• Member Since 26th Feb, 2014
  • offline last seen January 5th

kudzuhaiku


She's looking at you. Yes you. And she is judging you with her eyes. There is no escape.

Sequels2

E

Fluttershy, feeling that motherly need, secures herself a mail order orphan. Will she be up for the challenge of mothering one of Equestria's most unique creatures that defies classification or description? Will her friends be there for her as they always have? And what about Discord, Fluttershy's long time friend and the one indirectly responsible for all of this confusion... Will he find something that he wasn't aware he was looking for? Will Spike finally find somebody he can relate to? All of this and more...

An important note. The stories in the sidebar all tie in with this story, providing background elements and filling in characters and settings. Reading those will cause a number of things to make a lot more sense.

This is mostly going to be a slice of life story, with elements of fitting in, finding your place in the world, and the need for unconditional positive regard.

This takes place in an alternate verse, at some point in the near future. It is going to start out rated "E" for everyone, but might get some interesting humour in there later, which may require a "T" rating. We'll see. Tags will be added as the story progresses.

Beware when checking a box that states "other."

I'd love for some feedback. Thanks! And I don't have a good cover image. I'm sorry.

Edit: There is now a side story. Delivery Interrupted.

Chapters (17)
Comments ( 139 )

Burn baby burn.

You have caught my interest ::folds hands:: Proceed

I hope the story is acceptable. If I can coax it all out, this might be part of a much larger story arc.

This was pretty cute And funny I loved how she just picked up every word she heard or at least the ones she liked lol
I have to say I really liked this and I can't wait to see more Discord! And I hope you give her a cute name and not end up naming her something odd like Dark death destroyer chicken killer force five jr lmao but whatever you want it's your story and I hope you have fun with it

4046433

Fluttershy would never name a foal "Dark Death Destroyer..." I just cannot see that happening no matter how much I try.

As for her ability to speak, in the show we have an example of a yearling, somebody celebrating his first Nightmare Night, and he speaks rather well, all things considered. So, this felt somewhat right.

And don't worry, more Discord coming. He's a central figure.

Why hasn't this been featured yet?

4048612

How do you feature a story? Still rather new, and mostly clueless. :derpytongue2:

4048648 I believe the fic has to generate alot of views, then posted to the front page. :rainbowhuh:

This is absolutely adorable. And hilarious. I love the concept that the foal farts fire rather than belching it. I also found Discord's behavior with the child really sweet and touching -- it's obvious he sees a connection with her, even if she does burn all his fur off. Fluttershy setting out to become an adoptive mom makes a lot of sense.

I really hope I haven't screwed up too badly. I've had to be my own editor, spell checker, a one man show. It really slows down the process. The chapters get done rather quickly, but the multiple proofreadings and the slow careful checking really gums up the process.

Anyhoo, I hope everybody enjoys Chapter 6. Most of the contents of said chapter have been floating around in my head longer, it was actually fleshed out long before other bits. I really kind of wanted something for Spike to be able to relate to, and it was something I had thought quite a bit about. :moustache:

Don't worry, more is coming. There's going to be an best background pony Applejack chapter. :applejackconfused:

I love this story, its beautiful and filled with so many d'aww moments that i briefly forget that I'm normally a rather depressing person to be around lol. It also amazes me how quickly you're able to turn out chapters dispite being a one man show. Everytime I check my e-mail it seems that you've updated and I have to tell you, that just makes my day :pinkiehappy:. So keep up the good work, I look forward to seeing more of Ivy's adventures.

“You don’t live here!” Appleblood retorted.

The more frightening implication right there is that Apple mares bleed apple cider.

There’s something to think about!


4055972

Yikes, I attribute that to burning the midnight oil. No idea how that happened. Thanks, fixed. :derpytongue2: I done derped. I think I posted that around 3am or so. Sheesh. Sorry.

JBL

She burned most of the hair right off of Discord and would have set my cottage on fire. And she ate over a dozen spoons!”

Twilight had fallen to the floor, her hoof stuffed into her mouth, trying valiantly to make as little noise as possible. Her whole body shook with laughter.

I, too, can barely contain my glee at the thought of my friend's house burning down.

4056811
I think it’s less that and more that she was overwhelmed by the sheer absurdity of the situation. Tragedy + Absurdity = Comedy, after all.

4057021
4056811

Ever try not to laugh at a friend's misfortune and fail? I know I have.

Perspective I suppose. :twistnerd: We all look at life through different lenses. :coolphoto:

4057131
The cottage only almost burned down, after all. Besides, this is Ponyville. Compared to some of the other things that’ve happened, Fluttershy’s cottage almost burning down really isn’t that big of a deal.

