The Deal · 2:03pm Apr 15th, 2020
Can't sleep. Checked my bank account. Buncha bucks in there from the government. Immediately spent it. All of it. On pulling myself out of debt. Woo, that's a nice little dent if I do say so myself. But now I'm feeling a weird buyer's remorse. Like, maybe I could have spent it on stuff for me instead? In the long run, this will make me happier, but I'm young and dumb, darn it! I was instant gratification and I want it now!! So I'm stewing over my decision to be responsible. Anyway, have a 3 A.M Rarity short.
The vibrant life of Ponyville brimmed and bustled underneath the lone tree standing stop Horlick's Hill, along with a single stoic filly. Diamond Dancer was not a particularly large fan of the daylight, but she had to admit, there was a certain beauty in the way the town glowed in the glittering rays of light the sun provided. It was not the luminescence of Luna's divine touch, but it was pretty enough. She squinted her eyes, gazing down at the numerous ponies scurrying to and fro throughout the town, her vantage point along with her enhanced vision afforded her an impeccable view of the ongoing in town, and nothing escaped her sight. Lyra and Bon-Bon were outside of Bon-Bon's candy shop, arguing about something and while Diamond's hearing was better than most, it wasn't enough to pick up their conversation clear across town, but their body language spoke in volumes. A few blocks over, Dinky was headed out of the library her nose trapped in a book, like usual, and Pinkie Pie was bouncing down the street towards Sugar Cube Corner. Naturally.
Diamond drew in a quiet sigh and lapped her lips, watching the pink pony vanish into the bakery. It was Tuesday, That meant there would be lemon cupcakes and tarts in the display case in the front. Diamond sighed again and did her best to bite back a yawn threaten to split her muzzle open. Rarely did she find herself up during the day and especially not in the afternoons. For her, it felt as if an eternity has passed, but in reality, it had been only hours since her elder brother had roused her from her dreams to drag her to Canterlot General. More tests to see if they could isolate the disease eating away at her. More blood to be drawn. More bad news to be had. Of course, they didn't find anything they could do to help. They never could.
A lonely groan drifted past the girl's lips and she leaned forward on the grassy knoll, casting her gaze across the numerous streets. Somewhere in all of that, she was sure there was a little orange pegasus dashing around on a scooter. Somewhere, down below, she and the other members of her trio were having an adventure, Diamond was sure. The silver filly squeezed her eyes shut and leaned back into a more comfortable position. After a trip to the hospital, Diamond never felt tired enough to seek out sleep. She had bid her brother quiet appreciation for the trip, but wandered off and out of the hug he set upon her to find somewhere quiet she could brood herself into boredom, which was where she found herself now. She let her eyes drift open again and drew her focus back on the town. Maybe she could spot the Cutie Mark Crusaders, if she looked hard enough. Or, if she were lucky, she could stumble upon Silver Spoon. Maybe she were in the market? There was always something going on the-
"If it isn't my favorite little chaos crafter..."
An icy trickle raced down Diamond's Spine, despite the summer heat and a groan tore its way from her pursed lips. She knew the voice that had burst into existence behind her. She did not like that voice. With a deadpanned expression twisting at her features, Diamond turned around slowly and peered across the hill behind her. She was not surprised to find nothing at all. No owner of the voice that had spoken, but she knew he was there. She was not at all shocked when the tree she had been resting under birthed a bright yellow eye from its bark, followed by a twin that peered down at her eagerly. Below it, a knot hole in the tree began to stretch and pull, tugging itself into a wide grin with a single long snaggled tooth cropping into existence. Diamond remained nonplussed.
"Go. Away." the filly hissed. The face in the tree vanished just as quickly as it appeared leaving the tree the way it had been when Diamond first settled underneath the shade of its branches. From behind it the elongated body of a snake stepped out, sporting a single antler and a strange sky blue protrusion that almost resembled a horn, but not quite. It had great white bushy eyebrows and a face that reminded Diamond Dancer of a donkey that had crossed with a dragon. A true mishmash of body parts, its left arm seemed to be that of a chicken's leg and the right had the grotesque, mutated appendage of a lion's paw. Behind it, grafted to its back, was a single flickering bat wing which had been matched with a dark blue bird wing that feverishly twitched like it were still attached to the bird it had been stolen from. A goat hoof and a lizard's leg bulged obscenely from its lower torso, and all of it accumulated into what appeared to be a dragon's tail. A nightmarish creature Diamond wished had only been confined to nightmares, but no, here in the broad of day it stood: Discord; God of Chaos.
