Chaotic Neutral

by C-Puff


Falabell

Chapter 15

When Fluttershy and Discord came back to the camp site, a world of awkwardness was waiting for them. Twilight seemed, at the very least, to have calmed down by now, but she still shot Discord one of the most venomous looks Fluttershy had ever seen from her friend. To her relief though, Twilight didn't look like she had any intention of speaking to him. Discord in turn, didn't so much as give her a second glance. He strode past her, his head held unnaturally high, and clambered up the tree trying to grow over the boulder. Fluttershy watched him go but didn't follow him this time. Once she caught sight of him in the higher branches, she turned and went over to Twilight.

Applejack was keeping her company, although from the blank expression she'd given Discord, it looked like Twilight hadn't told her what had been said. Pinkie Pie was somewhere in the background, sorting through the now rather large pile of pinecones, arranging them by different levels of 'quality'. Or at least what she herself considered to be different levels of quality.

When Fluttershy sat down among the small group she was quick to ask if Twilight was feeling alright. She was, however, careful not to bring up the touchy subject itself. If Twilight hadn't told Applejack what the fight had been about, then Fluttershy didn't think it was right for her to mention it. Twilight muttered something about feeling stupid for letting Discord's mind games work on her. Other than that, it didn't look like she wanted to talk about it.

Applejack coaxed the other two into helping Pinkie Pie pick out the seeds from the pinecones. After a while, Rainbow Dash and Rarity rejoined them, Rainbow carrying a large pile held in place on her back with her wings as Rarity trotted after her, 'supervising'.

After the ponies had pried loose what they could from the tough shells and packed away everything but their blankets, they settled down for the night. They huddled close together underneath the curve of the tree roots. The small copse was quiet, and the cluster of trees shielded them from the breeze rustling in the treetops. Fluttershy lay awake, listening to the sounds of sleeping ponies around her. She cast an eye to the branches somewhere high above them, but in the pitch darkness she couldn't see the shape of Discord. He hadn't come down again at all since he climbed out of sight. She wondered if maybe she should fly up and bunk up in the tree to keep him company, but eventually decided against it. Unlike Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy wasn't good at sleeping in trees. She could do it if she absolutely had to, but she tended to have a restless night when she did.

She gave a soft sigh as she closed her eyes and settled down again. She replayed in her mind the things Discord had said to her while they were alone together. Despite the uncomfortable subject and his obvious irritation at the time, she could still feel a faint smile spread on her face. Something about the way he'd spoken to her, and the kind of things he'd said out loud, made her feel better about where the two of them stood with each other. It'd been a stressful confrontation, and thinking about the topic of Twilight's immortality still upset her. But somehow, in between the fight and the hurt feelings, Discord had dropped his guard. If only a little bit. She wouldn't ever pretend she knew what made him tick, and getting things smoothed out between him and Twilight might not exactly be possible, but at least she could see a tiny shift in him. A small crack in his apathy towards the world.

Her thoughts became scattered as she drifted off to sleep.


Morning came far too early the next day. The air was cool and dew had formed over most of the high needles on the evergreens. The world grew steadily brighter as the sun rose somewhere behind the mountains. The light reached the copse, but the warmth would take a while before it got there. Birds started chirping to each other softly in the trees, getting ready to start their day in the open fields.

Discord slept soundly on his perch. He lay on a thick branch, another one hanging low above him making a natural roof over his head, shielding him from falling dew. He'd twisted his tail around the makeshift bed, anchoring himself as he rested his head on crossed arms.

Something tapped his forehead. He mumbled and put one of his arms over his face before going back to sleep. Whatever it was tapped him again, this time on the end of his muzzle. It repeated itself and he swatted at it with a noise. Whatever it was it seemed to give up for a few minutes, but just as Discord was about to let himself drift off again, the tap came back, this time followed by a surprisingly loud 'Pssst!'

He growled and tried to roll over but this didn't seem to deter whatever it was. If anything, it seemed to encourage it as it once again tapped his head accompanied by a whispered “Pssst! Hey!”

