A collection of stories involving the home life of Discord, Fluttershy and their daughters after the events of season 9.
A few years after the series finale, the happily married Fluttershy and Discord had two beautiful daughters: the older and rambunctious pegasus, Wildflower and the younger but sweet draconequus, Raven Shy.
As one can expect, they aren't exactly an average family. Everyday is an adventure with these crazy teens. And they wouldn't change their happiness for the world.
A random collection of stories with no real plot involving my Fluttercord Next Gen OCs.
It was a bright spring morning in Ponyville. The early morning sunlight peaked through the curtains of Fluttershy's room, landing squarely on her face. She groaned as she started to open her eyes and wake up. She yawned, sitting up and rubbing her eyes with her hooves before she noticed her husband's paw draped over her midsection as he slept peacefully, numerous Z's flying out of his mouth as he gently snored.
He had removed his immortality shortly after he married her since he couldn't bear the thought of living past her or any potential kids they had. This resulted in white tiger-like sideburns growing out on his broad jawbones, making him look, in her opinion, even more handsome.
She smiled at him and gently moved his paw so she could get up, wake the girls and make some breakfast for everyone in the house. After giving him a kiss on the forehead, she got out of bed, headed towards her dresser and took a moment to brush her mane so it looked nice before adding a white pearl necklace around her neck, attached some silver drop earrings, and put her mane in a loop, clipping it with a bluebell flower barrette. Discord had given her the hair clip when they first started dating and she had been wearing it since. She smiled at her reflection before turning around to wake her husband up.
"Honey, it's time to get up," she said, nudging him slightly with her nose. He groaned, but opened his eyes and sat up, stretching his arms and yawned. As he stretched, many abnormal gear sound effects were coming from his joints, as if he was an old mechanical machine that was just starting up, while his yawn was mixed with the sound of a horn. Fluttershy giggled at the wonderful chaoticness that was her darling husband.
"I'm gonna wake up the girls and make some breakfast. Does that sound good to you, Cordy?" she asked.
Discord replied with that ever so charming smirk of his, "That sounds perfect to me, my dear."
Fluttershy smiled before going towards their daughter's rooms. She decided to wake up the oldest, Wildflower, first.
Discord had slightly modified her house on the inside while still being the same shape and space on the outside of the house since moving in and finding out they were having children. Perhaps the biggest change was adjusting the top floor so it wasn't just their bedroom, but a full hallway with their room across from the rooms of the kids. She soon walked up towards the door of their oldest and knocked on the door.
"Wildflower, it's time to get up. I'm gonna make breakfast." There was no immediate answer, so she turned the knob and entered the room. The walls were covered in posters, namely of cute colt bands and the floor was littered with Power Ponies comics. Her bed blanket were a deep cerulean, while both her pillow and bed sheets were of a much lighter blue.
Wildflower's pet scarlet macaw, Chilli, was sleeping on a stand near her bed. Fluttershy grimaced at the unclean state of her daughter's room before heading towards the loud snoring lump underneath the sheets of the bed.
Fluttershy tried waking Wildflower again, shaking her slightly with her hooves as she said, "Wildflower, it's time to get up." Her daughter didn't respond except for snoring even louder. Fluttershy frowned as her ear flicked in irritation. She grabbed the covers with her teeth and pulled them off, waking up the teenage mare.
"Alright, alright, I'm up. Sheesh," the cranky eighteen year old moaned before sitting up. Wildflower was a pegasus much like her mother and her coat was mostly the same buttery yellow as Fluttershy with her mane being a darker pink in color. Her bangs were cut fairly short, though she usually had a long braided ponytail drooping over her neck, though her mane wasn't currently braided.
Her irises were the same teal color as her mother, but her pupils were red like her father's pupils. Her muzzle, ear tips, and leg stockings were a paler grey color to Discord's head and neck. The primary feathers on her wings were blue, like Discord's pegasus wing. Her tail was pure white, much like Discord's tail tuft.
She had two small black hoop earrings, one for each ear that she seemed to wear even in her sleep and she had a beauty mark on her right cheek. Her cutie mark was a reddish cupcake with a blue wrapper and on top of the cupcake, there is a butterfly not unlike her mother's butterflies.
She wasn't exactly a normal looking pony, but she didn't care. She liked how unique she looked compared to other ponies.
She stared tiredly at her mother before rubbing her eyes and yawned.
"It's way too early for anypony to be up," she moaned before stretching her wings.
Fluttershy closed her eyes and shook her head at the grumpy teen before saying, "I'm going to start making breakfast and I thought you'd want some. Come down stairs when you are ready."
With that, she walked out to wake up Wildflower's little sister, Raven Shy. Fluttershy closed the door to Wildflower's room and headed down slightly towards the youngest sibling's door. Fluttershy noticed that it was ajar, so she pushed it open further.
"Raven?" She called out as she looked inside. Raven's bedroom was much cleaner by comparison as nothing was on the floor and things were more organized. The walls were each a different color and had a couple posters hanging up on each wall, some of Ogres & Oubliettes and others of cute animals. There was a drawing desk in the corner of the room full of papers, pens, and pencils, as her daughter loved to draw.
A bookshelf sat next to the bed and currently coiled on top of that shelf was Raven's pet red-tailed boa, Ginger, sleeping soundly with a sweet smile on her face. Her bed sheets, pillow sheets and blanket were all different shades of red, Raven's favorite color.
Curiously, Raven herself wasn't in the room, which worried Fluttershy slightly until she heard the shower being turned off.
Strange, I didn't even hear the shower running before, she thought before shrugging and heading over. She arrived downstairs just in time to see Raven stepping out of the bathroom, her midsection wrapped in a crimson red towel and was now heading back towards her room.
Raven noticed her mother and said, "Oh. G-good morning, mama. I hope you don't mind me taking a shower so early. I didn't think anyone was up yet." Fluttershy smiled up at the teenage draconequus who was standing on her hind legs like her father would when normally, she'd be walking on four legs like a pony.
Fluttershy saw her daughter as a unique beauty, though Raven wouldn't call herself that. Her head and graceful neck were the same grey color as Discord's own and her long and currently wet mane was the same black color as her father's, which is what led to her being named Raven. Her small, thin eyebrows were pure white, much like Discord's eyebrows.
She had some markings around her eyes, a bit like the patches around the eyes of a panda, that were yellow like Fluttershy's body. Her eyes were identical to Fluttershy's, being the same shape and with eyelashes just as long and luscious. The only difference was the color of the irises, with Raven's being a gorgeous bright rosey pink color. She had two small cat-like fangs that were barely visible on the outside of her mouth due to her young age. Her ears were long drooping bunny ears that were black at the tips.
The base of her neck had a white ruff of a vulture and her body was mostly yellow like her mother, though she had a dorsal stripe going down her back that was brown like her father's body. Her right wing was a dark pink bat wing while the left wing was a pegasus wing that was blue much like her father, though her wing had pink tips on her primary feathers that were the same shade as her eyes.
Her right arm was a raven claw and her left arm was a black panther paw, which was currently holding up her towel. Her right leg was a bluish-grey kangaroo foot while her left leg was the hoof of a deer, complete with the spots on her leg that a young fawn would have, also due to her young age. Her tail was a violet snake tail with dark royal blue spines arranged in the same way the spines on Discord's tail are. Her tail tuft was the same shade of pink as her mother's mane and tail.
Due to being part pony, she lacked any horns or antlers on her head and her head was shaped like a regular mare's head rather than a draconequus' head. She also had weaker magic due to her pony genetics, making her either unable to or have limits on certain abilities her father could do with very little effort on his part.
Despite this, Fluttershy and Discord couldn't help but adore their sweet baby girl.
"Oh not at all, sweetheart. I was just looking for you to tell you I was gonna make breakfast," she said.
Raven nodded as she shuffled on her feet nervously before replying, "Okay, mama. Let me dry off, get ready and I'll come down stairs." Fluttershy smiled, flying up towards the sixteen year old draconequus and kisses her cheek.
"You know, you should wear your mane down like that more often. It makes you look even more beautiful, honey," Fluttershy said before nuzzling her daughter and flew off to the kitchen to start cooking breakfast.
Some time had passed and she had made some blueberry pancake batter. Blueberry pancakes were some of her daughter's favorites, along with Fluttershy herself. She hummed a little song as she swayed her hips slightly as she poured the batter into the pan.
"Smells delicious, my dear," said the deep voice of her asymmetrical husband. Fluttershy turned her head and saw Discord standing, or rather floating, behind her.
Fluttershy smiled at him before returning to her task and asking him, "Honey, do you mind using your magic to make some fresh orange juice? We seem to be out of fresh oranges, so I'll have to buy some next time I go shopping."
She bit her lip as she asked this. Fluttershy always felt a little bad asking him to do such things. She knew he didn't mind at all and in fact he has suggested on numerous occasions to let him use his magic to do things for her so she didn't have to do everything, but she'd rather do things herself than constantly rely on her husband on things and seem greedy and needy in the process.
Discord smiled before snapping up some oranges, "Not at all, my darling butter slice."
He stacked all the oranges on top of each other and started peeling the oranges by spinning them on his talon like they were basketballs, causing the peels to turn into one long perfect coil as apposed to multiple peels before throwing the oranges into four cups. As soon as they hit the inside of each respective cup, they automatically turn into juice that filled the glasses to the perfect amount.
Discord ate the remaining orange peel in a fashion similar to eating noodles to help get rid of the unusable peel without using the trash can.
Their daughters soon walked in, Wildflower's mane now in her usual braided style, while Raven was walking on all four legs and wearing her mane in a ponytail, her usual hairstyle. Raven's forelock draped over her eye, like an emo fringe. The teens took their respective seats waiting for breakfast to be finished.
"Mmm. Smells good, mama," Raven said. Fluttershy flipped the last pancake onto the stack for Raven.
"Why, thank you, sweetie." Fluttershy said, blushing slightly at her compliment. She took the plate and handed it to her daughter.
As she did, she couldn't help but frown sadly at the sight of a noticable notch on her daughter's right ear. A somewhat small, but permanent scar from an incident that happened when she was twelve, all because some creatures saw her as nothing more than a monster and the spawn of chaos. Discord still didn't have the most shining reputation, and that negative perception had been transferred to Raven due to her being a draconequus and having magic like him.
Fluttershy couldn't help but feel peeved at the idea that someone attacked her sweet, innocent girl all because of Discord's past, which he has been trying to amend for years now, and he's come a long way. He still wasn't perfect, but she never demanded perfection in the first place.
She shook her head to clear her head of these negative thoughts and went back to fix up Wildflower's plate while Discord floated the cups of juice towards both the girls and snapped up butter and syrup for them to put on their food. She soon finished her plate and brought it over to Wildflower, one that was a couple pancakes smaller than Raven's stack due to Raven eating more than her sister.
Discord said it was normal for draconequi to be like that. Something about their magic needing the extra calories or something like that. She wasn't really paying that much attention if she was honest. Explanations on magic often went way over her head. But that's neither here nor there. Fluttershy went back to fix up her and Discord's plate but said draconequus stopped her.
"Oh no. Allow me, your ever so dashing husband, cook up your plate, my dear. You just sit down and rest your hooves." Fluttershy rolled her eyes playfully before taking her seat.
As her daughters ate their food and Discord was in the kitchen cooking up her and his own food, Fluttershy thought to herself, I can't think of any way for my life to be better.
Wildflower loved helping out her 'auntie' Rarity in her boutique with clothes. Just cause she was a tomcolt, it didn't mean she hated all things girly. That was an unfair stereotype in Wildflower's opinion. Besides, her much more girly sister was a little bit of a tomcolt as well, just not as much. Fluttershy didn't mind that both of her daughters developed tomcolt tendencies. Rarity was less enthused (though she loved them both all the same), which was why she loved having Wildflower over to help with her dresses.
On this particular day, Wildflower was needed to help with a line of clothes inspired by some of Rarity's older designs. Rarity wanted to look at some of her old designs to see where she could improve from her past, but keep the same flair as her older looks.
"Wild, sweetheart, could you get some old fashion magazines of mine? There should be a box full of them on that shelve up there." She pointed to a box on top of an old shelve as she worked on a dress.
Wildflower nodded. "Yes, auntie Rares." It was a good thing she was a pegasus and could fly to that top shelf. She flew up and grabbed the box. But she struggled to move it.
"Jeez, this box is heavy. How many magazines are in here? Come on, you stupid-" Just then, the box fell and the weight made her fall with it.
"Woah!!" She yelled as she fell and crashed. Rarity turned around as soon as her heard the crash and ran over to see if her 'niece' was safe.
"Wildflower, are you alright, darling?" Rarity asked in concern. Wildflower lifted up the box from her head and nodded. Rarity sighed in relief. She would've been so worried if Wildflower was hurt.
"I'm so sorry, Wild. I didn't think that box was so heavy. I'm just glad your okay. Can you help me clean this up?" Wildflower nodded and Rarity went pick them up.
Wildflower started to get up when she saw a magazine laying open on the ground. She picked it up and saw it had images taken by world famous Photo Finish. Spending time with Rarity has given Wildflower more knowledge on the fashion industry than she probably would've had, even with her minor interest in fashion. She decided to look through it, curious of what's inside. Her eyes widened as she saw a much younger version of her mother posing cutely in a green dress. Not believing what she was seeing, she kept looking through the magazine only to find the whole magazine is full of her mother modeling. Even the cover, which she barely looked at before seeing Photo Finish's name, had her mother dressed as a nature queen.
Rarity was picking up the magazines and putting them in the box when she noticed Wildflower reading one of them.
"Whatever have you got there?" She asked as she walked over to take a peak. Wildflower handed over the magazine and Rarity took a quick look before her eyes widened.
"Goodness, I completely forgot about this. It feels like so long ago." She sighed nostalgically.
Wildflower blinked. "Mom was a model?!"
"Oh, yes. Very briefly, but she was. This was shortly after we met Twilight, before she became a princess. We hadn't even met your father yet, let alone try to reform him." Wildflower just couldn't believe it. Her mom, a model? It didn't seem like her at all. She needed to ask her mom herself. She got up and rushed out the door.
"Wild, what about-" Rarity tried to ask, but Wildflower was already in the air. Rarity sighed. "I guess I'm gonna clean this up myself." She walked back inside to clean up the fallen magazines.
Back at their home, Fluttershy was drinking tea in her armchair as she looked over and saw her daughter napping on the couch. Raven's long body stretched over the couch like Discord himself would as she daintily snored. Fluttershy smiled at the peaceful smile on her daughter's face as she slept.
She could see her now elderly Angel bunny cuddling Raven's paw. It was amazing how despite how much he still doesn't like Discord, Angel adored Raven. Maybe it was Raven's connection with animals that she shared with her mama. Or maybe it was that her personality was closer to Fluttershy's than Discord's. Either way, it was cute that Angel cared about her daughter even in his old age.
Discord was in the kitchen making some more tea as well as some snacks for the both of them. Even though they have been married for years, they still have regular Tuesday Tea meetings. Wildflower didn't really like tea, so she usually goes out when they have their get together. Raven sometimes joined due to her liking tea, though usually didn't as it was more of a husband-wife bonding thing.
Just as she sipped her tea, the door slammed open. She dropped her cup and it shattered on impact with the floor.
"Sugar." she whispered, not wanting to say that out loud when her kid was present. She turned her head and saw Wildflower running to her.
"Mom! I need to ask you something!" She yelled.
Fluttershy raised an eyebrow. "Why aren't at Rarity's?"
"Mom, nevermind that. You were a model?! And you never told us?!"
Fluttershy shushed her. "Wildflower, your sister is asleep. Be a little quieter, please." Raven started waking up anyway. She groaned as she woke up.
"Hey, sis. Hey, mama." She said tiredly as she sat up and rubbed her eyes with her paw. Angel glared at Wildflower for waking her up. Wildflower at least had the dignity to look apologetic.
"Sorry for waking you, sis. But seriously, mom, you, model? Really?!"
Fluttershy sighed. "Yeah, I was a model. It didn't last too long, but it was before I ever met your father. How did you find out?" Wildflower kicked the floor in response.
"Auntie Rarity had an old magazine with you in it and I found it trying to help her." Fluttershy sighed, rubbing her head with her hoof.
At that point, Discord entered from the kitchen, holding some sandwiches and tea. "What's all the hullabaloo about?"
"Dad, did you know mom was a model?" Wildflower asked.
Discord soon had a blush on his muzzle and looked away, almost as if nervous. "Y-you don't say?" He said while scratching the back of his head with his tail, as his hands were full. Fluttershy raised an eyebrow wondering why Discord was acting weird about this. She then supposed she never told him about it, so he probably felt a bit awkward about it.
Fluttershy ignored that and saw Raven looking surprised by the news as well. "What happened, mama?" Raven asked, as she held Angel in her paw and claw. Fluttershy sighed as she decided to tell them.
"Like I said, it was a long time ago. Rarity said she needed my help with modeling her clothes off for somepony named Photo Finish. I didn't want to, but I was a lot less confident back then, so I caved in when she begged. The photo shoot went well, and Photo Finish said she wanted to help me shine across Equestria. I really didn't like doing it, all those ponies staring me, but I thought Rarity was happy with me doing it, so I kept doing it for her."
"I found out later that Rarity was jealous of me. She wanted to get to be recognized for her outfits, but thought I was liking modeling, so she didn't say anything. Once we told each other, we promised not to hide out feelings like that again and I quit, not wanting to continue something I didn't like." Fluttershy finished her story as both her daughters looked at her surprised at the story.
Wildflower frowned slightly. "I guess if you were uncomfortable, you shouldn't force yourself to do it, but my mom as a model would've been cool." Fluttershy smiled at her daughter accepting that Fluttershy didn't like doing modeling.
Discord coughed into his paw, obviously wanting to end this conversation. "Since we're all here, why don't we all have some tea?" Fluttershy and Raven smiled while Wildflower frowned.
"Aw, poo." She muttered. Dad was always trying make her try different tea brands to find one she liked, even though she clearly hated every flavor so far and since she was here instead of at Rarity's, she was stuck.
Later that night, Fluttershy came into her bedroom after taking a shower in their private bathroom that Discord added to their room. She had a green towel wrapped around her body and another on her head.
"You awake, Cordy?" She asked as she walked in only to discover her husband reading a magazine with her dressed as an angel on the cover.
One of her old modeling magazines.
He looked her way before jumping up and hiding it behind his back. His entire face and neck turned red and he started sweating nervously.
"O-oh, hey, Flutters. You done with your shower already?" Fluttershy gave a stern look and raised her eyebrow while tapping her hoof on the floor, clearly not wanting to be lied to. He sighed and pulled out the magazine.
"I, um, found out shortly after that mess with me and Tirek and...I was curious, so I found some copies and...you were pretty in them, so I...kept them. But, I knew you probably didn't want to be reminded of that, so I never brought it up and been looking at them in my own spare time." Fluttershy now knew why he was uncomfortable earlier. He didn't want her to know about him looking at something she did that she didn't like doing in the first place.
She crawled onto the bed and kissed his cheek, surprising him. "Thank you for telling the truth. I'm surprised you kept that secret for so long, but it's sweet that you cared enough even before we were dating not to bring it up, knowing I didn't like it." Discord smiled and tossed the magazine away.
"Eh, they're not great anyway. Not when I have the real deal right here who is more gorgeous than ever."
Fluttershy giggled. "You flatterer."
They kissed a bit before cuddling in bed, not caring about the mag on the floor. Not when Discord had a real angel with him in his arms.
Discord, Fluttershy, Wildflower, and Raven all appeared in a flash of light to a restaurant in Canterlot.
Fluttershy felt a little too tired to cook dinner tonight, so her caring husband suggested that they go out. Fluttershy agreed, realizing it had been a while since they did that as a family. She remembered Rarity talking about this Neightalian place she went to at their last spa trip that was, in her words, simply divine. So the four of them dressed up and Discord teleported them to there.
Fluttershy was wearing a simple black off-shoulder cocktail dress with ruby red shoes on her back hooves. Instead of her usual earrings, she wore pearl ones and her lips were covered in lavender lip gloss. She had matching lavender eyeshadow as well as black mascara, and her mane was held in a loose ponytail, with her bluebell hair clip standing tall and proud.
Discord was wearing a white dress shirt with a black waistcoat over it. A red rose was on the waistcoat's lapel, and a slightly crooked purple bow tie rested on the white shirt. He also wore black trousers.
Wildflower wore a simpler outfit, namely a cute navy blue satin slip dress. Her back hooves had black shoes and unlike her mother, there was no makeup on her face. Her mane was also unbraided, brushed in a way to look like a flowing river.
Lastly, Raven wore a strapless red mini dress with sequins. She also had matching glittery red eyeshadow and her mane was out of her typical ponytail, it being long enough to go past her shoulders. Her feet had no shoes like her father and she stood on two legs, as so to not ruin a dress clearly meant for a biped like a draconequus.
Fluttershy looked up at the name of the restaurant—La Migliore Pasta. She knew a little Neightalian, so she knew it meant 'Great Pasta'. Seemed a little egotistical, but she didn't want to judge them before trying them.
A clone of Discord, one wearing a butler outfit and curly black mustache, appeared and opened the glass door.
"Ladies first." It said in a false posh accent as it bowed. Fluttershy giggled and walked through the door with her daughters not far behind. As soon as they entered, they were blown away by how big the place is and the massive chandelier hanging from the ceiling.
Discord walked in behind them after dismissing the doppelganger and groaned. "Could it be any more shiny?" He complained.
Fluttershy nudged him. "Be nice." She said sternly.
They walked to the podium and grabbed the attention of the earth pony stallion standing behind it. He was light brown with a silver mane with streaks of white, a black tux, and golden eyes.
"How many in your party?" He asked.
Fluttershy answered, "Four, please." He nodded, grabbed some menus and led them to their table.
As they were walking, Raven noticed several rich looking ponies staring at them, or rather her and her dad, with clear distain. She hugged herself. If she could turn into a pony to go out in public without stares, she would, but physical transformations were one thing she couldn't do, so she had to deal with it. She whimpered as she felt more stares on her.
Discord heard her whimper and turned to see his princess lagging behind, nervous of all the stares, so he floated backwards towards her and wrapped his tail around her waist. He was much taller than her as Raven was still young, with her only reaching to about his chest. He smiled supportively and walked with her. She smiled in appreciation and laid her head on her daddy's chest, hugging his talon as they walked. Discord resisted the urge to give the crowd trouble for scaring his daughter. It was hard, as he was very protective of her, but he wanted this night to be nice for the family and he didn't want them kicked out due to his actions, no matter how justified he might feel about giving them chaos to protect his daughter.
They made it to their table on the upper story. Discord spawned two more clones to pull out Fluttershy's and Wildflower's seats as he himself pulled Raven's seat, still trying to be supportive. She smiled and sat down, lying her tail on the floor so she can sit comfortably. Discord sat next to his wife and dismissed the duplicates.
A few moments later, a tall slender unicorn mare with an apricot coat, green eyes, blue eyeshadow, blue waitress uniform with a white apron and a light strawberry blonde mane tied in a loose bun walked up. She set down the restaurant's complimentary bread sticks.
"Bonsoir, I'll be your server tonight. Anything to drink to start off with?" She asked, in an Prench accent.
"Just water for me, please." Fluttershy said.
"A root beer for me." Wildflower responded next.
"A cherry Neightalian cream soda, please." Discord said next.
"Same as my sister, a root beer, please." Raven finished. The mare nodded as she wrote them down.
"Alright, they should be here soon." She walked off to get their drinks.
They looked over their menus and ate the bread sticks while their waitress was gone.
"Have you figured out what you want, girls?" Fluttershy asked her two girls. They both nodded as the waitress came back with their drinks.
"Okay, have you decided on what to eat?" She asked.
"I think we have. I'll have the penne pasta with marinara sauce and bell peppers and a caesar salad with only a little bit of blue cheese, please." Fluttershy said. Their waitress wrote it down nodding.
"Alright. And for you, monsieur?" She asked Discord.
"Oh, I'm not too hungry, so I'll have some vegetarian lasagna, an order of fettuccine alfredo and some mozzarella sticks." He answered. She wrote it down, slightly confused by the not too hungry comment as he ordered a fair bit before turning towards Wildflower.
"I'd like some spaghetti and wheatballs, please." Fluttershy smiled at her daughter using her manners. The waitress wrote it down before looking to Raven.
"And for you, mademoiselle?" Raven looked up nervously at the smiling waitress who asked for her order.
"Um...the parmesan shell pasta with mushrooms, no tomatoes, a small salad with ranch and some mozzarella sticks like my dad, please." Their waitress wrote it down, still smiling.
"Alright, your orders should be ready in a little bit." And she walked off, her short tail swishing slightly as she left.
Raven sighed in relief as she walked away. Their waitress hadn't been judgy, but the earlier looks made Raven nervous about their server. As they waited for their food, Discord talked about his latest trip with Twilight and Spike to the Saddle Arabian desert for a diplomatic affair. All of them giggled when he mentioned an humorous incident involving Spike and a camel.
Just as he finished his story, he caught out of the corner of his eye a pair of posh looking unicorns and their son being taken to their seats. The mare was grey with a mane that was two different shades of purple and icy blue eyes and was wearing a dark emerald green dress with purple eyeshadow and red lipstick. The husband had similar blue eyes, but had a blue mane and red body and was wearing a blue tuxedo. Their son had the mane of his father, the fur of his mother, both of their eyes, and was wearing a grey dress shirt.
Once they sat in the table across from them, the mare looked up and, once she saw the Chaos family, frowned heavily. His enhanced hearing picked up her whispering to her husband.
"This is one place I liked that's now ruined. Who's bright idea was it to let those beasts in?" Her husband nodded in agreement, also having a sour expression. Their son also looked at them with disdain. Discord snorted, smoke coming out his nose before ignoring them. They can go eat a railroad spike for all he cared.
