For Discord, time was something that he only really bothered with for convenience's sake. He didn't need to do things in a linear order. He could exist outside the normal flow of time if he really wanted to. It was hard to maintain a schedule when you lived like that, though; not to mention it was just headache-inducing in general.
It was much easier for Discord to just follow the laws of causality. That way, he wouldn't miss his tea with Fluttershy.
It was early in the afternoon at Fluttershy's cottage. It was presumably also early in the afternoon in the rest of Equestria, but Discord didn't care about that. All that he cared about in that moment was tea, pastries, and friendship. Everything else could jump off a cliff.
Discord savored another sip of the tea Fluttershy had chosen for the occasion. It had a hint of orange, and something sweet Discord couldn't quite identify. Whatever it was, he adored it. It did a wonderful job distracting him from how exhausted he was feeling.
“... And it was just the noisiest thing,” Discord said, continuing the story he'd been telling. “I mean, an entire elephant? With a trombone? How was I supposed to sleep with that in my room?”
Fluttershy, who was listening attentively, nodded as she set her own teacup down. A butterfly landed on the rim of her cup while the rest of the animals in her cottage flew and flopped around. The little critters would be distracting if Discord hadn't gotten used to them. These days, he hardly minded the annoying little monsters.
“That must have been horrible,” Fluttershy said sympathetically.
Discord waved a paw dismissively. He shooed away the butterflies that had been converging around his own teacup and took another sip. Maybe the other flavor was just a hint of mint? A mint hint? Discord wasn't sure.
“Oh, it's more embarrassing than anything,” he said. “And to be fair, that elephant wasn't half-bad on the brass. I'm mostly upset because I conjured it up in my sleep. It's been ages since I lost control of my magic like that.”
In truth, Discord couldn't even remember the last time he'd conjured something in his sleep. The last time he'd cast a sleep-spell must have been when he was just a child, back in... Whenever he'd been a child. If he'd ever even been one. Discord couldn't actually remember. Things that far back were a little fuzzy, and probably weren't that important anyway. What was important was that Discord was too old to be losing control of his magic like that.
Several more butterflies approached Discord and floated mere inches from his face. He absentmindedly waved them off, and they flew away momentarily. After a while, however, the butterflies returned in even greater numbers. Discord tried to ignore them as he helped himself to one of the cucumber sandwiches that hadn't been nibbled on by Angel.
Fluttershy sipped her tea with her eyes closed, then looked up at Discord thoughtfully.
“What do you think could have caused you to use magic in your sleep?” She asked. “Has something been bothering you?”
Discord had been lifting the cucumber sandwich to his mouth when Fluttershy asked her question. It gave him momentary pause.
“Bothering me?” Discord repeated incredulously. He set the sandwich down on the table, where it was quickly stolen away by a chipmunk. Discord payed the theft no mind.
“Really now, Fluttershy. What in Equestria could bother a Lord of Chaos?” Discord laughed. He was trying to play Fluttershy's question off as a joke, but her genuinely curious expression made it clear she was serious. She just looked at Discord inquisitively while he waited for her to laugh.
“It's nothing to be ashamed of, Discord,” Fluttershy said. “I won't judge you for being worried about something.”
Fluttershy smiled at Discord, and the spirit of chaos had no idea what to say in response. He felt guilty, but he wasn't sure why. After all, it wasn't like he was keeping secrets or something. He really didn't think there was anything bothering them. Fluttershy was the one making assumptions.
Discord reached for another cucumber sandwich. He shooed away the little critters and butterflies converging around the plate and picked up one of the few remaining ones. The butterflies quickly returned once Discord moved his hand away from the plate.
“I have nothing to worry about!” Discord said. He moved his arm in a theatrical arc, waving his finger-sandwich in a dramatic gesture. “I appreciate your concern, Fluttershy, but you mustn't mistake me for someone like Twilight Sparkle. I don't have some new friendship problem every week-or-so. I may cause problems, but I don't have them.”
