Chaos and Harmony

by MLP Fangirl

A Day with Discord

Princess Twilight Sparkle was reading a book in her library. Something she rarely could do anymore because of all the things she had to put up with over the past few months. From finishing Starswirl's spell, becoming a princess, traveling to the human world to retrieve her stolen Element of Magic, and most recently restoring the Tree of Harmony, the lavender alicorn had pretty much gotten used to having no ordinary days. Today was one of those days she could actually call normal. Spike was helping Rarity find gems, Applejack was busy getting ready for the zap apples to appear, Pinkie was foalsitting the Cake twins, Rainbow Dash was helping Scootaloo learn to fly, and Fluttershy was taking care of Angel who had come down with a nasty cold. With all her friends busy with something, Twilight had the whole day to herself. Of course, nothing good ever lasts very long.

There was a knock on the door. Twilight ignored it at first, but the knocking kept getting louder. Giving up, she got up and headed to the door.

"This had better be important." She said as she got to the door.

She opened the door and was met by--"Hello, Twilight! Greetings from your friendly neighborhood draconeques!"-Discord.

"Discoord, this had better be important. If it's not, I'm closing this door."

"I'm visiting one of my best friends. Can't get much more important than that!" He said merrily.

She began to close the door. "No, wait! I really mean it this time. I want to spend the day with you!"

Twilight narrowed her eyes. "Yah, right. There's a catch, isn't there?"

"I Pinkie Promise there is no catch," he said as he did the motions.

"Well, my question is why would you want to spend the day with me, when you could spend the day with say Pinkie Pie?"

He didn't answer for a little while, but eventually he took a deep breath and answered.

"Truth is, I haven't been the greatest friend to you. I tend to take your kindness and friendship for granted. So, I want to start over. As of now, Fluttershy is my only friend. I'm hoping by the end of the day to have gained another one," he spoke out truthfully.

Twilight was surprised at the chaotic spirit. She had never seen this side of him before. She didn't even think he was capable of having feelings like this. She knew what she had to do.

"Discord, I think I'd like that too. We may have gotten off on the wrong hoof, but we can become friends just like any pony else. And as you said, hopefully by the end of the day, we will be real friends. So, what do you want to do?" She asked.

"I thought you'd never ask. But before we do anything, let me ask you. Do you like pulling pranks?" He asked with a smirk.

"Oh, I see where this is going. What did you have in mind?" He bent down and whispered something in her ear.

Her face lit up at what he suggested. "Discord, I know we'll be friends by the end of the day. I couldn't think of a better prank. Let's go."

"Right, and Twilight?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks."

She gave him a nod. "Now, we ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be." And with that he grabbed her, and they disappeared in a flash.

The pair reappeared in the glorious city of Canterlot. Many ponies all around were shocked to see one of their princesses trotting happily alongside the infamous Spirit of Disharmony. One pony in particular, Fancy Pants, a renowned noblepony, was quite intrigued by this display.

"Excuse me, Your Highness?" He said in his sophisticated accent.

Twilight turned around and greeted him. "Oh, good day, Fancy Pants! How are you doing these days?"

"Oh, I can't complain, Princess. I'm doing just fine, I might say. How is Her Highness doing? And do forgive me for my frowardness, but... what are you doing with...such an interesting companion?"

The "interesting companion" looked at the noble with mock surprise. "Well, well, what have we here? A pony who does not insult me? That is not something I'm used to." He said with a grin.

"Do not worry, Fancy Pants. Discord has been given a second chance. I am willing to do what I can to become his friend. At the moment, he's only got one. I'm hoping we'll both gain one more." She said to Fancy Pants.

Fancy Pants chuckled and said, "You are too kind to be a princess, Twilight. I'm glad Equestria has a ruler like you. Now, I'm afraid I have another engagement someplace else. Have a good day, Your Highness." With that, he kissed her hoof and walked off.

