

"If the Mirror Pool magic goes back to the Mirror Pool...then it shouldn't hurt anything," Twilight allowed.

Fluttershy smiled. "Eat up, sweetie," she directed.

"Food!" Sapphire skreed happily as she charged after the Pinkie Pieces, who promptly treated it as a massive game of Tag, Hide and Seek, and Chase.

Seeds of Trouble

Fluttershy smiled happily as she tended to all her animals, Sapphire hovering around her like an adorable electron, making meaningless happy noises that expressed general pleasure and contentment. The little jelly's blue glow showed how loved and loving she felt. Fluttershy couldn't help but giggle at some of Sapphire's antics...especially when she wound up in the flour accidentally, coated white and making constant "Skre-chu!" noises.

After wiping the flour off her, Fluttershy was surprised to hear a knock at the door. Confused, she went to the door and opened it a crack. "W-who is-?" She gasped as she recognized the pony at the door, even though she hadn't spoken to him much before. "Oh, Mr. Rich. Umm...was there something you needed?"

"Yes," Filthy Rich replied. "I'm here to discuss some business with you. May I come in?"

"Oh...alright," Fluttershy replied, opening the door to let him in. "W-would you like some tea?"

"That would be lovely," he replied, taking the second most comfy chair in the room, having carefully determined which was which and arranging himself to face the most comfy.

Fluttershy quickly raced to her kitchen, preparing some tea. "Oh my goodness..." she whispered worriedly. "Business? What sort of business does he have? Should I be worried? Should I be scared? Should I be-"

"Mama," Sapphire skreed comfortingly, nuzzling her cheek, tickling her chin with a tendril.

Fluttershy couldn't help but giggle. When Sapphire made an effort to be adorable and loving, it was hard to feel worried about anything. "Thank you," she whispered, cuddling Sapphire to her. She then brought the tea out to Filthy Rich, setting the tray down and taking her favorite chair, which he'd left for her. "So, what sort of business did you want to discuss?" she asked.

Filthy Rich took his time, sipping his tea. "Quite delicious," he commented idly. "You are quite the multi-talented mare."

Fluttershy let out a soft 'meep', hiding half behind her mane, not used to such compliments.

Rich chuckled indulgently. Noticing Sapphire floating over to investigate him, he gasped. "Is this the creature my daughter's mentioned seeing?" he asked rhetorically. "I see what she means. Quite adorable and unique."

Fluttershy managed a smile. She always felt more sure of herself talking about her animals. "This is Sapphire," Fluttershy replied. "I'm...not entirely sure what she is, yet. All I know for sure is that she's alien."

"Indeed," Filthy Rich replied. "Diamond Tiara's expressed quite the interest in this creature, and I can see why." He tore his eyes away from Sapphire to glance off into the middle distance, feigning a disinterested expression. "I understand that many of your animals here are up for adoption to become pets-"

"No," Fluttershy interrupted. "Sapphire's not up for adoption." Her voice was shockingly firm, and with a hint of steel in it.

Filthy Rich stared at Fluttershy in shock...not so much in the firmness of her voice, but in the fact that she had just interrupted him. Fluttershy...interrupted somepony. He rallied gamely. "Well, I do understand that some animals are...a bit more high maintenance than others. From what I hear, caring for this one left you...somewhat exhausted?"

"My friends and I have addressed that issue," Fluttershy said, beckoning Sapphire to her.

"Mama!" Sapphire skreed happily, floating over to burrow in her mane.

Fluttershy giggled at the nuzzle. "And we do anything for our babies, after all."

Filthy Rich sighed. "Indeed we do," he agreed. "Which is why I promised Diamond I would try. That's all I can do."

"I understand," Fluttershy replied. "I won't hold it against you."

"My thanks," Filthy Rich replied. He took another sip of his tea. "This really is quite good."

"It's a new herbal blend," Fluttershy replied. "I get it from Zecora."

Sapphire floated happily around The Home after The Queen retired for a midday rest. While she had mostly recovered from the initial over feeding of Sapphire, The Queen had said that the-Queen-says-Twilight-Sparkle insisted The Queen take it easy, taking midday rests whenever she could.

The Queen had explained that the not-Food that had come the other day had come about acquiring not-Food for not-Food-but-somehow-Food purposes. That was the best Sapphire could translate at this point for 'pet adoption'. Most of the concepts involved were beyond her current comprehension.

Beyond that, Sapphire had something else to think about. The-Queen-says-Applejack was going to feed Sapphire today, but was currently busy involving part of her Us...part of her family coming for a visit. Sapphire had recently grasped the concept of family, one who was as close as the Us that Sapphire was supposed to have but for some reason did not. Without the voices of others like her in her mind, she had bonded to the Queen and others, like the Pinkie Pie, the Rarity, and the Rainbow Dash. The Queen had said they were 'like family' to her. Sapphire had interpreted that as best she could...but the Queen also referred to them as 'Friends', another term Sapphire had not yet grasped.

Sapphire had also gotten a bit bigger. When she had hatched, she had been smaller than the Queen's optic. Now, she was about the same size. She was also stronger now.

She didn't realize how soon she would be proving that.

"Wait..." Babs Seed asked as she stared at Fluttershy's cottage. "We're doin' what?"

"You heard me!" DIamond Tiara snapped. "I want that little flying jelly thingy! It's an alien creature! What right does Fluttershy have to keep it to herself?"

"Uhh...ain't she the animal expert?" Babs questioned.

"Well, sure," Silver sneered. "For Equestrian animals. But that's not Equestrian."

"Yeah!" Diamond gloated. "I'd be much better suited to taking care of it. I can buy anything it could need, after all. All we've got to do is snag it in the bag as it comes by and get home while Fluttershy's still napping. She'll never know what happened!"

"You've got the bag, right Babs?" Silver asked.

Babs stared at them for a time, then threw the burlap sack on the ground between them. "Have fun with this," she snapped. "Ah'm out!"

"What?" Diamond demanded. "You can't!"

"I done a lotta things I ain't proud of," Babs countered, "but I ain't about to lower myself ta stealing. This is just plain wrong and ya know it!"

Diamond huffed. "Well if you're going to be a coward about it, why not go play with those Blank Flank losers instead?"

Babs upper lip pulled back in a snarl. "Think I will," she growled. "They never hurt anyone for fun!" With that, she turned and raced off to Sweet Apple Acres.

Diamond rolled her eyes. "I thought a Manehattenite would be tougher than that. Guess she was just a Blank Flank weenie after all." She turned to Silver. "On the count of three..."

Sapphire was caught off guard as two not-Foods she had floated over to investigate suddenly threw something over her before pulling on it. They had snatched her! They were bad! Sapphire skreed her angry defiance before flying off. The not-Food that left had been the-Queen-says-Applejack's family, so Sapphire would go to where the-Queen-says-Applejack lived.

As Ponyville prepared for the float parade, they were caught off guard as an angrily skreeing burlap sack went flying through town, dragging a screaming Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon behind it in a manner not unlike a reverse windsock. However, no one seemed to be getting hurt, and nothing was getting broken, so the citizenry quickly shrugged it off...save Featherweight, who snapped a picture of it for the new Foal Free Press.

