A Strange Feeling
Chapter 14
Evening had rolled in. The calls of nocturnal birds could be heard as they flittered in the trees and broke through the canopy to streak off across the open landscape. The sky was inky blue, with only a thin red band on the horizon marking where the sun had set. The stars above them grew slowly in number. With no artificial light to compete with, they seemed to make up most of the world.
Discord and Fluttershy sat high in one of the trees. Discord lay along the length of the branch while Fluttershy sat on the next one over, which twisted itself close to his. They were both quiet. Fluttershy was watching Discord's face as he stared off into the middle-distance with a frown.
He never answered her question, but he hadn't said anything else either. After a long, drawn out pause, he'd turned and climbed up a random tree without a word. She watched him go at first, confused by this, but when it became clear he wasn't planning on coming back down she followed him. Not entirely sure what he was planning to do, she just sat close and waited. The long silence helping to calm her initial shock to hearing the things Discord had said to Twilight. As she sat, she risked looking off in the direction of their camp every moment or so. Fluttershy knew they had to go back eventually, but she had no idea how to handle the confrontation that could follow when they did.
But it was already dark, and something had to be done soon. She half wondered if Discord was planning to sulk forever.
The things she heard Discord and Twilight saying to each other were still heavy on her own mind. As well as his lack of an answer to her question. She took a breath that seemed a little shaky before she finally spoke up, breaking the silence.
“We have to go back to others... eventually...”
Discord gave a meaningless grumble in response.
Fluttershy waited, but after a moment it didn't look like there was anything else coming.
“We can't hide up here forever. They'll get worried.” She tried again.
“Nopony's keeping you.” Discord mumbled irritably. Fluttershy decided it was best not to point out that he was, in fact, keeping her there.
She gathered up her patience as she prepared to continue. At least she'd gotten him to say something. “You can climb up another tree when we're back with the others if you want to. They just need to know where we are.”
“Like I said; Nopony's keeping you,” He said again, shifting to sit up. “If you're so worried, just run off then.”
“I'm not really sure they'd be happy if I uhm... came back alone,” She said diplomatically.
Discord scoffed. “You're most likely right. Princess Twilight will undoubtedly find some way to twist that into me leaving you alone to get eaten by wolves or something” He put a paw to his hips and a claw to his chest when he said her name for emphasis, swaying in place mockingly.
“She probably is a little upset,” Fluttershy said carefully. “You did say some erm... well... you did say a few things that made her sad.”
Discord scoffed again and flopped back down, his chin in his paw and claw as he scowled. Fluttershy rubbed a foreleg against the other as she watched him. In truth, she was anxious to get back and talk to Twilight. To see if she was alright and if Fluttershy could maybe do anything to make her feel better. She wanted to give her a strong hug and tell her it was going to be alright. But something was keeping her with Discord. She wasn't entirely sure what it was. Maybe the expression on his face, or the strange overreaction to her question.
She gave a soft sigh, deciding to try a different tactic. “If I upset you by asking if you're a mean person, I didn't mean to. Maybe it came out worse than I meant it to.”
No response.
She licked her lips nervously and went on. “I wasn't lying when I said I don't always understand you but...” She faltered. But what? She was silent for a few moments before she tried to finish the thought. “...but... I don't think you were blatantly trying to be cruel to her.”
“Oh, I most certainly was,” Discord said as he sat up again, twisting around to frown at her.
Fluttershy blinked wide-eyed at him. “You were trying to be cruel to her?”
“Of course I was,” He said irritably. “She was asking for it! I don't care what sort of 'importance' old Celestia has placed on her or what sort of 'special snowflake' feelings you and your friends have for her, but I have no intention of letting her say whatever she wants to me and not give her back the same as she gave out!”
Fluttershy blinked again, dumbfounded. Discord crossed his arms and slumped over, glaring at the horizon again with flattened ears.
Fluttershy frowned to herself lightly for a moment before she spoke again. “So... you hurt her feelings... because she upset you?”
“What?” He snapped, twisting back to glare at her.
“Well, that's what you said, isn't it?” She kicked at something on the branch sheepishly.
Discord's frown narrowed. He turned back to the landscape, gave her a sideways glance, and then turned back to her again, throwing out his arms.
“She thinks she can just decide things for every one of you ponies and then march over to me, completely minding my own business I might add, and then lay down orders as to how I should and should not behave when I didn't exactly hear anypony else complaining about it!” He made a clicking sound with his tongue as he calmed down again. “No wonder Celestia decided she'd make a good protégée.”
“I uhm... I didn't hear all of the conversation.” Fluttershy admitted apologetically. “I only caught the end of it.”
