//------------------------------// // The Best Laid Plans // Story: What Happens in Las Pegasus // by Inkquill //------------------------------// Fluttershy trotted around her living room, humming to herself as she cleaned. Things were starting to finally get back to normal around town after Tirek was defeated. Mainly the lives of the six mares that had defeated him. Fluttershy sighed as she set down her cleaning rag. She looked around her now clean hut and wondered what she should do for the rest of the day. Things had quieted down so much that she was actually feeling…bored… There was a knock at the door and she turned at the sound. "Who could that be?" She whispered as she trotted towards the door. When she opened it her face broke into a wide smile as she looked up at her best friend. Discord grinned down at her as well and opened his arms for her. She flew up and wrapped her hooves around him in a gentle hug. "Oh Discord! It's so good to see you! You didn't say you were coming by today in your last letter." She pulled back and smiled at him. He chuckled and walked into her cottage before setting her down again. "I wasn't planning on stopping by before our next picnic my dear. However, I couldn't resist seeing you." She felt a small blush at his words, trying not to read too much in them. She nodded and turned towards her kitchen. "Well would you like some tea then? I can start a pot right now." She let out a small squeak as he wrapped his body around, blocking her path. He was still grinning at her and she recognized the sparkle in his eyes. He was excited about something and she had a feeling that this wasn't just a random visit. "My dear Fluttershy, have I told you recently that you are without a doubt my dearest friend?" He purred and she raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Y-yes?" She whispered, he stood up again and paced away from her, stroking his beard in thought. "I have haven't I? Well then have I done anything to show you?" He grinned back at her and she tilted her head further. What is he getting at? "Discord…you don't have to do anything to show me. I know that you and me are-eep!" She shrieked as he pulled her against his side, still stroking his beard. "Yes, yes…That's all good and fun. But I want to follow your lessons fully! So I was thinking…shouldn't best friends give each other gifts, even when there is no special occasion?" Her eyes widened as his grin doubled in size and he snapped his fingers. In his claws there was now a ticket, which he fanned out to reveal seven other similar tickets. "W-what are t-those?" She whispered and he only responded by handing them to her. She took them and read the printing on them. She gasped, flying out of his arms an excited smile lighting up her face. "Are these real Discord!? Did you really get tickets to…oh, but that show has been sold out since it opened?" She turned and he chuckled. She looked down at the tickets again and then back at him. He then threw out his arms and sparks flew from his fingertips. "Surprise my dear! I was hoping you would be excited to see these!" "Oh, but how did you even get them?" He grinned and pulled on his ear, "I have my ways…" He said mysteriously and she frowned suddenly. "Discord…You didn't steal these did you?" He threw his hand over his heart and gasped. "Never! You really think I'm capable of such a treacherous deed!?" She gasped and flew to him, wrapping her forelegs around him. "OH NO! Of course n-not! Well…maybe…I mean no…I mean…oh!" She started to tear up and Discord panicked. The sight of her tears brought back to many unpleasant memories. "Whoa, whoa, hey now…I was only teasing dear. Please don't cry…I was just being me. No, I didn't steal those. I went to the production manager and…convinced him that it would be good publicity for his show if…well…if you and the girls attended." He finished sheepishly and she looked up at him. "So…you didn't steal them…but you did use tricks to obtain them?" She said with a slight stern voice and he gave her his award winning smile. One that made her heart secretly flutter in her chest. "Maybe just a little…But it's all worth the lectures to see your face light up as it did." She blushed again and hid her smile behind her mane. But she couldn't hide it completely and he put his claw under her chin, turning her face back to him. "Ah…so you aren't that mad that I got you and the girls special tickets to see Circus de Selle Francais? Good, cause I can't take these back. So start packing my dear!" He laughed and let go of her. She sighed and decided not to admonish him…this time. After all he was just trying to do something sweet in his own way and she was excited to see the show. Then what he said registered and she frowned again. "Pack? Why would I need to pack?" She asked and he gave her a look that said it should be obvious. When she continued to stare at him he sighed and pointed at the date of the tickets. She looked down