Their food arrived finally arrived as Wildflower finished telling a story about what she and her friends did earlier today. Their waitress smiled as she handed them out. Once she did, she asked "Can I get you anything else?"
They all declined and she smiled and walked off. As they ate, some with more manners than others, Fluttershy finally noticed the unicorn family and how every now and then, they would look their way and look with clear judgement. It annoyed Fluttershy, perhaps even more so than Discord. Who were they to judge her family and who she chose to spend her life with? How dare they even think her family wasn't a real family just cause she married a draconequus and had children with him? The nerve of them! But she decided to ignore them. She wasn't gonna let some judgmental ponies ruin their family dinner.
As dinner was almost finished, Raven asked to go to the bathroom and was excused. As she went in, she soon came across the older unicorn mare from the table across, having left to powder her snout. She ducked her head behind the dark mane she was named after and went to walk past her to a stall. She was nearly past when her tail accidentally, but lightly, hit the older mare on her flank. Despite the lightness, the unicorn felt it and yelped in surprise. She turned and saw Raven looking scared.
"Sorry, ma'am. I didn't mean-" she tried saying, but the older mare cut her off.
"Watch where you're swinging that thing!" She yelled. Raven just nodded before heading into the stall closest to her. She sighed as soon as she went in. Why do some ponies have to be so rude? She sat there for maybe two minutes, hugging herself with her mane draped over her depressed expression before her bladder reminded her why she came into the stall in the first place.
Once she was finished doing her business, she peaked out the door. The older mare was still there, so she wisely choose to avoid her as she floated towards the sink. She washed her paw and claw and grabbed some paper towels to dry her hands. As she dried them, she could feel the unicorn's judgemental stare. She tried to ignore it as she rolled the used paper towels into a ball and threw them into the trash bin. They made it in, making her smile before she frowned, thinking of how to past the mare without hitting her again.
She eventually settled on teleporting. She could do it, but she can only go so far before she gets nauseous. However, it was only a couple of feet to the door past the mare. She could make it and still be fine. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and snapped her paw, successfully teleporting across the room. She smiled, then flapped her wings and flew out the door. She flew up back to her seat and sat down.
"You okay, honey? You were gone for a while." Fluttershy asked. Raven just nodded, clearly wanting to forget her bad experience and went to finish her dinner.
They declined dessert, the ponies being too full to have any, Discord wanting to be polite, and Raven just wanting to go home. The bill was paid by Discord (despite Fluttershy having already pulled out her bit purse to pay) and the four of them stood to head out.
As Raven stood up, though, her tail accidentally hit a waiter carrying a platter of drinks and he tripped. He fell and the drinks landed on the unicorn mare, staining her dress. The mare screamed before glaring at Raven. Raven actually shrunk in size slightly before hiding behind her mother, her tail in-between her asymmetrical legs.
Fluttershy looked apologetic as she tried to calm her down. "I'm so sorry, ma'am. She didn't mean it, I'm sure." The older mare ignored her as her husband tried to clean the dress with napkins. It wasn't working, making her even angrier.
"Do you know how much this was?!" She yelled.
"I'm not entirely sure, but I can help pay for it. Or I'm good friends with Rarity, I can maybe call in a favor or-" Fluttershy was interrupted by the unicorn who was red in the face with anger.
"All I want is for you and the menagerie you call a family to get out!" Fluttershy glared at her, insulted by her comment before turning to Discord.
"Take us home." She asked. He nodded, himself angry at her statement before teleporting them out. As soon as they got home, Raven flew up the stairs towards her room and slammed her bedroom door closed.
A few hours later, Fluttershy, in a purple nightgown, makeup off her face and her mane down, checked up on Raven. She knocked, hearing her daughter sniff before saying, "Come in." Fluttershy opened the door and walked in.
"Raven? You okay, sweetie?" She asked. Her daughter sniffed before looking up at her mother, no longer in her dress or makeup, but her mane was still down, and her eyes were now teal instead of pink and full of tears.
Whenever she cried, Raven's eyes turn teal like her mother through an involuntary use of magic. Likewise, when she gets angry, as rare of an event as it is, her irises turn red with her sclera turning golden, like her father's eyes, with the pupils becoming more cat-like. She whimpered as she shook her head.
Fluttershy sighed sadly at her depressed daughter and trotted over and sat in the bed. Raven looked away as she hugged her plush snow leopard, Spirit, tighter. Fluttershy frowned.
"Raven, it's okay." She started stroking her daughter's mane. "We love you. Don't pay them any mind." Raven curled up further on her bed whimpering as Ginger coiled around and hugged her gently, her unique violet eyes staring in sadness at her owner.
Fluttershy looked sadly at her daughter. She was an absolute sweetheart, but most just saw her as the daughter of chaos and treated her as such. Wildflower gets her fair share of hate as well, but they don't seem to affect her. She was a lot like Discord in that regard. Not caring about what others thought of them. Raven, however, was more like when Fluttershy was her age: shy, non-confrontational and taking a bully's words to heart, with the added self hatred of what she was.
She hugged her daughter, careful not to hurt the boa. "Sweetheart, don't listen to them. You're our beautiful baby girl and we wouldn't want you to change. If it makes you feel better, the food wasn't that good, so it's unlikely we'll go back."
Raven muttered, "Okay."
She shifted a bit and hugged her mom with her arms and tail. "I love you, mama." Fluttershy smiled and hugged tighter.
"I love you too, little flower." She let go and kissed her daughter on her forehead. Raven may of been much bigger than her, but she was still her little girl. Fluttershy jumped off the bed and left the room.
"Good night, honey." She called out.
"Good night, mama." Raven replied. Fluttershy smiled and closed the door.
Fluttershy sighed as soon as she left. It was easy to act calm around her daughter when she talked to her, but inside, she was still angry at those ponies for insulting her daughter. And now she was heading back to her room, her rage started to flare back up.
She opened the door to her room with her husband, who was sitting on the bed, reading a book with reading glasses. He didn't really need the glasses, he just liked visual gags and how wise they made him look, especially with his sideburns. Fluttershy was so annoyed at those snobs, however, she couldn't find the humor or marvel at how much of a silver fox he was in her opinion.
She jumped on the bed and she snorted in annoyance. He looked her way with a raised brow.
"Raven okay?" He asked. Fluttershy sighed.
"She's fine. It's your wife who's peeved." Both of Discord's eyebrows jumped off his head, floating above his antler and horn in surprise at her statement. When Fluttershy had no regard for her language, she was beyond angry.
"I just...those jerks!" She yelled before punching her pillow. "If they don't like us, they can...I don't even know! Why does it matter to them if I married you, though? It's my choice, not theirs. I love you and I adore our kids. Why is that not enough?!" She flopped her head onto her pillow and moaned into it, "I'm sick of it."
Discord sighed, folding his useless glasses and stuffed them in a pocket in his fur and set his book on a floating stand near the bed before turning and hugging his mare.
"Fluttershy, I love you." He said with nothing but full blooded honesty. She smiled and hugged his paw with her forehooves, stroking his muscles.
"I love you, too." She said.
Discord rotated his neck til he was in front of her and kissed her. She hummed as she wrapped her hooves around his neck. He stopped kissing her before smiling the kind of smile only reserved for her.
"Don't worry about them, love. All that matters is how happy we are." Fluttershy smiled before sneaking a quick peck on his lips. She adjusted herself in his grip so her head laid on his chest, just above his heart, so she could hear it.
Even when calm, his heartbeat was erratic, inconsistent, and chaotic.
Just like him.
He wrapped his tail around her hips, squeezing ever so slightly and moved his neck til it was at a more normal angle, laying on her pillow.
They fell asleep like that, knowing no matter what prejudice they faced, they had each other and their children, and that's all they needed to be happy.
A rather strong heatwave had hit Ponyville one summer morning, the strongest one in decades and everypony was feeling the heat. Fluttershy's cottage was no exception and although the draconequi of the household could tolerate the heat as they can regulate their body temperature to ignore extreme temperature changes, the pegasi had no such advantage and were suffering as a result.
Fluttershy was panting and sweating as she tried to make some lunch for the girls. She tried fanning herself with her wing, but it brought little relief. I don't think I've experienced a heatwave this bad before.
A moan made her turn her head. Wildflower came walking into the kitchen. She wasn't faring any better than Fluttershy herself, wings limp at her sides as she panted with her tongue out.
"Ah, why is it so hot?!" she moaned. Fluttershy shrugged.
"Rainbow said something about a miscommunication at the weather factory or something. I don't know. I'm too hot to really remember. Ugh, this is horrible."
Wildflower nodded, "Yeah. Why aren't Discord and Raven boiling like us? I mean, I know they can tolerate weather better, but why is half of our family able to tough it out while we have to suffer?!"
Just then, Discord and Raven teleported into the kitchen. Unlike the other two, they looked fine. Almost as if there was no heatwave at all. Discord frowned when he saw his family sweating and miserable from the heat.
"You two okay?" He asked.
Wildflower rolled her multi-colored eyes. "No." She said flatly.
"We...aren't doing too great, but I think we'll be fine." Fluttershy said to try and make him feel better. "I've delt with heatwaves before I met you, honey. Granted, none this bad, but I can manage it."
Discord frowned further as he looked around. Angel, Chilli and Ginger were all huddled in a corner, with numerous ice packs and fans to keep them cool and they were still too hot. He felt bad that he and Raven couldn't feel the heat when the rest of his family he loved dearly could feel it and were in agony. He was the Master of Chaos so what could he do to help the ponies he cares the most about in his life?
His tail feathers turned into a lightbulb as he thought of a way to keep them cool.
"I have an idea to help us escape this heat." His girls turned their heads toward him as he snapped his paw. Just then, it started snowing outside, in the summer, without melting!
"Oh, and don't worry about the others in town, my dear." He reassured, "I sent a cool breeze their way so they get some relief. And I put a cooling spell on the house for the animals. But, I thought the girls might like playing in the snow to escape the heat."
Though Fluttershy wasn't completely happy with him messing with the laws of nature like this just for them, she admitted that some relief from the heat would be nice. Besides, it was nice of him to send Ponyville a cool breeze to help the others in town out so they won't suffer while they have wintery fun in summer.
Discord opened the back door and they walked out in outfits Discord put on them, Fluttershy in a light purple sweater and wool hat, as well as darker violet booties and scarf, Wildflower in a dark cerulean sweater and wool hat with royal blue scarf and booties and Discord and Raven just wearing red scarves. While they didn't need them, having something on helped ease Fluttershy's minimum concerns, even though she knew better.
It was a bit of a shock for even the draconequi to go from extreme heat to a cold winter. But once they got use to it, it was a wonderful change.
Wildflower stuck out her tongue to catch a snowflake. She succeeded and smacked her lips trying to taste it.
"Aw, I was hoping dad made special tasting snow." She complained.
Raven stared wide eyed at the dripping icicles forming on their house. They weren't normal icicles, as they were shaped more like a quartz crystal than a naturally forming icicle and they were beautiful.
Fluttershy walked up to her husband, flew up and kissed him on the cheek. "I'm not sure I completely approve, but thank you."
Discord smiled at his wife and kissed her cute little button nose, making her giggle.
Something cold and wet hit Discord on the side of the head making Fluttershy gasp. He shook his head and turns to sees Wildflower flying with numerous snowballs in her hooves with a gleam in her eyes.
Discord grew a smirk, "Ah, I see how it is, is it?"
Wildflower smirked back and threw another. This time, Discord was prepared, making his head disappear as the ball came to him. It flew past and hit a tree. He grew his head back and levitated a bunch of snowballs himself.
And the war began.
Fluttershy sat in the snow and watched her two troublemakers play with each other. Wildflower and Discord weren't too close, but they had loads of fun together regardless. She heard feet coming closer in the snow and turned, smiling when she saw her daughter Raven walking towards her. Raven smiled and sat in the snow with her.
Raven put her pegasus wing around her mother to make her a little warmer. Fluttershy smiled in appreciation and turned to watch Discord and Wildflower enjoy their little game.
After their game, Discord snapped up a frozen lake for them to skate on. Wildflower declined, instead sitting on the bank while Discord and Fluttershy skated together and Raven skated on her hind legs. Fluttershy separated from Discord to check on Wildflower. She did a little twirl before she stopped in front of her daughter.
"You doing okay?" She asked. "Are you sure you don't want to skate with us? Its' loads of fun."
"I'm fine mom, really." Wildflower said, hoping to get her to go away. Fluttershy wasn't convinced that she was fine. Something seemed off about her, so she tried to make sure she was happy.
"You sure?" Wildflower groaned. Why won't her mother leave her be?
"Really, I'm fine. Go skate with dad like the cutesy couple you two are." Fluttershy frowned.
"I just thought you shouldn't be left out if we're having fun but you aren't." Fluttershy pointed over to the others. Raven did a perfect figure eight while Discord spun around before leaning on one stake and numerous clones of his formed a cheering squad for them. Fluttershy smiled before turning to her eldest daughter.
"I keep telling you, I'm fine! Jeez, will you stop be a smothering mother for five seconds and realize I don't want do the one winter activity I can't even do?!" She screamed before covering her mouth with her hoof, having said the thing she didn't want to say. Fluttershy's eyebrows raised above her head.
"You don't know how to stake?" Wildflower looked away.
"Aw, don't be embarrassed, sweetie. It's nothing to be ashamed of. Here, I'll help you."
Fluttershy put on some ice skates on her, despite Wildflower's protests that she didn't want to learn how to skate. Fluttershy could tell her daughter was unhappy on not being able to skate. Once they were on, Fluttershy used her wing to support her as they moved into the ice.
"Alright, its not too hard. Just follow my lead, okay?" She said in a comforting voice. Wildflower gulped before looking down at her shaky legs.
It was so bizarre for Fluttershy to see her normally confident daughter look so nervous and frightened over something as trivial as ice skating. It reminded her of herself when she was a filly and learned to skate with her mother. She was so nervous about falling and breaking her wings on the ice or something. But soon, she was even better at skating than her mom was back in her youth. And now, she wanted to help her oldest daughter.
"Okay, so here's what we do. Just glide two hooves at a time. So, try starting with your front right leg and back left leg than the others. To speed up, keep your legs parallel to each other and to slow down or stop, point your hooves inwards. I'll keep a hold onto you so you don't fall to start with, okay?" Fluttershy instructed. Wildflower nodded nervously. It took her a minute, but after following Fluttershy's advice, Wildflower was skating. She barely even remembered that her mother was holding her, so when Fluttershy suggested she let go, Wildflower became a nervous wreck again.
"It's fine, honey." She reassured, "I'll still be nearby to catch you, but I can't hold you the whole way. You gotta learn to do it on your own." Wildflower took deep breaths before closing her eyes and nodding and her mother let go. She muttered Fluttershy's advice before realizing she wasn't falling. She opened her eyes and saw she was staking.
"I-I'm skating. Hey, mom, I'm staking! WOOHOO! She yelled in enthusiasm. Fluttershy smiled warmly at her daughter as she glided across the ice.
Her daughter went past her, yelling, "Catch me if you can, you old mare!" Fluttershy laughed and skated after her.
After the staking, they decided to make snow sculptures. Discord made a life size replica of the Castle of the Two Sisters in the Everfree Forest when it was in its prime, all from memory. He remembered messing with Celestia and Luna in the castle numerous times before he took over Equestria and was turned to stone. He even made life size replicas of Celestia and Luna themselves, standing just outside the castle. He made their names flow like on the real ponies and he carved their cutie marks with pinpoint accuracy.
Fluttershy did a much simpler one, two little bunnies holding paws that looked exactly like Angel and his mate who lived at the sanctuary with their many kids and grandkids, Coco, complete with her bent right ear.
Wildflower tried to make Zapp, her personal favorite Power Pony. It was a little lopsided and she was sure she messed up the signature necklace, but she didn't think it was horrible.
Raven made a life sized version of the Squizard from Ogres & Oubliettes and his skeleton army. When Discord saw, he helped her make their characters, Captain Wuzz and Lady Melody, depicting them fighting off the evil baddies.
After the snow sculpting, Discord made some sleds for them to go down a hill. Fluttershy politely declined, it not being her thing. Wildflower, however, started pushing her mother towards her sled.
"If I have to join in ice skating, you're gonna join me going down this hill." Fluttershy playfully rolled her eyes before going along with it. Discord chuckled at them before turning to Raven, who sat there in the snow.
"Guess we'll go down together, eh?" Raven looked down nervously. Discord looked sympathetically towards his daughter. He kneeled down to at more eye level to her.
"What's wrong, princess?" He asked.
"I'm scared, daddy. I don't think I'm going to like sledding." Discord grabbed her paw and claw with his own, making her look up to his red and yellow eyes and sincere smile.
"You don't have to do it, pumpkin." He comforted, "I just thought it'd be fun if we tried. How about we do one slide and if you don't like it, I won't have you do anymore? I would never force you to do something you don't want to do."
It probably would amaze some ponies how good a dad Discord can be. Heck, Discord himself was skeptical about him being a good dad both times Fluttershy was pregnant. But once he started getting into the swing of it, he found out not only was he a good dad, he loved being one. His kids and wife were his entire world and he'd give up just about everything just to make them happy.
Raven nodded and he smiled. He led her to the sled and helped her on. Raven stretched her neck out to see how far down it was. It wasn't too far, but she didn't like it either way. She soon felt her daddy wrap his tail around her waist. Her neck went back to normal length as she looked up and saw her daddy give her a supportive smile. She smiled back and the two of them headed down.
At first, she was screaming in fear as her mane whipped in the wind. When she opened her eyes, though, she realized she kinda liked it and soon screamed in joy and laughed as they headed down. The sled reached the bottom in no time and the two of them jumped off.
"Um, daddy. Can we...go again? That was fun." She asked.
Discord looked slightly in surprise before giving a grin. "Of course, princess."
The whole afternoon was spent in the snow before Rainbow Dash came over and told them they fixed the issue and the weather should be back to normal summer weather this evening. She briefly reprimanded Discord for making snow in summer, but eased up on him when she heard of the cool breeze being his doing.
After saying bye to Rainbow, Discord was about ready to clean up when a rouge snowball hit Fluttershy in the head. She turned and saw Wildflower, who was trying to aim for Discord, pretending to look innocent. Fluttershy soon had a gleam in her eyes as she smirked and gathered up some snowballs and put them in her tail. She flew up and launched them with her tail towards her daughter. Wildflower got pelted and landed on her back in the snow.
Discord and Raven were laughing loudly and Fluttershy herself was giggling as she flew above her. Wildflower's red-and-teal eyes opened through the snow and looked towards her mom.
"Can you teach me how to do that?" She asked. And everyone laughed even louder.
Soon, the snow was cleared and they went inside. The cooling spell was still active, so they took advantage of it and made some hot cocoa. Raven and Wildflower rested on the rug having sisterly cuddles sipping their mugs, while Discord and Fluttershy were on the couch, wrapped in a blanket as she lightly dozed on his shoulder.
It was the best snow day ever, even if it was still summer.
It was a peaceful Saturday afternoon at the Chaos household.
Or at least it would've been if Raven wasn't pacing around excitingly by the door.
"Sweetie, settle down. They'll be here soon." Fluttershy said, though she said this with a squiggly smile on her face, amused by Raven's behavior.
Yesterday, Fluttershy talked to the parents of Raven's best friends about having a slumber party today. They agreed and since then, Raven couldn't wait. Raven had nothing but a wide smile for the whole day and seemly had a boost of euphoria.
It was so nice seeing her normally reserved daughter being so ecstatic at her friends coming over. Raven didn't have many friends as she wasn't a real social butterfly, always worried that someone will hate her if she tried to be friendly, so Fluttershy was so happy that she found a pair of friends that she was close with.
Raven stopped pacing, but she danced in place on her asymmetrical feet instead. "I can't help it, mama. I'm just so excited!" She said in an elated voice.
Fluttershy giggled, "I know, little flower. I'm happy you really want to see your friends."
At that moment, Wildflower came down the stairs and, upon seeing her sister just barely staying still, she raised her eyebrow as she looked at her mom and asked, "Is she having a sugar rush or something?"
Fluttershy rolled her eyes, while the smile stayed on her face.
A knock on the door made Raven gasp ecstatically as Fluttershy walked towards the door. She opened the door and standing there was a lavender teenage unicorn mare with bright green eyes, a deep red mane and tail that were curly, and freckles that ran across her muzzle. Similarly to Raven, she wore her mane in a ponytail, while a pink bow was tied to the base of her tail. Her cutie mark was three heart shaped cookies with the top cookie having a bite taken out of it.
Her slightly pudgy mother was behind her and had similar green eyes and freckles, but her coat was coffee brown, she had silver glasses and white pearl earrings in her ears with a wavy mane and tail that were light blonde with darker yellow streaks going through it, with the mane laying over her shoulder in a soft curl, bound together with a single pink hair tie. Her cutie mark was a chalkboard with a math problem on it and a ruler next to it.
Raven's smile grew even wider. "Honey Suckle!" She yelled. The teenage unicorn smiled as she ran in and hugged Raven tightly.
"Howdy, Rave!", Honey Suckle said in an Appleloosan accent. Raven smiled as well as she hugged her back just as tightly.
Fluttershy smiled at them before turning to Honey Suckle's mother. "Hope you two had no trouble getting here." Fluttershy said.
The mother smiled. "Not at all. I wanted my husband to come, but he's still a little nervous about Discord. Nothing against your husband of course, he's just a little intimidating for him still."
Fluttershy smiled lightly. "I understand. They did seem to get along last time they chatted."
Honey Suckle's mother nodded, "Oh, yeah. He likes y'all. He's just not used to draconequi."
At that moment, the sound of flapping wings could be heard. Both the older mares entered the house as a pair of dragons landed at the door.
The young dragon was a light brown with a creamy beige underbelly and wing membranes and dark sapphire blue eyes. Her spine fringe between her white horns was a dark yellow and she also had three white spikes on each of her cheeks, with her left horn on her head being chipped at the tip. Aside from her spine fringe, she lacked any spines down her back or tail. She wore a studded black choker around her neck.
Her mother had icy blue eyes and was dark red with a lighter red underbelly and wing membranes, with light purple spines running down her back.
The teenage dragoness was soon jumped on by Raven and Honey Suckle.
"What's up, Cinder?" Honey asked. Cinder smiled as she returned the hug.
The older dragoness turned to the mares. Even though she towered over both of them (being shorter than Discord but taller than most ponies), she wasn't intimidating to the ponies, as she had a friendly smile on her face.
"You have no idea how excited she was. She would not stop talking about it. Not that I'm complaining." She said in a raspy sounding voice.
Fluttershy nodded. "Raven was the same way. All day, she was so elated, I'm surprised her magic didn't make her float on an actual cloud shaped like a nine."
The mothers all laughed at Fluttershy's comment. When Honey Suckle's mother stopped laughing, she smiled.
"Anyway, I'm going to get going. Me and my husband are going out for dinner since Honey's going to be here and our son is out with his friends." Honey Suckle's mother walked forward and nuzzled her daughter. "You behave yourself now, ya hear, sugar plum?"
Honey Suckle nuzzled back. "Of course, ma. I'll be fine." She replied.
The older dragoness turned to her daughter and hugged her. "You girls have fun, okay?" Cinder whined, blushing in embarrassment and trying to break out of the hug.
"Yeah, we will. Now, can you let go?" She complained.
Once the mothers left, Fluttershy lead the draconequus, dragon, and unicorn into her house.
"Hey, Wildflower. How are you?" Honey Suckle asked.
The teenage pegasus smiled. "I'm good. It's nice to see you girls."
Cinder nodded. "It's nice to see you too, Wild."
Fluttershy walked forward and said, "Alright, girls. You can head up to Raven's room and hang out." The teenagers smiled and ran upstairs at her words.
Wildflower shook her head before jumping onto the couch. She didn't want to intrude on their slumber party. Besides, they did things that she wasn't too interested in, so she'd probably be bored.
"Hey, Wild, can you take out the trash, please?" Fluttershy asked as she headed to the bathroom.
Wildflower groaned loudly. "Fine." She got up to do the trash.
Meanwhile, in Raven's bedroom, the three adolescent girls were sitting around. Honey Suckle smiled.
"Hey, Rave. Ya want me to do your mane?" She asked. Seeing Raven's hesitant expression, Honey Suckle smiled reassuringly.
"Don't worry, Rave." She said, "I'll make ya pretty."
After a moment of thought, Raven eventually agreed.
The unicorn walked over to the draconequus and grabbed the ruby red hair band holding Raven's ponytail up, causing her black tresses to cascade downward. Honey Suckles' horn lit up in a light red glow and held up Raven's mane up as she used her hooves to style her hair.
She went through a couple of styles, eventually ending up on giving her twin tails held by purple hair ties.
When Raven looked into the mirror on her dresser, she was surprised, but pleased by the result. She wore twin tails when she was younger and she'd be lying if she said she didn't look cute like this.
"I...I like it. I think I'll wear it like this for the rest of the day."
Honey Suckle winked. "Told you I can make ya look pretty, Rave." Raven smiled back.
About half a hour later, the three of them were laughing and giggling at a story told by Cinder about her griffon boyfriend as they sat on Raven's bed.
"Geez, Cinder. He ain't too smart, is he? Seriously, how did he even do that?" Honey Suckle said, laughing even more. Cinder rolled her eyes.
"Yeah. I love him, but he is an moron." The dragoness snarked. "I told him that trick would backfire and now his wings are wrapped in bandages and his paw is in a cast. He's so annoyed because of it."
Raven looked at Cinder before speaking, "But, hey, at least Gideon's better than your ex."
