• Published 4th Mar 2012
  • 17,770 Views, 536 Comments

Broken Spirit - Cryssy-miu



A story of struggle, redemption, friendship, and forgiveness.

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Chapter 16 - Love Is In Bloom

"Discord, get Barbara off of the kitchen counter."

The frenzied hen flapped her wings when she realized she had been caught trying to steal a few bites of the pie Fluttershy had just made. Bunny paws lunged at the bird, but she managed to squirm out and flail right off the counter.

Discord flew down from where he was walking on the ceiling and took Barbara into his mismatched arms, carefully fluffing up the chubby hen's feathers. "Fluttershy, don't be rude now to the newcomer!"

"Why can't she stay outside in the chicken coop with the rest of the others?" She moved to gather up several cold items from the fridge, stacking them in a woven basket with a closed pitcher of ice cold lemonade.

"Your precious Elizabeth tried to peck her face off!" Discord exclaimed, horrified at the thought of sending his beloved little foul back to that caravan of diabolical chickens. "Come on, what's the worst that can happen with her being inside?"

The honey colored pegasus's cyan eyes roved over the room to inspect what had already happened. Ornaments were scattered across the floor in shattered remains, and the indents of spindly talons scratched up her wooden floors. It seemed like the worst already had happened.

"How come you wanted a chicken as a pet anyway?"

The god's mismatched eyes rolled around in their sockets when he realized he needed to tell her the whole cave story again. Did this girl have cotton candy in her ears or something? "Well, in the midst of playing the noble hero for little Lulu trapped in the cave, I found-"

"I know you thought Barbara was a basilisk and you didn't want to leave her to starve, but I guess I just find it funny that the big bad spirit of chaos has a pet chicken of all things," Fluttershy giggled. Really, she'd expect Discord's idea of a pet would be a two headed dog, or a frog that spat jelly beans out of its mouth.

"Oh, I gave her a small chaotic feature~" the draconequus sang, his eyes sparkling mischievously as he gently dropped Barbara, who flopped to the ground on her belly with a feathery 'squish'.

"Well, what is it?" Fluttershy uttered a squeak as she found Barbara probing her hard beak against her leg as she tried to waddle her way behind the pegasus and reach the basket of food. Fluttershy kicked the basket more behind her and struck out a hoof to block the annoyed chicken from the desired treats.

The chubby hen took a few steps back, her crest sticking up angrily as Fluttershy pulled the basket away right as her beak snapped up the air. She tilted her head, struck out her neck, and looked right up at the pony. "Moo."

Discord exploded into a bridle of uncontrollable cackles by the sheer baffled look on Fluttershy's face as the chicken kept mooing at her. Finally, Fluttershy broke out into an awkward smile and she laughed as the chicken kept making the hilarious noise.

"I didn't think making her able to quack would be quite as hilarious," the spirit snickered, "it's still a bird noise after all, and therefore not very chaotic."

The pony giggled and shook her head. At times, Discord's antics were just too hilarious, and made her wonder how in Equestria she had made it through her life all these years without the excitement he gave it.

"Go take a bath and get ready for our camping trip," Fluttershy told him, ignoring the way the spirit rolled his eyes insufferably like a teenager, and flopped back into his warm bed defiantly with a glare.

"I'm not dirty." Discord watched as those gentle, ice blue eyes narrowed and lost their air of kindness. He burrowed his way under his fuzzy quilt, only to squeak as Fluttershy abruptly yanked him out by the tail and leered at him. He winced as she rubbed a hoof over his snout, pulling it back to show him the moist dirt.

Like an endearing five year old, the spirit's eyes went owlishly wide and his ears pinned back adorably. "...The garden was good for mud pies this morning..." He squeaked as Fluttershy's muzzle clamped down on the edge of his tail, and she dragged him off his bed and onto the floor with a hard thud.

"Bath."

"I don't have to listen to-" The draconequus choked on his words as the sinister little pegasus brandished his feathered nemesis, flicking a hoof over the feathers and giving him a smirk that said "you were saying?" The duster bounced and swayed like hypnotic fingers, and Discord bounded up the stairs.

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Ponies turned and tilted their heads and snickered as the bizarre group of companions walked by, only to see two ponies, a draconequus...and a mooing chicken. Barbara made sure she greeted everypony she could on the way, only smiling dozily as she waddled after her masters on unsteady talons.

About halfway through the six hour journey, up the long, sand roads, Discord and Barbara broke out into a duet, startling Twilight and Fluttershy, who had nearly fallen asleep during the infinite trek to the mountains. If the group had been getting looks from bystanders before, they were definitely getting it now.

"With a-"

"Moo, moo-"

"Here, and a-"

"Moo, moo-"

"There! Here a-"

"Moo!"

"There a-"

"Moo!"

"Everywhere a-

"Moo, moo!"

"Old McDonald had a farm! EEEE-YAAAIE-EEE-YAIE-OOOO~!" Grinning brightly, the peppy draconequus flew down to the chicken's level and gave her a light, fond pat on the head. "Excellent job, my fine feathered friend! Now, let's do Oh When The Saints~ Ohhhh..."

As the air split in two by the eat shattering, clucking moos, and a draconequus's opera-gone-bad voice sent ponies in a mile's radius running, Fluttershy and Twilight whispered amongst themselves.

"So, Fluttershy, I understand you want to spend time with Discord, and you love nature, but do you really think it's necessary to—well, go all the way to Moonshine Forest just for a camping trip?" Twilight whispered to her friend, wincing and nearly reeling at a particular high note from Discord, which the unicorn was almost certain shattered the pitcher of lemonade from inside the cooler.

