• Published 20th Dec 2012
  • 9,945 Views, 217 Comments

Deja Discord - Ckat_Myla



Discord’s lack of empathy and a pony's sensibility has been tolerated by Celestia, but while both the princesses and the bearers of the Elements of Harmony struggle with even more dire problems, Discord is forced into a lesson of his own.

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12. Where Do We Go From Here

Discord closed his eyes as he darted directly into the black abyss that lay beyond the gates of Tartarus. He had watched as Twilight gave in to the chaos magic, and as the gate melted away to let him through.

He had confidence in her abilities, even though he knew she had never attempted to handle power of that magnitude before. But looking back to see how she was handling it was not an option – and going back to aid her certainly not.

For a while there was only darkness, darkness and the sound of the Smooze still pursuing him. Discord didn’t know how far he had gone or how far he could go until he met something that would halt him and allow that barely-sentient stuff to finally do him in. All the former-draconequus knew was that – though he still could not see – there was still ground beneath his hooves, so continuing to run was probably a good idea.

He had never imagined what Tartarus was like on the inside, and since he didn’t figure he’d be there long one way or the other he didn’t care to find out. So far it was only feelings… somehow both burning fire and freezing ice… and the overwhelming sensation that something just out of sight was waiting for him to come just a little bit closer, preparing to strike. Fear seemed to be the dominating factor in this world.

Discord did not fear dying – he wasn’t particularly looking forward to it – but it couldn’t be any worse than being turned to stone. That had been pain beyond anything he had experienced, before he really had a clue what pain was. Plus there was a chance that he might not die today, although that was betting against some very implausible odds… the alicorn princesses’ capacity for mercy.

He didn’t have high hopes for that either. Perhaps he should have told Twilight what he was planning before he brought her along. Though thinking back on her face when he did reveal his true reasons for luring the Smooze to the gates, Discord didn’t think she would have agreed.

The pony – since that’s what he’d be living his last moments as – was not sure he would have been able to go through with it either. There was something about seeing tears in her eyes that made him feel like he’d stepped too close to a border.

He had only ever seen her do this thrice… well, thrice for him anyway. The fact that Twilight was crying for him – that his actions were somehow harming that remarkable heart of hers – had made him want to stop. He couldn’t however, not after what had happened to Spike.

Even if he was able to pull through, Discord knew that both Spike's and Twilight's hearts would be harmed exponentially more if he allowed that nasty purple stuff to envelop their home and all that they loved. He may not have much caring for ponydom as a whole, but he knew that those two did. Through their eyes he could possibly see what all the fuss was about.

This attachment Discord felt first towards Twilight and now oddly towards Spike – ‘friendship’ he supposed – was what drove him to make this arguably stupid decision. It was this pull that called him to do what would be for her benefit, hers and by extension every pony else’s. Well, that was a first.

Thinking one last time of Twilight, all her knowledge, all her curiosity, her unyielding belief and hope in things even under such insurmountable odds. She had taken his face in her hoof, and Discord wondered what she had been wanting to say. He probably should have said something else. Telling her to hurry up was not a very fitting goodbye.

It took him a few moments to realize that he could know longer feel the effects of Tartarus pushing in on him from all sides, and that the sounds of the Smooze had faded away. The ground beneath his hooves had changed as well, and he slowed as he seemed to almost-recognize it.

“I was wondering when you'd finally notice,” Discord heard a low, slightly-worn voice from out of the darkness. Although – taking a look around now – Discord realized that this was a different sort of darkness than he had just been running through. Definitely not as menacing, yet still not exactly comforting.

He looked towards the speaker, though he thought he recognized him even before he appeared from the shadows. Some pony he had not seen in a very long time, but he had little trouble assuming why he was taking the time to appear in an actual form before Discord. The speaker had chosen a gaunt, skeletal pony form shrouded by a cloak. Though Discord couldn't see his face from this angle, he was sure the spirit was smirking.

“Morty,” he called with surprise and some amount of friendliness, knowing that Mort always hated being called that. “How've you been, how's life?”

“Oh you were always a laugh riot, Discord,” Mort answered dryly. “Asking the spirit of death how life is.”

“Well, it is a legitimate question, given our roles. I don't see much of you and I never see her.”

Mort sidled up to where Discord had halted from all that running. He didn't actually need to walk, but he was probably doing it for some sort of effect. He did chuckle, but Discord knew Mort well enough to know that wasn't always a sign meant to ease.

“You don't see much of us because we are doing our jobs,” he said. “Maintain the balance, control our power to equal our partner. Keeps things running smoothly for every pony down there.”

Discord sat himself down, folding his hooves to make himself comfortable. If Mort had interrupted his demise for a sermon about ‘proper spirit business‘, he knew he'd be there for a while.

“So is that why you're prolonging what you've come here for? I would assume that you could lecture me while you take me to wherever it is we go when we die.”

“You're not dead yet, Discord.” Mort said. “Not today, though it'll come sooner rather than later if you keep all of this up.”

“You know, I think I'd rather have the Smooze finish me off, then we can just skip this lovely ominous, cryptic thing you have going on.”

“The Smooze is back in Tartarus thanks to you, but it can't sense you anymore thanks to me. I wanted to swoop in here and have a little chat before Harmony's kid could get the chance.”

That got Discord's attention, he lifted his head but – as always – Mort was hiding his expression. In that way they were similar, although certain spirit beings didn't need hoods to hide their intentions.

“Yeah, the older one, she tried to pull you out of here before the Smooze could find you. I put her on hold for a little while,” Mort replied in acknowledgment of Discord’s unasked question before continuing.

“Sacrificing yourself to protect the mortal world, I'll give you that. But going down there and actually living with them?”

“Well if you hadn't noticed, I spent most of that time frozen in stone.”

“Yeah, and we didn't do anything then because that actually helped every pony. You were out of control then, you know. Harmony's kids were right to keep you somewhere where your chaos could be filtered, because there was no way you would have kept to their levels.”

“Their levels were far too low for my tastes,” Discord said, remembering the two alicorns and the level their order power had been at the time. It was a joke to think that he be required to keep in-step with two children's power level. “But haven't I been doing my job sufficiently of-late? I haven't been able to have a fraction of the fun I had back in those days.”

“Seems like you're having lots of fun playing with the ponies,” he said flatly. “Your sister wanted to do just that too, didn't she? I'll never really understand your fascination with actually being there with them.”

Even with all that he had learned recently about them, Discord couldn't shake his old reflex to protest. “That was Harmony's thing.”

“I think it was both of yours,” Mort retorted still in his dry tone. “You both wanted to go down there. Maybe for different reasons, but you were both so fascinated by them. Your interest in them has meant mistakes for both of you.”

Right, because all good little spirits do what they're told and stay far enough away to not cause harm... or any fun at all. That had been practically included in their ethereal makeup, and hammered into Discord's head every endless day by Harmony and to a lesser extent Mort. Well, they weren't supposed to have corporeal forms permanently either, but that hadn't stopped him from making one, as had Harmony.

“Sef and I have been watching you. Not extensively, but about as much as we watch Harmony's daughters and well... everything else. From upstairs where we're supposed to be.”

“But you missed me so much you just had to make a trip into Tartarus to have this 'little chat',” Discord attempted another joke. “Couldn't resist adding to the lovely lessons I've been forced to learn while living down there?”

As he mentioned Tartarus though, a thought struck him, and Discord felt a sudden spring of indignation at the thought of them – his two fellow spirit beings – sitting up there and watching all of this taking place without doing a thing.

“If you were watching, you knew this prison's seal was breaking, you could have gone down there and fixed it for Celestia.”

“If it had been our part of the seal that was breaking, we would have,” the hooded spirit said as plainly as he could.

