Archive of Our Own ^beta

“...Pardon me?”

Dr. Gentlehoof offered a sympathetic look over her clipboard. “I’m sure this is quite a surprise — this early, it would’ve been impossible for you to tell on your own. However, our updated diagnostic spells are quite accurate these days; Princess Twilight helped research and implement them herself! So there’s no doubt about it.” The clipboard lowered to reveal an encouraging smile. “Congratulations?”

Fluttershy was slow to process the doctor’s words. This must have been expected, as the sandy-coated unicorn merely magicked pen to paper and began jotting down notes. Bland, inoffensive music filled the office with white noise as Fluttershy allowed this new reality to settle into place.

So she was… Really? But that wasn’t supposed to be possible! The yellow pony tilted her neck just enough to glance down at her stomach. It would explain her recent weariness and sensitivities. So much for it being “just a cold” as Rarity had suggested when Fluttershy explained why she hadn’t been able to attend their usual spa day. It had actually been Rarity’s idea to come to the clinic — Fluttershy’s habit was to stay home and tend to herself, reluctant to make a fuss and bother other ponies over something so small.

She’d have to make sure to thank Rarity, since her friend’s insistence on getting a check-up was the only reason this had been discovered.

“I hope you don’t mind me asking,” came the doctor’s voice, which drew Fluttershy’s attention.

“I’m so sorry, what did you say?”

“I was asking who the father was. I don’t mean to pry, it’s just that in a small town like Ponyville… Usually I already have some idea of my patients’ relationships, but I can’t recall hearing that you were seeing anypony.”

“O-oh! Um…” Fluttershy shifted, ear twitching at the sound of tissue paper crinkling beneath her long limbs. The examination table where she sat felt like an island, and Fluttershy's old life was the boat that crashed on unseen rocks, leaving her stranded. “I’m not… I mean, we…”

Goodness, she hadn’t felt this shy in ages. It was just hard to explain when Fluttershy herself felt so unsure of everything all of a sudden. She let her long bangs hide some of her face. “It’s not like that. I’m not in a relationship with anypony, really.”

“I see.” There was no judgement on Dr. Gentlehoof’s face or in her voice, which was a relief. When it came to having a “casual roll in the hay,” some folks in Ponyville possessed more… ‘traditional values’ than others. The unicorn’s pen scratched a new note. “So I can assume this wasn’t a planned pregnancy?”

“N-not really…”

Dr. Gentlehoof nodded. She released her pen and redirected her magic to fetch two sleek pamphlets from behind her desk, floating them over to Fluttershy. “In that case, you should look these over and come back within the next week so we can have a discussion about where to go from here. Like I said, we caught this fairly early, so you’ll have an easier time if you choose not to keep the foal.”

“Oh.” Fluttershy was looking down at the pamphlets, but her eyes weren’t seeing anything on them. She awkwardly slid off the crinkly table and shoved them into her satchel. Hopefully she’d remember how to read later. “That sounds… right. Okay.”

Dr. Gentlehoof walked around her desk to give Fluttershy a light pat on her shoulder. “I’m sure you’re feeling very overwhelmed right now. I recommend heading straight for home and taking it easy. Read the pamphlets when you’re ready, but don’t put it off, alright? I’ll have Nurse Sweetheart put you on my for schedule a follow-up appointment — does Thursday work for you?”

In something of a daze, Fluttershy nodded and followed along until she was out of the clinic. Sunshine beamed cheerily upon Ponyville. Outside the building, bland music was replaced with the cozy chatter of familiar ponies and birdsong. Fluffy white mountains of clouds framed the far horizon of an otherwise clear blue sky. Everything looked the same as it had always been.

Fluttershy’s thoughts stayed quiet as she made her way home. Honestly, the strangest thing about all this was how calm she felt. Just a year or two ago, she might have collapsed into a useless ball of anxiety over dealing with something this big, especially without any warning. But Fluttershy didn’t feel like panicking. She mostly felt tired, an increasingly familiar fatigue letting her know that her body didn’t appreciate all the walking around and stressful news.

As soon as she got home and gave Angel enough food and attention to satisfy him, she climbed up the wooden stairs to her room and quickly fell asleep.

Hours later, just as the sun was being coaxed to bed, Fluttershy woke up. Consciousness brought with it a flood of everything that had happened earlier in the day. For a moment, she simply lied there, letting a new reality wash over her again.

Eventually, Fluttershy sat up and stretched. She’d been so tired that she hadn’t even shrugged off her satchel before sleeping, so she slipped it off and looked over the pamphlets her doctor had given her.

The first was What To Expect When You’re Expecting! and detailed in broad strokes the sort of things Fluttershy already knew about pregnancy. Working with animals, she was familiar with the act of mating and its results; the topic didn’t make her squeamish at all, as more than most ponies, she’d borne witness to and had even assisted in multiple pregnancies and births. Yes, they could be very different from that of a pony, but for the most part it was all the same thing mechanically.

The second pamphlet was “I Don’t Think I’m Ready”: Knowing Your Options and was a fairly straightforward, clinical explanation of the spells or potions that could be used to terminate a pregnancy. It listed various reasons a mare might not want to give birth, some of which made Fluttershy frown, upset at the idea of anypony having to go through such things.

Reading the second pamphlet did make Fluttershy feel a bit better about everything, despite the fact she’d already come to understand she had no intention of doing anything like that herself.

Eventually hunger drew Fluttershy out of bed. She prepared dinner for herself and the critters currently residing with her and Angel. Over her bowl of lettuce and veggies, Fluttershy began to seriously consider everything that would have to be done now.

Most importantly…

What was she going to tell Discord?

This thought, at last, broke through Fluttershy’s oddly peaceful demeanor. She began to blush, squirming in her chair, feeling tempted to hide her face in her salad despite no one else being around to see her embarrassment. Her mind went back to Dr. Gentlehoof asking if Fluttershy was in a relationship; what could she have possibly said? No, I’m not seeing anypony, but sometimes my best friend — who, by the way, is Discord, Lord of Chaos — and I like to… to… mess around.

Fluttershy squeaked, dignity lost as she shoved her plate away and hid in her hooves. That was so not how she’d put it, and she could never say it like that to anypony, no way!

Fluttershy certainly wasn’t embarrassed at the idea of being in a relationship with Discord, not at all. If anything, she was just a bit shy at the prospect of others knowing her interest had never been sparked by other ponies. Feeling attraction towards different species wasn’t very common, as far as she knew. Discord hadn’t shared the sentiment, which had been a huge relief to learn and the main reason Fluttershy was able to find the courage to suggest the two of them do such things together.

That’s really all it was: the two of them doing something special together, because it was fun and interesting and they were friends who wanted to spend time together and… make each other feel good. Neither had said anything about it changing their relationship one way or the other. The arrangement felt perfectly natural, comfortable and intimate in a way Fluttershy had never experienced before, but greatly cherished.

And now this would complicate everything!

Fear finally began to creep in. For obvious reasons, this would change a great many things — everything, actually. Nothing about Fluttershy’s life would be the same if she was keeping the baby.

Did that mean her relationship with Discord would have to change, too?

“Afternoon, Flutter-butter!”

Fluttershy didn’t startle when the leaves in her cup of tea suddenly became something else entirely. She smiled down at the miniature Discord now poking his head out of her drink, looking very much like some sort of sea serpent. “Hello, Discord. You’re a little early.”

“You’re the one who’s early! Enjoying our afternoon tea without me? I might as well not even show up if that’s how it’s going to be.”

“I’m sorry,” Fluttershy said in genuine apology. She’d wanted to wait, but nerves were making her mouth feel dry, and she also knew the tea would help ease her lingering morning sickness. “I’m very glad you’re here.”

“I should hope so!” Discord draped his arms on the rim of her cup, lounging in the green-tinted liquid. A tiny pair of dark sunglasses popped into existence over his head, landing neatly over his eyes. “Well, I’m here now, so feel free to continue enjoying your drink.”

She really had half a mind, too, which was the worst (or best?) part. Discord would get a kick out of it. Part of Fluttershy was very tempted, but the other part was still haunted by the same anxiety that had plagued her all week. She’d been meeting Discord for tea almost every Tuesday for years now; this was the first time she’d ever dreaded his appearance in her home. However, seeing him now made her realize she still preferred that Discord was here rather than him not show up at all. Even if she had no idea how he was going to react to her news.

So instead of taking the silly route, Fluttershy opted to do her best to get to the point. If she let him, Discord would Yes, And! until they were both on the ceiling and their teatime cookies had turned into flying saucers. “Why don’t you take this one, and I’ll make myself something fresh?” she said, placing her cup on the table.

“Not a fan of Chaos-flavored?” Discord pretended to look offended, but quickly moved on, stating, “Your loss!” His tail, curling up and out of the liquid, promptly turned into a straw. Discord stuck one end into his mouth and began to swiftly drink up the tea, eventually drinking his entire self with it.

Usually, Fluttershy would laugh and wait to see where the mini-Discord might pop up next. But no, no… she really needed to keep them both focused! “Um, Discord, I actually need to tell you something important…” Fluttershy poured herself a new cup of tea and refilled the previous one, pushing it to the opposite side of the table. “Could you sit with me so we can talk?”

Discord poofed back into existence, now his usual, impressive size. “You sound awfully serious for teatime, Flutters,” Discord observed, a modicum of judgement in his voice. It didn’t ruffle Fluttershy’s feathers or anything — she knew it was just his way of masking his concern. The draconequus wiggled his talons, making his teacup float up and up and up until he could dip his snake-like tongue into the warm liquid. “Go on then, dear, I’m all ears!” Those long grey ears flapped, growing twice their usual size.

A giggle bubbled up only to die in the back of Fluttershy’s palate. Every little thing he did, which usually made Fluttershy want to smile and laugh, just highlighted how not-silly and not-fun her news was. Fluttershy wasn’t unhappy about what happened, but it would be a lie to say she hadn’t been horribly stressed about it all week. She hadn’t even told any of the girls; no one besides Angel and the ponies at Ponyville Hospital knew her secret. It was dreadfully lonely, and there was no one to offer her any advice or lend an ear to her troubles.

That last thought pulled Fluttershy back to the present. Discord, despite his fanciful displays of magic and punnery, was watching her attentively. Fluttershy stared back into his mismatched eyes, both such a lovely shade of red — like ripe berries, she’d told him once, earning a laugh from the God of Chaos himself.

Discord wouldn’t be mad at her, and he wouldn’t be mean or rude to her. Telling this to herself one more time gave Fluttershy the push she needed to speak.

“N-now, I know this is going to come as quite the surprise… b-but, um… I’m…” She took a deep breath as she closed her eyes and made herself say, “I’m pregnant.”

Through the cottage windows, birds cheerfully conversed. Fluttershy could hear the rustle of trees and the faint clucking of her chickens in their pen. Slowly, Fluttershy opened her eyes to see Discord was very, very still. If her news wasn’t so serious, he might have turned himself into real stone (...or maybe he wouldn’t, actually.) It was a bit unsettling, to see him so motionless. Fluttershy nervously rubbed her forearm, ear flicking. “Discord?” He’d heard what she said, hadn’t he? She hadn’t been mumbling?

At hearing his name, Discord finally blinked. Long grey ears shrunk back to normal. His cup of tea floated down to its saucer, landing with the faintest clatter. “Come again?”

“I’m… pregnant?” Fluttershy tilted her head at him. She gestured between them both. “You know, because we—”

“It’s MINE?” Discord’s voice shot up high enough to crack. His jaw dropped, red-and-yellow eyes as wide as Fluttershy had ever seen them without literally expanding.

For some reason, his reaction finally rid Fluttershy of the last of her anxiety. A breathless giggle escaped her, body suffused with a strange giddiness. “Who else would it have been?”

“I don’t know!” Discord tried saying more, but mostly flapped his mouth. Eventually he managed, “Are you certain? That isn’t— shouldn’t be possible!”

Which is what he’d claimed when they first started spending time in bed together. Fluttershy had been curious, wondering if they needed to take any precautions, but Discord had waved her concerns away with a dismissive paw. He’d explained that, being what he was, he couldn’t propagate in such a fashion… as far as he was aware, anyway: “I’m not actually sure about the hows or whys; pretty sure I simply Became, at some point. Whatever the case, I suspect it isn’t a process that can be replicated the way a common mammal goes about multiplying. A draconequus such as myself? I must just be too unique for such things… Amazing, aren’t I?”

“I’m pretty certain,” Fluttershy told him, trying not to laugh at his extreme befuddlement. The mare had never seen Discord so speechless about anything! It was incredibly novel, even if Fluttershy felt a little bad for laughing about it. She added more seriously, “I’ve been wondering about it myself... I had the thought that maybe it happened because it shouldn’t be possible.” When he just stared blankly, Fluttershy explained, “W-well, it’s a fairly chaotic thing to happen, isn’t it?”

He went still for another two seconds, then totally deflated, his long body going limp on the couch. “Fluttershy, are you certain this isn’t some sort of prank? If so, you’re doing a masterful job of pulling my leg, I must say.”

Fluttershy hopped off her chair, walking around the table to stand near Discord’s bewildered head. She put her face level with his and said earnestly, “I promise I’m not joking. I really am pregnant. I saw a doctor and she detected it with magic. I haven’t been with anypony else except for you, so…”

“I’m not having some very, very, very strange dream?”

“No,” Fluttershy said. She sat on the floor and offered him a shy frown, asking, “Um… are you upset? I know this is very unexpected…”

Discord lifted his long neck. He was still stretched out on the couch, but now his head was high above Fluttershy as he looked down, contemplating her.

“And you… plan on…” He hesitated, unsure how to word his question. “Keeping it?”

“Of course!” chirped Fluttershy. Then she withdrew inward a bit. “I mean, um. Well, I want to keep and raise the baby, b-but I don’t expect you to… I mean, I wouldn’t ever force you to…” Her voice faltered as her thoughts and words jumbled together. Fluttershy took take a second to breathe. “Obviously neither of us was expecting this when we started became, um, bedmates. So I’d understand if you don’t have any interest in raising a child. I want to keep them, so I am, b-but I would never want you to feel… obligated, or something. I can take care of them all on my own, s-so you don’t, um, you wouldn’t have to—”

Discord placed his paw over her snout, gently silencing her. Quietly, he asked, “You really intend to keep it?”

Unable to speak (and secretly thankful she couldn’t, else she might start rambling again), Fluttershy nodded.

Discord removed his paw. “I… I don’t know.”

Fluttershy’s ears flattened, but she tried hiding her frown behind a lock of mane. She tried not to let his words hurt her. Fluttershy wasn’t lying when she said it would be okay if Discord had no interest in raising a child they shared, but she’d had one or two nightmares of him disappearing in the wake of it. What if, because he was a draconequus, he simply lacked the instinct for it? What if the idea was so foreign it was abhorrent, and he had absolutely no interest in the child or Fluttershy once she’d given birth? What if he was afraid of feeling tied down and obligated to her, choosing instead to flee? She didn’t want him to feel as if his chaotic, free spirit would be weighed down by her; the thought made her so sad she’d cried about it, once or twice, when her thoughts had spiraled.

Swallowing her fear, Fluttershy asked, “Don’t know what…?”

“I just… I don’t know,” Discord admitted plainly. He seemed at a genuine loss. Mismatched paws were doing a strange little dance, gently clawing at the upholstery, abandoning it to flap about, repeat. “I don’t know anything about this. It wasn’t supposed to be able to— oh, but I suppose you’re right.” Finally, Discord cracked a smile, though it was more fragile than usual. “I would pull something like this, wouldn’t I?”

A miniature Discord poofed onto the arm of the couch. Discord pointed at him with an accusatory talon. “This is all your fault!”

“Don’t look at me!” mini-Discord protested. “It’s his fault!”

Another poof, from which an indignant sputter emerged. “Hey, don’t blame me!” said a second mini-Discord, this one seated on the back of the sofa. “It was—”

“Oh, hush up,” snapped Discord, cutting himself off. “We’ll be here all day.”

Mini-Discord #1 turned to Fluttershy, his voice as small as his stature. “Are you really sure you want me to be… involved?”

Fluttershy tilted her head at him. “Why wouldn’t I?”

Mini-Discord #2 said, “Because he’s ‘irresponsible’ and ‘unreliable’ and ‘a menace to all of ponykind’?”

“Hey!”

Fluttershy shook her head, offering them all a smile. “That’s just what other ponies think. That doesn’t matter, because I know better than them.”

Facing the real Discord, she lightly placed a hoof over his paw, leaning in closer as she spoke. “Discord, I know you can be very, very kind, and protective, and loyal! And you do well with children — I’ve seen how you are with Applebloom and her friends. You could be a perfectly wonderful parent.”

The tiny clones disappeared. Discord asked, “You really think so?”

Smiling, Fluttershy tilted her head back and quirked her ears, a silent request that the draconequus recognized. He curled his neck until they were close enough to nuzzle each other. Softly, Fluttershy told him, “It wasn’t something I planned on, but if it was going to happen with anypony, I’m happy it’s with you, Discord.”

“Oh…!” Discord, clearly flustered and trying to hide it, pulled away from her. He curved his neck the opposite direction, facing the cottage wall upside-down. “Stop it!”

Fluttershy giggled. “But I mean it.”

“Is being a parent going to make me as sappy as you and your merry little band?” Discord asked, sounding mortified at the very idea.

Then, quick as the snap of a rubber band, Discord’s neck whipped back towards Fluttershy. “Wait! What did the others say when you told them? Oh, what I wouldn’t give to have seen Twilight Sparkle’s reaction to something like this!”

“I haven’t told the girls yet.”

Discord’s cheery grin faltered, and he quirked a fluffy white eyebrow. “Huh? Why not?”

“I wanted you to know first.”

“You did?”

“Of course!” Fluttershy gestured at him with both hooves. “You’re the other parent, you deserved to know first.”

“Flutters!”

The mare gave a little squeak when she was suddenly swept up, held tightly in Discord’s hands as he rolled and wiggled. When he finally settled down, he lay on his back, holding Fluttershy above him. “You are the best pony in the world,” he declared, and Fluttershy knew he truly meant it. She was a bit queasy from being handled like this so abruptly, but his words made her beam.

Then he said, “Does that mean I get to see Twilight overcome with utter dismay?” His eyes had literal sparkles in them.

Fluttershy daintily coughed into her fetlock. “Actually, um, I think it would be better… if I told the girls by myself?”

“Awwww!” Discord pulled Fluttershy down to his chest, curling his neck so their faces were very close. “Why not? I want to see! Fluttershyyyyy.”

“It will be better that way!” she told him, trying to sound firm. “I don’t want them to be upset about it, and if you’re there, you’ll want to tease them—”

“But that’s what makes it funny!”

“Discord…” Fluttershy sighed, resting her head against his body, closing her eyes as she tucked her arms around him. “News like this, it should be happy.” Peeking up at him, she asked, “Isn’t it? Happy news?”

After a moment of quiet, Discord said, “It is. Okay, okay, fine, we’ll do things your way. But! You have to tell me about their reactions in excruciating detail afterwards. Really paint me a word picture — or, even better, paint me an actual picture!”

Fluttershy giggled, smiling and nuzzling against him more as she closed her eyes again. “I’ll do my best,” she promised.

Rarity was pleased when Fluttershy asked her out on a trip to the Ponyville Day Spa a few days earlier than usual. “Of course, darling, it will be a delight! So you’re finally feeling better?”

Fluttershy, the poor thing, had been brought low with something of a flu the last couple of weeks. The few times Rarity had detoured during her errands to check up on her friend, the pegasus had been visibly exhausted from her sickness. Luckily, Fluttershy was looking better these days, with more color in her lovely saffron cheeks.

“Yes, much better,” Fluttershy had said. Before they parted, she’d told Rarity, “I have so much to talk to you about. Does our usual time still work for you?”

Something about the way she’d said it piqued Rarity’s interest. Though she and Fluttershy tended to gossip a bit during their spa days, it wasn’t often that Fluttershy was the one to bring up something scandalous. Was it something scandalous? Rarity hoped so! Things in Ponyville had been rather tame and uneventful lately, even if peaceful times were undoubtedly the best times one could hope for.

The day they met up, Rarity was buzzing with curiosity.

As she and Fluttershy entered the building, Fluttershy asked, “Do you mind if we do something more private first?”

Rarity’s ears perked up, and she had to resist the urge to piaffe in place from excitement. “Of course, darling! Shall we begin our day of luxury in one of the steam rooms?”

“Oh, um…” Fluttershy very seriously considered it. Her hesitation was surprising, as Rarity knew that the steam rooms were a must-have for the mare. “A-actually, I think this time I might just want a rinse. Maybe one of the private baths?”

“Whatever you wish!” Rarity assured her, and they quickly went through their typical process of checking in and paying. Private baths were slightly extra, as most ponies were fine bathing communally, but considering they hadn’t been able to enjoy the spa recently, neither minded forking over a few extra bits.

Soon they were both thoroughly rinsed with cool water, then easing their way into a large, warm tub. Rarity preferred to run her baths much hotter than this, but Fluttershy had asked it be filled with cooler water than usual. It wasn’t unpleasant, still comfortably warm on her body, but Rarity was beginning to wonder about her friend’s aversion to heat today. Perhaps she was still feeling a bit ill, and feared steam or heat would cause her to become lightheaded?

Deciding to ignore it, Rarity focused on expertly wrapping her mane in a towel as she and Fluttershy settled in. Together they enjoyed the serene, quiet sounds of water gently splashing in the wooden tub.

Once she was satisfied with her mane, Rarity spoke. “Now, Fluttershy, I must admit I’ve been dying to hear what juicy bit of gossip you hinted at the other day.” Rarity leaned in conspiratorially. The pegasus was being so terribly cagey! Was it really something so big, she couldn’t permit anypony else to overhear them?

“Okay, b-but you have to promise not to…” Fluttershy glanced around, as if worried somepony was nearby, despite their supposed privacy. Then she said, “Promise not to scream?”

That wasn’t what Rarity was expecting. She pulled back, slightly offended. “Fluttershy, why on earth would I do that? I expect something quite sensational, given your push for secrecy, but I assure you I can handle all manner of revelations, no matter how shocking!”

Fluttershy’s hesitation spoke of her doubt; did she truly have so little faith? Rarity wasn’t that dramatic!

…Alright, yes, she often was. But she knew how to control herself! Certainly, Rarity could maintain her composure in the face of some juicy gossip.

“You have my undivided attention, darling,” she said, watching Fluttershy with heavy-lidded eyes, doing her best to convey an air of unshakable calm.

Fluttershy stared at the water for a moment, probably psyching herself up to speak. Eventually, soft pine eyes glanced at Rarity through long lashes. “I told you that I’ve been sick with a cold, but that’s not exactly true… When I went to the doctor the other day, she discovered that I’m… pregnant. So, uh, that’s actually what’s happening, and I’m keeping it, so—”

It took a second for her words to sink in. Once they did, Rarity felt her eyes go wide as dinner plates. Something immediately began to build in her chest as blood roared in her ears, making them tingle and twitch. Fluttershy must have seen something in her face, because her eyes grew wide as well and she leaned forward, reaching a gentle hoof out as if to hold Rarity still. “Oh dear, oh, please don’t!”

The sound was coming out, there was no stopping it; rather than break her promise and look extremely foolish in front of her friend, Rarity opted for looking just a little foolish. Before the scream erupted, she rapidly dunked her head into the tub water with a splash. Fluttershy watched, ears curled back, as her friend produced an explosion of bubbles with the force of her reaction to Fluttershy’s news.

The submerged warble of Rarity’s scream faded. One last bubble floated up, shimmered with yellows, whites and blues, then silently popped. For a moment, there was no sound in the room at all.

Rarity’s head swung back out of the water, flinging a significant amount of it — as well as the towel she’d used for her mane — clear out of the tub. It all landed on the panel wood floors with an epically wet SHPLOP! that echoed loudly.

After taking a huge breath, Rarity tried to speak. “You- you’re—!” Her voice was high-pitched, trembling, but she managed to wrestle control of her vocal cords enough to harshly whisper, “Pregnant?”

Amazed and left slightly speechless at Rarity’s display, Fluttershy merely nodded.

“Fluttershy! That’s… amazing!” Rarity’s voice was a squeaky whisper of pure excitement. “Congratulations!”

With another restrained squeal, Rarity splashed over to Fluttershy so she could throw her hooves around the pegasus. Fluttershy happily accepted the embrace, surprised but relieved at just how happy her friend was about the news. She wasn’t expecting so much enthusiasm; Fluttershy and the others had never really talked much about things like stallions and foals, or what having a family might be like. For Fluttershy, it had always been a “maybe someday, if I meet the right pony” sort of thing, easily forgotten in the wake of her more immediate responsibilities and passions. The most any of them ever mentioned the topic was when Applejack complained about Granny Smith unsubtly suggesting she ought to start looking for a hard-working stallion to help expand the Apple family.

It was true that Rarity herself had never thought too hard about starting a family. Most of her interest in finding a handsome, respectable (and preferably wealthy) stallion to be her ‘Prince Charming’ had died the night of their first Grand Galloping Gala. She’d already proven to herself that she didn’t need anypony to be successful in her industry, making more than enough between her three boutiques to take good care of herself and Sweetie Belle for however long her sister might need it.

In truth, it didn’t help that any true romantic or sensual interest she’d felt lately was directed towards… well, somepony undoubtedly disinterested. Better to accept it was a mere flight of fancy and doomed never to happen than make a mess of things in pursuit of the impossible.

That just made this news all the more exciting, Rarity thought. It was so unexpected! With only a few words, Fluttershy had revealed that many things were about to change in their lives.

As Rarity settled down and released Fluttershy from her affectionate hold, another thought vied for the unicorn’s attention. She realized there was a piece of this new puzzle that was conspicuously missing. “Darling… who on earth is the father? I know for a fact you haven’t been seeing a stallion… Surely, you would have told us if you were!”

“...Well…”

Rarity gasped. This was scandalous, after all! “Could it be you’ve taken a lover… in secret?”

“T-technically, you’re right,” Fluttershy rushed to say, looking defensive and flustered. “I would have told you, if I was seeing a stallion. It’s just, um, I wasn’t, exactly. Seeing a stallion, that is.”

“...A mare, then?” Rarity asked slowly. She’d heard of that before, the possibility of a mare being able to sire children, or a stallion who could carry them. It wasn’t the sort of thing you saw much in a place like Ponyville, but she’d crossed paths with a few interesting individuals in Manehatten. She’d had clients who requested modifications to their clothing: mares who wanted more feminine tops that wouldn’t strain against broad shoulders, or stallions needing a tighter fit on their suits, for example. Rarity wasn’t aware of anypony like that in their humble slice of Equestria, but it wasn’t impossible that Fluttershy had met somepony…

But Fluttershy was quick to derail that train of speculation, shaking her head. “No, not a mare. Just… not a pony.”

“Oh!” Rarity tilted her head in confusion. “Then whoever could it—?”

No, wait. The answer was actually quite obvious, wasn’t it?

“Discord!?” Rarity gasped, a hoof covering her mouth as it fell open. Fluttershy didn't deny it, only blushed heavily as her friend processed this. Rarity leaned into Fluttershy’s personal bubble, her whisper heavy-laden with salacious implications, “Fluttershy!”

There was an obvious question in her tone, and it only made Fluttershy blush more deeply. At the same time, the pure disbelief in her friend’s voice rankled just enough for Fluttershy to softly ‘hmph!’ and look away, eyes focusing on the ceiling as she held onto her dignity. “I don’t know why you’re so surprised,” she said. “Or, um— I actually do, but at the same time, is it really that strange?”

“Wh— Yes!” Rarity told her. “It is!”

Fluttershy frowned, shoulders curling. Rarity noticed and swiftly sought to combat the mare's self-consciousness. “Not that I— I don’t mean— Fluttershy, you must understand, this is quite the reveal! You’ve just dropped the bomb of the century: Ponyville’s most soft-spoken, gentle, pure-hearted mare has apparently been dating the God of Chaos! And she didn’t even tell her best friends!”

“W-we aren’t dating!” Fluttershy protested.

Rarity blinked rapidly. How could there possibly be more to this? On top of everything Fluttershy had already said? “You aren’t?”

“No…”

“But you go to bed with him?”

Fluttershy continued to shrink. “Y-yes…”

“That…” The wild, chest-swelling, head-full feeling urged Rarity to speak, or maybe scream again. However, noting the diminished look of her friend, Rarity tried her best to reign the urges back in. “A moment, dear; pardon me.”

Rarity stuck her head back in the water, though she didn’t scream this time. Fluttershy squirmed as she waited. When Rarity reemerged, she actually felt a lot more calm.

After taking a moment to organize her curtain of purple hair, sweeping the thick mane over one delicate shoulder to keep it out of her face, she turned back to Fluttershy. “Alright. I’m sorry if I’m coming off a bit judgemental, Fluttershy. This is just quite a lot to take in. There’s nothing wrong with you having a casual relationship with anypony, even with a creature like Discord…

“I suppose it does make sense. The two of you have been quite close friends for a long time now, haven’t you?”

Fluttershy nodded. “He’s one of the best friends I’ve ever had! It just… felt natural, eventually.”

“I won’t pretend I understand, but obviously, that part isn’t really any of my business anyway, is it?”

Rarity’s tone was light-hearted, and Fluttershy began to feel comfortable again. She offered a shaky laugh. “Yeah…”

“Let’s circle back to the truly important part of this: you’re going to have a foal! Are you excited? How do you feel about all this, dear?”

“A little excited,” Fluttershy told her. “N-nervous, too. I never really planned on having a foal of my own… Once I found out about it, though, deciding to keep it felt right.”

“You’re certainly in a fine position to be having a foal,” Rarity agreed. “You’re reliable and capable, and so very nurturing. I’m sure all your years of nursing those animals will prove quite helpful!”

“Foals aren’t like animals, though,” Fluttershy said. “I learned that lesson a long time ago…”

Rarity laughed. “Ah, yes, that disastrous slumber party. Sweetie Belle told me all about it when we got home.” The unicorn offered her friend a supportive nudge with one hoof. “You eventually got a handle on them! Truth be told, that’s one of my fondest early memories of you — we’d only just become good friends, but that was the first time I truly saw the power of your confidence, when it was able to be shown.”

“Oh, you’re just flattering me.”

“I mean it! You did incredibly well handling those three little ruffians, especially for your first time foal-sitting. Besides, any child of yours is sure to be a calm and gentle soul.”

“I’m not so sure… I mean, you have to remember, the foal will be Discord’s child as well.”

“That’s true,” Rarity mused. She put a hoof to her chin, thinking. “Actually, are you even sure it’s going to be a foal?”

Fluttershy’s brows raised. She… actually hadn’t even thought about that. “I… I suppose it might not be.”

“What if it’s a draconequus, like him?”

“That would be… unexpected, but I wouldn’t mind.”

“It might make for a complicated pregnancy, though,” Rarity mused, concern in her voice. She sighed, then gave Fluttershy a smile. “Well! That’s not something to fret over now! I’m very happy you’ve shared such good news with me, Fluttershy. Does Discord know?”

“Mmhm. I told him a few days ago.”

“Excellent. What about the others?”

Fluttershy shook her head, glancing at the clock. “I haven’t told them yet. Also, I’m going to start drying my wings.”

“Of course, dear, go on.”

Fluttershy pulled herself out of the tub, water sloshing off her coat. She perched on the wide wood edge of the tub, spreading her wings to their full length.

As Rarity set upon the task of making sure her tail was free of tangles, Fluttershy spoke again. “I actually wanted your help… I need some advice on how to break the news to everypony.”

“Is that why you told me first?”

“Partly. You were sort of a test run. A-and I thought it might be easier telling everypony else if, um, if I had somepony with me who knew.”

“What about Discord?”

Fluttershy sighed, primaries drooping. “Even though I hate to admit it, I don’t think having Discord there will make things go smoothly.”

“...You’re probably right,” Rarity admitted. With a determined nod, she reached over the side of the tub to prepare her own towel for drying off. “I understand you completely, Fluttershy! We’ll brainstorm a bit! I suppose you’ll want to organize something before you start to show?”

“That shouldn’t be for a while, it’s only been about a month,” Fluttershy mused. “I do want to tell everypony soon, though; I don’t like keeping a secret from them.”

“It’s settled, then!” Rarity emerged from the water, letting out a satisfied sigh, then grinned. “This is going to be quite a special get-together!”

In the earth where the Ponyville Library once stood, an enormous tree now grew. It was a marvel of crystal and wood, twisting into the open skies from a deeply rooted base. Its bark shimmered like the scales of a dragon, catching and playing with every nearby color, making the structure emanate a soft, joyful light. Though often dazzling those who first gaze upon its beauty, the effect has long since become a comforting, almost mundane feature of daily life to the ponies living alongside the arborous castle.

One thing that never ceased to lose its magic were the leaves of the tree, for they were evergreen — or rather, forever vibrant with every color of the rainbow. Some days, the leaves took upon themselves the look of a rich autumn afternoon, fiery with shades of orange and red, a deeper, tempering violet hiding amongst them; other days, they were as verdant as the first buds of spring, greens and pinks and whites mixing cheerfully. The kaleidoscopic display was an ode to the timelessness and majesty of the elements seeded there, forever reflecting the true heart of not just the castle itself, nor the princess residing in it, but Equestria and its loving inhabitants.

Though some might argue the most beautiful display came with the descent of the sun. As sunset offered the last of her warmth to Equestria, the tree would subtly change. Crystals which grew upon its base and peeked out from between the gaps of the tree’s warped trunk would hold the sun’s fading light. As the last strips of golden yellow were broken apart by distant mountain peaks, the memory of peaches, orchids, apricots and lavender remained. The scales of the tree would dim, etched only in the memory of sunlight. Then, at night, the castle would don a new crown.

This was the sight Fluttershy and her friends appreciated now. Chins tilted up towards the canopy of Twilight’s castle, all six ponies (and one dragon) watched as the final moments of sunset disappeared. In the wide branches stretching out towards the deep blue of descending night, they could see flecks of Celestia’s gift of daylight like a living gossamer.

Now, with the approach of night, the leaves would take on Luna’s beauty. Opaque swaths of rainbow faded, replaced with a visage clear as glass. Soon, once the moon was able to shine its brightest, the leaves would reach out and catch her light, drinking silver into their veins. Their crystalline bodies, nearly transparent, glittered as they bounced the light between them, like a homage to the stars.

Even after all these years, it never got any less beautiful.

It seemed the thought was a shared one, as Rarity let out a dreamy sigh. “I will never, ever get tired of watching this.”

Applejack, who was settled in next to her, nodded. “It sure is a pretty sight.”

“This was the best idea ever!” Pinkie Pie chirped, squirming in her pile of pillows and blankets.

All of them were set up on the biggest balcony of the castle, which jutted out from the north end of the trunk. It was opposite a majority of the Ponyville residency, so most of what they saw were trees, little fields, and the path leading towards Apple Acres. Because of this and how high up they were, it was a fairly private space for them to hang out and chat despite being outdoors.

“This sleepover was a great idea,” Twilight said, situated in her own nest of pillows. She smiled at Fluttershy, then Rarity. “Thanks for suggesting it, you two.”

“Yeah!” Rainbow agreed. She was flying with casual skill through the branches above them, looping lazily amidst the leaves, hardly disturbing them. “Feels like we haven’t had time to hang out in forever.”

“I’m glad we got to do this, too,” Fluttershy said. It had been a lovely day: after meeting at Sugarcube Corner to stock up on snacks, the group had spent the rest of their afternoon enjoying each other’s company in Twilight’s castle. They’d played games, read books, told stories, and had fun time struggling to make dinner together. Now that they were all fed, they’d gathered up their sleeping materials and crafted themselves piles of blankets and pillows so they could each sleep under the stars on the balcony. The weather was perfect, warm with a gentle, cool breeze.

Pinkie was nearly lost in her small mountain of pillows (where had she gotten all of them?) while Rarity and Applejack were close enough that their piles nearly blended together. Rainbow Dash hadn’t settled down enough to craft her personal nest, opting instead to fly while they all chatted and get some energy out of her system. Spike was sharing with Twilight, currently leaning against her flank reading a comic, even as Fluttershy noticed his lids growing heavy.

When the young dragon let out another big yawn, Twilight chuckled. “I think it may be time to turn in soon. It’s been an eventful day, hasn’t it?”

The girls made noises of agreement; Rainbow Dash completed one last lap around the crown of the tree before swooping down and perching on the twining branches of the balcony’s edge. “What, no scary stories before bed?”

“Let’s not,” Rarity muttered dryly, earning a chuckle from Applejack. “It would be a shame to end such a lovely day together with somepony having nightmares.”

Rainbow Dash scoffed as she hopped onto the wood flooring, trotting over to the last of the bedding to set up her own spot. “Oh please.”

“Actually…” Rarity glanced over at Fluttershy. The pegasus nervously nodded. “There is something we should discuss before sleeping. You see, Fluttershy and I had a particular reason for suggesting this gathering.”

Rainbow Dash dropped her armful of materials between Twilight and Pinkie Pie. One of her pillows bounced a little too close to the earth pony’s pile. A pink hoof slowly crept out from beneath her mountain of bedding to drag the pillow closer as Rainbow asked, “You guys didn’t just wanna hang out?”

“We did,” Rarity responded, “but it wasn’t the initial inspiration; Fluttershy has some important news she wants to share.”

The unicorn turned to Fluttershy, subtly deferring to her. All eyes fell on Fluttershy, who had been quietly anticipating what came next. Now, she sat up on her blanket, hiding just a little behind her bangs before consciously pulling them out of her face.

“Um… I’m… pregnant.” It was getting a little easier to say, though she couldn’t handle looking at all their faces at the same time. Fluttershy stared down at one of her pillows, which had a radiant star embroidered on one side. “I found out last month. It—”

Before she could say more, their reactions interrupted her.

Pinkie Pie erupted from her mountain of pillows like lava from the mouth of a volcano. “You’re what!?”

Rainbow Dash, who had just settled onto her knees in her nest, also took to the air. “Huh!?”

Twilight’s wings went up in her surprise, knocking a half-conscious Spike over; the dragon didn’t appear to have heard Fluttershy’s admittance, only looking annoyed at the disturbance. However, as Pinkie and Rainbow’s echoes were swallowed by the canopy above, the alicorn smiled brightly and said, “Wow! That’s amazing, Fluttershy!”

Likewise, Applejack had removed her hat and was holding it to her chest, giving a low whistle. “Hoo-wee! That’s definitely some mighty fine news, sugarcube. Congratulations. But who finally managed to charm you? I don’t recall any stallions in town courtin’ you.”

“Wait, yeah!” Pinkie Pie said. She dashed from her spot, getting right into Fluttershy’s bubble, making the pegasus lean back in surprise. “You never said you started dating anypony, Fluttershy! You should’ve mentioned it, I would have thrown you an anniversary party! I mean, if you’ve been together long enough to have an anniversary. When did you get together? Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Yeah, what the heck! Why are we just now finding out about this?” Rainbow Dash demanded, arms crossed as she hovered in the air behind Pinkie.

Twilight remained kneeling, but her horn began to glow. The familiar purple of her magic enveloped Pinkie Pie, gently levitating her away from Fluttershy. “Now, girls, calm down. I’m sure Fluttershy was about to explain.”

They all watched her expectantly. Fluttershy pawed at her blanket, glancing towards Rarity. The unicorn offered her a sympathetic but encouraging look; Applejack, right beside her, watched the exchange with a raised eyebrow.

Fluttershy sighed and made herself say, without mumbling or stuttering, “...It’s Discord.”

Once again, a myriad of reactions happened at once.

Pinkie Pie seemed to process her words a half second before everyone else, and squealed, “Really!? Wowie zowie!!”

Applejack’s other eyebrow shot up to join the first, and she leaned back against Rarity, as if the words were an offensive oder. “Pardon me?”

Twilight’s mouth was hanging open, and Spike finally seemed to have woken up properly. His expression wasn’t so different from Twilight’s.

Rainbow Dash looked stunned, then snorted before she burst into a fit of laughter, hugging her stomach as she struggled to keep herself aloft.