Discord stopped being dramatic for a moment to gauge Fluttershy's reaction. She looked a bit more concerned now. She was frowning up at him, and it told Discord that she didn't entirely believe him.
That was ridiculous. Discord believed what he was saying, even though he knew he was lying. Why wasn't Fluttershy buying it? Weren't friends supposed to believe whatever bald-faced lie you told them?
“Oh, let's just drop this,” Discord grumbled. He grumpily lowered the arm he'd been using for his dramatic flourish so he could finally eat that cucumber sandwich.
In the brief time that the sandwich had been out of Discord's sight, a group of butterflies had completely enveloped it. Countless blue wings covered the entire sandwich, preventing Discord from even seeing it. If he didn't know for a fact that the sandwich was still in his hand, he would have thought it had disappeared.
With a frustrated grumble, Discord tossed the butterfly-and-cucumber sandwich to the floor. The butterflies momentarily scattered once it hit the ground, but more of the little bugs quickly took their place.
“What is it with all of these butterflies?!” Discord finally asked as he turned his attention back to the table. He was used to seeing three or four butterflies around when he came to Fluttershy's cabin for tea, but this was ridiculous.
Blue-winged butterflies were floating all around the room, landing on every available surface. They buzzed all around Discord and Fluttershy's heads. They crawled all over the food on the table. The air from the butterflies flapping their wings buffeted Discord from each and every direction; it was like being in the world's weakest hurricane.
“Oh dear.” Fluttershy said, looking concerned. She ducked her head a bit, but making herself smaller didn't stop the butterflies from swarming all around her. “I don't know. I didn't even see them come in!”
Discord frowned. He hadn't seen the butterflies enter the cabin, either. They were just here now, as if they'd always been there but had gone unseen the entire time.
The butterflies were swarming all throughout the cabin now. They hovered around Discord's and Fluttershy's heads. They flew in circles around all of the animals, eliciting squeaks and chitters of annoyance from the squirrels and birds that Fluttershy had been caring for. The butterflies were even harassing Angel, much to Discord's amusement.
Sadly, that silver lining wasn't nearly bright enough to make this situation better. Really, the amount of butterflies was just getting ridiculous. Discord could have just used his magic to get rid of them, of course, but he had a feeling that would upset Fluttershy. Still, the solution was getting more and more tempting.
“Fluttershy, could you PLEASE ask these... these party-crashers to leave? They are ruining our tea!”
Discord spoke through tightly-gritted teeth as he tried to keep himself from doing something he might regret. The Lord of Chaos took a deep breath in through his nose and did his best to calm down. With a long sigh, Discord reached down and picked his cup of tea back up. He closed his eyes, tried to block out the flying nuisances all around him, and lifted his cup to his lips.
A geyser of butterflies erupted from out of the teacup, buffeting Discord in the face. Discord coughed and sputtered as his vision was blanketed by a constant stream of tiny, blue wings. More and more butterflies kept flying out of the cup, even as Discord aimed it away from his face. It was only when Discord tossed the tea cup to the floor that the eruption ceased.
“Alright.” Discord angrily slammed his hands down onto the table between himself and Fluttershy. The plates and cups shook as the draconequus stood up to his full height. “That tears it. Fluttershy, I apologize in advance, but...”
Discord raised his right hand up into the air. Just as he'd done countless times before, he drew upon the elemental chaos that made up his entire being. He readied his magic with the same amount of effort it took him to blink his eyes. And then, to add a bit of flair to his spell, he snapped his fingers.
There was a quick, blinding flash of light. In less than an instant, all of the butterflies were gone. Fluttershy's cabin returned to its normal state, much to the relief of every creature inside of it.
Fluttershy lifted her head up off the table and looked around nervously. A few of the animals in the cabin huddled up around her worriedly.
“What was that?” Fluttershy asked.
Discord wiped his hands off and slowly floated back down into his seat. He still felt angry. The tea party had been thoroughly ruined.
