Where are they?
Everything had gone well so far for Discord. The last time he had had so much entertainment was the day he broke out of his stone prison. And that amusement was mostly Discord’s own doing. Secretly watching and helping Trixie’s antics however, was a class of chaos he hadn’t been able to pull off in millennia. Letting someone else, a pony no less, take the forefront, while he watched and intervened when it seemed the most amusing, was an art unto itself. Reveling in the entropy caused by helping a quasi-friend was even better. For once, there had been almost no blackmail or threats to get the pony he was manipulating into joining in on his fun. Discord was also risking a lot with this gamble, and that just made the rush that much more intense for him.
Still, waiting on Trixie and Fluttershy to get here is awfully boring. Perhaps I should have added some kind of sub-plot to keep myself busy during moments like this …
Discord looked up at the sudden sound of thunder. A storm was amassing across the Everfree, partly on its own, and partly due to Discord’s influence. Still, it was growing too fast for his plan, causing Discord to have to disperse the clouds for now. The last thing he wanted was another delay due to Fluttershy hiding in a bush after all.
Hmm … Twilight is still far enough away not to be an issue until this is over. With luck, she’ll stay that way until I get what I want out of this.
His mind still debated on whether or not this was going to work. One voice in his head explained about how he should try to keep a low profile for a few more years and try this plan then. Another argued that there was no time like the present to grab what he wanted, regardless of what he put others through. A dozen others mumbled in the background, mostly about unimportant things. And still another turned into a pink pony and tried to make friends with the others before bouncing off to do its own thing.
“A-are you sure this is the right way, Trixie?”
“Discord damnit, Fluttershy! Trixie’s a show mare, not a Cartographer!”
Discord grinned as a bedraggled and exhausted Trixie stumbled through a bush and out into the small field he was waiting in. Fluttershy quietly followed after, smiling as she caught sight of Discord.
“Using my name in vain now, Trixie? I’m honored.”
Trixie rolled her eyes at him. “Considering most of Trixie’s suffering involves you these days, she thinks it’s only fair.”
Trixie walked up to Discord, levitating her saddle bags off of her back as she did so. Opening them, she pulled out the list and all of the items he had had her collect. “There! I’m here, you’re here, and for some reason, Fluttershy is here. Now, can we get this over with so Trixie can bask in her new glory and maybe even get a nap in before something happens?”
Discord grabbed the items floating in front of Trixie and placed them into a small duffle bag before tossing it over one of his shoulders.
“Right, right. Now, about that. This ritual is going to take a short time for me to setup. There are quite a few moving parts to something like this after all. So, I am just going to take Fluttershy with me for a bit to prepare it. Why don’t you go and curl up, or practice your victory speech while little Flutters and I take care of the rest?”
Trixie had already slumped against the side of a tree, her adrenaline rush clearly running out as her eyes took on a glazed look. “Hmph, nothing is ever easy with you, is it? What about Twilight? She can’t be that far behind.”
Discord shrugged. “Oh, you should be fine; she’s not close just yet. But the longer we blab about this, the more time she has to show up and try to put a dent in everything. As usual.”
“U-umm … w-what …?” Fluttershy looked between the two of them nervously. The other two continued on, ignoring her.
“All right then, Trixie will see you in a short while then.”
Looking a little confusedly at her, Discord asked. “Wait, that’s it?”
Trixie looked back, just as confused. “What’s it?”
“I mean no questions? No demands or arguing? You’re just going along with this? What about if Twilight gets here while I’m busy with Flu-err- busy with the ritual?”
Trixie shrugged, closing her eyes and leaning her head against the tree. “You’ve kept your word, you’ve been irritating, but, you did assist Trixie throughout this endeavor. Is it that strange that Trixie trusts you with this now? If Twilight does show up, then Trixie will try to buy you time until you can assist her again. Like you did in the forest last night.”
Discord rubbed the back of his head, feeling that nagging feeling inside of him come up. It was a slight cross between embarrassment at Trixie’s words, and guilt.
Great. And here I was, hoping Fluttershy was the only one to be able to make me feel like this. I’d only butted in because it seemed like a fun time to get involved again. I suppose Trixie took it to mean something more.
Discord looked over to Fluttershy, who was currently looking worriedly up at him. He then looked back over to Trixie, currently half asleep under the tree. Fluttershy trusted him enough to meet him out in the Everfree with next to no explanation. Trixie trusted him enough for some reason to have followed through with this entire plan.
Hmm … maybe this is more of that magic of friendship Flutters and the others keep harping about. It’s a little weird in its timing. These kinds of thoughts never come up with the others, I wonder why betraying the trust of these two feels more … problematic.