Rarity was biting her lip, smiling in amusement at all the fuss. As she shared another look with Fluttershy, the pegasus was once again extremely grateful that she’d told her friend about this beforehand. It would’ve been so much worse enduring everyone’s shock and incredulity on her own.

Rainbow Dash finally got a hold of herself, though she’d given up the fight of staying in the air. Now sitting in a sprawl on her personal pile of bedding, she wiped a tear from her eye and gave Fluttershy a bright grin. “That was a good one, Shy. That is easily the funniest prank you’ve ever pulled.”

Her words seemed to throw everyone else off. Rarity slowly blinked in disbelief, and Fluttershy frowned. Pinkie, who had been holding her head in her hooves and staring very intensely at the floor right in front of her, suddenly became animated again. She hopped to her hooves, saying, “Oh! Ohhhh! It’s a prank? I love pranks!” She snickered. “Rainbow’s right, that was a good one!”

To Fluttershy’s horror, the other three began to smile, apparently believing the misunderstanding. Fluttershy quickly stood up and said, “No, no, I’m being serious!”

“Fluttershy, you already got us,” Rainbow told her, waving a dismissive hoof. “You don’t gotta milk it.”

Frustrated, Fluttershy huffed and said, “I promise on every single animal in my care, including Angel Bunny… I’m not joking. Discord and I… have been together. Not, um, not together— not dating, I mean. But, you know. I didn’t mean to— the rest was an accident, we didn’t think it would happen. Now that it has, though, I’ve decided I want to keep it.” She gestured to Rarity, who sat up and began nodding along. “I told Rarity about it the other day.”

“It’s true!” Rarity told them. “It’s very good news, don’t you all agree?” There was a firmness to her voice as she fluttered her lashes, giving each other pony a pointed look.

A moment of silence passed. Then, just as it looked like Twilight was about to say something, Pinkie Pie was right up against Fluttershy again, this time for an enthusiastic hug. “It’s super duper amazing totally awesome news! Do you know what this means, Fluttershy!?”

“W-what?”

“I get to plan a baby shower!” Pinkie squealed, utterly delighted. Then she gasped dramatically, leaning back even as she kept a hold on Fluttershy’s withers. “And the foal is going to have a birthday— I get to plan for a whole new birthday! Oh, oh! I know you said you and Discord aren’t dating, but do you two wanna have an anniversary anyway? We can just make one up! That’s another party I could plan!”

Fluttershy smiled, pulling Pinkie back in to prolong the hug. “Thanks, Pinkie. I think you’d set up the best baby shower… We’ll have to see about, um, anniversaries.”

Pinkie Pie held her back tightly. “Okie dokie lokie!”

“I… I don’t believe this,” Rainbow muttered to herself, though still loud enough for the others to hear her. “There’s just no way.”

“It is pretty surprising,” Twilight said, her tone cautious. “I didn’t even know a draconequus could reproduce in such a way… and with a pony?”

“Uhg, please don't talk about that!” Spike groaned, finally speaking up. “The last thing I wanna think about is--”

Before he could finish, the dragon hiccuped, then coughed up a flame. The familiar green fire produced a letter. Unlike one of Celestia’s scrolls, this was a dark grey envelope with bright, nearly electric cyan trimming. Something about the colors rang as vaguely familiar to Fluttershy, though she was much too distracted to determine why that might be.

“Perfect timing,” Spike croaked, unprepared for the magical post delivery. “I'm gonna go put this in your room, Twilight.”

“Thank you!” Twilight's eyes had gone wide when she saw the letter -- she must have been expecting it. “I'll read it in the morning.”

As Spike took his leave, Fluttershy addressed Twilight's previous question. “That’s what Discord said. He was just as shocked as I'd been, when I told him.”

“And you’re sure you wanna stick with it?” Applejack asked. She sounded like she thought it was a bad idea, but if that was her feeling on the subject, she was keeping it to herself. “Really sure?”

“I am,” Fluttershy told them all firmly.

Applejack merely nodded. “Alrighty. Well then it’s settled. I suppose it is pretty excitin’, no matter who the papa might be.”

Rainbow had taken to the air again, flying in close to Fluttershy. “Okay, no. You’re telling me that you’ve been doing that sorta thing with Discord, and we didn’t know? Nuh uh, no way! There’s no way you’d be able to hide a secret like that from us!”

“It wasn’t a secret,” Fluttershy said, frowning at her. “It just wasn’t any of your business.”

“Uh, yeah it is! I think it’s kind of relevant for us to know if one of the wielders of the Elements of Harmony is rolling around in the hay with the actual, literal embodiment of chaos!”

“Rainbow, calm down,” Applejack said sternly. “You’re makin’ it sound worse than it is, and you’re upsettin’ Fluttershy, if you haven’t noticed.”

“But—”

“Our good friend’s relationship with another friend of ours isn’t something for us to judge or complain about,” Rarity offered in a lofty tone. “No matter how we might individually feel about Discord, it’s undeniable that he and Fluttershy share a very special bond. It’s not that hard to believe if you really think about it.”

“Yeah, it totally makes sense!” Pinkie Pie said, spreading her arms out wide. “The most perfectest sense ever, even!”

Rainbow Dash huffed, but uncrossed her arms and said, “Alright, fine, yeesh. Whatever. I mean— congrats, Fluttershy. About…” She made a vague gesture. “This, I guess.”

“Thank you,” Fluttershy said, and turned to face Pinkie more fully so she wouldn’t have to look at the other pegasus. She was trying not to let her feelings be so hurt by Rainbow Dash’s reaction, but for all the push-back she’d been resigned to deal with, that was still more than she’d imagined. Perhaps it made sense, though — similarly to Applejack, Rainbow Dash always had a harder time coming around to Discord, greatly disliking much of his behavior. The incident with Tirek hadn’t helped, even though they all came together in the end and accepted Discord back as a friend. Rainbow Dash was also out of Ponyville a lot these days due to her Wonder Bolts position, so she didn’t get to interact with Discord as much as the others sometimes did during his visits.

Determined to put it out of her mind, Fluttershy let herself get swept up in Pinkie Pie’s excited chatter. Once Spike returned, Twilight suggested once more that they all get some sleep.

Fluttershy lay curled beneath her covers, head propped up on a pillow, her tired gaze fixed on the edge of the castle’s starlit canopy. A quiet night wind made the leaves rustle, and it was their whispered song which lulled a troubled Fluttershy to sleep.

The next week passed in a hurry. Now that she’d told her dearest friends about her pregnancy, Fluttershy found a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders. It made telling others feel much easier, and she wasted no time in writing a letter to her parents the day after.

Their response, which came two days later, found Fluttershy in the middle of a bout of spring cleaning — despite it nearly being summertime already. Discord helped and even managed to keep mostly on-task for the first few hours as they foal-proofed the cottage, making sure to get rid of any hidden dust and grime. With so much of her energy being put into her sanctuary work, Fluttershy had let some chores fall to the wayside; it was very helpful having Discord around, though he left the act of reorganizing to Fluttershy. “It’s not in my wheelhouse, as I’m sure you can imagine.”

Fluttershy’s parents sounded very surprised in their letter, but ultimately supportive, expressing excitement for her and saying they'd visit for her baby shower. They mentioned passing the news on to Zepher Breeze the next time her brother (currently unemployed once again) dropped in.

There was no telling how or when the news finally broke past her interpersonal circle. Fluttershy simply found that, one afternoon during a trip to the market for some fresh produce, ponies were trying to pretend they weren’t staring. Her suspicions were confirmed when she stopped by Sugarcube Corner and Mrs. Cake heartily congratulated her on becoming a mother.

A mother. The title dominated Fluttershy’s headspace as she made her way home. She’d been called maternal once or twice, and certainly nurturing. It was going to be a very different thing, though, being an actual mother taking care of her own child.

The concept threatened to overwhelm her; when she got home and Discord offered his usual distractions, Fluttershy readily indulged him.

Fluttershy was feeling calmer now. Today, she and Discord were at the sanctuary, making their steady way through a full list of chores. She currently had a wolf, a ferret, two badgers, three snakes, a falcon, and a family of five rabbits staying with her for a variety of physical impairments. This, of course, was not including the various species that simply enjoyed occupying the space; Fluttershy didn’t have the heart to shoo them away unless she was at capacity and needed room for those requiring her attention.

Usually, Dr. Fauna would drop by on days like this to help out, but Discord was here and insisted on lending a hand — or seven. Fluttershy had to admit, having him around was extremely helpful. It could be hit-or-miss when it came to which animals tolerated the draconequus’ intimidating presence; some refused to let him handle them, while others appeared entertained or even soothed by him. The ferret seemed thoroughly fascinated, following Discord around so it could chase his tail or attempt to climb up his long body.

Discord often claimed not to care about animals, and he certainly wasn’t trained at dealing with them, but Fluttershy thought he got along with them a bit better than he let on. He was quite animalistic himself, something Fluttershy had told him once, though not in quite as many words. She’d been worried he might find the comparison demeaning, but Discord had appreciated what she was trying to say.

So, yes, despite his proposed indifference towards the animals, Discord was fairly helpful getting the chores done. Sure, he’d changed the color of the rabbit kits’ fur to be bright orange, and he’d briefly bespelled the wolf to honk like a goose when it tried to howl, and he’d caused some of the feed bowls to grow beetle legs and wander around… But he’d fixed all of those things when Fluttershy brought them up! He hadn’t even tried complaining or escalating things for a laugh, immediately snapping them back to normal. Overall, the chaotic distractions were kept to a minimum, which was all the pegasus could ask for.

Fluttershy dwelled on these thoughts as she lay on her stomach in the grass. With everything finally finished, she and Discord were enjoying the afternoon sun and view of the sanctuary from their spot on a hill. At the moment, Discord was on his back, writhing in the grass like a snake. Everywhere his body touched, the grass would grow tall, and strange flowers would suddenly bloom, bursting with vibrant colors and taking on shapes Fluttershy had never seen in the wild. Sometimes, when Discord beat his wings, swaths of vegetation would fade to brown, wilting just as quickly as they were born. When a particularly large or unnatural plant would grow, Discord twisted his body until his mouth could set upon it, hungrily gobbling up the foliage with a self-satisfied purr.

He was, in his way, beautiful. But confusing, too. Fluttershy usually enjoyed that aspect of Discord, but today it made her wonder. She continued to watch him, trying to figure out what had felt so off the last few days…

Finally, it hit her. “Discord?”

“Yeshth, Fbluttershfly?”

Fluttershy smiled even as she wrinkled her nose. “I’ll wait for you to finish chewing your food.”

Discord grinned, showing teeth thoroughly stained with plant matter. He made a great show of chewing and gulping his mouthful, and Fluttershy could even hear it land in his stomach with a cartoonishly loud splash. “What is it you wanted to say, m’dear?” He asked, twisting the upper half of his body so he could prop his chin on his wrists.

“I just realized something: you haven’t gone home in a long time, have you?”

“Hm?” Discord twirled his little beard with one talon. “Ah, no, I suppose I haven’t.”

“Why?”

“What do you mean, why?”

Fluttershy gave him a look. “Discord, you know I always love having you around. I’m certainly not complaining about you being here the last few weeks; it’s been lovely, spending this much time with you. It’s just, um, you usually go home after a couple days.”

Shrugging, the draconequus went limp in the grass once more, turning away from her. “If it’s not a problem, then why bring it up?”

Fluttershy sighed. “It’s not a problem for me, not at all. I just wonder if you might be feeling…”

In the silence where Fluttershy tried to find the right words, Discord impatiently asked, “I might what?”

“You just seem like you might need some time in your own dimension,” Fluttershy told him. “It’s like you’ve started… leaking?”

“Fluttershy, I’m not a runny faucet, I don’t ‘leak’.”

“Are you sure?” Fluttershy leaned forward enough to sniff one of the nearby flowers he’d sprouted. It was bell-shaped, and when she blew on it, the petals emitted a dainty chime. “Stuff like this has been happening a lot, recently… Things in my cottage changing color, growing wings, getting bigger or smaller…”

“That’s nothing new!” Discord insisted cheerily. Fluttershy noted he still wasn’t looking at her. “All that is plain ol’ Discord-brand hijinks! Not only that, it’s mere pittance of what I could be doing. What’s there to complain about?”

“I told you, I’m not complaining,” Fluttershy insisted. “And that’s just the thing: you could be doing more, but you aren’t, because you’re trying to behave yourself, aren’t you? You’ve been in Ponyville for a few weeks now, but you haven’t tried pulling any pranks or gone to visit anypony else, except for seeing Spike and Bic Mac for your game night.” Even then, Fluttershy had needed to convince him to go, insisting she’d be fine on her own that evening.

Frustration had crept into her voice, but Fluttershy let it fade as she continued. “You don’t need to stay with me all the time now, Discord… Going back home might be good for you; give you a chance to do as many chaotic things you want without bothering anypony. I bet you’d be more comfortable if you did. You have seemed restless these last few days…”

Discord was quiet, which told Fluttershy that she was probably correct in her assumptions. Knowing better than to push him, Fluttershy joined him in his thoughtful silence. Her gaze fell on Angel, who was chatting with the rabbit family nearby — likely telling them all the best gardens in town they could steal ponies’ personal produce from.

Eventually, Discord turned onto his stomach and slithered through the grass until he was closer to Fluttershy. The pegasus kept her head low to the ground, and soon they were nearly snout-to-snout, staring at each other.

In a deep, bitter tone, Discord said, “I have to stay. That’s what I’m supposed to do, isn’t it? If I went home, that would be abandoning my— You’re—” Discord snarled, obviously displeased. “I can’t just leave!”

“Of course you can,” Fluttershy replied softly, her voice barely stirring the grass between them. Discord’s eyes narrowed. “Discord, I told you before that I don’t want you to feel like you have to stay with me.”

“I want to stay with you,” Discord countered.

Fluttershy smiled. “I like being with you, too.”

“So let me stay.”

“If you want to stay, I can’t stop you, and I won’t complain, because I like having you around,” Fluttershy said. “But Discord, I really care about you, and I hate to think you’re forcing yourself not to be, well, yourself. Your magic is so special. It’s… It’s lively. It wants to come out and have fun. But if you feel like you have to restrain yourself so much here, there’s no way for you to let your magic out in the way it wants.

“You know, you called all these recent things normal for you, but… I have the feeling you didn’t actually mean to do a lot that stuff.”

Discord glared at her. “Stop being so terribly observant. The noir-detective angle is Rarity’s bit, not yours.”

Fluttershy gave him an apologetic smile, but then her face fell again as she debated whether or not to say the next thing. She didn’t want him to feel unwanted, or pushed away, or… accused. It was just… “Don’t you think it would be more dangerous, if you held in your magic so much, that you weren’t able to control what it did?”

Discord was immediately on his mismatched hands and feet, neck arched, lips pulled back. “I wouldn’t do that. I am Master of All Chaos — the title implies mastery, i.e. complete and utter control over my magic, no matter how unruly some ponies might believe it to be.”

“Please don’t be upset,” Fluttershy begged, staring up at him with wide, sad eyes. “Discord, I know you’d never let yourself do anything to hurt me. It’s just…”

“What?”

“I just want you to be comfortable,” Fluttershy insisted. “If that means you have to go home to let yourself relax and let your magic express itself, then that’s what I want most.”

“And what if I don’t want to?”

“Then I can’t force you,” Fluttershy said once more. “But is that what you want to do? Do you want to stay here in Ponyville for several months straight?”

Discord looked away, glaring at the sanctuary, his weird flowers, the sky, the whole world. “...No.”

“No?”

“I don’t want to stay here for Celestia-knows-how-long!” Discord declared. “Every inch of me, from my antlers to my scales, is so… itchy.” The draconequus sighed, finally settling back in the grass, head flopping down pitifully. “Suppressing my magic like this is such a hassle.”

“Then don’t!” Fluttershy told him brightly. “Go spend a few days back in your realm, and I’m sure you’ll feel much better.”

Discord brought his face close to hers, then dipped his head to nibble at her neck. Fluttershy, surprised by the gesture, broke into a fit of giggles. “Discord!”

“You enjoy winning arguments,” he grumbled into her jaw, “and are much too smug right now.”

“I’m not smug,” Fluttershy denied, grinning as she tried to pull away. Her companion growled, crawling closer so he could wrap his neck around hers, attacking her from the opposite side. “Discord, s-stop that!”

“Fine, I’ll stop that.” Discord abandoned her neck to nip at her ears, making them flick reflexively.

“Stop it!”

“What? I stopped ‘that’; this is a completely different thing.”

Fluttershy scooted backwards, pulling herself free from his loose headlock and getting standing up. “Don’t try distracting me,” she scolded jokingly, flicking her tail at him. The flirty gesture made Discord growl. Fluttershy saw his body begin to tense and coil in a way that usually implied a chase would soon occur. The mare giggled, but made herself shake her head and put her hoof down. “No, no, none of that! You’re going home to relax, remember?”

“Why do that when I have something else I’d much rather be doing?” As if his suggestive tone wasn’t enough, Discord dared to waggle his eyebrows at her.

Blushing, Fluttershy turned up her snout and looked away, sitting down primly. “Nuh uh, mister. There’s nothing else you need to help me with today, so there’s no reason for you to stick around.”

“Would you rather I stick—”

“Discord!” Fluttershy waved a hoof at him in a furious shooing motion. “Go already!”

“So eager to be rid of me! You’re truly the cruelest little pony there is, Fluttershy,” Discord told her, projecting utter pitiability. Despite his dramatic protests, the draconequus did snap his fingers, and at last, a portal to his realm opened up in the ground between them.

“I should probably take these along with me,” Discord said after considering the thick carpet of questionable plant-life. With a swift and skilful move, as one might pull a cloth off a table, Discord ripped the entire swath of foliage out of the ground. It hung in his hands like an overgrown carpet; Discord rolled it up before tucking it under one arm.

Sitting on the lip of the portal, Discord stretched his body until he could plant one last thing: a swift kiss on Fluttershy’s cheek. “Ideally, I’ll make my grand return in a day or two.”

“Take as long as you need.”

“I refuse to leave you destitute and wanting for my companionship for any longer than necessary!”

Fluttershy giggled. “Okay. See you soon, Discord.”

“Ta-ta, Flutters!” He hopped into the portal, which cinched itself closed a second later.

Fluttershy pursed her lips, looking at the large patch of exposed dirt Discord had left behind. It wasn’t very pretty… but something new would grow there soon enough. Hm, or maybe she could set up something specific. Maybe keep it as a spot for birds to take dirt baths?

Adding it to her mental list for the next few days of chores, Fluttershy started walking back to her cottage. On the way, she considered what had presented itself as a possible future issue: if Discord needed to spend time in the Chaos Realm to use his magic without restrictions, what about their future child? If they were a draconequus, would it be safer — or even necessary for their health — for them to live there, too? Fluttershy couldn’t move to to live with Discord, even if she wanted to, as it simply wasn’t a place built to accommodate a creature like her for very long. Did that mean the child had to live with Discord, only visiting Fluttershy in Ponyville for short periods of time? That wouldn’t be the worst thing, but the thought made Fluttershy sad.

What if the opposite was true, and their child was a pony with no chaos magic at all? It seemed unlikely, but considering their situation, anything was possible, even the most mundane outcome. Did it hurt Discord, to think that he couldn’t live in the same place as his child without possible consequences? It might frustrate him even more if he had to leave once their child was born. Sure, Discord could teleport whenever he pleased, but it wasn't the same thing…

Fluttershy couldn’t think of what to do, but knew in her heart there had to be a solution. Determined to find it, the pegasus added it to the very top of her mental to-do list.

Elsewhere, another conversation was taking place.

Rainbow Dash and Applejack were making their way home from their most recent friendship quest. They’d been called to a small town to the west, where a trio of crafts-ponies were caught up in a feud, dividing their tight-knit community.

It had taken three whole days, but eventually, their efforts won out. Now the two mares were nearly home, Applejack trotting down the dirt road while Rainbow Dash flew in endless dips and loops above her. Sometimes, the blue pegasus would go high enough to reach the clouds, kicking stragglers until they were measly vapors.

Applejack watched her, thoughts as grey and heavy as one of those clouds would be just before they dropped an afternoon of rain on a pony’s head. This job had been… simple, but difficult, and that difficulty had been due in no small part to Rainbow’s attitude. She’d come into the situation ready for a fight, stirring up the emotions of ponies who were already upset and escalating things. It had given Applejack a fierce headache trying to work around her uncooperative friend, but Rainbow’s actions ultimately proved helpful. In validating their anger, Rainbow had endeared herself to the problem-ponies, leading them to confide in her the truth of their feelings. Which was useful for helping them reconcile…

…Especially after riling them up so badly, all three met in an explosive confrontation and nearly packed their bags, ditching town altogether just to get away from each other.

Luckily, Rainbow had come to Applejack upon realizing her mistake, and in telling the earth pony what she’d learned, gave Applejack just the right information she needed to organize with the townsfolk.

It worked out in the end, with all three crafts-ponies realizing how important they were to the town — and each other. Rather than fight to usurp each other, they realized they were all admired by one another, respectful of each others’ skill, and merely insecure in their own ways.

It warmed Applejack’s heart, to see the three of them hugging it out.

If only that good energy had been able to come home with them.

Rainbow Dash appeared less frustrated than before they’d left, but was clearly still on edge about something. Applejack figured it might be best to try dragging it out of her before they got home. Especially if she still had an attitude when they saw Fluttershy again…

Yeah, now was probably the best time. “Hey, Rainbow!”

Rainbow had just done a backwards loop into a low-floating cumulus. When she glided towards to Applejack, she had little puffs of cloud sticking to her mane.

“What?” she asked, slightly breathless with exertion — she’d been flying the entirety of their walk home, which was taking all afternoon. It’d be dinnertime before they arrived back in Ponyville. Rainbow was a strong, trained flyer, but Applejack understood she was made for powerful bursts of speed, not endurance. Especially not with all the restless flapping, kicking, and grumbling she’d been doing up there.

“Look, I ain’t gonna beat around the bush about it: what’s gotten into you, lately?”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. Irritatingly, she was refusing to land, merely flapping her wings and flying backwards as Applejack continued walking. “I dunno what you’re implying, but—”

“I’m sayin’,” Applejack interrupted, “you’ve been actin’ mighty ornery.”

“I’ve been what?”

It was Applejack’s turn to roll her eyes. “Your attitude’s been worse than an apple gone bad.”

“Hey!”

“What was the idea, anyway, eggin’ on those ponies like that? We barely had any time to try fixin’ things before you started makin’ ‘em worse!”

“Hah! That’s rich! I’m the one who basically solved the entire issue all by myself,” Rainbow Dash protested, crossing her arms.

“Only after nearly blowin’ the whole thing up in your face,” Applejack responded, dry as a bone.

Rainbow Dash scoffed and turned away, as if to take to the sky once again. Before she could, Applejack went on to say, “An’ that ain’t even bringin’ up the way you acted when Fluttershy told us about her an’ Discord.”

“Me!? I was ‘acting’ normal!” Rainbow Dash cried. She finally landed, standing stubbornly before Applejack and forcing the orange mare to stop walking. “It’s the rest of you who were acting crazy!”

“An’ what in the world do ya mean by that?”

“Seriously? It— uhg!” Rainbow stomped her forehoof. “It’s Fluttershy, and she lied, didn’t even tell us she was seeing Discord like that, and— and Discord! It’s Discord!”

“Now you know I ain’t any more pleased about the whole arrangement than you are,” Applejack said, keeping her tone low and calm as she began to walk around Rainbow Dash. It was a silent direction, and surprisingly, Rainbow followed it, falling into step beside her. “I won’t argue with ya ‘bout how strange it all is. A mare like Fluttershy deserves a proper courtin’ from a nice stallion.”

“Yeah, exactly!” Rainbow Dash said emphatically. Then, in a more subdued tone that Applejack would almost describe as shy, if she didn’t know any better, Rainbow muttered, “Or, I mean, y’know, anypony else. Stallion or— or mare, whatever.”

Applejack’s ear flicked, but she opted to just nod along. “Sure.”

“Not that I think Fluttershy was ever interested in mares.”

“Uh huh.”

“But it’d be fine if she was. Obviously. We— we don’t care about stuff like that, so it’d be fine if she— if one of us, uh, if any of us did. Like, no problem at all. Right?”

“Right…” Applejack frowned, side-eyeing Rainbow, who was staring up at the clouds with a lost, slightly pained expression. “Dash, d’you got somethin’ you need to tell me?”

“Huh?”

“Just get the feelin’ you’re focusin’ on the wrong thing, all of a sudden.”

Rainbow Dash looked confused, but once she realized Applejack’s meaning, her wings fluffed up and she shouted, “No! I mean, uh, no? No, that’s not— I didn’t mean anything by it. It’s not like I like Fluttershy, or anything!” She sounded genuine enough when she said it, even if something still felt a little off to Applejack. “I’m— I’m not into mares.”

A tumbleweed of anxiety that had started bouncing around in Applejack’s chest finally settled, morphing instead into a heavy stone that sank down to her gut. She stared forward and nodded. “I figured. So what’s the issue, really? ‘Cause listen, I get it; you an’ I like Discord ‘bout the same amount I reckon. I don’t think he deserves a mare as good as Fluttershy. I mean, I just can’t imagine him bein’ the most committed creature… An’ with Fluttershy insistin’ they ain’t datin’, I can’t help but get a bad feelin’ about it.”

Rainbow Dash, who looked a bit distracted, just offered a shrug. “I dunno, like, being casual isn’t weird or anything. Lots of ponies are like that, aren’t they?”

Applejack shook her head, her next step landing heavily with her passion. “That might do well enough for some folks, but I don’t like it much myself. If Discord can’t manage somethin’ as simple as sayin’ he loves Fluttershy an’ wants to be with her in a proper relationship, how am I s’posed to believe he’ll be a reliable parent?”

The stone in her gut sat heavily, conspicuous and sour, like she’d swallowed a mouthful of rotten cider. Applejack glared down at her hooves, shaking her head. “You can’t be wishy-washy about love. Iffin’ you ain’t got the strength to be honest ‘bout your own feelings, then… that’s not fair to anypony.”

“Um… yeah,” Rainbow Dash muttered. “I guess you’re right about that…”

Applejack chewed on her lip. There was more she wanted to say… or rather, more she felt, when it came to this subject. But Rainbow Dash was the last pony to voice those things to.

Circling back to the main topic, she said, “But Discord’s our friend, too, despite… everythin’. In the end, shouldn’t we be supportin’ our friends, long as what they’re doin’ ain’t hurtin’ nopony else?”

“Yeah, I guess, but…” Rainbow Dash sighed. “You don’t get it.”

Snorting, Applejack did a lateral step so she could hip-check the pegasus. “Then explain it, already! Spit it out!”

“I just…! Why didn’t Fluttershy tells us?” There was anger in her voice, but it fizzled out quickly as Rainbow Dash muttered, “Why didn’t she tell me? She told Rarity before she told me…”

Applejack tilted her head. “Is that your problem? That she told Rarity first?”

“She and Rarity aren’t even, like, super best friends!”

“We’re all best friends, Dash.”

“But it’s different for me and Fluttershy! I mean—” Rainbow Dash snorted in frustration. “I’m just… I guess I’m just…”

“Jealous?” Applejack suggested, half-teasing.

Rainbow Dash’s bitter silence made it into much less of a joke.

Applejack slowed, and soon they both stopped walking. “Really? Of Rarity? But you said—”

“Not Rarity specifically!” Rainbow Dash snapped, stomping a hoof. “If Fluttershy had told any of you guys before telling us as a group, I would’ve been mad about it.

“It’s just… I’ve known Fluttershy the longest. I used to be her best friend; her only friend. We knew each other before we met any of you guys, and…”

The pegasus’ gaze fell as she went quiet, gently pawing at the dirt, a gesture so unlike her that Applejack could only find it endearing. She loved Rainbow Dash as the strong, vibrant, proud pony she was, but it was moments like these — when Rainbow Dash let her see this other side, the mare who ultimately cherished connection with those close to her even more than fame — which made Applejack’s life so much more complicated than it had to be.

This wasn’t the time to get caught up in her personal turmoil. Applejack sighed, and stepped closer so she could gently bump Rainbow Dash’s shoulder with her own. “I think I get your point, sugarcube.”

“It’s stupid,” the pegasus grumbled, mostly to herself.

“It ain’t stupid.”

“It is, because I was a being total jerk about everything and it wasn’t even for a good reason!” Rainbow Dash threw her head back and groaned, projecting her self-loathing towards the heavens. “Stupid!”

“You ain’t stupid.”

“Shows what you know,” Rainbow countered. Luckily, some humor had returned to her. A second later she smiled and threw a foreleg around Applejack’s shoulders. “Whatever. Thanks for snapping me out of my dumb funk, AJ.”

“Ain’t that what you keep me around for?” Applejack chuckled, playfully shoving Rainbow Dash off her.

“No, I keep you around for this: wanna race the rest of the way back to Ponyville?”

“You’re on. No flyin’, though.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes obnoxiously enough that Applejack tried shoving her again. They both laughed as they took their positions. “Duh! My wings are worn out anyway.”

Applejack grinned, kicking up dirt as Rainbow Dash adjusted her stance. “On three?”

“You’re on!”

The library in Twilight’s castle was easily three times as large as it had been — large enough that even the Princess of Friendship herself hadn’t amassed a collection big enough to fill each and every shelf. Though, ‘shelf’ probably wasn’t the most accurate descriptor, Fluttershy mused. The internal workings of the castle weren’t always as logistical as typical pony architecture, and the library was a good showcase. Some bookshelves akin to what you’d find in any regular library existed, crafted from the very crystal which had integrated itself into the great tree. But many of the books were nestled in branches growing from the walls, which curved and intertwined to create platforms akin to bird nests. Some segments of the walls were concave, bark stripped to reveal curving swaths of smooth, even wood, as if shelves had been carved into the tree itself. Some books had been placed in little shadowed nooks — single tomes tucked safely away in spaces where the twisting, arborous muscles of the trunk parted just enough to hide them.

It made for a textured, eclectic space with an organizational system only the princess (and Spike) could reliably navigate.

Twilight Sparkle flew near-silently, fluffy feathers twinkling when they caught a strip of morning light filtering in through one of the library’s windows. “There are tons of books on rearing foals,” the alicorn was saying, voice raised so Fluttershy could hear from her spot on the crystalline floor. “The real challenge is going to be narrowing down your options!”

“I see…” Fluttershy watched as Twilight’s magic pulled books into the air, opening their covers and flipping through pages. Some she put back, others she sent floating down towards the table nearest Fluttershy. “Do you have any on what a pony pregnancy is typically like?”

“Of course! There are plenty on that specific subject. Is there something in particular you have a question about? That might help me look for a book that’s most relevant.”

“I just think I should try learning as much as I can at this point.” Fluttershy sighed, resting her forelegs on the table. “I thought I knew what to expect, but there are some things where I’m not sure if they're normal or not, considering who the father is…”

“Such as?”

“It’s nothing too bad. Most days I feel fine, almost like normal. But sometimes I get… daydreamy?”

“Daydreamy?”

“Where I can’t stop thinking about things.” A tower of books was forming, threatening to topple. Twilight’s magic divided the stack into a few less intimidating piles. “But at the same time, it’s hard to focus on any of it. On days like that, it’s really difficult to do some things…”

“I think that might be…” Purple wings stilled as Twilight glided down to a lower shelf on the opposite side of the library. In a barren nest of branches a few feet above her, Owlowicious snoozed. Twilight snagged a book in one hoof, using her magic to flip to a specific page. “Do you find that you’re especially forgetful on those days?”

The bright blue cover of A Salute To Single Life: Your New Life as a Loving Wife caught Fluttershy’s attention. She wordlessly moved it a safe distance away. “Oh, yes, it’s very easy for me to forget what I’m doing, or what somepony tells me.”

“That could be an example of something called head fog,” Twilight explained. “Certain illnesses can cause it, but I do believe it’s also common during a pregnancy.”

“What about vivid dreams?”

“That could be due to any number of things.” Replacing the book, Twilight walked over. “But this is crossing into territory I’m not exactly qualified to give advice on. I’ve read up a little in my free time, but your doctor would be the better pony to ask.”

“I just saw her though.” Fluttershy weakly pawed at the floor. “I don’t want to be a bother, I’m sure she’s very busy with other ponies too…”

“Fluttershy, she’s supposed to help you, that’s her job!”

“I’ll see her again in a few weeks for a check-up,” Fluttershy offered. “I can ask her then.”

“Alright, but if anything more serious pops up, let her know right away.”

“I will.”

Twilight nodded, smiling, and swiftly organized the books into three neat piles. She left the discarded blue one alone. “Good! Now go ahead and look through these. You’re welcome to borrow as many as you like, but it’ll probably be easier for you to only take two or three at a time.”

As Fluttershy inspected the titles, they both heard the familiar sound of dragon claws scraping on the castle floor. Spike soon appeared, saying, “Twilight, you got a letter from— oh, hey Fluttershy!”

Fluttershy glanced up to smile at the dragon. He was holding up a grey envelope with blue trim. “Hello, Spike.”

“Thank you, Spike!” Immediately, Twilight’s magic plucked the envelope from his claws. The alicorn stood up and began to retreat to a spot near the back of the library, only to pause and offer Fluttershy with an apologetic look. “Sorry, Fluttershy, do you mind if I take a moment to read this? If I can, I want to send my response right away.”

“Of course.” Fluttershy gestured with a wing for the alicorn to go about her business. “Don’t mind me, I need a moment to look through all these books anyway.”

“Great! I’ll be over at my writing desk if you have any questions.”

Twilight hurried off around the corner. Fluttershy turned to the books, but her mind trailed behind to consider what just happened. Twilight Sparkle was not easily distracted when it came to discussing or recommending books to other ponies, especially when it gave her an excuse to utilize her personal library. If Fluttershy remembered correctly, Twilight had also received a similar looking envelope back when their group was having that slumber party… Who could she be writing to so eagerly?

It could be anyone, really. Fluttershy supposed a princess would have many, many important pony or non-pony creatures to correspond with. Those sorts of things weren’t often brought up when they weren’t relevant; Fluttershy had the feeling Twilight didn’t enjoy spotlighting her status as a princess too often, considering how much it troubled her in the beginning and how often she’d needed help from her friends. At times, her status as an alicorn and princess appeared to make Twilight uncomfortable.

Ultimately, it wasn’t her business either way. If Twilight had a new pen pal, she’d tell them about whoever it was if she felt the need to. Of all their friends, Fluttershy was the last one with any right to pry.

Despite all that, Fluttershy couldn’t help tossing a look Spike’s way, silently inquiring. The dragon offered a shrug, rolling his eyes. He must know who it was, then, but intended on keeping Twilight’s privacy. Fluttershy respected that, so she let the subject remain undisturbed.

Instead, Fluttershy asked, “How have you been lately? I haven’t had a chance to see you at all since the slumber party.”

“Me? I’ve been fine,” Spike casually waved a purple hand. “It’s been business as usual, y’know, regular ol’ princess junk.” After a pause, he cautiously asked, “Uh, what about you? Are you… good?”

“I’m doing well.” Fluttershy giggled at his awkwardness. “Thank you for asking.”

The dragon reached back to scratch at the scales on his spine, looking shy. “Sorry, I dunno what to ask about your, um, y’know. Having a baby and stuff. Twilight’s been reading and talking at me about it, but the whole thing sounds like… a lot, so I haven’t, uh, really understood everything she’s said. You’re okay though?”

Fluttershy made an effort not to slouch as she adjusted her position on her seat. “I’m fine, Spike, you don’t need to worry about me.”

“It sounds so… scary, though.”

“Does it?”

“All sorts of things can happen,” Spike said, wringing his hands together. He’d drifted closer while they spoke, and now sat in one of the low stools next to Fluttershy. “Twilight said things might get even weirder than they usually do, ‘cause the kid is Discord’s too, right?”

“It is… a little scary,” Fluttershy admitted, ears lowering. “B-but there’s still plenty of time for me to… to get used to everything, and to prepare. For now, I’m okay.” She offered him a bright smile, touching his hand with her hoof. “Thank you for being worried about me, Spike.”

Spike offered her a determined look. “If you need anything, you just make sure you ask me, okay Fluttershy? I’ll do whatever you need! Like, do you need anything now? A pillow, or a drink, or snack, or something?”

The sudden, conspicuous emptiness of her stomach dampened Fluttershy’s instinct to reject his kind offer. Instead she mumbled, “I hope it’s not a bother, but I am a little hungry.”

“‘Course you are! It’s almost lunchtime anyway.” Spike hopped back onto his feet. “Do you want anything specific? I think Twilight said pregnant ponies sometimes crave weird foods, right?”

At this, Fluttershy blushed. “T-that’s… true…” There were a lot of weird things she’d daydreamed about eating lately, most of which weren’t particularly edible. A vision of pearlescent eggshells crossed her mind; Fluttershy felt a disorienting mix of both yearning and disgust.

“Uh, Shy? You’re lookin’ kinda queasy.”

“S-sorry! Um… maybe something like…” She cast the eggshells from her mind, trying to think of something more reasonable. “Maybe… kale? Or spinach, if you have it?”

“We have those! I’ll make you a salad.”

Fluttershy pat his crown affectionately. The dragon’s tail wagged. “Thank you, Spike.”

“No problem! You can count on me, Fluttershy; I’ll get that up here for you in just a little bit!”

Spike left Fluttershy to her selection of books. Most of what Twilight had brought over was about foal-rearing, things to consider after the baby was born. Fluttershy skimmed the table of contents for those, choosing one that seemed to offer the broadest range of advice. They still weren’t sure whether or not the baby was going to be a foal at all, so there was no telling how helpful any of these books would actually be. Still, feeling prepared helped ease her nerves.

As Fluttershy leafed through a book summarizing the terms of an average pony pregnancy, Twilight’s hoofsteps rang out against the crystal flooring. She reappeared, carrying a scroll tied with purple ribbon, the silky fabric sparkling with pinks and blues. Twilight frowned as she drew near, ears rotating. “Where’s Spike? I need him to send this off.”

“He went to get me something to eat.”

“Ah, I see.” Twilight set her scroll on the table, taking the stool Spike left behind. “Do any of these seem useful?”

“A few,” Fluttershy said, resting a hoof on what she’d set aside.

“Great! I’ll record the titles after Spike sends this letter off for me.” As Twilight separated the leftover books from the two Fluttershy had chosen, she asked, “Was there anything else you wanted to try researching?”

“Actually…” Fluttershy tapped her chin, casting a hopeful look at the many shelves. “You don’t have any books about draconequui, do you?”

A cloud passed outside, and the library dimmed alongside Twilight’s demeanor. “Sorry, I don’t. Can you believe it? I’ve tried looking, but there isn’t a single book about draconequui as a species in any of the libraries I’ve checked. I’ve only ever found one or two about Discord specifically, and they were short; one of them was not historically accurate, either.” The princes’ tail flicked. “As far as I’m aware, draconequui are only ever mentioned in passing, and only refer to Discord — if a name is mentioned at all.”

“That’s so… sad,” Fluttershy said, a hoof to her chest.

Twilight’s arms went up, as if tossing her exasperation into the air like confetti. “I know! You would think with Discord being such a unique species — not to mention the embodiment of an element as powerful as chaos — more scholars would at least try documenting some relevant information about him!”

Fluttershy toyed with her drooping bangs. “That’s not exactly what I meant…”

At Twilight’s inquisitive look, Fluttershy explained, “Doesn’t it just seem so lonely? Being the only one of your kind around.” Fluttershy considered, pulling her mane over her one shoulder to run a hoof over it. After a moment, she admitted, “Discord told me he doesn’t know where he came from, and he doesn't have any parents… He’s never even met another draconequus.”

“Really?”

Fluttershy nodded. Twilight tapped her chin. “I never thought about it too much, but that is strange. Is it possible Discord is the only draconequus in existence? But no, I’ve seen them referenced in some of the oldest reading material I’ve come across…”

“Discord has been around for a long time,” Fluttershy offered.

