//------------------------------// // Episode 35: What About Discord? // Story: The Pony Guard (Season 5) // by MXCDarkHorse2020 //------------------------------// Episode 35: What About Discord? On a nice Friday morning after breakfast, Twilight Sparkle had just pulled out all of the books from her shelves. Mainly so she can reorganize them, again. For her it was that time of the year so that she has waited for. And the best part about it was it’s the first time she is doing this since she got her new castle alongside her best bookworm friend Ono. Spike however, didn’t share their excitement as evident by the exasperated sigh he gave after putting forward the last of the books in the castle. “Didn’t we rearrange these books a few months ago?” “Yes, but that’s because we needed to.” She replied while gently levitating the book Spike had in his claws before placing it onto the empty shelf along with the others. “This is because I want to! I call it my “book-sort-cation!” Three uninterrupted days of reorganizing books along with adding the recently created books on the Pride Lands history.” Her smile was especially gleeful today. Alongside reading books, studying spells, practicing her fighting skills, playing a piano, going on patrol alongside Kion, it’s up there. And it serves as an great way to help with her mental health which has improved greatly since reforming. “Can you think of anything more relaxing?” Spike actually begged to differ there. “Well, claw massages, back rubs, bubble baths…” He turns and sees that Twilight had already turned her attention back to her books. “…you weren’t really looking for an answer were you?” “I’ve even devised a better system for organizing them. It decreases the amount of time it takes to find a book you’re looking for by three quarters of a second!” “Whoa. That much.” Spike flatly replied while rolling his eyes. Unlike Twilight he is not exactly a big fan of books but goes along with it for her sake. He then finds himself levitated and brought in for a hug by the alicorn who is already looking forward to this weekend. “Look at all of them! Why, there must be at least twenty thousand books to organize?” Owlowiscous who is standing perched on a high shelf hooted in response knowing full well that this will definitely take all weekend to sort everything out. “Best long weekend ever!” Twilight stated with brief leap of glee before seeing Spike’s unenthusiastic expression. “I’m sure we can make some time for a claw massage and a back rub. Actually come to think of it, a trip to the spa does sound great.” And that was enough for Spike to be on board with her weekend plans. “Yes! Best long weekend ever!” Just then Ono came flying inside with a planner binder in his talons. “Okay, now that I’ve just ensured that everything in the Pride Lands and Equestria will be fine without the Lion and Pony Guard for the next three days. I am ready to get started on the book-sort-cation with you, Twilight! And I just got a well detailed and organized agenda of how can do it and have fun together!” “As always!” Twilight eagerly replied as the three all looked over what Ono had just prepared along with making sure she makes good o her promise to allow time for a trip to the Ponyville Spa. Three times the sun and moon has come up a down, and by then the whole library was reorganized to both Twilight and Ono’s liking. With birds of a feather in sharing the same hobby together they were in perfect sync in deciding of how to organize it. “I got to say, Ono. Once again your Keen Sight sure pulled through all weekend!” She complimented. “Well I am the Keenest of Sight.” Ono replied like it’s no surprise but couldn’t help but brag a little. “Common knowledge, really.” Spike commented as they all walked outside the castle before shielding his eyes from the glare the sun produced. “Whoa! That strange little yellow orb in the sky! What is that?!” “Easy…” Ono was quick to answer. “…It’s the sun!” “Well, duh!” Spike was not amused. “Sarcasm, genius!” “Oh!” Ono realized. “Right.” Twilight rolled her eyes in response. “All right, all right. So it’s been a while since we last saw the sun.” “A little while?” Spike asked like it was a joke. “We’ve been in that library for three days straight.” “Yes. But they were three very productive days!” “Even accounting for eight hours of much needed sleep per night, spending two hours each day at the Ponyville Spa, and of course there is waking up, breakfast, lunch, dinner, cleaning up after ourselves, showering, exercising, teeth cleaning, and of course getting ready for bed. All accounting for four to six hours of the rest of the day.” Ono added much to the little dragon’s annoyance. “Hey, you did promise a claw massage. I’m getting a claw massage.” Spike defended and asserted. “True.” Twilight said not even denying she had to make good on her promise. “But it’s not like we missed anything.” “Uh…Twilight…” Ono spoke up upon seeing something alarming with his eyes widening to match his expression. “…I’d hate to be a smart mouth again but you might to hold off on that last part until we DUCK!” “Duck? Where..?” Spike asked briefly confused until he saw what was about to happen. “…WHOA!” He just managed to dodge what appeared to be a large plaid and rainbow colored blur hurling right towards them. They crashed a safe distance from them and when the dust cleared up, they saw who and what had just nearly flew into them. Rainbow Dash and Discord who at both standing on all fours with their postures nearly identical to one another. “Hi Twilight. Hi Spike. Hi Ono.” They greeted in unison and in perfect sync together with a raised waving right hoof and paw together. After recovering from her shock, Twilight casually dusted herself and happily greeted them. “Hi, Rainbow Dash. Good to see you Discord.” “Did you rehearse before you found us?” “Or at least have the decency to be fully aware of your surroundings?” Both Spike and Ono irritably asked not taking any humor of being near victims of an potential flying crash. “What makes you think we practiced?”’ Both Rainbow and Discord replied in unison again, complete with perfect sync while playfully grinning to match. Seeing this had both Twilight and Ono arch an eyebrow in response as this is clearly unusual for them to be hanging out and having fun like this together. “Come on, Rainbow Dash. What’s going on here?” Twilight asked trying to understanding this is all about. And that’s where Rainbow cracked by laughing hard and hugging her stomach in mid air before flying over to Discord while wrapping an arm around him. “Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! Sorry. Me and Discord are just messin’ around. Ha, ha. Like we always do.” She explained with a wink while further stirring both Twilight and Ono’s curiosity. “Always?” Ono asked with quizzical expression. “Since when because last time I checked this is an actual first time I’m hearing and seeing of this.” “Oh, Ono, Twilight. We simply had a momentous time together these past three days.” Discord explained. “You could say it was hiss-terical!” The lower half of his body transformed into rattlesnake for visual emphasis on his pun to which both he and Rainbow Dash laughed hard at together. “Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! Sneaky snake! Ha, ha, ha!” “Oh, oh! Just snaking around!” Both laughed as Discord literally shedded out of his snake skin to boot. “Ugh!”’ Ono rolled his eyes in response to the joke itself. “Good one, Discord!” Both Rainbow and Discord high-fived with one another much to the princess’s surprise. “It is?” She asked not quite understanding the joke itself. “Kind of an inside joke from this weekend. You wouldn’t really get it unless you were there.” Rainbow explained. “Oh. Okay.” Twilight said with nothing else to say on the matter. Just then Bunga had arrived to join them. “Hey Rainbow! Discord! Twilight! Spike!” He happily greeted with a wave. “So glad I could run by you!” He jogged in place to match the joke he just made much his, Rainbow, and Discord’s laughing amusement. “I can see.” Twilight said with nothing more than a confused look on her face. “So I assume you had a nice weekend yourself?” Bunga asked. “Yes, I did. But judging from how many laughs are going on between the three of you you all apparently had quite the time together.” “Yep. And man let me tell you, Discord was un-Bunga-veilablity funny these last three days.” “Really?” “Yes, really!” Bunga gestured her to follow after him. “Come on, we’ll explain on the way!” “Sure. Please do enlighten me of the highlights of your time at the circus.” She sarcastically remarked. “Well…” Bunga scratched the back of his head nervously. “…technically yes, but…” He suddenly and somehow pulled out a yellow highlighter marker from the back of his hair. “Hey, how did this get back here.” He scratched his hair some more and found some termites hiding in there. “Oh great! Snacks on the run!” He continued on ahead while munching all of the termites that tagged along for the ride on over here. Both Rainbow and Discord laughed while following after him with both Twilight and Spike following after them. Though the alicorn is still having a hard time understanding how these “inside jokes.” they shared with Discord over the weekend are so funny. As the three continue laughing and joking around, Twilight, Ono, and Spike hung back. “So then i had a friend of mine trying to sweeten up a deal where he gets fresh honey from buzzing bees and guess what he tells me what his friend told him after dodging the bee stings?” “What?” Rainbow asked. “It was a real buzzer-beater!” The trio all laughed together as they walked off down a different path upon arriving at a fork in thee road from the other trio. All while once more still leaving the princess puzzled. “This is strange right?” Twilight asked the little dragon. “Since when have Rainbow, Discord, and Bunga all together had inside jokes?” “Since sometime in the last three days. I guess.” “Hey! No pony made you join me on my book-sort-cation.” “I’m jokin’! I’m jokin’” Spike defended. “With all honesty, I’m not sure.” Ono replied. I mean I see your point but it’s not hard to see that maybe they’ve managed to find common ground in a certain sense of humor. Then again it’s probably just me.” They all pressed forward on towards the Ponyville Boutique where they greeted the fashionista unicorn in charge upon entering. Upon hearing the doorbell ring, she spun around and stopped her current sewing project and work glasses so she can happily greet her friends walking inside. “Twilight! You’ve returned from your book sorting sabbatical!” She examined her face and then placed a hoof on her chin before lifting it upwards. “All of that organizing has done wonders to your complexion.” “Thanks! It was relaxing!” “It sure was!” Ono added in agreement. “Not to mention it was very knowledgeable to take in” Fluttershy and Beshte who were also there helping assist her friend with her work had the former have a sudden giggle in her throat that no pony would ever see us usually. “Orange you glad you did.” And not only did she laugh, Rarity did too. And so did Beshte. “Orange you glad! Oh Fluttershy, you are a card!” “That was really good, Fluttershy!” Beshte also complimented. “Oh, please! You’ll make me blush!” Fluttershy said as she actually blushed in response. “You do seem to be turning a shade of…Orange.” Discord’s voice said as he appeared and transformed her best friend… …into an actual Orange, with only her head and mane while still orange colored but not shaped into an orange. The same happened to Beshte instantly. “Both of you!” “Wow!” Bunga laughed alongside the others. “You two are quite the pair!” Everyone but Twilight, Spike, and Ono all laughed and found the jokes itself very humorous. Not only are Rainbow Dash and Bunga are both rolling on the floor and holding their stomachs but even both Fluttershy and Beshte are finding it really funny. Though then again this is his best friends they’re dealing with. Discord plucked the oranges, pealing it, causing both Fluttershy and Beshte to revert back to her normal shade of color, all while still laughing. And all while Twilight looks on very confused. Ono however looked on like joke humor has gone topsy turvy today. “Oh sorry, darling. You see we were on the island, and, uh, ooh, how to explain…” “Well, let me try to paint her a picture, dearest…” Discord offered while winking in her direction, much to Spike’s envious charging. “Dearest!” He commented to himself with a pout and crossed arms as he feels that he is the only one allowed to say that to her. The lighting dimmed as a spotlight shine over Discord as he now sported a brown Afro, mustache, and beard, sporting a light blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up and painting a picture of Mizumi Grove, all while speaking said guy’s accent. “You see, we were at Mizumi Grove, and I ended up turning the apple trees into the most…Oh, who am I kidding?!” He immediately removed the costume, tossed the art stuff away, and changed the scene back to the current setting. “I simply cannot do justice! You just had to be there!” “We would’ve invited you to come along too, but we didn’t want to interrupt your organizing.” Fluttershy said as sweetly as she could. “We know how important it is to you.” Beshte added while trying not be insensitive about it. “So hopefully no hard feelings.” “Thank you, I appreciate that…” Twilight replied showing no ill feelings (visibly speaking) “…speaking of books, I was able to clear a shelf for those old-fashion books you wanted to donate, Rarity.” The unicorn however begged to differ on that. “Oh, pfft, they’re not old, darling. They’re vintage.” She moved to levitate said books on over so everyone can see them in mid-air. “I’ve even included my favorites by former Canterlor designer to the stars Rocco Froufrou!” “Oh, I love her!” Spike said with love filled eyes towards his crush. “Him.” Rarity corrected while handing the bag to him while looking on confused and weirded out. Spike was left blushing and feeling awkward about what he just said. “Eh. He. Both.” “Awkward!” Bunga teasingly remarked which earned him a glare from the dragon as he sported red cheeks before walking off. “You can organize those books later.” Rainbow said. “Let’s go catch up with the others.” Hearing that had Twilight smile, knowing that there are more friends she can turn to in order to get a fuller and better understanding of what happened while she was sheltered up in her castle the whole weekend. Surely whatever has happened these last three days had to something explanatory if it’s all that funny to get the whole Guard bonding with Discord all so well during then. Upon arriving at the cafe and Sugarcube Corner they were quick to greet Fuli, Sunset, and Kyoga who have all just arrived. “Twilight!” “Fuli! Sunset!" “It’s so good to see you! It’s been a while!” “Yes. Long enough.” "Three days, exactly." “I take it that book sort-cation really did the trick in rejuvenating you?” Kyoga asked. “Yep. It did. And I also had Ono and Spike to thank for company along with the assistance in order to ensure that it all goes smoothly.” “In exchange for a back rub and claw massage at the Ponyville Spa?” Fuli asked towards Spike with a knowing smirk. “Yep.” Spike said with crossed arms and with no regrets. “Not to mention I took the liberty of properly managing her sleep and eating schedule.” Ono added proudly. “Sounds right.” Kyoga remarked with an amused nod. "Makes perfect sense." Sunset said with the same expression. “Speaking of food…” Bunga spoke up. “You know what i could go for? A hot fudge Sundae soaring!” “Even though it’s a Monday?” Ono asked with a deadpan tone. “Yeah!” Just then a wave of hot fudge literally sweeped them off of their hooves and paws and had them floating inside the bakery where nine hot fudge ice cream floats are all sitting on the counter waiting for them. “Awesome! Perfect timing, Discord!” Said guy reappeared right before them. “Order up!” He said now appearing yellow with spots all over his body along with wearing brown pants, a white dress shirt, and a red tie. “Good thing I got my ice cream making license because otherwise it would be a total meltdown!” Most of the Guard, Kion, Applejack, Pinkie all laughed at the sight and the joke itself. Fuli, Sunset, and Kyoga simply shrugged along with the others before accepting the ice cream treats offered to them with only Applejack and Pinkie alone with Discord. “Hi, Kion.” Twilight greeted. “Oh, hey!” He happily returned. “Feeling fully relaxed from your book sorting weekend?” “Yep.” “Ono have fun too and have a great time doing it with you?” “Yep.” “Spike help out to?” “Yep.” “Willingly?” “Nope.” “Wanted a claw massage and back rub in return?” “Yep.” Kion