Fluttershy waits for Discord for their first teaparty after Twilight's coronation. But he doesn't show up. Neither does he attend the Guys' Night with Big Mac and Spike the following evening. His friends are concerned about this.
With the coronation of Twilight, a new age has begun. And Discord shows up neither to his teaparty with Fluttershy nor to Guys' Night with Spike and Big Mac. His friends are concerned about him, and try to find a way to get to him. What could have happened to him? Will they manage to save the ancient Lord of Chaos from whatever has befallen him?
Tuesday afternoon. Fluttershy sat on her couch, a kettle full of tea in front of her, as well as a tablet full of teacakes, with a bit of space for cucumber sandwiches. Angel Bunny was sitting to the left of her, and on the other side of the table was another couch, empty.
Why is it still empty? He should have been here half an hour ago. The tea is getting cold, she thought while staring at the empty space. Is it because I had to cancel last week’s teaparty? But Twilight wanted to get the first Friendship Council meeting done as soon as possible, and I told him that it was only that one time!
She waited for another hour before she started cleaning off the table, slowly trotting into her kitchen. He hadn’t shown up at all.
Wednesday night. Big Mac and Spike were sitting in the cellar of the old castle of Friendship. It felt strange, now that Spike and Twilight had moved to Canterlot, but there was no way he would miss playing Ogres&Oubliettes with his two buddies. After all, Garbunkle, Sir Biggun and Captain Wuzz were closing in on the grand finale, the final showdown against the Squizard! But not this night, because it was only them two. Captain Wuzz didn’t show up. Spike sighed towards Big Mac, and the stallion noddod. Discord had never been late for a single session, and suddenly he didn’t show up, without even telling them that he couldn’t come. It was annoying.
Thursday morning. Spike had worried all night long, even shouting Discord’s name in the hope of him just appearing out of thin air. Not exactly an unusual way to get the attention of the Spirit of Chaos, but this time, nothing had happened. So he decided to go and ask the pony he was sure would know why his buddy didn’t show up. Fluttershy.
He wanted to walk over to her cottage slowly, but somehow he found himself in front of the door faster than he thought. He knocked gently, not wanting to disturb the animals that lived with his friend. From inside, he heard a joyous “I’m coming!” and the sound of hooves. The door swung open and Fluttershy looked at him. “Spike? I’m surprised to see you here this early. Aren’t you supposed to be in Canterlot with Twilight?”
“Well, probably, but I have to speak to you. You know that every second Wednesday night is Guys’ Night. Big Mac, Discord and me spending most of the night playing Ogr-” he stopped for a second “-cool games.”
The mare nodded. “And I heard it’s a lot of fun every time! I’m happy you three have this little ritual! Discord always seemed a lot calmer the following days.” She smiled at the dragon.
Spike scratched his head. “And that’s exactly why I needed to speak to you. Discord always took Guys’ Night very serious, always showing up a bit early to make sure we had as much time as possible, although he tended to say something like ’A draconequus is never late, nor is he early,he arrives precisely when he means to.’ But yesterday, he didn’t show up at all! I’m a bit concerned. Do you know why he would have missed Guys’ Night?”
“Oh my. I thought he only missed our teaparty this Tuesday because I had to cancel last week’s! But if he also missed Guys’ Night, that means it’s something else. Oh, I hope it’s nothing bad. Maybe he’s sick! I should go and check on him. Thanks for telling me, Spike!” She rushed out of her house, leaving Spike standing there alone and confused for some seconds before she rushed back in. “You don’t know how to get into his dimension by any chance, do you?” she asked with a light blush while the dragon rolled his eyes.
Spike didn’t know how to get to Discord, so they decided to ask someone whom they thought might know the answer: Twilight. She was currently in the Royal Archives, reading through old documents. Maybe she was the new ruler of Equestria, but she still needed to get more comfortable with the relations to other countries and how to handle them. She did appoint some ambassadors, but as Princess, she had to know how to handle those meetings in a diplomatic manner. And what better way to learn about diplomacy than reading how Celestia had handled it in the old times? Because of this, she didn’t notice her visitors for quite some time, until Spike waved his claw in front of her. “Equestria to Twilight. You in there?”
“What? Oh, hey, Spike! Nice to see you got back from Guys’ Night! How was it?” She looked around. “And why did you bring Fluttershy with you? Did she join your Guys’ Night?” She stood up and hugged both Spike and Fluttershy. “Anyways, nice to see you, Fluttershy!”
