//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: Salvation a la Mode and a Cup of Tea // by Commander30 //------------------------------// The next three days were positively boring and made Fluttershy want to scream. Oh sure, she kept busy with her animals, and visiting her friends, and attending to the chores around her cottage. And her dreams were pleasant, with not a nightmare to be found. Normally she would have been nothing but relieved to have things go back to normal after shake-ups, but this particular shake-up meant that things really shouldn’t have gone back to normal, and she just wasn’t sure what to make of it. She kept expecting for her living room floor to turn to ice at any moment, based on what Discord had told her, but every day it remained a firm, boring, expected solid oak. Heck, she kept expecting Discord to just show up, but he didn’t. She hadn’t seen him since their “progress report” with Celestia, when Discord had promised to be (sort of) good. She had no idea where he had gone. On some level she was somewhat concerned about this—what if he was causing some destructive mayhem away from watchful eyes?—but more than anything, Fluttershy just found that she missed him. Even though her daily life had slid back into thoroughly dull territory, she still wanted to tell him about it. It would probably bore him, though, she reasoned with herself. She still wrote to him about it, though. In fact, she had written an entire letter, rambling and silly and probably not very interesting at all, and even sealed it in an envelope before she realized that she still had no idea where he was… and even if she did, could any mail pony in Equestria even reach him? For all she knew he was in an alternate universe or something, and she doubted any amount of postage would give the regular mail ponies in her town the ability to get there. Evening was falling, and Fluttershy was curled up in her living room chair, opting to eat her supper of carrot and celery soup away from the kitchen table this night. The family of blue jays that were currently living in the highest birdhouse in her living room were settling in for the night, exchanging pleasantries with Fluttershy but not really saying much in the way of general conversation, and after a few failed attempts to engage them further, Fluttershy turned to her dinner and sipped the broth in silence, leaving them to their own devices. It was ironic, she mused to herself. Before, this kind of dreary normality would have been exactly what she craved, but right now it just felt stifling. She had changed so much in a mere year, thanks entirely to friendship. It was… humbling, really. And as it turned out, it was while these thoughts were ruminating in her mind when a bright flash of light blasted through her cottage, startling her so much that she spilled what was left of her supper all over the floor. “Hello, Fluttershy! My, what a sight for sore eyes!” “Oh—Discord!” Fluttershy stammered, giggling a bit through her surprise, as Discord’s eyes literally did have bandages on them, accentuating his statement. “I wasn’t expecting you.” “No one does,” smirked Discord, temporarily donning a long red garment. “Just call me the Spanish Inquisition!” “Uh… what?” “Never mind.” “It’s really good to see you again,” said Fluttershy, smiling warmly. “I’ve been wondering where you went to.” “Why, Chaosville, of course!” And suddenly Discord was shoving a souvenir mug, hat, T-shirt, and potted cactus with plush needles into Fluttershy’s arms. “It’s been over a millennium, you know! And let me tell you, the new management had really let it go to pot. The place had nearly become… orderly.” He shuddered. “So what did you do?” Fluttershy asked. “I usurped the management that’s been squatting there ever since I was turned to stone the first time, took back my rightful place, and renovated! And the former management is now a mothball.” “Oh!” Fluttershy gasped out. “That’s… that’s not very nice!” “He was a moth before,” Discord said dismissively, “and now he’s a moth that can roll. He actually prefers it this way.” “Oh… well, I guess that’s alright, then,” Fluttershy admitted. She set down all of the gifts Discord had brought her onto her small coffee table. “So… what kind of renovations did you make?” “I’m so glad you asked!” Discord exclaimed, nearly squealing with delight. Suddenly a large cloth screen on a tripod appeared against Fluttershy’s far wall, and a real-to-real projector popped up behind the couch. “Alright, Dis, roll ‘em!” he instructed, flopping down on the couch comfortably and informally while clapping his hands twice, causing the lights to go out. Behind the projector, a second Discord wearing a small felt hat gave a thumbs-up and started up the film. The movie was fascinating, and chaotic, and absolutely enthralling. Chaosville looked weird and strange, but it was like nothing she’d ever seen before and she found it almost beautiful in an otherworldly way, especially with all the unexpected changes being made to the landscape. Discord seemed very pleased by Fluttershy’s reaction, and he excitedly went into further detail about everything the film was showing, at one point growing so loud and enthusiastic that the Discord on film had to snap at him, “You mind keeping it down? I’m trying to work here!” When the picture eventually cut off and the used-up reels flapped loudly against the projector, Fluttershy couldn’t help but feel disappointed that it was over already. “That’s all there is? I’d like to see more…” “In a month, the director’s cut will