then looked on feeling concerned and confused. “Everything okay?” “Yep. Just getting adjusted to not seeing my friends in the last three days.” “Fair enough.” “So…” Twilight said now looking on stoically. “…i take you joined Discord and the girls after your weekend hunts?” “Yeah.” Kion replied. “Just thought I drop by to see what the girls were doing and they there were having a heck of a time with Discord.” “Amazingly, he was on fire with jokes and making everyone laugh.” Fuli added as she admitted. “Some of them even got a laugh out of me.” “Really?” Twilight asked without a change of expression or tone. “I mean it was all just joking around and having what Discord defines as fun.” Kyoga added and after getting the same vibe as Kion. “I mean it’s not exactly like you missed anything if it makes you feel any better.” “Of course not. I mean why would I be jealous and feeling left out? So they had a weekend full of laughs. Big deal.” Just after finishing up her sundae her pony friends from inside are laughing as they walked outside to join them. “Where was I? Oh yes! Here’s a good one!” He moved to address everyone else. “We were at the cafe just yesterday and we had just finished our soup when Applejack said…” He transforms to mimic the farm pony’s coat and mane color. “Peanut butter hoof? Yuck! Not even with jelly.” Everyone minus Twilight, Sunset, Ono, Spike, and Kyoga all laughed especially Applejack and Pinkie Pie in response to the joke. “I don’t get it.”’ Twilight said blankly. “What was the point behind that?” Ono asked. Pinkie wrapped her hoof around Twilight, while still laughing. “It was hilarious! I wish we had taken a picture for you!” “Oh, well this should do!” Discord offered as he suddenly appeared on the table while wearing peanut butter jars on his feet while most of the Guard continued laughing. “Okay. I guess that’s funny.” Twilight replied. “That gives me a better idea of what happened. At least one of them, now.” She said the last part to herself. “What was that?” Spike asked. “I said it must have been a weekend if everyone is finding Discord funny right now.” “Somepony sorry she missed it?” Spike asked while elbowing one of her legs. Twilight moved it away to assert otherwise. “Of course not. Others can have fun without me. There’s no harm in it.” Spike along with Kion remained unconvinced especially since they could tell she is now suppressing her emotions and being stoic about it. “Well…” Discord then spoke up again. “…it seems that this has become quite a sticky situation.” He removed one foot from one of the peanut butter jars with said foot completely covered with peanut butter. “Sticky situation!” Pinkie said with uncontrollable laughter. “Wow! Too rich!” Bunga commented equally laughing uncontrollably. Applejack moved to speak Twilight after calming down enough to talk. “Aw, shucks, Twilight. We didn’t even ask how your weekend went.” “It was fine.” Suddenly Discord appeared right beside her to hug her, but even that didn’t faze her steely demeanor. “And yet you look so glum. Does somepony need a huggy wuggy?” Twilight gently teleported herself out of his grasp before smiling. “No thanks. I am not glum. I’m glad. I’m glad that you all had such a good time together. Having inside jokes together can create a lasting bond between friends.” “I’m just sorry that all of this bonding happened while you were holed up in your castle.” Discord apologized though Twilight wasn’t fully convinced. “It’s all right. Really.” She insisted still smiling and sounding happy for them. “Heh. Don’t you worry about, Twilight.” Applejack assured. “Bet you in hog’s heaven organizing’ all them books!” “She sure was.” Ono replied to confirm that it’s a true fact. “I’d be more than happy to tell you all about it!” “Please do.” Kyoga said with open ears as Ono started talking about the whole organization effort used to sort every book out in the library. But just when he got started, Twilight’s smile dropped before getting up from her chair so she can excuse herself from the gathering. “Twilight?” Kion asked as she and Fuli turned to spot her leaving. “Everything okay?” “Yep!” She replied without turning back or flinching. “Okay.” “Have a good afternoon.” “Thank you.” She went on ahead leaving her friends confused of why she left so soon with only Spike following after her. “Wait for me!” He called after her while pursing her to make sure she is okay. "Me too." Sunset called after them while following suit. Even though she insists it, some of her friends could tell something is wrong when she is now being stoic and emotionless. Even the secretly smirking Lord of Chaos himself. By the time Spike and Sunset were able to catch up to Twilight she was in her private study watching on at her screens showing her of what went down with the Lion and Pony Guard’s bonding time. Said screens showed her every second that depicted everything they have all described their weekend adventure together. Every word and every joke. “Twilight?” Spike dared to speak to her while knocking on the door after peaking his head inside along with Sunset's. “Can we come in?” “As long as you promise to not speak a word of this to anyone.” She answered still not looking back but still looking on seriously and without any emotion in her voice. “Sure thing…” He promised as he approached his friend with caution. "Whoa!" Sunset's eyes were immediately locked on the screens in her room. "I never knew you had personal access to video surveillance all over Ponyville." "Well you do now. At least I didn't find out that I could do this until recently." "Okay. Sounds interesting." Deep down that leaves room for more questions and truth but with other things in mind she decided not to pursue the matter further. To both of her friends, that pretty much tells them almost everything they needed to know. She is definitely mindset and bothered by what happened behind her back last weekend. Upon sitting next to the chair next to her, Spike pulled up a bowl of rubies as he moved to strike up a conversation with her. “So, I guess you now see what fun and inside jokes they’ve all had together the last three days?” “Yes.” While she sees what and why the jokes are all funny. She still didn’t laugh finding humor in it. “I can’t believe I missed out on all of that bonding.” She voiced sounding a bit disheartened despite not showing an expression to match it. “I knew it!” Spike stated upon finishing his most recent jewel while gulping it down. “You are jealous!” “Spike…” She turned to face him. “I’m the Princess of Friendship. I don’t get jealous. At least not over something like this.” She turned her eyes back to the monitors. “I know I can’t be there for my friends for every moment of the day. I know that it’s normal that others can share quality bonding time and jokes with one another without me. I also know that Discord is trying to run another one of his games on me.” She turns back to Spike. “But I’m not about to let it drive me crazy.” “Come again?” Spike looked on unsure and unconvinced while munching on another red ruby. “It’s simple. I just do nothing and show Discord that he’s not making me jealous.” She explained. “I just act like nothing had ever happened.” “By what logic? The magic of science?” “No. No logic. No magic. Like I said, nothing.” “Or you could just admit you’re jealous and tell them of how you really feel about being left out of the weekend they had together.” Spike suggested. “Because if I remember right trying to bottle up your emotions never ends well, no matter how long it takes and how little you show it.” He pulls out said basic book of magical learning of properly dealing with emotions. “It’s a fact! Like you said!” "And I did read that book just recently." Sunset recalled. “Touché.” She nodded with a look of respect at him. “But I’m quite certain no one’s going to tell that it’s bothering me.” “I wouldn’t be too sure.” Spike replied still sure otherwise. “It’s a pretty clear indicator that if you’re being cold and emotionally distant, that something is definitely wrong. Much like the Princess of Darkness would do.” “We’ll see.” She said while turning back to the monitors while watching the events that happened between them unfold. All while taking notes and highlighting the very little details that stand out that for them bonding together. "Twilight..." Sunset spoke up hoping to talk with her. "...if it isn't