Finally admitting defeat and too tired to put up any stronger a fight, he lifted his head and turned to glare at whatever was trying to wake him up with as much disdain as he could without actually having to put any effort into the expression.

“Wow! You're a real heavy sleeper!” Pinkie giggled when she saw he was awake.

“You have ten seconds to explain yourself,” He said flatly. Unfortunately, the warning seemed to have absolutely no effect on her as she stood up on the branch, her pony legs positioned awkwardly to balance herself.

“I don't think I need ten seconds to tell you that! Besides, don't you already know? I'm waking you up! How can you not get that? Are you still half asleep?” She immediately launched into a string of words.

“Yes, but why, Pinkie?” He growled as he lifted his head properly and rolled to a better position. It was clear that no matter what he said to her, Pinkie wasn’t going to leave him alone. He held on to the very faint hope that if he let her say what she wanted to, she might let him go back to sleep again.

“Well, I woke up and I was thinking about some stuff, and then I realised that if I woke you up then I could talk about that stuff to you before we had to start walking again. So then I thought it'd be a good idea to come up here and talk to you. So I did.” She smiled widely at him.

“And what, he asked stupidly, did you want to talk about that demanded I be woken up at this unholy hour?” Discord hissed at her. He thought about asking her how she managed to climb up a giant tree by herself, but after a moment he realised he didn't care.

“You had a fight with Twilight again, huh?” Pinkie said as she sat herself down with a plop, the smile still bright on her face.

“Is she spreading spiteful rumours about me?” Discord asked with a bored tone of voice. He gave a long yawn as he sat up, arching his back cat-like and cracking his spine. “Of course, I imagine you and your friends are all dying to hear how the big nasty Discord hurt her feelings.”

Pinkie laughed at this with a snort. “No, silly! She hasn't said anything about it!” She recovered and stared wide-eyed at him. “But she's really super upset about it! Whatever you guys were fighting about must've been a doozy!”

“Quite,” Discord said as he lay back down before fixing her with an even expression. “Is this going anywhere, Pinkie Pie? Because It is far too early to be this early, and I would appreciate getting some rest before I have to be in the company of our benevolent Princess again.”

“Well see, I was thinking,” Pinkie carried on. “Twilight doesn't wanna talk about it but she's really mad at you. So I thought whatever it was, being a doozy and everything, it probably made you mad too! I mean you're up here by yourself.”

Discord frowned at this. “I suppose that's a crime as well?”

“No, ya goof!” She giggled. “But since you didn't come down last night, I couldn't ask why you guys were fighting.” She stood up and awkwardly hobbled closer to him, Discord having to pull his head and neck backwards to try and keep some personal space. “Why did you guys fight? Did something happen? Did you guys fight over who'd gotten better pinecones? Because if that was it, you both came back empty hooved, so you kinda both lost.”

Discord said nothing, a bottom eyelid twitching.

“Or was it about food again? Didn't you want to eat pinecone nuts? You weren't saying anything before so I figured it was ok. But maybe you wanted to eat something else? You've been complaining about food a lot lately.” Pinkie went on.

“Pinkie...” He said with a growl in the back of his throat, reaching up and massaging a temple. “Normally I'd be happy to play this game with you, but I'm really not-”

“Or did you guys fight about the monster in the cave again?” Pinkie said with a small gasp. “That musta been it, huh?! Twilight was really mad 'cause you saved Fluttershy and not Rarity! I bet you guys were fighting about that!”

“If I say yes, can I go back to sleep?”

“Twilight's still not really forgiven you for that,” Pinkie nodded to herself. “I mean, it's totally understandable. Rarity is our friend! Of course, I get why you only saved Fluttershy, but it's still kinda mean if you look at it from our side.”

Discord rolled his eyes. “Yes, yes. I saved Fluttershy because she stops the rest of you from turning me to stone and I'm only looking out for myself, Twilight already went over this.”

Pinkie frowned to herself, although Discord noticed that even when she frowned there was no seriousness in her expression. “Well yeah, that's what Twilight said when she was angry, but that's obviously not the real reason you did it.”