Babs finished her recitation of events - from the start of her visit, her reasons for her actions, and why she cut ties with Diamond and Silver - to Applejack, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. "And that's all of it," she concluded. "I...I'm sorry about how I've been behaving. I just...wanted to be on the winning side for once."

Applejack rubbed the little filly's head with one hoof. "I knew about most o' that from your folks," she replied. "About what it's been like for ya back in Manehatten. It's why I suggested ya come here for a visit. Figured you could use the break, and spending time with Apple Bloom and her friends would help ya cheer up." She then turned to Apple Bloom and the others. "But how come ya never told me things were goin' so bad?"

Apple Bloom looked away. Sweetie Belle lowered her eyes. Scootaloo whistled innocently.

"Ah know why," Babs piped up. "Cause tellin' grown ups never helps when dealing with bullies. They just say they didn't, nothing gets done, and then ya get teased for bein' a tattle tale, too." She shook her head. "But what about Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon? And that little jelly thing? And Fluttershy?"

Applejack frowned over what Babs said about bullies, tabling the thoughts for later. She chuckled reassurance. "Don't worry none about Sapphire," Applejack replied. "Those two don't know what they've gotten themselves into-"

Diamond and Silver's screams echoed, accompanied by a drawn out, angry "Skreeeee!" A burlap sack slammed into a tree branch, and in a tussle of fabric, rope, and leaves, Diamond and Silver somehow wound up in the sack heads down, hanging from the tree branch, with Sapphire skreeing overhead.

"See what I mean?" Applejack offered, pointing.

"Skree!" Sapphire floated down towards Applejack, the red glow fading to the normal blue, but a streak of red/orange shot back and forth across her.

"Hungry?" Applejack asked. She lifted her hoof. "Eat up."

Sapphire skreed happily, latching onto the bottom of Applejack's hoof.

"Whoo," Applejack gasped as her body flashed in rainbow colors, but predominantly her normal orange. "Tingly."

Babs, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo watched in wide eyed fascination. Apple Bloom, however, had quickly thrown something together. "Hey girls! How about having our parade float actually float?"

The others turned towards her, and were surprised to see what looked like a pony-sized mobile with four straps. "A bit of decoration, and it'd be good!" she stated happily, strapping herself in. She then held up the top of the mobile towards Sapphire.

Sapphrie skreed in confusion, unsure what she was being asked to do.

Fluttershy woke from her midday nap only to find Sapphire nowhere in sight. "Sapphire?" she called out. Her attention was called to the window by Angel.

"Whee!" Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Babs Seed called as they were towed through the air at a rapid pace.

"Wheee!" Sapphire skreed as she towed them.

Fluttershy chuckled, happy to see that they were having fun together.

Battle of Perception

Twilight sat calmly in the library, reading through a book Princess Celestia had recently sent her. Word had gotten back to the Princess that she had been having difficulty getting through her emotional baggage post the war, and knew from experience that the quickest way to help Twilight to deal with an emotional issue was to give her something to study. As a result, she'd taken into account the possibility of Twilight having to get into another such fight or situation - with the increase in contact with extra-Equestrial beings, that possibility unfortunately became more and more likely - and had delved into the books she hadn't intended to let Twilight study for fear of her following in a former student's path. The book was Starswirl's Treatise on Combat Magic: Power Corrupts Itself.

Twilight was absolutely fascinated. Not only was it one of Starswirl's works that she'd never thought she'd get a chance to study, it was also considered the fundamental work on battle magic, like that which Luna had trained the Magickakorps in. Ever since it had arrived - by regular Equestrian post, as this was an original copy, penned by Starswirl himself, and had been enchanted for preservation and thus could not be sent via dragonfire mail - Twilight had been lost in its words. The latest chapter she was reading from covered why Magical Duels - in the traditional sense of the word Duel - had been discontinued back in Starswirl's day.

The purpose of a Duel is to determine who is the strongest. When Earth Ponies duel, it is a contest of physical strength, and one can frequently determine who the winner will be early on in the duel. As a result, the winner can be declared long before somepony is in danger of collapse or grave wounding. When Pegasi Duel, it is a competition of flight, whether in speed, endurance, or skill. Again, the result can be determined long before either competitor is in danger of falling from the sky in exhaustion.

Unicorns, on the other hand, are more tricky. The Magic Duel is a battle of spells, where each caster tries to overset the others abilities and achieve dominance in the match. This can be achieved in many ways. A unicorn with a great deal of magical reserves might use brute force to break their opponents enchantments, while one with less will more likely rely on deflection and misdirection. As a result, it is almost impossible to determine a winner in a true Magic Duel until the last spell has been cast...frequently when one or the other competitor dies from magical exhaustion.

However, the truly clever combatant will use neither brute force nor deflection. Enchantments of any sort are beautiful, delicate creations...but the more power is put into them, the more flaws become apparent. The skilled magic user can find the flaws in an enchantment, work their magic into those flaws, and peel the enchantment away a layer at a time, using a few thaums worth of magic to undo an enchantment that cost a great deal to set up. This is why most protective enchantments are layered by different mages, making it harder and harder to find each successive layer of flaws. Few have the concentration to achieve this.

As a result, the more modern form of dueling for unicorns has been established. Each competitor takes turns casting a spell, and the opponent attempts to duplicate the spell, or counter its effects with their own.

For those who seek to compete in such events, be warned. It is not enough to have a large magical reserve, especially if said reserve is not drawn from ones own body. Magical exhaustion is the greatest danger of the Magic Duel, which is why I will be pushing for such practices to cease, and instead have the strength and skill of a unicorn be determined via a standardized test of some sort...

Twilight gasped as she read that last line. "Starswirl the Bearded pushed the idea of tests?" she asked in shock. "I'm...I'm not sure how to feel about that..."

"Skree!"

Twilight's head jerked up as she heard that sound. She saw Sapphire floating in through the window, coming to hover around her. Her normal bright blue of love and contentment was streaked by yellow curiosity and red hunger. Once Twilight had discovered that the various colors of light Sapphire gave off reflected how she was feeling, she'd compiled a full chart of what every single color and shade meant for reference. "Oh, it's my turn to feed you, isn't it Sapphire?" she asked.

"Skree!" Sapphire continued to hover back and forth, having not understood a word Twilight had said.

Twilight chuckled as she saw this. "Right..." She thought for a time, then gathered her magic. She'd been trying to figure out what, exactly, Sapphire was, and this seemed a perfect opportunity. Casting a low level analysis spell over Sapphire before letting her feed should enable her to gather information about the exact nature of the feeding process. Focusing, she shaped the magic and settled it over Sapphire.

To her surprise, the spell vanished as soon as it touched Sapphire, who skreed happily.

