//------------------------------//
// Lesson 8: Reaching an Understanding 
// Story: Lessons From Ponyville 
// by MattTOB 
//------------------------------//



Written by MattTOB





Mandy Carapace was having a rough day.

He got through his Ambassadorial duties relatively quickly, but just before he finished, a new, larger group of Changelings was brought to him by a Royal Guard. The Guard explained that they'd found these Changelings infiltrated amongst their ranks, and Mandy now had to deal with the fallout of that.

It wasn't pretty, to say the least. Several trips to the Hive and a lecture on the wrongness of replacement later, and they left Mandy to wrap up his paperwork.

Then a cloud zipped into the room and started to rain on him.

Mandy, thoroughly unamused, groaned without looking up. "Very funny, Rainbow Dash. Is this your idea of a pra—?"

But the Changeling froze. Something was wrong with this rain; it smelled... sweet? Mandy held out his tongue to catch a few drops, then gasped.

Chocolate milk.

He looked up at the cloud; sure enough, it was pink.

Mandy quickly realized what was about to happen, and reacted accordingly:

He screamed, "Oh HELL NO!" and tried to dash out the door as quickly as he could.

Unfortunately, he was too late; the door slammed shut of its own accord, and he screeched to a halt, barely avoiding ramming into it. "Let me out!" he screamed as he pounded on the door with a hoof. "Lemme out, please!"

"Oh, well, you're just no fun."

For an instant, Mandy froze at the voice.

Then he redoubled his efforts. "SOMEBODY LET ME OUT, PLEASE! I DON'T CARE WHAT I NEED TO DO IN RETURN, JUST DON'T LET ME FACE HIM!! PLEASE, HELP!!!"

But to no avail; a potted plant in the corner of the room began to shake. An antler poked out of the dirt, then a lion's paw broke through the side of the pot.

Then Discord stepped out of a nearby cabinet, wearing red-and-white Soaps with golden buckles. "Long time no see, Mandy."

Now Mandy was reduced to incoherent screaming, clawing desperately at the door in a feeble attempt to escape the Lord of Chaos.

The draconequus took a step forward. Then another. And another. Then he noticed the potted plant with the antler and lion paw still sticking out of it, grabbed it by the fronds of the plant, and quietly stowed it down his non-existent shirt.

The Changeling, running out of energy rapidly, began to slump at the foot of the door. His movements grew lethargic as he huffed and puffed, until finally, he collapsed completely, shivering and crying out of fear.

Discord rolled his eyes. "You know, I'm getting the impression that my presence isn't welcome here."

Mandy didn't dare look back; he was too afraid of the Spirit.

After a moment, the draconequus raised an eyebrow. "Really? You're that scared of me?"

No response.

Discord sighed, getting a bit frustrated. He snapped his fingers, and his teeth suddenly disappeared. "Come on, I won't bite."

For the longest of moments, Mandy didn't respond.

Then slowly, — very slowly — Mandy turned to face the draconequus. "Wh-wh-what are you gonna d-d-do to me?"

He huffed, his teeth popping back in. "Oh, come on; if I wanted to do something to you, I would've already done it."

Mandy blinked at that. That made sense, which didn't make sense coming from the Lord of Chaos.

"Now," Discord continued, "would you please enlighten me as to why you are so afraid of me?"

The Changeling swallowed a lump in his throat. "Th-the Famine..."

The realization hit Discord like a mallet to a watermelon. "Oh. Right..." he muttered, growing forlorn at the memories. "The love shortage caused by my original rule over Equestria; I'd, uh, repressed those memories..."

A heavy silence followed. He shuffled on his feet, suddenly unsure of what to do. What does one do to make up for almost inadvertently starving dozens of Changelings?

He didn't know; eventually, he just left without another word.

Mandy blinked, slowly sitting up. When he realized that the Draconequus was, indeed, not coming back, a relieved yet confused look grew on his face.

Finally, he grunted. "I don't get paid enough for this..."





"...and that's why I need your help," Discord finished explaining the situation.

Fluttershy stared at him, mouth agape in horror. "Oh, sweet Celestia, that's a lot to take in..."