The pegasus didn't answer right away, and rather, her mouth seemed to scrunch up a little as if she had eaten something sour, unconsciously mimicking the face Applejack made when she was hiding something. "Well, going there for beauty isn't all I'm after... The flowers are nice, but I'm more interested in...who we will meet when we get there."

Twilight's eyes lowered warningly, and she moved her head so it dipped in front of the pegasus causing them to make complete eye contact. "And who would that—they be?" she demanded flatly.

"Well...Luna and Celestia," the pegasus barely whispered. Twilight would have skidded to a stop right there if it wasn't for the fact she didn't want Discord and his hen to bump into her.

"Are you crazy??" Did she not remember what happened last time? Twilight glanced back to see the network of healing cuts and bruises adorned all over Discord's skin. The rim of his eye was still a little black as well. No doubt Celestia was suffering the same condition.

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It had been shortly after Discord and Fluttershy had been returned home with a clean bill of health, aside from a few healing cuts. The period of the few days after being released were difficult in the terms of trying to wrangle an out-of-control Discord, who was just so happy to be able to create chaos again, and had been given a large surge of magic from Celestia just before they left. Fluttershy had decided to set up a visit for Discord with Celestia, who was more than happy to oblige.

Discord had no qualms and didn't even have to be dragged to Canterlot by his tail this time. Fluttershy brought all her friends with her, and told them both they were all going to shop around Canterlot. As both Discord and Celestia retreated to their special place in the gardens, the girls ducked behind a bush just off the garden gates, where they could keep an eye on them.

Discord's bright, mismatched eyes absorbed the garden's surroundings in awe. It had been eons since he had been here, in the large sea of multi colored blossoms, feeling the velvet petals of the flowers and hearing the bees whizz by as they collected pollen.

"Can you tell what they're both saying?" Twilight asked Fluttershy, who was barely peeking two binocular lenses out of the green leaves. The spirit and princess's mouths were moving, but it was muffled and unintelligible. They were grinning though.

"They look like they're having fun," Fluttershy whispered back, "and they're both giggling."

"Ou, look at all that nummy food!" Pinkie squealed, copious amounts of drool dripping from her chin and onto Rarity's head. "Princess Celestia has good taste!"

"Beautiful," Discord smiled, hovering next to a large patch of roses and twiddling one between his claws. Celestia turned, smiling at him.

"I never thought you'd call a flower 'beautiful.'"

The spirit chortled, summoning two pink clouds at his whim, and making one rise up under Celestia. "I don't normally, but this place just brings back such nostalgia~" He flicked his wrist, and a tendril of gold enveloped the rose and gave it rainbow colored spots.

The princess focused an exasperated glare on the creature, but his cheeky, sheepish smile did her in and she smirked and straightened out the picnic blanket.

She had set up quite a spread for them, obviously more excited for this 'date' then he thought she'd be. Everything was arranged with such order (he noted with a shudder). Their favorite cakes were arranged in a small circle on a rose plate, and flower cut glasses brimmed with tea. There were small hay sandwiches cut up into different shapes, making his tail wag at how funny they looked. At least one thing on this pretty blanket wasn't completely normal. Perhaps this princess had some taste after all.

"Ohoho, glorious, Tia~!" the draconequus chirped, swooping down towards the blanket and causing it to ripple as he grabbed a sandwich. He received a stinging slap across his paw and dropped the sandwich with a pained yelp.

"Drink your tea first," Celestia scolded lightly, wagging a hoof in front of the petulant creature as he sulked at her, and at the discarded morsel on the plate. Her tone adapted that I'm-a-princess-and-I-know-everything voice as she delicately hovered her tea to her lips. After a longing glare, Discord rolled his eyes and sipped his tea as well.

"I'm drinking the tea, I'm drinking the tea," the spirit muttered quietly, finding the pout dying on his lips as he slurped at the sweet tea. He lapped at the beverage and his lips twisted a little in thought. The tea was good, but it had too much sugar and not enough everything else~

Celestia didn't notice the brief flash from her tea, eyes shut in contentment. She gasped and spat the disgusting liquid out as it suddenly seemed tainted with a sour and salty taste. Discord wasn't laughing though; it hadn't been meant as a prank so much as it had been just sprucing their flavors up.

"What are you doing?" Celestia spluttered, "I spent all morning making this tea just perfect! It had the right amount of ingredients for everything!" She ran her hoof over her tongue to get rid of the awful taste.

"I only added more flavor, dear~" He blinked as the alicorn immediately transformed the tea back to the way it was. Discord raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything as he replaced the cup and took a sandwich instead. It was good, he had to admit. Celestia had obviously spent a lot of time making sure it was perfect. Everything was so organized— so that's where Twilight had gotten it.

"Discord." Celestia glanced up, violet eyes miffed as they watched Discord's claw absently tap the plate. "Stop that, it's annoying." The spirit seemed even more annoyed, but he did obey without a word.

They finished their boring sandwiches and perfect, orderly tea and moved on to the desserts. The cinnamon cookies didn't have a drizzle of hot, white icing out of place or even slightly dripping over the warm bread. Discord smirked as he eyed it, and his talon began to glow ominously.

The plate of cookies suddenly became the color of rainbows, with polka-dots and stripes and pulsating with some fruit goo from the inside. Discord giggled giddily and squeezed the goop out of the cookies, unmindful to Celestia's seething expression.

"Discord, I spent a lot of time baking those and making them-"

"Just right?" the spirit guessed, looking the silent, somber mare dead in the eye with a cool look. "Just perfectly orderly? That's what I thought you'd say."

"What's wrong?" Applejack watched as Fluttershy's smile fell to more of a grim and worried frown as she lowered the binoculars. "What's happenin'? Is somethin' wrong?"

"They aren't smiling anymore," the pegasus murmured, watching the two immortals exchange looks that could kill.

