//------------------------------// // Do Ya // Story: The Diary of Discord Wimp // by ThePianoMan //------------------------------// “Believe you can and…” -Teddy At the center of the now mown field in front of the shack, Discord focused his magic as he hovered above the ground. An amoebic form of colors and objects circled around him as he guided it with his lion’s paw and eagle claws. Sending it downward, the grass took on unusual colors and patterns. In all of these actions there was a stabilizing factor. Before the draconequus was his tape player, spinning out music with a distinctive beat. “Fascinating!” Twilight Sparkle took note of her observation. “He’s following the four over four count of the music. Discord, are you keeping track of that?” “Every song has a pattern.” Discord remarked. “You can feel it. Parts repeat, and lyrics have a structure behind them.” A young blonde filly around Twilight’s age piped up. “Is he one of them musical geniuses or somethin’?” Her orangish fur stood out against everything. Her eyes were as green as the grass. “Granny Smith always said some ponies had music in their blood.” “Applejack,” Rainbow hushed the filly up, “you’ll break his concentration.” Applejack muttered to herself. “Someone’s grumpy.” Rainbow narrowed her gaze at the filly. “What was that freckle face.” “Nothin’, rainbow butt.” Applejack yawned. “Are we just gonna watch him do that all day, Big Mac said you guys were supposed to be fun.” Discord hummed as he hid his paw behind his back and snapped it. A multicolored flower sprouted from the ground and hung over Rainbow. “Huh, what the-?” The flower opened, letting loose a small tide of rainbow fluid that covered her from head to hoof. “Ha! Rainbow butt!” Applejack fell over and rolled around in hysterical laughter. “Very funny, Discord.” Rainbow wiped her face off with a leg, but not before a flash of white cleaned her off completely. “Oh, thanks. Say, you’re getting pretty good at that.” Spike nodded as he finished the popcorn he was snacking on. “Agreed.” He offered some of the popcorn to Applejack who didn’t hesitate to accept. “This is definitely an improvement compared to Pigzilla.” “Pigzilla?” Applejack asked. Discord sighed. “She’s a flying pig I made appear. I turned her back into a normal pig, but I still need to find a home for her.” “Well,” Applejack rubbed her neck as she thought, “I don’t know about flying pigs, but my family keeps and feeds normal pigs. We just take ‘em to shows, so she’d be safe with us. And, you could come see her whenever you’d like.” “Thanks, Applejack.” Discord sighed again, in relief this time. “That would be wonderful.” This little revelation came as a great comfort to him, and he knew it would be to his mother as well. With that, he lost himself to the music again and closed his eyes. Listening to every beat, Discord began to dance with his magic carrying him. A dirt spiral staircase carried him up before he slid down a grassy slide that looped around a couple times before dropping discord onto a raised section of grass that had been divided into color changing squares. Each square he stepped on lit up a different color as he twirled and cross stepped. Flowers grew from the ground and opened up into spotlights that alternated between red and blue as they followed Discord. All of this, and it was a small sound that brought it all down, a gentle laugh. In a brilliant flash, everything vanished, returning to the normal mown grass from whence it came. Discord cleared his throat as he landed on his feet. Turning, he smiled at the pegasus who’s quiet laugh almost made him turn to stone. “Hello, Fluttershy.” “Hello, Discord.” Fluttershy came up to him from the opening marked by the pile of bikes. “That was really amazing.” Discord tugged at his collar, which was buzzing. “Heh, really? You think so?” Twilight deadpanned as she slapped her notebook shut and groaned. “Take five everybody.” “Does that mean I can talk now?” Applejack asked. Fluttershy giggled at that. “Is this really where you’ve been practicing? It’s so beautiful out here.” Like you. Discord smiled and couldn’t fight himself as he helplessly watched Fluttershy survey the sights and sounds around them. “Ah, why is it so bright?” Spike yelled. Rainbow covered her eyes. “Yeah, and where are these rose petals coming from?” Discord snapped his claws, removing the glare from the sun and the rain of rose petals. Fluttershy looked back at Discord, confused by everyone’s complaints. “I think that’s enough magic for one day, guys.” He didn’t understand how that magic happened without him actually thinking about it. Tugging at the collar, he grumbled about it not doing it’s job. Applejack stretched out. “What else are we gonna do? Can we walk around the woods behind this dusty old shack?” “Why?” Rainbow gestured to the tree line. “There’s nothing interesting in the Everfree.” Spike swallowed another