//------------------------------// // Chapter XXXIII: Clown // Story: Distorted Fate // by Silvak //------------------------------// Turning my head around, I said, "What are you doi-" only to pause when I saw Discord. Instead of seeing the blue-colored mishap, I instead saw that his colors changed to match his mismatched body parts. Tilting my head in confusion, I asked, "Why is your fur not blue?" "Oh, that, I was just having some fun," Discord said as he summoned a glass of chocolate milk to his hand. Just as I was about to retort, instead my jaw was left frozen half-open when I saw him drink the glass instead of the milk. As I stood there with my left eye twitching, Discord tossed the milk over his shoulder, which almost flew out of view until it exploded. As I continued to remain speechless, Discord floated over to me as he put a hand under my chin. "Now now, you shouldn't leave your mouth open like that, you'll catch flies," he said as he closed my jaw. "Now Discord, you shouldn't be doing stuff like that around ponies. It'll scare them like you scared Aether," Fluttershy said in a disapproving tone, though her words knocked me out of my stupor. "Hey, I am not scared from that," I protested. "See, no harm done, Fluttershy dear. Though I have to ask, I didn't know that dear little Aether would be the kind of filly to have touching moments with other ponies," Discord said as he gave me a mocking smirk, to which I returned with a frown of my own. "So may I ask, what is this filly doing here Fluttershy? I thought we were going to have our Tuesday tea?" "Oh, Aether just came over to help me out with taking care of the animals and I sort of... lost track of time," Fluttershy said with an embarrassed blush. "Oh, really? So you're here to help take care of some animals? Trying to be a zookeeper now?" Discord said as he snapped his fingers, causing some kind of weird uniform to appear on me. As I tried to figure out what in limbo these clothes were meant for, I said "No, Pinkie said this may be good exercise for me." "Oh? I can help you with that then," Discord said with a grin as he snapped his fingers again. Suddenly, the clothes were gone, replaced with some sort of headband on my head and me in some... giant metal wheel. Before I could say a thing about it, Discord appeared right next to the wheel as he said, "This will help you burn those calories off," before he suddenly gave the wheel a spin. Yelping in shock, I was force to run for dear life or ended up being span around by the wheel. "Discord!" Fluttershy said as she flew to the wheel, her face full of worry as she tried to find a way to stop it now. "Get Aether out of it!" "What? I'm just trying to help her exercise," Discord said, only for Fluttershy to give him a harsh look in return. "Fine, but I was just trying to help..." Discord muttered before he snapped his fingers, causing the contraption to disappear and allowing me to fall onto the floor. While I would have made a retort of some kind, I was too busy catching my breath as I lay there panting, for the wheel had spun so fast that I had to run at top speed just to avoid being spun around like crazy. "I know you were trying to help, but you went about it all wrong," Fluttershy said before turning her attention to me. "Are you okay, Aether?" Concern was evident in her voice. Panting, I said between breathe, "I am... fine... just really... need to... lose weight," though I did aim a glare at Discord. "Bah, she'll be fine. So Fluttershy, are we still having tea?" "Well... if Aether doesn't mind," Fluttershy said as she gave me a look that spoke of her desire not to anger me. As I rolled my eyes at how timid she can be, I said, "Go ahead... I will be fine..." "If you say so..." Fluttershy said before turning her attention towards Discord, "Umm... can you wait for a moment? I need to prepare the tea," as she hid behind her mane, probably from the embarrassment from losing track of things. "Hmm... I think I can wait, since this little filly can keep me company in the meantime," Discord answered. As I recalled the balloons and my lost mouth, I was about to open my mouth to complain only for Discord to cut me short as he curled around me again with his body and said, "This will allow me another try to give Aether a good impression of myself. Besides, I believe that we both would have so many things we would love to discuss." "Oh, that sounds like a good idea. What do you think, Aether?" Fluttershy asked. Narrowing my eyes a bit, I looked at Discord's eyes as I knew he was scheming something. However, since he knew the truth, maybe he might inform me or at least slip some information on what could have caused me to appear in this world. "Yeah... I would not mind spending some time with Discord, as long I as do not go flying off again." "I assure you that I wouldn't have you flying off again," Discord said as he smiled at me. Giving us both a smile, Fluttershy made her leave to prepare the tea, leaving the two of us to our little 'company time'. The moment Fluttershy entered her home, I quickly scowled at Discord as I said, "What do you want now." "Oh, what do you mean? Like I said, I want to leave a better impression," Discord said before popping away to a few feet away from me, suddenly wearing a suit. "Well, you are doing a good job so far," I said sarcastically. "Regardless, I know you are up to something with me, so just get to the point." "As you wish," Discord said before poking me with a giant toothpick. Tossing it aside, where it nearly landed on a squirrel, Discord continued. "I've been wanting to ask you about this." Snapping his fingers, a small metal container appeared in his paw, which he then held out for me to grab. Eyeing the container, I grabbed it with my magic, opening it as I took a peek inside to see a Maralus shard inside. "What are you doing with this... crystal?" I asked as I looked at him with suspicion. "The bigger question, dear, is why these are coming to this world. While these crystals are a perfect wrench in the pony's system of magic, they are just too unnatural for my tastes," Discord said. "You... you do not know? So you have no connection to the explosions?