Too Much?

by Azure129

Rating: everyone
Tags: Comedy, Discord, Twilight Sparkle, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 5773

Follow up story to "What About Discord?" The master of chaos visits Twilight Sparkle a few days after the end of the big off screen three day weekend of bonding to explain some of his unusual behavior, and to ask a simple question: was it 'too much'?

"What About Discord?"

What indeed about Discord? How strange for the master of chaos to suddenly descend upon Ponyville, bond with his favorite friends besides Twilight Sparkle, and then use that bonding (coupled with sarcastic jabs and sly glances) to snarkily teach Twilight Sparkle a friendship lesson of his own in an almost season 4-ish manner. Certainly a genuine desire for deeper friendships with the other girls played a role in his actions, but what other thoughts and plans might have influenced his behavior?

Luckily, a few days after the end of this latest chaotic adventure, Discord shows up at Twilight's castle to explain his goals of the previous weekend and to hint at some of his friendship plans for the future (for Ponyville and beyond). And he begins by asking the friendship princess a simple question about his teasing this time around: was it too much?

The conversation that follows illuminates many things.

Published 2015-11-13 01:50:02 UTC
Last updated 2015-11-13 01:50:02 UTC

Too Much?

It was a few days after a very ‘interesting’ three-day weekend experience for Princess Twilight Sparkle. She had immersed herself in seventy-two hours worth of soothing book organizing with her faithful assistant Spike, which had been quite a pleasurable break from her normally full social calendar (and quite a pleasant way of reminiscing about her old days in Golden Oaks Library). But then Twilight had reentered the world of the Ponyville living only to discover something quite disturbing—Discord had suddenly become bosom buddies with all of her friends, and all of her friends…liked it!? Needless to say, Twilight had been beyond stunned by the sudden turn of events (and by the sudden transition from a weekend of total bookish orderliness to a mid-week of chaos rampant among her court).

Twilight had done her best to cope with the new situation though. She had tried to involve herself in the bonding among the new group; she had tried to study and scientifically dissect the nature of the sudden connection between the ponies and the draconequus; she had even tried to use a zebra potion (which she now suspected had been a placebo given to her by Zecora just to humor her paranoid suspicions) to remove the ‘spell of friendship’ she had been convinced Discord had placed over her friends to make them like him so much and so suddenly.

In the end, though, the true situation had turned out to be a simple one—she, Twilight Sparkle, the princess of friendship, had chosen to spend a long weekend alone with her books instead of outside with her friends. And even though she had a right to the choice, and even though everyone needs the occasional a break from others, and even though books can sometimes be excellent company, she had to accept that a consequence of her decision was missing out on some memories with her friends. And in this particular case Twilight also had to accept that her decision meant Discord sort of taking her place in those memories, much to her slight jealousy.

But now Twilight was feeling so much better about the situation and all that had passed. Once she had accepted Discord’s friendship with the other girls and the lack of anything nefarious in the creation of that friendship, she had found herself much more able to accept the circumstances of last weekend and move on. Her mood had also been improved by the fact that after the revelation that everything was all right and a big group hug, the girls and the master of chaos had all stuck around the castle just to chat and have some snacks and even to admire Twilight’s newly organized library (though Discord had found the perfectly ordered room a little painful to endure). The whole group of them had even come up with a few in-jokes of their own. All and all the situation had resolved itself most accordingly.

Now it was Friday, things had settled down, and Twilight was back into the full swing of her friendship princess duties and already planning to make the coming weekend a memorable one with her friends. But for the rest of this afternoon, with the chores of the morning behind her and before the hustle and bustle of socializing began tomorrow, Twilight just sat upon her throne with her eyes closed and a smile upon her face, resting and thinking of how many friendship memories she had to look forward to and how many friendship memories she was already grateful to have. And she was also thinking of how much more she would appreciate the events of the coming days with her friends after all she had missed out on last weekend.

And if Discord happened to show up, that was just fine with her.

Of course, Twilight meant that sentiment in the sense of him ‘showing up’ sometime over the weekend. She…didn’t mean it in the sense that it would be totally all right for him to suddenly pop up right now in the middle of her peaceful moment alone in her castle.