jealousy, then is it possible that Discord bonding with the others without you is something else? Like feeling left out or convinced that everyone else is better off without you, something like that?" The alicorn stopped writing notes and briefly turned back to Sunset with a surprised look before turning back and only replying with. "No." As she turned ahead back to her private screens, Sunset looked on as she might have truly touched a nerve of what's really bugging her about it. Question is what? The next day, the Lion and Pony Guard got together for morning patrol which was another ordinary day in the Pride Lands. Helping stuck animals free themselves. Saving them from injuring themselves. Settle disputes between one party and another. And of course keeping the Outsiders out of the Pride Lands while keeping full alert for anything Scar and Starlight might do. Thankfully nothing too serious or dangerous on the horizon that required them to go into the Outlands which is getting more and more dangerous with every passing day. Aside from that, there is of course the Lion and Pony Guard. While nothing bad happened throughout the patrol they all got concerned about Twilight. Just like Spike predicted who joined them this time around out of concern for her well-being. They’ve noticed that Twilight has been remarkably reticent today. Only speaking to give orders and checking up on one another. In addition showing little to no emotion. Just after finishing their patrol, Twilight was prepared to fly off ahead back to Ponyville when a voice called out to her for her to stop. “Twilight!” Kion called out. “What?” She asked with an arched eyebrow. “Everything okay?” “Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?” “Because you haven’t quite yourself today.” “Yeah.” Beshte spoke up in agreement. “I’ve noticed that you’ve been acting um…awfully quiet today.” “How so?” She ask trying to act otherwise. “You know. Like Fluttershy like quiet or even Kyoga like quiet on a good day.” Bunga replied. “No offense.” He quickly added to both girls. “None taken.” Both girls replied in unison. “But seriously though…” Kyoga spoke up. “…are you sure nothing’s wrong, Twilight? Because it’s pretty clear that something is up with you.” “It isn’t because of how much fun everyone else had with Discord last weekend?” Ono asked. “No.” “Really?” Fuli wasn’t buying it. “Nothing very specific that’s truly upsetting you?” “Why would I be upset? Like i said before it’s great that friends are able to spend time with each other even if one friend isn’t a part of it.” “But it really does bother you doesn’t it?” “I don’t see how.” “I do!” Pinkie spoke up cheerfully. “You do?” “Of course, silly filly!” Pinkie stated while affectionately ruffling the alicorn’s mane. “Because you weren’t there to see why it was all so funny!” She then moved to pull forward a graph with notes and pictures on it. “So if we tried to show you of what exactly happened back then, you could use it help further friendships across Equestria and the Pride Lands, along with creating and showing you the breakthrough of the magic of science!” Her friends looked on curiously while some looked on puzzled and skeptical in response. “Really?” “Yes, really! Just like what you would have wanted! Come on!” Pinkie rushed off ahead to get everything together so they can properly reenact the whole experience. “I guess I’ll get Discord.” Fluttershy said seeing there is no point in trying to talk the hyperactive pony against doing it yet still clearly confused by that random spur of the moment thing Pinkie just said. “This should be interesting.” Twilight commented dryly. While it wasn’t really what she was thinking or why she was truly feeling off but she is willing to entertain herself with it. If it meant distracting everyone from getting to the root of things, great. Though Spike, Kion, Sunset, Kyoga, and even Applejack weren’t convinced and could see that their friend is definitely dodging her true feelings in the matter. And it is not doing herself any good for her emotional well-being. Sometime later the whole group with Discord gathered with them gathered right at the Ponyville park where Twilight speaks while standing on a bench with Spike by her side. “Thank you for coming. I wouldn’t have asked you here if it wasn’t so important.” “I love important.” Pinkie eagerly commented. “Me too!” Bunga added in agreement. “I want to know how these funny moments you shared come to pass. I can use this data to help advance friendships all over Equestria and the Pride Lands.” “Well, I like the sound of that.” Applejack commented sounding eager herself to help her experiment with it along with the other ponies. Even though she is just playing along with it given that her friend’s not fully ready to emotionally open up to her insecurity about the whole bonding without her and with Discord experience. “Perfect.” Twilight said feeling on board and satisfied. Then let’s begin with the snake.” Both Rainbow Dash and Discord could barely contain their laughter as they recalled said memory. “I don’t know if we can get it out! It’s too funny!” “Oh, but we must! It’s for the greater good!”’ Discord insisted before moving to explain the joke itself. “It all started when we were helping Apple Bloom and Beshte with the garden, and then Rainbow Dash saw a snake.” “I think it was a garden hose.” Bunga commented while stifling his giggling. “It was a hose snake, super deadly.” Rainbow added. “I recall it bein’ a large stick that looked like a hose that in turn resembled a snake.” Applejack recalled. “Point is, we galloped away!” Pinkie then said. “And it chased after us!” Bunga added. “The hose? A snake? A stick?” Twilight asked pretending to make sense of it even after knowing what happened back then. “A snake!” Rainbow stated. “A hose!” Fluttershy stated next. “A stick!” Bunga stated last. “We literally trotted for our lives. Isn’t that hilarious?” “Sure sounds like it.” Twilight commented. “I guess you had to be there.” Fluttershy repeated as she giggled at the memory again. While she was able to see why it was funny now, she still could barely contain her own disappointment of not being there to enjoy that with them. But it was only for a split second as she smiled getting another idea in her head. “You’re right. I do need to be there.” “But you weren’t. And it’s already happened.” Rarity reminded until her eyes widen when she thought of what her friend is thinking. “Ooh, are you suggesting…?” “Time travel?!” Pinkie finished while now wearing an orange space jacket with matching glasses and a watch. All while the Back to the Future theme plays in the background… …Well more accurately, Bunga having accrued a radio that played said music from behind. “Bunga!” Fuli stated while glaring at him upon seeing what he is doing. Bunga chuckled nervously before putting g the radio aside. “You got me.” “Absolutely not!” Sunset firmly stated while shaking her head against the idea. “Time travel is not something to messed with. You do that then you might alter things that'll make things worse for everyone." "Sunset's right!" Twilight stated in agreement. "We simply need to recreate everything that led to these jokes.” “Really?” Fuli asked with a skeptical eyebrow. “And just how exactly do you propose you’re going to that?” “Simple. By reenacting the whole events of said weekend.” The alicorn replied like it is no brainer. Before anyone from the Lion Guard could question it, Discord quickly supported it. “Oh, what a brilliant idea! Shall we begin with the lunch that kicked off that glorious weekend you missed out on?” “Sure. Since that seems to be our best starting point.” She replied nonchalantly. “Excellent.” Discord replied somewhat mischievously. “As long as you’re sure that this isn’t some sinister plot to make me jealous.” Twilight added. “Because if it is, it’s really not working…” “What?!” Discord feigned innocence. “Me make you jealous?! I would never dream of doing anything like that.” He had clouds depicting said visual appear and disappear in a flash before moving to get everyone together to recreate it himself while leading the way back into town. While Twilight watches on ready to be enlightened further, some of her friends, especially Kion, Sunset, and Spike looked on in great concern for their friend. Hopefully in their minds, Twilight will come around to be honest about her true feelings