Every Little Chore She Doesby Starlight FanChaptersRough BeginningsThe Tiring MiddleHeated ProblemsBittersweet ResolutionsRough BeginningsSpike sighed as he lounged on his bed reading Power Ponies, this was the life. He quite enjoyed his home in Ponyville, it’s usually so peaceful and calm, if you don’t count the major villain attacks, though those seemed to be happening less and less, especially with the reformations of Trixie, Discord, Sunset, and Starlight. All things considered he was content. Suddenly he heard a knock on the door, and smiled, “It’s open!” He shouted joyfully. “Twilight opened the door with a bit of an awkward frown, “Uh… hey Spike. I think we need to talk.” Spike sighed and threw his comic to the side, knowing what that usually means, “What did I do?” He groaned in annoyance, “Did Discord leave some excess chaos behind from our last guys’ night?” “No no no.” Twilight smiled with a giggle before frowning again, “It’s just that you haven’t been really picking up on your chores since you befriended Discord and Thorax and I think the only reason I haven’t noticed until now is because I’ve been checking Starlight’s progress on her friendship lessons.” “Oh.” Spike said in shock before smiling sheepishly, “How… is she doing on those by the way?” “Eh. It’s a bit hectic, but she’s done well on taking care of animals with Fluttershy, organizing photos with Applejack for her scrapbook and…” Twilight began before frowning sternly, “I am getting off topic. Look, I’m gonna be away at Canterlot as Princess Celestia requested me to give her students a quick overview on the history of enchanted objects in Equestria. I’ll be back by tonight, so while I’m gone…” Twilight then levitated a list out of her left wing and gave it to Spike. “Follow this list.” Twilight spoke again, “Starlight can help you if she wants, but I want these done regardless. I’m not saying they need to be done by the time I get back since well… there’s quite a few chores, but I want at least some of them taken care of. Understand?” She finished softly. “Sure thing Twilight.” Spike smiled as he accepted the list, “I won’t let you down.” He saluted bravely. Spike soon began reading the list to himself, looking a bit shocked. “Whoa. I have to wash the dishes, clean the kitchen, wash the windows, move the remaining Hearths Warming Eve decorations down to the basement. How am I supposed to do all that in one day?!” Spike asked himself incredulously before sighing sadly, “I might as well organize the bookshelves, that’s the easiest job.” Spike soon headed towards the library to find Starlight putting some books on the ground in the shelves with her magic. There were like ten of them too. “Oh hey Spike.” Starlight smiled warmly at the dragon, “I was just putting some books into the empty shelves. I was gonna read a bit since I don’t have much to do, but I noticed those were loose on the ground.” “Oh… thank you Starlight.” Spike said in shock, “I usually take care of putting the books in the shelves.” “No problem Spike. I’m always willing to help.” Starlight said happily. Spike then looked at his list and back at Starlight. She was able to but those books away without breaking a sweat, it sometimes took some time for him to organize the bookshelves, and he was great at it. Spike beamed brightly, a plan was forming in his head, and it would probably benefit him AND Starlight. “What if I told you that Twilight gave you some friendship lessons to do while she was away?” Spike asked with a smile. “Huh? Really?” Starlight asked in shock, “She never told me about this.” “Well she did.” Spike said wholeheartedly, “She was in a hurry so she wanted me to find you and give you this list.” He then handed the list to Starlight who levitated it towards her and hummed, “This seems like some basic chore list.” She said in confusion. “Oh sure.” Spike waved it off with a scoff, “It might SEEM like some normal chore list but these all have hidden friendship meanings. Organizing books is a metaphor for how you organize things to do with your friends. Twilight does like organization after all.” “I guess that makes sense.” Starlight admitted thoughtfully, “Didn’t you say that you do the book organization though?” Spike began to sweat a little before smiling nervously, “I know what I said but that’s just what I do normally.” He lied sheepishly, “I was just surprised to see you do it.” Starlight seemed a bit weirded out but shrugged, “I guess it makes sense.” Spike inwardly sighed in relief, he was so thankful Starlight bought that. “So what does washing the dishes and cleaning the kitchen have to do with friendship?” Starlight asked curiously. “Oh that.” Spike smiled sheepishly, “That’s simple. It’s a metaphor for cleansing your mind of your past mistakes.” Starlight seemed to buy this as she smiled brightly, “Oh. That actually makes sense. I’m on it!” And with a flash, she teleported away and left Spike smiling brightly. “It worked! It actually worked!” Spike smiled giddily. “Oh yes. Wonderful act my friend.” A familiar eerie voice he was used to spoke up. “Discord?” Spike asked in shock. A book soon opened and Discord pops out of it, “In the flesh.” He smiled enthusiastically. “What are you doing here?” Spike asked, a bit weirded out his friend was around. “I was just bored and decided to pay a visit to by SBFWIAM.” Discord smiled innocently. “Meaning…” Spike raised an eyebrow. “Second Best Friend Who Is Also Male.” Discord smiled teasingly, “Silly Spike. Aren’t you used to acronyms? Though I guess you’re too busy prepping your manipulation skills on Starlight to look at a dictionary.” He added with a smirk. Spike looked wide-eyed, Manipulating Starlight? I would never do that. “Oh please. I’m giving her my own edition of a friendship lesson.” Spike smirked nonchalantly, “Twilight’s a good teacher but I think I can also teach Starlight just as well.” “Ah yes. And if it happens to benefit you as well. Who are you to stop that?” Discord shrugged his shoulders mockingly. “Mock me all you want Discord.” Spike rolled his eyes angrily, “But this is a perfect learning experience for Starlight.” “Ah. So I suppose you won’t mind I stick around and check out this ‘friendship lesson’.” Discord rolled his eyes, once again, mocking Spike. “Alright then.” Spike shrugged uncaringly, “Stick around but when Starlight’s friendship lesson is successful, I’ll be getting the last laugh.” “We’ll see Spike. We’ll see.” Discord smirked confidently. The Tiring MiddleSpike opens the door to the kitchen to see Starlight washing the dishes with soap and water, it wasn’t much but what made him smile was seeing how Starlight was using her magic to get the job done so well. “How’s it going in there Starlight?” Spike asked with a proud smirk. “Well given I finished the task you just gave me. I say it went pretty well.” Starlight smiled brightly at the dragon, she yawned a bit but kept her smile, “I gotta say, it was kinda hard but no lesson is easy.” She spoke positively. “That’s the spirit.” Spike gave a thumbs up, “Now that that’s done, your next task is to mop the floors.” “Oh okay. Which sections?” Starlight