They stayed with Discord for the rest of the day, enjoying the view. The draconequus even snapped up a small teaparty. But as the sun set above the Sight of Discord’s last battle, they had to head home for the night. With a snap and the blink of an eye, they appeared inside Twilight’s castle.
“Discord, could you leave me and Spike alone for a minute? We need to speak about something, in private,” Fluttershy asked, smiling at him.
“Of course, my dear. I’ll just wait behind that door there-” he snapped and a door appeared “-and you’ll just have to knock when you are ready to be sent home too.” He went through the door, closing it behind himself.
“So, Fluttershy, Do we both think that the best way to help him is taking him to see others who had the same problem, having to find a new purpose in a new age? I mean, the Pillars too were legends of old suddenly thrust into a new time.” Fluttershy nodded.
“That, and that he should make new friends. Discord has so many different facets, he could become friends with almost anypony! And if he realizes that nopony sees him as a villain anymore, he might come to understand that he doesn’t need to be alone, but can live a normal life. Well, as normal as possible for Discord, hehe…” She smiled at Spike. “So, could you try and get Twilight to assemble all the Pillars here as soon as possible? Only if they have time, of course.”
“Sure thing, Fluttershy. I’ll make sure to tell you when they will arrive as soon as I know it. And you? What will you do in the meantime?”
“Oh, I’ll ask him to stay with me for some time. I don’t think it would be too good if we leave him alone now. Just get his mind off of those things. Maybe we could meet up with some of his other friends. Hey, why don’t you schedule a new Guys’ Night as soon as possible? I’m sure he’d be delighted to do whatever you three are doing there.”
“Sounds like an amazing idea. We need to show the Squiz- I mean, we could do cool stuff and all, hehehe.” He blushed a bit. “You wouldn’t get it. But I’ll go to bed now. Been a very active day today, and I didn’t sleep all that much last night either. So, yeah.” He yawned. “Tell Discord to come back, so I can say goodbye before I fall asleep.”
Fluttershy smiled as she knocked on Discord’s door. “You can come back now, Discord.”
The door opened, and Discord slowly poked his head through. “So, you two are finished talking? Made some proper plans how to cheer old me up, did you? Well, that’ll surely go splendid.”
“Yeah yeah. I’m sure it will. But I’ll head off now. Good night, Discord, Fluttershy.” Spike yawned again as he trotted off towards his bedroom.
“So, time to bring you back home, Flutters.” Discord snapped his fingers.
They reappeared in front of Fluttershy’s cottage. The moon was high on the sky, providing a soft light. “Now, I’m sure you’ll call me once your plan st-” Discord started saying, but was interrupted by Fluttershy.
“No. You’ll stay with me until then. I think we never had a real sleepover. The last time you stayed here for a longer time was when we originally became friends. Also, this way, we can have BOTH teaparties we missed.” She smiled at Discord, waving him into the cottage.
“Well, I guess it can’t hurt. But I’ll make the tea,” said the Draconequus, floating into the room. “I just hope I won’t scare your animals when they wake up and see me lying across your couch.”
“Oh, that won’t be a problem. I mean, they are used to you either way, but I wouldn’t have you sleeping on the couch. You take my bed, and I take the couch.”
“Oh nonono. I can’t accept that. You take your comfy bed and let me take the couch. You deserve the most comfort, seeing as you want to try to cheer up the Spirit of Chaos. You may need the best sleep you can get.”
“I insist, Discord. My bed is bigger than the couch, so you’ll fit into it easier. I’m used to sleeping on my couch too, I do it all the time when there’s a sick animal I need to take care of, or when the Cutiemark Crusaders stay here. So it’s really no problem.”
Upon hearing the name of the Crusaders, Discord frowned for a second before he went back to his usual, quite unreadable expression. “Well then. But, thinking about it, sleepovers normally involve sleeping in at least the same room, do they not? I think I’ve read it in some book at some point in time. Soooooo...I’ll just sleep here too.” He snapped himself a bed into existence, which fell, with quite a loud bang, onto the floor. Which got a slight snicker out of Fluttershy. “So, what else are usual sleepover activities? Pillowfights?” A snap later they were surrounded by forts made out of pillows. “Truth or Dare? Getting to know all our dirtiest little secrets sounds fun!” Fluttershy blushed at the thought of it. “Or...hm...I think there were other things.” He snapped and a book appeared in his claw, as well as glasses in front of his eyes. “Makeover.” This got a slight squee out of Fluttershy, and Discord sighed. “Well, seems like we’ll skip the funny parts and have a makeover. But after that, there will be roasted marshmallows.” Fluttershy nodded.
An hour later, Discord’s mane was well-groomed and in perfect shape. Fluttershy’s mane, on the other hoof, was a thing of Chaos. Hair standing in every direction, changing color and singing. She didn’t mind. It was very Discord to do those things. And he didn’t seem to mind that his mane was orderly and tamed. Now, they sat in front of her hearth, with a mug of cider and marshmallows.
“You should have seen the look on her face when she realized I just turned her favorite petunia into a rose!” Discord laughed, and Fluttershy joined in.”’The Horror! The Horror!” Discord exclaimed in the voice of Rose Luck while he gave their marshmallows the shapes of roses.
“Discord, you are so random at times!” Fluttershy exclaimed, her eyes glistening with tears of laughter. Discord smiled at her.
“I know. That’s what it means to be the Lord of Chaos. Being chaotic, random. But this also means going to far. I always go to far. I endanger harmony. No, to be exact, I am quite anathema to it. I am Discord. And if I don’t destroy harmony at the moment, it’s because sometimes, Chaos manages to align with harmony. But it’s only a matter of time until it doesn’t. And that’s why I can’t stay here forever, Fluttershy. You built this wonderful, wonderful harmony. And we two know what happens if I try to get rid of my Chaos. I need to go to another place, maybe another world, where I can’t endanger you or your legacy with my chaos, with my randomness.”
Fluttershy sighed. “You could never destroy my legacy. Because you are my legacy, Discord, or at least part of it. Sure, nopony can tell what the future brings. But that doesn’t mean that we should fear it. We should embrace what we don’t know yet. And you have proven that your Chaos can work to further Harmony, even at those times when it doesn’t align with it. You won’t go back to tyrant Discord, because you now know what it means to have friends. You’ll make new friends, and you’ll try to help them, in your own way. Like you did with us, and especially with Twilight. Was your idea strange and chaotic? Sure. Were Chrysalis, Cozy and Tirek a danger? Yes. But you had faith in us, and this enabled us to have faith in ourselves too.” She put her hoof on Discord’s paw. “You are a good friend, Discord, and you’ll always help your friends.” She smiled and hugged him.
Discord smiled as he enjoyed her hug. “You always see the best in everycreature, Fluttershy. That’s why you are my favorite.” He sighed. “But it’s getting late. You should get a good night’s sleep, considering that you’ve been up pretty early today and did a lot of things.” She nodded slightly and slowly let go of him. Discord managed to suppress another sigh as the warm and furry body left him. He snapped a sleeping mask into existence on his face to act completely normal, quickly crawling beneath his sheets.
Fluttershy wondered over Discord for some more minutes before she fell asleep.