be ready,” Discord said to her, and Fluttershy giggled a bit. “Um… would you like some tea?” she blurted out, with the sudden realization of you have a house guest, Fluttershy! You need to be hospitable! Even though this particular houseguest had dropped in unannounced, but she had a feeling he was usually going to be unannounced. She’d just have to have her kettle ready to go at a moment’s notice from now on. “Tea would be delightful, my dear,” said Discord, snapping his fingers. The projector and screen disappeared, and the lights went back on. Fluttershy blinked for just a moment to readjust her eyes to the light before scurrying to her kitchen and starting a kettle of tea. She reached into her tea cabinet and pulled out a bag without even looking at what flavor it was. Picking things randomly was chaotic, right? Hopefully Discord would like the tea however it ended up. Not that any of the flavors she kept on-hoof were unusual in any way, though. Once the tea was brewed, Fluttershy carefully brought the teapot back into her living room and set it on the table. “I don’t know what flavor this is, I didn’t look,” she said quickly. “But I hope you like it!” She dashed back into the kitchen, retrieved two teacups and saucers, and returned to the living room, handing one pair to Discord. Discord snapped his fingers again. His teacup floated over to the teapot, knocked on the teapot’s side with its handle, and a door on the teapot flung open wide, tea pouring out into the cup. Once it was full, the door slammed shut and the teapot looked normal again, and the teacup floated back to the saucer in Discord’s paw. He picked up the cup with his talon and took a sip. “Delicious,” he said approvingly. “Oh, good!” said Fluttershy, grinning. She poured herself a cup in the normal way and tasted what she’d made. It seemed to be just a simple green tea, but it was tasty and very soothing. The two unlikely friends took another few sips in a comfortable, if unexpected, silence. “Fluttershy?” Discord finally said. She looked up at him from her cup and saucer. “Yes?” Discord looked a bit uneasy, passing his cup and saucer between his paw and his talon. “This is… awkward,” he mumbled, “but I was wondering if you could give me an… explanation.” He winced at the words. “And understand that under usual circumstances, I hate explanations.” “I’ll try to make it as painless as possible,” Fluttershy promised. “What do you need me to explain?” Discord was now tumbling the teacup up and down through his talons. He hadn’t finished his tea, but the liquid that remained had formed into a sphere and was hovering patiently by his side. “There’s no way that it won’t be painless, because it involves one of the worst days of my life… when you and your friends turned me to stone.” Fluttershy winced, feeling like she had just been kicked in the stomach. “If it makes you feel any better, that was one of the worst days of my life, too.” “So we agree that the day we met was absolutely horrible? This friendship is off to a fantastic start, isn’t it?” Discord said sarcastically. “It doesn’t matter how it started,” Fluttershy said emphatically. “All that matters is how it’s going. And I for one think it’s going very well right now.” “Hmm… we agree on that, too.” Discord finally smiled again, although it was small. “But that’s not what I need you to… explain. When you and your friends hit me with that friendship rainbow of doom, the rest of them were all cheering, and blocking out most other sounds, but I still heard what you said.” Fluttershy paled a bit. “You said, and I quote, ‘We failed.’” He looked at her sharply. “So what did you mean by that?” Fluttershy gulped. Up until now, she’d believed that no one had heard her say that… lest of all Discord, who was kind of solid stone at the time. “I, uh…” she stammered, setting down her cup and saucer and tugging awkwardly at her mane. “I don’t actually understand how the Elements of Harmony work,” she finally blurted out. “Well, that makes two of us,” Discord quipped. “The first time we used them was on Nightmare Moon—Princess Luna,” Fluttershy clarified. “She had been banished to the moon for so long—“ “Ah, yes, I heard about that,” said Discord. “I can’t imagine how positively batty it drove poor Lulu. Although at least she was able to physically move while she was there.” Fluttershy grimaced with grief and guilt. “W-well, when we used the Elements on her, it kind of… drove out the darkness in her. Nightmare Moon was gone, and Princess Luna was freed from her clutches. So what we did was good all-around for everypony, including her.” She started blinking rapidly, her gaze forlornly falling to the floor. “So… s-so when we had to use them a second time, against… you… I guess I kind of thought the same thing would happen.” “Ah, yes, the very same Elements that condemned me to a granite prison the first time would do something completely different the second time. Makes perfect sense.” He said this in such a way that Fluttershy couldn’t really tell if he actually did think it made sense or not. “I don’t understand how they work,” Fluttershy emphasized fiercely. “I don’t know why they worked for us a certain way one time and then did something completely different the next time. But I thought maybe it was because, when we used them against you, I was… angry. Furious. I thought maybe it was my anger that did it to you.” “It might have been,” Discord said levelly with an accepting shrug. “You had every reason to be angry at me.” “B-but…” Fluttershy felt her eyes start to well with tears. Oh no, not