Demonic Brother

by kurusagi16

The Capital

The Capital

Many years later, in the present....

Fluttershy was standing in the middle of a grand ballroom dressed in a resplendent ballgown. She immediately began to feel uneasy, as all the ponies present in the room stood around her in a large circle, staring at her and whispering among themselves. Fluttershy cringed, wanting to run away and hide someplace to avoid their looks. Then, a single voice spoke up, drawing her attention away from the spectators.

"Ah, Fluttershy, my dear!" said Discord, who suddenly appeared before her, dressed in a handsome-looking tuxedo. "I've been looking all over for you."

"Oh, Discord." said Fluttershy, feeling a teeny bit of relief. "Thank goodness, it's good to see you."

"My, my, what seems to be the matter my dear? You're all flustered." said Discord, causing Fluttershy's cheeks to turn a slightly deeper shade of red.

Fluttershy cast her eyes downward and pressed a clench hoof against her chest as she replied, "I can't help it, everypony keeps staring at me! I'm...I'm so embarrassed."

Without any warning, Discord suddenly pulled Fluttershy into a tender embrace, pressing her against his chest, and lifting her chin up so that she was looking up at his face and into those bright eyes of his.

"They are looking at you because you are lovely, and all of them are in awe because of it." he said sweetly.

"Discord..." Fluttershy uttered.

"Just stay close to me, and you won't have to worry about all those other ponies, alright?"

Fluttershy wrapped her arms around his waist, and rested her head against his chest. "Oh Discord, that makes me feel better. Thank you."

It was certainly nothing short of an almost perfect and sweet moment, that is, until it was abruptly cut short by a loud voice ringing out, "DISCORD!!" And just like that, the scene shattered.

Discord's eyes shot open and he quickly sat himself up from the table he'd been sitting at, feeling a bit of drool dripping from the side of his mouth. At first, Discord had no idea where he was, until he slowly began to process his surroundings and remember that he was at the Office of the Magistrate. He was in a dully-colored circular room, with little to no furniture, excluding the table and chair that Discord was currently in front of him. Discord looked straight ahead of him, and spotted the source of the interruption to his enjoyable and pleasant dream. It was none other than Magister Luna, and she didn't look very pleased, with her narrowed eyes and arms folded across her chest.

"Discord," said Luna, her voice filled with irritation. "If you're going to take this test with any shred of seriousness, then the least you can do is stay awake so that you can actually complete it!"

He glanced down at the table, and saw a few forms, some of which were still not quite finished, before him. It all came flooding back to him. He had come by order/request of the Magistrate to fill out some forms and take a few tests, so he could apply for citizenship in the New World. Discord also recalled how partway through he'd gotten bored by the forms and dozed off.

He rolled his eyes at Luna and replied to her, "Well to be frank, my dear, your paperwork here is so dry and dull that it'd put anypony to sleep."

Luna groaned. "No matter." she said. "Just finish it up, and then..." Using her magic, she heaved up a large book onto the table. "...You can go over these rules and regulations before completing the final forms."

Discord frowned at both Luna and the mountain of papers he had to go through. But instead of saying anything back, he merely grumbled under his breath and resumed the work he'd been doing before his little nap, occasionally glancing up at Luna who remained there to make sure he didn't fall asleep again.

It had been roughly a few months since he had been freed from his stone prison, and since he met Fluttershy and gotten those rouge vampires under control. During which time, Discord had been staying out at Fluttershy's villa, where the two of them recovered from their little ordeal with Eldra and took the time to just relax and get to know one another. It wasn't until a week ago that he'd gotten the letter from the Magistrate.

When he'd arrived, Magister Celestia sat him down and asked what his intentions were now that he was free, and after a while the conversation drifted to a discussion of making him an official citizen of the New World. When Celestia first recommended it, Discord wasn't really sure if he wanted to go through the long and tedious process, but then he thought, if he was an actual citizen, then it'd be a lot easier for him to move about and not worry about getting caught and reported by ponies. Not to mention he'd get a better chance of getting to spend more time with Fluttershy, outside the villa and outside of his disguise.

And so here he was, the great, infamous Master/Lord/Spirit of Chaos, sitting down and doing paperwork. Answering boring questions. Sitting still in one place. With no other sound except the noise from the quill pen as it wrote on the paper. For a being like Discord, it was right along the line of torture. He was going stir crazy, as he itched to move around and do something outlandish and outrageous. Like turn the room upside down, give it bright and garish colors that clashed, or something as equally silly to Magister Luna.

But, as much as he wanted to do that, he was stopped by one thing, the thought of how Fluttershy would react if she saw or found out what he'd done if he did it. She'd tell him how upset and disappointed she was in him, and she'd tell him how he'd have to make up for what he'd done and apologize to the Magistrate. (Something he wasn't too fond of doing, seeing how he was still working on how to be nice, and apologies were still something he had a bit of trouble giving out.)

