//------------------------------//
// Chapter XI 
// Story: Lessons in quirks 
// by Mike84 
//------------------------------//

	If Twilight had any doubts left about her suspicion, Fluttershy's reaction as she saw her approaching through the crowd dispelled these doubts. Fluttershy twitched, fell back and ultimately turned to one of the stairs leading to the upper levels of the town hall. Only just slowly enough not to make it look like a flight it still was far from being a subtle getaway. Same as Fluttershy Twilight didn't want to attract any attention and therefore kept herself from actually chasing her, but once she had reached the stairs and ascended far enough to be out of sight of the other party guests she quickened her pace. 
"Fluttershy?" she called as she just saw her friends rose colored tail disappear at the top of the stairs leading further up. Twilight frowned and almost felt tempted to use her magic to teleport her here, but she decided against this rude method and instead hurried after her. As she ascended it occurred to her that she had never actually been to the upper floors of the town hall before. At the moment however she didn't have the leisure to take a look around in the circular room she now entered. There were a couple of doors which Twilight supposed to lead to the offices of Mayor Mare and her assistants, but in the middle of the room there was a spiral stair for which Twilight made now, certain that it was the way Fluttershy had taken moments before. The stairs led to an open hatch and into a kind of circular attic, dimly lit through some windows and obviously serving as a storeroom in which boxes, files, folders, some furniture and a couple of books were piling up. Twilight continued her pursuit up the final stair, knowing in spite of having never been up here before that this had to be the final stairs leading up to the cupola set on top of the town hall. 
Ascending through the hatch at the top of the spiral stair Twilight had to blink at the broad sunlight shining into her face after the dim light of the town hall's upper floor. 

Fluttershy was standing at the railing of the cupola and for a weird moment Twilight thought that her pegasus friend was going to jump across the railing to fly away. Instead Fluttershy turned around and put on a smile so exaggerated and forced that it would have been sufficient to give away any pretense even if it hadn't been for the fact that Fluttershy's face had blushed so much it had almost taken on the color of her mane. 
"Oh, hello Twilight", she said with a high pitched voice. "Isn't the view from up here just lovely?"
It certainly was and maybe Twilight would have enjoyed the splendid view over Ponyville even a lot more before her new wings had given her easier and more frequent opportunities to get a bird's eye view of Ponyville. At the moment the praising of the splendid view seemed rather bizarre. 
"I just had to catch some fresh air. It was very stuffy down there. So many ponies in the small hall in such hot weather...", Fluttershy prattled on as if to make sure Twilight wouldn't ask or say anything if she just continued to talk. Twilight was feeling sorry for her, but she couldn't stop one of her eyebrows from sliding upwards to form an expression so doubtful that she didn't even have to say anything anymore to let Fluttershy's flood of word fade into an awkward silence.
"Fluttershy…", Twilight said slowly trying to think of something to say without her friend getting even more nervous and uncomfortable, "...it is very nice to see you. I sure hadn't expected you here already. I mean with me and Frank getting right here from your house..."
"Yes, Pinkie Pie's invitation appeared right after you two left and uhm—"
"Oh stop it already, Fluttershy", a voice said out of her mane and the head of a Discord, shrunk to the size of a critter small enough to comfortably hide in Fluttershy's flowing mane popped out between two strands. "Our dear princess knows perfectly well that I am here and that you didn't master the art of teleportation magic to appear here before she did. Had I known her Highness was heading here right from your place I would of course have spared you the embarrassment and waited a little longer my dear, Fluttershy."
"Discord…", Twilight sighed not really knowing what else to say. Of course she had guessed he was there the moment she had been told about Fluttershy's presence, but during the chase she had never really given any thought about what to do after catching up with Fluttershy and her draconequus friend. 
"Just in case there are any doubts about this your Majesty...", Discord continued all of a sudden wearing striped inmate clothing, "...me being here was of course all my idea and poor Fluttershy couldn't do anything about it. I talked her into taking me along. So do not blame her your royal—"
"That is not true."
It was Fluttershy who had spoken and her voice had lost all the high pitch and nervousness, but sounded as calm as she only did on the rare occasions when she was about to put her hoof down. 
"Discord did say he wanted to go to the party, but I suggested that he should come along with me Twilight. He then suggested to shrink and hide himself so others wouldn't... be inconvenienced."
"So others won't freak out at the sight of me in all my glory, is what I said!" Discord interjected.
