Visiting Chaos

by Ink Well Inks Well


What My Cutie Mark is Telling Me

He was able to tell something was wrong immediately.
See, Pinkie Pie was a chubby pony- a bit squishy, a bit heavy. And Discord had gotten used to a certain weight resting on him when he woke up- the combined weight of Screwy and Pinkie who, together, actually weighed quite a bit.
The weight today was different. Not the same different as when it was just Screwball, because that happened every so often, where he’d wake up and Screwball was the only one still in bed. And it wasn’t a normal weight fluctuation, either. In the months- months, had it really been that long?- since he’d been living in the bakery, he had grown used to increases and decreases, but never to this scale.
She’d never been bony before, though. Confused, he opened his eyes, surprised to see not the normal bubblegum pink of his roommate, but a more buttery yellow.
He looked at the pony, his brow furrowing. Yellow fur, pale pink mane, wings? No, no, that wasn’t right...
He shifted, ignoring his daughter’s whines of protest, instead opting to poke the yellow mare. She looked up at him blearily, rubbing her eyes, and squeaked once she realized who she was face to face with.
“Fluttershy, my dear, it’s wonderful to see you, of course,” this actually wasn’t a complete lie- other than Pinkie, she was the only one who seemed to even sort of trust him, and so he tolerated her a bit more than the others, “but I have to ask- why are you in my bed?”
“Um...” the pony refused to meet his gaze, instead, covering her face with her mane. “This is... this is my bed, Discord... I... I live here...”
He snorted. “No, no, this is Sugarcube Corner.”
Her large teal eyes looked at him. “Um, yes, it is. And... and this is my room...” her voice was very quiet, of course, but there was a little confidence in there somewhere. She was completely certain she was right.
She moved out of his coils, and he noticed something else very wrong.
Pinkie’s cutie mark was on her flank.
He was certain of that.
Now, he certainly didn’t spend much time staring at Pinkie’s flank, being the gentleman he was, but he knew her cutie mark when he saw it, and that was it.
... So where had Fluttershy’s butterflies gone?
“Where’s Pinkie Pie?”
The mare looked completely befuddled now.
“Well, she’s at Sweet Apple acres, but.... why are you asking?”
“Why is she at the farm, of all places?”
“...Because she works there?” this was phrased as a question, and if it had been anypony else, Discord would have thought she was being sarcastic, but he doubted the pegasus had a sarcastic bone in her body.
He blinked again, processing the answer. Okay, now he was really confused, and he didn’t like it. He was supposed to create confusion, not experience it.
“Are you okay, Discord? Do you... do you need some help, or-”
“No, no, I’m fine... I’ll just be on my way,” he said, very flatly. There was something very, very wrong here.
And with that, he took Screwball and poofed away.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

“Dad, why are we here?” Screwball was currently flopped on her father’s head, half asleep, rubbing her eyes and complaining like a child- which, of course, she was. “Auntie Tia just raised the sun a while ago!”
“I know, but Fluttershy said that your mother should be here, and I want to know why.”
“Apple pickup? She made a lot of apple pie yesterday...” she just wanted to get back home. Her dad was overreacting, she was sure everything was fine.
“No, it’s something more than that. Didn’t you notice Fluttershy’s cutie mark?” he asked his daughter.
She blinked. “Butterflies?”
He shook his head, and she held on a bit tighter. “Not today- it was three balloons-”
“Like mommy!”
“Precisely, and Fluttershy said that Pinkie worked here-”
“But she doesn’t!” the filly frowned. “Weird...” she hovered in front of her father, a stern frown on her face. (Well, as stern as she could get. Which actually wasn’t very stern... it actually looked more like a pout.) “You didn’t release any magic yesterday, did you?”
Me?” he looked at her, offended. “Of course not! And if I had, I wouldn’t have used it on Pinkie- chaos knows she doesn’t need more, the world might explode.” then his eyes narrowed. “What about you, my little monster? Did you do anything you want to tell me?”
Me!?” she looked at him, equally offended. “If I’d done anything, why would I have asked you!?”
“It’s a good cover up, one of the oldest tricks in the book-”
“And so is blaming someone else!” she glared at him, eyes swirling violently. The draconequus glared right back, and father and daughter faced off, in a death stare.
That was, until Screwball smiled and stuck out her tongue, erupting into a fit of giggles. Discord’s lips twitched, and he soon found himself laughing as well.
They were interrupted from their giggles by a very familiar voice. “What’re you two laughing at?”
