Moon Dancing on Water
Ch. 6: Broken Crown
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Discord wasted no time in teleporting to Fluttershy's side. He examined her carefully. One of her wings appeared to be completely busted, and the ribs beneath were bruising badly. Not broken, but she was laboring with her breathing. She was alive, but completely unconscious. He suspected she had received a concussion from the fall. The offending cannon ball lay nearby, and he growled and spit fire at it hot enough to melt the iron, which he telepathically hurled at the battlements in rage.
"DAMN YOU, STRIFE! I'm going to murder you for harming a hair on her sweet head, you son of a bitch!"
"Now, now, brother. That's no way to speak of our dear mothers, rest her soul."
Discord could feel the hot breath on his neck, and turned to see Strife towering over him, suddenly appearing 50 feet tall. He knew this illusion well. When they were children and Strife would bully him, this used to be one of his tactics. He thought himself immune to it now, centuries later. But what he wasn't prepared for was Strife suddenly turning into a serpent and slithering up his body, resting by his ear, nor how when he went for him, his paw passed right through the serpent.
"Tsk, tsk. I thought you knew me better than that. I understand that you're upset. That's why I'm using this illusion, because if I talked to you face to face right now, you wouldn't listen to reason. Not that you ever do."
Discord closed his eyes tightly, slapping his head like he was trying to remove water stuck in his ear. "Face me, you coward! You should know me well enough by now to know that I am the master of mind games and that this won't work!"
"You like to believe that, don't you? But this isn't a mind game, dear brother. This is me imparting a little truth to you: this one can never be your special somepony. She doesn't respect you as a man. And as such, she doesn't respect you as a being. Loving someone means that you accept them, flaws and all. Has she ever accepted you totally, Discord? No. She's tried to change you. She's tried to tame you. If anyone can understand the animal you are, it's the pony whose special talent talking to the animals, wouldn't it? But no, she's never understood you. How can she? She's not one of us. She's just a pony, like any other, and ponies have never understood Draconequui."
"Shut up! That's not true! Fluttershy loves me! I know she does!"
"Oh, I have no doubt that even she believes she does. But she doesn't. She loves what she's turned you into. What you've allowed her to turn you into. This is the first time you've felt accepted by ponykind, and you're scared to lose her. So you've become just her little bitch! She's emasculated you. You're not the God of Chaos anymore, but some simpering little hippie's lap dog! If she really loved you, why would you have to degrade yourself for her. It's time, brother. It's time to show her that you are the one in charge. It's time to remind her that we are the dominant species in this world! If she can still love you after that, then she's a keeper. If not, well then she was never worthy of you to begin with."
Fluttershy's eyes fluttered open, and she winced in pain. She looked up at Discord, relief on her face. "Oh, don't scare me like that again! What hit me? I don't feel so good."
It was then she noticed how strange his eyes looked. Dulled, like no one was home. And then the earth beneath her heaved, tossing her into the air. She cried out in shock, then screamed in pain as that bit of earth caught her in an iron grip, flinging her face first into the ground, sending her sliding.
She turned, trying to stand on still shaky legs, a look of confusion and distress now on her. "Discord?"
He didn't answer her, but simply snapped his fingers as rocks started pelting her from all sides.
Fluttershy started to try to run, but got nowhere. Her legs were still to weak, her head still too clouded to keep her balance. And the pebbles had now started to become stones as one hit her sore ribs like a well aimed bullet, dropping her again as she curled up into the fetal position and whimpered. "DISCORD! STOP! What did I do?"
Discord pounced on her like a wolf, pinning her under him and growling ferally. "What did you do? I'll tell you what you did to me. You tricked me! You tricked me into letting my guard down and letting you in! And all the while, you didn't mean any of it. All the caring and compassion were all a joke to you! You never loved me! No one has ever loved me. No one except Strife. I can't believe it! You never cared at all. You just did it all so that Celestia could use me!"
Fluttershy struggled under him, but her broken wing shifted with her weight every time, causing her immense pain. "That's not true! None of that is true, Discord! Strife is the one tricking you! He's told you nothing but lies! You know I love you! You're the only one that truly understands the beast I carry inside!"
Discord got off of her, spitting on her. "THEN TREAT ME LIKE A MAN! LOVE EVERYTHING I AM, EVEN THE PARTS YOU DON'T NECESSARILY LIKE! LET ME BE WHOLE!"
