//------------------------------// // Warm and Fuzzy // Story: I Found Love: Discord and Twilight (Rewrite) // by MLP Fangirl //------------------------------// Ever since the dinner party, Discord started to hang out with the girls as often as he could. It didn't really matter what they were doing. If he was going to take this friendship business seriously, he had to be open to any and all suggestions, although he gave his fair share of ideas. And, surprisingly, Discord's suggestions would often get an unanimous vote. On this particular day, Princess Celestia invited the group over to Canterlot to witness the grand opening of the newest section of the Royal Sculpture Garden. In honor of saving Equestria so many times, Princess Celestia had a small sector of the garden dedicated to the Harmony Bearers. Naturally, they were all excited to go. And, Discord didn't want to be excluded, so he joined them. Unfortunately, his actions of the previous month were still very fresh in everypony's mind. And, not everypony is willing to forgive. ----- "OH! I am SO excited!" Pinkie bounced in place rapidly, a huge smile on her face. "This is the best thing EVER!" Rarity finished applying her eyeshadow and started to straightened her eyelashes. "Yes, truly a momentous occasion." Applejack sat on her haunches with her hooves crossed, "Ah don't see what the big deal." Rainbow Dash flapped her wings ecstatically, "Are you kidding? There are statues of us in the Canterlot Sculpture Garden! Now, everypony will know how awesome I am!" She was met with disapproving glares and raised eyebrows. Rainbow chuckled sheepishly, "Uh, I meant how awesome we are. That's what I meant to say." Discord huffed, "I wish that could've been said about me. But, no ponies passed me without a second glance, thinking that I was nothing more than another statue. They didn't realize that behind that stone cocoon lay a ferocious beast that no one could tame." Twilight put a hoof to her chin, "Huh? I wonder who you're talking about." Discord glared at her, "Ha ha. Hysterical. That was so funny I forgot to laugh." Fluttershy raised a hoof, "Um, I don't mean to interrupt. But, when does our train leave?" "10:00. Why?" The yellow pegasus pointed to a clock on the wall, "Well, it's already 9:50, so maybe we should be going?" "9:50?!" "Um, yes?" Twilight frantically stood up, "Oh, how could we lose track of time? Spike, you got our bags?" Spike leaned against a pile of bags, "Yup. But, don't expect me to carry everything for you." Rainbow flew down, grabbing her saddlebags, "This is why I pack light. Unlike somepony. Rarity." Rarity flipped her mane, "Well, excuse me. We're only heading to Canterlot, the most sophisticated city in Equestria. I don't want the Canterlot Elite to view me as uncouth." Fluttershy put a hoof on Rarity's shoulder, "We don't think you're uncouth." Rarity smiled, patting Fluttershy's hoof, "I know, darling. But, none of you are from Canterlot. Well, aside from Spike and Twilight." Twilight chuckled, "True we were raised in Canterlot, but I never saw the need to be pompous like the rest of Canterlot. Of course, being Princess Celestia's student I was pretty well-known. Even if I did confine myself in solitude for most of my life." Spike pointed a finger at the purple alicorn, "Yeah, there were a few occasions where you threatened to beat some reporters upside the head if they wanted an interview." Twilight blushed, "Spiiike." Rainbow burst out into a laughing fit, "Ha! I'd have loved to have been there." Discord wiggled his eyebrows, "Oh, yes, I can totally see you doing that. Beware of the Bookworm. She'll beat you with an algebra book." "Don't we have a train to catch?" Discord dramatically flourished his claw, "Ah, yes. Allow me." With a snap of his fingers, the group disappeared from the throne room. ----- With a sudden flash of light, the group appeared on the Ponyville Station platform, startling the ponies already there. With the exception of Twilight who was used to long-distance teleportation, the mares and dragon all stumbled to regain their balance. Pinkie wobbled around dizzily, "Whoa. My stomach feels all queasy-weasy." Applejack held her head, "You said it." Discord rolled his eyes, "Oh, just shake it off. You be glad I didn't teleport us all the way to Canterlot; you'd be feeling it a whole lot more. Trust me." Twilight sighed, "We don't have time for this. Everypony, on the train." Twilight and her friends walked onto the train, passing the conductor, though not the usual one. Discord began to walk in, only to be stopped by the conductor. He was an earth pony, much younger than the normal conductor. The new conductor cleared his throat, "Um, e-excuse me, sir. I apologize, b-but w-we have a policy about not l-letting v-villains onto the t-train." Discord stiffened up. He was still considered a villain? Twilight and her friends heard this as well. And, Twilight instantly became furious. Discord rubbed the back of his neck, "Uh, I - well - "What seems to be the problem here?" Discord and the conductor turned their heads