“It’s possible they meant Discord, but in those instances, the creature was often brought up in contexts that don’t suit him.” Twilight rubbed the back of her neck with a defeated sigh. “Not to mention it's entirely possible whatever they were referring to was misidentified. I mean, if other draconequui look anything like Discord, I can imagine a firm identification of one is quite difficult, especially if you only ever see one in passing.

“It’s so frustrating!” Twilight huffed and fussed with the rejected books, most likely pre-organizing them before they went back on the shelves.

Fluttershy shifted her tail to just barely caress Twilight’s flank. “I’m sorry, Twilight. I didn’t mean to upset you by asking.”

“It’s not your fault, Fluttershy. The fact that there’s so little information just makes me think… I don’t know. It’s such a glaring absence of knowledge. Back when I was trying to learn more about Discord — after that first time we fought him, in case he ever returned — I couldn’t find anything. I didn’t think much of it then; I hadn’t considered why that might be the case, or what it could mean. Despite being around for such a long time…”

Twilight stared down at her hooves, which had gone still. “Yeah… That does sound lonely.”

Their thoughtful moment of silence was broken by clicking claws. Spike reappeared, two bowls of leafy lunches balanced in his hands. “I’m back! Twilight, I made you a salad too; you should eat before you get distracted again.”

Both ponies thanked Spike, and Twilight handed him the scroll. Spike wasted no time casting it away with green fire, sending the parchment off to its recipient.

As they ate, Spike asked Fluttershy, “Do you know what the baby is yet? Twilight said you guys weren’t sure if it was gonna be a foal or draconequus.”

“Not yet, but hopefully soon. That’ll make it easier to plan.”

“How are you gonna find out?”

“There’s a spell the medic ponies can use to see,” Fluttershy said before taking another bite of her salad. The greens, fresh and lightly salted, tasted heavenly.

“What kind of spell?” Spike asked, directing his question at Twilight.

The princess responded eagerly. “It’s a type of scrying spell, actually. It can be done using two mirrors, and it allows the doctor to see into the space where the baby is developing.”

“Ew!” Spike exclaimed, a hint of a chuckle in his voice. “Really? Isn’t that… gross?”

“It’s not a very clear picture.” In a tone of recitation, Twilight explained, “For inspecting a pregnant pony, the mirrors allow one to observe the shape of the foal inside. This helps doctors keep track of the foal’s rate of growth and gives them an opportunity to catch any deformities that might become an issue during or after the birthing process.”

After swallowing a mouthful of kale, Fluttershy said, “It may end up being a little early for them to tell, but it’ll be really helpful if we can find out if it’s a foal or draconequus sooner than later.”

“Wow.” Spike glanced at Fluttershy’s flat stomach. “And it doesn’t bother them?”

Twilight shook her head. “There haven’t been any records of ill-effects on the foal. The most common time the spell is done is a few months into the pregnancy. Is that what you’re doing at your next check-up, Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy nodded, licking salt from her lips.

“I wish I could be there…” Twilight sighed dreamily. Spike side-eyed her. “What? I’ve never seen the spell performed, only read descriptions with some artistic renditions. I’m sure it looks very different when you look in the corresponding mirror.”

“I bet it looks gross.”

“Don’t be rude,” Twilight lightly scolded, giving Spike’s shoulder a gentle shove with one hoof. Spike just snickered.

Fluttershy smiled, quietly finishing her lunch.

A sunny afternoon found Fluttershy meandering through Ponyville’s marketplace. Familiar faces sat behind colorful stalls adorned heavily with goods of all sorts: food, garments, furniture, toys, and every shape of knick-knack in between. Under one of the colorful awnings, Fluttershy saw Caramel haggling with Junebug over a pot of lilacs. In another corner, Bon Bon and Lyra commented on the lovely weather, pretending not to notice the little gang of loitering foals hoping to score a free candy sample.

Today wasn’t the day for haggling and browsing, though. Fluttershy was on a mission, so with a practiced How-Nice-To-See-You-Please-Excuse-Me smile, she sidestepped any attempted pleasantries as politely as possible. Weaving through the Tuesday crowd, Fluttershy’s eyes scanned each stall, skimming over those she knew wouldn’t be offering what she sought. The pegasus had become familiar with some of the smaller, more eclectic sections of the market in the last few years, as she often needed to find certain special food items or interesting toys for the animals in her sanctuary. Unfortunately for Fluttershy, no matter where she looked, it proved impossible to find the exact special thing she needed.

The pregnant mare had been the victim of a lot of odd cravings over the last few weeks. It wasn’t so bad when Discord was visiting, because he would eagerly conjure up whatever she wanted: an ice cream sundae topped with almonds and mint leaves; tomato soup and tofu (a strange food Discord had introduced her to); stalks of broccoli dipped in yogurt; even, once, those egg shells she couldn’t stop thinking about.

(The eggshells, to her utmost distress, were delicious. Discord had been delighted by this, enjoying more than a dozen “eggs, shell on” himself.)

Yesterday, Discord had gone home to relax and burn off his chaotic magic, leaving Fluttershy without easy access to whatever strange craving was haunting her. The worst part was how she couldn’t identify exactly what her taste buds yearned for. Fluttershy was left to wander aimlessly, inspecting every other storefront and market stall until something spoke to her.

Her quest was interrupted when she spotted Pinkie Pie haggling with somepony at one of the stalls. Considering her lack of luck so far, it wouldn’t hurt to take a break and say hello; Fluttershy trotted over.

Pinkie and the stall owner, Olive Grove, were in the middle of some elaborate back and fourth that Fluttershy quickly lost track of, having come into it late. Eventually Olive snorted, pushing four bits towards Pinkie Pie. Pinkie whooped in victory, snatching up the money before dragging a huge jar of olives off the counter and shoving it into her saddle. Like with most things Pinkie put into a pocket, the jar seemed to disappear entirely without filling out or weighting down the bag.

When Pinkie turned around, she immediately noticed Fluttershy, who sat a polite distance away. “Fluttershy! Hey! I didn’t see you there! You should sit more loudly next time, I would’ve said hi sooner!”

“It’s okay Pinkie, you looked busy.” Fluttershy smiled before discreetly eyeing the stall behind them. “What was all that about, anyway?”

“Oh, Olive Grove was doing a promo thing where ponies could pay to guess how many olives were in this big jar! If you guessed the exact right number, she’d double your bits AND give you the jar for free!”

“Wow, that’s—”

“And guess who got it right on the first guess? Me!” Pinkie proudly puffed out her chest, then immediately shifted to hunch over, head near the ground as she pretend-glared at Fluttershy. “But Olive said I cheated! Can you believe it? Can you? I’d never cheat at a party game! Where’s the fun in that? I told her as much, but she said ‘this isn’t a PARTY game’! But it totally is, right? I’ve done ‘guess how many of this thing is in this jar for a prize’ games TONS of times at parties! Anyway, so then she wouldn’t give me the jar, but still wanted my bits, which wasn’t fair, so I said she was cheating, and we went back and forth, back and forth, until finally she said I could just have them if I wanted them so much! Which I did, I love olives! It’s a great food and a great beverage!”

Fluttershy blinked, trying to process it all. She asked warily, “Um… beverage?”

“The juice?” Pinkie shook her head as if amused. “Duh.”

“That sounds—” Instinctively, Fluttershy thought it sounded pretty disgusting — she’d never been a fan of olives. But in the moment, something about the salty green brine did sound… “—surprisingly appealing,” Fluttershy reluctantly admitted.

Pinkie beamed. With an audible bounce, she closed the distance between them and slung a hoof around Fluttershy’s withers to catch her in a one-armed hug. “That’s enough about me and my olives! How’re you doing?”

“I’m fine. I’m just looking for something.”

“Oh, what is it? What is it? I can help find it!” Pinkie started bouncing, bright blue eyes wide and eager.

“Y-you don’t have to worry about me,” Fluttershy protested. “I don’t even know what it is I want…”

Pinkie’s hooves landed heavily in the dirt and didn’t leave it. She tilted her head to the side until she was nearly upside-down. “You don’t?”

“No. It’s a food craving, but I don’t know what exactly…”

Pink hooves regained their springiness. “Oh, oh! I can still help! I can say a bunch of foods, and maybe one will be what you want, or make you think of what you want, and then you’ll know!”

“B-but, um, Pinkie—”

“Okay let’s see…! How about: an apple? Banana? Salad? Hay burger? Corn? Potato chips? Oranges? Strawberries? Blueberries? Dandelion sandwich? Daisy soup?”

“Um—”

“Or maybe you want something sweet? I know lots of sweets!” With each bounce, Pinkie shot off another suggestion. “Cake? cupcakes? Pancakes? Tea cakes? Cupcakes again? No, wait, I meant muffins! Not muffins? What about an eclair? How about donuts? Donut holes?”

Accepting her fate, Fluttershy could only shake her head.

“Maybe something weird? I remember Mrs. Cake having tons of cravings when she was pregnant with the twins! Are your cravings weird too? If you want something weird, maybe you want, like, oh! Maybe a gemstone, like a dragon? I bet Spike has— no, he wouldn’t, he’d just eat them, huh? But we could ask Rarity for a gem, she’d give you one if she wasn’t using it!”

“I don’t want a gemstone,” Fluttershy said, feeling grateful that was the case. She hadn’t considered her cravings might drive her to something that outlandish; she was really trying to draw the line at eggshells.

“What about, um…” Pinkie Pie looked all around, trying to think of something. “A… cloud? I bet you could eat a cloud! I’ve eaten a cloud, so— no, wait, that was when Discord made cotton candy clouds. The ones that rained chocolate milk.” Pinkie Pie sighed, closing her eyes and licking her lips. “Mmm… that was the best.”

“I don’t think—” Fluttershy tongue tingled; she let out a squeak as an epiphany struck. “Wait! I know what it is!”

“It’s cotton candy chocolate rain clouds?”

“N-no, not that. When you mentioned of something I used to eat when I lived in Cloudsdale.” Fluttershy sought out the distant shape of the airborne city, a small white mark in the sky. The only hint that it wasn’t a normal cloud was the prismatic glint of a rainbow waterfall, a cascading spectrum of light particles that dissolved into endless blue. “There’s something they make up there — a special kind of frosting some stores sell. It’s made of condensed cumulus clouds, powdered sugar, and the sparkling dust of a rainbow…” Just thinking about it was making her salivate. Fluttershy licked her lips. “It’s called skysugar frosting.”

“Wow! That sounds super-duper yummy!” Pinkie Pie licked her lips sympathetically. “This is great! Now that you know what it is, you can go get some!”

Fluttershy’s gleeful demeanor vanished at the other pony’s words. She sighed, wings drooping. “Oh, but I can’t…”

“Why not?”

“I can’t fly up to Cloudsdale.” Fluttershy hurried explain before Pinkie could protest. “I’m already not the strongest flyer, and ever since I found out I was pregnant, I’ve been afraid to fly.”

“Huh? Why?”

“What if I fall?” Fluttershy shivered, screwing her eyes shut at the mere prospect. She’d always hated being up too high, hated thinking about what it was like to fall, fear and stress making it difficult for her to keep her wings steady. She could do it, when she had to, it just never stopped taking a lot of effort. But the mere idea of falling and hurting not only herself, but possibly her foal…

Fluttershy’s wings pulled tightly against her sides, locking up as her feathers quivered, and the pegasus shook her head. “No, no, I could never risk that. I wouldn’t even feel comfortable taking a balloon up.” With a forlorn look towards the sky, she sighed, “I suppose I’ll have to wait…”

“You don’t gotta wait! I’ll go get it for you!”

“But Pinkie, you can’t fly.”

“I can still get up there!” Pinkie screwed one eye shut, staring intensely at Cloudsdale with the other.

“It’s too much trouble.” Fluttershy shook her head. Even a round-trip ride on the hot air balloon would take over two hours. “Pinkie Pie, it’s okay; m-maybe I can go ask Twilight to—”

It seemed Pinkie Pie wasn’t having it. “Just leave it to me!” she declared, posing confidently. “I’ll find a way up there, and I’ll get you that tasty frosting! Be back soon!”

Before Fluttershy could say anything else, the earth pony was off, a pink blur snaking through the market crowd.

Fluttershy sighed, but found Pinkie Pie had left a smile on her face. She didn’t know how the earth pony meant to accomplish her self-appointed task, especially considering even if she did make it to Cloudsdale, there wouldn’t be a way for her to stay there without a cloud-walking spell. Maybe she’d end up going to Twilight for help after all?

Whatever the case, it seemed to be out of Fluttershy’s hooves for now. She certainly couldn’t deny it would be nice, if Pinkie managed it…

With one final, yearning lick of her lips, Fluttershy tried to direct her focus towards something productive. She was already at the market, so she spent the next hour picking up some supplies and groceries. By the time she’d finished, Pinkie still hadn’t returned; Fluttershy figured the pony would just come to her cottage if she managed to get the frosting, so she began to walk home.

On her way, she noticed a speck of rainbow streaking through the sky. Fluttershy’s hooves stilled as she made out the shape of Rainbow Dash, who appeared to be adjusting the placement of some clouds. It was surprising to see her — these days, she was usually training with the Wonderbolts, if the group wasn’t off somewhere for a show. It had been a long time since Rainbow Dash worked on the weather patrol.

Fluttershy wondered what she was up to. Part of her wanted to call out to say hello, but… Fluttershy hadn’t spoken to Rainbow Dash since the slumber party.

The choice was made for her when the blue pegasus glanced her way. Rainbow Dash lazily kicked a cloud and left it to coast, then smoothly glided down to land in front of Fluttershy. “Hey, Shy! What’s up?”

“O-oh, nothing,” Fluttershy muttered. She gestured towards her loaded saddle bags. “I was just shopping.”

“Cool, cool.”

Because they were near the edge of town, there wasn’t anypony else around. No ambient chatter or hoof-falls to break the awkward silence. Fluttershy ducked behind her bangs to hide a wince. When was the last time she’d felt so uncomfortable around somepony? Especially with one of her closest friends? She kept waiting and waiting, but for once, Rainbow Dash didn’t seem to know what to say.

Desperate for the conversation to start before it died a pitiful death, Fluttershy weakly offered, “Um, I saw Pinkie Pie earlier…”

“Yeah? And how’s she?”

“She’s… good.” Yellow hooves pawed at the dirt. “She, um, won a big jar of olives.”

“Uh… okay?”

“Yeah.”

“...”

“A-and now she’s…” Fluttershy glanced over her shoulder, chin tilted up. “...trying to get to Cloudsdale.”

“Why the heck is she doing that?”

“I mentioned that I was craving skysugar frosting.”

In her periphery was the wagging of a multi-colored tail. “Oh my gosh, I love that stuff,” Rainbow Dash gushed. Through a gap in pink tresses, Fluttershy saw her friend grin. “My parents used it on, like, every single birthday cake I had growing up.”

“Mine too,” Fluttershy admitted, now smiling a little herself. She dared to pull her hair from her face.

“But why is Pinkie Pie getting it for you?”

“S-she insisted, when I mentioned that I, um, I feel uncomfortable flying right now…”

“Why— oh.”

Shoot, she shouldn’t have mentioned that part! Fluttershy began to wilt again as oppressive silence threatened to return.

To her surprise, it was driven off when Rainbow Dash snorted and stomped once on the ground, tail flicking. “I can just fly up and get that stuff for you in like, two seconds!”

Fluttershy blinked at her in surprise. “B-b-but, Pinkie Pie—”

“—Has been gone for how long?” Rainbow Dash asked, quirking a brow.

“Um… about an hour…”

“Yeah, exactly; she probably forgot all about it. I bet she got distracted. Otherwise she’d be back by now, right? And anyway, she ain’t a pegasus! How is she gonna get to Cloudsdale and back, let alone walk into a store and buy that stuff for you?” Rainbow Dash flapped her wings, rising from the ground. “It’ll literally take me like, five minutes.”

“You don’t have to,” Fluttershy said, but Rainbow Dash was already off. She quickly ascended, nearly fading into the sky, her bright streak of rainbow mane the only mark of her progress towards Cloudsdale.

Unsure what else to do, Fluttershy found a nearby bench and hopped onto it.

Rainbow Dash ended up being incorrect — it only took her four minutes.

“Check it! Your very own jumbo-sized tub of frosting.” Rainbow Dash spun it on the tip of one shining blue hoof, then proudly presented it to Fluttershy.

The cylindrical container was stark white with a rainbow stripe running a ring around the center. A company logo decorated the lid. It looked the same as Fluttershy’s hazy recollections. Just the sight of it made Fluttershy’s mouth water. She beamed, happily accepting it from her fellow mare. “Thank you!” Her hoof twitched, but she restrained herself.

Rainbow Dash smirked, hopping onto the bench beside Fluttershy. “Go on, I’m not judging.”

Fluttershy blushed. “I don’t want to be rude.”

“Like I care! Besides, I haven’t had this stuff in ages — I kinda wanna steal some. Think of it as payment.”

“Oh! You’re right; how many bits was this?”

Rainbow Dash shook her head. “Nope! I’m not letting you pay me back, so don’t even try it.”

“But—”

“Fluttershy, come on, pop it open already!”

“I don’t have any spoons,” was Fluttershy’s last feeble argument.

Rainbow Dash sighed, leaning back and crossing her arms. “What do I care? We’ve shared food before…”

“I… I suppose.”

“We used to split a bowl all the time.”

Fluttershy thought about it. Glanced at Rainbow Dash, who’d turned away, red eyes squinting at the sky. It was hard to read her expression; she didn’t seem angry, but something about her was giving upset vibes, even if Fluttershy wasn’t sure why.

Making up her mind, Fluttershy carefully pried open the lid. Rainbow Dash’s ear twitched.

Inside the tub, the fluffy, dense, swirling white frosting glittered with flecks of rainbow dust. The sugary, early morning smell of it was horribly nostalgic. Birthdays upon birthdays flickered through Fluttershy’s mind: messy yellow cake crumbs on her parents’ plush living room carpet; licking sticky frosting off her nose while her mother chuckled, a dollop of white fluff on the tip of her amber hoof; Zephyr absolutely destroying their father’s birthday surprise, too impatient to wait for the cake to cool before decorating it; Rainbow Dash’s chipmunk cheeks as she furiously blew out eight candles, the first birthday party a friend had ever invited Fluttershy to…

In the wake of memory, Fluttershy found her vision blurring. She sniffled as a powerful, nameless emotion bloomed in her chest. She placed the tub of frosting on the bench so she wouldn’t accidentally drop it.

“Shy?” Concern coated Rainbow’s voice. Fluttershy turned away, fighting to control herself before she started crying. “H-hey! Fluttershy, are you…?”

“I’m s-sorry,” Fluttershy mumbled, trying to calm down. “I d-don’t know wh-what’s come over me, all of a s-s-sudden…”

“Hey, it’s okay!” Rainbow Dash took the lid and screwed it back on the tub of frosting. “Look, sorry, I shouldn’t have bullied you into sharing. It’s your food, you don’t gotta share with me—”

“T-that’s not it,” Fluttershy said weakly, even as she sniffled and rubbed at her eyes. Despite her best efforts, the tears escaped. “It’s n-not y-your f-f-fault, I’m just… I don’t kn-know.”

“Fluttershy…” Rainbow Dash moved the container to her other side so she could slide in closer. She lifted a wing, gently draping her feathers over Fluttershy’s back. It was a familiar, comforting gesture, one she’d done so many times before. Without thinking, Fluttershy immediately leaned into her side. Despite spending so much time in the cool upper atmosphere, Rainbow Dash’s body always ran hot. Maybe it was the racing of her heart, fueled endlessly with the blood-pumping power of Rainbow Dash’s passion for flying.

“Forget the frosting, then,” Rainbow Dash told her, voice low and rough. Down the street, ponies were going about their day, but it felt like only the two of them existed. “Let me apologize for something else.”

“Wh-what?”

“I’m sorry for being a huge jerk the other day,” Rainbow Dash said. “About you and Discord.”

Fluttershy loudly sniffled. “Y-you are?”

“Yeah. The way I acted was totally uncool and unfair, and…” Rainbow Dash pulled her wing back so she could hug Fluttershy instead. “I’m really, really sorry if I hurt your feelings.”

“...You did,” Fluttershy quietly admitted, the words muffled against Rainbow’s neck. “Why did you…?”

“It’s so dumb,” Rainbow Dash anguished. When Fluttershy pulled back to give her a curious look, the blue pegasus tried to hide a blush behind her fetlock. “Look, I… I was just jealous, okay?”

“...Of Discord and me?”

“No!” Rainbow Dash immediately protested, waving her hooves in the air. Only to lift them up and ruffle her spiky bangs as she then grumbled, “I mean… not really. M-maybe. Maybe a little?”

Fluttershy’s melancholic sadness was morphing into shock. “Why would you be jealous of us?” An absurd thought popped into her head, the same way Discord like to pop out of a place to startle her. It startled a giggle-squeak out of her, barely caught by a hoof to her lips.

Unfortunately, somehow, Rainbow Dash seemed to know exactly what thought crossed Fluttershy’s mind. “I am not jealous over Discord!” she insisted, voice cracking with the strength of her indignation.

Just barely audible over Fluttershy’s giggles, she muttered, “...I was just… maybe… a little jealous… over you…”

Fluttershy’s laughter died off. “Me?”

Rainbow Dash sighed, hunching her shoulders and looking for all the world as if she’d rather crawl into the earth like a diamond dog than have this conversation. Even so, she faced Fluttershy with an open, soft expression. “Look, we’ve been friends forever, right? But you didn’t tell me about Discord or you getting, y’know. A-and like, yeah, didn’t tell any of us… But then you told Rarity, and you told her first!” A sunset blush stained sky blue fur as Rainbow scratched her neck, finally looking away to stare at her lap. “Sorry, like I said, it’s so dumb, but I guess I was just… jealous that you told her first. Instead of me.”

“Oh…”

“Not that you had to. You didn’t have to tell me anything, but…”

“It’s okay, Rainbow Dash.” This time, Fluttershy extended a wing, letting her primaries caress the other mare’s flank. “I understand. I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings.”

“...Yeah. I mean, it’s like, okay.”

“You aren’t dumb for feeling the way you do,” Fluttershy continued. “I’m sorry if I made you feel like our friendship isn’t special — it is special. You’ve done so much for me, and you’ve always been so kind and helpful, and patient with me.” Fluttershy pressed their shoulders together. “I’m glad you talked to me about it. Thank you for apologizing. You can always tell me anything, Rainbow Dash.”

The blue pegasus looked away, just for a moment, to blink and rub her nose as a tiny sniffle escaped. In the next moment, though, the emotion was gone, replaced with her usual vibrancy.

“Good! Because you’re one of my best friends, Fluttershy. You… mean a lot to me. A-and if you ever need anything, for you or your… foal, you better come ask me right away! No more sending Pinkie off to wherever to get you whatever. I’m the pony you ask for crazy errands like that. I can get there and back like ten times faster, anyway!”

Fluttershy giggled. “I don’t know… Pinkie Pie is pretty fast, too.”

“Not when she’s gotta get to the sky,” Rainbow Dash countered. Glancing up towards Cloudsdale, she shook her head and wondered aloud, “Seriously, where did she end up, anyway?”

Instead of offering an answer, Fluttershy gestured with the wing she’d used to comfort Rainbow Dash, stretching it so the tip of her feathers tapped the lid of the tub on Rainbow’s other side. “Do you still want to try some of this?”

“You don’t mind sharing? Seriously, tell me to buzz off if you want it all to yourself.”

“It’s a very large container,” Fluttershy said, smiling as Rainbow Dash placed it on her lap. “I doubt I could finish it all by myself.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure. I remember my mom telling me that her cravings were intense when she was pregnant with me. One time, she made dad fly all the way to Las Pegasus ‘cause there’s this specific kind of fried dessert that’s only sold at one of the restaurants there; then she ate the whole thing by herself! It was like thirty pastries!” Rainbow Dash laughed as she popped the lid off, holding it up for Flutershy. “Here, you get first lick.”

Fluttershy blushed — she hadn’t shared food without utensils in ages. Some ponies found it gross, but it wasn’t uncommon between family members. Or close friends. Pushing back her mane, she leaned forward to take a dainty lick from the top layer of frosting. It was airy, yet dense, clinging to her tongue and making it tingle before she even drew it into her mouth. The colorful flecks of rainbow were a delight to her palate, and she hummed with great appreciation at the indulgent, cool taste. “It’s just as good as I remember,” she sighed, lost in the peace of having satisfied her day-long craving.

Rainbow Dash took a lick for herself, replacing the lid right after. “Mm! Skies above, this stuff is awesome. Maybe I’ll fly back up and grab some for myself.”

Fluttershy accepted the tub when Rainbow Dash handed it back to her, but before she could say anything else, a cry of, “Fluttershy!!” interrupted her. Both mares looked over their shoulders to see Pinkie Pie galloping their way.

The pink mare stopped in a skid right in front of them, a cloud of dust in her wake. A big bowl of something balanced in her poofy pink mane. “I got you the stuff you wanted!” she screamed, grabbing the bowl and presenting it to Fluttershy. A moment later, with slightly less enthusiasm, she added, “Sort of.”

Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash inspected the contents of the bowl. It looked like an entire container of buttercream frosting covered in rainbow sprinkles. The pegasi looked up at Pinkie, who was covered in splotches of food and sweating a little. Fluttershy asked, “Pinkie, what is this…?”

“Well!” Pinkie Pie inhaled a deep, deep breath, giving the others time to prepare themselves for an onslaught of verbosity. “I wanted to get you that frosting you mentioned, so I tried to get up to Cloudsdale, but it was really hard because I remembered I can’t fly! I think you mentioned that, actually, but I was just so excited, I don’t think I heard you — or I forgot. Anyway, the hot air balloon to get there is on the other side of town, so I ran over there, but it was already carrying some ponies up! I didn’t wanna wait a super long time so I thought, hmm, how am I gonna get myself up there? So I tried a couple things, like a whole bunch of regular balloons, then a big trampoline! I even tried shooting myself out of my really BIG party cannon! That one almost worked, but I didn’t quiiiite make it, and I fell in a lake! After that, I realized it was going to get late soon so I thought instead of going up to Cloudsdale to get you the stuff, I could just make some on my own! So here it is!”

Panting with the effort of delivering a speech after, apparently, running full-speed across town, Pinkie presented her bowl once again.

Fluttershy offered a weak smile. “Oh Pinkie, thank you so much… But, um—”

“I went ahead and got her the real stuff!” Rainbow Dash announced, feathers proudly fluffed. She tapped the tub of frosting with a hoof. “See? Straight from Cloudsdale!”

“Oh!” Pinkie Pie pulled her bowl away, holding it to her chest. “Really? That’s great! So you got to have some yummy frosting, Fluttershy?”

“Yes. B-but thank you for trying your best, Pinkie Pie. I really appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome!” Pinkie Pie grinned brightly at both of them, then looked down at her bowl of makeshift frosting. Color from the sprinkles had streaked in the buttercream, mixing haphazardly and producing a less-than-appealing aesthetic. “I guess… that means I can have this all to myself!”

Without a second thought, Pinkie Pie shoved her head into the bowl and began furiously slurping up the frosting. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash both flinched as tiny bits of the concoction sprayed, but then they dissolved into a fit of giggles. When Pinkie Pie finished, revealing her face to be a sticky mess, they laughed even harder.

Pinkie Pie licked her face clean with a single skillful swipe of her tongue, then laughed along with them.

From her spot near the window, Fluttershy could see ponies making their way up and down the streets of Ponyville in sunglasses and parasols. Warm afternoon light seeped through the glass, a comforting aura of summertime.

It helped to mellow the awkward, chilly air of the hospital room.

The doctor sat, peering up at the draconequus in their office. Steady azure eyes flickered between Discord and Fluttershy. When they fell back on Discord, he offered a cheeky grin and wave of his talons. Finally, the unicorn cleared their throat. “So… you’re the father, mister…?”

“Correct!” Discord made a gesture somewhat like a bow, the movement causing the pony-sized chair beneath him to softly squeak against linoleum tiles. “That is to say, I’m the father, not Mr. Correct. The name’s Discord (sans mister).”

“Yes.” Pale blue magic fetched a clipboard from the nearby desk and brought it to the doctor’s hooves. “Well, Miss Fluttershy — Mr. Discord — my name is Dr. Getwell Wishes, and I’ll be the pony administering the scrying spell today. I will also be your primary doctor during your pregnancy from this point forward. It’s my hope that I can provide you with the care you need to help make this pregnancy as safe and successful as possible.

“Now, I believe the nurse went over what to expect with this procedure?”

“Yes, m—” Fluttershy stumbled. Dr. Gentlehoof had mentioned this switch, had even mentioned Dr. Getwell’s name, but not anything else. She hurriedly scanned the doctor for a lifeline. Their overall physique said mare, but each hoof was a deep cobalt, contrasting with their off-white coat in a distinctly coltish way. The soft curls of their tail, which eased from a dull green at the base to the same color as their eyes, barely went past their upper thigh. The doctor’s teal mane was so short, each tight curl looked like a little flower bud just starting to unfurl. Fluttershy couldn’t tell if their hair was dyed or not, though tiny chips in their hoof color revealed they’d been painted. Their cutie mark was an azure heart decorated with teal sparkles.

Pressed for time, Fluttershy went with the safest guess. “Yes, ma’am?”

At her side, Discord chuckled deep in his chest, softly enough that Fluttershy nearly missed it.

If Dr. Getwell noticed the mare’s hesitation or heard the uncertainty in her voice, they didn’t seem to care. “Very good, then. If you’re ready, Miss Fluttershy, please move onto this table and lie on your back. Mr. Discord, you’re choosing to stay during the procedure, is that correct?”

“That’s Mr. Correct, to you.” At the doctor’s bland stare, Discord snickered. “Sorry, sorry, I couldn’t help it! It’s still just me, Discord (sans mister!)” Immediately switching gears, Discord placed a polite paw on his lap, softly clearing his throat behind a yellow fist. “Yes, it is my intention to stay.”

“That’s fine. Please be aware that, though neither the procedure nor the spell used during it are dangerous, it is for the best that there are no disruptions. It is possible for the results to be compromised if the pony being examined becomes too stressed.” Dr. Getwell raised an elegant dark grey brow at Discord. “Will a being such as yourself be able to refrain from offering any distractions?”

In the blink of an eye, Discord draped himself in an outfit consisting of shorts, a tiny jacket with sleeves that didn’t reach his elbows, and a hat. He had a bright red sash draped over one shoulder, though the sash was so long, it wrapped around the entirety of his torso, its limp end draped over one scaly knee. The sash was covered in badges stitched into the fabric. “Scout’s honor,” Discord promised, paw to chest.

Dr. Getwell stared at him.

Discord frowned. Rolled his eyes. Snapped, and the filly scout uniform disappeared. “Tough crowd. Alright, yes, I promise to sit quietly and boringly right here, and not say or do anything to interrupt your freaky doctor spell.”

Fluttershy tapped her hooves over her stomach, which now sported a gentle bump. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to confirm to the average Ponyville resident that Fluttershy was, indeed, with foal. “Discord, that’s not a very nice thing to say. Dr. Getwell is just doing her job.”

Dr. Getwell’s ear twitched. Beyond them, Discord huffed, crossing his arms. But he did say, “Apologies.”

“It’s no problem,” Dr. Getwell said to no one in particular as they put their clipboard down. “Let’s begin.”

The spell was just as straightforward as Twilight and the nurse had described. Dr. Getwell took two mirrors out of a tall cabinet. One was small enough to be held in a hoof, while the other was just tall enough to reflect a full-sized pony. Both had frames of polished bronze.

The tall mirror was supported by a wooden stand in the back, and using their magic, Dr. Getwell propped it up on the wall near Discord. At this angle, both he and Fluttershy were able to see into it. Then the doctor placed the smaller mirror against the large one and concentrated. Blue magic swirled from their horn, pulsing around each mirror. At first the pulses seemed to be out of sync, but after only a few seconds, they exuded Dr. Getwell’s magic in a harmonic rhythm.

Discord stayed in his seat and kept quiet, as promised. Fluttershy noticed the twitch of his nose and caught it when his serpentine tongue flicked past his lips.

Finally, Dr. Getwell pulled the small mirror away. With a final spark of magic, the large mirror no longer reflected an image of the room back at them. Instead, it went dark and blank. The small mirror looked similarly.

Dr. Getwell stepped onto a stool beside the table where Fluttershy lay. They held the mirror just an inch or so over her stomach. “Are you ready, Miss Fluttershy?”

“Y-yes.”

The cool surface of the mirror made Fluttershy squeak softly, but she managed to hold still. Dr. Getwell nodded, as if approving. The soft glow of their magic returned — that, too, tingled slightly against Fluttershy’s coat as the doctor slowly dragged the smooth glass up and down her stomach.

“It will take a moment for the spell to warm up, so to speak,” Dr. Getwell told her quietly. Fluttershy nodded, silently watching. To her left, she saw Discord leaning his lengthy body over to observe. Long ears stood at attention, so very different from their lazy, relaxed default. Ruby red eyes followed the mirror closely, every now and then flicking towards the larger one to check for some reflection. The surface of the glass remained dark.

A minute passed. The large mirror pulsed. The glass surface shimmered, and Fluttershy could see something begin to move. Darkness receded, cut through by Dr. Getwell’s magic; a blurry blue image started to form. Dr. Getwell glanced over their shoulder, still moving the glass across Fluttershy’s stomach in slow rotations. The large mirror’s image swirled, churning at a similar pace, as if Dr. Getwell was mixing it with a spoon.

Gradually, Fluttershy thought she could make something out. Nestled in a cloud of ambiguous blue and black shadows, there was a distinct curve of something. Her eyes widened as she frantically traced the shape. Dr. Getwell continued, and the image grew just a bit sharper. Fluttershy sought out more distinct features — the wrinkle of a tiny form, something just beginning to become a body. She searched for the suggestion of a hoof, the bump of a spine, a dark circle where an eye might be.

She saw no such thing. There was only a singular, smooth, oblong shape, with no wrinkles upon its surface. Yet it was there, starkly pale, resting boldly in a dark sea of azure stars.

When Dr. Getwell glanced at the tall mirror once more, their hooves stopped moving. “...Huh.”

“Huh?” Fluttershy and Discord both echoed the word. Discord went on to demand, “What is ‘huh’ supposed to mean?”

“My apologies, I’m simply…” Dr. Getwell’s horn glowed a little brighter, and they shifted the small mirror up Fluttershy’s stomach. “Um. This is unexpected.”

The thin paper beneath Fluttershy crinkled as she fidgeted. Beads of sweat broke out on her forehead. If the mirror had been inspecting her chest, they’d all be able to see the way her heart was racing; the very thought of such a sight added to Fluttershy’s mounting queasiness. “O-oh dear, oh no, i-is it s-something bad? Wh-wh-what…?”

Her eyes were glued to the image in the mirror. Even as she felt herself begin to panic, another thought was forming. She squinted.

Discord kept his promise and stayed firmly planted in his chair. The rest of his body stretched until he could put his face right in front of the mirror, somewhat blocking the doctor’s view. “Wait a minute… Is that…?”

Fluttershy realized what the shape was reminding her of. Visions of crunchy, crumbling eggshells danced in her mind’s eye. The mare’s jaw dropped.

Dr. Getwell’s tail flicked. They asked, “Mr. Discord, could you please move? I cannot see the image for myself.”

Discord complied, but only so he could point at said image and flatly announce, “That’s an egg.”

“...It is.” The small mirror, its glass now thoroughly warmed by Fluttershy’s rising body temperature, ran one final lap around her baby bump. “It… it really is.”

“It’s an egg.” Fluttershy’s voice was as thin as the hospital paper. “An… egg?”

The three stared at it in silence.

Finally, Discord muttered, “I suppose that makes as much sense as anything else that’s happened so far.”

“Which is to say, none at all,” Fluttershy agreed evenly. Shock had undercut her mounting anxiety attack, leaving her trembling but calm.

Dr. Getwell finally lifted the small mirror. Quickly placing it on a nearby countertop, the unicorn drew close to the tall mirror and inspected it critically. “This is… unprecedented — obviously. I understood this would be a unique circumstance, considering who the father is, but something like this…”

Discord seemed to have recovered from the initial shock. He leaned back in the small hospital chair, waving dismissively with mismatched hands. “Oh, what’s the big deal, really? It’s just an egg. Chickens lay eggs every day and we don’t see anypony losing their minds over it.”

“A pony is not a chicken,” Dr. Getwell told him flatly. “Nor are they a snake, frog, turtle, or dragon. It just became significantly more difficult for anypony to ensure the safety of Miss Fluttershy’s pregnancy.” After a pause, the unicorn added thoughtfully, “Or the birth itself.”

Fluttershy saw Discord’s feathered wing twitch, and the fluffy end of his tail began to squirm like a worm on a lure.

“B-but it’s going to be… okay… r-right?” Fluttershy asked.

Who was she asking, exactly? She glanced between Discord and Dr. Getwell, but her gaze ultimately fell to her stomach. Yellow hooves moved to rest on the apex of its new curve. Her stomach was not yet very firm, but if Fluttershy concentrated, she could sense a presence more obvious than what she could see and touch.

She’d been having more wild dreams, lately. Not only that, but but her cravings had gotten even more intense and nonsensical. The books Fluttershy had borrowed from Twilight explained there would be plenty of physical changes during any pony’s pregnancy, but none of them described anything nearly as extreme as Fluttershy’s recent mood swings, aches and pains, or wayward thoughts.

The crinkly paper was sticking to her damp coat. It made a fuss as Fluttershy slowly rolled onto her side.

“I can’t guarantee anything,” Dr. Getwell was saying. “But every doctor involved is going to do whatever can be done to ensure nothing goes wrong.”

“Sure you will.” Discord’s voice was walking on a thin tightrope of decorum; Fluttershy knew it was a delicate balance, and he was one step away from slipping into outright mockery. The fact that he was trying made her want to smile, but her body still felt a little too strange. It took all her concentration to ease herself from the elevated table without injury. “Whatever. It’s not like it matters whether or not you ponies have any idea what you’re doing. If something was going to go wrong, I could handle it myself.”

He spoke with his usual confidence, yet his words brought no comfort. Fluttershy knew better, because his tail hadn’t stopped its squirming, and Discord hadn’t tried cracking a single joke, even when it was obvious the procedure was over.

Fluttershy watched as the magic of the mirror began to fade, spell no longer maintained by Dr. Getwell, who’d started furiously writing something in their clipboard. The vague vision of the egg — her egg? — became little more than a smudge. Gradually, the mirror faded back to pure darkness. Then that, too, seeped silently away, leaving behind a clear, normal reflection.

Fluttershy stared at her tired face and wished the pure absurdity of it all was enough to make any one of them laugh.

Twilight’s tea had gone cold.

That wasn’t much of a surprise. Twilight Sparkle was known as a serial letting-her-tea-get-cold kind of pony, especially when she was busy reading or researching or writing down notes. Considering she’d been doing little more than write notes for the better part of two hours, there was no chance for her tea to avoid its tragic fate.

The abandoned cup of jasmine wasn’t tonight’s only casualty. Discord’s mood was in tatters, though he’d sooner die than let the enemy realize he’d been dealt such a dramatic blow. As if Twilight would bother to acknowledge his pain if he did choose to voice it — she’d been locked onto Fluttershy since she arrived.

The princess’ ambient magical signature obnoxiously saturated the atmosphere of Fluttershy’s cottage. All of the typical animal guests had gradually fled, unable to rest in peace with the alicorn’s constant chatter. Only Angel stubbornly remained in his favored spot on the rug, demolishing the last bites of his dinner.

“Just a few more questions,” Twilight chirped, trading her current notepad for a new one.

Discord rolled his eyes to watch a circus of teacups and cookies floating over his head. The tea cake ringmaster cracked its whip with a flourish, then gestured up at a sugar cube preparing to nosedive off a tower of interlocked forks, its target a shrunken cup with hardly enough tea to dissolve a grain of salt.

Across the table, Twilight asked Fluttershy, “Actually, wait, is it just the lighting, or is your coat a bit off-color?”

