> Discord's Patchwork Adventure
>  by Comicizzum
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Misunderstanding
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

In a particular little corner of Equestria there resided a town, Hope Hollow, recently restored from a magical imbalance through the efforts of Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy. 

Since then the town was fairly welcoming to visitors, eager to share their renewed loving spirit with those who ventured their way. But one particular creature currently walking around the square had caused some distress, mostly because his reputation was quite atrocious and his past was one to fear. His presence left the locals uneasy as to what he may or may not do to their humble abode. 

Discord, the Lord of Chaos, ignored their agitated state, eyeing various shop windows with a critical eye. He was here for one reason and one reason only: to find the required materials to make the perfect Hearth's Warming gift for his dear friend Fluttershy. His nerves were particularly on edge concerning this trip because this gift would make or break his relationship with the timid yet wonderful pegasus. One might wonder why?

Well, by helping Big Mac and Sugar Belle on Hearts and Hooves Day, Discord had unintentionally admitted that not only did love exist but it was actually something he approved and -surprisingly- longed for. This epiphany opened the floodgates to discovering a magnificent yet terrifying truth: he was in love with his best friend, Fluttershy. 

The mere thought of the lover of all things nature and animals caused his heart to melt and his tail to wag. As he walked down the cobblestones, his mind created an image of his heart's desire. Her flawless buttercream coat, her cotton-candy-pink mane and tail, her gorgeous teal eyes; physical perfection in every way. But that was not why Discord had fallen in love with her. True, she was a beauty among her kind but it was her friendship that chiseled through his stony heart and managed to find the piece that was still beating underneath.

Her letters, their tea parties, her forgiveness after the Tirek and Treehugger incidents; all had been stepping stones on the road to unintended romance. The greatest two, however, where when she’d been kidnapped by the changelings and when she had rescued him from literally fading out of existence in his own dimension just a few months ago.

Discord could still remember the anger and fear he'd felt knowing she'd been ponynapped. In all honesty at first his original intent had been to completely raze the changeling hive to the ground and utterly incinerate its occupants. Lucky for the changelings his magic was temporarily rendered useless, preventing total annihilation. Even now Discord could recall the blissful joy and relief of having his best friend back, safely tucked away in the crook of his arm. 

But greater still was the relief both of them felt of him not fading away. 

That had been the catalyst to his epiphany. Fluttershy -darling, sweet, Fluttershy- not only knew something was wrong that day but also did not approve of his attempt to embrace normalcy. She even abhorred it! Delving into a cloak of her own adorable chaos, she ended up saving his life. Now she not only approved but defended most of his chaotic tendencies.

Discord sighed, his heart swelling further within him. Sweet chaos, how he loved that mare! 

And so he had decided to take the plunge and confess his feelings this upcoming Hearth’s Warming. But he needed the perfect gift to do it, hence his presence here.    

A sudden clearing of somepony's throat forced him from his thoughts and Discord turned around. Two bushy white eyebrows couldn't help rising at the sight of a pony he hadn't seen in over a millennia.

"Why, if it isn't Starswirl the Bearded,” he said with surprise and disdain. Celestia and Luna’s old teacher had never really liked him and always made a point of showing it. Like now. “I heard of your miraculous return from the land of limbo."

"Yes, and I’ve been spending it learning what has occurred in my absence," the old pony said with an angry scowl. "You took over Equestria the moment you knew my friends and I were gone."

Discord folded his arms and shrugged. "Well, you know the best time to conquer is when a kingdom loses its greatest defense."

"Yes," Starswirl said with narrowed eyes, "Unfortunately for you, I'm not going to allow that to happen again."

Discord frowned. "What are you talking about?"

Starswirl took a step closer. "I don't know how you escaped from your stone prison nor do I know what you are doing here but whatever evil plan you're concocting it ends here. NOW!"

Discord was suddenly hit from behind by an immobility spell. He began countering it immediately but grew distracted as Starswirl's horn lit, solidifying him in place. The other Pillars materialized out of nowhere, each taking up a defensive position. Their stereotypical hero stance would have been hilarious if he wasn't preoccupied trying to free himself.

"We must act quickly!" 

Discord freed his eagle arm but before he could snap his talons the Pillars hit him with a powerful curse. 

His body suddenly started shrinking, his limbs snapping to his sides, growing stiff yet soft. His eyes froze in place, turning hard, flat, and shiny, staring straight ahead against his will. His mouth was forced shut, sewn together in a straight line, preventing any indication of his inner panicked screams. His body fell, limp and useless on the ground, the curse sealing and locking in place. 

It was like being trapped in stone all over again except this time he could see; well, everything straight ahead and in his immediate periphery, that is. If he could breathe, his chest would be heaving. He listened as several sets of hooves drew close.

"He's a doll," said Flash Magnus, confirming what Discord suspected. "I thought you were going to return him to stone."

Release me at once! Discord demanded, unheard.

"Stone has already proven an incapable prison," said Starswirl, looking down at the doll. "This prison is ten times stronger."

"How so?" asked Rockhoof, skepticism clear on his face.

"Because the curse over the transformation can only be broken by true love's admission and kiss," said Silvermane.

Somnambula grinned. "That is brilliant."

"Are you sure that'll be enough to hold him though," asked Mage Meadowbrook.

Starswirl smirked. "There are three different spells layered on top of him; the last being a love spell, a form of harmony. Discord cannot break out of such magic. He's trapped for good. Nopony could ever love a monster." 

Discord didn't want to admit how much that comment preyed on his insecurities. If he could talk, he would have retaliated with a snarl.

"You could have placed that curse on him as a statue though," Flash Magnus pointed out. 

"Yes," Starswirl agreed, "but one thing Discord took great pleasure in was toying with ponies. He did whatever he wanted to them. I find this poetic justice, letting him know what it feels like to be a foal's plaything."

"That's… rather harsh, don't you think?" Meadowbrook argued.

"Double M, he would have done the same to us," Flash argued back. "I say this is deserved."

"So what happens now?" asked Silvermane.

Starswirl looked down at Discord, his expression smug and triumphant. "We take him somewhere he'll fit in. Toys belong with toys, after all."

Flash smirked. "I saw a carnival a few towns over. He’ll fit in perfectly with the cheap prizes. I can fly him there no problem."

“That does seem fitting,” Starswirl approved with a smile. “Goodbye, Discord.”

If I had the ability to use my magic, I would turn all of you into turnips and leave you to shrivel up in the desert! 

How could these ignorant idiots not know he’d been reformed? Had they just read some book about his take over and escape and automatically assumed he was still a vengeful god intent on finishing what he started? Had Celestia and Luna not explained to the old geezer that he was on their side now? The injustice of this gross misunderstanding was fueling the chaotic tendencies he used to happily give in to in the past. But he knew, deep down, he was more scared than angry. 

This prison was worse than stone because there was the very real possibility that Starswirl was right. Yes, he loved Fluttershy but did she love him? He knew she loved him as a friend but that wouldn’t be enough to break the curse. She would have to openly admit her romantic feelings before kissing him in order for it to break. That in itself seemed impossible, given how shy and private his lovely little canary horse was. Then there was the distinct possibility that he was never going to see her again. Ponyville was far away from here and the only reason Fluttershy would venture this far from the comforts of her cottage would be if the Cutie Map called her on a friendship quest. 

Like I could ever get that lucky.

His eternal doom as an infernal stuffed animal was becoming very real.    

How he wished he could at least see the ground so he could determine which direction Flash Magnus was flying! But the stupid pegasus had him squished against his chest so the only thing he could see was his dark yellow fur. Discord internally screamed in his grasp, cursing every single one of the Pillars, hiding his fear within his rage. 

The wind against his back eventually decreased, the only indication of descent, as the sounds of a carnival reached his ears. Flash Magnus finally pulled him away from his chest and held him up.

“I hope you learn something from all of this, Discord,” he said. “Ponies don’t like being played with. Let’s see how you like it.”  

If I could even snap my tail, I’d turn you into a chew toy and feed you to an orthros!

Magnus flew over to a carnival booth and quickly shoved the draconequus into a bin of prizes. With a flit of his wing in farewell, the Pillar took off, leaving Discord to his terrifying fate. 



Elsewhere, in the depths of Tartarus, a sinister darkness lurked within the shadows. 

The entity had spent years seeking the right host, somecreature with enough anger and hurt in its heart to fuel it for eternity and accomplish its dark purpose. Its journey had brought it here, answering the enmity of a particular being sitting in a cage placed far away from the other inhabitants in the forsaken prison.

“Lord Tirek,” the darkness whispered. 

The red centaur perked up and glanced around, his yellow eyes narrowing suspiciously. “Who’s there?”

“I see your anger and your thirst for revenge,” it whispered. “I can make your longings a reality.”

Tirek stood up, his eyes searching the area fruitlessly. “As fascinating as that sounds, I refuse to make deals with beings I cannot see.”

The darkness slithered out of the shadows, its corporeal form shifting into many different creatures in the weak light.

“What are you?” Tirek asked, taking a wary step back.

A dark smile appeared under a pair of glowing yellow eyes. “I am the opposite of light, the creation of nightmare and despair, and I can grant you unfathomable power.”

Tirek raised an eyebrow. “I’m listening.”

“With my help, you will not only be able to absorb the magic of others but have the power to transform and enslave creatures to your every whim. You will plague this world in eternal night! Your vengeance shall be satisfied and all who oppose you shall fail. All I ask is that you destroy the Elements of Harmony.”

Tirek frowned, his eyes filling with doubt. “I’m not so sure that’s possible.”

“I will show you how.”

An eager smirk began lifting the villain’s face and the darkness inwardly chuckled, knowing it had won.

“Do we have an accord?” it asked, extending a shadowy hoof, currently in the shape of a pony.

After a moment of deliberation Tirek reached his hand through the bars and clasped it. The black shadow immediately latched onto the centaur, slithering up his arm until it reached his neck. Like the maw of a dragon, it swallowed Tirek within its power. The centaur screamed, his painful shriek echoing off the wall until it transformed into an evil prolonged cackle. The cage exploded and Tirek stepped out, his form and muscles just as large and intimidating as they had been before absorbing all of the alicorn magic in Equestria. The dark power swirling inside was incredible, its whisper providing exact details of where to find the Elements and how to destroy them. 

Another sinister laugh escaped his lips as he made for the doors of Tartarus. The other creatures whimpered and cowered in the farthest corner of their cages, desperate to avoid the evil now emanating from their former cellmate. Cerberus bound forward and planted himself in front of the exit, determined to do his duty, his three heads barking madly at the escapee. 

Tirek faced him, unafraid. “You will be a great asset to my cause.”

Lifting his hand, he concentrated and the darkness shot from his fingertips, wrapping Cerberus in a black fog. Within the mist the dog whimpered, its body and heads altering from those of a bulldog to a monstrous hellhound, its six eyes a menacing red as its lips pulled back in three separate snarls. It growled and snapped at Tirek until the centaur commanded it to be still. The dog’s ears flattened and it sat back, watching its new master. Tirek laughed in triumph, breaking apart the doors and revealing the unsuspecting world of Equestria to his view. He turned to look at the other prisoners.

“I’ll be back for you,” he promised, his eyes flashing ominously. The creatures whimpered and cried. Tirek grinned, relishing their fear. “Cerberus, make sure none of them escape.” 

The dog growled in affirmation, planting itself near the exit. The centaur’s smile widened, his horrifying grin the last thing the prisoners saw before he closed the doors. After taking a deep breath and relishing his freedom, he started walking out into the night.

It was time to destroy a Tree.
> Rescue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Discord lay on his side, watching the ponies at the carnival trying to win what he thought was a pointless game. From his peripheral vision it was easy to determine this was one of those games where you had to knock down the bottles to win a prize. Being a king of scams however, he knew the bottom bottles were glued to the surface. It would take an immense amount of power to knock them all down, power that the younger crowd of ponies currently attempting to play didn’t have. 

“Look, a Discord doll!” a young earth stallion said, pointing it out to his marefriend.

"Ew."  The mare’s muzzle wrinkled in disgust. “Who in Equestria would make such a hideous thing?”

“Right?” the stallion chortled. “Hey, maybe I should try to win it so I can throw it in the garbage where it belongs.”

A few of their friends laughed stupidly at his remark. 

Try it and see what happens! Discord challenged. But then he despaired because he knew nothing would. If only I could use my magic!

The group of delinquents eventually ended up wasting all their money though, leaving him safe from the trash can fate they'd planned. Discord smirked and shouted unheard obscenities at their backs, glad to see them walking away in defeat. As the night wore on, however, they weren’t the only ones to comment and mock what they thought was nothing but a toy. 

Countless ponies pointed him out. Discord's frustration and anger increased with every callous word they spoke. How he wished he could at least fight back with defiant sarcasm! Instead he was forced to watch and listen, trying to convince himself that the words didn't really bother him.

“What an ugly doll!”

“We should burn it!”

“Who would even want that thing? It’s a mockery to nature!”

“Monster!”

“What a waste of material!”

Some of them went so far as to throw “stray” balls at him. Each hit increased his desire to throw the balls back at them. But after getting hit in the face for the third time, he just wanted to fall into unconscious bliss.

“I’m so glad we were able to help you with your friendship problem, Zecora. It was certainly nice meeting another zebra.”

Discord internally stilled as the most beautiful sound in the world suddenly reached his ears. It couldn’t be! His hearing was playing tricks on him! There was no way she could be here!

“I’m thankful for your help, kind Fluttershy. We have been at odds for years, I cannot deny. And your assistance was appreciated too, the task would not have been completed without you.”

“Oh, I’m just happy we were able to get to the bottom of it all,” said Rarity. “A simple misunderstanding can certainly grow into an ugly beast if left unattended.”

Discord watched as the mare of his dreams finally came into view, her beautiful long legs carrying her through the crowd. 

Look this way! Please! FLUTTERSHY!

It was as if the very creators had intervened, making the impossible happen, for as soon as he said her name Fluttershy looked his way and froze. Her teal eyes dilated the same way they did whenever she looked at a baby animal and her wings started flapping as she gave a happy squeal. Discord adored her reaction and would have blushed if not for his current predicament.

“Oh my goodness! A Discord doll!” she squeed, abandoning her friends as she beelined for the booth. 

“Care to play, miss?” Snare Flare, the booth owner, asked.

“What do I have to do to win him?” Fluttershy asked eagerly, pointing at Discord.

“You want that thing?” Snare said in disbelief. 

“Oh, absolutely!” she declared, her eyes wide with adoration towards the doll. 

Discord didn’t even need to see the stallion’s face to know he was going to try to swindle her of all her bits. The draconequus didn't want her to lose all her money but he was understandably desperate to see her succeed. 

Rarity and Zecora had trotted up at this point, the former eyeing the doll with the critical eye of a seamstress. 

“Despite his patchwork appearance he looks very well made,” she commented. “From here the stitching seems flawless.”

I should say so since I’m the genuine article!

“Beware of deceit, my timid friend,” Zecora warned Fluttershy. “This stallion cares not if you win in the end. He only wants your golden bits and to relish in some conniving tricks.”       

“Zecora’s right, darling,” Rarity agreed. “I’m not sure it’s worth it.”

“He is,” Fluttershy declared, causing Discord’s heart to pound uncontrollably. 

“Well, that’ll be five bits then,” Snare Flare said, swiping the money away the second she placed it on the table. 

“And all I have to do is knock over the bottles?” she asked.

“Yup! All of them,” he said, his grin widening as he eyed her up and down.

Discord grew nervous. Could she possibly pull it off? He knew she was stronger than she looked but did she have enough power to break the glue?

Snare handed over three balls and Fluttershy surprised him by picking the first one up with her tail. She glanced at Rarity and Zecora. 

“Um, you two might want to stand back.”

They did as suggested, giving her some room.

Discord watched in abject fascination as Fluttershy’s timid persona melted away, replaced by an angry determination that surged with inner fire. Her hooves left the ground as she began to hover then spin, her speed increasing until it was rapid and precise. After ten turns she flicked her tail at just the right moment, sending the ball hurtling towards the bottom left bottle. The ball slammed into the metal, denting the surface and ripping it away from the glue. The clunk of four bottles hitting the floor seemed magnified in the booth and Discord couldn’t help but cheer! 

Oh, how I wish I could see the look on Snare Flare’s face!

From the dropped jaw of Zecora and the proud grin of Rarity, he knew it must be priceless!

“Four down," Fluttershy declared with a maniacal grin. 

Discord’s inner eyes turned to hearts at the sight. At this moment she was the most beautiful mare in Equestria.

Destroy him, Flutterbuddy! he cackled.

The second and third ball achieved their purpose, the remaining two bottles meeting the same fate as their brother. Fluttershy’s magnificent use of her buckball talent had drawn a crowd, all the ponies cheering over her victory. 

Discord tenderly witnessed her confidence retreat from all the attention. Managing a weak smile, she waved shyly at her audience.

"C-Congratulations," Snare Flare weakly praised. "Um, take your pick; any prize you want."

"That one!" Fluttershy said, pointing right at Discord. 

"Are you sure? I've got bigger and better prizes."

Fluttershy smiled happily as he handed over the stuffed draconequus. 

"Nothing is better than him." 

Discord’s face was on fire as she nuzzled the side of his head and happily held him in the crook of her arm. 

F-Fluttershy…n-nuzzled…me…!

If his magic could manifest itself, fireworks would be exploding in the sky. Never in his life had he experienced such affection. He'd hugged others before, yes, but a nuzzle? This was the first he'd ever received. And it had been from her.

He was on cloud nine. 

"That was remarkable, darling!" Rarity praised as the three mares walked away from the astonished carnival pony. 

"It was quite indeed," said Zecora. "Pray tell, where did you learn to use such speed?"

The pegasus blushed, her hair sweeping forward to hide her face. Discord lamented his loss of smell. If only he could taste the strawberries and cream of her shampoo; he'd never been this smothered in her mane before. 

Oh well; at least I can enjoy how soft it is.

"I've been working on my buckball skills with Rainbow Dash. She wants the team in top form when the next season starts."

"Well, whatever she's done, tell her it's working," Rarity laughed. "That brute's face was priceless!"

"He was rather slack in the jaw," Zecora agreed with a chuckle, "to see his game had an unexpected flaw." 

Fluttershy smiled. 

The mares took the train back to Ponyville, Fluttershy allowing Rarity to observe her prize. 

Discord did not enjoy being maneuvered and twirled through the air, feeling greatly annoyed and embarrassed by the unicorn's complete invasion of his privacy as she studied every inch of him. He felt rather violated by the time he was back in Fluttershy’s arms. 

"The stitching is some of the best I've ever seen on a stuffed animal," she said as Fluttershy wrapped Discord around her neck so that he hung limp like a scarf. 

He didn't really appreciate being stuck upside down at first but he quickly changed his mind when he felt the closeness and warmth coming from his beloved. 

"Hardly what one would see in a carnival bin," Rarity continued. "If it wasn't a replica of Discord I'm sure this doll would sell for at least a hundred bits on the market, if not more."

"Why do you say that?"

Yes, why indeed? Discord said, insulted.

He knew why and he was fairly sure Fluttershy knew why too, given her tone. Rarity looked apologetic as she slightly averted her gaze.

"Forgive me for saying so, darling, but Discord is far from the most beloved creature in Equestria. I can't understand why anypony would even take the time to make a doll of him- except, perhaps, for the inspiration himself."

Fluttershy frowned. "I know he may not be your favorite creature but he is our friend and I think it's wonderful somepony took the time to make this. Besides, I know Discord would take it as a compliment."

I really would.

"Well, to each their own," Rarity smiled. "But are you sure you're okay with it being made up of so many different materials? I could replace all the patchwork pieces with the same type of fabric."

Discord paled at the thought, panicking and silently praying Fluttershy would turn down the offer. Rarity had unknowingly just offered to skin him alive after all. How else was he supposed to react?

"Oh, no, I wouldn't change a thing about him!" Fluttershy declared, unconsciously placing a protective hoof over the doll. "He's perfectly chaotic just the way he is."

Fluttershy, I could kiss you!

Rarity eyed the doll with a frown. "If you say so, dear."

The rest of the train ride was filled with conversation between Rarity and Zecora, Fluttershy opting to happily listen. Discord didn't pay much attention, the slight sway of the train car and the quiet song of Fluttershy’s heartbeat playing the perfect melody to eventually put him to sleep. 

He woke sometime later, rather disoriented, as his vision blurred and his body flopped rapidly, unraveling from Fluttershy’s neck. It was quickly determined that he was now in Fluttershy’s cottage, the safest place he could be given his situation. 

Fluttershy rubbed his head affectionately with a hoof before setting him down on his favorite green couch in her living room. He watched her disappear into her kitchen, the brief separation sparking a profound longing in his chest. He supposed that was because the curse made him feel dangerously vulnerable; something he was loath to admit even to himself. 

He was more than grateful to hear the soft clip-clop of Fluttershy’s hooves as she returned with a cookie in her mouth. Discord was surprised by the sweet; she usually was such a health nut. 

"I always have one of these before bed," she confessed to the doll, a faint blush powdering her muzzle. "Don't tell Discord though, okay? He thinks I only have sweets when he stops by."

Discord grinned. Too late for that, my dear. 

The pegasus finished her cookie before hoisting the doll into her hooves and carrying him upstairs. Gently placing him on her bed, she unintentionally gave him the perfect view of the room as she left for the bathroom across the hall.

Discord had never been in here before, this being the only room he'd never explored out of respect for Fluttershy. But now that he was here, he couldn't help taking in every last detail he could see. 

The bed was near a window, the quilt a soft delicate pink. A dresser stood near a vanity on the opposite wall and a closet full of tasteful clothes mirrored the bed. A couple posters hung on the walls, one causing him immense joy; it was the one he'd given her last Hearth's Warming, displaying her favorite heavy metal band, Poison Rose. 

Never in a million years would he have thought Fluttershy a metalhead. It went against everything her particular lifestyle portrayed and was therefore deliciously chaotic and attractive to the Chaos Lord. 

Fluttershy eventually returned and sat down on a stool in front of her vanity, beginning to brush her mane and tail. As she worked, she lightly hummed. Discord blissfully listened to the music, delighted to hear her lovely voice. She rarely sang around him. This unexpected treat was the highlight of his entire day. 

Just when things were looking peaceful, the white demon spawn Fluttershy loved unconditionally (for some unknown reason) hopped onto the bed, a look of murderous intent in his beady little eyes. 

Oh no. Stay away from me, you fluffy devil!

Discord had never been in a situation quite like this before; where he was the helpless, pitiful prey. It was all so insulting, lying there like a defenseless worm while a bunny sought revenge. Did Angel know the doll was really him? Animals often had a sense for picking up things sapient creatures missed. If that rang true, and Angel did know it was truly his enemy lying on the bed, then Discord was about to have a lot of pain inflicted on his poor, unfortunate stuffed carcass. 

He waited in dreadful anticipation as the bunny got down on his belly and started dragging himself across the comforter, occasionally looking at his owner to make sure she was still unaware and preoccupied with her brush. 

Please look this way. Please look this way. Please look this way!

But it was all in vain. Angel had reached his target and was now looming over Discord like a chimera about to maul its next meal. Discord watched the evil glint in the rabbit’s eye and prepared himself for the worst. 

He struck like a cobra, sinking his large teeth into Discord’s lion paw. The draconequus grit his teeth, trying bravely to bite back the pain. Angel began shaking him, smacking his body with his front and back paws, claws extended, pulling as hard as he could on the stuffed yellow limb. Eventually he managed to get both of his back feet under Discord’s chin and pushed, his teeth still stuck fast. The seam connecting the arm to his body began to strain and Discord couldn’t take it anymore. There was a loud tearing noise. He screamed.   

“ANGEL!” Fluttershy roared, finally aware of the mauling taking place.

Discord fell, his body hitting the bed, his lion arm no longer attached. The stuffing had partially fallen out. Angel ran out of the room before Fluttershy could catch him but that didn’t stop her from shouting down the hall. 

“You can sleep in the living room tonight!" She snapped shrilly. "And in the morning you’re eating the rabbit food I picked up from the store. No carrots!” 

She slammed the door shut, her anger both incredibly beautiful and frightening. The emotion melted into worry, however, as she practically flew back to the bed and scooped up the ripped doll into her forehooves.

“Oh no, oh no, I’m so sorry! You have to understand, Angel and Discord don’t really get along all that well. He was just taking it out on you. I promise I’ll fix it. Just, stay right here, okay?”

She fled out of the room. Discord watched, confused and flattered that she cared so much for what she thought was a doll. 

A doll that looks like me.

The thought was a welcome distraction from the immense pain he was feeling. He’d never experienced physical suffering before when removing his limbs. 

Note to self, he said through gritted teeth, Amputation without the aid of magic is not advised. AT. ALL.

Fluttershy returned a couple minutes later with a small basket in her mouth. Setting it on the bed, she rummaged around inside and pulled out a needle and thread. 

“Discord would probably approve of it being a different color,” she muttered to herself, carefully eyeing the bright green thread as she pushed it through the needle’s eye.

And a fine color you’ve picked too, my dear, he said through clenched teeth. It will clash beautifully with the yellow and brown. 

Her consideration for his appreciation of chaos was deeply touching. It was a marvel, though, how ponies managed to do such things like thread a needle without fingers or magic; one of the many oddities he loved about this world. 

After making sure all the loose stuffing was safely tucked back inside, Fluttershy picked up the severed arm and began sewing it back onto Discord’s body. He hissed in pain, gritting his teeth. The stitches were neat and even; a minor flaw but he could understand the reason behind it. 

“I’m terribly sorry,” she muttered again as she sewed. “It’s not your fault those two can’t get along. I honestly don’t understand why. Is it jealousy?”

Bingo! We both want you solely to ourselves, my dear. Surely you figured out long ago that we hate sharing?

“I just wish they would figure things out,” she continued. “Angel may have been with me longer but Discord is just as important to me. He’s become such a big part of my life and, if I can manage it, I’d like him to stay that way. I just hope Angel will realize that I can give both him and Discord the care and attention they require. And I hope Discord knows that too…I think he does…I hope he does.”

One more stitch -Ouch!- and she was done. 

“There, good as new,” she smiled, admiring her hoofwork. “The limb might be a little stiffer than before but I think the way I sewed should still allow movement.” 

She carefully tested it out. Discord winced a little as he felt the new stitches strain but it was just as she said; his arm moved under her power just fine. She'd done a masterful job. 

Thank you, Fluttershy, he said softly, marveling and basking in her never-ending kindness.

She set him carefully down on her pillow and moved the sewing basket back to her vanity before climbing into bed. Once settled under her covers, she pulled Discord close. The draconequus' face started to burn as he felt her chest press up against his back, her forehooves looping loosely around his torso. She gave him a light squeeze and nuzzle.

“You’ll be safe here,” she muttered softly, “I promise.”

I know I will be, he said tenderly, meaningfully. 

A contented sigh escaped her lips, brushing up against the back of his neck. 

Discord shivered in pleasure as his heart began pounding within his chest. The sensations he was suddenly experiencing were indescribably pleasant. He wanted nothing more than to stay this way forever. But it was atrociously inappropriate for him to be here.  

Am I seriously complaining about being snuggled in Fluttershy’s arms? 

…

Yes, but only because I don't want to take advantage of her! She doesn't know what she's really doing! And I feel guilty for some reason. How can I feel guilty and happy at the same time?

She was the one who brought me to bed. I certainly didn't ask her to do that. But she thinks I'm just a doll. Maybe, to her, it's like me? The real me. The way she's holding me… could she possibly have the same feelings I have for her? Am I reading too much into this?

Discord would have continued his mental contemplations but Fluttershy’s muzzle started rubbing the side of his head again, providing a pleasing distraction.

"Goodnight, Dissy," she whispered, snuffing out the candle with a soft beat of her wing. "I'm really glad I won you." 

Goodnight, my dear, Discord replied, his heart puttering over the nickname. You really have, in more ways than you know.

Fluttershy sighed again and Discord returned to his torn feelings of guilt and pleasure.

It was going to be a long night. 





It had taken most of the night but Tirek had finally succeeded in reaching his destination unseen. He slid down the side of the large ravine, loosening a few rocks in his descent. Once on the ground floor, he straightened and made for the cave mouth, entering with a wicked grin and malicious intent. 

The Tree of Harmony was tall, ethereal, and completely unprotected. Tirek could not believe the audacity of these ponies. Did they honestly think the Everfree Forest was enough to stop any wayward soul from finding their greatest protection? 

“The fools are in for quite the surprise,” he smirked, raising his hand. 

The Darkness sprang from his fingertips like electricity, shooting down and burrowing into the earth. It began severing the Tree’s roots one by one, swiping through them like a knife slicing through butter. Tirek watched with great pleasure as the brilliance around the Tree began to dim and the crystal branches shook. He relished its pain and distress. 

After the roots were destroyed, Tirek directed the Darkness up into the trunk. Poisonous black veins grew along the crystal bark, infecting every inch of the tree. The evil contaminant spread. The crystal cracked. A huge BANG! suddenly rent the air as the Tree exploded. Tirek shielded his eyes to protect them from the flying shards but he needn’t have worried; the Darkness produced a protective bubble, the shrapnel exploding into powder as it made contact with the surface. 

Unlike the Tree, the Elements of Harmony did not explode but went flying, the six colored jewels clinking across the floor. Tirek collected them one by one and placed them in a neat little pile. A sneer spread across his face as he stared down at the source of his last defeat.

“I will not fail this time,” he whispered. “Let’s see how the ponies fare without their precious little gems.”

Concentrating the Darkness into his right hoof, he slammed it down on the Elements. A wicked cackle echoed off the cave walls as he felt them shatter beneath him. He stomped again. And again, each time grinding the Elements further and further until they became nothing but colorful powder. 

“Finally, the reign of Harmony is over,” the Darkness whispered within his mind, “and the time of Eternal Night has begun.”

The Darkness laughed from within as Tirek laughed aloud, their horrid pleasure mocking the ruin that once held Equestia’s greatest safeguard. 

“Let the nightmare begin!”
> Deposed
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Discord woke to his whole spirit thrashing within his stiff, stuffed body. The entire world was crying out in pain and loss, the balance completely knocked off its kilter. Never would he have thought to feel the terror he did now. 

The Tree of Harmony had just been destroyed. 

Discord knew there were only a select number of individuals who could accomplish such a feat but all of them were either locked up or reformed. 

Or both, he thought, considering himself. 

Not that he would ever destroy the Tree. It was his opposite and, in its own way, a sentient being. 

Discord always thought it funny that the ponies hadn't considered that since there was a Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony then there was also a Spirit of Order and Harmony. There was a balance to all things, gods included. Most of Amity's spirit resided in the Elements but the rest dwelt within that Tree. With its destruction Discord knew she would have fled to her Bearers. And if the creature who destroyed the Tree knew of that, Fluttershy and her friends were in danger!

Immediately he began struggling and thrashing, pushing his magic against the curse’s barrier unsuccessfully. Eventually he slumped in defeat for it was all for not; he was stuck in this pathetic form with no way to protect the pony he cared most about. 

The only small comfort he had was that the Everfree Forest wasn’t going to expand and take over half of Equestria; he'd set up a barrier spell on the forest after the whole plunder vine incident, unwilling to see Fluttershy’s home destroyed should anything else weaken the Tree in the future. 

Even back then he’d had strong feelings for her and hadn’t even realized.

Speaking of Fluttershy, the mare was currently brushing her mane and getting ready for the day, completely oblivious to the danger she and her friends were potentially in. 

If only I could send them some kind of warning! He lamented. Those stupid Pillars! I’ll send them all to a dimension filled with eternal pain and suffering if even a hair of Fluttershy’s mane gets hurt!  

At this point he could only hope that the princesses would figure out what was going on before it was too late. 

Please let them find out. Please. For Fluttershy’s sake.





Starswirl the Bearded and Silvermane were together when it happened. The magical connection they shared with the Tree of Harmony suddenly vanished, leaving an empty hole where once there had been comfort and security. Both ancient ponies shared a terrified glance before Starswirl teleported them to the Tree’s ravine. What they saw broke their hearts. 

The Tree and its Elements had been completely and totally annihilated, broken pieces of crystal and colored dust scattered all over the hardened ground. 

“What happened here?” Silvermane asked, her voice filled with disbelief and grief as she stumbled upon the powdery remains of the Elements.

“I do not know,” said Starswirl, his eyes carefully studying the area for signs of a culprit. “But we cannot linger. The Tree’s demise does not bode well for Equestria. We must warn the princesses of what has happened. I will send you to Princess Twilight while I go to Canterlot.”

“What of Cadence?”

“I will warn her after Celestia and Luna.”

Silvermane nuzzled him. “Be careful. We do not know who did this.”

Starswirl smiled at his old friend. “I will join you at Twilight’s castle as soon as I can.”

The promise given, the old unicorns parted ways, each disappearing in a burst of white light. 

A moment later Starswirl appeared in the Canterlot throne room, his surroundings immediately putting him on edge. Pillars had been knocked over, glass windows were shattered, and the thrones were broken, their splintered remains mingling with pieces of fallen stone from the ceiling. A new throne had been erected, one that was large, black, and sinister, coated in red rubies near the top. 

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t our old teacher. Back so soon, Starswirl?”

Starswirl whirled around and saw the most horrifying sight. 

The alicorn princesses stood tall, proud, and dangerous, each transformed into a being of pure nightmare. Celestia’s flowing mane and tail had been replaced by raging orange and yellow flames, her eyes amber and her pupils slits. Sharp fangs decorated her large sneer and a golden crown rested on her head, a single red ruby prominently placed in the center. Her regalia extended to cover the top of her wings and her shoes were fashioned in the shape of eternal flame. Beside her stood Nightmare Moon, an ugly sneer lining her black face, her blue mane and tail flowing about like an angry phantom from space. Her teal eyes stood out hauntingly from beneath her helmet.

“Celestia, Luna, what has happened to you?” Starswirl gasped, taking a step back.

“Celestia?” the older princess laughed. “That pitiful version of myself has been consumed and reborn in the flames of true power. I am Daybreaker!” Flames shot out from her eyes and wings at her declaration.

Nightmare Moon rolled her eyes at the fiery display. “A bit theatrical, don’t you think?”

“Oh, you’re one to talk, with your dark and brooding gloom,” Daybreaker snapped. “We get it, you’re sad. You know, you could really use some sun.”

Nightmare Moon was unaffected by the flames lining her sister’s eyes. “If we hadn’t been commanded to behave, I would have happily annihilated you from existence, sister dear.”

“What do you mean by that?” Starswirl interrupted before Daybreaker could retort. “Whose command?”

“Our master’s,” Daybreaker answered. “He gave us a strict order to behave and await his return. We are not yet a set of four. Once he turns Cadence and Twilight, we shall be unstoppable!”

Starswirl’s panic grew. “And who is your master?”

“Why, King Tirek, of course.”

“Tirek?! He has returned?”

Nightmare Moon grinned. “Oh yes, and he is the most powerful being we have ever encountered! He destroyed the Tree of Harmony without even breaking a sweat!”

“Or so we were told,” Daybreaker added. 

“But how can this be?” Starswirl asked, fear tightening his chest. “He was nowhere near that powerful before being imprisoned in Tartarus. I saw to it myself that he was locked behind bars.”

Daybreaker and Nightmare Moon shared a glance before lowering their heads and stalking towards him, their eyes burning ominously. 

“Yes, you did send him there, didn’t you?” Daybreaker whispered. “Correct me if I’m wrong, sister, but I believe King Tirek would be most pleased to see this one.”

Nightmare Moon’s smirk grew, her bared teeth similar to a razor sharp lion’s before its prey. “Indeed,” she said. “Perhaps he would even approve of finding the little pony a little battered and bruised!”

“I was thinking the same thing!”

Both sisters lunged, their horns lit. Before they could bestow any blows, however, Starswirl teleported away.

Appearing just outside the city, the old unicorn’s lungs heaved for air, panic like never before clenching his ancient heart. His old students had been overshadowed and transformed into evil beings! How could Tirek have done such a thing? The only power he possessed was magical absorption. He must not be working alone. And if what Daybreaker and Nightmare Moon had said was true, then the centaur was on his way to either Ponyville or the Crystal Empire. Ponyville was closer but the Crystal Empire housed two alicorns, one he was sure Tirek was not yet aware of. The thought of the centaur corrupting the foal, Flurry Heart, was enough to spur Starswirl towards the Crystal Empire. 

“Forgive me, Twilight,” he muttered, charging his horn. “If he reaches you first, I can only hope you will be able to hold him at bay until I can come to your assistance.”

Teleporting to the Crystal Empire,  he landed exactly where he intended; he wasn’t known as one of the most powerful unicorns in history for nothing! Even so, he couldn’t stop himself from falling to his knees in the middle of the crystal throne room, his magic utterly spent. 

“Who goes there?” 

Starswirl looked up to see an approaching orange pegasus with blue hair, his form cloaked in crystal armor. 

“I must speak with Princess Cadence immediately,” Starswirl rasped. “Please, she and Princess Flurry Heart are in grave danger!”

The guard studied him a moment before judging his concerned desperation to be authentic. “Wait here,” he said, flying out of the room.

Starswirl would have followed but he was too weak. The sound of several pairs of hooves soon reached his ears and he looked up to see Cadence enter, accompanied by the guard and a white unicorn with a blue mane and tail. The latter he deduced quickly as Prince Shining Armor from his majestic attire.

“Starswirl?” the princess gasped, rushing over to help him stand. “What are you doing here?”

The old unicorn latched onto her, his blue eyes filled with fright. “You must hide! Tirek, he has escaped. He’s done something to Celestia and Luna! He’s coming for you! You have to leave!”

“Whoa, slow down,” she said. 

“You have to get out!” Starswirl cried, shaking her. “He’s already corrupted Celestia and Luna. He’s coming. He cannot find out about Flurry Heart! You must leave!”

Cadence responded in the most unexpected way: she slapped the old unicorn across the face. Starswirl’s mouth dropped in shock, completely flummoxed by her reaction.

“I’m sorry,” she immediately apologized, “But you need to calm down. I don’t understand what’s going on.”

Starswirl took a deep breath, attempting to control the panic that was causing his very limbs to shake. He didn’t have time for this! He still had to warn Twilight!

“Tirek escaped from Tartarus,” he quickly explained. “He somehow has found a power that enables him to transform others. He’s already changed Celestia and Luna into their evil counterparts Daybreaker and Nightmare Moon.”

“What?” Cadence and Shining Armor cried. 

“And I just came from there; Canterlot, I mean. Both princesses informed me that he is coming for you, Cadence, and Twilight. He plans to do the same to you as he did to them. I fear what he will do if he found Flurry Heart as well.”

Cadence and Shining Armor shared a horrified parental glance. 

“We have to do something!” she cried.

There was a sudden bang and the distant scream of pony guards reached their ears. Starswirl’s ears flattened against his head.

“It is too late,” he lamented. “He is already here.”

Cadence didn’t waste a moment. She turned to Shining Armor and grabbed his shoulders. “Take Flurry Heart and get out of here.”

“Not without you!” he argued.

“Shining, it’s me he wants. If I come with you, he’ll find Flurry. We can’t let him get her too! Take her somewhere safe. Don’t tell me where. If Tirek finds out about her, I don’t want him to use any information I can give as a way to find you. Go. NOW!”

Shining Armor looked at her, his eyes speaking a thousand words. Tears pricked the princess’s eyes as she kissed her prince and sent him away. The guard left with him. Cadence turned to Star Swirl as another, closer set of pony guards screamed, their cries echoing just down the hall.

“Do you think he’s already reached Twilight?” she asked.

“I don’t know and I can’t check because I used up most of my magic teleporting here.”

“Then I’ll send you,” Cadence decided. “I might be able to buy you enough time to get her to safety if she's alright. She and her friends will be able to fix all of this.”

Before he could respond the Princess of Love provided the necessary spell to send him away just as the doors to her throne room ripped off their hinges. 





Twilight Sparkle was pacing back and forth in the six throned room beside the Cutie Map Table, trying -and failing- not to panic. 

“I can’t believe this,” she said, frantically moving back and forth. “The Tree of Harmony can’t be gone. It just can’t!”

But the evidence was clear. The Cutie Map had vanished that morning and none of her magic had brought it back. The very castle seemed to have lost its shimmer, the pure pulse of its magic painfully absent.

“I’m afraid it is,” Silvermane lamented. 

“And the Elements?” Twilight asked, holding onto her last piece of hope.

“Destroyed.”

The purple alicorn’s pacing ceased and she fell back on her rump, utterly flabbergasted -until a hysterical laugh escaped her muzzle, laced in both panic and denial. 

“No, there’s no way. They can’t be destroyed.”

“Twilight,” Starlight, having witnessed her mentor’s breakdown, timidly stepped forward.

The princess rounded on her. “No, Starlight!” she snapped. “It’s not possible! They can’t be gone! They just can’t be!”

Before anymore could be said, a flash of light revealed a rather exhausted Starswirl the Bearded.

“Starswirl!” Silvermane cried in worry, hastening to his side. 

Twilight’s idol shook his head weakly before his eyes filled with remembrance and panic. He looked around until he saw the princess. 

“Twilight,” he said, hastening towards her.

“I know,” she interrupted before he could say more, “Silvermane told us what happened. Can the Elements really be gone?”

“Forget about the Elements!” Starswirl snapped, grabbing her shoulders and roughly shaking her. “You must leave! Now! Before it’s too late!”

“Get off me!” Twilight cried, using her magic to free herself and push him back. 

“Starswirl, what’s gotten into you?” Silvermane demanded reproachfully.

“I think that’s something we’d all like to know,” said Starlight, taking a defensive position next to her mentor.

“Tirek,” Starswirl shouted. “He’s coming. He’s already corrupted the other princesses! You need to hide before he finds you!”

“What are you talking about?” Twilight said, instinctive fear immediately racing like electricity through her limbs. “Tirek’s in a cell in Tartarus.”

“Not anymore,” he retorted before quickly explaining what had happened in both Canterlot and the Crystal Empire, again reiterating the need for her to run.

“He may already be on his way here right now!” Starswirl cried. 

Before Twilight could spiral into yet another panicked frenzy, the air popped and an unbelievable sight met her eyes, causing her jaw to drop. 

The alicorn standing on the Cutie Map Table could not be anypony other than Cadence but she looked completely and utterly wrong. Her coat was a shade darker and the heart of her cutie mark was red, split down the middle by a large crack. Her purple eyes were similar to Pinkie Pie’s pet alligator, Gummy, except instead of a vacant stare they held sentient malice. Her once golden crown, regalia, and shoes were black and her mane and tail waved about like Celestia’s, the pink, purple, and yellow shades rippling similar to the waves of an ocean.

Behind her was Tirek, his form ripped with muscles and reeking with confidence as he occupied the rest of the room.

“Twilight Sparkle,” he greeted, “I have great plans for you.”

Twilight cried out in fright. She wanted to bolt but her fear held her fast, her eyes unable to look away from her corrupted sister-in-law. 

“C-Cadence?” she rasped, ears flat and eyes wet. 

“Allow me to make introductions,” Tirek said, for Cadence merely stood there silently, shoulders hunched and ready for an attack. “Twilight Sparkle, Heartbreaker. Heartbreaker, Twilight Sparkle. Although, you won’t be that for much longer.”

“You will not touch her!” Starswirl shouted, leaping in front of Twilight protectively. 

Tirek blinked in mild surprise before his yellow eyes filled with recognition and hatred. “Starswirl. How can you possibly be here? You should have died long ago.”

“That doesn’t matter,” the ancient unicorn replied. “The only thing you need to know is I will never let you corrupt her as you have the others!”

The centaur sneered. “So you already know of the Canterlot princesses.”

“He tried to warn me too, master,” Heartbreaker said. 

“Silence!” Tirek snapped at her. The pink alicorn hung her head in submission.

“What have you done to her?!” Twilight yelled, snapping out of her horrified state and sidestepping Starswirl, her anger quickly overcoming her fright.

“The same thing I’m going to do to you,” he grinned, his yellow eyes flickering ominously. 

Starswirl once again leapt in front of Twilight. “Not if I have anything to say about it!” 

Silvermane joined him. Starlight came up and stood next to Twilight, her horn already lit at the ready. 

Tirek eyed the three other unicorns before leaning towards them with a wicked smirk. “Do you really wish to challenge me?”

Starswirl and Silvermane lit their horns.

The centaur’s grin widened. Something about that smirk set an alarm off within Twilight but before she could give any warning, a black beam shot out of Tirek’s hand, looping around Starswirl and lifting him into the air. 

A dark fog emerged from the beam, completely consuming the gray unicorn. The others watched in abject horror as Starswirl’s body thrashed about before beginning to change. His neck grew, his face elongated, his front hooves vanished and his back hooves grew claws. Wings sprouted out of his back as his mane disappeared, replaced with sharp spikes running from his head down to his new reptilian tail. The fog lifted and Starswirl the Bearded was no more. In his place stood a hideous wyvern, the beast letting out an angry screech. 

“NO!” Twilight cried in anguish, rushing forward until Starlight’s magic protectively flung her back. 

Tirek’s laughter echoed off the crystal walls as the wyvern continued to snarl and spit. When it began to lunge, however, the centaur’s laughter ceased and he commanded for it to be still. Twilight and the others watched in disbelief as the wyvern whimpered and did as it was bid, its head lowering in perfect submission.

“No,” Twilight whispered, petrified.

 This couldn't be happening! It could not be happening!

“Your turn,” Tirek said, and Twilight looked up just in time to see Silvermane snatched into the air, the black magic wrapping around her. 

As the fog began to change the old mare, Twilight’s wits finally caught up with her. She turned to Starlight, who was frozen in horror, and made a decision. If she fled, Tirek would never stop searching until he found her. More ponies would end up like Starswirl and Silvermane. She couldn’t bear to see that happen to anyone else, especially her friends. 

“Starlight!” she shouted, gaining the unicorn’s attention. “Get out of here!”

“What?”

“Find the others and get out of here!” Twilight repeated as the screech of another wyvern rent the air.

There was no time. Before the black tendrils could latch around Starlight, Twilight cast a spell, forcing her student to teleport to Sugar Cube Corner. Tirek silenced the wyvern that used to be Silvermane and glared down at the princess.

“Where did you send her?”

“I’ll never tell you!”

Tirek’s scowl turned into a maniacal grin. “You won’t… but your counterpart will!”

Twilight took to the air, avoiding the black magic before it could claim her. She blasted Tirek with a spell but instead of hitting her intended mark, it bounced off an invisible shield. Twilight came up short, her wings flapping. 

“Impossible!” she gasped.

“Didn’t I tell you?” Tirek said, again reaching for her with the black magical strands. “I’ve acquired a new friend. One who is more than powerful enough to defeat you.”

“We’ll just see about that!” Twilight shouted, diving out of his magic’s reach and aiming a blast at his chest. 

Though the shield continued to protect him, Tirek’s hooves skid across the ground from the power behind the attack. Annoyed, he once again directed the magical threads towards her. Twilight evaded and blasted him again.

“I grow tired of this!” he snapped. “Celestia and Luna put up quite the fight too but it was all in vain. You must know your efforts are futile!”

“That’s not going to stop me from trying!” Twilight replied, her next attack actually blasting him through the wall. 

The castle groaned and shook. Tirek snarled, reappearing, his eyes filled with rage. But Twilight was heading his way, another blast from her horn aimed at his face. The barrier broke as the mark hit true, the after effect slicing a cut across Tirek’s cheek before he could fully dodge. The centaur wiped his face and looked down at the blood in surprise. Twilight smirked as he roared. Picking up a boulder from the broken wall, he threw it at the purple princess. Twilight blasted it away. 

When the rubble cleared, she had another spell charged and ready but stopped short when she saw Cadence, no, Heartbreaker, within Tirek’s grasp. He held her by her wings, one in each hand, and by the look on her face she was in severe pain. 

“Master,” she begged, “please!”

“Be silent!” he snarled, pulling harder still. 

Heartbreaker gasped in agony.

“No! Stop!” Twilight shouted, rushing forward.

“Come any closer and I rip her wings off!” Tirek bellowed.

Twilight immediately stopped, flapping in place, knowing it was not a bluff. Something sinister and evil lurked behind Tirek’s eyes, something that caused Twilight’s very soul to quake. 

“Please, promise me you won’t hurt her,” she said, desperately looking at her corrupt sister-in-law.

“As long as you comply,” Tirek retorted. 

Twilight tasted bile. She knew what she had to do but how could she allow him to do to her what he’d done to Cadence- to Luna- to Celestia? He saw her hesitation and tightened his hold on Heartbreaker. The pink alicorn whimpered.

“Your magic will be mine, Twilight,” he said, his voice low and sure, “Or this one will have to endure some sudden unfortunate amputation.”

Tears fell down Twilight’s face. Celestia forgive me, she thought. She slowly descended towards the ground, her horn ceasing its glow as her hooves connected with the hard surface. She hung her head in defeat. Tirek threw Heartbreaker to the side and stomped over until he was looming directly over the Princess of Friendship. Before the Darkness claimed her, she lifted her head and defiantly stared Tirek down.

“You won’t get away with this,” she declared. “My friends will stop you!”

“Not if you hunt them down,” Tirek said, smirking evilly as the black beam shot from his hand into her heart, lifting her into the air.

Twilight screamed.

The dark energy soaked into her skin, sweeping through her veins as it raced to her heart and mind. Like a virus it sought out and found the insecurities she kept locked away and latched onto them, festering and feeding them, inspiring anger, mistrust, and a thirst for knowledge and power. Her body began to change, her legs and neck growing, her muzzle and certain teeth extending, her mane and tail growing and lifting to defy gravity. Her wings grew, the shade of them and her coat eclipsing to a deep purple from the middle of her torso to her back hooves. Dark power surged into her horn and rimmed the sides of her eyes in an eternal bluish glow. The Darkness swept and completely locked away the light within her, leaving nothing but its corrupt whispers and an unending obsession to serve its host, her new king. 

The purple alicorn bowed to Tirek in subservience. “Master,” she acknowledged.

“And what do they call you?” Tirek asked, his voice practically dripping in triumph.

The alicorn rose, her eyes aglow with wickedness. “Midnight Sparkle.”

The centaur’s grin was wide as he studied her. “You will make a fine addition to my guard. Come, we have much to do and I do not want to keep your sisters waiting much longer.”

“Yes, Master,” Midnight Sparkle bowed again, eyeing Heartbreaker as she struggled to her feet. 

The purple alicorn’s lips pulled back in a smirk at such weakness before she turned and followed Tirek into the ruined throne room.

“I must return to Canterlot,” Tirek said as both Midnight Sparkle and Heartbreaker approached. “But you, Midnight Sparkle, will remain here until your task is complete.”

“What task is that?”

“I want you to find the friend you sent away and bring her to me.”

“Starlight Glimmer? She’s no friend of mine,” Midnight Sparkle snarled. “She’s a cheap shadow compared to me.”

“Regardless, I want her found,” Tirek commanded. “Unharmed, if you can help it.”

Midnight Sparkle growled slightly in annoyance. “Can’t I roughen her up a little bit?”

“No,” Tirek said flatly. “And I also want you to bring me your old friends. I can’t have the five of them attempting to ruin my plans.”

“It shouldn’t be too hard to find them,” she said with a smirk.

“See that you do,” said Tirek, “Or you’ll discover what happens when you disappoint me.”

She looked at Heartbreaker who was still wincing as she flexed her wings. She turned back to her master. 

“I’ll find them.”                   
> Sanctuary
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Discord was once again tied around Fluttershy’s neck as the pegasus flitted around her cottage, feeding all her animals. It was rather chaotic, swinging back and forth, the view of her world blurring this way and that as he wiggled about. It was almost like being snuggled with a favorite blanket in the midst of a hurricane. He loved it! He loved it so much he made a mental note to do it again once he was freed and could do as he wished. 

Fluttershy hummed as she worked, the vibrations of her throat running through Discord's body, making him shiver. It was all so terribly… arousing. 

You’re torturing me, my dear, he practically purred, his eyes closed in bliss. I loved your voice before but this… this is a whole new brand of lovable agony.

Fluttershy, now finished with her morning chores, went into the kitchen and, to Discord’s disappointment, untied and removed him from her neck. 

“Sorry, Dissy,” she said, placing him on a nearby counter. “I have to make tea cakes and I don’t want to get you dirty.”

But I like getting dirty! Discord protested. It’s no bother! You can throw me in the wash afterwards! He paused. You know, that would be quite the chaotic experience. I’ll have to remember to try that later.   

Fluttershy began flitting back and forth in the kitchen, grabbing ingredients and preparing the tea cake dough. Discord inwardly sighed, enjoying her movements - especially a particular area he normally only chanced a glance at. The way her hair fell and her shoulders rolled; the natural sway of her hips and the flick of her tail; Discord’s heart couldn’t help pounding in his chest.

You hopeless old fool, he sighed, enjoying the view. 

“Oh, Dissy, what kind of tea do you think I should make?” Fluttershy asked, holding out two different packs in front of the doll, one labeled hibiscus and the other peppermint. “I don’t have anything fancy. I know Discord likes unpredictable things. I just don’t want to disappoint him. I don’t want him to think I’m boring.”

Oh, sweet Fluttershy I could never think that.

She sighed. “I guess I’m just afraid he’ll get tired of coming to see me. All we do is sit and drink tea. It’s nothing phenomenal and exciting; nothing like the adventures he goes on. Sometimes I'm afraid he thinks I’m unbearably dull.”

Are you kidding? You live in the midst of chaos every day! Have you seen these animals? Each one is like a tiny tornado yet you somehow manage to care and tend to every single one of them. You’re a goddess of order! A lion tamer of chaos! And I love you for it!

Fluttershy eventually chose the peppermint tea, one of his favorites. He liked to combine it with chili powder and, to his immense delight, he saw her pull some out. 

She remembered. Have I ever declared how much I love this mare? Because, if not, I’m going to shout it from every rooftop in Ponyville once I’m freed.

Fluttershy continued to talk to 'Dissy' as she worked, sharing her thoughts and feelings about anything and everything. She talked to him just like she talked to her friend during her tea parties; minus knowing his responses, that is. This was one of the things Discord cherished most whenever he came to visit; she said more words to him than she did to anypony else, her friends included. It made him feel special, valued even, and he soaked in every word. 

Fluttershy had just finished telling him a tale where she saved a baby bird from falling out of a tree when there was a sudden pounding on her door. 

“He’s early,” she muttered, glancing at the clock.

He? A stallion? Are you expecting somepony? But then he remembered what she was doing and mentally smacked himself. You idiot, it's Tuesday. She's talking about you.

Fluttershy picked him up, carried him out of the kitchen, and placed him on the green couch, giving him a quick little nuzzle. 

"I'm sure he's going to love you!"

But before she could make it to the door, whoever was on the outside busted it right off its hinges. Fluttershy screamed and ducked down in fright.

"Fluttershy!"

The collective yell came from several ponies at once.

"She's alright, y'all," Applejack declared, lowering her back hooves, obviously the one responsible for the door's demise. 

"A-Applejack? Girls? What is going on?"

"Sorry about yer door, sugarcube."

"Save it, AJ," Rainbow Dash snapped, swooping inside. "Fluttershy, has anypony been here?"

"N-No," she answered. "Except my animal friends. Why?"

Discord watched as Rainbow Dash and Applejack took up positions near the windows and doors. 

Starlight came forward. "We need to leave, right now."

"What? Why?"

"Long story short, Tirek's back and has some really mean evil magic that's changed all the princesses into bad guys and he's probably going to try to do the same to us!" said Pinkie Pie in a rush.

"W-What?!" Fluttershy cried, her whole form trembling in terror. 

Yeah, what?! Discord shouted. What fool would give that insecure centaur that much magical power? 

"I bought us a little time by transfiguring items into copies of us and scattering them throughout Ponyville," said Starlight, "but those will only buy us a few minutes. We need to go somewhere Twilight won't be able to find us!"

"But where can we go?" asked Rarity. "Surely she would search everywhere we can think of."

"We could go to Yakyakistan," said Pinkie Pie. "Prince Rutherford would be more than happy to give us a place to stay."

"The yaks won't stand a chance against the princesses," Rainbow argued, still keeping her vigil by the broken door. 

"What about the sea ponies?" said Applejack near the window. "They live far away and that fancy pearl of theirs could be helpful."

"Or we can visit Capper," suggested Rarity. "He might know of a safe place to hide."

"No, the pirates!" Rainbow Dash said. "They're masters of smuggling things! They could get us out of Equestria without any problems!"

"Yeah, because they totally saved us last time from being captured by Tempest," Pinkie said sarcastically.

My dimension! Discord shouted, wishing he could be heard. Twilight can't set hoof there; none of the princesses can. And the one pony who can get you there is standing right here in this living room! Come on, Fluttershy, think of me. Please!

Once again it was as if The Powers that Be were lending a hand. Fluttershy looked right at him as the others continued throwing out possible safe places. He could practically see the moment his unheard suggestion clicked in her mind.

"Girls," she said quietly.

Unheard, the others went on talking amongst themselves.

Fluttershy, I love you but there comes a time in every pony's life when they need to project! Come on; I know you have the lung capacity. Use it!

"GIRLS!" Fluttershy repeated, her voice carrying over the cacophony in her living room.

The frantic arguing ceased, everypony staring at her in surprise. Fluttershy did not let the stares deter her, however, even though they clearly made her uncomfortable.

"We can't go to any of those places because Twilight and the others can go there too," she said. "We need to go somewhere they can't."

"As much as I agree with that, Fluttershy, there is no such place," Starlight quickly argued. "Our best hope is to head for the sea ponies. They-"

"No," Fluttershy interrupted. "There is such a place."

There was a collective "Huh?" 

"What are you talking about, darling?" said Rarity. 

"Discord’s dimension," Fluttershy answered, causing Discord to cheer and pump his fist. "Only ponies with his permission can enter and I'm the only one he's given permission to- well, me and a mail pony, that is."

"Then how the hay are the rest of us supposed to get in?" asked Applejack. 

"Discord said if I invite anypony to come with me, they should be able to make it through the door."

"What door?"

"The door in the kitchen, under the sink. Discord installed it after what happened with the changelings."

"Um, why under the sink?" asked Rarity.

"Why not?" said Fluttershy with a shrug.

Her answer was exactly the one Discord would have given.

That's my girl, he smiled. 

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" said Starlight. The others, however, hesitated. "Ugh, now what's wrong?" 

"I know when ya showed up you were sayin' it was a matter of life and death," said Applejack, "And all of us are more than happy to save Equestria again. But I think I speak for all of us when I say we're not too comfortable leaving our families and friends to suffer through whatever it is Tirek's got planned." 

Discord facepalmed. These ponies; sometimes they let their emotions really cloud their judgment. Thankfully Starlight was thinking clearly enough to say what needed to be said.

"Look, I know how you all are feeling but we can't stay. If we're captured our friends and families don't stand a chance! But if we leave now and find someplace safe, we can come back to fight another day. We'll be prepared. I've seen what Tirek can do and I'm telling you we don't have anything right now to stop him. The Elements of Harmony are gone! And even if they were still here, you couldn't use them without Twilight. We have to go. Please!"

"The elements are gone?" Fluttershy gasped in shocked disbelief. From the looks on the others' faces, Starlight had already broken that news to them.

"Yes," the purple unicorn confirmed. "Fluttershy, you said Discord's place is safe? I say we go. Now."

"I don't want to run away," Rainbow Dash said. "That feels like the coward's way out."

Will you just suck it up and accept that you have to run? Discord snapped.

Starlight stomped her hoof. "We don't have time for this!"

Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to argue but Applejack cut her off. "She's right, Rainbow. The only way to help them all is to make a plan and we can't do that if we're caught."

"We will save everyone, Rainbow Dash," Starlight said. "I promise."

The Rainbow pony reluctantly nodded in defeat. “Okay.”

They didn't waste time after that. Fluttershy quickly dismissed all her animals before scooping up Angel and heading for the kitchen.

Wait! Don't forget about me! Discord cried, slightly panicked about being left behind.

Fluttershy almost made it to the doorway when she paused. The others asked what was wrong but instead of answering she rushed over to the green couch and picked up the doll.

"Where did you get a Discord doll and why are you even bothering bringing it with you?" Rainbow wondered.

"I'll tell you later," she promised before leading everypony into the kitchen. She threw open the cupboard. Instead of revealing the bottom of the sink, there was a swirling portal of purple chaos energy.

"Um, hello, Discord? It's me, Fluttershy. I'm bringing my friends, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Starlight Glimmer with me. I hope that's okay."

It's fine now get in there before some nasty pony comes barging in through your open doorway!

"Um, I don't mean to rush you or anything," said Pinkie Pie, "but my Pinkie Sense is going crazy! It’s telling me we really need to go!"

"That's because there's a terrifying corrupted Twilight heading this way!" Applejack cried, looking out the kitchen window in horror.

Without hesitation everypony leapt through the purple void, the kitchen cupboard closing behind them with a snap, doing exactly what Discord programmed it to do the day he set up the spell; he didn't want an enemy to know where Fluttershy might have vanished to.

Mere seconds after leaping through, they appeared right on Discord’s doorstep. 

Ahhh, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes, Discord sighed, staring at his front door.

"Don't stare at the purple sky for very long," Fluttershy warned the others. "Discord said it can eventually drive a pony mad."

"Charming," Rarity muttered, her muzzle wrinkled in disapproval.

Discord’s house rested on a lone island, the home a rather surprisingly humble-looking abode. It was a charming house -red with yellow trimmings- with a stone chimney sticking out of the top and flower boxes hanging under the front windows. A regular tree stood next to the house behind a white picket fence and a small wooden bridge connected to another floating island; that one purple with white stars and a tree growing on top over a cave mouth. Other islands were seen off in the distance, some upside down, others sideways. One had a single tree that leaked lava, its large blue leaves sheltering some red fruit that looked similar to coconuts.  

“Absolutely nothing makes sense here,” Rainbow Dash commented, clearly disapproving of the surroundings.

Why, thank you.

Fluttershy giggled. “Just wait until you see the inside.”

Discord grinned. Yes, just you wait!

Fluttershy knocked on the door before pushing it open.

“Um, are you sure it’s okay to just go in?” asked Starlight nervously.

“It’s fine,” she assured. “It’s how he knows it’s me.”

The ponies quickly trotted inside only to freeze with their mouths agape in shock; except for Fluttershy, of course, who looked excited. 

“Oh, he’s redecorated!” she said, happily taking in the chaos.

The stairs leading to nowhere were now spiraling in the far right corner, their steps upside down, LED lights flashing different colors every few seconds on the handrail. The couches and chairs were plaid, polka-dotted, or neon, some floating freely near the ceiling while others remained stubbornly on the floor. The swirling purple portal in the middle of the room had been replaced with a large soap bubble that contained a bunch of floating rubber ducks; whenever one would bounce off the bubble, they’d give a cheerful quack! The book tree had shed most of its pages, the loose leaves flapping and shifting into origami birds, their nests made from the covers from which they sprang. A large spatula with an upside down mixing bowl served as a tall lamp in the corner; when turned on the smell of freshly baked cookies would waft through the air. The entrances to the kitchen and hallway had been changed into tunnel slides. Wacky décor would randomly pop out of the walls before disappearing and reappearing somewhere else.  

“Oh. My.” Rarity exclaimed faintly, positively mortified.

“I know!” Fluttershy said happily, too distracted by admiration to notice her friend’s disgust. “Isn’t it great?!”

“Great isn’t exactly the word I was going to use,” Rainbow Dash muttered.

“Be nice, Dashie,” said Pinkie Pie. “This is Discord’s place, after all. I think it makes sense for everything to be all wacky.”

“It does seem to suit him,” Starlight said with a slight chuckle, poking the bubble curiously with her hoof. The ducks all quacked in protest. “Oh, um, sorry,” she quickly muttered, backing away.

“What I’d like to know is where is he?” said Applejack as they cautiously stepped further into the living room.

“Discord?” Fluttershy called. “Are you home?”

Yes, in fact, he grunted, fighting against his immobile prison. If you’d look down, you’d see me happily snuggled within your foreleg.

They waited for some sign of the Chaos Lord but the only noises in the room were the occasional quacks from the rubber ducks and the shuffling of the paper birds. 

“I guess he’s out somewhere,” Fluttershy said, looking slightly disappointed.

“You don’t think Tirek found him… do you?” Rainbow Dash asked worriedly.

Please, Discord scoffed, Like I would allow that fool to catch me after his betrayal.

The ponies all shared a nervous glance before Fluttershy stubbornly shook her head. “I don’t think so. He likes to go off on various adventures. I’m sure once he senses we’re here he’ll come back. But we should probably stay in the living room. If we wander off, we might get lost.”

They each took up a spot on the random pieces of furniture, an awkward silence descending until Rainbow Dash noticed Applejack’s worried frown.

“You okay, AJ?”

The orange mare shook her head, her green eyes downcast and her ears pressed against her skull. “I know it was Twilight I saw out Fluttershy’s window but I honestly can’t believe it was her. She was as big as Princess Celestia and her hair was all long and flowy. Her horn was glowing blue and there were some blue things rimmin' her eyes. She even had fangs! She was so angry… I haven’t seen that kind of anger in a pony since Nightmare Moon.”

The mood dampened even further as the ponies mourned over what had happened to their friend.

"Cadence was similar," said Starlight sadly while shooing away a paper bird attempting to nest in her mane. "Tirek called her Heartbreaker. Even her Cutie Mark had changed. The heart was red instead of blue and it looked broken."

"What kind of magic could alter a Cutie Mark?" asked Rarity, horrified.

Everypony looked at Starlight.

"Why are you all looking at me?"

"Well, you are kind of the expert on Cutie Marks," said Pinkie Pie, "given how you took everyponys in your old village and stored them in a creepy cave vault."

"That doesn't make me an expert," said Starlight, once again waving her hoof at the determined bird. "I removed Cutie Marks but I never altered them. The kind of magic Tirek is using is on the same level as the princesses or Discord." The bird made a third attempt and Starlight lost it. “Will you quit it?” she snapped, blasting a spell at it.

The paper bird dodged and the spell flew across the room, slamming into a mirror that had randomly appeared on the wall before redirecting right towards-

“Fluttershy!” several of them screamed.

But the spell didn't hit her. It hit the doll lodged in her arms. 

The moment it made contact Discord felt the first layer of the Pillars curse lift; the spell Starlight used was an immobility spell!

Ha ha! Two negatives make a positive! he cried in excitement. 

The seam in the middle of his mouth popped and the draconequus cheered, tearing the rest of the thread as he fully opened his jaws.

"Finally!" He cackled, thrusting his stuffed paw and claw into the air.

Fluttershy screamed and threw the doll away from her. Discord landed on top of Rarity who shrieked and flailed, smacking him painfully in the face and chest with her hooves. The frantic movements drove him over the edge of the couch, his body sliding down the wall before landing on the floor next to a pair of startled dust bunnies. Recognizing him, the bunnies hopped over and snuggled his fabric face, covering it in dust. 

"Nice to see you too, dirtballs," he said, pushing them away and patting his face. It felt strange, the textured material soft and a little fuzzy.

"Starlight, what did you do?" he heard Rainbow Dash say.

"I didn't do anything! It was an immobility spell. I was trying to stop the bird!"

"Then why did the doll suddenly come to life?" demanded Applejack.

"I might have an idea," said Fluttershy. A pair of large teal eyes suddenly peered under the couch. "D-Discord?"

Discord slithered out from under the couch and stood up on his back legs. He didn't anticipate the stuffing being unable to support the rest of his weight, however, so he was quite surprised when he flopped backwards, hitting the floor rather comically.

"Ouch!" he complained, rubbing his head. 

"Discord?"

Discord looked up, meeting several different pairs of pony eyes, his favorite included.

He sent them a toothy grin. "Well, this is slightly embarrassing. Hello Fluttershy, ladies."

"You possessed my doll?" Fluttershy said with slight reproach. "I thought we talked about this. Suddenly scaring me is not okay! I know you can't help it sometimes but, given the circumstances, right now isn't the time for jokes."

Discord rolled over so he was on his stomach. Carefully lifting himself up, he settled his weight on all four legs with his rump and tail on the carpet. 

"Forgive me for startling you, my dear, it was not my intention."

"Um, could you come out of there? The doll, I mean," she asked.

"Yeah, it's kind of creepy," said Rainbow Dash.

"You know, I would, if I wasn't cursed to be this way," Discord said with a scowl. 

"Huh?"

"What do you mean cursed?" asked Starlight. 

Discord let out a growl before sharing how the Pillars suddenly attacked and turned him into a doll before dumping him in the carnival where Fluttershy miraculously found him. By the time he finished, the yellow pegasus had backed into a corner, her ears lowered and her face as red as an apple.

"I can't believe Starswirl didn't know about your reformation," Starlight said, her horn lit as she studied the spells he and the others had cast on the draconequus.

"I can't believe that you're stuck as a doll," said Pinkie Pie. "What does it feel like?"

"Like my insides are made of fluff," Discord said irritably.

"And you can't break out?" asked Applejack.

"I thought that was obvious," he said, snapping his fabric fingers to no avail. 

"And I broke the immobility spell?" asked Starlight.

"By using your own," Discord nodded. "The two cancelled each other out. Thanks for that, by the way."

"Um, you're welcome."

"Can she do that with the other spells so you can turn back to normal?" asked Fluttershy quietly.

Discord's flat eyes looked at her. She appeared highly embarrassed though he couldn't understand why. 

"That depends," he hedged.

"On what?"

"On whether or not we can break the lo-"

"The last transfiguration spell!" Discord hastily replied, interrupting Starlight. She gave him a look but smartly kept her mouth shut. "It was cast with harmony magic," he continued. "Like being in stone, I can't break out of it by myself. I'll need help."

"But we don't have the Elements of Harmony anymore," said Fluttershy. 

"They were destroyed," Starlight explained.

"I know," Discord replied with a heavy sigh.

"How could you know if you've been a limp noodle this whole time?" asked Applejack suspiciously. 

"I may be made of fluff but I can still feel things!" Discord retorted, folding his arms. "I felt when the Tree was destroyed because I can sense when there's a magical imbalance, remember?"  

"You can still feel things?" Fluttershy squeaked, her face growing, if possible, even redder.

"Yes. Why would that-" Discord began but stopped, his own material face reddening in realization.  

"Okay, why are you both blushing?" asked Rainbow Dash, eyes narrowed dangerously at Discord.

"And how is it even possible for fabric to blush?" Rarity added.

"Fluttershy?" Rainbow Dash pressed, ignoring the fashionista.

The yellow pegasus shook her head. "It's nothing."

"But-"

"It's nothing!" Fluttershy shrieked, surprising everypony. "Besides, we have other things to talk about, like how we're going to rescue the princesses and stop Tirek."

While she was right, Discord knew that before they went rushing off to battle the two of them were going to have to talk. He'd finally figured out why she was standing so far away from him and why she was having such a hard time looking him in the plastic eye. They'd slept together, snuggled up side by side. She'd nuzzled him, several times, and told him some of her insecurities. Even though it was less than 24 hours her privacy had -unintentionally- been violated and that needed to be addressed.

"Fluttershy's right," said Pinkie Pie, eating a cupcake she'd plucked off the wall. "Mmmm, chocolate with hazelnut buttercream!"

"Chocolate?" said Rarity. "Pinkie, dear, that looks like vanilla with pink frosting." 

"It does!" She agreed, "but that's not what it tastes like."

"But that doesn't make any sense."

Discord snorted. "Have you forgotten where you are?"

Rarity's face reddened in embarrassment. "Erm, right, sorry."

Starlight cleared her throat. "About that, thank you for letting us hide inside your home, Discord."

Discord climbed up onto the couch with a little help from Pinkie Pie; Fluttershy still refused to touch him, purposefully crossing the room and sitting in a vacant spot next to Applejack.

"I'm just glad Fluttershy remembered that the princesses are banned from coming here; smart thinking on your part, my dear. As of this moment, this is probably the safest place to hide. By the way, why did you come back to the living room to get me?"

Still unwilling to look at him, Fluttershy muttered, "I just had a feeling."

"Well, I'm glad you listened to it," Discord said. "Or else the six of you would have been stuck here forever."

Everypony looked mortified by the very thought. 

"I think I speak on behalf of everyone when I say thank you, Fluttershy," said Applejack.

"It was nothing," the yellow pegasus muttered, looking down at her hooves.

"So what happens now?" asked Rarity.

"Now we think of a plan," said Starlight, beginning to pace.

"Twilight was the one who usually does that, " Rainbow Dash quietly voiced.

The room leaked with their gloom. Discord would have reprimanded them for turning his walls gray if he hadn't felt just as lost as they did. Twilight was his friend too, the closest to him after Fluttershy and Starlight. 

"We can't hide here forever, " Starlight muttered, thinking.

"Well, you could," Discord interrupted. She sent him a glare and he snapped his mouth shut, resting his chin in his paw and claw.

"What we need is something strong enough to fight against whatever dark magic Tirek's using," she went on. "The Elements were; that's why he destroyed them. Wiping out your enemy's greatest protection is what I would have done in his situation."

As yet another reformed villain, Discord couldn't help but agree. It had been a very smart move; that and enslaving the princesses to his every whim.

"So we need another power source," said Rainbow Dash. "What about the Crystal Heart?"

Discord shook his head. "The Crystal Heart may be powerful but it's already keeping the entire Crystal Empire from turning back into a popsicle. Besides, a gem that large would just be target practice for the princesses to shatter. "

"What about you Discord?" asked Pinkie Pie.

"While I thank you for the consideration, Pinkie, until this stupid curse from the Pillars is removed by a Rainbow Blast, I'm powerless."

A certain yellow pony's ears drooped at this statement. 

"We could ask to borrow that fancy pearl from the sea ponies," suggested Applejack again. 

But Discord shot down this idea too. "The Pearl of Transfiguration only changes the appearance. Correct me if I'm wrong but your cutie marks still remained after your temporary change into water horses." The girls -minus Starlight- nodded. "But Starlight said Tirek changed Cadence's cutie mark?"

"That's right," Starlight nodded.

"Then this dark magic is changing more than just appearance. It's altering the very soul and twisting it into whatever Tirek wants. The only way to combat that kind of magic is with the Rainbow Knock-Out you six usually produce."

"But without Twilight we can't do that," Rarity mourned. 

Starlight stopped pacing, a look of sudden excitement stealing over her face. "You five can't," she muttered, looking up with a gleam in her eye, "But I know of seven others who can!"
> Pursuit
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shortly after her failure of following her former friends into Discord's portal, Midnight Sparkle returned to her castle to do one of the things she did best: research.

Though she had yet to be successful in her goal, she was not going to give up. Her Master demanded their capture before her return. Failure was not an option.

With an angry growl she set yet another book aside and pulled out a new prospect from the pile on her table. She'd been sitting here for hours and still no progress! Her stack of books on chaos theory were depleting by the second. 

“Of course the annoying fool would succeed in shutting me out,” she grumbled, opening Magics of Mystery and Myth. “But it’s only a matter of time before I break his little spell and then there will be no crevice, no corner, no sanctuary for them to hide. I’ll find you,” she darkly chuckled, flipping the pages and speed-reading, searching. "I'll find you all!"

Her evil laugh echoed off the walls, her voice haunting the library she loved. 

“T-Twilight?”

Midnight froze as a pair of hesitant steps shuffled into the room. She set her book down and quickly twisted around, spreading her magnificent wings. The intruder gasped and fell back, his green eyes widening in disbelief. Midnight’s defensive stance relaxed as she recognized her old charge.

“Spike,” she greeted with a toothy grin. “Back so soon?”

“What-What happened to you?” he gasped, shakily getting back on his feet.

Midnight did a little twirl, showing off her body. “Oh, nothing much. Just enlightenment.”

“Enlightenment?” he repeated. “You…you look like Nightmare Moon.”

Midnight snorted. “Please, I am ten times more beautiful than my sister!”

“Your sister?”

Midnight rolled her eyes. “Do get with the times, Spike. I know you’ve been away but surely the news has spread within Equestria.”

“News?” he asked weakly, backing away as she slowly advanced like a hungry lioness. “What news?”

Midnight’s smile grew, her fangs now fully exposed. “Equestria is under new management. My Master, King Tirek, now rules the land.”

“W-WHAT?!”

Midnight circled him, eyeing his tiny pink form, chuckling evilly. “You know, I think he would benefit from having a dragon in his service; better than those pony-turned-wyverns.”

Spike instinctively started to make a run for the exit but Midnight was quicker. In a flash of shadow she reappeared in front of him, wings flared, blue horn surrounded by a magenta glow. 

“Give him my regards,” she laughed, hitting him with a spell. 

Spike’s terrified cry abruptly disappeared as he vanished. The echo of his fear still lingered and Midnight licked her lips delightfully, trotting happily back to the table. Once seated she continued her vigil, forgetting about the little dragon entirely. 





“Starlight, are you sure bringing them here is such a good idea?” asked Rainbow Dash, hovering next to Applejack beside Discord's neon orange couch. “Princess Celestia said we couldn’t go with Twilight to the Mirror World because it might affect the balance there. Wouldn’t their presence here do the same thing?”

Discord snorted loudly and everypony looked at him. “If I could, you’d see me rolling my eyes. Kay-Kay has such a tendency to over exaggerate things. The balance would only be affected if they stayed here long term - and by that I mean many, many years; practically as long as a perfectly healthy pony living into their old age. Short visits like this one will only be a blip on the balance scale. Things will be fine.”

“While that’s good to know, we still don’t really know much about ‘em,” Applejack argued. 

“Yes, you do,” Starlight assured. “I spent a few days with them and while some things are different, they’re actually really similar to each one of you.”

“Just think of them as a twin you were separated from at birth,” suggested Discord.

“Oh! Oh! And once reunited we can switch places without telling anypony and go on an epic adventure to try to get our parents back together!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed.

“This isn’t the Sire Trap, Pinkie,” Rainbow Dash said, rolling her eyes. “We have separate sets of parents.”

“Ohhh,” she said before letting out a disappointed sigh. “What a missed opportunity.”

“You know, I have an entrance to the Mirror World somewhere,” said Discord, stroking his beard thoughtfully.

“Really? Because that would be super helpful!” said Starlight.

"I think it's in my "Things I Swiped from Celestia" room."

Applejack's muzzle turned down in a disapproving scowl. "You have a whole room devoted to petty theft?"

Discord smirked. "Oh, honest Applejack, you have no idea. Just wait until you see it!"

He began to rise but ended up flopping off the side of the couch, his body bunching up in a comical heap on the floor. 

"Are you alright?" asked Fluttershy, hovering uncertainly, clearly debating whether or not she should help.

"Fine, fine," he said, waving her away with his paw. 

He tried to get his limbs straightened out but only managed to flop from side to side. “Cursed fluff,” he grumbled under his breath.

“What’s the matter, Discord?" Rainbow Dash teased, "Got your stuffing in a twist?”

Pinkie Pie laughed, “Oh, good one!” as the Lord of Chaos flailed and fell yet again.

"Here, let me help you stitch up," said Rarity, lifting him with her magic and realigning his limbs so all four were beneath him.

Discord huffed as more laughter filled his home. "You know, normally I would appreciate a good pun but I’m finding myself rather unamused at the moment!"

"Sorry, Discord," said Applejack with a smile. "We can't help ourselves. Ya look like a patchwork quilt roped around a clothes line."

Discord's ears lowered as he growled. 

Fluttershy finally came to his defense. "Girls, be nice. Discord can't help his current floppiness."

"I don't know," said Starlight with a sly grin. Discord grimaced, knowing exactly what was coming, unable to open his mouth fast enough to stop her. "He's always seemed like a klutzy draconequus to me."

The room erupted with laughter, everypony knowing the code word she, Discord, Trixie, and Thorax had used during the Great Changeling Rescue. Even Fluttershy couldn't help herself from releasing a quiet snort. 

"Et tu, Fluttershy?" Discord said, thoroughly miffed and exasperated.

The yellow pegasus' guilt was immediate and her smile instantly dropped. "I'm sorry, Discord," she said sincerely.

He sighed. "It's alright, my dear. I would have laughed too, had the subject not been myself. Let’s just look for that mirror.”

He hoisted himself up on all fours and carefully padded across the room, testing out his new body. There was more fluff in his lion paw than his eagle claw and he had to keep his tail lower to counterweight the position of his head. Eventually he mad it across the room with only a few stumbles. 

“He looks like a cute little snake!” Pinkie Pie commented.

Fluttershy giggled and Discord tried not to be self conscious of all the brightly colored eyes as he slithered towards the slide that led to the hallway. 

The others followed him, waiting until he was out of the slide before following one after the other, Pinkie Pie giggling happily as she zoomed down backwards. 

“How in Equestria do you even know where anything is in this place?” asked Applejack, eyeing the different doors on either side of the hallway and ceiling.    

“Sight, smell, taste, touch, sound,” Discord said, flicking his tail back and forth. “You use your senses, obviously.”

“What do you mean by taste?” Rarity asked cautiously.

“Exactly that,” said Discord, demonstrating by sticking out his tongue and tapping it against a pink door. The wood shivered and Discord smacked his lips. “Hmmm, that would be the chalk zone. Don’t go in there; you might get erased.”

Everypony skirted as far away from the pink door as possible. 

“Don’t tell me we have to lick every single one?!” Rarity cried in horror, staring down the hallway in dismay.

Discord laughed. “No need to fret, Rarity; you don’t actually lick the door but the magic that’s attached to it. It’s perfectly sanitary. Besides, you only have to lick the pink ones.”

“Dibs on those!” Pinkie Pie cried, zooming off to lick another pink door three doors down. “Mmmm, savory! This one’s a soap room!”

“How do you know that?” asked Rainbow Dash.

Pinkie Pie thought for a moment and then shrugged. “The room’s identity just came to me after I got a taste.”

Discord nodded, fairly pleased with himself. "The identity of the room will come to mind when you use the specific sense tied to each door."

“Okay, so we have to taste the pink ones," said Starlight,  "What about the other four color options?”

“You have to smell the green ones,” Discord answered. “Blue you listen to; just putting your ear to the door will do. Yellow you touch; soft caresses are best. Purple you simply have to stare at.”

“What about the brown ones?” asked Fluttershy curiously.

“Oh, those are guest bedrooms and bathrooms,” he said. “My bedroom is the only red door in the house and I would appreciate if none of you tried to enter it. A draconequus needs his privacy, after all.”

“Like anypony would ever want to go in there anyway,” Rainbow Dash muttered, Rarity nodding in silent agreement. Fluttershy scuffed the ground, avoiding eye contact with everypony.

“Right,” Starlight muttered, regaining everypony’s attention. “Pinkie gets the pink ones. Fluttershy, you take the yellow since you have the gentlest touch. Rainbow and I will handle the purple ones. Applejack you get the blue and Rarity you take the green.”

“Why do I have to get the smelly ones?” the latter bemoaned. 

“Because you have the best nose,” said Applejack, shoving her towards a door. “Now get sniffin’; the faster we find this mirror, the better.” 

Discord decided to stay back and watch the show, snickering heartily when Rarity stumbled upon the Putrid Museum, a room filled with the most repulsive objects a pony could find. 

“Why,” she cried, tears streaming down her face, skin tinted a remarkable green, “Why do you have a Putrid Museum?”

“Smells are chaotic,” Discord replied with a shrug. 

Rarity marched over to him and bent down, her large blue eyes narrowed in anger. “Let me make one thing clear,” she whispered. “I loathe your taste in smell!”

She huffed and whirled around, smacking him with her tail. His stuffed body slid across the floor into the wall, Discord rubbing his eagle arm and scowling at the retreating unicorn.

“Well, that wasn’t really necessary,” he muttered.

“You did slightly kill her nose,” Starlight said in her defense.

“Only for a moment,” he argued. “Her sense of smell will be fine with the next door she tries.”

“Is there really an ocean on the other side of this or am I just hearin’ things?” asked Applejack, pointing towards the door she stood in front of.

“You heard right,” Discord confirmed, squirming to right himself on his four limbs again.

“Wow, you have a stadium?” Rainbow Dash exclaimed excitedly, staring at a purple door. “What do you use it for?” 

Discord shrugged. “All kinds of things. Games, rodeos, experiments.”

“A yarn room?” Starlight questioned. “I didn’t take you for a knitter.”

“There’s a lot about me you don’t know,” Discord huffed. “I’ve been knitting since before Celestia and Luna were even born. Of course I have a yarn room!”

“Oh, a room full of pillows!” Fluttershy exclaimed. “For pillow forts?”

“But of course,” Discord smiled, happy to see her excitement shining through the distance still between them.

“You know, all of these rooms seem to be organized by theme,” Starlight said, sending him a sly grin. “I thought you hated order.”

“I like my rooms to have themes,” Discord said defensively. “If you bothered to actually open the door, you’d find a delightfully chaotic mess; no organization whatsoever.”

“This hallway seems to go on forever!” Rarity complained. “If I have to smell one more door-”

“Found it!” Applejack declared.

“Oh, thank hoofness!” Rarity exclaimed, hastily cantering over and throwing the door open. “Let’s find a… sweet Celestia!”

The others filtered into the room, their mouths dropping at the sheer chaos before them. There were paintings, furniture, tapestries, scrolls, books, hair brushes, an entire collection of forks in a case on the wall labeled Cake Escapees, a couple of thrones, and even a bed. 

“Ahhh, the joys of pranking,” Discord laughed, wandering inside.

Something wavy, pink, blue, and green came scurrying out from under the bed on four legs.

Rarity screamed and jumped into Applejack’s arms. “What is that thing?” asked the latter, struggling to keep herself from falling over.

“Lesti!” Discord happily cried, laughing as the wavy thing leapt onto him, smothering his face in its hair.

“It looks like… Princess Celestia’s…” but Starlight stopped, too repulsed to finish.

“Down, Lesti! Down!” Discord commanded. The hairy thing reluctantly backed up and sat down, whining. “Good girl.”   

“Discord,” Fluttershy haltingly asked, torn between amusement and revulsion, “Is that…Did that… Was that Princess Celestia’s… ?”

“Hmmm? Oh, Lesti is Celestia’s old tail. I stole her shortly before Kay-Kay and Lulu turned me to stone. Of course I snapped her up a second tail; I’m not completely immune to how you ponies feel about those lovely long locks of yours.” 

“And you made it come alive?” asked Rainbow Dash, disturbed.

“Yep!” Discord said happily, rubbing Lesti’s head. The wavy tail end seemed to wag. "She likes to pretend to be my wig when we play charades."

“Awww, she’s so cute!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed. “Can I pet her?”

“Sure, she’s pretty friendly,” Discord said. “Although she can get a little testy if she doesn’t have some shampoo.”

“Shampoo?” Rarity faintly repeated.

“That’s what she eats,” Discord muttered, hunting around until he found a bottle and started dragging it towards a ceramic bowl. It depicted an image of Starswirl the Bearded. Scowling at the old unicorn, Discord turned the bowl so he couldn’t see the ancient depiction and squirted the bottle of shampoo, filling the inside. Lesti’s head shot up and she bound over to the dish, climbing within and nestling happily into the gooey contents. Discord chuckled, “That a girl.”

Everypony stared.

“Um, is she sitting in it?” asked Starlight.

“How else is she supposed to soak it all in?” Discord asked, chucking the bottle aside and moving away from the wavy hairball.

“Anypony else find that critter unnerving?” asked Applejack.

Most of them nodded.

“I think she’s adorable,” said Fluttershy, smiling as Lesti rolled around in her bowl.

“Me too!” Pinkie Pie agreed.

Starlight coughed. “Right, um, strange pets aside…Discord? What does that mirror look like?”

“Hmmm? Oh, it’s rather small, actually,” he said. “Celestia had it commissioned as a portable. Terrible idea, given how quickly she lost it. It’s gold with purple gems around the edges.”

“Something that small could take hours to find,” Fluttershy commented, staring at the massive collection of objects.

“Then we’d better get started,” said Starlight, her face one of firm determination.

The hunt began with gusto but, as time wore on, everypony’s energy began to deplete and tempers were on the rise. 

“This place is worse than Goldie Delicious’ cabin!” Applejack complained, tossing an old quilt out of the way to get to a bunch of random junk underneath.

“Who knew Princess Celestia could have so much stuff,” Rainbow Dash grumbled, rummaging through a bunch of drawers.

“Well, when you live a thousand years, you tend to lose a few things,” said Discord, his voice slightly muffled from under the bed. “So you get new things to replace the old things and those things go missing and, well, you get the idea.”

“Why do I get the feeling you were the one responsible for most of the ‘things going missing’?” Starlight murmured, shifting books around on the shelves.

“Is anypony else getting hungry?” asked Rarity while picking through the tapestries. “It seems we’ve been at this for hours.”

“I can pop down to the kitchen and whip something up,” Pinkie Pie offered. “I’m sure Discord has a ton of food options.”

“Indeed I do,” he stated, emerging from under the bed, unsuccessful. “Do you think you can find your way there and back?”

“I’ll figure it out,” she said, hopping out of the room without a care in the world. 

Out of all the ponies, Discord was most confident that she could live up to that claim. 

“Do you think we’ll find the mirror anytime soon?” Fluttershy asked, shifting around a trunk full of trinkets. 

“I don’t think so,” Rainbow Dash answered, slumping down for a rest. “This seems hopeless!”

“Why do you have to be lacking in any organization skills?” Applejack murmured to Discord, plowing her way through a jewelry box. 

“Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony,” Discord testily reminded, pointing at himself. 

“I know, I know,” she snapped. “That doesn’t make this job any easier though. If you had your magic you could just snap that stupid mirror out from wherever it’s hiding!”

“You can thank the Pillars for that loss!” Discord retorted, dropping the search to scowl angrily at the farm pony. “I'll have you know, I’m doing all I can to find the stupid thing in this infernal stuffed body!”

“Well, maybe, if ya hadn’t stolen so much stuff, we would have found it by now!”

Discord opened his mouth to retort but Fluttershy came between the two, flaring out her wings. “Enough!” she snapped, glaring at each of them. “Fighting isn’t going to find the mirror and it certainly isn’t helping our situation. I think everypony should take a break.”

Applejack looked thoroughly chastened as she scuffed her hoof along the ground. “You’re right, sugarcube. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have lashed out.”

“Don’t apologize to me,” she said.

The farm pony looked rather miffed but turned to the stuffed draconequus and sighed. “I’m sorry, Discord. I know you're trying yer best.”

“Yes, I am,” he began, “And I don’t appreciate-” Fluttershy cleared her throat, staring at him pointedly. His ears drooped a bit and he sighed. “Oh, fine. I’m sorry too.”

“Lunch is ready!” Pinkie Pie cried, hopping into the room with a cart loaded down with all sorts of food. “Your kitchen is super impressive, Discord. I found everything in there!”

Every pony but Fluttershy hastily gathered around the cart, piling their plates full of cucumber and daisy sandwiches. The yellow pegasus ventured forward after the crowd had passed. Being a stuffed animal, Discord didn’t think it wise to eat so he reluctantly left the ponies to their food and continued in the search.

“You know, he’s getting quite good at navigating his stuffy self around,” Rainbow Dash commented through a mouthful of sandwich.

“Yeah, he is,” Pinkie Pie agreed. “Hey, is he as squishy as he looks Fluttershy?”

Discord, able to hear everything they were saying, quickly spared the pegasus by shouting, “I can hear you, you know!”

Fluttershy sent him a grateful glance before looking away, her cheeks aflame. Discord frowned, returning to his rummaging. 

We really need to clear the air between us. I hate being at odds with her.

After lunch and yet another hour of scouring, Rainbow Dash’s patience had worn out. “That’s it, I give up! We’ve looked through every corner of this room. It’s not here!”

Discord poked his head out of a shoebox and reluctantly confessed, “There is a chance I may have moved it somewhere else.”

“And you’re only sharing this now?” Rarity cried, her mane slightly rumpled as she glared at him from a classy golden vanity.

“Your house didn’t look this big from the outside,” complained Applejack. “Just how many rooms do you have anyway?”

“Honestly, I’ve lost count,” he confessed, looking apologetic. “I’m sorry to say it, ladies, but Rainbow Dash may be right. I don’t think we’re going to find it.”

“Perfect! That’s just great! We’ve wasted so much time!” the blue pegasus snapped, stomping her forehoof angrily.

Starlight wearily sighed, leaning against the side of the bed. “It looks like we’re going to have to go with Plan B.”

“And what, pray tell, is that?” demanded Applejack.

Starlight looked grim. “You’re not going to like it.”





The candles burned bright in the kitchen of the Crystal Castle, Midnight sitting at the counter, taking a break; even evil alicorns needed to eat. 

She had just finished her daisy sandwich when a letter appeared, the scroll tied together by a seal with a sun on it. Midnight rolled her eyes before breaking it open. 

Greetings Sister,

Our Master thanks you for the dragon tribute. Already it has joined our ranks, serving as an excellent guardian over the castle. I commend you on the gift but I also feel the need to remind you that your lack of presence has been duly noted and met with impatience. The Master’s generosity grows thin. If you do not return by tomorrow, he will send the rest of us to fulfill what you have failed to yet accomplish. 

Sincerely yours, 

Daybreaker

Midnight’s teeth ground together before blasting the scroll into ash. 

“That pompous cake-eating equine!” she snarled. “Who does she think she is? She’s no longer the head monarch. She can’t boss me around. I’ll show her who’s failing… I’m close… I can feel it!”

She left the kitchen in a huff but before she could return to the library, the castle doors opened and the very ponies she’d been tasked with capturing walked cautiously over the threshold. A wicked smile curled over her lips at such good fortune and she crept forward. She was about to leap out of the shadows when something gave her pause.

Not only was her prey on high alert, they were also accompanied by a curious doll that was walking on its own four mismatched feet. Her eyes narrowed. 

Discord. 

She didn’t know why he’d decided to accompany them in such an insignificant form but she wasn’t stupid; she knew what Discord was capable of. He was one of the most powerful beings of this world. She would be a fool to take him on alone. But the Lord of Chaos had decided to completely forsake total control of Equestria and side with the Light, making him both foolish and vulnerable. If she could return him to the Darkness, bring him into the servitude of her Master, the world would fall into glorious ruin! 

A grin began to form as a wicked plan spun within her brain. She’d have to act fast, and she would have to watch for any move from the draconequus, but, if she played her cards right, she would succeed in bringing the Chaos Lord to his knees at the feet of her Master. Before she could execute her plan, however, she needed to feed her curiosity as to why her former friends were here, invading her castle.

She stayed in the shadows, stalking them, her body poised, her senses extended.





“Are you sure Twilight’s not here?” Applejack asked as the ponies nervously moved down the hall.

“I think she probably went back to Tirek when she couldn't find us," said Starlight. "But we should be on our guard just in case. I'm not sure if they left the wyverns or not."

Fluttershy was huddled close to Rainbow Dash, internally shaking all the way down to her hooves. The castle hallways were dark, the shimmer they usually displayed lost in shadow. The whole place felt eerie and haunted, like somepony or creature was watching them, unseen. Discord scurried across the floor beside her, his movements slightly reminiscent to a snake. She smiled, grateful to have him near. 

Before they'd left his dimension, he'd asked to talk to her briefly in private. She recalled the whole experience, a slight blush on her face.

They slid up the slide into his kitchen, Fluttershy closing the door to give them some privacy. 

"So…" she began but paused, unsure of what to say. 

She still couldn't fully look at him. She was too mortified. 

Discord, mercifully, came to the rescue. He scurried over and placed his lion paw on her hoof. She stiffened and he instantly removed it.

"I'm sorry," he muttered. 

"It's okay," she whispered.

"No, Fluttershy, it's not. Though entirely outside of my control, I invaded your privacy. I violated the sacred trust you've given me and I fear no apology will ever be good enough to fix it."

"I…" she stopped, her face a blinding red as her eyes welled with tears, "I nu-nuzzled you. I snuggled with you in my bed!" She sniffed, wiping away her tears. "I took advantage of you."

Discord stared up at her, his plastic eyes devoid of any emotion. She hated it. She hated that she couldn't see into the soul of the draconequus she loved. 

Yes, she loved him. She may be despised by all of ponykind but she couldn't help it. 

Before Discord, her life had been so stagnant. She loved the occasional adventure with her friends but those never lasted. Most of the time she was stuck doing the same thing day in and day out. Not that she had a bad life. She loved caring for her animal friends and helping ponies in need with friendship problems. But Discord brought an unexpected color, a healthy dose of magic to spice up the mundane dances of routine. It also helped that he was made of so many different types of animals. Fluttershy had been attracted to stallions in the past but their features paled in comparison to the unique majesty that was Discord. 

Her face reddened further at the thought of her squeezing said majesty against her chest all night. 

Discord shook his head, a chuckle of disbelief escaping his material mouth. 

"My dear canary horse, only you would think you were the one taking advantage of me."

"But you had no control over yourself," Fluttershy said. "I was the one hoof-handling you all night." Her cheeks could fry an egg they were so full of heat. "Oh, sweet Celestia!" she cried, sinking to the floor and hiding behind her wings in humiliation. "I said things to you! Things I didn't think you'd hear! I called you… I called you Dissy!"

Discord carefully placed his soft paw and talon between her wings and pushed them aside, forcing her to look at his patchwork appearance. 

"You didn't know," he consoled. "And that's okay. The Pillars are the ones to blame for all of this. Once again you saved me, Fluttershy."