asked happily. “Read the list.” Spike told Starlight who immediately did so before she was agape in shock, “The ENTIRE floor! Are you sure Spike? It might be a good idea to take a bit of a break.” She said, feeling a bit uneasy. Spike’s eyes widened in fear, if Starlight stopped now, all the chores won’t be finished when Twilight came back. Then he wouldn’t be able to tell Twilight about how much he taught Starlight and was able to get the chores done in one go. “We can’t take a break. It would be like abandoning an important friendship thing with our friends.” Spike protested quickly, “We can’t just give up on something so important. Aren’t you here because you need to learn about friendship?” He asked with a raised eyebrow, causing Starlight to relent with a sigh. “You’re right. I am here to learn about friendship. I’m sorry.” Starlight sighed sadly. Spike smiled, he was glad to get Starlight back on track, “Don’t worry Starlight. You’re new to this, of course you’re gonna be rusty. Just start mopping, once you can see yourself in the crystal reflection on the floor, you’ll be able to reflect on how far you’ve come and the effort you put into it.” He spoke in a poetic tone which made Starlight smile. “Huh? When you put it like that, it seems like a good lesson.” Starlight smiled appreciatively, “Thanks Spike.” Starlight soon walked off to likely mop the castle, and soon Discord rose from the bubbling sink and in a shower cap and smirked at Spike. “Interesting lesson you came up with Spike. What air particles did you pull that from?” He smirked. “Shut up Discord.” Spike said angrily, “I’m helping Starlight first and foremost, yes I am pulling these metaphors out of thin air but it’s for Starlight’s benefit. Starlight DOES seem to be taking these lessons to heart.” He smiled proudly at himself. “Aw. How sweet, you think you’re actually being a good friend.” Discord spoke mockingly. “I AM!” Spike shouted furiously. “Denial is like a river dear Spike.” Discord still smirked, “Now if you’ll excuse me; I need to take a rinse.” Discord then pulled out a drain as he sunk into the sink drain. “Weirdo.” Spike muttered in annoyance as he started to walk to his room to potentially read his comics when he noticed the floors were so shiny he could see his reflection. “Whoa. She cleaned it already?” Spike gasped in shock. “Yep. I did.” Starlight smiled as she walked over, her mane looked a bit frazzled however. “Starlight? How’d you clean the floors so fast?” Spike asked curiously. “Oh. I used the Accelero spell to make me go faster.” Starlight smiled proudly, “We do have a list to go through and I thought it would be good idea to use.” “Alright. Well done Starlight.” Spike smiled before he noticed the loose strands in her mane, “What happened to your mane?” Starlight looked over her shoulder and realized what Spike was talking about, “Oh that. I guess the spell and the task itself took a bit out of me.” Starlight said with a thoughtful frown before shrugging it off, “I’m probably fine though.” “That’s good. We only have a few more tasks left.” Spike smiled, “You’re next job is to rake the leaves.” “Huh? That doesn’t sound too bad.” Starlight admitted, a bit relieved to be doing something easy, “What’s the lesson in this?” She asked the dragon. “The lesson in this is a metaphor as in to get your act together from your past mistakes.” Spike said happily before nervously grinning, “After all, leaves are scattered like your past was when you stole cutie marks, so once you pile them up, it references your now clean present.” Starlight looked a bit upset at the mention of her past when she began to speak nervously, “Are you sure this is the lesson? Twilight’s not really on the nose about stuff like my past.” Spike began to bite his lip before smiling, “Well, maybe she decided it was a good lesson so she decided to be a bit more blunt about it.” “I don’t know…” Starlight trailed off before Spike put his hand on her shoulder reassuringly, “Come on Starlight. Don’t you trust me?” He smiled kindly. “Yeah… I guess you don’t have much of a reason to lie.” Starlight smiled sheepishly, “I guess I’ll go take care of the leaves.” Starlight began to walk towards the castle exit and as soon as she was gone, Spike soon felt a shadow looming behind him, and heard a slow clapping noise. “Clap, clap, clap.” Discord smirked mischievously, “Well done little Spike. You did it again. Even pulled the ‘Don’t you trust me’ card too. I’m so impressed.” “Okay, so I had to lie a little for Starlight to do this. That doesn’t mean I’m not helping her.” Spike said in annoyance but you could tell he was starting to have second thoughts about this, he was starting to question if he was really doing the right thing? “Oh really? I’m sure it helped that you mentioned her dark and dreary past.” Discord raised an eyebrow, showing a bit more annoyance. “Huh?” Spike asked curiously. Discord soon snapped his claws and a digital camera began to play, showing Spike what he was talking about. “The lesson in this is a metaphor as in to get your act together from your past mistakes.” Past Spike said happily before nervously grinning, “After all, leaves are scattered like your past was when you stole cutie marks, so once you pile them up, it references your now clean present.” “Hmmm, Yes. I see you had to be a bit specific there.” Discord began stroking his goatee, “I’m not sure if you needed to though. But I guess it does fit with how you’ve been constantly reminding her of her past lately.” “What?” Spike asked incredulously. “Pinkie can be quite the gossip. She told me about your not so subtle reminders you give to Starlight about how evil she used to be.” Discord told the dragon. “I only do that when I feel it’s warranted. Besides, I think it’s good to remind Starlight of how badly she screwed up at times.” Spike scoffed as he flashed an annoyed yet nervous frown. “Ah yes. Because only the best of friends constantly hold stuff over their heads when they’re already struggling to move on from it.” Discord spoke mockingly to the dragon who’s eyes widened when he heard that. Am I… hurting Starlight by doing that? Spike asked himself before shaking it off, No, Discord’s just trying to tick me off… isn’t he? “You’re just trying to make me look bad Discord but you forget I can see through your tricks.” Spike smirked, although not much confidence was in it, “Nice try, but your pranks aren’t working.” Discord groaned in annoyance, “Fine Spike. Believe what you want. I guess you’ll just have to find out yourself.” Discord shrugged before disappearing with a flash. “He’ll be back.” Spike rolled his eyes to himself. Now that Spike was alone with his thoughts, he looked a bit nervously at the hallway Starlight just walked through. “Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to check on her. Well… in a way to make sure she’s doing well of course.” Spike smiled sheepishly to himself. As Spike began to walk towards the exit to the castle, he couldn’t help but wonder if Discord was right. Heated ProblemsStarlight wiped the sweat off her brow and her bang off her face as she raked the leaves, in a