//------------------------------// // Snazzleberry Sampling // Story: Domestic Drabbles of Discord's Dimension // by GeekCat //------------------------------// "Discord?" Fluttershy said, poking her head into the arts and crafts room. There was no response. She sighed, stepping out and closing the door, moving on to the next one. Earlier that afternoon, Discord had vanished somewhere into the house, muttering something about 'stands' and 'bad timing'. Dinnertime was slowly approaching, and Fluttershy was hoping to find him so that they could make supper together. As she was about to check the room made of glass, she heard something from two doors down—Discord's voice. She slowly crept towards the door, which led to Discord's chaotic greenhouse, and listened. He was definitely in there, and mumbling something about different fruits. Her brow furrowed, and she knocked on the door. He went quiet, then said, "Come in, Flutters." She opened the door and stepped inside. Discord was standing behind a desk, staring down at a calendar and map of Ponyville, with large piles of fruit around him. He was also wringing his hands. "Discord...is something wrong?" "Wrong?" he said with a short laugh. "Why would anything be wrong? This summer has been perfect, I wouldn't change a thing!" One of his pupils drifted to the side. She rose an eyebrow, and his fake happy expression fell. "Well...I am a little bit worried about something," he admitted. "What is it?" she asked. "You know you can tell me anything." He slowly nodded, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. "What I'm worried about...is this!" he said, thrusting the calendar at her. It was turned to the next month, the first one of Fall, which was only a couple of days away. The month's photo was of a bushel of apples, and several of the days were marked with apple stamps. She looked up, tilting her head in confusion. "Don't you see?" he said. "Once fall begins, no one's going to care about any fruit but apples! Applesauce, apple juice, zap apple jam...no one's going to care about delicious chaotic fruits!" "It's not that bad," she said. "I mean, in Ponyville, it's not like everyone's going to suddenly lose their taste for other fruits." He rose an eyebrow. "Wasn't that the same town that almost started a riot when Sweet Apple Acres ran out of cider?" "I...um," she said. "Maybe it would have been a...teensy riot." A smile twitched onto his muzzle, but he shook his head. "The point is...I can invent new fruits and drinks with a snap of my claws," he said. "But with it being so close to cider season, I doubt anyone would be interested in giving it a try." She stepped forward, placing a hoof on his shoulder. "You know I would," she said. "And besides...if Fall's only barely begun, there'll be plenty of time before it's actually cider season. The apples need to be harvested before cider can be made, you know?" His ears perked up. "...Flutterbuddy, you just gave me two wonderful ideas," he said with a smile. "I did? What are they?" she said. "Well, the first involves time, apple harvesting, cider, and mixing things up for chaos," he said. "But I can handle that on my own. The second is that together, the two of us can act as taste testers for new, previously non-existent fruits!" He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. "Well...of course!" she said. "That sounds like it could be fun. What fruits were you thinking of trying first?" "That's...a very good question," he said. "Now, let's see here..." He pulled away and began rooting through the piles of fruits in front of him. Eventually, he let out a triumphant cry, emerging from the pile with what looked like a bunch of grapes. "Snazzleberries!" he declared, holding them a little closer to her and making it very obvious that they were not grapes. Their purple color was just a little darker than usual, their skins had swirls instead of being smooth...and she swore there were dark patterns that made it seem like each berry was wearing little sunglasses. She reached towards the bunch, but he pulled them away. "You don't want to just eat them plain," he said with a shake of his head. "Remember punchberries? It's not quite that bad, but it's still not fun." She did remember punchberries...especially how even the juice had a strong kick to it. She lowered her hoof. "So...do we want to turn them into juice before we eat them?" she asked. "Precisely!" he said, snapping his fingers. The berries all floated into the air, then compressed themselves, squeezing juice into two glass bottles. It was very satisfying to watch. Discord grabbed both full bottles from mid-air as metal lids appeared on top, a thin layer of frost covering the glass. She