Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

It kept coming. Fluttershy desperately tried to block out the noise. It was four in the morning, and she was exhausted. So far, after only two weeks with Discord, she was ready to give up. The baby spirit was becoming more of a challenge, often staying up all night and sleeping half the day. He was also learning to unsheathe his claws on his paw, meaning that she got a new scratch everyday. He had even managed to fly a little bit. She had thought it would be months before he even got off the ground. Boy, was she wrong!

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

Fluttershy put her pillow over her head, groaning.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

Sighing, the yellow pegasus sat up in bed. She scooted out and went down to Discord's room. As soon as she opened the door, he stopped kicking the side of his crib and sat up. He jumped, hovering in the air for a few seconds before plopping back down into the blankets. Fluttershy reached down and picked the spirit up, much to his delight. He laughed, wagging his tail.

"Uh, I love you Discord, but can't you sleep at night? You did when you were an adult," Fluttershy murmured, rocking him. He didn't listen and just latched onto her hair, much to her annoyance. She pulled it back, and put the spirit back into bed, hoping he could just sleep for once. Closing the door as she left, the exhausted pegasus crawled back into her bed.

Crying jerked her from sleeping.

"Uuuuhhhhh."

******

"Twilight, have you had a successful time?" Fluttershy asked desperately.

"No, Fluttershy. I told you, this is a very difficult process. It will probably be a while. But I'm trying," the purple unicorn responded, her horn glowing as she held a book up to her face. She glanced up at the pegasus. Dark rings circled her eyes, her mane was messy, and she really just looked as if she hadn't slept in days. "Oh! You look awful!" Twilight rushed forwards, dropping the book on the floor, and an annoyed Spike grabbed it.

"I haven't gotten any sleep at all. Discord is becoming an active baby. He's just not sleeping at night. He stays up, and then sleeps during the day. To make it worse, he can use his claws now, and is already starting to fly! I thought he'd be just like a pony baby, but he's not!" Fluttershy explained, while Twilight picked up Discord with her magic.

"Hmm, maybe you should take a break. One of us girls could look after him while you get some rest."

"Oh, that would be great. Who should we ask?"

"Well, I can't, because of finding a counter spell, and obviously, having Discord around would slow down my progress. But, I'm sure some pony will take him off your hooves for a day or two."

"Maybe Pinkie Pie could? Her high energy would be perfect for Discord! She's wanted to look after him the most, and this would be the perfect opportunity for her to. In fact, I'll go ask her right now."Fluttershy stood up, took Discord from Twilight, and set out the door to find her friend, who was undoubtably at SugarCube Corner.

"Hiyah Fluttershy! What're you doing?" Pinkie asked, jumping out of nowhere, and scaring the pegasus.

"Oh my goodness, Pinkie! You scared me!" Fluttershy exclaimed, almost dropping Discord, who was clinging onto her head.

"Sorry! I just saw you walking to SugarCube Corner from my window, so I had to go say hi before you went inside!"

"But you live at SugarCube Corner."

"I know, but I saw you coming! What fun would it be to just wait for you?"

"Well, I guess you have a point. Anyways, I had to ask you something."

"What is it?"

"Would you babysit Discord for a day or two? He's getting really active, and I'm not getting any sleep."

"Of course I can look after him! I'm sure that we'll have a great time!"

"Oh, thank you so much, I'm so glad you can. Now, he is starting to use his claws, and he can fly a little bit, so you'll want to be careful of that. And here's the journal, in case you need to write something down." Fluttershy took the journal from her saddlebags and handed it to Pinkie.

"Okie dokie lokie! I'll take good care of him Fluttershy! You go get some sleep!"

"Thanks Pinkie Pie! Let me know if he's any trouble." The pegasus spread her wings and flew off to her home, leaving Discord with Pinkie. She looked away from where Fluttershy had just left. The spirit was settled in her fluffy mane atop her head.