"That's weird," Twilight murmured. Focusing, she cast a stronger analysis spell on Sapphire. This time, she felt the magic being sucked away before the spell collapsed inward. "You're...you're absorbing my magic!" Twilight said in shock. "I knew you could absorb magic through contact, but I didn't know you could absorb spells being cast at you." She scratched her chin. "If I want to study you better, I'm going to need to somehow change things so I can examine you magically." Closing her eyes, she cast a transmutation spell at Sapphire, trying to turn her into a pony. However, that spell too was absorbed before it could take effect, the magic drained right out of the spell form. "Rrgh!" Twilight growled. "Can't you turn that off?"

Sapphire floated around for a bit. "Skree?" she asked, nuzzling the base of Twilight's horn.

Twilight sighed. "Go ahead," she replied, tapping the spot. Sapphire immediately latched on and began to feed a bit. Twilight was unsurprised to see primarily the purplish-pink of the Element of Magic in her rainbow of feeding colors. As Sapphire fed slowly, Twilight settled down to think.

Sapphire was a bit confused at the actions of Twilight Sparkle. Others had simply let her feed, but Twilight had thrown Food at her first. While Sapphire had been happy to discover she could eat thrown food, Twilight Sparkle seemed to get upset over it. Afterwards, Twilight Sparkle had allowed her to feed normally.

This behavior confused Sapphire, and concerned her more than she thought it should. Some of the concepts the Queen had been explaining to her were beginning to make more sense, but not quite yet.

Before she could think more on it, though, another not-Food who had far too much Food of the throwing sort inside her entered town. There seemed to be some kind of conflict between the new not-Food and Twilight Sparkle, as they threw Food at each other for a time. There was a lot of stray Food as a result, and Sapphire tried to eat what she could of it, but it slipped through her tendril-teeth, much to her frustration.

The Food Fight seemed to reach a climactic point, and Sapphire did her best to pay attention.

Twilight focused her magic as she struggled to reverse the age spell on Snips and Snails. Unfortunately, she hadn't actually studied age spells yet, and didn't know how to cast one of her own. Even if she had, layering a second age spell on top of an already existing one was just asking for trouble.

After a time of struggling, however, she thought about what was going on. Each time Trixie had cast a spell, Twilight had countered it not with an identical spell, but with a different spell that counteracted it. This wasn't the modern duels of competitive magic. This was the more traditional duel, the sort Starswirl had pushed to have banned. So there were other options available.

Remembering what she'd read in Starswirl's book earlier that day, she focused her magic on the age spell itself, rather than Snips and Snails. It was difficult, and not what she was used to as far as casting...but before too long she found the first fault in the spell. Grinning, she pushed her magic into the fault.

As the spell started to buckle, Snips extra long mustache began to fall out, and Snails began to get bigger. The next fault became more visible as the spell buckled under the pressure Twilight was applying, and she forced her magic into it as well. A few more faults later - each one coming faster than the last - the spell broke away, leaving Snips and Snails at their normal ages.

Trixie stared at the result in shock. "Impressive," she said at last before gathering her magic for her next assault.

"Why don't I set the next challenge?" Twilight suggested. "After all, it hardly proves you can do things better than me if I'm working to counter you."

Trixie paused for a bit, then smirked. "Very well," she proclaimed. "Set your challenge."

Twilight managed a wide grin. Trixie had a lot of power, somehow, but she didn't seem to have the knowledge to back it up just now. "Sapphire!" she called out.

"Skree?" Sapphire floated up beside Twilight, hovering over a tree branch.

Trixie's jaw dropped. "What is that?" she demanded.

"The next challenge," Twilight replied. Turning, she cast her spell. In a flash of light and smoke, a bluebird stood on the branch where Sapphire had hovered, twittering.

Trixie smirked. "Transfiguration? Is that the best you can do?" Glowering, Trixie cast a powerful spell at the bluebird...but nothing happened. "What?" Trixie cast again, with the same result. She cast again and again, but no matter how many times she cast her spell, there was no change in the bluebird.

Twilight watched Trixie as she cast, and began to notice something. Each time she cast, the amulet around her neck glowed first, and then her horn. And the more she cast, the weaker she seemed to become physically, even though the power of her spells didn't seem to decrease. While she didn't recognize the amulet itself, she quickly recognized an external magic battery like Starswirl had discussed. If she didn't do something soon, Trixie would burn herself out trying to reverse the spell, and likely die.

Moving carefully, she waited for her moment between one casting and the next...and hit Trixie with a stunning spell she'd learned from Shining Armor, right at the base of her skull in the back. Trixie jerked and fell limp, her eyes rolled back into her head. Moving forward, Twilight removed the amulet from around Trixie's neck, deciding to keep it under lock and key until she'd figured out what it was. The color of the magic it had produced reminded her too much of Sombra to be entirely comfortable with leaving it out in the open.

Noticing Fluttershy paying close attention to the bluebird with a worried expression, Twilight released the spell she'd been maintaining, revealing an unchanged Sapphire. She then turned to the unconscious Trixie.

Trixie groaned as she slowly regained consciousness. "What...happened?" she asked, struggling to think. "Where am I?"

"You're in the Golden Oaks library," Twilight replied. "How much do you remember?"

"I..." Trixie paused. She wasn't going to let herself seem weak in front of her enemy. "Trixie remembers putting the amulet on. She...she remembers coming to Ponyville for revenge...she..." As the memories bubbled to the surface, she shuddered. "Did Trixie really terrorize the entire town just for...a duel?"

"The Alicorn Amulet is a dark magic artifact," Twilight explained, showing the page in Starswirl's tome that described it. "While it gives a normal unicorn the power of an alicorn, it slowly eats away at their soul and life force as it does so. If left on too long or used too much, the wearer becomes a slave to the collar, and eventually they can't live without it. The longer you wore it, the more corrupted by its power you became. You could have gotten much worse."

Trixie shivered at the very idea of it. Just remembering what she'd done to some of the ponies was unpleasant. Trying to imagine worse... "So are you here to gloat over how you've proven better than Trixie again?" she demanded. "To rub Trixie's nose in how...how weak and pathetic she is compared to you?" It hurt to say the words, but Trixie wanted to get some sort of reaction out of Twilight. Something, anything...

Twilight sat down in front of Trixie. "Actually, I'm here to apologize," she stated simply. At Trixie's shocked expression, she continued. "For how my friends and I acted back at your first show here."

Trixie's jaw went slack. "W...what?"

"You were a performer, doing your show," Twilight explained. "It was wrong of Rarity, Rainbow, and Applejack to insult your show or try to upstage you in your own performance. If we didn't like your show, we should have just left and let others enjoy it. If we'd done that - if we'd respected you as a performer rather than treated your act with derision, you would have enjoyed your time in Ponyville without any problems...because Snips and Snails wouldn't have brought the Ursa Minor for you to 'vanquish' if Spike hadn't been so derisive of you, which wouldn't have happened if we hadn't been." She sighed. "I know it isn't much...but I hope you can forgive us."

Trixie stared at Twilight like she'd grown a second head. She wasn't sure how to react.

At that moment, a loud, "Skree-ECH!" noise heralded a blast of magic tearing through town.

"Do it again! Do it again!" Pinkie shouted happily.

