Chapter two: Dirt and Straw
Snap.
In another circumstance, the town would be in a much different state. The grass would be speckled with a pattern of garish colors, the roads would be coated with soap and bubbles, and the buildings themselves would be thrown into stasis. Anomalies would occur in every corner - buffalos in tutus, piglets with wings, giant shakers of pepper spilling their contents on passers-by. Ponies would laugh, then would scream, then would beg for their world to return to normal.
Snap.
Normalcy. Such a nice, clean, boring aspect. A normal day in a normal life, where the only concern of a mother was what flavor of jelly to pair with peanut butter. Where a child needn’t worry about losing his way home, or forgetting where the edge of the dangerous forest began. Where friends were friendly, families were loving, and nothing unexpected ever happened. At least, not without a swift intervention by a group of heroines.
Snap.
Discord used to hate ‘normal.’ He used to hate order and sense, choosing instead to inject his own brand of peculiarity. Music from rocks, chocolate from clouds, solid structures changed to flimsy cardboard. There was simply no fun in making sense, so he chose nonsense. It was and always has been a conflict of order versus chaos, one that he enjoyed even in defeat. He was unique in his abilities, his form, and his desire, and he proudly wore that fact like a badge.
Now order had won once again, but this time it was different. ‘Normal’ had changed.
Snap.
Two ponies whipped their eyes toward Discord, himself holding his outstretched eagle-hand toward them. The sound of his snapping fingers flew around their heads for a split second. Both of the ponies were surprised on two accounts. The first was that Discord, who had sworn not to use his powers on Ponyville citizens, had just attempted to do just that. The second was that nothing had happened despite his attempt.
Discord didn’t look at them as they slowly continued on. He instead stared at his hand, pressing his fingers together once again. His gaze shifted to a nearby flower. Snap. In his mind’s eye, the flower grew to the size of a building and began to sing every song in Equestrian culture off-key. But the flower, of course, remained a flower, silent and beautiful and boring.
‘Normal.’ He began to hate it once again.
Discord withdrew his hand and began to wander aimlessly through Ponyville’s center. Ponies who personally knew him simply stepped aside, while those who simply knew his reputation actively avoided his path. In all cases, the populace left him to his thoughts, which were as chaotic as his nature. Of course, this time, the chaos brought him no glee.
His thoughts were rampant, saddened, wistful, and senseless. They were not the product of his scheming or pranking, but the result of something else. His mind wasn’t part of the cause, just the effect. Discord scoffed at himself. He was having a reaction to the news. And a reaction like this was perfectly normal.
He paused and looked around. Normal ponies would not be avoided. If a pony was seen walking down the road with a long face, no fewer than four other ponies would flock to their side. Chances were high that one of those ponies would be Pinkie Pie. What made this brand of ‘normal’ different?
The answer was obvious. ‘Normal’ wasn’t what had changed. The concept of normalcy was his opposite, the yin to his yang. He was chaos incarnate, the Spirit of Disharmony, and as such ‘normal’ was simply not possible for him. It was a way of life he had never practiced. Yet here he was, as typical as a common cloud. The normal way of life had brought him into its fold. Change had found him.
He kicked a nearby stone and sent it tumbling along the road. ‘I knew there was a reason. There was always a reason why I hated normal.’
He decided he was angry. He did not decide at whom.
Discord looked at the distant rock he had just kicked. Snap. The rock remained a rock.
It was some time later when he spotted her. Of course it would be her; who else? Out of all the ponies he considered friends, she was by far the most genuine. It came as no surprise that she would have been told the news, and neither was it a surprise that she would seek him out. She was searching the buildings one by one, looking on the ground when her target was above it. Door after door she opened, window after window she peered through, each time never losing pace.
Eventually, he decided to help her out. As she passed beneath him, he gripped a tuft of straw, pulled it loose, and let it fall to the ground. Many strands fell on her mane (and face, when she finally looked up), causing her to shake herself clean. Discord held up a hand to greet her, but didn’t say a word.
Fluttershy was too concerned to be embarrassed about the straw. She spread her wings and leaped up to the roof, where Discord sat waiting for her. She didn’t waste any time before speaking her mind.
“Discord! Are you okay? Twilight told me what happened! Well, it was actually Spike who told me, because he came and found me earlier and told me on the way to the castle. How are you feeling? Can I-”
Discord silenced her by gently placing his lion paw atop her head. With the soft pressure, Fluttershy stopped mid-syllable and looked around her mane at him. He gave a silent laugh, then rubbed her head. Her mane instantly went from ‘free flow’ to ‘bed head.’
