Discord poofed into his bedroom back in his castle as he let out a yawn and stretched his arms. He had spent another 4 hours at the welcoming party in Ponyville town square, playing games and pranking some of the other ponies. The party ended at around midnight and the Draconequus was more than willing to return to his chaotic mansion to get a good night's rest as well as sleep the next morning away.

He teleported into his bedroom bathroom and snapped up some warm bubbly water in the bathtub as he slithered into the water and poked his head out before resting it on the other end and letting out a relaxed sigh.

It was a shame that Fluttershy grew tired and he had to take her back home and tuck her into her bed, not like he had a problem with that anyway, but he really wanted to spend the entire evening and play more games with her.

It was good that Meadow Brook left when he did.

Discord’s smile fell as he thought about the light brown Pegasus stallion. He didn’t really like him, mainly because Meadow seemed to be close to Fluttershy already and gained her trust super easily without any struggles. If both Pegasus kept seeing each other more and more often, they would grow closer and closer. They might even develop feelings for each other and spend the rest of their lives together.

Discord huffed out a scoff through his nose. There was no way that Fluttershy would ever want to have feelings for a stallion like Meadow Brook, now when there were other stallions out there. You know what they say; there are plenty of fish in the sea.

The very thought of Fluttershy dating another stallion didn't sit well in his mind.

Discord let out a sigh. It was clear that the party had taken a toll on his mental state and needed to get to bed as soon as possible.

After scrubbing himself clean, he got out of the tub and shook the water off his body like a dog before draining the water and rubbing a large towel to dry his fur. He teleported underneath the covers on his bed and rested his head on the pillows as he closed his eyes, determined to rid himself of the jealous thoughts that filled his mind.

Discord found himself sitting on the ground on a picnic blanket as he heard soft and sweet laughter from his left. He turned to see none other than his best friend Fluttershy giggling at a group of singing Ginseng floating in front of her singing a silly yet pleasing tune. “Oh Discord, the Ginseng are so funny.” she said.

“Why thank you,” the Draconequus smiled with pride. “There’s nothing better than hearing your lovely laugh.”

She turned away to hide her pink cheeks as Discord reached down and lightly ran his eagle claw over her back, causing her to turn and look up at him.

“Sorry,” he pulled away with guilt. “I just thought that you’d like it.”

“I didn’t say you had to stop.” Fluttershy smiled at him. “It felt really nice to have your hand stroke my back like that.”

“Really?”

“Mmm-hmm.” she leaned against his side. “So go ahead. Keep stroking me, I won’t mind.”

Discord reluctantly placed his eagle claw back on her back and lightly stroked it as she closed her eyes and moaned with pleasure, causing a smile of his own to form on his lips. He wished this moment with her would never end.

“Fluttershy!”

Both of them turned to see Meadow Brook rushing towards them as he skidded to a stop in front of them. “Meadow!” Fluttershy exclaimed as she looked at him in concern. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s Angel, he’s hurt.” Meadow replied. “I caught him trying to steal some carrots for his lunch in the supply shed, but as he jumped for the shelf, he misjudged his trajectory and broke his leg.”

She gasped. “Oh no. Angel!” she turned back to her Draconequus companion. “Discord, I’m sorry to cut our picnic so short, but Angel needs me. I hope you’re not too upset.”

Despite feeling disappointed, he successfully managed a smile upon his expression. “Not at all, my dear.” he lied. “Don’t let me get in the way of you doing what needs to be done.”

She smiled at him. “Thank you. I hope we can have another picnic another time.”

“Of course. Some other time.”

The two pegasai rushed off as Discord’s smile fell. He felt a pang of sadness as he watched them rush off into the distance, now missing Fluttershy’s presence as if she’d been away on a week-long mission.

Suddenly, thick white fog blew in from out of nowhere as Discord looked around in confusion. ‘Where did this fog come from?’ he thought to himself as he stood up and flew off in the direction Fluttershy went, feeling as if she was in danger.

“Fluttershy?” he called out into the thickness. “Fluttershy!”

No response came back to him and he couldn’t hear any galloping.

Worry filled his mind as he attempted to teleport into the location where Fluttershy would likely be, but to find not a single trace of her.

“Fluttershy! Where are you?” Discord yelled out into the air. “Come on, my dear, this isn’t a funny prank.”

What if Meadow Brook got her in danger and didn’t save her?

The very thought sent a rocket of anger and fear through him as he yelled out with all his strength.

“Fluttershy!” he shouted to the heavens. “FLUTTERSHY!!!”

Discord bolted up with a gasp and opened his eyes as he panted deeply, finding himself back in his bedroom. He glanced over at his alarm clock, to which he begrudgingly replaced last night, which said that it was only a few minutes past three in the morning.

Relief washed over him. It was only a dream, plain and simple, which meant that Fluttershy was safely in her cottage fast asleep.

Discord should’ve felt even more relief, but the images from his dream were still fresh in his mind. His mind began to fill with images of Meadow Brook luring her away from him and purposefully getting her into danger, causing a new wave of fear, worry, and anger to well up within the Draconequus.

He let out an annoyed huff as he laid back down and pulled the covers over his body. He could see that Meadow wasn’t ever going to do anything against Fluttershy, yet the possibility of him doing that behind his and her friends’ backs still felt unsetting.

One thing was for sure; he didn’t at all like Meadow Brook nor trust him, and that’s how things were gonna stay.

By daylight late the next morning, Discord awoke with a moan as he opened his eyes halfway and glanced at his clock, which thankfully didn’t go off.

12:47 pm

He successfully managed to sleep in, yet still felt tired and dreary as he sat up and stretched his arms with a yawn. He teleported into his bathroom and brushed his teeth (which would surely impress Fluttershy) before teleporting into the kitchen and snapping up a bowl that contained yesterday's newspaper.

Discord normally didn’t eat paper, but only did it to creep ponies out as well as mess with them, but now he was in the mood for something that wasn’t food, and the Foal-Free Press was on his menu.

As he ate his meal, his thoughts drifted off to the dreams he had after waking up in the middle of the night. They were about when he was freely relaxing on a cotton candy cloud high above Ponyville when he spotted Fluttershy and Meadow Brook taking a stroll together, seemingly oblivious to the Lord of Chaos’s presence. He had made himself invisible and soundlessly teleported down to them as he watched the two pegasai conversating together with smiles on their faces, which irked him with disgust. He wanted to interrupt them, but chose not to in hopes to not be accused of spying.

Discord let out a sigh as he realized how ridiculous he was acting. It was the Tree Hugger incident all over again.

He had learned his lesson that time, especially after Fluttershy yelled at him. It was okay for her to have more than one friend, and he didn’t have to get upset over it.

‘But what if Meadow gets too close to her and they fall in love?’ an unsettling thought whispered in his mind.

Discord shook his head and scooped another mouthful of paper into his mouth. He shouldn’t be thinking such thoughts when he should be eating his breakfast.

Then again, it wouldn’t hurt to make sure Meadow wasn’t with Fluttershy, just to be safe.

Gulping down the rest of his paper salad, Discord teleported to Fluttershy’s cottage and looked around for her, only to find the house empty. He then teleported to Sweet Feather Sanctuary and smiled once he found the yellow Pegasus sitting in an open area, only to frown to see who was with her.

It was him.

Meadow Brook sat next to her as they conversed together, clearly taking a break from what Discord could tell from his point of view. Nevertheless, he needed to step in and put an abrupt halt on this.

He slithered through the grass and stopped behind Fluttershy as Meadow turned to look at him and jumped in surprise.

“Meadow, what’s wrong?” Fluttershy asked with concern. “Is there someone behind me?”

“Yes.” a familiar voice spoke up from behind her as she turned around and jumped with a yelp, surprised to see none other than the spirit of chaos and disharmony standing directly behind her.

“Why hello, Fluttershy!” Discord said cheerfully as he scooped her up into a hug not once glancing at Meadow,. “It’s so good to see my most favorite pony and best friend in the entire universe!”