About time she noticed! Discord suppressed a growl. He waved his clawed hand, moving the tiny teacup so the free-falling sugar cube missed its mark, dropping directly into his mouth instead. Tiny crystals of sweetness melted into nothing as he ground his teeth. An invisible audience gasped and cheered at the show’s dramatic twist, but only in his mind.

“No, that’s…” Fluttershy’s voice faltered. Bright red pupils darted over to inspect her. She wasn’t looking at Twilight, tail curled tightly around her body, body curled tightly in her little chair. Discord still had trouble reading pony body language, even when he was actually trying. Fluttershy was a little easier, despite her often trying the hardest to hide. Maybe that’s what made it so easy: the contradiction. Right now, a visible wave of fatigue was settling over her like a yak fur blanket. Any creature with two working eyeballs should have been able to tell.

The draconequus snapped his fingers, and in a flash, stood between Twilight and Fluttershy’s chairs. “Oh, oh, I know the answer!” He conjured a bright red button to press; a loud buzzer sounded right in Twilight’s ear, making her yelp and puff up her wings. “That’s an easy one!”

“Discord!” The purple princess scowled. “Do you mind?”

Ignoring her, Discord leaned so his face was near Twilight’s. “Fluttershy’s been losing her vibrant glow the last few days,” he told her. “It might seem a bit worse tonight, considering how tired she likely is. Things have been a little exhausting for her lately, what with the egg news and the achy joints and the being kept up late by friends playing Twenty Plus Twenty More Questions though dinnertime.”

Twilight stared blankly. For a second, Discord wondered if his point had flown right over her horn — he liked to think he'd laid it on pretty thick.

To her credit, Twilight did eventually go, “Oh!” and peek around her hosts, eyeing the window behind them. Luna had decorated the sky with stars a full half hour ago. “I see… Huh. It has gotten late, hasn’t it? I didn’t notice!”

“It’s very obvious that you didn’t,” Discord said with a toothy grin.

Behind him, there was the gentle touch of Fluttershy's hoof between his wings. “It’s alright, Discord, I’m not that tired.”

That blatant lie earned her a finger wag and tsk, tsk, tsk! “I’ve been told repeatedly that you ponies require several consecutive hours of uninterrupted sleep.” Which still seemed like way too long, all that wasted time spent unconscious. However, experience popping into his friends’ bedrooms when it was still dark outside had taught Discord that of all the things ponies didn’t easily tolerate, lost sleep was very high up on the last. “Tea went on for too long and you haven’t even eaten dinner yet, Flutters.”

“That’s true,” Fluttershy conceded, drawing a real (if smug) grin from Discord. The mare sat up from her resting position and yawned as she stretched a wing. “I should try eating something before going to bed.”

Twilight leaned to look around Discord. “Are you craving something particular?” Notepad and quill began to float once more. Pages turned until the notepad showed a list detailing every food item Fluttershy had asked Discord to conjure up for her in the last two weeks. Discord wrinkled his nose. Had it really been that long since their visit to that useless doctor?

With a snort, Discord batted the notebook out of the air; his magic clashed with Twilight’s, the two canceling each other out. The notebook fell open-faced on the floor. “It’s been lovely having you over, Princess Twilight, but I do believe you’d best be on your way.”

Twilight was frowning, but her magic still gathered up all her things and tidily floated them into her saddle bags. “Fine, I’ll go. Sorry for keeping you so long, Fluttershy.”

“Oh, it was no trouble.” Fluttershy stood to hug Twilight. “I can’t remember the last time you were able to visit! I had a lovely time.”

Discord scooped Twilight into his mismatched hands the very second Fluttershy stepped away. Twilight squawked a protest, but Discord spoke over her unladylike noises. “Yes, yes, very nice! Allow me to see you to the door!”

In a flash, they stood in darkened gravel just outside Fluttershy’s cottage. Calm yellow light spilling from the building’s many windows was all that illuminated the night around them.

Discord immediately released Twilight from his grasp; the princess plopped onto the ground with a loud protest, rudely disturbing some of the birds nesting nearby. “Discord!”

The draconequus’ fingertips were already primed to snap himself back indoors. “Don’t sprain a wing on your fly home, Twilight!”

“Wait! Discord, just wait a second!”

With a grimace, Discord demanded, “What? What is it now? There’s no possible way your incessant desire to lob questions at other creatures has yet to run dry.”

Twilight’s snout wrinkled as she clambered onto all fours, her lashing tail scattering dust and gravel. “What’s your problem?”

Of course, of all the questions she could toss his way, she chose the most annoying one possible. What was his problem? He could write her an impressive list on one of those fancy scrolls she liked so much. Discord’s fingertips tingled with the temptation to do just that — or rather, they tingled more intensely than they already had been. The phantom sensation had been haunting him for the last two days; not to mention a feeling like fleas running laps in his fur, or mites in his scales. Fluttershy had started drooping like a flower thirsting for the sun and her thrice-darned doctor kept talking about “birthing plans” and “possible complications” and “worst-case-scenarios.”

But all of that paled to the way Twilight Sparkle was refusing! to! leave!

So Discord merely responded with, “No problem! It’s just late. Don’t you think?”

Twilight shrugged, then sat, then had the gall to level Discord with a look that threatened a serious conversation. “Actually, Discord, there is something I wanted to talk to you about—”

“You have got to be kidding me!”

Violet eyes rolled. “Please, it’s just a simple question.”

“Fine, if it gets you to leave.”

The question was, allegedly, a simple one, yet Twilight’s sudden reluctance to voice it suggested otherwise. Discord tilted his head, eyes squinting. “Well? Out with it, already!”

“I just need to know… Everything that’s happened with Fluttershy, it’s…” Struggling to get it out while under his prompting glare, Twilight turned away. Discord barely saw her mouth moving when she said, “You told Fluttershy this sort of thing wouldn’t happen, but then it did. So I just need to know if it was actually an accident, and not you trying to…”

Twilight pawed once at the ground, kicking gravel around. Her hoof settled in a thick, damp silence. A cold breeze slipped stealthily by.

Discord found his voice was colder. “Pardon me, Twilight, but are you trying to imply this is all some sort of—” His serpentine tongue scrambled to put a name to her accusation. “—dastardly plan? You’re actually accusing me of lying to Fluttershy so this would happen?”

For the first time all evening, Twilight Sparkle had the decency to realize she’d overstepped. “I-I—”

Not since the first crack fractured his stone prison did Discord feel so strongly. His first breath in a century had brought with it a veritable tsunami of emotions so fierce and consuming, the endlessness of his existence as a statue had nearly been washed away. When the monstrous tide receded, all it left behind was bitterness, a plan for exacting his immediate revenge on ponykind, and the desire for a good laugh.

This time there was no bitterness, and he didn't feel like laughing.

Fury erupted and swelled until his head was metaphorically filled with bees (not nearly as fun as when it happened literally), but the emotion quickly burned out. In its wake, a smoldering ash. He felt singed and hollowed out. Even the tingles and itches were gone. Discord had felt defeat before, but this was something else. Something much more… sad. What a bummer — he’d rather be angry.

“Is that really what you think of me?” Discord asked dully, sounding strange and tired to his own ears. “Even after all this time?”

Twilight stared up at him, biting her lip, ears pinned back. As if he was the one who’d just said something so insulting, it hurt her feelings. “I… No. No, I don’t.”

“Then why did you even—?”

“Because I don’t know what’s going on!” The princess’ feathers puffed up, and she began to pace in tight circles. “One day, everything is normal, and the next, you and Fluttershy are together, but not together-together, and apparently you have been for a while. Bedmates, but not dating. And none of that is even the most important part, because Fluttershy’s going to have a kid! She’s going to be a mother, and you’re going to be a— a father? But you’re Discord! Except…” Around and around she went, thoughts circling the drain. “You haven’t really been acting like Discord lately. You’ve been hanging around Ponyville so much more than usual, but you haven't messed with me or any of the others. That’d be fine if it was anypony else, but you’re not anypony, you’re Discord! So there has to be a reason why you’re behaving so oddly, and why this thing with Fluttershy is happening. If it was some sort of nefarious, villainous ploy to— I don’t know! Endear yourself to us more, o-or secure a legacy, or something, at least that would be a reason!”

Her words might have bothered Discord if she wasn’t lobbing them down into the dirt so carelessly, crushing them underhoof without a second thought.

Finally, the circle wound so tight there was no room for her to twist herself up, and Twilight sat heavily on the ground. Tension fled her body like a puppet with its strings cut; every part of her drooped and sagged. “That’s not actually a reason though, because I know you better than that. I worry that I don’t, sometimes, because you’re you, and it wouldn’t be the first time you betrayed us… but…” The pony shook her head. “That’s not the Discord I know… the one I’m willing to call my friend. Something like that would be going way too far, even for— no, especially for you. You would never manipulate or use Fluttershy in such a horrible way. I know that… I know that.”

Ponies liked to call Discord confusing, his whims and habits inconceivable and alien. It really was unfair, considering ponies were absolutely nonsensical creatures.

It seemed the princess had run out of rant, so Discord tried to get his foot back in the door of this conversation. The creak of hinges beat him to it. “Is everything okay?” Fluttershy was peeking out at them through the upper section of her front door.

“We’re fine!” Discord twisted to regard Fluttershy. She looked slightly better than she had a bit ago — dinner had been eaten, then. Good. Interior lights cast parts of her face in shadow, but they weren’t enough to hide the ones forming under her eyes, nor her sallow coat and the dull hue of her mane. “Have you finished eating?”

The pegasus nodded. “I was just thinking I might do one last round to check on some of the animals outside—”

“Nonsense! It’s so late, I’m sure they’re all asleep anyway.”

“B-But Elizabeak hasn’t been feeling well, so I should really make sure she—”

“Why don’t you leave that chore to me and head off to bed?”

“Oh! Are you sure?”

“I’ll do it right after Twilight and I finish our discussion.”

“Discussion?”

Discord forced a lighthearted chuckle. “Yes, well, you see, she was on her way, but I asked her a question about this or that… Our Twilight, you know how she is! She got on a tear explaining it all to me, and it was all so very interesting! You overheard how lively she was getting, didn’t you? I’d hate to cut such a compelling and extremely fun conversation with my good friend, Twilight, short. So don’t feel you have to wait up, Fluttershy. Go ahead and rest, you’ve had such a long day and must be feeling it.”

Fluttershy’s smile was weak, but earnest. “O-okay. If you’re sure.”

“When am I ever not sure? In fact, let me—” His paw lifted, but the draconequus remembered himself just before snapping. That doctor pony’s words hovered annoyingly in the forefront of his mind: no teleportation spells, as they’d been known to cause minor to major complications in a pregnancy.

“Let me carry you up myself,” he said, proceeding to do just that. His long body slithered through the open door and scooped Fluttershy up into his arms. She squeaked in surprise, but didn't struggle. He heard the pegasus cast one last, “Bye, Twilight!” out the door before he levitated them upstairs.

After Fluttershy had been placed onto her cozy bed, the mare asked, “Are you and Twilight are really talking about…” She wrinkled her nose minutely, in that cute way she did when she was onto something askew in somepony’s cover story. “...’this or that’?”

“Indeed we were,” Discord assured her. Claw and paw lifted the powder blue comforter over Fluttershy’s withers. “Do you want a tight tuck, or some wiggle room?”

Fluttershy giggled, snuggling deeper into her pillows. “Tuck me in?”

Once she was properly ensnared, Discord offered a nuzzle, then very gently blew a raspberry into Fluttershy’s cheek. Just to hear her giggle some more.

“I promise I’ll take care of your little freeloaders,” Discord said. “So don’t worry your pretty, pretty little head about them.”

“And Twilight?”

“Considering Twilight has her own castle and has finally decided to return to it, I suppose it wouldn’t be technically correct to call her a freeloader.”

“That’s not what I meant, Discord.”

“Yes, well…” For a moment his tail, flopping against the hard wood floor like that of an irritated feline, was the only sound in the dark room. “It’s fine. We’re just talking.”

“Is everything okay? You seemed a little, um… restless earlier.” In a smaller, sleepier voice, Fluttershy mumbled, “It’s been nearly a week since you last—”

“Don’t worry about that.” An extra tuck and nuzzle for the road. Discord flicked his tongue, tickling the tip of her snout. “Have silly dreams!”

He waited for her half-conscious reply before silently snapping himself back outside.

Twilight was sitting in the grass, looking up at the stars. She didn’t turn when Discord reappeared, but spoke almost immediately. “Can I ask you something?”

“I wish you’d stop asking me if you can ask me and just ask me,” the draconequus grumbled.

“Doesn’t it scare you? That Fluttershy is just a normal pony, and you’re…?”

Twilight unhelpfully abandoned the end of that sentence, but Discord wasn’t born yesterday — he wasn’t born at all. (And again, even if he had been, it wouldn’t have been just yesterday.)

The God of Chaos sighed. He was too tired and too wired for this. Yet, despite his tingling fingertips, somehow he found himself suggesting, “Why don’t we fly somewhere else to talk?”

Discord couldn’t remember the last time he flew using his wings. Traditionally, he’s favored teleportation as a means of getting from point A to point B. Silly or uncanny transitions are a close second. In most instances where he’s opted for flying, Discord usually just floats, snaking through the air by sheer force of will. It was nonsensical — thus, it came naturally.

Meanwhile, his wings operated on the same principals as pegasus magic; perhaps merely similar. Discord wasn’t actually sure how it worked for pegasi and had never been interested in concerning himself with it. All he knew was the feeling of wind and magic brushing the feathers of his left wing, stretching the membrane of his right. It felt like working a long neglected muscle, yet somehow, effortless. There was amusement and pleasure, too, in the fact that more than any pegasi, the size of Discord’s body in relation to his wingspan made no logical sense. If this plane of existence had laws of aviation (a topic very much up for debate), Discord would be laughing in the face of them.

The draconequus’ body moved in loping waves as he cut through the cool summer night. Using senses even Discord couldn’t name, he knew the atmospheric tides were starting to shift. With a flick of his tongue, he tasted the faintest hint of autumn. It would be more than a month still before any leaves began to change, but if there was one true law in this world or any other, it’s that time was passing. One way or the other, time would pass.

Behind him, Twilight Sparkle flew silently. Even when she flexed her muscles and flapped her wings, the air seemed persuaded to cloak her progress. During their flight, she voiced no questions, complaints, or commentary. This was, perhaps, the first and only time Twilight and Discord had ever shared each other’s company in peace.

A great dark green ocean of shadows and wild magic passed in a dull slideshow beneath them. From this high up, there would be nothing entertaining to see, even with Discord’s excellent night vision. The nocturnal beasts of Everfree hunted carefully and inconspicuously.

Jutting into the velvet indigo of Luna’s sky was the shape of an old structure. Despite its dilapidated condition, it stood proudly above the tall peaks of pine trees. The ancient, quiet sense that existed in Discord must exist in Twilight, too, as she beat her wings to glide beside him. The princess flicked a questioning ear, gesturing with one hoof towards the old castle. Discord caught her eye, and in unison, they veered downward.

Hoof and claw alighted upon one of the remaining turrets. Dark, gritty shingles, worn down by an age, crumbled under Discord’s weight. He wound himself around the structure’s peak to resist its sloping sides, yellow eyes inspecting his surroundings. Further down the curtain walls, large grotesques shaped like dragons sneered perpetually at an ever-shifting world.

A few yards away, Twilight Sparkle settled herself atop a merlon. Her long purple mane hung over the parapet’s broken stone walkway as she turned to face the Everfree.

Out in nature, there was almost never true silence. Even in this abandoned place, Discord could hear all sorts of things: the skittering of tiny animals like mice and bats living in hollows left behind; scavengers and predators moving through underbrush; a windy lullaby played against the trees.

Discord never had much patience for silence, even if it was the only-almost kind.

“So, Twilight Sticks-Her-Nose-In-Everypony’s-Business, what was it you asked me earlier?” Lifting his left hand, Discord painted his talons hot pink so he had an excuse to inspect them nonchalantly.

The alicorn expelled a huff into the vast, uncaring night, making Discord smirk. He wiggled his fingers, changing their colors to alternate between pink, green, and blue. They reminded him of those flashy enchanted bulbs of colored light some ponies would string up for the holidays, so he also made them faintly glow.

When Discord glanced her way, Twilight was frowning up at him. Luminous talons wiggled at her.

With a sigh, Twilight said, “I asked you how you felt about Fluttershy being a mortal pony, while you’re… you.”

How annoyingly direct of her. Discord turned away. His tail curled, red scales grinding against withered grey stone. The scarlet limb wrapped around the pointed apex of the turret. “I feel perfectly normal about it.”

“Really?”

It was his turn to sigh. Tail keeping him secure, Discord let his body relax, and most of him oozed down the slope of the turret. It oozed until he was long enough to dangle over the edge, then oozed some more, until he hung like a jungle vine over Twilight’s head. It made for a pretty satisfying stretch. Upside-down, Discord snapped, “Yes, really. I feel the same about it as I feel about anything else, because it’s not a particularly special situation, is it?”

Twilight made an expression like his comment was personally insulting. “Fluttershy isn’t special to you?”

“Not her, I mean the— her mortality.” Discord rolled his eyes. “I’ve been immortal my entire life, Twilight Sparkle. I’ve dealt with this before.”

“What do you mean?”

“Things come, and things go. All of it. People, places, names… memories.

“Let me ask you this: how do you suppose any creature that lives more than, say, a few dozen centuries, is able to stay sane?”

Her ears immediately started doing the rabbit thing, standing alert and rotating constantly, as if the answer would be delivered to her via a whisper carried on the wind. For a full minute, Twilight’s big nerdy brain raced. In the meantime, Discord dispelled the colored lights from his talons. His mind began to drift back over the Everfree and to Fluttershy’s cottage.

Maybe it would be funny if he brought one of the grotesques to life?

“Is it… by… forgetting?”

She was staring up at him again, big purple eyes huge with the depth of her endless, needling curiosity. “You said even memories come and go. Does that mean you don’t remember everything that’s ever happened to you?”

“Indeed not; at least, not as I once did. And why would I?” Discord twisted back around, curling his neck to regard her in an upright fashion. “Who needs to remember every sorry, boring, useless little thing that’s ever happened to them?”

“But you can see and learn so many interesting things with all the time you have! You’ve been around for who knows how long — I can only speculate about how much history you’ve witnessed!”

A loud yawn undermined her enthusiasm. “Boring pony history? No thank you. I had much better things to do! Who gives a hoof which old dandy built an old building or got some dumb old boring street in Manehatten named after them?”

“I— That’s beside the point,” Twilight grumbled. Only to continue to grumble more quietly, “Your lack of curiosity about the world around you disturbs me.”

“YAAWWNNN,” Discord yawned loudly.

“Whatever! Okay, so you don’t remember everything you’ve ever done… I suppose that would make sense.” The pony’s drooping tail flicked as her head swerved, looking towards the distant shadow of mountains. “Princess Celestia has never mentioned anything like that, though.”

“As if the Sunshine Princess would ever let any of you ponies in on the fact she doesn’t actually know everything.” A furry finger flexed, one unsheathed claw catching silver light. “Besides, everyone knows Luna has the better memory between the two of them.”

Twilight didn’t take the bait, expression softening into that concerning thoughtfulness Discord saw before they left the cottage. “Are you saying it doesn’t matter that Fluttershy is mortal, because… you’ll forget about her, anyway?”

Discord ground his teeth, crossed his arms. Opened his mouth to say any number of things. What came out was, “I could never forget about Fluttershy. I won’t, ever.”

“But—”

“I won’t. But time will pass and take everything with it. You ponies don’t have much of it to start with — alicorns aside. One day, Fluttershy is going to… die… and it’s going to be—” Weird, Discord didn’t mean to summon a frog into his throat. “It will be… not good. No fun. Bad, even. Maybe very bad, and upsetting, and I don’t like thinking about it, so I just want you to know I resent that you’re making me consider it.” His words were morphing into growls, and he bore his teeth when he said, “You and that infuriating doctor of hers.”

“Her doctor?” Twilight’s brows crashed together. “What did her doctor say?”

“Ah-ah, I’m pretty sure there’s some kind of law against telling you that sort of thing.”

“What? You’ve never cared about laws before, Discord!”

“But you do, don’t you?”

“...Fine. Don’t tell me. Just… it wasn’t bad news, right?”

“What, worse than finding out she’s going to lay an egg?” Discord went limp, body swinging as he relinquished himself to his on-again, off-again lifetime affair: gravity. It rocked him directly into the unyielding stone of the turret. What a spiteful brute. “Ow.”

The flap of Twilight’s saddlebag snapped open, and magenta magic drew out one of her seemingly hundreds of thousands of notebooks. The turning pages shone starkly against the blue-black-greens of nighttime. “Is that going to be a major concern? It didn’t strike me as a potential issue when Fluttershy told me about it.”

“That’s what I’ve been saying!” He threw his arms up (or down?). “Who’s ever had an issue laying an egg before?”

“I’ll have to try finding some materials on that… Do griffons lay eggs? I actually don’t know—”

“They don’t.”

“Uh, okay.” A pen joined paper to jot down a note. The pony’s eyes glanced at him. “Why do you know that?”

“Alright, that’s it, missy! I’m grounding you.”

“Grounding me? You can’t ground me.”

Oh, the ways he could prove her wrong with a snap of his fingers. Instead, Discord just told her, “You’re not allowed to ask anymore questions! Seriously, give a guy time to breathe.”

“But—!”

“Ah! Grounded!”

Twilight’s teeth clicked as she snapped her mouth closed. She glared into the open, empty gut of the inner castle. Discord spared a glance himself — proving his point, he could barely remember the last time he’d been to this place. A few decades before he tried taking over, maybe, when he’d pop in to antagonize the prissy pony princesses. He remembered being moved from here to the Canterlot Gardens during his time as a statue better than anything else.

If there were meaningful memories to be rediscovered here, they didn’t belong to him.

“When Fluttershy is gone, it will be… bad. But I know I’ll be fine, because I must be. I know how this ends, Twilight. Eventually, time will make the pain of her departure fade. She’ll become another worn out memory.” It wouldn’t be enough of her, but at least he’d get to keep that much.

Twilight opened her mouth, then closed it. Pawed at a vine creeping up the dark stone she sat on. “Can I— um, I mean, I’d like to ask one more question. Just one!” She offered up a rather unconvincing, toothy smile. “I promise.”

Discord glared. “Just one?”

“Yes.”

“Really?”

“I really promise.”

“...Fine. Spit it out, then. I can’t be here all night you know, I’ve got to get back to corral those little beasts for Fluttershy.”

“Thanks. Um… To you, does it all seem… worth it? Knowing Fluttershy and lo— caring about her so much. When you know it’ll only make her leaving hurt more in the long run?”

“...I don’t know, Twilight.”

Discord’s tail relaxed. Gravity gleefully dragged him down from the turret, but he twisted his body to land in a crouch on two of the merlons. Discord shifted to sit in the gap between them, propping his elbows atop the stone fixture and stacking his chin on top of crossed hands. Only a few slabs of stone stood between him and the princess now.

“I’m sure before I met Fluttershy, I would say it was too high a price. All that pain, and for what? A couple of ‘friends’ with expiration dates? I don’t think so! Now?” A talon caught the end of his beard and began to twirl it. “Regrettably, when I consider whether I’d be willing to forget Fluttershy entirely, I’m wholly against the very notion. Perhaps that means ultimately, I would rather that I met her — and the rest of you, I suppose.”

“Even though—” At his sharp look, Twilight cut herself off with a frustrated grunt. “Fine.”

It went quiet. Discord conjured a watch and checked it. Nearly midnight already?

His ear flicked when Twilight spoke again. “It’s just… frightening! How I might have to decide if I’m comfortable making new friends, or other relationships, when the other pony isn’t like me.”

“Immortal?”

“Yeah.”

“Are you implying it would be better if creatures like us simply didn’t bother at all?”

“I don’t know,” grumbled the princess. “Maybe? I don’t like thinking about it either, you know.”

“Really? I couldn’t tell at all.”

“With everything going on with you and Fluttershy lately, I guess it’s been on my mind more than usual. Along with other things. It’s scary, feeling like I’m getting closer to somepony, but in the back of my head all I can think about is how much knowing them is going to hurt later.”

Discord could only offer her a shrug. “As I said before, time takes it all no matter what. So what’s the point in avoiding any of the good things you might experience?”

“I don’t know.” Her tone edged on bitterness. Shoulders hunched, she was beginning to do a great impression of a grotesque herself. When Twilight turned her frown his way, she said, “Maybe we’re both dumb.”

The frog had changed shape when Discord wasn’t looking; it leaped from his throat in the form of a laugh.

Twilight’s frown deepened. “What? What!? Don’t laugh! Uhg, I’m trying to have a serious conversation with you—”

“You’re quite the card, you know that, Twilight Sparkle?”

In a non-magic flash, Discord slithered across stone and into Twilight’s personal space. The pony instinctively jerked back with a yelp, losing her balance on the merlon’s slanted surface. She flopped back into the parapet. The saddlebag she’d fetched her book and pen from hadn’t been clasped properly when she put them away — a spew of supplies spilled out. An eager gust of wind running down the length of the parapet gleefully took its chance to abscond with some loose papers.

Twilight looked like a beetle on its back, legs curled and flailing as she let out a squawk of dismay, “ACK!” Magic reached out to catch the stolen papers before they were lost to the Everfree.

Discord was slightly faster, snapping the papers into origami birds. They chirped and flapped their sharply folded wings, flying to perch on Discord’s antlers.

Leaning over, Discord grinned down at Twilight and her disgruntled face. The moon sat behind him, allowing his long shadow to fall across her sprawling form (thanks, Luna!) “Besides, Twilight, I’m much more interested in discussing your hypocrisy. That’s not a very admirable trait for a princess, you know!”

Under his breath, though loud enough to make sure she heard, Discord added, “Can’t blame you too much, considering who your mentor is.”

Twilight kicked and twisted until she had her hooves beneath her again. Glaring, she demanded, “How am I being—?”

“Ah-ah-ah, Twilight! Grounded, remember?”

“Discord!” Magic shuffled supplies back into their home in her bag. “You’re just being a jerk. I haven’t done anything hypocritical.”

“Really? For someone talking such a big game about better options for coping with immortality, you sure seem comfortable forging close connections with new ponies.” One of the origami birds fluttered into his open paw. He held it at the base and snapped his wrist, instantly unfolding the bird. A two-page missive with sharp, utilitarian hoofwriting was revealed. “How is your super secret special penpal, by the way?”

“Wh— How do you know about that?” Before he could say anything, Twilight pointed an accusatory hoof. “Don’t start with the ‘grounding’ stuff again! That’s a perfectly reasonable question given the circumstances. Also, you can’t ground me!”

“But you promised,” Discord whined, the picture of innocence as he allowed Twilight to snatch the papers from his paw. He watched as she carefully refolded them into a tight rectangle before tucking the bundle away. With a snap of his fingers, the remaining origami birds followed.

“I don’t understand why my private letter writing has anything to do with this.”

“Based on what Spike let slip at our last Guys’ Night, it’s fairly relevant!”

Finally back on her feet, Twilight stomped the ground. “That dragon! I can’t believe he told you and Big Mac!”

“In his defense, it was an accident on his part!” He stretched over to her and bumped her with an elbow as he snickered. “You know there’s no way I could possibly let him to go without spilling the beans after that.”

“Uhg. That’s true.” She shoved him away. “Knowing you, he had no other choice. Still…”

“What’s with all the secrecy anyway? Would anyone care that you’re writing to her?”

“...No.” Twilight flapped her wings to shake out dust and pebbles clinging to her feathers from her tumble off the wall. “It’s just— I don’t know. Tempest is… a private pony. I didn’t expect her to write to me after she left Ponyville. It felt weird to tell anypony about it.”

“Why?”

She glowered at him through her lashes. “Now who’s asking too many questions?”

With a mockingly dramatic gasp, Discord reared back, a hand going to his forehead. “No, no, say it isn’t so! No one told me it was… catching!”

“At least it isn’t lethal,” Twilight said sarcastically, quirking a brow at him. With a hop and a flap, she was balanced on the wall once again. A tiny smirk on her lips, she said, “One of the perks of immortality, right?”

Discord nodded, spreading his wings. “Indeed it is.”

Then, before either of them could take wing, Discord sighed. “Twilight.”

Purple feathers sparkled in the moonlight, silent and waiting.

“Listen, I’m not one for scoldings — I don’t even know if that’s what this is — but I should be frank.” Uhg, all this open-and-honest conversation was beginning to make his stomach churn. Did a trio of apples sprout on his hindquarters when he wasn’t paying attention? It was imperative he get back at Twilight for all this someday.

“I don’t enjoy the idea of Fluttershy being come sort of ‘project’ for you. If you can swing it, try not to treat her as if she’s become some alien specimen for you to poke and prod at to your nerdy little heart’s delight, okay?”

The alicorn’s ears dipped. “I’m not—” Hesitation, a tail flick. Her frown shifted from indignation to remorse. “Was I that bad earlier?”

“At the first hour hour mark, I seriously started to wonder if you’d try carrying her off to whatever secret laboratory you’ve fashioned for yourself in that overblown treehouse of yours.”

“Oh.”

Discord was content to leave it at that. For some reason, more words were said, and they seemed to come from his mouth. “Not especially keen on you treating my kid that way, either.”

“I wouldn’t!” Twilight adjusted herself to face him a bit more, one hoof held aloft, as if she might reach out to him. “Discord, I’m sorry. I didn’t think about it like that. I was just so curious after Fluttershy told me what happened. And…” She paused, ears swiveling as she considered her words. “I realized a little while ago that there’s almost no information available on you or your species. If you really are the only draconequus there is, then your child — whatever they end up being — is going to be a very special creature. I think it would be a shame for no information about them to exist, so I’ve been wanting to document everything I can.

“But… I didn’t realize that might feel invasive or objectifying. You’re right, and I’ll try being more mindful.”

Discord stared, caught off-guard by her response. Not sure what to say, he settled with, “Ah, well, I suppose it makes sense that you’d want to write about me. I’m surprised nopony has ever asked before! My stories would make for a fantastic biography!”

He took flight; Twilight was right behind him. Together, they climbed past the clouds, ascending until they could see most of the Everfree beneath them. Discord’s eyes immediately locked onto a tiny spot of warm light in the distance.

Twilight was flying behind him, but Discord knew she’d catch his words. “I don’t like feeling unsure about things,” he admitted to the dark sky. “This situation with Fluttershy has taken more than a few unexpected turns; usually I like unexpected turns, but…”

The princess came up to fly close beside him. Over the gentle roar of wind passing by, she said with a smile, “It’ll be okay, Discord. We’re all here for you and Fluttershy.”

After that, at last, there were no more words that needed to be said.

“Applejack, darling!”

Orange hooves paused with one back leg coming up to ease her small cart to an easy stop. Applejack threw a grin over her shoulder. “Hiya, Rarity? Back so soon?”

The unicorn tossed her curling mane out of her face as she trotted over. “Soon to you, perhaps. It feels as if I’ve been away for ages!”

“Only been a week.” Applejack looked her over and, as usual, could find no imperfections.

“You know Manehatten! Ponies rise at the crack of dawn so they can run around the city faster than a Wonderbolt. Not to mention the approach of next season’s fashion on the horizon… I don’t think I had a moment of peace the entire time I was at Rarity For You.”

“I don’t know how you’re able to manage all that nonsense,” Applejack said around a smirk. “Three stores, an’ all in such different places. Don’t you ever get tired of all that travelin’ on top of everythin’ else?”

Rarity waved a nonchalant hoof. “It’s not so bad! I’ve got such good help at both of the other stores, now, they manage to run things fairly well without me for most of the year!

“Even so… It is quite a lot of work, yes, but all very rewarding! I would never give it up!” She winked at her friend. “Who else is going to keep Equestria looking fabulous?”

Applejack chuckled, shaking her head. “Don’t s’pose I’d know. But if I do know one thing, it’s that you’re the perfect pony for the job.”

Rarity’s smile could light up the entirety of Canterlot castle. She swayed closer to Applejack so their shoulders brushed. “Aren’t you a flatterer. Did you miss me that much, Applejack?”

“Eh, just ‘bout as much as I ever miss you when you go off on one o’ your business trips.”

“Inconsolable, then.”

“‘Course.”

“Made weak with yearning?”

Another laugh. “I wouldn’t go that far! Now sure ain’t the time for me to be slackin’ on work — even for a pony as pretty as you.” Applejack smiled when her comment made Rarity giggle.

Ever wary of going too far in moments like these, Applejack took her chance to segue. “Bucking season’s right ‘round the corner, after all!”

“Oh, that’s right! Only a few weeks away.” It was Rarity’s turn to give Applejack a scan. “Is that what all this is for?”

“This? No, this is just some supplies for Fluttershy.” The earth pony tapped her wooden cart with a rear hoof. “Basket o’ apples for herself an’ her critters, some o’ the weedin’ from this month, stuff like that.”

Rarity peeked into the cart, one elegant brow raised. “Why on earth does she want weeds? None of these are even the nice-tasting kind.”

Once Rarity pulled away, Applejack started walking again. She beckoned Rarity to follow with a toss of her tail. “Those are for her critters, too. Think she mentioned usin’ the deader ones for compostin’ an’ nest buildin’.”

“How economical of you both.”

“No sense lettin’ it go to waste if somepony’s got a good use for it!”

“Indeed not,” Rarity agreed. “It’s still very kind of you to bring all this to Fluttershy.”

“Shucks, ain’t nothin’ really,” Applejack insisted. “‘Specially now that Fluttershy’s with foal, I can’t expect her to be haulin’ all this stuff home by herself. An’ I sure ain’t expectin’ Discord to be much help with anythin’. Figure it’d be best for me to do the haulin’ after I got the rest of my chores done.”

“That’s one of the things I love about you, Applejack! You’ve never been afraid of a little extra work when it meant helping somepony out.”

Before Applejack could respond — or rather, settle down enough to respond in a normal manner — the faint shriek of an animal made both mares’ ears twitch. Applejack and Rarity shared a look. They were on the quiet stretch of road leading away from Ponyville towards the Everfree, only a minute or two from Fluttershy’s cottage. There was nopony else around, and the foliage around them lay still.

Rarity asked, sounding concerned, “That didn’t come from Fluttershy’s place, did it?”

“I ain’t sure, but lets hoof it so we can find out.”

They picked up the pace, though Applejack didn’t go too quickly for fear of unsettling her cart. The closer they got, the more sounds of distress they heard: caws, clucks, mammalian wails and screeches. When the cottage finally came into view, both ponies halted, staring wide-eyed at the commotion.

Every animal living on Fluttershy’s property was kicking up a fuss. Birds of every color were flocking, twittering in the veridian carpet of the cottage roof, or otherwise flying anxiously about. Small critters like rabbits, lizards, and mice were squeaking all along the dirt and cobblestone path. They looked like they’d been having a conversation, or else an argument. Even the waters of the small, slow-moving creek which passed beneath the tiny bridge churned with the upset of its aquatic inhabitants.

“What in the world is going on?” Rarity exclaimed, flinching when one of the roosters crowed as if his live depended on it.

Applejack was already detaching herself from her cart harness. “I dunno, but we best find Fluttershy an’ ask her what the hay is happenin’ with all these critters.”

Standing at the center of the ferocious crowd of fauna was Fluttershy’s pet bunny, Angel. He was apparently in a passionate debate with several birds, an iguana, and a family of rodents. Every animal was talking over to each other, so incensed that even Angel’s aggressive chattering couldn’t rise above their discordant dialogue. When he saw Applejack and Rarity approaching, the bunny abandoned them to hop right in front of the two mares. He bounced and chattered, gesturing wildly towards the cottage.

“Is Fluttershy home?” Rarity asked. At the sound of the pegasus’ name, several birdhouses above them erupted into an unintelligible cloud of chirps. Rarity let out a noise of distress when a fat, white liquid fell from above and splatted in the dirt near her hoof. She practically flung herself onto Applejack, wrapping both forehooves around the other pony’s neck. “What ghastly behavior! Why hasn’t she come out to calm everyone down?”

Angel rapidly drummed his foot, then hopped up the path. The cottage door was closed, but Fluttershy kept one of the front windows free of glass so any small animals or birds could come in if needed. Angel cleared the jump in a single leap and disappeared inside.

“Does he want us to go in?” Rarity wondered aloud, casting a concerned look to her companion. “I don’t like any of this, Applejack…”

“Me neither. Let’s just wait a moment an’ see if he—”

Angel’s round white face returned, his furious chittering cutting Applejack off. He pointed aggressively into the window, urging them forward. Both mares drew closer so they could look inside.

Fluttershy was lying on the floor, seemingly unconscious.

Rarity gasped. Applejack was already at the door, pushing at it with her hooves, then her shoulder, then staring it down with a grim expression. She asked Rarity, “She’s not awake?”

Rarity was calling out to their friend, one arm through the bars of the window to rap her hoof against the inner wall. She turned to Applejack and shook her head. “I don’t think so; she’s not responding! Oh, Applejack, what should we—?”

“Stand back.” Applejack turned around, gauging where her hooves were going to hit the door. “Fluttershy’s out of the way, right?”

“Yes.” Rarity stepped away from the window and gestured for Angel to come stand with her. The bunny ignored either pony’s instruction, going back into the cottage.

It only took one buck to force both segments of the door open. Luckily, the actual wood of the door held firm, even if Applejack suspected their hinges would be worse off. There wasn’t time to fret about it; Applejack and Rarity raced into the cottage, immediately going to their collapsed friend.

“Fluttershy!” Applejack leaned over to put an ear to Fluttershy’s chest. Her breathing was slow, deep, and steady — had she just fallen asleep? “Shy, are you okay?”

“Oh, Fluttershy, wake up!” Rarity was seated near the pegasus’ head, gently brushing back her mane with a hoof. Fluttershy looked exhausted. Her mane hung limply, there were shadows under her eyes, and even with sunlight spilling in from the various windows, her fur looked pallid and dull. “Applejack, doesn’t she seem… grey to you?”

“She does.” Applejack gently shook Fluttershy’s shoulder. “Hey, Shy? Wake up, would you? You’re scarin’ Rarity, y’know.”

Fluttershy mumbled at the disturbances, lids slowly blinking as she awoke. Applejack sighed with deep relief. “Thank the Great Seedling!” With Rarity’s assistance, the two mares helped their friend climb up onto the nearby couch. “Fluttershy, what in tarnation is goin’ on? What happened to you?”

“You look absolutely dreadful, dear!” Rarity snagged a pillow from one of the small chairs, prompting Fluttershy to rest her chin on it. “I really do hate to say it, but it’s simply true! Why, you look as if you haven’t seen the sun in months!”

“That’s… not true…” Fluttershy mumbled weakly. Heavy lids closed for a long period, but Fluttershy forced them back open. “I… I was just outside… yesterday…”

“An’ I reckon you probably shouldn’t have been,” Applejack said with a frown. “You’ve clearly caught somethin’, an’ yet here you are, all on your lonesome!” An orange hoof slammed on wooden flooring. “Where the hay is Discord? If that varmint were here, he could’ve gotten you some help!”

Rarity’s hoof touched the earth pony’s shoulder. “Applejack…”

Her expression was beseeching, but as Fluttershy struggled to sit up, Applejack wouldn’t allow her anger be soothed by pretty purple eyes. “No! I’m right, aren’t I? Ain’t no reason for Discord to be leavin’ Fluttershy on her own when she’s with foal! His foal, might I remind you? It— it ain’t right! What kinda behavior is that for a creature who’s ‘bout to be a parent?”

Fluttershy mumbled something. Rarity cut into Applejack’s rant, asking, “I’m sorry, Fluttershy, what is it you said?”

“I… I told Discord to go.” Her voice was damp with sleep. She spoke at a steady pace, but something still seemed wrong. “He thought I was sick, so he… stayed… longer than he was supposed to. I didn’t want him to… feel… like he had to. So… I told him… I was feeling better. I did all my chores and… pretended… I was better… so that he’d go home…”

The words came out as grey as she was. Applejack couldn’t recall hearing anypony speak in such a monotone way, not even Maud Pie. It was like all the color had been drained from Fluttershy, and not just in the ways they could see from the outside.