She sniffed, wiping her tears away. "Really?"
 
Discord shuffled back and forth on his four feet, his face lowered towards the ground. "After they… did this to me, I was afraid I was never going to see you again. When you saw and won me at that carnival, you saved me from a life I shudder to even consider. And you fixed my arm when Angel…” He stopped, his eagle talons unconsciously rubbing the green thread at the top of his lion arm. 

"Oh, my goodness, Angel! He hurt you and I-!" she looked at his arm. "Did it hurt?"

"A little," he said, sugarcoating the pain. "Nothing I can't handle."

"I'm so sorry," she said. "I can't believe he'd do such a thing! I'll make sure to talk to him."

"Don't worry about it, Flutters. That rabbit and I will probably hate each other until the end of time. It's fine. Besides, what mattered to me was what you did when you saw I was hurt. You took care of me immediately." He fingered the green thread again. “I'm afraid I'm never going to be able to repay you for all you've done for me, my dear."

"I don't expect any kind of reward," she said hurriedly.

"I know," he smiled, his fangs and snaggle tooth showing. "I'm just trying to say that you are the kindest pony I've ever met."

She blushed again but this time in pleasure. "Thank you."

"And, for the record, I'm okay with you calling me Dissy - but only when we’re alone. Can't have anypony else learning I'm a bit of a softie, you know."

She laughed, the weight over her chest already feeling lighter. "Okay."

"I'm sorry for putting you in a difficult situation, for going into your room, and for making you feel uncomfortable," he finished in a rush. 

"It's not your fault," she assured, " but I forgive you."

"Best friends again?" he asked, his paw and claw rubbing over each other nervously.

"The very best," she assured.

They shared an adorable hug -he was so cuddly this way!- and shortly thereafter rejoined their friends in the living room.

Fluttershy shook herself out of her memories and looked down at her secret love, a smile on her face. She was grateful they had been able to reconcile and put what happened behind them before they went with their friends on this venture. 

Eventually the small group reached the room they were looking for and everypony quickly trotted inside except Starlight who held her hoof out, denying Fluttershy entrance. 

"I need to talk to you," she muttered before turning to the others. "Give us a minute."

Discord made to follow but she shut the door in his face. 

Fluttershy nervously shifted from hoof to hoof. "Um, Starlight? Is everything okay?"

"I know how to break Discord's curse."

"What?"

"When I examined him," she said quickly, her eyes shifting this way and that, “I saw the way to set him free. The spell the Pillars used is actually quite ingenious. To them, it was probably foolproof. You see, the cure to unblock his magic and restore his appearance is True Love’s Admission and Kiss.”

Fluttershy felt like somepony had kicked her right in the gut. “W-What?” she squeaked. 

“You heard me,” Starlight said, looking at her knowingly. 

Fluttershy did her best to hide her flaming red cheeks behind her rosy mane. “Why are you telling me this?”

“I think you know.”

Panic filled her chest. Starlight knew. Sweet Celestia, somehow, someway, Starlight knew.

“Is-Is it really that obvious?” she asked, unable to bring herself to look at the unicorn.

Starlight set a comforting hoof on her shoulder. “It is to those who are open to seeing it,” she said. “I’ve known something was between you since we rescued everypony from the changelings. Discord only joined our quest to save you. Nothing else mattered to him. I saw the way you two hugged after you were freed and I’ve noticed things between you ever since. 

“Look, I’m not going to force you to break the spell but I can tell you that if we ever want the old, powerful Discord back -and we could sure use him right now- you’re going to have to do one of the hardest things a pony can do: confess your heart. And, in case it wasn’t clear, you’ve got my full support.”

Fluttershy’s eyes immediately found hers. Unbelievably, she saw that she was telling the truth. Her vision swam as she lunged forward and wrapped the unicorn in her forehooves and wings.

“I didn't think anypony would understand,” she muttered. "Thank you, for being so accepting."

“You’re welcome,” Starlight said, patting her back before pulling away, offering a smile. “Right; come on; we’ve got a world to save.”

The two ponies quickly went inside, unaware of the shadow above their heads slipping into the room unseen.   

“What kept you?” Rainbow Dash asked the moment the doors were closed.

“Nothing you need to be concerned about,” Starlight said since Fluttershy was too preoccupied to answer.

Discord slithered over to the yellow pegasus. “Are you alright?” he asked quietly.

She let out an undignified squeak. Mortified, she cleared her throat and tried again. “Yes.”

The way he was frowning made her feel like he wasn’t convinced but she wasn’t going to go into any more detail. Forcing herself to trot towards the rest of the group, she tried to put the conversation with Starlight out of her mind. 

“Are you sure this is going to work?” asked Applejack, eyeing the great invention attached to a significant mirror. 

“Trust me,” Starlight said, stepping up to the reflective surface. “I’ve been there before. It shouldn’t take me long to find Sunset Shimmer and the others. I’ll be back in less than an hour, tops.”

“Good,” Rarity muttered, “because something about this castle feels positively dreadful!”

“Maybe that’s because all these shadows are perfect for a big baddie to hide in,” said Pinkie Pie cheerfully, “Or it could be because the whole place lost its luster the moment the Tree of Harmony was destroyed.” 

Everypony gathered close, looking at the shadows in the room. When nothing stirred, Applejack reprimanded the party pony.  

"Dagnabbit, Pinkie, don't go givin’ us a scare! This castle is creepy enough without your help!"

"Sorry," she muttered, her ears flattening.

"Best be gettin' on yer way, Starlight," Applejack continued. "Pinkie's right about one thing: somethin' ain't right about this castle."

"I'll be back before you know it," Starlight promised, stepping through the portal.

The six remaining friends stayed close, none of them trusting their surroundings, hoping for safety and her success.





Starlight felt like she was being pulled through one of Pinkie Pie’s taffy machines. Magic seeped into her body, quickly transforming and clothing it before she stepped out of the stone statue in front of Canterlot High. A now human Starlight flailed her arms as she attempted to gain balance on two legs instead of four. It took a moment but she managed to steady herself.

“I forgot how weird this feels,” she muttered, flexing her fingers.

It looked like the human world was prepping for autumn. Fallen leaves were scattered across the courtyard and a chill hung in the air. Starlight shivered and hugged her arms, wishing that she was wearing a jacket instead of a thin vest.

She started towards the school, her legs slightly wobbly.

"May I help you?"

Starlight whirled around. Standing there in a long black jacket and dark pants was- 

"Princess Luna?"

"Vice Principal Luna, actually," the woman kindly corrected, eying Starlight up and down. "I take it you're one of Princess Twilight's friends?"

"I am," she said, slightly wary, eying Luna suspiciously. "Starlight Glimmer."

She couldn't help her distrust; the Luna of her world was currently working for the forces of evil, after all.

"Sunset Shimmer isn't here," Luna deadpanned, shifting the weight of a heavy bag hanging from her shoulder. "Fall Break started two days ago. The students won't be back until next week."

"Next week?" Starlight repeated, dismayed. "I can't wait that long! Please, can you tell me where I can find her?"

"I can look up her records in the school computer," Luna said, "You can come with me, if you'd like; better than staying out here in the cold."

"Thanks," Starlight said as another cold breeze ruffled her hair. "T-That would be nice."

They headed into the school and walked down an abandoned hallway lined with lockers until they reached the Vice Principal's office.

"Can I ask you a question?" said Starlight, taking the seat Luna offered her.

"By all means."

"I told you I was a friend of Twilight’s but what if I was lying?"

Luna looked up from her computer, her eyes piercing practically into the secret pony's soul. Starlight unconsciously gulped.

"I would be able to tell if you were," the older woman said. She looked back at her computer, unconcerned. 

Starlight let out a strained laugh. "I-I see. How did you know I was looking for Sunset?"

"She's from your world. Both of you are friends of Princess Twilight. It logically makes sense to draw to that conclusion." 

Starlight blinked, unsure of what else to say. Luna finished typing before printing something and holding it out. "Her address," she explained.

Starlight looked down at the paper, at a loss. "I went there the last time I was here but I have no memory of how to get there."

The V.P. stared at the high stack of folders on her desk and sighed.

"I suppose a few more hours of procrastination wouldn't hurt," she muttered, standing up. "Come on; I'll drive you."

"Really?" Starlight's face brightened. "Thank you so much!"

After locking up her office again, Luna led the way out to the faculty parking lot. 

"You've been in a car before?" she asked with some surprise as Starlight opened the car door.

"Yes. Last time I visited, Sunset took me to a huge building with a lot of smaller stores inside. I forget what it was called."

"My guess would be the mall," Luna muttered as she turned the car on. The engine roared to life.

"That does sound familiar."

Luna pulled out onto the main road, heading south. "Why were you here last time?"

"Curiosity at first," Starlight confessed, her cheeks slightly flushed. "But it turned into a magical rescue problem and then a friendship lesson."

"Of course it did," Luna said, unfazed. 

The neighborhoods slowly transitioned from upper to middle to poor, the buildings wearing down as if time were aging them right before Starlight's eyes. Luna eventually pulled over in front of a tiny two story home wedged between other apartment complexes. Starlight faintly recognized it.

"She's the red one," Luna said, pointing.

"Thank you so much for this," said Starlight. "I really appreciate it."

"Happy I could help. If you need anything else, I'll be at the school the rest of the day."

Starlight thanked her again. Luna waved before driving away, leaving the young purple woman standing on Sunset Shimmer's doorstep.

Starlight took a deep breath and rapped on the door, praying that Sunset was home. After a few tense seconds, the door opened. Sunset Shimmer, pony turned human expert, stood in the doorway, her red and yellow hair flowing freely down her back. She wore a dark pink shirt under a black jacket and deep purple pants studded with yellow gems. Her cyan eyes widened and her jaw dropped at the sight of her unexpected visitor.

"Starlight?"

"Hi," she said, waving awkwardly. "Look, I'm sorry for just showing up like this, but I -we- really need your help."

Sunset's brow furrowed as she opened her door further. "Come in."

Starlight quickly shuffled passed, grateful to get out of the chill. 

Sunset's apartment was quaint and slightly messy but Starlight didn't really mind. Right by the front door was a mini fridge next to a desk with two computer screens and several scattered papers on its surface. The desk setup was underneath a loft bed, the wooden staircase attached to the left wall further into the large space. A cozy living room complete with couch and gaming station was on the far side of the room near a door that led into the bathroom. There were a few shelves containing various knickknacks and books and the wall by the staircase proudly displayed three guitars.

Sunset led the way over to the living room. "So, what's going on?" she asked as they both sat down.

"I don't know where to begin," Starlight confessed. "So many things have happened- things I still can't believe- and I can't even fully explain how they even occurred!"

"Wow, wow, slow down," Sunset advised at the sight of Starlight's panicking. "Why don't you show me?"

"Huh?"

"Oh, it's a power I picked up at Camp Everfree. One touch allows me to see and feel things from other people."

Starlight blinked. "That's… a pretty cool power."

Sunset pushed a stray piece of hair behind her ear, a slightly embarrassed smile on her face. "Yeah, it really comes in handy. Would you mind?" She held out a hand. 

"Go right ahead," Starlight invited, extending her own.

Sunset's eyes lit with an ethereal white glow the moment she touched Starlight's palm. Seconds later she pulled away, gasping, her face now holding the same panic Starlight felt.

"I don't believe this!" she rasped. "Starswirl the Bearded is alive? Discord’s reformed? The princesses are evil and are under Tirek's control? The Tree of Harmony is gone?!"

"It's a lot to take in," Starlight consoled. "But now you understand why we need you and the others to come to Equestria right away! You need to help us fix all of this!"

Sunset sat there, horrified. "I talked to Twilight through my book two nights ago. I can’t believe she turned into Midnight Sparkle."

"Midnight Sparkle?"

"That's what our Twilight called herself when she went bad," she quickly explained. 

"Oh."

"Yeah, it wasn't the best introduction. But she's totally okay now," Sunset quickly assured. "I gathered the magic from the others and we were able to change her back."

"Do you think you could do that for our Twilight as well as the others?"

"I think so," Sunset muttered in thought, "But we need to find out if my friends can come with us. This looks like it might take more than a day to fix."

Starlight bit her lip. "I hope they can because at this point we don't have any other options."

Sunset placed a comforting hand on her arm. "I'm sure once we've explained what's going on their parents will let them come. All of them have oddly come to terms with us having magic and saving the day."

"That's good," Starlight muttered, her brow furrowed. "I don't want to take them away from their families but…" 

"I know," said Sunset, completely understanding. "Equestria needs us. We'll do what we can."

"Thank you," Starlight smiled. "So, how do we contact them?"

Sunset whipped out her phone and started punching her thumbs into its surface. After a moment, she set it back down.

"Taken care of. It shouldn't be long before we get a response."

In moments there were several chirping sounds and Sunset picked up the phone again. 

"Yep, they're all on their way. I said it was a code red; that's usually how we say it’s an emergency."

"Oh." After a slightly awkward pause, Starlight commented, "It's crazy how much technology has advanced in this world. You'd think it was magic."

"I know," Sunset agreed. "I'm not gonna lie, sometimes I really miss my horn. But picking things up with my hands is nice too."

They shared a chuckle before the atmosphere turned heavy again, Starlight filling the wait time by explaining Discord's reformation and the Pillars' return from limbo. It was a good distraction since under the surface she felt like her nerves were on fire. She had no idea if her friends were still okay. Her anxiety was about to burst when the first knock finally sounded on Sunset's door. 

Rainbow Dash was unsurprisingly the first to arrive. Rarity came striding in next with her usual grace and poise with Pinkie Pie and Twilight following shortly thereafter. Fluttershy came next, immediately apologizing for being late and Applejack was last, having to finish her chores before Granny Smith would let her leave. 

"Okay, now that we're all here, can we please finally know what’s going on?" asked Rainbow Dash, her impatience clearly showing as she bounced on the balls of her feet. 

"I think the short version is Equestria is doomed if we don't go back with Starlight to save it," said Pinkie Pie, spinning around in Sunset's chair.

"What?!" the others -minus Sunset- exclaimed together in disbelief.

"How do you know that?" Starlight asked before remembering this girl was a Pinkie Pie and therefore prone to the same unexplainable tendencies as her friend. "You know what, nevermind."

"Pinkie's strange ability to know things aside, what does she mean by 'Equestria is doomed' without our help?" asked Rarity, her eyebrows drawn together in concern.

Starlight quickly unloaded everything that had happened. When she finished Twilight looked particularly pale.

"The other me turned into her?" she said faintly.

"Because of this Tirek dude?" asked Rainbow Dash.  

"Yes! And the only way we can save her -and the other princesses- is with your magic," said Starlight, nearly tearing her hair out. "Please, if you don't help…"

Applejack crossed the room and laid her hands on Starlight’s shoulders to steady her. "Of course we'll help, sugarcube."

The others voiced their own assurances and nods. Starlight couldn’t stop herself from crying, she was so relieved and stressed.

"Thank you," she said, rubbing her eyes. "I'm sorry to just dump all of this on you but…"

"Don't worry about it, darling," said Rarity with a comforting smile. "We were planning to spend most of our Fall Break on a small camping trip. This is obviously much more important.”

“Kicking some bad guy to the curb sounds more fun anyway,” said Rainbow Dash, happily pounding her fist against her palm.

“We're more than willing to help," said Fluttershy, sending Starlight a kind smile from her corner of the room.

Starlight looked at each of them, her eyes watering again when she saw their sincerity and determination. They were just like her friends. She sniffled and Applejack handed her a handkerchief. 

“Thanks,” she muttered, wiping her eyes and nose before throwing the tissue in a nearby trash can. “I honestly can’t thank you enough. All of you.”

Sunset gently helped her to her feet and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. 

"That's what friends do,” she said with an assuring, confident smile, “Now, come on; let's go save Equestria."
> Hurt
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fluttershy was desperately trying not to have a panic attack. Starlight had been gone for a while now and the shadows seemed to be growing in the room. Once she was sure she’d actually seen one move but when she double checked there was nothing there but darkness. Still, she shifted closer to Discord, trembling softly. He wrapped his fabric tail around her hoof and gave it a comforting squeeze. 

"I never thought I'd feel uncomfortable here," said Rarity, voicing what everypony was thinking. 

"Yeah," Rainbow Dash muttered, her wings flapping about as she nervously looked around. "This place is giving off some seriously creepy vibes; like the Castle of the Two Sisters."

"Oh, Rainbow Dash, you insult me. My home is much nicer than that old ruin."

Everypony gasped and twisted around. Standing there, her mane and tail waving of their own accord, was Evil Twilight. Fluttershy skittered backward and nearly trampled Discord. Despite his look and size, he bravely stepped forward to protect her, his arms folded as he stared at the new threat.

Twilight looked just as horrible as Applejack's earlier description. Her purple eyes were similar to a dragon's, the pupils thin black slits, the sclera glowing and outlined in magical blue half circles. Her horn also glowed blue and her mouth had fangs like a viper. She was as tall as Princess Celestia, the lower half of her body a purple so dark it appeared as if it were part of the shadows she emerged from. Her cutie mark was different too. Instead of one large eight pointed star there were four; two pink, two a lighter purple.

"What's the matter?" she asked as she stalked towards them. "Not happy to see me?"

"Not particularly," said Applejack bravely, she and Rainbow Dash taking up a defensive stance in front of the others.

"Well, that's rude," Dark Twilight said, still advancing. "I'm just here to talk."

Discord snorted. “Sure you are.”

The alicorn looked down at the draconequus and sneered. "Patchwork materials? That's a nice look for you, Discord -very fitting- but I'm afraid it painfully fails to intimidate. So soft and cuddly; what more can one expect from a useless stuffed animal."

"Discord is not useless!" Fluttershy cried, bravely taking a step forward. 

Twilight smiled evilly. "You would say that, wouldn't you, Fluttershy?"

"You leave her alone, Twilight!" said Pinkie Pie, whipping out her party cannon and holding it at the ready.

Twilight looked like she'd just swallowed a lemon. "It's Midnight, actually. Midnight Sparkle."

"You know, all this fake pleasantry talk is becoming a bit of a bore," said Discord, looking at his stuffed talons. "Why not save us all the misery of an upcoming monologue and get to the reason you're here, Midnight Sparkle. Seriously though, what kind of villain name is that? It's not even terrifying."

"Discord, not helping!" Rainbow Dash said through clenched teeth.

"Yeah, you're making her mad!" said Pinkie Pie.

Midnight was indeed grinding her teeth together, her eyes fixated with hatred on the doll. "You know," she muttered, "you're right. Why waste time inviting you all to join my Master's cause when I know it's pointless? You'll probably bore me to death with some tripe about the ‘Magic of Friendship’. Like that’ll help."

"That's rich coming from you!" said Rarity. 

Midnight smirked. "Well, if you all believe in the friendship we have, why not join me? Together we would be-"

"Oh can you just attack us already?"

Midnight snarled at the interruption and sent a blast of raw energy at the draconequus. Fluttershy scooped Discord into her hooves and dived out of the way but not before her wing got clipped from the attack. She cried out, landing painfully on the floor.

"Fluttershy!"

"That's it!" Rainbow Dash bellowed, zooming towards the alicorn, the others close behind. 

Discord crawled out of Fluttershy's arms. "Fluttershy! Are you alright?"

"My wing," she hissed.

He quickly scrambled to her side, giving it a swift look-over. "You'll be okay," he muttered before his tone turned with a harsh reprimand, "What were you thinking?"

Fluttershy smiled. "I couldn't let anything happen to you."

Applejack’s cry of pain caught their attention and the two looked up just in time to see her slam into the opposite wall. 

"I've got to help," Discord muttered.

"What? No! You don't have your magic!"

"I can at least distract her as a moving target."

"Discord, no!"

But the draconequus had already run back into the fray. Fluttershy watched as her friends each tried and failed to bring down their former friend.

Pinkie Pie was throwing every kind of cupcake she could think of; several hit their mark, stuck to Midnight's coat and hair. One had even hit her in the eye, the pink frosting oozing down the side of her purple face. Applejack had rejoined the fray, her rope tied around one of Midnight's wings. Rainbow Dash swooped in and out of dives, smacking the alicorn on the back of the head every time she was distracted. Even Rarity was throwing things with her magic, going so far as to thrust a vase towards the villain’s head. Discord could randomly be seen slithering in and out of view, smacking at any part of her he could reach. They were all too close for Midnight to get in a good shot without possibly hurting herself so she resorted to flailing and bucking with her legs. 

Fluttershy was just about to join the fray when Midnight blasted everypony away with a shield and disappeared. Fluttershy looked back and forth to see where she went when suddenly somepony seized her from behind. She screamed as she was lifted onto her back hooves, the long forelegs of Midnight Sparkle securely wrapping around her torso, pressing her uncomfortably against her stomach. A rope made entirely of her magic latched around Fluttershy's neck, slightly cutting off her air as she instinctively squirmed.

“Everypony STOP!” Midnight commanded, tightening her grip on Fluttershy.

The pegasus cried out in pain and fear. 

“Fluttershy!” the others shouted.

Discord started to run towards them but Midnight pulled on the magical rope, lifting Fluttershy so she was barely touching the floor. Her eyes bulged and she squirmed uselessly.

“One more step,” Midnight warned, her eyes trained on the draconequus, “One more step and I won’t hesitate to remove her head.”

Discord froze. Fluttershy’s cheeks glistened with tears. 

“You wouldn’t!” Rainbow Dash rasped. 

“Twi-light,” Fluttershy wheezed.

“Shut up!” the alicorn bellowed, squeezing her middle painfully. “Twilight is dead!”

Fluttershy whimpered. “Please.”

Discord growled. “What do you want, Midnight?”

“Insurance,” she answered. 

“Let her go,” Applejack demanded.

Midnight laughed. “Like any of you could stop me! No, I think I’ll keep her. King Tirek will be more than happy to adopt her into our little family. But I’m not completely heartless. Before we say goodbye, I’ll grant her one last request. What will it be, Fluttershy?”

The pegasus looked around at her worried friends. Already they sported injuries. If they tried to fight again, they’d fail. Midnight had made it quite clear she wouldn’t hesitate to kill, given the rope currently wrapped around the pegasus’s neck. Fluttershy didn’t know how long Starlight would be in the Mirror World but if sacrificing herself meant giving the others a chance, then she knew what she had to do. Her eyes landed on Discord. She could almost see his worry and fear through the plastic eyes. 

“I’d like to kiss Discord,” she decided. "Please."

“WHAT?!” 

The cry came from everypony in the room except Midnight. Discord’s jaw had practically dropped to the ground. Midnight elicited a quiet chuckle in Fluttershy’s ear. 

“Fair enough,” she said, releasing her from her legs but keeping the rope around her neck. “But make it quick.” Fluttershy tried to go to him but the rope immediately burned into her skin. “He has to come to you,” Midnight sneered.

“You can’t be serious?” Rarity and Rainbow Dash cried together. 

“Fluttershy and Discord?” Applejack gasped.

“Eh, I saw it coming years ago,” Pinkie Pie said with a shrug. "Never thought Fluttershy would instigate it though."

Fluttershy ignored their comments, instead looking down at the doll, pleading for him to come to her. Midnight tugged on the rope, eliciting a small, painful whimper. It was enough for Discord to finally take action. Blushing furiously, he scurried across the floor and leapt into Fluttershy’s waiting hooves. His paw and talon violently shook as he reached out, cupping the sides of her face.

“Fluttershy,” he muttered, both with tenderness and terror.

Heart pounding in her chest, Fluttershy gathered her courage. She couldn’t back out now. Trying her best to ignore the stares of their friends, she boldly declared “I love you” before kissing the stuffed animal right on the mouth.

The kiss was nothing like she’d imagined. She’d always hoped to taste his actual lips; though the fabric surface wasn't all that bad. It was still soft and somewhat pleasant. The kiss also didn’t last as long as she’d hoped, for after a moment of passion Midnight pulled on the rope so hard that Fluttershy dropped Discord, her hooves instinctively going to her neck as she choked.  

Discord’s body was glowing and growing before he hit the ground. Just as his true form was being revealed, Midnight looped her forelegs once again over Fluttershy’s chest and leapt backwards. 

“Fluttershy!” 

Her tears flew from her eyes, Discord's voice being the last thing she heard before Midnight’s magic encased them completely in shadow, teleporting them away. 

They reappeared in the center of the Canterlot throne room, the pegasus immediately struggling in her captor’s arms.

“Let go of me!” she demanded, her vision swimming in tears.

Surprisingly, Midnight relented, setting the little pony back on her feet. The former Princess of Friendship extended the rope into a muzzle, the pink magic hooking around and clamping Fluttershy’s mouth shut. Without a word Midnight tugged on it, forcing Fluttershy to follow. The pegasus shivered in fear and humiliation, her large eyes frantically taking in her surroundings with each step they took. 

The throne room was dark, massive curtains blocking out most of the sun's rays. Tall candelabras bathed the room in flickering candle light, causing the shadows to dance. A huge throne occupied the dais once housing those of the royal sisters’, its structure dark and menacing. The whole place looked like something out of a nightmare. Tirek was absent but the flutter of wings alerted the two as three horrifying alicorns swooped down from above.

Fluttershy would have screamed if she could. 

Daybreaker, Nightmare Moon, and Heartbreaker were all bearing down on her, their eyes like fire, their grins sharp and mocking.

“What have we here?” Daybreaker asked. “Only one, sister dear?”

“You dare fail the Master?” said Nightmare Moon.

“He will be most displeased,” Heartbreaker snickered, her eyes flashing hungrily at the thought. 

Midnight ignored them, pulling Fluttershy past and securing her hooves and neck within a set of chains attached to the floor. She released Fluttershy from her magic and the pegasus immediately started thrashing against her bonds, her wings beating uselessly at her sides. The chains rattled and the princesses laughed.

“Awww, how cute,” Heartbreaker mocked. 

“Let me go!” Fluttershy begged, her tears thick and fast. “Please!”

“Miss Fluttershy?”

The pegasus gasped as Lord Fancy Pants came trotting into the room, looking worse for wear. His hair was unkempt, his monocle had a slight crack in it, and his jacket was dirty and rumpled. A few cuts were on his face but he still held the same kindness in his eyes that he had the last time they met.

“What is going on here?” he challenged the princesses.

Fluttershy whimpered as Midnight rested a wing across her back and pulled her close.

“We’re just bonding, Fancy,” she said. “And unless you want to join her, I’d suggest you get the king right away.”

Fancy Pants looked like he wanted to argue but each of the alicorns charged their horns in silent warning. He sent Fluttershy an apologetic glance before bowing to the princesses and leaving the room.

“He looks like he’s handling things well,” Midnight smirked.

“As well as can be expected,” Nightmare Moon replied with a shrug. “The only reason he hasn’t been transformed yet is because we need him to keep the rest of the nobility in line.”

“Like any of them could stand up to us,” Heartbreaker chuckled.

“Any who do live to regret it,” Daybreaker said ominously, glaring at Fluttershy.   

The doors of the throne room suddenly burst open and an undignified squeak escaped the captured pegasus as Tirek entered the room. He was large, menacing, and carried himself like a king as he stormed down the hall.

“What is the meaning of this?” he demanded, stopping before Midnight. “I thought I told you not to return without the others. You’ve only brought one!”

“If you would allow me to explain-” 

Tirek slapped Midnight across the cheek. The alicorn painfully hissed from the whiplash but otherwise held her ground. 

“That’s for insubordination,” Tirek snapped. “Now, explain yourself while I decide whether or not to rip off your wings.”

Midnight wiped the blood from her mouth before bowing humbly to the centaur. “Forgive me but I felt it more frugal to bring you the key to an all-powerful ally; one we can use more than those weak ponies you call my friends.”

Tirek glanced over at Fluttershy who remained silent, her fear blocking her voice. 

“Go on,” he said.

“This mare is the key to obtaining Discord,” Midnight revealed. 

“Discord?” he said with some surprise. “That fool is still around?”

“Yes, he is and he is weak,” Midnight spat, staring scornfully at Fluttershy. “He’s in love- with her.”

All eyes turned to the small yellow pegasus at this revelation. Unable to stand the attention, Fluttershy fell to the ground and tried to hide herself behind her wings, her body trembling helplessly. Tirek’s horrible laugh filled the hall, shortly followed by the mocking cackles of the evil sisters.

“That monster actually fell in love?” Nightmare Moon chortled. 

“Oh, and that’s not the best part!” Heartbreaker giggled. “She’s also in love with him! I can feel it all the way over here. It’s one of the strongest I’ve ever felt.” She scrunched her nose. “It's disgusting!”

“Indeed,” said Daybreaker, her eyes flashing callously. “Only one with a defect could love some thing like Discord.”

Fluttershy’s eyes scrunched closed, their words just as hurtful as actual knives striking her heart. She had to remind herself that these ponies were not her friends. The princesses would never say such harsh things. They would be accepting and supportive…wouldn’t they?

“We can use this, Master,” Midnight continued, her eyes gleaming, enjoying the scene. “Discord will come for her. With his magic by your side you will be unopposed! All will bow before you!”

Tirek rubbed his beard in thought, his yellow eyes stirring as they stared down at the small trembling pony. During their scheming Fluttershy could hardly breathe she was so scared but, at the thought of Tirek corrupting Discord, she managed to find her confidence. 

She rose from the floor, gazing unafraid at the tyrant. "I forbid you to touch him!" she cried, flaring out her wings.

Her defiance was taken with a grain of salt. Each of them laughed, Tirek being the loudest of all. Fluttershy's ears fell but she refused to let her stance waver. 

The centaur leaned down, amusement dancing within his dark countenance. "I'm afraid you're in no position to make demands."

"That may be true," she agreed, "but you're nothing compared to Discord! His magic could wipe the floor with you! Literally!"

A small tick near Tirek's eye was the only indication her words had irked him. Fluttershy silently congratulated herself, thinking Discord would be proud. 

"Your confidence is amusing," he said, "but not realistic. It is I who rule this world, not Discord."

"If that's true, may your reign be a short one!"

"Can we play with her now?" Daybreaker asked, circling around Fluttershy from behind. "Surely such disrespect warrants some kind of punishment."

"It does indeed," Tirek muttered, unable to hide his anger this time. Daybreaker licked her lips but her Master held up a hand, preventing her from pouncing. "She will be punished, Daybreaker, but not by any of you."

The princesses looked rather disappointed, Daybreaker staring hungrily at Fluttershy with glaring eyes. The pegasus shivered, her chains rattling as the last of her confidence withered like a plucked flower under a scorching sun.

"What are you going to do?" she asked, her voice barely loud enough for Tirek to hear.

"I'm going to teach you a lesson," he grinned, thrusting out his hand.

Fluttershy gasped as a black magical thread slammed into her chest, its tendrils seeping straight through to her heart. It felt like her soul was on fire, the poisonous invasion flowing through every last inch of her.

The pain reached its apex. Fluttershy couldn't hold back any longer. 

She began to scream. 





The moment Midnight and Fluttershy began to disappear, Discord lunged forward but he was a second too late. They were gone.

“NO!”

He roared, the furious cry a combination of all the different animals he portrayed. His fists slammed into the floor as he closed his eyes, his mind spiraling into a cacophony of panic and despair. 

His Fluttershy -his precious, darling Fluttershy- was gone.

The anguish he felt at the loss of his beloved quickly transformed into desperation.

“I have to find her!” he cried, wildly leaping to his feet.

Before he could snap his fingers, Applejack’s lasso wrapped around his wrist. He whirled around, snarling at her.

"LET GO!"

“Don’t think yer the only one who wants to rush off and rescue her!” she said, voice raw and eyes glossy. “The truth is that wouldn’t do anypony any good! I don’t know how but she managed to free ya with that kiss, knowin’ you’d be more useful in a rescue as yourself than as a doll. Don’t waste her sacrifice.”

“You expect me to just sit around and do nothing?” he demanded, his voice dangerous and low. “I can easily defeat that alicorn without any of your help!”

“But where is that alicorn taking her?” Applejack demanded. 

“It doesn’t matter!”

“It sure as apples does!” she snapped. “She said so herself; she’s taking her to Tirek, the centaur who easily captured and stole your magic!”

“My guard was down last time,” Discord said, his paw lifting again. “This time, I’ll be ready. This time, I won’t be fooled.”

He snapped but nothing happened. He snapped again. And again. No result.

"Um, is that supposed to happen?" asked Pinkie Pie nervously.

Discord let out another roar of frustration before punching the nearest wall. The stone immediately cracked.

"D-Discord?" Rainbow Dash cautiously probed.

He could feel their concerned stares. Growling, he angrily stared down at his hands.

"Curse you, Amity! I've been away from chaos for almost twenty four hours," he bitterly explained. "That infernal spell prevented me from absorbing anything. It's going to take me at least an hour to refill my reserves. Stupid Pillars! Stupid Rainbow!"

"Hey!" Rainbow Dash complained.

"Not you!" Discord snapped. "The Rainbow: Amity's beloved weapon. I swear, I hate that thing! Every time it slams into me, it takes about a day to replenish what it washes out. Do you know how torturous it was, being a statue and feeling that pitiful amount of chaos the Rainbow left and never being able to use it? She left it there to mock me, I know she did! It was to be a taste of what I once had; a taste that could never be satisfied. Being the doll was just as bad. All the chaos surrounding me and I was unable to touch it. Well, I can touch it now! And once I've absorbed enough, I'm going to obliterate every living thing that prevents me from reaching Fluttershy!"

"Hang on there, partner!" Applejack bellowed, shoving her front hooves into his chest. 

Discord angrily pushed her away. "Save it, AJ; I'm not in the mood."

"You can't go obliterating everypony," she argued, unfazed by his snarl.

"Yeah! Some of those meanies are our friends!" said Pinkie Pie.

"They were never mine!" 

"Even Twilight?"

Discord froze. Starlight Glimmer had returned, her gaze filled with reproach as she stepped away from the other ponies behind her. 

"I know why you're hurting," she said, walking over to him. 

"No, you don't," he growled. 

"I do," she countered. "I came back just as Twilight and Fluttershy disappeared. I saw it happen. She kissed you, just like I suggested."

"What?" Discord whirled around, temporarily thrown from his vengeful thoughts. "You-"

"Well, you clearly weren't going to tell her how to break your curse," she defended. "I figured I'd help move things along. I've known about you two for months anyway."

"You've…known?"

"Well, I suspected," she corrected. "Neither of you were that good at hiding it."

"Um, none of us saw it," Rainbow Dash countered, folding her hooves.

"I did!" Pinkie Pie cried, bouncing up and down between Starlight and Discord. "One hundred percent approve of it too, just so you know!"

Discord pushed her back. "Thank you, Pinkie, but that still doesn't-"

He froze. 

Standing near the mirror looking scared and confused, was-

"Fluttershy?!"

He bolted across the room almost as fast as teleporting, scooping the terrified pegasus up into his arms. She screamed and began to flail.

"Help!" she cried.

"Let her go!"

Several hooves latched onto Fluttershy and forcefully removed her from Discord. The draconequus snarled but before he could attack, Starlight stopped him with a spell.

"I’ll turn you into a plant if you don’t release me at once, Starlight!" he bellowed.

"That's not your Fluttershy!" she shouted right back in his face, throwing her hoof out towards the yellow pegasus currently whimpering under Rainbow Dash's protective wing. “Yours was just taken by Midnight Sparkle, remember?”

Discord felt like he’d been sucker-punched. He stepped back, taking the time to really study the small yellow pegasus. She looked the same but there was something…off. He smelt the air. The scent of her shampoo was lavender instead of strawberry. She wasn’t his. His heart broke all over again. 

"Another dimension," he finally muttered, noticing the doubles, wingless Twilight included. An amber colored unicorn with a fiery red and yellow mane was with them, eying him distrustfully. He sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "Forgive me, my dear," he said, speaking to the Mirror Fluttershy. "I didn't mean to startle you."

"I-It's okay," she said shakily, a tiny amount of curiosity sparking through her fear as she looked him up and down. "Pardon me for asking but, what are you?"

Discord blinked before puffing himself up in an impressive stance. "Why, I am Discord, Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony; a draconequus."

"Are there more of you?"

"No," the amber unicorn answered before he could. "Thank Celestia for that too; one was more than enough."

Discord scowled. "And you would be?"

"Sunset Shimmer," she introduced. "Twilight’s other student."

Sunset Shimmer. Sunset Shimmer. A tiny light bulb appeared over his head, a small display of chaos; still not enough to save Fluttershy but an improvement just the same.

"Sunset Shimmer," he smirked. "Not the same pony that broke old Kay-Kay's heart some odd years ago?"

The amber unicorn's eyes flashed with surprise before narrowing. "How did you know that? You were still a garden gnome last I saw you."

"Being turned to stone doesn't affect my hearing. Celestia would visit often, sharing her woes- me being one of them. I can't tell you the amount of sob stories I've heard, not just from her either. Never thought I'd meet another of her failures though."

"Hey, she didn't fail me! I failed her!"

She gasped, jaw dropping. Clearly she hadn't meant to admit that to the likes of him. Discord grinned. She scowled.

"You better watch what you say," Sunset warned. "Unlike your friends, mine still have the ability to turn you back into a stuffed animal."

"Is that a threat?" Discord growled, showing his jagged teeth.

"Nopony is threatening anypony!" Starlight cried, jumping between them. "In case you've all forgotten, we're still in Equestria! We need to get back to Discord's dimension before Midnight returns!"

"This isn't over, Shimmer," Discord whispered before sauntering out with the rest of the group.

"Don't take it personally," he heard Starlight say, "he's just trying to vent his feelings."

Discord snorted but held his forked tongue. Starlight was right; they needed to get back to the safety of his own home. He didn't appreciate Sunset Shimmer's immediate judgment though. Her friends obviously looked to her as something of a leader because all of them were eyeing him with distrust. Even Fluttershy looked wary. He hated seeing that look on her face. He had to remind himself that she wasn't her. His Fluttershy loved him. 

"Do y'all really walk around naked," Mirror Applejack asked, shakily trying to figure out how to walk on four legs. 

“We’re ponies,” said Rainbow Dash. “Clothing is optional.”

“But I’d be more than happy to whip something up for you once we’re safe,” Rarity offered.

“That would be much appreciated,” said Mirror Rarity, attempting to walk. “I’ll even help- oof!” 

Like the others, Mirror Fluttershy tried to move forward but tripped. Before she hit the floor a pillow appeared beneath her and she looked up at Discord with wide eyes. He sent her a small, hopeful smile. She hesitantly returned one. 

"Thank you," she quietly muttered.

He nodded. It was a start at least; maybe by the end of this she would trust him. He didn’t like the idea of being at odds with Fluttershy, no matter what dimension she came from.

The other Mirror Ponies continued stumbling and tripping while trying to move around. 

"This isn't going to work," Sunset muttered, reluctantly looking up at Discord. "Can we teleport to your dimension?"

Discord shook his head. "It would reject you if you tried. I would have to teleport you in and I don't have enough chaos stored for that yet."

"Then how are we supposed to get there?" asked Mirror Rainbow Dash.

"By using the door, of course," he said with a raised eyebrow and folded arms.

Sunset Shimmer rolled her eyes. "And where is this door?"

"Back at Fluttershy's cottage."

"It's on the edge of the Everfree Forest," explained Starlight. 

"You guys have an Everfree Forest?" Mirror Twilight asked, looking nervous. "Is it magical like ours?"

"Very,” said Rarity. “It's unnatural too.”

"You know, I take offense to that!" said Discord.

"You would," Sunset grumbled.

Discord hissed at her. "I'll have you know the Everfree Forest is technically my plot of land."

"Since when?" asked Rainbow Dash, voicing the others' surprise.

"Since I rescued all of you from the changelings," he answered, booping her nose. Starlight coughed. Discord rolled his eyes. "Oh, you know what I mean. Anyway, Kay-Kay turned the whole forest over to me. All of you are more than welcome to build a home there. I currently have two residents."

"Two?" questioned Rarity.

"Zecora and Fluttershy. Celestia was more than happy to draw the territory line so it included the home of my first friend. Fluttershy was perfectly fine with it too."

"And we need to get there," Applejack reminded.

"Right," Starlight muttered, turning to Sunset. "If you channel your magic with mine, I should be able to teleport us. Everypony come close."

They all bunched up together, Discord floating directly over the backs of his friends. Starlight and Sunset charged their horns before joining the tips together. There was a flash of light and everypony vanished before reappearing in front of Fluttershy's house. 

Or what was left of it.

Discord stepped away from the others, his eyes wide with unprecedented shock. The house looked like it had exploded from the inside out. Many of Fluttershy’s things, burnt and broken, were scattered throughout the yard. Discord’s cloven hoof bumped into something and he looked down. It was Fluttershy’s teapot, cracked down the middle. The draconequus reached down wordlessly and picked it up, caressing its fractured surface. Countless tea parties flashed through his mind like a movie on fast-forward, the teapot shiny, white, and dearly loved. Discord felt something bubbling up inside his chest; a raging anger he hadn’t felt in a thousand years. 

For a moment his eyes glowed red. 

“I’ll kill him,” he whispered, his voice sounding nothing like anything the ponies had ever heard. “That pompous sniveling centaur is dead. He just doesn’t know it yet.” 

Rainbow Dash nervously flew past into the wreckage to where the kitchen used to be. After a bit of rummaging she called out, “The portal’s still here!”

“Of course it is,” Discord snapped, hugging the teapot to his chest.

“Discord,” Starlight hesitantly began but he silenced her, placing his tail tuft over her mouth. 

“Let’s go,” he growled.

The ponies followed the seething draconequus into the mess, carefully stepping over the scattered pieces of Fluttershy’s belongings. Discord kept his emotions from openly raging, letting them simmer under his skin. He could not believe anypony would do this. Fluttershy was the kindest, sweetest, most harmless pony in the world. The only reason anycreature would destroy her home was if they were pure evil. Yes, before he was reformed he’d picked up her house and spun it like a wheel but he'd never actually broken anything. He was just having a bit of fun. This; this wasn’t fun. This was destruction spurred by hatred. And Discord was smart enough to know that even though it was done by Midnight Sparkle she was just the puppet. Tirek was the mastermind behind this. And he was going to regret it. 

Discord kept vigil as the ponies entered the safety of his realm, his eyes scanning the surrounding area and skies for any possible threat. He almost wanted one of the alicorns to show up- almost. But he held in his anger. Starlight was the last to go through, giving him a worried look.

“I’m right behind you,” he assured.

He took one last look at the cottage, finally noticing the mournful animals at the edge of the forest. 

“I’ll fix this,” he promised them, “And I will get her back.”

The animals said thanks in their own way and Discord nodded to them before entering the portal, Fluttershy’s teapot still clutched in his hands.  

The ponies were gathered in his front yard, smartly staring at his house rather than the purple void swirling in the background. Discord wordlessly entered, leaving the door open for them to come in. 

“Is this… normal?” Mirror Twilight asked as she and her friends nervously looked at the chaotic scenery.

“For me it is,” Discord said, his voice a little clipped. “Make yourselves at home. I’m only going to stay until I’ve absorbed enough chaos to end all of this.”

“Shouldn’t we come up with a plan?” asked Starlight.

“You can plan,” he said before leaping into the tunnel slide that would take him to the rest of the house. 

He slid down, ignoring the ponies’ shouts of protest. He was not in the mood to talk to any of them. He wanted -needed- to be alone right now. 

He was hurt, angry, and terrified. Fluttershy had been taken directly to their enemy, had probably already been changed into some horrific beast, and he seemed to be the only one who cared! Her house had been destroyed and the only thing the others thought about was finding the portal. Couldn’t they see that he wasn’t okay? That none of this was okay?

Discord growled as he wandered down the hall, walking past the doors on the sides and ceiling until he reached his room. He opened the red door and slammed it shut, stepped onto the ceiling before walking up the wall to the floor. He placed the teapot on his dresser right next to a picture of him and Fluttershy before collapsing onto his bed. The blanket on top was a patchwork quilt Fluttershy had made for him two Hearth’s Warmings ago. The draconequus pulled it to his chest and curled up, finally releasing what he’d kept hidden from the others. 

His sobs were hard and deep, his chest heaving painfully, his heart aching within. His mind spiraled into horrible scenarios of Fluttershy being tortured, tranfigured, and murdered under Tirek’s hands. Each thought increased his sobs, his body curling tighter and tighter around the quilt, his head burrowing into the mismatched folds. He stayed that way for what felt like hours, the sorrow slowly transitioning towards vengeance. 

He was just beginning to spiral down a path he could never come back from when there was a timid knock on the door. He stiffened, refusing to move. Whoever it was he would just ignore.

“Discord? Are you in there?”

His heart stopped a moment and he sat up, staring at the door with wild hope. He knew that voice. 

“Fluttershy?” he called.

“Um, yes,” the timid voice replied. “But, not the one you’re probably thinking of.”

Discord’s hope crashed and burned like a kite in a sudden nonexistent wind. He had half a mind to send her away but he couldn’t bring himself to do it; she was still a Fluttershy. 

“May I come in?” she asked.

Discord snapped his tail and the door opened. Mirror Fluttershy stood in the doorway, her expression, at first, one of confusion. Discord watched silently, curious as to what she would do at the sight of an upside down bedroom. To his surprise, she smiled and stepped inside. The door magically closed behind her. She looked up at him, her teal eyes radiating with a kindness and concern so equivalent to his Fluttershy that all the annoyance and anger festering beneath his skin simultaneously fled. Still, his caution remained.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, still curled up in the quilt. 

“I wanted to see if you were okay,” she said. “The others told me not to but I couldn’t stop myself from coming down to look for you. They told me your room was the red door. I’m sorry if it has any hoof marks on it. I’m not really used to being a pony.”

Discord snapped his fingers and suddenly the pony was gone, replaced with a rather beautiful human woman. Her skin was buttercream, just like Fluttershy’s coat, and her eyes and hair were styled the exact same way as his pony’s. He’d clothed her in a green dress with pink butterflies across the bottom; he wasn’t sure if the clothing she came in would have followed her through the mirror so he figured he’d do her and himself a favor. She was incredibly attractive; he couldn’t stop himself from admiring her curves. Some part of him questioned why he would have such feelings but then he remembered that making sense of things was silly. So what if he was attracted to her? She was a Fluttershy; she could be the ugliest fish in the ocean and he’d still find her beautiful.

“Oh!” she cried in disbelief, looking down at her dress. “Did you…?”

“It’s easier to talk to you without you looking like her,” he said, forcing himself to look away from her bosom.

“Is it… temporary?”

“You’ll stay this way as long as I’m alive and since I’m immortal…” he let her finish connecting the dots.

She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and smiled gratefully. “Thank you. Being a pony was an interesting experience but I’m glad to be back in my own body. I’ve always wondered what it would feel like to be a different animal. I’ve even wondered what it would be like to be a tree.” She grabbed her hair and started tugging on it. Discord found the clearly nervous habit adorable. “You probably think that’s weird,” she mumbled.

“My dear, have you met me?” he asked, gesturing to the room around them. “You’re standing in an upside down bedroom in a realm made of pure chaos. Considering becoming a tree is right up my alley.”

She laughed and Discord relaxed at the sound. 

“Is there a way for me to come up there with you?” she asked, her eyes staring up at him hopefully, curiously.

Discord blinked and then smirked, snapping his fingers. Mirror Fluttershy let out a little squeak as she was suddenly flipped upside down and lowered onto the floor next to Discord’s bed; her dress, magically of course, did not flip up over her head during the journey.

“Oh!” she breathed, glancing up and seeing the ceiling and door she’d just been standing in front of. She looked over at Discord, her eyes shining. “That was amazing!” 

Surprised yet pleased, Discord’s tail slightly wagged. “Well, I’m glad you think so.” 

Fluttershy smoothed out the folds in her dress. “Um, may I sit down?”

“Certainly."

Once seated she turned to look at him. “I know it’s a silly question to ask but, are you okay?”

He blinked, once again surprised by this creature. Just like his Fluttershy, her inquiry was not meant to pry but to express kindness. She was extending him an invitation, to voice his thoughts freely without judgment, and, in that moment, he knew he could trust her.

“I’m really not,” he admitted. “I finally learned how Fluttershy feels about me and then I had to watch her get ripped away. I couldn’t do anything; my magic was bound by a curse. Fluttershy set me free. It was the last thing she did before…” He paused, his throat temporarily closing up. He cleared it and shook his head, his ears drooping. “I can’t help but imagine what Tirek is doing to her. He can transform anypony into any kind of monster he wishes. I haven’t seen him do it firsthand but Starlight’s account of him turning ponies into wyverns and the reality of Midnight Sparkle is pretty substantial evidence. I don’t know what I’ll do if I see her changed like the others. I… I’m afraid… 

"I’m afraid of myself, that I’ll react by reverting to the villain I once was. She reformed me, you know. Thousands of years of living, being hated and despised by everypony, and she comes along with her infinite kindness and changes everything. She offered friendship, I accepted, and it’s been the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me. I owe her so much. I care about her more than anypony. If she’s hurt… I’m afraid of what I’ll do.”

He paused, his thoughts returning to the vengeance he'd been thriving in before Mirror Fluttershy’s interruption. 

“I want to kill him,” he confessed, unable to look at her. “I want to inflict every possible pain imaginable and toss him into the fiery pits of the darkest circle of Tartarus. He destroyed Amity’s Tree. He transformed and enslaved the princesses- who I am secretly very fond of but don’t tell anypony I said that! He destroyed Fluttershy’s house and ponynapped her. And now he’s probably torturing her. I don’t know what devil he made a deal with but their power will not be enough to save him from what I have in store.”

After a heavy pause, Mirror Fluttershy bravely reached out and touched his eagle arm. Discord’s dark gaze lightened somewhat as he looked at her. Her expression was chaotic, a mixture of both understanding and reproach. It was mesmerizing. 

“Thank you for sharing your feelings with me,” she said. “I can understand the desire to protect those that you love. But I also know that acting on revenge eventually leads to grief. I may not be your Fluttershy but I do know that I could never support you giving into your anger. I’d rather see you fight and defeat Tirek alongside the others and leave his punishment up to the princesses. I wouldn’t want to lose you to the darkness currently fueling your thoughts. I wouldn’t want to see you fall prey to the same evil that’s clearly consumed him. You’ve risen above that. Don’t go back to it.” 

Discord felt as if a bright ray of sunlight had just exploded into his mind, instantly obliterating every vengeful shadow he had. He glanced down at Mirror Fluttershy’s hand before covering it gently with his lion paw. 

“Thank you, Fluttershy,” he whispered. “I…really needed to hear that.”

She smiled warmly in return. “You’re welcome.”

Discord chuckled slightly, releasing her hand and looking down at the patchwork quilt. “You remind me of her, you know. You both have the same eternal kindness.”

Mirror Fluttershy blushed, her rosy cheeks quite adorable as she tried to hide behind her hair. Discord chuckled again. 

“Are you going to be okay now?” she asked, staring down at her lap. 

Discord took a moment to think about it before nodding. “I really think I will be…can you give me a few minutes to process this profound clarity you’ve managed to present?”

“Oh, of course,” she said, standing up and pushing her hair back away from her face. “If you could, um, help me back down to the door, I can give you some privacy again.”

“I’d be delighted to, my dear,” he sincerely said, snapping his talons together. 

She floated upwards, flipping gently around until her feet touched the ceiling. She giggled, looking back up at him, her eyes sparkling. 

“Thank you.”

“No, Fluttershy,” he muttered as she opened the door, “thank you.”

She sent him one last smile before closing it behind her, leaving him alone. 

Discord rested his chin on the mattress, deep in thought; thanks to Mirror Fluttershy he could finally think clearly. He needed a plan, that was certain; one that could not fail. Every detail had to be carefully thought out and dissected. And so he began to scheme.       

Contrary to popular pony belief, he was not just a carefree spirit. When desired, he could be just as strategic, just as calculating, as Twilight. The only reason he’d failed twice in his hostile takeovers was due to not considering the possibility of failure and making a contingency plan for that. But this time he would. Why? Because this plan involved Fluttershy and Twilight, his beloved pony and a very dear friend. He could not -would not- fail them. Every point had to be covered down to the last detail. And this time he was sure to succeed because he wasn’t going to do things alone.

Conjuring a phone out of nowhere, the Lord of Chaos dialed a well known number. It rang twice before someone answered.

“It’s me,” Discord said. “I need your help.”
> Primeval
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tirek sat in his throne, slightly amused by his newest creation’s attempt to linger in the chair’s shadows. An iron collar, wrapped around the creature’s neck, was secured by a thick metal chain bolted to the base of the throne.

“Are you sure you want to keep it there?” Daybreaker asked, frowning at the yellow abomination.

“Don’t question my reasons, Daybreaker,” Tirek warned. “She’s here because I want her to be.”

The creature hissed angrily, fangs bared at the white alicorn. Daybreaker snarled back. 

“I don’t think she likes you,” Heartbreaker chuckled.

Daybreaker snorted. “The feeling is mutual.”

There was a knock on the door and Nightmare Moon entered with a team of stallions behind her, pulling a large cart with a crate on top. Tirek stood up and met them halfway, the other princesses following close behind. He quickly dismissed the stallions; they fled from the throne room as fast as their scared legs could carry them.

“Did he use all of it?” he asked the moment they were alone.

“Yes, Master,” Nightmare confirmed, opening the wooden box. “Every single shard.”

“Excellent. We don't have much time; that fool could show up any minute. Remove it from the box.”

Nightmare lit her horn. The crate vanished, revealing a very impressive cage complete with collar and chain. The blacksmith, Chisel Forge, had once again proved a master of his work. He'd been in the crown's employ for years and had made most of the armor for the palace guards as well as the cells below Canterlot. Tirek had been skeptical that the earth pony could do this task but was pleasantly surprised as he stepped forward to observe the metalwork. The cage bars and collar were marble swirls of gray and blue. He and the princesses admired the smooth surface appreciatively. 

“Very impressive,” he said, “but will it do what is expected?” 

“Would you like a test run, Master?” asked Midnight.

The centaur frowned. He never thought the Princess of Friendship would be so desperate to prove herself to him but after her failure, any effort to return to his good graces would obviously be sought. He laughed inwardly, amused by her desperation. Under the influence of Darkness these princesses were putty in his hands. 

Due to his lack of response, Midnight grew nervous and bowed submissively, nervously adding, "If that is your wish, of course.”

Tirek gave her a look of consideration, enjoying the visible shaking of her hooves. Her punishment was still fresh on both of their minds and it gave him great pleasure to see that he'd rattled her so. The other princesses watched him earnestly, clearly begging to see further torture inflicted. Daybreaker was practically whining in anticipation. Tirek found their thirst for torture and suffering entertaining.

Feeling that Midnight had suffered enough, he said, “Go on then.”

Midnight released a shaky breath and obediently entered the cage. She clasped the collar around her neck, the glow around her horn and eyes vanishing the moment she stepped inside.

“It seems to be working,” she declared. “My magic is blocked.”

Tirek’s eyes danced with glee. The purple alicorn flinched. “Perfect," he said, enjoying her fear. If not strapped for time, he would have inflicted another display of dominance but he'd have to wait 'til later to satisfy such needs. "Get out of there, Midnight. We need to prepare for our coming guest.”   

Midnight nearly sagged in relief as Daybreaker grumbled in disappointment and Nightmare angrily scowled over her sister escaping unscathed. Heartbreaker grumpily picked up a key to unlock the collar and entered the cage, inserting it into the keyhole. There was a soft click and the restraint fell off. The two alicorns left the cage. 

Midnight stepped up to Tirek and bowed. "Thank you for your mercy, Master."

Tirek snorted. "What you experienced earlier was just the beginning of your punishment, Midnight. We will continue our little session after Discord has been dealt with."

Midnight paled as her sisters gleefully laughed. 

Heartbreaker transferred the key to Tirek and the centaur’s hands wrapped around the small piece of metal. He looked at the cage and released a chuckle of his own. 

“Discord, you fool,” he whispered. “You have no idea what’s coming!”





Shortly after his secret phone call, Discord left his room and returned to the living area. His eyebrows rose as he curiously observed what appeared to be a makeshift class in session. In one corner the unicorns were trying to teach Mirror Twilight and Mirror Rarity how to cast spells. Rainbow Dash was trying to demonstrate the ways of flight to her counterpart. The Pinkie Pies were sitting on the plaid sofa giggling as they ate cupcakes and pulled random things out of their manes and Applejack was trying to help Mirror Applejack learn how to buck her back legs. 

Unsurprisingly Mirror Fluttershy noticed him first from her position on the floor where she was playing with Fluttershy’s demon spawn Angel. The rabbit was happily enjoying her fingers scratching behind his ears. She gave Discord a questioning glance and he sent her a reassuring smile before clearing his throat to get everypony's attention.

"Discord! Um, hi," said Starlight, trotting over. "We hope you don't mind. We were just trying to help the others. They can't really fight if they don't know how their pony bodies work."

Discord smirked. "As entertaining as it would be to see you carry on, we've got work to do."

With a snap of his fingers the Mirror Ponies were gone, the human counterparts of Equestria's heroes in their place.

Mirror Applejack hugged herself. "I'll never take clothes for granted again!"

"I'll hold you to that, darling," said Mirror Rarity, examining her outfit. "My, this is exquisite!"

"Why, thank you," Discord said with a grin, winking at Mirror Fluttershy. "As with Fluttershy, I took the liberty of providing clothes since I wasn't sure yours would follow you into this world."

"What I'd like to know is how you managed to produce attire we'd all actually wear back home," said Mirror Twilight, impressed by her constellation shirt and purple jeans.

Discord smirked. "As your double already knows, Miss Sparkle, I don't always explain things."

He watched in satisfaction as she frowned in disappointment.

"So this is what you really look like?" asked Rainbow Dash, addressing her double. Mirror Rainbow Dash nodded. The pegasus looked her over before nodding her head. "Not bad.”

"I’m not saying I’m ungrateful,” said Sunset, “but why did you change us back?”

"Because you've already mastered how to use Amity's powers this way and we don't have time for you to learn all the ins and outs of ponydom if we're going to stop Tirek before he can completely destroy Equestria."

"Who's Amity?" Sunset asked at the same time Starlight said, "Does this mean your magic is restored?"

"My reserves are almost full," he answered, "and Amity is the Lady of Order and Harmony, my opposite."

"You have an opposite?" several of the ponies cried.

Discord rolled his eyes, producing a bottle of bubbles and pouring them, already conjured, into the bubble dome. The rubber ducks swarmed the small suds, sucking them up in their bills. Mirror Fluttershy ‘awwwed’ over the display. 

"Of course I have an opposite!" said Discord before drinking the rest of the bubbles, bottle and all. "There's a balance to all things in this world. Amity chose long ago to use you ponies as her champions while I decided to remain myself; I prefer doing my own work. The elements and geodes each of you represent are pieces of her."

"I don't believe this," Starlight muttered.

"I think it makes sense," said Pinkie Pie. "Can we meet her?"

"You already have."

"What do you mean?" asked Mirror Twilight.

"Combine the kindness, loyalty, laughter, honesty, generosity, and magic each of you have always shown each other and that's Amity," said Discord as he sat down and leaned back in his recliner. He pointed at Sunset. "Although you are a side of her that I suppose Starlight represents in our group."

"What's that?" asked Sunset.

"Empathy," Discord replied, smiling at Starlight's surprise at this revelation. "You shouldn't be so shocked, my dear. Both of you are reformed villains. You have a unique perspective that Amity sometimes needs to get her work done."

Starlight's cheeks darkened, clearly pleased by the revelation. Sunset caught her eye and the two shared a smile.

"As fascinating as this all is," said Mirror Applejack, "you said something about work that needs to be done."

"Right."

Discord snapped his fingers and all of them reappeared in a conference room, each sitting in a different kind of chair. Discord took his place at the head of the table, his chair an overstuffed recliner on wheels. A stapled packet of multicolored construction paper lay in front of each pony and human next to a pen or pencil. A box of cupcakes sat in the middle of the table, each a different color and flavor. Both Pinkie Pies eagerly raided the box; it replenished itself instantly.

"Um, what just happened?" Mirror Fluttershy asked, her chair a wooden throne with flora and fauna carvings along the sides. She also had a crown of fake butterflies and flowers in her hair. 

"Magic, silly!" Mirror Pinkie Pie giggled as she twirled around in her fluffy pink chair. "Discord's about to share his master plan to fix everything and save the day!"

"Indeed I am so listen up!" Discord said. "The key to our success is restoring Twilight and rescuing Fluttershy."

He pulled a chart down out of nowhere with an illustration of each pony, Fluttershy wearing the same crown as her double. 

"And how do we do that?" asked Starlight.

"And why am I sitting in a coach-style airplane chair?" Sunset complained, shifting around in discomfort.

Discord ignored her, changing the slide on the chart with a click from his clicker pen. The image switched to the Canterlot throne room, a crude drawing displaying Tirek on a toilet and the evil princesses standing in front of him.

"I plan to go to Canterlot to confront Tirek about Fluttershy. While I'm battling for her safety, I'll leave open a portal that only Midnight Sparkle will be able to see and penetrate. You ponies will be standing in front of it, perfect bait for our lovely evil princess. She'll swoop right in, the portal will close, and I'll appear a moment later with Fluttershy safely in my arms. We'll change Twilight back using the geode Rainbow Blast and then come up with another plan to defeat Tirek and the rest of the evil princesses."

Every pony and human blinked, before Sunset broke the shocked silence. 

“There are so many holes in that plan!” 

“Like what?” Discord demanded, folding his arms.

“Um, like the fact that Tirek could take away your magic,” said Rainbow Dash.

“Or that the princesses could go all ‘attack now, ask questions later’,” said Mirror Pinkie Pie.

“And how do you know Midnight will even fall for a stupid trick like that?” asked Applejack.

“What if something prevents you and Fluttershy from returning?” voiced Mirror Fluttershy worriedly.

“And do we really know if our geodes are strong enough to do what you expect them to?” said Mirror Rarity.

Discord let out an exasperated sigh. So many questions. 

“Alright, first off, yes, Mirror Rarity, your geodes will be able to revert Twilight back to normal,” he said. “I know because I can feel the Death Rainbow radiating from them all the way over here. As to whether or not the princesses will attack when I first show up, I don’t believe they will. They’re under Tirek’s command and something tells me that centaur is going to want to talk before firing any angry blasts my way.”

“Okay but what about Midnight entering the portal?” asked Applejack. "It seems kind of arrogant to assume she'll just do what you expect her to."

“Oh, I have no doubt she will. She was looking for you five before, remember?” said Discord. “Why didn’t she head off to Canterlot with the others after Tirek changed her? Because he asked her to hunt you down and she’s obligated to obey. She won’t rest until her task is complete. She’ll keep trying over and over until she succeeds. The portal with you five standing in it will be an opportunity she won’t be able to resist.”

“That does sound pretty convincing,” Starlight muttered, “but what about Tirek taking away your magic?”

“It’s a risk,” Discord admitted. “If it happens, I’ll just have to trust that all of you can think of a way to rescue me and Fluttershy. Twilight will be with you though, so you won’t have to figure it out alone.”

“I don’t like it!” Rainbow Dash said, folding her forelegs. “You shouldn’t go in alone. We should go together!”

“And doom Equestria as Tirek takes away all our magic? No thanks,” Discord said, folding his arms with a heavy frown.

“But we can’t risk losing you, Discord,” Starlight argued. “You’re stronger than all of us.”

He sent her a grateful smile. “While I appreciate the praise, my dear, that is not necessarily true. Amity resides inside each of you. Combined together, you achieve her full power, a force even I can’t fight against.”

“Why can’t we just open the portal for Midnight and change her back into Twilight before rescuing Fluttershy?” asked Applejack.

“Because Tirek might take his wrath of losing Midnight out on her and I’m not willing to take that risk,” Discord answered. “I know all of you want to come but if this plan fails, I need to have a backup.”

“And we’re it,” Sunset muttered, understanding.

Discord produced two glittering pink keys and gave them to the Pinkie Pies. “When in Equestria, these keys will allow you to open a portal to my home. All you have to do is stick it in the air and turn. You’ll all be able to enter safely and no one can follow unless you give them permission. If you use it in my dimension, it will open a portal to wherever you’re thinking.”

“Neato!” Pinkie Pie cried, hefting the key in her hoof.

“Why give them to the Pinkie Pies?” asked Rarity before adding, “No offense, darlings.”

“None taken,” they both said cheerfully.

“Because the keys can only be activated by somepony or someone who possesses chaos magic,” Discord revealed.

“Say what?” Pinkie Pie cried. “I have chaos magic?!”

Discord stared. “How else would you explain being able to whip out a party cannon from thin air?”

“I don’t know,” she answered, tapping her chin. “I just kind of think about it and it happens.”

“Chaos magic,” he smiled, waving his paw. “You have a natural affinity for it. Both of you do.”

“That is so cool!” Mirror Pinkie Pie squealed, bouncing up and down.

“Just do me a favor and don’t lose the keys,” said Discord. “I trust you but there are other creatures out there who might figure out how they work and I’d rather not find an unwelcome Doctor in my house.”

“Huh? What doctor?”

“Never you mind,” Discord muttered before clearing his throat. “Right, I think I’ve covered all the bases. Oh, one more thing!” 

He pulled out a card and handed it to Mirror Fluttershy. She glanced down at it, her eyes widening as she looked back up at him in surprise. Discord winked. 

“Keep it secret unless you need it,” he commanded.

Mirror Fluttershy nodded.

The others looked between them, Mirror Rainbow Dash being the first to ask, “What’s on the card?”

Discord swiped it from Mirror Fluttershy’s hand and burned it before anypony could take a look. 

“Seriously, what was that?”

“Nothing,” Mirror Fluttershy said, her face turning as pink as her hair. 

“It sure didn’t look like nothin’,” Mirror Applejack argued.

“What did the card say?” Sunset demanded, turning to Discord.

The draconequus smirked. “Sorry Sunset; need to know basis and Flutters here is the only one who needs to know. And, no, she won’t be telling anyone anything once I’m gone either.”

Mirror Fluttershy nodded, her teal eyes hardening. “No, I won’t. So don’t ask.” Her friends were clearly surprised and a little hurt by her admission. She immediately apologized. “It’s nothing against any of you. It’s just something I Pinkie Promised to keep secret.”  

Every pony and human, reluctantly, curbed further inquiries about the note. Each of them knew the importance of keeping a Pinkie Promise and the consequences that would come from breaking one. 

“Right, I believe that clears up everything we needed to discuss,” said Discord, snapping his talons together. 

The meeting room had been replaced with the living room again, this time accompanied by a suspended cage and a buffet table of every kind of imaginable snack for pony and human alike.  

“Um, what’s with the cage?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“That is what will keep Midnight in place while you work your Rainbow Magic,” Discord answered. “The moment she comes through the portal, it’ll drop on top of her. I suggest you have your geodes charged and ready, ladies, because the cage won’t hold an alicorn for long. Remember, my little ponies, to be standing in the portal’s doorway. Humans, keep hidden. I don’t want to give her any reason to hesitate flying in here.”

“Um, Discord?” Mirror Fluttershy called before the draconequus could snap away. He looked at her questioningly and her cheeks darkened. “Could you attach a bathroom somewhere in here?”

Discord blinked. “Oh, uh, sure.”

He snapped and a door appeared next to the kitchen slide. 

“Thank you,” she said.

Starlight reached out a hoof, placing it on Discord’s arm. “Be careful,” she said. 

He surprised her by pulling her in for a hug. “I’ll try my best.”

The other ponies took this as an invitation, all of them wrapping their hooves around him. Discord chuckled, rather touched. “You silly little ponies and your hugs,” he muttered affectionately.      

“Admit you like them, you big softie,” Rainbow Dash said as they pulled away.

“Not on your life,” he said, laughing.

Sunset approached, rubbing her arm awkwardly. “Hey, we may not have gotten off on the right foot but, good luck.”

Discord shook her hand. Mirror Fluttershy reached for his face. Discord lowered it and she latched on, placing her forehead against his. “Please be careful.”

He smiled at her. “I will be. Take care of yourself.” He looked to the others and raised his paw. “Here goes nothing.”

He snapped, vanishing in a burst of light.





Discord materialized in the shadows of the Canterlot throne room and wrinkled his nose. Everything was so dark and dreary. Where was the color? Where was the individuality? He felt like he’d just stepped into some old horror film.

"All that's missing is the cobwebs," he muttered, his keen eyesight observing the shadows for any hidden threats. 

Near the end of the gloomy room, Tirek sat on a tall black throne outlined in rubies. The four princesses stood at the base of the dais in a slightly ominous half-circle, ready to defend their master at a moment's notice. Discord raised an eyebrow at the classic yet clichéd display of villains.

"Welcome, Discord," said Tirek. "We've been waiting for you."

“I’m sure you have,” he said, quietly snapping his tail tuft and activating the portal to his dimension. It stayed behind his back, small enough that Midnight wouldn't be able to notice it- yet.

"I can't say I like what you've done with the place," he commented, making his way towards the tacky set up. "A bit too 'Phantom Pony of the Opera' if you know what I mean."

"Careful not to insult our Master, Discord," Daybreaker warned. 

The Lord of Chaos stared, finding her fiery persona rather fascinating. The inferno of her hair and tail raged and licked at the air in a blazing dance. How was she not getting scorched? Discord had half a mind to steal her tail so Lesti could have a friend. 

Nightmare Moon and Midnight Sparkle looked like they had stepped out of a nebula, their hair twinkling with tiny stars. 

Once a crusader for love, Heartbreaker now possessed a passion for pain and misery, her broken cutie mark a testament to the fact.

"Celestia, ladies," he greeted with an appreciative eye, "I must say I like the new look; very chaotic and fitting for evil henchponies."

He came to a stop near the base of the dais and folded his arms, glaring up at the large centaur. Tirek looked the same as he remembered except something lingered behind his eyes; something vile and dark. Something…familiar?

Discord mentally shook himself. He needed to focus. His main priority was not Tirek’s hidden partner. It was to find Fluttershy.

"I believe you have something that belongs to me," he said, getting right to the point.

Tirek smirked. "I'm not sure that I do."

Discord's lips pulled back, exposing his sharp teeth. He was not in the mood for games. "Where is she?" he demanded, his voice menacing and low, his pupils glowing bright red.

Tirek bent over the side of his throne and muttered to something in the shadows. The creature that emerged looked like a pony at first but, upon closer inspection, Discord could see drastic physical differences. A pale yellow coat, long rumpled pink hair, fluffy ears, red eyes, fangs, powerful bat wings; Fluttershy looked like the equivalent of a vampire pony. She snarled and hissed, lunging at Discord, a tight metal collar on a chain being the only thing preventing her from succeeding in her attack. 

There was silence. Discord's eyes widened and he blinked, his jaw dropping slightly in surprise. He watched as the bat pony strained and growled, hissing and snapping her jaws, her eyes fixated on his throat. Tirek and the princesses started to laugh, enjoying his shock. Their laughter died prematurely, however, when Discord’s pupils suddenly dilated and his cheeks turned rosy. Letting out a squeal, he flew forward and started hovering just out of Flutterbat's reach, taking in every new feature.

"Fluttershy, you look adorable!" he happily squeed. "I was afraid he'd turned you into something nasty but this? This I can get behind! The ears, the wings, the fangs!" He pulled his hand back before she could bite him. "Now, now, not here, my dear," he chuckled. "There are witnesses about."

"What is wrong with you?!" Nightmare Moon snarled, the first to break out of the villains’ stupor. "Are you not upset that she is different from the pony you knew?"

"Well, I miss her ability to speak but the animalistic behaviors are quite a turn on," Discord replied, petting Flutterbat’s head and pulling back before she could bite him. "Awww, how cute!" He turned to Tirek. "Right, you've convinced me; I'll take her!"

He shoved a handful of cash into Tirek's palms, the centaur all of a sudden wearing an ugly car salesman's suit. Tirek ripped the suit off, threw the money away, and pushed Discord away from him. 

"Enough of this fool’s shenanigans!" he snapped. "Do it NOW!"

A cage suddenly fell over Discord, having been slowly lowered by Midnight until it was right over his unknowing head. 

"Ouch!" he hissed, wincing as the solid metal top smacked into his horn and antler. He eyed the cage and attached collar, unimpressed. "Seriously?"

He closed his eyes, a confident smirk on his face, and snapped with flair. Nothing happened. He opened his eyes and frowned in confusion, snapping again. Still nothing. 

"Something wrong?" Tirek sneered as Discord’s fear plainly began to manifest for all to see.

"What-?"

"What happened to your magic?" Daybreaker asked. "You could say we took a leaf out of Chrysalis' book."

"The metal bars and collar are infused with the remains of her throne," Heartbreaker revealed, chuckling darkly.

Tirek yanked on the chain attached to Flutterbat's collar. The bat pony choked but still continued her futile attempt to attack Discord, her face reddening from a sudden lack of air.

"Stop it!" Discord cried, his fingers wrapping around the bars.  

"Put the collar on and I will."

Discord looked on helplessly, watching as Flutterbat continued in her struggle to reach him. She would likely pass out if she kept it up. Dropping his hands to his sides, his ears and head lowered in defeat. He looked at Tirek hatefully.

"Go on," the centaur commanded, gloating in triumph.

Discord continued to glare as he picked the collar up with his tail and clicked it into place. The centaur let go of Flutterbat's chain and commanded her to be still. Discord's relief was obvious as the bat pony practically collapsed in exhaustion, her chest heaving as she gasped for air.

"Now what?" the draconequus asked, already loathing the metal rubbing against his fur.

Before Tirek could reveal the next phase of his plan, however, Midnight gasped and flared her wings.

"We're being watched!" she cried.

"What? By who?" 

"Don't worry, I'll take care of it!"

She took off, flying straight towards the portal now large enough to see the rest of her old friends. 

"What are you doing?" Daybreaker shouted. "There's nothing there!"

But Midnight ignored her, flying straight towards the portal. "I won't fail this time!" she shouted.

The others gasped when she seemed to vanish into thin air. Discord grinned triumphantly. At least part of his plan had been successful. He feared for what would happen to Flutterbat though. 

I'll just have to trust those ponies and humans to pull off the rescue I failed to do.

"Where did she go?" Tirek demanded, noticing Discord's pleased smirk.

"Somewhere you won't be able to reach her," he answered. 

"You're in no position to gloat!" Tirek snapped.

"No, but I can relish in my own small victory. Twilight won't be very happy with you when she and her friends return. You may have me and Fluttershy for now, but your reign is over. What a shame too; your father would be so disappointed."

Tirek snarled, slamming his hands against the bars. "You will not speak of him!"

"I'm sorry," Discord grinned. "Did I strike a nerve?"

"Shut up! I'm through with listening to your snide comments. You may have taken Midnight from us but you won't see a rescue. You'll be too busy being the beast you fear everypony thinks you are!"

Black magic leapt from Tirek’s fingertips and slammed into Discord’s chest, furiously digging through the skin towards his heart. 

Discord wasn’t aware of the fact that he was writhing on the cage floor. All he knew was that something had invaded his body, the poison hitting his bloodstream and rocketing from his heart towards his brain. It latched onto his memories first, sealing them behind locked doors. Then it attacked his consciousness, twisting his understanding of who he really was into the belief that he was nothing more than an animal, a draconequus, a predator with a need to survive. 

The wicked transformation now complete, the draconequus lifted himself on all fours and roared, the red pupils in his eyes thin and glowing with an angry fire. He sniffed the air, his ears laid back from the sounds of laughter coming from four intimidating creatures. The words 'centaur' and 'pony' came to mind, identifying them. He didn’t know how he knew what they were but they smelt dangerous. The draconequus instinctively backed away, his back hunched and large wings flared as a means of intimidation. Something caused his neck to strain and he looked down, confused by a metal strand attached from the thing on his neck to the barred box he was in. He snarled and bit at the chains, attempting to free himself.

“He has no idea who he is, does he?” the black pony with dark blue hair asked.

“He’s nothing but an animal now,” the centaur confirmed, a wicked smile on his face. He seemed to be enjoying his struggles. 

Why weren’t any of them trying to help him?   

“Poor Discord,” mocked the white pony who had fire coming from her head and rump. “Nothing but a beast.”

She seemed to be talking to him. The draconequus continued to fight against his chains as he wondered why she’d called him that. Was it a name? Was it his? His jaw starting to ache from use, he resorted to using his paw, talons, and dragon foot but it was futile; the restraint remained fixed. 

“Watching him struggle is getting boring,” the dark pink pony complained. “Can’t we do something else to him? Something more fun?”

The centaur walked up to the box and sneered down at the draconequus. “I have something in mind.” His eyes gleamed. “You must be hungry, Discord. I have something for you. But I’d like you to put on a little show for us first; you always were one for flair.”

There was that word again. Discord. That must be his name. And the centaur said he had food? His stomach rumbled at the thought and he licked his lips in anticipation. What did he have? 

“I want you to really play with her before putting an end to her misery,” the centaur instructed, "A good mauling with those mismatched digits of yours. Make her bleed.” 

He wanted a long kill? Discord actually liked that idea. It sounded fun. 

The centaur walked away, heading towards a small yellow thing on the ground. The prey perhaps? He muttered something to it. Discord’s advanced hearing picked up the words “put”, “fight”, and “give up.” 

“Release them both!” the centaur commanded. 

Discord backed away as the fiery white pony approached the box. Stopping several feet back, the horn on her head lit in a dark red glow. The box lifted. Discord bound out of it but was yanked backward by the thing around his neck. He choked and snarled, fighting for freedom, his eyes fixated on the small yellow prize the centaur clearly wanted him to have.

The white pony acted quickly while he was distracted by his prey, swooping in behind and breaking the chain attached to the metal thing around his neck. Ignoring the large ring still rubbing against his fur, Discord charged, his mismatched feet pounding across the ground as he practically flew towards the small yellow creature. It was female and looked like a pony but somehow wasn’t. She had leathery wings that stretched out and beat furiously, hoisting her into the air before his claws and talons could dig into her flesh. 

Discord snarled, his eyes watching the tiny pony as she gained even more height, ignoring the jeers coming from their audience. He would attack and feast on them later; right now he needed to concentrate on hunting the yellow one. She hissed, almost like she was taunting him from above. Discord spread his wings and leapt into the air, relishing the fear that suddenly filled her red eyes. Clearly she had not expected him to invade her heavenly sanctuary. She flew away from him, weaving this way and that, trying to slow him down. It was all for not; he shot through the air like an eagle, quickly closing the distance. He opened his maw…

She turned and disappeared. A wall suddenly flew into view and Discord couldn’t turn in time. His body slammed into it, the force knocking his head and tail against the stone. He grunted and fell, twisting and flapping, attempting to regain equilibrium. Their audience roared with mocking laughter. Ignoring their cackles, Discord barely managed to glide across the floor before hitting the ground. He tumbled, his lengthy body flipping and rolling a few feet until he righted himself with his claws. 

Taking his fall as a sign of victory, the prey gained confidence and went on the offensive. She dived, swooping low and sinking her teeth into his neck, ripping into his flesh and sucking his blood. 

Discord roared angrily and smacked her away, the claws from his lion paw ripping the membrane of her wing to shreds as he sent her flying. The pony landed several feet away, hastily returning to her hooves, hissing in anger and pain. Discord's blood flew from her mouth as she folded her wing against her side, her own blood dripping to the ground. The metallic smell tickled Discord’s nostrils and his hunger grew. 

The pony crouched low, her red eyes watching him warily. Discord began stalking forward, knowing she could no longer fly with that injured wing. He needed to take out her legs. He pounced. She ran. The centaur and other ponies cheered, spurring him on with shouts of encouragement. 

The prey was surprisingly fast for one so small. Discord could have easily overtaken and ripped her legs off but he was enjoying the growing fear reeking from her sweating body. He swiped over and over again, teasing her, taunting her, his claws inching closer and closer with each provocation. 

When her breathing was clearly ragged and her fear was at its peak he decided it was time to strike. He lunged, extending his claws. They sank into her flesh and raked across her body from her neck all the way down to her flank. She screamed painfully as blood immediately stained her creamy coat. Discord relished in the sound and smell. He stopped the chase, dashing up in front of her and swatting with his tail. She tried to jump over the red scales but her back hoof caught on his razor sharp spines. She went down, rolling end over end. He forcefully stopped her momentum, his paw and talons digging into her back. She weakly flailed and tossed her head, her screams even more panicked than before. Her blood was scattered about the room, lingering on his claws. He could almost taste her. His mouth watered, his saliva dripping at the corners. 

Forcing her onto her back, he exposed the tender flesh of her neck. She kicked her back hooves uselessly, her forelegs pinned beneath his paw and claw. She whimpered and cried, her chest heaving, her eyes wide with the fear all prey have when they know they are doomed. She was his. He leaned in for the kill- 

And stopped, his jaw frozen in place, just above her neck. 

“What are you waiting for?” the centaur shouted from across the room. “Finish her!”

But Discord didn’t move. Her scent was a lot stronger in this proximity and had suddenly slammed into him, overpowering the smell of blood. Oddly, he found it…pleasant. 

A warmth spread through him as he buried his nose in her mane and began to explore. She smelt heavenly and strangely familiar. She nipped at him -a defensive reaction- and he snarled reproachfully, drawing back so he could glare down at her. She whimpered and stared uncertainly, fear still her most dominant emotion. He let out a low growl. She communicated with a soft, questioning hiss. Sensing her reluctant compliance, he returned to his exploration, sniffing different parts of her. The more he explored, the greater his certainty grew: he wanted her. As he probed, her body shivered beneath the touches of his snout, her fear slowly transforming into open -even eager- invitation. A very unique, poignant smell began filling the air. She wanted him too. A low purr rumbled in his throat as he lowered his snout to hers. She licked the side of his face. He licked hers, his forked tongue enjoying the feel of her short hair gliding across its surface. The two began to nuzzle.

“WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!” 

Startled, the two creatures pulled back, Discord releasing the yellow pony from underneath him. 

The centaur had been the one who shouted. He was standing several feet away, his anger and confusion palpable. 

“Heartbreaker!" he bellowed, “EXPLAIN!”

“They’ve… imprinted,” the pink pony answered, her tone a mixture of confusion and disgust. 

“They’ve what?” 

“They’ve imprinted,” she emphasized. “He’s claimed her as his mate and she’s accepted.”

“Well, change it!” 

Heartbreaker stepped forward, her horn lit. Discord coiled protectively around his mate and started to growl, the volume growing the closer the pink pony advanced. His mate shivered against his body, digging herself into his fur, seeking security. A strange pink beam shot out of Heartbreaker’s horn, swirling through the air until it divided and slammed into both Discord and his mate. 

He expected pain but nothing happened. The pink attack disappeared and he quickly checked on his pony. She looked a little shaken but otherwise fine. Discord’s relief transformed into anger and he roared in warning, flaring out his wings, hoping the others would understand his intentions. Any who wanted to hurt his mate would have to go through him.

“It didn’t work,” Heartbreaker said, her jaw dropping in shock. “It didn’t work!”

“Why not?” the black pony demanded.

“I don’t know! It should have!”

“Fluttershy, attack him!” the centaur commanded. 

His mate sat up and hissed, not at Discord but at the centaur; a hiss of defiance. 

“You dare-!” 

The centaur started forward but Discord wrapped his arms around his mate and took off. He flew towards the doors, tucking in his head and using his shoulders to force them open. They broke apart, splintering under the force of his speed.

“STOP THEM!” the centaur raged. 

His mate whimpered in fear. Discord squeezed her reassuringly. He wildly searched around until he picked up the scents of the outside world. There! He could see the open sky through a small hole in a colorful wall. He flew towards it and busted through, crying out in pain as the wall shattered, pieces embedding into his shoulders and neck. Several blasts from the centaur’s ponies started coming from behind but Discord flew faster, his body cutting through the air a lot easier than theirs. Eventually they fell behind but still he flew. His mate could be heard hissing in discomfort beneath him but he kept his course, determined not to stop until he found a safe place for them to hide.

He ended up flying for a really long time.
> Amity
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After being beaten by Tirek for her previous failure in capturing her “friends”, the moment Midnight saw them peering out of a portal she knew it was her opportunity for redemption. She’d taken off without really thinking things through. If she hadn’t been driven by fear she would have realized it was all a trap. Now she was standing angrily in a cage in what could only be a room belonging to Discord (there were nonsensical things scattered throughout the whole interior) in front of her former pals. 

“Release me at once!” she demanded, blasting a spell against the bars of her prison to no effect.

“Oh, we will.”

Midnight looked over, surprised to see Sunset Shimmer and her human friends -in their human forms? 

“Just hold on, Twilight,” Sunset continued. “We’ll break you out.”

“As I’ve already told these ponies, Twilight is dead!” Midnight snapped.

“No she’s not!” Mirror Twilight countered, stepping forward. “You tried to claim me and yet I overcame you. And she will too. With the power of-”

“If you say friendship I’m going to kill myself,” Midnight scowled.

“Fine, we won’t say it,” said Sunset. “We’ll show it. Ready girls?”

The humans all stepped up together and the ponies backed away to give them room. Midnight couldn’t help the momentary fear stirring in her chest. But she couldn’t let them see. She could fight them. She was an alicorn! She was all powerful! The Darkness could not be defeated!

The lies were almost believable.

The pendants around the humans’ necks began to glow. Small pony ears appeared on their heads. Their hair grew several feet, extending almost down to their boots. Beautiful outfits, each one uniquely tailored to the wearer, clothed their bodies. Joining hands, they lifted into the air, surrounded by a rainbow of color. Sunset Shimmer and Mirror Twilight, both in the middle of the group, opened their mouths and began to speak as one, their voices both heard and unified.

“Midnight Sparkle, we have come to purge you from Twilight Sparkle, the Champion of Magic for Amity, Lady of Order and Harmony.”

“You can’t get rid of me!” Midnight bellowed, angrily gnashing her teeth. “Your power is nothing compared to my own!”

“We shall see.”

Discord’s house filled with the Rainbow of Light as the seven humans put their hands together and sent a shockwave of magical power towards the dark alicorn. Midnight reared back on her hindlegs, her wings fully spread, her own magical blast pitifully attempting to combat the might of Harmony. The cage was completely obliterated in seconds as the full Power of Friendship slammed into its enemy. Midnight began to scream and writhe.

The Light wrapped around her like a warm hug and refused to let go, the pure energy casting out the Darkness like the brilliance of Celestia’s sun breaking through the clouds. It expanded throughout Midnight’s body, abolishing every ounce of the cancerous shadow Tirek had used to create her. Her body began to shrink, her hair ceased to flow, and her wing span decreased. The Rainbow completed its task and retreated, leaving a smaller, lighter alicorn behind. 

Twilight Sparkle, wrapped in the warmth of Amity’s Light, was gently placed upon the ground. Within her mind, she looked around and found she was in the same ethereal plane as the one she’d been in right before becoming an alicorn. The stars around her began to condense into a specific location, solidifying into the form of an alicorn she’d never seen before.

Her coat was a glistening white and she was tall, taller even than Celestia. Just like the Royal Sisters, her white mane defied gravity, sparkling like diamonds as it waved beautifully in a nonexistent wind. There was not a blemish or flaw on her and her cutie mark was a single perfect rainbow ring. Her purple eyes held a kindness that immediately reminded Twilight of Fluttershy. She started walking towards her, her form radiating with immaculate grace. 

“Twilight Sparkle,” she smiled, her voice soothing and soft, “It is good to see you whole again.”

The purple alicorn knew, without really knowing how, who this alicorn was. “Amity,” she said reverently, hanging her head in respect as well as shame.

For how could she not be? She was tainted. She was impure. She wasn’t worthy.

“My little pony, do not think for a second that you are unworthy to be in my presence,” Amity gently admonished. 

Twilight looked up, startled. “How-?”      

“I know you,” she said. “I know exactly what you are thinking and feeling. It is very similar to what your friends Sunset Shimmer, Starlight Glimmer, and the other Twilight Sparkle went through. And I will tell you the same thing I whispered to them through you: You are still worthy. You have always been worthy.”

Twilight’s eyes filled with tears and before she knew it, she was sobbing. “H-How can you s-say that?” she asked, the words barely managing to break past her heartbreak. “I-I failed t-them. I hurt them! I-”

“You did none of those things,” Amity honestly assured, wrapping one of her perfect wings over Twilight’s back. 

“But Midnight… She's me.”

“Is she?” 

Twilight paused and glanced up at Amity, her confusion comparable to the tender bewilderment of a foal seeking guidance from a parent. 

Amity stared at her unblinkingly. “Think about it for a moment,” she invited, stepping back.

And Twilight did. Was she truly capable of committing Midnight's atrocities? The answer to that was a very swift no. She could never actively seek and take pleasure in hurting her friends. She could never betray them. But Midnight Sparkle had not hesitated. She had maliciously and happily participated in things Twilight would never do. Her poor friends had suffered terribly under her hooves, especially the ones still suffering.

At the thought of them, Twilight’s wings flared and she started to panic.

“Oh no! Spike! Fluttershy! The princesses!”

Amity placed a hoof on her shoulder, steadying her. “Relax, Twilight,” she soothed, “They are not yet lost.”

“But they’re all under Tirek’s control!” she cried. “Because of me!”

“No.” Amity countered. “You are not solely responsible for what has happened. The Darkness, the opposite to my Light, is the main antagonist in all that has occurred. One of its abilities is to seek out and latch onto a creature’s insecurities, magnifying them until the host is eventually blinded to all else. It can then use the weaknesses within to transform them into the worst of themselves to accomplish its sinister purposes. But just because you have weaknesses, Twilight, does not make you unworthy of being one of my Champions. 

“It is alright -needed even- for us to be imperfect. Imperfection allows us to rely on others, to let the magic of friendship grow within our hearts, changing us into new creatures. Long ago you chose friendship and that choice set you down a path that has come to define you. You are not the Darkness that is Midnight Sparkle. You are Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship, because you choose to be.”

“I choose…” Twilight muttered, her eyes widening with understanding.

Amity smiled. “Yes, my little pony, you choose.”

New tears started swelling within Twilight’s eyes and she began to cry, not from sorrow, but from relief. Amity drew her in for another hug under her wing.

“You are good,” she said, nuzzling the young alicorn’s cheek with maternal love. 

“Because I choose to be,” Twilight whispered, “despite my flaws.”

“Exactly,” Amity praised. “Your friends, Sunset Shimmer, Starlight Glimmer, human Twilight, each of them came to this same conclusion.” She chuckled. “Even Discord, though he refuses to acknowledge it. Each of you found the good hidden beneath the flaws and latched onto it. Some of you had to internally dig deeper than others but the fact remains that you now understand that Darkness and Light exist within all of us. It is the individual who decides which master they serve.”

“But, if it’s all about choice, why do you allow us to use your power to stop our enemies?” asked Twilight, thinking back on everyone they defeated. “Aren't we taking away their choice by removing the Darkness within them?”

“Now you’re moving to an entirely different topic,” Amity smiled, “One that I’m afraid I don’t have time to discuss. It has to deal with balance. If you want to know more, ask Discord.”

Twilight stared. “Discord? But, he’s…” She paused, remembering the awful plan Tirek had for him. “He’s probably not himself right now.”

Amity’s lip twitched. If Twilight didn’t know any better, she thought the alicorn might be trying not to laugh. 

“You may be surprised," she said mysteriously. "You are waking now. Let your friends take care of you. And remember, Twilight,” she leaned in, kissing her forehead just below her horn, “You are worthy.”

The shimmering atmosphere slowly began to fade away, Amity’s body dissolving into a million tiny stars. Everything grew black and then Twilight opened her eyes.  

She looked around. The room surrounding her was one of the most orderly she'd ever seen. It struck her as odd for some reason but she didn't have time to dwell on it because of the plethora of pony and human arms suddenly wrapping around her in a death grip. 

"You're okay!" several voices shouted.

"Girls," she gasped, "can't-breathe!"

She was released and looked around at all of her beaming friends. Tears brimmed in her lavender eyes as she beheld their unconditional love and forgiveness. 

"I'm so sorry," she cried, lowering her head sorrowfully. "I didn't mean to… I can't believe I…"

A hand rested on her shoulder and she looked up. Mirror Twilight was smiling at her with an understanding only she could truly know.

"It's okay, Twilight," she said. "We've all done things we're not proud of. We don't hold any of it against you."

"But if you could do us all a favor and never turn evil again, that would be super appreciated!" said Pinkie Pie, she and her double holding out a purple cake. 

Welcome Back! Was written across the surface in pink icing. 

Twilight weakly chuckled. "I'll try my best, Pinkie. But if I do fall again, I know all of you will be here to pick me back up." She turned to the humans. "Thank you so much. I know that without me and Fluttershy, the girls could never have managed to change me back."

"We were more than happy to help," said Sunset with a smile. "You have Starlight to thank for coming to get us."

"It was her idea to begin with!" Rainbow Dash revealed, taking a slice of cake from Mirror Pinkie Pie.

Starlight blushed and rubbed the back of her mane. "Well, I remembered the story of their Twilight needing help being turned back to normal so I figured if they could do it there…"

Twilight embraced her, filled with pride and gratitude. "Thank you," she muttered. "Your quick thinking saved Equestria." She paused, looking around the orderly room. "That and Discord’s dimension. This is his dimension… right?"

"Our rainbow blast sort of affected the house," Sunset revealed sheepishly.

Twilight blinked. "It didn't affect his whole dimension, did it?"

"Oh, no," Mirror Fluttershy assured. "There's still plenty of chaos raging outside."

"Speaking of Discord…" Applejack hesitantly began. "You wouldn't happen to remember what Tirek had planned for him, would ya? We saw ya trap him."

"And we saw that poor Fluttershy has once again turned into Flutterbat!" added Rarity.

Twilight looked down at her hooves ashamedly. Mirror Twilight placed a comforting hand near her withers. She glanced at her gratefully before sharing Tirek's evil intentions. When she finished, everypony and human looked pale, especially Mirror Fluttershy.

"Discord isn't going to do that though, is he?" she asked quietly. "He wouldn't attack her, even if he was a beast. Right?"

Mirror Rainbow Dash put a supportive arm around the pale girl. 

"If there's one thing we now all know," said Applejack, "it's how those two feel about each other. That's got to stand for something, right, Twilight?"

Twilight didn't answer because she really didn't know. Part of her was still completely startled that the two were even romantically involved; how could she miss that development? She knew it was possible for relationships to change. She just never considered that any pony would fall for… well, Discord. And she had played a major part in possibly ruining that relationship! There was a chance that he, at this very moment, was hurting Fluttershy unknowingly. 

"I don't know, AJ," she muttered, unable to look at anypony. "Look at what the Darkness did to me. If I could be so different from myself, who knows what it will do to Discord. He might actually be capable of… Fluttershy might be…"

She couldn't finish. The thought of Discord murdering Fluttershy was not something any of them wanted to voice.

"He won't hurt her."

Everypony and human looked up. Mirror Fluttershy was standing there, her hands balled into fists, her eyes set with a steel conviction.

"Sugarcube…" Mirror Applejack began but Mirror Fluttershy cut her off.

"Discord’s love for Fluttershy is one of the strongest I've ever seen. He won't hurt her. I know it!"

Twilight wanted to believe her but her deep and abiding love for her friends hadn't been enough to spare them from Midnight Sparkle’s actions. Who was to say Discord would be any different from her? She wasn't willing to voice this contradiction, however; the alternative was too dark to think about. 

"What we need to do is focus on rescuing them," said Starlight, slightly changing the subject. "In order to combat the amount of disharmony Tirek has spread, Discord said we need Double Rainbow Power. We can't do that without Fluttershy."

Twilight shook her head. "There's no way we're going to be able to fight our way through all of the defenses Tirek has set up. There are dragons and wyverns, gargoyles, hellhounds, every monster in Tartarus, plus the evil alicorn princesses. I can maybe make it through with my alicorn magic and the Rainbooms could probably get through with their geodes-"

"I'm sorry, the Rainbooms?" Rainbow Dash interrupted. 

"That would be us," her double said. "It's the name of our band."

"You guys are a band?" she said excitedly. 

"Yeah! And it's totally awesome!"

Twilight cleared her throat, giving the Rainbow Dashes a pointed look.

"Sorry," they both said.

"The point is, there are a lot of evil things between us and Tirek."

"But how do you know Fluttershy will even be with him?" asked Mirror Rarity. "He could easily have her in a cell."

"Keep your friends close and your enemies closer," Twilight answered. "Tirek has already been defeated by us once. He's not going to trust anypony else with guarding Fluttershy. That's why he kept her chained to his throne."

"The brute!" Applejack muttered. "I can't wait to knock his jaw in with my back hooves!"

"Yeah, well, get in line," Rainbow Dash growled, pounding her hooves together.

"We'll have to get to him first," Starlight reminded.

"Oh! Oh! We could do what we did with the Storm King and hide like the pirates did in a giant cake!" Pinkie Pie suggested.

"As creative as that would be, darling, I don't think Tirek would be fooled by a large confection," Rarity gently reproved.

"We could always ask our Discord to come and save the day," Mirror Pinkie Pie blurted out.

Everyone stared except Mirror Fluttershy who gave a rather surprised squeak.

"How do you know about Cordy?" she asked, astonished.

Mirror Pinkie Pie gave her a sly grin and a wink. "I've known about you two for ages! And by ages I mean a couple weeks. I saw him sneaking into your window Halloween night. I wanted to check on you, since I know how much you hate scary stuff, but I guess I needn't have bothered because he was already there to do just that! Besides, he was this Discord’s back up in case anything went wrong, right? That's what was on the card he burned!"