A beat of silence, perhaps it was Mort waiting to see if Discord would have another joke for him, but the moment passed and Discord chose against it. He knew how the dance went, Mort was leading him to something - maybe more pointedly than he would have - and waiting for Discord to catch up.

“You know, there's certain types of plants that don't do well with direct sunlight?” Mort said. “They need partial shade to balance themselves out. Give them too much sun and they wilt.”

“And I suppose this is some sort of metaphor?” Discord surmised. “Or are you trying to change the subject with botany?”

“Maybe I like metaphors, maybe metaphors are my bread and butter. The point is, you wouldn't bring the sun down to live in the garden and shine over all the plants. They couldn't take it. The sun's where it is for a reason.”

Discord had figured he knew where this was going, it had been what Harmony had always feared would happen if they ever came down to the ponies' world. That had been why she prevented herself, and made her daughters. But, he had been living there for a while and nothing had been happening. Well, not until recently.

“You're gonna wilt their world, Discord. If you stay there much longer, and it's already starting.”

He was about to ask what Mort was getting at, but it slowly came to him... there might not have been a coincidence to Equestria's double onslaught of crises after all. But... had that really been due to him, even if he hadn't meant to?

“It's just a matter of time, just like that body of yours,” he noticed Discord's questioning look and corrected himself. “Your other one, the one you picked. You are way past the expiration date on that form, and if you don't go back upstairs and stop with the whole 'permanent form' thing you're gonna run out the clock on yourself and that place you just saved.”

“You don't know that,” was all that Discord could manage as a response to Mort's words. Because it was true, none of them knew. They had always feared – or Harmony had always feared – that their influence was too much for the mortal beings without keeping it all in check, in balance. 'We aren't meant to live there,' Harmony had always said, and always with such regret.

Of course he had wanted to live there, it was much more fun than staying up there with only Harmony for company. Those other two were off doing whatever it was spirits did with no bodies. His sister always dreaming about meeting the mortals, while he dreamt of seeing what it would be like if they all lost the use of their tongues and had to communicate by an intricate blinking system.

Just a few months ago, he wouldn't have cared one bit about what happened to their world. But he was living there now, and he wanted to stay. Though for different reasons than he'd started out. If it really was him, if he was the cause... Discord thought he might actually be beginning to understand that wistful regret in her voice.

“We just thought we should say something, even if we know you'll never listen,” Mort said. “I'll go ahead and let the little princess talk to you now.”

With that, Mort appeared to melt away, dissolving into something that had no form, a shadow of a cloud.

As the darkness where he had spoken with Mort suddenly burst into a blinding light, Discord had no idea where he was, but he assumed from his fellow being's final statement that wherever this was, Celestia was nearby.

In the moments before he opened his eyes, he decided that until it could be confirmed that what Mort had said was true – and if Celestia didn't already know about it – there really was no reason for him to tell her about it, or even mention it to her. There were more immediate matters to attend to. Other things that he needed to know.

When he opened his eyes and saw the endless star scape surrounding him, coming together to form some sort of sparkly something on which to stand, he wondered for a moment whether or not Mort and Celestia had planned this. Why else would Celestia meet him in the very last place he wanted to be at that moment?

But no, this place wasn't the same as his former home. It felt less solid, much too dream-like. As much as Celestia apparently wanted to copy it, she could never fully replicate that place, it was beyond even her level of comprehension. This was her approximation from the memories imparted by Harmony.

It still didn't change his opinions on telling her about what had just happened. It wasn't as if Mort would tell anyone either. Wouldn't want to risk breaking the rules twice in one day.

Encompassing his fellow spirit being's morbidly curious omen were the more immediate matters of what had happened at the gates, and how this would all play out for every pony involved.

“For a minute there I really believed you were actually going to let me die in there,” Discord said to the emptiness, for as the relief washed over him, he affixed a smirk back on to hide it. He did not want Celestia to know in any way that he had doubted that she would save him.

“Do not think I did not seriously consider that either,” the alicorn said as he watched her appear through the cloudy white that surrounded him.

“It took you long enough; did you have to flip a coin or something?”

“You speak as if you knew what the outcome would be,” Celestia answered him; it was a much lighter, almost conversational tone than Discord was used to hearing from her. “Though your actions at the end speak differently.”

“Once we arrived at the gates and there was no sign of either of you princesses… I started to have my suspicions,” Discord said. “So that was part of your little lesson as well, was it?”

“Not entirely,” Celestia stated. “We did not anticipate your involving Twilight.”

Discord wouldn’t have if he’d seen any alternative. “Well then how was this supposed to play out?”

“We had hoped that you would come of your own free will and offer to seal the gate, then in exchange we would return the power in order for you to do so,” she explained. “However, with the appearance of the Smooze some alterations had to be made to the plan, and we never anticipated that you would willingly give up your life to save every pony.”

“So you hid in waiting and then brought me back here? Pretty sneaky, not entirely like you” he remarked, glancing around at the vast misty whiteness that had formed beneath his hooves.

“You did a good job by the way, looks almost exactly the same… you see why I wanted to leave, right? Utter Dullsville.”

“I am sure it was much more entertaining for you when our mother was there alongside you,” the alicorn said, taking a look around as well. “When you would watch the ponies on their plane of existence.”

“Not by much,” Discord mumbled.

“And as for our methods – not only at the end, but all of it – I do hope you understand that neither I nor my sister took any joy in presenting to you this opportunity,” Celestia continued. “Or forcefully presenting it to you, by your way of thinking.”

Discord wanted to roll his eyes, but the final verdict had not been dropped yet, and that might not help.

“I do hope you understand that … this was a very dire circumstance, it was a threat to the balance of our extremes, and we wanted to find a way for you to see while it was vital by any possibly heavy-handed methods we could think of, and we also wanted it done quickly.”

Discord raised his eyebrows with a slightly amused expression. He thought he should enjoy it, because this was most likely the closest thing Celestia would ever give him that resembled an apology for this whole mess. At least he really did manage to learn something from it.

“So what happens now,” he asked. “Am I banished to the real deal, far away from your precious ponies and where you never have to see my face again?”

The princess gave him an appraising look, as if sizing him up based on what she had witnessed. “That all depends on what you have learned, if in fact your act of self-sacrifice truly was a new found care for the beings of this world.”

“Well, maybe not ‘care’, I don’t think we should go that far… but it might be safe to say ‘respect’,” Discord thought that might be blowing it for him, but he did think back on how the ponies had really tried to help, even though most of them still did it with reluctance. They may not have liked each other, but they could coexist for that short while. It wasn’t too far removed from how he had lived with his pseudo-sister Harmony.

“We won’t be having any giant group hugs any time soon, but I will give you that they do have a sort of …something to them. And it didn’t exactly seem fair for them to get covered in the Smooze just because of me.”

He thought a moment, and then pointed to her. “But then of course, you saw all of that, and I’ll bet you heard what I said to Twilight, too.”

“I did,” she answered.

“Oh, so you just want to hear me apologize and say you were right, and then beg for my powers back?”

Discord thought for a second that Celestia might actually smile. She came really, really close in any case, but she must have thought better of it.

“I suppose that would be expecting too much of you,” the princess said. “Although it does seem that a ‘respect’ for the ponies and their bonds is better than having no care at all for them.”

That sounded promising, though it wasn’t a firm yes or no. She seemed to get the hint that he was waiting for more elaboration, so she continued.

“When Luna joins us, we will restore the connection to your powers, and to your true body.”

“Yes,” Discord cheered, pumping a hoof in the air. “Farewell you irksome hooves!”

“It would also seem that you would do better if you were to remain on the same plane as the ponies,” Celestia continued through Discord’s jubilation. “Although that does not mean that you will have complete free reign.”

That dampened Discord’s little one-pony party. “So, you’ll be keeping me confined to my lovely little restricted areas. Shock collar treatment and all?”