Cinder nodded. "Oh, definitely. I'd prefer an idiot who is at least well-meaning than a jerky dragon who's only decent quality was having a chiseled face and muscular physique."
Someone knocked on the door and Raven called out, "Come in." The door opened, revealing Raven's mother.
"Hey, girls. Discord went out to get you gals cheese pizza." Fluttershy said before smiling at Raven, "Also, you look really cute with your hair like that, sweetie."
"Thanks, mama." Raven responded, smiling cutely while her cheeks turned pink. Once she left, they continued to talk, this time Honey Suckle talking about her older brother.
A little bit later, the door was knocked on again. Raven snapped her paw and the door opened by itself, showing Discord, wearing a pizza delivery outfit, with the pizza. There were some soda and a bag of cheese bread on top of the boxes as well.
He smiled as he spoke in a fake Neightalian accent, "Did someone order a pizza pie?" Raven rolled her eyes at her dorky dad before she got up and flew towards him and grabbed them.
"You look adorable with those twin tails, princess," he said to her, dropping the faux accent. She smiled, then leaned forward and kissed her father's cheek, catching him by surprise and causing him to blush.
Smirking at his reaction, she used her tail to close the door. She set the pizza down as the others surrounded it. She opened it and smelled it.
"Mmm, that smells good." Honey Suckle and Cinder nodded as they licked their lips. They each took a slice and started eating.
After a while, there was only a slice of pizza left, while the cheese bread and soda were gone completely.
As the three of them laid Raven's bed, out of nowhere, Honey Suckle got hit by a pillow. She looked and saw Cinder holding the pillow with a gleam in her eyes.
Honey narrowed her eyes. "So, that's how you're going to play, is it?" She challenged. Cinder smirked before hitting her again with the pillow.
After shaking her head, Honey looked over to Cinder. Her horn lit up and a pillow was lifted into the air as Honey Suckle narrowed her eyes more.
Raven simply watched as the two of them get into a pillow fight until she was hit by one of them. She shook her head from the impact and snapped her claw. Just then, numerous pillows fell from above and landed on Honey Suckle and Cinder. They yelped in surprise at the raining pillows.
Once they got out of the pile of pillows they found themselves in, they saw Raven giggling. After rolling their eyes, Cinder and Honey Suckle laughed along with her.
Honey and Raven decided to do each other's makeup, with Cinder deciding not to participate. Raven ended up with deep purple lipgloss and eyeshadow, and red hoof gloss on her claws, while Honey Suckle had green lipgloss with light pink eyeshadow and the red hoof gloss on her front hooves. The makeup on them was a little messy, but nothing too bad.
They even caught Angel who came into Raven's room a bit earlier and put him into a cute pink bow, much to the bunny's dismay.
After they were finished, the door was knocked on. Raven opened it, and her mother was there, flapping in midair and she had a tray of peanut butter cookies in her hooves.
"I made cookies, girls." She said. The adolescent girls eyes grew wide and they licked their lips. The teenagers grabbed some cookies off the tray. Fluttershy smiled before leaving to let them enjoy their party.
Raven, Honey Suckle and Cinder all took a bite of their cookies and went "Mmm" simultaneously at the taste. Honey finished her first cookie before turning to Raven.
"Your ma makes the best cookies." She complimented, "My ma isn't good at baking at all, so I usually have to make them when I want cookies."
Cinder nodded in agreement. "My mom doesn't bake at all, so we usually just go to Sugar Cube Corner when we want sweets."
Raven's face flushed in response to her friend's praises. "My mom does make really good cookies. I'm not sure about the best, but I love her baking." She said smiling.
As they ate their cookies, Honey had an idea.
"Hey, wanna play truth or dare, everyone?" She asked.
Raven answered, "Fine with me," while Cinder shrugged.
Honey Suckle smiled. "Alright. I'll ask first. Cinder, truth or dare?"
Cinder thought for a minute before going saying, "Dare."
Honey rubbed her hoof against a chin going, "Hmm..." before she said, "I dare ya to put on a dress and wear it for the rest of the game."
Cinder groaned in annoyance but begrudgingly accepted. Raven snapped up a rather puffy dark azure dress with a smirk and Cinder put it on. She sat there with her arms crossed and an annoyed expression on her face. The corners of Raven and Honey Suckle's lips wobbled into a wavery smile as they tried not to laugh.
Cinder rolled her eyes before turning to Honey Suckle. "Truth or dare?" She asked.
Honey answered by saying, "Dare."
Cinder smirked before challenging, "I dare you to dump a bucket of cold water on your head."
Honey's eyes widened before she looked nervous. "Seriously?" She moaned.
Cinder continued smirking. "You have to do it. It's the rules." Cinder said arrogantly.
Honey Suckle sighed before standing up as Raven gave her a bucket full of iced water she made. Honey Suckle held it over her head with her magic. She took a deep breath before dumping it on her head. She yelped in surprise at the shock of the cold hitting her.
She put the bucket down, showing her red mane was drooping over her face. Her makeup was running and she shivered from the cold. Cinder snickered at her. Honey looked over to Raven, who gave her a blue towel.
"Thanks, Rave." Raven nodded at Honey Suckle as she ate her cookie.
As she dried off, she asked Raven, "Truth or dare?"
"Um, truth." Raven responded.
"Hmm..." Honey hummed before asking, "What’s something weird you do in your sleep?" Raven looked away as her face blushed brightly.
"Um, apparently, I whistle when I snore." She answered, "Dad says it's cute, but he thinks I'm cute no matter what, so I'm not sure I agree."
The game continued for a while. Many of the game's highlights included Cinder confessed she secretly always wanted a rather girly little sister, Raven danced without music for a minute, and Honey Suckle revealing her first crush she had back in grade school. The game continued for a while until Fluttershy knocked on the door and opened it.
"Girls, I'm glad your having fun, but it's time to quiet down and get ready for bed." She mentioned.
Raven moaned, "Mom, can't we stay up? We're teenagers."
Fluttershy looked sympathetically but answered, "Sorry, little flower."
The teenagers all went "aww..." but complied. They briefly went to the bathroom to brush their teeth before Cinder and Honey Suckle grabbed their sleeping bags from their travel bags. They laid on their bags and Raven laid on her bed as they went to bed.
The next morning, Fluttershy was making some waffles with black and blue berries on top for the girls, while Discord made hay bacon. Wildflower was at the table, enjoying her own plate and drinking some milk. The draconequus, unicorn and dragoness teens soon walked it, with Raven's mane back up in the twin tails she had last night.
"Morning, girls." Fluttershy said while smiling widely. Her long tail swished as she brought the plates over to where they were sitting and set them down. Discord snapped up some milk and the girls began to eat.
"This is really good, Mrs. Fluttershy." Honey said.
Fluttershy's cheeks turned the same shade as her mane at the compliment. "Thanks, Honey Suckle." She replied.
Cinder ate some of the bacon. "This is better than my dad's hay bacon, Mr. Discord." Discord smiled widely as his chest puffed up and his ego went up.
While they were eating, a knock happened on the front door. Fluttershy went over and opened it, showing Cinder and Honey Suckle's mothers.
"Girls, your moms are here." Fluttershy called out.
"They're on the kitchen eating breakfast." She said to the mothers as she led them to the kitchen. The dragoness and earth pony smiled as they followed her into the kitchen.
"Hello, Discord. How are you doing?" The older dragoness asked.
"Oh, I've been fine. My last trip with Twilight and Spike was so boring, but otherwise, I've been doing well."
Honey Suckle's mom smiled. "That's good to hear." She turned to Honey Suckle. "Did ya have fun, sugar plum?"
Honey swallowed her bite before smiling at her mother and replying, "Yeah, we did, ma." Cinder and Raven nodded as they smiled.
"Do you want to stay for breakfast before taking the kids home?" Fluttershy asked and the older dragoness and earth pony nodded while smiling.
The eight creatures sat down and ate breakfast. The adults enjoyed conversation as they ate, while the teens were giggling at a joke Wildflower made. After breakfast, Cinder and Honey Suckle hugged Raven goodbye. Raven was sad to them go, but she knew they had to.
Once Cinder and Honey Suckle left, Raven turned and asked her mom, "Can we do it next weekend?" Fluttershy shook her head while smiling while Discord laughed.
The hot summer sun rose high in the sky as Discord sat on a tricolored folding chair underneath an iridescent navy blue parasol he stuck in the sand earlier. He didn't need the shade as he could tolerate the heat, but relaxing in the shade was still very appealing to the draconequus.
He peeked past his ruby red framed sunglasses as he looked around. There weren't too many ponies at the beach today, just a few small families and a few couples going for a stroll.
He was currently waiting for his wondrous wife and his darling daughters, who were changing in some changing tents not too far from here.
His goat ear swiveled at the sound of soft hoofsteps and he lifted his head towards the sound behind him.
Fluttershy came over, holding a wicker cloth bag in her mouth. She was wearing a one shoulder tankini that matched her eyes in color and her smile was sweet. Her mane was currently down and her bluebell barrette was in her bag, her not wanting to damage it if she went into the water.
She set the bag down on the yellow beach towel covered in pink butterflies before looking up and smiled towards Discord. He wore a pair of swim trunks, with the right side being black and red and the left being white and orange, the striped pattern being inverted.
"Thanks for suggesting going to the beach today, Discord." She said. Discord simply waved his talon dismissively.
"Oh, it's no trouble, my dear. Besides I feel like we all, but mostly you Mrs Workaholic, needed this vacation." He said, shoving his talon into her snout when he called her 'Mrs Workaholic'. She giggled as she gently pushed the talon out of her snout. She dug into her bag to try and find the sunscreen before hearing hoofsteps behind her.
She turned around and smiled lightly at Wildflower, who was wearing a vibrant red two-piece bikini set. When trying to look for swimsuits earlier today, Fluttershy had to stop Wildflower from picking ones that was a bit too risqué for her liking and eventually settled on the one she was wearing now which, while a bit revealing, was modest enough to meet Flutter's standards.
Fluttershy turned back to the bag and pulled out the sunblock as Discord snapped up an azure beach towel for Wildflower to sit down on next to Fluttershy's towel. Fluttershy went over to Wildflower, who was starting to lay on her back.
Wildflower peeked past the light blue framed sunglasses her father just gave her once she saw her mother's shadow pass over her. Wildflower could tell what her mother wanted and, after rolling her eyes, reluctantly sat up and extended her foreleg.
Fluttershy squeezed some sunblock on her hoof and started rubbing it on her daughter, who had a slightly irritated expression on her face.
Discord looked over as he saw Raven walking over, her mismatched feet softly kicking up the hot sand as she walked on her hind legs, like she usually did when wearing clothes. Her hair band was in Fluttershy's bag, causing her jet black locks to flow past her shoulders.
She wore a simple strapless one-piece bikini, the top half being black while the bottom half was white. She clearly looked nervous, looking around while rubbing her paw with her claw as she bit her lip.
He smiled towards his beautiful daughter who looked over and smiled shyly back at him. She snapped her claw, creating a red folding chair. The adolescent draconequus laid down on the chair, her tail laying off to the side as she breathed the salty air into her lungs. She sighed peacefully, closing her rosey pink eyes as she tried to relax.
Her floppy ear twitched as she heard a snap. She opened one of her eye slightly to see a purple-and-pale pink parasol appear above her, giving her shade. Raven smiled over towards her daddy in thanks before closing her eye again, folding her claw and paw against her chest and materializing sunglasses that matched her daddy's in color (but hers had pointed ends rather than rounded and also had small studded silver gems lining the rims) onto her face.
After successfully covering Wildflower in some sunblock (which, in Wildflower's opinion, was about half a gallon too much. She didn't burn that easily), Fluttershy started rubbing some on her own forearm before the tube floated up into Discord's talon. He looked over with a raised eyebrow and she immediately knew his implication. She nodded with a wide smile before laying down on her towel onto her stomach, her forelegs crossing.
He squeezed a fair amount of sunblock into his paw and soon started rubbing it on Flutter's back, stretching his body as to not leave his comfortable chair. She sighed in bliss as her eyes fluttered closed, while Discord covered her back in sunblock, taking extra care around her delicate wing joints.
After spending a short minute helping out his wife, Discord floated the sunblock into the bag. He and Raven didn't really need it, after all. He sat up on his chair and cracked his knuckles.
"So, now that we're here, what should we do?" He asked.
Fluttershy looked over and smiled. "Well, I was thinking of maybe taking a stroll on the beach. Raven, would you like to walk with me if I go?" She asked her daughter. Raven looked over and shrugged her nearly non-existent shoulders as if to say, 'sure'.
Discord pulled out a large deep purple surfboard with sky blue swirls and dark grey tornados covering it from the tiny wicker bag (even though it wouldn't be able to fit and Fluttershy knew he didn't put that in before they left for the beach, but she was used to weird stuff like that long before she and Discord started dating).
"While you two do that, I'm going to catch some waves. Wildflower, do you-" Before he finished his sentence, Wildflower flew up with a large grin on her face.
"You kidding me? Of course! Let's go!" She yelled ecstatically. The draconequus smiled impossibly wide before snapping his tail tuft and, in a instant, both he and Wildflower disappeared to surf.
Fluttershy shook her head, smiling at her two troublemakers before standing up and stretching her hind legs. She took a moment to put on a sunhat that she placed next to her bag before she walked towards her asymmetrical daughter, giving a slight look to say she was leaving.
Raven snapped her paw to dismiss her shades and stood up, stretching her gracile body before following her mother as they went down the coast, the sand feeling like powdered sugar.
About four miles down the coast, Discord and Wildflower were setting the board into the water. Wildflower looked towards the water. It was the deepest blue, small waves gently crashing onto the shore and the sun shined brightly. Though a beautiful site, Wildflower did notice one thing that was off.
"Um, dad, I don't think we can surf. There aren't any good waves." She said, looking disappointed. Discord looked over and smiled.
"Don't worry, Wildflower. I've got this." He snapped his paw and soon, the water started rising in ways that were perfect for surfing. Wildflower's face soon grew a large smile. She jumped to the front of the board as Discord stood behind her, dipping his tail into the water and turned his tail feathers into a motor, pushing them forward.
After a moment of cruising on the ocean blue, a particularly large wave started to form—the perfect one for the two daredevils. He took his tail out of the water and turned it to normal before turning the board straight into the wave.
Once they entered, Wildflower stuck her tongue out as she tried to stand on her front legs. She wobbled a little, but amazingly, she kept her balance. She looked behind herself and saw her father leaning on his tail and legs at an impossible angle while holding a tanning reflector in his hands and wearing bright green sunglasses.
Show-off. She thought as she rolled her eyes. She then looked past him, seeing the water around them crashing.
"Wooo, yeah!" She yelled ecstatically, the adrenaline pumping through her body. This was the best!
The wave started to lower as they headed towards the beach. The wave rolled gently against the coast, the board digging into the sand slightly as it came to a stop.
Wildflower jumped off the board and turned to her left when she heard cheering, seeing a stand of three Discord duplicates, holding scorecards that all said '10' in large red ink. She laughed before turning towards her father, who was shaking water from his ears with a cotton q-tip despite not once being in the water. She rolled her eyes before smiling even wider.
"That was great!" She exclaimed before suggesting, "Let's go again, dad."
Discord smiled at her and snapped his talon, sending them both back into the water.
While the two risk-takers were enjoying the waves, Fluttershy and Raven went down on the beach. A few creatures were looking at Raven weirdly, but they eventually turned to mind their own business.
Raven looked to her right and saw a rather young looking colt building a fairly elaborate sand castle a bit too close to the water's edge. She then noticed the tide creeping up on the moderately sized castle that was carefully crafted by tiny hooves. Once it hit the castle, it fell down into a pathetic, gloppy mess. The colt hadn't yet noticed, having rushed off earlier to get his mom to show it to her.
Not wanting him to be sadden by his fallen castle, she snapped her tail, it sounding like the crack of a whip, and the colt's castle was reformed, but with even more detail than before, including a draw bridge over a moat, two blue flags on the towers, a seapony gargoyle a fair bit above the doorway and a faux seastar on the top of the castle. Her face flushed with embarrassment. She didn't mean to do that. She just meant to put his castle back up to its former glory. She looked over and smiled, as her magic also caused the water to part in a way as to avoid the castle, thus preventing another tragedy.
Her smile grew wider as she saw the colt bringing her mother over, showing her his sandcastle. Though a little shocked at the extra detail, he smiled widely as his mother praised him for his skill. The colt looked over the draconequus' way and waved towards her. She waved back before heading off to catch up with her own mama.
Once she caught up, Fluttershy apparently hadn't noticed her absence, instead observing a few baby leatherback sea turtles that had just hatched, their little black bodies crawling their way towards the ocean. Seeing the draconequus' shadow by her, Fluttershy looked over and smiled, waving her over. Raven smiled in response and kneeled down.
"Look at them. Aren't they so adorable?" Fluttershy cooed. Raven nodded as she looked at the turtles.
As they watched, one of the turtles wasn't looking where it was going and it tripped on a small ripple in the sand, flipping over onto its leathery carapace. It whined as it tried to flip itself right side up. But it didn't budge, its pale white stomach sticking up as it wiggled its flippers uselessly.
Suddenly, a paw and claw picked it up and flipped it to its stomach. The turtle blinked in surprise before looking up towards Raven, who smiled sweetly at it.
"There you go, little guy." She said in a caring voice. The turtle's toothless beak curved up into what one might call a smile towards the teenage draconequus, squeaking its thanks before heading back on its way. Raven smiled widely as the baby turtle disappeared into the water.
Once all the baby turtles disappeared into the deep blue, Fluttershy and Raven continued on their way. But before they went too far, Fluttershy heard a loud yell, and looked over just before a rather large wave crashed into them.
She gasped for air once it cleared, her body and hat dripping wet while an small cuttlefish wrapped around her foreleg and two lavender seashells stuck on her chest, giving the illusion of a shell bra.
Raven stood near by being just as wet, and a herring was flopping on her head, while a lobster clung to her tail.
Fluttershy looked up and saw a familiar purple surfboard, half buried and sticking straight up. The sand shifted before her and, sure enough, her husband popped out like a prairie dog, shaking his head before hitting the side of his head, sand forming a mini sandcastle as it fell out of his ear, complete with a tiny red flag. The sand shifted next to him, revealing Wildflower, who was coughing up water.
"Are you two okay?" She asked as she pulled off the shells and placed them on the shore before she gently grabbed the cephalopod from her arm and placed it back into the ocean. The cuttlefish looked up at her, its bizarre looking eyes clearly showed thanks before the mollusk took off like a jet.
Discord pulled the surprisingly undamaged surfboard from the sand, laying it down, and then pulling a piece of seaweed off Wildflower's head. The adolescent pegasus smiled at her dad.
"Thanks. That was gross. But yeah, mom. We're fine." She shook her wet braid as she removed more seaweed from her back. "Just miscalculated how fast we were going." Wildflower's nose crinkled at the gross looking seaweed before tossing it in disgust.
Raven took the fish off her head and carefully placed it in the water so it could swim away safely and tossed off the seaweed that was on her bat wing. She then delicately removed the lobster from her tail and placed the decapod onto the beach, gently rubbing the crustacean's red exoskeleton as it rushed to the ocean. Just then, she noticed a seastar on her deer hip, it being large enough to cover her white spots. She gently peeled off the invertebrate and placed it on a rock in the water, taking a moment to stroke it before turned back towards her family.
"Well, I think that crosses off surfing crossed on the list." Discord pulled up a periwinkle list from behind his back. The list was marked as Beach Activities and he crosses a line across ‘surfing’ with a pencil he pulled from his ear. He tossed the list away before turning towards Fluttershy.
"Would you like to go back to the towels and eat lunch?" He asked before finally noticing the seaweed dangling on his snout.
Fluttershy giggled at her husband's silly expression as he stared cross-eyed at it. She flew up and helped him pluck the offending plant from himself and then kissed his cheek, which made his cheeks literally catch fire from his blush.
"That sounds good to me, Cordy." She said as she beamed towards him. Discord smiled back at her and snapped his talon, making all four of them teleport to their towels.
Once they arrived back to where they set up, Discord snapped his paw, causing a picnic table to appear. Fluttershy, Raven and Wildflower sat down at the table. He pulled a blue cooler from thin-air before placing it on the table. He opened it up and dug deep into it, soon pulling out four pieces of watermelon, all full of black seeds.
He snapped his tail tuft, causing a platter of hayburgers to float next to him, apparently already cooked and in buns. He gave two plastic plates, each with a hayburger, to Wildflower and Fluttershy, while Raven's plate had two hayburgers. He floated a watermelon slice towards his darling wife and then to his daughters. He set up his own plate, with another two hayburgers and the last piece of watermelon before he leaned his tail back into the cooler, pulling it out once it wrapped around two iced teas and two water bottles.
He handed Fluttershy one of the teas, who took it with a smile and gave the teens the water. He snapped up some condiments to put on their hayburgers and wet wipes before sitting down himself.
Discord drowned his hayburgers in ketchup and mustard, while Fluttershy put on a much more modest amount on her's. Wildflower put on more ketchup on her burger than her mother, but less then her dad, while Raven chose to eat her burgers plain.
As the four of them ate, Wildflower's chin dipped from the ketchup. Once she noticed, Fluttershy grabbed a wipe and leaned forward, wiping Wildflower's chin.
"Ugh, mom." She whined. Fluttershy ignored her daughter's plee and finished wiping her chin.
"If you used your wipes, maybe I wouldn't have to do that." Fluttershy said in the 'mom tone', raising an eyebrow with a slight intense look in her eyes. Wildflower rolled her eyes before she continued to eat, this time making sure to use her wipe, if only to avoid her mother's wrath if she didn't listen.
"I don't know why you pick on me when dad eats just as messily." She accused, pointing her hoof towards Discord whose chin, including his beard, was covered in ketchup and mustard. He stopped mid-chew when he heard his name, looking nervously towards his wife, who gave him the same look. He swallowed his bite and smiled sheepish, grabbing a wipe and cleaned his own face. Fluttershy shook her head before returning to eating.
Once they finished their burgers, they ate their watermelon slices. After she gently spat a seed onto her plate, Fluttershy looked over to Raven, who was eating the seeds and outer rim along with the pinky flesh.
A seed suddenly hit her forehead, bouncing off harmless, but it was enough to stir her from her thoughts. She looked over, and saw Wildflower smiling smugly. The teen began rolling her tongue and then spat another seed at her mother, this time hitting her snout. Fluttershy's eyes squeezed tightly from the impact before opening her eyes and she glared slightly.
Another seed came forward, bouncing off Wildflower's forehead, making her yelp and wiping her smug grin. Fluttershy looked over Discord with a raised brow.
"You're a bad influence, sometimes." She said. He smirked towards her and spat a seed at Fluttershy, this one bouncing off her ear, it flicking in annoyance.
She suddenly smirked with a gleam in her eyes, making Discord raise a brow (and look nervously towards her). Fluttershy took a bite of her melon, started rolling her tongue and spat a seed towards Discord, making him yelp in surprise.
Wildflower laughed loudly, but then she was hit by a seed spat at her by her mother.
Soon, it was an all out war. Fluttershy, Discord, Wildflower and eventually Raven all spat out their seeds, all hitting each other numerous times. It was hard to tell who hit the most, but they had fun, all of them laughing.
Discord snapped his talon, making the table and cooler disappear (as well as clean the sticky juices from their bodies) and he looked over towards Fluttershy, who was walking off with her now dry sunhat.
"Where are you going?" He asked, sitting back down on his chair. Fluttershy looked towards him and smiled.
"I'm going to buy us some ice cream. I'll be right back." She turned and walked off, her long tail dragging against the sand as it daintily swished. He smiled towards the fading form of his partner before he laid down, placing his hands behind his head.
As he waited for Fluttershy, he turned his attention towards a rather loud group of rowdy teens—all colts, much to his dismay. He frowned deeply as he looked to where they were looking at and they were looking exactly to who he didn't want them to look at—Wildflower, who was clearly drinking in the attention, enjoying every second of it. He glared at the teens, smoke coming out of his nostrils as he snorted. He secretly snapped his talon behind his back, causing hail to start raining on the colts. They yelped in shock, running off as the cloud followed them, continuing to pelt them.
Wildflower glared towards his direction, knowing her father was the one to chase them off. He whistled innocently as a halo hovered over his head. Wildflower rolled her eyes before returning to the magazine she brought with her that she was reading before those colts showed up.
Discord grabbed the halo and tossed it like a frisbee into the wicker bag. He looked over towards Raven, who was laying on a red-and-white striped towel just below her chair on her stomach, her head resting on her arms. Her eyes were closed but she wasn't sleeping, just resting peacefully.
Seemingly unbeknownst to the teenage draconequus, a seagull sat on her head and a couple of hermit crabs scuttled on her back, along with a few other animals crowding around her.
But when she muttered, "A little to the left, little buddies," and the crabs responded, he knew that she was, in fact, aware of their presence. The decapods were helping her with an itch on her back with their claws, while the gull was combing her raven colored mane with its beak. Nearby, a brown pelican was preening her pegasus wing, while a sea otter used its paws to rub her shoulders in a deep tissue massage, the crabs working just behind the mustelid. She sighed peacefully as the seaside critters gave the draconequus their little spa treatment.
Discord smiled at Raven, who looked like she was in heaven, before turning behind himself as he heard hoofsteps. Fluttershy walked forward and gave him his ice cream cone before walking towards Wildflower and handed her a cone. After giving Raven hers, temporarily stopping the animal's little grooming session on Raven, Fluttershy sat down next to her husband to enjoy her ice cream.
