Discord watched the mare opposite him, her back rising and falling with every even breath she took.

She lay - asleep - on her bed, the thin sheets bunched up beneath her in places she had moved around. Her body was sprawled out across the mattress, though she didn't look untidy.

Her position was comfortable-looking, the placement of her hooves purposeful and almost elegant. Her mane was arranged gently across her forelegs, soft and neat despite everything.

She had her chin resting on her hooves, an almost-smile placed on her lips. He face was calm, eyelids laid delicately over her eyes.

She looked so innocent, so relaxed, so...so...

So beautiful.

The word rang through Discord's mind as he stared. He tried to shake it away, but it lingered like a ghost. Grumbling, he tore his gaze away.

She wasn't beautiful. She was his prisoner, his plaything. She was the same as any other mare - no, pony. She was a plain, puny, petrified pegasus who bore no significance, except how...

Except how she had touched his heart while trying to reform him.

Discord threw his head into his palms, not wanting to go over it in his mind yet needing to simultaneously.

She had been kind. She had tolerated his antics. She had given him smiles; a hug - albeit half-hearted -; a warm look in her eye; hospitality; the benefit of the doubt.

She had given him a chance.

Discord let his eyes move back onto Fluttershy. For one moment of regret, he felt guilt exploding within him. He wanted desperately for her to genuinely want to be his friend.

But she wanted nothing more than to break out of there and return to the rest of her old friends, not to acquire a new one.

Especially if the said friend was the very reason she and her friends were apart in the first place.

The draconequus could see, from the longing in her eye, that she was being pulled at by the strong rope of friendship binding her to her friends.

Even if they miraculously did somehow bond, she would most likely forget all about him once reunited with them; it wouldn't be long before she would persuade him to find a way to get out.

He sighed. They were both trapped here, both prisoners. They might as well be equal. The thing that divided their level of power was the fact he had an intimidating attitude and chaos magic, even though her annoying Element of Kindness put a damper on it's capacity.

His eyes darted towards the cursed necklace, the magically enhanced gemstone embedded within it.

Something drew the draconequus closer to the mare. Unexpectedly opting to walk over instead of disturbing her slumber by teleporting, Discord sat down on the edge of her bed, being involuntarily careful not to hurt her.

Up close, he could see her lips were ever so slightly parted. The feathers of her wings were ruffled, the wings themselves partially unfolded. Her tail looked as though it could definitely use a good brush, some of the strands refusing to keep in formation with the others.

She actually looked a little chaotic.

Although he strongly sensed the potential option to disturb the tranquility of her figure, and was about to do just that, the idea seemed abruptly unappealing.

Less unappealing, that is, than simply continuing to stare at her, since he was so bored it was the only vaguely interesting thing to do.

So he did.

Her head tilted forward, a collection of the strands from the front of her mane dropping over the centre of her face.

As he used his claw to move the pink lock behind her ear, she turned away; it seemed she hated him even when unconscious.

Discord retracted his hand, dismay occupying his heart.

He was about to turn away, when she started to fret, struggling against an unseen force. Fluttershy writhed and screamed, yelping "No, no, no!" over and over.

The draconequus was far too used to seeing ponies this way in his presence, albeit never because of a nightmare.

"No! Please, don't take my friends away!" She sobbed, and he froze: he was in her nightmare. For whatever reason, the pity he usually kept locked up for only himself rose as a result of acquiring the knowledge.

He couldn't help himself. Discord gingerly placed a hand on her back and hesitantly started to run his paw down her body.

After just a few strokes, she settled down, making Discord feel strangely proud of himself; nopony had ever accepted his help and, even though she didn't exactly accept it - asleep, as she was -, he had still calmed her and been rewarded with contentment.

It was a good feeling, and he liked it, though it occurred sparsely because only the pegasus mare seemed to give him a sense it in few and far between circumstances.

Strange, how somepony who had hurt him so much could make him feel this great in just a matter of seconds.

Rarity sat in front of her vanity, attacking the knots in her tangled violet mane.

