• Published 28th Jun 2012
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A New Hero - Alex The Lone Wolf



What if there was another pony who joined the pony gang? (Look at longer description...)

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Three's A Crowd

Episode 76 – Three's a Crowd


"Why am I jealous over this… What is making me jealous… What am I trying to keep… Why do I feel threatened…" I spoke softly to myself as I handled the informative book above me while I laid on the floor reading it.

These were questions in the book that tried to explore the unfortunate new feelings I had recently felt about Fluttershy and the…other guy. I didn't want to start hating him for something that could very easily be stupid to worry about. But ever since the idea got planted into me…I just couldn't let it go so easily…

I was surprised Twilight was too busy pacing around excitedly to pay attention on what I was actually studying on. In a way, it was a good thing.

"I almost haven't even been able to sleep! I've been waiting for her answer for so long!" She expressed anxiously.

I shut the book closed and placed it away with my magic, figuring I might or might not return to it. "Unless she's got some major things to handle right now, I'm sure she'd go through hoops to see and spend time with us." I attempted to assure Twilight.

"All I can think about is her answer!" She continued pacing in a trot.

"Mail's here!" We heard Spike exclaimed at the front doorway.

Twilight quickly faced him and forcibly pulled the mail from his claws. "Please be a yes, please be a yes, please be a yes..." She shuffled through her stack of letters, completely ignoring any other one to find the one she was mainly interested in. She came across one that stood out from the stack and immediately removed the top flap to grab ahold of the letter inside. Taking one quick glance at the paragraph written, she beamed and smiled like no tomorrow. "Yes! She can make it, she can make it!" She spread out her wings and flew to me to hold on to me and rock me a little harder than gently.

"I'm guessing that Princess Cadence said she can come this weekend?" Spike took a shot at the celebration.

"We're finally gonna get to spend some quality time with my sister-in-law!" Twilight released her grip on me and turned to Spike to release her energetic approval. "This is the best news ever!"

"I just hope this is the time where there are finally no interruptions?" I pointed out.

"I planned ahead for just the occasion. Everything should be just fine!" Twilight responded with hooves planted firmly on the ground.

There was a light knocking on the door. After, it slowly opened.

"Um, so sorry for barging in like this..." A timid head poked in, receiving absolutely no backlash for her claim. "…but I'm so excited, I just couldn't wait to tell somepony!" She headed straight towards me, seeming to know that I was already in here.

"Flutters, what's up?" I questioned, seeing her tapping her hooves quickly in her excitement.

She pulled out something to show not only me but to all of us. "The Equestrian Society for the Preservation of Rare Creatures have given me permission to observe the rarest, tiniest, most adorable magical creatures in all of Equestria – the Breezies!"

Twilight had borrowed the letter from Fluttershy, read it, and then passed it along to Spike to read it as well.

"Wow, Fluttershy, that's fantastic!" Twilight congratulated.

"Oh, it's not just fantastic; it just might be the best news ever!" She cheered happily.

I know news that would surely top the Breezies…

The library door suddenly came tumbling down onto Spike, revealing Pinkie Pie hopping in.

"I just got the most incredible mail anypony's ever received in all of recorded pony postal history!" She informed, leading for Fluttershy and Twilight to open their jaws in apprehension. "It's a flyer about a one-day sale on used patio furniture!" She held up a flyer with her tail. However, this "used patio furniture" was clearly broken, and it seemed whoever was selling it was just trying to make a quick bit. "Aah! Could this day get any better? Woo-hoo!"

Twilight and Fluttershy sent a look to each other and then responded by rolling their eyes and shaking their heads, all while retaining their smiles from the news before.

Not wanting to burst Pinkie's bubble, I didn't inform her on the condition and quality of the furniture. She could take care of herself, so I allowed her to keep her fun.

"I've gotta see this furniture for myself!" After telling us her news, Pinkie Pie hopped up and dashed out of the room.

Twilight walked over to the fallen door and used her magic to lift it back up and into place.

"Alex." Fluttershy called me, turning my head to see her delicate face. "I was hoping you could come with me to see the Breezies. I'm sure it'd be a lot of fun!" She expressed with closed eyes and a small warm but bright smile.

"Sure." I felt a warm embrace on my heart for hearing Fluttershy's invitation to spend the time with her. "That's sounds great. When are you going?"

"Actually, I'll be taking the train in a few hours! That'll give us plenty of time to get ready!"

"Okay then." I nodded.

"Oh." Twilight released in an odd kind of way, as if she received a sudden unexpected disappointment. "I thought you were going to be with Princess Cadence and me."

"I am." I returned, but somewhat ended it with a questionable tone. "Um…when is she coming by?"

"She said she would be able to make it…today…" Twilight hesitantly answered, seeing the conflict that would calmly arise.

"Oh…" I felt immediately pressured by this. "…uh-oh…"

Before I could fall apart on what to do, Fluttershy quickly came to my aid. "It's okay, Alex. You can stay here and spend the day with Twilight and Princess Cadence."

"…but Fluttershy…" I sighed. "I feel really bad in letting you go when you were already excited that I was coming with you."

"I'll be fine." She assured. "I'm already glad enough that I'll get to see the Breezies. We can probably see them together another time. But you should really spend some time with your family. After all, it's not like you've spent a lot of time with Princess Cadence as you have with me."

I thought about it for a moment and decided to accept. "I guess you're right… Are you sure you'll be fine?"

"Mm-hm." She returned, continuing to smile.

A thought suddenly formed in my head, causing me to feel the need to ask one more concerning question. "Are you…going alone?"

"I suppose so… Why?" She asked.

"…just wondering…" I subtly disengaged.


Fluttershy was all dressed up and ready to go when the train skidded controllably to a stop.

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" I asked worriedly as I faced her.

"Yes." She nodded calmly with a smile. "I'll be fine."

"Here's a wrap, in case it gets cold." Rarity offered with a bright grin, opening Fluttershy's saddlebag and placing it in there.

"And I packed you a basket of nice fresh apples in case you get hungry." Applejack placed the basket on the floor in front of Fluttershy warmly.

"Have a great time!" Twilight expressed.

"Oh, I will. And I hope you two have fun with Cadence." Fluttershy returned as Twilight fixed her explorer's hat. She turned to me and embraced me before she had to go. "I'll see you later, cutie." She added in a way that revealed her slight worry in her new term. Her tone seemed to show that she wasn't sure if it fit.

Nevertheless, the train whistle blew, leading Fluttershy to become aware that it would be leaving soon.

"Cutie?" I questioned.

Fluttershy silenced my curiosity with a soft peck on the lips and then turned to trot towards the train entrance, carrying the basket of apples with her.

"All aboard!" The conductor shouted, checked his pocket watch, and then climbed in himself.

Fluttershy made her way to the cart at the end to wave goodbye to us all.

"Goodbye! Goodbye, everypony!" She softly exclaimed as she waved, her figure shrinking in size from the distance.