“Nice to see you too, Twilight, and no, I didn’t join Guys’ Night. It’s, you know, for guys only. Although it IS part of why I joined Spike on his way to Canterlot. One of the guys didn’t show up, and, well, neither did he on Tuesday for our teaparty.” She sniffed. “I hope Discord didn’t feel left out because of our Friendship Council meeting last week. I had to cancel our teaparty because of it, and maybe he thought that our meetings would replace the teaparties. He didn’t send any letter or so to tell me or the guys that he wouldn’t be there.”
Twilight pondered for a moment. “I’m sure that’s not the case. Sure, I’m still a bit angry about what he did, disguising as Grogar and all that, but he should know that we’re all still friends. So, what do you need from me? Should I summon him?”
“Nonono, that wouldn’t be nice, pulling him over without giving him the chance to prepare or anything. You remember how we summoned him the last time, and he was under the shower at the moment…” Fluttershy blushed at the thought. “I just thought you could, you know, open a portal to his dimension or something. Whenever I visited him, he had to teleport me himself, so I don’t know how to get to him on my own.”
Spike raised his claw. “I’d like to go with her, if you don’t mind. He’s my friend too, and we missed Captain Wuzz yesterday.” The two mares raised their eyebrows at that name. “Don’t ask. I wouldn’t answer anyways,” he said while rolling his eyes, earning a chuckle from them.
“Well, I didn’t go there myself yet, but I know somepony who had been there once. Although it took him quite some time to get back after he delivered the invitation. But this means he knows how to get to Discord and back too!”
They didn’t need to look for the mailpony for too long. After his adventure in the Chaos dimension, he went back to be a normal mailpony, no adventures, no nothing, but he got some fame among his colleagues, and thus managed to rise through the ranks. Now, he was sitting behind a desk in the General Post Office in Canterlot. He rose quickly when the three walked into his office. “Princess Twilight! It is an honor to be visited by royalty! Parcel Post, at your service!” He bowed.
“No need to bow and all that, Parcel Post. In fact, my friends and I need your help. We need to get to a specific place, and you are the only pony I know that managed to get there.”
“Me? But where could that be? I’ve nev-” he stopped, his eyes growing with terror. “You… you don’t mean THAT place? I swore to never go there again! It took FOREVER to get back from there! I couldn’t imagine why anypony would want to go there voluntarily! It is terrifying!”
“Mister Post, I know how hard it has had to be for you, and I am sorry to ask this of you, but it’s for a friend of ours whom we are deeply concerned for. We NEED to get there. Please, help us,” Fluttershy said, her eyes watering with tears, while Twilight and Spike had a look of deep concern for both Discord and Parcel Post on their face.
After a while of shivering, Parcel Post cleared his throat. “Well, I can get you into this chaotic place, but I won’t be able to guide you to the house I delivered the letter to back in the day. The place constantly changes, and even if I wanted to, I wouldn’t find it again. If you think you’re up for the task, please, follow me. There is a secret among us mailponies that you would need to use.” He walked towards the exit, stopping to wait for the three.
Fluttershy had a look of resolve on her face. “It’s for Discord. I will do this. But I don’t know how long we would be in there. Twilight, you need to stay here, to raise the Sun and Moon if I am gone for more than the rest of today. And Spike, as much as I appreciate your offer, I think it would be best if I alone go and speak to him. But I’ll tell him how concerned you and Big Mac were.” She followed Parcel Post, leaving the other two perplexed.
Spike looked at Twilight. “Did Fluttershy just decide to go to a place frightening enough to scar a mailpony like that alone? Guess she is even braver than we have ever given her credit for.”
“Spike, if it is for the good of a friend, nopony is as brave as Fluttershy.”
The depth of the Canterlot General Post Office. Lit by everburning torches. Parcel Post was leading Fluttershy deeper and deeper into these catacombs. “You know, we seldom need to use this secret anymore. And you will be one of the first non-mailponies to witness it since Starswirl the Bearded created it for us all those centuries ago, in a time when the Equestrian infrastructure was not really developed at all.” He pointed towards a giant door. “It’s behind this door.”
Fluttershy’s eyes darted around the place. “I know you said it was a secret, but...why does it have to be so far underground? Is it dangerous? Could it harm the city if it was closer?”
