• Published 4th Mar 2012
  • 17,770 Views, 536 Comments

Broken Spirit - Cryssy-miu



A story of struggle, redemption, friendship, and forgiveness.

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Final Chapter - Chaos And Kindness

It had been a year. One day today it was a year since everything had happened. The memories of an evil draconequus intent on shaking the land to its very core now seemed so far to Fluttershy as she shifted through a photo album she had recently put together over the past few months. In almost every photo, Discord was trying to ruin the moment in some way.

She remembered Twilight's birthday mere weeks ago, where the draconequus had dangled a rubber spider over Rarity's head, and caused her to scream and flail into the buffet table. She looked at photos of Nightmare Night; what was probably one of the best nights for Discord since he had resided in Ponyville. The draconequus had dressed up as a giant candy monster, completed with candy corn fangs. She gazed down at a picture of him and Luna eagerly scaring the fillies while in their disguises. Lastly, with a warm heart, she grazed a hoof over a photo of the draconequus dog piling the alicorns playfully.

A year.... It was hard to believe. A year of living with the mischievous spirit of pranks and annoyance. A year of having to constantly purchase new cleansing equipment everyday, as Discord made it a point to devour her dish towels as fast as she bought them. A year of pranks, bonding...and laughter.

"Oh, Flutter Butter~!" The pegasus squeaked as the spirit swooped her up in the coils of his tail as she made her way down the stairs. "A year ago today was the best day of your life~!" he snickered. "The day you took in the ol' Spirit of Chaos!"

"Best day," Fluttershy mumbled, muffling her teasing laughter in his scales. "Right, it was the best day of my life alright." At his aghast and offended glare she nuzzled his snout. "Yes, it was a wonderful day..."

"It's amusing, isn't it," the spirit laughed, "that we're actually calling the day I was broken into more pieces than a jigsaw puzzle 'a wonderful day.' But so many other things made it wonderful!" he crooned and gazed down at the pegasus's warm, beaming face. "Why it was the day I was finally granted my freedom~! The day I made that lovely tuna-caramel sandwich!"

"And?" Fluttershy huffed, now becoming the one growing offended.

Playing stupid and cackling hysterically inwardly at the frivolous pout, Discord tapped his chin, feigning deep thought. "And? There was another reason?" A proverbial light bulb flashing over his head, the spirit turned to her with a wide grin. "Ah yes! And it was the day I could afford to buy that new pair of pants!"

Fluttershy's ears perched back angrily and she turned to start breakfast, about to pick up a kettle before her vision was suddenly obscured by a satin, crimson object in front of her. "Oh, Discord..." The pony took the beautiful rose into a hoof, tenderly caressing its petals. "It's gorgeous."

"And I suppose it was the day I was...forced to live with a sappy...cry baby, but I-guess-kinda-okay pony," the spirit smirked, hands on her shoulders as he watched her reaction.

Beaming up at her draconequus, the pegasus leaned in to take a heavenly inhale of the flower—only to withdraw with a yelp as it squirted a thick, brown liquid into her face, and Discord fell to the floor in mirth.

"BAHAHAHA! Ohoho—you fell for one of my oldest pranks! Some use water, but I prefer chocolate syrup!"

Without a word, the pegasus wiped the gooey liquid off of her face with a new dishcloth and walked into the living room, rummaging through until she emerged with the spirit's greatest enemy. "Perhaps we should celebrate the anniversary of the day I first used the duster on you too."

"That day isn't today!" Discord croaked out, his eyes wide in terror as he began backing away from the pegasus as she slowly, eagerly, advanced towards him. "The anniversary of that is not today, so I think we should maybe put that back! In fact, I think we should save it for the special occasion of its anniversary, and only use it once a year~!" He cringed at his guardian's vengeful look.

"Hmm...nope, I think the feather duster would be lonely if we left it to collect dust." Those ridiculously soft, evil feathers were inches away from him now.

"...Bye~!" the spirit chirped, and with a vibrant flash of light he disappeared somewhere in the cottage for hiding. Fluttershy shook her head with a chuckle and went to sought out the draconequus, who was currently hiding in a closet and fizzing giggles.


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The sun had just touched the mid way point to the sky and was high and golden in town. Sweating vendors rummaged through their paper bags and settled back in a chair beside their stand to have lunch. Diners and food vendors eagerly awaited hungry customers.

Discord and Fluttershy had settled on a park bench with two Styrofoam bowls of salad. Fluttershy was hungrily chewing away at the greens, while Discord skeptically eyed his bowl.

"I think it's moving...." the draconequus muttered, squinting suspiciously at the heap of greens shifting around on his plate. The pegasus beside him rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"You think whatever food you don't like is moving!" At the insistent tap of a talon on her shoulder, Fluttershy heaved a sigh and glanced down at Discord's plate. She stared. There, shifting around in the lettuce, was a small beetle. "Oh my..."

"I told you it was moving. You owe me an apology." He was good at pretending he was offended, especially with those angry furrowed eyebrows and that endearing pout on his face, and the way he turned his back to her. He eyed the food vendor and his face broke out into a dark smirk. With the snap of his fingers one of the tarts on the dessert tray went missing. After a few moments he decided to steal another. Serves her right for giving me a salad with a bug in it.

Fluttershy's tranquil little smile faded to a look of suspicion as she saw Discord with the two candied tarts. She narrowed her eyes. "Where did you get those?" Flames leaped to her irises as anger set in. "Don't tell me you stole them!"

".....Okay, I won't~"

"Discord!" Furiously, the pegasus snatched the treats away from him and hurriedly trotted back to the vendor to give them back. She rolled her eyes as he called back, "but she gave me a beetle!"