“And what, pray tell, is the real reason?” Discord said, resting his face on a paw. He was starting to doubt sleep was in his immediate future.

“Well duh!” Pinkie pulled a face. “You saw Fluttershy was gonna get eaten and you got scared!” She grinned widely at him. “Obviously! Sheesh, it's not like it's that hard ta figure out!”

Discord, surprised at this, raised an eyebrow at her. “You think so?”

“Of course!” She insisted. “Fluttershy's your best friend! So she got in trouble and you panicked. Twilight says you were being selfish but she's just mad because Rarity was almost hurt. Ponies say all kinds of things when they're mad.”

“Hmm,” Was all Discord replied with, a puzzled frown on his face as he stared at the pink pony in front of him.

“So... you guys had a fight about it again, huh?” Pinkie asked, but carried on before waiting for an answer. “I dunno what you guys said, but I bet neither of you said sorry about what happened. Otherwise you wouldn't be up here sulking.”

“I do not sulk!” Discord said indignantly, placing a paw to his chest.

“Well I dunno about Twilight, but I think you did the right thing,” Pinkie said, completely derailing whatever tangent Discord was preparing.

“You... think I did the right thing not saving Rarity?” He asked. He found himself in the uncomfortable position of being confused by a pony. He didn't like the role reversal much.

“No, I mean you did the right thing when you jumped into the cave and saved Fluttershy,” Pinkie said, still smiling widely. “I mean, she was about to get eaten. I don't think anypony would've been happy about that

“And I suppose you think Rarity was better off without me trying to grab her?” He said, his frown staying where it was.

“Rainbow Dash saved her, didn't she?” Pinkie said, getting up and looking over the side of the branch.

Discord huffed to himself, scratching the back of his paw absentmindedly. After a drawn out pause, he mumbled; “I suppose if I'd really stopped to think, I could've grabbed the prima donna on my way out.” The sentence was so grumbled it was almost impossible to make out the words.

“Always next time!” Pinkie said as she shot him a grin before turning back to her problem of getting down.

Discord gave an exaggerated sigh as he stood up, cracked his neck and wandered to the edge of the branch. He picked up the pony and tucked her under an arm before flapping lazily to the ground.

“You could try and twist Twilight's thinking in that direction, you know.”

“Nah. She's really stressed out. I don't think she's gonna wanna have some sense talked into her,” Pinkie said.

Discord gave a deep-rooted groan. “Asking a pony to talk sense into a Princess... what has become of me?”

Pinkie giggled at him.


It wasn't long before the other ponies woke up as well. Of course, Pinkie's loud babbling to Discord about whatever popped into her head didn't exactly help them get their rest. With everyone awake and the road still ahead of them, they packed up their blankets, checked their route, and moved onward again.

Despite the clear animosity between Discord and Twilight, the next few days of travel were not half as unpleasant as Fluttershy had expected. They mainly avoided each other, Twilight taking the lead and chatting idly with the other ponies while Discord and Pinkie either ran in wide circles around them or ran off ahead, chasing after whatever insect, bird or imagined animal they'd seen. More than once Rainbow Dash had to zip over to them and tell them they were getting too far away from the others. However, the games kept Discord and Twilight apart which, for the moment, seemed like the best thing. Fluttershy found herself splitting her time between the two. She stuck close to the other ponies, giving kind words whenever it was needed and enjoying whatever light topics of conversation were brought up. Then she would trot to Discord and Pinkie to make sure the two of them weren't causing too much damage to the local wildlife. Discord seemed insistent that she hang out with them instead, but with some gentle persuasion, he'd let her walk with the others again, although it was always with a pout and melodramatic words about being abandoned by his only friend.