normal state, she would have used magic, but given how hot it was and how tired she had become, she knew it would just cause her to pass out. Magic was no easy feat after all. It took her years to study it. There were a lot of leaves to pile up, and it was not fun to do since these leaves were scattered everywhere around the front of the castle, it was also a bit hot today so that didn’t help. Suddenly she saw Fluttershy walk nearby with some saddlebags on her, once she saw Starlight, she gasped, “Oh my Celestia! Starlight! What happened to you?!” Fluttershy asked in horror yet concern. “Nice to see you too Fluttershy.” Starlight jokes weakly. “I’m sorry.” Fluttershy frowned sheepishly before turning more serious, “But you clearly don’t look normal. Your mane is all droopy and you have bags under your eyes.” “Oh…” Starlight chuckled a bit insanely concerning Fluttershy, “I’m just doing the friendship tasks Twilight assigned me.” Starlight soon took the list out of her mane, and levitated it to Fluttershy, who looked in disgust at the now wet list before reading it. “Starlight… this just looks like some average chore list.” Fluttershy told the unicorn with a raised eyebrow. “Well it may be that way to you.” Starlight smiled reassuringly as Fluttershy spotted Spike about to exit the castle though he paused when he saw both Starlight and Fluttershy, “But Spike told me these tasks all had some sort of friendship metaphors. Like cleaning dishes means cleansing my mind, and organizing books is like organizing friendship activities.” “Wait. Spike told you all this?” Fluttershy squinted her eyes in Spike’s direction who noticed and smiled nervously as he waved. Why am I so nervous? I can easily explain to Fluttershy I lied for a good reason… right? Spike gulped to himself. “Starlight. I think Spike pulled a fast one on you. I feel those were his tasks, but he pawned them off you for some bizarre reason, I know he’s a good dragon and friend but he does have a greedy side.” Fluttershy told her friend sadly. Starlight seemed to consider it before frowning, “I’m sorry Fluttershy, but I don’t believe you. Spike’s immature and that’s a fact, but I doubt he’d use me to do these tasks, he’s not as bad as I was. We’re friends, and I know he wouldn’t do that to me.” She finished her rant with a smile. Spike immediately felt a rush of guilt when he heard that, he now realized that even with his semi-good intentions, he still manipulated Starlight to get out of these chores, and now she was suffering because of it. What kind of friend was he? “I can’t let this go on.” Spike whispered to himself. Spike immediately ran over to the two ponies and shouted, “Starlight! I need to talk with you!” “Oh. Hey Spike.” Starlight smiled at the dragon, “Me and Fluttershy were just talking about you. She thought you were using me to do these tasks for some reason, don’t worry I clarified things.” She spoke reassuringly, causing Fluttershy to roll her eyes. “The thing is… she wasn’t totally wrong.” Spike gulped nervously, waiting for the fallout. “Huh? What are you talking abou…” Starlight began speaking before suddenly passing out. “Starlight!” Spike cried out in shock and panic before shaking the unicorn’s face, “Wake up! Wake up!” Fluttershy immediately put a hoof to Starlight’s forehead and her eyes widened, “Spike. I think she’s suffering heat exhaustion.” “What?!” Spike asked incredulously, “How?! It’s not even that hot out!” “Perhaps, but she seemed quite exhausted. It’s assumed she was already tired from the tasks you tricked her into doing.” Fluttershy said in a lecturing tone. “So…” Spike said in shock before tearing up, “This is all my fault.” Fluttershy’s expression immediately softened but she couldn’t help Spike yet since Starlight was already in poor condition, “Look, we’ll talk about this later. We need to get Starlight to a cool place before she catches any illness.” “I think I know who can help us.” Spike said quickly, he immediately ran inside the castle and quickly went inside his room. He dug through the shelves until finding a remote, it read: In case of an emergency, press for the Lord Of Chaos And so Spike did, and soon Discord appeared lounging on a rocking chair and reading a magazine, “You called?” He said blandly. “I messed up! Starlight’s suffering heat exhaustion because of my idiocy, and I need your help quick!” Discord’s eyes widened in shock at this news before sighing, “I shouldn’t have let this go on for so long.” He then snapped his fingers and he and Spike were outside the castle as Fluttershy began carrying the sleeping Starlight bridal style as she hovered with her wings. “Discord?” Fluttershy asked curiously. “Ah Fluttershy, nice to see you again but we need to help your little friend here.” Discord smiled before taking Starlight off her hooves. Soon Discord snapped his fingers again and soon all four creatures found themselves in the bathroom. “The bathroom?” Spike asked curiously. “The best way to treat heat exhaustion is to keep the patient’s temperature low.” Discord explained factually, “I’m simply going to sit Starlight upright on the bathtub and let cold water flow around her as the tub fills.” Discord soon turned on the cold water of the tub and slowly it began to fill and envelope around Starlight, as it did so, Discord put a thermometer in Starlight’s mouth and soon the temperature in her body began to drop in a healthy amount. “Phew.” Fluttershy sighed in relief, “She’ll be okay.” “Is there anything I can do to help?” Spike found the courage to ask. “Sorry Spike, I don’t think you should right now.” Fluttershy said softly, “Good news is Starlight should be fine after a bit, but for now you should stay away from her.” Spike sighed sadly as he walked off, “I understand. I’m so sorry.” He said, voice full of remorse and regret. Discord and Fluttershy walked him walk off sympathetically, it was clear he was hurt. “I’m gonna go check on him.” Discord told Fluttershy sadly, “I already know Twilight’s likely going to be really upset with him. It’s best I help him out a bit.” Spike just stood at the balcony and leaned on the railing sadly when he saw Discord walk up to him. “Walking? Must be serious?” Spike said half-heartedly. “Snap travel is so dull these days. Plus you’re my friend and I feel it would be inappropriate to use it at this time.” Discord said, joking around a bit but Spike didn’t laugh. “This is all my fault.” Spike sighed bitterly, “I thought I was doing a good thing by having Starlight do this, but I guess all I was doing was just pawning my work off of her.” “Spike. You may have done all that, but you didn’t know that Starlight was going to get heat exhaustion.” Discord sighed sympathetically. “Yeah but maybe if I let her take a break or heck, even helped her with the workload without the lies of Twilight making a friendship lesson, maybe this wouldn’t have happened, I’m a terrible dragon.” Spike said angrily. Discord couldn’t argue against that, Spike was correct in the sense that he should have done that but he wouldn’t let his friend wallow in his self pity. “Look Spike, despite what may have happened