Reconnection

Chapters

Potential Bug Identified
Program Outsourced
Team Expanded
Restore Previous Data?
New Dataset
Hacker
Update
System Error
Epilogue: Ten Years Later

Potential Bug Identified

Discord had been unconscious for two days. Fluttershy had stayed by his side whenever she could, and barely left the cottage even when she wasn't right by him. Her animals were given quick meals that were easy for her to prepare, and Angel Bunny even helped out, once she had promised to groom his tail after Discord recovered.

She sighed, replacing the damp, cool cloth on Discord's forehead. He wasn't running hot anymore—he had cooled down within the hour of passing out. But she had no idea if he was in pain, if he was having nightmares, or if the spell was bothering him…all she could do was nurse him as best she could, and hope he woke up soon.

With a sigh, she filled a syringe with vegetable broth, then used her hooves to pry Discord's mouth open. She wriggled the syringe between his teeth and slowly depressed it, the thin liquid slowly dribbling down his throat. If he doesn't wake up by tomorrow, I'll put in an IV, she vowed. Once the syringe was empty, she grabbed the second one, filled it with ice water, and repeated the process. She had given him orange juice with a single crushed aspirin his morning, which would hopefully keep him from feeling any pain the rest of the day.

She gently smoothed down one of his eyebrows. They were soft to the touch, and it lightened the knot of stress in her chest. She hoped that the small gesture comforted him, too, even though he wasn't awake to feel it.

A knock on her front door made her flinch. Who could that be? she thought as she headed downstairs. Most ponies didn't visit her much, aside from her friends, and even their visits had become more infrequent over the months.

She slowly opened her door, peeking outside. “Hello, how could I—” Her breath caught in her throat. Standing right in front of her was a changeling about the same height she was, their chassis black and their eyes a gleaming teal, with eerie white pupils focused on her.

Her heart pounded in her chest as they opened their mouth, showing off their sharp fangs. She could remember being ambushed and having the love drained out of her, how she had woken up in a sticky cocoon, how Discord had fallen unconscious when trying to save her—!

She yelped and slammed the door shut, holding it closed with her own body as her eyes darted around her room. She had to hide. Had to keep Discord safe. There was another knock on her door, and she gasped, flying over and diving behind her couch.

“Um…Miss Fluttershy?” the changeling's voice said. They sounded male. “I'm sorry for scaring you…maybe I should have taken on a pony form,” he muttered. “But, you don't have to be worried. It's me, Thorax.” After a pause, he added, “T-The changeling who helped Starlight…invade the castle and overthrow our queen.”

She blinked, slowly poking her head out from her hiding spot. Thorax…he was the changeling who helped them, even after Twilight used Discord to have him captured and immediately put in a cell. Cautiously, still waiting for the other horseshoe to drop, she shuffled along the carpet until she reached the door.

She opened it just a crack, peering out with one eye. He looked like Thorax, but she wasn't sure if she could tell the difference between him and another changeling. There was some kind of metal pot on his back…why would he have that if he was evil and going to capture her? But…

“…how can I be sure?” she asked. His voice sounded familiar, of course, but couldn't another changeling imitate that, too?

Thorax placed a hoof to his chin in thought. “…after you were out of your cocoon and Chrysalis had left,” he said. “You spoke with Starlight, and then went to find Discord.” After a few more moments, he added, “Celestia arrested Twilight just a few minutes after our pardoning ceremony.”

Fluttershy mulled over these facts. To her knowledge, Thorax was the only changeling who should have known about both of those. “…Alright. I believe you,” she said, opening the door fully. “Um…what could I do for you?”

“Oh, I don't need anything. I just brought some stew,” Thorax said, holding the pot out to her. “For you and for Discord…if he's awake yet.”

“Oh…thank you,” Fluttershy said, grabbing the pot with her wings. There was a vegetable stew inside, delicious, creamy, a still a bit warm. “I’ll put it on the stove for later…Discord still isn't awake.”

Thorax’s ears drooped. “…sorry to hear that,” he said. “Um, if you wanted, I could…I could try to see if he'll wake up soon.”

Her ears perked up. “Do you know a lot about caring for creatures?”

“No, not really,” he admitted. “But, I could try and sense what emotions he's feeling. The more he's feeling, the sooner he's likely to wake up, right?”

“I…suppose that makes sense,” she said. It might also tell her if he was feeling physical pain, or having a nightmare, both of which she was still worried about. “…I'll take you to him. Please, come in.” She opened the door a little wider, turning and moving into the kitchen.

While she set the stew on the stove for later, Thorax entered and looked around her home. His eyes seemed to sparkle as he took everything in, from her comfortable couch to the birdhouses and pet beds scattered throughout. “Your home seems very nice,” he said. “Though a little…” He bit his lip as his eyes landed on the tacky throw pillows, the mismatched curtains, and the clay statues that were strange shapes and colors.

“Odd?” she finished, turning the burner up to set the stew to a very light simmer. Thorax stared at her with wide eyes. “I know things are a little different. Discord…seems to feel better with touches of chaos.” She smiled fondly as she looked at the clay statue on the kitchen counter. Discord had molded it himself, and she had painted it with his approval of colors. It was some sort of misshapen mug, very convenient for storing quills, and whose bright colors livened up the room.

“I see,” he said with a smile. “I think I can understand…I mean, having plants around me helps me feel better and sleep well.”

She smiled and nodded. “Well…I'll take you to Discord," she said, heading upstairs. Thorax followed right behind her, and once they reached Discord's bedroom door, she opened it and gestured for him to enter first. He did so, his eyes widening as his head swiveled around to take in all of the chaos that filled the room.

Though Thorax was distracted for a moment by the shimmering fake jewels hanging from Discord's light, he soon blinked and turned his attention to the reason he was up here—the still-unconscious draconequus. Thorax placed his head close to Discord's and sniffed. Fluttershy watched as he continued sniffing along the draconequus's head and chest, his tongue flicking out every so often. After a few minutes, he stepped back and looked at Fluttershy.

“Well?” she asked anxiously.

“I…think he might wake up soon,” Thorax said. “I can sense a few small emotions bubbling up in him before…something catches them like a net. But he's mostly calm…it's like he's dreaming.”

“…good dreams, right?” she asked.

Thorax just shrugged. “Probably. He seems happy and content, without very many negative emotions right now.”

“Oh, thank you,” she said, smiling as her shoulders relaxed. “…thank you for coming to help. How did you know that Discord was unconscious, anyway?”

“Rainbow told me and Starlight about…well…” Thorax shuffled his hooves and nodded towards Discord.

Fluttershy blinked. “Are…you and Starlight both living in Ponyville?” she asked quietly. Honestly, if any changes had come to the town, it was completely possible for her to have missed them…

“Oh, that's right!” Thorax said. “You haven't been to the Golden Oaks Library in a while, have you?”

Fluttershy frowned, shaking her head. A sick feeling formed in the pit of her stomach…that had been where Twilight lived. Where she ‘improved' her spell on Discord. Where she had made him use his magic in mundane ways, or to expand the library on the inside and add more books…

“Well,” Thorax said, interrupting her train of thought. “They needed a new librarian…or two, with how big it is now…Starlight couldn't go back to her village, and I…didn't feel great about going back home, so…with Celestia’s approval, we both started working and living there!”

“R-Really?” she said. “That's…that's good. How has it been?”

Thorax rubbed the back of his head. “It…could be better,” he admitted. “Most ponies in town don't trust either of us yet, but…well…no one is exactly asking to have Twilight back.”

Fluttershy giggled—the sort of giggle ponies or any creature made at the end of their rope, when your choice was either to laugh or to cry. She giggled for a long time, until her laughs turned into hiccups, and she finally stopped, rubbing at her eyes.

Thorax gave her a concerned look. He stepped a little closer and sat at the edge of Discord's bed, close to her but still giving her space. “…Twilight really hurt both of you. Like she hurt Starlight and me,” he said quietly, glancing at the sleeping draconequus behind him. “…you really do love him, don't you?”

“W-What?” she said, blinking. “I mean, I…I do care about him, of course! And I want him to get better, and, and…”

Thorax gave her a look, his blue eyes shimmering. “That's…not the kind of love I meant,” he said, his voice growing even quieter. She spotted his forked tongue peeking out from behind his fangs for a moment, before he pulled it back and bit it.

“Sorry about that,” he said, clamping a hoof over his mouth. She wasn't sure if he meant the sudden revelation or him accidentally eating a bit of her love.

“It's…it's okay,” she said, flopping into her chair. “…I think I…I need some time to think.”

Thorax lowered his head and headed towards the door. He stopped when he reached it, looking over his shoulder at her. “…Starlight’s been researching into a safe counterspell for him,” he said. “If you ever want help.”

She nodded, tucking that information away for later. Thorax paused for a few more seconds before continuing down the stairs and out the front door. Fluttershy stared at Discord, her chin resting in her hooves. He looked so peaceful…she reached forward to stroke his cheek, but she quickly caught herself and pulled away.

“What am I doing?” she said quietly. Biting her lip, she stood up and walked towards the door. She glanced at Discord one last time before she closed it, and headed to the kitchen, her thoughts caught in a whirlwind.

Through muscle memory alone, she filled a kettle with water and began to boil it. Then, she began to pace back and forth, trying to puzzle out all of her emotions and thoughts.

Well. The first thing was…Thorax was right. She did love Discord. And while that knowledge made a few things suddenly make sense…it also complicated her caring for Discord.

Did she really love him, or did she love him the way she saw him now? …it had been so long since Discord had freely shown his true self without complications or anything holding him back. And, if she loved him for how he treated her now…what if the spell made him stay like that?

The thought made her blood run cold. Could her actions…mold Discord into a creature she loved, who showed all the actions and traits of loving her right back? Could she influence him and lock away his true self, even accidentally, through her actions and the way she spoke to him?

…could she end up just like Twilight?

The kettle began to whistle, but she ignored it. Instead, she collapsed into one of her kitchen chairs, placing a hoof against her forehead.

She didn't know anything about magic. She had been doing her best to avoid triggering the spell and forcing Discord to do anything, but…with all of the passive effects Twilight had given it, was it really possible that she had managed to avoid influencing him completely?

Again through muscle memory, she turned off the stovetop, poured herself a cup of tea, and ladled out a bowl of stew. She sat down at the table again and began to eat and drink, only barely tasting anything. The stew was good, but the tea had seeped a little too long.

…and what about everything Twilight had said? She almost choked on a vegetable as the alicorn's words came back to her. She had spent so long worrying over Discord that she had pushed them out of her mind.

But what if she was right? Even if she didn’t end up harming Discord, could she really help him? Without a spark of magic, or any knowledge about it?

Her appetite was suddenly gone, and she swirled the stew around for a bit, occasionally taking small bites. Eventually, though, she just sighed and stood up. She covered her bowl and teacup and set them both in the fridge, then went into the living room and began to pace.

…maybe she could avoid hurting Discord, she thought. It was possible for creatures to fall out of love, wasn't it? If she spent a little time away from him, perhaps her love would fade, and she could welcome Discord back with open wings.

But she couldn't just leave him all alone. No, Discord should spend time with someone who didn't love him, but who had time to focus on him. Maybe even someone who knew more about magic, so they would know exactly what to avoid so as to not trigger the spell…

Her thoughts were interrupted by a shuffling sound from upstairs. Her heart leapt with joy (though she was scared just by how strongly it did so), and she quickly galloped upstairs. She only came to a stop in front of Discord's bedroom door, which she lightly tapped her hoof against before opening it a single crack.

Discord slowly turned his head to look at her. He was still lying down, but his eyes were open, and though he looked weary, he seemed to slowly gain enough focus to recognize her. She opened the door the rest of the way and stepped inside.

“Good…afternoon, Discord,” she said, needing a quick glance out the window to remind herself of what time of day it was. “How are you feeling?”

He just stared at her blankly, slowly blinking. Swallowing, she placed a hoof against his forehead. That terrifying fever hadn't returned…she could only hope it hadn't harmed him before she was able to help. “Do you have a headache?” she asked.

He blinked, then shrugged his shoulders. “…fuzzy,” he said. His voice was thick, either from tiredness or from going unused for some time.

“Well, that doesn't sound fun,” she said, stroking his shoulder. “But…you aren't in pain, are you?”

He slowly shook his head, and she smiled. “That's good to hear,” she said. “You can take all the time you need to rest. You…went through a lot, I think. W-Would you like a story?”

He slowly nodded, and she fluttered over to his bookshelf, selecting one that he had greatly enjoyed in the past and holding it up for his approval. He gave another small nod, and she flew back over to his side, positioning the book so that both of them could see it. She slowly began the read it aloud.

But even as relieved as she was, and as calming reading by his side was, today's revelation still sat heavily in the back of her mind.

Program Outsourced

Fluttershy remembered exactly why she didn't like to come into town much anymore. Just like she got the same reminder every time she went into town.

She was walking down one of the market streets (thankfully not as busy as the main street), with Discord right behind her. They had spent the last two days together in her cottage, giving her time to nurse him back to full health. She had wrestled with her emotions and debated about what was best to do for him, while he had exercised muscles that had gone unused through sleep. And with him finally better, and her with a plan, they had set out into town.

It was extremely uncomfortable. Fluttershy's ears flattened against the top of her head as she tried to ignore ponies' reactions toward the two of them. The dirty looks they would give Discord, or sometimes a pitying one. The even more pitying ones they would give as they looked at her. The way they turned away or moved across the street, trying to act natural but obviously not wanting to be near the pair of them.

She sighed, casting a glance up at Discord. Though every look he got pained her, it always seemed like it all rolled right off of his back, either staring blankly forward or focusing all of his attention on Fluttershy. It was hard to tell if he was really unaffected, or if the spell was making him so uncaring. Either way…she started walking a little bit faster, hoping to get away from the gazes of everypony as quickly as possible. After a few seconds, Discord sped up just enough to keep pace with her.

Finally, they broke away from the small market crowd and entered a much quieter street. Fluttershy let out a small sigh of relief, her pace slowing down as she kept guiding them towards their destination. Fewer and fewer ponies seemed to be around as she got closer…

After just a few more blocks, they came across a totally empty street with their destination at the end. The outside looked the same as ever…Fluttershy swallowed and reminded herself that it wasn't Twilight's home anymore. That now, the unicorn who lived there might be able to help Discord. And so, she walked the rest of the way there, glancing up at Discord every so often. He showed no signs of being disturbed by this place, which she was quite grateful for.

Once they were at the tree housing the Golden Oaks Library, she raised her hoof and knocked. After a few seconds, the door started to open. “You don't have to knock, you know. It's a public building,” Thorax's voice said. “You can just—oh, Fluttershy! And Discord!”

Fluttershy smiled and gave a small wave hello. Discord just stood there, unfeeling gaze pinning the changeling and making small beads of sweat form on his forehead. “Well, uh…come in, come in,” Thorax said, opening the door a little wider and stepping back.

“Discord, this is Thorax,” Fluttershy said as she stepped inside, the draconequus following right behind her. “He and Starlight helped rescue everyone who was captured by the changelings…and he's the one who brought us that vegetable stew you really liked.”

Discord blinked, eyes focusing on Thorax and filling with a little more recognition. The changeling just grinned awkwardly, using his magic to close the library door. “Well, it's…it's good to see you up and about, Discord,” he said. “So, are you two here for books, or is this more of a social visit?”

“I suppose a social visit?” Fluttershy said. “You mentioned that Starlight was doing some research into counterspells, so…”

Thorax's ears perked up. “Oh, of course!” he said. “She's in her study right now. I can take you both to her.” He turned and headed deeper into the library, and the two of them followed right behind him. Fluttershy glanced up at all the bookshelves surrounding them as they headed deeper into the library…a little deeper than what it felt should have been possible.

“The, uh…the library's been through some changes over the years, hasn't it?” she said. Thorax just shrugged, and Discord didn't respond at all. She kept glancing around at the walls of books around them, hoping it wasn't bringing up bad memories for Discord.

Just a minute later, Thorax approached a wooden door with a hanging sign of Starlight's cutie mark. As he stepped forward, about to knock, the door was opened with magic, and Fluttershy caught a quick glimpse of a room with a small wooden desk piled with books and papers and a few pictures of equal signs hanging against the walls. Before she could spy anything else, Starlight stepped out, closing the door behind her.

Fluttershy blinked. The unicorn looked different than the last time they had met. Though her mane was still tied back, it was in a looser, more relaxed ponytail than the strict and controlled manestyle she wore in her village. And she didn't seem to be taking any steps to cover up her cutie mark anymore.

“Thorax, I've hit a slump in my studies,” she said, nose currently in a book. “You wouldn't happen to know anything about correlations or lack thereof between capitalism and ponies’ overall happiness, would you?”

“Um…no, not really,” Thorax said. “But Starlight, we have—” Starlight bumped into Discord's legs, falling backward and dropping her book. “—guests.”

Starlight used her magic to pick up the book and send it back into her study, then stood and raised her head…and kept raising it all the way until her eyes met Discord's. “Ah, you two,” she said, glancing over at Fluttershy. “I'm guessing that you're here for more than just a few books?”

Fluttershy nodded. “When Thorax visited, he mentioned that you were working on a possible…counterspell.” And she had a much bigger favor to ask than that, but it didn't feel like the right time to ask.

“Oh, yes!” Starlight said. “Why don't you come into my study, and we can discuss the details.” She opened the door, and Fluttershy stepped forward. Discord didn't even move.

“Um…maybe this room is a little too orderly for him,” Fluttershy said, glancing at the carefully-arranged bookshelves. “Discord…would you rather wait somewhere that's a little more chaotic?”

Discord blinked, then slowly nodded. “Well, we haven't organized the Neighponese section yet,” Thorax said. “And there's a comfy armchair. It's this way, Discord.” He waved Discord towards a nearby door, and Discord slowly turned and followed him.

Fluttershy watched until he was completely out of sight, then turned back to Starlight, who was just scanning her shelves, humming to herself as she chose certain books and ignored others. “So, um…what made you and Thorax want to become the new Ponyville librarians?”

Starlight paused. “Well. Both of us figured we needed to find a new place to live. The old librarian wasn't coming back anytime soon, it would be a good place for me to conduct magic research, and Thorax figured that he'd stick with me.”

“Why, um…a new place to live?” Fluttershy asked. “S-Sorry, I don't mean to pry, I'm just…”

“Curious?” Starlight said. “Don't worry, we've faced much worse questions. Mostly from ponies who think we're plotting something.” She scoffed. “Like we'd even be able to complete an evil plot with half a suspicious town's eyes on us.”

“Oh, that’s…rough?” Fluttershy said as sympathetically as she could.

“Anyway, Thorax…it's a bit personal, but let's just say he doesn't want to go back to the hive just yet, even with Queen Chrysalis gone,” Starlight said. “And after what Twilight did, I'm not exactly welcome in my village anymore. I don't even need to go back to know that.”

“Ah…” Fluttershy said. On the one hoof, it didn't seem right to think she wasn't welcome without even trying to find out. On the other…she glanced nervously at the picture of an equal sign hanging on the wall.

Starlight sighed. “Don't worry, I'm not going to try my campaign against cutie marks again,” she said. Under her breath, she muttered, “It's not like anyone would listen to me, anyway.”

“So you're just…giving up?” Fluttershy said, furrowing her brow. In her village, she had seemed so determined, so adamant that she was doing the right thing…

“Cutie marks are still a danger that can tear ponies apart,” Starlight said. “But I've seen what happens when someone uses a powerful, experimental spell for the greater good.” She glanced at her door...in the direction Discord had gone in. “Well…what Twilight did was worse. But still, I'm not going to end up like her.”

“So, I'm going to use a…mostly non-magical solution,” she said. “Some kind of solution that will help society in general, so that everyone can be equal regardless of cutie mark, subspecies, class level...”

“Oh?” Fluttershy said. “What solution do you have?”

Starlight sighed, ears drooping. “Nothing, yet,” she said. “Turns out politics and political theory is a little more difficult than magic.” Her ears lifted. “Oh, but you're not here to hear me ramble, are you? You're here so that I can try to help Discord.”

She levitated a few books over to herself, flipping through them at a rapid pace. “Fortunately, I'm much better at magic, and this library has more resources on the subject,” she said. “I'll just need to do a quick inspection of the spell, and then I can help Discord.”

“How exactly can you, um…inspect the spell?” Fluttershy asked. “I mean, since it's…” She gestured towards her own head.

“Oh, a couple of advanced scanning spells should be able to show exactly what's going on in there,” Starlight said, selecting a few books to keep while setting the others back. “You can watch, if you'd like.”

“…I'd feel better if I did,” Fluttershy said. Starlight nodded and headed into the room where Discord was waiting. He sat tall in his chair, hands over his lap and looking straight forward. It seemed as though he had done nothing but wait for the two of them to appear.

“…that's a little creepy,” Starlight whispered under her breath. Fluttershy turned, about to give her a look, but the unicorn had already stepped forward, her horn glowing.

“Alright, Discord,” she said. “Ready for a quick scan of what’s going on in your head?”

Discord stared at her for a few moments. “…it'll be super quick,” Starlight said. “You'll barely notice!" And with that, she fired a thin beam of magic right at Discord's head.

Fluttershy's stomach dropped, and her eyes widened as she focused on the beam that quickly made contact with Discord's face. Memories came flooding back, one of her seeing a magenta flash at the last moment, unable to do or say anything to stop it, because she had failed Discord and hadn't even looked up—

Just as quickly as Starlight started using her magic, she stopped. The beam disappeared, and Discord blinked once before snorting and shaking his head. Fluttershy's legs wobbled, and she turned to look at Starlight. “W-W-Was the beam necessary?” she asked quietly.

“Until I figure out a different way to focus my magic towards him, yes,” Starlight said, jotting things down in her journal in a blur. She rose an eyebrow, glancing between Discord and Fluttershy. “Care to discuss these results with me, Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy took a few deep, calming breaths, relaxing her heart and quivering legs. “Alright,” she said with a nod. Starlight smiled and walked back into her study. Fluttershy paused, glancing over at Discord. He didn't seem any worse for wear, still staring ahead.

“You don't have to just do nothing,” she said gently. She quickly scanned the shelves until she found a book, something about alien alicorns and space pirates. She grabbed it and set it on the table next to Discord, opening it to the first page. He blinked, slowly turning and bending his head to look down at it.

A little comforted, she followed Starlight into her study. The unicorn was glancing over her notes, and looked up once she entered. “Well, the results were…interesting,” she said.

“…good interesting or bad interesting?” Fluttershy asked worriedly.

“Too early to tell at this point,” Starlight said, “I only did a very quick scan, and from what I got—well, this spell could be more complex than I realized. I just got a glimpse of a few components, and there's no telling how many there actually are.” She sighed. “If I had a few more days to safely scan him…”

“Actually, um…there's a favor I wanted to ask of you,” Fluttershy said, scuffing a hoof against the ground. “One that would give you plenty of time to look at the spell.”

Starlight raised an eyebrow. “Could…could I ask you to take Discord in for a bit and watch over him?” Fluttershy said quickly.

Starlight took a step back, blinking. “What? Why? I thought you really liked helping Discord.”

“I do!” Fluttershy said quickly. “But I…I might not be the best pony to help him right now. I just…need a little time so that I could become a better keeper for him.” One that doesn't accidentally hurt him.

“Well, fair enough,” Starlight said. “But why me? You have almost half a dozen friends you could ask for help.”

“Pinkie and Rarity don't have the space for him to live with them…I don't want him to feel cramped or uncomfortable,” Fluttershy said. She had spent some time thinking this over. “Applejack might have some space, but she's too busy…I don't want to burden her when there's already so much on her plate.”

“What about Rainbow—” Starlight started to say, before she clicked her mouth shut, pursing her lips.

Fluttershy frowned, looking at the ground. “…I don't trust her to watch Discord again, yet,” she mumbled.

“But you trust me?” Starlight said, raising an eyebrow.

“You and Thorax,” Fluttershy said with a nod. “You don't seem like bad ponies…creatures.”

Starlight looked at her for a long time…then sighed, shrugging and turning away. “There's some bedroom furniture I think was Twilight's,” she said. “Neither Thorax or I felt comfortable using it, but Discord's welcome to have it.”

Fluttershy smiled, her ears perking up. “But!” Starlight said, pointing a hoof at her. “You're going to come in and check on him every so often. I'm not dealing with him alone, and I won't have any blame put on me if something goes wrong.”

“Of course!” Fluttershy quickly agreed. She couldn't even imagine never seeing him again. And hopefully she could clamp down on her feelings and bring him back before too much time passed. “Would about twice a week be okay?”

Starlight nodded. “…have you told him?”

Fluttershy flinched a little. “Not…not yet,” she said. “I'll…I'll do it right now.” She headed towards the Neighponese section, where Discord still sat, waiting. He was still staring at the book in his lap, though she couldn't tell if he had read it at all.

