//------------------------------// // Prologue: Preparations // Story: The Foal Six // by Matt11 //------------------------------// “Family.” There was that funny word again, popping up in Discord’s mind at the most unexpected of times as it often did. The reformed spirit of chaos and disharmony wasn’t exactly sure why that word so fascinated and amused him. It was not something he had ever given even a passing thought to even long after he’d become reformed. Friends, he got that. Friendship was a concept he’d once dismissed out of claw, convinced he had no need for it only to realize he did (and also wanted it). But what of family? Ever since he could remember, the draconequus never had one. Maybe he’d had parents at one point and maybe he’d never had them, he couldn’t remember and he couldn’t care a bit if he did. So why was family on his mind once again? That was something that puzzled even him, a creature who relished in the things that made no sense and defied explanation. Maybe the events over the previous Hearth’s Warming had touched off something inside him? He could distinctly remember noticing Flurry Heart and her parents, how cute and innocent the child seemed to be despite her ability to cause trouble. But it wasn’t like it was the first time he had ever seen a foal, far from it. Despite infrequent appearances in Ponyville since his reformation the spirit had seen plenty of foals roaming around. Some were the same age as the Cutie Mark Crusaders if not older, some had their cutie marks and others did not. They would usually be the ones playing games and talking with each other. Other foals were much younger, Discord noticing that they never left their parents’ side for more than a minute or two. And he’d come to learn all about the things that apparently were needed to care for these younger foals or babies as they were called. Diapers, strollers, pacifiers, rattles, terms like that were not alien to him. All of them could be tied to family. “That must be it!” The spirit finally realized one day while in the process of dirtying his dishes and putting dust bunnies under his couches. “I want a family. I want to have little chaos makers of my own running around.” However there was one problem that got in the way. In order to have a family and especially to have foals, one needed to have someone with whom they were in love with. Of course there was also adoption, but something told Discord that on his own he was not likely to be approved (assuming whoever was in charge of the adoption process even bothered to stick around). Did that stop the draconequus? Of course not! He was Discord, he always found a way to make the impossible possible! If he wanted a family he would have one way or another. “Well, if I’m going to raise a family of my very own I might as well get everything needed to take care of these ‘babies’,” Discord said to himself and snapped his talons, dawning a rather lavish dress with a red leather purse that hung over the shoulder. Then he teleported out of his dimension and into Ponyville proper. “Lucky for me I know just the place to shop. The local foal store!” The foal store (the exact name of it escaped Discord for the time being) despite its modest outward appearance, was a sight to behold on the inside. The tiled floors were colored in alternating panels of baby blue and baby pink with the walls and ceiling being solid pink and blue stripes. The isles stretched on for what seemed like forever, stocked to the brim with foal supplies of every size, variety, and brand possible. And several cheerful ponies wearing light yellow uniforms worked the registers, scanning the products of customers whether they were with a child, an older pony, or just themselves. The spirit noticed an abandoned shopping cart near the front of the store. “Well if no one else is gonna use it, I might as well take it,” He said as he snapped his talons and the cart rolled over to him. “Now let’s do some serious shopping! No aisle will be left unturned!” With a hearty laugh the draconequus rolled his cart down the isles one by one, stopping as needed to admire the loads of merchandise that seemed to have no end to them. Whenever something caught his eye, he just snapped his talons and it floated down from its shelf and into his cart. He bought everything and anything! Foal food, cribs, changing tables, toys, pacifiers, and diapers of course. But he also bought some items that seemed “optional” for some foals. Things like foal bouncers and even a training potty. He didn’t really know why he might need them for he had only a vague idea of what they were intended for, but Discord wanted to be prepared. For his first ever family he would spare no expense, his foals would have only the very best that magic could buy! One might think that the huge amounts of supplies he was buying would cause Discord’s cart to overflow, but the wity spirit was prepared for such an occasion. Snapping his talons, he shrank everything down to almost microscopic size. “Got to safe enough room for all.” He told