The draconequus snorted in annoyance and slumped against the back of his chair. Surely the pegasus thought that was justified. What was he saying, she was a pony. Something peculiar caught the spirit's eye and he glanced up, watching as a small stage was set up next to one of the vendors. Microphones and stereos were wheeled out to the center platform, baffling the spirit, especially as a few mares followed. Were they being treated to a live show?

Ah, that's right...the Grand Galloping Gala is next week, isn't it? Apparently this year the celebration was getting professional singers as opposed to the sickening classical music and sad, squeaky violins they had each year. It looked like the ponies were practicing for it.

The usual, twisted glee twirled up from the tip of the spirit's toes to his claws when he thought of all the dastardly things he could do to these little walking music boxes. Perhaps start with giving them deep, masculine voices? A mare stepped timidly to the edge of the stage, regarded the crowd with an awkward glance and a clumsy bow, and began to sing right as Discord ignited his talon.

"There are a lot of ponies in this world, but as time goes on I see
The one who really understands and shows me just what I can be
And as spring turns to summer, and fall turns to winter I know that we'll forever
Through the moments of time, the love in this rhyme, we'll be together..."

Discord's magic fizzled away with an abrupt pop as he closed his fist instantly and lowered it to his side. He recognized that song. It was an oldie, from eons ago. Celestia had a love for sappy, gooey songs, and always had a tendency to sing them. The most memorable time he could recall was on Hearths Warming, and she sang that song while they watched the fireworks.

Quite suddenly the desire to turn the microphone cord into a snake, make the speakers run away, and turn the stage to jelly was purged from his body as he slumped back into his chair. A questionable, confusing sadness overwhelmed him entirely, and Discord rubbed at his temples.

Fluttershy had obviously caught onto the sudden mood shift as the I-want-to-pummel-you look in her eyes was gone when she came over. "Hunny?"

Concerned with the sudden turmoil rolling around in his stomach, and the more than sudden depressed feeling, Discord turned to her. "Can we go home now?"

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Discord felt a sliver of guilt for ruining what was supposed to be an awesome day. Really, he had no idea what was wrong with him. He and Fluttershy were going to head to Sugarcube Corner after lunch, and he chose to go home instead over Pinkie Pie's amazing cupcakes. It was hard disguising this feeling from the ever intuitive pegasus, but he simply disguised it with the excuse his stomach was sick. That wasn't a lie either.

Through the moments of time, the love in this rhyme, we'll be tog—BAH! GET OUT OF MY HEAD! Discord slammed his face against the spongy mattress of his bed, hoping to whack that horrible song out of his memory forever. It wasn't that he hated the song, but more so for some reason, remembering it was making him feel sick. But why? He had made up with the princesses and he could see them all the time. He hadn't even had any nightmares about the situation since they had all made up.

"I wonder how the little dears are doing." Maybe seeing them would make him feel better. Focusing a spell, Discord suddenly made a transparent, hovering screen appear in front of him. It played like a video camera, showing him exactly where the girls were right now. Celestia was there on her throne, evidently trying to write something on a parchment. Luna was trying to take her quill on her. Discord giggled to himself, but found to his annoyance that the happiness was once again being replaced with an overwhelming sadness, and a gnawing in his gut. Well, this had been a bad idea.

"Discord?"

Oh cheese balls. The draconequus turned, still hovering the magic television orb in a paw as he gazed down into his caretaker's infuriatingly concerned face.

"What are you doing?"

"Just...uhh...checking on the prissy princesses, dear~ Checking to see if Celestia is as boring and dull as always. Heh~" His weak little chortle was fooling no one, but Fluttershy was too pressed for time to confront him about his behavior. They were meeting the others in just an hour.

"Alright... Get yourself cleaned up though," she told him, poking his snout, which was slimy from having a splatter of salad dressing still over it. "You're a mess, and we're leaving for the picnic in an hour."

Discord dragged himself dejectedly out of the bed and towards the bathroom. Perhaps a nice day of pranking the ponies until they screamed, and turning all their food into bugs would help him feel better~!

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The day was still gorgeous, warm, and filled with the ray of sunshine that the girls could easily feel even under the cool shade of the tree. They were only halfway through their meal, but half of them had already flopped onto their backs, bellies jiggling and bloated.

Twilight was leaning over a plate of perfectly untouched, un-chaotic desserts, and probing at them. "Hmm...." She picked up a few of Rarity's tidy, stylish cookies and turned them on her hoof. Fluttershy watched her.

"Is something wrong, Twilight?" The unicorn was inspecting the treats as close as if she was a detective trying to seek out a clue.

"No...nothing is wrong. Everything is just perfect and that's the thing." She squinted suspiciously over to Discord and frowned in concern at the way he had his head hung, looking like he was pulling at a flower. He hadn't even turned it into a lollipop.

Fluttershy shrugged, albeit awkwardly. "He's not feeling well right now. I think he has a tummy ache." She didn't notice how her friends exchanged looks, confused as to why it hadn't clicked in the pegasus's head.

Twilight and Applejack were no stranger to the sadness consuming the draconequus during their own time away from their homes. It was a terrible, gnawing feeling that there was no shaking off, and you couldn't stop looking in one particular direction, and there wasn't an easy cure for it...except for one thing.

"Hun, Ah really don't think he's jest got a sore stomach," Applejack said quietly, observing the slightly hunched, totally sad, doing-not-a-single-naughty-thing Discord who had his eyes glued to the distant Canterlot. "Ah think he's homesick."