Some days later, they reached the Equestrian Border. It wasn't much to look at. The road they were on was cobbled and, for once, well-kept. Apart from a couple of tall guard towers and a small office, there didn't seem to be much else separating the Kingdom of Equestria from the wilderness beyond. Twilight couldn't help but feel her stomach twist a little at this. She'd had ideas in her head about a vast canyon separating the two. Or maybe an enormous wall. Or a wide river. But other than the outpost, it didn't look like there was anything to mark the change. She spoke to the guard and, after explaining who they were and where they were going, asked him what protected Equestria from outside dangers. She felt a little better when he told her that normally the kingdom had a magical barrier following along with the border. Not potent enough to be called a shield, but strong enough to at least make it harder to enter Equestria than just strolling into it unnoticed. Although with the lack of magic, there was at the moment little to nothing protecting the kingdom, to Twilight's dismay.

After the short wait, they carried onwards, the land steadily rising as they entered mountainous countryside. The roads starting to climb steady inclines, sometimes twisting and turning around cliffs, and sometimes turning in the complete opposite direction to avoid an upcoming obstacle. The weather was growing colder here. The wind blew almost every day, not enough to make their trip dangerous, but enough to carry a chill. The sparse scenery was no more, as now dark trees and twisted shrubs grew thickly wherever there was soil free from fallen boulders. The ground was gravelly and white, and once they left the main road, they never found another one that was more than a trail cutting through the otherwise wild environment. It was a far call from the picturesque and ordered mountains of the Canterlot Palace back home.

They eventually spotted the huddle of roofs and smoke coming from the town of Falabell. It sat in a low valley between two mountains, a small stream flowing close by. Fields lying in pony-made clearings hugged its outskirts. As they got closer, they sometimes saw the silhouette of a pegasus flying above it, or the figures of ponies in the fields, tending their crops. The night before they finally reached it, it was a comfort to see the small spot of glowing light in the darkness.

They reached the town early the next morning. It was a humble place, but still bigger than the clusters of homes they'd passed on their way getting here. The buildings were a mixture of wood and stone, the latter making up the bottom of buildings. The roofs were thick with thatch bleached pale by the sun. The roads within the town were once again paved, and several ponies were going about their daily lives. All in all, it didn't seem that far removed from Ponyville, and after the long trek through valleys and mountains, it was nice to be back in civilisation.

“So, what do we do now?” Rainbow asked, landing beside Twilight as she inspected a signpost.

“The first thing we should do is go to the inn Oggie suggested,” Twilight said, turning to her. “The ponies in the fort don't come down here often, but it'd be a good idea to avoid where they go when they do. Just in case.”

“Do you think there's any chance that there would be a spa in this town?” Rarity asked wistfully. “My hair hasn't had any proper grooming in ages, and I could certainly use an afternoon to refresh myself before we wander into the mountains again.”

“Oh! And we need more candy! Lots more candy!” Pinkie bounced up and down in place.

“We'll get to that after we get our rooms sorted out,” Twilight promised, giving them a smile as she started trotting in the right direction. “Oh, and don't mention the fort or the cult to the innkeeper when we get there. I don't think it'd be a good idea to let anypony know the real reason we're in town. We're just here on a uhm... a small vacation.”

“Think they'll fall for that with tall, dark, and ugly here?” Rainbow asked, nudging Discord in the side.

“Now, now Rainbow Dash, that's no way to talk about Rarity's hair.” He scolded her, waving a claw.

“Oh no,” Rarity groaned. “Is it really that awful?”

“No, it's fine, Rarity,” Fluttershy assured her with a smile.

“Guys, focus!” Twilight tried getting their attention back to the present. “We can't goof around too much. Remember, we're very very close to these crazy ponies' headquarters. We have to keep our eyes open and be careful.”

“Careful's my middle name, Twilight!” Rainbow Dash assured her with a grin.

“Yeah, well, my middle name right now is hungry.” Applejack interrupted, trotting to walk beside Twilight. “Think we can get somethin' ta eat at this inn? Ah noticed they got some good lookin' fields on the way here. If they got somepony other than unicorns cookin' we could finally get a good meal in us again.”

“I think that can be arranged,” Twilight said brightly.

