Discord was idly changing the shade of green on the cafe table he sat at while he picked apart his interactions with Fluttershy's friends that morning. Acrid, acidic, glowing hues flared up as he remembered the less than pleasant shouting and near crying Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie had subjected him to. Pastel, minty tones swirled into the material when he recalled the look on Applejack's face when she saw his Tree of Plenty, and the way Rarity gaped at his fashion sense. Vibrant, lively, jungle-esque greens seemed to crawl across the table top leaving splotchy trails upon remembering the lessons he'd learned.
Fluttershy will be pleased overall, I think, he thought. Aside from antagonizing Rainbow Dash – which she completely deserved – I managed to spend time with nearly all of her friends and learn a bit about how they each see the world. Three out of four out of five isn't bad, right? Now if I can just play nice for one little meal, I can put this tiresome exercise behind me. Unless she wants this to be a regular thing. Maybe it was for the best that one of them was upset.
Discord set aside his musings when he heard the familiar, gentle tones of his favorite pegasus. He looked over his shoulder and saw Fluttershy approach with Princess Twilight Sparkle by her side. Less pleasant to spend time with than most, but at least Fluttershy hasn't yet spoken with Rainbow Dash. That probably wouldn't have helped things.
When she saw him, Fluttershy waved in her subdued way, almost as though she were trying to avoid attracting attention in spite of performing an action meant to do exactly that. Discord smiled and waved back. Twilight wore a neutral expression, clearly just as dismayed to spend time together as Discord was. Fluttershy sat by Discord's right side and Twilight sat across from them.
“Good day ladies,” Discord greeted them. “How are we doing?”
“Fine,” Twilight Sparkle replied curtly.
“We're doing very well,” Fluttershy said much more warmly. “How are you, Discord?”
“I've hardly ever been better. I had the pleasure of spending some time with our four other friends this morning.”
“Oh, already? That's wonderful.”
“Already?” Twilight asked. “What exactly were you doing, Discord?”
“Let me explain,” Discord said to Fluttershy before turning his full attention to Twilight. “You see, Princess, Fluttershy asked me to spend more quality time with our mutual friends. I haven't exactly been the most social draconequus.”
“I thought you were the only draconequus,” Twilight pointed out.
And the word games begin, Discord noted with some annoyance. “Well, of course I spent some lovely time with you and Princess Cadance not so long ago. However, I have been downright neglectful of the rest of our circle of friends.”
“I hope you were more considerate and less manipulative with them than you were with Cadance and I.”
“You don't have to take my word for it; they will be arriving shortly. Unless they got lost on the way, which would be dreadfully silly of them.”
“Discord.”
“Relax, I said it only to tease you.”
“Now, Discord,” Fluttershy gently admonished, “please try not to get anypony worked up. A nice, relaxing meal with friends is a great way to help you get used to socializing in a group.”
“It is a bit boring, though. Wouldn't it be better to discuss some challenging topics over our food? I had a series of very interesting chats with the others already.”
“Really?” Twilight Sparkle seemed surprised. “What did you and Rainbow talk about?”
“Er, well, why do you ask about her first?”
“Because she's walking up behind you, and she looks very unhappy.”
Of course she would get here first. Why would I expect anything different? “I admit, she and I didn't get along as well as the others.”
“Talking about me?” came the irritated, aggressive voice of a disgruntled pegasus. Rainbow Dash walked around the table and sat beside Twilight, between her and Fluttershy. She was obviously angry, but withdrawn.
Twilight Sparkle seemed wary and Rainbow Dash was glaring. When Discord looked down at Fluttershy, she wore a stern expression of disapproval.
“Let's make something perfectly clear,” Discord began.
“Oh? What's there to talk about?” Dash interrupted. “Maybe you just wanna shut your mouth before I do it for you.”
Fluttershy spoke up, “Dash, I know that whatever happened, Discord certainly could have handled it better if he upset you this much. However, I want to hear his side of it.”
Rainbow crossed her forelegs and hunched over the table. “Why do you always take his side? You don't really think he's a better friend than me do you?”
Twilight watched Discord, coldly intent.
Fluttershy unfurled her wings and drew both Rainbow Dash and Discord a little closer to herself. “Now you know that's not true. I don't pick favorites, and I certainly wouldn't ever choose one friend over another. I just want to hear from each of you what happened.” Dash just shook her head and brushed Fluttershy off with her wing.
