//------------------------------// // Le Plan // Story: The Secret Side Of Discord // by Lemon Pegasus //------------------------------// Starswirl sprinted outside, so excited to see the “new pet” Discord had told him about. Then, Starswirl just stopped bouncing and sat there, puzzled. Discord looked up from Starswirl to see a cart with hay, but no cow. “Oh yes” he said to himself, the cow was still invisible. He clicked his fingers while holding the cow and it turned visible again, but Discord turned invisible. With another click, he was back to normal. Discord looked happily at Starswirl, sweat dripping from his face after pulling the heavy cart. Starswirl Bounced around the cow in an exited manner, a huge smile on his face! “Come on now” Discord said calmly, leading the cow into his garden. Discord’s garden was reasonably big; although he wasn’t sure the cow would have enough space. After all, wouldn’t it need a stable for when it gets cold outside? “Oh great, I’ll have to do more manual labour!” Discord thought to himself. He immediately felt better when he saw Starswirl petting the cow, smiling. Whenever Discord saw Starswirl smile, he would always smile back. It was just what happened. Something was changing in Discord, he wasn't in the mood to blow everything up like normal, he was just... calm. The cow seemed to have a “whatever” look on his face; he just stood there, his tail swishing about while a foal half his size jumped about cheering. What Discord saw next made him burst out laughing! Starswirl leaped under the cow and prodded its udders! The cow just gave a snort and plodded away. Discord fell to the floor, laughing hysterically! Starswirl just looked confusedly at Discord as he laughed. Once Dhe finally contained himself (after about 30 whole seconds) Discord got up and wiped his head. Starswirl seemed to have been side tracked, and he just ran off to the edge of the garden. Discord quickly followed, and there was a large pile of wood! “Oh yes” Discord said to Starswirl, “this is where my shed used to be, it was destroyed during a little... accident.” Of course the accident was a serious one, but he didn’t want to tell Starswirl about it, he might get frightened. Starswirl slowly approached a plank of wood and held out his hoof. He then turned around to face Discord, his hoof still extended. Discord crouched down and saw that Starswirl had found a ladybird! Starswirl seemed fascinated by the creature, Discord didn’t care much for it but he put on some fascination so he would be giving the right attitude to Starswirl. The ladybird flew away, and Starswirl ran inside. Discord, however, remained outside. He stared at the wood and thought: “Starswirl hasn’t got a room yet, and I have all this wood here...” brilliant! But... discord had no experience with creating furniture, how is he going to create a bed, a cupboard, a desk AND toys? Meh, yolo. Discord decided that first of all he would need some nails and tools. Tools are off the list, Discord had a hammer and a saw inside, but he would have to buy some nails; but how? It’s not like a creature like Discord can just walk into a shop and buy some nails, last time he tried it he was on the run for weeks just because ponies thought he looked like “a guy looking for trouble.” Discord knew that he wouldn’t be able to raise Starswirl without the ability to go out and buy supplies; he would have to do something about it. There was only one thing he could do; he would have to talk to Princess Celestia about it. Only a pony with her level of power would be able to convince everypony that Discord was not about to start WW3 every time he went out to buy stuff. But, how could he talk to her without risk? Would the guards even let him near the princess? Would Starswirl be taken away from Discord? What if they found out he stole a cow, he would go to prison for that! How was Dicord going to get to Canterlot? But, there was no other way. Either that or he would have to move to Apple Loosa, and that was a no no. Discord’s house was between the mountain Canterlot sat upon and Foal Mountain, so the journey would be a long one, he would have to take Starswirl on this journey, there was no way he was going to leave him on his own for almost a week! The train wasn’t an option; Discord wouldn’t fit in any of the carriages. It would have to be a road trip, featuring tents, camp fires and hiking. Still, would Starswirl’s tiny legs be able to handle such a long journey? Discord’s wings surely wouldn’t, so they would definitely have to walk and not fly. He would have to carry Starswirl. So, check-list: Discord would need a large tent, a sleeping bag for Starswirl, some kind of large cover for himself, a temporary supply of food, drinks and some entertainment for Starswirl. Also, Discord would need a large rucksack to carry all this. So, the camping equipment first, how was Discord going to get it? He would probably have to get a message to Ponyville to have them custom made. Discord grabbed some paper and a pen and started writing: Dear Ponyville textiles designer I require the following items: 1 tent 2 metres by 2 metres, 1 plastic cover 2 metres by 8 metres, one rucksack adult size. Please right back with an estimated delivery time and prices. Send message to this address: Foal Mountain 6 Rocky Lane SQ5 P0NY Discord folded the paper over and writ on one side “To Ponyville textiles designer”. Discord didn’t know the designer’s name, it would have to do. He walked outside and left the letter inside his letterbox, and he raised the red flag on it so passing mail ponies would know there was mail inside.