The draconequus hung his head low. "I know, I know. There's nothing I can possibly do to atone for what I did, but I at least want to try. I may enjoy causing chaos, but I don't like making anyone so scared..."

Fluttershy thought for a moment. "I, uh... I think I need some help, too. Just, uh, give me a bit..."

The demure pegasus quickly ran inside her cottage, retrieved a quill and parchment, and wrote a long letter. Once she'd finished, she whistled lightly, and one of her crow friends came. "Please bring this to Twilight, Manfred."

The crow nodded, taking the paper and flying off.

Once that was done, Fluttershy headed back outside. "Alright, it's on its way."

Discord nodded, still looking ashamed. "So, what should I do? How do I get Mandibles to stop being so scared of me?"

The pegasus shook her head. "I don't know; probably do something that means a lot to him. What do you know about him?"

"Well," the draconequus began, "I know he's an Ambassador, he doesn't particularly like having his mind torn through, and he hates my guts."

Fluttershy frowned. "He doesn't hate you; he just... dislikes you."

"Right, because that's so much better..."

Fluttershy took in a breath to respond, but stopped short when a flash of magenta light appeared between them. "YOU WHAT!?" Twilight screamed, eyes glowing white and hair flowing out of pure RAGE.

Both of them reeled at the sudden interruption, but Discord steeled himself. "My original rule over Equestria caused so much disharmony that the Changelings nearly starved."

Twilight's expression somehow grew angrier. "WHY DIDN'T YOU DO ANYTHING ABOUT THAT!?"

"By the time I realized it, I'd already been turned to stone."

Fluttershy interrupted, "How'd you figure it out if you were in stone?"

Discord sighed. "As they were moving me to the Royal Garden, a group of disguised Changelings approached the Royal Sisters and begged for food. I could tell that they were Changelings, and that they were starving, and I put two and three together. I felt so guilty, but I couldn't do anything about it, so I had to forget it to stop myself from going insane."

Twilight was about to yell again, but she stopped herself and took some deep breaths. Her emotional high began to taper off, and her eyes gradually lost their glow.

Eventually, she'd calmed herself down enough to think rationally. "How could you possibly get any more insane than you already were?"

"Trust me, you do NOT want to know," Discord shuddered.

Twilight released a breath. "Alright... Well, this is certainly a predicament and a half. You're lucky I was already coming over to get some food for Owlowiscious; otherwise, I'd have to reschedule all of today."

"Oh, right!" Fluttershy quickly fluttered into her cottage to retrieve the food.

While they waited, Discord turned back to Twilight. "So, what'll I do about Mandible and the Changelings?"

Twilight shook her head, "I don't think that's my place to decide."

"Then whose is it?"

"I think you already know," Twilight stated simply.

Discord flinched, but ultimately nodded. "I believe I do."

It was then that Fluttershy returned, unsteadily carrying a large bag of owl food on her back. "Did you come up with something?"

Discord gave a wave to Fluttershy. "Well, it was nice knowing you, Fluttershy. If I don't come back alive, then make sure there's cheese fondue at the funeral."

Before she could even ask what he was talking about, he disappeared in a snap.





"So let me get this straight," Princess Chrysalis raised an eyebrow at the draconequus kneeling before her, ire and suspicion boiling within her eyes. "You, Discord, Spirit of Chaos and instigator of the Great Harmony Famine that killed countless Changelings, want me to punish you for your atrocities?"

Discord nodded. "I wish to atone for my transgressions, yes."

She stared him down for a moment, searching his aura for any signs of deception. "Why?"

He gestured to the Changelings that were hiding behind Chrysalis, who flinched at his movement. "Because I can't bear to see anyone so utterly terrified of me."

Chrysalis's raised eyebrow dropped. "Then what about your time reigning over Equestria?"

"That was kooky, nutty, and crazy, but distinctly not scary."

She rolled her eyes, then delved deep into thought. What was she to do about this? She couldn't deny his attempt at making amends; that'd make her a hypocrite! But she couldn't just outright forgive him; he'd killed nearly half of the species, no matter how inadvertently.