"Fluttershy!" Pinkie Pie shouted and then quickly chased after the train that was leaving her in the dust."I'll never forget youuuuuuu!"

Twilight's face was stricken with worry, leaving her to spill out what was on her mind. "Oh, I'm a bit nervous about Cadence's visit!"

"What could you be nervous about, Twilight?" Applejack asked with a reassuring smile on her face. "With the kind of relationship Cadence has with you two, there's no doubt on my mind that she just loves you both to pieces!"

"I know, but I really want her visit to go without a hitch!" Twilight acknowledged.

"Oh, why wouldn't it?" Pinkie Pie asked, releasing the red balloon she had somehow grabbed ahold of on the way here. She immediately formed a saddened expression from helplessly seeing it fly away from her. I managed to focus my magic on the string and bring it back to her while Twilight responded.

"Well, the last few times we've seen each other haven't exactly been worry-free." Twilight reminded.

"I can vouch for that…" I agreed with a low voice, remembering those specific times.

"The fate of Equestria has hung in the balance during most of your visits with her." Rarity joined as well.

"Exactly. Cadence and I haven't really had a chance to just enjoy being friends again. Which is why it is so important that this visit be about the three of us having some real quality time together." Twilight pulled me in as she wrapped her hoof around me, pushing her cheek against mine with a smile.

"Actually…" I began to bring up. "Is that really a good idea? You know what they say…two's a company, three's a crowd."

"Please." She brushed off. "We both share the same kind of bond with Cadence. It's only a 'crowd' when said pony seems to interrupt the other ponies from enjoying whatever they're experiencing, intentionally or not."

"I guess you're right." I smiled lightly.

"I'm guessin' you've already got a plan for the day." Applejack pointed out with smirk.

"The timing couldn't be more perfect. For one day only, right here in Ponyville, the Star Swirl the Bearded Traveling Museum!" She pointed towards a poster right behind us on the wall of the train station. "Cadence, Alex, and I can spend the whole day looking at Star Swirl the Bearded artifacts!"

"Only I wouldn't have any idea what the two of you would be talking about or what we'd even be looking at." I expressed half-jokingly.

"Perfect time to teach you then." Twilight winked.

"Sounds like a perfect drama-free way to spend the day then." Rarity shared her enthusiasm.

"Not counting the drama surrounding which of the bells from his cloak they've chosen to put on display. Spoiler alert: it's this one!" She patted the paper in withheld excitement.

I still had no idea on what to think of anything Star Swirl the Bearded related, but as long as it made Twilight happy, I didn't care.

Rainbow Dash, on the other hoof, hacked out loudly. She stopped when the others looked at her. She chuckled nervously. "Uh, sorry. Something in my throat... like a big ball of 'lame'!" She shifted tone quickly.

"I think it sounds delightful." Rarity disagreed politely.

"Yup, definitely sounds like you three will have some real quality time together." Applejack added.

"Exactly. Just quiet time!" Twilight reinforced before we heard another train whistle blow.

Coming in next on schedule, we clearly saw Miss Cadence arriving. The crystal train was the obvious reveal. The screeching of the train as it came to a stop caused a mass of hooves to block pairs of ears. Fanfare played loudly and the side door opened. Two of the crystal guards walked out, a red roll of carpet spat out, and finally the pony we had been waiting for walked out with a flashy appearance.

Twilight's eyes sparkled in glee as she took the first move to greet her. However, Miss Cadence bowed down, surprising and stopping Twilight in her tracks. "Your Highness." She announced.

Twilight was struck silent for a moment, glancing back at the girls. Nevertheless, she returned the bow, leading the others to bow along as well. "Your Highness."

Miss Cadence lifted up her eyes to see Twilight and the others bowing while I stood there a bit confused. She chuckled and continued talking. "I'm teasing, Twilight. We're sisters-in-law. We don't have to be so formal." She looked over to her guards and nodded, allowing them to head back into the cabin and leave with the train. She then walked over to me and messed with my mane a little. "And how's my little cousin doing?"

"Psh." I pulled my head back lightly with a smile. "I'm practically as big as you are."

"Not by age, you're not." She teased back. "You were a little colt when I was young, remember?"

"You still are." I answered in the same manner even though it was seriously the truth.

"You're a flatterer, aren't you?" She chuckled again before facing Twilight. "Knowing you, you've made some plans."

"Boy, have I." Twilight delightfully revealed, and then paused to remember about the others in the station. "Hang on just one second." She excused herself and ran over to the girls.

I remained with Miss Cadence as she began conversing with me. "So, how has everything been since the last time we've seen each other?"

"Oh, you know." I shrugged lightly. "Strange as usual. You never know when something completely unexpected might just happen one day or another."

"To be honest, that sounds fun." She stated. "I think I've been relaxing too much back at the Crystal Empire. However, knowing the Equestria Games will be occurring soon enough, that kind of puts me on the edge of my hooves, which reminds me… I've heard you're on the team for Ponyville…" She sent a light smirk towards me.

"Oh…that…" I rubbed my head lightly while being a bit embarrassed. "It wasn't really my choice at first… Rainbow kind of dragged me into that one…but it's not like I mind or anything. It sounds like it could be fun, I guess."

"Especially when you three will be taking the grand prize for your town." She shared, feeling as if she knew we were already going to win.

"Oh, come on." I returned, believing she was being too generous.

"By the way…" Her tone and expression seemed to change to a negative point. She placed her wing around me and directed me to face away from the others. "I've been meaning to ask you… Is there something going on with Starlight and you that I don't know about?"

I was quickly stripped from my joyous face. "W-what?"

"Well…it's just that Rainbow Dash seemed to really dislike her, and recently I—"

"Coming, Cadence!" Twilight had shouted and raced over to us, fortunately cutting our unexpected talk short.

"Oh, there you are, Twilight." Miss Cadence refrained from speaking about the prior subject and went to talk about our plans as we began walking off. "So, what are we going to do today?"

"We're going to have the perfect day!" Twilight excitedly shared. "You made it just in time for the Star Swirl the Bearded Traveling Museum! We'll be looking at a whole bunch of artifacts!"

"Sounds interesting!" Miss Cadence shared Twilight's enthusiasm.

"What we do after before you need to go is up to Alex." Twilight faced me, lightly tilting her head to see me.

"Huh?" I poked my head up.

"I figured it would only be fair you decide on something for the three of us to do." Twilight explained.

"Oh…" I didn't really put too much thought into it. "It really doesn't matter. Maybe somewhere we can sit back and relax…" Spirit's idea of a hangout was influenced on mine.

"Sounds like you're talking about the spa there." Twilight switched her view to Miss Cadence. "Actually, that's sounds pretty great, figuring we might be walking and standing the entire time at the museum." She giggled lightly with Miss Cadence.

Unfortunately, I couldn't help but feel a little down, but I tried hard not to show it.


"I'll be right back!" Twilight informed as she stood in the front doorway of her home. "I'm going to get my costume!" She ended in a sing-song voice before eagerly slamming the door and possibly racing to get dressed.