“What? No! We just can’t move it. This was actually the cellar of the first General Post Office of Canterlot. But Canterlot was about three yards lower at the time it was constructed. Most big cities grew in height over time not only because of the higher buildings, but also because the ground slowly rose due to sediments. I’m sure the Princess could tell you more about it if you asked her.” He pushed open the giant door, revealing a giant metallic ring in the middle of a big room. “This is the Postal Portal. It can’t deliver you to a specific place, but to the general area you want to go to. Back when Equestria didn’t have trains, this thing helped getting post from one end of Equestria to the other. Or even outside of it. Thing is, you need to actually have something you need to deliver, and a badge of the Postal Order.” Parcel pondered for a moment. “I should have thought about the delivery thing earlier, shouldn’t I? Well, good thing we also do store some stuff down here, like writing paper and pencils and envelopes. So, you’ll have to write a letter to your friend living in...the place I shall not think about too much, and I will give you one of our spare badges. Luckily, I had thought about bringing THAT with me when we got down here.” He laughed nervously. “I’ll just need it back once you get back. The portal on this side will become inactive once you’re through, but it will leave open a portal from your destination back here, which you can also only go through with the badge.” He handed Fluttershy the badge, the paper, pen and envelope.
Fluttershy took the things and started writing.
‘Dear Discord,
I’ve been waiting for you to join our latest teaparty, but sadly you didn’t show up. I know that I had to cancel the one before because of the Friendship Council meeting, and I am really sorry about that.
I hope you don’t think my other friends are more important to me than you. It’s just that Twilight wanted to get the meeting done as early as possible, and Tuesday was the day all of our other friends had time. I wish we could’ve done it on another date, but I thought you would understand that. Maybe we should have had our teaparty rescheduled to another day last week, but the meeting was long, and because I got back from Canterlot Wednesday afternoon, I had to work harder the rest of the week to get everything done I wanted to do.
But I am not the only one concerned. You also missed Guys’ Night, and Spike was very concerned about that too. He said you never were late to even a single meeting before-’
Parcel cleared his throat. “I don’t want to interrupt you, but you don’t need to write a real letter. You just need to put it in the envelope and put an address on it to make it a letter that needs to be delivered. You’re going there in person, so, you know, you could tell your friend whatever you are writing right now.”
Fluttershy blushed. “I’m sorry. We used to write a lot more letters to each other back in the day, and maybe I got caught up in the act a bit.” She put the letter into the envelope and addressed it, then she put the badge in her hair. “So, how does this work exactly?”
“That’s a part of the secret you don’t need to know. Just give me the letter for a second, and turn around.” She did as she was told. A strange whirring sound filled the room, followed by multiple loud sounds of metal snapping into place, and a sudden bright blue light accompanied with a sound reminiscent of a splash in a pool of water. Then she heard hoofsteps as Parcel Post went back into her line of sight and handed her the letter.
“The Portal is now open. Take great care out there. There are aggressive flying badgers and worse monsters roaming through that...place. I wish you the best of luck. You will need it.” Then he went through the big door, closing it behind him.
Fluttershy turned around, looking at the open portal for the first time. It was like a pool of water, with waves rippling over the light blue event horizon. She gulped, then she poked a hoof through it. It was a strange, tingly and cold sensation. With a final deep breath, she stepped through.
Even though she had visited Discord multiple times, seeing his home dimension was always a bit confusing for a few seconds. And especially this time, since she didn't appear in his garden in front of his house, but instead out in the open, no ground beneath her hooves. She closed her eyes, expecting to fall into the endless abyss beneath her. But nothing happened. She just floated. She looked around, searching for anything leading her into the right direction. She saw a small patch of ground, a floating island, just a few yards away. She opened her wings, flapping them a few times. She could still fly, even though some other laws of physics didn't apply here! So she made her way over to the island.
There she sat for a while, again looking around. Debris was floating around, as did some things that made her head hurt. Circles made out of right angles. Angles with more than 360°. Things that should not exist, and no pony should ever see. She had to close her eyes to prevent her brain from trying to understand which it could never hope to understand. She took a deep breath, clearing her mind. She had a mission, a place where she needed to go. This place was chaos made manifest, but she knew that it could also be used to manifest her own thoughts. Not in a way that she would expect, of course, but still in the right way for this place.
So she thought about finding a way towards Discord's home, but was interrupted by the chattering of a swarm of flying badgers. Not exactly what she hoped for, but they could prove helpful in her endeavors. She opened her eyes and waved towards them.