The four of them simply sat down and ate their ice cream, all of them savoring the sweet taste and how refreshing they were in the heat. When they finished, they continued on with their fun time, doing things like swimming (with Raven swimming with white-sided dolphins as a seapony, or rather a sea-draconequus courtesy of her dad, and Wildflower getting in a splash fight with Fluttershy), playing volleyball (Fluttershy and Raven's side won the game), and building sand castles (Discord's being the size of a real castle while Wildflower's collapsed on itself). The sun just about dipped below the horizon before they decided to leave, Discord opening a portal for them to pass through to go home.
It was the perfect end to the perfect day of beach fun on a rather hot summer's day.
As I rolled to the side of the bed trying to fall asleep for what feels like the twelfth time, I sighed in frustration. Most nights, it usually wouldn't be too difficult for me to fall asleep, not with my husband cuddling me, me listening to the erratic heartbeat he has even when calm, or me hugging his arm, stroking the natural muscle a lion paw would have.
His paw was always so comforting.
But tonight, he had to go with Twilight on a special task that required him to be gone all night. He complained when Twilight asked him, not wanting to leave me and the kids. To be honest, I didn't want him to leave either. But my friend insisted it was important. So, he reluctantly left with her, but not before he gave me a kiss and said goodbye to the kids, calling them his pride and joy.
And to think he was worried about being a good dad. I told him he'd be great at being one.
So, it was just me and the kids tonight. Wildflower, who was almost three years old, was sleeping down the hall and Raven, our beautiful draconequus baby, was only a few months old at this point and was sleeping in a crib in a room just past her big sister's room. It was the early evening that Discord was summoned, so I had to care for the kids for a small bit before taking them to bed.
It was a little difficult to try and deal with feeding and changing Raven all the while having to deal with the energetic toddler that was Wildflower. But one advantage to Wildflower's little energetic personality is that she tired out rather quickly. So once she grew sleepy, I was able to put her to bed with little fuss.
It was starting to rain just as I was putting my dear sweet Raven to sleep herself, her little mouth curling up in an adorable smile that made my heart melt on the spot.
And now that rain was turning into a rather big storm, the thunder boldly crashing, the lightning flashing, and the rain pittering against my window. I allowed myself to smile as I listened to the storm. I'm sure most of my friends were unaware of this, but I've actually liked thunderstorms for a long time, all the way to when I met Twilight, even a little before then. I know that seems out of character for me, especially when I was younger, but it's true. Admittedly, I didn't start off liking thunder, not at all. The loud noise alone was enough to make me cower under the bed. But my more adventurous aunt helped me and ever since, I slowly but surely grew to appreciate these storms.
Only a few ponies in my life know this about me, my aunt and uncle, my parents, and Discord. I don't think even my brother knows.
It's not that I'm trying to hide the truth or anything like that. I have nothing to be ashamed of. It just kinda ended up the way it has.
So, I tried to focus on the calming effect the storm had to try and sleep. And it was working, my consciousness slowly fading as my muscles relaxed and heartbeat slowed. But just before I completely fall asleep, a particularly loud crash from the storm boomed with a strong force. But it wasn't the thunder itself that woke me up, it was what followed—Raven crying and screaming. Once I heard her cry, my eyes were open wide and I jumped out of bed, racing out of my room to her's.
Once I entered her room, I grabbed the little draconequus, all swaddled in a white baby blanket, from her bassinet and tried to calm her down, rocking her as I shushed her, hoping to calm her down.
"Shh, it's okay, Raven. Mommy's here. It's okay." I whispered softly into her floppy bunny ears. While she calmed down a little as I rocked her, she was still clearly very distressed. That storm frightened her quite a bit, it seemed. I noticed a while back that her eyes turned teal like my own when she cried. Discord and Twilight said it was probably caused by an involuntary use of magic. And they were teal now as she looked up at me with her frightened expression.
Another loud crack of thunder, and she whimpered, digging her face into my chest. It broke my heart to see my beautiful baby so frightened. I knew I couldn't leave her, but what was I to do?
Suddenly, I had an idea. I took her out of her room and brought her into mine. She was clearly more comfortable in my forearms rather than in her crib (if only slightly) and maybe, if I was nearby, she'd forget the storm and sleep peacefully.
Entering my bed with baby in toe, I cradled her against my chest, rocking her slightly. She was so small in my hooves, even smaller than Wildflower was as a baby or even Angel was in his youth. Despite her size, I held her gently as I moved the covers over us, her looking around in confusion of where she was.
"You're staying with me tonight, little flower." I said, stroking her beautiful midnight mane. "I'll keep you safe." I nuzzled her mane, hoping my calm breathing would settle her.
I then began to softly sing the lullaby my mom used to sing to me to her:
Hush now, quiet now
It's time to lay your sleepy head
Hush now, quiet now
It's time to go to bed
I could tell she was finally calming down, her eyes turing back to her gorgeous rosey pink eyes and were drooping from exhaustion. Another thunder struck was heard and she shivered in fright while whimpering. I frowned at this and tried to continue to calm her by singing:
Driftin' off to sleep
Exciting day behind you
Driftin' off to sleep
Let the joy of dream land find you
Finally, she fell to sleep, sucking her raven claw. This brought a tired smile to my face. I kissed the top of her head, then laid my head down on my pillow. My eyes started dropping as well, the sound of Raven sleeping seemly was what I needed. I finally fell asleep, little Raven sleeping on my chest with my wings around her being the last thing I saw before I lose consciousness.
As I woke up the next morning, the storm appeared to have stopped. I used my wings to clear the gunk from my eyes. I knew Wildflower would probably be up by now, so I lifted to get up, only to feel a pressure on my chest. I looked down and smiled widely at my youngest, who seemed to have found my hoof in the middle of the night and started sucking it. Her rosey pink eyes opened up and looked up at me.
My smile only grew as she started to smile up at me. This was just the most perfect feeling in the whole world. Nothing else seemed to matter at that moment except me and my daughter.
The bed shifted, breaking my thoughts. Once I looked over, I smiled widely at my handsome husband who smiled as widely and held Wildflower in his arms, who appeared unusually calm for once. We leaned in and kissed each other.
"Hello, my dear." He said as he pulled away. "I finished earlier than expected and I came home just before the sun started to rise. I woke up Wildflower and came in and saw this adorable sight. I'll make breakfast for us if you want." I nodded, liking the idea of him making food for us. He grabbed Raven and held both our kids, using his talon to stroke Raven's mane, who seemed to enjoy it. I knew he missed them very much. We lended in for another kiss.
As I smiled against his lips, I knew my life was officially perfect.
The mattress below her shifted as Fluttershy slept. She groaned as she tried to stay asleep, but someone began to shake her and yelling, "Wake up wake up wake up wake up!"
She opened up her eyes and saw the pony who was shaking her—Wildflower, who was clearly ecstatic. Behind her daughter was Discord, who looked just as excited with his tail wagging as he stood, his grin being impossibly wide, showing his sharp carnassials along with his pony molars and his large, protruding fang.
"Mom, wake up! Today's the day!" Wildflower said, now jumping on her bed. "Today's the day!"
Fluttershy blinked before sitting up and stretching her hooves as she groaned. Sighing in relief as her shoulder popped, she then looked over and smiled towards her daughter.
"I'm glad you're excited, sweetie." She said before her mouth dipped slightly. "But did you have to wake me up like that?"
Wildflower rolled her multicolored eyes. "Come on, mom. Stop being such a buzz kill. You were excited when auntie Pinkie invited us."
Discord lended over and slung his talon over his wife. "Pinkie and her family and your brother are waiting downstairs, wanting to take us out for breakfast before we go to the amusement park. Raven's down there as well." He pecked her cheek before he continued. "I wanted to let you have a little more rest after the long day you had yesterday, but Wildflower couldn't wait any longer and rushed up here." He pointed an accusatory talon to Wildflower.
Wildflower scoffed. "Oh, please. Don't tell me you weren't just as excited as I am." She said as she jumped off their bed to head downstairs.
"Oh, I am. But unlike you, I have self-control." He argued. Wildflower raised an eyebrow at her father, not believing him for a second. But she decided not to argue and instead headed downstairs.
Fluttershy took a moment to brush her minor bed head and set it up in her usual loop style with the bluebell barrette before heading down the stairs into her living room with her husband, her earrings swinging slightly as they dangled while her necklace sparkled.
As Discord said, Pinkie and her husband, Cheese Sandwich, and their son, Lil' Cheese were here, along with her brother, Zephyr Breeze. Raven was downstairs as well and she was talking to Lil' Cheese.
Lil' Cheese held a strong resemblance to his father in terms of build, being tall and lean. His curly pink mane was brighter than Wildflower's mane and his cheesy yellow coat juxtaposed perfectly with his green eyes.
Fluttershy smiled lightly at her daughter being social with her friend's son, when she normally wasn't much of a socializer.
Zephyr walked over and rubbed her head. "Hey, sleepyhead. How've you been, Flutterbutter?" He said.
She rolled her eyes at her younger brother before looking towards him. Though he had matured a fair bit over the years and actually started taking initiative, with him now being a top stylist at the salon he works at, he still had a flamboyant personality and still occasionally annoyed her.
He had also grown a few inches taller over the years, and his mane was now in a long ponytail, the bangs brushed away and out of his face. He had a goatee on his chin (though he still had stubble on the sides of his face) and numerous piercings in his nose, ears and above his eyes.
Regardless, she was proud of his achievements.
"I've been good, Zephyr. And I'm happy you agreed to come with us, especially since my parents decided not to go." She said, causing Zephyr to smirk confidently.
"Of course, big sis. You think I'd miss an opportunity to spend time with my nieces?" He said as he rubbed Wildflower's head. Wildflower laughed, trying to get his hoof out of her mane. Once she was free, Raven walked over and smiled at him. He smiled back, though his looked a little more strained.
Pinkie hopped over and hugged, or rather squeezed, Fluttershy, who hugged back not as intensely, though it was still a tighter one than what she'd do with most other ponies. Once they broke the hug, Pinkie beamed widely and bounced up and down. Despite being mid-aged and much chubby than she was in her youth or even when she had Lil' Cheese, Pinkie still had plenty of energy, which Fluttershy envied slightly (Rarity was much more envious, though Pinkie was completely oblivious to this).
"I'm sooo glad you guys agreed to come. This is going to be so fun!" She said in voice that clearly showed she was overjoyed about today.
Fluttershy beamed herself as she watched one of her oldest friends from when she moved to Ponyville bounce madly.
"Of course. Thank you for inviting us." She said. "So, Discord mentioned something about breakfast?"
Pinkie nodded enthusiastically and Discord opened a portal to a cafe close to the park and they all walked through.
After breakfast, the eight of them appeared in front of a gate where a large sign that said EQUUS WORLD stood above. A banner that was underneath the sign read, The largest and best amusement park in Equestria!
Pinkie had gotten tickets and during a friendship council meeting, she asked Fluttershy if she and the family wanted to go. Fluttershy agreed, liking the idea and not wanting the extra tickets to go to waste. Pinkie asked her sisters and parents if they wanted to go as well, but they declined. Fluttershy's parents were going to go until about a day ago, so it was just her, Discord, the kids, Pinkie and her husband and son, and Zephyr.
Despite the benefit of instantaneous transportation via Discord, there was still a fairly large line in front of them, which annoyed Discord and Wildflower. As they waited, Fluttershy talked with Pinkie, this being a good chance for the two of them to catch up. Fluttershy finished giggling at a story Pinkie was telling about an incident with Lil' Cheese in the kitchen (which caused the young stallion to blush in embarrassment) when they finally arrived to the front.
Pinkie gave the admission mare the tickets and they were given maps and paper wristbands before they went past the waist-high turnstile.
They were nearly past when they heard a grunt.
They looked behind and saw that Raven, who was in the back of their group, had somehow gotten stuck in the turnstile, her long serpentine tail pinned against the podium. Numerous ponies behind the she-draconequus were annoyed by the occurrence. Raven tried to pull herself out, the claws on her paw extended to try to dig into the concrete but she was well and truly stuck.
Fluttershy rushed forward and grabbed her daughter's paw and claw, trying to pull her out. Pinkie grabbed Fluttershy by the waist and and tried to help, pulling her and her 'niece'. But Raven wouldn't budge.
Discord eventually used his magic to bend the metal bar that was blocking her tail upwards, which also had the unintended effect of causing Fluttershy and Pinkie to fly backwards from the force of their pulling as Raven's body launches forward, landing on top of them as they crashed onto the ground.
"Are you okay, mom?!" Lil' Cheese asked as he and Cheese Sandwich rushed forward. Raven got up from the two older mares and sat down, her head spinning with stars that appeared from her magic as Cheese Sandwich helped up his wife while Discord (who had teleported over after fixing the turnstile) helped up Fluttershy, dusting her off with a feather duster.
"I'm okie dokie, cupcake. I've taken worse hits before." She said as she shook her head (which caused numerous pieces of candy to fall from her mane), before looking over to her friends and asked, "Are you guys okay?"
"I'm fine, Pinkie." Fluttershy said before walking over to her daughter. She waved her hoof over Raven's head to get rid of the stars that appeared above the teenage draconequus. Once the stars dissipated, Raven smiled lightly at her mama in thanks before standing up and turning to Pinkie.
"I'm okay as well, auntie." The adolescent draconequus said. Satisfied that her daughter was okay, Fluttershy nodded and turned to Pinkie.
"Where to first?" She asked, pulling out the map and unfolding it. Pinkie came over to look at the map.
"Well, I imagine your little daredevils are going to want to try this." She pointed to a large roller coaster marked The Screaming Mustang on the map.
"You know me so well, Mrs. Pie." Discord said, now suddenly behind them, surprising both Pinkie and Fluttershy. He snapped his talon and teleported them to the roller coaster, which had a semi-large line ready to ride it. It was tall and made of metal with the track being painted black and red, while the cars were painted black with orange flames. The coaster train rushed the numerous loops and sharp turns it had at high speed, often leaving passengers disoriented when they were released.
It clearly wasn't a ride for the faint of heart—which made it perfect for Wildflower and Discord.
Wildflower, who looked excited, rushed over to her uncle while grinning widely and grabbed his hoof, trying to yank him forward. "C'mon, uncle Zeph. Let's go!" She said.
He looked up at the at least 216 foot tall coaster as the train passed by at lightning speed with the occupants screaming loudly. A bead of sweat went down his brow. "Uh, I-I'm good, Wild." He said nervously. Discord then placed his paw over his withers.
"Aw, come on. Zephyr. Just one ride is all we ask." He said before gesturing to Wildflower with his talon and giving his best pout. "You don't have the heart to say no to this face, can you?"
Against his better judgement, Zephyr looked to his niece, who was giving her best sad look, her eyes shining with unshed tears and her lip quivered. He sighed, knowing he had been beat.
"Fine. One rid-" He was cut off by Wildflower getting behind him and pushing him to the line while cheering loudly. He looked up at the coaster again and gulped, now regretting his decision. Discord chuckled at his brother in-law's discomfort before floating over, looking annoyed that he had to stand in another line.
Cheese Sandwich waved bye to Pinkie as he joined them for the roller coaster. Pinkie waved back in a frantic manner while Fluttershy held a hoof to her mouth to hide her amusement at her younger brother.
Though Zephyr acted more confident than her or their parents, he might've actually been a bigger coward than they were. She couldn't even begin to count how many times he's tried to visit and got freaked out by Fuzzy Legs the tarantula or even Harry the bear, despite how friendly she knew they were. His ego was sometimes too high to admit his fears, though. After all, it took a while for him to admit he was scared of failing, hence him giving up on a task and freeloading off their parents, as well as her on one occasion.
Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt somepony tapping her shoulder. She looked over and saw it was Raven, with Lil' Cheese being behind her.
"Hey, mom. Do you think it'd be okay if we ride the log ride while everypony else are on the coaster?" She asked, pointing to the map with her claw where a log ride was shown, being not too far from where they were. Fluttershy smiled and folded up the map.
"Sure, little flower." She replied and Fluttershy, Raven, Lil' Cheese, and Pinkie walked over to the log ride.
Shortly after the group left for the log ride, the line for The Screaming Mustang was finally starting to thin out as Discord, Wildflower, Zephyr and Cheese Sandwich waited to ride. Once they made it to the front, the attendant, an orange unicorn stallion, checked their heights before letting them past.
Wildflower and Discord sat next to each other on the very front car while Zephyr and Cheese were in the car behind them. Zephyr gulped as the safety bar went down.
"This is going to be so cool!" Wildflower yelled. The car suddenly jolted forward, making a hiss sound that made Zephyr flinch. The cars began to move forward up the first slope.
Once they reached the top of the slope, Zephyr swore they were high enough to be past the clouds. Gravity then took hold and they plunged down. Wildflower, Discord and Cheese screamed in excitement, while Zephyr just plain screamed.
The train traveled at breakneck speed, to the point where it was like the train was nearly coming off the rails on the sharp turns. The loops caused the passenger's stomachs to flip. They went around the ride twice before finally coming to a stop, the ride now ending.
Wildflower jumped out of the car grinning from ear to ear, and shook her head to clear her dizziness.
"That was great!" Wildflower exclaimed, her mane being slightly frizzed. Discord smiled next to her as he exited. Unlike her, he seemed to have no issues.
"Yep. Of course, I've made faster ones, but for a coaster made by ponies, it's pretty intense. In a good way, of course." He said.
Cheese Sandwich came up towards them. He was a little more disoriented than Wildflower, but he still looked better than Zephyr, who's face turned a darker green than his coat and he groaned from sickness.
Wildflower jumped up and yelled, "Let's do it again!"
Zephyr's eye twitched before his pupils rolled up and he fainted.
The log ride had a shorter line, but it still took a little while until the mares, draconequus and young stallion made it to the attendant, a grayish-purple dragoness. She check their heights before nodding and letting them past.
Raven and Fluttershy sat in the front row of the boat, while Pinkie and Cheese were behind them. The boat then started moving forward shorty after Fluttershy helped Raven pull the safety bar down. It traveled down the water flume slowly. They went around in a small circle before entering a cave, the boat begining to ascend.
Once the boat reached the top, it suddenly stopped. Raven looked over the edge, her eyes widening at the drop.
"I d-didn't think it would be so", she gulped, "high. I hate heights." Raven shivered in fright. Fluttershy put a hoof on top of her daughter's paw, causing Raven to look over.
"It'll be fine, sweetheart. I'm right here." Fluttershy said, rubbing Raven's back with her wing. The draconequus smiled in response, albeit weakly.
The boat suddenly jolted forward and it fell, descending down fast. Raven screamed loudly as they fell. It landed with a splash, spraying the passengers with water.
The four them left the ride completely drenched, their manes drooping over their faces. Pinkie hopped forward, while Lil' Cheese walked behind her.
"That was fantabulous!" Pinkie exclaimed. She shook her body like a dog, the water flying off from her body. Fluttershy shielded herself from the droplets with her wings.
Raven snapped her paw and gave her mama a pale pink towel. Fluttershy smiled in thanks and dried herself off. She reached into her saddle bag she left by the exit to retrieve her necklace, earrings and barrette that she put in there to avoid getting them wet. Discord had placed a spell on her saddlebag a while back so should they ever need to lay it down somewhere, it would give a minor shock to anypony who tried to steal it.
As she put in her earrings, Raven walked towards Lil' Cheese.
"Here you go, Cheese." She said, handing him a blue towel.
"Thanks, Ray." He said, accepting the towel from his friend. Raven grinned in return before snapping up a red towel and started drying herself off.
Fluttershy just finished putting on her necklace when Pinkie came forward, still damp and holding something in her hoof.
"While you guys were drying off, I went to the counter over there and bought the picture they took of us going down." She said, extended her hoof to give Fluttershy the photo. "I bought myself a copy as well, so now we can all remember this fun time."
Fluttershy smiled and looked at the photo in her hoof. Pinkie and Cheese were with their arms up in the air as they were yelling with glee. Her smile grew at the sight of her and her daughter's wide smiles while their manes whipped behind them. It seemed during the middle of the fall, Raven started enjoying herself and started beaming just as the picture was taken.
She placed the picture into her bag before fishing for her barrette.
Just as she pulled it out, she heard multiple hoofsteps. She looked up and saw her husband and daughter who were walking towards them, along with Cheese Sandwich and her brother.
"Did you guys enjoy yourselves?" She asked as she put up her mane with her bluebell. Discord smiled at her.
"Indeed we did. Or at least me and Wildflower did. Your brother was screaming like a mare." He said.
"I did not!" Zephyr said defensively. Wildflower walked forward and nudged him.
"You totally did. You also fainted. It took Cheese a minute to wake you up." She said, smirking towards her uncle. Fluttershy giggled, while Zephyr grumbled and averted his eyes from his big sister's clear amusement.
Once Fluttershy stopped laughing, she pulled out the map and asked the group. "So, what else should we do?"
"How about the hall of mirrors?" Lil' Cheese suggested.
Fluttershy looked at the map before nodding. "Sure. That sounds fun."
Discord snapped his paw and teleported them to where it was.
The eight of them had loads of fun using the hall of mirrors as the mirrors distorted their forms in amusing ways. Discord and Wildflower also rode the drop tower that was nearby, once again forcing Zephyr along, while Lil' Cheese went with them.
After the drop tower, they walked down a path, looking at many of the colorful game stalls. As they walked forward, Wildflower saw one game that caught her attention. It was a simple stand with bottles in a row. The stand was marked Ring Toss. She went over to the stand and Lil' Cheese followed her, also wanting to play. Fluttershy walked towards them.
"You kids find something you want to play?" She asked. Wildflower looked over and nodded.
"Yeah, it looks fun, mom." She said. Fluttershy pulled out her bit purse and gave the bits to the older dark tan earth pony stallion with mahogany eyes and silver mane running the stand, who then gave Wildflower and Lil' Cheese some rings.
"You get four rings each. First one to land a ring on the bottle wins and gets a prize." He said, pointing to the plushies on the shelves above.
Lil' Cheese went first, flinging the ring towards the bottle. It clinked off the first row and fell to the floor. "Aww." He complained.
Wildflower spun the ring around her hoof. "Not bad, Cheese, but let me show you how it's done." She said confidently. She threw it, the ring completely missing the stand and landing on a cream unicorn mare's horn just as she was about to toss a ball at another stall. Wildflower's whole face turned red in embarrassment.
Lil' Cheese smirked in response. "You sure showed me."
The pegasus rolled her eyes. "Oh, well if you think you're so much better, it's your turn now." She said.
They both missed the next two shots, leaving them with only one ring left. Lil' Cheese threw his last ring and it almost landed on a bottle, but then it fell down.
"Dang it." He said before turning his attention to Wildflower, who now was squinting her eyes and sticking her tongue out, wiggling her hips slightly. She then threw the ring and it successfully landed on a bottle, the ring perfectly around the neck of the bottle.
"Congratulations, young lady." The stallion running the stand said. "Here ya go." He gave Wildflower a large white teddy with a bow around its neck. She grabbed it before turning to Lil' Cheese.
"Hey, Cheese. I want to give you this." She passed the teddy to Lil' Cheese. "I'm not big on plushies."
He blinked in surprise before grabbing the plushie and smiled towards her, his cheeks turing pink at her kind gesture. She smiled back and they and Fluttershy walked off, hoping to find the rest of their group.
They eventually found Zephyr and Pinkie, who were facing each other in a basketball contest. Cheese Sandwich stood nearby, wearing a shirt with his wife's face on it (who knows where he got it from) and was cheering for her.
"Where's Discord and Raven?" Fluttershy asked once they caught up. Cheese Sandwich turned from his cheering to address her question.
"They're over there." He said, pointing left. Fluttershy looked over and saw the two draconequi at a stand not far from where they were. She nodded her thanks to Cheese and walked over to her husband and youngest daughter.
As she got closer, she saw Raven was standing on her hind legs and was holding a ball in her raven claw.
"What game are you playing?" She said once she made it over. Discord turned to her and smiled.
"She's trying to knock down that tower of milk bottles." He said, pointing to the stacked bottles. Raven took a deep breath before she threw the ball. It bounced off the top bottle, which only wobbled slightly in response, causing her hopeful expression to droop.
Fluttershy, not wanting her daughter to look so depressed, flew up to her.
"Here, let me help, little flower." She asked. Raven nodded and Fluttershy paid for another ball before putting it in her tail.
"Okay, so the key to this game is to hit the middle of the two bottles on the bottom there." She pointed to the tower. Raven narrowed her eyes towards the bottles and realizing what she meant, she peaked up.
Fluttershy bounced the ball in her tail a few times to feel the weight. She took a deep breath and cracked her tail, flinging the ball towards the tower. The bottles fell on impact, all three of them falling over from the force of the ball.
The stallion running the stand gave Fluttershy the prize, who in turn gave it to Raven—a large bluish-grey elephant plushie with pink ears and footpads. Raven hugged it tightly against her face, the toy making a 'squeak' sound as it squished her cheek.
Discord looked over to Fluttershy with a raised brow. "How did you know that?" He asked, looking confused, but also impressed by his wife's knowledge.
Fluttershy rubbed her forearm while hovering in midair, her face now flushed. "My aunt and uncle took me to a carnival in Cloudsdale and they had this game when I was little. They taught me that trick with the bottles and I've just remembered it ever since. It helps that I have such a long tail now." She whipped her tail to emphasize her point. Discord smiled at her with a love filled expression.
Raven's stomach then growled, causing the adolescent draconequus to try to hide her redding face behind her new plush. Discord chuckled.
"I suppose it is time for lunch, isn't it?" He said. "Alright, let's get everyone else and go find a place to eat." Fluttershy nodded and the three of them walked over to the basketball contest.
The eight of them walked around looking for something to eat for lunch. Fluttershy was slightly dismayed by the fact that weren't too many options that were neither healthy nor reasonably priced. They eventually settled on pizza. While Pinkie and Cheese Sandwich went to pay for it, everypony else went to sit at a table underneath an umbrella.
