Discord's Con

by articunos bitch

The Long Con

Pinkie's "Tree Castle" Party! was winding down as the clock struck midnight. Princess Cadance and Shining Armor had already left for the Crystal Empire, Celestia and Luna were sky jousting, Spike was in the middle of his sugar crash and collapsed in front of the fire, and Applejack gave Twilight a congratulatory goodbye hug, saying she needed to wake up in time for market tomorrow. Pinkie left the music running as she reluctantly started taking down streamers, deflating balloons, before Discord snapped his paws. Everything appeared in a box at her hooves, to which Pinkie leaped and gave him a big hug. Fluttershy patiently waited her turn to speak to him until Twilight walked past giving him a frown.

"Twilight? Is something wrong?"

She shook her head. "Oh no. I...hope Discord shapes up soon. You have been a great influence on him so far Fluttershy, keep it up."

Fluttershy looked at him over her shoulder. "I think you have been a much bigger influence than you give yourself credit for." She smiled so brightly she closed her eyes.

Twilight turned away with a slight blush. "Stop."

"No! I mean it. He hasn't changed that much, but he cares about others, and that's much more you than me."

Something tugged on her tail. Letting out a squeak, she jumped around to see a balloon tied to her few longest hairs. Turning back to face Twilight, Discord was leaning back over her matching her facial expressions. "Discord," she started. "Do you have something you would like to tell Twilight?"

"I believe I have already said 'Congratulations', 'Atta Girl', 'Way to go', 'Would you like some punch'(served in a boxing glove), 'Do you work out, it's not working', and at one point I even said 'You'll see it better in the light of day.' Am I forgetting something?" Counting off on his front then back claws, he innocently looked between both mares waiting for an answer.

"Why don't you tell her about Tirek...and Celestia...you know." Fluttershy was losing her patience for this matter, obvious by her volume dropping further than usual.

"Hmm," he scratched at his goatee with his goat leg. "Celestia and Luna can give you the firsthoof story. I was stoned at the time. Speaking of which," Looking at his bare wrist he reached under Twilight's crown and pulled out a bulging bag of dehydrated green vegetation.

"Discord," Fluttershy interrupted before he grabbed more materials from hammerspace. "Maybe you would like to sleep at my home tonight. Make up the couch, set the cottage tumbling again, it will be just like old times!"

He gave her a bright smile before stuffing his bag under a snoozing Spike. "Well, that does sound fun. Dancing candles too?"

"Of course. Maybe something new!"

"Okay, I'll see both of you later. Bye! And thank you again Fluttershy for everything you did today!"

With a snap of his tail hairs they disappeared in a flash of light.

** ** **

Instantly, they reappeared in Fluttershy's living room, the lights conveniently lit, all the animals asleep. Fluttershy hoped they would stay that way, but if Discord tried any more of his games she was not going to stay quiet.

"So when are you going to tell her," she snapped walking to the bathroom.

"Tell who what? Honestly Fluttershy, you act as if I'm hiding something. And what kind of friend would have secrets?"

Turning the sink faucet on, "A friend who doesn't want to hurt someone else. And don't change the subject! When are you going to tell Twilight?" Squeezing a glob of toothpaste onto her brush, she glared at Discord now jumping on the couch.

"Tell Twilight what exactly? My name for her? Everyone already calls her Princess Wingboner behind her back, but I could tell her it was my idea. My new club? It's pretty big." Stretching his arms four times their normal length, he reached into the closet and pulled out a two meter iron rod complete with weight on the front, holding it perfectly balanced in one hand. Unamused by his antics, Fluttershy jabbed the toothbrush into her mouth and scrubbed furiously.

"Maybe you mean I should tell her about Cadances' Romance Plans? Ooh, what fun! She ships everyone and everything. You have no clue how many stallions, or mares for that matter, she thinks would make you happy."