She hadn't bothered to curl nor care for it in days - having been too busy sobbing for Fluttershy, eating buckets of ice cream with Spike and then clutching her stomach as the tummy ache kicked in - and had now become such a nuisance that she just couldn't get the darn knots tamed.

The unicorn wasn't used to tangles this big. She was used to dealing with the physical aftermath of her admittedly melodramatic meltdowns, but this was stupidly different and harder in an incredibly frustrating way.

"Ow!"

Complaining about her own violent tugs was newly-acquired tendency she had gained during the process of her seemingly useless combing.

Making one final exasperated sound, Rarity threw the brush down and rolled her eyes simply to emphasise her frustration.

"Do you want me to help?"

Rarity jumped at the familiar voice of Spike, but smiled warmly at her mirror immediately after, his offer making her heart feel warm.

"Oh, darling, I-I appreciate the offer, but...I-I really don't think..."

"I don't mind doing it!" Spike assured, and Rarity's instinct to oblige to him and generous nature overwhelmed her instantly.

"...Alright, of c-course you can."

The little dragon hopped onto the vanity and picked up the brush. Rarity spun around on her chair so she was facing away from him as he picked up the first few locks of her mane.

Spike worked expertly in silence, Rarity following his lead until a question she had formed couldn't remain unanswered any longer.

"How are you so..." She gulped, hoping she wouldn't offend him in any way. "So...so good at this?"

"Twilight." He explained simply, then elaborated. "With the amount of times she spends poring over books relentlessly, you'd be amazed she finds any of her own time to untangle her mane. She fiddles with and pulls at it quite a lot while studying, so her hair can end up a monstrous mess despite it's inability to hold curls."

"...Okay, that makes sense." She went over what he said in her head again, ensuring she hadn't missed anything.

His claw moved in front of her ear to collect loose strands, stroking the very top of Rarity's jaw on it's path back to the rest of her mane.

For a few precious seconds, his hand was in the perfect position for her to lean against, so she took advantage of it and relaxed into his palm, before he moved it away.

Rarity closed her eyes, ignoring the slightly miffed feeling that had appeared. She was far to focused on cooling the reddening blush on her cheeks.

Ten minutes later, Rarity's naturally wavy hair was back to it's tangle-free, silky standard. She ran her hooves over and through it countless times, mentally admiring it's softness.

Meanwhile, Spike was quietly clearing the hairbrush of the many strands pulled out while brushing and placing them in a bin. Afterward, he placed the hairbrush back on it's position on the vanity.

Both were trying to think of something to say to break the silence when a tumbling mess of Cutie Mark Crusaders came to their rescue, each one entwined in a way similar to how Rarity's hair strands had been minutes before.

They collapsed down the stairs, Rarity immediately running over once her moment of stunned paralysis had passed.

Once they reached the bottom, the unicorn briefly checked for injuries using a quick x-ray scan spell that Twilight had taught her.

Nothing was broken or cut; the were just mildly bruised in places. How they got in that situation was a mystery to both Rarity and Spike, which begged the question:

"Girls, what were you doing?" The prior asked.

Scootaloo rolled over onto her back before replying. "Cutie Mark Crusader...anthro...pologists." She groaned.

Apple Bloom, who was in a better position and condition than the other two, explained, "We were...trying to...stand on our hind legs. We saw this unicorn mare attempting to do it in town the other day and we wanted to give it a try...it didn't work out." She smiled sheepishly before helping Sweetie Belle to her hooves.

Rarity rolled her eyes. "Why on earth were you doing it at the top of the stairs?" She inquired.

"We weren't! We accidentally stumbled out of my room and somehow ended up in a heap on the floor. The momentum carried us down the stairs!" Sweetie said it like a silly accusation, then she retreated back up the stairs before her sister could argue further. Scoots and Apple Bloom scampered after her.

"Those fillies." Spike laughed, shaking his head.

Rarity half-laughed, shaking her head too before it turned into a giggle. "I'm sure they'll get their cutie marks some day. Some day soon, hopefully, because they can really trash the place when they're Cutie Mark Crusading at home!"

