//------------------------------// // 8) It all started with a Pie // Story: Learning ABCs - Adorable, Bothersome, Chaotic // by Isopod //------------------------------// The next couple of days passed in relative normality - relative being the key word; it was the an 'acquired taste' sort of normal but that didn't stop Twilight Sparkle from feeling about as proud as she could; proud of Discord, proud of everyone who gave him a chance but of herself as well - she never knew Discord could change so much with a bit of friendly nudging. And it all happened in barely two weeks! It was now a regularity to see Discord on the streets of Ponyville but it was very irregular to see him actually talking to somepony. Aside from Pinkie Pie, who became his number one pranking buddy, Twilight saw him actually having a lengthy conversation with Dr. Whooves and Derpy - and a very in-depth conversation, too. The three were discussing the possibilities of space and time travel through periods of hundreds of years and even parallel worlds. Where did they get an idea to talk about that Twilight didn't know, although for a moment she was worried ponies have heard of her little time traveling accident. For the sake of her own good name, she decided to avoid the topic, unknowingly missing out on an opportunity to talk to a time-traveler. Of course, there was also Twilight, who by now considered him a friend that was always welcome at her place and at any time, as bothersome and trouble-making as he still was more often than not; but while she considered him a friend, she was pretty sure he wasn't feeling the same. In fact, she was pretty certain he viewed most relationships with ponies as more of a pleasant experience to take part in, rather than a friendship. More than once, she felt pretty disappointed over that possibility but decided it was just logical that someone like Discord would take longer to actually respect someone in such a manner. At the very least, Twilight figured, he seemed to have really started getting along with her best friends. Having just been out to get some more quills and ink, she accidentally ran into him tasting one of Applejack's pies from her stall on the main plaza - from what she gathered, watching them from behind a corner and not wanting to disturb their communication, he was teasing and bothering poor Applejack so much, she gave him a complementary apple pie just to make him go away. Once he actually ate the pie though, he was very interested in how she made them taste so good. The two engaged into a short discussion of cooking secrets. "I still don't understand how is it possible to make a pie taste so good; I can summon the best pies in the world - or at least I like to claim so! What is so different about yours that makes them so... better?" He bitterly picked that word, much to the Earth pony's pleasure. Applejack merely shrugged but judging by the small smile on her face, she was quite flattered - not because she never knew the pies of Apple family were the best pies ever to exist in the history of everything. No, it was because it was Discord, who was usually able to create just about anything, who actually showed appreciation of her family's hard work. It both pleasantly surprised her, and impressed her – the old Discord would never show any sign of appreciation for anything that didn't come out of his click of fingers. "... give me another one." The Spirit demanded nicely. To him, there was no ask. There was demand it nicely or demand it like a boss, but most common of all was just take it. Still, he had no threatening powers right now, so he went with the 'nicer' way. Applejack cocked an eyebrow. "Ya ought to pay for one before ya get one, ya know?" The Spirit sighed. "Unfortunately, it still isn't in my power to create bits out of thin air - apparently it is against the law because it 'puts economy out of balance'." Discord imitated Celestia's motherly tone. Applejack frowned. "Well, y'can always get some kinda job and, yanno, work for it." The Spirit erupted into a laughing it that made Applejack's teeth grit. "Oh, you're a funny one Applejack, you really are." Discord stuttered out as he finally managed to get some air. "Well pardon me but yer no exception to the rule - no bits, no pie. An' if ya even try an' steal one, ya'll get a such kick in yer flank, it'll send ya flyin' over Equestria, ya got that?" The Spirit pouted, which on his 'handsome' face looked especially funny. Applejack suppressed a grin and suddenly remembered Twilight's eagerness to befriend the Spirit and the look on her face as she excitedly told them about Discord's progress. She instantly felt warmth in her chest, knowing the purple pony would be over-thrilled if she knew Applejack hung around with Discord - little did she know the same purple unicorn was peeking at them from behind a house corner, not believing her eyes nor her ears. So Applejack decided she might give it a try; her way, of course. "Say Discord," the pony continued, "I bet'cha couldn't make a pie this good without using your fancy magics." "Oh, please," Discord waved his