Her confession seemed to take a lot out of her. Fluttershy curled back up, resting her chin on her pillow. Eyes closed, she muttered, “Sorry… for… trouble…”

“You ain’t no trouble,” Applejack told her firmly. “I… I don’t know why you’d lie to Discord. Still, I can’t believe he’d agree to leavin’ you alone, lookin’ like this!”

“...worse…”

Strength fading, Fluttershy was barely louder than a whisper. Rarity leaned in, ear pricked, softly asking her to repeat her words. She recited to Applejack, “Apparently, she got a lot worse yesterday after Discord left.”

Listening some more, Rarity frowned. The unicorn pulled back and shook her head, but didn’t say anything. She placed a shining white hoof atop pale pink tresses. “You’re going to be fine, Fluttershy. Why don’t you rest?”

One last unintelligible mumble was whispered into the pillow before Fluttershy fell back to sleep.

Rarity turned to Applejack. “She kept saying she was fine. Applejack… what should we do?”

“I reckon we should try gettin’ her to the hospital.”

“Maybe…” Rarity bit her lip.

“What’re you thinkin’? Any reason a hospital ain’t the obvious choice?”

“I’m just worried about moving her,” Rarity said. “My magic isn’t strong enough to levitate a pony, let alone for such a long trip. I suppose we could put her on your back…”

“We could use my cart! If I take out the supplies I was droppin’ off anyway, there’ll be plenty of room for her.”

“Okay.”

Applejack ran out to do just that. As soon as she set a hoof outside, she felt hundreds of little eyes on her.

“Uh…” Applejack cleared her throat, then yelled, “Hey, all you critters! Fluttershy’s doin’ just fine— or, she will be. Me n’ Rarity are gonna get her some help right away! So don’t you worry none!”

The answering noises sounded more like cheering than shouting, so Applejack thought they got the idea. She focused on pulling her cart the rest of the way to the cottage and unloading it.

After tucking away the last basket of apples in Fluttershy’s small kitchen, Applejack regarded the two mares on the couch. Rarity had tried coaxing Fluttershy to drink from a cup of water, but the pegasus was either too tired or not feeling well enough to consume anything. Task abandoned, Rarity had settled for pulling Fluttershy’s head in her lap and stroking her mane.

“Cart’s empty,” Applejack told her. She considered Fluttershy’s limp body. “Gettin’ her in might be a bit tricky. Think you can hold her up just long enough to get her on an’ off my back?”

“I can do that… But Applejack, I’ve been thinking, and maybe the hospital isn’t the best idea.”

“Why not?”

“Before I left for my Manehatten trip, Fluttershy and I did one of our spa days. She was telling me about, you know… the egg thing.”

“Oh, yeah.”

“Fluttershy mentioned that her doctor wasn’t sure how much they’d be able to help, because nothing like this has ever happened before. That they’d try their best, but…”

Applejack sat, frowning. “You think they won’t have any idea how to help with this?”

“It doesn’t look like a normal illness, does it? It certainly isn’t a mere cold. If it has something to do with her pregnancy… a normal pony hospital might not be the best option.

“What about Twilight? If it’s something magical, she might know.”

“Hm.” Applejack pointed a hoof at the curve of Fluttershy’s stomach. “But I reckon if this is somethin’ to do with some sorta weird Discord-magic, it ain’t gonna have an obvious answer. Twilight’ll need to waste time lookin’ around in all her books for somethin’, an’ I dunno if Shy’s got the time…”

The two ponies sat in a tense silence. Finally, Rarity sighed. “I suppose we’ll just take her to the hospital, then. Maybe I can go to Twilight’s while you take her there, and we can—”

“Wait! I know!” Applejack ran out to inspect the sky. It was late afternoon, but the sun wouldn’t be gone for a few more hours. That should give them plenty of time. Turning back to Rarity, she said, “Why don’t we take her to Zecora?”

“Zecora? You think she can help?”

“Why not? Zecora always seems to know things ‘bout the stranger kinds of magic, an’ y’know, since Apple Bloom’s been apprenticin’ with her to learn potion makin’, she’s always bringin’ home some handy concoction or other from her lessons. Maybe Zecora will know what’s wrong with Fluttershy an’ be able to brew somethin’ for her?”

“That… could work.” Rarity thought it over, then nodded, smiling for the first time since they saw Fluttershy through the window. “In fact, I’d say that’s quite a clever idea, Applejack! Come on, let’s get going!”

Between Applejack’s sturdy back and Rarity’s magic, the two managed to carry Fluttershy outside and onto the cart without issue. Rarity also floated a few pillows and a throw blanket, arranging everything so Fluttershy was secure and comfortable.

It was always somewhat unsettling, stepping into the unknown of the Everfree. These days, however, Applejack was very familiar with the path cutting through it to Zecora’s place. She insisted on escorting Apple Bloom to her lessons, though she trusted Zecora to escort the filly back to the forest’s edge.

Luckily, said path had gradually gotten more cleared of foliage over the years, the grassy forest floor packed in by traveling hooves. With Rarity’s magical assistance, the two of them kept the cart rolling with minimal trouble.

When Zecora’s tree hut was finally in sight, Rarity wasted no time hurrying over to knock on her door. “Zecora! Oh, please be home!”

The dark wood door pulled open just as Applejack brought herself and the cart to a stop. A large golden earring caught the light as Zecora peered out to inspect her visitors. “Ah, Rarity — and Applejack, too! It is quite a surprise to see both of you.”

“Sorry to drop in unannounced,” Applejack said, taking her hat in hoof and holding it to her chest. “But we really need your help!”

Rarity nodded along, trotting back to stand with Applejack and the cart. “Yes, and we need it right away! Something is terribly wrong with Fluttershy!”

“Fluttershy? Oh my!” Zecora was quick to follow, inspecting the back of the cart when Rarity gestured. “Hmm… A strange form of winter has overtaken the spring; please, come inside, and tell me everything.”

The inside of Zecora’s hut was humid with the scents of growth and magic. Before fifteen minutes had passed, Rarity was fretting over her mane; beside her, Applejack removed her hat, holding it in her lap as she finished her story to their host.

With an ear turned toward Applejack, Zecora focused on inspecting her new patient. She tested the texture of Fluttershy’s limp mane against her fetlocks and carefully inspected the slumbering pegasus’ teeth, ears, and heart rate. When Applejack’s words came to a stop, she said, “I agree with your conclusion that this is no mere illness. Based on the details of your story, I’d say it’s more a… stillness.”

“Stillness?” Rarity asked, looking up from her drooping curls. “Whatever do you mean by that?”

“I’ll tell you both my theory, but only as I move. In short: I think I know a way to help our friend improve.”

At she spoke, Zecora fetched an old book from one of her cluttered shelves. Rarity didn’t recognize the cover, but Applejack exclaimed as soon as she saw it. “Hey! I.. I think I remember that, but I dunno when I saw it.”

Zecora chuckled as she placed the book in Applejack’s lap. “That you recognize is no surprise. Though it has been quite a long time, I’m sure nopony could forget when poison joke turned their life upside-down and made them fret.” Her shining black hoof opened the cover and flipped to the page depicting the plant.

Rarity gasped. “Oh, that’s right! What an awful day — my mane was even worse off than it is now!”

“Are you sayin’ the problem with Shy’s got somethin’ to do with those flowers?” Applejack inspected the sketchy rendition of the plant, frowning as old, shameful memories resurfaced.

“Poison joke isn’t the problem — quite the opposite. In this case, it can be used to our benefit.”

“Really?”

Zecora looked over her shoulder at Fluttershy. “I’ve not had the chance to speak with Fluttershy much lately, but I heard a rumor on my last trip to Ponyville. To restock on my ingredients, that’s all, but as you know, there’s always some new gossip that ponies like to spill. When I heard she was with foal, I felt some disbelief, but could not seek the truth, for that day my trip was brief.

“Today, you tell me this is true — and Discord is the sire! This explains much, but most of all, why things are now so dire.”

“You’re saying this is Discord’s fault?” Rarity asked, sharing a look with Applejack. The earth pony scowled.

Zecora trotted to the opposite side of the room where an overstuffed apothecary with more than two dozen drawers stood. The zebra began looking through some of them, pulling out bundles of twigs and small bags of ingredients. “Discord is related, but he is not at fault. In any case, we must be quick, if her decline we wish to halt.”

Beside the apothecary was an old looking dresser from which Zecora pulled out several articles of clothing. Arms full, she beckoned the two ponies over with her striped tail. “You will need to wear these things to do a crucial chore, for I do not have poison joke residing in my store.” She handed them each a quartet of long, thick socks. “I only have one set of boots, but Rarity can use her horn. As well as that, please wear these masks — if you got sick, I’d be forlorn.”

“These don’t go with my mane at all,” Rarity softly complained, inspecting the deep forest green of the socks. “Do you really need both of us to go wading into poison joke? I’d rather avoid a repeat of last time.”

“Yeah, how are those troublesome flowers s’posed to help out Fluttershy anyway?” Applejack asked as Zecora fetched four tall leather boots. After a thought, she turned to Rarity and said, “You don’t gotta get too close, Rarity, I’ll handle gatherin’ ‘em up.”

Of course, Rarity shook her head and slipped on the socks. “I won’t leave you to do the work on your own! As Zecora said, I can just use my magic.”

“You sure?”

“I am. This is for Fluttershy, after all.”

“You are very right,” Zecora said, placing four boots in front of Applejack, who wasted no time stepping in. They were a bit awkward feeling, as Zecora’s hooves were a slightly different size and shape, but they had buckles for making slight adjustments. Zecora assisted Applejack in doing so as she continued, “So let us work with all our might. Fill up a basket of poison joke — one for each of you — and when you return, I can make Fluttershy a healing brew. Once my cauldron bubbles, we can relieve her of her troubles.”

“You can count on us, then!” Applejack accepted Zecora’s final offering: a cloth mouthguard with straps to keep it tight over the muzzle.

Once the ponies were completely outfitted, Rarity’s magic lifted two baskets from a small pile near the door. “Which way are we headin’?” her muffled voice asked.

With Zecora’s directions in mind, Applejack and Rarity departed.

 

---

 

Fluttershy awoke with a giggle in her throat.

She wasn’t home — that much she could smell. Instead of the familiar, natural scent of nearby animals, a soupy smell like salty steam baths and over-steeped tea filled her nose. Fluttershy rubbed at her eyes, climbing out of unconsciousness.

“Fluttershy! You are awake.” Zecora? Fluttershy let out a deep, sleepy sigh. She was somewhere safe, then. “Your timing is good; I can stop for a break.”

“Why am I…?” A few more bleary blinks revealed the inside of Zecora’s hut, with Fluttershy lying cushioned in a corner. The zebra was carefully using a ladle to pour a pale blue potion from cauldron to bottles. Eight sat filled to the brim and tightly corked. “How did I get here?”

Setting the ladle aside, Zecora corked the ninth bottle. “It was good luck and charity: Applejack and Rarity. They found you at home looking worse for wear and thought you shouldn’t be left there.”

“Looking…?” The pegasus glanced down at herself, only to squeak in surprise when she saw blue spots decorating her coat. “O-oh no! I-is t-t-this—?”

“Poison joke, but do not fret! It does not pose you a threat.” She held up the blue potion. “In fact, it is this flower that is our hero of the hour. Using this and other things, I crafted a brew that would, from tail-tip to wings, bring life and color back to you.”

Now that she mentioned it… The blue spots, though initially distressing, contrasted quite boldly against her yellow fur. Much more than they should have, considering her coat had been such a dusty shade just that morning. Fluttershy sat up and inspected herself, peering down at her pink tail and noting the ease with which she moved. She felt… very good. Better than she’d felt for the last month. Getting to her feet, the pegasus carefully extended her wings, careful not to knock anything over in the relatively small space of the hut. Her muscles felt somehow tight, but not in a way that suggested strain or injury — no, Fluttershy felt instead as if she… wanted to warm them up. To open her wings to their fullest and take flight.

“I feel amazing!” Fluttershy told Zecora, eyes wide. “A-and I still sound like myself… So the poison joke was really a medicine?”

“Indeed it is, and in fact, for your good health the odds I’ve stacked. I’ve made enough to last, you see; hopefully through your pregnancy.”

Stepping carefully over her pillows, Fluttershy came over to accept the potion bottle and inspect it. “Wow… Thank you so much, Zecora!” Looking around, Fluttershy muttered, “But Applejack and Rarity aren’t here…”

“I told them both to leave, as night will soon descend. You know how it is in Everfree. I assume the night you’ll spend?”

“I-if that’s okay.”

Zecora nodded with a smile. She put a dark hoof on Fluttershy’s withers. “I am very grateful those two found you today. If you’d been left alone for long, what could have happened… Who’s to say?

“They told me of your relationship with Discord. Why was he not home with you? Did he get busy? Or… bored?”

“Oh, n-no, no. I told Discord to go home.”

“I see. And what is home, for a being such as he?”

“Discord lives in another dimension made of chaos magic. If he stays here for too long, it starts to make him…” Fluttershy tapped her chin. “Do you know very much about cats?”

“The domestic feline? I’d say I know them fine.”

“Sometimes, cats can get overstimulated. It makes them twitchy and antsy, and it can make them a bit quick to scratch and bite. If you play with a cat or let them run around, it helps them get all the energy out.”

“You’re saying that when Discord spends much time on our plane, it threatens to make the being of pure chaos go insane?”

“N-not exactly! Just, um, he gets very restless, because he’s holding back a lot of his magic. Even when he tries his best, it sometimes starts to leak out and make things happen without him meaning to… I wanted him to go home, so he could relax.”

Zecora looked at her with a calm but intense expression. When she tilted her head, one of her gold earrings winked the last string of fading sunlight into Fluttershy’s eye. The pegasus winced, looking away slightly. “Despite the fact you knew you were ill, you asked him to leave you still?”

“I didn’t think I was sick… not really… I thought it was just…” Fluttershy looked down at her stomach. It had felt so heavy yesterday, despite not growing any bigger. “I was just tired. From the pregnancy. S-so I told him I would be fine. I can… I can take care of myself. He doesn’t have to be uncomfortable all the time just for me.”

“But Fluttershy, do you not see? The problem was your pregnancy.”

“Th-that—” Fluttershy pouted, flicking the tip of her tail. “That’s what I just said?”

“It is crucial that you understand: this was by your foal’s command.”

Yellow ears drew back, and Fluttershy’s frown deepened. “Zecora, that’s a ridiculous thing to say!”

“Is it? I don’t think I’m lying. Forgive me, now, for all my prying. You say my claim is flawed, but has your pregnancy not been odd?”

“It’s been… unpredictable. B-but that’s to be expected, obviously…”

“I don’t mean to make your foal a scapegoat, but you did not see your listlessness, your mane, you coat. There was a deficit of something needed, is my thought. With no other means of getting it, this accident was wrought.

“Your foal must be a child of Discord, truly, for no typical pony could be this unruly. A taste for chaos was surely inherited, so an alternate source of such ‘food’ was merited.”

“...Food? Y-you mean, my foal was…”

It was too horrible to say. She couldn’t bring herself to voice it, only shaking her head. Zecora looked at her with sympathy, pointing her hoof at the potion Fluttershy forgot she was holding.

“Again, an accident, for how could anypony know? It’s only obvious in hindsight what this baby needs to grow. A bit of chaos, fun, and creativity was wanted, so a dormant power your foal flaunted. It supped from your very self: your color, strength, and spirit. This potion shall be a supplement, so there’s no need to fear it.”

“Oh…” Fluttershy stared at the blue liquid within the bottle. Now that she was so close and paying more attention, she could see swirls forming all throughout, shimmering like oil in water. As she stared, the swirls filled her head with a strange lightheadedness, something nearly like vertigo, and suddenly flashes of her dreams flitted across her mind. A senseless giggle escaped her. “Is that why I was having such silly dreams just now?”

The zebra smiled widely. “The answer would be yes! I thought it would be the easiest solution to this mess. This poison joke potion you should take from this point on, as its chaotic nature is what your foal will feast upon. You’ll suffer no silly effects, so don’t be a prude, since any joke it might have pulled will become baby food!”

While Zecora finished bottling the last of the potion, Fluttershy went back to the small nest of borrowed cushions and laid down. She felt very good physically, but the events of the day remained tiring. Especially now, with so much on her mind…

“Zecora?”

Zecora grunted in acknowledgement as she began to clean out her cauldron.

“I… I’m frightened. I don’t like thinking about what could have happened, if Rarity and Applejack didn’t…” Fluttershy stared at her forehooves. The blue spots had faded a lot during their conversation and were nearly gone, subsumed by the familiar yellow of her coat. “A-and I don’t know what I’m going to tell Discord. I told him I’d be fine on my own, but something really bad almost happened, and he wasn’t around because of me. I couldn’t provide for our foal by myself and didn’t know what to do…”

It was only when the zebra’s hoof gently touched Fluttershy’s cheek, coaxing her to look up from her hooves, that Fluttershy realized she was starting to cry. She sniffled and tried to wipe her eyes.

“Oh, Fluttershy, I see you’re overwhelmed, but keep in mind that nopony close to you is selfish, cruel, or blind. Your friends have proven they’ll be here when you need them today, so I believe that in the end, you’ll be okay.”

“Thank you…” Fluttershy stood to hug her, a gesture Zecora happily accepted. “I’m sorry I got upset with you earlier. Thank you so much for helping.”

“Your apology I accept; now please, you are my guest! Let me get you something to eat, and then you can rest.”

They shared a basket full of delicious flowering plants Zecora had gathered earlier that day, with preserved berry jam on flatbread for dessert. Fluttershy recounted the last few months to her hostess while they ate, marveling to herself just how much — and how little — time had passed since she’d first been told the news.

“It’s hard not to worry…” Fluttershy sighed. Zecora offered her a woven blanket to use, and Fluttershy took a moment to arrange it. Zecora didn’t have glass on her windows, allowing the cool night air to waft inside. Fall was close enough it could even be felt in the Everfree, though it wouldn’t change much during the season. The weather ponies left this place to its own devices, and nopony dared to run through these woods.

“I wonder all the time about what to do once our foal is born. Can Discord really be happy like this? I don’t want him to feel like he has to stay in Ponyville forever.”

The pegasus tucked her hooves beneath a thin pillow, resting her chin on top. It smelled like herbs and that rich, sweet scent that came from Zecora’s mane.

“He offered to give me something that would let me call him to me whenever I want, even when he’s away… but I told him no. I… I hate the idea of it.” Her grip on the pillow tightened. “I just wish… I knew what to do… so it didn’t feel like he’s still so far away, even when he’s here…”

Zecora was quiet. It was dark, and Fluttershy didn’t know if she was merely thinking about what to say or if she’d fallen asleep.

Eventually, after Fluttershy had closed her eyes and started shifting to get comfortable, Zecora softly spoke. “Remember your relationship with Discord goes both ways. So long as you hold an open door, you should share many happy days.”

Those words were her last, and soon Fluttershy could only hear the zebra’s slow, even breathing. Zecora snored a little; it wasn’t very loud, almost like a wheeze, but light and in a tone that was somewhat musical. It became a soothing hum that helped ease Fluttershy into the comfort of her own exhaustion.

In sleep, Fluttershy dreamed of flying through magic doors. Behind each was a new wonder, so beautiful and precious, Fluttershy promised herself she would never forget them, even when she woke up.

Of any room in within the Castle of Friendship, Princess Twilight Sparkle’s was possibly the most colorful. If there was ever a thought that the castle as a whole felt a bit barren, devoid of those more typical and mundane qualities a much smaller home would inevitably possess, a pony visiting the princess’ quarters for the first time would quickly realize where all that coziness was hiding.

Her room, like all the others, was rather large — too large for just one pony, Applejack had once commented. Unlike the rest, there was not one spot save for the bed that was left unadorned. An entire pony’s history was stored here, and those who knew Princess Twilight could see it with one discerning sweep of their eyes from wall to wall.

Fluttershy certainly recognized many of her personal contributions: a few preserved bird nests, one of which Twilight had assisted in making for her third Winter Wrap-Up in Ponyville; a couple of nature field guides and rare animal identification books donated in the early efforts to reconstitute Twilight’s devastated literary collection; several Hearth’s Warming gifts being used as decoration.

Twilight sat upon one such gift as she sifted through a controlled storm of notebooks. To Fluttershy’s pleasure, the dark blue fabric of the pillow — made plush by its stuffing of personally harvested down feathers, wilfully relinquished to her by several feathery friends — hadn’t worn out much since the three years it was made.

Fluttershy had been persuaded to take a spot on Twilight’s bed, which was draped in a soft patchwork blanket sent to Twilight by her parents. Fluttershy caressed the material with her pastern, enjoying the sensation as she attempted to calm herself.

Purple eyes sparkled through a haze of magenta magic and ruffling papers. “Okay! I have a theory!”

“Oh?” Fluttershy perked her ears forward.

“I’ve been doing some research on other species that lay eggs, including dragons, changelings, cockatrices, and hippogriffs. It’s my guess that of them all, our best bet is to use an estimate based off hippogriffs, since they’re closest to us anatomically. We don’t have beaks or talons, obviously — although, you do have wings, so maybe the fact you’re a pegasus has some relevance here? Pegasi do have slightly different bone structure compared to earth ponies and unicorns…”

Twilight paused to jot down a note. When she then used her magic to fetch a book from one of her small, cluttered bookshelves, Fluttershy softly prompted, “Um, s-so, you were saying… about hippogriffs…?”

“Yes! As I was saying, I think it makes the most sense to use hippogriffs as our frame of reference. It won’t be perfect, but it’s better than our other options.”

“And you think this will give us an idea of the due date?”

“Yes. It won’t be one-hundred percent accurate, but it’s better than nothing, right?”

Fluttershy bit her lip and nodded. “I think so. Dr. Getwell was very concerned about that.”

At last, the papers began to reorganize and settle, Twilight’s magic pulling back as she regarded Fluttershy. “If you don’t mind me asking, what exactly is their concern? The egg is… obviously a big surprise, and makes things like guessing the due date much more complicated. But I admit, I can’t imagine what part of the equation could be so worrying.”

“There’s just a lot they don’t know,” Fluttershy said. “She— um, Dr. Getwell, I mean? The doctor is anxious about not knowing when I’m going to lay the egg. It makes planning things more difficult. So much can go wrong during live births… but they can go wrong during egg births, too. I’ve had chickens that needed help getting eggs out sometimes, and they have the right equipment for it. Me? I… We don’t even know if I’ll be able to, um, get it out safely…”

Twilight nodded, hoof to chin as she considered. “Well, I’m obviously not a professional like your doctor is, but I do have suggestions.

“First, my guesstimation of your due date! Based on my research, hippogriffs lay a clutch of one-to-two eggs after two seasons, with a clutch being considered late if it gets drawn out past that point. The eggs hatch less than a month later. On average, a pony’s gestation period is just under a year. You found out about the pregnancy in spring, right?”

“Yes, around the middle of spring.”

“The weather ponies have just started their fall-time shifts, so we should be seeing the leaves change soon. My thought is that you’ll be ready to lay your egg sometime in late fall or early winter.”

Fluttershy’s brows rose. “Really? So soon?”

“Based on what I’ve read, I’d say it’s our most reliable timeframe at the moment. I know it’s not very exact; however…” Twilight’s magic floated a notebook over to Fluttershy, who gently plucked it out of the air to inspect. “Thinking it might be helpful, I also made a list of all the most common signs that a hippogriff is about to lay their eggs!”

The list consisted not only of straightforward bullet points — restless behavior; swelling in lower abdomen; wing flicking — but included anecdotes. Fluttershy read one aloud, “‘I didn’t notice this with my first clutch, but when I had my second, I realized the week before laying that I had a fixation on bright fabrics, especially string. For nesting, you know?’”

Twilight nodded along, smiling broadly. “Apparently, there are a wide variety of symptoms. Given your very particular situation, I can only imagine you’ll be experiencing some rather unique side-effects, if you haven’t already.”

Fluttershy’s ears briefly swiveled to hide in her mane, but perked back up when she turned the notebook’s page to find a dozen more anecdotes from several credited hippogriffs. “Twilight, are these quotes? What kind of book did you read to find these?”

Mouth open, hoof raised, Twilight seemed ready to answer, yet didn’t. Fluttershy lowered the notebook when she realized the other mare seemed nervous all of a sudden. “Twilight? Are you okay? Um, was that a strange question…?”

“Ah… n-no. I…” Twilight gently pawed at her pillow, looking thoughtful. Finally, she said, “There’s somepony I’ve been writing to for a while, and I asked her to visit Hippogriffia on my behalf to ask around. Most of our literature on them is pretty outdated — for obvious reasons — and I wanted reliable information. It seemed like the best way to learn.”

Fluttershy nodded along, staying silent, as it felt like Twilight wasn’t quite done.

After a moment, Twilight finally admitted, “It’s… Tempest, actually. Tempest Shadow. We’ve been writing each other for a while.”

“Oh!” Fluttershy suddenly remembered the distinct grey and blue of those envelopes she’d seen Twilight receive, the ones she’d been so cagey about. “So that’s who you’ve been talking to.”

“Yeah. Tempest has been traveling around Equestria since she left, so we’ve been talking about the places she’s gone, the ponies and creatures she’s met, things like that. I keep her updated on what’s happening here, too.

“I’ve actually been learning a lot of new things by talking to her… Did you know that Tempest actually utilizes a form of chaos magic? It’s the only way she’s able to focus spells through her horn. Sounds contradictory, right? But apparently, that’s how it works; it’s really interesting! I’ve been asking her a lot about it, so I can try understanding chaotic magic more… y’know, in case it ends up being helpful.”

Twilight paused, then smiled awkwardly. “I hope it’s okay that I told her about you and Discord and everything. ”

“It’s okay.” Fluttershy smiled back. “Thanks for telling me. Still, I’m really surprised she’d be willing to go to Mount Aris.”

Twilight chuckled and her magic shimmered once again. From one of the many shelves near the bed, Twilight pulled an opened envelope from a pile apparently dedicated to her correspondence with Tempest. Taking it in hoof, she said, “It was certainly an eventful visit. If I hadn’t sent along an official, royal letter from myself to Queen Novo, they probably wouldn’t have let her in at all.”

Twilight peeked at the letter, an amused expression on her face. “She wrote to me afterwards. I don’t think she’ll be eager to return anytime soon, but it sounds like things went alright. She found a friend in Princess Skystar, at least.”

Fluttershy started blushing. “You and Tempest did all that… for me?”

“Of course! I want to do whatever I can to help make sure everything goes right for you, Fluttershy. You’re my friend!”

“Thank you, Twilight. It means so much. I’ve been getting kind of anxious about everything lately…”

Twilight sent Tempest’s letter to her messy desk. “That’s to be expected. There are so many unknown factors it’s impossible to predict what might happen. But that’s why I asked you to come over, so we can try our best to figure out what we can and prepare. Speaking of: there’s something else I wanted to consult you on.”

A knock on the door interrupted her. Before Twilight could answer, the knob turned, and Spike’s voice warned, “Twilight, I’m coming in!”

Twilight’s responded flatly, “You don’t have to knock, Spike. It’s your room, too!”

Spike poked his head in. “I know. It just feels rude to barge in when you’ve got company. Hi, Fluttershy!”

“Hello, Spike. What have you got there?”

Spike walked in, leaving the door slightly cracked as he presented a small box. When Fluttershy recognized the colorful figures printed on its sides, her eyes narrowed slightly. “I just got back from Sweet Apple Acres. Big Mac got some cards from the newest TMOM set, so I went over to negotiate a bit of trading.” The dragon snickered. “I got some good ones!”

Twilight rose from her pillow as she watched Spike pull out a red binder. Inside were dark pages with plastic sleeves. He flipped to a page devoid of cards and sat down to organize the ones he’d brought. Noticing Twilight’s approach, Spike smirked and lifted the box lid. “Wanna see? I managed to snag a brand new Empress Amethyst.”

He showed off a sleek, shimmering card. It featured a graphic illustration of an alicorn with a coat the color of wine, her powerful form shrouded in darkness as she looked down her muzzle with an intimidating glare. Twilight’s ears pricked forward.

Fluttershy cleared her throat. Loudly. “Twilight.”

The princess cast a guilty look over her shoulder. “Can’t I just look?”

“We all promised not to get involved with that game again.” Fluttershy crossed her forehooves, staring back at her friend with a stern frown. “Not for a very long time.”

“But—”

“Weren’t you about to tell me something?”

“Oh! You’re right.” As Twilight went for her notes again, Spike snickered. Fluttershy gave him a look; the dragon merely shrugged, sticking his tongue out playfully. “I wanted to ask if you’d considered a home birth instead of doing it at the hospital.”

“A home birth? Why?”

“There are a few reasons. I think planning for a home birth might be best in terms of anticipating when you’ll be laying your egg. You’re more likely to be at your cottage when the time comes, so there’s less worry about transporting you to a different part of town. I’ve also read that sometimes ponies have an easier time giving birth at home because the environment is familiar and comfortable.

“Also…” Twilight looked away from her notes to offer her friend a shy look. “Part of the reason is because I was thinking… of being present. If you’re okay with that?”

“Do you mean during the birth?” Fluttershy wrinkled her nose. “Or, um… laying?”

“Yes. Look, I know I’m not a doctor — there’s really only so much I know beyond what I can learn in books. Dr. Getwell is the best pony to have with you when the time actually comes. But considering how little is guaranteed… who really knows what could happen?” Twilight reached out to rest a hoof on Fluttershy’s. “If I can use my magic to help you in any way, to do or get whatever you might end up needing, I want to be there. I know you’ll have Discord too, but… I just want to help.”

Fluttershy smiled, holding Twilight’s hoof with both of hers. “You are helping. It means so much to me that you’ve been trying so hard. I… I feel…” The pegasus glanced away, squirming slightly. “It’s hard not to feel a little guilty, like I’m distracting you from more important things.”

“Of course not! Fluttershy, I’m spending so much time on this because I care about you.” Twilight pulled back, thinking. “If it helps you feel better, I do have another, more selfish reason for getting so involved.”

“You do?”

“Do you remember when we talked about how little information there is on Discord? I’ve been thinking about that a lot. If I can, I want to do as much as possible to document the important parts of this whole process and what your child is going to be like.”

Twilight paused here, watching Fluttershy keenly. Fluttershy, not knowing what her friend was looking for, could only stare back, silently prompting Twilight to go on.

“I… I don’t want it to feel like I’m treating you as just a research subject, though,” Twilight said. “So if anything I ask or request — like the home birth thing, me being there — if it feels like I’m being nosey or overstepping, please tell me! I might have additional reasons for my investment, but you’re the most important part, and what you want comes first.”

Fluttershy offered her a warm smile. “You haven’t made me feel like that at all, Twilight, I promise.”

“You’re sure?”

Fluttershy nodded and watched as an invisible weight seemed to disappear from her friend’s withers. Twilight nodded back, looking refreshed in her determination. “Good. You’ll let me know if that changes?”

“I will.”

“Alright.” Magically picking up a few of her notes, Twilight began to say, “So, next time you see Dr. Getwell, maybe you can suggest—”

A new voice called out from the hallway, making Spike jump and fumble one of his cards. “Twilight! Are you here?”

“Is that Starlight?” Fluttershy asked. Before Twilight could respond, a light blue snout poked through the crack in the door.

“Hey Spike,” Starlight said. “Twilight in the castle right now?”

Spike, the only one visible from where Starlight was standing, just pointed a thumb over his shoulder. Starlight pushed more of her head through the door until she could see the other two mares. “Great, so you are here. Hey, I’m looking for a book: Theories of Shifting Stars and Their Prophetical Consequences. I swear you had a copy, but it’s not in the library. Did you add it to your personal hoard?”

Twilight seemed less appreciative of Starlight’s interruption than Spike’s, but predictably perked up at the unicorn’s question. “Yes, I did! I brought it here for a bit of light reading before bed.”

Starlight rolled her eyes, stepping into the room more. “Only you would call a brick like that ‘light reading.’ Hey, Fluttershy.”

“Hello.” Fluttershy’s ear twitched; did she hear another set of hooves in the hallway?

Twilight flew up to one of the higher shelves near her bed and pulled a fairly thick book into her hooves. Her flapping wings ruffled some of the party streamers decorating her ceiling in colorful, drooping arches. “May I ask why you’re interested in this particular book?”

“I mostly need it to prove a point— hey!”

Starlight stumbled as somepony bumped into her from behind. A second later, dark blue forehooves draped themselves over Starlight’s back as a third uninvited guest let herself in.

With a frown, Starlight said to Trixie, “I told you to wait.”

“You were taking forever,” Trixie snapped back, a whine in her voice. “I hate waiting around all alone in this place. Why shouldn’t I come, anyway?”

“Probably because I’d rather not have some ponies in my personal quarters?” Twilight asked, tone dry as she flew over and offered Starlight her book. Starlight stepped forward to take it and flip through the pages, making Trixie slide off her back.

Trixie scoffed. “Like I care what the Pwincess of Fwendship has in her room.”

Immediately contradicting her claim, Trixie’s eyes went wide when she noticed Fluttershy. “Woah, hold it! You look crazy pregnant right now! So it’s true? I thought I heard a rumor about that, but I didn’t expect Fluttershy of all ponies to get stung by the serpent.” The unicorn dramatically gasped. “Wait! Does that mean it really is Discord’s? Sweet Celestia.”

Fluttershy, ears flat, rubbed her forehooves together as she mumbled, “Y-yes?”

Trixie wrinkled her nose, pink tongue limp as she made a face of disgust. “Ew.”

Twilight’s feathers fluffed up. “Trixie!”

Starlight, not looking up from the book, flicked her tail and said, “Trixie, don’t be rude.”

“What? It’s weird,” Trixie insisted. “I mean, like, seriously? Discord? I already don’t know how you can stand hanging around that guy so much. You really let him—?”

“Trixie.” Starlight closed the book, taking hold of it with her magic as she turned to give her friend a look. “Seriously, lay off. Not like it’s any of our business, anyway.”

“I’m just saying!”

“You can stop saying.” Then, to Fluttershy, “I heard about it from Twilight a while ago, but haven’t had a chance to say congrats or anything, so yeah: congrats.”

Determined to ignore Trixie, who was still making a face, Fluttershy told Starlight, “Thank you.”

Just as the two unicorns turned to leave, Spike tossing a distracted farewell over his shoulder while Twilight shook her head, a thought came to Fluttershy. She called out, “W-wait! Actually, um, Starlight?”

“Yeah?” Starlight rose a brow, looking surprised and a little wary. “What’s up?”

Unfortunately, Trixie paused too, watching over Starlight’s shoulder.

Fluttershy continued regardless, turning to address Twilight as well. “There was something else I wanted to talk to you about today, and now that I’m thinking about it… maybe Starlight could help? It has to do with magic, and both know so much.”

Twilight and Starlight’s eyes grew sharp, with both unicorns drawing closer to the mare on the bed. Behind them, Trixie complained, “Hey! I know about magic stuff, too!”

“What do you need help with?” Twilight inquired.

“It’s more like I need to ask you both for a big favor,” Fluttershy told her, fidgeting. “I had an idea for something that could be really helpful once the baby is born. I don’t even know if it’s possible to do… Discord could probably create it himself, but I wanted it to be a surprise?”

“Sounds like a challenge,” Starlight said, smirking. She shared a look with Twilight. “Well, I’m interested. Enough to hear you out, at least.”

“Me too.” Twilight grinned. She fetched a notebook and pen with her magic, flipping to a clean page. “Alright, Fluttershy, what is it you had in mind?”

With a few more swings, the curved stone face of Applejack’s hammer drove the final nail firmly into place. Applejack lifted her small wooden box, inspected it, then turned to Fluttershy. “Does this look right?”

Fluttershy’s hoof paused, halting the progress of baby blue paint. Looking over her shoulder, she scrutinized the box Applejack presented. “That looks perfect! It’s just the right size. Thank you, Applejack.”

“No problem at all,” Applejack assured with an easy grin. She unbuckled and detached the hammer she’d been using from her hoof, then placed her finished box with the others. They stood in a neat line in the grass. Each varied in size, all constructed from plywood. Looking them over, she whistled. “Ten done already! How’s that for a few hours’ work? What’s next, Fluttershy?”

With a final, careful stroke of her brush, Fluttershy finished her first coat of paint. The small, teardrop-shaped box she was working on was left to settle where the paint was already dried. Fluttershy removed her brush carefully, though she couldn’t avoid getting a bit of blue on her hooves. She sniffed at the speckle of blue there, tilting her head.

Getting onto her fours, Fluttershy gave each box a once-over, peering inside and testing their structural integrity with a tap or shake. Applejack puffed up her chest. “I ain’t no trained carpenter pony or nothin’, but I know my way ‘round a bit o’ craftin’. You have my word you won’t find any sign o’ me slackin’ on these.”

“Oh, no, they’re all very well made, Applejack. I really can’t tell you how much I appreciate you coming over to help; finishing all these on my own would’ve been impossible.”

“‘Course, Shy! I wanted to make sure I could lend a hoof before I'm busy preppin' the farm for cider season, so it worked out just fine.” The mare cast a look about. They were sitting right at the center of Fluttershy’s animal sanctuary, though with how quiet it was, you’d think it was just a pretty park with some very interesting architectural pieces on display. “Speakin’ of help, where’d Pinkie run off to?”

“I asked her to go check my place to see if I had anymore plywood in storage.” Fluttershy glanced at their piles of supplies. “We might not have enough for the large boxes.”

“Large boxes?”

Nodding, Fluttershy gestured to the line of Applejack’s finished work. “Mm hm. These boxes are going to go inside slightly larger ones.”

“Ten more boxes? Bigger than these?” Applejack hooked a hoof on one, tilting it so she could look inside. “You mentioned these were for hibernatin’ critters… Why’s there gotta be two?”

“These are going to be for tortoises,” Fluttershy explained. Her voice brightened as excitement surpassed worry. “The outer box is for insolation, to help keep the smaller box warm. The one inside is where the tortoises actually sleep. After these are done, I’ll fill the inner boxes with substrate that the tortoises can burrow into, and the outer ones with things like leaves, torn up newspaper…”

Applejack scratched her head under her hat. “But I thought them critters just dug a hole to sleep in, like Tank does.”

“They do! But sometimes all the really good spots to sleep get taken, or a tortoise is a little too old to dig their own burrows easily; I’ve had one or two who forget to start until it’s too late, and the weather makes the ground really hard to dig in. So I keep plenty of these available. If any of them come to me, I can help set them up so they’re nice and cozy and safe for the winter.

“I like keeping hibernation boxes all over — mostly around my cottage — but a lot of them are old and starting to break or rot. These will be replacing them.”

“An’ that one?” Applejack pointed to the teardrop Fluttershy had been painting. “Pretty sure a tortoise ain’t gonna fit in there.”

“That’s a bug box. It’s the same idea, but for insects! Usually spiders like to use them, but sometimes a butterfly or wasp will try it out. That’s why it has the slit holes in the front.”

Applejack whistled again. “Shucks, Fluttershy, I didn’t realize how much you had to prepare for all these critters. At least you get help from every pony else durin’ Winter Wrap Up. Is it like this every season?”

Fluttershy giggled. “Oh no, not all the time.” Her gaze moseyed across the seemingly abandoned sanctuary. “The animals are fairly good at taking care of themselves during the fall, for example… All they need to worry about right now is eating enough to prepare for winter scarcity and hibernation. I’m only worried about getting all these boxes done because so many old ones are falling out of use, and… I might not have time before winter starts.”

“That’s right, you’re expectin’ to have your foal soon.”

Applejack ran her tongue over her teeth, lips pursing as she debated on whether or not to voice her thoughts. Conveniently, the sound of rickety wood stole her chance. Bouncing across the wooden bridge was Pinkie Pie, and bouncing atop Pinkie Pie’s head was a large stack of plywood. “Fluttershy, I’m back!”

“O-oh, Pinkie, is that safe?” Fluttershy asked, staring with wide eyes at the dancing plywood. Applejack took a step back alongside her as the pink pony drew near. The slabs of wood clattered as they made contact with Pinkie’s mane, reforming a thick, presumably very heavy stack; with every bounce, the stack would leap into the air, hover for a second, then fall one-by-one back down to be cushioned by puffy curls.