They came back from the pizza parlor, Cheese holding a large pizza, one half vegetarian and one half cheese and paper plates on a tray while Pinkie held some soda on another tray. She passed the soda to everyone while Cheese put the pizza on the table.
"Bon appétit!" Pinkie exclaimed. Fluttershy, Cheese Sandwich, and Zephyr grabbed a slice from the vegetarian half, while Wildflower, Lil' Cheese and Discord grabbed one from the cheese side, while Pinkie and Raven got a slice from both sides.
Fluttershy sipped on her soda—orange mixed with cherry-lime—before looking up to Pinkie.
"Thank you for paying for lunch, Pinkie. You didn't have to." She said, setting her drink down.
Pinkie waved her hoof dismissively. "It's no problem, Shy-Shy." She said. "Besides, this whole trip is me and Cheesy's treat. Let us treat you guys!" She then took a bite out of her cheese pizza slice, rather messily.
Fluttershy shook her head at her silly friend before biting her own pizza much more daintily.
Lunch was a mostly quiet affair. Between all of them going for seconds (Pinkie, Discord and Raven seemed to go for thirds and fourths), the pizza was devoured in no time.
Pinkie belched loudly and patted her stomach. "That was really good! Though I could go for some dessert." She said, looking up towards Discord. "Hey, Dissy. Do you think we could do cotton candy?"
Discord knew what she was implying and after he playfully rolled his eyes at her, snapped his paw, causing his classic cotton candy cloud to appear above her. Pinkie squealed in delight and reached up to grab it and started to eat it, her whole face covered in the chocolate that filled the cloud.
"Thanks, Dissy!" She beamed towards him after licking the chocolate off her face with her tongue. "I would've bought some but yours is soo good." She bit into the cloud again to emphasize her point. Cheese Sandwich came over and Pinkie started sharing the large cloud with him.
Discord chuckled at the chubby mare. "Well, I'm glad you think so highly of my clouds, Pinkie Pie. They are rather tasty if I do say so myself." He said, pulling out his own cotton candy, albeit blue in color, on a tiny paper cone. The candy was too big to be supported by the cone, but it stayed balanced regardless as he took a bite out of it, the chocolate landing in his beard.
Fluttershy closed her eyes and shook her head at them while smiling at her goofy husband. She then turned around when she felt somepony tap her side. She looked behind her and smiled at Raven.
"What is it, little flower?" She asked. Raven shuffled on her asymmetrical feet before looking up towards her mother.
"Mom, is it okay if I can get a pretzel from there for dessert?" She asked, pointing towards a stand that read Cinnamon Pretzels and Churros.
Fluttershy looked over and nodded. "Sure. I wouldn't mind having a churro myself." The two of them walked off to the stand to buy it.
Wildflower rushed up to Zephyr Breeze. "Hey, uncle Zeph. Can we get ice cream?" Wildflower asked with a hopeful smile, with Lil' Cheese next to her. Zephyr chuckled and led them to the ice cream parlor.
After they all ate dessert, they continued to wander around the park through, the day being cooler than when they first arrived.
They rode a few other rides like the tea cups (Wildflower thought it was too kiddy) and some less intense roller coasters than The Screaming Mustang (though Fluttershy and Raven still didn't ride any of them. Coasters weren't their thing) and visited some other attractions like the petting zoo (Raven and Fluttershy obviously loved it) and a haunted mansion (Raven actually managed to successfully scare Wildflower in the mansion, which made everyone laugh, including Wildflower once she got over it).
The parents even rode the tunnel of love (the mares managing to cover their husbands in multiple lipstick marks despite neither of them wearing lipstick) while the girls, Zephyr and Lil' Cheese waited nearby.
After Wildflower and Lil' Cheese messed around with the bumper cars, hitting Pinkie and Discord's cars every chance they could (and Pinkie and Discord hit back whenever they could), the sun was just starting to dip across the horizon and the sky started to change from blue to pink.
Once they caught up with the rest of the group, a sundial watch appeared on Discord's wrist as he looked at it.
"Well, it appears to be getting rather late." He snapped his tail tuft, dismissing the watch before stretching. "So, I imagine you'll want to go, my dear?"
Fluttershy nodded as she stretched her back hooves while sitting on the bench they were waiting by. "Yeah, it's getting late. And my hooves hurt from walking around all day."
"I think we should leave as well." Cheese Sandwich said.
Fluttershy then found herself in a massive hug courtesy of Pinkie Pie. Fluttershy giggled before hugging her friend back.
"Thank you for inviting us, Pinkie. We had loads of fun." She said. Pinkie then set her down.
"Ah, it's no problem Shy-Shy." Pinkie said before turning to Discord. "Do you think you can send us home, Dissy?"
The male draconequus nodded towards her and then snapped his talon, the Pie family disappearing in a flash of white. Fluttershy then turned to her baby brother.
"Thanks for coming with us, Zephyr." She said. Zephyr smirked and rubbed her head, annoying Fluttershy slightly.
"No problem, Flutterbutter." He said. Wildflower suddenly jumped up and glomped Zephyr. He was just barely able to keep his balance, blinking slightly in surprise at his niece.
"Bye, uncle Zeph." The teenage pegasus said as she held him tightly. He laughed before tearing her off from him. Raven walked forward and hugged him as well. Zephyr looked slightly uncomfortable by this but patted the top of her head.
Once Raven let go, Zephyr turned to Discord and, after a short tense stare, he nodded towards the draconequus before Discord snapped his talon, sending Zephyr home. He then turned towards his darling wife and smiled.
"So, shall we?" He asked, bending down and offering his paw. She giggled and hooked her forearm with his paw. He snapped his talon and the Chaos family teleported back home, the fun they had at the amusement park likely to be remembered for years to come.
Wildflower squeezed the bottle again as she tried more of the shampoo. She normally wouldn't take a shower in the middle of the day, but after a prank she had tried to do backfired on her and made her land in a puddle of mud, her sister suggested that she take a shower to clean herself.
Once she entered, she remembered the new shampoo that they got and, once she got past the girly look of the bottle, she found herself enjoying it. She wasn't usually one for super fragrant shampoo, but Rarity had given this shampoo to the family as a gift. Even as one who wouldn't normally buy shampoo that smelled like flowers, it was nice. And it did help with the dirt that she normally got in her mane better than her usual brand.
I'll have to try to find this brand myself later. She thought reluctantly. Not too often, though. I don't want to smell like roses and lilacs all the time. Too girly of a smell for me. I'm sure Raven will like it, though. She decided she used enough of it and started to rinse her mane with the shower head.
Eventually, she turned the knob, turning off the shower and she stepped onto the tricolored bath mat. She flapped her wings, grabbing the azure towel that hung on the upside down towel rack and started drying herself off.
Once she finished, she grabbed her earrings, which she cleaned of mud and dirt earlier, and put them in. She then did up her mane in her usual braided fashion.
Once she was finished with her usual bathroom routine, she looked up at her reflection and smiled.
Poof!
Her smile left her and her mouth was agape as something happened to her appearance. She stared wide-eyed at her reflection, almost horrified by how she now looked. She rubbed her eyes, hoping she was just seeing things. But when she looked again, she still looked like that.
What just happened?! She thought. With no other option, she inhaled and then screamed loudly.
Raven brushed Angel bunny's scruffy fur while she sat on the couch. Their mom and dad were currently out shopping for groceries. Raven said she'd look after the animals while they were gone. Fluttershy was a little nervous about leaving Raven home alone even though she was sixteen, but both Raven and Discord insisted that she'd be fine.
Despite that, to ease her concerns, Discord put up a magic shield that only their family could pass around their house as an extra precaution. Wildflower came home covered in mud earlier and Raven had spent the next fifteen minutes scrubbing the floor clean while Wildflower took a shower.
Her ears perked up at the sound of the shower being turned off. With how long the water was running, either it took Wildflower a while to clean the mud from her coat or she was enjoying herself. She jumped up once she heard her sister give a loud scream, one that was unexpected to come from her usually confident sister.
She put down the elderly lagomorph and rushed towards the bathroom before stopping suddenly at the door. "Wildflower?!" She knocked on the bathroom door. "Are you okay?" She asked.
"Raven, help me!" She moaned from behind the door. Raven turned the knob, worried about her older sister, thinking that she slipped and hit her head against the countertop or something. Once she opened the door, she hopped in to help the teenaged pegasus.
Only to stop and blink at the odd sight before her.
Where Wildflower was presumably standing was instead a yellow and grey ball of fluff, the top and back accented with stripes of dark pink where her mane once stood and a puff of white stood where her tail used to. Her beauty mark, cutie mark and earrings were barely visible past all the fur.
Even the wings were puffy, no longer looking like properly preened wings and she imagined that if Wildflower tried to fly, they wouldn't be able to support her body. The only thing that clued Raven in that it was her sister besides the fur color was the teal and red eyes looking at her in anguish.
It was one of the bizarrest things she's ever seen, and considering who their father was, that was saying a lot.
"Sis..." She licked her lips, trying to find the right words. "You're, um, fluffy." She finally settled on.
Wildflower facehoofed at her sister's statement of the obvious.
"Really? I haven't noticed." She said with a sarcastic voice. The draconequus, still gaping at her sister's state, walked forward and touched Wild's now super fluffy chest with her paw.
"How did this happen?" She said, trying not to get distracted by how soft her big sis's fur was now.
Wildflower groaned. "I don't know. I was just finishing my shower when this happened. The only thing I did different was that I used that new shamp-" She suddenly stopped talking, her face showing some kind of realization.
"I think that shampoo did this to me!" Wildflower exclaimed. Raven raised a brow at this statement.
"How would shampoo do this?" She questioned, doubting her sister's deduction.
"Check the bottle, Raven. I'm sure that'll show what caused this." Wildflower said. Though not convinced, Raven decided that it'd be better to check. Besides, Wildflower did have a point that the only new thing about her shower was the new shampoo brand.
She walked past her sister (though Wildflower swore that the draconequus purposefully brushed against her body, clearly enjoying her new fluffy state. Her sister always did love fluffy things) and grabbed the shampoo bottle with her tail. Placing it in both hands, she started to read the bottle with her red-and-black reading glasses that she poofed onto her face.
"Belle Crinière: The perfect shampoo for any coiffure." She then noticed a small warning label just below the title. "Warning: use only a small amount, as it can effect your fur thanks to the small amount of potion magic our company uses to make your mane extra shiny and luscious."
Raven looked over to her sister. "How much did you use?" She asked. Wildflower shrugged. Raven rolled her eyes before shaking the bottle, noting it was almost halfway gone and she knew it was full before Wildflower took her shower, them having just got it.
She sighed, before continuing to read, "Should you experience any side effects, they shouldn't last for more than twenty-four hours." After double checking to make sure there wasn't anything else important, Raven dismissed her glasses and put the bottle back before turning to the fluff ball that was her sister.
"Okay, so you used a fair amount of it and that seems to have caused this. Thankfully, all we have to do is wait for your fur to flatten out by itself." She reassured.
The fluff ball moaned, "I don't want to wait that long! Can't you just use your magic to fix me or something?"
Raven shuffled on her feet before replying, "Well, I can try. Now, hold still."
Raven walked forward and rubbed her sister to try and flatten her fur, using her magic to make it stay that way. At first, it almost seemed to be working but then:
Poof!
Wildflower blinked as her sister went from her usual noodly self to a mismatched colored fluff ball. Once the draconequus realized what happened, she let go and looked in the mirror. Her fur had puffed up, making her look a bit like a snow leopard. Even her tail tuft became fluffy, it resembling pink cotton.
The only hint at her true nature was her membranous bat wing (though it was almost hidden in the mass of fur), the scales on both her raven claw and snake tail, and her rosey pink eyes, which stared in disbelief.
"Okay, so my magic isn't going to help. I think the friction I was making probably transfered it over to me." She said, still shocked at how she looked. Wildflower smirked slightly at her sister's distress. At least she wouldn't be alone in this. But the smirk disappeared once she remembered her sister's words.
"So, you can't fix us?" She asked. Raven looked over and shook her head, causing the pegasus puff ball to sigh before asking, "We have to deal with this for twenty-four hours?" The draconequus fluff ball nodded, which made Wildflower's wings to droop to her sides.
"That's just great." She moaned.
The bathroom door opened up and the two puffy Chaos teens walked out, both of them heading towards the couch. The elderly bunny looked up and, once he saw how they looked, fell backwards on the couch, holding his stomach as he laughed loudly. Raven's cheeks burned while Wildflower rolled her eyes at the lagomorph.
"Girls, we're home." Their mother's voice called out from behind them. The two teens sighed as they turned around, ready to face the inevitable.
Fluttershy was carrying a couple bags of groceries on her back while Discord floated behind her, holding another two bags with his tail.
Once Fluttershy looked over, she blinked at the fact that rather than her darling daughters, there were two masses of fluff instead. When Discord saw, he couldn't help himself and started laughing loudly, spinning around in a circle in midair. Even Fluttershy held an amused expression, though she tried to hide it behind her hoof.
Raven tried to hide behind her mane (which didn't help a whole lot, seeing as her mane was as puffy as the rest of her fur) and Wildflower glared at their laughing parents, though the effect was diminished somewhat by her reddening cheeks.
"W-what happened?" Fluttershy snickered, trying not to burst out laughing. "Why are you two so fluffy?"
Wildflower sighed. "It was that stupid shampoo that auntie Rarity gave us. I used too much and it had magic in it or something and I became fluffy. Raven tried to help me and she became fluffy as well."
Raven spoke next. "It'll wear off in twenty-four hours. That doesn't make it any less humiliating, though."
A flash suddenly happened, making spots appear in the eyes of the teens. Once they cleared, they saw their father with a camera around his neck. A photo popped out of it, showing their fluffy appearance. He grabbed it with his talon and looked at it with a very amused look.
"You know, this is scrapbook material." He said as he snapped his paw and a large red book appeared floating in midair. The words 'OUR WONDROUS DAUGHTERS' stretched across the cover in glossy and embossed golden letters. It opened up by itself, turning to a blank page. He placed the photo in as the words 'Fluffy Stage' wrote themselves onto the page. He closed the book and snapped his talon, making it disappear back to where it was stored.
"Don't worry, girls. That's me and your mother's private scrapbook for when you move out and we want to remember you girls as kids. No one else is going to see it." He said looking towards them.
"That makes it worse." Wildflower said dryly. Fluttershy walked forward and placed her hoof over where Raven's withers would be.
"Why don't you girls rest on the couch while I put groceries away and get ready to make dinner?" She started walking into the kitchen. "Discord, can you come help me and stop torturing the poor dears?"
Discord sighed before following his wife, floating behind her. Raven and Wildflower could hear both of their parents snickering, clearly amused by their appearances. They rolled their eyes before sitting on the couch, waiting for their fluffy appearance to end.
Once the twenty-four hours were over, Raven and Wildflower were free of their fluffy look. Wildflower also bought her own shampoo to avoid the problem, while Raven tried to use only a small amount of shampoo. At their spa day, Fluttershy told Rarity the issue with the shampoo and, after she laughed, Rarity decided to send a message to the company about their flaws. Though she did say she got inspiration for a new trend involving fluffy coats.
As Discord sat on the bed, reading the scrapbook with amusement, his ear peaked at the sound of their bathroom door opening. He turned towards that direction and smiled at his wife, who walked to their bed with green towels around her head and body. He dismissed the scrapbook and scooted over to give her room. She smiled and laid next to him. He grabbed her and cuddled her against his chest, which made her giggle.
He sniffed her mane, which made his brows lift up. "You used the shampoo even after the issues the girls had with it." He said in shock.
Fluttershy smiled as she nuzzled his chest. "Well, it was still nice smelling shampoo and as long as I use a small amount of it, like Raven decided to do, I won't become that fluffy."
"Oh, really?" Discord smirked towards her and then rubbed his hands, creating an static connection and gently touched her head.
Poof!
Fluttershy disappeared into a yellow fluff ball with her mane becoming stripes of pink. The ball shifted, and two teal eyes popped out. He chuckled and she glared towards him.
"Oh, come on. How could I resist after what happened with our daughters? Besides, you're super soft and cute like this." He said, snuggling further into her fur. She nearly enveloped him, as she puffed up a significant amount. She glared further at him before she remembered what Raven said about how she became fluffy. With a mischievous grin, she rubbed her hooves on him.
Poof!
He became just as fluffy as she was, even his beard, tail tuft and eyebrows being all puffed up. He stopped laughing once he realized what happened. He looked towards her and glared. She smirked at him.
"What? How could I resist after what happened with our daughters? Besides, you're super soft and cute like this." She said, mirroring what he said just moments prior. He chuckled and the two cuddled each other's fluffy fur.
Neither were aware of the camera flash from the now open bedroom door, and Wildflower and Raven tittering at their fluffy appearance.
Fluttershy couldn't help but hum a little as she made breakfast, mixing blueberries into some waffle batter.
Her husband was nearby, reading the newspaper upside down as he drank from a coffee mug that had the words #1 Chaos Husband! written on it. Inside the mug was a bizarre purply-pink liquid that, while it didn't look like it, was actually coffee. It turned that color after he poured loads of sugar and milk in, somehow. She silently giggled at her husband's chaotic nature.
Raven was currently on the couch in the living room, claiming she wasn't hungry. After confirming with absolute certainty that the teenaged draconequus was feeling fine, the worrying mother hesitantly went back into the kitchen, telling Raven that if she got hungry, she'll make her something.
Just as she was about to put the batter into the waffle iron, she heard a sneeze behind her, her ears swiveling to pinpoint the sound. Turning around, she saw Wildflower standing by the doorway of the kitchen, with her deep cerulean blanket wrapped around herself and her dark pink mane was frazzled, not even bothering to put it in her typical braid. She was constantly sniffing and her snout was as red as her pupils.
In other words, she looked absolutely miserable.
"Oh, dear." Fluttershy said quietly as she walked towards her daughter. "You look awful."
Wildflower rolled her eyes. "Gee, thanks." She said sarcastically. Her voice sounded raspy, causing Fluttershy to look sadly at her typically brash daughter.
They both jumped up as Discord suddenly appeared next to them, now wearing a white doctor's coat with a stethoscope around his neck. A thermometer appeared in Wildflower's mouth as he grabbed an X-ray machine from the wall next to him and flipped it on, showing her skeleton. Fluttershy pushed the machine away, seeing it as overkill before pulling out the thermometer and looked at it.
"Oh, you definitely have a fever." Fluttershy said as the thermometer disappeared from her hoof thanks to Discord's magic.
She wrapped a wing around Wildflower and started to lead her upstairs. "You should be in bed resting. Come on."
"Mom, I'm fine." Wildflower insisted. "You don't need to be such a worrywart." Despite her verbal protest, she followed her mother, not really inclined to argue when she felt ill.
Discord chuckled slightly at their interaction before downing the rest of his coffee down his gullet. It might've been too hot for most creatures to just pour it down their throat like that, but him being the amazing draconequus he is, it didn't bother him.
"Alright, I think that's enough pillows." Fluttershy said as she set down one last pillow and fluffed it a third time to make it extra comfy. Wildflower looked around her bed. In addition to her being wrapped up like a burrito in her blanket, her mom had brought enough pillows for her to make a fort if she so chose to. She might've even done that if she wasn't sick.
"Okay," Wildflower turned her head towards her mother as she spoke, "Since you're comfortable, I'll go make some oatmeal for you. I was going to make waffles, but if you're sick, oatmeal might be a little easier for you to eat. I'm sure either Discord or Raven will eat the batter so it doesn't go to waste." She tittered, holding a hoof to her mouth.
Once her mother left, Wildflower sighed as she turned on her side. Nopony liked being sick, and Wildflower was no exception. Though a small part of her (a part that she'd never admit out loud) liked her mother fretting over her when she was sick, it didn't change anything about the awful feeling of her sore throat and stuffy nose. While she wasn't sleepy, her eyes did droop, her energy seemily drained. Her macaw, Chilli, looked at his owner sadly, squawking softly before he turned to preen his gorgeous plumage.
Her mother came back with a bowl of oatmeal on a tray, as well as some plain yogurt and water. Wildflower began eating her oatmeal and yogurt, taking occasional breaks to drink the water. She eventually stopped, putting the bowl back on the tray. "I'm full, I think." She said, setting the spoon down next to the bowl.
Fluttershy eyed the bowl for a bit before nodding, “You ate about half of your food. That's good. I thought you would've eaten less, to be honest." She set her hoof on her daughter's forehead to check her temperature. "You're still a little warm. I'll go get a wet towel."
Before she could, a towel appeared on Wildflower's head in a flash. Fluttershy blinked before turning her head to the doorway and saw Discord floating there. Fluttershy smiled in appreciation as he winked at her.
He also made the tray, along with the bowl and yogurt, disappear and set her water on her bookshelf, setting it next to a large pitcher of water that he made appear, so she could drink plenty of water. Next to the pitcher was a tissue box that he also created. A small tin trash bin appeared below her bookshelf so she could dispose her used tissues.
His job done, he snapped his talon and teleported away. Fluttershy shook her head before turning to Wildflower. "Okay, I've got to head over to the sanctuary and let Dr. Fauna know that I'll be taking care of you." She said, "I also have some errands to run. You just stay here and rest. If you need anything, Discord will be here to help you." Fluttershy nuzzled her daughter briefly before heading out. "I'll be back as soon as I can."
Once Fluttershy closed the door, Wildflower sighed before she reached her forearm out and grabbed a tissue from the box and blew into it. She tossed the used tissue into the bin and laid down on one of her many pillows. She let her eyes close, just wanting to rest her eyes for a little bit.
The young pegasus fell asleep within minutes of closing her eyes. When she woke up, she felt warm and sticky. She looked over at the window in her room. The sun was pretty high in the sky. It appeared to be just past noon, meaning she had been asleep for at least a few hours now.
She started coughing violently, practically hacking up her lungs. Chilli jumped up in surprise, his feathers jumping off his body and he flew off his stand. Once she finished her coughing fit, she grabbed a tissue and blew her nose.
The door opened, revealing her mother, looking at her with concern. "I just came home when I heard you cough. Are you okay?" She said, barely acknowledging the scarlet macaw flying over her head to leave the room.
Wildflower shook her head and moaned, "No. I feel like garbage." She tossed her used tissue, it missing the bin and landing on the floor. Fluttershy walked over and reached down to grab the tissue and tossed it into the bin properly as Wildflower continued to complain, "My mane is sticking to my neck, I feel hot, but I'm also too cold, and my voice sounds like I swallowed one of your frogs from the sanctuary and it starts to croak whenever I talk."
Fluttershy frowned sadly at her daughter's miserable state. Her voice sounded even worse than it did before and even wrapped up in a nice, thick blanket, she shook due to being cold. Fluttershy removed the towel from Wildflower's forehead before touching her forehead to check her temperature. Though the towel helped a little, she still had a fever. Once she removed her hoof, she adjusted the teen's blanket.
"How about I make you soup while you take a bath to clean your sweaty coat? A warm bath might make you feel a little better." She suggested. Wildflower nodded, not really feeling inclined to argue with her mom.
She entered the bathroom and she turned the shower knobs, causing the water to pour out. She adjusted the setting so it'd go from the shower head to the bath faucet. She put her hoof underneath to test the temperature of the water. It was too hot, so she turned the knob for cold water to try and equalize the temperature. Once it was to her liking, she waited for the water to fill the tub before turning the knobs off and adding some bubble bath soap into the water.
When it was all set up, she flew up and dipped her hoof in. Figuring it was good, she fully entered the tub, sighing contently as the warm water made contact with her coat. She nearly submerged herself, only the top of her head and part of her muzzle being visible from the surface. She took the shampoo bottle that was closest to her and lathered her mane, already feeling a little better due to the bath.
After a good five minute bath, she pulled the plug to drain the tub and hopped onto the bath mat. She unfurled her wings and grabbed her usual azure towel to dry herself off. After she was completely dry, she walked out of the bathroom and walked into her bedroom. Almost as soon as she entered her bed, her mother walked in, holding a tray with her wings. Fluttershy set down the tray, a steaming bowl of soup sitting on it.
"This is my mom's recipe. Whenever I was sick, she always made this for me. And I felt better in no time." Fluttershy said. Wildflower grabbed the spoon and started eating the soup. It was a rather tasty vegetable soup, one with carrots, tomatoes and celery. She ate slowly, taking each sip with care, but she ate a fair amount, nearly finishing the whole bowl. She also ate the buttered bread that was brought along with it and slowly sipped the water her mother helped refill.
Once she was finished, Fluttershy took the tray back with her. When she came back, she had a small bottle of what looked like medicine.
"It appears to just be the flu, but I think you should take some medicine anyway." She unscrewed the cap and poured the cough syrup onto a spoon, a different one from her soup spoon. Wildflower grimaced at the sight of the pale pink liquid.
"Ugh, do I have to?" She moaned as Fluttershy brought the spoon to her face.
"You'll need to take it in order to get better, dear." Her mother said in her usual caring voice. Wildflower sighed and opened her mouth. As soon as the syrup touched her tongue, she recoiled slightly at the taste as she pulled from the spoon. Her nose crinkled as she groaned slightly before swallowing the medicine. She refilled the water and greedy drank to wash the taste out of her mouth.
Wildflower laid her head down on her pillow as she tried to rest. Fluttershy screwed the cap back on and took the bottle with her as she left, allowing her daughter to rest.
As her eyes opened, Wildflower looked up at the window again. The sun was setting, the sky going from bright blue to reddish-orange. Her macaw had apparently returned to her room, now resting on his stand. She coughed loudly, though not as bad as before and she blew her nose with another tissue.