eagle hand dismissively, "it would be a piece of cake - see what I did there?" He laughed. "I could easily summon the exact same ingre-" "Nuh-uh; I said no magics. At all." Discord finally seem to have understood what she meant by 'no magic'. "I would have to make it by hand? Quite an outrageous proposal! I wouldn't even be allowed to supply myself?" "You'd supply yerself like we all do - buy what ya need." Discord saw where this was going. "Still trying to make me work, Applejack? I'm afraid I have better things to not work on." "Just as Ah expected; givin' up as soon as it gets complicated." Appjejack continues, her words making the Spirit slightly upset. "Your petty taunting attempts will not work." "Ah'm not attempting anything - I'm challenging ya, Discord." Applejack bluntly said. Discord paused. The word 'challenge' was a really dangerous and exciting, yet by now, really bothersome word. He loved challenges, when he was the one proposing them. Another way around was also fun. Coming from ponies, however... somehow, he'd always get in trouble. Or get someone else in trouble. Or cause trouble. And now it involved baking a freakin' pie. "So what's it gonna be?" Applejack gave him a flashy smile because she recognized that stubborn spark in his eyes as one that occasionally lighted up in her own; there was no way in Equestria he was going to refuse. "Oh for goodness sake, fine, fine, your silly challenge is on." He finally gave in, drawing a satisfied smile from the Earth Pony. "Excellent. The only thing at stake is our pride an' honor. Be done by the evenin'!" "This evening?" Discord repeated in disbelief, to which Applejack laughed yet again. "What did ya expect; an afternoon is enough to supply the Sugar Cube Corner for a day!" Seeing the Spirit getting more dissatisfied with every second, she added in: "If ya want, you can have Twi help ya." Both of them failed to noticed the purple unicorn that excitedly trotted back to her home upon hearing Applejack's words. "Ha! I need no such thing as help! I'll make that silly pie in the matter of minutes!" With those words the Spirit flew away swiftly. Applejack smirked. "This oughta be fun. Hope it pays off." ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Once coming before the library, Discord realized just how difficult will this be for him. Powerful, troublesome Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony, who used to rule and conquer and shed fear... baking an apple pie. He was pretty sure he never missed his powers as much as he did in that moment. He facepalmed before letting out a resigning sigh and entering the library in a rather unfabulous fashion he usually didn't really prefer - through the door. "Hiya there, Discord!" Discord's eyebrows practically left his face when he was greeted with the unusual sight. First of all, it was rare of unicorn to greet him the way she did now. So disgustingly overjoyed, sounding and looking so cute it was suffocating... like a puppy at the door. He tried to contain the expression of disgust to himself. Then, there was the fact she was wearing an apron. An apron. While he was not familiar with the cooking skills of Twilight, he would bet his tail she pretty much never managed to successfully cook an egg. Mentally, he figured that would at least make the two of them. It didn't take the Spirit long to connect the dots. "You heard everything, huh?" "I have no idea what you're talking about." Twilight responded playfully, knowing well that he knew exactly what she knew. She is positively excited about this, Discord realized. If he were to tell her right now he didn't want her help it would probably sadden her greatly. It used to be fun, to sadden her, or anypony else. The fact it wasn't as fun anymore only aided his frustration. A groan escaped him as he finally said, annoyed: "Fine, let's bake the stupid pie already." Twilight clapped her hooves happily. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ "Now what?" "Just-- press into it! With your hands! Is it really that hard?" "It is not hard, it is just so... so..." "What? What is it?" Quite some time passed in the small kitchen. Luckily for Discord, he didn't have to, as he put it, "humiliate himself by going shopping like a silly pony", since they had enough of ingredients. But surprisingly he had difficulties doing the simplest of tasks and Twilight simply couldn't comprehend why. It took him almost five minutes the open the bag of flour and pour some of it into the bowl. At the moment, he was practically wrestling with the dough for the crust, looking like he was going through great discomfort doing it. The Spirit gritted his teeth. "Nothing." Twilight looked over at him, slightly disconcerted but decided not to say anything. "Alright, while you finish that, I'll slice some apples." Making a pie isn't like learning the flipping theory of quantom magic, so why is he having so much trouble with it, Twilight wondered as she watched the Spirit who was pressing the dough like it hurt him every time he did so. However, it turned out making a pie - at least for these two particular