"What is your problem, Discord?" Celestia snapped, eyes narrowing as the god gave a rude and abrupt snort. "Can't accept a little order in your life once in a while?"

"And I guess the prissy oh-so perfect princess can't accept a little bit of fun? Oh, by the chaos—everything must be so perfect in perfectionist Celestia's world!"

"How dare you!" Celestia gasped furiously, "Isn't it bad enough you ruin something that took so long to make? I spent a lot of time to make everything-

"PERFECT," Discord loudly mocked, "perfect and grossly sweet and—ugh—orderly, and..." His reptilian foot kicked up from the dirt and swiped an array of sand into the tea and sweets. He grinned maliciously as the princess fell silent and looked near tears for a tenth of a second.

"My food..." She set her jaw, and her eyes glistened with wet anger as Discord sneered inches from her face.

"Oh, it tasted terrible anyway," the draconequus hissed nastily—only to stumble back and take the blanket and ruined food with him as the metallic bottom of the princess's shoe slapped him right, hard in the snout. The girls froze, unable to move.

Discord clenched his jaw shut and gave a feral smile as his eyes watered and he bared his teeth from under closed lips. A paw tenderly reached up to wipe the blood from his face as Celestia stood her ground, her expression alternating between rage and remorse. "So that's how you want to play, Tia? So be it!"

The six muffled their screams as a colossal blast of electricity slammed into the earth, right where the princess had been, before rolling to the side and delivering a spark of purple flames of her own. They singed the yowling Discord's fur, and he slammed a blast of golden energy right back at her, slicing across her skin in a long and very shallow cut.

"What in Equestria!" Applejack reared back as one of the bolts ricocheted and nearly singed off her face. She tumbled onto the girls with a screech, and Fluttershy tried to be heard above the blasts and furious wave of insults.

"Of course you'd never be able to appreciate the time and effort and work that goes into creating something of actual worth!" Celestia snarled, pleased to see the spirit's ears drooped in hurt.

"And perhaps if princess tightflank actually learns to appreciate the beauty of some good chaos and take the stick out of her-" He didn't get a chance to finish that sentence as Celestia leaped on him in rage, sending the two somersaulting into a tree, where the level of fighting reached one of childishness as they bit and kicked and scratched like children on the elementary school playground.

"Alright, break it up right now!" Applejack ordered, galloping over the hill and latching her muzzle down on the spirit's tail. He kept right on mauling the princess, who returned it in full, until Rainbow Dash, Twilight, and Luna (who had flown down to see what the commotion was about) collaborated to yank her away from Discord. Celestia shrieked as the angered spirit latched onto her mane with his teeth and began to shake and tug on it rapidly, like a rabid dog.

"Drop it!" Fluttershy commanded, and her glare deepened when he pulled harder on the hair in response. She swatted him on the nose, making him drop the bundle of hair with a small yelp.

Twilight pushed against her battered mentor's chest when Celestia's horn glowed magnificently as she became intent on rendering Discord to nothing more than mangled skin. Finally, Luna managed to calm her older sister down, and Fluttershy managed to get control of Discord, starting to harshly scold him.

"I have bite marks on my butt!" Celestia gasped, turning her head to look back at the inflamed teeth marks adorned over her flanks.

"Tasted horrible anyway," Discord commented dryly, "fat flanks." He was moved out of the way by Fluttershy as Celestia tried to gore him through the face with her horn. The two separate parties retreated with their immortal, and Fluttershy continued to scold the beaten up spirit.

"You are going to be punished severely!" Fluttershy announced, surprising everypony until she confirmed his sentence: "no dessert for a month! No going outside for a week!"

"Golly, sugar Cube, y'all call that a severe punishment?" Applejack frowned, "if he were under mah rule, why Ah'd-"

"Well I'm not under your rule, Applespazz!" Discord said snippily as he mopped a bit of blood off his arm. "You're not the appointed guardian. And she deserved it! Celestia deserved it all!"

Fluttershy exhaled deeply and surveyed the amount of damage on the spirit. Both he and Celestia were covered with cuts, bruises, scratches, dirt, and even burns from where a few blasts had hit them. She shook her head and led the sore spirit away from the palace.

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"It's a bad idea, Fluttershy," Twilight said quietly. "How did you get the princesses to agree to seeing him?" She knew Luna wasn't angry with him, at least no more than she was with her sister.

"Celestia doesn't know, of course," Fluttershy said, ignoring her friend's gawking as they approached the rim of the forest. "She thinks only her and Luna are going on this small vacation." She stared as the lavender mare by her side wrapped her arms around her tightly and rested her cheek on her shoulder.

"You were a good friend," Twilight whispered, and stumbled as the pegasus pulled back in exasperation. "Do you realize what Discord is going to do to you when he finds out? Where should I bury your remains?"

Fluttershy ignored her best friend and kept right on trotting through the forest's outskirts. The Moonshine Forest was a lot different than Everfree. It wasn't dreary, dark, or frightening. The surroundings were not black, and there were no ominous sounds of growling and distant screeches. The forest glowed with an earthly turquoise, and sparkles danced through the air, like millions of blue fireflies.

"It's so beautiful..." Fluttershy whispered, and a voice chimed in from above her as the midnight blue head poked itself out of the leaves.

"Isn't it? Mother and Father took us here often," Luna said, landing gracefully in front of the pony, and causing the sparkles to jump up out of the brush she stood on. "I haven't been here in a very long time though. I hope the moon flowers are still here somewhere."

"Lulu?" A confused Discord hovered into the entrance of the forest. His voice was hoarse from so much screeching out of tune. "What are you doing here?"

There was a mysterious smile on his sister's face, he could easily note. He turned suspiciously to Fluttershy, but the pegasus had her back to him and was picking berries.

