Friendship and Harmony: Darkness Awakens

by BoeingtheDraconequus

Friendship and Harmony: Darkness Awakens: Chapter 1

Discord laid down in a hammock that floated in mid-air as he took a sip of some icy cold chocolate milk, causing him to shiver in response as his body got enveloped in ice for a moment before it melted away into thin air. Due to the heat wave that baked all of Equestria, the Lord of Chaos was out stretched in his garden at his castle in the Everfree Forest.

The Castle of the Two Sisters was a gift to him from Princess Celestia and Princess Luna in honor of helping Starlight Glimmer, Trixie, and Thorax save everyone from the Changelings, under condition that he contain his chaos magic within the castle grounds and not harmed anyone as well as keep an eye on the Tree of Harmony for any signs of trouble.

Discord didn’t mind the old crumbly ruins of the former palace nor the requirements, mainly because he could add his own spin on it and make it a place of his own. When he moved in, he turned the castle back into what it looked like back when Celestia and Luna used to live in it on the outside, but the inside was a completely different story.

The castle walls on the inside had different colors and art styles, changing to other colors and arrays of creativeness automatically whenever Discord felt like redecorating, which was every few minutes or hours. The floors were bouncy like the floor on a trampoline and could easily be bounced on by simply bouncing on it, and the gravity was only half as much inside compared to outside.

Discord took another sip of his ice chocolate milk as he let out a content sigh. He summoned a pair of sunglasses over his eyes as well as a Hawaiian shirt and a large umbrella for shade and an electric fan as it blew the air around him directly at him.

“Much better.” he sighed with a satisfied smile as he closed his eyes and took another sip of his drink.

The sound of papery flapping could be heard as he turned to see his calendar flying towards him, clearly in an urgent state as it flapped around him frantically. “Oh what do you want?” Discord asked with a displeased tone. “I thought I made it clear to never disturb me unless it’s an emergency.”

The calendar flipped its pages towards the current month of the year as Discord eyed it for a moment until it circled a certain day of the week that caused him to widen his eyes.

Tuesday.

Today was his weekly Tuesday Tea with Fluttershy and he nearly forgot about it.

He slapped himself in the face. “I knew I was forgetting something.” Discord muttered as he made all his things and shirt disappear. “I suppose I should thank you for the interruption, but don’t ever disturb me like that again unless it’s a real emergency. Got it?”

His calendar gave a swift nod as it flew back inside the castle.

The Draconequus then teleported inside of the living room of Fluttershy’s cottage, which was surprisingly hot despite all the windows being open, as he looked to see that the yellow Pegasus was nowhere in sight. Angel glared at him from the couch, but Discord ignored him.

‘Strange,’ he thought. ‘Perhaps she’s a little late preparing the tea.’

Discord teleported into the kitchen, only to find it completely clean and devoid of any action. “Fluttershy?” he called as he stepped out of the kitchen and re-entered the living room, only to receive no response.

“Perhaps she’s in her animal sanctuary and forgot about your little get together as well.”

He turned to see an exact copy of himself wearing a pair of glasses lounging on the couch with a book in his hands. He tossed the book aside as it disappeared before he sat up. “I mean, why else would Fluttershy not be in here at the moment? Aside from the fact that she’s probably outside trying to roast herself.”

“I was just about to think that, thank you.” the original Discord said as he snapped his fingers and summoned a portal underneath his copy as it sucked him in it before disappearing in a flash of light.

The Draconequus then teleported into Sweet Feather Sanctuary and spotted Fluttershy sitting over by the trees giving some squirrels small bottles of water as he teleported behind her. “Hi, Fluttershy!” he said in a merry tone.

She let out a surprised scream and jumped to her hoofs as the squirrels ran back up into the trees. Turning around, she saw her chaotic friend standing behind her with a smile on his face. “Oh, Discord. You startled me.”

“Sorry for the surprise, my dear, I couldn’t resist.” Discord chuckled. “But Today’s our weekly get together. Is there a reason you’re out here and not inside preparing tea?”

“Sorry Discord, but due to today's heat wave, some of the animals here in the sanctuary are getting really hot and need lots of water.” Fluttershy replied. “Maybe we can have our tea party tomorrow.”

“We could, or I can take care of your chores for you.” Discord raised his eagle claw and poised his talons in a snapping position.