Most pegasi are not known for their strength, but any mare upset enough will make you think she can smash the floor, and Discord swore he heard a tile crack under her hoof right then, bubbles dripping from her mouth. She continued to glare at him until her teeth were brush and flossed, he kept his silence.

"If there is something specific you want me to tell our dear Princess Star Butt, maybe you should spell it out for you. I have a few secrets you don't want to know of."

She squinted sharply, before taking to her wings and gliding onto her favorite easy chair. "Sit," she pointed at the couch. "Are you going to tell Twilight the truth about you and Celestia conspiring Tirek's defeat?"

Claping his front paws together, "Ah! I think I see now. Celestia and I conspiring, but Twilight taking the credit for Tirek's defeat. That, is a very bold claim Fluttershy. Maybe you could go into more detail, just so I don't say something we are both going to regret?"

"Fine." She crossed her forelegs and began. "First, it was a very good trick. You had me genuinely believing you for a little while. Until you winked at Celestia. It might have been a flirt, but you are Discord, I know you, and a wink is FAR below your level. It was a wink of Knowing. You knew, she knew, maybe Luna and Cadance knew, I doubt it. They trust her judgement, and when she speaks, they listen. She said 'Let Discord handle him,' and they did. Celestia said, 'Give our power to Twilight and she will handle him,' and they did, despite her last plan backfiring so horribly. Or so they thought, we all did.

"Something nagged at me about your visit to us. You were going off to fight Tirek, so why did you bring up the diary we had been keeping? You were mentioned in one entry, just one. How did you know we were even doing it? What's more, you pointed out the times we each got an item from a new friend, how did you know about those? And then those turned out to be the exact items we needed for the box to fashion keys for us. I don't know how long it would have taken us to work that out, but with your help we had five keys in a few hours. That is no coincidence, you knew darn well what would happen. Celestia said she had no idea where to look for the keys when the box first appeared, maybe you did. Maybe you, or her, or both worked it out since then.

Discord leaned back on the couch, his paws behind his head, enthralled with Fluttershy's speech.

"If you knew how to unlock the box, did you know what it would do? Discord," Fluttershy leaned forward. "Was the box preparing itself for a threat? Did it KNOW Tirek, or something dangerous would arrive in Equestria soon?"

Silence.

"Well? Did it?"

Stretching out his legs and arms, Discord scratched behind his ear with his club. "You are not done Fluttershy. Continue, I want to see what happens to our brave, cunning hero Discord next."

Sighing, Fluttershy went on. "I think the box did know, and if you and Celestia knew how to unlock the box, you knew more about it than you let on. You might not have known exactly what to expect, but it was a warning for a great threat. You, I think it was specifically you who worked it out, found out about the keys shortly after our trip to Manehattan. When I left to see the Breezie's, you jump right in the middle of Twilight and Cadance at SwirlCon, and convince her she is your friend.

"You left the rest of us alone, maybe because you thought Twilight will need extra help with friendship, maybe another reason you know and I don't. But I would bet it's because her key would be the most difficult to get, and she would need it as much as the rest of us. So you establish quite clearly that you consider her a friend, so later you can give her an object to become a key.

"A few days ago Tirek made himself known, but charging off to fight him guns blazing would be a mistake. Celestia and Luna fought him before, they know what he's like. They know how dangerous he can be, Celestia knew he was what the box was prepared for. But they don't have all the keys yet, so you need to stall for time. Or accelerate things. How am I doing so far?"

Discord smirked. "I am enjoying this immensely. Don't stop now."

"You tell us about the diary, know what will happen. you then go off to confront Tirek, but you know you can't stop him. He might have an ace up his sleeve, a way to deal specifically with you. And Twilight still needs her key, from you, since no-one else has give her one yet. So you con him. You pulled a Long Con on Tirek, there are no Big Cons, they take a while to pull off, so it's called a Long Con. And the key to a successful con wasn't getting people to put their faith in you. It is making them think you have put your faith in them. And the quickest way to do that is to ask for a favor. Tirek asked you to join him, didn't he. And he offered you something in return, didn't he?