“Discord…I’m glad to…see you too,” Fluttershy gasped, wincing from how tight he was hugging her. “Can you please…put me down?”

“Oh alright.” Discord placed her down as moved himself between her and Meadow Brook and sat down. “So, Fluttershy. What have you been up to so far today?”

“Not much. Just tasks across the animal sanctuary.” she replied. “Meadow’s been helping out again with some of the harder tasks.”

“Oh really?” the Draconequus turned to the light brown pegasus with a raised eyebrow. “And just what have you been doing, M’boy?”

“Oh.” Meadow smiled, eager to show his happiness at working with the animals. “I helped Fluttershy feed the bunnies, gave a black cat a vaccine, gave a couple of the ferrets their baths, and I even gave Harry the bear a massage.”

Discord was impressed, much to his surprise. He thought Meadow would’ve been struggling a little bit, but found that he was doing fine without struggle.

“What about you, Discord?” Fluttershy got his attention as he looked down at her. “What have you been up to?”

“Same response as you, my dear. I just had breakfast and decided to come and check up on you.”

“Why? Is there something wrong?”

“What? No, no, not at all!” Discord replied, noticing the concern etched onto her face. “I just…wanted to tell you that I’m going to purchase a ticket for the play tonight!” he quickly added, hoping to ease her worries.

It seemed to do the trick as she smiled at him. “That’s wonderful.”

“I know.” he turned to look at Meadow Brook. “And I’ll even take you with me.”

“W-what?” the light brown Pegasus stammered in surprise with widened eyes.

“I’m going to take you and buy you a ticket while I buy one of my own.” Discord simplified. “And if we go right now we can beat the line at the ticket booth.”

“Now? Are you sure we’ve got enough time to get tickets and get back in time for me to continue with my tasks?”

“But of course. Besides, I can easily stop time and you won’t miss even a quadrillionth of a second.” the Draconequus turned to the yellow Pegasus on his other side. “Would it be alright if I stole Meadow from you for a few minutes, Fluttershy? We’ll be back faster than you can say ‘Draconequus’ a million times fast.”

Fluttershy put her hoof to her chin in thought before smiling at him. “I don’t see why not, so long as Meadow returns immediately after getting hiss ticket.”

“Splendid!” Discord cheered as he scooped Meadow into his lion arm and teleported them in front of the Ponyville schoolhouse before placing the light brown Pegasus back on his hooves. “Now, if I were a ticket booth, where would I be?”

“Um, over there?” Meadow pointed to a small wooden stand along the path that led from Ponyville up to the schoolhouse.

“Oh, right.” Discord muttered as he teleported them both in front of the stand and dinged the bell on the desktop.

When nopony heard it and ran up to the desk, he dinged the bell again, only to wind up with the same results.

Discord sighed with annoyance as he folded his arms and thumped his lizard foot impatiently. “We don’t have all day.”

“Maybe the teacher of this school runs the ticket booth.” Meadow suggested. “He or she’s probably occupied with teaching the students.”

“Perhaps.”

Suddenly, the sound of the school bell ringing could be heard as the boys looked to see the students of the schoolhouse exiting and rushing over to the playground.

“Play nicely together!” a female voice called from inside the building as the school teacher, Miss Cheerilee, stepped out and noticed two figures standing in front of the ticket booth, one being the new pony she saw at Pinkie’s party last night and Discord.

Surprise and curiosity got the better of her as she trotted down to the ticket stand and smiled at the two potential ticket purchasers. “Hi there. Are you interested in seeing tonight's school play in Town Hall?” she said casually, hiding her surprise at seeing the Lord of Chaos at the ticket stand.

“Um…y-yes we are.” Meadow replied shyly. “How much are they?”

“Tickets are five bits each.” Cheerilee replied as a pile of ten bits materialized on the table top, surprising her.

“I’m paying for our tickets.” Discord said with a casual smile. “No harm in that, right?”

“Well, not that I know of. I just never thought you’d be interested in seeing a play, Discord.” The dark purple earth pony mare finally voiced her surprise.

“I know, but I’m curious about whatever amusing thing might happen.” he held out his eagle claw. “So how about those tickets?”

Cheerilee looked at him for a moment before shrugging and placing the money inside a bag as she placed the tickets on the table top. “There you go.”

“Thank you.” Meadow smiled gratefully at her as he and Discord took their tickets.

“You’re welcome.” Cheerilee smiled back as she went back inside the schoolhouse. “See you boys tonight.”

“We’ll be there!” Discord called after her as he teleported himself and Meadow Brook back to Sweet Feather Sanctuary, finding Fluttershy in the exact same spot she was sitting.

“So how did it go?” she asked.

Discord held out his lion paw and showed the bronze ticket. “I’ll be seeing you tonight, my dear.”

“I got my ticket as well.” Meadow said as he held out his left wing, showing his own ticket.

“Oh, that’s so wonderful.” Fluttershy smiled. “I can’t wait until tonight.”

“Me neither.” said Discord as he teleported his ticket back to his home. “Now, I hate to cut this meeting short, but I must return home. I hope I didn’t offend you, Fluttershy.”

“It’s okay, Discord.” she smiled at him as she flew up and embraced him. “I’ll see you tonight.”

“Ta-ta for now, my sweet.” he murmured in her ear before placing her down as he teleported back to his castle. Upon returning, he began to think about the situation he just found himself in.

He bought a ticket to a school play, not just to see the amusing young actors, but to keep an eye on Meadow Brook.

Discord still didn’t trust the light brown Pegasus and felt as if his instincts were kicking in, telling him that the stallion was probably someone else with a different motive. What was Meadow up to, and what did he want with Fluttershy?

Discovering that worrying over something extremely unlikely, the Draconequus teleported into a large room filled to the brim with electric massaging chairs and sat down, feeling the electric massagers pressing into his leg, tail, and arm muscles, letting out a relaxed sigh.

“That’s better.” Discord mumbled, deciding to now spend the rest of the afternoon up until the show to relax in this exact chair. Whatever suspicions or doubts he had about Meadow Brook melted away as he closed his eyes and let out a cat-like purr.

Spike stepped into Carousel Boutique as he closed the door behind him and went upstairs, knocking on the door to Rarity’s room.

“Come in!” the prim and proper unicorn mare called from the other side.

He opened the door and entered her bedroom/workshop as he looked to see her sitting at her work desk with a frustrated expression. “Uh Rarity? Are you alright?” he asked with concern as he cautiously approached her.

She turned to look at him and managed a small smile. “Hello, Spike. To be honest, I’m in a spot of bother.”

“What’s wrong?” he asked as he came up to her side.

“You do know that tonight is Sweetie Belle and her classmate’s play, right?”

The purple dragon nodded in response, choosing to wait until she finished to say anything.

“Well, I’m struggling in making masks for the Cutie Mark Crusaders superhero costumes. I need red, orange, yellow, purple, and pink fabric. The only problem is that I don’t have any and I’ve looked all over my home.”

“Do you want me to go and get some more for you?” Spike asked.

“I appreciate it, darling, but I feel as if there’s still some more fabric here in the boutique that I overlooked.”

“I’d be happy to go and look for it for you.”

Rarity smiled at him. “I would be most grateful if you did.”

“I’ll be right back.” he said boldly as he marched out of the room and went up to the supply closet in the hallway. He opened the double doors and searched throughout the many towels, bedsheets, and other items for any form of clothing fabric, but found none.

He closed the door and went down the upstairs hall until he came across a pair of stairs that led up, much to his surprise. He never saw them before, but felt as if they would help him.

Spike went up the stairs until he came across a door that probably led to the attic. He tried to twist the doorknob, but found that the door was locked.

‘I won’t fail her.’ he thought determinedly as he looked down at the mat in front of the door and lifted it up, finding a small wooden door beneath it. He lifted it up and was glad to find a key safely stored away inside of the small crevice as he pulled it out and closed the small wooden door.

He placed the mat back on the ground and placed the key inside the key hole as he twisted it, causing the door to unlock. With a silent cheer to himself, Spike opened the door and stepped into the attic of Carousel Boutique.

