Evenfall

by Yinglung

Chapter 16 – In Discord We Trust

It was midnight, the moon stood tall at the zenith of the sky. The Mane Six stood at the Canterlot Sculpture Garden with serious expressions. Although it was late at night, they were barely sleepy from their excitement. Spike, though, was too afraid to face the ancient chaos spirit, so Celestia took him in for the night.

The mares wore their respective Element of Magic. The magical glow from each of the jewelries converged on Twilight, and combined into a giant rainbow. The multi-colored light struck the statue of Discord, briefly illuminating the whole garden.

“Oh! Ooh! Ooooh!” Discord yelled and yawned, “Well, it's about time somepony got me out of that prison block. What a relief!”

Twilight trotted up towards the spirit of chaos, “Greetings, Discord, I’m Twilight Sparkle. We have the princesses’ permission to free you, if you can become our friend and consider using your chaos magic to assist us for the good of the realm.”

“Ho ho ho! You know what else is adorable? You ponies truly believe that you can reform me, and that you're putting so much faith into it. Makes me wanna pinch your little horsey cheeks...” Discord blew a raspberry towards the mares. He casually snapped a finger, and a snake in the bush nearby ballooned up and floated in the air.

“Well, pinch away. True friend doesn’t mind a small pinch.” Twilight smiled. “We’re serious. We want to be your friends, I want to be your friend, Discord.”

Discord then actually went over to Twilight and pinched her cheek. He pinched it so hard that it made Twilight wince and her cheek reddened. But then the spirit of chaos slinked away and floated in mid-air afar.

“Friends? Friends? You ponies say you want to make friends with me?” Discord held his belly and laughed. “You know what friends also do? They turn their friend into stone and encase him for a thousand years! Oh wait, only Celestia and Luna do that.”

“It was wrong for the princesses to simply turn you into stone and not thinking of a more benevolent way.” Fluttershy said, causing the chaos spirit to raise an eyebrow.

“Indeed, as the first sign of friendship and trust, we vow to never use the Elements on you.” Twilight said, as all the mares took down and lay the Elements on the ground, “Friends do not hurt friends.”

Discord looked at the submissive mares, he silently pondered. Was this a mere trick to earn his trust? It surely was, he didn’t trust these shifty ponies a bit.

“Pfft, what a lame and boring display. Your tricks are all but transparent in front of me, the master of tricks himself.”

“There’s no trick!” Twilight stressed. “I- I promise to hide away the Elements at a place of your choosing so that they could not be used against you.”

The other mares gasped at Twilight’s promise. Rainbow Dash said in a hush. “Twi! The Elements are our lifeline!”

“Yeah! Think of all the hurt and trouble we’ve gone through just t’ activate them!” Applejack added in worry.

Twilight winced at the implied harm towards her friends, but she said resolutely. “I insist. This is the only way he can feel safe around us.”

Twilight then turned towards the chaos spirit. “I cannot stand using the Elements to encase someone, anyone in stone. Not now, not ever.”

Discord looked at the purple mare for a long time, then he suddenly cackled. “Nice acting. Don’t pretend you didn’t add some charms onto the Elements.”

“There’s actually no charm, despite what I said to the princesses.”

Twilight briefly wondered how the chaos spirit knew or guessed what she told Celestia, but she figured that honesty was the best policy. “You can try it out yourself to see if you can cast a spell on them and hide them away.”

Discord slowly extended his arms and snapped his fingers. To his utter surprise, his spell successfully magicked the Elements away.

“Ha… Ha ha ha!” Discord guffawed. “You naïve mares, you gave up on your only way to suppress me. Now chaos shall reign supreme again! Hah, let me think where do I build the new Chaos capital?”

Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth as she began to fear the purple mare was not thinking rationally and overly relied on the chaos spirit’s probably non-existent good will. Still, she said with a serious voice. “… Discord, we still want to be your friend.”

“Rainbow’s right, we only want to be yer buddies.” Applejack said with a slightly nervous chuckle.

“Please spare some thoughts for your friends and don’t turn the world upside down for now.” Rarity pled.