"Hello there, my dear friends. Would you mind helping me?" she shouted towards the animals. Those looked at each other, slowly gliding towards the pegasus, eyeing her curiously. "I am looking for a friend of mine. He lives somewhere around here. Do you know how to get to Discord's home?" The badgers began chattering again, and even though Fluttershy could communicate with all animals on Equestria, those badgers spoke a form of animal different to those at home. She could still understand some of it, and piece together another bit, but it wasn't quite as helpful as she hoped. It sounded like they argued if they should bring her to Discord, lead her astray, tell Discord about the visitor, or some other thing involving a monstrous creature.
The latter suddenly seemed like the most agreed option as the badgers started screeching, pointing behind Fluttershy and fleeing. She turned around, only to stare into the multiple yellow eyes of a deep blue creature, with a maw big enough to gulp her down in one big bite. "Oh my," was the only thing she could mutter before she, like the badgers, took to the air, trying to fly away from this beast. But when she looked over her shoulder a few seconds later, the beast had vanished. Or so she thought, because as soon as she looked forward again, she stared right into the big, fanged maw of the beast. "Heeeeelp!" she cried as it went dark around her.
"That's it," she thought. "I came here, looking for Discord, and now I will be eaten alive by this monstrosity, and nopony will ever know what happened to me. I'm sorry, my friends." But her thoughts were interrupted as she heard a voiced, muffled by the fact that it was outside the maw she was stuck in.
"What did I tell you about eating visitors?...What? Yes, I know, but that was ages ago! You should know that I have changed by now. No more eating visitors. Imagine what would have happened if you swallowed that mailpony all those years ago. I never would have gotten my invitation!...Yes, I will give you something in exchange. Now spit it out!" The maw opened, and Fluttershy was spitten out, covered in the gooey saliva of the beast. The world around her was blurry as the spit covered her eyes. A grey something came into her view. "Now, what do we have here? If it isn't a Fluttershy. You shouldn't have come here."
She wiped her eyes, just in time to see her savior feeding the beast a whole plate full of cucumber sandwiches. "Discord!" she screamed, flying towards him for a hug. But he stepped to the side so that she flew past him. She felt a sting in her heart. "Discord? What's up?"
The draconequus took his sweet time feeding the beast, then he petted it. "Now off you go, you silly thing." Then he turned around, staring at the pegasus. "Fluttershy. What, by Celestia's beard, are you doing here?" His voice was harsh and cold.
Tears started welling up in her eyes, her heart getting another sting. "I...I...I just wanted to check on you! You didn't show up to our teaparty, you didn't go to Guys' Night, we were concerned! And this is how you greet me? I know that our teaparties are important to you, and that it hurt you when I had to cancel it, but I didn't think it would hurt you that much." She closed her eyes and sobbed. "I'm sorry. I truly am!"
Discord's harsh expression softened a bit, and a bit of warmth came into his voice. "You silly pony. You shouldn't have come here, even less on your own. Which makes me wonder: how did you do it? I didn't teleport you here." He snapped his fingers and conjured some flying tissues, and they started wiping Fluttershy's tears.
After a few seconds, Fluttershy managed to regain her voice, still weak and trembling, but there. "I wanted to come alone. Spike had offered to come with me, but I thought you could be upset if I brought someone else here too. Especially since you seemed to be upset to begin with. As for the how: Mailpony secret." She looked at him with red eyes.
Discord sighed as he pulled her in for a hug. "It's sweet of you to be concerned about me, but you shouldn't be. Everything is fine. But you need to go back. Now that you have mentioned it, I can see the portal. Go back, and don't come here again."
"But why, Discord? What happened? Why don't you want to be our friend anymore?" Fluttershy sobbed into his fur.
"That's not it, Fluttershy. Look at me. I am an ancient being, hailing from times unknown. Twilight's coronation brought about a new age. An age of harmony. Of order. Celestia, Luna, they too have left the big picture. It is time for the ancients to leave the world for a new generation. I am a relic of a bygone era. The world doesn't need chaos anymore. It's time to move on."
"But we still need our friends! And you are a friend! You can't just go away!" Fluttershy looked into his eyes. "I need my friend, now more than ever. Twilight lives in Canterlot, Rarity is expanding her business, Rainbow is touring with the Wonderbolts, Pinkie Pie meets with Cheese Sandwich. Our lives have changed, and even though we are still best friends, it gets a bit lonely from time to time."
Discord shook his head. "Fluttershy, I appreciate everything you have done for me. But I have seen the world change time and again. It is not the Equestria I know anymore. I don't think you'll understand it. I was a villain and a helping hand. Now that everything has gone the way it needed to go, my presence isn't needed anymore. I am superfluous. I have shaped civilisations, both ancient an modern. There isn't anything left for me to do."