“You missed quite the performance then!” Discord went on, standing on the branch and making dramatic motions as he spoke. “Apparently, according to our fearless leader, I am making everypony's lives and absolute living nightmare! My lighthearted stories are giving all of you borderline anxiety attacks that will most likely cause the silly cultist to be able to capture and eat you alive! And as far as she's concerned, I might as well dig a hole here and bury myself in it because you'd all be happier and a lot better off without me around!” He clenched his fists and huffed to himself with an annoyed growl. “I've had ponies throw halberds at my head who weren't as infuriating as she is!” He turned back to Fluttershy and waved a claw at her. “Blatant attempts at my life I can take, but that unbearable smugness? Well! If she thought I'd just roll over for her and listen like the good little watch dog I'm suppose to be on this trip then she's sorely mistake! So I simply spoke my mind.” He calmed down again, running a claw over the back of his neck along his mane. “Isn't that something you ponies always go on about? Telling the truth? Being yourself? Honesty? All that good stuff? I was merely giving her a piece of my own mind in return for her's. It's not my fault she can't handle criticism as well as I can.”
Fluttershy tried hard not to comment on the last statement. Instead, she focused on what she realised was quite a remarkable change in the Draconequus.
“She hurt your feelings, so you got mad at her and said something mean back. Is that what you're saying?”
“I don't believe I stuttered,” He gave her a flat look.
Fluttershy lay down on her branch, her eyes still locked on him. “Are you mad because she said we don't need you around? Is that what upset you?”
Discord rolled his eyes at this. “Fluttershy, you're being remarkably slow on the uptake today.” Suddenly, the dramatics stopped and a lighter, more serious expression grew on his face. “Why? Do you agree with her?”
“No. No, I don't think so.” Fluttershy said gently but with conviction. “Twilight... is probably just a little mad at you right now... but I don't think the others really want you to go away.”
Discord crossed his arms again with a 'humph'. “Not that I much care what the others think.” He said, rather unconvincingly.
“Well, I don't want you to go away.” She said, giving him a small smile.
He said nothing, but gave her another sideways glance, the frown easing a little.
“You told us some scary things today about the wildlife, yes. But even if they aren't found around here and you were just playing a joke, I don't think you were trying to make us scared. Not really.” She stared at him softly. “...were you?”
He broke eye contact as he mumbled, sounding like a school filly afraid of getting in trouble. “Your reactions were pretty entertaining. Not as extreme as I'd have hoped for, but it was funny all the same.”
Fluttershy thought about this before asking the question again, changing her wording, “Did you want us to be nervous when we went to sleep tonight? Did you want us to lie awake because we're afraid?”
“No, of course not.” He waved a paw at her dismissively. “Where's the fun in that? Besides, I need my rest as well, and I don't want to have to deal with a bunch of jittery ponies keeping me awake all night.”
Fluttershy smiled again, this time more to herself. She put one foreleg over the other. “You can be uhm... annoying? I guess? And a little loud. But none of that is really anything I'd tell you to go home for. It would probably be very boring around here if you did.” Her smile warmed at him. “So no, I don't think I want you to go away.”
Discord's reaction to this struck her as strange. What normally would've gotten her an attack of a hug or a toothy grin, merely caused him to stare at her. He looked a little surprised and, strangely, uncertain. He soon lapsed back into a frown, but this time it seemed more thoughtful as he scanned the canopy below them, resting his chin in his claw.
She watched him a little while before giving a dainty cough, deciding to try her luck with the other thing she wanted to talk about. “What you said to Twilight... about being an alicorn?”
“Mmm?” He looked up, pulled from his thoughts.
Fluttershy's smile faded as she gave him a more innocent look. “Is it true? I mean.. I guess it is but... You really did mean it when you said because she's an alicorn, she'll live forever?”
“I thought that was common knowledge,” Discord gave a shrug. “Celestia and Luna have lived thousands of years, haven't they?”
Fluttershy lowered her gaze. “I guess they have...” She looked up again. “But you said if we don't get magic back she won't? She'll just live normally, like we do?”
“I see no reason why not,” He said, picking at something under a claw.
Fluttershy ran this through her head for a few minutes. “So... you think it might be better if magic didn't come back?”
“I never said that.” He said, stretching his arms above his head before giving a yawn. “I just said that for the sake of her friendship with you normal ponies, maybe it would be better for her. Of course, I am enjoying the thought of ponies not having everything underhoof, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. But in reality, a world without magic is tragically boring. The mental list I have for fun, perfectly innocent chaos I could cause has grown so long I'm starting to forget some of my own ideas! And I have a pretty excellent memory, I can assure you.”
“So, you really want your powers back.” Fluttershy said.
“Of course! I'm dying without them!” He said, putting a paw to his chest while throwing the other into the air melodramatically.
“Hmm.” Fluttershy made a small noise. “But then... if magic comes back... then Twilight will be immortal again. And we won't.”
“True,” Discord nodded, sitting back down, “And without magic, ponies might not be running things, but I can't do anything fun either. So either way, it's a raw deal for both of us.”
Fluttershy nodded at this. “Being a unicorn without magic is probably like being a pegasus without wings. Or an earth pony without the soil to grow things in. And it's not just Twilight. There are some ponies who need magic to do what makes them special. Imagine having a cutie mark for the rest of your life telling you the one thing you're very good at and that's most important to you, but you physically can't do it.” He ears lowered slightly. “There must be a lot of sad ponies out there. I can't even imagine how Twilight feels. Her cutie mark is magic itself.”