The pair stopped their laughing, looking down at a very dull looking Pinkie.
And that’s when Discord realized something else was wrong.
Her mane was flat.
In the months- still strange to think about, months- he had lived with Pinkie, he had seen this maybe ten or eleven times, and it was never fun.
The first time had been the most jarring.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

“Are you... curling your hair, Pinkie?” he yawned, looking at Pinkie blearily, rubbing his eyes.
The mare stiffened, dropping her curling iron. Discord snapped his talons, keeping it from falling on the ground, and potentially setting the very flammable paper mache floor on fire. She gave him a weak smile as it floated up towards her and she grabbed it. “Thanks, Dis.”
“Are you curling your hair?” he repeated. It was strangely flat, and Discord had a bad feeling about that... the last time that had happened, she had been talking about her family, and if he didn’t like it then, he certainly didn’t like it now.
“Oh, yeah,” she nodded, taking another lock of hair and curling it into a loop. “I am.”
“But, why? Your mane is even frizzier than Screwball’s,” he looked at his daughter fondly, running a paw through her mane. The filly smiled in her sleep and nestled closer to her father. “If that’s even possible.”
She gave a small laugh, and a bit of her normal spark seemed to return to her eyes, but she still didn’t look quite right.
She seemed... duller, and a bit down.
Now, Discord, of course, wasn’t great with pony emotions. Heck, he didn’t even understand his own emotions half the time, but he did know Pinkie, and this...
This wasn’t right.
“Are you alright, my dear?” he had enough tact to know to ask that, at least.
Her shoulders slumped and she set down the curling iron. “It’s just not gonna be the best day, that’s all. It happens sometimes. I just get tired, and a bit sad, and... It’s okay.”
That... wasn’t the answer he was expecting. His brow furrowed as the pony’s smile wavered, but he wasn’t really sure what to do, so he just frowned.
That was also the day that he remembered just how strange ponies truly were.
It was obvious to anypony who was even sort of paying attention that Pinkie just wasn’t quite herself that day.
Okay, no, that was wrong. She was still herself, she was still Pinkie, she was just a different version of Pinkie.
But it was really obvious, wasn’t it?
Discord had to marvel at how ignorant Pinkie’s friends were throughout the whole day.
It was more than just the mane, which was more loosely curled than normal. It was more than just her coat, which was relatively dull.
Her smile was strained, her eyes were dim, there were bags under her eyes and she just seemed off.
Perhaps it was willful ignorance, then.
He’d discovered that ponies were remarkably good at only seeing what they wanted to see.
And nopony liked to see the Element of Laughter doing anything but laughing.
Including him.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

“Your mane is straight.” It wasn’t a question, but Pinkie still seemed confused, and unsure of how to answer.
“Uh, yes?” she had the faintest hint of a Southern drawl, and sweat lined her brow. Discord noticed, for the first time, that she had a rather large train of carts attached to her, all filled to the brim with apples.
They looked almost the same as the apples that now adorned her flank.
Screwball seemed to notice that about the same time her father did, and her eyes widened. “Mommy, what’s up with your cutie mark?”
... Mommy?” Pinkie Pie looked at her, completely confused. “Why are you calling me that, Screwball? I’m not your mommy.”
The filly physically drew back, her face showing a mixture of confusion and hurt, her eyes scanning the mare below her. She hovered down gently, looking up at her father, who seemed just as shocked as her, and then looked back at her moth- at Pinkie. “W-what?”
Pinkie, on her part, looked upset too, if only for upsetting the filly. “Well, I’m not your mom. Sorry, Screwball, I’m just... not... I dunno why you’d think I am...” she looked at the pair, still unsure.
“But...” Screwball started, before realizing it wasn’t worth continuing. She just sniffled.
Pinkie looked at her, brushing her mane out of her face, and for a second, something seemed to click. “C’mon, Screwball, give me a smile? You’re so good at it.” the request wasn’t unusual for Pinkie, but it sounded different, more unsure, more sad. But then she shook her head and the scrap of... purpose... faded. “Never mind... I have t’get back to my chores...” she sighed at the thought, then gave a weak smile- probably the weakest the pair had ever seen. “I’ll see you two later.”
Mom...?” Screwball whispered, voice shaking. They watched her retreat back into the orchard, and were about to follow when-
“You.”
Discord whipped around, only to find himself somehow being glared down by a purple unicorn less than half his height.
“What. Did. You. Do?