After she threw the tissue into the bin, Wildflower thought about how she had some time to kill and so she decided to read one of her comics. The one she went with was one of her favorites: the origin of her favorite hero, Zapp.
Her mother entered the room as she got near the end of the story, carrying a tray on her back. Wildflower put down her comic just as the older pegasus came up to the bed.
As she set the tray down, Fluttershy asked, "How are you feeling now, dear?" She put her hoof over Wildflower's head. Her temperature had thankfully gone down a little and her fever wasn't as bad.
"Terrible." The teenaged pegasus said while rolling her multi-colored eyes. Fluttershy shook her head before removing her hoof and giving her the tray.
"Discord had kept the soup I made earlier warm with his magic, so I thought about giving you leftover soup for dinner, if that's okay."
"That's fine, I guess. It was good." Wildflower said. Fluttershy smiled lightly towards her.
"You're voice is sounding a little better already. I think that medicine really helped." She said. Wildflower shrugged before starting to eat the soup. Once she finished, Fluttershy took the tray and left. Wildflower snuggled into bed as she closed her eyes again.
Wildflower woke up the next morning feeling much better than before. Her throat wasn't sore anymore and her mind was less clouded. She touched her forehead and was relieved to find that she no longer had a fever.
She walked down to the kitchen with a smile on her face after she brushed her mane free of knots and put her locks in her typical braid. Fluttershy, who was sitting at the table, looked towards her daughter, who started to whistle as she flew up to grab the cereal box.
"Well, somepony's feeling better." She said, setting down her half eaten toast onto a small plate. Wildflower finished pouring the cereal into a bowl before looking toward her mother and smiled.
"Yeah. I feel much better." She took a moment to grab milk from the fridge and poured it on her cereal. "I still have a bit of a stuffy nose, but it's not as bad as yesterday." She didn't flinch as Chilli flew onto the top of her head as usual, his beak seemingly curved into a smile at his owner's improved health.
Fluttershy smiled as Wildflower walked to the table with her cereal and sat down. "I'm glad you're feeling better, sweetheart."
Before Wildflower could take a bite of her cereal, they were interrupted by a dainty sneeze. Almost immediately afterwards, the bowl changed from off-white to a bright greenish-blue color. They looked over and saw Raven standing in the doorway of the kitchen, her snout being bright red and her black tresses were heavily mussed. She sneezed again, bubbles suddenly appearing and floating from her nose, shocking the macaw, who then flew off to Wildflower's bedroom.
Discord teleported in, looking at the teen draconequus with a raised brow.
"Well, that explains the magic imbalance I felt." He said, touching her forehead with his paw. His paw soon caught fire, which he doused with a floating hose that he magicked up.
She sneezed a third time, causing a frilly pink dress to appear on her sister. Wildflower yelped at such a girly looking dress appearing on her. Discord snapped his paw and fixed the chaos that Raven caused with her sneezes. He then left to fix whatever chaos she might've accidentally caused in her bedroom.
Fluttershy walked over to Raven and guided her to the stairs. "Let's take you to your room while I make you something warm to eat."
As the two of them walked away, Wildflower closed her eyes and shook her head before she began to eat her cereal. While her being sick sucked, Raven being sick was literal chaos.
Being a pony-draconequus hybrid has some...complications.
As Raven sniffed on her bed, her mind couldn't help but ponder her situation in this regard. With her not being a pure-blooded draconequus, she couldn't do some things her dad can do, like physical transformations, travel through dimensions, and duplicate herself, among others.
There were also some things that she could do that Discord could as well, but with much more difficultly and limits, often passing out if she over-exerts herself, like she can only teleport about 80 feet until she gets dizzy and nauseous or passes out. And while she isn't immortal like her dad used to be, she has a healing factor and is able to heal others, though her own healing factor isn't perfect, as is evident by the fact of the notch in her ear and even then, it takes some time (though was still faster than a pony's healing abilities) and it only really works on physical injuries and not things like illnesses.
Speaking of illnesses, they were perhaps the most annoying aspect of her being part pony. While Discord largely can't get sick unless it blocked his magical abilities (like with the flu the Tatzlwurm gave him, a story Twilight told the kids much to Discord's annoyance), Raven can get normal pony illnesses like the common cold or the feather flu. But due to her being part draconequus with chaos based magic, even the most mundane cold causes her magic to go haywire.
And that was her situation now. She had started feeling a little bad yesterday, but otherwises felt fine. When she woke up this morning, however, she then knew she had caught the flu. Whenever she was sick, she often felt like she was really young again, where she had uncontrollable magical bursts fairly often due to inexperience.
She could control it fairly well nowadays (well, as much as one can control chaos magic), but when sick, any control she once had was lost. The most she can do when sick is to just let the magic do what it does and wait for the flu to go away, hoping it doesn't harm anyone in the process, especially those she cares about.
She laid back on one of the many pillows that her mother brought earlier to make her comfy. She grabbed a tissue and blew into it, the sound of the blowing being identical to that of a baby elephant's trumpet. She tossed the tissue into the bin that was in her room. At that point, Fluttershy walked in with a tray on her back. She placed the tray down before turning to her daughter.
"How are you feeling?" She asked, putting her hoof over the draconequus' forehead to check her temperature. Thankfully, her hoof didn't catch fire like Discord's paw did when he checked earlier, though Fluttershy still felt a noticeable warmthness on the teen's forehead.
"Like a pile of limp noddles, I guess." Raven replied in a nasally voice. Fluttershy blinked at the slightly unusual comparison before removing her hoof and pushing the tray towards Raven with her nose. On the tray was a bowl of oatmeal, two slices of buttered toast drizzled in honey, and a cup of orange juice.
Raven smiled at the delicious looking breakfast and was about thank her mother, but she was interrupted by her sneezing, which caused Fluttershy's mane to go from light pink to a soft emerald green color (though her tail was still pink) and her eyes turned dark brown rather than their normal teal.
Raven's cheeks turned pink as she tried to hide under her sheets. Raven often felt embarrassed when she caused an accident with her magic, even when she can't control her powers. Fluttershy pulled the sheets down to look her daughter in the eye.
"Raven, it's okay. It was an accident. I know you didn't mean to." She said with a comforting smile to help ease the teenage draconequus. A snap could be heard, and Fluttershy's eyes and mane were back to their normal colors. Fluttershy looked behind herself and smiled appreciatively at her husband, who had come over once he felt the magic imbalance. He smiled their way before flying out the room.
With the magical accident fixed and Fluttershy making it clear that no harm was done, Raven started eating her breakfast. She only ate a small amount of her oatmeal and only ate one piece of toast, which was a stark contrast to her large appetite she normally has when healthy. Once she was finished with her food, Fluttershy fluffed up the pillow behind the draconequus' head.
"Okay. Me and Discord have a friendship meeting later this afternoon, but Discord told Twilight that he'll stay to take care of you and fix any issues your sneezes cause." Fluttershy pulled up the blanket to Raven's chin. "You just rest, dear. I'll be back with lunch later before I leave." She kissed Raven's forehead before grabbing and then leaving with the tray.
The door closed behind Fluttershy, leaving the young draconequus in her room with her boa, who hissed sadly at her owner's state from inside a glass terrarium next to her drawing desk. It wasn't often that Raven put Ginger in her cage, preferring to let the constrictor roam freely, but she didn't want to risk her magic effecting her beloved snake and Discord had put a charm on the cage that should keep her safe.
Raven sighed as she wrapped her body up with the blanket slightly. She snorted slightly as she looked at her window. The sound of the light autumn breeze outside was rather soothing and it helped distract her from the feeling of her magic swirling inside of her like the ocean, desperate to escape her body and cause chaos. It was a strange feeling but it was one that she was accustomed to as she lived with it her whole life, and most of the time, she didn't even really notice it too much. But now, with her magic out of control, it almost felt like a foreign invader in her own body, a virus that didn't belong.
She sneezed, causing confetti to fly out of her nose. She sniffed afterwards and kept shifting in her blanket, resulting in her wrapped up in a cocoon. Her eyes dropped slowly until they closed and she dozed off.
Her eyes fluttered open as she woke up. She groaned and shifted her head slightly to look at the clock on her wall. The clock was slightly crooked, but she could still read it as if it was straight. The paw of the tiny Discord inside the clock was on eleven and the talon was on nine, clearly showing it was 11:45 in the morning.
I slept for three hours, but I feel even worse than before! She groaned and stuffed her head under her pillow.
She sneezed under the pillow, causing a book to fall from the sky and land on her, bouncing off her hip before landing on the mattress. It also changed the color of the pillow sheet from the crimson red it was to teal. She looked up from the pillow and sighed at the mess her chaos caused, her midnight mane being even more of a mess then before. She used her tail to put the book onto the bookshelf and she wrapped herself up more in the blanket.
Just as she was about to fall asleep a second time, her door opened, revealing her mother with a tray on her back. Raven tried to sit up, but got up too quickly and made herself dizzy. She laid back down just as her mom came up to her bed and set the tray down on her bookshelf.
"Hey, little flower." Fluttershy said as she softly stroked her daughter's raven mane. "How are you feeling?"
Raven shifted in her blanket and sniffed before replying, "Honestly, I feel worse." Raven sneezed, making a pair of scissors appear in the air before they fell down. Fluttershy flinched as the scissors hit her tail, it successfully cutting the hair. She turned and saw her sloppy cut tail, it now barely past her cutie mark, reminding Fluttershy of her aunt, who had a short mane and tail for as long as she remembered.
The draconequus teen was about to apologize when she suddenly began to cough violently. Fluttershy then lifted her up and rubbed her back, her face twisted with concern as her daughter hacked out her lungs (not literally, thankfully). Once her coughing fit finished, the teen laid down and snorted harshly. She then sneezed again, causing a tea cup to fall from the sky, it breaking upon impact with the floor. It also made an iridescent light purple bubble appear, trapping her snow leopard desk lamp inside, at which point the bubble began to float up the the ceiling.
Fluttershy flew up and popped the bubble, catching the lamp before it fell and put it back on the bookshelf, right next to Raven's ruby red hair band. She landed next to the bed, folding her wings against her body before nudging the tray closer to Raven.
"If you're feeling worse, I'll go get some medicine for you, so eat this while I go get it. I'll also ask Discord to clean your room. And maybe to fix my tail." Her mother smiled sheepish as she looked towards her short tail. She then walked off, the chopped tail swishing as she walked off.
Raven groaned as she sat up slightly to look at the tray, which had a bowl of basil tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich, perfectly cut in half in a diagonal fashion. The crusts of the sandwich were cut off and placed to the side, since both she and Discord liked having the crusts cut off, so they can eat them separate from the main sandwich. There was also a nice tall glass of ice water. She smiled at the meal her mom made, even if she thought that she won't be able to eat all of it. Normally, she'd probably eat all that and more, but her appetite was not quite up to par at the moment.
She began to eat the soup, the smooth liquid sliding down her throat, helping to sooth the muscles and relive the soreness her throat was getting. Her ear twitched as she heard magic in her room. She looked around and noticed the chaos from before was fixed. Her dad must've snapped his fingers from where he was and fixed the issues. She dipped one of sandwich crusts into the soup and bit it, her mouth curling up into a smile at the delicious taste of her mom's homemade food.
By the time Fluttershy came back, her tail now back at full length, Raven had eaten a surprising amount of the food. Fluttershy came over to the side of the bed and smiled at the devoured sandwich and crusts, crumbs being the only indication of their previous existence. The soup was almost gone, too. Raven finished drinking the water and placed the half finished glass back on the tray, looking towards her mom as Fluttershy grabbed the tray and placed it on the bookshelf.
She then turned to her asymmetrical daughter. "Okay, sweetheart. I've got some cough syrup here. I also got some topical medicines I got from Zecora a while back, but how about we do the syrup first?" She said.
At Raven's nod, she twisted the cap of the cough syrup off and poured the pale pink liquid on a spoon before she pushed the spoon towards Raven. After putting the spoon in her mouth, Raven swallowed the syrup before coughing slightly and wrinkling her snout. Apparently, even to a draconequus that ate things ponies could not or would not ever eat, the fake cherry flavor of the cough syrup was rather unpleasant.
Fluttershy set the cough syrup down and grabbed one of her topical medicine vials. "Can you lift your head up please, sweetie?" She asked. The draconequus did so and shivered as her mother rubbed some of the cold goop on her throat. Fluttershy wiped her hoof on a cloth she brought with her and opened the next vial, dabbing some of the medicine on her daughter's nose. Raven sniffed, biting her lip as she desperately tried not to sneeze.
Fluttershy set the vial down just as Discord walked in. "Fluttershy, you're going to be late." He said, pulling out a miniature wall clock with her cutie mark on it to show her the time. "I'll take it from here." Fluttershy nodded and turned to hug her daughter.
"Okay. I've got to go. Like I said earlier, Discord will be here to take care of you, so if you need anything, ask him." Raven nodded and after one last nuzzle, Fluttershy turned around to walk out.
Discord snapped his talon, opening up a purple portal leading to Twilight's castle in Canterlot. Discord handed Fluttershy a brown paper bag with scribbles of a smiley sun and her face on it, as well as extra scribbles with the faces of Raven and Wildflower as foals next to a rainbow, which she grabbed with her wing. She hopped through the portal, which closed right behind her as soon as she went through. Discord looked over to his darling daughter.
"Alright, if you need me, just ring this bell." He said, pulling a small bell from his ear and placing in on her bookshelf.
Raven smiled lightly at him but then sneezed, causing a nurse's outfit to appear on Discord. Discord looked at himself briefly before looking at her with a deadpanned look. Raven's lips wobbled into a wavery smile as she looked in clear amusement at the silly look of her father. He rolled his eyes and snapped his talon, removing the outfit with a snap. He then left, flying out the door and closing it.
After he left, Raven quietly tittered, no longer able to contain her giggles before laying down more and closing her eyes.
Raven woke up in what felt like a few moments, her chest and nose already feeling loads better. Her mom's topical medicine seemed to be working well. She yawned and stretched her arms before looking over to her clock (which had rotated on its axis in a clockwise direction, like it always does), which read 6:57. She grabbed a tissue and blew her nose, this time sounding like a party horn and then tossed the tissue into her bin.
Her stomach then growled, causing her to blush brightly. She looked briefly at the clock again before looking towards the little bell Discord had left behind.
I guess it wouldn't be too much to ask for dinner right now. She thought. She grabbed the bell with her paw and tried ringing it. Oddly, no sound came out of it, but Discord teleported in regardless.
"You need something, princess?" He asked. Raven blinked slightly that he came since the bell seemed broken, but then reasoned with herself that Discord probably made it specifically so only he could hear it. She ignored this as she replied to her father.
"Um, yes. I'm hungry. It wouldn't be too much to ask for dinner, right?" She said, shifty slightly in the blankets. He smiled towards her as he poofed up a chef's toque and an white apron into himself.
"Well, it is past the time we normally eat, but I'll certainly make something for you. How about you take a bath to feel a little better while I make dinner?" Raven looked down after he said this. Her fur was matted and she felt sticky and sweaty. A bath did sound good right now.
As Discord was finishing the soup he was making, his ear twitched at the sound of the tub draining. A few moments later, he saw Raven walked out of the bathroom out of the corner of his eye, her body wrapped in her crimson red towel.
He used his magic to make a bowl float towards him, as well as the ladle to float and pour into the bowl. He snapped his paw, causing the fresh bread he was baking to be pulled out of the oven, without even opening the oven door.
He also poured water into a glass, using his magic to turn some of the bubbles into ice cubes. He snapped his tail tuft, making a tray appear and float in midair. The soup, bread, and water floated onto the tray and he snapped his talon, teleporting him right to Raven's room, knocking on the door.
After Raven said it was okay for him to come in, he walked in, the tray still floating right behind him. Raven laid on her bed, now completely clean and even looking a little healthier. She smiled at him as he entered but then sneezed, the books on her bookshelf all reorganized and the covers changed colors. Discord snapped his fingers, fixing the chaos. The tray then floated over to Raven. Raven smiled at the food on the tray and began to eat, the potato soup easing her throat.
Once she was finished with her food, she sneezed again, the terrarium going from a rectangle shape to a castle shape. Luckily, the charm Discord placed on it protected Ginger, who looked surprised by the increased space this allowed her. It also caused a dark cloud to appear above Discord. Thunder cracked and snow fell on him, already successfully covering his lower half, basically turning him into a snowdraconequus.
He snapped his talon and removed the snow and the cloud (but he kept the terrarium castle at Raven's request, wanting her pet to have the most comfortable terrarium possible).
"Alright, that's dinner taken care of. Anything else you need before I leave?" He asked, his fingers curled in a way that he could teleport if she said no.
Raven thought a moment before an idea popped into her mind. She leaned forward and grabbed a book from her shelf. Discord raised a brow as Raven's face blushed harshly.
"Um, can you...read this to me, like when I was little?" She felt silly asking this, as she was probably too old for being read by her daddy, but she couldn't summon her glasses to read it but more importantly, she didn't want him to leave yet. The book flew from her grip and floated to Discord, who has a tender smile.
"Of course, princess." He said. A rocking chair appeared next to the bed and he sat in it. She smiled towards him and settled as Discord opened up the book to the first page and began to read, "Tramplevania is a land situated in the Caprathian Mountains, filled with lush forests and sparkling rivers. During the day, it is quite peaceful. The smell of the oaks and beeches..."
Later that night, Fluttershy walked in to check on Raven. The meeting went on for longer than she thought it would've and she desperately wanted to check on Raven the whole time. She knew Discord was watching her and she trusted him to take care of her, but she just wanted to make sure before going to bed.
She opened the door, only to blink at the sight before her. Raven was sleeping on her bed, a cute smile on her face. Her breath sounded a little wheezy due to her being sick, but she still looked at peace. Discord was sleeping on the chair, drool dripping down his chin and the book he was reading her laying open across his chest.
Fluttershy smiled tenderly at the sight. She walked forward and tapped Discord's arm. He snorted and opened his eyes before looking over to Fluttershy. He stood up and stretched, using his tail to pop the chair like it was a bubble. At the same time, the book floated back to Raven's bookshelf.
"How was the meeting, my dear?" He whispered, not wanting to wake Raven up. The two of them started walking out of the room.
"It was alright, but I was worried about Raven the whole time. I knew you were watching her, but you know me and my worrying nature." Fluttershy replied, grabbing the knob to the door. Discord chuckled softly as she closed the door, leaving their daughter to sleep off her flu.
So many options. How could she ever chose just one?
This was Wildflower's conundrum as she looked at all the cylindrical containers of various bright colors. Each tub had many different flavors, but all of them were calling out to her from behind frostbitten glass. She looked to the side and saw that her sister was having a similar dilemma, her face scrunched in a way that was clearly showing the difficulty in making such a hard decision.
"Girls?" Their mother's voice jolted their thoughts and the teens turned their heads as they saw Fluttershy and Discord behind them, the cart filled to the brim with supplies for the animals at the sanctuary, as well as groceries for themselves. "Have you picked out a flavor yet?"
Wildflower groaned. "No, we haven't. I mean, how can you expect us to pick just one when there are so many options?"
Fluttershy shook her head at her daughter's statement. She supposed it was kind of her fault for this. But the girls had been so well behaved recently that Fluttershy figured that allowing them to have their own ice cream choices at home was a good treat for them. After arriving at the store, the girls almost immediately ran off to the freezer section to get ice cream, much to the amusement of the parents. She thought maybe giving them some alone time (with some occasional invisible spying missions from Discord to make sure they were safe) might make it so they'd pick faster. But now it was time to go and Raven and Wildflower still haven't picked anything out yet.
She adjusted a few things in the cart before turning to her daughters. "Well, you'll need to pick one out soon, girls. I double-checked the store, and I didn't see anything else we need. And remember, you each get only one ice cream."
Both of them sighed before turning back towards the freezers, Raven's tail swishing slightly in thought. Each of their respective eyes scanned the many tubs, just hoping to pick a good flavor. Suddenly, Raven inhaled sharply and her tail stopped moving, becoming as stiff as a board. She jumped up and opened up the freezer before pulling out a yellowish carton. She closed the door with her hoof as she levitated in place, her tail wagging like a puppy as she stared happily at her chosen flavor.
"Caramel Cookie Surprise." She read aloud, drooling at the sight. Discord and Fluttershy looked at each other, sharing a smirk of amusement. The adolescent draconequus loved anything with caramel, so it was unsurprisingly to them that the flavor she picked has caramel in it. Raven placed the tub into the cart, making sure that it didn't fall out or mess anything else up.
Wildflower grimaced. Raven finally figured out an ice cream flavor. Meanwhile, she still had to pick and she was sure her mom was going to try and make her hurry up. She looked back at the freezer, darting her eyes back and and forth as she tried to finally figure out her problem. But it was just impossible to choose...
Just then, her eyes stopped as she found it, just behind a neatly stacked set of another flavor that she now didn't care about. She fling the door open and dug in, tossing out the tubs blocking her way. She finally pulled out the delicious treat that she seeked. The carton flashed a bright lime green and bright blue color at her.
"Mint Chocolate Chip Swirl." She licked her lips as she read the name of the ice cream. "Perfect!"
"Wild, I'm glad you found what you want but could you maybe clean up this mess first?" Fluttershy asked, looking at the mess her daughter created. Wildflower looked over and at least had the decency to look embarrassed.
After Wildflower took a short minute to put all the ice cream tubs back in their proper place, Discord snapped his tail tuft to fix the bent cartons so that they'd look presentable and the four of them headed to the checkout.
As soon as they got home, Fluttershy started unpacking all the items, including—much the dismay of the teens—their ice cream. Still, they waited patiently for the chance to have their tasty treats. Good things come those who wait and all that jazz.
The two of them were currently sitting in the living room. Wildflower was reading one of her Power Ponies comics while laying on her back on the couch while Raven read a book about animals on the rug in front of the fireplace.
"Girls!" Their mother called out from the kitchen. "Dinner's ready!"
Raven and Wildflower got up and entered the dining room where their mother had set up dinner. She had made angel hair pasta with alfredo sauce, it covered in shredded mozzarella cheese and diced cherry tomatoes. It was also served with salad and some glasses of water.
As the four of them ate dinner, the mind of the teens wandered to the ice cream that they had, hoping that they could eat it after dinner. As good as their mom's homemade cooking was, the promise of sweet delectable ice cream was almost too much to bare.
They managed to distract themselves by listening to their father's tale involving him and the Smooze at a party in an alternate dimension, though they were fairly certain he had adjusted the story to make him seem like less of a bad guy.
"Thankfully, me and Smoozie were able to set that guy straight and we partied on for the rest of the night." He started chuckling as he finished the story. "Smoozie even found a little special someslime." He smirked as he thought about the pinkish purple slime Smooze was dancing with.
Fluttershy started to clear her plate and planned to put it in the sink to clean it. "That's nice. Smooze deserves to find someone nice." Her plate was released from her grip and floated over to the sink. It, along with the plates of Discord and the girls as well as their cups, landed in the now soapy water, the sponge scrubbing the dishes on its own.
Fluttershy looked over at Discord. "Oh, thanks, Cordy."
He rubbed his paw against his chest. "Don't worry about it, Shyfly."
Fluttershy smiled at him before turning to the Chaos sisters. "Alright, girls. You've been very patient." She walked over to their icebox and popped it open, pulling out the ice cream cartons. The mouths of the girls opened slightly, drooling at the sight.
She placed the tubs down on the countertop and placed the ice cream into bowls. She set the bowls on the table and the teens sat down to eat their respective flavors.
As soon as they ate it, their eyes widened before they closed in bliss and let out a "Mmm" simultaneously. Clearly, they made the right choice.
Fluttershy smiled before her stomach growled. Discord looked over at her direction.
"Still hungry?" He asked with a slight frown. Fluttershy fiddled with a bit of her mane.
"Well, I guess I really want some ice cream myself. Too bad we didn't get any." She answered. Discord flashed that smirk that made Fluttershy's heart flutter.
"Au contraire, mi amor." He snapped his paw, causing a large blue ice cream carton to appear. Her eyes widened and she even drooled a little at the name marked on the tub—Blueberry Cheesecake. "While you were busy with the bagging, I might've snuck off and bought this for the two of us." The lid popped off and two spoons materialized. "After all, with all the work you've been doing at the sanctuary and all my hard work with Twilight, I think we both deserve a treat."
Fluttershy grabbed the spoon closest to her and scooped out a bit of the ice cream. Once she took a bite, she moaned in bliss as her mouth slowly curled into a smile.
"You picked a really good flavor, Cordy." She said, causing his chest to puff up as his ego went up even higher.
The two of them ate their ice cream tub, even taking turns feeding each other, while their girls continued to eat their ice cream. Even after the family finished their dessert, the dreams they had that night weren't half as sweet as their tasty little treats.
Whitetail Woods was truly a sight to behold, especially during summer. The leaves on the tall sycamore and birch trees were green, as was the grass. The sun shined brightly through the leaves and many animals lived in this forest, though thankfully, unlike the Everfree, the predators that did live here were nowhere near as frightening or as dangerous.
In fact, in pretty much everyway, Whitetail Woods was the total opposite of the Everfree Forest. Everfree was dark and dreary, Whitetail was bright and sunny. Everfree had loads of ugly brambles and thorns, Whitetail had gorgeous flowers. Even the trails were different, with Whitetail having nice soft soil, while many sharp and jagged rocks and pebbles were embedded into the trails in the Everfree, making the ground feel uncomfortable to walk on.
For many, a short stroll through Whitetail Woods was a perfect way to relax and that's precisely what Raven decided to do today. Having nothing else to do today, she thought it'd be a wonderful chance to go for a simple saunter.
With her parent's permission, of course.
