This idea came to me after I watched the episodes "Twilight's Kingdom, Part 1 and 2". :)

My Little Pony belongs to Hasbro. I own nothing. Also, this is my first time writing Discord into a story, so please be gentle in the reviews. Thank you. Also, this story does contain some spoilers for the show.

A True Friend Deep Within

Twilight Sparkle stepped out of her castle, gazing up at it with a smile as she thought back on the battle she had had to go through with her friends who helped her unlock the mysterious chest to gain her beautiful castle. A shuffling sound nearby caught her attention and she saw Discord sitting nearby, but…he looked rather sad, which wasn't like him. Concerned, the Princess of Friendship went over to him. "Hello, Discord," she said pleasantly.

He turned to her. "Oh, hello, Princess Twilight," he said softly and then gazed up. "Your castle is quite beautiful."

"Thank you," she said before noticing he really seemed down. "Is…everything okay?" She asked in concern. "You seem…sad."

"Oh, no. I was just thinking," he said.

But she wasn't fooled. "Did you and Fluttershy have a disagreement?" She asked gently.

"No, we didn't," Discord answered. "Everything is well."

"Then why are you looking so forlorn?" She asked and then looked sheepish. "Sorry, that was a little too blunt."

He shook his head. "Sometimes we all need to be told something bluntly," he said.

"Discord, if something's wrong, you can tell me," Twilight said. "That's something friends do."

He looked at her. "How can you call me a friend after…after what I did?" He asked. "I sold you all out, including the one true friend I had and it nearly cost me dearly."

The Princess of Friendship remembered. "Discord, you were tricked," she said gently. "You thought you had found someone who understood you."

"No, Twilight," he said. "I was greedy and nearly lost the one pony who really understood me and…I made her cry."

He now looked at the ground. "I…I told myself I would never take Fluttershy's friendship for granted, but I did. And what kind of a friend am I if I make her cry?"

Seeing this was making the usually mischievous prankster upset, Twilight decided to give him words of encouragement. The pain they had all gone through during that trying time had been punishment enough for Discord and she felt he didn't need more harsh words. "Discord, you realized your mistake," she said softly. "And you played a big role in our victory."

He looked at her in surprise. "I did?" He asked, looking confused. "How?"

She smiled. "Remember the necklace you gave me?" She asked. "It was just the thing I needed to open up the chest. You bookmarked the journal pages that told of how the others stayed true to their element of harmony and it helped us gain five of the six keys needed to open the chest. The necklace you have me became the last key, which resulted in the chest opening, us defeating that power-stealing monster, and it fixed my home into my castle."

Discord looked at the castle in awe. "Your castle…was a result of you opening the chest?" He asked.

"That's right," she said. "But I couldn't have done it if it hadn't been for you pointing out that we had five of those keys and then you giving me the last one. I wouldn't have my castle if it wasn't for you, nor would I know what my purpose is if you hadn't helped."

"I…I really helped you in the end?" He asked, his voice taking on an unsure, but wanting-to-believe tone.

"Yes, you did," Twilight said with a smile. "And you're my friend. We all make mistakes, but when we realize that and make amends, all is forgiven. And I forgave you that day. We all did, including Fluttershy."

Discord sighed softly. "She really deserves a better friend than me," he said.

"But that friend wouldn't be you," said the Princess of Friendship. "Fluttershy saw that deep down within you, you are a true friend. If she didn't see that, she wouldn't have stuck by you so long ago, and she wouldn't have so willingly forgiven you when you gave your heartfelt apology for your mistake. And the words you told her made me realize that you had really regretted what you had done. Do you remember those words?"

He looked ashamed. "Yes," he said. "I told her I was sorry."

Twilight gently shook her head. "No, not that," she said gently. "When she was telling me that they weren't worth me giving up my magic to save them, you told her she was worth it."

He remembered. "Yes, because she is," he said. "All of you are."

She smiled. "You're changed a lot, Discord," she said, her tone still gentle. "You've proven that deep down, beneath that layer of mischief, you're a true friend."

"I certainly didn't act like a true friend that day," he said softly.

Having heard enough, Twilight finally decided this required a bit more drastic measures and watched as Discord lay down on the grass and she got an idea, jumping to her feet and going over to him and gently putting her hooves on his stomach and, feeling mischievous, she levitated some feathers from the ground and brought them over to her intended victim's stomach and saw he was distracted and she managed to hold in her giggles as the feathers started stroking the exposed stomach.

Now it took a lot to ruffle that Master of Chaos' feathers, but tickling was one way to get him to completely go crazy, a fact very, very few knew. He let out an unmanly shriek of surprise before instantly laughing, but it wasn't his usual laugh. It was a deep belly laugh, which made Twilight laugh too. "Well, tickling brings the mighty Discord into a fit of giggles, hmm?" She asked teasingly. "We should have done this sooner."

"OOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOH! MERCYHEEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEE!" Discord pleaded, making the Princess of Friendship laugh harder.

"You're so funny, Discord!" She said in glee.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Poor Discord laughed so hard he actually felt his earlier sad mood go away, though Twilight wasn't helping by cooing tickle words to him while she mercilessly tickled his stomach with not only feathers, but her hooves too.

Well, as the saying went, two could play that game.

Using his long body to his advantage, he suddenly captured Twilight like a boa constrictor would catch its prey. "Whoa!" She exclaimed in surprise as she was suddenly held firmly, yet rather gently she noted, in the coils of Discord's body.

"Oh come now, Princess Twilight," he said, giving her a smug look. "You don't tickle the Master of Chaos and get away with it."

With that, he secured her so that her hooves were trapped against her body, leaving her stomach visible and the other thing Discord had done was make sure her wings didn't get caught up in his coils, as he knew that something holding wings down could hurt. "Now then, how to begin," he said, pretending to look thoughtful before giving her a mischievous look and diving his face towards her stomach and blowing a big raspberry into it.

Twilight squealed loudly and laughed heartily as Discord tickled her stomach all over with raspberries and his hands, getting her good and laughing along with her. "Ooh, listen to how the Princess of Friendship squeals like a little filly," he said teasingly. "Cootchie, cootchie, coo!"

She laughed harder before suddenly surprising him by teleporting out of his coils and tackling him and the tickle torture was on again with them tickling each other before they landed in a heap on the ground, laughing happily and helping each other up. "So, do you feel better?" Twilight asked Discord.

"Yes, I do," he said. "Thank you, Princess Twilight."

He then glanced around and looked back at her with a serious expression. "But know this, spread around that I'm ticklish, and I'll tickle you like no tomorrow. And believe me when I say, you won't know what hit you if I do."

She smirked at him. "Okay, but remember, you're not the only one with magic," she said, sneaking a stray feather to tickle his side and make him jump before he gave her a playful glare and gently poked her stomach in return before hearing Fluttershy call him and he waved goodbye to Twilight before flying off to meet up with the quiet pony who he called a dear friend.

The Princess of Friendship smiled and nodded, heading back into her castle to take care of a few matters, feeling happy that she could help others with the magic of friendship.

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GoldGuardian2418