Needless to say, though, that’s just what happened suddenly with a poof of magic.

“Princess Twilight Sparkle, all alone again I see. Did you learn nothing from the valuable lesson I painstakingly took the time to teach you about not locking yourself away when all of your little friends are out to play? Hmm, hmm…” The master of chaos chuckled.

Twilight opened her eyes to see Discord smirking at her from across the cutie map table as he reclined back in his ‘throne’ with his paw and claw clasped together.

She smiled. “Actually, Discord, I was just taking the rest of the afternoon to relax and recharge myself for a fun weekend ahead. It’s nice to see you though. Do you have any plans yet for the weekend? And do they involve oranges and peanut butter and snakes?” Twilight had to chuckle—even not getting the jokes, somehow their total lack of sense was starting to amuse her.

Discord grinned and shrugged. “Oh, I’ll probably just crash whatever all of you and all of the other girls are doing at the most chaotic time possible. You know, you’re not an entirely boring crowd to hang around with. Or maybe it’s just that you’re all not entirely boring when I’m around to liven things up.” He chuckled. “I suppose in that case then I’d be the variable that you couldn’t account for.” He winked.

Twilight rolled her eyes but had to smile more. “I think our fun together is just a combination of good friends and good times, Discord. And I’m glad you’re feeling so much more comfortable about getting closer with the girls and me. After all, as Celestia taught me, there’s no better way of learning about friendship than just diving right into it.” She brought a hoof to her chest and held her head high.

“Oh great, now I’m getting second hand lessons from Celestia.” Despite the comment Discord still smiled as he crossed his arms over his chest. “I swear you ponies are all in cahoots to turn me into the most wishy-washy, overly-sensitive, underly-sarcastic reformed villain there ever was.”

Twilight smirked just a little, her eyes hazing. “Oh darn, you’ve figured out our villainous plan, Discord. Oh well, no turning back now.” She shrugged with a cheeky grin.

Discord laughed and grinned too. “Ah so you do have a sense of humor underneath the book obsession and the science stuff. Good to know.”

Twilight laughed softly. “Thanks, Discord.” Then she raised an eyebrow. “So what brings you here? Did you need something or did you just want to spend some more friendly time together? Maybe come up with a few in-jokes of our own?” She smiled.

Discord smiled in return but shook his head once. “Actually, Twilight Sparkle, I wanted to ask you a question.” He reclined back more in his throne to look upward a little toward the roots of Golden Oaks overhead.

Twilight nodded. “Yes, Discord?”

The master of chaos let out a deep sigh. “Everything I did with the three day weekend—the time with the girls, cheekily excluding you, rubbing in the in-jokes, the taunting looks of slyness that led to nowhere but served excellently to make you quite paranoid….” He smirked but then just smiled normally again as he went on. “Was all of that too much?”

“Too much?” Twilight raised an eyebrow again. “What do you mean, Discord?”

Discord shrugged. “I mean the whole song and dance—was it too much? Did I go just a little over the top? Did I finally hit the point of my actions not being believable even for me? And did I push you so much that you couldn’t enjoy everything just as much as I hoped you would?” He looked to her seriously, an eyebrow of his own risen.

Twilight blinked a couple of times. “Discord, I still don’t quite understand what you mean. You were just…being yourself, right?” Then her eyebrow went even high. “Wait, you hoped I would enjoy what happened??”

The master of chaos sighed so deeply and rested his chin on his paw. “You see, this is why I should really spend more time around the pony sisters. Celestia’s head moves about as quickly as mine does, I don’t feel like I’m ten steps ahead and two dimensions to the right when I’m dealing with her. The playing field’s a bit more matched.” He smirked to himself (which elicited a blank stare from Twilight) but then shook his head and addressed the young alicorn again. “Allow me to explain, oh confused young Princess Twilight Sparkle.”

