The Answer is Not "Discord"
“Luncheon.” Discord rolled the word around in his mouth. “Luncheon. Lllluuunnnchhheeeooonnn.” He chewed and swallowed. “I feel like I gain a few pounds every time I expand my vocabulary.”
Fluttershy ducked behind her pink bangs. “It’s more of a brunch, really.”
“Brunch!” Discord said. “It tastes of sarsaparilla and… hemlock? Arsenic? Maybe raspberry?”
Mid-morning found Discord and Fluttershy enjoying some sort of repast in her garden. The pegasus had laid out quite a spread of vegetables, fruits, and assorted tea cups. Discord held a cup on the end of each talon, and sipped one right after another.
Angel Bunny stood close by, a cruel grin on his face and a mallet gripped in his paws. He lifted it into the air over Discord’s tail.
The mallet snickered.
Angel Bunny looked up, his eyes wide. Discord’s face had replaced the blunt mallet. Before the bunny could even squeak, Discord gave him a head-butt. Stars exploded in Angel’s vision. He tumbled out of sight to spend the rest of the morning unconscious.
Discord danced his eyebrows and looked around. “Where is that Angel Bunny of yours? I do think the two of us are growing closer.”
Fluttershy perked her ears up. “That’s odd. He was here just a second ago. I’ll go find—”
Discord held up a paw. “No, no. I think it’s best to give the little munchkin his space.” He sniggered to himself. “Outer space.”
Fluttershy turned her head to Discord. “What was that?”
“I said, ‘Maybe he’s giving us our space.’” Discord sipped away another kettle of tea. “Speaking of something else entirely, nasty business all this Nightmare stuff.”
Fluttershy’s lips parted. She shut her mouth, thought for a moment, and then spoke. “Twilight was really upset about Blueblood. I hope they’re both okay.”
“I hardly see why one should feel pity for Blueblood.” Discord scoffed. “He was, by all accounts, a dreadful fellow.”
“Discord!” Fluttershy flew up into his face. “You of all creatures should know better than to judge a pony by first impressions!”
“And you”—Discord tapped her snout—“of all ponies should know that first impressions last forever.”
Fluttershy crossed her forelegs. “But I’m your friend anyway, aren’t I?”
Discord met her gaze for a moment, but then looked away. “Oh, that you are, that you are.”
She patted his shoulder. “Besides, I can see the change in you. Soon others will be able to see it, too.”
He sucked on a carrot, his eyes lidded. “Not everypony can find the kindness in their heart to call me friend, though. And those that do”—a teacup shattered in his talon—“I have doubts about.”
He let the ceramic shards tumble out of his hand. “Oh dear. I seem to have crushed your tea set.”
“Don’t worry,” Fluttershy said. She took his talon in her hooves. “I can get you another one.”
Discord’s bushy eyebrows lowered. His fang bit into his lip. “But why?”
Fluttershy missed a beat of her wings, but recovered quickly. “Well, because we’re having tea. You want more, don’t you?”
“Fluttershy”—Discord raised his talon—“I broke your cup. I crushed it in my big meat hooks.”
“I…” Fluttershy shrugged. “I’m sure it was an accident.”
“It wasn’t!” Discord shouted.
Fluttershy jumped back with a gasp. She hovered closer to the draconequus, her head bowed. “Discord, you know that was a very mean thing to do, don’t you?”
Discord flinched back. He gave Fluttershy a madcap grin. “Mean? Of course it was mean! So is this!” He snapped his fingers; the tea pot exploded into confetti. “And this!” He punted a tomato plant into a nearby tree. “And also this!” He pointed, and a swarm of parasprites began to devour the chicken coop. Chickens squawked and trampled each other in their rush to get out.
“Stop it!” Fluttershy yelped. She rushed off to the chicken coop and scattered the parasprites. “Discord, stop!”
“Make me,” he hissed, but the parasprites disappeared all the same. He crossed his mismatched arms. “I know very well the difference between right and wrong, Shutterfly. But I haven’t the slightest clue why ‘right’ is any better.”
“Because you’re hurting me, Discord!” Fluttershy cried. She turned to him with large, wet eyes. “Please stop.”