"Except teaparties with me and Guys' Night with Spike and Big Mac. Even if you don't change the world anymore, you can still change lives for the better!"
He chuckled. "I should bring you home." He snapped his fingers, and a white light enveloped them.
Twilight and Spike had arrived at the Royal Castle. "I sure hope she can help Discord. Guys' Night wouldn't be Guys' Night without him anymore."
Twilight shook her head with a grin. "As far as I know Discord, Fluttershy will be able to help him with whatever is ailing him. She always knew what to tell hi-" a bright light interrupted her. "I guess that went better than expected. Didn't take very long after all." She looked around, seeing Discord and Fluttershy sitting in the Royal Gardens. "Let's say hi to them."
Spike flew over to the pair, arriving a bit before Twilight, who walked more casually. "Discord! We were worried about you! We really missed Captain Wuzz yest-" Discord snapped his fingers and the dragons mouth zipped shut. "Hm mh hmck, Dscm?"
"So, I've gotten you back to your Dimension safe and sound. And now it is time for me to take my leave. I should have said something instead of just disappearing, I know, but I knew that a 'Goodbye' would have been hard on you, Fluttershy. My time here is over."
The pegasus clung to his fur. "Don't leave us, Discord! Please, stay! We would miss you!"
The draconequus looked towards Twilight, who just arrived. "I'm sure at least you can understand me, Princess Twilight. A new era doesn't need to be reminded of the faults of the old era. It's your time to shine." He got ready to snap his fingers.
"But I would be happy to have you around, Discord. You know so many things, I could learn a lot from you!" the princess shouted. "And Twilight is more than enough. Friends don't need to use my title."
Discord sighed. "The world has changed. Too much for this old draconequus."
Fluttershy looked at him. "Show me. Show me what has changed, and why it means that you can't stay with your friends anymore."
Discord took a deep breath. "Are you sure you want to know this? To see thousands of years of my history?" Fluttershy nodded, as did Spike. "Well then. I shall travel with you to places that have changed so much, it hurts to remember how they were, if that's what you want." He looked at Twilight again. "And knowing you, you want to come too, don't you? Learn about the history of the world?"
Twilight pondered a moment. "You know what? Actually, I don't. I have to fulfill my duties as a princess. Spike can tell me about all the interesting things you show them."
A smile came to Discord's face. "Well, then it's just us three." He snapped his fingers, and in a flash of bright light, he, Spike and Fluttershy disappeared.
They appeared in a desert. A very dry and sandy desert. It was also very dusty, which made both Fluttershy and Spike cough. Once they regained their composure, they were stunned by what they saw. “Pyramids? Where did you take us, Discord?” the dragon asked.
Before Discord could answer, Fluttershy barged in. “I think I remember this place. It’s where you took the Cutiemark Crusaders and me on that time travel, isn’t it?”
Discord nodded. “Anugypt. Just that this time, we didn’t travel through time. Baast, Anubis, all of the other ones, they are long gone.” He walked towards the pyramid entrance. “Just like their civilisation. Buried under the sand, lost and forgotten to all but the most ancient beings. Your generation may know about the pyramids, but nocreature knows how it really was, back in the days.”
“Sooo...what you are saying, Discord, is, that you and maybe the Princesses are the only ones who could tell us about them. That it is you who could teach us about the past. Teach us, why we should care about them the way you do.” Spike flew beside the draconequus.
“That’s not what I am saying. They are gone. They aren’t important anymore. What good would it bring to teach the world about them and their culture? And we will all have to face the same fate. One day, all of us will be forgotten, buried by the sands of time. They were a part of the past, just like me. And the future has no place for the past.”
“But they aren’t forgotten, are they, Discord? You remember them. Because you care about them.” Fluttershy smiled at him.
But Discord scowled, throwing his hands into the air. Quite literally. “No, I do not. I left them once it grew boring. They eternalized me in their scriptures, as an ally and as a traitor. But I didn’t care. They were nothing more than toys to me. Remember what Baast said, Fluttershy: ‘I know you don’t have friends.’ And it was true. I didn’t do friends at that time. I did whatever was the most fun. And if that meant first helping a tyrant rise to power and then stealing his favorite bone, then that’s what I did. And kinda causing a chaotic rebellion at the same time was just an added bonus.”