towards the alicorn. Discord gave a sigh of relief. The conductor gasped, "Oh, Princess Twilight!" He instantly threw himself into a bowing position. "How may I help you, Y-Your Highness?" Twilight held a stoic expression. She raised her hoof, "Arise." He slowly stood back up, noticeably sweating. "You're not the usual conductor, am I right?" The young stallion nodded, "Yes, Your Highness. My father has been under the weather lately, so I've been filling in for him. I'm Brass Tracks." Twilight gave a nod of acknowledgement, "Nice to meet you. Now, why are you not letting Discord on the train?" Brass gulped, "Uh, w-well, h-he's a villain. And, I c-can't let a villain on the train." Twilight's eyebrows furrowed, "He hasn't committed a single villainous deed in a month. Are you talking about his involvement with Tirek?" The young conductor rubbed his neck, "Well, yes?" Discord sighed, "It's okay, Twilight. I'll meet you girls at Canterlot." He readied his fingers to snap. "Don't you dare snap those talons!" The eagle claw immediately lowered to his side. Twilight took a deep breath, "Look, I know what Discord did labels him as a villain, but he deeply regrets joining sides with Tirek. He's good now. He's technically still on probation, so we won't let him out of our sight. Let him on the train." Brass hesitated but didn't relent, "I-I'm s-sorry, Your H-Highness. B-but, m-most of the population s-still sees him as - " Twilight leaned towards the stallion, narrowing her eyes, "Need I remind you that you are speaking with the Princess of Friendship? Let him on the train, and there won't be any trouble." Discord's eyes widened as Twilight was nearly threatening the poor conductor so that he could ride the train. Brass Tracks threw himself at the alicorn's hooves, "Okay! Okay! He can ride the train. Just don't throw me in prison! I'm engaged to a pretty mare, I have a great job! I can't have that taken away! Please, Princess, have mercy!" Twilight backed up, "Hey, hey. No need to panic, I'm not going to throw you in prison. You were only doing your job. Thank you for being so understanding. Come on, Discord." She nodded her head towards the door of the train. Discord seemed in a daze, still not believing what he had just seen. He felt a strange warmth spread over his serpentine body. "Discord?" He snapped out of his stupor, "Uh, right behind you." He quickly followed her onto the train. Brass Tracks stood up shakily and wiped his brow. Not a moment afterward, he boarded the train himself, making sure to stay as far away from the Princess of Friendship as he could. ----- "You know, you didn't have to do that." Twilight nodded firmly, "Yes, I did, Discord. Otherwise, you would've been stuck waiting for us for about two hours." Discord shrugged, "I would've found something to do. Prank a couple of Canterlot snobs maybe." Rarity raised an eyebrow, "Yes, and create an even worse name for yourself? I wouldn't recommend doing that." Rainbow Dash scoffed, "Hey, they need to be pranked a couple times over. Teach them how to live a little." Twilight shook her head, "Look. The point is that you shouldn't be banned from the train just because of what you did. Why can't ponies just forget the past and move on?" Discord shrugged, crossing his arms, "Well, in a perfect world, everypony would. But, Equestria is far from being the perfect paradise everyone on the outside claims it to be." Pinkie bounced on the seat, "I like living in Equestria! We always have so much fun here." Fluttershy smiled, "Don't worry, Discord. I'm sure everypony will forget about what you did soon." Discord chuckled flatly, "You'd think that, wouldn't you? But, I've found that you ponies can hold grudges for a long time. Well, not you girls. Every other pony in Equestria." Applejack waved a hoof, "Now don't go thinkin' like that. We ponyfolk ain't as bad as ya make us out ta be." Twilight nodded, "Applejack's right. But, some ponies tend to hold on to the past longer than they should. It'll take time, but I'm sure Equestria will accept you again." "I hope you're right." About an hour later, they felt the train screeched to a halt. "We have arrived in Canterlot. Please gather your belongings and swiftly exit the train. Have a wonderful day." With that being said, the ponies, dragon, and draconequus gathered their bags and exited the train. ----- The Element Bearers trotted through the streets of Canterlot, Discord and Spike bringing up the rear. As they walked, they noticed that they were receiving some rather nasty glares. Rainbow Dash frowned, "What's with the looks? Don't they know who we are?" Twilight followed their gazes, trying to figure out what they were staring at. Or rather who. Twilight glanced back at Discord, who had already figured out just what they were casting their eyes on. Twilight groaned and stopped walking, causing Rarity and Fluttershy to bump into her. "Seriously?" Discord huffed, "Don't worry, I was expecting this. I figured Canterlot would be disapproving of me." Pinkie sent equally nasty glares to the Canterlot civilians. "Well, they're