As she approached, he blinked and raised his head. “Time to go?” he asked.

She swallowed thickly. “S-Sort of. But, Discord, it's just…you see…” Oh, she regretted not practicing what she was going to say! Discord just kept staring patiently. Blankly.

She swallowed again, taking a deep breath. “Discord…I think you should stay here with Starlight for a bit!” she said quickly. He blinked, and she quickly began to ramble. “She'll be able to use your magic to help you, and it'll be good for you to interact with ponies besides me, and she shouldn't be able to give orders and worsen things for you…” She clamped her mouth shut before the true reason escaped her, looking to Discord for some kind of reaction.

He just blinked. After a few moments, he said, “You're leaving…I'm staying?”

“But I'll be back,” she said, approaching him and wrapping her forelegs around him. She could help but nuzzle into his soft fur. “I'll visit, and after a bit of time with Starlight, you can come back to my cottage…if you want.”

He blinked, and a few seconds passed in silence. “…That's a bit of time,” he said. “I'm leaving now?”

She couldn't help but giggle, hugging him even more tightly. He could be so funny. “It's…going to be a longer time than that,” she said gently. She pulled away, holding his paw in her hooves. “I will be back, I promise. And you'll see me soon, too.”

“…alright,” he said. His expression was as neutral as ever. She swallowed the lump in her throat and gave his paw one last squeeze. I love you. But if she said it aloud…who knows how much it might affect him?

And so, she released his paw and headed towards the front door. Starlight approached Discord. “I know the library might not seem like the homiest place, but there's a bedroom Thorax and I aren't using…”

At the doorway, Fluttershy cast one last glance over her shoulder, watching as Starlight started to usher Discord upstairs. With a deep breath, she looked away and stepped outside, letting the door close behind her.

“Fluttershy, wait!” Thorax called before she could even move very far. She looked up just in time to see him jump from a balcony and flutter down towards her. “You're leaving without Discord?” he said as soon as he was on the ground.

She slowly nodded. “I think it might be…safer for him if he spent time with someone besides me,” she said quietly.

“But why?” Thorax said, tilting his head and looking extremely confused.

Fluttershy glanced back at the door, then at the quiet streets. When she was sure no one could be listening, she leaned forward and quietly said, “I'm…scared I could accidentally hurt Discord. Because of…what you told me.”

Thorax blinked, his brow furrowing in confusion. “Because you lo—” Fluttershy winced, glancing around again to make sure nopony was listening. “…because you care about him?” he said instead. “I don't understand how that would be bad…”

She sighed, ears flattening against her skull. “If things were normal…if he was himself, then…I'd be happy. I'd want to tell him,” she said. “But, with…with that spell on him, I could influence him into becoming or doing something he really isn't.”

Her vision was starting to get blurry. “I might accidentally mold him into being a creature I love, without really giving him his freedom back. I'd…I'd be just as bad as…” Her throat went tight as the image of her old friend flashed through her mind, and she clamped her eyes shut with a soft whine.

Thorax placed a hoof on her shoulder. “I can't see you doing that,” he said. “Not even accidentally.”

“…no one ever saw Twilight being the kind of pony to put this spell on him, either,” she said quietly. “It's…better if I just don't take any chances in the first place.”

She placed a hoof on top of his. “…promise me he'll be okay here?” she said weakly. It was painful to leave him, but as long as she knew it was for the best…

He was silent for a long moment. “…I promise that…we'll take good care of him,” he said. “As good as we can.”

She still felt…not good about this, but his words made her feel a little bit better. “Thank you,” she said. “I'll visit again in a few days, okay?”

Thorax nodded, his expression still unsure. She waved goodbye and headed out the door, keeping her ears pinned back and trying not to think of Discord. As soon as she fell out of love, it would be safe to take him back. Besides, maybe he'd enjoy a little bit of change by staying here instead.

The next three days had slowly, very slowly, gone by. Her cottage felt empty without Discord, even with all the animals that were still around for her to take care of. She still kept all of the little chaotic touches in place around their home, though—hopefully, her feelings would fade quickly.

But she still missed him, and knew that her feelings were still far from being gone. But she had promised them all that she would visit…and perhaps if she saw how well Discord was doing without her, it would make all of this easier.

And so, she quickly packed a small basket with three blueberry muffins and a thermos of chocolate milk, then grabbed her saddlebags and headed into town. It was a pleasant day, and many ponies were milling about. A few even waved to her, and she nervously waved back. Was some time without Discord really enough for ponies to stop treating her like the odd duck of the town?

…it wasn't a nice thought. And she immediately knew that she'd rather help Discord as best she could than gain the acceptance of the town.

She tried to push the thought out of her mind as she headed the rest of the way toward the library. The streets near it were as empty as ever, so it wasn't terribly hard to get to. She approached and knocked on the door.

A few moments of silence passed, and she began to shift her wings anxiously. Before she could start to worry, though, Thorax opened the door, yawning. “O-Oh, Fluttershy, great to see you,” he said. There were dark bags under his eyes. “Come in, come in…”

“I hope I didn't wake you,” she said guiltily as she went inside.

“No, no, we just…had a bit of a rough night,” he said, eyes drifting closed. “…maybe you should see Starlight. She's in the study, and there's some…news.” With another yawn, he went over to a comfy armchair and plopped into it.

She was worried, and wanted to ask what this ‘news' was, but Thorax's eyes had already closed, and she almost suspected that he had fallen asleep. She reached into her saddlebag and pulled out one of the muffins, leaving it on the table next to him along with a paper cup of chocolate milk. With that, she turned and headed into the belly of the library, trying her best to remember the directions to Starlight's study.

Though she got turned around a few times, she did eventually manage to find the study again. The door was open, and she could see Starlight in there…but she paused for a moment in the entrance, assessing the situation.

Starlight looked...tired. Her head was laying on her desk, her glowing horn the only indication that she was awake. She was using her magic to twirl long, wooden blocks in the air, arranging them carefully into a tower before removing a few pieces to repeat the process and make the structure taller. Fluttershy raised a hoof and rapped on the door frame to gain her attention.

Starlight's ears perked up, and she lifted her head. “Oh, Fluttershy!” she said, surprised. “Here to see Discord?”

Fluttershy nodded. “And to see how well the counterspell research is going.” Starlight winced, and Fluttershy noticed a few bags under her eyes. That was worrying. “Is…is everything going alright?”

Starlight bit her lip, swiveling her chair around to face her. “I've definitely made some progress,” she said with a sigh, glancing upstairs. “I was hoping a counterspell, or maybe a combination of counterspells, would just take care of this, but…I suppose that was just wishful thinking.”

“What do you mean?” Fluttershy asked, starting to grow more worried.

Starlight sighed, bringing over a journal and opening it to a specific page. She showed it to Fluttershy, who squinted and tried her best to read it. Even without the illegible writing, she barely recognized the names and terms that were written.

“This is a list of every spell component used on Discord that I’ve managed to identify so far,” Starlight explained. “And there's still possibly dozens of others buried under all that, or links that Twilight must have built herself to hold it together…”

She sighed and closed the journal, setting it aside. “In a way, it's almost impressive,” she said. After a few moments, her head snapped to Fluttershy. “I mean—! Despicable, it's awful, that's what it is…”

Fluttershy swallowed. “But, if you know what the spell components are, can't you counter them one by one?” she asked hopefully.

Starlight sighed, rubbing her forehead. “Maybe. It's possible it could work, but…there are too many things that could go wrong. Removing a component might cause the whole thing to collapse uncontrollably. If it was something else, it might be worth the risk, but…good Celestia, it's entwined in his brain!”

She started to pace back and forth. “Even then, I was hoping I could do it carefully!” Her horn lit up, and she began to levitate wooden blocks from the tower over to herself. “But after what happened with Rainbow, I'm not convinced that Twilight hasn't built in some kind of failsafe to prevent tampering!” She collapsed at her desk, and the tower shuddered and spilled over at her movement.

With a sigh, she used her magic to juggle the pieces and slowly rebuild it, leaning her head against the desk. “But…there has to be something we can do,” Fluttershy said. “Right?”

Starlight nodded, finishing off the tower. “It's a…delicate process, but I do have a plan,” she said. She took the top layer off the tower and started to fiddle with them. “If I'm very, very careful about it, I can remove the weakest top layers without the whole thing collapsing. I'll also have to limit how much magic I use on him in a timeframe to prevent side effects.”

“That's…that's good,” Fluttershy said. “And that means he has…a good chance of getting better, right?”

“I can do my best,” Starlight said, lifting her head. “But with just me alone, it could take years…maybe even a lifetime, depending on how engrained everything is in his brain.” She sighed, rubbing her eyes. “Not to mention the problems he causes…”

“P-P-Problems?” Fluttershy said. “What do you mean? I know he loves chaos, but that's who he is, and sometimes he can be a little tricky and it’s hard for him to open up, but that's not his fault, really, and—!”

Starlight held up a hoof, cutting off her rambling. “It's probably best if you saw him yourself,” she said, standing up and heading towards the stairs.

“Okay…” Fluttershy said, following behind her. She couldn't help but feel a little nervous…what exactly had Discord done?

Starlight guided her upstairs, to where she remembered Twilight's room being. Using her magic, she opened the door, gesturing inside with an exasperated expression. Fluttershy looked…and froze in the doorway.

What she remembered as a carefully-kept bedroom was now a total mess. Deep scratches were on the wooden floor, and in the windowsills, which were sealed from the outside (something she couldn't remember Twilight doing). Books were thrown across the room, laying around with their pages splayed out. Pillows and bedsheets had been knocked off of the bed…where Discord laid with his back to the door, his arms crossed.

“Oh, my,” Fluttershy said with a soft gasp. With all her years of experience, she could recognize a tantrum when she saw one.

Discord's ears twitched at the sound of her voice, and his whole body whipped around. His expression was neutral, but his eyes lit up when he saw her. “Fluttershy,” he said, getting onto his feet and stumbling his way towards her.

“Of course he's perfectly cooperative with you,” Starlight said with a small huff. “He's been refusing to get up and dragging his feet anytime Thorax or I ask for him. And he kept asking about you, and acting…” She paused, looking around the mess in the room. “…obnoxious.”

Discord fell onto all fours and wrapped Fluttershy in a hug as soon as he was close enough. “Fluttershy,” he said again, squeezing her tightly. “…you…okay?” His arms trembled, but he still held her in the embrace with great effort.

A knot formed in her throat. “I'm…I'm okay,” she said, reaching up and patting his back. “How are you feeling?”

He released the hug and stood back up. “…bored,” he said after a long pause. Starlight grumbled from behind her. “Tired. …miss you.”

The knot tightened. “O-oh,” she said weakly. “I…” I miss you, too. But if she said that, would that just encourage him? It'd certainly make it harder for her to just walk away…

“It's…tricky to know what he wants,” Starlight chipped in. Any glimmer of sadness in Discord sparked out at the sound of her voice, his eyes glazing over. “Thorax has been helpful, feeling out his emotions, but all he can tell is that here, he feels…melancholy.” She sighed. “If he feels anything strongly enough at all.”

“…is there anything I could do to make you happier here?” Fluttershy quietly asked Discord, flying up and smoothing out one of his fluffy eyebrows. He silently stared at her.

“…I think he'd be much happier living with you,” Thorax supplied from the doorway, yawning and rubbing his eyes. She looked over her shoulder at him, landing on the ground. “He’s already in a better mood because of seeing you.” Starlight glanced between the draconequus and the changeling, nodding in agreement.

Fluttershy's heart skipped a beat, and she turned to look back at Discord. His expression was neutral, but his eyes were focused…and focused very clearly on her. “…do you really want to come back with me?” she asked. He eagerly nodded, with enough energy that she was surprised his neck didn't hurt. “But…”

She wasn't sure what her argument would have been. But before she could speak, Discord bent down and grabbed both of her forehooves between his hands. “Please,” he said quietly, gently squeezing.

Her heart melted as he gave her an earnest look. He…he trusted her so much. And…she still cared so deeply for him…even if it wasn't the right thing to do, she wanted him back. And here he was, begging to come…she couldn't find it in her heart to refuse.

“O-Okay,” she said with a nod, starting to feel choked up. His face broke into a wide, glittering smile. “But…I'd still like for you to spend time with Starlight, so she can help you…?”

His grin didn't falter, even as she looked around him to meet Starlight's gaze, asking for confirmation. Starlight sighed, levitating a journal over with her magic. “I'm still willing to help you, I suppose,” she said. “But while I may know a lot about magic…I think you're one of the few ponies that knows Discord.”

Fluttershy blinked, glancing back at the smiling draconequus, whose cheeks were twitching as his face was slowly pushed back towards a neutral expression. Did she really know him…or did she just think she knew him?

“…do you want to walk home right now?” she asked, still trying to puzzle things out. He nodded, and she started moving towards the front door. The clicking of his claws and hoof told her that he was following.

“Hey…Fluttershy?” Thorax said when they were almost outside. She paused and turned to look at him. He seemed a little more awake, and muffin crumbs were stuck to his muzzle. “About you…about what we talked about. I don't think that it's going to harm…” His eyes flicked up to Discord.

Discord tilted his head in confusion. Fluttershy looked between him and Thorax. Thorax elaborated, “I mean…” He stepped closer to quietly say into her ear, “Starlight doesn't think you can passively affect him. Not without using magic, anyway.”

Her eyes widened, but he quickly held up a hoof. “I didn't tell her! I just…asked her a hypothetical question while she was studying. That's all.”

“So…it's okay that I…” She glanced up at Discord. “Even though…?”

Thorax placed a hoof on her shoulder. “Just treat him the way you have been,” he said. “And everything will be fine.”

She swallowed and quickly blinked. “If…if you say so,” she said. “…thank you.”

Thorax smiled and nodded. “Just…let me and Starlight know if you have questions,” he said. “Oh, and have a nice evening!”

“You too,” she said. He headed deeper into the library, the two of them waving goodbye. She turned back to Discord and gave a soft smile, holding her hoof out to him. It took a few moments, but he reached down and wrapped the fingers of his lion paw around it.

Her smile widened, and she headed outside with him at her side. “So, what would you like for dinner?” she asked. “I can't do anything too fancy, but I can still throw together something chaotic.”

He blinked, his eyes slowly drifting along the stands surrounding them…before finally coming to a stop on the jam stand. "...Jam?"

“Jam does sound nice,” she said with a smile. “How about…double-jam sandwiches? With some extra fruit thrown in for texture?”

His gaze snapped back forward, and he gave a small nod. She smiled and gave his hoof a squeeze, shifting a little closer. Even if they did get a few looks here and there, it felt good to have Discord by her side. And it seemed he just might have felt the same.

Hand in hoof, they slowly headed back to her cottage, enjoying the sunshine as they walked.

Team Expanded

“Now, hold still, please,” Starlight said, horn glowing brightly with magic. Her magic was all focused around Discord's head, the draconequus giving her an unimpressed look. Thorax was nearby, sniffing at the air around Discord and occasionally flicking his tongue out to gauge his emotions.

Fluttershy tapped her front hooves together, then stood up. “Um…Starlight?” she asked quietly. “Are you sure there's nothing I can do?”

Starlight sighed, closing her eyes and holding her concentration together. “Fluttershy, I know you want these weekly sessions to go well, and you're trying to get things off to a good start, but Thorax and I have got this handled,” she said. “We'll be done soon, anyway…probably.”

Her horn glowed a little brighter, and more magic swirled around her subject's head. Discord snorted. “Oh, there's annoyance,” Thorax said after sniffing the air.

Fluttershy nervously turned to Starlight. “That's not hurting him, is it?”

“No,” Starlight and Thorax both said.

“It might feel a little uncomfortable, or like a tickle, but it shouldn't cause him any pain,” Starlight said, continuing to concentrate on the spell.

“And I can't sense any signs of pain from him,” Thorax supplied. Fluttershy relaxed slightly, sitting back in her chair and watching them work. Starlight's blue magic shimmered around Discord's head, sometimes condensing a little and making flashes of magenta magic strike back.

“Twilight's definitely snuck some defense spells in here,” Starlight said, Thorax quickly jotting down notes. “Those will have to be a priority once I get to the sub-layer they're in.”

“So, it's…controlling him, and fighting back against dangers to itself?” Fluttershy said.

“Pretty much,” Starlight said, retracting her magic. Discord snorted, giving his head a quick shake as though to get rid of water in his ears. Starlight held a couple of instruments up to his head, watching carefully as crystals changed color and gyroscopes spun.

“Not much change since he was last here,” she said with a click of her tongue. “But he's not being as…stubborn, so progress should be faster.”

Thorax sniffed the air. “Ooh, annoyance with a touch of...pride. Sarcasm?”

Starlight sighed, rolling her eyes. “Anyway, since I didn't need to use as much magic today to do the inspection…He should be within safe enough magic levels that I can cast a counterspell.”

“Really!?” Fluttershy said, eyes sparkling. Starlight quickly held up a hoof before she could get too excited.

“Just a very small one, on one of the bridge components,” she said. “It might not even do much besides weaken the two parts it's connecting, but I can at least get it out of the way. …it will require aiming a beam of magic at him.”

Fluttershy shivered, but swallowed and tried to regain her courage. “…only if Discord agrees,” she said. Starlight and Thorax both turned to Discord, waiting for a sign. He slowly locked eyes with Fluttershy, and just as slowly, he nodded.

With a deep breath, Starlight blasted a thin blue beam of light at Discord's head. It quickly disappeared beneath his skin, and he just sat there, eyes wide and mouth open. Thorax sniffed at the air around him, and Discord just kept…sitting there.

Just as Fluttershy was starting to grow worried, he blinked, first one eye, and then the other. He then closed his mouth and both eyes, vigorously shaking his head like a dog trying to shake off water droplets. Once he was done, he lifted his head and looked straight forward. Fluttershy couldn't help but let out a tiny sigh of relief.

Starlight's horn flared as she performed a quick scan before fully retracting her magic. “Alight, it's done,” she said. “The bridge between audi imperium decem and obedire vocatis quatuor is gone. Like I said, it might not do that much, but I don't think I should use more magic on him for a while.”

“That's perfectly fine,” Fluttershy said, standing up. “Thank you so much for all your help, Starlight.”

Starlight laughed and blushed. “Oh, don't worry about it,” she said. “I'm just happy to help. Why don't you two go and enjoy the rest of your day?”

“I think we will,” Fluttershy said, approaching Discord and holding his paw. She gave it a small tug, and he slowly stood up. “Would you two like to join us?”

“Thanks for the invite, but we have a lot to do,” Thorax said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Maybe some other time?”

“Yeah…these books aren't going to organize themselves,” Starlight said. “As much as it seemed Twilight attempted to get them to.” There was a loud crash from deep, deep, deep in the library, and Starlight and Thorax both sighed.

“That would be one of her attempts…we'd better go clean up,” Starlight said. “See you later, Discord, Fluttershy!” And with that, she and Thorax disappeared into the maze of books.

Fluttershy smiled and headed towards the front door, still holding Discord's paw. “How are you feeling?” she asked. He shrugged…but also gave her hoof a gentle squeeze.

She smiled a little. “I know that doing this…isn't very fun. But Starlight's doing her best to help you get better,” she said. “…and since you haven't caused any problems for her, why don't we go out for ice cream?”

His ears perked up, and she giggled. “I take it you like that idea, then?” she said. He gave a tiny nod in response. “Alright. I’m sure there's a nice ice cream place here somewhere…”

After a bit of searching, she spotted a small ice cream shop on the main street. It was clean, with white tile floors and cream-colored walls with colorful lines swirling across it, a chalkboard above the counter with a sizable menu. Just one unicorn, with a cream coat, mane with streaks of white, brown, and pink, and a cutie mark of a bowl of Neapolitan ice cream, was running the shop, but there weren't that many customers.

“They don't seem too busy,” Fluttershy said, pushing the door open. She walked inside, and Discord lowered his head to follow her.

The shop fell silent as soon as they entered. Most ponies' eyes were focused solely and warily on Discord, but a few were staring at Fluttershy, instead. Several even gave them both looks of pity. Her legs quivered, but she swallowed the lump in her throat and headed over to the counter.

She took a seat at one of the stools there, patting the one next to her and encouraging Discord to take a seat as well. He did so, his back still straight and with his arms on the counter in front of him. Eventually, the unicorn mare running the shop approached them, brushing her tri-colored mane away with her magic.

“What can I get for…both of you?” she asked, her gaze briefly flicking toward Discord.

“I'd like a small cup, with one scoop of mint and one of strawberry, please,” Fluttershy said. “What do you want, Discord?”

Discord tilted his head up, staring blankly at the menu. He kept staring, and staring…eventually, the unicorn began to tap her hoof on the ground impatiently. “An order today would be kind of nice…” she said.

“Sorry, just give him a moment,” Fluttershy said, grinning sheepishly.

The unicorn huffed. “Yeah, sure. Not like I have other customers I could be helping,” she said. “No, I'll just wait all day for the braindead…worm-dragon to make his choice.”

Fluttershy narrowed her eyes and sat up straight. “Excuse me!?” she said. “Discord isn't braindead. And he's not some…some worm-thing! He's my friend, and I think you should be a little nicer to him.”

The unicorn rolled her eyes. “Look, I'm just trying to run a shop,” she said. “And if he's not going to order anytime soon—”

“Birthday cake.”

Both Fluttershy and the shop attendant blinked, turning to look at Discord. His gaze had turned from the menu to the unicorn, and he was still staring at her. “…what, sorry?” the unicorn said.

“Birthday cake ice cream,” Discord said. Fluttershy tapped his shoulder, and a few moments later, he added, “Please.”

“Uh…okay,” the unicorn said. “What size?”

A minute or so of silence passed, and it seemed like Discord wasn't going to answer this question. The shop attendant seemed to be getting impatient, so Fluttershy said, “The same size as mine, please.” Once the unicorn had nodded and turned away to work on their ice cream, she leaned over to Discord and whispered, “Sorry…if you want more, I can fix you some bowls at home.”

He slowly nodded. A few moments later, the unicorn came back, placing two plastic cups in front of them with two scoops of ice cream in each. “Here," she said. “Pay up front before you leave.” Her eyes flicked back to Discord. “Don't do anything to spook off my customers.”

Fluttershy started to feel peeved again, but before she could say anything, the unicorn left. And so, with a miffed sigh, she grabbed her spoon and started to eat.

The ice cream was delicious, and…she glanced over at Discord. He was slowly scooping spoonfuls into his mouth, licking his lips every so often and seeming pleased with his sweet treat. But as nice as this ice cream was…she didn't think she'd be coming back to this shop anytime soon. With or without Discord.

They both finished their ice cream after some time, Fluttershy doing her best to ignore the occasional whisper, or the odd looks that burned at her back. As usual, Discord seemed to shrug it all off. They both tossed their cups into the recycling, and Fluttershy paid the shop attendant the exact amount of bits for their ice cream.

She turned and left with Discord right behind her, the whispers growing in intensity as they left…and probably expanding to talking and gossiping as soon as they were out of earshot. She sighed at the thought, her ears lowering.

“Shy?” Discord said, sounding…concerned. She glanced up, and for a split second, even his expression was concerned, and not just neutral.

She did her best to give him a reassuring smile. “I'm fine, you don't have to worry,” she said. “I'm just…a little tired, that's all.” His expression was stiff, but she swore for a second that she saw a flash of worry in his eyes.

“I just need to take a little time to rest at home, that's all,” she assured. “And…maybe on my next market trip, I could pick up some ice cream. So we can enjoy cold desserts at home.” And so you don't have to be shared at and whispered about like you're some kind of exhibit gone wrong…

He blinked, licking his lips. “Sounds…tasty,” he said. She smiled, and they strolled all the way back to her cottage. She took a more scenic route with views of parks and rivers, which at the same time led them away from the busiest of the streets…

The next day seemed to be ordinary in almost every way. She fixed Discord pancakes for breakfast, with a few eggs mixed into the batter to make them thick and rich in protein, and chocolate chips to make them sweeter. After that, she fed and tended to all of the animals, with Discord even able to give her a helping hand every so often.

Once her morning chores were done, she stretched out her wings and laid on the couch, Discord sitting right beside her. “There's a couple of hours left before lunchtime,” she said, glancing at the nearest clock. “What do you want to do in the meantime, Discord?”

He tilted his head, pondering over the question. Before he had a chance to respond, though, there was a knock at the front door. “Hmm, I wasn't expecting anyone today,” she said, hopping off of the couch. “I'll see who it is.”

Discord gave a short nod. She quickly reached the door and opened it, ready to greet whoever was there…but when she saw who it was, her mouth clicked shut, and mixed emotions swirled in her, almost making her sick with anxiety. “Oh. Rainbow.”

“Heeey, Fluttershy,” Rainbow said with a nervous grin. “Is it, um…cool if I came in for a bit?”