“I think she's just upset that I baited her into talking to me in the first place and asked her some difficult questions about her future,” Discord told them. “I was rude and pushy, I admit it. However, I swear my intentions were not malicious.”
“You accused me of being a bad friend!” Rainbow shouted.
“Why do you think Dashie's a bad friend?” Pinkie Pie asked quietly as she climbed into the seat on Discord's other side. “I just got here, what are we talking about?” Her body language and tone of voice were subdued to the point of making her seem shrunken. Everyone at the table, including Discord was taken aback.
“Pinkie!” Twilight exclaimed with concern. “What's wrong? Are you okay?”
“Uh, it's not important. Just... have a lot on my mind.” She smiled at her friends, but it was so obviously forced that it was extremely unsettling, especially on her face of all ponies.
“Discord...” Fluttershy whispered, as she looked up at him.
It took a moment for him to realize what she suspected. “No. No! We just talked. We discussed how to make others happy and when to put someone else's happiness before our own.” He turned to Pinkie and with some panic creeping into his voice demanded, “Tell them! Tell them about my visit.”
“Um... I'd rather not,” Pinkie said without making eye contact with any of them. “I mean, Dissy didn't do anything. I just feel kinda down after what we talked about.”
“Really? I'm not surprised,” Dash shouted with bitterness dripping from her voice. “Did he try to make you think you weren't good enough? Did he say you cared more about yourself than your friends?”
Pinkie looked away. “I'm sorry,” she whispered.
“What is going on!?” Twilight demanded. “What did you do, Discord?”
“No, this is completely unfair!” Discord said defensively. “I debated with them on subjects I thought they cared about, that's all! Look, Rarity's coming, ask her!”
The fashion forward mare sat between Twilight and Pinkie Pie, seemingly in a sour mood. “Ask me what?” she snapped.
Fluttershy spoke up first, “Rarity, did Discord pay you a visit earlier?”
“Yes.”
“Er, did you enjoy his company?”
“We had a lovely discussion about fashion and how it's a gigantic waste of time. I've spent a few hours since his departure continuing to waste time reinventing my coming Winter line.”
“What does Discord know about fashion, huh? Is it going to eat up all your time and energy and tear you away from your home?” Dash asked as her voice rose. “Are you starting to wonder if you can even choose between your dreams and your friends?”
“No, of course not,” Rarity responded, seemingly unaware of Dash's emotional state. “He merely pointed out how unoriginal everything I've ever done or aspired to do or been inspired by was. As well as explaining why novelty is so much more impressive than technical skill or meticulous planning or culturally relevant design. My own body of work being the principal evidence in his claims.”
“Oh, my...” Fluttershy whimpered, her voice heavy with regret.
“At least you never tricked anypony into liking your clothes,” Pinkie half-moaned from where she sat slumped over the table.
Discord felt oddly threatened. None of the ponies could possibly touch him without the Elements of Harmony, but he was afraid. Princess Twilight Sparkle is trying to stab me with her eyes, Pinkie Pie is melting – possibly literally, Rainbow Dash is having a breakdown, Rarity seems to be stuck in her head rooting around for some elusive creativity, and even Fluttershy seems to have given up on defending me. Please, for the love of... I don't know. For the sake of Celestia's sun and Luna's moon and stars of all things, let Applejack show up and not be a nervous wreck. It didn't matter if the four of them were unhappy, or even if Twilight and the other princesses hated his guts. He just couldn't stand it if Fluttershy was disappointed in him.
“One more chance, perhaps?” Discord asked weakly, wearing a shaky smile. “Applejack hasn't arrived yet. We barely scratched the surface of Equestrian economics and the business model of her farm. Surely, she isn't upset...” Neither Twilight nor Fluttershy seemed convinced. Rainbow was glaring at him as she trembled in her seat. Rarity and Pinkie were in their own little worlds.
“Tell me you didn't mean to,” Fluttershy whispered.
Discord gaped at her for a moment, trying to find his voice. “I never wanted this to happen.”
Fluttershy turned away and nodded gently, which caused her mane to fall across her face and hide her eyes from him. Twilight only sat quietly, evidently waiting to see how this would play out.
Discord craned his neck looking to and fro for a familiar orange pony. After a moment, he saw her trotting in their direction. “There, look! Applejack is on her way. She'll be perfectly fine, you'll see!”
Applejack reached the table after a painfully long moment and sat between Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash. “Howdy, y'all,” she greeted them in her gentle twang. “Sorry I'm late, bucking took much longer than I expected.”