"He thought he was conning you, but it was a long con on him, and you knew how it would play out from the beginning. Why else would you bookmark our diary? When he gave you an object he had as a sign of trust, you knew it belonged to his brother. You are no fool Discord, you knew the significance it meant to Tirek right away, and it meant he thought he had you. So you pulled the wool over his eyes, let him grow strong, strong enough to drain your own power, then battle Twilight to a stalemate. You could not tell Twilight, she could have tipped off Tirek in any number of ways. I don't know if you counted on the rest of us being caught by Tirek, but it certainly did not hurt your scheme. Tirek trades all of our lives for Twilight's power, and you give her the final key. Tirek gets hits with an orbital Rainbow laser, everyponies magic is restored, the Princesses return, Tirek's gone, but still not dead, and Twilight has her own Castle. And you knew, Discord.

They sat in their places in silence until, "Finished?"

Fluttershy nodded.

"Well, Fluttershy dear, you have quite an imagination don't you. And you are so detailed! You should write for Somaresworth Weekly. Some of the best artist publis-"

"Am I wrong? Am I missing something? Discord, are you going to tell Twilight it was you? Right now, she's blaming herself for so many ponies being in danger because she did not beat him soon enough. And what happens if she tells herself if she beat Tirek she can do anything? Twilight is living a lie and she doesn't know it. She thinks its a series of happy coincidences, and you need to tell her the truth!"

Discord leapt to his hind legs. "The truth? What truth? Why would you think you know what your talking about? How well do you know me?" He almost hollered, looking her in the eye.

It was Fluttershy's turn to smirk. "Better than I know most ponies. I figured out your riddle(Can we go home now?) when you first spoke to the six of us and Celestia. She knew I would be the one most likely to 'reform you' because I knew how you worked, and would have the most patience. Pinkie could put up with your antics for a loong time, but she doesn't know you like I do. I know what you are, and what you are not. You say your the Spirit of Chaos, but you always have a plan. You let us wander into the maze and turned it against us, so you could turn us against our Elements. You didn't have to turn Twilight against her Element, because once she saw us, she would eventually do it herself. You could not turn me without powerful magic, I saw right through you from the start, even if I could not beat you alone.

"You are no Spirit of Chaos. How chaotic is it if your plans goes exactly as you thought it would? You are a planner. Celestia is a planner. You have great magic, able to do incredible things, and you need to plan things out, because that's who you are.

"I know you Discord. Please, when are you going to tell Twilight the truth." Her eyes reflected the disappointment she felt in her friend.

Discord kept his face blank, snapped his paws, causing a blanket to appear and drape over his long body. "Fluttershy, you called me and Celestia planners. IF that's true, then we would have a plan for who should, and should not know about this. Right? And if that's the case, Twilight would know in due time, if Celestia and I thought she should ever know." He turned away from her and closed his eyes.

Fluttershy thought about his words. "But, what if- I...suppose your right." Getting up to leave for her bedroom upstairs, "Discord, how well does Celestia know you? How well do you know her for that matter?"

Sitting up, he looked her in the eye. "How well do you think we know each other? How long have we know each other? What have we done together that the world will never, can never know about? Do you really want to know that Fluttershy?"

Shaking her head, "No. I don't think so. Discord, why Equestria? Why not somewhere else?"

"Ah, that's a story for another day."

"Okay, goodnight Discord." She trotted up the stairs and closed the door behind her.

Author's Note:

Forgot the Author Notes! Agh!
This was inspired by a screencap from /mlp/ made on 5-12-14. This was edited by Pizzema Forte(http://www.fimfiction.net/user/Pizzema+Forte), go check her ass out, she's awesome with Rainbow's Daddy. And the line "And the key to a successful con wasn't getting people to put their faith in you. It is making them think you have put your faith in them. And the quickest way to do that is to ask for a favor." was almost directly pulled from Brad Thor's recent book, Act of War, check that out too.

Comments

[StormDancer]

Wonderful.