"Homesick?" The pegasus looked utterly confused. "Why would he be homesick? He has a home. I know he likes the cottage, but I don't think he would miss it that eas—what?" She blinked as Rarity placed a gentle and yet firm hoof on her shoulder.

"Darling..." she said softly.

It was then the proverbial puzzle pieces in the pegasus's mind finally clicked together and made sense. She stared at the form of the saddened spirit, the revelation making her stumble onto the picnic blanket slightly. How could she not have seen it sooner? Finding him using his little tv screen spell to see the princesses, wondering why he seemed to spend most of his time outside just to look in the distance, and the complete lack of chaos.

"But I thought he liked it with me," Fluttershy whispered, suddenly feeling the warmth of Rarity's forelegs around her neck.

"Darling, we aren't saying he doesn't like being with you, because from what we have seen and heard, that dog would give an arm and a leg for you." She could still remember her own shock waking up in a bedraggled state a day after the basilisk attack, and being told Discord nearly gave his life trying to protect her friend. It had been then the girls grew a new respect for him entirely. "We're merely saying that since he's once again at peace with the princesses that he might want a little more than just a couple visits a week."

"I think what you need to remember Fluttershy, is that Discord has grown up with Celestia and Luna," Twilight said, "and he's literally been with them since they were all babies. He's been with Celestia since he was an infant, and he held Luna when she was an infant. He grew up in that castle, and now that he's reconnecting with his estranged family...he might be realizing what it feels like being away from them. The only time they've been away from each other was when they all hated each other to begin with, and so it never affected either of them."

"So why isn't he telling me any of this?" Fluttershy wondered, "After a year, why wouldn't he tell me the truth?"

Applejack smiled at her friends and then back at the oblivious, sweet pegasus. "Ah think that's pretty obvious, hun."

"Yeah," Rainbow Dash added, "I mean, like, you're the only pony he can't stand to hurt."

"And he'll keep bottling all of this up," Rarity said soberly, "simply because he doesn't want to upset you. He won't tell you, and there's no telling what keeping all this in could do to him. He could start having his nightmares again, perhaps become bitter, or even depressed!"

Her friends' honest words were certainly not a comfort as the possible scenarios played in the anguished pony's head. Tears began to brim over ,and she looked at her friends desperately. "What do I do then? If he's not going to tell me then how should I tell him that I know?"

Twilight came over and placed her hooves gently on her friend's trembling shoulders. Her own violet eyes were twinkling with an inkling of sadness for the both of them. "You need to make sure he knows that you acknowledge his feelings, and that you aren't just thinking about yourself. He needs to know that you're not putting yourself above him." Fluttershy's brimming, cyan eyes searched her friend desperately, trying to understand what she was getting at. At last, Twilight took a deep breath and shut her eyes. When she opened them again they were glassy and sad. "You need to let him go."

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Within the period of the next few days the changes in Discord were now beginning to stick out like a black sheep among a heard of white. Fluttershy was really left wondering why her friends needed to tell her what was going on for her to see it. It seemed every time the pegasus turned Discord had his little magic video screen (mind you, he conducted the spell when he was sure the pegasus wasn't around, and never knew she was watching him from around the corner). What was probably the most concerning was the fact the duster hadn't been summoned to teach him a lesson for nearly four days. That was a serious call for alarm.

"I...I got a bunch of jam from Applejack earlier today," Fluttershy told Discord as he sat there on his bed and played with a bouncy ball. "I thought I'd make you those peanut butter and jam squares you love so much."

He stopped playing and turned to her. She was relieved to see his ears, which seemed to lately have a permanent droop, perk up in excitement. "Really? Marvelous~!" There was something about his voice. Even when he was trying to make it sound happy it just...didn't.

"I'll make them later then," the pegasus whispered. She found herself concealing tears and desperately trying to hide her face behind a lock of her hair so Discord wouldn't see them. He seemed too preoccupied with his ball. Yet, the moment Fluttershy turned to go into the kitchen she heard the glimmering snap of him doing his usual 'secret spell'.

Fluttershy's heart was heavy with sadness when she pushed herself over to the corner of the kitchen to her cooking utensils. A small, wooden bird cage was hanging up next to her windowsill. Banana the sparrow rolled up a gentle eye as he preened his feathers. He flapped excitedly and flew to his door.

Tears at the rim of her eyelids, Fluttershy extended a butter colored hoof into the cage, where the bird happily perched upon. She drew out her foreleg and gazed sadly at the little bird. He tilted his head at her and fluffed his sun yellow feathers.

"Wow, just look at you, sweetie," the pegasus shakily crooned. "You're the picture of health now."

She had saved this little bird on a walk to the lake a few months back. On the vibrant, sunshine filled day she had hardly expected to find the weak little thing settled in a small pool of blood after having been violently attacked by some predator. Even Discord almost looked like he had felt bad for the little thing. Recovery had been a hit and miss for a while; there were some days the bird seemed ready to pass and some he seemed ready to bounce back. The fact she had saved the little one's life made her feel even closer to him.

Her cyan eyes shimmered with remembrance as she gazed over into the living room, where a certain draconequus was still gazing longingly into his spell. Saved the little one's life...

"Tweet!" Her thoughts shattered by the inquiring chirp of the bird, Fluttershy reluctantly made her way out the front door with the creature, and stepped outside. Banana seemed to remember the outdoors as he gave a small chirp of recognition. Still, he seemed reluctant to leave his new owner's hoof.

Fluttershy couldn't seem to fathom the pain twisting at her heart as she settled beside her favorite cherry tree. It was always a bittersweet scenario when she was ready to release one of the animals she nursed back to health. Her heart was filled with the joy that she had protected and saved them, but mildly saddened by departing with them. For some reason, this release was hitting her hard.

