Miles glanced back over his shoulder, only to see a large, swirling shadow with two familiar mismatched eyes piercing into his soul from within. It appeared to be coming from one of the picture frames behind it. Miles frowned and said, "It's you..." He chose to ignore the figure and instead reattach his attention to Twilight. He needn't a repeat of what happened the last time he and Discord crossed paths in this manner.

"Oh, don't sound so disappointed, Miles," Discord chided as the apparition began to swirl until Discord's usual form came into being, "I merely need to have a little private talk with Sparkle-butt over there." Discord jutted a talon in Twilight's direction as though he were pointing a thumb.

"Hey!" Twilight used her magic to toss a book at Discord. The book seemed repelled from Discord like a magnet, instead veering towards Miles's head.

"What in the-?" Miles was startled, swatting at the book with his fist. The book careened across the room, but then began flapping like a bird and repeatedly dive-bombing him. Discord couldn't help but chuckle mischievously.

"Discord! Stop it! Where are your manners?!" Twilight seethed, grabbing the book in her magic once more and attempting to bring it back to her desk to no avail.

"Oh, you're no fun... Fine." Discord snapped his talons and the book appeared back on Twilight's desk in perfect condition.

Miles grabbed onto the nearest ornament, gritting his teeth as he gently smiled up at the draconequus. Twilight cleared her throat and addressed Miles calmly.

"I apologise on his behalf, Miles; Discord gets carried away often." Miles looked over at her as she spoke, his suppressed rage not showing through on his features in the slightest.

"It's quite alright, Twilight." Miles's warm tone and subtle smile soothed Twilight's nerves; she felt relieved Miles was such a tolerant character, especially around someone so abrasive as Discord.

Discord noticed Miles had not yet left the room, raising an eyebrow at the man as Twilight spoke up. "So, Discord, what's the matte-?" Twilight was interrupted by Discord snapping his fingers, causing Miles to disappear in a flash.

Twilight face-hooved. "Discord?! Couldn't you have just asked him to, uh... Oh, I don't know... Leave for a moment?!"

"Well, this was faster and easier." Discord grinned deviously.

"Yes, but... N-Never mind..." Twilight sounded defeated, settling back into her chair. "What do you want to talk to me about?"

Discord returned to his usual mischievous smile as he snapped his talons and summoned up a long couch to sprawl across, suspended upside-down in midair. "I don't trust him, Twilight."

"Wow, straight to the point, huh...? Must we really have this conversation with you upside-down?"

"I don't know, Twilight. Must we?" Discord chuckled as he grabbed his head and twisted it upright whilst his body remained upside-down.

Twilight sighed in exasperation, tired and wanting nothing more than to return to her much more lucrative conversation with Miles. "Just get on with it... Why do you not trust him? He's barely been here for half an hour, and you know what they say about first impressions."

"Don't you find it concerning that the very first thing he questions you about is our world's magic?" Discord's smirk disappeared as his tone became serious, yet Twilight struggled to take him seriously with his currently twisted head.

"Um, no, I don't. If he is indeed from a world bereft of magic, I would imagine he'd be extremely curious to learn about it. I know I certainly would." Twilight closed her eyes with a proud smile and placed a hoof against her chest.

Discord chuckled humorlessly. "Twilight, he's much too polite. He's clearly buttering you all up for whatever reason. He had blood on his skin when he arrived."

"You don't know the circumstances preceding his summoning here!" Twilight almost sounded like she was whining at this point.

"He clearly already has you under his spell..." Discord folded his arms and looked off to the side, shaking his head in disbelief.

Twilight raised a hoof with a smug smile as she refuted him. "Don't be silly, Discord. We already know he doesn't have magic."

"Never change, Twilight."

"Wha-"

"-After you first summoned him, he made a remark about how if he had 'wanted to harm you ponies', he 'would have done so already'." Discord lowered his voice in mockery of Miles as he quoted him. "He also attempted to intimidate and flick your dear mentor. I don't find it too hard to believe he would be curious about our magic so that he can use it against us."

"Discord, you're overthinking things. He was likely scared, with his actions being sort of a... Defensive gambit. Besides, as you said, he claims he means us no harm." Twilight sounded flippant as she blew a raspberry and wafted a hoof at Discord dismissively. "Anyway, there's not a chance in Equestria that he could harm any of us with you around, even if he did somehow develop a magical sense."

"Twilight, have you ever heard the phrase 'it's not what he said; it's how he said it'?"

"Of course I have."

"Well, it applies here." Discord began to sound frustrated.

"Honestly, Discord..." Twilight regarded Discord seriously and addressed him with a warm, gentle tone. "I must admit, it makes me so very proud of you and Fluttershy to see just how well you seem to have developed as far as caring for your friends is concerned, but you really shouldn't worry so much here."

