The Next Day
"Thank you so much for letting me come Fluttershy," said Stellar Eclipse.
He and Fluttershy were walking along a paved path, created by Discord, leading to the bridge. Stellar Eclipse was carrying a full black saddlebag with him.
"Oh but of course Eclipse, we're so happy to have you," responded Fluttershy. Even though it was his 20th time saying thank you ever since he arrived into Ponyville, Fluttershy couldn't help but share in her new friend's excitement. Yet Fluttershy pondered I just hope Discord gives Stellar Eclipse a chance.
"Hey Fluttershy?" nervously asked Stellar Eclipse.
"Yes Stellar?" Fluttershy responded.
It took a couple of steps for Stellar Eclipse to ask his question, "are you sure this is alright by Discord?"
Fluttershy gave him a little smile and said "Yes, it's perfectly fine by him. He was so…surprised by the fact you eagerly asked to come to our picnic."
Stellar quickly questioned "Does he think I'm desperate?"
Fluttershy giggled "Oh no, of course not. He's just not use to ponies so willingly wanting to hang out with him. He thought it was a pleasant surprise."
"Oh really?!" Stellar Eclipse's spirits lifted, "Thank goodness. I didn't want to freak him out with my…ugh…inner fan boy."
Fluttershy replied "Discord would love to have a fan, believe me. But more importantly, he would love to have a friend."
Stellar Eclipse gasped "You meant? I can be friends with him?"
Fluttershy said "Well that's for Discord to decide. I'm sure that if you treated him like every pony else, and stayed true to who you are, Discord would definitely will be your friend."
Stellar Eclipse cheered "Yes! This is going to be the best day ever! So, are we there yet?"
Fluttershy chuckled "We're already there." She pointed to the other side of the bridge before them, and Eclipse saw the magnificent tower.
All that he could mutter was "Whoa." They were about to step upon the first plank of the bridge, when a sudden burst of white smoke appeared.
The wind near the cliff helped cleared the white smoke smoothly. Fluttershy and Stellar Eclipse saw Discord in a green suit with a giant purple bow tie, a white buttoned under shirt, and an orange floppy top hat decorated with a butterfly shaped white index card on the side.
While twirling a black cane in his eagle claw, he announced "Welcome dear guests to my humble abode." He bowed gracefully before Fluttershy, "Bonjour ma Cherie". He finished it with a kiss on her hoof.
Discord even wiggled his eyebrows for humorous emphasis, and it worked. Fluttershy couldn't help but giggle at him. In the corner of her eye, she noticed Stellar Eclipse waiting for a sign from Fluttershy on what to do. She almost forgot that he was there! She felt so embarrassed that her face turned red like a ripe tomato.
She cleared her throat and pointed to the pony next to her "Discord…I would like you to meet Stellar Eclipse. Eclipse…this is…"
Stellar eagerly stick out his front hoof towards Discord "It is such an honor to meet you Discord! Oops I mean Mr. Discord. Um do you prefer Mr. Discord or sir or Lord or..?"
Discord responded in a dead pan tone "Mr. Discord is just fine eager beaver."
Stellar quickly took his hoof back and nervously laughed "Haha eager beaver. Good one Mr. Discord!"
Discord groaned and mentally mumbled to himself Oh wonderful, I got the kiss up. Discord then clapped his hands and poof! They were in Discord's garden.
It was a garden filled with black vines covered with blue thorns, and a variety of vibrant candy-like plants. There were rainbow swirled lollipop trees, gum drop bushes, buttercup tea rambles, peppermint moss growing on jaw breaker rocks, candy corn berry shrubs, and sour candy flavored 4 leaf clovers. At the center of this garden was a giant pink fountain oozing and flowing with chocolate milk. Stellar Eclipse was at an awe of all this magical and chaotic beauty. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath in, enjoying the fantastical atmosphere around him. He was shocked to find that even the air was filled with sugar sweetness.
What brought Stellar out of his daze was seeing Discord setting up the picnic blanket in front of the fountain with Fluttershy. He happily skipped over to them, imagining all the future mystical stuff that was soon to come. Meanwhile in the gum drop bushes to the right of the fountain, the cutie mark crusaders were watching Stellar Eclipse. Discord enchanted their crusade capes to make them invisible and blend in with the surroundings around them.
Something kept rubbing against Sweetie's shoulders, and she noticed Scootaloo devouring the gum drops.
She nudged Scootaloo's shoulder and whispered "Knock it off!"
Scootaloo whined with her mouth full of gum drops "But…these are my favorites."
Apple Bloom sitting on the other side of Sweetie Belle pointed out "He…he doesn't seem so bad."
Sweetie and Scootaloo both asked "Who?"
Apple Bloom replied "Stellar Eclipse…he doesn't seem to be the big bully type. He seems to be the more friendly and upbeat kind of guy."
Sweetie Belle remarked "Apple Bloom, we can't back out now. What would Discord say if he abandon him in his time of need?"
