Dadonequus Discord Part 288

>Anon?...." Starlight trots over to Double Diamond and puts her hoof on her back. Giving him a calm but stern expression "It's alright Double Diamond, It's just Anon...and his father, Discord." She looks back at the both of you. She didn't know how to feel. Because she couldn't guess why you both were here.
>"Discord? Anon's dad? Woah...sorry" Double Diamond clears his throat. He still found Discord's very visage to be intimidating. So he took only one step back to move away. But not to be rude. "Didn't know you were him. I thought you were some kind of freaky monster."
>Discord just crosses his arms as he raises an eyebrow at him. Annoyed that he was compared to some common "freaky monster". "........Sure, That seems to be the current consensus."
"Chill Dad, we're not here to start problems."
>In just seconds, the situation was already volatile. You had to snip that fuse.
"But yeeah, hey! So, I heard you were remaking the vault. That's sounds pretty neat."
>"Yeah" Starlight was immediately suspicious of you, while Double Diamond remained ignorant.
>Starlight remained calm, and carried on as if nothing was wrong. And walked over to the vault to present it. "It's a pretty big project that for now, is finished. It was Sugar Belle's idea in all actuality, the town just all agreed it was a good idea. If they didn't tell you what it was for though. It's a memory fault. We are using it to keep our most precious memories safe, figuratively and literally speaking of course. Double Diamond and I just finished testing it's durability. Since our first rebuild sort of....well..." She points to the workbench, there was a large gem that was kept under glass. "One of our townsponies tripped and this slammed into the vault and shattered a few of the doors. Not really worthy being called a vault if it shatters that easily. Then again, we did use old materials to rebuild it the first time."


"That's actually pretty cool. I bet everypony in town appreciates it."
>Oh god, you were sucking at small talk right now. All you could do is seem gentle and pleasant.But the way Starlight is reacting to yours...no, Discord's presence. It might be wise to try to get some privacy.
>"Oh I know I do! Ahrm.." Double Diamond stepped up, now that things seemed more calm. He went up to Discord and held his hoof out for a shake. "By the way, I'm Double Diamond. It's cool to meet you Mr.Discord."
>Discord at first, just stares down at his hoof like it was gross. But then he smirks, bows, and gently grabs his hoof as he gives it a gentle shake "And a pleasure to meet you Mr.Diamond. You are quite a beauty of a mare I must say. Tell me, would you be interested in marrying my son once he becomes of age?"
>Double Diamond suddenly becomes super uncomfortable as he pulls his hoof away "I-I'm a s-stallion, a-actually. And uhhh.....uhhhhh" He couldn't come up with any words on how awkward that was.
>"Oh" Discord tone was of an immensely false sense of modesty and embarrassment "Silly me, I do apologize. I shouldn't have made such a assumption based off your looks. Please, forgive me"
>Double Diamond started taking a look at himself. Did he look like a girl? That's what he was thinking.
>You gave a quick jab at Discord's leg. Dammit, he said he'd behave at least. But he was already failing that.
"Dad...ahrm. Actually, ummm. Mr.Diamond, would you mind if I had some alone time with Starlight? I wanna tell her something super important."
>You give him a cute and innocent look. He still seemed a little focused on himself. now feeling self conscious about any femininity he might have. "Oh ummm..ok. Erm, That ok with you Starlight? " He now actually wanted to check himself in private anyway. How could anyone mistake him for a girl? and then offer their son?!...creeepppyyy