“Or what?” Discord asked. He scowled. “Or you won’t be friends with me anymore? Is that how it goes?”
Fluttershy sniffed. She lowered herself into the grass, her wings spread.
“Ah, so that’s it.” Discord nodded. “I’ve finally cracked your thin exterior. I’ve finally shown your true colors. It’s the same as day one: Better not step out of line, Discord ol’ buddy boy, or you’ll be alone and friendless!”
“I won’t stop being your friend,” Fluttershy whispered.
Discord’s lip twitched. “Excuse you?”
“I won’t stop being your friend, Discord,” Fluttershy whispered. “I can’t now. You’ll always have a… a special place in my heart.” She looked up, tears streaming down her cheeks. “But I’ll still have to stop you. Or… or I’ll have to stand aside and let others do it.” She shook her head slowly, her eyes never leaving his. “And I’ll have to watch as my dear, dear friend is locked away, this time forever. And I’ll never be able to see you again.”
Discord’s jaw fell to the ground. He picked it up and touched the center of his chest. “Fluttershy—”
“Don’t make me go through that, Discord. Please.” Fluttershy rubbed her hooves together. “What’s wrong?”
“Wrong?” Discord shook his head. Dandelion fuzz drifted out of his ears. “What do you mean ‘what’s wrong?’”
“I mean you’re upset,” Fluttershy said. She walked forward a few steps. “What happened, Discord?”
“Up-upset!?” Discord let out a bark of laughter. He grabbed his cheeks and stretched them into the distance. “That’s rich! Look at this smile, does this smile look upset!?”
“Discord, please.” She put her hoof on his paw. “Tell me what’s the matter.”
His cheeks snapped back with an elastic twang. He squinted and scowled. “What’s wrong? What’s the matter? What’s eating you?”
He rubbed his chin with his talon. His eyes lit up, and he smiled. “Friends don’t hurt each other, right?”
Fluttershy shuffled her hooves. “Well… well, we try not to.”
Discord’s smile vanished. He leaned close to Fluttershy and poked her in the chest. “Then Twilight Sparkle isn’t my friend. Neither is Blueblood”—poke—“Celestia”—poke—“Luna”—poke—“Applejack”—poke—“Rarity”—poke—“Pinkie Pie”—poke—“Rainbow Dash”—poke—“or…”
Fluttershy’s eyes grew large, her pupils shrinking. She shook her head slowly as her lips trembled.
Discord clenched his talon into a fist. “Whatever. I’m out of here.”
He jumped into the air. “Oh, and by the way, I bludgeoned your bunny. You’re welcome.”
He exploded into elsewhere, leaving Fluttershy shivering on the ground.
Celestia awoke with a start in Luna’s Observatory. Discord had poked a talon into her side. “Wakey, wakey, Sunshine. Drifting off in the line of duty, are we?”
“Discord… I had a…” Celestia yawned. She rubbed her eyes with a hoof. “A long night.”
“Spare me, Princess.” Discord swirled into a spiral of animal parts. “If you need me, and you’d better not, I’ll be in my ‘cell-I-mean-room.’” He vanished in a flash, leaving a scorch mark in Luna’s floor.
“Discord? Discord!?” Celestia shouted. She looked around the observatory, but was met with no response. “Dangit, I don’t have time for draconequus hissy-fits!”
A timid knock came from the entryway. Celestia about-faced and forced herself not to groan. “Yes, Kibitz?”
“Your Majesty,” the Royal Scheduling Advisor said, “I’m afraid we have a catering conflict that must be resolved immediately if the Grand Galloping Gala is to go off without a hitch.”
Celestia sighed. “And it must be resolved now?”
“Absolutely.”
Celestia took in a deep breath, held a hoof to her chest, and exhaled slowly. “Very well. Lead the way, Kibitz.”
Celestia made her way to the entryway. She glanced at one of the mirrors and noticed that her eyes had dark bags beneath them. She frowned. “Come on, Big Cheese. You lasted a thousand years without your sister. Surely you can last a week.”
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Turns out that having friends doesn't come without heartache, or at least that's my guess regarding Discord's behavior this chapter.
