//------------------------------// // 19. Tempest's Show // Story: Like Fireworks in the Sky // by SpyroForLife //------------------------------// Discord and Trixie’s routine was stunning, to say the least. She escaped every contraption he put her in, and at one point even had her tied to a table, which he drew a curtain around while they could hear her struggling. High above the table was a panel of jagged spikes, and Discord let out an evil laugh as he said, “Now I’ve finally got you!” He pulled a rope, and the spikes dropped. Everyone tensed as they disappeared behind the curtain and then reappeared from the bottom, seemingly having destroyed the table. Discord drew the curtain back, and they saw empty straps and Trixie missing, only her hat remaining on the floor. Everyone in the audience looked for her while Discord seemed puzzled. He picked up the hat, and she leaped out of it and clocked him in the snout. “Oof! Okay, it seems I’ve met my match,” he said dramatically. He held her at bay with a hand. “You may go free.” She stepped back, standing on her hind legs so they could both bow respectfully to each other. Then Discord set her hat back on her head and wrapped his arm around her back, turning to the audience. “And that’s our show!” Trixie called. Everyone applauded, and she took a bow with Discord. “I hope you enjoyed our magical feats,” Discord said as the storm creatures started getting up. “Yes, thank you so much, you’ve been a wonderful audience,” Trixie said. She glanced at Discord, and said, “Wait, there’s something in your ear.” “Hm?” He looked at her, and she reached a hoof carefully up to his ear… and pulled out the ace of spades. The remaining audience members absolutely lost it at that, and even Tempest found herself laughing hysterically. It never got old. She went up to the stage, while Capper excused himself to go get food. “You guys were great!” she said, taking Discord’s hands. “Thank you!” he replied, pleased. “Discord is a wonderful stage mate,” Trixie said, pulling over a box Discord had set aside earlier. “He can do practically anything! And such showmanship. Ooh, fireworks!” Tempest looked over in interest, and Discord said, “Oh, I was going to set those off later once it gets dark.” “I’ve always loved fireworks,” Tempest admitted. “They’re lovely, aren’t they?” Trixie lifted out a rocket, examining it. Then she looked at Tempest. “I saw the ones you made at the Festival of Friendship, they were gorgeous.” Tempest blushed. “Oh, well…” “You made fireworks?” Discord asked her. “You’ve got to show me sometime!” “Oh, ah… maybe one day.” “Why not tonight? It’ll be perfect!” She smiled. “Maybe. We’ll see.” She looked at Trixie. “So how are things back in Equestria?” “Oh, fantastic. I had a great show in Las Pegasus! I got to see my dad again, which is nice, he does so much traveling it’s hard to keep up with him but he seems pretty settled in Las Pegasus now. I also visit Ponyville often to see Starlight, she’s really getting good at being a guidance counselor, but she can get so concerned for her students, it’s adorable. She’s such a sweet pony, so helpful.” Tempest chuckled. “I’m glad she’s getting used to the job. How about the others? Twilight and her friends?” Trixie thought about it, continuing to dig through the box of fireworks. “They’re all teaching their classes as usual. Their students are learning a lot and the school is very popular. Um, Rainbow Dash has a boyfriend now, and Fluttershy’s been working with some eco geek pony to make her animal sanctuary even better. Oh what was her name, Tree Friend or Ground Hugger or something…” “Tree Hugger?” Discord asked. “That’s it!” Trixie finally put the box aside. “Her name’s Tree Hugger! She’s a bit weird, but she’s so nice and Fluttershy seems to enjoy spending time with her.” Discord groaned. “Ugh.” Tempest cast him a curious look, and he said, “I mean, she’s great! I just… well we have some bad history.” “Story time?” Tempest asked. “There’s not much of a story. Fluttershy became friends with her while off visiting the Breezies. She’s part of the Equestrian Society for the Preservation of Rare Creatures. They really hit it off and Fluttershy was going to take her to the Grand Galloping Gala, while I was hoping she’d take me instead.” “Aww, Discord, were you jealous?” Trixie teased. Discord huffed, but also blushed, which Tempest found endearing. “Yes, I was,” he admitted. “Of course I ended up getting my own ticket, it was just late. So to try and get back at Fluttershy, I brought my own very good friend, the Smooze. He uh, wasn’t a good guest. Of course Fluttershy didn’t quite pick up on my jealousy until later, when I threatened to throw Tree Hugger into an alternate dimension.” “Of course you did,” Tempest said. “Fluttershy ended up yelling at me, which is always a shock coming from her. But she explained that sometimes ponies like having different friends for different things, and likened it to if I got a friend I could talk about chaos magic with, would I stop being friends with her? Of course not. So. Yes, I realized what an ass I was being and apologized to Tree Hugger. Luckily she’s so mellow she didn’t mind.” “No offense to Tree Hugger, but like.” Trixie leaned in and whispered, “I think she’s a stoner.” Discord snorted. “Of course she is but who am I to judge? She does incredible work taking care of endangered animals all over Equestria… and she likes to go home and hit the blunt in the same way many of us gulp down whiskey or moonshine. No problems here.” “Oh. Huh.” Trixie seemed surprised. Tempest said, “Discord doesn’t care about drug use as long as the person isn’t actually harming themselves with it.” “Live and let live is my philosophy,” Discord explained. “I guess I can’t argue with that. Well, that’s what I’ve seen going on around Ponyville, but I don’t hang out with many ponies there. Mostly Starlight.” Trixie pawed at the stage, blushing lightly. “In fact, I kinda need to get back because we’re going out for dinner tonight.” “Of course, let me get you a portal.” Discord opened one for her. “Thanks for