mouthful of popcorn. “I heard there were ancient ruins in the Everfree. But, no one has ever found them. Supposedly there’s like a curse that keeps them hidden.” “No way.” Twilight snorted as she packed her notebook away in her saddle bag. “You’re just making that up.” “Hey,” Spike waved his claws, defensively, “it’s just what I heard from one of my dad’s work buddies.” “Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go!” Applejack took off into the woods. “Wait up!” Rainbow rushed after her. “Dang this kid is fast!” Twilight nudged Spike. “Come on.” Spike groaned as he sat up, taking his popcorn with him as he followed Twilight into the trees. “I guess we’re going into the woods.” Discord’s expression sunk a little as he saw Fluttershy’s face. “What’s wrong?” Fluttershy shivered as she stared at the treeline. “I-in t-there? Into the d-dark,” she gulped, “scarey f-forrest?” Discord reached out and rested his paw on her shoulder. “I’ll be there every step of the way. I won’t let anything happen, either. I promise.” Fluttershy stopped shivering. “Promise?” “Yeah.” Discord gave her his best smile. “I promise.” The two gradually made their way through the trees at a steady pace. Discord made sure he stayed next to Fluttershy as he followed a trail of hoofprints with the occasional piece of popcorn from Spike and feather from Rainbow. It wasn’t hard for him to stay close as he found that Fluttershy stayed within inches of him at all times. At a certain point, the trees became denser, and the light became more sparse. Trees and rocks looked like shadows. Discord found himself startled when he heard Twilight yelling about something up ahead. Hearing Spike laugh soon afterward quickly calmed him. “Ah!” Fluttershy shrieked as she dove behind Discord. Sharply turning, Discord faced the shadow of some large thing that almost looked like a wolf. “Oh.” He held back his laughter when he realized it was just a dead tree that had fallen over. Feeling Fluttershy shivering behind him, Discord held her shoulder. “Fear not m’lady, I shall defend you from this monster!” Discord snapped as he kicked the log into a spin and shaved it with a glowing sword. The log came to a steady halt, revealing a crude carved statue of a prancing pony. “Hmm, I think I’m a little out of practice.” “Wha-?” Fluttershy sighed before smiling up at Discord. “Hm.” She hummed a little laugh before she approached the newly formed statue and studied it. “I think it’s a great start.” Her form was still visibly shaking as she gathered up enough breath to say, “Thank you.” Discord shrugged. “I promised.” “You did.” Fluttershy beamed as she stepped a little closer to Discord. “Discord. I- uh-.” “Discord!” Spike’s voice rang through the trees. Discord’s heart began to race. “What is it Spike? What’s wrong?” He stood in front of Fluttershy, clutching his sword tighter. Twilights voice came. “You’re going to want to see this. Hurry up!” Discord snapped away the sword and statue, motioning for Fluttershy to come along. They ventured further to a point where light practically spilled through parts in a canopy that looked almost unnatural for the forest. The sounds were even different. The area was more akin to a jungle, complete with bright colored birds and vines that sprawled out across the ground. Discord noted that the birds were all the same red and orange colors, and they had a glow about them. “Woah.” Discord felt his breath fail him as he searched for words. Beyond Spike, Twilight, Rainbow, and Applejack lay a bridge leading to a ruin of stone work that had been overgrown for what looked like centuries. The bridge, though crumbling, had wood build over it to create a clear path. “Someone’s been here before!” Twilight declared. “These planks are newer than everything else.” Rainbow pointed to the stone structure. “That looks like a castle. Like, an actual castle.” She flew over the bridge. “Who wants to bet there’s treasure inside?” “Wait!” Twilight chased after Rainbow. “This could be an archeological site of great importance! You can’t just going around, raiding gold!” Spike rolled his eyes. “Relax Twi. It’s probably just a broken down amusement park that was abandoned.” The dragon groaned as he motioned for Applejack to follow. “Come on.” Discord nodded to Fluttershy as they too crossed the bridge and followed everyone up a winding path that ended at the base of a set of large stairs. These stairs led up to a tall set of double doors that curved up with the archway that framed them. Spike knocked on the doors. “Woah, that’s some hard wood.” He tried to push the door. “A little help?” Applejack sauntered up to the doors, turned around and pushed them open with one solid push. “Your welcome.” Rainbow’s jaw dropped at the display. “You’re one strong earth pony.” “Ah, shucks.” Applejack bashfully crossed her legs as she looked away from Rainbow. Twilight was the first to enter. “Okay