4279876
I don't think Discord knows what his feels are doing. I think it's a very childlike reaction to lash out when one doesn't get their way, and Discord is very new to the whole 'get along with others' thing.
He'll get a bit of a "motive rant" later in his character arc, but for now I just want his actions to speak for themselves in his crazy language.
I find Discord the likely hardest character to have to write for. I was stunned when they opted to "free" him in the series like they did.
I guess that's partly why I simply don't include Discord as an active character in any of my fics, and probably never will. HA. But I sympathize with those who do. It does not look easy. He's the sort of character that, by temperament and design, always sticks out like a sore thumb.
I think Discord is feeling guilty, and it's confusing him so. He tried to trick Twilight to cancel Blueblood's oath, which would be a huge problem for both of them, then the rest of Equestria. Then probably play it off as "I was just being hypothetical, Princess pulled the trigger."
And now he feels bad that the last thing he did with his so-called friends is attempt to undermine their responsibilities and manipulate their relationship to induce chaos without caring about the consequence. And he's trying to play it off as being hurt himself. Maybe it's even more complicated than this!
I think this is a good interpretation of his post-reformation character. He has no darn clue what he's doing, and he imagines himself as "being friendly" in his own way, except he's a big irresponsible jerk about it. He IS trying, he simply has no idea what to do and will not admit as such.
4288294
I always saw him as the "Final Boss" of MLP, that one enemy who so utterly defies everything the show stands for that he can't help but be the mastermind/final challenge/main antagonist. I would have been completely, utterly satisfied if the series ended with his first two-parter, as it felt like a complete story.
I shan't complain about how it's been extended, certainly, but that's a digression.
His "reformation" was as shark-jumpy a concept as they could have devised, except that it was less about running out of ideas than it was trying to hold true to the values of the show. Truncated though that episode may have been, it seems only fitting that even the most unfriendly of beings would find friendship in the show. I find myself less stunned than complacent. Heh.
It's not easy, especially when putting him through actual character development, but it's not painful. I find that I enjoy over the top characters, the ones who stand head and shoulders over the rest of the cast just by existing. The trick, I feel, is that if a character wants to hog the spotlight, you've just got to give them a few scenes to do just that. Let the sore thumb stick out! In fact, whack it with a hammer! Let the character ooze from the story's pores.
Of course, that's why I've relegated most of Discord's appearances to short chapters in this middle part of the story. If I let him engage with the other events, such as Flash's dreamhopping segment, he'd utterly dominate the scene. No, we'll keep him contained for now, and only let him rejoin the main plot thread when he's been thoroughly prepped for development.
4290544
I feel like saying anything to this would be a massive spoiler, but I can't help but be overjoyed at the thought you're putting into this story! Discord has the potential to be one of the deepest characters in fiction, and he doesn't even realize it himself! I hope I can make his motives clear at a later date, but for now, keep guessing.
Agreed, and I'd give his most recent episode as evidence of this. He wants to be sure that Twilight is really his friend, an understandable motive for a being new to friendship, but he does that through dishonesty and obnoxiousness and outright putting them in danger. It's a very Discord thing to do. Very unfriendly. But he's trying, and that's got to count for something!
I'd prefer it if he was being given lessons in the show, rather than "giving" them, but I am not a TV writer.
Yeah I was pretty disappointed when Twilight didn't even try to lecture him during Three's a Crowd. I mean, I would expect it to fall on deaf ears but... I think they expected the episode to seem to be more about Twi and Cadance than it turned out to be.
4308131
Yeah, it took me a while to warm up to the idea of "reformed" Discord, in large part due to how little time it took it to "happen".
Three's a Crowd certainly gave the impression that the writers wanted it to be a Twilight/Cadance bonding episode, before suddenly!Discord came and stole the show.
I love Discord as a villain, as a character, &c., but that episode irks me so.
(To be fair, Twi and Cadance did bond a bit, but overall it was rather painful to watch.)
And this is why Discord is best pony.
Blue And Orange Morality, that explains Discord's thought process.
I doubt it's that easy.
Ah. That, would probably hurt her more then she'd like.
Yikes, this Discord is kinda scary.
This is, odd, mainly because as he said, he wants to be a friend, but literally doesn't know how to be a good friend which drives him mad.