There was a monumental pause as everypony and human processed what had just been revealed. And then the questions started. 

"Our world has a Discord?"

"You have a boyfriend?"

"How long has this been going on?"

"He has the same powers as our Discord?!"

“He was in your room?!”

"Can he really help us?"

"You have a boyfriend?!"

"Everypony STOP!" Twilight shouted.

Poor Mirror Fluttershy was hunched over, hiding her very red face in her hands, her shoulders shaking from all the anxiety the parade of questions had brought.

While Twilight was indeed floored by the revelation that the Mirror World had a Discord -she shuddered just thinking about that- if he had the same powers as theirs, he might just be the rescuer they sorely needed.

Sunset placed a comforting hand on Mirror Fluttershy's shoulders.

"Can you tell us about him?" she asked.

Mirror Fluttershy took a deep breath and lowered her hands, her eyes determined to stay focused on her lap as she nodded.

"I'll tell you all I know," she said, "but you have to Pinkie Promise that you won't interrupt me."

They all did, Mirror Rainbow Dash rather reluctantly.

Satisfied, Mirror Fluttershy began her tale.

"We met at a Skull Cruncher concert last year. Yes, I'm a metalhead," she revealed. Every human mouth dropped except Mirror Twilight’s; she seemed to have already known about their timid friend's taste in music. "We were both very taken with each other and ended up going out for ice cream after the concert was over. We exchanged numbers that night and ended up going on ten more dates before making things official. He's pretty old fashioned, which I don't mind in the slightest. I found out he's also attending the college where I take a few night classes. We started getting together on campus in the evenings. With his magic, it's been really easy to move around. I can stay with him ‘til curfew and he can snap me home in an instant."

She paused, pulling on a lock of her hair. "Um, here's the part you all might not like. Cordy is about a thousand years old."

The girls gasped, several of them stuffing their hooves and fists into their mouths to stop commenting; warning glances from the Pinkie Pies kept them at bay.

"You see," Mirror Fluttershy explained, "a thousand years ago he was a very powerful Count in the old world. He was traveling on a boat to complete a business transaction when his ship was wrecked and he washed ashore on an island, the only survivor of his crew. The island he marooned on had a cave and he said something called out to him inside it. He went in and found a talisman. There was a symbol on its surface of a circle with eight arrows pointing in every direction. He picked it up and a beast suddenly appeared."

She looked up and nodded in confirmation to the ponies.

"It was Discord. He said that Cordy had been chosen and then gave him all the information a Chaos Lord needs to know. The talisman then sunk into Cordy's body and he became the Count of Chaos, as he likes to call himself. He's been alive ever since, never aging, never dying. When we found each other, it was like something within us lit up. I can't explain it but it's like we were meant to be together.

"I know you might all find that weird. But I really love him- so much so that we've even talked about making things permanent. It wouldn't be until after I've had a couple years of college behind me, of course. Cordy's more than willing to wait. He's been waiting a thousand years. 'What's a few more?' as he says.

"Anyway, Discord somehow knew about us; I wouldn't be surprised if Cordy told him. The card he gave me before he left said to contact Cordy if we needed a Chaos Lord's help.” She paused, working her lip between her teeth. “I think that's all the important stuff."

There was a long pause as everypony tried to process this information before Twilight coughed and said, "Well I, for one, think we could really use a Chaos Lord right about now.” She looked at Sunset and the others. "I know this news is astronomical for you and I understand each of you needs to have time to process it but right now our Discord and Fluttershy need help and if your Discord can save us from potentially getting wounded during a rescue I say we ask for his assistance."

Mirror Fluttershy was still looking down at her hands, unwilling to face the hurt that could clearly be felt coming from her friends. Each one had a look on their face Twilight had seen many times before. 

“I’m sorry,” Mirror Fluttershy whispered.

“I just wish you could have told us,” Mirror Rainbow Dash muttered, standing up and walking away to the other side of the room, her back to everyone. 

“How long have you been seeing each other?” asked Mirror Applejack, hurt and angry.

“Since the beginning of the summer,” Mirror Fluttershy answered, wiping a stray tear from her eye. 

Sunset sighed and took her hand. She finally looked up. “I think we’re all hurt that you kept this from us,” said Sunset, “but Twilight is right. We need his help. We can work out our feelings later. Can you contact him?”

Mirror Fluttershy nodded before pulling out her phone and dialing a number. 

“Um, Fluttershy,” Mirror Twilight began, “Our phones don’t-”

Mirror Fluttershy held up her finger, her phone now at her ear. After a brief pause-

“Hello, Cordy? …I need you…Yes, right now…”

There was a sudden pop and the equivalent of a human Discord appeared, standing in the air. 

He was tall with broad shoulders, his mismatched body very well-toned. His black hair had small white patches here and there and his beard and eyebrows were exactly like Discord’s. His face was gray, his eyes yellow and red; he even had a single fang sticking slightly out of his mouth. A goat horn and a deer antler parted his hair, both long and fairly close to his skull. He wore a rather tasteful brown collared shirt but the right sleeve had been ripped off, revealing a golden yellow arm. The other sleeve was rolled up to the elbow, exposing a bright yellow forearm and hand. A fitted pinstripe vest, one half blue the other half black, covered most of his torso. His brown pants were the same as his shirt and his dress shoes, one green and the other a lighter brown, were heavily shined. A red tail, exactly like Discord's, extended behind him and two small wings, the same as Discord’s, poked out from behind his back. 

“And I thought Discord was the weirdest lookin’ critter I’ve ever seen,” Twilight heard Applejack quietly mutter.

Ignoring everything and everyone, the Count of Chaos quickly dropped to one knee at Mirror Fluttershy’s feet and produced a polka-dotted handkerchief with a snap.

“Flutterbunny, why so sad?” he asked, wiping away her tears. “Do I need to snap someone into the Bermuda Triangle?”

Mirror Fluttershy shook her head. “T-That won’t be necessary, thanks. My friends… they just found out. About us.”

Cordy blinked before registering the other girls for the first time. “Ah. Well, do they… know about me?”

Mirror Fluttershy nodded. “Even if they didn’t, you’re showing, so it’s kind of a dead giveaway.”

Cordy blinked again before his tail wiggled a bit behind him. “Oh-ho, would you look at that! That’s not going to be a problem, is it?” he asked, giving the girls a bit of a stink-eye. Before any of them could answer, he continued, “Because I think it seems highly unfair to judge someone else for their -ahem- extra attire when all of you can, what was the phrase you used my dear? Pony up?” He then stood up and took a look around, a very heavy frown on his face. “Just where exactly are you, Flutterbunny? This has got to be the most” -he shuddered- “orderly place I’ve ever had the not pleasure of visiting.”

“We’re in Discord’s dimension. This is his house.”

Cordy went over to the window and peered out at the purple void. “Clearly," he said, "But I hardly believe his home would be like this.”

“We had to use our Rainbow Magic to turn a friend back to the Light.”

“Ahhh, that would explain it,” Cordy muttered, frowning at the very white walls. “You don’t think he’d mind if I…?” He held up a hand. Mirror Fluttershy shook her head. Cordy sent her a grin that looked exactly like the Chaos Lord’s before snapping his fingers. 

The whole room transformed into a wonderland of chaos. A huge lava lamp stood in the center, the insides swirling and changing colors. A fuzzy green rug occupied most of the ceiling, an actual tree with fairy lights growing down from the middle of it like some bizarre chandelier. The floor was checkerboard yellow and orange, the walls plaid, polka dot, and abstract. The furniture looked like giant marshmallows, donuts, and pastries and the stairs leading to nowhere descended from one half of the ceiling before stopping in the middle of the wall, an upside down plant hanging from the suspended landing. 

The Pinkie Pies let out loud squeals before diving for the giant donuts and biting into them, unafraid.

“Ahhh, much better!” Cordy sighed, hopping into a marshmallow next to Mirror Fluttershy and wrapping an arm around her. “Now, what, pray tell, are we doing in another Chaos Lord’s dimension? Don’t tell me you’re trying out a new flavor of chaos, my dear, or I might grow jealous.”

Mirror Fluttershy rolled her eyes, a happy smile on her face. “It’s actually a long story.”

“I’ve got time,” Cordy said, lightly rubbing his nose against her cheek.

“Do you mind?” Mirror Rarity cried, aghast, finally managing to get a word in.

Cordy observed her (and the others) discomfort before shrugging. “I don’t, actually, but if I’m making you uncomfortable, Fluttershy, I’ll behave… for now.”

“Behave, please,” she said, her face on fire. 

“Oh, you’re no fun,” he sighed but gave in, noticing Twilight and her friends for the first time. He popped out of existence only to reappear right over their heads, observing them curiously. “My, my, you ponies really are as colorful as Discord described. Where is that old goat anyway?”

“Like Fluttershy said,” Twilight began, feeling heavily annoyed, “It’s a long story.”

Cordy whipped up a cup of tea and sat in midair, his tail slightly wagging behind him. “Oh, I do love a good intrigue! Go on then, magical bird horse. Regale me with your epic tale!"

“Magical-” 

Twilight’s eye twitched before she closed her lids and counted to ten. She had to remind herself just who she was talking to. Only the most annoying human being in the history of the Mirror World! She could get through this. She had to. And so, rather irritated, she quickly and effectively explained everything that had happened from the moment Silvermane showed up in her castle to her reinstatement as Twilight. She left out the part about Amity since she felt it was a rather private moment between her and the Spirit of Harmony. By the time she finished, the look on Cordy’s face was rather intense. He drifted back to the floor and went to the window, his eyes fixed on the purple void. Mirror Fluttershy joined him but wisely kept her gaze averted. She took his hand and gave it a squeeze.

“Can you help them?” she asked.

Cordy looked at her tenderly as he brushed some hair away from her face. “My dear bunny, there’s a Fluttershy in trouble. How could I not?”

“What about Discord?”

“Well, I thought it was obvious I’d rescue him too. The moment Princess Violet Starling over there told me they were in danger I cast a spell searching for their magical signature.”

“My name is Twilight!” Twilight interjected, grinding her teeth.

“Yes, yes,” he said with a wave of his hand. “I think you might be interested to know I’ve located them both. Terrible state they’re in, poor things, but it's nothing your little Rainbow can’t fix.”

“You found them?" Applejack cried.

“Where?” demanded Rainbow Dash.

“They’re not in Canterlot, if that’s what you’re wondering,” Cordy answered, pulling a pair of gloves from thin air, one brown and fingerless, the other fingered and yellow with small black lines running horizontally from the wrist to the fingertips. 

“Then where are they?” asked Starlight, confused.

“In a cave somewhere near Ponyville,” he answered, putting on the gloves. 

"What in Equestria are they doing there?" asked Rarity.

“No idea. I’ll pop over and fetch them and you lovely ladies” -he gestured to the human girls- “have those gems ready. No trying to talk to them. Just blast them as soon as you can. Oh, and ponies? You might not like what you see. Just try to stay out of the way of the Death Rainbow, alright?”

"Wait!" Twilight called because he was about to snap. He raised a bushy eyebrow at her. "It could be a trap. Tirek and the others know how desperate we are to get them back. They might be trying to draw us out."

Cordy frowned in thought, tapping his chin. "I didn't sense any magical energies besides theirs but if it'll make you feel better, I'll stay on guard."

"Please," Mirror Fluttershy said immediately, grabbing his hand. "We can't lose you too."

His small surprise quickly transformed into a happy grin and he kissed her forehead. "I'll be careful."

“Bring them back,” Twilight said, her worry and desperation clearly heard in her voice, “Please.”

Cordy smiled. “I will.” He then unashamedly kissed his Fluttershy on the lips. “Do not let anyone leave this room, alright?” 

“Okay,” she promised, her rosy cheeks matching the color of her hair. “Be safe.”

He nodded before snapping his fingers and disappearing with a faint pop and a stream of heart shaped bubbles. One of them drifted over and popped on Mirror Fluttershy’s cheek. She giggled happily.

“Fluttershy?” said Sunset.

The pale yellow girl nervously turned to look at her. “Y-Yes?”

Sunset smiled. “I like him.”

Mirror Fluttershy happily blushed. "Me too."
> Reunion
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The cave had been the perfect hiding place; large, cool, and devoid of any other critters. Discord carried the bat pony inside and set her down. She tried to inch away but he stopped her with his tail, pulling her back towards him. She hissed in protest, rather annoyed by his refusal to let her rest. Ignoring her, he set to work licking her wounds, her blood metallic and pleasant on his tongue. 

He did his best to clean out the cuts he had inflicted, an apologetic grunt coming from him as she hissed and whimpered under his ministrations. When he reached the deepest gash in her side, she lashed out, her fangs bared as she kicked his snout away. Discord growl angrily, grabbing her forelegs in his talons and pressing her back down with his paw. She squirmed but he pressed harder until she ceased her movements and whimpered in submission. Discord’s forked tongue continued its work but he didn't relieve the pressure of his paw; he didn't trust her to stay put. 

Eventually he was satisfied with his work and released her from his grasp. She tiredly flicked her tail and slightly flapped her wing before lowering her head to the floor. A very weak whiney escaped her lips in thanks. He looped himself around her and curled up like a snake, his head resting near hers. 

She quickly fell asleep but he kept vigil. He didn't know if the centaur and ponies were still after them. If they somehow followed their trail, he didn't want to be caught unawares. His stomach grumbled and he smacked his lips, the faint taste of his mate’s blood still lingering on his tongue. They needed food and water. After sniffing the air, he could tell a pool was nearby, further in the tunnel. With water taken care of, he made a quick decision and uncoiled himself from his mate. Nuzzling her face, he ventured into the darker creases of the cave and grabbed a quick drink before running towards the entrance. He spread his large wings and took off, following his nose.

The smell of pony permeated the area. He wouldn't mind one of those for a meal but his mate might. He had to keep looking. He avoided the pony settlement below and flew further towards a forest, his keen eyes searching for any movement in the dark. After ten minutes, he spotted a buck drinking from a stream. Several wood-wolves were closing in. Discord tucked in his wings and dived. The poor deer was clasped within his claws and lifted off the ground before the wolves could even pounce. It screamed and thrashed. Discord tightened his grip, digging further into its flesh. 

He returned to the cave a few minutes later. His mate was up waiting, her eyes searching the sky. The moment she saw him with the prey in his grasp her gaze became fixed on it and her fangs extended. Discord barely landed and had time to kill the deer before her teeth plunged into its neck. She hungrily began drinking its blood. Her choice of diet somewhat surprised him but Discord didn't complain; the meat was what he cared about. He tore into the deer's hide, beginning to feast.

Once both had their fill, Discord slunk off for water again, his mate staying behind, licking her red stained lips. When he returned, he found her curled up near the cave wall, her red eyes watching his every move. She growled as he came closer, the sound low and deep in her throat, almost like a purr. Her good wing flapped invitingly and she tossed her hair about, her hoof pawing at the ground. That unique, poignant smell from before had returned. Discord crouched a little lower, understanding her implications. He was just about to pounce when something suddenly appeared in the cave in a flash of light.

Reacting on instinct, Discord attacked, a roar already escaping his throat. Before he could make contact with the new threat, however, there was an earsplitting snap and something smacked him in the chest, sending him flying into the cave wall. His head smacked against the surface and he grunted and growled, shaking his head furiously.

"Sorry about that, old bean, but I'm not particularly interested in being mauled today."

Discord's first instinct after clearing his vision was to check on his mate. She was pressed back against the wall, hissing and spitting at the newcomer. 

The creature was unlike any Discord could remember coming across. He was a bipedal, his body many different colors including his wings, horns, and tail. The draconequus sniffed the air experimentally and tilted his head in confusion. The creature, for some reason, smelt familiar. 

Cautious but curious, he slowly stalked forward. His mate hissed frantically at him but he snarled at her, indicating she should stay put. The bipedal remained still, watching his every move. Discord made sure to give an intimidating growl before extending his nose, his nostrils flaring as he further captured its scent. The more he smelt, the more confused he became. His gaze locked with the weird creature's and he tilted his head again.

"We're cut from the same cloth, if that's what you're wondering," the bipedal answered with a nod. "Part of me is rather amused to see you like this but I hate seeing a Fluttershy behaving so savagely. Let's get you two out of here before those terrible alicorns pick up your trail like I did." 

He raised his hand and Discord, taking the action as some form of attack, roared and pounced. There was a loud snap and the draconequus slammed into the bars of another metal box, the bipedal creature standing just outside his reach. Discord roared angrily, slamming against the bars and snapping his jaws.

"Cordy!"

"You found them!"

"You're okay!"

They were no longer in the cave but a colorful enclosed space. Discord, confused and scared by the sudden change of scenery, searched around frantically for his mate. She was there, in the cage with him, huddled near his side, shivering but also hissing angrily at their new predicament.

More bipedal creatures like the first were looking at them along with an arrangement of ponies. Discord quickly crouched in front of his mate and roared, desperate to protect her. Every creature outside of the box clapped their hands or hooves over their ears.

"Who knew Discord could make a sound like that!" said a blue pony with strange rainbow hair. 

"Less talking, more Rainbow Action!" snapped the bipedal he'd originally tried to attack in the cave.

The seven females of his species locked hands and stepped forward. Discord was about to snarl again when one of them gave him pause. Her skin was yellow, her hair a light pink, and her scent… it was somewhat similar to his mate's. He didn't have time to dwell on that oddity for a moment later she was glowing and a huge array of light slammed into his body. 

Every door within his mind instantly flew open, restoring all memories that had been previously hidden away. His sense of self returned and Discord looked up to see a majestic white alicorn standing before him within the confines of his mind. 

Now fully sapient, he immediately rose onto his back legs and looked anywhere but her, his arms folded and his face on fire.

"Oh, don't be like that, Discord," Amity gently chided. "It's been ages since we've seen each other and I don't have long before you wake."

"Oh sure, use that as an excuse," he groused, still unable to face her. "I know you're really here just to rub this in my face, sister dear."

Amity frowned. "Well, it was kind of humorous to see you behaving like a beast. But I'm not happy that it happened."

Discord snarled, whipping his head around, anger and rage causing his eyes to flare red. "Humorous? HUMOROUS?! It was humorous watching me nearly murder Fluttershy?!" 

"I knew you wouldn't."

"That doesn't matter!" Discord shouted, summoning a chair only for the purpose of throwing it satisfyingly across the mental room. "I hurt her, Amity! I hurt her." His wrath transformed into pure anguish and he fell to his knees. He stared down at his mismatched hands, the tools that had caused so much pain and suffering. "I hurt her again," he whispered, disgust and revulsion rising in his chest. "I'm a monster."

A pair of large white wings wrapped around his back as two long forelegs looped around his neck. 

"No, you're not," Amity countered. "You're the best older brother I could ask for. You know that under your own sapience you would never hurt Fluttershy the way you did."

"That doesn't change the fact that I did it," he muttered.

"Discord-"

"No, Amity," he muttered, standing up and pushing her away. "You and I both know what is inside of Tirek and where it came from. Everything that has happened…" He stopped and shook his head mournfully. "I thought it was gone for good."

Amity let out a deep, resigned sigh. "Obviously it's not. But it is its own creature now and should therefore be judged for its own actions. Your choices while under its influence were not your own. They came from it and it alone."

Discord shivered, the ghost of its evil still slithering inside of him, bringing back horrible, haunting memories. Amity placed a comforting hoof on his shoulder.

"I know this is hard for you and I know that eventually everything will be revealed to the others."

"Fluttershy is going to hate me," he mumbled, tears falling down his angular cheeks. He quickly tried and failed to wipe them away before Amity could see. 

"She won't," she countered with certainty. "She understands you better than anypony else. She always will."

Discord shook his head. "I don't think I can face her. Not after everything I've done."

"She's forgiven your past transgressions. This will be no different."

Discord snorted in disbelief. 'Yeah, right."

Amity rested a comforting hoof against his paw. "You know I'm right. She's your match, Discord. She may experience a bout of anger and hurt from time to time but in the end her kindness will always win and she will always forgive you. It's been a well established pattern between you since the moment you met."

"I'd rather you didn't bring that up," he grumbled, remembering how he had forced Fluttershy to change into Fluttercruel.

"You know what I mean." 

Discord sighed, leaning his side against hers. Their heads touched comfortably together. 

"This is an absolute dumpster fire," he muttered. 

"I'd like to think of it as a patchwork adventure," she teased. Discord scowled, shooting her an annoyed glance. "Too soon?"

"Way too soon," he said, his scowl deepening. "You probably found that whole doll business incredibly entertaining."

Amity chuckled. "A bit. But I made sure you were taken care of by your favorite pony, didn't I?"

"Yeah, thanks for the Cutie Map intervention," Discord muttered, still rather sore over the whole affair. "But something tells me you could have prevented the whole thing from happening in the first place."

"Oh, please, you were taking forever to get your cloven hoof through the romance door. I just helped move things along. Besides, you have to admit it was nice to finally snuggle up with Fluttershy."

Discord’s face burned and he pushed his little sister away from him. She laughed, catching herself with her forehooves before completely falling over.

"So, when are you going to tell her?" she asked curiously.

Discord feigned ignorance. "Tell her what?"

Amity grinned, poking him annoyingly in the shoulder. "I think you know," she said in a sing-song voice.

He swatted her hoof away. "Leave it alone, Amity. I'll tell her when I tell her. And it certainly isn't going to be in the midst of all this. Evil baddie needing to be taken care of, remember?"

Amity frowned. "I know, I know. Just, remember, in order for her to be with you she's going to have to a-"

"I know what she's going to have to do," he snapped. "Stop rushing me! Sheesh! We haven't even made it to being special someponies yet. These things take time, Amity."

The white alicorn pouted, folding her forelegs. "I know but I can't help being a little impatient. I've waited centuries for you to find your mate. I'm excited. Especially since she's one of my Champions."

Discord rolled his eyes. "Instead of living vicariously through my love life you should be looking for a creature of your own."

Amity didn’t meet his eyes as she frowned and muttered, "Kind of hard to do, brother."

Discord smirked. "Not my fault you chose to fall to pieces. How are you even here anyway?"

"This is the first time all of my Champions are gathered together in one place. Their closeness made it possible for me to appear to Twilight and to you."

"Wait, Twilight has seen you? You didn't tell her about-" 

Amity smiled slyly. "And if I did?"

Discord frowned. "You didn't. I know you didn't."

"What's so wrong with telling her and the others about our relation?" she asked, a little hurt.

"Do you honestly think the ponies would believe a mismatched animalistic draconequus would have a perfect sparkling white alicorn for a sibling?"

"Fluttershy would."

"Well, of course she would," he snapped. "I'm talking about the others."

"You just don't want to be compared to my greatness," she teased.

He scoffed, hiding behind the fact that was exactly the reason. "Please, your greatness pales in comparison to mine!"

Amity smiled knowingly and flew up, giving him a brief kiss on the cheek. He grumbled but didn't wipe it away. 

"I think you're great just the way you are, big brother." She glanced around, noticing the mental space shifting. "You're beginning to wake up."

Discord glanced around, frowning. "So it would seem." He looked at her and sighed. "It was nice to see you again, sis. Sorry for all the trouble I put you through over the years."

She smiled happily. "It's okay. I'm used to cleaning up your messes."

"Hey!" he protested, lightly shoving her.

She lightly shoved back. 

"Take care of yourself," he muttered.

"And you remember what we talked about," she pressed.

"Which part?"

Amity raised an eyebrow and Discord sighed in defeat. 

"Yes, yes, I know. My actions weren't my own. Thanks for the pep-talk. See you when I see you."

"Bye," she muttered, sadly.

Discord bent down and gave her a hug before ruffling her wavy hair. She giggled and he grinned.

"Take care, kiddo," he chuckled, happy to see her smile.

Amity's smile grew before she burst into a thousand tiny stars. Discord opened his eyes, returning to the mortal plane.

His blurry vision cleared to see a beautiful set of worried teal eyes surrounded by a sea of pink hair. He weakly smiled. 

“I liked the red but the teal is my personal favorite,” he muttered.

“You’re okay!” Fluttershy cried, latching onto him. “Oh, thank Celestia!”

He gave her a tender smile before sitting up, slightly confused but appreciative of his chaotic living room. He finally caught sight of the human Discord and raised a fluffy eyebrow. 

“Your work?” he asked. Cordy nodded. Discord looked around, liking what he saw. “I might make a few changes… once I’ve recovered from that infernal Death Rainbow. Have I mentioned how much I hate that thing? And can we get this infernal collar off my neck?”

Cordy produced a skeleton key and successfully removed it. He was about to blast the collar into oblivion when Discord stopped him. 

“Might prove useful in the future,” he said offhand. “Can you snap it to my room? I’d do it myself but Death Rainbow and all.”

“It’s good to have you back,” Twilight said as Discord shakily stood up on his back hoof and foot.

The draconequus managed a smirk. “Likewise, Princess Bookworm. Gotta say, I’m not a fan of your dark side. At. All.”

“I’m sorry,” she muttered, hanging her head, “To both of you. Fluttershy, I understand if-”

The yellow pegasus cut her off with a hug. “It wasn’t you, Twilight,” she said. “It was whatever dark magic Tirek has. He changed me too and I did things I’m not proud of.”

Her ears drooped and she looked down at her hooves. Discord knew exactly what she was thinking of. He quickly checked his teeth to make sure there weren't any remains of deer. He hadn’t had meat in centuries. Though it was good, he knew how Fluttershy felt about animals. He didn’t want to upset her more than she already was by confessing he was actually an omnivore. After proving himself meat-free, he surveyed the yellow pegasus. Amity’s Rainbow had cured her of all the physical injuries she’d sustained as Flutterbat; his shoulders sagged in relief. 

Is it weird that part of me kind of misses the animalistic look? Don’t get me wrong, I love the way she looks right now but Flutterbat was rather attractive too. Maybe, once this is all over, and an opportunity arises in the future, I could… only with Fluttershy's permission, of course. It would just be the look…well, maybe… 

His claw rubbed the side of his neck where she had bit and started sucking his blood. At the time it had hurt but the thought now was making him feel rather…

The human Discord suddenly elbowed him in the side, pulling him out of his fantasies. Discord scowled, eyeing him questioningly.

“You were beginning to drool,” he explained.

“I was not!” he denied.

“She’s your Fluttershy,” Cordy said with a shrug. “You can’t help it.”

“You seem to have done quite well for yourself too,” Discord commented, watching as the two Fluttershys interacted with their friends. 

Cordy grinned, his tail wagging a little as he watched his beloved smile kindly down at the yellow pegasus. “She’s quite the gem; it only took a thousand years to find her.”

“Only a thousand? I'm rather envious,” Discord muttered, watching his Fluttershy hug all of their friends. "I've been waiting practically since the dawn of this world's time."

"And was she worth it?" 

"Every second," he said without hesitation.

It was good to see the team fully assembled at last. Discord knew they were going to need them -all of them- in order to stop the evil controlling Tirek’s ambition. He shuddered, wishing with all the chaos he had left that he could lock the time he’d spent as a mere beast into the darkest, most forgetful part of his mind. Unfortunately, it refused to move from the forefront. He silently re-lived everything in fast forward, his face slightly tinting pink when he realized that if Cordy hadn’t come along when he did, he and Flutterbat would have… 

He forced the thought away, coughing into his paw.

“You alright?” Cordy asked.

Discord cleared his throat, nodding. Without looking at the Count, he muttered, “Thanks for…you know…”

Cordy nodded, wisely keeping his gaze focused straight ahead. “You’re welcome. Happy to help.”

Overcome by the joy they were feeling, the Pinkie Pies surprised everyone by whipping up a makeshift reunited party, each pulling a miniature cannon out of their hair and exploding confetti into the chaotic room. A cake also appeared and the two Pies happily distributed it to everypony and everyone.

“Are you sure they’re not related?” Cordy asked after accepting a piece of cake from Pinkie Pie.

“If you don't count the chaos magic they use as a form of relation then yes,” Discord muttered, staring down at his cake without an appetite. 

Fluttershy seemed to be feeling the same since she quietly set her cake down and kept her gaze averted, sitting between Rainbow Dash and Applejack. A heavy frown pulled at the corners of her mouth. 

“Pinkie, I don’t think this is exactly the time to be celebrating,” Sunset gently admonished, setting her cake portion on a floating side table. A tongue came out of its little drawer and stole the confection before returning to 'normal'. Sunset stared for a second before shaking off the unpredictability. She continued, “I’m glad everyone here is okay but Equestria is still in great upheaval. Shouldn’t we be coming up with a plan on how to save it?”

“Discord isn’t going to be fully operational for at least twenty four hours,” Cordy reminded before Discord could. “If you want the might of two Chaos Spirits, we have to wait until he has enough energy stored to fight.”

“That should give us plenty of time to make a plan,” Twilight said, taking charge. "As much as I want to forget about Midnight Sparkle, there are certain benefits we can use in her memories. Discord?"

"Yes?" they both answered.

Twilight frowned. "Draconequus Discord."

"Yes?" 

"Do you have a chalkboard and a marker?"

Discord smirked. "I have more than that. Cordy, would you be so kind as to take us to the war room?"

Cordy snapped his fingers and they all reappeared in the same meeting room most of them had been in before. Twilight was at the head of the table this time with both Discords on her immediate left and right, each Fluttershy sitting next to them. Behind Twilight was a chalkboard along with a huge detailed map of Equestria. The princess blinked slightly in confusion at the random scrapbook pages, pencils, and candy confections on the table.

"Ooo, you read my mind!" Discord approved, picking up a flat swirled lollipop and taking a bite out of it, wrapper and all.

Cordy smirked while unwrapping a caramel. "Can't make a liberation plan without the proper equipment."

"I second that!" Mirror Pinkie Pie said, sucking on jawbreaker.

"Just roll with it," Starlight advised, seeing Twilight's coming reprimand. 

The purple princess sighed and nodded, lifting a piece of chalk with her magic.

"Alright, everyone and everypony, pay attention," she commanded. "Being one of Tirek's unfortunate puppets enabled me to learn a little bit about what he has planned. His main focus is taking out us- and by us I mean the ponies. Tirek doesn't know about the Mirror World. And I'd like to keep it that way for as long as possible."

"So besides trying and failing to take us out, what are his other objectives?" asked Applejack.

"To take control over every allied kingdom of Equestria's before moving on to all opposing lands."

"Classic villain world domination," Sunset muttered, "not very original."

"He wants to spread eternal darkness until it dominates the entire world," Twilight clarified.

"With him being the master puppeteer," muttered Rarity.

"I think I speak for all of us when I say I'm not comfortable with that arrangement," Mirror Applejack said with her arms crossed.

"So what's the plan?" Rainbow Dash demanded.

"Yeah!" said her double. "Sitting here isn't doing us any favors."

"Our first move is to find my brother and Flurry Heart and bring them safely here," answered Twilight.

"Um, sugarcube," Applejack delicately interjected, "I know you're concerned about your family -we all are- but don't you think right now we should be focusing on how to stop Tirek?"

"You misunderstand me," Twilight said gently, "I'm not only worried for their safety. I'm worried about Flurry Heart. Now that Midnight is lost to Tirek, Heartbreaker might reveal Flurry Heart's existence-"

"And suggest a new recruit," Starlight said, catching on, her face one of horror.

"Surely Cadence wouldn't do that to her own daughter!" Rarity cried.

"She wouldn't," Mirror Twilight said, "but Heartbreaker could."

"We have to find her!" said Fluttershy, her teal eyes drawn downward with panic and anger. "We can't let that happen to a baby!"

Discord reached out to comfort her but drew back at the sight of his paw so close to her side; the scratches may be gone but the memories were still fresh. Instead he rested his paw on the table and said, "We won't let anything happen to Flurry, Fluttershy. Cordy?"

"Already on it," he muttered, staring intently at Twilight.

"Um, why are you looking at me like that?" she asked, feeling uneasy.

"Well, they're your family," he answered, closing his eyes. "You have the best magical ties and mental imagery of them. Now, one moment, please."

Nopony moved. After a minute Cordy opened his eyes and maniacally sang, "Found you!" before snapping his fingers.

There was a faint pop and Shining Armor, Flurry Heart, and two other stallions magically appeared in an undignified heap on the floor.

"What the-"

"Shining! Flurry!" Twilight cried, rushing over and giving him and Flurry Heart a hug. "You're okay!"

"Twilie?!" he gasped in disbelief. "You're not evil?"

"Sunburst!" Starlight happily left her chair and gave the bearded stallion a hug. 

"Starlight? Where are we?" he asked, looking around, his jaw dropping at the sight of the others' human counterparts. "And what are those?!"

"Welcome to my dimension," Discord revealed. "Please be advised not to look out the windows."

"You'll literally go mad if you do," Cordy said with a grin. 

"Oh, and these are humans," Discord added. "The Rainbooms and Discord Delancy, Count of Chaos, to be exact; creatures that live in the Mirror World."

"The one Twilight chased Sunset Shimmer through when she stole her crown?" the orange stallion with the blue mane asked. Sunset sunk a little lower in her seat, averting her eyes and wincing.

Discord watched with interest as Twilight’s cheeks suddenly darkened. "Flash Sentry! I didn't think you'd be here. Um, yeah, that's the, uh, world I told you about, heh heh."

Discord couldn't resist. He slithered over quietly and muttered near the princess's ear, "Friend of yours?"

Twilight leapt and instinctively shoved Discord away with her magic. "Discord! You know you're not supposed to startle me like that!"

"Sorry, not sorry, bookhorse," he grinned before extending his talons to Flash. "Discord. Nice to meet you, Twilight's coltfriend."

Stallion and mare both stuttered incoherently, their faces as red as apples. 

"Discord, leave them alone," Fluttershy gently admonished, still sitting in her chair.

"As you wish, my dear," he said, popping back next to her.

"Did you bring us here?" Shining Armor asked Discord as he and Flurry sat down in a freshly conjured chair.

"Actually, that was me," Cordy revealed. "Discord isn't quite up to performing powerful spells just yet."

"For a few more hours," Discord grumbled.

Shining Armor looked between the two with slightly narrowed eyes. "While I'm grateful to be reunited with my sister, I can't say I fully trust you. Either of you."

"Perfectly understandable, Shiny," Discord said, taking no offense. Cordy shrugged his shoulders, not caring either way.

Shining Armor gave them one last wary glare before turning back to Twilight. "Is Cadence…?"

Twilight shook her head regretfully. "No. Celestia and Luna are still lost too."

Heartache deepened the frown on his face. "How are you safe?" 

"Discord," she said, nodding to him. "He deceived my evil self and the Rainbooms brought me back."

"And if you're wondering why, it's because the Rainbow only works with a complete set," Discord said as Shining tuned angrily on the draconequus for an explanation. " And I couldn't very well steal all of the princesses from under Tirek’s nose."

"Why not?" he demanded. "Surely you're more than capable."

"One because that would make a lame story," said Discord, counting with his claw, "and two because Midnight Sparkle was the only alicorn capable of falling for such an obvious trap. Like the other princesses, she was hardwired to obey every one of Tirek's commands."

"He'd already asked me to capture my friends," Twilight quickly explained. "Discord used them as bait to lure me here."

"And it totally worked!" the Lord of Chaos said, grinning proudly. "I do love it when a plan comes together." 

"I'm glad we have at least one princess back but can somepony explain why we're here?" Sunburst asked, piping up now that there was a lull in conversation. 

Sunset Shimmer was the one to answer. "The reason for that is this just happens to be the one place the princesses aren't allowed to be."

"Without my permission," Discord added.

"After the Rainbooms freed me from Tirek's control, I was afraid he might seek Flurry as a replacement." Twilight revealed. The small alicorn gave a whimper and Twilight quickly hugged her. "Not that I would ever let that happen."

"We were hiding in the desert," said Shining Armor, “trying to reach the hippogriffs."

"We figured the sea was a good place to hide her," Sunburst said.

"It was a good plan but it would have failed if the princesses were to use the same tracking spell I did to find you," Cordy said while playing with a strand of Mirror Fluttershy's hair.

"How did you do that anyway?" Mirror Rainbow Dash asked.

"He simply used Princess Twilight's aura signature to search for similar auras until he honed in on Flurry Heart and Shining Armor. He probably located her parents too but deduced the aura difference between Flurry's alicorn magic and a regular unicorn's," said Mirror Pinkie Pie, popping a chocolate into her mouth.

Pinkie Pie sighed and forked over a bit. "You beat me by one second."

Cordy's jaw was dangling slightly. Discord chuckled and quietly muttered in his ear. "Chaos relation, remember?"

"I'm not even going to pretend to understand how it is you know that," Mirror Applejack said, pinching the bridge of her nose. 

Sunset cleared her throat. "Well, now that we have Flurry Heart, maybe we should return to planning Tirek’s defeat?"

Twilight forcefully looked away from Flash. "Huh? Oh! Um, right, of course." She walked over to the chalkboard and proceeded to write down a list of names. “You’re all, of course, familiar with our current exchange program at the School of Friendship?” she began before pausing, flaring out her wings. “Oh my gosh! The school! The students!”

Starlight came to the rescue before she could have a full scale panic attack. “I took care of it. Mayor Mare was at Sugar Cube Corner the day you teleported me out of the castle. I told her that she needed to take care of the school until further notice. I’m sure the students are fine.”

Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. “Starlight, I don’t know what I’d do without you.” The light purple unicorn beamed. The princess turned back to the blackboard. “Okay, students are fine; no need to panic. Their nation's leaders, however, are in danger.”

“Whatever do you mean, darling?” asked Rarity.

“Tirek is planning to do to the other royals what he did to us princesses,” she revealed. Everycreature gasped. “He’s already sent out invitations for a Royal Summit through ‘Celestia’s’ royal seal.”

“When is the Summit?” asked Sunset.

“Two weeks from now.”

“We can’t let him get away with that!” cried Pinkie Pie. “Prince Rutherford can’t become a meanie!” 

“And I can’t stand the thought of Thorax becoming like Chrysalis,” said Starlight.

“We just barely convinced Queen Novo to bring back the Hippogriffs too,” Applejack pointed out. “I don’t want to see them running scared back to the sea.” 

“Our standing with the griffons is pretty rocky,” Rainbow Dash muttered, frowning. "If any of them were to get hurt in our kingdom it could lead to war."

“And I shudder to think what Tirek could have Ember command the dragons to do,” Rarity shivered. 

“Dragons?” Mirror Fluttershy quietly squeaked, instinctively grabbing Cordy’s hand. The Count put his arm around her protectively.

Discord glanced down at his own shaking Fluttershy, mentally envisioning all of Equestria on fire. There was no way he was going to allow one of her worst nightmares to become a reality.

“I’m glad to see all of you understanding the gravity of the situation,” Twilight said grimly. “And that’s why we have to act now. Some of these nations’ leaders will already be traveling towards Equestria to make it in time to the Summit.”

“So you want us to intercept them before they get to the capital,” Starlight surmised.

“Yes,” said Twilight, nodding. “We also might manage to get a few of them to rally to our cause. We could really use their help taking out the creatures between us and Tirek. In fact, I’d prefer if they could handle them entirely so we can solely focus on him and the princesses. I’d hate to see them slip away while we were trying to fight our way through.”

“Just how many creatures are we talking here?” asked Sunset.

“For sure? A slew of pony-turned-wyverns, all the beasts from Tartarus, an evil Cerberus, and… Spike,” Twilight said, hanging her head shamefully at that last part.

“Spike?” the other ponies repeated together.

“I thought he was in the Dragon Lands on a diplomatic mission for Celestia,” said Rarity.

“He was,” Twilight muttered. “He finished it and came home.”

“What happened to him, Twilight?” asked Applejack fearfully.

“I -Midnight- he found her in the library and she teleported him to Canterlot,” she whispered, her eyes welling up with tears. “I didn’t see Tirek change him but I saw the after effects. Let’s just say that he’s five times his size, terrifying, and very capable of frying any of us to a crisp.”

Nocreature said anything. 

The thought of tiny little Spike being a fifty foot monster was staggering to Discord. They’d just barely played O&O together a couple weeks ago. Now he was a beast more terrifying than anything found in the game. Discord wasn’t particularly scared -he could hold his own just fine against a dragon- but he didn’t want Fluttershy or any of the others turning into Spike’s next meal.    

“Leave Spike to me,” he said, gaining the others' attention.

“What?”

“No!” Fluttershy cried in horror. “Discord, he’s an evil dragon!”

“I’m well aware of that, my dear,” he said kindly, “But he’s also my friend and I have the magic to deal with him.”

“So do I,” Cordy pointed out. “I’ve always wanted to wrestle with a dragon. Besides, with him being your friend you might hesitate to attack.”

Discord didn’t like to admit he had a point but he was humble enough to acknowledge the possibility.

“If our allies come through, neither of you will have to fight him,” Twilight reminded. “Ember and the other dragons would be the greatest advantage against Spike and I have an inkling that once the Dragon Lord finds out what Tirek has done to one of her own, she’ll be more than happy to get involved.”

“That’s true,” Rarity muttered. “If there’s one thing we can rely on it’s the pride of their race. They will not take kindly to seeing one of their own in such a state.”

“Sure, go with the obvious choice,” Discord griped, folding his arms. 

“Book Horse sucks the fun out of everything,” Cordy grumbled, slouching in his chair.

“Welcome to my world.”

Twilight glared at them. “The might of two Chaos Lords would be better served taking down at least one vengeful alicorn than wrestling a rogue dragon.”

“She's right, Cordy,” Mirror Fluttershy said, resting a hand over her boyfriend’s. 

“And I don’t think I need to tell you how I feel about you fighting a dragon, friend or foe,” Fluttershy muttered quietly next to Discord. 

The Chaos Lords sighed; they knew they had to throw in the towel on this one.

"Fine," Discord said while Cordy muttered, "You win, Flutterbunny."

“But what if none of your allies decide to join us?” Mirror Twilight voiced. “We need to calculate all possible outcomes, right?” 

“We need a back up plan,” Sunset agreed. “What if we split into two groups? Our Discord has already volunteered to keep Spike busy. The Rainbooms could take care of the creatures from Tartarus while the rest of you head into the palace to deal with Tirek and the princesses. That way each group has a Chaos Lord and a Rainbow set.”

“That doesn’t really seem fair though,” Starlight argued. “There’s a reason those monsters were locked up in Tartarus. Each of them will be very hard to beat.”

“Three alicorn princesses plus the mastermind behind all of this will be just as difficult,” Sunset argued back.

Discord had to agree. With Cordy, he was sure the Rainbooms would have enough firepower to deal with Tirek’s minions but it would take him a minute to disable Spike before he could help elsewhere. Some of the girls could end up getting hurt during that time. And then there was the thought of fighting three unrestrained alicorns. None of these ponies had ever truly seen an alicorn fight. There was a reason they were figureheads; if they wanted, they could easily topple kingdoms. Then there was Tirek himself. Discord knew what dwelt inside the centaur. It was going to take a fully charged Rainbow of Light to take that evil out and that meant he might have to take on most of the princesses' attacks while the ladies gathered their powers.  

While he was in the midst of planning, Twilight also seemed to be doing some thinking of her own. She was pacing back and forth, ignoring the others as they volleyed their opinions back and forth across the table. Even the Fluttershys threw in a thought or two.

The purple princess finally stopped and stomped her hoof, regaining the others attention. “If none of the allies join us, Sunset’s suggestion will be our back up plan,” she decided. “But the Rainbooms won’t have to be alone. They can get help if they need it through the Pillars. Starswirl and Silvermane were both changed into wyverns so they’ll be two of the creatures you’ll have to fight. If you can change them back, you can have them and the others to help you fight off the Tartarus monsters.”

Discord blanched. “Do we really have to get those old ponies involved? Surely we can handle this without them.”

Twilight frowned. “In their day they were the equivalent of Element Bearers. Why shouldn’t they fight?”

Discord folded his arms and refused to look at her, his cheeks darkening. “I’m not overly fond of them, that’s all.”

“They were the ones who turned him into a doll,” Starlight said.

“Can we change the subject please?” Discord snapped when it looked like several inquiries were about to spring up from that revelation.

Fluttershy, bless her pony heart, came to the rescue. “While I think gathering the Pillars to help would be a good idea, I’m confused as to how we can even defeat Tirek and the princesses regardless. The Elements were destroyed. The Rainbooms still have their geodes but what do we have?”

The others looked devastated at this reminder. 

“Right,” Twilight muttered, her ears flattening. “I’d forgotten about that.”

Discord suddenly began chuckling, surprising them all. 

“I don’t see how this is funny, Discord,” said Applejack sourly. 

"Yeah!" said Rainbow Dash. 

“Forgive me,” he said. “I just find it humorous that you all believe you have to have a tiny stone in order to access Amity’s Rainbow.”

“We…don’t?” Fluttershy asked, her confusion absolutely adorable to the draconequus.

“My dear little pony, of course you don’t,” he smiled. “You don’t need the elements. Fluttershy, you will always be kind. Applejack, you will always be honest. Rarity, you’ll always be generous. Rainbow Dash, you’ll always be loyal as can be. Pinkie will always bring laughter wherever she goes and Twilight, you are -and will always be- the embodiment of magic. And, when she’s needed, Starlight will always be the empathetic pony that glues you all back together. The point is, nopony can destroy your friendship. And what is it you taught me, Fluttershy, the day you reformed me?”

Her eyes lit up with understanding and a warm smile grew on her face. “Friendship is magic.”

“Exactly,” he said, booping her nose. “That’s where the magic is; in your friendships. Combine your strengths in harmony and you already have everything you need to create the Rainbow. The elements were just training wheels to help you learn how to recognize and use the power each of you already possess.”   

There was a moment before any of the ponies could speak. This was the first time most of them had ever heard Discord sound so sincere. Fluttershy looked proud and the draconequus couldn’t help ruining the touching moment by folding his arms and huffing.

“Why the surprise? I’ll have you know I’m perfectly capable of giving a heartfelt speech when needed! And you all clearly needed one.”

The ponies weakly chuckled, Twilight even wiping her eyes when she thought nobody was looking.

“Thanks, Discord. I think we all needed to hear that,” said Starlight gratefully.

Discord rolled his eyes, trying not to look pleased. 

Rainbow Dash elbowed him in the side. “You big softie,” she smirked.

“You’re one to talk, Rainbow Crash,” he muttered. 

Pinkie Pie threw her hooves around Discord’s neck and squeezed. “We love you too, Discord!” she cried, tears trailing down her cheeks. "So much!"

Discord caught Cordy’s smirk and rolled his eyes again, gently removing the pink pony. “Thank you, Pinkie. Ahem. Now that I’ve solved your Elements problem, what’s the actual plan, Twilight?”

Twilight used her magic to wipe the chalkboard clean before scribbling out a game plan. 

“This is what we’re going to do,” she said. “First, we’ll divide into teams to intercept the allies and ask them to join our cause. Ponyville will be our rendezvous point for any who want to fight. On the day of the Summit, the Discords will then use their magic to teleport all of us to the outskirts of Canterlot. While the allies and their forces fight against Tirek’s minions, we’ll sneak into the city and make our way to the palace. Once there, we’ll take on the princesses in three separate groups.”

“I’m liking the sound of that,” said Rainbow Dash, smacking her hooves together. “Who gets who?”

“Cordy and I will take Celestia,” Discord volunteered. “My natural gift to annoy her will work to our advantage in taking her down; she’ll be too worked up to think properly through her attacks.”

“That’s an excellent idea!” Mirror Twilight praised. “Working with an enemy’s weakness is the best way to conquer them.”

“Then we’ll follow that pattern and take Nightmare Moon,” Twilight said, gesturing to the ponies. “She’ll want to get revenge on us for her last defeat.”

“That leaves us with Heartbreaker,” said Sunset. “Not that any of us Rainbooms have a reason for Cadence to dislike us.”

“You being the enemy will be enough,” Twilight assured.

“What about Tirek?” asked Starlight.

“That centaur won’t get involved until he has to,” said Discord. “He’s always loved others doing the dirty work. I should know; I did it for him last time.”

“Once the princesses are out of the way, we can take Tirek down together,” Twilight declared.

“What do you want us to do?” Shining Armor asked.

Twilight turned to her brother. “I need you to stay here with Flurry Heart. If anything were to happen to the rest of us, she’s the future and this is the only place she’ll be safe.”

“But Twilie,” he argued.

Twilight placed a hoof on his shoulder. “I know you want to fight -and that you are more than capable of leading an army- but I need you here.”

Shining Armor reluctantly nodded. “Fine. But at least use the army of the Crystal Empire against Tirek’s minions. They’d be a great asset.”

“And, as their captain, I will be more than happy to lead them,” Flash Sentry volunteered.

It was very obvious that Twilight was not happy with that arrangement but thankfully she was also smart enough to overlook personal feelings. She nodded her consent; the army would need a leader and who better than the one already appointed to fill that role?

Discord stretched. “Right, I think we have a plan, folks. Shall we call it a night? I need plenty of beauty rest to regain all the chaos I’ve lost.”

“I think we've covered everything,” Twilight said, looking at the others for confirmation. Several of them nodded. “Alright then; meeting adjourned.”

Pinkie Pie looked at her double. “You know what this means?” 

The two shared cheshire cat grins before bellowing, “SLEEPOVER PARTY!” Confetti exploded all over the room and everypony laughed. 

Twilight brushed some confetti from her mane and looked at Discord. "You wouldn't happen to have room in your house for all of us, would you?"

Discord smirked. "Twilight, you're in my dimension. I can make room."    
> Reconcile
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Discord led the procession of ponies and humans out of the conference room and down the hall until he stopped and turned to face an empty wall. 

“This will do nicely,” he declared, turning to Cordy. “I really hate having to ask for your assistance again but…”

Cordy smirked and held his fingers at the ready. “Just tell me what you had in mind and I’ll make it happen.”

“Huge room on this wall equipped with enough beds for the mares and ladies, queen size should work for each. And please give them a personal touch. They’ll also need all the required items associated with sleep preparation. None of the ponies need clothes but make a sleeping mask for Rarity. On this wall,” he pointed to the opposite side, “two separate rooms, one for the stallions, one for Shining Armor and Flurry Heart. Queen size beds are fine but be sure to add a crib for Flurry and all required baby needs.”

Two Cordys materialized in the hallway, each wearing a construction uniform and yellow helmet.

“You get all that?” the first Cordy asked them. They nodded. “Let’s get to work.”

Each cracked their knuckles, put on their gloves, and began snapping their fingers. Three doors appeared and each stepped inside a separate room. Caution tape appeared over the doors and various sounds of hammering, sawing, and the occasional swear could be heard. Mirror Fluttershy blushed at the profanity, quietly apologizing for her boyfriend’s language.

Discord merely chuckled. “Part of the job, my dear. I would have thrown in a few colorful words myself.”

“Discord!” Fluttershy reprimanded. 

The draconequus shrugged with an unashamed grin. She rolled her eyes and shook her head hopelessly.

“Is all of this really necessary?” Twilight asked just before the doors opened and all three Cordys stepped out, each looking like they’d been at work for hours.

“Of course it’s necessary!” Discord said.

“Before they go in, how about you do an inspection,” Cordy suggested, mopping his brow while his two doppelgangers disappeared.

“An excellent idea.”

Discord went into the ladies' room first, shutting the door behind him. Fourteen beds, seven on each side, were decorated in tailor-made designs that he instantly knew each woman and mare would love. The cutie mark symbols were etched into each headboard, the pillows and blankets matching the various color scheme of each pony and girl. He highly approved of the Fluttershy beds; white trimming with adorable teal butterfly images printed over a light pink material. Cordy had even included a plushie bunny for his Fluttershy and plopped the real Angel on Fluttershy’s bed. The little demon spawn began hopping up and down, shaking his paws while yelling at the draconequus.

“Don’t let Fluttershy hear that sailor's mouth of yours,” Discord warned. “And while we're openly expressing our feelings, I’m not very happy to see you either. Ripping my arm off was going a bit too far, don’t you think?”

Angel huffed, sticking his nose in the air.

“Oh, I had it coming, did I?” Discord growled. “Maybe I should return the favor? How would you like to be your little friend over there?” he pointed to the stuffed bunny on Mirror Fluttershy’s bed.

Angel stiffened, his ears flattening as he stared angrily at his sworn enemy. 

Discord sighed. “Look, I’m honestly too tired to continue our usual bickering. Let’s call it a truce tonight, eh? We have greater things to be worried about anyway.”

Angel thought a moment before nodding, holding out his paw. Discord shook it with his tail tuft before leaning in. 

“Don’t think I don’t know what you’ve been up to in my house the whole time I’ve been gone,” he muttered. “An entire room made out of vegetables, I’m sure, was a naturally tempting smorgasbord for you. You should be thanking me for being such a generous host. But let us be clear; if I find that you’ve damaged anything Fluttershy has made for me, I’ll skin you alive and sell your foot on eBay.”

Angel’s eyes went wide.

Glad to invoke such terror in the rabbit, Discord finished his appraisal of the room and made for the exit. Right before he opened the door, however, he turned back to Angel and grinned evilly.

“Oh, and one more little thing. Fluttershy kissed me. I’ll collect my winnings from our little bet after we’ve saved Equestria. Fifty bits; if I recall correctly. Have a pleasant night!”

Discord let out a maniacal laugh at the bunny’s flabbergast expression before opening the door.

“What say you, boss?” Cordy asked, looking at him expectantly. 

“The multiple bathrooms were a nice touch,” Discord said. “I think they’ll like it. As for the stallion accommodations…” 

He opened the doors and quickly assessed them. The room for Sunburst and Flash Sentry had an astronomy theme while the one for Shining Armor and Flurry Heart was reminiscent of a medieval castle. 

“Perfect,” he declared. “But let’s see what the customers have to say. Ladies, mares, stallions, why don’t you take a look at your new temporary living conditions?”

Mirror Pinkie Pie was the first to open the door. She positively squealed and dashed inside, Pinkie Pie bouncing in right behind her. The other girls cautiously entered and several gasps were heard. 

“Sweet Celestia!” Rarity cried, admiring the room from top to bottom. She turned to Cordy with stars in her eyes. “This is exquisite, darling!”

“Even the bathrooms are tailored to match us!” Mirror Rarity called from the bathroom that had three diamonds on its door.

The only door that had two different cutie marks on it was the one to be shared between Sunset Shimmer and Starlight. Pony and girl looked at each other and grinned, content with the arrangement.

“Angel!” Fluttershy cried, flying over and scooping her bunny up into her arms. “Oh, I’m so sorry I left you all alone here! Can you ever forgive me?”

Angel nodded before making wild gestures, occasionally pointing to the doorway where Discord stood. Fluttershy’s face turned bright red and she muttered something to the bunny. He continued to flail his arms until Fluttershy used that wonderful Stare of hers. Discord watched in silent satisfaction as a rather cowed Angel hopped off the bed and hid underneath it to sulk. Chuckling, he turned to see how the rest of the room was fairing.

The Twilights were hyperventilating, each eagerly exploring a collection of books about physics and magic from the built-in bookshelf of their headboards. Mirror Fluttershy was happily snuggling her large stuffed bunny. The Pinkie Pies had found the fully stocked candy and soda bar and were eagerly filling their arms with sweets. The Applejacks were trying not to show how much they loved the farm theme for their area and the Rainbow Dashes were drooling over the first edition Daring Do books stacked on their side tables. Sunset Shimmer was biting her lip, contemplating on whether or not she should turn on the portable game console she’d found on her pillow and Starlight was happily using her magic to move the magically suspended kites above her bed in an intricate dance.    

“I take it you all approve,” he called.

“One hundred percent!” Rarity answered for the others, admiring her bedspread and the fashion magazines on top of it; her counterpart was still squealing happily over the vast makeup selection in their bathroom.

Cordy stepped up next to Discord and smiled, watching the Fluttershys’ excitement upon finding bunny slippers under their beds.

“The stallions approve of their rooms too,” he said. “They’ve already retired for the night. Flurry Heart was looking pretty tired. She did seem rather thrilled with her stereotypical princess-themed room.”

“That’s good,” Discord muttered, somewhat distracted, watching Fluttershy interact with her friends. “Are you going to stick around? You’re more than welcome to make your own room.”

“I probably should,” he answered, chuckling as his Fluttershy squealed over her bunny themed pajamas. “Don’t want to go too far with everything going on.”

Discord nodded. “Do me a favor though; keep any and all tongue tango-ing and canoodles with your Fluttershy behind closed doors. Light make outs are fine but the heavy stuff…Well, we are trying to keep this an M-rated free zone.”

Cordy chuckled. “I’ll pass the message along. Flutterbunny is usually the one who starts it anyway.”

“Really?” Discord said with a raised eyebrow, staring at his Fluttershy with interest. “I wonder…”

Cordy shrugged. “You never know. They’re the same in a lot of ways but also different.”

“Like us.”

Fluttershy looked over at the doorway and Discord stiffened. She said something quietly to Mirror Fluttershy before slipping off her bed and making her way towards them, her hoofsteps soft and sure.

"Uh-oh," Cordy muttered. "I sense a heavy conversation on the rise. Need a distraction?'

Discord sighed, shaking his head. "No. Better to get it over with now than to let the boiling pot spill over."

"If you say so."

Fluttershy reached them and stopped. "Hi," she said, unable to look Discord fully in the eye.

"Hi," he muttered, his tail tuft twisting in knots behind him.

"Can we, um, talk?” she asked nervously.

“Of course..”

“Um,” Fluttershy glanced over at Cordy, “Privately?”

Discord tried not to show his inner panic, keeping his cool as he motioned for her to follow. Cordy mouthed 'good luck' before hopping onto the ceiling and walking away in the opposite direction. Part of Discord wished he was walking alongside him. 

Discord inwardly sighed, leading Fluttershy along, twisting and turning down the hallway; at one point they were walking along the wall though it felt like the floor. Eventually Discord reached a yellow door and pulled it open, revealing a rather chaotic study. A magnificent fireplace, standing on its side, occupied the far wall, a cheerful fire already burning vertically within the hearth. A huge bean bag sat in front of it. There was a desk with a wall full of books, all unevenly stacked, and a lovely liquor cabinet filled not with alcohol but every kind of imaginable treat. A pink cloud was tethered to the cabinet, a stack of paper cups nearby. In front of the 'confection' cabinet was a setting of two shaggy orange couches and a bright pink coffee table. 

"This is where I write letters," Discord explained, gesturing to the paper on the desk. 

Fluttershy recognized the leaflets immediately and smiled before looking around, happily taking in the chaos. "Nothing matches," she said with approval.

"Why thank you," Discord chuckled, heading over to the shaggy furniture. "Would you like something to drink? Tea perhaps?"

"That would be lovely," she said.

Discord walked over to the cabinet and selected a paper cup from the stack. He held it under the pink cloud and a stream of tea fell out the bottom like a mini cloud burst. As it hit the cup, the paper changed its shape and material, becoming a glass teacup covered in red polka dots.

"Anything from the cupboard?" he asked, gesturing toward the sweets.

Fluttershy looked down at her forehooves. "A cookie would be nice," she muttered, blushing furiously.

Discord smiled, knowing the exact reason for her rosy cheeks. He plucked a cookie from a jar and set the tea and treat down in front of her. 

"Fluttershy, you know that everything you told me when I was a doll will never be shared with anypony else, right?" he said after getting his own drink from the cloud (chocolate milk in a tall glass) and a bag of roasted jalapeños from the cabinet. "There's nothing wrong with having a cookie before bed."

She sighed, quietly taking a sip of her tea. "I know. This is really good, by the way."

"Thank you." 

Discord dunked a jalapeño into his chocolate milk and swallowed the thing whole. They quietly ate and drank as the most awkward silence in the history of their friendship descended upon them like a cloak of evil fog. Discord hated it. There were so many things that needed to be cleared between them but he didn't even know where to start. 

"I know we put the whole doll incident behind us but, for some reason, I'm still sensing that it's a problem," he finally confessed, unable to stand the silence any longer.

Fluttershy's eyebrows drew together, her gaze locked on her tea. Discord opened his mouth to try again when suddenly she slammed her teacup down on the table and shrieked at the top of her lungs. No words accompanied her vocal frustration and Discord watched with morbid fascination as she picked up a pillow and flung it across the room. He would have smiled at the chaotic display if not for her tears. They were thick and fast, her teal orbs swimming with hurt.

"F-Fluttershy?" he hesitantly prompted.

She quickly wiped at her cheeks, uselessly trying to dry them.

"I'm sorry," she said, "I'm just so- oh, I don't even know how I feel! I'm hurt. I'm confused. I'm angry. I'm peeved! Excuse my language. I just can't believe that for all these years I've successfully kept my feelings for you a secret and some big dumb meanie comes along, turns me into an animal, and lets my primal instincts reveal everything on full display for everypony to see!" 

She buried her face in another pillow and screamed before sobbing, her shoulders heaving between gasps. Discord was at a complete loss as to what to do. He was positively delighted to hear her romantic confession but now was not the time to rejoice. He nervously watched as Fluttershy withdrew from her hiding place, holding the pillow, debating whether or not to throw it too.

"First I snuggled with you -in my bed!- while not knowing it was you," she muttered, her eyes drawn down towards the pillow's fractal pattern. "Then I told you things I would never tell you. And I kissed you!" Her face, already red from crying, grew, if possible, an even deeper shade at the thought. "I never imagined the first time would be in front of all our friends! I always pictured a more private setting. And then… in Canterlot… and the cave…"

She stopped and shook her head, unable to continue.

Discord looked down at his chocolate milk. "I'm so sorry, Fluttershy," he muttered remorsefully, “For all that has happened to you. Thanks to the Pillars' untimely spell, I couldn't gather any chaos- which was why I couldn't immediately come to your rescue. I'm sorry it took me so long and that my attempt failed. For what it's worth, I found Flutterbat utterly attractive. I'm not surprised my primal self drew to the same conclusion after nearly…"

He stopped, his eyes fixing on his paw. He could still feel the way his claws had raked into her flesh. Suddenly he was plunged back into the memory of actually enjoying hunting her, hurting her, listening to her scream; the smell of her blood and the hunger to taste it; seeing the fear in her eyes as he loomed over her, relishing in her helplessness. 

Something wet hit his hand and he watched as the clear drop soaked into his paw. It was quickly followed by others. He blinked, confused as to why his vision was stinging and blurred until he realized he was crying. The hurt and self loathing came rushing from his heart into his veins like a poison, spreading everywhere like rapid fire. The tears doubled. 

The Lord of Chaos curled up on the couch and turned away, crying in a way he'd never cried before.

Curse you, Fluttershy. You're the only pony who has ever made me care this much… and it hurts! It really, really hurts! 

In his youth he'd cried plenty of tears from being rejected and hunted. But crying because he cared about somepony else? This only happened with her. 

"I told myself I was never going to hurt you again," he sniffled, not sure she was even listening. "But it happened again. And this time it was physical as well as emotional. I hate myself. I wouldn't blame you if you hated me too."

He produced a tie dye handkerchief and blew into it messily. The soiled cloth flew up into the rafters of the ceiling like a bat. Discord rested his head in his hands, hunching over miserably. Fluttershy stared a moment before slipping off the couch and coming around the coffee table to his side. She reached out towards his lion arm, her hoof slightly shaking. Taking his paw, she slowly began guiding it towards her neck. Discord immediately panicked, shaking his head frantically, trying to pull away.

"It's okay," she soothed, her voice soft and smooth. 

“No,” he weakly protested, fear freezing his heart. 

"It's okay," she gently repeated, squeezing his paw with her hoof.

He searched her face, still afraid. Her teal orbs displayed nothing but unbridled love and trust. 

"Touch me, Discord," she whispered. "Please."

Discord swallowed, his paw shaking as she drew it closer to her pale yellow coat. He hesitated. She nodded encouragingly, letting go and becoming remarkably still. His heart pounded terribly within his chest. The memory of hurting her frightened him. His paw twitched and he drew back.

"Discord," she whispered, her eyes filled with desperate pleading.

He looked at her, swallowing what felt like a soccer ball in his throat. Taking an unsteady breath, he took the plunge and rested his paw against her neck. He scrunched his eyes shut, his whole body as tense as a bowstring. An eternal second passed.

She was soft. 

She was warm. 

Fluttershy released her own shaky breath and Discord, sensing her fear, started to pull back.

"Don't!" She cried. He froze. "Please," she said in a quieter, gentler tone. "Please, do what you did before, when you attacked me. Without the claws."

"Fluttershy," he protested, shaking his head.

"Please," she begged.

Looking at her, he saw his own desperation reflected in the windows of her soul and finally understood. She needed this just as much as him. Biting his lip, he moved his paw down her neck, along her side, and across her flank. She shivered fearfully under his touch but did not back away, her breathing labored. 

"A-Again, please," she whispered, eyes shut. 

He repeated the action, his arm still shaking, Fluttershy trembling beneath him. 

She made the same request ten more times before the shivers, shaking, and fearful breathing finally stopped for both of them. Eventually she looked up at Discord, triumphant. She took his paw and this time he did not shy away. 

"A monster could never touch me as kindly as you just did," she declared. "Each time, you used the same amount of gentleness. You are not what Tirek made you to be."

Never would she be able to fully comprehend just how much her words meant to him. Admiration and affection bubbled from Discord's heart and spread all the way to his toes and the tips of his horns. There was no doubt or question in his mind; He loved this mare. 

Discord looked down at his paw then up at her. "Thank you, Fluttershy," he said with the utmost sincerity before reaching forward and cupping her face. "The same goes for you, you know." Her eyes started to water again. He wiped away a stray tear. "You, my dear sweet pony, are the embodiment of kindness. You, under your own power, would never hurt another creature."

Her eyes glistened, severe emotional pain furrowing her brow. She shook her head and looked away, hiding behind her mane. "I drank its blood, Discord. And I enjoyed it."

"You were a vampire pony," he gently stated. "You were hungry and needed to eat.”

“That doesn’t make me feel any better about it!” she snapped before immediately cowering behind her mane. “I’m sorry,” she whimpered. “I’m just so confused. I know what you’re saying is true but I can’t help but feel like I’ve betrayed everything I stand for. How can I look another animal in the eye? How can I possibly take care of them knowing what I did?”

She buried her head in her hooves and sobbed. Discord immediately wrapped his tail around her torso and lifted her up until she was right in front of him. He could feel her trembling as she took great gulps of air. He gently moved her hooves away and brushed away her tears. 

“Fluttershy,” he muttered, waiting until she was looking at him. Her teal eyes swirled like the sea, shifting in constant disruptive waves, the turmoil of her soul open to his view. He placed both paw and claw on either side of her face, holding it gently but firmly in his grasp. “You are not what Tirek made you to be,” he reiterated, using her own words. “The Darkness forced you into becoming something that you fear. But you, Fluttershy, are not that creature. You are kindness. You understand and care for every creature that you come across; even the ones other ponies wouldn’t dare come near; like me. I’m not going to lie to you. You will probably struggle with the memories. But the best way to conquer those fears is to continue to do what you do best: caring for all creatures big and small.”

“I don’t know if I can,” she whispered brokenly.

Discord tilted her chin up and smiled. “You already have. The moment I woke up, you were right there, taking care of me.”

“But of course!” she cried. “Where else would I be? You needed me and-” she stopped, her eyes widening with realization.

Discord smiled and gently rubbed her cheek with his thumb. “There. You see? Your natural reflexes to help will always conquer any conflict you have with those creatures you love so much. And they will always love and trust you, no matter what. If anything, they’ll blame me for what happened. I'm the one that hunted down the deer and ate the flesh off its bones. Out of the two of us, I'm the real monster here."

He hung his head and gently lowered her back to the ground. Fluttershy immediately reached out and put a comforting hoof on his lion arm. 

"You're not a monster, Discord,” she stated. “You’re right; Tirek made both of us into something we’re not. This isn’t our fault. We need to accept we weren't ourselves and move on."

Discord turned away. "Fluttershy, look at me. Really look. You know your animals. You know the creatures that make up my body. You were not yourself but I was. The truth is…"

He stopped, his ears drooping, his head lowering further in shame. He couldn't bring himself to say it but she already knew. She rested a hoof over his paw. He flinched and looked away.

"You are not a monster. You're an omnivore," she stated. "I always wondered but I never had the courage to ask."

"You’re not…disappointed?" he asked, still unable to look at her.

"No," she said immediately. 

Discord whipped his head around so fast his neck cracked. "What?" he rasped.

Her smile was small but kind. "I'm not disappointed, angry, or upset. I understand how the food chain works. I take care of both prey and predators, Discord, and sometimes that means I have to feed them. I may not like some of their diets but, if you like meat, I won't despise you for it. However, if you could do me a favor and not eat it around me, I'd appreciate that."

"O-Of course!" he hastily agreed. "I would never want to make you feel uncomfortable, Fluttershy, and I don't eat it all the time -I'm mostly vegetarian- but every century or so I get a crazy craving and-"

She smiled, interrupting his babbling by squeezing his talons. "It's okay," she said. "I understand."

And she really did. He could see it in her eyes. Shaking his head, he looked down at her hooves and whispered, "My dear, you are the most incredible mare I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. You astound me, Fluttershy."

She blushed sheepishly and tried to hide behind her mane again. "Really? Because you astound me."

Discord blinked. "I do?"

She nodded. "You were the one who fought through the beast Tirek created. You didn't kill me. You chose me. And I chose you." She looked away, blushing furiously as she whispered, "I still do."

Discord was in a daze, unable to fully comprehend what she had just said. Fluttershy scooted closer towards him and took a shaky breath.

"Discord?"

"Y-Yes?" he whispered, temporarily forgetting how to breathe.

"I love you," she quietly confessed, her teal eyes sparkling like stars in the sky, her cheeks glowing like clouds during a sunset.

Discord felt like the floor had been removed from under his feet. It was one thing to receive all the hints and actions, to see all the signs, but to hear the actual words…

"You… love me?" 

She nodded. 

"Really?" 

She nodded again, her smile growing. Lightly scuffing the ground, she boldly declared in her adorably timid voice, "I love you so much! I would happily say yes if you asked me to be your special somepony."

A grin started to lift the corner of Discord’s mouth. He raised a questioning eyebrow. 

'Is that an invitation, my dear?"

She looked up at him sweetly. "Maaay-be."

Discord's tail began to wag as he leaned forward, his pupils dilating excitedly.

"Fluttershy,” he eagerly asked, “would you do me the tremendous honor of becoming my very special somepony?"

She giggled and nodded. "Yes!"

He let out a happy squeal before picking her up and cuddling her tightly to his chest. Balloons, confetti, and tiny swirling steamers rained down from the ceiling as miniature fireworks started going off, the draconequus lifting her high and spinning her excitedly around the room. Fluttershy’s delighted laughter filled the air before abruptly ending as Discord pulled her in for a kiss. The happiness and joy he conveyed was communicated right back as Fluttershy applied more pressure, wrapping her hooves around his neck. The kiss was deep, lovely, and passionate; the best they had ever exchanged. When they pulled away, both were smiling brightly.

"Yay," Fluttershy sighed with a dopey grin. 

Discord chuckled. "So, one hundred percent satisfied? No complaints?"

"None," she said, nuzzling the side of his face. He nuzzled her back. "For the record," she muttered in his ear, "I think you're the most handsome creature in the world."

Discord puffed out his chest. "Well, I should say so! I am one of a kind, after all."

"My one of a kind," she said, kissing his cheek.

Discord's ears wiggled happily. 

Floating over to the beanbag chair in front of the fire, he set her down and coiled around her, resting his head in her hooves. She began stroking his mane and, to both of their surprise, he started purring. 

"I didn't know you could purr," she giggled, stroking him some more.

"I didn't know either," he muttered, his voice vibrating slightly. "Never had a reason to."

Fluttershy kissed his head and the purr intensified. Discord closed his eyes in ecstasy, relishing the feeling of her hoof gliding across his neck. Eventually they switched places so Discord could return the favor, his talons gently stroking her mane.  Fluttershy sighed happily and relaxed, resting her head against him. 

As nice as this was, however, Discord's inner worries began creeping towards the surface. Eventually they grew so pressing he could ignore them no longer.

"Flutters?" he asked nervously.

"Hmmm?"

"Is everything okay between us?"

She pulled back and tilted her head. "I think so. Why do you ask?"

"I just wanted to be sure," he muttered. "There are things -other things- that I need to tell you but I don't want to resurrect the tension."

She frowned. "Are the other things urgent?"

Discord thought about it. He wanted to share all that he and Amity had discussed but fear held his tongue. There was a distinct possibility he could lose Fluttershy from the truths he held inside. He couldn't bear that thought; not after finally having her here with him. Chaos help him, he was selfish. He wasn't going to bring up any further revelations tonight. One day she would know everything. And when she did she would see the monster he really was.

Shaking his head, he gently pressed her back into his chest and kissed her forehead. "It can wait."

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Yes," he muttered, hating himself. 

He returned to stroking her hair, pushing the secrets and the guilt into a room within his mind, angrily slamming the door shut. It would all break out eventually but, for now, he could pretend that everything was perfect; that Fluttershy would always love him.

Just focus on the here and now, you idiot. She's in your arms. She's declared her love for you. You're special someponies! Stop worrying about the future and enjoy the moment.

But I hate lying to her.

You've lied to her before and she forgave you.

Yes, but those lies were nothing compared to what I'm currently hiding. 

Well, she'll find out eventually and then you can do damage control. Now stop berating yourself and enjoy the fact that she's nuzzling you again.

Discord pulled himself out of his mental argument and realized she was indeed rubbing her face against his chest, even leaving the occasional kiss on the surface. He blushed and chuckled, closing his eyes to relish in the feeling each kiss inspired.

"This is nice," he muttered after a while. 

She hummed in agreement, kissing him again before burying her nose happily into his fur. 

"I should really get you back to your room," he said, trying not to give into the sudden increased longing of exploring every inch of her.

"Just a little longer?"

Her plea was so adorable and innocent. How could he not resist? 

"Alright," he consented, "Just a little longer."

Fluttershy smiled happily, rubbing her cheek against him. "You smell good," she confessed, her cheeks darkening. "You always smell good."

He blinked. "Really?"

She nodded, giggling slightly. "The smell always changes but I love it every time."

Discord's cheeks darkened, both from pleasure and embarrassment. "What do I smell like right now?"

"Sweet, like cotton candy."

Discord blinked again. "Odd. But, then again, I'm me so that shouldn't be surprising."

She lifted her head up and kissed his lips. "I love it."

He smiled and kissed her back before the two of them returned to their earlier position of her resting comfortably in his arms, his talons tenderly running through her pink locks.

Eventually Fluttershy's breathing evened out and he knew she'd fallen asleep. Chuckling quietly, Discord gently floated up into the air and carried her back to her room. 

Most of the girls and ponies were already asleep. Sunset, Twilight, and Starlight were awake, talking quietly on Sunset's bed. They stopped their conversation when Discord came in, eyeing Fluttershy with worry. Their silent concern relaxed, however, when they saw she was merely sleeping, snuggled comfortably in the Chaos Lord's arms. They watched as Discord carried her over to her bed and gently laid her on the mattress, tucking her in. Uncaring of the reactions he was sure to cause, he bent down and kissed Fluttershy's head. She smiled and sleepily opened her eyes.

"Dissy," she whispered. "I love you."

Discord's face and ears burned pink as he happily wagged his tail. "I love you too, Flutters."

He left her then, walking past Sunset's bed, ignoring the sly smirks on the ponies and woman’s faces.

"Goodnight ladies," he said without stopping.

"Goodnight," they answered. 

He shut the door and immediately heard them start to giggle. "Women," he said, rolling his eyes, a stupid grin plastered to his face as he floated off to his room. 

He later fell asleep the happiest draconequus in the world, ignoring the shadows of guilt and fear desperately trying to break down the door.
> Preparations
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Discord woke the next morning feeling refreshed and ready for the day. He snapped his fingers and a window appeared, displaying his dimension, the swirling purple and blue vortex endless to his view. He pushed the glass open and took in a deep, exhilarating breath.

“Ah, another glorious chaotic morning!” 

A dark blue creature flew by, its body similar to an angler fish, its tiny wings flapping and its arms tucked in tightly beneath its belly. 

“Morning Kevin!” Discord called, waving as it passed.

Kevin roared and waved back before continuing on his way, his teal tongue wiggling freely in his open jaws.

Humming a disjointed tune, Discord literally popped into his kitchen and set to work making a scrumptious breakfast. He had fifteen house guests to feed, after all; not including the demon spawn, that is. 

There was a soft pop as Cordy appeared, sitting at the table in a lovely red robe, a horrifically puce green and orange checkered ascot sticking out under his chin. A pair of spectacles rested against the bridge of his nose as he read the morning paper from the Mirror World.

“Need any help?” he asked, sipping a cup of strawberry milk; his go-to.

“No, thank you,” Discord hummed, his tail manning the egg pan while his hands took care of the pancakes. “The kitchen was more than eager to lend a hand. The knives practically sang when I asked them to get started on the fruit.” Said knives were happily chopping up apples, oranges, and bananas into separate bowls.

“You don’t usually have a lot of guests,” Cordy muttered. “Myself and your Fluttershy being the main ones.”

“Well, yes,” Discord said, flipping a flapjack. “In case you hadn't noticed, not many beings from this world are eager to be my friend.”

Cordy frowned. “If it makes you feel any better, I seem to elicit the same cautionary instinct in humans. I may be a Count but I’m a loner. My social interactions exist within my work: someone makes a deal and I walk away at the end of it amused from the adventure it brought.”

“Vast hidden mansions, no servants, anything we could ever need or want at the snap of a finger…” Discord shook his head. “And yet we lacked the one thing we truly needed. Thank creation for Fluttershys!”

“I’ll happily drink to that!” Cordy cheered, lifting his glass. Discord summoned his own chocolate milk to partake in the toast. Afterwards, Cordy narrowed his eyes playfully, a sly grin climbing his cheeks. “So, considering the out of tune humming I heard, is it safe to assume that you and Fluttershy stepped over the dating threshold last night?”

Discord twisted around to face the stove, adding another pancake to the already huge stack before pouring more batter into the pan. “We might have,” he said, peeking back at him with a large smile.

Cordy set his paper down and leaned forward, his tail wagging behind his chair. “Go on; spill!”

Gleefully shaking his fists, Discord squealed and happily launched into how Fluttershy prompted him to ask her a very important question. “We had to work past all the Tirek nonsense but the end result was worth it!” he finished.

Cordy laughed. “So, did you… you know?”

Discord’s grin slipped into a disapproving frown. “Delancy, you insult me. Like you I prefer the old fashioned ways of courting- with a little chaos mixed in. Besides, Fluttershy is a lady. She wouldn’t give herself away on the first date.”

Cordy held up his hands. “I meant no offense, Discord. I was merely curious. Times have changed, after all.”

Discord shifted his gaze back and forth. “You and your Fluttershy haven’t…?”

Cordy folded his arms and smirked. “I don’t believe that’s any of your business.”

“Then why are you so determined to weasel your way into mine?”

“Because you seemed eager to share,” Cordy said. “And, as stated before, I was curious. Tell me, how similar are you to a stallion?”

“Hear your own words,” Discord growled, throwing a blueberry at him, “Mind your own business.”

Cordy laughed, dodging the projectile. “Oh, come on; you know others are sure to wonder how you and Fluttershy have se-”

“Does the T-Rating mean anything to you?” Discord interrupted. “We are not going to get into discussing how ‘the birds and the bees’ works between me and Fluttershy. As far as I’m concerned, that business is between the two of us and the two of us alone so shove off!”

“Fine, fine. If I were really curious I could just find something M-Rated anyway.”

Discord slapped his paw to his face and groaned. “Can we please move on?”

“Sure. To answer your unspoken question, no, Flutterbunny and I haven’t done the deed either; we have to save something for the wedding night.”

Discord whirled around. “Wedding?”

Cordy shrugged. “Eventually. We’ve discussed marriage but she’s young and needs to live a little longer before taking on such a binding commitment. Say, does yours know about… it?”

“No,” Discord hastily answered. “And I’m not going to bring it up until after this nonsense is over.”

“Probably a wise decision,” Cordy muttered, returning to his paper. 

Discord scraped the eggs out of the pan into a large bowl. “Is yours…okay with it? The Commitment?”

“Surprisingly, yes,” Cordy said, his paper ruffling as he turned a page. “It took a few conversations before she was, though. After you tell yours, give her time, Discord. That’s the best advice I can offer. That said, I think she’ll eventually accept.”

“How can you be so sure?”

Cordy smiled over the rim of his paper. “She’s a Fluttershy. Need I say more?”

Discord sighed, shaking his head. “You know, there have been cases where friendship is as far as it goes."

“Yes, but those never had the thought of potential romance passing through their subconscious,” he argued. “Ours did. If you ask me, it’s Fate. Nothing we can do can change that.”

The sound of multiple sets of hooves and feet started drawing closer, forcefully ending their conversation.

Cordy began to chuckle. “I guess if you make it, they will come.”

Discord rolled his eyes.

“Something smells great!” said Mirror Rainbow Dash, the first to enter the kitchen with Rainbow Dash flying by her side.

Discord snapped his tail and a large dining room suddenly appeared, attaching itself to the kitchen. The table inside was long and spacious, mismatched plates, cups, and cutlery already set and ready for the hungry guests. The food appeared with a second snap along with condiments. 

“Ladies, you honor us with your presence,” Cordy said, snapping his paper away and scooping his Fluttershy in for a kiss. “Good morning, Bunnylove.”

Mirror Fluttershy smiled. “Morning, Cordy. Nice ascot.”

He smirked. “Nice jammies.”

Fluttershy entered the kitchen. A furious blush made her cheeks all aglow when she caught sight of Discord. The draconequus smiled, blowing her a kiss with his tail. A heart flew off the tuft and zoomed over, popping on her cheek. The buttercream pegasus giggled.

“Alright, keep it to yourselves, lovebirds,” Applejack teased as she walked with Mirror Applejack into the dining room. “Holy June bugs! Is that Zap Apple Jam?”

“Of course it is,” Discord scoffed, pulling out Fluttershy’s chair to his immediate right before sitting at the head of the table. “Oh, and while we’re on that subject, your family owes me at least half the profit you make from it.”

“Say what now?” 

“Zap Apples,” Discord said, pointing to himself. “My invention.”

“You’re joking!” Rarity gasped.

“No way!” Rainbow Dash shouted.

“Why didn’t I see it before?” cried Pinkie Pie, eyes wide. “Of course you made them!”

Discord chuckled at Applejack’s speechlessness. “Oh, come on," he said, piling eggs onto his plate, "You’ve heard that old green mare tell you the story since foalhood. I’m sure you can connect the dots.”

“The whole process is one hundred percent chaos!” Twilight muttered, utterly floored by this revelation.

Fluttershy frowned. “But it happens in the exact same order every single time. That’s not chaotic.”

Discord sighed, leaning his head on his eagle talon. “You’re right, Fluttershy. The zap apples were one of my foolish attempts to get ponies to like me; had to -unfortunately- throw some order in there somewhere. Your grandmother, Applejack, is the only pony who ever figured out all the steps. Remarkable mare, that one. She's on the very short list of ponies who have my respect.”

Applejack didn’t know how to handle this. She was too busy staring at the zap apple jam jar, her thoughts very far away. 

“AJ?” Rainbow Dash questioned, gently poking her shoulder. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” she weakly mumbled before angrily glaring at the draconequus. “Why didn’t ya say somethin’ before? Yer not gonna take us to court or anything, are ya?”

Discord waved his hands frantically, panicking slightly. “Woah, don’t jump to conclusions! I was only joking about taking the profits. I don’t need bits."

“Then why did you-”

“I thought that was obvious,” he interrupted, shrugging. “I like getting a rise out of you ponies.” Fluttershy coughed, giving him a knowing frown. “And I wanted to be recognized as the apple’s creator,” he reluctantly admitted, rubbing his paw over his eagle arm.

The farm pony was mortified. Discord sighed and sincerely snapped an apology card in front of her, the words ‘I’m Sorry for the Unwanted Surprise’ written on it in bold blue letters.  

Applejack looked at the card before looking at Discord, her eyes hard and calculating. “I’m not sayin’ I like having the rug pulled out from under me like that but I think I can speak for the whole Apple Family when I say we give credit where credit is due. Next Zap Apple season, I’ll be sure everypony knows where the apples come from.”

Discord shrugged, piling a stack of pancakes onto his plate. “It's no big deal.”

“Discord,” Fluttershy prompted, seeing through his lethargic façade instantly. He scowled, stubbornly folding his arms. Her stare hardened. 

“Oh, alright, fine!” he grumbled, giving in. “Pushy, adorable…” He cleared his throat, allowing his sincerely to poke through. “Applejack? It would really mean a lot to me if you told them.”

Applejack glanced at Fluttershy and then at Discord, a smile on her face. “I Pinkie Promise that I will.”

Pinkie Pie produced a cupcake out of nowhere and tossed it at her. She performed the motions and everypony laughed. 

“Slight subject change,” said Mirror Rarity, pointing to a bottle. “Can you explain why there’s Bar-B-Q sauce on the table?”

“Because it’s Discord,” Sunset answered, pouring a healthy amount of ketchup over her eggs.

The draconequus grinned. “You know, you’re starting to grow on me, Shimmer.”

“Consider it a thank you for letting us stay here,” she said, smiling. “And for the game console. But did the game have to be Tirek’s Revenge? That’s a bit on the nose, don’t you think?”

“The game was my idea,” said Cordy, dipping a banana in Bar-B-Q sauce. “I thought it might be a good motivating factor, since you’ve beaten it before.”

“I suppose that’s a logical explanation,” Mirror Twilight muttered, pushing up her glasses. “As long as you don’t calculate the vast amount of times Sunset died before actually succeeding.”

“Well, that got morbid really fast,” Mirror Pinkie Pie said cheerfully. 

“Don’t worry,” said Pinkie Pie, drowning her pancakes in chocolate syrup. “We’re the heroes! None of us are going to die. This isn’t a Joss Whinnydon tale.” 

"Let’s change the subject again," Discord suggested. "How did you all sleep last night?”

“I, for one, slept beautifully," said Mirror Rarity.

"As did I," Rarity agreed. "I must compliment you, Discord; I can’t remember the last time I slept so well. I could swear that bed was made for me.”

The others expressed similar affirmations. 

“Flurry Heart slept all night too,” Shining Armor stated, looking at Discord like he held the key to his freedom. “You wouldn’t mind if I kept that crib, would you?”

Discord chuckled. “Be my guest.”

“I think he should be asking me since I’m the one who did all the dirty work,” Cordy reminded, pouting slightly.

Mirror Fluttershy lightly kissed his cheek. “You know that we’re complementing both of you. Discord gave the order and you performed the magic. It was a team effort.”

The rest of breakfast was filled with cheerful camaraderie but later, as the table magically cleared itself, Twilight brought the group back to the murky situation they were in.

“We need to figure out how to reach our allies without Tirek and the princesses knowing what we’re up to,” she said. “Starlight, Sunset, and I stayed up last night bouncing off ideas.”

“Shall we return to the council room then?” Discord suggested.

“That would be helpful, given I’m going to need a really big map,” she said, nodding.

Discord snapped and everypony and Rainboom was back at the very long table in the same chairs they occupied before. Flurry Heart was in a huge magically safe playpen with enough toys to occupy her for hours. With another snap, a large map of Equestria and the surrounding lands appeared, Discord nodding when Twilight voiced her thanks. 

“Alright,” she said, flying up so she was next to the map. She saw a set of markers resting at the base. “Can I?” she asked, gesturing to them.

“That's why they’re there,” Discord smiled encouragingly. 

She uncapped the red marker and began marking the map’s surface. “Our allies are here, here, here, here, and here,” she said, circling each one. “The hippogriffs are the furthest away. With their love of the sea, I’m sure they’ll be using that as their way to travel to the Summit. They’ll be traveling north towards the Celestial Sea and probably making port in Baltimare to take the train the rest of the way to Canterlot.”

“Do you know how big that sea is?” Rainbow Dash complained. "Trying to find them will be like searching for a needle in a haystack! We could completely miss them.”

“Which is why we’re not going to intercept them until they reach Baltimare,” said Sunset. “There’s no use wasting our resources on looking for them when we know where they’ll eventually be.”

“We’re going to stick together in pairs,” Twilight revealed. “Twilight and I will be waiting for the hippogriffs. The Pinkies will go to Yakyakistan. Rarities and Applejacks will go and persuade the dragons. Rainbow Dashes, you’re more than a match for the griffons in stubbornness; make them bend. Fluttershys, the changelings will respond best to kindness.”

“Hang on!” Discord protested, “There’s no way I’m letting Fluttershy go back into that swiss cheese monstrosity! Thorax may be a friend but that place holds terrible memories.”

“And I’m not about to let my Fluttershy loose in a world we hardly know anything about!” Cordy said, looping a protective arm over Mirror Fluttershy’s shoulders.

Twilight sighed. “I figured you'd say that. I can’t stop either of you from going but you’re our strongest allies. I don’t want to compromise you if something were to happen to us.”

“Are you expecting an attack?” asked Mirror Applejack, her eyebrows drawn down with worry.

Twilight shook her head. “No, but I believe anticipating a surprise is better than stumbling into one.”

“Hang on, what are Starlight and Sunset going to be doing while we’re running all over the place?” asked Mirror Twilight, looking up from the notes she’d been taking.

“We’re going to be preparing my old town,” Starlight answered. “It’s the perfect base for everycreature to gather. There’s a cave entrance near the sea that leads directly to the village if they follow this path.” She pointed out the road winding through the mountains, highlighting it and the cave entrance with the blue marker. 

“I know yesterday I said we would gather in Ponyville but this is a much better option. Staying within the protection of the mountains will keep us fairly close to Canterlot but will also keep us hidden,” said Twilight, turning to Flash Sentry. "Starlight's old town is also closest to the Crystal Empire. I want the Crystal Army to attack Canterlot from the west while we come from the east. The west is more open so they’ll attack you first but it will divert Tirek and the princesses from another attack coming from the mountains. That being said, they’ll be expecting us. If we’re not there, they’ll quickly assume you’re a diversion.”

“So we’ll need to be with the Crystal Army,” said Applejack, catching on.

Twilight nodded. “We will, yes. The Rainbooms, however, need to stay with the allies. The princesses and Tirek don’t know about them. They’re our ace. They will lead the allies through the mountains while we stay with the Crystal Army and join our forces as soon as they’re able. We’ll then leave the allies to take on the rest of Tirek’s minions while the sixteen of us head into the castle to take out Tirek and the princesses.”

“I’m assuming a more in-depth battle strategy will come into play after we’ve gathered these allies of yours,” Cordy said while sucking on a lollipop.

“That’s the plan, yes,” Twilight confirmed. “As to getting us ponies to the Crystal Army, I was hoping you’d help with that Discord.”

“Gladly,” he said with a wave of his talons. “It’ll be a snap.”

“Good. I think meeting them near the Galloping Gorge will be the best place,” she said, looking at Flash Sentry. He nodded in understanding.        

"What day should we meet you there?" he asked.

"Nine days from now," said Twilight. "That'll give us two days to coordinate with the allies."

"Do you think the yaks can travel with the Crystal Army?" Pinkie Pie asked. 

Twilight studied the map. "I think that'll be okay. But I'd rather not let them be seen with the Crystal Army on the day of the battle."

"I could always snap them to the other side," Discord offered.

"That would actually be very helpful," Twilight smiled.

"Um, Twilight?"

"Yes, Twilight?"

Mirror Twilight pushed up her glasses. "Won’t humans stick out like sore thumbs in your world? If we're going to be tromping around, shouldn't we be ponies?"

"You're right," Twilight said, frowning. "But for the fight I think it would be best if you’re humans; that’s how you’re used to using your abilities.”

“I could change them back when the time comes,” Cordy volunteered.

“And if that’s the case I'm not sure how inconspicuous it'll be seeing two of us side by side," voiced Applejack with a skeptical frown. 

"I agree,” said Rarity. “Maybe we should split up the pairings?” 

"I can't believe I overlooked that!" Twilight muttered, smacking her forehead. 

"Well, it was really late last night," Starlight defended. 

Twilight turned to the chalkboard and started listing everypony's name followed by a list of the Rainbooms. 

"Okay, who is going with who?" she asked.

"Sunset and I will stay together," said Starlight.

"Can I go to the Dragon Lands?" Mirror Twilight asked, her hands eagerly clasped together, her eyes shining excitedly.

Twilight chuckled. "I think that'll be fine. Rarity and Applejack will go with you."

"I'm not fond of splitting the Fluttershys," Cordy voiced. 

"Then we won't," said Discord with a shrug. Twilight began to argue but he cut her off. "Oh, please, Princess, like anyone would question why there were two of us with me around. Everypony knows I can duplicate myself and that Fluttershy reformed me. Why would I not do something silly and duplicate her too? The most any pony will do is give us a strange look before going about their business."

Twilight clearly didn't like it but she chose not to argue. "Fine. Rainboom Applejack and Rainboom Rarity can come with me to Baltimare. If anypony asks, 'Rarity' is there looking to open another dress shop and brought us along for advice."

"That would be believable since I’ve been considering opening another boutique somewhere," Rarity said with a smile.

“Looks like that leaves the Pinkies and the Rainbows,” Twilight muttered. “Rainboom Rainbow will go with Pinkie Pie to the yaks and Rainboom Pinkie will go with Rainbow Dash to the griffons. Did we miss anypony?”

They all looked over the chart. 

“Looks good to me,” said Sunset. 

Discord clapped his hands together. “Right, let’s throw on some disguises!”

“Wait!” Mirror Rarity cried, halting his snap. He looked at her questioningly. “The others might not care but could you please add clothes to my appearance?”

“Mine too,” Mirror Applejack quickly piped up.

Discord looked at the other women. “Anyone else?”

“Um, I think I’d like clothes,” Mirror Fluttershy voiced, hiding slightly behind her hair.

“Me too,” Mirror Twilight admitted, blushing slightly.

Mirror Rainbow Dash shrugged. “I could go either way.”

“I don’t mind being without!” Mirror Pinkie Pie giggled. “Running around with just fur could be lots of fun!” 

Sunset leaned back casually. “I am a pony so…”

Discord chuckled before snapping his fingers. In a flash, the Rainbooms were back in their pony forms, comfortable clothes on the ones who’d made the request. 

“Oh, Flutterbunny, you look adorable!” Cordy cried, picking Mirror Fluttershy up and holding her at arm's length. 

She squirmed, slightly blushing. “Um, Discord, could you please put me down?”

“I’m sorry, my dear. I simply couldn’t resist!”

Discord smirked. “Am I going to have to change you too?”

“No, thank you,” Cordy smirked, snapping his fingers. A second draconequus appeared, looking exactly like the first except his mane had streaks of white running down the spine similar to a zebra’s. “How do I look? Dashing?”

“A perfect 10!” Discord declared, holding up a sign. 

“How are we going to tell all of us apart?” asked Mirror Rainbow Dash, testing out her wings. 

“Well, the ones in clothes will be easy,” said Sunset. “But you and Pinkie might want to wear your hair a little different. Like in braids or a bun.”

“I can do a loose ponytail,” Mirror Rainbow Dash said, trying and failing to pull up her mane. “Um, a little help here please?”

Sunset happily stepped in, using her magic to tie the rainbow mane together near the bottom. “Man, it feels good to use that again,” she said, looking up at her horn with a smile.

“Thanks,” Mirror Rainbow Dash said, tossing her hair back and forth. “Do you think it’ll hold?”

“With magic it should,” she assured, turning to Mirror Pinkie Pie. “Okay, Pinkie, how about-”

Her jaw dropped because Mirror Pinkie Pie was already pulling her hair up into two fluffy buns at the base of her neck. “What?” she asked.

Sunset shook her head while the others chuckled. “Nevermind.”

“I think it would be wise to spend a bit getting used to these new forms before gallivanting across the countryside,” said Mirror Applejack. “I don’t want to be trippin’ all over the place around other ponies.”

“I have a gym, if you’d like somewhere to practice,” Discord offered.

“That’s probably a good idea,” said Twilight, “but before we go there, we do need to discuss one last thing. Discords, we need to have a way to get back here in case anypony is in trouble or there’s an emergency.”

Discord looked at Cordy, the former shrugging his shoulders. “They could flip a bit?”

“Bits could get lost,” Discord muttered, shaking his head. “It needs to be something all of them could use.”

Cordy clapped his hands. “I’ve got it! They could tap the ground three times with a certain hoof!”

“And say my name!” Discord grinned, liking the idea. 

“Um, what if we’re in a situation where we can’t speak,” said Starlight.

Discord frowned. “I hadn’t thought of that.”

“Could we simply think it while tapping our hoof?” asked Fluttershy.

Discord looked at her with stars in his eyes. “Fluttershy, I love you.”

She blushed scarlet. “Oh, um, I love you too,” she said, a shy smile on her face.

“Right then, tap their right forehoof three times and think my name,” Discord said. “Sounds simple enough. Can each of you remember that?”

They all nodded. 

“Your hooves are going to feel a little funny,” he warned, “but it should only last for a moment. That funny feeling will come back if you need to make a chaotic getaway, however. And this is only temporary! I can’t have all of you popping into my dimension after this, unannounced.”

“And where, exactly, will we be popping up?” asked Applejack nervously.

“My living room,” Discord assured. “Can’t have you appearing someplace else; Kevin might think you’re an intruder and carry you off to the exit.”