4057189

Yeah. A future story idea of mine involves a group of ponies trying to figure out why really weird things keep happening in Ponyville.

I mean, it is a strange place. With some strange citizens.

JBL

Fluttershy bowed slightly, unsure of what to do next.

Nix it

“Why are you here?” Fluttershy asked. “Why the guard? Why are all of you here?”

Yeaahhh. See, if I were Twilight Sparkle, which I most certainly am not, knowing that my friend is very shy and nervous, I would stop and think, "Hey, maybe I should think of some other way of approaching instead of swooping in with two other princesses and their guards."

“Oh no,” Twilight protested, “There’s a mostly hairless draconequus running around Equestria somewhere and I am NOT joining him. Besides, I am not the same sort of alicorn as you two. Both of you are far more durable than I am. You’ve had centuries to harden your selves to the abuses of the world.”

“I’m too pretty of a pony.” Twilight said, backing away. “And too young.

More OOC Twilight. It isn't aggravating, but it is weird reading her praising herself like that.

“She is going to remember this for a long time,” Luna said

Yes, one day, when she least expects it, Luna will find her rear end being assaulted by a 'mysterious creature'. :trollestia

In closing: like the multiple chapters a day! :pinkiehappy:

4059513

If you read the other stories, you can probably figure out the identities of at least two guards. The other two are not yet introduced, but will be.

Luna can't go anywhere without her steadfast companions. You'll notice that they also kept some distance. All part of a royal initiative, to employ special needs ponies. I think you'll agree, at least one of Luna's guard has special needs.

Twilight... Twilight is dealing with her situation the only way I can see her doing so, developing her natural snark and sarcasm. It also the introduction of a concept I'll be delving into later, that immortality doesn't happen right away, that highly magical beings have to take time to develop immunities and a "hardening" to the dangers around them. Immortality is possible, but eventual, should it be nurtured.You'll notice that Twilight avoided a very dangerous situation, preventing her from experiencing potential injury, and the regrowth which would follow, in which she'd come back a bit stronger, from anything that didn't kill her outright. And she's avoiding it for a reason. I'll leave it to you to draw your own conclusions. From my perspective, it leaves Twilight very much in character, she values her friends far more than a long life.

Edit: I have a few notes set aside forming the foundation for a story in which Twilight has a very bad day with near miss accidents, causing her to sink into a terrible state of neurosis. I've probably said too much.

Chapter 11 posted. Finally. Bits and pieces of that one have been around since the beginning. Since before I had a beginning. It was because of these snippets of conversation that I had to create a beginning.

I've edited it quite a bit, but there might be a few errors. Be gentle. I'm exhausted after being in school all day and so many other things.

I've been waiting a long time to reach this point. I'm near the end now, only a few more chapters to go, and this story will be done. And this is the introduction to another story. So, more to come later. Enjoy!

JBL

I feel like every time I look to say something it comes across as unintentionally bemoaning something, so I'm going to avoid that tonight. :scootangel:

4064714

I don't mind the comments. Gives me a chance to interact. To maybe explain a bit. I might spoil a few things perhaps with said explanations, but that's OK I guess.

I'm not sure if folk are reading the other stories like they are this one. So I guess some explaining will have to be in order at some point.

There's a lot to get out. There's bound to be some stumbling points where I just fall flat.

JBL

4064744 Basically I was hoping you would avoid a Discord & Fluttershy romance. For some reason, that pairing always makes me go :pinkiesick:. Don't particularly like Discord as well. Having said that, I do like how you've characterized him so far in this story - you've downplayed the overpowered persona and actually introduced some elements of a character.

4064786

Before there is any sort of judgment on the Discord issue, wait until Discordant Interlude is published. It's a bit short at the moment, but the bones are there.

It's coming. It's risky posting chapters and only bits of the story at a time. :derpyderp1:

JBL

4064800 Doesn't really matter; I'm not one of those people who would rage quit over something like the pairing. Just hoping this doesn't play up any romance. Have you ever read a story that would have worked better without romance?

4064845

The romance isn't the focal point. It is a means to an end for something else to happen, which will allow other things to happen, and as these things happen, it will fade into the background. It will be there, occasionally hinted at, but not the focus.

I'm treating it as a domino.

“I like my eggs poached.” Discord said, a smile cracking on his face.

Discordant Interlude posted. Might be a bit rough. Probably is. May need some touch up editing. I'm tired. :ajsleepy: But I felt I had to get this posted after the last chapter. They belong together really,

The chapter came about before there was even much of a story, sort of a generic idea of Discord looking for redemption kind of thing, and then I had to sit down and think about WHY Discord would do such a thing.

It took a while, and a metric crapload of rewrites, but I feel kinda happy about it. Discord is never the sort that would go halfway.

