//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: After The Secret // by jw278 //------------------------------// It’s been about 3 weeks since the Grogar incident where Twilight and her friends found out who Spike really was. As we join Twilight and Spike in the Castle of Friendship, we come to the throne room, where Twilight is sitting on her throne with a smile whilst looking at Spike's new throne as she asks, “Spike, are you sure about this? I thought you wanted to keep it all a secret?” As Spike walks into the room and places some tea and coffees around the table, he smiled at his sister and says, “I know what I said Twi, but I want them to know. They are family after all, and I don’t want to keep this from them. Besides, Starlight seemed to take it ok, right?” “If you can call running around the room freaking out and screaming ok, then yeah,” Twilight said with a slight giggle before saying, “Though I guess we had to tell her since she lives with us and we couldn’t come up with a reason why your throne had changed. I’m just glad that no pony freaked out when you came back bigger and you and Rarity had time to explain that you had grown, telling everypony that it was because you wanted to be in a relationship with Rarity was a great idea by the way.” Spike starts to get a red tint on his cheeks as he says, “Yeah that was super embarrassing. Thanks for reminding me.” As he smiles at her before saying, “We had to tell them something. I didn’t want them to think I was having a greed growth spurt again. I’m just glad that everypony has taken it so well. Truth is I was a little worried that it could hurt Rarity’s business, but from what Rarity has told me, her business is booming like never before.” As Spike sits down on his throne next to his sister and takes a sip of coffee before he says, “Rarity’s even thinking of maybe opening a new shop in Fillydelphia or the Crystal Empire. She said it all depends on if she can find the right shop and a pony good enough to run it.” As he lets out a little giggle, Spike says, “But as Rarity says, ‘No matter how busy I get I will always make time for my Spikey-wikey. After all a lady needs her knight,’” as Spike giggles a bit louder after his attempted of impersonating his love. Twilight puts a hoof to her mouth to try to stop the giggles coming out before saying, “Not bad, Spike, I didn’t know you could do impressions.” As she sits there with a smile on her face, Twilight says, “You’ll have to show me your impression of me sometime,” followed by another giggle. As Spike slowly stops giggling, he smiles back at his sister and says, “Yeah, I just might.” Before getting a worried look on his face and saying, “How do you think they will take it? You know finding out about my past and all. I need this to go well Twi and the truth is, even though I’ve done so much I’ve never been so terrified in my life.” Hearing her little brother say that, Twilight couldn’t help but smile warmly at him before saying, “Oh, Spike you have nothing to worry about. I mean sure they may be shocked at finding out that you where the creator of the Elements and are responsible for basically keeping all the creatures safe for so long. Not to mention being the father of the six first rulers of Equestria and grandfather of Princess Celestia and Luna,” as Twilight puts her hoof under her chin, “Hmmm and what else? Oh yeah, that you defeated Grogar and are the one true king of Equestria,” she said with a giggle. Looking at his sister Spike couldn’t help but giggle and smile, before he says, “Don’t forget my most import role, number one assistant to the best big sis a dragon could ask for.” Twilight smiles at him and pulls him into a hug before saying, “Trust me, little brother, that is something I could never forget.” As they break their embrace Spike looks at Twilight and says, “Thanks, Twi, I needed that,” as he smiles at her. Giving him a warm smile back, Twilight says, “Anytime, Spike. You know I’m always here for you. Besides, from what Rarity has already said, her parents know that you are in a relationship, so there’s nothing to worry about.” “Yeah, they know we’re in a relationship, but I still haven’t seen or spoke to them since I changed, not to mention we are married. I know it’s only by dragon custom and me and Rarity aren’t rushing things, but I’m a dragon, so I see us as married. Now I have to sit here and tell her parents that not only have I done all that you said, but I married their daughter. Can you blame me for being