everyone, whatever you do, don’t touch-.” Her mouth dropped at the sight of two banners. “Oh my goodness.” Twilight ran into and around a great hall, touching and observing everything in her path. “Do you guys know what this place is?!” Discord was about to answer before Twilight shouted over him. “It’s the Castle of the two sisters!” Twilight came up to a pedestal with five arms holding up stone spheres that were each marked with a specific symbol. “Wuh-. It’s the elements of harmony.” Discord felt a little sick as everyone entered. He lingered by the door. Something felt off, like he wasn’t supposed to be there. He was about to wait outside until a yellow leg, Fluttershy’s, pulled him inside through the door. Fluttershy squeezed Discord’s arm. “You’re okay, aren’t you?” Discord nodded. Having been invited in by Fluttershy, he felt a load of weight fall from his shoulders. “Hey.” Fluttershy looked around the empty hall. “Where did everybody go?” Discord studied the ground. He could make out a mess of footprints that went in different directions. “Uh, they must have split up.” Bending over, he looked closely at the ground, trying to follow a set. “This way.” Following what looked like Spike’s footprints and a set of hoof prints, Discord traced them along a set of stairs until they stopped all of a sudden. “Huh?” The prints he followed had completely stopped as if the ones they belonged to were plucked from reality. “What is it?” Fluttershy asked. Discord looked at the floor ahead, the walls, and even the ceiling. “They’re probably this way.” Fluttershy reared back looking all the same directions Discord had. “Are you sure?” “No.” Discord wasn’t going to lie to Fluttershy about it. He was already concerned enough just thinking about how all their friends had suddenly vanished. “But, I don’t see where else they could have gone.” “Okay.” Fluttershy nodded. “Let’s see where it goes.” They followed the stairs all the way up to a door. Testing the latch, Discord was able to open it and push the door open. On the other side was a sort of balcony hall that was open to the air. Stone vases held flowers that had well overgrown their homes. A number of the reddish birds were here as well, staring at the intruders for a passive moment before going back to whatever else they were doing. Fluttershy approached one of the birds. “Hello there. Could you tell us what you are and what this place is?” The bird made a strange hushed cawing sound. “You’re a phoenix? And, this is the sister’s garden.” “Phoenixes.” Discord marvelled as he realized what they were. “Birds of fire that are reborn from their own ashes.” Fluttershy stared at Discord. “How do you know that’s what a phoenix is?” Discord shrugged. “How can you talk to birds?” Fluttershy hummed. “I love animals. And, I’ve always been good with them. What about you? How do you know that a phoenix is a bird of fire or whatever it was you said?” “Comic books.” Discord cautiously approached one. “Spike lent me a fantasy one once. It talked about phoenixes. Let’s see how accurate it was.” He took a knee, bowed his head, and held out his arm. In a few seconds, the phoenix Fluttershy was talking to flew to his arm. “Wow.” Discord’s eyes went wide. “That shouldn’t have worked. Here.” Discord motioned for Fluttershy to raise a leg as he passed the phoenix to her. Fluttershy giggled as the phoenix nuzzled her hair. “You’re so beautiful. Yes you are.” She gasped a little as more phoenixes flocked around her out of curiosity. “Oh my, there’s a lot of you.” Discord repeated the motion of taking a knee, bowing his head, but this time he held out both arms. It worked again as some of the phoenixes flew from Fluttershy to his arms. “What do we do now?” Fluttershy smiled before she started to laugh. “I don’t know.” Discord started to laugh as well. Their combined laughter was enough of a message for the phoenixes that they flew away to other spots. The one phoenix that Fluttershy spoke with stayed behind, though. Discord watched as Fluttershy thanked the phoenix before placing it on a vine. “Fluttershy?” “Yes?” Fluttershy locked eyes with Discord. It terrified him. “Uh, can I ask you something?” Fluttershy nodded. “M-hm.” Discord struggled to breath as he tried to keep eye contact. “What am I?” “What?” Fluttershy brushed her hair out of her face. Discord closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Am I a pony to you? Am I a dragon? Are,” he fought his weakening lungs, “are you really not afraid of me?” Fluttershy winced a bit. Her eyes were on the verge of tearing up. “I promise I’m not afraid of you, Discord.” She stepped closer. “I remember the first day I met you. I was afraid, but it was because you looked so alone. I didn’t know if you had any friends. I know that was a terrible thing of me to assume.” “No it wasn’t terrible.” Discord sat down in front of her. “You were just being kind. If it weren’t