It had many cobwebs and boxes stored about and a couple of skylights in the roof illuminating the attic. Spike trekked across the wooden floor and spotted something that seemed to stand out from everything else.

He went up to a wooden chest over in a corner and opened it, immediately being welcomed by a large cloud of dust. He turned away and coughed as he waved away the dust before turning and looking inside the chest, eyes widening slightly in surprise before smiling with triumph.

Many rolls of fabric that were different colors resided inside the chest. On top of them was an old and moldy piece of paper that caught Spike’s curiosity as he picked it up and read it aloud.

“To our wonderful daughter, Rarity.

From your loving parents.”

He lowered the note and looked back inside the chest. ‘Did Rarity’s parents leave these for her?’

It was a possible and apparently obvious act of generosity. Nevertheless, he picked up the chest and hauled it out the attic as he used his tail and closed the door before slowly going down the stairs. He went back to Rarity’s room and opened the door using his tail.

“Where did you get that?” Rarity asked in surprise and curiosity.

“I found this up in the attic.” Spike replied as he went up to her and placed the chest down on the ground next to the work desk. “And that’s not even the best part.”

He opened the lid as Rarity looked inside and gasped in surprise. “I had no idea these were ever here.” she uttered in disbelief.

“That’s because of this.” Spike said as he pulled out the note and handed it to her. She lit up her horn and levitated it in front of her as she read it aloud.

“To our wonderful daughter, Rarity.

From your loving parents.”

She levitated the note onto her work desk as she began to process what she just discovered. Her parents had left her this chest full of fabric some time ago in the attic as a surprise gift.

This wasn't at all bad. In fact, it was far from it.

A grin spread across her features as she squealed in happiness. “Oh this is wonderful! Now I can finish the costumes!”

“Um, y-yeah.” Spike nodded in agreement, feeling his heart skip a beat slightly at her happiness.

“I’ll have the superhero masks done in no time!” Rarity said with bold determination as she immediately began sewing.

Spike took the opportunity to sit on the bed as he let out a sigh. Lifting the chest was slightly hard, but found that pleasing the Element of Generosity to be worth it.

“Done!”

He looked up in surprise. “Wow, that was fast.”

“It certainly was.” Rarity said with pride as the purple dragon came up to her desk and looked at her newly created masks.

The first mask was orange with purple wings at both edges, the second one was sparkly with pink surrounded by purple that curved up at the two sides, and the third mask was red surrounded by yellow with lightning bolts on it.

“Wow, these are really cool.” Spike said as Rarity smiled with pride.

“Indeed they are.” she said. “Sweetie Belle provided me with the ideas for her and her classmate’s costumes, and I naturally made them with no struggle at all.”

“Cool.” Spike smiled at her. “Do you want me to take the masks to the stage?”

“Actually, I feel it’s best if we both go.” Rarity said as she stood up from her stool and pushed it underneath her work desk. “I have been meaning to check up on the costumes for a while.”

“Well then, shall we?” he bowed and held out his claw

She giggled at him and stood up as they exited her room and went out before stepping out of Carousel Boutique.

“So where’s the stage?” Spike asked. “I don’t remember seeing it at the schoolhouse.”

“That’s because it’s in Town Hall due to the rainstorm that’s supposed to come by later tonight.” Rarity explained. “Now to mention it was cheaper and more comfortable.”

“I can certainly understand that.”

They made their way into town square and entered town hall as Spike looked over at the stage on the far side of the foyer.

“Wow, I nearly forgot that stage still existed.” Spike said as he and the white unicorn mare next to him went up the small steps and behind the curtains, which were installed a few weeks ago.

Once they reached backstage, Rarity lit up her horn and turned on the light as Spike looked at the background and props with amazement.

The background wall was black with many white dots that resembled stars as well as several larger circles that looked like planets; Some of them had rings and even a few moons. There were also comets, asteroids, and even a small nebula in the center. A props bin to his right caught his attention as he went over and looked inside it, revealing fake lazer guns, a fake control panel, and even a red wagon next to the props bin with rocket ship cardboard on both sides of it.

Spike whistles in amazement. “This play’s gonna be amazing.”

“It most certainly is!” Rarity called from the costume closet over on the side of the stage as the purple dragon went over and peaked his head in.

“I’m all done!” the white unicorn turned and smiled at him as she trotted out of the room and closed the door. “And now that’s all done, what would you like to do for the rest of the day, darling?”

“You want to spend the rest of the day with me?” Spike asked before quickly adding, “N-not that I don’t want to! I always want to spend time with you.”

She looked at him for a moment with slight surprise before smiling sweetly at him. “Do you really mean that?”

He realized his mistake as his face flushed a shade of red. “Um, w-well I uh…yes? You are one of a kind, you know.”

“How sweet of you, Spikey-wikey.” Rarity embraced him before pulling away. “I’ll ask again; what would you like to do until the show?”

“Well…” he thought for a moment before an idea hit him. “Maybe we can go to the spa?” he asked hopefully. “And if not, maybe we can chill at your place and eat ice cream together?”

“I think that’s a wonderful idea.” she smiled at him once again before frowning. “However, when me and Fluttershy went to the spa a few days ago, we were told that they were closed for repairs and won’t be reopening until another two weeks.”

Spike felt disappointed but didn’t show it. “Then ice cream it is.”

“Agreed.”

They both left the stage and left town hall as they went back to Carousel Boutique.

“Spike?”

He looked over at Rarity with curiosity. “Yes?”

“Thank you, for everything.” she smiled gratefully at him.

“Any time.” Spike smiled back as they continued onward together, not knowing that they were holding hooves/claws.

Discord laid down on a tree branch not too far away from where Fluttershy and Meadow Brook sat together as he glared at the two pegasai. Instead of going home, he’d been watching them for the past two and a half hours in secret with nothing but bitter thoughts.

‘Why is Fluttershy giving Meadow so much attention? They’ve only known each other for less than 48 hours.’ the Draconequus thought. ‘I can’t believe that fanboy is so close to her already!’

A small poof came from his left as he turned to see a red miniature version of himself with a devil’s tail and pitchfork at his eye level. “I can read your thoughts, you know.” he said with a casual smile. “I know that you don’t like that guy.”

Discord rolled his eyes. “Of course I don’t like him. Isn’t it obvious?”

“Well duh, but why not? He sure is handsome for a stallion, and Fluttershy sure does like him already.”

That caused him to tense up with a slight eye twitch before glaring at his bad conscience. “What?”

“You know Meadow Brook is Fluttershy’s type. He looks like he exercises regularly, gets enough sleep, spends maybe enough time with his family, the list goes on.”

“Are you saying that he could potentially be her special somepony?” Discord accused. “Because let me be the first to say this; you’re right.” he sighed.

“Oh relax, Discord. I didn’t come here to make you even more of a tomato headed,” the devil Discord chided as he formed a devilish grin across his face. “I came to help you.”

“Help me? How?”

“Simple plan. Make that Meadow guy a fool in any way possible, and that’ll make Fluttershy dislike him for sure.”

Discord had to admit, that was an extremely smart and cunning plan. A mischievous smile of his own formed on his lips as he looked over at Meadow Brook with an evil smile. “Ohohoho, I like the sound of that.”

“Great! But be careful Fluttershy doesn’t see you doing this to Meadow, otherwise she’ll get really upset and might even cancel next week’s Tuesday Tea.”

The Draconequus nodded in agreement, shivering at the thought of both possibilities happening. He made himself invisible as his bad conscience did the same thing.

“So how are we going to do this?” Discord whispered. “While I naturally come up with brilliant ideas, I’ll need you for assistance in this.”

“I’d be honored.” the Discord shoulder devil smirked with pride. “Now, the key to making somepony who’s perfect imperfect, you need to do something that’ll make them look bad.” he grinned evilly. “Like doing something that’ll annoy your victim so much, they’ll lose their temper and no one will like him.”