"OOOOOHHH!!! Somepony likes youuuu!" A high voice chirped.

"What the..?" Twilight looked around. She spotted a pair of bright blue eyes peeking out from behind a cloud. "Who are you?"

The eyes belonged to a light blue pegasus with a bouncy golden mane and tail. She wore the traditional knights armor.

"Sorry, I couldn't help myself," She giggled. "My name's Aurora. I'm part of the royal guard. Couldn't help but notice you're hanging out with the lord of chaos. NOT that that's a bad thing, he's actually pretty awesome, but, Twilight, you usually can't tolerate him for long."

Discord laughed and replied,"Well, I am full of surprises. Her Highness and I have been getting along swimmingly! Isn't that right, Twilight?" He said putting an arm around her.

"I don't know about swimmingly, but we have been getting along better. Nothing to worry about, Aurora, was it?"

"Yup! Nice job, normally people don't get it on the first try. I've gotten tons of replies, Laura, Rora, Rory, blah blah blah," She sighed. "It's pretty annoying, to be honest. But I guess I shouldn't be surprised, considering you're pretty talented at being smart and stuff."

"Well, thanks. You'd be surprised how many ponies have gotten my name wrong. But anyhoof, we're heading off to the castle for some 'serious matters.' Care to join us?"

"Sure! I can be your escort," Aurora said proudly, her chest swelling.

Discord bent down and whispered in her ear. "You do realize that by 'serious matters' we mean pranks, right? Cause that's what we're doing. Don't worry, it's all totally legit."

Aurora's chest deflated like a popped balloon. "Uh." She looked nervous. "I'm not sure if Shining Armor would approve of that...he is the Captain of the Guard, after all. I'm supposed to be patrolling. If he finds out I've been pulling pranks instead..." She nervously scraped a hoof on the ground.

"Shining is my brother. I'm sure that as long as we don't cause any physical harm or damage. He'll be fine with it. And if he isn't, I'll bail you out," Twilight said with a wink.

"Oh!" Aurora perked. "In that case, I'd be glad to come with! Just give me a sec." She hopped behind a few bushes then reappeared in a few seconds, the armor off. Her feathers looked a little ruffled, but after a few flaps she was fine. Her cutie mark appeared to be a pencil drawing a line across her flank.

"Oh, what's your special talent?" asked Twilight.

"Let me guess dragging a pencil across the ground?" Discord said sarcastically.

"Yes," Aurora answered in the same tone, giggling.

"Wait, really?" He said with a surprised look.

"No, duh!" Aurora laughed. "That doesn't exactly take skill. My special talent is drawing." She shrugged her wings.

"What made you become a guard?"

"You just had to ask that, didn't you?" Discord said with a cross expression. "Now, she's gonna tell us her entire life story, and I don't have the patience for that."

"Not exactly long," Aurora answered, a frown crossing her face. "Basically, my family didn't exactly like the fact that my only talent was art. So, I joined the royal guard, hoping they would appreciate my trying to please them. Apparently not." She huffed.

"Well, I'd say that's pretty noble. Doing something other than what you like to make your family happy. Even if they aren't, you're helping defend Equestria, I'd say it's not all that bad."

They heard a gagging noise next to them. "Could you be anymore sappy?! We've got pranks to pull!" said Discord angrily.

Aurora's ears flattened. "Sorry! Who are we pranking first?"

"Relax, Discord. We've got the whole day. Well, Aurora will have to get back to her post soon, but you and me will have plenty of time to do everything we want, okay?"

"Fine, whatever. But, we're leaving NOW." With that he grabbed both of them and teleported to the castle.

"Woah!" Aurora squeaked before covering her mouth with her hoof. "Sorry," she giggled in a whisper.

"It's fine. Now, Discord, what did you have in mind?"

"Let's put mane remover in Celly's bathtub. I'd love to see that mare bald." There was a long period of silence.

"I...can't picture that." Twilight said with a weird expression on her face.