“I appreciate the offer, but I’m fine on my own.”

“Are you sure? You look like you’re melting.”

He wasn’t kidding. Beads of sweat slowly dripped down Fluttershy’s forehead and her face was flushed slightly from the heat.

“Oh, Don’t worry about me. I’m almost done with my tasks for the morning.” she said as she wiped her forehead with her foreleg. “I’m fine. Really, I am.”

The Draconequus folded his arms and eyed her with suspicion for a moment before shrugging. “If you insist on doing this by yourself, then I won’t stop you. But I can still be by your side and chat, right?”

“Of course you can.” Fluttershy flew up and wrapped her forelegs around his chest. “It’s still good to see you.”

“Same here, my dear.” Discord wrapped his arms around her body for a moment before they broke the embrace.

“So what’s been going on since we last saw each other?” Fluttershy asked as she made her way towards the supplies shed.

“Oh, do I have a story for you!” Discord replied cheerfully as he floated alongside her. “A few days ago, I was lounging on my thinking tree when I suddenly got an idea about pranking Celestia. I went into the Canterlot Castle dining room when it was time for her lunch disguised as a cake as she noticed me from her seat and levitated me onto a plate and next to her hayburger. Contrary to common belief, Celestia secretly loves cake and is an absolute sucker for it.” a snicker escaped him as he fought against the upcoming storm of laughter building up within him. “When she cut out a slice to sample on and was about to eat some of it, I made my face appear on it and pretended to scream in agony as if she actually hurt me!”

No longer taking it anymore, the Lord of Chaos bursted into laughter. “Oh, Celestia should’ve seen the look on her face, purely priceless! She was frozen in shock and horror as I turned back into my normal self and laughed at her before disappearing, leaving another cake for her!”

Discord let gravity push him back onto the ground as he rolled around and guffawed hysterically.

Fluttershy turned around and looked at him with a frown. “I don’t think it was nice to make fun of the princess like that.”

“Oh come on, Fluttershy, it was hilarious.” Discord said once his laughter stopped and teleported to her side. “If you were there, you’d find it to be a little disturbing at first, but amusing once I reveal myself.”

“I still think that was a little mean. You should apologize to Celestia for that.”

“I left her an apology note after I left, and I’m more than sure she’s already let that slide.“

“Well, if you say so.” Fluttershy allowed a small smile to form on her lips. “Anything else happen besides pranks?”

“Not much,” Discord replied. “But what about you? Did you do anything exciting?”

“I let a female bobcat and her mate move into the sanctuary. They’re over in one of the caves and won’t harm any of the other animals.”

“That’s nice to hear.”

As Fluttershy continued her chores around the animal sanctuary, Discord floated alongside her and occasionally engaged her in a few friendly conversations while using his magic to get a few good giggles out of her.

However, as the day went on and the temperature got hotter, she became more flushed and sweaty, even feeling light headed and dizzy a few times.

It was then when she finished giving her bear friend, Harry, a couple of sardines for lunch that she felt another dizzy spell, which didn’t go unnoticed.

“Are you alright, Fluttershy?” Discord asked as he looked at her with concern, something he only did to his one and only friend. “You’re sweating a lot and you’re getting dizzy.”

“Oh. N-no, Discord, I’m fine.” the yellow Pegasus shook her head as she took a sip of water from her water bottle. “I’m almost done with my chores and then I can have my lunch break.”

“Are you sure you can’t take a break in the shade for a minute? I’m not a doctor, but even I know that being out in this kind of heat is harmful.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be okay.” Fluttershy gave him a reassuring smile as she carried a basket of carrots over to the rabbits. As she did so, her mind vision began to blur and began to feel dizzy. ‘You can do this, Fluttershy. You’re almost there.’ she said in her mind as her hoofsteps began to slow down and subtle a little bit.

“Fluttershy, I’m not joking. Go over to the shade for a few minutes and drink some water.” Discord said in a serious tone as he made a plastic bottle of water materialize and float in front of her.

“No, I still have lots of work to do.” Fluttershy shook her head firmly as the bottle disappeared and continued onward, only to experience yet another dizzy spell, this once the strongest out of all the previous ones all morning. “Oh dear.”

She stumbled from side to side as her vision became too blurry to see out of and her head too woozy to concentrate, causing her to faint and drop her basket.