And now she was resting in the bank of a large pool of water, a peaceful refugee for all who come. Above her providing shade was an old sycamore tree that seemed to lean on its side and was probably nearly two hundred years old. A small stream fed the pool with a waterfall that seemed to trickle down, passing over numerous stones that has congregated over. Many animals were also here, birds resting in the trees while an elderly stag, as well as a vixen and her two kits, were drinking in harmony. Even a vicious cougar, who sat five feet next to Raven, was more content with grooming itself than hunting.
Whitetail Woods was the perfect place for the teen to relax whenever she had a bad day or just needed some time away away from other creatures. And today was no different. The soft breeze that blew wasn't quite enough to offset the mild heat, but it still felt nice and cool as it hit Raven's fur and stroked through her luscious mane. The draconequus' violet snake tail brushed against the gentle dirt, seemily flattening the earth as she did. She breathed in and exhaled as a serene smile popped on her face.
Here, there were no ponies to hate her because of her father's past, her sister wasn't pranking anypony near her, none of her dad's amusing but crazy tricks. Instead, she was at peace.
She looked over the water's edge and looked at her reflection. The bright crystal blue water was almost impossibly clear, almost like it was actually some weird portal to another dimension. As she stared, a strong urge emerged, one that she was happy to indulge.
She used her paw to remove her hair band, her black locks flowing downwards. She gently set it on the ground before standing up and slowly walking backwards. She then ran forward and jumped as soon as she hit the water's edge. She did a few twists while airborne before her body made contact into the water, water splashing around her.
The animals paused after hearing the loud splash but quickly returned to what they were doing prior.
While not the deepest pool, it was deep enough that Raven could rest on the bottom and be several feet beneath the surface. With her cheeks puffed full of air, the draconequus used her body to push through the water like butter.
It was no secret that Raven loved to swim. From a young age, the draconequus adored the activity and took a dip whenever possible. It helped her ignore all the negativity in her life, all the stress society gave her, and it just allowed her to be at peace with herself. There were no bullies, no creatures seeing her as scum. Instead, she simply allowed her mind to let her thoughts go and become blank.
It also helped that she was a darn good swimmer, too. Her tail propelled her through the water like a otter and she made twists and turns like one too.
In some sense, Raven was transformed once she was in the water. While on land, she was a bit awkward and slightly clumsy. But in the water, she was so graceful and elegant. She was practically a sea-draconequus.
Eventually, she pushed herself to surface and breached. The adolescent draconequus gasped for air as her tail swished to keep her in place as she sat there for a second. Raven laid down on her back, spreading her wings out as she closed her eyes. She bobbed peacefully on the water, using her serpentine tail to gently push herself forward. As she floated, she started humming to herself.
She cruised for a short while before taking a deep breath and dove back under, her tail and back arching the surface before silently slipping past like a serpent. Her mane flowed behind her as she corkscrewed through the water.
Every now and then, the she-draconequus would blow a bubble from her mouth and pop others that would occasionally try to escape towards the surface, a strange joy filling the teenager up with delight.
Raven also greeted the numerous aquatic life that lived in the pool, everything from grumpy bass to bulky bullfrogs. She even swam with a family of streamlined otters, the young pups playing around her as she preformed somersaults.
After a full hour being underwater, Raven realized she should probably head home soon. The draconequus breached the surface again, gasping for air before brushing her black tresses from her face. She hauled herself out the pool of water and shook her body like a dog. She snapped her claw, causing a red towel to appear above her. The towel then succumbed to gravity and landed on top of her. A goofy grin appeared on her face as she stood up and began to dry herself off.
Once she was finished, she grabbed her hair band and was about to put up her mane when a pair of birds, a blue jay and a cardinal respectively, swooped down and tweeted at her. Like her mother, she could understand what they were saying.
"Oh, really? You're offering to help me with my band?" The draconequus responded to the words of the birds. The birds nodded, causing Raven to smile widely and wordless to hand the blue jay the hair band. The cardinal used its feet and beak to hold up her mane while the blue jay pushed the band in the thick black hair. The cardinal and blue jay fluffed up her mane a little and soon, her mane was back in its standard ponytail. She smiled as the birds flew up to her and landed on her extended claw.
"Thank you, friends." Raven said, nuzzling the birds before letting them fly off. The teenaged draconequus looked as they flew off before she suddenly thought about flying home. Raven was in such a good mood that flying actually seemed a little appealing. She unfurled her mismatched wings and flew off, staying fairly low but moved at a brisk pace.
It wouldn't be the last time this summer that she'd come here for a little swim.
(Not in a literal sense, though. He would've bitten Discord if the draconequus did that to him. It wouldn't have been the first time the rabbit did that to the draconequus either. He still remembered the time when he bit Discord's snout when Fluttershy and Discord were cuddling. The lagomorph was put in the corner by Fluttershy for that little action.)
Angel was not the most pleased that Discord moved in after their marriage, let alone them even getting together. While he was happy that Fluttershy found someone special and was happy, her choice in a mate was...questionable at best in his opinion. He disliked Discord rather strongly, and he recalled all the times the two of them fought for her attention. Eventually, the two sort of settled their differences once they realized they both cared for Fluttershy and they started to try and tolerate each other for her sake.
That didn't mean he suddenly liked Flutter's mismatched lover, though. Quite the contrary, in fact.
He was no happier when he heard that Fluttershy was pregnant. To Angel, this news meant that all the attention would be diverted to her new kit. Or foal, as Angel remembered ponies called their infants. When the little filly, who Angel learned was named Wildflower, was born, Fluttershy still made sure to make time for her beloved rabbit, but he still wasn't pleased by the situation.
He thought all this as he stared up at his owner feeding the little filly with a bottle. The foal was a pegasus like Fluttershy, but inherited some of Discord's colors. She didn't seem to have the magic of her father, much to the buck's relief.
Fluttershy took the bottle from Wildflower once the foal was finished eating and carefully patted her back. The little filly burped shortly afterwards, causing Fluttershy to smile happily. Angel grew more bitter. He wanted to jump up and take the attention Wildflower was getting and transfer it towards him. But not only is he getting older and he couldn't move quite as well as before, but he might hurt the filly if he misstepped and, as much as he wasn't fond of the filly, he didn't have the heart to actually hurt her.
So he just sat there, silently let his jealousy fume higher and higher. Fluttershy looked over his way and seemed to notice that something was up as her expression changed to a sympathetic frown. Not wanting her pity, Angel looked away, trying to act apathetic. Fluttershy saw right through his act, though.
"Angel..." She called out to him in a motherly tone. He continued to ignore her, now crossing his paws over his chest and pouting.
Fluttershy put Wildflower in the nearby bouncer before walking over to the lagomorph and kneeled down to his level. He knew she was there, but just continued to keep his gaze away from her, pinning his ears against his head.
"Angel, I know something's bothering you. Do you talk about it?" She said gently with a caring smile.
Angel didn't budge, but like the other times Angel was being stubborn, she pressed forward. "I want to help. What's the problem?"
Angel sighed, knowing she wouldn't let up if he didn't tell her, so he decided to tell her. He told her how he had been feeling, all without turning around. The old buck wouldn't let her know how much he had been bothered by this and he didn't trust his facial expression to betray what he was feeling, but she still saw how upset he was, and it broke her heart to see her precious Angel in pain.
"Angel," she started after he stopped talking, "you know just because me and Discord have a new filly doesn't mean I don't love you any less, right?" Angel reluctantly nodded once. "I know you still don't like Discord and...well...he doesn't really like you all that much either, but you're a part of this family too, Angel."
Angel still didn't look towards her. Fluttershy sighed. He could be so stubborn sometimes. Suddenly, she had an idea. She walked over to the bouncer and picked up Wildflower before putting her down next to the grizzled lagomorph, her standing nearby to make sure nothing went wrong.
Noticing that somepony else was now present, Angel finally turned around, seeing the little filly looking right at him. Her teal-and-red eyes looked at him in intrigue. The foal walked over to him and made some weird gurgling noise the buck couldn't decipher. He raised an eyebrow towards Fluttershy, wondering what her plan is. The filly's light gray muzzle nudged his scruffy fur in curiosity.
He felt so awkward right now. This was the closest he has ever been to the filly, having intentionally keeping his distance before. As Wildflower nudged further into his fur, Angel sighed and lightly patted the top of the filly's head.
Fluttershy smiled at the sight. She laid down as she saw her daughter enjoy her time with Angel, every now and then making sure she doesn't act too rough around the bunny (and also to make sure Angel doesn't hurt Wildflower). Even if he doesn't open up much towards Wildflower or even outright despised her like him with Discord, she still hoped more interactions like this with her supervision will make it clear to Angel that she still loves him and that he's still a part of the family.
Angel woke up from his nap as he heard the door latch close. He looked up from his bed and saw his caretaker and her annoying husband, along with the now two year old filly known as Wildflower and a new little bundle in Fluttershy's hooves as she hovered. He knew that it was their second little foal. When he learned Fluttershy was pregnant again, his reaction wasn't as bad as before. Sure, he still wasn't happy about the situation, but Fluttershy's plan with Wildflower made his envy mostly go away. There were still moments his jealousy would pop up again, but the feelings would usually go away fairly quickly.
He decided to check out the new baby. He stood up and stretched before hopping over. When Wildflower looked over, she exclaimed "Angel!" He rolled his beady eyes at the toddler. He still wasn't really fond of her, but rather than getting huffy, he just let the energetic toddler be.
Discord bent over and roughly patted Angel's head. "Good evening to you, little Demon." Discord said with a smirk.
Right back at you, wormhorse. He snarked in reply. He heard flapping wings behind him and he looked up, seeing his owner smiling caringly at him. She seemed to know what he wanted and held out the bundle for him to see.
"Angel, meet our daughter, Raven." The grizzled buck looked at the tiny filly wrapped in a white baby blanket. Her mane was black like Discord and her head was gray like him, but her open eyes were identical to Fluttershy, minus the pink color of the irises. His own ears flicked as he looked at the filly's droopy bunny ears. Raven stared at the elderly rabbit with interest, strangely perceptive of her environment for a baby who was only a few days old.
The baby smiled towards him and laughed happily. Angel allowed a little smile to appear on his face as Raven babbled. This, in turn, made Fluttershy smile widely with tears in her eyes.
Angel seemed to accept Raven into their family, as she has accepted him into her family when she found him so many years ago as a filly.
The sun shined through white puffy clouds as a cool breeze blew through. The temperature was mildly warm and birds flew past the cottage where the Chaos family lived as they cheerfully tweeted. It was certainly a beautiful day.
If only Fluttershy could convince her daughter to come out of hiding.
"Sweetie, please come on out." Fluttershy asked as she lowered herself to look under a small bed. A little snake tail with a pink tuft poked out from beneath the sheets, shaking like a leaf. The tail disappeared, though moments later, a pink eye stared out nervously as she looked at her mother.
"Raven, you need to come out. School's starting soon and we don't want to be late, right?" Fluttershy said with a gentle smile. The eye looked down before a five year old draconequus crawled out from her bed, her hair being long enough to completely cover one of her eyes. Fluttershy grabbed the mismatched filly. Or cub? Or filly-cub? Discord's kind didn't really have terms for their kids as far as she knew. If they had a term, Discord never told her. Or maybe he just didn't remember. Considering he barely remembers his parents, Fluttershy assumed it was the latter.
Clearing her mind of these thoughts, Fluttershy flew up and then sat on the bed, putting Raven on her lap. She grabbed a turquoise mane brush and started brushing her daughter's mane.
"I know you're nervous, little flower, but it's important that you go to school." Fluttershy said. Raven looked down nervously.
"Can't I just...be taught at home or something, mama?" Raven asked, her voice having a very slight lisp due to the tiny braces in her mouth. Her mother stopped brushing before turning slightly to better look at her.
"I'm sorry, sweetie, but me and Discord agreed that it'd be best for you if you go to a school with others your age. Besides, don't you want to make friends?" Fluttershy asked. Raven sighed and let her mama continue to brush her mane.
After she finished brushing, Fluttershy set aside the brush and grabbed two ruby red hair ties. She used her wings to hold Raven's locks up before using her hooves to put it up in her usual hairstyle at five years old—cute little twin tails that matched Fluttershy when she herself was her age. Fluttershy took a moment to shift the fringe to the side, revealing both of her daughter's gorgeous eyes in their full glory.
"There we go. Now everypony will get to see your beautiful self." Fluttershy hugged her daughter tightly. "Now, let's get your bag together and head downstairs, where your sister should be waiting."
Once they got everything they needed in the bag, they headed to the stairs. Fluttershy gently walked down while Raven hopped down the steps behind her, a tiny saddlebag over her back. Wildflower stood by the door wearing a similar looking saddlebag, though she looked slightly annoyed at the little pink bow that held up a ponytail that Discord had put on her. While Wildflower had already been in school before, today was the first day in a new grade and Fluttershy wanted to make her look as nice as possible to make a good impression for the teacher, even if Fluttershy herself didn't mind Wildflower being more of a tomcolt.
"Alright, girls. If we're all ready, let's get going." Fluttershy said, ready to head out the door.
"Hold up, Flutters." Discord called out, carrying two tiny brown paper bags, both of which had little pink hearts and the faces of Discord and Fluttershy drawn on them in a crudely done, but cute, fashion. "Can't forget their lunch." He placed the both bags in the two filly's respective saddlebags.
Fluttershy smiled towards him, though there was a noticeable sad tint to her eyes. "I wish you could come with me to take the girls to school." Discord's expression soon match hers as he looked over at her direction.
"I know, dear." He sighed. "But Twilight said the job she has for me was urgent. I mean, she says that a lot, but you know how it is." A watch appeared on his wrist as he looked at it. "In fact, I should be leaving right now."
The watch disappeared before he looked over to his wondrous children. "Alright, girls. Have a good day at school. I should be back in time to pick you up with your mother, so I expect to hear all about your day. And remember to cause your teachers a bit of trouble." He said with a slight smirk.
Fluttershy raised a brow at his words. He rolled his eyes before revising his words. "Okay, don't cause them any trouble."
He picked up and kissed both his girls on their respective cheeks before a portal to Canterlot opened up and the older draconequus hopped in. His neck stuck back out and he stretched his neck, pecking his wife on the lips. She smiled and returned the peck. Once his neck retracted back in, the portal closed. Fluttershy turned to her daughters. "Okay. Let's head out."
As Fluttershy strolled with her daughters next to her, stopping every now and then to gently step on Wildflower's tail to keep her from running off, Raven couldn't help but drag her feet slightly in the dirt path. When she learned she was going to school, she had been completely apprehensive. She didn't miss the looks that creatures gave her and her father whenever they left home. Though she wasn't entirely sure why, it made her a little nervous to be around those who weren't her family or her parent's friends. Fluttershy had promised that her teacher Miss Cheerilee was a nice pony that she could trust and while Raven believed her mother's words, that gave no guarantee that the other students wouldn't cause her issues.
They eventually made it to the Ponyville Schoolhouse. In the years following the School of Friendship's construction, the original Ponyville Schoolhouse had been expanded in size and they started accepting more non-pony students, hence the creatures like griffons, dragons, and kirin that were roaming the schoolyard. Even with all these other creatures around, Raven still felt out of place due to being the only draconequus here. They entered the schoolhouse, Raven taking up the rear. They took Wildflower to her class with her teacher (Wildflower tried to squirm out of her mother's goodbye hugs and kisses with little success) and then walked to Raven's class with Cheerilee. Once they made it, Fluttershy stood by the open door to their classroom. Raven hid behind her mom's leg at the sight of all the students who were already in the classroom.
"Hello, Fluttershy." Cheerilee said as she walked forward and gave Fluttershy a one hoof hug.
Over the years, she started putting her mane, which has subtle grey streaks in the dark pink of her mane, in a tight bun and her vision had started getting bad, hence the cat eye glasses she now wore, but she still looked a little young for her age. She also wore earrings that matched the smiling sunflowers on her cutie mark.
Fluttershy smiled towards her as she hugged back. While the two weren't the closest friends, they were always friendly towards one other.
"Hi, Cheerilee. How have you and your sister been doing?" Fluttershy asked once they released their hug.
Cheerilee took a moment to adjust her glasses before replying, "I'm doing good, Fluttershy. Cherry Blossom just learned she's having triplets, so that's exciting."
"Oh, that's wonderful!" Fluttershy beamed. "You must be so happy to be an aunt."
Cheerilee nodded before looking down and saw the little draconequus hiding behind Fluttershy's leg. "And I'm assuming this is Raven?"
Fluttershy nodded. "Mm-hmm." Fluttershy looked down at her daughter. "Raven, it's okay. Come on out." The draconequus hesitantly moved from her hiding spot, kicking her paw against the floor before looking up slightly at the green eyed earth pony.
"Aw, she's precious, Fluttershy." Cheerilee gushed before directing her attention to Raven, kneeling herself down to be at better eye level with the draconequus. "Hello. I'm Miss Cheerilee and I'm going to be your teacher." Raven clearly started getting less tense due to the kind nature of her teacher, curling her mouth into an adorable smile.
"Alright, little flower." Fluttershy said, getting the attention of the draconequus. "Have a good day at school. Listen to your teacher, make friends, and if there's a problem, tell Miss Cheerilee."
She hugged her baby girl and kissed her forehead before setting her down. She got up and looked over to Cheerilee with concern in her eyes.
"I should let you know, Raven doesn't really have too much control over her magic yet, so if you could-."
"I'll keep an eye out and if something happens, I'll let you know." Cheerilee interrupted as she gave a reassuring smile. Fluttershy nodded with a smile of her own before looking down at Raven.
"Bye, little flower. I love you." She said.
"Bye, mama." Raven said, hugging her. "I love you, too." Raven reluctantly let go and Fluttershy turned to leave the building.
"Alright, Raven." The draconequus turned to Cheerilee. "Let's head in now." Raven followed the earth pony.
Despite the expansion of the school, Cheerilee's room didn't look that different from before Twilight became an alicorn. There were twelve desks, an extra row then before, but otherwise, it wasn't that different. She put her saddlebag into a cubby and walked over to the only seat that was left, the middle desk just behind the first row of desks, and sat down. Cheerilee walked up to the chalkboard and turned towards her new students.
"Good morning, class." She cheerfully spoke out. “I'm your teacher, Miss Cheerilee and I'm happy to meet all of you. For the sake of remembering your names, the seats you’re currently sitting at will be your required seat for the rest of the school year."
Raven looked around to see who was sitting next to her. On her left, there was a lavender unicorn filly with bright green eyes, a curly red mane held in braided pigtails, and freckles across her muzzle. Her tail had a bow tied to her tail at the base. She didn't have a cutie mark yet, but Raven knew that she would some day. Raven had deer spots on her hoof, but they'll likely fade away with age like a normal deer, the exact opposite of a pony's cutie mark.
The unicorn looked over towards her and waved her hoof in a friendly manner. Raven waved her paw back with a shy smile before looking to her right.
A white earth pony filly sat there, her gold-and-white mane going down in waves and her eyes matched the gold of her mane. She also lacked a cutie mark. Raven suspected that all the ponies in the class probably lack cutie marks. The earth pony looked her way briefly before looking away with a frown.
Cheerilee began talking again, so Raven turned her attention back towards her.
"Now, we're going to go around and introduce ourselves to the class. So I want you to say your name and something interesting about yourself. I'll go first as an example." She cleared her throat. "My name is Cheerilee, and I'm happy to be your teacher."
As the draconequus patiently waited for her turn as the ones in the front row spoke, she tried to think of what to say. She knew that her teacher wanted her to say something interesting about herself, but she couldn't think of much other than her being a draconequus. Maybe she should just go with that. Her thoughts were jostled when the white filly on her right spoke.
"My name is Gold Digger and my mother is the owner of her own business." She said confidently with a smug grin. Raven heard the unicorn filly next to her scoff but before she could think too much about it, Raven saw Cheerilee looking at her, indicating that it was her turn to speak.
"Um, m-my name is Raven Shy." She said in a quiet but still audible voice. She could feel the stares the other kids were giving her. But Cheerilee smiled encouragingly, which convinced her that she was doing good. The draconequus took a deep breath before continuing to speak. "And I'm a draconequus like my daddy, Discord."
Raven saw out of the corner of her eye that Gold Digger was looking at her and her expression was just a hair's breadth away from a glare. Raven looked down to avoid the filly's look. What did she do wrong? All she did was tell the truth. Now she wished her mother didn't move her forelock. She wanted to hide so badly right now. Her floppy ear twitched as the unicorn filly to her left spoke.
"My name is Honey Suckle and me and my family just moved here from Appleloosa." She said proudly. Raven heard Gold Digger scoff, much like how the other filly, evidently named Honey Suckle, had scoffed at her statement earlier.
Eventually, the introductions were over and Cheerilee began her lesson. "Alright, class. Today, we are going to learn about cutie marks. I know not all of you will get one as this is a pony trait, but I think it's still important to learn about some things that may not directly effect you, but you may run into in the future."
Raven sat up straight, folding her paw and claw on her desk. Though she wouldn't get a cutie mark, she still listened to the teacher's words. Even ignoring the fact that her sister would get one, she felt it was important to learn about cutie marks for when she meets other ponies in the future. So, she listened intently as Cheerilee explained what cutie marks were for.
She payed attention throughout the whole lesson, never once losing attentiveness. After the cutie mark lesson was over, Cheerilee moved on to math problems, with many of the non-ponies being grateful for the change in topic.
Later on, the bell rang and Raven left with the crowd to enjoy recess. As she walked through the hall, she saw Wildflower's class being dismissed for recess as well. Her sister walked forward past her teacher, seemily looking relieved to be out of there.
"Hi, sis." Wildflower said once she walked up and the two walked together. "How was class so far?"
"Well, Miss Cheerilee is really nice." Raven smiled as her mind thought back to how kind her teacher was. She turned to Wildflower and asked, "How was class for you?"
"Ugh, so boring. Mr Golden Chariot is nice enough, but that doesn't change that his lessons were so dull. I wanted to fall asleep multiple times." She turned to her baby sister. "Anyway, let's go play." Raven nodded and the two of them made it to the schoolyard where the other kids were playing.
After a short disagreement about what game to play, the Chaos sisters decided to play a game of ball. As they tossed the ball around, Raven's body began to tremble, a sign the young draconequus was all too familiar with. But before she could do anything, her magic caused the ball to turn from a plain dull pink to plaid. In surprise, Wildflower dropped the ball and it rolled down the small hill they were playing on. Raven looked apologetically at Wildflower.
"Sorry, sis. I didn't mean to." Raven said as she shuffled her mismatched feet and looked away in embarrassment. Because of her young age, Raven didn't have good control over her chaos magic. Her dad was teaching her to control her abilities, but she still has a long way to go before she could control them. Wildflower walked over at her and placed her hoof on her sister's shoulder, causing the draconequus to look towards her.
"Hey, it's okay, sis. Besides, you made the ball look cooler." She smiled widely, revealing her missing front tooth, showing that it was water under the bridge. Raven smiled back and the two of them went to get their ball.
Once they reached the reached the bottom of the hill, Wildflower grabbed the ball, only to look up to see some kids playing with a frisbee. One kid miscalculated the throw and it flew past the group until it landed right the front of Raven. One of the kids, a griffon with a dark grey head and a light reddish brown body, approached them to get the frisbee back. Once he grabbed it, he looked towards them with light violet eyes. He looked a little nervous, but then smiled towards them.
"Hey, do you fillies want to play with us?" He asked.
But before they could answer, a voice yelled out, "Are you out of your mind?!"
It was none other than Gold Digger, the earth pony from Raven's class. Wildflower didn't like the look she was giving them and stood in front of her sister with her tiny wings spread apart to shield her as the filly approached.
Raven looked to her sister and then to Gold Digger before looking down. She wondered if it would be a bad idea to try and act friendly to Gold Digger after the look she gave her in class. Gold Digger seemed to ignore the glare Wildflower was giving her as she continued to rant towards the now ashamed looking griffon.
"Seriously, Glenn?! You want these things to play with us?" She asked incredulously, as if the very idea of letting them play was the worst thing one could do. Maybe in her mind, it was. "Do you even know who they are or who their dad is?"
"Hey!" Wildflower called out, finally gaining Gold Digger's attention. "He was just asking us nicely. We could've declined and let you play your game without us, but instead, the mere suggestion of letting us play makes you turn into a drama queen and act it's the worst thing for us to even be asked to join you?"
Gold Digger flipped her mane as she stared with bored, lidded eyes. "I just don't deal with ponies who can't choose what color to be at any given time," she looked over towards Raven with a frown, "and their pets."
Raven looked down at this insult, which only caused Wildflower to be even more enraged. But before she could jump and beat the living snot out of this prissy princess, another pony got in between them, her green eyes boring down the white filly.
"Hey, lay off em. Just cause your ma owns some fancy company doesn't mean you can act all self entitled and be a jerk." She said in an annoyed tone. It was then Raven recognized her from her class. Honey Suckle, if she remembered correctly. Rather than just looking bored like with Wildflower, Gold Digger glared back at the lavender unicorn.
"Why are you defending them, hick? Do you even know who their dad is? My mom told me all about him. Heavens know why Princess Twilight lets him work for her after all he's done." Raven and Wildflower just looked at each other in confusion. What did their dad do to make her think that? He was dorky and silly, but he wasn't some evil threat, was he?
Honey Suckle just glared back. "As far as I'm concerned, whatever their dad may of done doesn't define them anymore than my pa's history defines me."
They stared each other down for a short while longer before Gold Digger scoffed, "Fine." She said as she started turning away. "By all means, play with the freaks. See where that gets you."
Gold Digger walked off to continue their game. The griffon looked back with an apologetic look before following Gold Digger.
Wildflower snorted. "Jerk."
"I'll say." Honey Suckle said as she faced them.
"Um, t-thanks for defending us." Raven said, feeling safe enough to get out from behind her sister.