Fluttershy swallowed, taking a deep breath. “If it's quite alright, I'd…I'd rather talk outside.” She couldn't help but glance over her shoulder, back at Discord.

“Right, that…makes sense, I guess,” Rainbow said with a nod. They both stood in awkward silence for a few moments, while Rainbow took a few deep breaths and gathered up the courage to speak.

“Look, Fluttershy…” Rainbow said, scuffing a hoof against the ground. Fluttershy just raised an eyebrow and waited for her to finish. “…I'm really sorry,” she said, ears drooping. “I didn't mean for Discord to get hurt.”

Fluttershy blinked. She felt torn. On the one hoof, the apology made her anger and hurt start to melt away. On the other, what she had done seemed very hard to forgive, and… “I'm not the only one you should be apologizing to,” she said.

Rainbow chuckled humorlessly. “Right…could I…could I talk to him? To say sorry?”

Fluttershy's first instinct was to say ‘no', to tell Rainbow she needed more time to consider it. But Rainbow was clearly remorseful and willing to apologize to the creature who needed it… “Alright,” she finally said, stepping aside and opening the door a little wider. “Come in.”

Rainbow stepped inside, following Fluttershy to the living room. Discord lifted his head, and briefly narrowed his eyes at Rainbow before his face slid into a neutral expression. “Discord?” Fluttershy said, taking a seat on the couch next to him. “Rainbow has something important she wants to say to you.”

Discord stared at the pegasus, gaze seeming to pin her to the floor. Rainbow swallowed and scuffed a hoof against the carpet, looking down. “Look, uh…Discord,” she said. “…I'm sorry I ended up hurting you. I really thought that I could help you with that command. …I should have trusted Fluttershy, and shouldn't have…thought of you as a means to an end.”

After a few long moments, Discord slowly nodded. “It's…not okay,” he managed to say. “But…thanks.”

“Not okay?” Rainbow said, glancing up.

“…the whole experience was painful for Discord,” Fluttershy said. “Rainbow, we both really appreciate your apology, and I know you really meant well with your actions, but getting past what happened? …it's going to take some time.” Discord nodded in agreement.

“Yeah…fair enough,” Rainbow said, scuffing a hoof against the ground. “If it helps, I…I did bring something for him.” She reached into her saddlebag with a wing, and after a bit of rummaging, pulled out a stoppered glass bottle, filled to the brim with a rainbow-colored liquid that almost seemed to glow.

She handed it to Discord, and Fluttershy realized that it wasn't just rainbow-colored, but actual liquid rainbow. “…how did you get that?” she asked, while Discord took the bottle and examined it.

“Factory made a surplus and decided to sell some for personal use,” Rainbow said. “I didn't have much use for it, but I thought Discord might like it.” She smirked. “After all, I know he likes extreme and chaotic foods, and liquid rainbow is some of the spiciest stuff in Equestria…”

One of Discord's ears perked up, and he pulled out the stopper. “Uh, I'd be careful with that stuff,” Rainbow said, “I wasn't kidding when I said it was—”

But it was too late. Discord had already opened his mouth and poured a dollop of the liquid onto his tongue. He closed his mouth and swallowed loudly, smacking his lips…and his eyes slowly began to widen.

He coughed once, smoke pouring out of his mouth. Twice, and more smoke. He kept coughing, and Fluttershy leaned over, thumping his back with a hoof while using her wing to try to carefully remove the bottle from his tightening grip. Unfortunately, he was stubbornly holding onto it.

After a few moments, he raised his head, coughed…and then breathed a thick stream of rainbow-colored fire up toward the ceiling. The flame lasted a few moments, burning brightly but thankfully not setting anything ablaze. Just as quickly as he started breathing fire, he stopped and looked back at Rainbow. He looked pleased.

“—extremely spicy,” Rainbow said, her eyes wide as she finished her late warning. “Okay…wow. I don't think I've seen anyone have a reaction to the stuff like that.”

Discord licked his lips, eyes flicking back down to the bottle. “You'd better not be thinking of drinking the whole thing right now, mister,” Fluttershy said. “If that was your reaction to one drink…I don't want you to end up getting hurt.”

He blinked, looking almost guilty for a moment, then held the bottle out to her. “I'll put it somewhere for you to enjoy it later…in small doses,” she said taking it with her wing. “Would the fridge work?”

“Yeah, that'll keep it fresh without making it lose spiciness,” Rainbow said with a nod. “Kind of like salsa.”

Fluttershy nodded and carefully set the liquid rainbow in the door of her fridge, right next to the other sauces. She quickly went back into the living room, relaxing a bit once she saw Rainbow was just hovering in the air, rambling to Discord about one of her favorite stunts.

“…and then, just after they skim right over the water, they all fly in a circle and send out the droplets in each direction!” she said. “It's tricky to pull off, but the Wonderbolts always manage to do it, and the arena is just filled with thousands of sparkles from where the sunlight hits the droplets.”

Discord slowly blinked. “…interesting.”

“I know, right!?” Rainbow said. “But it's so much cooler seeing it for yourself. If you don't mind going with me, I can hook you up with some tickets to one of their shows.”

He tilted his head, seeming to consider it. After a few moments, he just shrugged. Rainbow paused and turned to Fluttershy for assistance.

“I think he just needs a little more time to think about it,” she translated. “Right, Discord?” He gave a small nod in response.

“…alright,” Rainbow said. “I should actually get flying to take care of the weather, but just let me know if you want those tickets! Or if either of you need anything from me!” Fluttershy and Discord both nodded, and Rainbow flapped her wings, zipping out Fluttershy's front door in a rainbow blur.

Fluttershy smiled and closed the door behind her, pausing for a few moments to watch her…her friend fly off into the distance. “Well…it was nice of her to come and apologize,” she said, heading back into the living room. “What do you think?”

Discord blinked and gave a slow nod. She smiled and took a seat on the couch next to him. “So…I could make some rice for lunch, if you want to put that liquid rainbow on it,” she said. Discord's forked tongue poked out for just a second to lick his lips. “But until lunchtime comes, want would you like to do?”

He tilted his head, considering it. He slowly turned and looked out the window, where the sun was shining and puddles from last night's rain were scattered across the ground. “…outside,” he said.

“Some time spent outside does sound lovely,” she said, heading over to the front door. Discord was right behind her, looming impatiently as she slipped her rainboots on before opening it.

As soon as the door was open, his wings flared out, and he hovered into the air, twirling in a few loops before his body seemed to try to go back to its neutral position. The end result looked…a little silly, as his stiff body was held aloft by his wings, pulling a small part of his torso away from the rest of his back in a small curve.

Fluttershy chuckled a little, then hovered next to him, rubbing at his shoulder muscles to try and get them to relax. They did so, his body becoming a little less tense and looking more natural flying. “Want to go to the pond?” she asked. He smiled, beating his wings and already heading off in that direction, his body twisting and twirling.

She smiled, flying just behind him. Rainbow's apology made her feel lighter somehow…like a weight had been taken off of her chest.

Fluttershy sat in the corner of Rarity's Carousel Boutique, watching Rarity take Discord's measurements but also trying not to stare too much. Rarity had asked them earlier that day to come by whenever they were available, and as soon as they had arrived, Discord had been ushered onto a platform, a measuring tape already being wrapped around his waist.

“And…done!” Rarity said, jotting down the final measurement she had taken. “You can sit down now, darling. Or…go look at the clearance bin, or…whatever you'd like.”

Discord blinked, then slowly stepped off the platform and walked towards Rarity's “clearance bin", a couple of old cardboard boxes filled with hats and simple garments that had never been sold. Rarity tucked her measuring tape away and headed over to her sewing machine, next to Fluttershy.

Fluttershy stood up as she approached. “So, uh, Rarity,” she said. “What made you invite us and…start taking Discord's measurements?” It had been a long time since Rarity had invited her over, but she left those words unsaid.

Still, Rarity hung her head as she tucked Discord's measurements away in a file. “I’ve…been thinking about a few things for a while.”

Fluttershy tilted her head, so she began to elaborate. “Darling…what you said to Twilight when we were in her cell was more right than you think,” Rarity said. Fluttershy scuffed a hoof on the ground, not exactly comfortable with the memories of that day. “What you were doing was better than just not giving him any chance at all.”

She sighed and looked away. “But Twilight wasn't the only one who gave up on him…all of us did. You were far braver and kinder than any of us.”

Fluttershy blinked, raising her head. “It's…it’s not your fault,” she mumbled quietly. “Twilight was…really scary after she did that to Discord.”

“Yes, but you still helped him,” Rarity pointed out. “And the rest of us don't really have an excuse for not helping you after she was arrested.”

“I…” Fluttershy was about to say something before she glanced away. Maybe it was bitter, but she couldn't refute Rarity's words. She had been the one to take care of Discord, and the only other one who offered to help in months ended up hurting him.

“You don't have to try and be nice and sugarcoat it to spare my feelings," Rarity said, setting her glasses aside with a sigh. “Even if I had mixed feelings about Discord…I should have helped him because you believe in him so much.”

“So!” she declared. “From this day on, I'm determined to help both of you, in a way only Rarity can!” She grabbed a nearby notepad with her magic, holding it out to Fluttershy. “What do you think of this?”

Fluttershy's eyes skimmed over it. It was a drawing of a featureless draconequus. The most detailed part of the drawing was the outfit they wore—a suit-dress combo. Their upper half was covered by a tuxedo, Rarity's notes saying it should be dark blue and inlaid with tiny diamonds, while a pink, flowing skirt trailed on their lower half.

“I think he'd look great in this,” she said with a smile. “But you should ask Discord what he thinks.” She offered the notepad back to Rarity.

“Right…right, of course, darling,” she said, taking her design back. She swallowed and glanced over at the draconequus. “…you think he'll…respond to me?”

“I hope that he will,” Fluttershy said. “But you have to at least give him a chance, Rarity. Please.”

Rarity hesitated for a moment, looking down at her drawing. Then, she looked back up at Fluttershy, giving her a small nod. She turned and headed over to where Discord sat, still looking at the clearance bin, occasionally picking up a hat to inspect it before tossing it back inside.

Fluttershy sat back and watched as Rarity cleared her throat, gaining his attention. As he glanced up, Rarity held the design out to him, causally explaining her vision to him. As she spoke, his eyes scanned over the drawing…and to Fluttershy's delight, she saw his eyes gleam for a moment, a smile flickering across his muzzle.

He glanced back up at Rarity and gave a small nod of approval. Rarity beamed, giving off a trademark giggle as she trotted back over to Fluttershy. “He liked it!” she announced happily. “Oh, this will be exciting…one of my most unique creations yet! And he'll look absolutely splendid in it, I can promise you that.”

“He looks good in everything,” Fluttershy said. Almost as soon as the word had left her lips, her face turned bright red, and she covered her mouth as she looked at Rarity. Fortunately, Rarity was setting her notepad aside at the moment, and her voice had been quiet enough that she hadn't reacted to her words yet.

Her ears flicked, and she turned back to Fluttershy. “Did you say something?”

Fluttershy swallowed. “I…just thanking you for doing something like this,” she said. “I'm sure it'll look amazing on Discord.”

Rarity paused, looking almost suspiciously at her blushing face. “Trust me, it's no trouble at all, darling,” she said. “Besides…I should have done this a long time ago. Or…done anything, really.”

Fluttershy frowned, scuffing at the ground with her hoof. “…at least you're helping now?”

Rarity's smile was a bit unsure, and fairly strained. She set her design right next to her sewing machine, levitating a few fabrics and sequins over to her workstation. “It's going to take a while before his order is complete,” she said. “I'll get started right away, of course, but…before that, would you like to spend a little more time together?”

“I'd love that,” Fluttershy said. How long had it been since she and Rarity stopped spending time together? Even before Twilight was arrested, their visits became more and more infrequent as she put more of her time into trying to help Discord…

Rarity beamed, folding up the fabrics and placing them in a neat pile next to her sketch. “Why don't we go to the spa like we used to?” she suggested. “But with a third member this time.” She turned to Discord and gave a small smile and nod.

“Oh, that sounds lovely,” Fluttershy said. “What do you think, Discord?”

Discord blinked, his brows briefly furrowing together. “The spa sounds…relaxing.”

“…is that a ‘yes', darling?” Rarity asked. After a few more moments, and another blink, Discord gave a small nod.

Fluttershy beamed, taking his claw. “Oh, I'm sure you'll love it, Discord!” she said. “It'll be just like when we had mud masks and hoofbaths during that one sleepover, but better, and with more things! And of course, if you ever feel uncomfortable with anything, just say so.”

“That's right!” Rarity said. “And since you're a first-time customer, Aloe and Lotus will ask exactly how you prefer everything. Oh, but you must give their horn filings a try, they're simply divine!”

The three of them headed out of the boutique and towards the spa. For a brief moment, Fluttershy swore she saw a warm smile on Discord's muzzle, and her heart felt lighter.

Fluttershy peered into the living room and giggled. Discord was sprawled across her couch, lying on his back with his hands on his stomach, cucumber slices covering his eyes. He had thoroughly enjoyed the spa yesterday, and had spent most of his morning relaxing.

“Many we should make those spa trips with Rarity a more frequent thing?” she suggested, sitting in the chair near him.

“Mhmm,” he said, wriggling his dragon claws, each of which had been painted a slightly different shade of red (the hot pink one standing out like a beacon). Fluttershy smiled and leaned back in her chair, closing her eyes. The spa had also drained her of her tension…perhaps the two of them should just spend a day resting. Maybe with a nice cup of relaxing herbal tea later…

There was a knock on her front door, and her ears twitched. Her eyes opened, and she slowly got up. She hadn't been expecting anyone today…and it had been months since she had so many unexpected victors in a single week. Ever since she officially took in Discord, it seemed the number of unexpected visits slowly dwindled to once or twice a month, if that.

Not that she minded, or really thought about it much, but…were ponies avoiding her cottage to avoid Discord? Whoever was at the door knocked in a pattern, and she quickly shook her head, pushing away the sad thought as she stepped forward to open the door.

“Hi, Fluttershy!” Pinkie said cheerfully as soon as the door was open. A large covered plate was in her forehooves. “I came to see Discord…is he inside?”

“Oh…oh, yes!” Fluttershy said, blinking a bit in surprise. She glanced at the covered plate. “Are those for him?”

Pinkie nodded, whipping off the cover with a flourish. “I brought some cupcakes!” Pinkie said, holding out the large platter, which was stuffed to the brim with colorful pastries. “I didn't know what he liked, so I made a little bit of everything!”

“Oh…thank you, Pinkie,” Fluttershy said with a bright smile, opening the door and letting her inside. Pinkie set the platter on top of her mane and bounced in. “I'm sure Discord will love them…he has a pretty big sweet tooth.”

“I thought so!” Pinkie said, tilting her head enough that the platter slid perfectly onto the table. “Cotton candy clouds with chocolate milk rain…I still have dreams about it.” She licked her lips.

Fluttershy giggled. “I'm sure Discord would love to hear that someone loved his chaos…and still loves it.” She glanced back at the living room, but to her delighted surprise, he was already standing in the kitchen doorway, sniffing at the air.

“Hi, Discord!” Pinkie said as soon as she spotted him, waving energetically. “Great to see you! Wanna cupcake?” She held two out to him, one chocolate and one lemon zest.

Discord's eyes slowly focused on the cupcakes, and he quickly licked his lips. “I'll take that as a yes!” Pinkie said, placing the cupcakes on the edge of the table closest to him. Fluttershy set in the seat next to it, while Pinkie sat at the other end of the table.

The room was silent for a minute or two, Discord staring at the treats without moving. Fluttershy glanced over at Pinkie, and saw that she was fidgeting impatiently, a wide grin on her face. But still, even as she started to shake with anticipation, she remained silent, watching Discord and waiting for him to make his move.

More time passed. Fluttershy could occasionally see a muscle twitch on Discord's arm, or on his face. But after quite a few twitches, he took several jerky steps to reach the table, sat in his chair, and shoved the chocolate cupcake into his mouth. With a groan, perhaps of satisfaction or effort, he took a bite and began to chew. His eyes slid closed, and there was chocolate frosting smeared over his cheek.

“Like it?” Pinkie asked.

“Mhmm,” he said with a nod, swallowing and taking another bite.

Fluttershy smiled as she watched him. “You can have some too, Fluttershy!” Pinkie said. “I brought enough for both of you to enjoy.”

“Oh…thank you, Pinkie,” Fluttershy said, selecting a carrot cupcake with buttercream frosting. Satisfied that both of them had something to eat, Pinkie grabbed a vanilla cupcake with rainbow sprinkles and started to eat.

The room was quiet for a few moments, filled only with the sounds of chewing (and Discord and Pinkie licking the frosting off their fingers and hooves). “So…what brings you here, Pinkie?” Fluttershy asked.

Her pink friend's ears perked up. “Oh, that's right!” she said. “I actually overheard a few ponies in Sugarcube Corner saying meanie-pants things about Discord.”

“You did…?” Fluttershy said quietly, ears drooping.

“Yeah, but I went over and told them it wasn't nice to say things about a really nice kinda-pony not-pony!” Pinkie said. “But then I thought, It must hurt Fluttershy and Discord to hear things like that. And then I thought, what's the best way to cheer Discord up and let the town really get to know him?”

“…a party?” Fluttershy guessed.

“A party!” Pinkie confirmed. She shoved the rest of her cupcake into her mouth, quickly chewing and swallowing, then reached into her mane before pulling out a manilla folder with Discord's face drawn on the tab. “I realized that I never actually threw a ‘Welcome to Ponyville' party for Discord! Because both of the times he came to Ponyville…didn't end well…” For a moment, her ears drooped sadly.

But she quickly shook it off. “Anyway, I just need a little bit of information to make this the best party ever!” she said. “Fluttershy, you know Discord better than anyone, so you can help, too!”

“I'd be happy to,” Fluttershy said with a nod.

Pinkie smiled, then coughed up a pen and opened her folder. “Alright, first question⁠—what's your favorite kind of cake?”

Discord was silent for a few moments, then made a sweeping gesture towards the cupcake platter. “He likes anything sweet, really,” Fluttershy translated. Pinkie jotted that down in her file, then looked up and asked her next question.

They spent the next hour going through her list of questions. Discord himself was able to answer most of them, or at least express enough that Fluttershy was able to translate what he meant to Pinkie. All three of them kept nibbling on cupcakes, while Pinkie's folder was filled with more and more information.

“Alright, that’s everything I need to know for the welcome party!” Pinkie said, flipping back to the front page of her folder. “Now, I just need one more teensy-weensy answer to really make sure I can fully welcome you to Ponyville.”

Discord tilted his head slightly. “When's your birthday?” Pinkie asked.

Discord's eyes slowly widened, until he blinked and they fogged up again. He grabbed another cupcake and began munching on it instead of answering.

Pinkie made a plaintive whimper, then turned worriedly to Fluttershy. “You…you can translate that, right?” she asked.

“I…don't actually know when Discord's birthday is,” Fluttershy admitted, glancing at the draconequus as he ate his cupcake from the bottom. “We've never talked about it.”

“What!? But…” Pinkie turned to look at Discord, almost pleading. “…Cordy, you know when your birthday is. Right?”

Discord froze, with a gob of frosting on his lips and in his hand. “…birthday?”

“Yeah!” Pinkie said. “The day you were born? The day every year when all your friends and family come together to celebrate and make you your favorite food and play games and give you presents?”

Discord's brow just furrowed in confusion. “…you don't know when your birthday is?” Pinkie said, her ears and mane sadly drooping. She turned to Fluttershy. “That must be the spell messing with him, right? Preventing him from thinking of fun, happy memories?”

“I…don't know about that,” Fluttershy said, biting her lip. “I mean, I don’t know anything about what his life was like before he met us…or if he really had a family, even…”

Pinkie grew even more upset, and after taking a few deep, gasping breaths, she reached into her mane and threw a calendar onto the table. “Everyone deserves to have a birthday!” she said, almost pleading. “We…we have to find some day that's special to him! A day we can celebrate with him every year and make good memories!”

Fluttershy glanced at Discord. His face still seemed neutral, but…Pinkie's words swayed her. Didn't he deserve a chance to celebrate being alive…being Discord? “…I'll help,” she declared, shifting over to look at the calendar alongside Pinkie. Pinkie smiled a little at her, and they got to work.

But no matter how much they flipped through it, none of the dates felt…good. Both the first time he escaped his stone prison and the day she tried to become his friend left sour tastes in their mouths, so they weren't ideal. Pinkie suggested the day Discord started getting better, but Fluttershy could only shrug. There were several days where he made little bits of progress, or large steps forward, so it was next to impossible to pick out one ‘main' one.

After an hour or so of consideration, a silly, crazy idea entered Fluttershy's mind. “This…might be very silly,” she said, catching Pinkie's attention.

Pinkie’s eyes lit up, and she leaned forward. “Go on.”

“I just thought that…well, maybe…” Fluttershy said. “Maybe I could…share my birthday with Discord. We could have two separate parties, or we could share a party, but either way, I wouldn't mind sharing the day with him.

Pinkie's eyes lit up even more, a wide smile spreading across her face. “That is the best. Idea. Ever!” she declared, her mane reinflating to all of its bouncy glory. “I can throw you both an individual party, or you can share one, but either way I'll make you both separate cakes and I can get you both presents…” As she rambled and planned, she quickly jotted the date in Discord's folder.

Fluttershy glanced over at Discord. The barest ghost of a smile was on his muzzle, but his eyes were bright, and seemed happy. She grinned and leaned over to wipe a smear of frosting off of his nose. “You missed some,” she said with a chuckle.

He blinked, glanced between her face and the hoof that held frosting…then tilted his head and swiped the frosting off of her hooftip with his tongue.

“Okay, that was everything I needed!” Pinkie said cheerfully, looking up as she closed Discord's file. Thankfully, she either didn't notice or didn't comment on Fluttershy's flustered expression. “Thanks again, Discord, Fluttershy! I'm going to make sure that Discord gets the best ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party ever!”

“T-Thanks, Pinkie,” Fluttershy managed to spit out. Pinkie just beamed, tucking the folder back into her mane.

“The rest of the cupcakes are all yours!” Pinkie said. “I'd really love to stay, but I have to go back to the shop.”

“I understand.” Fluttershy stood up and opened the door for her. “Thank you so much, Pinkie. I think that Discord will really love one of your parties.”

Pinkie's smile grew even wider, and she gave Fluttershy a quick hug before heading out the door. Even as she headed down the path, she paused and turned around to vigorously wave goodbye to the two of them. Fluttershy smiled and waved back, slowly closing the door.

A smile was on her lips as she went back into the kitchen. She caught Discord in the middle of eating his cupcake frosting-first, white frosting and raspberry preserve coating his muzzle and hands. A giggle escaped her, and she went to the sink to grab a damp washcloth.

“I'm glad you love her cupcakes,” she said. “But please don't eat too many? I'd hate for you to spoil your appetite for lunch and dinner.”

He licked more frosting off of the cupcake. “…what is it?”

She sat down next to him, placing the damp washcloth next to the platter. “Well, is there anything you’d really like for lunch?” A glance at the clock told her that noon was approaching…

After a short moment of thought, his eyes flicked downward, staring at the cupcakes. As soon as she interpreted his meaning, she smiled. “I suppose we could eat those,” she said. “I'll grab some oranges so that you at least have a fruit, too.”

He took another bite of his cupcake, pointing at the raspberry preserve that seeped out. “…okay, so you are getting some fruit,” she relented. “But I don't think every cupcake of Pinkies is going to have that.”

She headed to the fridge, opening it and pulling out a small orange for each of them. Discord accepted his with a quick roll of his eyes and started to nibble on it without bothering to peel it. She smiled, carefully peeling hers and pulling apart the slices, popping them into her mouth one by one.

Fluttershy was out in town, buying things at the market by herself. She had asked Discord if he was interested in coming, but he had shaken his head, seeming much more interested in the books Starlight had recommended to him from the library.

While she was debating how many cherries she should get, she spotted one of her friends out of the corner of her eye. “Hello, Applejack!” she said cheerfully, turning and waving.

“Howdy, Fluttershy,” Applejack said in turn. Her saddlebags were full of flour, sugar, and other baking ingredients. She glanced away and scuffed her hoof against the ground before speaking again. “So, I heard all the others have been…pitching in to help out Discord.”

“Yes, they have,” Fluttershy said with a warm smile. “Isn't it wonderful?”

Applejack sighed, but nodded in agreement. “Look…Fluttershy?” she said. “Do you really think that…that he can get better?”

Fluttershy's stomach went cold. Most ponies gave her doubting looks, and Twilight had insisted she could do nothing, but she couldn't remember the last time someone had genuinely asked if he had a chance.

“I…I…I do,” she said, steeling her resolve. “He has been getting better, bit by bit, and Starlight's carefully pulling the spell apart, and…and the others have been becoming good friends with him…”

“I heard,” Applejack said with another nod. “…I wish I could help, but…I honestly don't know if I could try to be friends with him.” She made a face that wasn't quite a scowl. “Even if I had forgotten what he did…I can't think of a single thing we could bond over.”