“Being there appears to have helped you somewhat, but it was only when you were able to view them in their lives among them that I feel you were truly able to glimpse their value,” she said. “The border-confinement spell has served its purpose for you, but bear in mind that it was for the ponies' peace of mind as well.”

“As long as I'm no longer subjected to all those zappings, there's no reason they should have to worry,” he answered.

“I should hope not,” Celestia answered. “In some ways this will be an even bigger adjustment than last time, for all involved.”

Even through her sanguine explanation and her apparent acceptance that Discord had grown, he could sense her patience wearing thin with him already, perhaps she was regretting the decision to do this meeting alone, without her sister or Twilight as a buffer.

Wait, he thought. Twilight.

Something slammed forcefully into his mind, and Discord thought back to how he had last seen her at the gates, at the mercy of the power she was attempting to harness, and a creeping sense of dread came over him.

“Twilight, she was able to--- I mean she didn't--- ” he hoped the sudden anxiousness inside him was not outwardly noticeable to the princess. He thought he’d heard it in his voice, but she might have been fooled.

“I told you that she would not know how to wield it,” Celestia said, and the tightness in his chest intensified. Was he actually holding his breath?

“Amazingly, she surprised even me. She was able to keep it contained for far longer than I anticipated, long enough for Luna to reach her. Had my sister not aided her though, I doubt she would have been successful in reeling that chaos back in.”

“So… she’s fine?”

Celestia raised an eyebrow. “She is,” there was a bit too much recognition in her tone for Discord’s liking, though he had begun to breathe again.

“Luna brought her home, she is weakened greatly but she should be fine. Twilight is amazingly strong in more ways than one,” the princess finished.

“I know that,” he said obviously. “I just wanted to be sure, didn’t want her to have to pay for something I did is all.”

“Of course,” Celestia agreed, her eyes examining him again in a manner he didn’t think had anything to do with his words at the gates. “And concerning her, as the limitations for you will have changed, so should her role as well, I feel. Or perhaps we should re-examine her involvement now that it may no longer be required.”

May no longer be required? Was she not paying attention? Of course Twilight would still be required… or was it finally coming to the part Discord had wanted to much to avoid, when Ms. Sparky might drop him now that her purpose had been fulfilled?

“I realize that she was very integral to your progress - moreso than I thought, evidently - but you do have the option Discord, to give yourself more of a leash without having so much contact with her.”

What was apparently supposed to sound like Celestia was giving him some sort of concession sounded an awful lot more to him like the princess was the one that wanted this arrangement to be finished.

“If you really care about making sure things stay all perfectly balanced - and you trust me to go where I please - why not just keep the party going? As long as she is willing to continue putting up with me, I don’t see any reason to leave Ms. Sparky all alone.”

“She isn’t alone, but she does have other commitments,” Celestia said. “You can’t expect her to keep making time for you forever.”

Discord didn’t expect it, but there was a small flicker of hope that maybe she might choose to, even if it wasn’t required.

“Perhaps we should be including her in this conversation,” Discord offered. “Maybe this is an option you should be giving to her instead of me.”

He watched the alicorn deliberate, but apparently concede with a nod that this was indeed something to ask her student. Of course, Discord wasn’t certain what Twilight would decide in the long run, and considering all that had happened, and all that could happen if what Mort said was correct, he wasn’t even certain what he wanted her answer to be. Maybe it would indeed be better for him to be on his own… but it wouldn't stop him from giving her the choice.




“…the stress on her body was quite extensive. The most important thing for her now is rest. See that she gets it, Fluttershy.”

Twilight heard the voice of Princess Luna far off in the distance, as if she were standing on the other end of a long, cavernous tunnel. Cavernous tunnel… why did that ring a bell?

“Yes ma’am,” she heard Fluttershy through that same echoy, far-off filter. “What happened to her horn?”

“An injury sustained by the force of the magic she used. Fear not, it is merely singed. The mark will wear off in a few days.”

Her horn, what about her horn? Twilight wanted to know what was going on, but everything from her eyelids to her hooves felt weighed down with giant, heavy bricks. She tried to open her eyes, or turn herself, but her mind seemed useless to fight against the massive energy depletion that had occurred within her.

“I must take my leave. Make sure she stays well-rested and hydrated,” she heard Luna say and – presumably – fly off.

“Oh Twilight, I wish you could tell me what happened. You’re going to be fine though; Princess Luna said you would…” Fluttershy did not sound confident in her words, she sounded worried out of her mind.

A stumbling shuffle from her other side caused Fluttershy to gasp and zoom around Twilight with a whoosh, meeting what sounded like scrambling claws and the moan of another patient on the unicorn's other side.

“Spike, no. I'm very, very sorry, but you are just going to have to stay on your bed. You shouldn't be moving right now any more than she should.”

“But-- Twilight---” she heard her name sputter fearfully from Spike's mouth, and it pained her to think that he had woken up to this. She wanted nothing more at that moment than to sit up and hug him, or give him a smile, give him some sign of reassurance that she was alright – or, that she would be – and at the very least that she was conscious. The unicorn imagined how she must look right now; with hope she didn’t look as weak and helpless as she felt, and not as bad as Spike had just a few hours ago.

Singed horn… when had that happened? Then Twilight began to remember the chaos magic, and the gates, and Discord running in…

“Twilight!” she heard several hooves practically stampeding through the doors, and Fluttershy rushing to shush the newcomers. They were beginning to sound closer now, and at least the weight she felt in her head was lifting somewhat.

When at last her eyelids did not feel so heavy, she could ease them open and see that is was – as she had figured – all of her friends, including an injured-but-still-living Spike and even her brother. Her head was cushioned by her pillow, her starry night-patterned blanket wrapped up around her like a comfy little burrito. Since Luna had mentioned it, she wanted to see her horn, because now that she was feeling more aware of her surroundings there was more than a bit of a sting in that general area.

Her eyes were still focusing, but as Twilight stirred and looked around at them all, she watched as seven worried faces relaxed, letting out sighs of relief that she was indeed awake. Wait, no, only six. The unicorn searched around the room but couldn’t see the typically-airborne form of Rainbow Dash.

Before she could attempt to voice a question about her friend’s absence however, the blue pegasus swooped in through the window, looking behind her before landing and noticing Twilight.

“It looks like the Smooze is completely gone,” Dash reported. “We followed the trail it burnt through all the way back to the Rock Ridge, but I guess it all got put back where it belongs.”

“I’d like to take a group through to inspect from the ground just to be safe,” Shining Armor said. “I’m sure that’s right, but we can’t be too careful.”

“When that stuff started coming down on us, everyone was in a panic, that on top of every pony here being worried about Spike we had no idea that you’d gone missing until after it was all over,” Rainbow said to Twilight.

“Princess Luna said--" Spike managed. "She said you’d actually gone to the gates and sealed it back in, that you had to use chaos magic to do it. When she brought you inside you weren’t moving, I got scared…”

Out of all the ponies assembled it was the baby dragon that looked the most concerned. Clearly it had been only he and Fluttershy around when Luna brought her back, and it had evidently shaken him.

“We were all scared,” Applejack agreed, holding Spike up to place his claws on the bed, to which Twilight eased her hoof to cover them, trying to comfort him.

“I’m sorry Spike.”

“It’s ok,” Spike sniffled. “Just--- just if you ever plan on running off to do something that dangerous by yourself again, maybe tell us? Or you know, don’t go at all.”

“I had to,” she said to the group. “And I wasn’t alone. I was following Discord’s lead.”

“Discord?” AJ stated with surprise.

“Yes, he had the idea to lure the Smooze back to Tartarus, it was after him, it remembered that he was the one that had sealed it in there.”