“Fluttershy!” Discord exclaimed as he scooped her up into his arms and placed his lion paw on her forehead, noticing that not only was it really sweaty, but hotter than normal. “That’s it, young lady, you're going somewhere cool to get some much needed water and relaxation and I’m not taking no for an answer!”

Not wasting another second, the Draconequus turned his tail tuft into a hand and snapped his fingers, disappearing with the unconscious Pegasus in a flash of light.

He reappeared inside the cottage and used his magic to close the windows and lower the temperature to a more cooling and comfortable state as he laid Fluttershy down on the couch and materialized an ice pack on her forehead.

‘Maybe Fluttershy wouldn’t mind if I took care of all her tasks for the day.’ Discord thought as he snapped his fingers. ‘There, all done.’ he materialized a cold chocolate milkshake with a cherry on top on the table as he teleported into the armchair next to the couch and waited patiently. Only time would tell until Fluttershy would wake up

Thankfully, he didn’t have to wait for long as the yellow Pegasus began to regain consciousness and let out a moan as she slowly opened her eyes. “Oh my…what happened?” she murmured as she looked up to see an ice pack on her head.

“You fainted when you were going over to those bunnies with some carrots.” Discord said as she sat up and looked at him. “Don’t worry about that, my dear. I took care of it for you.”

“You did?”

“I most certainly did, and I even took care of all your other tasks for the day.”

“Really? You did that all for me?” Fluttershy looked at him with an astonished look. “You didn’t have to do that though. I could’ve done it myself.”

“True, but you were overheating. Speaking of which, why did you continue your work if you knew you were getting dizzy and not taking a break for some water?” Discord asked.

“I couldn’t just let my poor animals suffer in the heat for much longer. If I took a break, they would’ve gotten even hotter and suffered sun stroke.”

“Then why didn’t you drink any water? I mean, when was the last time you ever thought about yourself for a moment?”

“I don’t really do that very often. I sometimes think that if I think about myself too much, I’ll become too selfish and nopony will like me.”

“But if you don’t think about yourself normally, you’ll end up being so caught up in being selfless that you’ll end up forgetting and ignoring what you want and need. I mean, look at myself.” Discord placed his lion paw on his chest. “I think about myself all the time, but I also think about you, my dear. I even made you a milkshake to help you cool down.”

He pointed to the said drink on the table as she looked down at it. “You made that for me?” Fluttershy asked.

“Why of course.” Discord replied. “Go on and take a sip.”

She picked up the milkshake and brought the straw to her mouth as she took a sip, widening her eyes and humming in delight. “This is delicious!” she proudly proclaimed as she continued to drink it.

“There, you see? I may think about myself most times, but I also think about you.” Discord smiled at her as she continued drinking.

“You’re right, and it was really thoughtful of you to do this for me.” Fluttershy smiled warmly at him as she finished her milkshake, only to let out a small burp and cover her mouth with her hoof. “Oh, excuse me.”

“You’re excused, my dear. Now then, would now be a good time to have our tea party? You are free from all your chores for the day, thanks to yours truly.”

The yellow Pegasus let out a small giggle. “Why not? You were really helpful after all.”

“Splendid!” Discord smiled as he clapped his hands twice, causing a tea set materialized on the table. “I managed to perfect my cucumber sandwiches a few days ago, so go my dear. Try them.”

A tray of cucumber sandwiches materialized and hovered in front of them as Fluttershy took one into her hoof and put it in her mouth, chewing it thoroughly before swallowing it. “Oh my, it tastes so much better than your last batch.” she smiled.

“Why thank you.” Discord smiled proudly as he placed his eagle claw on his chest in pride.

---

Princess Twilight Sparkle and her former pupil Starlight Glimmer were sitting in the library at the Castle of Friendship reading books together. Due to the hot weather outside, the entire building was casted in a cooling spell to prevent the heat from getting inside and kept it nice and cool inside.

The doors opened as they both looked to see Spike entering. “Hey Twilight. Can I go over to Rarity’s and hang out with her?” he asked.

“Of course, Spike.” Twilight replied with a smile.

Her baby dragon was officially no longer a ‘baby’ anymore. He went through a growth spurt a month ago and was now a few inches underneath her height and was more slender with muscles showing on his arms, stomach, and legs. His spikes were slightly larger and sharper and his tail was slightly longer.

