A matter of principals

by Melani-Nexus

Chapter IV: Broken cycle (part II)

--School of Friendship, Night 21:46 PM—

It had taken only about an hour and some change for Applejack to actually manage to calm down the school’s population and get Discord and Starlight to properly apologize for the utter havoc that happened during the day… But they were far from done despite calming everyone down. After the episode of pure mayhem, the students took off to the surrounding town or their quarters with the promise that everything would be running smoothly by the next day, as it should.

As for the overpowered prodigy of the freakout and the petty spirit of chaos; the duo got rounded up by Applejack as they were taken around the school to clean remnants of astray magic from the generated conflict. By the end of the day, all of the teachers previously hired had already taken their leave or been disposed of.

As night fell, most of the students seemed to be back inside safely; Cozy Glow strangely was one of the last students to make it back to her quarters, claiming to Starlight and the others briefly that she got quite scared and decided to walk around at the town of ponyville to calm her nerves before going back to the school.

Nonetheless, none of the mares responsible for the school was too stoked about the news they received from the recently terrorized students. Applejack made a short work of reuniting the entire mane six with the help of Twilight, since the Alicorn didn’t take long to arrive alongside Pinkie Pie after Discord’s and Starlight’s little magical quarrel went off, due to the fact that the magical explosions were set several hundred meters up in the air and were sufficiently bright to shine all the way to Canterlot. As soon as the princess of friendship and the party planner were filled into the events by AJ, Twilight pinched her muzzle’ and closed her eyes while claiming that the conversation they would have with everyone was going to be a lengthy one; despite’s Pinkie’s lack of response to this, she seemed particularly bothered and frankly disappointed towards the sudden turn for the worse that everything took, specially due to who was responsible for it.

As if pretending not to be bothered by the fact he was going to receive the scolding of the year wasn’t enough, Discord had to help regroup his own “executioners” as his magic happened to be the only thing convenient enough to be capable of entering contact with the remaining separate mares and safely teleport them back in case they were done with their own businesses. It took quite a while for Rainbow Dash to be liberated from her duties at Mount Everhoof; and Fluttershy, and Rarity also took their time at Manehattan with their own challenges and problems to tackle. Eventually everyone was finally done with their tasks and was summoned to Twilight’s office at the school of friendship, and as the mares were well aware of everything that went down, they grouped around the culprits as Spike silently went back to Twilight’s side, getting a sympathetic gentle caress to his cheek for having to deal with this troublesome pair.

-“So to recap all of this…” – Starting in a mildly frustrated tone, Twilight frowned as she looked up at Discord and then down to Starlight. Disappointment clear in her features but not aimed at only one of them at the moment. – “After we left you in charge of the school with Spike’s help and went off to deal with our other responsibilities, Discord came in “offering to help” and actively intervened in several things which he wasn’t qualified to oversee; And sure, he can get under your skin pretty fast but you thought blasting him halfway through the school’s campus ground was a good idea?!” – For a moment Twilight sounded as incredulous as she was baffled. It was as if she wanted someone to tell her that this wasn’t the actual truth.

A moment of tense silence befell the group… The draconequus rolled his eyes and briefly sucked in a breath as he opened his mouth, but was interrupted by Starlight before one of his snarky sarcastic remarks could dig them deeper into the crater that already had formed around them. – “I may have let myself be carried by my gut when he… Stepped over the limits, again and again-” – she rolled her hand for emphasis as Discord furrowed one brow and raised another towards her. – “But in the end what was really happening was that I was feeling steeped over, and surely I was being stepped over, but Discord also felt forcefully excluded from even trying to aid at all.” – The purple unicorn’s voice sounded empathetic, although she wasn’t giving Discord a green flag for all of his previous actions.

All the mares exchanged glances between themselves, Spike had his arms crossed and silently looked at Fluttershy as he had a feeling she would step forth

-"… It's really good that you two managed to make up in the end, since you seem like quite good friends when we all hung out before, but… Still, this is not right. Everyone was really scared by your fight and you shouldn't have dragged the students into such personal matters." – As much as Fluttershy's voice was stern, it felt like a soothing melody and it was difficult to shield yourself from her scolding as it wormed its way into the mind, bringing out the guilt in both of them.

