The apartment next door to him always seemed to be empty. Strangely void of life in the almost begrudgingly vibrant neighbourhood Discord vaguely called home. He would look over at the vacant balcony next to his and wonder how no one even looked at the place. It was small but nice; a good apartment for anyone starting up on their own. But it remained empty.
That is until one early Spring morning when he noticed a small glass table and a multitude of plants sitting all around the small space.
"Well it's about time someone rented the place," he muttered, sipping over-sugared coffee from a probably dirty cup.
That someone came in the form of a petite, pretty young lady carrying a wicker chair onto the balcony: willowy and slender, but with lean muscles and light pink hair tied back in a high ponytail. She wore a green T-shirt and light brown cargo pants, and a small white bunny followed behind her. Discord blinked, making sure his eyes didn't deceive him. The girl had disappeared, but the chair, plants and the white rabbit remained. The rabbit, though tiny and fluffy, was legitimately glaring at him.
He had been to Tartarus and back and that was the most unsettling sights he had seen; he couldn't look away. So he and rabbit stayed locked like that for what felt like at least five minutes before a soft voice broke the stare-down.
"Angel! Be nice," the young woman said, gently scooping him up. Angel shot him one last glare before nuzzling under her chin, causing her to giggle before turning back to Discord. "Sorry about Angel! He can be a little bit...aggressive sometimes."
He hummed in response, nodding his head. They stood there in silence for a minute, her shuffling her feet slightly, and shifting the bunny in her arms, and him waiting for her to continue. When she realized he wasn't going to say anything, she blushed, and quietly spoke again.
"My name's Fluttershy. I, um, just moved in, but that's probably obvious, isn't it?"
"A little bit," he replied. "I'm Discord. I'm your neighbour, obviously, um..."
He paused. He never had introduced himself to anyone in the building personally, and he had no idea how to continue.
"Er...Welcome to the neighbourhood, have fun, don't grow any weed unless you share it with everyone else, and um, be careful with the plants? Have a good day bye."
And he ducked back inside and smacked his forehead with a hand.
"Nice going, Dipcord," he hissed, levitating the cup over to the sink."You royally screwed the pooch on that one. Don't grow weed? Did you seriously say that to her?"
As he spoke to himself with increasing levels of embarrassment and beratement, he quickly dressed into a shiny, almost costume-like tuxedo, complete with a satin top hat and cape. Grabbing his box of tricks, he quickly headed out the door, not bothering to lock it. People knew better than to break into his rooms. He considered teleporting to the event he was heading to, as his moped was unfortunately in the shop after an incident with a pothole, but opted for a taxi instead.
'Easier that way,' he thought, hailing a cab. As he boarded and sped away, Fluttershy stood in her apartment, full of boxes, plants, and furniture, and laughed at her first encounter with her neighbour.
"That was cute," she giggled. "Maybe this will be alright, huh Angel Bunny?"
The rabbit gave as noncommittal a response a bunny could give before curling up into his little bed, leaving her to unpack, though he wouldn't be much help anyway, tiny paws and all.
By the time everything was mostly squared away and her bed was set up for the most part, it was almost nightfall, and Fluttershy, though it was a nice night, curled up in bed and simply passed out, clothes and all.
Discord came back into his own apartment around the same time, tossing the hat, cape and jacket onto a chair. As he opened the balcony door, he tossed his tie behind him and unbuttoned the first few buttons on his shirt before stepping out into the cool darkness of the night. The city lights were dim, making the stars and moon stand out against the inky blue sky, providing the light that the street lamps didn't. He leaned against the railing and scanned the skyline, eyes roaming from the party district with its neon signs to the bourgeoisie historic district with the creamy marble buildings. And just past he could see the palace, golden and bright like a beacon. He turned his head away, eyes settling on the next door balcony. It looked like someone had transplanted a section of the woods onto the concrete and metal platform, and it unsettled him for a moment, not used to the vibrant young splashes of spring; it was strange to see life in that barren spot. Discord yawned, rolling his shoulders, and after casting one last glance at the skyline, headed back into his dark apartment.
The next morning, Discord walked back into the same space, armed with a newspaper as a shield at his side. He could barely read the print though- not that there were many prints he could read without turning the words upside down - it looked like someone had very easily failed, or at least barely past graphic design. It was better than it was when it started, admittedly…at least it was all the same font. He blinked a few times, the bright early morning sun blinding him for a moment as his eyes adjusted. He cast a quick glance over at the neighboring balcony, per the norm with his mornings, only to snap his attention back when he noticed Fluttershy sitting on the small wicker chair, trying to make out the uneven font herself. Discord saw her glance out the corner of her eye at him, and she jumped, letting out a startled little squeak as the paper fell to her slippered feet.
“O-oh! Discord! Good morning,” she chirped with a shy grin, gathering the paper up quickly. He nodded, all but flopping into the settee he managed to squeeze onto the porch.
“I do apologize if I startled you, Fluttershy,” he replied, flicking open the paper upside down as purposefully as he could manage without tearing the pages. Learned that the hard way.
“Oh no no, it’s fine,” she said softly. “I’m just a little bit of a jumpy person is all.”
“Oh? I’ll be more cautious next time,” he said, throwing her a grin from above his paper. Fluttershy smiled in turn, before tilting her head in confusion, examining his paper.
“Are you reading the paper upside down?”
“Hmm?”
“I don’t mean to be nosy! Just...I can barely read this right side up, how can you do it like that?” she said, voice growing quiet. Discord shook his head, lowering his paper.
“I can barely read it this way, but I have a thing with my vision, it’s actually a little difficult to explain... it’s just harder to read the “normal way”, so I had to figure out something else and upside down worked! It’s not that bad in the long run,” he explained with a wave of the hand. “Illustrations look a little weird, I’ll admit.”
She giggled behind her hand, but quickly coughed, looking away. Discord smiled, the only thought in his head that he got her to laugh, and that it was kind of adorable.
“Sorry! I didn’t mean to be rude,” she murmured, tugging at a lock of hair.
“You weren’t. I was, in fact, trying to make you laugh,” he replied, and a look of relief flooded her features.
“Well, thank you!” she said, quickly glancing inside her apartment. “Oh my! It’s getting late- I have to go! I hope you have a nice day, Discord. Bye!”
She quickly waved before ducking inside. He waved back, before looking down at his own watch that haphazardly hung from his belt.
Half past one.
Of course, that was completely false; it was more along the lines of seven or eight. The old clock never gave the correct time-usually about six-ish hours ahead. Or behind. Discord shrugged, slipping it into his pocket, and folded up the paper into a long paper plane. With a flick of the wrist, it sailed over the barely awake street below to land on the building across from him.
Whatever kind of paper it was, it sure as sugar was aerodynamic.