cooks - was perhaps even harder then studying the theory of quantum magic. Twilight didn't know her magic could fail in in wielding a simple kitchen knife and as such cutting the apples the way she wanted them to be cut - to the perfection, that is - turned out to be one of the small near-impossibilites her cooking anti-talent provided her with. After Discord finally managed to do it right, the crust was soon done, and apples prepared. Oonce they clumsily added whatever the cookbook instructed them with and somehow made the shape in the pan look relatively like a pie, they finally pushed it into the oven, after which Spirit literally laid on the floor and breathed with relief. "What is with you?" Twilight frowned, deciding to act as if preparing the pie for a whole hour wasn't anything unusual. "You act like you just ran a mare-a-thon, or something." Discord didn't reply. By now, Twilight was not concerned by his behavior. She was irritated. "Alright, enough of this nonsense." "What nonsewow!" Discord felt the unpleasant tug on his tail as Twilight's magic lifted him up to hang upside down before her. He dangled a bit comically as Twilight started to speak. "What is going on Discord? You're totally out of place! Since when does the 'almighty' Spirit of Chaos have trouble making a pie! A pie! You must've created like... a whole avalanche of them by now!" She argued, visibly upset with his strange behavior. She let the Spirit fall on the floor. Much to her surprise, instead of a witty reply or an arrogant remark of what she had done, he got up and proceeded to lazily wipe the dust out of his fur. Obviously avoiding the answer. "Well?" He let a big sigh, which only added to her frustration; he almost sounded as if he had an actual problem which she truly didn' nor couldn't believe. "You can be so annoying sometimes, Twilight Sparkle." He finally answered. "Well-- you can be so weird sometimes!" The unicorn shot back, throwing her hooves in the air. "I don't know what to make of your behavior!" "My behavior is my business only." "Not if you're obviously not feeling well about something." Feeling. He knew the word 'feeling' didn't always have to represent one's emotional state but he hated the word nevertheless. It was so cheesy, so overly honest. Worst of all, it was horribly intrusive. "I don't see how my 'not feeling well' has anything to do with you." "Well I'm sorry but I can't let anypony, especially a good friend of mine, suffer." It took Twilight a few second to realize she probably said something he considered weird; at least if it was to judge by the Spirit's reaction and the two suddenly stared at each other in confusion. Discord blinked a few times. Twilight wondered what was going through his head, but he decided to remain silent, suddenly knowing those were not the words he had ever expected to hear from her. Just as she opened his mouth to say something, an unpleasant smell spread through the kitchen. "The PIE!" The two shrieked as if their lives were on the line, then opened the oven so forcefully they almost broke it. Inside, a half black, crispy remains of once (maybe) edible pie waited for them. Discord let out a groan and threw himself on the floor. Twilight looked defeated, as if she had just failed an exam. After one of the most devastating silences they ever experienced, she turned around to face the Spirit and tried giving him a smile, which, while it didn't seem to repair his mood, has gotten him curious; probably because she didn't have anything to smile about. "Again?" Hope audible in her sweet voice. It took Discord a second to think the suggestion through. She wasn't giving up easily, was she? He smiled back. "Again." ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ About eight burnt, over baked, under baked, too sweet, too salty, prank-containing, cinnamon challengy or accidentally destroyed pies, Discord and Twilight put the supposedly good pie on the kitchen table, both of them wearing a slightly tired but satisfied smile on their faces; they have spent the whole afternoon trying to get the pie done right, which with their unbelievably low level of cooking skill wasn't even that bad of a timing. Through pranks and conversation, they have spent quite an enjoyable day, talking about the random things such as Ponyville citizens, the pretty much nonexistent strategy of Chess Mess, even books and once Spike came home and yelled at them for messing up the kitchen, about his crush on Rarity. When Twilight called Spike to test their new pie, he gladly accepted even though he wasn't too fond of desserts that didn't contain gems. Tension was in the air as Spike tasted a slice, chewing slowly. Then he blinked in surprise. "Wow, you two. I didn't knew you can cook so well. Remind me why am I the one behind the stove every day?" He asked teasingly. "Oh, it is because there has to be a side character who does all these menial tasks for us." "... huh?" Twilight didn't even hear Discord's weird reply, her eyes glinting at Spike's compliment of their shared hard work. "Oh, I'm so happy to hear those word! Thank you so