today. You are not a bad dragon.” Discord said sternly. “And why’s that?” Spike huffed. “If you were. You wouldn’t be feeling remorse over this.” Discord smiled softly, “Some other dragons would laugh at what happened to Starlight, but you actually care enough to where you feel bad for what happened.” Spike began to feel a bit better about this and soon Discord added, “Besides, you’re the one who competed in the Gauntlet Of Fire to protect your friends and stood up for a renegade Changeling at the risk of losing the Crystal Empire’s favor, Spike you’re not a monster, you just made a mistake.” Spike embraced the Draconequus and smiled, “Thank you Discord. I needed that.” Discord was surprised but hugged back nonetheless, “Anytime.” Then they heard a little cough noise and turned to see Fluttershy, “Um. I hate to interrupt this adorable moment but Starlight’s awake… and she wants to see Spike, she’s still in the tub.” She said neutrally. Spike sighed and shrugged, “Well, I gotta face her, might as well do it now.” He then began heading back inside, Discord looked worried for his friend, he just hoped Starlight and Spike would be okay. Author's Note Truthfully I’m not sure of the recommended way to treat heat exhaustion, I just know that you need to keep the person in that condition cool and their body temperature lowered. I just went what was best for the story. Bittersweet ResolutionsSpike slowly trudged over to the bathroom in solemn acceptance, he knew for a fact he was gonna tell Starlight the truth about what he did. He just didn’t know what to expect from his friend. He expected her to be furious, or for her to burst into tears. He was just really nervous all around. Spike knew he wasn’t a bad dragon, Discord made that crystal clear but he still felt awful for using Starlight to do his dirty work. Spike soon made it to the bathroom to see Starlight sitting in a mini-pool of cold water in the bathtub. “Hey Starlight.” Spike smiled weakly, “How are you feeling?” “I feel exhausted.” Starlight groaned, “I’m doing better now but my body felt like it was aching.” Spike winced in sympathy for the poor mare, she seriously had to go through all that. “Hey Spike… when I was talking with you outside, you said something about Fluttershy not being entirely wrong when I told you she said you were just using me.” Starlight began curiously before growing shaky, “I-I was just delirious right? You didn’t actually use me to do your dirty work right?” She asked with a quivering lip. Spike sighed, he couldn’t lie to Starlight. She had already suffered enough. “Starlight, I have to be honest. That was my chore list. I knew that I wasn’t going to get them all done today so I pawned my list on you. I thought if I used friendship lessons in the chores I gave you, it would benefit us both and Twilight would be impressed with us.” Spike began speaking, “But then I realized what I did was wrong. All I was really doing was just using you to do my chores. I’m so sorry Starlight.” Starlight just looked at Spike, tears starting to form in her eyes, “You used me?” She asked softly yet sadly. “I-I did.” Spike affirmed solemnly, “I’m so sorry Starlight. I never meant for you to get hurt like this.” He apologized remorsefully. “I-I need some time to process this.” Starlight told the dragon who sighed before walking away, “Totally fair.” He said sadly. Before he left, Spike decided to say one last thing, “I know what I did was wrong. I can’t take it back. Don’t think you aren’t justified to be upset because you did some heinous actions, because you are justified. You have every right to be mad, I just hope one day I can make it up to you but for now, I’m sorry.” Spike soon left the bathroom and soon he saw that Twilight was standing in front of him, to his surprise, she didn’t seem mad at him, she just looked upset. “I know what I did to Starlight was wrong.” Spike sighed sadly, “I learned that myself… well, with Discord’s help. Though if you still want to rant, I won’t stop you.” To his surprise, Twilight just hugged him, though she still wore a frown, “You’re not mad?” “No. I’m disappointed but not mad.” Twilight said solemnly before letting him go, “I’m upset you took advantage of Starlight like that, but I won’t deny you weren’t being malicious about it from what Fluttershy and Discord told me. I’m not going to punish you. You’re already suffering enough.” Spike looked at the closed door and sighed, “Yep. That’s for sure.” It’s been two days after the whole chore incident, Starlight eventually got back to a healthy temperature much to Spike’s relief, but ever since then, Starlight had been avoiding him. Heck, when Starlight even looked at him, she just seemed sad. He was currently eating pancakes on the kitchen table, a bit slowly however. He still felt empty without Starlight around. Sure he had just met the mare a mere two months ago, but he knew it wasn’t the same without her friendship. Suddenly Starlight walked over and pointed to the seat next to him at the table, “Is this seat occupied?” “Help yourself.” Spike shrugged dismissively. Starlight did just that and began levitating the pancake to her mouth and ate it. “So… how’s everything?” Spike asked awkwardly. “It’s been better. I just did stuff I enjoyed and… hung out with Twilight and Trixie.” Starlight smiled awkwardly before sighing, “Spike. We need to talk about two days ago.” Spike was unsurprised but worried at the same time “I guess so.” “Spike. I won’t deny what you did hurt me a lot. We’re friends but you manipulated me to do your bidding.” Starlight said sadly. “And you had every right to feel that way.” Spike told the unicorn, “I made you do my chores without taking any breaks.” “I know but after thinking it over, I figured I was ready to forgive you.” Starlight smiled softly at the dragon who looked shocked, “W-What? Really?! Starlight, I told you, you don’t have to forgive me because of your past.” Spike reminded his friend. “I know, but I thought it over and after talking with Twilight and Discord, I realized you weren’t trying to hurt me. You made a mistake and while I am still a bit upset with you, I’m at least ready to start rekindling with you.” Starlight said reassuringly before giving him a concerned frown, “But I just ask one thing. Please don’t put yourself down over this, it’s one thing to feel guilty and another to constantly put yourself in the wringer for this. You’re not a monster Spike, you’re my friend and I miss what we have.” Spike smiled tearfully and embraced Starlight almost immediately, “I missed you too!” Starlight patted his back with a tearful smile of her own, but little did they know, Twilight and Discord were watching the two of them make up. “I’m so glad they worked things out.” Twilight smiled warmly, “I was afraid I was going to have to intervene.” “Well technically we both did but they did make up without us persisting them.” Discord smiled back at the alicorn who seemed to spot tears in his eyes. “Are those tears?” She asked teasingly. “Absolutely not.” Discord scoffed before wiping them off, “My heart is practically ice.” Twilight just chuckled and gave Discord a hug, who looked surprised but didn’t seem opposed to it.