-“… I know… I just felt that if I could stand my ground, maybe I could get him to listen to me; I knew the students could have gotten hurt or scarred but still I let my temper take charge because I was sure I could solve all the problems no matter what.” – Starlight felt shame and crawling at the back of her mind as her neck felt slightly hot and she looked down, ears pinned as her gaze turned towards Twilight. – “After all, Twilight trusted me to deal with the school’s responsibilities.”

-“Which she shouldn’t have.” – The draconequus’ deep voice resonated with seriousness, surprising even the purple unicorn as he stepped forth and stood right beside her, his arms crossed over his chest in defiance. All those present were now aghast; Spike felt worried at the situation, deeply wishing that Discord was about to discuss the problems at hand instead of purposefully irk everyone further.

Stepping between them, Twilight unfolded a wing protectively in front of Starlight while pushing them apart. -“Discord! Just because you somehow felt offended it gives you no right to attack others or hurt their feelings. I thought you said you would even like to have Starlight as a roommate if given the chance! Why are you saying that to her?!” – Even if the delivery of that bit of personal information wasn’t quite necessary, as a minor flare of curiosity rang through the group, the argument was effective enough to make the chaos lord grunt in exasperation and close his eyes, raising both talon and paw and shaking them negatively from side to side.

-“No, no, no, Princess Sparkle… You’re not only interrupting me, you’re showering everyone with your own rushed conclusions. Now, hear me out, would you?" – As he opened an eye to look at her again without a trace of mockery he used a talon to boop the unicorn’s muzzle.

Twilight promptly pulled back as she raised an eyebrow and brushed his hand away. – “I’m listening then, go on.” – Waiting patiently for any justification for this big mess, the draconequus had the Alicorn’s undisputed attention.

-“I’m claiming Starlight couldn’t have possibly handled the responsibilities due to the fact that you six as the foundation of this very school didn’t handle them either. What made you think that she could possibly, by herself, hire competent and qualified personnel overnight without any indications or the minimal guidance necessary? I do get it; a school that brings several creatures and cultures together is an optimal idea, Twilight… But we can’t excuse some plot holes in the execution now, can we?” – Raising a talon, he started extending his fingers enumerating problems. – "No teachers were at the ready for this very situation; there isn't any maintenance staff around the school, nor secretaries. Despite your impressive track record with saving Equestria, I'm afraid that all and each one of you has your own routines and occupations to handle and none of you is even remotely qualified to teach.” – Finishing his compressed list of issues the draconequus looked at the group ready to take any form of backlash and discussion that he was about to receive.

But what hit him was a complacent wave of silence as their eyes widened in a collective reaction. An awkward embarrassed quietude took over the group shortly before Twilight's eyes drifted towards Starlight. The unicorn didn't seem too eager to speak up but did so anyway. – "Sure he is putting it bluntly, and well I was a bit puzzled by the lack of specifics, despite how many instructions you had left behind. Of course that we both tried to handle things differently…”

-“And perhaps this drove the situation a bit out of hand-” – Discord added as he closed his eyes, trying to smooth out the situation and aid Starlight’s case.

-“A bit?” – Spike deadpanned at the duo as he gritted his teeth and lowered his head, looking upwards at them.

-“Oh, shush it. Things became a mess. Happy now?” – Earning a nod from the young dragon, Discord narrowed his eyes. – “I thought I could aid tiding up things a bit around here, but turns out that was a bit more complex than expected… Who could have guessed?”

-“… Added to the fact that tiding up things is not exactly your specialty, darling.” – Rarity frankly said as she crossed her arms and gave him a skeptical look.

-"Given." – With a shrug, Discord put up a smug grin as an answer. Which was very short-lived as it was snuffed off from his expression as soon as Twilight took the next turn of the conversation.

-“Look, Discord… I recognize that I may have given Starlight too many issues to tackle in hopes that she could just keep holding the school together until we came back… And I'm really glad that you tried to help, but still, from the looks of it, the school and the students were in real danger from this outburst. And although you didn’t create that whole firework show by yourself, things could have gone at least a bit smoother without you bringing more conflict to the school by antagonizing who I left in charge.” – Twilight’s expression had disappointment written all over it towards this whole conundrum.

-“… Yes, but I’ll have you know I humbly offered my help! It’s not my fault we had very different visages of how an educational establishment should be run; specially one this specific.” - Raising his muzzle upwards, the chaos lord feigned a dramatic show of hurt to actually shield them from the fact that her words had stung him.