“Who’s Kevin?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“An angler fish bat,” Discord said dismissively, holding up his paw. “Here we go!”

He snapped his fingers. Everypony gasped as their right forehoof suddenly took on a purple and blue glow. It lasted for three seconds before disappearing. The Pinkie Pies giggled.

“That was weird!” Pinkie Pie laughed.

“It was like using a ring buzzer,” the other agreed, giggling happily.

“Why did you include me and Shining?” Sunburst asked, looking at his hoof. “We’re just staying here, aren’t we?”

“Just in case you get lost,” Discord said with a shrug. “My house is bigger than it seems. Anything else you need, Twilight?”

Twilight was examining her hoof, obviously trying to figure out what spell he’d used. “I think we’ve covered everything.”

“Not everything,” Starlight said. Everypony groaned and grumbled out complaints. She scowled and said, “Have all of you forgotten that the princesses are evil now? The news of Equestria’s new ruler has probably already spread! Tirek might even have an arrest warrant out for Twilight. We can’t have you or Rainboom Twilight walking around for everypony to see.”

“But I don’t have wings,” Mirror Twilight said. 

“You still look like Twilight,” she countered. “Any casual observer would jump to the conclusion that you are her.”

“Then what do you propose we do?” Twilight asked.

“Well, obviously we’ll have to alter your appearance,” said Discord. “Do you want to keep your wings or your horn?”

“Horn please,” she said automatically.

“Obvious choice,” he muttered. “Now for colors.”

“Colors?” Twilight cried, stepping back nervously, her face filled with worry.

“Oh, come on, you can’t stay that glorious lavender,” he said. “We’ll have to alter your mane too. Oh! How about a nice aqua blue?”

“Now hang on a minute!” she cried, flaring her wings. “I don’t really feel comfortable with this!”

Starlight placed a hoof on her shoulder. “I know you might not like it but we can’t risk you being captured again. We already had to ponynap you once. Tirek and the others will surely be more on guard if we have to make another rescue attempt.”

“And just because you won’t look like yourself doesn’t mean you aren’t you anymore,” Applejack consoled. 

“Yeah, you’ll still be Twilight,” said Rainbow Dash.

“Actually, a change in name would probably be wise too,” Sunset reluctantly pointed out. 

Shining Armor stepped forward, putting a comforting hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “For the sake of Equestria, Twilie, you have to do this. I know you can.”

Twilight searched her big brother’s face and then looked over at Flash Sentry. He smiled and boldly said, “No matter what, you’ll always look beautiful to me.”

Twilight blushed and Shining Armor’s jaw dropped. He whirled around, facing his captain. “Wait a minute! You two?” He bellowed, gesturing wildly between them. Flash Sentry nodded sheepishly. “Since when?”

Twilight intervened before he could call down the full wrath of big brother. “Since the first Tirek incident,” she answered, pushing on his chest. “It’s mostly been long distance.”

“Though I’ve been trying for a while to coordinate a new armored guard for the Friendship Castle so I can transfer there," Flash Sentry revealed.

"Transfer?!"  

"Shining, sit down," Twilight commanded. Discord helpfully conjured a cup of water and handed it to her. She nodded in thanks, forcing her brother to drink. "I'm not a foal anymore," she stated. "I can make my own choices when it comes to relationships. Flash and I haven't even had a lot of time to get to know each other because we live so far away. It's mostly been exchanging letters and seeing each other during visits."

"How did I not notice?" Shining Armor lamented. "Some Crystal Prince and former Captain of the Royal Guard; can't even see when my own Captain is making goo goo eyes at my sister!" 

Twilight rolled her eyes. "He's going to need a minute. Let's just get this makeover thing over with, Discord. But don't take away my wings until we have to leave here! Which I'd like to do tomorrow, if that's okay with everypony."

They all nodded.

Discord circled around the purple princess, tapping his chin. “Right, any requests my dear?”

“Just make it tasteful,” she begged. “Nothing…weird.”

Discord chuckled. “Chaos is my forte, Twilight, but I’ll hold back for your sake.”

Twilight shut her eyes, bracing herself for the inevitable. Discord came to a decision and nodded to himself, grinning happily. He snapped his fingers and there was a burst of white light. Everypony gasped and Twilight opened her eyes.

“What? What?! Does it look bad?”

“It’s not bad,” Starlight assured. “It’s just…startling.”

“Yeah,” said Shining Armor. “You kind of look like Mom.”

“What? Really?” Twilight started looking over her shoulder, trying to get a better look at herself.

Discord pulled out a mirror from thin air. “Allow me.”

Twilight stepped forward to examine her reflection. 

The deep blue of her hair had been changed to pure white, the stripes now a single purple strand. Her tail had a similar cut to Rainbow Dash’s, a blue ribbon tied near the top, and the bangs of her mane were a little wavy instead of straight. Her eyes were the same but her coat was a pale pink. The most stunning change, however, was her cutie mark, now six small purple stars.

“I…don’t recognize myself,” she confessed, flapping her wings and moving this way and that just to confirm that she really was looking at her own reflection.

“You don’t look bad,” Rarity assured. 

“Just… different,” said Rainbow Dash. 

“Do you like it?” asked Fluttershy nervously.

Twilight didn’t answer.

Discord frowned. “It’s not like I gave you a green horn or anything. Do I need to try again?”

“No,” Twilight finally decided. “I can live with it. I think it’s just… disarming. It’ll take some getting used to.”

“It’s only temporary,” Starlight reminded. “And it oddly suits you.”

“So, are we good?” Discord asked.

Twilight nodded. “I think so.”

“Excellent,” he said,  cheerfully turning to Mirror Twilight. “Your turn!” He snapped his fingers and she looked exactly the same as Twilight except she still had glasses and wore clothes.

“This is… weird,” she admitted, staring down at her hooves. “I already don’t feel like myself and now this…”

Twilight walked over and gave her a hug. “I’m sorry. This is all happening because of me.”

“No,” she muttered, accepting the hug gratefully. “This is all happening because of Tirek.”

“And we’re going to throw him back in Tartarus the second this is over!” Sunset declared, knocking her forehooves together.

“As soon as we figure out how to use these pony bodies,” Mirror Rainbow Dash muttered, opening and closing her wings.

“Right, to the gym then?” Cordy asked.

“I think so,” said Twilight. 

“You can do the honors, Cordy,” said Discord, waving his paw.

The other draconequus happily raised his lion paw and snapped, instantly teleporting them into a huge gymnasium. The floor was painted wood, three of the surrounding walls decorated with graffiti in exotic colors and styles. A whole slew of exercise equipment was scattered throughout the room, including several treadmills, exercise balls, heavy weights, and a large mat for yoga and gymnastics. 

Cordy sent Discord a questioning stare after scoping out the area.

“What?” he said defensively. “I may not look it but I like to work out on a regular basis.”

“You must have great stamina,” he teased, wiggling his eyebrows. "That'll come in handy."

Discord rolled his eyes, sticking out his forked tongue. 

One of the walls, made completely out of mirrors, had drawn the attention of Twilight and the Rainbooms; they couldn’t help staring at themselves. 

“That is definitely going to take some getting used to,” Mirror Applejack muttered, shifting from one hoof to the other and feeling her snout. 

“I forget what I looked like as a pony,” said Sunset quietly, tilting her head from side to side. “Is it weird that I’m feeling slightly uncomfortable like this?”

“You’ve been a human for so long,” said Starlight, walking up to her, “I don’t think it’s weird at all.”

“What’s weird is being able to pick things up without fingers,” said Mirror Rainbow Dash, hefting a small dumbbell with her hoof. “Is this freaky to anyone else besides me?”

“An oddity for certain,” Discord happily sighed. “Isn’t it wonderful?”

“So how are we going to go about this?” asked Mirror Twilight, turning to the others. 

“We should split into groups,” Twilight decided, “Earth ponies, Unicorns, and Pegasi. Discords, can you whip up some targets for the unicorns, some hoops and clouds for the pegasi, and a few trees for the earth ponies?”

“Dibs on the clouds!” Cordy called, flying up towards the rafters.

Discord pouted. “No fair!”

“Nothing sticky!” Twilight quickly shouted.

Cordy fell slightly in his flight. “Oh, why not?”

“Because they need to know what it’s like working with regular clouds,” she answered.

“You suck the joy out of everything, Sparkle,” Cordy grumbled, conjuring an array of fluffy white clouds and hoops near the ceiling and arranging them into an obstacle course.

Discord chuckled, snapping a few times to make technicolor trees for the earth ponies and a few Tirek-shaped targets for the unicorns.

“Now that’s something I wouldn’t mind hitting,” said Sunset, charging her horn and firing a magical blast into the nearest Tirek’s chest.

“Nice shot,” Starlight praised with a grin.

Mirror Twilight and Mirror Rarity looked at each other nervously.

“I don’t think I can do something like that,” the latter confessed.

“Not all unicorns excel in attack spells, darling,” Rarity assured. “My magic is nothing compared to Twilight and Starlight’s. But I do have enough power to lift somewhat heavy objects like boulders when I need to. In all honesty I mostly use my magic to enhance fashion.”

“And there’s nothing wrong with that,” Twilight assured. “In fact, we may need your help designing functional battle outfits for some of us.”

Rarity excitedly danced on her hoof points. “Oh, I would love that!”

“Why don’t you help Rarity learn the magic basics while we help Twilight channel her power,” Twilight suggested. “That way she can help you with any future projects we may need.”

“I think I can do that,” Rarity answered, eyeing a few smaller dumbbells resting on a shelf against the wall. “Come along, dear, we’ll start with those.”

Mirror Rarity began following her, wishing Mirror Twilight good luck.

Mirror Twilight bit her lips nervously as she turned back to her double. “Look, I know that here you’re an all-powerful alicorn and all, but I’m not you. I don’t think I have as much raw magic as you do.”

“Oh, you don’t,” Discord said, gliding effortlessly through the air, “but that doesn’t mean you aren’t powerful. I can sense the raw energy inside you. With practice, you’ll be as good as Shimmer over there.”

“You think so?” Mirror Twilight asked, watching as Sunset teleported from place to place, racing Starlight throughout the room.

“I have no doubt,” Discord smiled. “By the way, have you two thought of a new name for yourselves?”

The Twilights looked at each other and shook their heads. 

“I’m sure we'll come up with something,” Twilight said, looking at her strange reflection again.

“How about Starshine?” Pinkie Pie said while bouncing passed, chasing after an exercise ball.

Twilight shook her head. “Nice suggestion but it doesn’t feel right.”

Rainbow Dash pulled out of a spectacular dive. “What about Cosmic Lavender?” she said before rocketing back up towards the ceiling.

“That sounds kind of pretty,” said Mirror Twilight.

“But we’re more pink than lavender right now,” Twilight argued.

“How about Rosy Stardust?” said Fluttershy, gently gliding towards the ground. Discord reached up and caught her, snuggling her into his chest. 

“Rosy Stardust,” Twilight muttered, turning this way and that. “I like it. What do you think, Twilight?”

“It sounds nice,” she agreed, smiling.

“Rosy Stardust it is,” Discord smiled. “Great idea, Flutterbutter.”

“Fluttershy, get back up here!” Rainbow Dash called from a cloud. “You can hug Discord later!”

The yellow pegasus kissed her draconequus before hopping out of his arms and taking back to the air. She struggled for a minute but got her bearings and slowly climbed towards the ceiling.

“Not a strong flier, is she?” Mirror Twilight observed.

“No,” Discord answered, watching his pegasus, “but she tries her best and it’s always enough. Say, why don’t I leave you two to your target practice, hmmm? I’m more interested in what Cordy is up to.”

The other draconequus was up in the air, happily shaping an arrangement of clouds into a fluffy fort. Discord saluted to the Twilights before taking off, swimming through the air and easily avoiding Mirror Rainbow Dash as she zoomed around the aerial obstacle course.

“Choose your defense, Discord,” Cordy declared as he drew near. “I challenge you to a cloud fight!”

Discord grinned. “Ooooo, I was hoping you were going to say that! Rules?”

“Everything has to be made out of clouds, obviously,” Cordy said. “Three and a half strikes and you’re out. Winner gets the prize of two tickets to the next Skullcruncher concert.”

“A date with Fluttershy? Now that’s a prize I’m more than prepared to fight to the death for!” said Discord with a maniacal grin. “Let’s do this!"

They each set to work completing their defenses, Cordy a thick fort wall, Discord a fluffy pirate ship.

“Cloud land vs sea? I like the way you think, old bean!” Cordy complimented, dressing in revolutionary attire. “Shall we?”

Discord whipped up a pirate captain outfit, complete with eyepatch. “Humans first!” 

Cordy launched a cloudapult, the round fluff ball flying towards Discord’s port side. The draconequus quickly spun the helm, sailing out of harm’s way. Snapping his fingers, he retaliated with cannon fire, making a hole in Cordy’s structure but failing at hitting the intended target, Cordy himself.

“Missed me!” he called.

Discord launched another attack, the cannonball this time smacking into Cordy’s chest.

“Hey!” he cried in protest. “That wasn’t fair!”

“Pirate!” Discord called back, self explanatory.

“Two can play at this game,” Cordy growled. 

Yanking out a cloud rifle, he aimed and fired. The cloud bullet grazed Discord’s arm before he could dodge.

“Oh, it’s guns now, is it?” Discord muttered. “Fine. You want a gun show? I’ll give you a gun show!”

Yanking a bazooka over his shoulder, he looked down the barrel and called, “Oh, Delancy!”

Cordy’s eyes widened and he dived behind his fort as Discord launched the missile. The cloud projectile exploded the fort and sent Cordy flying. Discord didn’t wait for him to get his bearings. He grabbed a rope and swung off the deck into the air, pulling out a cloud sword. Cordy saw him coming and hastily yanked out his own blade and countered before Discord could land a well-aimed blow.

“Nice save,” Discord praised as the two landed on the ship’s top yard near the crow’s nest. 

Cordy got into a fighting stance. “Shall we?” he smirked.

Discord spun his sword with his wrist before lowering and giving in to the charge. The spar was magnificent, the two lunging and parrying, dancing and flying around each other. Both managed to get in another hit after five clashing minutes. Discord, now hanging by his tail, watched as Cordy leaned against the mast on the next yard below, his chest heaving. 

“I must admit,” he said, “this body is definitely something to get used to.”

“In your defense, you’ve done remarkably well,” Discord praised, “but I’m afraid those tickets are mine.”

He lunged forward. Cordy leapt away from the yard and took to the air, flying down to the ship’s deck and landing just in time to regain his balance and counter Discord’s second attack. The two clashed blades again and again, shouting out rousing insults and the occasional bout of laughter as they twirled around. A lump of coiled rope proved to be Discord’s downfall, however, as his cloven hoof stumbled into it and he fell onto the deck, Cordy successfully disarming him, his cloud sword clanging three feet away. 

“The tickets are mine,” Cordy said, his pupils mismatched, a maniacal grin of triumph exposing his fangs. 

He prepared to strike but Discord wrapped his tail around his dragon ankle, yanked him onto the floor, and twisted up onto his own mismatched feet. He removed the cloud sword from Cordy’s grasp and held it at his throat before flicking it upward and sideways. The blade wisped across Cordy’s cheek twice and vanished. Discord grinned, staring him down with a jubilant smirk.

“What was it about those tickets being yours?”

Cordy laughed, pulling them out of his pocket and handing them over. “Your winnings.”

Discord swiped them and helped Cordy to his feet. There was a sudden loud round of applause and they looked up, finally aware they’d drawn the eye of everypony in the room. Twilight had clearly done a spell that enabled the earth ponies and unicorns to sit on clouds, for a makeshift set of cloud bleachers had been erected and all the ponies were sitting in attendance.

“That was totally awesome!” Rainbow Dash cried, throwing popcorn into the air. 

Where she got it was anybody’s guess; probably from Pinkie Pie.

“Are you two alright?” Fluttershy called.

“Just fine,” Discord called back, waving the tickets over his head. “Want to go to a Skullcruncher Concert with me next month?”

He watched as Mirror Fluttershy quickly explained that Skullcruncher was a heavy metal band. The others began to laugh and say that Fluttershy wasn’t interested when the yellow pegasus eagerly shouted back, “It’s a date!” surprising them all.

“You like heavy metal?” Rainbow Dash asked, positively floored.

Fluttershy blushed, hiding behind her hair. “What can I say, Dashie? The music speaks to me.”

Discord quietly chuckled, leaning against the ship’s railing. “That’s my girl.” 

The ponies returned to their training shortly thereafter while the Discords set up lounge chairs and sipped chocolate and strawberry milk, happily enjoying the show of progress. It was a wonderfully chaotic afternoon. 
> Confessions
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight was the first to enter the temporary living quarters Discord had set up for the girls, the rest of the mares trudging slowly in behind her. Many of them were dragging their hooves.

"I'm exhausted," Mirror Rainbow Dash exclaimed, flopping onto her bed.

"Not so loud!" Mirror Rarity hissed, holding her head. "Please tell me there's some ibuprofen in our bathroom. My head feels like it's about to burst!"

"I could use some of that too," Mirror Twilight groaned. "My horn is throbbing. Is that normal?"

"With the amount of magical training we just underwent, yes, it is," said Sunset tiredly, settling onto her bedspread as Fluttershy passed around some medicine. "As fun as it was to use my magic like this again, I am beat!"

"Are my wing joints supposed to hurt?" Mirror Fluttershy asked, slowly flapping them up and down while wincing. 

"It's fairly normal for them to feel that way," Fluttershy confirmed, coming over to examine them while handing her some painkillers. "I think you'll be okay, with some medicine and a full night's rest."

"Despite how sore you're all feeling, you made excellent progress today," Twilight praised. "I'm confident that each one of you will have no problems fitting in with other ponies."

"That's good to hear," said Mirror Applejack, "As long as I'm not expected to buck another apple tree anytime soon. My knees are creakin' like an old rocker."

"How are you feeling, Pinkie?" Sunset asked. 

Mirror Pinkie Pie was hopping up and down on her bed, giggling like crazy. "No complaints here! Being a pony is fun!!"

"Well, at least one of us isn't exhausted," Mirror Rarity grouched, burying her head back into her pillow. "Can somebody please dim the lights?"

There was a snap and the lights immediately dimmed. Discord was standing in the doorway, wearing a hat, a red collared shirt, and khaki pants. In his hands he held several large square shaped boxes. The smell of melted cheese and sauce instantly captivated everypony. Even Twilight, who wasn’t much of a fan of cheese, couldn’t stop her mouth from watering.

"Special delivery, ladies!" the draconequus said, cheerfully setting the boxes on a table that literally appeared out of nowhere, the surface already loaded down with drinks and snacks. "I thought that since you've all had such a rough day, dinner and a movie would be an excellent way to spend the evening before our next grand adventure."

Rainbow Dash zoomed over and immediately started raiding the pizza boxes. "Discord, you are a lifesaver!"

The draconequus looked slightly abashed as he waved his talons back and forth. "Oh, it was nothing."

"This is quite the impressive spread," Rarity commented, eyeing the vegetable and fruit trays next to the junk food. 

"Well, I figured a little variety wouldn't hurt."

Fluttershy smiled. "That was very thoughtful of you, Discord."

"You mentioned something about a movie?" said Sunset hopefully.

Discord pulled a case from his ear and held it up on display.

"Mare Congeniality?" Twilight questioned. "I've never heard of it."

“Me neither,” said Applejack.

"Oh, trust me, you're all going to love it!" Discord smiled, before leaning in and quietly muttering to Twilight, "Although you might miss it due to an orange stallion patiently waiting for you on the other side of the door."

Twilight blushed as Discord winked and snapped a large hot tub into the middle of the floor. A huge screen fell down from the ceiling in front of it, the movie already queued and ready to start. With another snap several strands of fairy lights wove into a mandala pattern above the hot tub, their glow soft and blue, the perfect night setting.

"A hot tub and a movie?! This is the best dinner slumber party ever!" Pinkie Pie cried, hugging Discord around the middle before leaping excitedly into the water. 

"I used to think you made nothing but weird stuff but this?" Rainbow Dash gently punched his arm. "This makes chaos magic cool!" 

The girls quickly set to work piling their plates and claiming a spot in the water to relax their sore muscles. Twilight and Fluttershy alone remained near the table next to Discord. 

"This was a really thoughtful thing for you to do," Twilight commented, glancing up at the draconequus. Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Are you up to something?"

Discord held his paw over his heart. "Twilight, you wound me! As if I have any other reason than being a gracious host!"

He snapped his talons and the movie started, the opening music successfully occupying the others and momentarily distracting the princess. 

"You might not want to keep your stallion waiting," Discord said just loud enough for her to hear.

Twilight turned around just in time to see him carting off a rather flustered yet happy-looking Fluttershy. She was just about to open her mouth to say something when Cordy appeared.

"Drat, he got his first!" he muttered, frowning as Discord's tail disappeared through the door.

"What are you two up to?" Twilight demanded. 

"Up to? Who said we were up to anything?" Cordy asked, smiling innocently.

Twilight flew up and poked his furry chest with her hoof. "I've been around Discord long enough to know a distraction when I see one. Why did he haul off Fluttershy?"

Cordy stared at her, blinking in surprise. "You really have no idea, do you?"

"Should I?" she asked, feeling annoyed.

Cordy smirked. "Come on, princess, put two and two together. Boy, girl. Stallion, mare. Attraction, se-”

“Okay, I get it!” Twilight cried, embarrassed that she hadn’t immediately realized Discord’s objectives. Suddenly she gasped, her wings flaring. “Wait! Surely they’re not…!” 

Cordy chuckled, booping her nose. “Of course not, princess! This is Fluttershy we’re talking about. What kind of mare do you take her for?”

“Well, of course she wouldn’t!” Twilight said, smacking his claw away. “But Discord-”

Cordy scowled, interrupting her. “You know, I find it highly offensive that you would jump right to the conclusion that Discord wouldn’t respect Fluttershy’s wishes. She’s not an object to him, you know, and, in case I have to make it clear, my Flutterbunny isn’t an object to me either!”

Twilight immediately felt guilty. “Look, I didn’t mean to sound offensive. It’s just, Discord hasn’t always been the most honest stallion -er- draconequus. He always seems to have ulterior motives; like using this party to distract us so he could take Fluttershy somewhere else.”

“And what’s so wrong with wanting to spend the evening with the woman you care most about?” he challenged. 

Twilight bit her lip. “Nothing, I guess.”

The Count stared at her a moment before bending down so they were face to face. “You know, I’m highly disappointed in you, Princess of Friendship. Don’t think I’m blissfully ignorant of the things that go on in this world. I find it remarkably hypocritical that you can forgive and forget a pony’s transgressions but refuse to show any other creature the same courtesy."

"I don't-" She began but he cut her off.

"Really? Princess Luna, Trixie, Sunset, Starlight, Tempest aka Fizzle Pop Berry Twist?" He named them off, counting on his fingers. "Well, would you look at that? All ponies. Now, let's look at other creatures, hmmm? Discord, Thorax, the rest of the changelings, me."

"I don't have any problems with them or you!" Twilight said. "Thorax and the changelings have been peaceful since their reformation. And you haven't done anything to upset Equestria."

"But Discord has."

"Yes! He constantly disturbs the peace!"

"You mean he does things you don't approve of," Cordy amended.

"Well, yeah."

"So what you're saying is he'll never meet your expectations because he doesn't fit the mold you expect him to. Hmmm, and here I thought the magic of friendship was about accepting differences and coming together in harmony. You do know what harmony is, don't you?"

"Of course I do!" Twilight snapped, stomping her hoof. 

"Are you sure?" he questioned. "Because it sounds to me like you're demanding Discord to conform to your ideal rather than harmonizing your differences. Order and Chaos have to coexist for there to be balance. I think you may have forgotten that in your prejudice."

Twilight opened her mouth, found herself unable to say anything, and closed it again. Cordy looked disappointed.

“I’ll give you a little advice, bookhorse, and I pray you take it to heart: don’t look for an enemy in an ally. Keep painting Discord red and you’ll never see any other color. That might hurt you in the long run. I'd hate to see two friendships end because of hypocrisy.” 

Leaving Twilight to lick her wounds, he stealthily snapped a note and sent it whizzing into an unsuspecting Mirror Fluttershy’s hooves. She read it, whispered something to Sunset, and hastened out of the tub. She trotted over to Cordy, the Count waiting for her with a towel. 

"Catch you later, princess," he said, scooping his blushing Fluttershy into his arms and disappearing in a quiet burst of glitter.

Twilight wanted to shout for him to come back so she could defend herself and chide him for his assumptions but deep down she knew she’d just been thoroughly -and rightfully- chastened.

Discord may be rude and insensitive but he wasn’t as terrible as he’d been when they’d first met. She thought back on all her interactions with the draconequus, dread and guilt growing with each memory. 

She didn’t know his motivations for taking over Equestria the first time. The second, however, when he’d turned her friends against each other and made Ponyville the Chaos Capital of the World, he’d wanted everypony to live in the chaos he thoroughly enjoyed. But wasn’t it normal to want others to share in the things you loved? True, Discord had forced his chaos on everypony but maybe that was because nopony would accept it otherwise? When it came time to reform him he caused plenty of mischief but almost instantly latched onto Fluttershy’s revelation of friendship; he even gave up spreading further chaos for it. And since then every time he made a mistake, he repented because he didn’t want to lose what she’d given him. 

No wonder he’d fallen in love with her; she was the only pony who had ever given him a chance and always accepted him, chaos and all.

The only time Twilight had ever truly treated him as a friend was shortly after Tirek’s demise and the birth of her castle. But before and after that, she’d always felt annoyed and contemptuous whenever he appeared. She’d even labeled him a potential reason for things going wrong almost every time they did. 

“Sweet Celestia, Cordy was right,” she whispered, eyes wide and ears lowered. “What kind of princess am I?”   

She looked at all her friends -minus the Fluttershys- laughing and enjoying each other's company. She specifically looked at Sunset and Starlight. Both had committed horrible acts against Equestria yet she never even thought about their pasts or held mistrust towards them when they were around. Why hadn’t she done the same with Discord? Why did she always throw on a cloak of suspicion in his presence?

Maybe because every time he shows up he causes problems.

But now I know the reason behind why he does that. He’s crying out for attention. He wants ponies to accept him but chaos is all he knows. Ponies don’t like chaos. It’s abnormal and strange. We don’t understand it so we fear it. And when you’re afraid of something, you reject and attack it. You spurn and hate it. 

Oh, Celestia, what have we done?

What have I done?

Horrified, Twilight quietly backed away from her unsuspecting friends and rushed out of the room before they could notice.

"Twilight! I was afraid you weren't going to come," Flash Sentry exclaimed as soon as he saw her. 

Twilight gasped, unable to hide her tears before he could see; she’d totally forgotten Discord said he was waiting for her. Some marefriend she was!

"I'm so sorry to keep you waiting," she said, hastily wiping her eyes.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” he asked, stepping forward, immediately concerned.

She shook her head. “It’s nothing.”

He looked at her expectantly and she sighed. “Alright. I just had an epiphany about something. Something unpleasant.”

He placed a comforting hoof on her shoulder. “Do you want to talk about it?”

"No. Yes."

Flash smiled and invited her towards his room. “Sunburst is next door having a guys night with Shining. I told them I was too tired to join in.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Twilight muttered, immediately backing up. “If you’d rather have an early night-”

“Twilight, I told them that so I could spend the evening with you,” he gently interrupted.

She stared at him, suddenly overcome that he would do that for such a terrible pony as herself. Her tears doubled and Flash’s smile disappeared. 

He wrapped a wing around her shoulders. “Come on; let’s get out of the hallway.”

“O-Okay,” she muttered, letting him lead her into his room. 

Her sorrow was temporarily stinted as they walked inside, her mouth dropping open at the sheer beauty of the living quarters.

The room was divided in half, a comfortable lounge of sorts on one side with two separate beds on the other. An open door on the far wall led into a bathroom. The walls were an exact replica of the night sky; occasional shooting stars flew in and out of sight. Unknown planets and galaxies swirled in the distance and the floor was patterned to look like a nebula. A rug under the bright orange and yellow furniture featured the sun and moon in an eternal dance. 

"Who knew chaos magic could make something like this," she said in awe, staring at the ceiling where a chandelier displayed different phases of the moon as its light bulbs. 

"It is pretty impressive," Flash agreed, walking over to the living area. "I'm ashamed to admit I've always been wary of Discord. Ever since his betrayal to Tirek, I honestly didn't believe he could be trusted."

Twilight’s ears flattened and her tears returned. “Yeah,” she muttered. “I know what you mean.”

“Twilight? He didn’t… do something untrustworthy, did he?” Flash asked hesitantly, silent anger beginning to bubble beneath the concern.

His reaction confirmed everything for the princess and she broke open like a cracked geode, exposing every raw and staggering thought about Discord to the orange stallion. Flash sat there in stunned silence. When she finished, he was staring down at his hooves.

“Wow, I…feel terrible,” he muttered, “and I barely know him.”

“Yeah,” Twilight said bitterly, “imagine how I feel.”

“Oh, Twilight, I’m sure Cordy wasn’t trying to hurt your feelings,” he said.

“He wasn’t,” she agreed. “He only opened my eyes to see a wrong that all of Equestria has been committing for centuries. Think about it, Flash. Every time some creature other than a pony hurts us, we automatically label them as evil for the rest of their lives. We don’t give them a second chance.”

“That’s not true,” Flash countered. “We gave Thorax a chance.”

“Yes, but how many ponies actually trust the changelings?” Twilight argued back. “The Crystal Empire only accepted Thorax because it trusted Spike’s word that he was worth trusting. The only pony who has ever vouched for Discord is Fluttershy and most ponies don’t respect her because they think she’s a loner and a doormat. They also disrespect her decision to be his friend. The rest of us just tolerate Discord but she’s embraced him.”

“No wonder he loves her,” Flash muttered.

“My thought exactly,” Twilight agreed, nodding. 

“Alright, so ponies can be highly hypocritical and Discord’s disruptive behavior is now understood. What are you going to do about it? You can’t change a pony’s way of thinking.”

“No, but I can change mine,” she declared. “And from this day forth I’m going to treat Discord the way I should have treated him since his reformation: like a friend. That doesn’t mean I’m going to let his chaos get out of hoof. When needed, I’ll correct him with kindness instead of hostility… just like Fluttershy.”

Flash sent her a warm smile before stepping forward and boldly kissing her cheek.

Twilight’s face burned. “What was that for?”

His smile grew and he shook his head. “I just find you incredibly beautiful right now.”

She smiled and shyly shifted on her hooves. “Really?”

“Yeah. And, for the record, I’ll do what I can to be Discord’s friend too.”

“You don’t have to,” Twilight said. “I mean, I don’t want to force you into a friendship with anypony or creature.”

“Hey, I like the guy,” Flash said with a shrug. “He may be a super odd dude but he’s cool. I mean, he’s the one who made the suggestion to take you to dinner.”

“He was?” she asked, surprised.

“Well, he found me loitering out in the hallway," Flash confessed, sheepishly rubbing his blue mane. "With everything going on, we haven't really had a moment to be alone, and I didn’t want to go rushing off into battle without…"

Twilight placed a hoof over his and smiled. “A dinner date with you sounds perfect. I’m sorry we haven’t been able to talk before now. It's not like I haven't wanted to. I've just had so much on my mind and-"

He gently set a hoof on her shoulder. "I understand,” he said sincerely. “Equestria's safety is always going to come first and I fully support that. Honestly, I find it very noble of you to even want to return to Canterlot after what Tirek did to you. He didn't hurt you, did he?"

Twilight looked at the ground. She hadn't had a chance to talk about this with any of her friends, not in the way she really wanted to. What with being reunited and coming up with a battle plan, she hadn't had time to really process her feelings. Now that the opportunity had presented itself, she felt rather overwhelmed.

Seeing her distress, Flash hastily said, "We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. We’ve already had quite the discussion about hypocrisy. I'm sure we can think of other-"

"No," she interrupted. Flash's ears laid back and she quickly continued, "I mean, I need to talk about this… if you're willing to listen?"

He gave her his undivided attention. "I'm all ears," he promised.

Twilight's eyes filled with tears again and she quickly wiped them away. 

"I don't exactly know where to start," she confessed.

"How about you start with how it happened."

“Okay,” she muttered, remembering the Darkness' horrid poison coursing through her veins, corrupting every part of her. She took a deep breath and began. 

"I fought him at first," she bitterly recalled, "Tirek, I mean. But he threatened to hurt Cadence. I couldn't let him do that to her so I allowed him to change me. It was horrible." She shuddered. "I felt the evil magic warping everything about who I am, twisting my purpose into something dark and ugly. Love became hate. Knowledge and power became a tool towards domination. My friends and family became my enemies. I felt myself physically change too; it was painful."

She paused, remembering. 

"I became Midnight Sparkle, a servant of evil. I felt the magic burning and compelling me to do everything Tirek asked. I didn't resist because I didn't want to resist. He asked me to hunt down my friends and I did. I terrorized so many ponies. Friends I’ve known for years were afraid of me and I didn’t care. I actually liked that they were scared.” She shook her head. “I hunted all over Ponyville. I remembered teleporting Starlight to Sugar Cube Corner so that’s where I went first. When I didn’t find her or Pinkie, I destroyed the place. I left it in shambles.” A sob wrenched its way out of her throat. “How could I have done that to the Cakes and their home? I don’t think I hurt them but I destroyed their house. I did the same thing to Rarity’s boutique; the house at Sweet Apple Acres; Rainbow Dash’s cloud home; Fluttershy’s Cottage. I destroyed them all!"

"Oh, Twilight, I'm so sorry," he said, wrapping his forelegs around her and pulling her close.

“I know I’m not a monster but I feel like one,” she cried, sobbing into his shoulder. “ Starlight set up her fakes all over town and I blasted each one, leaving mini craters and ruining other ponies property. How could I have done such horrible things to Ponyville? I would have even gone to the School of Friendship and razed it to the ground if I hadn’t found the portal to Discord’s dimension in Fluttershy’s cottage. My students, Flash. I could have hurt my students!” She buried her face in his neck and cried. “I betrayed Spike. I threatened to kill Fluttershy and was happy to see her and Discord in chains. When my friends tricked me into coming here, I hated them. I’ve never hated anypony the way I hated them. Such anger and malice; how could they forgive me so easily?”

Flash whispered comforting words that she didn’t hear, so great was her unrest. The guilt, the sorrow, the pain; she could ignore them no longer. She knew Amity had said she was still worthy -and deep down she truly believed she was- but these feelings were real and she could no longer pretend that all was well when it clearly wasn’t. 

“Twilight, nopony blames you for the actions of Midnight Sparkle,” Flash said, tenderly kissing her forehead and wiping away her tears. “She wasn’t you. She was a creation of Tirek’s.”

“No,” Twilight corrected, weakly shaking her head, “she was a creation of the Darkness that Tirek joined forces with. We have to stop him, Flash. I can’t even imagine what other horrible things he’s doing to the others; what terrible things he’s making them do.

"When I failed to hunt down all my friends… he restrained and beat me. And I let him without a fight.”

“He hit you?” Flash cried, outraged. Twilight nodded, unable to look at him. He gently lifted her chin. “He didn’t do anything else, did he? He didn’t… touch you anywhere, did he?”

“No," she said, quickly shaking her head. “He’s not attracted to ponies. He said so while beating me. He said that I was lucky that he wasn’t or else…”

She stopped and shivered, recalling the memory of being chained to the wall, a collar tightly clasped around her neck, a muzzle restraint around her face, and iron clasps around her legs. Tirek stood over her, using both his magic and a whip to punish her. Her "sisters" stood behind him, watching the proceedings, laughing at her tears and muffled, anguished cries. 

“I was scared," she gasped, her whole body shivering, "but I couldn’t do anything about it. Even as Midnight, I was helpless and scared.” She whimpered and cried, clutching Flash like a foal clutches their mother, trapped in the nightmares of the past.

Flash firmly held her to his chest, a safety from the storm of tortured memories parading through her mind. 

Tirek may have commanded Daybreaker to heal Midnight after the punishment but Twilight could still feel every burn, every lash. She could even feel the ghost of the restraints. Her grip on Flash tightened, her sobs deepening.

“Shhhh,” he consoled, nuzzling her head, holding her tightly. “You’re safe, Twilight. You're safe. I’m not going to let him hurt you again."

“Y-You can’t promise that,” she cried, her tears thick and fast. “We’re going to war. We’re going back there. I’ll have to face him again.”

“You won’t be alone,” Flash promised, gently holding her head in his hooves. “You’ll have all of us with you and you’ll have your freedom. He won’t be able to control you.”

“But he might try to use the others as a means to get us to comply!” she argued. “I can’t watch anypony else get hurt! I can’t!”

Her heart panicked at the thought of any of her friends in a similar position to the one she'd been in. Tirek had healed her because he wasn't done using her but her friends? He'd torture and kill them. He might even have the princesses do it, just to spite them!

“Twilight, there are always casualties in war,” Flash reluctantly admitted, “but we’re not going to lose any of the princesses or our friends.”

“How do you know that?” she cried desperately.

“Because we have you,” he stated, wiping further tears from her cheeks. “And I know that you will never let evil win. You’ll find a way to protect everycreature. I truly believe Tirek corrupted you because you are his biggest threat. You rally all around you, inspiring them, strengthening them, helping them to find the magic of friendship within themselves. There is a light within you that burns brighter than even Celestia's sun, that's more powerful than any magic Tirek possesses. You're also the smartest, strongest, most powerful alicorn I've ever met. With you as our leader, I have no doubt Tirek will fall and the princesses will be freed.”    

Twilight searched his face, marveling at how his words could have such an impact on uplifting her spirit.

"Do you really believe all of that?" she asked.

"Absolutely," he answered with the utmost confidence.

Twilight shook her head, her eyes softening, the hurt in her heart slowly ebbing away under the light of his love.

“I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve you, Flash,” she said. “But I’m really glad to have you.”

“I’m glad to have you too, Twilight,” he muttered.

“Thank you,” she said, leaning towards him.

“For what?”

“For listening,” she whispered, closing the distance.

The kiss was short but sweet, her lips a perfect fit with his. They broke apart and stared at each other. A second passed and a sudden eagerness seemed to descend upon them like a shroud. Flash instigated a second kiss, his lips pressing more aggressively into hers. Twilight welcomed the aggression, her eyes sliding closed and her forehooves looping around his neck. Both relished the connection they were feeling. 

It was intense. It was beautiful. It was healing. 

Eventually they pulled away, breathing heavily, their eyes bright with joy and life. Twilight felt lighter than she had since speaking with Amity. A tiny giggle bubbled from her throat and Flash laughed too. They shared a happy nuzzle before resting their foreheads together, their wings wrapping around each other. 

“Not bad for a first kiss,” Flash remarked. 

Twilight smiled. “Why haven’t we done that before?”

“Because every time we’ve seen each other we haven’t really been alone.”

She shook her head. “I make a motion that we should kiss every time we see each other, no matter the setting.”

“I second that motion!” he said cheerfully, kissing her again.

The next time they pulled away, Twilight knew it was time to leave. Flash seemed to know it too, for he stood up and sighed. 

“I know tonight was supposed to be dinner for two but… I think it would be wise to take you back to your room.”

She couldn’t help but smile, admiring and appreciating his respect for her. “Ever the gentlepony.”

He held his head high. “Nothing less for my princess.”

She blushed happily. 

Both reluctantly went to the door but quickly shut it without stepping outside because Discord and Fluttershy were ‘saying' goodnight, the draconequus pinning the pegasus to the wall with his tail as he devoured her in a very passionate kiss. 

“I think we’ll wait a few minutes,” Flash muttered, chuckling awkwardly.

Twilight laughed too. “For what it’s worth, I think they’re a cute couple.”

Flash grinned. “You know, I think so too.”

“You know who else is a cute couple?”

He pretended to feign innocence. “Who?”

Twilight leaned in and nuzzled his face. “Us.”

They shared another small round of kisses before checking to see if the hallway was clear. Now Discord and Fluttershy free, Flash led the way to Twilight's door. He nuzzled her one last time before picking up her hoof to kiss it.

“Good night, my princess,” he said tenderly.

Twilight blushed. “Goodnight, my sentry.”

They kissed again and Twilight slipped inside. 

The movie was still going but was near the end. Twilight discreetly grabbed a slice of pizza and moved through the dark towards the hot tub. She sat down close to Fluttershy, noticing that Mirror Fluttershy was still missing. Fluttershy looked at her knowingly and the two shared a large smile before facing the screen and enjoying the ending with the others; even if they didn’t fully understand why the main mare was trying to rip a crown off another mare’s head in what was clearly a fashion show. 

Five minutes later, Mirror Fluttershy sat down next to her double. Twilight glanced at her, smiling at the happy grin on her reddened face. The movie finished and everypony exclaimed what a great flick it was. 

“I’m seriously going to ask Discord for a copy,” Rainbow Dash said as everypony started getting ready for bed.

“Who knew there was a movie that would fit all our tastes,” said Applejack with a chuckle. “I never thought I’d enjoy a film about a beauty pageant.”

“And the costumes were positively stunning!” Rarity sighed as she brushed her mane.

“Oh, I know, darling!” Mirror Rarity agreed. “I have so many new design ideas.”

“Me too!”

“Alright, settle down, you two,” Mirror Applejack advised. “Now’s the time fer sleepin’ not designin’.”

“We’ve got a long day ahead of us tomorrow,” Twilight agreed, emerging from her bathroom after brushing her teeth. “We’d better get some sleep.”

“Is anyone else worried about falling into the hot tub in the middle of the night?” asked Sunset, skirting around it on her way to bed.

The moment she said it, the thing disappeared. Everypony stared. 

“Guess Discord set up a self removal spell,” Starlight surmised. 

“Either that or the floor got hungry and decided to eat it,” said Pinkie Pie. 

Several ponies stared at her. 

“I’m kidding!” she laughed.

“Though in Discord’s house, that wouldn’t be surprising!” Mirror Pinkie Pie sang, burrowing under her covers. 

Mirror Twilight took off her glasses and yawned. “Let’s not dwell on the possibilities of that.”

“Good idea,” Twilight agreed, climbing under her covers. Using her horn, she flicked out the lights except for a small night light glowing near the bathroom doors. “Good night, girls.”

“Good night!” They chorused.

The Princess of Friendship sighed, settling in. She felt exhausted, refreshed, and renewed. Her lips pulled up in a smile as she thought of Flash and his faith in her. She truly believed that everything was going to be okay. Filled with confidence and peace, she drifted off to sleep.





Twilight woke the next morning due to an escalation of sound emanating from a very annoying alarm clock.

"Will somepony please silence that infernal noise?" Rarity demanded, sitting up and removing her sleeping mask.

Pinkie Pie happily bounced out of bed and pulled a pogo stick from her hair. Gaining enough momentum, she snatched the clock out of the air and quickly pressed the off button. Everypony sighed in relief.

"A clock that makes sound effects? I totally want one!" said Mirror Pinkie Pie, examining the time piece.

"That thing was more obnoxious than a brood of chickens at feeding time," Mirror Applejack muttered, stretching her forelegs and gasping in surprise.

"What? What's the matter?" asked Rainbow Dash.

Mirror Applejack blushed. "I, er, forgot Discord turned us into ponies."

"I wish I could say I did," Mirror Rainbow Dash complained. "Do you know how hard it was to fall asleep with these things?" She flapped her wings.

"I had a similar issue," Mirror Fluttershy confessed. "I could only sleep on my stomach."

"When I became an alicorn I had to get used to my wings too," said Twilight sympathetically. "The key is to keep them folded close to your body. Think of them like an extra blanket."

"Twilight, what happened?" Sunset asked, staring at Mirror Twilight and trying not to laugh.

"I may or may not have ripped my pillow," Mirror Twilight answered, pointing at her horn before brushing feathers out of her mane.

Sunset started laughing and the others soon joined in, Mirror Twilight included. 

Twilight watched them, her heart somewhat hurting. Last night Flash had helped her feel such confidence but now all she felt was fear and uncertainty. The ghost of Tirek’s cruelty hung over her head and, for a moment, she envisioned her friends' laughter transformed into screams of agony. There was a distinct possibility that this plan could fail. The idea of being forced to return to evil servitude and hating her friends left bile in Twilight’s mouth and tears in her eyes. Quickly getting up, she hastened to the bathroom, her ears pressed against her skull as she slammed the door behind her.  

The laughter in the main room stopped and the soft clip-clop of pony hooves neared the other side of the door, stopping right in front of it. 

“Twilight?” Starlight called. “Are you alright?”

"I'm fine," she lied, hastily wiping her eyes. 

She could practically see Starlight’s disbelieving eyebrow and frown as she said, "Twilight."

The Princess sighed and reluctantly opened the door. All of her friends had gathered, each of them expressing equal amounts of concern. Twilight felt undeserving of the love and devotion she saw in their eyes.

"What's wrong, sugarcube?" Applejack asked. 

Twilight sat down and looked at the pink and purple tiles of her bathroom floor. She closed her eyes and tried not to cry as she confessed, "I’m scared. The ally Tirek’s been working with is the most powerful foe we’ve ever had to face - besides Discord. Tirek is capable of completely changing and enslaving any creature he wants with a mere touch of dark magic! I know that we have to save the other princesses and free Equestria but I’m terrified! 

“I’m afraid of being turned back into Midnight Sparkle, of hating all of you again, of losing my own free will. Tirek hurt me when I failed to capture all of you. He turned Fluttershy into a vampire pony and Discord into a mindless beast. I know for a fact he had no intention of keeping either of them alive in the long term. I’m scared that if we fail, he’ll turn me back into Midnight and I’ll help him capture and change you all. I can’t lose any of you. And I feel like a complete coward for saying it but part of me wants to just stay here in Discord’s dimension because here I know Tirek can’t hurt any of you.”

Heavy silence followed her confession. Twilight sat there, hating herself, feeling like a complete and utter failure. She didn’t deserve the wings on her back. What kind of princess would shirk from her responsibilities of protecting the land and subjects she loved?

There was a soft clop of hooves and a gentle pair of yellow forelegs looped around her shoulders. 

“I probably know more about being scared than anypony,” Fluttershy said quietly in her ear, “But I know that I’m always less scared when I’m with all my friends.”

“We’re facing impossible odds," said Rainbow Dash, "but we’re facing them together."

“It’s what we always do, darling,” Rarity smiled.

“But what if we fail?” Twilight whispered.

“That’s always a possibility,” said Pinkie Pie with a shrug. "But so far we've been okay."

“Bad things happen, Twilight,” Applejack gently declared. “There’s never going to be a time when everything is perfect. But that don’t mean you quit trying.”

“And you have to remember that you’re not alone,” said Starlight. “Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash are right. All of us are here with you.”

“And if you do become Midnight Sparkle again, the power of our friendship is strong enough to change you back,” Sunset consoled. 

"Don't forget the infinite might of two incredibly good-looking Chaos gods in your corner," said Discord, magically popping out of Fluttershy's mane. 

Several ponies shrieked in surprise.

"Discord! Haven't you ever heard of knocking?" Applejack snapped, glaring angrily at his sudden appearance. 

Discord slithered fully out of Fluttershy's hair and floated above them, mockingly scratching his beard in thought. "Can't say that I have," he finally said with a shrug.

Twilight looked at her friends. Most of  them were sharing equal looks of frustration or disdain. She also had felt a round of annoyance with his sudden appearance but then she remembered what Cordy had said last night as well as her resolution to Flash. She also considered what Discord had said.

"Though I don't appreciate the eavesdropping, thank you for offering to help too, Discord," she said, sending him a friendly smile. 

Discord's prepared reply died on his lips as he stared at her in shock. Fluttershy’s jaw dropped as well.

"Oh, um, you're welcome," he said sincerely, fairly flummoxed.

A pang of guilt and amusement ran through the princess; Guilt for finally seeing that he was always prepared to spar when in their presence and amusement because she'd actually succeeded in knocking him off guard. All these years he'd appeared knowing he would have to be defensive. Why did he keep coming back? If she'd had ponies treat her with contempt every time she appeared, she would have stopped hanging out with them years ago. 

Could it be Discord never gave up because he actually wanted to be their friend? It certainly seemed so. Well, she'd finally had her eyes opened to truly give him a chance. Just like she'd given to Starlight and Sunset. 

She looked at all her friends and smiled.

"I feel a lot better," she said honestly, "Knowing that all of you are by my side. I'm still scared but there's courage too. Thank you."

Rainbow Dash took to the air and punched her hooves together. "Alright! Let's go find some allies!"

"Wow there, Nellie," said Applejack, grabbing Rainbow Dash by the tail. "Nopony's going anywhere until we've had a decent breakfast."

"We don't have time for breakfast, AJ," she countered. Her stomach suddenly growled and there was a pause before everypony started laughing. "Alright, maybe breakfast is a good idea," the Wonderbolt muttered, sheepishly rubbing her mane.

"Well, that's good to hear, since I've slaved the whole morning in the kitchen," said Cordy behind them in the doorway. He wore a bright pink apron with white hearts, the smock fairly soiled in flour. 

He snapped his claws and instantly  everypony teleported into the dining room. 

A large assortment of different colored pancakes sat on the table. The Pinkie Pies hopped up and down before beelining over to the nearest chairs and loading down their plates.

"Thanks for breakfast, Cordy," Mirror Fluttershy said, rewarding him with a kiss.

Cordy grinned and winked. "Try the pink ones; they pack quite the surprise."

"This tastes like apples!" Mirror Applejack exclaimed, chewing on an orange pancake. 

"Mine tastes like bubble gum!" Mirror Pinkie Pie declared with a huge grin. She turned to Cordy and said, "You're welcome to come to any party I throw, Cordy!"

He chuckled, sitting down next to Mirror Fluttershy. "I just might take you up on that offer, my dear, when this Tirek business is over."

Twilight smiled, watching her friends before taking her own seat next to her double. She claimed a purple pancake and took a hesitant bite. The taste of a hayburger filled her mouth and she blinked in surprise and delight . It was one of the best 'hayburgers' she'd ever had. Looking at Cordy and then at Discord, she shrugged and continued to dig in, a quiet smile on her face.

Chaos, she decided, when not completely out of control, wasn't so bad after all. 
> Ally
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After promising to be on their guard, everypony separated to their assigned destinations via portals set up by Discord. As he had to snap them out of existence, he and Fluttershy were the last to leave. His cute little pegasus was saying goodbye to her tiny demon bunny in the chaotic living room. Angel was giving Discord the stink-eye over her shoulder, clearly saying that he’d better keep her safe or else.

“She’ll be perfectly fine with me, rabbit,” he said before shaking a digit, “and remember my earlier warning; watch where you put those teeth.”

“Oh, he’s going to be on his best behavior while we’re gone,” Fluttershy promised, “Aren’t you, Angel?”

The rabbit reluctantly nodded with a grumpy frown on his white face.

“Don’t worry, Fluttershy, we’ll make sure he stays out of trouble,” Shining Armor promised. 

Discord looked at him and the two other stallions, Flash and Sunburst. Flurry Heart was nestled happily in her father’s arms, sucking on her hoof. 

“I’ve stocked your rooms with anything you might need while we’re away - including a small kitchen space. Please don’t wander. There are so many rooms in my house that even I forget what I have in here. I’d hate to learn you’d accidentally traveled to another dimension while we’re away.”

“You have other dimensions here?” Sunburst asked with interest.

“The entrance to at least two that I can think of,” Discord admitted, “But I’d rather you not go where no pony has gone before. It might take me a long time to find you, if you do.”

“We’ll stay in our rooms," Flash promised. 

“Are you two coming or what?” Cordy asked, poking his head back through the only remaining portal.

“That’s our cue,” Discord muttered. “Gentlemen, little lady, adieu.”

They waved goodbye as he scooped Fluttershy ("Squeak!") into his arms and rolled like a wheel through the portal. With a snap of his tail tuft, it closed behind them. Righting himself, he kissed Fluttershy's forehead before setting her down.

"Um, Discord, in the future, please don't roll with me in your arms without warning," she said, fixing her mane. 

"Sorry," he sincerely said, scuffing the dirt with his hoof. "Should that go under the ‘Scary Things” category?"

"When done without warning, yes," she said with a nod.

Discord yanked a scroll from his ear and pulled a quill from his mouth. "I'll add it to the list."

After a few scribbles, he shoved the scroll back through his ear and ate the quill. 

"I take it that's where we're going?" said Cordy, pointing towards the changelings’ large pointy hive.

Discord’s eyebrows rose in surprise. The last time he’d stood on this cliff ledge the ravine had been nothing but rock and dirt. Now it was covered in grass and clumps of bushes and trees. The whole place was sprinkled with flowers. Even the hive had changed, the swiss cheese holes leaking with outpourings of plants and moss.  

“Amazing what a change in management will do,” Discord muttered before summoning a flying pig. 

“Um…?” Fluttershy began but Discord shook his head and ordered the pig forward.

It flew over the edge and kept on flying until he magicked it away. 

“What was that about?” Fluttershy asked.

“The last time I was here, the changelings had a magical throne that sucked up all magic,” he explained. “The cage and collar Tirek used to capture me had the remains of that throne mixed into the metal. I was curious to see if Thorax had replaced the old one with similar security.”

“Doesn’t look like it,” Cordy commented.

Discord snapped and the four of them reappeared just outside the hive. The Fluttershys looked mildly startled but quickly settled once seeing where they were. Cordy, unsurprisingly, wasn’t fazed.

“I would snap us directly to the throne room,” said Discord, “but, unlike Crissy, I actually respect Thorax.”

“Um, Discord?” Fluttershy whimpered, pointing over his shoulder. 

Discord turned around and found a large swarm of changelings hovering over them with bared teeth and angry spears shoved in his face. The squadron wore armor and helmets, their sudden appearance rather annoying to the Chaos Lord; obviously they’d been disguised as various plants when they teleported into their midst.

“Not one move, draconequus,” the leader stated.

Discord frowned and folded his arms, wrapping his tail around Fluttershy’s waist and pulling her protectively to his side. 

“You know, I was expecting something but not this,” he said, rather miffed. “And here I thought I’d be welcome.”

“Clearly not,” Cordy muttered, holding his own Fluttershy in his arms.

The leader turned to one of the soldiers. “Go and inform His Majesty that we have hostiles.”

The changeling saluted before flying off.

“What do you p-plan on doing with us?” Fluttershy asked, shaking beside Discord. 

“For now we will take you to a cell,” the leader stated.

Discord scoffed. “Like any cell could hold me.”

“Or me,” Cordy said, stepping forward, his paw at the ready. “What say you to a bit of sport, old bean?”

“Don’t!” Mirror Fluttershy said, placing her forehooves over his paw. “We don’t want to provoke them.”

“Yeah,” Fluttershy agreed. “We need them to trust us, remember?”

“What I don’t understand is why they don’t already!” Discord complained. “Don’t they see we’re the good guys?”

“Obviously, appearances can be deceiving,” said the changeling leader, brandishing his own spear. "Now start walking!” 

The Discords kept their Fluttershys close as they were forced into the hive, the Chaos Lord fuming the whole time. 

What was Thorax playing at? After saving Equestria together he thought the bug his friend. But, from this not so welcome greeting, the feeling wasn't mutual. Discord didn't want to admit how much it stung to know Thorax didn't hold him in the same regard. Not that he was going to let anypony or changeling see his hurt; anger was easier to hide behind and it was more intimidating.

They reached the cells and reluctantly stepped inside, the changelings slamming the gate closed and locking them in. 

“Your magic still work?” Cordy asked out of the side of his mouth.

Discord discreetly snapped his tail tuft and made his beard wiggle on its own. “Yep. Yours?”

He too snapped his tail and made the butterflies on Mirror Fluttershy’s flank flutter twice. “Looks like it.”

Discord looked down at his pegasus. “You know I could easily snap us to wherever Thorax is.”

“I know,” she said, gently laying a hoof on his leg, “But I think we should wait and see what exactly is going on. There has to be a reason they threw us in here.”

They waited for almost an hour before there was a sound of approaching hooves. The Discords quickly stepped protectively in front of their mares as a changeling appeared, his chitin a very dark blue mixed with a hint of red. What surprised Discord most were the red horns sticking out of his head. They looked just like the ones Thorax had, only smaller.

“Who are you?” Discord demanded, eyeing the bug up and down.

“Pharynx, Captain of the King’s Royal Guard,” he answered. “My brother is prepared to see you but if you try anything, anything at all, we won’t hesitate to send you back to whatever hole you crawled out of.”

“Friendly chap, isn’t he?” Cordy muttered as the cell door opened and the four of them were escorted by another armed guard through the hive. 

The throne room was built upon the remains of the old one. The changelings hadn’t bothered to cover it with a new roof, exposing the area to a clear blue sky. Discord briefly wondered what they did when it rained. Like the rest of the hive, the open space was decorated in scatterings of moss and vines. Thorax’s throne itself was carved out of a rather squat and sturdy-looking tree, tall branches covered in leaves making up the back rest while the trunk seat was surrounded by vines. Thorax sat on his throne, looking at Discord in a way he never had before.

“The prisoners, Your Majesty,” Pharynx declared, stepping forward and off to the side. 

Discord scowled at the bug king, folding his arms defiantly. “Mind telling me why Fluttershy and I were arrested the moment we came to call, Thorax?”

Thorax studied him intently. “I had to see for myself if the rumors were true.”

“What rumors?” asked Fluttershy, poking out from around Discord’s protective stance.

“The ones concerning whether or not you’d been changed like the princesses to do King Tirek’s evil bidding,” he answered. 

“And what’s your verdict?” Discord asked, raising a fluffy eyebrow.

“Well, according to Cipher, the last we heard Fluttershy had been captured and changed into a beast,” Thorax said, indicating one of his changeling guards.

“That is correct, Your Majesty,” said a light blue changeling with red eyes, staring at Fluttershy distrustfully.

Discord's other eyebrow joined the first in delighted surprise before a grin spread across his face. “A spy in Canterlot? My, my, Thorax; I didn’t know you had it in you.”

“I usually don’t,” he admitted. “I had business with Princess Celestia the day Tirek attacked. I and my changeling guard managed to slip away as ponies in the confusion from the battle. At Pharynx's insistence, I’ve been sending in spies ever since to get updates on Canterlot’s fate.”

“And you think Fluttershy has been changed like the others,” Discord concluded.

“Not anymore,” he stated. “The arrest was a test to see whether or not you would fight your way to get to me. But you didn’t use magic against any of us.”

“I had half a mind to,” Discord honestly replied. “The only thing stopping me was Fluttershy.”

Thorax smiled at the small yellow pegasus. “I’m glad you did. It would have been harder to know if you were truly you or not. How did you escape Tirek and the princesses, Fluttershy?”

The yellow pegasus looked up at Discord in admiration. “It was Discord, actually. He saved us.”

“I went to rescue her but got into a bit of trouble and became a beast myself,” he elaborated. “Tirek pitted us against each other but one finds a way to protect that which is most precious to them.” He rested his eagle talons on Fluttershy’s head.

“And I helped return Fluttershy and his sorry self to safety,” Cordy put in.

Thorax blinked, studying the disguised Count. “A copy of yours?” he asked. 

Discord shook his head. “Another dimension, actually.”

“Discord Delancy, Count of Chaos,” Cordy introduced with a minimal amount of flare. “And this is my Fluttershy.”

“Um, nice to meet you both,” Thorax said, nodding to them. “I’m sorry for throwing you in a cell. I had to be sure.”

“I think you made the right call,” Discord complimented. “You, out of everycreature, know that appearances are not always what they seem to be.”

“I truly am glad you and Fluttershy are safe, Discord,” Thorax said with an honest smile before a heavy frown replaced it. “But I have to ask, where were you when Tirek originally attacked? I would have thought you’d solve this problem the moment it happened with that magic of yours.”

“Long story short, I was detained against my will by another power,” Discord sighed. “But now we’re here to ask you and the changelings for help. Twilight has been freed from Tirek’s control and is amassing an army of Equestria’s allies. We are acting on her behalf, asking if you would lend your assistance.”

Thorax’s jaw dropped. “Princess Twilight is okay?”

“My friends and I restored her to normal,” Mirror Fluttershy said with a reassuring smile. 

“But not the others?” 

“We could only ponynap Twilight,” Discord answered. “And, let’s be honest, out of the four, she’s the most capable of freeing the others and defeating Tirek.”

“You’ve got a point,” Thorax muttered, understanding yet still disappointed. His friendship with Cadence and Shining Armor was common knowledge; naturally, he would wish to see her free as well. However, accepting things as they were, he straightened his shoulders and looked at his Captain of the Guard. “Pharynx, do you think we could help?”

“First ask them about the letter,” he said, holding out a rather classy looking envelope.

“Right,” Thorax said, handing it to Discord. “You wouldn’t happen to know anything about this, would you?”

Discord summoned a pair of round reading glasses and pulled an official invitation to Canterlot from the envelope signed by a supposed Princess Celestia; a Royal Summit invitation. Anypony would believe it to be what it was given the seal and fancy writing.

“A trap,” Discord stated, confirming Thorax and Pharynx suspicions. 

“We figured as much but we wondered if you had any further information behind it,” said the Captain.

“From what Twilight told us, it’s a means to lure all of Equestria’s allies into the same room so Tirek can do to them what he did to the princesses.”

“That’s horrible!” Thorax cried. “Ember is on this list. We have to warn her!”

The king flared his wings and prepared to take off. Discord snapped his fingers, taking them away. 

“Hey!”

“Discord!” Fluttershy reprimanded.

“I’ll give them back,” he assured before addressing the rather miffed bug. “Before you fly away unnecessarily to the Dragon Lands, you might want to know that the ponies are already on it.”

“Give me back my wings!” Thorax demanded angrily.

Discord snapped again, restoring the transparent appendages. 

“Thank you,” the king muttered, fluttering them a few times to make sure they were safe and whole. “Now, what’s this about the ponies?”

“My friends and I have split into smaller groups,” Fluttershy explained, quickly stepping forward since the changeling guards looked like they were about to attack Discord for his action against their king. “We’re going to each ally to warn them of the danger as well as ask for help reclaiming Canterlot.” 

“Which brings us back to what I said before,” muttered Discord. “So, Thorax, will you help us or not?”

Thorax frowned. “I want to,” he said after a moment, “but I don’t know if my army is sufficiently prepared for any kind of battle. Pharynx has been hard at work rebuilding the military; we didn’t have one until after he changed and that wasn’t too long ago.”

“But you’ve all been through plenty of hostile takeovers under Chrysalis,” Discord countered.

“Chrysalis worked mostly through subterfuge and sabotage,” Pharynx said. “She wouldn’t send the entire hive into battle unless she’d already felt victory was achieved. We’ve never entered a battle completely upfront before.”

“I understand your hesitancy,” Discord sighed, looking up at the sky and offhandedly adding, “I suppose poor Spike will have to be rescued some other way.”

Thorax’s head whipped up and his whole demeanor changed. “Spike?”

Cordy, catching onto what Discord was doing, rubbed his talons against his chest. “Yes, sad business that. Poor fellow was merely in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“What happened to him?” Thorax demanded. “Tell me!”

“When Twilight was evil, she sent him off to Tirek,” Fluttershy said, her ears pinned down against her skull. While the lamentation in her voice was genuine, Discord couldn’t help but inwardly cheer; her sorrow was sure to spur Thorax into action. “Tirek changed him into a huge monster,” she continued. “He’s one of the beasts that guards the city.”

“Shame too,” Discord sighed. “If a battle is sure to commence, he’s on the front lines. Who knows what might happen to him if his friends don’t make sure he is merely knocked out instead of accidentally-”

“Alright! Alright!” Thorax shouted, leaping down from his throne. “We’ll help!”    

“But Thorax-” Pharynx began.

Thorax cut him off. “No, Pharynx! Spike was my first friend. He gave me a chance. In a way, you could say he’s responsible for the transformation of the entire changeling race. We have a duty to help him!” He turned to Discord, his eyes slightly narrowed. “Don’t think I don’t know manipulation when I see it, Discord.”

Discord grinned unashamedly. “I haven’t the slightest idea what you’re talking about.”

The king’s hard expression relaxed and he sighed, releasing a weak chuckle. “Thank you,” he said sincerely. 

Discord blinked. “For what?”

“For reminding me of the importance of friendship. I can’t guarantee a large number of soldiers but I’ll lend my best.”

“Are you sure?” Fluttershy asked, clearly feeling guilty for playing a part in Discord’s manipulation. “We don’t want to cause any trouble for your people.”

“I’ve been whipping these losers into shape for weeks," Pharynx stated. "It’ll be good to throw them into real danger. And we won’t be leaving the hive completely defenseless. Besides, our assistance will help if you need to infiltrate the castle undetected.”

“We’d appreciate any help you can give,” Fluttershy said sincerely. “Thank you so much, Thorax, Pharynx.”

“No problem,” the king said. “But what do you think we should do about the Summit?”

“That’s the day we’re planning on storming the palace,” said Discord. “Answer and tell them you’re coming, just to throw them off. They wouldn’t suspect an attack from you if you do.”

Thorax nodded. “Alright. I’ll send Cipher back in and he can stay there to keep us informed of the enemy’s movements.”

“Good plan,” said Cordy.

“Right, now that that business is settled, how would you like to join us for lunch?” asked Thorax eagerly. “Since we don’t need to feed off love anymore, we’ve been trying all sorts of things.”

“Good thing too, or the love coming off these four would be enough to feed the whole hive,” Pharynx chuckled.

Discord and Fluttershy blushed while Cordy and Mirror Fluttershy shared a happy grin.

Thorax laughed before looking slyly at his draconequus friend and motioning to Fluttershy. “Recent development?”

“Very,” Discord answered evasively. “For Fluttershy and myself anyway. Those two have been together for a year. But I think I speak for both Flutters and myself when I say keep your green changeling nose out of our business.”

Thorax laughed. “Fair enough. But don’t be surprised if others make a comment about it. I haven’t felt love that strong since I lived in the Crystal Empire and Shining Armor and Cadence were having-”

“Thank you but I really think I’ve heard enough!” Discord interrupted, positively mortified. Honestly, he was doing everypony a favor by interrupting; nopony needed to hear any more about that.

Pharynx and Thorax laughed before the latter said, “Come on; the dining room is this way.” 

The two changelings led them towards a staircase descending into the floor.

“You know,” said Fluttershy as they walked down the stairs into the hive, “I’ve always wondered, before you changed, did changelings feed off creatures when they were having sex?”

“FLUTTERSHY?!” Discord cried, absolutely startled by her nonchalance on the subject.

“What?” she said with a raised eyebrow. “I’m not ignorant, Discord. I’ve probably seen more animals mating than any other pony alive. It’s natural but I also know it’s a time when love is very potent in the air.”

“Springtime,” Pharynx sighed in memory, “Now those were the days.”

“To answer your question,” Thorax said, a light blush on his face, “we’d usually wait until right after; that’s when love is the strongest.”

“I see,” she said as the group wandered down a cheese grater hallway. “That makes sense.”

Cordy gave a hearty laugh before nudging Discord in the side. “Not as innocent as you thought, huh?”

Discord stared at Fluttershy in a new light. “Apparently,” he muttered with a wide, approving grin. 

She’d surprised him; again. That would explain last night’s events. 

While indeed shy, she’d contributed some remarkable skills during their makeout session. If Discord wasn’t so firm in his resolve to marry her before consummating their relationship he would have taken her then and there; given permission, of course. He’d never do anything to hurt or abuse Fluttershy in any way. He respected her more than any creature; living, dead, or eternal. 

Feeling his eyes on her, Fluttershy looked over her shoulder and smiled before flicking her tail so it rubbed against his leg.

Discord’s face instantly darkened and his eyes widened. Was she toying with him? 

Fluttershy’s flank sashayed more than usual as she continued following Thorax with Mirror Fluttershy at her side. 

She was. She totally was!

“Two can play at that game,” he muttered, removing his eagle arm. He took aim and let it fly. The talons quickly but gently ran up Fluttershy’s spine and the pony’s whole body shivered as a gasp escaped her throat.

“Something wrong?” Mirror Fluttershy asked as Thorax and Pharynx stopped to look back at her in concern.

Fluttershy’s face was on fire as she shook her head and hid behind her mane. “N-Nothing. I’m fine.”

When the others looked away she glared at Discord, an unspoken promise of punishment shining within her delightful teal depths. Discord’s heart leapt with excitement as he grinned, making a show of screwing his arm back in place. He waved his talons at her. 

“You’re an embarrassment, you know that,” Cordy complained as the group moved forward. 

“Give me a break, Delancy,” he muttered with an unashamed grin. “I’ve never truly loved anything besides chaos. This is new and exciting.”

Cordy sighed before permitting a small chuckle. “I suppose I can forgive you. I probably acted just as brazen and lovestruck with Flutterbunny when we started dating. Just, try to keep your limbs to yourself?”

“No promises,” Discord muttered, admiring the view directly in front of him. “Those pony curves sure are something else.”

“I prefer human,” Cordy muttered. “Two sets of curves; more my style. But Flutterbunny is rather attractive in this form too.”

“Admit it; we’re a pair of hopeless fools,” Discord quietly laughed.

“Oh, no doubt,” Cordy agreed.

They walked through several large holey walls, the openings displaying colorful collections of plants or changelings participating in activities ranging from theater to swing dance. The grim, decently chaotic hive had greatly changed since last Discord had sneaked through it; Chrysalis would be utterly appalled! The thought brought a smile to his face. 

The twists and turns of the halls were soon accompanied by the sweet and sour aroma of food up ahead; the combination was delightful and Discord’s mouth began to water. They were paces away from their destination when a rather surprised voice cried, “Professor Fluttershy?!”

Fluttershy gasped as a very excited blue and red changeling practically body slammed her in a hug. “Ocellus?” she said in disbelief before hugging the changeling. “What are you doing here? Why aren’t you in school?”

“Mayor Mare sent us all home,” Ocellus revealed with an unhappy frown. “When news reached Ponyville of King Tirek’s reign, she thought it wise to send all students home, especially those of us from different kingdoms. When I heard about Headmare Twilight and you I was so scared! How are you here?”

Fluttershy waved a hoof towards Discord. The young changeling gasped. Discord prepared himself for the usual terror that came from the sight of him. He was therefore quite baffled when the changeling didn’t whimper in fright but happily squealed with stars in her eyes.

“Are you Discord?” she asked, her wings buzzing with barely concealed excitement. “The Discord?”   

Discord blinked. “Yeees…?”

Ocellus’ wing speed picked up as she squeed again with delight. “We were studying about you in Headmare Twilight’s Magical History class two weeks ago. Your magic is fascinating! Can you really make cotton candy clouds with chocolate milk rain? Did you actually take over Equestria twice? What did it feel like being stuck in stone? Did Professor Fluttershy really reform you? Can you truly rip the very fabric of reality?” She saw the other Discord and Fluttershy and gasped further. “Are these the copies that I’ve heard you like to make? Can you make a copy of me? Is there a limit to your magic? Are you stronger than Princess Celestia?”

Discord was completely flummoxed by this parade of questions. In all the history of Equestria he’d never experienced an actual fanfilly before. The whole scene was foreign to him and he actually felt a little embarrassed. How was he supposed to handle this? 

He looked to Fluttershy for guidance and found her positively beaming at Ocellus, her teal eyes sparkling with amusement and joy.

“Ocellus,” Thorax interrupted, finally ceasing the filly’s unending questions, “Shouldn’t you be in class?”

Ocellus’s excitement morphed into sheepishness as she let out a nervous laugh and scuffed the ground. “Um, yes?”

Thorax frowned and the small one hastily tried to explain herself.

“We were changing classrooms when I heard Professor Fluttershy was here and that she’s okay. I wanted to see her.”

Thorax sighed. “While I understand and appreciate the respect you have for your teacher, you really shouldn’t be skipping class.”

“He’s right, Ocellus,” Fluttershy gently admonished before wrapping the changeling in a hug. “But it was really nice to see you.”

“You too, professor,” she said with a happy smile. “Are the others okay?”

“Yes,” Fluttershy assured.

“Even Headmare Twilight?”

“Yes. We’re here to ask for your people’s help in freeing the other princesses.”

Ocellus turned to Thorax. “And are we?”

“We are,” Thorax reluctantly admitted. 

“How can I help?”

“You’re not getting involved!” Pharynx stated. 

“But-”

“No, Ocellus,” Thorax said in a tone Discord had never heard from him before; honestly the assertiveness was rather refreshing. The king stepped closer to the slightly cowed child and gently lifted her head. “I need you here, where it’s safe. You’re not a regular changeling; you are an important link in possibly uniting the other kingdoms in friendship.”

The young one sighed in defeat, her wings and ears drooping. “Okay.”

“Go back to class, please,” Thorax ordered.

She nodded but paused. She looked up at Discord and hastily said, “It was really nice to meet you, Mr. Discord. You really are amazing! Bye, professor.”

Fluttershy giggled and waved. “Bye.”

Before Discord could say anything more, the small changeling had flown off. 

“Well, look at that,” said Cordy, leaning against Discord’s shoulder. “A fan.”

“Yeah,” Discord muttered, still feeling completely off-kilter.

Cordy laughed at his bewilderment, slapping him on the back. “Must be nice.”

“I’m sorry about Ocellus,” Thorax apologized as they entered the dining area. “She’s been rather upset since her forced separation from her friends.”

“No need to apologize,” Discord assured. “She’s a nice filly.”

“She really is,” Fluttershy agreed. “And it was nice to see her again.”

“I had no idea that she was so fond of you, Discord,” Thorax said as he grabbed a lunch tray and started loading it down with some kind of pasta. 

“Nor I,” Fluttershy giggled. “You’ll have to come to the school sometime.”

Discord looked at her before looking away, slightly scuffing his hoof. “I’d…really like that.”

Though it had never been brought up before, he was rather sore that nopony, Fluttershy included, had invited him to the School of Friendship. It had been open for a while now too. He’d thought, had hoped, that the girls would invite him to at least the grand opening but they hadn’t. His hurt must have been plain on his face because Fluttershy was suddenly touching his paw.

“Discord?” she questioned, her large eyes looking up at him. “Are you okay?”

He quickly pulled his paw back and folded his arms. “Come to think of it, no, I’m not,” he said, turning away from her.

“Oh.” 

Fluttershy looked down at her hooves, her expression sad. Discord hated seeing her frown but this was something he’d been wanting to talk about for a while. He’d avoided it long enough anyway. 

“Do you two… need a moment?” Cordy asked, sensing the obvious tension rising between them.

“We’ll be back in a bit,” Discord grumbled, snapping his fingers and vanishing himself and Fluttershy away from the hive.

“Discord!” Fluttershy cried reproachfully when they reappeared in the middle of the ruins of the Castle of the Two Sisters. It was technically his castle now, the building being on his land. She glared up at him. “What are we doing here?”

Discord immediately turned away from her and snapped his fingers again. The throne room they were in instantly rebuilt itself, the broken roof rising into a single, attached piece, the walls displaying beautiful stained glass depictions of fully animated chaos. Discord’s throne, the one he’d been in when still a villain, reappeared at the top of a lovely checkerboard dais, the tiles being pink and blue beneath his mismatched feet. Instead of climbing the dais and ascending to his throne, he walked over to a window scene of Sweet Apple Acres covered in snow and ice; a reminder of the day his life truly changed. He stared at the glass image of four skates on the frozen lake and sighed, his back still to Fluttershy.

The soft sound of her hoofsteps drew closer until her delicate hoof reached up and took his paw.

“Talk to me,” she invited, her voice soft and gentle.

Discord closed his eyes and heaved a heavy sigh. “You know that I have difficulties sharing my feelings." 

“Yes,” she said, gently squeezing his paw, “and you know that I am more than okay with giving you space if that’s what you need. But something tells me that space isn’t what you need right now.”

He sighed again and finally faced her. “You’re right,” he admitted. “I guess I just don’t know where to start.”

“Wherever you feel you need to,” she politely encouraged. 

He looked away, twisting his tail between his hands. “You might not like what I have to say. I don’t think right now is the time to be getting into a fight.”

Fluttershy flew up and delicately took his head in her hooves. “Discord,” she muttered, her teal orbs filled with love and a longing to understand, “You brought us here. Clearly there’s something bothering you. Tell me. Please.”

He frowned and gently moved her hooves away. “Alright. Fine.” He turned his back to her and started to pace; if he kept staring into those eyes he’d never be able to truly express what it was he was feeling. After several rounds of going back and forth he threw up his paw and claw. 

“I’m hurt!” he snarled, releasing the anger that had been growing within his chest for weeks. “Twilight opens a School of Friendship and invites creatures from all over Equestria to attend, stating that it’s a place where all can come together, where every creature can feel welcomed and accepted. But guess who didn’t get an invitation? Guess who wasn’t included in the ‘I can’t run a School of Friendship without my best friends’ speech? Even Starlight Glimmer, who hasn’t even known all of you as long as I have, was included in that statement! I get that all of you are the heroes. I understand that you’re a group. But, after everything, I thought it was obvious how much I… how I wish that I…”

He turned away from her again, unwilling to show his watery eyes. “I felt left out,” he quietly confessed. “I still feel left out.” He finally looked back at her. “You didn’t invite me.” 

Fluttershy looked absolutely horrified, her mouth hidden behind her hooves. “Oh, Discord,” she muttered, flying over and immediately wrapping her hooves and wings around him. “I’m so sorry!” she cried. “I didn’t mean to exclude you. There was just so much going on when the school was founded and I was so overwhelmed being a teacher; I didn’t even think- oh, I’m a terrible marefriend!”

Discord, while grateful to see her genuine regret, also felt guilty for putting it there in the first place. “I’m sorry,” he muttered.

She pulled back. “What in Equestria do you need to be sorry for? I’m the one who messed up. I’m the one who-who neglected you!”   

“You didn’t know,” Discord comforted, holding her to his chest. “I didn’t exactly say anything to anypony either. I have a rather difficult time expressing sappy emotions. You’re honestly the only pony that I’ve ever fully let my guard down around.”

“Well, on behalf of the others, I want to say sorry for excluding you,” Fluttershy said, her eyes set in an adorable determination. “What happened wasn’t okay and I will talk to Twilight about it.”

“You really don’t have to,” Discord muttered.

“Yes, I do,” she said. “Discord, your journey is one of the greatest examples of the power of friendship in our history! Did you see the way Ocellus reacted around you? I think she was fascinated to learn about another creature besides changelings choosing to accept friendship into their life instead of continuing villainous pursuits. I’m proud of how far you’ve come and I think all of us would benefit from having you around the students.”

Discord’s cheeks darkened a bit and he looked away, unable to hide a rather pleased grin. “You’re just saying that to butter me up, aren’t you?”

“Not at all!” she said fiercely. “Discord, please come to the school with me the next time class is in session. I want to introduce my greatest friend to my students and let them see what the power of friendship has done for us.”

Discord glanced back at her and smiled. “I think I’d like that.” Before tacking on, “But I don’t think it would be appropriate to make out on the desk with the teacher in front of the class.” 

Fluttershy’s cheeks darkened but, instead of reacting as he expected, she leaned forward and winked. “We could always find a broom closet.”

A gleeful laugh burst out of Discord as he snuggled her into his chest. “My little pony, have I ever told you how much I love how you can surprise me?”

She giggled, nuzzling his chest fur. “No, but I’m glad that I can.”

He lifted her up and kissed her. She sighed happily, wrapping her hooves around his neck, applying more pressure to deepen the kiss. Discord’s talons slipped into her silky mane. Feeling bold, he opened his mouth so his tongue could slither across her lips. A moan escaped as Fluttershy eagerly opened her mouth, allowing his tongue to begin dancing with hers. Her wings and tail wrapped around his body, her stomach rubbing up against his neck and chest. Discord’s ears wiggled and his wings flapped from the contact. His tail started moving, the tuft slowly sliding up her leg. Fluttershy gasped before practically crushing herself against him, obviously enjoying the sensations he was sparking within her. He, himself, was just as aroused. His tail was getting dangerously close to areas it shouldn’t be. He should really stop but he found he didn’t really want to. His lion paw started to slip down her back and Fluttershy finally pulled away.

“Discord,” she panted, torn between need and rationality.

He sighed before reluctantly forcing his tail away from her thigh. He gently grabbed her under her forelegs and held her at arms length. 

“You’re being terribly unfair,” he pouted, “Forcing me to think responsibly.”

She smiled sadly, tucking her wings against her body. “While I loved every minute, now isn’t the time. We need to get back.”

He sighed, gently placing her back on the ground. “I know. I know. But when this is over, I’m bringing you back here to finish what we started.”

Fluttershy giggled. “I’d like that. By the way, I like what you’ve done with the place.”

“Thank you,” Discord smiled, giving the throne room a once-over. “I might make a few changes but I wanted our little chat to be private instead of open for anypony to hear.”

Fluttershy rubbed her nose against his paw before kissing it. “Thank you for telling me. I’m sorry we hurt your feelings; that I hurt your feelings.”

Discord smiled down at her, lightly rubbing her cheek with the pad of his paw. “I forgive you, Flutters.”

She smiled up at him. “I love you, Dissy.”

He booped her nose. “I love you too, Shyfly.”

“Shall we go back?”

“I think so. That strange pasta Thorax was about to sample looked like it would go nicely with a healthy dollop of ice cream.”

Fluttershy giggled as he scooped her into his arms and snapped his tail tuft. They reappeared in chairs next to Mirror Fluttershy and Cordy with Thorax and Pharynx sitting across from them.

“Everything in order?” Cordy asked, unfazed by their sudden appearance.

“Fine, fine,” Discord muttered, stretching his arm abnormally over the room to snag a plate full of pasta for himself and a salad for Fluttershy. She thanked him and he rubbed her head before conjuring a tub of cotton candy flavored ice cream and scooping an unhealthy amount onto his pasta. “What did we miss?”

“Nothing much,” Cordy answered, enjoying a salad. He’d tossed miniature chocolate chips, anchovies, and BBQ sauce amidst the leafy greens.

“I see you have similar unique tastes as your friend,” Pharynx muttered, eyeing Discord’s pasta with a slightly wrinkled nose. 

“Spirits of Chaos and Disharmony, remember?” Discord said, sprinkling taco seasoning over his ice cream.

“We were just discussing Princess Twilight’s plan,” Mirror Fluttershy said, completely undaunted by Discord and her boyfriend’s food choices. 

“Oh, goodie,” Discord said, savoring the chaos exploding in his mouth. “How far did you get?”

“We were about to give them a map to Starlight’s village,” Cordy said, magicking one up and handing it to Thorax.

“Thank you,” the king muttered, unfurling it so both he and Pharynx could see the chart. 

“As you can see, the best way for you to travel undetected is to take the sea,” Discord said, pointing out the route. “The hippogriffs will be traveling that direction as well. Twilight estimates their landing to be Baltimare since it’s the most direct train route to Canterlot. It also just so happens to be closest to Starlight’s old village.”

“But we’ve never traveled that route to Canterlot before,” Pharynx pointed out. “We’ve usually gone through New Horseleans to get to the nearest train station. Besides, Princess Celestia’s invitation already spoke of an envoy meeting us there three days before the Summit.”

“Oh dear,” Fluttershy muttered, concerned. “Do you think the others will have envoys as well?”

“I’m sure they will,” Discord grumbled. 

“Who do you think they’ll send?”

“Someone under his control, obviously,” Cordy sighed. 

“You don’t think it would be the princesses,” said Mirror Fluttershy worriedly.

Discord shook his head. “They’re his strongest defense; Tirek wouldn’t spread them out across Equestria. Besides, he doesn’t want anycreature knowing that the princesses have turned evil until it’s too late.”

“Oh, right,” she muttered, pulling anxiously on her hair with her hooves.

Cordy kissed the top of her head. “It was a good thought, Flutterbunny,” he assured.

“Regardless of who is being sent, we need a plan,” Pharynx stated. 

“Well, I’d say to do what changelings do best,” said Discord with a happy grin. “Deceive them.”

“You mean send one of our troops disguised as myself?” Thorax asked, not liking the idea at all.

“You’d be able to travel a different route unopposed,” said Cordy. 

“While your soldier and his entourage are taken to the palace,” finished Discord.

“I don’t like it,” Thorax said immediately. “It puts one of my own in danger.”

“I’ll do it,” Pharynx said.

“What?” Thorax cried, rounding on him. “No!”

“I know you better than anyone in this hive,” Pharynx argued. “I can pass as you- even if I loathe the idea of playing the part of a pushover.”

“Hey!”

“Then it’s settled,” Discord said happily. “Pharynx will pretend to be you and travel with the envoy and a small armed guard towards the palace while you lead the rest of your troops through another route. Might I suggest chaos travel? We could get you there in two snaps, tops.”

“Now hang on a minute!” Thorax cried, standing up. “I’m not comfortable with this! Pharynx, you could get hurt.”

“Brother, listen to me,” Pharynx said, taking his shoulders, “I’d rather Tirek’s dark magic change me than you. Besides, I don’t think it’ll come to that. You’re going to be attacking the palace the same day we’re supposed to have this Summit. Nothing is going to happen to me. I’ll be fine. If anything, I can act as an additional spy. I’ll be there a whole day before the Summit is supposed to start. I can sneak around and find out just how big Tirek’s army is.”

“That is a very helpful thought,” Discord mused. “As a changeling, you can shift your appearance to remain undetected.”

“And I’m one of the best shifters we have,” Pharynx said with pride. 

“It’s true,” Thorax sighed. “Chrysalis sent you out on scouting missions more than any other changeling in the hive. Alright; I may not like it but it makes sense sending you in. But if there is even a hint of trouble, I want you to get out of there, understand?”

Pharynx nodded, an eager smile on his face. “I’ll go and make selections on who will accompany me as well as who will be in the King’s guard. With me unable to stay by your side, I want the best troops looking after you.”

“And you might want to leave some other changeling in charge while you’re away,” said Discord.

“You know, in case something dreadful happens and we fail and the changelings need a new leader,” Cordy added with an impish grin.

Mirror Fluttershy smacked his chest. He merely chuckled.

“I really don’t hope it comes to that,” said Thorax, “but it’s not a bad idea. We’ll get on that.”

“Discord?”

“Yes, Fluttershy?”

The yellow pegasus sat in her seat, frowning. “Shouldn’t we warn the others to look out for possible envoys? We don’t want any of them being discovered.”

“You’re right,” Discord said before quickly snapping his fingers. Nothing visible happened. “There, they’ve all been warned. Good thinking, my dear.” He ruffled her hair, eliciting a happy smile. 

Pharynx stood up and stretched his wings. “It looks like I’ve got quite a bit of work cut out for me the next couple of days. What are the four of you going to do between now and the time we’re supposed to head off to Canterlot?”

“I think it might be best to have Thorax and his army relocate to Starlight’s old village as quickly as possible,” Discord said. “The more time we have to meet up with other allies and strategize the better.”

“Alright then,” Pharynx muttered. “I’ll organize the King’s Guard and the troops and have them ready in two days. Is that satisfactory?”

“Yes, I think so,” Thorax said while Discord nodded.

“Then I take my leave,” he said, nodding to Thorax before heading out of the cafeteria.

The bug king turned to them and smiled. “Would you all like to stay here in the hive? We’ve never actually had guests overnight before but I know of several empty rooms we could set up for you.”

“That would be lovely,” Fluttershy said with a smile and a nod.

“Great!” Thorax sent Discord a sly smile. “How many rooms should I have prepared?”

Discord scowled. “Four, you prying parasite.”

Thorax laughed and stood up. “I’ll make sure things are ready.”

“Thank you, Thorax,” said Fluttershy while Discord grumbled about nosy bugs not minding their own business. 

“My pleasure,” the king said, chuckling merrily as he left the cafeteria.
> Underground
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Starlight and Sunset Shimmer stepped through Discord’s portal onto a rocky cliff, the portal quickly flashing closed behind them. Below in a ravine, surrounded completely by snow capped mountains, was Starlight’s old village. 

The homes were lined up on either side in two straight rows. A light dusting of snow, like powdered sugar, covered the roofs, a kiss of winter’s inevitable coming. The few visible trees around the village were nearly bare, their leaves scattered about on the ground. 

“Wow,” Sunset muttered, “this place looks…”

“Like a cookie cutter town,” Starlight finished with a sigh, “I know.” 

“You weren’t kidding when you said you did your best to make everything equal.”

“Yeah, my horn was sort of crooked back then,” the light purple pony confessed as she led the way towards the road. “I thought the town ponies would have changed things but they once told me the perfect lines help serve as a reminder to always cherish their individuality.” She stopped and added, “Which I took away from them.”

Sunset placed a comforting hoof on her shoulder. “Hey, I’ve done my fair share of regretful things too. I have to walk through my school almost every day. It wasn’t that long ago I was a major bully strutting through the halls. But the students of Canterlot High forgave me and I have a feeling these ponies forgave you too.”

“They have,” Starlight admitted, “Though sometimes I can’t understand why.”

“I can totally relate to that.”

They shared a glance and grateful smile before Starlight waved her hoof. 

“Come on; let’s go let them know they’re about to become the base for a multi-creature army.”

Their approach was spotted several paces away, a pony on the edge of town sharing the news of Starlight’s return. By the time they reached the village, half the occupants stood waiting for them.

“Starlight!” Double Diamond, a white stallion wearing a purple scarf, cried her name with an energetic smile. “It’s so good to see you!”

She was instantly enveloped by the villagers, each of them hugging or giving her a hoof-pat on the back. Feeling rather overwhelmed, Starlight had to force herself to take a deep breath and not teleport away. 

“We weren’t sure if you’d been taken prisoner by Tirek!” Night Glider cried, pulling back and searching her eyes. “You are okay, right?”

“I’m fine,” Starlight assured before motioning for Sunset to come closer. “This is my friend, Sunset Shimmer. We have urgent news from Princess Twilight to share with all of you.”

There was a gasp and several of the ponies began backing up, staring at them suspiciously.

“Princess Twilight?” Night Glider repeated.

“She’s okay now!” Starlight hastily explained. “I promise, she’s not evil anymore and neither are we.”

“We were able to rescue her,” Sunset plugged in, stepping bravely forward. “Please, there’s a lot we want to explain but we should probably find a safer place to do so.”

“Is the underground council chamber still available?” asked Starlight.

“It is,” Party Favor answered. “I’ll call a town meeting and make sure everypony gets down there.”

“Thank you.”

Fifteen minutes later the whole town was secured in a large room located under the village’s only clothing store; it had been the sturdiest spot of ground to build such a large space. Starlight nervously shifted on her hooves, watching the room full of ponies from just off stage. Sunset stood beside her.

“Hey, you okay?” asked the fiery haired pony.

Starlight swallowed. “Yeah. I’ve improved a great deal but being in front of so many ponies still tends to set me on edge.”

“You’ve got this,” Sunset assured. “Just remember that you’re addressing friends, not an unknown crowd.”

Starlight smiled. “Thanks, Sunset.”

The yellow pony nodded before gently nudging her forward. Starlight took a deep breath and made herself known. The small chatter in the room died almost instantly.

“Thank you all for coming,” she said, smiling reassuringly. “I don’t know exactly what you do and don’t know so I’ll give you the facts to clear things up.” 

She quickly recounted the princesses' overthrow as well as Twilight’s restoration and Discord’s crucial involvement in their safety. Her friends gasped and cheered in all the right places, completely captivated by her tale. 

“How can we be sure we can trust the Lord of Chaos?” somepony shouted from the back. “Wasn’t he Tirek’s ally before?”

“Yeah!” several ponies shouted.

“Discord has made his fair share of mistakes but so have I,” Starlight reminded. “All of you welcomed me back despite what I did to you. Some might find Discord’s actions far worse but the fact remains that he’s changed. He’s on our side and I can give you my personal guarantee that he will always be a friend to ponies from now on. Please remember, if it wasn’t for him, I probably wouldn’t be standing in front of you right now and the rest of Equestria’s protectors would be slaves to Tirek the same as our princesses.”

Most of the crowd seemed appeased but a few still held skeptical frowns. Starlight could only hope that, in time, their suspicions would be proved unnecessary. 

“This is why Sunset and I are here,” she said, deciding to move on. “We need your help.”

She revealed Twilight’s plan of using their town as her army’s temporary encampment. The town ponies were shocked at first but then very eager to lend a helping hoof in preparing for their coming guests. A few concerns were voiced about the coming winter but Starlight assured them that, if all went according to plan, Tirek would be defeated well before any Hearth’s Warming festivities were underway.

The rest of the day was spent overseeing preparations. Sunset and Starlight used an intense amount of combined magic to build an underground base big enough to hide what they hoped would be a large army. If any bigger dragons decided to participate, they’d have to dwell in the caves in the mountains but the rest of their allies could easily fit in the cavern they’d made. With a duplicate spell, they had enough pillows and blankets for every creature and a substantial amount of food. 

“Everything looks great,” Starlight said tiredly, walking over to Sunset who looked dead on her feet. “I just finished talking to Double Diamond. A few ponies have volunteered to stay up near the cave that Twilight and the others should be entering from to guide them safely to the village.”

“That’s good,” she muttered, repressing a huge yawn. “I’ve double and triple checked our fortifications. The earth is holding just as we’d hoped. With the amount of spells we put up I don’t think it’s ever going to cave in.”

Starlight nodded before releasing her own yawn. “We should get some sleep. Sugarbelle’s cousin has a place for us to crash.”

“Sounds good to me. I’m ready to hit the hay,” Sunset yawned.

They dragged their hooves out of the underground base and up into the chilly night air. Shivering, they trekked over to the bakery and gratefully got out of the cold the second Sprinkle Glaze, Sugarbelle's cousin, opened the door. The teal unicorn quickly shut the door behind them.

“Thanks for letting us stay here,” Starlight said tiredly.

“No problem,” he said, ushering them into a small guest room. “It’s not much but the bed has a pull out mattress underneath and the bathroom is just down the hall."

The room was small and quaint. A single nightstand with a lamp stood next to the bed and a couple pictures of different pastries lined the walls. A siren's call seemed to be coming from the bed and Starlight wished nothing more than to plop down on the mattress and drift off.

"Is there anything else I can get you?” Sprinkle Glaze asked.

“No, this works great,” Sunset assured. 

"Okay. Well, if you need anything, I'm the door just after the bathroom."

"Thanks," Starlight smiled.

The door closed and the two unicorns happily fell onto their beds, Starlight taking the top, Sunset the floor. 

"I don't know about you but I'm magically exhausted," Sunset muttered, fluffing her pillow.

"I'm going to sleep like a rock," Starlight assured. "Ready for lights out?"

"Mm-hmm," Sunset mumbled, already half asleep.

Starlight flicked off the light and settled back onto her pillow. The mattress wasn't as comfy as the one Discord made for her but, for how tired she was, it was like sleeping on a cloud. She rolled over and, within minutes, was fast asleep.





Discord's choice of portal location, Twilight decided, was logical but disgusting. She, Mirror Rarity, and Mirror Applejack immediately gagged the second the portal closed behind them. Surrounded by dumpsters, the smell of garbage was rancidly potent and overwhelming. Twilight quickly led the way out of the back alley into a street bustling with pony life and fresher air.

"My poor nose!" Mirror Rarity cried in anguish.

"That smelled worse than a fresh helping of manure and that's sayin’ something," said Mirror Applejack.

"It was terrible," Twilight agreed, "but I think Discord was wise to open a portal there since so many ponies seem to be mulling around."

The streets weren't as busy as Manehatten but there was certainly enough traffic to make a sudden portal appearance impossible to miss. Twilight and her companions easily joined the throng heading towards Baltimare’s port. The fresh salty air quickly cleared their noses from the previous stench as the three of them walked down the cobbled street. 

All around them tall buildings reached for the sky with smaller shops and restaurants wedged in between. The landscape reminded Twilight of books on an overfilled library shelf. The whole place felt crowded and she found herself wishing to be back in Ponyville where everything was more widespread. 

"Now remember," she said as they walked, "my name is Rosy Stardust; Rosy for short."

"Got it," they said together.

"And Rarity, you should be slightly in the front since we're supposed to be pretending we're here on your business."

"Oh, right," Mirror Rarity muttered, trotting slightly forward while Twilight moved to be on her right with Mirror Applejack on her left. "Um, where am I supposed to go?"

"Just keep heading towards the water," Twilight advised. "Once there, we'll start looking for a place to stay. Remember to only look for inns you would find classy or posh. Nothing cheap."

"That I can do," she said with confidence.

As they continued walking down the street, Twilight started to notice they were getting a lot of double takes and many ponies were whispering and pointing at them. Something wasn’t right. She strained her hearing, focusing on a couple sitting outside a cafe, the two ponies doing nothing to hide the fact they were talking about them. 

They were drawing closer to the couple’s table when somepony hissed quietly behind them, “Keep walking. Don’t look back. Head for that alley just up ahead.”

Twilight frowned, her ear twitching backward but doing as told, Mirror Rarity and Mirror Applejack skittishly following her lead. That voice sounded oddly familiar but Twilight couldn’t put her hoof on why. 

The three ponies casually walked into the alley before Twilight whipped around to face the new potential threat. Her mouth dropped open in surprise.

“Tempest?” she cried.

The dark purple pony narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing her. “How do you know who I am?” 

Twilight stepped forward. “You once told me on an air ship to “Open up my eyes”.” 

Tempest’s eyes widened. “Twilight?” she whispered, looking hopeful but cautious.