Pinkie Pie, apparently unbothered by any of this, grinned as she hopped to a clear patch of grass. The next time her hooves touched ground, she jumped deftly to the side. The plywood loudly fell, stacking into a neat pile an inch or two taller than Pinkie.

Applejack and Fluttershy flinched when loud clapping erupted just behind them. “Bravo! Good show, Pinkie!”

Applejack turned to find Discord standing in the shade of the large climbing tree. He stopped clapping, then reached behind his back and pulled out two signs: one had a ten drawn on it in thick black print while the other read nine-point-five. “Almost a perfect score! I think the wood could’ve made a funnier sound though. Xylophone keys, perhaps?”

“Hi, Discord!” Pinkie called, scampering over to smile up at the draconequus. Pointing at his signs, she asked, “Shouldn’t you have three of those? It’s always three judges!”

“How right you are, Pinkie.” Discord overlapped the two existing signs, then fanned them like a hand of cards, revealing a third one.

Pinkie pouted. “Aw, only twenty-nine points?”

Fanning himself with the signs, Discord looked down his long nose at her. “That other half-point deduction was for questioning your panel of judge.”

Pinkie blew a raspberry, which Discord returned. Applejack shook her head at them. Fluttershy giggled, then asked, “Did you have any trouble setting up the boxes, Discord?”

Flinging his signs-fan over one shoulder, Discord shook his head. “No trouble at all, Shutterfly! Consider your bats boxed.”

“You put bats in boxes?” Pinkie pounced away from Discord to inspect Applejack’s project. “Is that what all of these are for? Boxing bats? What do you do with a boxed bat, anyway?”

“We don’t put bats in the boxes!” Fluttershy protested. “And no, Pinkie, these aren’t for that. Bat boxes are very different; they’re placed very high up so bats can fly into them. They provide a dark, safe space for bats to rest or hide from predators.”

Applejack wrinkled her nose. “I thought all those troublesome things were fine with that chunk o’ Sweet Apple Acres all to themselves.”

“Oh, no, fruit and vampire fruit bats won’t be using them.” Fluttershy held her hooves close together, leaving a small space between them. “The boxes are for much smaller species, like brown bats. If any bats end up using them, they’ll be coming from the Everfree.”

Discord scoffed. “What softies. Those creatures have all the freedom they could ask for in the middle of such a pony-ridden place, and they still come crawling to you for the littlest things.”

“Whaddya mean ‘pony-ridden’?” Applejack grumbled.

Discord snuck Applejack a sly look, but otherwise ignored her comment. To Fluttershy, he said, “I’m always saying you go too easy on them! They’re going to forget how to take care of themselves at this rate.”

Discord added something under his breath, but Applejack wasn’t close enough to hear. Fluttershy seemed to and merely lifted an eyebrow at him. With a slight shake of her head, Fluttershy told him, “All creatures need a bit of help every once in a while, Discord. What kind of pony would I be if I didn’t try my best to ease their hardships when I have the means?”

“A pony with more free time! Maybe then I could take you on that vacation you’re always refusing to consider.”

Despite all his complaining, Fluttershy’s expression remained fond. “I certainly couldn’t go now. Even without worrying about my due date, winter’s coming.”

“Yes, hence the chorin’,” Applejack agreed. She leveled Discord with a challenging look. “So are you gonna actually help us out, or make all this take longer than it needs to with your fussin’?”

With an ugly smirk, Discord told her, “Try to keep up, Applesnack. I’ve been helping, remember? Boxed bats.” He turned to regard her line of boxes, giving an unimpressed sniff.

Applejack’s tail flicked, but then Pinkie cut in. “Oh, oh, I wanna help more too! Anything else you want me to do, Fluttershy?”

The pegasus tapped her chin, eyes roaming the sanctuary ground. “Um… I have been meaning to clean out the cave tunnels.” She gestured at the chunk of mountainside from which a waterfall flowed, bringing fresh water to the sanctuary and feeding the river that cut through it. The cool stone face was dotted with entrances to caves, their contents shrouded in darkness. “I want to make sure any old bedding or, um… food scraps… are removed, in case any of the large animals want to settle in to hibernate there.”

“I can do that!”

Pinkie began to wind herself up, but Fluttershy interjected, “Wait! I don’t know if— I just don’t want you to get lost in there. The tunnels aren’t too complicated, but it’s very dark and you might get turned around. And sometimes there are unpleasant things in the caves…”

Pinkie gave Fluttershy a confident grin, holding a hoof to her chest. “I’ll be alright, Fluttershy! You know I don’t scare that easily.”

“I don’t know, m-maybe it’d be better if I just—”

“Please?” Pinkie scooted closer, closer, until her wide, wet blue eyes were right in front of Fluttershy’s. “Please let me do it? I really wanna help!”

“I…” Fluttershy glanced at Applejack, who just shrugged. She’d offer to go along, but those tortoise boxes weren’t going to construct themselves.

When Fluttershy’s gaze went to Discord, the draconequus grinned. “I say we let her go! What’s the harm in letting Pinkie Pie trip over old bones in the pitch black darkness all by herself?” At the thought, he snickered. “Oh, that’ll be funny.”

Fluttershy had a thought, too, and her expression brightened. “You’re right, Discord!”

Both he and Applejack blinked in disbelief.

“I am?”

“He is?”

Fluttershy nodded, her hooves on Pinkie’s shoulders as she gently pushed the earth pony out of her personal bubble. “You are! We should let Pinkie go. There shouldn’t be any harm. Especially with you going along.”

“What? I didn’t say I was going to go!”

“Didn’t you? You thought it’d be funny to watch Pinkie get lost and trip over things. Don't you have to be there to see it?” Pretending to think, Fluttershy added, “And maybe conjure at least a little light, so you can actually see.”

Discord crossed his arms. “I wouldn’t need any light. My dark-vision is excellent, thank you very much!”

Clapping her hooves, Fluttershy beamed. “So you’ll be the perfect partner for Pinkie to bring along! Besides, if you’re with her, there’s no way she can get lost; you can just teleport her back out.”

Finger aloft, Discord opened his mouth to argue, but Pinkie was already bouncing around him in circles like a pink vulture. “Hooray! Let’s go, Discord!”

She was off, and this time Fluttershy didn’t stop her. The pegasus smiled up at Discord, who dramatically groaned. “Fine! But I’m leaving after this!” Discord flicked his tail and scratched at his furry neck. “It’s only been four days, but I’m starting to get the itch again. All this boring physical labor takes a lot out of a guy, y’know!”

Fluttershy giggled. “That’s very understandable. Thank you for helping Pinkie.”

“No need to thank me!” Arching his body downward, he gave Fluttershy a toothy grin, flicking his tongue out to tickle her cheek. Over her giggles, he said, “It’s not as if you gave me much choice!”

With that, the draconequus teleported away, flashing beside Pinkie as she made to leap straight into the first cave entrance she could reach. He caught her midair, then snapped his fingers, conjuring two miner’s hats with lights on them. They were both on Pinkie.

Fluttershy asked Applejack, “Are you ready to get back to these boxes?”

Applejack nodded, but dawdled as she considered the stack of plywood. Eventually she said, “Y’know, after what happened, you’d think Discord woulda finally started takin’ some things more seriously.”

“What do you mean?” Fluttershy asked. The butterfly box rotated in her hooves as she checked her paint job.

Applejack shot Fluttershy a frown. “What do I mean? I mean when you got sick, collapsed, and had to get taken care of by Zecora ‘cause Discord wasn’t around to help! It was just luck me‘n Rarity were around to find you an’ help out.”

“B-but it’s fine now!” Fluttershy protested, putting her project down to face Applejack.

“Sure, but…” Applejack shook her head. “I just don’t understand how he can act so… normal about it. Ain’t he upset? Ain’t he worried?”

“He— I mean, I…” Fluttershy’s wings twitched like she was nervous, and she wouldn’t look Applejack in the eye. After a moment, she said to the ground, “It all worked out okay, s-so I don’t want to make him feel bad about it. Discord wasn’t here, but that was my mistake, not his.”

“...Is it really okay?”

Fluttershy tilted her head up, only one pine-green eye visible. She looked so much better than she had that day, fur warm as the first touch of sun on a spring morning. Fluttershy’s long, thick bangs made it difficult to read her expression, but Applejack just felt grateful her mane was back to its lovely shade of pink.

“I promise it’s okay,” Fluttershy said. With more confidence, she continued, sitting up straighter so she didn’t hide behind her hair anymore. “I’m okay. Zecora gave me what I needed to make sure it won’t happen again, so please, you don’t have to worry about me.”

“It ain’t really you I’m worried over,” Applejack mumbled. She glanced back at the caves. The waterfall was dazzling at this time of day, sunlight making it sparkle more than one of Rarity’s fashion shows. Applejack blinked the spots from her eyes. “Fluttershy, can I ask you somethin’?”

“Of course.”

“Beggin’ your pardon, it’s just kind of a personal question, I guess.”

“That’s okay.”

“What are your feelings toward Discord, exactly?”

“Oh!” Fluttershy went back into hiding, running a hoof over her mane. “Th-that’s, um, a little personal, yeah.”

“Sorry. You don’t gotta answer if you really don’t want to, it’s just—”

“I mean, I love him a lot, but...”

“Huh?”

Fluttershy looked at her, and Applejack didn’t sense any hesitation or doubt when her friend told her, “I love Discord.”

“...Oh. Huh.”

“Is that… surprising?”

“Uh… no?” Applejack scratched at the ground, trying to gather her thoughts. “I s’pose not! I mean, that’s what makes the most sense! Guess I just didn’t feel all that sure, ‘cause of y’alls…” She made an awkward, meaningless gesture with her hoof. “Situation?”

Applejack cringed at her own words a little, but Fluttershy just smiled. Petting her hair, she looked out over the sanctuary in thoughtful silence. Somewhere up in the climbing tree, a few birds twittered, chasing each other through its branches.

“It’s hard to really explain what I feel. Every way I can think to say it sounds too… obvious. ‘He’s the most unique and interesting creature I’ve ever seen.’; ‘I’ve never met anypony like him.’ I want to say something more special, but I don’t know how to put it.”

Fluttershy glanced over, a light blush on her cheeks. “A-at first, I thought he looked so scary, but now everything about him makes me smile. He’s funny, but he’s also… I mean, physically, he…” The blushing got worse. “I-i-it’s hard to explain, b-but, um, the way he’s made up of so many different kinds of creatures, it’s like, he’s got so many special things about him, and that makes him feel even more special…”

Fluttershy gave a frustrated huff. “I’m just saying the same thing over and over…”

With a chuckle, Applejack assured her, “I think I’m gettin’ your point, sugar cube.” Though she’d definitely prefer not to hear anything more about how attractive her friend found Discord — what a strange thing to think. Especially when her own tastes leaned very solidly towards familiar pony features: elegant or powerful frames, colorful manes, and bright, passionate eyes…

Yes, a detour from this topic was urgently needed. Applejack prompted, “What else makes you say you love him? It can’t just be that he’s funny-lookin’.”

That comment earned her a bit of side eye; Applejack accepted the silent scolding with a cheeky tip of her hat.

“It’s not just that. I know it’s not easy to see because you guys don’t spend as much time with him as I do, but Discord can be so gentle and thoughtful and kind — he really can! It’s not just those things, though, not… not the things he’s become. It’s what he is.”

At Applejack’s confused look, Fluttershy explained, “It’s good that Discord has gotten better at being nice and considerate of others. When it comes to his more caring side… I think that was always a part of him, but it never had a chance to shine because he never had anypony close to him before.

“But I don’t love only those parts of him. He’s lively, funny, creative… and I like that he is who he is.”

“What, like his personality?” Applejack drawled, not even trying to hide her doubt.

Fluttershy’s wing stretched out to gently nudge her friend’s side. “I like that too, but that’s not what I mean. It’s more like… Every animal has something special about them; every pony has their own talent that shines through them with their entire being; every creature has their own particular way of being themselves, and it’s something that comes naturally to them. Sometimes, it feels like Discord proves that more than anypony else. He’s always being the most himself he can be. I… I love that about him.”

Applejack thought of sparkling magic, the whisper of silky fabrics; imagined the rhythmic beating of wings and a familiar smirk, a wordless challenge.

“...I s’pose I can understand that much.”

Fluttershy’s eyes caught Applejack’s, and she leaned in slightly. “You can?”

Applejack’s heart was beating a little too fast, but it would pass — it always did. “Sorry, what I meant to say is… I believe you. What I just don’t understand is why — if you really love Discord so much — he acts so different?”

“Different how?”

“Like the two of you are just friends!”

Fluttershy didn’t respond right away, giving Applejack a look she couldn’t read. Flustered, Applejack stumbled onward. “I know you the two of you are friends, but y’know what I mean! I just don’t get why he’s so content to act like not much has changed, even when so much has — and will! Doesn’t it bother you? Sure, he’s been hangin’ ‘round more these days, but he still runs off to wherever he feels like it. It just don’t sit right with me. An’ you…”

“Me?”

Applejack let out a frustrated sigh. “Yes, you. Why're you so eager to let him get away with it? Like that whole thing the other day, you fibbin’ to get Discord to leave you alone. Don’t you want him here with you? If you love him so much, why are you lettin' him leave you behind?”

Before Applejack could get her answer, there was a blinding flash of light. The mare winced, ears pinned back; Fluttershy squealed and covered herself defensively with her wings. A second later, Pinkie Pie materialized, standing before them as her voice rang out, “—bye before you go— Woah! Huh? Oh, he zapped me back! Hi, guys!”

“Pinkie!”

The earth pony scampered closer and offered a helpful hoof to Fluttershy, who’d fallen backwards in her surprise. “Did I startle you?” Pinkie asked around a giggle. “My bad! Discord and I got super duper lost in there! You weren’t kidding, Fluttershy, it’s way more twisty-turvy than it looks from outside! Anyway, he got rid of all the messes we found while we were walking around, so I think the caves are pretty cleaned out!”

“O-okay, thank you,” Fluttershy stuttered, accepting Pinkie’s help as she got back on all fours. She curled her tail to brush a bit of grass from her flank. “So he sent you here and went home?”

“Yup! But I’m still free, so do you want me to do something else for you?”

“Actually, um, I think I need to take a break. I should go home for a while… I need to take another dose of some medicine.”

To Applejack, she said, “Is that okay? Our conversation…"

Applejack waved a calming hoof. “It’s fine, sugar cube, I don’t mind. Sorry for bein’ so nosey in the first place; I ‘ppreciate you bein’ honest with me ‘bout everythin’, though.”

Fluttershy gave her a smile. “You can both come over for a snack if you want.”

“That sounds swell, Shy. I’d love to.”

“Me too!” Pinkie skipped around them as they started their way up the hill towards Fluttershy’s cottage. “What were you guys talking about?"

“Never you mind, Pinkie. Just a normal, borin’ stuff. You didn’t miss much.”

“Are you sure?” She sidled up next to Fluttershy, her skip slowing to a light prance. “Because if you need somepony to talk to, I’m great for that! I’m really good at talking!”

Fluttershy chuckled. “I know you are, Pinkie. Thank you for offering. It’s just, um, it was kind of a private conversation? But it really wasn’t about anything too important, I promise.”

“Okey dokey!” Pinkie slowed to a normal walk. “If you’re sure!”

“All I’m sure of is that I’mma need a good, tall glass of water an’ somethin’ in my stomach before I tackle all those boxes,” Applejack said. “Not that it’s hard, but it ain’t as fun as apple buckin’. D’you really need that many, Fluttershy?”

“Oh yes! I know that Glenda and Leatherbeak are both going to need nice new boxes this year — they’re some of the oldest tortoises in Ponyville…”

Applejack listened to Fluttershy as they made the easy trek back home, Pinkie trailing behind them.

“Alright, there we go!” Dr. Fauna lifted a hoof to carefully pat her patient’s scaly head. “Check-up over! Gummy passes with a clean bill of health.”

Pinkie Pie perked up in one of the plastic waiting chairs. “You’re all done? Yippee!” Shooting out of her seat, she stood on the tips of her hooves in front of the examination table, blue eyes wide and bright. “Great job, Gummy! You crushed it!”

Gummy slowly blinked, clearly pleased with himself.

“Thanks so much, doc!” Pinkie scooped up her pet and settled him on her crown. His reptilian form was swiftly absorbed into the fathomless depths of pink. “Gummy loves coming to see you! Especially when he gets his super special post-check-up treat?”

With a chuckle, Dr. Fauna pulled open a small drawer. Two of the parrots currently roosting atop one of the high shelves perked up, but lost interest when they saw she’d only fetched a lollipop from her stash. “Of course! Such a delightful patient deserves a well-earned reward.”

She handed the lollipop to Pinkie, who promptly unwrapped the candy and stuck the white stick into her hair. It stood like a candle in a cake. Gummy’s long snout slowly rose from the sea of curls. His long, wet tongue flicked from his toothless maw to test the reddish candy. He seemed satisfied with watermelon; the alligator continued to lick his prize at a slow, steady pace as Dr. Fauna escorted his owner to the building's front door.

Before stepping outside, Pinkie Pie said, “Oh, let me give you a treat, too!”

“Pinkie, there’s no need! You already paid for the visit.”

“This isn’t a payment, it’s a present!” With a deft hoof, Pinkie unclasped one of her saddle bags and fished out a sugar cookie. “Here you go! I have a whole bunch, so I can spare one as a thank-you!”

Dr. Fauna accepted the cookie with an appreciative smile. “You’re very kind, Pinkie. That’s quite a haul you’ve got there,” she commented, eyeing the bags; she hadn’t noticed just how full they were until now. “Are you on your way to a party?”

“Not really! Or sorta-kinda yeah, but I’m not throwing this one!” Pinkie skipped outside, rivaling the afternoon sun in her giddy state. “We’re going over to visit Fluttershy for a tea party! I said I’d bring some special teatime cookies!”

“That’s wonderful! How is Fluttershy, by the way? I’ve been so busy, I haven’t had a chance to visit her or Sweetfeather Sanctuary in a while.” After a pause, the pony added, “Don’t think I’ve even gotten a chance to speak with her since all those rumors started getting passed around. Is that true, by the way? Is Fluttershy really…?”

“Having a baby? Yeah!” Pinkie began to bounce in place. “Fluttershy’s been super duper! We’re all really excited for her to have her foal, and I’m going to throw her a baby shower soon, and it’ll be the most funnest baby shower ever!”

“I’m sure it’ll be more fun than a barrel of monkeys!” Dr. Fauna giggled. Taking a bite of her gifted cookie, she offered Pinkie a parting wave. "Give Fluttershy my congratulations!”

“You betcha!”

With a final wave, Pinkie hurried off. She didn’t want to waste anymore time, making a bee-line for the trail that lead from Ponyville to Fluttershy’s cottage.

“Are you excited, Gummy? I bet Fluttershy has tea that’ll taste great to alligators! Have you ever tried tea before? It’s not as yummy as punch or milkshakes, but it's pretty good with cakes and cookies!”

Gummy, who had made a small dent in his lollipop, gently wagged his tail. Pinkie could feel the movement at the nape of her neck. Smiling, she nodded. “I’m so happy you’re excited, 'cause I’m super excited! Y’know, I haven’t had a chance to talk with Fluttershy one-on-one in a while. Which is so crazy, because the two of us both live right here in Ponyville! I mean, Rarity and Twilight and Applejack do too, but it’s different, y’know? ‘Cause Twilight’s a princess and has to do important princess things, and Rarity's always traveling all the time, and Applejack is always super duper busy on the farm, so sometimes they’re not really around and can't hang out, right? But Fluttershy only lives, what, ten minutes away from me?” Pinkie giggle-snorted, shaking her head. “It’s so silly that we don’t see each other more often! I mean, sometimes we’re the only two who are even in Ponyville at the same time…”

Her hooves slowed to an easy canter as she began to leave the place she spoke of behind, path leading towards dense nature. Without the ever-present ambient chatter of the bustling town, Pinkie’s voice seemed loud — louder than it usually was.

“Anyways, I’m glad Fluttershy invited us over for tea to talk about baby shower stuff. There’s so much to plan! Aren’t you excited, Gummy? I know I am. I’m so excited!”

Pinkie’s delighted energy burst forth and she piaffed for a few feet, unable to contain herself. “I can’t wait to see her foal! I was always imagining a regular little pony baby, but y’know what Applejack told me the other day when she came over to Sugarcube Corner? She said that Twilight said that Fluttershy and Discord aren’t even sure what it's gonna be! Makes sense, I guess? ‘Cause Discord isn’t a pony, and he's made up of all kinds of weird crazy magic and everything… It could be something totally random! What do you think it’s going to be, Gummy?”

The alligator made a sort of throaty chirp noise.

Pinkie Pie giggled. “That’s okay, Gummy! If the possibilities are endless, that makes it super hard to guess, huh? But y’know, if that’s the case… then it’ll probably end up being a one-hundred percent normal pony! That’s what would be the most unexpected!”

She felt Gummy’s tiny claws kneed at her scalp, amused by her theorizing.

For the rest of their walk, Pinkie Pie ran her baby shower ideas by Gummy, seeking his opinion. Of course, all of this was subject to change — Fluttershy’s feedback was absolutely crucial! That’s what made today’s tea party so special. She and Fluttershy were going to have a long, serious, important talk so that Pinkie could give her the best baby shower ever!

Soon enough, the cottage was in sight. Pinkie skipped right up to the front door and knocked. “Fluttershy!” she sang, tail wagging. “I’m here! Let’s tea-party it up!”

She waited a moment for the pegasus to come open the door. Then another moment. Pinkie’s ear twitched; she knocked again. “Fluttershy! Hello?”

From the depths of her mane, a feeling of tense muscles and unease. Pinkie’s brows drew together, though a smile stuck stubbornly to her lips. The party pony leaned over a bit, peeking into her friend’s home through the front window. It was brightly lit and Pinkie could see a table with dainty dishes set up for tea, but no Fluttershy.

Nervous claws in her scalp. Pinkie thought to call out again, but instead, her ears strained to catch any evidence of Fluttershy being nearby. It was only now she noticed just how quiet everything was; at Fluttershy’s place, there was always birdsong or the soft chittering of little animals. Now there was nothing…

…Nothing except for a very faint sound, nearly impossible to catch. Once Pinkie noticed it, she could tell it was somewhere beyond the cottage. She reached a hoof up to gently pat at Gummy, making sure he was secure in her hair. The movement disturbed the lollipop he’d been licking, accidentally knocking it from Pinkie's mane to fall in the dirt. It was only half finished, but neither Pinkie nor Gummy were very concerned about it, senses honed in on the unsettling sound.

Pinkie quickly rounded the building. From here, the hill slopped slightly downward, leading into small fenced areas where Fluttershy kept chickens and rabbits.

Fluttershy was sitting just outside one of the coops, hunched forward. Even from far off, Pinkie could see the way her friend was shaking. The faint sound of her crying was muffled by drooping pink tresses which also hid her face.

“Oh no,” Pinkie Pie muttered. She hurried over.

“Fluttershy?” The pegasus didn’t respond. Pinkie hesitated at the low white fence’s closed gate. “Fluttershy, are you okay?”

Fluttershy didn’t seem to hear her. Pinkie took a step back, then cleared the fence with an easy jump. Her hooves crunched fresh feed that had been strewn across the ground, but there were no chickens around to peck it up. Instead, all of Fluttershy’s hens and the single resident rooster were crowded around their owner, cooing and clucking softly.

Pinkie approached at an angle, trying to look at Fluttershy’s face. Before that, she saw what was on the ground in front of her yellow hooves.

“Oh…”

Pinkie’s hair deflated, curls going limp to hang in gloomy waves across her withers; Gummy blinked his large, wet eyes as the sight was revealed to him too.

One of Fluttershy’s chickens lay in the dirt, legs pulled in tight, toes curled, body stiff. Fluttershy’s tears fell in a silent patter on the bird’s white wings.

“...Fluttershy?” Pinkie Pie crept closer, then hesitated. Her eyes were stuck on the dead bird. She couldn’t recall ever having seen a dead animal before — not in person, not so close up. The hen’s eyes were only half-closed, as if wincing; her beak hung open slightly.

At the sound of Pinkie’s voice, Fluttershy choked on a sob and spluttered, “E-Elizab-beak…”

The name rang a bell — she’d mentioned this chicken before. Pinkie couldn’t tell the age of any animal, but guessed Elizabeak must be an older pet, one Fluttershy had been keeping for a long time.

Pinkie lifted a hoof, but wasn’t sure if she should reach out and touch Fluttershy, who still hunched and trembled over the bird. If it was her, she’d want somepony to hug her, comfort her… wouldn’t she? Pinkie didn’t really know — she’d never been in Fluttershy’s position before. Had never truly considered something like this might happen someday.

She thought of Gummy’s clean bill of health and was suddenly much more grateful for it, for the feeling of his claws tangled in her mane.

Ultimately, Pinkie could only think to say, “I’m really sorry, Fluttershy.”

To Pinkie Pie’s dismay, her words seemed to do more harm than good. Fluttershy’s breathing hitched, and then she broke into a keening wail that gave Pinkie goosebumps. She stared wide-eyed as Fluttershy gathered up her dead pet, gasping between waterlogged breathes, "I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…!”

Desperate, Pinkie inched closer, hoof still raised. The chickens surrounding Fluttershy warbled, apparently displeased with Pinkie’s intrusion forcing their displacement. One of them pecked meanly at her knee, but she ignored the minor pain. Finally wrapping a forehoof around Fluttershy’s shoulders, Pinkie said, “It’s okay, Fluttershy! It— I’m sorry, b-but it’ll be okay, I…”

She wanted to promise; she wanted to Pinkie Promise. The oath died before it could be uttered, and Pinkie regretted the thought that it was for the best. It would have been a lie.

Fluttershy was muttering to herself. Pinkie leaned forward, straining to hear.

“...all my fault! I should’ve paid m-more attention! I’m s-so sorry… I wasn’t there, and you…” Fluttershy sniffled, sparing a hoof to wipe at her eyes, but the tears wouldn’t stop, nor would her desperate, gasping breathes. “My fault. All my fault.” A broken whine as she said, “I’m going to ruin everything…!”

“You didn’t ruin anything!” Pinkie tried. Despite feeling terrible for it, she aggressively wagged her tail, encouraging the chickens to give them both more space so she could press herself right up against Fluttershy. The birds clucked in complaint, converging on Fluttershy’s opposite side instead. “It’s not your fault—”

“It’s all my fault!” Fluttershy snapped, conviction giving her voice strength in spite of her crying. She startled Pinkie, who flinched; Gummy violently twitched in surprise. “It’s my fault, and I’m going to make the same mistake — or worse. I’m going to—”

Anger dissolved back into tears as Fluttershy wept, “I’m going to be a horrible mother!”

Pinkie Pie stared, feeling very lost. “Huh?”

“I’m going to b-be a bad m-mom,” Fluttershy admitted roughly, like the confession physically pained her. “I don’t know what I’m doing, I d-don’t know what to do, a-and if I mess up, I’ll— m-my baby, my baby is going to…”

Fluttershy gasped for breath, shaking her head and holding the dead bird’s body close to her chest, curling in on herself as if trying to protect the corpse. “I can’t… I don’t know…! I’m s-so sorry—!”

Pinkie’s mane had gone completely flat. She didn’t know what to say; her arm around Fluttershy’s shoulder felt like a stupid, obtrusive gesture. Pulling away only made Pinkie feel useless, but she didn’t know what else to do. Pinkie… couldn’t help, couldn’t do anything to make it better, didn’t know how to cheer up her friend. Fluttershy was hurting so badly… She had to do something, but…

Now completely exposed — and having no dense curls to assist him — Gummy trembled and began to slip off Pinkie’s head. The earth pony tilted forward, holding up her hooves to catch her pet. At the sight of the reptile, a vague idea popped into her head.

“I… I’m going to go get help!” Pinkie said, though her words seemed to fall on deaf ears. The chickens were a defensive cloud once again, a few of them giving Pinkie some very discouraging side-eye as they tried their best to soothe their distraught owner. Fluttershy herself didn’t respond, still quietly mumbling and crying into Elizabeak’s feathers.

“I can’t just leave her here all on her own,” Pinkie said to Gummy, heart aching with conflict. She needed to go get somepony who knew what to do, but it felt wrong to abandon Fluttershy.

Gummy twitched his tail and opened his mouth, showing off his glistening pink maw.

“...Ah-ha! That’s a great idea, Gummy!” Pinkie softly praised, lifting her alligator up to give him a quick kiss on the tip of his snout.

Holding him out, Pinkie carefully deposited the reptile atop Fluttershy’s head. “Here, have a… an emotional support Gummy! He’ll keep you company while I go get somepony who can help, okay, Fluttershy?”

The pegasus didn’t seem to notice. Gummy shifted to grip Fluttershy’s silky hair as best he could, smacking his maw.

As soon as Pinkie leapt over the fence, she ran as fast as she could back into Ponyville. It was harder to run than usual — her mane was limp and burdensome, drooping tail dragging in the dirt path. Her saddlebags might as well be full of rocks rather than cookies. Pink hooves galloped, striking the earth solidly, but with no natural buoyancy to them it felt like running through mud.

Still, it only took a couple minutes to retrace her steps to Dr. Fauna’s clinic.

Bursting through the front door, she saw the veterinary pony sitting behind her front desk. Junebug was standing with a little lovebird riding on her flank, apparently checking in for an appointment. Pinkie rushed forward, ignoring Junebug’s cheerful greeting and Dr. Fauna’s question of, “Pinkie! What are you doing back here? Is Gummy—?”

Pinkie’s hooves slammed on the desk, making the others jump. “Dr. Fauna, I need your help right now!”

“Huh? Right now? But Junebug has an appointment for Strawberry in ten minutes.”

Even as she protested, Dr. Fauna’s brows furrowed as she took in Pinkie’s condition. “What happened, dear? You look so… dreary.”

“Yeah, Pinkie, you’re lookin’ kinda… not so pinky,” Junebug said. Strawberry bobbed its head in agreement.

Ignoring the commentary, Pinkie said, “It’s Fluttershy. She… she’s really, really upset, and I don’t… I don’t know what to do to help. She needs somepony who knows about animals and…”

Pinkie couldn’t bring herself to finish, a lump forming in her throat as she pulled back from the desk.

Luckily, Dr. Fauna seemed to understand enough. “If Fluttershy needs emergency help, then I’ll come. Do you mind much, Junebug?”

“Nah, sounds important! We’ll be fine, right, Strawbub?”

With their blessing, Dr. Fauna followed Pinkie back to Fluttershy’s place, easily keeping up with her quick pace and not asking any more questions until they arrived. As soon as Pinkie led her around to the chicken coop, Dr. Fauna seemed to understand the situation.

The vet calmly unlocked the fence’s gate and approached Fluttershy, a sorrowful expression on her face. The flock of chickens recognized her and drew back from the mare.

Dr. Fauna sat in front of Fluttershy. Slowly, gently, she pushed her hoof between Elizabeak’s body and Fluttershy’s chest, coaxing the pegasus to ease her desperate grip. “Fluttershy? Come on, let me see her.”

At first Fluttershy refused, but Dr. Fauna didn’t let up. Gummy offered encouragement by nibbling on the base of Fluttershy’s ear. Eventually, Dr. Fauna was able to delicately extract the body from Fluttershy.

Pinkie Pie watched from the other side of the fence as the vet methodically examined Elizabeak. Fluttershy did too, and as the seconds ticked silently past, her weeping eased to something lighter.

Eventually, Dr. Fauna rested the chicken’s body in her lap. Placing a hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder, she smiled sympathetically and said in a careful tone, “We both knew this would be happening soon, Fluttershy.”

“I… I know…” Fresh tears escaped and were hastily wiped away. “I know… b-but…”

“I understand; you know I do. It’s different when it’s one of your very own, isn’t it?”

“Yes…” Fluttershy drew in a long, shaky breath, then let it out slowly. “I… I’m okay now, I think…”

“Why don’t I take Elizabeak inside? We can get her ready for a burial.”

“Okay…”

“Take a moment to yourself, alright?” With care, Dr. Fauna held Elizabeak to her chest, slowly making her way out of the coop space while balancing on three legs. When she passed through the open gate, Pinkie offered a hoof, but the vet shook her head. “You should comfort Fluttershy.”

“But I…” Pinkie shook her head, frowning. “I can’t. I couldn’t…”

“Yes you can,” Dr. Fauna assured her calmly. “You’re Pinkie Pie: you can make anypony smile.”

With that, she went on her way to the cottage. Pinkie crept back into the coop and sat down next to Fluttershy.

This time, she didn’t need to reach out — Fluttershy finally seemed to realize she was there and leaned against her friend. “Oh, Pinkie, I’m… I’m so sorry.”

“You don’t need to apologize!” Pinkie immediately told her. “I’m sorry. You were really upset and I didn’t know how to make you feel better. I thought Dr. Fauna might know, since she works with animals too…”

“But you still tried, even though I was… a big mess.” The pegasus sniffled. After a moment of silence, she glanced up, seeing the edge of a claw that hung past her bangs. “You even lent me Gummy to help me feel better.”

“Gummy’s the best at cheering on ponies,” Pinkie said proudly. She reached up and fished the gator from her friend’s mane, settling him down across her and Fluttershy’s knees. He wiggled his tail and blinked at Fluttershy. “I knew he’d be best for the job.”

They sat quietly for a while. Pinkie Pie figured they were both just waiting for Fluttershy to feel prepared enough to head into the cottage. She didn’t mind staying with her friend until then, but there was a question bubbling up inside her. Would it be annoying or inappropriate for her to ask?

Impulsive curiosity won out. “Um. Fluttershy?”

The pegasus seemed lost in thought, eyes glazed as she stared out towards the Everfree. It took a second for her to register that Pinkie spoke. “Hm?”

“Sorry, but I was wondering… Earlier, you said a bunch of stuff about how you weren’t going to be a good mom…? I got really confused… Why would you say that?”

“...Oh! Oh, I’m sorry, Pinkie. It’s nothing important, don’t worry about—”

“But I am worried!” Pinkie interjected, then pawed at the dirt between them. Her hoof crushed some chicken feed, the hard shells of seeds splitting apart. “I don’t know why you’d ever say something like that.”

“It’s… I…” Fluttershy sighed, shifting her weight to pull away from the other pony.

Pinkie Pie winced. “We don’t have to—”

“No, it’s okay. Um. I just… When I saw Elizabeak’s— her b-body, um, I just felt like… A lot of thoughts rushed through my head at once. And then they all went away except for one. All I could think was that it was my fault.”

“This?”

“...This, and other things. A while ago I was, um, a little sick because of the pregnancy.”

“Huh? You were sick?”

“Yes. It was… not the best. I got help — Zecora made some medicine for me to take. I’m okay now. But at the time, it was something like… If I hadn’t been lucky, things could have gone a lot worse. I didn’t know what I needed… or what my foal needed.”

Fluttershy rested a hoof on her swollen belly. It was around the same size as it was the last time Pinkie Pie saw it. She remembered Mrs. Cake looking much bigger at this point — was that only because the older mare had twins? Maybe it was because this baby was in an egg.

“I still don’t understand,” Pinkie mumbled cautiously. “What does what happened today have to do with you being sick? Or your foal?”

“...I don’t know,” Fluttershy sighed. “Maybe nothing. Maybe everything. I just feel so… overwhelmed! All I can think about was how I messed up, and now Elizabeak is gone, and what if… What if I make another stupid mistake and it hurts my child? I feel so unsure, and they’re going to be here soon, and I… I can’t do anything on my own. I’m helpless.

I don’t know what I’m supposed to do… I don’t know anything!” Without smiling, Fluttershy gave a shaky, breathless laugh. “I’m going to be a mother, but what if I mess up again and something bad happens and I can’t protect them? What if my foal—”

Choked by emotion, Fluttershy went silent, closing her eyes and shaking her head.

Finding it just as difficult to speak — and not knowing what she would say, even if she could — Pinkie Pie can only think to lean until their shoulders touched. To her relief, Fluttershy leaned back. Gummy lay quietly between them, his little claws digging slightly into the meat of their thighs as he stared up at them. All around, the chickens sat; some were curled up, asleep; a few had finally begun to peck at their lunch.

“...Nothing bad is going to happen,” Pinkie Pie decided. “It won’t, because it would make you super unhappy, and I… I won't ever let that happen!”

“Pinkie…”

“You’re going to be a great mom, Fluttershy. Because you’re super nice and understanding, and you care a whole bunch about other ponies.” Pinkie curled her tail around Fluttershy. “And you’re not gonna ever have to do it by yourself, either. Even if all of our friends are super busy… I’ll always be here in Ponyville with you. I’ll help you and throw your foal all the best birthday parties, and if they ever get in trouble, I’m gonna be the first pony there to help them out of it! Right after you and Discord. Okay?”

Fluttershy’s eyes were bloodshot, lashes sticky with tears. She sniffled, wrinkling her rosy snout, and gave Pinkie a searching look. “R-really?”

“Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” She crossed a hoof across her chest before resting it on her closed eye, making sure she held Fluttershy’s gaze with the other. This time, the words came as easily as party planning.

Finally, the sorrow began to ease from Fluttershy’s face — she even cracked a tiny little smile. “Okay… I believe you, Pinkie.”

“Good!”

Pinkie glanced over their shoulders at the cottage. Dr. Fauna hadn’t come out to fetch them yet, but Pinkie wasn’t sure if she was still preparing things or giving the two some space. They should head inside soon though, probably, right? But that was up to Fluttershy.

Pinkie got an idea. She fished a cookie from her bag and offered it to Fluttershy. “Here, d’you want one?”

“Oh.” Fluttershy stared at the cookie. “...I… I do. Thank you.”

Fluttershy leaned over, taking the cookie straight from Pinkie Pie’s hoof. The pegasus ate it in just two bites, ruddy cheeks round as she chewed. Rubbing her nose, she swallowed.

And oh so wonderfully, Fluttershy smiled. “That was very tasty, Pinkie Pie.”

It was impossible for Pinkie not to smile back. “Yay! I’m so, so happy you liked it!”

“I’m really sorry about our tea party…” At last, Fluttershy spared a glance back towards her house. “If you want to come back some other time, we can reschedule.”

“No way! I’m sticking around. I want to be here for… for Elizabeak. And you.”

Fluttershy’s smile broadened. She stood up, nuzzling against Pinkie Pie’s cheek. After Pinkie helped Gummy climb back into her slightly-revitalized mane, she stood as well, and the two mares met in a tight hug.

“Thank you for being here with me, Pinkie,” Fluttershy whispered.

“I’m just glad I was able to do something right…” Pinkie muttered with a wobbly smile.

“Are we finally getting to the part where we get free stuff?”

Fluttershy giggled as she settled herself down on a bean bag chair. “Yes, Discord.”

As expected, the baby shower had started off with a more traditional party complete with snacks, music, and silly games. It gave the adults time to mingle and catch up while the younger attendees got a chance to burn off some youthful energy. Now Pinkie Pie was ushering everypony into a small room in the back of Sugarcube Corner, one which offered a more intimate space with softer lighting and cozy seats.

Applejack tossed a frown Discord's way from her spot on a long couch. “These gifts ain’t for you,” she grumbled, tapping her rectangular package with a hoof. “They’re for your foal.”

Discord shrugged. “Same difference,” he decided.

“Your opinion may change once you actually see what everypony has brought,” Rarity warned with a sly smile, sharing an amused look with the farmer seated next to her. “I doubt you’ll be keen to claim my present for yourself.”

“Yeah! You better keep your claws off my present, too!” Rainbow Dash held her gift basket against her chest, glaring at Discord. “You’ll totally mess it up!”

“Rainbow Dash!” Pinkie Pie’s chiding voice floated from just outside the room. “Don’t yell at the guests of honor!”

Rainbow Dash grumbled, tail flicking. Applejack chuckled and leaned in close to whisper something into the pegasus' ear. As they devolved into a whispered squabble, Fluttershy turned to ask her mother, “Are you and Dad enjoying yourselves?”