“That was some sort of magical prank,” he said as he took one of the spare tea cups and went to work preparing a new cup. “Not a very funny one, either. I mean, just butterflies? That's hardly what I'd call--”
Thousands of butterflies burst out of Discord's mouth. They came out in a constant, powerful stream; like water coming out of a hydrant. The force of their emergence knocked Discord's head back until he was staring up at the ceiling. Fluttershy screamed. The animals ran around in a panic. Once again, the small cabin was filled with countless blue wings.
As soon as Discord registered what was happening, he clamped his jaws shut. It was surprisingly easy to do-- the butterflies offered little resistance. Once his mouth was shut, Discord covered it with his paw. He could still feel the few butterflies left in his mouth fluttering around. Slowly, however, that sensation stopped. Any foreign bodies inside of Discord's mouth completely disappeared.
With his hand still on his mouth, Discord lifted his claw up and once again snapped his fingers. There was another flash of white. This time, however, the butterflies flying around Fluttershy's cottage stayed where they are.
Discord tried again. And again. Still nothing. He snapped his fingers faster and harder, but the butterflies stayed where they were. In between each flash of light, Discord grew more and more frustrated at the insects' insistence on continuing to exist.
But as his magic continued to prove ineffective, Discord's frustration turned into genuine confusion. He dropped both of his hands onto the table as the cloud butterflies flew overhead. All Discord could do was watch them in befuddled defeat.
“Discord, what's going on?” Fluttershy asked. She was starting to sound panicked. “Why isn't your magic doing anything?”
Discord shrugged limply.
“I don't know,” he admitted. He looked down at his hands, staring at them as if they could provide some form of explanation. When they failed to give him the answers he hoped for, he curled them into fists irritably.
“Something must be countering my magic before it can have any effect.” Discord folded his arms over his chest petulantly and sunk into his chair. One of his nostrils flared as he tried his best to ignore the butterflies flying overhead. “And whatever it is, it's countering my magic all for the sake of some stupid joke involving butterflies.”
Discord grumbled crankily and kicked one leg in the air.
“A really stupid joke...” he said. “It doesn't even make sense.”
Fluttershy frowned sympathetically at the draconequus. Her wings lifted her up out of her seat as she flew to Discord's side.
“Oh, there, there,” she said as he patted Discord reassuringly on the shoulder. Discord considered the act a little bit patronizing, but he appreciated the gesture nonetheless. With a sigh, he unfolded his arms and sat up straight.
Then the butterflies asked a question.
“Where's the fun in making sense?”
Fluttershy and Discord both froze when the unfamiliar voice asked the familiar question. Neither of them said anything as they looked at each other with wide eyes. The only sound were the noises made by Fluttershy's critters running about the place. Slowly, both Fluttershy and Discord looked up towards the ceiling, where the voice had come from.
The swarm of butterflies still blanketed the ceiling of Fluttershy's cottage. There were more of them than Discord could count. Considering that Discord could count nearly to infinity if he wanted to, that was really saying something. They buzzed noiselessly. Their patternless, blue wings flapped together in perfect sync.
Discord slowly narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the cloud of butterflies. It was becoming clear to him now. These insects weren't just the byproduct of some prank; they were also the culprit.
“Alright, what's the big idea?” Discord floated up out of his chair. He rose until the tip of his snout was mere inches from the butterflies' flapping wings. He folded his arms over his chest and glared at the insects.
“Who's responsible for this? Is that you, Eris? Mister Mxyzptlk? Is it Q? Oh, you'd better not be Q, whoever you are.”
“Wow. Wrong on all three counts.” The voice was young; young and smug. It sounded as if it was taunting Discord with every syllable. It seemed to come from all of the butterflies at once, like a thousand mouths speaking in stereo.
Down below, at the table, Fluttershy politely raised a hoof into the air. “Um... Who are you, then?”
“Oh. Pardon my manners.” The voice's tone immediately shifted, dropping any mocking edge when it addressed Fluttershy. “I'll introduce myself in a moment; give me a second to get changed.”
