"I have an idea."
Fluttershy and Discord had both been pacing the blurry landscape trying to think of a way to make Discord real and get Fluttershy back to the waking world. At her words, Discord looked up hopefully. "You do?"
"W-well, you described to me what you look like, why don't you tell me about who you are in the real world? Did you know me before I fell asleep? What did you do? Where do you live?"
Discord stared at her blankly for a moment, then his face lit up. "I could do that! I first came to Equestria a thousand years ago--" he suddenly stopped himself short. He probably shouldn't begin by telling her that he had attempted to take over Equestria, twice. In fact, why should he bring that up at all? She didn't know anything about him; he could edit his story as much as he chose.
She was looking at him expectantly. "Oh, goodness, that's so long ago. I guess being immortal takes some getting used to, doesn't it?"
He chuckled. "Well, the chaos magic comes in handy for that. It keeps things from getting too boring."
Fluttershy giggled. "Do you make silly things appear sometimes?"
"Oh, all the time! I can make fish that fly and birds that swim! I can make clouds out of cotton candy that rain chocolate milk! Oh, Pinkie Pie loved that one..."
"You know Pinkie Pie?"
"I know all of your friends, Fluttershy. I know Applejack and Rainbow Dash and Rarity and Spike and Princesses Twilight, Celestia, Luna, and Cadance. I know Shining Armor, too. He taught me his protection spell, although it obviously didn't work..."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I tried to protect you from the nightshade, but you got pulled into the dream realm anyway. It seems I'm not really a very good protector..." Discord hung his head.
But Fluttershy just blinked at him, her eyes vaguely following the movement of his head. "Why were you trying to protect me?"
"To keep you safe," Discord replied flatly.
Fluttershy frowned, but didn't press it. "You said you knew all of my friends, and that they sent you here. How did you get here?"
"Princess Luna had a potion that sent me here."
"So how are you going to get back after you send me back?"
Discord paused. She understood.
"Why are you doing this for me?"
"To keep you safe," Discord repeated. Even though he knew this Fluttershy didn't know anything about his past, he couldn't bring himself to tell her why he was willing to sacrifice his physical existence for her.
Fluttershy watched him, wishing she could see the expression on his face; she could tell by the tone of his voice that he was hiding something. But she didn't want to press him, so she changed the subject. "Y-you've been in Equestria for a thousand years?"
"More or less."
"Where did you stay all that time?"
"...in Canterlot." He neglected to add that he had spent the majority of that time as a stone statue in the Canterlot sculpture gardens.
"Did you talk to the princesses much?"
"Some. Luna was banished shortly after I arrived, so I really didn't get to spend much time with her, but Tia and I used to hang out."
"Tia?"
Discord sighed. "Luna used to call her that before she was banished, and I picked it up because I liked the way it sounded. It's so much easier than Celestia."
"Did the sisters seem to get along before Luna was banished?"
"For the most part, yes. Luna was actually pretty young when she was banished. She grew up a lot while she was on the moon, if you ask me."
"Well, a thousand years is a long time."
Discord shrugged. "Not so long when you live forever, but yes, it is a while."
Fluttershy paused, looking as if she were working out a difficult problem in her head. "Does time pass differently for immortal creatures? Like, you know how some ponies talk about 'dog years' as different from pony years."
Now it was Discord's turn to stop and think. "I guess you could equate a thousand years to an immortal as one year to a mortal pony...roughly. It doesn't quite work that way, but that's the closest I can think of."
Fluttershy sat thinking for a moment, trying to understand.
"We mature mentally at the same rate you do, but physically that's about what it feels like."
"What did you do in Equestria for a thousand years?"
The question he had been dreading. "Well, I stayed in Canterlot for most of it. I spent a lot of time in the gardens..."
"You like gardens?" The delighted look on her face made him feel slightly sick.
"Yes, I..." he gritted his teeth and lied. "I love gardens. Tulips and daisies and roses and those little purple ones..."
"Violets?"
"Yes, those."
"What flowers are your favorite?"
Discord hesitated. He didn't have a favorite flower. He didn't give two shakes about flowers. But he knew Fluttershy's favorite flower. "Tulips, definitely."