She thought back to it, and her heart sank as if to try and fill the gap that was now somehow dominating her stomach. He had just run in there, no looking back, knowing that he could never come out again. It was a concept that Twilight did not seem to be able to wrap her mind around, for it just didn’t fit. Discord couldn’t die, not if balance was to be maintained, not if he was going to learn anything… not if she wanted to see him again.

“Spike, Fluttershy, did Princess Luna say anything to you about him when she was here? Anything at all?”

The dragon hesitated and gave a wary, questioning look to Fluttershy that the pegasus returned. Twilight did not know if that was merely because she really hadn’t said anything or they were withholding something to provide some source of comfort to her by not knowing. In either case, he kneaded his claws together and he ran a hoof through her mane, neither giving an answer.

But of course Twilight realized as she played the scene back in her mind again, Discord had gone in before Luna arrived; she may not have even known he was there.

“Twilight, what happened?” she heard Fluttershy ask in her high, whispering voice.

She didn't know how much they would believe, but they all deserved to know.

“I think… he sort of saved us,” she whispered in reply. She didn’t have to think - she knew - but that was proving to be a somewhat difficult thing to process as well. She tried to consider his options, looking at it from other sides in an attempt to reach an outcome that could have meant he might have survived, while still ensuring Ponyville and all of Equestria’s safety.

He had options, but as Twilight pondered them, she kept coming up empty on one that would have been in any way more beneficial to every pony than the one Discord chose. Beneficial that is, to every pony except for himself. Without access to his powers he was a mortal pony, and however much she considered the odds, a mortal pony sealed in with the monsters of old didn’t stand a chance.

It was also the outcome that Twilight would have thought least likely, least in-character for Discord. It was certainly the most extremely selfless one. She thought he didn’t care about every pony and after what he said before he ran in, Twilight thought - or maybe hoped - that he had done it for them, that he really had learned something. She wanted to be proud of him, of how far he had come to connect in such a way.

Twilight also wanted to be angry with him for doing something so recklessly selfless, and she knew that was most likely being selfish on her part. Hadn’t he thought about how sacrificing himself like that would affect her? Maybe Discord had, and the more logical part of Twilight made her think that might be just why he decided to do it. How in Equestria could he continue to do the unexpected even after death?

That thought made Twilight want to laugh, but the dull ache she still felt was overpowering that urge quite quickly, What came out was a half-laugh, half sob as her eyes welled again, and she tried to silently make those nearly-tears evaporate. The unicorn thought she could possibly do that with her magic, if her horn wasn’t in need of a rest.

The others’ puzzled expressions turned slightly softer, Spike’s and Fluttershy’s especially. Now Spike was the one giving her a comforting pat on the hoof. She wasn’t sure she could get through the story of what had happened at the gates of Tartarus, but she would try.

It didn’t take long to tell them, for the whole thing really had not taken very long, even if time seemed to move a lot slower in Twilight’s memory. Shining Armor had exited to check on the members of the guard just before Twilight approached the part where she had used the power Discord had given her, which she supposed was a good thing. Describing what it had felt like - what it had done or almost done to her - would probably have been something he did not want to hear. Though he knew she was powerful and skilled, Twilight was certain that Shiny still had that sense of elder-brother protective worry, and she might have gotten a lecture of her own on the dangers.

The group was silent when she concluded, and oddly enough the mood in the room had somehow gone even more concernedly sorrowful. Most of them may still not have liked or trusted the draconequus, but a few of them had - Twilight could tell - seemed genuinely downhearted by the news, and they all seemed to comprehend the magnitude of what Discord had actually done for them.

“So what’s going to happen now?” Spike asked. “If he’s gone.”

“I’m not sure,” Twilight said. She had begun to feel like she wanted to stand, she was feeling the urge to do research. It was something she knew would keep her mind busy, and keep the weight of this loss she was feeling far away from the forefront of her thoughts.

Fluttershy tried to protest at her getting up, but only halfheartedly. The others were murmuring to themselves as Twilight reached for the nearest book to her, she would start there.

She scooped the book on her nightstand up into her hoof, then threw it aside again without looking to see where it landed, a fresh batch of that radiating hurt cropping up again.

‘Stories & Poems by Midnight Dreary’. One of his…nope, that wouldn’t do it.

It was then that Shining Armor came back up to her room, looking stunned but excited.

“Every pony, I think you might want to come see this,” he said in a tone of astonishment gesturing with his head towards the door.

The others questioningly followed slowly after him, leaving Spike and Twilight alone in the room. Fluttershy gave a quick command to stay inside that they both resolutely ignored. The unicorn’s curiosity was getting the best of her, and she tried to roll herself out of bed and onto her hooves.

Spike quickly came to her aid, helping her stay upright even with his own pains. It wasn’t too hard, it was the noodly-ness of her limbs and the pounding in her head that were the big problems. Twilight managed to slightly-drunkenly walk to the stairs, wanting very much to just teleport outside, but her aching singed horn argued for walking.

Spike helped her get to the bottom, and then Twilight could take it from there.

Once they reached the outside, the sheer brightness of the day blinded them for a few seconds, and Twilight had to shield her eyes.

When her eyes had adjusted, it took her a moment to realize why everything seemed so much brighter. Every pony was looking up at the sky with the same stunned expression as Shiny’s, for the sky above Ponyville was as clear and as blue as it had ever been before all of this happened. There was no more literal dark cloud blocking the sun.

Cloudsdale was gone, way back up in the sky at its normal place, looking like a tiny, normal cloud from down on the ground, as it should be.

“But, how…” Twilight started to ask, though as she looked back at each of her friends, she could tell that their guess was as good as hers.

“It just happened,” Shining Armor said. “When we went in to see you it was still there.”

“And it was there just a minute ago when I came in,” Rainbow Dash added.

Twilight could see a sense of cautious optimism growing on her friends' collective faces, as well as on every face she saw appearing on the streets before her. Each of the townsponies that had not already been outside were now slowly emerging from the protection of their homes to see with their own eyes the brightness of the day. It was almost like they had forgotten what it felt like to have the sunshine beaming down upon them, and she could see the change in their expression as the light hit their faces.

As the ponies milled about around her trying to find each other, as the murmur of the growing crowd grew more excited, Twilight didn’t know what to say, having not one – but both – of the dangers facing Equestria fixed in the span of a day… and for her friends and herself to not be the main reasons for their being solved… this was a truly unexpected thing. A crazy, unexpected thing…

That brought her mind back to Discord, but Twilight tried to put it away again, she was not ready for a connection to be made between this sudden, miraculous occurrence and what she knew had become of Discord. She wasn't prepared for that, especially since she might be the first one to make it.

“This is just… this is just impossible,” Twilight stammered as she looked to each of her friends, each of them bewildered but becoming more gleeful by the moment.

She knew that the reactions of the town and of her friends were the proper ones, the feelings that she should be completely overcome with as well – and she was feeling them as well – though with all that she had been through so far today (had it been just in one day?), Twilight supposed a certain amount of joy-muffling was expected. She should expect this conflicting mixture of excited relief and wearying grief, she should expect to not feel up to celebrating with every pony as they must have been preparing to do, and she should expect that most of her friends would understand that.

What Twilight had not expected – and neither had any pony else for that matter – was for a sudden flash of light to blind them momentarily, followed by a large group of sombrero-clad ponies to strike up their band, filling the whole town with lively Mariachi music.

Every pony's heads had turned towards the band that had not been there a second ago, Twilight's among them, not even able to form a question about it before another sound stopped her heart mid-beat.

“Au contraire, Twilight dear,” came a very familiar voice over the brass trumpets. “You forget that impossible is more a dare to me than a limitation.”

Twilight froze as she heard that familiar flash, watching again as her friends' heads snapped back up, seeing every pony else’s reactions before finally finding herself able to turn towards the speaker. No, no way. There was no possible way.