Banana's crest lowered in confusion and sadness by the kind pegasus's large tears, and he delicately nudged his face against her own. This seemed to make her weep even harder as she nuzzled him back and nudged him back on her hoof.

"No," she said shakily. "This is not where you belong. It never was." She scarcely seemed to realize these words hardly seemed to be directed to the little avian. "You had a home before this, and this was just a temporary stay... I took you in to nurse you back to health and that was all. I never expected I'd grow to love you so much."

Banana chirped in confusion as he glanced up when the pegasus pointed to the sky. He tried to perch on her shoulder and nuzzle it again, but Fluttershy wouldn't let him.

"You have a family," Fluttershy whispered. "You're loved elsewhere, and you have to go back to them. You need to go back to where your home is. You need to...to greet your family with open wings and tell them that you missed them." A tear slid down her cheek. "Tell them you've come home..."

Banana tilted his head towards the sky, eyes darting rapidly when he caught sight of distant yellow birds soaring through the clouds. He hopped eagerly on the pony's hoof, but seemed to give it a second thought as he glanced back sadly at the tearful pony.

Fluttershy merely smiled at her little creature as the answer suddenly became clear. She pressed a kiss to his forehead. "Go. Go with your family. All I want...is for you to be happy." She pulled back her hoof and struck it out through the air, tossing the little sparrow and watching him spread his wings to fly for the first time.

The avian soared joyfully, performing flips and twirls as he descended higher to join his long lost family. Fluttershy felt her own heart soar as a larger bird took him into her wings, and several others looking to be the same age as him circled him happily, welcoming him back home. Everything was clear to her now.

Discord, meanwhile had shut his spell down and was eying the large jars of jam. A glimmer of giddiness sparked inside him as he finally felt his chaotic instincts kick in, as his eyes stayed plastered on the jam. Finally, he ignited a talon, encasing the jars and dragging them towards him. Hopping towards the large, inviting canvas of the wall, Discord shoved his paw into a small container of pink icing, and began to sketch some cotton candy clouds. Cotton candy clouds obviously didn't take up much space and were only fun to draw for so long.

What to draw...what to draw... There was still plenty of space on the wall, enough for maybe a dragon? Oh fun, a dragon! He giggled giddily. He had never drawn a dragon before. Maybe he had when he was a child, but not recently. It was time to try his claw at it.

The spirit dunked his paw fully into the bucket of blueberry jam. After a few moments he smeared a dollop of crab apple jelly as well. Then he painted in green, white, blue, and pink. This was going to be the most colorful dragon ever created! He barely seemed to be looking at what he was doing and only let his artistic flow and mind run freely.

At last, satisfied, Discord stepped back and kissed his fingers dramatically like all artists do. As he gazed up to see his masterpiece, it felt as if a boulder had abruptly slammed into him from above. "Oh dear..."

Fluttershy walked through the front door with a final sniffle, and tried to wipe away any evidence of tears. As she approached the living room, a further pang stabbed her heart as she gazed at the wall.

Ears perched back silently, Discord's eyes roved from the painting to the pegasus, and settled back on the painting. Smeared over the wall was a multi-fruit-made rendition...of two certain alicorns. The cottage lapsed into a complete silence.

Fluttershy had made her decision.

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Canterlot Palace was only a few minutes away, and both the pegasus and Discord continued to trot their way up the hill. Each heart filled with a separate feeling as they neared the grand gates of the palace. Discord flitted about in excitement, where Fluttershy merely trotted on without a word.

"Oh Flutters, I can't believe you decided to postpone a picnic with your friends to come all the way to Canterlot!" Discord bubbled on, "personally I prefer coming here to spending time with your dreary playmates."

The insult didn't really touch the pegasus, who was too distraught to scold him and knew he didn't really mean it anyway. He didn't mind her friends now. In fact, the past few weeks he had been teaching Twilight new (non harmful and hilarious) spells. Pinkie Pie just loved him, and the rest of the girls had grown a soft spot for him.

"Well, it's been a week since we've been to the palace," Fluttershy said, "and I'm sure the princesses have missed seeing you."

"And vice versa," the spirit chirped, eagerly swooping past the gates and getting past the guards by transforming them into stuffed animals. Fluttershy didn't even notice as she pushed through the gates. Discord was already there, at the front door with his tail eagerly wagging like a puppy.

"Well, come on now!" the spirit huffed, tapping his foot impatiently against the concrete and glowering as Fluttershy seemed to be deliberately moving as slow as she could. "Do you have invisible sand bags on your hooves or something? Hurry up, Fluttershy!"

The pegasus at last made it to the door, but she stopped walking centimeters away from it. Discord looked ready to explode at the pony in rage and was about to say something when Fluttershy abruptly blurted out,

"I'm not coming!"

The spirit blinked a few moments, but he waved it off with a dismissive gesture of his hand and moved to open the door himself. "Oh, going to your little picnic after all? Fine then, I'll see you later tonight."

"No...I'm not coming...back tonight."

Discord leaned up against the swinging doors and rubbed his beard thoughtfully. A smirk came to his face as he looked down at the little pony. "Ouu, a sleepover? I didn't bring my jammies and toothbrush~"

Fluttershy's head fell and she shut her eyes tightly. Tears seeped out from under her clenched eyelids as she gave a few deep breaths. She could feel Discord's smirk falling and being replaced with something more concerned, and she took a deep breath. She had to say it. "I...I'm not bringing you back with me."