>"Yes, it'll be fine. A-are you going to be ok Double Diamond? You look a little..."
>Diamond Diamond immediately cuts her off with a slight, frantic raise of his voice. He felt embarrassed. Apparantly being seen as not manly was one of his buttons. "I'll be fine! -ummm..I mean." His voice becomes softer as he shuffles out. "I'll be ok. I'll just...wait til you're all done. I'll...be waiting outside." And so he went. Leaving you, Starlight, and a chuckling Discord.
>"Now that was funny! I wonder if he was actually considering the proposal. Wasn't that great A-.....really?" Discord can see your scowling face. This, at least to you. Was not the time for this shit. It would have been funny at any other time but this..maybe.
>Discord then looks upon Starlight. That also looked pretty displeased with him "...Really? Nopony found that funny?"
>"No. Why are you even here? If you came to get me for another "pirating" expedition. Then you can turn around and leave right now. I'm not going to deal with it." Starlight warns him "And dragging Anon along when I...think he should be in school" She wasn't sure of Ponyville's school schedule "I know who he actually is, but still. I'd think that'd be important for his ruse."
>"Pllllleeeeassseee" Discord found her to be rather presumptuous "You have it the other way around. Anon is the one who wanted to come here. I'm just along for the ride. Besides, until some other schmuck decides to take what is rightfully mine. You won't need to worry about it. And besides.." Discord starts to boredly look at claws of his claws. "I could find a better crew member than you anyway. You really did quite poorly as a pirate."
>"Whatever, I think you should learn to be a little nicer to ponies. I can't imagine how you treat Anon." That assumption that Starlight just made, it made Discord stop cold. And then get..rather angry.

>"You listen here you Cutie mark stealing, poorly colored, Twilight clone reje-" But before Discord could say anything else. You rush up to him and try to push him back before he does something he'd regret.
"Discord! Discord! Stop..ok! Please!"
>"Anon. Are you really going to let her talk to me that way? What did I even do wrong but have a tinch, teeny, tiny, weeny bit of fun? hmm?!" Discord didn't understand that he pissed her off with his comment towards Double Diamond.
"Discord, she's just mad that you insulted her friend. Relax, don't get your nuts in a bunch. Try to show a little humility, try to be nice, and maybe...just maybe. She'll not be mad at you. Why don't you try apologizing?"
>"Hmph, I have a better idea. How about I just leave!" Discord would have none of that, and snapped his talons...but nothing happened. "come on, come onnn..." He growled as sparks flung out from his talons like a lighter. No insta-teleport. He grumbles when he realizes why "..oh right. The deal....hmmnnn...Fine" He crosses his arms "I'll apologize to her when she admits that I'm not only a good friend, but also a good influence."
>"WHAT?! YOU SHOULD BE APOLOGIZING TO DOUBLE D-.....Anon. Why are you looking at me like that?"
>You were upset that things were already going wrong before you even mentioned anything.
"Please? What I have to say is really important, trust me....it really really is. I know he can be a big jerk. But he's also a good friend...sometimes."
>"All the time" Discord quickly corrects you as he looks down upon Starlight.
>"You gotta be....mmnngh..." Starlight did NOT want to do it. But she trusted you, and if you said it was important. Then she'd rather not have to deal with a jerk anymore and just find out what it is "Fine, you're a good friend and a good influence. BUT, I expect you to apologize to Double Diamond for what you said. A REAL apology, understand?"

>"I suppose I can do that." Discord grins, delighted that he was having his way "If you...OW!"
>Starlight's horn glows. And as it did. Discord found himself instantly slammed to the ground, then quickly placed back in his original position.
>"How dare you! I'M OW!" Discord found himself once again slammed again.
>"Anon! She's cheating! She's not allowed to use magic on me! That's not fair!" Discord tried to get you to call her off.
"No Discord, just do what she asked you. Apologize to the guy when we're done."
>"So he really doesn't have any use of his magic right now, huh? I almost thought he was faking it when he tried to teleport away." Starlight was pretty quick to pick up on that. "I did what you asked, so you better hold up your end of the deal."
>"I will OW!" Without hesitation or even waiting for him to finish. She slams him again. Noticing you didn't even try to stop her. She felt a certain control of the situation since it didn't seem you were objecting to her methods. She smirked at Discord "oops, I slipped that time. What was that?"
>".....Fine...hmph" Discord grumbled as he started to wipe dirt away from his face with a rock from the ground. "I don't remember ponies being so violent. Ok Anon, you have the floor. Let's just get this over with already"
"Ok..."
>finally....here we go.
"Actually Starlight, you got any tea or anything? You might want to sit down for this one"