worried?” “Well, when you put it like that, but I’m sure it will be fine. You’ll see. Besides, it’s you and Rarity. You’ll think of something.” Twilight says with a smile before she hears a knock at the door. Spike gulps and says, “Guess we’re about to find out. I’ll go get the door.” “No, Spike, you stay here and I’ll get it. You take the time to compose yourself. And don’t worry, you got this little brother,” Twilight says with a smile as she gets up and walks towards the throne room door. “Thanks, Twi.” Was all she heard as she walks through the door and makes her way towards the main castle door. “I wonder why Rarity doesn’t just come in? It’s not like she needs to knock. She knows we’re waiting for her. Hmmm, she’s probably just trying to give Spike a few moments to get ready, knowing her,” Twilight thought to herself. Just before opening the door Twilight can’t help but giggle as she thought, “Those two are made for each other.” As Twilight opens the door, all she heard was “SURPRISE!!!” Making her jump back in shock before seeing Shining Armor and Cadance standing on the doorstep with the biggest smiles on their faces. “Oh my Celestia, what are you two doing here? You scared me for a moment there,” Twilight says with a smile on her face. Shining Armor giggles before saying, “Well, we heard about Spike getting all big and that he and Rarity are dating now, so we wanted to surprise you with a visit.” Now smiling at his sister Shining Armor says, “Besides, I’m his big brother, I have a right to congratulate him in person.” “Unless now’s not a good time? I told you we should of wrote to them first Shining,” Cadance says with a bit of a sad smile on her face. “What? No. Don’t be silly. You are family. You’ll always be welcome here. I’m so happy to see you both and I’m sure Spike will love seeing you as well.” Twilight says as she pulls them both into a hug. As she breaks the hug she asks with a smile, “Where’s little Flurry Heart? Aunty Twilight has more presents she wants to give her.” “We left her at the Crystal Empire, with Sunburst. He said that Starlight and Trixie were coming over and that Trixie wanted to show off her new routine for them before showing anypony else. Sorry. Maybe we should have brought her after all.” Cadance says, looking a bit sad at Twilight. “It’s ok. Starlight did say that she and Trixie were going to the Crystal Empire, but she didn’t say anything about performing a magic show. I’m sure little Flurry Heart will love it,” Twilight says with a smile before saying, “Besides, it gives me more time to get some more presents.” “Oh, Twilight. You don’t have to do that. Flurry Heart just loves playing with her best aunt. But thank you,” Cadance says with a smile. Just then, they hear somepony clearing their throat and as they turn around to see, Rarity and her parents were standing there. “I do hope we’re not interrupting anything, darling,” Rarity says with a smile. “Not at all, Rarity. We’ve been waiting for you,” Twilight says as she smiles at her friend. “Oh dear, you really do have plans. Maybe we should come back another time,” Cadance says with a smile as Shining Armor nods in agreement. “Oh pish-posh, you are Twilight and Spike’s family and I know how hard it is for you to get some free time to come visit. I would be honored if you joined us for our little gathering. That is if it’s ok with Twilight and Spike of course?” Rarity says. “No problem on my end. So I guess that settles it then,” Twilight says as she smiles back before looking at Rarity’s parents and saying, “Hello and welcome, Hondo Flanks and Cookie Crumbles. Thank you for coming today.” “Not at all, princess. Thank you for having us, and please just Cookie and Hondo will be just fine,” Cookie Crumbles says as she and Hondo Flanks bow to Twilight. Twilight smiles warmly before saying, “Please, just Twilight and there is no need to bow. In fact, I prefer it if you didn’t bow, to be honest.” “The same goes for us as well. Just Cadance and Shining Armor will do,” Cadance says with a smile before saying, “Although, it’s tradition to bow and call us princesses when we get together like this, it’s nice just to be like everypony else and just spend time with family. It would make it rather hard to do that if you keep calling us princess and bowing all the time.” she says as she giggles “Besides, I’m sure you don’t want to have to worry about saying the wrong thing or walking on eggshells as well. So how about we just enjoy ourselves as friends and get to know