"Hello, brother," Luna greeted with a royal bow. The spirit waved awkwardly, standing there as the gears in his head turned. They clicked and his eyes widened as he whirled furiously on Fluttershy, watching as she began hightailing her way through the forest. "Oh no. FLUTTERSHY!" the entity roared.

The pegasus desperately picked up speed and whizzed through the enchanted forest as the enraged Discord gave chase to his prey, claws out and posed to snatch her, and nails extracted from his paws. The pony shrieked and upped her speed, flailing like a headless chicken being chased by a wolf.

The surroundings blurred in his sight, but the spirit still managed to catch the outline of trees tucked close to him. He struck out his hands and used the trees to push himself off, shooting towards the girl like a rocket and tackling her to the ground.

Fluttershy uttered a surprised squeak as his muzzle latched down on her tail, and he picked her up by the tip of her rosette tail in between his teeth. "Eep! Discord!"

"You're dead," was all the spirit said, his voice somewhat muffled with the bushel of pink hair in his mouth. "Any last words?"

The pegasus gave another shriek, eying that look of burning vengeance in his vermillion eyes warily. "W-well, I—EEEEEEP!" He shook his head rapidly from side to side, like an aggressive dog with a toy. "I just wanted to try and make things right with you and Celestia!"

"Yep, I am going to kill you," Discord confirmed. Fluttershy kicked blindly in the air and managed to free herself—only for Discord's lightning reflexes to catch her again, this time holding onto her with his teeth clamped gently, but firmly into her stomach and back.

"What would you prefer, Flutters?" Discord asked, and now his voice had a gibberish touch to it, although was still understandable. "Would you prefer to be dunked into a vat of pudding, be imprisoned into a blob of jello, or hung by your tail to a tree the entire night~?"

"Um..." The pegasus's hoof went to her mouth as she averted her eyes and thought about her options. She uttered a shriek and jolted as if she had been electrocuted as the dastardly spirit gnawed on her stomach lightly, as if she was some kind of chew toy. "Hehee—I just—tehehee--wanted to make you both happy!"

Discord heaved a harsh sigh, and the squealing little flower tumbled from his mouth as he did. That was just like Fluttershy, always had to make sure everypony was getting along, and ensure that there was no fighting. "Of course you did." He picked up the pegasus, holding her in his palm as he glanced suspiciously around. "So where is princess tightflank?"

"She's probably somewhere close to the spring. That's where Luna said her favorite spot here is." Discord released her and floated through the blue, illuminated forest, looking as happy as a dog that knew he was in for a bath.

"Oh, Celestiaaaa~!" the spirit called, his sing-song voice dripping with sarcasm. "Where is my favorite princess? I'd oh-so like to see her!"

The ponies watched his retreating back and spoke amongst themselves to collaborate on a plan to bring the two back together.

"So what are we aiming for, my little ponies?" Luna asked, "just so I'll know what to do. Do we just want them to make up and be civil, or are we aiming for them to fall in love again? I won't lie—that will take a lot of work. If it's the latter, I'll need some instructions on how to make the atmosphere more romantic." She glanced pointedly to Twilight. "And help."

Twilight perched beside the immortal on the rock and let her horn spark with power. She grinned as she watched the purple electricity charge from the tip of her horn. She had only just gotten her magic back this week.

"I think we should try for a romantic atmosphere," Fluttershy said, smiling as she daydreamed about the two curled up under a heart shaped fountain with a lulling tune in the air as they cuddled. "Maybe they'll make up easier."

Luna's doubts for that were strong, but she wasn't about to shoot the excited girl's mood. She forced a slight nod and turned to Twilight. "Then I have a few ideas in mind..."

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Discord was cruising his way through the magic forest, watching the tendrils of silver blue glitter dance in front of his eyes. Moonshine Forest truly was a magnificent, magical place. Too bad he couldn't enjoy it. Oh no, he had to worry about making nice with a big, dumb, princess tightflank.

The draconequus watched as his surroundings began to rapidly transform, and the earthly blue land seemed to be tinted with a pink flush. Luscious fruits hanging off the branches of some trees became the shape of hearts, as did every cloud. It was as if somepony had puked pink shlop everywhere.

Nice try, Discord inwardly muttered, secretly plotting his revenge against that little butter colored demon. Perhaps dunk tanks of fruit juice, or maybe pluck a few good sized feathers from Barbara to chase her with. What were these ponies expecting? That the hearts and pink vomit would just instantly make him and Celestia fall in love again?

Not watching where he was going, Discord's foot caught the side of a biscuit-turned rock and he ended up plummeting down the hill (which Luna had kindly turned to marshmallow to appease him). He yowled as he slammed into a yelping figure, and Discord was too dizzy to see who it was at first. Then, she turned to him.

Oh joy, it was princess marshmallow butt (who's butt, he noted gleefully, still had inflamed bite marks). Judging by her look of distaste, she wasn't very happy to see him either. Her violet flecks narrowed angrily, matching his own.

"I knew Luna was up to something," Celestia muttered bitterly. "She was acting strange."

"Mm, yes," Discord agreed, tracing a pattern around the pink edge of a cut he had made on her back, not even caring as she slammed a hoof against his claw, far too satisfied with the pained yelp his taunting had invoked. "My pony was acting conspicuous as well."

Eyes still beady slits of wrath, the alicorn haughtily turned her back to the creature, desiring no further conversation with him. Discord did not feel the same way as he hovered over her head and smiled at the damage he had inflicted on her the other day.

"Oh Celestia, I'm loving that dark blush adorned over your cheek. Oh, my mistake, it's dried blood~" he purred, insufferable smirk widening as the princess's ears flattened against her head like an angry tabby. He was mildly disappointed when she didn't turn to retaliate and only kept trotting on.