Out of nowhere, a piano fell from the sky onto her, shattering into dozens of pieces. Fluttershy was lucky that she fit mostly under it, and was able to crawl out, but she ached in every part of her being, especially her heart. Was he right? Had she mistreated him this whole time? Did she deserve this?"
She didn't have much time to contemplate though, as Discord wrapped a taloned hand around her throat, picking her up and choking her. Her vision was already blury, and each feeble attempt at a breath made him constrict tighter. She looked into his eyes, her own so full of apology as her tongue emerged, swollen in her mouth.
Discord looked into those eyes, those soft eyes always so full of feeling, so full of soul, and his grip weakened. What was he doing? No matter what, he had always only tried to have his fun. He'd never actively hurt anything before. Sure, his pranks had caused plenty of harm in the past, but it was never intentional. But here he was, beating the tar out of the one pony he wanted to commit himself to. How could he ever believe she'd hurt him.
He carefully set her down, then looked at his paws as Fluttershy gasped for air. This wasn't him. And yet he knew the truth, he knew that deep down, in the places he kept most hidden, Strife had found something very real there and exploited it. And if that was true, he needed to end this now..and then...he didn't know yet. But looking at Fluttershy, he suspected that he had an idea.
The others arrived just in time to see Discord's contemplation, Twilight gasping out, "FLUTTERSHY!" Discord looked back at them, his eyes full of misery, and teleported away. Everyone ran to Fluttershy, and collectively gasped when they saw her. Her ribs were purple and green under her yellow coat, her left eye blackened to the point of being swollen shut, her neck bright red from being strangled, her right wing at a miserable angle. She was a mess, and yet, she still pulled herself up.
Rarity shook her head in shock, which quickly turned to a seething rage. "I'm going to kill him. I'm going to kill him for doing this! How dare he?! He hurts my friend, he ruins her grace and appearance, her injures her in every conceivable way? That brute! That..that...monster!"
Twilight was carefully holding Fluttershy's head up, trying to at least do a healing spell on her eye. "Drop it, Rarity. We can't make base allegations. Besides that, we need Discord to find Strife."
"I don't care! I won't let him get away with this!"
Spike tugged on her Rarity's tail, which made her turn to him, snorting angrily. Spike put his fingers together meekly and said, "Rarity, I think Twilight's right. Finding Strife is most important right now. I know you want to hurt Discord, but we need to focus on other things right now. If not, we're going to be at war. And I don't like the idea of war very much."
Rarity huffed a few times, but took a calming breath, sitting down and hugging him tight. "Alright. For you, Spikey Wikey, I'll let this go. For now."
That's when Fluttershy hobbled over, placing a hoof on Rarity's shoulder. "It wasn't him. Yes, he hurt me, but he must of had Strife telling him to do so, because my Discord would never believe the horrible things he was believing about me. It was a trap. All along it was a trap. He wanted to hurt me. He wanted to separate Discord from us, so Discord would come running to him. He...I won't let that happen. Rarity, listen to me. You...you have to forgive him. I can't lose him. Not like this. And if even one of you doubts him, then he'll be lost to us."
Applejack walked up to her. "Sugarcube, you're asking a lot. What else are we supposed to think? We saw you all beaten up, and he was the one with you."
Fluttershy gasped, falling into Applejack. The pain in her ribs felt like a thousand hammers hitting her. "OH GOODNESS! OH MAKE IT STOP!"
AJ gasped, holding her tight but not too tight. "Hang on, darling! Ah got you! Ah got you!" She carefully laid Fluttershy down, who curled up into a ball crying, then looked at the others.
"Listen y'all. Y'all run ahead now. Ah'll stay with Fluttershy and try ta fix her up best ah can."
Cadence trotted over, her horn shining with magic. "I'll stay behind, too."
Twilight nodded. "All right, everypony. We have to find those two and put a stop to this. Then we can go and get Princess Luna."
Celestia shook her head. "Twilight, I need you to listen to me. Without all the elements, you're going to need all the help you can get. I'll got get Aligorna and Luna. You all track down Discord and Strife. Cadence and Applejack will stay here and tend to Fluttershy."
Everyone else nodded, right as a floating eyeball with a pad and pencil floated up to them.
Pinkie looked at it and shuddered. "Okay...even for me that's...weird."
Twilight said, "Weird or not, I think it's trying to guide us. Come on, girls!"
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Strife teleported back to the castle, only to be confronted by Aligorna. Aligorna had been watching everything from the telescope on his balcony, and was not at all pleased.
