Rocks and Parasprites
It was a few months before Pinkie visited again- in fact, the next time she visited, there was snow on the ground. He had stopped hoping for her to visit long ago... the truth was, she’d probably came to her senses and realized that there was no reason to entertain the god of chaos, and although Discord didn’t really like that, he’d accepted it.
Another thousand years of sheer boredom to go, he supposed.
So, when he saw the bubblegum coat and cotton candy mane of the Element of Laughter bouncing through the snow up to his statue, he was surprised to say the least.
“Hiya, Discord!” she chirped. “I’m really sorry I couldn’t visit you before, but I’ve been super duper uper busy lately! I’ve had lotsa parties to plan- a wedding reception in Ponyville, since Lyra finally popped the question to Bon-Bon, thank Celestia, I thought she’d never propose- and there was a baby shower and lotsa birthdays and friendship lessons and the twins are getting bigger so I have to help with them and I had to make four dozen new cupcake recipes for the bakery and I just had so much on my plate! And of course today is Hearth’s Warming Eve, and I had to help everypony get ready for that!” she smiled, sitting in front of the statue. Then her smile drooped. “You’re not mad, are you?”
. .. I’m just surprised you came back at all.
“I know you can’t talk, but I’m gonna assume you’re not too mad. I’m gonna try and visit more, I promise. It’s gotta be so boring in there! I can’t imagine not being able to move or talk!”
Somehow, Discord couldn’t imagine Pinkie silent and still either.
Then her eyes went wide and she frowned up at the statue. “I can’t believe it!”
What?
“They’re just letting you be covered in snow! They’re not even brushing you off! Are you cold?”
Freezing. He still had enough of his senses to be frigid, just like he’d had enough to faintly taste the cupcake last time. And being covered in snow for months was enough to chill anyone to the bones, even someone made of stone.
The pony couldn’t understand him, but she screwed up her face all the same. “Here,” she muttered, hopping up onto his pedestal and brushing snow and ice off with her tail. “Better?”
Much better. Thank you, my dear.
She bounced off, leaving a pony shaped indentation in the deep snow below her. Discord chuckled from inside his stony prison.
She sat there, gazing up at him, a goofy grin on her face, and he couldn’t help but smile as well.
“I figured you should have some company today. Everypony should be with someone on Hearth’s Warming Eve. I know it’d kinda dedicated to harmony and you hate harmony, but that’s no reason for you to be alone!”
Wrong. Discord, contrary to popular belief, didn’t hate harmony, No, he knew harmony was necessary for the balance of life- how could it not be, when harmony itself was simply controlled chaos? He was barking mad, and proud of it, but he wasn’t stupid. Harmony was good- natural, even. No, he just didn’t like Celestia's way of achieving harmony- mainly because it didn’t work. Just look at the many problems Ponyville faced on a daily basis! She tried to keep everything in order, when the pony world was naturally chaotic. Magic? Minotaurs? Dragons, controlled weather, zap apples- how were any of those things orderly?
It didn’t make sense, and for once, not making sense wasn’t fun.
But he didn’t- couldn’t- argue, so he just listened as she rambled on about how he should have a bit of company on a day dedicated to the company and acceptance of others- again, gag- and that it wasn’t fair that nopony was currently visiting him, and he had no family to speak of so there was little chance anyone else would visit, when something occurred to him.
Why wasn’t Pinkie with her family?
Surely this was a day for family? And although he was grateful for the company, he couldn't help but feel like he was unintentionally stepping in where he shouldn’t be.
Well, that isn’t my fault, I never ASKED her to come.
Still, he felt a bit bad- a strange, foreign feeling to him. He wanted to ask about her family, but he couldn’t of course.
“So since today was Hearth’s Warming Eve, I got to be in the pageant! And I got to play Chancellor Puddinghead- y’know, she’s my great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great cousin three times removed on my mother’s side!” she beamed up at him.
Somehow, he wasn’t surprised- for one thing, her connection to the former chancellor was splendidly random, just like her, but he also remembered that pony fairly well, and he’d actually liked the mare quite a bit. She was excitable, energetic, creative, funny, a mess of bright fur and chaotic energy- things she’d seemingly passed onto Pinkie.
Wait... if she was a descendant of Puddinghead... Hadn’t her whole family gone into the rock farming business?
Did that mean Pinkie’s family were a bunch of rock farmers?
Oh, that poor filly. What a boring childhood she must have had!
Come to think of it, he had remembered a rock farm from his last spree, labeled with the Pie name.
He’d turned the rocks into rock candy, then let chocolate rain drizzle on them and dissolve the sugar, ruining the family’s entire crop. Even once his chaos had been put to a stop, the rocks had been worn away and the damage had been done.
...
Whoops.