His eyes widened. “Me?”
“Yes, you! I was starting to think it might have been my spell, but this has your name on it! Turn them back,” the mare hissed. “Now.”
He leaned down, glaring right back. “Why don’t you do it?” then he frowned. “...Wait, them? So it’s more than just Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie?”
Twilight and Spike, who was on her back, looked at him, surprise flickering across their features before quickly being replaced by annoyance. “So you didn’t mean to affect anypony but Fluttershy and Pinkie? Why them?”
“I didn’t mean to affect anyone, my dear, I didn’t do anything-”
“And I should believe that because...?”
“Because why would I want to change my only friend?” he asked, exasperated, before his mismatched eyes widened.
Twilight stared at him, shock evident on her face. Spike was looking at him in complete disbelief. Even Screwball looked surprised, although the shock was soon replaced with a small smile.
“Pinkie’s your friend?”
“Well...” Twilight could hardly believe it- he seemed almost sheepish. In any other situation she may have found that a bit amusing, but her friends’ switched cutie marks were still in the back of her mind, sucking any humor from the situation. He cleared his throat. “Relatively speaking, I suppose so...” he seemed desperate not to admit it again, but Screwball’s smile just kept getting wider and wider. He shot his filly a dirty look, but then he felt bad when the filly stopped smiling.
Spike tapped her on the shoulder, his little face screwed up in thought. “I think he’s telling the truth, Twilight. I dunno, but I don’t think he had anything to do with this.”
“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you,” he groaned, and she nodded curtly.
“Alright...” she sighed. “Back to my first theory, then...”
“Which was?”
She furrowed her brow. “What?”
“What was your theory?”
Twilight frowned. “No, I mean why do you want to know?”
“So we can help, duh!” Screwball said. “We wanna help Mommy, too.”
“And everypony else, right?” Twilight asked.
The pair shrugged. “Sure,” Screwball said. “I guess.”
The mare sighed. “Fine, follow me, I’ll explain on the way.”
She started to gallop away, and father and daughter followed.
“So then what’s going on? Why is this happening?” Spike asked.
“Last night when you were taking one of your seven-hour bubble baths, I got a special delivery from the princess,” she said, stepping into the library. Spike hopped off her back and the other two entered behind him. “I cast the spell so I could find out what it was, but nothing seemed to happen. But now I know something did happen. The spell has changed the Elements of Harmony! That must be why their cutie marks are all wrong!”
“So just use a counterspell to switch them back!” Spike suggested.
“There is no counterspell!”
Discord took the book and flipped through it, brow furrowing. Star Swirl’s magic was impressive, yes, but he could never really get the hang of unicorn magic- there was a reason Starswirl advised Celestia and Luna in magical matters, and not him. He had actually been a bit peeved at that as a kid, since Star Swirl actually seemed quite entertaining, and seemed like a fun teacher.
Unfortunately, his incompatibility with unicorn magic that made it so he was unable to help. He continued to scan the pages, looking up briefly when his name was mentioned, but when it turned out to just be a reference to when he’d broken free, he found himself gnashing his teeth in frustration.
Chaos magic wouldn’t work, it would likely just make things worse than they already were, if it did anything at all, and he didn’t know enough about unicorn magic to try and channel that sort of harmonious power.
He doubted he even could, really.
Screwball sat on his head, looking down at the book with her dad, just as frustrated. Neither she nor her father were used to feeling helpless, and they couldn’t stand it.
“...Well, maybe it won’t be so bad. Maybe our friends will grow to like their new lives,” Spike said in an attempt to remain optimistic.
“No, Spike. They're not who they are meant to be anymore. Their destinies are now changed, and it's all my fault,” she started up the stairs, lying on her bed. “I have to find a wa-” before she could finish her first verse, she felt herself being grabbed and found herself face to face with a very disgruntled draconequus.
“No. No singing, we don’t have time,” he said, as his daughter nodded vehemently in agreement. “We’re fixing this now.”
“Hey!” Spike snapped. “She’s trying! She’d do anything to help our friends!”
The mare nodded, then her eyes widened. “My friends...” she beamed, and Discord could have sworn she was almost glowing. “I know what I have to do!”
All three of them smiled, as well, and Spike asked, rather excitedly, “You do?”
“I may not be able to remind them of who they are, but I can show them what they mean to each other. They'll find the part of themselves that's been lost so they can help the friend they care about so much! Come on, you three!”
