//------------------------------//
// The Gift 
// Story: Bride of Discord 
// by DisneyFanatic23 
//------------------------------//

	Fluttershy's usual nightmare was interrupted by a loud, familiar voice: "STAY AWAY FROM HER OR WE SHALL VANQUISH THEE!"
The draconequus then vanished and a certain blue alicorn appeared before her in the darkness.
"Princess Luna?" she gasped.
"Are you alright, Fluttershy?" the princess inquired.
"Yes. Thank you, but...I heard you could enter dreams, but how come you haven't shown up before?"
"Apologies, for I have many subjects. It was very inconsiderate of me not to have rid your head of that creature before. But Fluttershy, your friends worry about you. Has he hurt you? The real Discord?"
"So far, no..."
"Has he been cruel to you in any way?"
"Well, not exactly, but..."
"Yes?"
She gulped. "He...he wants me to love him."
Luna's eyes widened. "Pardon?"
"You see, I...I convinced him to postpone the wedding, but he wants me to love him first."
"Can you love a creature so horrid and cruel?!" Luna asked angrily.
"He's...not so bad..."
"Fluttershy, he is a deceitful creature! He could be trying to lure you into a trap!"
"But...he already has me..."
"He could be attempting to bend you against your will!"
"I don't know about that, but...he's taking good care of me, and...he said he'd give me anything I desired."
"What about your freedom?"
"Well..."
She trailed off as Luna's image started shifting. "You're waking! I must go!"
"Tell my friends I'm okay!" Fluttershy shouted. "Tell them..."
She didn't get to finish as the sunlight had awoken her. She checked the squiggly handed clock on the wall. It was seven in the morning. At some point in her weeping yesterday, she had fallen asleep. Had she really been asleep for that long?
There was a knock at her door. She didn't need to ask who it was.
"Come in?"
As she had figured, it was Discord who opened the door, a wide grin upon his face.
"Good morning, my beauteous bride!" he chimed. "You certainly were tired to have slept the whole day! Well, now that you're up, how about some breakfast?"
"Um, sure?"
Honestly, she wasn't hungry and did not want to spend more time with Discord, but she did not want to be rude. Give him a chance, she told herself. After all, he's probably not used to being nice to ponies.
With a snap of his fingers, she was seated at the table. Discord materialized behind her.
"What would my lovely fiancé like this morning? Pancakes? Toast? Muffins?"
"Um, pancakes would be..."
A stack of pancakes appeared in front of her before she could finish her sentence.
"I trust you slept well?" he inquired.
"Yes," she fibbed.
"And the bed? Was it comfortable enough?"
"Oh, yes, very."
He leaned his face toward her. "I have a gift for you."
He opened his paw and summoned a jade bracelet. Fluttershy looked at it unsurely as he slid it on her hoof.
"It's...lovely."
"Well, it's nothing compared to you."
He ran his claw under her chin, only to have her gently push it away.
It was like this for the next few days. Discord would attempt to court her, she would resist. Sometimes he would offer her flowers, which she thought was sweet, but still refused them. Every night, he would ask her if she loved him, but she would always reply no. Despite what Zecora had told her, Fluttershy was not ready to let Discord in. He persisted, flattering her, showering her with gifts, but still, she would not submit. She hardly even ate what was given her and spent most of her time in her room alone. The draconequus was getting very impatient.
One day, she absolutely refused to come out of her room. It wasn't until the afternoon that Discord attempted to lure her out.
"Oh, Fluttershy!" he called. "Your knight in shining armor's here!"
She opened the door slightly to see the draconequus in a suit of gold armor, holding a bouquet of roses upside down. When he noticed this error, he quickly corrected it. Fluttershy just slammed the door without a second glance. Discord frowned, but kept his cool.
"Come now, my dear. You've been in there all day."
"Go away!" she screamed.
He clenched his teeth as he made the armor and flowers disappear. "I've been patient with you, pony, but you really don't want to make me angry!"
"Go ahead! Get angry! Every night you ask me the same question and I will always give the same answer! It's still no!"
"Come out here, right now!" he bellowed.
There was a pause, and then a soft, but defiant, "No."
"You can't stay in there forever!"
"Oh, yes I can! I have an endless supply of food in here!"
"I really should have rethought putting that microwave in," he muttered, face palming himself.
He took a deep breath. Play it cool, Discord. He spoke in a softer voice.
"Will you come out?"
"No!"