“Great! See you later. You too, Starlight.” the purple pre-teenaged dragon waved to the both of them as he turned and left the library, closing the doors behind him.

“Still trying to get used to the new Spike?” Starlight asked her former teacher.

“Yeah,” Twilight replied with a sigh. “I can’t believe my little Spike is growing up so quickly. It wasn’t that long ago he was able to ride on my back.”

“Well, soon he’ll become an adult and find his special somepony, or somedragon and move out of the castle.”

“I know, but I’ll always see him as my baby.”

This brought another smile on her lips as they both heard the sound of something powering up. Twilight and Starlight stood up and turned over to the portal to the mirror world whirring up as the archway got encased in a magenta aura.

Immediately afterwards, a yellow unicorn mare with a fiery red and yellow mane and tail stepped out with a pair of saddlebags on her back.

“Sunset!” Twilight exclaimed excitedly as she stood up from her chair and rushed over, embracing her friend in a hug. “It’s so good to see you!”

“It’s good to see you too, Twilight.” Sunset smiled at her before noticing another unicorn in the library. “Who’s that?”

“Oh! I nearly forgot.” Twilight pulled away as Starlight went up to them. “Starlight, this is my friend Sunset Shimmer. Sunset, this is my former pupil Starlight Glimmer.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Starlight.” Sunset held out her hoof with a friendly smile.

“Same here.” Starlight smiled back as they shook hooves. “So how did you get here through that portal just now?”

“Oh, I live in an alternate world with creatures called humans and actually have friends there. It’s a little complicated to explain but they’re just like the ponies here in Equestria only there’s no magic but a lot of technology and machines.”

“Wow, I may have to visit your world one of these days. So what brings you here?”

“It’s the first day of summer vacation at my high school and I want to spend the first week here in Equestria.”

“Really? That’s wonderful!” Twilight said. “Feel free to spend time here in the castle for as long as you want.”

“Thanks, Twilight.” Sunset smiled at her as they shared another hug.

“Would you like a tour of Ponyville?”

“Sure. It’s been so long since I was last here in Equestria, and I want to see what’s changed.”

“That’s good to hear.” Twilight smiled. “Just be advised that we’re suffering a heat wave.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Sunset nodded as she turned to the light purple unicorn. “Do you want to come with us, Starlight?”

“I don’t see why not.” she replied. “I need a break from all this reading anyway.”

All three of them exited the library as Sunset Shimmer stopped and turned around, noticing a familiar yet not familiar face. Twilight noticed that she wasn’t coming and turned around, teleporting next to her friend.

“Sunset, this is my guard Flash Sentry. Flash, this is my friend Sunset Shimmer. She’s staying here in the castle for a week.” The Princess of Friendship said as the yellow unicorn eyed him for a second before reaching out with her hoof and shaking his.

“It’s nice to meet you.” Sunset said as she forced a smile on her lips despite feeling slightly awkward.

“It’s nice to meet you too, and welcome to Ponyville.” Flash smiled at her as they shook hoofs before she turned around with Twilight and caught back up with Starlight as they exited the castle and stepped out into the hot humid heat.

---

Spike happily marched through the smoldering heat of Ponyville as he went towards Carousel Boutique with a proud smile on his face. He wasn’t only heading over to the home of the bearer of the element of generosity just to hang out with her, but in hopes to impress her.

The purple dragon had a crush on her ever since he and Twilight first moved into town and would always go out of his way to make her happy by doing all sorts of tasks for her and helping with her dresses, but she seemed to not catch on to his feelings like he would’ve hoped, not to mention Rarity would always be chasing after handsome stallions like Prince Blueblood and Trenderhoof.

Spike didn’t give up though. He would continuously try again to impress her and earn her affections, and become her special somepony, or rather special somedragon, in the process. Whether Rarity felt the same way or not, he would always continue to be a good friend and support her fashion business.

He went up to the front door to her home and knocked on it as he waited patiently, only to receive no response as his smile fell. “Rarity?” he called as he knocked again. “Are you in there?”

The door opened to reveal Sweetie Belle as she looked up at him. “Hey Spike.” she said. “Rarity’s up in her room if you’re looking for her, but she’s not happy at the moment.”

“Really? Why?” Spike asked.

“I don’t know. I tried talking to her but she won’t let me in her room.”