>"Sit down? Is it that bad? Well, I didn't bring any tea but." Starlight uses her magic to drag a chair from the workbench to her so she can sit on it. But she couldn't understand what made the situation that dire "It can't be that bad. Or is it going to be bad because he's going to say something about it?"
>"Bad? Ohhhhhh, I could make it worse than bad. I could make it a nightmare that even Princess Luna he-" But again, you interrupt Discord. You didn't need this shit.
"Discord, hold off ok! Please? Can you just...this once...just...relax."
>You had to take a breath. Suddenly your own nerves were jittery. It was like a bomb ready to explode. The situation that is.
>"But, what about her! She's the one who made the insinuation! You can't just go telling me off yet letting he-" Again Discord is cut off, this time by Starlight.
>"I'm sorry Discord. I shouldn't have made that remark. I was just, making bad assumptions." Starlight calmed herself down, and took a breath "I don't want to cause any trouble. So I'm willing to be civil, if you are"
>Discord only found that more anger inducing. He was gripping his talons. He wanted to be the one to calm the situation. He wanted to say one more thing. But when he looked down at you to say it. He could see in your eyes, just how well you wanted the situation to go. And how you just wanted things to calm down. And it made him think back to moments before, when he almost lost you. He didn't want to lose you over this either. He slowly calmed down. Took a breath. And just sat down, curling his tail to use as a chair. "I accept your apology. I suppose, that I too am sorry. For my...things...that I caused. I'll keep quiet now until you both are done. Carry on Anon"
>Thank christ. It finally sunk in.
"Thank you Discord....Really, thanks. Ok....Starlight. I need you to brace yourself. This is pretty heavy"

>"I'm braced Anon. And trust me, anything you have to tell me? I can handle it. I have my stuff together now. Look..." She took off her hard hat. Revealing a new mane style. She gave you a sweet and cute smile as she awaited your response "How do I look?"
>Her mane style. it just flowed back with her mane tied like a ponytail. Her banes coming out from the front to look almost like a human like style. It was cute. She looked like a cute teenager. It really was fine. It's not like she looked half bald with her mane jutting out in a curl or anything.
"It looks really cu-great actually. You look young,strong, cool."
>Even with that slight uplift to see her so confident. You were still afraid that this could go bad. But you had to do this. no matter what.
>"Thanks! That really means a..lot...Anon? wow, heh" She chuckles nervously "Is it really that bad? I mean, trust me. I can handle anything you throw at me."
"Ok, well..that's good. Because...well....ahrm...here we go"
>You stall for one moment. Noticing that as you do, she confidently pats her ponytail back as she stares at you with an eager expression.
"....I found Sunburst. And I spoke to him."
>Her pupils shrank immediately, she just...froze in place. As if she was having a flashback. She was shaking. She was shaking more and more by the second. She didn't say a word.
"Starlight?"
>"Hrn, I know I said I'd be quiet. But it appears she's having some sort of mental anguish just from that name. Anon, are you sure you're not causing chaos on purpose?" Discord just stared at her, finding it all curious.
"N-no..."
>you got up to check up on her. you tap at her knee
"Starlight?"