Well … with Fluttershy he understood why, not so much Trixie. Discord shook his head, placing it as something else he would need to work out later if they all made it out of this intact. Discord’s magic gathered and burst into the sky discreetly, his plan beginning.
He smiled to Fluttershy and started walking off. “My dear, if you wouldn't mind following me, I can explain a little of what is happening.”
Fluttershy nodded to him, but was slow to follow. “Discord? You’re not doing something to hurt somepony, are you? I-it just, kind of sounds like, Twilight may not like whatever it is you and Trixie are doing.”
Discord continued on, urging Fluttershy to follow him with his paws. “She does and doesn’t, my dear. However, I can promise you, that no pony is going to get hurt by what we are up to. There’s no silly plan to take over Equestria, or force Celestia to sing and dance for our pleasure in a banana suit, or anything else you may be thinking. This is about something … very important, concerning the two of us. ”
Fluttershy followed more readily as Discord talked, brushing through shrubs and other vegetation as they continued. The forest seemed to be getting darker by the minute around her, but it was probably just her imagination. “You mean you and Trixie, right?”
Discord shook his head. “No, while Trixie has an important part in all of this, she is playing second fiddle to you, my friend.”
Fluttershy was very confused by these words. She was about to ask what Discord meant when the brush separated, and they came upon another clearing. The stars shined overhead beautifully, while in the middle of the small glade stood a candlelit table for two, a bottle of wine, and what Fluttershy’s nose was pretty sure to be two plates of linguini in a red sauce. A small grumble came from Fluttershy’s stomach at the scent, her own breakfast never being eating that morning due to the ponynapping.
“Now, Fluttershy-“Discord started, placing a paw on her shoulder and urging her towards the table. “How about we eat, and talk about the future?”
Twilight panted after what had to have been her twelfth, maybe thirteenth, teleport. She could see that Ponyville was in the distance, and figured she’d arrive in another hour if she kept this pace up. Not bad, considering it took most ponies a day of travel to get there from the part of the White Tail Woods she had emerged from.
Twilight sighed appreciatively as a cloud blocked the sun from her body, helping her to cool down. The Compass still pointed towards Ponyville, but was a bit skewed by this point, indicating Trixie was near Ponyville, but probably not in it. She could see the compass glowing softly as it began to get darker around her.
A-are the clouds getting thicker …?
Twilight looked up in concern, quickly realizing that there was no cloud overhead. Her eyes widened, and a chill went down her spine as she saw the sun quickly moving towards the horizon. Within a minute, the sun had set and the moon was careening into the sky. The moon was full at least, making it easy for her to see.
W-What’s going on …? Discord? But, why? Can the ritual only be performed at night?
Twilight shook herself from contemplating on it for long. Her next round of teleports needed to be a bit more risky if she was to make it in time. With a flash of light, she was off.
“Ooooh, I’ve never even seen such bright little critters before.”
The food had been delicious, with Discord acting as quite the gentle stallion. Not once had Fluttershy’s food attacked her, or the chair try to buck her off, or one of his jokes result in any of his body parts landing in her food. A mare had to alter her standards a bit when eating with the embodiment of chaos.
Fluttershy was feeling full, and a little lethargic from the food. While she only had a glass or two of the wine, it was fairly strong, and managed to give her a nice warm feeling in the back of her head. Currently, she was admiring the beautiful glowing butterflies roaming around their little area of the forest. One or two had landed on her nose throughout the night, eliciting a giggle from the Pegasus, and causing her to sneeze from the pollen shedding from their wings. Sighing contentedly, she looked up at the stars.
“I wish night’s like this could last forever.”
Discord replied to her, a hint of amusement in his voice. “I think you helped remove any chance of that happening with the elements. But tell me, would you really want something like that?”
“Hmm … I suppose not … it’s funny but, a year or two ago, I would have meant what I said. Now … well …”
Discord waved a paw at her, urging her to continue. Somehow, Fluttershy managed to stammer out something she had been thinking about for some time.
“W-well, e-ever since Twilight and the others came into my life, e-everything for me, sorta, c-changed. I-it’s not bad, just … different. “
Though she wasn’t aware of it, Fluttershy’s stuttering and nervousness disappeared as she continued opening up to Discord.