They cut a path through town. Much to Rarity's relief there was, while not a spa, a small health center that offered massages and a sauna. There weren't any candy stores, but a small bakery displayed some tantalising pastries in its windows and they had to physically drag Pinkie away from it, promising her she could come back later. In the center of town stood the largest building. With three storeys and made completely out of stone, it looked to be the place where the mayor, or whoever ran the town, did their business. They also spotted two ponies lounging in front of it and having an idle conversation, who were both dressed in something like police uniforms.

The inn Oggie had recommended wasn't in the best location in terms of town layout. It was far from the shops and other business. Then again, this meant it wasn't very popular either and, although they stuck out too much to go completely unnoticed, they could still expect more privacy there. When they opened the door they were welcomed by a sturdy looking earth pony. He was a chestnut brown stallion with fetlocks, a dark brown mane and a cutie mark of a barrel and a flagon.

“Welcome to the Amber Eagle!” He greeted them heartily. “My name's Hop Shot and I'm the owner of the place.”

“Hi there,” Twilight smiled back, glad to see the owner was at least pleasant and didn't seem thrown off by a large group of customers. “My name is Twilight Sparkle, and these are my friends. We're travelling through the area and we were wondering if you could spare some rooms for a night or two? We don't mind sharing.”

The innkeeper laughed at this. “You've been travelling rough I take it? No worries Miss, the Amber Eagle has a good few large rooms for your little group and... uhm...” He cocked an eye at the figure of Discord.

“Uhm.. yeah.” Twilight said, keeping her smile in place. “That'd be great. I think if we go two in a room we'll be fine, right guys?” She turned to the others with a questioning smile.

“Dibs.” Discord said, picking Fluttershy up by her wings.

“Ah think that's a yes,” Applejack nodded.

“Sure thing!” The innkeeper nodded, motioning for them to follow him. “I'll put you on the second floor. With the summer I generally let guests stay there since the stone walls below can become a little stifling. They're a life saver in winter though!”

“I can imagine,” Twilight said politely as he led them up a wooden staircase and down a passage.

“The weather's been kinda funny lately though,” He went on as he unlocked three doors, stopping at the fourth. “Are you bunking with one of your friends, Miss? Or would you like your own room?”

Discomfort hit Twilight when she realised he was only giving the option to her, realising that, once again, her horn and wing combo was getting extra attention. Her ears flattened with embarrassment. “Uhm.. no... no that's ok. I er... I don't mind sharing with one of the others.”

He nodded. “If you're sure, but if you change your mind don't hesitate to ask. We don't have many visitors around here and the place is pretty much empty apart from me and Old Timer, the watchmaker. He and his wife don't really get along.” He gave Twilight a wink at this, although she had no idea what he meant by it.

“Thanks,” She merely said.

“Let me know if you need anything!” He said as he gave the others a warm smile, heading back downstairs. His gaze lingered on Discord a little longer than the others before he disappeared from sight.

With that, the group split up to put down their saddlebags and stretch out. The rooms were simple but welcoming. The walls and floor both being made of wood and left to keep their natural texture and colours. The roof above them, despite being thatched on the outside, was also made of dark wood, obviously cut from the local forests. After a few minutes of getting themselves unpacked, they regrouped in what had been made Rarity and Twilight's room.

“Alright, I think we're good for now,” Twilight said with satisfaction. “It doesn't look like we'll need to worry about anypony giving us trouble in this place. There's still a lot of daytime left so I think we can take a break and check out the town, see what kind of ponies live here. Just make sure to get back here before it gets dark. We'll focus on restocking our supplies and going over a plan of action tomorrow.”

“If I could make a suggestion,” Applejack added when Twilight had finished, “I say we should buddy up with somepony else just ta make sure none of us get into any trouble. Just in case some of those wackos really are wanderin' around town.”

“Good idea,” Twilight nodded. “Let's not get too comfortable just because things look so normal here.”

“Does it?” Discord spoke up and Twilight instantly felt her fur bristle.

She shot him an annoyed looked. “Does it what?”

“Does it really look so normal here?” he repeated, giving her back a look as if she was something he'd stepped in.

