//------------------------------// // The Garden Party // Story: We Met One Stormy Night // by Mischiefpop //------------------------------// The pegasus skipped through the forest to the hut with a chipper feeling radiating throughout her mind, body and soul. She was going to have Lunch with a new friend. "I'm going to Lunch! I'm going to Lunch!" She sang merrily. On her back, bouncing up and down, always coming close to but never really falling off, was a pink package. Inside was a large sum of cucumber sandwiches with daisies, just like the one on top of her mane made into a daisy chain. Only that one was special made into a flower crown. She'd planned to give it to him as a friendship present. Close by, the creature wore a green sash around his neck. The contents of his luggage rested on the back of his neck. It was a few scraps of scraps of meat from another animal, most likely a rabbit. He too was somewhat cheery about the whole thing. He even wore a smile on his face, something he rarely managed to do these days. The pegasus was the first to arrive. Noticing her friend hadn't made it yet, she decided to have a brief look around. She came across a small bush with a tree sticking out through the middle; a good place to hide and surprise him. She hurried around, knowing he would come in from the east. She was just in time as the creature emerged from the tree line. Having caught the last rustles of the bush, he knew his new friend was hiding. He smiled once again, creeping closer. Now only a few feet from the bush where the pegasus was hiding, the creature cleared his throat. "We Met One Stormy Night!" He called out. "We Met One Stormy Night!" The pegasus cried out, shooting out of the bushes. The odd creature raised his paw to wave hello to his new friend, as did the pegasus... Upon seeing each other, the two were caught in a moment of stunned silence. There the creature stood, looking down at his new friend, a pegasus which happened to be his favourite prey. And there stood Fluttershy, which had been taught to always run away from a dangerous and to avoid becoming that prey. Despite their instincts, they were caught in a drop dead silence. "You have got to be kidding me!" The creature said finally. "But… I heard hooves when you came in!" Pegasus replied. "That was a stick. I was using it for support so I didn't have to put too much weight on my wounded leg." he explained. "Oh!" She replied. Awkward silence took over once again. The two were definitely unhinged by this unnatural discovery. Here they stood; two completely different species that had so much in common. The only thing they didn't have in common aside from their physiological differences was their dietary habits. "I know it's not much, but I got you this," the pegasus said. She then presented to him the flowers she'd gotten for him. He stared at it, bewildered by something in the gesture she'd committed. "Sorry, I know it probably doesn't mean anything to you…" The pegasus paused as she heard him begin to chuckle. He then burst out into full laughter. "Is something funny?" She asked him. The draconequus died down to a chuckle once again and presented to her an identical flower. "We really do think alike, don't we?" He asked. The Pegasus stared at the matching flower in his paw and a smile broke out onto her features. She then giggled and took the flower from his paw, replacing it with her own. "Thank you. I love it." She said. The creature took the flower she'd placed in his paw and returned it to where he'd hidden his present to her. "Me too. Thanks." He said. The two odd friends decided to proceed with Lunch, making track for Rambling Rock Ridge. On the way there, they had to pass through a ridge which had been cut off. A large crack in the side of the cliff had split the path in two. "Oh no. That's a pretty big gap." The pegasus commented. The stepped forward to the edge of the gap and looked it over. "Three meters wide, a hundred foot drop… piece of cake!" He said. The pegasus looked at him as he took a few steps back then charged forward. She stared in awe as he leaped across the gap. He fell just short of a perfect jump. He collided with the edge; the impact caused the sash around his neck to unravel. It, along with his lunch fell down toward the ground. "You have got to be kidding me!" He groaned. "Sorry about your lunch. Will you be alright?" she asked. The creature, having lost his lunch as well as been outclassed in the jumping category, began to feel slightly unnerved. "Yeah…I'll get over it." He said. As they continued their trek to Rambling Rock Ridge, the creature found himself watching his new friend very closely. With wide eyes, he observed the way her tail swished and how her flank moved with each step she took, the buttercup softness of the thighs. He could tell exactly how tasty she would be just by watching her. Such a teasing little pegasus, it would be so easy to just jump her, bite down on the soft part of her neck and feast. He shook his head. No! I want to see where this friendship leads me. He thought, clearing his mind of the hunger. But she just looks so tasty! Needless to say it wasn't working. NO! I've decided I'm not going to eat her! I will not let instinct overcome my will. "We're here!" She said happily. "Here?" He asked, looking beyond her to the area ahead. Rambling Rock Ridge was beautiful to say the least. Though greatly exposed, it allowed one to see a magnificent view that rivalled anything the creature had seen before. Lush green fields flowed below the ridge all the way to the tree line beyond. Further still were the mountains, tinted blue in the distance, some of which had snow scattered across their peaks. Even beyond, there was gap into forever where the sun would set. It could be described as an animal's paradise. "What do you