all being a bunch of Mean Ol' Judgey Pants. Glare back at them. Let them feel intimidated." Rarity nudged Pinkie in the ribs, "Pinkie, it's not polite to stare." Applejack nudged her head towards the Canterlot ponies, "Tell that to them." Twilight slapped her forehead, "This is ridiculous. Come on." Without much of a warning, Twilight teleported the entire group over to the castle. Due to them just getting over the motion sickness from Discord's teleportation, Twilight's unexpected transport once again left them all a little discombobulated. Spike wobbled around, "Uh, Twilight? Maybe you could warn us before you do that?" Twilight sighed, "Sorry, everypony. But, this beats getting stared down at." Discord huffed, "You're not the ones getting the stares." Twilight placed a hoof on Discord's paw, "It doesn't matter. We're friends. And, if they stare down one of us, they stare down all of us." Discord smiled but quickly frowned as that odd warmth spread through him once again. Rainbow scratched the back of her neck, "That doesn't really make sense." Pinkie bounced up and down, "I think it makes perfect sense!" Rarity inspected her hoof, "Well, I don't know about you, but I really would like to get to the Sculpture Garden." Fluttershy raised a hoof, "So would I." Twilight gasped, "Oh, I totally forgot. Come on, everypony." They all walked towards the entrance to Canterlot Castle. Two guards were positioned at the drawbridge. As Twilight and her friends approached, the stallions each bowed in respect. "Your Highness, Princess Celestia would like you to meet her in the throne room." Twilight nodded, "Thank you, sirs." The group walked through the archway and into the castle. Discord floated next to Twilight, bearing a smirk. "Ah, I see you didn't tell those nice guards to call you Twilight. Have you finally decided to embrace your Princessness?" Rainbow Dash put a hoof to her chin, smiling, "Oh, yeah, right. You usually have them call you Twilight." Twilight gave them a sideways look, "I only spoke with them for about a minute. And, besides, Royal Guards are trained to show royalty the utmost respect. Though I would prefer being called Twilight, I'm not going to get bent out of shape because they call me Your Highness." Spike rolled his eyes, "I keep telling you, Twi. You're a Princess. Ponies are allowed to call you Your Highness and Your Majesty." Twilight sighed, "I know. I know. Oh, we're here already." The Princess of Friendship opened the double doors of the throne room with her magic, and they all walked inside. Princess Celestia was sitting on her throne, talking with her sister Princess Luna. At the sound of the doors opening, both princesses turned their heads towards them. Celestia smiled as her former student walked in along with her friends. She gracefully descended from her throne, meeting the group halfway. "Twilight, it is always wonderful to see you and your friends." She wrapped a wing around the younger princess. Twilight smiled, leaning into the elder alicorn's embrace, "It's always good to see you, too, Princess." The two alicorns pulled away. Celestia raised her head, "I hope you all had a pleasant journey here." Discord scoffed, his arms crossed, "Oh, yeah. If you count getting the stink eye from nearly everypony around pleasant, then yes, it certainly was. Thank you so much for asking, Tia." Celestia raised an eyebrow, "I beg your pardon?" Twilight sighed, "Apparently many ponies still view Discord as an enemy. He almost couldn't ride the train." Discord smirked, teleporting next to Twilight and giving her a long head rub. "Sad, but true. Thankfully, Ms. Sparky here was able to pull a few strings to get me to ride. Even though you probably traumatized that poor colt for life." Twilight pulled away from Discord's grasp, smoothing out her tousled mane, "I did no such thing." Discord snickered, "Didn't seem that way seeing as how he was literally on his knees begging for mercy." Twilight glared at the draconequus, "Discord! You - " Celestia raised a hoof, "All right, enough." Luna bore a stoic expression, "I do not intend to be rude, but you brought this upon yourself, Discord." Discord cringed, "Thanks for the reminder." "Don't worry, Discord. The ponies of Equestria are loving individuals. They will be able to look past your actions in time." Celestia tried to reassure him. "We'll see." Rarity raised a hoof, "Do forgive me, Your Highnesses, but shouldn't we be heading to the Garden?" Princess Celestia smiled and nodded, "Of course, Rarity. If you all are ready, we can depart." And so they did. With Celestia and Luna leading the way, the group followed. ----- The ponies walked through the Sculpture Garden, admiring all of the statues that they passed. Discord, however, viewed the place with slight distaste. The memories of being frozen in stone replayed in his mind. He knew exactly where he had stood for over a thousand years. As they approached the spot, Discord couldn't help but glare. Twilight and Fluttershy noticed this. Twilight nodded her head towards the draconequus. Fluttershy