Then she had an idea. "I think I have something you can do for me, as retribution..."





3 weeks later...

Mandy stepped into the Equestrian Hive's Nursery for the first time since it was built. A caregiver greeted him, "Hello, Mandy sir! How may I help you?"

"I'm here to, uh, see Discord," he hesitated slightly, still apprehensive about this.

She nodded, "Right this way." She led him down a hallway, past several hatcheries and crib rooms, finally stopping at the end of the hall. Mandy paused in front of the door, before steeling himself and pushing it open.

He'd known Discord had become Thorax's head caregiver. He'd known that, with Fluttershy's help, they became some of the best caregivers the Hive had ever seen.

And yet, that still didn't prepare him for the sight he saw inside the room.

"Hi, Mandy!" Fluttershy perked up when she saw the bug-pony enter. Her wings flapped, putting an extra spring in her step as she rushed across the room and hugged him. "How have things been? Is Applejack holding up well?"

"Yep," he replied. "She just got her first craving last night; peanut butter and pears."

Fluttershy gasped. "Oh my! How'd Granny Smith react?"

Mandy shrugged. "Eh, she's kinda salty it wasn't apples, but at least it wasn't strawberries."

The yellow pegasus tittered.

Then a third voice spoke up: "Hello, Mandy."

The bug in question flinched, but he did not run; instead, he turned his attention to the character in the middle of the room that he'd been trying his hardest to ignore.

Sitting in a nest of moss, surrounded by several newborn nymphs, was a shape-shifted Discord. His bat and pony wings had been replaced with translucent membranes; his brown fur had been transformed into chitin; his goatee and eyebrows were intact, although his mane had been turned white to match; his horns were now antlers behind a pointed Changeling's horn; and his eyes were segmented, the outside ring being red while the inside ring was yellow.

Chrysalis thought it was a fitting punishment. Starved several Changelings? Help to raise more!

And while Mandy couldn't disagree, it still didn't mean he was comfortable with it.

"Hey, Discord..." Mandy began awkwardly, unable to bring himself to look at the sight before him. "It's, uh, been a while..."

"I'm sorry."

The Changeling did a double-take. "What?"

Discord looked down, forlorn. "My rampage over Equestria was only meant to bring laughs, and maybe some confusion, but I never meant to cause the atrocities I did to the Changelings. Still, that is no excuse for what I did, and I hope that what I'm doing can at least begin to make amends. Maybe we can become friends, or maybe not, but I hope you can forgive me for what I've done."

Mandy stood there, stunned for quite some time. He really felt this bad about it? A part of him feared it might be a trap, but with some effort, he managed to push past it. "I hope so, too."

Discord smiled nervously; Mandy responded in kind.

Then Discord addressed the nymphs swarming him. "Alright, that's enough of that touchy-feely stuff for now; it's time to get you all fed!"

The nymphs chittered eagerly, and a part of Mandy couldn't help but beam at the sight.

Fluttershy eagerly hopped forward. "Ooh! Ooh! Can we do the thing?"

Discord looked her in the eye; she looked back with more confidence than Mandy had ever seen from her. "Of course, my dear Fluttershy," the draconequus-turned-changeling obliged.

Now Mandy was curious. This, he just had to see.

With a flash of his horn, along with a distinct snapping sound, Fluttershy was replaced by a Changeling that looked almost exactly like her.

What.

The yellow Changeling squee'd, then cleared her throat and addressed the nymphs. "Now, who wants some buggy loving from Auntie Fluttershy?"

Mandy watched, flummoxed, as the infants all moved from Discord to Fluttershy. They climbed up her brand-new carapace, poking around every nook and cranny in her now holey legs or moving up to her hardened neck to look her in her cloudy turquoise eyes.

Fluttershy giggled at the sensation, then began nuzzling each and every nymph. As she did so, several pink wisps left her mouth, which were sucked up by the hungry infants.

Mandy still couldn't believe what he was seeing, so he turned to Discord, who was suppressing a laugh. Before he could even ask, the Lord of Chaos stated quite simply:

"It was her idea."