Discord sighed and pushed his paw against his brow. "Oh, fine... Just please be careful of what information you give him. I managed to catch you moments before you described how he would be able to use magic. Don't you see how that's a risk-?"

"Wait, you were spying on us?!"

"Of course I was, my dear - through the eyes of the pictures hanging on the wall."

Twilight sighed explosively and asked, "Can you please just bring him back in here now? I want to finish my conversation with him."

"Alright, but just remember what I told you."

"Yes, yes, of course. Thank you for expressing your concern, Discord."

Discord readied his talons to snap Miles back into the room.

Miles was standing in the presence of Twilight and Discord in one moment, and in some room he had never seen before in the next. It looked like some sort of storage room, albeit an almost empty one. He couldn't help but feel his frustration building as he thought of how many times that monstrosity of nature had disrespected him, his emotional bottle being forcibly crammed full of bubbling, carbonated rage.

He spied a sharp, lengthy quill upon a desk on the other side of the room. Miles had been somewhat bare and vulnerable since he had arrived here, and so made his way over to it. He picked up the quill and turned it over in his palm, bending it slightly to test its durability. Satisfied with its strength, Miles broke off most of the quill's feather, leaving a sharp pointed end of a few inches in length remaining. It wasn't much, but it would have to do for now. He pocketed this after a cautionary glance around the room, paying particularly close attention to any picture frames hanging from the walls.

Miles stepped outside of the room after a moment, only to see he had been transported to a room adjacent to the living space the rest of the ponies had been occupying. They were still sitting around the room, seemingly chatting about whatever came to mind. They had not yet noticed his presence.

Miles cleared his throat and the chatter immediately silenced as all eyes were drawn to his frame. "How's it going, folks? Did you miss me?" he asked. The room mostly remained silent apart from a few hesitant chuckles. Miles smiled and strolled over to the couch, seating himself next to the small yellow pony with pink hair. She squeaked girlishly and huddled into the side of the couch opposite him, hiding her face behind her hair.

Miles looked down at the little pony, offering out his hand in greeting. "Hello there, little miss. I believe you know who I am by now, but I don't believe I've yet had the pleasure of making your direct acquaintance."

"Oh... Oh my... So very polite... M-My name's Fluttershy..." She came out of her shell somewhat and leaned across the couch, placing her left fore-hoof in his palm. He gently laid his other hand across the top of her hoof and shook equally as softly.

Miles muttered to himself, "Of course it is."

"Hmm?" she asked.

"Oh, nothing, Fluttershy. I was just musing over how pretty that name is."

"W-Well, thankyou..." whispered Fluttershy. By this point, the regular babble of the room had returned, but not without the occasional cautious glance in Miles's direction.

"Say, you wouldn't happen to know a lot about Disco-" Miles poofed out of existence mid-sentence, leaving Fluttershy dumbfounded.

Miles blipped back into existence beside Discord once again, wobbling slightly in surprise. "Welcome back, Miles! I trust you had a safe trip back to visit the others?" Discord said with a smirk.

Miles chewed the side of his tongue for a moment and placed his hands in his pockets. "Yes, I did, thank you," he said. "I had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of one 'Fluttershy'."

Suddenly, Discord's tail flung out like a whip and wrapped around Miles's mid-section, pulling him close as Discord growled, "Oh? And just how did that go down?" Miles struggled slightly, testing just how tightly pinned his arms were to his sides. Miles raised his eyebrows at Discord's response and winked at the mismatched creature.

Twilight had seen just about enough of these two butting heads already, thrusting a hoof down on her desk in frustration and blinking owlishly as a quill flung against her face. Her ears folded against her head with an embarrassed smile, her cheeks flush as she spoke. "Alright, you two, that's enough... Discord, can you finally leave us in peace to finish our conversation?"

Discord narrowed his eyes at Miles for a couple more seconds before finally releasing him. He said, "I can, yes..." Several pregnant moments passed and Discord made no movement to leave. Twilight sighed explosively.

"Okay, Discord, may you leave us in peace to finish our conversation?" she growled.

"Fine." He readied his talons to snap his way out of the room.

"And no spying on us this time!" Twilight said.

"Yes, yes, whatever." Discord snapped and he was gone, leaving Miles and Twilight in a slightly awkward silence. After a few seconds, Miles seated himself once more.

Twilight chirped, "So! Where were we?"

Discord popped into existence beside Fluttershy, who squeaked in surprise and opened her mouth to speak. Before she could do so however, Discord snapped again, and the two disappeared from the room instantly.

Fluttershy then found herself in Discord's pocket dimension beside his house. She glanced around at the murky, disorienting purple space for a few moments before squinting slightly in confusion. "Discord? Why did you take us here?" she asked.