“I mean, there I was, just living a simple life helping my animal friends. There was the occasional meet up with Rainbow, and weekly spa session with Rarity. Then suddenly, Nightmare moon shows up. All of a sudden, I’m making plans to go to the Gala. After that, I make a dragon cry. And the list just goes on and on from there. At first, my life was only a bit different. I had friends who visited and activities outside of my animals and cottage. Maybe something scary and odd happened every month we had to deal with. But, changes in my life have been happening faster and faster ever since that first meeting. And ever since you and I became friends Discord, I’m actually finding it a little odd, even wrong, to get through an entire day with nothing unexpected happening.”
Discord grinned, making eye contact with Fluttershy. “It seems that we are rubbing off on each other my dear. Your life has gotten much more chaotic, while for once, I have a little desire for … something stable.”
Discord shivered as though just admitting such a thing was disturbing to him. With a sorrowful voice, Discord cryptically continued.
“Such a shame that these feelings of friendship won’t last long though …”
Fluttershy’s eyes filled with concern, and she reached over to place a hoof on top of Discord’s paw. She knew she should be nervous, and even embarrassed at initiating such contact, but none of the normal voices of doubt seemed to be bothering her this night.
“What do you mean, Discord? Our friendship will last our entire lives, I mean, if you want it to that is …”
He smiled and patted her hoof, though his face looked a bit pained. “You phrased it wrong, my dear. Our friendship will, in fact, last your entire life. Not mine, at least, not how things are right now.”
Discord paused and held Fluttershy’s eyes with his own for a moment, ignoring the frantic pull of both Luna and Celestia upon their celestial bodies. He knew they were going to be very upset with him next time they met, but he expected by that time they would have bigger issues to deal with.
“Dear Fluttershy, you were my first real friend in longer than I can remember. You are the sole reason I chose to try to get along with the Sisters ‘status quo’ over Equestria. But one day, you will be gone. All I’ll have of you is a grave and memories. Just look at Celestia, Luna, and even Twilight. You can tell how they only barely tolerate my existence. I’m sure you’ve seen their relieved looks whenever I leave and their annoyed faces when they have to be in my presence. They do not send letters like you do. They do not make any effort to contact me, unless they need something. That will not change anytime soon, if ever. And my promise to you to reform my ways will break at some point after you are gone, a memory can only hold sway for so long."
A few gentle tears were making their way down Fluttershy’s cheek at Discord’s bleak look at a future without her. “I-I know how hard it is for you to be their friends Discord, b-but, they will be here long after me. I’m sure they will warm up to you, one day.”
Discord placed a paw on Fluttershy’s cheek, gently using a claw to wipe at her tears. “You may be right, Fluttershy. But, that will take centuries. And do you really see me trying to bridge anything like that with them on my own, ever? And what if they push too much after you are gone? Do you know how tempting it will be to go back to playing with the world?”
Fluttershy’s ears flattened at the horrible things Discord was saying. She turned her head to the side and looked away from him, though she was unable to dislodge his gentle grip on her muzzle. “W-why are you telling me this?”
“Because, I’m asking you to not leave.”
“I-I’m not planning to, you know. It’s not like I’m intentionally planning to grow old and … go away, someday.”
“… Then, would you intentionally plan to stay, if you had the choice …?”
Fluttershy looked up at him, her eyes widening at how serious the normally jovial Draconequus’s face looked. To her, it seemed as though Discord was hanging onto every word she had said since this conversation started.
“I-I couldn’t! It’d be unnatural!” She blurted out.
Discord looked at her as if she had wounded him. “Unnatural? Is that what you think of me?”
“N-no! You were born like this! B-but, for somepony like me to-to …”
“To what? Become immortal? What of Twilight? She wasn’t born with wings, remember? Do you consider her unnatural now?”
Fluttershy frantically shook her head. “No! B-but … it-it wouldn’t be fair …”
Discord’s stare became a little harder, and his voice betrayed some irritation. “Fair? Is it ‘fair’ for me to be without my first friend for the next millennia? Is it ‘fair’ that Twilight gets to break down in a few decades as all of her best friends disappear on her? Fluttershy, nothing is ever truly fair. It’s not like I planned to ask somepony else to make a choice like this. The only one you’re not being fair to would be me right now.”
Discord forced Fluttershy’s head up a little, bringing his own face inches away from hers. Fluttershy could feel his breath lightly caressing her muzzle as he continued to hold her gaze with his own. The glowing butterflies continued to fly around the clearing as, for a few seconds, everything was still. The world was ignored by the pair as they remained so intimately close to one another.
