//------------------------------// // Day 7: Spike // Story: Games // by CCC //------------------------------// “Hey, Discord.” said Spike, with a little wave, meeting Discord outside the library. “Hey, Spike.” said Discord, sounding bored. “Ummmm... yeah.” said Spike. “So... I actually kinda thought one of the others would have done something surprising by now. I had a plan, but the plan was to go into the Everfree and ask about what the weather was going to do...” Discord shook his head. “It's just a matter of temperatures and air pressure and stuff.” he said. “Dead simple once you know how.” “Ah, right.” said Spike. “So... something Fluttershy said gave me an idea, and I thought perhaps we could go a little further afield. Could you teleport us to Apploosa?” Discord shrugged. “Sure,” he said, “if you think it'll help.” He snapped his talons, and the dragon and dragonequus vanished from Ponyville. * * * Fluttershy slipped quietly into the Books and Branches library, carrying a book in her mouth. She carefully deposited it on the table. “Twilight?” she said. Twilight was sitting nearby, surrounded by dozens of hovering sheets of paper, with no less then three quills writing on them. “Hmmm?” she said. “Oh.” said Fluttershy. “I can come back later, if you're busy...” “Mmmm.” said Twilight, not paying attention. “If you find Fluttershy, could you ask her to visit? I need to talk to her.” Fluttershy stared at Twilight for a long time, and then said “Um... I'm already here, Twilight.” “Hmmm?” Twilight glanced up, and finally noticed who she was talking to. “Oh, Fluttershy! Good, you got my message.” “Um...” said Fluttershy, not sure what to say to this. “I need your help.” continued Twilight. “If Spike can't find any way to surprise Discord, we might be facing an apocalyptic scenario again. I've tried – we've all tried everything we could... we've got to have a plan, in case Spike's idea fails. I thought... you've reformed Discord once, maybe you might have an idea to get him to stay reformed?” Fluttershy thought about the question for a few moments, and then asked “Do you, um, do you know what Spike's planning?” Twilight shook her head. “He said he didn't want to spoil the surprise.” she said. * * * “It's an orchard.” said Discord. “With a buffalo stampeding path running through it. What's supposed to be surprising about this?” Spike's shoulders slumped. “I was kind of hoping you'd be surprised at the compromise.” he said. “Not really.” said Discord. “I've heard the friendship report about that incident.” “Oh, right.”Spike considered that for a bit, and then said “How about if we visit the buffalo?” “They're a couple of hundred miles from here right now,” said Discord. “They're a very migratory people.” “Oh.” said Spike. “Right.” Discord snapped his talons again, and the two of them vanished. * * * “I don't think Discord wants to be evil.” said Fluttershy. “I reformed him, by giving him a reason to not want to be evil. A friendship. Someone to care about.” She paused a moment. “He's still got that. He doesn't want to be evil. For some reason, it seems that he thinks he has to. If we can persuade him that he's wrong, that he doesn't have to be evil... then maybe we don't actually need to surprise him?” Twilight frowned, and looked over her papers. She shuffled them around, and then made several further notes. “Hmmm.” she said. “That's... that's a good idea. Bypassing the given victory condition, but keeping Discord good... plus we don't need to go through all this again in six months, always a bonus. I like that.” The library door opened, and a small filly crept quietly in. She looked around in all directions. “Hi, Sweetie Belle.” said Fluttershy. “Hi, Sweetie.” said Twilight, still poring over her papers. “Hi, Fluttershy, Twilight.” said Sweetie Belle, nervously. “Is Spike around?” “No,” said Twilight, adding a note to her papers, “he's out for the day.” “He is?” asked Sweetie, with a sudden grin. “Can I get a book out?” “Sure.” said Twilight. “That one.” said Sweetie Belle, pointing at a book that had been left on one of the upper bookshelves, well out of the filly's reach. Twilight slid the book off the shelf. “Huh. That wasn't shelved right.” she said, absently. “Medieval weaponry should be on the bottom shelf. Here you go, Sweetie Belle. Bring it back within two weeks, or I'll have to charge you a late fee.” “Thanks, Twilight!” said Sweetie, grabbing the book and running. “Are you, um, are you sure that was a good idea?” asked Fluttershy. “What?” asked Twilight. “Um... nevermind.” squeaked Fluttershy. * * * “Tall Creature Of Many Creatures is known to our people.” said Chief Thunderhooves, ponderously. “I heard the tale from my father, who heard it from his father, who heard it from his father, who heard it from his father, who heard it from his father, who heard it from his second cousin twice removed, who heard it from his father, who heard it from -” One of the other buffalo braves nudged the chief. “Ahem.” said Chief Thunderhooves. “The time of the Creature Of Many Creatures was a time of terror and tutus for my people. His very name is unspoken among us. For generations, we have told our foals to behave lest the Patchwork One take them.” “Now, that's just scandalous.” objected Discord. “I was trapped in stone most of