Flash knew he couldn't put it off indefinitely, and having stood outside of the great doors for almost a full minute now he maintained that grimace he'd been wearing the whole time. But, after steeling himself, he finally pushed through, making sure not to spill a single drop of the newly-acquired second round of tea while doing so. The moment he entered though, he found one of the cups snatched off him by Discord, who gulped it in one go before unceremoniously throwing the cup back onto the tray. "Finally! What took you?"

While grateful the two hadn't killed each other during his absence, Flash was still somewhat irritated at the spirit's behaviour, though he kept his feelings in check as he spoke. "Sorry for the lateness. I was...distracted."

Solaris, of course, was as hard to read as ever, especially with his purely mechanical voice. "WELL, YOU'RE JUST IN TIME TO HEAR OF MY LATEST COMPLAINTS, BECAUSE DISCORD HERE HAS BEEN TELLING ME ALL ABOUT HIS SO-CALLED TURN TO THE LIGHT."

Discord, naturally, rolled his eyes. "You'd find cause to complain about anything. It's your nature. Just accept that I'm one of the good guys now and we can all get on with our lives."

"NOT A CHANCE, BUCKO. FROM WHAT YOU'VE TOLD ME YOU CAN'T SEEM TO HELP BUT MESS THINGS UP FOR MY BELOVED PONIES."

He was waved off by the mischievous ancient. "Pfft! You're blowing things up way out of proportion. I mean I may have had a few lapses here and there but it never hurt anycreature, right?"

"OH NO? THEN WHY DON'T WE ASK OUR FRIEND HERE?"

Flash sighed. "Okay, here we go."

"SO LET'S HEAR IT, KID. HAS DISCORD HERE REALLY CHANGED FOR THE BETTER, AS MY DAUGHTER HOPED HE WOULD?"

Discord narrowed his eyes to the stallion. "Choose your words carefully, friend."

Flash looked from one to the other, before finally taking a massive gulp of the tea he'd brought for himself. He considered diplomacy for a time, but in the end he knew that wouldn't cut it. So, he just stepped forward and looked the old king right in the eye. Or eye-socket in this case. "Sir, with the greatest respect to both your daughter and to Princess Twilight, my feelings towards Discord and his efforts to ingratiate himself with pony society have been...mixed."

"SEE? WHAT DID I TELL YOU?"

Seconds afterwards, Flash found himself looking right into Discord's eye as the latter went within an inch of his face. "And pray tell, little guard, what exactly gives you so low an opinion of me?"

Flash frowned right back. "I was part of the guard here at Canterlot when Tirek was on his rampage. A rampage you helped him with." The stallion watched as Discord, just for a moment, showed a brief flicker of regret in his expression. But the latter said nothing, allowing Flash to continue. "My power was stolen along with everypony else's. And that was just one instance. When you resurrected Sombra, I was again set out to defend the city along with the rest of the guard. And like before, we were no match. Both were a threat you had aided or unleashed, and many were hurt by it." He sighed. "I put my trust in Celestia, and in Twilight who followed her. They told us all that you were to be accepted, treated as one of our own." A pause, after which he looked to him angrily once more. "But while words say one thing, experience shows another, and it's unlikely I'll ever be able to forget all the hurt you've caused for me and countless others during your time among us."

Discord allowed his eyes to stray from Flash, though whether it was embarrassment or shame couldn't be ascertained. Meanwhile, Solaris had his part to say. "WELL, DISCORD? WHAT SAY YOU TO THAT?"

Discord stood tall again, folding his arms. "What I say is that I am not one to be judged by some lowly commoner in a shiny, gold suit." He paused, his eyes briefly darting to Flash, after which he sighed. "But...I'd be lying if I said he hasn't brought up points I've considered myself. Even my friends saw fit to scold me about my actions once we were away from prying eyes." He winced. "And perhaps...just maybe...I'll concede that my attempts to help Twilight grow as a ruler might not have gone the way I expected or wanted. If even my precious Fluttershy can find herself a prisoner because of what I set in motion...then yeah, it can't be argued that what I did left a good taste in my mouth." With his shoulders slumping ever so slightly, he finally looked down to Flash. "I'm...sorry."

Before the young stallion could respond, Solaris interrupted. "PARDON ME...BUT WHAT DID YOU SAY?"

Discord frowned to him. "I said I'm sorry! Didn't you hear me the first time?!"

"FIRST TIME IS RIGHT. I HAVE KNOWN YOU FOR COUNTLESS YEARS, DISCORD, AND NOT ONCE IN ALL THAT TIME HAVE YOU EVER APOLOGISED FOR ANYTHING."

Another look of annoyance from the draconequus. "Well I'm sorry for this."

"...HUH. THEN IT IS POSSIBLE MY JUDGEMENT OF YOU WAS NOT ENTIRELY ACCURATE."

"Say what now?" Discord asked with an arched eyebrow.

"IF ONE SUCH AS YOU CAN FEEL TRULY SORRY AND APOLOGETIC FOR YOUR ACTIONS, THEN PERHAPS YOU HAVE INDEED CHANGED FOR THE BETTER."

Discord scoffed. "See? Told ya."

"YOU ARE STILL A THORN IN THE SIDE OF PONYKIND, HOWEVER. YOUR ACTIONS HAVE HURT THEM MANY TIMES, BOTH PAST AND PRESENT, EVEN IN SPITE OF WHAT YOU COULD ARGUE WERE GOOD INTENTIONS, AND YOU WILL STAND TRIAL FOR THAT THE REST OF YOUR IMMORTAL LIFE."

Here, Discord's smirk vanished, replaced instead with a look of regret. "...I know."

"BUT THAT YOU CAN RECOGNISE THIS, AND EVEN WISH TO MAKE UP FOR IT, IS A SIGN THAT I TOO WAS WRONG. THAT YOU HAVE IMPROVED AS A PERSON, AND CAN LIVE AMONG US, ALBEIT WITH INCREDIBLY WATCHFUL SUPERVISION."

Discord's grin returned. "Well, so glad to have your approval, O mighty king." After a moment, he looked again to Flash, stretching out his paw. "So...friends?"

Flash looked to the offered appendage, then exhaled deeply before accepting it. "For the sake of the princess who trusts you...sure." He looked to him skeptically. "With wariness, I hope you understand."

"I'd consider you a fool otherwise," Discord replied with a smile.

"GOOD START. ONE DOWN, A WHOLE NATION LEFT TO GO, EH DISCORD?"

Instantly, Discord cast him a dark look. "Don't spoil the moment."

Next Chapter: Not Canon! Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 38 Minutes