The cloud of butterflies started to move. A spot in the center churned and swelled, the butterflies moving like the surface of the sea. A column began to descend down from the larger swarm. It was like water coming out of a faucet, pouring down onto the tea table.
Once the column had been formed, it separated from the blanket of butterflies still swarming the ceiling. Despite the sizable number that had left the swarm, the number of butterflies didn't seem to have diminished at all. They still absolutely covered the ceiling.
The column that had separated from them, meanwhile, began to shift around. It soon lost its column shape as butterflies blossomed outwards like tendrils. The butterflies spun about, flying in spiraling patterns as they began to take on shapes. Arms. Legs. Huge butterfly wings. A long, noodle-like body.
Like a living sculpture, the butterflies were swarming together in the shape of a draconequus.
Then, as soon as their shape became recognizable, the butterflies dispersed. The shape they had formed remained behind, however. A blue-and-black draconequus with large butterfly wings balanced on one leg on the tea table. He stood there as if he'd always been there; as if he'd merely been covered by the butterflies, not just formed from them.
Discord arched an eyebrow in dumbstruck confusion. As he floated back down to ground-level to get a good look at this stranger, he could confirm it was indeed another draconequus. It had the head of a pony, and the body parts of all sorts of different creatures. But while Discord's form was gloriously chaotic and mismatched, this new draconequus was far too symmetrical. Everything more-or-less matched up.
The new draconequus stood posing on the table for a few more seconds before floating up off of it in a theatrical twirl. His butterfly wings didn't move at all as he did this; clearly, they were just for show. Evidently, Discord thought, this guy was going for some sort of motif with the whole butterfly thing.
“Allow me to introduce myself!” He said. He gestured to himself with his black-furred, feline arms and smiled a disgusting symmetrical smile.
“My name is Chance. I'm one of the Lesser Lords of Chaos.”
Discord's eyes widened in confusion. He looked back to Fluttershy, who was looking back at him curiously.
“There are other Lords of Chaos?” She asked.
Discord looked between Fluttershy and the new, unfamiliar draconequus. He felt a little alarmed by Fluttershy's question, but he wasn't certain why.
“What?! No!” He said. “There's only one Lord of Chaos per universe! There's no such thing as a 'Lesser Lord'; we're not a bureaucracy! There's always only just been me!”
Chance smirked condescendingly in Discord's direction.
“Oh yeah?” He asked. “Explain me, then.”
Discord narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “Alright then. If you're another Lord of Chaos, how come I've never heard of you? Why is this the first I'm hearing about lesser lords?”
“Because you're too self-absorbed to notice anything outside of your own little bubble.” Chance pirouetted gracefully in the air before giving Discord a mocking bow.
Discord frowned. Even though he didn't believe what Chance was saying, he couldn't really argue about being self-absorbed. He wracked his chaotic brain for some sort of comeback, but nothing came.
“You win this round,” he grumbled reluctantly.
Chance held his head up high proudly. There was an almost pungent aura of self-importance radiating from the blue draconequus. Just being near Chance was wearing on Discord's nerves. For a moment, it made Discord wonder if this was how others must feel whenever they interacted with him. He quickly dismissed that idea, though. Discord knew he was far more charismatic than this little bug.
Fluttershy looked over her tea table, a hoof up to her chin in thought. All of the plates and food had been scattered by the mayhem. Sandwiches littered the floor. The tea pot laid on its side, spilling its contents out onto Fluttershy's nice table cloth and staining it was nasty brown.
“Oh dear,” she said in a dejected tone. “I wish you hadn't made such a mess of things, Chance.”
Chance's eyes flickered open. For just a second, his expression changed. It happened almost too quickly for Discord to notice it, but he managed to catch it. The haughtiness drained from the blue draconequus's face. He looked as if he was only just now realizing he'd interrupted the tea party, and Fluttershy's words had come as some sort of embarrassing shock to him. It was like an actor breaking character just long enough to realize he'd flubbed his line.
The expression lasted for the barest of a moment, and then Chance's smug smile returned.
