//------------------------------//
// Prologue: Tea-time with Fluttershy 
// Story: Discourse with Discord 
// by Gohma Dameon 
//------------------------------//

	The sky and sea had just merged into a single expanse of yellow to contrast the blue grass. They would have looked better intermingled in a checkerboard pattern, but sometimes concessions were necessary. Besides, the sand on the beach had run away when it turned red, so there wasn't a third color to use for a plaid pattern, which would have been ideal.

“Have you been listening to me?” Fluttershy asked.

“What?” Discord shot back defensively. “You said it was alright to warp time-space and the natural spectrum of visible light inside of pocket dimensions carved from uninhabited corners of Equestria. There's no one in here besides us,” he pointed out as he gestured around the small expanse which tapered off at it's nearby horizons.

“It's not that, silly, I think this is beautiful,” Fluttershy reassured him. “I just meant that you were very focused on the, um, coastline. I didn't think you were listening to what I was saying.”

“Oh. No, I haven't. I chose to ignore you once I realized that you were trying to get me to spend more time with your friends. It's a moot point, but you insist on wasting your time with it, so I decided to spare myself my own time this time.”

Fluttershy quietly gave the draconequus a stern look. She considered him a friend, but he didn't seem interested in making any friends besides her. It was troubling, both because she was concerned that he was shutting others out for a deep-rooted reason that she wanted to help him overcome, and because she was afraid that once she was gone he might return to his cruel ways. “Discord.”

“Don't take that overbearing-British-matriarch tone with me.”

“British?”

“Never mind. My point is that getting along with those ponies is impossible. The only reason you manage it is because you have the patience of a saint.”

“That's not true, they are very kind when they know somepony-”

“Exactly! I'm not a pony! They won't tolerate me because they think I'm a monster.” To emphasize his point, Discord grew to occupy most of their little slice of reality and devoured their entire picnic; blanket, tea set and all. He immediately returned to a more manageable size and supplied a new picnic basket from nowhere with replacements for everything he had just consumed, but still.

“That is my point as well,” Fluttershy explained as she poured them each a new cup of tea. “If you would just take the time to get to know them and let them know you, they would see that underneath your imposing looks and power you're still a person.”

“It won't work. Whenever I'm near, ponies either cower and flee or pretend to tolerate my presence while hatred seethes just under the surface.”

Fluttershy felt as though she were getting closer to understanding why Discord was so vitriolic. “I don't. We talk like this all the time.”

Discord smiled sadly, then his smile grew more cynical as he remarked, “You are different. It's a wonder you haven't been eaten by a chimera.”

“I've never met a chimera, but I'd like to.”

“Hahahahah, you see? You like monsters!”

“There's no such thing as monsters. Ponies who think there are just don't know better.”

“But there is such a thing as a dangerous animal, no?”

“Ponies can be dangerous, too. It doesn't matter how we look, or what we're capable of. It's what we choose to be that makes us what we are. I chose a long time ago to be kind. That's all I've ever needed to be.”

Discord mulled over this for a while, nibbling at his teacup until he only had the handle and the tea left. Resigning himself to what he was about to do, he ate his tea in one bite and finally asked, “What do you think I should do?”