Racing to the window, Twilight gasped at what she saw. "Pinkie! What do you think you're doing with the amulet?"

Pinkie looked up innocently. "Well, the Amulet's dangerous magic, and you said Sapphire eats magic, which is why you couldn't enchant her earlier, so I thought we'd feed the Amulet to Sapphire...except she belched up a laser. It was awesome!"

"Pinkie!" Twilight shouted in rage and shock. "What part of 'dangerous dark magic' did you not understand?"

"Wait!" Trixie demanded. "If that thing eats magic and can't be enchanted, how did you turn it into a bluebird?"

Twilight giggled. "I didn't," she replied. "I cast a perception filter on the air around her that made everyone see and hear a bluebird where she was. Sometimes the real trick in magic is just that...a trick. What ponies think happened, rather than what really happened." She smiled warmly. "I learned that from your performance."

Trixie blinked for a time, then returned the smile shyly.

Sapphire settled slowly to the table in the Queen's cottage. She was feeling very tired. So many things that happened that day didn't make sense - especially the Queen's explanation of the discussion with the new not-Food. Apparently, a wrong had been done a long time ago, and was being made right. Sapphire didn't understand it.

Her mind was hurting. There was too much in her core. She couldn't think. However, as she started to drift into slumber, her outer membrane hardening slightly, something inside seemed to click. The way the Queen and the others interacted...it was like Us but without the Us bond...except sometimes the bond was there.

As Sapphire's consciousness slipped away, and she felt the Queen wrapping a blanket around her, she began to grasp the concept of 'Friend'...

New Face

Fluttershy breathed a sigh of relief as she set her hooves back on solid ground. It was hard being the only pegasus alive who was afraid of heights. It wasn't that bad normally but anything that took her more than treetop height above horizontal ground directly below her left her terrified. Thus, going with everyone else to check on Rainbow at the Wonderbolt Academy had been a huge effort for her. The tornado that had nearly sent them plunging to their deaths hadn't exactly helped her issues with being at cloud height.

Of course, she did have a ready made excuse for her nerves as they were heading there. She didn't like leaving Sapphire while she was still in her little cocoon. She didn't know what Sapphire might need while in the cocoon, what she might need when she got out, when she'd come out...

Admittedly, it had been a couple weeks since she'd gone in, settling in the exact center of Fluttershy's bed. Fluttershy had done her best to mother the small creature, curling around the cocoon every night when she slept in case Sapphire needed extra warmth. It always amazed her when she did this just how quickly Sapphire had become 'her baby'. Sapphire's voice in her heart had claimed her fully, and Fluttershy knew she could never turn her back on the little gem.

Which is why she was more than a little startled to see the cocoon broken open, its fragments scattered over her bed, and much of the room a mess, as though some creature had torn it apart.

She began to hyperventilate. She tried to come up with possible explanations, but the only one in her mind that seemed to make sense was that some creature - like a timberwolf - had found its way into her cottage through the window she left open for the birds and had eaten Sapphire whilst she was still in her cocoon. "S-s-sapphire?" she whimpered, staggering forward to the cocoon, tears falling from her eyes as she cradled the fragments, hoping against all reason that she might find some evidence that she was wrong.

A loud 'Skree!' startled her out of her thoughts. At first, she was certain it was Sapphire, but it didn't sound quite right. It was a much deeper sound, and a much harsher tone, a predatory noise. What startled her most was that it was coming from her kitchen.

Cautiously, Fluttershy made her way downstairs. As she went, she noticed several holes in her walls, looking not unlike the aftermath of the one time she'd left Tank's copter active when pet sitting him. The holes were about the same size, though perfectly round instead of dome shaped. There were also several gashes in her wall paper, as though something had dragged a claw along it.

Another deep 'Skree!' greeted her as she approached the kitchen door. She noticed all of her animal friends hiding deep in their homes, not showing even so much as a feather or whisker. Harry the bear had actually managed to brace himself flat against the ceiling above the rafters, bracing himself with his four paws and doing an impressive impression of a ninja despite the fact he was shaking enough to rattle the roof.

Inside the kitchen, she saw why. Angel was cornered on the counter, waving a rolling pin back and forth like a sword, warning off the creature before him. Said creature was a translucent green, and about the size of Fluttershy's head. The transparent dome of its body seemed quite solid, and revealed the quad-nucleus inside it, along with several nerve clusters branching off from it, each cluster sparking with different colors as information visibly flew back and forth between them. One cluster glowed crimson, one pink, one pale blue, one dark blue, one orange, one pink and purple, and one green like a flame. Below the transparent dome, four razor sharp fangs hung, flexing idly, the inner two shorter than the outer two. All four fangs gleamed a metallic silver.

Angel desperately waved Fluttershy away, but that only cause the creature to turn to face her. It hovered for a moment...and then all seven nerve clusters flared together, and the entire creature glowed blue. "Mama!" Sapphire skreed happily, the hostility gone from the sound as she floated over to nuzzle the startled pegasus. "You weren't home when I woke up! I was worried and confused."

Fluttershy gasped and hugged the somewhat larger and more durable jelly creature before her. "Oh Sapphire, I was so worried! It looked like something had torn into your cocoon..."

"I got bigger!" Sapphire skreed happily. "I have more words now, too! Bigger brain!" She paused, tilting back and forth. "Why is Harry the Bear pretending to be a spider?"

Fluttershy giggled as Harry dropped from the ceiling with a heavy, relieved Fwhump as everyone else began to come out of their hiding spots. "They were just a little scared of you is all, sweetie. You are a lot different."

"I'm Sapphire, not Sweetie," Sapphire countered, making Fluttershy giggle again. "I can cook! Made coffee!" Sapphire hovered over to where a cup of coffee had just finished percolating. "Thirsty, Mama?"

Fluttershy couldn't stop her giggles at this point. "T-thank you very much, Sapphire," she gasped out, taking a few sips to calm herself a bit. "I'm just glad you're all okay." She then blinked for a bit. "Although you made a bit of a mess..."

A bit of dark green contrition entered Sapphire's glow. "Sorry, Mama. I'm still not used to being so big..."

Fluttershy smiled proudly. She wasn't sure if it was learning more words or a sign of her developing mind, but Sapphire's syntax was getting better in some cases, too. "It's alright, dear," she comforted. "We'll just clean it up."

"Not deer. Sapphire!"

As the Queen burst into laughter, Sapphire skreed her own joy. She had learned of Friendship. She understood it, and she was applying her lessons.

She had just told her first joke.

Seriously?

Sapphire awoke from hibernation cycles to discover something serious was off. The Queen was not there.

She was not the only one to realize this terrible event. Every critter large and small in the cottage was in an uproar over this. The Queen was not in her proper place, and this was a great wrong.

What was worse, from Sapphire's perspective, was that Rainbow Dash was there, not quite herself, and trying to use the Queen's voice! Sapphire felt Rainbow Dash trying to connect to her and, much like the other critters, violently rejected the mental contact. As the blue faded from her body to be replaced by angry red, Sapphire knew there was only one way to appropriately respond.