Fluttershy gasped. "Those are my favorite too!"
"I know."
She stopped to stare at him. "Huh?"
"I know you in the waking world, remember? You're actually..." he took a deep breath. "You're actually my best friend."
Her eyes widened. "Really?"
Discord nodded silently.
She reached for him to touch his paw, but her hoof passed through him again. Discord sighed. He wasn't making any progress, it would seem.
"Tell me about us."
Discord looked down at her to see her teal eyes shimmering up at him in hope. He smiled a little.
"Y-you're the best friend I've ever had. You were the first of your friends to accept me, and to forgive my--um, mistakes." Discord bit his lip, scolding himself for almost slipping and revealing his past to her. "We have tea every Wednesday, and sometimes you let me help you feed your animals. Even Angel Bunny likes me."
"Angel Bunny?" Suddenly she looked distressed. "Oh, dear! Who's taking care of him while I'm asleep?"
"I'm sure they have someone looking after the animals. Maybe they put the Cutie Mark Crusaders in charge." He winked at her. The look of horror on her face at the idea of the three hyperactive fillies attempting to care for her animals made him chuckle. When she realized he was kidding she laughed, too.
"You really do know everypony from Ponyville, don't you?"
Discord nodded. When she didn't respond, he realized she couldn't see him and replied aloud, "Yes, I do."
"How did we meet?"
Discord flinched. "Um...you and your friends were looking for the Elements of Harmony, and I...told you where they were!" It was a half-truth. He had told them, in riddles, where they would find the Elements after he had stolen them.
"And we were friends after that?"
"Well, I went back to Canterlot for a little while, but eventually Tia sent me to Ponyville to...make friends."
"Sort of like she did for Twilight?"
"Yes! Exactly!" He breathed a silent sigh of relief. She believed him.
A cough over his shoulder made him jump, and he spun to discover Princess Luna looking at him seriously. Discord grinned, and opened his mouth to greet her, but she shook her head and silently gestured for them to talk privately. He turned to Fluttershy.
"Um...would you excuse me for a moment?"
Fluttershy nodded politely, and Discord darted away, followed by Luna.
When they were a safe distance away, he turned to her. "Any news from outside?"
Luna looked grave. "She's getting weaker. Your time is running out."
He nodded. "I know. She tried to wake herself up but she said her body wasn't strong enough. I offered for her to take my body, but she can't take it because she doesn't think I'm real." He didn't try to disguise his pain in front of the princess. "She doesn't remember me at all."
Luna thought for a moment. "It may be the Terror's way to prevent you from rescuing her. You must convince her otherwise."
"I'm trying! I've been telling her about myself, about our friendship."
"All of it?"
"Well...no. Only the good parts."
"So the story you're telling her isn't real."
"It is too!" Discord stomped his hoof. "I haven't said anything that wasn't at least partially true! Except for the part about loving flowers..."
"How do you expect her to know you're real when who you're trying to be to her isn't really you?"
He stopped, his eyes wide and his mouth blank. "But she'll hate me if I tell her everything I've done!"
"Are you so sure?"
"Yes!!"
Luna just looked at him. "You will never be real to her unless you're real to yourself."
The draconequus was getting frustrated. "Nothing here is real! I'm not even sure anything at all is real at this point!"
"Do you remember what I told you about fear?"
"You said I was afraid of her."
"Are you still?"
"I never was!"
Luna shook her head. "Then I cannot help you." She turned away as her image began to fade. "Just remember," she said over her shoulder. "Only love is real."
And she was gone.
Discord snorted. "Riddles! Always riddles!" It was infuriating. He paused for a moment, and smirked. So that's what ponies felt like when he used riddles on them. Delightful.
"Discord?" Fluttershy's sweet voice pulled him from his reverie. He turned to her, smiling.
"Yes, my dear?"
"How come my friends didn't forgive you as quickly as I did, like you said?"
He looked down at her, taking in her huge, sparkling eyes, looking up at him with innocent curiosity. Luna's words echoed in his head. Until he told her the real story, he would never be real to her. He took a deep breath.
"Have a seat, Fluttershy."
She sat obediently.
"Let me tell you what really happened..."