AN: I know, I just posted a chapter yesterday, but I can't help it. This was one of my favorite chapters to write! I had a lot of fun rewatching episodes in preparation.

Oh, and I realized I didn't answer a question on one of the reviews. This is my first full story I have ever written. About 10-15 years back I diddled with some short stories for Bionicle, but outside of that, I haven't really made fanfictions before.

I have just seriously been working on this story for over a year. I was not kidding around when I said I had been working on this story for a while. I can't even begin to count the edits and rewriting I have done on just about every chapter of this story.

On that note, I don't own My Little Pony.

Chapter 12: Law and Discord

Fluttershy sat in the bed, unable to move. Her mind still unable to wrap it's thoughts around the idea that Twilight Sparkle would do such a thing to her.

Why would one of her best friends cast a spell on her without her permission? Was this some sort of experiment? Was she trying to get rid of her? What was her real cutie mark?

Or, maybe, this was this her real cutie mark. Her gut kept telling her so. Like some voice inside her head kept trying to convince her that spreading laughter and joy was her destiny. It was fate, written in stone, as plain as day upon her flank! Perhaps the whole spell thing was a fluke and Discord had simply messed up?

But then why was she so miserable all the time when she tried to make ponies laugh? Sure, she made Discord laugh on occasion, but it wasn't intentional! He kept making these comments on how she was too cute or how she was simply too interesting a pony. Not that she was funny or entertaining!

Was this really her destiny?

She felt so lost.

What had Twilight done?

Discord growled as he approached the treehouse that Twilight Sparkle resided in.

He was currently disguised as a bunny, hopping through the whole of Ponyville unnoticed. Funny how last time he was here he made sure to make it known that he was the center of attention.

But his mind could not focus on that now. All he could think of was what these so called friends of Fluttershy had done to her! How dare they do something that hurt Fluttershy! Did they not care at all? Was all his observation and lessons in friendship just a lie? Was his friendship based all on deceit?

No!

He refused to think that his time with Fluttershy was all just a lie! Fluttershy was kindness made real! She was gentle and compassionate and loving and...and, well, Fluttershy cared! It had to be the rest of them who did not!

Coming up on the library, he transformed into a small bird and flew up to a window to see inside. There he saw the rest of the group sitting around, looking through books and laughing. It was as if they didn't even miss her! Like they immediately forgot about her!

How...how dare they! Discord thought to himself, If this is all their friendship means…! If this is it, then they do not deserve Fluttershy! I will be twice-NO!-ten times the friend they ever were! Fluttershy and I will be the closest friends! Forever!

As Discord watched Twilight Sparkle laugh at something the pink one had said, he only saw red. He would make them regret ever doing this to Fluttershy.

Twilight Sparkle poured over texts and maps of the Everfree Forest. Their note had been successfully sent to Celestia, and now they simply awaited a reply. But even so, it didn't hurt to be prepared.

It was just then that Spike burped up a new letter from Canterlot.

"Twilight!" Spike said with excitement, "You need to read this!"

"Dear Twilight Sparkle," Twilight began reading before the group who were scattered around the library, "I have great news. We have a new lead on where Fluttershy may have gone. I am currently traveling to speak with a pony who might have some idea as to Fluttershy's location."

Twilight sighed in relief, this was the first bit of good news they had had in a bit. The other girls in the room smiled or cheered in excitement.

"On that note, my sister Luna managed to find Fluttershy in her dreams again last night. Although she was unable to make full contact with her, she says that outside of suffering from nightmares, she seems to be in good health.

"I have also sent the guards you asked for to search the forest where you have marked. As soon as I receive any word from them, I will let you know. Keep up the good work, and don't let go of hope! Princess Celestia!"

Twilight let loose a true smile for the first time in days. Looking around, she saw the relief and excitement on the rest of her friends faces as well.

"Do you know what that means?" Pinkie Pie hopped over to Twilight, "We can finally throw a Welcome Back Party for Fluttershy! We can even make that honey lavender cake she likes so much!"

Twilight could only laugh at Pinkie's antics. Of course that is all she would be thinking about right now.

Everything was finally going right! How could everything going so well go wrong now?

Suddenly the tree house began to shake, sending books and the ponies to the floor.

"Really," a very familiar voice boomed within the building, "You think now is the time for fun? After all your supposed friend has been through!"

"Was that Discord," Rainbow gasped out as she launched herself up from the floor.

"And who else would you expect to look after your friend," Discord stated as he materialized in front of the group, "I would have thought that you would be out looking for your friend, based on how you all go on about the "magic" of friendship. But instead I find you all here! Continuing on with your lives as though your friend was not in trouble or hurt!"