one another better.” At hearing Cadance say that Cookie and Hondo breathed a sigh of relief, before Hondo said, “I couldn’t agree more prin- I mean cadence.” As everyone stood there and smiled at Hondo correcting himself, Twilight said, “Shall we go inside then? Spike's prepared some tea and coffee for us in the throne room.” As they all make their way inside, Rarity trots up beside Twilight and whispers, “How’s Spike doing? I hope the poor dear isn’t still worried?” Twilight smiled at her friend, “It’s Spike. So yeah, he is, but he’ll be fine,” she says as she opens the door to the throne room and walked in followed by everyone else. As everyone walks in Spike shot up and out of his throne and asks, “Shining, Cadance, what are you doing here?" As they hugged him. Shining Armor just giggles and says, “What? Can’t a big brother come say hi to his siblings from time to time?” As they broke the hug, Cadance giggles and says, “Besides, it's my duty as the princess of the Crystal Empire to come and congratulate Spike the brave and the bold, hero of the Crystal Empire on his growth, and to tell him that all the Crystal ponies await your return so they may throw you a celebration in honor of your growth." Spike giggles and says, “That’s great, but I don’t think I need another party just yet. I’m still finding confetti from the last party Pinkie threw and that was with just us lot. She said she’s still making plans for a Ponyville party.” Everyone laughs while Spike shudders. “Oh right before I forget this is for you,” Cadance says as her horn lit up. Just then, sacks and sacks of mail appear in one corner of the throne room. There is so much that it nearly touches the ceiling. Looking shocked, Spike asks, “Cadance what is all this?” Cadance giggles as she bows to Spike and says, "These are letters from the Crystal ponies for their hero, Spike the brave and the bold. It’s one of the reasons why we couldn’t come sooner. When the Crystal ponies found out we were making plans to come visit you, they all wanted to come. The only way we could stop them was to have them write you letters instead, so we had to wait for them all to finish,” she said with another giggle. Shining Armor smiled and said, “There’s a rumor going around that some of the Crystal ponies are making a petition to have the day you grew turned into a national holiday.” “What! Really?” Spike asked shocked. Cadance put a hoof to her mouth to try and stop herself from laughing before saying, “It’s just a rumor, Spike. Though, if one does happen to come before me, I will gladly consent to it,” as she puts a hoof to her chest, she continues. “The love the Crystal ponies have for you is genuine, Spike. I can feel it in my chest. The day that they found out you had grown and were not just ok but happy, the love I felt from them was just as powerful if not more so as the day of Flurry Heart's Crystalling.” Hearing this, Spike can't help but smile before he said, “Well, I guess I’m going to have to pay them a visit at some point then. But I think I should get through all that first before I do,” he said with a giggle. “Indeed. It’s only good manners to respond to your fans, my Spikey-wikey,” Rarity says as she trots up to him and puts her hooves around his neck before giving him a kiss. Spike smiles at his mare and enjoys the kiss until he remembers her parents are here and pushes her away and says, “Rar…Rarity. How lovely to see you,” before looking over at Hondo Flanks and Cookie Crumbles and saying, “And look your parents are here.” As Spike nervously starts to laugh, he walks over to greet them as he says, “Mr. Cookie Flanks, Mrs. Hondo Crumbles. No wait, I mean Mr. Hondo Flanks and Mrs. Cookie Crumbles,” while stretching out his claw to shake their hoofs before tripping over his own tail and hitting the floor hard. As everyone looks at Spike, he gets back up laughing, saying, “Sorry. Forgot about my bigger tail. Hehehe,” as he scratches his head now with a red blush on his face. Before anyone has a chance to say anything Rarity trots up next to him and grabs his face with both hooves so he’s looking only at her and says, “Spike, calm down, my love. Remember, I already took the risk. There’s nothing to worry about. I’m yours and you are mine,” she says before she kisses him passionately. Spike closes his eyes and enjoys the kiss as he wraps his arms around her and pulls her closer to him. As the kiss comes to an end, he puts his forehead on hers and smiles as he says, “You always know how to calm me