-“But that’s your problem! We all know very well that ya have a tendency to have temper tantrums whenever someone stands in your way or things don’t go the way ya wanted them to.” – Stepping up to the draconequus the earth pony stomped her hoof and pointed at his face with a finger. – “Like the time when ya threaten’ to send Tree Hugger to another dimension at the gala because you were jealous; or when ya tried to put a rift between us and Fluttershy just so you could be free to do whatever ya want with no scoldin’; or even when ya traded sides and put a knife through our backs and teamed up with Tirek! Do ya know that many farms lost their harvest for months to come because of the lack of magic and the destruction?! No ya don’t, because ya never cared. As soon as someone irks ya, ya just turn their world inside out and sideways!”

Swallowing dry and feeling himself diminishing on the spot, the accused part pinned his ears as he lifted his hands, feeling actual hurt at the mentioned mishaps as his expression sullied. – “… Oh, come on now; I may not have behaved my best in the past, but I learned my lessons, Applejack.”

-“Oh yeah? Then ya have a funny way of learnin’, cause I didn’t see ya apply any of the lessons. No wonder we can’t leave the place unwatched for a day! Of all the things that could have attacked, you had to be it. And ya know what? Maybe it was you who made everyone act like rabid dogs at Twilight’s retreat last weekend as well!”

This time around everyone’s gaze snapped at Applejack as she spat that bold claim at the Spirit’s face. Fluttershy and Discord himself where the only ones that remained confusedly silent as the rest of the group couldn’t help but exclaim in alarm. – “What?!”

As this torrent of building tension and passive-active aggressions made a tiny spark of discontent lighten up within the chaotic being’s core, he stepped back and flicked the tip of his tail in irritation; frowning, his deviated gaze snapped right back at the earth pony's as he switched from his prior complete silence and snarled at her in chagrin and frustration. – "Retreat at the Everfree? I haven't even heard of that properly! I certainly didn't mingle with your short lived frustrated vacation.” – As his pent-up nervousness from the conversation accumulated, it started to sip through him in a venomous manner due to the unfounded new accusation. Energy charged all around them in response to his mood, something that both Starlight and Twilight could feel as they exchanged a surprised and worried glance consecutively but having very different feelings over this whole situation, still.

Fluttershy non-surprisingly stepped forth and held Applejack’s shoulder in order to pull her back gently and try to calm everyone’s nerves down. – “… I can see why you’re upset at Discord’s behavior through the time we have known him… But there is no reason to accuse him of such a thing without any proof.”

-"Oh come on Shy, what proof else ya need?" – Looking at the butter-colored Pegasus from above, the farm mare threw her arms wide open before she started counting. – "First ya said Dash abandoned ya in the forest, then Pinkie said Twilight didn’t care about your feelings and Twilight told the same about Pinkie Pie. Rarity was acting like a greedy maniac and then Starlight said Ah mocked her by lying’ about the camping gear, which Ah clearly wouldn’t ever do! Weren’t we acting much “Discorded” to your taste? Even Rarity commented that we looked different in color, and now this whole thing about the school becoming a giant mess ‘cause he’s shown up. Aren’t those things a bit too close for bad luck alone?” – At this pressure, Fluttershy shrunk a bit as she let her mane fall in front of her eyes unsure if she should stick up for the spirit of chaos or try to digest Applejack’s hypothesis further.

Watching the distressed kind Pegasus made the draconequus’ gut twist around with unspoken chagrin and accumulating anger. – “I can take plenty of responsibility for anything I have done, and sure, ramble your mouth off about how bad I’m doing, but don’t drag me into something I have not done; and don’t force others into it as well.” – The tension had rose skywards as he coiled his long serpentine tail around Applejack’s waist and pulled her away from Fluttershy, turning her whole body in order to face him as he loomed over her with a snarl to his words.

At this scene, Twilight felt her hands turning into fists as everything was unraveling to the worst case scenario. – “Let’s not get out of hand you two-” – But before she could start to properly intervene, Spike and Starlight had already moved in the scene; Spike grabbed at Discord’s tail and loosened it from the mare’s body while Starlight teleported between the two, successfully distracting them and pushing the clashing duo apart.