The master of chaos snapped, disappeared in a burst of magic and light, and reappeared floating in the air around Twilight’s throne. He went on. “You see, I’d heard about your book-sort-cation plans from one of Fluttershy’s letters, and that’s why I specifically chose last weekend to make my foray into friendship with the girls. I knew if anything would get your goat, so to speak…” Discord snapped and made a goat (which gave a bleat) appear on the table with a Twilight Sparkle color scheme, “…it would be me taking your place amongst your dearest friends for a weekend of fun. In fact, I knew it would bother you even more than me crashing your little library book love fest to work on our friendship would have, and even more than me ruining your last sister-in-law bonding weekend with Cadance did.” He grinned and his eyes narrowed as he snapped away the goat and floated around her. “Aren’t I just a stinker, Twilight?”

“You do have an odd fixation on bothering me, Discord, I’ll give you that,” Twilight merely replied with an eyebrow raised and a dry look.

“But don’t you see, Twilight Sparkle, isn’t it obvious?” Discord announced, stopping in midair to grin down at her. “Bothering you, pushing you, teasing you harmlessly but relentlessly—that’s how I express my friendship for you, Twilight. That’s how we’ve bonded as buddies ever since my reform!”

Discord snapped and made himself appear standing beside her, then quickly gripped her in his claw arm and ruffled her mane with his paw. “Don’t you remember during the plunder seeds fiasco how I brilliantly got you to go on after your friends into the Everfree Forest by taunting you about acting like you were better than everypony else? And then of course there was the Cadance ‘blue flu’ situation—a shenanigan of genius, if I do say so myself, and all to get you to prove to yourself just how important my friendship is to you and how dedicated you are to your duties as the princess of friendship. Flawless down to the last detail except for that pesky consequence of me actually getting sick in the end.” He rolled his eyes. “And then of course I showed up to help with the Tirek situation and encouraged you to prepare yourself to fulfill your full role as a powerful, protective princess by mocking you about Celestia coming to me for help instead of you and even making myself look like a princess right in front of you.” He cleared his throat and glanced away. “Don’t get me wrong, at that point I had no intention of betraying you girls, it’s just I had no clue how strong Tirek might be when I found him and if he might actually be strong enough to beat me before I could find and capture him, so I figured frustrating you into taking a leading role was a good failsafe plan.” He grinned and shrugged.

Twilight just looked up at the chaos master, still caught in his grasp. “Discord…I appreciate what you tried to do. But also somehow I don’t think ‘friendship’ and ‘encouraging me’ were your only motives in bothering me so much.” Despite the accusation, though, she did smile a little.

Discord sighed and finally released her. “Oh fine, maybe back then I was also acting out a lot because I was all grumpy about the whole ‘be reformed or else’ thing.” He shrugged. “What can I say— it’s hard for a villain to make such a momentous transition, especially one as powerful and infamous as me.” He grinned brightly. “But part of everything I did was in friendship, Twilight, that I promise you.”

Twilight still raised an eyebrow hesitantly.

Discord went on, his tone quiet and serious, his paw and claw clasped together in front of himself. “Twilight, believe me, if I didn’t like you, if I didn’t want to have a relationship with you worthy of friendship, I never would have put so much time and effort into bothering you and testing your powers of friendship in so many complicated ways.” Discord sighed and flew up again, going on (while Twilight just watched him with a look of interest now). “And besides, how you always managed to maintain your love of and faith in friendship no matter what I ever put you through kept me puzzled and wanting to understand its magic more and more.”

Twilight considered this explanation very carefully. But then she had to raise an eyebrow at him once more. “But…what does that have to do with everything that happened last weekend, Discord? And…if it’s just more of what you’ve always done, why would you wonder if it was too much this time?”

Discord sighed deeply and tilted his head back to look at her upside down. “Because I had hoped that a pony as supposedly smart as yourself would have seen the pattern by now of how I choose to express friendship to you and would have picked up on it by last weekend. And I had hoped that you’d get I was just doing the same old thing again and enjoy the throwback.” He grinned and shrugged. “Come on, a momentary return to the gold old days of the old ‘reformed’ Discord” he made air-quotes, “instead of the actually reformed Discord. One last hurrah.” He chuckled and flipped back over.

“Why ‘one last hurrah’ though, Discord?” Twilight asked.