I looked towards the ground and didn't feel a need to talk. Spotting a few rocks and pebbles, I began lightly kicking them around.

"Sorry for asking…" Miss Cadence suddenly apologized, catching my attention. "I was just…concerned about you." She expounded. "It's just…thinking way back…" She paused and seemed to shake her head a little. "Well, never mind." She formed an engaging smile. "If you don't want to talk about it, it's fine. Just…let me know as soon as you can, alright?" She placed a hoof on me, suddenly sending me a quick flashback image of her years ago. I don't know why…but this image made me feel…happy…but, at the same time, nostalgic for some reason. I didn't see anything nostalgic the time before I met the girls though…

"Yeah." I nodded, feeling a little better. "I got you."

Miss Cadence tightened her grip on me a little and then released for the two of us to see Twilight speed out her front door.

"I'm back!" She somewhat presented herself very flashy and forward, despite the costume not fitting so well in the category.

"Isn't that your costume from Nightmare Night?" I asked, lightly pointing a hoof toward it.

"What? You'd think I'd only wear it once?" Twilight asked back, expecting me to know the answer.

"You got me there…" I admitted.

"Come on!" Twilight tried to rush as quick as she could, but the long robe of her costume prevented her from doing so. "I can't wait to see everything!"

Miss Cadence chuckled a little as Twilight sped on ahead.

"What?" I questioned, looking towards her.

"Reminds me when I was still babysitting her…" She answered.

"Hm." I studied Twilight for a moment, who almost entirely left us behind. "I can see why…"


"A whole day to celebrate Star Swirl the Bearded!" Twilight gleefully examined anywhere that was in relation to what she came here for in the first place. "What could be better?"

"Absolutely nothing." Miss Cadence warmly responded and then quickly paused, immediately gasping and trotting over to something that caught her eye. "Is that the candlestick he used to light the way when he was exploring the caverns of Maretania?" She asked, goggling a certain candle on a holder while Twilight joined her.

"It sure is!" Twilight answered.

"Oh, I can't believe I'm getting to see it in real life!" Miss Cadence continued.

Surprisingly, I never knew she was as big of a fan as Twilight was. I snickered and heartily joked. "Nerds."

"You won't be laughing when Star Swirl the Bearded himself plays one of his cunning tricks on you!" Twilight shot back in the same playful manner. However, the candle inside the showcase began rattling greatly, causing for Twilight and Miss Cadence to back away a bit slowly. "Uh… I didn't mean it…"

Twilight and Miss Cadence yelped when something strange suddenly took place of the candle.

"Achoo!" He sneezed, forming some kind of blue bubbly liquid. It crept out of the showcase and towards us, leading us to back up until it stopped. A body formed in its place and it reached toward the ground to retrieve its head.

"Discord!" Twilight called out angrily at the unamused looking creature. "What are you doing here?!"

"Oh, dear, dear Princesses." He announced strangely and then paused, spotting me. "And Prince." He resumed. "I'm sorry to say that I'm sick." He turned his head and coughed disturbingly, causing Miss Cadence and Twilight to pull back their heads uncomfortably. "Blue flu." He clarified.

"Blue flu?" Miss Cadence questioned, digging in to what I wanted to know as well.

"Ah, I fear I've already given it to poor Applejack and Rarity." He admitted.

As Twilight and Miss Cadence exchanged concerned looks with each other. I quickly stepped forward. "W-what?!" I already began worrying if they were alright or not.

"Oh, they'll be fine." He flipped his paw, revealing no anguish for his actions. "It's me you should be worrying about." He began stuttering, foreshadowing that he was about to sneeze. A light blue transparent bubble suddenly formed around us, creating a barrier from whatever Discord was apparently infected with.

"Magic health bubble." Miss Cadence explained within.

"Good thinking!" Twilight thankfully praised.

"Indeed!" Discord agreed as he pressed his face against the bubble. "How would Twilight nurse me back to health if she were sick too?" He brought up while playing with the barrier of the bubble with his claw. "You will be letting me stay at your place until I'm all better, won't you?"

"Stay? With me?!" Twilight exclaimed in the both question and shock. Twilight glanced over to Miss Cadence and me to remind herself that we were in the middle of something. "Uh, now is not really the best time, though I'm sure you already knew that..." She shot her eyes away from Discord, showing that she was already becoming heavily annoyed.

"But taking in the sick and the desperate - isn't that what Fluttershy would do? Isn't 'helping' something that friends do for friends?" Discord tried to reason with an appeal to pity. "Unless, of course, you're really saying that you're not my friend." He added when Twilight didn't show much concern for his "pleads" and turned around to cross his forelimbs.

Twilight scrunched her face angrily and gritted her teeth. "No, that is not what I'm saying."

"Oh, how elated I am to hear that." He quickly returned to his mischievous behavior. "Shall the four of us head back to your place? I don't want to get anypony else sick."

Twilight sighed. "Guess we don't have much choice."

"If you're so sick, why did you come all the way here instead of staying at home and resting?" I questioned skeptically.

"Why, I'm simply helpless." Discord returned. "I feel I could just pass out at any minute."

"So…being helpless, you were able to pull yourself together to come out here and move pretty fine to me?"

Discord stood silent for a moment, looked back with a blank face, and then faced me with an odd smile. "The thought of friends can do only so much." He seemed to fall towards the floor and hold out an aching hoof, later allowing his wings to fall off his body.

"It isn't far." Miss Cadence answered, not liking the idea of doing just that. "If you were able to make it here all by yourself, I think you can manage."

"Oh, poo." He shared before he used his body to get around instead of his legs.


Discord already seemed to be enjoying himself as Miss Cadence fluffed his pillow. He fell on his back, aiming straight at the bed. Miss Cadence then worked the covers as Twilight was already becoming grumpy at the fact that we were missing the museum.

"Need anything else?" She asked with a harsh tone once Discord had made himself in her bed.

"Just knowing that I have a good friend like you to take care of me has made me feel better already." He began going through her stuff, opening the drawer in the nightstand and pulling out scrolls messily. "I'll be fine here on my own."

Becoming annoyed myself, I grabbed the book he just picked up to open, and with a hint of anger, placed it back where it was and almost slammed the drawer shut with the scrolls inside. "You know, it's really rude to go through things that don't belong to you, especially if those things belong to the pony that's taking care of you."

"Please, excuse me." He answered in what I assumed to be a feigned apologetic tone. "My illness must be having forget my manners."

"Uh-huh…"

Twilight placed her hoof on me, shaking her head and signaling that we should get going before he could intentionally bother us more. The three of us turned and began heading out. I was already readying myself to ask Twilight if she was okay with the idea of Discord being alone in her house…until he suddenly stopped us in our tracks.

"Oh, just before you go, just a little small request." Discord used his paw to emphasis how apparently small it was.

Twilight sighed heavily.