"What in all of mighty Tartarus did you do?! What were you thinking?!"
Aligorna advanced on Strife, teeth gritted, eyes dark, and his horn shining with magic.
Strife looked about to panic at first, but then he calmed and said, "I freed my brother. Don't you see? This is nothing but a good thing. With Discord at our side, because there is no way those ponies will accept him now, we can be unstoppable!"
Aligorna roared, firing a bolt of magic right at Strife, but Strife teleported away, appearing behind him, and then floating off. Aligorna took off after him in a full gallop, until a group of his own guards blocked his path.
"Stand down, men. Lord Strife has proven himself to be a traitor to Aquilonia. As your Prince, I am ordering you to aid me in arresting and executing him. He has deceived us and led us into war without my authorization and against my express orders."
He paused, watching Strife stop, then turn to look at him.
Strife bellowed at him, "TRAITOR?! I serve you devotedly for a thousand years, guide you to an era of peace and growing prosperity, hand you the mare of your dreams, and bring you before the gates of glory to make you the undisputed most powerful pony in the known world and you dare to call me a traitor?! Don't you see that all I have ever done has been for your greatness? Guards, if this is how your so-called 'prince' wants to repay your war god, he is an enemy of the Church and needs to be put down."
Aligorna watched the light dim from the guards' eyes, and then screamed in horror as they tried to dog pile on him. He managed to duck out of the way and fire one last magic bolt at Strife, but Strife has already slithered out a nearby window. He looked back as the guards untangled themselves from the pile and then gave chase after him. He quickly burst into Luna's room.
Luna looked back at him in surprise. "Aligorna, what's wrong?"
Aligorna huffed, short of breath. "Fly!"
Luna looked more confused now. "What?"
Aligorna ran in place, looking at her desperately. "Strife..turned..FLY!"
"Aligorna, calm down. What's going on?"
"JUST JUMP OUT THE WINDOW AND FLY!"
The guards caught up, and Aligorna erected a magical shield, but knew it wouldn't hold long.
Luna jumped, then ran to Aligorna to try to help him, when Strife appeared behind them, growling. Luna turned to him, her eyes big in shock. "WHAT IS GOING ON?!"
That's when Discord popped in, landing a flying stomp onto Strife's head. Aligorna and Luna turned to them, and Discord just snapped his fingers, both disappearing in a puff of smoke.
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Only to land with a resounding thud onto Celestia!
The three of them untangled themselves. Celestia and Luna both smiled in relief and nuzzled each other, while Aligorna bowed to Celestia.
"Princess, I was a fool and I don't deserve your mercy of forgiveness. But if I may, I have a boon to ask of you. My most trusted adviser has snapped, and he must be stopped. Will you help me save my kingdom?"
Celestia helped him up and said sternly, "You and I will talk about what you have done later. But yes, saving your kingdom and restoring some semblance of sanity to things is the most important thing. And we have no time to waste."
Everyone watched as from a window Strife and Discord took to the air after each other. They were about to turn and chase after them, until the rest of the guard poured out of the castle and started chasing after THEM!
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While all this was going on, the Doctor and Ditzy were out on the town. They had seen the fleet pull in, and had been trying to find Celestia and the others, but had been unable to do so thus far. What they did notice though was the atmosphere. Something bad felt like it was about to go down.
Suddenly, the Doctor stopped them. The look in his eyes was strange. They were bugged out, like he was suddenly terrified about something. Concerned, Ditz stumbled and around asking him, "Doctor? What's wrong?"
The Doctor takes his hooves and grabs her face, staring into her eyes. "I won't let them hurt you, Ditzy."
Ditzy trembles, both confused and horrified now. "Who, Doctor?"
"Daleks, Ditzy. They've taken over the town. They've learned to blend in. We can't see them, because they're so well disguised, but I know they're here. But don't worry, darling. They won't hurt you. I won't let them."
Ditzy felt his grip tighten.
"Even if it means..."
Her eyes grew wide, sensing what was about to happen.
"I have to kill you to save you."
He went to snap her neck, but she managed to launch an upper cut in time to break his grip, and bolted off running, her mind a blur. Why was this happening? What had gotten into the Doctor?
Ditzy ran for blocks and blocks, cutting a zigzagging pattern through town, trying to buy herself time to think of a plan. She was so distracted, she didn't even notice Twilight until they collided, sprawling across the cobblestone pavement.