Celestia refused to indulge the creature, and she was secretly appalled by her own behavior from the other day. Was it because she thought he didn't deserve it? Of course not, but a princess knew to keep a level head at any situation.

She continued on with her trek, finding herself admiring the beautiful pink surroundings; despite their intentions, they were just magnificent to look at. She stopped once she finally reached the shallows of a pink-tinted spring. It still glittered like all else did; only the sparkles were also a sunset pink.

Releasing a soft contended sigh, Celestia slumped into a comfortable sit and listened to the thunderous roar of the falls as they surged into the spring below. The rapid waterfall flowed over several rocks poking out of the veil of water from above, and protruded out of the stone walls.

Celestia's rippling, bedraggled, and tattered reflection was joined by a certain draconequus as he gazed in at the spring as well. He sneered at the condition of her cut and scratched face.

"It's an old classic tale in reverse; the prince and the frog. Or perhaps ogre would be a better term for you." Abruptly, Discord found himself suddenly winded as the mare's back hoof slammed into his abdomen, sending him onto his back, his breath releasing with a compressed whoosh. Blinking away the wave of dizziness, Discord glared up at the seething alicorn.

"This was mother and father's special place," Celestia snarled in a pained whisper. "Show some respect."

Discord's daunting sneer faded as his eyes slowly roved over the enchanted spring. He could almost feel his parents' spirits there, and the memories shared in the eloquent forest.

The first time he and the princesses had found this enchanted forest had been by accident when they were all young children. Their parents had gone to a 'special place' for the day, and curious as they were, they needed to find this special place. Following their parents' hoofsteps, it had been a tedious journey for younglings such as themselves, but they finally found their mother and father from behind the blue brush of the flora, by the spring.

Never had the children seen their parents so happy, and when it came to their father it was rare to even see a smile on the stoic, elder stallions' face. The two grappled with each other, pushing each other in the spring and chewing each other's manes like puppies. The happiness in their parent's eyes, the love they all saw that day, it was all worth the angry nanny and the cedar paddle that all three of them needed to return to.

Discord shifted in the turquoise grass, suddenly feeling unclean for even being in his parents' sacred place. He knew he didn't deserve to be here. That plus the fact Celestia didn't even want him here had him contemplating leaving. Instead, the god turned his attention to a small blooming bud near the spring. A moonflower, set to open when the moon rose into the sky.

"Have long has it been since we've come here?" The negative and angry air had been put to a rest, at least for the sake of respect for now. In fact, Discord had dabbed a leaf into the water and wiped it over Celestia's face.

"A while," the princess answered. "When we were all teens." She seemed like she wanted to say something else, but she didn't. Too caught up in his own memories, Discord didn't bother to question her.

The ivory mare sauntered to the very edge of the luminary spring, tapping her hoof in the water and watching it ripple. She tried to turn her head out of his field of vision, but the spirit wasn't blind to the droplet that fell from her face and rippled the water. He tried to fight it away, but he couldn't stop the pang from overtaking his heart, and he silently left.

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"Discord, dinner!"

The sun was already on its way into slumber when Fluttershy called the draconequus over to the picnic they had set up. Discord had been quiet since his encounter with Celestia, and he had spent his day with his guardian, sister, and Twilight, but he had been nearly completely silent. Fluttershy hoped a nice dinner would cure that.

Discord floated over and settled on the checkered blanket in front of a plate of sandwiches. Hay, cookie crumbs, cinnamon and cheese – his favorite. He chewed on the gummy bread and drank a glass of chocolate milk in silence. A heavy blanket of depression settled over his chest, which Fluttershy seemed to pick up on as she pulled him onto his back in her lap.

"Something wrong, sweetie?" the pegasus asked, rubbing a hoof in circular motions over his tummy. He relaxed, tongue lolling out in contentment as the motion put him into a state of sheer bliss.

"Mmm...." For a moment, he had forgotten what he was upset about, leg kicking in happiness and tail wagging like a puppy as she kept rubbing his stomach. When he saw the white form on the other side of the hill he remembered.

Fluttershy subtly turned to look at her friends, and they all shared the same look of concern as they glanced from Discord to Celestia. The pegasus waited for the draconequus to climb off of her and float dejectedly into the forest before she turned to the ponies.

"We need to do something. Are there anymore spells you can think of to help push them together, princess?"

Luna shrunk a little under the two prying stares, not used to suddenly being on the spot like this. More or less, it would be Celestia that ponies would ask for assistance. "I don't have very much magic until the moon rises, so I wouldn't be able to do much." She glanced over to where the last, golden sliver of the sun was disappearing.

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Discord continued his trek through the forest, glancing as the rose and neon pink tinted creations faded back to their original blue as the magic began to wear off. His entire body shuddered with every passing moment he spent in the forest. His soul felt...so unclean. He didn't deserve to be here and he knew it. The prospect of walking his parents' sacred grounds made him want to take a panic attack.

He emerged at a clearing past the blue, fluffy cat tails, furiously rubbing glitter from his eyes as it floated up from the flowers. The moon was already rising into the sky, and it illuminated the grass with a blue hue as well.

Discord calculated the distance to home. It would take about six hours, but he'd be able to make it, he was sure. His body no longer got those brief twinges of pain from his injuries; they had long since healed. He could let the girls finish their picnic and he'd wait for Fluttershy back at the cottage. He had just taken a step out the rim of the forest when a voice stopped him:

"Where are you going?"

Discord stood there, silent as the alabaster mare slowly walked up to him, gracing his vision with a pair of confused and mildly concerned, violet eyes. His own eyes turned to look at the wet grass. "Home."

"At this time of night? I thought you and Fluttershy were staying for a couple of days."

The draconequus snorted, but he kept right on walking, hoping to get away from Celestia's third degree. What the hay did she care anyway? Apparently more than he thought since he was halted again.