“Oh, that is brilliant!” Discord cheered before clamping his mouth shut and looking over at Fluttershy, who thankfully didn’t hear him as he let out a soft sigh of relief. “How about I make a bunch of instruments interrupt him whenever he tries to talk?”

“Convincing, but too random. Fluttershy will immediately suspect it’s you.” said the Draconequus devil.

“Right. What if we made ‘Angel’ mad at Meadow for something?”

“Like what? Even if we did do something like that, he would easily forgive that Pegasus fanboy. Besides, Devil Bunny seems to like him already.”

Both Draconequui looked over at Angel as he hopped up to Meadow and nuzzled into his right foreleg.

“Fine, what if we sent a swarm of bees at him?”

“Too painful.”

“Frame him for a robbery?”

“Too cliche. Meadow can easily be proven otherwise.”

“Dump an entire barrel of mud over him.”

“Too smelly.”

“Make him a potty mouth.”

“Too inappropriate.”

“Dunk him in the pond?”

“Not good enough, plus it sounds like a good opportunity for him to be even more attractive. I mean, imagine Fluttershy emerging from water with her mane and tail all wet.”

Discord turned to his shoulder devil with a blunt look. Even though they were both invisible, they could still see each other. “Are you going to keep rejecting my ideas?”

“As a matter of fact, I have.” the bad conscience Draconequus replied.

“Then why did you make me come up with all those dumb ideas?”

“What? I had to see what you thought would be good enough to work.”

Discord glared at him as he grabbed him around the torso and squeezed him tightly. “Tell me your stupid idea right now or I’ll throw you into a volcano.”

“Alright alright, fine! Just let me go!” his shoulder devil said as he felt his body being released from the strong grip. “Anyway, all you have to do is make a Manticore attack Meadow.”

“A Manticore?” the Lord of Chaos raised an eyebrow. “Won’t it attack Fluttershy as well?”

“Well yeah, but not if you create your own Manticore and make it attack Meadow and only him.”

This seemed interesting. “I’m listening.”

“Once the Manticore attacks Meadow, he’ll be so cowardly that he won’t be able to save himself nor Fluttershy. And if the Manticore attacks her too, swoop in and save her.”

“And that’ll make me look good and not him.” Discord concluded as he grinned mischievously. “Oh hallelujah that’s a magnificent idea!”

He snapped his fingers as a Manticore materialized beneath the tree branch the Draconequus was lounging on.

“Don’t forget to put a thorn in its paw for further measure.” the shoulder devil whispered as Discord snapped his fingers once again.

A sharp pain emitted from the Manticore’s front right paw as he roared in pain.

“Brilliant!” The Discord devil cheered, being careful to maintain a low volume as he high-fived the larger Draconequus and teleported with him to a nearby tree, making themselves visible.

“Now to wait.” Discord whispered as they hid behind the tree with excited grins.

Back with the two pegasai, Fluttershy smiled down at her pet bunny as Meadow Brook continued to stroke him in the spot he knew the lagomorph would like best. “Aww, Angel really likes you, Meadow.” she gushed.

“He sure does.” Meadow nodded.

Suddenly, a loud roar shook the entire animal sanctuary as Angel dashed off in fear. Both pegasai leapt to their hooves as they looked around for the source.

“W-w-w-what was that?” Fluttershy stammered in fear.

“It sounded like a Manticore.” Meadow answered as true to his word, an angry manticore leapt out of the bushes behind them and roared at them.

“Stay behind me, Fluttershy. I’ll handle this!” The light brown Pegasus went up to the Manticore and smiled at him, much to Fluttershy’s surprise and worry.

Back with Discord, he and his shoulder devil were snickering to themselves. “Oh I can’t wait to see what a coward Meadow is and save Fluttershy.” the Lord of Chaos whispered.

“I couldn’t agree more.” his bad conscience whispered back with a grin as he peaked around the tree and gaped with disbelief.

“What?” Discord raised an eyebrow.

His shoulder devil turned to look at him with a grim look. “You’re not gonna like what I just saw.”

“What’s wrong? Is Fluttershy severely injured?” worry filled the Draconequus at the very thought.

“No. Something that won’t make you happy.”

“Like what?”

His shoulder indicated for him to look where he was pointing as Discord did so with curiosity. What he saw next left him gaping with disbelief.

Meadow Brook was taming the Manticore, and In front of Fluttershy no less!

“It’s okay big guy, I won’t hurt you.” he spoke in a soft and gentle tone.

The Manticore gave him a confused look as Meadow noticed his front right paw was raised upward. “Can I see your paw please? The one that’s raised?”

He stared at him for a moment before reluctantly showing his paw, revealing two sharp thorns stuck inside his palm.

“Aw, you poor thing.” Meadow said with sympathy. “That must really hurt, doesn’t it?”

The Manticore nodded his head with a sad expression as he held out his injured paw.

“Alright, I’m gonna pull out the thorns from your paw. It’ll only hurt for just a second, but it’ll be over before you know it. Are you ready?”

The Manticore nodded as he turned away and closed his eyes tightly.

Back behind the tree, Discord and his shoulder devil waited in anticipation, hoping the Manticore would lash out and attack.

Instead, it winced with a yelp as the thorns got pulled out of his paw.

“There. All done.” Meadow smiled at him. “How do you feel?”

The Manticore opened his eyes and looked at his paw, noticing that there were no longer any thorns in it. He gently patted it on the ground and noticed that it no longer hurt as he brightened with a smile and pulled in Meadow Brook for a tight hug.

“You’re welcome.” Meadow smiled as he hugged the Manticore back before pulling away. “Now take care of yourself, and remember to watch where you walk.”

The Manticore nodded at him as he turned and ventured back into the Everfree Forest.

Meadow turned back to Fluttershy with concern, only to find her gaping at him in amazement. “Uh, Fluttershy? Are you alright?” he asked as he went up to her and waved his hoof in front of her eyes.

She shook out of her trance as she grinned at him. “That was amazing!”

“Oh, i-it was nothing.” Meadow looked away and rubbed his foreleg.

“No it wasn’t, it was super impressive. I never saw anyone else tame a Manticore just like me. How did you do that?”

“Sneaking off into the forest at my childhood home helped me become brave. Plus, this isn’t the only time I’ve tamed a chimerical creature.”

“Really? How many have you tamed?” Fluttershy asked with heightened interest.

“Um…three?” Meadow reluctantly replied as honestly as he could, worried that she’d think that was a lie.

He thought wrong as she beamed at him. “Oh Meadow, I don’t know if I ever knew anyone more talented than you! Thank you, thank you so much for saving me.”

Fluttershy wrapped her forelegs around his neck as he paused for a moment and hugged her back. “You’re welcome.” he murmured, taking the moment to enjoy her embrace around him.

Back behind the tree, Discord was fuming with anger as he glared at them. “I can’t believe your plan failed.” he snapped at his shoulder devil.

“I know! How was I supposed to know that Meadow Brook guy was secretly a heroic knight and an expert with monsters?” Discord’s bad conscience said in agreement. “And now look at him, Fluttershy’s hugging him like she hugs you.”

Discord looked back at the hugging pegasai with a glare of rage as a low lion-like snarl emitted from his throat, not noticing that his normally red eyes turned from an eerie shade of green to a dark shade of purple before returning to their natural color.

“Uh Discord? Are you alright?” his shoulder devil cautiously asked, noticing the change in color of his eyes.

“NO! I'M NOT ALRIGHT!” Discord roared before quickly teleporting away with his bad conscience, causing the two pegasai to break their embrace with a jump before turning to where the loud voice came from.

“What was that?” Meadow asked.

“I don’t know.” Fluttershy replied. “Whoever it was, he sounded really angry.”

“Maybe we should continue with the tasks. We have been sitting here longer than planned.”

“You’re right.”

And with that, they went off into the animal sanctuary together.

Back at Discord’s castle, the Lord of Chaos was currently glaring down at his bad conscience, who was looking down with guilt similar to a child being caught doing something bad. Neither of them moved a muscle, not made an attempt to say anything.

Finally, after many more moments, Discord took a deep breath. “Do you have any idea how much of a failure your idea was?”