Spike frowned in concern. What could Rarity be so upset about that she wouldn’t let anyone, including her younger sister, talk about. “I should go and talk to her,” he said.

“I agree.” Sweetie Belle nodded in agreement as she opened the door further and allowed him to enter. Once he stepped inside, he looked around with slightly widened eyes.

All over the floor were incomplete and tattered dresses as well as several crumpled sketchbook papers of dress designs. Clothing racks of previously designed dresses stood at various locations around the area and all the curtains on all the windows were pulled closed.

“Wow.” Spike managed to say. It wasn’t the first time he’d been to Carousel Boutique in this kind of condition, minus the crumpled pieces of paper on the floor. “Is Rarity facing some kind of a designer's block?”

“No doubt about it,” Sweetie replied. “I even heard her mumbling to herself how she couldn’t come up with any designs for the summer.”

Spike frowned in concern. “I should go and talk to her.”

He followed the unicorn filly up the stairs, being careful to not step on any of the incomplete dresses as they reached the 2nd floor of the building and went over to the door to Rarity’s room.

“Rarity?” Sweetie Belle knocked on the bedroom door. “Spike’s here to see you.”

A moment of silence passed as they both waited patiently. “Come in.” a voice came from the other side as the purple dragon twisted the doorknob and entered.

The entire bedroom was exactly like the rest of the house, only much more messy with even more crumpled sketchbook papers on the floor as well as incomplete dresses.

Spike looked over at the work table and spotted Rarity sitting at it on her stool, wearing her robe and facing away from him.

“Rarity?” he called over to her as he cautiously approached her. “Are you okay?”

She didn’t voice a reply, but rather nodded her head.

“Are you sure? Your home is a mess and the windows are closed. Is there something wrong?”

Rarity shook her head as the purple dragon came up to her side and looked at her in concern. He noticed a tear streaming down her cheek and tried to get a better look, only for her to turn her head away from him.

That really concerned him. She would never turn away from him like that and not say anything in reply.

He placed his hand on her shoulder, and that touch finally seemed to get to her. Rarity began sobbing as she spun around and wrapped her forelegs around his body as she buried her face into his chest, surprising him in the process.

“Oh Spike, it’s positively terrible!” she sniffed. “I can’t come up with any dress designs.”

It took a moment for him to snap out of his trance as he slowly wrapped his arms around her. “Why not?”

“There hasn’t been anything inspiring for weeks! I feel like I’ve lost my creative spark and I don’t know what to do.”

Spike continued to hold her as he awkwardly rubbed her back with his hand. “Um…there there.” he said hesitantly. He wasn’t really an expert on this sort of thing compared to others who were or probably had foals, but he couldn't let her wallow in her own misery.

It took a few more minutes of sobbing for the white unicorn to finally let it all out as she finally calmed down and pulled away, giving him a small smile. “Thank you for the comfort, Spike, but I’m still in a pickle. Do you happen to have any ideas?” she asked him hopefully.

“Well, not off the top of my head.” Spike replied as he saw her frown in disappointment. “But maybe you could make some summer dresses,” he quickly added.

“I thought about that already, but they don’t seem to speak to the fashion world.” Rarity said with a sigh as she used her magic to levitate a tissue over and blew into it before placing it in the already overflowing trash can. “Not unless I create something I never thought of before.

The purple dragon thought for a moment before perking up with an idea. “Wait a minute. What if you tried to combine your sense of fashion into a typical summer dress?”

“You mean make a dress that’s part casual and part formal?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Why not? And maybe you can design a nice summer hat to go with it.”

Rarity put a hoof to her chin in thought before gasping. “Why Spike, that is an amazing idea!” she smiled as she levitated her sketchbook and quill over before flipping to an empty page and sketching down her idea in it. Once she finished, she tore out the paper and levitated it to him.

“How does this look?” she asked as he took it in his hands and looked at it. The dress Rarity drew had a long and flowy gown with small flowers on it in a pattern and a pair of smooth slippers and a nice summer hat with a large flower on the side.

“I think that’s a great design.” Spike smiled.

“You’re right.” Rarity muttered as she looked at her drawing. “You’re right!”

She immediately placed the paper back on the table as she levitated several rolls of fabric out from the shelves as well as a few more stitching machines from the closet as she swiftly went to work, creating a series of dresses in no time at all before hanging them on an empty dress rack.