"It's going to be fine." Miss Cadence assured in a whispered. "We'll just get him what he wants and be back to the exhibit in no time." Her hopeful statement allowed Twilight's smile to return, but I honestly found it funny to see how quick it disappeared when they faced Discord. "What was it that you needed?" Miss Cadence attempted to ask nicely.

"A little glass of water please" He suddenly shot out a paw holding an empty glass while standing up from bed. He also…began breaking into song.

"A fresh pressed hanky if I sneeze" He pulled out one from the back of Twilight's head, causing her to rub it.

"Some tea with honey from the bees" He formed a tea cup with bees flying out and then allowed it to disappear.

"Whenever you can brew it" He fluttered his eyelashes innocently.

"Okay." I returned. "Um, why can't you just make whatever you need yourself like you always do?"

"Boy, haven't you been listening to me? I'm just too sick." His excuses were beginning to become obvious…

I began furrowing my eyebrows until Miss Cadence stretched her foreleg out in front of me. I believed she felt it would be better to stick with what she stated before. "I'll get your tea." She answered with a forced grin and turned around to head downstairs.

"And while I get a little rest" He returned to the bed, but then began using his abnormal magic to create duplicates of himself as if they were models of him.

"A teeny tiny small request" His miniature self pulled out a bottle of oil.

"Some codfish oil for my chest

Poured from a crystal cruet" The last line was rather spoken by the fish that appeared from the bottle.

"A crystal cruet?" Twilight questioned as Miss Cadence returned with the tea.

"My goodness, I'm a nincompoop" He began singing much faster, almost being hard to keep up with. In fact, everything he was saying and doing was just too fast, it all moved on before my mind could make up what exactly what was going on.

"Because I fear I've got the croup

I need a vat of pumpkin soup

And scarves made out of zinnias

Did I say zinnias? I meant silk

Or something shiny of that ilk

And then I'll need some nice warm milk

And pastries from Abyssinia

And since my stomach's feeling crummy

Why not give my aching tummy

Something soothing, something yummy

Piled up with noodles?

Add a slice of homemade rye

With stacks of Swiss way up high

Served with sides of sweet mince pie

More basil; I need oodles!"

The next thing I remembered was Twilight asking a question while wearing a nostalgic diner outfit for a waitress.

"Anything else?"

"I'll be grateful for your charity" Discord finally slowed down, and he was dancing with Twilight in a spotlight. I could tell she had absolutely no idea what was going on either.

"Until the bitter end

Because I've heard that tenderness

Is what you lend an ailing friend

Tenderness, isn't that right, friend?"

"Right, but—"

"So, who's ready for my big reprise?" He cut off Twilight by dropping her to the floor.

"Oh, no…" I mentioned softly before he continued singing very quickly once again.

"I'd like that glass of water please

Some magic spell to cure disease

A firm 'gesundhoof' when I sneeze

A fresh bouquet of roses

Some lozenges will soon appease

My wheezing when I start to sneeze

A wig to keep me from the breeze

And blankets for my toes-es

Take tweezers out of my valise

And then massage my knobby knees

A bowl of peas, some extra cheese

A cuddle with a Pekingese

A singing harp who's named Louise

A goat on skis, a new trapeze

And more and more and more and more of these~

And just because I oughta...

Make sure I'm drinking in the right

Amount of fluids day and night

I wish I may, I wish I might

Have just one little thing

Oh, would you please finally bring

Me that tiny glass

Of water?!"

The entire area was extremely flooded with water, soon spiraling down and out of sight as if there was a drain. Then, Discord fell to the bed casually, coughing and happily facing us as we were drenched in water. Using the water Discord had stupidly summoned, Miss Cadence used the empty glass to fill it up with water.

She passed it over to Discord, who calmly took it. He turned his head to the side and was just about to take of a sip of it until he allowed it to easily slip from his grip and break on the floor. "Oops. Sorry." He "apologized", having me narrow my eyes in annoyance. However, he suddenly sneezed and exploded into hundreds of bubbles.

"Alright, this is ridiculous!" Twilight turned and headed out, being fed up with his nonsense.

"How did you even catch this flu?" Miss Cadence curiously asked, having Discord appear in front of her and spray the magic health bubble with an anti-germ spray.

"Inadequate hoof and claw washing?" He answered in the form of a question, revealing his uncertainty for his answer as he wiped the bubble with a cloth.

"I'm kind of starting to think you aren't really sick." I responded. "Why now? I have a feeling you're just doing this to mess with us."

"Oh, but I am!" He answered boldly, but then pulled back when he noticed me push my head closer to him suspiciously with a raised eyebrow. "I mean…sick that is."

"There must be some way to just cure you!" Twilight mentioned, flipping through different pages in her books. "There has to be a spell or remedy in one of my books!"

"Maybe there's no remedy because it's not real?" I offered, raising a hoof at Discord.

However, Discord spoke out, ignoring my comment. "There is one way... "He laid with a casual pose on the bed, further proving to me that this was all a stunt.

"And you didn't think to mention it earlier?" Miss Cadence returned.

"Slipped my mind." He merely answered.

"Apparently your huge list didn't…" I mentioned under my breath before he created this cloud in front of us, depicting another scene.

"On a hill at the very edge of Equestria, there grows an exquisite magic flower. Pick the flower as it drops its petals at sunset. Then you can make a magical soothing elixir to cure the blue flu." He snapped his claw, making the images disappear.

"I suppose you have a good reason you didn't bother to get this flower as soon as you realized you were sick?" Twilight angrily expected an answer from him.

"Well, I couldn't travel that far in my condition. By the time I got there, I'd be too weak to even attempt to retrieve the flower." He trembled under the blanket. He really wasn't that great at convincing others…

"So where exactly are we headed?" Twilight asked, keeping her tone.

"Well…" Discord appeared beside us in a second, holding a map along with a lollipop in his mouth, sunglasses on his eyes…and…he pretty much looked like he was going on vacation. He cleared his throat. "You'll want to head north, turn left, th— Oh..." He paused after having twisted and turned the map he held. "You know, it'd be much easier if I took you there myself." He messed with the map and instead made a paper hat out of it to place on Twilight's head.

"I thought you were in no condition to travel." Miss Cadence recalled, her suspicions arising.

"I'm not." He responded and placed his forelegs around us. "We'll need to make some arrangements." He chuckled, giving me, if not us, the feeling that we were going to waste our time in an annoying journey for nothing. I just knew it.


I couldn't believe Discord had the nerve to appoint us to carry him to wherever it was we were heading. I didn't want to sound self-centered…but he had the nerve to appoint royalty to serve him! The thought of this really angered me when I saw Miss Cadence struggling. I couldn't blame her as the weight of the throne we were carrying that Discord rested easily in was tremendous. In fact, she appeared to be struggling ever more than Twilight and I were. The sounds of her strains concerned me greatly.

"Miss Cadence." I managed to speak out. "You shouldn't…be pulling this. In fact, neither of us should!"