He grunted, but then tried a different tactic. "Will you come out, please?"
"No, thank you!"
He erupted like a volcano. "You come out here this instant!"
"I won't! And you can't make me!"
"Have you forgotten who I am?!"
With a snap of his fingers, she was out in front of the door. He used his index finger to levitate the engagement ring around her neck, lifting her in the process.
"You promised yourself to me," he growled, pointing toward the ring, "and you are going to be my wife, love me or not!"
Seeing his dark expression, Fluttershy was truly afraid of him at this moment, but she stayed strong and glared back at him. "Fine! Marry me then! Don't wait for me to love you! Because there is no way in this world I could ever love a monster like you!"
"Oh, is that so?! Well, let's stop wasting time then! We'll be married first thing in the morning, whether you like it or not!"
As he released his magic from her, she crossed her hooves and turned away.
"I don't care! I'll never love you! How can you expect me to love you when you keep me prisoner?" She faced him with a glare. "How can you expect any pony to love you when you are incapable of any love whatsoever?!"
"That's it, missy! Go to your room!"
"You're not my mother!"
"But I am your future husband, so get used to my orders!"
"Well, I'm your future wife, so get used to my complaints!"
"Whatever! We're still getting married tomorrow, so ha!"
"Fine!"
"Fine!"
"Fine!"
She slammed the door angrily. Then she rushed to her bed and cried.
"Oh, that pony!" Discord grunted. "No! Even worse! That female!"
Then he heard the pony's weeping and his anger faded. He hadn't meant to make her cry. He was only showing her who was in control around here. He covered his ears, trying to block out her whining as he teleported to his bedroom.
"What will it take?!" he cursed.
His shoulder devil then appeared. "You know what I think? If you want that pony to love you, make her love you! Put a spell on her!"
Another miniature version of him dressed in a white gown and halo appeared on his other shoulder. "No, you can't force some pony to love you. Besides, such a spell can easily be undone."
"Why do I have a shoulder angel?" Discord exclaimed. "I'm not supposed to have a good conscience!"
"Yeah, take a hike, goody-goody!" the devil shouted.
"You take a hike!" the angel rebutted.
"You!"
"You!"
"You infinity!"
"Shut up!" Discord demanded, slumping on his bed. "Okay, I don't care what kind of conscience I have, just some pony explain to me why that pegasus has to be so difficult!"
"Why do you even bother?" his reflection in the mirror asked.
"I told you!" Discord shouted. "Having her fall in love with me is part of the plan, but she won't cooperate! I give her a comfortable room, a variety of food, exquisite clothing and what gratitude do I get?!"
"Lots of whining and crying," the devil muttered.
"Precisely!"
"Give her time," the angel advised. "You did take away her friends and freedom after all."
"But she agreed to it!"
"So what's the point in making her fall in love with you?" the reflection inquired. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you want her to love you."
"Of course I do! Did you not hear me earlier?!"
"I mean I think that pony's turned you soft!"
Discord blinked and then growled. "Soft?! You're calling me, the Master of Chaos, soft?!"
"Well, have you seen yourself the past few days?" The image spoke in a mocking tone. "Oh, Fluttershy! You are so beautiful! Do you love me?!" It stuck out its tongue. "It's sickening!"
"He's got a point," the devil agreed.
"Yep," the angel nodded.
"You're not supposed to agree with them!" Discord exclaimed.
"Come now, even I know you're not perfect."
The draconequus cried out and stomped his foot, which made the sound of thousands of glasses shattering. Then realization hit him.
"Why am I talking to you?" he asked as he flicked the angel and devil off his shoulders. "You're all me! I can't take advice from myself! I need to ask some pony else."
He tapped his chin until he came up with an idea.



Zecora was shocked to open her door and find the Lord of Chaos standing there.
"Hello, neighbor!" he waved.
Her mouth was open, but she could get no words out.
"You're not still mad about me turning your hut upside-down, are you?" he asked as he invited himself in. "It was nothing personal, just chaos."
"Um..." Zecora stammered.
He rolled his eyes. "Alright, so here's the deal. I hear you're good at giving advice. Am I right?" The zebra nodded absent mindedly. "Well, I need it! And if you tell any pony about this, I'll turn you into an acorn to feed to the squirrels!"
"Alright!" She cleared her throat. "No need to frown! Would you have some tea and sit down?"
"Not much of a tea drinker. I prefer chocolate milk."