-“Uh-oh, wait just a moment you two!” – After the farmer and the spirit both gave a step back, their gazes fell squarely upon the dragon. – “Sure, Discord slipped up now but he is doing much better from when we first meet him as a villain. He even listens when our games get a tad too intense.” – Offering his best reassurance, Spike looked up at the draconequus but his crimson eyes were solely focused upon Applejack, pupils slit. Something flared on the back of Spike’s memory. – “And talking about games, he couldn’t possibly have jinxed up your retreat because we took the whole day off to continue our O&O Session.” – Clearing his throat at the end, he stood to defend his friend, arms crossed in front of his chest and the fins by his ears visibly flared upwards.

A very brief moment of quiet went by as Rainbow Dash and Pinkie exchanged a glance due to how much they had liked the game in the few instances they ever played. Discord spoke up after a couple of seconds. – “Other than that, what interest could I possibly have in spoiling your retreat? Although it sounds like you managed to do it by yourselves… Somehow.” – Narrowing his eyes, the lord of chaos’ mind started to turn on its gears once again.

-“Well, Ah surely don’t know about that, but Ah really don’t see anyone else who could have magic capable of doing it! Guilty of that or not, you still gave everyone a hard time and scared the students halfway out of their skins earlier.” – Narrowing her eyes Applejack crossed her strong arms right above her chest in a display of confidence in her points.

-“… Applejack, I was there too and I don’t think you’re right.” – Starlight cut no corners as she voiced her opinion while squaring up, sparing a glance at the distressed draconequus as her tail whiplashed in a signal of irritation. – “Sure, we had a rough day and things got out of hand because everyone was acting really off, but as far as I know, if Discord was to blame he would let us know… And since you six saved not only Equestria over and over, but also me, what could he accomplish by ruining one afternoon in your several years of friendship?” – With a mild huff and an impatient expression, the mare expected no retort.

Visibly being taken off guard, the mare’s green eyes darted back and forth all around the room, following everyone’s surprised but agreeing reaction to the well made argument. Gritting her teeth and mildly stomping a hoof, she extended a hand in exasperation. – “Well-… Even if somehow he isn’t to blame for that, why are ya of all ponies defending him? Ah thought he just walked all over ya today.”

-"Because I can slip up too, and I still do. This whole mess just happened because we failed to communicate and we couldn't hold our own tempers. The more you go on rambling about how much he messed up, I can see that we got more in common than I imagined… He is not the only one that ever relied on his powers to fix problems." – Several memories ran through her mind as she gave him a sympathetic look, which in turn calmed the aggravated creature a little. – "From my village to my revenge, to trying to impress Twilight or make amends and reach out to others, I have lost my patience several times and used my magic a lot; it was wrong and I had to learn the hard way to cope with the consequences. Yet you all forgave me and helped me through it." – Walking forward, Starlight raised her muzzle and pinned her ears, getting in Applejack's personal space. – "But the first thing he told me by morning was that he wasn't invited to any school matters; and alright everyone got a busy schedule… But I didn't know any better until you all had shown me differently. So why is there a double standard for him?”

Applejack's words all caught up in her throat as the tables had turned. Spike, Fluttershy, and Twilight were very surprised by that question. The Alicorn stepped up to the situation, noticing immediately how Discord's expression had mellowed out from angered and frustrated, to cold and patient; Twilight liked his previous emotional display better somehow. – “Double standard? What do you mean by that?” – She asked nervously.

-“Well, even if we’re doing the same things, and acting equally as bad, you’re taking it more out on him than on me… And I can’t really see why.” – Turning at Twilight, Starlight had a confused expression to her features.

-“Because he has been around for a longer time and has much more power than ya could ever imagine havin’, and still he goes out of his way to rile up our nerves every time.” – Applejack was quick to protest.

-“Just because he’s been around for longer, doesn’t mean he knows any better than her.” – Fluttershy held both hands together above her heart with worry and some traces of frustration forming. – “Starlight’s magic may be powerful too, but she has not lived as much as the princesses and him.”

-“But it should at least mean that he would have learned not to pull stunts like these. Ya give the critter too much slack, Shy. He may be your best friend but at times he doesn’t really try to be one for everyone else.” – It pained Applejack to stand up to the kind soul, but she would stand her ground if needed.

