//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: Discord's Maid // by ferventwilight //------------------------------// Celestia and Luna sat upon the royal throne, flanked on both sides by Royal Guards, Unicorn Scholars, and the Element Bearers. Such an impressive force might have seemed extravagant in the days before the Uncalibration, but they were now necessary to try and honor the beast they needed. After Tirek had been defeated, several Unicorn Scholars had noticed that magic, in general, seemed weaker. Earth Ponies grew fewer crops, Unicorns could not levitate objects as quickly, Pegasi were losing altitude. Even the Royal Sisters had trouble lowering the Sun and Moon. The only two types of magic left unchanged were Chaos Magic and the Magic of Friendship. The Everfree had grown exponentially, spreading out all over Ponyville, contained only by the Tree of Harmony. In contrast, Friendship could help slow the spread of the Forest, but not forever, as many had abandoned their friends as they fled Ponyville. Discord had self-exiled himself from society out of shame, and no one knew where he had gone. Which was precisely why Luna had called the Council. Luna nodded to Celestia. The Solar Monarch raised her voice, "Discord. We need your friendship." She pushed over a pot full of magical amulets, talismans, gummy worms, and a single lollipop. An awkward silence passed for over a minute, as though Discord was trying to make up his mind about whether he wanted to see them or not. "Princess? Are you sure he was listening?" asked Twilight Sparkle. "Of course he was listening, Twilight. Why would he ever ignore such a huge amount of magical power?" Celestia replied, though her voice betrayed a shadow of doubt. Another minute passed. " Princess, do you want to try again?" asked a timid Twilight. "No!" Celestia responded, frustrated. Why wasn't Discord showing up? He wouldn't have completely abandoned society. Too boring. Would he? Her summons were suddenly answered when a loud pounding began at the door. Her Door Guards ignited their horns, trying to budge the door. Rarity joined her magic with theirs, followed by the Princesses and the Scholars. When the door was finally open, the pounding suddenly stopped. There was no one out there. Celestia strode forth, followed by Luna, to see where Discord was. It would be just like him to be hiding just outside the door. "Where are you going? You're the ones requesting me, weren't you?" drawled an all-too-familiar voice. The diarchs wheeled around. There, calm as you please, was Discord, sitting on the throne. "Yes, we were the ones summoning you," replied Celestia. "And then this one," he pointed to Twilight with his talon, "Thinks I'll just come like a trained dog, does she?" "N-n-no!" Twilight sputtered,"I just wasn't sure if-" "Spare me your excuses. Just remember, I am no dog." He remarked caustically, rolling his eyes on the floor. "We wish to strike a bargain." Luna said resolutely, attempting to protect the cowering Princess of Friendship. Discord languidly draped himself across the throne. "I'm listening!" he sang. "Will you help us recalibrated our magic, return the Everfree to its original dimensions, and join our Court once again?" Celestia tried, going for broke. "I could do that, but I also could walk away. What do you have for me?" Discord countered. "We have mounds of gold-" offered the Minister of Coin. "-battalions of soldiers-" included the Secretary of War. "- And plenty of cake." added the Royal Chef. Discord laughed. "You think I want GOLD?! And you call me crazy!" He snapped his fingers, and 2.236 pounds of gold appeared. "And I can tango with any army!" He was suddenly on a tank. "And- no, actually, it might be nice to not know what cake flavour it is," He mused. "So, you will help us just for cake?" Celestia replied, taken aback. She was famous for her tea and cake habit, but Discord?" "I will recalibrate magic for a new cake every year for forever and a day. I will need one thing more for the Everfree reduction, however." "Name it," replied Luna. "I need a maid. Choose wisely, I need someone good at cleaning." "I'll go," responded Pinkie Pie excitedly. "I will clean for you," replied Rarity with haste. "I can keep a house, Discord." answered Applejack defiantly. "I could work for you." countered Rainbow Dash, a gleam of hate in her eye. "I could be a valuable hostage,"offered Twilight. "No." Fluttershy said resolutely as she marched to Discord's side. "I shall be the maid." Her friends gaped in shock for a moment, then erupted. "Discord lost his memories of us; he won't listen!" "I could keep his powers in check!" "Fluttershy, darling. please reconsider." But Fluttershy's eyes only looked at Rainbow Dash, striding the red carpet toward her. A tear filled with sadness, not hate, escaped her eye. "Fluttershy, please. You're my friend..." Fluttershy gently pushed the hoof away. "I know, but someone needs to do it." "But you... you can't. Please don't go with this... beast." "I'm sorry Rainbow, I truly am, but no one can decide my fate but me." "Splendid!" Discord exclaimed, snapping his fingers. Long tendrils of chaos magic flowed from the ponies all over Equestria, and Discord unleashed magical auras which spread all across the rampaged land. "Remember, I can just as easily make it so your precious little horns can't interact with the Magic again, so don't try anything," Discord said, even as the unicorns lit their horns, the pegasi flew up, and the Earth Ponies felt the Earth talk to them again. The entire Pony Court bowed to Discord. When they stood back up, Discord was gone. And so was Fluttershy. Pinkie began to wail toward the ceiling as the rest of the Court wept at the loss of their friend. Discord had stolen Fluttershy, leaving the Rainbow power useless. ______________________________________-___________________________________________________-______________________________________________ "Well, Fluttershy, how do you like your new home?" exclaimed Discord, sweeping his lion paw to show her his extravagant castle. The floor kept rising and turning into walls, as if it couldn't decide which way it wanted to be. Doors and floors and lampshades existed on different gravitational spectrums. Thousands of seemingly random objects flapped about, making odd noises. "It's, um, very unique," Fluttershy replied demurely. "I know, it's not perfect, but it's more use to me if it's unstable. I'll let you get settled. You can begin on the morrow." Fluttershy took a few steps before remembering. "Where should I sleep?" "How about in your room?" Fluttershy was about to protest that she didn't have a room until she saw Discord pointing. A spiral staircase, with a sign declaring it Fluttershy's, flickered into existence. Fluttershy took the first step, then the next, until she reached her room. It was a near-perfect replica of her guest room at her cottage, where the Cutie Mark Crusaders had once had a sleepover. She fell to the bed and began to weep, fearing for her friends and for her sanity.