Twilight nodded but said, “Actually my name is Rosy Stardust. I’m a newly hired assistant to Rarity.”

“That’s right,” Mirror Rarity stepped in. “I’m looking to open a new store here in Baltimore, I mean, Baltimare! Rosy is here to help me find a good location.”

“And I’m here to ensure she gets a good honest deal,” Mirror Applejack quickly added.

Tempest frowned. “Your cover story is believable but your nerves betray you. Next time somepony asks questions, display confidence.”

Twilight stepped in. “It’s alright, girls. Tempest is an old friend of mine.”

“Well, landsakes, Twili- I mean, Rosy!” Mirror Applejack grumbled. “Ya near plum gave me a heart attack!”

Tempest’s frown grew and she raised a questioning eyebrow to Twilight as to why she felt the need to explain to her friends who she was when they’d already met. 

Twilight smiled. “It’s a long story.”

Tempest glanced over her shoulder. “I’d like to hear it but not here. Follow me.”

The four ponies traveled down the alley until they reached the other side. Tempest stopped at the end and looked both directions as well as up before venturing out into the street. Her pace was quick as she guided them through what quickly became a market filled with ponies. Expertly, the purple pony grabbed three cloaks off a merchant stand, slipped some bits to the owner, and covered her companions. 

“What-?” Twilight began but the taller pony just shook her head and muttered, “Not yet.”

If Twilight didn’t know that she could trust her completely, she would have thought Tempest was leading them into a trap. The way her eyes shifted and her body moved proved that any moment she was expecting to have to use the special skills she’d used while in the Storm King’s service. Every pony around her seemed a little more on edge, giving her a wide enough berth for the others to quickly pass through the crowd behind her. 

Eventually they left the market and entered a neighborhood filled with identical brick houses that were literally stuck together; the only indication of individual residency were the steps leading up to each apartment door. Tempest turned up the steps about halfway down the street, pulling out a key and opening the door to apartment 617. She quickly ushered Twilight and the others inside, scanning the area before shutting the door and bolting it closed.

“Tempest,” Twilight tried again, “What is going on?”

“Not yet,” Tempest said, walking over to a cupboard under a set of stairs and opening the door. 

Another set of steps appeared and she motioned them forward. Mirror Rarity and Mirror Applejack looked to Twilight. The light pink princess took a deep breath and decided to do as asked, her eyes filled with silent questions. Tempest was the last to go down, closing and locking the door behind her. 

Twilight was prepared to see a pony’s typical basement filled with boxes and other keepsakes but what she found was a fully furnished apartment. Her brows furrowed further with confusion.

The floor plan was mostly open, with large thick pillars supporting parts of the ceiling scattered about the room. The furniture was used to separate the living and dining room from the kitchen, the colors muted brown, beige, and orange. Two doors leading to a back bedroom and a bathroom were directly across from the main entrance. There was a small window in the bedroom but the rest of the lighting was from various lamps.

"Forgive me, princess," Tempest said, leading the way into the living room. "I would have answered your questions sooner but you never know who can be trusted these days. Most ponies say they are loyal to the princesses but the fear of Tirek easily sways them towards betrayal. Now that we are in a secure location, maybe we can answer each other's questions."

Twilight settled on the chair opposite to Tempest's while Mirror Rarity and Mirror Applejack took the couch. 

"Alright," Twilight agreed. "Let's start with you and then I'll fill in everything that's happened to me."

Tempest shook her head. "I'm afraid I need to hear your side of things first, Your Highness."

"Why?"

"Frankly, I'm still debating on whether or not I can trust you," she admitted.

Twilight, at first, was offended by that comment but, after thinking it over, logically it made sense. Last anypony heard, she was still Midnight Sparkle. If Tempest was ever going to trust her, she needed to be upfront about everything -minus the private conversations with Flash and Amity, that is.

"That's fair," she finally agreed.

"Hang on there, partner. Twilight, are you sure we can trust her?" asked Mirror Applejack, eyeing Tempest with suspicion. "She hasn't exactly got the vibe of an honest person -I mean- pony."

"Yes," agreed Mirror Rarity. "How do we know she hadn't led us into a trap?"

"We don't," Twilight said, "but I trust her. Will you two trust me?"

Mirror Applejack frowned but nodded. "Fer now."

Mirror Rarity nodded too. 

Twilight sent them a reassuring smile before turning back to Tempest. "I'll give you a brief summary of events."

"Go on," she invited.

Twilight gave a precise yet short account of what had happened to her and her friends as well as revealing her companions true origins. 

"Discord and Fluttershy have been restored?" Tempest asked, the intensity in her gaze slightly unnerving the secret princess.

"Um, yes. The Rainbooms helped them just like they helped me."

Tempest's cold outer shell finally cracked and the unicorn relaxed, a weary sigh causing her shoulders to sag.

"Thank Celestia," she muttered. "The last report from FP stated that the two creatures had gone rogue and the princesses were unsuccessful in capturing them. It's nice to know we don't have to worry about a chaos beast and an untamed vampire pony on top of everything else."

"Who's FP?" asked Twilight.

“The leader behind the EIA.”

“What’s the EIA?”

“Equestria Intelligence Agency,” Tempest explained. “We’re a secret operation that gathers military and political information that may or may not affect national security.”

Twilight’s jaw dropped and her eyes widened as Mirror Applejack said, “So you’re basically a spy?”

“Basically,” Tempest confirmed. 

“WHAT?!” Twilight gasped, her mind reeling with this new information. 

Equestria had a spy network? She’d read plenty of books involving fictitious government agencies but to know that their own country actually had one… such a secret forced Twilight to accept a most dreadful revelation: Celestia had kept this from her. But why? She’d been a princess for years now. Shouldn’t that qualify her to know about things such as this? What else could Celestia possibly be keeping from her?

Tempest put a comforting hoof over hers. “Twilight, this agency is only revealed on a need-to-know basis. Not even Princess Luna knows of its existence.”

Twilight’s eyes widened. “What?”

“If the network is ever discovered, and the princess’s involvement is made known, Celestia alone wants to take the fall. She doesn’t want any of you other princesses being held responsible.”

Twilight’s eyes narrowed. “And just what, exactly, does the EIA do?”

“We’re spies, Twilight,” Tempest stated. “We spy on other nations, we gather information that may be a threat to Equestria, and we keep tabs on any and all potential threats.”

“Like Discord and Fluttershy when they were mindless beasts,” Mirror Rarity realized.

Tempest nodded. “I will have to let Fancy know of their restoration- and yours, Twilight. I think all of us will be relieved to know we have three less hostiles to find and deal with.”

“Fancy?” Twilight’s jaw dropped again. “As in Fancy Pants? He’s the leader?”

“He has been for years,” Tempest revealed. “His status places him in the perfect position to execute the princess’s orders and keep the network informed of any tidbits other visiting nobles tend to let slip.”

Fancy Pants was a spy. No; he was the spy. And he was right there, at this very moment, in the heart of Canterlot! He knew everything that was going on. Tirek didn’t change him because Daybreaker suggested using him as a means to keep the nobility under his hoof. Tirek didn’t realize that a rat was literally woven into his wickedly crafted net! Was it possible that Fancy Pants, through his network of spies, was forming his own kind of resistance? Wait. Why wouldn’t Daybreaker report him? Maybe she wanted to lull him into a state of false security to make him think that she was ignorant of the things she knew before? It’s what Midnight would have done; Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

“As much of a relief it would be to let everypony know we’re okay, I think it would be best to keep me and the others' restorations a secret,” Twilight said.

Tempest frowned. “Why? Your recovery would bring many ponies hope! We honestly thought we were on our own.”

Twilight shook her head. “It pains me to say it, but you need to keep it that way.”

“But why?”

“Because Daybreaker knows all about Fancy’s secret life,” Twilight revealed. “None of us forgot who we used to be when we were changed. Daybreaker may be aware of every plan you’re making. Tell me, what are you doing in Baltimare, Tempest?”

“Originally I was stationed here to keep an eye on some gang activity,” she answered, “but my orders recently changed. I’m now here for the same reason you are: to take out Tirek’s envoy and warn the hippogriffs of the potential threat to their nation’s security.”

Twilight’s brow furrowed. “Envoy? What envoy?”

Before Tempest could elaborate, there was a flash of light and a miniature Discord appeared on Twilight’s snout. The princess cried out and reflexively smacked him off her nose. 

“Ouch!” Tiny Discord grumbled, twirling twice through the air before righting himself. “Now that’s not a very nice way to greet a friend, is it?” 

“Discord?!” Twilight cried, staring down at the little draconequus. “What-?”

In a flash Tempest was standing over the newcomer, her broken horn pointed right in his face. “How did you get in here?” she demanded. “This place has every possible known magical security there is.”

Discord rolled his eyes. “Chaos cannot be stopped by logical spells.” He pushed the broken horn away and raised a single fluffy eyebrow. “And who are you supposed to be anyway?”

“This is Tempest,” Twilight quickly explained. “She’s a friend. Now, what are you doing here? Has something happened to Fluttershy?”

“Oh, no, no, no, we’re fine. I’m just popping in to deliver a message and a warning,” he said. “Flutters and I just learned from Thorax that Tirek is sending out envoys to every ally invited to the Royal Summit.”

“I know,” Twilight said. “Tempest just shared that.”

Discord’s interest in the dark purple unicorn returned as he turned back to look at her. “And how would you know about that?”

“I can’t answer that,” Tempest said. “Classified information.”

Discord’s interest instantly deflated. “Oh, I see; you’re one of Celestia’s EIA spies.”

“You know about the EIA?” Tempest and Twilight cried in unison, the former in outrage, the latter in shock.

Discord scoffed. “Please! The amount of ‘secret meetings’ Celestia had in that garden while I was stone were enough to clue me in on your agency’s standard MO. No need to worry your oddly fish-like mane however; I’m not about to interfere with your operations. At least, unless any of you are foolish enough to actually spy on me or Fluttershy. If I even catch a hint of spy activity anywhere near her or myself I’ll turn every single one of you into anchovies and feed you to my tree shark.”    

Tempest didn’t know how to respond to that so she kept silent. Twilight, however, knew that Discord was dead serious from the tone of his voice. His usual lilt had dropped an entire octave and his eyes had temporarily glowed red. She hoped Tempest and any other spy took his threat to heart.

“Discord,” she said, “now isn’t the time for threats. Tempest, what can you tell us about this envoy?”

Tempest glared down at the Lord of Chaos before turning to answer the princess. “Are you familiar with the bat ponies?”

“I know they mostly dwell in Mt. Canterhorn and work as Luna’s guards during the nighttime,” she answered.

Tempest’s expression was grim as she revealed, “Well, it would seem Tirek has slightly changed their diet. He’s made them thirst for blood, like vampire ponies in fictitious works.”

Twilight paled. “Like what he did to Fluttershy.” She glanced at Discord whose lip was curling angrily.

“Sort of,” Tempest elaborated. “According to FP, your friend became completely savage while the Night Guard have just had a severe change in diet. That and their every desire is to serve and carry out Tirek’s orders. They are the envoy he has selected. They have orders to use whatever means necessary to bring the allies to Canterlot. I have been tasked by Fancy Pants to take out the envoy before Queen Novo’s arrival.” 

Twilight felt like she was going to be sick as she asked, “Is the envoy already here?” 

“Not that I’ve seen. I’ve been watching the Port for almost a week since I know that’s where they are expecting the queen.”

Twilight turned to Discord. “Have you seen any bat ponies in the changeling territory?”

Discord shook his head. “No but I can do a perimeter check.”

Twilight nodded. “This information needs to be passed to the others. Discord, can you-?”

“Already on it,” he said. “I’ve been filling them in on our conversation; I sent them all tiny me’s as well.” 

Impressed by the magical connection and mass projection the Chaos Lord could make while using a duplication spell, Twilight expressed her thanks before adding, “Can you also provide each of us a way to communicate when our envoy is taken out? We can’t afford to have anypony slip back to Canterlot to warn Tirek of our involvement.”

Discord snapped his tiny claws and a wristband appeared on Twilight’s left foreleg. “There. All you have to do is talk to the band, stating your name. Then declare your success or failure. If successful, the band will grow green and your cutie mark will appear. If any of you fail and stand in need of help, the band will glow red along with the specified cutie mark. Cordy or myself will then come to your assistance.”

“That’s ingenious, darling,” Mirror Rarity complimented.

Discord slightly puffed out his tiny chest and tilted his head up at the praise. “Why, thank you, dear Rarity. I must say, it’s nice to know my magic is appreciated by humans, at least.”

Twilight resisted the urge to roll her eyes and coughed into her hoof. “Discord? I also need you to warn the others of possible ponies trying to take down the envoys. I don’t want them hurt but they need to stay out of it.”

“But, princess-” Tempest began.

Twilight cut her off. “I suspect these envoys might have two missions instead of one.”

“What do you mean?” asked Mirror Applejack.

“If I’m right,” Twilight muttered, beginning to pace, “this might be a clever way for Daybreaker to root out some of Celestia’s spies to capture them.”

“Whatever would she want with them?” asked Mirror Rarity.

“To enslave them to Tirek,” Discord answered, as if the answer were obvious, “To strengthen the army he already has.”

Twilight nodded. “When evil, I knew that Tirek’s biggest goal was to take over all of Equestria. In order to do that, he has to take out our military and any others who might be in the crown’s employ. The princesses know of those who fit in that category and those that still need to be taken down. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Wonderbolts had all been changed.”

“They have been,” Tempest confirmed, her eyes sad and dim. “As well as all the royal guards.”

Twilight’s brow furrowed with worry and her heart leapt in sudden fear. “Tempest, have you any news about the Crystal Empire? Are their armies…?”

Tempest shook her head. “They’re fine. Surprisingly, Heartbreaker can’t get into the city. None of the princesses can. We suspect the Crystal Heart is behind a magical barrier keeping them out.”

Twilight released the breath she’d been holding. Flash was safe. “The Crystal Heart is a powerful artifact. I’m not surprised it’s defending the city.”

“While your coltfriend’s safety is good to know, is there any further reason for me to stick around?” Discord asked. “I do have other things to do, you know.” 

He was knitting a small red tube into existence, his knitting needles clicking quickly together.

Twilight’s face flushed at the word ‘coltfriend’ and she refused to meet Tempest’s curious eye as she quickly answered, “No, I think that’s it. Thanks for all your help, Discord. I honestly don’t know how we’d be able to accomplish all of this without you. Your chaos magic has seriously been a lifesaver.”

Discord’s jaw and knitting needles dropped, his eyes widening in surprise. Clearly, her lack of retort and the sincere compliment instead had completely thrown him. She couldn’t help snickering into her hoof.

“What’s the matter?” she probed, slightly smug for making him speechless. 

“You just-” He shook his head and quickly waved his hands. “You know what, nevermind. If you don’t need me anymore, adieu, princess.”

He twisted up into a little ball before flashing out of existence. Twilight’s lingering smile was a little sad yet hopeful. 

Someday, you’ll truly know that I’m your friend, she promised.     

She turned back to Tempest. “While I appreciate every effort you’ve been making, I need you to leave Queen Novo’s envoy to us. Can you get a message to Fancy Pants? He needs to know that his actions may very well be known to Daybreaker. She cannot know that my friends and I are on the offensive. Please don’t mention anything about us to him or anypony else.”

“Twilight, I can’t just sit here and not help you. Let me assist in taking out this threat.”

Twilight frowned. She didn’t know how many vampire bat ponies would show. Her magic could easily win a fight but the risk of any slipping away and alerting Tirek to her and her friends would not be in their best interest.

“Alright,” she reluctantly allowed before putting a grateful hoof on her shoulder. “You’re a great friend, Tempest. Thank you for all your help.”

The dark purple pony smiled. “It’s my pleasure. You’re all free to stay here, if you’d like. The upper floor is just for show but there are a couple beds up there. If we want to magick them down here, we can all sleep in a secure location.”

“Oh, we don’t want to put you out, darling,” Mirror Rarity began.

“It’s honestly no trouble,” Tempest said. “ Besides, as a servant to the crown, I protect all royals. As you’re here, Twilight, it is my duty to protect you.”

Twilight blushed slightly, feeling slightly awkward but appreciative of the fact. “Thanks,” she weakly laughed. “Um, just don’t go treating me like a princess above ground, okay? I’m supposed to be just an ordinary unicorn right now.”

“Of course,” Tempest smiled. “There’s some food in the kitchen if you’re hungry. I’m going to send that message of warning to FP. Don’t worry, I won’t say anything about you or your friends.”

She disappeared into her bedroom and the others made themselves comfortable. Mirror Applejack went into the kitchen to whip something up for everypony while Rarity chatted with Twilight about the ingenious way ponies partook in fashion based on what she’d seen on the streets above as well as what she was wearing. Twilight smiled and nodded every so often, trying her best to listen.

Tempest returned a few minutes later, just in time for an early supper. 

“Fancy wasn’t very happy,” she sighed, settling into a chair. “He wanted the name of the pony who brought me the information.”

“What did you tell him?” asked Twilight, helping Mirror Applejack bring over a platter full of sandwiches to the table; the ‘mare’ still struggled with carrying things with her hooves.

Tempest shrugged. “I told him it was a golden source that needed to remain anonymous.” 

Twilight rested a hoof over hers, sending an apologetic frown. “I’m sorry to cause any tension between the two of you.”

“It’s not your fault,” she assured. “Everypony is on edge these days.”

“I’ll say,” Mirror Applejack muttered, carefully lowering herself into the last free chair. “Those ponies on the street were strung tighter than a fiddle. I don’t know about y’all but I was more than grateful to get inside.”

“Unfortunately, Applejack, we can’t hide in here forever,” said Twilight. “We have to make sure we don’t miss the hippogriffs.”  

“Although, it may be best for them to remain underground,” said Tempest, indicating the mirror ponies.

“Why do you say that?” asked Mirror Applejack.

“Because there are wanted posters for all of you, well, the pony versions of you, throughout Equestria,” Tempest revealed.

Twilight’s jaw dropped. “What?”

“That’s why everyone was looking at us!” said Mirror Rarity in dismay and understanding.

“And why I stepped in when I did,” Tempest said. “In this city, I’m working undercover as a private investigator. I have several police contacts. I figured once ponies saw you with me, they would back off, thinking I was taking you to the nearest station.”

“What’s to stop someone from reporting they saw us with you?” asked Mirror Applejack.

“I… have a certain rapport,” Tempest said, unable to meet Twilight’s eyes. “Old habits die hard.”

Twilight frowned. “Tempest, you haven’t hurt anypony, have you?” 

“Yes but not like how I used to,” she quickly answered. “I just roughen up thugs until they talk. It’s part of the spy life.”

Twilight didn’t like that answer one bit but now wasn’t the time to think on the EIA’s missions and protocols. 

Deciding to let it go, she said, “While that bothers me, we need to focus on the here and now.” She set down her half eaten sandwich. “I’m not comfortable leaving Applejack and Rarity here alone. It’s not that I don’t trust you,” she added hastily at the looks on their faces, “it’s that I don’t think any of us should split up more than we already have. We need to stick together.”

“But they’ll instantly be recognized the second they go up there,” Tempest argued.

“Not necessarily,” Twilight muttered, a smile beginning to light her face. 

“I know that look,” Mirror Applejack said, worry wrinkling her brow, “it’s a little different on a pony face but you’ve got the exact same look our Twilight gets when she has an idea.”

“My goodness, you’re right, darling,” Mirror Rarity agreed, “She does!”

“What are you planning, Twilight,” the cowgirl demanded.

“A long time ago, our Rarity was in charge of an event in my hometown,” Twilight explained, “But she became distracted from her duties because of a visiting stallion. She ended up completely changing her demeanor and appearance in an attempt to impress him. You see, the stallion was interested in Applejack and Rarity got jealous. She dressed up as a farm pony and pretended to be a hayseed. To knock some sense into her, Applejack pretended to be a fashionista. It totally worked, by the way.”

“And you want us to do something similar?” Mirror Rarity cried, aghast. “Forgive me, Twilight, but I am not one to roll around in the mud. And Applejack isn’t exactly a friend to the ways of fashion.”

“Excuse me, Rarity,” Mirror Applejack snapped, “But it sounds like you’re saying I don’t have what it takes to be a fashionista.” 

“Well,” Mirror Rarity weakly chuckled, “you clean up quite well, darling, but we all know you abhor frills and lace.”

“While that is true, if it’s for the sake of the mission, I’d be willing to wear some fancy-smancy get-up,” Mirror Applejack declared, her green eyes igniting with determined fire. “If anything, it seems to me yer the one that has a problem steppin’ into a pair of cowgirl boots.”

“I do not have a problem with it!” Mirror Rarity cried defensively. “I was just stating that fashion is my thing!”

“While “rolling around in the mud” is mine?”    

Mirror Rarity was about to angrily protest when Twilight got between the two. 

“Enough!” she snapped, throwing out her hooves. “We don’t have time for petty squabbles! We’ve got a job to do! If you’re willing to disguise yourselves you can join Tempest and I tomorrow. If not, you’ll have to remain here. The last thing I need is to worry about springing either of you out of some jail before Tirek and the others come calling.”

The two ponies shared a glance, a mixture of guilt and lingering frustration marring their faces. 

Twilight let out a heavy sigh. “Just, think about it,” she muttered, finishing her sandwich and pushing away from the table. “I’m going to go magic the beds down here.”

“I’ll come with you,” Tempest offered. 

The two unicorns went upstairs, leaving the mirror ponies alone. 

“Are they going to be okay?” Tempest asked as she guided Twilight towards the upper rooms on the second floor. 

“If they’re anything like our Applejack and Rarity, they’ll be fine,” Twilight said. “They may bicker like foals but their friendship is solid. They just needed a moment without an audience.”

After slightly adjusting the protective enchantments on the basement to allow for teleportation spells, Twilight and Tempest managed to move the beds and themselves down to the basement. When they reappeared, surrounded by the beds, Mirror Rarity and Mirror Applejack were waiting for them. Each looked a little sheepish.

“Twilight, we’re sorry,” Mirror Applejack said while Mirror Rarity nodded emphatically. “We didn’t mean to cause a stir.”

“Both of us can get rather carried away when it comes to defending our passions,” Mirror Rarity confessed.. 

“The point is, we’ve made our peace and would be willing to do whatever is required,” the disguised cowgirl declared. 

Twilight smiled. “I’m glad. I’m sure we can whip up something to help you both blend into opposite roles.”

“I have a closet full of disguises, if you’re more comfortable wearing clothes,” Tempest offered, finishing recasting the protective spells over the apartment.

“That would be most helpful,” replied Mirror Applejack while Mirror Rarity squealed with excitement, “Lead the way, darling!”

There was a small round of laughter as the ponies spent the next couple hours before bed looking over the options in the closet. After the upteenth outfit, Mirror Applejack made a decision on a nice frilly dress with a sunhat while Mirror Rarity donned a hat, plaid button up shirt, and jeans. 

Twilight inspected the looks and nodded. “The only thing you need to do is change up your hairstyles and I think you’ll be set.”

Neither of them looked thrilled by that news but they’d already committed and, therefore, reluctantly agreed.

“I’ll come up with something,” Mirror Rarity promised.

“As will I,” Mirror Applejack sighed.

“I’m sure that whatever you decide will be great,” Twilight smiled. “Now, we should all probably get some sleep.”

“You three should sleep,” said Tempest. “I need to go meet a source at the police station. I still have a fake job to uphold, afterall.”

“Alright,” Twilight frowned, slightly concerned. “Be safe out there.”

Tempest smiled. “Don’t worry, princess. I know my way around the Baltimare nightlife.”

A while after Tempest had left, Twilight lay on her bed, thinking of everything they’d learned from the dark purple unicorn. Though having no personal contact with any of them, she couldn’t help feeling sorry for the bat ponies. A diet like theirs sounded awful. She and her friends would have to be very careful when dealing with them. If caught, they could drink their blood until they passed out. 

“We have to be on guard at all times,” she muttered to herself. 

Mirror Rarity sleepily looked up from her pillow. “Did you say something, darling?”

“Oh, um, no,” Twilight said, blushing slightly. “Nothing at all. Goodnight, Rarity.”

Mirror Rarity yawned and settled back into her pillow. “Goodnight, Twilight.”

Twilight mentally berated herself for talking out loud. Twisting onto her side, she released her own deep yawn. She really needed to get some sleep. 

Her worries ended up plaguing her for another hour before she finally managed to drift off. 
> Origin
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fluttershy lay on her back, staring up at the ceiling of her guest room. She should be sleeping but her brain just wouldn’t shut off. She’d been in the changeling hive for two days now. Tomorrow Discord was going to snap everypony to Starlight’s old village where they would wait for their friends and the rest of Twilight’s army to assemble. 

Fluttershy sighed, rolling onto her side, staring at the wall. While the shadow of war was heavily felt in the hive, it was not the true source of her personal unrest. The Element of Kindness was disturbed because part of her was churning with a thirst for vengeance. She would have wanted justice for Tirek's crimes regardless but, what he’d done to her personally, what he’d made her do; it was almost unforgivable. 

She was no stranger to the magic of others transforming her into something she wasn't but never had somepony forced her to become a beast that drank the blood of another creature. She despised Tirek for making her into such a monster, for creating this conflict of identity, for ripping apart the one true confidence she had in herself. A few tears dripped down her face from that loss and her heart swelled with both sorrow and anger as this thought led to another: Tirek was also the reason she’d openly confessed to and flaunted her feelings for Discord. Fluttershy’s cheeks flushed in memory. 

The kiss at Twilight's castle and Wild Discord's probing of her body had unlocked her raw, confusing need to be his. It overrode everything, completely exposing the deepest secret of her heart. It wasn't that she was upset that he now knew; It was the fact that she was robbed of the opportunity to confess her feelings under her own choice of circumstance. An unwanted evil audience had even been witness to the latter intimate event; something that mortified her when she thought back to what had taken place!

Her face burned further as she remembered the areas Discord had explored. Even now the ghost of his muzzle lingered against her fur, his warm breath whispering over her body. She recalled how her fear had transformed into desire, her body lighting with a fire that caused her to burn with need as he roamed. 

She closed her eyes and let out a shaky breath, reliving the sensations with excited pleasure. 

This led to that moment in the cave. After…eating… she had been more than eager to satisfy the lusts of her body, finding her chosen mate practically irresistible. If Cordy hadn’t shown up when he did, she and Discord would have…

Fluttershy twisted around. Thrusting her face into her pillow, she groaned. 

Her anger towards Tirek and her thirst for justice had quickly transformed into a different kind of thirst, her body once again responding to the natural yearnings it always did when she thought of her special somedraconequus. Her heart pounded against her ribcage as she thought of possible situations they could experience now that they were a couple; situations involving a connection of lips… a tangling of limbs…

She groaned again and pounded the pillow with her forehooves.

And yet, while the natural, instinctive part of her wanted to satisfy its raving appetite, the greater part was honestly nervous for that particular level of intimacy. Fluttershy had never been in a serious relationship with anypony before. She’d read countless romance novels and seen plenty of mating rituals while caring for animals but she personally didn’t feel at all confident about leaping into Discord’s bed. 

At least, not yet. 

She wanted to experience what she had read about: the innocent love that begins with feather light touches, that naturally progresses over time into something profound and wonderful. 

She didn’t want a fling. 

She wanted permanence.

And that thought opened an entirely new insecurity: what if that wasn’t what Discord wanted?

It was a natural thing to wonder about, after all. He was the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony. He’d been around for centuries. It was entirely naïve to believe she was his first real relationship. Surely he’d had others? And if he had, none of those had lasted. Why would her relationship with him be any different?

This thought saddened Fluttershy more than expected. In fact, it nearly punched a hole in her heart.

Her eyes filled with tears as doubt, fear, and inadequacy overwhelmed her. She curled onto her side, hugging her pillow to her chest, wishing that the plush, smooth surface was thin, gray, and furry. 

But really, in all reality, why in Equestria would a being like Discord be interested in a marriage relationship with her? She wasn't exotic or glamorous. Half the time she had feathers, twigs, and leaves stuck in her mane. And her coat was always dirty from tending to her animals. She worked weird hours, she was a complete shut in, and she loved the quiet and mundane. She had a plethora of fears and preferred the company of a few. She wasn't anypony special.

And who was she to try to bind Chaos to her forever anyway? Could she even call it forever? She was mortal. One day she would die and leave Discord behind. Would that bother him like it bothered her or would he freely move on to the next stage of his eternal existence? How deep was the love he had for her? And was it the kind of love that she had wished for? Longed for?

Fluttershy wiped away another tear.

She was being foolish. This speculation was getting her nowhere. The only way to calm these fears was to bring them to Discord and demand answers. But the very thought of asking him such probing questions unnerved her. Now wasn't the time to be focusing on her insecurities anyway. She needed to focus on how to help her friends defeat Tirek. 

But need and want are sometimes two very different things and, unfortunately, her wants were winning.

Eventually the shadow of doubt overwhelmed her enough that she got up and left her room. She was already standing in front of his door with her hoof raised when her brain finally caught up with her emotions. What in the world was she doing? It was the middle of the night! There’s no way that he would-

The door suddenly opened and Fluttershy squeaked, cowering within the sudden invasion of light spilling into the hallway. Startled, Discord reeled back, unprepared for her unexpected visit. His surprise quickly transformed into joy as his eyes brightened and his tail wagged, taking in the sight of his favorite pony.

“Fluttershy!” he happily cried, “What brings you to my door in the absurd hours of Luna’s night?”

The pegasus shakily got her bearings, her heart pounding not just because of their unexpected encounter but for the immense attraction she felt seeing him. 

While originally finding his height rather intimidating, now she found it positively alluring. His lengthy body was thin yet strong and fit within the confines of her fore and back legs perfectly. She loved the way he could coil around her like a snake, rubbing against her fur in a unique and intimate embrace. His paw and claw, sharp and formidable, she saw as tools to arouse her senses and melt her into an internal pile of goo. Then there was his tail; the tuft was remarkable at moving about. Even now her cheeks burned in memory at the way it crawled up her leg, its silky texture almost as soft as a rose petal as it moved. Honestly, she wouldn’t mind if it continued its exploration at a later time. 

She mentally shook herself, remembering that she had yet to answer him.

“I, um, couldn’t sleep,” she mumbled, looking down at her hooves as all her insecurities returned to the forefront of her mind.

“A mutual crisis, I fear,” he confessed, rubbing the back of his head. “I was actually coming to see you but it appears you had the same thought and beat me to it.” Fluttershy smiled weakly as he stepped aside. “Why don’t you come in and we can talk.”

“Okay.”

Though only here temporarily, Discord had added his own personal touches to his guest room. The bed was on the side of the wall, an impossible window displayed a view of an unknown ocean, and a whirlpool of paint swirled around on the ceiling. Occasionally a bubble would spew forth from it, floating around the room and emitting an odd glow of light. The floor was covered in a sea of stars. With every step she took, Fluttershy saw the surface ripple, the stars swirling out of place before settling into a new cluster of constellations.       

She couldn’t help smiling at the chaos. How far she’d come, appreciating and growing accustomed to his unique brand of magic. It seemed like a lifetime ago that she’d feared and opposed it.  

Discord snapped up a comfortable chair for her before conjuring a large wicker basket complete with flower-patterned cushion for himself; he coiled inside it and settled with his head propped on his lion paw, his tail tuft just a few inches from his face. His whole body filled the space and he looked like a strange dog happily nestled in his bed. Fluttershy found the whole sight adorable. 

“So, what chaotic thoughts are keeping you from drifting into the realm of dreams, my dear?” he asked.

The warm smile slid from her face like rain falling down a window pane. Her eyes grew sad and her ears drooped. Discord immediately shot out of the basket, rushing over to her side. 

“Shy?” he prompted, gently squeezing her hooves.

She didn't respond because there was a sudden lump in her throat. Her vision blurred and she blinked. Traitorous tears spilled over, falling past her eyelashes down her cheeks. She began to shake as her pent up sadness leaked freely from her body, exposing the raw hurt her insecurities had inflicted.

She gasped when the gentle brush of a paw wiped the tears away. She looked up at Discord. Liquid pools of red and amber stared back at her, filled with nothing but love and concern.

“Fluttershy,” he tried again, “What’s wrong?”

She sniffled. “I’m s-sorry,” she stuttered. “I-I don’t know… I don’t know why…”

Her voice hitched and then stuck in her throat again, the words replaced with a sob.

“Shhh,” he consoled, lifting her into his arms and cuddling her against his chest. “It’s okay.”

It really wasn’t but she couldn’t bring herself to speak. Instead she looped her long legs around his torso and clung to his fur, relishing in the scent of lemonade and blueberries coming from the soft gray coat. Discord nuzzled the top and side of her head with his muzzle, his eagle talons slowly rubbing up and down her spine. Fluttershy closed her eyes and sighed, falling into the comforting solace conveyed by his gentle ministrations. Eventually she calmed enough to pull away. Discord wiped the last of her tears before planting a delicate kiss on her forehead. 

“Better?” he asked.

She nodded. “Thanks, Dissy.”

His tail wagged and a toothy smile lit his face. “You’re welcome.” 

After placing her back in her chair and conjuring one for himself right across from her, Discord studied her silently. Fluttershy averted her gaze, feeling rather guilty for her bewildering behavior.

“I’m sorry,” she mumbled. “You’re probably wondering why I-”

“Suddenly started crying? I admit I honestly wasn’t expecting such an onslaught of emotion so early in the morning,” he confessed before quickly adding, “Not that it’s a big deal! I’m more than happy to be your shoulder to cry on any time, day or night!”

She smiled but her ears remained pointed towards the ground. Noticing this, Discord bit his lip and coughed slightly into his paw.

“Look, Flutters, I’m not the best at this kind of thing but, if you need to talk… I’ll try my best to listen.”

The pegasus frowned, her eyes on her hooves. After another second of silence, she finally broke it with a tiny whisper. 

Discord leaned forward, putting his paw to his ear. “Forgive me, my dear, I’m afraid I missed that.”

Fluttershy tried again. “I’m not sure where to start.”

“Oh. Just say the first thing that comes to mind,” he suggested.

“Okay,” she mumbled, thinking. The first thing that came to mind… “How many marefriends have you had?” she blurted.

Discord froze. 

“What?”

Fluttershy gained a bit of confidence and repeated, “How many marefriends have you had? I ask because you’ve been around for centuries and it wouldn’t make sense for me to be the first. Not to mention you seem way more experienced than I am and-”

He reached out and gently placed a finger against her lips. She swallowed and looked up at him, searching his face. He had an uncharacteristically serious expression furrowing his brow. 

“Is it really important to you to know?”

She nodded.

Releasing a sigh, he lowered his finger and sat back. “I don’t want to hurt your feelings,” he muttered.

“You won’t,” she assured. 

He took a deep breath and let the words tumble out in a rush. “You're not the first I've been with. But you are the first pony. I’ve had several relationships with other creatures."

"Really?" She asked, unable to hide her curiosity.

Discord nodded, glancing at her before looking away. "None of them ever really lasted though.”

Fluttershy couldn't help feeling anxious. Was it because he outlived them like she suspected? She watched him carefully, waiting for a shadow of grief or loss to fall upon him as she asked, “Why?”

Discord nervously tapped his fingers together. 

"Being a creature of pure chaos, I feed off of it from others. It calls to me like a drug and I happily seek until I find it," he explained. "The more inner chaos tearing apart an individual, the more attractive that individual can become to me. But when the chaos ebbs away, so does my interest."

Fluttershy didn’t know how to respond to that. From her previous self case study, she didn’t think she fit into the mold of a creature being torn apart by chaos. 

Discord seemed to sense her confusion because he gently took her hooves again and squeezed until he had her attention.

“Fluttershy, my dear, you are different from any relationship I’ve ever had. You see, I wasn’t attracted to your chaos but to your kindness. Your extension of friendship, of acceptance, sparked something within me that I didn’t think was possible.”

Her large teal eyes blinked several times in consternation. She was different? The weight pushing down against her heart lifted a fraction at the thought and she felt a small spark of happiness swirling inside. 

“What did you not think was possible?” she asked, leaning unconsciously forward. 

Discord smiled, a faint blush coloring his cheeks as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. “A love for something that wasn’t chaos.”

Fluttershy blushed, a rather pleased smile spreading across her face. She suddenly felt lighter than air. “So, all those other relationships…?”

“Were nothing compared to the one I have with you,” he assured. 

That was basically a declaration of love and Fluttershy couldn’t help rewarding such words with a kiss. Discord happily responded, threading his fingers up into her mane and pulling her even closer to him. Shivers of pure pleasure erupted all over Fluttershy, electrifying her insides and rocketing her head into the clouds. The euphoria continued to overwhelm her even when the two of them pulled away. When his eyelids lifted, Discord’s pupils revealed themselves as tiny hearts and Fluttershy giggled, absolutely tickled that she could spark his chaos into exhibiting such a reaction. 

At her laughter, Discord came out of his glorious haze and shook his head, his pupils returning to their usual round shape.

“Not that I minded it in the slightest,” he said, “but what was that for?”

Fluttershy blushed, hiding partially behind her mane as she mumbled, “For saying I was different.” 

Discord blinked in surprise. “That was really bothering you?”

She nodded. “Among other things…”

The Lord of Chaos rose one single bushy eyebrow before bending down low and poking his snout against hers. “You had my interest before, my dear, but now I am unquestionably sitting on pins and needles.” To emphasize that, the chair he sat upon literally turned into hundreds of pointed needles and pins. Fluttershy gasped in worry but he waved her off, changing the chair back to normal. “No need to worry, Shyfly; they weren’t really sharp. Now, care to elaborate on that last admission of yours?”

Fluttershy bit her lip. While his proclamation that she was different put to rest most of her worries, the question of how long he would be with her remained unanswered. She thought of his first suggestion to just say whatever came to mind. Keeping her eyes on her hooves (she knew looking at him would cause her confession to catch in her throat), she opened her mouth and let everything tumble out.

“I know you said I was different -and I truly believe you are being honest with me when you say that- but part of me still can’t understand why you would be interested in a boring pony like me.” Then she listed off all her inner worries but before Discord could interrupt, she plowed on, “And then I have to wonder how long you would actually want to put up with all of that. How long you would want to… to be with me…”  

Her mouth finally clamped up, her tears once again threatening to fall as she waited anxiously to hear what he would say. Silence stretched out between them until a talon gently lifted her chin. Fluttershy naturally shifted her gaze to his, a tear escaping as she blinked. Discord wiped the tear away with his thumb, the smooth talon adding an additional caress as it ran back and forth against the short fur on her cheek. Fluttershy searched his face, surprised by what she saw. 

Though displaying a worried frown, Discord’s eyes were soft with love and a spark of wonder and slight bewilderment seemed to emanate from his person. 

“My dear little pony,” he said, his voice low and alluring, “when it comes to you, what’s not to like? While it is true that I am more showy than you,” -He flashed into a very loud outfit complete with a peacock feathered crown- “You manage to tame chaos every single day. Animals are incredibly chaotic; especially when you place prey and predators in the same proximity and demand they enter a utopian state while in your care. 

“You may be scared of many things but you’re brave too. Just look at how you stood up to me when I was in my evil prime. You faced me thrice and I am an extremely dangerous creature. And, while I do enjoy being obnoxiously in the middle of things, I also like the quiet you bring into my life. It honestly balances me out. I think that’s one of the biggest reasons why I adore every little piece of you.”

He paused before gently setting her down in his lap, stroking her neck and back with his lion paw unconsciously. Fluttershy closed her eyes and sighed in pleasure, overwhelmed with happiness from his comforting words and tender touch. He’d said he adored her! And he didn’t mind that she was messy, scared, and introverted. She was about to drift into a state of bliss when a single, negative thought poked a hole in her euphoria.

He hadn’t said anything about how long he’d wanted to be with her. 

Biting her lip, she glanced up. He seemed to have a faraway look on his face, his eyes focused on the wall ahead, his tail twitching every so often between his legs. After a moment of indecision, Fluttershy cleared her throat.

“Discord?”

The draconequus blinked and looked her way. “Yes, darling?”

Fluttershy shuffled nervously, her right shoulder and wing bumping against him. It was now or never.

“What kind of relationship do you want with me?”

“What do you mean?”

While his body language was casual, Fluttershy had been around him long enough to recognize the slight edge in his voice. It was always present when he was nervous or trying to hide something. 

She bit her lip. “H-How long do you want to be with me? I’m not immortal like you. I’m not… I’m not going to last… but… but I… if there was a way… I’d want to…”

Her voice tapered off, growing smaller and smaller until the last part was nothing but a whisper. She shut her eyes, fighting back another round of tears. All of a sudden, Discord grabbed her under her forelegs and lifted her up until she was dangling in front of him. Fluttershy gasped in surprise from the movement as well as the intensity radiating from his eyes. 

“Say it again,” he demanded, a hint of desperation in his voice.

“W-What?” she asked, slightly overwhelmed. 

“What you just said. Say it again. Please.”

Fluttershy blinked, her face flushing as the tears from before began to fall. “I’m not going to last,” she rasped, the words feeling like a kick to her stomach. 

“No, no, the other thing,” Discord said, a hint of urgency in his voice.

Something about the look he was giving her made it so she couldn’t drop her gaze even though she wanted to. The words seemed to flow from her mouth, soft but clear. 

“If there was a way, I’d want to,” she whispered. 

Discord stared at her, his eyes eternally searching hers. “You’re not kidding,” he finally said, his tone filled with wonder and awe as he set her down on the chair opposite him again. 

Fluttershy frowned. “Why would I kid about something like this? I… I love you and… and I don’t want to be without you…”

“Fluttershy,” he breathed, “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

The pegasus reached out for his lion paw and pressed it to her cheek, nuzzling it before kissing the soft brown pad underneath. His scent was intoxicating, his touch warm. She never wanted to lose that warmth, that comfort, that sense of excitement only he inspired within her body. 

“I know you’re immortal and I know I’m not,” she began, “But I’ve seen what happens when death separates loved ones. I don’t want that to happen to us. If there was a way to always be together, I’d gladly accept it. You’re my best friend.” She looked up into his bewildered gaze. “Let me stay with you,” she whispered, “Please. Not just now but always. I… I need you.”     

A moment of silence passed and Fluttershy closed her eyes, waiting for him to shatter her heart, to tell her it was impossible. Only a princess could live forever and she hadn’t done anything astronomically worthy of being bestowed such a title. 

She was therefore startled when, instead of verbally responding, Discord's lips pressed against hers, his paw caressing her cheek in profound tenderness. Fluttershy couldn't help reciprocating, a soft moan of need vibrating in her throat as she held his head between her hooves. Discord gently lifted her back into his arms, snaking his eagle hand up her back and into her mane while his lion paw moved sensually down her side and beneath her rump until it reached her other flank, supporting her weight in the crook of his arm. Shivers of pure delight flowed through her veins and Fluttershy gasped from the movements, looping her forelegs around his neck and pressing her body right up against his fur. Discord growled, the noise bringing joy to the pegasus. 

“Fluttershy,” he panted as she began peppering kisses along his jaw bone from a burst of confidence, “Darling, as much as I love what you’re doing, we need to stop.”

She ignored him, lost in the passionate love she so desperately wanted to share. Her teeth instinctively nipped at his ear and Discord gasped, the appendage suddenly fluttering as quickly as a hummingbird’s wing. His reaction finally broke through her heated haze and she pushed back a bit, worry in her eyes.

“Did I hurt you?”   

Discord suddenly vanished and Fluttershy yelped as she fell. She landed on her chair a second later, the cushion breaking her fall. Feeling slightly hurt, confused, and guilty, she looked around. Discord was leaning against the far wall, his back facing her, his chest heaving as he rested his forehead in the crook of his arm. His tail wagged back and forth and his legs shook beneath him.

"D-Discord…?" 

“Sweet chaos, what are you trying to do to me?” he demanded, turning around and leaning against the wall, his head tilted to the ceiling. 

“I’m sorry?” she said, confused and hurt. Had she done something wrong?

The Lord of Chaos shook his head before facing her, his eyes flashing with hunger and need. “It’s taking everything I have not to cross this room and rob you of every innocence you still possess.”

“I’m… sorry?”

“Don’t be,” he weakly chuckled. “Don’t ever apologize for being undeniably attractive. I’d marry you this second if we weren’t marching off to war tomorrow.”

“I wouldn’t mind.”

Both of them froze. 

Fluttershy’s eyes were wide with disbelief. Had she really just said that?! She looked at Discord, afraid of what he might think of her sudden confession. The draconequus blinked several times before letting out a groan. Then he did something she was not expecting. He opened his chest like a kitchen cupboard and yanked out what was clearly his heart. The gruesome image cut off all romantic feeling in the room and Fluttershy felt her stomach sickeningly clench as he held the pulsing organ in his clawed hand. 

“In order for me to say what I need to, you can’t keep interfering. Take five!” 

He threw the heart into a chest and slammed the lid shut before securing it with a lock and key. The key magicked over to Fluttershy who looked down at it, confused and slightly scared.

“Discord?” she questioned.

“Well, you’re the keeper of my heart so it only natural for you to hold the key,” he said as if he were mentioning the weather. “Incredible how clear one’s head can become when the heart isn’t interfering.”

Flashing back into his chair, Discord let out a sigh and settled into the cushion before steepling his fingers and surveying the pegasus.

“First off, let me say that I absolutely, one hundred percent approved of what you were doing before,” he said matter of factly, “And I would have loved to continue but there is an elephant in the room that needs to be addressed.”

A large pink elephant suddenly popped into existence, its girth indeed taking up most of the bedroom’s space. Fluttershy let out a soft giggle as the elephant trumpeted loudly and bubbles blew from its trunk. Discord snapped again and the elephant vanished but its bubbles lingered in the air. Waving a few away from his face, Discord cleared his throat.

“Now, my dear, let us discuss your latest comment. The one concerning marriage.”

“O-Okay,” Fluttershy muttered, her face flushing as she shuffled uncomfortably. 

Discord magicked up two cups of tea, offering one to her before taking a bite out of his own. “I want it completely understood that I have every intention of marrying you someday,” he stated.

Fluttershy’s heart practically leapt out of her chest. “W-What? Really?!”

He nodded, soldiering on, “But there’s something you need to know explicitly before agreeing to any sort of proposal I eventually present to you.”

Fluttershy frowned, her excitement withering somewhat. “Oh, okay.”

“Don’t sound so downhearted, my dear,” he said without much affection in his voice. “I return your feelings, do I not?”

“Well, yes.”

“Then why the sadness?”

“I guess I’m just nervous you’re going to say it’s impossible because I’m not a princess,” she mumbled, looking down at her tea, her murky reflection sad on the brown surface. 

“That’s not an issue at all,” Discord said with a wave of his claw.

Fluttershy nearly dropped her teacup. “What?” she cried, utterly shocked. “It’s not?”

Discord chuckled. “My dear little pony, the only thing preventing you from being with me eternally is yourself.”

“Huh?”

“If you decide that you are absolutely, resolutely, one hundred percent certain, without a shadow of a doubt confident in your desire to accept every single ounce of consequence that comes with immortality then we can tie the knot whenever you want.”

Fluttershy’s mouth fell open. Discord had spoken with such plain, unvarnished honesty that no amount of doubt or uncertainty could cripple his statement in her mind. He was dead serious. It really was up to her. But… 

“But is that what you want?” she whispered, speaking her last thought aloud.

“Pardon?” Discord asked, finishing his tea. 

Her teal eyes lifted to stare directly into his mismatched yellow and red ones. “We both know that’s what I want but what do you want, Discord? Do you want me to be with you forever?”

Discord blinked down at her before holding his hand out. “Key please.”

“Huh?” 

“Key,” he repeated, pointing at the metal key sitting beside her on the bed. 

Utterly confused, Fluttershy handed it over and Discord summoned the chest with his heart in it. Opening it back up, he pulled out the heart and shoved it back where it belonged. His pupils suddenly turned bright and glassy before shaping into hearts. 

“My dear, sweet Fluttershy,” he practically purred, reaching forward to cup her cheek, “Nothing would bring me greater joy than to have you in my life forever. Nothing. Not even chaos.”

“You mean that?” Fluttershy asked, her heart thundering against her ribcage.

“I do,” he said with a warm smile.

The teacup fell from Fluttershy’s hooves as she launched herself into Discord’s arms and began kissing him. The draconequus chuckled deep in his throat as he kissed her back. After a moment, the pegasus pulled back and stared desperately into his eyes.

“I want to be with you forever, Discord,” she declared. 

He smiled but there was a hint of sadness in his eyes. He gently pushed her away from him, setting her back down in her chair. 

“My darling, as much as I love to hear you say that, I don’t think you completely understand the magnitude of required sacrifices for Ascension. It’s not something that should be taken lightly.”

“Ascension?”

“The process of becoming immortal,” Discord elaborated.

“Oh, like what happened to Twilight when she became a princess?”

“Yes.”

Fluttershy’s head felt like it was beginning to spin. If Ascension was required to be immortal and Discord was immortal… 

“Does that mean… you used to be… a regular creature?”

Discord shook his head. “No, I’m a special case. My Ascension came with birth. My role as the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony was bestowed upon me shortly thereafter.”

“You were born immortal?”

Discord nodded.

Fluttershy frowned as a whole list of questions suddenly paraded through her mind, questions she had always desperately wanted to ask him through the years. 

“Ask your questions, Fluttershy,” Discord muttered, interrupting her thought process. She looked up to find him smiling. “If you’re going to be with me forever, you’ll need to know.”

“Are you sure?” she asked. “I don’t want to force you to share things with me.”

He gave her hoof a gentle squeeze. “It would be a pleasure -and honestly a relief- to share it with you.”

Fluttershy bit her lip, her curiosity burning like a bonfire as she asked a question she'd wanted to ask for a long time. “Discord, where did you come from?”

The draconequus let out a long sigh through his nostrils before sitting back in his chair. “You might want to get comfortable, my dear. My past isn’t something I’ve talked about in a very long time. Celestia was the last pony to hear about it and even then I didn’t tell her everything.”

“Celestia?” Fluttershy said, unable to hide the small burst of jealousy that burned in her eyes. 

Discord smirked and let out a tiny chuckle. “No need to be jealous, my dear. I’ll get to that part of my story eventually.”

“Okay,” she pouted, folding her legs up underneath her and settling down on her chair. 

Smiling at her slight pout, Discord took a breath and began. 

“A long time ago, shortly after the creation of Equus, my mother and father, the makers of the world, decided to create me.”

“Your parents are the creators of-?” Fluttershy gasped but Discord cut her off with a wave of his claws.

“Yes, yes, the creators of the world and everything in it. Please try not to interrupt, dear. It’ll take twice as long to share my tale and, unfortunately, the dawn is drawing closer which means I don’t have a lot of time before we have to be up and moving to Starlight’s old village.”

“Oh, okay, sorry.”

“No worries,” he smiled before stroking his beard. “Now where was I? Right, dear ol’ mom and dad. My mother is Mother Nature, the most beautiful alicorn to exist, my sister being a close second. The other princesses are lovely, don’t get me wrong, but if you Ascend, well, I think it’ll be fairly obvious who will fill the spot of favorite alicorn for me.”

“Discord.”

“Right,” he coughed. “Off topic. Anyway, my mother is Mother Nature and my father is Abysm, ruler of Tartarus and Father of Monsters. Unlike my mother, his form changes all the time into every animal and creature that has ever walked Equus -hence why I look the way I do- but he once ruled the land as Grogar until he grew tired of the role and allowed Gusty the Great to dethrone and defeat him. Mother was missing him something awful anyway. 

“Anywho, after using their magic to create the world and everything in it, they decided to have a child of their own, born from their love. That’s where I come in. I obviously took after my father and was therefore dubbed the Lord of Chaos and Disharmony. After wreaking havoc on the world for a few years my parents decided another child was needed to ‘reel me in’. Thus, Amity was born, Spirit of Order and Harmony. She is an alicorn like my mother and is the power behind the Elements and Geodes of Harmony.

“Though I will never outright admit this to anypony but perhaps you and my family, I love Amity. However, as her brother and the Lord of Chaos, I have a duty to make things hard for her. To balance out my chaotic and disharmonic nature, she chose to work through the means of Champions. She selected creatures that befit her individual characteristics. The Pillars, you and your friends, the human versions of yourselves; each of you are Champions of Amity and a piece of her spirit resides inside you. Like a succession, with every ‘death’ the spirit moves on to seek a new host. Oh, as a side note, Amity’s spirit isn’t what makes you kind or Twilight magical or Pinkie Pie funny. Each of you already possessed those traits and simply attracted Amity like bees to honey.”

“Now, I bet you’re wondering why there wasn’t a new set of Champions immediately after the Pillars disappeared?”

Fluttershy nodded, leaning forward unconsciously, completely enthralled in his tale.

“Well, before they disappeared, Amity inspired the Pillars to plant a certain seed.”

“The Tree of Harmony!” Fluttershy said excitedly, her wings fluttering.

Discord nodded. “Her intent was to create the Elements of Harmony but for what purpose I honestly don’t know. I’ll have to ask her about that next time I see her. All I know is that she decided to place her essence into that seed and help it grow until it bore fruit. She also created a small buffer to keep harmony in the land, knowing the Pillars were not always going to be there. This is where Tia and Lulu come in. 

“You see, my mother and sister were the only alicorns before Celestia and Luna Ascended. After careful consideration, Amity chose them, raising the two from unicorn to alicorn status. This Ascension was naturally seen by the other ponies as some sort of divine sign that they were meant to be princesses over all Equestria. Every pony agreed with that conclusion but the alicorns were young and not yet ready to rule. So the Pillars took care of Equestrian affairs while Tia and Lulu spent a great deal of their youth training to become royals. 

“Well, once I learned of their Ascension, I couldn’t help but introduce myself. Granted, my presence was more seen as an allowed nuisance than anything else because no matter what anypony did they couldn’t get rid of me.” He stopped to chuckle a bit. “I developed a friendship of sorts with Celestia -very similar to my relationship with Twilight, actually- and told her a few things about my past but not all. You see, my dear, I wanted to spend time with her and Lulu because, though born of regular unicorn parents, they became the children of Amity when they Ascended due to her being the one to Ascend them. And, in that way, though more related through magic than anything else, they also became-”

“Your nieces!” Fluttershy gasped, her jaw dropping in shock as her wings flared out. “They’re your nieces! Wait…That means… You and Celestia were never in any kind of relationship?”

Discord burst out laughing, his body flying up and rolling like a ferris wheel as his cackles filled the room. Fluttershy waited for him to finish, silently feeling foolish for ever thinking such a thing. Sensing her displeasure, the Lord of Chaos stopped spinning and lowered himself back into his chair but his body still rattled with silent giggles.

“Oh, Fluttershy, I’m sorry for upsetting you. That rumor is the biggest gag I’ve allowed to continue because I find it utterly hilarious." He wiped a tear from his eye.

The pegasus huffed and folded her arms, hiding behind her mane. “I don’t think it’s funny,” she grumbled.

Discord cleared his throat, forcing the giggles to cease as he took her hooves and lowered them. “My dear, I’m sorry. You’ve probably wondered for a long time if there was some past romance between me and Celestia. I know countless ponies and other creatures have as well. But the only thing we share is a familial bond. Not that she knows that,” he added on with a chuckle.

“What?” Fluttershy stammered, twisting back to face him. “You mean she has no idea you’re her uncle?”

Discord shook his head. “Luna doesn't either.”

Fluttershy frowned in thought before her eyes widened further. "If they're your nieces then Twilight and Cadence…?"

Discord nodded. "They are my great nieces. Cadence and Twilight were not granted Ascension through Amity. Celestia bestowed that gift to them."

Fluttershy's eyes widened again. "She has the power to do that?"

"Apparently it's an alicorn trait," he chuckled. "But, before you get any thoughts of a bunch of ponies becoming alicorns on a whim, there are rules, rules my mother set in place after Amity created her 'daughters'. 

“An alicorn can only create a total of two other alicorns and, in order for candidates to be granted Ascension, they must perform an act worthy of Ascension. The alicorn granting and performing the Ascension also acknowledges that she will eventually retire and pass on into True Ascension."

Fluttershy held up her hoof as if she was attending a class. "Um, what is True Ascension?"

"The status that, so far, is only held by my parents, Amity, and myself. It is a state of always existing, without end, and, in the princesses case, being the Spirit of whatever act granted them Ascension."

"So Celestia and Luna…?"

"Will eventually become the literal Spirits of the Sun and Moon," Discord confirmed. "And, when their successors are chosen and ready, Cadence will become the literal Spirit of Love and Twilight will become the literal Spirit of Friendship. As for Flurry Heart, she’s a wild card. I’ll have to ask my mother about her the next time we meet."

Fluttershy sat back, stunned. There was so much to take in and she honestly was having a hard time keeping up with all the revelations Discord had just shared. Mother Nature was real! And she was Discord's mother! Discord had a family! He wasn't completely alone as she had supposed. That thought brought a smile to her face and Discord, curious to know what she was thinking, asked her just that.

She shook her head. "I'm just so happy! You have a family, Discord! And here I thought you were all alone. But you have parents, a sister, and nieces!”

And then another thought caught up with her from all these revelations and Fluttershy’s brow furrowed as her confusion returned. “Um, Discord? If I were to Ascend, wouldn’t I be…?”

Discord smiled mischievously, shaking his head. “No, Fluttershy, you wouldn't. The ones who granted my Ascension would also give you yours. You would be your own independent Spirit without familial ties and stand on equal ground with me.”

Fluttershy’s puzzlement didn’t subside as she confessed, “I’m confused.” 

Discord’s smile deepened. “My parents. They would be the ones to grant you Ascension.”

Fluttershy’s whole soul froze inside her body. “W-What?” she gasped. Her lungs felt like somepony or something was squeezing them so she couldn’t breathe properly.

“My parents would grant you Ascension,” Discord repeated. “Shortly after they made Amity, they revealed to both of us that we had the privilege of selecting a spouse of our choice that they would make immortal. I laughed in their faces at the time; I honestly didn’t believe I could love anything other than chaos. But, here you are. 

"Now, just because I’ve chosen you doesn’t mean that you have to Ascend. That choice is still yours. You can marry me and have a wonderful mortal life and I will enjoy every second of it with you.”

“But I’ll die,” Fluttershy interrupted, “And you’ll be alone.”

Discord glanced away, swallowing with difficulty. “I’d…manage.”

Fluttershy raised an eyebrow. They both knew that was a lie. Her skepticism elicited a reluctant sigh from the draconequus and Discord folded his arms and pouted, his head lowering while a disgruntled expression overwhelmed his features. 

“Oh, alright, fine,” he mumbled, “I would be completely and utterly miserable without you.”

Fluttershy smiled, gratitude and love spreading throughout her heart and soul. 

Others may think this confession would solely dictate her choice towards immortality but, the truth was, she already didn’t want to die. Yes, she wanted to be with Discord, but there were always going to be creatures in need of assistance and healing too. There were always going to be ponies who needed her help. Living forever would ensure the ability to take care of them.

Then there was Discord, who would always be there. He’d lived for centuries without her, had probably seen kingdoms rise and fall and the very landscape change. The thought of him living without her, with nothing but memories and heartbreak to look back on, was enough to solidify her decision. 

She wanted this. She wanted to be with him without having to face the reality of mortality. And would she really be happy in heaven without him? Because Fluttershy truly believed that there was an afterlife, that there was a state of rest for all living creatures. She’d always thought of it as a happy place but would she really truly be happy surrounded by family and friends without Discord? 

No. 

No, she wouldn’t. 

“I’d be completely and utterly miserable,” she muttered aloud. 

“Yes, I would be,” Discord reiterated, still scowling from the admission. 

Fluttershy shook her head, her mane swishing back and forth against her neck. “No, Discord, I would be miserable.”

He frowned and raised one of his adorable bushy eyebrows. “I’m afraid I don’t follow.”

“I would be miserable without you,” she stated, looking him dead in the eye so that he knew just how serious she was about this. “Discord, I’ve already said it before: I want to be with you. Forever. I don’t want a mortal life filled with marital bliss. I want an eternal one.”

Discord folded his arms and looked at her with an intense expression, one she’d never before seen on his face. He was serious; dead serious. 

“Do you really understand the ramifications of what you’re saying, Fluttershy?” he asked, searching her teal gaze. “Because I honestly don’t think even Twilight fully understands what will eventually happen to her. An immortal life means saying goodbye to every pony and every creature you have ever known and loved. It means watching the world move around you while you only jump in and be an occasional part of it. It means never really putting down roots without the complete and total understanding that said roots will eventually wither away and die. 

“If you commit to this, to me, you are agreeing to witness the death of your family, your friends, and everypony and creature you’ve ever associated with. You’ll be there for every single burial. You’ll never see your friends again. Are you prepared to say goodbye to your family? To Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Applejack? Are you prepared to see the light leave their eyes, to see their bodies disappear within the earth, to come across their graves again and again for the rest of eternity, knowing their bodies are there but their spirits are not?”

Fluttershy looked down at her hooves, seriously contemplating his words. They cut, deeper than she was willing to admit, and with them sprouted a tiny seed of doubt in her choice. Could she live with a magnitude of such loss? Could she live with the reality of never seeing any of them again? 

Discord looked at her sadly, a weary sigh escaping his lips. “This is why I didn’t want to bring this up until after we’d been dating for a while.”

Pulled from her inner musings, Fluttershy’s head shot up to look at him. “What do you mean?” she demanded, hurt that he would attempt to keep such an important piece of information from her. 

Discord’s ears drooped as did his horns. “I didn’t want to have to say goodbye,” he mumbled, looking at his paw and claw. 

“What do you mean ‘say goodbye’?”

“I can’t make you choose between me and your family and friends,” he muttered. “I was selfish in trying to keep this from you so that our relationship would last longer. If you want to break up, I completely understand.”

Fury suddenly burned through the small pegasus and she launched herself onto her hooves, glaring angrily at the draconequus and his abysmal conclusion. 

“Why would I want to break up with you?” she demanded, her offense and anger growing as his face filled with shock. “Is my love for you really so hard to believe? Are you saying that it’s shallow? That you’re not worth it? Because you are!” she snapped, overriding him when he tried to speak. “No, Discord! You’re going to be quiet and listen to me! 

“I can’t believe that you would insult my love for you in such a way! Yes, leaving my loved ones behind is something I confess I need to think about, but I didn’t immediately think of cutting all ties with you because of it! Has it ever occurred to you that you’re my friend too? That you’re the family I want to be a part of? 

“I love you, you big dumb draconequus! I might need time to really think everything through but one thing needs to be explicitly clear between us: I am not going to abandon you! So stop believing that I will! Trust me! Have faith in me and just say that you love me as much as I love you!”

She stopped, the next words caught momentarily in her throat, her emotions spilling over like an erupted volcano. Anger, disappointment, confusion, uncertainty, hope, and love coursed through her soul but one thing was perfectly clear and she voiced it as she backed up and landed back on her chair; funny, she didn’t even realize she’d taken to the air to flap right in Discord’s face until now.

Taking a deep breath, she said, “I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Give me time to figure out whether that includes immortality or not.” She paused before mumbling, “But please don’t give up on me. On us.”    

Discord was staring at her, a rather curious expression on his face. Initially, he appeared shell-shocked but that shock was quickly transforming into a dazzling smile that showed all of his perfectly sharp carnivorous teeth. His pupils dilated, the red gems turning glossy and bright as he began to laugh. His tail shot out, looping around Fluttershy’s torso before yanking her into his waiting arms. Immediately he began snuggling her, nuzzling her face with his own, his arms squeezing her affectionately. 

“Such beautiful, remarkable chaos,” he whispered in her ear, eliciting an involuntary shiver down her spine. “My dear, sweet pegasus, I love your kindness but I adore your ferocity! You have my heart and soul and it would be an absolute privilege to bask in the sweetness of your life, mortal or immortal, for as long as you’ll allow me.”  

Fluttershy smiled, her eyes welling again with tears. “Really? No matter what I choose?”

“No matter what,” he declared, brushing aside her tears. “I’m yours.”

Fluttershy released an exhausted yet happy “Okay” before snuggling into his chest and holding him with all the strength she possessed. 

He was hers. The world could end tomorrow and she wouldn’t care. The only thing that mattered was what was happening at this particular moment. 

“I love you, Discord,” she muttered into his fur, her eyes closing as exhaustion finally started catching up with her. 

Discord kissed the top of her head, his fingers slowly stroking her mane. “I love you too, Fluttershy.”

She smiled.

He had revealed so much to her but now that she knew, it didn’t feel like a burden on her mind. Now she could have time to process, reflect, and decide. And that knowledge allowed her to finally relax in the comfort of what truly mattered: his love for her. Eventually, within the safety of his loving embrace, she fell asleep.    
> Exposed
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Discord didn’t have the heart to move Fluttershy after she’d fallen asleep in his arms. And, honestly, he’d be a daft idiot to try to; she was so cute, snuggled up against his chest, her little mouth hanging slightly open as she breathed in and out, her mane falling over one eye. 

So he did what any sane creature would do: he turned the chair into a bed, laid down, snuggled up, and drifted off to sleep. 





The next morning he woke to something warm and soft gently squirming in his arms. Memories of the night before cascaded through his chaotic brain and Discord began to chuckle.

“Going somewhere, my dear?” he asked without opening his eyes.

Fluttershy stilled and he could practically see her flaming cheeks as she softly said, “Oh, um, I’m sorry. Did I wake you? Of course I woke you. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sleep here all night.”

Peeking open one eye, Discord’s grin only widened. “Fluttershy, do I look upset? The last time we cuddled all night I was a stuffed animal. It's about time I returned the favor. Plus that might have been the best night's sleep I've ever had so you'll hear no complaints or regrets from me.”

“Oh,” she muttered, an adorable, pleased smile lighting her face, “Okay.” 

Discord chuckled again before leaning down to kiss her forehead. Fluttershy surprised him by tilting her head up at the last second, her lips catching his.

“Why you sneaky little mare,” he chuckled, rubbing his nose lightly against hers. 

Fluttershy's eyes danced playfully, a hint of mischief sparkling within the pools of teal. Discord’s heart fluttered and he kissed her again, adding a little more pressure this time. Fluttershy sighed into his mouth, her tongue darting forward. His forked tongue eagerly wrapped around hers, his talons moving into her mane while his lion paw found a path to the middle of her back. Her wings unfurled before curling around his torso, the feather touches sending an electrifying current from the tips of his ears to the tuft of his tail. His wings wrapped around her tiny body, a sudden, arousing need spurring him to press himself further against her. His tail began exploring, eliciting an excited gasp from her as it slipped up her leg towards her flank. 

Flamed with passion, Fluttershy began peppering his face with kisses, the trail slowly ascending as her hooves gently pulled his face downward. Discord pressed his muzzle into the fur of her neck and breathed in the beautiful scent of strawberries and cream, gasping in happy surprise when her teeth lightly nipped his left ear. It wiggled uncontrollably, creating a small bubbling laugh from his mare. Discord pulled back only for the purpose of finding her mouth again. Eagerly locking his lips with hers, his tongue slithered inside, tasting her, savoring her. 

There was an awkward cough and the magic between them instantly broke. 

The two wrenched their mouths apart but remained embraced, seeking their unwelcome visitor with equally shocked expressions.

“Ocellus?!” Fluttershy cried, her face turning as red as one of Applejack’s apples. “What are you doing here?”

“More importantly, how long have you been here?” Discord said, staring at the small blue changeling. 

Ocellus sheepishly kicked the hard ground, her eyes nervously averted. “Um, I heard that you were leaving this morning and wanted to get Mr. Discord’s autograph. I knocked but nopony answered so I opened the door to make sure everything was okay. I didn’t expect… I had no idea you two were… I coughed as soon as I saw, honest!”

Discord and Fluttershy shared a glance before the pegasus gently pushed herself out of his arms and fluttered down to the ground in front of the small interrupter. Already Discord pined for her warmth to return. 

Fluttershy smiled at Ocellus and said, “I think it’s admirable that you acted out of worry and I think I speak for both of us when I say thank you for alerting us as soon as you did.” The light yellow pegasus squared her shoulders as she added in a sterner tone, “However, I'd appreciate if you could refrain from sharing what you saw. Discord and I will share the news of our involvement with others when we feel the time is right and it will be on our own terms.”

“I understand,” Ocellus muttered, her ears drawn down. “Again, I’m really sorry. I had no idea.”

“It’s okay,” Fluttershy kindly assured, glancing back at Discord. “Now, did you say something about wanting an autograph?”

The changeling perked her head up hopefully. “I can still have one?”

Discord flashed from the bed to reappear just behind Fluttershy. “Of course you can!” he said, his earlier irritation swallowed up in ego. “I couldn't possibly let down a fan!”

He then yanked out his snaggle tooth, the motion transforming it into a large slightly yellowed feather already covered in rainbow ink. Snapping a picture of himself into existence, he signed his name with a flourish and handed the picture to Ocellus before replacing his tooth. 

“Wow,” she muttered, staring at the ink that kept looping through different colors at random, “Thanks, Mr. Discord!”

Discord rubbed the top of her head. “No problem, kid.”

Ocellus made a hasty retreat shortly after that, leaving Fluttershy and Discord in a slightly awkward atmosphere. 

Discord coughed into his paw. “Well, that was a great way to start the morning.”

Fluttershy giggled sheepishly. “Yeah, it was.” Her face grew a little somber as she added, “But I’m kind of glad Ocellus came when she did.”

Discord raised a bushy eyebrow. “Really? Why?”

Fluttershy bit her lip, shaking her head. “It’s nothing.”

Frowning, Discord swooped into the air and curled his body in an arch until he was hovering over her, his face practically right up against hers. “Fluttershy,” he prompted.

The pegasus sighed in defeat. She walked past him, hopping onto her chair from the previous night. Staring down at her hooves, she mumbled something. Discord coughed again to get her attention, settling into his own chair. 

“Sorry,” she muttered, seeing his expectant stare, “I guess I’m just afraid you’ll think I’m being ridiculous.”

“Fluttershy,” he said both with tenderness and exasperation, “I’m the Spirit of Chaos. I thrive on the ridiculous. Now, what’s bothering you?”

It took her another few seconds to answer, seconds Discord honestly used to ponder whether or not he’d done anything to upset her from last night to the present. Coming up empty, he deduced that the best thing to do was to just sit there and -ugh- wait.

“Don’t you think we might be moving a little too fast?” Fluttershy asked, the words quickly tumbling out of her mouth.

Discord blinked. “Whatever do you mean?”

“I-I mean…” 

Her cheeks became as pink as her mane and her whole body shifted nervously back and forth. Discord found the whole picture adorable. 

Fluttershy tried again. “I mean, we only just barely became a couple but we’re already kissing and touching and cuddling through the night.”

“Are you… filing a complaint?” Discord asked, honestly worried that she was.       

Fluttershy frantically waved her hooves and shook her head. “Oh, not at all! I’ve enjoyed every moment.”

“Then why…?" 

Fluttershy frowned, her eyes watering slightly. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled, shaking her head. “It’s just that, all of this is new to me. I don’t know if what we’re doing is okay. I guess it’s nothing like I imagined. I always thought that when you became special someponies your relationship progressed slowly. Like spending time getting to know each other, going on dates, giving each other hugs, holding hooves; then, after doing that for a long time, sharing a kiss. 

“It seems like we’ve moved past all of that and we’re doing things that I always thought were only done when you get engaged. I really, really like what we’re doing,” she hastily added, “And I honestly don’t want to stop. But I also don’t think I’m ready for the next step. But I don’t want to disappoint you so I’m afraid that if I tell you I’m not comfortable with going further that you’ll be upset and possibly lose interest in me.”

Discord stared at her, absorbing everything she’d said like a sponge soaking up water. A smile slowly began lifting his face as he leaned forward and kissed her forehead. 

“What was that for?” she asked, her head tilting adorably.

“For being honest with me,” he said. “Fluttershy, my darling, I’m not going to lose interest in you. Ever. Even if you’re not comfortable participating in certain, shall we say, ‘extracurricular activities’.”

“Really?” she sniffled, her eyes watering.

“Really,” he assured. “You asked me to have faith in you and I do. Please return the favor to me." 

"Okay," she muttered, sending him a weak smile.

"Now," Discord said, stroking his beard, "I’m terribly impulsive, as you know, and boundaries have always been an issue for me, but, it might be a good idea to set some."

"What did you have in mind?" she asked, slightly worried.

"Well, if there's anything that I do that you want me to stop doing, tell me," he said. "And if I ignore you at first, keep telling me until I hear because, to be honest, sometimes I get too caught up in the euphoria of it all.”

“O-Okay,” she said, wiping her eyes before nervously biting her lower lip. “So, you’re okay if I say I'm not comfortable having sex yet?”

Discord blinked before lightly chuckling. “Well, I wasn’t expecting you to be so blunt about it but, yes. I’m okay with abstaining if that’s what you want. I’ve waited this long. What’s a little longer?”

“Discord!” she cried, somewhat in shock. 

He shrugged. “What? If we’re being honest, I might as well say it. I’ve been attracted to you for a long time, my dear. I’ve refrained from sating my desires for years; what’s a few more? Not that I want to wait that long but, as previously stated, I’m willing to wait as long as needed. When you’re ready, let me know.”

Fluttershy stared up at him in both gratitude and surprise. “That’s… really mature of you, Discord.”

He chuckled. “It’s been known to happen. Now, concerning 'moving too fast' as you put it. I think you're forgetting that we already do the things you spoke of: talking, spending time together, sharing hugs. We never actually held hands and hooves but we've spent years doing the other things."

"As friends," Fluttershy emphasized.

Discord frowned in confusion. "Are you saying that now we're a couple we can’t do the things we did before as just friends?"

Fluttershy opened her mouth, paused, and then closed it again, her eyes widening. "Oh," she muttered.

"What?" Discord asked, inwardly panicking because, as much as he loved Fluttershy, he really didn't want to lose her friendship. It meant everything to him! But would he have to give it up now that they were an item? 

All of his previous romantic relationships served as nothing but a way to satisfy the natural desires of the body. Some were even one night stands. He'd never formed any sort of friendship with any previous partner. But Fluttershy was different. 

He didn't lust after her when they first met. Yes, he found her attractive (even when a villain) but his time with her in those first years out of stone were honestly just spent learning how to be a friend. The feelings of love came later and even then he didn't realize what was going on until Spike and Big Mac brought it to his attention.

"Fluttershy, we can still be friends and be romantic partners, right?" he asked, somewhat hating how desperate he sounded.

"What?" she said, blinking up at him as if he'd just said something absurd. "Of course we can! Why couldn't we?"

It was Discord's turn to be confused. "Weren't you just implying that we couldn't be both?"

She immediately shook her head. "Not at all! Oh, I’m sorry for confusing you, Discord. I guess I just didn’t realize… I was merely trying to say that most couples I've read about start out by talking and hugging before getting more physically involved. There are plenty of ponies that start out as friends before becoming romantic partners. I guess I just didn't think I would be one of them.”

"So, we can still be friends and be romantically together?" Discord asked, just for clarification. "We can still have tea parties and picnics and swap stories about our week?"

Fluttershy nodded, a happy smile on her face. "Except now we can cuddle and kiss while doing those things."

Discord's eyes widened in excitement. "Really?"

A cute little blush darkened her face as she nodded. "Uh-huh."

"What a relief!" he cried, his shoulders sagging. "And here I thought I wouldn't be able to have my cake and eat it too."

Fluttershy giggled as he summoned a whole cake and downed it in one gulp.

After wiping a bit of frosting from his mouth, he said, "Well, now that we've solved that problem, shall we go and get you some breakfast?"

In response, Fluttershy flapped up and lightly pecked his cheek. "That sounds wonderful."

Discord's tail wagged happily as he held out his arm. "My lady."

Fluttershy happily looped her foreleg around his lion arm, snuggling up into his side. Discord snapped them both to the cafeteria, a content grin plastered on his face.





After eating a rousing breakfast, Discord, Fluttershy, and their counterparts snapped outside to where Thorax stood waiting for them in front of his changeling army. Discord didn’t like the perfectly straight lines they stood in but was rather impressed by the sheer number of assembled soldiers. There had to be at least two thousand changelings present. 

“Oh my goodness,” Fluttershy gasped, overwhelmed by the sight. 

“Not what you were expecting?” Pharynx asked with a grin, joining his brother’s side.

Fluttershy shook her head, her eyes filled with worry. “Are you sure you want to involve so many of your people?”

“Don’t worry, Fluttershy,” Thorax reassured. “This is only a third of our army.”

“A third?” Mirror Fluttershy repeated with raised eyebrows. 

“Changelings breed fast,” Pharynx said, joining his brother’s side. 

“Apparently,” Cordy muttered. Discord snickered.

“Our hive goes deep down into the ground,” Thorax said, gesturing to the large structure behind them. “What you see is only the tip of our people’s domain.”

“That’s incredible,” Fluttershy said.

“So is magicking an entire army great distances undetected,” said the Captain, turning to Discord. “Are you sure you’ll be able to do it?”

Discord smirked. “Please; I can snap an entire altered reality into existence without batting an eyelash. Moving your army will be as easy as-” He snapped and the whole changeling army vanished without warning- “that!”

“Discord!” Fluttershy admonished, flapping into the air in fright.

“What?” he asked, shrugging his shoulders. “I sent them to Starlight’s village, exactly as previously discussed.”

“Without warning,” she said, folding her forehooves.

The Chaos Lord frowned. “Did I need to send one?”

Mirror Fluttershy groaned while Fluttershy held her hoof to her forehead in exasperation. 

Cordy snickered into his paw. “An advanced warning might have been appreciated,” he said, “but I would have done the same thing.”

“We should go,” Fluttershy sighed.

Thorax quickly said goodbye to Pharynx. “Please be careful,” he said, pulling his older brother into a reluctant hug. “If anything seems off, I want you to leave Canterlot and come home. That’s an order.”

“I’ll be careful,” Pharynx promised. “You just make sure to take care of yourself and the army.”

“See you soon,” Thorax said, waving to the rest of the gathered changelings. 

Many of them shouted well wishes. Discord had hoped to catch Ocellus in the crowd but the small blue filly was unfortunately absent. Looping his tail securely around Fluttershy’s hoof, he raised his paw and snapped their small group away.

The happy shrubs amidst the rocks had vanished, replaced by a village surrounded by mountains covered in snow. Cold frost clung to the ground beneath their feet and a chilly wind pushed against their backs. Thorax and the Fluttershys immediately began to shiver. 

Discord and Cordy, impervious to the weather, quickly snapped up protective gear for their mortal companions. Discord selfishly added a heating spell to the thick purple sweater now clothing his favorite pony. 

“T-Thanks, Dissy,” Fluttershy said through chattering teeth.

“DISCORD!”

Discord’s head whipped up just in time to see a furious Starlight Glimmer marching towards him, her hooves pounding angrily into the frost.

“Uh-oh,” Discord muttered. 

He flashed into Fluttershy’s mane, his small body burrowing into the pink locks until he was resting against her scalp. 

“Discord!” Fluttershy gasped at the same time Starlight said, “Oh, no you don’t!”

Starlight’s magic enveloped Discord and forcefully yanked him out of his hiding place, his tiny form now hovering before her large, angry eyes. 

“What did I do?” he demanded, folding his arms.

“Let’s think,” she snapped, waving her hoof behind her. “How about magicking an entire army unannounced into the middle of Our Town? Apparently their sudden disappearance wasn’t anticipated. Do you have any idea the amount of chaos you caused? The changelings were panicking just as much as the ponies! They’re still shaken up.”

“Darn; we missed the spectacle.”

Starlight’s anger deepened. “Stop grinning and fix this!”

“Okay, okay,” he grumbled, regaining his usual size and summoning a megaphone. “Attention,” he bellowed, his voice magnified and slightly ringing off the mountains, “You all teleported to exactly where you’re supposed to be so stop panicking!” He threw away the megaphone and then looked at Starlight, his arms folded. “There. Happy?”

“No,” she said, “But, from you, I know that’s the best I’m going to get so, thanks.”

“Humph, you’re welcome,” he grumbled. 

Starlight took a calming breath before saying, “Look, I'm sorry for shouting. You just kind of sprung them on us when we weren't expecting them."

Fluttershy elbowed Discord gently in the arm and hinted towards Starlight who stood there shuffling on her hooves. Discord rolled his eyes.

"Oh, fine," he muttered. "I forgive you and apologize for spreading unwarranted chaos."

Starlight smiled gratefully. "You know, despite what just happened, it’s good to see you." Her tone turned more gentle as she looked up at her chaotic friend. “I’m glad you guys are okay.”

Discord’s anger also lessened as he stared down at his light purple friend. “It’s good to see you too," he admitted. 

“Are we the first ones to arrive?” Fluttershy asked as the group started heading for the village.

Starlight shook her head. “Rainbow Dash and Rainboom Pinkie Pie showed up yesterday. The griffons refused to help; well, as a nation, anyway. Gabby, Gilda, and Gallus decided to do what they felt was right.”

“Gallus?” Fluttershy said with concern. "But, he's too young to fight."

“He is,” Starlight agreed, “but he’s also stubborn. We’ve tried to dissuade him but he won't go home. Honestly, I don’t think anypony is going to stop him from helping out.”

"Gallus is one of our students at the School of Friendship," Fluttershy quickly explained to the others.

“Well, if you don't want a student participating in the battle I could stop him,” Discord offered.

Starlight shook her head. “I don’t think it’s worth it. Even if you took away his wings, he'd find a way to do whatever he set his mind to.”

“Hmmm, sounds like my kind of stubborn,” Cordy muttered. 

Discord nodded, quietly chuckling.

They had reached the village at this point and the place was loaded with changelings and ponies; the former's demeanor calmed exponentially at the sight of their king. Discord, with quite a bit of persuasion from Fluttershy, forced out an apology to them before slinking off to find some solitude. 

There was a tree at the end of the village that he happily claimed as his own, his serpentine body slithering up the trunk before settling in with the high branches. Cordy flashed into existence at the base of the trunk.

“Need a minute?” he asked.

“You can stay,” Discord muttered. 

Cordy sat down, magicking up a Sudoku. “So,” he muttered, pulling a pen from his ear, “I take it you’re hiding over here because, as usual, the ponies aren’t happy to see you.” 

Discord snorted, looking back at the village. A few ponies quickly glanced away but their unpleasant scowls were still clearly visible. 

Discord lay his head down on his lion paw and sighed, “Pretty much.”

“I'm sorry, old bean. What a bunch of prejudiced louts.”

“It’s normal,” Discord said with a shrug. "Has been for centuries."

“Well, if it helps, they didn’t like seeing me either.”

Discord scowled. “Of course they didn’t. You’re basically me with a zebra mane.”

“Well, I think both of you are rather dashing!”

Discord nearly fell out of the tree at the sudden appearance of a certain Mirror Party Pony.

“Pinkie Pie!” he cried, digging his claws into the branches. “What are you doing here?”

“I thought it was obvious,” she said, holding out a tray of cupcakes. “I could sense the chaos gloom from the two of you a mile away so I figured you could use a pick-me-up! I threw a bunch of random stuff together; I don’t even know what the flavors are. Try one!”

She shoved a tray under Discord's nose. He eyed the baked goods before selecting a cupcake with putrid green icing and bright yellow sprinkles. 

“Thanks,” he muttered, secretly touched that the Mirror Pony would go to such lengths for him.   

“No prob!” she said before happily descending to give Cordy a cupcake.

“Thanks, Pinkie,” he muttered, taking a blue and black confection. “Your timing was unexpected and delightful.”

“As is this cupcake,” Discord agreed, savoring a bite of pickle, mango, tomato, and baking soda. “You really are the best baker I’ve ever met - no matter what world you come from.”

“Awww, thanks!” she giggled. “I’ll leave the tray here in case you want some more. Don’t be strangers! Other ponies might not like you but they don't matter. Your friends do and we're happy to see you!”

On that note she left, bouncing with every step towards the bakery where the other friendly ponies were waiting. Fluttershy smiled at Discord, waving a hoof. He waved back.

“We should go over there,” Cordy muttered, finishing his cupcake. 

“Yeah,” Discord agreed, licking his fingers and smiling. “Leave it to Pinkie Pie to chase away the gray.”

“It is one of her specialties.”

The two draconequui vanished from the tree before reappearing next to their Fluttershys. Rainbow Dash lightly punched Discord’s arm and Sunset Shimmer nodded her head in greeting. They were just about to settle inside of the bakery when everypony’s bracelet vibrated and turned a glaring shade of red. 

Discord pushed back the fur on his lion paw and scowled. On his own wrist was a bracelet that was glowing red with Applejack and Rarity’s cutie marks blaring on the surface.

"Oh no!" Mirror Pinkie Pie cried.

“They’re in trouble!” said Rainbow Dash.

“But which ones are they?” asked Fluttershy in a panic.

“Ours,” Discord said before snapping away.

The Lord of Chaos instantly reappeared somewhere in the Dragon Lands. He barely had time to get his bearings before a slew of angry gray ponies with purple manes and tails attacked him, sinking their sharp teeth into several different parts of his flesh. Discord cried out in surprise and pain. The immediate sensation of blood being sucked from his skin spurred him into action and he used a burst of magic to expel the attackers away from his body. The bat ponies screeched and hissed, already attempting to get up. 

Discord summoned a huge array of arrows behind him, the tips ranging from boxing gloves to metal shards dripping with poison. The projectiles hovered ominously in the sky as he growled, “I’d stay down if I were you."

“Halt!” one of the bat ponies bellowed, leaping to the front of the pack. He wore a different colored moon on his chest; an indication of rank.  

The other gray ponies assembled into a line on his command, each one crouched in an attack position. Discord kept both his hands and tail in the snap position, ready to reign chaos on any who dared to attack him again. Keeping one eye on the bat ponies, he swiveled the other around until he could see his friends. His heart stilled.

Rarity, Applejack, and Mirror Twilight were covered in blood, multiple bites all over their bodies. Applejack’s hoof was near her mouth; she was the one who’d called for help. 

Fury boiled within Discord’s veins and his whole body literally ignited in flames. 

“You hurt my friends!” he raged, his voice a deadly snarl. 

“We are following the orders of our master,” the bat pony leader declared. “We are to bring these fugitives to His Majesty, King Tirek.”

“I’m afraid you’re never going to carry out that order,” Discord growled, taking a step closer. The fire around his feet singed the ground black. 

A few of the bat ponies began to sweat and visibly shake with fear.

“You cannot stop us!” the leader said, his feeble attempt at bravery betrayed by the quivering in his voice. 

Discord laughed, his chuckle low and deep. “Can’t I?”

Before the leader could give another order, he snapped. 

The bat ponies shrunk down to the size of mice and a cage slammed over the top of them. They immediately started flying about, chewing on the bars and slamming their tiny hooves uselessly against the metal.   

“Release us!” demanded the leader. 

Discord laughed humorlessly. “Oh, I don’t think so. This is a war, bat pony. Consider yourselves prisoners until it’s over.” He leaned in until he was dangerously close to the cage. The bat ponies squeaked and scrambled backward to get away from his giant sneer. “You should be grateful I didn’t turn you into gummy ponies and trap you in my stomach. A slow acidic death would be justice for what you’ve done to my friends.”

Fear coursed through each amber eye, the ponies gray faces paling considerably at the thought. Satisfied and sure they were no longer a threat, Discord healed himself and twisted around to tend to Rarity, Applejack, and Mirror Twilight. His whole body started, however, when he saw another figure leaning over them, this one a young orange dragon.

“Get away from them!” he snarled, darting forward.

The dragoness gasped and fell on her rump, her blue eyes wide with fright. “Please, don’t hurt me!” she cried, throwing up her claws. “I was only trying to help!”

Discord surveyed the young firebreather. She didn’t seem to be an agent of Tirek’s. The smell of dark magic didn’t linger on her scales like it did with the bat ponies either. Still, this area obviously wasn’t safe and his friends needed immediate medical attention; snapping his fingers multiple times, he covered their bodies in antiseptic and bandages.

“Wow,” the little orange dragon breathed, her eyes wide with surprise.

“I don’t know who you are,” Discord said, “But you’re mixed up in all this so you’re coming with me.” 

Before the dragon could protest, he snapped and teleported them all back to Our Town. 

The moment they reappeared there was a slew of screams and gasps. After the initial shock wore off, Starlight took charge. Throwing open the bakery door, she shouted for Double Diamond. The white stallion appeared five seconds later.

“What’s up, Starlight?” he asked.

“We need Marigold in here, now!” 

“You got it,” he said, taking off. 

“Discord?” Starlight prompted, pointing at the angry bat ponies in the cage.

“Prisoners of war,” he said with an angry scowl. 

“Sunset, can you take them below?” asked Starlight. “Have Thorax assign two changelings to watch them at all times.”

Sunset gave Mirror Twilight one last worried glance before picking up the cage in her magic and leaving the bakery. 

“We need to move them to the beds,” Starlight muttered. “Discord…?”

“Already on it,” he said, snapping away. 

Mirror Twilight, Applejack, and Rarity instantly relocated to the second bedroom Starlight and Sunset had been staying in. Before the others could join them, the front door was thrown open and an orange unicorn with a short yellow mane and tail appeared. Her cutie mark, a roll of bandages with a pair of scissors, revealed her talent as a doctor.

“You called?” she asked, her tone and eyes brooking an instant no-nonsense demeanor. Discord and Cordy wisely put as many ponies between themselves and her as possible.

“Our friends,” Starlight began. 

“They were attacked and bitten by a bunch of bat ponies,” the orange dragon interrupted, her face a mixture of anger and worry. “I was too far away to help.”

Marigold went into the bedroom, asking only for Starlight to accompany her. 

The rest of the group, still crammed in the front of the bakery, demanded to know what had happened. After sending a message on the bracelet letting the others know the three injured ponies were safe, Discord and the orange dragon, whose name was Smolder, shared all they knew.

“My brother Garble and I were asked to accompany Dragon Lord Ember to the Royal Summit next week," Smolder revealed. "We were making preparations when Professor Applejack, Professor Rarity, and that other pink pony showed up. 

"They told us what Tirek had done to Spike and your princesses and warned of the threat he posed to every creature on the planet. After a brief discussion we dragons decided to join the fight; we're not okay with any of our kind being used for some stupid centaur's personal vendetta. 

"The plan was to leave in a few days. Until then we had the ponies sleeping on the other side of the hill away from us; elder dragons snort fire in their sleep during the winter and Ember didn’t want the ponies accidentally getting scorched. I was bringing them a late breakfast when the bat ponies attacked. My only guess is that the envoy arrived early and didn't like that the professors were there.

“Anyway, I was flying over to help when this guy appeared,” -she pointed at Discord- “and took out the bad guys. You know the rest. But the other dragons don’t know what happened to us! We’ve got to send some kind of message to them so they know we’re okay.”

"Better yet," said Sunset in the doorway, "Discord or Cordy should go to the Dragon Lands, explain that they need to relocate them immediately, and bring them here."

"What? Why?" asked Smolder.

Sunset's face was grim as she revealed, "Because I just got one of the bat ponies to confess that a member of their team got away. Our secret plan has been compromised."





Smolder accompanied Discord back to the Dragon Lands. Dragon Lord Ember was not happy to learn what had happened. 

"I'm sorry the ponies were hurt but I can't just abandon the Dragon Lands knowing this!" she raged, throwing her spear heavenward. "What if that bat pony is still around?"

"All the more reason to relocate," said Discord. "Look, I would be just as furious if an unwanted guest slinked into my dimension but the fact is your land has been jeopardized. We must get the dragons to safety before Tirek sends one or more of the alicorns to do his dirty work."

"Let them come," a large red dragon growled. "We are more than a match for a few measly ponies."

Discord’s scowl deepened. "Alicorns are not measly ponies!” he snapped. “They are as close to a deity as a mortal can get! Normally they bridle their power but they're not themselves anymore. They won't hold back. Your land and any who stay behind will be razed to the ground. You can choose to believe me or not but I'm snapping back to Our Town in fifteen minutes. Whoever is coming better be ready before or by then."

Turning tail, he stormed off to a nearby gathering of rocks and sat on the largest boulder to wait.

"Stupid dragons,'' he grumbled. "They have no idea. Nopony does. There's a reason the Castle of the Two Sisters was left in ruins and the Everfree Forest sprung up from the ground. Celestia and Luna's battle a thousand years ago was catastrophic. They completely destroyed their city and the land was forever altered from the magic left after their falling out. These dragons have no clue what they're up against. They're fools to stay here."

"Maybe some of them will listen."

Discord quietly acknowledged the double that sat down beside him; it was the one who loved wearing glasses. He usually just called him Cordy Two.

"Listen?" Discord snorted. "Not likely."

"I don't know. That little orange one doesn't seem half bad."

"Smolder? She's alright, I suppose." Discord sighed before quietly admitting, "The truth is, we need them. Out of all the allies, the dragons are the strongest. Their hides are nearly impenetrable, their teeth, claws, and spikes are like thousands of deadly knives, and their fire breath will prevent enemies from getting too close to our armies. It'll be a huge loss if we can't get them to leave their lands."

"Then it's a good thing we're coming with you."

Discord startled before looking up to see Ember and the rest of the dragons behind her. Smolder was by her side, her arms folded and a smirk on her face. The draconequus stood up and tried to reclaim some dignity from being caught unawares.

"Well, it took you long enough to decide," he said, brushing himself off. "I was growing so bored I made a double to entertain myself."

Cordy Two harrumphed before rolling into a ball, disappearing in a wink of light. 

“We’re not happy about leaving our land,” said Ember, “But I’m not about to let Tirek enslave another of my subjects. We will avenge Spike and reign terror on this would-be centaur king!” she bellowed. “He will rue the day he messed with the dragons!”

The others shouted in agreement, roaring and spewing long trails of flame into the sky. Discord magicked up some sunglasses and smirked, admiring the heated display. He completely supported the idea of the dragons barbecuing Tirek to a crisp; not just for Spike but for everything else the centaur had done.  

“Well, if that’s how you all feel,” he said, holding out his paw, “Shall we go?”

Ember nodded and Discord snapped, teleporting every dragon away, leaving the land empty and bare.





Elsewhere, though a vast amount of sunlight streamed in through its windows, no warmth was found within the stony walls of Canterlot’s castle. Its tyrannical king strode down the halls, his hooves softly clip-clopping on the plush red rug as he headed for the throne room. The nearer he came to the door, the louder the screeching became. If Tirek didn't know for certain that the princesses were on the other side, he would have thought a bunch of harpies had somehow taken refuge in his house.

"If anyone is to take credit for the capture it is I!"

"Please, Nightmare, you merely located her. I'm the one who took her down."

"You? You just sat there in your patch of sunlight while I did all the work! As usual, you take all the credit for somepony else's accomplishments!"

"You're one to talk, Heartbreaker! The only alicorn who ever pulled her weight around here besides me was Midnight!"

"Will the three of you shut up?!" A new voice snapped. "It's bad enough listening to the rambles in my own head but to hear all of yours as well? There's only so much a queen can take! What happened to all of you anyway? An evil spell perhaps?"

Tirek pushed the doors open. "You could say that."

The alicorns immediately shut their mouths and bowed as he approached. Their captive's jaw dropped in shocked disbelief at the display. 

"I apologize for any maltreatment you endured at the hooves of my alicorns, your majesty," said Tirek as he ascended the dais and sat upon his throne. "I have a business proposition for you. One I think you won't be able to resist."

Though clearly nervous, the captive queen tried to keep a sense of decorum as she replied, "Well, something tells me I’m not exactly in a position to argue.” She glanced at the alicorns before turning back to their master. “I'm listening."

An evil grin climbed Tirek's face. "Good, because we have work to do.”
> Clarity
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It took five days for Applejack, Rarity, and Mirror Twilight to fully recover and regain the blood they had lost. 

During that time, the other groups slowly returned from their visits to the allies. Pinkie Pie and Mirror Rainbow Dash had sent word that the yaks had decided to fight and would travel with the Crystal Army to the Galloping Gorge, the appointed meeting place, in a couple of days. Twilight's group in Baltimare was the only one still unaccounted for but Discord was confident they would appear soon.

While waiting for the others, the Lord of Chaos decided to split his time between helping Fluttershy accomplish tasks around town and playing pranks with Cordy. 

The two Spirits made it their job to lighten the mood, causing little bouts of happy chaos wherever they went. Most of their shenanigans were accepted but there was the occasional prank that got out of hoof. Ruining Sprinkle Glaze’s donuts, for instance, had not been the best idea. They hadn’t meant to set the whole bakery on fire, honest! That oil was just in the wrong place at the wrong time! Besides, they fixed everything immediately. No permanent harm was done. 

Still, after the Great Bakery Incident Discord decided to lay low on his devious acts and devote more time with Fluttershy. Today they were camped up in the mountains, watching the entrance of the tunnel they hoped would soon reveal Twilight and her companions. Five ponies, ten changelings, and two dragons were with them. 

Bundled in a very long chaotic scarf, Discord looped his body around his favorite pony, both of them watching the changelings transform into requested creatures for the others' entertainment.

“Are you sure you're warm enough?” Fluttershy asked, her face the only thing visible under all the winter gear he had supplied for her. 

Discord kissed her on the forehead. “I’m fine, Flutterbuddy. I honestly don’t even need this.” He held up the scarf’s end and gave it a little wiggle. “I’m impervious to weather, remember? It’s you I’m worried about. Are you sure I can’t just magic all the snow away?”