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at this little revelation. "Of course not. While these mystery explosions did send Celestia's guards into a frenzy, it's just not my style." "Do you even have a style?" I retorted with a roll of my eyes. "Touché. I take it that you don't know either?" Biting my lip for a moment, I finally replied, "Not exactly... there could be a few... possibilities... but they are all far-fetched. I think odds are it is linked to how I was brought here." "Are you certain your presence here didn't cause any harm to the world's natural barriers?" Discord asked as he summoned a bubble, poking holes into it though it didn't pop at all. "I do not even know why I am here, but my method of travel has been proven to be safe to all worlds." Blinking at me, Discord's bubble popped as he asked, "You don't even know why you're here?" Shaking my head, I said, "No, this world was not my destination, though it is far more pleasant than where I was supposed to go. I just somehow ended up here, and with the explosions... that means something about this world is messing with dimensional travel." "While that does sound like a predicament, it does make for some fun chaos," Discord said as he lounged on a rather jagged rock. "Until the stuff that no one wants starts pouring in," I replied dryly. "Oh, there is something that wouldn't just cause chaos for this world?" "Yes, because if it comes, there will only be death and suffering, and sadly more of the latter than the former." Getting off his rock, Discord gave me a skeptical look as he said, "Isn't death worse than suffering normally?" Giving him a serious look, I said, "There are some things out there, that many would rather prefer death than face it." After looking at me for a moment, Discord then stretched his body out in the most disturbing ways, the sounds of his bones popping reaching my ears. "Well, this talk has certainly become morbid. How about a change of pace?" Snapping his fingers, I suddenly found myself in a clown's costume, complete with a red nose. "You are never gonna stop messing with me, right," I stated as I pulled off the red nose. "Oh come now, this look looks perfect on you. You are living with Pinkie Pie after all." "You may think so, but I think this would give Rarity a heart attack," I retorted as I wiped a hoof across my face to see make-up on it. Great... at least there's a nearby stream, I thought to myself as I made my way to it. "Why, that's a splendid idea! Excuse me for a moment," Discord said before disappearing, only to reappear a short moment later, though it gave me enough time to dunk my head into the stream. Mere seconds later, a rather loud scream of absolute horror rang out from Ponyville, so loud that I pity the ponies that were near its source. "That is only going to come back and bite you in the butt," I said as I shook the water out of my mane. "Please, it was just some harmless fun, and let me help you with that," Discord said before he snapped his fingers, causing a massive fan to appear before me. "...Buck me," I said as the fan turned on, the sheer power of it causing my clothes to fly right off me first, before blowing me off my hooves and into the middle of a tree. Thankfully, before I got to see if the fan was strong enough to blow my coat and mane off me, Fluttershy came out as she said, "Did anypony hea- Aether!" She looked at me first, then the giant fan, before finally laying her eyes on Discord as she yelled, "Stop that, Discord!" Rolling his eyes, Discord snapped his fingers, causing the fan to disappear and allowing me to fall off the tree. "Aether has gotten herself wet, so I was doing what a good pony would do and helped dry herself off." "With a giant fan?" Fluttershy shrieked, though in her own timid voice it sounded like she was just talking a bit louder than the average pony. "What? It's faster that way." "But it's still not the right way," Fluttershy said as she made her way over to me. "Are you okay, Aether?" she asked as she helped me onto my hooves. "I am fine, for the most part," I answered as I rubbed a hoof against my back. Turning around to face Discord again, Fluttershy said, "Now what do you say, Discord?" Sighing, Discord said, "Sorry for getting carried away, can you ever forgive me?" though I could tell he was just faking it. Rolling my eyes before Fluttershy turned around to see me do it, I said, "Sure, I forgive you." Smiling at the both of us, Fluttershy said, "Good, now the tea is ready, so would you mind keeping an eye on the animals while Discord and I have some tea, Aether?" "Sure, I can do that," I said, causing Fluttershy to give me her thanks as both she and Discord headed into her home, though Discord gave me a wave and a wink before he closed the door behind him. Rubbing the sides of my head with my hooves, I thought to myself, I'm never gonna get a moment of peace with Pinkie and Discord around. Oh well, it could always be worse.