gave a nod of agreement. Both she and Twilight trailed behind to meet up with the chaotic spirit. Fluttershy put a hoof on Discord's paw, "Discord, are you okay?" "As if today hadn't brought up enough bad memories." Twilight raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?" She followed Discord's line of sight. He was staring at a marble pillar. There was nothing on top of it. Twilight knew that she had seen it before but couldn't quite place what it was. Discord huffed, jumping on top of the pillar and striking a pose. Fluttershy and Twilight both let out small gasps as the two ponies realized what they were staring at. Discord jumped off of the pillar, eyes narrowed in anger. "One thousand years is a long time, you know. For one thousand years, I was encased in stone. It's not very comfortable." Twilight nodded, "I was frozen in stone, too. But, only for about an hour thanks to Fluttershy." Twilight sent a smile towards her pegasus friend. Fluttershy returned the smile, "I'm glad I was able to free you. Who knows what would have happened if I hadn't been there?" Discord seethed, "Well, you got lucky. If only somepony were able to set me free. Not that they would have anyway. I know I deserved to be punished, but being a stone statue for a thousand years? That was a little extreme, in my opinion." Fluttershy shuddered at the thought, "I can't even begin to imagine." Twilight looked up at him with concern. She hadn't realized how much Discord had hated being trapped in stone. When they had released Discord from his prison, he didn't seem too upset about it, just relieved to be free. But, then she remembered the horrified look on Discord's face when he realized that the Elements were working. He was utterly terrified. Twilight's ears drooped. She looked up at Discord with concern. "I'm sorry, Discord. I didn't realize. Do you want to go? If being here makes you uncomfortable, you don't have to stay." Discord waved a paw nonchalantly, "Nah, I'm good. I appreciate the concern, but I just need to take my mind off of it. Let's get to that unveiling, shall we?" The two ponies and Discord started to walk ahead. For good measure, Discord snapped his fingers. When he did, the stone pillar exploded into tiny pieces, a few hitting the back of Twilight's head. Twilight and Fluttershy looked back and were shocked to see the pillar destroyed. They looked at Discord with uncertainty. He shrugged, "What? It's not doing anypony good just standing there. Besides, it's worthless anyway." In a little while, they were able to catch up with the rest of the group. ----- The ponies were speechless. A red ribbon was being held in place between two hedges. Beyond the ribbon, the Element Bearers were able to see the statues of themselves. Twilight was in the middle, surrounded by the statues of her friends. Each wore their Element proudly, bearing determined expressions. Rarity fanned herself, becoming overwhelmed, "Am I seeing correctly? Oh, that is simply marvelous." Rainbow Dash grinned, "If that isn't the definition of awesome, then I don't know what is." Celestia chuckled, "I'm glad you all approve." She glanced at the crowd of ponies that had begun to form. She levitated a large pair of scissors over to Twilight. "Princess Twilight, would you do the honors?" Twilight bowed her head, "Of course." The lavender alicorn took the scissors in her magical grasp. With one smooth cut, the ribbon fell to the ground. "I hereby declare the Statues of Harmony free for public viewing." Celestia announced, causing the ponies present to cheer. And not a moment after that, every equine entered the newest sector of the gardens, admiring the statues of Equestria's most famous heroes. Rainbow Dash flew directly towards the statue of her. She landed next to it, striking the same pose as the statue. "Aw, yeah! Just as I said. Awesome." Rarity approached her statue. She pulled a hoofkerchief from her saddlebags and wiped off a bit of dirt that covered the forelegs. "There. Now, it's perfect. Oh, such incredible likeness!" Pinkie jumped on top of hers and hugged it, "You can't even tell the difference! Who cares if they don't have any color?" Fluttershy walked over to her statue, "They're all very nice." Twilight approached her statue, inspecting it closely, "I must admit, they look better than I thought they would." Discord floated around the statues of the mares, deciding what to make of them. "Eh, not bad. I've seen better." Twilight rolled her eyes, "Of course, you'd say that." She looked over at Princess Celestia and noticed that she was talking with two ponies, a mare and stallion. Twilight didn't mean to intrude, but one word caught her ear. Discord. Twilight gawked. She could tell from their expressions that weren't saying anything friendly. She looked over at Discord, who seemed to be paying no attention to them. Twilight groaned, "This is getting out of hoof." She trotted over to Princess Celestia and the conversing ponies, whom she recognized to be Jet Set and Upper Crust, a rich couple in Canterlot. As the two ponies saw Twilight