“Of course, honey!” was Mrs. Shy’s soothing reply. One of her wings stretched to skim reassuringly over Fluttershy’s back. “We've been having a lovely time; it’s been so long since we’ve had a chance to come down and visit! Your father and I don’t see the ground much these days. I know I only ever drop down to help with the bi-annual seed harvest, and that only lasts about a week.”

“Samara is right,” Mr. Shy said sweetly. “It’s nice to walk on solid ground every now and then. In fact, Fluttershy, we’ve been trying to think of some fun vacation spots to visit now that I’ve retired. Do you have any recommendations?”

Fluttershy smiled and started to offer some ideas when her brother eagerly interrupted. “Mom, Dad, you are so totally not missing out on anything. I feel like I’ve been stuck in the dirt for ages!” With a beleaguered sigh, Zephyr Breeze fell onto his side, taking up most of the second couch. “Man, I wish Cloudsdale would finish all that new, cheap housing already.”

“Just build yourself a place like I did,” Rainbow Dash offered blandly from the opposite side of the room.

“Aw, Rainbows, are you inviting me to—”

“Not in your dreams, dude!”

Finally, the children were herded inside. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo appeared first, carrying Pumpkin and Pound Cake on their backs, playfully prancing to make the young foals laugh. Sweetie Belle hurried in behind them, quickly hopping onto the couch next to Rarity, who scooched closer to Applejack so her sister had enough room. “Are we starting now?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Just a moment, dear,” Rarity replied. Sapphire eyes scanned the room. “I don’t think everypony is here yet. Where’s Twilight and Spike?”

“They weren’t here for the party, neither!” Scootaloo said. She and Apple Bloom stood before Mr. and Mrs. Cake, allowing the older ponies to scoop up their kids. Pound Cake protested, but his mother shooshed him.

Unlike Scootaloo, who fluttered over to sit in front of Rainbow Dash, Apple Bloom stayed where she was. Playing a messy game of patty-cake with Pumpkin, she rolled her head back to look at everypony upside-down. “Does that mean we gotta wait?” she wondered.

“Bah!” Discord shifted behind Fluttershy, and when she looked up, he was already standing with his neck curved to hang his head above her face. “If we have to wait even longer for presents, then I’m going to pop outside for a moment.” Keeping quiet so only Fluttershy would hear, he added, “I’m starting to itch.”

“Of course,” Fluttershy said with a smile. “Do you want us to fetch you when Twilight gets here?”

“It’s fine, go ahead without me. Apparently these presents aren’t for me anyway, so who gives a hoot!”

With a snap, he disappeared. Applejack gave a disappointed shake of her head. “What’s his problem now?” she asked.

Fluttershy waved a nonchalant hoof. “He’s fine, just a little antsy.” The pre-shower-party seemed to help take the edge off, but Discord had been acting twitchy since yesterday. With Fluttershy’s due date creeping up on them, he’d gotten more stubborn about staying in Ponyville for as long as he could manage. Fluttershy would be more worried about it if she didn’t know what should be waiting for them back home.

As if summoned by that very thought, the bakery's front door jingled as more guests arrived. Pinkie Pie squealed and dashed out of the room. “Twilight’s here! Hey, Twilight! Spike!”

“Awesome! We can finally start!” Rainbow Dash cheered. With eager wings and pushy hooves, she shoved her present into Fluttershy’s lap. “Open mine first!”

Twilight strode in with Spike on her back. The dragon, balancing a package in his small lap, spared a claw to wave at Fluttershy. “Hey, Shy! Happy baby shower… day!”

“Hello, Spike.”

“Where’s Discord?” Twilight asked as Pinkie Pie shut the door behind them.

“That long-faced fella got bored and left,” Zephyr replied, sitting up. He fiddled with his flyaways and patted the now ample space beside him. “Hello there, Princess Twinkle Sprinkle! I saved you a seat right here, miss ma’am!”

“Um… thanks?”

Spike hopped down so he and Twilight could take their seats. The princess offered a hoof. “You’re Fluttershy’s brother, right? I don’t think we’ve met; what's your name?”

“Big sis hasn't mentioned me? How cold! Name’s Zephyr Breeze.”

"Nice to meet you! And it's, uh, Twilight Sparkle."

Fluttershy frowned, exasperated with her brother already. Luckily Pinkie Pie spoke up before he could try flirting with the princess. “Okay! Does everypony have their presents ready?”

Everypony held up or gestured to their gifts. “Fantabulous!” Pinkie clapped her hooves together. “Let’s get this party started!”

“I thought we already did the party?” Mr. Cake teased, earning a few chuckles from the room.

Pinkie Pie laughed along. “Okay, okay, let’s get this shower started, then! A shower of presents!”

“Mine first!” Rainbow insisted once more, pointing at the bag. “Do it while Discord’s gone so I don’t have to deal with any of his lame commentary.”

The words were said with her usual bluster, but Fluttershy caught a subtle edge of self-consciousness. She complied easily, though she might have preferred having somepony fetch Discord despite what he’d told her.

The bag was fairly large with plain tissue paper hiding its contents. Fluttershy sifted through it until her hoof touched something squishy.

“Wait, is this…?” Fluttershy’s jaw dropped as she pulled out a blanket made of clouds. It was dense and tightly woven, with dyed vapors that glittered in a rainbow of colors. Several ponies in the room gasped and cooed as Fluttershy unraveled the blanket to fully appreciate its pattern. The circular blanket was big enough to cover a full grown pony’s lap.

“Did you make this?” Fluttershy asked, unable to mask her disbelief.

Rainbow Dash was scratching the back of her head and pretending like she wasn’t blushing. “Yeah! I mean, uh, your mom helped out though.”

When Fluttershy looked to her mother, the older mare smiled and waved a hoof. “Don’t let little Dashie fool any of you! I just taught her how to do the crochet pattern and helped with one or two small things to make sure it turned out right. Dashie did all the actual work herself!”

“You knitted that?” Applejack asked with a grin, ribbing Rainbow. “Never thought you’d do somethin’ as prissy as that, Dashie.”

“Knitting isn’t prissy!” Rarity protested. Then hmph’d before adding, “Also, knitting and crocheting are not the same thing, Applejack.”

“They ain’t?”

The look Rarity gave Applejack was one of vague disgust. “Not in the slightest.”

“I love it!” Fluttershy said, earning back everypony’s attention. She caressed the blanket with the side of her hoof, marveling at how the material shimmered in the light. It hardly weighed anything and was as soft as a newborn cloud. Not the best thing to use if one wanted to keep warm, perhaps, but a beautiful and comforting inclusion to any crib. “Thank you so much, Rainbow!”

“Eh, it was nothing!”

“It must have been a lot of work to make something so pretty.”

Rainbow Dash couldn’t contain her self-satisfaction, a cheesy smile growing on her lips. “Yeah, well, y’know. Maybe just a little.”

“Do ours next!” Sweetie Belle squeaked. Looking to Rarity for agreement, the young filly brought another basket over to Fluttershy. This time the tissue paper was glittery. Fluttershy carefully extracted it one by one in case Rarity might want to re-use the material for something.

“Oh my goodness…” Fluttershy couldn’t help herself, cooing as she fished out the first of what looked to be several bibs. It was a soft, light green fabric with pictures sewn in patterns along the bottom curve. This one had ladybugs, flowers… and kazoos?

“There’s five of them!” Rarity giddily explained. “Each of slightly different sizes to cover your bases and account for a foal's typical growth spurts. Pinkie Pie is the one who helped me come up with some of the designs! I wanted to keep them appropriately…” She waved a dainty hoof, clearly searching for as polite a word as she could manage. “...unpredictable.”

“They’re very cute,” Fluttershy assured her. She turned to thank Pinkie Pie as well, but couldn’t locate her. “Oh. Where’d Pinkie go?”

Everypony perked up, glancing around — apparently they hadn’t seen her leave, either.

“Maybe she went to go get Discord?” Spike suggested.

The room murmured with vague agreement, and Fluttershy’s parents offered their gifts next.

---

Discord was contemplating whether or not he could get away with transforming several ponies’ manes to be slightly different colors when the door behind him slammed open. It was abrupt enough to startle him and he folded up like a window shade.

“Oh no, oh no, this is bad! I can’t believe—! What am I gonna do?”

Extending an arm, Discord unrolled himself enough for a two-dimensional eye to see who’d run out of Sugarcube Corner in such a fury. The pony he saw was quite unexpected. “Pinkie Pie? What are you doing out here?”

Pinkie squealed in surprise, jolting a few feet into the air. She spun around. “Who said that!?”

“Up here.” Discord unfurled until his feet hit the ground. He was as flat as a piece of paper. “Care to explain why you just jumpscared me?”

“Huh? Oh.” Pinkie Pie turned in a tight circle, muttering to herself for a moment, then looked back up at Discord with a dismayed expression. “I messed up!”

“Dare I ask how?”

“I… I forgot to get a baby shower present!”

Discord stared down at her with one flat eye. “...And?”

“And nothing! The whole point of a baby shower is to give somepony presents! But I was so busy planning the party, I totally forgot to plan a present!” Pinkie Pie fell back into the dirt, dragging both hooves down her face as she made a sound of anguished aggravation. “I can’t believe I forgot!”

“I don’t see what the big deal is,” Discord admitted. “It’s like you just said: you organized the party. Ergo, you facilitated all the other gifts. So technically you did get us presents.”

“It’s not the same!” protested the pony. Then, more quietly, face hidden behind her hooves and drooping curls, she repeated the words, “It’s not the same.”

Discord heaved a weary sigh. Sticking a thumb into his mouth, he blew himself back up until he was three-dimensional once more. He didn’t exactly enjoy having to deal with another pony’s angst, but he had to admit, that gag helped release a bit of pent up chaotic energy. Plus Pinkie had organized the baby shower. Discord supposed he owed her an ear if nothing else.

“What’s really the problem?” he asked, stepping a little closer.

Pinkie Pie looked up at him with a pout. A hoof scratched at the ground, drawing aimless squiggles. Discord, bored as he waited for her answer, used a curved talon from his scaled foot to join in the mindless scribbling.

“...Fluttershy was so, so upset the other day. I really wanted this party to be loads of fun to help her feel better.”

“The other day?” Discord tried to think of what Pinkie Pie could mean, then remembered something Fluttershy had told him. It had been an abrupt, brief conversation, like they’d tripped over nothing and stumbled into it; Fluttershy hadn’t wanted to linger on the subject. “Oh. Do you mean when her chicken died?”

“Yeah.”

“She mentioned you were there. Was it really so bad?”

“Yeah.”

“Well look, Pinkie Pie, I get what you mean, but how she feels about that doesn’t have anything to do with you. Or this party, for that matter.”

“...It doesn’t?”

“Fluttershy’s going to be sad about it no matter how many gifts anypony gives her,” Discord said with a shrug. “That’s just how it is with these things. Presents won’t bring that chicken or anypony else back once they’re gone, and being sad about death is… normal.”

With a casual cough, Discord wandered closer to Sugarcube Corner’s rear exit door. “Or so I’m told. Point is there’s no use in beating yourself up over forgetting something so minor. Fluttershy was happy you were there for her at the time. Now? It’s not your business how she feels about it, honestly — Fluttershy can handle her own feelings.”

“But I’m supposed to cheer ponies up,” Pinkie muttered stubbornly.

“Does Fluttershy seem unhappy today?”

“...No.”

“Hasn’t she been having a good time at this shower thing?”

“I think so.”

“Then what’s the issue?” Discord demanded, throwing up his hands.

Pinkie narrowed her eyes at him in a half-despairing, half-offended look. "I promised Fluttershy I was gonna throw her the best baby shower ever! That means presents from everypony! That means yummy food that's all your favorite flavors and decorations that don't make you wanna throw up!"

"The food was as delicious as always! And of any pony here, your aesthetic inclinations are easily the best — the decorations were delightful assault on the senses."

Pinkie gave a rather bitter, not-very-Pinkie-like laugh. "Assault is right. When I asked her about the decorations before setting up, she said the purple streamers put a bad taste in her mouth… And the orange table covers made her feel nauseous!" Pinkie aggressively shook her head. "Uhg! How could I have gotten the color choices so wrong? It's like this is the first party I've ever thrown for Fluttershy! And it super duper isn't!"

"I didn't see any purple streamers or orange table covers."

"That's because I changed them, duh!"

Discord gave her a dull look. “Whatever. If you ask me, there’s no good reason for you to be so gloomy about all this. Fluttershy is fine; she's having a perfectly pleasant time in there."

Pinkie Pie only huffed. For a moment they remained in silence. Discord idly wiggled his claws, churning the air to produce silky swirls of orange and purple. Eventually he flicked his wrist, casting the colors away. "Listen, if it would make you feel better, I could just conjure up something and say it’s from you.”

Pinkie Pie picked herself up from the dirt, using her fluffy tail to dust off her flank. “No, that’s okay…” After a moment of intense consideration, Pinkie nodded to herself and looked up at Discord with a wobbly smile. “Maybe you’re right. It’s just one present, right?”

“Of course I'm right! Chaos knows why you ponies insist on arguing with me about anything. I bet nopony was even expecting you to get something when you were so busy planning this shindig, anyway.”

“...But maybe I could whip something up in the kitchen really quick, though!” Pinkie mused brightly. She pushed through the door ahead of Discord, making a beeline for the kitchen. “Yeah, yeah! A post-party-shower cake for you two to take home! That won’t take any time at all!”

Discord watched her go, bemused. “I thought the presents were for the foal, not us,” he asked, but Pinkie had already disappeared.

Unsure what else to do with himself, Discord slithered through the air down and down some hallways until he rediscovered the room they’d been corralled into. He opened the door and poked his head in just in time to see the Cutie Mark Crusaders strike a pose in front of Fluttershy.

“We’ll be sure to help ‘em get their cutie mark ASAP!” said the orange one, her little wings proudly spread. The white one squeaked in agreement as Apple Bloom nodded along.

Fluttershy was hiding a giggle behind her hoof. “I appreciate that very much, girls. Thank you.”

“Sounds like an I.O.U. to me,” Discord teased. He felt everypony’s eyes on him as he flew over the crowd to reclaim his spot beside Fluttershy. He arched his neck to scrutinize the three fillies; the trio's confidence wavered only slightly under his gaze. “What if our foal doesn’t even get a cutie mark?”

They apparently hadn’t even considered the possibility. After much gasping and sputtering, all three shouted, “We'll figure something out!” and then retreated, whispering to each other in a tight huddle. Discord chuckled.

Fluttershy hooked a forehoof over his knee, giving him a tiny pout when he looked down at her. “What?” he asked. “It’s a perfectly legitimate concern! If our foal isn’t a pony, then they probably won’t be getting a cutie mark either, right?”

“Don’t shoot down gifts,” Fluttershy told him. With a subtly exasperated look on her face, she quietly added, “No matter how… not-so-useful they might be.”

At Discord’s curious brow, she offered him something from their pile of gifts. Said pile consisted of a plush white blanket, a stack of bibs, several small boxes of nappies, and a few bags filled with toys and tiny clothing. “This one’s from my brother,” Fluttershy muttered in a long-suffering tone. The item seemed to be several long strips of paper folded and stapled together to form a book of sorts. Flipping through it with a claw, Discord saw each page read the same thing: Redeem 1 Babysitting Gig. There were six pages total, with the first and last ones being part of the cover, which featured a crude drawing of smirking pony with his mane in a bun.

Deciding it would be kinder to ignore it, Discord handed the “gift” back to Fluttershy without comment.

He then noted Twilight’s presence. “Ah, the Princess of Friendship finally decided to show up!” He narrowed his eyes at Spike as the dragon waddled up to him and Fluttershy, a single gift held in his claws. “Is this one from both of you?”

“Just me!” Spike said, offering the mystery package to Discord. “Here, you haven’t opened any yet!”

Even as Discord accepted the gift and began tearing the wrapping paper with a talon, he said, “Oh dear, just you, Spike? Could Twilight not fit gift shopping into her busy schedule?”

Rather than take the bait, Twilight actually smiled. She shared a look with Fluttershy. “Sorry, Discord. Let's call it another I.O.U., if that's okay?”

What the hay was that supposed to mean? The draconequus looked to Fluttershy, but she merely smiled and pointed at the object in his hooves. “Discord, you should focus on the gift you already have.”

The dimly lit dirt roads of Ponyville were quiet as Fluttershy and Discord made their way home. By then, the sun was nearly swallowed up by the horizon, its final strings of light etching the clouds in rosy gold.

Discord had summoned a comically large baby carriage to transport all of their gifts. It was quite the haul: along with the baby blanket from Rainbow Dash, bibs from Rarity, and old toys from Fluttershy’s parents, the Cakes had donated some of the twins’ old clothing in the hopes they’d fit; Applejack had created a cook book with recipes sourced from every single child-rearing Apple in her family; Spike donated some old first-issue comics from his collection, hoping their foal would (someday) be interested; Pinkie had surprised them with a beautiful pair of cakes, claiming they were made special just for the occasion and only Fluttershy and Discord were allowed to eat them.

The cakes, carefully boxed and sealed with twine, were flying alongside the pair. Discord had given them each colorful wings, a sight which delighted Pinkie Pie when she’d seen them off along with the other guests. Fluttershy watched one of the boxes do a loopty-loop overhead, paranoid that the cake might somehow fly out.

“I can’t believe we got all this stuff just for having a baby!” Discord expressed with amusement. “No wonder you ponies are always having them.”

Fluttershy laughed. “That’s not why!”

“Are you sure? That would make sense to me.” The draconequus spared a claw to twirl his beard. “Hey, those cake ponies that Pinkie Pie lives with, they have two little runts, don’t they? Those fussy ones at the party?”

“Yes, Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake. They’re twins.”

“Twins! Now that’s a clever grift. I assume that means you get twice the presents?”

“I don’t know,” Fluttershy giggled. “Maybe they just got two of everything.”

“Two of the same thing is still more stuff.” Discord sighed dramatically, shaking his head. “If only that doctor had found two eggs instead of one. Then we’d be rolling in it.”

“Is getting presents still exciting when you can just make anything you want?” Fluttershy asked as they neared her property. The evening was cool, a light breeze stirring up the grass and bringing with it the smell of autumn. The Running of the Leaves was right around the corner.

“It’s not the same thing,” Discord said. “Like how eating food somepony else makes for you tastes better than making it yourself.”

“When you make food yourself, I think that means something different from when everypony else does it.”

Discord gave her a thoughtful look. “You’ve had my conjured food. Does it taste different from the regular kind?”

Fluttershy considered it. It was only recently that she'd eaten a lot of food summoned by Discord — mostly when she had strange cravings. “Um… yes, actually.”

“How so?”

“...I’m not sure. Maybe… maybe some of it tastes a little…”

Discord’s tail snuck around so the fluffy end could turn into a hand and pinch Fluttershy’s rump. She squeaked, dashing away for a few feet before tossing a sour look over her shoulder. “Discord!”

“There’s no need to be delicate with me, my dear!” he laughed. “Just be honest!”

“Fine! It’s… kind of bland,” Fluttershy admitted. It was something she’d thought before, but most of the time, the strength of her craving was enough to make anything he summoned for her tasty.

Discord nodded at her confession. “There’s a difference between the idea of a food and the reality of it.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means when I make something out of thin air, that’s different from using ingredients to make something from scratch. More goes into the latter. When I make something, I’m sort of… plucking the idea of it from thin air.”

“I don’t know if I quite follow…”

“Let's try this: imagine an apple.”

“Okay…” Fluttershy closed her eyes and thought of apples.

“Now pretend I reached into your imagination and pulled an apple out of it.”

“Uh-huh?”

“Well, that’s quite different than planting a seed, watering it, waiting a hundred billion years for a tree to grow, and then plucking an apple from a branch, right? And your idea of an apple might be different from mine!” Discord smirked, snapping his fingers. Apples of every conceivable color began to grow up from the grass around them and roll around, hopping like frogs. “In fact, I know for a fact our ideas of apples are different because I’m just so amazing at coming up with fun things! Bet you thought of a boring old regular red apple, huh?”

Fluttershy had slowed enough that they were walking beside each other again. She watched the prancing apples, shaking her head. “Maybe I get it a little. So… real food tastes better because there’s more… real stuff in it?"

“More or less. Meanwhile, food I conjure can be practically anything, but it’s only ever an idea I have. If it’s food I really enjoy and have had often in 'reality', it'll taste better.”

“But never the same.”

“Not quite, no.” Discord snapped his fingers, vanishing all the odd apples with a dark chuckle.

Fluttershy sat down as they arrived at the door to her cottage. “Where did you send those?”

“Sweet Apple Acres,” Discord snickered. “Just a little something to liven up Applejack’s morning.”

Fluttershy shook her head, but said nothing else. She peered through the upper half of her door to make sure what she was expecting to see was actually there. Quickly spotting it, she closed the door again. “Discord?”

Discord whistled the flying cakes over. They landed on the top of the baby carriage’s bounty, tucking in their wings. “Yes, Shutterfly?”

“I have a surprise for you.”

That caught his attention properly. Red eyes locked onto Fluttershy as Discord excitedly kicked up his hoofed foot. “A surprise? For me?”

“Technically it’s another baby shower gift,” Fluttershy said as she connected both halves of the door and pushed it open. “So it’s for both of us. But… yes, I meant it as a surprise for you.”

Discord grinned. “Now I really am excited! Do I need a blindfold? To cover my eyes for the big reveal?” A strip of fabric wrapped itself around his head.

“No blindfold necessary,” Fluttershy explained with a smile of her own. “It will require a bit of a demonstration… plus you’ll need to do something to help it work.”

The blindfold poofed away. “Oh?”

Nerves began to creep in as Fluttershy ushered Discord through the doorway. “Y-yeah. I… I really hope it works. Twilight said—”

“Huh? What’s Twilight got to do with it?”

“She helped me make this. Just go in and see for yourself!”

Fluttershy’s body was jittery with excitement. Inside the cottage, Angle Bunny perked up from his spot in his little bed. He immediately hopped over to paw at Fluttershy and point to his hungry mouth. “I know, I know.” She scratched between his ears in acknowledgement, hoping to pacify him. “I can make you something to eat in just a few minutes. I have to show Discord something first.”

Angle crossed his paws, thumping the floor as he asked if that something was why there had been three ponies and a dragon invading the cottage earlier. Fluttershy nodded, then walked past her pet, ignoring his irritated muttering.

Discord had already noticed the newest addition to the sitting room. He stared at the golden rod that had been installed — it stood out quite a bit next to earthy wood walls and quaint furniture. Attached to the rod was a curtain the color of blackberry juice. It was tied and hooked to the wall by a gold rope, tasseled ends blooming like flowers.

“What is this?” Discord asked, flicking his tongue at the heavy fabric. “It smells like Twilight’s magic, but also somepony else's. It's familiar… but I can't quite place it.”

“Starlight helped us make it,” Fluttershy explained. After a moment, she added, “Trixie too — the curtain was actually her idea.”

“Starlight and Trixie?” Discord regarded the curtain with a bit more dubiousness. “And what, exactly, is this meant to do?”

“Alright, well, first you need to do something.”

Fluttershy walked around Discord and took a deep breath, calling to mind Twilight’s instructions. First she untied the curtain from the hook in the wall and let it fall open. The rope was attached to the curtain, laced through loops — when Fluttershy spread the curtain completely, the rope looked almost like a smile. Making sure the curtain was spread as wide as possible, she turned to Discord.

“Okay, so you’re going to put your hands against this curtain, and then open a portal home.”

Discord did as she instructed. “To the chaotic realm?”

“Yes. Um— if you don’t mind, have it leading into your house.”

She expected more questions from him, but Discord was curious enough to simply follow along and see what would happen. Fluttershy wasn't sure what to expect either, but knew the curtain was doing something when a brilliant light glowed on its opposite side. Both she and Discord watched as the light faded into a dull shimmer, then receded completely.

“Okay…” Fluttershy gently pushed Discord away from the curtain, holding up a trembling hoof. She desperately hoped this worked — Twilight, Starlight, and even Trixie had put so much time and effort into researching and testing this to get it ready in time for the baby shower.

Fluttershy drew the curtain to the left with all her might. Beyond it, a portal leading to Discord’s house was open. It was as if a magical doorway had been hidden behind the curtain this entire time.

A yellow hoof moved forward, then hesitated. She turned to Discord. “D-do you mind, really quickly, just going through to make sure it works properly?”

Discord looked… underwhelmed, or perhaps confused. It didn’t seem like he’d caught onto her intent just yet. That was fine — they still needed to test the most important part.

Without a word, Discord flew through the portal. From the other side, he said, “Yes, here it is, home sweet home. You know, Fluttershy, when you said there was a surprise waiting for me, I was expecting something more than just… a curtain.”

“We’re not done yet. Come back through?”

Discord returned, staying in the air.

“Okay, now get rid of the portal.”

“I didn’t know presents were meant to be so involved when you’re the recipient,” was Discord's somewhat-snarky reply, but he did as he was asked. The portal shrank until it disappeared in a dusting of sparkles as always.

“Okay,” Fluttershy said to herself, trying to keep her breathing steady. This was it. She spread the curtain out again, completely covering as much of the wall with it as possible. Discord watched with a mostly blank expression, but Fluttershy could tell he was still curious, still waiting for The Reveal.

Attempting to offer a bit of the drama he sought, Fluttershy stood on her hind legs and pulled the curtain back once more. She couldn't resist the urge to close her eyes, afraid of what she might see. “Ta-da…” she weakly offered, hoping beyond hope she hadn’t just made a fool of herself.

There was silence. Fluttershy dared to open one eye.

She didn’t see the bare wood of her wall on the other side of the curtain. In fact, it was the exact same view as before: the interior of Discord’s home in the chaotic realm. She saw his sofa sitting in its usual spot on the ceiling. A flock of picture frames with ever-shifting memories fluttered by, trumpeting like elephants.

Fluttershy turned to look at Discord. He was staring very intensely into his house.

“You… made… a door?” Discord floated closer, then hesitated as if no longer trusting that it led to the same place. “A door into my realm?”

“Yes!” Fluttershy couldn’t help herself, dancing as she gripped the curtain for balance. “It worked, it worked! Holy Luna, I can’t believe it… I can’t wait to let Twilight and the others know!”

Discord finally flew through. “It’s just like the portal I opened a second ago,” he mused, shock creeping into his voice. He flew back into the cottage. “It feels a bit different… but I don’t sense any issues with the displacement.”

Fluttershy didn’t quite understand what he meant by that, but it sounded good. “That’s not all,” she told him, now very excited to demonstrate the rest. “Watch.”

Letting the curtain cover the portal once more, Fluttershy then pulled it to the right instead of the left. This time, there was only the cottage wall. Tying the curtain onto the hook, she explained, “I wanted us to be able to close the door without getting rid of the portal altogether.”

“Why did you do this, Fluttershy?”

Discord sounded amazed, but confused as well. He kept looking between Fluttershy and the now blank wall. “I can open portals for you whenever you need them.”

“Only when you’re around.”

“It doesn’t have to be like that! I already told you—”

“—and I already said no!” Fluttershy worried the fabric of the curtain between her hooves. “Discord, I don’t want to call you with a bell or whistle or whatever else. You’re not my servant, you’re not a dog, and I— The idea makes me very uncomfortable.”

“Fine, but—”

“This way,” she said, “you don’t have to be here. If I need you, I can just use the curtain. It’ll be just like going to your room, if you had one here in the cottage. Like… like we’re living together.”

Blushing, Fluttershy continued, “A-and if either of us wants time to ourselves, we can just close the portal.” She pressed a hoof to the wall. “And this way, we don’t have to worry about anypony — like our foal — wandering through when we aren’t around.”

“Our…”

“I want us to be a family,” Fluttershy explained softly. “To me, that means it’s important that our child is able to live with both of us. But I can’t live in the chaos realm with you, and you can’t live here in Ponyville with me.”

Discord crossed his arms, looking conflicted, but he didn’t try to argue.

“I don’t want our child to feel like they have to choose where to live or who to stay with. This way, they can move freely between your house and mine.”

Fluttershy untied the curtain from the hook once more. “Maybe they’ll prefer being with you sometimes; maybe they’ll prefer staying with me other times. But now neither of us will feel cut off. It’ll be easier for us to visit one another whenever we want, or for me to reach you in case of emergencies.”

“You… You put so much thought into this,” Discord murmured, sounding a little breathless. When Fluttershy opened the doorway to his realm once more, the draconequus leapt through immediately, as if he couldn’t help himself. “This is amazing, Fluttershy! I… I don’t know what else to say!” He flew back into the cottage, then back to his realm — back and forth until Fluttershy felt dizzy watching him. “This is spectacular! What an clever idea! And it feels funny jumping between realms like this, too!”

“Good funny?”

“Great funny!” Discord stopped at the halfway point, trying to keep his head half-in, half-out of each realm. “Oh, that’s a bean-freak right there. Feels super weird. I love it!”

In the next second, Fluttershy was tackled. She flailed and squeaked as a huge body was wrapped around her. Soon she was trapped within Discord’s coils and had no way of defending herself from his assault of ticklish tongue-kisses and groping claws. “I love it, Fluttershy! You are— simply— the most wonderfully thoughtful and fantastically amazing pony there is!”

“Discord!” Fluttershy gasped for air between her laughter as Discord’s fuzzy paw pinched her cheek and his beard tickled her neck. “N-not too tight!”

His wrap on her body eased, but he refused to pull away. The night faded into a mess of tickles, kisses, and the unamused thumping of Angel’s impatient paw.

“I’m so glad you felt well enough to come all the way to the boutique, darling!”

“Of course.” Fluttershy flicked a wing as she took another bite of her cucumber sandwich. “It’s not like it’s a long walk.”

Rarity tutted as she refilled Fluttershy’s glass from a pitcher of juice. “It’s not the same when you’re so far along!”

“Moving around isn't that difficult,” Fluttershy protested. Her round belly remained mostly unobtrusive in her day to day. Dr. Getwell told her ages ago that the egg wasn’t likely to grow much bigger than it already was. Of course, as with anything related to this particular pregnancy, such a claim came with an asterisk.

Fluttershy adjusted herself in her chair. “Besides, I was feeling so cooped up at home.” Not enough room to stretch her wings. Everything familiar and a bit mundane. No Discord around to entertain her; she’d been tempted by the curtain, but was determined to leave Discord his alone time. Restless boredom ultimately drove Fluttershy down the path to Ponyville, and luckily Rarity had returned from another Canterlot trip just the other day.

A jingle at the boutique’s front door made both mare’s ears twitch. Just as Rarity opened her mouth to excuse herself, a young voice shouted, “It’s just me!”

“Welcome home, Sweetie!” Rarity called back. “I’m in the side room; Fluttershy’s visiting!”

Sweetie Belle’s curls bounced as she made her way in. “Hiya, Fluttershy!”

“Hello, Sweetie.”

Rarity’s magic brought over another stool and set a plate in the open corner of the table. “Come sit with us, dear. How was school?”

“Normal,” Sweetie sighed, resting her chin on the table as Rarity served her sandwiches and juice. “Boring.”

“Did you learn anything new?”

“We’re just reviewing stuff right now. We have tests soon,” Sweetie informed them bitterly.

Rarity giggled, shaking her head. “I don’t miss that. I’m sure you’ll be fine as long as you’re paying attention in class. Oh, but don’t slouch at the table, Sweetie Belle, it’s rude.”

The filly grumbled but followed her sister’s instruction.

With the youngest occupied by sandwiches, Rarity turned back to Fluttershy. “Ah, before I forget! There’s a new garment I’m working on that I’d love to get your opinion on.”

Fluttershy finished her third cup of juice, licking her lips to chase the remnants of its sweetness. “Sure, we can go—”

“No, no, you stay!” The unicorn hopped from her seat and sped off into the back room where she kept her ongoing projects. “I’ll bring it out here!”

Fluttershy frowned — she’d wanted the excuse to get up and walk around. She decided to follow the urge despite Rarity’s command, stretching her legs. Her wing twitched, so she carefully stretched those, too, careful to keep them from knocking into anything.

“Fluttershy, your wings are so pretty,” Sweetie Belle said around half a mouthful of sandwich. “They kinda shimmer in the light!”

“Oh, do they?” Fluttershy’s reply was a distracted one — she was thinking about the juice. Did she want another cup? The thought of its flavor was tempting, yet somehow unsatisfying. Maybe she’d try it with a few extra cubes of sugar?

“Yeah! When you stretch them out like that, I can see little bits of other colors in them!”

“That’s nice,” Fluttershy mumbled, swiveling her ears. It felt quiet — too quiet. But the boutique was always fairly quiet as long as nothing had driven Rarity to her fainting touch. Fluttershy liked quiet, calm spaces, so why was the lack of noise tickling her nerves? Maybe they should go out to the market? The prospect of getting lost in a crowd of other ponies, their formless chatter trapping her in a wall of sound, was both oddly appealing and a bit nauseating.

“Here it is! What do you think, Fluttershy? I’m quite enamored with this pattern I brought back with me from a store in Canterlot, but do you think the colors look good together?”

Fluttershy turned to inspect the dressed mannequin Rarity floated into the room. It was a very nice dress, but the frills…

“Um, that red kind of clashes with the yellow, don’t you think?”

Rarity pursed her lips, scanning her work with a newly critical eye. “I suppose one might think so in a different light, but the body is nearly gray — I thought it worked nicely with the maroon.”

Fluttershy squinted. “That’s maroon?" She licked her lips, mouth feeling dry and irritated all of a sudden; she wished she had more juice. "It looks nearly scarlet.”

“...I’m not sure why the colors look so bright to you,” Rarity mused. She pawed at the garment, pulling the fabric this way and that so it caught the boutique’s lighting in different ways. “I can see the yellow, but given the difference in saturation levels, I thought it would pass for a somewhat flaxen or hazel wood shade. That’s what I’m seeing, at least. Perhaps I’ve had my eyes on it for too long?”

Her tone was expertly diplomatic. Turning to her sister, Rarity asked, “What do you think, Sweetie Belle?”

“I think it’s super pretty!” the filly chirped. “I love how that pretty gray color’s got those pale lines in it, they’re kinda hard to see but I guess it makes it, um…” Sweetie Belle tapped her chin. “It… ‘breaks it up’ I guess? You told me about that sorta thing once, but I don’t remember what words you used.”

Rarity looked much more satisfied with her sister's feedback. “Exactly! That’s what I was going for!”

Fluttershy blinked hard, moving closer to the dress. She hadn’t noticed any lines before, but now that Sweetie Belle pointed them out—

The lines, so very faint within the yellow-gray, suddenly popped right out. In fact, the pattern seemed to overtake everything, making Fluttershy’s vision swim. A wave of vertigo hit as she wrenched her eyes closed, trying to banish the stripes.

“Fluttershy? Is something wrong?”

The pegasus swayed. Stripes danced behind her eyes; they wobbled and swirled until they became spirals, then fractals, then a piercing headache. Fluttershy sat down uneasily, nearly tipping to one side as she put a hoof to her forehead and groaned.

“What’s wrong with her, Rarity?”

“I— I don’t know! Fluttershy, dear, can you hear me?”

A smell like distant wind-chimes and the low hum of strings. “I hear you…” Fluttershy dared to open one eye. Contrary to her expectations, as soon as light and colors entered her field of view once more, the headache disappeared. She squinted at a fretful Rarity and Sweetie Belle, both sitting on either side of her as if preparing to catch her. “Goodness, I don’t know what came over me.”

“A dizzy spell?” Rarity suggested. She slid next to Fluttershy, pressing their flanks flush together. “Can you stand? I think you should lie down.”

Habit urged Fluttershy to forego the help; confusion and nausea kept her quiet. Allowing the sisters to assist her, Fluttershy was guided to the fainting couch Rarity kept in her workroom.

Almost as soon as she lied down, Fluttershy felt the urge to get back up. It wasn’t a deeply instinctive feeling like sensing something dangerous, but that only made it harder to understand. On top of that, the dizziness wasn’t quite gone yet, and every color in the room seemed brighter, richer — both appealing and overwhelming. Her mouth tingled and watered even as her stomach roiled.

Then Fluttershy felt a change. Distracted as she was with everything else, she didn’t realize what the change actually was until both Sweetie Belle and Rarity screamed.

For some reason the sound of their mutual distress made Fluttershy giggle.

She looked back to see what had disturbed them only for her vision to be obscured by the erratic flapping of white wings. The wings were on her flank. Oh. Huh.

Huh?

Fluttershy said, “I think—”

—a wave of impatience, fatigue, excitement, frustration, restlessness, hunger, confusion, delight, thirst—

—then she knew.

“It’s happening.”

“Wh-what?” Rarity asked in a trembling voice, wide eyes staring at Fluttershy’s rump as it tried its best to fly off the couch. “Fluttershy?”

“It’s happening now,” Fluttershy told her, panic coloring her voice as full understanding of her situation settled in. “The egg, my— It’s coming.”

“Right now!?” Sweetie Belle squealed with such surprise that her voice cracked worse than it had in ages.

“Oh no.” Rarity whispered to herself. “Oh no, oh no, oh no…!”

The wings on Fluttershy’s flank gave up their futile mission, folding in abruptly to let her rump plop back down onto the couch.

“I think you need to go get some help,” Fluttershy suggested in a daze. Her mind felt like a hurricane of emotions and colors, wants, needs — a cacophonous storm of nonsense that made focusing nearly impossible. But even in the midst of it all, one thought stood out: “Get Discord.”

“Oh my Celestia.” Rarity stared with her mouth agape as Fluttershy’s fur began to shimmer with blue spots. They winked in and out of existence like light refracting off a pigeon’s feathers. “I…”

“Rarity!” Sweetie Belle shook her confounded sister. “Rarity, come on!”

“I…! Y-yes, yes, we must— We must go!” Rarity turned towards the front of the room a look of determination — then twisted to look right back at Fluttershy, openly distressed. “Where is Discord? Is he in Ponyville right now?”

It took a moment for her question to find its way to Fluttershy through the kaleidoscopic mayhem of her senses. There was a pressure building in her stomach that tasted like being underwater. “Home,” Fluttershy eventually said. “Behind the curtain. He’s in the wall, you can just walk through.”

“Fluttershy?” Rarity stepped forward, a concerned hoof caressing her friend’s twitching body. “Darling, that didn’t exactly make much sense! Walk into a wall? What wall, which—”

“Home.” Fluttershy blinked rapidly, trying to find Rarity’s face through the sea of white walls and swimming stripes, yellows, purples, polka-dots. Bouncing curls and flowerpots. She giggled, saying, “Lots and lots.”

“Lots of what?” Rarity whined, turning to Sweetie Belle. “I don’t understand what she’s trying to say!”

“We gotta go get somepony to help!” was Sweetie's anxious response. She began to run out of the room.

“No! Wait, Sweetie!” Rarity chased after her, using her magic to gently tug at her sister’s tail in an effort to make her slow down. The younger sibling stopped with a pout. “You need to stay here."

“What? But—”

“Stay with Fluttershy in case anything happens or she need somepony’s help,” Rarity told her, fighting against panic to make herself sound stern. “I’ll go. I’m bigger, I can run a little faster than you, I can find— somepony. I… I’ll try to find Discord, but I just don’t know if I—”

“There's no point telling me!” Sweetie Belle sat down and shoo’d her sister away. “Go already! Go!”

With a tiny squeak, Rarity did just that.

---

“Rainbow Dash!”

The pony in question halted her lazy flight at the sound of Rarity’s frazzled wail. Here along the edge of Ponyville proper, there weren’t many ponies around, but those who happened to be nearby startled at the sound of Rarity’s voice. Immediately, Rainbow Dash dropped to the ground to meet her friend. “Woah! What’s up? You look—”

The unicorn didn’t even give her a chance to ask, nearly crashing into Rainbow Dash before she managed to slow the momentum of her furious gallop. “Fluttershy— Discord— baby— at— boutique—” Her gasping explanation warmed the fur of Rainbow’s chest, Rarity’s face buried there as her body trembled with exhaustion.