They followed Twilight out the door, but when they started towards Sugarcube Corner, Discord frowned. “Pinkie’s at the farm, remember?”
“Yes, I do,” she nodded. “We’re going to Fluttershy first. She’s the most sensitive, so I’d imagine she’s taking failure the worst. I don’t want her worried any longer than she has to be.”
Discord chuckled, but it was a bit exasperated, and he seemed not to believe what he was hearing. “No, no, no, my dear, we’re going to the farm first. We nee-”
“Look, Discord, I know you want to help Pinkie, and I do too, but I feel like Fluttershy needs our help first. I’m sorry, but I’m putting my hoof down on this.”
He growled. “But-”
“No buts.”
Discord groaned. “Then we can go to Pinkie?”
“Well, no,” she shook her head. “If Fluttershy helps Rainbow, then Rainbow is going to see Fluttershy get her cutie mark. She’ll be confused until we help her get her own mark back, so we should do that next. Then we just go down the line... Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie.”
“So Mom’s last?” Screwball asked, looking annoyed.
“Well, yes, but I’m sure she’ll be okay until-”
“Her mane is straight, Twilight. She isn’t okay right now,” Discord snapped, shaking his head.
“She’s okay. She hasn’t gone psychotic like last time, so it’s fine- I want to fix her as soon as possible, of course, but Fluttershy is my top priority.” then she frowned. “How do you know what a straight mane for her means, anyway?”
“Well, I do live with her.”
The mare considered this for a moment. “I guess that makes sense.”
“And that’s why I know that she isn’t okay,” he insisted.
Twilight sighed. “I know she isn’t. None of them are. I guess we could-” her eyes widened as she spied something- Fluttershy seemed to be packed and making her way towards the town’s hot air balloon. “Oh no... Fluttershy wait!”
The pegasus turned around. “Oh... hey, Twilight...” she saw the others and nodded at them. as well.
“Where are you going?”
“I'm moving back to Cloudsdale,” she looked up at the clouds sadly, then sighed, looking back to her friend. “I don't know what's wrong, but I can't seem to make anypony laugh...” she took out a whoopee cushion, watching on sadly as it deflated. Discord snorted slightly, and Fluttershy looked up hopefully, before realizing that that the laugh wasn’t exactly for the right reasons. When she realized that, she deflated quicker than the whoopee cushion had, and Discord couldn’t help but feel a little bad, partially because of the glares he was receiving from Twilight and Spike. (Screwball, unsurprisingly, was giggling as well.)
Twilight then turned back to Fluttershy and asked if she would be willing to help Rainbow Dash with her animals. After a bit of uncertainty and some schmaltz about “true friendship,” they were on their way.
They opened the cottage door, only to find Rainbow Dash trapped in a pot, being surrounded by a circle of angry, hungry animals. Discord was alright with leaving her there, in all honesty, and just moving on to Pinkie, but he had a feeling he would be the only one with that opinion, (with the exception of, perhaps, Screwball,) and so he decided not to voice it.
After a bit of gentle persuasion on Twilight’s part, Fluttershy was able to calm down the animals. She realized that this was her true purpose, what she was really meant to do, and quick as a wink, Twilight clasped her Element around her throat, watching happily as her friend’s old life flashed before her eyes.
“Wha... what happened?” she asked, looking at Twilight with wide eyes.
“Fluttershy, look! Your cutie mark! It worked! It worked! Oh, I'm so happy you're back to normal! Now we need your help!” she grinned and looked at the mare. “A true, true-”
“Nope!” Screwball shook her head, pulling the two apart. “Daddy was right, we don’t have time for drawn out, repetitive songs, we need to help Mommy, okay?” she gave them both a steely look, and the two ponies nodded. “Now come on.”
“Uh, hello, friend trapped inside, remember?”
The two ponies helped Dash out of the cauldron and untied her, before leaving to find Rarity.
When they did, Twilight smiled and put a hoof on Rainbow Dash’s shoulder. “Rarity needs your help, she’s-”
“Bust the clouds and put on the necklace,” Discord cut in, shooing her into the air.
“But I don’t know anything about weather!” Rainbow protested.
“Won’t you try? For Rarity?” asked Fluttershy. The technicolor pegasus nodded, and, hesitantly, kicked a cloud. When it broke apart, her eyes widened, and she gave a small smile. Within a matter of seconds the sky was clear, and the mare hovered towards the ground, wiping sweat from her brow. Twilight put her friend’s Element on her, and its ruby color returned.