>After awhile, she actually jerked her leg away and hopped off the chair. backing up as she looked at you. pure terror on her face. "Anon, you didn't. There's no possible way. You actually?.....met him? When?! How?!"
"He was..."
>Oh boy, just keep it chill Anon. Don't make anything sound grand.
"He was living in the Crystal Empire. Ran into him when, say, during the Crystalling. And one thing led to another and now he's the magic adviser of the royal family. Pretty coincidental right?"
>You try a nice soothing smile to break the tension. But she just breaks down. and grabs you with her magic. Shaking you, not even realizing she was doing it "THAT'S IT?! YOU JUST TALKED TO HIM AND HE SUDDENLY BECAME AN ADVISER?! THAT JERK NEARLY RUINED MY LIFE AND YOU DIDN'T.... I MEAN...I KNOW IT'S NOT YOUR RESPONSIBILITY....I MEAN, I..I....YOU DIDN'T...HOW?! DID YOU AT LEAST SLUG..him...one?" She realized she was shaking you hard, she saw in your eyes that she must have even hurt you. "Anon..I'm...I"
>You put your hoof to your head. Trying to straighten your vision from the shaking. You felt a little pain in your joints. But totally manageable. You wouldn't blame her for her reaction. You wouldn't chastise her for it.
"No, it's fine. I expected that reaction. I just didn't know any other way to explain it. Starlight, are you ok? I'm sorry, but I felt you had to know."
>"Anon..I just. I...I never even thought I'd hear that name again. At least not in a way that suggests he's still around. But..." She felt an anger growing within her "He became an adviser huh? I guess all that time studying to be a wizard REALLY paid off. I bet he's really happy about it. I wonder how many more friends he threw away to get there. That's fine, totally fine. Because any friend he threw away, if they ever come here, if any of us ever find them. We'd welcome them here with open hooves."
>Well shit. Yeah, convincing her he was a gigantic asshole. Now? Wasn't the best thing you've ever done.

"Starlight, I know your angry. I really do. But I was wrong. I spoke with him. Everything we thought he was. Everything...I told you he probably was...it was wrong. I was wrong."
>"Really? And how were you wrong? What, did you talk to him about what happened or something? What sob story did he give you to make you feel sorry for him?" Starlight looked over to vault door with her cutie mark on it. It was empty, her past felt empty. And it was his fault. That's how she felt. "He's lying scum Anon. You said it yourself. That he was just bad." She started to tear up. She was breaking inside. She felt her past was completely true. That Sunburst was a traitor. There couldn't be any other reason for him just abandoning her. It....still haunted her.
"I-I know what I said. But I was wrong. Starlight, we had a discussion. And we brought you up. I talked about everything that has happened between us with him and..."
>Suddenly, Starlight blew up on you "YOU TOLD HIM EVERYTHING?! WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?! YOU DON'T MEAN WHAT I THINK YOU MEAN, DO YOU?!"
>You flinched.This wasn't good. She was pissed. You filled her head with enough hatred for him that now you were seeing just how hard it was to fix it. But..you had to. You couldn't leave until you did.
>...and for her. You had to step up. Just like how you were planning to step up for Chrysalis. How you managed, in the end, not to spaz with Luna, and kept Scrappy from being seen as evil, and that you would help Scrappy himself, with Scootaloo in the best way you can.
>.....fuck..this was hard. You had a fear of losing Starlight. But you couldn't just let her be angry and hateful.
"It's exactly what you think. Starlight, listen. I mean this. We were wrong. He became as lonely as you were after he left."

>"..Y-you expect me to believe that?! Anon, he went to Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. Nopony that graduates from there ends up alone. His dream was to become a wizard. And since he became A MAGIC ADVISER. Which, by the way, you just mentioned he became. I find it REALLY" She started to step up to you, practically growling in anger, forcing you to step back. "REEAALLLY hard to believe!"
>Holy crap. Starlight, face to face. With her raw anger. She was as scary as an adult as she was an angry filly.
>"If I may interject." Discord raises his a talon to make himself known. "I happen to think Sunburst is pathetic and quite the fame stealing upstart." Starlight turns toward Discord. Then back at you and points towards him.
>"See? Even Discord hates him! Which means he also met him. You can't just defend him when e-" But this time,Discord interrupts her.