Rainbow couldn't contain her anger. “What did Discord do to you, AJ? He's been tormenting the rest of us, trying to drive us apart.”
“Is that so?” AJ replied as she set her hat on the table and looked up at them. She seemed immensely tired and downtrodden. Her face betrayed a sense of distracted melancholy. “I reckon all he's done to me is make me realize that strong enough magic makes hard work sort of pointless. At least, in a practical sense.” She gave him a long, empty stare.
Princess Twilight and Rainbow Dash shot dirty looks at Discord. Rarity muttered darkly to herself, still absent from the conversation. Pinkie looked like she was grappling with herself, as though she desperately wanted to say something, but couldn't. Please, please... Discord pleaded with no one just before he looked to Fluttershy. She wouldn't make eye contact with him.
She was looking down towards Rainbow Dash's side when she suddenly gasped. “Oh my goodness, Rainbow! What's happening to your Cutie Mark!?”
“Huh, what?” Dash's eyes shot down her flank. “M-my..!” She shot into the air and hovered above the table. Her Cutie Mark appeared to have faded into her coat, as though it had vanished. She just hung there, her wings flapping seemed to be the only sound for several beats. Then all the others glanced at there own sides.
“I.. I really shouldn't be trying to make ponies laugh.”
“Now I'll never be a world-famous fashionista!”
“W-what's gonna happen to the farm if I can't harvest apples anymore?”
Twilight stood up and trotted around to Fluttershy's seat. “I'm going to go back to the library and try to sort out this mess. Fluttershy, I want you to stay with them and try to keep them calm, okay?”
“I'll do my best,” Fluttershy promised. “Do you think you can help them?”
“I have to try. I'm sure I'll think of something.” With that, the bookish princess hastily beat a path towards her home.
Fluttershy started trying to pull all of her friends together, which was easier said than done. Rarity was sobbing about how she'd lost all of her creativity and talent, Pinkie Pie had her face down on the table and wouldn't respond, AJ had gotten up and started to leave and Dash was ignoring everypony else.
Discord gently laid his paw on Fluttershy's shoulder. “If there's anything I-”
Her curt reply cut him deeply. “You've done quite enough already, Discord. Please, just leave.”
He teleported away from her before the tears could well up in his eyes. “I didn't do anything wrong!” he told himself. “They're too sensitive! They can't take a little criticism or a joke. Why is it my fault when they don't like what I have to say!?”
He settled into the arc of the branches in the tree he was in and thought about how he could get Fluttershy to forgive him this time. Is it my fault if a little outside perspective is enough to unhinge their own sense of self-worth? Doesn't second-guessing your purpose in life usually indicate that maybe you weren't sure of yourself in the first place? It's not like I was trying to cause chaos this time! I just wanted to... to... What did I want? Discord puzzled over it for a minute before an idea came to him.
“That's it! If they lost their booty stamps that easily, maybe they weren't such a big deal in the first place! I might not be able to fix this, per se, but maybe I don't need to!” He teleported again.
Twilight was nearly home; she could see the library just up the street. She broke into a run, but suddenly bumped headlong into somepony she hadn't seen. “I'm so sorry, I-” she began.
“Not to worry, Princess.”
Twilight gasped. “You. What are you doing here?” she asked Discord as she skirted around him and continued making her way. “Actually, I don't want to know. Go away, Discord.”
“Now, now, don't be so dismissive. I've obviously made a terrible blunder and I'm here to set things right.”
“That's laughable. I don't need your help.”
“You're the last pony I expected to turn down help from a friend in a bad situation. Didn't you learn to forgive mistakes and accept help during all the time you've spent here?”
“Of course, I-” Twilight Sparkle caught herself. “Discord, I don't want to get into an argument-”
“Good. Then it's all settled, and we can get right to work.”
“NO! This isn't up for discussion, go home. I don't want to hear what you have to say for yourself. It can wait until I've figured this out and cleaned up your mess.”
Discord pouted at Twilight, “You wound me, your highness. Would you shut somepony out – when they're trying their hardest to make up for their shortcomings and help you, no less – completely disregarding whatever they have to contribute? Would you refuse to carry a book in your library just because you were mad at the author?”
“If that book made all of my friends clinically depressed?” Twilight responded cynically. “Yes!” She slammed the door to the library in his face and turned to find him standing in the middle of the room.
“Come now, Twilight Sparkle. That's terribly unreasonable; I have no intention of harming or hindering you in the slightest.” He gave her his widest, toothiest grin. “I just want to talk.”