Rough BeginningsSpike sighed as he lounged on his bed reading Power Ponies, this was the life. He quite enjoyed his home in Ponyville, it’s usually so peaceful and calm, if you don’t count the major villain attacks, though those seemed to be happening less and less, especially with the reformations of Trixie, Discord, Sunset, and Starlight. All things considered he was content. Suddenly he heard a knock on the door, and smiled, “It’s open!” He shouted joyfully. “Twilight opened the door with a bit of an awkward frown, “Uh… hey Spike. I think we need to talk.” Spike sighed and threw his comic to the side, knowing what that usually means, “What did I do?” He groaned in annoyance, “Did Discord leave some excess chaos behind from our last guys’ night?” “No no no.” Twilight smiled with a giggle before frowning again, “It’s just that you haven’t been really picking up on your chores since you befriended Discord and Thorax and I think the only reason I haven’t noticed until now is because I’ve been checking Starlight’s progress on her friendship lessons.” “Oh.” Spike said in shock before smiling sheepishly, “How… is she doing on those by the way?” “Eh. It’s a bit hectic, but she’s done well on taking care of animals with Fluttershy, organizing photos with Applejack for her scrapbook and…” Twilight began before frowning sternly, “I am getting off topic. Look, I’m gonna be away at Canterlot as Princess Celestia requested me to give her students a quick overview on the history of enchanted objects in Equestria. I’ll be back by tonight, so while I’m gone…” Twilight then levitated a list out of her left wing and gave it to Spike. “Follow this list.” Twilight spoke again, “Starlight can help you if she wants, but I want these done regardless. I’m not saying they need to be done by the time I get back since well… there’s quite a few chores, but I want at least some of them taken care of. Understand?” She finished softly. “Sure thing Twilight.” Spike smiled as he accepted the list, “I won’t let you down.” He saluted bravely. Spike soon began reading the list to himself, looking a bit shocked. “Whoa. I have to wash the dishes, clean the kitchen, wash the windows, move the remaining Hearths Warming Eve decorations down to the basement. How am I supposed to do all that in one day?!” Spike asked himself incredulously before sighing sadly, “I might as well organize the bookshelves, that’s the easiest job.” Spike soon headed towards the library to find Starlight putting some books on the ground in the shelves with her magic. There were like ten of them too. “Oh hey Spike.” Starlight smiled warmly at the dragon, “I was just putting some books into the empty shelves. I was gonna read a bit since I don’t have much to do, but I noticed those were loose on the ground.” “Oh… thank you Starlight.” Spike said in shock, “I usually take care of putting the books in the shelves.” “No problem Spike. I’m always willing to help.” Starlight said happily. Spike then looked at his list and back at Starlight. She was able to but those books away without breaking a sweat, it sometimes took some time for him to organize the bookshelves, and he was great at it. Spike beamed brightly, a plan was forming in his head, and it would probably benefit him AND Starlight. “What if I told you that Twilight gave you some friendship lessons to do while she was away?” Spike asked with a smile. “Huh? Really?” Starlight asked in shock, “She never told me about this.” “Well she did.” Spike said wholeheartedly, “She was in a hurry so she wanted me to find you and give you this list.” He then handed the list to Starlight who levitated it towards her and hummed, “This seems like some basic chore list.” She said in confusion. “Oh sure.” Spike waved it off with a scoff, “It might SEEM like some normal chore list but these all have hidden friendship meanings. Organizing books is a metaphor for how you organize things to do with your friends. Twilight does like organization after all.” “I guess that makes sense.” Starlight admitted thoughtfully, “Didn’t you say that you do the book organization though?” Spike began to sweat a little before smiling nervously, “I know what I said but that’s just what I do normally.” He lied sheepishly, “I was just surprised to see you do it.” Starlight seemed a bit weirded out but shrugged, “I guess it makes sense.” Spike inwardly sighed in relief, he was so thankful Starlight bought that. “So what does washing the dishes and cleaning the kitchen have to do with friendship?” Starlight asked curiously. “Oh that.” Spike smiled sheepishly, “That’s simple. It’s a metaphor for cleansing your mind of your past mistakes.” Starlight seemed to buy this as she smiled brightly, “Oh. That actually makes sense. I’m on it!” And with a flash, she teleported away and left Spike smiling brightly. “It worked! It actually worked!” Spike smiled giddily. “Oh yes. Wonderful act my friend.” A familiar eerie voice he was used to spoke up. “Discord?” Spike asked in shock. A book soon opened and Discord pops out of it, “In the flesh.” He smiled enthusiastically. “What are you doing here?” Spike asked, a bit weirded out his friend was around. “I was just bored and decided to pay a visit to by SBFWIAM.” Discord smiled innocently. “Meaning…” Spike raised an eyebrow. “Second Best Friend Who Is Also Male.” Discord smiled teasingly, “Silly Spike. Aren’t you used to acronyms? Though I guess you’re too busy prepping your manipulation skills on Starlight to look at a dictionary.” He added with a smirk. Spike looked wide-eyed, Manipulating Starlight? I would never do that. “Oh please. I’m giving her my own edition of a friendship lesson.” Spike smirked nonchalantly, “Twilight’s a good teacher but I think I can also teach Starlight just as well.” “Ah yes. And if it happens to benefit you as well. Who are you to stop that?” Discord shrugged his shoulders mockingly. “Mock me all you want Discord.” Spike rolled his eyes angrily, “But this is a perfect learning experience for Starlight.” “Ah. So I suppose you won’t mind I stick around and check out this ‘friendship lesson’.” Discord rolled his eyes, once again, mocking Spike. “Alright then.” Spike shrugged uncaringly, “Stick around but when Starlight’s friendship lesson is successful, I’ll be getting the last laugh.” “We’ll see Spike. We’ll see.” Discord smirked confidently.
