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// Night Under the Stars 
// Story: The Origin of Discord 
// by KidatHeart5 
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	When Discord was invited to go camping with the CMC, how could he say “no”? True, he had never gone camping before, so he jumped at the chance. He wanted to try a new experience and bond with the three fillies. Ever since he became an honorary CMC, he felt closer to the girls on two accounts: he, like them, felt different than most ponies, and they seemed to have so much fun with him. This was not to say he wasn’t close to the Mane Six…especially Fluttershy.
She had done so much for him ever since she reformed him. While her friends were hesitant to welcome him, she seemed to be the one who understood him. She knew that he needed his freedom and he always counted on her to help him. Still, he never felt like he fit in with others and tired of being nice to others. When Tirek offered him freedom over friendship, Discord jumped at the chance. The spirit took friendship for granted and tried to use it with Tirek. However, since neither of them truly understood it, Tirek ended up betraying his ally.
Though he mostly learned about friendship at that point, the betrayal cut Discord deeply. It wasn’t that he considered Tirek a friend, but rather he trusted him to give him freedom. He then realized that freedom could also come from having friends. He had been blind till then, so he was going to make sure he didn’t lose any one of his companions. He thought he did when the Grand Galloping Gala approached.
He was very upset when Fluttershy said that she was taking someone else to the event. On impulse, he took the Smooze with him to show her he didn’t need her. But in truth, that was not the case. He needed her very much because he felt that she helped him fit in with the ponies. Without her as his only friend, he was just an outsider. The Cutie Mark Crusaders could relate to him on account of being without their cutie marks. When Discord was asked to go camping with the girls, he was excited to spend time with them.
As the sun was setting, the CMC were pitching up their tents. Scootaloo grunted, “Do you think being out in the wilderness will help us get our cutie marks?” Apple Bloom responded, “Well, it’s worth a shot. I’m glad our sisters let us camp by ourselves.” Sweetie Belle added, “Yeah, on the condition that Discord chaperones us.” Apple Bloom asked, “By the way, where is he?” Scootaloo said, “Well, I hope he isn’t leaving us here all alone.”
“And let you three have an adventure without me? I think not!”
In a flash of light, Discord appeared with a bag in his arms. He was wearing the same attire he wore on their animal field trip. The CMC cheered, “Discord! You made it!” They ran to hug him, but he cried, “Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Careful! I brought some things we need to make s’mores, so don’t crush them!”
The CMC cheered, “YAY! S’mores! We’re making s’mores! Hooray for Discord!” Discord levitated the bag, tore his hat in half, and put either half in his ears. “Geez!” he exclaimed. “Don’t you ever keep things down a notch?” 
*****
The stars were out, the fire was lit, and the CMC and Discord were happily toasting marshmallows. The fillies pulled their marshmallows from the fire and put them between their graham crackers and chocolate. Discord, on the other hand, put his marshmallow between two pieces of chocolate (instead of graham crackers) and a graham cracker (instead of the chocolate). The girls thought it was odd, so Scootaloo asked, “Umm…Discord…You’re supposed to put it between graham crackers, not chocolate.” He shrugged while he chewed his s’more, “So? What’s wrong with switching it up?” 
Apple Bloom said, “Hey, after we eat our s’mores, we can tell stories around the campfire.” Scootaloo playfully made a scary face, “Ooh! Let’s tell ghost stories! Wooooooo…” This disturbed Sweetie Belle, and she suggested, “I don’t exactly like that idea. How about fairy tales?” Scoots disagreed, “But we’ve heard them a million times.” 
Discord swallowed and said, “I agree with Scootaloo. Fairy tales, to me, are very much boring and also very silly.” This gave the girls an idea. They gave each other glances and said in unison, “What don’t you tell us your story?” Discord paused before he could bite into his s’more again. He looked at the fillies and asked modestly, “Me? You want to hear the story of little old me?”
Apple Bloom said, “Yeah, we want to know where you came from.” Scootaloo added, “And how you got your cool powers!” Discord chuckled, “Well, I guess you can say I’m the type with a history as strange as my magic.” He snapped his fingers and the campfire and logs disappeared, replaced by a rug for the girls to sit on, a chair for Discord, and a lamp to provide light. Discord had a maroon satin robe on and reading glasses to read the book he had conjured up. He cleared his throat, “Now…where to begin?” He flipped the pages and stopped when he remarked, “Ah! Here we go…”