instead of dragging it on longer than she should be. At the same time, a certain unicorn was spying on them while hiding behind the nearby trees before taking her leave without being spotted just narrowly missing Sunset's eyes when she thought she saw someone lurking around. In order to recreate the first memory without resorting to time travel, the gang had went back to the cafe from yesterday. There they were at a table which had a white table cloth placed on it to which Twilight examined closely given her desire to get every detail down perfectly. Though deep down she already knew it was already perfect right down to the table placement. “Are you sure it’s this table?” “Uh, does it really matter?” Ono asked in confusion. “Of course! When it comes to science, everything matters. One change to the equation could ruin the experiment.” "Does it really?" Sunset remarked while looking like pursing perfection is a waste of time much like said and current experiment they are working on. Naturally, Discord is quick to take advantage of this. “Ohhhhhh…it was this table here.” He guided everyone to said table he is standing in front of before everyone moved to sit down at said table. During which, Discord moved to be a proper gentlemen and assisted in helping Fluttershy get seated. “All right. So you sat at this table, then what happened?” Rarity magically levitated the menu into her hooves before explaining. “Oh well, I first started expressing my displeasure with the design of the menu. It…” “I’m sorry to interrupt, but i just noticed something.” Discord suddenly said. “Like what?” Twilight asked. “The tablecloth. It isn’t really the same color as the one the restaurant used on the day in question.” “Is that right?” Twilight asked the others as they glanced down at the white table cloth in front of them. “He is.” Rarity replied as she too remembered what he is talking about. “The tablecloth was red. I remember because it clashed with the font of the menu’s.” “Sounds about right.” Fuli whispered to Kion and Kyoga with the latter nodding in agreement. “I don’t suppose this means we’re going to need a new tablecloth, does it?” Ono asked with a groan. “Oh, most definitely.” Thankfully, getting one wasn’t a tall order since Discord managed to change it to red with a snap of his fingers. “Awesome!” Bunga stated just when he appeared wearing a black and red magician’s outfit. “Abracadabra!”’ He waved his magical wand out and flowers appeared on the table inside the glass vase centerpiece. “And that’s what I remember happened next.” “Makes perfect sense.” Fuli commented with deadpan expression. “One change to the equation could ruin the experiment. Twilight said so herself.” Discord said as he had Twilight appear wearing a lab coat and safety goggles “Now before we continue is there anything that stands out as being different to you. Anything at all?” “Anything at all?” Bunga repeated while perfectly in sync with Discord’s movements and posture. Fluttershy raised her hoof to speak up. “Um, I’ve noticed a couple of things.” “Me too!” Pinkie also stated. “Excellent!” Discord said while magically having a quill and notebook appear in Twilight’s hooves so stay we she can personally write down and record everything in her notes. "Oh, no." Sunset groaned while burying her face in one of the nearby tables just knowing that is going to take a while before everything's 'properly' ready. Twilight looked on pleased yet secretly entertained as she is starting to see things unfold before her. Courtesy of Discord, they proceeded to rear rang everything little detail around them in order to recreate exactly what went down that Friday afternoon. And of course it was dragged on for quite a while much to Kion, Fuli, Ono, Kyoga, and especially Sunset’s growing annoyance. For Ono especially so since he is now helping Rainbow Dash properly adjust the clouds to the perfect place as it was last Friday afternoon. “A little to the left! No, my left!” Discord instructed the two while waving orange sticks for guidance while wearing a matching orange vest and goggles like guiding a plane landing. “A little more…Oh, no, no, no, no, no, a little more right.” “The cloud over our table looked like an ice cream sundae!” Pinkie pointed out. Discord quickly reached out and stretched the cloud so that it is indeed shaped like an ice cream sundae. “Perfect!” While this was happening, Twilight continued to take notes as this was all perfectly depicted in what she truly saw in her private study. All while Kion looks on in dismay with how far she is taking this and Sunset is practically and painfully resisting the urge to lose her temper with each and every bang on the table. As much as Spike wants to tell him, he knows full well that Twilight will kill him should he say a word about her secret spying on others. But at the same time, they know she is just using this as a distraction from her true feelings about the whole fun their friends experienced. While Ono was a little disappointed that he wasn’t around along with Kion, Fuli, and Kyoga, he never let it get to him. Then again, who’s to say that he wouldn’t get jealous if his position on the Guard is threatened. Next, Discord moved to inspect the temperature of the soup placed on the table with a thermometer. “No, no, no, no, no, this is barely room temperature! Garçon! Garçon, over here!” A second Discord exited the cafe so he can properly heat it up under the watchful note taking eye of the princess. The reenactment of every little detail continued throughout the afternoon, right up to the point Discord danced around with peanut butter jars on his feet. All while everyone laughed together. All but an annoyed Kyoga and Fuli, an exhausted Ono, a fuming unicorn about to literally burst into flames, and the still steely alicorn princess with nothing but a smile of satisfaction on her face. To her it was exactly like the memories her magic showed her back home but it was very brief due it reminding her why she wasn’t taking the displayed humor and jokes in stride. It was like it was all hitting too close to her deep roots and home for her. Discord after dancing was the first to take to notice of this. “No? Nothing.” To fully mask her true feelings she had this to say in response. “Are you sure, there’s nothing you missed? Some other detail about your lunch you’re forgetting?” Discord yawned in response. “Well I don’t know about you but I feel we’ve been pretty exhaustive with our attempts of every single detail of our previous encounter.” The other couldn’t help but agree with him there. They have been nothing but cooperative and patient through the whole afternoon, yet nothing is clicking for their princess friend. “Yeah, Twilight. If you don’t get by now, I don’t think you’ll ever get it.” Rainbow said in agreement. Discord magically zapped up a ticker tape machine while donning clothes that a school professor would wear before examining the paper it produced. “Well prepared we should look at the data we’ve collected.” He gasped in realization. “There is one last variable we haven’t accounted for.” “What?” “You!” “Me.” Twilight looked on acting confused of why he was literally pointed fingers and claws at her of all ponies when all she was doing was trying to observe the fun they had last weekend. “You weren’t there observing us. No matter how hard we try, we can’t possibly recreate our weekend of fun exactly as it happened because you’ll always be watching and you weren’t there.” “He makes a good point.” Pinkie admitted. Admittedly as harsh as it was, it was a valid assessment. Her not being there doesn’t allow her to fully understand the humor in all of it. Though it wasn’t exactly what was bugging her. “Sorry, Twilight.” Beshte tried to say sympathetically to her. “We did everything you asked of us.” “As hard as it is to accept it, it has only served to prove that moments of levity and bonding between friends simply cannot be recreated so that others might share in that experience.” Discord further said. “Another good point.” Bunga commented in agreement. Rarity then moved to try to comfort her. “Oh, don’t worry darling. I’m sure they’ll be plenty of other chances for you to share in the kind of…” She giggled briefly. “…frivolity with Discord while you were away.” “Yeah!” Rainbow chimed in. “And I’ll bet they’ll be just as hissssss-terical!” Rainbow moved her arms around like a snake to resemble the joke before bursting out laughing once more along with Discord. “Absolutely!”’ Bunga stated in agreement while laughing alongside them and most of the pony friends following after them. “I’ll bet.” Twilight said with a small and brief smile before turning to the others. “Thanks anyways to you all for trying.” She then moved to excuse herself from the group once more with only Spike tailing after her again followed by Kion, Fuli, Sunset, and Kyoga tagging along too. “Twilight!” “Wait up!” “We need to talk!” At the same time the others stopped laughing upon seeing that emotionless exterior surfacing up once more. Their concern for the alicorn princess has further increased and they are all left them wondering if they’re really hurting her feelings without realizing it. By the time the five friends have found Twilight, she was calmly reading one of her books in the castle library. “Twilight.” Kion was the first to speak to her upon spotting her but she didn’t look back. “Twilight! We have to talk!” “About what?” She stoically asked. “About the whole Discord situation.” Fuli added while moving to speak face to face with her. “Because clearly it is really bugging you deep down no matter how hard you try to insist otherwise.” "And you are clearly worrying everyone around you the more you act like this." Sunset added while following suit. “Please, Twilight. We just want to help you.” Kyoga implored of her to open up. Twilight lifted her eyes from her book before speaking. “You all want the truth? Fine.” She closed her book before rising from her chair and paced around the room. “While everyone else seems to be bonding with Discord very well, it’s without ulterior motives.” “Like how so?” “Because while sincere with the others, I know that he has convinced them not to invite me for the sole purpose of leaving me feel left out. And because of that, I have little reason to trust him now.” “And how do you know that?” Kion asked. She simply placed a hoof on his forehead which allowed her to magically show him of the times to when his and her backs were turned along with the others, Discord was taking overly eager glee at seeing Twilight feel left out. After seeing all there is to see she removed her hoof and looked on with a “Believe me, now?” glance. “Right. I believe you…now.” “And you can now see why I don’t buy it. Not even for a second. There is definitely something going on here.” “But even still…” Spike moved to further implore of her. “…maybe just maybe you should just drop this whole thing and admit you’re jealous or what's really upsetting you.” “Even if I’m not able to laugh at what happened, I should be able to figure out why they found it funny. Why they think they had this amazing and hilarious time together. But I can’t figure it out. It doesn’t make sense.” “Maybe there are just some things that just can’t be explained.” Spike suggested. “Then I guess there is nothing else to discuss.” She said before moving to turn back to her chair and book. “Twilight.” Kion implored of her before teleporting right in front of her while pushing his paw onto the book to get her to look at him. “Please, listen to us. I know that this isn’t easy to admit, but you’ll feel much better if you just be honest with us for once here. So please just tell us of what is really bugging you.” “I’ve already told you. I am not jealous that everyone else had fun with Discord and I didn’t.” Twilight asserted once more. “So it happened and I didn’t understand the jokes. Big deal.” “But it is a big deal since it’s clearly affecting you! If you’re not truly jealous then what do you really think about them hanging out with Discord?” Sunset moved to press of her friend. “Do you feel lonely like an outcast?” Kyoga asked. “Or just the friend no one likes?” Fuli also asked. Twilight looked on at Kion and the rest of her friends with stunned silence for a few seconds before saying. “It’s more complicated that that.” She moved to walk off ahead unable to relieve the true roots of of the answer itself. As she walked off ahead while resisting the urge to cry, the others looked on ahead feeling they really touched a nerve. “Think maybe we overdid it just a bit?” Spike asked the others. “Yep.” They all replied in unison. “Or maybe we just need her to be able to feel more comfortable telling us.” Kion suggested before thinking of an idea. “And I might know someone who can help us out with that.” "Who?" Sunset curiously asked... "Oh." She then said now surprised once she found out who. Said someone happened to be none other than the zebra living in the middle of the swamp, Zecora who is currently adding ingredients into her boiling cauldron. Said cauldron had a green glow which gives away its mystic vibe. “So what do you think?” Kion asked after explaining the whole situation to her. “I think this thing Twilight feels is truly a sting. Like this memory rings a bell like a ding.” “Like something like this has happened before?” Fuli asked. “Indeed. Your friend is having this block. A lone bird flying alone from the flock. Only until she opens this hole can she feel whole.” “Any idea of how we can do that?” Kyoga asked. The zebra simply smiled as she picked up a bottle from her shelf with her mouth and handed it to her. “This potion will break the spell, then you will be able to tell.” “Okay.” Fuli looked on still very uncertain about the idea itself. “One small problem. Trying to trick her into taking it.” “Along with actually making her drink a truth serum.” Kion added knowing full well she is too smart to be tricked like that. "I know I wouldn't be fooled myself." Sunset remarked given her past experience of always being on guard and un-trusting towards others even when they are being nothing but nice to her. But then she thought of something else that could work. "Unless..." "It actually helps us in getting her what we really want her to do." Kion finished after coming to the same conclusion. "What do you mean?" Spike asked before pondering his thought process himself. "If we can't get her to drink it, then she'll want to use it on her friends and..." He then realized. "...Ooh. I see where you are headed with this." "Exactly!" Kion smiled in return feeling certain that this is the best way to get through to her. But then Spike's smile faded as he realized something as he turned to Zecora. "Wait. If that's the potion, then what's brewing in your cauldron?" He pointed to the bubbly substance in the cauldron. "It ties the room together and emits a warm glow. But if I am to be honest, it's just for show." "Oh, right." "Interesting. I never would have thought of that." Sunset commented as she had nothing else to say about that. That night, Twilight was continuing to read her book in the library still emotionally suppressed when Spike entered the room. He moved to place it onto the table. "Hey, Twilight." "What is it, Spike?" She asked while turning back to him along with the potion he brought. "And just what are trying to do?" "Me? Nothing!" Spike feigned shock. "Not trying to trick you into drinking a potion that could break whatever spell anybody has on others if that's what you're thinking." Twilight looked on unconvinced with an arched eyebrow in response before smiling when she levitated the bottle up close to her. "No. But you did provide a way to finally figuring out the truth of what's really going on." "So I did." Spike said acting like that was a surprised result when really it was exactly what Kion wanted to do as he smiled to himself. To them, the plan is now set in motion. The next day, The Lion and Pony Guard minus Kion, all gathered together around the map table when Twilight asked them to come. By then it was sunrise when Applejack first opened the double doors to enter the castle. "I wonder why she asked us here so bright and early." Applejack asked everyone while yawning. "Another map adventure, perhaps?" Rarity guessed. "If that's the case then our cutie marks should be glowing." Ono commented with dull surprise. "So very true." Fuli commented in agreement. "Though I hope she's doing better than yesterday." "Yeah!" Bunga agreed. "Last thing we need is to be walking right into a trap by her." Just then the doors of the royal palace opened up and Twilight entered the room, with a wide and bright smile on her face. She sure seemed to be in a better mood which sparked relief amongst the group. At the same time, Spike