Don't Stutter

A Rare Gift

"Spike! I'm heading out!" Twilight called, closing the door behind her.

It was a beautiful night. Midnight. Nopony else was awake, and she was left to wander down the empty streets of Ponyville alone. But she wasn't complaining. She wouldn't need them, where she was going.

In the middle of a field, not far outside the borders of the town was a rare moss. And every one-hundred years, from that moss would sprout a beautiful flower. It was incredibly rare, and hadn't been seen in thousands of years due to the extinction of the species. But Twilight had finally been able to identify it, and now she wanted to see it bloom.

They didn't even have a name, they were so rare. And she wanted to study it, collect samples, and see whether she could be the one to name this magnificent specimen.

Entering the Everfree, she smiled giddily to herself, looking up through the trees.

"Tonight," she whispered. "It should be tonight. A new moon? Beginning of Autumn? This has to be it. Come on, Twilight. The thing glows for goodness' sake. It should be easy to find."

She peered out behind a collection of bushes, and spotted an eerie blue light coming from the middle of the field. Perfect.

She nearly galloped to the field. And then she saw it. A strange, lily-like flower, luminescent and bathing in the moonlight Luna cast. The moss it grew from, standing thick below it, pulsed with the comforting light.

"Oh!" Her gasp of surprise was irrepressible. "Fascinating! I didn't even know that it bloomed under a full moon." She glanced up at the lunar sphere above.

A soft fluttering sound she heard. It wasn't loud enough to concern her, but it did reach her hearing. Twilight pricked her ears, ready to hear anything behind her. A timberwolf howl. The sinister growl of a Manticore.

What she didn't, expect, however, was to hear a familiar voice right next to her ear.

"Well! Isn't it a pleasure seeing you here, Twilight Sparkle? What, pray tell, are you doing up this late?" the voice asked from behind her.

She rolled her eyes. "Great," she whispered. "Hello, Discord."

The chaotic spirit landed next to her, a tired smile on his face. He settled much like a cat, with his forelegs somewhat folded under his chest. His back was sitting upwards in an uncomfortable-looking arch, with his wings fluffing at his sides.

"Good to see you too, my dear. Say, what are you doing this late at night, in the Everfree, no less?" he asked, cocking his head at her.

"I was just studying this flower, until you showed up."

The spirit showed some genuine interest, leaning his head down to sniff cautiously at it. "Fascinating," he said quietly, saying the same words Twilight had only moments ago.

"What are you doing here, might I ask?" the mulberry alicorn retorted.

"Oh, I was just heading out for a night fly."

Twilight tsked, rolling her eyes. "Sure you were."

Discord smiled at her, narrowing his eyes. "What? You've never tried it? You doubt me? Who do you think you're talking to?"

"A clever, conniving master of chaos who is known to trick and manipulate others."

He laughed. "Fair enough, princess. You've won this round. But I'm not lying when I say that I really was going out for a delightful little sky-stroll, when I saw some familiar little face down here." He gestured at the flower, poking the moss gently. "What is this...gorgeous specimen?"

Twilight leaned closer to it. "I don't know. It's so rare it doesn't have a name. And it only blooms for one day."

Discord raised an eyebrow at her. "Why don't you preserve the flower?"

"It's been known to die in captivity, and rot away before we can get anything from it. We have to study it as much as we can for just one night, and work with what we've got."

"You know, Alicorns possess special regenerative abilities. Maybe, if you could keep that spell going, it would stay alive in captivity, long enough for you to study it."

Twilight's ears folded to her head. "Yes, but we can only keep the spell up for so long."

The spirit laughed. "Will you stop using 'we' my dear? You sound like Lulu."

She rolled her eyes again, her forehead creasing as she frowned deeply. "I'm referring to all the ponies that have tried to study this thing! For the love of Ithersta, Discord! Don't you realize that this is important? And that I don't need you distracting me?"

Discord smiled garishly at her. "Well, if I'm distracting, why don't I start helping?"

"Oh, no," Twilight started. "I most certainly do not-"

But before she could finish, there was a small flash of light, and the click of talons together. But the flower, and everything around them, looked exactly the same.

She narrowed her eyes at him as he grinned smugly, his nose lifted. "What did you do?"

At that, he wrapped his talon around it and ripped it forcefully out of the ground. Twilight screamed, and he laughed, his wings flaring.

"WHAT'RE YOU DOING?!" Twilight screeched.

He backed away quickly. "Woah woah woah! No need to get all evil on me there, my dear! I simply made the flower regenerative! It'll always grow back everything it needs to live. Heck, it doesn't even need sunlight anymore to survive, nor soil, or water."

 Using a claw from his paw, he quickly sliced the lower stem away, leaving just the blossom at the top. But it quickly grew back, an almost exact replica of the one before it.

Still unsparingly gripping it, he tossed it at her. She gingerly caught it in her magic. Studying it, she found that he had indeed left the flower almost exactly the same. To test it, she laid it on the ground and smashed it under her hoof. And it did indeed come back, re-inflating like a balloon.

"Huh."

Twilight looked up at the spirit. He was studying his claws, unable to hide his proud smile.

"Thank you, Discord."

He was surprised at the sudden forgiveness. He frowned, looking down at her as his face darkened. "I...Y-you're very welcome, Twilight," he stuttered.