//------------------------------//
// First Day on the Job 
// Story: Reincarnation 
// by Silver Butcher 
//------------------------------//

Leaf waved goodbye to Mortamire as he flew over the castle wall to report he was back from wherever it had been he had been, the guards at the gate watched Mortamire fly away then looked at Leaf as she pulled out the Golden card, Leaf heard the two whisperings to each other, probably wondering why Mortamire had dropped her off at the gates, she ignored them and placed the card down on the ground.
The ground began cracking and shacking as Discord's laugh filled the air, the cracks filled with gold light as Discord broke through the ground laughing, his arms grabbing Leaf as they passed by her and pulled her high into the air as his body fully emerged and a team of tiny discord began repairing the ground beneath them, Discord floated a little way's in the air as he inspected Leaf storm.
"I've been waiting for you," He cheered "Why your even several years early," Discord's tail wrapped around Leaf Strom and he released her from his hands and flew over the castle walls, with Leaf Storm waving at the guards as she was carried off, Discord flew face-first into the grass and went through it, Leaf following in after him and found herself in the confusing voice that housed Discord's home, Discord flew into his house and released Leaf storm, where she was left to float in the air due to the absence of Gravity.
"So," Discord said as he sat on the couch and waited for Leaf to Spin herself so that she was facing him, albeit she was now upside-down, Leaf storm could tell Discord was about to test her, and she had a feeling it was to test if she remembered being Spike. "What do you think of this?" Discord motioned to the table side and Leaf looked at a tiny Discord lamp wearing a lampshade like a skirt.
"You still have that stupid thing?" Leaf demanded "What, you still have the Twilight staff too?" that answer was all Discord needed.
"Spike!" He cheered as he hugged his old friend "Oh sweet Me, you have no idea how confused I was when I first met you, you seemed just a little too much like your old self and I wondered how much of you had survived the re-birth, enough it would seem,"
"How did you recognize me in...this?" Leaf demanded motioning to her own body.
"Details," Discord said waving the question off "Now tell me, how much of Spike do you remember?"
"How much? Discord I don't have Spike like memories, I'm still Spike, never stopped being me even when I was born," Leaf storm shivered "oh breastfeeding was a nightmare,"
"So...you never stopped being you?" Discord asked as he examined Spike in silence "That's not right, you must have soaked up too much of the spell over time, overcharged it,"
"Pardon?" Leaf demanded suspiciously. Discord took hold of Leaf with his tail and tapped his fingers together.
"Well, I knew, long before anyone had even thought about it, that one day Fluttershy and the rest would outlive...everyone, and that loss might destroy them, and it has destroyed a few of them mentally, usually when a creature dies they go back into the great cycle and are reincarnated, a little piece of their past stay as a part of them and it can loosely shape who they become, of course over time and many life spans, their personality's dissolve, and change and any trace of that past life is erased from them, so I thought I created a divergence in the cycle so that the souls of those closest to them wouldn't be recycled, they'd lose their memories but they'd be the same as they had in their old lives,"
As Discord talked he began pacing and snapped a few pictures before Spike, Showing old faces next to new one's, "Shining armor will always end up as Captain of the guards, Trixie will always speak in the third person, the crusaders will always end up with one another, most of them are even still part of their old bloodline, but none of them lived anywhere near as long as you had, the only dragons in the rotation where you, Ember, and Smolder, and while they lived long, no dragon lived quite as long as you did, most dragons are put to rest once their memory starts to go, but you were taken care of for hundred's upon hundred's of centuries once your mind went, and each moment you lived the spell continued to leak into your soul," 
Leaf stared silently at the pictures of her old friends, but her eye's rested on several in stunned silence, next to a picture of the three Cutie Mark crusaders was a picture of Winter, Summer, and Autumn. Next to them, a Picture of Comment and Sunrise with a Picture of Flim and Flam, and lastly was a picture of the very Friend she had only just made Mortamire was next to an Image of Gabby.
"Oh my fuck, my new friends are my old friends," Leaf said as she started crying "Are my brothers are con-kirin, dammit all Discord you fuck,"
"Yeah, I'd planned on telling the rest, but I...just couldn't tell them there was nothing after death when you die you just become some else," Discord sighed as he sat on the couch with Leaf looking at all the new faces to old friends,"
"Sweet Rain shine, Discord did you just fucking cast this over everyone in Ponyvile?"
"Well, sadly I didn't think about it soon enough, afraid the first one to die and be caught by the spell was Big Mac when he had that heart attack, anyone who died before him...didn't get to stay close to friends and family in death,"
"So Nightlight, Granny Smith..." Discord frowned at Leaf storms face when something else hit him "Starlight?" the pleading look in Leaf's eyes was given no response as Discord looked away and released her to float in the air, Leaf took that as a yes "I was hoping beyond hope...that I'd get to see her again, that she'd be out there waiting for me in a new form, that we might have a second chance..." Leaf stopped talking to Discord and looked in silence at the room as she limply floated around the air. After a while Discord got to his feet, Leaf having bumped into a wall and smashed her face against it in silence.
"Look, Spike I..."