-“… Well, I’m sorry that I’m not too eager to bend over and out of shape to fit under your gracious expectations, workaholic apple equine.” – Putting a talon in front of the Pegasus, Discord protectively put himself in front of Fluttershy as she held his arm in worry, tilting to the side to not lose sight of the farmer mare.

-“Discord… You’re upset over this, but that was uncalled for.” – Twilight reprehended.

-“Her opinion was uncalled for, but I didn’t stop her from opening her trap now, did I?” – Answering venomously, he pinned his ears lowly and shot a disgusted look at the earth pony.

-“Why, ya serpent-” – Raising a clenched fist at the draconequus she stepped forth but was held by Starlight’s magical aura, as the unicorn stood her ground and scowled lifting her out of the floor by a good meter.

-“Tell them how you felt.” – Losing her amiable tone and patience, Starlight looked over to the draconequus and commanded with her most imposing voice.

-“Why would I have any interest in doing that? She is clearly biased! I don’t even know how they can possibly teach the next generations with that mindset. I can’t be what they want me to be. Believe me, I tried and it didn’t quite work out.” – Obviously refusing he snarled and looked aside while almost rolling his eyes so far that his crimson iris disappeared under his nictitating membrane for a moment; ivory teeth exposed, with only his solitary fang being of a deeper color than the rest of the sharp set.

-“… Please don’t try it again. ” – Fluttershy swallowed dry and clenched her eyes while lowering her head, the grasp around his arm tightened at the memories. – “It was scary.”

-“… I’ll keep it in mind, dear.” – Momentarily shaken from her pleas, Discord’s gaze fell upon the Pegasus as he used a paw to gently caress her mane in a comforting manner.

-“This is getting messier by the second.” – Spike stood with Rarity, Pinkie and Rainbow Dash who were mostly quiet seeing this whole argument unfurl.

-“Maybe I could make some mango juice. It’s good for the nerves.” – Pinkie brought a hand to her mouth as if directing her low voice at the others, despite her normal volume being perfectly audible for all.

-“Where would you find those?” – Rarity questioned a bit puzzled at the random suggestion for juice refreshments.

-“In the teacher’s lounge! Right by the codfish and Limburger's cheese crates. It would go well with the next interruption to set things straight.” – Turning around, she started to head towards the principal room’s doors. Discord’s ear twitched at the random try to appease the nerves of everyone around.

-“Well, I was indeed one step ahead; glad to see someone recognizing the benefits of my choices. But you mentioned an interruption? That’s curious…” – Although it was pretty clear who would step forth, Discord played along Pinkie as she nodded to the notion.

Rarity’s and Rainbow’s features visibly contorted at the barrage of new confusing info that poured from Pinkie’s and Discord’s brief exchange.

-“Just tell then you felt left out!” – Starlight pushed through the duo and shout now, completely impatient as her horn flared with magic and the door was closed, stopping Pinkie Pie from leaving and using a levitation spell to place herself at Discord’s and Applejack’s level. – “Fine, I get it! You’re upset because he doesn’t really absorb the lessons that quickly, but maybe some of you are used to expecting the worse of him; you put absolutely no effort in trying to reach out to him from what I’m seeing. And Discord, I know you’re not very open with your feelings, so you can’t just expect them to get why you’re upset or lonely either. They’ll have to be more patient, but you need to show them how you feel instead of letting it build up and have an outrage about it later! There’s not just one side to blame here and you know it.”

Flinching at the notion the draconequus narrowed his eyes and pulled himself away even from Fluttershy’s side, crossing his arms and keeping his gaze astray. -“The day I admit up to that is the day I go back to stone.” – With a sarcastic tone he mocked the whole premise. Who did Starlight think she was to expose the fact that he may be feeling lonely? It was not only unnerving, but it made the chaos lord feel quite pathetic.

-“... Really?” – With a motion of her hand, she levitated Applejack back down to the floor and ceased her own levitation spell, simply walking closer to him now and tilting her body in order to get in his direct field of view. – “So you'd rather be trapped in torturous boredom in complete silence and being able to hear everything around you than admit you're feeling hurt?”

Sucking air through his clenched teeth, Discord’s gaze snapped back at her and to the rest of the group. -“… From both evils, the lesser I guess. Whatever.” – In all aspects of the notion, Discord was reluctant to share such a show of vulnerability. He was always powerful, sarcastic, mysterious, sly… The last thing he possibly wanted to be seen as was weak.