himself. He didn’t care that ponies could hear him talking to himself, they thought he was weird anyway. At last the chaotic shopping spree came to an end. Discord waited impatiently in line until it was his turn at the register. He effortlessly removed all the things from his cart, watching as they were scanned and bagged, all the while paying no attention to the increasing price as it continued to go higher and higher. “You’re sure you want all of this?” A familiar looking cream colored earth pony questioned. “You planning to donate to an orphanage or something?” “Oh no no no,” Discord shook his head. “It’s all for myself. And I assure you I have a need for every last thing. By the way, do I know you from somewhere? I feel like I’ve seen you around before.” The earth pony mare shook her head. “I assure you you’re imagining things. We’ve never met. I’m just taking this job because my best friend told me it pays well. Speaking of pay, your total comes to five hundred and fifty five bits. Hope you’ve brought enough money.” “Did I ever!” Discord declared as he grabbed the purse from his lavish dress and opened it up, proceeding to pull out a massive treasure chest and a key. He inserted the key into the lock and the chest opened up, revealing an entire stash of bits! “Keep the change!” He told the clerk as he secured his stuff and exited with a snap of his talons. Returning to his house in his dimension, Discord unpacked all the foal supplies and quickly set to work on putting everything in its proper place. The different jars of foal food were stuffed into the fridge with no rhyme or reason to their placement. The bottles were put in a cabinet above the kitchen sink and the dishes that had yet to be dirtied. The “optional” things he put beneath the sofa, intending to get to them whenever he could be bothered to find out what they were for. Lastly, he set up the cribs and the changing table in the back room of his house, turning it into a nursery. And he made sure to store the diapers and changing supplies inside the changing table’s drawers for easy access. Now came the hard part. “I really hate to do this, it’s such lovely chaos,” Discord told himself as he eyed the chaotic state of his house, including things like the floating furniture and the stairs that led to nowhere. “But if I’m going to have little ones running around this place, I simply can’t risk any accidents. This realm contains many horrors not safe for foals and letting them be exposed to them would be a big no no.” With that, Discord summoned copies of himself and instructed them to get the place foal proofed. Though with one specific instruction. “Don’t completely take away all the chaos. We don’t want another episode like the ‘normal’ catastrophe we had with Fluttershy.” So the copies set to work in their given tasks, completing the job in no time at all. They had left the stairs that led to nowhere alone and the chaseable lounge chair, but some of the more chaotic things like the portal had been covered up. At last everything was ready. Or it would be if not for one glaring problem that Discord still faced, he needed actual foals to care for. “Maybe I could borrow a foal or two for a while?” He thought to himself while he paced back and forth, deep in thought. “Or maybe there are some foals in need of a good home that I could provide?” But the spirit dismissed them out of claw. “I only know of two foals I could actually borrow, I don’t think the Cakes would want me anywhere near their little ones. And I’m certainly not going to ask if I can just take in some random foals from somewhere, everypony will either think it’s a prank or just ask me why I want them. So what’s a draconequus to do in a situation like this?” He asked himself. At last the idea came to him. “Of course! Why didn’t I just think of that in the first place?” He exclaimed in happiness. “They say friends are always there for you when you need them, and I most certainly need them now. The problem is, I don’t think they’ll just agree to be my foals and I didn’t buy foal supplies and toys in their size.” “Well there’s an easy fix to that,” Another version of Discord whispered. “You can pull off age spells without breaking a sweat. Just turn them into foals, they could all certainly use a break from their adult responsibilities anyway.” “True, but I can’t leave them stuck like that forever. And I can’t imagine they’d say yes.” Discord replied to the other version of himself. “Whoever said it’ll be permanent? Just turn them into foals for a day or two,” The other Discord suggested. “And you could always stretch the truth a bit. Easier to ask for their apology afterward rather than for their permission now.” Discord smiled. “Why thank you, me! I must say, we make a great team together.” “About time I get some recognition for my ideas!” The other Discord snorted in a hint of jealousy. Discord paid his other self no mind. “I already have the perfect pony in mind to be the first volunteer. Our good friend, Fluttershy.” He said to himself and began to make a plan.