“Are you sure you couldn't at least try?” Fluttershy said. “Just…at least give him a chance, Applejack. You don't have to become best friends, or even close ones, but could you at least try a little? For me?”

Applejack paused, staring at Fluttershy for a long time before sighing. “Well…alright,” she said. “I'll give him one chance. One. If you're both free tonight, feel free to swing by the farm for dinner.”

Fluttershy made a happy squee sound, her ears perking up. “Yes, we're both free tonight! Thank you, Applejack!”

“…you're welcome,” Applejack said with a slightly nervous smile.

“I'm going to finish my shopping so I can go home and tell Discord!” Fluttershy said. “Thank you so much!” Applejack just nodded, her expression neutral if not nervous.

Fluttershy didn't let that dampen her mood, though, quickly heading off into the market and buying the goods she needed. Maybe she'd throw a little something together to bring to the farm as a thank-you to Applejack. And of course, she needed to let Discord know right away! He'd probably love an evening spent out of the cottage, eating the delicious food the Apple family always made…

The evening seemed to come quickly to Fluttershy. She was walking towards the Apple family home with a loaf of zucchini bread on her back, Discord by her side. Discord's expression was neutral and his stride robotic, but she still saw him sniffing at the air, a bit of drool dripping from his lips.

She took a deep breath herself. The air here was so fresh and filled with the aroma of apples, and she could smell fresh baking from the farmhouse. Honestly, she was pretty close to drooling herself, and she started walking a little bit faster.

Once she made it to the door, she raised a hoof and knocked. It only took a few moments before Applejack came and opened it. “Fluttershy! And…Discord,” she greeted. “You made it just in time. We're just about ready to plate out the food.”

“Oh, I hope you weren't waiting up for us,” Fluttershy said, stepping inside and offering her bread to Applejack. Discord stepped forward…and his horns hit the door frame, and he was forced to stop. His brow furrowed, and he took a step back and tried to walk through again. The frame was still as solid as ever.

He huffed with irritation, stepping forward again—but this time, ducking his head so he could pass through the door. Once he was inside, he rose to his full height, his horns nearly scraping against the ceiling.

Applejack glanced between the two of them. “Well, uh, the kitchen is this way,” she said, taking the bread and guiding them. “Hope both of you are hungry.” Fluttershy nodded, while Discord's expression remained neutral. Still, he remembered to duck his head before entering the kitchen.

Granny Smith, Big Mac, and Applebloom were already sitting at the table, and glanced up when they entered. Applejack took her place at the table, setting the bread next to a plate of apple fritter flapjacks, and Fluttershy took one of the two empty seats. Discord…stood there, sniffing at the air.

The Apple family looked at him with concern, and Fluttershy’s smile tightened as she patted the empty seat next to her. Seconds ticked by until he finally blinked and sat down.

Applejack coughed. “So, we're all here, so let's dig in, shall we?” she said. Everyone began to pile food onto their plates—even Discord, after taking a few moments to watch the movements of everyone else.

The five ponies at the table ate in silence, each occasionally eyeing Discord with some mixture of curiosity and worry. The draconequus was slowly picking at his food, but what he did eat, he seemed to enjoy.

A few minutes passed, and Applebloom set down her fork and knife, leaning forward. “…you're the Spirit of Chaos, right?” she asked. “The one who took over Equestria?”

Fluttershy flinched, fork slipping out of her hoof and clattering onto the plate. Discord didn't react, aside from pausing with his fork in midair. Granny Smith began to sit a little more upright, sensing a growing tension around the table.

“Applebloom,” Applejack said in a warning tone.

“What!?” Applebloom said. “We're talking about him in school! I was just wanting some help with my homework, that's all!”

Applejack raised an eyebrow, giving her a stern look. Applebloom gulped. “…and I may have been curious about what exactly his magic can do…” she muttered.

Discord's fork slipped between his fingers and clattered onto the plate. Fluttershy's head whipped towards him, her eyes filled with worry. His eyes had glazed over, and his hand was shaking…but then he blinked, and seemed to go back to normal.

“…lake…” he muttered under his breath. He then shivered slightly, blinked again, and raised his head.

“…my memory is pretty fuzzy,” he said. “So, I don't know how much…help I can offer with homework.”

“And he uses magic for himself and what he wants, not just for others,” Fluttershy quickly added. Ideally, anyway.

“But what kinds of things can he do with his magic?” Applebloom asked. “I just need a couple of examples to finish my report, that's all!”

“Now, Applebloom!” Granny Smith said. “You should know better than to bother guests. I'm sure that he'd rather eat than yap about himself.”

Fluttershy glanced over at Discord out of the corner of her eye. He slowly took a large bite of flapjacks, raised his fingers…and snapped. Applebloom's pink bow turned neon green and started to glow. She looked up at it as best she could and gasped.

“Oh, wow!” she said. “I don't think anyone has examples like this in their report!” She started to get up, but some stern coughs from Applejack and Granny Smith made her sit back down and continue eating.

Discord smiled and kept eating. Fluttershy took a few bites of bread before breaking the silence with, “So…Applebloom. Has school been going well for you, then?”

Applebloom latched onto the icebreaker and began to chatter about what they were learning in school. The conversation only picked up from there, with Applejack and Granny Smith talking about how the farm was doing once Applebloom had said her piece.

Discord even joined in by asking a few questions, Fluttershy noted with pride. And his appetite was good tonight, as well, with him helping himself to some second servings. He even helped by putting his dish in the sink when supper was done.

Maybe it was odd to be proud he had done so by giving it soap-bubble wings that popped when it landed, but she couldn't help but be so.

Big Mac cleared his throat just as Fluttershy was standing up. “Ah wanted to wait until after supper for this,” he said, tapping his forehooves on the table. “Ah wasn't expecting guests. But, well…ah got a pretty important package today.”

The other members of the Apple Family grinned widely, while Fluttershy looked on with slight confusion. Big Mac headed over to the door and grabbed a small wooden crate next to it, setting it on the table. There was an insignia stamped on top, which Fluttershy had to study for a few moments before recognizing it.

“Is that from the Crystal Empire?” she asked. Big Mac beamed and nodded. Everyone gathered around, excited to see what had been sent to him.

He excitedly opened the box and reached inside, pulling out a large crystal orb on a gold stand. Discord's eyes widened at the sight of it, a glimmer in his pupils. “…feels like magic,” he said as Big Mac looked over it with awe.

“Eeyup,” Big Mac said with a nod. “From Spike. So that…we can still have Guy's Nights.”

Though he spent another moment looking fondly at the orb, his gaze flicked over to Fluttershy, then to Discord. “…Discord, Fluttershy,” he said. “Would you want to stay for the game?”

Discord looked intrigued. Fluttershy asked, “I don't think I'll play, but would you mind if I stayed for a moment to talk to Spike?” Big Mac shook his head.

“Aww, how come I can't play?” Applebloom said, pouting and giving puppy dog eyes to her older brother.

Though he almost melted under that look, Applejack remained stern. “Because you have school tomorrow, and shouldn't be staying up so late,” she said. “Speaking of which…don't you have homework to finish?”

Applebloom's pout intensified, but a look from Applejack was enough to convince her to head upstairs. Granny Smith yawned loudly and headed towards her own room, bidding them goodnight, while Fluttershy and Discord followed Big Mac, who carefully carried the orb into his room.

Once there, he set it at the center of his desk. He then tapped it with his hoof once, whispering something under his breath that Fluttershy couldn't catch, but made Discord shiver slightly. The orb glowed with a soft blue light…and an image slowly began to form.

Two faces appeared in the crystal—Spike and Shining Armor. It hadn't been that long since she had last seen Spike, but his image still made her feel the pang of missing him.

“And we have visuals!” Spike declared triumphantly, his face lighting up. His voice was quiet, but still crystal clear in quality. “Big Mac, do we have audio?”

“Eeyup!” Big Mac heartily responded. Spike and Shining Armor both beamed.

“Awesome! Now, let's…” Spike paused, attention focusing somewhere behind Big Mac. “Um, is…is that who I think it is, or is that a magic glitch?”

“Crystal orbs don't glitch,” Shining Armor supplied. “Not in that way, anyway.”

“Ah might have…invited a fourth,” Big Mac said. Fluttershy gave Discord a gentle nudge, and he stepped forward, leaning to peer into the orb.

“Uh…hey, Discord,” Spike said with a nervous grin and wave. “We didn't talk much at all, but…do you remember me?”

Discord blinked, all of his attention suddenly zeroing in on the small dragon. “You are Spike,” he said after just a few moments.

“Yeah, that's me,” Spike said. “I really wasn't expecting to see you…what are you doing with Big Mac?”

Discord was silent. “AJ invited him for dinner,” Big Mac supplied. “Ah invited him to the game.”

“Are you sure?” Shining Armor asked. “I mean, it might not be that fun for him. And…” He bit his lip, and everyone knew what was going unsaid.

“…Discord should join,” Spike said. “I didn't let him, once, because I was scared of what Twilight would do. But what's she going to do now?”

The mood was quiet and tense for a moment before Shining Armor coughed into his hoof. “A-Anyway,” he said. “Discord, have you ever played before?”

Discord shook his head. “Okay, well…the trickiest thing is building your character, but I think Big Mac can help you with that,” Shining said. “Spike, why don't you tell him his character options?”

“Right!” Spike said. “Some good beginner classes are archer, barbarian, druid, rogue, sorcerer, warlock, wizard…”

“I think you'd like a spellcaster class,” Fluttershy pointed out. “Though making and managing a large list of spells can be tricky sometimes, so maybe you'd want to start with something that doesn't require so much management…”

Spike and Big Mac stared at her with wide eyes. “I've…played a little Ponyfinder,” she said, rubbing the back of her head. “But it's been a while, and it's a little different than O&O, so I'll let you three explain.”

She headed to the door, but paused and glanced back over her shoulder. “It was good to see you, Spike. And I hope you have fun, Discord.”

“Sure I will,” he responded with a nod, twirling a pencil between his fingers. She smiled and left, closing the door behind her to give them some privacy.

She wandered her way back into the kitchen, where Applejack was washing dishes. “Want any help?” she asked.

“If you're offering,” Applejack said, handing her a towel. Fluttershy dried the clean dishes before setting them back in the cupboards. “Granny Smith's already asleep, and Applebloom will turn in for the night soon. I hope Guy's Night won't be too loud for them.”

“Your brother is one of the players, so I'm sure he'll try to be aware of how much noise they're making,” Fluttershy tried to assure. The two of them lapsed into silence, working in sync to clean the dishes and get them put away.

“…Fluttershy,” Applejack said as they were putting some of the last ones away. “I still don't know how to feel about Discord. But, he's…not a bad creature, I think.”

Fluttershy beamed, then pulled her friend into a warm hug. “I'm so glad you gave him a chance,” she said quietly. “That all of you gave him a chance.”

Applejack hesitated for a moment before patting her back. “Well…I think their game will probably run pretty late,” she said, pulling out of the hug. “You can take the couch for tonight, if you want. Big Mac can help Discord find an old mattress somewhere once they're done.”

“Thank you,” Fluttershy said, already heading into the living room. She laid on the couch and closed her eyes, smiling as she heard hushed, excited voices from Big Mac's room…including Discord's.

He was really starting to get better, bit by bit…she could tell. Hope flared in her chest, and burned brightly even as she drifted to sleep.

Restore Previous Data?

"Not. Your. Friend!” Fluttershy shouted, tossing away the skates he had given her.

“Who cares?” Discord said. “I can do whatever I want, whenever I want. I'm Discord, the master of chaos!” He shook his fist defiantly in the air.

Fluttershy had turned and was carefully walking on the ice, away from him. With a flash of light, he teleported behind her, skating along and easily matching her pace. “You think you can boss Discord around?” he said as her ears pinned back. “You think I'm just going to turn all this back because you say so? Because if I don't, I'll lose the one friend I ever had?”

He froze in place, revelation striking him. He lifted his head, slowly looking in the direction she had thrown those skates—

A burst of staticy pain jolted Discord awake. He groaned, rubbing slowly at an eye that was particularly sore. That dream again. He had been having it for the last week, bits and pieces slowly added each time. But still, every time, the static woke him up before he got to the end. Even now, it was buzzing in his head, making all the exact details fuzzy.

It was…what was he feeling? Ah, yes…annoyed. He was annoyed by the recurring dream that felt immensely important, but never reached its conclusion.

“Discord?” Fluttershy said, knocking on his door. He grunted in affirmation, and she opened it, giving him a bright smile. “Good morning. Breakfast is on the table whenever you're ready—it's toast with cinnamon and sugar on top.”

“Sounds…good,” he said, licking his lips. Fluttershy's grin widened, her eyes seeming to sparkle. She headed back downstairs, while he slowly stood up, stretching a little before his back became ramrod straight, his arms at his sides.

For now, he tried not to think about the dream. The static made it easy to push it out of his mind, and its buzzing promised a headache if he decided to change his mind about that.

Even though the static made it very, very easy for him to put it out of his mind, that dream still bothered him. Maybe it was because of its constant repetition, but something about it…stuck with him, even if the exact details eluded him.

“Discord, are you alright?” Fluttershy asked. He blinked, staring at her for a few moments. She looked concerned, and there was a teacup in her hooves…ah, right. They had been enjoying some afternoon tea together. “You seem quiet today. Is there something on your mind?”

He nodded. “Just a dream. From last night.”

“Oh?” she said. “I suppose I've never asked, but what do you usually dream about?”

“…hard to remember,” he said. “Fuzzy. But this one…was different. Clear. Like a…a memory.” Is that what it was, a memory? Perhaps that was why it had seemed so clear and so important.

“…what do you think you could tell me about this dream?” she asked. He slowly closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and tried to carefully peel pieces from the claws of static.

“I'm on…a frozen lake,” he said. “You're there, too…you're angry. You yelled and threw…something away. A gift?”

“I try to brush it off. You've turned and walked away. You're ignoring me, but I'm still talking and following.” His eyelid twitched, and the static buzzed, trying to pull away the memory, but he pushed it back. Not yet, not yet, this felt important and he needed to see the end…!

“I'm…skating right behind you,” he said. “And I realize…something. I look up, and—”

The static surged, and the memory was gone. He grunted in annoyance, and opened his eyes to look at her. “That's all I have,” he said. “But, it…it feels…”

“…I-Important?” she quietly offered. He nodded. She was quiet for a few moments, and he realized that she was shaking so much that the tea was threatening to spill from her cup.

He reached out and placed his claws just below the teacup's brim, his firm grip keeping it from shaking. She flinched, her head snapping up to him. “…what happened?” he said quietly. “The gap, I…I need to know.” The static was buzzing, trying to make him ignore the memory, especially that one missing piece. “…please.”

She stared at him, her throat bobbing as she swallowed. “I…didn't see it directly,” she said quietly. “You were behind me, and my head was down…”

She took a deep breath. “But, there was a…a magenta flash near your head,” she said. “And you…you started screaming…before you collapsed and…” With a shuddering breath, the teacup slipped from her shaking hooves.

It slid away from Discord's loosening grip, crashing against the floor and shattering. A magenta flash. Screaming. He…he could vaguely recall those. He couldn't quite remember them fully, or figure out why they seemed so important, but…but he felt they were.

“Oh dear, oh goodness…” Fluttershy said. He blinked, focusing his attention back on her. She was picking the shards of the cup off of the floor, her hooves still shaking. “I-I didn't want to upset you, Discord...it's a…it's all a bit much, I think…”

“I…I remember a little more,” he said, his voice wavering. Her head snapped up to him, her eyes wide with worry. “…not enough, though,” he said. The pieces she had given him slid perfectly into the gaps, but…the static still buzzed when he tried to make the image clearer.

“…maybe it'll come back to you eventually,” she said. “Just…give it time.” She swallowed, setting the shards on the table. “And…once you do, we…we can talk about it, again. Calmly?”

“Okay,” he said. She seemed to relax at his words, and stood up, rambling something about making a soup from their leftovers for dinner, because didn't he like that? He just nodded along, slowly clicking the shards of teacup together and using sparks of magic to seal them together.

In the back of his mind, all the way through dinner and up until he lay in bed, staring at the stars painted on his ceiling, he tried to put together the pieces of the puzzle that were his strange memory.

"Not. Your. Friend!” Fluttershy shouted, tossing away the skates he had given her.

“Who cares?” Discord said. “I can do whatever I want, whenever I want. I'm Discord, the master of chaos!” He shook his fist defiantly in the air.

He froze in place, revelation striking him. He lifted his head, slowly looking in the direction she had thrown those skates. But as emotions started to swell in him, just before he could turn back to Fluttershy and do something, anything to get the friendship he now knew he needed back, a gleam from the shoreline caught his eye.

He looked up…and saw a bright flash of magenta right in front of him, just before it seared against his face, burning his eye and cheek. He screamed in pain as he felt the magic burning and tingling against his skin, trying to skate backward and claw the pain away from his face.

All that happened was he fell over, which stopped the burning pain but still left him with a prickling one everywhere the magic had hit him. He kept screaming as he felt the tendrils of magic burrow through his skin, crawling under his eyeball and working their way down, down through his skull…

He felt the tendrils touch his brain, and he stopped screaming, collapsing as everything went dark. For those last few moments of consciousness, he could feel the tendrils wrap around his brain, pricking and numbing and settling itself inside of him…

Discord gasped and jolted awake, a cold sweat covering his skin. Things were starting to make sense now. Even the static that tried to clamp down on his emotions and pull this memory away had a known source.

He remembered everything. Why he couldn’t think for himself.

Why even simple things caused him pain.

Why he had been turned into a tool.

It was her fault.

With a flicker of magic he barely even thought about, he disappeared from his bed and reappeared in a dark underground tunnel. He growled to himself, already on his feet, sweeping the area with his glowing eyes. She wasn't here. But he could sense her just above him…they must have blocked his teleportation somehow.

Still, there were things he could do that nopony could even attempt, let alone prepare for. With another flick of magic, he made himself into an insubstantial ghost, and he quickly floated up and rose through the floor.

He was in an empty room now, divided into two halves by a clear crystal wall. On one end, there was a door with a complex lock mechanism. On the other was an open door, where he could see a sparsely-furnished room…and that awful alicorn, lying in bed with a book on her face.

He ground his teeth, quickly flying through the air towards her, becoming physical again as he passed through the door to her private area. He stood on the ground, and with a flick of his tail, Twilight's bed was knocked over onto its side, sending her and her book sprawling across the floor.

Twilight gave a cry of shock as she was suddenly woken up, scrambling to get onto her hooves and reaching out for her book. Before she could touch it, Discord stomped on it, enjoying her pained expression at the sound of its spine cracking. “Hello, Twilight.”

“Discord,” she said, her eyes wide with fright. She slowly stumbled onto her hooves, using her wings to balance herself. “…why are you here? How?”

“I remember, Twilight.” Her eyes widened, and her face fell. He snarled, baring his fangs at her. “You…did this…to me,” he growled, veins bulging on his forehead and neck. “You made me into a, a, a, a…” Curse this static, trying to throw him off of his train of thought!

Twilight stared at him with wide eyes. “…I did what thought I had to,” she said quietly. “To prevent you from hurting ponies.”

His anger grew. “You hurt me,” he spat. “And made me into a, a, a…a tool.” He glared, using his anger to focus solely on Twilight. He ignored the prickling of her spell, and refused to be caught in a loop all over again.

“…Fluttershy must be helping you,” she said. “You're getting better. Though, without a few of my counterspells…” She held up a thick stack of papers, scrawled with glyphs in messy hoofwriting.

Discord used the back of his claw to smack them out of her hooves. They all flew up in a flurry, scattering around the cell. “No more magic,” he said, crushing a piece of paper that landed in front of him under his foot, “…and no more Twilight.”

Her eyes widened, and she started to back away, her cold demeanor finally broken. But no matter where she ran, how far she got away, his magic would find her. He licked his lips, his pupils narrowing to slits.

The first thing to do was remove her horn and wings. Oh, yes, then the real fun with her could begin…with a grin, he raised his fingers into a snapping position, gathering his magic to get started—

A spike of pain went through his head. He gasped and stumbled backward, away from Twilight. She stared at him with wide eyes, her wings quivering…but then, slowly relaxed and straightened up.

“I see you're still not able to attack ponies without orders,” she said. “That, or the creator protection failsafe kicked in…either way, I don't think you can do anything to me right now.” She slowly began to gather the papers he had scattered.

“We'll…see…about…that,” he growled, unsheathing the claws of his lion paw. It would be so much messier and more hands-on than he preferred, but—!

“Stop,” Twilight said, her voice calm. The static buzzed in his mind, and his muscles locked up. “Neutral position. Wait patiently.”

His arms fell to his sides and he stood up straight. His gaze bored into her skull as he was forced to stand still, only able to watch as she carefully gathered each individual piece of paper. He ground his teeth together as the minutes ticked by, the spell crackling in his mind and keeping him stuck in place.

The fallen princess set the stack of paper on her desk, then turned to look at him. “You can relax.” In Fluttershy's voice, the words were a suggestion; in hers, they were closer to a command. Discord sniffed, his muscles unlocking. He still stood in the same place, not wanting to give her the satisfaction of seeing him stunned by her dark magic if he acted out.

Twilight didn't seem to mind his stillness at all, pacing back and forth in her cell. “Discord…when you had your memory back, and the ability to teleport freely, what did you do first?” she said. Discord just glared at her, grinding his teeth. He was squeezing his fist so tightly that his claws were starting to dig into his skin.

“You teleported right here…and tried to attack me with your magic,” she said, answering her own question. “Don't you see?” He still refused to answer her…or maybe the spell was tying down his tongue now. Who knew?

“That means you're exactly the kind of creature I thought you were,” she said. “Wicked, dangerous…and with a thirst for vengeance.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “The sort of creature Equestria needed to be protected from. One where the world would be better off if they were…controlled.”

“Controlled?” he growled. “With no free will? Pain every time a thought strays away? And with all that dabbling in dark magic, you're just as dangerous as I am, princess.” He scoffed. “Pot, meet kettle.”

Twilight frowned, ruffling her feathers and rubbing at her foreleg. “…maybe I am,” she said quietly. “But…if I'm hurt by you, do you know what will happen? Ponies will think…they'll know I was right. They'll know that you're dangerous, too.”

He scoffed again. “I've never cared…what ponies think.” His brow furrowed. It was a strain, trying to stay angry and keep himself focused on this line of thought.

“…Fluttershy will know you're dangerous, too,” she said quietly. She turned away and began to tidy up her desk again. “After all she's done for you…she'd be heartbroken to realize that the ‘friend' she saw in you was never really there. That once she's done freeing you, you'll go right back to your old evil ways.”

His thoughts stopped in place. His anger was drained away, and he suddenly felt very, very cold. “…Fluttershy won't…I'm not…I'm her…”

“Her friend?” Twilight said, raising an eyebrow. “I can't imagine that Fluttershy would want to be friends with anyone who delighted in violent revenge.”

He snarled, curling back his lip, but his heart wasn't in it anymore. That cold feeling spread completely through him and smothered his anger, more easily than the spell’s static ever had. Twilight just shook her head and turned back to her desk.

“Here,” she said, picking up the stack of papers and offering them to him. He sneered at them. “They're my notes from my research into a counterspell for you. Fluttershy...and any wizard should find them quite useful.”

He narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously before snatching them away. “Why do you care about helping them?” he growled, gripping them so tightly they started to crumple. “Helping me?”

She glared at him for a second…and then turned away. “I don't even know,” she said bitterly. “I still think you're too dangerous to be completely free. But what else am I supposed to do?” She gave a dry laugh. “I'm imprisoned here forever unless you're free. And if I don't help, no one will ever trust me again anyway.”

Her wings drooped, her head hanging low. “…if I do something, maybe somepony will accept me again, sometime in the future.”

He snorted. “Fat chance,” he said. “Princess you might have been, but they won't trust you any…any…anymore than you trusted me.”

Her head snapped up, and she gave him a hard look. “…Discord,” she said. “Exit this cell, repair the damage you did, and go back to Fluttershy's cottage,” she said, her tone harsh and her voice clear. “That's an order.”

Though he wanted to grit his teeth and growl, his expression slid into that awful, slack-jawed neutral one. “Yes, Twilight,” he said, only barely managing to slide a hint of mockery into his monotone.

He turned and walked through the wall as a ghost again. With a snap, her bed righted itself, and everything she had was back in its proper place, erasing all evidence he had ever been there.

With another snap of his fingers, he teleported back to Fluttershy's cottage, the papers still held tightly in his hands.

New Dataset

Discord reappeared in his bedroom, the papers still crumpled in his paw. The static was buzzing loudly in his skull, telling him to stand and wait for his next order. Between it and his rage, he couldn't even imagine sitting, much less lying down.