"So Discord, what do you want to do?" Pinkie asked him. He looked down at her quizzically. "Oh, right, I bet you can't talk yet. Well, I know what we should do! Let's go to SugarCube Corner!" The pink pony bounced down the street, with the baby spirit jiggling in her mane. She entered the sweet shop, and took Discord to the kitchen.

"Hello Pinkie Pie! Oh, who's this?" Mrs. Cake asked, seeing the baby draconequus in the pony's hair.

"This is Discord! He was the one that turned the world all crazy, remember? He's been in here before."

"Oh, yes, but he wasn't a baby.."

"Oh, right! Yeah, he got caught in the crossfire of Twilight's spell. It changed him into a baby. Fluttershy has been taking care of him, but she's really tired so she asked me to look after him for a few days, while she rests. He won't be any trouble, I promise! He loves me!" Pinkie declared.

"Okay, as long as he's well behaved, I suppose. Is he, um, potty trained?"

"I have no clue. He wears a diaper, so I don't think so. Fluttershy would've said something about that."

"Okay. But make sure he doesn't make a mess. We've already got two other foals to take care of." Mrs. Cake went into the other room.

"Okay! Got it! He won't be any trouble. Now, come on Discord! Let's have some fun!" Pinkie Pie went to the cupboard. "Why don't I show you how to make cupcakes! It'll be great!" She got out the necessary ingredients. She took Discord from her mane and out him on the counter to watch. "Okay, first you get your ingredients. Then, you put them in a bowl. Here, why don't you do that?" She pointed to them. Discord looked at her, wondering what he was supposed to do. "Take the flour, and put it in there." He grabbed the flour with his little paws and tried to dump it in there, only succeeding to make a mess on the floor. "Oh, don't worry about it little guy! No pony gets it right on their first time! My first time was a disaster!" He looked back at the ingredients, and concentrating, picked it up with his magic to pour the water into the bowl. He put the rest of the ingredients in there. "Wow! That was really good! I didn't know you could use your magic like that yet!" Pinkie exclaimed, smiling. She picked up the spoon and mixed, poured it into the cupcakes tin, and then put them in the oven. "Now, we gotta wait. But, waiting's boring so we're going to go do something else until they're done." She let him hop back into her mane and they left the kitchen.

*****

Fluttershy was snuggled into her bed. She had been sleeping for a while now, ever since dropping Discord off with Pinkie. She was starting to wake up. Yawning, she flipped the covers off herself. What a great rest!

"I haven't slept like that in days," Fluttershy said to herself, stretching. She clambered out of bed, feeling refreshed, and went into the kitchen. As she made herself breakfast, she noticed the book about spirits she had gotten from Twilight. Opening it, she went to the page about draconequus. She looked at the picture of Discord again, still curious to know how old he was in that photo. "Hmm, I think I'll go to Canterlot today. I'm going to ask the Princess about that picture." Fluttershy ate a sandwich, then put the book in her saddlebags and headed out the door.

******

"Princess, there is somepony here to see you," a guard said, opening the door a crack.

"Send them in," Celestia told the guard, signing one last document before tossing it onto a pile. She looked up as Fluttershy came into the room. "Fluttershy! What a nice surprise!"

"Hello, Princess Celestia," the pegasus responded, bowing slightly before getting closer to her.

"What brings you here to Canterlot today?"

"Um, well, I, uh, had a few questions..."

"Oh? About what?"

"Well, Twilight gave me this book about spirits, and there's this picture of Discord, and I was wondering how old he was in it..." Fluttershy quietly nudged the book over to the Princess, opened to the page it was on.

"My, my, I haven't seen this photo in years!" Celestia studied it for a few moments. "Looks just the same as when Luna took it..."

"Pardon? Luna took that picture?"

The Princess lifted her head from the book, forgetting that the pegasus was actually in here. "Oh, yes, she did."

"Do you know how old he was in it?"