gave Fuli and Kyoga a thumbs up, to which they returned a wink in response. "Hey, gang!" Twilight happily greeted. "Hey Twilight! You're sure looking excited." Bunga equally happy greeted back. "I am excited! We're gonna have fun today!" Upon hearing this, both Pinkie Pie and Bunga high fived, "Yes!" "And kick things off, I made a special morning drinks to help wake up all up and boost your energy." Twilight presented a tray of drinks, smoothies, onto the table, where there is enough for everyone to have a drink with some leftover juice in a pitcher. Little do they know, is that the juice in the pitcher is really the remaining potion inside. Suspecting nothing, they all graciously accepted the drinks, though Bunga looked on suspiciously at her, correctly suspecting something. "Are you sure this is really a smoothie with a boost inside and not a magical potion to break whatever spell you think Discord has placed on us?" Twilight remained calm and composed as she looked back at him. "Nope." "All right." Bunga immediately smiled and drank his drink while everyone else did the same. "Wait!" Pinkie realized. "This has potion mixed inside of this?" "Yes." "Nice! Got anymore?" Pinkie and Bunga both spotted the pitcher and quickly rushed over so they can drink the remaining potion down. Before anybody could even question Twilight about it, the doors opened again just when Discord entered wearing a fishing outfit, while carrying a fishing pole. "Hi, Twilight! The gang mentioned we'd all be hanging out together today!" "The gang?" Twilight asked with an arched eyebrow, while both Pinkie Pie and Bunga drank the bottle full of potion. "Yeah! The peanut-butter-hoof gang!" He moved to tap dance with his feet in the jars of peanut butter again, thus making the group (minus Fuli and Kyoga) laugh once more. Especially Pinkie Pie and Bunga after they both got done drinking the whole bottle. "It's still funny!" Twilight was literally jaw dropped stunned. The potion had no effect on everyone who took it, which only proved that everything they did with Discord was genuine. "So much for that whole "spell" theory." Applejack whispered to Twilight before continuously laughing along with the others and Discord. Twilight hoof palmed herself in the face, groaning angrily. "Ugh. But it's still not funny!" "It's funny if you were there." Rainbow Dash replied. "But I wasn't there!" The laughing immediately ceased after hearing that last statement. All eyes looked on at her as the princess began ranting and crying her heart out. "I wasn't included! Maybe it's my own fault for staying in and having a book-sort-cation when I could have been making jokes and memories and having a great time with my friends! But I didn't do that, did I?! You all did! You were all there but—!" The princess paused for a moment before taking in a deep breath in sadness. "I wasn't there. I missed out. And seeing you having all these jokes I wasn't a part of and couldn't understand made me…" "Jealous?" Spike asked. "No..." She answered while shaking her head. "...left out." She sighed as deep down she wished this part of her life remained a closed chapter in a book she'd hope she would never have to read again. In the Outlands back when she was fighting for Scar, she was hard at work and practicing her form both with and without magic when she heard some commotion nearby. Curious and cautious like always, she moved to personally investigate it. As she drew closer and closer to the source of the nearby laughing like others are joking around, she spotted something she never expected to see in her circuit. Discord himself, laughing and entertaining the other Outsiders like they are all having the time of their lives having set up a party himself complete with cake, treats, balloons, and gifts. Ushari himself is slithering and hissing his tongue and fangs at Janja and Reirei who are both playfully feigning fear as the skinks are following by the cobra's side. "Oh, no. Not the fangs. I'm so scared." "I don't know how much longer I can keep running out like this." "Hopefully long enough that you don't get a taste of my venom. Either way it's pretty hiss-terical for me!" Both Janja and Reirei laughed along with Ushari as they kept playing around while Mzingo and his flock were eyeing something very peculiar about the table cloth on the nearby table. "Excuse me, Discord?" The leader of the flock spoke up to get the Lord of Chao's attention. "Yes!" "I'm sorry but I couldn't help but notice something quite unusual about the cloth used to cover the table for our snacks and refreshments." "Okay." "Well it's...well it's... not quite my color..." Said cloth happens to be white with red lines creating squares at every corner. "Oh, I'm sorry. Allow me..." To remedy this with a snap of his fingers he made the vulture and the rest of his flock appear with white red feathers and red markings with the lead vulture himself now having peacock feathers on his tail. "...there! All better!" "What?! But...?!" Mzingo was now mind boggled at what Discord did to him along with his tail-feathers. "Well you did tell me this table cloth wasn't your color so, I did you all a favor by making it your color, literally." DIscord chuckled just when oranges appeared from the sky. "Orange you glad I did that." All of the vultures minus Mzingo agreed and then laughed. "Oy!" "Now, let's eat..." One of the vultures proposed. "Oy!" "What?! But?! Oh, no! Fellow vultures! You can't be serious..." Mzingo groaned as they all moved to dig into the table of refreshments and treats offered to them. "...this is so humiliating." "Don't worry, you'll get used to it." Discord assured before dancing around the area with peanut butter jars on his feet much to the other Outsider's amusement. All while Twilight watches on as Discord gets along quite well with the Outsiders much to her own dismay. All while wondering to herself... "Why this is happening?! Why wasn't I invited nor informed of this party?!" She then looked down rather hurt and downcast as she further thought to herself. "What? No one invites me? I might not be a pony into friendship but that doesn't mean I like to party down once in a while." While Twilight herself walks away as she moved to get back to resume her solo training, Scar himself looms over her progress unnoticed while looking on feeling very satisfied with what he is seeing. And with that mentally, he can get her to focus and be ready for what's to come as they prepare to make progress on taking over Equestria. After finishing telling her of this flashback she then looked down in shame while the others looked on at her, even Discord who could not believe how deep a nerve he ended up touching up. "I didn't want to admit it because, for all that we had in common, jealousy is the one thing we don't share. So seeing you all have fun together without me reignited that feeling and further reminded of why I didn't want to make new friends initially. But now that I'm the Princess of Friendship I now see things differently and just couldn't find it in myself to relieve that ever again. Not when I now set a high bar for what friendship is now defined to be." "If it's any comfort, you didn't disappoint anybody, Twilight." Kion spoke to her as he entered the room to approach his best friend. "Even after hearing every word you just said." "Of course you did." Twilight said while looking aside still ashamed while at the same time the pieces were all being put together in her head. "Even when you tried to speak to me heart to heart I was the one who couldn't find it in mine to return it." "At least you're opening up now." Kion said feeling pleased that she is not evading and avoiding him this time around. "Remember back when we first met before forming the whole Lion and Pony Guard together?" "Yes." "Well a wise pony even back then once told me that even though my dad can be a little overly serious and a sticker for tradition he truly cares and wants nothing more than for me to grow up and succeed. And she also told me that I had what it takes to be a leader even if he makes mistakes sometimes. And now this lion grew up to become the Prince of Friendship alongside you who is now telling you the same thing. Even with jealously and loneliness blinding you, you are still a pony who like everyone else can make mistakes every now and then and that's perfectly normal." "Are you sure, that exactly what