Simply wonderful.

Besides hitting both Fluttershy and Discord's personalities right on, you managed to highlight the glorious nature of season long plot foreshadowing in a meaningful and consistent way without breaking into pure explanation. THAT, in and of itself, is worthy of merit, that you managed to pull it off so well in such a short work is amazingly fulfilling.

Well done.

[the monkey ninja]

Very nice. Is that ending a potential sequel?

[Spiritofchaos227]

You should tag Discord and Fluttershy with Twilight. On another note, this story, in my opinion, has some flaws. I think Fluttershy is way to bold in this and I think she figured it all out way to quickly. Maybe a few days later, after everything had calmed down, but mere hours after? Also, Celestia was willing to completely destroy whatever trust the ponies had with Discord, let her subject's magic be pulled out of them, and risk the lives of THOUSANDS, so Twilight could be the hero? And I know I am simply being picky, but Fluttershy saying Discord is not the spirit of chaos is really bugging me.

All in all, good idea, but it needs some work.

[Ron Jeremy Pony]

Discord seemed awfully close to another prankster I know... Gee... Someone who has a plan, who has carried out a long con in order to ensure the survival of a race of beings, and has single-handedly nearly undone all of reality at one point or another... Wow... Could it be that he was acting like Q?

Yeah I know, not a big stretch, but really, what she was explaining was more along the lines of something Q would have done. But then again I've pretty much came up to the conclusion that Discord is an inter dimensional being. In Equestria Prime he's Discord. In Star Trek the Next Generation he's Q, and there are other beings I'm sure he has been in various universes.

Someone as old, powerful, and obviously wise as Discord is going to know how to keep a secret... For a mortal like Fluttershy to figure that out... It means that she does understand him, and I think that this explains how he feels about it.

"It's not often that we find a connection that burns so brightly, so warmly, and so vividly. When we do, it's our hope, the hope of every being that lives, that this connection will last a life time. That's the problem though isn't it? I don't have a life time. I have several, and I know that one day this connection will be gone. When it is, what will become of me? The person I am exists because of our connection, but when you go where I can't follow... I fear for the world on that day." - and original quote from one of my original fiction pieces.

[MissytheAngle]

For the story itself, it's decent. I just don't see how Fluttershy can put the pieces together that quickly. This is right after the occasion. I feel like Fluttershy was, for a part of the episode, too emotionally distraught, to even consider Discord conning everyone alongside Celestia. She's not one to really think analytically about situations, as that's more Twilight's strengths. Not mention she's being very confident in what she's saying about Discord. More so than we usually see. She seems to have all the gaps filled in (I'm not sure if she should, because she wasn't there for all of it. I'm guessing she was told pieces of it, so eh), but I don't think she'd ever be this cocky or go on such a long tangent or even smirk while telling him he's not the spirit of chaos he claims to be. Just doesn't sit right with me.

Not to mention it just... ends. It certainly feels empty. I don't know what would fill it, maybe with Celestia or something, but I feel like the story went, "being at the party, leaving the party, Fluttershy giving (in fair detail) about everything Discord planned, and goodnight!" After learning all this about Discord and what happened, Fluttershy, after a few extra questions, just up and goes to bed. Nothing really happened in this story except for a reveal of the con.

And this is going on the basis that Discord and Celestia planned the whole thing, and I simply can't buy it. Without going too into it (paragraphs long, probably), Discord's reactions appeared far too genuine for it to be a trick. Twilight's Kingdom had Discord developing more character based on a mistake he made, because he's still learning this friendship thing. He wants freedom to use his magic again, so it's understandable that he'd do it (not to mention the Mane Six and even Spike - aside from Fluttershy - still kind of treat him like jerks, but I digress). So suddenly destroying all that growth and turning what happened simply a theory just feels off-putting. While it's not wrong to make up theories, I honestly can't imagine that they'd go through all this danger just so Twilight can save the day.