"I'm not Spike," She replied from the wall "I'm Leaf Storm now," Discord walked to her and removed her from the wall
"...I'm sorry, but there's nothing either of us can do, otherwise I'd have already done it," Leaf didn't reply to that and before Discord could continue trying to console his old friend there was a knock on the door and both Discord and Leaf storm went wide-eyed.
"Discord?" Fluttershy called from outside "I know we aren't scheduled for tea until next Tuesday but Mortamire told me that friend of yours you always talk about was finally here,"
"Fluttershy," Discord squeed in delight, as he rushed to the door, dragging Leaf along for the ride still curled up in his tale. Discord opened the door and positioned Leaf so that she was behind him and out of view "oh what a lovely surprise, do come in," as Discord opened the door Leaf saw the tuff of Discord's tail turned into a hand and snap, resulting in a potted flower to appear in Leaf's hand, instantly her eye's starting burning and she went full Nirik and started sneezing.
"Oh, whoops," Discord said as Fluttershy walked in and was greeted to the sight of Leaf in full flame mode as Discord removed the flower from her "My bad, Dragon Sneeze flower, have a nasty effect on any creature with a bond with fire, Dragon, Kirin, even some Unicorns if they use to much fire magic, do apologize Leaf storm,"
"I saw you snap this in," Leaf shot back before sneezing, knowing full well Discord has snapped it in just in case Leaf Storm had been crying into the wall, she hadn't but she appreciates him trying to save her face upon meeting Fluttershy, although that didn't make her any less irritated about it.  "You just wanted to see what would happen,"
"Maybe," Discord replied as he tossed the plan out the open door and closed it "Anyway, Fluttershy this is my new Assistant Leaf Storm, Leaf Strom no introduction necessary I assume,"
Leaf extinguished her flames and went back to her Kirin form as she offered her hoof to Fluttershy, who shook it merrily. "Oh it's so nice to meet you, Discord's never had anyone working for him before that wasn't him, whatever did you do to get his attention?" For a fraction of a second Discord looked concerned, clearly not having a story ready, but Leaf had been given one as a parting gift from her brothers.
"Can't tell that story sadly, Discord said if anyone found out about it they might try to imitate it and the world would fall into Chaos,"
"Yes," Discord agreed, jumping onto Leaf's story without hesitation "I'm afraid I can't tell even you, it's a remarkable story, Even Twilight doesn't know the full story, as far as know's me and Leafy met when she was walking past her Birthday party, let's just say..." Discord looked around dramatically and leaned in close to Fluttershy "...Leaf Storm here has lived almost as long as you," the look of Shock on Fluttershy's face was remarkable and Leaf in turn whacked Discord.
"Alright shut up, that's enough of that story," Leaf storm was set on the couch and Fluttershy joined her as Discord snapped a nice chair into existence and set out a spread for an improvised Tea Party.
"You look fairly young for one so old," Fluttershy noted as she took a cup of tea.
"I uh..." Leaf storm tried to think of a good way to say what needed to be said, "I technically died and came back from it,"
"oh, Like a Phoenix?" the excitement in Fluttershy's voice brought back the memory of when the two had first met and Leaf wasn't able to stop herself from laughing.
"Close, a Phoenix died and in a burst of flames is reborn, I die and I come back as something completely random," Leaf decided that was the closest to the truth and nodded, unsure how Fluttershy might take the news of Leaf being Spike she decided that Fluttershy probably shouldn't be the first one to be told, might go over easier if they stared with someone slightly less emotional, meaning Rarity and Pinkie were probably also not good first picks. Leaf shook the thoughts from her mind, she and Discord could talk details later, now she was just happy to be talking to one of her oldest friends again.
"How interesting, um..." Fluttershy tapped the seat they were on and cleared her throat "...if I might be so...so bold, how did you die?"
"Age," Leaf said simply "Physical body gave out,"
"Oh..." Fluttershy looked at Discord, who nodded "Did...did it hurt?" She asked, the fear in her voice told Leaf she was thinking of something that wasn't Leaf.
"It was kind of like falling asleep," Leaf said with a shrug "I didn't even notice I had died at first," Fluttershy looked like she wanted to ask more but lightly shook her head.
"I'm sorry to ask such rude questions, so Leaf Storm, how did you and Discord meet?" for this question it seemed Discord has an answer prepared.
"Well, not too long after that Grandgalaping Gala with the snooze, I decided to try and broaden my horizons with new friendships, Leaf storm here was one of them, and while some of those old friendships have fallen apart, Leaf and I always had some fun together, and when she was dying she asked if I could send her to Equestria for her next life, and here we are," The three continued talking for a while until Fluttershy got to her hooves.
"it was very nice to meet you Leaf storm, but I have to go now, It's almost 4 and I have a previous engagement," Leaf and Discord wished Fluttershy a good day as she left the house they waited a moment before Leaf threw her drink at Discord.
"A Dragon Sneeze Flower?" She demanded irritably.
"Oh hush," Discord said as he caught the cup and ate it "A Percautionionary measure, now then, why don't I give you a tour of the castle since you've 'Never' been here before? We can start with the courtyard and end at your new office," Discord smiled and Leaf waved for him to get it over with, and with a loud snap Discord's home was left empty.