-“Is that true? Oh my… That would explain why you suddenly were in a foul mood yesterday.” – Fluttershy brought a hand to her lips in surprise and worry. – “I’m sorry I didn’t notice... We have all been so busy that I just forgot to share in the news, I didn’t mean to leave you out.” – Looking up at the draconequus, her teal eyes shone with a certain type of guilt that stung him in return. Discord ceased his sulking as his expression mellowed out… He had to make an effort.

The only difference this time is that he had a full audience to witness his exposure rather than just Fluttershy. Spike visibly clenched his fists in the background, making meek silent gestures in hopes that he could just say the right thing to make amends through this flaming mess.

-“I-…” – Words escaped him at every turn as he searched for an excuse, a fake-out, anything to pull him out from this embarrassing situation. But it was no use, he was cornered and there was no way out. Sighing in defeat, he caressed his black mane with a talon, unable to look at Fluttershy directly. – “I’m sorry… Applejack is right.” – shrugging in an apologetic manner, his voice sounded downtrodden and humble for once.

This time there wasn’t even a collective vocal reaction. Rainbow Dash’s jaw dropped and everyone stared with wide eyes.

-“Did he-… Did Discord just-… What? Ya said Ah am right?” – Incredulous of her ears, the orange mare looked at the rest of the group, but Discord clicked his tongue at this in annoyance.

-“Yes… Do you need to hear it twice?” – And just this time his sudden snap actually caught her off guard as Applejack flinched out of sheer surprise. Sighing heavily at the display, Discord ran a paw on his face before finally looking at the others in the eye, preferring to focus at Fluttershy for now. – “I always ran on a short fuse, not really caring about costs or consequences... And all of the sudden I just have to accept that even with all of my power I can’t simply get what I want when I want it because things don’t work like that... Not anymore.” – A sarcastic smile grew on his lips as he closed his eyes and chuckled while pinching the bridge of his muzzle with his talons in chagrin. – “For an entity of change and chaos, I’m doing a remarkably poor job at adapting lately, aren’t I?”

Twilight chest felt a little heavier hearing to the spirit’s confession, although it was unfinished. -“Discord… We never imagined it could be hard for you to reform-” – But as soon as she stepped up to aid him, he rose a claw to silence her with a gesture, no magic involved.

-“I’m not finished, Miss Sparkle.” – Announcing as politely as he could, Discord exhaled strongly letting his lungs empty and fill as he caught a moment of calm and his golden and crimson gaze fell to the floor before running up to those comforting teal eyes. – “Things were different back then, and Starlight’s claims hold deep strength. I’m fairly used to molding things to my own needs, not the reverse… So by extension even if you couldn’t quite come to understand me and always expected the worst, it’s not like I gave you too many chances of comprehending my motivations either; and I do have a tendency to cause enough strife when I show up, to actually root distrust towards myself in your minds.”

-“Duuude… I wish I had popcorn.” – Spike commented in awe, realization beaming upon him a second too late. – “Wait! Don’t-” – Bracing himself as he heard the snap, he expected to be showered with popcorns on the spot; but instead, a large bowl of the snack popped into existence between his claws. – "Huh… Neat."

A very brief relieved silence went by before he spoke up again; secretly glad by the small pause the dragon had created. -“If you want honesty Applejack, I have a tendency to be quite cynical… But I’ll try my best from now on to look at things in another light. It’s not like someone already tried to push that one particular lesson upon me.” – Glancing through the corner of his eyes, Discord directed his gaze at Spike.

-“Well, yeah, at hearts and hooves day. Although I still want to see if that lesson paid off-” – As soon as a smug provocative look grew upon Spike’s features, a bright and large sapphire flashed into existence clogging his mouth.

As everyone stared in curiosity and bafflement after hearing the tease, Discord had his best façade to hide from the flustering topic that was hinted at, glad that the young dragon happily accepted his bribery for silence and chewed down the gem without uttering another word.