Twilight had pulled ahead of the others, using a few teleports, and was taken totally off-guard. As she pulled herself up, she looked at Ditzy surprised. "Ditzy?! Are you alright? Where's the Doctor?"
Ditzy get herself up with her wings, looking around nervously. "Run. Don't argue, Princess, just run!"
As they took off, Ditzy quickly told her story, looking over her shoulder. They had managed to elude the Doctor, and pulled themselves into an old, seemingly abandoned house to catch their breaths.
Twilight said, "Everything is falling apart and I don't know what to do!"
Ditzy huffed, taking in deep breaths, her chest heaving like she was having a full asthma attack. Once she was able to get some air back into her lungs, she started looking around. "Princess, we need a plan. If the Doctor wants a Dalek, we'll give him a Dalek."
Finally, looking around, she saw something useful. It was a wheeled cart, like those she'd seen on the ship. She nodded her head to Twilight to look in the kitchen, and soon they're found a whisk, a plunger, and a large salad bowl. "Now, all we need is something cylin...cylindri...can shaped! About 4 feet tall."
Twilight brightened up and said, "Will a box do?"
Ditzy thought about it and said, "What do you have in mind?"
Twilight said, "A little something DJ Pon-3 gave us."
Ditzy jumped up and down excitedly. "She got it to work? The Doctor and her have been working on that for months!"
Twilight smiled, and used her magic to lock in on the Bass Cannon and levitated it in. When she did, they set it on the cart, then set the salad bowl on top, then jammed the whisk and plunger into it.
Nearby, they could hear the Doctor. He was ranting about keeping Ditzy safe, about how nothing would ever hurt her again, and in general not making much sense. Twilight's heart sunk. She didn't know how far Strife's reach could spread, but now she feared that it could engulf the whole town and then everything would turn to shit.
Ditzy wheeled the self-made "Dalek" outside, and then she and Twilight hid behind it. Ditzy got her voice to sound as modulated as possible, then waited.
The Doctor stopped dead in his tracks, his dazed and paranoid mind instantly believing the thing to be the real deal. His eyes darted frantically, around. "Where's Ditzy!? What have you done with her?!"
"YOU ARE TOO LATE! SHE HAS BEEN EXXXXXXXX-TEEEERM-I-NAAAAAAAAAAAATED!" She then slapped the button and tried to cover her ears in time, as the thing boomed so loud it sent her and Twiligh sprawling across the floor a good six feet and knocking the Doctor out cold.
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Twenty minutes later, the three were trotting down the street, when the other girls came into view. Everyone ran and group hugged, when Aligorna and the Princesses came up as well. After some hasty catching up, all of them back on the run from a growing number of guards, who were being fended off by Shining and the Equestrian guard now, the entire city plunging into deeper and deeper chaos, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Cadence joined them. Cadence and Applejack both seemed spooked, and everyone tried to ask Fluttershy if she was okay, but she stalked to the front of the party, a grim look in her normally soft features.
Rarity tried one last time to talk to her, and that's when she turned and glared.
"No, I am not fine! That big meanie is...I...he doesn't know who he messed with. Everypony only ever sees me as weak, as timid, as a pushover. Strife thought he could hurt me, and that in doing so I would either die, everypony would turn against Discord and it would drive him away and back to Strife, or that I would just be so broken I would give up. He shouldn't have done that. He should have known that it wouldn't work. And he..he...I'm going to..."
She stopped, and tears stung her eyes. Fluttershy had an inner strength that was normally kept hidden, fed by an unspoken rage, a long fuse temper that could on the rare occasion explode spectacularly, but that always scared her and she tried to keep bottled in. She wasn't a confrontational pony, and she hated it when she became one. And now, after all of this, she could feel the pressure building, but along with it she was overwhelmed with sorrow as well.
Applejack stopped with her, pulling her into a deep hug, and Rainbow Dash hugged them both even tighter. Until Fluttershy winced. Then they stopped, both quickly apologizing.
Once Fluttershy was okay again, they all kept on making their way, until they heard organ music from a nearby church, and a low, menacing laugh. They galloped towards the sound, and broke through the door.
"DISCORD!" Fluttershy's hoof went to her mouth, then ran to Discord's fallen form. She cradled his head in her lap, glowering at Strife.
Strife turned to her and smiled. "Sticking by him even after all he did to you? I guess I was wrong. You are worthy of him. I'll have to tell him that when he wakes up. If he wakes up."