Miss Cadence shook her head. "I'm-I'm fine… To be honest, I'm a little out of practice when it comes to flying."

"Well, then lucky for you." The inconsiderate jerk said. "We're here."

We were finally allowed to lower down to the ground and remove the weight of the troublesome carriage off our shoulders.

"It's just at the top of that hill." Discord pointed, turning our heads to see what he was talking about.

It wasn't as bad as carrying the carriage, but it still seemed quite a long walk to reach the hill. Twilight sighed as we began heading over to this "flower" Discord talked about.

"I'm really sorry about this." She apologized to the both of us. "All I wanted was to have some peaceful quality time together."

"I know." Miss Cadence returned understandably. "I was looking forward to it too."

She turned sadly to me. "You probably would have had a better time with Fluttershy…"

"Don't talk like that…" I asked of her. "I'm pretty sure Discord is just doing this because he's bored out of his mind. I bet you that when we're just about to get this 'flower', he's going to pop out in fireworks and say that he got us or whatever."

"I'll hurt him if he does." Twilight answered seriously with furrowed eyebrows.

"Let's just hope we can do whatever it is he wants and finally be on our way." Miss Cadence suggested, leaving us to silently agree as we arrived at the top.

However, being at the absolute top of the cliff, there was no flower waiting for us there. I could already feel him getting ready to come out and surprise us.

"This is the top." Twilight stated, continuing to look around past the edge of the cliff. "But where is that flower?" Something soft immediately fell over her, almost as if she was stuck under a blanket. I trotted to her and help removed whatever it was off of her. However, I felt this object and noticed it was very soft and silky…almost like a…

I looked upwards to see where it had dropped from to immediately spot what we were all looking for. "There it is." I pointed out.

"Oh." Twilight expressed and then became quick to place a smile on her face in glee. "Come on, if we hurry, we can still have some time together!" The three of us began flying and faced the stem of the flower.

"So, how exactly are we going to pull this out?" I questioned, looking around its huge body.

"Let's trying using our magic." Twilight suggested. "With the three of us, we should be able to pull it out!"

We spread out to have a better focus and grip. Surrounding the flower with our aura, we began pulling ourselves outward, slowly removing its connection to the ground. The base where the dirt was slowly cracked and broke apart.

"One... last... pull!" Miss Cadence mentioned before we forcefully jerked backwards and finally removed this gigantic flower from the ground.

"Phew!" Twilight released a great breath of relief as we regrouped back to take this to Discord. "Let's get Discord and this flower back home, then all our problems are solved—"

"What in Equestria?!" Miss Cadence exclaimed when a large rumbling and vibrating noise came from the ground.

Dashing from the huge hole in the ground, we all quickly turned to see what was going on. All of a sudden, this gigantic wormlike creature shot out, surprising us greatly. What appeared to be the head folded forward and faced directly at us. It's immense mouth opened in three flaps and screeched out loud, revealing it's three tentacles inside used for its prey and leading Twilight and Miss Cadence to scream out in fear.

This creature tried to lunge out at Twilight and snap at her, but Twilight quickly flew out of the way, appearing to be unsure of what to do. The creature tried to bite at Miss Cadence as well, but she flew up to avoid it.

"Get out of its reach!" I pointed upwards.

As Miss Cadence and Twilight did so, the creature tried to snap at me as well, but I was able to dodge it just as the others had done. The creature turned to noticed Twilight and Miss Cadence too far to snap and returned inside its hole. At first, I thought it was done trying to get its dinner, but I thought too soon when it launched out into the air, leaving me greatly surprised.

It gained more speed, opening its mouth as it caught up to the two of them. One of its tentacles from its mouth stretched out and curled around Miss Cadence's back leg, pulling fiercely. "Twilight! Help!" She called out to her.

Hearing this, something inside me immediately felt like it wanted to pull me to the scene. As if I needed to know!

I quickly began hurrying to the two to see Twilight stop and turn to angrily chase after the creature. "Get your coils off my sister-in-law!" She began shooting beams at the attacker. After it took enough damage, it released Miss Cadence, continuing to fall back at its hole. However, it landed on the cliff instead of back inside the hole, seeing as it placed its body horizontally out. It took another shot at grabbing a pony by shooting out three of its tentacles. They flew right by me, but caught another pony instead. I heard Twilight yelp and quickly looked to see her being dragged instead with a struggle.

I growled and decided to cease this creature's attacks at the root, so I headed to the base where the tentacles were at.

"Let go of my sister-in-law!" Miss Cadence shouted and began magically attacking the tentacles herself, allowing Twilight to be freed.

When the creature saw its failure in catching its prey, it yet again decided to continue its determination. However, just as soon as it stretched out its tentacles, I grabbed ahold of them and stretched them forcibly away from the direction of its mouth. Instead, I tried to wrap it around its head with the intention to hurt it enough to make it retreat back to its dirty hole.

"Attack it now!" I ordered as I struggled to keep the tentacles in place.

Twilight and Miss Cadence focused their magic and began shooting continuous beams, all while the worm was now trying to shake its tentacles out from me. It screeched, cried, and flinched once it knew it was unable to react. It began sliding its body back into its hole. Eventually, it finally pulled its tentacles back away from me.

"Just... a little... more!" Twilight exclaimed and added in a little more power to push the creature back even further.

"And for good measure...!" Miss Cadence concluded once it was inside the hole. She grabbed ahold of several boulders that were pushed aside by the huge worm and stuffed them inside the entrance of the hole. The monster tried escaping again, but the weight of the rocks kept it from doing so. We were finally allowed to breathe…

Panting, Twilight raced over to me and placed a hoof on me. "Are you okay?" She asked, also looking over to Miss Cadence.

"Better than okay actually." Miss Cadence answered, just ceasing her panting.

I managed to smile lightly, nodding at Twilight.

"Then let's get Discord back to Ponyville, make that elixir, and finally get a chance to spend some quality time together!" She expressed, being unable to wait to finally get this entire mess behind us.

Miss Cadence also nodded with a huge grin to share her excitement.

Focusing our magic on the flower, we picked it up and carefully moved it ahead of us to get it back to Discord.


I wasn't sure it was just me, but I began hearing something like…Discord cheering. "To the ends of Equestria!" I glanced over to Miss Cadence and Twilight to see if they were hearing this. Observing their faces, it appeared they did. We then widened our eyes when we noticed Discord dancing in front of us as we grew closer. The most noticeable thing was that he wasn't blue anymore. "To face such great danger! And they did it for me! They did it all for me, for me, for me!"

We landed on the ground with angry eyes just as his slid over to us wearing ridiculous clothes. He stopped and raised his shades to notice us in silence.

"You... were... faking?!" Twilight shouted out angrily even though Discord kept that stupid smile of his.

"I was!" He admitted bravely. "But I had a very good reason."

"We're listening." Twilight returned.

"Well…" Discord began raising a tree out of nowhere. "I was in my thinking tree – that's where I do most of my really deep thinking – I was there, and I said to myself, I said, 'Discord, your friends Twilight and Alex say that they're your pals, but they never write and they never pop in for a visit.'"