Thus, Discord did his best to push those thoughts to the back of his head, and instead tried to distract his mind with something else, so he could finish his work and finally go back to the villa. He began to imagine Fluttershy there waiting for him with a piping hot plate of biscuits with jam and a cup of tea, and how she'd ask him how it went at the Magistrate, ready to be comforting and supportive when needed. For Discord, while the thought was indeed nice and pleasant, it still felt odd and foreign to him.

After all, he had been a wild and carefree spirit in the old days, and now he was living with a kind, adorable, beautiful little Pegasus, who treated him like dear friend. He'd never had a friend before in all his days, and now that he had one, it seemed almost impossible to believe. And yet it was true. Dear, sweet little Fluttershy was his friend. His dear friend. His best friend. His...

"Discord!" said Luna sharply. "Do not doodle on the forms."

Discord then took a closer look at his paper and felt his face grow warm. He had been so wrapped up in his own mind, that he accidentally scribbled little butterflies and hearts onto the paper. He quickly snapped his talons, and made the doodles disappear, and feverishly went back to completing the test. Luna arched an eyebrow at him, taking note of how embarrassed he seemed to be when she caught him. If she wanted, she could've pressed Discord to see what the issue was, but chose to just resume supervising the Draconequus. For the rest of that time, there was nothing but silence, and pen scratches.

* * *

Meanwhile, while all that was going on, Fluttershy and Twilight were riding together in a carriage, heading for the capital.

"It feels good to be going home." Twilight said aloud as she looked out the window at the passing scenery. "It feels like forever since I was back here, it'll be nice to Shining Armor and everypony again."

"I've never been to the capital before." said Fluttershy. "What's it like?"

Twilight mused over it for a moment, before explaining to Fluttershy what her hometown was like. "Well, it's pretty big, and there's a lot of different kinds of homes and establishments. My favorite has got to be the library, then again, the observatory's pretty nice too. But anyway, it's always pretty busy, a lot different from Wisteria and other country towns."

Fluttershy listened intently with wide-eyed curiosity. "Oh? Papa sometimes talked about capital from time to time. He said that it relies more on modern science than on traditional magic."

Twilight nodded. "Yep. You'll still see some magic used here and there, but for the most part, cities like the capital try to focus more on science and trying to create substitutions for spells and such. I guess you could call it the progress of the New World."

Fluttershy gave a small smile. "It sounds interesting, I can't wait to see it!" she said. "I wonder if Discord is having any fun there right now."

"Well, probably not right now, after all, he has to take that citizenship test, so he might have his...paws full." said Twilight.

Fluttershy lowered her head down a little. "Oh."

"But, I wouldn't worry about it too much. Once he finishes, he can meet up with us while we're taking a look around town."

"Really?"

Twilight nodded. "I made sure to send a quick letter to Magister Celestia, to let her know we'll be stopping by for a quick visit. So, I'm sure we'll all be able to catch in some sight seeing before we head back."

"That sounds like a lovely idea!" chirped Fluttershy. "Thank you, Twilight."

"No thanks necessary." Twilight replied. She turned back to the window, her eyes lighting up as she said, "Ah! We're here!"

Fluttershy also looked out the window, and watched as the carriage pulled into the capital. She stared unblinkingly as she looked at the town, feeling as though she'd stepped into an entirely different world. There were buildings that ranged from towering to medium heights, dozens of shops advertising their businesses, and even little apartment homes for the townsponies to live in.

Twilight glanced over at Fluttershy and chuckled. "Welcome to the capital, Fluttershy."

Shining Armor was standing in front of the stairs of the Office of the Magistrate, looking for any sign of his little sister. He was beginning to wonder what was keeping her, and if maybe something bad had happened to her. But the worry quickly disappeared when her a voice call out to him.

"Shining!" Shining Armor turned his head in the direction of the voice, and was immediately tackled in a hug by Twilight.

"Twily!" he cried joyfully, returning the hug. "I ,missed you so much!"

"I missed you too, BBBFF." replied Twilight.

The two Unicorn siblings pulled away, Shining Armor ruffled the top of his sisters head and said, "It's great to have you back."

"It's great to be back."

Shining Armor then looked over Twilight's shoulder and spotted Fluttershy. "I'm guessing this is the friend you've been writing to me about." he said.

Twilight nodded and motioned for Fluttershy to come closer. "This is Fluttershy, Fluttershy, this is my older brother, Shining Armor."

"It's nice to meet you." said Fluttershy with a little curtsy.

"Please, the pleasure's all mine." replied Shining, giving her a light bow. "To tell the truth, I was actually starting to worry a little about when you girls would get here."

"Sorry about that" apologized Twilight. "The carriage ride over here took a lot longer than I expected."

Shining Armor shrugged. "Well, no matter. What's important is that you girls are here, and now we can start catching up. A lot has happened while you were away Twily."

"Wait, what about Discord?" asked Fluttershy.

"I think he's still busy with Luna in the exam room." answered Shining Armor. "No need to worry."

"He's right Fluttershy." interjected Twilight. "Like I said, when Discord's done, he can come and find us. Besides, I pretty sure he'll be fine on his own in the meantime."

