And So It Begins...
“Yes, Princess, I’m ready to use my magic for good instead of evil,” Discord said, giving Celestia a bow. “Most of the time,” he added in a mutter.
“Congratulations on your success, ponies. I definitely sense a big change in Discord,” Celestia said with a smile. She leaned to whisper to Twilight. “I’ll leave the Elements of Harmony with you, Twilight. Just in case.” Twilight nodded understandingly.
“You were right when you said Fluttershy would be the one to find a way to reform Discord,” Twilight said. “By treating Discord as a friend, she got him to realize that friendship was actually important to him. And something that, once he had, he didn’t want to lose.”
Fluttershy gave a sly smile and nudged Discord forward.
“Go on, say it,” she urged.
“Oh, all right,” Discord said reluctantly. He turned to Celestia. “Friendshipismagic.”
Fluttershy smiled and put her hoof on his paw.
“See? He can be a real sweetheart once you get to know him,” she said happily. The others all made faces, including Celestia, though she covered it up relatively quickly.
“Well I’m glad to hear it. Now, I must get Discord back to Canterlot so I can instruct him on his new duties,” Celestia said. Discord sighed.
“I suppose, if I must. Goodbye, Fluttershy,” he said, waving as he got into the carriage that had been brought along for him. He gave it a once-over and snapped his fingers to make it more to his liking- which is to say, it was three times bigger, fluorescent orange, and covered in stylized pictures of his grinning face. “Oh, and the rest of you, too.”
“Gee, thanks,” Rainbow Dash said dryly. While he’d made the carriage bigger, he evidently hadn’t made it any heavier, no doubt using his lesson on compromise and thinking about somepony else for a change, so the pegasi pulling the carriage had no problems lifting off. They all watched Discord and Celestia disappear into the horizon before making their ways back to their homes.
Meanwhile, Discord was keeping himself entertained during the long flight to Canterlot. First, he turned the stoic stallions’ uniforms bright pink and flowery. Then he made nearby clouds spin and dance, staying relatively close to the carriages so he could watch the show. Celestia, to her credit, was doing a fairly good job of ignoring his relatively harmless mischief- until he put her mane in dreadlocks.
“ENOUGH!” she bellowed, slipping into the royal Canterlot voice- something that, unlike her sister, she hadn’t used in nearly a thousand years.
“Such a party pooper, Celestia,” Discord sighed. With a snap of his fingers, he put her hair back to normal. “You’re raining on my parade.” With that, he created a little personal raincloud for Celestia- made of the traditional cotton candy and spewing the normal chocolate milk.
“Turn around,” Celestia ordered the pegasi cooly.
“Oh, sick of me already?” Discord sniggered.
“Yes,” Celestia said tensely, using her magic to get rid of the irksome pink cloud and its effects.
“Oh, I’m hurt, Celly,” Discord said dramatically, clutching at his heart with his eagle claw. “Are you going to have them turn me to stone over this petty misunderstanding?”
“No,” Celestia said tersely, rubbing her forehead with her hoof. She’d forgotten how much of a headache Discord could be. “Despite your grating personality, I still have use for your magic.”
“So you still want me to work for you, you just don’t want me living with you,” Discord summed up. “Pity, I had some great decorating ideas for the castle.” Celestia grimaced, knowing full well what kind of decorating Discord would have done.
“I hate to ask Fluttershy for any more favors, but she seems to be the only pony who can put up with you- and who isn’t in too much danger of you causing problems for her. You seem to value your friendship with her- much more than I knew was possible for you.”
“You really think I’m so heartless?” Discord. “Just because I’ve lived for over a thousand years without friends doesn’t mean I can’t make them.”
“Indeed,” Celestia agreed skeptically, not entirely convinced. They’d arrived back at Fluttershy’s cottage at this point, and Discord happily jumped off the carriage and even changed everything he’d messed with back to normal- something Celestia watched with amusement. In a surprisingly short amount of time, Fluttershy had done wonders for Discord’s habits and personality. She couldn’t help but wonder what prolonged exposure to her influence could cause.
She went up to Fluttershy’s door and knocked. When the confused pegasus opened the door and saw the princess on her doorstep, Celestia gave her an apologetic glance.