“Because,” the chaos master sighed, “I think I’m finally getting a little too mature about friendship for shenanigans like the ones I’ve pulled on you in the past. I’m not frustrated about being reformed anymore, I don’t feel the need to keep testing your friendship skills now that I’m growing so comfortable with the magic of friendship myself, and honestly I don’t have the desire in me anymore to spend so much time hatching elaborate plans to get under your skin when I could just spend the time making elaborate plans to hang out with all of my new friends including you.” He smiled, and the smile was warm. “It’s probably time we all moved on to a more sincere and less roundabout way of relating. But still, wasn’t one more time for the road of ‘doing things the hard way’ a blast?” He chuckled lightly, then sighed and landed on the floor. “Except, I think I might have gone a teeny bit too far this time. I think I genuinely saddened you there for a minute.” He frowned a little. “I saw the tear you wiped away when you finally admitted you were jealous, Twilight Sparkle. And I just wanted to say…I’m sorry about that.” He glanced away a little sheepishly.

Twilight blinked several times and then looked down with a slight frown of her own. “I was sad, Discord, yes. But it…it really wasn’t about you. I was sad because I’d chosen books over friends, and because I’d already learned a long time ago that doing that can be lonely. And when it happened again, I felt lonely in a way I hadn’t for a long time.”

“But that happened because of me,” Discord replied. “Because once again I let a joke go too far.” Twilight looked up to see Discord still looking at her seriously. He went on. “And I am sorry for that, Twilight. I’ll try not to let it happen again. All right?” He smiled a little and held out his paw to her.

Twilight smiled a little too. She nodded. “All right, Discord. Apology accepted. And, uh…” she glanced down sheepishly, “Sorry I…accused you of putting everyone under a friendship spell…which I’m pretty sure, now that I think about it, is not something that exists. Heh.” She shrugged and held up her hoof in return.

“Well, yeah, that was pretty insulting…but apology accepted as well, Twilight,” Discord replied with a chuckle.

Twilight smiled more and went to put her hoof in his paw…except that his paw suddenly changed into an orange topped with a jar of peanut butter that also had little rubber snakes sticking out of it

“Ha!” Discord chuckled. “Had to!” He raised is in-joke covered paw. “Oh, you really should have been there last weekend, Twilight, we got into such nonsense!” He wiped a tear from his eye and then flew back over to his throne to sit down.

Twilight blinked several times but then had to smile. “Very funny, Discord.” She shook her head with a grin. “Anyway, thank you for explaining all of that to me. I appreciate it. And I really am surprised you didn’t have a single selfish motive in all of this other than trying to relive the early days of our friendship for your amusement.”

Discord snapped his paw back to normal and then grinned sheepishly and glanced to the side. “Well, er…there might have been one other selfish reason for me keeping you out of the loop…and especially for me telling the girls not to have you join us no matter how many times they brought up the idea.” He cleared his throat. “I really did want to try making strong friendships with the other girls besides Fluttershy. But I knew if you were there, it would be too easy. You’re the princess of friendship—you make friendship happen wherever you go, you can’t help it just like I can’t help bringing chaos wherever I go. You would have made it too easy, Twilight.” He shrugged, his eyes drifting downward in thought. “But I wanted it to be hard. I wanted to prove to myself that I could be more than just tolerated by everyone except Fluttershy. And it took three long days of laughs and gags and bonding, but I did it. And…I’m proud of myself. But not in the usual arrogant way. In a way I like quite a bit more actually.” He smiled, his eyes bright as they came up again. “I can make friends all on my own. Not with Celestia’s orders, not with your help, but all by myself. Isn’t that something, Twilight Sparkle? I never thought I’d be able to do that in my entire life until I met Fluttershy and the rest of you, but now I can.”

Twilight couldn’t help smiling so brightly. Her tone was warm as she replied to him. “I always knew you could, Discord. And I’m glad you’ve finally figured that out for yourself.”

Discord’s bright smile remained for a moment longer, but then he had to raise an eyebrow and smirk at her, arms crossed over his chest. “You always knew I could? Really, Twilight?”