"Well?"

"I'm going home and she's staying here!" he snapped, and the attempt of taking a single step had her block his path again. "Oh for the love of—what do you want, Celestia?!" he snarled.

"I want to know why," she pressed, taking another step and forcing him back one. "Why do you want to leave when it took six hours to get here?"

He stood still and glared at the ground, balling up his trembling hands into fists. He glared at her infuriatingly, concerned expression and tried to turn away from her. "B...because I....I..." That sympathetic and worried face made the spirit want to transform the large pony into a marshmallow and dunk her in a vat of cocoa. "Because I don't belong here. It...it feels wrong being here."

Celestia gave a nod and folded her wings to sit beside the obstinate creature without a word. They both stared up as Luna raised the moon higher into the night sky, decorating it with an array of stars.

The princess turned to the spirit, watching as he gazed thoughtfully into the sky. His ears were down. "Can I ask you something? .....What were you trying to accomplish when you told me about...it? Were you asking for forgiveness?"

Discord remained silent and painfully gazed back at the ground, his ears perched back so far they looked like they were a part of his cheeks. "I suppose that was my main desire, but I figured there was no way forgiveness could come of it. What I really wanted was to get it off my conscience...and finally move on." He flinched at the gentle touch of her hoof on his back.

"That's what I thought. So what do you expect leaving will accomplish?"

"Huh?" He turned to her.

"If you really want to move on and be at peace with everything that has happened, how do you expect to accomplish that if you're afraid to be in this forest because 'you don't belong here'?"

The draconequus stared. Celestia's expression held both a gentle compassion and an inkling of smugness when she realized he realized that she was right. Equestrian gods, he hated when she was right. "I...I just..."

"You really think Mother and Father would want you to be afraid of their sacred place?"

"Yes," Discord said flatly, "I killed them. They wouldn't want me he-"

"The only thing Mother and Father wouldn't want is for you to be scared of coming here because of what you did. I know them—all they'd want is for you to move on...and to not be in pain anymore. They'd want you to live life knowing that you're loved by them...wherever they'd be."

Discord bent his head, knees drawing close to his face to conceal the shine of tears that infuriatingly princess's words had brought. He let a single one drop onto his knee and blinked the rest away. "I'm sorry," he murmured.

"I know," Celestia said kindly, "you already said that before, remember?"

"No..." His golden, feline paw brushed up lightly against her cheek, grazing gingerly over an inflamed scratch mark. Celestia couldn't keep her body from tingling as he touched her face and looked at her with an incredibly serious look on his face. "I mean I'm sorry for..." His paw traced another cut on her face.

Celestia gave a quiet chuckle and grazed her hoof tenderly over a dark patch of bruises near his left eye from where she had punched him. "And I am too..."

The light, slightly romantic mood was instantly shot by Discord, who simply couldn't keep a straight face at the princess's appearance. Despite the fact he did feel guilty for harming her, she did quite frankly look hilarious, as if she had climbed out of a blender. "....Pffft-hehehe!"

Celestia lowered a brow and fixed him with a deadpan look. "What?"

"You look awful," the spirit giggled, "I know I do too, but with these months of bandages, blood, and broken bones, that's a norm for me. It's funny seeing our dignified ruler looking raggy and ugly."

"Ugly!" Celestia gasped. "Say that again, I dare you!"

There was no mocking venom in his eyes or voice as he hovered above her; all his tone and sparkling eyes held was a pure, amused, and playful lilt. "Okay then, your face looks like someone took a cheese grater to it."

With that, Discord was briefly winded after giving a gurgling laugh as Celestia rammed him lightly in the chest, sending the two hurtling down to the very bottom of the hill. They both landed in a patch of moon flowers, causing the blossoms to give a coughing spurt of glitter, swarming the air with blue for a moment.

Covered in the sparkles, the two continued to wrestle. Rather than tearing at each other's face and ripping fur out, they were both biting gently and tugging playfully at manes and tails, trying to drag each other through the flowers. As if they were children once more, they tugged at each other's ears, and both tried to get the other to the ground, pinned under them. Discord pushed Celestia onto her back, but the alicorn managed to wriggle out and slam him back into the flowers, and vice-versa.

When the match ended, Celestia was laying on the helpless Discord, who was stretched out like a slab of cookie dough and already breathless with giggles. "Truce! Truce, oh maniacal one!"

"Are you going to take back what you said?"

That deserved its own obnoxious and mocking laugh, those scarlet eyes glinting impishly at her, confirming his answer even before he said it. "Ohoho, as if!" Before the regal princess could try to glare at him, a pie slammed right into her face. She stood there, shocked, as thick coconut cream dripped off her cheeks, plopping to the ground below. She gazed down at the draconequus through an eyeful of white cream. He only continued giggling uncontrollably, bursting into louder guffaws.

Celestia merely lowered a brow and, as if in warning, she lifted her tail, dangling the glowing, magically wavy fibers of hair above him. He stared, blinking, and his eyes widened as she delicately draped it over his stomach. Sparkles sprung up from the ethereal hair and it wiggled magically against his sensitive skin. Discord gasped and clamped a hand over his mouth.

"I'll repeat myself," Celestia purred sadistically, her sinister grin widening when Discord's eyes began to water to fight back the laughter. "Are you going to take back what you said?"

"Th-the S-sssspirit—HA!--of Chaos will ddddooo no sssuch thing!" Once Celestia started flicking her tail rapidly over his belly and the undersides of his feet the draconequus lost all of his resolve and promptly burst into shrieking laughter. No amount of desperate twisting could save him from Celestia's torturous wrath, and the princess cleverly stuffed her mane into his mouth when he tried to strangle out a call for help.