Twilight couldn't help but feeling almost a little a little affected by the whole scene. Apparently Discord tried to take the blame for his presence here to protect Fluttershy from her annoyance while Fluttershy, whose word Twilight considered a lot more trustworthy than Discord's, tried to prevent Discord from taking more of the responsibility than she felt he deserved. Maybe Discord himself considered this responsibility not so much as blame but rather as merit, but still it seemed much more likely that he was actually trying to take Fluttershy out of the line of fire of any possible anger. It seemed like an actual attempt at acting as a friend whatever dishonesty these attempts might include.
"What do you want here, Discord?" Twilight asked a little helpless, not sure what else to say. 
"There is a party downstairs your Highness, maybe it escaped your regal attention? And I, like everypony else, am getting to a party to get high to perhaps reach your Highness' highness and—"
"Cut it out, Discord!" Twilight ordered more tired than annoyed. Cutting out the word 'it' from a sheet of paper which Discord produced along with a pair of scissors from midair, he continued: "Apart from aspirations for highness I also got an academic interest in all this." Discord was now wearing a square academic cap and a black gown. 
"Academic interest?" Twilight echoed. 
"Interests in fact", Discord nodded. "Firstly is it not all about friendship and making friends to be at a party? And is not that exactly what is in the very best interest of my reformation and everypony interested in my reformation? And secondly, an academic suggested today that the antics of the organizer of this here party, our dear Pinkie Pie, were more surprising than mine. Of course that is something I got to see for myself."
"Don't you dare, Discord! Don't you dare messing this party up for anypony by turning this into some kind of weirdo competition!" Twilight growled.
"Now that's so rude, Princess. Are you calling poor Pinkie a weirdo?" Discord gave Twilight a reproachful look suited to infuriate her, but before she could respond Fluttershy piped up: 
"He promised not to show himself to anyone or to annoy anypony, Twilight." 
"Pinkie promise!" Discord chirped. 
"Not living up to that promise right now, is he?" Twilight snorted.
"Oh but you are hardly just 'anypony', Princess." Discord quibbled. 
"Stop it, both of you!" Fluttershy shouted. "If you don't mind", she added timidly, audibly frightened about her own outburst. Neither Twilight nor Discord said anything until at last Fluttershy plucked up courage and spoke again with her calm and no-nonsense putting a hoof down voice: "If you ever want Discord to become a friend you must give him a chance and at least let him see how friends act while not united to fight against him! And if you, Discord, ever want for anypony to treat you as a friend you must stop turning everything into chaos and turn everything you are told into some kind of joke."
Discord's academician outfit disappeared and he flattened his ears like a beaten dog, but exaggerated as it looked Twilight was almost certain that this wasn't meant to be any kind of mocking overplay. Fluttershy was right of course. She didn't trust Discord and in turn he didn't gave her any reason to trust him. But if ever that circle was to be broken some kind of beginning had to be made. 
"No revealing to anyone but us, Discord? No annoying or attacking or in any way inconveniencing anypony during this party? No magic use on anypony or anything during the party? You won't ruin this party for anyone?" Twilight asked, resigning into having him around during the party but also trying to make it come across as a kind of peace offer. 
Discord performed the gestures of a Pinkie promise, but suddenly hesitated.
"Uhm... just one teeny-weeny bit of magic perhaps if I get a chance?"
A deep furrow appeared on Twilight's forehead and she clenched her teeth.
"The glasses", Discord hurried to say. "Unless I am very mistaken your intellectual friend's glasses are still of two different colors. If I get a chance, should I not change that?"
"Oh, okay", Twilight nodded remembering the amber and green lenses of Frank's spectacles which he had pocketed and not put on again ever since they had left Fluttershy's place. Twilight could have easily fixed them herself, but she had just totally forgotten about them. Frank hadn't mentioned it at all and Twilight noticed that this was probably the best attempt of accepting her peace-offering that Discord could come up with. 
"He promised", Fluttershy said with a solemn tone as if to record this fact for both Discord and Twilight.
"Let's get down again", Twilight said. 
Some ponies were leaving the town hall, and assembled around the wooden tables and benches around that Twilight had noticed while chasing after Rainbow Dash before. Apparently Fluttershy was not the only one too feel that the crowded interior of the town hall was not the best place to celebrate on a sunny day such as this. Twilight turned to the stair, Discord drew Fluttershy's mane over his face like a curtain and Fluttershy followed her friend down the stairs she had been chased up a few minutes before.