There he was, the Spirit of Chaos was right there, leaning on the statue of Celestia, back in his proper form and smiling at her as if absolutely none of this was odd in the slightest, as if she hadn’t just seen him run towards his own death.

The others looked similarly stunned to see him, though none as spectacularly as the purple unicorn. Discord appeared to be quite enjoying himself, and not noticing at all her reactions to seeing him alive and well.

With a snap of his claw glasses of chocolate milk sprang into being in front of every pony in the square. Most of them just stared down at their glass curiously, or confusedly. Pinkie Pie was already drinking hers down in one gulp.

“It seems that I have proven myself to those two Harmony Twins,” he explained as he floated closer to his band of background accompaniment, a big grin on his face. “They think I’ve learned my lesson, or enough to where I won’t have to leave all you ponies, isn’t that wonderful?”

“Yeah, wonderful,” Applejack mumbled. Twilight was amazed that the earth pony could find her voice while she was still struggling.

“Isn’t it just?” he said with no hint of the sarcasm AJ had put into her words. “Although I don’t know why I was so worried. I should have known they wouldn’t let me go in there in that form, that could have been the end of me. I had a hunch once I got in there, and thanks to the brilliant spell-casting of our Twilight here, the gate is sealed up and there is no more threat of anything escaping into the pony world.”

Wait, Twilight thought. He should have known they would save him? Did he know beforehoof that he would live? Did that sacrifice really mean anything, then?

This new information was something not to be ignored, what did that mean if he hadn’t done it to save them? Had he really just been faking it, knowing that Celestia and Luna would not let him enter Tartarus in that state? He was parading around now, giving every pony drinks and dancing to music, when all of that might have been a lie?


Twilight’s earlier tears had dried, and she was quite glad to see that – at least outwardly – she appeared to be the very picture of ‘angry enough to burst into flames’. She thought he was gone forever, and the sinking feeling brought on by her thoughts of that loss had not been lost on the unicorn. The sudden jolt through her heart at Discord’s reappearance here coupled with the relief that he was back to normal was not lost on her either.

The anger and frustration with him and his most-recent behavior – however - was very familiar.

Twilight was attempting to keep it bottled up, it was another of those volatile mixtures of emotion that overwhelmed the unicorn and threatened to burst forth just as harshly as the chaos magic had done if she didn’t try and keep it in check. It seemed Discord just brought that out in her.

She was glad that ‘angry’ was the blanket expression to be read by the others only because it would make it much easier to possibly get Discord to interrupt his little party.

“Discord…” Twilight used a careful tone, forceful and through her teeth.

“Oh come now Ms. Sparky, everything’s fine now, we’re all back in our respective places, don’t you feel like a celebration?”

“Not particularly right now, no.”

He seemed to hope that smiling at Twilight in his giant sombrero would elicit a more positive reaction from her, when it did not Discord gave her a frown that clearly denoted her the ‘official party pooper’.

“Fine,” the draconequus conceded with a sigh as he waved his claw and the lively music halted, his goofy hat vanished, but the glasses of chocolate milk remained. Twilight heard Pinkie give a small moan; she had evidently been busy dancing her hooves off to the mariachi band.

As the other Element-bearers and regular townsfolk already had surprised and puzzled looks affixed to their faces from Discord’s appearance in Ponyville, Twilight didn’t think they would need to change expressions for her canceling the celebration, or for the number of things that this overload of emotions was making the purple pony consider doing to the spirit of chaos. In any scenario, she did not want to cause a scene.

She motioned with her hoof for Discord to come closer to her, eyes half closed and trying her best to keep her expression unreadable.

He did not hesitate in the slightest, leaning down to her eye level with his favorite all-too-superior smugness back in top form. Well the site of that certainly helped Twilight answer the question of what she wanted to do to him first.

She allowed herself a smirk of her own, leaning herself in close to him as well.

If he had known what would come next earlier, than surely he would know what she was about to do… and duck.

As Twilight’s hoof made contact with his face, it appeared he had not figured it out. The unicorn wasn’t sure which she had really intended to do – smack or punch him – but whatever it was she had put enough force into it to knock his face sideways and throw him of balance. The blow made a great thwacking noise that almost echoed for a whole five seconds afterwards, and caused Discord to stagger to remain upright.

Deep down Twilight knew that doing that would not solve anything, and it did not even really make her feel better (well, maybe a tiny bit). She just felt so much pain, frustration, and all-around confusing feelings concerning him welling up inside of her she just had to let it out somehow… and even then it didn’t relieve it all.

The unicorn snorted as she tried to vent off the excess anger, to possibly calm herself. She still didn’t want to make a scene if that hadn’t already done so.

When Discord had righted himself, he held both of his upper limbs to the spot where Twilight had hit him, half wincing from the pain and absolutely flabbergasted.

“What was that for?” he shouted, and his astounding ignorance caused her to flare up again, although Twilight restrained herself.

Twilight hadn’t noticed that she had also been wheezing a bit, she slowed her breaths and calmed her face. She needed to get all of this out of her system, and that had only done half the job.

Something else had fought against her vote to give him a good pop for doing such a stupid thing as risking both of their lives trying to lure the Smooze, then not telling her the whole plan until they were actually at the gates, and then running inside leaving her to think he had died.

This new revelation that the draconequus might actually, possibly have known he would be fine – and not bothering to mention this to Twilight – had caused her to go with a more violent release of her current tensions.

If the unicorn was going to go ahead with anything else, Twilight wanted the rest of their conversation to be private.

“I think you know,” she answered his question, still in a carefully flat voice. “Now if you don’t mind, please flash us to your home. Now.”

It was obvious that Discord had not been taking Twilight’s reactions seriously until this moment, and she did slightly regret having to be so blunt in showing her frustration. She was glad in any case that he did as she requested without comment, and in a flash she stood with him in the main hall of his renovated ruin of a home.

She noticed Discord’s face as he finally removed his paw from the mark she had left on it appeared ready for a long reprimanding lecture.

“Alright I think I get it now,” he pointed at her with his claw. “Was it the whole ‘putting every pony including yourself in danger’ thing? Because it’s not as if I wanted the Smooze to escape and chase me back to Ponyville.”

The purple unicorn allowed him to keep speculating, for she was still debating her next move now that they were here.

“Is it because I had to make you use that power I gave you? I’m sure you want to take a shower or something after doing that, but it was the best idea I could come up with, and you handled it quite well judging by the fact that you’re all in one piece,” he tried to smile at her as he glanced at the slightly-cracked, blackened tip of her horn. “Barely even a scratch.”

She shook her head, half giving him an answer, half at his continued clueless-ness. Those things weren’t altogether great, but they were certainly not what was making her feel so spectacularly mixed up inside. It was the hurt at his actions and then his attempt to smooth them over … it boggled her mind to think about it.

“I thought you had died,” she mumbled at her hooves. She tried to bring the strength back into her words, for she wanted him to know – to understand – in case her actions hadn’t done the trick.

“I was afraid, there was no possible outcome I could see of a mortal unicorn deliberately running into the place that held the most evil and dangerous creatures to ever exist and come out fine. It would have been a stretch even in your normal form, but you had to pick then to do something so recklessly selfless?”

“I hear some concern in there, but not sure where to find the ‘thank you for saving every pony, Discord’,” the draconequus remarked, evidently not noticing her currently emotional state.

“Yes, yes you did. Thank you,” her thanks was transparently feigned. “I’m not going to say that wasn’t very important and probably what proved to the princesses that you had learned the lesson they were trying to convey.”

Staring him down again – though she did have to look up – Twilight searched for something in his face that could tell her that he really had learned it.