He then turned to the others, holding Discord's right leg up over his head. Everyone else gasped, but it made Fluttershy check Discord closely. His leg was missing alright, but the wound was too clean. There was no blood at all. That didn't make any sense at all.
That's when Strife started monologuing.
"Don't you fools see? I've already won! Everything I've done has been to increase the glory of Aquilonia. Either Luna would have fallen in love and agreed to marry Aligorna, giving him a claim to Equestria, or we would have killed Celestia and just taken control. Either way, Aquilonia becomes more powerful, more prominent. That's why I've done this, my liege, for you and for the glory of our nation."
Aligorna growled out, "This wasn't the right way! I didn't want any of this! And now, our troops are fighting, and possibly dying, in our own streets!"
Strife tossed his nose up. "And so are Equestrian troops. Thus is the nature of war. What do you care about killing anyways? Didn't you used to raid ships, cut throats, and commit theft? A few dead soldiers shouldn't mean a damn thing to you."
Aligorna said, "Even so, what about the civilians?!"
Strife still didn't seem phased. And that's because the battle outside was closing in ever closer. That was, until a large mass of black, semi-insectoid figures seemed to swoop in unison out of the sky, followed but a chilling cackle that seemed to come from every direction, a multitude of voices in one, and into the doorway strode Chrysalis. Here presence was enough to make all activity stop, and then the Strife was taken by surprise as a bouquet of roses seemed to materialize in front of him...only to turn into a mass of bees, all coming right at his face.
He spit fire, burning them all away, and looked around, annoyed.
"Who dares to interfere with mere parlor tricks?"
The next trick wasn't so parlor, as one of the rafters was broken loose, enveloped in a bluish magical glow, before divebombing him. He ducked out of the way, clearly annoyed, but that rafter made the back end of the roof collapse upon him.
Everyone rushed out, except Fluttershy, who was still with an seemingly unconscious Discord. She say there, stoic, as all hell broke loose around her.
It was outside that everyone saw the cause of the damage. It was Trixie!
Chrysalis glowered at Celestia, and said, "Don't think this makes us even. Discord just brought up and interesting point when we talked...if something happened to you, I wouldn't get my shot at revenge. No one else can harm you until I've had my second chance."
Celestia sighed. "So, this is only a temporary truce?"
Chryasalis nodded, ducking out of the way, before catching a diving Aquilonian guard in her jagged horn, before pile driving him into the ground. Trixie, meanwhile was busy trying to make illusionary Changelings to match the real ones, hoping that scaring the hell out of some of the guards would make them retreat. They were trying to buy the others enough time for the others to finish the job. And it needed to be done fast, because Strife was pulling himself from the wreckage.
And that was Discord's cue. He opened his eyes, winking at Fluttershy and shushing her, closing them again. As Strife glared, roaring like a lion, he sang out, "So crawl on my belly 'til the sun goes down/I'll never wear your broken crown/I can hit the road/And fuck it all away/But in this twilight/Our choices seal our fate." He then snapped his fingers, and Strife turned to him, shocked, as the missing leg shot back to Discord and re-merged with his body, allowing him to pop back up with a cruel smile on his face.
Strife gulped. "Oh fuck."
Suddenly, his body started snapping and compacting, his bone structure shrinking and twisting, until finally he was just a cube.
Discord turned to everyone, and saw the guards still advancing. Pinkie saw it too, and ran up to the line with Chrysalis and Trixie. All of a sudden, she seemed to pull a cannon out of thin are and fired. The ball exploded over the crowd, showered them in a supersticky silly string that tied them down.
Trixie and Chryssi looked at each other, dumbfounded. Chryssi asked, "HOW THE HECK DID YOU DO THAT?"
Pinkie just smiled cheerily and said sweetly, "It's easy, silly. I'm Pinkamena Diane Pie, and I.."
Both Chryssi and Trixie leaned in closer.
"Can do anything I set my mind to!" With that, Pinkie turned around and bounced back to the group.
Once back, Discord said hastily, "That will last all of about three minutes. So you need to make this qui..."
He was cut off by Fluttershy walking up to Strife, leaning down to look in his eyes and said coldly, "How dare you? HOW DARE YOU!? Hurting me is one thing, but thinking you can turn those I love against each other by doing it? Putting innocent people in the line of fire just so you can fulfill your delusions of grandeur? Who in Tartarus do you think you are?" She then reared up and started stomping on him, making him laugh at first...until the damage started accumulating. Then he started to cry out in pain.