“Wow. That was fast.” Spike said with amazement.

“It certainly was.” Rarity flipped her mane before smiling sweetly. “And I have you to thank for those fabulous ideas.”

“Aww, it was nothing.” a blush coated his cheeks as he scratched his head bashfully. “Would it be okay if we had some ice cream together?”

“It most certainly is.” the white unicorn replied as she stood up and took off her robe before she and Spike exited the room and went downstairs.

---

“Whew! It’s super hot out here.” Sunset wiped her forehead as they entered Ponyville. “But Ponyville sure is nice and peaceful around here.”

“It sure is, but we do sometimes get threatened by powerful villains.” Twilight said.

“Really? How often does that happen?”

“Thankfully not too often, but a little over a month ago, me and all my friends got ponynapped by the Changelings when they tried to exact their revenge on us.”

“What’s a changeling?” Sunset asked.

“They were cruel and ruthless creatures that could transform into the ones you love and feed off of your love for them.” Starlight answered as she explained when she, Trixie, Thorax, and Discord teamed up to save everyone and overthrow Queen Chrysalis.

“Wow. that must’ve been quite the adventure.” the yellow unicorn said. “And you say that Discord helped you? As in the spirit of chaos and disharmony? I thought Princess Celestia and Princess Luna turned him into a stone statue a thousand years ago?”

“He was, but he broke free when the princesses were no longer connected to the elements of harmony.” Twilight said as she explained the day when Discord escaped his stone prison and unleashed his chaos before explaining when Celestia tasked the bearer of the element of kindness to reform the mischievous spirit of chaos. “It wasn’t easy, but she successfully reformed him and they’ve been close friends ever since.”

“Wow. looks like I’ve missed out on a lot since I ran away from Canterlot.”

“You did?” Starlight asked. “Why?”

Sunset explained to her how she used to be one of Celestia’s old students and became cruel when she didn’t get what she wanted and ran away to the mirror world as a result. “I regret the day I went mad and nearly invaded Equestria with an army of teenagers, but I had Twilight and my friends back home to show me the light.”

“I also had a pretty rough past.” the light purple unicorn said as she explained when she took the cutie marks of the ponies in her old village and got defeated by Twilight and her friends and attempted to go back in time to exact her revenge, only to get convinced of the error of her ways and gain not only a home in the Castle of Friendship but friends.

“Looks like we have something in common.” Sunset said.

“We do.” Starlight nodded in agreement as she held out her hoof. “Friends?”

“Friends.” they both shook hooves together as Twilight watched it all with a proud smile. Her former student has come a long way since her reformation.

As the three of them went near Sugarcube Corner, they spotted Pinkie Pie with an ice cream stand outside the building. “Hi Twilight! Hi Starlight!” she waved over at them. “Step right up and get fresh cold ice cream!”

Twilight, Starlight, and Sunset all went over to the ice cream stand as the pink earth pony looked at the yellow unicorn and drew in a sharp but long gasp, instantly recognizing her from the night when she stole Twilight’s crown. “Are you new here?”

“Um, kind of,” Sunset replied. “Why do you-”

“One second!” Pinkie cut her off as she zipped inside Sugarcube Corner and came back out in an impressive speed wearing a barrage of different musical instruments. The mallet to the base drum began beating a steady beat as Pinkie cleared her throat.

“🎵Welcome welcome welcome,
A fine welcome to you.
Welcome welcome welcome,
We’re glad to see you too.

We’re glad that you could come,
To the town of Ponyville.
Where you can have lots of fun
or you can sit, relax, and chill.

No matter what may come,
No matter what the weather.
We slow down or give up
Because we have each other.

Now to give my name,
My name is Pinkie Pie!
I love to throw lots of parties
And spread joy so you don’t cry.

Now to wrap this up,
And to send you on your way.
I welcome you to Ponyville
With a hip hip hurray!🎵”

Pinkie finished playing her instruments and singing her song as Sunset Shimmer looked at her with a look of amazement and bewilderment. “Wow.” she managed to say.

“I know, right? I know it’s last minute, but I wrote that song all for you!” Pinkie grinned at her. “Did you like it? Huh, huh? Did you?”

“Yes. It was very…creative.” Sunset replied.