The blue moon had aligned with the stars in the sky, creating a perfect string of connected astral bodies by the time the ten minute wrestling match had drawn to a close. Discord was hoarse with laughter, sputtering out his final cackling squeaks as the princess blew violently against his poor, abused tummy. Celestia paused in mid raspberry, cheeks still puffed out as a blue twinkle caught her eye.

Slowly, the exhausted immortals pulled themselves out of the cool grass and gazed in awe as a path of cosmic glitter shone from the moon. It danced through the sky, shooting out like a bunch of silver ribbons. Each beam flowed into the moonflowers below, and the dark, sapphire blossoms illuminated with a bright, earthly glow. Like a sea of a thousand lanterns, one by one, each flower was lit up, filling the entire forest with a magnificent, majestic light.

"Wow..." Discord whispered, only now remembering why his family loved coming here. A paw reached out to gently pluck one of the blossoms, twirling it through the air and creating the effect of a blue sparkler. He blinked as Celestia took a flower of her own between her teeth, flanks arched and wiggling playfully, like a puppy with a ball.

With the single motion of her mouth, the flower soared around the both of them, framing the two with a thin veil of colossal magic shaped like a heart. The draconequus turned to her, an almost bashful look on his face, as if they were teens again. He felt something in his chest tingle as she moved a little closer to him.

"I bet Flutter Butter is enjoying this," he murmured softly, imagining the look of pure wonderment on the pegasus's face as she stared at the incredible spectacle of magic and nature. "She loves flowers..."

The alicorn gazed thoughtfully into his deep, scarlet pool of thoughts, finding her heart warming more as she watched the smile curl up the creature's face, his head tilted slightly to the side. "Discord...how much do you care about Fluttershy?"

That caught him off guard. He whirled to her, eyebrow drawn up in confusion, his body shifting away from her slightly in discomfort. "Wh-what do you mean?" He remembered she had asked him something like this months ago, and it was a question he shrugged off, because although he had grown to become fond of the girl, he didn't feel anything deep and meaningful from it. Now he did. Now he had no idea how to react to her question.

"My question is...do you love her?"

Discord found his eyes falling to the dew platted grass under his feet as he fiddled with the used napkin. For once, the urge to violently wretch out the usually disgusting thoughts or make a snide remark to annoy her away from asking him something so deep never even came to his head. He felt his heart wash over with a genuine, ashamed sadness.

"....I don't know. I-I don't remember what it feels like to...to love someone." He tried to avert his downcast eyes, but found his chin suddenly held in the gentle, alabaster hoof. His mismatched eyes met Celestia's beautiful, violet orbs. She smiled at him, and gave a soft giggle.

"Discord...one can be out of touch with love, and they can forget how to express it." She leaned in closer, those angelic eyes focused right on his, her other unoccupied hoof taking his paw gently. "But they can never truly forget how to feel it."

The god's body jolted with foreign, excited and shocked electricity as the princess took his hands in her own hooves, and he found himself unable to pull away. His eyes stayed locked on her, radiating their shock and confusion.

"You just don't remember how it truly feels to love because it's been a while since you've loved somepony more than chaos, hasn't it? But now you've found somepony to love more than chaos. To love someone or something means you can't live without them."

The draconequus uttered a snort and averted his eyes, rolling them at the very prospect. A life without chaos? A life without chocolate rain, cotton candy, pranks, and turning Angel into a cotton ball at my whim? Unbearable. A life without Fluttershy?

........Impossible. The revelation sparked in his eyes as he stared deeply into his old friend and once-true love's loving, and slightly smug expression. He found himself at an utter loss of words, trying to process if he had actually thought...what he thought...he thought!

A life without chaos and magic? No way he could do it. A life without Celestia or Luna? He'd rather die than attempt it. Pulling free from Celestia's gentle grip, Discord took a step back, staring in the distance in shock, as if he had just been asked to solve the most difficult math equation ever created. Eyes still owlish and shimmering in wonderment, head spinning with the dawn of realization, he gazed down at the ground, and then back at Celestia. He suddenly found his hands gently enclosed with her hooves once more.

If it was at all possible, the living, floral lanterns reflected in the princess's eyes and made them shone all the more brilliantly as her stare burned a hole into his heart. He was still in a state of total shock, and he therefore had no resistance, and even if he did, would never resist it anyway as she pulled him close to her and tenderly kissed him.

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"It's amazing," Twilight breathed, staring as the ocean of glowing blossoms shimmered, casting a beam of blue tendrils back to the moon and absorbed its power. "I've never seen anything like this."

"It is quite a sight," Luna agreed, her own body shimmering as her magic entwined itself with the moon beams and rose the night light higher into the sky, filling her with power. "Something not many ponies have a chance to see. This is a small, very secluded forest. Not many know it even exists."

"Where did Discord and Celestia go?" Fluttershy wondered, extending her wings and taking flight into the forest. It was once hard to see and she bumped into everything in the night time blindness, but the flowers made it look like an eerie, turquoise, day time. "Discord?" Reaching the end of the clearing, she poked her head out between a few blue, mint leaves.

And there was Discord and Celestia, laying there in the grass like they had always belonged together. Both their eyes were closed, already beginning to drift off into a peaceful sleep under the stars, tucked into each other's chest with a smile of pure contentment gracing their lips.

Fluttershy's eyes shone with tears of pure joy, her heart swelling as she gazed at the mutual, genuine love between the two. Finally. Quietly, the pegasus pulled back from the bushes, the looks of pure happiness across both immortals' faces forever warming her heart.

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It was already six by the time the three ponies awoke where they had made themselves comfortable huddled under the base of one of the trees. The blue forest was now a majestic twilight, the moon still high in the air, having already lost its magic on the flowers as they faded back to a dim blue.