"Not the Mama!" she skreed angrily, and charged, teeth bared.

Twilight woke for the first time in a long time with a smile on her face. The sun was shining, the weather was clear, and the shadows that had haunted her nightmares were finally laid to rest. On her desk was the letter she'd received the other day from Cadence and Shining Armor. Apparently, next time she visited the Crystal Empire would be for the Equestria Games. Apparently, the Empire had shown such great patriotic spirit - even amidst repairing its own damages from the war, groups of Crystal Ponies had volunteered in other, worse off cities to help rebuild - that the Games Commission had selected the Crystal Empire to host the games. Having such a big event after the Empire had been gone for so long was a huge boost for the Crystal Ponies' morale, and Twilight knew that would be good for Shining and Cadence.

On top of that, there were so many good things going for Twilight in Ponyville. There was Sapphire, who was fascinating to study and enjoyable to be around. Watching her play with Spike and the Crusaders had made her laugh, especially when they had played 'Pin the Tail on the Pony' and Sapphire had failed - or refused - to understand the concept of a drawing. Watching the little jelly floating along in pursuit of the crusaders with the fake tail clutched in her teeth - with Spike trying to catch her before she caught the Crusaders - had been hilarious.

And then there was Discord, who had taken to reading her Friendship Reports for better insight into Friendship, while also asking her questions about it. He always made sure the environment around them at those times was suitably chaotic to be engaging, while also ensuring to put everything back when he was done. Her favorite time was when he had transported them into Braythoven's study as he composed, but they were both mouse sized. She hadn't known that Braythoven had owned a pet cat...though she was pretty sure the rest of what happened had been Discord's doing, and not an actual part of history. It was still fun, though.

And then last night Celestia had sent her one of Starswirl's last tomes, which included a spell that Starswirl himself had failed to complete, and that Celestia was confident Twilight could. Good friends, faded nightmares, good news, and a great challenge? Everything seemed so wonderful.

So wonderful, in fact, that Twilight went to throw her window open, deciding to sing about it. "Morning in Ponyville shimmers!" she sang out. Heading downstairs, she decided to share her joy with Spike, uncovering him as she sang out, "Morning in Ponyville shines!"

She was rather unsurprised when he sat up startled, smiled at her, rolled his eyes, and curled back up to sleep some more.

"And I know for absolute certain!" she sang as she stepped out the front door. "That everything is certainly f-UCK!"

Her singing was interrupted on the last word because she had been run over by a familiar prismatic pegasus, flattened to the ground as she charged off screaming. Growling, Twilight got back to her hooves. So much for my good mood, she grumbled. She hoped her interrupted musical didn't lead to all of Ponyville distrusting beautiful days. "Rainbow Dash!" she snapped out angrily. "Watch where you're...the fuck?"

Her use of a curse word she'd picked up from Samus rapidly became apparent. Rainbow Dash was racing around Ponyville like a headless chicken, a glowing red Sapphire latched onto her head, and Fluttershy's Cutie Mark on her flank. Rainbow Dash was screaming her head off, and Sapphire was skreeing angrily, squeezing her teeth together without breaking the skin to emphasize each skree.

As strange as it looked, it was a pity Twilight couldn't understand either of them.

"GETITOFFGETITOFFGETITOFFGETITOFFGETITOFFGETITOFFGETITOFFGETITOFFGETITOFFGETITOFFGETITOFFGETITOFFGETITOFFGETITOFF-"

"Not the Mama! Not the Mama! Not the Mama!"

Twilight stared at the absurdity before her for a time, then came to what felt like a logical conclusion. "Discord?"

A flash of light beside her heralded his arrival. "Yes, Twilight?" he asked. "What can I-" He gasped as he saw the scene before him. "Why Twilight, you did all this for me? And it's not even my birthday!" Reaching down, he pinched her cheeks. "I knew we were friends, but I didn't know we were at the 'gifts for no reason' stage! And I didn't get you anything..."

Twilight stared at him for a time. "W...what do you mean, I did this?"

"Well, it's definitely your magic at work-" Discord froze. When he thawed, he was smirking. "Another accidental magic flare? I thought you'd outgrown that!" His voice took on a teasing tone. "Then again, with everything that's happened to you recently, a few childish relapses aren't totally out of the question. How're your sheets?"

The stink eye she gave him in return only made him cackle and roll his eyes. "Do you think you could help me figure out how I did this?" she demanded. "Or perhaps fix it?"

"Can't fix it," Discord replied. "It has something to do with the Elements - I can feel their magic at work here, too - and I can't undo magic they've worked. That's how they were able to bind me in stone in the first place."

"The Elements?" Twilight asked in shock, dashing back into the library.

Discord merely smirked, sitting back in the air with a bucketful of popcorn. This was going to be fun to watch.

Two hours and a musical number about friendship later, Twilight completed Starswirl's spell, only to vanish in an explosion of light caused by the Elements. The only thing left behind was a burn mark on the floor in the shape of her Cutie Mark.

Discord, floating nearby, knew Celestia would want what was to come of this to be a surprise for Twilight's friends. It was the way she worked. However, with the way several of them were starting to hyperventilate or otherwise express hysterical behavior - hysterical behavior that was out of character for them, as Rarity wasn't being overly dramatic, Rainbow was huddling, and Fluttershy had just slumped unmoving - he realized the scent of scorched wood and the sight of an explosion had triggered something unpleasant, and warped them all outside. "It's alright," he told them. "I guarantee you that Twilight is...not dead." He would have said 'just fine', but he knew what was going on...and he wasn't entirely certain, all things considered, how well Twilight would take it.

"Where's Twilight?" Spike whined, curled up in a fetal position and crying. "W-where's Twilight?"

"She's with Celestia right now," Discord replied. "I imagine, all things considered, they've got quite a bit to talk - or sing - about."

Everyone started to calm down a bit. "Then...then she's okay?" Rainbow asked worriedly.

"...physically," Discord replied carefully. Seeing everyone's worried looks, he raised his mismatched paws. "Nothing to worry about, really. Just...you're all in for a bit of a shock, and you know how delicate Twilight's been lately...emotionally, that is."

The others let out sighs of relief. "Then we'll just have to make sure to have a 'Congratulations on Your Totally Unexpected Life Changing Event that makes Perfect Sense in Hindsight' party!" Pinkie shouted out. "That's sure to make her feel better!"

Discord chuckled, amused at how much Pinkie seemed to know sometimes. "Just leave off the last six words," he pointed out. "No need to make her get existential just yet."

Several hours later, just as the sun set, Twilight made her return...as an Alicorn Princess. All of her friends looked at her in amazement and bowed. After a moments thought, everyone except Pinkie and Discord glanced towards Pinkie and began to chuckle knowingly.

"What?" Twilight asked, confused. When those laughs merely increased, she frowned. "What?"

A few days later, Twilight and her friends were relaxing in Discord's chaotic home dimension, enjoying a bit of tea and cookies in his little house on the event horizon. As Twilight sipped her tea, she kept glancing at her wings.