[articunos bitch]

4983955 That's it. Stroke my ego. I think it likes you.
4984080 I very much doubt it. If there is another story it will most likely be Celestia and Discord plotting something. Just talking, taking no real action, building a tree of possibilities, pruning and shaping it to find the best outcome for them.
4984085 Twilight was a point of their talk, but not the focus. I considered putting Celestia in, but even she was a stretch. And about Fluttershy, she needs to be more bold, and she has been, you saw her snap at Discord after he turned the farm into an ice rink. Also, Fluttershy figured out his riddle "Twists and turns are my master plan..." The very next line was Fluttershy saying "Can we go home now?" She knew they had a duty(she did not shrink away from braving Everfree with Nightmare, nor did she run away from the Changelings), and the Elements were found home in Ponyville. She knew what Discord meant all along. So putting this together, along with some educated guesses would fit Fluttershy past with Discord. And No, Twilight is not the hero, Discord and Celestia are. It's over, Tirek's gone, does it matter who gets the glory? Telling Twilight the plan could have tipped Tirek as to the plan in any number of ways, and they simply didn't bother tell her otherwise when it was done. Discord says if that's the case they have their reasons. Discord's Riddle(it's important), his first line, "Twists and turns are my master plan..." Would a spirit of chaos have a plan at all? Isn't chaos not knowing what will happen, wouldn't that allow no room for a plan?
4984183 I actually don't know much about Star Trek. Any comparison between this and that are coincidental. But I have wondered when they wrote Discord, did they already have John DeLancie lined up to Voice him? Did they write him with Q in mind and get DeLancie because it seemed fitting? Who knows?
4984633 I mentioned Fluttershy piecing everything together so quickly a the previous response, and you are right about analyzing the situation being Twilight's strength. But this is Discord. Fluttershy see right through him(riddle, taunts in the maze), and she felt proud of herself for tricking Phliomena into eating her "cure all" medicine, that was close to a smirk.
Yeah, really did not know how to end it.
Discord's reactions did appear genuine, but then why did he go to see the girls before leaving to face Tirek? Why did he mention the diary? Why did he bookmark the entries that lead to the keys? He did not have to do any of this, but he did and he had a reason. The reason being to open the box. Why would he not warn Triek of Princess Twilight, and the box when their teamed up(I am just realizing this now, should have Fluttershy say it) unless he wanted them kept secret? And perhaps Discord already knows Friendship, and he already uses his magic for his own amusement, like he always did. What changed? Really, he's more considerate of others now, that's all I see that's different. This theory shows he's grown much more than he's given credit for. And again, no-one did this to make Twilight the hero. Tirek is gone, it's over, who cares who the hero is? Everyone thinks it's Twilight? Whatever, no biggie.

Thank you to both MissyAngel and Spiritofchaos227, I hope I answered you points if not persuaded you. Let me know if I missed anything.

[StormDancer]

4984995
Actually, yheah. When writing Discord, in one of the vids they mentioned something along the lines of no, he needs to be more mischievious, like... you know, Q from Star Trek... I'm paraphrasing (it's been a while) and they were overjoyed when he agreed to do it.

And yheah, a lot of this fits is excecptionally well with cannon material. Heck, Celestia even mentions that they might need him/his powers... that if he could be turned good, it would be good for all of them. We've also seen Celestia/Luna's plotting skills before, (think of Starswirl's Journal or the Summer Sun Celebration when Celestia knew full well of her sister's location)... I fully enjoy the fleshed out, and extremely plausible, conspiracy theory.

After all, a conspiracy is only something that multiple characters agree to do, not something automatically crazy or fictional.

[Nerfyy]

thats nearly exacly what i thought after the season 4 finale xDD

[devas]

It's a nice story, but it suffers in a bunch of places from "your =/= you're" and the possessive particle ('s) being inglobated in words.