Twilight grinned sheepishly and shrugged. “Well…let’s just say that for a long time I’ve believed in general that anybody can make friends, and when you came along it was a bit of a stretch to maintain that belief but I pulled through it. And you’ve pulled through now too. Congratulations, Discord.” She smiled, her eyes hazed again in care.

Discord chuckled. “Fair enough Twilight.” He sighed. “So then this past weekend wasn’t too much then?”

Twilight shrugged. “Of course it was, Discord. But I expect things to be too much from you. But maybe now that you’ve had your last bit of fun with being friendly to me in your old, only slightly reformed way, we could move on to a new way of relating like you said.” She smiled. “I’m very interested to see where our friendship will take us next.”

“Looking forward to some unpredictable times with the master of chaos? Sounds like a plan to me too, Twilight Sparkle. I accept.” Discord nodded with a satisfied grin.

Twilight chuckled and then gestured behind him with her hoof. “By the way, I like your throne.”

“Hmm…” The master of chaos laughed as he glanced behind himself as well, “I know, I like it too. Besides, I figure maybe my destiny isn’t to wait around from some castle to tell me I’m good at friendship by giving me a throne. Maybe I just have to make the throne myself, or some horribly sappy metaphor like that.” He sighed and glanced to her again. “I don’t know, all the pieces are there—you make that symbolic comparison work, Twilight. You’re the book nerd, after all.”

“I’ll see what I can do, Discord.” Twilight just rolled her eyes with a smile. “Anyway, I’m having breakfast at Sweet Apple Acres with Applejack and Pinkie Pie tomorrow, then we’re going to meet the rest of the girls at Fluttershy’s for a songbird demonstration. Want to come?”

Discord nodded. “Couldn’t think of a nicer way to spend a Saturday morning,” he replied. “Then maybe later you’d all like to come to my cottage in Chaosville for lunch? If you think I made that first dinner party at Fluttershy’s during the start of my reform chaotic, you haven’t seen anything yet.” He chuckled.

Twilight laughed warmly in return. “I think we can work that in, Discord. It’s a deal.”

“Great!” Discord clapped his paw and claw together. “Well then, we’ll certainly be having quite a few memorable weekends ahead of all of us.” He yawned and stretched dramatically, contorting himself slightly. “In the meantime though I think I’ll head back home and take a nap. Orchestrating that three days of hilarity and managing your paranoia afterwards took a lot out of me—I need to rest up for more fun times starting tomorrow.”

Twilight nodded. “Sounds like a great idea, Discord. I’m a little tired myself.” She brought a hoof to her chin. “And hey, maybe during the next three day weekend all of us can hang out together. There’s another one coming up at the start of next month.”

Discord grinned, and his eyes narrowed. “Oh I’m afraid I’m all booked up for that particular weekend, Twilight. Yes, what happened during this past weekend has finally made me confident enough to try my most nefarious friendship scheme yet.” He tapped his fingers together ‘evilly.’

Twilight just looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

Discord shrugged. “Oh, what—I said it was a friendship scheme. Totally harmless. I’m just going to see if I can make a couple more close friends, that’s all. I promise. After all, if I can get Rainbow Dash to talk in unison with me, I can conquer any friendship quest.” He grinned proudly.

Twilight smiled a little and nodded. “Good luck then, Discord. And I hope your two new friends appreciate just how much of a special friend you are.”

“Oh I’m sure they will.” Discord nodded in return. “Until tomorrow then, Twilight. I’ll see you first thing in the morning.” And then with a snap and a flash of magic he (and his throne) disappeared.

Twilight just sat there with an amused smile on her face and shook her head. Then she yawned slightly herself. “Maybe Discord’s right. A little nap might do me some good too. Maybe I’ll go take a rest in the library, surrounded by all my nice organized books.” She smiled to herself as she stood up and headed in that direction.

But then of course there was one final burst of magic and light behind her. “Oh, and Twilight?”

Twilight blinked, then glanced over her shoulder with a smile to see Discord leaning against the side of her throne. “Yes, Discord?”

Discord just smirked at her. “Everyone gets jealous sometimes, even me. And everyone isn’t always the best at doing what they’re meant to do, even me. Don’t forget my failed chaotic stand-up at the Gala, after all.” He chuckled. “My point is, no one’s perfect, not even you. Don’t let it get you down.”