“Blank mountains in the winter would be a dead giveaway of where we’re actually hiding,” she reminded. 

“Can I at least make an igloo?” Discord whined. He’d barely used his magic all day. His digits were practically crying from neglect. “It’s snowing and I’m not thrilled about you getting buried under a snow bank.”

“Oh, alright,” she consented, “But nothing big, okay?”

Discord happily snapped up an igloo but it wasn’t the usual home made out of ice blocks. Instead it was an impossible configuration of icy shapes that somehow defied all logic yet stacked together to make a cozy shelter. Fluttershy walked inside, admiring the ice pieces, her teal eyes wide with happy approval. 

“Much better,” Discord sighed, snapping up a waterproof rug for them to lay on. 

Fluttershy settled on its center, lowering herself onto her tummy and folding her legs beneath her. Discord recoiled himself around her, snuggling in close. Resting her head against his, Fluttershy nuzzled and kissed his cheek. 

“The only thing we’re missing now is some hot chocolate,” she said.

“That could be arranged."

Discord was just about to snap some up when a bell started going off in his head. He shot up and looked towards the cave, his body protectively hovering over Fluttershy.

“Discord?” she questioned, hesitantly rising to her feet.

“Something’s coming,” he said, his ears perked straight. “I cast a spell that would sound an alarm about fifty feet from the cave’s entrance.”

“I don’t hear anything."

“It’s inside my head,” he muttered, finally turning the ringing off. “We’ve got at least two minutes.”

“Oh, dear. We’d better warn the others,” she said nervously.

The two left the igloo and word spread like wildfire across the group. In less than a minute every changeling, pony, and dragon was perched in front of the cave in attack position. Discord kept his tail looped around Fluttershy’s torso, ready to pull her to safety at a moment's notice. 

Another minute passed before the bright pink glow of a lit unicorn horn came into view. Rosy Stardust stepped out of the cave with Mirror Applejack and Mirror Rarity right behind her. Accompanying them was a young hippogriff with a light magenta-gray coat and a cornflower blue mane. She was slightly dragging her talons and hooves, her wings hanging limply at her sides. Discord was very familiar with that guilty look; he had it every time Fluttershy caught him doing something he shouldn’t.

“Discord? Fluttershy?” Twilight said with some surprise before eyeing the others. “What is going on here?”

“First,” Discord said, stepping forward, “What’s your name?”

Twilight frowned. “That depends. What name are you after?”

Discord and Fluttershy shared a look before the latter said, “Both, please.”

“If asked, it’s Rosy Stardust,” she said, “But my friends know me as something that comes before the night.”

“Well?” asked Party Favor, his hooves full of frozen water balloons. “Is it her?”

“It’s her,” Discord declared after checking the newcomers for traces of dark magic.

Fluttershy happily embraced their friend. “We’re so sorry for the rude welcome, Twilight, but we had to be sure. We’ve been compromised.”

“I know,” she said grimly.

“You do?”

“I’ll explain once we get back to town. Discord, can you teleport us? I’d do it but it drains my magic more than yours.” 

“I’d be happy to,” Discord said before turning to their fellow lookouts. “Hold down the fort, boys!”

“Hey!”

“And girls!” he added as several female changelings and ponies gave him the stink-eye.

Scooping up Fluttershy, he snapped his fingers, magicking their friends and the hippogriff to Our Town.

“Oh, Starliiiight!” he sang right as they reappeared, “We have a surprise for yoooou!”

Starlight, who was currently going over some reports from an earth pony, rolled her eyes as she turned around. “Discord, aren't you supposed to be- Twilight?! Is that you?”

The pale pink unicorn waved her hoof in greeting and smiled. “Hello.”

There was an onslaught of noise as several mares dropped what they were doing and rushed over to meet their friends. Discord took to the air and watched the girls’ reunion, just as happy to see them together as they seemed to be; only Pinkie Pie and Mirror Rainbow Dash were missing now. The hippogriff quickly moved out of the mares' midst, running over to where Gallus and Ocellus stood; the young changeling had snuck into the changeling army before Discord had snapped them all away. The three creatures shared a hug and wandered off. Discord eyed them with interest until Cordy drifted over, lying in the air with his head in his paw. 

“How sentimental," he drawled in false mockery, watching the mares below. "All this sweetness is making my teeth rot.”

Discord chuckled as several ruined fangs fell out of Cordy's mouth. “I know what you mean.”

“It really is good to see all of you again,” Twilight said with a smile. “And I’m so glad you three are okay!” she added, specifically looking at Applejack, Rarity, and Mirror Twilight. “We were really worried until Discord sent that message saying you were safe.”

“Come on now,” said Applejack with a modest smile, “It’d take more than a few bloodthirsty bat ponies to bring this cowpony down.”

“It was pretty scary,” Mirror Twilight began.

“But we’re made of sterner stuff than you'd think,” Rarity finished with a reassuring wink. 

“Good, because we’re going to need that,” the princess declared. She looked around, frowning at their growing audience. "Is there someplace private we can all go to talk?”

Before the others could make a suggestion, Cordy snapped and the large group was in a conference room similar to the one back in Discord’s dimension.

“Where are we?” Twilight asked, whirling around to face the Discords. 

“Relax, princess,” Cordy said, slithering into a chair next to Mirror Fluttershy. “We’re still in Our Town. I merely made a room off to the side of the war burrow Sunset and Starlight created.”

“You know, it’s rather unfair that you can do that without breaking a sweat,” Sunset grumbled, once again annoyed that she was back in a coach airplane-style chair. “And would it kill either of you to let me sit in something else?!”

Discord and Cordy shared an evil smirk before saying, “No." 

Neither of them moved to change her chair. Several of the ponies snickered while Sunset complained loudly about stupid draconequui and their lying selves. 

Twilight cleared her throat, regaining everypony’s attention. “Right, thanks for the room Cordy-” 

“You’re welcome!” 

“-But we need to move on to more important things. We have to change up our strategy.” She then revealed the existence of the EIA and how she knew they were compromised before arriving in Our Town. 

“You mean to tell me there's a bunch of spy ponies in Equestria that make it their business to know everypony and every other creature’s business and they all work for Princess Celestia?” Applejack said, anger clear in her voice.

“Yes,” Twilight said. “Believe me, I’m just as upset about it as you are, Applejack, but right now we have a bigger problem. Tirek doesn't know we're here but he does know that we are planning to attack the day of the Summit which means we need to attack sooner than we thought.”

“And it’s our fault,” Applejack snapped, slamming her hoof down on the table. “If we hadn’t been ignorant of the fact that a bunch of bat ponies were eavesdropping, none of this would have happened!”

“There’s no use pointing fingers, darling,” Mirror Rarity consoled.

“Fingers?” Rainbow Dash questioned.

“Hooves,” Sunset supplied. “And Rarity is right. Unfortunately a bat pony got away. There’s nothing we can do about it now. We can only accept what is and make the most of it.”

“Which is why I need to know how it went with the allies,” said Twilight. "The hippogriffs refused to take a stand. Queen Novo is planning to abandon Mt. Aris for the sea the moment she gets home."

“The griffons are a no-go too,” Rainbow Dash said, scowling. “They're only interested in looking out for themselves. Except Gilda, Gabby, and Gallus; they chose to come with us.”

“Gallus?” Twilight said, her head whipping towards the rainbow pony. 

“We tried to persuade him to stay behind,” said Mirror Pinkie Pie.

“But he wouldn’t listen,” Rainbow Dash scowled. "So, instead of having him tail after us like I knew he would, I just let him tag along." 

Twilight’s brow furrowed in thought, prompting Starlight to say, “Twilight? What is it?”

“I’ll tell you later," she said, shaking her head and choosing to move on. "Right, from the amount of dragons and changelings loitering the underground, I assume your groups were successful?” she said, looking at Fluttershy and Applejack.

The two nodded.

“Dragon Lord Ember was more than willing to fight when she learned what happened to Spike,” said Rarity.

“Thorax had a similar reaction,” Discord commented.

Twilight’s smile was sad and everypony knew why. "Spike’s friendship may very well be the only reason they joined us in the first place." Quickly rubbing her eyes, she forced her melancholy aside and asked, "Have we heard from Pinkie Pie?”

“Yes. The yaks are on board,” Sunset stated. “They’re going to meet us at the Galloping Gorge along with the Crystal Army.”

"Good," Twilight said, nodding to herself. “I know we were going to separate the armies and fight on different fronts but with Tirek knowing what we’re up to, I no longer see the point. We’ll gather with the others at the Galloping Gorge and make our stand against Tirek's army on The Prairies in four days.”

“Four days?!” Mirror Twilight cried. “Twilight, it takes at least a week to gather up and prepare an army.”

“Not if you have chaos magic to help you,” she replied, turning to the Discords. “What do you say? Can you two teleport the armies together?”

Discord and Cordy looked at each other before the former snapped, moving them outside time; everypony around them seemed to freeze in place.

“Are you sure we should?” Cordy asked the moment they were alone.

Discord sighed, running his paw down his mane. “It is a lot of interference. But, given the circumstances…”

“I know you want to help,” Cordy said with an understanding nod, “I do as well, but the amount of chaos and disharmony charging this world has grown exceptionally since we first offered to shift everyone around. I'm worried Amity won't be able to restore balance if we do much more. We still have to help them defeat Daybreaker too.”

“With your Rainbooms, I believe she'll be able to replenish harmony and order,” Discord muttered.

“And if she can’t?” 

“Then I will get involved.”

Discord and Cordy whipped around. A huge tree had magically sprung up behind them, its trunk and branches so thick it would have taken hundreds of years to grow without magical aid. A doorway to another world was cut out of the trunk's base and standing within it was the largest alicorn the world would ever know. 

Her coat was brown, the rich color like that of the earth on a rainy day, and her mane and tail were literally made of plants, the long leafy strands flowing in a nonexistent wind behind her neck and flanks. Flowers bloomed from her scalp and traveled down the waves before falling into the earth, the ground happily absorbing the buds. Her cutie mark on either flank never stayed the same, shifting from anything and everything ever created. Her eyes, constantly swirling from blue to green, studied the two Chaos Spirits with a somewhat reproachful gaze.

Discord instantly felt like a foal caught with his paw in the cookie jar. He visibly shrank a couple inches, sheepishly digging his goat hoof into the ground.

“Hello, Mother,” he said, wringing his tail.

Cordy's jaw dropped but he wisely remained silent, quickly taking up an air of reverence in the presence of the world's co-creator.

Mother Nature released a sigh before stepping out of the tree. “I don’t have long but I must say I am disappointed things have escalated as far as they have, Discord. This situation is partially your fault, you know.”

Discord’s ears lowered. “I know,” he mumbled.

“Your father hasn't had a heyday like this since you took over Equestria the first time. He's quite proud."

"You know, if you had said that to me a few years ago, I would have been ecstatic. But now…" Discord shook his head, his horn and antler drooping along with his ears.

"And that is why I too am proud of you."

Discord's neck whipped up so fast it cracked. "W-What?" he stammered. 

Mother Nature’s smile was similar to a burst of sunlight on a gloomy day; it penetrated and warmed every inch of the soul. “Discord, since this whole debacle began, you have been trying to fix things. You’re taking responsibility for your chaos and that is something any mother would be proud of. You’ve grown so much since last I saw you.”

Discord flinched. The last time he'd seen her, he'd said a lot of hurtful things. 

He had blamed the ponies' hatred of him on her, for she was their creator, saying that she’d always favored Amity over him and that he was going to do what his father had done as Grogar. He took over Equestria after that, ignoring any attempt she made to contact him. His anger and stubbornness eventually forced her and Amity to conspire against him, resulting in his stone imprisonment. His release was brought about by the combined effort of him and his father; he worked on chiseling the magical seal within while his father sent small bouts of chaos and disharmony his way without. Once free, Discord had fallen back into anger and resentment, upending Equestria and causing nothing but problems for his future beloved and her friends. 

It truly wasn’t until Fluttershy offered her hoof in friendship that he finally considered letting go of his anger and giving her a chance. And how grateful he was that he had! He'd become a very different draconequus than the one he’d once been and his Mother knew it, given her knowing smile.

“I truly am sorry, Mother,” he said, his eyes traitorously filling with tears. "For everything."

Mother Nature lifted on her hindlegs to wrap him in her forehooves. Discord looped his arms around her and gave her a hug; the first in centuries. 

“I know you are,” she said quietly, soothingly, “And I forgive you.”

Discord’s breath hitched in his throat. Mother Nature nuzzled his cheek affectionately and released him. He quickly wiped his eyes, shifting sideways so Cordy couldn’t see. Sensing that he needed a moment, his mother turned to the Chaos Count.

“It’s nice to meet you, My Lady,” he said, taking her hoof to kiss it.

“It’s nice to meet you too,” she replied. “You have been a very good friend to my Discord. Thank you for keeping him company through his dark days.”

“I needed his friendship just as much,” Cordy admitted. 

Now free of tears, Discord cleared his throat and turned back to his Mother. “You were saying something about helping Amity?”

“Yes,” she said, refacing him. “The amount of disharmony plaguing Equus is truly great. But, I believe with the help of all her living champions, Amity will have enough power to restore the balance.”

“All her champions?” Discord repeated, a scowl quickly marring his features as his eyes narrowed. “Mother, you don’t mean…”

“I know you don’t like them for obvious reasons,” -She chuckled as Discord, unfortunately, blushed- “But the Pillars will be needed to win this war. So will the fourth group. Don’t worry about summoning them; I've already been playing a quiet hand in making that happen. They will all meet you at the Galloping Gorge.”

Discord’s ears perked up. “Fourth group? What fourth group?”

Mother Nature's smile turned mischievous. “You’ll see. Now, as for moving the two armies to that location, you and Cordy may do so. The reign of Darkness is coming to an end; as is the fate for all who fight against the Light. There will be casualties but you will win.” Her eyes swirled from green to blue as she sighed, “I’m afraid I have to go now, my son.” She began walking back towards her tree. She paused, however, at its entrance, looking over her shoulder. “I hope to meet Fluttershy soon.”

“It might take a while,” Discord said, "But you'll meet her someday."

Mother Nature quietly chuckled. "I'm sure I will. I am happy for you, you know.”

He blushed. "I know. Thanks, Mom.” 

The goddess beamed and returned to her world, the tree vanishing before time instantly restarted.

“Discord?” Twilight prompted. 

The Lord of Chaos inwardly shook his brain to clear his head. “Yes?"

"Can you?"

"Can I what?"

"Move the armies?" she repeated, slightly concerned.

"Oh! Yes, Cordy and I can move everycreature,” he said, waving his claw dismissively.

“Okay, good,” she said, surveying him a second more before turning back to the others. “Rainbow Dashes, Sunset, I want you three to spread the word that we’re leaving tomorrow. Starlight, you and I are going to send messages to Flash Sentry and Pinkie Pie to let them know that Cordy will be appearing tomorrow morning to move them to the Galloping Gorge. Discord, you’ll move those of us here. Once relocated, we’ll meet with the other leaders and devise a plan of attack.”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” said Applejack as she readjusted her stetson. “Is there anything you want the rest of us to do while the word is getting around, Twilight?”

As the princess began going on and on about gathering food, supplies, and battle armor, Discord stopped listening. He was still reeling from the sudden and unexpected visit from his mother and all she had said to him. 

He wasn’t at all thrilled that the Pillars -minus Starswirl and Mistmane- would be in the same vicinity as him again. And who was this other group of champions his mother had mentioned? As far as he knew, there were only three sets: the Pillars, the Bearers, and the Rainbooms. Obviously Mother Nature and Amity were putting together an ace in the hole. Discord could only hope that the Darkness was just as ignorant of this fourth group as he was.

“And that brings me to the last order of business,” said Twilight. “Tirek has found a replacement for Midnight Sparkle.”

Discord immediately perked up. “What? But Flurry Heart is safe in my dimension!”  

“It’s not Flurry,” Twilight reassured and everypony breathed a sigh of relief until she revealed, “It’s Chrysalis.”

There was a round of gasps before Starlight asked, “Twilight, are you sure?”

The princess nodded. “That was the last update Tempest received from FP before we left Baltimare. As far as we know, Tirek hasn’t changed Chrysalis in any way but she has agreed to work beside him."

"Then I'll have to be the one to face her," Starlight muttered. 

"You don't have to fight her alone," Twilight began, "we could-"

"No, Twilight," her student said, standing up. "We all know she wants revenge on me. She'll push everypony aside just to get me one on one. Besides, something tells me you and the other Bearers will need to work together to take down Nightmare Moon."

"Maybe we could split up," Sunset suggested.

Discord shook his head. "Keeping the seven of you together will be more effective against Heartbreaker. Though powerful, Chrissy isn't as formidable as a fully charged alicorn. Starlight is strong enough to handle the former changeling queen on her own."

 Starlight sent him a grateful glance and he nodded to her. 

Twilight wasn't thrilled but chose not to press further. "Alright," she relented, "we'll leave Chrysalis to you." 

Right after that Rainbow Dash’s stomach decided to growl and everypony laughed. 

“I think that’s a sign to end our meeting,” Twilight said with an exasperated smile. 

“Finally!” Rainbow Dash loudly exclaimed. Applejack smacked her leg. "What? I’m starving!”

“Obviously,” she sneered. 

Everypony started moving towards the door (Applejack and Rainbow Dash bickering the whole way) but Twilight called Starlight back. Part of Discord was tempted to make a clone to stay behind and eavesdrop but the greater part of him just wanted to find an isolated place to think. He quickly moved towards his room; a space he’d created near the sleeping area housing the rest of the army. Opening the door, he let out a welcome sigh at the sight of all the chaos. 

His bed was on the ceiling while the walls and floor shifted between swirling black and white patterns to splatter paint creations. A mismatched couch and recliner sat next to a fireplace, the hearth already blazing with a fire that sporadically changed color and burped bubbles. Across the room was a door with a pink butterfly on it; Fluttershy’s temporary sleeping quarters. 

Discord moved to close his bedroom door when said pegasus halted its progress and slipped inside.

“Discord? Are you okay?” she asked.

Reluctant to answer, the draconequus wandered over to the couch and collapsed, summoning up a quilt. Despite his best attempt to hide as a blanket burrito, Fluttershy managed to find his face, wiggling her snout through the folds until her nose booped against his. Large teal eyes searched his yellow and red ones, a silent question reflected in them. 

Sighing in defeat, Discord gently pulled the rest of her body under the blanket and repositioned it over the top of them. Fluttershy settled in her usual place, giving him a nuzzle.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Nothing’s wrong,” he said truthfully. “I’m just a little overwhelmed.”

She blinked up at him in surprise. “Why?”

He then reiterated everything that took place once he and Cordy paused time. When he finished, Fluttershy was staring at him in shock.

“Mother Nature was here?” she squeaked, her pupils widening at the very thought. “And she and Amity are going to help us fight?”

“Not directly,” Discord clarified. “They prefer working through others, remember? Come to think of it, all of my family likes to do that except me. Ha, I really am the black sheep, aren’t I?”

He poofed into an adorable fluffy black ram before returning to his devilishly chaotic self.

Fluttershy giggled. "Black sheep or not, you're still loved." 

“Apparently so," he smiled, his ears and tail wiggling as she nuzzled him again. Moving his mouth to hers, they shared a tender kiss before he pulled back and said, “I just wish I knew who this other group of champions was. It’s driving me crazy! Normally I’m the one messing with every pony's head. It’s no fun being so out of the loop!”

Fluttershy giggled at his pout, kissing his cheek. “I’m sure when the time is right we’ll know who they are. For now let’s trust your mother and sister. They know what they’re doing.”

“Yes, they do,” he said, snuggling her closer to his chest. “I suppose it’s nice knowing that this isn't all going to end in disaster. I just wish they would clue me in on what they have planned.”

“My poor, ignorant draconequus,” Fluttershy cooed, nuzzling his head. 

Discord huffed but allowed her to continue her ministrations, his mind and body slowly shifting from frustration to pleasure under her careful touch. 

Fluttershy’s nuzzles were joined by her hooves, the soft, smooth surfaces slowly stroking Discord’s neck. Back and forth; back and forth. Discord closed his eyes, releasing a contented sigh. 

Fluttershy's lips started to place wandering kisses over his face, her neck stretching up as she aimed for his ear. Discord began to purr when her wings unfurled and joined her hooves roaming over his body. His hands reached out and began their own adventure, traveling across her back, rubbing the joints of her wings at the base. Fluttershy moaned in pleasure and Discord’s purring intensified. Her teeth nibbled his ear and he groaned, pulling her back down so he could kiss her again. Fluttershy happily returned the kiss, her tongue teasing his lips until he gave her entrance. 

The two continued to kiss, nuzzle, and touch until Fluttershy smacked Discord’s tail away with her left wing.

“We need to stop,” she declared, panting heavily on top of him. 

Discord wanted to ignore her and keep going but he had enough sense to reel in his desire. He gently sat up, set her down on the couch, and flashed himself onto the bed. Burrowing under the covers he breathed deeply, relishing in the sweet musk she’d left on his fur. Unfortunately this caused his body to spike again and he groaned, looking down at her with smoldered longing in his eyes. 

Fluttershy lay on her back, teal eyes wide and chest heaving. She caught his gaze and a spark of electricity charged the air. Before he even knew what he was doing, Discord was looming over the top of her, his hands on either side of her delicate body. Fluttershy whimpered in need. 

“Say the word, my darling,” Discord whispered. “Say the word, and I’ll do whatever you want me to.”

She swallowed and closed her eyes. After taking several deep breaths, she shook her head. Discord frowned in disappointment but acceptance. He began to move away but she reached out and grabbed his paw. 

“Wait! Please, don’t be upset,” she said, sensing his frustration. “I want to. I really really do. But I don’t think I’m ready.”

Releasing a large sigh, Discord sat down beside her and began stroking her hair. “I understand. But your conflicted feelings are not making this any easier for me."

“I know,” she muttered.

He shook his head. “No, I don’t think you do. They're chaotic, Fluttershy. And we both know how I feel about chaos. And it's coming from you, the pony I’m already in love with.”

Her hooves shot up to cover her mouth. “Oh, Discord! I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean-”

He gently cut her off with a kiss. “It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not!” she said, softly pushing him back. An adorable yet angry frown pulled at her lips as she snapped, “It’s not fair that I can’t make up my mind on what I want!”

“Fluttershy, I don’t expect you to give me an answer any time soon. It's going to take time to process the bomb I dropped on you.”

She shook her head. “That’s the thing. I know I want to marry you. I know I want to make love with you. The only problem is I don’t think it’s right to commit to those things without Ascending.”

“And that’s what you’re unsure of,” he said.

She nodded. “The other night I was so certain of what I wanted. But now…”

“It’s because of what I said, isn’t it?”

Her head hung low. “I just don’t know if I can live on without my friends and family." 

Discord gathered her in his arms and quietly consoled her, kissing her forehead. “It’s okay,” he muttered. “I’m not upset. Really. I just got caught up in the heat of the moment earlier. I'm sorry.”

“I know; I did too,” she mumbled. “But that’s the problem, isn’t it? This isn't going to stop. It's going to keep happening.”

She was right. Unless they made a clean cut decision on the matter, the danger of crossing the line would loom over their heads every time they got physical; and frustration and disappointment would always follow swiftly thereafter if it was denied.

“We need to decide,” he grimly stated. 

Fluttershy looked up at him fearfully. “Decide?”

"If marrying me and making love are tied to the condition of you Ascending or not.”

Fluttershy’s eyes welled with tears and Discord’s suspicions were confirmed. She’d already made her choice; he was just helping her see it. 

“Well,” he chuckled sadly, “That answers that.”     

Fluttershy shook her head. “I’m so sorry, Discord. I really, truly am. But it would be cruel to make love with you knowing you couldn't have me forever. I couldn't do that to you. I couldn't. But I want…I wish…” She stood up. “I… I have to go.”

She ran from the room. 

Discord watched her go, a sad but understanding expression on his face. 

Running a hand through his mane, he let out a depressed sigh and slumped into a deep pool of thought. 

He wasn't angry with her. Though loath to admit it, she was actually doing him a kindness. 

However, even though the benefits of being a husband looked as if they were going to be denied him, he could still be her partner. They could still do the things they had already been doing. He could still love, support, and provide for her. He could still comfort and console. They could still be Fluttershy and Discord. 

He'd just have to settle for never making love to her. 

Which he could totally do! By removing his heart and chucking it in a case when things got too intense. It worked before; it could work again!

Yes, they could work! 

"If you believe that, you're an absolute fool."

Discord looked up as his double dropped down from the ceiling. 

"Nopony asked you!" he snapped.

Cordy Two rolled his eyes behind his glasses. "Nopony needed to. Do you honestly believe you can go the rest of her life without giving in to what you want most?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do!"

"Really?" he said skeptically, folding his arms. "You, the Master of Manipulation, who tricks every creature necessary in order to get what he wants, would be willing to commit to a life of partial satisfaction? Why in the name of all things chaos would you condemn yourself to such a fate?"

Discord looked at his double, his expression a combination of sadness and determination.

"Because," he muttered with the utmost sincerity, "I love her."





Fluttershy rushed out of Discord’s room, tears streaming down her face. She blindly bumped into changelings and dragons, uttering apologies as she made for the exit. A few shouts from her friends followed after her but the last thing she wanted was to talk to any of them. She was too embarrassed and confused. 

Bursting out of the clothing store, she made for the trees. Our Town didn’t have much refuge but there was a small grove at the end of the village close to the mountains. Entering the comfort of nature, Fluttershy curled up at the base of the thickest tree and wept.

She couldn’t understand why this was so hard. She knew deep down what she wanted so why couldn’t she just admit it? What was stopping her? 

“Um, excuse me; Fluttershy?”

She gasped and looked up, her tears glistening in the winter sun. 

Standing before her was her counterpart. Mirror Fluttershy was bundled up in a white sweater, brown pants, and boots. A green scarf and hat provided further warmth for her head and neck, her mane falling just as Fluttershy’s did down the side of her face. Her teal eyes were filled with nothing but concern and kindness. 

Fluttershy quickly worked on removing the tears from her face. “I’m sorry,” she sniffled, “I didn't think anypony was here."

"Oh, I wasn't. I followed you," Mirror Fluttershy confessed, tugging at her hair.

"Oh," said Fluttershy, sniffling some more and slightly shivering from the cold.

Mirror Fluttershy immediately removed her hat and scarf. "Here; you need them more than I do."

"Thank you," she said sincerely, accepting the clothing and putting it on.

Mirror Fluttershy shuffled over and sat down beside her. “You seem really tense. Would you like to talk about it?”

If it had been anypony else, Fluttershy would have said no. But somehow she knew, out of everypony, Mirror Fluttershy would understand. And that was what broke the dam within her chest. The words poured out, Fluttershy brokenly sharing everything about what she was struggling with. Mirror Fluttershy did a remarkable job listening and nodding along, running a hoof over her back as she released her emotions. 

“I don’t know what to do,” Fluttershy finished, wiping her eyes for the thousandth time. “I love him so much. Why am I struggling to commit to the one thing I want most?”

Mirror Fluttershy smiled sadly. “Because, like me, you’re afraid. Change has always been hard for us and this kind of change is astronomical. It’s completely unknown. And there isn’t anyone else we can talk to about it.”

Fluttershy rubbed her hoof against her leg, afraid of asking her next question but needing to know anyway. Clearing her throat, she quietly asked, “You and Cordy haven’t already…you know… have you?”

Mirror Fluttershy shook her head. “No. We’re waiting until our wedding night.”

Fluttershy swallowed, her cheeks burning. “How have you stopped yourselves?”

“From going all the way? By already making and keeping a commitment to wait,” she said with a shrug. “It was actually pretty easy to agree too."

"I wish it was easy for me," Fluttershy said, blushing.

"You and I may both be Fluttershys but we are different. Don't think you're weaker than me for struggling with something that comes easy for me."

Fluttershy weakly smiled. "Okay."

Mirror Fluttershy adjusted herself a bit before saying, "As for Ascension, I had to choose too.”

Fluttershy gasped. “Really?”

She nodded. “I chose to Ascend.”

“You did?!”

“Uh-huh,” she said, smiling warmly in thought. “I came to accept something, something I think you might benefit from hearing too: There’s going to come a day when you and your friends will no longer be in each other’s immediate social circles."

Fluttershy stared at her in disbelief. Mirror Fluttershy smiled.

“You see," she explained, "Facing graduation, I realized I wasn’t going to pursue the same degree as Twilight or Sunset. I don’t want to be a fashion designer like Rarity and I’m certainly not coordinated like Rainbow Dash to be any kind of professional athlete. Applejack is going to take over her family’s farm with Big Mac someday and Pinkie Pie dreams of owning her own bakery. But I want to be a veterinarian. In order to do that I have to take specific classes, classes that my friends won’t be taking. I might even end up attending a college none of them are going to. Very soon life is going to pull all of us in the direction that best suits our interests. 

“We’ll always remain friends -the very best- but one day each of us will find true love and they will become our life. I found mine when I met Cordy. It was hard for me to make the choice to Ascend for the same reason it’s hard for you but I chose Cordy over everyone else because he brings me the most happiness; a happiness I know will never end. 

“I think what you have to decide, Fluttershy, is whether your happiness will be greater with your friends in a mortal life or with Discord in an eternal one. Will the happiness he brings you be able to sustain you when the others are gone? Will it be enough? 

"For me, it felt like it would be. But I’m not you and nobody else can make this choice but you. It’s something you have to discover for yourself. It took me months to figure everything out and the whole time Cordy was very patient and loving. I have reason to believe Discord will be the same because I can see how much he loves you."

Silence descended between them, the two yellow ponies huddling close together for warmth now that the sun was disappearing behind the clouds. Fluttershy knew they would have to go inside soon but, for now, she just wanted to sit beside her wise companion and think. 

Mirror Fluttershy’s words consumed her thoughts, opening her heart to a greater understanding and perspective. They also cleared some doubts that had been lingering in the corners of her mind. Her doppelganger was right; life would eventually steer each of her friends in another direction. 

Rainbow Dash was a Wonderbolt and would probably remain one until the day she died. Applejack was going to run Sweet Apple Acres alongside Big Mac and Sugarbelle. Rarity already had three boutiques and her fashion business was sure to remain popular as long as the fashionista drew breath. Pinkie Pie would forever be a Party Pony and spread cheer through her parties and Twilight would always be a princess. Even her parents and Zephyr Breeze had aspirations they were pursuing that were different from her own. Fluttershy’s dream consisted of maintaining and working at Sweet Feather Sanctuary and being married to Discord. 

That dream certainly wasn’t the same as any of her friends or family.

These thoughts elicited a gasp and brought clarity to her mind. Every doubt and worry immediately swept away, everything becoming as clear as glass. She looked up at Mirror Fluttershy, astonished. The Mirror pony smiled knowingly and Fluttershy pulled her in for a hug. 

“Thank you,” she muttered. 

“You’re welcome," she said. "Are you sure though? You really don’t have to commit so soon. You’ve only known about the Ascension for a few days.”

Fluttershy smiled. “Yes, but I've known Discord for years and I know that my life changed for the better when he became a part of it."

"I'm kind of jealous that you’ve known him for so long," Mirror Fluttershy laughed. "That would certainly have helped me decide sooner. Cordy and I have only been together for a year."

"But your love for each other is just as strong," Fluttershy said. "I honestly think I fell in love with Discord during our first year as friends but it took me even longer to acknowledge my feelings. Thank you for reminding me of how much he means to me."

"I'm just glad I could help," the Mirror pony said.

Fluttershy stood up. "We should go back inside. There's something I need to know before I tell Discord my decision.”

Mirror Fluttershy asked to know what that was but Fluttershy just shook her head and smiled. 

The snow began to fall again as they left the trees but Fluttershy couldn’t feel the cold. A thrill of excitement was coursing through her, spurring her forward, and she unconsciously quickened her pace. Mirror Fluttershy matched her, sending over a smile.

They made it back to the dress shop and descended the steps until they rejoined the large gathering of changelings, dragons, and ponies preparing to move across Equestria tomorrow. The place was in an uproar, creatures darting here and there, orders being shouted, and small fights breaking out. The chaos made Fluttershy smile because she knew it was making him happy. She searched around and found Discord floating near the ceiling with Cordy by his side, the two sharing identical grins as they watched the din below. 

Her heart took off and shot into her throat at the sight of him. It pounded further when his gaze locked with hers and he started heading her way. In the time that it took him to get to her, their friends had gathered, demanding to know where'd she run off to as well as if she was okay. Fluttershy ignored their inquiries; her focus was solely on him.

Discord landed and looked down at her curiously. He could tell from her intense expression that she had something to say. 

“Discord,” she said, finally listening to the longing of her heart, “I’m sorry for what happened earlier. I didn't mean to run away and hurt your feelings but I was so confused. I didn't know what to do. But I talked with somepony” -she glanced at Mirror Fluttershy- "who helped me see things clearly."

Discord also glanced at the Mirror pony before looking back at her. As their eyes met an unspoken understanding seemed to pass between them. 

“You’ve decided,” he realized, his tail twitching nervously behind him.

Fluttershy nodded. “Yes, I have. But before I tell you, there's something I need to know.”

The Spirit of Chaos looked adorably intrigued as he raised a bushy eyebrow. “Oh?”

Fluttershy searched his eyes. “Discord, what is your dream?”

He blinked, his resigned frown still firmly in place as he stood straight and began to think. 

"My dream?" he repeated, stroking his beard. "What an odd question. Well, if you'd asked me a few years ago, I would have said it was total chaos. But now…" He paused, his face flushing a brilliant shade of red as he rubbed his lion arm and scuffed his goat hoof across the floor. Quietly, he admitted, “Now, it's you. It will always be you.”

Tears of joy cascaded down her cheeks as the floodgates of all her desires burst forth. Spreading her wings, she flew up and threw her hooves around his neck, kissing him unashamedly in front of every creature present. 

“That’s all I needed to hear,” she said. Discord stared at her in love and wonder as she rested a hoof against his cheek and whispered, “I want to be with you forever, Discord. I want to Ascend.”

The Lord of Chaos reeled backward and held her at arm's length, searching her face. “Really?”

Fluttershy nodded.

“Are you sure,” he pressed.

“Uh-huh,” she giggled happily. 

"Absolutely, resolutely, one hundred percent, without a shadow of a doubt sure?" he pressed.

Fluttershy’s giggle intensified. "Yes," she declared with the utmost confidence.

Discord studied her, searching those teal eyes that refused to look anywhere but him. Finding the truth, his jaw dropped in shock.

"You're not kidding," he whispered. "You're not kidding!"

She smiled in confirmation, a beautiful blush filling her cheeks.

Discord's whole soul lit with joy. A moment later he pulled her in for a kiss that instantly lifted her to another plane. Lost in what could only be heaven, Fluttershy sighed in pure bliss. This was the happiness she'd always wanted to have and had been eternally blessed to find. And she was never going to let him go. 

A moment later Discord pulled away and nuzzled her face. "Thank you, Fluttershy," he muttered. "You have no idea what this means to me. What you mean to me."

Filled with love and a burst of confidence, Fluttershy held his face in her hooves and proposed a question she never thought she’d ask.

“Discord, will you marry me?”
> Assemble
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“WHAT?!”

The collective shout from their friends was ignored as Discord stared at Fluttershy. A second of heavy anticipation passed before he burst into delighted laughter, snatching her off the ground. 

Twirling her around, he cried at the top of his lungs, “Yes, yes, yes! A thousand times yes!”

He set her back down and thrust his eagle arm forward, a maniacal grin spread across his face. Fluttershy blinked, tilting her head in adorable confusion. Discord pointed at her hoof, his smile growing. She looked down and gasped. She was holding a ring. She glanced at the solid gold band before looking back up at him.

"Might as well do things properly, eh?" Discord winked, wiggling his fingers.

Giggling and playing along, she slipped the ring onto one of his talons. The two shared a passionate kiss.

"Will somepony please explain what the hay is going on here?!" 

Discord and Fluttershy broke apart, the draconequus keeping his now fiancée in his arms. 

"I thought it was obvious," he said, displaying the golden band. "Ring. Proposal. Seems pretty self explanatory to me."

"Yes, but-!"

Cordy swooped in and placed a finger over Rainbow Dash’s lips. "Perhaps we should take this conversation elsewhere," he said, hinting towards their audience before snapping everypony back to the conference room.

The second they were inside, the room exploded with questions. Though he loved the chaos, Discord could tell the barrage of queries was upsetting Fluttershy. So he did what any good fiancé would do; he set off a bunch of firecrackers and zipped everypony's mouth shut.

"Now that I have your attention," he smirked, "I would like to propose that we move away from the agitated inquiries and proceed with a more civilized discussion. Can everypony handle that?"

Fuming silently, they all nodded. 

"Discord, release them please," said Fluttershy, placing her hoof on his arm. 

He looked down at her. "All at once?"

She nodded. "I can handle it."

"Oh, alright," he muttered. "But if things get out of hand again, I'm interfering."

She smiled appreciatively and nodded in agreement. Discord snapped away the zippers.

"To repeat what Applejack said: what the hay is going on?" Rainbow Dash snapped the moment she could talk, stomping her hoof on the ground.

"Fluttershy proposed! Fluttershy proposed! We need to have a party!" Pinkie Pie cried, popping out of nowhere.

"PINKIE?!" Twilight cried in shocked disbelief. "What are you doing here?!"

The Party Pony was standing next to a swirling pink portal with a very familiar key in her hand.

"You honestly didn't think I was going to miss this, did you?" she cried, aghast. "My Pinkie Sense was going crazy and I just knew Fluttershy was about to do something astronomical so I grabbed the key Discord gave me and used it to make a temporary portal to come celebrate! I told Rainboom Dash that I'd be back in two hours. That gives us plenty of time to party!" 

She whipped out her cannon and confetti exploded all over the room. Hopping over, she gave both Discord and Fluttershy a hug.

"I am so excited for you guys!!"

"While I appreciate the sentiment, Pinkie, I am rather curious to know how you were able to use the key to come here when I only programmed it to take you back to my dimension," said Discord.

"Oh, I just hopped to your dimension first and then used it again to come here," she said. "You did say that from your dimension it could take me anywhere!"

Discord made a mental note to confiscate those keys the second this adventure was over.

"Well, thanks for coming and being supportive," Fluttershy said with a pleased smile. 

"But of course!" said Pinkie Pie. "It isn't every day that you decide to marry and become immortal!"

"Become what?!" Twilight cried. 

"Immortal?" said Rarity. "What on earth are you talking about, darling?"

"Become WHAT?!" Twilight repeated.

Discord smacked his forehead. Leave it to Pinkie Pie to spew forth everything without considering how the news would be received. 

"Fluttershy?" Applejack demanded, "Mind telling us exactly what Pinkie's going' on about?"

Discord glanced at the Rainbooms who had remained uncharacteristically silent during this whole affair. They were staring at him and Fluttershy with expectant frowns. Mirror Fluttershy alone looked concerned, shrugging helplessly. Beside her, Cordy sat in a theater chair, eating popcorn and enjoying the show.

"Not helping, you know."

Completely unfazed by the sudden appearance of a miniature Discord whispering in his ear, Cordy merely shrugged and whispered back, "This is your bed, not mine. I'll step in if I need to but I'm confident you've got this."

Discord snorted, vanishing his miniature self. Fluttershy looked up at him.

"Can I tell them?" she asked, her voice divided between hope and nerves.

"They're going to find out eventually," he sighed, shrugging. "Might as well."

"It's okay though?" she pressed. 

"I'll step in if you're getting too close to sharing things they don't need to know," he assured.

"What are you guys talking about?" said Rainbow Dash.

"Well, Discord is-"

Discord vanished both Pinkie Pies mouths and shook his finger at them. 

"Oh no, you don't. Both of you need to let Fluttershy have the floor."

Both Pies looked very disappointed but nodded in consent.

Satisfied, Discord returned their mouths and said, "Go ahead, Flutterbutter."

Fluttershy took a deep breath. Discord felt a blanket of confidence descend upon her as she stood tall and shared with the others her decision to bond herself to him in eternal marital bliss. The others were shocked when she finished. 

Applejack stepped forward. "Sugarcube, I have no doubt ya love him but are ya sure you've thought this through? Becomin' immortal means sayin' goodbye to everypony you know."

"And is it required to Ascend to marry him?" asked Rarity.

Fluttershy blushed. "No but-"

"Then why not marry him without?" said Rainbow Dash.

"Because she doesn't want to leave Discord behind," Twilight muttered. 

Everypony turned to her. The princess was staring at the ground, her head bent so low that her mane hid her eyes. 

"Twilight?" Fluttershy prompted, taking a concerned step forward.

Twilight looked up. Her eyes were glistening with tears. "Is there a reason why?" she asked.

Fluttershy was confused but Discord knew what the princess was asking. He sighed and rubbed his paw through his mane. 

"Twilight, I can't speak for Shining Armor or Flash Sentry," he said. "I can only tell you that the ones who gave me immortality have already promised to grant Fluttershy the same."

"And who are they?" she demanded.

"Mother Nature and Abysm, the Father of Monsters."

"The Father of Monsters was Grogar," she argued.

"A disguise Abysm took on to have some fun," Discord said with a shrug. Twilight opened her mouth again but he cut her off. "Look, I'm not going to say any more on the matter. The fact remains that Fluttershy has been granted Ascension -should she choose to accept it- because of a promise given to me an extremely long time ago."

"By Mother Nature?" Rainbow Dash said skeptically.

"Believe what you want," said Discord, "But she's real. And she really wants to meet you, my dear," he added, addressing Fluttershy.

His fiancée squeaked. "She does?!"

He smiled. "Well, you are going to be marrying me, the world's longest standing bachelor. Ahuizotl is going to roll over backwards when he finds out. That cat bet eons ago that I would never settle down."

"You know Ahuizotl?" Rainbow Dash cried, a look of distrust spreading across her face.

"Old college buddies," Discord confirmed, waving his claw. "Not really important. Anyway, this talk has been wonderful but I think we've covered all the bases."

"We most certainly have not!" Rarity cried, stomping her hoof. "I want to know why Twilight is angry and why Fluttershy can't just marry you without going through that Ascension business she spoke of."

"Twilight is upset because she's immortal and her commitment to Flash Sentry is a temporary one," Discord answered. "Eventually he'll die and she'll move on. Cadence is facing the same reality with Shining Armor but the Princess of Love seems to have already made peace with that."

"Twilight?" Applejack prompted, her voice gentle and hesitant, "Are you really going to live forever?"

The princess glared at Discord as she answered, "Yes, AJ. I'm a princess. It's part of the deal."

The others gasped. 

"Did you know?" asked Starlight. 

"I think I always knew, deep down," Twilight muttered, "But it wasn't confirmed until I talked to Cadence about Flash. I'll outlive him. I'll outlive all of you."

"But that's simply horrible!" Rarity despaired before turning to Fluttershy. "And you want this, Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy lowered her head a fraction before stomping her hoof and proudly facing her friends.

"I do!" she declared. "While I am truly sorry for Twilight, I refuse to live a mortal life and leave Discord behind. I have the option of staying with him forever, of loving him and being by his side; something he's been without for most of his life. I'd be a selfish fool to choose death over that!"

The girls stood there in shocked silence. Discord inwardly cheered at Fluttershy's bravery, having to stop himself from smothering her in kisses for saying such things. Her declaration of devotion touched him deeply. He wasn't the only one.

Twilight stepped forward, closing the distance between them. Fluttershy shrunk a bit but refused to move. Discord loomed behind, ready to provide protection if necessary. 

The princess pulled Fluttershy into a surprising hug.

"I truly am happy for you," she said, stepping back and looking between Fluttershy and Discord. "I'm glad that you're standing up for your love and I truly do support it."

"What?!" Rainbow Dash shrieked.

"You don't think I'm moving too fast?" Fluttershy asked.

"You two have been friends for a long time," Twilight smiled. "I don't think you're rushing into this at all."

"I do!" Rainbow Dash cried.

"That's just because you're being protective," said Applejack.

"Protective?!"  

The cowpony ignored her, readjusting her stetson as she faced the couple. "Look, my folks started out as friends and eventually fell in love. I see no reason why it can't happen to you two." 

"I always hoped your relationship would blossom into this," Rarity confessed with a sheepish smile. "I just can't understand the desire to live forever. Don't get me wrong, it's very romantic, but I believe accepting change is better than staying frozen in place."

"Really?" Applejack said as Rainbow scoffed, "You, the pony most concerned about her looks, can't understand the appeal of immortality?"

"It's true," Rarity stated, "I used to fear the idea of aging, but living in the fashion world has taught me that change is good. And I've learned that age brings beauty as well."

"Whatever," Rainbow Dash grumbled before turning back to Fluttershy. The Wonderbolt looked at her with worry. "Flutters," she said in a more gentle tone, "Is this really what you want?"

Fluttershy looked at Discord, her smile the most radiant it had ever been. 

"It is," she confirmed.

Rainbow Dash sighed. "Then there's only one thing for me to say." 

Everypony froze. Discord narrowed his eyes, inwardly praying he wasn't about to witness the end of a very cherished friendship.

The rainbow pony shot across the room and stopped in front of him, slamming a hoof into his chest.

"You'd better be true to her forever!" she warned. "Or I'm going to make it my personal business to haunt you until the day you die."

Discord blinked in surprise before grinning. "Duly noted, Crash. And I Pinkie Promise that I will never forsake her for as long as I live."

He summoned up a cupcake and did the motions. Rainbow Dash smirked before punching his shoulder.

"I'll hold you to that, Dipcord."

"So, are we all okay?" asked Applejack. 

Everypony nodded.

"Then let's PARTY!" Pinkie Pie cried, blasting her cannon multiple times around the room. 

Decorations shot out and attached themselves to multiple surfaces, the colors yellow, pink, and brown. Mirror Pinkie Pie got in on the action, yanking a fully assembled cake out of thin air. Discord chuckled, brushing confetti from Fluttershy's mane. 

Twilight and Starlight stepped out a moment to check on the army and reassure Ember and Thorax that all was well. The other ponies surrounded Fluttershy, congratulating her and asking a wide variety of questions.

“When did you first realize you were in love?”

“What kind of wedding do you want?”

“Are we your bridesmaids?" 

"If we are, do we have to wear dresses?”

“Can I make your dress? Please tell me I can make you dress!”

Discord chuckled, leaning against the cake table, happily watching the display and munching on a piece of cake Pinkie Pie had made specially for him and Cordy. The flavors consisted of onions, chocolate, dragonfruit, and blue cheese; perfectly blended chaos. 

“Do you think we can immortalize Pinkie?” Cordy asked jokingly. “Not another creature alive will ever be able to concoct this kind of chaos and make it taste-”

“Positively divine!” Discord finished, relishing a particularly strong bite of onion and blue cheese. 

“Exactly,” he chuckled. “I have half a mind to hire Rainboom Pinkie as my personal chef for the rest of her life.”

“You know, as long as she can still have her own baking business I don’t think she’d mind that in the slightest.”

“I wouldn’t!” Mirror Pinkie Pie declared, popping up beside them. “And, once she marries you, I’ll get to see Fluttershy practically every day! It’s a deal!”

She happily shook Cordy’s hand before hopping away to challenge Pinkie Pie in a cake eating contest.

Discord laughed. “Well, that just happened.”

“Speaking of things just happening,” said Cordy with a sly grin, “You had absolutely no idea she was going to propose, did you?”

“No,” Discord said honestly, watching Fluttershy laugh at something Rainbow Dash said. “I didn’t expect her to tell me she wanted to Ascend either.”

“Judging by what you told me after she left, I didn’t expect it either,” Cordy confessed. “I truly thought you would have to go with your plan of being an eternally unfulfilled partner for the rest of her life.”

“A fate I still would accept without complaint if that was what she wanted,” Discord stated. 

“Oh, come, old bean,” Cordy scoffed, “You can’t honestly tell me you would have been happy with that arrangement.”

“It would have been enough,” Discord muttered, “if it meant keeping her in my life.”

Cordy looked at him, impressed. “Well, I must say, you certainly have grown since last I saw you.”

“The last time we spoke I had just been reformed,” Discord reminded. “I was still sorting through whether or not I wanted to seriously mend my ways.”

“Fluttershy probably held great sway in that decision,” he smirked.

“She was the only reason the consideration was even thought of,” Discord said unashamedly.

“And now here you are,” Cordy said, summoning a glass of strawberry milk and taking a swig, “Engaged with the promise of eternity attached. How do you feel?”

“Relieved that I beat you in getting a ring on my finger.”

He proudly showed off his jewelry and Cordy laughed. 

“In my defense, you’ve known your Fluttershy for years. I’ve only been orbiting around mine for a year and she’s still in high school. A couple years of college will be a good experience for her before we get engaged.”

“Good luck holding out that long,” Discord muttered, taking his own sip of chocolate milk. 

“Helps when you have magic to disconnect certain desires when things get heated,” Cordy smirked. 

“Indeed,” Discord chuckled, tapping his drink against Cordy’s.

The girls pulled Discord and Cordy into their midst after that and the room filled with laughter as memories were shared of Discord and Fluttershy’s best -and worst- moments. But, as is true with every celebration, the party had to come to an end. Pinkie Pie gave everypony a hug and promised to see them all tomorrow before hopping back through her pink portal, chaos key in hoof. Mirror Pinkie Pie and Cordy volunteered to clean up the mess and the rest of the ponies and Discord left to find their own beds.

Fluttershy released a very large yawn the moment she and Discord were alone in his room. 

“Well,” she muttered, “now they know.”

“Yes,” Discord said, gently lifting her up and carrying her over to the couch. “And you’re okay with that?”

She nodded, snuggling happily into his chest. “If I’m honest, I’m relieved. Keeping secrets doesn’t bother me but not sharing the best news of my life would have made me sad. I’m glad they’re okay with me Ascending too.”

“I’m glad you want to,” Discord said, lightly scratching behind her ears. “And, can I say that I am positively delighted that you proposed to me?”

Fluttershy looked up at him, surprised. “You are? It didn't bother you."

Discord laughed. “My dear, the chaos it brought was priceless! And the fact that you proposed and not me only added to it! Embracing confidence and breaking traditions! Oh, my love for you grows deeper every day!”

Fluttershy giggled in relief. “I’m glad you approve. I hadn’t planned to propose. I was only going to tell you that I decided to Ascend.”

“Then what made you?” he asked curiously.

Fluttershy shrugged. “It just seemed like the right thing to do.”

Discord’s eyelids lowered as he tenderly studied her eyes. “I love you, Fluttershy.”

She blushed. “I love you too, Dissy.”

They shared a kiss before Fluttershy released another yawn and rested her head against his chest, her legs and wings looping around his thin body. Discord stroked her mane, hyper aware of the ring now occupying his finger.

He loved it.

Once again his adorable little pegasus had surprised him. The prospect of spending forever with her left him joyful and excited. He couldn't wait! 

He had half a mind to rush off to his parents and marry her tonight but she was already asleep, her breathing deep and even, and he didn't want to wake her (that and the others would kill him if he did). So, instead, he gently floated to her door, opened it with his tail, and laid her carefully down on her bed. Tucking her in, he stared at her in love and wonder.

"Rest well, my Shy," he whispered, kissing her forehead.

Fluttershy sighed, a smile climbing her cheeks. She rolled over, burrowing further under her blanket. Discord chuckled as he left the room. 

He went to bed that night feeling truly happy and fulfilled, resting the ring over his heart and protecting it with his paw. 





Discord and Fluttershy woke early the next morning, her on autopilot, him only because he had to. 

Mixing a heavy helping of Tabasco sauce into his chocolate milk, Discord grumbled about the early hour.

"I don't see why I have to be up," he complained, downing the drink in one swallow. The heat burned its way down his throat, giving his brain the kick-start it needed to fully awaken. It didn't erase his irritability though. "I'm not needed until after everypony else is ready to go."

“I’m sure that won’t take long,” Fluttershy consoled, kissing his cheek.

Discord looped an arm around her. “Can’t we just stay in here and cuddle until Twilight comes looking?”

Fluttershy shook her head. Reluctantly, the draconequus surrendered and allowed her to lead him from the room. 

The first thing they saw was Cordy saying goodbye to Mirror Fluttershy, the two sharing a kiss before the Chaos Count snapped away to the yaks. The other Mirror ponies gathered around to comfort their friend, assuring her that he would be fine. Fluttershy quickly rushed off to join them. After that it took almost an hour to get the army fully up and running. 

Discord rested on one of his cotton candy clouds, watching the proceedings below. A few fights broke out but the biggest unfolding drama was between Twilight and her three sneaky students, Gallus, Silverstream, and Ocellus.

“You’re not leaving us behind!” Gallus snapped, folding his arms.

“This is not up for negotiation, Gallus!” Twilight firmly replied. “You three aren’t even supposed to be here.”

“But we want to help!” said Silverstream.

“While I admire your courage, now is not the time to be playing hero,” said Starlight, joining the conversation. 

“We’re not playing!” Ocellus argued. “We have every right to fight for our lands!”

“Besides, Smolder gets to fight,” said Gallus. “Why can’t we?”

“Because Dragon Lord Ember said she could and none of you got permission from your guardians to be here!" said Twilight. "Ocellus pretended to be an adult blending in with the changeling army, Silverstream snuck off the hippogriff's ship, and Gallus ran away from home!"

"I don't have a home to run away from!" Gallus argued. "No griffon is going to miss me!"

Twilight and Starlight shared an exasperated glance.

"The point is, this is a war,” Twilight declared. “There are going to be casualties. And I refuse to jeopardize the alliances we have with your kingdoms because the three of you want to rush off and play soldier. You're not coming and that's final!"

The young ones angrily looked away and kept silent as the two mares discussed what to do with them.

Discord frowned, watching in silence as Thorax and Ember approached Twilight a few minutes later.

"Our armies are ready to go," Ember stated.

"I'm sorry about Ocellus," Thorax sighed. "I already told her she couldn't come."

"I know," Twilight said. "Don't worry; she, Gallus, and Silverstream will stay here with Sprinkle Glaze until the battle is over."

"I think it would be good for Smolder to join them," Ember said, motioning over a very angry looking orange dragon. "Besides Spike, she's the link between our nations."

"I still don't see why I can't fight," Smolder grumbled, smoke coming from her nostrils. "Spike is just as much my friend as he is yours! I want to help him!"

"I said no, Smolder!" Ember raged, jabbing a claw at her. "You're staying here!"

"Fine!" Smolder snapped, stomping off to where the other creatures stood fuming. 

The four of them did nothing to hide their complaints. Discord chuckled, shaking his head. 

He had every reason to believe they would find a way to The Prairies even if they had to walk. He briefly considered lending a hand but one glance at Fluttershy changed his mind; better not to upset her and stir up ill feelings on the eve of battle. Besides, the secrets he'd so carefully kept close to the chest were about to be exposed and those were sure to stir up enough frustration and hurt for him to be getting on with.

He sighed, thinking of the inevitable. 

Should have known this would come back to haunt me one day. I could always tell Fluttershy the truth but I don't want her angry with me before we have to fight. She'll be distracted and if she can't focus, she might get hurt! I won't be able to keep a close eye on her because I'll have my hands full with Daybreaker. Best to just let the cat find its own way out of the bag. Hmmm, probably shouldn't use that analogy; animal cruelty and all. Fluttershy would not approve.

"Discord?"

The Chaos Lord looked down from the cotton candy cloud he was laying on. Twilight was staring up at him, exasperated.

"Whatever it is, it wasn't me!" he said, recognizing that look.

"You're raining chocolate milk," she said.

Discord blinked and looked down. Mirror Pinkie Pie was standing underneath the cloud, mouth open wide as she happily consumed the drops. Discord sheepishly stopped the rain with a snap; his depressed thoughts had unintentionally fueled the small downpour. He sent both Mirror Pinkie Pie and Twilight an apologetic smile.

As the Mirror pony released a disappointed whine, the disguised princess magicked herself up onto the cloud, her pink aura keeping her in place.

"Are you alright?" she asked, surprising him.

Discord frowned. This wasn't the first time she'd caught him off guard. There were several moments in his dimension where, instead of shouting at him as expected, she’d done the exact opposite.

"I'm fine," he said dismissively, secretly trying to figure out her angle.

Twilight frowned. "While I don't believe you, I hope you know that you can talk to me if there's something bothering you."

Discord stared. "Who are you and what have you done with Twilight Sparkle?"

She smiled sadly. "Look, somepony helped me see that I haven't been the friend I should be and I'm trying to change that. I'm serious, Discord. I hope that, with time, you'll see that I really do want to be your friend."

Discord blinked, his eyebrows raising in genuine surprise. "Were we not before?"

"Not the kind I'm proud of," she said, rubbing her hoof against her arm. "I don't want to judge or suspect you anymore. Just because you're different doesn't mean you can't be trusted. And I do trust you, Discord. I hope that you’ll also trust me."

Discord felt like somepony had just kicked him in the gut. 

She wouldn't be saying that if she knew. None of them would. 

So tell her the truth!

Tell her and not Fluttershy?

Tell them both.

And have them all so distracted and angry that Nightmare Moon uses that against them? No thanks!

Shoving his inner conscience into a mental drawer, he smiled and said, "Thank you, Twilight."

The princess smiled back. "You're welcome."

"Are you two done chit-chatting?" asked Rainbow Dash, swooping in and ruining the moment. “We’re all ready and waiting down here.”

“I guess that’s my cue,” Discord said, standing up and stretching. 

The three of them rejoined the rest of the creatures waiting on the ground. Fluttershy sent him a worried glance -she’d noticed the chocolate rain- but Discord merely winked at her, hoping it would cast aside her concerns. She hesitantly smiled at him. 

“Alright, Discord,” said Twilight. “Let’s go.”

"Hold on to your horses!" he cried, holding up his paw.

"Hold on to our what?"

He snapped. The army and all their provisions were instantly transported to the south end of the Galloping Gorge. 

The air was frigid with cold, the ground beneath their hooves layered in a thin blanket of snow. Opened to their left was the Gorge, the bottom containing a shallow bank and a freezing cold river. To their right, the distant Mt. Rarity was covered in a healthy helping of snow. Desiring to get out of the cold, Twilight led the procession southward into the cover of the forest. 

Judging by the hundreds of hoof prints ahead of them, Discord surmised that Cordy’s group had already arrived. He was proved right about ten minutes later when they were spotted and then hailed by a squadron of Crystal Pony soldiers.

As the army was taken deeper into the forest, Discord’s eyebrows rose in surprise at the vast encampment of ponies and yaks. It was actually comforting to know their forces had practically doubled; they were going to need all the help they could get.

Pinkie Pie was the first to spot them, crying out excitedly and rushing over, enveloping them all in a hug. Mirror Rainbow Dash reunited with the Rainbooms, eager to tell them just how cool the yaks actually were. Mirror Fluttershy quietly slinked off to the side after a moment to give Cordy a hug and kiss. 

“It’s good to see all of you again,” Flash Sentry said, approaching the group wearing golden Crystal Pony armor. It identified his rank as commanding officer; the other Crystal Ponies wore silver. “We’ve got a spot for the changelings and dragons over there and we’ve set up a tent for the leaders to convene over there.” He pointed to both places.

“Thank you, Flash,” Twilight said, taking charge. “Thorax, Ember, will you both join us in the Leaders’ Tent after helping your nations settle?” The two nodded and flew off, moving their armies to the directed area. Twilight then turned back to Flash. “Will you please ask Prince Rutherford to join us?”

“I’d be happy to,” he said, kissing her cheek. “See you soon.”

Twilight blushed before moving towards the Leaders’ Tent, the Rainbooms, Bearers, and two draconequui following right behind her. 

The inside was fairly cozy for a war tent. The Crystal Ponies had removed most of the snow and set up a large rug and some pillows on the ground. A huge map of Equestria had been erected against the far wall and a fire was cheerfully crackling in the middle of the tent for both warmth and additional light; a hole in the top of the tent took care of the smoke.     

Not wanting to be in the midst of so many bodies, Discord magicked up a cloud in the corner and settled on the white surface, pulling Fluttershy up to join him with his tail. She squeaked but quickly relaxed when realizing it was just her fiancé snagging her around the middle. Discord lay down and she snuggled into his side, grateful for the extra warmth he provided.

“Remind me again why we decided to fight against Tirek in the middle of winter?” said Rainbow Dash, rubbing her hooves together in front of the fire.

“Because he would have enslaved us all by Spring,” Twilight replied.

“Oh, yeah.”

“I can’t believe Hearth’s Warming is in a couple weeks,” said Rarity. “And to think before all this started I was working on presents for all of you.”

“None of us expected to be fightin’ in a war,” Applejack admitted. “The only thing we can hope is that, like all our previous battles, this one ends with a swift victory.”

“I think we’d all appreciate that,” Thorax said as he and Ember entered the tent. 

Prince Rutherford followed them inside, complaining of insubordinate younger yaks not listening to their elders. 

“It’s good to see you again, Prince Rutherford,” said Twilight.

“Who is light pink pony?” he asked.

“That’s Princess Twilight, Prince,” said Pinkie Pie. “She’s in disguise!”

“Oh, yak sees this now. Good to see purple princess pony again.”

Twilight smiled. “We’re truly grateful that you and the other yaks have decided to help in our cause.”

“Yaks happy to help,” the prince said, “Yaks best warriors!”

“Debatable,” Discord muttered quietly. Fluttershy giggled and shushed him.

Twilight then began the meeting, sharing what she knew of Tirek’s plans as well as the numbers he’d acquired while unwillingly in his service. The list of monsters from Tartarus was a large one. The mention of a few had Fluttershy shivering. Discord placed a comforting arm around her and gave a reassuring squeeze. 

“While I know it is a lot to ask,” Twilight said, “if the allies could stay with the Crystal ponies and fight on the forefront, it will give us the time we need to sneak into the city and take down Tirek and the princesses.”

“Yaks not afraid of deadly creatures,” Prince Rutherford declared. “Yaks can handle any threat!”

“And we already planned to fight the monsters since that’s where Spike is going to be,” said Ember.

“Same,” said Thorax.

The changeling king and dragon lord shared a sad smile as they thought of their friend.

“Okay,” Twilight muttered, enlarging The Prairies section on the map. With her magic she drew out symbols for each monster Tirek had at his disposal. “We know that the princesses and Chrysalis are going to be in Canterlot Castle with Tirek; he’s too cowardly to fight on the battlefield. That being said, to spite me, he’ll probably have Spike in the very front followed by the pony-wyverns and then the stronger, more formidable monsters from Tartarus in the back. If that is the case and Spike is our first foe, I’d like the strongest dragons you have to focus on safely immobilizing him,” she said to Ember. “Their fire and scales might just be the only thing he’d be affected by.”

“I have at least ten I can think of that would be able to do that,” she said with a nod. 

“Good,” Twilight muttered. “While they deal with Spike, the yaks and crystal ponies will take on the pony-wyverns, leaving the changelings and the rest of the dragons to fend off the Tartarus monsters. Use your flight to get over the yaks and crystal ponies. If any pony-wyverns attempt to intercept you, do your best to redirect them back toward the ground.”

“What about the bat ponies?” Applejack asked. “You know for certain those things will be on the battlefield.”

Twilight frowned. “They’ll more than likely be mixed in with the pony-wyverns.”

“Out of all of us, the dragons have the thickest skin,” said Discord. “I would suggest having them take on the vampires.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Twilight praised. “Ember, would that work? And Thorax, would the changelings be able to take on more of the Tartarus monsters?”

“I’ll divide my forces between the two threats,” Ember said while Thorax nodded, “We should be able to do that.”

“Alright. That leaves the sixteen of us,” said Twilight, looking at the Bearers, Rainbooms, and draconequui. “I believe teleporting to Canterlot will be our best option but not immediately inside the castle. Tirek may have protective spells in place to alert him of any intruders.”

“But maybe that’s why we should teleport directly into the throne room,” said Cordy. “It would be the last thing he’d expect.”

“And it would put us directly where we want to be,” Discord agreed.

“That doesn’t make any sense though,” Mirror Twilight argued. 

“Exactly,” said Cordy. “It’s the perfect way to throw off your enemies.”

“Twilight?” Sunset prompted.

The princess frowned in thought before looking up at Discord. “Do you think that’ll work?”

Secretly touched that she was truly asking his opinion, Discord nodded.

“Alright,” she said, “If you and Cordy are confident that you can teleport us directly there, let’s do it.”

Several of the ponies looked like they wanted to argue but the princess had made her decision and she was the leader through all this. While Discord’s guilt was increasing because of her expressed faith in him, he knew this plan was the best they could take. 

Twilight was about to suggest further strategy on what they would do once inside the throne room when there were several shouts outside the tent followed by angry screeches from what only could be-

“Wyverns!” a crystal pony bellowed, inviting himself inside.

There was a mad scramble as everycreature made it out of the tent and looked up to see two of Tirek’s evil creations bearing down on them from the trees. 

They were an incredibly gruesome sight. Their long, spiked necks ended in narrow snouts decorated with dangerously sharp teeth and their wings, stretched out behind them, had claws on the top similar to their feet. The gray one, clearly male based off his broader chest, let out a roar that rattled everycreature's eardrums. His partner, a lightly dusted purple female, snapped her jaws, her blue eyes surveying the enemies below with a hungry glare.

At the sight of the Bearers and Rainbooms, the evil creatures took flight, wings outstretched and jaws opened wide. 

Twilight, Sunset, and Starlight threw up a shield at the same time Discord summoned a giant fly swatter. Taking aim, he smacked the wyverns out of the sky. They fell to the earth, their tails upending several barrels of stored goods as they rolled end over end, tearing up the ground. 

Twilight led the charge, shouting at the top of her lungs, "Subdue but don't hurt them! We can't let them leave this forest!"

A few dragons leapt into action, pinning the wyverns' wings while some yaks pressed down on their tails and mouths. The wyverns struggled, their screeches muffled beneath the yaks' shaggy fur. Discord and Cordy snapped up some rope that looped around their mouths, limbs, and backs, securing them in place. The yaks and dragons stepped back, giving room for Twilight and the others to get through. Horn lit, the princess observed the outraged wyverns. Angry growls rumbled in their throats and they strained uselessly against their bonds.

"I know these two!" Twilight gasped, eyes wide. "This is Starswirl!" she revealed, pointing at the gray male. "And that's Mistmane!"

The Bearers gasped as a crystal pony shouted, "Princess!"

The group looked away from the wyverns as a small squadron of soldiers made their way towards them. They were guarding five very familiar ponies.

"Rockhoof!" cried Applejack.

"Flash Magnus!" shouted Rainbow Dash.

"Oh my!" gasped Fluttershy. "Mage Meadowbrook!"

"Somnambula!" Pinkie Pie excitedly exclaimed, bouncing over.

"Sandbar?!" shrieked Starlight. 

The green colt flashed a guilty smile, waving hesitantly at the irate purple pony.

"You know these ponies?" asked the soldier.

"They're our friends," Twilight confirmed, sending Sandbar a warning glare to stay right where he was.

"We caught them just outside the forest," the soldier revealed.

"What were you all doing there?" asked Starlight.

"We were tracking those wyverns," Rockhoof revealed. "We've been on their tails since they attacked Ponyville five days ago."

"What?!" The Bearers cried in dismay. 

"Is everypony alright?" asked Twilight.

"We think so," said Mage Meadowbrook. "The town is mostly destroyed but the ponies are safe. Mayor Mare was leading them all into the Everfree Forest when we took off."

"Why in the world would they go in there?" Rarity cried, aghast.

"Zecora insisted," Flash Magnus replied. "She said it was one of the safest places to be these days."

"And she would be right," Discord said, "Seeing as I own the place and put up a protective shield over my castle so none of the princesses or Tirek could get in. Hmmm, I should probably update that to include Chrissy." He snapped his talons though nothing visibly happened. "And  I'd be more than happy to let the residents of Ponyville stay there," he added. "I'll send Zecora a note." 

He snapped again.

"Discord?!" the four Pillars' gasped, finally noticing him.

"Oh, hello," he sneered, angrily folding his arms. "Not nice to see you all again."

They began forming an attack position. 

"How did you get out of your prison?" Flash Magnus demanded.

Discord proudly displayed his ring. "True love's admission and kiss, obviously."

Their mouths dropped open.

"What pony in their right mind would fall in love with you?" said Rockhoof.

"That would be me," Fluttershy declared, placing herself between them and Discord. "And I would appreciate it if you didn't attack my fiancé -one of Equestria's greatest defenders- ever again!"

"Greatest defender? Fluttershy, are you sure you didn't hit your head?" asked Mage Meadowbrook.

"Does he have you under some evil spell?" worried Somnambula. 

"I'm reformed, you nitwits!" Discord snapped. "I have been for years! If any of you gasbags would have bothered to pick up a book on recent history you would have known that!"

"But… how?" asked Flash Magnus. "You were evil."

"You took over Equestria!" said Rockhoof.

"Yes, I did," he confirmed. "Twice. But Celestia decided to try to reform me using Fluttershy and it worked."

"If you really are reformed, why were you canvassing Hope Hollow?" accused Flash Magnus.

"Canvassing?" Discord repeated, dumbfounded. 

"You were searching the town," Rockhoof said. 

"Observing all the stores," said Somnambula.

Discord slapped his forehead. "I was shopping!"

"Shopping?" Mage Meadowbrook repeated in disbelief.

"For the supplies for Fluttershy's Hearth’s Warming gift," he snapped before freezing and glancing at his fiancée.

Fluttershy's stunned face melted into a happy smile. Many months ago she and Discord had a discussion of the difference between a gift made by hand vs a gift created from magic. Discord had wanted to show Fluttershy how much he cared by buying the supplies and making her gift from scratch. But he did not have to explain himself further to these ponies! He'd revealed more than he wanted to already. Besides, his business was none of theirs!

To his immense satisfaction the Pillars looked rather guilty. Mage Meadowbrook was the first to express some humility.

"I'm sorry, Discord," she said. "I misjudged you."

"Yes, you did!" he snapped. "And I would appreciate if all of you stayed as far away from me as possible from now on."

He flashed himself away, hiding above in the shadow of the trees. 

"We honestly didn't know," Flash Magnus said.

"That didn't give you the right to attack him!" Fluttershy snapped. "Was he hurting anypony?"

"No," Somnambula muttered, her hooves scuffing the dirt.

Fluttershy's nose scrunched up in anger and disappointment. "I would have thought from your previous experience with Stygian that assuming instead of talking creates more problems than it solves! Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go find my fiancé."

She stormed off, leaving four very guilty ponies behind.

"We really messed up," Flash Magnus said to Rockhoof.

"Ya think?" Rainbow Dash snapped, following after Fluttershy.

Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Starlight followed suit. 

Discord was both surprised and touched by their loyalty. 

Twilight stepped forward but held up her hoof, halting Flash Magnus from speaking. 

"Like my friends, I’m disappointed," she said sternly, her reprimand making her seem far taller than she actually was. "I hope that each of you learn from this mistake and properly apologize to Discord when he is ready to forgive you. While I would like to resolve the issues between you, we need to help Starswirl and Mistmane."

"Does Tirek have them?" asked Somnambula fearfully.

"In a way," Twilight said.

"I knew it!" Rockhoof growled, stomping his hoof. 

"We've been looking for them since we heard of the Tree of Harmony's demise," Mage Meadowbrook explained at Twilight's questioning stare. "We learned from Mayor Mare who heard it from Starlight Glimmer that they were in the Friendship Castle when Tirek attacked. We were looking for clues in Ponyville when the wyverns showed up."

"Well, you can end your search," Twilight said grimly, pointing at the wyverns. 

"What?!" The Pillars cried together.

"You mean to tell us the very wyverns we've been tracking are our friends?" Mage Meadowbrook cried.

"Tirek turned them into wyverns before he changed me into Midnight Sparkle," Twilight revealed. "I'm guessing that once he found out what we were up to, he sent Starswirl and Mistmane to Ponyville to try and find us."

Discord snorted quietly under his breath. He wouldn't be surprised if Twilight was right. The intricate designs of his mother's plan to get the Pillars all here was rather amusing. Now if only the mysterious fourth group of champions would make themselves known.

"This is terrible!" Somnambula mourned, staring at the struggling wyverns. "Can nothing be done for them?"

"Thankfully the same magic that restored me can do the same for them," Twilight said. "Although, it will have to be performed by the Rainbooms seeing as my friends are currently unavailable."

"The Rainbooms?" Flash Magnus questioned.

"She means us," said Sunset Shimmer.

The Pillars were shocked to see and learn of the Mirror Ponies. The Rainbooms surrounded the wyverns and were just about to use Amity's magic to restore Starswirl and Mistmane when Starlight and the rest of the Bearers reappeared.

"Twilight," she called.

"Starlight? What is it? What's wrong?"

Discord's eyebrows rose. From his vantage point he could see six creatures behind the Bearers, each of them dispelling a wave of guilt and defiance.

"What have we here?" he muttered, intrigued.

From the ground the Bearers parted and Twilight's jaw dropped.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me!" 
> Truth
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A pony, yak, griffon, changeling, dragon, and hippogriff; different nations, united together with the clear indication that they were friends. 

Discord would have to be an idiot not to know who they were.

“Well, well, well,” he muttered, stroking his beard. “So that’s your play, is it? How very interesting.”

Twilight asked the Rainbooms to restore Starswirl and Mistmane, leaving Sunset Shimmer in charge, before marching the six students back towards the Leaders’ Tent. Not about to miss out on what he knew was going to be a delightful reprimand, Discord slithered down the tree and teleported next to Fluttershy’s side. 

“Discord!” she cried, leaping into his arms before assessing him. “Are you okay?” 

“I’m fine,” he assured, accepting her hug. “We can talk later; it looks like there are six troublemakers that need your attention.”

Fluttershy glanced at the students and frowned. “Twilight is not happy. None of us are.”

“Well, there might be more going on here than any of you realize,” he said, carrying her into the tent where the others were waiting. 

The second the flap closed Twilight let loose her fury.

“You stowed away?!” she shrieked, bearing down on her six international students. “What on earth were you all thinking?! Do you have any idea what this could do to the alliances Equestria has made with your kingdoms? How did you even get here anyway?"

"We knocked out Sprinkle Glaze. Don't worry, he's fine," Smolder assured because Fluttershy gasped in shock. "After that we left the bakery and slipped past the guards when everycreature was running around. Hiding in some stock barrels was tricky-"

"But we were right that Discord would snap them along with the army," Gallus finished, smirking.

Twilight was not amused. "And you, Yona?"

The yak scuffed her hoof against the rug. "Yona hid in yak supply cart. Prince Rutherford not happy when he found Yona had broken rules."

"What about you, Sandbar?" asked Starlight. 

The green colt shrugged. "I was only doing what I was told to do. This white alicorn appeared in my dream and told me to follow the Pillars so I did."

"She appeared in Yona's dream too!" the yak exclaimed. "Yona only did what she did because Yona was told it was for the sake of Equestria."

"Same as us," said Silverstream excitedly. "We all had similar dreams!"

Discord smirked. I knew it! So this is the fourth group. Hmmm, they're a lot younger than I was expecting.

Fluttershy lightly nudged Discord but he discreetly shook his head and mouthed “later”. The pegasus nodded and pretended to be just as surprised as the other mares present.

“A white alicorn?” Rarity repeated, her confusion mirrored on the others’ faces. “Princess Celestia?”

“No,” Yona replied, shaking her head, her hair loops flapping back and forth. “Yona seen Sun Princess before. This princess white all over.”

“Yeah,” said Sandbar, “Her cutie mark was a rainbow circle not the sun.”

“Amity,” Twilight whispered, her eyes wide with disbelief. 

“Who?” a few of the young ones asked.

“Amity? Why does that- wait! Discord, you’ve mentioned her before!” said Rarity.

“He did?” said Twilight and Fluttershy together.

“Right after Fluttershy was ponynapped,” said Pinkie Pie. “Discord told us he has an opposite, the Lady of Order and Harmony! Apparently each of us has a piece of her inside us!”

“And she’s an alicorn? You failed to mention that,” said Rainbow Dash, looking up at the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony who was suddenly playing chess with Cordy Two. 

“Ooo, nice move,” Discord muttered, staring at the white knight Cordy Two had just played. “I do love moving in angles; especially ones that aren’t anticipated.”

“Discord!” Applejack snapped, stomping her hoof.

“Hmmm?”

“Amity,” Twilight prompted. “What can you tell us about her?”

Discord magicked up a nail file and started sharpening his talons. “I can tell you that we may have crossed paths once or twice.”

Fluttershy frowned but respectfully kept silent, much to his appreciation.

“Anything else?” asked Applejack, annoyed.

Discord ate the file and turned to Cordy Two. “Take five?”

The double and the chessboard vanished. 

Snapping up a picture of Amity and a pointer stick, Discord tapped the image and addressed the students. “I assume this was the star of your dreams?”

“Yeah, that’s her!” said Smolder.

“She’s beautiful,” said Fluttershy.

“Beautiful? More like absolutely stunning!” cried Rarity. “Look at that flawless coat! And her eyes! Why, she’s as pure as the brightest star in the heavens!”

“Yes, yes, she’s quite pretty,” said Discord with a wave of his paw, “You can be envious later. Anyway, Amity, my little ponies and creatures -as stated before- is my opposite. She works through what she calls Champions, splitting her power into pieces that, when combined, create the ultimate threat to every dark creation. 

“Having been on the receiving end of that creation thrice, I can tell you it is the one thing any creature should fear if they were caught doing something wrong. Now, her power works only when harmony is achieved and it would seem she’s been slowly gathering all of her champions to right the wrongs Tirek has committed.”

He stopped to point at the Bearers. "That would be the six of you, obviously, the Rainbooms, the Pillars” -he paused, frowning at the mention of them- “and you six students. Each of you have found favor with Amity and it is your combined groups that will ultimately help us win the war.”

“Wait, us?” cried Ocellus, pointing at herself. “We’re champions?”

“I thought that was obvious since Amity appeared to each of you individually and summoned you all here,” he said.

“Hold on just an apple-picking minute!” Applejack snapped, stomping her hoof. “They’re students! They’re too young to fight!”

Discord shrugged. “Not according to Amity.”

"But why would she pick them now?" asked Twilight. "She already has three sets of Champions. Why not let the others grow up a bit before thrusting that kind of responsibility on their shoulders?"

Discord sighed. He really didn't want to get into the whole balance conversation but it was clear he'd have to at least give them something.

"Tell me, Princess Bookworm," he said, suddenly standing in front of a classroom with the others all seated in individual desks, "What happens when you take a pitcher of water and pour it into a cup?"

"It fills up," said Rainbow Dash before Twilight could. "Everypony knows that."

"Um, can somecreature explain how we got here?" asked Gallus.

Ignoring the griffon, Discord applauded Rainbow Dash's answer. "Correct, Dashie. Now, what happens when you don't stop tilting the pitcher?"

"The cup overflows," said Twilight, eager to answer first this time.

"I'm sorry," said Applejack, "but how is any of this relevant to Twilight’s earlier question?"

"Patience, Applejack," Discord tsked, "We're getting there. Now, replace the water in the pitcher with dark magic and the cup with Equus." He waited for the moment to click. Everypony's eyes widened and he nodded. "This world is saturated in so much dark magic that Amity needs all the firepower in her Rainbow arsenal to restore the balance."

"Um, Discord?" Fluttershy asked, raising her hoof. 

"Yes, my dear?"

"What would happen if we failed?"

He sighed, shaking his head. "The simple answer? Armageddon."

Every creature stared at him in disbelief before Rainbow Dash and Gallus started laughing. When nopony else joined in, however, they stopped. 

"Oh, come on," Rainbow Dash scoffed. "You can't tell me you wouldn't just snap your fingers and fix everything if that were about to happen."

Discord frowned. "I wish it were that simple, Rainbow."

"What do you mean?" she asked, her earlier smirk disappearing.

"Tirek's handiwork has created a massive supply of chaos and disharmony in the world. While I am thriving in it, harmony and order are disappearing. The more strength I gain-"

"The weaker Amity becomes," Twilight realized. 

Discord nodded, successfully hiding the worry he truly felt. "Amity needs all the help she can get. Yes, these six are young," he gestured to the students, "But Amity will need their help to return the balance scales between us."

"All that Rainbow action won't hurt you, will it?"

Surprised and moved by Twilight's concern, he shook his head. "I would only be affected if Amity were to obliterate every ounce of chaos and disharmony infesting the land. We have a line we don't cross." He cleared his throat and added, "Well, unless one goes over it and has to be imprisoned for a thousand years in order for balance to be restored." 

"Your time in stone," Rarity guessed.

Discord cleared his throat. "Yes, well, you all know about that so why dwell on the past, hmmm? Let's move on!" He snapped his fingers and they were back in the tent. "I'm sure the other champions will be arriving soon and will be wondering what they’re all doing here. I'd rather not be around such a powerful harmony charged atmosphere so" -he turned to Twilight- "I'll leave it up to you to inform the allies of why their little subjects are needed."

"Gee, thanks," she said as he pet her withers. 

Discord smirked before blowing Fluttershy a kiss. She smiled at him, watching as he swirled up into a ball and vanished from sight. 

He was about to reappear in a nearby tree when somecreature grabbed him around the back of the neck mid-teleportation and flung him sideways. Discord yelped as he rolled end over end, coming to the stop at the base of a tree.

"Now what hairbrained idiot would-"

"Watch your next words, Snickernoodle."

Discord's jaw dropped; in two seconds he went from being understandably miffed to nervously spooked. 

The menacing blue figure before him was at least fifteen feet tall. His large horns curled around above his head and his glowing yellow and red eyes peered down at Discord underneath a pair of thick white eyebrows. The great ram’s hulking presence was accompanied by a frightening shadow that shifted into all sorts of creatures and seemed to whisper with the mourning of the damned; a testament to his ethereal status.  

"Wipe that shocked expression off your face, son," Abysm said, his voice gruff and low. "We have much to discuss."

Discord quickly sprung up and brushed himself off. "First Amity, then mother, now you. Was there a family reunion and I missed the memo? Is that why you're all showing up?"

Abysm frowned. "Can you blame us for wanting to see your lady friend? She's rather cute, by the way."

Discord blushed and cleared his throat. "Yes, she is. But I doubt learning about Fluttershy is the only reason for this visit. We haven’t spoken since I broke out of my stone prison the first time.”

“You’re welcome for that, by the way.”

Discord tried not to flinch under his father’s accusing stare. “You sound disappointed.”

Abysm snorted. “And that surprises you? You were supposed to continue where you’d left off but instead you merely teased your sister and underestimated her champions.”

“Not true!” Discord countered. “The only reason I failed that first time was because Fluttershy threw me off. Unlike the others, I had to force her to change.”

“And that distracted you,” Abysm snapped.

“Of course it did!” Discord retorted. “I’ve never met a creature immune to me before. And, though I didn’t recognize what the emotion was at the time, I felt bad for manipulating her. But I still wrought plenty of chaos before Twilight fixed everything.”

“Yet, when released a second time, your chaotic tendencies were focused solely on your future wife.”

“She intrigued me! Can you blame me for testing her?”  

Abysm frowned. “I suppose not.”

Rather miffed by this whole conversation, Discord decided to get down to brass tacks. “Why did you really bring me here, father? Because you're wasting your breath if you're going to suggest I side with Tirek and betray the ponies."

Abysm snorted. "As much as I am enjoying the doom and gloom, your mother and Amity will suffer greatly if things remain as they are. I cannot allow that. I am here to show you what will be if you do not reveal your last secret."

Discord blinked, finally looking at his surroundings for the first time.

The first thing he noticed was the familiar blue and pink checkerboard grass stretching as far as the eye could see. A winding road made of orange jello glistened in the sunlight leading towards Canterlot. The whole city was in upheaval. Buildings stood every which way, the castle was floating several feet in the air, and the distant cry of what could only be wyverns drifted through the wind. 

Discord could not believe the chaos he was seeing. He shook his head and turned back to his father. 

"What is this?" he demanded.

"Total chaos," he deadpanned.

"I know what it is!" Discord snapped. "What I can't understand is why it's here."

Abysm's horns glowed and they teleported inside the Canterlot throne room. The princesses' thrones had been replaced with Discord's, the antlers and red rubies overhead glistening in the light coming from the stained glass windows. The window depictions had changed, various images of Discord committing rather dubious acts causing the original's eyebrows to raise. The plaid rug running the length of the room clashed delightfully with the swirls of pink and yellow paint dancing on the walls. But all of this was a fleeting observation, for Discord's gaze was drawn towards the throne.

He was looking at himself except this Discord held a sinister scowl and a gleam of pure wickedness in his eye. His lion paw was stroking the back of what could only be Fluttershy except the pony once again possessed bat wings and fangs. Her blood red eyes also lacked a sense of sapience his Fluttershy had. The bat pony suddenly sat up in the draconequus' lap and began hissing. 

The Discord in the throne was staring at the door, an expectant expression on his face.

"Be still, love," he muttered, pushing Flutterbat back down. 

Flutterbat continued to growl.

The door opened, revealing four very familiar evil alicorns and a prisoner in chains. Discord and Abysm watched from the sidelines as Starlight Glimmer slightly hobbled forward. Her left foreleg was obviously injured from the way she favored the other. Her magic had been sealed by a cap over her horn and a muzzle prevented her from speaking. The chains around her neck were held by Midnight Sparkle who viciously tugged them every other step, forcing the poor unicorn to awkwardly trot. 

"We found her, Your Majesty," Daybreaker stated, bowing low at the foot of Discord’s throne.

The tyrant king stared down at Starlight with narrowed eyes. Flutterbat hissed, wiggling under his paw.

"Are you sure it's her this time?" he asked, lightly swatting Flutterbat's flank to make her still.

The bat pony whimpered, her ears pinning back as she obediently ceased her movements.

"We performed every possible identification spell," said Midnight Sparkle. "It's her."

Discord smirked and stood up, leaving a rather upset Flutterbat on the throne. He flew down until he was floating in front of the light purple unicorn, a maniacal grin plastered on his face.

"I must say I'm impressed, Starlight," he chuckled. "Out of everypony you evaded me the longest."

He snapped his fingers and the muzzle over her mouth disappeared. Starlight wasted no time. 

"Discord, it's not too late to reverse all this! Please, I know this isn't you. You're stronger than the Darkness! Fight it!"

Discord’s cruel laughter echoed throughout the room as he cackled. "Not me? Starlight, you were there. You know that this is my true self."

"No. I refuse to believe that!" she said, shaking her head. "The real Discord wouldn't have transformed our friends into wyverns to use them to torture ponies. The real Discord wouldn't have forced Twilight to become Midnight Sparkle again. And he certainly wouldn’t have turned Fluttershy into a beast! He would have listened to her!"

Discord's smile quickly transformed into an angry scowl. "Enough!" he shouted, slapping Starlight across the face. "As hard as it is for you ponies to grasp, this is the real me! The Discord you knew was nothing but a weak shadow of my true self. Everything I've done I've wanted to do- and what I choose to do with Fluttershy is none of your business!"

"It is my business because she's my friend! Admit it; you couldn't bear the guilt she was making you feel so you reduced her to nothing but an obedient pet!"

Discord's eyes glowed with rage. "It was not guilt but boredom that fueled my actions! I grew tired of her incessant pleas for harmony. Besides, I like this feral exotic pony a lot more than the timid fear-filled one she used to be. I've improved her. And I'll bestow upon you the same courtesy."

Starlight tried to be brave as she said, "I don't need to be improved!"

"Oh, but you do," he countered, slithering around her.

Starlight stiffened yet continued to hold her head high. "Then what are you going to do? Change me into a wyvern like you did the others?"

Discord's wicked grin had returned. "No, I don't think so. You're much more valuable as a soldier."

"I will never work for you!" 

His smirk grew. "I recall Twilight saying something similar but now look at her! She's more than happy to do whatever I ask."

Tears pricked at the corners of Starlight’s eyes as she brokenly looked at Midnight Sparkle and whispered, "That is not Twilight."

Discord shrugged. "So you say. I say she’s the new and improved version. And now, it's your turn."

His shadow suddenly moved of its own accord, wrapping around Starlight and consuming her. She began to scream. Moments later, the shadow returned to its rightful place, exposing the newest addition to Discord's army.

Starlight's coat was now a darker shade of purple and the tips of her hooves and horn were glowing teal. Her teeth were sharp and the slits of her eyes were devoid of any previous empathy. 

She bowed submissively to Discord. "Your Majesty," she acknowledged.

Discord waved his talons dismissively and said, "Nightmare, take our newest recruit to Shimmer's office. I'd like her trained as an Enforcer."

"As you wish," Nightmare Moon said, leading Starlight away.

"What would you like us to do now, Your Majesty?" asked Heartbreaker.

Having returned to his throne, Discord began petting Flutterbat's back. "Continue your search for Princess Flurry Heart," he commanded. "I will not allow such a small nuisance to grow into a huge problem. Harmony must remain weaker than I. Return to my dimension and hunt for any possible exit. She couldn't have escaped without help."

"We'll send word of our progress," Daybreaker promised before the three alicorns disappeared.

Discord scratched Flutterbat's ears. The bat pony twisted around and began to nip at his fingers. 

"You like being this way," he muttered to her. "Starlight was wrong. If I'd kept you as you were, the only thing you'd be good for is a garden fountain. You do see that, right? You wouldn't stop crying. I did you a favor. I wasn't lying, you know. The feral mind, the fangs, the bat wings, the rugged mane and tail; ragged beauty at its finest."

Flutterbat snapped and hissed at him. Discord scowled before snapping a muzzle over her mouth. She shook her head angrily, glaring up at him. 

"Oh, relax," he scoffed. "You're clearly hungry and I’m not interested in being bitten at the moment."

Snapping his talons, a large bear appeared in the middle of the room. Flutterbat immediately stilled, her eyes focusing on the ignorant prey. Discord grabbed her before she could lunge forward and laughed as she began to struggle and whine. 

"Don't go too fast," he commanded. "I do love watching you play with your food."

Flutterbat's whining increased, her flailing limbs thrashing at the air. 

"Ready?" He removed the muzzle. "Go!" 

The tyrant released her, his evil laughter filling the hall as she snarled and barreled into the bear's side.

"I've seen enough," the good Discord said, turning away. 

Abysm huffed in agreement, his horns glowing. The two teleported just as the bear released its first wounded scream. 

Father and son reappeared in the world they knew, surrounded by a clear and calm forest. 

Discord stepped away from his father, failing to conceal the revulsion and pain he was feeling. Watching himself treat Fluttershy like that made his stomach roil. Not to mention his other actions. 

"Not the ideal future, is it?" Abysm growled, his eyes trained on his son. 

He had shed his Grogar look for that of a giant muscular minotaur with red skin and brown fur. His arms were folded over his chest as he leaned against a tree.

Discord pointed an accusatory finger right at his ringed nose. "You made that up! That wasn't real!"

"You and I both know that is not true. It is what will be!"

Discord adamantly shook his head. "No. I refuse to believe that!"

"You foolish boy!" Abysm snarled, stomping his hoof. "Do you not see that if you wait and let things fall as they may the girls will be divided? Fluttershy, bless her little soul, will stand with you. Twilight and Pinkie might as well. But we both know the others won't; not in that moment. They will fight amongst themselves and, as a result, will not be able to create harmony. The Rainbow will fail and all of you will be captured! You most of all." 

"But if I tell them beforehand, the result will be the same!" Discord lamented, throwing up his hands. "I figured it wouldn't hurt to wait."

"Oh, sure!" Abysm mocked. "Wait until the moment and create feelings so raw there will be no chance in Tartarus they will be able to stand on a united front! That's completely asinine and you know it! Telling them now will buy time- time they will need. Stop being a coward!"

"I'm not a coward!" Discord snarled.

"Then stop acting like one and TELL THEM!" Abysm roared, his voice actually causing the trees to quake.

"FINE! I WILL!" Discord bellowed back, his face mere inches away from his father's. "THANKS FOR THE TALK!"

"YOU'RE WELCOME. NOW GET LOST!"

Discord snapped his fingers (rather dramatically) and teleported to his original hiding place: a tree above Twilight's army. 

It didn't take long for Cordy to find him.

"And where have you been?" he asked, plopping down on a nearby branch.

"Oh, just another unsolicited family visit," Discord hedged, still silently stewing over the evil he'd just witnessed. 

Truth be told, he was feeling rather overwhelmed. It was like his emotions were in a blender, combining into an awful concoction at high speed that left him confused, angry, and, dare he say it, scared. He knew what he needed to do and he needed to do it. Now. But not here.

"I need to go somewhere," he said, "And I'm taking Fluttershy with me. If anycreature asks where we've gone just tell them we'll return before sunrise tomorrow."

Cordy clearly didn't like the idea but he understood Discord enough to see the draconequus needed to do this; even if he didn't know why.

"Alright,” he said, “But if you're not back by dawn I'm going to look for you."

"Fair enough."

Discord snapped and Fluttershy was suddenly wrapped up in his arms. The shriek she barely started to release was cut off by a second snap as the two were whisked away.

They reappeared in a place Discord never thought he’d set foot again. 

A valley stretched out before them, the grass tall and gold. Trees surrounded the area and a small river ran along the edge of the valley before disappearing into the woods. About fifty feet away was a ruin that had once been a castle made of pink stone. Large pink boulders, half buried in earth, littered the area along with pale blue pieces of rotting wood; the remains of a roof. 

"Discord?! Where are we?" Fluttershy demanded, turning to face him.

"Dream Castle," he answered, guilt and regret filling his voice. "The home of the ponies in ancient times."

Ever astute, Fluttershy immediately picked up on the raging emotions radiating from the draconequus and gently rested a hoof on his arm.

"Discord," she began in a gentler tone, "I was in a very important meeting. You must have a very good reason for snapping us here. What's going on? Is this about Amity?"

Discord couldn't bring himself to look at her. How could he? Everything was about to change between them. He might as well remove the ring on his finger and toss it into the nearby river. There was no way she'd want to stay with him after what he was about to share. 

"Discord?"

He shut his eyes, hating that he could feel the love and concern in her gaze. Her hoof rubbing against his arm wasn't helping. 

"Fluttershy," he whispered brokenly, "I did something very wrong. I'm going to tell you a story; one that, when finished, will probably result in my biggest fear."

"Okay," she said, her voice torn between curiosity and concern. 

Discord snapped his fingers and Fluttershy gasped as all of a sudden the valley before them melted into a hazy transparent vision. The castle ruin was now standing in great glory, its walls practically glistening in the sunlight. Ghostly images of ponies -earth, pegasus, and unicorn- were milling about, enjoying the sunshine in a valley that was now filled with short evergreen grass. Fluttershy watched the past unfold in fascination, her eyes soaking in every inch of the phenomenon.

"What you see here happened long before the pony history you are familiar with," Discord began. "Ponies lived simpler lives back then. They didn't have a ruler; they merely lived together in harmony."

"You mean there weren't any princesses?" Fluttershy asked with some surprise.

Discord shook his head. "And Celestia and Luna weren't even born yet."

"Wow. They look so… happy," Fluttershy observed. "I don't understand. Why are you showing me this?"

Discord nodded to the vision and her eyes returned to behold the image flying away from Dream Castle into the woods until the base of a mountain cave came into view. 

"My home," Discord muttered, "Once upon a time. It was just as deceiving as my current house, as you can see."

Fluttershy nodded, smiling at the clear indications of chaos once they crossed the cave's entrance. The furniture on the ceiling, the fish swimming through bioluminescent clouds on the walls, and the odd knick knack here and there; it wasn't as grand as his current home but it was very clear Discord lived here. That being said, there was also the feeling that something sinister was lurking about.

Past Discord came into view and Fluttershy couldn't help but gasp. Her fiancé was a very different draconequus than the one she was seeing. The entire countenance of this Discord was similar to what she would see in a nightmare. Cruelty marked his eyes and a loathing scowl pulled at his lips. His whole body seemed to slither about like a vengeful ghost as he moved to stand over what appeared to be a mirror in the floor.

"Look at them," he scoffed, speaking to no one in particular. "Stupid little ponies and their hypocrisy. They love every creature -ha!- except for the monster that lives in the woods! Well, I'm through being chased, ridiculed, and rejected. I'm done trying to get their approval! I never wanted it anyway."

Through the anger Fluttershy could see the hurt and she reached over to her Discord and held his paw. He squeezed it sadly but refused to say anything. 

A sudden wicked grin caused yellow eyes to gleam as the younger draconequus chuckled at the mirror. 

"What a brilliant idea," he purred to himself, his voice low and dangerous. "Oh, I can almost taste the sweet chaos we’ll wreak!" His forked tongue slithered across his lips at the thought. "Those ponies won't know what hit them! Oh, this is going to be good!"

The image faded away, returning to the valley and the cheerful ponies that once lived there except this time the view was near the edge of the forest. Fluttershy opened her mouth to ask a question but the words died in her throat as Discord emerged from the shadows accompanied by-

"The Pony of Shadows?!" she gasped, her head whipping around to face her fiancé. "What is he doing here? I thought he didn't appear until Stygian felt betrayed by the Pillars."

“He existed well before that incident, Fluttershy,” Discord revealed. He waved his paw, freezing the image before them in place. “One thing you have to remember is that Amity and I are opposites. That means everything one has, the other has the opposite of.”

“Okay,” Fluttershy muttered, clearly not understanding where he was going with this.