I never really said that…

"We don't even know where you li—"

Discord closed her lips shut so he could continue speaking. "'Now that they're a prince and princess, maybe they've decided that they're too good for you.'"

"We've never considered ourselves t-

"But how was I supposed to know for sure that I'm truly still friends with one of the most important pair of ponies around?" He interrupted Twilight again as she tried to assure to Miss Cadence.

"We're not more—"

Using his tail, Discord grabbed a hold of Twilight and raised her up.

"By seeing if you two would go to the ends of Equestria for me, of course. Which you both did, literally." He began shaking Twilight's hoof. "Congratulations, Twilight and Alex, you both passed my friendship test!" He placed some kind of necklace around Twilight while he tossed another one to me, I grabbed ahold of it and lifted it up to analyze it. It was one of those necklaces where you connected your piece to some other pony who's really special to you. However, Discord was pretty far being that. Nonetheless, the piece I had was of Discord. He connected the other piece for me, showing that he was blocking away my face with his claw…stupidly… I assumed Twilight's was the same.

As Discord waved around a flag, that still didn't change the look on our faces.

"Why the angry eyes?" He asked. "Don't you love passing tests? It's not because my little exam put a damper on your visit with Princess Cadence, is it? Made it so that there was no time for you three to focus on your friendship?" He pointed out rudely, even causing Twilight to sink sadly from her flying.

Just when I was about to give him a piece of my mind, Miss Cadence spoke up. "You didn't put a damper on our visit at all." She stated gladly.

"He didn't?!" Twilight exclaimed in surprised.

"I didn't?!" Discord responded in the same manner simultaneously.

"Spending the day at the Star Swirl the Bearded exhibit would've been more relaxing, but to be honest, relaxation is the last thing I need." She explained as Twilight landed back on the ground with a big grin.

"It is?" Twilight questioned eagerly.

"Don't get me wrong. Life in the Crystal Empire is wonderful, but it's become a little... predictable." She honestly shared. "I enjoy a little excitement now and then. Getting to face all these challenges today was just what I needed. And facing them with you two just made me realize even more how lucky I am to have such fantastic and fun ponies like you both for friends." She placed her hooves around us. "We may not see each other very often, but I know you'll always be there when I need you." She confidentially looked at the both of us, and then turned to Discord. "Just like they were there for you, Discord."

Meh.

"Yes, they're both a couple of real sweethearts." He grumbled with crossed forelegs, seeing as he didn't get the real result he wanted. "We're all so lucky to have them in our lives."

Nonetheless, I furrowed my eyebrows and lightly stormed over to Discord. "You!" I pointed. "You should count yourself lucky nopony got hurt! I swear, if anything had happened to Miss Cadence or Twilight, I would have ripped you apart!"

"Whoa, settle down there, cowboy." Discord raised his paw and claw, subtly walked around me, and faced his back towards the others. "Aren't we friends?" He seemed to continue his prankster tone.

"Friends?" I felt slightly angry at the kind of idea of what a friend is to him. "I don't even know if you can call me your friend! After all, all you do is just—"

The ground began trembling and rumbling greatly, shocking all of us. There was a loud cracking noise and soon a burst of rock splattering all over a specific area. Noticing Discord back away quickly, I turned around to stand stunned at the appearance of the recently made foe.

"What in the world?!" Discord cried out fearfully.

The creature roared out loud, leaving its tentacles to give one last shot. Before I could move out of the way, it grabbed ahold of my back leg and began dragging me towards it.

"Alex!" Twilight held out a hoof and tried to run to me.

Instead, the worm began dragging me inside the hole along with it. I tried to grab ahold of anything on the ground to keep me away, but it held too much force. Before I knew it, all light disappeared before my eyes, leaving me completely blind.


After a moment of only hearing rocky sounds, everything was dead silent. I didn't know where I was, and I couldn't tell as everything was just dark. I focused on my horn and managed to spark up a beam of light on there. It was too bad the radius of light wasn't strong or large enough to see everything, but it was workable. When I looked around, it looked like if I was in a cave. I was on solid ground, but around me seemed to be almost endless. I continued carefully wandering my eyes around the area, trying to think where the monster could have been. However, I heard a slow movement behind me. I quickly turned around to see something large come onto place. As it revealed its head first, I immediately knew what it was. I began slowly backing away as it slipped its tentacles from its mouth.

It was ready to eat me alive.

As soon as it came into full view, ready to attack, I turned back around and began running the other direction in hopes to find some kind of escape, but I found the area was closed off when I reached a dead end. I could only see walls of rock. I placed my hooves on the walls, but it was completely solid. As I heard the monster slowly cornering me, I could only turn back to see his hungry and dark eyes ogling me.

"…oh, geez…" I worriedly mentioned.

I quickly looked around to see if I could use anything as a weapon. I had my horn and magic, but it was be difficult to use since I was already counting on my magic for light. If I used my magic, I would have to sacrifice being able to see. However, the only thing I could make out were rocks… I guess I had to use whatever I could…

I spread out my wings and grabbed ahold of the fairly large rocks, keeping myself in flight so I could throw or kick the rocks at it. As soon as it started opening its mouth to possibly throw out one or all its tentacles at me, I threw a few rocks using my forelegs and then ended by kicking the last one roughly. The worm flinched its head as it had no legs to protect its head.

Yes, this is good.

I quickly swooped down and grabbed another hoof-full.

Hoping I could lose it momentarily, I began flying around it. Its reaction time was pretty slow, so it allowed me to attack it from behind just before it could turn around. As long as I didn't stay directly in its sight, it couldn't have the chance to pull me in with its tentacle.

But then that hatched an idea in me… What if I could get a few rocks inside his mouth and body? That would surely incapacitate him long enough to allow me to find a way out of here. After reloading on my rocks, I permitted it to turn around and face me. It roared out a hiss and began opening its flaps for a mouth. As soon as it began to shoot out its tentacles, I quickly swooped around to dodge it and immediately focused on aiming the rocks inside the mouth. I threw and kicked them before it could have the chance to grab ahold of me. This seemed to work effectively as it began coughing and struggling with what just entered its body. Nonetheless, it seemed more obsessed with washing down the rocks with me. It continued to try to catch me with its tentacles as I gathered more rocks to use. At the current time, I was so thankful to be an Alicorn. I resumed my tactic of swiftly flying past and around the tentacles, shoving more rocks down this creature's throat.

The more rocks entered its body, the more time it took in struggling with my weapons.

"Just a few more and I should be able to get out of here…" I said to myself as I took a short break to catch my breath. However, something strange happened all of a sudden. A faint glow soon grew brighter in my chest. "What's…going…" Instead of complete darkness, light blinded me instead. I didn't know what happened, but this remained for several seconds. The next thing I saw when I was permitted to see again was nothing. I was in the same area, but nothing was in front of me. Something strange was going on though. I was in the air, but I didn't feel my wings flapping! I quickly looked around and then up to notice that my hooves were tied together… They were tied together by its tentacles!