He stood in place for the rest of the night, clenching and unclenching his fists, shoulders shaking every so often in frustration.

Morning came, and even as he smelled the delicious pancakes that Fluttershy was making, he refused to budge. Like clockwork, Fluttershy came upstairs to knock on his door.

“Discord? Breakfast is ready,” she called. “Chocolate chip pancakes.”

They sounded and smelled delicious, but…he couldn't bring himself to move. It wasn't just the spell, either. A part of him just wanted to stay in here for as long as he could.

“…Discord?” Fluttershy said, tapping at his door again. “May I come in?”

He gave a small grunt of confirmation, and she opened the door. Her eyes widened when she saw him standing there, then shimmered with sorrow. “Have you been waiting like that all night?” A tiny shake of his head. She approached, placed a comforting hoof on his paw…and noticed the papers.

“What…?” He handed them to her, and her face slowly fell as she skimmed over the writing. “This is…Twilight's writing,” she whispered, voice hoarse. “…you remembered, didn't you?”

He gave a small nod in response. “…do you want to tell me what happened?” she asked. “Between…you and Twilight last night, I mean.”

“Not…yet,” he said, using a small effort to force the words out. Her face fell even more, but she pursed her lips and nodded.

“Breakfast is ready whenever you want it,” she said, heading for the door with the papers tucked under her wing. “And…I'm here if you're ever ready to talk.”

He couldn't even decide on a response to put enough energy into making one. She hesitated for several moments, expression growing more sorrowful by the second, until she finally pushed his door so that it was only open a crack—giving him privacy, but still a small push away from joining her.

Even as he listened to her hoofsteps head downstairs, even as the image of her sad eyes made his chest tighten…he stood there, alone and unmoving.

He eventually lost track of time. He realized now that must have been part of the spell, or at least a side effect…this wasn't the first time he had gotten lost in a reverie or caught in a loop for an unknown amount of time.

But at some point, he realized there was a gnawing, empty feeling in his stomach. That alone wasn't quite enough to make him move, but the idea of Fluttershy worrying about his health and hunger finally made some of his muscles unlock.

He carefully made his way downstairs, mechanically walking towards the kitchen. Orange light seeped in through the windows, and Fluttershy was just about to put away a large plate of peanut butter and pickle sandwiches with cheesy rice on the side—it must have been past dinnertime. He froze in the doorway, swallowed, and cleared his throat.

Fluttershy jumped with a small squeak, turning to face him. “Oh, Discord,” she said, eyes lighting up as soon as they landed on him. “Are you feeling any better, then?”

“…no,” he answered, making her ears droop. “But…” His gaze flicked to the plate she was about to put away. After a few moments, she caught his meaning and set it back on the table.

“Feel free to help yourself,” she said. The verbal confirmation made it a little easier for him to start eating. While these were some of his favorite foods that she could make, he could barely even taste them today.

He polished off about three-quarters of the plate before dropping the sandwich he had been holding. He was still hungry, but he had eaten enough to take the gnawing edge off of it…hopefully enough to keep Fluttershy from worrying too much. His appetite vanished.

“Finished,” he quietly mumbled, pushing the plate away from him. Fluttershy’s brow creased at how much was still left, but she just began to carefully put it away. She turned to face him when she was done, her expression…conflicted.

“Discord…do you…want to tell me what happened last night?”

“No,” he answered immediately. The static hummed in the back of his mind, while his guts twisted. He was dangerous. He didn't want Fluttershy to know just how dangerous he was, but he…he didn't want to end up hurting her. She needed to know, so she could be prepared. “…but I will.”

She blinked, tilting her head a little in confusion. “You're sure?” she said. “I don't want to pressure you…”

“I'll talk,” he said. “…living room?” That seemed to be the place for dramatic bombshells to be dropped. And he’d feel less like he was being interrogated than at the table.

“Sure,” Fluttershy said, already moving in that direction and taking her usual seat on the couch. Discord was reluctant to move for a few moments, and…he couldn't entirely blame his stillness on the spell infecting him.

But he forced himself to move, dragging his feet and plopping onto the couch. Fluttershy was tracing a hoof over the patterns on one of her embroidered pillows, and they sat in silence.

Eventually, though, she cleared her throat and raised her head to look him in the eyes. “You…visited Twilight, because you remembered?”

“…yes,” he said slowly. He gulped, his Adam's apple bobbing. He didn't want to spill anything, not yet. Just a few more seconds where she didn't know he was a monster, that's all he needed. “…the papers?”

“I put them in a folder near the door,” she said. “We'll deliver them to Starlight during your next visit with her.” Discord grimaced.

“My visit with Twilight…” he started to force the words out. “It was…I couldn't…I was furious with her, Fluttershy. So furious, too furious, too furious, too–“

A gentle hoof on his arm made him snap out of the loop he was in. He couldn't bring himself to look at Fluttershy's face, even—especially knowing her expression would be caring and gentle.

“…I was going to attack her,” he admitted in a shaking voice. “I wanted to frighten her, I did frighten her! But more than that, I wanted her to hurt. I wanted to strip her away, piece by piece, leave just her mind and still keep pulling—” He cut himself off.

His gaze flicked down to his paw, and he closed his eyes. “The only reason I didn't is because the…static stopped me. Even then, I still wanted to fight her, and she had to order me to stop. I…I would have done awful things, terrible things, and her spell was the only thing that held me back.”

“Then she just...talked to me. Told me that…” He choked out a laugh. “That I was proving her right. That as soon as I had the slightest hint of freedom, I became violent, showing I was…something that needed to be controlled.”

“Controlled?” Fluttershy said, voice quivering with anger. “Like…like you're some beast on a leash? Like your feelings don't matter? That's horrible.”

Discord felt a lump form in his throat and hung his head. “She's, she's…right, though. I'm still…dangerous,” he said. “If I almost did that to her, what's stopping me from doing it to, to, to…” ‘you' was stuck in his throat.

He was surprised when Fluttershy leaned forward and enveloped him in a tight hug. “Oh, Discord,” she said, voice thick and heavy with sadness. “Discord, Discord…”

His ears drooped. Despite the hug, he worried that she was disappointed in him, that she was really just sad because of the actions he had almost done. After a few moments, she spoke again. “I…I don't…blame you for being angry at Twilight,” she said.

“You…you don't?” He looked at her in disbelief. She shook her head, still not releasing him from the hug.

“I got mad at Twilight, too,” she said. “So did Princess Celestia. We might not have almost hurt her like you did…” He flinched. “But many of us felt hurt and upset. Several of us probably wanted to lash out at her…I know I did.”

“Not as badly as I did,” he whispered. “And the only thing holding me back was…the spell.” He gulped. “What if what if what if…I really do hurt her when it's gone?” Or try to hurt you, a tiny part of him said, though he was too scared to say it aloud.

Her grip on him tightened. “I…I trust you,” she said. “When the time comes, you'll do the right thing. I know that…it'll be hard to not take your anger out on her.” She lifted her head to look him in the eyes. “I believe you’re strong enough that in the end, nothing can fully control you. Not Twilight's spell, not even your own anger.”

His heart swelled. “…more faith than what she has,” he said, a slight growl to his voice.

“And you can prove her wrong. Be an amazing draconequus by your own will, if that's what you want,” she said.

He forced a chuckle out of his throat. “You…you really think…?”

She placed a hoof on his shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. “I know,” she answered, eyes shining with determination. “You can be brilliant, Discord. You will be brilliant, I just know it. And I'll…I'll be truly lucky to have known a creature like you.”

He stared at her neutrally for a few moments, until his breathing hitched and his shoulders began to shake. He felt tears pour down his snout, watched them plop into Fluttershy's mane, and not even the static—the spell could tamp down the sheer burst of emotion he felt.

“I hope you're right, Shy,” he managed to croak as she rubbed comforting circles on his back. “I really hope, hope, hope…that you're right.”

He practically melted into her as she kept rubbing his back and whispering assurances into his ear. She talked about how he had grown closer to the others, how he had been doing so very well, how she knew that he could and would be wonderful. He just pressed himself as close as he could to her, hoping desperately that she was right about him.

He wasn't sure how much time passed, but he soon realized that Fluttershy's assurances had become soft mumbles, and that her head was nestled into the crook of his neck. “…Shy?” he said, gently poking her side.

She flinched, head snapping up. “Oh! Oh…I'm sorry, Discord. I must have been more tired than I realized.” A yawn escaped her. “I didn't mean to start falling asleep on you…”

“It's fine,” he assured her. His eyes flicked over to the window, and the dark sky outside. “And it's late. Time for bed…?”

“I think it is,” she said. “Did you want anything like a…a warm cup of milk, or some tea to help you sleep?”

He shook his head. She took his paw and walked upstairs with him, escorting him to his bedroom before flying up and giving him a gentle kiss on his forehead.

“G-Good night!” she said. “I hope that you have good dreams.” With that, she soared over to her bedroom, leaving Discord alone with his thoughts.

And after the discussion and that kiss, thoughts and emotions a-plenty were swirling around in his head!

Getting to his bed felt like moving through molasses, but he managed to get there and lie on top of the covers. He sighed. Telling Fluttershy the truth and hearing her assurances had made him feel much, much better, but it had also given him a new, confusing knot of emotions to tangle with. The innocent forehead kiss just added a pretty little bow on top.

He stared up at the ceiling, trying to puzzle out the stew of emotions swirling in him. He was all for not making sense, but it felt like…there was something he was missing. A piece of a puzzle, a tiny connection that would tie all these feelings into one big picture.

His worries…he had been worried about being dangerous, especially to Fluttershy, and concerned that Fluttershy might leave him. Fluttershy had soothed his worries and replaced them with calm. Spending time with her made him happy, and he somehow knew that he would remain happy if he spent the rest of his life with her…

Oh. The revelation clicked together, and even with the swell of emotion that came with it, it didn't underwhelm him like remembering that day on the lake had. Actually, it felt pleasant to realize it.

He loved Fluttershy. Seeing her happy made him happy. He wanted to spend his days with her more than any other creature. He knew that if she was in danger, he would put anything on the line to help her.

And he was certain it wasn't Twilight's doing. Her spell had never cared about how he felt, only about what he did. So these feelings…they had to be real, right? They certainly felt real.

But should he tell Fluttershy? A part of him very much wanted to, but another part quashed the idea. Even if he could reason out they were real, Fluttershy might not. She could believe it was all part of the spell's hold on him. The idea that she might not even believe him stung much more than a possible rejection.

He sighed, rolling onto his side. He'd wait until the spell wore off a bit more before deciding what to do, then. And things were going quite well…he could wait contentedly, living peacefully with Fluttershy.

Hacker

Fluttershy and the rest of the remaining Elements had been summoned to Canterlot Castle, with orders to come as quickly as possible. On the train ride there, they learned that Thorax was also summoned, though he was too nervous to tell them what exactly was going on, or if he happened to know.

Discord also joined them on the train ride, though Fluttershy assured him that he didn't have to attend the meeting if he didn't want to. He assured her that he would be content with haunting the upper levels of the castle.

As soon as they were in Canterlot, they all galloped off of the train and through the town, Discord and Rainbow flying above them. At the castle, they were quickly shown into a meeting room, where Celestia was pacing nervously while Luna sat and glared at a map in front of her.

“Please try not to cause too much trouble,” Fluttershy said to Discord. He just smirked, giving her a small wave before floating towards a set of stairs.

After watching him for a few seconds, to be sure he was okay, Fluttershy entered the room, closing the door behind her. She approached the table and took one of the last few empty seats, and seeing that they were all there, Celestia stopped pacing and turned to address them.

“I'm sure you're all wondering why I've asked you to come,” she said. “I'm afraid that I have some rather grave news. We've just received word that Chrysalis has reappeared, along with a large number of supporters, and is currently attempting to retake her old hive.”

All of them gasped, and Thorax began to shake. Luna slammed a forehoof on the map, which showed the Badlands and the Hive. “The new changeling rulers are doing their best to defend themselves,” she said. “But while they have some advantage in numbers, Chrysalis is powerful and has her greatest soldiers behind her. It's only a matter of time until they can seize an advantage…and with it, the throne.”

Everyone's face was pale, their eyes wide with fright…but none more so than Thorax, who looked almost ill from how scared he was. “This is bad,” he whimpered. “If she takes back the hive, we're all in danger!”

They all turned to look at the nervous changeling. “Could you please explain what you mean, Thorax?” Celestia asked gently.

Thorax gulped, taking a few deep breaths before being able to speak clearly again. “Well…there are lots of reasons why we made our home there,” he said. “It was close to our original birthplace, apparently, so they didn't need to travel far. But there's a series of caves under there that have the perfect conditions for brooding eggs, and that we've expanded to the very edge of Equestria, at least.”

“So…if Chrysalis retakes the hive…” Luna said, eyes widening.

“She can quickly raise an army under perfect brood conditions,” Thorax said, ears drooping. “And march them all the way to Equestria without anyone realizing.”

Celestia sighed, standing up and looking out the window, gaze unfocused on a hive that was too far away to see. “So,” she said. “For the safety of Equestria, and to protect our new changeling allies…we must not let Chrysalis retake her old hive.”

“B-But what can we do!?” Thorax said. “The best changelings in her army stayed loyal to her…I’m sure the ones trying to build the hive are already having a hard time holding her off! And even if you sent an army, Chrysalis…she's very good at confusing attackers. So much so that they let their guard down and get captured.”

Celestia kept staring out at the horizon. “There is…one thing that's always helped us in our times of need,” she said. “One thing that's almost always succeeded…one thing representing the most powerful magic we have.”

“…the Elements of Harmony,” Luna said with a small gasp. Fluttershy felt her blood run cold, and she exchanged uneasy glances with everyone else. Celestia just gave a small nod of confirmation.

“But, um…Princess Celestia?” Fluttershy said nervously. “To use them, wouldn't we…need Twilight with us?”

Celestia stepped closer, wrapping one of her wings around Fluttershy. Her embrace was warm and soft. “I understand that you're worried,” she said. “My former student hurt Discord—hurt all of you—terribly. But using the Elements could be our only chance to stop Queen Chrysalis.”

Her head drooped. “Twilight…will receive a form of parole,” she said quietly. “A chance to do good again…and if she does well, she might have a few years taken off her sentence. She will still have to wait until Discord's full recovery before we can think about releasing her, though, I promise you that.”

Fluttershy swallowed. Even if the words were reassuring, her wings still wouldn't stop trembling. “O…okay,” she said.

Celestia gave her one last comforting squeeze, then let go and stared down at the map. “I'll…be the one to talk to Twilight,” she said quietly. “Luna, take charge of the guards and prepare a strategy to get the Elements in and out safely. Thorax, any knowledge of the land you can give will be invaluable.”

“As for the rest of you…wait here, and make whatever preparations you must.” With that, she took a deep breath and walked out of the room.

For several long moments, they were all silent. Fluttershy gulped, and began edging closer to the door. “I'm…I'm going to go find Discord,” she said quietly. “To let him know what's going on.”

The others all nodded in approval, and she headed out the door to search for her friend.

She eventually managed to find Discord staring at long rows of stained-glass windows. Once she had explained everything to him, he was torn between worry and anger. “They're letting out Twilight?” he growled. “And sending you out onto a battlefield!?”

“Celestia has a plan to keep us all safe, I'm sure,” she tried to assure him. “Besides, we need to use the Elements to stop Chrysalis.”

Both of them were surprised when Discord quickly scooped her up into his arms, pressing her close to his chest and pressing his cheek against hers. “Well, I'm not letting you get hurt by anything,” he declared. “That changeling and that…alicorn will have to go through me if they want to hurt you.”

Her eyes widened. “Discord, you don't have to come,” she said.

“I do,” he responded.

“…are you sure?” she asked. “I mean, it could be…dangerous. Or difficult for you. You really don't have to come if you don't want to.”

“I want to,” he said, pressing even more against her cheek. “I want to protect you.”

Her heart lifted and ached at his words, and her lips twisted into an unsure frown. “…well, I doubt Celestia will stop you,” she said. “And I can't force you to stay.”

He smiled, a gleam in his eyes. “I'd like to…see anyone try,” he said. Fluttershy chuckled.

She snuggled against his chest for a few more moments before sighing and extracting herself from his hold. “We should get back to the meeting room.” Discord hummed and walked behind her as she trotted through the hallways.

The others were all still in the room by the time they returned. Luna was pouring over maps spread across the table, while Thorax shakily wrote warnings and slid changeling figures into place. Celestia still hadn't returned.

Fluttershy explained to the others that Discord was adamant about coming with them. They were shocked, and they asked a few times if he really wanted to join them, but he remained stubborn on the matter.

Luna looked up at him with a hint of annoyance, but muttered to herself about troops and stealth before rearranging a couple of her figures on the map. Discord stared at the map, reaching forward and twisting one figure so that it was at a slight angle compared to the others. He smirked.

Fluttershy sat down with the others, and Discord soon sat next to her. None of them said anything, and Fluttershy slowly wrapped her wings around herself.

The door opened, and her head snapped up. Princess Celestia stepped inside, a somber expression on her face…followed by Twilight Sparkle, who still had a metal clamp over her horn.

She raised her head for a second, eyes narrowing at Discord before she dropped her gaze again without a word.

“Luna, have you prepared a strategy yet?” Celestia asked.

“We have,” Luna answered with a nod, gesturing to the battlemap. “With enough magic, we can teleport the Elements into the thick of battle—here.” She pointed toward the center of the map, where a cliff lay. “They'll be able to easily confront Chrysalis there, for her temporary throne is here.” She tapped at a point on the edge of the cliff.

“Our forces will attack from the northeast and northwest, drawing most of the changelings away from the Elements,” she continued. “With luck, the hive will also strike to buy us time.”

“B-But we can't rely on that,” Thorax pointed out. “And there's no way to send a message that Chrysalis won't intercept somehow.”

“Yes…but if all goes well, the Elements should have just enough time to defeat Chrysalis,” Luna finished. “From there, our forces will take care of the remaining army. Any further concerns?”

The room was silent for several long seconds. “…why is Discord here?” Twilight suddenly asked. All attention snapped to her, and Fluttershy took a step forward, prepared to get between her and Discord.

Luna and Celestia looked up at Discord, who briefly scowled. “…protect…Shy…” he managed to force out.

Twilight narrowed her eyes, then sighed and dropped her gaze. “…I suppose I have no right to discuss what Discord should or shouldn't do.”

“No, you do not,” Celestia said firmly. Twilight flinched, and Celestia's hard look softened just a fraction. “…I'll prepare our troops. We shall attack soon, before Chrysalis's position changes. You should all prepare yourselves.”

She left, and the room fell into silence…aside from Luna mumbling quietly to herself as she worked out the finer details of her strategy.

Fluttershy glanced over at Twilight, who had taken a seat near the door, keeping her head low…though she occasionally glanced over at Discord. Fluttershy glanced up and saw that Discord was staring right at Twilight, rage clearly burning in his eyes.

She slowly wrapped a wing around him. The tension left his body, and some of the fire in his eyes was extinguished, but he still stared at Twilight.

The rest of their friends shifted a little closer. They all exchanged nervous glances, sometimes looking up at Discord or over at Twilight, but none of them said anything.

Hours later, Celestia returned, carrying the chest with the Elements in her magic. “We're ready,” she announced. “Many of our troops are ready to teleport to the edges of the battlefield once they receive the signal. Others are already en route in case backup is required.”

Luna nodded in approval, and Fluttershy and the others approached the chest as Celestia opened it. Each of them picked up their respective Element and placed it around their neck.

Twilight was the last to step up. Her horn flickered momentarily with magic before sputtering out, and her face fell. But she quickly took a deep breath, setting her face in a neutral expression. She used her forehooves to pick up the Element of Magic, placing it on top of her head.

All of them clumped together, with Twilight at the front and Discord in the middle. Fluttershy stuck close to the draconequus's side.

“As soon as we have sent you, the rest of our troops will strike…but they will be closer to the edges of the battlefield,” Celestia told them. “You will face Chrysalis on your own, but the simultaneous attack should buy you some time to act.”

“We shall teleport you as close to Chrysalis as we can…but you must act quickly,” Luna stressed. “In the best-case scenario, you’ll be able to use the Elements before she even realizes that you're there. But, if she does notice you…”

Fluttershy gulped. Rainbow leaned over, draping a wing over her back. “Don't worry,” she assured. “We've faced bad guys before and come out on top. We can do this!”

Her words lifted everyone else's morale. “I take it that you're ready, then?” Celestia asked. All of them gave a determined nod…even Discord.

With that, Celestia lifted a small key up with her magic, quickly unlocking the clamp around Twilight's horn and pulling it off. As Twilight reached up to rub at her horn, the older alicorns' horns glowed brightly, magic surrounding the seven of them.

With a flash of bright light, they were all teleported.

There was an almost-silent pop, and a flash of blue and yellow light, as the seven of them reappeared at the very base of a cliff. The soil under their hooves was brown and dry, the sky overcast…and filled with several buzzing swarms of changelings.

Just seconds after they appeared, there were louder pops not far behind them, and bright flashes of light. The gathered changelings hissed, many swarming in that direction, and Fluttershy couldn't help but wince at the sounds of battle that echoed behind them.

“Come on, girls,” Twilight said, cantering up the cliff. “…and Discord.”

The rest of them cantered along after her. The cliff they were heading up was surrounded on all sides by a changeling army, though they were now all focused on the army of ponies attacking them from behind. At the very top of the cliff was a throne crudely carved out of grey stone, two changelings in blue armor flanking either side of it.

The soldiers noticed them as soon as they approached, quickly holding up their spears and hissing. Before they could attack, Twilight blasted them both with magic, sending them flying off of the cliff.

A loud, angry hiss came from the other side of the throne. “Who dares!?”

Two black forehooves marred with holes gritted onto the top of the throne…and Chrysalis pulled herself over to glare at them. A shudder traveled down Fluttershy's spine.

“We dare!” Rainbow declared proudly, puffing out her chest.

“Ah…the heroes of Equestria,” Chrysalis hissed. Her wings buzzed, and she hovered up into the air, horn pulsing with green light. The changeling army that wasn't currently fighting rose up into the air with her, all of them glaring hungrily down at their small band.

“You think you can stop us? Stop me?” Chrysalis reared her head back and laughed. “Oh, you little morsels…I'd love to see you try.”

“We won't keep you waiting,” Twilight said with a smirk, holding her head high. The rest of them took battle stances beside and behind her, Fluttershy puffing out her chest. She could feel the presence of her friends…including Discord, whose sharp gaze she could feel on her back.

She closed her eyes as they all floated up and into the air. Her Element glowed against her chest, emitting a soft, warm light that felt right to her. A warmth that felt like it came from her heart, and not the pink gem.

But the light of the gem flickered, and she felt herself wobble in the air. Her eyes snapped open, though she could feel they weren't glowing with the magic of Harmony. She looked around in confusion, as did the rest of her friends.

All of their eyes finally landed on the one who was out of place—Twilight. Though her horn glowed brightly, and her eyes were scrunched in determination, not even a single flicker of light came from the Element of Magic.

Seconds after they had started the spell, the lights in the rest of their Elements went out, and they all yelped as they fell to the ground.

One thing was very clear—the Elements had failed to work. They all exchanged terrified glances. Chrysalis's cackling laughter filled the air. “Was that your plan?” she said. “To deliver yourselves right into my hooves? The six most beloved…or formerly beloved…ponies in Equestria, a welcoming gift for the rise of my new kingdom?”

The changeling army started to slowly close in on them. With a gasp of horror, Twilight's horn glowed brightly, and a magenta bubble appeared around all of them, keeping the army at bay. Chrysalis just laughed. “You know you can't hide in there forever!” she mocked. Her army started to pound on the shield with their hooves, hissing loudly and exposing all their fangs.

They all looked at each other, then turned to Twilight with worried expressions. Her eyes were shut tightly, her horn glowing brightly with the effort of holding up the shield. Each pound made her flinch, and caused the light on her horn to flicker for brief moments—never enough to drop the shield, but enough that they all knew they had minutes, maybe only seconds, of safety.

Fluttershy squeaked in fright, shifting over and huddling close to Discord's legs. She wrapped her forehooves around them, squeezing tightly and closing her eyes, trying to ignore the pounding hooves against the shield. “I won't let them get you, I won't, I won't,” she said in a hushed voice. “I-I-I can't let you get hurt…”

Above her, she heard his fingers snapping. She opened her eyes and raised her head, just in time to see Twilight's shield flicker out for three seconds…only for another shield to appear just inside it before the changelings could come any closer.

This new shield looked a lot like a soap bubble—clear, with rainbows dancing across its surface wherever light struck it. But it was much sturdier. Even as changelings pounded their hooves against it and blasted it with magic, parts of it would wobble, but it never burst. Twilight panted, her horn flickering as she tried to set up her own shield again despite of the assault on Discord's.