Discord stuck out his tongue. “She certainly has been antsy enough over getting her magic back. Funny though,” He scratched at the bark of the branch. “She'd have a whole lot less to worry about if she didn't have the rest of you in her life. If you ask me, it seems this whole friendship thing just causes more problems than it's worth.”
“Do you really think so?” Fluttershy gave him a sad expression.
“Well, that's her problem, isn't it? Really, without the other five of you she'd probably be ecstatic about her immortality. Friendship seems to just complicate matters.”
“Maybe,” Fluttershy nodded, to his surprise, “But if I were her, I don't think I'd give up having friends just because I'll live longer than them.” She let her hair fall over her face as she fiddled with something on the wood, avoiding his gaze. “If complete freedom means having no friends... it may not really be such a good thing... you know? I mean... if she had her magic back but didn't have any friends... she'd probably just be lonely...”
“She's going to be lonely anyway, eventually.” Discord said curtly.
“No.” Fluttershy said, “I mean... she might be but... there are other ponies out there.” She smiled to herself absentmindedly. “With my animals, I've watched some of them grow old and eventually pass away, but I also get to know new friends through their babies. Now I'm not sure if uhm... I'd ever have babies but... friendship really is a magical thing. Once you learn how to make friends with somepony, it teaches you how to be friends with other ponies. And after a while, you meet even more ponies in your life that you become friends with. I think it'd be the same for her... only stretched out for a much longer time...”
“A little bird told me she didn't have any friends before your little group,” Discord said matter-of-factly, “What if she can't make other friends besides you? What if she's just incapable of getting ponies to like her?”
“When you become friends with somepony, you learn how to be a friend yourself. And that teaches you how to be friends with new ponies.” Fluttershy smiled in response.
“And what if she doesn't want any other friends?!” He said sharply.
“Are we still talking about Twilight?”
Discord gave a guttural sound at this and got up on all fours. For a second, Fluttershy regretted blurting her thoughts out loud. But instead of snapping at her, he turned and moved to start climbing down the tree again without another word.
“Hey, wait up!” She called, taking wing and flying after him.
He dropped to the ground and, to her relief, stayed where he was as he waited for her to catch up. When she landed beside him he started walking in the direction of their camp again. Fluttershy at first took this as a sign that he was done with the conversation. However, he brought it up again a few minutes later as they walked.
“Not that it really matters,” he said, holding his head high in a show of false loftiness and sudden disinterest in the subject. “We may not even get magic to work again at all.”
“But you hope that we do?” She asked, still nervous that he might be angry.
“I told you, I'm absolutely dying without it! I couldn't get it back fast enough!” He said loudly and without hesitation.
She nodded, deciding to finally let the subject drop. “You're not gonna start fighting with Twilight when we get back, are you?”
“Pff! She can try to argue if she wants, but I'm going to bed. I don't have the energy to waste on her and her personal issues. I'm certainly not going to give her the satisfaction of giving me bags under my eyes!”
“If you say so...” Fluttershy said, not completely convinced.
After a while, she gave him a surreptitious glance when she knew he wasn't looking, and noticed the thoughtful frown had formed on his face once again.
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4733862
Then how would he know that there is anything wrong? You need at least sample the bloody thing to make any opinion about it.
4734584 yes, but I think he's made his point by now.
Loving the story so far.
I know that that is extremely true from personal experience...
AWWW.... Discord is afraid that, if magic comes back, he'll outlive Fluttershy...
You doooon't suuuuuuuuuuuuck! Hell of alot better than I am for sure but that isnt saying much heh. I enjoyed it and I cant wait for your next chapter
*A little
That's deep... I think?
unbearable
Really liked this chapter!
You don't suck by any means of the sort!
This story is so deep, intuitive. You look so far into the characters' hearts and souls that I look at them in ways I didn't see before, even if I already knew certain things, such as losing Fluttershy would upset Discord, and Twilight probably feeling lonely at the thought of immortality. But your raw talent really just brings it to light in ways that really make me think about it, and I think this chapter is very necessary. And as Discord "dies" without his magic, I am dying myself to read the moment where Discord finally flat out tells Fluttershy how he's actually feeling and shows everypony that he isn't some uncaring jerkface. Whether that happens or not is up to you, but I really am very eager for the next few chapters and finding out how this all resolves itself. It's terribly exciting! 
Discord.....
I don't know why, but i find myself siding with discord in this chapter. I may go back and reread previous chapters to see if that is deserved. On the other hoof, both twilight and discord have things they are both worrying about. All and all a great chapter and i cannot wait to read more.
4754679 To be honest, I'm trying to write this in a way that neither Discord nor twilight are in the right or the wrong
So it's completely up to the reader to decide which one they side with. Twilight IS overreacting a little, but I'm hoping people will also remember what's happened in the show up until season 3 for fueling her distrust 
Thanks for all the comments and likes guys! New Chapter coming soon!
I honestly think this chapter was the best. Reasons? Well, 1, it shows development in Discord, Fluttershy and Twilight. 2, Fluttercord. (I'm obsessed with it!
) and 3, it doesn't end with the cherry on top mood, it has that: "What mood is going to be next?" mood. So... keep up the good work!