helping me out.” “No problem, we should do it again some time. See you around.” Trixie hopped through and the portal disappeared. After a moment, Tempest said, “She is totally crushing on Starlight.” “Oh I know, it’s so obvious!” “Rainbow with a boyfriend though, huh, I wonder who.” Discord shrugged, stepping down from the stage. “Probably one of the Wonderbolts. She always seemed to have a thing for Soarin.” “Yeah, she could be with him. Or Thunderlane.” “Guess we’ll find out when we go home. Well, let’s get more food.” They hung out and listened to music for the rest of the evening, chatting with other citizens, sometimes getting up to dance. Someone had provided wine, which Tempest had a few glasses of. It didn’t really affect her much, but it did give her a pleasant buzz. Once the Sun finally started to set, Discord decided to get the fireworks ready. He pulled out his box and headed off to the side of the party. Tempest noted that someone else had already taken it upon themselves to start a bonfire, and several people were roasting marshmallows and hot dogs around it. She checked to make sure it was safe, then went to help Discord. He placed down a colorful box, digging it into the sand slightly to keep it stable. “This one’s a fountain,” he said, lighting it. They stepped back, and bright sparks flew up out of the box, looking much like a water fountain. They watched in awe, and it was enough to get people’s attention. “We wanted to end off the night with fireworks!” Discord called, encouraging them over. “We’re going to start with some small ones, then move up to mortars! But first, parents… how about some sparklers for the young ones? Or even for yourself, I don’t judge.” He was swamped by people trying to get sparklers. Tempest laughed as he summoned boxes and handed them out, and moved away to place down the next fountain firework. She lit it with a fire spell and backed away. This one was much like the other but its sparks flew higher and were bright purple. Definitely a favorite, and she checked the brand so she could buy another some time. Freeing himself from the crowd, which was now lighting up the sparklers and playing with them, Discord joined Tempest in lighting fireworks. There were many different fountains, in all colors, as well as bottle rockets, and ones that flashed so bright they left a glare in everyone’s eyes. But finally Discord got out the mortars. He loaded them one at a time into a specially made tube, lighting them and shooting them high into the air. They exploded into huge pinwheels, with a pleasant sizzle as the colors drifted down. Some were more like starbursts, and others round. All in dazzling shades of green, purple, blue, and red. Soon almost everyone had sat down, snacks in hand to just watch in amazement, cheering at the really pretty ones. Discord handled most of the launching, so Tempest just sat down too, joined by Capper. “Mm, fish sticks?” he asked, offering her a plate. “Don’t mind if I do.” Everything was good deep fried. Tempest took about three of them. “We haven’t had a party like this in quite some time,” Capper said, gazing into the sky. “Thanks for throwing it.” “Oh, don’t thank me, thank Curly and the other storm creatures, they wanted to have it.” “Yeah, but they’ve succeeded thanks to your guidance. So you deserve the praise too.” Tempest looked around at all the happy storm creatures, and smiled. “I guess so.” It took several minutes, but Discord finally ran out of fireworks. There were some disappointed sighs, and Discord called, “Not to worry, the grand finale is coming up! Tempest, could you come here?” She hesitated, but Capper encouraged her, and she got up. “Alright, I want to see those fireworks I heard so much about from Fluttershy,” Discord said once she was next to him. “You were already amazing with them, but now that you’ve been strengthening your magic, I want to see what you can really do.” Her chest glowed with admiration for him, and she aimed her horn at the sky, taking a deep breath as she gathered up her magic. Then she fired a ray high into the air, closing her eyes as she focused. Then she opened them, in time to see a brilliant burst of magical green light far more beautiful than the simple gunpowder fireworks Discord had used. The crowd let out awed gasps, especially as her magic started a chain reaction, other large bursts of color filling the night sky, casting light over them all. One burst would lead to another, and each one was a different color of the rainbow. All intense and dazzling. Discord took Tempest’s hoof as he watched, and she pulled his paw closer to her, her other hoof petting it gently. “You’re one of the most talented ponies I’ve ever met,” Discord said. Tempest fired another set of fireworks, and blushed, looking away. “It’s just fireworks. Just controlled magical explosions, which I’ve been doing ever since I broke my horn.” “Yeah? Well, controlled magical explosions sure are beautiful.” Discord watched them for a while, then looked down. “I suppose it’s no surprise though that such a beautiful pony makes such beautiful magic.” Tempest’s face heated up. She stared at him, pulling her hooves away. “O-oh.” He rubbed his neck. “I’m sorry, was that too honest?” “No, I just… I’ve never been called beautiful, I… wow.” Her heart was beating hard. “Well, you are, and it’s a shame that no one has told you so.” Discord gazed into her eyes. “Especially with the fireworks reflected in your eyes.” He leaned back, chuckling. “Oh listen to me, getting all sappy and poetic.” “No, I…” She turned his face back toward her. “I appreciate it. Thank you.” He smiled, and she admired how it just made his whole face light up. Discord may look strange, different from a pony, but he was handsome and she could just see the intelligence and playfulness gleaming from his wide eyes. That affection she’s been examining for the past several days reared its head, and suddenly she realized. She wanted to be with Discord, and she knew he wanted to be with her. In the dying light of the last fireworks, she leaned in and gave him a kiss.