The Tiring MiddleSpike opens the door to the kitchen to see Starlight washing the dishes with soap and water, it wasn’t much but what made him smile was seeing how Starlight was using her magic to get the job done so well. “How’s it going in there Starlight?” Spike asked with a proud smirk. “Well given I finished the task you just gave me. I say it went pretty well.” Starlight smiled brightly at the dragon, she yawned a bit but kept her smile, “I gotta say, it was kinda hard but no lesson is easy.” She spoke positively. “That’s the spirit.” Spike gave a thumbs up, “Now that that’s done, your next task is to mop the floors.” “Oh okay. Which sections?” Starlight asked happily. “Read the list.” Spike told Starlight who immediately did so before she was agape in shock, “The ENTIRE floor! Are you sure Spike? It might be a good idea to take a bit of a break.” She said, feeling a bit uneasy. Spike’s eyes widened in fear, if Starlight stopped now, all the chores won’t be finished when Twilight came back. Then he wouldn’t be able to tell Twilight about how much he taught Starlight and was able to get the chores done in one go. “We can’t take a break. It would be like abandoning an important friendship thing with our friends.” Spike protested quickly, “We can’t just give up on something so important. Aren’t you here because you need to learn about friendship?” He asked with a raised eyebrow, causing Starlight to relent with a sigh. “You’re right. I am here to learn about friendship. I’m sorry.” Starlight sighed sadly. Spike smiled, he was glad to get Starlight back on track, “Don’t worry Starlight. You’re new to this, of course you’re gonna be rusty. Just start mopping, once you can see yourself in the crystal reflection on the floor, you’ll be able to reflect on how far you’ve come and the effort you put into it.” He spoke in a poetic tone which made Starlight smile. “Huh? When you put it like that, it seems like a good lesson.” Starlight smiled appreciatively, “Thanks Spike.” Starlight soon walked off to likely mop the castle, and soon Discord rose from the bubbling sink and in a shower cap and smirked at Spike. “Interesting lesson you came up with Spike. What air particles did you pull that from?” He smirked. “Shut up Discord.” Spike said angrily, “I’m helping Starlight first and foremost, yes I am pulling these metaphors out of thin air but it’s for Starlight’s benefit. Starlight DOES seem to be taking these lessons to heart.” He smiled proudly at himself. “Aw. How sweet, you think you’re actually being a good friend.” Discord spoke mockingly. “I AM!” Spike shouted furiously. “Denial is like a river dear Spike.” Discord still smirked, “Now if you’ll excuse me; I need to take a rinse.” Discord then pulled out a drain as he sunk into the sink drain. “Weirdo.” Spike muttered in annoyance as he started to walk to his room to potentially read his comics when he noticed the floors were so shiny he could see his reflection. “Whoa. She cleaned it already?” Spike gasped in shock. “Yep. I did.” Starlight smiled as she walked over, her mane looked a bit frazzled however. “Starlight? How’d you clean the floors so fast?” Spike asked curiously. “Oh. I used the Accelero spell to make me go faster.” Starlight smiled proudly, “We do have a list to go through and I thought it would be good idea to use.” “Alright. Well done Starlight.” Spike smiled before he noticed the loose strands in her mane, “What happened to your mane?” Starlight looked over her shoulder and realized what Spike was talking about, “Oh that. I guess the spell and the task itself took a bit out of me.” Starlight said with a thoughtful frown before shrugging it off, “I’m probably fine though.” “That’s good. We only have a few more tasks left.” Spike smiled, “You’re next job is to rake the leaves.” “Huh? That doesn’t sound too bad.” Starlight admitted, a bit relieved to be doing something easy, “What’s the lesson in this?” She asked the dragon. “The lesson in this is a metaphor as in to get your act together from your past mistakes.” Spike said happily before nervously grinning, “After all, leaves are scattered like your past was when you stole cutie marks, so once you pile them up, it references your now clean present.” Starlight looked a bit upset at the mention of her past when she began to speak nervously, “Are you sure this is the lesson? Twilight’s not really on the nose about stuff like my past.” Spike began to bite his lip before smiling, “Well, maybe she decided it was a good lesson so she decided to be a bit more blunt about it.” “I don’t know…” Starlight trailed off before Spike put his hand on her shoulder reassuringly, “Come on Starlight. Don’t you trust me?” He smiled kindly. “Yeah… I guess you don’t have much of a reason to lie.” Starlight smiled sheepishly, “I guess I’ll go take care of the leaves.” Starlight began to walk towards the castle exit and as soon as she was gone, Spike soon felt a shadow looming behind him, and heard a slow clapping noise. “Clap, clap, clap.” Discord smirked mischievously, “Well done little Spike. You did it again. Even pulled the ‘Don’t you trust me’ card too. I’m so impressed.” “Okay, so I had to lie a little for Starlight to do this. That doesn’t mean I’m not helping her.” Spike said in annoyance but you could tell he was starting to have second thoughts about this, he was starting to question if he was really doing the right thing? “Oh really? I’m sure it helped that you mentioned her dark and dreary past.” Discord raised an eyebrow, showing a bit more annoyance. “Huh?” Spike asked curiously. Discord soon snapped his claws and a digital camera began to play, showing Spike what he was talking about. “The lesson in this is a metaphor as in to get your act together from your past mistakes.” Past Spike said happily before nervously grinning, “After all, leaves are scattered like your past was when you stole cutie marks, so once you pile them up, it references your now clean present.” “Hmmm, Yes. I see you had to be a bit specific there.” Discord began stroking his goatee, “I’m not sure if you needed to though. But I guess it does fit with how you’ve been constantly reminding her of her past lately.” “What?” Spike asked incredulously. “Pinkie can be quite the gossip. She told me about your not so subtle reminders you give to Starlight about how evil she used to be.” Discord told the dragon. “I only do that when I feel it’s warranted. Besides, I think it’s good to remind Starlight of how badly she screwed up at times.” Spike scoffed as he flashed an annoyed yet nervous frown. “Ah yes. Because only the best of friends constantly hold stuff over their heads when they’re already struggling to move on from it.” Discord spoke mockingly to the dragon who’s eyes widened when he heard that. Am I… hurting Starlight by doing that? Spike asked himself before shaking it off, No, Discord’s just trying to tick me off… isn’t he? “You’re just trying to make me look bad Discord but you forget I can see through your tricks.” Spike smirked, although not much confidence was in it, “Nice try, but your pranks aren’t working.” Discord groaned in annoyance, “Fine Spike. Believe what you want. I guess you’ll just have to find out yourself.” Discord shrugged before disappearing with a flash. “He’ll be back.” Spike rolled his eyes to himself. Now that Spike was alone with his thoughts, he looked a bit nervously at the hallway Starlight just walked through. “Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to check on her. Well… in a way to make sure she’s doing well of course.” Spike smiled sheepishly to himself. As Spike began to walk towards the exit to the castle, he couldn’t help but wonder if Discord was right.