“I knew you’d like it! Here, have some ice cream!” The pink earth pony rushed back to her ice cream stand and pulled out a plastic bowl as she scooped some strawberry ice cream in it and put some sprinkles on it with a cherry on top before pulling out a plastic spoon and rushed back over. “Here you go!”

“Thanks.” Sunset smiled at her as she scooped a sample of it on her spoon and took a bite, immediately feeling a cooling sensation from the sweet taste. “This is delicious.”

“I knew you’d like it!” Pinkie grinned as she rushed back over to her ice cream stand and made two more ice cream bowls for Twilight and Starlight. “Free of charge!”

“Really?” Twilight asked as she took the ice cream into her magical aura.

“Yup! Mr and Mrs. Cake wants me to make free ice cream for anyone who shows up due to the heat wave.”

“Tell them we said thanks.” Starlight said as she took her ice cream into her magical aura and took a bite. “And this ice cream really is delicious.”

“Will do!” Pinkie smiled as she went back over to her ice cream stand. “Have a nice day, and stay cool!”

“We will.” Twilight waved at her as she, Starlight, and Sunset continued on their way. “Let’s head back to the castle. It’s getting too hot out here.”

“I agree.” Sunset nodded as the group went through town and back to the path to the castle. Once they stepped back inside, they immediately felt a rush of cold air blow over them as Twilight closed the doors.

“Ahhh, this feels so much better.” Starlight sighed as they went towards the library.

“Hey Sunset, can I take you up to your guest room so that you can get your things settled?” Twilight asked.

“Sure thing.” Sunset replied as she followed the Princess of Friendship towards the stairs.

“And I’ll go on and meet you in the library.” Starlight called up as she continued on her way towards the library.

Twilight and Sunset Shimmer trotted through the sleeping quarters as they entered an empty guest bedroom.

“Thanks again for letting me stay here.” Sunset said as she smiled at her friend and levitated her saddlebags onto the dresser. “It feels so comfortable here.”

“I’m glad you think so.” Twilight smiled back. “Are you gonna come down to the library and hang out with me and Starlight?”

“I will, just let me unpack my things first.”

“Alright, see you in a bit.” the purple alicorn turned and left the room as she closed the doors behind her and trotted back to the library.

Suddenly, as she turned the corner to go down the stairs, she bumped into someone as she looked to see Flash Sentry standing in front of her.

“Flash!” Twilight exclaimed. “I’m so so sorry, I didn’t see you coming around the corner like that.”

“It’s alright, your highness.” Flash smiled at her. “It was an honest mistake.”

“Y-yeah, you’re right. What are you doing up here, anyway?”

“Starlight told me that you were up here and I thought I’d come up and check on you.”

“I appreciate it, but I’m fine. Thank you for checking up on me, though.” Twilight blushed a shade of red as she cleared her throat. “Right…so, I should head back to the library. Do you wanna come?”

“Sure thing, your highness.” Flash bowed before following her back down the stairs. Awkward silence filled the air as Twilight glanced back at him slightly every so often, feeling flustered and awkward. She had no idea why she was still acting like a filly with a school-pony crush even though Flash had been in the castle for a few weeks.

He was assigned to be her guard from her sister-in-law, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza AKA Cadence so that he could look after the castle and protect her in case she was in any danger. Twilight was quite surprised that day when Cadence visited her that day and gave the Pegasus guard to him, but was nonetheless happy to have some extra company in her large and still somewhat empty castle.

Twilight was also glad to see him because she had recently developed small feelings for Flash and would sometimes hope to be his special somepony, but always shied away from the idea, mainly because a relationship between a commoner and a princess would feel like an obligation to him. Only time would tell if he would ever feel the same way. Once Twilight and Flash Sentry approached the doors to the library, he trotted ahead of her and opened the door for him as he bowed his head.

“Flash, you don’t have to be so formal with me.” Twilight smiled at him. “But thank you for the gesture, anyway.”

“You’re welcome, your highness, and enjoy your time.” Flash saluted at her as he stood at his position next to the doors.

The purple alicorn looked at him for a moment before closing the doors and returning to her reading chair where Starlight was waiting for her in her own chair. Twilight noticed that she was giving her a knowing look.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Twilight asked as she levitated her book over to her and opened it to the page she paused at.

“Flash certainly has your attention, doesn’t he?” the light purple unicorn asked in a knowing tone.

“U-um, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Admit it. You have a crush on him.”