“But what you said just a little while ago makes me wonder about that. If you had any hunch at all that Princess Celestia wouldn’t let you die, why did you not let me in on that little tidbit of information? Not telling me your plan so that I could – I don’t know – know what I was getting into, and then to not tell me that you knew you’d be ok when I was sure you…” she trailed off, her voice having cracked as her throat grew tight.

Twilight cleared it quickly, took a breath, and tried again. “Please, tell me why you didn’t think to tell me that. If you knew, than that may change the whole outcome. Did you really learn anything, or were you only giving them a good show of risking your life so that they would change you back?”

“So much doubt coming from the one pony who is supposed to trust me.”

“You know I trust you, that is not the issue here!” she was not in the mood to be riled up at the moment, but Discord didn’t seem to notice. “The issue is that if you were doing that for your own selfish reasons, than you haven’t learned anything, so what was the point of putting me through all of that?”

Whatever combination of Twilight’s words or actions it was that finally made Discord appear to get a clue, Twilight was grateful.

“Alright, alright,” Discord said, a little softer now. “So you think I should have told you about using the magic, but had I done so would you have still come along?”

“Yes,” she said firmly, although that wasn’t completely true. “I mean.. I would have tried to find some other way to get the Smooze---“

“But there was no other way, was there?” Discord said. “You must realize that. You were probably looking at every possible outcome during the few seconds we had at the gate before it was upon us, you wouldn’t have agreed otherwise.”

He hadn’t mentioned the very big issue yet, but apparently he was getting to that.

“And I didn’t know that they would save me, not until the very last moments, and even then it was just a hunch… maybe even a hope. You didn’t notice that neither princess was present at the gates when we got there? I found that suspicious.”

Twilight thought back, and realized that she had not noticed. They had been in a bit of a hurry at the time, and other things were occupying her attention.

“Apparently they were waiting in the wings, which is how you managed to make it home so quickly. It wasn’t a ploy meant to fool you, but yet another lovely part of this test,” Discord said, still attempting to remain the cooler head of the two while giving this explanation.

“If you want to hear it from them, be my guest. I won’t be joining you if it’s all the same. Just because all of this did teach me something doesn’t mean that my limit for time spent being summoned for pow-wows with the princess is more than exceeded.”

So he really had convinced them, and not by any trickery or deception on his part. Part of Twilight felt bad about even jumping to that conclusion, but she knew that logically it wasn’t something she could have completely counted out even now.

Twilight wanted to retain the accusatory stance , she tried as best she could to keep up the front during his explanation, but she was running out of reasons she could logically give for her harshness. Being mad at him was so much easier to process than the wash of relief that accompanied Discord’s continued presence.

“Are we still mad?” he asked, easing closer with some amount of caution. “Because you don’t seem to be noticing that everything is fine now, or at the very least all of those giant problems have been solved. No pony is dead, crises averted.”

The draconequus was attempting to figure out her current mood, and honestly so was Twilight. He must have noticed something begin to soften in her face, for his searching expression yielded another smile, accompanied by an enormous paw on Twilight’s shoulder.

This one comforting gesture was enough to wash away what was left of her resolve to stay mad. He was right, she knew that. Spike was going to be alright, the towns were going to be fine, and Discord was too. She had actual, physical evidence that he had survived. The fact that he was there, and that he cared enough to comfort her was further evidence of how far he’d come.

The surprising jolt she felt at his touch caused her eyes to follow the sensation to its source, as if seeing his paw resting on her would confirm that it was indeed real. Her breath caught as more pinpricks of tears threatened to form, and when Twilight found his face again it was all she could do to not just pull him close to her and sob right into his fur.

It was just overwhelming, all of it. Why was it his presence, his confirmation that it took to really make it sink in for her? She allowed herself to lean into his touch, exasperated at herself and wondering just why he continually brought out so much in her.

Several long, deep breaths passed, Discord leaving his paw where it was and still observing Twilight’s attempts to reign in this little breakdown. With the anger spent all that was left were tears that were in no way helpful nor productive. She wanted to discuss what Celestia and he had talked about, what she had said exactly when they had returned him to his form. It was important to know what the rules set for him were now, or if there still were any limitations.

As usual is was difficult to figure out what he was thinking, he seemed to have gotten lost while observing her. Discord looked far away in his mind for a few moments before speaking again.

“I didn’t mean to cause you grief,” he started, his eyes returning to hers as his paw came away slowly. “Not in this case at least, but it seems as if that is just going to keep happening whether I intend to or not.”

Again Twilight’s eyes followed the path his right limb took. She was much calmer now, and she was grateful to be able to both think and speak more clearly.

“You'd think I should be used to it by now, or at the very least better able to handle it,” she said, trying to put some humor into the statement. He did love to rile her up, but it was good to hear he never meant to take it to quite this level.

Discord tilted his head in a half-shrug, eyes leaving her for a moment and running his claws through his goatee thoughtfully. “Well, there’s really no reason why you should if you don’t want to. Not now, anyway.”

Twilight recognized that pattern of speech, that was his way of dancing around the real questions. Obviously there was something he still needed to divulge, yet even now after watching her have such an episode he still wanted to avoid something. Or perhaps he had just been waiting for her to have a cooler head before bringing it up.

In either case, he continued when she didn’t immediately ask for clarification.

“You have been given an out, Ms. Sparky. It appears that I will no longer be required to have a liaison to visit me all the time, or at least that’s what has been decided by Celestia. I’ve also been granted freedom to move about the land as I see fit, with the conditions that I keep my word to not cause harm to the ponies and other creatures I may find. I’ve considered taking some time to travel, see places that I haven’t visited in millennia, that sort of thing.”

As he spoke Twilight felt herself being swept up off her hooves, falling back to rest on her book couch as it brought itself up beneath her. The unicorn hadn't realized how tired her legs were of just standing until she felt those muscles relaxing from contact with the comfy surface. Discord must have figured this was a sit-down conversation, and she supposed it was. If it really was what she was thinking, then the time had indeed come, a possible ending to all of this time they had spent together.

“This does mean as well that you may not see much of me anymore, just to let you know. You could very well be rid of me for all time. No more of your dear friend Discord to cause you so much trouble. Doesn’t that just sound… perfectly dull?”

Having pulled up her seat, Discord now joined her on his own favorite elaborate chair. It floated to join facing opposite of her. She had folded her legs beneath her, but she sat straighter when he'd come to a landing.

“If Princess Celestia isn't holding you to the same limitations, then there's no reason that things need to change very drastically,” she stated assuredly. He was making it sound like it was an all-or-nothing decision, and despite his return to a flippant attitude, Twilight felt it was a much bigger deal to him than he was letting on. It was a bigger deal to her, too. She'd made the decision to continue helping him even after his probation was done back at the Crystal Empire. She didn't think this – whatever their friendship might be – should end just yet. Twilight didn't want it to.

“Of course, that all depends on you,” Discord said. He gave her a sidelong glance and swirled a newly materialized glass of chocolate milk in his clawed hand. Her assurance must not have been enough for him to ease whatever he was thinking.

“You have to admit it would be easier without me, for both you and all of your friends. None of you would have to worry about my crazy chaos interfering with your little lives any more than it already does.”

This was beginning to sound like the set up for a much bigger departure than just going to travel Equestria, and eerily like the speech he gave at the gates, and that made Twilight uncomfortable.

“Are you saying that… you’re going to leave?” she asked, batting away another glass that floated towards her. “As in leave, leave?”

“I am merely proposing scenarios, and you being my friend I’d like your input.”

“Did Princess Celestia say---”

“Both of the princesses are perfectly willing to put up with my staying here on this plane indefinitely. However, given certain things... I don't doubt Celestia – as well as a good deal of your fellow ponies – might just sleep better knowing that I was back up on the top shelf.”

“Well, maybe, some... but Discord, you just got back. Are you seriously offering--- do you want to leave?”

