Discord helped Fluttershy and Tina with the picnic things and walked them home. Tina and Discord played Teleport Tag all the way back to Fluttershy's cottage. Discord let Tina catch him every time she was it, then took forever to catch her.

"Try and catch me!" Tina shouted, disappearing.

"I will do my best!" Discord shouted back and disappeared.

"Those two are peas in a pod," Fluttershy said to herself.

"Well, she is my daughter, so I would assume so."

Discord's sudden appearance made Fluttershy jump. She whacked his arm. "Discord, what did I say about sneaking up on me?!"

Discord laughed. "You know that is exactly the first thing you said to me the day you told me that you loved me."

Fluttershy was quiet. Discord looked at he pegasus beside him, and saw that she was thinking.

"What are you thinking about, dear?"

"Nothing."

"You don't brood over nothing." He made a penny and held it out to Fluttershy. "Penny for your thoughts?"

Fluttershy looked up at Discord and turned away, a shamed look on her face. Discord realized what she was thinking of.

"You do remember that day?"

"Yes, I remember it, but not everything," she said sadly. The time gap hit Discord once again. For him, it had been mere weeks since that day.

Discord reached out to stroke Fluttershy's mane, but stopped, and took back his claw. He turned and looked in front of them.

"You were out in your garden helping some animals, and forgot that we were having tea that day. I went out to get you, and startled you and the animals. You scolded me for scaring them away, but I wasn't listening. I was captivated by the way you moved and how you looked. My powers got out of hand and it started raining rose petals over you."

"I remember that. Bright red and red and yellow rose petals. I remember wishing my feelings were so easily expressed."

"Yes, me too. Then after an awkward silence, you confessed your feelings. I was speechless, but you took that as a rejection and-"

"Momma took what as a rejection?" Tina came trotting out of the trees. "You were taking so long, so I thought that you had gotten lost. What did Momma take as a rejection?"

Discord and Fluttershy both scrambled for an answer. Fluttershy didn't want to tell Tina about Discord yet, and Discord didn't know how to explain.

Tina glared at the two. "Fine, keep your secrets." The filly walked off in a huff. Discord and Fluttershy exhaled at the same time.

Discord saw that Fluttershy had a concerned look on her face as she watched their daughter walk away. The question that had been on the tip of Discord's tongue for the last few hours slipped out.

"Why haven't you told her yet?"

Fluttershy glanced guiltily up the draconequus. "I don't even know myself. Maybe it is because of Jack" -Discord's hackles rose- "or maybe just because she has this image of a great and powerful creature in her head, and you might not be what she was expecting."

This pipped Discord's curiosity. "How did you describe me to her?"

Fluttershy blushed. "Funny, brave, mischievous-"

"Pretty good so far."

"-responsible, kind, helpful, considerate."

"Not so sure about those last ones though."

This made Fluttershy laugh. "Exactly my point. I don't want her dream to be shattered." The sadness and doubt in her voice was unmistakable.

"You are scared that I might disappear again." Fluttershy didn't look up. "Let me get one thing straight." He gently lifted her face, and looked deep into her deep teal eyes. "Fluttershy, nothing is going to take me away again. I never want to make you unhappy again."

Discord pleaded with his eyes. "Can you give me another chance?"

Fluttershy turned out of his grasp and walked towards her cottage. "I am not sure that I can."

Discord paced his bedroom. He couldn't sleep. Too many things were going through his head. He needed to prove to Fluttershy that he would be a wonderful father for Tina, but he didn't know the first thing about being a father. He needed advice. He teleported to a familiar tree in the Everfree forest. The windows were lit and smoke came out of the chimney. Discord knocked on the door.

A zebra opened the door. "And here I thought I was being ignored. It is good to see you, my friend Discord."

"Long time no see neighbor. Can I ask you about something?"

Zecora led Discord to the table and offered him a chair.

"Is this something about Fluttershy? Because that is the only reason that would lead you to come by."

