"Stop doing that, Fluttershy!"
"S-sorry! But... What am I doing wrong, Dash?"
"You are looking cute, too cute. He is going to choose you for sure!"
"Oh no, what do I do?"
"Stop doing it!"
"O-ok... Like this?"
"Stop! You are even cuter now!"
"Oh no!"
"You should just... Wait, where did you find that?"
At ten in the morning, the throne room was filled with ponies. The marble floor with its chaotic yet visually pleasing motive, the huge columns with golden discord statues depicting the draconeequs climbing around them and even the stained glass windows (some depicting the salient moments of Discord's reign, some simply showing him spreading his chaos) were for everyone to see. Being there was already somehow of an honour, as no public celebration actually happened inside the castle. Only Discord and his advisor, and sometimes Equestrian or foreign delegates, could have access to the room. But today, it kind of looked like a big party.
Actually, at ten o' clock everyone was standing in line, orderly. But as the minutes passed, and the time became fifteen past then, some ponies started some small chats with those neighbouring them. It started at simple talks among friends, as the ponies were divided by their delegation, but then when the bell Canterlot clock tower tolled the half hour, a few candidates had started moving in the room and a few new friendships were possibly blooming even between ponies from different cities.
"Don't worry, everyone, His super-duper majesty..." That was, actually, an official title. "Will be here soon!" She knew Discord would never be on time, as it was somehow against his policies, and expected a healthy 20 minutes delay. Maybe even less, as his king seemed quite excited for the matter. But he was seriously running late, and she was getting a bit worried. In another ten minutes, maybe she would just go check on him.
For now, though, she wasn't too displeased with what she was seeing. Most ponies had stopped feeling wary around her, and almost everypony had forgotten the 4 guards at the corner of the room and the 2 close to the door. They were finally relaxed, more or less as she hoped them to be, and were chatting freely. Some were actually showing to be quite remarkable in the matter, too, just like a white unicorn from the Ponyville delegation.
A mare of average build, slightly on the petite side, which wore possibly the prettiest dress out of all the candidates. Her mane was also styled in an exceptional manner, swirly and elegant as no other, so much so that Pinkie wondered how she managed to make it right after waking up in the time she had that morning. What she really appreciated, though, was how despite these elements she wasn't stiff and cold like many nobles or rich ponies, but on the contrary fairly friendly. She was quite talkative and seemed to know already many ponies from other delegations. And even those she didn't know she could easily approach and win over. Somehow, it had become some sort of social event. And that encouraged many other ponies to come out of their shell a bit, and just have a chat to ease the wait. Everything was somehow smoother than Pinkie expected, somehow.
"Ponies of Equestria!" A thunderous voice was heard into the room, although it was impossible to understand where it came from. Suddenly, all the golden statues of Discord detached themselves from the columns, starting to move autonomously, and quickly got to the ground, kneeling with their head pointed to the throne "The one, the only" Many were startled by the sudden event, and many didn't expect something like this was possible. That was beyond what unicorn magic could do. Possibly, even beyond alicorn magic. "Ruler of this land" The point of origin of the voice was becoming more and more definite in the position of the throne. "His super-duper majesty..." A sourceless drumroll could suddenly be heard, and as if some spotlight were in the room, some cones of light started to point in the approximate direction of the throne, moving around a bit and finally all overlapped on the exact position. "King Discord is here!" An explosion of confetti anticipated its sudden appearance.
With such a grandiose entrance, it was obvious that all eyes would be pointed on him. And the imposing voice did his part in having everyone stiffen a little bit. The unorthodox figure of the draconeequs, huge compared to a pony and with his mismatched body parts, was quite frightening for some and at least startling for almost everyone. few there had ever had the chance to give him such a close look. As for Pinkie, for just a moment she had a cold sweat. The intimidating persona he was showing might not have been the greatest to impress a potential wife. But as said, that was just for a moment.
Many looks the ponies gave him were quickly switched from frightened to perplexed. "What? Do I have something between my teeth?" Discord himself feigned perplexity, before looking at his own body. There was a large pink pyjama on it, matched with a small pink night cape on his head "Oops!" With a snap of his talon, the pyjama was poofed out of existence and with his paw, he quickly tossed the cap behind the throne. When it was removed, it revealed the (much larger) crown underneath.
Pinkie breathed a sigh of relief, as most of the ponies in the room were starting to relax a bit. Some even started giggling, although they soon tried regaining some composure. Although still wary, most were starting to get a bit curious about their potential spouse. In the meantime, the lord of chaos was smiling, and with a gesture he sent his golden copies back in their place. they didn't even make a fuss... Rarely Pinkie had seen him in such a good mood. Would it last?