think?" She asked. Though the creature had been around a lot of areas, he'd never really taken the time to stop and enjoy the view. Letting out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. On the ridge itself, was a small tree that gave enough shade to make it comfortable in the Spring weather. "Time to eat," the pegasus said. The creature watched her unpack her lunch before noticing her stare up at him sadly. "Oh, that's right, you lost your lunch, didn't you?" She nervously turned and looked towards the creature. "Ah, don't worry about it. Anyway, if you think about it, I'm really having Lunch with my Lunch… Oh, sorry, that was rude of me." He replied. "Are you sure, I might not gonna have to run for my life ?" She nervously looked back at the creature. "Ugh gag there is no way I would eat pony meat, I really do hate it !" Shoving a finger into his mouth and making a ‘blegh’ noise. "Don't worry about it. I know you only meant to joke. Here you can have half of my lunch, if you want." She offered him the cucumber sandwiches she'd packed. "Thanks, but I can't digest anything short of plant, and even it's a vegetable. Don't worry about it. I'll just take a nap for a bit." He said, lying down and tucking his head in over his paws. He closed his eyes and the pegasus was as good as alone. An hour passed in silence as the pegasus enjoyed her sandwiches. When she was done, she gave a grateful sigh of relief and a distended belly proving she didn't let it go to waste. "That was great!" She said, then turned to the odd creature to see him still sleeping. "Think I'll take a nap too." She said, collapsing onto her back. She was asleep in seconds. Seconds later, the creatures eyes opened, wide as they were when he was fully awake. They focused on the sleeping pegasus next to him and he rose to a sitting position, looming over her like a cat over a mouse. I can't help it. I'm just so hungry. Maybe she wouldn't mind if I just… no, that wouldn't work. An ear's an ear, there's no excusing that, not that she'd be able to hear me afterward. He went through the possibilities in his head. For every pro, there were two cons. Eventually, he managed to come to a conclusion. One lick to identify her taste should satisfy his curiosity at least. With that in mind, he leaned over, with her on her side an ear would have been the best place to get a taste, clacking his teeth together... but she's my friend. Those four small words snapped him out of his daze and he looked down to see her looking up at him with confusion plastered on her face. "Hey cut it out will ya, you know when you nibble on my ears it tickles," she yawned. "Sorry I was just having a dream about my pet Angel bunny he teases me by nibbling on my ears." She yawed, softly rubbing her ears and eyes. "Huh where you nibbling on my ear, why did you do that, did I have something on them ?" She asked, starting to feel uncomfortable of his closeness. Raising his head to escape her personal space. "Ugh you had a bug on them, a bug one yuck. I hate bugs!" They both looked on to the horizon and saw that the sun was beginning to set. "My, has it already been that long? I'd best be going," she said. "Yeah, the others might be wondering where I've gotten to." He agreed. "Well… see you around." She said, turning to leave. the view before him, of her walking away, back turned to him, the tail and that juicy meat ripe for the picking… he lost control. He went into an attack pose and charged after her. Drool flew from the sides of his mouth. The pegasus heard something behind her and turned to look. It was a frightening scene to be sure, but the idea that he would hurt her didn't really register in her head. "What's wrong?" She asked, turning all the way around to face him. The creature skidded to a halt, his nose just touching hers. He looked as confused as she did. "Um… I forgot to tell you…" He began. "Yes?" She urged, beginning to feel uncomfortable. "Uh… that is… I wanted to ask you… could we do this again?!" He blurted out. Thank goodness for the subconscious mind. The pegasus blinked a few times before registering his request. "Oh, yes of course. I'd planned on doing this again too, but we never really set a time or date for it, did we?" She asked. The creature chuckled, backing up a few steps. "You're right. How's tomorrow sound? Midday?" He offered. "Works for me. By the way, my name's Fluttershy." She replied. The creature looked at Fluttershy and blinked a few times. "I… can't believe we didn't introduce ourselves! Here we were spending the better half of a day together and we didn't even know each other's names. It's nice to meet you Fluttershy. My name's Discord." As Discord approached Everfree Forest, his entire demeanour dropped like a rock. His smile faded away like a shadow from the light. His eyes seemed to almost glaze over with boredom and if one watched very closely, they would see the colour of his fur turn slightly more grey. Early memories of his youth slowly entwined with his journey. Found under a felted leaf by a kind hearted elder timber wolf named Soba, she raised the young runt as her own kin, gently nudging the infant to gobble the leftover nourishment and taught him everything she knew about becoming a timber wolf. Until he was just as swift and strong than any other timber wolves but he knew nothing of his hidden powers... "Ah, Discord. You've returned!" A large timber wolf, bigger than Discord called out. One could mistake him for the alpha. "Farkas." Discord said. "Where have you been all day?" He suspiciously asked. "I was checking the area surrounding whitetail woods. Nothing there but prey food." He lied. "Very good. Check there again after the next Lunar cycle. Perhaps you'll get lucky this time around." He suggested. "Yes, perhaps. Until then, I'll do the usual, shall I?"