She shook herself free. “Discord!” she scoffed.
“Good to see you, Fluttershy, but one question at a time, hm?”
She paused to pat down her mane. “Are you...are you okay?”
He gave a grim smile. It could just as easily have been a frown. Fluttershy wasn’t sure.
“Uhm...what are you doing?”
“Oh, just enjoying the sunset.”
“...it’s just past three in the afternoon.”
He nodded. “I suppose it is.”
“And you’re facing east. The sun sets in the west, you know.”
“Hm. I suppose it does.”
Fluttershy nodded. “You’re not okay, then?”
Another grim smile-frown.
Both were silent for a while. It dawned on Fluttershy that perhaps her friend didn’t want to talk about the latest development in his life. For a fleeting moment, she considered leaving him to his thoughts while she went about her day. Then she considered it some more as the silence stretched on.
She reached a decision, and sat down next to him. “Um, ah...nice sunset...?” she pried.
“Fluttershy, I know you mean well, but you don’t need to pretend for my sake.”
The pegasus shrunk and looked in his direction. He had very nearly spat the words at her, but she could see regret cross his muzzle after he said them. Discord’s eyes shifted, caught her looking his way, then shifted again.
“Sorry.”
After a moment, she lightly tapped his coiled tail in a gesture of comfort. “It’s okay.”
They were silent once more. Fluttershy again thought about leaving her friend to his demons, but decided that since she had already planted herself, she should stay. This was for him, after all - he had the problem to overcome. So, with patience honed from years of watching over forest critters, she sat and waited for him to start.
It was a solid four minutes before he did. “How do you do it?”
The pegasus allowed herself a moment’s grin in victory. “Do what?”
“Live each day like this?” Discord swept his eagle arm outward, gesturing to the town and landscape beyond.
“...um, what’s wrong with this?” She blinked. “It. What’s wrong with it?”
Discord scoffed. “Nothing. Everything. I don’t know...this is just so boring! How can you stand it?”
“Well, I...have my friends to see, the critters in the meadows and forests to care for, and sometimes...something unexpected happens that we need to correct. Those all tend to make days quite lively, and not, uhm...boring.”
The draconequus cocked an eyebrow. “What if you woke up one day and discovered that everything you knew was different? Or even worse, just barely out of reach?”
“I think I would look for the good side in things. You know, the things that hadn’t changed and I could still enjoy. Like tea parties and sleepovers.”
“Hm. Different question, then.” He slowly reached over and took hold of one of her feathers. The sensation of it being tugged made her want to recoil. “What if you woke up tomorrow and discovered you were missing your wings?”
Fluttershy was silent. She looked from his face to his lion hand then to her wing. “I...” She hesitated. “...I’m not sure.”
“But why not? Isn’t there a ‘good side’ to it? Wouldn’t you still be able to visit your friends and enjoy your tea parties?”
“I- well...you’re right, of course. I would still be able to do some things that I enjoy...but not being able to fly? I...actually, I think I would get used to it after a while.”
Discord blew raspberries and turned away. “Get used to being something you’re not? Get used to never touching clouds again or flying with your little birds? I get the feeling you didn’t really think about you answer.”
“Hey, there’s no need to be mean about it!” she scolded. Discord only gazed at the town in response. “To be fair, being without my wings has only happened once. You remember when, don’t you? And when it happened, it didn’t matter. I needed to stay on the ground anyway.”
“Mm-hmm,” he muttered, still unconvinced. “So you know why I’m up here, don’t you?”
“...yes.”
“Think of me as a bird, Fluttershy. A full-grown falcon, who is proud to fly in the sky and roost in the trees. Now think of me without those wings.”
“That’s not the same thing, though,” she argued. “A bird needs its wings in order to live. To survive each and every day. They’re fundamental to-”
“So you think my magic isn’t fundamental to me?” he spat.
Fluttershy hesitated again. This was proving far more than she had expected. “...no. I just...think you’ll be able to live even without your magic. It was a big part of you, yes, but not all of you. You should be able to live happily without it...”
Discord waited a moment. Then he said “How ridiculous,” slid off the rooftop, landed on the dirt road beneath, and began walking back into town.
Fluttershy was flustered. For the third time, she thought about leaving him alone. But for the second time, she mentally argued that she had already made her decision. She just realized that the choice she had made was the hard one, perhaps the hardest in a long time. The pony swallowed her doubt and decided to try again, gliding off the rooftop to join her friend.
Ahead of her, Discord glowered at anypony unlucky enough to cross his path. He still hadn’t decided who deserved his anger.