They entered the pyramid. Hieroglyphs lined the walls, and a soft wind blew the sand into their eyes. Spike looked around in amazement. “By Celestia, this place is perfect for some adventures in Ogr- I mean, I am sure Twilight would like to know everything about this place. I should take some more notes about this!” He got out a sketchbook and started copying the signs on the walls.
Fluttershy and Discord chuckled a bit and shook their heads. Their eyes met for a second, and Fluttershy smiled at Discord, seeing him happy for the first time during their reunion. But as soon as Discord realized this, his smile faded again. “Maybe you didn’t care back then. But you brought us here to show us something. To tell us something about your past. You learned that friendship is magic. You can care about them now.”
Discord sighed. “You don’t understand anything, Fluttershy. They are gone. Nopony, nocreature will ever know how they were. I know a bit about their culture, sure, but I didn’t care about it back in the day. I only learned what I needed to know. Their time has passed, and this is why they are forgotten, unimportant to the present. I came here to show you why I should be forgotten too. The past is the past, the present is the present, and the future is the future. And the future has begun with Twilight’s rise to power. I am a being of the past. It was nice to see the present, but I am not made for the future. In some ways, I was stone even before Celestia and Luna defeated me the first time.” His head hang low.
“Still, you managed to change your ways. You made friends. You helped us overcome villains. Only time will tale how much else you will do for us. Discord, being old doesn’t mean being obsolete. Being old means being experienced, and there is nopony with as much experience as you.”
Discord materialized a cane and a long beard on his face. “What you are saying is that I am the oldest being around, young filly! The youth of today!” This got a giggle out of both his friends, and even he had to smile again.
Spike had finished some drawings of the hieroglyphs and looked up at the draconequus. “You know, you aren’t the only one feeling that way. There are others who had to adapt to living in a new world. Some took to it faster, others needed a guiding hoof. But they all managed to find their way. I’m sure there are a lot of things you could do too.”
Discord laughed, but it was a dry laugh. “Oh, yes, sure. Maybe Twilight will invent a new position for me. I know the story of Rockhoof. What would I become? Royal Canterlot Jester? Running around, doing tricks with my chaos magic? I may enjoy spreading chaos, but it's always on my own terms. And that’s where the problem lies.” He snapped his fingers, teleporting them again in a bright flash.
They appeared in a wide, open space. At first glance, it could have been a nice plain with some hills, but instead of green grass and flowers, they were surrounded by a patchwork of green and violet squares, as far as their eyes could see. It looked like Ponyville during Discord’s reign, although without the accompanying chaos. “Discord, where are we?” asked Fluttershy, her eyes flitting from one side to the other. “Is this a part of your realm? Or did we travel through time?”
“No, my dear Fluttershy. This is-” Discord was suddenly interrupted by Spike.
“This is the Sight of your last battle! It is where Celestia and Luna defeated you, isn’t it? I’ve seen it on some maps before, but...isn’t it quarantined? I hope no guards are on patrol here right now! Is there still some of your magic around, toying with anycreature crazy enough to go inside the area? Please, I like the way I am!”
Discord sighed. “You are right, Spike. It is here I was turned to stone the first time. The battle against the two sisters was quite intense. My chaos never fully vanished from here. But no need to fear, although the ground didn’t recover, it isn’t dangerous, little dragon.” He sat down, patting the ground on his sides. “Come, sit down, you two. It is a lovely sight, isn’t it? A bit of chaos amidst the orderly world.”
They did as he asked. “It is, Discord. It is so...you. Why didn’t you show this to me earlier?” Fluttershy put a hoof on his lizard claw. “We should visit this place more often!”
Discord shook his head. “And again you don’t understand anything, dear Fluttershy. This place may look beautiful to the two of us, yes, but imagine what it looks like to everycreature else.”
“I too think it looks interesting, to say the least,” Spike chimed in.
“Thanks, I guess. But it is also a reminder of my first reign. A reminder that I could take over Equestria whenever I feel like it. That’s why it is quarantined. To protect me from their hatred.”
“But Discord, it is also a reminder of another thing. Sure, you brought chaos over Equestria. Which wasn’t very nice of you, but that was your old you. And still you didn’t do it to destroy anything. You didn’t hurt anypony, at least not excessively so. Remember when you came back the first time. You could have brought the elements to any place. You could have thrown them into a volcano. But you didn’t. You placed them somewhere we were bound to find them. You even gave us a riddle which, if we would have understood it the right way, would have made us find the elements without any problem. Most villains want to win because they are evil. You play a game. And ever since you became our friend, you did so to teach us. Even when you betrayed us, and I am sorry to mention this, you helped us defeat Tirek.” Fluttershy put her hoof on his chest now. “You are showing us things from your past. But we aren’t friends with past Discord. We are friends with present Discord.”