“Ah, I see,” Chrysalis snarled. “So, now that your most powerful weapons have failed, you've resorted to using your next most powerful tool.”

“Discord isn't a tool!” Fluttershy snapped, slowly relaxing her grip on his legs, but still staying close.

Chrysalis laughed. “Oh, you poor, naïve little pony,” she said, shaking her head. “All that's left of Discord is powerful magic and a spell to control it. I doubt there are any thoughts even in his head.”

Discord glowered at the queen, lip pulling back into as much of a snarl as he could manage. The queen was lying to demoralize them, or thought she was telling the truth but still trying to demoralize them. But he could still feel Fluttershy and the rest of his friends at his side, all of them glaring defiantly at the fallen monarch.

Still, even he felt nervous when the changeling's eyes lit up with an idea. “Yes…a tool,” she murmured, grinning wickedly. “And what good is a tool if no one is willing to use it?” Her eyes locked with his, and he felt his blood boil…it was like she was looking through him and not at him.

Her eyes and horn glowed an eerie green. “Discord,” she said in a siren-like voice, keeping direct eye contact with him. “Why do you help these little ponies? After all they've done to you!”

He saw Twilight flinch out of the corner of his eye. But the queen’s eyes…they were so mesmerizing that he couldn't look away. He swallowed thickly and found that he couldn't even blink. His heart started racing in his chest, the static buzzing in his head.

“Join me, Discord,” she said, still in that alluring voice. Her voice hissed inside his head, too. “Lower your shield and help me retake my hive!”

The static buzzed, but it felt…different. It was compelling him to obey Chrysalis. Lower the shield. Retake the hive, it whispered over and over. The queen looked at him, her eyes still glowing.

His fist shook at his side. He had come so far, broken so many rules of the spell…he wasn't going to lose to it and put Fluttershy and her friends in danger!

But the static was buzzing so loudly…and the queen’s eyes were compelling him to listen…

He took a breath. His back stiffened as he straightened up, his face relaxed as his expression became blank…and he raised his fingers into a snapping position.

Fluttershy tried to be brave. She resisted the urge to cower behind the others, even when the army had surrounded their shield, even when Chrysalis was speaking to Discord. But Discord had become so quiet and still, his expression unreadable, and all of the changelings were staring at them with fanged, hungry grins…she swallowed, her knees starting to knock together.

She turned to Discord, who still hadn't done anything more than raise his fingers in preparation to snap. His face was cast in shadow, making it impossible for her to tell what his expression was…or if he even had one right now.

“Yes…yes, Discord!” Chrysalis hissed, her eyes gleaming. “Follow me, help me…I can do so much more for you than these pastel puffballs ever did!”

“…oh, no,” Twilight moaned. Fluttershy and all the others (sans Discord) turned to look at her, and saw that she had become very pale.

“She's…she's trying to take over the spell,” Twilight continued, her eyes wide. “She's trying to take control of Discord…”

Fluttershy gasped in horror, her head whipping back around to Discord. His hand was still trembling in a snapping position, something holding him back from using his magic…but was he trying to obey the changeling queen or protect them? Which did he really want, and which would ultimately win?

“Can't you do somethin', Twilight!?” Applejack said, scuffing a hoof against the ground. She still looked ready to fight if she had to, but with enemies on all sides…Fluttershy gulped.

“…there's no other choice,” Twilight said with a heavy sigh. “I need to recast the spell. Strengthen it so that we're in control, but not her.” She turned to Discord and closed her eyes, magenta magic slowly welling around her horn. Everyone's eyes widened in shock and horror.

Fluttershy's heart dropped into her stomach. The memory of that day on the lake flashed into her mind…Discord's horrifying scream. Everything that changed happened afterward, the changes in both him and Twilight…were his only options really just a matter of who would have control over him?

No…no, she refused to believe that! “Stop!” she shouted to Twilight. He had come so far, made so much progress…she couldn't let that be reset!

Twilight was still gathering her magic around her horn. “Stop, Twilight!” Still nothing, and Twilight's eyes were closed in concentration. “Stop!”

Fluttershy rushed towards Twilight and crashed into her side, tackling her to the ground. The air was knocked out of Twilight, and the magic around her horn sparked out, her concentration lost. “No!” she gasped, her horn swelling with magic as she tried to restart.

Biting her lip, Fluttershy pressed her horn down with her hoof, trying not to yelp or pull away from the hot magic. Twilight flinched and shuddered, her magic sputtering as her horn was pressed into the ground. “I can't let you do this to him!” Fluttershy sobbed.

“It's the only way!” Twilight snapped, her magic flaring. Fluttershy still refused to budge.

“Um, it's…it's a little too late, anyway,” Rainbow said. Both of them looked up, and she pointed to Discord, who was pressing his fingers together to snap.

All eyes were on Discord as he snapped his fingers, magic rushing out of him. Every creature held their breath, watching and waiting for whatever would happen.

The air around Queen Chrysalis exploded in a ball of pink fire. The changeling queen shrieked, clearly surprised, and fell to the ground in front of their shield. By the time she reached the ground, before she could even be burnt, the flames transformed into vines covered with large, pink flowers. Roots dug into the ground, and the queen was tightly held in place.

“No!” she shrieked, twisting every which way. “Someling, tear me free and capture—!” One of the vines wrapped around her muzzle and squeezed it shut, reducing her shouting to muffled growling and hissing. Another wrapped around her horn, flowers blooming on it every time she tried to use her magic.

Before the changeling army could react, even more vines, all covered in multicolored flowers, burst from the ground, grabbing and pinning down anything they could grab. Many hissed in surprise and took to the air. But Discord snapped his fingers again, creating gigantic sheets of fly paper that fluttered in the wind and snagged them all.

There were growls, hisses, and angry chittering from all around them as the army tried to break itself free. Discord set his face in determination and took a step forward, his dragon foot creating a loud booming sound as it slammed to the ground. The whole army went silent, staring at him with wide eyes.

“You thought you could control me?” he said, his eyes focused on Chrysalis, though his voice was loud enough for all to hear. “You thought that I was just another drone to command, a pawn to move forward on your chessboard?”

He threw his arms outward, gesturing at the fallen army. “Well, you thought wrong!” he said. “I am not a tool to be…to be used by anyone who wants to! I'm Discord, the master of chaos, the spirit of disharmony, and…”

He glanced back over his shoulder, his eyes locking with Fluttershy's. He gave her a soft, warm smile. “…and a friend to Fluttershy and the Elements,” he said, his tone much gentler now.

With that said he turned around a clasped his hands together. “Now, if you’ve all gotten that particular lesson good and stuck in your heads like a fly in honey…” The analogy made several changelings growl and writhe around, but Discord ignored them. Instead, he snapped his fingers and summoned a bugle, which he then blew into.

The sound of a foghorn echoed through the battlefield…and with magic, several legions of Canterlot's army appeared, looking quite confused. After several moments of confused gasping and shouting, though, some captains seemed to realize where exactly they were. They quickly barked orders, gesturing to all the changelings. The army rushed forward, keeping their weapons and magic focused on each trapped changeling until something came along to place a metal clamp on their horn, much like the one Twilight had been wearing for the last several months.

Chrysalis hissed and writhed as her army slowly lost their magic and were placed in hoofcuffs, one by one. Eventually, a captain approached her with an extra-large metal clamp, the perfect size for her long, twisted horn. Discord snapped his fingers, and the vine on her horn slithered down to her neck, pressing her head down against the ground.

Her horn glowed brightly, and green flames flared around her, changing her into shapes that were horrifying and large or small and agile. But no matter her form, the vines kept pressing her down, limbs pressed to her sides and mouth clamped shut. Eventually, she tried transforming into Celestia…and the guard quickly snapped the metal clamp in place. Her form flickered and faded, and soon she looked like her true self again.

Fluttershy watched in amazement as each changeling was arrested and led away, the process going even more quickly as allied changelings showed up to help. “Did…did we do it?” she said, a bit unsure. “Did we win?”

“I'd say we did,” Applejack said with a nod, adjusting the hat on her head.

“And we couldn't have done it without Discord!” Rainbow said, flying over and giving the draconequus a playful punch on the shoulder. “Now that's one thing I never thought I'd say.”

“She's right, Discord,” Fluttershy said, flying up and wrapping him in a hug. “You saved the day…you saved us. You're a hero, Discord!”

The others all gave cheers of agreement, the soap bubble shield popping as they all enveloped Discord in a group hug. Fluttershy felt him hug her, Rainbow, and Pinkie back, as they were the closest…and for a moment, things felt right. It felt just like old times, before…

She blinked and scanned the area around them, remembering Twilight had been with them. After a few moments, she saw that the alicorn had wandered away from the group, sitting near the edge of the cliff with her head hung low, facing away from them.

“Discord, girls,” she said quietly, nodding in her direction. They all stopped hugging, Discord setting the three ponies he was holding down as they all looked at Twilight. A few of them scuffed a hoof against the ground, and they all exchanged awkward glances.

“You…reckon we should talk to her?” Applejack said.

“Probably,” Rarity said. “But, after what she just tried…I mean, I know I was too shocked to do anything, but…I don't know if I could…” A few others mumbled in agreement, looking guiltily down at the ground.

“…I can see if she wants to talk,” Fluttershy said, trying to hold her head high and keep her wings from shaking.

“We'll be right behind you,” Applejack said. The others nodded, even Discord, who was already starting to step closer to Twilight.

After a deep breath, and with some hesitation, Fluttershy approached. Her friends followed, but stopped a short distance away…except for Discord, who only stood a foot away. She patted his side once as he clenched and unclenched his fists, then took the last few steps.

“…Twilight,” she murmured.

The alicorn's ear twitched. “…Fluttershy,” she responded. “How's your hoof?”

Fluttershy blinked, then glanced down at her forehoof. An angry red mark still sat there, thanks to the magic. “…it'll heal,” she said. She could barely even feel it at the moment, anyway. She paused to gather her thoughts. “…what are you thinking about?”

Twilight glanced at her. “Just…realizing some things,” she said. “I…Discord, could I talk to you, too?” Discord narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “I won't try anything, I promise. But I think that you deserve to hear this, too.”

Though still eyeing her with distrust, Discord stepped a bit closer, sticking close to Fluttershy's side. Twilight mumbled a thanks and looked down, hesitating for a few moments.

“…I still haven't changed,” she finally said sadly. “No matter how much I try to convince myself that I have, no matter how many hours I put into trying to find a cure for him…I'm still the same unicorn who chose dark magic over the magic of friendship."

She sighed, taking her element off of her head. “That's why this wouldn't work,” she said. “I had given up on friendship…like the first time we faced Discord.” She turned to the others with a tight grin, tears welling in her eyes. “Isn't it funny? By using that spell on him, he won. I became exactly the kind of pony he wanted me to turn into.”

Discord crossed his arms. “You were meant to…to be a depressed, hopeless wreck, not a…a villain,” he said. “But yes, I win and you lose. Not that it, it, it…actually fixes anything.” He swallowed, and Fluttershy patted his side.

Twilight hung her head. “…I know,” she said. “But…I want to start. Helping, I mean. Not just with knowledge and magic, but with the magic of friendship. And I might have…one idea.”

She wiped the tears out of her eyes, staring long and hard at the element in her hooves. After several moments of hesitation, she flew up and placed the crown on Discord's head. “There,” she said. “I know that you're Disharmony, but…I think you deserve this Element more than I do.”

He stared at her with wide eyes. He reached up and tapped the crown, as though trying to confirm it was really, really there. “…you know I probably can't use this, right?” he said. “I mean, even if you think that, Harmony might not…”

“Maybe," she said. “Still, I…want you to keep it. Even if it won't work…it's still better than me having it.” She slowly landed on the ground, her wings folding to her sides. “And…even if it doesn't, you're more of a hero than I am. And so is Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy and Discord both blinked, and everyone stared at Twilight with wide eyes. “You've all done…so much without needing me,” Twilight said. “All of you are better ponies than I turned out to be…” She sniffed and lowered her head enough that a shadow was cast over her eyes. But they could still see a few of her tears fall onto the ground.

Fluttershy almost stepped forward to hug her. She even saw Pinkie twitch out of the corner of her eye as the rest of them approached. Still, even as they drew closer and looked sadly at Twilight, no one stepped forward to fully comfort her. “…I'm sorry things had to be this way, Twilight,” Fluttershy mumbled sadly.

The others mumbled the same sentiment. Twilight sniffed, wiped at her eyes, and raised her head. “So am I,” she croaked. “I truly am.”

Hoofsteps approached, and they turned to see a small group of frazzled guards, the one in front holding a metal horn clamp. Twilight sighed heavily. “I hope…all of you do well. In everything. I'm sorry I couldn't be better,” she said, turning and approaching the guards. She stopped in front of them and lowered her head, allowing them to slide the clamp onto her horn.

She was escorted away, towards their carriage, and they just…watched as she left, none of them saying a word. None of them knew what to say.

It was Rainbow who finally coughed into her hoof long after Twilight had been taken away. “So, uh…anyone else want to see if there's any more fighting going on anywhere else?” she said, gesturing towards the hive.

Applejack adjusted her hat. “I suppose it is our job to help wherever we can,” she said. They moved carefully as a group, looking for anything they could offer assistance in.

As they walked, Fluttershy glanced up at Discord. He was adjusting the crown on his head, occasionally tapping it in disbelief. “…not a trick?” he said.

“I don't think so,” Fluttershy answered. “…as you said, Harmony might not agree. And ponies might question it. But…”

She reached over and placed her wing against his lower back. “I'd be glad to be on the same team as you.”

He glanced down at her and smiled warmly. She returned a shy smile, a light blush covering her face, and looked away. Ahead of them, the last of Chrysalis's army was being captured, and the free changeling hive sparkled in the warm sunlight.

Update

“I hate this,” Discord grumbled as Starlight gently probed at his head with her magic.

“I know,” Fluttershy tried to console him. Starlight went about her work as usual—unless Thorax noted genuine pain or distress from Discord, she tended to block out the draconequus's whining. “But Chrysalis and Twilight both just tried to control you…I just want to be sure that you're okay.”

About two days had passed since the incident—one to help clean up any and all loose ends and receive recognition as heroes again, and another simply spent resting after the ordeal. And though Discord seemed perfectly fine, Fluttershy still worried, and convinced him to go through an examination from Starlight.

Starlight herself rose an eyebrow every so often at the results she was getting, mumbling to herself as she took notes. It wasn't long before she pulled her magic away from Discord, and was just examining her written results with a frown.

“Give it to me straight, Doc,” Discord said. “How bad is it?”

“It's…unexpected,” Starlight said. “I couldn't have predicted…”

Oh, no. “Did…did Chrysalis strengthen the spell?” Fluttershy asked, worriedly wringing her mane.

“Actually…I think the spell is weaker after Queen Chrysalis's attempt,” Starlight said, narrowing her eyes at the notes in front of her.

Fluttershy, Discord, and Thorax all looked at her with wide eyes. “Wait…wait wait wait,” Discord said, closing his eyes and holding up his hands. “…how?”

“Weeell…” Starlight said, waving a hoof in the air. “It doesn't look like she was careful when trying to take over it. She really just used an amped-up hypnosis spell and hoped that would do the trick. But her magic broke some of Twilight's more…fine-tuned components of the spell.”

“So…she broke parts of it when trying to hijack it?” Fluttershy asked for confirmation. Starlight nodded.

“Mostly it was the pieces without bridge components connecting them, or those that were already being worn down,” she said. “And she might have disabled a hoofful of the defense spells, too…though that could have been intentional on her part, actually…” She mumbled to herself, grabbing a notebook and jotting a few quick notes.

“So, Discord’s…free?” Fluttershy said hopefully.

Starlight looked up, a sheepish look on her face. “Well…the spell is still there,” she said. “But it is a lot more broken. Plus, Discord's resistance to her attempt to control him has strained the spell components that didn't break.”

“Huh,” Fluttershy said, looking up at Discord. He still seemed shell-shocked by this news, staring ahead with his mouth open. But his eyes weren't as glazed over, and they were so vibrantly colorful and alive… “…how much of the spell is left?”

“Not much, but it's some of the oldest stuff. The most entwined of it,” Starlight said. “Parts that will take quite a bit of magic to unravel them…”

She scowled. “It could take a lifetime to clean it up. But if things keep progressing this way, we might be able to get rid of all of it. Even so, I'd say…Discord is pretty much out of the woods. His actions should be his own, he should be able to think clearly, he might even be able to refuse orders…”

“I'm free?” Discord said breathlessly. “Relatively?”

“That's amazing!” Thorax cheered, beaming widely. His smile was only rivaled by Fluttershy's, who felt lighter than air from the relief flooding her chest.

“Don't get too excited,” Starlight warned them. “He still has a long way to go.” But even with that reminder, their mood couldn't be dampened. Even Starlight had to smile, though she sighed and shook her head.

“I think this deserves a celebration,” Fluttershy said. “What if we went to Sugarcube Corner? All four of us?”

Discord immediately agreed, as did Thorax after a moment of thought. Starlight hesitated for a moment before they all convinced her to tag along, and they left the library as a group.

Pinkie was waiting for them with their favorite cupcakes already. “My Pinkie Sense told me there would be very good news soon, so I made the favorite desserts of everyone in town to be ready!” she explained as she slid the platter onto their table. “And you all have some pretty happy smiles. So, what happened?”

Discord smirked, grabbing everyone's cupcakes and juggling them before letting go and allowing them to float on a cloud of purple, sparkling mist. “I am relatively free of the spell Twilight put on me,” he boasted with a hand on his chest.

Pinkie blinked, staring at him blankly…before squeeing, her smile stretching all the way to her eyes. “That's fantastic!” she cheered, bouncing up into the air with a burst of confetti. “And you know what this calls for?”

“A party?” Fluttershy guessed.

“Yep! I'm going to start planning right away!” With that, Pinkie dove behind the counter, into a trapdoor, and disappeared.

“…she's an…interesting pony,” Starlight said, biting into her dessert. Her eyes widened, and she smiled. “And a good baker.”

The others made noises of agreement, and they all dug into their cupcakes. When they had finished, they left the shop and parted ways, Starlight and Thorax heading to the library while Fluttershy and Discord went to her cottage.

As soon as they were inside, Fluttershy tapped a hoof against the ground. “So.” Discord's attention snapped over to her. “With the spell wearing off, you…you can have your life back. Go wherever you want, do whatever you want…”

She swallowed, raising her gaze to look him in the eye. “I just…I suppose I'm asking what it is you want to do.”

She had expected him to mull over it, to think for a bit before he could say. She wasn't expecting his immediate response. “I want to stay here, with you.”

Fluttershy felt her face start to heat up, and she brushed her mane in front of her face to hide her growing blush. “You…you're sure?” she asked. “There must be plenty of exciting places you can live. You don't have to feel tied down here…”

“I'm not!” He took a deep breath. “Fluttershy…there's something important I want to tell you. Something I've been waiting to say until the spell was gone, so you know that it's my own words. Not the spell's, and not Twilight's.”

Fluttershy's breath caught in her throat, her heart skipping a beat as her eyes widened. Discord swallowed, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.

“Shy, I…I love you,” he said, jaw and voice trembling. Tiny shivers traveled along his shoulders and spine. “I can't tell you how long, but I know that I do. I've known for a while. I j-just…c-couldn't tell you. N-Not with her spell on me.”

Fluttershy quickly blinked away the tears in the corners of her eyes. “Oh, Discord…”

He reached up to brush his shaking thumb against her cheek, brow creased with worry. She leaned forward, wrapping both of her forelegs and wings around him, burrowing her muzzle into his chest.

“I love you, too, Discord,” she confessed, blood rushing in her ears. “I have for a while. I just…I couldn't tell you, because I was scared I might hurt you.”

“You? Hurt? Me?” Discord laughed, and he slowly tilted her head to peer up at him. “Fluttershy, you're too good of a pony to hurt anyone.”

She smiled up at him. “…thank you,” she said. “But, I really was worried. That I might…change you, or control you. Even just by accident…”

“Ah.” He began to stroke his claws through her mane. “…is that why you tried to get Starlight to foalsit me a while back?”

She pursed her lips and sheepishly nodded. His shaking fingers wormed deeper into her mane, patting the top of her head, right between her ears. “…I'm glad I convinced you to take me back.”

“…I'm glad, too,” she admitted. “And I'm…I'm so, so happy that you're healing, Discord. I'm happier than words can describe.”

He beamed down at her, his eyes and smile so bright and clear that she suddenly felt lighter than air. “May…may I kiss you?” she asked shyly.

He blinked, then nodded, grin twitching a little wider. She planted her forehooves against his chest, leaning upwards with puckered lips…but hesitated a hair's breadth away from him. A small part of her, a disbelieving part, insisted that she not push Discord to do things like this.

Discord seemed to notice her hesitation, and he gave her a soft, warm look. He closed the distance between them, gently pressing his lips against hers. Her eyes widened in surprise for a moment before they slowly slid closed, and she pressed back, smiling as she returned the pressure of the kiss.

After only a few seconds, she felt something like lightning pass between them. They both jolted and pulled back, eyes wide, and Fluttershy saw the tail end of pink lightning flicker between Discord's horns. “Was…was that magic?” she said in amazement.

“…I think so,” Discord said, blinking slowly. “Wow, that's…that's a real rush.” He shook his head, then tilted it. “A good rush, though…it feels like my head's been unfogged.”

“It does!?” Fluttershy asked, eyes sparkling. “Does that mean the spell is wearing off a bit? I wonder why…”

He blinked a few times, grimacing. “Fog’s not gone for long…but I felt pretty clear for a moment.” He wrapped his tail around her, pulling her close. “Starlight could probably give us the exact details, probably involving something sappy like the magic of love. But honestly, I'm just going to use that as an excuse to pepper you with kisses even more.”

He bent his neck, brushing his lips against her cheek. She smiled, pecking his nose before he could pull away. She wrapped her wings around him, and they continued to exchange soft kisses.

“You're sure you want to be with me?” she asked, kissing his eyelid.

“The kisses aren't answer enough?” he teased. “Yes, I want to be with you, Fluttershy. I love you, you, you…silly pegasus.”

His wrist twitched, and he booped her nose, a few spasms traveling along his arm. “…better question—are you sure you want to be with me?” He frowned, and she paused in her kissing. “I'm…broken.”

“No, you're not,” she said sternly, cupping his face in her hooves. “You were hurt by Twilight and held back, but you are not broken. You are a whole draconequus, and you are healing. Even if progress is slow, it's still progress.

“I love you, Discord. And I won't leave your side.”

Discord stared at her for several moments before sniffing loudly, tears gushing from his eyes. “Shhyyyyy…” he whined.

Fluttershy gave him a tight hug, which he shakily returned. He sniffed loudly every few seconds, and she decided to politely ignore the tears that were spilling into her mane.

After a few minutes of letting it all out, he pulled back, blinking away tears. She reached up to wipe them away, and he grinned at her as though he were very suave and charming and hadn't just soaked her in tears and snot because she had touched his heart.

“So,” he said, a flicker of magic getting rid of the puffiness of his eyes. “On the subject of…healing. Is there anything you wanted to do that you, or we, couldn't before?”

“Other than kissing?” she giggled, making his smile even wider. “I…well, maybe going on dates would be nice. Public, romantic ones, where we can just go and have fun together?”

“…that sounds fantastic,” he said, tail twitching in a small wag. “Say, isn't there something big coming up…?”

“Oh, the Grand Galloping Gala!” she exclaimed, eyes lighting up as she remembered. “Yes, that's in a few weeks…and I believe they're sending out invitations soon.”

Her smile became a little sad. “I…hope it'll go better than last time…”

“It will,” he assured her, a hand on her shoulder. “We'll…dance until we can't breathe, steal away to corners to steal kisses, and…I'll steal all of their snacks.”

She giggled. “You make it all sound very fun.”

“And…I already have the perfect formalwear,” he continued with a grin, snapping his fingers to summon the suit-dress combo Rarity had made for him. “So, then… is it a date?”

She beamed at him, placing her hoof in his hand. “It is,” she said. She slowly leaned up to tap her nose against his. A purr rumbled through his throat, and he shifted his muzzle to brush his lips against hers.

Fluttershy felt another spark between the two of them, and she saw how Discord's eyes seemed to glow at that moment. She slowly let her eyes slide closed, returning the kiss's pressure. Right now, their future looked so bright, and it was hard to imagine being any happier than this.

System Error

Fluttershy hummed to herself as she cooked some scrambled eggs in a skillet. The sun's first rays were barely peeking over the horizon, but she had always been an early riser. After all, there was so much to do!

Once the eggs were ready, she divided them up onto two plates and set them both on the table. Then she started laying out the toppings for them—shredded cheese, ketchup, hot sauce, sour cream, whipped cream, and chocolate syrup. Nodding in satisfaction, she unfurled her wings and flew upstairs, towards the bedroom across from hers.