Apple Bloom looked down at her hooves and flatten her ears in guilt, remembering how Discord reacted to her almost refusal to help him. And yet, she couldn't get two questions out of her mind Do you really have to hurt some pony in order to protect Fluttershy? Do you really have to hurt him in order to be a good friend to Discord? Apple Bloom then aggressively shook her head of these thoughts, and waited for the signal.
Discord took the left side of the blanket, while Fluttershy took the right side…the side closest to the gum drop bushes.
When Stellar Eclipse approach the blanket, Discord insisted while tightly clenching his teeth "Stellar my boy, why don't you take the spot over there next to Fluttershy? I'm sure that…she would enjoy your company. Right my dear?"
Fluttershy slightly shock at Discord's gesture, she had to look straight into Discord's eyes to see why he was so insisted on Eclipse sitting next to her. Fluttershy answered "Oh um…yes I would. That is if it's alright with you Stellar."
Stellar Eclipse was stunned by the fact that Discord actually said his name, well part of his name, but still! It was so amazing! But he quickly slapped himself out of his fan boy moment and looked at Fluttershy. He replied with a smile "Sure thing. Thanks Fluttershy. Oh and thank you Discord!"
He then pushed the button located lower hip part of his wheel chair. This allowed him to sit down on the blanket with his chair with ease.
Discord growled deeply seeing this punk colt sitting so close to Fluttershy. Discord mentally screamed to himself I know this is for the plan and all, but still! Just look at him! Getting all cozy with her! I told you to sit down next her, not shove yourself so close to her that your tails and legs are touching! And Fluttershy doesn't mind it…why doesn't she mind it? She's supposed to be shy for Pete's sake! Why doesn't she try to move away or avoid eye contact with him? Instead, she's smiling at him! Blah! So sickening! You better enjoy this time with her because it's not going to last long….Discord couldn't help but evilly grin like the Grinch at that last thought.
Fluttershy then said to Stellar "Wow, how did you do that? With your chair? Oh, that is if you do mind me asking."
Eclipse responded happily "Don't worry, I don't mind talking about it. It's actual a feature I added into the chair. You see, I get tired of having to remove myself from my chair whenever I needed to sit down or request a special kind of sitting. Not to mention, it always takes so long. So I modified the chair to be like one of those mental folding chairs but still accommodate with stiff nature of my back legs."
Fluttershy awed "Wow, you did that? All by yourself? You must be really smart."
Stellar slightly blushed "Oh I don't know about that, I just like to tinker with stuff. That's all."
Discord angrily clawed on the blanket and growled while showing his sharp teeth. Discord pondered Oh yes push a button and suddenly the pony is a genius. Please, I'm far more brilliant than he is! Maybe it's the wheels she's admiring? Since when did mares like wheels on a stallion?! Tastes really have changed these past thousand years. Maybe I should get a nice red sports car? Or even some wheels on my mine own hind legs? Ha I would certainly look a cyborg, wouldn't I? Certainly a nice change for my look. Nevertheless, I'm sure all of that would impress Fluttershy. Take that Stellar my boy!
"Since this is such a special picnic, why do we have some…pie?" Discord announced as he poofed up a wide selection of pies floating above their heads.
"Let's have the lady decide," said a very smooth Discord.
Fluttershy looked above her head and asked "Um do you have blueberry by any chance?"
Discord replied "Of course I do my dear." Then he summoned the blueberry pie to land down between Fluttershy and Stellar Eclipse.
Apple Bloom commanded quietly "That was the signal! Scoots get into battle position, Sweetie get the whoopee cushion."
They saluted their leader before heading out. Apple Bloom stayed in the bushes. Scootaloo sneaks up behind Stellar Eclipse in a cat like crawl.
Stellar Eclipse reaches over towards the pie and says to Fluttershy "I can cut it up for you Fluttershy." When Stellar picked up the pie, Scootaloo quickly pushed Stellar's shoulder. This caused him to accidentally slam the pie straight into Fluttershy's face.
Eclipse proclaimed while trying to get up to help her "Oh Fluttershy I'm so…."
He couldn't balance his weight, causing him to stumble back on his behind. And when he did, the garden was echoed with a large and booming fart sound. Every pony at the picnic blanket was silent. Discord was trying so hard not to burst out laughing at this colt's humiliation. Scootaloo was trying to do the same thing as she slowly crawled back to the bushes. Sweetie Belle immediately darted back into the bushes. Stellar Eclipse's face was the color of a beet, and he was trying to stutter just one logical syllable out of his mouth. He couldn't help but stare into horizon behind Discord in order to forget the events that just occurred.
Fluttershy was about to place her hoof on Eclipse's shoulder and comfort him, but she was blocked by Discord rapidly wiping her messy blue face with a handkerchief.
Discord quickly stated "Oh my! Just look at this pie smeared all over your lovely face! Here, let me assist you."
Fluttershy replied "Oh well thank you Discord. But it's alright. It's just little bit of pie. Pie can never harm any pony. I remember this one time you told me, a pie in the face is the ultimate compliment. In a way, Stellar was giving me a compliment." Fluttershy then gave them a very light and airy giggle.