"I know!" Spike chortled, reminding Rarity of the amount of times he had been the one to clean up the vast majority of those messes.

The sense of humour confined in a simple smile now, Rarity pulled Spike into a hug. "What would I do without you..." She sighed as he returned the hug, failing to answer.

Frankly, she was okay with that, since she didn't want to ever find out what the answer would be.

Fluttershy was in a sitting position, and the ground beneath her haunches was dusty and rough.

She didn't know where she was, because she hadn't opened her eyes. They remained closed simply because she was afraid of what could greet them once opened.

She buried her head in her hooves, the thought that this would make any possible danger go away suddenly seeming logical. There was fear creeping through her, seeping from an unknown origin. She knew to be afraid; she just didn't know why.

The pegasus tried to imagine happy surroundings, a place that she liked and would feel comfortable in, but her mind was clouded.

Unusual for her, her patience ran out after just a few...seconds? Minutes? Hours?
How long had she actually been there?

She shook her head and lifted her sealed eyelids. She could see houses, with thatched straw roofs; an eerie-looking forest to her left, and to her right...

The town hall; she was in Ponyville.

The mare stood up so abruptly that her forehooves collapsed under the enthusiasm of her hind legs. Her chin smashed into the dust, a small segment of her mane falling across the centre of her face.

Once she got to her hooves, it was gone. She hadn't even registered her hoof moving it behind her ear.

"Fluttershy!"

The aforementioned pony gasped and spun round; that was Rainbow Dash's voice. She gasped again once she caught sight of her friends, tears forming in the corner of her eyes:

They were tied to one of the lamp posts standing tall on the side of the dirt road, wings, legs and bodies bound tightly together with rope.

An eternity seemed to pass before Fluttershy came to her senses. She ran towards her friends, galloping with a speed previously unbeknownst to her hooves.

If I get the quickly, I can untie them an we can -

Something smashed into Fluttershy's muzzle, knocking her to the ground.

She mentally scolded herself for paying too much attention on her thoughts and not enough on where she was going.

The mare blinked. But she had been looking where she was going.

Confused, she placed a hoof up against a wall to aid her to her hooves.

A wall?

Fluttershy darted her eyes to where her hoof connected with the surface. Beneath it was a red, glowing, semi-transparent barricade, blocking the path between her and her friends.

"No." She breathed in utter disbelief. She pounded he hooves against the force-field, each connection sending a ripple of translucent crimson across the dome.

"No, no, no, no, No, No, No, No, NO, NO, NO, NO!" She screamed, tears pouring down her cheeks.

And, suddenly, a monstrous creature came into view.

It had appendages from various reptiles, mammals and birds, a menacing smile and threatening, glowing, red and yellow eyes:

Discord.

Or, rather: a Discord whom of which had grown considerably more petrifying and intimidatingly large since the last time she saw him.

Fluttershy cowered, staring in absolute horror as the monstrous draconequus strode towards her friends and clicked his fingers.

For a second, nothing happened.

But then Fluttershy noticed the absence of Spike.

Another click; Rarity disappeared.

Another; Rainbow Dash was gone.

Fluttershy realised what he was doing and resumed her sob-choked yelling, "No! Please, don't take my friends away!"

Click. Applejack.

"No! Stop, no!"

Pinkie Pie.

"No, no, No, No, NO, NO!" She cried, collapsing against the force-field. Her shoulders shook violently with her sobs.

But then Twilight darted forwards and embraced the poor pegasus and calmed her uncontrolled movement. The alicorn's hoof ran down her back in an almost-ticklish yet firm way. It felt so soft, so real compared to everything else.

She was warm, calmed down and relaxed within seconds.

Fluttershy shut her eyes and locked her mind onto the memory of Twilight's hoof stroking between her wings, touching her in such a calming way. She barely heard the final click of the princess dissipating.

Fluttershy dropped her head to the ground. She didn't know how long she lay there. Hours? Days? Weeks?
Months? Years?