Everything fell silent save for a few birds chirping above to try and lighten the atmosphere. The wind rippled Discord's fur as he stared down at the pony, trying to process what she was trying to say. Finally, an awkward smirk to disguise the sting he felt from those words formed over his face. "Oh?" he laughed weakly. "You don't...want me around anymore?"

Tearful, owlish cyan eyes stared up at the spirit, and Fluttershy took a large step, taking one of the draconequus's hands in her hoof. She gave en encouraging pull, and Discord reluctantly fell into step with her as she took him over to the gardens.

"Gotten sick of me?" Discord chuckled, "tired of having your animals be turned into jello molds? I always turn them back!"

Fluttershy smiled lightly through her tears and nuzzled her snout against the spirit's paw. He gazed questionably at the pegasus as she held his hand and ran a gentle hoof over it. "No...that's not it at all." She opened her mouth to go on, but found her words dying.

"Thennn...what is?"

Fluttershy gazed up at the spirit's face. It was etched with confusion, and, she could easily note, sadness. Taking a deep breath, the pony walked out in front of the him. She still had his hands in her hooves.

"You need to go home. To...to your real home, where you'll be happy."

At that, Discord laughed and abruptly pulled from her grip, twirling in the sky and casting several tendrils of gold towards the cherry tree, turning the cherries to gummy bears. "Are you nuts? I'm more than happy! At last I have freedom, and I don't have to worry about going back to that annoying stone crib! And my new pants fit~!" He sniggered. "Lastly, I don't have to worry about frumpy alicorns wanting to wipe me off the earth!"

"You love those frumpy alicorns!" Fluttershy shouted, effectively silencing him and wiping the grin right off his face. "You want to be with them again." She neared him, and the draconequus timidly backed up. "And Discord, that's okay," she softly assured him. "They're your family and you were raised with them! At last, after thousands of years you're all one again. It's completely understandable that you would want to go home."

Discord faltered and emitted a few indistinguishable sounds before he finally managed to weakly croak, "I...I am happy."

"Tell me," Fluttershy pressed harshly, causing the draconequus's ears to instantly flatten. "Tell me the truth. Tell me honestly that you are happy. Tell me you are happy."

All was once again silent, up until Discord mournfully shut his eyes, his voice dipping to a soft, un-Discord-like whisper. "I can't."

The pegasus nodded in silent understanding and felt the pain blossom and tear at her heart. She knew that he wasn't, but it still stung all the more to hear it from his mouth. "And I know," she whispered, cupping the obstinate creature's face with her hooves. "I know you want to be with your special somepony and your baby sister. ...And I know they want you too. I.....I just want you to remember that...I'll always love you."

Discord turned slowly towards her, his scarlet eyes reflecting the same emotion in the girl's. Fluttershy had said this to him countless of times, and often every night, like when a mother puts her child to bed with a parting "I love you" until the morning. Discord always snorted and gave it the cold shoulder, or gave the little pony a cream pie to the face. It was a norm in the cottage.

Right now, a strange feeling welled up in the spirit's heart, foreign and forgotten. It was a feeling he felt briefly in the special moments with the princesses, but it had never rung so strong, and he had never seen everything so clear. He opened his mouth to falter out a response, but his words died on his tongue.

"It's okay," Fluttershy giggled softly, "you don't have to say it back."

"Yes I do." The spirit ran his paw through his mane, a stressed out look on his face. He was about to once again open his mouth, but found no words. Eyes and cheeks bulging hilariously and wildly, he slammed his head repetitively against the tree as Fluttershy squeaked and hopped backwards. At last, possibly concussed, he snatched her up in his tail.

Upside down, Fluttershy held back another quiet squeak at the sudden dark pair of scarlet eyes, that were inches away from her own. She felt herself go limp at the sight as Discord glared quietly.

"First off, I want to get something straight, my dear," the spirit growled. "For what I'm about to say if you ever make me say it again, I will personally turn you and everything you know into marshmallow molds and dip them in my chocolate milk. Are we clear about that?"

Dangling there by her tail, Fluttershy gave a rapid nod. Discord instantly dropped her and turned his back on her. Curiously, the pegasus climbed to her feet and tilted her head up at the draconequus.

Arms folded petulantly over his chest, head down and lips pouting, Discord finally began to form his thoughts. Alright, you can do this... Set aside your pride and let your dignity be torn to shreds, just for a few minutes.

Heartfelt, compassionate, disgusting love-spurting speeches were not in his style, even when he was a generally sweet kid. He took after his father and preferred to keep his love silent, seldom telling anyone how he truly felt. It was just the way he rolled.

Fiddling with a small buttercup, only to watch a breeze take it, the spirit turned to look back to the pegasus who had been politely watching him the entire time. Slamming his head up against the tree until chocolate milk gushed from his brain was more inviting than what he was about to do, but...

"Chaos has always been what's made me happy," Discord began in a barely intelligible murmur. "Ever since I was even little, chaos was just the most important thing to me. In the end, over my love for my family and my love for disorder, you know what I chose."

Fluttershy pressed herself up against his side when she heard that slight, painful warble in his voice. She slipped her hoof into his hand and smiled as he clutched it after a few moments.

"When I got out I still loved causing the grief that I did, but something was...there was a gap in my heart. The real joy of my life was taken from me and I was too stupid to see it. I didn't want to see it because I just wanted to hate my family, because I thought they had betrayed me. It seemed easier to just hate them and accept they hated me. Regardless, I told myself ponies were petty things that were only toys, and it didn't matter how they felt. ...And then I met you."

The sheer, shimmering sweetness in the girl's eyes and the sweetness Discord was trying to convey made slowly being devoured by hungry gummy bears for all eternity more fun than doing something like this. Yet, Discord suppressed his gag reflexes, somehow, and continued with a wry grin on his face.