“Discord?” she said, rapping gently on the door. “Breakfast is ready.” There was no response. Slowly, she placed a hoof on the handle and opened the door enough to peek inside.

This room had once been a guest bedroom, often used by the crusaders whenever she foalsat them. Now, it was completely Discord's, with touches of chaos they had created together to make him more comfortable. Each of the walls was painted a different, bright color, the window curtains were mismatched, and the hoofmade quilt on his bed clashed with its plaid pillowcases and polka dot bedsheet.

The chaotic draconequus was currently lying prone on the bed on top of the quilt, completely straight but for one arm tucked underneath the pillow his head rested on. His eyes were half-lidded and unfocused, but they opened up and became clearer once she was in his field of vision.

“Fluttershy,” he said, sitting up on the bed’s edge. Her lips wobbled. They were still working on him being able to easily greet her without just her name…at least it looked like he had rested in the bed tonight, instead of just…waiting.

“Good morning, Discord,” she said, forcing a smile onto her face. “Did you sleep well last night?”

He shrugged, and she tried not to let her face fall. A shrug could mean anything—he slept so deeply he couldn't remember falling asleep, the spell was fogging his memory of sleeping, or he didn't sleep at all and the spell kept him from asking for help. She was trying not to baby him too much by tucking him into bed, but he always seemed better rested when she helped him relax and get to sleep…

“Breakfast is ready, unless you want to sleep in,” she said, pushing the thoughts away for now. She'd ask Discord what he wanted later, when it was closer to evening. “I made scrambled eggs.”

“Mm,” he said, licking his lips and standing up. She took his paw, and together they walked downstairs and to the kitchen. She took a seat in her chair and waited as he sat in his. He did so slowly, his movements very jerky, and his back still ramrod straight, his head facing forward.

She picked up her fork and took a slow bite of her eggs, watching Discord carefully. His fingers twitched, his hand moving jerkily forward and grabbing his fork. It took several more minutes, but he finally used the fork to move a bite of eggs into his mouth.

Her shoulders relaxed as his eyes became a little clearer. From here, eating the rest of his plate should be easy for him. The first bite on his own was usually the hardest. “Do you want anything on your eggs?” she asked, adding ketchup and cheese on top of hers.

His eyes flicked over the selection of toppings as he shoveled eggs into his mouth. It was a messy affair, with him swallowing anything that got into his mouth, and anything that didn't dribbling back down onto his plate. His claw twitched, almost moving towards the chocolate syrup, but quickly fell back to his side.

He continued to eat his eggs plain, with his claw occasionally twitching towards one of the toppings. “…do you want chocolate syrup on your eggs?” she asked. He shrugged and continued eating, and she lowered her head to hide how she bit her lip.

He cleaned his entire plate of eggs, while she finished her own slowly. She gathered up both their plates and started to wash them in the sink. “So…how was your breakfast?” she asked.

“The eggs were savory,” he said in a monotone voice.

“But…did you like them?” she asked. She would do this every so often—try to press him for his opinion, rather than a statement of facts.

His eyes fogged over for a few moments before they cleared and he said, “It was well-cooked.”

…that was a little closer to a complimentary opinion, right? She smiled and patted his arm. “Thank you,” she said. “Now…is there anything you'd like to do today after all the animals are fed?”

It was hard to tell if he was actually thinking about what he wanted, but she gave him some time to do so, preparing bowls of food for all of her animal friends. Just after she had set them outside in the backyard, a knock came from her front door.

“Huh,” she said, setting down her bowl of sliced carrots. “I wasn't expecting anyone to come by today…” She headed to the door and opened it.

Rainbow Dash beamed, throwing her wings around her in a hug. “Fluttershy!” she said. “How are you doing?”

“I'm doing pretty well…and so is Discord,” she said. “What brings you here so early, though?”

Rainbow's grin tightened a little. “Well…I thought it might be nice to swing by and see you before I meet up with the others for the…” She coughed. “…once-a-moon visit.”

“…ah,” Fluttershy said. Every moon, the remaining Elements of Harmony would go visit Twilight in Canterlot, where she was imprisoned. All of the Elements but one, that was. “I'm still not going,” she said with a stubborn shake of her head as Rainbow started to open her mouth.

Rainbow groaned. “Fluttershy…you can't just keep hiding out here and pretending Twilight doesn’t exist anymore,” she said. “You know what would feel better? Confronting her and telling her everything you think about what she did.” She smacked one hoof into the other.

“I'm not hiding,” Fluttershy said, placing some extra food bowls around the living room. Rainbow stepped inside, glancing around. “I just…have much more important things here to take care of.”

“Fluttershy, you already set out enough food for a whole day,” Rainbow said with a roll of her eyes. “I think your animals will survive without you if you take a trip to Canterlot.”

“It's…not just the animals I'm worried about,” she said. Rainbow blinked, but her eyes quickly dawned with realization.

Fluttershy bit her lip, glancing back at Discord. He was still sitting at the table, staring blankly at the two of them. “…I don't want to just leave Discord on his own for so long,” she said. Twilight had just sent him to Celestia-knew-where so many times, alone, when she didn't have use for his magic…she hated the idea of just leaving. It felt like abandoning him.

He blinked, his head tilting the slightest bit. “…and I don't want to take him to see Twilight,” she continued. “Not unless he wants to.” She waited to see if Discord would answer, but he was still silent.

Rainbow looked back and forth between the two of them. “…you know, I could hang out here with Discord, and you could go to see Twilight,” she suggested.

Fluttershy froze in place. She swallowed and glanced at Discord. A chill went down her spine, and she looked at the floor. “I…”

Rainbow placed a hoof on her shoulder. “Shy?” she said quietly. “The rest of us…we're a little worried about you. I mean, you've been spending more and more time out here with just Discord, and…” She took a deep breath, pausing for a few seconds before continuing. “I just…seeing Twilight might help.”

“I don't think so,” Fluttershy said, feeling a scowl form on her muzzle. Her eyes started to scrunch up, and it took great effort for her to not tear up.

“But if you go, you can tell Twilight how you've been feeling,” Rainbow said. “…I know you're upset with her. All of us are. But, seeing her and talking to her…” She bit her lip. “It…helps.”

Fluttershy continued to stare at the ground for a long time. Just thinking about Twilight made her upset, hurt, angry…but maybe Rainbow had a point. Bottling things up like this wasn't healthy.

“I…can try to visit just this once,” she said quietly. Rainbow grinned widely, and Discord's pupils widened. “But I have conditions,” she quickly said, holding up a hoof.

“I know, I know, watch over Discord,” Rainbow said with a nod, draping a wing over her back and guiding her towards the door.

Fluttershy shook her head and stepped out from under her wing. “It's not just watching him,” she said. “I have a few things you need to keep in mind.”

Rainbow rose an eyebrow, folding her wings against her sides. “First, please don't tell Discord to do anything, unless it's to keep him safe,” Fluttershy said. “Put things in the form of questions, so that he can choose what he wants to do.”

She turned to face Discord. “What do you think of the weather today?”

He blinked, turning his head to glance out the window. “It's mostly sunny, with about ten percent cloud cover,” he said. He closed his eyes and continued, “Wind speed is three miles per hour. There's going to be a thunderstorm tonight.”

Her ears drooped when he made no further comment. “…thank you, Discord,” she said. He opened his eyes and nodded.

“So…only ask questions, don't give orders,” Rainbow said. “Is that it?”

“Well, that's the most important, but it's not the only thing,” Fluttershy said. “If you could, it'd be nice if you would hold a conversation with Discord…there are a few board games he enjoys, if he's having an off day with talking.” She flew over to her bookshelf and grabbed a stack of games, plopping them onto the living room table.

“I was thinking about having peanut butter and pickle sandwiches for lunch today, but you should ask Discord if he wants anything else,” she continued, ignoring the disgusted face Rainbow was making. “Still, having something a little out of the ordinary is probably good for him. Like chocolate and hot sauce on a daisy sandwich, or a hayburger with everything on it…”

“Ugh…I'll make lunch when lunchtime comes around, don't worry,” Rainbow said, looking even less enthused at the other odd food ideas that were presented. “What else?”

“If I don't make it back until evening, the same rules apply to dinner,” she says. “But oh, please try to not use the exact same thing you made for lunch. There are some leftovers in the fridge, like the pot of stew we've been working through…”

“Fluttershy, we're usually done and back way before dinnertime…”

“I know, but just in case!” Fluttershy said. “Sometimes we like to go on an evening walk after supper, but you should ask him what he feels like. Whenever he's ready for bed, his room is upstairs and opposite mine.”

Rainbow nodded along, scuffing her hoof impatiently on the ground. “Is that it? I can take care of all that, but is there anything else?” Fluttershy thought for a moment, then shook her head. Rainbow's ears perked up, and she disappeared in a rainbow blur, dropping Fluttershy's saddlebags on top of her back.

“I have things handled here, don't worry!” she boasted. “Now hurry! The train could leave any minute!” She made a small shoving motion with her hooves.

Fluttershy frowned and rose an eyebrow. Rainbow blinked, then sighed, rolling her eyes. “Could you please go to the train station, if that's what you want?” she said in an exaggerated monotone voice.

It wasn't perfect, but it was better. Fluttershy smiled and nodded, satisfied, then walked over to Discord and wrapped her forelegs around him. “I'll be back in a few hours,” she said, rubbing his back. “You won't give Rainbow too much trouble, will you?”

“…heh heh,” he chuckled quietly under his breath, his shoulders shaking just the slightest bit. For a brief moment, she could swear she saw a mischievous smirk on his face.

She beamed, absolutely delighted, and tightened the hug for just a moment before pulling away. She waved goodbye to him and Rainbow, then headed out the front door and trotted to the train station. Though she was still filled with trepidation, she wanted to trust Rainbow’s word that this might be able to help her.

As soon as the front door was closed, Rainbow turned to Discord. “…so,” she said. “What do you and Fluttershy do for fun all day?”

Discord blinked slowly. He recalled memories spent in this cottage with Fluttershy without too much trouble, memories where he was almost…happy. Not worried about—a burst of static throbbing echoed through his skull, just as it did whenever he thought too hard about the static sitting in his skull…

His train of thought snapped back to Rainbow and her question. “…tea parties,” he said as she looked expectantly at him. Those made Fluttershy happy. “Board games. Cloud watching.” There were hundreds of other little things he and Fluttershy did together that at least made her happy, but it was easier to be concise and brief. Less risk of rambling on too much and…he stopped his train of thought before the static decided to do it for him.

Rainbow stared at him for a few seconds, then sighed. “Whelp…at least Shy got out the board games,” she said, shuffling through the stack. “How about this one?”

She held up one of the first games—Monopony. Discord remembered him and Fluttershy goofing off, disregarding rules and doing their own thing…he shrugged in response to Rainbow’s question.

“This one it is!” she said, tossing the box onto the table in front of them. “I hope you’re ready to get crushed!”

Even with the hint of static humming in his mind, he felt…something. A surge of confidence, enough that his lips briefly twitched into a smug smirk. It's on.

Fluttershy fidgeted as the train came closer and closer to Canterlot. Every so often, she would glance out the window, wondering if it would be better for her to fly home, instead of doing…this.

The others had been shocked but pleased when she showed up at the train station. At first, they had spent some time talking and catching up…but as the train started moving further and further away from Ponyville, everypony became quiet, the mood turning somber.

She bit her lip, wondering for a final time if it was too late to head back home, when the train screeched to a halt. Canterlot's tall, fancy buildings rose above them just outside the train station. The four of them gathered up what few things they had and disembarked.

“…um,” Fluttershy said as the others started walking down the streets, their ears drooping. “Where…is Twilight, actually…?”

A few nearby ponies whipped their heads to stare at her, some strangers flinching or scowling at the name. Fluttershy squeaked, hiding her face behind her mane to avoid the attention suddenly drawn to her.

Applejack placed a reassuring hoof on her shoulder. “It's okay, sugarcube,” she said. “Ponies are just a little…tense about what happened.” She glared at some of the ponies staring at them, who suddenly found much more interesting things to be doing and looking at.

“She's being held in the castle, darling,” Rarity explained. “Not in the normal dungeons, of course, but in a…specialized holding area. I…you'll understand when we get there.”

Fluttershy nodded in understanding, and the four of them walked the rest of the way in silence. They soon reached Canterlot Castle, and the guards quickly allowed them in. Applejack took charge, guiding them down the hallways, into deeper and darker parts than Fluttershy ever remembered going in.

They hadn't quite reached any of the secret tunnels before Fluttershy spotted a familiar face, one that made her eyes light up. “Spike!” she cried, flying forward and pulling him into a hug.

“Whoa, hey!” he said, squirming for a moment. “Wait…Fluttershy?”

“Oh…sorry, Spike,” she said, letting go and taking a few steps back. “I was just…excited to meet you.” It had been a few moons, after all.

He blinked, but gave a quick smile. “it's good to see you, too.” His smile fell, and he addressed the whole group. “Princess Celestia is already inside for her scheduled visit. We'll have to wait a couple of minutes.”

The other three nodded in understanding. Fluttershy looked around, noticing that Spike was by himself. “Did you…come here alone?” she asked quietly.

“Yeah…Shining Armor came with me the first few times,” he said, scuffing a foot against the ground. “But we've done it enough I know the train line pretty well, so he trusts me enough to go alone and come back. …I think seeing Twilight like this was hard for him.”

Her heart panged. “…how, um. How is it, living in the Crystal Empire?”

“It's great up there!” Spike said, looking back up and smiling. “Everyone treats me like a hero, there are lots of tasty gems and crystals everywhere, and Cadance and Shining sometimes play O&O with me in the evenings.” Still, his smile wasn't quite reaching his eyes.

“…is there something else?” she asked gently. He sighed, ear spikes drooping.

“I miss Ponyville," he admitted, rubbing at his arm. “And seeing all of you every day. And playing with Big Mac…” He sighed, closing his eyes. “…I miss Twilight.”

“I…” She paused. She missed Twilight, too—the Twilight who had been her friend, before she did horrible things to Discord. But the words stuck in her throat, blocked by all the very clear memories of the pony Twilight was the last she had seen her.

“…I understand,” she said instead. Spike wrapped his arms around himself and looked away.

The others sat next to them, and they all waited in silence. Soon, a loud click came from the door. One of the guards placed their badge against the lock, and it fully clicked open, the other guard opening the door.

Princess Celestia emerged, her wings drooping and her head hung low. With a heavy sigh, she glanced up at the group of them. “I hope…your visit with her is better than mine,” she said. “My…former pupil still has very few words to say to me.”

She walked down the hall and back to the castle proper, slowly sliding into the mask of a royal, her head lifting and wings folding tightly to her sides. Fluttershy watched her for a few moments, her head only turning when she heard the door to Twilight's cell close.

“Apologies,” one of the guards said. “We're going to do a quick sweep of the cell before we can let you in. Regulations, you see.”

“We understand completely,” Rarity assured him. “Security is very important.”

The five of them sat together quietly, the guards watching over them. Fluttershy couldn't help but nervously wring her tail. Her stomach was in knots. Hopefully Rainbow and Discord were having a less anxiety-filled time back at home.

“Uggghh,” Rainbow groaned, throwing her head back. “Discord, would you…please take your turn already?”

Discord blinked, his eyes refocusing. Ah, yes…they were still in the middle of their Monopony game. And Rainbow’s words weren't a direct order, but they did make it easier for him to grab the dice and roll them.

A five and a six. With a flick of his tail, his top hat moved forward eleven spaces, landing on a green square. Rainbow groaned again. “You gonna purchase that?”

Discord shrugged, but counted up his stack of money and handed it over to her. She scowled and handed him the deed card…which he added to his considerable collection.

“How are you beating me when you can barely even focus!?” she said. He just shrugged…after all, he kept forgetting how he was winning…mostly because the static made him complacent and forgetful every few minutes.

“Whatever,” she huffed, snatching the dice and rolling them herself. Seven spaces. She carefully moved her piece along…landing right on one of his properties with a house. “You’ve gotta be kidding me!”

Discord briefly smirked again as she forked over a good stack of cash. Rainbow's reactions at losing were much funnier than Fluttershy's…though he did enjoy how much Fluttershy would get happy at either of them doing well…

“Take your turn, please,” Rainbow said, grumbling and laying her head on the table. Discord picked up the dice and rolled.

After about five minutes of waiting, one of the guards removed the pendant from their chest. “That should be enough time,” he said. “Since there's a new member among you, I'll go over the rules again. Don't give any items to her. Any gifts should go through processing, so you should hand them to us now. Don't antagonize her or incite her anger. Don’t enter her side of the visiting cell, and especially do not enter her personal cell. If you ever feel that you are in danger, get the attention of one of the guards, and we'll get you out. You'll have a fifteen-minute window of visitation. Is that clear?”

Everyone else nodded, and after absorbing all of the rules, Fluttershy did, too. The guard was satisfied by this, and tapped his pendant on the lock. There was a matching click after a few seconds, and the door unlocked and opened.

They all entered one at a time, with Fluttershy going last, resisting the urge to cower behind Rarity. Her eyes flicked across the room, taking everything in.

Two guards wearing armor stood on either side of the door, their eyes carefully scanning the room in a much calmer, more practiced way than her own. Changeling stone was embedded through the walls, which Fluttershy remembered had once prevented Discord from using his magic. The girls spread out, and Fluttershy tried to stay very close to Rarity. They were actually in one half of a room, separated from the other by a thick sheet of clear crystal.

She swallowed thickly and raised her head to look at the other half of the room. It was actually quite easy to see through the crystal, even through the crystal door set in the very center. The other side looked…quite a lot like a small study. There was a small desk and chair in the far corner, a few small bookshelves pressed against the wall, a ratty armchair closer to the crystal division…and piles of books scattered throughout. On the far end, there was an open door where she could see into a bedroom piled with even more books.

Twilight Sparkle was currently sitting in the old armchair with a book on her lap, not having looked up once since they entered. Fluttershy's gaze nervously flicked up to her horn. It was somewhat of a relief to see a metal clamp sitting on it, much like the one Celestia had used during her arrest—though she immediately felt guilty for feeling that. Maybe it was a good thing she couldn't use her magic, but losing such a big part of her shouldn't be celebrated…right?

“…Twilight?” Applejack said, coughing into her hoof. “It's us.”

“I'm aware,” Twilight responded dryly. Her voice made Fluttershy flinch—she hadn’t heard that voice in moons. “You all come every moon, right after Celestia comes in for her weekly visit. My parents and Shining have stopped coming, so that just leaves either you or the princess.”

She sighed, slowly raising her head. “Now, if you don't mind, I'm actually researching—” She paused when she saw Fluttershy, her eyes locking on her. “Oh. You.”

Fluttershy nodded, her knees shaking. “H-Hi, Twilight…”

Twilight looked at her critically for a long few moments. “So you're taking Rainbow's place this time, I see,” she said. “Too scared to come before, then?”

Fluttershy was scared, especially right now, but she refused to hide this time. This wasn't just about her. “I’ve also been busy,” she said. “Trying to fix what you did.”

“Still trying to help Discord?” Twilight said, before shaking her head with a sigh. “Oh, Fluttershy…it's impossible for you to do anything for him.”

Her heart dropped to her stomach. “What…what do you mean?”

“Oh, maybe Discord has a chance,” Twilight said, waving a hoof in the air. “But coddling him and talking to him politely isn't going to do a thing. That spell on him took years of trial and error, effort, and magic, with some of the most careful casting I've ever done. The only thing that's going to give him a chance?”

She lifted her book up to show them the cover. It was an expert's guide on counterspells. “Magic,” she said. “Powerful magic, carefully cast. Something only me or one of the other…one of the princesses can do.”

Fluttershy glared at Twilight, her wings shaking. She was still scared, but she was now also furious. “You're wrong,” she said.

Twilight blinked, seemingly stunned. “…oh? And how am I wrong?” she asked, recovering from the shock and raising an eyebrow.

“Discord has been getting better with my help,” Fluttershy said. “Sure, it's long, and slow, but…but that doesn't mean I'm just going to give up on him!” Rarity flinched next to her, but Twilight was all Fluttershy could focus on. “Besides…friendship is magic.”

Twilight stood up, dropping the book on the pile next to the chair. “If the magic of friendship really worked, I wouldn't have to had cast that spell on him,” she said, stepping closer. Even with the crystal wall between them, Fluttershy gulped and took a small step back. “And if it worked, and you were really his friend, he'd be better right now, wouldn’t he?”

“I…” Fluttershy stammered, her wings quivering.

Twilight glared at her, so close that her breath was fogging part of the crystal. “You can't help him,” she said bluntly. “So don't fool yourself into thinking you can. Right now, Discord's best…his only hope is for a powerful wizard to undo the spell.”

She suddenly slammed a hoof against the wall keeping them apart. “You can't do anything!” she shouted. For one terrifying moment, Fluttershy thought she saw a magenta spark on her horn, quickly torn apart and dispersed by the clamp.

Suddenly, two light blue points of light focused on Twilight, and she froze. Fluttershy glanced over her shoulder and saw that both of the guards were in battle-ready positions, both of their horns glowing. “Miss Sparkle, step back from the crystal,” one of them warned.

“…very well,” Twilight said, lowering her hoof and walking back to her armchair. The guards relaxed, though both of their eyes were still on her. “Just…don't get your hopes up too much, Fluttershy. That's all I'm saying.”

With that, she picked up her book again and began to quietly read, the room falling into silence as she ignored them.

“Here's your…ugh…peanut butter and pickle sandwich,” Rainbow said, wrinkling her nose as he placed the plate in front of Discord.

He picked his lips and picked up the sandwich, taking a bite. Completely crushing Rainbow Dash and making her go bankrupt in Monopony (twice) really worked up an appetite, enough that he could eat the chaotic meal without the static fussing too much. The sandwich was okay, even if there were fewer pickles than Fluttershy would have added. At least it still had a good crunch.

Rainbow kept wrinkling her nose, taking a bite of her plain peanut butter sandwich. “How can you even eat that? It looks disgusting.” She winced as he took his next bite, producing a rather loud crunch. Vinegar dripped across his fingers and onto his plate. “And it sounds disgusting.”

He just shrugged. How could he explain how chaos gave him a warm feeling, one the static could press down but never completely take away? How Fluttershy invented recipes like this that seemed to have the perfect hint of chaos he craved?

“Well, plain peanut butter is just as good!” she declared. He almost snorted. That had to be one of the most incorrect statements he had heard today. “Though…ugh, I could use a drink,” she said, struggling to swallow her bite as the peanut butter coated her mouth and throat.

“Hey Discord, could you…please grab a glass of milk?” she asked, gesturing towards the fridge that was closed to him than to her.

He blinked slowly. That wasn't an order…but it was a request easy enough to follow. With a snap of his fingers, a glass of milk (with a few small dribbles of chocolate syrup mixed in) appeared in his hand, and he grasped it.

“Uh, not quite what I meant, but could you pass it over?” Rainbow said, making a ‘gimme' motion with her hooves. He slid it across the table, and she caught it and guzzled it down.

As she set down the empty glass, she stared at him for a few moments, as though considering something. Then, she grinned, her eyes lighting up. “Hey…hey, you have pretty powerful magic, right?” she said. “I mean, surely Twilight's got nothing on you!”

Discord tilted his head. He couldn't remember enough to compare Twilight's magic to his own, but he couldn't not answer. So, he gave a small nod, though he shrugged his shoulders.

“That's perfect!" Rainbow said. She rubbed her front hooves together with a smug grin. “Discord—use your magic to remove the spell Twilight put on you!”

He blinked, then rose his fingers into a snapping position. “Yes, Rainbow Dash,” he said. The pegasus's grin became even more smug and self-satisfied, if that were possible. He slowly pressed his fingers together, summoning up his magic to pry out whatever Twilight had done that was taking residence in his skull—

A headache spiked through his skull. It felt nearly as bad as the time he had wandered into the changeling kingdom without a direct order to. He gasped in pain, his fingers separating an inch and his magic dropping away. The headache faded, turning into a dull, buzzing static that made him not want to think too hard about anything.

Rainbow was staring at him worriedly, tilting her head. You have to do what she said, something told him, with the throbbing promise of a future headache if he didn't comply. He started to press his fingers together again to obey what he had been ordered to do…

A spike of pain went through his skull. He pulled his fingers apart. He couldn't disobey Twilight's friends. He got ready to snap again. A spike of pain went through his skull.

He kept going through the cycle, the headaches and static not letting him think of a way out. His face felt damp and it was hard to see. His ears were buzzing, though he swore there was a loud sound nearby. His throat was starting to ache…though it was nothing compared to the pain in his head. It seemed to get worse, more powerful and insistent with each cycle.