Discord really wished that somepony else could tell the rest of this tale but, as his father said, he needed to stick with his claim of not being a coward and just spit it out. He decided to start with what Fluttershy knew and go from there.

“I told you Amity herself was the one behind the power of your elements,” he said. Fluttershy nodded. “Well, that wasn't the exact truth.”

Her brow furrowed adorably. “What do you mean?”

“The power behind the elements is a special magic that Amity possesses called the Rainbow of Light. It is her most powerful tool, capable of immobilizing opposing forces and restoring harmony to all living things. You obviously know this because you have wielded a piece of it many times and seen its effects.”

Fluttershy nodded again. 

Discord rubbed his arm and gestured to the Pony of Shadows. “Well, meet the Rainbow of Light’s opposite: the Rainbow of Darkness; the strongest tool I once possessed to accomplish my vile goals of filling the world with glorious chaos and disharmony.”

Fluttershy’s jaw dropped and she stared, wide-eyed, at the image on the screen. “He came from you?”

Discord nodded solemnly. “I don’t know if you noticed; back in the cave, did I look a little different? Darker, perhaps?”

“Yes, you did. I didn’t want to say anything but…”

“Well, that was because the Rainbow of Darkness was still part of me,” he explained. “If you look at this image, you can clearly see that darkness is now missing from behind my eyes. That is because I separated it from myself and gave it sapience."

"Why would you do that?" 

Discord looked away. "Because I was lonely," he quietly confessed. "Notice the shape I chose for it? The ponies wouldn't accept me so I made one that would."

With sad understanding, Fluttershy lay her hoof over his arm and declared, "I accept you."

Discord gave her a weak smile and mumbled, "For now."

"Discord," she gently admonished, "You honestly don't believe I would suddenly hate you for creating the Pony of Shadows, do you?"

He stared at the love still shining in her eyes and dared himself to hope that maybe, just maybe, she would still look at him like that when this was over.

"Let's keep going," he said, turning back to the image and snapping his fingers. 

Different images began to shift one after the other, depicting ponies committing crime, starting fights, and hurting the feelings of their supposed loved ones.  

"We started with basic manipulation," Discord continued, his tone devoid of emotion, "Influencing ponies to submit to devilish tendencies. The Darkness and I thrived in the disharmony and chaos, laughing as the ponies tore their personal worlds apart. This shouldn't be too surprising. You know how I felt about ponies before reforming."

"You saw them as toys," Fluttershy muttered, wincing at an image of two ponies laughing at another's misfortune. 

Discord nodded. "Yes, but you also know that I had a certain line that I refused to cross. Well, due to that line, Shadow -the Darkness- and I came to a disagreement after the destruction of Dream Castle."

"What kind of disagreement?" she asked nervously.

"Shadow grew tired of mere manipulation. He wanted to deepen the corruption by poisoning the soul with a touch of his own."

Fluttershy’s eyes widened as Discord changed the image from ponies being disharmonious to ponies mid transformation under Shadow's touch. Familiar black tendrils sprouted from the black alicorn's wings, wrapping around ponies silently as they screamed in agony, their bodies morphing into different monsters. 

"Shadow used the monsters he created to destroy the valley," Discord muttered, the image showing said monsters raining terror on the remaining ponies who were fleeing the area as fire and magical outbursts ripped Dream Castle and the surrounding valley apart. "I confess that I did nothing to prevent this. I loved the chaos and sat back and watched… until one of the monsters killed a filly that was trying to run for the safety of the trees."

Fluttershy gasped and covered her mouth, her eyes filling with tears.

"It was only then that I realized Shadow wasn't just tormenting ponies," Discord muttered, unable to look at Fluttershy. "He had no care for pony life. And that was when I first questioned if I'd made a mistake creating him. But I was prideful and unwilling to take full responsibility for his actions. After the valley had been destroyed and the ponies had fled, I commanded Shadow to restore the ponies he'd changed not because it was the right thing to do but because I didn't want to get in trouble with my mother. Shadow reluctantly did as I asked and we moved on. 

"For a century we seemed to be on equal terms, causing chaos and upturning the countryside without the loss of life. It wasn't until after my father sent the windigos and chased the ponies into the future land of Equestria that Shadow had enough of playing tricks and inspiring malcontent. He once again transformed ponies into monsters. But this time he was smart enough to only do three. 

“I thought the Sirens were created by my father and reveled in the cacophony they brought. It wasn't until later when I complimented my father on the creatures that I learned they weren't his but Shadow's. By then Starswirl had banished the Sirens to the Mirror World and Shadow had bonded with Sygian; it seems the Rainbow of Darkness works best when fettered to a host.

"Well, by the time I found him there was nothing I could do for Stygian. Thankfully my sister got involved and saved the day. After that I sincerely thought Shadow was trapped in limbo forever and therefore no longer my problem. But I should have known better. My creation was just as devious as I -if not more so- and had learned how to split himself. At the last second, before limbo claimed him, a piece separated from the host and vanished into hiding until a new host was found."

"Who?" Fluttershy asked. 

Discord looked solemnly into her eyes. "I think you already know."

Fluttershy shook her head but her eyes betrayed her. She knew. Or she at least suspected.

Discord sighed and looked up at the sky. "I never thought he would go after Luna but there was honestly nothing I could do to stop him. I was trapped in stone, having suffered my own defeat. Amity had retreated into the Tree of Harmony. With both of us out of the way, Shadow was able to do as he pleased. He whispered in Luna's ear until he'd weakened her enough to submit to him, giving birth to Nightmare Moon.

"Celestia’s use of the Elements seemed to have only weakened Shadow but, when it was clear that Luna was about to be banished, he once again broke a piece of himself away and hid in the world. I assume it takes a lot of energy out of him to do that because he didn't strike again until just a few weeks ago."

"With Tirek," Fluttershy rasped, tears beginning to fall down her face. 

"Yes," Discord confirmed. 

"So… everything that's happened," she said, "The princesses, you and I being turned into beasts, all the bat ponies, the pony turned wyverns; it's all been him?"

Discord nodded. "And now he's as strong as the day he was born, before he split himself apart. The chaos and disharmony he has managed to unleash has upset the balance to the breaking point. Since he’s part of me, I can't stop him but Amity can. However, with the way things stand she needs all of the Rainbow of Light to do it."

"Which is why the champions have all been gathered together," Fluttershy realized. 

"Yes." Discord's head lowered to the ground, true remorse shining through his next words. "All of this is my fault, Shy. Stygian and the Pillars, Luna and Celestia's thousand year heartbreak, you being turned into a monster." He closed his eyes and swallowed. "I promise I'm not the same draconequus I once was and that I will never revert to how I used to be but I will also completely understand if you hate me and never want to see me again after all of this is over."

Fluttershy was crying. "I-I think I need to be alone for a while."

"Okay," Discord muttered. "I'll, um, be over there." 

He pointed at the castle ruins. Fluttershy nodded before turning her back to him, her shoulders hunching as the first of many sobs began to rend the air. Discord felt like he'd been slapped from the sound, his whole body wincing as he wandered away from her. 

While part of him wanted to keep her in his sights the other felt she deserved as much privacy as he could give so he walked behind a large boulder and sat down. Curling his tail close, he buried his head in his arms and wallowed in misery, the sound of her tears haunting his ears and heart.
> Divided
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fluttershy sat in the tall golden grass, her eyes not really seeing the glorious sunset painting the clouds delicate shades of orange and pink. She sniffled and wiped her eyes, her heart aching as her thoughts fueled her feelings.  

Discord’s revelation had cut her to the core, leaving her hurt, confused, and angry. She couldn’t stop thinking about all the heartbreak his creation had caused and how she’d seen most of it too. 

The sad looks shared between Celestia and Luna whenever Nightmare Moon was mentioned haunted not only her but many ponies. And she’d heard the hurt behind Stygian’s words when he revealed the only reason he’d turned to the Darkness was because he felt abandoned by his friends. She’d even seen his desperation to be freed from its evil grasp firsthoof. And while she hadn’t witnessed any of the events, Twilight had told her and the others of how the Rainbooms had defeated the Sirens. Fluttershy had to wonder how long those poor transformed ponies had tormented the Mirror World before Sunset Shimmer and the others freed them.

Now Shadow was working through Tirek, tearing apart countless lives and ruining everything Equestria stood for. Even she had been a victim of his brutality. Her heart and stomach hurt as she thought of the deer and the blood she’d mercilessly drained from its body. 

How could Discord allow this to happen?

She knew her draconequus had a bad habit of keeping things to himself but many of the past issues she and her friends had dealt with would have been much easier to resolve if he’d just been upfront and honest with them.

Like when he didn’t tell them he was behind the plunder vines until after the whole ordeal was over. And how he didn’t reveal to Fluttershy the reason he betrayed them to Tirek (struggling with reformation) until after the centaur’s defeat. He didn’t tell her about his plans to test Twilight both when Cadence visited nor when Twilight had gone on a three day book-sortation. He also hadn’t immediately confessed his hurt over Fluttershy taking Treehugger to the Gala until the night of the event! 

It was all so frustrating! What was so difficult about being upfront and honest with her? She could understand Discord shying away from bearing the truth to their friends but why did he treat her the same? 

They were supposed to be close- closer than any other! They were best friends -no- fiancés! So why couldn’t he openly share things with her? Why did he hide until he was forced to share? Why wait until things were spiraling out of control?

Had she not done enough to prove he could trust her absolutely? 

It hurt to even consider the possibility but doubts had crept in and Fluttershy couldn’t shake them. After so many years of sharing, she thought that an equal amount of trust was felt on his end. Through all of their time together she’d told him things that she’d never shared with any other pony. But, while Discord had shared things with her, it only ever seemed to be after some event forced his hand. It made her wonder: if this whole thing with Tirek had never happened, would she even know about Amity? About Ascension? About Shadow and all the lives he’d tainted? 

She needed answers and she wasn’t going to get them sitting here under the setting sun. 

Wiping her eyes, she stood on her hooves and turned to face the rubble. Taking a deep breath, she set off in search of her love. She found him hiding behind a boulder, the perfect picture of misery. Discord glanced up as she sat down beside him before going back to picking invisible bugs out of his tail tuft.

While she appreciated and wanted to comfort him through his obvious guilt, the coming conversation required to set aside her timid nature and embrace the confidence she needed. Taking another deep breath, Fluttershy closed her eyes and steeled her resolve. This issue had to be addressed or they were never going to last. 

“Discord,” she began, her voice firm yet kind, “There’s something we need to talk about.”

True to form, he burst with a long strand of words that tumbled out of his mouth and prevented her from getting another word in.

“Fluttershy, before you say anything, I want you to know that I love you more than chaos itself! I also want to say how terribly sorry I am for all that has happened. I swear I’m going to do everything I can to fix it! And-”

“Discord.”

“-I will spend the rest of my eternal existence doing everything I can to prove to you and the others that I will never allow anything like this to ever happen again. I know that-”

“Discord.”

“-there’s a distinct possibility I will be held accountable and punished for what’s happened. And, if that’s the case, I am more than willing to be turned to stone… as long as they allow me to stay close to you. If you even still want me. Which, I totally understand if you-”

“DISCORD!”

Finally he stopped, flinching back in surprise by the force of her shout. Fluttershy was no longer sitting next to him but hovering a foot away, her forelegs folded across her chest with an exasperated glare painted on her face. 

“Forgive me for shouting,” she said, “but there’s something I need to ask and I need you to be completely honest with me, okay?”

Ears pressed backward and eyes still wide, he nodded numbly in agreement. 

Satisfied, Fluttershy lowered herself to the ground. Taking a deep breath, she looked him straight in the eye and asked, "Discord, do you trust me?"

The draconequus blinked in surprise. "Of course I do."

Fluttershy couldn't help the tears that started pricking the corners of her eyes. "Then why do you hide things from me until you can't anymore?" 

He didn’t answer. 

The silence that stretched out between them felt like a physical weight over Fluttershy’s withers, crushing them as she closed her eyes and released the tears she could no longer keep at bay. The rough and smooth contrast of Discord’s paw and claw suddenly but gently cupped either side of her face and he began brushing the tears away. Fluttershy looked up and saw pain, guilt, and a hint of anger reflected in his amber orbs. 

“I-I’m sorry,” she stumbled, gently pulling away. “I didn’t mean to hurt-”

Discord’s tail tuft, shaped like a hand, delicately placed a single finger against her lips. “Stop, please,” he muttered. “This isn’t about you. This is about my abysmal ability to freely express my true thoughts and feelings.” He shook his head and sighed.

Turning his gaze towards the golden grass, Discord watched as it flickered back and forth in the slight breeze. Feeling the need to be patient, Fluttershy remained silent while her heart shouted for him to continue. 

Discord lowered his gaze back to her and said, “In all our time together, I think you’ve learned by now that I have a record of keeping things close to the chest.” Fluttershy nodded knowingly. “I lie,” he said ruefully, “because I find it’s easier. Telling the truth can be ugly, make things complicated, and,” -he shuddered- “expose me in ways I’m not comfortable with. I know I’ve truly reformed but that doesn’t change who I am. I’m the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony. Being deceitful, lying, and tricking creatures is something I cannot give up. But I don’t want that to become a wedge between you and me. I want to be able to be honest with you and I have been, more than with anypony else. I just hope that you will understand that in some situations it may take a long time for me to build up to a confession.”

“Like now,” she muttered.

Discord nodded, his ears drooping. “I’m sorry that you feel like I don’t trust you. I do. And I always will. But I also hope that you can understand that one of the reasons I am so hesitant to let anypony in, especially you, is because…” He stopped, his tongue actually tying into a visible knot.

Immediately worried, the yellow pegasus put a hoof on his arm. Discord held up a finger for patience. It took a bit of work but he finally managed to get the knot undone.

“Sorry,” he said with a sad chuckle. “This is difficult to say.”

“It’s okay,” she soothed, stroking his arm.

He sent her a weak yet appreciative smile before continuing. “I’m hesitant because… I care. I care more than I want anypony to really know. I may be confident in who and what I am but that confidence significantly depletes when I am around a creature that I actually want to associate with. I fear that if they discover the truths I hide, they’ll revoke any tender feelings they may have towards me and label me as the monster every other creature believes me to be. I would rather suffer through tolerated dislike and somewhat acceptance than rejection and hatred.”

He turned fully to her then but his eyes refused to look anywhere but the ground. “Never have I fully, albeit occasionally, disclosed myself until you became part of my life, Fluttershy. And that is why my biggest fear, my dear, is losing you. In the past and even to this day I hid my secrets because I was afraid, because I am afraid, that their exposure will be the end of what we have. I crave your approval and your acceptance more than any other creature. I treasure you so much that I will do whatever I feel I have to in order to keep you. That is why I lied, failed, and hid things from you all these years.”

He still refused to look away from the ground so he didn’t see the compassion and love emanating from the little pony beside him. 

Fluttershy’s heart was near to bursting. Everything suddenly made sense, like a curtain being pulled back to dispel the shadows with sunshine. She could see how his past actions proved his words, how much he valued his friendships and his relationship with her. He did trust her, she saw that now, and she knew he always would. She would just need to learn how to exercise patience and go at his pace, trusting that he would share things with her when he was able to. But there was something else that she needed to do and she needed to do it right now.  

With all the love she could muster, she flapped her wings and rose up until she could take his head in her hooves. Discord finally met her eyes. The anguish and fear in his gaze transformed into surprise and then hope as he saw that her feelings for him remained unchanged. 

“Thank you, Discord, for being honest with me,” she said, her voice soft and tender, “I know that must have been very difficult for you. I want you to know that you will never lose me, no matter what secrets you may still feel the need to hold on to. I trust you and I’m very proud of how far you’ve come.”

“You are?” he asked, surprised.

Fluttershy smiled before kissing him. “Very proud.”

“But I’ve done such awful things!”

“Yes,” she agreed, “but I don’t hold that against you. I forgive you, Discord. For everything.”

A pair of mismatched arms flared out and wrapped around her tiny torso. Discord crushed her to his chest, his cheek nuzzling into her mane. 

“I don’t deserve you,” he whispered. “I thought you’d hate me.”

“Never,” she declared, wrapping her wings and hooves around him. 

When he pulled her back, his eyes were clear but Fluttershy could feel a slight dampness in her mane. She didn’t comment on it, however. Discord cupped her face, his thumb gently stroking her cheek. 

“I love you,” he said, pure and simple but with such strong feeling it couldn’t be anything but the truth.

Fluttershy smiled. “I love you too.”

They shared a very passionate kiss as the last rays of sunlight finally lost their fight with the horizon. 

“We should probably head back,” she eventually muttered.

“Must we?” 

Fluttershy sighed, forcing herself away from Discord’s chest. She didn’t like the loss of contact anymore than he did. “We only have two days before we’re supposed to fight Tirek. The others need to know about Shadow.”

Discord’s smile completely vanished while his ears drooped. “They’re going to hate me.”

“You thought I would yet here I am,” she consoled.

He shook his head. “Because for some very strange reason I still cannot fathom, you love me. They don’t share similar feelings. It’s tolerance for them, Fluttershy, nothing more.”

“I think the power of friendship will once again surprise you,” she said, her confidence in her friends growing every passing second. “It may take them a moment to get over their shock and hurt but they need to know.”

“I know,” he sighed in defeat. “You’ll stay with me?”

“Forever,” she assured, smiling warmly up at him. 

“Then I have nothing to lose,” he said.

Snapping his tail, the two of them vanished, leaving the Valley as devoid as it was before. 





Twilight was annoyed. The sudden disappearance of Fluttershy had created an abrupt ending to the meeting she had been having with the rest of the Champions. After hunting Cordy down and getting a mediocre answer as to where Discord could have possibly whisked her away, Twilight and the others were forced to reconvene the meeting at a later time.

“Doesn’t he realize there’s a war on the horizon?” complained Rainbow Dash while chewing on a hayburger.

“Of course he does,” said Applejack, “but when has that ever stopped Discord from doing what he wants to do?”

“I just can’t understand what was so important that he couldn’t wait,” said Rarity.

Twilight frowned. The last conversation she’d had with Discord was still fresh in her mind. “While we don’t know the reason, I’m choosing to trust him. He must have a good reason.”

“I’m with Twilight,” said Pinkie Pie. “Discord knows not to kidnap Fluttershy when the whole of Equestria is at stake. I’m sure they’ll be back before we know it.”

Rainbow Dash had just begun to scoff when there was a flash of light and Discord appeared in the middle of the tent with Fluttershy securely in his arms. 

“Discord!” Applejack complained, staring at her plate.

“Whoops,” he said, removing his cloven hoof from further crushing her now spoiled dinner. “I wondered why the ground felt uneven.”

He snapped his talon and another hayburger appeared, good as new. Applejack wrinkled her snout and pushed the offering aside. “Just where in tarnation have you two been?” she demanded.

“I think that’s something we’d all like to know,” said Twilight, standing up.

Discord set Fluttershy down and began stretching. “Nowhere that you need be concerned about, Twilight. You know, those hayburgers do look delicious. I think I’ll go and find the cook to get some for myself.”

He whirled around towards the tent door when Fluttershy cleared her throat. The draconequus stilled before looking hesitantly over his shoulder. Fluttershy merely looked at him. Twilight glanced between the two, watching a silent exchange unfold before Discord’s shoulders slumped in some sort of defeat. 

“What’s going on?” the princess asked.

Instead of answering, Discord let out a sigh before snapping his talons. When the flash dissipated, the occupants in the tent had risen from seven to twenty seven. There were several cries of confusion and disorientation before a small clap of thunder silenced everycreature. It took all of two seconds for Twilight to deduce all the Champions were once again gathered in one place.

“Discord, care to explain your actions?” she demanded, the first to break the silence.

“Oh, I fully intend to, Twilight,” he said, his voice surprisingly devoid of any joy as he turned to face the rather miffed group. “I’m sure you’re all wondering why I brought you here. I have information, information that needs to be known in order for us to stop Tirek.”

“Is that where you and Fluttershy went?” asked Rainbow Dash, her annoyance instantly turning to eagerness. “Did you guys go on a secret mission or something?”

“Not exactly,” said Fluttershy, “But what Discord has to share is vitally important and you all need to let him share the whole story before jumping to the wrong conclusions.” She turned to Discord and nodded, her eyes filled with encouragement.

It took every ounce of self control for Twilight to not ask a thousand questions. Like the others she was very eager to hear what Discord had to say. The draconequus took a deep breath and began. 

“What I am going to share will not be received well,” he said, “but, if you’ll do as Fluttershy asked and listen to everything, hopefully by the end you’ll still see me as trustworthy.”

Starswirl scoffed quietly. “Still?”

Discord sent him an angry glare but ignored the contempt coming from the now restored ancient gray pony. Instead he snapped his talons and summoned a miniature magical animation of himself. 

“Bear with me,” he said, “this story is an unpleasant one.”

Discord’s tale unfolded like an animated storybook, eliciting several reactions from every creature in the tent. There were many attempts to interrupt but each time Discord robbed the pony of their voice in order to paint the ugly truth in its entirety, Twilight included. When he finished, he swiped his paw through the animation, the image of Tirek and Shadow disappearing in a puff of black smoke. With a snap of his talons, he restored everypony’s voice and stood with his head slightly lowered and his paw and claw clasped together.

“I know that my creation has committed the blackest of crimes over the eons,” he muttered, “but I want each of you to know that I never imagined Shadow would go this far. All I ask is that you will allow me to assist in righting the many wrongs he has committed. I want to make things right.”

Twilight was the first to break the silence. “How could you?” she rasped, tears clouding her eyes.

Discord's eyes held nothing but remorse and regret. “I truly am sorry.”

But the princess didn’t want to hear any more. 

“Leave,” she commanded, standing up.

He hesitated for a moment before snapping his tail tuft, vanishing from sight.

A cacophony of angry conversation exploded within the tent but Twilight couldn’t register what anypony was saying. She was still spiraling from the shocking revelations of Discord’s confession. Part of her still couldn’t believe he was the reason behind her beloved mentor and Luna’s thousand year separation. Did he really hate them so much that he’d be willing to watch them suffer for so long? And then there were the Sirens and Stygian. Those poor ponies had been enslaved by his darkness for over a thousand years! 

Not to mention the countless creatures who had fallen victim to Shadow’s wrath, past and present included. This caused Twilight to think of Spike and the ache of his absence deepened further in her chest. Her adopted brother had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time and now he was in a similar state as the princesses: a slave to Tirek’s bidding. 

Anger like never before flared within Twilight’s chest as she thought of her time as Midnight Sparkle and all of the horrible things Tirek -no- Shadow had made her do. She’d destroyed her friends’ livelihoods in Ponyville, tortured several ponies, and laughed at their misfortune. She reveled in despair and cheered over hopelessness. She had been a complete spawn of Discord’s creation and she loathed him for it! 

How could he do this to her? To the princesses? To her friends? To Fluttershy?

Wait. Fluttershy! How was she handling this? Surely these revelations had destroyed her worse than they had anypony else! With a sudden protective surge, Twilight set her own feelings aside and quickly sought out the yellow pegasus. What she saw alarmed her. While still sitting in the same place as before, Fluttershy’s body was shaking and tears were pricking at her eyes. Twilight rushed over.    

“Fluttershy, are you alright?” she asked.

Fluttershy raised her gaze and Twilight wasn’t surprised to see anger flickering in their teal depths. She immediately tried to soothe her friend.

“Fluttershy, I’m so sorry you had to hear all of that,” she said, placing a comforting hoof on her shoulder. “What Discord shared hurt all of us but I can’t imagine what you must be going through.”

Fluttershy immediately pushed her hoof away. “I’m not angry with Discord, Twilight,” she said, her voice rather stiff.

“What?” Rainbow Dash cried, having overheard due to a slight lull in the conversation she was having with Applejack and Starlight. “Fluttershy, he-”

“I’m angry with all of you!” she snapped, turning to face the rest of her friends. 

Twilight’s jaw dropped in confusion. She wasn’t the only one.

“Us? What did we do?” demanded Applejack.

“Yeah,” said Rainbow Dash. “We’re not the ones who created some shadow monster that’s been ruining pony lives for thousands of years!”

Fluttershy shook her head. “I know what Discord did was wrong but what all of you seem to be forgetting is that he knows it too. Why do you think he told us about Shadow? Why do you think he’s been working so hard to keep all of us safe from him? Can’t you see that he regrets what’s happened and wants to fix it?”

“Ya can’t just admit something like that and expect immediate forgiveness, Fluttershy,” said Applejack. “He’s the reason for Nightmare Moon, for Stygian, for all of it!”

“He turned you into a monster!” Rainbow Dash cried.

“No,” Fluttershy countered. “Shadow did that.”

“But, darling, Discord created him,” said Rarity.

“Yes but he gave him sapient thought,” said Fluttershy. “Though he believes himself to be completely responsible, Discord cannot be fully accountable for Shadow’s actions. Shadow has made his own choices and those choices are what has affected ponykind.”

“But Discord isn’t exactly innocent either,” argued Twilight. “He allowed those choices to happen.”

“Some of them,” Fluttershy agreed, “but not all. He was in stone when Shadow went after Luna. There was nothing he could do about that.”

“What about Stygian?” Starswirl demanded, jumping in on their conversation. “He wasn’t in stone when those unfortunate events occurred.”

“Not to mention that Dream Castle place,” said Gallus. “He admitted to watching Shadow destroy it.”

“And then there's the Sirens,” said Sunset Shimmer. “He knew they were in the Mirror World but didn’t do anything to stop them. We had to take care of that.”

“And we’re going to have to clean up this mess too,” said Mirror Applejack. 

“Discord is the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony,” Fluttershy reminded. “He can’t fix this! We have to.”

“Then why tell us about Shadow?” asked Twilight. “Why not wait until it’s over?”

“Because we wouldn’t have been able to summon the Rainbow!” she answered. “Think about it, Twilight! Amity’s Rainbow can only happen when there is harmony. Look around you. Does it look like harmony is present?”

“We’re all harmoniously angry with Discord,” said Sunset. Several others nodded in agreement.

“No we’re not!” Fluttershy snapped. “I’m not angry with him! I’ve forgiven him.”

“Of course you have,” Mirror Rainbow Dash sneered. “You’re his fiancée.”

“Just because I love him doesn’t mean I instantly forgave him for this!” Fluttershy cried. “I was angry too. But I had some time to think about it and I realized that it was wrong to blame him for everything that’s happened! He isn’t the one possessing Tirek and forcefully changing creatures into monsters. Shadow is. Discord revealed the truth because he didn’t want Shadow telling us first. He knew that we wouldn’t be able to create the Rainbow if we were at odds with each other. Surely that should tell you that Discord really is on our side?”

There was a rather heavy silence that followed her words but most ponies still displayed animosity and mistrust. Twilight looked at the gathered Champions before turning back to her. 

“I just don’t think we’ll ever be able to trust him after this,” she confessed, mostly speaking for herself.

Fluttershy looked at them sadly before shaking her head. “If that’s your choice,” she muttered, turning towards the tent door. But then she stopped. Looking back at her friends, she boldly declared, “I won’t forsake Discord and the Rainbow won’t happen unless we’re all on the same page. When you’ve all had some time to think, come and find me. If not, well, we’ll have to leave the fate of Equestria in another’s hooves.” 

Twilight’s eyes widened in shock as the yellow pegasus left. 

There was a very awkward silence in the tent before Sunset cleared her throat and said, “I feel it might be best to do as Futtershy suggested and go over everything Discord shared. Why don’t we discuss things in our own Champion groups and meet tomorrow to discuss things?”

“I suppose it is wise to take the night to ponder,” said Starswirl swiftly.

“Twilight?” Starlight prompted.

The princess realized everypony was waiting to hear her thoughts on the matter. 

“Oh, um, yeah, that sounds like a good idea,” she heard herself say. “We’ll meet tomorrow morning after breakfast.”

With a decision now made, the other Champions wisely left the tent, leaving Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Starlight alone. The absence of Fluttershy was staggering as the princess looked at the subdued faces of her friends. 

“Do you think Fluttershy was serious?” asked Rainbow Dash nervously.

“I believe so,” said Rarity sadly.

“But I don’t want to be in a fight with Fluttershy!” wailed Pinkie Pie. “We’re friends!”

“And friends have disagreements sometimes,” said Starlight. “Look, I know all of you are mad at Discord and everything he’s done but I have to agree with Fluttershy on this one.”

“Say what now?” said Applejack angrily. “Ya don’t think he should be held responsible?”

“For everything that’s happened? No,” Starlight honestly answered. “Look, he explained his reasons for creating Shadow and he admitted that, after all these years, he sees that creation as a mistake. But you’re all forgetting one thing.”

“And what’s that?” asked Twilight, feeling upset and hurt that her student would side with Discord. 

“Discord was a villain for a very long time,” she reminded. “He only just recently experienced a change of heart. For somecreature that’s been around for thousands of years and lived a certain way for that long, it’s logical for mistakes of this magnitude to be made and discovered along the way. Creatures don’t just flip and change who they are overnight. I may have chosen to stop being evil but I’ve made plenty of mistakes on the road to friendship. And each mistake has been met with forgiveness from each of you.

“I guess what I’m trying to say is cut the guy some slack. He’s trying to fight against a lifestyle he’s had for longer than any of us have been alive. Ever since Tirek destroyed the Tree of Harmony, everything I’ve seen Discord do has been to protect and help Equestria. Don’t judge him on his past actions when his current ones are clearly those of a creature trying to atone.”

Twilight felt like somepony had kicked her in the chest. There was an undeniable truth to Starlight’s words that rang through the doubts and anger she’d been harboring since the moment Discord disappeared. But, while she knew deep down that Starlight was right, she was having a very difficult time letting her feelings go. Were the others struggling just as much as she was? She glanced up.

Rarity and Pinkie Pie seemed to have had the least amount of trouble accepting Starlight’s gentle admonition. The two were even beginning to smile. Rainbow Dash and Applejack, however, still looked upset. While comforted that she wasn’t alone, Twilight knew that it wouldn’t be right to continue to harbor her anger towards the draconequus. She needed to let it go but she also needed time.

“I think what you’ve said is very insightful, Starlight,” she said, “but I feel it’s best if each of us has some time to think things through on our own.”

“Good idea,” Applejack said roughly while Rainbow Dash nodded. 

“How about we talk things over during breakfast tomorrow?” suggested Rarity, her eyes sad with understanding.

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Rainbow Dash said before zooming out of the tent.

“I’ll, uh, see ya’ll in the morning,” Applejack muttered, eyes hidden under her stetson. 

Twilight turned to the other three. “You can stay in here to sleep. I think I need to be alone.”

“Take all the time you need,” said Starlight. 

Twilight sent her a grateful glance before exiting the tent herself. 

The cold night air blasted into her body, eliciting immediate shivers. The princess quickly activated a heating spell before galloping off towards the woods. She found herself missing her wings particularly at this moment; a cloud would have been a great place to rest and think. Instead she ran past the sea of tents housing the crystal army, startling some guards who thankfully recognized and did not give her chase. She made it past the trees before bursting into the clearing she and the army of changelings and dragons had first occupied when they arrived here. Slowing her pace, she listened to the soft crunch of frost under her hooves as she let her mind shift through all the information she’d been given. 

Stopping at the edge of Galloping Gorge, Twilight plopped down on the frozen ground and looked up at the starry sky. Luna’s moon shone bright amidst a backdrop of inky black sprinkled with tiny flickers of light. A few clouds lazily drifted overhead, a silver lining coating their edges from the moon’s soft glow.  The beauty was somewhat lost on the emotional princess who soon lowered her gaze towards the gaping earthen hole before her. The anger and hurt she felt seemed as deep as the chasm. Stewing over everything Discord had revealed didn’t help matters. In fact, it made it worse. 

The more Twilight thought about all of the ponies that had suffered, the greater her anger grew. Adding to her anger were the mental images of every face she knew that had suffered under Shadow’s hoof, including her own. The anguish eventually became too much and the princess cried out in rage and sorrow, her magic sparking a natural reaction that melted the frost off the surrounding grass at least thirty feet. She wiped her eyes in frustration and stood up, beginning to pace. 

She needed to move past this! The fate of Equestria was in her and her friends' hooves. If they couldn’t work together, they would never be able to bring Shadow down. But how could she overlook everything Discord had done? How could she forgive him? 

There was a soft crunch in the grass behind her and Twilight whirled around, horn at the ready. The familiar mismatched shape of Discord glowed pink in the light from her horn. Twilight extinguished her magic but kept her defensive stance as she stared up at him distrustfully.

“You’re the last pony I expected to see out here,” she said rather coldly.

Discord studied her a moment before looking at the surrounding area. “This isn’t the safest place for you to be right now,” he said, not meeting her eyes. 

“I’m in disguise. Nopony is going to recognize me,” she pointed out.

Discord snapped his fingers and Twilight felt like somepony had dumped a bucket of cold water over her head. She gasped as her wings suddenly popped back into existence, the feathers adding extra heat to the sides of her body. She glanced down at her now purple hooves. 

“Why did you do that?” she demanded.

Discord shrugged. “No point in hiding anymore seeing as everycreature gathered in the vicinity knows who you really are. Besides, I missed the real you.”        

Twilight scowled, unwilling to give a verbal thanks despite being grateful that she was herself again. Discord seemed to sense the begrudging thanks anyway because he grinned and plopped down in the grass next to her. 

“So, are you going to arrest me, princess?” he asked while examining the end of his talons.

“Arrest you?”

“Did I or did I not confess to being the reason behind the corruption and suffering of thousands of ponies?”

Twilight’s frown deepened. “I’m afraid I don’t follow.”

It was Discord’s turn to raise an eyebrow. “What’s not to follow? I created Shadow, Shadow hurt ponies- including your beloved Princess Celestia.”

The hurt and anger growled within Twilight’s chest, pushing for justice. “Yes,” she said through clenched teeth, “but you didn’t.”

“Pardon?”

Twilight closed her eyes. It was hard enough to say the words the first time but if she was going to save Equestria, she was going to have to force her feelings to change and say what needed to be said. 

“You didn’t,” she repeated. “You gave Shadow sapience. That means his actions were his own. Not yours.”

“How do you know I wasn’t giving him orders?” Discord asked, his eyes glinting in the moonlight.

Twilight paused, suddenly very uncertain. “I… I don’t. I only have what you’ve said and what Fluttershy seems to believe.”

Discord picked at the fur on his chest. “So, what you’re saying is you have nothing but trust to lean on.”

Twilight felt like he’d just slapped her in the face. “Trust? Trust?! I don’t have an ounce of trust left for you! Not after everything that’s happened! And I’m not just talking about the most current events. Time and time again we’ve given you a chance and all you’ve done is spit in our faces. Tell me, Discord, would you put your faith in somepony with such extensive violations of confidence?”

Discord’s ears drooped as he shook his head. “No.”

“Then why should I trust you now?” she demanded.

“Because Shadow needs to be stopped and restoring harmony between the champions is the only way to succeed. As much as it pains me to say it, I can’t do this on my own. I need your help.”

“Why me?” 

“Because you are the only pony that everycreature will listen to,” he stated.   

Twilight closed her eyes and let out a long, weary sigh. “I’m sorry but I can’t help you. Not at the moment.”

“Because you can’t forgive me.”

The words were blunt, honest, and spoken with such indifference. Twilight was surprised that Discord showed such lack of emotion. She, on the other hand, felt her face warming from slight embarrassment. 

“Well, yes,” she said, annoyed that she was even upset with herself when all of this was his fault. 

Discord nodded to himself. “Then Equestria really is doomed.”

Her head shot up as she angrily spun around to face him. “Look, I know what’s at stake but you can’t expect me to grant immediate clemency! This isn’t a simple slap on the hoof mistake, Discord! Choices have consequences. You betrayed us. I can’t overlook that.”

“I know perfectly well what I’ve done, princess,” he said flatly. “And I know and accept whatever consequence will come. But right now I need you to rise to the title you’ve been given. You are the Spirit of Friendship and restoring harmony is part of the job description. In order to protect our family, you and the others must be in harmony.”

“Our family?” she repeated. 

Discord nodded and an unexplainable warmth erupted from her heart, flowing through every particle of her body. Her whole form trembled as the whispered truth descended upon her mind. Twilight’s eyes widened and she took a step back, staring at Discord in a whole new light.

“We’re…?”

“Related?” Discord grinned and threw out his arms as confetti exploded behind him. “Surprise! Oh, and congratulations, I suppose. You’re the first of the four to feel it. Though that shouldn’t be surprising, seeing as how smart you are at figuring things out.”

“But… how?” she asked, overwhelmed.

Discord summoned a scroll from thin air and yanked down, revealing a family tree. Twilight studied the chart. At the top was a beautiful brown alicorn with green hair next to an angry blue goat with a bell around his neck. Underneath them were Discord and Amity, clearly linked as siblings. Beneath Amity were two lines pointing towards Celestia and Luna and under the Sun Princess…

“That’s me and Cadence,” Twilight gasped. “But, this doesn’t make any sense. Celestia isn’t my mother.”

“She is through Ascension,” said Discord.

“But, that would mean Amity is my grandmother.”

“Yes.”

“This chart says she’s your sibling.”

“So she is,” Discord said, stroking his beard, “Imagine that.”

“But if she’s your sister and my grandmother, that would make you my-” Twilight’s eyes grew as big as moons as she looked up at the now fully grinny draconequus. She immediately shook her head. “No. No way!”

“Oh, I’m afraid so,” he chuckled. “Uncle Discord! Though, I’d prefer just Discord, if you please.”

“How long have you known?” she asked, her head still spinning out of control.

Discord folded the chart into a paper airplane and threw it straight into the air. It gained several feet before evaporating completely from existence. “Oh, since the moment you became a princess,” he finally answered, glancing at her. “Why do you think I pick on you more than the others? I have to show favoritism towards my nieces somehow.”

“Your definition of favoritism is annoying the living hay out of me?”

Discord laughed, booping her on the nose. “Correct!”

Twilight swiped his claw away and shook her head. “I can’t believe this. All these years; you have a terrible way of showing affection.”

Discord shrugged. “Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony, remember?”

Twilight rolled her eyes. A moment passed between them before the purple princess muttered, “So, what happens now?”

Discord glanced at her. “I suppose that’s up to you. I won’t fight any punishment you decide to give but I do request you wait until after Shadow’s defeat. Hopefully my compliance for whatever you deem fit will be enough to restore harmony between you and your friends.”

“I don’t think Fluttershy will agree to anything that causes you harm.”

“She understands the importance of balance. She’ll accept whatever you and the others decide.”

Twilight shook her head. “I don’t think passing judgment is something I should do without involving the other princesses. And they should know. About you.”

Discord groaned but conceded. “I suppose a thousand years of ignorance is enough. But don’t think I’m going to stop annoying any of you just because you now know the truth.”

Twilight couldn’t help a small grin from gracing her lips. “I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

The air grew morose and heavy again. Feeling the need for solitude, Twilight stood up. “We should be getting back.”

She began walking towards the trees but Discord called her back. She turned and found him staring at her intently, without a hint of mischief or humor in his face. 

“If you do not restore harmony among the champions before you leave this forest, Equestria will fall to Shadow,” he said seriously. “And there will be nothing I can do to stop him from returning you to Midnight Sparkle. The world you know will end. Please don’t let that happen.”

Cold fear chilled Twilight’s stomach and an ominous shiver trailed down her spine. Mouth dry, she nodded and returned to the forest, her mind and heart even heavier than when she left it. 

Understandably, she didn’t sleep the rest of the night.    
> Placate
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The day before the battle Twilight called a meeting. Discord’s confession to creating the monster currently destroying Equestia had spread through the night like wildfire, leaving a level of animosity so great the princess was sure if she didn’t say something, the army would fail to defeat Tirek. The whispered conversations, glowers, and blatant insults had to stop. Inviting Prince Rutherford, Thorax, Ember, Flash Sentry, Starswirl, Sunset Shimmer, and Gallus into the Leaders’ Tent just after lunch, she waited until they were settled before addressing the sore subject.

“I know feelings are still raw from Discord’s revelation,” she began, “but we cannot go to war while at odds with him.”

“Twilight, we can’t just overlook what he’s done,” Flash interjected. 

“I’m not saying that we will,” she replied. “But treating him like a villain in our midst and demanding that I and my friends turn him back to stone is, frankly, the most asinine thing we could do right now. He knows our enemy better than anypony else. His actions have been nothing but helpful since Shadow and Tirek took over. We need him to defeat them and we won’t be able to restore all those who are suffering if we are not united. I requested each of you because you represent the various groups that make up our army and I need to know how each of them stand concerning Discord.”

The leaders glanced at each other before Starswirl said, “While I understand what is required for our success, my friends and I feel that some form of retribution must be taken for Discord’s passivity concerning the monster Shadow’s actions.”

“The Crystal Ponies share similar feelings,” Flash confessed. “While undeniable that he has been very helpful since Tirek’s takeover, the previous villains created by Shadow are not something we feel we can overlook. Evil cannot go unpunished. Discord may not be responsible for Shadow’s decisions but he is his creator and has allowed him to run rampant for centuries. He needs to be held accountable for that, at least.”

“Yaks do not have personal quarrel with goat snake,” said Prince Rutherford while stomping his hoof, “But yaks also believe goat snake should be responsible for evil shade pony.”

“Well, the dragons don't have any issues with Discord," Ember revealed. "We believe this is a pony affair."

"While it's true most of Discord's past animosity has been with our kind," Twilight acknowledged, “I still want to know our allies' thoughts. Thorax, how do the changelings feel?"

"First I want to say that Discord is my friend," he said, "And, while we changelings understand that he's hurt ponies in the past, we ourselves would be hypocrites to hold anything against him. Like the dragons we feel this is an issue ponies need to resolve."

Twilight nodded before turning to Gallus and Sunset. 

The griffon shrugged his shoulders. "After talking it over with my friends, we don't really hold anything against him. We just want Equestria to go back to what it was so we can go back to school."

"That's fair," Twilight said with a small smile. "What about you and the girls Sunset?"

The golden girl sighed. "We're not happy; me more than the others. From the way Discord described him, part of me wonders if Shadow somehow influenced me to steal your crown due to what I later became. He might have been the one to change our Twilight into Midnight too. Regardless, I don't approve of the hurt he caused Luna and Celestia. And while Sonata, Adagio, and Aria are genuinely bad eggs, they didn't deserve being enslaved to him for centuries. Overall, some of us share the same feelings as the Pillars and Crystal Ponies while others believe Discord’s already suffered and done enough to make up for his end of mistakes."

Twilight nodded in understanding. "Thank you all for your honesty. Personally I feel this matter needs to be addressed and resolved by the princesses once this whole affair is over. Would a future trial, for now, satisfy those who are seeking justice?"

"If you make a public statement concerning the matter, I think so," said Flash while Sunset and Starswirl nodded.

"Then, for the sake of creating harmony, can we agree to a truce with Discord?"

Every creature shared a glance before nodding. Twilight inwardly sighed. A certain yellow pegasus would not be thrilled with this decision. Twilight really didn't want to be responsible for possibly jeopardizing her friends' future happiness together but this was the only way she could appease those thirsting for some kind of justice. She turned to Flash. 

"Will you spread the word among the Crystal Ponies that I would like to address them this evening before dinner?"

"I can do that," he promised. 

"Good. Sunset, Starswirl, Gallus, please make sure your groups are part of that gathering. I want all the Champions on the same page. As for our allies, any among you who feel ill will towards Discord are welcome to come and hear my decision."

The leaders all nodded before Twilight concluded the meeting, sending them away. Flash and Sunset stayed behind. 

"Are you alright?" the former asked.

Twilight smiled wearily. "I don't like being at odds with anypony."

Sunset looked at her sympathetically. "Fluttershy still upset?"

Twilight nodded. "We tried talking to her before lunch but she stormed off when Applejack pointed out the possibility that Discord has been playing with us this whole time, her most of all."

Sunset winced. "I know Applejack is all about honesty but that really wasn't the best thing to say."

"I know," Twilight mourned. "I don't know how we're going to mend things now."

"She'll come around," Flash assured.

"I don't know," Sunset argued. "Internal fighting aside, we just decided the love of her life is going to be punished once this is over. I wouldn't want to talk to my friends if they were planning to return my fiancé to stone."

"That might not be what the other princesses and I decide, though," Twilight countered. "We could just assign him to a century of community service or something."

"Community service?” Flash scoffed while shaking his head. “I'm sorry but that isn't going to appease ponies' anger over this, Twilight.”

Twilight’s cheeks burned as she angrily stomped her hoof. "Then we'll think of something else! Right now I have more pressing matters to deal with! If I can't fix things between Fluttershy and the rest of us, there won't be a trial for Discord to go to because there won't be any princesses to give it!”

“What do you mean?” 

"Without the full power of Amity's Rainbow, Shadow will win!” she said, exasperated. “Three sets of Champions won't be enough. It has to be all of us."

"If that's true, why would Discord wait until now to throw a wrench in the works?" 

Twilight frowned. "I don't know, Flash. But I'll ask him."

"How do you know he'll tell the truth?"

Thinking of their conversation from last night, she looked at her coltfriend and said in all seriousness, "He will. Trust me."

Flash studied her a moment before nodding. 

"Let us know what he says," Sunset pressed.

"I will."

Recognizing she needed some space, the two left the tent. 

Now that there was a decision, Twilight felt it best to inform Discord and Fluttershy of the potential ax hanging over their future. She really didn’t want to be the bearer of bad news but she’d rather they heard it from her than through the grapevine. Taking a few deep breaths, the princess ventured into the camp in search of the bizarre tent Discord had set up for him and Fluttershy. 

She found it near the edge of the woods, close to where the changelings had temporarily settled. It stood upside down, the two top points balancing on the ground without aid while the four points that should have been staked into the earth reached for the sky. The color of the fabric kept shifting to different sceneries from a tropical island to the desert wasteland near Klugetown. 

Twilight felt an odd sense of amusement at the sight. Shaking her head, she raised her hoof and knocked on the front flap. 

A familiar red and yellow eye popped into existence, startling the princess. It surveyed her unblinkingly.

"Um, Discord? Can I come in?"

The eye flashed away, replaced by a fabric version of the draconequus on the tent. 

"That depends on who you're here to see," he said, folding his arms.

Twilight sighed. "Both of you, actually."

Discord studied her a moment more before vanishing and the flap opened a minute later. Twilight hopped inside, the entrance closing quickly behind her. 

Due to chaos and utter nonsense, the interior held a similar appearance to Fluttershy’s house. Even the green sofa, currently occupied by the owners, stood in its usual place. Discord had added his own personal touches of chaos into the walls, ceiling and floor; they reflected the scenery the outer tent displayed. As she crossed the room, Twilight thought it entirely bizarre to be walking on what looked like the ocean but felt like solid ground. Stopping a few feet away, she nervously surveyed her friends.  

Fluttershy wasn’t really looking at her. Discord’s tail was loosely wrapped around her, making it look like she was sitting in a scaly basket. The tail tuft was gently rubbing her right forehoof; a comforting gesture. Discord had one arm on the arm rest while the other was resting between Fluttershy’s wings.

“What can we do for you, Twilight?” he asked with slightly narrowed eyes.

The purple princess sighed. “Look, I’m really sorry. What Applejack said-”

“You’re not the one who needs to apologize, Twilight,” Fluttershy quietly interrupted. 

“I know but I’m still sorry it happened. I can see why Applejack would draw to that conclusion” -Discord snorted- “but that doesn’t mean I share the same feelings. I can’t lie and say that everything is okay between us, Discord, but, given what we talked about last night, I’ve decided to trust you.”

“Gee, thanks,” he said with a roll of his eyes.

Twilight scowled. “You can’t blame me for being angry. You waited until the literal eve of battle to tell us about Shadow. You’ve known it was him this whole time!”

“Not true,” Discord interrupted. “I didn’t figure it out until after he turned me into a beast.”

“Um, why did he do that anyway?” Fluttershy asked.

Discord shrugged. “I'm sure he had a reason. Tirek might have had a hand in it too. In all honesty I’m not sure who has more control at the moment, Shadow or him.”

“Regardless,” Twilight interrupted, “you’ve known about him since then. That was weeks ago. Why not tell us? And why didn’t you clear the air between Celestia and Luna after you were reformed? And don’t tell me it’s because you don’t care because I know you do, Uncle.”

Fluttershy’s head whipped up in surprise. “You told her?”   

“She needed to know the gravity of the situation,” Discord muttered before turning back to Twilight. “To answer your question, niece, I didn’t tell them because what would be the point? They already forgave each other. No need to reopen that can of worms.”

He pulled out a can and yanked back the lid, exposing a miniature angry Nightmare Moon before tossing the thing over his shoulder. It disappeared in a puff of blue smoke.

“Besides,” he continued, “I truly thought all traces of Shadow had been destroyed after you girls and the Pillars returned him to limbo.”

“So you figured there wasn’t a need to bring it up because he was supposedly no longer a threat,” Twilight concluded, scowling.

“What can I say, you girls are really good at cleaning up my messes,” he said with a shrug and a grin.

“But he’s still a threat!” Twilight snapped. “We restored you and Fluttershy weeks ago! Why didn’t you say anything then?”

“It’s complicated,” he muttered before folding his arms and sticking his nose in the air to add, “And I don’t feel like sharing.”

Twilight grit her teeth. “Discord, have you not heard what ponies are saying out there?”

“Why do you think I’ve taken refuge in here?” he shot back. “I was tired of my ears burning!”

“Are you not the least bit concerned? You’re the one who said we’ll fail without harmony but you’ve made it so harmony isn’t anywhere to be found! I met with the allies and some of the Champions. The ponies are demanding some form of punishment. They don’t trust you. You have to give me a reason why you didn’t tell us about Shadow until now. There are some who believe this is all an elaborate scheme to take over Equestria again.”

“Have they forgotten that I have a personal vendetta against Tirek?” Discord snapped, his eyes burning with rage. “Why would I work with that kleptomaniac again?"

"Some would argue you're using him because he hasn't absorbed anypony's magic since taking over." 

“Do you share their suspicions?”

Twilight looked him squarely in the eye and declared, “No. I meant what I said before. I want to be your friend. I may be angry with the deceit but I’m not blind to all you’ve done since Tirek destroyed the Tree of Harmony. And only anger is blinding Applejack because anypony in their right mind can see that you truly do love Fluttershy and would never abuse her feelings for you.”

Discord sat back, his eyebrows raised in surprise. Twilight smiled sadly. 

“I know our past is colored with mistrust and impatience but, while I’m still reeling over the revelation, we’re family so I’m willing to give you a chance. That being said, I’m also a Princess of Equestria and bound by laws to serve the ponies of this land. I can’t ignore the cries for justice but I also cannot solely pass judgment - nor will I. I’m here to tell you that in order to restore peace, I had to make a decision.”

An expressionless mask descended upon the draconequus while Fluttershy sat up in fear. 

“And that would be?”

“There will be some form of trial after we’ve won and the princesses are restored,” Twilight answered. 

“What kind of trial?” Fluttershy demanded, flaring her wings.

"One where a punishment will be decided for Discord's neglect towards Shadow."

"You can't hold him responsible for any of this!" Fluttershy cried, jumping down and facing Twilight with her head held high.

Before Twilight could defend her reasons, Discord interrupted.

"Shy, we talked about this."

 "I won't see you turned back to stone!" she cried, whipping around to face him. 

Hating her tears, Twilight tried to console her. "That's not going to happen."

Fluttershy snorted in a very unFluttershy-like manner. "You think I'm a fool, Twilight? I know what everypony is saying. I know what they're expecting!"

"I'm not going to let Discord be turned to stone!" Twilight nearly shouted, surprising the pegasus into silence. "Do you really think I would do that to you? You're my friends, Fluttershy. It wouldn't be ethical to separate you two like that. And I can already tell you Cadence won't allow it either. Whatever punishment is given to Discord, it has to be unanimous. I'm banking on some kind of community service."

"Why does he have to be punished at all?" Fluttershy sniffled. 

"Because that's what's expected," Discord sighed. "Paint yourself a villain and that's all they'll ever see."

"But you're not!" she cried, wiping her eyes.

"While you and I know that, it doesn't mean a thing to that growing mob outside."

"There isn't going to be a mob," Twilight assured. "I'm going to appease everycreature for now with a promise that you'll be judged by the princesses when this is over."

"That's not entirely reassuring, Twilight," Fluttershy moped.

"It's the best I can do, given the circumstances." Hesitating for a moment, she closed the distance and wrapped a foreleg over Fluttershy's withers. "I promise I'll do everything I can to keep you two together."

Fluttershy sniffled before returning the hug. "Thank you, Twilight."

The princess stepped back, smiling. "You're welcome."

Discord suddenly swooped down and ruffled her mane. "Yes, we appreciate the support, bookhorse."

Twilight gently pushed him away, trying to look annoyed while failing miserably. She couldn't help returning Discord’s smile. Clearing the air between them had worked wonders and she was rather optimistic that before the day was done the rest of their friends would mend their damaged ties too.

"I'm going to try to talk some sense into the others." She looked at Fluttershy hesitantly. "You could come with me."

At first she thought she'd reject her proposal but Fluttershy surprised her by nodding in consent.

"I don't like being at odds with all of you," she explained. 

Twilight smiled while Discord scratched his fiancee's ear and said, "That's my girl."

She turned to him and smiled. "I'll be back in a bit."

"If you need me just call," he said. 

"I will."

The two shared a kiss before Fluttershy followed Twilight out of the tent.

A few minutes later they found the rest of their friends mingling with the Rainbooms. Discord’s snap from last night not only revealed Twilight’s true form but those of the girls as well. It was a great shock for the army to see humans for the first time but, once confirming who they were, the hesitant drama settled and everycreature was fine; leave it to Discord to cause some chaos. Cordy had also shed his draconequus look for his bizarre human form; unlike the girls who only showed their ears and tail when powered up, he displayed his horns, wings, and tail all the time. Waving merrily at the approaching mares, he alerted the others to their presence.

“Hello Violet Starling!” he cried cheerfully with a wave of his hand. “And Flutterbutter, always a pleasure.”

“Cordy,” Twilight acknowledged with mild annoyance; no matter how many times she’d corrected him, the infernal count refused to call her by her real name. 

The air drew slightly awkward but Sunset did her best to keep things smooth. “Anything we can do for you two?”

“If it’s okay, my friends and I need to talk,” Twilight said, glancing at Fluttershy before reiterating for Cordy’s sake, “Alone.”

The girls all stood up and began making for the tent’s exit. Cordy stretched dramatically before simply floating up into the air and drifting after his Fluttershy. He gently ruffled Fluttershy’s mane as he passed. She sent him a grateful smile. The moment they were gone an awkward silence descended.

“Oh, this is ridiculous!” Rarity finally cried, breaking the quiet. Stomping her hoof, she boldly declared, “Fluttershy, I have no quarrel with Discord. While I don’t agree with what he’s done in the past, I fear it would be entirely inappropriate to hold him accountable for Shadow’s current actions.”

Fluttershy surprised them all by suddenly lashing out. “And what about his past? Is Discord responsible for that?” Rarity hesitated and Fluttershy huffed. “I knew it. None of you will ever forgive him.”

“I didn’t say that!” Rarity defended. 

“But it’s how you feel,” Fluttershy concluded.

“Fer some of us,” Applejack admitted, stepping forward. “But I was wrong to say that he’s been using you. For that, Fluttershy, I’m sorry. I’ve never fully trusted Discord even after he was reformed. I’ve put up with him all these years and he’s dropped one too many bad apples in my opinion. That bein’ said, I do trust you. And… if you say he’s on our side and he’ll always treat ya good… I’ll be willing to offer temporary trust to see this here situation through.”

Fluttershy’s eyes shone with unshed tears. “He’s not the same as he was before, Applejack. I couldn’t love him if he was.”

The cowpony sighed. “Sugarcube, I just… I need time. Can you give me that?”

Fluttershy looked up. “You’ll give him a chance?”

“I’ll try,” she promised.

The other occupants finally breathed as the two friends made up with further apologies. Twilight smiled, silently thanking Applejack for setting aside her stubborn nature. The cowpony’s opinion of Discord was still very much on the rocks but there was a chance it could change. If Discord could prove to her that he really was as reformed as he claimed. She wasn’t the only one he had to convince.

“Are you really sure about him, Fluttershy?” asked Rainbow Dash. “Are you positive this isn’t going to end in another betrayal?”

“I’m sure, Rainbow,” she said with utter conviction.

Rainbow Dash bit her lip and scuffed her hoof. “Look, I know the guy has improved but he broke your heart once. I really don’t want to see that happen again.”

“None of us do,” said Applejack, remembering holding Fluttershy in a cage as she cried while Discord declared an end to their friendship.

Fluttershy confidently replied, “That’s never going to happen again, Dashie.”

“Are you sure?” she pressed.

Fluttershy nodded. “Discord almost lost my friendship because of it. He worked harder to regain my trust than ever before after Tirek’s defeat. I won’t go into details but please believe me when I say he will never betray me again.”

“I believe you, Fluttershy!” Pinkie Pie cried, zooming right over to give the pegasus a hug. “Can we stop fighting now?”

Fluttershy peeked over Pinkie’s withers. “Can we?” she asked the others.

“Like I said, darling, I have no quarrel with Discord,” Rarity assured with a smile. “I may not agree with his past but I think he’s a decent stallion by today’s standards -and the perfect one for you.”

“You already know where I stand,” said Applejack.

“And you know how I feel,” said Twilight with a smile.

Fluttershy returned it before looking at her oldest friend. “Rainbow?”

Rainbow Dash sighed. “I don’t like his history but I suppose he’s not all bad.” She nodded to herself before declaring, “We’re cool; unless he breaks your heart.”

Fluttershy wiped her eyes. “Thanks, girls.”

Pinkie Pie extended her forelegs and yanked everypony in for a big group hug. “I’m so glad we’re not fighting anymore!” she happily sobbed before leaping backward and shouting, “This calls for some make-up cupcakes!” 

She yanked a fresh batch out of thin air and passed them around. Twilight happily accepted hers and sat back, watching her friends with a smile on her face. A warm feeling spread throughout the tent, a confirmation that harmony was beginning to mend. 

“We’re going to be okay,” she quietly whispered, relief washing away the apprehension she’d been feeling since last night. 

The ominous shadow of Midnight Sparkle finally began to retract and the princess focused on spending the rest of the afternoon in the company of her friends, relishing in the special camaraderie they shared.  





The cave was dark, dank, and dreary. Its sole occupant, a giant pink dragon, was not particularly fond of his new home but it was his master’s wish to be here and he had to obey. Giant green eyes surveyed the gloom, looking heavenward and wishing the roof was open sky instead of solid rock. 

Two weeks ago he’d been led away from his lovely patch of concrete in the palace courtyard to this miserable hole underground. The fiery white pony had brought him down here without any explanation except that it was their master’s will that he be relocated. Once a week the white pony would come to see him, to remind him to prepare for a great battle. 

Spike liked the white pony but preferred the purple one. He wondered why she did not bring him the master’s orders anymore when it had been her job to do so before. He missed her. Besides the white pony, the only other he saw in the cave was a guard who dropped off a large pile of gems for him to eat each day.

Spike would never complain against his master, for he knew he was always right, but he had to admit that being down here away from all life was rather lonely. He wanted to be useful. Had the master placed him here because he wasn’t happy with his performance? No, that couldn’t be it. He’d done a great job terrifying every palace visitor while assigned to the courtyard. The white pony had said something about being ready to protect the master’s home from attackers. How could he do that underground? Maybe they were going to come through the tunnel? 

This sudden thought caused the dragon to look at the tunnel entrance. To his shock, it was occupied by an unknown visitor. 

The dragon immediately crouched and began to growl, bearing his large teeth and releasing smoke from his nostrils. His claws dug into the stone ground and his wings shifted as he prepared for an attack. 

The pony that stood before him was larger than any he had ever seen. Tasting the air, he determined that it was female and held a magic more powerful than his master’s. Like the fiery pony, her coat was solid white. Her mane and tail flowed like a riverbed, the strands sparkling like a thousand diamonds caught in a constant stream of light. Her eyes troubled him for they held emotions that forced his caution to transform into curiosity. The pools of amethyst were swimming with unshed tears. 

“Oh, my poor Spike, what has he done to you?” she said, her voice similar to the perfect chime of a bell. 

Spike lowered his head closer, surveying her as he further explored her scent. It was the most delectable he’d ever come across; a combination of flowers and gemstones. But instead of having a desire to eat her, the dragon experienced an entirely different emotion. One he hadn’t felt since…since… 

The image of another white pony came to mind, a unicorn with purple hair and sapphire eyes. Warmth spread through his chest and the last ounce of caution fell away. He closed the distance, his large head now a foot away from her muzzle. The pony stepped forward. 

“Come back to me,” she whispered, placing a delicate kiss on the edge of his snout.        

Warmth spread and Spike reared backward and roared in fear. The pony had inflected him with some kind of spell! The darkness swirling beneath his skin was screaming as light and love raced through every fiber of his being, abolishing every shadow like a purging poison. His mind opened and flooded with memories of a previous life, a life he’d forgotten the moment Tirek had attacked him. His body twisted and thrashed, his limbs shrinking down to the size he was meant to be. In mere moments, the rancor of Shadow was erased, restoring that which had previously been lost. 

“Spike?”

The much smaller dragon opened his eyes and saw the concern of the most beautiful creature in existence being showered upon him. Feeling overwhelmed and slightly embarrassed for some odd reason, Spike quickly got to his feet and brushed the dust of the cave floor off his scales. 

“Um, hi,” he said, not knowing what else to say.

The alicorn continued to observe him, her concern touching yet confusing. “Are you alright?” she asked.

“I think so,” he said, finally taking the time to survey his body. “What happened?”

“You were under the control of a monstrous creature,” she answered, “but I restored you to what you should be.”

“Then I should thank you,” he said, truly meaning it. “Um, I hope I’m not being rude but, who are you?”

The loving smile accompanying her response nearly knocked the little dragon off his feet. “My name is Amity. I am the Spirit of Order and Harmony.”

“Spirit of… so you’re like the opposite of Discord?”

She nodded before looking over her shoulder. “I would elaborate further but time is against us. We must leave this place. Will you come with me?”

While a stranger, something told Spike that he could trust her. In many ways she felt familiar, like a combination of all his friends. The kindness in her eyes even reminded him of Fluttershy. 

“You’re not going to take me to another cave, are you?” he asked.

Amity laughed. “No.”

“Good,” he said, “because anything is better than this.”

Amity agreed before lighting her horn. A doorway appeared against the solid stone, the open entry displaying the familiar scene of the Everfree Forest bathed in the pale light of Celestia's dawn. 

“Quickly,” Amity urged. 

Spike suddenly heard the flutter of wings coming down the tunnel. Sharing a worried glance, the dragon flew through the doorway, bursting into the welcome morning air. Amity leapt through the portal behind him, quickly closing it. The image of the cave instantly vanished from sight. 

“We must hurry,” she said, unfurling her magnificent wings. 

Spike’s jaw dropped at the sheer beauty she displayed.

“Spike?” 

The dragon shook his head to kickstart his brain before joining her in the air. If he’d been looking closer, he would have seen the pleased smile blooming on the alicorn’s face. The winter wind whistled as they cut through the sky, Amity leading the way towards what Spike quickly deduced as the path towards Fluttershy’s cottage. They rounded the bend and Spike gasped, halting in surprise at the vast destruction before his eyes.

The remains of Fluttershy’s home were scattered across the lawn, possessions burned and broken beyond repair. From the look of dirt and snow clinging to some of the items, it was clear the tragedy had occurred a while ago. 

“What happened here?” he asked, his heart hurting at the sight. 

“Unbridled rage,” Amity answered. “Don’t worry; Fluttershy is safe and the damage is nothing Discord can’t fix.”

Leading him through the broken door into the remains of the house, the large alicorn gracefully and respectfully walked with care so as not to disturb any item on the ground. Spike immediately noticed the missing roof and fragment of remaining walls. Like Amity, he carefully stepped over the broken pieces of Fluttershy’s green sofa, following the alicorn into the kitchen. Remarkably, there was one section that had somehow survived the devastation; the cupboard under the sink. Amity opened it and Spike gasped.

“Is that a portal?”

“To Discord’s dimension,” she confirmed. “Besides the castle in the Everfree Forest, it is currently the safest place to hide from Tirek.”

Spike looked from the portal to her. “Are my friends in there?”

“No.”

“Then why bring me here?”

“Because I need your help.”

“With what?”

Amity glanced at the rising sun before quickly turning back to him. “Your friends are going to attack Canterlot today but without you, they will fail. You must listen to me very carefully, Spike. The fate of Harmony rests on your shoulders. Can I count on you? Can they count on you?”

Overwhelmed, confused, but also determined, the little dragon puffed out his chest and nodded. “What do you need me to do?”
> Conflict
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Discord was hiding in the trees again. While Twilight’s promise of justice the night before managed to placate the ponies, many of them continued to show their animosity. The draconequus wasn’t particularly bothered by the stares but he didn’t feel the need to be subject to them either hence his hiding place. Cordy, in a somewhat similar predicament, was sitting in the branch opposite him, juggling a ball between his hands that kept changing from fire to ice. 

Down below, the ponies and their allies were preparing to leave. Twilight wanted to be on the move in less than an hour. She’d requested Discord’s services to help cross the gorge and he had gladly snapped up a bridge. With that one task now out of the way, the best thing for him to do was wait until he was needed to snap the ladies to Canterlot.

Cordy glanced up and commented, “Rather nice weather for a battle.”

Discord hummed in agreement. 

The disharmony dancing on the wind tasted like delectable candy to the draconequus. While the circumstances were terrible, he couldn’t help the smile curving his mouth. His fingers were almost itching to contribute to the discontent he could sense running throughout the land. For a very brief moment he entertained the idea of a topsy-turvy world with him at the center; of buildings flying through the air and creatures acting against their nature while deformed landscapes stretched as far as the eye could see- until his daydream was violently spoiled by the sudden appearance of a feral Flutterbat sucking the life out of a mangled bear. 

Discord’s eyes shot open and he nearly fell out of the tree. Cordy looked at him. 

“Discord?”

The draconequus merely shook his head, waving off his counterpart’s concern.

Cordy looked at him knowingly. “I know what you want to do; I suffer the same temptation. I cannot begin to tell you how many ways I’ve already painted this land red in my mind.”

Discord sighed. “It would be so easy. Just a single snap…”

“And the world would fall at our feet,” Cordy muttered.

“And our relationship with Fluttershy would be completely annihilated.” Discord shook his head and muttered, “She is too precious to lose. No matter how disharmonic Shadow has made the world, I will not forsake her to satisfy my own natural tendencies.”

“Nor I,” Cordy agreed passionately. “May I suggest we finish this fight as quickly as possible?”

Discord flicked a dead leaf with his tail. “Nothing would make me happier. Celestia is not going to be an easy opponent, however. I would love to simply bind her in chains and be done with it but her current state has left her volatile and dangerous. She'd break free the second my back was turned and have no qualms about stabbing it in retaliation."

"You also need to be wary of Tirek," Cordy reminded. "Though we haven’t received any reports of him absorbing magic, you should still keep a sharp eye on that threat while facing your fiery opponent.”

"Indeed. Too bad I won’t have you there to watch my back."

After the Pillars and Young Six expressed their determination to join the battle on the Prairies, Twilight had asked Cordy to keep an eye on them; the restoration of Harmony wouldn’t happen should any of them die. Cordy hadn’t been happy to leave his Fluttershy’s side but understood the reason behind the request.

“You’re just jealous I get to fight against a bunch of vampires,” Cordy joked, magicking up a wooden stake. 

Discord snorted.

A sudden flapping of wings interrupted their conversation as Fluttershy came into view. Discord plucked her from the air and gave her a quick kiss in greeting. The pegasus blushed as she settled in his arms, a pleased smile on her face.

“It seems I’ve caught a delightful surprise.” Discord grinned. “What brings you to our little corner of the forest, Shy?”

“We’re ready to go,” she revealed. “Twilight wants you and Cordy at the front with the rest of the Champions.”

Discord shared a look with the Count who nodded before flashing away. Discord followed suit a second later, appearing next to Twilight and setting Fluttershy on the ground next to Rarity. Twilight smiled up at him before nodding to Flash Sentry. The pegasus took to the air and turned around to shout, “Move out!”

The trek through the woods and across the bridge was filled with tension. Hardly a word was spoken. Even the Pinkie Pies were quiet, much to Discord's dismay. The thirty minute march was excruciating for him too. Honestly he would have loved to snap everycreature to the battlefield but he needed to conserve his magic for Daybreaker. To save his feet from grinding into the dirt he opted to float alongside Fluttershy, his eyes and ears strained for any hint of enemy activity. 

As the trees began to thin, the sounds of snarls and growls on the wind intensified; the first indication of Tirek’s awaiting army. Being in the front, Discord was one of the first to actually lay eyes on the vast legion of creatures Shadow had enslaved to his cause. Having emerged from the forest, the Chaos Lord looked down the ravine into a valley filled to the brim with monsters. He couldn’t help being rather impressed. 

As Twilight predicted, Pony-wyverns lined the front of the massive force, the large claws of their wings creating agitated divots in the earth with every step they made. Scattered behind them were the bat ponies, many taking to the air as Twilight’s army spread out to line the forest's edge. The monsters from Tartarus had been corrupted and twisted into visions of nightmare, all standing or hovering behind the wyverns and vampires like overbearing shadows of death. While the display was truly terrifying, there was an absence that caused alarm bells to ring in the Chaos Lord’s brain.

“Where is Spike?” he asked.

“Maybe Tirek is keeping him back at the castle?” said Starlight nervously.

“Whether he is or not, there are plenty of other adversaries to deal with here. Our army should focus on them,” said Twilight before taking flight. She turned to face their allies and raised her voice, “All of you know what needs to be done. I have the utmost confidence in you. Let us do our best; for Equestria!”

“For Equestria!” the creatures shouted.

She landed back on the ground and Flash Sentry took charge, giving further orders to Ember, Thorax, and Prince Rutherford. As the leaders headed off to rejoin their divisions, Discord caught Cordy kissing Mirror Fluttershy goodbye.

“Stay safe,” he ordered.

“I will,” she promised.

“Don’t worry, Cordy,” said Sunset, “We’ll take good care of her.”

The Chaos Count stepped back, observing them. “I know you will. Good luck, ladies. I’m sure this will all be over before the sun sets.”

“That’s the hope,” Twilight said, turning to Discord. “I think we’re ready now.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Eager are we?”

Twilight smiled. “You could say that.”

Discord frowned. “Very well.” He glanced at the Pillars (distastefully) and the Young Six before turning to Cordy. “Protect them at all costs.”

“I will,” he promised.

"Be ready,” Discord advised the ponies and Rainbooms as they gathered around him. Each sported looks of determination. “They might attack on sight.”

“No matter what awaits us, we’ll face it together,” Twilight declared, the others nodding in agreement. “Let’s go, Discord.”

The Lord of Chaos snapped his fingers just as Flash Sentry bellowed for his forces to attack. The small group flashed away from the various war cries and screeches of the two armies, reappearing in the deathly quiet of Canterlot’s throne room. The eerie change of scenery left the girls rather disoriented but Discord wasted no time scanning the area. 

The dark walls and red carpet flickered in torchlight, the beautiful stained glass depictions of Equestria’s accomplishments hidden behind thick curtains outlined in black and red. Tirek’s throne was empty but the base of the dais displayed three very dangerous adversaries. Daybreaker stood in the center, her fiery mane and tail emitting an unearthly glow, while Nightmare Moon and Heartbreaker stood beside her, each staring at their enemy with hungry anticipation.

“Well, well, well,” Daybreaker said with a slight mock in her voice, “if it isn’t the Champions of Equestria. So nice of you to come to us.”

“And here we thought we might have to sniff you out of your army,” said Nightmare Moon. 

Twilight stepped forward. “Surely you’ve learned by now that we prefer the direct approach in these kinds of situations.”

“Come now, Twilight,” Daybreaker admonished, “There's no need to resort to violence so quickly. We’re all princesses here. Let’s discuss things in a diplomatic fashion.”

“I’m not negotiating with the likes of you,” Twilight snapped. “And neither are any of my friends.” 

“How rude,” Heartbreaker huffed. 

“We’re only trying to offer you a chance to freely join our Master’s cause,” said Nightmare Moon.

“That’s never going to happen!” Sunset Shimmer declared.

“Ah, Sunset Shimmer. I must say, I never thought I’d lay eyes on you again,” Daybreaker said, studying the human form of her former student. “Too bad you didn’t take over that other world as you intended.”

“We can rectify that.” Heartbreaker smirked. “The Master is particularly eager to see her returned to his service.”

Sunset bristled. “Where is he?” 

“He’ll make himself known,” Nightmare Moon promised, “In time.”

"Only a coward hides behind his pawns," Rainbow Dash taunted. 

"Indeed," said Mirror Rarity. "I, for one, wouldn't want to be enslaved to such an indolent creature."

"At least give us somepony worth fighting for," Fluttershy bravely jeered, surprising and pleasing her fiancé.  

"Silence!" Daybreaker raged. "You foals dare mock him? He who is greater than us all! He who has-"

But whatever the fiery princess was about to say was silenced by a sudden explosion of whipped cream and pie crust colliding with her face. Comical purple eyes appeared behind the cream as the perpetrator appeared before her in a flash of light.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Discord taunted, "I thought you were done."

“Oooo, good one, Discord!” Pinkie Pie called as Daybreaker snarled, "Why you insulant-!"

"One second!" he interrupted. Another snap and he leaned back, satisfied. "There, I forgot the cherry."

The cherry and cream burnt to a crisp as Daybreaker's entire body burst into flame. "I'll DESTROY you!" she bellowed.

Discord bopped her on the nose and said in a sing-song voice, "You'll have to catch me first!"

Daybreaker let out a roar and flared her wings. Unfazed, Discord flapped a red cape tauntingly in front of her, now sporting full matador attire. The fiery princess shot a blast of magic from her horn but Discord flashed away, reappearing behind Twilight and the others.

"Missed me!" he called.

Daybreaker growled. "That's it. You two deal with the mares. Discord is mine!"

"Fine, but revenge on those six belongs to me!" Nightmare Moon declared, rushing off to confront Twilight's group. 

"Let's have some fun!" Heartbreaker grinned, flying towards the humans.

"You just had to go and pie her in the face," muttered Applejack. 

Discord chuckled. "Of course I did! I had to move the plot forward and any more talk of joining the Shadow Club would have bored the readers anyway."

"What are you talking about?" Twilight asked.

"Nevermind. Just keep Fluttershy safe!" 

Discord looped around until he resembled a tire and rolled away, Daybreaker angrily tearing after him. 

"Come back here, you little-"

Discord flashed in front of her, placing his finger to her lips. "Please, princess, not in front of the kids!"

Daybreaker swiped his finger away. "Don't touch me, you filthy lout!"

"Lout? Come on, Kay Kay," he laughed, "You can do better than that!"

Daybreaker shot a magical blast at his face. Summoning a baseball bat, Discord took aim and smacked it towards the ceiling. A bleacher full of Discords appeared along with a squad of Discord cheerleaders, all of them cheering as another Discord announcer shouted, "And it looks like a home run!"

"Must you make a joke out of everything?" Daybreaker complained, sending yet another spell his way.

Discord summoned a Whack-a-Mole game and dived inside, popping out of one of the many holes. "No, but you have to admit this is more fun!"

"Aarrgghhh!"

He dived just as she shot another spell, hiding inside the box before popping out of another hole.

"Missed again!"

Her horn flared red and he descended to safety. The impact shook the box and Discord laughed before choosing the top left hole to reappear. 

"You know," he said, resting his cheek on his hand, "we really need to work on your aim."

"Dodge this!" she cried, spewing flames from her mouth.

The fire quickly reduced the box to ash. Discord managed to escape just in time, his tail tuft being the only thing to catch fire. He barely put it out before she was attacking him again, a flaming inferno heading in his direction. He snapped and turned the flames to water but cried out in surprise as a beam of magic hidden behind the fiery attack burned into his flesh. His body slammed into the ground and skid across the floor several feet. Wincing, he pulled his paw away from his now injured shoulder. It was covered in blood.

"Looks like the preliminaries are over," he muttered.

Daybreaker’s cackle filled the air and he looked up to see her flying towards him. Her glowing yellow eyes held a sadistic joy at the sight of his pain, her mocking grin the complete opposite of the one she used to hold when addressing him. Discord found himself missing that exasperated smile as he returned to his feet and glared at the flaming princess. Any trace of provocation died the moment their eyes locked and Discord knew if he was to survive this fight, he couldn't hold back any longer. 

A wicked grin climbed his face as his paw and claw glowed with chaos. “Let the games begin," he growled, his voice dropping an octave as she closed the distance.

When she was ten feet away he flung out his hands, his magic barreling straight towards her. She dodged to the side but the beam diverted its course like a heat seeking missile, hitting its target a second later. Daybreaker screamed as she fell, one of her wings charred black and bleeding before she even hit the ground. Discord didn’t waste a moment, snapping up a trap of vines that immediately ensnared her. Daybreaker teleported just before the plant could choke her, reappearing behind him and slamming her hooves into his back. The draconequus roared and twisted around, swiping his paw. His claws dug into the princess’s chest, three deep gashes breaking the skin and staining it red. Daybreaker blasted him with magic and he threw up a shield. The force of the blow sent him flying upward, temporarily giving him access to the other battles raging below.

Instinctively his eyes sought Fluttershy. His pegasus was currently dodging one of Nightmare Moon’s attacks, her forelegs locked with Rarity's as the two spun away from a nasty looking spell. Applejack had managed to wrangle the dark princess to the floor and Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie had her in a headlock while Starlight attempted to seal off her horn. Twilight, for some odd reason, was staying back from the fight. Perhaps she was injured?

Discord’s concern for her proved an unfortunate distraction as another flaming attack from Daybreaker singed his alicorn wing. 

“Careful, Discord,” she taunted. “Your compassion for those little ponies may be the death of you.”

“Not likely,” he said, snapping up a bazooka. 

The missile exploded near her hooves, covering her in a sticky orange goo. Roaring in rage, she retaliated, her magic smashing against another chaotically conjured shield. Discord grunted from the force behind the attack, feeling the sheer heat as it tried to penetrate his protective coating. Knowing he only had seconds, he chanced a glance at the Rainbooms to see how they were fairing.

Mirror Rainbow Dash was nursing a blackened arm to her chest but that wasn’t stopping her from rushing in and out of focus, blasting Heartbreaker in the sides with magic from her pendant. Mirror Pinkie Pie was throwing water balloons at Heartbreaker’s head while Mirror Rarity, Fluttershy, and Applejack were firing their own blasts of magic. Sunset and Mirror Twilight were working together shielding the others from the pink alicorn’s deadly retaliations. Satisfied with what he saw, Discord returned to his own fight.

Summoning a giant fire extinguisher, he aimed the hose and let the foam fly. Daybreaker screamed more out of annoyance than pain as the speed of the foam rammed into her body and sent her flying backward. Taking a leaf out of Mirror Pinkie’s book, Discord conjured a huge water balloon and dropped it on the white princess’s head. Daybreaker’s flaming mane and tail vanished, leaving behind a soaking wet, rather bald-looking pony. Discord’s laughter filled the hall at the sight of her. 

Daybreaker’s wrath was evident as she screamed and her body engulfed in renewed flame. She rose from the kindling like a phoenix, glowing with the power of the sun. Discord whipped to the side, narrowly avoiding what looked like a miniature solar flare expounding from her person. The heat seared and partially melted his lion fur. He hissed, flinching away. Daybreaker continued to whip solar flares and Discord found himself on the defensive, narrowly dodging every attack just before it could make its mark.

“Hold still and die!” Daybreaker shrieked, sending yet another flare his way.

“No thanks,” Discord shouted back, snapping his tail tuft. 

A fire hydrant appeared beneath the unsuspecting princess. Another snap and the top unscrewed. A jet of water ignited like a volcano, the thick stream smacking the princess’s underbelly. 

“AAAGGGHHH!”

Daybreaker hit the ceiling head first before gravity took hold, plunging her towards the cold, hard ground. Not wanting to see her bones break, Discord caught her in an oversized glove, the fingers wrapping around and locking her in place. Though slightly dazed, she struggled and began to activate her horn. Deciding that enough was enough, Discord snapped it and her wings away. 

“What have you done?” she cried, straining against the glove’s iron grip. 

Discord smugly held up a box containing the stolen appendages. “Won, I think. And I believe I'll take this too-” he held up Daybreaker’s tail “-as a spoil of war.”

“Release me at once!”

Discord stroked his beard in mock thought. “Hmmm, no, I don’t think I will.”         

"Everypony STOP!"

The sheer panic in Starlight’s voice immediately drew his attention and Discord froze, eyes widening in shock and fear. 

Tirek had appeared but he no longer looked like the red and black centaur Discord remembered. His massive body was shroud in shadow and his mane, beard, and tail waved eerily like ashened smoke. His once yellow eyes now shone white and an ominous glow emanated just above his skin. And, trapped within his titanium grip was-

“Twilight!” 

“Cease your attacks at once or I’ll rip her in two!” Tirek bellowed.

The humans and ponies immediately backed away from Nightmare Moon and Heartbreaker. The two wounded alicorns regrouped near their master’s side, their smiles growing with each step they took. 

Discord formed a hand out of his tail tuft and prepared to snap when Tirek turned his glowing gaze on him and shot a magical blast mere inches from Fluttershy’s hooves. The pegasus cried out in terror and scampered backward, slamming into Rarity. Discord snarled and flew forward. Tirek pulled on Twilight’s forelegs. The princess gasped, her eyes bulging slightly from the pain.

“Stay where you are, Discord!” he snarled. “And don’t even think about using your magic.”

Reluctantly, the draconequus stilled. 

“Very good,” Tirek sneered. “Now, restore and release my fiery alicorn.”

“Not until you release Twilight,” he replied.

Tirek narrowed his eyes. "Very well."

Without a care, he threw the purple alicorn and she rolled to a stop in front of her friends. The girls wasted no time gathering her protectively in their hooves, glaring at the smirking centaur as they huddled together. Discord freed Daybreaker, horn and all, before flashing to the ponies’ side, hovering behind them in a defensive stance. The Rainbooms rushed over, surrounding the ponies and taking their own brave stand, their hands balled into fists. 

“How precious,” Tirek smirked. “I must say, I admire your loyalty to each other. It will be rather entertaining tearing it apart.”

“What makes you think we’ll let you?” Rainbow Dash snapped.

Tirek’s grin showed two rows of black pointed teeth. “Let me? My dear little pony, don’t you see? I’ve already won!”

“That’s what you think!” Sunset cried.

“I say we light him up with some rainbow action!” said Mirror Rainbow Dash.

“Agreed!” said Rarity.

The ponies and Rainbooms linked hooves and hands and began to glow, their bodies rising from the floor. Discord took a step back, waiting for the oncoming Rainbow, when something very wrong occurred. The white light surrounding the Champions of Harmony vanished and the ponies and Rainbooms fell to the floor. The throne room filled with Tirek and the princesses cruel laughter as the girls and Discord stared at each other in confusion. 

“Why didn’t it work?” Fluttershy asked, her voice filled with fear.

"I don't know!" cried Sunset.

“Confused?” Tirek taunted. 

Discord’s eyes narrowed. “What did you do?”

“Only what the old you taught me,” he replied, grinning wickedly. “Divide and conquer.”

Discord’s eyes widened and he twisted around, surveying the ponies and Rainbooms. Very quickly his mind recalled every interaction he’d had with them, wracking his brain for any discrepancies in their behavior. Nothing stood out to him. Each one appeared to be the mares and women he knew. All of them were staring at him with looks of fear and concern. All of them except-

An angry snarl escaped him. His magic quickly pulled his friends away from the intruder at the same time he turned to Shadow and roared, “Where is she?!”   

“Discord, what are you doing?” Starlight demanded. “Why did you pull us away from Twilight?”

A horrible, familiar cackle filled the room as ‘Twilight’ turned to face the Champions, her eyes glowing green. Starlight’s face filled with horror. The purple alicorn shifted in size and color, the soft fur transforming to a hard black exoskeleton, the mane turning straight and blue. 

“Hello, Starlight Glimmer!” Queen Chrysalis greeted. “Surprised to see me?”

The girls gasped in shocked disbelief.

“What have you done with Twilight?” Sunset shouted angrily.

“Isn’t it obvious?” the queen said while strutting over to Shadow’s side. “I replaced her!”

“When?” Discord snarled.

“Last night, after her little speech,” Shadow answered. “I would have made the switch sooner but I feared you might notice.”

“Where is she?” 

“Safe, for now.” Shadow smirked. “Don’t worry, Discord. I won’t kill your precious niece.”

“Niece?” Applejack repeated, surprised. “What the hay is he talking about?”

“Later,” Discord said before turning back to his creation. “I will not allow you to corrupt her again, Shadow.”

The sinister centaur laughed. “Like you’re in any position to stop me! No, her time will come; after she’s seen what I have done to her beloved friends. Bind them!” he commanded.

The alicorns’ horns lit up. Shackles appeared on Discord’s limbs (tail included) and a chain slithered through, connecting him to the ones binding Fluttershy with the others. To Discord’s anger, muzzles and gags had also been placed on the ponies and humans. 

“You’ll find that those restraints are made from the same special metal that incapacitated you last time, Discord,” Shadow revealed gleefully. “I must say Chisel Forge is a remarkable blacksmith. He managed to repurpose the metal bars of your cage into such useful masterpieces. Don’t worry; your magic will return… when I choose to release you.”

Discord glared hatefully at Shadow and the cuffs around his wrists, internally berating himself for his stupidity. 

Looking back, he should have noticed how stale Twilight’s ‘encouraging’ words had been to the army. She’d barely said a word that morning and her eagerness to teleport to the palace had been off-putting too. Not to mention her lack of concern over Spike missing from the army on the battlefield. It was so obvious now. How could he have allowed himself, a master of deception, to be deceived? If he hadn’t been so caught up in the prejudice of the army he would have noticed something! But now Twilight was missing and he and his friends were about to become Shadow’s latest victims! 

Why hadn’t he just snapped his fingers and removed himself and the Champions from the palace the moment Chrysalis revealed herself? The horrible future his father had shown was inevitably coming to pass and it was entirely his fault! Unless he did something right now to prevent it. If he could just provide a distraction-    

Shadow suddenly jerked on the chains and Discord fell to his knees. “Whatever you’re thinking,” the dark centaur hissed, “I would advise against it.”

Discord glared up at him defiantly. “Yeah? Why? Going to turn me into a beast again?”

Shadow grinned. "While that was fun, you failed to do what I'd hoped. I won't make that mistake again. Heartbreaker?”

“Yes, Master?”

“I command you to kill Fluttershy the moment Discord tries anything."

Discord bristled with rage as the pink alicorn eagerly hurried over and lit her horn, looming over Fluttershy like a wraith.

“If you lay one hoof on her, I’ll rip your black hide to shreds!"

"Silence!" Heartbreaker snapped, slapping Discord across the cheek. “You dare threaten the Master; you worthless vermin!”

A thin trickle of blood instantly stained Discord's gray fur, the sharp shoe on Heartbreaker’s hoof having cut into his skin. Fluttershy cried out in distress, the sound muffled from her muzzle, the chains rattling as she desperately reached for her beloved. 

"I'm okay," Discord assured her, offering a weak smile.

She searched his eyes, her own filling with tears. Oh how he hated seeing that muzzle on her! 

"Careful, Heartbreaker," Shadow admonished with mirth, "I can't have you scarring my new face." 

Discord whipped his head back around to face him, his lips curling back over his teeth as he growled, "Like I would ever take you back!"

"Come now," Shadow tsked, "Isn’t this what you wanted? To have the princesses at your feet and the Champions of Harmony at your mercy? Why, I have accomplished your dream! You should be thanking me.”

“Thanking you? This hasn’t been my dream for years!” 

“Only because these ponies have corrupted you!” Shadow spat, glaring angrily at the mares, particularly Fluttershy. “This one, while admittedly attractive, has you practically eating out of her hooves! Since when have we bowed down to the whims of mortals? They should worship us! We, who are gods!"

"I would never force Fluttershy to bow to me!" Discord said, disgusted by the very idea. 

"Do you not hear yourself? Her harmonious poison has sunk so deep into your soul that you have forgotten who you really are!” Shadow seethed. “You are Discord, Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony! Not the puppet of this wimpy weak pegasus! You bring disorder, pandemonium, and turmoil to every land you visit. Tell me, when was the last time you kicked up your heels and cut loose on an unsuspecting town?”

Discord didn’t say anything because they both knew the answer. Shadow leaned in closer.

“You can’t tell me you don't miss it,” he whispered. “Remember the thrill that came from helping Tirek? How much you enjoyed it? He allowed you to use your chaos however you wished. He gave you free rein. Have the princesses ever done the same?”

Discord closed his eyes, fighting against the pull of Shadow’s voice. “I did enjoy it,” he confessed, “Until Tirek betrayed me. And while it’s true the princesses never allowed me to turn Equestria upside down, there is one pony who welcomed and encouraged my chaos.” He looked down at Fluttershy, gratitude and love shining in his eyes. “She let me do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, as long as I stayed within the bounds of her property. And she came to love my chaos just as much as I do. That is why she’s earned my respect as well as my heart. I don’t need to take over Equestria anymore. I have everything I need with her.”

Shadow snorted in disgust. “You’re a fool. Can’t you see she’s conditioned you like one of her pets? Only allowing chaos within a certain parameter, putting limitations on a god? And your desperation for acceptance allowed you to settle for such terms! This never would have happened if we’d stuck together. Clearly it is up to me to rectify the atrocities you have succumbed to. I will rid you of her influence and make you see the darkness again. And then together we will plunge this world into the glorious anarchy you originally envisioned!”

“Have you got cotton in your ears?” Discord retorted. “I don’t want Equestria anymore!”

“Not yet,” Shadow hissed, “but you will.”       

The villain stepped back and closed his eyes. Tirek’s body started to convulse and he screamed as the true form of Shadow began ripping itself away from his soul. Black smoke billowed from Tirek’s mouth, swirling around in the air and slowly morphing into the shape of a mighty alicorn. 

Filled with dread and knowing he would be overtaken after Shadow reconstructed, Discord turned to Fluttershy and whispered her name. She tore her terrified gaze away from the horrifying display to look at him.

“I love you,” Discord said with all the conviction of his soul. “No matter what happens, remember that.”

Tears freely falling down her cheeks, she nodded. Heartbreaker wrinkled her nose as Fluttershy extended her wing and brushed it against Discord’s eagle arm. He smiled, not daring to return the gesture. Instead he kept his eyes trained on hers, determined to have her face be the last thing he ever saw. 

All too soon, Tirek hit the floor and began clawing at the ground, now free and desperate to get away from his former captor.

“At last!” Shadow cried, ignoring his previous host completely, “I shall reunite with my creator and we will cast this world into chaos!” 

Discord could see Shadow’s wings extending in Fluttershy’s horrified gaze, the feelers reaching for him. Every memory the draconequus shared with the pegasus flashed before his eyes and an unbidden tear trailed down his cheek. Fluttershy strained against her bonds, her muffled screams easily interpreted as his name. Her eyes pleaded with him to do something, anything, though both of them knew he wouldn’t; not when her safety was on the line. The shadows loomed and another tear fell. Discord braced himself. This was the end, for all of them.

Goodbye, my dearest Fluttershy. Please, remember me for what I am and not what I am about to become…
> Victory
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A flash of pure white light suddenly appeared behind the black alicorn at the same time the throne room doors banged open. Discord's gaze tore away from Fluttershy's as the hall filled with the wounded bellow of Shadow and the war cry of a huge army of creatures led by Twilight Sparkle herself.

The room dissolved into sweet and glorious chaos as Spike the dragon flew off of Shadow's back, having attached a very familiar looking collar around the evil alicorn's neck; a collar that was supposed to be locked away in Discord’s dimension.

“Take that, you overgrown bully!” he called at the same time Twilight let out the battle cry, “For Equestria!”

“For Equestria!” The army bellowed.

“Don’t just stand there, kill them!” Shadow shrieked hysterically.

The evil princesses took to the air at their master’s command but Chrysalis and Tirek ran for the nearest exit. Spike landed in front of a speechless Discord a second later, pulling a white key from around his neck. 

“Spike,” the draconequus spluttered, “How-?”

“Your sister,” he answered, ramming the key into the lock. "I'll explain later." 

He turned the key and a surge of magic ran all along the chain, turning it and the shackles binding the Rainbooms and ponies to dust. Discord’s magic raced through his veins, practically singing a chaotic tune as his whole body wriggled like a wet noodle. At the sight of the Champions’ freedom, Shadow roared and launched himself at Fluttershy but Discord intercepted, crashing into the alicorn’s side and tackling him to the ground. 

“Spike, get Fluttershy out of here!” Discord commanded, his voice strained as Shadow thrashed beneath him. 

“No!” the black alicorn cried as the dragon scooped her up and took off. “No, she is our downfall! Our doom! She must be destroyed!” 

Shadow flailed, his wings and legs smacking every inch of the draconequus in an attempt to break free. Discord groaned from the powerful jabs but refused to let go. 

The Rainbooms and Bearers joined the fray, blasting the evil princesses from behind while Twilight's cavalry took them on from the front. 

Thanks to Cordy there was a large supply of random items that the yaks, changelings, Earth ponies, and pegasi could use as ammo; pipes, umbrellas, wagon wheels, even a kitchen sink, flew through the air. The dragons even lit some of the items on fire in hopes for extra damage. 

Nightmare Moon and Heartbreaker were taking on the crux of the army, causing plenty of damage with their unbridled power. But, while creatures were falling prey to their attacks left and right, the alicorns were becoming overwhelmed. They were losing this fight and they both knew it.  

Meanwhile Twilight was facing off against Daybreaker singlehanded, the two nothing but yellow and purple balls of energy that, with every clash, created a shockwave that forcefully removed every creature around them by at least twenty feet. The pained cries of the wounded began to fill the broken throne room as parts of the ceiling and walls caved in from the stress of their battle. 

Back on the ground, Discord and Shadow were wrestling with each other, the alicorn repeatedly slamming down on every appendage the draconequus had to prevent him from using magic. It also didn’t help that he kept headbutting him, forcing Discord to think more with physical defense in order to stay coherent. The alicorn’s actions were those of desperation, his main offense having been sealed off by the collar around his neck. A particularly nasty jab from his forehooves cracked Discord’s ribs and the draconequus grunted but refused to let go. He couldn’t afford to; not when Shadow was so desperate to get to Fluttershy.

“Give it up, Shadow!” he commanded.

“Never! This world belongs to me! To us!”

Shadow reared before falling completely on his back, trapping Discord’s middle beneath him. Twisting around, the alicorn slammed his hooves into Discord’s neck and began to squeeze.

“Did you really think this little setback would stop me?” he asked as Discord started to choke. “Already my forces are regrouping. This castle will be overrun in minutes. My alicorns are making quick work of Sparkle’s pitiful defense. Soon there will be nopony left. Can’t you hear it, Discord? The sound of their screams? That is your doing. But you can stop it. All you have to do is remove this collar and join me.”  

Discord stared up at Shadow hatefully because he was right. The injured and dying, this whole battle raging around them, everything that had happened in the past, all of it was because of him; because he was too cowardly to admit to Amity he’d screwed up all those years ago and needed her help to fix it. 

The guilt and remorse he felt were quickly transforming into a burning rage. 

He had to end this, all of it, right now! If he didn’t, he would forever be haunted by the realities his creation had caused. 

In a burst of fury he twisted out of Shadow’s grip and forcefully pinned him to the floor, letting out a roar that shattered the remaining stained glass windows. The sound was a combination of every animal Discord displayed, striking fear into the heart of everycreature in the room. Shadow stilled instantly, his inner confidence draining at the sight of his creator’s wrath. 

“For too long I have allowed you to slither your way into the hearts of misguided creatures,” Discord raged. “I created you to be a companion yet you defied me and crossed a line I vowed never to even consider. You have killed, abused, manipulated, and violated my family and friends for the last time. If it were in my power, I would see to it that you were destroyed for good but, alas, I cannot kill what is also me.”

Shadow began to smirk until Discord lifted him in the air and threw him across the room. Shadow tumbled end over end before coming to a stop at the hoof of Twilight Sparkle. He gasped as she stood over him, her violet eyes filled with righteous indignation. To further the villain’s dismay, his alicorns were now tied up and gagged, having lost their battles and clearly unable to come to his aid.

Discord stayed where he was but let his voice carry. “Lucky for me, I have friends who can do what I can’t. He’s all yours, Your Majesty!”

Though she sported bruises, a broken wing, and a black eye, Twilight still managed to exude the royalty she was destined to hold as she stepped forward, her loyal friends and subjects behind her.

“It’s over, Shadow,” she declared, her voice ringing through the hall, “your army has lost and your alicorn princesses have been defeated. You thought that by taking me captive Harmony would truly be destroyed but you underestimated the power of friendship.”

“Oh, please, spare me the spiel!” Shadow interrupted. “I know what you plan to do with me, Sparkle. But I want you to look at my face and remember that I was the one who broke you. Midnight Sparkle will always haunt the deepest corners of your mind, forcing you to question your very nature. You will never be the princess you thought you’d be. There will always be darkness inside of you!”