“Pluh-lease?” Pinkie Pie added.

“Who cares? I can do whatever I want, whenever I want.” Discord shrugged. “I'm Discord, the master of chaos! You think you can boss Discord around?”

Discord then grinned, “I will first deal with the most naïve of you all.” He closed in on Twilight Sparkle. She at first widened her eyes slightly at the sudden approach, but then simply smiled.

“Do it if that’s what you want, Discord.” Twilight gently said. “I shall always have an extended hoof for you, so do my friends.”

Discord gulped, he never had anyone talked to him with such affection and respect. But he shook away the confusing thoughts, and grinned widely. “Let’s see what your adorable face would say after my little dose of chaos magic.”

Discord gritted his teeth and leaned in close to Twilight’s eyes. Her friends looked on worriedly but did not come forth and stop him. Discord was slightly taken aback that he felt a strong resistance during his invasion of the purple mare’s mind, but what’s even more surprising to him, was that the resistance suddenly disappeared, as if Twilight opened the door for him herself.

In any case, Twilight stood in front of Discord, her mouth slightly agape. Her eyes was turned into concentric circles of colors, as she went disoriented. The color of her coat gradually turned gray, and her head lowered.

“Rise and shine, our new Twilight Sparkle.” Discord grinned. “Tell me, how do you feel? Oh, this is going to be so much fun.”

Twilight opened her eyes and looked at the chaos spirit in front of her. Her pupil shrank to a pin, as she took a step back. “Who are you?!”

She looked to her worried friends, and gasped even louder. “Who are any of you?! What’s this place?!”

Discord was truly shocked for a moment. His magic should have turned Twilight into the opposite of her true self. He kind of expected a Twilight with some sort of vicious streak, but definitely not a fearful pony who couldn’t recognize him or any of her friends.

“Twilight…!” Rainbow Dash wanted to fly forth, but she was stopped by Applejack biting her tail.

Applejack let go of the cyan mare’s tail, and said with a sigh. “Let Twilight handle this, I’m… I’m sure she knows what she’s doing.”

“Twilight, the fun hasn—” Discord said. “Wait, where are you going?”

The utterly terrified purple mare tried to run away from the horrifying chimera of a creature. Her mind was completely confused. One moment ago she was still sulking for her last failed examination under the gentle sunlight, and now she was suddenly in the dark, faced with a monster and surrounded by mares that she was never seen before. She was never good at being around other ponies, and being thrusted into this spine-chilling confrontation did her no help.

She ignored the call from the strange creature, and simply wanted to escape from this situation and the eerie creature with the head of a pony but an eclectic mix of all other animals on his body. She raised her head and saw the Ivory Tower in a distance, she decided to gallop at full speed. But after the initial rush of adrenaline, she suddenly felt a strong twang of pain on her back and her back leg, causing her to stumble and fall, hitting her head on a protruding stone on the pavement.

Twilight was dazed from the impact. Confusion and fear reigned in her mind. She laid on the ground and could barely move. She thought of her beloved mentor, her parents, her dear big brother and even her baby dragon, and hoped that one of them would miraculously appear and rescue her out of this nightmare. She was so distressed that she didn’t even notice that blood was streaming down her face from a gnash on her forehead, as she struggled to stand up and gasped for air like a drowning pony.

Discord merely observed, and he teleported in front of the purple mare to take a closer look. Seeing that the strange creature had the power of instant teleportation, she was almost pushed beyond her limit of fright. She wheezed and coughed, tears went all over her face, as she tried all her might to back up from him to no avail.

He looked down on Twilight. Was this his idea of fun? That didn’t seem so. He was just pointlessly torturing a mare who a few minutes ago cheerfully proclaimed that she wanted to be his friend. And why was that she acted like this after he flipped her nature anyway? He couldn’t ask because the mare in front of him clearly couldn’t answer. Frustration, and strangely, a sliver of sadness, began to take root in the draconequus’s mind, as he struggled to comprehend what was happening to him and the purple pony.

The mares, even the initially reluctant Applejack, finally could not bear it. They trotted together towards Discord and Twilight.