"To be more accurate, I re-met you, since our first meeting was less than pleasant, and at that point I didn't care what your fate was to be." He cleared his throat and the seriousness took back over. "I've had ponies that have tried to reform me, and to be more specific, a certain alicorn, but none of which...used your way."

Fluttershy was beaming, Discord could feel it. It made him want to shove a pie in her face even more as he twiddled his fingers nervously, cursing her for making this even more difficult. His mouth was having trouble working again, cheeks bulging once more, angrily as he felt the urge to slam his head into unconsciousness yet again. He turned again to the girl, cringing at the sweet look on her face, and released a heavy breath.

"...You saved me," the spirit murmured, and devoid of distain, his voice was only warm and filled with gratitude. "In...every aspect. Even after tearing apart your land, everything you love, you still saved me..." He shook his head. All these months and he still didn't understand it. "Why?"

"You have to ask?" Fluttershy laughed, a hoof hovering against her eyes to wipe away the warm wetness. She flapped her wings and delicately flew up to him, lightly touching his face. "I knew you couldn't be all bad, and even if you were...you didn't deserve to die. My mother always taught me to see the goodness in everypony, and no matter how long it takes for you to find it, you will."

The spirit averted his eyes almost bashfully and gently pushed away her hooves as he continued walking slowly in front of the tree. "I told myself I'd never care about a stupid pony. They were worthless to me and it wasn't as if any of them could accept me anyway. They all, even my own family, wanted to get rid of me. ...But then I learned that wasn't the case. They were trying to protect me and everypony else." He took a deep breath. "They just wanted everything back the way it was."

The pegasus looped a hoof around his arm, just to let him know she was there.

"And you helped me..." He turned back to her, and his eyes were radiating with sincerity. "You saved me...in every aspect. You saved my life, you gave me what I thought I didn't even need...and you reminded me what it was like to be happy again. Never did I think I needed Celestia and Luna, and never did I think I'd be with them once more." A talon reached out to gently lift her chin. "And you taught me that even in a society of order and harmony, I can belong."

So he was finally at the end of this sickening little speech. He was certain by now his inward Discordness had blanched several shades of lime green and was probably about to vomit this speech into the grass, but at the same time it did feel, sort of, kind of, maybe good. Cleansing. He wasn't done yet though.

"......Err.....mmph--Iloveyoutoo." There. Now that wasn't so hard, was it?....Gag.

The back of his head abruptly slammed into the ground, only slightly cushioned by the many flowers as the pegasus pounced and tackled him to the ground, her rosette hair tickling as it rubbed against his neck as she nuzzled him. And ponies wondered why he hated being affectionate—he didn't fancy the idea of being crushed to death in a hug every time!

"Yeah, okay—can't breathe! O-off!" His lungs seized and squealed for air as a paw waved frantically through the air to alert anypony walking close by that could help him. Just as the pegasus had started to hug him to death, she hopped off with sparkling tears in her eyes. Discord laid there and gasped for breath for a few moments.

Fluttershy's tearful little smile faded, and she blinked when she realized the poor draconequus was just about in respiratory distress. "Oh dear. Are you okay, sweetie?" Discord managed a less than convincing, wayward smile and pushed himself up.

"So that's your reaction to those words. Okay, now I'll know never to say them again," he commented with a wry smirk, still giving a wheeze for air now and then.

"Didn't you say if I made you say anything like that again you'd...pretty much eat everything I love?"

He laughed. "Exactly." Pushing himself and the girl to their feet, the spirit felt an iota of sadness wash over him when he realized what everything had come to now. ...And that it was time to say good-bye. Of course, it wasn't as bad as they were making it to be. He wasn't going in stone, no one was dying, and it wasn't as if they'd never see each other again, just not often. Perhaps that was the shock of it all. After living consistently together, by each other's side nearly every minute of the day, how could this not feel weird?

The pegasus gazed with a tearful smile up at the sky, watching it turn a pastel, sunset pink. "It's getting late," she told the spirit. "The princesses are going to be having dinner shortly, and if I hurry back I might be able to make it in time to have dinner with my friends as well."

The spirit gave a slight nod, feeling his ears inadvertently lowering just a little, and Fluttershy's followed suit soon after.

"You know the cottage will always be a home for you," the pegasus said softly, letting a final tear quietly roll and land in a patch of marigolds. She reached out to delicately grip his hand. "Goodnight."

xxxxxxxxx

Discord still stood underneath the tree nearly a half hour after Fluttershy had left him. The air was chilly with a light, frigid wind as the sky went from pink to a violet. It still felt so strange to the spirit. Part of him was still waiting for her to come back over the hill and take him home like he was so used to, and when it didn't happen for a moment he was worried something had happened to her. Then he remembered.

It was definitely around dinner now, and perhaps it was one of his favorites as well, topped with syrup, cinnamon, and pickles. Okay, maybe Celestia and Luna wouldn't ever eat that. Discord could hear the sound of clattering dishes coming from the kitchen as the servants worked to put together a meal.

One final time, the draconequus's eyes roved back to the horizon to wait for the pegasus. He frowned and squinted as he saw what appeared to be a yellow piece of paper approaching in the distance. No, it was...a bird. The spirit stumbled back a step in surprise as Banana abruptly perched there on his finger. He stared up as a few birds hovered in the air as well, waiting for their brother to join the flock once more.