"Hmm, let's see..." Celestia removed the photo from the casing that it was in, surprising Fluttershy, who had not known it was there. She unfolded the edges, where it was turned it. It revealed that Princess Celestia, as a young filly, was in the picture, looking sternly up at the spirit of chaos as he floated above her. She flipped it over. "Ah-ha! Found it. Luna took this picture when I was seven, and Discord was around two hundred. So, this was taking about, give or take, four thousand years ago."

"F-four thousand! He's over four thousand years old? So you're like four thousand years old too?!"

"Yes, of course. I was two thousand when Luna and I were the only Princesses. But, Discord overthrows me, and sends the land into eternal chaos and unrest. Luna and I cast him to stone. Over two thousand years goes by. I sent Luna to the moon. That was another thousand years. So, technically, Discord and I, are over five thousand years old, really. He was always older than me. And Luna was around two hundred years younger than me. So, all of this fits together quite nicely."

Fluttershy was gaping. She had been taking care of a spirit that was over five thousand years old, and she didn't even know it! Of course, she had known he was old, but she hadn't thought he was that old.

"So, I have another question," Fluttershy said.

"Yes?"

"Well, Discord can already use magic, fly, and he can use his claws. Is that normal?"

"Discord isn't normal, that's the fact. Chaotic and not making any sense, he was doing things regular ponies shouldn't be able to do even when they are a few years old. It's just how he is."

"Also, is he supposed to be nocturnal?"

"Nocturnal? What do you mean?"

"He stays up all night, sleeps a lot during the day.."

"Oh, babies are babies, no matter what species." Celestia laughed, and Fluttershy did too. "So, have I answered all your questions?"

"Yes, I think so," Fluttershy said, smiling.

******

"Where's Pinkie Pie? Here she is! Where's Pinkie Pie? Here she is!"

Discord squealed in delight as the pink pony played with him. As a silly of a game this was to an adult, to the baby it was a whole lot different. A draconequus was no exception.

"Okay, what should we do now?..." Pinkie looked around. They had already tried the slide. Discord hated it. For what reason, she didn't know. And when playing on the swing, the spirit just let himself go! He had ended up in a tree, a bush, and in some pony else's stroller. Scaring the unsuspecting pony half to death. It was then that Pinkie realized Discord would keep doing that. Seesaws, no, mare-i-go-round, no way... The pink pony thought about what to do next. Everything they had done, he would end up doing wrong, getting scared, or getting himself hurt. So, the park was done for.

"Maybe we should go back to SugarCube Corner. I'm sure the cupcakes are done by now," Pinkie said. She let the spirit climb back into her mane and they set off for the sweet shop. When they went inside, Pinkie got the cupcakes out of the oven. She put Discord on the counter next to them, turned around to get some icing, and when she looked back, the cupcakes were gone. "Discord! Did you eat all of those?!"

A burp signified he did.

"Oh no! I wasn't supposed to let you have sweets in the first place!" Pinkie bit her lip. "Calm down Pinkie, he doesn't even look like he's about to get all magic crazy on you! Maybe it'll all work- oh no he's gone!" A few small twirls of gold told her that Discord had teleported in his sugar rush. "Quick! Need to find him!" She frantically searched the kitchen. She ran outside, thinking he could be there.

"Look! There's a baby stuck on that roof!" Lyra shouted, pointing up at the top of a house. Pinkie's eyes boggled out of their sockets as she saw him, crawling about. Pulling her party cannon out of absolutely nowhere, she stuck a helmet on her head and jumped into it. She launched herself at the roof, and as she went flying over it, she reached out and grabbed Discord. Wiping her forehead off with a sigh of relief, she closed her eyes. When she opened them, they were over the lake.