Rainbow Dash’s ear twitched. “Uh, Rares? Couldn’t really catch that—”

“Fluttershy, at my boutique!” Rarity exhaled in a rush. “In labor! Very… very strange labor!”

Rainbow’s mind went totally blank for a second. Then, “Wait, really!?”

“I need help!” Rarity’s voice was thin and whiny with desperation. “Help me!”

The mare was a mess of frizzy hair and frayed nerves, knees unsteady from a frantic run she wasn’t used to. Rainbow Dash disentangled Rarity’s forelegs from her, helping to steady the unicorn as she said, “Just tell me what you need and I’ll fly as fast as I can!”

“Oh, thank you!” At last regaining some composure now that she had a capable ally, Rarity sniffled and began fussing with her mane. She cast a worried frown over her shoulder and said, “I need to find Discord, but I honestly have no idea how to get in touch with him! Fluttershy said he wasn’t with her today. But when I asked how to reach him, she said— well, her instructions didn’t make any sense!”

“What’d she say?”

“She said… he’s behind a curtain. O-or through a wall?” Rarity groaned. “I don’t know! I was so unsure that I thought it might just be better for me to go find somepony else first! I was on my way to Sweet Apple Acres to fetch Applejack. I thought, if nothing else, she could ask Big Mac to help carry Fluttershy to the hospital.”

“Okay. Yeah, those instructions sound like weird nonsense.”

“I know! But she must have meant something by it, right?” Rarity shook her head. No longer content to mess with her mane, she anxiously paced back and forth along the road. “Fluttershy was very… addled. I suspect her foal’s nature is quite chaotic indeed! She was seeing colors strangely, and she had wings!”

“Uh…”

“New ones! Weird ones!”

“Okay, okay!” Rainbow Dash took flight, hovering a few feet over Rarity. “Look, you keep going to the farm and get Applejack. I’ll fly to Fluttershy’s place and check if Discord’s there.”

“But how—?”

“You said she was talkin’ crazy anyway, right? Maybe she just got confused.”

“She told me that before she got confused.”

“Look, I’ll just go check. Maybe I’ll even figure out what the hay she was actually trying to tell you."

“I doubt it… but I do hope you’re right.” Rarity started running. “Good luck!”

Getting to Fluttershy’s place took hardly a minute. Angle Bunny complained when Rainbow Dash pushed through the unlocked front door, hopping and chittering at the intrusion.

“Hush up, cottontail,” Rainbow grumbled under her breath as she inspected the room. She didn’t come to Fluttershy’s place very often, and even then, hardly ever ventured into the cottage itself. The new installation didn’t stick out to Rainbow right away, but eventually a gold rod holding up a curtain caught her eye.

Flying over, she inspected the dark fabric. “Is this it?” It was just a regular curtain. The most notable thing about it was how its placement made it functionally useless.

Okay, so maybe it made some sense that this was related to Discord.

“Behind the curtain, she said?” Rainbow Dash gripped one end of the curtain and shoved it aside. Behind it was normal wood wall. Frowning, the pegasus put her hoof against the wood. Nothing happened. She put both hooves on it and shoved. Nothing happened.

“Yeah, I think that mare was going coo-coo.”

Frustrated, Rainbow flew though the cottage, calling out for Discord — maybe he’d just show up. He did that sometimes, right? How did they used to summon him, anyway…? Oh yeah, the Elements.

Calling the guys name fifty times didn’t make him suddenly pop out of nowhere, not even to try scaring her. Rainbow ended up in the front room again, teeth clenched as she turned in restless circles looking for any sort of clue.

Red eyes fell on the curtain now hanging to one side. Rainbow Dash trotted over, grabbing the thick fabric and twisting it around to inspect. “Seriously, why the heck is this here?”

The side facing the wall was made of some fancy silk material that shimmered with strange colors. The room was fairly bright due to the many windows, but even so, it struck Rainbow Dash as somewhat unnatural. She glared at it. “You’re definitely Discord-y… Maybe Fluttershy wasn’t just being crazy…?”

Not like she had any other options. They didn’t need Discord to take care of Fluttershy, but he was the dad or whatever — he should probably be told what was happening, right? Even if it was his own dumb fault for not being around. Seriously, why hadn’t he given Fluttershy a bell or something?

Having no idea what else she should do, Rainbow shoved the curtain away from her in frustration.

A sliver of light sliced the wall behind it.

If anypony ever asked, Rainbow Dash did not get so startled that she squawked and fell backwards, losing a feather or two.

Scrambling back onto her fours, Rainbow stared at the strip of strange light. If she squinted, she thought she could see vague shapes in bright colors. And was that… music? Voices?

Rainbow considered the curtain again. Cautiously, she pushed it further.

The portal widened. She saw what looked to be the inside of a house gone wrong. There was furniture on the ceiling— or was she looking at it from above? Was she upside-down? The view was making her dizzy. There were things floating around, phasing through walls, and strange music was playing from an unknown source. A familiar voice sang along.

“Discord!” Rainbow Dash flew though the portal and— okay, woah, oh that was not a pleasant feeling.

It took a few seconds for the pony to reorient herself. The building seemed… sideways, relative to the portal. She had to fly up(?) in order to follow the sound of Discord’s voice.

He was in what appeared to be a kitchen. Using a spatula as his baton, Discord conducted an invisible orchestra. As he sang, food appeared in the air around him, bouncing and spinning along with the tune.

“Buttered eggshells, custard grits, a pinch of syrup too! Blueberries on scrambled eggs, an oatmeal breakfast stew!”

An unappealing slurry of something neon orange swirled into existence, and the plethora of disparate, dancing ingredients began to intermingle.

“Discord!”

There was an ear-grating record scratch; Discord yelped, dropping his spatula; the oatmeal concoction exploded with surprise, splatting Rainbow Dash right in the face with an orange chunk of scrambled egg. “Ew!”

“Rainbow Dash?” Discord, also decorated in breakfast goo, glared at the pony. “What in the space between are you doing here? How did you even get here?”

“I came in through the curtain-portal thing!” Rainbow spat, aggressively wiping mess from her face. Uhg, it was so sticky!

“The—? Ahhhh. I kind of forgot that was there.” The draconequus twirled his beard. “Hm. I’m not so sure how much I like the idea of anypony being able to just waltz in—”

“Skies above, can you shut up? Listen! Fluttershy’s having her foal!”

Everything — Discord, floating bits of garbage breakfast, wayward furniture — stopped. Rainbow Dash’s flapping wings were the only thing that moved or made a sound. The eeriness of it was somehow more unsettling than everything else she'd seen.

“What did you say?” Discord asked.

“Fluttershy’s foaling!” Rainbow Dash thought about it, then reconsidered. “Or, uh… I dunno. Egging? She’s—”

Discord flashed over to her, grabbing the pegasus by her shoulders and causing her to lose three more feathers. “Where is she?”

“Sh-she— Rarity’s place!”

The transition from Discord’s house to Rarity’s was even worse than flying through the portal. Thankfully Discord immediately let Rainbow Dash go so she could fight the urge to vomit on the nice, cool floor of Carousel Boutique.

"Can somepony tell me what's going on already!?"

The small crowd, caught in a state of quiet murmuring and tense shoulders, turned to regard the new arrival's harried screech. Pinkie Pie was stomping her way up the path to Fluttershy's cottage.

Before anypony could speak, Pinkie gave a grumpy huff. "I saw Rarity running around and yelling a lot when I was inside Sugarcube Corner, but when I came outside to see what was wrong, she had already run off! Then when I ran after her, Rainbow Dash flew right over me and didn't stop when I called out to ask if something was wrong! So I kept trying to follow Rarity 'cause I thought she was going to Applejack's farm, but when I got there, Applejack was already gone! I asked Big Mac but he didn't know why you two ran off, and Apple Bloom wasn't there, and Granny Smith offered me some of you guys' leftover apple pie from dinner last night and I really wanted to have some, but I needed to find somepony to explain what was going on first! And then I went to Twilight's but she wasn't there and neither was Spike so then I ran all the way here 'cause I didn't know where else to look and—"

Like a deflated balloon, Pinkie Pie's voice grew thin and her words faltered as she ran out of breath.

Taking advantage of the pony's momentary quiet, Rainbow Dash quickly jumped in to explain, "Fluttershy's having her foal!"

Pinkie's breathless inhale seamlessly became a dramatic gasp of astonishment. "What!? Really!? Right now!?"

"Yes!" Rarity sighed, pastern to forehead as she swooned against Applejack's sturdy shoulder. "I can't believe the day has turned out like this! It all started right in the middle of my boutique, you know!"

"Really?"

"Really," said Applejack, who threw a foreleg around Rarity's back. "Poor Rarity here galloped all the way from her place to the farm an' back! I don't reckon I've ever seen you hoof it that much in one day!"

"And Celestia willing, it'll never happen again," Rarity bemoaned. "I thought I might collapse before we got here. Worse, I think I chipped a hoof! Does that look like a chip to you?"

"S'just a lil' scuff," Applejack assured her.

Pinkie Pie moved to sit next to Rainbow Dash. "I thought Fluttershy's foal wasn't coming for… uh…" She seemed to count a metric known only to her. "Like, a month or something?"

"Last I recall, they thought it might be comin' sometime late fall," Applejack mused. "Or maybe winter? I was imaginin' it'd be right 'round cider season."

"Nopony was a hundred percent sure," Rarity said. "Fluttershy told me the date was impossible to guess exactly."

"But where's Fluttershy now?" Pinkie asked, glancing at the cottage. "Is she home?"

"She's inside."

As if to punctuate the statement, a weak groan was heard through the window.

"Then why are we out here?" Pinkie immediately got up and head for the door, but Rainbow Dash grabbed the end of her tail and reeled her back in. "Hey!"

"We're waiting!" Rainbow told her, frowning. "For—"

A flash interrupted Rainbow, startling her and the others. Discord suddenly stood right in the center of them. He had three ponies under-arm: Twilight Sparkle, Dr. Getwell Wishes, and Nurse Sweetheart, the latter of whom appeared a quite dazed.

"I could have teleported myself," Twilight grumbled as Discord settled them onto their hooves. "Or all four of us!"

"Save the light-show for what's actually important, would you?" Discord snapped. "What difference does it make? Teleportation is teleportation, what does it— bah! We don't have time for your nitpicking! Fluttershy's in there! Let's go already? Yes?"

The draconequus pushed the upper door open and flew inside, leaving Twilight to address Dr. Getwell and Nurse Sweetheart. "I'm so sorry he just grabbed you two all of a sudden without asking first. Did you get everything you needed, doctor?"

"Yes, yes." Dr. Getwell was clutching a large black bag to their chest; they offered it to the nurse, who readily took it with her magic and followed Discord inside.

Dr. Getwell regarded the group of loitering ponies with bemused eyes. "There are so many of you here. Are you her friends? Will you all be staying for the duration?"

"We're not goin' anywhere 'til we know Fluttershy's okay," Rainbow Dash assured, stomping a hoof as if daring anypony to tell her otherwise.

"Yes, we don't mind waiting," Rarity agreed.

"We'll be right here if y'all need any help," Applejack told the doctor, tipping her hat.

Pinkie Pie opened her mouth to speak next, but Dr. Getwell held up a hoof. "It's fine, you can all stay, but I must make myself clear: under no circumstances are any of you to come into the building until I give you explicit permission. Barring any extremely unlikely scenarios — or unfortunate accidents — there will be no reason for you to involve yourselves in the procedure. I do believe the entire point of the at-home birth was to offer Miss Fluttershy a calm, familiar environment to compensate for what is most likely going to be a very unpredictable birthing process. Too many hooves can be just as problematic as having too few.

"On that note." Dr. Getwell leveled Twilight with a stern look. "Your Majesty—"

Twilight immediately sputtered, shaking her head. "Oh, no, please just call me Twilight, there's no need—"

"Princess Twilight." The doctor's tone suggested they not be interrupted again. Twilight fell into obedient silence, sitting down and straightening her posture. "Miss Fluttershy informed me you wish to offer your magical expertise. Usually I would outright deny such a request, but given I'm somewhat familiar with your level of magical prowess and you're a very close and trusted friend to the patient, I will allow it — though there are rules that must be followed."

"Of course! I love following rules!" Twilight eagerly assured, gesturing for the doctor to continue.

"First, can you please supply the building with a form of silencing charm? That way there's less—"

An odd wail was heard through the cottage windows, causing nearby birds to twitter anxiously. Pony ears twitched and hooves anxiously pawed at the gravel.

"Less of that," Dr. Getwell finished. They observed the many small eyes peering suspiciously at them from perches, bushes, and tall grasses. "Hm. There are more animals on the property than I anticipated. Keep them all outside as well, please."

"I can do that!"

Twilight got to her fours and closed her eyes, concentrating. A fluid wisp of magic began to swirl around her horn. In the next moment, a barely-there bubble seemed to encapsulate the entirety of Fluttershy's cottage. Its surface was almost perfectly transparent, the barest amount of colored light swimming across its convex form the only hint of its existence to the blind eye. "There! Ponies can pass through the barrier without disturbing it, but nopony should be able to hear anything inside if they're outside and vise versa."

Dr. Getwell nodded, hoof to their chin. "Mm. That's very impressive. Thank you, Princess."

While Twilight preened, the doctor went on to say, "Alright. Should I require something else of you, we'll let you know. Again, please remain outside unless I or Nurse Sweetheart come out to fetch you. Understand?"

The group responded in the affirmative. Dr. Getwell nodded back to them all. "Very good. Miss Fluttershy is lucky to have so many good friends wishing for her safety and comfort. I'll do my best to ensure this is a safe, easy foaling for her — whether or not it's a foal at all. Now, please excuse me everyone; Princess."

With a light bow to Twilight, Dr. Getwell finally passed through the bubble and into the cottage.

As soon as the door closed, Rainbow Dash loudly asked, "Right, sorry, but I'm like, way confused. Was that a guy or a girl?"

"Rainbow Dash!" Rarity's voice was scolding; Applejack snickered while Twilight hid a startled smile behind her hoof.

"What? I seriously couldn't tell!" Rainbow insisted. "Like, I thought mare at first, but then I saw the hooves, and aren't they seriously too dark for a mare's?"

"Oh, they were definitely painted," Rarity said.

Applejack leaned forward, and in a conspiratorial whisper much too loud to actually be subtle, she said to Rainbow, "I honestly wasn't sure myself."

"See!" Rainbow gestured to Applejack. "I'm not the only one!"

Twilight seemed inclined to speak, but Pinkie Pie interrupted. "Getwell Wishes isn't a boy or a girl pony!"

"…Huh?" Rainbow and Applejack tilted their heads.

"They don't feel like a stallion or a mare," Pinkie Pie told them simply. "So they don't really care what you call them, because neither one is really right for them. I think they prefer being called by 'they', though!"

"Why do you know that?" Rainbow asked.

Pinkie rolled her eyes. "Uh, duh, I know stuff like that about everypony who lives in Ponyville! How am I supposed to throw somepony a fun, super splendiforous party if I don't even know what they like to be called?"

"I never heard nothin' like that before," Applejack mused. "That doctor ain't from 'round here, huh?"

"They're originally from Canterlot!" Pinkie said, tilting her smile in the princess' direction. "Like Twilight!"

"That a common sorta thing up there? Some fancy-pony thing?"

"Or a unicorn thing?" Rainbow joked, taking to the air. She began to circle the group in low, lazy circles.

Rarity wrinkled her nose. "No, it's not 'a unicorn thing', Rainbow."

"If they aren't a stallion, then why do they paint their hooves to look more like one?" Rainbow asked.

"I believe it's an attempt at gender ambiguity, darling," Rarity said. "You know, since I opened Canterlot Carousel and Rarity for You, I've learned that androgynous fashions are much more popular there than it is in Ponyville. Isn't that interesting?"

"Androgy-what?"

The conversation continued, all five ponies doing what they could to keep their minds off what might be happening on the other side of the thin, magical bubble.

 

---

 

"D-Doctor, can I—?"

"Yes, you can stand if that feels more comfortable, Miss Fluttershy."

"Do you need help, hon?"

"Thank you…"

"Hey, doctor pony! It's been almost two whole hours! What's going on? Shouldn't you have done something useful, already? Like, oh, I dunno… deliver a baby!?"

"Discord, please d-don't yell…"

" Mr. Discord—"

"For chaos' sake, I thought I told you—"

"—two hours is fairly typical for the pre-foaling stage. In fact, now might actually be a good time to prepare for any possible fluids. Nurse, can you please put down the tarp?"

"Yes, Doctor!"

"…Fluids?"

"Oh…. Oh, I-I think I need to sit again…"

"There there, Fluttershy! I'll help you — since other ponies insist on being useless."

"Discord…"

"I understand you're very worried, Mr. Discord, but at this stage, there's little more for us to do than assist Miss Fluttershy in doing what feels most comfortable and waiting for things to progress."

"The tarp is down, Doctor."

"Thank you. It's not much, so I apologize if any mess gets on your floor, Miss Fluttershy."

"Why does there have to be mess? I truly don't understand why you mortals have to make everything so— Ouch!"

"S-sorry! I, um, I'm not controlling them…"

"I'm surprised they haven't disappeared yet. Maybe you'll have wings on your flank forever?"

"Oh, no… I hope not."

"You said they were feathery before I came to get you."

"Mmhm."

"I didn't think insect wings could hurt so much when they smack you."

"Pardon the interruption, but now may be a good time to check in again. How are you feeling at the moment?"

"Like she's trying to lay an egg and the doctor isn't helping, I imagine."

"Discord."

"Right, yes, fine! Shutting up!"

"Miss Fluttershy?"

"I feel f-fine— just uncomfortable. It's… heavy. B-but it still… still doesn't want to come out. Um, Discord, I think I want to stand up again…"

"I see. And are there any other strange side-effects that we can't see for ourselves?"

"Well, colors started going back to normal for a bit, but now there's a very blue taste in my mouth."

"…Alright. Why don't we try walking around the room a bit? It may help your egg reposition itself."

"O-okay."

"…I still don't understand why this has to be such a complicated process. Are you sure I can't just snap them out of her or something?"

"Please don't."

"P-please don't try."

"Uhg! Fine!"

"O-oh!"

"What is it?"

"Doctor, her leg…"

"I see it. Miss, why don't you come over the tarp?"

"Why does she— ack!"

"Oh sweet moon and stars above, ohhh…"

"Wh— Is it happening!?"

"Miss Fluttershy, your tail—"

"Is it happening right now!?"

"Discord, be quiet! Fluttershy, your tail."

"I'm t-trying! It's hard to— ah!"

"Nurse!"

"I've got her!"

"Thank you. Discord, can you keep her midsection up? Yes, just like that. Now hold her still. Fluttershy, can you feel this?"

"N-no… no! I c-can't feel—"

"It's okay, don't be alarmed."

"Is this normal?"

"Please, Discord, I need to focus. Miss Fluttershy, try your best to keep your tail lifted."

"Oh, dearie, it's okay, there's no need to cry… Let's breathe together, okay? Follow along with me. In… then out… just like that. One… two…"

"These wings…! Mr. Discord, could you possibly restrain these?"

"What, the butt-wings?"

"Discord! I s-said not to call them that!"

"But you're laughing!"

"Mr. Discord."

"Hold your— well, yourself! Here."

"Thank you. Right. I think…"

"Ah!"

"Fluttershy?"

"She's fine. It's coming. I can feel it traveling. Fluttershy, try your best to push now."

"It's still numb…"

"Just try your best. Yes, just like that. Come on… I see it! Keep going. Nurse, can she hold up her front?"

"I've got her! I've got you, Flutters."

"Nurse, the basket."

"Here you go."

"Hold it here. You're doing a fantastic job, Miss Fluttershy, just keep going…"

"Wow."

"W-what?"

"Sorry! No, sorry, it just— no, it's nothing!"

"Is something wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong!"

"Mr. Discord, please refrain from inspiring undue stress in the patient."

"I'm not! It just looks, well, not like how I imagined."

"Aaahhh…"

"It's okay, dearie, you're nearly there!"

"Nurse Sweetheart is right, just keep… Yes! Yes, it's out!"

"You did it!"

"Blessed be this reality, it's finally over! Fluttershy?"

"I need to lie down right now."

"Not yet! Keep her up, I need to examine her to make sure there's no damage."

"But I…"

"It's only a moment, Flutters, you'll be okay. See?"

"I want to lie down…"

"I'll tuck you in nice and snug in bed as soon as Dr. Bossypants says I can."

"Discord, I feel…"

"…Yes? Fluttershy?"

"Everything seems fine back here."

"Goodness me, this is a fine specimen! It's almost too big to fit in the basket!"

"I don't remember it looking that big when we saw it in your fancy mirrors."

"It appears to have grown… perhaps by a few centimeters. It's longer than I thought it was."

"It… looks like… a reptile egg."

"Yes, you're right, Fluttershy! Like a lizard's egg. How strange."

"The wings are still there…"

"Maybe they'll just go away?"

"Hmph. They're still not going when I try to snap them off her. You're a stubborn baby, aren't you? Mommy didn't ask for pesky butt-wings, you know."

"A-at least that's the only thing it…"

"Nurse, cover the egg with a blanket for now."

"Aaah… Ahh…"

"Hm? Miss Fluttershy, are you alright? You can try lying down now, just do it slowly—"

"Something's wrong!"

"What?"

"Something's… still in there…!"

"What!?"

"Sweet Celestia!"

"The wings!"

"Discord, hold her down!"

"Woah!"

"Help!"

"Gotcha! These things are going crazy!"

"Discord, you have to re-orient her so her bottom half isn't above her head!"

"Easier said than done! Have you seen how fast these things are flapping!?"

"Please do it as quickly as possible!"

"Uhg! Still no snapping?"

"No! No teleportation."

"Should I bring in Princess Twilight to—?"

"No! We do not need another pony in here right now. Miss Fluttershy! Listen to me. I need you to focus."

"Focus? Focus!? I-I'm— everything is—!"

"Yes, focus! Look at me — just me."

"O-okay! Okay, okay…"

"Yes, just like that. Take a deep breath? Good. Everything is going to be fine. Please tell me what you're feeling right now."

"Afraid! I can't control it, I can't— a-and there's s-s-something—"

"You're going to be fine! Discord has you and he won't let you go. He's not going to let you fall or fly away. But the most important thing is to get you back on the ground, right? So I need you to stay calm. Now tell me how you're feeling and be as detailed as possible, please."

"I… Impatient. I want this to be over! A-and I feel… lonely. Lost. Confused and… I don't— I don't know what to do…"

"Oh, now look at what you've done, you made her cry! That's a big help!"

"It's okay, Miss Fluttershy. This will be over soon, I promise. You just need to breathe. Can you feel whatever it is?"

"It… yes."

"Okay. Does it feel like another egg?"

"Another one?"

"I don't know."

"Does it feel similar?"

"M-maybe."

"Okay. Discord, the wings."

"I really have to do everything myself, don't I? Fine, maybe if I use a few extra… there!"

"Now move her back onto her hooves. Yes, good. Fluttershy, quickly, how do you feel like standing? Or do you feel the need to walk?"

"I-I think… like this?"

"That's fine. Do whatever feels best. I'm going to try to feel with my hoof, alright?"

"Okay, okay…"

"…There's definitely something. It's much smaller, but— I can't believe we missed it."

"Excuse me, I believe you are the pony who missed it."

"Discord!"

"Shutting up!"

"Doctor, it feels like… it's coming…!"

"Good! Let it come. Nurse, we need something, another basket or blanket— Oh! Yes, that should work fine. Thank you, Mr. Discord."

"Oh, now we're back to mister Discord?"

"I do believe you said you'd be shutting up?"

"…"

"Miss Fluttershy, remember to keep breathing. Very good. Spread your legs a bit more; tail up. Let's see… I'm going to press with my hoof just a bit, maybe that'll help it along. Deep breaths. Push?"

"I'm s-sorry."

"You're doing wonderfully. Focus on breathing between each attempt. Deep breath, then we'll try again. That's right. Now push? There you— there you go!"

"Got it!"

"Oh, sweet sun and moon, it's over! Look, even those strange little wings finally disappeared! You were amazing, dearie."

"This one is weird!"

"W-w-weird?"

"Look at it!"

"Mr. Discord, we should transfer that elsewhere. Actually, it looks small enough to fit in the same basket as the other one. Nurse Sweetheart?"

"It… it looks like something… but I don't…"

"You barely look conscious, Flutterbutter. Here."

"Mr. Discord."

"Ah, right. Look at them together! Oh, now that they're right next to each other… isn't this one a little green?"

"Oh… it is. Light green…"

"Flutters?"

"It's alright, she's just very tired. Nurse Sweetheart, can you assist with cleaning?"

"Of course! Just give me a moment."

"What's with the fuss? I can clean all this up, can't I? It's safe for me to use my magic on her again?"

"I'd suggest you refrain for at least a few more days. Chaotic magic might not be safe for her recovery."

"Recovery? She's fine! You got the egg — eggs! — out, so your job is done and you can finally go away forever and leave us both alone, can't you?"

"Mr. Discord, I understand you dislike me, but I'm only doing what I can to ensure that Miss Fluttershy recovers as quickly as possible. It is, in fact, the part of this entire process I'm best suited for. Perhaps you could take over responsibility for the eggs while I attend to Miss Fluttershy?"

"O-oh, yes, I… I suppose I should?"

"Here. I regret my lack of knowledge on how things should progress from this point forward, but I'm sure you and Miss Fluttershy can figure out the rest on your own."

"Yes… I'm sure we can."

"She's all tidied up, Doctor."

"Thank you very much, Nurse Sweetheart. Why don't you go outside to let everypony know how things are going? I'm sure they'd appreciate an update after waiting so patiently. Miss Fluttershy, can we move you over to the couch?"

"I… don't wanna move…"

"You'll be much more comfortable there. Would you prefer to rest for a moment, then we can help you walk over?"

"…"

"You can rest. Here, lie down on your side. Just like that. I'm going to share some of my magic with you; is that alright, Miss Fluttershy?"

"Oh… mmhm…"

"Thank you. It should help you feel better. Try not to fall asleep if you can manage. Pardon my forwardness, but my magic works a bit best if there's some degree of physical contact. May I rest my head on your shoulder?"

"Uh-huh…"

"Alright, thank you. There we go. Now just breathe and try to relax. You'll be feeling much better in no time…"

Fluttershy awoke to the gentle patter of rain.

Immediately, she knew she was home — the softness of the sound was enough of a tell. Before her dreams faded completely, Fluttershy imagined colorful flowers, their petals sweet as ice cream, blooming on her roof. With a sense of peace, she opened her eyes.

She was lying on the couch in her cottage. Across from her was Discord, his body resting in a loose coil on the wood floor.

"Hello," Fluttershy mumbled. She took a deep, slow breath that filled every part of her body. The sensation alerted her to a vague ache in her pelvis, but it wasn't anything worth worrying about. Funny, she imagined giving birth should probably feel more… more? Mostly there was just a strange numbness.

"It's about time you woke up." Discord was watching her with heavy-lidded eyes. He must be very tired, Fluttershy mused — he didn't move an inch and didn't say anything more.

"How long?"

"Several; it's dark outside."

"It's raining."

"Indeed it is."

"Is the egg okay?"

Discord lifted a single brow, which made him look slightly more like himself. "There's an S missing in that last sentence, Flutter-dear."

Fluttershy groaned, rubbing her face into the fabric of her sofa. "Discord, please don't speak in riddles right—"

No, wait, that wasn't a riddle, that was a relatively straightforward sentence. But what did he mean, exactly? Which word needed…?

"…Oh!" Fluttershy's head shot up, eyes wide. She quickly — then carefully, wincing as a small bolt of pain shot through her with the movement — tried to sit up more. She looked around. "There was… a second egg, wasn't there?"

"If you can call it an egg."

Discord unraveled, revealing a basket hidden by his coiled body. Within the basket were two eggs: one was ovular and narrow, a bit like a snake's egg, its shell off-white with blue spots; nestled beside it was a much smaller, rounder shape the color of an evergreen's needles.

Fluttershy gasped. "Oh my goodness…"

Discord lifted the basket by its handles, slithering closer so he could place it on the couch before Fluttershy. "I still can't believe this little bugger got by right under our noses," Discord complained, his tail pointing an accusing tuft at the smaller egg. Speaking to it directly, he chided, "You're a cheeky one, aren't you? Made that whole laborious experience much more traumatizing than it had any right to be!"

"I… barely remember what happened near the end," Fluttershy said, staring at the eggs. Their eggs — her eggs. She'd laid them, hadn't she? They'd come from her? What an impossible truth. But that truth was sitting right in front of her, swaddled in the cirrus baby blanket Rainbow Dash had made for them.

"If you were worried we might be able to coast through our first few weeks of parenthood before they hatched, rest assured, that's not likely to be the case," Discord told her.

Fluttershy, who was reaching out a hoof to prod at the smaller egg, hesitated. "What do you mean?"

"They're already remarkably fussy babies."

"Huh?" Fluttershy scrutinized the inanimate pair. "Discord, they're just eggs."

"I suspect you can't hear them like I can." A pause, then dissatisfaction hissed past his snaggletooth. "Ah, no, 'hear' isn't the best way to describe it. Sense, perhaps, or feel."

"They're talking to you?"

"'Talking' is giving them far too much credit, Fluttershy! I anticipate our children will be a league above their peers, to be certain, but right now they're just dumb little eggs."

Fluttershy fought to suppress a laugh as she scolded him. "Don't call them dumb!"

"What? I bet they don't even have brains yet." Discord sneered down at the eggs, snapping his fingers. Two tiny cone hats labeled with the word "DUNCE" dropped onto their shells. "Not that it matters. I've spent enough time around ponies to know that brains aren't required to be annoying."

"What are they saying to you?"

"Fluttershy, I just told you! It's not speaking. They're moreso… projecting things."

"What things?"

"Mostly nonsense. It's little more than impressions of thoughts and colors of feelings."

"I think they'd need to have brains if they're thinking things at you, Discord."

"I'm not convinced! I've encountered some very vocal rocks before, and I know for a fact the only gray matter they possess is granite."

Dropping the debate, Fluttershy shifted to look herself over. Her flank was covered with a throw blanket, atop which Angle Bunny was curled, sleeping.

"Aww, Angel…" Fluttershy reached out to the bunny, gently coaxing him to wake. Long ears twitched, a leg kicked; Angel muttered an unappreciative chitter in his sleep.

"That one was incensed," Discord informed her, voice dripping with amusement. "Nopony would let him back into the cottage until you fell asleep and the doctors left."

"He must have been worried."

"Bah, he just didn't like a bunch of strangers in his house."

Fluttershy pet the animal's soft fur with the side of her hoof, now less inclined to disturb him. "Discord, could you please move Angel to his bed on the floor? Carefully? I want to try sitting up more."

With a single waving talon, Discord did as he was asked, easily levitating the small creature across the room to tuck him. Angel Bunny gave a loud, squeaking snore, but didn't wake up.

Fluttershy thought she'd gained more feeling in her legs. It hurt a bit to move, but it wasn't nearly as bad as she'd been imagining it might be.

Early on during the baby shower, Fluttershy had pulled her mother aside for a moment of privacy, confessing to nerves and asking the older mare what she might expect. Either her mother's warnings of soreness and cramping had been exaggerations or Fluttershy had recovered unusually fast.

At that thought, a very vague memory drifted to the surface of Fluttershy's mind. "Did the doctor use magic on me?" she asked, peeking under her blanket to check if there was any mess.

Discord's demeanor shifted to one of vague displeasure. Fluttershy had come to expect that whenever Dr. Getwell was brought up; Discord didn't seem to like the pony very much, though Fluttershy couldn't imagine why.

However, he didn't sound spiteful or bitter when he explained, "Yes, they stayed awhile afterwards. Apparently they're quite adept at 'recovery magic' and insisted half an hour of postpartum cuddling was quite necessary and not strange at all." Discord tilted his head about thirty degrees, eyeing Fluttershy. "Why? How do you feel?"

"I feel… okay. I'm a little achy, but… All things considered, I'm feeling remarkably good."

"…Hmph. Good." Discord's tail flicked as he watched Fluttershy carefully sit up. With a snap, a few extra pillows floated their way beneath her forelegs. After her whispered thank you, Discord went on to say, "Getwell said they wanted to come back tomorrow for another cuddle session, claimed it would help with any lingering discomfort."

"Oh, I'd appreciate that very much." Fluttershy carefully extracted the smaller egg from the basket. It really didn't look much like an egg at all; its smooth, gradient green surface had an odd texture almost like a gumdrop. Fluttershy very gently grazed the surface with her pastern, feeling out grooved ridges so subtle she couldn't see them unless she angled it into the light.

"Weird little freak, isn't it?" Discord asked, grinning. "I'm not sure it even technically qualifies as an egg, though I have no idea what else it could possibly be."

"There are a lot of different looking eggs in nature," Fluttershy said as she laid it back down. Leaning forward, she prodded at the larger one with the tip of her snout. It still didn't look very natural, but the texture was more familiar to Fluttershy, something like thick leather trying to keep its shape. "This one looks almost like a robin's egg, but… reverse? Blue spots instead of a blue shell… And it's shaped like a reptile egg."

"Is that why it looks a bit like a long balloon?

"Um… yes."

"I approve of the spots, very stylish. That one's fussy, though."

"Oh, is it?"

"Very. A lot of wanting, but too dumb to actually tell me anything specific."

"Discord…"

"And this one!" He pointed to the green one. "It doesn't want anything, but it will not stop projecting! All absolute nonsense, too!"

Fluttershy leaned against the back of the couch, a tired smile on her face as she watched Discord adjust one of the little dunce hats. "Your words make it seem like you're complaining, but that's not what it sounds like to me."

Discord sniffed. "Trust me, I am! You left me all alone with them for hours, y'know. I've been driven half mad already! How's a creature meant to get his rest when his eggs won't shut up?"

"You don't sleep." Fluttershy's lids grew heavy, and she didn't fight to keep them open. "Hmm…"

"Are you falling back asleep?"

"Mm… Maybe… Tired…"

"It's fine if you do. Oh! But there's one other thing first."

Fluttershy took a deep breath, hoping to pull a bit of life back into her, and forced her eyes open. "Mmhm, what is it?"

"That portly nurse said something just before they left. She wished us a good 'naming night' — what does that mean?"

"Oh." Fluttershy blinked, feeling a bit more awake. Naming night hadn't crossed her mind even once, not this whole time. "My goodness, I can't believe I forgot about that."

"Well? What is it?"

"Naming night is when a pony decides on names for their foals. It happens after they're born."

"You mean ponies don't have ideas for names beforehand?"

"Not usually." Fluttershy tapped her chin. "Well… I think my parents had some vague ideas, but usually that's all a pony will come up with. Maybe it's different for some families with important ponies…"

"Okay…" Discord eyed the eggs, ears flopping this way and that as he tilted his head. "So how does it work?"

"We don't have to do much. We just sleep as close as we can to our foals — eggs — so we can form a connection with them. Then their names are supposed to come to us in our dreams."

"What!?" Discord squawked. Fluttershy had to suppress the instinct to shush him; eggs couldn't be woken up, could they? "Is that seriously how you ponies do it?"

"It, um… I suppose it is a little strange?" Fluttershy rubbed her hooves together. "I-I mean, even I don't really know, exactly, how it works… This will be my first time trying it out."

Gazing down at the eggs, a hint of anxiety sent a shiver down her spine. With a wing, Fluttershy pulled her blanket around herself a bit more. "I haven't even thought about what their names might be…"

Discord made a dismissive gesture. "If it's something anypony can do in their sleep — literally — then I'm sure it won't be a problem for us!"

"But…" Fluttershy hesitated. Maybe their eggs couldn't hear them, exactly, but… If they could talk to Discord in their own way, could feel and want things from him, then they must have some level of awareness.

Feeling oddly concerned over their feelings, Fluttershy adjusted the cirrus cloud blanket to cover them up a bit more. Admitting to her suspicions felt silly, so she told herself it was to keep them from getting cold.

Once they were tucked in, Fluttershy said in a low voice, "I'm just worried because these two probably won't be normal foals… What if things don't work the same for them? What if we wake up tomorrow and have no idea what to call them?"

"…Then we figure it out later?" Discord craned his neck closer to Fluttershy. "It's really not a big deal."

"But it is! Isn't it? Naming night is when parents decide on the perfect name for their children."

"They don't have to be perfect names! Look, watch this."

Discord scrutinized the eggs, then pointed to the larger one. "I dub thee: Polka-Dot."

"Wh— Discord, don't!"

Ignoring her, he tapped the hat sitting upon the smaller egg. "This one can be Yapper, since that appears to be its favorite thing to do at its big age of four hours old."

An odd, strong emotion made Fluttershy's eyes water. "Discord, those are terrible names…!"

"Fluttershy, there's no need for theatrics! You aren't Rarity, for chaos' sake!"

A soft paw and careful talon reached over the basket to wipe Fluttershy's tears away. "I'm making a point," Discord told her. "These are just nicknames, you silly pony. Once we actually meet the beings inside these shells, perhaps then we'll have a better idea of what they'd like to be called."

"B-but naming night…"

"Forget all that! Who says we have to name them right away? Perhaps ponies truly excel at divining the absolute perfect name for their foals, no matter how ridiculous said names might be! But there are other species out there in the world, y'know. I'm sure they all have very different ways of naming their snot-nosed kids. For now, this will do perfectly well for us.

"It's just as you said, anyway: they aren't normal. I strongly suspect this isn't the last thing we'll be handling in an atypical fashion." With a deep chuckle, Discord gave Fluttershy a heavy look. "Have you forgotten who it is you've been dealing with?"

"…No." Fluttershy sniffled, pulling away from his hands to dry her cheeks with the blanket. "No, I haven't."

"It's going to be fine, Fluttershy. Look, if it helps you feel any better, we can just say it's not their naming night — technically, they aren't actually born yet."

"I guess…" Fluttershy patted the fluffy lump in the basket with a light hoof. "I'd just feel so awful if it was something like… I couldn't come up with names they deserve."

"At this point, I'm fairly certain if we try to give them subpar names, they'll be sure to let us know." Discord frowned at the lump. "Right now, I think all they want is for things to be quiet and warm."

Fluttershy's hoof flew to her mouth. "Oh! So they can hear us?"

"I don't know. Even if they can, it's certainly not their place to dictate bedtime. That's our job!"

Discord conjured a long beaded cord that hung from the ceiling. He reached up and tugged it. There was a distant clicking sound, then all the lights in Fluttershy's cottage went out at once. All that remained was the silver-blue of Luna's moonlit night sneaking in through the windows.

Immediately, Fluttershy's exhaustion returned. She sighed and adjusted herself, resting her chin atop the small pile of pillows Discord had supplied as she tucked her legs beneath her. On the other side of the basket, Discord curled up his body, leaving his neck to rest upon the back of the sofa so his head was settled above Fluttershy and their eggs.

"How are you feeling?" Fluttershy thought to ask as she let her eyes slip closed.

"Me? Hunky, dory, and dandy; the nightmare of pony pregnancy is finally behind us!" The draconequus growl-snorted, a gesture which would've made Fluttershy giggle if she wasn't so tired. "Let's endeavor to not do that again."

A laugh was too much energy, but Fluttershy managed a tiny grin. "Are you saying stuff like that is off the table now?"

"Oh, most certainly! I admit it was fun the few times we tried it, but if that is what led us to this, I'd rather not chance it happening again."

Fluttershy hummed, "That's fair…"

"We'll just have to come up with some new games to play." Discord's voice rumbled soft and low. The promise it held made Fluttershy's body tingle; she banished the sudden restlessness with a full-body stretch. Her muscles felt even more relaxed afterwards.

Then it was quiet but for the sound of rain on a grassy roof, Discord's deep breathing, and Fluttershy's own steady heartbeat. When sleep came for her, Fluttershy fell into its arms without fear. Perhaps she would find names in the darkness, drawn to them by an invisible string of fate; perhaps by the time their children came into the world, Fluttershy would have that beautiful gift ready for them.

But with her final thought, Fluttershy realized she held no fear if she parted from darkness none the wiser. Discord was right: when the time came, they'd know what to do.