and noticed that the showing was in a week. Still that didn't…then she understood. "You want me to leave for a week? Oh, I can't go for that long! What about the animals I couldn't possibly…" He laid his hands on her shoulders, standing behind her and she was reminded of the day she reformed him. It made her smile slightly as she looked up into his amber eyes. "Fluttershy…these pests can do without you for a few days. I'll even use my magic to ensure it if it'll get you out of this cottage. You've all been working so hard that none of you have had any time for fun." She still wasn't so sure and she looked back at the tickets. She really wanted to go, but… "But how can I leave…" "Fluttershy, please…Look at it this way. This will be a great chance for all of us to become closer friends as we spend some time together seeing the sights in Las Pegasus!" He gave her his best puppy eyes and she felt her resolve breaking. "Well…it has been awhile since me and the girls got to spend some time together…and you do need to be seen with us more since the…" She stopped and instantly regretted bringing up the 'incident' as Discord cringed. He hated to be reminded of his mistake and she felt awful for mentioning it again. So in order to distract him she decided what she would do. "Okay Discord. If you can convince the others to join…I'll go too." She whispered and his ears perked up, his smile returning. "Really! As you wish my dear! I'll go tell the good news to our friends and you start packing! We leave tonight!" He teleported away and she sighed, shaking her head. Then she trotted outside to inform her animal friends that she would be taking a vacation for a few days. When she stepped outside she gasped again, her eyes widening. Sitting in her backyard was a giant feeder, with different buttons along the front. Each button had a picture of an animal on it, the containers holding specific food for each one. A smile spread across her face as she flew up to the bright, red ribbon and read the tag. Just in case I managed to get you to say yes-D She laughed and started making preparations for her trip. Turns out it hadn't been hard for Discord to convince the other five mares, plus Spike to accompany him. They were all feeling drained from their duties and agreed that it was a splendid idea. Not to mention they were all excited to see the show and had expressed their enthusiasm accordingly. Discord lounged across the train seat and stuck his claw in his ear. "I still can't hear that well. Celestia, who knew mares could shriek so loud?" He muttered and Fluttershy giggled, being the closest to him. "We're just excited to be given a chance to see the performance. It's supposed to be breath-taking!" She said, her eyes lighting up and Discord was caught in the spell. He felt his cheeks warming as he took in her radiant beauty. He felt his heart speed up and silently groaned. This was getting ridiculous, he wouldn't be able to hide his feelings for much longer…maybe this trip hadn't been such a grand idea. He glanced at her again and watched as she talked excitedly with the girls, planning all the things they wanted to see. He smiled again at her growing excitement, he found that he wanted to give her anything she wished on this trip. "But how are we possibly going to do all this in only seven days? That's a lot even for a super planner like me." Twilight said and Spike laughed, until she shot him a glare. "Well…we can always cut out some things…" Fluttershy whispered and Discord snorted, getting their attentions. "Aren't we forgetting something here girls?" He asked and they all looked at one another confused. He tapped his claws, waiting for them to figure out what they were missing. It was Fluttershy that finally got it and she jumped at him, catching him off guard. He managed to catch her in time as she laughed against his chest. He blushed as her nose nuzzled his fur. "Discord girls! We're forgetting that he'll be with us! We won't lose any time traveling!" He chuckled as dawning flashed across the group and they all began to laugh. "Wow, can't believe ah forgot that…" Applejack said, laughing and Rainbow shrugged. "Well it's not like we're exactly used to having his flank around…no offense…" "None taken…Just consider me your personal chauffeur on this trip." He said as he placed a black, driver's hat on his head and grinned. The girls laughed again and he smiled, beginning to relax as his claws absent mindedly stroked something soft. "Um…Discord…y-you c-can let me u-up now…" A soft voice whispered and he flushed crimson as he realized he was still holding Fluttershy and stroking her mane. "Whoopsie!" He joked as he let go of her and she returned to her seat, hiding the blush on her own cheeks. He didn't notice her flushing as he slapped himself and mentally kicked his own flank. Way to go genius! Keep this up and they're sure to notice how you feel in no time! He sighed in defeat as he watched the group