"Aahh!" Pinkie ran in midair, trying to get them away. She fell into the water with a splash. The pony resurfaced, spitting water out in fountains. Discord hovered above her, never having hit the water. He laughed, waving at her. She snorted, pulling some seaweed off her head. Grumbling, the pink pony swam to shore. She shook herself dry, her mane frizzing up even more than normal. She plucked the spirit out of the air, to his dismay, and set off for SugarCube Corner.

"You need to behave now, Dissy! I can't have you running all willy-nilly everywhere! You could've been hurt," Pinkie Pie scolded the draconequus, making him pout and cross his arms. "Why don't we put you down for a nap?" Discord shook his head. "No, I think you should take a nap." Pinkie walked up the stairs to her room and laid him down in a crib. "Wait, where did this crib come from? I don't remember putting this here." She inspected it, then shrugged her shoulders. "Don't question the world!" The pink pony patted Discord's head and turned off the light, then closed the door. He remained silent for a few moments before bursting into tears. Pinkie shot back into the room. "Don't cry! I'm here! Auntie Pinkie is here!" She grabbed him and rocked him in her arms a little. He didn't stop. "Oh, I know!" She set him down, ran off, then came back again with a bag of flour. She dumped it on herself. Discord started laughing. "That's what I like to see! Now, why don't you go to sleep for a little while?" Pinkie smiled, putting her now white hooves on the edge of the crib. He yawned, curling up. She sighed, then left the room. Again.

*******

I wonder how Pinkie is doing? Fluttershy thought while flying down to Ponyville. I should probably go pick him up.

The yellow pegasus headed to SugarCube Corner. She went inside, and saw Pinkie standing at the counter.

"Hi Pinkie Pie. Where's Discord?" Fluttershy asked.

"Oh, he's upstairs taking a nap," Pinkie Pie told her, smiling.

"Was he good for you?"

"He was an angel!... In a hell angel type of way."

"Oh no, he was bad wasn't he?"

"No, well, sorta, but I fixed it. Just a little incident with some cupcakes…a roof…a lake..."

"Oh, did everything work out okay though?"

"Yup! We had a blast! By the way, he hates slides, so don't let him near one."

"Um, okay... Can I see him?"

"Yeah sure! Just follow me upstairs!" Pinkie bounced up the steps, with Fluttershy behind her. They entered her room and she saw Discord sleeping soundly. Occasionally he would kick or snort.

"Oh, he looks so cute! I don't know how you do it Pinkie, but you're so good with kids! You can make them do anything. Thanks. I think I'll take him back to my place now, since he's been with you all day."

"Okay Flutters! Why don't you wake him up? I have to get back to the register," Pinkie said, turning around and bouncing back downstairs.

Wondering how to wake him up without him crying, Fluttershy watched him sleeping. In a not creepy at all sort of way. She gently tapped his stomach, and he snorted, blinking open his eyes.

"Hi Discord. We're going to go home now, okay?" she said. He just yawned. She picked him up and set him on her back, uncurling her wings. She hovered above the ground for a few moments before going out the window. Discord climbed to the top of her head. "Be careful. I don't want you falling off, now do I?" He laughed and laid down in her mane.

******

"So, how is Discord?" Luna asked.

"Fluttershy told me he was getting more active," Celestia replied.

"Interesting. Did she have him with her?"

"No."

"Oh."

"But you'll never guess what she asked me today."

"What?"

"You know that picture you took, when Discord had just flipped the castle upside down?"

"Oh, she didn't!"

"Yes, she did! She totally asked me how old he was in that picture! I was surprised to see it again."

"I wish I were there. I miss that picture; mostly the look on your face and how young you two look... Things were better back then, weren't they?"

"Yes. When Discord was not the evil mastermind, and he was nice."

"At least he is reformed now."

"He never should have had to be reformed! He was nice before! He should've stayed that way..."

"Do not fret, dear sister, I'm sure that your most faithful student will turn him back to an adult. And then we can laugh at how he is reformed!"

"Oh, Luna, what would I do without you?" Next Chapter: New Ages Estimated time remaining: 50 Minutes