Discord turned and narrowed his eyes. “What? Do you ponies want to scold me for hurting your dear little-widdle Twilight? Watch out, I might make you all downside-up like she did!”

“No, Discord.” Fluttershy tried hard to suppress her tears. She sniffled and said, “Twilight wanted to be your friend, just as we do, and she chose to be subjected to your chaos magic by her own volition. We’re not going to ask you to reverse your magic, or spare Twilight, we simply hope that you can remember what Twilight said to you before this.”

‘I want to be your friend, Discord.’

‘Friends do not hurt friends.’

‘I shall always have an extended hoof for you.’

‘What is it?’ Discord deeply frowned, as he felt a strange pang of remorse for the hurt he had caused to Twilight. Why? Playing with ponies should be all fun and no guilt. Discord looked at Twilight, who had simply whimpered and wailed in front of him, and he suddenly found it hard to keep looking.

He could not quite understand what’s going on, or what had taken over him, but he could not take it anymore. He hastily snapped his finger, and the circles of color again appeared in the purple mare’s eyes. A drop of tears fell from the corner of her eye, and the purple mare simply collapsed on the ground like a marionette with lines cut. However, her coat started to return to the original color.

“… Thank you.” Fluttershy lowered her head and quietly said to the chaos spirit, as the other mares dashed forward and surrounded Twilight.

“Twilight! Are you alright?!” Rainbow Dash yelled.

“What happened to ya?” Applejack asked.

“Can you recognize us?” Pinkie asked worriedly.

“… I—Argh!” Twilight groggily woke up and yelped in pain. “Dang, silly panicking me.”

She casted a spell and temporarily stopped her forehead wound from bleeding. Then she stood up shakily with the help of her friends.

“N—” Twilight coughed, and wiped away the tear trails on her cheek. “… Now, do you trust me that I’m earnest and sincere enough to make friend with?”

Twilight limped towards Discord, who for some reason backed off for a bit.

“Or do you want to do it again?” Twilight smirked, but then winced at her wound, “Some ordeal that was, but I’m willing to undergo it again if it means making friend with you.”

Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth and suddenly stepped forward. “It should be my turn. I’m not afraid of it as well, if I’m to become a true friend, I can take whatever it takes.”

“So am I.” Applejack stepped up as well.

“So are we.” The other mares said together.

Discord was stupefied at the bullheaded insistence from Twilight and her friends,

“Why do you all so want to make me your friend? I’m Discord, the master of chaos! I had ruled the entire Equestria with ultimate disharmony before your silly little princesses did!” Discord almost yelled, then turned to Twilight. “And what’s up with you acting like you forgot everyone anyway!”

Twilight winced and looked to the side. “It was not an act! You merely reverted me back to…” Twilight hesitated for a bit, then said. “… when I still had no idea what the magic of friendship is.”

Twilight knew that at the bottom of his heart, Discord was just as lonely as the ancient tome. She could never be so heartless not to extend a hoof of friendship to someone who had endured a millennium of solitude, not the ancient tome, not Luna, and not Discord.

She elevated her hoof towards the spirit of chaos, and said. “But now, I know what friendship means to me, and I just want to give the flame of friendship to you, just as my friends have ignited in my heart.”

Twilight then brightly grinned. “Besides, you have pinched my cheek. That already made you into my friend!”

Discord widened his eyes and protested. “Hey! You said it makes us friends, not me! Please, do you think that I have such bad memories?”

He crossed his arms and huffed. He then rode on the giant balloon snake. “You mares are crazy… You know what? I’m going to leave and build my own empire of Chaos somewhere else. Toodles!”

Twilight immediately grabbed the arm of Discord. The chaos spirit slightly flinched, as he was unused to touch from someone else.

“Ha ha! The spirit of chaos calling us ‘crazy’?” Rainbow Dash laughed. “Isn’t that like Pinkie telling off somepony for eating too much sweets?”

“Hey!” Pinkie protested, but couldn’t quite think of a way to defend herself.

“Please don’t go.” Fluttershy pled with a soft gaze. “You’re needed among us.”