"Yes, and I have been meaning to come over and say hi, and it is also about Tina. Fluttershy is afraid that I won't live up to Tina's image of me. Is there anyway that I can prove that I can?"

Zecora poured out the tea and sipped her cup. "Hmm, I see. Why do you believe that the answer lies with me?"

"You always seem to have the answers."

"Yes, I have given an answer to another, but I have no knowledge of how to be a father."

Discord sighed. He should have known. "Well, it was worth try. Thank you, Zecora."

As he got up to leave, Zecora spoke up. "Though I will go on to say, that I have seen many fathers walking with their children to school everyday. If you wish to do your part, I believe that would be a good place to start."

Discord smiled at the zebra. "Thanks, Zecora."

"Do not thank me, just make your little filly happy."

Tina trotted out of the door, humming her mother's lullaby. She wasn't paying attention and walked right out in front of a runaway cart.

"Watch out!" Big Mac yelled. Tina started at the oncoming cart with wide eyes, frozen with fear. Suddenly, a pair of arms picked her up and moved her out of the way. A large mattress appeared in front of the cart, stopping its escape.

"You alright, Tina?" The filly looked up to see Dissy holding her.

"Yeah, thanks for saving me."

"Your welcome, and Big Mac, be more careful next time."

Big Mac nodded. "Yeup."

Fluttershy came running out. "Tina, are you alright? I saw the entire thing. I thought I told you to always-"

"Look both ways before crossing the road. I know. I was just distracted."

Fluttershy looked up at Discord. "Thank you."

"I was in the neighbourhood. I couldn't just stand by and let a filly get run over."

Fluttershy scolded her daughter for another minutes, then turned to Discord. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

Discord scratched his head. "Well, no, but there is something that I can do to for you. I can walk Tina to school and make sure that no other runaway carts try and run her down. It will give you peace of mind."

Fluttershy was about to say no, when she saw the look in Discord's eyes. His amber eyes pleaded, and when she looked at Tina, the same look was in her eyes.

"Fine," she sighed, "but just this once."

The two chaotic creatures smiled. The same smile. Fluttershy waved as the two walked away.

"Morning, darling." Flutttershy turned to Jack. "Can I treat you to breakfast?"

Discord turned to wave to Fluttershy and saw that stallion with her. They were talking, and Fluttershy was shaking her head.

"You coming, Dissy?"

Discord turned to Tina. "Yeah, I am coming.

"Why not, Fluttershy?"

"I have things to do around the house. Maybe next time, Jack."

"That is what you have said for the last two date offers." Fluttershy looked away from Jack. "What is wrong, Fluttershy? Was it something I said? Was it my proposal? You don't have to give me an answer if you don't want to."

"It isn't anything you have done, Jack. There have just been some things that have come up, and I have been busy lately."

"That means you need a break. Come on, breakfast won't kill you."

Fluttershy found herself looking past Jack, in the direction that Tina and Discord disappeared.

"Is there someone else?"

The question surprised the pegsus. "No, Jack there isn't-"

"Then who is stallion who walked Tina to school? I saw him walk off with her."

"He is a friend." The words felt strangely wrong.

"A friend who made you smile in a way that I have never seen you smile before? Who is he, Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy didn't know what to say. She looked up into Jack's eyes and saw jealousy and possessiveness. She had seen similar emotions in Discord's eyes, but not this dark.

"He is just a friend, Jack. A friend that I haven't seen in a very long time."

The jealousy faded away to relief, but the darkness remained.

"Good, then a friend wouldn't mind me doing this." Jack swooped in and set his lips to Fluttershy's.

*fortress of pillows and blankets erects, and a brown and cream pony pops out with army helmet on* Bring it on!

I seem to enjoy these cliffhangers between Jack and Fluttershy. I hope ya'll enjoyed the "like father, like daughter" moments that Discord and Tina had, and I thought about Discord going to Big Mac for advice, but that would have been a conversation with a lot of Yeup's in it, and rhyming sounded more fun.