Alright, I'm back. Wow, for me, this sometime was a lot sooner than other sometimes are. But, I want to get this story done quickly before I get sucked into a new fandom and fanfiction that I'll want to do nothing but write about. Let's finish up with this one before moving on, sound good? Sounds good, let's go.
It was just like any other day for Twilight Sparkle. The majority of it was spent just in the library, consulting her books on whatever topic popped into her mind. She had no worries or concerns to be stressed about. Nope, it was just your average, ordinary day…
That is, it was, until a very distressed Fluttershy came into the library, without even knocking on the door, which was quite unlike her. For more than a week Twilight thought that Fluttershy was acting on age and upset, but now it was more evident than before. The poor pegasus was breathing deeply, in a failed attempt to keep calm. She also looked like she was going to begin crying at any minute.
"Fluttershy, what are you doing here?" Twilight asked.
"Oh, I'm sorry if I'm bothering you, Twilight." Fluttershy said quietly, but quickly. "I just don't know what to do."
"Well, if it's anything I can help with, I'll certainly try." Twilight said. She was always willing to help a friend in need. "What's the problem?"
"It's Discord." Fluttershy began. Twilight was immediately all ears. What about Discord? Was he up to no good again? That would be quite a shame. Twilight was just beginning to get used to him being, well, not good, exactly, but certainly not as bad as he was. He was actually starting to warm up to her, in a weird, Discord kind of way.
"What about Discord? Did he do something?" Twilight asked tensely. Fluttershy instinctively took a step back at Twilight's stern tone.
"Oh, no, he hasn't done anything." Fluttershy assured her. "Or, at least, I don't think he has." Unexpectedly her voice became shaky and filled with emotion. Very suddenly she burst into tears. "I just don't know!" She cried out loudly.
"You don't know?" Twilight asked. That didn't make sense. Twilight knew that Fluttershy and Discord kept in contact. He often told Fluttershy of every little thing he was up to, whether she wanted to hear it or not. Though, knowing Fluttershy, she very much wanted to hear about what Discord did.
"What do you mean you don't know?" Twilight asked. Fluttershy took a few deep breaths to calm down, and it kind of worked.
"I haven't heard a word from Discord in more than a week." Fluttershy sobbed. "He was supposed to come to my cottage a few days ago, but he didn't. He hasn't answered any of my letters either, which he always does."
"When exactly did you last speak to Discord?" Twilight asked, trying to speak in a comforting way, though she was still in business mode. For all she knew, Discord was out there causing trouble...though, if he was, she probably would have heard about it. Still, she needed all the facts.
Fluttershy thought for a moment before answering. "I think it was when I invited him to-to our picnic." Her voice faltered a little at the end, and Twilight didn't blame her for that. The picnic really hadn't gone very well after the others had heard that Discord was invited. Now that Twilight thought about it, she realized that Discord never showed up at the picnic, even though he was invited. That was strange. Why would Discord not come? He loved interrupting their friendly gatherings. Had something happened?
"Fluttershy, I'm sure it's nothing." Twilight reassured her friend. "If you're really worried about Discord, why don't you go find him and talk to him? You know where he lives, don't you?"
"Twilight, that's a great idea." Fluttershy's eyes were immediately brighter than they were a minute before. She nuzzled Twilight, and, quite quickly, headed for the door. "I'm going to go see Discord right now. Thank you, Twilight." And without another word, she was gone.
Twilight shook her head, Fluttershy's kindness and concern towards Discord would never cease to amaze her. Twilight turned back to study her books. She found out fairly quickly that it was a waste of time. No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't concentrate on any of her books. Her mind was too filled with worry that must have rubbed off from Fluttershy. Twilight was surprised to notice that the concern wasn't exactly that Discord was causing trouble, but rather that he was in trouble.
It was a curious thought, that she was worried about Discord, even if it was only slightly. Was she starting to become friendly with the draconequus? Though the thought was very strange, and almost imaginable, Twilight found that she may not mind so much, being friends with Discord.
Maybe.