“Uh,” Rainbow looked around. “What happened?”
“There's no time to explain, but we need your help. Applejack's trying to make dresses!”
Rainbow snorted. “Say no more!”
The group rushed to the Carousel Boutique, where they went through the same spiel, and then they were finally on the way to the farm.
When they got there, they saw Pinkie struggling to fix a water chute that was twisted and bent out of shape. She looked like she was about to cry, but when Discord went to lift it and stop it from pouring its contents all over her, but Twilight held out a hoof to let Applejack did it instead.
As Applejack did more and farmwork, Pinkie brightened more and more, but also seemed more and more confused. Discord and Screwball stayed close to her, unsure of what else to do, and, when Applejack’s Element returned to normal, the pair grinned, looking at Pinkie.
“Your turn, my dear,” the draconequus grinned, and Pinkie looked at him, blankly, her expression growing even more confused as Applejack placed the mare on her back and trotted into town. Discord and Screwball didn’t even stop Applejack from singing this time.
“The townspeople need ya, they’ve been sad fer a while! They march around, face a-frown and never seem t’smile. And if ya feel like helpin’ we’d appreciate a loooot! If ya get out there an’ spread some cheer from here t’Canterlot!”
The crowd waited with baited breath as her memories returned, but when her hair puffed back up, Discord couldn’t help keep the grin off his face.
“C’mon, ponies, I wanna see you smile!”
“PINKIE!” the crowd cheered, and Screwball ran up to her.
“Mommy?”
“Hiya, Screwy!” the mare beamed, and Screwball’s eyes widened.
“Mommy!” she repeated, tackling her mother in a hug, then grabbing her father to make him join in. Despite himself, he allowed himself to be wrapped up in the hug, before the mare was swarmed with her friends, all trying to do the same.
Inevitably, the whole fiasco turned into a parade, as that was just the effect Pinkie had on others, and Discord didn’t even mind all that much. Pinkie was back to normal, so why should he? Now, he wasn’t particularly happy to actually be in the parade, but Pinkie had sort of dragged him along once it started, and he was too thrilled to have her back to argue with her.
When the parade ended, the six friends all hugged, before Twilight broke the embrace off, saying, “Wait a second, that's it! I understand now! I know how to fix the spell!” She galloped off to the library and the others followed, including Spike, Screwball and Discord.
The mare levitated the quill and spellbook, smiling. “From all of us together, together we're friends. With the marks of our destinies made one, there is magic without end!”
Discord couldn’t help but gag a bit at that, but his revulsion was soon cut short as the Element of Magic started to glow, and the other Elements started to shoot her with light.
Discord shielded his eyes and made sure Screwball was doing the same, and when the light had faded, he was shocked to see nothing but a scorch mark in the shape of her cutie mark.
Fluttershy gasped. “What- what happened?” The others started to yell and cry out, confused as well.
“Am I an accomplice to murder now?” Screwball asked loudly, drawing the attention of the others.
“Technically, I think we’re just witnesses to mareslaughter, since it wasn’t intentional.”
Fluttershy looked at the pair, horrified. “M-mareslaughter...?”
“No, we can’t’ve... Ah don’t believe it, we couldn’t have...” Applejack took her hat off, looking at the mark with horror.
Pinkie’s hair started to deflate again, ever so slowly, and Discord’s stomach dropped. He had no idea what to do now.
“Bring her back!” Rainbow snapped, flying up to face him. “You have all sorts of freaky magic, you can just bring her back!”
Discord shook his head. “I can’t. You know my powers are still limited, I certainly can’t perform necromancy-” he stopped suddenly, and his body wobbled like jello. He frowned, his eyes widening- he hadn’t felt such strange surge of magical imbalance since Cadence... Wait... “That can’t be right.”
“What can’t be right?” Rarity asked, but Discord didn’t answer, instead rushing outside.
A bright pink light flooded the sky, and the others galloped out, looking at the sky in amazement. Twilight’s cutie mark floated down from the heavens, eventually transforming into the mare herself.
“Twilight? Is that you?”
Twilight didn’t answer, simply unfurling her new... wings?
Rainbow Dash grinned, chuckling and flying over to Twilight. “Ha! Twilight's got wings! Awesome! A new flying buddy!”
“Why, you've become an Alicorn. I didn't even know that was possible.”