“Fluttershy, I am asking you to stay with me. To help me not return to my old ways, and to become more than a friend, until the day we both disappear. I’m also asking you to be there for your friend Twilight, who is going to see her world crumble around her in a few decades. Would you please be that odd little yellow rock my madness clings to and settles against? Would you be that butterfly that rests on Twilight’s shoulder as her apple’s crumble, her balloons pop, her rainbows disappear, and her diamonds shatter? Could you be that kindness we are going to need to make it through the coming centuries?”
Fluttershy’s breathing hitched at Discord’s words. She felt afraid, yet elated. Her heart was pounding in her head at hearing the words she had secretly wanted to hear from Discord, though the eternity part was a bit unexpected. Oddly enough, none of her normal voices of doubt or panic were yelling at her like they should have been. She was, for once, alone with her thoughts and desires.
They remained locked in this pose for several minutes, the blushing yellow Pegasus looking into the eyes of a Draconequus who had laid out his feelings before her. Finally, Fluttershy made up her mind.
“Yes …”
Discord slowly nodded, holding back the desire to laugh like a mad pony.
“Then …close your eyes my dear …”
She said it … she finally said it!
He had begun to worry, and even get a little frustrated at Fluttershy’s arguments against the change. The pollen had removed her normal fears and insecurities like he wanted, but it apparently hadn’t stopped her from still having some concerns. When she finally said yes though, Discord knew all of his planning had finally paid off.
Fluttershy’s permission was the last thing Discord had needed to begin the ritual. Trixie had seen to getting him the rest, not to mention how she had kindly kept Twilight and the Alicorn sisters concentrated on somepony else throughout his scheming.
He was quite sure if the spell hadn’t required Fluttershy’s permission, that he would have done this ritual on her one way or another. Eventually, he would have cracked as he started to see her age away and simply hoped her kindness would be enough to forgive him for it in time.
Discord silently levitated the now half bottle of wine over to them, pouring the vial of ether in, while mixing the now powdered Wind Root into the bottle. The wine took on the blue translucent glow of the ether before turning into a brown luminescent liquid.
Discord placed his paw over Fluttershy’s closed eyes as he drank down the potion, making sure to keep it from merging with the rest of his body.
T-this is it, Discord my boy, hopefully you’re not too out of practice …
Discord’s own muzzle inched towards Fluttershy’s slowly, until he was quite sure she could smell the wine on his breath. Gently, their lips met, quickly turning into a hard kiss as Discord pressed his muzzle against hers.
It was everything that Discord had hoped for, a kiss that promised him an eternity with somepony else along for the ride that he actually wanted there. To Fluttershy, it was a meeting between their lips that she had secretly desired for months now, but had been too afraid to admit. Kindness wrestled with Chaos as the kiss went on, Discord’s lips brushing against hers as they moved to different positions against her mouth. No kiss of Discord’s ever felt the same, his odd nature leaving Fluttershy unable to pin point what they felt like, other than wonderful.
While Fluttershy was gentle and eager, Discord was urgent and needy, though part of the urgency was the potion held within his body, its power simmering and demanding release. Discord’s tongue licked along Fluttershy's lips, desiring entry. Though she was hesitant, Fluttershy slowly craned her neck upward and opened her mouth wider, giving him access as her own tongue gently massaged the invading appendage. Discord enthusiastically returned the stimulation with strong strokes across Fluttershy’s tongue, causing her to let out a muffled sigh of appreciation. Every so often, Discord would run his tongue over Fluttershy’s little fangs, enjoying the thrill he always got when he realized just how unique among ponies she was.
Discord grasped the back of Fluttershy’s head, though by the little squeals and squeaks emitting from her lips, she wasn’t planning on parting from him anytime soon. The table had long since disappeared, leaving nothing in the way of Discord as he picked her up from her chair and held her against himself. He kept them both locked in this position for another long, sweet moment, before forcing his hazed mind to focus.
With Fluttershy clinging to him, and his lips sealed around her own, Discord slowly ushered the liquid up his throat, tasting the sweetness of the wine as it coated his mouth and entered Fluttershy’s. At first, Fluttershy choked and tried to pull away at the sudden intrusive taste. But, Discord held her in place, leaving her with little choice but to swallow the potion once she calmed down. The kiss slowly relaxed in intensity until it was simply their lips touching one another as Discord fed the potion into Fluttershy, her little gulps the only sound heard in the clearing.
Discord’s magic went along for the ride into Fluttershy, letting him feel the subtle changes the potion was making to her. He had to be oh so careful now, as one wrong move could leave him in the middle of a crater as the power leaking into Fluttershy’s body went out of control. He felt as the Windroot opened her magic channels wide, letting the ether’s magic flow safely through without the threat of rupturing. It could have been minutes, it could have been hours, but all Discord knew was, at some point, Fluttershy’s body was finally alive with magical ether. Her magic channels were opened and full to bursting, the power was ready. All Discord had to do was connect the seed to it, and the ether would permanently connect to both the seed and Fluttershy’s essence.