much Spike, we spent the whole afternoon trying to get it right. Pierce was really hard to make." "Pierce?" Spike covered his mouth trying not to laugh "After a third one failed, we started naming them." Discord explained. "It was quite fun, looking for names with 'pie' in them." "Sure, I guess that's... a good way to waste time." Spike rolled his eyes and glanced around the kitchen and mulled over the fact it looked like an aftermath of Pinkie Pie's part, then caught the eyes of the two, hands on his hips. "This kitchen better be clean by tomorrow morning, because I'm not taking care of this mess." The two quietly nodded their heads, eyes on the floor, as Spike went up, satisfied that he managed to get the message across. "...Well, let us not waste our time here," Discord suddenly said, grabbing Twilight like a doll as she levitated the pie, "I have a point to prove!" With a click of fingers, he transported both of them to the Sweet Apple Acres, which caught Twilight by surprise. "I didn't know you could transport that far." The suspicious silence was all she got as a reply for a few seconds. "Lucky day, I suppose." The Spirit shrugged, not sounding too certain himself. Twilight decided she'd think it over later, as they both searched around - it didn't take them long to notice a certain orange pony with a bucket of apples among the trees. "Hey, Applejack!" Twilight called for her - as the Earth Pony turned around, a delighted smile decorated her face. "Well, what do we have here." She said in amusement as she approached them, looking at the pie Twilight was offering her. "He's called Pierce! Treat him gently!" Discord said jokingly as Applejack took a slice. She gave him a funny look for his statement, but didn't question it. Then she slowly ate the slice. "Well spank my flank and call me Suzie, ya did it." Applejack said in disbelief. While Twilight wondered what in the Equestria did Applejack just say, Discord let out a victorious 'ha!'. "Like I said - easy as pie." Twilight decided not to mention that little detail about just how many times did they make it over and over again, thining Discord would probably be upset with it. But Applejack seemed to have been observant enough to know they worked hard without them telling her anything - the fact they completely forgot to wash up all the flour and yolk from their fur was a giveaway even a blind pony would notice. "Well, congratulations, Discord. Ya passed." "Of course I-- wait, passed?" The Spirit asked in confusion, floating next to Twilight, who had an equally confused expression on her face. "Ya were willing to work hard after all, weren't ya?" Applejack asked. Discord frowned upon realization. "You..." "Ah wanted to see if ya really can work hard if ya want to - well, even if you don't want to - an' apparently ya can, and with quite the results, too. Now I can feel the same appreciation for you because of yer work, just like ya felt when ya tasted mah pies." Twilight suddenly let out a wise "oooh" as if she just realized what two plus two was, while Discord didn't look pleased at all. These ponies really liked to play games with him. It was so mischievous of them. He liked it. "Well, thanks for th' pie! Granny Smith will be pleased! I'd ask ya to cook us something again, but I reckon Twilight wouldn' like to have her kitchen burn down!" she laughed, her teasing making Twilight smile a bit shyly. Discord was still slightly upset. "G'night y'all!" Applejack finally greeted them before entering her house, feeling like today was quite a success for all of them. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Once Discord and Twilight transported back into the library, they both felt just how worn out they were. But for some reason, neither of them felt like sleeping. They ended up on the top balcony of the library, using the telescope and looking at the stars, discussing Applejack's successful plan. Both of them got comfy on the balcony floor, and once Discord summoned some oddly colored tea, which had a unique taste Twilight swore she never tried before, the evening was pretty much perfect for relaxation. "She really got you this time though, you have to admit." "Hmpf. That farmer pony just earned herself a weeks' worth of some of my best schemes." Discord evilly replied, a devilish smile on his face. "Just don't be too cruel." Twilight warned. "Oh, so I can be cruel, only not too cruel, hm?" He continued to tease. "That was totally not what I meant!" Twilight shook her head, smiling incredulously. "Don't worry dear; I'll have Applejack on her wits ends without causing too much trouble... for everypony else..." He ended with an asuible whisper. I guess I'll have another think to look out for during the week, Twilight thought triedly as she took some more tea. She hoped Applejack wouldn't regret she challenged the Spirit and 'humiliated' him by pointing out his virtues. "Are you still not going to tell me what got into you this afternoon?" Twilight tried once again. As she expected, a frown formed on his face, followed by a groan. "Ugh, again with this. If you'll continue to pester