“Um…” his bad side attempted to speak. “Maybe a little, but-”

“And do you know how much of a problem Meadow turned out to be?”

“Yes. but-”

“I don’t want to hear it.” Discord sharply cut him off. “Not only was this plan a bust, but Fluttershy said to him that she never knew anyone more talented than him.” he narrowed his eyes. “She said that to me! I can’t believe she said that to him!”

“I’m sure she didn’t mean it!” his shoulder devil protested defensively as he raised his hands. “Maybe Fluttershy just said it to make Meadow feel good about himself.”

“Either way, I won’t stand for this.”

The red miniature version of the Draconequus felt a shudder run down his spine from the low dangerous tone. “Um, what are you gonna do?”

Discord glared at him. “I’m going to make sure Meadow Brook doesn’t come within an inch of Fluttershy, but why am I even telling you this? It’s none of your business.” he snapped his fingers as a black hole materialized directly beneath his bad conscience. The shoulder devil Draconequus got sucked into the portal with a scream as it disappeared from existence.

Once his shoulder devil was gone, Discord let out an annoyed sigh and laid down on his bed. While his plan at making Meadow failed, he wouldn’t give up the fight for Fluttershy’s attention and phrase without a much more difficult challenge.

Now craving for a drink, he sat up and his fingers as a chocolate milkshake materialized in front of him with a slight flicker, causing him to look at it with confusion. ‘Odd, nothing I ever made flickered before.’ he thought before shrugging. ‘Perhaps all that anger took a toll on my magic.’

The door to Carousel Boutique opened as Spike and Rarity stepped out and shared a hug. “Thanks again for the help, Spike.” she smiled at him as they broke the embrace. “You have no idea how happy I am for your assistance.”

“You’re welcome, Rarity.” Spike smiled back. “I’ll see you and the girls tonight for the show.”

“Agreed.” Rarity nodded as she surprised him with a peck on the cheek. “See you tonight, darling.” she went back inside her home and closed the door as Spike stood there with a stunned expression.

‘She kissed me.’ he thought. For a moment he just stood there with his claw on the cheek the white unicorn kissed. ‘She kissed me.’

A smile broke free from the restraint he put on his mouth. “Rarity kissed me!” he jumped into the air with a fist pump. It wasn’t the first time she did so, but it still felt good.

He skipped back to the Castle of Friendship while humming a tune as some of the Ponyville residents gave him strange looks, which went unnoticed by him. He was too happy to even glance at them.

Once he returned home, he immediately went to his room and collapsed onto his bed with a lovestruck grin. Due to his larger size, Twilight had bought him a much larger bed, to which he was grateful for.

There was a knock on the doors to his bedroom as he shook out of his trance and sat up. “C-come in.” he called.

The doors opened to reveal Twilight Sparkle as she looked over at her number one assistant. “Hey Spike. How did things go with Rarity?”

“Oh uh, good. Normal good.” he replied nervously.

“Really? Then what happened to make you so happy?”

“Um…” he turned away to hide the small blush on his cheeks.

“You can tell me, Spike.” Twilight said with a knowing look. “Rarity kissed you, didn’t she?”

Spike turned to her and forced out a chuckle. “What? No! I was just…imagining.”

“Imagining what?”

“Um…well.” finding nothing of a good excuse, the purple dragon let out a sigh. “Alright fine, Rarity did kiss me. Only on the cheek.”

He turned away and squeezed his eyes shut, too embarrassed to face his caretaker. Hoofsteps could be heard until he felt a pair of forelegs wrap around his body. Spike opened his eyes to see Twilight hugging him.

“Oh Spike, that’s so wonderful.” she said as she pulled away and smiled at him. “I always knew Rarity would return your feelings at some point.

“Really?” Spike said with surprise. He knew Twilight knew about his feelings for the Element of Generosity, but never imagined her supporting his pursuit of her.

“Yeah.” Twilight nodded. “But know this: whether Rarity returns your feelings or not, you have my blessing.”

“Really?”

She nodded in confirmation as the teenaged dragon embraced her in a hug. “Thanks, Twilight. You have no idea how much that means to me.”

“You’re welcome.” she smiled as they broke the embrace. “Are you gonna join me, Starlight, and Sunset in the library?”

“Later.” Spike replied as she nodded in understanding and left, closing the doors behind her. Once she was gone, he laid back down and closed his eyes in ecstasy.

Maybe there was more hope Rarity would love him than he thought. Either way, he wouldn’t give up.

The sun set in the horizon as the citizens of Ponyville flocked into town hall and took a seat in front of the stage inside of town hall. The time read 6:30, and the play that the students of the Ponyville schoolhouse were going to put on their show at precisely 7:00 in Town Hall.

Discord teleported onto the front porch of Fluttershy’s cottage and knocked on her door as Angel opened it and glared at him before slamming the door. The Draconequus waited for a moment before knocking again, completely unfazed by the lagomorph's rudeness. He heard hoofsteps from inside come up to the door as it opened, revealing the Element of Kindness as she smiled up at her chaotic friend.

“Good evening, Fluttershy.” Discord bowed. “I trust that you’re ready for tonight's performance?”

“I am.” Fluttershy said before turning to Angel with a stern look. “And remember, Angel…”

“No snacking, opening the door for strangers, and seconds during dinner.” the white bunny squeaked as his caretaker smiled in satisfaction and kissed him on the forehead, earning an embarrassed grumble from him.

“I’ll be back in a few hours.” she said as she stepped outside and closed the front door. She immediately got teleported to Ponyville town square, not at all surprised by the sudden teleportation. After being friends with the Lord of Chaos for over 4 years, she was more than used to his random feats of chaos.

“I do hope tonight's play will have some chaos in it.” Discord said as they walked towards Town Hall. “There’s nothing better than a show filled with lots of mayhem and drama.”

“I know what you mean.” Fluttershy nodded. “Whether the play goes smoothly or not, I’m sure the Cutie Mark Crusaders and their schoolmates will do a wonderful job.”

They got in the long line that stretched outside as Discord let out a groan. “A line? We have to wait in a line?” he complained. “Why did that play advertisement have to be so popular?”

He summoned a flier for the school play as he crumpled it into a ball and tossed it into his mouth, chewing it and swallowing afterwards.

“I’m sure we’ll be inside soon.” Fluttershy reassured him as the line moved a few steps.

“If by soon you mean when we’re nothing but skeletons, then yeah.”

She gave him a look.

“What? I hate waiting.” Discord shrugged innocently as he leaned towards her ear. “And if you want, I can make this line move faster in a snap.”

“No thank you.” Fluttershy shook her head. “I’m fine.”

Discord folded his arms with an irritated growl as he thumped his lizard foot impatiently. ‘How much longer do we have to wait?’

He summoned a watch on his lion wrist as he looked to see that only a few minutes had passed. If this stupid line didn’t move within the next second…

“Hey, Fluttershy.”

His thoughts were interrupted as he turned to see none other than Meadow Brook, much to his displeasure. ‘Oh great.’ Discord thought sourly. ‘He’s here.’

“Meadow!” Fluttershy exclaimed happily as she embraced him. “I’m glad you could make it.”

“Me too.” Meadow briefly hugged her back as they broke the hug. “I can’t wait to see the school play.”

“Me neither. I’m really glad Applebloom and her friends are helping out their new classmate.”

“So am I.” he nodded.

Discord looked down at him with slightly narrowed eyes as he cleared his throat. “I too cannot wait until we get inside.” he said, hiding the displeasure in his voice as he forced a smile on his mouth.

Thankfully, the line slowly began to move as the trio looked to see the front doors to Town Hall open. “Finally.” Discord sighed as they slowly made their way towards the tall building. Once they got up onto the patio, they placed their tickets inside the small ticket box as they went inside town hall.

The foyer had more than a hundred seats and a large stage on the wall with intergalactic music being played in the background. The group picked up their own playbills from the small table next to the doors as they began to look for a spot to sit.

“Fluttershy, Meadow, Discord!”