Fluttershy twitched and groaned in his grasp, her mind trying to make sense of the feelings her nerve endings were trying to send it. If it wasn’t for the magic of the ritual, the sensory overload would have made her unconscious long ago. It felt comforting beyond comfort, it felt pleasurable beyond her body’s natural ability to react, and it made her feel like she was dangling on a knife’s edge throughout. One slip, and she would simply cease to be.
Cautiously, Discord’s magic caressed over Fluttershy’s seed, preparing the final link. He felt over it carefully as little tendrils of ether began to touch upon and connect to it.
So close now, just a little … wait … what … now, that’s not right …
Discord felt over Fluttershy’s seed again, confused at what he was feeling.
Somepony … touched this before, was is it the element? Her seed feels …warped somehow.
Compared to the few other seeds he had felt before, Fluttershy’s was in fact, tampered with. Almost as though someone had altered it, and then tried to put it back to how it originally was.
Unfortunately, Discord didn’t have time to think any more about what it meant. The lines of ether to the seed were growing larger and were nearly encompassing the entirety of it now. Discord placed the last connections the seed needed and quickly brought his magic out of her. Fluttershy’s eyes were open, and they had a far off look to them as her body twitched and spasmed in his arms. Gently, he placed her on the ground and stepped back, knowing what should happen next.
Awareness came back to Fluttershy’s eyes quickly. Though, before she could do anything, a yellow ball of light shot out of her chest. Discord squinted his eyes and watched with some small concern as the ball of yellow turned into a beam that started to quickly makes circles around Fluttershy. He caught sight of a odd thin strand of purple energy wrapped up with the yellow beam.
That shouldn’t be there, just what-
His thoughts were interrupted as Fluttershy’s torso was encompassed in yellow and lavender light, her entire body rising quickly from the ground. Fluttershy was stopped a little over twenty feet up as the glowing light wrapped tightly around her body and grew brighter and brighter. Discord could briefly see a pained look on Fluttershy’s face before she was completely encompassed in light. Then, the screaming began.
Discord watched in horror, aware that the yellow energy was Fluttershy’s essence, and that it was supposed to be transforming her painlessly into an Alicorn. But, the purple strands of light were entwined with the yellow, causing brief spikes of lavender to burst and disappear repeatedly along the ball of light wrapped around her. Fluttershy’s pained screams turned guttural and deep after a few more seconds, ending in a hiss as the ball of energy exploded.
Discord was blinded by the light, too filled with concern for Fluttershy to think to look away in time. The spots in his sight ended just in time for the glow around Fluttershy to start to fade away as the magic returned her to the ground. She was slowly getting to her hooves from what he could make out, and once the magical energies around Fluttershy finally dissipated, Discord was looking at a pony he could hardly recognize anymore.
Her small fangs had increased in size, making them visible even when her mouth was closed. With a hiss, it was revealed that she had also gained several other smaller fangs to go with them. Gone were the gentle teal eyes Discord had always known, replaced with angry, reddish pink ones. Her hair had lost its smooth, gentle flow, and was now spiked at unnatural angles that defied logic. Her ears were now akin to those of a bat, large and attentive. Even her gorgeous, fluffy wings had been altered. Both were much thinner, and covered in fur instead of feathers. The bones could be seen along both wings, and a large, black claw tipped them both. Oddest of all, was her cutie mark, now a trio of pink bats instead of butterflies.
“… huh … umm … Fluttershy, dear? Are you oka-“
He was cut off with a hiss as Fluttershy stared him down. Before, Fluttershy could, at best, make Discord feel nervous with her stare. But now, those red eyes pierced right through him, destroying his ability to think and turning him into a scared little animal. He cowered in front of her for what felt like minutes, awaiting her judgment. With a screech and a blast from her wings, he found himself being flung head over heels backwards, to crash into a tree. He slowly stood up from his collision, recovering in time to watch a yellow blur shoot off into the sky, screeching into the night. Dozens of bats burst forth from the Everfree, trying to follow her as if commanded.
He continued to stare after Fluttershy, his mouth agape at what he just witnessed. Discord only now started to notice the burn marks and smoke covering his body, though he wasn’t exactly sure where they had come from.
Discord was all for randomness, for wrenches being thrown into whatever he planned. But for once, he wished everything had gone the way he had intended.