>"If I may FINISH! hmn, I swear. You ponies and your assumptions.This is why misunderstandings happen. And while I usually enjoy when one pony butts head with another. I feel that, at this time, my partner in chaos needs a little help from me in a sense that...egh" Discord sticks his tongue out and scrapes it with a claw "ugh....Yes, help him in a more harmonic sense. For you see, Miss Glimmer, This Sunburst fellow is a truly pathetic pony in the sense that he actually failed Celestia's silly little school of unicorn whatevers. He failed so badly that he became a hermit. And to think" Discord scoffed "He was so ashamed that he couldn't even build the courage to contact you. An equally pathetic pony, at least at the time. I can be nice, you are...less pathetic than him..I suppose. He felt you would hate him because of what a failure he was. He never made a SINGLE friend since he left. Laughable really, since even I managed to make a friend in Fluttershy. No, this pony in particular only even managed to become an adviser because he had the knowledge to save Equestria. Big whoop! Who cares, I could have saved it if I had a little more time."
>Discord stood up and stepped past Starlight Glimmer as he gazed upon the vault. "And even after he became an adviser. He's still sooooooo pathetic. If I were to compare it to this vault. You at least have an idea or two on what to put into your safe. But for him? He's so miserable with himself that even his happy memories have become sad ones. Honestly, I eavesdropped on everything to dig up some dirt to rub in Cadence's face on what a worthless pony he was that when I found out EXACTLY how worthless he was. Well, it wasn't even worth it. He's below me. tch, and to think, he's even afraid to face you. He believes you're much better than him in magic. When real magical juggernauts such as myself exist to be believed in. But, beings like myself seldom EVER get the recognition we deserve. What a pity"

>Did Discord. Did he just...?
>You look upon Starlight. Who approached him. Curious, and even scared. About what she was previously thinking of.
>Starlight actually believed him. Well, it was the truth. But in the cruel way he described it and considered himself the better of everyone. It made her believe it was the truth. That this lord of chaos would belittle someone so beneath him. If it was a lie, he would have praised him. Or defended you. But he just shittalked Sunburst so much. It was believable.
>"...Are you saying? He was afraid of me? That he just...ended up failing at magic? That can't be right. Why would his parents take him to Canterlot if he was never that good."
>Discord just hummed to himself as he observed the vault.
>"TELL ME DISCORD! TURN AROUND AND ANSWER ME!" She snaps at him. She demanded to know. It was like a jigsaw puzzle had been thrown at her. And she just needed that one piece to put it together.

>Discord put his talon into his ear and began to spin it around inside. "No need to shout! I can hear you" Discord turned around, acting aloof about the whole thing "If you must know, if you need to hear it again. Yes, he was afraid of you. He lived a life of seclusion because he couldn't stand the thought of disappointing you. The pressure was simply too great. He shamed you, he shamed his parents, he shamed the school, he shamed the whole unicorn race really. And then one meeting with me and Anon and he gets lucky enough to land a job in the Castle itself. Insane I know but sometimes even terrible things come from chaos. In anycase, I hope that satisfies you. Because recounting on this subject both bores and disgusts me. And I'm done. Anon, I'll be waiting by the entrance of the cave. So please hurry up. I want to get this,and the apology towards that girly horse done as quick as possible" Discord gives you a wink, then steps off to leave you alone with Starlight.
>....holy fuck. Did he just...do that?
>Starlight froze. She was coming to the realization. Without even speaking to Sunburst himself. That he suffered as much as she did.

>And you? You were stunned. Discord, the spirit of chaos. Just helped you out without asking for a favor in return. Without using his magic, which he couldn't anyway, And managed to do it in a direct way. Something he didn't really do the last few times you attempted something like this. He legitimately helped you without making the situation worse or through any real cruelty. It was astounding. But you also couldn't squander this moment.
>You yourself, if you wanted to finally put yourself in the forefront of solving issues like this. Then you had to step forward, figuratively speaking, and do what a true friend should do. And help her through this. You made a mistake with Scoots by being selfish and crude. You wouldn't fuck up with another friend this time.
"Starlight, are you ok?"
>".....Anon, everything he said. Everything you're saying. It's really true...right?" Her eyes were glistening. Her first firend. Her original best friend. Her cruel ambition that she had. All a misunderstanding? It was like some sort of PTSD styled flashback to her.
>You nod, you felt so bad for her. All you could do was try to work her through it. But if that's all you could do. You'd do it with maximum efficiency.
"It is, I wouldn't be here if it was a lie. Starlight. Sunburst, he wants to meet you again. He really does. He wants to try to patch things up with you."
>"But...." Starlight started to finally move as the tears slowly started to run down her face "It's been so long. We're both very different ponies now. Anon...I have a new life to live." She turned her face away, she didn't want you to see her cry. "And...my old life was all based off a misconception. How could I even try to rebuild our friendship with him after all that?"