"Discord," Twilight shouted out, "What have you done to Fluttershy!"

"What have I done! Oh, that is rich! Considering it was you who cast the spell on her!" Discord glared, his menacing form looming over Twilight.

"What! How did you-?" Twilight asked in shock, her friends looking equally surprised, "I didn't mean to cast that spell on her! It was an accident!"

"Accident!" Discord laughed in disbelief, "Do you truly expect me to believe that!"

"She is telling the truth," Applejack said as she and the others ran over to Twilight to stand beside her, "We were all hit by the same spell! She has been making things right! She-"

"Right? Right! You call making your friend miserable and hurt making things right," Discord spat out.

"Hurt?" Twilight asked in fear.

"Yes! No thanks to you," he declared, "I have half a mind to remake Ponyville as I had it before! Perhaps with some new additions….I always wanted my own resort town….."

"What have you done to Fluttershy!" Rainbow Dash yelled as she flew up to his face with an intent to hit him.

"Please," Discord rolled his eyes, stepping out of the way at the last second, sending Rainbow careening over his shoulder.

"You'd better return Fluttershy if you know what's good for you!" Pinkie Pie declared, hopping up to the Lord of Chaos.

"Thoooouuugh," she stopped a few feet from him, "I wouldn't be too upset if you added a few more chocolate rain clouds across Ponyville. Especially if you added some whipped cream this time!"

Discord huffed, disgusted by the idea of giving any of these ponies a favor. The others seemed to share his idea, as they all scolded her for wanting to work with him.

"What!" Pinkie Pie defended herself, "It's chocolate rain!"

"Please," Twilight's voice broke through the group, bringing silence to the room, "I….I know I messed up. I didn't...I never meant to hurt any of my friends. I didn't even know what the spell would do!"

Twilight choked out a breath as tears began to flow down her face, "But I can make this right! Please! Bring Fluttershy back! Our friendship means too much to me for it to end like this!"

Discord studied her intently. This was not what he thought would happen when he came to confront them. He had expected a fight. Perhaps blatant uncaring from the group towards their friend. Not whatever this was. Not outright defensive actions from all parties involved and tears. Perhaps she really was repentant?

No, he thought to himself as his brain recalled how they were not minutes before. They weren't out looking for their friend. They were here, in their little club house, hiding away. He could not, he would not, send Fluttershy back to these uncaring, heartless creatures!

Only he could truly be Fluttershy's friend. He was the one who found her and cared for her and kept her happy and healing and safe! He was the only one who could! The rest of the world be damned!

"No," Discord said softly.

"W-what!" Twilight gasped in shock.

"No!" Discord declared loudly, eyes glowing dangerously as he stared down at them, "I do not believe that you will not hurt Fluttershy again. I think that it is best if she was kept far away from the lot of you for her own safety!"

"After everything-!" Rarity began, frustrated, "After everything we have done to find her! After all the faith Fluttershy put into you as a friend, you keep her away from us?! Her true friends!"

"What do you want from us!" Rainbow growled out.

"What do we need to do to prove to you we want Fluttershy back more than anything!" Applejack cried.

"Who made you judge, jury, and executioner," Twilight yelled out with tears in her eyes.

"Oh! Marvelous idea, Twilight!" Discord declared. With a snap, the library turned into a courtroom, with Twilight and friends sitting at the defense table. Clones of Discord now sat at the prosecution's table, in the jury box, and even behind them, acting as audience. Up above them sat the original Discord at the judge's seat, complete with a gown and wig.

"Your honor," the Discord at the prosecution's table stated, "The group before you is guilty of failing their friend and every lesson of friendship they have ever said they have learned."

"Your evidence," the main Discord stated.

"Here your honor," the prosecution said, providing images of Fluttershy in her casts, her changed cutie mark, the destroyed balloon, a tea party with the timberwolves, and one of Discord in a pink bikini.

"Oops," the prosecution blushed, "How did that get in there!"

The group stared at the images in shock and fear, and slight disgust at the last image. Rarity kept mumbling something about needing bleach and eyes.

"I think I have seen enough here!" Judge Discord declared, the crowd of Discords in the back cheering at his decision.

"Wait!" Twilight called out ignoring the boo's the crowd was giving her, "Don't we even get a chance to defend ourselves."

"Fine," Discord said, rolling his eyes and waving his hand, "Defense may show their case."

Twilight turned to the others, "First I want us to prove our character by telling of our friendship with Fluttershy. Then we can look at everything we have done to get her back! There is no way he could deny our friendship then!"

"Why are we even bothering with playing his game," Rainbow growled out, "Remember the last time we played by his rules!"