"What's bothering you?" Discord asked curiously.

"It's just...I'm worried about how this has...changed me," she replied. "I mean...I'm an alicorn. I'm a Princess! Am I...am I still me?"

To her surprise, Sapphire latched onto her back, draining a little bit of her energy. She then let off a skree that set Fluttershy to giggling.

"What's the joke?" Pinkie demanded. "What's the joke?"

Fluttershy smiled at Twilight. "Sapphire says you don't taste any different!"

As all the stress that the group had lived with for so long had built up, it all came flooding out in hysterical giggles at that simple statement. Sapphire skreed happily as she hovered around the group, pleased that all was well.

Author's Note

Next chapter is the last one. It's more of a bonus epilogue, but I think you'll all enjoy it.

Epilogue: Freakout

As everyone returned to the Golden Oak library, Twilight's laughter about what Sapphire had said started to take a slightly hysterical tinge to it. "You okay, Twilight?" Spike asked.

"Well...it's just..." Twilight shivered a bit. "Well...if I'm still me...then the Ponyville librarian, former student of Princess Celestia, known unstable researcher and prone to panic attacks over silly things...that's now a Princess of Equestria?" She chuckled a bit. "I'm just a bit mortally terrified."

"But you're an alicorn now!" Pinkie Pie pointed out happily. "Shouldn't it be immortally terrified?" she offered helpfully.

Rarity, Spike, and Discord were certain they heard a snapping sound. "Thank you, Pinkie," Twilight said very carefully. "I hadn't even considered that possible aspect of my situation."

"You're welcome!" Pinkie replied eagerly, completely oblivious to what she'd unwittingly just set off.

"Yes," Twilight continued, her grin getting a bit mad. "I hadn't even considered the fact that as an alicorn, I might be immortal now, and will have to sit unchanged and unchangeable as I watch everyone I care about - including my five closest friends who I would never have gotten here without - age, wither away, and die! How wonderful of you to let me know!"

"Happy to help!" Pinkie chirped happily.

"And I could outlive my BBBFF!" Twilight gasped out, falling onto her back. "I might have to watch him wither away and die while I live on!" A panicked gasp escaped her lips. "Wait! What if we have another war? I'm a Princess now! That means I'll be one of the ones in charge! Making the decisions of who goes into battle where! My decisions might cost you girls your lives! Or Spike's! Or Shining's!"

She curled up tight into a ball. "But I've read enough books on military strategy to know that sometimes you have to send troops into a battle where you know they're all going to die in order to accomplish a greater objective for the good of the country! I might have to knowingly send someone I love to their deaths! How am I ever going to live with myself?"

Before anyone could react, she'd teleported herself onto the couch. "I won't be able to! I'll probably end up killing myself! Wait, I'm an alicorn! Can I suicide? Or would grief and despair turn me into a Nightmare like it did Luna? But then where would Celestia banish me to? Can't go to the moon, that's Luna's. The sun's for Celestia if she ever goes crazy. Huh, where would Cadence be sent if she went crazy from grief over losing Shining? The Crystal Heart?"

Twilight then teleported herself to the bookshelf. "Oh! Maybe Celestia will seal me in a book! That would be so relaxing...just sitting on a shelf all day with someone dusting my spine every so often, until someone comes along and reads me. I wonder what that feels like?" She pulled a book off the shelf and began stroking it. "How does it feel when I read you, little book? Is it good for you?"

Before she could get any creepier, Spike shoved a spoon into her mouth. Her eyes popped open as she began to chew...and then she relaxed, laying back on the floor as her magic seized the spoon and ice cream container, and began to spoon feed herself.

"Good thinking, Spikey-Wikey," Rarity praised. "Sometimes a lady just needs something sweet to calm her emotional turmoil."

Spike shrugged. "It's not the first time I've had to do something like this. A bit of ice cream can often stop these crazy rants when given at the right times. Problem is, ever since we came to Ponyville, she's been getting more health conscious about my diet, so has been restricting when we have ice cream in the freezer."

"Wowie zowie," Pinkie pointed out. "If being a Princess is gonna be that stressful, she's gonna go through a lot of ice cream!"

"Pinkie!" Rainbow, Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy all shouted out as Twilight's eyes shrank to pinpricks and Discord struggled to hold in his laughter.

"I'm going to get so fat!" Twilight wailed in despair.

Pinkie's eyes widened. "Oohhh...I'm gonna just stop talking now." Grabbing hold of Sapphire, she stuck the little jelly over her mouth.

"Skree?"

"I'm going to blow up like a balloon until I'm as big as the moon!" Twilight wailed as she continued to shove ice cream into her mouth in larger and larger spoonfuls. "I'll be grotesque! No stallion or mare will want to touch me, and I'll be alone for all eternity!"

"...stallion or mare?" Rarity asked, plainly both surprised and confused.

"Romance has never been a priority for me, so I never bothered figuring out my orientation," Twilight pointed out. "But now it's not going to matter, because I'll be a big fat Princess that no one's going to want to touch!" Her eyes widened, and she let out another wail of despair. "And it's not going to matter anyway, because if I'm immortal, anyone I might try to have that kind of relationship is going to be dead before I turn around twice!"

"Mm-mph!" Pinkie spoke up, then pulled Sapphire off her mouth. "Wait! What about other immortals? The Princesses will be around, right? So you won't be alone!" As Twilight started to calm down, Pinkie said a little too much. "I mean, Princess Celestia is super-duper fond of you, right?"

"Oh, that'll go great!" Twilight shouted out. "Ask the mare who's been my teacher, confidant, and second mother to be my marefriend! That'll go over swell!"

"Well...Luna?" Pinkie suggested, a bit more nervously.

"And how well will that go when she learns I see Celestia - her older sister - as a mother?" Twilight demanded, wailing in despair.

"...Cadence?" Pinkie suggested nervously. "You...did say you'd both likely outlive Shining..."

"Oh, that'll go over great!" Twilight proclaimed. "I'll be all like, 'Hey, Cadence! I know you've been like a big sister to me my entire life, and we both miss Shining Armor ever so dearly, so why don't we comfort each other over his loss by betraying his memory by boinking each other!' I'm sure she'll just love that!"

"...Discord?" Pinkie suggested hopefully.

As Twilight looked towards Discord, he shrugged. "Sorry, but fat bookworms aren't my type."

"Discord!" everyone but Pinkie and Twilight shouted.

"What?" he asked. "I'm just being honest."

Twilight wailed in despair. "Even Discord won't touch me! I'm going to be alone fore-e-ever!"

"...I don't know whether to be amused or insulted," Discord mused idly.

"Maybe I should have just kept my mouth shut," Pinkie mused.

"Grab the ice cream," Rarity whispered to Pinkie.

"Like this?" Pinkie asked, holding up the ice cream.

"Mine!" Twilight shouted as she tried to pounce, only to be seized by Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy.

Rarity led the two pegasi across town to the spa. She raced right up to the counter. "Aloe, Lotus, Twilight needs everything you've got. I want her so relaxed she can't even think for at least three hours." She thought for a time. "And charge the bill to Princess Celestia. She should be handling this mess, after all."