Aurora burst out laughing. "Oh my Celestia! That would be hilarious! Whoops, Celestia's mane ran out of batteries!" She continued to laugh at her own joke.

"At least someone agrees with me. Well, Princess, are you in?"

She thought about it for a few minutes. "Come on, Twilight. She's got enough magic to get her mane back anyways," Aurora said.

A smirk came across the alicorn's face. "All right, I'll do it. I've even got an idea how."

" You do? Well, let's hear it then."

"Well, I'll go in and talk to Celestia. You guys will sneak the mane remover into her shampoo. Once you're done, give me a signal, and I'll end the conversion. Sound good?"

"You thought all of that up just now?!" Discord said, shocked. "Perhaps I underestimated you." He said with a rather impressed expression.

"She is the smart one of this group," Aurora said. "No offense, Discord. You're the awesome one. I'm... I dunno, what am I? The sidekick or something?"

"You can be our defense. You are a royal guard after all."

"But Discord can make things appear out of nowhere! And Twilight, you can shoot laser beams and do magicky stuff! And what can I do? I kick things."

"Every little bit helps. We can always use an extra hoof. Now, I think we've procrastinated long enough. Let's go!"

Aurora jumped into a corner, trying to look like a ninja, but failing miserably. She peeked her head out from behind a bush, pretty much everything showing except her hind legs.

"Oh my, aren't you stealthy," Discord said sarcastically.

"Hey, I'm good at drawing pictures. I never said I was good at hiding," Aurora retorted.

"Celestia's chambers are just up ahead. I'll go first, you guys will follow in a few minutes, once I've captured her attention. Got it?" Twilight asked.

"Aye, aye, princess," Aurora said, giving a salute.

"Sounds fine to me," Discord said, giving a nod.

Twilight then proceeded towards Celestia's chambers. She knocked on the door.

Celestia appeared on the other side. "Twilight! How wonderful to see you! How have you been?" She asked in her gentle, motherly voice.

"I'm doing fine, Celestia. I'd like to talk to you about, uh, Starswirl the Bearded! Yes!"

Celestia raised an eyebrow. "Twilight, don't you know enough about Starswirl?"

"Well, since you knew him personally, I'd like to know what he was like as a pony, not the great magician everypony knows him as." Twilight said, somewhat proud she came up with the that in such a short amount of time.

"Very well, come inside." Twilight turned her head and gave a slight nod to Aurora and Discord. Time for the prank to begin.

"Twilight, Twilight? Are you there?"

"Huh, what?" Twilight's focus returned to her used-to-be mentor.

"You were kind of zoning off there," Celestia said with a smirk.

"Oh! I was just, nevermind. So, what were you saying?"

Meanwhile in the bathroom, Aurora was trying to open Celestia's bottle of shampoo. She was using her teeth to try to pry off the top. "Nngh...Grr...No magic," She growled, frustrated.

Discord rolled his eyes. "Here, let me get it." With a snap, Discord opened the bottle of shampoo."Boy, I can't wait to see the look on her face when she realizes she's bald!" Discord laughed.

Aurora giggled. She opened her wing to reveal a bottle of mane remover.

"Uh, can you get this for me too?" She asked.

"Must I do everything around here? Ah, well." With another snap, the mane remover magically poured itself into the shampoo.

"Now, all we have to do is wait for Little Miss Sunshine to take a bath, wash her tri-colored mane, and *poof* we've got ourselves a bald princess," Discord grinned mischievously.

"I'm not sticking around to watch it, though!" Aurora said. "It'll be funny enough- wait, what if she's so magical her mane can't be removed?" She asked, eyes widening.

"Oh, I enchanted the mane remover. Even the most magical of creatures will be effected. Don't worry about. I wouldn't have suggested it if I didn't think it would work," proclaimed Discord confidently.

"Oh, okay!" Aurora chirped, then covered her mouth again with her hoof. "Geez, I'm loud. Let's get back quickly," She said.