The others mumbled in agreement.

"I know, I know," Twilight pleaded, "But Discord holds all the cards here."

"Cards?" Pinkie Pie asked, "Will it be old maid? Or maybe a game of poker? I didn't realize courts could be so fun!"

"You know what I mean Pinkie," Twilight said, "We all know that Fluttershy was able to turn Discord good. Maybe we can reach out to that side of him if we play along and prove ourselves to him."

"Is the defense prepared to defend itself," Judge Discord called from above, "Or are you admitting to guilt right now?"

"We are ready, your...honor," Twilight stated, frowning at the official title she had to add to Discord's standing at the moment, "I would like to call Rarity and Pinkie Pie to the stand!"

The two looked at each other uncertainly before making their way to the stand.

"Do you two recall the time you helped Fluttershy to be more assertive and speak up for herself?" Twilight asked.

"Of course!" Pinkie Pie smiled while Rarity sighed a, "Yes."

"Can you explain what you were doing to help your friend?"

"Well," Rarity started for them, "The poor dear was letting herself be trampled all over. She couldn't even get a fair price on tomatoes."

"Mmhmm!" Pinkie agreed, "All the other ponies were being big jerks! But we were there to help her to be more than a doormat!"

"She took this...course," Rarity continued, "When she came back, she had changed. She was able to stand up for her poor self."

"We were both so pleased to see her do so," Pinkie said, adding after a pause, "Even though it went a bit too far. She was starting to act really mean."

"Yes, well," Rarity frowned, not really wanting to admit to that particular part, "It all worked out for the better in the end, right? She was able to learn how to assert herself and not let others take advantage of her."

"And Old Fluttershy came back to stay!" Pinkie cheered.

"If I may," Prosecuting Discord stepped forward, looking towards Twilight.

Twilight nodded and stepped away, sure of her friends and their actions.

"So let me understand this correctly," Discord began, pacing in front of the stand, "You went forth and found that your friend was not good enough the way she was, and went to change her."

"What!" came the cry of the various ponies.

"I do believe that...one minute," Discord pulled out a book from nowhere and began to flip through the pages, "Ah, yes….you kept calling her a "doormat" and a "push-over," forcing Fluttershy to change herself through Iron-Will's training course."

"Where did you learn that!" Twilight asked in shock.

Discord smirked down at the unicorn from his judges podium, "As part of Princess Celestia's training, I was to read over all your so called "lessons" in friendship. I must say, Twilight. You always provided the most detailed descriptions of what happened."

Discord looked up and off into the distance as he fiddled with a small purple journal in his hands, "And perhaps a peak at the occasional diary…."

"WHAT!" Rarity cried out as her eyes went wide in horror at whose diary he was holding, "That! Is! Private! Give it back!"

The small purple covered diary disappeared in thin air while Rarity wailed and dropped death threats towards anything he may have revealed from said pages.

"Either which way," Discord continued from where he left off, "It seems to me that you, as so called friends, were trying to force your friend to change, rather than truly help her. Why else would she go so far as to practically transform into a new pony, than to impress her friends?"

"That's not fair!" Pinkie shouted up at Discord, "We didn't tell her to become a big meanie-mean angry-pants! We just wanted her to be treated fairly!"

"But did you guide her and help her over time?" he asked simply, "You could have worked with her at the market stalls once a week. Or perhaps found some books from you local bibliophile over there."

"A pony who loves bibs?" Pinkie asked in confusion.

"Pinkie," Twilight rolled her eyes, "Someone that loves books. But that's not important right now!"

Discord watched the exchange in amusement.

"What is your point Discord?" Twilight demanded.

"My point," he smirked, "Is that Fluttershy has been a better friend to you than you all have been to her. I don't believe you have one story that you can tell that shows otherwise."

"Fluttershy and I have been friends for years!" Rainbow Dash objected, "We have always been good friends to each other! I make sure to stand up for her, and look out for her! And she helps to cheer me on when it counts!"

"Like that time that you worked with Fluttershy to pick a pet!" Twilight encouraged, motioning for her to take the stand.

"Yeah!" Rainbow smiled as she flew up past the retreating Rarity and Pinkie Pie towards the stand.

Taking her seat she began, "I had finally decided that it was time for me to get a pet, like all my other friends. Fluttershy and I worked together to find the perfect pet for me!"

"Right," Discord said blandly, "More like you were using her knowledge to try and superficially choose a pet."

"Hey!" Rainbow yelled up at him, "That may have been the case at first, but I learned that it's what is on the inside that counts! Now Tank and I have great adventures!"