“You’re right,” Twilight replied, surprising everycreature in the room. The evil grin slipped from Shadow’s face as she continued, “I will always have the voice of Midnight Sparkle somewhere in my mind. But a very wise mare once told me we choose who we are to be and I will never give in to my darker side. I am stronger than her because I choose to be good. I choose to love. And I choose to embrace friendship!”

The white glow of Amity began to emanate from her purple coat, the power extending to each of her Champions. Cordy snapped to Discord's side and the two dived behind Tirek's black throne for cover. Summoning a pair of x-ray glasses for the two of them, Discord and Cordy looked through the chair. The Champions had formed a large circle in the air with Twilight’s group at the top, Sunset’s on the right, the Young Six on the bottom, and the Pillars on the left, each glowing with the essence of Amity. 

The Harmony radiating from them was so immense it was making Discord physically ill; his stomach roiled and his head pounded, his limbs even freezing in place against his will. Beside him, Cordy fared no better, groaning from the painful harmonic radiation. Shadow's agonized scream filled the hall as the Rainbow of Light burst from the Champions like a bunch of ribbons exploding from an oversized party cracker. A blinding flash of light flared in the center of the Champions, revealing Amity herself. Surrounded by her chosen advocates, her perfect white coat glowing with a rainbow aura, the Lady of Order and Harmony flared out her wings. On her command the strands of rainbow condensed around the Champions like a flaming ring before exploding outward in a shockwave of technicolor.

Discord felt them as they swept across the land, freeing every creature from Shadow’s tyrannical enslavement. He also felt the moment Shadow himself was obliterated. The chaos magic used to create him simply vanished from existence, swallowed up by its powerful opposite. A small weight of pity and sadness overcame the draconequus from the loss. Shadow had been his first attempt at making a friend after all, albeit an evil one. He’d had so much potential, being one of Discord’s finer ideas, but creating him had been a mistake. The Rainbow of Darkness was not meant to be a sentient being but a tool. And that tool was all that remained after the Champions' attack. 

Trapped within a rainbow bubble, the Rainbow of Darkness slammed against its prison. Its desperation to escape was obvious. Discord knew that it rightly belonged with him but he honestly didn’t want it. He remembered the angry, bitter draconequus he used to be. He didn’t want to go back to that life, to have such a tool spurring him towards temptations that would ultimately ruin the new life he’d found. But if he didn’t take the Rainbow, who would? 

He’d seen the destruction and devastation it caused in others. The truth was no other creature could handle its potency for chaos and disharmony like he could. Except- 

Discord frowned, lightly tugging on his beard in thought. There was no question as to whether this new candidate could handle it. It was more a wonder if he would. 

Discord was brought out of his silent revelry by Cordy. “I haven’t had sore muscles like this since before I became the Count of Chaos,” he complained, rubbing his arms while wincing. 

Discord smirked, feeling the ache he was talking about down to every small joint in his body. “Just imagine what it’s like being directly underneath their attack.”

Cordy shuddered. “No, thank you.”

The two Chaos Beings emerged from their hiding place to a room filled with celebration, everycreature hugging and cheering for the Champions and their victory. To Discord’s immense surprise and pleasure, Amity was still present, her pure form towering over the now restored Princesses of Equestria and their subjects. She was smiling, enjoying the conviviality. The hug Twilight and her friends were sharing was interrupted the moment Fluttershy’s eyes made contact with Discord. Without a word she removed herself from the embrace and flew towards him. Discord’s entire being softened at the sight and he opened his arms wide, grunting softly as she nearly tackled him in a hug and kiss.

“I thought I was going to lose you!” she cried, her whole body trembling against him as she tightened her hold.

Discord nuzzled the side of her head. “You would have, if it hadn’t been for Spike,” he confessed, spotting the dragon fretting over Twilight’s injuries. “I want to know how he and my sister got into my dimension.” 

“There'll be time for that later,” Fluttershy muttered, nuzzling his chest. “For now, just hold me. Please.” 

“Gladly.”

Their reunion was witnessed by their friends, many of them holding smiles. Celestia, Luna, and Cadence, however, observed the sight with guilt and discomfort. The latter, in particular, looked to be faring the worst. Amity was trying to comfort them but it was clear she needed assistance from the look she sent Discord’s way. The draconequus frowned. He wanted nothing more than to whisk Fluttershy away but he also knew there were many fences he needed to mend; not to mention the coming trial Twilight had promised her subjects. Unfortunately, he was needed here. Sighing, he released a questioning Fluttershy and approached his family and friends.

“So, you’re still here,” he observed.

Amity smiled. “So are you. How are the limbs?”

“Stiff,” he admitted, “though not as hard as a statue.”

 Fluttershy immediately began to fret. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Shy,” he said, ignoring Amity’s giddy smile at the pair of them. “Although a dip in my dimension wouldn’t hurt. The air is so saturated with Harmony I might just turn into a statue from prolonged exposure.”

He made a pose and turned to stone before the cement cracked apart and fell away, revealing a perfectly fine draconequus underneath. Fluttershy frowned at the display, her concern overriding the giggle she normally would have given at such a spectacle.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” pressed Twilight. “We did just bathe the world with harmony.”

“Such concern,” Discord tsked. “You’d think I was as delicate as a pansy! Sparkle, I’m fine. It’s you that should see a doctor. Have you seen that shiner?” He held up a mirror for her to inspect her face. “Daybreaker’s hoof work perhaps?”

“Those injuries didn’t come from our battle,” Celestia muttered brokenly. “They came from before.”

“Chrysalis and I ambushed her the moment she stepped into her tent,” Luna revealed. “While I took Twilight away, Chrysalis resumed her place.” The Princess of the Moon looked at Twilight. To everypony’s immense shock, she had tears in her eyes. “Twilight, I- we-”

It was then that Discord noticed the princesses were anything but regal, their heads lowered in shame. They were obviously the ones responsible for Twilight’s appearance. The draconequus immediately regretting drawing attention to Twilight’s face.

“It wasn’t your fault, Luna,” Twilight said, embracing her. She looked at Celestia and Cadence. “It wasn’t any of your fault. Shadow was responsible for all of it. If anypony is to blame-”

“It’s me,” Discord said, interrupting her.

“Discord-”

“No,” he gently admonished, “the blame for all of this is mine. If I hadn’t created Shadow all those centuries ago, none of this would have happened.” He stood tall, facing his four nieces. “I am willing to accept any and all responsibility for what has occurred.”

“Discord,” Celestia began but was interrupted by Amity.

“I don’t believe that now is the time to stand trial, Discord.”

“Why not?” he demanded, folding his arms. “All four of them are here. Harmony has been restored. I’d say this is the perfect time to get it over with.”

“No!” Fluttershy cried. She launched herself in front of him and threw out her hooves, determined to shield him with every part of her body. “You’re not turning him back to stone! I won’t let you!”

“Fluttershy-”

She whirled around. To the shock of all present, she slapped Discord hard across the face. “How dare you!” she shouted. “I can’t believe that after everything-!” Her breath hitched and her eyes filled with tears. “Why do you want to leave me behind?”

“You think I want to?” Discord growled, hating her tears and ignoring the fact that everypony in the near vicinity was watching. “If I had it my way, I’d whisk you off to my parents, marry you, and move far away from Equestria! But I can’t be selfish, Fluttershy, not this time! I’ve made so many mistakes -countless ones- that forced you and our friends to clean up after me. I’ve been running from justice for too long. It’s about time I do the right thing and take responsibility for my actions.”

Fluttershy started sobbing and Discord wrapped her up in his arms. Her devastation mirrored his own but he wasn’t going to allow it to change his mind. Once he’d seen just how badly Shadow had destroyed the lives of so many creatures, he knew he couldn’t just walk away from this one and let Harmony do her job. The ponies wanted him to be punished for Shadow’s crimes and, for once, he completely agreed with them. This was his fault and he would face justice. Even if it meant he would lose everything.

Twilight was the one to break the silence. “You’re not going to be put on trial today, Discord,” she declared. 

“Twilight-” he began to argue but she cut him off. 

“No. You may be ready to accept whatever terms we give but I think I speak for all of us when I say we’re not ready to give them.” Celestia, Luna, and Cadence shared a loaded glance with her before she continued, “Besides, we just won the fight against the worst villain Equestria has ever seen. We should be celebrating.” Before Discord could further protest, she turned to the Pinkie Pies. "Will you both do the honors?"

“You don’t need to tell us twice!” The Pinkie Pies grinned, whipping out their party cannons. 

Cordy also stepped forward, holding up a hand prepared to snap. “Allow me to assist.”

In no time at all the room was restored to its former glory, streamers, balloons, and a shower of unending confetti falling from the ceiling; the confetti, Cordy’s touch, disappeared before hitting any creature on the head. The injured had been moved to the hospital and those that had once been evil in the battle on the Prairies had been snapped over too. Ponies, bat ponies, yaks, crystal ponies, dragons, and changelings celebrated together in harmonious camaraderie; the monsters from Tartarus were back where they belonged.  

Discord stood off to the side, watching the proceedings but refusing to participate himself. 

"Are you seriously going to sulk over here the rest of the night?" Amity asked.

"I don't see you celebrating," he said, avoiding the question.

"I intimidate them," she said, stating the obvious. "I'm the largest alicorn they've ever seen."

Discord snorted. "I could easily change that. One snap and Celestia would be as big as you."

Amity smiled. "Thanks but I don't think she'd appreciate that. Besides, you didn't answer my question."

"That's because I have nothing to say."

"Oh come on. Stop pouting!"

"I'm not pouting!" he snapped, folding his arms.

"Uh-huh, sure," she said, poking him in the side with her wing.

Discord grit his teeth, his anger and frustration building with every jab. Slapping her feathers away, he growled, "Will you stop that! I'm not in the mood."

Amity frowned, the jest in her eyes immediately disappearing. "Okay, what's wrong?"

"What's wrong? What's wrong?!" Discord threw up his paw and claw and thundered, "I'm actually trying to atone for all the pain I've caused these ponies and instead Twilight pulls a 'me' and distracts everycreature with a party! She did the complete opposite of what I expected her to do. Not to mention Celestia, Luna, and Cadence don't want anything to do with me and Fluttershy is avoiding me because she's mad that I'm trying to do the right thing. Do they not understand how tempting and easy it would be for me to simply snatch her and disappear from here without any form of reconciliation? I'm trying to be good! Why won't they let me?"

Amity placed a wing around him. "They're not ready to face you," she answered.

"That's what Twilight said," he grumbled. "I can't understand why. You would think they would be more than happy to get their revenge on the creature responsible for their atrocities."

"Discord, you're an idiot."

His jaw dropped and he stared at her in disbelief. "What?"

"You're an idiot," she repeated. "The princesses were just released from a very complicated abusive transformation and are in shock. They need time to process and heal. You need to give them that."

"Okay, fine," he mumbled reluctantly.

"You're also taking all of Shadow's sins on yourself, which is honestly ridiculous."

"How is that ridiculous? I created him! I should be blaming myself!" Discord snapped. "He's my responsibility. The only reason he was able to do the things he did was because of me!"

Amity shook her head. "You forget that Shadow was the Rainbow of Darkness before you gave him sapience."

"What has that got to do with anything?"

"Tell me, brother, is the Rainbow of Darkness you?"

"You know as well as I do that it was a tool given to me by our father."

"As the Rainbow of Light was given to me by our mother," she said. "The Rainbows are not us, Discord. They are powerful magical tools bestowed to us to help us with our work. They don't change who we are."

"But Shadow-"

"Was his own stallion," Amity declared. "A parent is not responsible for the actions of their children."

"They are if their children are not adults!"

"You're right but Shadow was not a child."

"He was at the start," Discord reminded. "He destroyed Dream Castle, Amity. He forced the ponies out of that land. And I helped him do it. I supported him, cheered him on. And when he killed that filly, I did nothing to stop him. I abandoned him, left him to his own designs, and look what happened!

"Stygian lost his friends, Luna was banished for a thousand years, Celestia walked alone for a millennium, Sunset Shimmer and her world suffered, and now all of this! Even Fluttershy and myself fell prey to his madness! None were spared. He was a monster and I, his creator, allowed it to happen. All of it! I should be another decoration in that garden outside, not a participant in these celebrations."

Amity's frown was heavy as she sighed. "I can see why Fluttershy slapped you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Discord, do you really want to leave her behind?"

"She'll only have to be without me for a thousand years at most. What's that to a god?"

"You'd seriously let her experience adjusting to Ascension without you?"

"She won't be alone. She'll have you and all the princesses."

"Yes, but she needs you!" Amity said, exasperated. "You can't abandon her to such an undertaking. Besides, Mom and I were the ones who turned you to stone and I'm not going to do that again."

"There has to be a punishment, Amity," Discord murmured, his eyes lowered but his tone final. 

"Why?" she demanded. "Why do you feel the need to punish yourself?"

"Because I won't be able to live with myself if there isn't," he confessed. "He hurt so many ponies, Amity. I hurt so many ponies."

Amity sighed. She knew that there was no reasoning with him when he grew this stubborn. "Fine but I'm not turning you into a garden gnome. Let me talk with my daughters." She walked away a few paces before saying, "You'll have your trial, Discord. Just, for now, try to enjoy the party."

They both knew he wouldn't, given the guilt he was feeling. 

"Amity," he called. She turned. "Thank you."

Her eyes were pained as she nodded, retreating to where her rather subdued daughters stood.

Summoning his own little table, Discord snapped up a boot filled to the brim with chocolate milk and began downing the liquid. He was just contemplating whether to eat the leather or not when somepony cleared their throat.

"Uh, hi Discord. Mind if we join ya?"

"Well, if it isn't my little pink hero and the great Sir McBiggun," Discord said as Spike and Big Mac pulled up the chairs that magically appeared behind them. Though still in a bad mood, Discord was actually very happy to see them. "What brings you to the villain's table?"

Spike and Big Mac shared a concerned glance.

"We saw you over here by yourself and thought we'd come see how you're doing," said Spike.

"Yep."

Touched by the genuine interest in his welfare, Discord decided to be candid rather than elusive. "Honestly, not good," he sighed, biting into his leather boot after all. "If you hadn't noticed, I'm the persona non grata of this shindig."

Spike frowned. “I’m going to guess that means the unwelcome guest?”

“Correct,” Discord muttered, swallowing the rest of the shoe. 

“Come on, Discord, you’ve never let any pony slander bring you down before. Why start now?”

“Maybe because I agree with what's being said.”

Spike looked angry. “You agree that you and Fluttershy don’t belong together?”

“What?” Discord yelped. “My relationship with Fluttershy is the main party gossip? I thought they’d be moaning about me not being turned to stone!”

“Oh, they’re still saying that,” Spike said before quickly adding, “Not that I agree with them! It’s just that nopony thought anypony would ever-”

“Be attracted to me?” Discord asked, his tone dangerously low.

Spike held up his hands. “Hey, we totally approve of you two! We’ve been waiting for ages! Right, Big Mac?”

“Yep!” the red stallion said happily.

Discord blinked. “You have?”

Spike rubbed the back of his head. “I’ve kind of been hoping the two of you would get together ever since the Grand Galloping Gala incident.”

“Yep.” Big Mac chuckled.

“Wait- you mean to tell me you’ve been shipping us?”

“Um, yes? If you mean hoping for a relationship,” Spike said while Big Mac nodded sheepishly.

Discord sat back, stunned. “Huh. Both of you are really okay with it?”

“Discord, I’m attracted to ponies,” Spike pointed out. “Of course I’m okay with it.”

“And I may like mares but I think you and Fluttershy belong together,” said Big Mac.

This longer sentence was enough for Discord to know they were being completely sincere. Big Mac was a stallion of few words so when he said more than a word or two, it was genuinely important. Discord couldn’t help the small smile on his face as he magically extended his arms and pulled Spike and Big Mac to his sides.

“Thanks, fellas,” he said before his face fell. “Too bad Fluttershy is mad at me.”

Removing themselves from the embrace, Spike and Big Mac returned to their seats. “Care to share why?” the former asked.

Discord frowned. “She doesn’t think I should be punished for Shadow’s actions.”

“From what the others told me, I think I agree with her,” Spike said while Big Mac added “Yep.”

Discord cocked an eyebrow. “Really? And why is that?”

“Shadow may have been created by you but he wasn’t you,” Spike reminded. “He was his own stallion. You shouldn’t beat yourself up for what he did.”

Discord scowled. Not this again. “Can we change the subject please?” he demanded more than asked. “I’m getting tired of sounding like a broken record.” He changed into a record version of himself with a noticeable crack in the vinyl before flashing back. “Why don’t you tell me exactly how in chaos you came to be with that infernal collar that sealed off Shadow’s magic?”

Spike’s cheeks darkened. “Well, Amity found me in the underground caves in Canterlot and changed me back before helping me escape. We went to Fluttershy’s house -that is, what’s left of it- because the door to your dimension was still there. Amity gave me this weird black key and told me to go into your dimension to find the magic-canceling collar. She would have gone herself-”

“-Except she can’t go there,” Discord muttered, stirring a pot of jellybeans with a teaspoon. Popping a few into his mouth, he explained, “There’s too much chaos in there for her to survive. So, she asked you to do her leg work?”

Spike nodded. “She told me where the collar would be-”

“Hang on!” Discord cried. “How could she possibly know where I put it?”

A little annoyed from being interrupted again, Spike shrugged. “I don’t know. She just knew. Anyway, she told me where it would be and that I would need to put it around Shadow’s neck the second I left your dimension. The black key she gave me was how I got out. She said I just needed to put it in the door of your bedroom and it would put me right on Shadow’s back, which it did. You know the rest. By the way, your place is really…”

“Chaotic?” Discord supplied. “Of course it would be! Would you expect anything less?”

“I guess not,” Spike said, smiling weakly.

Discord’s eyes narrowed as he pushed the jellybean pot aside. “You know, Spike, you went into my bedroom- without my permission.”

The grin on the small dragon’s face immediately vanished and he hastily tried to defend himself. “It’s not my fault that’s where you put it!” he said rather quickly. “I wouldn’t have gone in there at all if it was somewhere else, honest! And I didn’t go into any of the other rooms either!”

Discord snorted and leaned back in his chair. “I suppose I can forgive your little intrusion. No doubt the black key came from my father; it’s one of his signature ways of breaking into my house and messing with my things. I caught him using my hot tub room once; you’d think the old man would have his own.”

Spike coughed. “Um, about that… Why didn’t you tell us you have a family? I mean, you have parents! You have a sister!” He glanced over at Amity, his cheeks darkening as his gaze lingered a second longer than appropriate. Discord cleared his throat and Spike whipped back around, sheepishly rubbing his arm. 

“If you must know, I never said anything because the subject was never brought up,” the Chaos Lord answered before warning, “And don’t get any romantic ideas, Spike. My father would toss you into the deepest pit of Tartarus if he saw you looking at her like that.”  

The small dragon audibly gulped. “R-Right, sorry.”

“No harm done. Anyway, I suppose I should thank you. If you hadn’t slapped that collar on when you did, none of us would be as we are now. You really saved the day.”

“Yeah, well, Twilight had great timing too. I didn’t know she was going to burst through those doors with an army but it was a great distraction.”

“No kidding,” Discord agreed, looking over at his injured niece. She was talking animatedly with Flash Sentry, the orange pegasus using his hooves to describe some part of the battle on the Prairies. Twilight laughed and Discord’s face softened. He was quite proud of her. Despite her injuries, she’d charged into battle like a true leader. “I wonder how she pulled that off.”

“Apparently Fancy Pants rescued her,” Spike revealed. “He’d been gathering an army of his own ever since he learned what Tirek was planning to do with the allies.”

“Is that how all of Ponyville ended up in the fray?”

Big Mac nodded. “Yep. We’d all taken refuge at your castle in the Everfree -thanks for that, by the way- but kept lookouts just in case. One of Fancy’s recruits was spotted roamin’ around Ponyville and asked if we could help.”

“Looks like Celestia’s secret pony service actually paid off.” Discord chuckled. “I’m sure she’ll be thrilled to know all those tax bits were put to good use.”

“Secret pony service?” Spike repeated, confused. 

Discord was just about to reveal that Fancy Pants' actions were not those of a desperate noble stallion but the leader of the EIA when the approach of a certain yellow pegasus stopped him. Spike and Big Mac turned to see what had caught Discord’s attention and wisely stood up. 

“Um, say, we’ll catch up later,” said Spike, scurrying off to rejoin Twilight while Big Mac tipped his head down and made for his family across the dance floor. 

“Way to abandon a draconequus in need,” Discord muttered before straightening his back and eyeing Fluttershy warily. 

“Hi,” she greeted.

“Hi,” he mumbled.

After a tense silence, Fluttershy took a deep breath and said, “Princess Celestia told me that we can stay here in the palace tonight.”

“That was nice of her.”

“Yeah.” 

Discord kept his arms folded, poised for some kind of verbal attack. His heart ached from her obvious hurt and worry but he was still smarting from their last encounter; that slap on his cheek had really stung. Clearly they needed to talk but he wasn’t quite ready to let go of his anger and hurt. 

Fluttershy seemed to sense this because her ears flattened and she stepped back, preparing to leave. “Would you like me to find a room?”

“If you want to,” he said, his own ears falling as he looked away from her. Did she have to make him feel so guilty for doing what he thought was right? 

“Okay.” She began walking away.

The strain in her voice easily betrayed her tears. Groaning, Discord called out, “Fluttershy?”

She stilled but didn’t turn around. 

“I need to go to my dimension for a bit but I’ll find you later tonight,” he promised. 

“Okay,” she muttered, her head lowering. 

Frustrated with both her and himself but not willing to leave things as is, the draconequus grit his teeth and flashed in front of her. Fluttershy let out a squeak from his sudden appearance and fell back on her rump. Ignoring the tears on her face, Discord quickly pecked her on the lips and muttered a small, “I love you”, before snapping away.

A moment later he was standing in his living room. He gasped as a rush of chaotic energy began to mend his aching body. He was like a living sponge, his muscles and joints greedily soaking up the chaos and disharmony saturating the air. He fell back and began floating, a sigh of satisfaction slipping past his lips. 

“A draconequus could get drunk on this,” he muttered, his eyes closing in bliss.

Somepony coughed and Discord dropped several inches. Who in their right mind would dare-? He whirled around, ready to snap whoever it was into Kevin's ejecting claws when the sight of Sunburst gave him pause. Oh. Right. In all the chaos, he’d completely forgotten his great nephew, great great niece, and her royal crystaller were all crashing in his dimension.

“Um, Discord? Is that really you?” Sunburst asked.

Discord cocked one bushy brow. “Who else would it be?”

“A draconequus that looks like you but isn’t really you.”

Discord blinked. “That’s oddly specific. Have you met one of those here?”

Sunburst nodded. “We knew he wasn’t you because he lacked a certain finesse that only you have. That and his eyes were red with yellow pupils.”

Discord scowled. “What was he doing?” he asked, his senses stretching out to see if any trace of his father still lingered.

“We found him playing with Flurry Heart when she was supposed to be napping,” Sunburst said, wary of Discord’s tone. “Is he somepony we should be worried about?”

The Chaos Lord slapped his forehead and groaned. “No, no, he’s no threat,” he assured, quietly muttering under his breath, “Just an overly excited grandfather who wanted to play with his great great granddaughter.”  

Of course the old man would pick a time when the world was in jeopardy to play with a foal; anything to avoid any kind of responsibility to his charges from Tartarus.

Sunburst was still looking unsettled. Discord cleared his throat, summoning a large ice cream sundae and slurping the glass. “The battle’s over and done, if you must know. Harmony prevails!”

“Really? That’s wonderful!” Sunburst said excitedly. “I’ll go tell Shining Armor.”

He turned to go but Discord saved him a trip, snapping the prince and little princess into his living room. 

“What the- Discord!” Shining Armor cried. “What’re you doing here?”

“Hello, salutations, and all that jazz,” Discord greeted. “The war is over, we won, and the three of you can go back to the Crystal Empire where you belong.”

Before he could snap them away, Flurry Heart flew into his chest and wrapped her hooves around his torso. Discord froze, looking down at the cotton candy bundle. The look in her gigantic blue eyes -were ponies even allowed to have eyes that large?- held a sparkle, as if she knew who he really was. 

“Flurry, what’s gotten into you?” Shining Armor asked.

“‘Unca,” she said, grinning widely.

Not knowing at all how he should behave with a baby, Discord awkwardly pet her swirly curls before removing her from his chest and placing her back in the arms of her dad. Flurry Heart whined, reaching out for him. Frowning, Discord snapped up a stuffed snail and thrust it at her. The foal’s eyes lit with joy and she immediately took it.

“I guess she likes you,” Shining Armor muttered, slight disapproval in his tone. 

Discord rolled his eyes. “Yes, well, there’s no point in the three of you sticking around. I’ll send you to Canterlot since that’s where your dear Cadence is.”

“Thank you so much for letting us stay here,” Sunburst began.

“Don’t mention it,” Discord said before appearing right in the orange stallion’s face, “ever.”

Sunburst squeaked and backed up. “Y-You got it.”

With a snap of his tail, the three were gone, leaving him truly alone for the first time since this whole debacle started. 

At first the Lord of Chaos was glad for the peace and quiet but then he felt the need to do something; anything to get away from his thoughts. He decided to do some redecorating. He rearranged the living room, repurposed the guest rooms, and changed the entire layout of the house. When that was done he introduced Lesti to his newest pet, Daybreak, and the two tails hit it off swimmingly; remarkably Daybreak didn’t burn Lesti at all as they snuggled together on a cushy pillow. Leaving the tails a large bowl of shampoo, Discord remembered the keys he gave to the Pinkie Pies as well as the enchantment he’d placed on the Rainbooms and ponies to return to his dimension. Not wanting any more unexpected guests, he snapped back and destroyed the keys before removing the enchantment with a snap of his tail tuft.

Feeling good about the work he’d accomplished, Discord flopped down on his bed, a sigh of contentment escaping him- until a picture of Fluttershy on the nightstand caught his eye. Any and all peace flew out the window at the sight and he groaned. Grabbing his pillow, he literally shoved his head inside it. Settling in with the stuffing, he pondered over what he should actually do.

“You know, avoiding her won’t solve the issue.”

Discord removed his head from the pillow and sat up, scowling. He was now sitting in a rather ridiculous therapist office, his long serpentine body stretched out on a hideous orange chaise lounge. Cordy Two sat behind a desk, observing him disapprovingly through a pair of rectangular spectacles. “Nice of you to drop in,” he said.

Discord scowled. “You forced me here.” 

“Such accusations!” Cordy Two scoffed. “Your own emotions brought you here. Instead of arguing the matter, why don’t we get down to the nitty gritty. Why are you avoiding Fluttershy?”

“I’m not avoiding her!” Discord lied. “In case you haven’t noticed, I was just exposed to a toxic level of Harmony magic. I needed time to recover.”

“Your chaotic ‘recovery’ completed over an hour ago. Admit it; you’re avoiding her.”

Discord snarled. “So what?! You are too!”

Cordy Two gasped dramatically. “I am not!”  

“Are too!” Discord hissed. “And don’t you dare try to lie! I can see right through you.”

“Hey, who’s the therapist here?”

“I am! And I really don’t want to pour out my feelings to myself because that isn’t going to solve anything.” Discord pushed himself to his feet. “This is stupid. I’m going to talk to Fluttershy.” He reached into a pocket in his fur and yanked out a wad of bits. Slamming it on the desk he said, “Thanks for the talk, doc. You’ve been a great help.”

He left the office in a flash of light, leaving a rather confused Cordy Two behind.

Reappearing in a castle hallway in Canterlot, Discord stopped in front of the door he knew Fluttershy was behind. In the past he would have just flashed inside but he’d conditioned himself long ago to respect Fluttershy’s privacy. Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door.

“Who is it?”

Why did he suddenly feel like there was a bullfrog in his throat? “It’s me.”     

A heavy pause.

“Come in.”

Discord hadn’t realized he’d been holding his breath until his lungs burned with a need for air. Sucking in a few deep breaths and ignoring his pounding heart, he pushed open the door. 

Fluttershy was already in bed, the covers pulled up to her chest. It was only then that Discord realized that it was the middle of the night. 

“Did I wake you?” he asked, feeling like a complete idiot for not checking the time.

“No,” she answered. “I couldn’t sleep.”

Discord stood there awkwardly rubbing his arm. The room was large but, for some reason, he felt like the walls were closing in. The mundane decor and silence were really starting to bother him and his fingers actually sparked with a need to snap some form of disorder to the organized space. The irritated spark wasn’t missed by Fluttershy who immediately looked concerned.

“You can rearrange things if you want,” she invited. “I won’t mind.”

“I don’t want to mess anything up,” he lied. She frowned, cocking an eyebrow. Discord folded his arms and pouted. “I really don’t.”

“Discord.”

“Okay, fine,” he grumbled, snapping his fingers. 

The white and gold paint on the walls turned neon blue and burgundy while the sheets flared with tie dye. A large pool of marshmallow fluff replaced the round rug and the dresser’s legs grew an extra three feet. Fluttershy watched Discord’s shoulders relax from the chaotic changes and smiled. The draconequus cursed under his breath.

“You know, that’s really not fair.”

“What is?”

“That you can still show kindness when we’re mad at each other.”

Fluttershy’s smile slipped from her face and her ears drooped. “I’m not mad at you, Discord.”

“You’re not?” he said, surprised. “But I thought-”

Something small and yellow slammed into his chest and Discord looked down in disbelief as a sobbing Fluttershy blubbered, “I’m sorry, Discord! I’m so sorry! I shouldn’t have slapped you! I was scared and angry but I’m not anymore. If you feel like you need to take responsibility for all the things Shadow did, I won’t stop you. But I don’t want you going through your punishment alone. Let me be with you. Please! I can’t stand the thought of living without you.”    

Discord stared down at her watery teal eyes and frowned. “And here I thought I was going to be the one apologizing on bended knee.” Gently prying Fluttershy away from his chest, he lifted the pony up until she was at eye level. “You puzzle me, my dear. First you teach me to be responsible for my actions then you tell me not to do that and now you’re saying I should as long as you can suffer along with me. How is a draconequus to know the right thing to do when his reformer is such a walking contradiction?”   

“I’m sorry,” Fluttershy sniffled.

Discord pulled her to his chest. “You have nothing to be sorry for. I’m the one who should apologize. I was so caught up in the destruction of my creation, I failed to see things from your perspective. Forgive me, my dear, for not seeing it that way.”

“I forgive you,” she muttered, hugging him back.  

“Fluttershy, are you sure this is what you really want?” he asked after a moment’s pause. “I know you said you want to be with me but I’d be lying if I said I was comfortable with you sharing a punishment you don’t deserve.”

Gently removing herself from their embrace, the pegasus sat down on the edge of the bed. Discord joined her. “Remember that really rainy day,” she muttered, “About a year after the first Tirek incident?” 

Discord knew exactly what day she was talking about. His ears drooped slightly. “Yes. It’s the biggest reason I’m not comfortable agreeing with your request,” he confessed, remembering her panicked breathing and wild, tearful eyes.      

She’d asked him to turn her to stone for a day, claiming that it was the only way she could truly empathize with his past. It had taken an entire pot of tea, a full bubble bath, and an intense five hour cuddle session with all her furry animals to remove the traumatized emotions that followed. 

“I don’t want you to go through anything like that again,” she said, playing with his paw, “Unless I’m with you. To know that I’m there, that you’re holding on to me, that’s the only way I can live with your stubborn decision.”

“Stubborn? Look who’s talking,” he muttered sadly, feeling guilty for selfishly giving in to what she wanted. 

She looked up at him. “You won’t stop me?”

“My dear Fluttershy, how can I? You know that I wouldn’t last a week without you anyway; not after all we’ve shared.”  

She nuzzled his side, her tears dampening his fur. “Thank you.”

“Oh, sure, thank me for dragging you into my condemnation,” he groused. “Like that makes me feel any better about all this.”

A weak giggle escaped her. “At least we’ll have each other.”

Discord wrapped an arm around her withers and squeezed. “Yes, at least we’ll have that.” He let out a sad chuckle. “What a pair we are.”

Fluttershy leaned further into his side and sighed. “I love you, Discord.”

“I love you too, Canary Horse,” he muttered, kissing the top of her head. “We should get some sleep.”

“You’ll stay with me?”

“Of course,” he said, flopping back on the bed. “Canterlot’s mattresses are a hard thing to pass up, after all.”

She smiled. 

Discord kissed the top of her head again. 

“Goodnight, Dissy,” she muttered.

“Goodnight, Shyfly,” he said quietly, snuggling her to sleep.     
> Holiday
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight was frustrated. Even though she’d been magically healed, the royal doctor had given strict instructions that she take it easy for a week. She wasn’t allowed to use any spells above a certain level and she was banned from flying to ensure her wing made a full recovery. She was also required to see a therapist; her only comfort in that last command being that the other princesses had to do the same. 

She’d just finished her second session with the castle’s therapist, Pathfinder. While it had been a really successful discussion, it had also left her mentally and emotionally drained. She really wanted to process and reflect on everything they'd talked about but she didn’t have time. She was due for a meeting with the other princesses; the first they would have since being restored. 

Upon reaching the door to Celestia’s formal sitting room, Twilight felt her body seize up. Her heart started pounding faster and her breathing became labored. For a brief moment she was thrust back into memory, recalling the torture the three evil alicorns had inflicted upon her in a prison cell. Her wing joint started to ache. Closing her eyes, Twilight practiced steadying her breathing while encouraging her mind to focus on the princesses she loved rather than their evil counterparts. Once relative calm was restored, she put on a smile and pushed open the door. 

The others were already present, each sitting on a large pillow surrounding a low table occupied with steaming tea and a plate of untouched cookies. 

“Sorry I’m late,” she said while sitting down. “My session with Pathfinder ran a little later than expected.”

“That’s okay, Twilight,” Celestia said with a tentative smile. “We haven’t been waiting very long.”

A slightly awkward silence descended but it was to be expected. Pathfinder had assured the discomfort would clear as they continued to interact and treat each other with kindness and respect. 

Cadence passed Twilight a cup of tea and said, “We were just discussing replacing the stained glass windows in the throne room. What do you think about ordering a new stained glass window depicting the Champions’ defeat of Shadow?”

“I think it would be appropriate,” Twilight said, sipping the tea. “I’m all for sharing pony history.”

“The real question is whether to have the window display our evil selves or not,” said Luna.

Twilight frowned. “I think we should have Shardas draw up a few sketches and then choose from one of them.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Celestia complimented. 

“Right, stained glass windows aside, we need to move to the main topic of this meeting,” Luna said while crossing her front hooves. “I’m sure each of you has been approached by ponies concerning what we plan to do with Discord.”

Each of them nodded. Just that morning a guard had asked Twilight if she was going to keep her promise to the army of putting Discord on trial. 

“Several ponies are angry he isn’t locked up in a cell,” Cadence muttered.

“Something has to be done,” Celestia admitted. “I understand Shadow’s actions were his own but I do feel Discord neglected his past atrocities and should be held accountable for them, at least.”         

“Agreed,” Luna seconded.

“While that’s fair, I also think it wise to remember all the progress he’s made since reformation,” said Twilight. “He’s not a villain anymore. We can’t treat him like one.”

“I second that,” said Cadence. “And, as the Princess of Love, I must insist that whatever we decide, his relationship with Fluttershy remains unharmed.”

“I must say that development was a surprise to me,” Luna muttered. “From her dreams I knew how she felt but I never thought Discord capable of settling down in a permanent relationship.”

“I confess I had hoped a strong bond would form between them,” Celestia revealed, much to Twilight’s surprise. “After you and your friends defeated him the first time, Twilight, Fluttershy told me what happened in the maze. When she didn’t fall prey to his temptations, I knew there was something special about her and that Discord would recognize it as well. I was right in thinking she would be the best to reform him. The most I’d hoped for was friendship. I’m surprised but pleased by their romance. I too feel that whatever we decide, we need to keep them together.”

“Returning him to stone is not an option then,” said Luna, “But we have to appease our subjects' demand for justice.”

“May I suggest some form of community service?” said Twilight with a hopeful lilt. 

Celestia shook her head ruefully. “I fear that will not be enough.”

“Well, we can’t keep him locked up as some kind of prisoner,” said Cadence. “Confined house arrest for a Chaos god would be the worst thing we could do; it would be more torture for us than for him.”

“True,” Luna chuckled. “What about forbidding him from using his chaos magic?”

“That can never be an option,” Twilight stated fiercely. 

“Why not?”

“Apparently he once rid his house of chaos in an attempt to make Fluttershy feel more comfortable and began to fade away,” Twilight explained. “Fluttershy told me that as a creature of pure chaos he has to have it in his life or he’ll cease to exist.”

“Oh,” Luna muttered, her cheeks darkening. “I didn’t know that. I never would have suggested-”

“It’s okay, Luna,” Celestia said kindly. “For the record, I didn’t know that would happen either.”

“So if we can't stop him from using magic and we can’t give community service, what can we do?” asked Cadence.

Celestia set down her tea cup. “There really is only one choice.” She looked at Twilight. “But I don’t want to suggest it, given what may result.”

Twilight frowned. “I don’t understand.”

Luna stared at her sister and scowled. “Given the past, I don’t want to agree but I think you’re right.”

“Right about what?” Twilight demanded.

“Exile, Twilight,” Celestia answered.     

The purple princess felt her stomach drop. “What?”

Sensing her dismay, Luna quickly elaborated, “Removing Discord from our lands will ensure peace of mind for our subjects and will allow Fluttershy to remain with him.”

“But,” Twilight muttered, “If she goes with him…”

“Depending on her feelings, you may not see her for a very long time,” said Celestia, glancing at Luna.

Twilight shook her head. “That can’t be our only option. There has to be something else!”

“There may be other punishments,” Cadence said, “but this one will keep them free and together.”

“But they’re family!” Twilight argued. 

“That’s why exile would be best,” said Luna. “This Ascension Fluttershy will undergo will ensure their relationship is an eternal one. We can set Discord’s exile for a hundred years, giving plenty of time for the majority of ponies affected by Shadow to pass on.”

“He and Fluttershy can permanently return afterwards,” Celestia added. “A century is honestly not very long, Twilight. It will be a small sacrifice for us.”

“Maybe for you but what about my friends?” Twilight snapped. “Pinkie and Applejack might still be around because they’re earth ponies but there’s no way Rarity and Rainbow Dash will still be alive!”   

Celestia frowned. “I know how hard this is going to be for you, Twilight. The loss will be significant but I fear you have overlooked something.” Twilight’s brow furrowed and her mentor gave a delicate smile. “Discord may be exiled but Fluttershy won't be. If desired, she can visit whenever she wants.”

“And besides princess duties, there’ll be nothing stopping you or your friends from going to visit her,” Luna revealed.

Twilight sat back in thought, her cheeks darkening slightly from her earlier outburst. Celestia’s suggestion actually sounded quite appealing when put that way. Sheepishly, she apologized. “I hadn’t considered that.”

Celestia smiled at her.

“Exile is suitable but we have yet to decide where Discord will be exiled to,” Cadence pointed out. “Is he to stay in his own dimension or some distant land far away from Equestria?”

“Being who he is, you won’t be able to confine him to his dimension alone.”

The four princesses jumped at the sudden appearance and input from a bright white alicorn magically sitting on her own produced cushion between Twilight and Celestia. 

“Amity!” Twilight cried in surprise. “What are you doing here?” Realizing how rude that sounded, she quickly added, “Not that you can’t be here. It’s just that we weren’t expecting you.”

Amity smiled kindly. “It’s okay, Twilight. I am eavesdropping, I confess. Forgive me.” There was a quick round of “of course we do”s before she continued. “Thank you. As I was saying, you can’t exile Discord solely to his dimension because he’s the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony. His job is to cause anarchy on this planet. He has to physically visit in order to do that. That doesn’t mean he has to be in Equestria specifically; he just needs to be somewhere on the planet from time to time.”

The alicorns pondered this before Twilight said, “What about the Everfree Forest? That land technically belongs to Discord and is no longer part of Equestria, right?”

“While true and a good suggestion, I feel that since it is a small speck of land surrounded by our own, that might not be the best place to confine him,” said Celestia gently. 

“He needs to be somewhere far away from the mass pony population,” Luna muttered. “Someplace remote.”

“May I make a suggestion?” asked Amity.

“By all means,” Celestia invited.

“Don’t worry about where he goes. Discord has been on this planet longer than all of us. I’m sure he’ll think of the perfect place for him and Fluttershy to settle during the exile.”

“I guess that’s true,” Twilight said thoughtfully. 

“You can also make it mandatory for them to return to his castle in the Everfree for the holidays,” she added. “That way you and your friends will be able to see them at least once a year.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” said Cadence.

“Twilight?” Celestia prompted.

The purple alicorn was sitting quietly, thinking. “I like it,” she muttered. “It will appease the general population’s need for justice, allow Fluttershy to stay with Discord, and make it so me and my friends can still see them.” She looked up at the others. “This could work.”

Celestia smiled. “Are we all in agreement then?”

The other alicorns nodded. 

“When should we hold the trial to give the verdict?” asked Luna.

Celestia frowned in thought. “A week after Hearth’s Warming. Let Discord enjoy these next few days undisturbed with Fluttershy and her family. I believe he’s earned that much.”

The others quickly agreed.

Though still exhausted from the morning’s events, Twilight felt confident with this decision. She was quite hopeful that it would appease all parties too. 

“Well, I think we have enough on our plates to be getting on with,” Luna muttered, stretching. “Shall we conclude and return to our other duties?”

“I think that will suffice,” said Celestia. “Cadence? Twilight?”

“Fine with me,” said the Love Princess.

“Me too,” said Twilight.    

“Meeting adjourned. Amity, would you mind staying? There are a few things I’d like to ask you,” said Celestia.

If she were more coherent Twilight would have been curious to know what Celestia wanted to discuss but the Princess of Friendship had reached her physical and emotional limit. Excusing herself, she left Luna and Cadence in the hall and returned to her room. She was asleep the moment her head hit the pillow.





It was Hearth’s Warming Eve and Fluttershy and Discord were in the Canterlot Gardens; one of the few places devoid of angry glares and loud accusatory whispers that followed them everywhere they went within the castle. Per the princesses request, they had remained at the castle as guests since Shadow’s defeat- for their safety and the appeasement of nervous ponies. But today they had been permitted to spend the holiday with Fluttershy’s parents in Cloudsdale. They had been getting ready to leave when Celestia sent them a note, asking to meet in the gardens before their departure. She was running late so Discord decided to busy himself by making a snowpony, chiseling the mound he’d gathered into a practically perfect replica of Fluttershy. The yellow pegasus watched his every move with tenderness, her heart filled with love. 

Due to the palace staff’s hostility towards Discord, they had spent the last few days mostly in solitude, giving Fluttershy plenty of time to reflect on everything that had happened in her life since the day she brought his doll self home from the carnival. In just a few stress-filled weeks their relationship had transformed from friends to special someponies to fiancés. And yet, despite the rapid progression, Fluttershy now felt like it was long overdue. She’d been in love with him for years. Was it wrong that she was seriously considering eloping this very day?

But she knew that she could never go through with such a sporadic plan. Discord would be all for it but their friends would be devastated. Rarity was so looking forward to making her dress and Fluttershy could never deny Pinkie Pie the opportunity to plan a reception party. Running off to get married today would be entirely selfish. She’d waited this long. What was a few more days? Besides, while they were engaged, she and Discord had yet to make any official wedding plans; the fate of the world being in jeopardy responsible for that delay. 

The yellow pegasus frowned, silently frustrated by the future wedding minutiae. Still she had much to be grateful for. If it hadn’t been for Spike, her greatest concern would not be planning a wedding but fighting against an evil Discord. Even now she balked at how close evil had come to corrupting her love. She really shouldn’t be dwelling on such things; she should be focusing on her future. But even that was uncertain, considering the ominous trial Twilight had condemned them to. Not to mention she had no idea what would happen after she Ascended. Would she return to Ponyville to manage Sweet Feather Sanctuary? Would she still teach at the School of Friendship? Or would she be sitting in this very garden with Discord as a lawn decoration?

“It’s quite a likeness.” Fluttershy let out a squeak of surprise and jumped. Celestia was standing right beside her, admiring Discord’s handiwork with the snow. She smiled at the young pegasus. “Forgive me; I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“P-Princess,” Fluttershy stuttered, lowering her head respectfully.

“Please, Fluttershy, we’re practically family,” she gently admonished, “Or, at least, so I’m told.”

Fluttershy blushed. She hadn’t thought of that. “I-I suppose we are.” She weakly smiled.

Now finished with his masterpiece, Discord flashed over next to the mares and stretched dramatically before resting an arm on the alicorn. “Ah, Celestia. Do tell, what brings the Princess of the Sun to our lovely patch of solitude this fine winter morn?”

Celestia frowned, removing his arm. “I’m sorry we have to meet here. I am not ignorant concerning my subjects’ behavior towards you, Discord. I want you to know I do not support it and would like to apologize on their behalf.”

He shrugged. “It’s nothing I’m not used to.”

Her frown deepened. “About that; I had some thoughts I wanted to share with you but first I must ask that you report to the palace a week after Hearth’s Warming for your trial.”

“You made your decision then,” he said, surprisingly calm. 

“We have,” Celestia confessed. She looked at Fluttershy and added, “We think it will appease all parties.”

“That’s rather presumptuous,” Discord sneered. “But I am looking forward to how creative your punishment will be. Amity refused to return me to stone so it must be some other mundane task. A century of watching paint dry perhaps?”

“Discord, this is serious!” Fluttershy said, exasperated.

The draconequus sighed, removing any sense of humor he’d previously possessed. “I know it is, Shy; making light of a situation is one of my coping mechanisms.” He turned to Celestia. “I’ll be here,” he promised in all seriousness, “And I’ll accept whatever it is you’ve decided.”

“We both will,” Fluttershy said, standing bravely beside her beloved. 

Celestia’s smile was a sad one. “Fluttershy, I speak for all the princesses when I say we truly support your relationship with Discord. I promise that what we’ve chosen will keep you two together.”

“Thank you.”

“My, how very thoughtful of you, Kay Kay,” Discord slurred. “No doubt Twilight and Cadence advocated that decision.”  

Celestia looked rather hurt. “Do you really think so low of me? That I would not wish you the happiness you’ve found? Have you forgotten that it was I who asked Fluttershy to reform you?”

Discord’s grin slipped to a guilty scowl as Fluttershy muttered, “She’s right, Discord. I never would have befriended you had she not personally asked me to.”

“Oh, very well,” he grumbled. “I suppose we can award cake points to Celestia for being our matchmaker.”

A medal flashed around the princess’s neck and a thank you cake appeared at her hooves. Celestia smiled. “You’re welcome…uncle.”

Discord froze then groaned. “Sparkle; I’ll never forgive her for spilling the beans.”

Fluttershy brushed her wing against his side. “Oh, hush. You’re happy they know.”

The Lord of Chaos feigned denial. “If we’re done here, can we go? I’m eager to try that cloud fudge you said your mother makes.”

Fluttershy blushed. “It’s not that special.”

“Flutters, it’s part of your family’s traditions. It’s special to me.”

She smiled. Leave it to him to make her heart all aflutter with just a few words. Discord grinned. Celestia gently coughed, reminding them she was still there. 

“I won’t keep you,” she said, “But, Discord, I did want to ask: In the future, would you be willing to host a new annual holiday for us?”

His ears perked up. “A new holiday?”

Celestia nodded. “Chaos Day.”

“Chaos Day?” he and Fluttershy repeated, flummoxed.

“Consider it a long overdue Hearth’s Warming gift.” Celestia smiled. “I want my subjects to learn that chaos is not something they need to fear. I would like to hold a day where you are allowed to- what is the expression? ‘Paint the town red’? Except in this case it would be all of Equestria. As long as we keep it within the parameters of nopony getting injured and all is restored to normal after twenty four hours.”

Discord stared. “You’re joking.” Celestia’s kind smile didn’t waver. “You’re serious?” he gasped. 

“As I said, it’s long overdue. Will you accept?”

Discord looked like a draconequus in a chaos store. Flashing in front of her, he seized the princess’s hoof and happily shook it. “You’ve got yourself a deal, Kay Kay!” 

She laughed, releasing her hoof. “We’ll discuss details at a later time. For now, you and Fluttershy should enjoy the holiday.”

Fluttershy was no fool. This was an olive branch; a means of apology not only for the necessary punishment the princesses were going to inflict but for the damage they had caused the couple while enslaved to Shadow. In all honesty, the extraordinary gift was overwhelming. A whole holiday dedicated to celebrating Discord! A day meant to help ponies understand and see what she saw in him. Fluttershy couldn’t have asked for a better gift.   

With deep gratitude, the pegasus looked at Celestia and stammered, “Princess Celestia…I don’t…that is… we…”

“I think what Fluttershy is trying to say is, we forgive you, Celestia,” said Discord with a rare genuine smile. “All of you.”

Tears pooled in the princess’s eyes and she sniffled in a rare inelegant manner. “Thank you. I’ll be sure to tell the others.”

“Have a wonderful Hearth’s Warming,” Fluttershy genuinely wished.

Needing to collect herself, a grateful Celestia said her goodbyes and returned to the castle, leaving Discord and Fluttershy overwhelmed but happy in the freshly fallen snow. 

“Well, I have to admit I wasn’t expecting that,” he confessed. 

“Nor I,” Fluttershy muttered, her face flushed. “I wonder if they’ll let you pick the day.”

“If they do, I know exactly which one.” Discord grinned. 

“Oh?”

“In the Mirror World it’s called April Fool’s Day; a day humans celebrate hoaxes and pranks. For us, its equivalent is the first day of the fourth month in our calendar year. Of course, I like the sound of Chaos Day better.”

“So it would be in the Spring.” Her favorite time of year. Fluttershy smiled. “I’d like that.”

“I thought you would,” Discord said, pulling out a snarling pocket watch. The face was literally attempting to bite off his digits. “Hmmm, if we want to be relatively on time we should probably get on our way.”

Fluttershy gazed at him knowingly. “Discord, there’s no need to be nervous. My parents are going to love you.”

“I think you forget that the last time I was in Cloudsdale, I wasn’t exactly an ally,” he muttered, flashing the watch away. “The Cloud Factory was one of the places I destroyed, Fluttershy. Your father was probably working that day.”

“Don’t assume he hates you before giving him a chance to know you,” she gently admonished. 

“But what if he does?” Discord pressed. “I don’t want you to have to choose between me and your family.”

Fluttershy lifted off the ground. Gently, she caressed his face and delicately placed her lips against his. “My heart belongs to you,” she whispered. “Nopony -my parents included- can change that fact.”

Discord’s face softened as he gazed at her lovingly. “Thank you.”

She smiled. “You’re welcome.” Looking up at the sky, she muttered, “You are right though; we should be getting on our way.”       

Due to the cold weather and strong winter winds, they decided against the long flight to Cloudsdale. Instead, with a quick snap, Discord teleported them right outside Mr. and Mrs. Shy’s front door. It was a humble looking two story home with a purple front door, cloud roof, and rainbow fence.

Sensing Discord’s nerves, Fluttershy took his hand and squeezed. “I’m right beside you,” she reminded. 

He sent her a weak smile.

Raising a hoof, she knocked twice on the door. Mr. Shy answered, his face beaming with excitement until he saw who was accompanying his daughter. His kind eyes shrank in fright at the towering sight of Discord and he gasped while retreating backward into the house.

“Dad,” Fluttershy greeted, hugging him. “It’s so good to see you!”

“F-Fluttershy,” he squeaked, still staring up at Discord. “W-What-? W-Why-?”

Discord shuffled from foot to hoof, unsure what to do. Fluttershy was about to make introductions when Mrs. Shy appeared around the corner from the kitchen. 

“Fluttershy! Oh it’s so good to see youAAAHHHH!”  She screamed at the sight of Discord and quickly cowered behind her quivering husband. 

Fluttershy grabbed her parents’ hooves. “Mom, Dad, I’d like to introduce you to Discord, my fiance.”

“Hello,” he said, waving his paw. “Would you mind if I…?”

“He wants to come in?” Mr. Shy squeaked.

Fluttershy frowned. “Dad. He’s my fiancé. Can he please come in?”

“F-Fi-Fian-Fiancé?” Mrs. Shy spluttered before fainting clean away. 

Discord snapped up a cotton candy cloud, catching her before she hit the floor. 

“Thank you, Discord,” Fluttershy said, elbowing her father.

“O-Oh, um, yes… t-thank you,” he stuttered. “Um, w-would you care t-to come in?”

Discord stooped down and stepped over the threshold. His form was too tall for the living room so he shrunk a couple feet, his antler and goat horn now an inch away from touching the cloudy ceiling. 

“It’s so n-nice to f-finally have you visit,” Mr. Shy said while skittishly moving towards one of the living room couches. “Fluttershy has mentioned you q-quite often in the past.”

Discord smiled as he sat down next to Fluttershy on the opposite couch, his tail naturally wrapping around her body. Mr. Shy looked distinctly uncomfortable with their closeness but didn't comment.

Fluttershy looked around the living room. The rainbow wallpapered walls were lined with twinkle lights and a decorated tree stood in the corner by the large window displaying the snowy backyard. The mantle above the fireplace already sported a Hearth’s Warming doll for each member of the family. Fluttershy frowned at the lack of a Discord doll next to hers. She couldn’t blame her parents for that though; she hadn’t had the opportunity to share their engagement until now.

“Will Mrs. Shy be alright?” Discord asked, concerned.

“Oh, she’ll be fine,” Mr. Shy assured. “When Fluttershy told us she was bringing a special guest, we didn’t think it would be, well-”

“Me?”

“Not that we’re upset!” Mr. Shy added hastily. “W-We’re glad to have you!”

Discord smiled awkwardly. “In light of recent events, I appreciate that.”     

Mr. Shy looked like he was about to faint at the sight of Discord’s sharp teeth. Fluttershy tried to smooth things over.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you who I was bringing, Dad. I wanted to tell you about Discord and myself directly.” 

Mr. Shy looked between them and coughed. “S-So you’re really…?”

“Engaged?” Discord proudly held up his hand, displaying the ring. “Fluttershy’s proposal was given in the perfect chaotic setting! It couldn’t have been a better moment.”

“F-Fluttershy proposed?” Mr. Shy looked at his daughter in disbelief. “I would have thought…”

“Indeed she did!” Discord grinned, ruffling the top of Fluttershy's head. “Little dear beat me to it.”

“How very… nice.”

An awkward silence began to fill the room. Fluttershy bit her lip and searched around until she saw the new squirrel ornaments on the tree. She was just about to comment on them when somepony rather suddenly kicked in the front door. Mrs. Shy shrieked awake, looking around with wide, panicked eyes. “What’s going on?” she cried.  

“I’m home!” Zephyr Breeze sang, prancing his way inside. “You would not believe how difficult it was flying through that wind! My mane is in serious jeopardy.” He shut the door and looked around the room. “Flutter Butter! I didn’t think you’d be here already. Oh, hey Discord.”

The draconequus raised his paw in greeting. “Zephyr.”

Fluttershy’s jaw dropped. “You know each other?!”

“Oh sure!” Zephyr said, unloading his winter gear on their mother before sitting down in the green armchair; she immediately went to work putting it on the coat rack, making Fluttershy frown in disapproval. “Remember when you tried to help me find a job in Ponyville? Well, after clearing up our little misunderstanding with the windows, Spike invited me to a game of Ogres and Oubliettes; said he needed help coming up with a villain comparable to the Mane-iac. Well, how could I pass up an opportunity to share my expertise of mane knowledge? I went to the game, met Discord, and the two of us reached an understanding.”

Fluttershy raised an eyebrow. “And that would be?”

“As long as he doesn’t do anything to hurt you, we’re cool,” Zephyr said, leaning back to stretch. “Ain’t that right, Snakey-Snake?”

“Snakey-Snake?” 

“A little nickname from the game,” Discord explained, completely unbothered by it.

The yellow pegasus sat back, stunned. “Why didn’t you tell me you’d met my brother?”

He shrugged. “It never came up.”

“Not that I have anything against you being in my house or anything but, what exactly are you doing here, Discord?” Zephyr asked.

“First off, it’s mom and dad’s house,” Fluttershy reminded, “And he’s here because he’s family.”

Zephyr’s eyes widened as Discord flashed the ring. “Get out of town! You two went and got married?! And you didn’t think to invite me?”

“We’re engaged,” Discord clarified. 

“Oh, that’s cool,” he said, relaxing again. “When’s the big day? I gotta say, I do hope I get to do something important like hold the rings or something. Say, would you let me do your hair, Flutters?”

Fluttershy groaned. “We still have to work out the details and no, Zephyr; I already promised Rarity that she could.”

“What? You’d choose that stuffy unicorn over-” Fluttershy glared. Zephyr coughed. “I mean, you’d choose that nice unicorn over your own flesh and blood?”

“Can we please talk about something else?” she asked, exasperated.

“We should at least know the day you two want to get m-married, dear,” Mrs. Shy said, looking rather faint again. 

Fluttershy and Discord glanced at each other. 

“Um, sooner rather than later,” the former muttered, blushing. “That’s all we can tell you for now.”

Mrs. Shy pursed her lips. “Fluttershy, can I-”

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Everypony jumped as a sudden pair of angry hooves pounded on the front door.

“We know you’re in there, Chaos Lord!” somepony shouted just outside. “Come out with your claws in the air!”

Zephyr released a weak laugh. “Riiight. Did I mention that when I landed on the doorstep there was an angry mob gathering outside?”

Fluttershy glared at his sheepish grin and angrily snapped, “No, you didn’t mention that!” before looking at Discord with a worried frown. 

“Just how big was this mob, son?” asked Mr. Shy.

Discord summoned up a pair of binoculars and frowned. “About half the city, I’d say.”

“What?!” Fluttershy cried. 

Discord handed her the binoculars to see for herself. They somehow allowed the pegasus to see through the wall and curtains. The street and sky was crowded with angry pegasi. 

“Maybe they’re carolers?” said Mrs. Shy. 

“Last I checked, carolers don’t carry torches and pitchforks,” Discord growled, standing up. “Pugnacious ponies. I’ll deal with this.”

“Wait!” Mr. Shy said, standing too. Discord paused. “At least let me see what they want first. Perhaps this is all a big misunderstanding.”

From the look on Discord’s face he sincerely doubted it. Fluttershy rested a hoof on his arm and looked up at him pleadingly. 

“Very well,” he sighed, sitting back down.

She whinnied in relief and took his hand, holding it in a vise-like grip. Mr. Shy headed for the door. Taking a deep breath, he looked reassuringly at his little family and opened it.

“Cirrus Swirl, are you and Daisy May alright?” a gruff-sounding male pony inquired.

“We’re fine, Whiplash,” Mr. Shy replied. “Why do you ask?” 

“Jack Hammer said he saw the Lord of Chaos appear on your doorstep,” Whiplash explained. “Is that no-good snake in your house?”

“He is,” Mr. Shy confirmed. “But he isn’t here to cause trouble.”

“Would you mind if we heard that from him?”

Mr. Shy frowned. “You don’t believe me?”

“For all we know, he could have your whole family under a spell!” somepony shouted. 

“Yeah!” Several others loudly agreed.

“That monster isn’t welcome here!” somepony else bellowed.

“My husband was missing for two weeks because of him!”

“He turned the Wonderbolts into wyverns!”

“He betrayed the princesses!”

“He's a traitor!”

“Throw him out!”

Mr. Shy held up his hooves. “There’s no need for violence! Mr. Discord is our guest. I’m sure we can-”

But whatever Mr. Shy was about to say was cut short by a brick sailing through the window. Glass flew everywhere! Fluttershy and her mother shrieked while Zephyr Breeze yelped and dived behind his chair. Discord acted quickly, snapping his fingers and turning the flying glass into harmless bubbles.

“Is everypony okay?” he asked, assessing the room.

“I-I think so,” Fluttershy said before wincing. Touching her cheek, she felt a small shard of glass embedded in her skin. She pulled her hoof away and saw blood. “Oh,” she muttered in surprise. It only took a split second for her shock to turn to fear. She looked at Discord and saw exactly what she was dreading to see. 

The draconequus was staring at the blood on her hoof, an expression of absolute fury on his face. His lips were pulled back in a snarl and his eyes, now aglow, had turned into slits. A growl was rising in his throat. Fluttershy opened her mouth but before she could utter a word, Discord teleported outside.

“Oh, no!” she cried, flying for the door. Knocking her poor father out of the way, she flew into the yard.

Discord was floating in midair, his extended paw and claw glowing with chaos magic. The very atmosphere had darkened and black clouds filled the sky; an occasional fork of purple lightning expelled from their shadowy depths towards the unfortunate city below. The mob that had once been so sure of themselves were now screaming in fear and terror, their own torches and pitchforks floating mere inches from their wide-eyed faces and frozen forms. 

Fluttershy thrust herself upward, coming to a stop in front of her beloved. His face was filled with anger and rage but behind those fierce emotions she saw hurt. And that was what she reached for, truly believing that her kindness could calm his aching storm. 

She took his head in her hooves. “Look at me,” she commanded. It took all of his willpower but eventually Discord tore his fiery gaze away from the mob. Fluttershy put every ounce of love she had into her eyes. “Look at me,” she whispered.

Slowly, like the setting of the sun, Discord’s rage softened. The lightning ceased, the clouds turned to wisps, and the torches and pitchforks fell to the ground. Fluttershy’s smile was tender as Discord raised his claw to caress her cheek, his thumb sliding across the cut. She felt the familiar pull of his magic remove the tiny shard beneath her skin before sealing the wound closed.

“I’m okay,” she assured, leaning into his touch. 

“They hurt you,” he muttered.

“Yes, but that doesn’t mean you have to hurt them,” she gently admonished. 

“Fluttershy, they threw a brick through your parents’ window!” he reminded, some of his earlier anger returning as said brick appeared in his paw.

“They’re just scared. They don’t see what I see. We have to help them.”

“They’re not like you, Fluttershy! They’ll only see what they want,” he snapped. “And I’m not going to stand by and give them an opportunity to further hurt you or your family!”             

Fluttershy sighed. She looked back at the mob. While flummoxed by the sudden change in events, most of the pegasi were still showing signs of distrust and fear. The Bearer of Kindness wanted to cry. This was not how she wanted Discord’s first Hearth’s Warming with her family to be. 

She wanted her mother and Discord to bond in the kitchen, making cloud fudge while she and her father worked on a puzzle and Zephyr regaled them with his latest adventures in the salon. She wanted her father to show Discord his cloud collection while she and her mother discussed what flowers to plant in her garden next spring. She wanted to sit around the fireplace and sing carols with Zephyr while Discord shared his knowledge of knitting with her parents. And she wanted to stay up later than everypony else and share a special kiss with Discord under the mistletoe in front of the fire. Then, in the morning, they would unwrap presents and spend the day celebrating in love and happiness. That was her vision. That was her hope. 

But this angry mob had forced another reality, one that required her to sacrifice her desires. They would not be pacified. Not until they knew Discord was gone. 

“We have to leave,” she muttered, her face falling in an unhappy frown.

“What?” Discord cried. “Why? Just because they’re trying to ruin our holiday-”

“Discord, we can’t stay,” she said firmly. “They’re not ready for you. It’s too soon.”

“But… What about your family?” he asked. 

The Shys had gathered on the cloudy lawn, silently observing the two with worry. Fluttershy’s vision was blurred as she looked down at them. 

“There’ll always be another year we can celebrate together,” she said. “But, for now, I think it would be best if you and I spent the holiday alone.”

Where nopony can hurt us.

Discord wanted to protest but he could see her resolve. “Are you sure?” he pressed.

Fluttershy’s heart was silently breaking as she nodded. “I’m sure. Just, let me say goodbye, okay?”

He frowned but nodded. Drifting down to the ground, he released her from his embrace. The moment his arms fell away, Fluttershy felt cold. She rushed to her parents, hugging them both. 

“I’m sorry,” she muttered, “but it looks like we’re not welcome here.”

“You are in our home!” Mr. Shy argued, the appalling actions of his peers having inspired his resolve of accepting Discord as part of the family, despite his earlier reservations. 

Fluttershy wiped a tear from her eye. “Thanks, Dad. That truly means the world to me but it isn’t safe for Discord and I to stay. The hurt Shadow inflicted on these ponies is too raw; they can’t separate him from Discord yet. And we can’t stay, knowing the violence could escalate. I’ll let you know when the wedding is. Happy Hearth’s Warming.”

She pulled away intending to return to Discord but Zephyr Breeze pulled her into his own hug. “Take care, sis,” he muttered. “I was actually looking forward to spending time with you. ”

She sent him a watery smile. “Me too, Zeph. You’ll come to the wedding?”

“Of course!” he replied. “I wouldn’t miss it.”

“Take care, Fluttershy,” her mother said, giving her another hug.

“I will,” she promised. 

Once back by his side, Discord scooped her up and snapped his fingers; the Shys broken window reappeared, good as new. He then turned around and faced the mob now back on the ground. They took a step back but tried to keep a brave face. Some had retrieved their pitchforks.

“You know, your race is supposed to be known as one that emulates love and harmony,” he said piously, “But those characteristics seem to be severely lacking in this particular piece of Equestria. Princess Celestia would be ashamed of you! Hate me if you will but the Shys have done nothing to deserve your ire! You break their window and harm their daughter for showing me kindness and you call me a monster? Well, enjoy your Hearth’s Warming holiday, hypocrites!”      

The last thing Fluttershy saw before Discord whisked her away was a slew of guilty faces.    

They reappeared in the dark, empty throne room of the Chaos Castle in the Everfree, the cold of winter seeping through the cracks and chilling Fluttershy to the bone. Tears spilled from her eyes as she held onto Discord and sobbed, lamenting over how terribly wrong the day had turned. She heard several snaps but his arms never moved from holding her; he must have used his tail tuft. The cold instantly vanished, replaced by a warmth similar to what was felt in the summertime. Fluttershy’s shivering relaxed but her withers still shook as she cried. Discord stroked the back of her head and kissed the top of her brow, holding her close to his chest. These loving ministrations eventually calmed her and the exhausted pegasus finally managed to lift her head. What she saw made her gasp in shock and wonder.

Endless garlands of holly and twinkle lights swooped across the ceiling in mismatched patterns while the pillars supporting the ceiling were coiled in garlands laden with ornaments in every shape and size. Impossible snow fell from above, the silvery flakes disappearing just above Discord’s antler and horn. Fluttershy unconsciously removed herself from his embrace, her wings flapping as she twisted around to take in the beauty all around her. The large hall had been turned into some kind of ballroom, soft music playing from invisible instruments as ponies made from wax and taffy flitted across the marble floor in an intricate dance. 

Behind them a huge hearth burned with a fire that couldn’t decide whether to stay orange or blue, the flames shifting and flickering happily over the coals and wood. A handsome mantlepiece displayed a backdrop garland of holly and six pairs of ice skates; the same ones from the day Discord chose to reform. A large rug and two chairs sat in front of the fire and, beside the fireplace, a huge tree decorated with all kinds of animal ornaments and random knickknacks glittered in the firelight. A tray filled with food and drink hovered in midair between the chairs, loaded with everything from healthy snacks to candy. 

Discord cleared his throat to regain her attention. He was holding a present in his hands. “I know it’s not the Hearth’s Warming you wanted but-” 

Fluttershy lowered her hooves from her mouth and flung her arms around Discord’s neck. “It’s wonderful!” she muttered, nuzzling his fur. “Thank you. Thank you so much!”

Discord kissed the top of her head and she smiled at him with eyes shining like stars. He offered her the present again. “Happy Hearth’s Warming, my dear.”

She tenderly took the box and lifted the lid. Inside was a stuffed draconequus; an exact replica of what Discord had looked like as a doll. A watery chuckle escaped her as she lifted it from the box. Even the green stitching she’d used to repair his arm was there. 

“It’s perfect,” she said happily, hugging it to her chest. 

“I figured I owed you one,” he chuckled, “since I kind of replaced yours.”

She laughed. “I love it.”

“There’s something else,” he revealed. “Look at the neck.”

Fluttershy looked down again and saw a beautiful band of gold hanging off a thin pink ribbon. Fused with the metal was a pink sapphire butterfly surrounded by two diamond flowers. Fluttershy gasped, her eyes darting back up to Discord’s.

“I know you beat me to it, but this is the second half of my gift so, indulge me, please,” he requested. Fluttershy smiled and waited, her eyes filling with happy tears. Flashing the band into his hand, Discord knelt before her and smiled. “Fluttershy,” he began, “I fell in love with you a long time ago. When, exactly, I’m not sure. But one thing I have come to know is I would be utterly lost without you and your never-ending kindness. Before, when I originally made this plan, I was just going to give you the doll and ask if I could be your special somepony. But now, after everything that’s happened, I figure a proposal is more appropriate.” Fluttershy giggled and nodded. “The truth is, I want to marry you. I want to spend the rest of my chaotic life with you. So, for the sake of pleasing the fans, I’ll ask this time: Will you do me the honor of Ascending to become my eternal wife and companion?”  

“Yes,” she whispered, her heart nearly bursting with love. “YES!” 

She threw her forelegs around his shoulders and the two shared a passionate kiss of love and joy. Discord slipped the band onto her left forehoof, admiring it and the meaning it held. Fluttershy beamed up at him until she came to a horrible realization and her smile slipped from her face. 

A very regretful Twilight had told her what Midnight Sparkle had done to her home. She hadn't had a chance to go see it for herself but she was fairly certain her present to Discord had been destroyed during the alicorn’s rampage. She didn't have anything to give him.

“What's wrong?” Discord asked, his brow furrowed in worry at the sight of her tears.

“My gift for you,” she said. “I think Midnight Sparkle destroyed it.”

His shoulders visibly relaxed. “That's okay,” he consoled. “You agreeing to marry me is the greatest gift you could give.”

“But it would have matched your gift to me perfectly,” she said with a sad frown. “I was going to give you my Hearth’s Warming doll.” Her cheeks flushed. “So you could always have me with you during the holiday…”

Discord's eyebrows rose in surprise before he chuckled. “Well, if that's the case…” 

He snapped his fingers and the present Fluttershy had wrapped for him appeared in his hand. Fluttershy gasped in surprise. The present looked the same as it did the night she wrapped it.

“I may have snooped during my last visit and found it behind the pickle jar in your pantry,” he confessed. “I do love surprises. I didn't peek to see what it was but I saw it was for me. That's why I went to Hope Hollow in the first place; I wanted to make sure I gave you something meaningful too.”

“It looks okay,” she muttered.

“I may have had to restore it,” Discord confessed. “May I open it please?”

“Oh, of course!”

Fluttershy handed it to him and he eagerly ripped off the paper. The Hearth’s Warming doll was old and tattered, the button eyes loose and chipped. 

“I thought of fixing it up to make it look new but-”

“It's perfect,” Discord said. He looked at her with a huge grin. “I love it!”

“Really?” she said hopefully.

Discord nodded. “Imperfection is my preferred style!” He picked up the draconequus doll and placed it and his present on the mantelpiece between the ice skates. He put his arm around Fluttershy's withers. “See? They were made for each other.”

Fluttershy gazed up at him. “Yes, they were.”

Discord glanced down at her and grinned. “I suppose that comment earned me a kiss?”

“Mm-hmmm,” she smiled.

Discord leaned down and she happily obliged.

The rest of the evening they spent together. For a while, they merely cuddled in front of the fire, watching the wax and taffy ponies dance. But then Discord scooped her up and whisked her underground to the castle’s giant kitchen where they made cloud fudge and engaged in an epic flour fight. After cleaning up, they returned to the throne room where the wax ponies performed a mime version of the Hearth’s Warming story. After their performance they began to dance again with Discord and Fluttershy joining in the middle of the dance floor. After several musical numbers Discord turned the ballroom into a giant ice skating rink and they swirled around, laughing and enjoying the thrilling chill on their cheeks. Eventually Fluttershy grew tired and requested they end the evening cuddling in front of the fire. Discord magicked up a large basket complete with pillows and blankets for them to sleep in. He curled around her and she happily pressed into his side.   

The day hadn’t gone at all how she’d planned but this ending was something Fluttershy could certainly live with. Lifting her lips to his, she released a contented sigh. “I love you, Discord. Happy Hearth’s Warming.”

He caressed her face, his eyes shining tenderly in the firelight. “I love you too. Happy Hearth’s Warming, my Fluttershy.”  
> Decisions
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Snowflakes drifted cheerfully from the cloudy sky, whitening the world with fresh snow. Dressed in a thick purple sweater and earmuffs, Fluttershy sat in the middle of Sweet Feather Sanctuary surrounded by some very concerned animal friends. They had seen what that “big mean purple pony” had done to her home and were more than grateful to Discord for keeping his promise of returning her safely. 

“I’m alright,” she assured them while snuggling a very annoyed Angel; the rabbit had been unceremoniously kicked out of Discord’s dimension that morning, thrust away from the vegetable room he’d been comfortably living in since the whole Shadow affair began. “I’m sorry I haven’t been able to take care of any of you. Did you find enough things to eat for the winter?”

Many of the animals chattered in the affirmative, releasing a heavy weight of guilt off of Fluttershy’s heart. 

“I’m so glad to hear it,” she smiled. “Discord has agreed to let you stay in his castle-”

“Our castle,” the draconequus corrected from a nearby tree branch.

Fluttershy blushed. “Our castle,” she repeated. “Should any of you need shelter; we’d be more than happy to have you.”

“As long as they stay in the room I’ve prepared for them,” Discord tacked on.

“Yes, that too,” she smiled. “And, of course, Angel will be staying with us.”

“Demon spawn,” Discord muttered. 

Fluttershy frowned but chose not to reprimand him. 

After a small discussion a handful of critters decided to take her up on her offer and Discord magicked them -including a disgruntled Angel- to the castle. Fluttershy then continued to visit those who chose to stay behind. Discord busied himself with making an amusement park out of snow complete with snow slides.

Arthur the squirrel was just telling her how many nuts he’d managed to collect when the other animals began chattering excitedly. From the crunching of the snow, something was approaching. Fluttershy looked over her shoulder and gasped. Coming towards her was the largest alicorn she had ever seen. The color of her coat was reminiscent of the trunks of trees after a heavy rain, dark and rich. Her mane and tail were literally made of leafy green branches that waved in a nonexistent wind. Flowers sprouted from behind her ears and fell down the flowing branches until they released from the tips and sunk into the snow. Her cutie mark was constantly changing, shifting from every possible item or symbol a pony could imagine. 

Some instinct told Fluttershy who this pony was. Overawed, she bowed, her front leg sinking slightly in the snow. 

“Oh, now, my dear, there’s no need for that.”

Her voice was soft, pleasant, and soothing, like a babbling brook; it inspired the feelings Fluttershy would get on nature walks with her animals. The tiny pegasus rose but kept her eyes averted. A large hoof lifted her chin. 

“Come, dear, let me look at you properly.” Fluttershy lifted her gaze, meeting eyes that shifted like the sea from blue to green. Kindness and joy radiated from them, immediately relaxing her nerves. “There, that’s better. My, my, aren’t you the perfect little thing?”

“Mother?!” Discord materialized next to Fluttershy. “What are you doing here?”

Mother Nature smiled. “Hello, son. It’s so good to see that things worked out exactly as I’d hoped. Though the matter of the Rainbow of Darkness still needs to be addressed.”

Discord shifted uncomfortably. “I’m working on that.” At the moment the dark force was being kept in Canterlot under heavy guard, locked securely in its rainbow orbed prison. “I’ve been a little busy.”

“I can see that,” his mother observed, her eyes flashing to the bracelet around Fluttershy’s foreleg. “Congratulations are in order. But, before I fully indulge in celebration, I wondered if I could have a moment with Fluttershy alone?”

“You’re here to see me?” the pegasus squeaked. 

Mother Nature smiled. “Is that alright?”

“No!” said Discord at the same time Fluttershy said, “Yes.” The two looked at each other. “Why don’t you want me to see her?”

Discord rubbed his lion arm. “It’s not that I don’t want you two to meet…”

“He’s afraid I may say something he might not like,” Mother Nature finished.

A faint pink blush appeared on Discord’s cheeks as he glowered at his grinning mother. 

Fluttershy frowned. While nervous, a part of her was very excited about having a talk with Mother Nature. But she didn’t want to make Discord uncomfortable either. 

Seeing her indecision, Mother Nature assured, “I promise not to embarrass him in any way.”

“O-Okay,” Fluttershy muttered, glancing up at Discord. 

The draconequus was staring at his mother suspiciously but nodded to Fluttershy. After a slightly heavy silence, he flashed away to the far side of the Sanctuary. 

“You forgot your ears, son,” Mother Nature said, staring at a nearby bush.

Discord’s familiar gray ears were partially sticking out of the snow covered leaves. Fluttershy watched as they perked up, the tips turning red before flashing out of sight. Mother Nature chuckled.

“He hates being kept in the dark. Remember to check for ears if you ever plan to surprise him,” she said, winking.

Fluttershy couldn’t help giggling lightly into her hoof. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

The animals had migrated from Fluttershy over to Mother Nature, the squirrels, birds, and doe settling near her hooves, on her back, and in her mane. The alicorn didn’t seem to mind in the slightest. This acceptance, along with her friendly demeanor, began to relax the butterflies in Fluttershy’s stomach. 

“They seem to really like you,” the pegasus commented, smiling.

Mother Nature smiled too. “It is always a joy to be surrounded by their sweet spirits. I must say, my dear, your affinity for them is one of the many reasons I approve of your relationship with my son.”

Fluttershy’s cheeks warmed. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”

“Oh, please, no formalities,” she kindly admonished. “If you are to be my daughter-in-law, Mother Nature is perfectly fine.”

Fluttershy didn’t miss the “if” in that sentence. “If?” she repeated, slightly worried. 

“Forgive me; I don’t mean to cause distress,” Mother Nature said. “It seems we’ve come to the reason for my visit. Please, let us sit down.”

Fluttershy blinked. Similar to Discord’s magic, two comfy chairs made of pine had appeared in the snow. The soft pink fabric was covered in delicate paisley patterns and sewn together with gold thread. The chair was so nice she didn’t want to sit in it. Grateful for her wings, she settled onto the chair and made sure to drape her back hooves over the front edge; her forehooves she wiped on her legs before placing carefully on the pink material.

“There’s no need to be so nervous, my dear,” Mother Nature assured, still surrounded by the animals. “It’s just a chair.”

Fluttershy blushed, her ears lowering slightly as she hid behind her mane. “I’m sorry.”

“Oh, I’ve upset you.” Mother Nature frowned. “I’m sorry.”

Fluttershy shook her head. “Oh, no! You’re fine!”

“Forgive me, dear. I want this meeting to go well. I’m afraid I’m a tad nervous.”

“You’re nervous?” Fluttershy asked, surprised. 

“You are the first pony my son has ever shown an interest in and the first creature he’s ever actually fallen in love with,” she explained. “I would hate to be at odds with him because of something I said or did to upset you.”

“I’m not upset,” Fluttershy assured, flustered. “I have similar feelings. I don’t want to upset or offend you either.”

Mother Nature smiled. “You’re too kind, my dear. And thank you, for your honesty.” She straightened a bit in her chair before adding, “If I do say anything that hurts you in any way, please be honest with me.”

Fluttershy nodded nervously. “Okay.”

The alicorn sighed. “Right. To business. I’m here to discuss Ascension.”

“Ascension?”

“I know you’ve come to terms concerning the matter of immortality but I’m not sure how you feel about the physical changes your body will undergo to accommodate said immortality.”

“Oh,” Fluttershy muttered, understanding. “I confess I am a little wary of having a horn but I’m more than willing to learn how to use magic.”

“You believe you will become an alicorn.” It wasn’t a question but Fluttershy nodded anyway. Mother Nature frowned. “If I said that you wouldn’t, would you still be willing to accept any change that may come? This is very important, Fluttershy,” she said earnestly.

Fluttershy sat back, stunned. She hadn’t considered such a possibility. “Would I become a draconequus?” she wondered, her eyes widening at the thought. 

“It matters not what you will become. What matters is if you will choose to accept it. And I must add, I will not allow any creature to resent my son for changes that will come to them because of their initial choice to be with him.”

Mother Nature’s reply was grave and Fluttershy knew that if she said no, all her hopes and dreams of being with Discord would come to an end right then and there. One might think she was frightened of the possibility of becoming something other than an alicorn but the idea somewhat excited her. Discord had changed her into various animals before and each time she’d rather enjoyed it. But she always knew she would return to being a pony afterwards. And besides the weakness of her wings, she actually loved everything about herself. Could she live with looking different for the rest of eternity or would she resent Discord for the change in her physical appearance? And what might Discord think of the change? He might blame himself! Or worse, he might not like what he saw! And what about her friends and family? They would blame Discord for sure.

Trying not to cry from these depressed thoughts, she looked up at Mother Nature and asked, “Do I have any say?”

Mother Nature rested a comforting hoof over hers. “My dear little pony, of course you do.”

Fluttershy swallowed. “Then, if possible, I’d like to remain a pony.”

The alicorn nodded but didn’t look disappointed. “Can you share your reasons why?”

“Discord fell in love with me looking like this. I-I don’t want him to come to resent me, himself, or anypony else if I were to change. I also don’t want to upset my friends and family; I don’t want them blaming Discord for what may happen.”

“A change will occur, Fluttershy,” Mother Nature stated, “But I can give reassurance that the change you undergo will not cause the things you fear. Does this help with your decision?”

Fluttershy lowered her eyes in thought.

She’d come to terms with immortality but a complete change of her physical appearance? 

Some might think it unfair to ask so much of her but this wasn’t a typical transition from one family to another. She was being offered the chance to become a goddess. That transition from mortal to immortal required sacrifices. Fluttershy wasn’t upset by the requirements. She had already expected a change and accepted the idea. Would becoming something besides an alicorn really be that bad? Mother Nature had assured her that her fears wouldn’t come to pass, that Discord would still love her and that resentment would never come. Could she put her trust in such assurance? Was the sacrifice worth it?                      

She thought about her love for Discord. She thought of what life would look like if she chose a mortal one, to remain as she was; the thought made her sad. She thought of possibly being a draconequus and actually blushed, envisioning how Discord would respond to her new body. She thought of having magic and the joyful meetings she could have with Twilight teaching her how to control it; she smiled. She also considered the possibility of becoming larger than she was -for both Mother Nature and Amity were larger ponies than any other and the princesses were taller too- and found the thought didn’t really bother her. She’d always had longer legs than the average pegasus anyway.   

As she considered all these things and more, the previous excitement of becoming something new returned and she found herself smiling. She looked up. Mother Nature was observing her silently. 

“Mother Nature,” she began, “Thank you for giving me time to think about what you said and for allowing this to be my choice. I needed that.” She paused. Taking a deep breath, she sat up straight and declared, “I’ve made my choice. I’m willing to accept any and all changes required for Ascension.” 

To her shock and surprise, Mother Nature shed a tear and beamed at her. “I am so glad to hear this, Fluttershy. You have no idea how long I have waited for you to come into Discord’s life. He has needed you, my dear, for so long. Already you have changed him in ways I couldn’t even fathom and I know that both of you will be eternally happy together.”

“Thank you,” Fluttershy said. 

Both ponies wiped their eyes and stood up. There was a flash of light and Discord was there. The animals, once a content silent audience, now scattered in fear into the woods. Mother Nature and Fluttershy frowned at their departure. 

Ignoring this, Discord scooped Fluttershy into his arms. “Alright, I may not have listened in on your little conversation but I can see tears. Why is Flutters crying?” He looked at his mother and added, “Why are you crying?”

Fluttershy leaned up and kissed Discord’s cheek. “We’re happy, silly. That’s why.”

Deciding not to reprimand her son for scaring her creatures, Mother Nature approached and smiled. “She’s perfect, Discord.”

“Of course she is,” Discord replied, puffing out his chest. “I could have told you that!”

Her smile widened. “I must be going but I would like to invite you and Fluttershy to join me and your father for dinner tomorrow night. Amity will be there too. Oh, and she’s bringing a special guest.”

Discord’s ears shot up. “Special guest? What special guest?”

“We’d love to join you for dinner,” Fluttershy said. 

“Excellent. We’ll expect you tomorrow just after sunset.”

“WHAT SPECIAL GUEST?!”

Mother Nature winked. “You’ll see.”

She then faded away.

“Oh, no you don’t!” Discord cried, snapping his fingers. 

Fluttershy expected Mother Nature to magically reappear but she didn’t. Her eyes widened in surprise as Discord snapped again and again without any effect. 

“Your magic doesn’t work on your mother?”

Discord folded his arms and pouted, sitting in the snow. “She just had to leave on that note!” he grumbled. “I’m not going to sleep a wink tonight! Special guest?! Who in the world would Amity invite to dinner with my family?”

“Um, why does it matter who it is, Discord?”

“It matters because Amity is bringing somecreature to meet my parents,” he emphasized. “That can only mean one thing! She’s found somepony too!”

“And that’s a bad thing?” Fluttershy asked, confused.

“It’s a travesty!” Discord wailed. “She didn’t tell me about them! The last we spoke, it was pretty obvious she didn’t have anypony. Who could she have met in so short a time?”

“Well, she did stick around for the celebration party after Shadow’s defeat,” Fluttershy muttered. “Maybe she met somepony there?”

“Yes!” Discord cried, sitting ramrod straight. “Of course!” He looked a little crazed as he leapt to his feet and began pacing. “Oh, when I get my claws on whoever it is…”

“Discord!” Fluttershy admonished, “Whoever it is, Amity likes them and I don’t think it’s fair of you to make any kind of assumptions or ruin any potential relationship they may have. Besides, for all we know, it could be one of the princesses.”

The flaming fire in Discord’s eyes dissipated somewhat. He stroked his beard. “You’re right. It might just be a niece. There’s no need to panic. Mother has been known for having a mischievous side. No need to freak out. You’re right, Fluttershy. Of course you’re right.”

Sensing his need for a distraction, Fluttershy rolled her eyes, smiling exasperatedly. “Discord.”

“Hmmm?” he asked, his eye twitching slightly.

“How about we go home and make some hot chocolate?” She flipped her mane and added seductively, “We could try out the hot tub room too.”

Any thought of Amity’s guest fled from his mind at such a suggestion, his pupils turning into tiny hearts. “The hot tub room? With hot chocolate?”

“Mm-hmmm,” Fluttershy nodded, smiling sweetly.

The draconequus scooped her up and raised his paw in the air. “Your wish is my command, my lady!” 

He enthusiastically snapped, teleporting them away from the winter wonderland, Fluttershy giggling happily over her success and his excitement.     





The letter appeared shortly after Fluttershy and Discord had left the giant hot tub. Lying on a huge furry white rug to dry, the pegasus watched as Discord’s smile fell with each passing word. When finished, he belched and a small flame exploded from his mouth, disintegrating the paper.

“Who sent it?” she asked nervously.

“Luna. Reminding me not to skip town. My trial is in two days.”

Fluttershy’s ears fell. “Oh. Right.”

These past few days she’d been so happy she’d forgotten about the real world and the problems attached to it. 

“Hey, it’ll be fine,” Discord said, swooping down to kiss her forehead.

“Yeah,” Fluttershy muttered, still distressed.

Discord’s brow furrowed until a literal red exclamation mark appeared above his head. “I know what you need!” A flash and a kit appeared in his hands labeled ‘Fluttershy’s Pampering Kit’ with a yellow sticker advertising ‘A Discord Special’ in the box’s right corner. Fluttershy couldn’t help giggling as her beloved opened the kit with great gusto and began pulling out two brushes, a set of curry combs, a hoof pick, three already lit candles, and some costume jewelry. With another snap of his fingers three other Discords appeared. 

“Allow us to pamper you senseless, my dear,” the original Discord said while the others looked on eagerly. 

Fluttershy blushed. Normally mass attention would make her drastically uncomfortable but Discord was the exception to her anxiety. Nodding in consent, she muttered, “Okay.” 

The other Discords squeed. Fluttershy lay down on her stomach and closed her eyes, allowing the Discords to work their various ministrations. Original Discord brushed her mane while Cordy Two worked on her tail. Cordy Three used a soft curry brush against her body and Cordy Four gently worked on her hooves, picking out all the tiny rocks and dirt stuck under her shoes. Fluttershy moaned in pleasure and the Discords grinned, happily continuing their tasks.    

After about half an hour Discord dismissed the others and completed Fluttershy’s look with some earrings and a necklace.

“Thank you, Discord,” Fluttershy said as he held out a mirror.

He’d tied up her hair in a fancy loop, the mane held together near the back of her head with a beautiful blue flower clip that looked much fancier than the necklace and earrings. Noticing what she was looking at, Discord coughed. 

“I, um, may have immortalized an actual bluebell and turned it into a clip,” he confessed. “Consider it an early wedding present.”

Fluttershy’s cheeks warmed. Bluebell flowers had multiple meanings but one specifically was everlasting love. Smiling happily, she wrapped both her forelegs and wings around him. 

“I love you too,” she muttered against his chest. 

After a moment of cuddling, Fluttershy’s thoughts grew heavy again. Noticing this, Discord sighed.

“Bit for your thoughts, my dear?” he asked, tossing a gold coin. 

It landed between her folded forelegs. Fluttershy sighed, staring at the shiny object. “I guess I’m just nervous. These past few days with you have been like living in a dream but sooner than I wish I’m going to have to wake up. Your trial is in a couple days.”

“Yes.”

Fluttershy bit her lip. Discord tilted her head. “What is it, dearest?”

“I’ve been thinking… We don’t know what the princesses’ punishment will be and there is a possibility we might be separated from our friends.”

“I suppose,” Discord agreed with a frown.

Fluttershy took a deep breath. Her heart was suddenly pounding loudly against her ribcage. “Well, considering that, how would you feel about… about getting married before the trial?” 

Her voice trailed off until it was barely a whisper but Discord’s excellent hearing heard her anyway. 

“Married? As in tomorrow or two days from now, right before the trial starts?”

“I-I thought about to-tomorrow,” Fluttershy confessed, thoroughly flustered.

Discord blinked before grinning maniacally. “Such short notice will certainly cause quite a frenzy. How could I pass up such a wonderfully chaotic opportunity? A spontaneous wedding! It’s so, so, well, me! I love it!” 

His excitement, however, withered at the lack of enthusiasm from his marefriend. 

“Shy?”

She looked up. “I’m sorry. I actually don’t mind getting married tomorrow. It’s just that, well, I’ll Ascend when we get married, right?”

“Yes.” Discord paused. “You’re not having second thoughts, are you?” he asked nervously.

“Oh, not at all!” Fluttershy assured. “It’s just that your mom said something this morning. About Ascension.”

Discord’s brow furrowed. “What did she say?”

“Well, she confirmed that there will be a physical change that happens to me but she hinted at the possibility of not becoming an alicorn.”

Discord’s eyes widened. “Not an alicorn?”

Fluttershy nodded, swallowing nervously as he lowered his gaze. “You’ll still like me, won’t you? If I become something else?”

The far away look in Discord’s eye disappeared. Swooping down, he took her hooves. “Is that why you’ve been so quiet since we came home?” She nodded tearfully. He kissed her cheek. “No matter what appearance you hold, Fluttershy, you will always be exquisite to me. I love you for who you are and I always will, be that pony or any other creature.”

“Oh, Discord!” 

Fluttershy flew forward and buried him in kisses, her wings keeping her airborne. When she pulled away he had a dopey smile on his face, his tongue slightly sticking out. Little hearts swirled around his horns and his eyes were glazed over. Fluttershy giggled as he gently shook his head. 

She placed one last kiss on his snout. “I love you.”

He chuckled. “I love you too. Was that all that was troubling you?”

“I think so. Oh! But now we have to tell everypony! Do you think we’ll have enough time to get everything ready?”

“Of course we will! I’ll snap over the wedding planners, you make a plan, and we’ll use my magic to make it happen. Sound good?”

“Yes but-”

“Perfect!” Discord interrupted, snapping his fingers enthusiastically. 

Pinkie Pie, Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Starlight Glimmer, and Fluttershy’s mother all magically appeared, each looking incredibly confused. 

Twilight, the first to recover from the sudden teleportation, opened her mouth to reprimand but Discord cut her off.

“No need to thank me!” he said happily. “I’ll leave you ladies to it! Just let me know what I need to do. Ta!” 

And then he vanished, leaving Fluttershy to explain why her friends and mother had just been magically whisked to his castle. 

Releasing a tired sigh, Fluttershy tried to smile as she said, “I’m sorry for the rude interruption to your day but I’m getting married tomorrow and would really appreciate your help.”





It took three hours but with Twilight spearheading the event, Discord and Fluttershy’s wedding was planned and accounted for down to the last detail. Rarity and Pinkie Pie had pushed for a big celebration but Applejack and Rainbow Dash put their hooves down, stating that while Discord would love a big showy scene, Fluttershy deserved to be happy and comfortable on her wedding day too. Thinking of Discord, the pegasus compromised by allowing the reception to be as loud and colorful as he would like it to be. 

Thrilled by the decision, Pinkie ran off to talk shop with the draconequus while Rarity hastened away to finish details on Fluttershy’s gown. (“Don’t worry, darling, I’ve been working on it since Shadow’s defeat!”) Applejack left to take care of catering matters and Rainbow Dash flew off to practice making sonic rainbooms over the Everfree. (“This place’s weather is unpredictable and I want to be able to make the best rainboom ever in any and all conditions!”). Starlight volunteered to go to the Mirror World to invite their human friends to the big event and Twilight returned to her own castle, raving about the magical invitations she planned to send out.

“My, they are a lively bunch, aren’t they?” said Mrs. Shy with a giggle after Twilight vanished in an excited tizzy.

Fluttershy sent her a tired smile. “They’re the best pony friends I could ever ask for.” 

Mrs. Shy gave her a hug. “I’m glad you included me in the planning.” Her face fell. “But I am sorry about Hearth’s Warming. I didn’t think-”

“It’s okay, mom,” Fluttershy assured. “Unfortunately, I’ve learned that encountering hostility is always a possibility when with Discord.”

“You must really love him,” she observed.

“I do,” Fluttershy smiled. 

“Then I’m truly happy for you.” Mrs. Shy gave her another hug then stepped back, admiring her daughter. “What a beautiful bride you will be.”

Fluttershy blushed. “Thanks, mom.”

“I should get back to Cloudsdale. I need to let your father and Zephyr know about giving you away tomorrow. Let me know if you need anything.”

“I will. Thanks again, mom. I love you.”

“I love you too, sweetheart.”

After waving her farewell, Fluttershy felt drained. Emotionally and mentally exhausted, she wandered over to the nearest couch and collapsed onto it, sighing into the soft fabric. Glancing out the window, she realized that sunset was fast approaching. Any thought of relaxation fled from her mind and she sat bolt upright.   

“Discord!” she cried out hysterically.

Her draconequus appeared in an instant wearing full military armor and a bazooka over his shoulder. “Fluttershy! Are you hurt? Are you in danger? Who do I need to vaporize?”

“We’re supposed to be having dinner with your family tomorrow!” she cried in dismay. “But if we’re getting married-! Oh, I can’t believe I forgot! How terrible can I be forgetting about Mother Nature herself?! Oh, she’s going to hate me forever!”

She collapsed onto the floor, her eyes flooding with tears. Discord, now sans military attire, coiled around her and took her shoulders. 

“Fluttershy,” he said in a commanding voice, “breathe.”

It took the pegasus a few tries but she finally managed to calm down enough to take the deep breaths he was encouraging. Cheeks flushing with embarrassment, she tried not to cry again. “I’m so sorry, Discord. I didn’t mean to panic like that. I’m just so overwhelmed! Oh, I can’t believe I forgot about your family’s dinner!”

“Shyfly, if I recall, my mother didn’t specify where dinner would be taking place.”

Fluttershy wiped her cheek. “Huh?”

Discord sighed. “My delightful mother knows many things. I would bet my chaos that she knew this was going to happen- us getting married tomorrow, I mean. I just finished making the reception plans with Pinkie. We’re going to have dinner with everypony and then party the night away. Of course my parents will be there and of course it makes sense that Amity will bring a special guest. It’s a wedding. You always bring a plus two if you can help it. Sly old mare.”

Fluttershy blinked. 

A sunflower suddenly burst forth from the ground, its petals exploding open to reveal a note sitting on its pistil. ‘See you tomorrow, son! So excited for your big day!’ was written on the card in fancy rainbow ink. Discord snorted, snapping both the card and the flower away.

“Suspicions confirmed,” he muttered.

“I think I need to lay down,” Fluttershy muttered, utterly spent.

Discord scooped her up. “How about this: a lovely second pampering session from yours truly followed by a quiet candlelight dinner under the stars before bed?”

The thought of Discord massaging her withers and back with a curry brush sounded positively divine. Wrapping her forelegs around his torso, she gently squeezed his chest and muttered, “That is exactly what I need. Thank you.” 

“I live for you, my dear,” he answered, kissing her head. 

“Just for me?” she teased knowingly.

He rolled his eyes and laughed. “Oh, alright. And chaos. Happy?”

“Yes,” she said honestly, “because I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“Tomorrow can’t come fast enough,” Discord muttered as he whisked her away, Fluttershy silently agreeing with him.