But he sat down anyway. Zecora seated herself across from him.
"Now what can I do to fix what's troubling you?"
Discord put his head in his hands and sighed. "It's my fiancé, Fluttershy! I'm sure you've heard of our engagement..."
"I heard the squeal that she has accepted your deal?"
"Yes, well...she's not exactly...happy."
"You did take her from her friends, so it was expected her happiness should..."
"That's what my shoulder angel said!" Zecora blinked at him. "Never mind. But I've swallowed my dignity to please this woman! I've given her all the luxury and comfort a pony could want and she doesn't give so much as a smile! She just sits in her room and cries!" He looked pleadingly at the zebra. "What am I doing wrong?"
"I can help you if you will keep calm and let me see your palm."
He held out his eagle claw and lion paw. "Which one?"
She took his paw and examined it closely. Discord squinted to see what she was looking at.
"Ah," she uttered with understanding. "So many years of sadness and tears. You have been very lonely, being without any pony."
"I'm not lonely!" the draconequus snapped. "I have chaos and chocolate milk and duplicates to talk to! What more could I want?!"
She ignored his protest and continued. "So much pain, which you only relieve through chocolate rain."
"Seriously, what are you looking at?"
"But only the love of a mare can make you complete, and to win her heart, you must be sweet."
He tugged his paw away. "Quit talking in riddles! That's my job! How do I make Fluttershy happy?"
"To replace her sadness with happiness, you must act with kindness."
He stared at her. "Come again?"
"Fluttershy is not to be won by comfort and jewels. Kindness and consideration will be your tools. Learn of her interests, her pleasures, her joys, and use them instead of your ploys."
Discord lost his patience and slammed a fist on the table. "Cut the rhyme and speak in English!"
Zecora narrowed her eyes. "Listen, Fluttershy's the Element of Kindness, so to impress her, be kind to her!"
"Kind?! Do you even know who I am?"
"You want the girl or not?!"
"Okay, okay! So how do I do this...kind thing?"
"Do something for her! Give her a gift!"
"I've given her gifts!"
"Something she likes."
"Something she likes?" He paused to think. "Well, she doesn't really do anything other than play with animals and admire boring plants..." His face lit up. "Wait a minute. That's it!" He turned to the zebra. "You're good! You're welcome at my castle any time!"
After he had vanished, Zecora shook her head with a laugh. "Oh, if he were to know where this was going to go."



Meanwhile, Spike and Applejack were trying to keep Fluttershy's animals under control.
"Y'all come back here, ya varmints!" she shouted at beavers as they hauled away a tree they had recently cut down.
"Angel, I have to finish fluffing your tail!" Spike called as he chased after the white rabbit that had hair curlers in his tail.
"Spike, help me round up these chickens!"
"I'm kind of busy here!"
He grabbed hold of Angel, who gave him a hard kick in the snout.
"I thought you were supposed to be good with takin' care of critters," Applejack said.
"Yeah," Spike grunted as he lost his grip on the bunny. "Maybe when there are six of them at a time, not six hundred! What about you? Don't you raise animals for a living?"
"My animals are trained and stay in their pens. Wynona, get those weasels out of the coop!"
"How does Fluttershy handle these guys?! I wish they would all just disappear!"
As he said that, a white flash caused the animals to vanish from sight. All that was left was Applejack, Spike and Wynona.
"I didn't mean that literally."
"What in tarnation?" the pony gasped. "Where'd they get off to?"
Suddenly, Spike burped up a letter. When he opened it, he raised an eyebrow.
"This isn't from the princess."
"Let me see." As Applejack read the note, her eyes widened. "Well, I'll be darn."



The tears would not stop. After hearing that she would be married to that monster tomorrow, the waterworks had broken loose.
She should run away, she had thought, but Fluttershy knew that breaking her promise would give Discord the freedom of taking over Equestria. Besides, he could bring her back with the snap of his fingers.
She had cried so much, the room was starting to flood. Perhaps she would be able to drown herself in a few moments. She didn't care what happened to her anymore.
Zecora had been wrong. Discord was a heartless monster and nothing more. Now she was doomed to be his forever, with death being her only escape.
A light knock on her door startled her. "Fluttershy?"
She buried her face in her pillow. "Go away!"
Outside, Discord silently cursed, but then took a deep breath. "I just wanted to say I'm...s-s-s..."
"What?" Fluttershy choked, lifting her head.