"Oh my..." Luna groggily rubbed at her eyes with a hoof, blinking up in shock when the moon eagerly greeted her vision. It was six in the morning. "Oh dear Equestria! Tia!" she yelped, stumbling through the forest. "Tia, you slept in! You need raise the sun!"

Emerging in the clearing and sea of sleeping blossoms, Luna's navy eyes darted around for her sister. She stared when they fell on two lumps under a satiny quilt. Two groggy heads poked their way out from a fold in the sheets.

"What, Luna?" Celestia yawned, "It's so early."

"Exactly!" Luna said urgently. "It's morning, and you need to raise the sun!" She yelped, hardly having the time to duck the flurry of hooves as Celestia scrambled past her in a frenzy, leaving a moaning Discord in her wake, who clutched his muzzle from where she had unintentionally bucked him.

The rising sun shining light on the night princess's darkened, playful smirk, she looked at her brother. "And what did you two do last night?" she teased.

"It is not what you think," Discord growled, ducking back under his blankets to get at least a final moment of glorious shut eye before the sun blinded him completely. "We fell asleep last night and when it got chilly I summoned a blanket for us."

"Sure," Luna giggled, loving the bright red flushes of embarrassment that filled her siblings' faces. "Breakfast is in a half hour."

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Plates were filled with sizzling, fried hay and glasses were brimming with orange juice—up until a certain draconequus transformed them into glasses of molasses and hot sauce (and was dusted good by a certain pegasus until he finally promised to turn them back again). Discord and Celestia were notably sitting closer (and one could easily see their tails twined together).

"My oat and cinnamon pancakes are ready!" Twilight piped, hovering the cakes and biscuits in a magenta hue and plopping several of them into plastic plates. "Do you eat oats, Discord?"

"Oho, dear, I eat anything," Discord chuckled, "I'm made up of different species and have their cravings." To accent his point, he lifted a small rock into his palm and took a large chunk out of it. The ponies watched in awe as he chewed noisily on the large silver shards, and washed it down with some sand.

"So I see," Twilight giggled. "You like rocks? Does the dragon in you like gems? Spike loves rubies and sapphires."

"Ah yes," Discord hummed in agreement, drool dripping out the side of his muzzle and into the dirt at the thought of all the delicious recipes he created with different stones and diamonds. Soufflés, smoothies, cakes, floats... Blush leaped to his cheeks when Fluttershy wiped his face with a napkin, which he swallowed whole.

"Maybe Spike can get some pointers from you," Twilight laughed, throwing a few rocks into Discord's pancake for good measure. He swallowed them whole as well. Right when he was about to dive into his delicious pancake, a golden beak abruptly nabbed it in her own mouth, waddling off with a moo.

"HEY!" Discord shouted, tackling his mooing chicken to the ground. "My pancake! Spit it out, Barbara! Now! Bad chicken!" He wrestled with the angry chicken for a few moments longer, but by the time he managed to wrench his breakfast from her mouth it was nothing but crumbs. "Dumb chicken." With a pout, he slumped down onto the picnic blanket.

"Here, hunny." Fluttershy smirked and slapped a few of her own cakes onto Discord's plate. Discord squealed with delight and dove into the plate. As he noisily chewed on his meal, he felt his guardian's eyes on him. Expecting the pegasus to be glaring at him and about to reprimand him for his manners, he was surprised to look up into his beaming guardian's face.

"What?"

Fluttershy waited until Celestia left to pack some of her things, and then she eagerly squealed in giggling delight. "You're in love with the princess!"

"EUGH!" The draconeqqus gagged and retched, choking on his pebbles. "Fluttershy!" he gasped, mouth gaping. "Now I may be the Spirit of Chaos, but even I abhor such foul language!"

"You love Celestia!" she sang, laughing as he swiped at her and latched his paw around her mouth, pinning her into the ground. "Roo rurv Wr'ereshtia!"

"I will turn you into a butterscotch pudding cup!" The beyond embarrassed Discord shouted, rapidly scribbling his talon over the shrieking pegasus's tummy. "Don't think I won't! Keep your mouth shut—I am not in love with Celestia!"

"Oh yeah, 'cause finding you two in bed together totally didn't give off that impression," Luna muttered, the widest, most evil grin drawing up her face.

Everything fell hilariously silent, save for Discord's mind snapping, exploding, and shriveling to dust. He stood there, frozen and gawking as Fluttershy muffled laughter into the grass. His face was beet red, mortified and enraged.

Luna was suddenly tackled into the spring by her older brother, breaking the silent air with a fierce SPLASH and her own squeals of surprise and laughter. Discord splashed her fiercely and shoved a handful of kelp and mud into her face. She kept laughing though; it was all worth it.

"Oh Twilight, Flutter Butter, how about we make this a large family affair?" Before the girls could utter screams of their own they were suddenly yanked into the frigid spring waters with the sputtering alicorn and laughing draconequus. Discord unleashed a tidal wave on all three of them, his eyes glinting playfully as they squealed from the spurt of freezing water. The laughter of the three was still ringing clear in the forest when Celestia slipped back into the thicket to join them.

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(Official romance rekindle. I must say I deeply enjoyed writing the flashback of the fight. XD "HE BIT MY BUTT"

And nooo, nothing naughty happened. :B....At least none that they saw, but I bet Celestia and Discord brought the sea turtles out of the water with the sounds they were making.

And yaay, revelations.

Final chapter synopsis: When Fluttershy starts to see some changes in Discord's behavior and realizes he needs something she can't give, she finds it hard to let him go. Of course, every guardian knows when their chicks are ready to leave the nest.

That chapter will positively brim with emotion because it has a lot to do with my feelings in graduating this year and leaving that school, which has been my life for what has felt longer than four years, forever. In fact, the chapter is based off our grad choir songs "Never Alone" and "Do I Make You Proud")