"Right!" Discord quickly flashed the two away but made sure Twilight would notice.

Twilight did notice. She gave a quick smile and spoke to Celestia, "Well, thank you for divulging that information with me, Princess. I can add it to my research. Sadly, I must leave. I've got somewhere to be. Thanks again!"

Celestia gave her former student a hug. "You are welcome, Twilight Sparkle. Have a good day!"

Twilight quickly left the room and met up with Discord and Aurora. " Great job, guys. I don't know when she'll be taking a bath though. But while we're waiting, what should we do?" She asked.

"Um..." Aurora thought for a moment, then brightened. "Wanna get some ice cream? It'll be on me," She said.

"You don't have to ask me twice." Discord replied cheerfully.

"I know the perfect place. Frozen Delights! It was my favorite ice cream shop when I was a filly. Let's go!" Since Discord didn't know where it was, Twilight led the way. Aurora flew after them.

Once they arrived, they made their choices and were seated at a table eating their ice cream. Aurora put her bits back under her wing then proceeded to lick her ice cream. "MMM! This is delicious!" She said, smiling brightly. "Vanilla's the best!"

"I personally think chocolate is better, but whatever." Discord licked his ice cream.

"I don't have a favorite, but stawberry is pretty good." Twilight levitated a spoonful of ice cream into her mouth.

She then heard a familiar voice. "Twily, Lieutenant, Discord? What are you doing here?" asked the Captain of the Royal Guard, Shining Armor.

"Shiny! Oh, don't worry about it, BBBFF. We're not doing anything wrong. And if you're wondering, I gave Aurora permission to escort me around Canterlot. And before you say anything, remember, I'm a princess. I have more authority over you, even if you are the older brother," Twilight explained, "And I'm sure you've had more fun today then you've ever had on patrol, right Aurora?"

"Eh heh! Right. Sir!" She yelped, rembembering her position. "I was, uh, planning to go back to my post soon," She said.

He narrowed his eyes at first but then softened his expression. "At ease, Lieutenant. I give you my permission to escort my sister and...Discord around Canterlot until they leave. I don't expect any trouble, understood?"

"Understood. Thank you, sir." Aurora said, saluting after a brief smile.

"Good, now Twily, what in the world are you doing with... him?" Shining said distastefully.

"Why does everyone ask that? Do they not believe that I am capable of becoming good?!" Discord responded angrily.

"Shining Armor, as Princess, it is my duty to befriend anyone I can. That includes Discord. He has turned himself around. I'm sure if you give him a chance, you'll find out he's changed. Ask Aurora. She's hung out with him today as well." Twilight turned her head to the mare in question.

"It might not be my place to say, sir, but I think Discord has great potential," Aurora said. "He has unimaginable power; imagine how he could use it for good!"

Shining Armor was silent for a little while but finally relented," Very well. I'll give you a chance, Discord. But if you do anything to the Princesses, my sister, or anypony, my boys and I WILL come for you, understood?"

Discord gave a mock bow. "As you wish, Captain. I'll be good. Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye," he then proceeded to do the motions which only confused Shining Armor.

"Well, I'd better get going. I'll be in trouble with Cadence if I don't," he said, "Lieutenant, keep an eye on him. Just to be safe."

"Don't worry, sir." Aurora smiled. "I will."

Twilight hugged her brother, and he eventually left.

"Let's check on Miss Sun Raiser, shall we?" Discord conjured up a hologram which showed Princess Celestia getting ready to put on shampoo. "Well, talk about coincidence." Twilight said.

Aurora sat back, folding her wings. "I can't wait to see how this goes," She chuckled, taking another lick of her ice cream.

"I predict we will see results in about 3.5 minutes." Discord said, checking a wrist watch that had suddenly appeared in his arm.

"How'd you figure that?" Twilight asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Call it a hunch," he said nonchalantly.