He had been watching his milk swirl within the glass this entire time, perhaps to avoid her gaze and by extension avoid her searching eyes as she tried to ascertain that he was serious. Discord finally stopped as she flubbed over her words in her attempt to ask. The glass went still and the chocolate milk settled completely before he looked to her again.

“What I want is to hear from you. My part of the balance can be kept from wherever I am, so it would make no difference in my job essentially if I chose to go back now. Like I said, it might put some ponies' minds at ease.”

Both his glass and the one being offered to her disappeared, and Twilight could see it in his eyes, the poker face had slipped there for a second. She could see clearly now this line of questioning carried far more weight than he wanted to show.

“What do you want me to do, Twilight?”

Even now it appeared Discord still held doubts that he would ever be really accepted, the same as what he had said outside of the gates. It was true that there probably would be some ponies that might still hold onto their grudges, but would his leaving their plane really fix that? Twilight knew he could care less that he'd never achieve universal popularity, so this couldn't be completely about the beings of this world accepting him.

“I--” she began, no longer able to keep still on the cushions of the couch despite her aching legs. Twilight sat completely upright, searching for the most convincing argument for staying she could muster, one that was more than the most obvious; 'because I want you to'.

“I agree that some ponies might prefer it if you went back, and maybe things would quiet down around here... but honestly I don't know what I would do if that happened. There is still so much we could still do to try and bring about some more understanding between the ponies about you, and with all the things you've done – all the things you've learned – it just wouldn't be fair for you to---”

Twilight halted when he raised his eyebrows at her, and she let the rest of the breath she had been using to make this speech go without finishing. That wasn't what he'd asked.

He wasn't asking her what she thought was best for Equestria, or what was best for him. He wasn't asking what she thought he should do, Discord was asking Twilight what she wanted him to do.

It would be easier if Discord had been asking what was best for every pony else. Twilight was much more adept at figuring that out.

Maybe this was her chance to convince him that she really did care. Maybe this was the thing she had been trying to find to truly let Discord know that she wanted to stand by him as she had been since they had begun their whole arrangement. Because when she thought about it – that the answer Twilight gave at this moment could very well mean his departure from her life forever – that pang of fear that had arisen when he'd run into that abyss returned in full force.

Twilight didn't know if it was best for every pony or even herself... but she knew she did not want him to go. Maybe the most obvious thing to say was the best one.

Why then was it so difficult to get out? How could something so simple become so hard to say when it was Discord she was saying it to? It wasn't as if it were anything personal... or maybe it was. There was motive, intention behind it, and that was Twilight's only explanation as to why her heart had begun to hammer again at just what those intentions were. She licked her lips nervously, bolstering herself to say what she hoped Discord needed to hear.

“I want you to stay,” Twilight felt her gaze slipping downward but she tried to retain eye contact, though it was growing even harder now that she'd seen his smile returning. She quickly tried to compensate for her sudden nerves by clarifying. “I mean, I think traveling would probably be good for you as long as you decide to come back every now and then, but as far as leaving this plane goes... no, I want you to stay.”

He once told her she was easy to read at times, and Twilight had tried to practice masking her emotions in a similar way that he did, but Twilight was certain there was no hiding any of this from Discord right now, not with this nervous, anticipating smile plastered onto her face or the mutinous warmth she could feel spreading over her cheeks. She wanted to roll her eyes, with so many extremes for her today, Discord must be eating this up.

His eyes half-lidded, his smile genuine if still fairly sly-looking from Twilight's perspective, Discord sat up straighter to match her, and then seemed to take full advantage of her awkwardly anxious state to glide his way off his chair to join her on the couch.

The strong, soft right arm of his found its way wrapping around her almost naturally, his warmth adding to the veritable radiation coming off of her now.

“As you wish,” Twilight heard him almost purr. It carried a hint of confirmation to it, of finality. But Twilight only really caught it upon later replayings of the scene inside her head.

This was exactly the type of situation that the unicorn would try to avoid when being alone with Discord, at least under normal circumstances. She had tried to conduct herself in a friendly yet professional manner, especially after all that had been happening started up. There had been times though – during some heated discussions, or his insistent readings, or even sometimes just a lull in conversation – when she felt something shift her thought process, almost charging the very air between them and bringing her back to that first night he had come so close.

It felt like a very long time since the air had been so charged, and at this moment the unicorn was trying to remember why it was supposed to be something to avoid.

But Twilight knew she had to remember, because she knew that if she allowed it to continue that charge could spark something, something quite extremely confusing and with the potential to make things much more convoluted. Discord was her friend, and she wanted to retain that, she wanted to keep him --- wanted him to stay, rather. She'd just confirmed that.

Anything else that happened, any other moves she took towards or away from him, it should be her decision. And maybe Discord knew that, and perhaps that was what that whole question had really been loaded with.

There was time now, more time than she could hope for, there wasn't any need to rush things.

Biting her lip and turning away for a moment, Twilight attempted to pull herself back once again, reminding herself of that fact, and that all of the things she had been sorting out in her mind were probably all-but broadcast on her forehead for Discord to see, so he probably knew her conclusion.

“I think we should probably go back to Ponyville,” she said after what felt like ages. This whole encounter couldn't have been more than five minutes or so, but with how they had exited, Twilight was sure there was some talking going on between her friends back home.

“There might be a real celebration going on, you wouldn't want to miss that.”

“Well, now that that's settled I suppose you're right,” he answered playfully, though taking his own time to extricate himself from the couch to flash them back.




Twilight had been right about the ponies of the town taking it upon themselves to continue with their own festivities even after Discord had been made to halt his own. With precious little for them to celebrate these last few weeks, Discord couldn't blame them, and he didn't even feel gyped at the lack of acknowledgment he received for being the one to kick the party off.

Discord was just so glad to be back in his preferred body, so pleased that he could float above the milling crowd of ponies without being in danger of having his insides fried, that he almost didn't care that Twilight had left his side not long after they had returned. Almost.

He was more than a tad disappointed at how their conversation had ended, or rather how it hadn't ended... this 'letting her decide' business was going to cause him problems, he could tell already. But, that was just regrettably something he would just have to try and manage himself. It was only one of the things he was letting her choose with that one question.

If any pony asked, it had been officially about what Celestia had suggested to him. About whether or not the unicorn still wanted to help him, but there was more loaded into that inquiry than even Twilight had guessed.

She had chosen though, and he was going to stick around because she wanted him to. He did suppose he had an eternity for her to get more comfertable with certain things, but until that day came it was usually fun to watch her become so awkward and flustered... and to know he was able to do that to her highly intelligent mind just by sticking around.

He had allowed her to scurry away from him to join her friends for the time being, watching as she took a hurried glance back she didn't think he saw. The newly-reinstated draconequus did have something else that was of great importance. Some pony else that had helped him during his time of mortality needed a proper token of his gratitude.

So Discord had set off above the many partying ponies in search of the one little dragon. He hadn't seen Spike with the friends that Twilight had dissapeared with, but he thought the Pony Boy might be inside.

He only hoped that during the return to his form he had managed to completely cure Spike of the excess Smooze runoff.

It didn't take long to find him, Spike was outside of the large cake-themed sweet shop where he was evidently attempting to regain his strength by eating his weight in cupcakes.

Spike spotted Discord before he had actually gotten close enough to speak clearly through the din and raised a cupcake in greeting, his face almost completely covered in frosting and sprinkles. That appeared to be the only thing wrong with him now, for he was alive, awake, and apparently very hungry. Discord did not envy the stomachache the little dragon would have later.

“You know, it's funny,” Spike said as he swallowed a bite of his current confection. “The doctor and the others got most of that stuff off of me, but it was only after you popped back here that it was all completely gone.”