"You look glum. What on earth could be bringing you doooooooown?" the creature asked, lowering its voice and octave with every second it held onto the word. Diamond scoffed and turned her attention back towards the town.
"Whadda want Discord, I'm busy," the filled moaned. Discord was grinning. Diamond could feel it. She didn't even have to look at him and she could feel it.
"An errand for Princess Luna no doubt. She's always got you doing something. You're her favorite little plot polisher after all. Why not take a break and relax. You know, do a little somethin' somethin' for you for a change?" the voice behind her cooed. Diamond scowled.
"Ain't interested. Beat it.," behind her, Discord vanished in a puff of smoke, only to reappear hovering next to her, gently creeping his way into her vision, his grin powerful and dominating his face.
"Ooooh Diamond, don't be like that. You're always so dedicated to princess fuddy-duddy. Working so very very hard. You deserve a reward, don't you think?" The creature cooed, twisting around to rest claw and talon atop Diamond's shoulders. The filly peered silently into town.
"My reward is gettin' to work for Princess Luna. S'all I want," Diamond mumbled. She could see Discord grinning out of the corner of her eye.
"Why, I don't believe that for a second, Diamond. Everypony wants something. It's just a matter of what. You want things too, you're just afraid to ask for them. Am I getting close?"
"Close to a black eye, maybe."
"Such a spicy little filly!"
"What do you want Discord?!"
"Why, I'm only here to offer you a little bit of guidance my young padawan,"
"Pada-what?"
"It means somepony who is in dire need of instruction. That is to say, I've noticed a significant lack of chaos energy coming from you, and yet you're brimming with it. I'm going to teach you how to use your star." Discord whispered and thrilled when he caught sight of Diamond's ears perking in surprise. The filly turned towards him eyes wide with shock and she clutched the tiny crystal jewel dangling from her neck.
"What?! You can teach me how to control my star power?!" She squawked. Discord grinned his snaggle-toothed grin and slowly began to circle the filly, stepping out of view when he strolled around behind her and when he came back into view he was wearing a bright blue business suit with a dark red tie.
"Well now that sounds like something you want. Would you like to make a deal, Diamond?" He asked smoothly. To Diamond's left, a large studio audience began chanting "DEAL, DEAL, DEAL, DEAL," Skeptically, the filly narrowed her eyes.
"A deal...?" she asked. Discord's grin grew wider still.
"Why...yes, I think so. You see, Princess Fuddy-Duddy and Princess Killjoy have this little issue about me causing chaos. They don't like it, which is a shame, because it is ever so amusing. It's what I 'do' Diamond, and they just won't let me have any fun at all. This is where you come in. I've noticed that little pebble around your neck there sheds chaos energy like heat. Quite a bit similar to my own brand of magic. Not quite as refined, but, eh, who's perfect. All you have to do is make a few wishes, cause a little chaos and let me watch. Oh, I've missed chaos...and in turn, you get to learn what wishes do what, and I'll help you figure out how to make the most out of your little trinket. Doesn't that sound like fun?" The deity purred, watching the filly fumble with the proposal. It tumbled over and over again in Diamond's mind and the filly frowned.
"But-"
"Ahh, I know what you're going to say. Don't worry, anything you do I can put back to normal with a snap of my fingers. " Discord explained, snapping his fingers for effect, which resulted in a loud roar of thunder. "So that means you can go nuts. Whatever your little heart desires...Anything at all...So whadda say...Wanna make a deal?" Discord grinned. Diamond gave a whimper...
* * * Twenty minutes later * * *
"WHY THE BUCK IS IT RAINING SPAGHETTI?!" Bon-Bon screamed while Lyra happily slurped at the dancing noodles pouring from the sky.
As somepony older and regrettably wise, you did the right thing.
As somepony younger with absolutely no concept of money, you did the right thing.
You did the best and most responsible thing, Rarity. Yes, adulting is not always fun, but as you said, in the long run, you'll be a happier.
I hope Luna doesn't scold Diamond too much. She does need to learn how to use her star's power. Luna, I think, rather enjoys Discord, though she doesn't always like his immaturity. She'd never admit that, though.
Re: your money choice- yes, that's the right decision. Buyer's remorse feeling is normal, but you'll be very happy later on that you did it. Credit score stuff, etc.