“Relax. I can clean up after myself.”
Chance casually snapped his fingers in a gesture Discord found all-too familiar. There was a flash of light, and in an instant, everything was back to how it had been before. The plates and cups were back on the table. The sandwiches were all neatly arranged. The tablecloth was nice and clean, without so much as a crumb or a stain.
The butterflies were still covering the ceiling, however. Apparently, Chance didn't want to completely remove his handiwork.
“In my opinion, I think it looked better as it was,” Chance said with a dismissive wave of his hand. “That's hardly for me to decide, though; it's your tea party. I just dropped by to collect something, and then I'll get out of your mane.”
Fluttershy, who had been examining the now-clean table with a smile, looked up at Chance.
“... Collect something?” She repeated, an eyebrow raised in suspicion.
“Well, whatever it is, could you hurry up and grab it?” Discord asked impatiently. “This was a nice, peaceful tea party before you showed up.”
Chance's head whipped in Discord's direction. Once again, his expression changed. This time, however, it was much more noticeable. A look of disgust turned the blue draconequus's smile into a contemptuous sneer. His nostrils flared, and his ears flattened back. Chance bared his teeth at Discord and eyed him with a disdain that actually unnerved the redeemed Lord of Chaos just a bit.
“'Peaceful?'” Chance repeated the word slowly, as if he couldn't believe he'd even heard it. “Did I hear you correctly, Discord? You want things to be peaceful?”
Discord and Fluttershy both exchanged an uncertain look.
“Well, yes,” Discord said after a moment. “I look forward to my tea time with Fluttershy; I don't need you ruining it.”
Chance narrowed his eyes at Discord. Gradually, the smile returned to the draconequus's face. This time, though, it was a cruel smile. It was the smile of someone who'd just pulled off some sort of malicious trick.
“If I had any doubts before, that's all I'd have needed to hear to get rid of them.”
Once again, Chance snapped his fingers. Discord felt something in the air stir, like a storm was coming. Magic crackled like electricity in ozone; Discord could practically smell it. The sound of wind flowing through a cave filled Fluttershy's cottage.
“Discord!” Fluttershy yelled in fear. She was looking up at something. Discord did the same.
The butterflies were gone. So was the ceiling.
Where the ceiling had once been, there was now a huge, swirling vortex of magic. The vortex shimmered with every color, and twinkles of stars shined in its spiraling surface. The sound of wind was coming from this portal, roaring louder and louder as it spun like a violent whirlpool.
Outraged, Discord looked at Chance. The younger draconequus's smile had only grown since opening the portal. He looked absolutely delighted.
“What is the meaning of this?!” Discord asked as he floated up to stare Chance in the eyes. The blue draconequus's smile turned manic.
“Discord Draconequus!” Chance yelled over the roaring wind. “You are hereby charged with behavior unbecoming of a Lord of Chaos!”
Discord didn't get the opportunity to ask what that meant. His body lurched upwards suddenly, as if his tail was trying to drag him toward the portal above. Discord felt the portal pulling at him, sucking him up like a vacuum while everything else in Fluttershy's cottage was merely blown around.
With a wordless grunt, Discord scrambled with his paws to try and grab something to hang onto, but the portal's pull was far too strong. He could feel ever inch of his body stretching and compressing as the tip of his tail drew ever-closer to the eye of the vortex. He was like a rubber band being pulled in from one end until its other end snapped.
“Discord!”
Fluttershy's voice just barely reached Discord as his body stretched more and more towards the portal. Discord looked to see where she was, but he couldn't find her. Everything in the cabin looked like it was zooming rapidly away. Discord tried to call out to Fluttershy, but he couldn't move his mouth; it was already wide open. The edges of his cheeks and lips were being pulled back by the portal, as if Discord had his face in front of a powerful fan.
Finally, Discord reached his limit. His body snapped upwards like the elastic band of a slingshot as the portal's pull became too much for him. Discord was swallowed up by the portal and Fluttershy's cottage stretched away into nothing.