[MissytheAngle]

4984995 Honestly, I hadn't thought of her saying, "Can we go home now?" meaning anything. Huh, now that I think about it, that is a good point. Fluttershy isn't quite assertive enough to really say, "Hey, I figured it out." Yet I feel like she should've mentioned something so they didn't have to go through all that trouble for nothing. While I don't think she'd run away from this problem, like you said, she also wouldn't put all of her friends in danger for a goal of absolutely nothing at the end.

And while there are good points in there, you forget that that is before Discord met up with Tirek. Discord is definitely Twilight's unofficial mentor that even she doesn't know about. Hehe. He offered her plenty of help in figuring out the puzzle. He knew how it worked, especially after reading through their journal, and this was a way for Twilight to focus on something while he went to take care of the Tirek situation. And don't forget, this isn't the only way Twilight can help someone learn about the magic of friendship. Yes, it would be harder, but I very much doubt it would call for a dire situation to hit.

However, Discord is chaotic neutral, always has been. Even before, he never really was evil; he just caused chaos, the opposite of harmony, so the ponies found it a great threat. He does whatever pleases him the most, as he has always been fairly selfish. Both sides of good and evil will always have something he wants yet also lack something he wants. He'll take whichever side gives him the better bargain. I don't see him teaming up with Celestia so Twilight can get something when all he gets is mistrust and doubts of his reformation from everyone. In the beginning, he was guiding Twilight to getting the last piece, but once Tirek promised him freedom for his chaotic magic, he tossed that all away because Discord found a side that better benefits him. He thought not only it would allow him to use his magic, but he thought he found a friend in Tirek.

Also, Discord learned a lot about friendship in that episode. He's now not only more considerate for others' feelings, but he's starting to understand friendship after his mess up. He's starting to recognize what he's doing can hurt others, and he regrets what he did. That's a big step. He's also seeing forgiveness from someone he didn't realize would give it to him and now sees that friendship is very delicate while wonderful, and that it can't just be tossed around.

My main concern is that, should Discord have not bothered with joining Tirek, all of Equestria would be safe, including his friends. No magic being sucked out, no possible threat to the land, no nothing. However, with this plan, he essentially left Equestra in hands that could've brought hell if not figured out properly. And most importantly, IF he did in fact trick them all, and all of this was a con, why on earth did the Tri-force (I mean, necklace... though one can't blame me) activate? Remember, you said Discord tricked them, and therefore, he did not learn the magic of friendship. He would be lying when he gave that little spiel, and the necklace shouldn't be activated from a lie. That would be a low cop-out.

[The Letter J]

You forgot to mention that Discord used his plundervines to attack the Tree of Harmony so that they would have to return the elements and get the box. And possibly that Celestia came up with the plan to reform Discord so that he could play his part in all of this.

[articunos bitch]

4989373 I also forgot how he gave Twilight that Friendship Locket when he faked getting sick. That was supposed to be her Key Item, from him. When it didn't pan out he came up with another plan.

[The Letter J]

5344461
...That's brilliant! My mind is blown.

[Philosophysics]

THIS IS AWESOME!

[thunderhoof716]

The only thing that's bugging me, is when all the other princess's gave Twilight their magic, Discord's body shook and his response was "That's not right." Maybe he wasn't privy to that part of the plan, or perhaps Celestia was worried that if Tirek defeated Twilight easily, he wouldn't have the need to trade her friends, Discord included, for her magic.

That being said, I found the story to be enjoying, and giving a new light to Discord's actions. I have to agree that the ending to the story is rather abrupt, but honestly, how do you end a story like this?

[Frankie2]

I was WAITING for a story that called out Discord on his 'betrayal'. The thing that made me suspicious was when Applejack asked the same question he asked Fluttershy. With as much as a master planner that he is, there was NO WAY he didn't see it coming. Thank you for writing this. Have a like and a fav.

[BringBackSonicSatAM]

Looks like Discord's a regular Neighthan Ford...

[Smoker]

The smartest genius is the one you never suspect. Twilight is wise - discord is SMART.

[neverseen123]

'Slow clap'
...
...
Effin brilliant