"Well, you beat the tar out of me when I turned you into a filly. You also tried to take advantage of me so you could rule the world. All this during your "old ways" and I forgave you, and I didn't even know you. And then there's Twilight and her friends. You locked them in a shed for a like a day or two. And they all forgave you. Sunburst? It's not even you having to ask for his forgiveness. If anything, he'd be the one asking for yours. And, after talking with him. He seems like a pretty nice guy, I can see why you were friends with him. So....why not give him another chance. Huh?"
>You give her a gentle smile. You stay strong for her. And hoped your logic was good enough to convince her.
>"That's right..." Starlight started to rub her foreleg with her hoof. Nervous, scared, saddened. "I guess I would have to be the one to forgive him....huh. I guess it'd be all on me, right?"
"Not in such a harsh sense. You could just catch up on things over something like lunch,breakfast, tea...something like that. C'mon Starlight, before I even walked in here you were brimming with confidence. And I know that confidence is still in you. You can do this."
>"....wow..." Starlight wiped off a tear from her face. She was astounded by your words and the way you put it. "I...Anon. I." She stopped, and looked right into your eyes. "I...hmmnn. I actually feel a little better just from hearing that. But, are you really sure it'd be that easy? How would I even get into the castle?"
"Easy,, just tell a guard that I sent you, and ask for Princess Cadence or Shining Armor. Trust me, it'll work. Or just send a letter to let them know. Either works really....you feeling better Starlight?"
>"I am, which is kind of amazing since I'm still scared. I guess seeing you that way just hit a switch in my head. I realized I was being selfish, so many ponies have forgiven me. The least I can do, since he knows I'm still around, is go and forgive him. Do you think he;ll be happy to see me?"

"I think so, heck. I know so. And if you want, I can go with you to make sure everything goes smoothly."
>"No." Starlight shook her head. She walked up to you, and gave you a sweet and gentle hug "I have to do this on my own. I need to know if I can handle this. Or if I'm just saying I can. I'm still scared Anon, I really am, but if you're there. Then it means I won't have gone to see him on my own merits. Thank you though, for getting me this far."
>You gently return her hug. It worked. a little more quickly than you thought. But you guessed bringing up the fact that disregarding his own want for forgiveness would be pretty asinine But it also seemed it wasn't truly complete either. Her courage could be just....temporary. She wanted to take the final step on her own. Which could mean anything really. You could try to force it. But, you didn't want to be Chrysalis in the situation either. Now? All you could do was hope.
"You're one of my best friends Starlight. I just wanted to help you. That's all."
>You could feel relief come over you. Before this moment, you felt that you may have overdone it. Or didn't do good enough. For once, you did it just right.
>"You're both absolutely terrible! Really? no "I can't Anon, what if I make him hate me" or "What if I snap and break his face Anon, I'm just soooo angry". What a terrible show. Totally unbelievable." Discord had ended up walking back towards the both of you sometime during all this. When you both looked up at him. He just smirked at the both of you. "...I will admit though. It is a rather sweet moment. So much so..." Discord pulls out a camera and snaps a photo of the both of you, which produces a photo almost immediately. It seemed his magic was back.

