AN: And here is the conclusion for the story. I've been playing with making a sequel but...well, I don't know how to sew it all together right now, so it may take time.

Otherwise this should have the last bit and wrap up the everything that is left.

As per usual, I don't own My Little Pony.

Epilogue

Celestia stood before the mirror looking over her dress before the coronation ceremony for Twilight Sparkle. The dress was exquisite, supposedly having some design input from the dressmaker in Ponyville that Twilight was friends with known as Rarity. She would have to commend her on such a successful outfit once the ceremony was done.

"Was that all really necessary, sister?" Luna's voice rang out from behind her.

"Luna," Celestia said in form of greeting, turning to see her sister standing in the doorway to her dressing room.

Luna gave a small nod back, but the frown never left her face, "I still don't see why you couldn't have chosen one of the other spells to promote your pupil. We both know with the wording of that spell that there was a high chance that Star Swirl was-"

"We have been over this, Luna," Celestia sighed, "There has been no evidence that Star Swirl was trying to steal magic or immortality from another pony. For all we know he was trying to set up a spell to remove power from something as a last effort to protect the kingdom from evil."

"The wording of the spell leaves little else to the imagination," Luna huffed, "But we are getting off topic, Sister. It was the actions that you put forth that put ponies at risk. Perhaps all of Equestria if we consider their connection to the Elements of Harmony."

"And yet everything turned out exactly as they needed to," Celestia maintained, "Twilight Sparkle proved her worthiness through her actions and thoughts, and the Elements of Harmony remain as a complete collection with their current hosts. Even Discord has got something out of this event and has doubled down on his studies of friendship."

"Yes, the draconequus," Luna gave a frown, "Are you sure that it is wise to have him near Twilight Sparkle and her friends so soon? They were at odds not even a fortnight ago. Should we really risk an altercation?"

"You worry needlessly, sister," Celestia smiled, "He is going out of request. Plus, it may be a good time for him to mend any problems that have come up between him and the girls as a whole."

"Now come dear sister," Celestia smiled as she made her way to the door, "There is no need to be so down when today is a day of great cheer. We have a coronation ceremony to run and a new princess to welcome!"

Luna sighed, Celestia had a tendency to make it difficult to argue against, "Yes, yes. Let us go. Say what you will about my attitude, but I do agree with what you said earlier."

"Oh?"

Luna smirked as she walked past her sister, "Twilight Sparkle has worked hard and earned every right to be a Princess here with us."

Twilight Sparkle and her friends all laughed at the balcony after her speech. Becoming a princess was too surreal, and she still wasn't sure if she was dreaming or not.

As her friends all laughed, moving down the hall so they could finalize the final preparations for Twilight's grand entrance into the garden, officially marking her public appearance as a princess, Twilight found her gaze landing on Fluttershy. Her wings had healed enough for the celebration that she didn't need casts, but was grounded for the stay so they could fully heal. The pegasus gave a light laugh at a comment Pinkie made, her smile large as she walked with her friends, but Twilight had seen otherwise when Fluttershy thought she was alone. With all the sudden coronation preparations and Fluttershy's near daily visits with her doctor friend, Twilight had simply not quite found the time to address it.

"Something on your mind, Princess Twilight?"

Twilight jumped, surprised to find Princess Celestia walking next to her in the hall. With a sigh she slowed to a stop, allowing her friends to move ahead, their voices disappearing down the upcoming stairwell. Celestia stood beside her, giving her time to speak.

"Will Fluttershy be alright?" Twilight asked softly, "She still doesn't seem like herself."

Celestia's smile softened as she looked at the now alicorn's downtrodden face, "Healing, especially mental healing, takes time. We cannot expect her to be back to her kind, if not horribly shy self in only a few short weeks."

"I know," Twilight whispered, "I just...I just worry about how Star Swirl's spell may have affected everyone. What if it wasn't fully broken? What if I affected other ponies without knowing it!"

"Twilight," Celestia let out a ringing laugh, "Now whatever would give you that idea!"

"Well, I guess I'm just still confused as to how the spell worked. I mean, some ponies were affected and forgot everything, while others, like Spike and Discord, didn't seem to notice any magical effects."

"How about we look at all the pieces individually," Celestia offered, walking slowly down the hall once more, "What ponies were affected by the spell?"