“No I don’t!” Twilight snapped as she immediately covered her mouth with a hoof, praying that he didn’t hear her as she cleared her throat. “Besides, we aren’t even friends yet, not to mention we don’t know each other that well.”

“That doesn’t mean you can’t do all that, and maybe you’ll become a couple one day and get married and have foals.”

“Starlight, I’m not even ready for all that yet.”

“There’s nothing wrong with liking somepony and imagining a future together.” Starlight said as she flipped to the next page in her book.

“Oh really?” Twilight sent her a knowing smirk of her own. “Then tell me, Starlight. Do you imagine a future with Sunburst?”

“W-what? No, of course not!” a small blush coated Starlight cheeks as she looked up from her book and cleared her throat. “We’re just friends, and we never had crushes on each other growing up.”

“Understood, but let me know when he confesses to you.”

“Twilight!” Starlight snapped as her former mentor laughed. She felt a smile pull at her lips as she joined in on the laughter, realizing that the Princess of Friendship was only teasing her.

---

Discord and Fluttershy shared a laugh as the teapot and tea cups did a tap dance on a miniature stage the Draconequus materialized in front of them on the floor. They then began doing silly dances as well as circus stunts as Fluttershy watched them with amazement as they finished their grand finale with the teapot lifting the cups on its arms.

“Ta da!” they said in unison as small confetti cannons on the side of the stage fired small bits of confetti.

“That was amazing.” Fluttershy said as she clapped her front hooves in applause. “Woo hoo.”

Discord chuckled at her quiet cheer as he turned the teapot and tea cups back to normal and teleported them back on the table. He then took a tea cake into his eagle claw and swallowed it down as three mini copies of himself popped up on the table and ate one of the tea cakes each before sitting and patting their now bulging stomachs.

“You really do make the best of tea cakes, my dear.” Discord smiled at her as she blushed in modesty. Suddenly, one of the mini Discord’s let a loud but high pitch burp could be heard as they both widened their eyes.

The mini Discord blushed and looked to the ground with guilt as the original Discord looked at him disapprovingly. “What do you say?”

“Excuse me.” the mini Discord said with a smile.

“I really can’t take them anywhere.” Discord muttered as his mini copies popped out of existence one by one.

Fluttershy let out a giggle. “Oh Discord, you’re so funny.”

“I guess I am.” he smiled. “So. is there anything else going on for you this week?”

“Me and my friends are going to have a picnic at our usual picnic spot tomorrow. Would you like to come?”

“My dear, I would absolutely love to.” Discord replied. “And I’ll even bring my cucumber sandwiches.”

“That’s great.” Fluttershy smiled. “I’m sure they’ll love them just as much as I do.”

“And I’ll even try and make some cupcakes to go with them.”

“Really?” Fluttershy asked. “Have you ever baked cupcakes before?”

“Well…no.” Discord replied honestly. “I always used my magic to make all the food I need, but it wouldn’t hurt to try and bake some cupcakes.”

“It’s up to you whether you want to bake or make them with your magic. I don’t mind what your decision is.” Fluttershy said.

“Then I’ll bake cupcakes by hand.” the Draconequus proudly announced. “And trust me, Fluttershy. They’ll be the best ones you’ll ever eat.”

“Okay.”

After a few more hours of chatting together and laughing while drinking tea, the time for their time together had to come to an end as Discord stood up and stretched. “I hope you enjoyed our little time together, my dear.” he said.

“I always do, and thank you for taking care of my tasks and cooling me down. It was so sweet of you.” Fluttershy smiled at him as she flew up into his arms and shared a hug with him. “See you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow.” Discord smiled at her as he put her back on the ground and disappeared in a flash of light, causing the tea set to disappear in the process.

Before the yellow Pegasus could move, he immediately teleported back in front of her. “I can’t wait!” he said before disappearing once again.

She put her hoof to her mouth and giggled. “Oh Discord.”

To be continued…

Author's Note:

And with that, here’s the re-create chapter 1! For those of you who already read the previous version of this chapter, I decided to redo it because I felt like it was missing a few things. This is how I rigonally intended chapter 1 to be and I hope you liked it. The song I made Pinkie sing to Sunset Shimmer is a song I originally wrote (sorry if it's terribly written. I'm a bad rhymer. ) But anyway, I hope you enjoyed this and I hope to see you again soon in chapter 2!