>Discord then holds the photo towards Starlight. His smirk becoming of a more soft and loving sort. "That this should be your first precious memory for that gaudy little vault you have."
>Starlight slowly let you go as she held up her hooves to take the photo. It wasn't perfect, as it was caught when you and her looked at Discord with a "Oh god, here he comes" face.
>But still, it started to make her cry again. And she instead went and surprised hugged Discord. "Thank you, I love it"
>Discord didn't seem to expect the hug, he looked down at her in surprise, then he looked to you. You had a smile your face and started making hugging motions. To get him to hug back.
>Discord then, very slowly, very reluctantly, wraps his arms around the pony. And gives her a gentle snuggly hug. "Oh, I suppose a small hug won't hurt. I know Fluttershy would probably be happy with me right now. And I suppose, I should say an encouraging word of my own. Let's see...Ahh, yes..." Discord gently pulls her away, kneels on one knee, and puts a ball right in front of her. "Son, you have to believe in yourself, you need to get this ball into the basket and win the game. Everypony's hope rests on you. And I know you can do it. I believe in you"
>Starlight looks at him, first confused, and then she starts to laugh. "Ok, that's pretty funny. hmmnn.." Her laughter slowly subsided as she looked up to Discord, as thankful to him as she was to you "Thank you Discord, you're not as bad as I thought you were"
>"...Oh...let's not go that far." Discord warned "I've done my good deeds for the day I think. My magic is back..." Discord snaps his talons, making a beach chair appear behind him as sunglasses appear over his eyes. He dives back into the chair as he conjures a drink of frozen fruit punch with cubes of warm liquid floating inside it. "And I've had my fill on this little venture, just tell me when it's over"

>Starlight still couldn't help but smile at him. But with his attention gone. She shifted back to you "Well, I feel better now. You two are pretty good together. Hard to imagine he was once a huge jerk."
"Well, he's Discord. You really have no idea what you're gonna get with that guy. But I would never trade him up for anything."
>She really did look a lot better. She took another look at the photo. Then went to put it in her locker within the vault. "I guess that means that whole Father son thing isn't so fake after all. heh, it's cute. but, I guess I'm going off subject. " She lets out a calm sigh, and looks to you with confidence "I think I can totally handle meeting Sunburst now. I guess I just needed some positivity to balance out the negativity."
>It was good to see her like this. It made you realize something too. Even if you did have a stronger will to help others and manage your problems. You knew you had friends to get your back when things seemed hopeless. You also, just needed to remember to also be responsible. to avoid a similar situation like that of Scoots.
"I'd just like to think of it as a little push from your friends. I'm glad we were able to help Starlight"

>"I'm glad too. I really am.....oh!" Starlight realized she forgot about something and walks over to the workbench and opens a drawer "We've made a little progress on this taser thing by the way" She holds it up with her magic. It seems she's taken the liberty of making a few modifications to it. It's been repainted. And there was a strange cylinder near the trigger. A strap, supposedly for hooves, was also added to it. "While I wasn't able to figure out anything about what it has to do with that other Anon you mentioned. I did find out that the make of it is actually pretty simple. So I sort of reverse engineered it annnnnd." She attaches the taser to her hoof and thrusts her hoof slightly, causing a small bolt of electricity to shoot out a few inches. "Zap! This special battery here is based off the one that got used before we got it. All you need to do is put some unicorn magic into it and it converts it to electricity using the original battery inside. It was pretty easy to figure out, I really thought it'd be more complicated. But I can't take all the credit, we do have some amazing tinkerers in the town that got the battery working. Neat, right?"
>Woah. So it still works. But, a shame it's a dead end when it comes to that other you. You should have expected that though. A single simple object like this wasn't going to get anywhere. Still, she seemed happy about the conversion. It was pretty neat. A real showing of pony ingenuity.
"Yeah woah. More useful than the tasers back in my world. Though, I guess it's most useful in the hooves of a unicorn. Are you going to use it or are you going to mass produce this thing?"