me like that, I might as well go to sleep." As he was about to stand up, the unicorn quickly grasped his shoulder to stop him and he blinked at the motion. "Oh, don't go! I'm sorry, if it really bothers you that much, I won't ask anymore." As she reteratedher hoof, she didn't notice how unprepared Discord was for her gesture. "... Well, how about this Twilight Sparkle - I'll answer your question if you answer one of mine." "Oh." Twilight blinked, wondering just what was it that made the Spirit curious. "Well, sure I suppose." The Spirit eyed her for a short while, as if trying to realize something for himself. "Do you really think of me as a- a friend?" Twilight was nearly pitying the fact his voice was so full of suspicion and disbelief; he was obviously expecting her to deny she ever thought of him as someone close and couldn't understand why. After all, he used to mock them all for being so invested into relationships and friendship, mock their loyalty and kindness to each other, the way they treated each other with respect. So why the sudden surprise? “... of course. Why would you think I'd say that otherwise?” Twilight asked back, adding immediately after, “I don't really understand why were you questioning that, I mean...” She paused. “I've been thinking of you as a friend for some time already, even though you don't think the same.” Discord opened his mouth to say something but stopped himself in the last second by loudly slapping his mouth. Twilight looked at him funny for a moment. Before she could question it, he started answering her own question. “It is just so...weird, doing all of these things...” The draconequus seemed confused by his own behaviour as he tried to find the words to explain. “How do I make you understand this...” In a moment of inspiration, he flew up and put his hands slightly up – in one of them he summoned a, by now mascot of his powers, glass of chocolate milk. “You see? That was quite easy, wasn't it. On the other hand...” With a few soft popping sounds, ingredients appeared before Twilight on the balcony floor – milk, cocoa beans, sugar, bottles of flavour, vanilla... “...look at all of this!” He gestured towards the summoned goods. "No matter what kind of warm bevarage I choose, I have to deal with this! I think this is the first time ever I've actually summoned cocoa beans! I never needed them. I always have everything prepared. I'm pretty sure I never in my life touched half prepared food.” He admitted, sounding once again confused. But Twilight slowly started to see what the Spirit was talking about – not just the fact he wasn't used to working for what he wanted; during the afternoon, he didn't complain once, it was definitely not the matter of laziness or unwillingness. It was the fact he once had everything literally a click of fingers away. He used to summon pie rains. Now, he had to work the whole afternoon for a pie that didn't even get tossed into somepony's face. And this was a just a silly pie they were talking about! What if he wanted to create a palace he usually probably spent approximately a second or two summoning out of nothing? Discord needed to get used to being normal. “...I see what you're trying to say. Getting used to changes isn't easy but it pays off in the end... sometimes with a little help from your friends.” Twilight smiled at herself, remembered when she first came to Ponyville, totally unused to all the friendly attention she's been given. It was awkward, annoying and bothersome... to an end. It paid off. "Thanks to them, my life is so much... not just better but... richer, fulfilled. Sometimes it takes a while to get used to something but once you do, you can see what are the beauties of doing so. I mean hey," she nudged his shoulder, "I'm willing to bet you had a pretty good time in that kitchen." Making the food disappear and nesting himself comfortably next to her, Discord seemed to ponder about her words. The he gave her a small side glance, smiling... unusually seriously. No teasing, no mockery. Just an honest smile. "You're a good friend, Twilight Sparkle." It took Twilight every single atom of strength she possessed not to throw herself around the Spirit's neck and just hug him the way she's usually reserve for her closest friends. Instead, she decided to distract herself with probably the oldest dumb joke in the history of the world. “Hey, what's that?” She pointed to his beard. As he looked down, she playfully and softly brought her hoof up, hitting him in the nose. Judging by the priceless look on his face, he didn't expect to fall for such an old trick but then again, neither did she. "You... you booped me." He stated, as if it wasn't obvious already. Managing to decipher just what the heck 'booping' mean by the context, Twilight couldn't suppress continuous giggles. “I can't believe you fell for that!” That good old, mischevious smirk appeared on Discord's face, and for some reason, she felt so secure seeing it. “Did you know I am still capable of casting a spell that makes a pony extremely ticklish?” ... on the other hand, she didn't fell secure at all.