Twilight followed slowly behind, contemplating her answer, "My friends, of course. And then there were the towns ponies, who couldn't quite seem to remember who did what in the town."

"Indeed," Celestia nodded, "And what of other ponies? I do believe you wrote me a letter detailing a conversation with the Doctor Strong Bones."

"Well, she didn't seem to see anything wrong until she talked with Fluttershy. Like Fluttershy was just another pony until they actually met."

Celestia nodded, taking slow steps down the stairway, "So what does that tell us?"

"That either the spell was based on a proximity blast or knowledge of the subject. But that doesn't explain Spike. Or even Discord."

"I believe you should already know the answer to your question on little Spike."

Twilight hesitated, before offering her theory, "I was thinking it could be how close he was to me when I cast the spell. Like an eye of the storm kind of idea?"

Celestia paused to consider the answer, "While that could be true, I think you are forgetting an easier answer."

Twilight responded with a confused look.

"Tell me, what do you know of dragons?"

"That they are a highly intelligent, magical species and reptilian in nature. Notoriously greedy and full fledged adults have a tendency to isolate themselves in their later years. Some have wings, but others do not, and most biologists are not too sure why," Twilight gave her textbook answer.

"Yes, but what of their magic?" Celestia guided.

Twilight frowned, "It's traditionally fire based?"

"And?" Celestia urged.

Twilight's face contorted as her eyes moved back and forth like she was rereading a book. After a minute, she stopped, eyes wide. Putting her hoof to her face she groaned, "And they are notoriously magic resistant! Oh, how did I forget!"

Celestia's laughter once more rang down the halls of the stairwell, "Sometimes it is easy to forget the details."

"So would the same hold true for manticores? The one in the Everfree wasn't affect either."

"I wouldn't see why not," Celestia shrugged, "But between you and me, I'm not very well versed in beastiology."

Twilight laughed a little as they made it to the ground floor landing.

As her mind went back to her question, a frown marred her face, "But that doesn't explain Discord."

"I mean," she backtracked, "He is part dragon and all, but would that be enough to keep the spell from affecting him?"

"Let's look at the problem this way," Celestia said, stopping to look directly at Twilight, "We have two unicorn's dueling. Which one would win in a battle of magic?"

"Whomever is a better tactician?" Twilight answered confused.

"True," Celestia spoke slowly, "But let's assume they are at equal skill levels. They are both similarly fit, both know the same spells, and are in an arena with no outside help."

Twilight paused to consider the factors, "Well, wouldn't it be down to who had more magical power?"

"Indeed," Celestia smiled, "So, for instance, let's say it came down to a weaker unicorn casting a memory spell upon a stronger unicorn?"

"The spell wouldn't work," Twilight spoke confidently, "The magic would be too weak to take hold on a stronger magical being."

"So what would happen if say a unicorn cast this same spell upon a creature of higher magical power?"

"It wouldn't be able to work," Twilight muttered, brow still creased in confusion, "But what of the Elements of Harmony! I cast a spell on him that turned him to stone!"

"You guided a spell," Celestia corrected, "You must remember that the Elements are their own magic, and are connected to the world around us in ways we cannot begin to fathom. You may have been the one to unleash the spell, but it was not magic you casted of your own inner magic."

"So Discord wasn't affected simply because he has more magic than me?" Twilight summarized with a frowned.

"In not so many words, yes," Celestia smiled. At Twilight's almost defeated look, Celestia added, "If it makes you feel any better, neither myself nor my sister Luna had any changes in memory of little Fluttershy."

"I suppose."

"Twilight, you must remember that there are always those who are more powerful. Be it in knowledge or magic or simply physical strength, there is always someone who will be better than you. So don't let it hold you down. Use it as a way to improve yourself."

"Anyways," Celestia smirked, "Isn't it better in this case that your spell did not affect Luna or myself?"

"You're right," Twilight smiled up at the princess, "I guess that's part of what makes you a good teacher."

"You know as well as I that I am no longer your teacher," Celestia chided in a joking manner, "We are both Princesses of equal standing. Now isn't it about time for you to make your grand entrance into the garden?"

Twilight laughed as they opened the doors to the garden. No matter what Princess Celestia said, she would always be her teacher.