The creature revealed itself by showing the body of the tentacles slipping through its mouth. It soon opened up its mouth and was ready to drag me in. There was nothing I could do at the moment. I could only let it begin to drag me up until the point where I was heading inside its mouth. I had no other choice but to somewhat swing myself, since the creature only tied my forelegs together, and kick the inside of its mouth. This caused it to shake his head greatly as it recovered from the damage. Doing so, its tentacles threw me upwards into the air. However, I was too out of balance and needed time to flap my wings simultaneously to be able to escape, and seeing the worm see me and open its mouth for me to fall straight in didn't help. I decided to take a small risk and use a beam of light for a quick second of complete darkness. I heard the worm cry out, and when my light lit back up, I was able to land firmly on my hooves. When I turned around to face the creature, I noticed it was gone, causing me to quickly keep my guard up. I had no idea where it went.

I cautiously walked around, slightly worrying on where the monster went. If I was lucky, it had hopefully escaped. But it wasn't too long before the area began shaking, leaving me to try to balance my hooves and prevent myself from falling to the ground.

Something slippery then grabbed ahold of not my body, but specifically my right wing. I was surprised at this move, but before I could do anything, it pulled greatly. Something in that wing went wrong, and I cried out in pain as I was thrown towards the air. As I was scrunching my face from the pain, I could see the worm creature already prepared to eat me as I fell straight towards him. Everything seemed to slow down as I began fearing if this was the end. But at the same time…the pain in my right wing kept me from thinking straight…and I could hardly do anything…

Before I knew it, a glow from my chest radiated within. A burst of light suddenly exploded, lighting up almost the entire area for a second before I continued falling helpless towards the floor. But…I didn't land inside any creature's stomach… I think… No… Instead, I painfully hit the ground a couple of times as there was a bounce in between. At the same as I as crashed, I could hear and partially see the creature in front of me fall towards the ground weakly as well, its head bouncing on the rocky floor too.

I landed on my back, along with both my wings…so the pain increased. I could only lie there, unable to do anything. Then, I believed I could hear a faint voice and see a faint light…but at the time, all I wanted to do was pass out…and I did.


I could hear the thumping sound of my heart, which beat normally…

I could hear myself groaning and then moving my forelegs…

Soon, I saw my eyelids were opening to a blurry sight, which soon cleared up.

The first pony I saw was Twilight.

"Oh, thank goodness! You're awake!" She wrapped her forelegs around my neck, leaving me to grunt lightly in pain. "Sorry!" She pulled away.

"He is?!" I heard another voice softly exclaim. This pony came running to my sight and was about to hug me as well, but then remembered what happened with Twilight. Instead she placed her hoof worriedly on my chest. "Oh, dear… Are you feeling okay?" She asked. It was Fluttershy… She was back… In fact, I had realized that I was in Fluttershy's room…in her cottage…

"Fluttershy…" I glanced over to Twilight. "Twilight…" I groaned. "What happened?"

"After you were dragged in underground by that Tatzlwurm, Princess Cadence and I went right after you!" Twilight explained. "It took so long to reach you, but I'm glad we made it just in time! We were so worried about you when we found out you were unconscious. We thankfully were able to bring you back home and get you checked out…and well…" Twilight turned her eyes towards my wings, which I noticed they were bandaged to my body. "The doctor said you were going to be fine…you just…can't use your wings for a while… One of them was more damaged than the other…but thankfully nothing permanent… You just have refrain from using them until they get better."

"Ugh…" I groaned. "And what about Discord?"

"Hmph." Twilight expressed. "He got exactly what he deserved…or you know what…maybe not enough for what he put you through."

"…huh?" I was pretty confused.

"Are you okay to walk?" Twilight asked.

I motioned my legs a bit. "I think so…"

"Come on." She helped me out of bed and made sure I was standing right. After that, she and Fluttershy kept an eye on me as she led me down the stairs of the cottage.

"Twilight!" I heard Spike's voice. "How is he? Is he going to be okay?" Twilight faced the direction Spike was seen with a book. She glanced over to me to silently ask if I indeed was doing fine. I shrugged lightly and nodded. She smiled warmly and then nodded at Spike. "Well then, should we get started on finishing up your entry for today?"

"Sure thing, Spike." She returned and cleared her throat. "I think it's pretty clear that our visit with Cadence didn't go quite the way I expected. But in the end, I realized that when you're with amazing friends, even the most chaotic day can end up being a great experience that brings you closer. For now, I am just completely grateful that one of the most important ponies to me is still with us…" She turned over to a specific area. "Wouldn't you agree, Discord?"

"Yes, Twilight." His voice spoke after snorting.

Being confused for a moment, I turned to see Discord in a pink bubble while appearing sickly green.

Before I could make out completely what exactly was going on, I heard my name being called. I turned to see Applejack trot towards me and hug me herself. Rarity followed along by her side, revealing the same relieved expression.

"We're so glad you're alright!" Applejack expressed meaningfully.

I chuckled just a little. "Well…you know. It's going to take a lot more than a gigantic worm to take me down." I said half-jokingly.

Applejack turned her eyes past me to angrily face Discord.

"I don't wanna go sayin' you got what you deserved..." She began, but Rarity decided to take over.

"Well, I have no trouble saying it. You got what you deserved!" Rarity, while keeping her lady-like tone, threw out bitterly, bringing an accomplished smile to Applejack.

"Now, now, he's learned his lesson." Fluttershy stepped in. "Isn't that right, my little patient?" She lightly rubbed him with her hoof, using some kind of protective bag that was attached to the bubble.

Discord nodded, and I could truly see that he was sick for some reason.

"I'm so glad that you're back from your trip, Fluttershy. Just your presence here is making me feel so much better." He exchanged thankfully.

"I'm glad to help." Fluttershy returned with a bright smile. "But next time…I hope you don't put the lives of others on the line for your mischievous actions…" Fluttershy began forming a serious and even intimidating look when stared through her eyes. "I may be taking care of you now, but if anything severe happens to anypony because of your carelessness…well…" She paused. "Let's just say you'd be better off staying away from me."

Discord was stunned for a moment as he held his blanket close to his mouth. Nonetheless, he nervously nodded. "Of course, Fluttershy."

"What happened to you anyway?" I asked curiously.

"After we got you out, the Tatzlworm dug out yet again." Twilight explained. "Only this time…it only spat out some gooey stuff." She giggled at the thought. "Cadence, you, and I were protected by her health bubble. Discord wasn't. That's when he really got sick. I guess something must have got that Taztlworm sick while you were down there."

"Huh…" I figured that it was most likely all the rocks in its stomach that made it sick… Sorry…but I warned you…sort of…

Miss Cadence walked in next with Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash. I wondered if they already knew how well I was doing as Pinkie Pie gleefully jumped at the sight of the bubble and allowed herself to lie on top playfully. Rainbow Dash flew upwards and allowed herself to hang on the ceiling like a branch while holding glaring eyes at Discord.