“I hate to impose again, Fluttershy,” Celestia began.
“Oh, it’s no trouble, Princess,” Fluttershy said kindly. “What’s the problem?”
“Well, Discord isn’t quite as cooperative with me as he seems to be with you,” Celestia said, shooting a backwards glance over her shoulder. Discord grinned innocently when Fluttershy looked at him with a slight frown. “I hate to ask you for anything more, but might you consider giving Discord a place to stay? I still believe that we may be able to utilize Discord’s abilities, but without someone he respects keeping an eye on him, I’m afraid he may get up to more mischief than help.”
“Really?” Fluttershy said, with a surprisingly excited smile. “Oh, I would like that very much!”
“You would!?” Discord and Celestia exclaimed together, shocked.
“Why of course!” Fluttershy nodded. “After all, Discord wasn’t here for very long, and I’d very much like the chance to get to know him even better. And if it gives him the chance to settle into a new routine, I’d be more than glad to help!”
“Thank you, Fluttershy. If there’s ever anything you need, let me know. Discord, I want you to report to Canterlot a week from now so we can start discussing things,” Celestia said. Discord nodded once boredly and Celestia made her leave.
“You’re a strange pony, Fluttershy,” Discord said, lifting off his feet to float horizontally next to her, so he was closer to eye-level. “No pony has ever wanted my company before.”
“Well, I do,” Fluttershy said determinedly. “Well, let’s get you settled in.” Together they went into the little cottage. Fluttershy looked around her house contemplatively. Every spot she’d chosen to house a little critter had been chosen carefully, and while Discord wasn’t exactly the same, the same basic ideas still applied. She ran through her mental checklist.
Will it be easy for them to get food?
Well, that one didn’t apply so much, since anytime Discord was hungry he could just materialize food out of nothing. Besides, he could fly and teleport, so he could get anywhere he needed to, even if he couldn’t summon his own food for some reason.
Will they be comfortable?
This one was quite a bit trickier. After all, from what she knew of Discord, he’d much prefer having his own space to sleep surrounded by chaos. She didn’t have an extra bedroom for him to use, but she supposed she might be willing to sacrifice the normalcy and habitation of her own bedroom if it came down to it. After all, she had to show every kindness to her friend, and she didn’t mind sleeping on the couch...
Will they be around animals they can get along with?
Well, this one was even worse. None of Fluttershy’s animals had taken any liking to Discord at all, and Discord was far too inclined to mess with them. She knew he was good, now, but it was best to keep him away from temptation if at all possible. So putting him in her bedroom wasn’t really the greatest idea…Too many animals just on the other side of the door.
Suddenly an idea struck her. Other side of the door… She wasn’t totally sure what Discord’s powers were capable of, but it couldn’t hurt to ask.
“Discord?” she asked, turning to see that he’d been watching and waiting for her to say something while she thought.
“Yes, dearest Fluttershy?” Discord replied.
“I was just, um, wondering about your magic. What, exactly, are your limitations?” Fluttershy asked.
“Well, I’m not sure why you ask, but if it’s strange or doesn’t make sense, I could probably pull it off. Why?”
“Well, I thought about it, and I think it would be best if you had your own space to have a little chaos in. From the time you’ve already spent here, I can tell it makes you more comfortable, but now that you’re going to be here on a more permanent basis, I’d really prefer you didn’t use the whole house for that, if that’s alright. So, um, I was thinking that, if it’s possible, that is, you could create your own version of my house in another dimension or something and access it by opening the door the wrong way…” Fluttershy said, trailing off at the end. Discord was looking at her wide-eyed. It must have sounded so stupid when she said it out loud! “Oh, but I’m sure that’s a terrible idea, I’m sorry for saying anythi-”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Fluttershy!” Discord said with a massive grin, rubbing his mismatched hands together in delight. “Why didn’t I think of that!? You’re a chaos master in the makings, just you see!”
“So, um, it’ll work?” Fluttershy asked timidly.