-“Look, Ah’m glad ya admitted up to that much… Ah honestly never thought ya would have a problem with adjustin' to the pony's ways; it’s not like we are complicated folk ya know.” – Furrowing a brow and relaxing her arms, Applejack put down her defenses after what she felt was a sincere apology and confession. – “Ah won’t lie since Ah can’t see eye to eye with ya in a lot of senses, most of the time Ah won’t understand why ya prefer to not talk about things… But if ya promise ya will make an effort to not toss everyone into chaos’ way when ya feel like throwing a tantrum, then Ah’ll have to be more patient with ya crazy critter… After all, we’re not really buddies yet, but there is a reason why Shy befriended ya; guess Ah’ll have to see what it is for mahself.”

Even if the farm mare's accent rung dully in the draconequus' ears, he was secretly overjoyed that the single biggest boulder in his path was starting to move out of the way… At least until his next slip up that is. Putting up the effort to become better always came with certain hiccups anyways. – "I’ll try to behave myself… Most of the time.” – His sly smile was plastered on his lips as he could hold himself with a small sense of pride again. He had survived the overexposure of his feelings (at least in his opinion) and no one had particularly judged or mocked his case. Applejack shot back a playful small smile which was mixed with a bit of a reprehensive expression, but before she could speak up he questioned her with an expression shifting from mischievous and playful to serious. – "Nonetheless, I'm still rather curious and personally offended over your previous accusation about the whole retreat affair. I can guarantee I had nothing to do with it, but still, you claim something nefarious made you act akin to the way you did in our little maze game..." – brushing his goatee with a talon, the draconequus was deep in thought.

-“Oh indeed, after all, I'm very sure I missed my things but I didn't go around raiding Applejack's farming equipment! And when we arrived at our tents and camp, it was completely devastated, as if a storm had gone straight through it.” – Rarity provided more details about that ludicrous day; even though everything had turned out alright, it still was rather weird.

-“I’ll give it a look then. I hope our odds have been set to rest for the time being, as I bid you adieu for the night.” – with an exaggerated bow to those present, the draconequus mind kicked off with activity as he felt his chaos magic stretching far and wide, warming up and receptive to any prompts.

-"Oh sure-, wait, what?! You're going to look it up now? So late?!" – Twilight had a tiny moment of lag before the context of his actions sank in.

-"The night is still young my purple pony princess principal, so I'm afraid I have plenty of time at hand. Besides, I'm not going to sleep through the framing of my good-…" – Raising a talon to the air, soon enough he lowered it and put it to his lower lip in doubt. – "…Well, of my name." – With a shrug of his shoulders, he turned on his hoof elegantly and headed towards the room’s doors, slithering through the crowd with grace befitting of a snake despite his tattered clothes.

-“But it has been so many days since then-… And our current conversation-” – Twilight confusedly tried to protest to no fruition whatsoever as he waved a dismissive paw at her.

-"Oh dear, no, I think I had my dose of feelings for the semester there Twilight, I need the refreshing night air and smell of framing plagiarists to fill my senses. Perhaps we can talk more about feelings and sincerity at another date. Preferably not, since I don’t want to; I meant, ta-ta.” – The principal room’s doors opened but he simply teleported with a bright white flash as they did so.

Starlight blinked at what had just happened. – “Is he always like that, or is this new?”

Twilight shook her head from one side to another while giving a tired but amiable groan. – “You don’t know half of it.” – Which triggered a tiny chuckle from the purple unicorn as they both smiled at each other. – “Thank you for helping us connect with him… It has never been an easy task.”

-“Aw shucks, I just handled the situation how I thought you would have. And besides, I have been on his place at least partially so I can understand where he is coming from…” – Starlight felt herself blush slightly from the embarrassment, and also the warm fuzzy feeling in her chest as the rest of the ponies all seemed content at how things unraveled. Fluttershy flashed a bright and proud smile at her too.

-“Well, now I can say that everything’s well that ends well.” – Spike downed a clawful of popcorn again, satisfied as he crunched down the tasty buttered treat. This time he earned a playful head shake from the orange earth pony.

-“Sure thing… But what was that whole thing during hearts and hooves day?” – Pinkie Pie suddenly loomed over the young dragon, full of curiosity for some juicier details as she balanced her whole body’s weight on her arms, doing a handstand on the table and looking at Spike while upside down.

Gulping the mouthful at once accidentally, Spike gave a nervous laugh as he finished his popcorn and got up from Twilight’s table, bringing the bowl with him as he headed off. – “Haaah… I think I’m a bit thirsty, from all of this salt.”