“Yeah! And we want to be friends with future Discord too! I mean, Guys’ Night was always fun with only Big Mac, but with you, it reached a whole new level. And I am sure everycreature likes you the way you are now.”
Discord shook his head. “But my past is what defines me. And once all of you are gone, people will forget the good I have done. They will look into the history books and see all the evil I have done. Like they always do. Evil will always stay in mind more than good. Look at Princess Luna. I may have been stone before she was banished, and I came back after she was redeemed, but I have heard the stories. Nopony remembered her. Not even the history books our beloved bookhorse read mentioned her. Only Nightmare Moon. And she was a benevolent ruler before that. I am naught but a trickster. A troublemaker. If Luna can so easily be reduced to the evil she did, what about me?”
Now it was Fluttershy’s turn to shake her head, although with a smile. “You are right. Luna was forgotten. But unlike you, she was gone. You are here. You can forge your legacy. You can show the ponies that come after us that you are good. That you learned about friendship. You can tell the ponies about US. Make sure that neither you nor we are ever forgotten.”
A single tear fell from Discord’s face. “But what if I can’t? What if I fail, and your legacy will be setting a monster free? I don’t know what I should do.” His head hang so low, it nearly touched the ground.
Fluttershy looked at Spike, and they both smiled. “I think we may have an idea how you can figure that out.” They hugged their friend.
They stayed with Discord for the rest of the day, enjoying the view. The draconequus even snapped up a small teaparty. But as the sun set above the Sight of Discord’s last battle, they had to head home for the night. With a snap and the blink of an eye, they appeared inside Twilight’s castle.
“Discord, could you leave me and Spike alone for a minute? We need to speak about something, in private,” Fluttershy asked, smiling at him.
“Of course, my dear. I’ll just wait behind that door there-” he snapped and a door appeared “-and you’ll just have to knock when you are ready to be sent home too.” He went through the door, closing it behind himself.
“So, Fluttershy, Do we both think that the best way to help him is taking him to see others who had the same problem, having to find a new purpose in a new age? I mean, the Pillars too were legends of old suddenly thrust into a new time.” Fluttershy nodded.
“That, and that he should make new friends. Discord has so many different facets, he could become friends with almost anypony! And if he realizes that nopony sees him as a villain anymore, he might come to understand that he doesn’t need to be alone, but can live a normal life. Well, as normal as possible for Discord, hehe…” She smiled at Spike. “So, could you try and get Twilight to assemble all the Pillars here as soon as possible? Only if they have time, of course.”
“Sure thing, Fluttershy. I’ll make sure to tell you when they will arrive as soon as I know it. And you? What will you do in the meantime?”
“Oh, I’ll ask him to stay with me for some time. I don’t think it would be too good if we leave him alone now. Just get his mind off of those things. Maybe we could meet up with some of his other friends. Hey, why don’t you schedule a new Guys’ Night as soon as possible? I’m sure he’d be delighted to do whatever you three are doing there.”
“Sounds like an amazing idea. We need to show the Squiz- I mean, we could do cool stuff and all, hehehe.” He blushed a bit. “You wouldn’t get it. But I’ll go to bed now. Been a very active day today, and I didn’t sleep all that much last night either. So, yeah.” He yawned. “Tell Discord to come back, so I can say goodbye before I fall asleep.”
Fluttershy smiled as she knocked on Discord’s door. “You can come back now, Discord.”
The door opened, and Discord slowly poked his head through. “So, you two are finished talking? Made some proper plans how to cheer old me up, did you? Well, that’ll surely go splendid.”
“Yeah yeah. I’m sure it will. But I’ll head off now. Good night, Discord, Fluttershy.” Spike yawned again as he trotted off towards his bedroom.
“So, time to bring you back home, Flutters.” Discord snapped his fingers.
They reappeared in front of Fluttershy’s cottage. The moon was high on the sky, providing a soft light. “Now, I’m sure you’ll call me once your plan st-” Discord started saying, but was interrupted by Fluttershy.
“No. You’ll stay with me until then. I think we never had a real sleepover. The last time you stayed here for a longer time was when we originally became friends. Also, this way, we can have BOTH teaparties we missed.” She smiled at Discord, waving him into the cottage.