"It was his magic. It'd make sense for him to know how long it'll take to take effect," Aurora suggested.

"Exactly, Aurora. Now, let me see. Ooh, 30 seconds remaining!" Discord exclaimed.

"3.5 minutes went by awfully fast." Twilight said skeptically.

"Shush, 5...4...3...2...1...And... 0! Mane remover take effect!" Discord shouted.

In the hologram, they could see Celestia's mane slowly disappear. Her eyes were closed, so she didn't notice. Twilight's eyes widened. Aurora spit out the ice cream she had just eaten, bursting out laughing. She held her stomach with her hooves, her wings splaying out as she giggled uncontrollably.

"Oh man! That is priceless!" Discord clutched his sides while laughing, " I have got to take a photo of that." He took out a camera and took a photo laughing uncontrollably at it. They all looked back at the hologram and saw that Celestia's eyes were opened and had finally noticed her lack of a mane.

They heard her say, "Discord, where are you? I know you're responsible for this."

Aurora was cracking up. "Oh, man! That's just hilarious," She giggled, wiping a tear from her eye with her wing. "How long until the effects wear off, Discord?"

"I was generous, so the effects should wear off in about 10 minutes."

"I actually don't feel guilty about this. Maybe breaking routine isn't such a bad thing," Twilight giggled slightly. "See? Even you need chaos in your life. You need both order and chaos to create harmony," Discord told her.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'd like to go home. I'm pretty tired," Twilight gave a yawn.

"And I probably need to head back to my station now," Aurora said with a sigh. She finished off her ice cream before putting back on her armor. "Thanks for letting me hang out with you guys," she said, smiling. "I've had more fun today than - well, ever!" She giggled.

"Likewise, I'm glad we became friends. Maybe one of these days I'll invite you over to meet my friends." Twilight said with a grin.

"Me?! Really?!" Aurora squeaked, her wings flapping excitedly. "That would be awesome!!"

"Yes, yes, well we'd better leave. Thanks again, Aura!" Discord waved his hand.

"Aura? That's a new one," Aurora noted while she walked away.

Discord teleported the two of them home. Twilight walked into the library where she was bombarded by Spike.

"Where were you?!" He exclaimed. "When I came home, you weren't here! Why didn't you leave a note? And why is Discord here?"

"Hello to you too, Spike," she said rolling her eyes, "I was actually hanging out with Discord the entire day. I gained two new friends today, as well."

"Two? You met two new ponies?" Spike asked.

"No, I only met one. Her name's Aurora, and she's a royal guard. As for the other one, he's in the room with us now." She said looking behind her.

"Discord? You're friends with him now?" Spike looked surprised.

"I can hear you, you know!" Discord crossed his arms.

"How many times have I explained this today? Look, Spike. Discord was given a second chance. He was given the opportunity to learn about the importance of friendship. And if he only has one friend, how much do you think he's going to learn?" Twilight asked him.

Spike thought about it for a moment. "I never thought about it that way. I guess you're right, Twilight." Spike said with a small smile.

"Yes, Spike, everyone deserves to have friends," Twilight flew over to Discord, "Even Discord." She said with a smile. Discord was very touched by this. He wrapped his mismatched arms around the lavender pony in a grateful hug. He was even more surprised that she hugged him back.

Discord gently whispered to her, "Thanks," which she returned with, "You're welcome, friend."

Author's Note:

Hope you enjoyed that. Don't know how much I'll be able to update this what with school work and everything. Anyway, until next time.

Comments

[BastyTheKitty]

This was bloody brilliant! With only a few mistakes, the first mention of Discord's name is spelled with two 'o's and a few grammar mistakes I don't feel like finding. A short look-through will probably reveal them. I am curious as to why you typed Shining Armour the first time and then reverted to the alternate spelling. Whatever, I enjoyed this and I can't wait for the next chapter.

[Bronzedragon]

looks like the start of another prank war to me. with Discord and Celestia in on it, it could be epic.