converse. He still felt like an outsider at times, even though they were all friends now, he wasn't completely apart of the group. He eyes fell on Fluttershy again and he felt his heart lighten. At least with her things were different. He didn't have to feel like he needed to watch his step all the time. She was much more forgiving than the others. Never judging him and letting him be himself whenever they were together. She laughed at his antics and made him smile in turn. He soon found it was a lot more fun to have somepony laughing along with him. Probably why I'm foolishly falling in love with her… He groaned again at the thought and shut his eyes. His heart would soar whenever she smiled sweetly at him and would race when he got the chance to hold her. But even in his delusional mind he knew it was all pointless. She was this sweet, innocent mare who was more beautiful than any creature had a right to be. And what was he? He glanced at his reflection in the window, looking over his mismatched body and sighed. Nothing more than a forgotten monster… He had no chance of her ever giving him her heart… He looked at her and she caught his stare, a small blush creeping into her cheeks before she smiled at him. He returned her smile as his heart pounded against his rib cage. He had to be the biggest fool around…because no matter how hopeless it was… I still love her… "Wow~" They all said in unison as they looked up at the expanding city of Las Pegasus. They smiled as they took in the beautiful lights of the city as the sun set. "So what shall we do first?" Twilight asked and all the others began to shout suggestions. Discord laughed and snapped his fingers. Their mouths were zipped shut and they glared at him. He held out his hands and made his suggestion, "How about we do the only fair thing?" Again he snapped his fingers and seven identical straws appeared in his claws. At the same time the mares' mouths unzipped. "Longest straw goes first and shortest straw goes last…all agreed?" They nodded and moved forward to pull their straw. When Twilight reached him, she smirked up at him. "What a logical solution Discord." He blanched and glared at her. "I should wash your mouth out." He snapped his fingers and a bar of soap appeared. When she started to complain it flew into her mouth. Her eyes widened and it took a second for her brain to register that the bar was actually candy and Discord was laughing at her. After they had all pulled their straw the order was decided. It would go-Pinkie, Rarity, Spike AJ, Fluttershy,Twilight, and last was Rainbow. "Good now that we have all that settled let's go enjoy the sights!" Twilight shouted and the others laughed and nodded. Discord snapped the camera one last time, taking a photo of him and Fluttershy. He smiled as he pulled away from her and she returned his smile. "Alright girls! Now for the best part of the night! It's finally my turn to choose something and I found the perfect thing!" Rainbow said as she held out a flyer. Twilight, with a sleeping Spike on her back, looked over at the flyer. She frowned and looked at Rainbow. "Rainbow that's to a new club opening…" "Well duh…Come on girls, let's go!" "We'll have to drop Spike off at the hotel first, he's too young for such an-uh-establishment." Rarity said as she looked over the flyer too. Rainbow shrugged, "No problem. Of course Discord could always just…" "Way ahead of you." He snapped his fingers and the dragon flashed back to the hotel room. "Wait! What if he wakes up and doesn't know where we are and starts panicking?" Twilight shouted. Discord rolled his eyes and snapped his fingers again. "There mother hen, smooth your feathers. He now has a note on where we'll be, a bucket of gems and a mountain of comics to appease him." Twilight let out a sigh of relief. She looked back at Rainbow and then down at the flyer. "I'm still not so sure about this Rainbow…what if we get into some kind of trouble?" "What can happen? We're with the Princess of Magic-" "Friendship…" "You know what I mean, no pony can do magic like you. Plus we have the Lord of Chaos with us. Who's stupid enough to try and mess with this team?" "S-she does h-have a point Twilight…Discord is the best bodyguard you could ask for." Fluttershy whispered and Discord appeared in front of them dressed fully in black, complete with sunglasses and an earpiece. "All clear on this side…let's move the packages…" He spoke into his sleeve and then a copies of Discord picked up each mare, threw them over their shoulders and moved off towards the club. The original Discord chuckled as he brought up the rear and listened to the mares scream to be put down. Finally Rainbow sighed and gave up. She looked over to Twilight and grinned. "It was my turn anyways." Twilight snorted and whispered back. "If anything happens it's your fault." "Oh please. You worry too much Twi. It's just a few drinks and some music. What's the worst that could happen?"