Edit: Worried that Discordant Interlude may warrant a change of ratings. Feedback?

JBL

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh this was good.

I actually wondered if this was going to go in that direction. Discord's behavior toward Ivy was very paternal when we first saw them interact, and given how you established where Ivy came from, I imagined you were going to set up that Discord was something similar. And there's nothing as attractive to a mom as a guy she likes being good with kids, particularly her kids :-), so I thought that even if Fluttershy hadn't had romantic feelings toward Discord earlier, something like that might grow as they bonded over Ivy. (For some reason, the notion of Discord as a dad is a really compelling image people keep going back to -- I think he has a lot more OC children than Celestia or Luna do. I don't know why. Maybe because John de Lancie is really passionate about his role as a father and he somehow makes that come across in his roles? On the other hand Q seemed like he'd be a terrible dad right up until the point where in canon he had his kid and then he turned into, well, Discord at the end of this chapter -- a chaos entity who wants to be a good dad badly enough to try to raise his kid right, though... for him it didn't necessarily work out so well. His son was too much like him in personality. Most likely Discord will not run into that issue with Ivy.)

So to me this seems like a really natural progression. The only issue I would have, and you've already said you don't plan to go this way, is if the romance started to overshadow the parenthood. There are a zillion stories about Fluttershy and Discord relating to each other romantically, not nearly as many of them relating to each other as co-parents, possibly because young fanfic writers are much more likely to have experienced love than parenthood. But as a mom, I find stories that focus on parenting, adults relating to their children and relating to each other vis-a-vis their children, very compelling, and I'm pleased to see the story go in this direction if it means we get to see Fluttershy and Discord functioning together as Ivy's parents.

In the home stretch now. Everything is wrapping up.

"Adoption wrap up adoption wrap up!" :heart:

JBL

4068400 You mean the end of the story?

Something like that, yeah.

Keep in mind, this story is an introduction to a much larger story. So are all of the other stories over there in the sidebar.

So this story will be continuing. It just establishes the characters and gives some background. The major players are moving into position.

I really hope I am up for a major story with multiple arcs.

A bit of a short chapter. I ended up trimming a lot of it away. Chapter 13 that is. It was almost 2000 words long. It dragged a bit in places. Also ended in a different spot, which felt wrong. This ending feels a little better, at least for me.

Chapter 14 has bones and some flesh. I might be able to finish it up tonight. We'll see. :yay:

JBL

NO FORGIVENESS FOR CELESTIA! :pinkiecrazy:

JBL

4069617 .... For what she did to Discord.

4069629

I'm not sure I understand... She didn't exactly do anything, other than make an assumption.

Spoiler territory.

Keep in mind, Discord did this to himself.

JBL

4069650 Huh, reading it the first time, I got the impression that she had attacked him (and succeeded) after he had stripped himself of his immortality. :facehoof:

Still, you know what would be a refreshing change? Someone (in this case, Fluttershy) seeing and treating Celestia as most ponies view Discord.

Chapter 14 was originally two chapters. I consolidated it into a single chapter. One very long chapter, at least in comparison to the other chapters in this story.

I'm terrified that I might have cut too much away during the consolidation process. Hard to tell. Sometimes, editing is cruel! :pinkiecrazy: And bad things happen. And well intentioned words get drug into the basement and turned into cupcakes.

JBL

4074040 Pfft, that's nothing. For the story I co-write, one planned chapter of about 10,000 words turned into 30,000 words split into three. :rainbowlaugh: So you're in safe territory still!

4074423

I wanted a story the reader could enjoy in small bursts. Bite sized. Maybe not Ivy bite sized, but bite sized.

And I wanted to warm up a bit. Been a while since I've wrote.

I still haven't decided if what I'm doing is worth doing or if I am just wasting time.

JBL

4074432 Well, even though my complaining and nitpicking might seem to be contrary, you've got one loyal reader of this story right here.

4074463

I like nitpicking. It is the only way to make improvements really. Progress comes at a price.

If I don't get the occasional critique, I'll just keep making the same mistakes over and over again.

What in the 9 hells did fluttershy adopt

YOU sir or madam, owe me a new pair of lungs.... so much pain:rainbowlaugh:

Only one chapter left to go. Almost done. A few loose ends to wrap up.

Thanks for reading and all that. I hope people have enjoyed the story.

The big finish is half written. I'll be posted soonish. Tomorrow afternoon or evening most likely.

Oh, and for the last chapter posted, chapter 15, which is actually 16 because of the interlude, you really do need to read Delivery Interrupted if you want to understand what is going on.

Otherwise, you are probably wondering what the heck is happening right about now. :pinkiesmile:

i love it and who is the father/mother of Applejack's foals

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