peered at the frosty bottles. The juice inside was a reddish-purple color that looked...shiny, for lack of a better term. "Is there a name for this color?" she asked, furrowing her brow in thought. "Snazzleberry...or snazzberry, I suppose," he said with a shrug. "I like the sound of snazzleberry better," she said with a smile. "Rolls off the tongue." "Indeed!" he said, opening his mouth and letting his tongue roll out. The word 'snazzleberry', in snazzleberry-colored letters, slipped from his throat and down his tongue like a slide, eventually flying from the tip of his tongue and out the window. Fluttershy laughed, her smile stretching to the corners of her eyes. Discord beamed, gripping both of the bottles' necks in his paw. "You know," he said. "I think cold snazzleberry juice is best enjoyed outside on warm days." "So...to the porch?" she suggested. "To the porch!" he declared in agreement, pointing his claw into the air and marching deeper into the house. After several minutes of traversing the maze that was their home, he finally opened a door and stepped outside onto the porch. It was right next to the small garden she kept, though the doors to both of them were a good distance apart from each other inside the house...like every other time they came out here, she shrugged it off as 'classic chaos'. Discord snapped his fingers, creating two recliners with cupholders. He took a seat in the boysenberry one, leaning back and watching the horizon. She took a seat in the sea-green one, also leaning back and relaxing. She heard a popping sound and glanced over. Discord was using his snaggletooth to pop off the metal lids of the bottles. He grinned at her, making the lid he was currently working on snap right off, and handed her the bottle. It was cold to the touch. She nearly took a sip, but paused and thought of an idea as Discord spit out the lids. "Well...to the last days of summer," she said, holding her bottle out to him. He tapped his against hers, making a clink sound. "And to the first days of fall," he said. "Cheers." He tilted his head back and swallowed a few gulps of the drink. She slowly raised the bottle to her lips and took a couple of sips herself. The juice was...mostly sweet, but not overly so. Very fruity, and berry-like, though she couldn't place any berry flavors specifically. It was also tingly and fizzy, kind of like a soda, and there was a hint of bitter tang, though not enough to reduce her enjoyment of the drink. She pulled the bottle away, licking her lips. "Not bad," she said. "Oh ho, if you think that's good, wait until we try blue snazzleberries!" he said confidently. "If they're anything like this, I'd be glad to!" she said, taking another sip. "They're similar, but different," he said. "They're a little sweeter, and taste a little more like blue raspberries." "Mmm," she said, licking her lips. Discord grinned at her reaction, and they kept drinking their juice in silence, staring at the Chaosville sky, and the flying sharks flitting across it. When she had finished about a quarter of her juice, she glanced over at her awfully-quiet husband. He appeared to be deep in thought as he nursed his drink. "...bit for your thoughts?" she said. He jumped a little, then smirked and held out his hand. She frowned...then rolled her eyes, digging into the space behind the recliner cushion. She eventually found a single bit, which she dropped into his palm. "Hmm. I feel like being cliche and watching a sunset with the love of my life," he said, pocketing the coin. "But an ordinary sunset just sounds so...boring right now." She sipped her juice. "...what about a snazzleberry-colored one?" she suggested. "...you wonderful, beautiful genius," he said, leaning forward to quickly press his lips against hers. He tasted of snazzleberries, though there was a mix of all sorts of other fruit underneath that. He pulled away, turned to the horizon, and snapped his fingers. A reddish-purple sun appeared far in the distance, making the sky all around shift to a similar, if lighter, color. It slowly began to move downwards, disappearing from the bottom as though setting behind a horizon. "Do you like it?" he asked. She smiled and nodded, leaning over to kiss his cheek. "I think it's beautiful." He smiled back, tapping his nose against hers. The two of them relaxed on the porch, staring at the snazzleberry-colored sunset and sipping their cold drinks. When it came to ending summer...this wasn't the worst way, Fluttershy mused. She reached over and let her front hoof brush against Discord's paw. He smiled, slowly curling his fingers around her hoof. They both took another sip of their drinks, while she gave his hand a gentle squeeze.