Cucumber Sandwiches

"Oh, thank goodness," Fluttershy exclaimed excitedly, "I was worried! You haven't been answering my letters for weeks!"

"I am deeply sorry. I had a sort of... problem," the draconequus replied.

"What sort of problem?"

"I will tell you all about it when we are inside. The ponies around here still give me weird looks," Discord looked away from the yellow mare to catch the eyes of a mint-colored pony who was, from what he could tell, judging him silently, "though I guess that is to be expected, regarding my history with this place."

"Don't mind Lyra. She gives everypony weird looks." Fluttershy side-stepped, allowing Discord to enter the hut. Fluttershy closed the door behind him. "So, what sort of problem are you talking about?"

"Let's just say that trying to play poker with a certain pile of goo is not the smartest idea. It took me forever to get the slime off of the ceiling, and I am sure I missed a spot, though I do not know where. I just know that I will find it at a very inconvenient time and then I will have to stop whatever I am doing to clean it up."

Fluttershy put her hoof to her muzzle and, her faced scrunched, asked, "how did slime get on the ceiling?"

"The Smooze is a really sore loser," Discord smiled.

" Oh my!" Fluttershy smiled in return. The sight of her lips turned up sent a feeling of happiness through Discord, as it does all the time. Out of all the ponies on this world, her's was the only smile that he actively tried to obtain. As he was reminiscing over her smile, a question flew over his mind that he had never thought about before. He didn't know if he should ask, due to the risk of making her upset. Then again, a simple snap could fix the situation if it starts going awry.

Discord took a deep breath in. Even if he could reset time, he still didn't want the image of the mare crying in his mind. Discord, calm down he thought. She won't get sad... hopefully... maybe... just get it over with while you have the chance...

"Fluttershy... where are your parents?"

"My parents? They live in Manehattan. My mother is the owner of Manehattan Manes, a mane stylist place, and my father works for a big company."

Discord let out a breath of relief to the knowledge that the question didn't offend her and that her parents were still... here. "That's nice."

"What about your parents?"

The question rolled around in his head for a while, his mind going blank. He hadn't ever really considered about his parents. He frankly assumed he didn't have any, him being the spirit of chaos and all. Everything had to come from somewhere though... right? Right. Answering that left him nothing to respond to his friend in front of him though. What should he say, that he doesn't have any? Say that he doesn't remember them? No, that wouldn't-

"I don't remember them," he blurted.

Great job, Dipcord...

"Oh no, I am so sorry. So, you have, like, no memories what so ever?"

"I don't really mean I don't remember them. I mean more like... like..."

"What do you mean?"

Discord steadied himself. "I mean more like I don't know if I ever had memories of them."

"Uh..."

"Oh, never mind. Let's just get on with our time, seeing as we don't have an infinite supply of it."

"Yeah, okay." Fluttershy pointed to the red couch that sat under the window. Discord followed her hoof and sat down. "Do you want anything to eat," she asked as she started her way towards the kitchen. "Crackers, hay, cucumber sandwiches?"

"Just the sandwiches I guess."

Fluttershy came back out moments later and laid a plate with triangular sandwiches occupying the surface. As he looked at them, he got a strange feeling. It was a feeling he had never had before. The sandwiches triggered something, something deep inside his mind that even he, a being as powerful as him, had not been able to feel it until an object, sandwiches no less, caused it to rise. The feeling that arose was not by itself though. With it, it pulled along another feeling. He knew this one well. Determination. The feeling that told fools that they had something that they thought they could accomplish. The feeling that only lead to sorrow. It lead him to be turned to stone. It lead him to take over Equestria. It lead him to side with an enemy he thought was his friend. Why was he getting it now?

"Are you okay, Discord?"

He realized he had been staring at the floor. He returned his attention to the concerned eyes studying him. "No. No, I am not."

"What's wrong? Do you need a doctor?"

"No, especially since the doctors you have here are not knowledgeable of my anatomy. No, this problem is beyond any helping hooves you can hire."

"Can you tell me?"

"My problem is with my feelings, Fluttershy. My feelings, as a spirit, work together. I rarely feel one emotion at a time, though those are normally the best times. When feelings come in pairs, by my nature, they mean something. Spirits are all about pairs, whether those pairs are together or seperate, such as water and earth, and light and darkness. Pairs are powerful, especially this one."

"Uh, okay... I think I get it. What is this "pair of emotions" you have right now?"

"If I am correct on my judgement, the feeling you get when you feel bad for something is called guilt, correct?"

"Yeah."

"It is as I feared. Guilt and Determination, the most dangerous pair in existence. The pair that lead those such as Sombra, Chrysalis, and even Luna. This pair foretells a quest which, most of the time, leads to destruction of the owner of the emotions."

"So, what do we do? I may not understand all of what you are saying, but I am smart enough to know that the expression on your face means trouble."

"I truly don't know what to do. I have never experienced the two paired." He looked out the window. "Emotions are not just plain feelings. They come at certain times for a specific reason, normally being drawn by something. And I believe I know what that thing is."

Fluttershy, now sitting in a chair, scooted forward slightly. "What do you think it is?"

"It is something I have never thought of before, that I had only thought about today."

"Your parents?"

"Exactly," he agreed. "My mind has basically told me it is time to figure out what has happened to them, if "they" are even a thing."

"Do you need any of my help? I can-"

"No." Discord turned to look at the yellow pony. "No. Those who help the ones in my position normally end up nearly as bad, if not worse."

"So what are you going to do?" She had a puzzled face on. Discord could tell she really wanted to help, even after he had told her what had just been said, which warmed his heart."

"I will need to do things, chaotic things. Bend time and space, create paradoxes, ruin prophecies. Unfortunately, that won't go down well with Twilight. I will need her permission to continue this forward. Knowing her position, I would assume she knows the power of pairs. Hopefully that knowledge will get me further."

"I really hope she will understand. I know this must be hard for you, but I am here with you always."

Discord stared, unblinkingly, at her for a moment, and then replied a measly, "thank you."

He stood up and snapped his fingers, a trench coat appearing around his shoulders along with a fedora upon his scalp. He mainly did if for show, which was normal, and keeping his original self with him throughout this journey, and not wavering from it, will be almost necessary. "I must be off. The longer I wait does nothing for me, and I hope to get this over fast enough to be back here by next week. Farewell, and," he turned towards the door, "thanks."

He walked out of the hut and stared into the sky. He would hope a moment like this would never come, but it had and there was no point in dwelling on it. He looked down the path winding away from the natural cottage, seeing ponies going about their own business.

He snapped and was gone with a poof, leaving a yellow pony staring out of the window, worried about her friend and hoping he would keep true to his morals and to be back soon.

"Be careful, Discord."