//------------------------------// // Chapter 27 // Story: A Little Visit // by Annabelle RTH //------------------------------// Flash’s POV He fell down to the ground. I flew down making sure to be in between him and my friends. “Discord?!” Fluttersh exclaimed. She ran to his side… rrriiight… he was reformed… more or less. “I-I’m sorry, Discord, I really am sorry.” I couldn’t believe what was coming out of mouth. “I’ll grab some ice and ice cream.” Pinkie Pie said and hopped off. Discord managed to sit up. He had his mouth covered. “Is it bad?” He asked as he uncovered his mouth. His nose and mouth were switched. He laughed and we sighed. “Ow. You really got me.” “Again, I am so sorry…” I sighed. “I’m normally not this bad with first impressions and I hope we can start over.” “Here’s the ice and the ice cream.” Discord pulled up a seat. He ate the cone without the icecream sliding off. He poofed the ice into an icebag and shook it up. “Thank you Pinkie Pie. And apology accepted.” He poofed up a glass bowl and a banana split slipped out of the bag. He held it out to me. “Peace offering?” I cleared my throat. “Thanks.” I held out my hoof. “I’m Flash Sentry.” He handed me the banana split. I took it and realized this was his way of shaking my hoof. “I know, I’ve been meaning to meet you but alas every time I come to visit Fluttershy, you are never here.” I wasn’t sure if he was actually sad, sarcastic or still recovering from the punch. Ultimately, this is weird. Every cell in my body wants to take him down so he can be turned to stone. But he hasn’t committed a crime. Wait. “Where’s my sister?” I dropped the banana split and took a step towards Discord. “Hm.” “Ruby, where is Ruby? Earlier, when I was looking for her, you showed up and said, ‘Confused are we?’” With every word, I drew nearer and nearer. I felt myself crouch down ready to pounce and beat him to a pulp. I held back because I needed him to talk. I needed to know where Ruby was. I never felt so much rage and worry all at the same time… I stared down one of Equestria’s greatest enemies. Someone who almost destroyed our world twice now. I didn’t care if he turned me inside out or turned my mane into jello, he was going down and I was going to save my sister. “Oh, I shapeshifted.” Then poof, Discord turned himself into Ruby. We all gasped. I felt a jolt in my heart and then I relaxed. Ruby wasn’t foalnapped. But- “How do you know I have a sister, how do you know what she looks like and her laugh?” This was the first time we met and no pony else here but Twilight has met her before. Has he- has he been stalking my family?! He laughed. “That was simple. I sent a miniature version of myself to surveillance your family.” “What?!” I felt rage and adrenaline. I raised my hoof up to take a step. “Discord!” Fluttershy flew up to him and hovered. “That is completely inappropriate. You can’t spy on ponies in their own homes.” Discord was shocked and… I think he slightly shrunk. Suddenly, I didn’t feel rage. I was curious where this was going. Although, I did still have this kind of tingling, kind of sore sensation in my foreleg ready to do some damage. “What about outside their homes?” “No Discord, you shouldn’t be spying on anypony at all.” “But I was only trying to gather information for Twilight. You know, making sure he was on the up and up.” He floated up and then came back down. She sighed while the rest of us groaned. I’m not sure if he was being honest, or if he was just amusing himself now that he can’t take over Equestria. Either way, he has some twisted mind up there that won’t change much. But a small change is what’s keeping him from being turned to stone. I never liked this idea much but Twilight and our friends make miracles happen somehow. This could be one of them. After all, he’s atleast kept himself out of actual trouble. Nothing stolen, no pony hurt… he’s learning… slowly… and kind of creepily… I guess. Rarity spoke, “Discord, Flash hasn’t given a reason to suspect him of wrong-doing.” “Yeah, if he did, we’d have something to say about it.” Rainbow Dash continued. Suddenly, I felt uneasy. It would be one thing if I actually started to act suspicious but this sounds like they’re actively looking for me to act funny. I felt exposed. “Discord, you know what you have to do.” Fluttershy told him. He frowned and mumbled something. He gave her look. She gave him one back. He sighed. “Oh, all right.” He walked up to me. I looked at him curious as to what he thinks and apology should be. “I am sorry for invading the privacy of you and your family.” I could only blink. “Aaand?” Fluttershy shy urged him to continue. “And I will personally apologize to your family for what I did.” “Oh.” I had to think fast. “In that case, please wait on that. I’d like to introduce you properly.” I couldn’t let him tell my parents about Twilight. I haven’t told them and I swore Ruby to secrecy. After all, it’s not every day your son or brother ends up dating a princess of Equestria. Back at the tree house, we placed our treats in the fridge. Twilight and I flopped on the cushions in the library. I played the day through my head and felt a rollercoaster of emotions. I looked over at Twilight wanting to rant but I smiled instead. She looked so peaceful… amazing how a pony could shift your mood. I scooted closer to her and wrapped my wing over her. As if on cue, she nuzzled closer to me. I kissed her cheek. We cuddled for a few moments. “Are you going to be okay after today?” she asked. I sighed slightly. She opened her eyes and looked over at me. There was a different kind of worried look this time. It was as if she was also sad. I grumbled halfheartedly. You know, like when you don’t want to talk about it and can get away with not talking about it but it would make you feel better if you let it out. “I don’t trust him, but I trust the power of friendship.” She took my hoof. “Believe me, we’re still uncomfortable with the whole situation ourselves.” The next morning, I woke up to the smell of pancakes. At first, I was disoriented, not sure where I was. I don’t remember going back to the hotel, so I still have to be at the library. Whoops. This wasn’t how I was expecting our first sleepover to be. My eyes adjusted as I got up. The blanket that was over me slipped off. I looked over at Twilight still fast asleep. I smiled taking in her loveliness. I’ve never seen this side of her before. This kind of tranquility with the sun shining on her. You know, these past few days have been exhausting, but waking up to see her… I just couldn’t have woken up to a better morning.