The tiny avian tilted his head up at him, a smile seeming to be on his beak. He jumped into the sky and joined his siblings. Discord watched as the family circled each other in the air and happily tweeted. Flying in a synchronized pattern, side by side, they slowly ascended higher into the clouds. Twiddling a golden feather in his talon, Discord smiled. He was in a new part of his life, and a new chapter had begun.

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"Tiaaa, I'm starved."

"Patience, Luna; you know that's a virtue for a princess."

"Patience can suck a carrot," Luna muttered sourly.

"Luna!" her sister scolded, giving her an admonishing nudge in the ribs. "Language!"

"I agree with little Princess Moonshine; patience is hardly a feat of mine~"

The voice caught even the dour Luna's attention, who immediately shot up in her seat, gasping in unison with her sister as they turned to the door for the source of the voice. Standing in the pale, orange glow cast by the stained glass windows, Discord timidly knocked on the door frame with a sheepish smile.

"Hi. Am I too late for dessert~?"

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Celestia sat on her favorite cushion by the warmth of the orange flames leaping from her fireplace. A couple of candles sat by her side, illuminating the dark room, her papers, and two certain immortals sitting by her side.

"So dearest, if I'm living with the royal princesses now does this mean I'm a prince again~?" Discord crooned as he dangled the mare's crown over her head. She yanked it back in annoyance.

"Well, I suppose you are..."

"So do I get my own throne~?" He took it again, giggling as she yanked it back with her muzzle and boxed his ear with her hoof.

"You can have one of the little thrones Mother and Father had for us when we were younger, until I decide you're ready for your own throne."

Discord didn't look too happy with that offer, but he decided to take it with a shrug and an absent 'kay'! A mismatched hand reached out to grab the last smore from the silver plate beside the alicorn—only for it to fall on another hoof. Discord's head snapped up and his eyes narrowed when they came in contact with a pair or narrowed navy ones.

"I can almost hear the western music playing," Celestia said, amused.

"You've already had three smores!" Luna growled, trying to yank the plate over towards her more, only to have her brother hold onto the edge of it. "I've only had two! I get this one—it's only fair!"

"Okay," Discord agreed nonchalantly, to both the alicorn's surprise as he pulled back his paw. "But you know Lulu, I wouldn't use that kind of shampoo on your hair if I were you."

"What shamp—AUGH!" The night princess's glimmering, blue hair was suddenly a large green afro before her very eyes. Her hooves flew to her head in horror, which was just what her brother was waiting for. As soon as her hooves became occupied with her hair, Discord grabbed the smore and darted, giggling.

"I'll kill you!!" Luna tackled her brother onto the bed, yanking at his arms and nipping mercilessly at his ear as he flailed under her.

"Owowowowow—my arm, my arm!"

"Gimmie back my smooore!" Luna shouted, grappling with her brother on the bed as the giggling Discord played keep away with his younger sister (one of his favorite games from their childhood). Luna gasped and her jaw dropped as Discord stuffed the stolen treat into his mouth and gulped it down.

"Sure, you can have it back if you want to pry it out of my tummy~!"

"You creep! You're dead!"

"No, I'm Discord~!"

Celestia slowly shook her head, touching a hoof to her forehead when she felt a migraine coming on. A bright light had her open her eyes, and she glanced up just in time to see the flash of the green dragon portal as a fairly large scroll fell in front of her hooves, next to the empty plate. Enveloping it in a golden hue, she unraveled the red ribbon and watched in shock as the paper fell and spilled onto the floor.

"Discord, Luna, we got a long letter from the ponies! ...You guys?" Celestia glanced back just in time to see Luna grab her entire glass of pineapple juice and empty it over her shrieking brother's head. Shaking her head again, Celestia poured herself another cup of tea and made herself comfortable to read.

Dear Princess Celestia,

First, I want to apologize to you for the sheer length of this letter. Twilight told me this was probably the longest letter you have ever received in your entire life, but it isn't just me talking. We all want to share our thoughts with some important lessons we've learned about friendship.

I want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to look after and get to know Discord. I'll be honest, I've dealt with some vicious animals in the past, but I was still terrified to take him in, even though he wasn't able to harm me with no magic and, well, not being able to move. Perhaps this is just because I'm the bearer of kindness, but I've always believed there's good in everypony, and I was determined to find that good in Discord.

It wasn't easy, but I discovered there's more to him, obviously. At first I set to teaching him normal pony etiquette, like to show some table manners and courtesy to others. Teaching the spirit of chaos how to be polite is about as easy as teaching a bee how to bark. My teachings didn't seem to be able to do anything, or so I thought. I now realize I did teach him some things, and he taught me even more.

He taught me to give others a second chance, no matter who they are and what they've done. He taught me that no one is truly evil, and with the whole 'don't judge a book by its cover', sometimes you need to go through a few of its pages to see the book for what it really is.

Discord has truly impacted my life more than I thought anypony would be able to. He's filled it with such silliness and laughter, and even love. I can't imagine my life without him now, and he's truly earned an irreplaceable spot in my heart. Hehe, he'd probably gag if he read that.

-Fluttershy


Ever since I was a little filly you've always taught me about the many dangerous monsters out in our land, and how evil can never comprehend good. I think I even remember a day strolling the courtyard when I was six and asking about Discord's statue. You had just told me he was a bad creature that was locked away because he was dangerous.

Having Discord be a part of all our lives has given me a better insight on what we as a whole label as monsters in our perspectives. We perceive monsters to be dangerous and instantly stamp them as 'evil' simply because we can't understand them and are afraid to try. Through this time of being, what I suppose is a co-guardian of Discord, I've gotten the chance to further study this 'monster', and with complete honesty I sometimes wonder where the monster is that we all fear.