that time, and I never kidnapped a single foal. Well, except that one time, but I had good reason.” Thunderhooves gave Discord his finest angry glare. “For generations,” continued Chief Thunderhooves after some time, “the horrors of the Creature Of Many Creatures have been known to my people. So -” he turned his glare on Discord - “why, Spike, have you bought the Creature Of Many Creatures here, of all places?” “Well,” said Spike, nervously, “I was kind of hoping he'd be surprised at how buffalo society had changed in the last thousand years.” “Not surprised.” said Discord. “Disappointed, yes, but hardly surprised. I wasn't exactly a paragon of good back then, after all.” “The Creature Of Many Creatures will not be permitted in our camp.” said Chief Thunderhooves. “You, Spike, are welcome if you wish to enter, but the Creature Of Many Creatures is not.” And with that, he turned his back on the two visitors and re-entered the camp. “Um.” said Spike. “What if we go to, um, Griffonia?” * * * “There's one more thing.” said Fluttershy, as Twilight continued to add to her notes. “Yes?” asked Twilight. “Um... I made a promise.” said Fluttershy. “I promised not to use my Element on Discord.” Twilight looked up sharply at that, blinking. “Even if – even if he goes evil again?” she asked. Fluttershy nodded, firmly. “Even if he goes evil again.” she said. “Hmmm.” said Twilight. “That eliminates emergency strategies A through J, L, M and N. Emergency Strategy K remains viable in theory, but only if we can talk Discord into it, which I don't think is all that likely...” * * * The sun was setting when Discord and Spike finally reappeared in Ponyville. “You know,” said Spike, “you really made a memorable impact a thousand years ago. I thought we had a good chance with the diamond dogs, but...” “Considering what I did to their ancestors,” said Discord, “I'm really not surprised. On reflection, the custard may have been too much.” “Well, good thing dragons are fireproof.” said Spike. “Spike!” called out Twilight, galloping towards them, followed by Fluttershy. “Discord! There you are! Where've you been? How did it go?” “Hmph.” said Discord. “Where haven't we been?” asked Spike. “Apploosa, Griffonia, Fillydelfia, Las Pegasus, San Palomino, the Dragon Mountains...” “We discovered,” said Discord, gloomily, “that most species have depressingly long memories. Especially when it comes to various acts of chaos done, oh, say, about a thousand years ago. Nothing particularly surprising, though.” “Do you really, um, really have to turn evil?” asked Fluttershy. Discord sighed. “I wasn't looking forward to this conversation.” he said. “But you, of all ponies, really deserve an explanation. I have to because, if I continue in this scripted, pre-defined, pre-known role for much longer, I am going to go quite crazy. Stark raving mad. Insane. Screwy. However you want to put it. And if I do that... then some ponies are going to die.” Discord took a deep breath. “If I go back to being evil without going crazy first, then I can at least make sure not to kill anyone. I was never a killer, and I don't want to go there.” Fluttershy sat down, a little surprised at this revelation. “So...” she asked. “You're going to turn evil specifically so as to not kill anyone?” “In short, yes.” said Discord. “Please, don't try to talk me out of it. You just might be able to, and if you do, then I will go insane, sooner or later. It's just a matter of time.” He sighed. “Perhaps I'll start by turning every building in Canterlot to cake? Celestia might even appreciate that, you never know.” “Wouldn't ponies get buried under the collapsing cake?” asked Twilight. Discord shook his head. “Twilight, Twilight, Twilight.” he said, reprovingly. “Do you really think I am incapable of creating structurally sound cakes? Oh, and by the way, Fluttershy, I'm going to officially release you of your promise to me.” “What?” asked Spike. “What promise?” “My promise not to use my Element against him.” said Fluttershy, with a sigh. “Wha- why would you do that?” asked Spike. “Because he doesn't want to be sure of how things will turn out.” said Twilight. “As long as Fluttershy's bound by that promise, we can't turn him to stone.” Discord sighed. “These last few months have been... much nicer than I'd originally expected.” he said, raising his eagle claw to snap. “But I really should -” He stopped mid-sentence, turning his head to the side to listen to something. Both the ponies, and the dragon, heard it after a moment; the whistling sound of something flying through the air. Discord and Twilight both turned to look at the same time... ...Twilight noticed the vaguely pony-shaped bundle, strapped to giant wings of silk and wood, for just a moment before it smashed directly into Discord's face and burst open, showering the area with its contents. “Birdseed?” asked Fluttershy, as almost half a sack worth of the small objects bounced on the ground around them. A buzzing sound from the same direction announced the arrival of three fillies; the Cutie Mark Crusaders, one on a scooter and two in a little red wagon. “Oh, no.” said Sweeite Belle. “Did we hit somepony?” “I have to say,” said Discord, rasing his lion paw from below the wreckage of the Crusader's latest creation, “I really didn't see that coming.”