>"Ummm, I haven't decided. This is still just a prototype" She puts it back into the workbench's drawer. "I'd like to make a few to help the townsponies feel more safe. We're pretty alone out here and sometimes there are a few scary creatures that come nearby. But we have to get the kick on these things down. Right now? It's enough to knock out a pony. That's a little too strong I think"
"I guess, it's supposed to cause a strong shock though. And if there's monsters that show up every now and again. It might not be a good idea to make it too weak."
>"I wasn't going to make it that weak. Just enough not to knock out a pony in a single shock. It seems a little rough to me. You know what I mean? Or maybe I can just find somepony in town who can make have settings. That way it can be adjusted depending on the situation" Starlight pondered, she hadn't thought of it before. But your suggestion made her realize that this was probably the best option. But then..something else entered her head. "Actually Anon, if we forget the taser for a second. Can we talk about the changelings in your basement? And don't tell me I shouldn't worry, because I know what changelings are. And that's serious business. I just want to make sure, as a friend, that you're handling this."
>"Yes Anon, HOW is that going?" Discord says from his chair. Not even turning his head towards you. "I didn't really get a chance to eavesdrop on that little mission of yours. How did it go?"
>"Mission? What is he talking about?" That caught Starlight's attention. And you know? You weren't worried. Good stuff came out of it.

"Oh, you'll love this Starlight. Get this, you know that changeling disguised as a puppy right. Well, first. Super confirmed, he likes my filly friends and he's even friends with Princess Luna now. And Queen Chrysalis doesn't even realize it. And then, Queen Chrysalis herself gave us a mission to hunt down a rogue changeling, that, as it turned out, was totally good. Like, he just wants to be friends with ponies because he's sick of being around changelings. So we made up a story that we destroyed him, and Princess Luna took him back to Canterlot to y'know. Learn more about him and the changelings. Basically, I'm finally making progress. Because now I know the changeling hoard themselves can be reformed. Pretty good, right?"
>"Are you serious? Princess Luna took in a changeling she just met? How could any of you be sure that he wasn't fooling any of you? These are changelings, remember?" Starlight was trying to keep you at a certain state of caution, she didn't want to hear in the future that the changelings tricked you.
"Because I trust Scrappy, that changeling disguised as a puppy. He lies to Queen Chrysalis, and while he's not fully reformed. He loves his friends, and he would do anything for them just to make them happy. So when he said to me that Thorax was a traitorous wimp. I believe it, because that's what he is. a total pony lover. I'd stake my own life on the fact that that is true."
>"Yes, I would also stake his life that it's true. I've seen that puppy. Dumb as bricks that one.He doesn't even know what he wants. Conquest? Friendship? He's so much in the dead zone that the only thing that matters to him is just keeping the friends he has while obeying his queen, A being like that? Anon would be right, he's trustworthy." Discord comments as he brings out tanning mirrors.....for use in a cave?...fine.

>Starlight sighs "You two are so insane. But, if you're that sure. Then I won't say anything more about it. But Anon, just be careful ok? If it's really true, then I'm glad. But from the sounds of it. But I doubt every changeling is like that. You need to be careful"
>This..this you would take to heart this time. You screwed this up already by not taking more caution. You wouldn't tell her that you fucked up. You wanted to end this on a good note.
"I Understand Starlight. I promise to be careful. But I really think I have a handle on this and...uh?"
>Starlight moves in for another hug and holds you close "I mean it Anon, if you end up in a grave, I'll dig you up just to throw you back in. You got it?" She stops hugging you and looks into your eyes with deep seriousness "I mean it too, I have a shovel at home."
"I got it Starlight. I promise, Trust me, I totally have a grip on it."
>"I hope so Anon" She hugs onto you again "I hope so"
>There wasn't much more to the visit after that. There was a little more small talk, and then Discord reminding you that you had something to do. And then, without actually apologizing to Double Diamond . As Discord didn't want to deal with it. You both left, with one more hug to Starlight. And a sharing of good luck to the both of you. You could only hope for her to have success.You wished she'd take you with her. But, you just had to trust in her.
>You wanted to talk a little more with Discord as well. But he reminded you that he was going to visit Fluttershy for a little R&R and that you had important business of your own to attend to. And he especially didn't want to talk about how he was acting nice. So he returned you to your room.
>As for you yourself? You were happy. Happy to help Starlight, happy for the support from Discord. Happy that you felt you had a better grip on how to do things. And now? You were going to be happy to help Scrappy.