down, my love. I’m sorry.” This makes Rarity giggle as she shakes her head and says, “It works both ways, my dragon,” before coming apart and looking at her parents who at this point are now in front of them both and saying, “Mother, Father, you both remember Spike, my drakefriend?” This makes Cookie giggle before she says, “We most certainly do. And I’ve got to say, Spike, though you were a little cutie as a baby dragon, you've grown into one hot dragon. I always said my little diamond got her good taste from me,” as she winks at Spike, making him blush. Hondo Flanks chuckles as he wraps his hoof around Cookie and kisses her before he says, “No complaints from me.” This makes Rarity facehoof with a red face as she says, "Mother, Father, I really can’t take you anywhere can I?” As everyone laughs, Spike takes a breath and says, “I’m glad you could come today. The reason I asked you to come is because there is something I wish to share with you. It’s something Twilight and the others, myself included, only found out a few weeks ago and has something to do with why I grew as well.” “Wait I thought you grew so that you could be with Rarity, Spike,” Shining says confused. Hearing Shining Armor ask that makes Rarity, Twilight and Spike giggle before Spike says, “I’ll explain everything, I was going to tell you and Cadance when I saw you next anyways. Having you here today just makes things a bit easier. Lucky for us, the others aren’t here at the moment, so there are enough thrones for us all,” he says. “Please have a seat. I have a very old and long story to share with you all.” As Rarity, Twilight, and Spike sit on their thrones, Spike says with a smile, “Please help yourselves to some tea and coffee.” At this point, Cadance notices that Spike's throne is bigger and has a cutie mark of a heart with a crowd on it. “Does this have something to do with why there’s a Cutie Mark on your new throne?” She asks. Spike smiles at her and nods before saying, “It will all make sense once I tell you everything. The only thing I will say before I start is this, everything I’m about to tell you is 100% true and I ask that you repeat this to no other creature. It’s not that I don’t trust any of you, it’s just going to be a lot to take in. With that said, I do not wish to keep this from my family, so before I start, will you all Pinkie promise?” Seeing how serious Spike is being, Hondo, Cookie, Cadance, and Shining Armor all nodded and gave him the Pinkie promise. Spike smiles, happy with their promises and starts off saying, "It all started a long, long time ago with six little creatures." For the next fifteen minutes, Spike tells them the story of his children and Grogar. As he does, he watches their reactions. Sometimes they are confused, sometimes they have smiles, other times they are sad or silently crying, which saddens Spike until his story is finished. “So that’s everything, up till now,” Spike says looking around the table. For a few seconds, everyone apart from Twilight, Rarity, and Spike process everything that's been explained to them. Cookie Crumbles finishes her coffee, takes a breath, then looks at Spike and said with a sad smile, “I can understand why you didn’t want anypony to know Spike. It’s a lot to take in.” She gets off her borrowed throne, walks around to him and pulls him into a hug. Before Spike has a chance to say anything, she starts to cry as she said, “You’ve been through so much for all of us. I know it may not seem like much, but on behalf of all the creatures of this world that will never know, I thank you and your children for all that you have given us. I’m just sorry there’s nothing more I can say or do.” Hearing this, Spike returns the hug and says, “Thank you. Though there really is no need to do or say anything. Just seeing all the creatures living happily is all the thanks I need. Besides, Cookie Crumbles, you and Hondo Flanks have personally given me something I never thought I would find; the creature of my dreams. What more could I ask for,” Spike says with a chuckle as he break the hug. Hearing Spike say this, Cookie laughs and says, “Does my baby girl know how to pick ‘em or what? Hehehe.” “MOTHER!!!” At hearing Rarity's outburst, everyone laughs as Cookie returns to her seat, before Hondo asks, “There’s just one thing I don’t understand, Spike. Just how was it that my little girl was able to break the Dragon Barrier?” Hearing Hondo ask this makes Spike cough and turns red in the face as he tries to explain, “Errr, you see, Mr. Hondo, sir, that is, errr.” As Hondo, Cookie, Shining Armor and Cadance all wait for Spike to answer, Twilight giggles and says, “Yeah, Mr. The Dragon. How was that again?” Getting death glares from Spike as she continues to laugh. “Oh, for Celestia’s sake!” Rarity shouts making everyone look at her. Spike looks at her with fear in his eyes, but Rarity turns to him and smirks and winks before blowing a kiss and saying, “Spikey-poo left out a bit of the story, mainly because he wasn’t there, but he knows how I did it. He just didn’t want to say in front of you two. So let me fill in the gaps.” So she tells them how she took down the barrier and why. As she does, Spike gets lower and lower in his chair, trying not to look at Hondo Flanks or Cookie Crumbles. Once Rarity finishes, everyone shouts, “WHATTTT?!?!?!” Making Spike want to find a hole to hide in. "Ma...married?!" Cookie Crumbles shouts. Spike turns to Rarity who sits there with a red face while she nods with a smile and says, “Yes, married. Only by dragon custom, keep in mind, but no less important. Now, Spikey and I have decided to take our time and not rush things, but now that you know, it’s one less thing for poor Spikey to worry about.” As she lookes at Spike. “Well, it’s out there now at least. Guess I should get this over with,” Spike thinks. He gulps before he turns to Hondo Flanks and Cookie Crumbles who are glaring at him with their hoofs folded. He smiles sheepishly, trying to think of something to say. Then suddenly, Hondo and Cookie burst out laughing, confusing Spike. "Wha... what's so funny?" He asks, confused and a little hurt that they're laughing at the idea of him and Rarity being married. “Oh, sorry,” Cookie says wiping a tear from her eye as she says, “It’s just the look on your face is priceless. We never could pull off the angry look, though.” Hondo Flanks finishes laughing and says, “Look, Spike, our baby girl is a grown mare. It’s hard to admit it sometimes, but she is. I mean, she and the others have saved Equestria so many times, it’s kind of a running joke. The only thing we care about is that she’s happy, and Spike, my boy, I’ve never seen my little diamond shine so much as when she’s with you.” As Hondo puts his arm around Cookie, he continues to say with a smile, “We couldn’t be happier for her or you.” As Cookie nodded in agreement with Hondo, she said, “It’s true. What more could a parent ask for than to see their babies happy? I’m sure you of all creatures understand that feeling, no?” She smiles as she sees Spike nodding with a smile in understanding before saying with a serious look on her face, “With that said, I'm sure you understand that if you hurt my baby, nothing will stop me from hunting you down and making you pay.” Just then Rarity shoots up and says, “Mother, ho-“ Spike cuts her off by calmly saying with a warm smile, “I completely understand, Mrs. Crumbles. And just so we're clear, I would never hurt her and there's nothing I won't do to keep her safe and happy, even if it means taking on the whole world." Hondo and Cookie smile back. Spike lets out a sigh of relief and says, "Well then, now that that's out of the way," his eyes glow green. Before anyone can say anything, Rarity and Rainbow Dash's Cutie Mark's trade places on the thrones, making the throne next to Spike's the new Element of Generosity. “What?! Spike what have you done?” Twilight asks. Spike and Rarity smile at each other before Spike turns to his sister and says, “What’s wrong with a dragon wanting to sit between the two most important mares in his life? I don’t think Rainbow will mind. Do you?” Rarity giggles and says, “Not at all, my Spikey-wikey,” as she gets out of the Element of Loyalty throne makes her way to her new throne that Shining Armor is sitting in and says, “Excuse me, Shining Armor, but it appears you are in my seat. If you wouldn’t mind, could you be a dear and trade places with me?” Shining Armor giggles as he gets off her throne and says, “Not at all Rarity. Be my guest,” before making his way over to the empty throne on the other side of the table. “Errr, just wondering, but that’s everything right? No more secrets you’re keeping from us?” Hondo asks. “Father! Really. That’s everything, no more secrets. I promise,” Rarity says angrily. Spike clears his throat and said, “well, since you've asked, there is one tiny little secret I haven’t told anyone yet.” “What!?!” Rarity asks, glaring at Spike. This makes Spike lean back in his throne before saying, “It’s nothing big, it’s just that I didn’t know it till I got my memories back. Honest.” “What is it, Spike?” Twilight asks curiously. “Well, it would probably make more sense to get him to explain it himself,” Spike says nervously chuckling as he scratched his head before calling out, "I know you're there. I think it's time for you to come out now." Everyone looks at Spike confused. Before Twilight can ask who he's talking to, there is a flash of light. Within an instant, the other bearers find themselves in their thrones with the guests on chairs next to them. “What the hey, how’d we get here?” Rainbow asks with the other Elements looking just as confused as her. “I’m not sure what’s going on girls, but I’d say you were all teleported here,” Twilight said as she looked at Spike suspiciously. Spike held up he’s claws and says, “Hey, don’t look at me. I didn’t do anything, but if I had to guess I’d say he just wants to tell everypony all at the same time. Makes sense if you think about it, though if that’s the case wouldn’t having Celes-“ Just then Spike was cut off as another flash of light went off and Celestia and Luna appears on some chairs around the Cutie Mark table. “What is the meaning of this,” Celestia said as she looked around to see everypony sitting there. She turns to Twilight for an explanation of what was going on. Before Twilight had the chance to say anything, Spike says, “I can explain. There’s nothing wrong, it’s just that I was explaining everything to Rarity’s parents, Shining and Cadance as I didn’t want to keep my secret from them. However, there is one little bit of the story that no pony knows about yet that I failed to mention and that is why he brought you all here. He does like to put on a show after all.” “What? There is more that you must tell us, Grandpa Spike, and who is it that you are talking about?” Luna asks with a smile. “Huh? Did the Princess of the Night just call you Grandpa?” Hondo asked shocked. Just as Spike was about to say something Cookie says with a smile, “Yes, dear. You listened to Spike’s story, so you know that they are his grandchildren. Though I must admit it’s still quite shocking to hear.” “Yeah, well I did agree to let them call me that when we were alone,” Spike says with a smile, before saying, “But since everypony here now knows my secret, it’s not a problem. As for whom I’m talking about, Luna,” Spike stops for a second, and says, “Just come on out already, little Dizzy.” Just then, another flash of light goes off and Discord appeared on a chair floating just off the ground and said, “Really, you’re no fun at all Spike.” “DISCORD!?!” Everypony said in unison as they looked at the draconequus, as he smiled. “Yes, yes. The one and only,” he said as he floated over to Fluttershy and says, “I know you and the girls were having a picnic and I’m sorry to interrupt it. You know how much I love your little tea parties, sorry I couldn’t make it.” Fluttershy pulled him into a hug and says, “That’s ok, Discord. There’s always next time, but what is this all about?” As Discord broke the hug and smiled warmly at her, he said, “Well, it’s about him.” He said as he pointed at Spike who just smiled back at the draconequus. Before Discord said, “Or more importantly it’s about me and my past.” This makes everypony look at Discord, who normally would love the attention, but not this time. He had a bit of a sad smile on his face as he just floated there, before Fluttershy had the chance to ask if he was ok. Spike said, “You want me to tell them Dizzy?” This made Discord smile warmly before he says, “How long has it been since I’ve heard you call me that?” Rainbow giggles and asks, “What kind of nickname is Dizzy?” This made Discord angry and as he got right into Rainbow Dash’s face, his eyes started glowing red as he said, “No creature calls me that but him. Do. I. Make. Myself. Clear?” This made Rainbow Dash lean back in her throne, nodding her head repeatedly in understanding as she gulped, before Discord moved away and says, “Good.” As he looked at Spike and said, “No. I should be the one to tell them.” “Tell us what, Discord?” Fluttershy asks with a concerned look on her face. Discord sighs and says, “Everypony here knows about Spike’s past now-“ Just then Twilight shouts, “What! You knew about Spike’s past?!” Spike and Discord give Twilight a glare, making her smile sheepishly and say, “Sorry, you were saying.” “Yes, to answer your question. I know who Spike really is. What you and everypony here doesn’t know, is who I really am,” Discord says before sighing again. “I am Discord, Lord of Chaos and Disharmony, and the son of Grogar.” “WHATTT!!!!” Is all Discord hears, before he says, “Yes, it’s true. You’ve all heard how Spike and his children defeated Grogar at his castle, but the bit they left out was, when Spike came out that castle, he wasn’t alone. He had a very young draconequus with him: me.” Discord gives everyone in the room a sad smile while Spike says, “After I beat Grogar and as the castle started to break apart around me, I was making my way back outside. That’s when I saw him, beaten and chained to the wall like some kind of wild animal, barely alive. I couldn’t leave him there. It wasn’t right.” Discord smiled at Spike and said, “You saved me that day, but you did more than that. You and your children nursed me back to health and even after finding out who I was, you still accepted me.” Spike smiles and says with a chuckle, “Hey it’s what I do, I have a habit of taking in and caring for small children.” This made Discord chuckle before he said, “Yes, I suppose you do. Anyway to cut a long story short, I stayed with Spike and his family for a little bit in his cave. But I messed up. I let slip who I was one day and after the other creatures found out, let’s just say they weren’t pleased to find out who my father was.” “Oh, Discord,” Fluttershy says with tears in her eyes. Discord smiled at her and said, “It’s ok, Flutterbuddy. It’s in the past. Now, where was I? Oh yes. After the other creatures found out, they wanted payback for all the things Grogar had done to them. Spike refused to hand me over and said, ‘This child is as innocent as any of your children. The sins of the father should not be passed down to the child. To do this would make us no better than Grogar himself. If any of you feel differently about this, then you’ll have to go through me.’" Spike sat there with a blush on his face as he scratched his cheek to try and hide his embarrassment, before saying, “Is that what I said? I don’t remember. It was such a long time ago.” Everyone else laughs at him while Rarity leans over and kisses him, saying, "My hero," which makes everyone laugh even louder. After everyone finished laughing, Discord said, “Oh yes, Spike. That’s exactly what you said. Needless to say, no creature wanted to mess with the dragon that just beat Grogar so they left me alone, but I didn’t want to cause him any more trouble after everything he’d already done for me. And even though I wasn’t as strong as I am now, I left to travel the world for a bit, but I always kept an ear out, just in case.” Spike smiled and says, “No creature had seen or heard of Discord after that. The day I came up with my plan though, he suddenly appeared in front of me asking what I was thinking, so I told him everything. I knew he would never say anything and he even wanted to help.” “Well it was the least I could do after what you did for me,” Discord said with a smile, before he continued, “So after Spike vanished I laid in wait for the right time. Once the Tree of Harmony had grown, I came up with a plan to get Princess sunbutt and moonbutt here, to find the tree and to keep the Elements of Harmony safe till those that were chosen appeared.” “What!?!” Everyone said in unison before Celestia said, “Are you trying to say that, the only reason you took over Equestria and made ponies suffer was to get us to find the Elements?” Spike sighed and said, “I told him, all he had to do was to leave a clue in a book for my grandchild, nothing more.” Discord giggled and said, “Oh, Spikey, after everything you did for me, I couldn’t just leave a clue. Besides I never really hurt any pony, I mean after all if I wanted to rule Equestria I could have done so easily. There was no creature around that knew about the tree then and I left a clue in a book like you asked, which is how they found the tree and used the Elements to stop me.” Just then before anyone had a chance to say anything, Discord snaps his talons together and everyone was see-through and floating above the ground, looking into the past. Where Discord sat on a throne, throwing seeds into the ground laughing as Celestia and Luna turned up to stop him. “Wait, I’ve seen this before.” Twilight said as everyone looked at her. That’s when Celestia said, “Yes, it is the day me and my sister used the Elements to imprison Discord in stone.” Discord giggled and said, “You know I let you do that right? After all, all I had to do was move out of the way, but I had a plan to stick to.” As everyone looked at him, he pointed to where his old self was sitting as the old Celestia says, ‘Playtime is over for you, Discord.’ The old Discord laughs and says, 'Oh, I very much doubt that.' The present Discord chuckles and says, "See? I even gave you a clue," as he watches his old self turn to stone before snapping everyone back into the throne room. Everyone was silent and didn’t know what to say before Fluttershy said, “You mean you weren’t evil?” Discord laughed and said, “No, Fluttershy. But I play the part well, don’t you think?" “But why Discord? You were turned to stone and everyone thought you were bad, when you didn’t have to be.” Fluttershy said of the verge of tears. Discord smiled at her and said, “True, but by that same logic Spike didn’t have to do everything he did, but he still did it.” Twilight just had to know one thing, so she asked, “But if everything you just said was true, then why did you take the Elements of Harmony when the spell broke and try to take back Equestria?” “Well, with Spike not having his memories, someone had to teach you how to better understand the power you possessed, so every now and then I would teach you a lesson in my own chaotic way, that would help you better understand the true power you had within yourselves.” Discord said with a smile before saying with a giggle, “I am the Lord of Chaos after all. I couldn’t make it too easy for you. But do you have any idea how hard it was not to burst out laughing when you turned up wearing Rainbow Dash's Element of Loyalty, Spike?” Spike looked at Discord with a sad smile and said, “Thank you for helping them Discord. You made yourself the bad guy just to help me with my plan.” Discord smiled and said, “It was all worth it, after all I made myself a true friend,” Discord turned to look at Fluttershy and said, “Somepony who was willing to look past the monster and see the real me.” Fluttershy blushes and hides her face with her hair before she asks, "But what about Tirek?" Discord sighed and says, “Yes, Tirek. I knew that when the tree revealed the box to you all that you had gotten stronger and better understood your Elements. When Tirek turned up, I saw an opportunity to help you progress to the next level as it were. Betraying you like that was the hardest and scariest thing I’ve ever done in my life. The thought of losing your friendship terrified me, but it was the only way to make sure you were ready to face what was to come.” Fluttershy flies over to hug Discord, crying as she says, “I won’t lie Discord, it hurt me when you betrayed our friendship. But now I understand that you did it for us. Thank you for telling me the truth.” As Discord wrapped his arms around Fluttershy, he said, “The last thing I ever wanted to do was hurt you. I truly am sorry.” After a few moments Spike cleared his throat getting Fluttershy and Discord's attention before he says, “Well, I believe that’s everything, no more secrets.” Rarity leaned over and kissed Spike on the cheek before saying, “Good to know my love.” As an embarrassed Fluttershy sat back on her throne, Discord made a throne for himself and sat beside her with a smile. Just then Hondo Flanks says, “Wow, do you guys know how to make things interesting.” Cookie Crumbles giggled and said, “I’ll say. That’s one heck of a story you two have.” As she looked at both Spike and Discord. Spike giggled and said, “I don’t know about anyone else but I could do with something to eat.” Shining Armor and Cadance smiled at each other, before Cadance said, “We’d love to stay, but we should probably get back to Flurry Heart.” Just then Discord snapped his talons and food appeared on the Cutie Map as he said, “Don’t worry about it and stay for some food. I can always snap you home after, it’s faster than any train.” Both Cadance and Shining Armor giggled as Shining says, “In that case, we’ll take you up on that offer,” before he said, “Let’s dig in.” As talking and laughter filled the room, Spike looked around and thought, “This is what it’s all about, good friends and family. Really, what more could a Dragon ask for?” Rarity looked over at Spike and asked, “Is everything ok, my love?” Spike smiled back at his mare, leaned over and kissed her as he said, “No. Everything’s not ok. It’s perfect." This made Rarity giggle as she leaned over and kissed him on the lips as she said, “Silly dragon.” Just then Rainbow shouted out, “Hey, who moved my throne?!” making everyone burst into laughter.