"I got you something." Miss Cadence spoke, turning my head towards her. She held out this…very familiar ice cream bar in front of me. "Ice cream." She explained as I carefully grabbed it with my magic, which was still working perfectly fine. "It's called Sweet Caramel Delight. I heard it was a big thing in Fillydelphia when it came out." She chuckled lightly. "I thought you deserved something sweet for all the trouble you went through…"

I could only stare at this particular ice cream as this was just what Spirit and I were eating every time we hung out! "Thank you… Miss Cadence."

"Better hurry up." She advised with a bright grin. "Don't want it to melt now, do you?"

"Right…" I moved it over to my mouth and took a bite of it. It tasted the same…

Miss Cadence observed my bandaged wings and frowned slightly. "I'm sorry…my visit wasn't as great as planned. It makes me feel even worse that you were hurt from it…but I'm glad you'll be better soon."

"It's fine." I assured with a soft smile. "After all, what I'm really thankful is that no pony else got hurt."

"I know somepony I want to hurt…" Rainbow Dash muttered.

"Fluttershy, they're picking on me!" Discord cried.

Fluttershy crossed her forelegs. "You just lie there and get your rest, Discord."

"Oh, poo…" He turned to his side and placed the blanket over him.

"I guess I better be going." Miss Cadence announced. "Once again, I'm really sorry about the trouble, but I'll see if we can schedule another time together."

"Yeah." I nodded. "But we understand that you're busy too, so don't push yourself."

She returned a short chuckle. "I'll keep that in mind." Afterwards, she placed her hoof around me, careful to avoid the area where my wings were. "I'll see you when you're all better."

"Of course." I responded when she pulled away.

She then turned to Twilight to tend to her. "See you too, sister-in-law." She added with a smirk.

Twilight giggled. "You too."

Miss Cadence faced everypony. "Farewell to all of you as well!" She announced.

She left after she received an accommodating goodbye from the others.

Twilight released a sigh of relief. "Either way…I'm glad that's all over."

"Oh!" Discord suddenly appeared from beneath the blankets. "I was just wondering, could I trouble you for just one more thing?" He asked of Twilight.

Remaining silent for just a split second, Twilight furrowed her eyebrows and dilated her eyes. "No!" She shouted out.

"What?" He questioned innocently. "I was simply going to ask for a teeny, tiny glass…of water." He smirked, showing me he still hadn't really changed.

Before Twilight could blow a fuse, Fluttershy patted him. "I'll get your water, Discord."

"I see you still haven't changed…" I mentioned.

"You'll be staying with me too, right?" Fluttershy approached me.

"Huh?" I questioned with a tilted head.

"I want to make sure you're not alone in your condition." Fluttershy assured. "I know it's just your wings, but what if something happens to them and you have no pony to call to help? And you'll be all alone with no pony knowing what's happened to you and your condition might even worsen and—"

Fluttershy began worrying greatly at the possibilities, so I stopped her by placing a hoof at her mouth. "I'll stay." I answered briefly with a smile.

"Ooh!" Discord exclaimed happily. "That means we'll see each other a lot more often too!" He expressed with not such friendly intentions.

"Ugh." I flopped my ears down when I just realized that this was true with him being sick and all.

"If you just need somepony to watch over you and make sure you're okay, you can stay with me." Twilight offered. "It's a lot better than having some annoying being bug you for a living…" She added with a bothered tone.

"He can stay with me too!" Rarity suddenly exclaimed out loud, but once she realized how everypony stared at her oddly, she calmly cleared her throat. "I mean… I don't mind offering to watch over him as well… We can add some artistic beauty to your bandages there." She pointed at them on my wings.

"Thanks…" I thanked them. "But for now… I'll try staying with Flutters and putting up with Discord."

"Are you sure?" Twilight asked.

I nodded.

Let's just hope things don't get too…bad…

Suddenly, the front door of the cottage burst open. At the next second, I was being held tightly by none other than my mom. She closed her eyes and appeared to be relieved to see me okay as if she had gotten the news of what had happened.

"Mom…you're…" I tried to tell her that she was causing me some pain with the embrace, but I didn't have to finish as she released me and quickly stormed towards the bubble Discord was in.

She threw her hooves at it and released a fear-inducing face, frightening Discord greatly. He yelped, but Luna was unable to pass through the bubble. "You ungrateful whelp! How dare you endanger Alexander because of your obnoxious antics!"

"Princess Luna, please!" Fluttershy pleaded softly and placed her hooves on her in an attempt to back her away from the bubble. "Discord is already ill. You don't want to pop the bubble and get everypony sick here too, do you?"

Once hearing this, she glanced over to me and formed a slightly worried face. She took a deep breath and removed her hooves from the bubble. "Forgive me. I was just…"

"We know…" I stated understandably and approached her.

She smiled softly and decided to hold me closer in a softer way now.


My mom, of course, offered me to stay with her, but I told her I was fine staying with Fluttershy. She was a bit…concerned about that choice, since Discord would be nursed to health at the same time by Fluttershy. Nonetheless, she respected my choice, seeing as I was capable of making my own decisions.

Fluttershy tucked me in carefully with a warm smile on her face.

"How's that?" She asked.

"Great." I returned with another smile. "Thanks, Fluttershy."

She flew upwards and over to me to fill the spot next to me. "Ready to go to sleep?" She questioned.

"Mm-hm." I nodded.

"Okay. Goodnight then!"

"Goodnight."

We both closed our eyes to sink in the silence and rest peacefully.

However, there was suddenly a loud disturbance.

"Fluttershy!" We heard Discord call from below.

…Are you serious?


"So…I got attacked by a Taztlworm today…" I told Spirit as we sat on the edge of the balcony.

"Of course you did…" She responded with a hint of joy. "Not even disgusting horrible abominations can resist eating you up." She broke into a giggle.

"Oh wow." It was all I could say while not taking it seriously.

From her giggle, her face transformed into a frown. "Hey...I'm really sorry about your wings..."

I glanced at them for a moment. "Don't worry about it. It'll only be a while until I can use them again."

"Hmm." She smiled lightly, but something seemed to be holding more happiness back. "Yeah."

"Anything new with you?" I asked her as I faced her.

"Not really…" She looked downwards. Something seemed to be on her mind. "Hey…um…do you mind if we cut this short for tonight? There's…something I have to take care of."

"Sure…" I became a little troubled. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, yeah." She smiled brightly to assure her response. "I just have to take care of this thing that has been bugging me."

"Well, as long as everything is fine…"

"Of course." She nodded. "See you soon, okay?" She stood up and walked back to the room in the balcony.

I remained there, sitting and staring at the sunset for a moment before I decided to rest through a regular dream.

As I closed my eyes to feel myself fade away from awareness, I swear I heard a loud cry of pain…but it wasn't from Spirit…


Serves him right.

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