She lay, only with the wonderful, comforting memory to occupy her mind and satisfy her lingering and minuscule yet ever-growing impatience.

At some point, she was brought out of her hazy, half-asleep somnolence by a familiar teleportation noise accompanied by a flash of light.

She stood up, groaning and struggling to anticipate what the...thing might be.

As she opened leaden eyelids, she focused on the direction from which the sound and light came from, and saw...

Discord. This time, he was his normal-sized draconequus sel -

Fluttershy jumped as a terrifying roar emitted from outside the force-field. She turned, slowly, towards the sound and saw the monster erupting disorder unto her home town.

Her eyes darted back to the Discord standing within the dome, and, all of a sudden, it was too much. She was just so fed up. "Oh, that's just perfect. Of course you're here! Because not only is there that...thing over there," she gestured in the general direction of the monster, "taking my friends away from me, but there's another you here to torment me for it! Because, nowadays, nothing that happens to me is ever good, oh no, everything just doesn't make sense!" She stared at Discord accusingly. "But I suppose that's just fine because you just don't make sense anyway." Her eyes stung as tears started to brim over her lashes.

She collapsed onto the ground. The Discord inside the force-field was staring at her in confusion, a look of disorientated bafflement on his face.

"What?" Was all he could think to say.

She just continued to cry.

"Oh, for goodness' sake, will you just stop with the tears!" He roared. "I mean, why in Equestria are you here in the first place? And why, just why, are you crying? And, also, what the heck are you going on about!?"

She glared at him from underneath her hooves and stood bolt upright. "This is what I'm 'going on about!' Sweet Celestia, you don't make sense in my head or in the outside world! And, despite what you may think, not making sense isn't always the best thing. In fact, it rarely is! I don't like it. I hate it. It makes me upset, which is why, Discord, I am crying. Oh, sorry, does that make too much sense to you? Apologies." She grit her teeth as she spoke, accenting the sarcasm-laced words.

"Yeah, that's pretty much why I do it." Discord admitted.

Fluttershy rolled her eyes. "Yeah, because you just love to spite everypony, don't you?" She spat. "Seeing ponies frustrated and annoyed with you is all that matters to you, isn't it? Not friendship, not compassion, just irritating others. You know, there really is something quite appalling about that. So I can now freely say that you..." She paused to narrow her eyes. "Are truly a monster."

Discord flinched, automatically trying to mask it. This isn't real, a voice in his head told him. It doesn't matter.

"You almost look like you enjoyed that." He laughed, shaking his head. But do you know how utterly wrong you are? is what he wanted to say, but he just couldn't do it.

"Monster!" A voice taunted, and Discord grit his teeth and glared at Fluttershy, for it was her's.

"Monster, monster, monster!" She repeated, and he realised that it hadn't been her, because her lips weren't moving.

"Stop it!" He whined, covering his ears as the word echoed around his mind too.

Fluttershy looked at Discord, her ears flattening. Always, she thought. This is always where assertiveness gets me. Well done to you, 'Element of Kindness.'

"Monster, monster, monster, monster, monster!" The invisible walls repeated, but it was her voice, her voice, her voice.

And it just kept on going. She bit her lip and blocked it out, unable to draw her eyes away from the tormented draconequus, until she couldn't bear the building guilt any longer - which didn't take an awfully large period of time.

"Okay!" She whimpered. "I get it! I'm sorry!"

The voice was no more.

"Took you long enough!" Discord exclaimed incredulously.

"You should at least be grateful." She mumbled.

"Grateful? It was you who started it in the first place!"

"Yes, and I darn well ended it too!" She stomped her hoof.

Discord rolled his eyes. "Oh, whatever." He leaned forward and poked her in the muzzle, causing her to blink a couple of times. "Thank you, Fluttershy." He said in a mock tone.

She pushed him away and walked in the other direction, sitting down after a few metres.

Discord crossed his arms. He strolled off.

Fluttershy heard his footsteps and realised it was only so much time until his smashed into the force-field. She braced herself for the noise, but it didn't come.

