//------------------------------//
// A Chaotic Encounter 
// Story: Lost Little Snake 
// by The card holder 
//------------------------------//

Upon awakening, Snake surveyed his immediate surroundings, as he did every time he woke up. He was still in the loft of the barn, and his equipment was still in place and untouched, so no one disturbed him while he slept. Judging from the sun positioning outside (assuming it was similar to Earth in that regard), it was roughly 9 in the morning right now.

Out of pure habit, Snake scattered the hay pile he used as a bed and picked his backpack up, erasing any trace of him being there. After he was done, though, he realized that he didn't really have anything to do. No enemy base to sneak into, no guards to hide from...

Hopefully, if he did find a way back home, his skills wouldn't be dulled.

Looking out over the orchard, he spotted Applejack bucking apples into buckets. He wouldn't think that just hitting trees would be enough to get the apples loose, though apparently it was an effective method.

Stepping away from the window, Snake remembered the dream he had last night, and thought over it. Assuming that whole thing wasn't just something conjured from his own mind, it was likely that parts of his past were now known by the local royalty. While he disliked the idea of someone invading his privacy like that, he was sure that there wouldn't be anything that would destroy the ponies' trust in him.

At least, he didn't think there was.

Snake was broken out of his speculation when he heard the barn door creak open. Ducking out of sight, he peeked over the edge of the loft, spotting Applejack pulling a cart full of barrels of apples into the barn. After she set the cart down, she looked around the barn, likely looking for any eavesdroppers. 

"Snake?" she called out when she was sure the coast was clear. "Y'all there?"

Hearing his name being called, Snake leaned out from the loft. "I'm still here."

"Good." She grabbed a bag that was sitting nearby, and began putting apples into it. "Listen, Ah need you to get these here apples over to Fluttershy, 'cause I'm gonna be too busy with buckin' today, and Ah can't find RD."

Now on ground level, Snake accepted the bag full of fruit. "She must be a big fan of apples, I take it?"

"Oh, it's for her animals or somethin'. You remember the way t' her place?"

"Of course."

Applejack nodded. "Alright, then, get goin'."

While he didn't like being ordered around like that, Snake went ahead and left anyway, retracing the path he and the ponies took yesterday, once again hiding in the forest once he was in view of the town. It wasn't long before he arrived at Fluttershy's cottage, multiple animal sounds coming from inside.

Once he was certain that no one could see him, he walked up to the door, bag in hand. He knocked on the door, and after a few moments, it cracked open, revealing Fluttershy.

"Oh, hello, Snake," she said softly upon recognizing the human. "What brings you here?"

"I was told to bring some apples to you," he said simply, holding up the bag. Almost imperceptibly, there was a small flash of... something in her eyes, and she quickly reached out and grabbed the bag.

"O- Oh, thank you, Snake," she said, setting the bag down just inside the house. 

Snake was about to take his leave, when suddenly another voice spoke up from further inside. "Fluttershy, your tea is getting cold!"

He quirked an eyebrow at the voice, while Fluttershy visibly stiffened. 

Snake's curiosity was piqued. "Who is-"

"No one!" Fluttershy cut him off, wincing at her own volume. "Er, I think you should go."

He was about to ask why, when the voice from inside spoke again, this time much closer. "Now, Fluttershy, you know it's rude to turn away-"

The voice stops suddenly as its owner comes into view, immediately locking his eyes to Snake's one eye. Both of them stood there for a bit, just studying each other.

Snake was clearly taken aback by his appearance. The animals he saw in the forest were already pretty insane, but this guy blew them out of the water. He appeared to be a mish-mash of various animals, each of his limbs being from a different animal, all connected to a snake-like body, which led up to a head that had a pair of antlers on it.

A few more seconds of silence passed, Fluttershy awkwardly looking between the two of them the whole time. Suddenly, the creature snapped his claw, and in a flash of light he reappeared right in front of Snake, now wearing a trenchcoat and a blonde wig. Acting on instinct, the human quickly jumped away and assumed his CQC stance, weapons at the ready.

"Who are you?!" he demanded, ignoring Fluttershy's panicked looks between the two.

"Are you saying you don't recognize me, brrrrroootheeeeer?" the creature asked, his voice now completely different.

Snake faltered in his stance from sheer confusion. "What?"

There was a pause, and the creature spoke again, his voice returning to normal. "Oh, my mistake, I thought you were someone else." He snapped his claw, and the coat and wig vanished. "Anyway, I am Discord, spirit of chaos and disharmony, at your service."

Despite his mounting confusion, Snake lowered his gun. "I'm-"

"No, wait, don't tell me," Discord cut him off. "You're the one that Fluttershy mentioned yesterday. Snake, wasn't it?"

Pausing while he slowly holstered his weapons, Snake nodded. 

Upon seeing that the situation didn't turn horribly bad, Fluttershy let out a soft sigh of relief.

Still thoroughly confused about the whole situation, Snake started to leave. "Well, I should probably get back to-"

"Oh, nonsense, you just got here!" Discord said. "Why don't you come inside, and have some tea with me and Fluttershy?" As he said this, he pulled the pegasus over to him in a sort of hug, making her fidget slightly uncomfortably.

"Sorry, but I'll have to pass," Snake said, causing Discord to frown.

"Oh, alright." He unhanded Fluttershy, and watched as the human started heading back towards the farm.

Before he got very far, though, there was a brief flash of light, and Discord was floating in front of him again. "Oh, Snake, one more thing before you go?"

While he was a bit annoyed, Snake didn't show it, and instead motioned for Discord to go on.

"If and when you finally talk to Celestia, make sure you try and keep a lid on what your job was, okay? Trust me, I've known her for years, and she's nothing if not a stickler for peace and harmony and whatnot."

"...Noted."

Grinning, Discord made a very familiar gesture. "Farewell, Snake."

There was another flash of light, and the human found himself alone again at the edge of the forest. He had things other than being potentially spotted on his mind, though.

That gesture Discord just did... Wasn't that the same one Ocelot kept doing? Was Discord hiding something from him...?

Now mildly worried, Snake continued on his way back to Sweet Apple Acres, eager to potentially get some answers soon.