“You aren’t going anywhere without me.” Twilight smiled wryly. “You still owe me a pinch on the face.”

Discord unconsciously touched his face with his claws, then shook his head vigorously. Just when he was about to offer up another protest, he was interrupted by Applejack.

“Discord.” Applejack looked at the chaos spirit directly in the eyes. “Ah know that yer probably not used to the whole idea of ‘bein’ reformed’, with its restrictions and havin’ t’ do good and whatnot. But we will stand by you so long as you stand by us.”

“Will you give us a chance?” Rarity asked.

Discord narrowed his eyes and looked at the bunch of mares, who were all looking at him expectantly.

“Are you serious about hiding away the Elements after this?” Discord asked. “I cannot feel safe with the petrifier always sitting nearby, you know.”

She said. “Yes, I promise. Pinkie, I Pinkie Promise I’ll hide the Elements and never use them against you.”

He finally threw up his arms in defeat and said, “Fine, fine, whatever. I’ll be your frie—”

Discord hadn’t even finished his sentence, and he was suddenly attacked from all sides with hugs from the mares. He momentarily felt a warmth in his heart he never experienced before, but then he immediately protested. “Yuck, yuck! Get off me you sappy little ponies!”

“Sorry.” Twilight sheepishly smiled, as the mares slinked away skittishly.

Discord huffed, “I must clarify, while I, the high overlord of chaos, am partial to the idea of associating with you ponies, I am not entirely okay with the idea of ‘reforming’.”

“Too boring?” Twilight suggested. “We have loads of games in the library. You’re always welcome to join our sessions.”

“Besides, you don’t have to force yourself to become all good all of a sudden.” Fluttershy said. “Just, um, do good most of the time and spare a few thoughts for others.”

Discord frowned, and then he shrugged in defeat. “I guess when you have friends, you can't always have things exactly your way all the time, eh?”

“Excellent!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed. “You know what this calls for, a par—”

Pinkie’s grand announcement was interrupted by a giant yawn, which had infected all other mares as well. Even the spirit of chaos himself couldn’t help but cover his mouth and stretch his arms a bit.

“I ask you mares.” Discord grimaced. “Why must you choose this unholy hour to do your dirty work?”

“Eh, Luna will not like this little remark.” Twilight smiled awkwardly.

“Pfft, who cares about that stuck-up no-fun and her highfaluting sister.” Discord blew another raspberry. “They caused the whole ‘encased-in-stone-for-a-thousand-years’ scenario to begin with, you know.”

“Well, to be frank.” Rainbow Dash said. “Luna kind of accompanied you shortly thereafter, just on the moon thousands of miles away.”

“Bwahaha!” Discord laughed. “Your humor is dark, rainbow mane, I like it.”

“We’re really sad that you have to endure being trapped in stone.” Rarity said.

“But think of it the other way!” Pinkie Pie grinned. “We wouldn’t have met like this if things were different!”

“Indeed, I’m simply glad that you agreed to be our friend. And you wanna know why we casted the spell now?” Twilight smiled. “Because we simply can’t wait after we got the princesses’ approval. An hour earlier is an hour longer with our new friend.”

“Um, sorry to be the mood-killer.” Applejack looked around and said. “But Discord, can you give us the Elements back now? We don’t want the princesses to get suspicious y’know.”

Discord groaned, but he obliged and snapped his fingers. After a flash, the Elements appeared in a pile before Twilight. She picked them up and tucked them snugly in her saddlebag.

“As I said, we will return the Elements to the Tree of Harmony. This is as one more proof for the commitment to our vow, and also to stabilize its power of sustenance.” Twilight said. “But the princesses would not like it, because it means one less powerful weapon in our arsenal. Therefore, besides having to do it in secret, I must ask you to help us out in any future major altercations, so that the need to use the Elements will not arise and the Princesses will not suspect us.”

Discord narrowed one of his eyes, and then smirked. “You’re one naughty mare, aren’t you?”

Twilight blushed for a second, and then smiled. “If telling a harmless lie means one more friend, then so be it.”