Heated ProblemsStarlight wiped the sweat off her brow and her bang off her face as she raked the leaves, in a normal state, she would have used magic, but given how hot it was and how tired she had become, she knew it would just cause her to pass out. Magic was no easy feat after all. It took her years to study it. There were a lot of leaves to pile up, and it was not fun to do since these leaves were scattered everywhere around the front of the castle, it was also a bit hot today so that didn’t help. Suddenly she saw Fluttershy walk nearby with some saddlebags on her, once she saw Starlight, she gasped, “Oh my Celestia! Starlight! What happened to you?!” Fluttershy asked in horror yet concern. “Nice to see you too Fluttershy.” Starlight jokes weakly. “I’m sorry.” Fluttershy frowned sheepishly before turning more serious, “But you clearly don’t look normal. Your mane is all droopy and you have bags under your eyes.” “Oh…” Starlight chuckled a bit insanely concerning Fluttershy, “I’m just doing the friendship tasks Twilight assigned me.” Starlight soon took the list out of her mane, and levitated it to Fluttershy, who looked in disgust at the now wet list before reading it. “Starlight… this just looks like some average chore list.” Fluttershy told the unicorn with a raised eyebrow. “Well it may be that way to you.” Starlight smiled reassuringly as Fluttershy spotted Spike about to exit the castle though he paused when he saw both Starlight and Fluttershy, “But Spike told me these tasks all had some sort of friendship metaphors. Like cleaning dishes means cleansing my mind, and organizing books is like organizing friendship activities.” “Wait. Spike told you all this?” Fluttershy squinted her eyes in Spike’s direction who noticed and smiled nervously as he waved. Why am I so nervous? I can easily explain to Fluttershy I lied for a good reason… right? Spike gulped to himself. “Starlight. I think Spike pulled a fast one on you. I feel those were his tasks, but he pawned them off you for some bizarre reason, I know he’s a good dragon and friend but he does have a greedy side.” Fluttershy told her friend sadly. Starlight seemed to consider it before frowning, “I’m sorry Fluttershy, but I don’t believe you. Spike’s immature and that’s a fact, but I doubt he’d use me to do these tasks, he’s not as bad as I was. We’re friends, and I know he wouldn’t do that to me.” She finished her rant with a smile. Spike immediately felt a rush of guilt when he heard that, he now realized that even with his semi-good intentions, he still manipulated Starlight to get out of these chores, and now she was suffering because of it. What kind of friend was he? “I can’t let this go on.” Spike whispered to himself. Spike immediately ran over to the two ponies and shouted, “Starlight! I need to talk with you!” “Oh. Hey Spike.” Starlight smiled at the dragon, “Me and Fluttershy were just talking about you. She thought you were using me to do these tasks for some reason, don’t worry I clarified things.” She spoke reassuringly, causing Fluttershy to roll her eyes. “The thing is… she wasn’t totally wrong.” Spike gulped nervously, waiting for the fallout. “Huh? What are you talking abou…” Starlight began speaking before suddenly passing out. “Starlight!” Spike cried out in shock and panic before shaking the unicorn’s face, “Wake up! Wake up!” Fluttershy immediately put a hoof to Starlight’s forehead and her eyes widened, “Spike. I think she’s suffering heat exhaustion.” “What?!” Spike asked incredulously, “How?! It’s not even that hot out!” “Perhaps, but she seemed quite exhausted. It’s assumed she was already tired from the tasks you tricked her into doing.” Fluttershy said in a lecturing tone. “So…” Spike said in shock before tearing up, “This is all my fault.” Fluttershy’s expression immediately softened but she couldn’t help Spike yet since Starlight was already in poor condition, “Look, we’ll talk about this later. We need to get Starlight to a cool place before she catches any illness.” “I think I know who can help us.” Spike said quickly, he immediately ran inside the castle and quickly went inside his room. He dug through the shelves until finding a remote, it read: In case of an emergency, press for the Lord Of Chaos And so Spike did, and soon Discord appeared lounging on a rocking chair and reading a magazine, “You called?” He said blandly. “I messed up! Starlight’s suffering heat exhaustion because of my idiocy, and I need your help quick!” Discord’s eyes widened in shock at this news before sighing, “I shouldn’t have let this go on for so long.” He then snapped his fingers and he and Spike were outside the castle as Fluttershy began carrying the sleeping Starlight bridal style as she hovered with her wings. “Discord?” Fluttershy asked curiously. “Ah Fluttershy, nice to see you again but we need to help your little friend here.” Discord smiled before taking Starlight off her hooves. Soon Discord snapped his fingers again and soon all four creatures found themselves in the bathroom. “The bathroom?” Spike asked curiously. “The best way to treat heat exhaustion is to keep the patient’s temperature low.” Discord explained factually, “I’m simply going to sit Starlight upright on the bathtub and let cold water flow around her as the tub fills.” Discord soon turned on the cold water of the tub and slowly it began to fill and envelope around Starlight, as it did so, Discord put a thermometer in Starlight’s mouth and soon the temperature in her body began to drop in a healthy amount. “Phew.” Fluttershy sighed in relief, “She’ll be okay.” “Is there anything I can do to help?” Spike found the courage to ask. “Sorry Spike, I don’t think you should right now.” Fluttershy said softly, “Good news is Starlight should be fine after a bit, but for now you should stay away from her.” Spike sighed sadly as he walked off, “I understand. I’m so sorry.” He said, voice full of remorse and regret. Discord and Fluttershy walked him walk off sympathetically, it was clear he was hurt. “I’m gonna go check on him.” Discord told Fluttershy sadly, “I already know Twilight’s likely going to be really upset with him. It’s best I help him out a bit.” Spike just stood at the balcony and leaned on the railing sadly when he saw Discord walk up to him. “Walking? Must be serious?” Spike said half-heartedly. “Snap travel is so dull these days. Plus you’re my friend and I feel it would be inappropriate to use it at this time.” Discord said, joking around a bit but Spike didn’t laugh. “This is all my fault.” Spike sighed bitterly, “I thought I was doing a good thing by having Starlight do this, but I guess all I was doing was just pawning my work off of her.” “Spike. You may have done all that, but you didn’t know that Starlight was going to get heat exhaustion.” Discord sighed sympathetically. “Yeah but maybe if I let her take a break or heck, even helped her with the workload without the lies of Twilight making a friendship lesson, maybe this wouldn’t have happened, I’m a terrible dragon.” Spike said angrily. Discord couldn’t argue against that, Spike was correct in the sense that he should have done that but he wouldn’t let his friend wallow in his self pity. “Look Spike, despite what may have happened today. You are not a bad dragon.” Discord said sternly. “And why’s