Everyone just watched in stunned silence. Never, never, had they seen Fluttershy act so violent. Not that anyone blamed her after what she had been put through. Eventually though, Rainbow Dash started cheering.
Twilight glared at her. "Rainbow! You're not helping!"
Rainbow was about to say something, until Fluttershy let out a loud scream. "I HATE YOU! IHATEYOUIHATEYOUIHATEYOU!"
Rainbow decided this was just getting disturbing now, and tackled Fluttershy back into Discord, who held her close.
"I hate him! I hate! I ha...I..." She grasped Discord tightly and started weeping furiously against him.
After a short time, Discord lifted her chin up and said to her, "Fluttershy my dear, your friends need you. Do you feel up to helping them?"
Fluttershy nodded, and turned around to her friends. Strife started raving, trying to break out of his current shape and pounce of Fluttershy, but she just closed her eyes and the elements sparked, and then Cadence lent her magic to the mix as well. The rainbow cannon hit Strife like a hammer from God, turning him to stone.
Once this was down, Twilight focused her magic, levitating him, as the effects of his mind control started to wear off around the town. She tossed him out towards the sea, and Aligorna's magic went off, a fifty foot tall geyser blasting Strife into the air, where Celestia and Luna touched their horns together, sending Strife into the heart of a distant star.
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Several hours later, things were still being cleaned up. Aligorna, Luna, and Celestia were talking.
"Sister, I know these weren't ideal circumstances, but if there's one thing it's taught me, it's that Aligorna did what he did because he loves me. I know you won't want to forgive him for all of this, but I...I love him too. Will you permit us to court?"
Celestia looked Aligorna over, who hung his head low. "Yes. I can't blame him for listening to false guides. It's the risk of being a ruler that you need to be careful who you surround yourself with."
Aligorna lifted his head. "Are you serious, Princess?"
Celestia nodded. "Call me Celestia, please."
Aligorna leaped into the air, hooting.
That's when Chrysalis walked up, causing Luna and Celestia to both go into a defensive stance. Chrysalis laughed at them and said, "It's time for myself and my hive to return home. It was an...experience...working by your side."
As Chrysalis turned to walk away, Celestia cried out, "WAIT! Are you sure there's nothing I can offer you for an olive branch?"
Chrysalis looked over her shoulder, shaking her head. "You already know you have nothing to offer me. There is no treaty that can be worked between us, because there is no territory you can give me. That would mean giving some of your population to me for my population to feed on, and that would never match your view of ethics. Besides, no territory would sustain us long. We have to be nomadic, or else we'll use up our food supply in a few months."
With that, she and the Changelings took off to the sky, flying out of sight.
Twilight watched all of this, before she walked over to Trixie. Trixie gave a start, looking embarrassed. "Princess? The Great and Powerful Trrrrixie apologizes for breaking her vow."
Twilight smiled, putting a hoof on her shoulder. "There's nothing to apologize for. You did good today."
She smiled, then went to join her friends, who were sitting by the shore with Discord.
Fluttershy was crying. "No! You can't just leave me like this! Where would you go? Your home is with me! With us!"
Discord wiped her tears, nuzzling her. "I'm so sorry, my dear. For everything. All this pain, it's my fault. I didn't even know I felt those things about you, but we both know I do, and if that's the case then you deserve someone better than me. I'm chaos, and you're serenity. This can't work. I'll only hurt you."
Fluttershy shook her head, holding him against her cheek. "We can work through this! I should have seen the signs. It's not all your fault."
"No. It's mine. I asked Fluttershy to be the one to reform you because of her skill with animals. I treated you like just another beast to be tamed. It's because of that that you feel this resentment."
Discord looked up to see Celestia standing there, framed by a setting sun, her horn glowing, while Luna's glowed as she raised the moon.
Twilight said, "Besides, no one here blames you. Not fully."
Discord motioned to Rarity. "What about her?"
Rarity eyed him, first with a glare, then it softened into an apology. "No, not even I. Your brother was the real meanie for playing with your mind like a toy, and he has received his punishment for that. So I'm willing to forgive you. But if you leave Fluttershy now, if you cause her that pain, I will NEVER forgive you for it!"
Applejack looked out over the sea, then turned to everyone. "Alright, y'all! Ah'm tired. Ah think it's time to go home."
THE END!