“You have a funny definition of ‘harmless’.” Discord said slyly. “We’ll see.”

“Anyway.” Rarity raised her voice. “It is getting really late. We should go back to the castle now and go tell the princesses tomorrow morning about our… diplomatic overture.”

“And the upcoming welcoming party for our newest friend, Discord!” Pinkie Pie said. “I’ll prepare lots and lots of cotton candy and chocolate!”

“Twilight.” Rainbow Dash said. “You should also quickly get your wound cleaned. Probably wash your face as well, your look can now rival some of the best Nightmare Night costumes.”

“Fine, gee, Rainbow.” Twilight said. “And uh, Discord.”

“Mm?” Discord raised an eyebrow.

“I think it might cause some undue alarm if you suddenly appear inside the main castle.” Twilight said. “So how about you stay with me tonight in my old residence in the Ivory Tower?”

“Meh, whatever.” Discord casually shrugged.

“By the way.” Twilight whistled and pointed towards the balloon snake.

Discord rolled his eyes at her, and snapped his fingers. The snake deflated, fell into the bushes and scampered away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The night was deep, and only a sliver of moonlight shone through to the top floor of the Ivory Tower from the balcony.

Despite Twilight’s leave to Ponyville, Celestia still ordered the maids and servants to maintain the place and kept it pristine, initially to prepare for her imminent return, but nowadays just as a gesture of love towards her student.

Twilight already slept on a fainting couch. She insisted to let Discord have her bigger and more comfy bed, despite the lack of need for the draconequus to sleep. The white light of the stars and the moon illuminated Discord’s face, as he quietly observed the sleeping mare. She was so peaceful and content, her lips curling up from the satisfaction of making a new friend. He could even hear her sometimes murmur some proclamations of affection in her sleep, causing him to slightly gulp.

This was a far cry from what Twilight was like under his spell. Of course there had to be a big difference, or it wouldn’t be a spell of nature reversal. But why on Earth did the spell cause amnesia instead of personality flip?

He still didn’t know. Twilight of the past seemed to be so fearful and meek, but she now was such a self-assured and dauntless mare. That kind of matched the spell’s effects, but it still left a lot to be answered.

What had happened in between? Was it just because she made some friends? That alone shouldn’t have interacted with his chaos magic. There must be some deeper, more nefarious force in action.

Discord widened his eyes. Was Twilight Sparkle deceiving him after all? Was she hiding something from him? Was she not the mare she claimed to be?

Come to think of it, Discord did sense an unnaturally large concentration of mind magic when he decided to cast his hypnotic spell on Twilight, but it was tugged away so quickly that he could not determine its nature. But in any case, even if Twilight was a really talented unicorn, such a strong and yet controlled mental barrier wasn’t quite possible for someone so young and inexperienced to cast forth. Maybe the Royal Sisters, or some selected residents in Tartarus, but not such a young mare.

He was conflicted right now. Having new friends have made him much relieved, and even feel a flicker of joy, although he would hardly admit it. But still, the doubts in his heart ate away at him.

He decided to look for the answer himself. He slowly walked towards the sleeping mare, and leaned in close to Twilight’s face. He glanced at her calm expression, and carefully lowered his head. Just when his deer horn was going to come in touch with Twilight’s, Twilight’s eyes suddenly went open, shocking the chaos spirit onto a few steps backwards.

The purple mare let out of yawn. “… Did someone want in on some intimate actions?”

Twilight rubbed her eyes and slowly realized the entendre herself, which caused her face to redden a bit.

As for Discord, his eyes were wide open, and he couldn’t help but pant slightly. He then grinned. “I don’t know how you did it, but you tricked me. Well played, Twilight Sparkle.”

“Oh, I didn’t trick you.” Twilight let out another yawn and stretched her legs. “I just know it when a friend close in on me.”

“Oh please, do you actually believe that I would buy into that?” Discord scoffed. “What do you think I am, a gullible foal?”

“Fine. The truth was, I was not in a deep sleep anyway, as I’m just too happy and excited that we’re now friends.” Twilight smiled. “You’re special to me, so are my other friends.”