that?” Spike huffed. “If you were. You wouldn’t be feeling remorse over this.” Discord smiled softly, “Some other dragons would laugh at what happened to Starlight, but you actually care enough to where you feel bad for what happened.” Spike began to feel a bit better about this and soon Discord added, “Besides, you’re the one who competed in the Gauntlet Of Fire to protect your friends and stood up for a renegade Changeling at the risk of losing the Crystal Empire’s favor, Spike you’re not a monster, you just made a mistake.” Spike embraced the Draconequus and smiled, “Thank you Discord. I needed that.” Discord was surprised but hugged back nonetheless, “Anytime.” Then they heard a little cough noise and turned to see Fluttershy, “Um. I hate to interrupt this adorable moment but Starlight’s awake… and she wants to see Spike, she’s still in the tub.” She said neutrally. Spike sighed and shrugged, “Well, I gotta face her, might as well do it now.” He then began heading back inside, Discord looked worried for his friend, he just hoped Starlight and Spike would be okay. Author's Note Truthfully I’m not sure of the recommended way to treat heat exhaustion, I just know that you need to keep the person in that condition cool and their body temperature lowered. I just went what was best for the story.
Bittersweet ResolutionsSpike slowly trudged over to the bathroom in solemn acceptance, he knew for a fact he was gonna tell Starlight the truth about what he did. He just didn’t know what to expect from his friend. He expected her to be furious, or for her to burst into tears. He was just really nervous all around. Spike knew he wasn’t a bad dragon, Discord made that crystal clear but he still felt awful for using Starlight to do his dirty work. Spike soon made it to the bathroom to see Starlight sitting in a mini-pool of cold water in the bathtub. “Hey Starlight.” Spike smiled weakly, “How are you feeling?” “I feel exhausted.” Starlight groaned, “I’m doing better now but my body felt like it was aching.” Spike winced in sympathy for the poor mare, she seriously had to go through all that. “Hey Spike… when I was talking with you outside, you said something about Fluttershy not being entirely wrong when I told you she said you were just using me.” Starlight began curiously before growing shaky, “I-I was just delirious right? You didn’t actually use me to do your dirty work right?” She asked with a quivering lip. Spike sighed, he couldn’t lie to Starlight. She had already suffered enough. “Starlight, I have to be honest. That was my chore list. I knew that I wasn’t going to get them all done today so I pawned my list on you. I thought if I used friendship lessons in the chores I gave you, it would benefit us both and Twilight would be impressed with us.” Spike began speaking, “But then I realized what I did was wrong. All I was really doing was just using you to do my chores. I’m so sorry Starlight.” Starlight just looked at Spike, tears starting to form in her eyes, “You used me?” She asked softly yet sadly. “I-I did.” Spike affirmed solemnly, “I’m so sorry Starlight. I never meant for you to get hurt like this.” He apologized remorsefully. “I-I need some time to process this.” Starlight told the dragon who sighed before walking away, “Totally fair.” He said sadly. Before he left, Spike decided to say one last thing, “I know what I did was wrong. I can’t take it back. Don’t think you aren’t justified to be upset because you did some heinous actions, because you are justified. You have every right to be mad, I just hope one day I can make it up to you but for now, I’m sorry.” Spike soon left the bathroom and soon he saw that Twilight was standing in front of him, to his surprise, she didn’t seem mad at him, she just looked upset. “I know what I did to Starlight was wrong.” Spike sighed sadly, “I learned that myself… well, with Discord’s help. Though if you still want to rant, I won’t stop you.” To his surprise, Twilight just hugged him, though she still wore a frown, “You’re not mad?” “No. I’m disappointed but not mad.” Twilight said solemnly before letting him go, “I’m upset you took advantage of Starlight like that, but I won’t deny you weren’t being malicious about it from what Fluttershy and Discord told me. I’m not going to punish you. You’re already suffering enough.” Spike looked at the closed door and sighed, “Yep. That’s for sure.” It’s been two days after the whole chore incident, Starlight eventually got back to a healthy temperature much to Spike’s relief, but ever since then, Starlight had been avoiding him. Heck, when Starlight even looked at him, she just seemed sad. He was currently eating pancakes on the kitchen table, a bit slowly however. He still felt empty without Starlight around. Sure he had just met the mare a mere two months ago, but he knew it wasn’t the same without her friendship. Suddenly Starlight walked over and pointed to the seat next to him at the table, “Is this seat occupied?” “Help yourself.” Spike shrugged dismissively. Starlight did just that and began levitating the pancake to her mouth and ate it. “So… how’s everything?” Spike asked awkwardly. “It’s been better. I just did stuff I enjoyed and… hung out with Twilight and Trixie.” Starlight smiled awkwardly before sighing, “Spike. We need to talk about two days ago.” Spike was unsurprised but worried at the same time “I guess so.” “Spike. I won’t deny what you did hurt me a lot. We’re friends but you manipulated me to do your bidding.” Starlight said sadly. “And you had every right to feel that way.” Spike told the unicorn, “I made you do my chores without taking any breaks.” “I know but after thinking it over, I figured I was ready to forgive you.” Starlight smiled softly at the dragon who looked shocked, “W-What? Really?! Starlight, I told you, you don’t have to forgive me because of your past.” Spike reminded his friend. “I know, but I thought it over and after talking with Twilight and Discord, I realized you weren’t trying to hurt me. You made a mistake and while I am still a bit upset with you, I’m at least ready to start rekindling with you.” Starlight said reassuringly before giving him a concerned frown, “But I just ask one thing. Please don’t put yourself down over this, it’s one thing to feel guilty and another to constantly put yourself in the wringer for this. You’re not a monster Spike, you’re my friend and I miss what we have.” Spike smiled tearfully and embraced Starlight almost immediately, “I missed you too!” Starlight patted his back with a tearful smile of her own, but little did they know, Twilight and Discord were watching the two of them make up. “I’m so glad they worked things out.” Twilight smiled warmly, “I was afraid I was going to have to intervene.” “Well technically we both did but they did make up without us persisting them.” Discord smiled back at the alicorn who seemed to spot tears in his eyes. “Are those tears?” She asked teasingly. “Absolutely not.” Discord scoffed before wiping them off, “My heart is practically ice.” Twilight just chuckled and gave Discord a hug, who looked surprised but didn’t seem opposed to it.