Discord watched the groups of singing ponies with disgust. Here he was, trying his best to be the greatest friend he could be to Fluttershy, and instead of being rewarded he was treated as the bad guy. He may admit to having gone a little overboard and was a little overprotective of the shy pony, but that didn't excuse the fact that all the ponies shied away from him at the ceremony and gave him looks of disgust when he was around.

With a sigh he leaned against the railing of the balcony. He had hoped that by going to this silly event that he could see Fluttershy and they could at least talk about everything. The ceremony had been nicely done with a nice level of song and flare but was overall very girly for his tastes. Not that he was really expecting anything less. And the speech that Twilight made was truly heartfelt and generous. It was obvious to anyone watching that her friends meant the world to her.

Yet when it boiled down to the after party, Discord found any courage he had built up to see the shy pony had vanished. Not to mention he had promised Celestia that he would behave. It wasn't like he was planning on summoning a large variety of cakes to rain down in celebration. Anyways, isn't that what everypony wanted?

Looking off towards the horizon, he watched with a frown as the clouds rolled by across the sky above the large fields and forests that were visible from the tower upon Canterlot's mountain. It was always funny how small things could seem from up here.

The sound of a door opening behind him made Discord stand up with an annoyed sigh. It was most likely Princess Celestia coming by to "encourage" him to be social but not overly social with the ponies down below. Turning around, Discord rolled his eyes and held up his hands to wave them off.

"I know what you are going to say, and the answer is no, I am not going down to that silly little party," Discord said as though he was an important business pony with something better to do at some other place with some other pony.

"Oh, I apologize," a timid voice responded, "Would it be alright if I stayed up here with you then?"

Discord felt his heart stop at the sound of the pony before him. It was not that odd combination of scolding teacher meets caring mother voice that Celestia had but the soft voice of one Fluttershy. Glancing down he saw the small yellow pegasus in question staring up at him with worry in her eyes.

"I-I mean," she quickly backed behind the door, "I-if you don't want me here I understand and I'll just go back down and-"

"NO!" Discord shouted, interrupting her prattle of apologies and excuses, only to make her jump and duck behind the door more.

"I-I mean," Discord blushed, "No, dear Fluttershy! I thought you were somepony else. I was just sitting here and, uh….making sure that those silly weather ponies kept the conditions in check for today's ceremony! You never know what those silly pegasi up there are going to do with those clouds. Wouldn't want anything inappropriate up there on the day of a coronation now, would we!"

Fluttershy let out a soft giggle that made Discord relax, "I don't think anypony would do anything that drastic on today of all days. I fear that they would have Rainbow Dash after them for even thinking about ruining Twilight's big day."

"No, I suppose you are right," Discord laughed, "But to answer your earlier question, you are more than welcome to join me up here! Please, have a seat!"

With a snap a pair of chairs appeared on the balcony, both looking oddly close to Celestia's thrones from her throne room, but Fluttershy wasn't about to ask any questions. With only a moment of hesitation she went and joined him in the seats.

The two sat in an awkward silence for a minute or two before Discord couldn't take it anymore.

"I see your wings have been healed," he said as a way to start a conversation.

"Oh, yes," Fluttershy smiled, glancing over her shoulder at them, "Doctor Strong Bones was kind enough to rewrap them and Twilight was able to find a spell to accelerate healing. The Doctor says that I need to stay off of them for a while and do stretches with them daily or else I could really hurt my muscles. But she otherwise cleared them for today's ceremony so that I wouldn't have to wear bandages or casts during the ceremony!"

"That is a relief to see," Discord smiled. He had been worried about her injuries for the longest time, so it was nice to see that nothing bad came from her time in his vacation home.

Silence descended upon the pair once more. Both wanting to talk but at a loss for words.

"Princess Celestia didn't…." Fluttershy started to ask but stopped part way through the question.

"Celestia didn't what, my dear?" Discord looked at her in confusion.

"Princess Celestia didn't punish you or...anything, did she?" Fluttershy asked with worry in her eyes, "I-I mean, I told her that you were doing your best to help me in my letters to her. And I told Twilight that you were doing a great job of trying to be a good friend to me and take care of me during that time frame. I know that Rainbow Dash and Applejack were both very upset with you and probably still are but….."

Finally running out of breath, Discord could only give a hearty laugh.

"What's so funny," Fluttershy pouted, "I was worried!"

"Oh! Dear Fluttershy, you are simply too kind for your own good," Discord said with a smile as his laughter subsided, "I was not laughing at you. I've just never heard anyone be so...concerned for my own well-being before. The idea seemed so outlandish to me that I could not help but laugh!"