The trio stopped when they heard their names called as they looked over in the center of the seats to see Rainbow Dash waving at them, who was sitting with Applejack and Rarity.

“Girls!” Fluttershy exclaimed happily as she trotted over to the row where they were and took a seat next to her fillyhood friend.

Unfortunately for Discord, Meadow moved ahead of him and sat down next to the yellow Pegasus as the chaos lord sat next to the light brown Pegasus, grumbling to himself.

“Where are the others?” Fluttershy asked. “I thought they’d be here already.”

“They’ll be here, darling,” said Rarity. “I'm certain of it.”

“Well I hope they hurry up. The show’ll start soon.” Rainbow said impatiently. “I dunno about you guys, but I don’t think I can wait for much longer.”

‘Welcome to my world, Dashie.’ Discord thought as he opened his playbill, which in his opinion wasn’t anything exciting.

“Be patient, Rainbow.” said Applejack. “Twilight and the others will be here soon.”

Thankfully, they didn’t have to wait for much longer as they heard bouncing coming down the aisle. The group turned to see Pinkie hopping towards them as she took a seat next to Discord.

“Hey girls, you too boys! Are you ready for the most amazing performance in Ponyville? Because I sure am!” Pinkie said rapidly as she took a seat next to Discord. “And they even gave me a playbill!” she pulled it out of nowhere as she quickly skimmed through it. “But I don’t see anything in here that says you have to pay the bill.”

“Pinkie darling, playbills aren’t the bills you pay, they're just to show you the acting cast and members of the tech crew.” Rarity explained.

“Oooooh, riiiiiight.” the Element of Laughter said in understanding. “But anyway, I can’t wait until the show starts, and I can’t wait for the others to get here too.”

“That’s apparently the story of this evening.” Rainbow muttered under her breath as she pulled out her playbill and read it out of boredom.

Discord read his playbill until he heard Fluttershy and Meadow conversing together. He let out a silent growl as he summoned a pair of ear plugs into his ears, pretending to be absorbed into his oh so entertaining playbill, which happened to be anything but. He glanced over at the two pegasus before returning to his small book, annoyed that Fluttershy was giving Meadow Brook so much attention.

‘What does she see in that guy?’ he thought.

“Hi girls!”

Despite wearing ear plugs, he heard the sound of a familiar Princess of Friendship as he lifted his head and turned to his left, seeing none other than Twilight, Starlight Glimmer, Sunset Shimmer, and Spike sitting in the remaining seats to the left.

He forced a smile on his lips. “Why hello, Twilight and friends.”

“Hello to you too, Discord.” Twilight said with her smile falling slightly, genuinely surprised that he came.

The Draconequus could sense that as he grinned at her. “Surprised to see me? Well, I have been meaning to go and see a musical for quite a while.”

“I can see that.” the purple alicorn nodded slowly before giving him a serious look. “But don’t do anything to disrupt the play.”

Discord faked a gasp as if to feel offended by her assumption. “Why Twilight, I wouldn’t even dream of doing such a thing.”

He grinned at her as an angel hollow formed above his head, causing the ponies to roll their eyes. Well, save for Fluttershy and Meadow Brook as the Element of Kindness giggled slightly while the Pegasus stallion gave him a look crossed with an expression of slight worry and uncertainty.

“Then why are you wearing those ear plugs?” asked Starlight as she pointed up at his ears.

“Hmm? Oh!” Discord reached up and twisted his ear plugs before pulling them out. “I was just using them to clean my ears.” he tossed them into his mouth and swallowed them whole as the group looked at it with disgust. Rarity put a hoof to cover her mouth as Meadow turned away from him, clearly uncomfortable with the chaos lord’s weird trick.

The Draconequus noticed out of the corner of his eye that Fluttershy was the only one who didn’t even flinch at it, let alone turn away from him. It caused a sense of pride to well up within him as he noticed the lights beginning to dim.

Everyone in the auditorium silenced their conversations as they looked to see the Ponyville school teacher, Cheerilee, stepping onto the stage and stopping in front of a spot where a spot light was pointing.

“Good evening, everypony. Or rather, everycreature.” she said, noticing that Spike and Discord were present. “It pleases me immensely to see you all here tonight for my student’s school play. And it was all made possible due to 3 students of mine: Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle.”

The audience applauded.

“They pitched in and helped my new student, Spotlight, earn her cutie mark by asking me to allow her to write a school play. When I heard about this, I was more than happy to help out. It took many long rehearsals after school for over the past month, but it all paid off and my students are ready to perform.”

‘Hurry up. We don’t have all night.’ Discord thought impatiently.

“Without further ado, it’s with grand pleasure that I give you: Super Space Rangers!” Cheerilee said proudly as everyone erupted into excited cheers, exiting the stage as the spotlight dimmed into complete darkness.

‘Finally.’ Discord thought as he got comfy and summoned a pair of 3D glasses.

A half hour later, the play was deep in full swing. It was about a trio of superheroes out to save the universe from two snobby super villain sisters, who wanted to take over the universe and enslave every life form forever.

“Have no fear, space troopers! We’ll save the universe!” Applebloom said boldly, wearing a red and yellow superhero costume and brown cowgirl boots with a red cape on her back and her red and yellow mask.

“Yeah! We’ll defeat Princess Sparklepants and Lady Platinum even if we die trying.” Scootaloo piped up in agreement, wearing a purple and orange costume and a pair of purple boots on her hooves and a purple cape on her back and orange and purple mask over her eyes.

Discord snickered. ‘Princess Sparklepants?’ It sounded a lot like the little nickname he gave Twilight, and it was rather amusing. ‘I wonder who it is?’

“Now on my watch!” a voice boomed from the background as out stepped Diamond Tiara. “Me and Lady Platinum will stop you.” She smirked at the trio. Her outfit consisted of a sparkly princess dress that was the same color as her fur with purple ribbons on the lower part of the gown and a diamond on the chest part. A golden yellow crown with three diamonds on it stood on top of her head and a pair of glass slippers bestowed on her hoofs.

“Princess Sparklepants is right! You’re the ones who’ll be at our mercy.” another voice piped up as out stumbled Silver Spoon, who wore a light gray dress with small circular diamonds on the edge of the gown and a pair of light gray slippers on her hooves.

Discord could've sworn he recognized both earth ponies. ‘Who are they?’ he thought before perking up slightly with realization. ‘Oh now I remember her. That’s…Diamond Crown and Silver Fork or whatever..’

He remembered hearing about them being the Ponyville schoolhouse bullies, not to mention the tormentors of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Diamond’s sudden reformation surprised the chaos lord when that day happened. She was almost a worse brat than Angel Bunny in his opinion.

“In your dreams, maybe.” said Sweetie Belle, who’s superhero outfit was purple with sparkles and a purple cape over her back. Pink superhero high heel boots were on her hooves and her purple and pink mask showed proudly over her eyes. “We all know that you’ll never succeed.”

“Ha! Not on my watch.” Princess Sparkle Pants scoffed definitely. “Once I capture all the life forms from across the universe, there’ll be nothing stopping me from my eternal ruling!”

“Not on our watch.” said Scootaloo. “You’ll never succeed, especially on our watch.”

“You’ll never defeat us!” Princess Sparkle Pants said haughtily as she and Lady Platinum turned and walked away, laughing evilly.

“Yes we will!” Applebloom shouted in their direction. “Super Space Rangers, let’s move out!”

“Yes ma’am!” Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo said obediently as the lights dimmed into complete darkness.

As the show went on, it became more action filled. There were even a number of funny moments that not even the spirit of chaos couldn’t resist chuckling at. However, not too long later on, his attention soon diverted back to the two Pegasus to his right.

Meadow Brook and Fluttershy soon felt their hooves touching each other’s as they looked at each other for a second before smiling and returning their attention to the play. They scooted closer to each other as the Element of Kindness rested her head against Meadow’s shoulder, causing him to tense up with surprise before relaxing and draping his wing over her body.