"Seems more like a personal lesson to me," Discord drawled, studying his nails.

"Fine! That might not be the best story, but there is the fact I helped her to earn her cutie mark," Rainbow smirked, "I defended her from those bullies! And I am part of the reason why she and all my other friends earned their cutie marks!"

"Yes," Discord stated sarcastically, "Letting your friend fall to their doom is a perfect way to show you friendship! Why didn't I think of that!"

"I've had just about enough of this!" Rainbow cried out in frustration, leaping into the air, "You wanna' fight!"

"ORDER! ORDER IN MY COURTROOM!" Judge Discord called out, hammering his gavel upon the desk and once upon Rainbow Dash's head.

"Rainbow!" Twilight scolded, her magic dragging the hotheaded pony back to their seats, "That's enough! Your temper isn't helping things."

Rainbow glared at Discord as she was levitated back into a seat, her eyes never leaving his face the whole time.

"Giving up so soon, Twilight," Discord taunted, "If even the mock-sister cannot tell a tale of true friendship, what do you really have left to share? Why not admit defeat and give up?"

"Never!" Twilight called out, "I will call myself to the stand to talk about the time we faced off against a dragon!"

Twilight Sparkle stomped up to the stand, ignoring Discords smug look.

"A dragon once threatened Ponyville with it's smoke. It had decided to rest on a nearby mountaintop and its snoring was causing massive waves of smoke that could threaten the livelihood of all the ponies in the town," Twilight explained, "I brought our group to go deal with the problem. Fluttershy came along and, with our help, was able to face some of her fears, such as heights and even dragons themselves! We helped her just as she helped us!"

"Sure, force your friend to face off against a dragon," his voice once more dripping with sarcasm, "That is a great way for you to be a friend."

Pulling his hands out from behind his back, he held a sock puppet of Twilight sparkle on one hand and a Fluttershy on the other.

"Hey friend," Discord poorly mimicked Twilight's voice, moving the respective puppet.

"Oh, yes Twilight Sparkle," the Fluttershy-puppet spoke in a very whispered voice.

"Let's go fight a dangerous, fire breathing dragon! I know you have fears of heights and dangerous creatures, but you are coming along anyways!" Twilight-puppet said.

"First," Twilight-puppet stated, "I will go in and fight it with logic!"

"Then when that fails," an arm with a Rarity-puppet appeared, "I will go to seduce the dragon, but fail due to all those diamonds and those meddling gems!"

"Oh, so true," Rarity gushed, remembering the cave and its treasures.

"And then!" Discord squeaked out, one more arm appearing with a puppet Pinkie Pie, "I will be completely random and throw a party! But will look awesome while doing it, if I must admit!"

"I thought so too," Pinkie Pie smiled at getting some recognition for her fashion sense.

"Yeah!" another arm with a Rainbow Dash-puppet appeared, ignoring the interruption, "I am going to go and try and fight the dragon! Head on!"

"Oh," Flutter-puppet whispered, "Will that be safe? This is a dragon we are talking about."

"Not at all!" a final arm with an Applejack puppet appears, "But we will force you to intervene anyways! Because you are good with animals, so it has to translate well into dragons, even if you are deathly afraid of them!"

Prosecution Discord tossed off the puppets and the extra arms, which exploded in the background.

"Logic would dictate," Discord stated, "That you forced her into a situation where all your lives were at risk and she had to do something to rescue you. Not very friendly if you ask me…"

Twilight Sparkle looked up at Discord, a flabbergasted look upon her face.

"If this is truly all your evidence," Discord looked down at the group of ponies disdainfully, "I do believe this case will be cut and dry…"

"No!" Twilight growled out, "Girls! Collect all the maps and all the letters from Celestia we have gathered so far!"

"Maps and letters?" Discord laughed.

"Yes!" she exclaimed, "These are the maps of the areas we have searched for Fluttershy and letters between Celestia and me on the entire search effort so far!"

Both the Judge Discord and prosecution Discord looked over the collected evidence.

"Well," Judge Discord muttered, "I can see from your letters from Celestia you did indeed start a search effort for Fluttershy…"

Twilight and friends began to smile. They had him now!

"However, it seems to me that you took a long time to start your official search…"

"What!" Twilight cried out, "I-I know we took a bit to get going, but we needed to make sure that she didn't return right away and had to get an idea of where she was going!"

"Maybe," the prosecution continued on, "Or maybe you just didn't care that she had left until a full day after she was gone! Maybe your group just sat here and expected Celestia to do all your work for you!"

"No! How would you explain the maps then! The spaces we have searched! Our current research on the forest!"

"Could be for anything or anyone," Discord waved it off, "There is no proof here that shows that you were really looking."