He listened, a bit guilty, as she started to discuss the family she wasn’t seeing, explaining that they were trying to make ends meet after their crops had been destroyed, and didn’t really have time for her to visit at the moment, as she was usually more of a hindrance than a help.
Now Discord felt even worse.
“I don’t really blame you Discord- well, I mean, yeah, I do, it was your fault, but you didn’t mean it!- but the family’s just in another rough patch now, y’know? And I’m no good with rocks, never was, so they just wanna spend it together,” her mane deflated a bit and her bright blue eyes grew dull, “That’s okay, though, I’m sure they’re having a lotta fun without me... They don’t have time for my parties, anyway. They were fun at first but then it was all, ‘Get back to work, Pinkamena! Stop putting up balloons, Pinkamena! No more candy, Pinkamena!’ I- I understand, and I know they love me and they’re trying, but they just don’t like the same kind of Hearth’s Warming that I do... they don’t even have cake...”
Discord was baffled. What kind of celebration doesn’t have cake?
Then the confusion turned to annoyance. And what kind of family doesn’t invite their own daughter to a holiday celebration? Even I know that’s wrong!
She continued to explain though. “But, hey, that’s okay! I mean, we still exchange presents and stuff, and I get a really nice card- they just don’t want me around in case I mess with the crop. Again...”
I’m sure anything you did to “mess with the crop” was an improvement. Rocks are boring anyway.
“My folks are really proud of our work! All the statues here were made out of bona fide Pie rocks and stone. Every single one of ‘em, except you, of course. Part of the Pie legacy, Ma and Pa say!” her voice cracked slightly. “Everyone in the Pie family’s great with rocks!”
Stop it.
“Maude and Inkie and Blinkie, all of them keep the Pie legacy alive! I know Ma and Pa are really proud of ‘em!”
Please stop it.
“They were so relieved when they all got rock-related cutie marks- they were worried, you know, that all of them would be party ponies like me. N-not that they thought anything was wrong with that, they just...”
Pinkie Pie, please. Go back to laughing, I liked that better.
“They didn’t think it was useful. And they were right- on a rock farm, there’s no room for parties, and, well... Without parties, the world would get by. But without rocks- w-without rocks, there’d be no houses, or statues, or anything, and it would be really bad. And they said that, they said, ‘Pinkie, rocks first, Cutie Mark second,’ and it made sense! They were right!” her voice was a strange pitch that wasn’t right, didn’t sound right.
Discord didn’t like it.
It was strange- usually, Discord would be cackling with glee to see a pony so distressed. He’d be practically feeding off it, like a Changeling would with love. But seeing Pinkie Pie so upset was doing nothing but making him upset, as well.
It wasn’t natural for her to be sad. It wasn’t right. Her mane should be floofy and her smile should be bright- he hadn’t liked it when he’d made her the opposite, but at least then he’d had the power to change it.
Now he was stuck in stone, and could only listen to her rant and defend her family, despite the fact he’d never said anything against them.
After a few more minutes of hysterics, she seemed to remember why she was there, so she smiled and faced the statue again. The change was so sudden and so disconcerting that Discord couldn’t help but feel a bit uneasy.
“Sorry, I got a bit...” she struggled to find the right word. “Gloomy. My family’s actually really great, you know.”
They don’t sound so great.
“Especially Maude, we’re still best friends! But that’s not why I’m here- I’m here to cheer you up, silly filly!” she beamed up at him, and produced a thermos of hot chocolate from seemingly nowhere at all. This, however, seemed completely natural to Discord, so he didn’t question it in the slightest. “I dunno if you tasted the cupcake last time, but it’s worth a shot, right? And maybe it’ll warm you up a bit!” she poured some of the drink into a mug that, again, seemed to appear from thin air. She babbled as she poured, the one-sided conversation now into less distressing matters, like practical jokes she’d pulled and parties she’d hosted and friendship studies.
Gah, he must really be going soft if friendship sounded interesting.
She placed the hot chocolate into his mouth and, again, he could almost taste it, even through the mug- which, in all honestly, was delicious in itself. Must be the goat in him talking. It warmed him up, which he was grateful for. He had a tiny bit of magic, even whilst trapped, and he’d been using it all to keep himself just a little warm. Now he didn't have to.
“Oh! Remember how last time, I told you I’d bring pictures of my pranks? Well guess what I got!” she waved a few photographs in his face, starting to explain each one.
“Here’s Rarity’s face when I changed her order to forty pounds of fabric instead of four! It was priceless! Oh, and this is Dashie after I’d convinced Ditzy to help me get a raincloud to follow her around and rain on her all day- and this is Applejack after I painted all the apples to look like leaves- I fixed it before she got too worried, of course, and Twilight was soooo freaked by that fake letter from Celestia! I think the Princess thought it was funny, too! Fluttershy I didn’t prank though, ‘cause she’s so sensitive and look! This is Doctor Whooves when I dressed up like an angel and followed him around all day, except when he looked at me- I dunno why that was so scary to him, but it was funny, and he laughed after I told him it was just me, and then here’s...”