Discord watched their little friendly moment of affection with disgust. ‘Why is Fluttershy doing that to him? She usually does it with me, not some fanboy. Why is she so happy with him? Why isn’t she pulling away? Why isn’t she doing that with me instead of him?’

His thoughts were interrupted by the silent confused chatter of the audience as he looked to where they were looking, surprised to see a green and purple cotton candy cloud forming above the stage. He instantly made it disappear as some of the ponies in attendance turned his way, giving him suspicious looks.

Discord faced the stage and ignored the looks he was receiving as he focused on the space chase scene that was going on.

The rest of the play went on without incident as the lights illuminated the interior of Ponyville town hall as everyone rose to their hooves and applauded as the classmates of the local schoolhouse took a bow.

A gray earth pony with a black mane and tail and blue eyes took a few steps in front of the colts and fillies and took another bow, presumably the writer of the entertaining performance, received another wave of cheers as she shyly took a bow before stepping back.

Afterwards, the kids dispersed off the stage and went up to their family members as Discord rose to his feet and followed the ponies to his left out of the row. The group was immediately greeted by the Cutie Mark Crusaders as they galloped up to their big sisters.

“Did you see us up there?” Scootaloo asked excitedly as she grinned up at her role model.

“Sure did, Scoots,” Rainbow ruffled her mane. “Gotta admit; you look really cool with that costume on.”

“Thanks.”

“You all did a wonderful job.” Rarity said as she embraced her younger sister. “And your costumes make you look quite super if I do say so myself.”

“I know.” Sweetie Belle smiled. “Spotlight did an amazing job writing the play.”

“Yeah,” Applebloom agreed. “Where are Big Mac and Granny?” she asked as she looked around the crows of ponies.

“Granny caught a light cold and Big Mac had to stay behind to take care of her.” replied Applejack. “But I’m sure they’ll be real proud of you once we get home.”

“We all are,” said Twilight before looking up at Discord with an unhappy look. “Now that that’s all taken care of, would you mind explaining that little cloud that formed above the stage, Mr. Lord of Chaos?”

“If you must know, I didn’t do that.” Discord said honestly. “At least, not intentionally.”

“Really?” Rainbow gave him a blunt look. “You’re the only magical being in Equestria that can make strange weather.”

“That’s true, but I would never attempt to ruin a show like that. Besides, my clouds are pink, not green and purple.”

To prove his point, Discord summoned a pink cotton candy in his hands as Pinkie widened her eyes at it and immediately leapt up and snatched it. “Dibs!” she shouted as she held it like a pillow and snuggled into the pink texture.

“Do you really expect us to believe that?” asked Rainbow, still unconvinced.

Fluttershy took a step forward and stood next to her chaotic friend. “If Discord says that he didn’t mean it, then I believe him.” she said as she smiled up at him.

Discord smiled back. “Thank you, Fluttershy.”

“Why don’t we go ahead and leave?” Twilight suggested. “It’s getting late and someone needs his rest.”

She looked over at her teenaged number one assistant as he rubbed his eyes and quickly lowered his hands once everyone was looking at him with a sheepish grin.

Everyone said their goodbyes and shared a group hug, excluding the Lord of Chaos, as they all went outside, only to discover that it was raining.

“Oh, I didn’t even bring an umbrella.” Rarity complained. “My mane will get all wet.”

“Relax, that's a simple fix.” Discord said dismissively as he snapped his fingers, causing magical force fields of the colors of the ponies to form around them. “These domes are resistant to any kind of weather and you can still breathe in them. They’ll only last until you all reach your homes so I highly suggest you get a move on.”

Rainbow gave him a suspicious look as she stepped out from underneath the protective overhead patio and into the rain, surprised to see the rain falling onto the dome and not on her. “Huh. for once you do something right.”

“For once?” the Draconequus raised a brow at her. “Are you implying that I never do anything right?”

“Well, not everything you do is good,” the cyan Pegasus gave him a look. “But thanks for the dome.” She flew ahead of the group and back to her cloud mansion as the others followed in suit and went back to their respective homes.

The only ponies who still stood by Discord were Fluttershy and Meadow Brook. The spirit of disharmony teleported in front of the yellow Pegasus and extended his eagle claw. “Do you want me to take you home, my dear?” he asked with a smile. “I trust you don’t want to brave the storm alone.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll take her home.” said Meadow as he smiled at her. “If you want to, that is.”

“I don’t see why not, but are you sure? I wouldn't want to cause you any trouble.” Fluttershy said.

“It’s no trouble, Fluttershy. I don’t mind some extra time to chat with you.”

“Well…okay.” The Pegasus mare smiled at him before turning her attention to her chaotic friend. “I hope you don’t mind, Discord.”

Despite feeling angry at the light brown Pegasus for stealing away his number one friend, he forced a smile on his face. “Oh no, not at all.” he lied as he scooped her up into a hug, causing her to wrap her forelegs around his chest. “See you at our next tea party?”

“See you then.” she broke the embrace as she landed on the ground and trotted with Meadow Brook to her cottage. Discord glared off into their direction bitterly with gritted teeth as he balled his fists and folded his arms. That meddlesome little fanboy had succeeded in stealing Fluttershy away from him.

‘Why that little…’

Letting out a growl, he disappeared back to his castle, more angry than ever at Meadow Brook.

3 nights later…

“I don’t like him.”

“Don’t like who?” Spike asked as he and Big Mac looked at Discord with curious expressions.

It was time for their annual Guys Night, and tonight their Ogres and Oubliettes game was being held in Discord’s castle in his special O&O room. They were dressed up in their special outfits and the room was in the background of the O&O universe.

“That ‘Meadow Brook’ guy.” Discord replied as he and his teammates trudged through a thick forest.

“Why not?” Spike asked. “He’s a really nice guy.”

“Eyup.” Big Mac nodded in agreement.

“While that’s true, I think otherwise. He may claim to be a big fan of Fluttershy and share his love of animals with hers, but beneath all that is nothing but a bunch of lies. Plus he’s spending more time with her on a daily basis compared to me.”

Spike and Big Mac looked at each other as their expressions transformed into knowing looks. “I know what’s going on.” said the purple dragon as he smirked at the chaos lord.

“What?” Discord looked at him with curiosity.

“You’re jealous.”

The Draconequus skidded to a half as his teammates stopped in suit. “Excuse me?” he glared at him.

“You’re jealous that Fluttershy is spending more time with Meadow instead of you.”

“Eyup.”

“What the…t-t-that’s not true.” Discord crossed his arms with a chuckle, finding the accusation to be very humorous. “Besides, I’m suspicious that he’s up to something no good.”

“Like what?” Spike asked with a raised brow.

“Well…” the Draconequus hesitated. What could he come up with to disprove the accusation? Perhaps Meadow was an infamous serial killer out to murder Fluttershy (which sounded convincing but a little too grim), or maybe he was an evil shape shifter out to destroy the world.

That actually sounded pretty likely, but who in Equestria is an evil shape shifter? The only evil shapeshifter he could think of was a certain former Queen of the Changelings…

A lightbulb flashed above Discord’s head. “Maybe, just maybe, ‘Meadow Brook’ is really Chrysalis in a disguise trying to exact her revenge.” he said, grinning at how convincing that sounded.

Unfortunately for him, Spike and Big Mac didn’t believe him. “Nope.” the red stallion shook his head.

“Nice try, Discord, but we all know that you’re jealous of Meadow.” Spike said. “Besides, this isn’t the first time this happened.”

He had a point. Discord remembered when Fluttershy invited Tree Hugger to the Grand Galloping gala, making him feel extremely angry and left out.

“Regardless if Meadow is an actual stallion or Chrysalis, I still don’t like the idea of him being so close to Fluttershy.” the Draconequus scowled. “And it’s not jealousy. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“Come on, Discord. It’s alright to admit that you’re jealous. It’s not gonna mess up your image if that’s what you’re worried about.” said Spike. “Plus, if Meadow and Fluttershy become a couple, how would you react?”

Discord froze. The very image of them both falling in love and getting married in the future caused his eye to twitch. He took a few deep breaths as he addressed the teenage dragon.