“I certainly didn't see anything out of the ordinary,” Rarity blinked, giving the others a questioning glance. “It seems like a rather nice place, all things considered.”

“Except there's no candy store!” Pinkie said with seriousness. “But I guess you can't have everything. Those cakes looked yummy though! We're gonna go back for them, right?”

The question was directed at Discord but he ignored her, turning to the other ponies instead, expectantly.

“I dunno what you're talking about!” Rainbow pulled a face. “You probably just want the whole place painted in tartan don't you?”

“Not a bad idea, although you could be more specific with which tartan you mean, but no. That's not what I'm talking about.” He looked over the faces staring at him, some confused and a few looking irritable. “Really, none of you ponies noticed it when we did our bit of sightseeing?”

“Just spit it out, smart guy!” Rainbow flopped down beside him.

“I suppose I have to,” he gave a mournful sigh, “Honestly, I weep for the generation of ponies I've had the misfortune to wake up to from my stone prison.”

“Just tell us already!” Twilight snapped at him.

“Well, as we were having our little walk around town I couldn't help but ask myself something;” He said, turning to talk to everpony except Twilight. “Where are all the unicorns?”

Rarity frowned, “What do you mean?”

“Well I didn't see any, did you?” He gave her a meaningful look. “Even in those little hick villages we travelled through, we almost always saw at least one unicorn. And I will have you know, if you want to take my advice for once, that where there are ponies there will always be at least a few of them of the unicorn persuasion. And yet I didn't see a single one.” He stroked his beard. “Seems rather strange if you ask me.”

“Come to think of it,” Rainbow rubbed her chin, “The big guy's right. I saw earth ponies and pegasi, but I don't remember seeing any unicorns.”

“I wasn't really looking,” Fluttershy said apologetically, “But I don't think I saw any either. Maybe.”

“So what about it?” Twilight asked, her gaze still fixed on Discord. “So you didn't see any unicorns, so what? Maybe there aren't that many in town? I really don't think we saw everypony who lives here. And even if we did and there are no unicorns here, why is that so weird? Ponyville was founded by earth ponies and for a long time no unicorns lived there either.”

“We're not in Equestria anymore either,” Applejack added. “Dunno if that has somethin' ta do with it but, just sayin'.”

“Right,” Twilight nodded, glad for the support. “Anyway, I don't see why you're bringing it up.” Her voice had an edge to it, an unspoken warning behind her words.

Discord gave her a rather icy glare before giving a shrug, lying back on the floor. “I just thought it was strange. Not something I personally would consider 'normal' for ponies anyway. You did just say we should keep our eyes open, didn't you?” He gave her a sideways glance. “I would consider it as rather suspicious.”

“I think we can handle a lack of ponies with unicorn magic,” Twilight said flatly, rolling her eyes.

Discord opened his mouth to retort but Fluttershy, who was sitting quietly beside him, gave him a soft nudge with one of her wings. He turned to her for a moment before he sighed and sat up, twisting his tail around her and keeping his thoughts to himself. Fluttershy lay down on the red tail circling her like a nest, turning back to Twilight.

“So, with that out the way,” Twilight brushed the issue aside, “What is everypony planning to do?”

Most of them seemed to want to head into town and get some lunch or buy something to eat on their way somewhere else. Twilight nodded as she made mental notes, making sure she had a good idea of where everyone would be. At least it didn't look like they'd have to work too hard pretending to be tourists.

Discord watched Twilight as she made plans with the others for the day. He shrugged again, trying to pull his attention away from her and ignore the irritation in his gut whenever she spoke. He focused on Fluttershy instead who was listening to the others and eagerly adding her own plans to the day's list of activities. When there was a spare moment where she had nothing to say he leaned closer to her and muttered irritably.

“There really are no unicorns in this town, Fluttershy.”

She turned to blink at him, smiled, and gave a nod. “I believe you.”

He stared at her carefree expression for a while as she tilted her head at him before turning back to the conversation. He started scratching a small groove into the wooden floor with a claw.