Both Discord and Stellar looked at Fluttershy with astonishment.
But after a couple of seconds of hearing Fluttershy's building laughter, Stellar chuckled "Really? Well thank you for taking my compliment so graciously."
Discord's anger started to build as Stellar and Fluttershy laughed in their new little joke.
Stellar then said to Discord "So where did you come up with that great quote about the pie by the way?"
Discord shrugged his shoulders and said "I…I just made up it a long time ago. It's not really a joke but just something to justify me throwing a pie in some pony's face."
Stellar laughed "Seriously? Oh it's hilarious! I don't know how you do it Discord!" Then Stellar gave Discord a play punch on his arm.
This made Discord snarl and show his sharp fangs at the colt.
Stellar petrified by Discord's current mood and quietly said "Oops sorry, I mean Mr. Discord."
Fluttershy observed this by looking over Discord's shoulder. When Discord turned his face back to Fluttershy, he gave her a big but forced grin. He even added a little squee to give the grin some genuine effect. However, this only made Fluttershy worry about him…and it clearly showed in her eyes. Discord saw this and it made his grin slightly falter.
As Discord gently put Fluttershy back in her spot on the blanket, he said "How about some nice rose tea eh?"
He magically summoned pink and white checkered tea pot and cups to float high above them. The tea pot poured the hot tea into three tea cups, and the tea cups floated into each pony's hooves.
In the bushes, Apple Bloom asked "Alright, that's signal two. Is the star spider ready?"
Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were positioned on the left and right side of the cage big enough for a Great Dane. They nodded their heads yes as they prepared themselves to open the cage. The creature inside the cage hissed and made the cage move a little in its tantrum. This frighten Sweetie and Scoots, yet despite their fear, they cling tightly to the latches of the cage.
As Fluttershy, Stellar, and Discord were about to sip their tea, they heard an unsettling rustling sound coming from the one of the brushes. The rustling sound was soon followed by a deep and eerie hiss. They all stopped in mid sip. It was Fluttershy who turned around to look at the gum drop foliage behind her, hoping that her suspicions were incorrect. Yet instead, she was meet by a large pair of onyx black bug eyes reflecting her face in multiple lenses. Fluttershy let out a high pitch scream at the sight of this creature, and starting crawling towards Discord for safety. Once she was behind him, she recognized the creature entering out of the shadows…a giant star spider.
Stellar Eclipse joined in Fluttershy's scream as well, and tried to follow her but he was stopped by a mysterious force pushing his hind legs down on the blanket. He used all his might to escape, but this encouraged this force to push down on his back and make him lie helplessly on his stomach. He kept struggling even though he knew that the creature will soon eat him.
Discord proudly stood up and shouted with heroic pride "Not to worry! For I shall slay this fowl beast for milady!"
Fluttershy hastily said "Slay? Wait Discord! Don't…"
Discord then instantly dress him in the sleek and piratey outfit that Wesley wore in the Princess Bride. He pulled out a thin but long fencing sword from his side, and directed towards the giant star spider.
He remarked in a Spanish accent "Hello. My name is Discord Draconequus Lordacus Chaotic. You killed my tea party…prepare to die."
He plunged his sword towards the spider's mouth, but the beast dodged swiftly to the right. Then he stabbed his sword towards the left side of the creature, but the spider dodged to the left to avoid it. Their dance of death continued like this. Discord attacking and the spider dodging. With each dodge, the attacks came quicker and quicker.
During this dance of death, Discord kept shouting "Fury! Fury! Thrust!"
Discord then aimed and propelled his sword towards the beast's mouth one more time, yet he was meet with the spider biting hard on the fencing sword and breaking it in his teeth.
Discord looked at his broken sword and replied "Huh, maybe I made the fangs just a little too strong for his own good."
Then the spider hissed at Discord and started backing the draconequus into a tree behind him. The star spider was about strike Discord right in the throat, when Fluttershy placed herself in between the two battling foes. Discord exclaimed "Fluttershy!"
Fluttershy gave the spider a very stern look in her narrowed eyes. The spider responded with the same look. Fluttershy, while still staring at the giant spider, reached slowly behind her back. And she pulled out…a sweet little purple and white polka dotted daisy that smelled like lavender.
Fluttershy then changed her sternness into a gentle smile and said "For you."
This shocked both Discord and the giant star spider, especially the spider. The creature had big stars in his eyes while looking at the daisy in front.
Fluttershy lightly put the flower in one of the spider's front legs and whispered "Here you go."
The spider took a closer look into the petals of the daisy, took in a deep whiff in of its scent and sighed peacefully. Then he cuddled sweetly with his new gift.
Fluttershy said with joy "Oh I'm so glad that you like it." She quietly went up to the flower cuddling spider and stated "I think I'll call you…Fernand."
Discord couldn't believe it. He couldn't believe how she had this magical way of taming every living thing that comes in her way, even creatures of his own design. The only logical explanation he could think of was that she had a way of always knowing what each creature wanted. Maybe that's how she tamed him…she knew what he truly wanted.