I said?" Twilight asked with an arched eyebrow. "Well..." He smiled and looked aside. "...more like what Rafiki would say..." Upon seeing the surprised looks from everyone. "...I may have figured out how to speak his language in my sleep when I'm not at Pride Rock." "That does make sense." Twilight recalled him saying something along the lines during a few nights he was at the castle sleeping over in her room. Kyoga approached the princess, smiling compassionately as she added. "None of us will think any less of you for feeling that way. One moment out of every blue moon does not define a pony's character, Twilight. And that's coming from one princess to another." "We're sorry if we made you feel left out." Fluttershy added apologetically. "Along with causing you to feel that way." Beshte added equally apologetic. Twilight hung her head in response. "You didn't do anything wrong. You're allowed to share things that don't include me." "And you're allowed to feel a little jealous about it." Fuli further assured. "You just have to be able to admit that that's what you're feeling so you can let it go." "And, you know, not try to make us recreate everything that happened when you weren't around." Rainbow added. "Fell better now that you let it all out?" Sunset asked, to which she nodded yes in response. "Yeah. Even though I got tricked into doing so." "Oh...how so?" Kion looked around while darting his eyes around nervously. "And why would you think that?" Kion nervously asked. "You know." She levitated the empty bottle to Kion's face. "Trying to trick me into drinking this yet knowing this could be used to get me to open up of what I truly thought about all of this." "Yes." He nervously replied feeling like he is now in trouble. "Please don't get mad. It was the only way I could get you to admit what you're feeling before anything bad could happen to you. Really." "It's true, Twilight." Sunset moved to back him up. "From someone who can see eye to eye there, we really didn't have any other choice." Twilight without speaking a word gestured them to come to her with a pointed hoof towards the ground to which they reluctantly obeyed. Just when they did so, she brought him in for a hug while ruffling Kiom's mane. "Hey!" "Gotcha!" She returned with a teasing smirk after he escaped her grasp. "And thank you both. That was pretty clever of you to do that." She turned to his accomplices. "And the same can be said for your friends who assisted you with it." "Well, he did ask me to bring it you." Spike smirked while the girls just shrugged. "And whether it's me, Kyoga, or Kion, you would have figured it out instantly." Fuli added. "No question about that." Kyoga agreed while nodding with a pleased smirk of her own. Just then Discord suddenly appeared from behind, thus startling her once more. "So uh, just wondering, no hard feelings about what happened last weekend?" "Of course not. I mean it's not like you had ulterior motives behind this? I mean I have to say it must be quite meaningful that my friends were able to bond with you over the weekend as much as the Outsiders. And it would sure be nice to be able to do the same with you." He nervously gulped before chuckling. "Yeah, it sure would be." "Discord..." "Hmm..." "Do you have something you wish to tell me?" She asked with focused eyes as she flew up to his eye level. "About what?" "Something very important that could help us become friends even more?" "Important?" Discord legs were briefly shaking as he tried to keep his composure. "Like how you managed to get to be friends with the other Outsiders while I was too focused on my training with Scar? Hmm." She asked with her horn right in front of his neck with an eager smile. Discord was already on edge feeling like she is onto him when really she is just trying to be a better friend to him, before getting down on his knees, crying and grovelling before her and then hugging her. "Okay, okay! You got me! I had some fun with the other Outsiders as I really wanted to get them to have fun while being welcomed into the army with open arms. And I made sure to have them not tell you about it nor invite you and I may have had a little to fun with it once more knowing that you'll learn your lesson about bottling these feelings up and..." "Wait, what?!" Discord released the princess before nervously smiling and chuckling as he explained himself without saying too much. "Nothing. Just me acting and hamming it up like I always do just like I did throughout the weekend and all of yesterday. Anyways, carry on." "Wait a minute." Applejack said in realization. "'You didn't agree to reenact everything from last weekend because you wanted to make her feel left out like you did before, did you?" Applejack inquired with a stern glare directed at him. "And everyone else wanted Twilight to join and you convinced them not to invite her?" Kion also glared at him just as sternly as Applejack. "Of course not. That whole jealousy thing was just a happy accident. I had no idea she was around to witness it and feel more left out and lonely than before. I was only asked to throw them that party, no questions asked. But I think we're all missing the big picture. Certainly we can all agree that Princess Twilight learned a valuable lesson here – that even she can have feelings of jealousy, that she should recognize said feelings rather than trying to pretend that she doesn't have them. I can actually relate." Twilight only looked on in response not even denying that but still not feeling any better before she and Kion shared a knowing smirk together of what to do from here. "Mm-hmm. Did I get the tiniest bit of glee out of watching her try to recreate our weekend of fun in the name of science? Maybe a little bit. But what's important here is that it was never my intent to make Twilight feel jealous. That's something that the old me would have tried to do. Orange you glad I've changed?" With the snap of his fingers he made an orange appear, in an attempt to make the others laugh once again. Only that nobody did this time around. Not a laugh nor a chuckle or a grin. All were frowns directed at the Lord of Chaos for playing around with the princess's feelings. "I said, Orange you glad I've changed?" The ceiling rained oranges in an attempt to make them all laugh to no avail. It was pretty clear, that Discord went for a low blow with what he did. "Orange! Like the ones at Mizumi Grove! From this weekend!…No? Nothing? Really? I thought you'd find this hisss-terical!" He once again turned into a snake, shaking the rattle at Rarity, who gently shoved it away. "..Yes, no. Discord, I think these jokes have run their course." "Only way we'd find them funny now is if you put us all under some kind of spell!" Sunset remarked humorously. Twilight giggled as she relished a little at an opportunity for payback. "Come on, you'd have to be a complete crazy pony to think he'd do something like that!" Fuli joining in, laughed out loud, "Yeah, what are you gonna say next, Twilight? That we all have to drink some weird potion to break the spell?" Now this was enough to get everyone (even Kyoga) in the room laughing about , leaving Discord failing to understand what was going on or what the joke was. "W-W-What's so funny?" "Come on, Discord, do we really have to spell it out for you?" Rainbow Dash returned as she laughed at the joke she just made, with said laughing from everyone having increased even more so. For the first time, Discord felt out of the loop for not getting the joke. "I-I-I don't get it. Somebody want to tell me what's so hilarious? Anybody? Hello?! I'm talking to you! You! And-and you and you! W-W-What's funny about spells? I mean, really, I don't get it, I feel left out and I feel really bad about that…" Discord literally shrunk down to size, reflecting his mood to be feeling and being literally small. Spike leaned against the table, smiling smugly at him. "Sorry, buddy. Guess you had to be there." "Eh, fair enough." He said not denying he had that coming, now having learned his lesson about toying with Twilight's feelings. His disappointment faded when a tiny little orange suddenly appeared in his hand, courtesy of Twilight Sparkle. "No hard feelings?" To answer her question, Discord reverted back to his normal size and wrapped everyone all together for a group hug, laughing alongside them. Even if he still didn't entirely get the joke.