"My, my, my... color me surprised!"
The here and now...
Everypony looked up in time to see Discord, hanging from the ceiling, his body cycling through every color of the rainbow. To Luna and Celestia, who had grown more or less numb to the master of chaos' antics, it was relatively tame, but to Morning Glory, who'd never seen such a spectacle, it was one of the most magical things she'd ever witnessed, and couldn't help but to applaud.
The draconequus floated down from the ceiling, a jolly smile on his face, saying, "Well, well, well... Luna, I honestly didn't think you had it in you, but here we are: You've surprised me! I didn't think that anypony had it in them to do that anymore." He chuckled, and then added, "An earth pony for a student. You couldn't have surprised me more if you'd painted yourself pink, put on a matching dress, and invited me to the Gala!"
Luna was not amused, as was plain by her expression. "And how did you find out about that so soon?"
A phoenix winged in, and landed on Discord's shoulder. "A little birdy told me," the master of chaos said with a smile, then handed the bird a cookie. The bird took it, and then squeezed its talons just enough to be unpleasant. Discord rolled his eyes, and then handed the phoenix two more, muttering, "Greedy little immortal feather duster..."
Luna gave the phoenix a look, and said, "I'm going to remember that, Philomena."
The bird looked completely unperturbed, which only seemed to annoy the lunar princess further.
Glory, on the other hoof, was giving Discord a look of her own. Discord seemed to take a moment to notice, and when he did, he asked, "Something on my face?" He pulled out an handkerchief, then wiped it on his face, causing it to disappear. Without a visible mouth, he was somehow able to asked, "Did I get it?"
"You're being rude," Morning Glory stated bluntly. "You're supposed to introduce yourself when you meet someone new."
Discord abruptly brought his face down to where he was looking the filly in the eyes, a flat, unfriendly expression on his face. After a moment, he cracked a smile, then said, "You're right, I was being rude." Extending his eagle-clawed hand, he said, "Discord, king of chaos, baron of bedlam, archduke of anarchy, master of mischief, and a plethora of other things besides." Raising an eyebrow, he asked, "And you are?"
Extending a hoof and shaking Discord's hand, she replied, "Morning Glory, an orphan from Cloudsdale."
With a chuckle, the draconequus asked, "And that's all?"
"I'm five," Glory replied, flippantly, "What were you expecting? Queen of Boardor?"
Discord chuckled, and said, "Fair enough." Retracting his claw, he asked, "So... Luna's new student... what did you plan on learning from her royal mooniness, hmmm? Proper planting techniques? How to move heavy objects? Her secret family recipe for apple strudel?"
Glory giggled, and said, "I actually made that joke earlier today." Her expression turned serious, and she said, "But no. I want to learn how to do magic."
Princess Celestia, who until now had watched all of this with an amused expression, looked surprised. Discord's expression was even more so, to the point that he could not have been more stunned if she'd said, 'Turn into an alicorn and fly laps around the moon while yodeling the Equestrian national anthem'.
After a moment, Discord snapped his fingers. Suddenly, Glory was in a dress, holding a bouquet of flowers, and wearing a tiara, with Discord standing nearby wearing a tuxedo and applauding. Over her head, there was a banner with the words 'World's Youngest Pony To Ever Surprise Discord' written on it. "Congratulations," the draconequus said, handing her a trophy, which she awkwardly took with her free hoof. "You've managed to beat Twilight Sparkle and her friends by more than a decade, from when they turned me to stone. Well done."
Glory looked up at Discord for a moment, and almost felt like crying. "Thank you."
His expression confused, Discord asked, "What for?"
"For not laughing," the young filly answered, smiling. "Almost every pony I tell that to does." She paused, and added, "And for the dress. I've never worn one before. And the flowers, oh, and the tiara!" After a moment, she asked, "...Um, can I keep them?"
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Discord was old, older than alicorns, older than most countries, and some continents. Nations may rise and fall, but Discord is eternal. Admittedly, friendship was new to him, as was being anything other than... well, than being the way he used to be. He'd experienced many things in his life, and while his new lifestyle had caused him to encounter many things he'd never known before, there was one thing he had not yet experienced, and as such, it was something that managed to completely blindside him...
Honest gratitude.
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The stunned silence that followed was broken when Celestia began applauding, saying, "Well done, young lady. I can honestly say that this is the first time I've ever seen Discord at a complete loss for what to say."
Discord shot a look at her that might have been intimidating, were it not for the fact that he was blushing furiously in embarrassment. After a moment, he looked back at the young filly, and said, after a brief pause to collect himself, "Yes, fine, keep them. And you're welcome." After a moment, he snapped his fingers, and a pair of glasses appeared in his lion pawed hand. "An earth pony using magic may be impossible, or it may not be. I'm interested to see what the answer to that question is, myself. And, since I'm in such a good mood, I suppose I can tell you which kind of magic you might be able to use."
Glory nodded excitedly, almost causing the tiara to fall off of her head.
Discord put the glasses on, revealing the lenses to have some sort of spiral shaped pattern to them. He took one look at Glory...
...And the glasses abruptly burst into flames, and then exploded. And then exploded again for good measure.
"Are those supposed to do that?" Morning Glory asked, while everyone looked on in surprise.
As the glasses reformed themselves in Discord's hand, he said, "Normally, only when I say the words, 'It's Over Nine Thousand'." The glasses abruptly exploded again. "It's not a bug, it's a feature," he added, as they reformed a second time.
Looking at the young filly, the draconequus said, "Someone put some manner of protection spell on you, and it is a powerful one. I don't know what it is, or what it does, but it is so... overprotective that I can't even use my magic to determine what kind of magic might work best for you. Probably so that no one can try to figure out a way to bypass it. So, I'm sorry to say I can't even point you in the right direction. At least, not until the protective spell is removed."
"That's okay," Glory said, pushing back the disappointment she felt. "It just means I'll get to be surprised when I find out what it is." It was a bit of a mystery to her, where that protective spell came from, but she didn't mind it much, she supposed. It felt kind of nice, knowing that somepony out there felt she was worth protecting.
With a chuckle, Discord said, "Well, I'd rather be surprising, myself, but that's my preference. And you've proven quite surprising today, yourself" With a bow, Discord said, "Well, young lady, it has been an interesting encounter, but I must be off. Places to go, things to do, and all that." With a wink, he added, "But I do hope to see you again soon."
And with that, Discord vanished in a puff of smoke.