After leaning down and placing his paw upon Fluttershy's withers for a moment with a smile, Discord floated over to the front door and opened it in wordless offering. Fluttershy's features immediately softened as she made her way past him and into the house. She took to the air and settled upon one of Discord's floating seats, running a hoof through her locks as her nervousness returned slightly.

"Fluttershy, I brought you here so we may have a conversation without risk of being pestered by our little friends." Discord gently closed the door and blinked onto the chair opposite Fluttershy, holding a teacup and saucer. "Now, dearest, I know it's a little early for our weekly tea party, but how's about some ginseng tea as we chatter?" Discord grinned cheerfully and snapped his talons. His singing ginseng teabags began chanting and floating around the room. Fluttershy giggled.

"Oh, I don't mind if I do..." At her word, a cup and saucer appeared before her, and she took them in her hooves gratefully with a smile. "S-So, what did you want to talk about? Do I even need to ask?"

Discord began crunching on his teacup as the teapot floated over to Fluttershy in offering. She daintily held her cup over to the teapot and began to feel her shoulders unwind their knotted muscles as a singing teabag finished its tune and dropped into her cup. The teapot flipped upside down and poured its steaming hot water into her waiting pottery. The sound of the liquid being poured into her teacup made Fluttershy close her eyes for a moment, her anxiety melting away like a glacier showered with soothing, warm water.

"Well, I heard from our new ape visitor that the two of you had a little conversation. Of course, I trust you more than I trust myself, Fluttershy. You know that." Discord paused for a moment, his half-eaten teacup being filled with anti-gravity water. He sipped at the liquid, causing his cup to recede further with each sip. "However, I don't trust him."

"Oh! Whyever not?" Fluttershy was surprised to hear Discord could be distrusting of someone so seemingly gentle and polite as Miles.

Discord huffed with impatience, unwilling to recite his earlier conversation with the bookworm. "Let's just say he's a little too polite. I merely wish to be careful around him for a while until we know he means you ponies no harm. For all we know, he could want to eat you!"

Fluttershy giggled dismissively, holding in a d'aww at her best friend's display of concern. She sipped at the remains of her drink and wafted a hoof at him. "Oh, Discord! You worry too much... I know you care deeply for your friends' well-being, but you honestly should let him be. He's surely just frightened and confused about this whole thing. Try and put yourself in his horseshoes and imagine how you'd react to being taken away from everything you knew and held dear." Fluttershy placed her cup down on the table between them and beat her wings softly, bringing her seat closer to his. She gently laid a hoof upon his paw.

"I would simply snap my talons and return to where I came from," Discord said. He pulled away, folding his arms and lifting his chin. Fluttershy put her hoof to her mouth and giggled again at her ancient-god-friend's childish display.

"Yes, but he can't do what you can, Discord. He's stuck here. When you put yourself in his place, you have to imagine that you share the same limitations that he does. I know you, Discord. You're just as capable of empathy as anypony else." Discord thought back to the lesson in role-play he learned when he first played Ogres and Oubliettes with Spike and Big Mac, his features squinting as he ruminated. His expression softened and he glanced over at Fluttershy, who smiled warmly at him and placed her hoof on his arm once again. He allowed her to pull his arms apart and sighed.

"Thankyou, my dear Fluttershy. Perhaps I am being a little too... Paranoid..." he said.

"Oh, Discord... You're merely being protective. Don't worry, I understand," she replied.

"But I swear on my name, if anything happened to you, I'd-" Fluttershy silenced him with a hoof to his snout and a comforting smile. She then floated slowly back over to the other side of the room with careful beats of her wings. Discord couldn't help but admire how everything that mare seemed to do looked like an elegant dance - graceful and gentle.

After a few moments of silence, Discord grabbed his teacup that had been floating in the air next to him and finished it off, the cup now totally vanishing and leaving behind a mass of tea. He then summoned a fresh teacup and squeezed the lump of tea over it, causing the tea to drain from the lump like juice from a lemon.

The teapot floated over to Fluttershy once again and she held her cup up for a refill. As her drink was topped up, Discord cleared his throat and spoke with renewed vigor. "Alright! With that nonsense out of the way, how's about we shift our weekly tea party forward a few days and move onto brighter topics?"

Fluttershy laughed gently, taking a dainty sip from her drink. "Or, we could still have our weekly get-together as usual, but count this as an extra...?" Fluttershy raised an eyebrow hopefully as she trailed off.

"Oh, ho ha ha! Of course, dearest," Discord chuckled with mirth.

Author's Note

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Sorry that it took a while; I've been busy with job transitions and the likes in real life, so please forgive my tardiness. Also, this section is somewhat lengthy and uneventful, I know, but this kind of stuff is necessary for us to get to the action! All in due time.

29/09/2024 - Touched up with fixes, some additions and re-writes.