Several hours later, Twilight sighed deeply as she relaxed in the hot tub, barely awake at this point as the jets gently massaged her. "Guess...I went a little crazy back there..." she muttered under her breath.

"Just a little," Discord pointed out as he flowed along the wall as a design.

Twilight rolled her eyes. "...gonna laugh at me?" she asked drolly.

"No," he replied. "I actually came to try and help you feel better, and correct a misinterpretation of yours."

"...oh?" she asked cautiously.

"When I said 'fat bookworms' weren't my type, I was trying to lighten the mood by making a joke on what you were saying about the ice cream," Discord pointed out. "It was never meant as an insult. Besides, I don't genuinely believe you'll ever be fat. You're far too svelte for that."

"Oh," Twilight commented, blushing. "...t-thanks."

Smiling, Discord vanished.

Twilight relaxed into the water again, going over the conversation in her mind. All unwilling, her mind made the connection between the emphasis Discord made about his type and the compliment he paid her. Her head shot up out of the water.

Was Discord...flirting with me? she thought in shock.

"GYAAAAAHHH!" she screamed as yet another thing to stress about drove her towards a spiral until Aloe and Lotus rushed in.

Discord floated over the spa. "I probably shouldn't have enjoyed doing that so much," he pointed out idly.

Sapphire made a very rude noise in agreement.

"And I probably shouldn't laugh about this either."

Another rude noise confirmed this.

Discord scratched his chin for a time. "Oh, what the heck! I'll laugh anyway!"

Author's Note

I had a lot of fun writing this chapter.

Does it show?

Chaos!

Celestia was rather unsurprised that Twilight and her friends were...upset...about her bringing Discord to them to be reformed. After everything they'd been through, she knew this was asking a great deal, especially of Twilight. It was part of the reason she planned to place Discord primarily in Fluttershy's care. "I know Discord caused some...problems...last time he was here," she began.

"If by problems you mean..." Rainbow began, only to fall silent. She glanced at the others who were there, a confused expression on her face.

Twilight and Rarity both seemed surprised, then thoughtful. After a time, Rarity was the one who spoke up. "Yes, he was...incredibly uncouth," she admitted finally, catching Celestia off guard.

"He provided gallons of chocolate rain without a dollop of whipped cream in sight!" Pinkie proclaimed angrily. "Not one dollop!"

Celestia was rather perplexed that Pinkie Pie seemed to be the only one expressing anger at this point. "Well," she began, "I have brought the Elements with me, enchanted so that Discord cannot steal and hide them again-"

"How'd you manage that?" Twilight asked eagerly.

Celestia sighed internally. She had hoped Twilight would be too relieved at the safety net that provided to ask how it worked. Its actual workings were...embarrassingly simple. "...Brussels sprouts," she admitted finally. "Discord's allergic to them. Touching them - even with his magic - makes him break out in bees. It's their specific magical wavelength, which I've anchored to the Elements for the time being, making it impossible for him to touch them with magic, hoof, or claw."

Twilight's face fell. "Oh..."

"I don't blame him!" Pinkie proclaimed. "Those things are icky!"

Celestia managed a chuckle. Though she couldn't say anything as Princess, she was in full agreement with the party pony...but she'd spent too many centuries convincing parents that the vile vegetable was good for growing foals to protect them from chaos magic to undo it all now with one candid moment. "But where is Fluttershy?" she asked. "I believe she would be able to best begin Discord's reformation."

"How?" Rainbow joked. "By siccing Sapphire on him?"

"...Sapphire?" Celestia asked in confusion, only to be greeted by happy giggles.

"Skreee!"

"Sorry we're late!" Fluttershy called out, racing forward alongside Applejack, Sapphire floating around her head. "The beavers built their dam in the wrong place and were flooding Sweet Apple Acres."

"Quite alright," Celestia replied, examining the jellyfish-like creature that was now floating around her. "And...I assume this is Sapphire?"

"Yes," Fluttershy replied happily. "I hope you don't mind, but...she just wants to taste you."

Celestia blinked. "Taste?" she asked. Though she hated to admit it, this was the first time in millenia one of her own ponies caught her so off guard.

"Sapphire eats energy," Twilight explained. "She doesn't take anywhere near as much since she came out of her cocoon. Apparently, she's learned to feed on the ambient magic in her environment to a certain extent, though she still needs a taste from a pony for a satisfying meal."

"It doesn't hurt," Fluttershy promised. "It's just how she gets a sense of who you are."

Celestia frowned nervously, but couldn't really see the harm. "Well...I suppose-" She gasped as she felt slight pinpricks against her back between her wings, biting her lip as she felt a small amount of her magic and life energy drained out of her. Not enough to really notice - less than she expended lifting her tea cup - but a very unusual experience nonetheless.

"Skree!"

"She says thank you," Fluttershy translated. "And that you tasted really good...like sun on her teeth."

Celestia gathered herself, trying not to show that this was the most unnerving compliment she'd ever gotten...even more so than those given her by that one erotic minstrel in the middle of a world summit 1500 years previously, with Luna struggling not to laugh as the song went on. "You're quite welcome," she said at last. "I leave Discord in your care." Turning, she left quickly, before she could be put any more off kilter by the unexpected behavior of Twilight and her friends.

Discord stretched, yawned, and wriggled as he was released from stone. "Well, it's about time somepony got me out of that prison block. What a-"

"Skree!"

He was cut off from releasing some chaos by that unexpected noise. Turning, he saw something he couldn't believe. Oh, the shape of the creature was nothing special as far as chaos was concerned. There were any number of ways it could be more horrendous, grotesque, and unimaginably terrifying. But he could see chaotic potential, how easily a creature could sow chaos and to what degree, and he'd never seen so much in a single creature before. "What is this adorable critter, and why haven't I ever made any before?" He began tickling it between its teeth with his lion paw. "Coochie-coo! Coochie-coo!" He jerked his paw back as the teeth tried to slam shut on his paw. "Ooh, feisty!"

"Sapphire!" Fluttershy snapped. "Behave. He was just trying to be nice."

Sapphire skreed petulantly, her colors fluctuating rapidly before settling back into a mix of blue and petulant yellow.

"Oh, is she yours?" Discord asked playfully. "Wherever did you get her?"

"Oh, she's from outer space," Fluttershy replied.

Discord froze. "...really? You don't say." He crossed his arms. "So where am I going to be staying during my 'reformation'?" He conjured air quotes of clouds.

"Oh, you'll be staying with me," Fluttershy replied happily.

"Oh, just peachy!" Discord crowed happily, ignoring the confused expressions of the others, and sending a bit of stray magic into a nearby group of beavers, just to get back into a normal mood.

Once inside Fluttershy's cottage, Discord was caught off guard by the kindness and consideration he was shown. Oh, he'd expected it from Fluttershy, but the way the others were being so accommodating - except Pinkie, who kept complaining about some sort of whipped cream shortage. It wasn't long before they all left, leaving Discord somewhat confused.