Curious and confused, she turned around and spotted the draconequus walking well beyond the approximate radius of the dome.

"H-how did you do that?" She wondered aloud, making him turn.

"Do what?"

"Walk through the force-field." Her voice was calm, floaty, as a result of her mind going foggy and unfocused.

He blinked. "What force-field?"

"Th -," she paused, "never mind." Looking around, she noticed that Ponyville was no longer distorted, the reason for it's previous state of chaos vanished too.

With a sigh of relief, Fluttershy looked around her home.

It seemed admirably more beautiful now, if she thought about it. It was possible, of course, that she simply missed it so much - which she did - that it appeared better than ever.

But, then again, the sun was shining like it had never shone before. The mare realised just how much she really missed sunlight, or simply it's gorgeous blue backdrop which was displayed with an array of white, fluffy clouds.

Her eyes followed a cloud until it resulted in her falling backwards onto the ground, letting out a small "oomph!" afterwards.

Slightly dazed, she caught sight of the local florist who she knew rather well, since she was a regular customer. Nearby her patch of growing tulips, there was some long, soft grass sprouting from the ground.

Soft grass. The very idea felt heavenly.

Fluttershy rushed over and leapt onto it, pouncing onto the blades like predator on prey. She giggled, breathing in deeply to smell the sweet aroma of spring.

Discord watched her with great interest at how happy she was. It had occurred to him that he had been the one to deprive her of the simple joy that she had now rediscovered.

He wandered over and crouched down beside the pegasus, who then turned her attention towards him.

Her smile didn't even falter

"Hey...you do know they're staring, right?" He pointed out, referring to the townsfolk.

"Are they?" She said, finally noticing the ponies looking at her. She ducked her head bashfully and blushed in the most adorable fashion.

Her grin was gone. And she didn't look happy anymore.

The Lord of Chaos looked at her. Her sad, teal eyes were half-covered by her drooping eyelids, her lips pressed together in a devastatingly disappointed frown.

She had her mane flowing down half of her face and was cowering to the ground, looking smaller than one would've thought she could ever be.

She was trembling. And looked on the verge of tears.

It occurred to him that she wasn't afraid of him, for once. She was afraid of all the eyes glued to her, judging her every move like blood-thirsty hawks...

Or, at least, that's how he guessed she saw them, judging from his own experience.

She was a very, very shy pegasus. She was also perpetually good at involuntarily making herself insurmountably pitiful, in the draconequus' eyes.

Carefully, he moved her hair out of her face. Gently, he stroked her nearest cheek, to calm her from shaking.

Her head turned towards him, pupils dilated. She was still utterly terrified, and this time it was because of Discord.

He could tell.

She was eyeing his claw, drawing herself nearer and nearer the conclusion to slap it away, and he knew it.

If I don't comfort her, she would still be scared. If I don't comfort her, she...she won't be happy.

Discord felt an urge calling for...her. He really, really did want her friendship. How badly, however, he had not realised until then.

Wordless, he picked her up - she was completely limp now, so didn't fight against him - and laid her chin softly on his shoulder, holding her close and secure with his arms.

Fluttershy's eyes snapped open. She felt Discord surrounding her, he was everywhere. She contemplated trying to squirm free, but could feel she was tightly trapped.

She suddenly wondered if this was how her friends had felt when tied to that post.

Biting back tears, she tore her eyes around. Sure enough, Discord had his arms firmly encased around her, in...a...hug?

For a moment, that thought was illogical, stupid, and idiotic. But then he began to stroke her back, for whatever reason, and the mare melted under the tenderness of his touch.

Her heart rate slowed a little, and she relaxed. It was still rather awkward, but she didn't mind.

"I'm sorry." She whispered. She didn't know what she was apologising for exactly, but the words felt right on he tongue at this particular moment.

And then, unexpected to both of them, Discord replied in the same sincere, hushed tone:

"Me too."

Author's Notes:

Would y'all believe me if I told you that I wasn't originally planning for Discord and Fluttershy to hug and apologise at the end?
No? Ah well.