“Of course!” Discord said happily, and snapped his fingers. Nothing happened visibly, but he led Fluttershy out of the house, closed the door behind them, and winked at her as he pushed in on the door where the hinges were. Any normal door would’ve refused to open, being fastened to the frame and everything, but this one swung in easily, revealing the rolling blue and pink floor tiles that seemed to be a favorite of Discord’s.
“It feels like home already!” Discord said happily, skipping into the middle of the room and snapping his fingers to create a large indoor swimming pool filled with chocolate milk. He snapped again to change into over-the-top scuba gear, and was about to jump in before he paused and turned to Fluttershy. “Thank you for this, Fluttershy. You really know how to make a chaos spirit feel at home.”
“Oh, I’m so glad,” Fluttershy said, relieved. “I was worried I wouldn’t be able to give you anywhere to do your magic. So, um, if you need me I’ll be in the… normal house.”
“You got it!” Discord said. With a grin, he turned and cannonballed into the chocolate milk pool and began swimming laps. Fluttershy smiled softly, glad to see him so happy, and went back outside, closing the door. Then she opened it again, the way it normally opened, and sure enough, the same cottage she’d always lived in was looking back at her. She smiled happily and went inside to get back to her normal routine of taking care of the animals, taking a bath, and relaxing with a book for a while before bed. While she wasn’t as much of a reader as Twilight, and she didn’t get as enthusiastic about it as Rainbow Dash, she could definitely appreciate a good story.
The two of them quickly fell into a routine. When Discord woke up, almost always after Fluttershy, he’d come into the normal side of the house and eat with her, though the meals he summoned for himself were often composed of things that nopony in their right mind would want to eat, and very different from the simple breakfasts Fluttershy prepared for herself. During the day, he kept himself entertained, sometimes going back to his haven, other times watching Fluttershy with the animals, and still other times flying off into the Everfree Forest to do who knows what. When the week of freedom was up, he used the day to report to Canterlot, something he seemed much more willing to do now that he had the space he needed and plenty of access to his only friend. He never really said much about his work there, but Celestia never complained, so Fluttershy had to assume that he was cooperating, now. Hopefully. Maybe. Ok, probably not, but at least he wasn’t being so much of a nuisance that it warranted intervention, which was a step in the right direction. She only hoped he’d stay on that track.
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What a charming tale! I like how you take the time to answer what might have happened right after the last scene in "Keep Calm and Flutter On." Where Discord went afterwards was kind of vague in terms of the actual show, so this is nice--especially given his trickster/troll nature well into season 4. This definitely feels as if it could have been an episode, or perhaps a comic.
The only suggestions I would make so far--and this is up to your discretion--is to perhaps add a space or two between scenes. For instance, towards the beginning when you transition from the ponies leaving to their individual homes to Discord's ride with Celestia, you might think of adding a space before the paragraph that begins, "Meanwhile, Discord was keeping himself entertained..." And at other places where you make a subtle change between what characters on which you are concentrating. That can help to emphasize this shift, or to make it clear a bit of time has passed between one part and another.
I hope that helps! ^_^
This is GREAT! Oh, I can't wait to read the best! Did you just write all of this and post it all at once? If so, that's pretty dang impressive. And the characterization is just done wonderfully, especially with Fluttershy. I can hear her in my head so perfectly with the dialogue. And the idea with opening the door the wrong way for his own space--I love that idea, that's original even though Discord having a chaotic house of his own has been done--you still did something to make it your own! Love love love love love it!
I am so glad I decided to read this! It's really well written and fantastic so far!
Ozymandias42 linked me to this fic. So far this is a cute fic, and I loved that Fluttershy had the bright idea of opening a door wrongways to have his own living space.
This fic, I like it.
*notices more chapters, gasps*
Must… Read… More...
And Fluttershy proves why she and Discord are meant to be with that excellent idea of letting him create a room/place/dimension where he can cut loose with his powers. SOUL MATES!
Why didn't I read this before?! This is just the fic I need to read!
*plus* Fluttershy, that was an ingenious idea!
Discord will shake up the routine frequently of course since he's allergic to routine. It probably gives him the blue flu.
This story is awesome! Just read this chapter and loving this already!
9837733
Well normal isn't good for his health.
I love fluttercord