While Fluttershy was in the kitchen getting tea and cookies, however, Sapphire latched firmly onto his head. He started to scream about getting her off, but paused. He felt as though something was trying to touch his mind. He had his own ability to touch minds - it was part of the 'discording' process - so he decided to humor whoever it was, redirecting his thoughts to make contact.

You hurt Mama? The thought came through loud and clear from the life eating jellyfish latched to his head.

Now, why would you think I'd want to hurt Fluttershy? Discord responded in thought, stretching time so the conversation wouldn't take so long.

Past. You hurt Mama?

Discord hesitated. Well, I suppose what I did might constitute hurting...

You not hurt Mama again.

Discord actually chuckled at that. Or what? he thought back, gathering his magic.

To his surprise, the magic he was gathering was sucked right out of him faster than he could gather it. I eat you.

Discord released his magic, deciding this was not the time to antagonize the magic-eating alien latched to his head. Understood. ...perhaps we can arrange some sort of compromise?

You no hurt Mama, I no eat you.

Fair enough, Discord replied. I won't hurt Fluttershy. Truce?

If not hurt Mama, you not food.

Discord chuckled as he let time return to normal, noticing that Sapphire was still on his head. Turning the mind link off, he saw Fluttershy come in with tea and cookies. "Sapphire!"

Discord grinned widely. "Like my new hat, Fluttershy?"

"Skree!"

After a rather chaotic day of Discord relaxing at Fluttershy's cottage - though making sure nothing he did ran the risk of hurting Fluttershy - Fluttershy's friends joined them for a dinner party, just to see how he was progressing. Discord had a bit of fun animating various things during the dinner - the gravy boat, the candles, and so on - but was rather put out when none of the ponies made much of a fuss. Pinkie certainly found it enjoyable, but even when the others seemed unnerved, they kept their thoughts to themselves. It left him very confused.

Finally, after a time of dinner, he couldn't take his curiosity being unabated any longer. "There's just something I've been wondering girls," he spoke out finally. "I'm rather certain I made a rather horrid impression on you all when we first met. When Celestia set this all up, she expected - and certainly I expected - hostility, if not downright hatred, from several of you. So...what's with the rose touch?"

Twilight shrugged. "Well...after what we saw when the Space Pirates invaded-"

"The who the what now?" Discord asked, confused.

"Evil aliens!" Pinkie hissed. "They came for the meteor!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Discord pointed out.

"Let's just say that after seein' war first hoof," Applejack explained, "the things you did...well, it ain't all that bad in hindsight."

Discord fell silent. "...I see," he said at last. Glancing around, he noticed a picture framed on a nearby shelf. "...Fluttershy, when did you befriend a human?"

"Oh, you mean Samus?" Fluttershy asked happily. "She came to help us fight off the Space Pirates and deal with the Phazon. She's such a good friend. I hope we get to see her again soon."

"Though she's not entirely human," Twilight pointed out. "If I understood her story right, she's apparently part Chozo-"

"Chozo?" Discord demanded in shock. "Are those old featherbrains still fluttering about the stars? It's been ages since I saw them last."

Jaws dropped. "You knew the ancient Chozo when they were here on Equis?" Twilight asked eagerly. "Then you knew the ancient alicorns, too? Please, tell me everything!"

"I'd rather not talk about it," Discord countered flatly. While he genuinely didn't want to relive that part of his life, he also hoped to see Twilight's expression of frustration at such precious knowledge just beyond her reach.

Which is why he was rather disappointed that she simply smiled, took her seat again, and replied, "Alright. Whenever you're ready to talk about it, though, I'd love to hear it."

Discord sat back, struggling to figure out what was going on...and why it left him so flummoxed when Fluttershy welcomed him as a friend.

Unfortunately, his musings were interrupted as Angel came in and managed to charades the message that Sweet Apple Acres was flooding.

Once at the farm and seeing how bad the flooding was, Applejack turned to Discord. "Did you do this?"

"Well, plainly the beavers-" Discord began, hemming and hawing.

"Just a straight up yes or no answer, please," Applejack interrupted. "Is this your doing?"

Discord tugged at the neck of his suit which he hadn't discarded yet. "Well...I suppose there's a chance this is the result of a stray burst of chaos back when I was set free..."

"Can ya undo it?" Applejack continued. "Make it so the farm's all better, and none o' the trees take harm from the flooding?"

Discord blinked in surprise. He had expected anger, accusations, possibly even threats. But instead, Applejack - the one most hurt by his actions - was being completely calm. "Well...yes, I can undo the effects of chaos magic..."

"Will ya promise ta do so by sunset?" Applejack asked.

Another surprise. She didn't want him to fix it right away? "Well, sure, I suppose..."

"And could ya make sure Granny won't drown?" Applejack finished. "She don't swim too good no more-"

Before she'd even finished her request, Discord had snapped his talons and frozen the lake that the Acres had become. "That ought to do it," he said firmly, conjuring numerous pairs of ice skates.

Smiling, Applejack bent over to tie a couple pairs on her own hooves. "I'll hold ya to fixin' it by sundown," she said with a smile.

Discord stared at her, stupefied. "Eh? But...why are you being so blase about me flooding your farm?"

"Because you're being a good friend about it," Fluttershy explained. "You didn't know it would cause a problem, and you addressed the problem as soon as you realized it, and promised to clean up later. That's the actions of a good friend."

"It is?" he asked, still shocked. "It's that simple?"

"Well, you also showed quick consideration of her requests," Rarity pointed out. "Freezing the water so Granny Smith wouldn't fall in."

"That's different," Discord stated flatly, turning away. "...I don't play games with Life and Death..." he mumbled under his breath.

"But really, that's all friendship is at its most basic level," Twilight explained. "Being considerate of others."

"We aren't trying to change who you are," Fluttershy explained. "Celestia may want to find ways your magic can help the country...but we just want to teach you about being friends. And you've already shown a great deal of consideration for me. I saw you redirect those frying pans so they wouldn't hit me while the cottage was rotating in midair...which was kind of fun."

"I missed that?" Rainbow asked, shocked. "Aw, I bet it'd have been like those gravity chambers I keep hearing about!"

"Well, that's different, Fluttershy," Discord pointed out. "Sapphire said she'd eat me if I hurt you!"

"Sapphire!" Fluttershy snapped angrily as the others burst into laughter.

"Not sorry!" Sapphire skreed quickly, setting Discord to laughing.

As the group shared a laugh, Discord realized...it felt good to share a joke with others when they found it as funny as he did. Maybe...maybe friendship wouldn't be so bad after all. "So...that's all friendship is?" Discord asked. "Just...taking others thoughts and feelings into consideration? That just sounds so...easy."

"At its most basic level, it is," Twilight replied. Then she sighed ruefully. "It's when you move beyond the most basic levels it can become a real headache of a learning experience."

"But not one you'll experience alone!" Pinkie chimed happily as she skated on two skates, one on her head and one on her tail with her legs waving in the air.

Discord managed a smile. "Well...maybe it would be worth it," he replied carefully. "...maybe..."