"No! You can't do that!" Twilight shouted in disagreement, her friends voices joining her protest.

"I have heard enough!" Judge Discord called out, "Jury will now decide the verdict!"

The jury of Discords grouped together and began furiously whispering to each other, before they turned around.

"Your honor!" one of the jury called out, "We find the defence guilty of being terrible friends!"

"What! No!" Twilight shouted out as the crowd behind them began to cheer loudly, "We all told the truth! Even if they weren't always the smartest of choices, we have always looked out for Fluttershy as she looked out for us! She has always been our friend! Where is the justice in this! How is this fair!"

"Fair?" Judge Discord huffed, eyes glowing with anger, "Fair? Like when Fluttershy was hurt and alone in the woods. Fair? Like when the timberwolves were going to attack her! Fair! Like all the times she begins to cry as she feels she has to make other ponies laugh!"

"I have seen everything I need to," Discord stated pompously, "I have decided that your group has failed to comprehend the meaning of friendship. Since your group cannot handle such a tall order, I have decided that I will take over from here, and be Fluttershy's court appointed friend. Especially when your group cannot hope to complete such a task."

"What!" the group shouted out.

"You can't do that!" Rainbow declared.

"I can," Discord smiled evilly, "And I did! Oh, how marvelous when the judicial system works!"

The girls began to shout out their rage and objections at Discord. Rainbow Dash jumped up and began to charge at him one last time.

"Oh!" Discord gasped, "Would you look at the time! Fluttershy needs me! Ta-ta!"

Discord vanished from sight, making Rainbow run into the wall.

"What...what just happened?" Rarity asked in confusion, her gut twisted in fear.

"I...I don't know," Twilight collapsed to the ground.

Did she just lose Fluttershy forever?

Doctor Strong Bones sat at her desk. She found her mind wandering as she awaited a reply from the royal library. Perhaps if she was lucky, they would send her the counter-spell, and Discord could fix everything!

She shook her head from her daydream and tried to focus on her pile of paperwork that needed to be done. She needed to write out reports for the hospital and finalize appointment schedules before she got too distracted. Even with all these circumstances with Discord and Fluttershy, she still had a life that needed to be attended to!

But after only a few minutes of futile work, she gave up with a sigh. She couldn't stop thinking about it! She needed to get some air.

As she walked out of her office, she noticed royal guards at the end of the hallway talking to one of the nurses. The blood inside her veins froze and her stomach dropped. Discord was right! They would go after her to get Fluttershy back! What would they do to her if they knew that she was hiding away one of the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony? What would Discord do when he found out that she had ruined it all?

As she watched, she noticed the nurse nodding his head and pointing right at her down the hallway. The guards turned, their expressions like steel as they looked at her.

Without a second thought, Strong Bones ran.

"HALT!" came the shout from behind her, but she kept running. She didn't want to spend an eternity in a dungeon because of some crazed lord that liked to make furniture float and turn walls into jello when he felt like it!

Strong Bones dashed for the stairs that she went down only a night before, her hoofbeats pounding against the floor as she frantically tried to out-pace the guards. Her mind trying to remember the way back to that original stairwell where she had first met Discord. She could lose the guards there!

Floor by floor she raced back down. Her heart began to feel relief as she made it to the ground floor. She had outrun the guards and now she would be safe!

As she turned to look at the wall, her heart almost stopped as she found herself face to face with a solid wall.

"What!" she choked out between frantic breaths, "W-where is the door! It was here just yesterday!"

The brief pause was all the guards needed to tackle her to the floor. The guards saying something about staying still and questioning her on why she ran was drowned out by the rushing in her ears.

Had Discord abandoned her to this fate? After all she had done to help!

She did not resist as they placed manacles and chains on her legs and lead her out through the front lobby. Her head held low in shame as they lead her out across the lobby in chains, surrounded by guards. She could hear the other ponies gasping and whispering as she was marched by and out the door.

Once outside the guards guided her to a carriage whose door seemed to open automatically. Her gut filled with dread and she refused to move until the guards practically pushed her inside. The darkness of the interior of the carriage kept her from seeing right away.

"Now that is quite enough," the other occupant of the carriage stated.

"B-but ma'am! She tried to run," the guard who pushed her explained.

"So she did, but we can deal with that later. You may return to your post now."

"As you wish."

She felt the weight of chains removed from her legs. Slowly, she sat up and looked at her possible savior, only to freeze.

"Why, you must be Doctor Strong Bones," Princess Celestia stated rather than questioned with a smile.

Strong Bones could only gulp. If the Princess did not kill her, Discord surely would.