Fluttershy, meanwhile, was walking briskly through Ponyville. She was heading toward the Everfree Forest, where Discord's home was located. Fluttershy may not have thought much of the location, but Discord loved the natural danger and chaoticness of the forest, and since it was his home, he got to choose where it was. Still, Fluttershy hated going in the Everfree Forest, it was too wild for her there, and she always prefered for Discord to visit her at her cottage.
Today though, she was willing to make an exception and pay Discord a surprise visit, rather than the other way around. She was sure he wouldn't mind, as he loved surprises. He had told her many times that he thought she should be more spontaneous. Well, here she was, now at the edge of the Everfree Forest, about to go in, by herself, to visit Discord.
Fluttershy took a deep breath and entered into the dark forest. It wasn't that she wasn't scared, she was terrified. More than that though, she was determined to do this. Just as long as she stayed on the path and moved quickly, but carefully, she would be fine. Sure enough, she reached Discord's house without incident.
Yes, Discord lived in an actual house. Granted, it was lopsided, usually very colorful, and often floated in the air, flipping every which way. But, it was a house nonetheless. Now though, the house looked different. It was planted firmly on the ground, and it's bright, vibrant colors were dull, very dull. Once again, Fluttershy was concerned. Discord would never just allow this house to look so, dare Fluttershy say it, normal. Sure, it was still lopsided, but it just looked like any old house.
Fluttershy gulped, preparing herself for the worst, and very cautiously entered the house. The inside was so dark that she had to wait a minute for her eyes to adjust before she dared continue. Once she could see, she crept very slowly through the house, trying to find any sign of Discord. After a few minutes, it began to look like he wasn't there. But then, where was he?
"What are you doing here?" somebody growled. Fluttershy screamed in fear and instinctively shot into the air to get away from danger. She was so startled that it took her a moment to realize that she knew that voice. She turned to the source of the voice to see Discord standing there, and he didn't look very happy.
"Oh, Discord, it's you." Fluttershy breathed a sigh in relief and fluttered back to the ground. "You really shouldn't sneak up on somepony like that."
"And you really shouldn't trespass." Discord retorted. "Now I ask again, what are you doing here?" His tone was so harsh that Fluttershy instinctively took a step back, her head slightly lowered. Now she felt bad. She should have known he'd be unhappy with her coming unannounced. Of course he was angry with her. But, wait, Fluttershy recognized that look in his eyes. She had seen it in many a wild animal. It looked like anger at first, but hidden under there was something else. Like pain.
Fluttershy gasped and flew up in the air again so she could be eye-level with Discord. She looked deeply in his eyes, and he found that he just couldn't look away. A minute later Fluttershy backed up a little bit, her eyes full of sympathy, which just irritated Discord even more. Why was she looking at him like that?
"Discord, are you hurt?" Fluttershy asked quietly. Discord blinked, completely caught off guard by the question. Why would she ask something like that so casually? And, better question, why would she even care?
"Uh, no, I don't think so." Discord answered. He finally broke eye-contact with the pony and looked at the ground instead. He wasn't exactly lying, he wasn't hurt. Not physically, and most definitely not in any other way, or, at least that was what he kept telling himself.
Fluttershy didn't believe him for a second. "Discord, tell me this instant what's wrong." She said sternly. She was going to find out what was going on. Whether he wanted her to or not. Discord didn't react well to Fluttershy's words, and he found himself getting defensive.
"Nothing's wrong." Discord insisted. "And if there were, why do you think I'd tell you about it?"
"Well, because we're friends." Fluttershy replied. Discord chuckled darkly at this response.
"Oh, I'm sure we are." His tone suggested that he didn't believe it for a second. Fluttershy gasped again. Why would Discord say that? Did he really think they weren't friends?
"Of course we're friends." Fluttershy insisted. Discord rolled his eyes.
"Come on, Fluttershy, we both know that isn't true." Discord said. The pony fluttered to the ground again, he eyes wide. So, Discord really didn't think they were friends.
"Why would you think something like that?" Fluttershy asked. "Why would you think that I would think something like that?"
"I overheard you and your friends." Discord said.
"Overheard us?" But when would we have ever-" Fluttershy got cut off when Discord snapped his talon. Suddenly they were no longer in Discord's house, and were instead on a cloud. Fluttershy was confused. What had happened? Before she could ask Discord, he gestured over the edge, telling her to take a look. She was shocked to see she and her friends down there, having a picnic. It took a moment for Fluttershy to understand that Discord was showing her his memory. She had known that he could do this, but she had never experienced it before.