"I'm s-s-s-sorry!"
This caught her attention. This must have been his first time saying that word.
"I didn't realize how upset this deal would make you..."
"Yes, you did!" she snapped.
"Okay, I did! I just ignored that fact. You see...I don't know how to...act in these kinds of situations. I'm sorry I lost my temper with you earlier, but...can you at least give me a chance to make it up to you?"
She paused. "Well..."
"You don't have to marry me tomorrow."
He waited patiently. After a while, she opened the door and looked up at him.
"What is it?"
He grinned a little. "I have something to show you, but first, close your eyes!"
She raised an eyebrow at him, but complied. He waved a paw in front of her to check that she could not see. Smiling excitedly, he took her front hooves and led her to the door leading outside.
Fluttershy did not know what to expect. She was surprised by how tenderly he was holding her hooves. She had to flap her wings to keep her balance, but his touch assured her that if she fell over, he would catch her. She felt a breeze as they went outside. She took a deep breath, as this was her first amount of fresh air in days.
"Can I open them?" she asked.
He led her forward a little more, then gently let go of her hooves and whispered in her ear. "Alright. Now."
She opened her eyes and gasped. Surrounding her were acres of plants and flowers of all species and colors. There was an especially large patch of tulips, her favorite. Running about were hundreds of animals, many she recognized from home, but others from elsewhere. She saw kangaroos, toucans, and many more. Everything was vibrant, colorful, the kind of things you would never expect to see in the Everfree Forest. She also noticed they were still floating on the floating ground, but this garden had been added to the clump of earth.
"I brought all your little friends from home," Discord said. "I also brought a few others I thought you would be interested in. Do you like the tulips? I know they're your favorite. I also made a gazebo." He pointed towards it. "You know, in case you want to sit in the shade. Otherwise, there are big trees." He led her to a glimmering pond. "And look, a home for your ducks and fish, also good for swimming. I even put a bridge!"
He then gestured toward a large wooden machine with tubes of acorns, carrots and other foods. "Now, I know how much you like feeding the animals, so I put a food dispenser over there with everything every animal needs."
Her silence made him frown. Then his ears drooped. She hated it. He knew the food dispenser was too much.
"I..." Fluttershy stammered, still staring at the scene. "I...I don't know what to say."
"A thank you would be nice," Discord muttered sadly.
Suddenly, the pegasus did something unexpected. She attacked him around the waist with a hug. The draconequus perked up his ears, tensed his body and widened his eyes at her touch. No pony had ever touched him like this before, let alone hugged him. Such a touch was new and strange...and pleasant.
"This is the most wonderful thing any pony has ever done for me!" she exclaimed. "Thank you! I love it so much!"
He looked down at the pony and saw what he had been hoping to see for the past few days: a smile. A true, happy smile that made her beautiful face even more beautiful.
He felt a tug in his chest, as his heart started beating, perhaps for the first time in millennia. It beat even faster as the pony's face nuzzled into his fur.
Slowly, and hesitantly, he wrapped his arms around her small frame, and muttered, "You're welcome."
Fluttershy pulled away as she heard a squeak and let out another gasp.
"Angel! I thought I'd never see you again!"
Discord watched as she flew to her beloved bunny. Other animals surrounded her, delighted to see her. He could not take his eyes off her. That pony, that kind, gentle, beautiful little pony. Her teal eyes sparkled with joy, her pink mane flowed in the mild breeze and her excited voice was like a tingling bell. His heart pounded faster with every second he watched her, until it was about ready to leap out of his chest.
What was this strange sensation developing inside him? He did not know what it was, but it caused a big smile to spread across his face.



In the Ponyville library, Twilight read the message they had received:
"Dear ponies, do not look for animals. They are at my place, with their owner. Your unfriendly neighborhood Discord."
Rainbow Dash looked at the note. "Why did he use letters from magazines?"
"To hide his identity!" Pinkie exclaimed. "Oh, but he signed his name, and...we know who he is, because he has Fluttershy..."
"Why would Discord take the animals for Fluttershy?" Rarity questioned
Applejack glanced at Spike. "Ponies will do anything to please the ones they love."
"Discord? Love?" Rainbow Dash laughed. "That's a hoot!"
"Doesn't this break the deal?" the dragon inquired. "I mean he can't use his magic outside of the forest, right?"
Twilight exchanged a glance with Applejack before answering, "I think we can make an exception for this one."