"Heh, no sweat. I couldn't just stand by and watch her insult you guys." She smiled towards them in a friendly manner. "Name's Honey Suckle."
"I'm Wildflower and this is my sister, Raven." The pegasus said while Raven waved like in the classroom.
"Do you, um, want to play with us?" Raven asked.
Honey Suckle smile grew. "Sure. I'd love to."
The three of the played for the rest of recess before the bell rang, letting them know it was time to head back to class.
The rest of the day went without many more incidents. Raven had a few more magical episodes—in class no less—but Cheerilee was rather understanding and helped calm her down when she started to feel embarrassed. Raven enjoyed art time and she sat with her sister as well as her new friend Honey Suckle when it was lunch break.
But eventually, the school day ended, the last bell of the day ringing.
"Have a good day, class," Cheerilee called out as the students left their seats, "see you all tomorrow!"
"Hey, Raven!" A voice called out just as the little draconequus was exiting the classroom door. She turned around to see Honey Suckle running up to her.
"Do ya mind if I tag along?" She asked.
"Sure." Raven grinned. "I don't mind."
As they walked, they met up with Raven's sister, who was also being dismissed from her class, and walked out into the schoolyard, Wildflower complaining about the amount of homework she already has.
"Honey Suckle?" A voice called out.
"Aw, shoot. That's my ma." Honey Suckle turned towards the Chaos sisters before saying, "I'll see y'all later." The unicorn filly waved goodbye as she ran to her mother, who also had a small colt standing next to her.
A weird horn honking sound was heard, confusing most of the students and parents, but the sisters knew what it meant. Sure enough, there was their dad being his usual weird and kooky self, driving a weird looking carriage made entirely out of steel and metal, with the words 'School Bus' written on the sides. He pulled the brake, not only causing it to stop right in front of them, but also making it disappear once it did, revealing him and Fluttershy standing there.
"Hi, girls." Fluttershy said, hugging both of her baby girls. "How was your day?"
Discord teleported above the sisters, flapping is mismatched wings in an irregular beat, yet he stayed in flight. "Indeed it is, princess," He started hovering past them, "A friend goes a long way."
He wrapped his talon around Fluttershy's withers. "Doesn't it, my dear?" He asked his wife with lidded eyes.
Fluttershy giggled at his flirty nature before turning to the young foals. "Alright, let's head home."
The family soon walked their way home. As Raven rode on her mother's back, she realized her first day may not have been great, but she at least made a friend.
The front door opened as Fluttershy entered, a brass key in her mouth and a couple of over-filled groceries bags carefully balanced on her back. She closed the door with her back hoof and placed the key onto a key hook hanging from the wall, it swinging as the butterfly-shaped head sparked despite its age, showcasing the markings that were engraved into it: a simple, cursive ‘F’ and ‘D’ with a simple heart in-between.
"I'm home!" She called out as she walked towards the kitchen. Raven was already in the kitchen, eating an apple for a snack as she sat, her tail laying on the floor.
Discord teleported behind her as Fluttershy placed the paper bags on the countertop. He leaned over and kissed her forehead. Fluttershy grinned widely and looked up at him.
"Did you enjoy your visit with Pinkie, my dear?" He asked with his classic smirk, his beard dangling just above her bluebell barrette as he hovered in midair.
Fluttershy nodded. "Mhm." She replied, leaning up to kiss his snout, causing Discord to smile in a ridiculous love-filled manner and his pupils turned into the shape of hearts.
As she walked in, Wildflower raised a brow at the groceries, "I thought you were just visiting aunt Pinkie." She gestured towards the bags, "what's with all this?"
"Oh," Fluttershy said, "well, turns out that Sugar Cube Corner is hosting a baking contest for families and Pinkie Pie insisted that we join." She dug through one of the bags, pulling out the eggs. Raven paused eating her apple, which was now a core, and placed it on the table as she listened as Fluttershy continued speaking, "I thought it might be fun if we made something together, so I accepted."
Discord grinned widely. "Ooo, I like the sound of that." He exclaimed, rubbing his paw and talon together with a huge grin.
Raven nodded as she smiled, "I agree. That sounds like fun, mama."
"But what are we going to make?" Wildflower asked.
"Well, I was thinking of making brownies." Fluttershy said, pulling out cocoa powder from the bag and setting it next to the eggs. "The contest isn't for a few days but they are easy to make and I'm sure we can get them done relatively quickly. And we have some chopped walnuts, so we can use those. Plus, your father can use his magic to preserve them until the contest." She turned towards Discord, "Right, honey?"
Discord cracked his knuckles. "With ease, Shyfly."
"Should we get started, mama?" Raven asked as she fiddled with the remains of the apple with her claw.
"I think so, so long as everyone has nothing else to do today." Fluttershy said.
After everyone agreed to bake brownies now, Fluttershy pulled out the rest of the ingredients she bought and set them on the countertop. Discord snapped his talon and the bags faded from existence. Raven tossed the apple core into her mouth and swallowed the fruit with an audible glup—the core only perceivable as a slight bulge, sliding down her throat—before standing up, using her tail to push in the chair. The family then took the moment to wash their hooves. Or paws and claws in the case of the draconequi. Discord made an apron that read Kiss the Draconequus appear on him. Raven snapped her paw, making a snow leopard print apron before she stood upright to tie the strings.
"Okay, we're going to need a baking dish." Fluttershy turned towards Wildflower as she tied an apron, one that was pink with white bunnies on it, around herself, "can you find one, dear?"
Wildflower finishing tying a plaid apron around herself before looking towards Fluttershy. "Yes, mom." Wildflower said before heading to where they stored their pans.
As Wildflower digs through the cabinet, Fluttershy pulled out an old looking dessert cookbook that her mom gave her when she first moved into her cottage and rummaged through the worn pages until she found a recipe for brownies.
"Here it is, mom." Wildflower called out, holding a rectangular 8-inch baking tray.
Fluttershy smiled and said, "Thanks, sweetheart." Once the teenaged pegasus set it down, Discord snapped up some nonstick cooking spray and used his tail to spray an even coat into the tray.
"Raven, can you turn on the oven so it can preheat?" Fluttershy asked. Raven nodded and, after glancing at the recipe, used her tail to turn the oven to the correct temperature and levitated numerous measuring spoons onto the countertop.
"Okay, we need a mixing bowl." Just as Fluttershy finished this sentence, Discord snapped up a large neon green plastic mixing bowl. Fluttershy smiled her thanks at him, who simply winked at her.
Wildflower grabbed the flour and measured it in a measuring spoon before she poured it into the bowl. As she did so, Fluttershy looked over at her daughter's cutie mark and a small grin appeared on her muzzle. When Wildflower first got her cutie mark, she was baking cupcakes with Fluttershy and her grandmother. Fluttershy was immensely proud of her daughter, as any pony parent usually is when their foals get their cutie marks. Since then, Wildflower had baked with her mother, grandma and Pinkie Pie on a fair number of occasions. Fluttershy cleared her mind of her thoughts before grabbing the sugar and measured it before pouring it in the same bowl.
"Cordy, while we're doing this, can you and Raven cook the bittersweet chocolate?" Fluttershy asked as she grabbed the baking soda and Wildflower poured in some cocoa powder.
"Of course." He said. Raven grabbed a small saucepan and placed it on the stove. She placed half of the chocolate into the saucepan and Discord poured milk in. He used his magic to make the stove dial turn by itself, setting it on a low heat. Raven grabbed a wooden spoon and started stirring the chocolate.
After a minute or two of stirring and cooking the chocolate, Discord made the butter hover and placed it into the pan. Raven smiled before continuing to stir. After a little bit, Raven looked over at her dad and asked, "is this melted enough, daddy?" as she gestured towards the saucepan.
Discord looked over and checked, having had pulled a magnifying glass out of nowhere. "Hmm…" he muttered before smiling widely at his daughter. "It looks good to me, princess."
She smiled and turned to turn off the heat, while Discord pulled a bottle of vanilla from thin air. He poured a small bit in and Raven started to stir it in.
Meanwhile, Fluttershy and Wildflower had poured the brown sugar and salt into the mixing bowl.
"Okay, now we need to wait for Discord and Raven to-" She was interrupted by Discord, "It's done, my dear."
Fluttershy looked over and saw Discord grabbing the saucepan off the stovetop. Wildflower went over and grabbed the pan and turned to the mixing bowl, slowly and carefully pouring the melted chocolate mixture into the bowl.
"Okay, now we just need eggs, the rest of that bittersweet chocolate and," she took a moment to grab a bag of chopped walnuts, "the walnuts."
Discord made the two eggs they grabbed earlier hover in midair as he used one of his talons to trace a line over one of the egg. It floated over the mixing bowl and split apart, causing the insides to fall in. He did the same thing with the second egg before shoving the egg shells together, them fusing together to create an egg timer.
Wildflower grabbed the measuring cup while Fluttershy opened up the bag of walnuts and poured them in until they were about 1/4th filled. Wildflower dumped the walnuts into the bowl as Raven grabbed the last of the bittersweet chocolate and dumped it in as well.
"Now it's time to stir." Fluttershy said.
Discord pulled a wooden spoon from thin air and started stirring at a fast rate, causing the batter to spray all over.
Fluttershy flinched as bits of the batter splashed on her.
"Ah, dad!" Wildflower exclaimed, using her wings to try and shield herself from the batter that was flying. Raven materialized a red-and-blue umbrella and held it in front of herself as a shield. Fluttershy rolled her eyes as he laughed, though, admittedly, she wasn't really that annoyed, in part due to the fact that the batter wasn't splattering as much as one would expect at the speed he was going, so they'd still have plenty of batter left over.
Eventually, he stopped stirring and the batter was looking perfect despite the speed he was going at.
"Okay, that looks good." Fluttershy said as she looked at the batter. She grabbed the dish from the side. "Now we just need to place the batter in." She turned towards Raven and asked, "can you help place the batter in please, pumpkin?"
Raven nodded and levitated the batter in a pink aura and gently placed down, it smoothing itself out perfectly as it flowed, into the baking dish. Wildflower sprinkled the remaining walnut bits on top. Discord then placed the batter into the oven, using a baseball glove instead of a oven mitt. Raven used her kangaroo foot to close the oven door.
Discord handed Fluttershy the egg timer and she began to set the time. She had just finished setting the timer and placed it on the counter when she was suddenly hit by a puff of white. She squeaked in surprise before turning, where she saw that her flank was now covered in flour. She looked over and saw Wildflower standing near the flour bag with white powder on her hoof, whistling far too innocently.
The flour bag began to hover behind the adolescent pegasus before dropping on top of her. She yelped as dust flew around her. Once the cloud cleared, Wildflower was completely covered in white powder. Her multicolored eyes blinked open, showing her surprise. Her nose twitch before she sneezed. A giggle drew her attention and she glared in that direction.
The culprit was Raven, who stood nearby Discord as a halo headband sat upon her head and she made the pink glow around her claw vanish. The giggling draconequus placed her paw over her mouth as her eyes closed tight.
The whole family then laughed, even Wildflower after she rolled her eyes.
It was the day of the baking contest and Sugar Cube Corner was flooded with families of all kinds, each with their own entries in the hopes of winning or even just to have fun.
As the Chaos family appeared inside in a flash of bright light, Pinkie ran up and glomped both Fluttershy and Discord.
"Hey, guys!" She exclaimed, "I'm so so soooo happy you guys decided to participate."
Fluttershy smiled lightly at Pinkie as she patted her friend's back. "Of course, Pinkie."
Pinkie let go and saw a silvery looking bubble in Discord's grasp. "Ooo, is what you made guys made?"
"Indeed it is, Mrs. Pie." Discord said as he smirked proudly.
Pinkie hopped over to her 'neices' and rubbed their heads affectionately. "How you doing, girls?" She asked.
"We're doing well, aunt Pinkie." Raven said as Wildflower tried to fix her mane with a tight frown.
Pinkie then pointed towards the clothed tables set out for the contest. "Your spot is over here." They followed Pinkie as she led them towards the tables.
"I'm super duper excited to see and taste what you made. I may not be able to participate, because you know how much I love to bake..."
"Really? What a surprise." Discord said sarcastically. Wildflower snickered in response.
"...But I'll be able to taste them, and I'm sure with this super baker by your side," Pinkie gestured to Wildflower, who grinned confidently, "you'll at least be very close to first place."
"Well, we're just entering to have fun, but I'm glad you think we'll do that well." Fluttershy stated.
The five of them came to an empty spot where The Chaos Family was written down. Discord placed the bubble down with care, which popped silently as soon as it made contact with the table, revealing their brownies, each perfectly cut and with an caramel drizzle on top that they made after the brownies baked, at Raven's request unsurprisingly.
"Ooo...." Pinkie said as she looked at the perfectly brown confections. "Those look scrumptious!"
Pinkie turned towards the Chaos family. "The judging will start in a few minutes. In fact, I should probably get ready, so why don't you guys should take a look around at the other entries?"
Fluttershy nodded. "Sure." The family then began to move through the crowd, looking at several of the submissions.
Several minutes were spent looking at the other submissions for the contest. Raven even managed to talk to Honey Suckle and her family, who had entered with red velvet cupcakes.
Eventually, the judges started to wander around to check out the submissions. The cast of judges consisted of Pinkie, the twins Pumpkin Cake and Pound Cake, a green dragon with pale blue spines and purple eyes, and a grey griffon with a black head and hot pink eyes. Wildflower and Discord largely didn't care about what they thought of the other entries, instead waiting in anticipation about what they thought of their's.
Once the judges approached the brownies, Discord placed his paw over Fluttershy's shoulder as he grinned with anticipation, while Wildflower's wings fluttered fast like a humming bird as she danced on her hooves.
One of the judges, the dragon, grabbed a brownie and took a bite. His eyes widened before his mouth formed a grin.
"Hmm..." He said, smiling widely at the taste. The other judges ate them and also clearly enjoyed them.
As they wrote down their thoughts on the clipboard, Wildflower's smile grew cocky. "We're a shoo-in, I'm sure of it."
"They did seem to like it more than the others." Raven agreed, smiling lightly as she stood nearby.
After a while, the judges planned to announce the victors of the contest. The Chaos family appeared in the front of the crowd in a flash, startling a few creatures.
"We narrowed it down to these three baked goods." The griffon said, her claw gesturing to the three left over, a lemon meringue pie, a three layer cake with vanilla frosting, and their brownies.
"I honestly didn't think we'd make it this far." Fluttershy admitted to Discord.
"Well, our daughter is a wizz in baking." Discord boasted. "But then, so are you." He winked at her and she looked away bashfully, her cheeks turning a slight red at his praise.
Pinkie then spoke, "As spectacular as these all were, they can only be one winner." Pound Cake handed her a blue ribbon as she continued to announce, "And the winner is..."
Wildflower leaned forward, her eyes shinning in excitement. The suspense was killing her.
"...the cake!" Pinkie finally said, placing the blue ribbon on the cake.
"Oh, c'mon! Really?" Wildflower moaned as the rest of the crowd cheered.
"It was nice that Pinkie let us keep them." Fluttershy said as they entered their house.
Discord set the brownies, which had a third place ribbon on the pan, down on the counter. "Well, it may be a quarter to the time we usually eat dinner," he said as he dismissed a watch on his talon he summoned, "but I kinda want to try them." He looked towards Fluttershy with a raised brow. "Shy, do you think that'd be okay?"
Fluttershy tapped her hoof against her chin before replying, "Sure. I'm kinda curious myself."
The flour of them grabbed a piece and began to eat the brownie pieces. Raven's eyes widened, her pupils dilating, before smiling wide. "Mmm, that tastes delicious." She said, licking her lips in delight.
"I concur," Discord said, tossing the rest of the brownie into his mouth, "This is really good." He said with his mouth full.
Wildflower took a bite. "I do like it." She swallowed her bite before frowning slightly. "I still think we should've won." She complained.
Fluttershy shook her head, chuckling. "But we had fun, right?" Wildflower sighed, but still nodded. The middle-aged mare smiled and they continued eating their brownies.
Powdery white snow gently fell, piling upon the ground as the wind blew softly, which created an sound that almost seemed like whistling. While the trees were devoid of leaves and there was a lack of bird calls and other critters roaming around, as most of them have either migrated or gone into hibernation, the environment still gave off a tranquil vibe unlike any other time of year.
Hearth's Warming was only a few weeks away and while some houses have already begun to hang up their decorations and many creatures were already rushing to get their gifts, the Chaos household were more than happy to just enjoy the wintery season for at least one more week before they joined in the excitement of the holiday season.
As the sun began to set, the old cottage windows of the Chaos residence were aglow with an orange light that looked rather warm and inviting. Inside their comfy abode, Raven sat upon the couch, her gracile form all stretched out in a way similar to Discord. The crackling of the fireplace was the only sound within the living room, the warmth having engulfed the entire room. Her lower half was swallowed by a patchwork quilt, though her tail tuft just barely stuck out from underneath. She also was wearing a dark grey holiday sweater with black collar and cuffs, with the image of a large icy blue snowflake stitched on the front, with numerous smaller ones surrounding it. She stared out the window, feeling quite cozy while watching the snow fall with intrigue.
The adolescent draconequus adored winter, finding it to be an absolutely beautiful time of year and always having child-like wonder every year at the sight of falling snow. It helped that like Discord, she had resistance to different temperatures, so she didn't really need loads of warm clothing when out in the cold. Despite that, it still felt nice being all bundled up and just enjoy being all cozy and warm, hence the quilt and sweater.
She breathed in, smiling at the scent of pine emanating in the room, and exhaled with a peaceful sigh. I love winter. She thought blissfully.
The peace was shattered by the door swinging wide open, with Wildflower and Discord rushing inside before the older draconequus slammed the door closed with his tail. Discord unhooked his wooden snowshoes as Wildflower began to remove her scarf. Discord snapped his tail feathers, causing the candy cane coat rack that stood near to jump to life and it walked over to assist them.
"How was that snowball tournament?" Raven asked as she watched them from her spot on the couch, but otherwise refused to move from her snug position.
"Oh, it was great!" Wildflower exclaimed as she gave her scarf onto the coat rack. It grabbed the scarf with its hook before helping with her jacket.
Discord dismissed his frosted ski goggles, revealing his eyes. "Indeed! Though I still say I won, Wild."
"Uh, no way, dad." Wildflower argued as she kicked off the boots from her hooves before putting on a cerulean holiday sweater with darker blue collar and cuffs and a Hearth's Warming tree stitched on it. "Tricking me with a noise and then burying me in a snowbank is cheating and you know it."
"Did you really expect the Lord of Chaos to play fair?" Discord retaliated with a smirk on his face. Wildflower scoffed but said nothing else as she wandered over towards the fireplace to warm up. She used her hoof to try and brush some excess snow from her braid. A snap was heard and a teal mane brush floated over towards her. Wildflower smiled in appreciation and looked over at her sister.
"Thanks, sis." She said as she grabbed the brush. The teenaged draconequus nodded once before turning towards the kitchen, having heard hoof steps.
Fluttershy came in, wearing a gorgeous green holiday sweater with a red collar and cuffs, with the front having a trio of teal bodied and pink winged butterflies that matched her cutie mark stitched on. She also wore holly berry stud earrings as apposed to her usual ones. She hovered in midair as she approached Discord, who had snapped on a red holiday sweater with a dark green collar and cuffs, while a large grey cyclone pattern was stitched on the front. She kissed his cheek before asking him, "Did you two have fun?"
"Yes we did, Shyfly." Discord replied before giving her a look Fluttershy was well familiar with. One that she knew meant he wanted to ask her something.
"So, my dear." He started saying, "You know what sounded really good as we were walking home just now?"
"What?" Fluttershy asked innocently. Discord slowly coiled around her as he looked at her with an barely contained grin of excitement.
"Well, it's currently winter and we had not yet had the pleasure of enjoying your simply delicious homemade hot chocolate." Fluttershy gave a small smirk in response to his request.
"Funny you should say that." Fluttershy wormed her way out of his coils before flashing him her soft gentle smile that he found absolutely adorable. "While you two were gone, I made some."
Wildflower heard and dropped the brush while looking over excitedly at her mother, "No kidding?"
"Mhm..." Fluttershy nodded. She flew straight back into the kitchen, only to return moments later with a tray lined with four holiday themed mugs—each one topped with whipped cream and crushed peppermints.
Raven also noticed something else on the tray, "did you bake cookies as well, mama?"
"Yes I did, little flower. Also, I'm sorry, but we didn't have any of those tiny marshmallows you guys seem to love." Fluttershy smiled sheepishly.
"Not a problem, my dear." Discord said, snapping his talon and summoned a bag of colorful marshmallows that floated next to him. Fluttershy smiled at her caring husband before heading towards the couch. Raven adjusted herself so she'd be sitting as Fluttershy gave her one of the mugs. Wildflower approached the couch and grabbed her own mug, sitting in the armchair next to the couch.
After Fluttershy placed the tray on the table so they could grab the frosted sugar cookies that were Hearth's Warming themed, she and Discord sat down on the couch next to Raven, with Discord snapping up another quilt (one that was an ugly mishmash of clashing colors) to cover them and made another one (one closer to Raven's quilt in appearance) appear on Wildflower.
"Here you are, Cordy." Fluttershy said as she passed him a mug.
"Thank you, sweet cheeks." He replied, to which Fluttershy smiled cutely. Wildflower placed a hoof in her mouth and made a gag sound at the cutesy nature of her parents. Discord reached into the bag with his tail and dropped a handful of marshmallows into his own mug. Two more handful of marshmallows, surrounded by a gold aura, levitated into the respective mugs of the teens.
"Thank you, daddy." Raven replied, having reached out to grab a cookie shaped like a wreath as he placed the marshmallows in her mug.
"Of course, princess." Discord said before reaching out to grab a cookie, this one shaped like a Hearth's Warming tree. Fluttershy put marshmallows into her drink before cuddling next to Discord, slowing sipping her mug as he draped his paw over her withers and intertwined his tail with hers.
"These are good, mom." Wildflower talked with her mouth full, spraying small crumbs of her star shaped cookie all over.
"Well, I'm glad you like them, but please don't talk with your mouth full." Fluttershy said in her 'mom tone' and with an arched brow. Wildflower swallowed her bite before rolling her eyes slightly.
"Fine, mom." She sighed.
As Raven lowered her mug, it revealed a cream mustache on her upper lip. Wildflower snickered, catching Raven's attention.
"What's so funny?" She asked as she looked at the teenaged pegasus with an arched brow.
"Oh, nothing." Her sister said, trying rather hard to not burst out laughing. It was then Raven finally noticed the mustache, staring cross-eyed at the offending cream.
The look on Raven's face made Wildflower no longer able to contain her laughter. She bursted out laughing, her eyes clenched shut. Raven scoffed before looking back at the mustache. She extended out her tongue and licked at the cream. It took a couple of swaps, but soon her muzzle was clean.
"Wow, that was cool." Wildflower said impressed before crinkling her nose slightly, "And a little gross."
Raven rolled her eyes before looking over at her sister and smiled slyly. "You have a little something right there." She said, pointing at Wildflower's face with her tail.
Wildflower looked down and, sure enough, her muzzle was covered in frosting. She tried to lick it like Raven did, but her tongue wasn't quite long enough to get it near her nose. Raven tittered, placing her claw over her mouth. Despite her amusement, Raven snapped her paw and gave Wildflower a washcloth to save her from total humiliation.
"Thanks." Wildflower muttered as she began to use it.
"Sure thing, sis." The adolescent draconequus replied before grabbing a candy cane shaped cookie.
The four of them quietly sat for a short while, sipping their cocoa, enjoying the pinch of cinnamon that Fluttershy always put in her homemade hot chocolate, as well as enjoying the cookies covered in buttercream.
"Ah..." Fluttershy gave of a sigh as she lowered her mug, snuggling further into Discord's fur. He looked over, having snapped up a peppermint stick to stir his cocoa with earlier.
"Comfy?" He asked with a smirk and a raised brow.
"Mhm," she said, closing her eyes as she leaned against him more. He smiled with care at her before biting the peppermint stick in half. He then dropped it in, it sticking up straight and broken edge submerged in chocolate, and he lifted his mug, drinking its content.
They continued to simply relax for a little while until Raven yawned.
"Are you tired, sweetie?" Fluttershy asked.
"A little, but I'm..." the draconequus was interrupted by another yawn, "...fine."
"Well it is getting a bit late." Discord said, seeing the time on Fluttershy's old cuckoo clock. He snapped his paw, placing a preserving spell on the remaining cookies so they'd stay fresh. The plate grew spider-like legs and hustled off to the kitchen to go into their icebox. He snapped his tail tuft and dismissed the quilts, them safely folded up in the closet.
"You girls should probably head off to bed." Fluttershy gently suggested.
"Fine." Wildflower stood up and stretched her hooves before heading upstairs.
"Night, mom. Night, dad." She said as she headed up.
"Good night, Wild." Discord called out.
"Have a good night, honey." Fluttershy said. "Love you."
"Yeah, love you too." Wildflower replied halfheartedly as she disappeared up the stairs.
Raven stood up herself and hugged her father.
"Good night, daddy." She said. "Love you."
"Good night, princess." He said as he hugged back. "Sleep well."
Raven let go and went over to her mother, hugging her good night. "Good night, mama."
"Good night, little flower." Fluttershy kissed her forehead before saying, "I love you."
"Love you too, mama." Raven replied before letting go and heading upstairs herself.
Discord himself stood up, waving his talon to keep the fire to a low flame so it won't burn the cottage down as they sleep. "We should probably head up as well."
"Of course, love." Fluttershy said, following him as he headed upstairs.
As the cold winds carried on through the night, the Chaos family were all snuggled up in their beds without a care in all of Equestria.