Wait, if this was his memory, then that meant that Discord had been there the first time. But, if that was true, then he might have heard…
"Fluttershy, why do you still pretend to be friends with him?" Rainbow Dash's voice carried from below. Fluttershy flinched at the question.
Oh no.
By the look on Fluttershy's face, Discord knew that she now understood, so he snapped his talons again, taking them out of the memory. He really didn't want to relive the rest of it. The first part was the worst, but the rest was still pretty bad.
"Discord, I'm sure my friends didn't mean what they said." Fluttershy tried to explain. Discord's eyes flashed and she realized too late how her wording might have sounded to him. "Wait, that came out wrong. I didn't mean it like that."
"I know how you meant it." Discord scowled. He began to walk away from her. Fluttershy was starting to feel panicked. She had to convince him that he was wrong about her. She followed him.
"Discord, wait, I can explain." Fluttershy cried.
"And I don't want to hear it." Discord. "I think it's time for you to leave."
"No." Fluttershy said firmly. She wasn't going anywhere. "I'm not leaving you alone."
"But alone is how I belong." Discord said, with a tone of sadness evident in his voice. He once again snapped his talons together. Suddenly Fluttershy was was enveloped in a light so bright she had to close her eyes to block it out. When it dimmed down she opened her eyes to see that she was back at the library, and a very surprised Twilight was looking at her curiously.
"Fluttershy, what are you doing here? I thought you went to see Discord." Twilight said. Fluttershy bit her lip, and her eyes welled up with tears. Twilight was immediately concerned. "Are you okay?" Fluttershy cried out in misery and flung herself into Twilight's unsuspecting arms. Alright, so she wasn't okay. Twilight gently stroked Fluttershy's mane, trying to get to her to calm down. While, at the same time, trying to figure out what the heck was going on.
"Hey guys, what's up guys?" Rainbow Dash asked as she came through the door. She had just been flying past when she'd heard Fluttershy's cry, and grew worried and curious, so she decided to come see what the cry was for.
"Don't ask what happened, because I honestly don't know." Twilight told Rainbow Dash. "All I know is that Fluttershy was going to visit Discord, and then all of a sudden she appears here, like this."
"Discord?" Rainbow Dash questioned, her eyes narrowed angrily. If that freak had done anything to hurt Fluttershy...Well, she didn't know what she would do, but it wouldn't be pleasant for him. "What did Discord do this time?" Fluttershy's eyes flashed angrily.
"This isn't Discord's fault!" Fluttershy said emotionally. "It's yours!" she pointed an accusing hoof at Rainbow Dash.
"Me? What did I do?" Okay, now Rainbow Dash was confused. Fluttershy was never one to blame anyone for anything, even if they obviously did something.
"You said that I was only pretending to be Discord's friend." Fluttershy said, tears falling from her eyes. "And-and Discord heard you." Twilight Sparkle's eyes widened. Well, that wasn't good.
"How did he react?" Twilight asked cautiously.
"He's devastated." Fluttershy said. "He now thinks that I was just pretending to be his friend. He won't let me explain. He doesn't even want anything to do with me." Fluttershy began crying again, and Rainbow Dash felt terrible.
Rainbow Dash's ears dropped. This isn't what she had wanted. She totally hadn't meant for Discord to hear what she had said.. She may not like him, but that didn't mean she wanted to hurt him. Especially since Fluttershy was so distressed by his being upset. No, even if Fluttershy wasn't so sad, Rainbow Dash would still feel bad. It was just cruel to let somebody think that their only friend was only faking it.
"Where are you going?" Twilight asked Rainbow Dash, who had begun to head for the door. Rainbow Dash looked back, her face full of determination. She had made up her mind about what she was going to do, and she wasn't about to stop when she hadn't even started.
"I'm going to make things right." Rainbow Dash said simply. She flew into the air before she could change her mind, and made her way for the Everfree Forest.
There. That wasn't that long of a wait at all. I should have the last chapter up relatively soon, like, within a week soon. Until then, read on.