He let her ramble on, enjoying the evidence of her mischief. It really was cheering him up, if he was being honest, and he quite enjoyed the creativity and energy she put into all her pranks. None of them were mean-spirited, of course, and she made sure everyone was laughing with her by the end of the trick, but somehow, he enjoyed this... lawful chaoticness. He was more of a chaotic neutral himself- although most would call him chaotic evil, in which case he would simply tell them to reread their Dungeons and Dragons handbook for the proper definition. (He never did evil for evil’s sake, and he did care about the lives of others- to an extent. He was simply selfish.) Still, she had great potential and he enjoyed hearing about her exploits exponentially.
When she was finished, she smiled up at him, whipping yet another item from thin air. “I made this for you! I mean, Hearth’s Warming Eve is a day for presents, and everyone deserves a present today! So I was thinking- you must be lonely out there all day, no company or warmth or anything, so I made you this!” she held out a rather crooked, yellow, and utterly homemade plush Parasprite. “I heard you invented these little guys, so I thought you might like one to keep you from being too lonely!” The toy looked up at him, a tiny smile on it’s face. The yellow fabric was bright and cheery, and the wings were patched together haphazardly from several different fabrics, of all colors and patterns. The eyes didn’t match in shape or color- close, but not quite the same shade- and the whole toy was rather lumpy.
Discord loved it immediately.
She grinned and placed it on top of his head, in between his horns. “There you go, safe and sound! I call him Bananas, ‘cause he’s yellow. Plus, it’s just so fun to say. Bananas. Baaanaaanaaas. Bananas!” she laughed happily. “I know it’s not great, I’m no seamstress like Rarity, but he’s soft!”
No, he’s perfect.
Her smile faltered a bit when he didn’t respond, but she gave him a cheery wave. “Anyway, I should go- gotta catch the train home. I promise I’ll be back within a week, though! See ya, Dissy!”
She started to trot away, and Discord had to swallow a lump in his throat. Oh, he wished he could say something...
The tiny bit of magic inside of him pulsed, and he grinned. He could be cold for a night- this was much more important.
Using all of his strength, he concentrated on writing a letter- just a short note, he couldn’t do more than a few words without passing out- and sending it outside of his little prison.
The mare stopped in her tracks as a brightly colored piece of paper fluttered to the ground in front of her hooves. She examined it carefully.
Pinkie Pie-
Thank you. Truly.
Happy Hearth’s Warming Eve.
Discord
She looked back at the statue in awe, half expecting to find it cracked and broken, with the lord of chaos cackling maniacally at finally being free, but nothing had changed in the least.
She gave the stone a little smile, and waved again.
“You’re welcome, Dissy. Anytime- that’s what friends are for, right?”
And then she trotted off, leaving Discord, for once, completely befuddled, with nothing to say, and no idea what to think.
Then he looked up at the toy on his head and smiled.
And that night, despite the fact that he had no magic to provide him with heat, Discord swore he had the warmest, most peaceful sleep he’d had in a long while.
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I don't comment often, only on stories I really like. I'd love to see more of this though!
5036070 HE REPLIED TO ME! *orgasmorgasmorgasm* OR IS IT A SHE? I DONT KNOW. :dHGPIAHGIHGA YAYAYAYAYAY
I already love this story. The characterizations are spot on.
oh god that was so adorable i dont even hjgfdgah adfbjk ;
i did like the D&D reference. it was short and, while not exactly subtle, didn't break your immersion in the story.
this line was my favorite out of the whole chapter
"discord loved it immediately."
pure gold. short, punchy, and perfectly timed after the paragraph of pure description above it. and the best part is that you didnt have to spell it out for the reader why he loved it; anyone reading this gets that he likes the chaotic nature of it, along with the companionship and thought and care it represents. beautiful.
I. LOVE. YOU.
IF THERE WAS A DISCORD EMOTICON (C'mon fimfiction, make one) I'D BE SPAMMIN' IT EVERYWHERE!
I'm loving this
This... is... so... natural. You really know how to write these characters and it's just so cute!!!
I thought her sisters names were Marble and Limestone?
I almost cried just a lil bit watching poor Pinkie. I love the dynamic between her and her family as a kid who has felt on the outside because of my interests, it really hit. Because, of course, you love your family but there are moments that you bring up as a laugh or to reminisce that have people looking at you funny/concerned. And they don’t realize that they said things that stuck, things that hurt. Yet the love doesn’t waver, you just become distant. Now they are almost like the memories that you hold in your heart because you know that they won’t be the same and they won’t ever have that hold.
I also love that Discord is showing more and more concern for Pinkie. The gift is so cute and her handmaking it? So cute. She’s honestly such a good friend with all the things she juggles. Love that