Fluttershy glanced reluctantly at the Magistrate's building reluctantly before replying, "Well...alright then, if you're sure."

"Good, now that we've got that matter settled." said Shining, as he began to lead the mares down the street. "How's about I tell you a few stories about Twily when she was younger on our way to the Doughnut shop?"

Twilight's cheeks went red as she cried out in embarrassment, "Shining!"

* * *

"There! Finished!" cried out Discord in exhausted triumph. He had finally completed the stupid forms, and was no at last free to go.

"Hold it." said Magister Luna, stopping him before he had a chance to teleport away and escape.

Discord let out a loud, annoyed groan. "Ugh, what now?"

"My sister would like to have a few words with you before you go on your way." said Luna, as she used her magic to neatly place the paperwork into an organized stack.

"Fine." said Discord. "But it better be quick." With a snap, he teleported into Celestia's office, momentarily startling her.

"Oh, Discord, it's you." said Celestia, catching her breath. "I trust the application went well?"

Discord scoffed. "If you call boring as Tartarus as going well, then yes." His gaze wandered around the office, as he added, "I was told you wanted to talk to me about something."

"Yes." said Celestia, getting right down to business. "I wanted to talk to you about young Miss Fluttershy."

This time, it was Discord's turn to be caught off guard, as he froze upon hearing the name of his dear friend. "W-what about her?" he asked.

"You've been living with her for quite a few months now, during which time you haven't been causing any of the usual chaos and mischief that you would've in the past. And I find that to be quite...interesting."

Discord narrowed his eyes at her and crossed his arms defensively over his chest. "What are you getting at?" he asked.

"I want to know exactly what your relations with Fluttershy are." Celestia answered simply.

He stared at her and gulped, not sure how exactly he should answer. True, Fluttershy was his friend, but recently, he'd begun to feel a mix of odd emotions. Emotions which led to peculiar thoughts of how lovely and nice she was, and even more peculiar dreams like the one he had earlier that day. It was very strange for him to be experiencing such things like this, and yet, he enjoyed experiencing them. Even though he didn't fully understand them or why he was having them in the first place.

Clearing his throat, Discord answered, "She's just a friend, that's all."

Celestia tilted her head, and studied him carefully. "Interesting, I never would've thought that a friend could inspire such change in you."

"Well, I do owe her quite a bit after what I did to her." he admitted. "But even after all that, she sees it in he heart to forgive a creature like me." A smile slowly spread across his face. "She certainly is a curious little thing."

The corners of Celestia's mouth curved into a slight smile, recognizing the distant and happy look etched onto Draconequus' face. "I see. Then I take it you have no wish to use her or harm her for a means to your own ends?" she inquired.

Discord straightened and shot a glare at her. "That better be a joke, dear Celestia. Fluttershy is my friend, and after all she's done and been through, I can assure you that I would never use her or harm her."

"But you did when you first met her." Celestia pointed out.

"That was different!" said he said. "Besides, I've learned my lesson, or has the little incident slipped your mind?"

"No, it hasn't. Forgive me Discord, I just wanted some assurance that you weren't up to one of your usual tricks. After all, you are quite infamous for them." she said.

Discord grumbled to himself, but seemed to accept her apology. "Well, if your little interrogation is over, I really must be going." He turned to leave, when Celestia stopped him.

"Just a moment, Discord. Before you go, I think you should know that I received a letter not too long ago from Twilight, she and Fluttershy should be visiting the capital right about now, and have invited you to join them as soon as you finished the test."

"Fluttershy's here?" he asked, his mood noticeably beginning to lighten. "Then why didn't you say so sooner?" And with that, Discord was gone, off to find Fluttershy, wherever she was.

Celestia couldn't help but chuckle to herself, finding it somewhat amusing that the mere mention of the Pegasus could bring such happiness to the trouble making spirit. "I'll have to keep an eye on those two." she said to herself. "I'm most interested to see what lies in store for them."

Author's Note:

The New World Capital is supposed to be based on America/New York, as it was beginning to modernize, roughly around the 1900s or so. But there isn't a lot of major advancements yet. Also, the dram sequence Discord had was inspired by episode 3 of Ouran highschool host club. It felt like a nice thing to add in the case of Discord, since he shows off his emotions more.

I'll try to add more later on.

Comments

[_Ocean_Breeze_]

FIRST!!!!!!!

[Dr midnight]

can't wait to see more

[HeartfireFirebrand]

Celestia tilted her head, and studied him carefully. "Interesting, I never would've thought that a friend could inspire such change in you."

Celestia he has never had a friend before, how do you know how would behave?

[Boones]

"It feels good to be going home." Twilight said aloud as she looked out the window at the passing scenery. "It feels like forever since I was back here, it'll be nice to Shining Armor and everypony again."[you accidentally made a whoopsies and it's nice to shining armor part you should have put it's nice to see shining armor and I think you done a real good job with the story and with the why you said is the only whoopsies I see oh well not everybody's perfect we're all human]