Pinkie Pie, who was back to being her normal, perky self, grinned and screamed, “Alicorn party!” and dangled from the sky, a cardboard pair of wings and a cardboard horn taped to her body, and tossed confetti and balloons in the air. Screwball couldn’t help but smile, but Discord just looked annoyed. Not at Pinkie, but at something else.
“Wow... You look just like a princess!”
“That’s because she is a princess,” Celestia smiled, descending from the heavens.
Twilight’s eyes widened. “A... princess?”
Discord facepawed, groaning, as Pinkie Pie did a rather humourous spit-take. “Celestia, what did you do?
“I have made her a princess, Discord,” she frowned at her brother. “She’s earned it. Since she’s come to Ponyville, she’s displayed the charity, compassion, devotion, integrity, optimism, and of course, the leadership of a true princess.”
“But... does this mean I won't be your student anymore?”
“Is that really your first question?” Discord asked, exasperated.
Celestia ignored him this time. “Not in the same way as before. I'll still be here to help and guide you, but we're all your students now, too. You are an inspiration to us all, Twilight.”
Everypony bowed, except for Discord and Screwball. But once Pinkie nudged the draconequus, he sighed, dipping his head- a bit sarcastically, yes, but he still did it. Celestia looked at the pair, impressed.
“But... what do I do now? Is there a book about being a princess I should read?” Twilight asked, panic starting to set in.
Celestia, however, laughed and drove away her fears. “There will be time for all of that later.”

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Plans for the mare’s coronation started almost immediately, but Celestia had something else on her mind.
Before she left that night, she pulled Pinkie aside. Discord, who was nearby, listened in- Celestia seemed unaware.
“Hiya, Princess!” the mare beamed. “What’s up?”
“I was wondering about your progress with Discord. He seems to listen to you, and I was wondering if you thought he was reformed yet?”
Pinkie blinked. “Reformed?”
“Yes.”
“Nope, don’t think so.”
Discord was surprised to find himself hurt when she said that. He hadn’t actively been trying to reform, really, but he also hadn’t been going out of his way to cause trouble. He’d been listening to Pinkie and-
“I don’t think he needed to be!”
Both Discord and Celestia looked at her, shocked.
“If you’re asking if I think he cares about other ponies more, though, then for sure! Twilight said he did his best to help me today, and he was really worried! He’s even a part of a club, and he seems to get along with other ponies a lot better. But I never really thought he needed to be reformed, ‘cause he wasn’t ever bad!”
Now he would never admit this, not in a million years, but the draconequus was touched. He smiled softly, and Celestia nodded. “I see. Discord, come here. I know you’ve been listening.”
Pinkie giggled at the look on her friend’s face as he approached- he was surprised, to say the least, but his expression quickly changed to a more guarded one.
“Yes, Tia?”
“Do you agree with what Pinkie Pie has said?”
“Would you trust me if I said I did?”
She chuckled. “No, I suppose not. But I do trust her. So I’ve decided to give you your full power back, and give you the freedom to live wherever you want.”
He raised his brow, stroking his beard. “No catch?”
“No catch.” She smiled and her horn started to glow, and Discord felt his power being replenished. His felt stronger, more lively than he had in months. He beamed, and snapped his fingers.
“Whatcha makin’?” Pinkie asked excitedly.
“A pocket dimension, my dear. I’ll just pack my things and-”
“You’re... leaving?” she asked, looking at him with sad eyes.
He looked surprised. “Well, yes. Celly said you don’t have to house me anymore, I just thought you would like me out of your hair.”
“Are you crazy?! I love living with you! The bakery’s never been livelier, my room’s never been more fun, the twins love you, and even the Cakes like you!” she giggled. “Plus, you’re really snuggly!”
Celestia laughed at the utterly embarrassed look that graced her brother’s features, smiling gently.
“Well...” he couldn’t say no to that face, he knew it, and he suddenly found himself not wanting to leave as much as he thought he did. But with Celestia there, he couldn’t just change his mind... he had to save face. “I suppose pocket dimensions are outside the Ponyville school district, and Screwball shouldn’t change schools in the middle of the year...”
His sister rolled her eyes and gave him a teasing smile, but before he could snap at her, a very adorable party pony flung her hooves around his neck and beamed up at him. “Thanks, Dissy.” she nuzzled into his chest, and an unfamiliar feeling of a heated blush crept up his neck to his cheeks. It was... weird, and mildly uncomfortable, but it was also kind of fuzzy and warm, so we wasn't sure how he felt about it. Still, he smiled, and, for the first time, hugged her back.
“Of course, Pinkie Pie.”