"All jokes aside, we are here for a reason, aren't we?" Giving a small wink to the crowd he waved his paw in the air for a while, then stopping it. "You" His single extended claw was aiming at a blue unicorn from Canterlot. He rotated his wrist so that his paws would point at the ceiling, and then quickly the finger went to point himself, as he was hinting at her she should come close. She didn't even have to move a muscle, almost before she realized what was happening she was at no more than a foreleg from him.
"W... Wow" the surprise of being teleported (she didn't even think it was possible to teleport someone from many meters away) mixed with the one from seeing Discord so close to herself. The realization that in a week he could have become her husband hit her suddenly, making her blush a little."Uhm... Hi?"
"She is Minuette, from Canterlot!" Minuette was startled as Pinkie Pie suddenly appeared beside Discord, with some notes held in her left forehoof. She was ready to give his ruler all her support, and to calm him a bit if it was to come to it. She wasn't too worried, though. She was among the top three of the Canterlot candidates, in her opinion.
"Thank you, Pinkie!" With a large smile, the Draconeequs looked at his advisor and gently patted her poofy mane with his paw. "So..." His head turned back to the unicorn though, as she and everyone else were basically holding their breath "Why did you decide to give this a try?" His expression was initially quite neutral, almost serious, but then he cracked a smile again "besides me being irresistible, I mean!" His eyelashes suddenly became much longer, and he winked twice... Seductively?
"Well..." It was a weird display, but it kind of helped her relax a bit "My parents have been pestering me forever about finding a boyfriend, and marrying and..." She swallowed a bit, embarrassed "Foals, and everything. And when the news his super-duper majesty was searching a spouse came I they suggested me to try..." She now started blushing a bit "And I thought... Maybe... It could work out...?"
"I see..." Discord was simply smiling. When he did see her blush, his smile became larger for just a moment but went back to normal right afterwards. "..." To be fair, Discord was as new as this as she was. He actually wasn't really sure what he should ask. "Well, tell me something else about you!"
"I am Minuette... I love hanging out with my friends, making new friends and... Comedy shows and..." She wasn't sure where her answer was going to go. She was basically just telling whatever she could think of. At least, Discord encouraging nods helped her go on "Oh, and about my job... I'm a dentis-"
Every eye in the room became wide open. Some were shivering, some looked like they wanted to scream. Minuette didn't even have the chance to finish her phrase. She had vanished, without leaving a sign. not a flash, not even a bunch of confetti, like Discord did earlier. Yet the culprit was easy to identify, as Discord's expression was now unamused and even grumpy. "I hate dentists!"
Pinkie reaction was quite different. As soon as she noticed what happen, she simply facehoofed herself. After a few seconds, she spoke calmly and with a clear voice "Don't worry, everypony!" It was not an easy order to follow "His super-duper majesty simply sent her away. I hope somewhere here in Canterlot...?"
"I was thinking of the Frozen North, but I'm too magnanimous. She's in Canterlot main square" A few breaths of relief were heard, although not everypony actually trusted the King on this.
"And now he is going to bring her back"
The confidence with which she spoke surprised everyone but one: Discord. More than surprised, he seemed to be getting angry. She turned to her, almost baring his teeth. "What? I'm not!" A roar, to which he followed shortly, giving her a cold stare "She deserved it! She was being boring. And a dentist, on top of that!"
The pink pony stood her ground, looking at Discord right in the eyes, without faltering. There was a strong sense of disappointment in her look. "You know what she deserves? To hear from you why you rejected her. And an apology!"
"I am the king. I am the lord of chaos. I am Discord!" His voice was strong and quite intimidating, almost powerful enough to shake the very walls of the room. "I owe nothing to anypony. And I do whatever I want"
But Pinkie was not scared. Just. Sad "Then... Do you want to be a big meanie?" Her ears lowered a bit, the mane seemed to be somehow deflating. And her sad-puppy-eyes stare was still pointed straight to Discord. And he just couldn't resist that.
"I... I..." For a moment, his very anger seemed to fade in front of that display. he sighed, and then spoke with a somehow upset tone "Fine!"
In less then a moment, Minuette was back, looking even more confused than before "W-what?" She seemed to have so many question, and that in a moment she would start asking them.
But discord didn't want to lose time, and simply put a paw on her lips, clearly hinting it wasn't time to speak "Listen, pony..."
"Minuette", Pinkie whispered
"Minuette." Discord corrected himself "I'm sorry I sent you away with no explanations. I just... Wasn't feeling the... Connection, or something like that. Also, I don't like dentists" The excuse left a lot to be desired, but it was impossible to hope for more "Now I'll send you back to Canterlot main square. thank you for coming, though." And then she vanished again, without even having the time to say a word.
Then, under the gaze of more than a hundred absolutely incredulous ponies, many of which with their jaw open, discord asked (looking like a child who just got scolded) "Better?"
Just to receive a prompt answer from a now beaming Pinkie Pie "Much, much better! Who's next?"