Twilight smiled warmly. “Thanks. You’re a good friend, Discord.”

Discord sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, trying not to smile. “I know, I know. Sheesh, don’t rub it in.” And with that and a chuckle he snapped himself away once and for all for the rest of the afternoon.

Twilight Sparkle resumed heading to her library for a nice nap. But rather than shutting out all sunlight and the outside world once there, she opened the windows wide and rested peacefully with the sounds of Ponyville and friendships below lulling her into a gentle repose. Her conversation with Discord had given her some final peace on the matter of their relationship: even chaos had a place in friendship, it seemed, and she was happy to see that chaos having finally found and embraced that place once and for all.

Next month…during the evening of the Friday before the three-day weekend…

In the Canterlot castle, and specifically in the private bathroom of the pony sisters, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna stood before their bathroom mirror and sighed deeply. Celestia’s mane looked a little unkempt and she blinked a couple of times in tiredness. Luna, meanwhile, had deeply hazed eyes and her regal bearing seemed a little more slumped than usual.

Celestia yawned as she magically used a brush to try and tame some of her hair. “Well, Luna, that was certainly a full week for both of us. But it’ll be nice to have all of that work out of the way so that we can both just enjoy the three day weekend ahead.”

Luna sighed and nodded, running some water and magically wetting a washcloth for her face. “Yes, I’m grateful too that we managed to get so many tasks out of the way so that we both may enjoy a holiday weekend together for once.” She managed a smile as she lowered the washcloth.

Celestia smiled as well and turned to her as she placed her brush down on the counter. “Come on, Luna, let’s go out for a bit before I get too tired. I feel like it’s been days since I’ve seen the outside of these castle walls.”

Luna nodded as she turned off the water. “Indeed sister, let us go out for a snack. I could used some time in the cool evening air before my nightly duties begin.”

The pony sisters, looking a little brighter now at the idea of their impending plans, headed for the bathroom door. They exited into the castle hallway…and then almost walked directly into a grinning Discord as he tumbled down a full red carpet to stand right before them while confetti and tickertape went off in bright bursts over his head.

“Ladies!” The master of chaos beamed as he came practically nose-to-nose with the sisters and then pulled back a little as all of the confetti and tickertape settled onto the floor. “Just the alicorn princesses I was looking for! Guess what—it’s a three day weekend, and your dear ally Discord has decided that it’s the perfect time to spend working on our friendship! I promise laughter, shenanigans, incredibly impressive magic, and three days you’ll never forget.” He laughed and clapped his paw and claw together.

Celestia and Luna just stared at him with wide eyes as they continued to process the boisterous scene before them.

Then Luna blinked. “I’m sorry…what?”

Discord sighed and rolled his eyes. “Three day weekend, fun times, friendship, me and you two.” He crossed his arms over his chest, still grinning. “Come on, we’ve hardly spent any—okay, we HAVEN’T spent any—real time together since my reform. We’ve been sort of friends by default since then, and I think it’s high time we learned how to be friends the old-fashioned way.”

The two sisters glanced at each other. Then they looked back to Discord. Celestia cleared her throat and tried to smile. “Discord, we appreciate your sudden interest in friendship very much. We’re just a little tired at the moment, and this is a bit much to process.”

Luna sighed. “What my sister means is that if this is an excuse for hijinks at our expense, we are too exhausted to humor thee. This wouldn’t be the first time since your reform that you’ve popped into this castle on an ‘innocent’ or ‘friendly’ pretext only to secretly turn our crowns into cheese or put a whoopee cushion on the royal throne just before court commences.”

Celestia sighed and kept her tone gentle and patient as she spoke again now. “Discord, we just didn’t expect you to show up right now and for a three day weekend of bonding. That’s all. And we’re not really sure what to say or what it is you’re hoping for from us exactly.” Celestia expected a sarcastic and smug reply delivered to her with a grin—the usual Discord response to any challenge to his plans.