coming, they turned their attention away from Celestia and towards the Princess of Friendship. "Ah, Princess Twilight, we were hoping to get a word with you." Jet Set bowed his head. "Yes, quite. There are some matters that we must speak with you about." His wife Upper Crust took a step towards the Princess. Twilight looked at Celestia, who gave her an apathetic shrug. The Princess of the Sun patted her on the shoulder before walking away. The purple alicorn looked back at the couple, "Matters regarding what, exactly?" Upper Crust wrinkled her nose in disgust, "It is about your...guest." Twilight already knew who she was talking about but decided to not make it known. "And just what guest are you speaking of?" Jet Set narrowed his eyes, pointing at the Spirit of Chaos, who was lounging on top of Rarity's statue, much to her chagrin. "Him." Twilight looked back at Discord then at the two ponies. Her eyebrows furrowed, "And, just what do you have against him?" Jet Set cleared his throat, looking at his hoof, "Well, there is the small matter of him stealing our magic. And, we had thought that Your Highness would have given him a suitable punishment. He clearly doesn't deserve to roam free." Twilight gritted her teeth, then an idea struck her. She lit up her horn, and Discord soon found himself floating over to the princess. Discord, not appreciating being levitated without his consent, snapped his fingers and teleported out of Twilight's magic. He instead opted to floating over to her himself. "You know, you could've just asked." Upper Crust and Jet Set looked appalled at the sight of the infamous Lord of Chaos in front of them. Discord raised an eyebrow, looking down at Twilight, "Did I miss something?" Twilight grinned, "Not at all. I was just talking with these nice ponies about you." Discord squinted an eye, "Really, now? Anything good?" Twilight turned to the two ponies, "Would you two care to reiterate what you just told me to Discord? I'm sure he'd love to hear about it." The couple looked at each other uncertainly. Upper Crust cleared her throat, trying to think of words kind enough to not provoke the draconequus. "Well, we just thought that every wrongdoer should face some sort of punishment. Is Equestria condoning treason?" Discord huffed, "Oh, that's what this is about. I'm not interested." He began to walk away, but Twilight's magic pull on his tail kept him from moving. He groaned, "I've taken a trip down memory lane one too many times today." Twilight gave him a look, one that could only be read as Trust Me. Discord sighed, "Fine. I'll stay." He crossed his arms. Twilight smiled at him then turned back to the couple, "To answer your question, Mrs. Crust, no we do not condone treason. However, we will condone turning over a new leaf. And, that's just what Discord has done. You regret everything you did, right, Discord?" Discord's ear drooped slightly, "Yes." "And, you mean that?" Discord rolled his eyes, "Yes, Twilight. Of course, I mean it. You want it written on paper?" Upper Crust and Jet Set seemed unconvinced at the spirit's laid-back response. Twilight sighed, "He may not act like he does, but I can tell he truly means it. He's done everything in his power to make up for what he did. I can honestly say that Discord is now truly reformed. Before, I couldn't be so sure." Discord rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "Yeah, truth be told, I really wasn't taking it seriously. Not that you could tell, seeing as how brilliant an actor I am." Twilight chuckled flatly, "Oh, yes, you'd definitely make on Bridleway." "Do I detect sarcasm?" Ignoring him, Twilight turned back to the couple, who had been relatively quiet. "Anyway, point being, Discord's no longer a threat to anypony. What happened is now in the past. There's nothing we can do to change it. So, the best thing to do is just to forget about it and move on." Jet Set looked at his wife then back at the Princess. He cleared his throat. "Uh, yes, well. Thank you, Your Highness. We shall take your advice into account. Excuse us." With that, the rich couple trotted away from Twilight and Discord. Discord shook his head, smiling at the pony next to him, "You don't have to keep doing that, you know. This is like the third time today." Twilight grinned, "I know I didn't have to. But, I wanted to." Discord maintained his smile, "You are so nice, it's disgusting." Twilight giggled but then took on a serious expression. "Discord, I'm fine with bailing you out. But, I'm not always going to be around. If you come across ponies who still view you as a threat, you need to be able to convince them otherwise." Discord put his paw to his chest in mock surprise, "You're going to make me talk to ponies? I don't think I can handle that." Twilight put her hoof on his claw, "You can. I trust you." She winked then trotted off to her friends. Discord repeated those words in his head. I trust you. Discord smiled, feeling that strange warmth spread across his body again. He frowned. That was the third time today. And, he only felt it around Twilight.