for your kindness, I don’t think we would have ever met. And, I’m happy we did meet.” “Why?” Fluttershy blinked before breaking eye contact and looking away. “I’m not special in any way. I’m quiet, and I’m afraid of everything. I can be a nervous reck, sometimes. I’m never brave when I need to be.” “That’s not true.” Discord shook his head. “None of that is true. I mean sure, you’re a little quiet. But, I don’t see why that’s a bad thing. The rest of the world is screaming. Everyone is loud. Too loud, if you ask me. There’s too many people that scream at each other.” He thought of Spike’s father and Donna. “I wanna be quiet. My voice can crack and be awkward. Don’t get me started on intermediate school, that was a nightmare.” Discord rejoiced when he caught a glimpse of a smile on Fluttershy’s face. He lowered his voice to almost a whisper. “This way I can hear myself think. I can hear the birds, the trees, and the sky. I can’t hear that with loud voices. I can hear the world with a voice like yours. And, it’s beautiful.” Fluttershy’s eyes wandered back to Discord. “The world? Or my voice?” Discord closed his eyes and smiled. “Both.” He kept his eyes shut. “You are so kind. I know you can be brave when you want to be. I believe it was brave of you to give me that notebook. I was a total stranger, but you were brave enough to talk to me and ask me how I was doing. You were brave enough to treat me like a normal person. I know it sounds corny, but aside from my mother, I’ve never met anyone that was brave enough to do that. But, she raised me. She knows me. I feel like a stranger sometimes, even with my friends. But, not around you.” Fluttershy piped up. “Why are your eyes closed?” Discord’s frame sunk as he felt his collar buzz. “I’m afraid to ask you, because I’m not like everyone else. I’m different. And, I don’t want this thing to bust around you. I can’t stand the thought of ever hurting you.” He flinched when he heard Fluttershy move, but as to where, he couldn’t tell. Then, he felt the last thing he ever expected. Discord could feel someone embracing him. He could hear that it was Fluttershy. Her face pressed into his neck. “You don’t ever have to be afraid of me. I promise.” Discord opened his eyes. He didn’t notice that they were rocking. “Promise.” “Promise.” Fluttershy fell forward. Discord caught her with a return embrace. He wanted to scream from the rooftops. The experience taunted him, because he knew it couldn’t last. A certain part of Discord felt like there was a mutual unspoken agreement. This was a cursed agreement. Since it was unspoken, and neither had spoken it, it could only exist behind a shadowed veil of a smile, a glance, and a hug. This was not a confession of any sort that could be interpreted. No. It was something else. It was a beginning. Discord wondered of the grander scheme of the universe. He entertained the idea of having met Fluttershy in another life. He believed in that possibility for no other sort of reasoning than the idea, that only under those circumstances could this moment be possible. “Do you-?” Discord broke the long silence. Fluttershy slid her face away from his neck. “Yes, Discord?” Discord could hear some words from a distant memory, a distant dream. “Do you-.” A voice came, this is your life. “Do you want to get something to eat or drink after class, sometime? I heard there was a cafe down the street from the school.” “Yes.” Fluttershy smiled. “Yes, I do.” Discord almost fell over from hearing that. His head was reeling as he finally registered her response. A bit of fear washed over him, but that voice came back again, this is your life… ***** Discord couldn’t stop smiling as he and Fluttershy descended back into the hall where everyone else had come back to. He noticed everyone’s dirt ridden faces. “Are you alright?” “I don’t wanna talk about it.” Rainbow hissed at a bruise on her wing, she wasn’t flying. Spike placed every step he made with the utmost care. “The place is boobytrapped. You fall down one whole in one room, then you fly out another hole in another room. If we come back to this place, let’s wear bubble wrap and stick together.” The dragon’s eyes shot between Discord and Fluttershy. “Where were you two?” “Looking for you guys.” Discord could see Rainbow catching on to what Spike was obviously pointing out. “Uh, Twilight, how are you holding up?” He was hoping to distract Fluttershy to divert her attention as far away from Spike and Rainbow as possible. Twilight grumbled as she pulled white tape out of her bag. “My glasses broke.” She was using her magic to align the two halves of her glasses that had broken at the bridge. Fluttershy rushed over to aid Twilight. “Oh my. Do you need any help?” Discord thanked the sisters that Fluttershy wasn’t looking as Spike and Rainbow smirked like clowns, slowly nodding to him. Applejack scuffed at the ground. “Can I go home after this?”