now, not now… “The thought that maybe we could have helped you, if I had just been a little more understanding… it was eating me alive. I—I had… nightmares… nearly every night… I felt so horrible… I just couldn’t live with myself, knowing what I’d done to you…” Discord looked so surprised by this that the floating tea globule instantly returned to his cup. “But the nightmares are gone now,” Fluttershy quickly explained. “They were kind of tapering off before, and then we freed you and helped you and even though it’s late, it still happened… I’m so sorry that it came so late,” she murmured, guiltily looking at the floor again. “I should have tried to help you sooner.” She blinked harshly as tears began to stream out of her eyes. A few long moments later, she felt something hard and porcelain tap at her nose. She looked up. It was her teacup, filled again with tea, floating in the air expectantly. Confused, she raised her head even more and to the side, giving Discord an inquisitive look. “You should have some more tea, my dear,” he said, motioning towards the keen cup. “You’ll feel better.” Blinking away as many tears as she could, Fluttershy took the cup and took a sip. “There’s no need to waste your tears on me,” Discord continued. “In fact, up until very recently, I would have been your strongest opponent on the matter of my needing any sort of help.” “Things have changed,” Fluttershy whispered. “Yes… yes they have.” Discord quickly and abruptly chugged the rest of his tea and set his teacup back down on the table, shifting awkwardly in his seat. “In fact… I’ve changed. And it’s mostly because of you.” Fluttershy blushed fiercely. “Because, despite all votes to the contrary, including my own, you seem to have been right about me.” Discord finally gave her a small smirk at that, leaning back comfortably on the couch. “Feel free to claim all bragging rights with your victory, you certainly deserve them.” Despite herself, Fluttershy giggled a bit at that. “I don’t think I’ll brag, necessarily… but I am really happy with how this all turned out. I’ve never met anyone like you before, Discord. And I feel so lucky to be able to call you a friend. I really mean that.” She gulped once more, trying not to dwell on the guilt that still filled her mind. “I just wish that things hadn’t had to be so rough between us to get to this point.” “Ditto,” Discord murmured in a very soft voice, but he still held his gaze with Fluttershy, and she regarded him and nodded softly. There wasn’t much more that needed to be said, truthfully. But still, Fluttershy still gasped with a sudden reminder. “Oh, wait, Discord, I actually have something for you!” She flew over to her desk in the far corner of the room and opened a drawer, pulling out a small envelope. She flitted back to the couch and chair and held it out towards him. “I, um, I wrote you a letter yesterday. Only I didn’t know how to send it to you, because I didn’t know where you were or if mail would even reach you…” “Oh, that’s easily remedied,” Discord remarked, snapping his fingers. One of the drawers in her desk suddenly began to glow a dark purple color. “What… what is that?” Fluttershy asked. “Just drop any future letters to me in there, and I’ll get them.” He eagerly opened the envelope. “I’ve never gotten mail before!” This statement made Fluttershy feel a little piteous and sad. What kind of creature had never received mail in their entire life… let alone one who had lived as long as Discord had? But her pity was quickly overridden by embarrassment as Discord scanned her letter, her letter that she was sure was boring and embarrassing, right in front of her. She suspected that he’d find it asinine, and she really didn’t want to be present for that kind of a reaction. But the smile never left his face as he read through her lines… in fact, it seemed to grow softer. “You’re too sweet,” he murmured. Fluttershy blushed again, trying to hide in her mane. “Almost too exceedingly sweet, in fact. You’re giving me cavities.” To prove his point, he flashed his teeth at her, now sporting numerous black holes. “Oh… oh dear. Sorry,” Fluttershy offered uneasily. “Don’t worry, they’re no bother.” Discord snapped his fingers, and the cavities all exited his mouth and converged into one large black hole, and he grabbed it and flung it into the ether. “Where… where did it go?” Fluttershy asked. “Space, somewhere,” Discord said with a shrug. “It’s harmless, as long as any spaceship isn’t stupid enough to try to get too close.” “Oh… I certainly hope that doesn’t happen,” Fluttershy admitted. “Space crews can be rather foolhardy at times, but I’ll try to keep them away from it,” Discord said with an accepting shrug. “I suppose I’d better start patrolling.” “Wait,” Fluttershy blurted out. “Before you go…” Discord shot her an inquisitive look. Blushing again, Fluttershy said quickly, “Didn’t you want to turn my cottage into an ice skating rink?” Discord brightened instantly. “I’d nearly forgotten about that!” He snapped again, and the floor turned to ice. Fluttershy beamed, and she retrieved the skates that she’d been keeping on the hook on the front door for days now. “I’m not very good at ice skating,” she admitted as she put on her shoes. “Promise to not laugh at me.” “I promise to not laugh at you… too much.” Discord smirked at her, already wearing skates and a scarf, and sailed past her easily on the frozen floor. Fluttershy’s smile didn’t leave her face as she awkwardly took the floor. True, it wasn’t much of an assurance, but it was still more than enough for her.