His eyes closed, and his ears pressed against his skull. The pain was so bad, and he couldn't think of anything else but what was happening right here and right now…

Couldn't remove the spell. Had to remove the spell. Couldn't remove the spell. Had to remove the spell…

After several long minutes of silence, the guards informed them that their time was up. The five of them stood up, and Twilight turned and headed back into her personal cell. One guard placed his pendant against the lock, and after a few moments, there was a matching click, unlocking it and allowing all of them to leave. Even the two guards with them left, and the four of them worked on the door's lock, with it soon giving three loud clicks instead of just one.

“…are all visits like that?” Fluttershy timidly asked when they were a good distance away from Twilight's cell.

The other four sighed, looking very sad. “She's…sometimes a little less…intense and quiet,” Pinkie said slowly, her mane deflating. “Today's just a bad day.”

Or she’s upset I came, Fluttershy thought, her ears drooping. She knew how Twilight was doing, but…it didn't make her feel any better like Rainbow said it might. She just felt…sad. And cold. And wanted to get back to Discord, to hug him and tell him that she knew now Twilight could never, ever hurt him again…

They exited the castle and cut through the gardens. The weather was pleasant, and all of the greenery lifted Fluttershy's spirits a little, but the coldness still clung to her. She lifted her head and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. The smell of flowers was strong in the air.

Her home and Discord were just a short train ride away. They'd eat a quick lunch, board the train, and she'd be home safe again…the cold feeling started to loosen in her chest, and she felt a little bit lighter.

She opened her eyes, about to ask where they would eat, but a loud boom! cut her off before she could speak. Her head whipped in the direction of the sound, and they watched as a Sonic Rainboom spread across the sky.

Worry began to take root in her chest. Rainbow was supposed to be watching Discord—why wasn't she with him?

Rainbow screeched to a halt in mid-air above the group, barely avoiding crashing into them all. “Fluttershy!” She hovered in place, holding her hooves out to Fluttershy. “There's no time to explain, but you need to come back home now!” she said. “Discord's freaking out, and I don't know what to do!”

“What!?” Fluttershy said. Her heart began racing, and before she even thought about it, her wings flared out, and she took to the skies as quickly as she could. As usual, she struggled to move quickly, and it felt like she was trying to push through molasses, the air holding her back from Discord.

Thankfully, Rainbow quickly wrapped her forelegs around her from above and took off, back towards Ponyville, leaving another Rainboom in her wake. Fluttershy's eyes watered at the high speeds, but all she could think about was what was happening to Discord, and what she could do about it.

Is he upset I left? Wanting to cause chaos and having trouble doing it? Hungry? Sick? Headache? She racked her brain for any possibility.

Rainbow screeched to a sudden stop at her front door. The first thing Fluttershy realized was that Discord was screaming—a high-pitched keening sound that made her eardrums vibrate, and made it abundantly clear that he was in immense pain.

“What happened!?” she managed to say over his screaming, throwing the door open. Discord was standing in the kitchen with his eyes closed and his mouth open, screaming himself hoarse as his fingers moved into and out of a snapping position. Immediately, she flew to his side and placed a wing on his back.

Rainbow stepped inside, wincing and using her feathers to plug her ears. “I told him to remove Twilight's spell!” she shouted. “And a few seconds later, he just started flipping out!”

“Told him to…” Fluttershy said, before gasping. The spell was hurting him, and badly. She pressed a hoof to his forehead and found that it was warm, uncomfortably so. If she didn't help him soon…

“Discord!” she said, her voice drowned out by his screaming. “Discord, Discord, look, it's me! It's me,” she said desperately. She pressed her hooves against his cheeks, up and down his throat, along his forehead, trying to grab his attention. The only sign he had noticed anything was a flicking of his ear.

She hated being forceful, but she placed a hooftip against his eyelid and started to pry it open. His pupil was cloudy and unfocused, quickly dilating and then contracting when exposed to light. She hovered so her face would be directly in his line of sight.

“Discord, it's me. It's Fluttershy,” she said, using her other hoof to hold his ear up. Slowly, his pupil shifted around, becoming a little less cloudy as it focused itself on her.

“Flu…ttershy,” he gasped, his shoulders heaving.

“Discord, do…do you feel anything?” she asked. He was in pain, but she had to try and distract him. His fingers started to move more slowly as he began to respond, though they still weren't stopping.

“H-Hurts,” he gasped, his voice hoarse. And he was still running hot.

“I know, I know it must,” she said. “…Discord? I want you to ignore what Rainbow told you to do. …that's an order.”

He blinked, his brows furrowing as her words sank in. She hated telling him what to do, but emergencies had to be an exception. She just hoped she hadn't caused another conflict…

Obey Rainbow Dash or Fluttershy? Rainbow Dash or Fluttershy? his thoughts repeated, carried forward by the static. It still wasn't pleasant, but it gave a reprieve from the even worse spikes of pain from when he tried to gather his magic.

…see Twilight to settle this, a thought rose, prompted by the static. She could decide whose order should be obeyed, with them both having equal priority…

No, Discord thought, feeling actual anger. The thought of Twilight always made him feel that way, but it was more than that…and stronger, too, the static not able to push down all of his emotion this time. Fluttershy is…I'm going to listen to Fluttershy over anyone else.

Maybe it was because he was so stubborn, or maybe the static was overworked…but it died down. Fluttershy's word was greater than Rainbow Dash's, and he would ignore Rainbow Dash's orders to get rid of the spell. His fingers, slick with sweat, slipped out of their snapping position, and his whole wrist went limp.

For a moment, the static left him, and his vision fully focused on Fluttershy. She was still gently stroking his cheek, her eyes filled with worry. “…Rainbow Dash's order forgotten,” he told her. His voice was so croaky, every word scratching against his sore throat.

She smiled sadly, feeling at his forehead. “That's…that's good,” she said, her voice shaking. “You…you can rest now. If you need to.”

He was quite tired, now that she brought it up. His eyelids drooped, and his whole body started to go limp. His head still ached, his throat throbbed…and he had permission to rest.

And so, with a sound somewhere between a groan and a sigh, he slumped forward and into Fluttershy's forelegs. His eyes slid closed, and blissful nothingness crashed over him.

Fluttershy was almost knocked down as Discord went limp in her hold, falling unconscious. He was heavy, for being so skinny, and she quickly pumped her wings, gently landing on the ground, sitting and positioning Discord's head in her lap.

She gently ran a hoof across her cheek. His breathing, though ragged, was even, and his 'fever' was slowly dying down. He'd be fine. He'd be fine.

But no matter how much she told herself that, she couldn't get rid of the small doubt in the back of her mind, or the swirl of mixed emotions.

“Fluttershy…” Rainbow said, placing a hoof on her shoulder.

Fluttershy whipped around, tears pouring down her muzzle. “Why!?” she said. “I told you not to give him orders! Why would you…you gave him…” She sobbed, pressing her face into her hooves.

Rainbow stepped back, rubbing at her foreleg. “I…I thought I could help,” she said, looking at the ground. “That I could fix this.”

Fluttershy sniffed, turning away from her and back to Discord. …lying on the ground like this probably wasn't good for him. She sniffed again, rubbed at her nose and eyes, and began to lift his torso onto her back.

Rainbow stepped forward, reaching toward Discord. “Fluttershy, here, I can—" She couldn't even finish her sentence before Fluttershy's wing flared out, slapping across her chest and stopping her in place.

They both looked at each other with wide eyes, even Fluttershy shocked by what she had done. But still, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and made her expression neutral. “I think that you've done enough, Rainbow,” she said quietly, her voice wavering.

With that, she grit her teeth, stood to her full height, and began to slowly walk towards the stairs. Discord's body, legs, and tail draped behind her, but she wrapped his arms around her neck and lifted his head with a wing. It wouldn't be easy walking, but she would support him.

“…Fluttershy?” Rainbow said as she stood on the first step, her voice cracking. “…I'm sorry.”

Fluttershy opened her mouth…then closed it, hanging her head. She couldn't even find the energy to look back at her friend. Rainbow didn't say anything else…and moments later, she could hear her walking away, closing the front door behind her.

Her lip wobbled, but she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and squared her shoulders. Face set in determination, she carried Discord all the way up the stairs and dragged him into his room. It took a lot of effort and a bit of time to lift him onto the bed, but she eventually managed it, tucking him under the covers.

She pulled a chair up to the side of his bed, staring at him for a few moments. She couldn't hold it in anymore—she pressed her head against his shoulder and cried.

Author's Note

Finally, I feel ready to publish this sequel to my most-liked story! I hope this was worth the wait for all of you.

And I should probably warn you now...this story is going to ship Fluttershy and Discord. More on that in upcoming chapters, but if the ship isn't your cup of tea, you may not like this story. Sorry.

Other than that...some details on how Twilight's cell works, that I'm not sure will actually make their way into the story:

The external door requires either four guard pendants to be used on the outside, or one from each side in order to open. Normally, there are two guards outside her door, with two more entering her visitation area whenever she has a scheduled visitor.

Two guards also check on Twilight and her cell on the top of the hour, or one guard every two hours in the middle of the night.

Guards can enter her half of the visitation room with their pendant, and also unlock her private area in the same way in case of emergency. Whenever she has an approved gift to be dropped off, she goes into her private area (which is then locked), while the guards drop her items off in her half of the visitation area before leaving. This is the same way they give her her meals.

Epilogue: Ten Years Later

Ten Years Later

“…and so, due to Discord's nearly-full recovery, Miss Sparkle's offered assistance in the said recovery and in other magical areas, and an agreement from both Sir Discord and Miss Fluttershy, Miss Sparkle is pending to be released,” an off-white unicorn with a black mane read aloud from the sheet of paper in front of her. “As soon as Miss Sparkle accepts the terms and conditions of the prosecution's agreement, and hinged on continued good behavior, her release will be scheduled six moons after this date.”

The unicorn set the paper down, glancing up at Twilight. “Thank you, Ink Pot,” Twilight said, closing her eyes. The unicorn had been an immense help, acting as her proxy and taking detailed notes during her hearings. She wasn't…ready to be in a courtroom again, especially if it meant seeing Discord. Or Fluttershy. Or any of her former friends.

“Of course, Twilight Sparkle,” Ink Pot said. After months of interaction, she was finally moving past calling her only ‘Miss' and ‘Miss Sparkle’.

“What ‘agreement' did Fluttershy and Discord propose?” Twilight asked. Ink Pot simply slid a large packet of papers across the table.

Twilight's eyes flicked over the words. As she suspected, it was a restraining order—a special one, even, where after agreeing, she would be bound with magic that would alert the nearest guards if she violated its terms. She understood the premise well enough that she simply skimmed for the key details of her specific circumstances.

“So, I just need to stay one hundred feet away from Fluttershy and Discord?” she said.

Ink Pot coughed. “And the two other parties in the restraining order.”

Twilight furrowed her brow. If her other friends wanted to be included in the order, she would have expected them all to agree, not just two. She read through the rest of the document until she found the names of all parties she was supposed to stay away from.

Her brow furrowed in confusion when she read the last two. “Who are Bubblegum and Onyx?”

“Papa!” a young pink unicorn called, wobbling as they stood on their two front hooves. Her mane with white with a tinge of pink, her eyes a clear baby blue, and her cutie mark was of two strawberries. “Look, I'm doing it!”

“Great job, sweetheart!” Discord said, beaming and clapping his hands. “But do you know you've left an opening?”

“No way!” she said, sticking her tongue out. “I'm the mighty Stormbreaker! No one can defeat me!”

“Oh, really?” he said, raising an eyebrow and strolling over to her. Once he was close enough, he grinned, lifted his tail, and tickled her sides with his feathers.

She pursed her lips together, her face turning red with the effort of not laughing. “Pfft—!” As soon as the gust of air escaped her lips, she lost her balance and fell onto her back.

Discord laughed so hard that he clutched his stomach. The unicorn stood up, puffing her cheeks out and turning to the draconequus with a glare. “Not fair, Papa!” she huffed. “That was a cheap trick!”

He just patted her head as his laughter slowly died down. “My little Stormbreaker, villains revel in cheap tricks,” he told her. “If you ever want to fight them without giving your poor mother a heart attack, you'll have to learn to handle them.”

Stormbreaker scowled…then grinned, firing a small beam of blue magic at his ankles. “How's that for cheap!?”

Her magic barely even tickled, but Discord still placed a hand on his forehead dramatically. “Oh, no! I'm done for! Remember meeeee!” He flopped onto his back, his tongue rolling out of his mouth as he held a lily over his chest.

Stormbreaker laughed, flopping onto his stomach. Discord grinned, only barely managing to suppress his own laughter.

“Bubblegum? Dad?” a voice said hesitantly. They both lifted their heads to look at the source of the voice—a young, lanky black dragon, with a purple underbelly and spines. “Mom said that lunch is almost ready, so you two should get washed up.”

“Coming!” ‘Stormbreaker' leapt up off of Discord and galloped into the cottage, the dragon following behind her. Discord snapped his fingers, teleporting in a flash of white light.

He reappeared behind Fluttershy, who was humming a gentle tune as she set a few jars of jam on the table. As soon as they were set down, he wrapped his arms around her and scooped her up, placing a kiss on her cheek as she shrieked.

“Discord, you startled me!” she exclaimed, bursting into a fit of giggles.

“Sorry,” he said, eyes twinkling in a way that said he really, really wasn't. “You just look too cute, Flutternutter.”

Fluttershy blushed, and he set her back down on her hooves as the unicorn and dragon entered the kitchen, taking seats at the table. “Bubblegum, Onyx, you both got cleaned up, right?”

Both of them nodded, holding out their forehooves and claws respectively for inspection. Fluttershy nodded in approval, then looked at Discord. “And you?”

He chuckled nervously, and she raised a wing, pointing at the kitchen sink. Bubblegum and Onyx giggled as he sighed dramatically, trudging over to the sink and giving his hands a good scrub.

After he finished, he sat down, and they all began to help themselves to the sandwiches and veggie platter in the middle of the table. Discord and Onyx also had emeralds on their plates, which both of them nibbled on.

Bubblegum spread some strawberry jam over her sandwich. “Do we still have lots of jam, or can I go foraging for berries again soon?” she asked with a gleam in her eye, taking a large bite out of her food.

“We still have plenty of jam…” Fluttershy answered. “But the weather is going to be nice this weekend, so we could go then!”

Bubblegum's face lit up. “…could we go this afternoon?”

“We have the Union Festival to go to this afternoon,” Discord said with a shake of his head. “Your mother and I were specifically invited, and we can't just leave the two of you alone, so you're going to come with.”

“Aww, Papa, I can take care of the both of us!” Bubblegum said, throwing a foreleg around Onyx's shoulders. Onyx tried to pull away, but he still smiled at her, using a wing to nudge her in the ribs and make her giggle.

“What's the festival supposed to be for, anyway?” she continued. “And will it actually be any fun?”

“I'd hope so! What would be the point of a festival if it wasn't fun and exciting?” Discord said. “As for what it's about…” He trailed off, sending a wink to Fluttershy.

She waited, and after a few seconds, Onyx's eyes sparked. “I remember!” he said, raising a claw into the air as though he were in a classroom.

“Want to tell all of us, then?” Fluttershy asked.

He nodded, then entwined his claws together on the table. “Mayor Starlight is hosting a festival to welcome all the new residents of different species that semi-recently moved to Ponyville. She wants all the Elements to be there, since that would show that this is an important matter.”

He scratched his chin. “I've also read some debates that she wants to change the town's name, but it hasn't been popular with many people, and it's definitely not going to happen today.”

“That's right!” Fluttershy said, nodding. “Although the name change is news to me…”

“She should do it. She really should,” Discord said. “Imagine all the chaos it would cause! Confusion for the town, confusion for cartographers…”

“Mama, do you think Tempest will be at the festival?” Bubblegum suddenly asked. “I mean…Mayor Starlight's whole thing is about giving every pony and creature a fair and equal chance, right? She could have sent a personal invite to the strongest unicorn ever!”

Before Fluttershy could answer, Onyx reached over to poke her in the ribs. “You just wanna see your celebrity crush~,” he teased.

Bubblegum's face flushed bright red. “S-Shut up, Onyx! I just think she's a really cool and strong adventurer!”

“Sounds like something someone with a crush would say~…”

She continued to glare at him, her horn briefly flickering with magic. “No roughhousing at the table,” Fluttershy quickly said. Bubblegum grumbled, and the light on her horn went out as soon as it had appeared.

Onyx looked smug for a few moments. “…Mom? Could I bring some books with me to the festival?” he asked, suddenly looking nervous as he tapped his claws together.

“Well…how about just one book?” Fluttershy said. “I'd really like for you to socialize with others. Or at least take part in some of the activities.” Onyx frowned a little.

“Hey, your Aunt AJ is going to be there,” Discord offered. “Maybe you can talk to her about how the farm is doing. Wasn't there some new species of plant you wanted to tell her about?”

Onyx brightened up. “Yeah, I read that someone discovered a new fruit tree growing in high altitudes…I think it might be related to Zap Apples, but I haven't talked to her about it, yet.”

“Dork,” Bubblegum said. Onyx frowned at her, then stuck out his tongue.

The rest of lunch was filled with chatter about the festival, guessing what events and activities there would be, and Onyx and Bubblegum lightly teasing each other over small things.

For a moment, Discord paused, watching them all and smiling. A family…his family.

Once they had all finished lunch, Fluttershy started to gather up the dishes. But Discord snapped his fingers, making the plates and cups grow wings and fly themselves over to the sink, where they began to wash themselves.

“Oh, thank you!” Fluttershy said, beaming at him in the way that always made him feel light and warm inside.

She turned her attention to their kids. “Now, can you please go change into something nice for the festival? I think Rarity made you some good outfits that would work for this…”

“Yes, Mama!”

“Okay, Mom!”

The two of them hurried upstairs, Bubblegum galloping up two steps at a time, while Onyx unfurled his wings and soared over her head. “We'll meet in the living room once we're ready!” Fluttershy told them, she and Discord following them at a slower pace.

They both responded in the affirmative again, opening the doors to their rooms. Discord still felt a small rush of pride whenever he saw them—he had made the rooms himself, without making the cottage’s exterior change shape at all. Each was designed by his children, though…he just brought their wishes to life.

Onyx's bedroom was a mixture of greenhouse and library. He had asked for shelves to line his walls (even underneath his bed), and where there wasn't a book set in place, there would be a potted plant of some kind.

The far wall had a large window that let sunlight stream in…and whose windowsill was the dragon's favorite spot to curl up and read. Sometimes the others would hear him quietly telling stories to his vast array of plants.

Fluttershy saw a lot of herself in the younger dragon. She wanted him to have a space that felt safe and secure, where he could be alone if he wanted, but they still encouraged him to come out of his shell and make friends.

Bubblegum's bedroom, on the other hand, looked more like some sort of training ground. Platforms lined the sky-blue walls and hung from her ceiling, which she used to parkour around to different corners of her room. Her floor was a deep black, and as soft as a storm cloud (at Fluttershy's insistence, in case she slipped during her ‘training').

All sorts of items were scattered through her room—laundry, weights, spellbooks, and so on. She always insisted that she knew exactly where everything was, though! Not that Discord would ever blame her for keeping a little bit of chaos.

The two of them closed the doors behind them, Bubblegum already hopping her way up toward the ceiling. Fluttershy and Discord exchanged a fond smile before heading to their shared bedroom.

At first glance, it was almost surprisingly ordinary—a bed large enough for the both of them, with a nightstand on either side, a closet in the corner, and a window letting in plenty of sunlight.

But if one looked closer, they would notice the wavy striped walls, and how whenever anyone looked away and looked back, said stripes would move. Or how the stripes would change color every other moon, or sometimes every other week.

They might also notice that the curtains would also change color and pattern if one stared at them for too long, or the Discord-shaped lamp atop one of the nightstands, or that the room's lightbulb was actually a tiny sun encased in a glass jar.

But only the four of them knew that at night, when the light was turned off, their ceiling was painted with a sprawling galaxy of stars.

They both headed to the closest. Fluttershy selected a summer dress she had already chosen for the occasion, a grass-green one with white butterflies lining the hem. Discord, on the other hand, pulled out several outfits, looking over each of them and tossing them into different piles on their bed.

“What are you thinking of?” Fluttershy asked as she moved to her nightstand. She opened the second drawer, then pressed her hoof against the bottom of the one above it.

The handle glowed with magic, and the drawer popped open, revealing the Element of Kindness resting inside.

“Just about what I want to wear,” he responded as she clasped the Element around her neck. He held up an orange dress shirt. “Will this clash with my crown?”

“…yes, I think so,” she said after looking it over.

He nodded in approval, pulling the shirt onto himself before drifting over to his own nightstand. He placed a hand on the bottom of the first drawer, and just like with Fluttershy's, it popped open. He plucked out the Element of Magic, placing it on top of his head.

He then closed the drawer and re-opened it, revealing an assortment of baubles and trinkets he had collected inside. He plucked two bracelets off of the very top, carefully unfurling them and slipping them onto his wrists.

One was a pink leather string with plastic gems of white and blue strung along it, along with little plastic lightning bolts and clouds. The other had a black leather string and was filled with gems of all colors, sparkling in the light.

Fluttershy smiled. “Taking another opportunity to wear those in public?” she said.

“Of course.” He held up his wrists to show them off. “I have to show everyone how amazing and talented my kids are!”

Her smile only grew, and she fluttered over to lean against his side. “You're a really good father to them,” she said, draping a wing around his back.

He smiled down at her, his wings giving a small flutter. “…I'll never get tired of hearing you say that,” he whispered. “Us adopting them…that's tied with the best choice I ever made in my life.”

“And the other best choice?” she asked.

“Telling you how much I love you.” He leaned down to peck her forehead.

She giggled, leaning up and into the kiss. “Thank you, Discord,” she said. “I love you. And I agree…adopting them was one of the best decisions in my life, too.”

She briefly glanced away, pursing her lips for just a moment, and he could feel her wing twitch on his back. He raised an eyebrow—something was on her mind, or on the tip of her tongue, he just knew it. “What's on your mind, Shyfly?”

His words made her blink, momentarily startled. “Well, I…I was thinking.”

“I sure hope so!”

That got a chuckle out of her, and she visibly relaxed, letting her wing fold back against her side. “Discord, I…” She took a deep breath. “…I'd like for us to have another child. Our biological child.” She took his hand and gently placed it against her lower abdomen.

He stared at her, eyes slowly widening as his jaw dropped. “I, you…you want that? With me?” She nodded. “I…Shy. I'm not even sure if it could be possible for us to have a kid together. I mean…”

He gestured to himself, then to her. Two wildly different species. And it was debatable if ‘draconequus' even counted as a species, since he was the only one that had ever existed, as far as he knew.

She just patted his hand. “But we could still try. If…if you want another child, too.”

“I…” His fingers twitched, and he gently pressed his hand against her stomach. “I…I love you, Bubblegum, and Onyx with all my heart. I can't say no to growing our family.

“But…are you sure about this? You think we're ready for it?”

She nodded. “We've been raising Bubblegum and Onyx well, I think. And like I said, you've been a wonderful father to them.”

“…I could still have a Bad Day,” he said quietly. “You'd have to look over three kids and one dazed-out, unhelpful draconequus.”

She gently squeezed his paw. “Discord, you've been doing so well…you haven't had a Bad Day in moons.” The last one had been hectic—Bubblegum had caught dragon pox, Onyx blamed himself and become distraught, and Fluttershy and Discord had both scrambled for a cure. Discord had felt so stressed that he regressed.

“Besides, even if that happens, our friends can always lend a hoof,” she said reassuringly. Which was exactly what happened on his last Bad Day—Applejack tended to Bubblegum while Pinkie lifted her spirits, and Rainbow and Rarity helped them look for medicine while Spike explained to Onyx through messenger crystal that he wasn't the source of the disease. Once Bubblegum got better and things calmed down, Discord had slowly become himself again.

“I suppose that's true,” he said with a smile. “And…I know you'll always be there.” She smiled and nodded in confirmation, and he closed his eyes, taking a few minutes to think.

“No promises if we can even have a child, but…we can try,” he finally answered, wrapping his fingers around her hoof.

“Trying is all I ever ask from you,” she said gently, kissing his knuckles. “Well. That and you being yourself.”

He smirked. “So…being on time for events isn't on that list?”

Fluttershy's eyes widened. “Oh my goodness…I can't believe I almost forgot!” She rushed out of the room, sighing in relief when she saw Bubblegum and Onyx ready and waiting in the living room…even though Bubblegum was practicing fighting poses and testing the limits of her sky-blue suit.

“Hi, Mama!” Bubblegum cried, bouncing out of her latest pose. Onyx’s attention snapped up from the book in his claws. “Is it time to go?”

Fluttershy nodded, and their children gathered around them, Onyx tucking his book into his ruby-colored suit. “Discord, care to do the honors?”

“Naturally,” he responded, snapping his fingers and teleporting the whole family in a flash of light.