“Well, I guess it can’t hurt. But I’ll make the tea,” said the Draconequus, floating into the room. “I just hope I won’t scare your animals when they wake up and see me lying across your couch.”
“Oh, that won’t be a problem. I mean, they are used to you either way, but I wouldn’t have you sleeping on the couch. You take my bed, and I take the couch.”
“Oh nonono. I can’t accept that. You take your comfy bed and let me take the couch. You deserve the most comfort, seeing as you want to try to cheer up the Spirit of Chaos. You may need the best sleep you can get.”
“I insist, Discord. My bed is bigger than the couch, so you’ll fit into it easier. I’m used to sleeping on my couch too, I do it all the time when there’s a sick animal I need to take care of, or when the Cutiemark Crusaders stay here. So it’s really no problem.”
Upon hearing the name of the Crusaders, Discord frowned for a second before he went back to his usual, quite unreadable expression. “Well then. But, thinking about it, sleepovers normally involve sleeping in at least the same room, do they not? I think I’ve read it in some book at some point in time. Soooooo...I’ll just sleep here too.” He snapped himself a bed into existence, which fell, with quite a loud bang, onto the floor. Which got a slight snicker out of Fluttershy. “So, what else are usual sleepover activities? Pillowfights?” A snap later they were surrounded by forts made out of pillows. “Truth or Dare? Getting to know all our dirtiest little secrets sounds fun!” Fluttershy blushed at the thought of it. “Or...hm...I think there were other things.” He snapped and a book appeared in his claw, as well as glasses in front of his eyes. “Makeover.” This got a slight squee out of Fluttershy, and Discord sighed. “Well, seems like we’ll skip the funny parts and have a makeover. But after that, there will be roasted marshmallows.” Fluttershy nodded.
An hour later, Discord’s mane was well-groomed and in perfect shape. Fluttershy’s mane, on the other hoof, was a thing of Chaos. Hair standing in every direction, changing color and singing. She didn’t mind. It was very Discord to do those things. And he didn’t seem to mind that his mane was orderly and tamed. Now, they sat in front of her hearth, with a mug of cider and marshmallows.
“You should have seen the look on her face when she realized I just turned her favorite petunia into a rose!” Discord laughed, and Fluttershy joined in.”’The Horror! The Horror!” Discord exclaimed in the voice of Rose Luck while he gave their marshmallows the shapes of roses.
“Discord, you are so random at times!” Fluttershy exclaimed, her eyes glistening with tears of laughter. Discord smiled at her.
“I know. That’s what it means to be the Lord of Chaos. Being chaotic, random. But this also means going to far. I always go to far. I endanger harmony. No, to be exact, I am quite anathema to it. I am Discord. And if I don’t destroy harmony at the moment, it’s because sometimes, Chaos manages to align with harmony. But it’s only a matter of time until it doesn’t. And that’s why I can’t stay here forever, Fluttershy. You built this wonderful, wonderful harmony. And we two know what happens if I try to get rid of my Chaos. I need to go to another place, maybe another world, where I can’t endanger you or your legacy with my chaos, with my randomness.”
Fluttershy sighed. “You could never destroy my legacy. Because you are my legacy, Discord, or at least part of it. Sure, nopony can tell what the future brings. But that doesn’t mean that we should fear it. We should embrace what we don’t know yet. And you have proven that your Chaos can work to further Harmony, even at those times when it doesn’t align with it. You won’t go back to tyrant Discord, because you now know what it means to have friends. You’ll make new friends, and you’ll try to help them, in your own way. Like you did with us, and especially with Twilight. Was your idea strange and chaotic? Sure. Were Chrysalis, Cozy and Tirek a danger? Yes. But you had faith in us, and this enabled us to have faith in ourselves too.” She put her hoof on Discord’s paw. “You are a good friend, Discord, and you’ll always help your friends.” She smiled and hugged him.
Discord smiled as he enjoyed her hug. “You always see the best in everycreature, Fluttershy. That’s why you are my favorite.” He sighed. “But it’s getting late. You should get a good night’s sleep, considering that you’ve been up pretty early today and did a lot of things.” She nodded slightly and slowly let go of him. Discord managed to suppress another sigh as the warm and furry body left him. He snapped a sleeping mask into existence on his face to act completely normal, quickly crawling beneath his sheets.
Fluttershy wondered over Discord for some more minutes before she fell asleep.