I'll say what Fluttershy has: that I've grown to care for him as well. I've seen the many positive changes he's instilled in Fluttershy and I could not be prouder of him with how far he has come over this past year. I can safely say I no longer categorize this creature as a monster and I agree with Fluttershy in that I couldn't imagine my life without him either.

-Twilight Sparkle


Ah'm not one with the words like Twilight and Fluttershy and Ah don't have as much to say as they do, but Ah'd be lying if Ah said Discord hadn't grown on me just a bit. Ah'm pretty sure we've all grown a little fond of the varmint, whether we'd like to admit it or not. It's kinda hard to know someone this long and not develop some sort of relationship with 'em.

To say what Ah really think of the varmint, he's a mischievous little scamp, always turning mah apples into tennis balls and what not, but as badly behaved as he is, he can be...Ah suppose the word is sweet. He really does make me change mah opinion on him a lot when one minute he's sticking mah granny in a cider barrel and the next minute he's coming back with mah sister on his back after she fell outta a tree. And to be definitely honest, Ah sure in hay don't want to see him stoned again, so I guess that does say Ah like him. A lot. A lot...lot. ...Aw, hay, Ah can't imagine living without the idiot either!

-Applejack

I love-love-love Dissy! You know, he taught me how to make the world's greatest chocolate shake! He's so, so, soooo fun to play with too! He loves pranking ponies just as much as I do! Twilight and Fluttershy always stop us if we go too far, and wow, Fluttershy got reeeeally mad at Discord when he tried to play a prank on a Harpy during our picnic! She kept hitting him with the big salad spoon. It was real funny but I don't think he found it too funny. He kept shouting "OW" a lot and had to stand the rest of the picnic.

He even made all the sweets at Sugarcube Corner come alive and dance an Irish jig on the counter. I couldn't stop laughing, even though the Cakes kept yelling at him to stop it. Well, Twilight's telling me to wrap it up now, so see ya, princess!

-Pinkie Pie

Okay, I'll be honest when I say I hated Discord at first. Although, I think we all did, except for Fluttershy. That's something about her though; she just can't hate anypony, no matter what they've done. Maybe it goes with her whole Element of Kindness thing, 'cause I noticed that when the bullies that used to pick on her when we were kids apologized. I mean, she just instantly forgave them. I would have beaten them up first, and then forgiven them.

In regards to Discord though, I guess as much as I rather hated him at first, even I felt a little bad for the poor guy after he was nearly beaten to death. Heh, the first time I mean. I know we were all sure that he'd go right back to being a jerk and evil and we'd have to stone him again as soon as he was better, but that didn't happen. I don't know, I'm not saying he turned good, because he didn't really, but... well, Twilight put it as him learning a limit to his chaos and not outright harming anyone with it anymore. Can that be considered a full turn around?

Anyway, I think it's when he saved my pal's life that I gained respect for him. We all did. Also, he's a pretty awesome pranking buddy~!

-Rainbow Dash

Hmph. No matter what Discord has done for Fluttershy, he'll always be a dog that made me fall in love with a rock. In total honesty though, a dog or not, I can't hate him and I don't even want to hate him anymore after all he's done. He's still a petty and obnoxious thing, but I don't think that's liable to ever change. It might honestly be a bit strange if it did.

I'll always be grateful for the fact he saved my friend's life, and I suppose I also need to be grateful that thanks to him Sweetie Belle has become one fabulous actress and has been invited into her school's new drama club that's started up. In fact, she's the lead in almost everything now. When he and Fluttershy are over he sometimes likes to run lines with her. I've got to say, with how melodramatic he can be at times he should be right alongside my sister in the drama club!

-Rarity

Discord has impacted our lives a lot more than we ever thought he could, and we've grown to love him and accept him into our family He's taught us all so much, from how to make the best cotton candy, to always giving a second chance, and we're so glad we did. We're happy to share our thoughts of what we've learned about friendship, and we hope you've enjoyed this insightful report.

Your loyal subjects,

Fluttershy, Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Pinke Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity

Celestia finished the letter and rolled it back up with a smile. She gave a soft and happy sigh of absolute joy and turned to look back at her family. Luna was sulking at the edge of the bed and watching angrily as her older brother devoured the tray of cookies.

Smiling, wings folded, the princess approached Discord's lounging, and munching form. She nuzzled the side of her love's face, causing the bulging-with-cookie cheeks to turn towards her with a questioning tilt of the head.

"So my little Discord, do you have anything to report to me with a lesson you've learned about friendship?"

The draconequus smiled, swallowed, and belched loudly right into her face. "Nope~!"

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(May the angels protect you
Trouble neglect you
And heaven accept you when it's time to go home
And when hard times have found you
And your fear surround you
Wrap my love around you
You're never alone

Never alone
Never alone
I'll be in every beat of your heart
When you face the unknown
Wherever you fly
This isn't goodbye
My love will follow you stay with you
Baby you're never alone

Oh man, can't believe it's over. ;_; XD Can't believe it's over. Well no, it's still got an epilogue, deleted scenes, and the preview for "Distorted Worlds" and then it's over. And I dunno why, but the paragraphs went wonky when I tried to do the traditional letter signatures. >> I tried for a half hour to fix it. I'll try again tomorrow.

This chapter hit me hard because of me graduating and going through similar feelings of leaving what's become a home, and my family. ^^; But I loved writing it. I'll write more of a description tomorrow, but I gotta sleep.

Also, my friend says if this was featured once when it's updated it'll be in the featured box again. IS that true?[ If so I don't wanna miss it this time! ><

ALSO, check out my newest blog. :D It's got art of "Broken Spirit"/i])