“Ah, the miracles of modern medicine,” Discord answered with a grin.

“Thanks,” Spike murmured, but Discord held up his clawed hand to deflect it.

“No Pony Boy, I believe out of the two of us the one who should be thanking the other is me,” he said. “You wouldn't have needed the help if you hadn't jumped in the way of the Smooze in the first place.”

Spike tilted his head questioningly, possibly at the name of the Smooze, possibly at the idea that Discord might thank him. He didn't let Spike say anything, popping another cupcake into the dragon's mouth with a snap of his claw. He had a whole speech prepared and Spike couldn't be interrupting.

“During my stint as a pony there were a few who decided to help me, and while I did learn from them, I find it absolutely fascinating that the one being who gave me the most input about ponies wasn't a pony at all. Spike, you helped me in more ways than one, and for that help I'd like to do something very special just for you.”

Spike was able to inhale the cupcake plugging up his mouth by this point, he made a feeble attempt to wipe the frosting from his mouth as he continued to look up at Discord quizzikly.

“Uh... ok, what did you have in mind?”

“Well, I remembered what you said about feeling like an outcast amoung these ponies, about not being able to share the same experiences or whatever it was--- I remember most of it anyway. But I thought to myself 'that seems slightly unfair for my poor new dragon friend'.”

Spike blinked and came slowly to his feet, bringing up his own clawed hand pointing at Discord.

“Wait, you're not thinking about turning me into a pony, are you?”

At this, Discord shook his head and waved his hand again, leaning down to Spike's level and putting his paw on the dragon's shoulder. “Oh goodness no, why in the world would I do that to you?” he chuckled at the thought and at Spike's continued confusion. “You're fine being the special Spikey-wikey you are, no need to rock the boat there. But there is one thing that all the little fillies and colts get to experience that you sadly have not, and that is something I can provide.”

With that, Discord landed close by to Spike, and a sudden white glow flashed into life around the dragon's bottom half. When the light had died away, Spike's eyes widened in awe and what Discord was sure was gratitude.

On the outward sides of both his left and right thigh – emblazoned brightly on his scales – was what was unmistakeably a cutie mark. A golden quill sat in front of a scroll with a bright red seal in the shape of a pony's head.

Spiked blinked several times, whipping his head and twisting his body from one side to the other to get a better look at both of them. He spun in a circle until he fell down onto his tail, sprinkles flying everywhere from his face.

“You--- just--- wow,” Spike managed, still marveling at his newly-marked legs.

Discord shrugged. “Not the most inventive of marks, I debated putting a picture of Rarity on there but I thought better of it.”

In the distance Discord thought he heard the faint cry of a very high-pitched voice crying out, 'Oh come on!' but that might have been his imagination.


When Spike was finally done admiring his thighs, he looked back up to Discord with the biggest smile on his face, and that made Discord feel pretty good, he didn't often see some pony looking so happy around him.

“Now I really have to thank you,” Spike said, to which Discord waved again.

“Just think of it as a token of my appreciation,” he said. “And I do hope that you might do something for me, now that we're officially friends.”

“Sure,” Spike answered, and Discord found his way to lean to the dragon's eye level again.

“Not that it'll be difficult for you, but there's a chance I might be gone for w while,” he said in a lower tone than he had been using, coming closer to Spike's ear but not really whispering. “Just in case though, I can trust you to watch out for Ms. Sparky, right?”

Spike raised an eyebrow, and thankfully he didn't see any re-emergence of that knowing look his dragon friend had the last time they had spoken about Twilight.

“Are you planning on going somewhere?”

“In a sense, traveling,” he said, not entirely sure what he should say, because whatever he said to Spike would doubtless find its way to Twilight's ears. “This is just a blanket request, from one friend to another.”

Spike didn't appear to completely swallow this as the whole truth, but he nodded. “Yeah, sure Discord. I always watch out for her so no problem.”

“Good,” he clapped the dragon on the back and put on a showy grin once again, floating back up and above the ponies as they continued to celebrate. “Be seeing you around, Pony Boy, you can bet on that.”

A tiny salute to the dragon below, and Discord flashed himself away, to a quieter part of the town's border, leaning now against a black mulberry tree at the very edge of the Everfree.

It was a change to be appreciated, to be wanted. Perhaps it didn't mean much to every pony – and there was still a ways to go – but it was a welcome change to have at least some ponies want him around.

Only time would tell if it stayed that way, but Discord would do his best to ensure it. Hopefully without losing any good opportunities for some fun.




Author's Note:

Final A/N and Acknowledgements http://www.fimfiction.net/blog/311831/see-you-out-there-p

Comments ( 13 )

A very good ending. Now I'm curious if you'll continue and finally hit the romance on the head? It would be funny to see how Discord takes someone on a date. :P I have to say that these pair of stories feel like a more realistic version of Discord actually being reformed rather than the real episode that feels like Discord is just setting everyone else up for him to betray them later.

4252381 dont forget teaching twilight to use chaos magic

So uh... sequel? Please... sequel!

She also concluded that it would not be in any pony’s best interest to tell either of her aunts. She would not want to be the spirit of chaos if/when Auntie Celestia ever learned about it, in any case.

Can't wait for this part :moustache: Hopefully it comes as a complete and utter shock to her

This was wonderful! :D And I know I'm being greedy, but... will there be a sequel? If not that's ok, but... this is just so awesome :pinkiehappy:

pleeeeeeeease continue pleeeeeaassee!!!
this was soooooo amazing and THEY STILL HAVEN´T KISSED AGAIN XD

the kiss??? I wanted the kiss
pliss continue
:heart:

5678101 hee hee, Fogsdale. :derpytongue2: Well, I'm glad you still enjoy the story even with your problems with it. You're right that the geography of the towns weren't widely, concretely known yet as I was coming up with the idea. And it's a bit of a copout to take the Springfield defense of 'the landscape is what I say it is today' (which i think is probably something Discord would say :P)

I s'pose I don't have much of a defense on the whole crisis... but it seems like a lot of the parallels to Deja Q lost some things in translation. I *hope* my third story might help things be a little clearer.

7734106 I know that it's not really an excuse - nor is it meant to be - but looking back, I do see the problems people have with this one. It is a bit of a mess. But I do hope that I've improved on those problems going forward into the next story.

I think I was trying so hard to get those Star Trek parallels in that I wasn't paying enough attention to the characters' interactions. I will say that most of your criticism isn't without warrent, but it wasn't my intention.

I did though intend for the princesses to come off as dicks to Discord. On that front maybe I did too good a job. :P

I do see that in reality it would take some time for everyone to be cool with him being around, so they might act less than friendly. Even with Twilight saying 'he's totally cool now, you guys'. Again, perhaps I could have executed that better. But moving forward I hope that I do. Thanks for the long comment.

When her eyes had adjusted, it took her a moment to realize why everything seemed so much brighter. Every pony was looking up at the sky with the same stunned expression as Shiny’s, for the sky above Ponyville was as clear and as blue as it had ever been before all of this happened. There was no more literal dark cloud blocking the sun.

Cloudsdale was gone, way back up in the sky at its normal place, looking like a tiny, normal cloud from down on the ground, as it should be.

“But, how…” Twilight started to ask, though as she looked back at each of her friends, she could tell that their guess was as good as hers.

“It just happened,” Shining Armor said. “When we went in to see you it was still there.”

“And it was there just a minute ago when I came in,” Rainbow Dash added.

Good work Discord

Three things
1 what no couch kiss BOW:raritydespair:
2 did Discord know about Celestials plan for Twilight or did she told him
3 I would prefer Spices cutymark to be a blooddrop because he supposed to be THE ELEMENT OF SACRIFICE

This is one of my favorite sto Sagas ever. It's beautiful. I'll be reading the third in the series shortly...

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