“Why am I so special to you? We literally just met!” Discord asked in suspicion.

Twilight bit her lips and looked aside. She thought of her almost obsessive pursuit for those she longed to befriend. The golden scepter that had once seemed so ridiculous and demeaning, now simply made her heart tender. But she could never reveal the true reason of her obsession, so she just hid her hesitation behind a grin and said. “I don’t know, I just feel that we are connected somehow.”

Discord narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms, evidently not convinced.

“I promise you.” Twilight lowered her head and said. “What I said about wanting to be your friend is true and sincere, no matter the reason.”

She stood up from the couch, and extended her hooves. “I like you. Even if you did touch my horn, cast your spells, and reach to the deepest of my mind, you would still only find that I’m truthful, when I said I care for you and want to make you my friend.”

Twilight then embraced the draconequus. Discord froze for a moment, then gradually softened up. He unconsciously put his claws on the purple mare’s back, as he tried to savor the little moment of intimacy without misgivings for once.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The reception hall of the Canterlot Main Castle was converted into a mini party venue, as Pinkie Pie busily set up the place with high chocolate fountains and hanging cotton candies, calling it a Discordian-themed party.

The Mane Six were in various levels of sleep deprivation, but Twilight was the worst. She could barely see what was in front of her clearly sometimes, and she accidentally bumped into Pinkie Pie’s puffy mane when she was holding a tray of cotton candies. Twilight was jolted awake by the attack of strong sweet scent, but Pinkie Pie lost her balance. Fortunately, Spike was there to rescue, and successfully caught the tray mid-air with an impressive acrobatic jump.

“Oh dear.” Twilight said. “I’m so sorry, Pinkie.”

“No worries, Twilight.” Pinkie Pie smiled. “Our dearie Spike saved the day!”

Spike put down the tray, scratched his head and grinned. But then he raised an eyebrow and asked. “Why did you release Discord in midnight? Couldn’t you just wait for the morning?”

“Hehe.” Twilight chuckled. “We couldn’t wait. Besides, if we do it in the day, there might be visitors that come by, it would be at best awkward, and at worst dangerous.”

Spike shrugged. That was when the spirit of chaos himself came by. “Dangerous? Oh, how hurtful! I merely want to bring the world some zing with my delightful chaos.”

Spike widened his eyes and gasped, he quickly hid behind the purple mare. Twilight looked at Spike and smilingly shook her head. “Spike, you don’t have to fear Discord, he’s our friend now.”

She then turned to the huffing chaos spirit. “Now, not all ponies are completely at ease with the idea of being messed in the head.” Twilight said with a grin, and touched the bandage on her head unconsciously.

Spike exclaimed. “What?! He messed with your head? Did you forget anything? Did he make you his thrall? Oh dear, I must tell—”

Twilight rolled her eyes up. She interrupted Spike. “I’m fine. I just tripped on the road and hit my head slightly, don’t worry. Now, be a brave dragon and stop panicking.”

Just then, the two royal sisters strolled in the room. Celestia observed the draconequus for a long time and nodded in satisfaction. Luna simply glared at Discord like she met a devil in broad day light.

“My most faithful student, I must congratulate you and your friends on your good work.” Celestia smiled. “I definitely sense a big change in Discord. I'll leave the Elements of Harmony with you, Twilight. Just in case.”

Twilight smiled, but secretly exhaled in relief. “Thank you for your trust in our abilities.”

“Are you alright, Twilight?” Luna asked worriedly. “You are hurt on the head! Did he dare to hurt you?!” She hissed and glared at Discord.

“No, no! It’s just another accident on the road!” Twilight hurriedly said. She looked at the draconequus, who was clearly still sore about his imprisonment at the hooves of the princesses in front of him.

Twilight covertly pulled at the draconequus’ tail, and looked at him with pleading eyes. Discord turned to look at the purple mare, and he sighed in defeat. “Alright...”

He then stepped forward and bowed in an exaggerated manner. “Yes, Princesses, I'm ready to use my magic for good instead of evil.” Discord said, then muttered something under his breath.

Celestia grinned, but Luna was still far from convinced. The moon princess leaned in and gritted her teeth. “I’m watching your every move, Discord!”

“Don’t worry, Luna.” Twilight said. “Discord is now our friend and definitely reformed.”

“Yes, we just have to treat him with trust and respect.” Fluttershy said.

Luna narrowed her eyes and huffed lightly. “You’ll need a long time before I start trusting you.”

“Oh my Luna,” Discord smirked. “We got plenty of time. It’d also help if you’re less grim.”

He extended a claw forward. Celestia trotted forth and shook her hoof with him. But Luna was still looking aside with a distrustful expression.

“Luna.” Twilight walked in front of Luna and whispered. “Remember what I said about making friends?”

Luna raised an eyebrow, and sighed. “I guess I will put my trust in your judgment again, Twilight.”

She then caught the claw of the draconequus and shook deliberately with great force, but Discord didn’t seem to mind and grinned brightly.

“So Discord.” Twilight said. “Would you be so kind and follow us back to Ponyville? We will arrange some accommodation for you there.”

“Nah, I have my old home in my pocket dimension ready. I feel more at home at good ol’ Chaosville anyway.”

Twilight frowned. “But if you hide into your pocket dimension, how can those of us who can’t open portals find you? The townsponies also need to get used to your sight. Now, don’t be shy, we have plenty of spaces in our houses.”

“Eh?” Discord said with surprise. “You want me to live in with you all?”

He immediately turned suspicious. “You aren’t doing this to keep a tab on me, are you?”

“Stop being so suspicious, Discord.” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Twilight just want to see you around.”

Discord widened his eyes and grinned. “Uh-huh, alright then.”

“Great. Now, I have a spare room in the library, since Trixie has gone to the northeast for an assignment. And when she’s back, her new home will be ready. What about you girls?” Twilight asked.

“I have a room in my cottage, it only needs some minor changes to make it livable.” Fluttershy said.

“I’m sorry.” Pinkie Pie said sadly. “I only rent my place from Mr. and Mrs. Cake. So it would be hard for you to also live in with me. But we can still study how to make desserts explode with chocolate together!”

“The spare beds in my boutique are for my parents who may or may not suddenly turn up.” Rarity sighed. “So I can’t do it as well.”

“And um, our bedrooms are now almost always occupied by guests and relatives from around Equestria who want to check out the new equipment on our farm, so sorry ‘bout that too.” Applejack said.

“My cloud home is a bit too small.” Rainbow Dash scratched her cheek. “Unless we sleep, um, in the same bed, there is not going to be enough space.”

“So, Fluttershy and I have rooms to spare. Whose house do you want to crash when you’re being ‘reformed’?” Twilight asked.

Discord looked at Twilight’s grin, and Fluttershy’s gentle smile. He pondered for a while and said. “I think I’m going to choose both.”

“Huh?” Twilight said.

“I said.” Discord produced a megaphone and blared. “I will live in both of your houses as I please. I’m the spirit of chaos, why should I be forced to choose to live at one place?”

Twilight winced at the loud voice, and then looked at the yellow mare. They both shook their heads in defeat.

“Okay then, if that’s what you wish.” Twilight said. “Just a minor request, please try not to mess up the organization of books in the library. If you’re bored, we can play games, chat, or even have a magic duel, just please spare the books, they took ages to organize.”

“And if you’re living in with me, please don’t turn the animals, um, strange-looking, please?” Fluttershy pled.

“I make no cut and fast promise.” Discord said, but then he saw the look of disapproval of Twilight’s face and sadness on Fluttershy’s face. “… But I guess I’ll try.”

“Thank you!” Fluttershy and Twilight both said with a smile.

“Heya, Discord!” Pinkie Pie cheerfully exclaimed, as she walked from the side of the princesses towards the draconequus. “I just asked the princesses, they said they can let us play with chocolate rain for a bit here in the room! What are we waiting for? Let’s par-tay!”

Author's Note:

Discord couldn't resist the 'doormat' tactics.