-“Oooh of course you are. Perhaps some lemonade could do the trick… With a few donuts in case you had too much salt." – Pinkie as subtle as a brick, bribed the young dragon as she let her body fall back to a normal position and stood up, being quick to bounce right beside him.

-"Well, that does sound like a good offer." – Grinning, he racked his mind for ways to exchange some interesting info with the pink party pony.

-“Spike!” – Twilight crossed her arms and furrowed a brow as she tapped a hoof to the floor, smiling mildly at their exchange but with a reprehensive motherly tone.

-“I know, I know! It’s not like I can say much anyways…” – After all, being blackmailed by a creature with an ego the size of a fortress and a taste for extreme pranks was not ideal.

-“Welp, have fun with trying to not get blackmailed… I for one will crash.” – Rainbow Dash audibly yawned as she stretched her sore body and swiftly took to the air. There was a lot to do both about their personal lives and the school by the next day after all.

-“Right there with ya Dash… I’ll have to work extra hard tomorrow to cover up for today’s ditch.” – Applejack added sourly.

-“Oh, I can help with the harvest after I take care of the animals.” – Fluttershy offered meekly and hiding the sudden tiredness in her voice, but failing to do so as a cute yawn escaped her.

-“Oh, oh! Me too! I have to get the baked goods ready for Mrs. and Ms. Cake tomorrow, and I’ll be a hop, a skip and a jump away from Sweet Apple Acres.” – Pinkie added excitedly.

Consequently, the other mares all joined in the group effort to help Applejack accelerate the harvest for Apple bucking season whenever they could, all leaving the room and locking things up as they rejoiced in a day that didn't end in as much of a disaster as it could have been; for someone’s displeasure.

---

--Everfree Forest, 23:32 PM—

The solitary crunch of dry leaves and fallen floral debris was one of the multiple sounds that filled the chaos spirit’s ears as he walked through the dark and threatening forest, accompanied by all manners of curious sights and sounds such as the howls of hungry Timberwolves. Idly making his way downstairs the draconequus gave a weak flap of his wings and leaped off from it halfway through, prompting his magic to keep him airborne as he slithered through the air and towards the very base where the girls had set camp recently.

Of course, they had dismantled it as soon as they left by the end of their retreat, but Discord still could see the marks left by pony activity. Conveniently, a familiar and quite distressing faint scent was picked up by the draconequus’ forked tongue...

The scent of changelings.

-“No wonder something was bugging me lately.” - Cracking a classic pun by his lonesome Discord analyzed the site until he picked up a lonely strand of green hair stuck on the dirty ground that vaguely reminded him of a certain cheese-legged dethroned menace.

This by itself was really not a surprising turn of events at all. Ponies acting out of character? Random fights happening for the most minimal reasons? It was a “plot twist” so obvious that the lord of chaos couldn’t help but vocally voice his disappointment. – “That’s it then? Finally queen cheese legs returned? It’s almost not worth the trip…” – Voicing his displeasure to the universe and yawning in boredom, a sudden shiver ran down his spine, sending his hackles to stand on edge; the breeze of the night blowing stronger and hurrying with unknown potency.

Gently turning around, Discord followed his ears which twitched as they had caught up to the subtle buzzing of electricity rippling through the air alongside the familiar and distasteful scent of a specific harmonious magic that had always antagonized him. Now he almost wished that karma had not paid attention to him, but at the same time, his stomach fluttered with curiosity and adrenaline.

Large crystalline roots and vines spread across the cave in which the tree of harmony resided, pulsing with life and light as if the tree itself was a heart powering everything around it. As the shining and shimmering roots crawled their way across the site swallowing more things in its awake, Discord gave a fearful step back instinctively due to the raw mix of excitement and terror at the discovery. – “Now that’s something much more interesting…”

---

Author's Note:

And with this I conclude this fanfic that is a replacement for episode 14 of season 8! I know a lot of people prefer to make Discord's antics even bigger and more dangerous, or prefer to portray the mane six as more aggressive to put a stop to him, but I felt that if handled in the right way, Discord could actually crack for the good side for once.

It doesn't stop him from being emotionally constipated and unhelpful at times, other than being a troll by nature, but at least he can have a more amiable cooperative side... Just don't expect it from him often. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Now if you're curious about Cozy's role into this and the whole thing with the tree of harmony at the end, do watch episode 22 from season 8! x3