Fluttershy thought about it for a second. The idea of pony, especially one as shy as her, writing letters to some of the most powerful ponies in all of Equestria to ward off a punishment to a being who had threatened and previously attacked many of its citizens and leaders simply because she was his friend could seem almost outlandish in its own right.

"I guess it is a little funny," Fluttershy gave a shy smile, ducking behind her hair in embarrassment.

"Well it certainly beats the parties you kept trying to throw when you thought you were the pink one," Discord scoffed, "Speaking of which, there are no after effects, are there? I don't think I can handle anymore of that manic laugh of yours again."

"No, nothing bad," Fluttershy admitted.

"Really," Discord said with disbelief, "Not even an inch of streamers being tossed around a room? The desire to, what was it you said, "Become a magician?""

"Oh no! Nothing like that!" she said, "If anything, I think I may be a little bit scared of parties now. But don't tell Pinkie Pie that! I don't want to hurt her feelings."

"My lips are sealed," Discord said, pulling a finger across his lips, literally zipping them shut in the process.

Fluttershy gave a small laugh at his antics, making Discord smile. It was nice when his skills were appreciated.

"You know," Fluttershy blushed, "I really enjoyed talking with you while I was at your cottage."

Discord frantically started to speak, but his voice was muffled by the zipper that kept his mouth sealed shut. With a huff, he yanked the zipper off of his lips.

"Really," he repeated in clarity.

"Yes," Fluttershy smiled, "I wish we could talk more often."

"Well, perhaps we should then!" Discord said with a large grin, "Who says that we can't talk with one another! Friendships shouldn't have to end with distance!"

"I was thinking," she said softly, tapping her hooves together in nervousness, "Perhaps we can be pen-pals or something like that?"

"Pen-pals?" he echoed, stroking his small beard in contemplation, elongating it like a magician with a never-ending run of handkerchiefs in his sleeve.

"Well," Fluttershy muttered as she watched the beard now reach the floor and start to fall over the edge of their balcony, "I know that's what Twilight Sparkle plans on doing with Princess Celestia since she no longer needs to do letters on her lessons of friendship"

A smile adorned her face as she glanced up to meet his eyes, "And I thought it sounded better than calling them lessons."

"Well, I supposed some letters may be in order," Discord hummed, popping his beard off his face and tossing over the balcony even as a new beard grew back into it's place.

"Really?" Fluttershy smiled, voice almost sounding in disbelief.

"Why should I not, dearest Fluttershy?" Discord grinned down at her, "I do believe we are spending much too little time together and should talk more. How else am I to get your marvelous recipes for cakes and cookies?"

Fluttershy and Discord sat in silence for a moment, smiling at each other for their own small senses of victory when a voice from down below caught their attention.

"Hey! Fluttershy!" Rainbow Dash called from down below.

"Oh! Hey, Rainbow, Pinkie, Rarity!" Fluttershy smiled as she looked over the ledge at her small collection of friends.

"I say, darling," Rarity doled, "Twilight's party is about to finish and you had agreed to help oversee her flying lessons with Rainbow Dash!"

"And you're missing out on some awesomely cool treats down there! These cakes are soooo good!" Pinkie gushed.

"Oh my! Is it that late already?" Fluttershy sounded flustered as she glanced around to try and judge the time, "I'll be down in a minute! I'll meet you in the garden!"

"Just don't be late darling," Rarity said, her and Rainbow eyeing Discord with a look of distrust before walking off.

"I don't think they trust me," Discord said with a mock frown.

"I'm sure it will just take time," Fluttershy said with a soft smile, "So I'll expect your first letter in a week?"

"You can count on me!" Discord stood at attention and saluted.

"Great," Fluttershy smiled as she made her way to the door.

"And Discord?" she said, pausing and turning to meet his questioning gaze, "Thank you for...well, everything. You really were being a great friend when you were helping me. I really appreciate it."

"Think nothing of it my dear!" Discord said with a wave of his paw, "It's what anyone would have done! Now don't you have a party to return to?"

"I suppose I do," Fluttershy said with a smile, "I'll hear from you soon, Discord!"

"I look forward to talking to you again," Discord smiled as he watched Fluttershy disappear into the hallways beyond. And he meant every word.