Instead she was met with a serious look and wide eyes from the master of chaos. His tone even had something gentler to it. “I know it seems spontaneous. But believe me, it’s not a prank. And believe me, a lot of thought was put into this.” He blinked a couple of times and swallowed as his eyes went down a little. “It’s just…uh…well…important to me that we…try to be friends. Not just allies, but really, truly good friends.” He moved closer to her, and his eyes came up again. “Please.”

Celestia’s eyes went wide and then something in her gaze softened so much.

Even Luna had to smile warmly. And at seeing the sudden look of sympathy in her sister’s eyes she sighed and spoke up again. “I know that look, sister.” She turned to Discord. “Discord, we would be honored to spend the weekend with you in friendship if you’d like.” She smiled more. “We were actually just about to go get a snack in Canterlot—maybe some donuts from Donut Joe’s? Would you care to join us, and then once there we can discuss more your plans and intents?”

Discord practically beamed and then snapped, making himself appear between the two sisters. He put an arm around each of them to pull them close. “Really?” He looked to Luna and then Celestia.

Celestia blinked but then sighed and smiled and nodded. “Yes, Discord, of course. Come on—let’s all go get donuts together and make plans as friends.”

Discord nodded and let them go, then gestured forward down the hallway. “Ladies first.”

Luna and Celestia smiled with interest and nodded. “Thank you, Discord,” they said together before both going forward.

Discord followed after them, a little extra spring in his step now.

“Hmm,” the chaos master chuckled as he got between the two princesses again, “I think this is going to be the start of some beautiful regular time spent together, you know.”

Luna nodded. “Yes, I think it might be as well, Discord.”

Celestia smiled and glanced at the chaos master. “Maybe sometime soon you should visit Ponyville and try spending some more quality friendship time with Twilight and the girls too, Discord.”

Discord just grinned. “Way ahead of you, Celestia, way ahead of you. That ship sailed during the last three day weekend—ask Twilight for a letter, I guarantee it’ll be a doozy. I’ve actually got my friendship sights on Cadance and Shining Armor next. But I think I’ll wait to visit them until after the baby comes—then I can make three new very good friends instead of just two.” He chuckled merrily.

Luna laughed softly and smiled. “It’s nice to see you in such a good mood about friendship.”

Celestia laughed softly as well. “I think that’s a lovely idea, Discord. I’m glad you want to be so close now. I think it’ll be good for all of us.”

“Yes, I think it’s an utterly brilliant progression for our relationship after all of these years.” Discord winked down at her, which made Celestia smile more and roll her eyes to the side. The master of chaos just chuckled. “Come on, the first round of donuts is on me. We can tease each other about the past and crack jokes about being immortal that no one would get but each other. And somewhere in there we’ll work out our epic weekend plans!” He held out his arm dramatically.

The pony sisters chuckled and nodded as Discord led them forward with quite a bit of warm laughter of his own.

And so the three friends, still conversing and laughing, exited the castle and sauntered into the Canterlot streets for a snack, good times, and an evening out together. It would be an unforgettable three-day weekend of long overdue bonding, to say the least.

Author's Note

Okay, basically this was written because while I don't entirely dislike "What About Discord?" I felt the ep had some issues in its overall presentation and in its presentation of Discord. It felt like we were dealing with season 4 Discord who spends his time being friendly in the cheekiest and most slightly underhanded ways he can find instead of the season 5 Discord we saw in "Make New Friends but Keep Discord" who seemed to have progressed to making genuine attempts at friendship and honest mistakes during the learning process. I also felt like all of his sly looks should have been leading somewhere and they really weren't. And the Zecora scene was just superfluous.

Sorry, this is the critic in me lol. John's performance was golden though of course. And I loved a lot of the visual gags and how much more detailed Discord's expressions have become. And the group hug at the end was just adorable :twilightsmile: And part of the problem is that my expectations for Discord eps (or Discord anything) are obscenely high.

But, anyway, I wrote this story as a way of working out the more problematic things in the ep for my own head canon and for anyone who might be interested in reading an interpretation of the ep from me. I hope you guys enjoyed the story, and thank you for reading :)

Next chapter of "Keep Calm and Chaos On" will be up very soon! "Midquel 9: The One with Chaos and the Moon". Thank you all for your patience! :twilightsmile: