In a hall of the Canterlot castle, right outside the throne room, Discord sat in a chair as displeased as he could be. Annoyed by the fact that he had to come here by riding a train and by riding a carriage instead of his usual instant teleportation. But nothing came close to the biggest reason for his annoyance, a black fox who laid in several chairs and rested her head on Discord's lap, using her paw to play with the draconequus goatee.
"Discord, darling. I must say, you look absolutely... horrendous. Can't you take a more pleasing form for not only my eyes but mostly for Fluttershy's? Dear heavens! I can only imagine how ashamed she must be of being seen with you. I can hear the other mares gossiping in my head: 'Such a lovely mare wed to an abomination, what a waste.' "
"Forgive my appearance, but I'll have you know this is what I naturally look in this dimension and Fluttershy finds me absolutely adorable."
"A creature can be kind and still have poor taste I suppose... and I get the asymmetrical motif, I really do, I find it stunning even. But that damn tooth of yours is really making me uncomfortable. Would you be a darling and do something about it, please?"
"If I could, which I can't because you insist on blocking my magic, I wouldn't do it just to please your view."
"Well, I can't help if my magic is too much for you to handle. Worry not, I'll take care of it, do you prefer to lose the tooth or gain another?"
"I Prefer!... To stay as I am, but If I have to choose I'd rather gain than lose something."
"Understood my little abomination." Serene smirked and snapped her fingers much like Discord used to do, and with a blink, his prominent tooth was gone. "Ah, much better."
"Very clever." To his surprise, Discord was a little amused by the fox's prank, his frown had turned into a slight smirk as he looked away trying to hide it. "You insist your magic is so powerful that it nullifies mine, but how come it doesn't nullify the magic of every single unicorn we've come across with? You wouldn't happen to be lying once again would you? It would break our dear Fluttershy's heart to know so."
"Humm... Who knows, Discord? Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. I'm sure Fluttershy would understand a little banter between friends. That's what we are now right, friends? After all you did to countless creatures, nothing matters anymore because you're "reformed" and doesn't even remember who I am, correct?"
Discord felt nervous as he could feel the fox's aura darken with animosity towards him, he realized it wasn't a good idea to try and threaten her in his position. "Haven't you been taught that it's impolite to overstay your welcome in someone's home? Don't you have somewhere to be?"
"I don't actually. I had a home but a certain someone thought it would be fun to destroy it. I suppose these days you can imagine how... not funny that is. Besides, this isn't your castle and I'm pretty sure Fluttershy's cottage belongs to Fluttershy. At least that's where the ponies said you were when I asked if they had seen a demon hellbent of creating chaos and I admit, they seemed less scared of you than I was at that moment, so... Yay for Discord, beloved lord of chaos and destroyer of lives."
"I've already apologized and promised to take whatever punishment you wanted me to. I don't know what else I can do to make you feel better, so what will it take for you to leave me alone if you're not gonna kill or torture me. Annoy me for eternity? I'm sure you'll find better things to do with your time."
"You know why I still can't accept your apologies, Discord?"
"Why's that, lovely Serene?"
"What's my name?"
"Huh? Is it not Serene?"
"Not my real name, no. You apologized for all that you did, you're right. But you don't remember my name, let alone what you've done to me. I can't accept that, Discord."
"So... What are you gonna do about it?" Discord was not only nervous but he could feel fear growing inside him once again as he asked the question.
"I'm not going to do anything... if you can remember my name."
"Whu- What?! How am I supposed to do that if I haven't the slightest clue of who you are?!"
"The same way you did the first time, silly. We make a wager, the same one we did millennia ago."
"And... what wager was that?"
"Oh it was simple. It was a riddle, you had twenty four hours to answer. If you answered correctly I'd give you my name, as you probably don't remember, to my kind that basically meant I would be your slave until you gave me my name back."
"Since you're as far away as my slave as possible I'm assuming I didn't win. What was the consequence for my failure in doing so?"
"You would use your powers to clear the snow from the village of my worshippers. Which you in fact did, you are a very sore loser but you are a demon of your word. Unfortunately I should've known better than to make wagers with demons."
"Let me guess... I twisted my words so I technically fulfilled my end of the deal but in a way that was certain to make you regret winning."
"Is the memory coming back to you, then?"
"Uh... Not really, but that is something I did a few... several hundred times or so... May I ask what were my actions at that particular time?"
"You may. You see, as you put it at the time, you did take away the snow, but I never specified how you should do it. And then you laughed and laughed as the lava of the volcano you erupted took away both the snow and the lives of the ones in my home."
"That.. sounds a bit cruel even for me... But I wouldn't put it past me unfortunately... I'm truly sorry... Serene..." Discord sounded honest, the pain in his voice made Serene want to stop it. She wondered if making him remember and suffer for it would in fact make her feel better or she was just hurting someone without reason at this point. But she decided she had to finish what she started.
"So... let's set the new terms for it shall we?"
"Yes... I suppose as long as Fluttershy is safe I should be inclined to accept any terms, and I promise no contextual trickery on my part."
"Of course so do I, unlike you I just liked pranks, not evil tricks and deception, and obviously I don't want to hurt Fluttershy as well. Incredible how fast the little angel grew on me."
"Try not to say that name in her presence, it makes her sad."
"Little Angel?"
"Yes, it was one of her favorite critters and it's passing still saddens her."
"That tells me she probably won't take the elixir then. If she doesn't, will you?"
"For her, without a doubt."
"Such a loving husband you are. That's what I want if I win then."
"WHAT?! You want me?"
"No, Stupid, I want Fluttershy! I wouldn't be caught dead with something as ugly as you. If you lose, I will take your place in her life, all her memories of you will be of me instead and you'll not be allowed to see her ever again. If you do, I'll destroy you."
"You said you'd leave Fluttershy out of this! You just said no tricks!"
"I said I wouldn't hurt her and I won't, if anything she'll be less hurt by being with me than with you, and you have yet to accept my terms, how is that a trick?"
"You... You arrogant little... "
"You said you accept any punishment I gave you, I could do this to you right now and yet I'm giving you a chance to avoid that scenario."
"Fine... Go on. What if I win said wager?"
"I will leave Fluttershy's home and... I'll only toy with you sometimes, and of course, you'll find yourself suddenly able to use your magic again."
"First of all, you're planning on living on Fluttershy's somehow? Second, I knew you were actively stopping me from using magic and finally, this doesn't sound very fair to me, I have a lot to lose and little to gain."
"First of all, yes, I'm never leaving unless she pushes me out herself. Second, I don't know what you're talking about and finally, you misjudge your position. You have everything to lose and nothing to gain, but in the spirit of the kindness she showed me, I'll let you choose between me taking your place in her life... or all your memories of her." Discord was flabbergasted and didn't know how to respond. "So, which is worse? Taking you out of her life or her life out of you? Remember, we both know she probably won't take the elixir, that should make the decision easier for you, right?"
"Right... If I lose... you take my place..."
"Grand..." Serene started her voice in a happy and loud tone, but upon once again empathizing with Discord, her voice lowered and lost it's initial enthusiasm.
"So... what's the riddle?"
"Oh, it's a easy riddle. What's my name, Discord?"
Just as Discord was about to protest her definition of a riddle, the doors of the throne room opened and out came not only Fluttershy but Princess Twilight, Princess Flurry Heart, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Spike, Starlight Glimmer and Sunburst. They all stood still and emotionless except for Fluttershy, who approached the two immortals slowly and stopped midway between them and the other creatures with a serious expression.
"I've made my decision. After talking with my friends... I've decided to take the elixir."