“Well, if and only if they become a couple, I’ll support Fluttershy in any way that I can.” the chaos lord explained. “Even if I hate it.” he added under his breath.

“Well, if you say so,” said Spike reluctantly. “But it’s alright to feel jealous, just don’t let it get the better of you.”

“For the last time, I’m not jealous.” the Draconequus said defiantly. “Besides, why would I feel that way anyway?”

“Well…” the purple dragon hesitated.

“Well what?” Discord leaned down to his eye level. “Is there something you’d like to tell the rest of the class?” a teacher’s outfit materialized on his body as an apple popped into existence on his lion paw. The little charade soon returned to his Captain Wuzz outfit.

“well…It’s just a theory, but…maybe you have a crush on Fluttershy?” Spike reluctantly answered as he turned away with tightly closed eyes and awaited the chaos lord’s reaction. After a few minutes of silence, he slowly turned back to see Discord frozen with shock and confusion.

“Discord?” Spike waved a claw in front of his eyes. “Hello? Garbuckle the Magician to Captain Wuzz.”

After another moment of being like a statue, Discord erupted into laughter as the purple dragon took a couple steps back from him, startled by his sudden reaction. “Me?! In love?!”

His laughter soon became hysterical as he collapsed onto the floor and rolled around as if he heard the most funny joke of all time. He was laughing so hard that tears were streaming down his cheeks and he was beginning to struggle for air.

His laughter soon died down as he stood up and wiped his eyes and cheeks clean from his mirthful tears. “Why on earth would I feel that way to Fluttershy?” he asked with a small chuckle. “She and I are just friends.”

“Well, you both have been spending a lot of time together.” replied Spike. “Some friends of the opposite gender do find themselves falling in love sometimes.”

“While that’s true, that isn’t how me and Fluttershy will turn out, especially with Meadow Brook around.” Discord huffed. “Besides, what good is there in making kissy faces and holding hooves and staring at each other lovingly?” he puffed out his cheeks at the thought with a gag as he gulped down whatever vomit filled up his mouth.

Big Mac and Spike shared a confused look. “Discord? Do you even know what love is?” asked the purple dragon.

“Of course I do. It’s how I just described it.” the chaos lord replied before raising an eyebrow. “Why?”

“Well, maybe that’s how you feel towards Fluttershy. Ya do speak really fondly of her all the time.” explained Big Mac. “But if you’re sayin’ that you’re just friends and nothin’ more then that’s fine, but there ain’t nothin’ wrong with lovin’ somepony.”

“And how would you know, Big Mac?” Discord asked, raising an eyebrow at him. “Spike may have a crush on Rarity, but you’re the only one who doesn’t like anypony.”

“Well…as a matter of fact, I do.” the red stallion murmured as he looked away shyly with a small blush.

Spike and Discord charred surprised looks. “What?!” they both exclaimed before turning back to their companion. “Who is it?”

“Her name’s Sugar Belle.” Big Mac replied.

“Wait a minute, Twilight told me about her.” Spike piped up with a raised finger in familiarization. “She’s that unicorn with that bakery in Starlight’s old village, right?”

“Eyup.” Big Mac sighed. “I’ve been makin’ a few apple deliveries to her bakery for the past couple weeks just to see her.” his expression became loving. “She’s real sweet, hard workin’, and one heck of a good baker.”

Discord fought the urge to roll his eyes at how love sick his friend was as he teleported to his side and draped his arm over the red stallion’s shoulder with a smile. “Well first, Macky ol’ boy, congratulations on finding your true love.”

“Thanks.” Big Mac smiled slightly.

“Second of all…” Discord continued as he teleported back to his spot. “What does any of this have to do with me? Are you saying that the more I see Fluttershy, the higher the risk I’ll get at ‘falling in love with her?’”

“Well, it could happen.” Spike replied with a shrug. “But if you do develop feelings for her, what’ll you do about it?”

“Oh I don’t know. Tell her, and await a completely and utterly humiliating rejection?” the Draconequus replied dramatically before chuckling. “Oh no no no no no. I cannot, will not, allow my poor little heart to get broken, especially by Fluttershy.”

“But she won’t.” the purple dragon argued. “From what I can tell, she really enjoys your company no matter how often you see each other.”

“Of course she does. We’re friends.”

“But maybe-”

“Look, can we please continue on with our little adventure?” Discord interrupted with annoyance. “I’d much rather defeat the evil Squizzard with you both than talk about ‘love’ all evening.”

Spike and Big Mac shared a look as the purple dragon let out a sigh. “Fine, let’s go.”

“Good.” The chaos lord smiled in satisfaction as he and his colleagues continued on through the thick forest.

‘But you know I’m right.’ Spike thought to himself.

Discord laid on top of his bed in his bedroom as he stared down at the ceiling/floor, conflicted by his thoughts. He’d teleported Spike and Big Mach back to their homes many hours ago after finishing their O&O game and defeating the evil Squizzard together. The disharmony spirit should’ve been asleep, considering that it was past one in the morning, but laid awake as he recalled the words that Spike had shared with him.

He was still appalled that the purple teenager accused him of being jealous, to which he still denied, but his thoughts were clouded by one little word that had him up this late into the night.

Love.

Discord shook his head with a scoff. He was not in love with Fluttershy, and only their friendship mattered to him. He was still disturbed by the potentiality of Meadow becoming her boyfriend and spending less time with him. Could it be that they were spending a lot of time together because they were…calling for each other?

The chaos lord shook his head. ‘Absolutely not!’ he thought strongly. ‘There’s no way in Tartarus Fluttershy would develop feelings for that fanboy, especially when he’s really Chrysalis in a disguise.’

He smiled at how convincing that sounded. ‘Yes, that’s probably it. I’m not jealous nor in love with Fluttershy, and she probably doesn’t have such feelings for me nor Meadow anyway. I mean, she would never love a monster like me.’

Discord winced as he felt a jolt of pain in his chest. “What was that?” he silently said aloud as he placed his. “Why did it hurt to say that?”

He shifted his position so that he was laying on his left side. All he was thinking about was how ridiculous it would be if Fluttershy had feelings for him.

Another painful jolt.

Discord rolled back onto his back, confused by the heart attack-like feeling inside him. ‘Why did it still hurt to think that? I mean, what good is there in loving somepony anyway? What’s the point of love?’

His thoughts drifted off as another question popped up in his head. ‘What is love?’

For the first time in his life, he was truly confused. He had absolutely no idea what the definition of love was. Who could he go to for advice on it?

‘Not Twilight.’ Discord thought. ‘She’s the Princess of Friendship, not love.’

His eyes widened slightly. ‘Wait a minute…’

There was only one love princess in Equestria, and she was currently the ruler of the Crystal Empire with her husband and newborn daughter. And she was none other than Princess Mi Amore Cadenza aka Cadence.

“That’s it!” Discord suddenly shouted as a lightbulb flashed brightly above his head. “I’ll ask her about love. There’s no way she’ll turn down an offer to teach a student about the subject she knows best. I can swing by her castle tomorrow and she can teach me.”

He grinned to himself before frowning. ‘Why on earth would she teach me about love? She’ll probably think I’m up to something, especially her hubby.’

Then again, there were many ways to convince others he had honest intentions. And knowing Cadence, there was no way she would turn down an offer to teach a reformed villain such as himself the definition of love and how it works in life. Then again, there was Shining Armor, who still didn’t trust the chaos lord, especially after siding with Tirek.

Plan in mind, Discord teleported underneath his covers and poked his head out from the top as he rested it on his pillows and closed his eyes.

If it was a competition Meadow Brook wanted, then that’s just what he’ll get.

To be continued…

Author's Note

I hope you enjoyed this! Sorry for not showing more of what happened during the play the Cutie Mark Crusaders did, but I didn’t feel like doing it.

As you probably guessed, the love triangle between Discord, Meadow Brook, and Fluttershy is well underway, which is inspired by the love triangle in My Little Pony: Love is Magic.

But anyway, see you in Chapter 5! 😀