My Little Chimera: Friendship is Discord

by TheGreatAllie

Everything's Going Full Swing

The next month passed in relative peace. Which was strange, considering we’re talking about Discord here. Bright Eyes had him doing chores around the house, which drove him crazy, but she also kept him fed and warm, which he liked. She also had him help take care of the baby ponies, which to his relief mostly involved playing with them. He’d never played with baby ponies before, but he found them quite fun. Their games of make-believe often came off as random and disjointed, which he interpreted as a childlike version of the chaos he so dearly loved.

Some days he went out to fly. He had a good view of all of Dream Valley. Paradise Estates was at one end, and Dream Castle at the other. All throughout were rolling hills, wide meadows, a gentle river, and even a thick, dark forest. Some days Firefly joined him, but other days his flight patterns were too tame for her and she let him be. Some days he didn’t fly, but instead romped around on the ground. Occasionally on those days Buttons would join him. She was a never-ending chatterbox, but when it wasn’t annoying it was endearing.

The only thing he wasn’t finding, to his frustration, were friends. Not like Celestia and Luna were, not like Twilight Sparkle had. At nights he curled up on his bed and racked his brain, thinking of all of the ponies he’d met so far, and with the elements running through his head. Loyalty. Laughter. Generosity. Honesty. Kindness. Magic. Sometimes, when he got bored with thinking about ponies he wondered which element he would take. Laughter would be his first pick, but ponies never seemed to laugh with him. Well, the ones he knew from Equestria never did, although some ponies here in Dream Valley would from time to time.

One day, just when Discord was getting used to the routine of his life, Bright Eyes woke him up bright and early. She came into his room (without knocking!) and pulling the curtains open. “Rise and shine, Discord-doo,” she said playfully.

Discord pulled the covers over his head. “Go away,” he said. “It’s not morning yet.”

“Yes it is,” said Bright Eyes. “The sun is shining and the birds are singing.”

“The sun is lying.”

Bright Eyes laughed. “Oh, Discord. Don’t you remember what day it is?”

“The seventeenth?” he guessed sleepily.

Bright Eyes grabbed his comforter in her teeth, braced herself, and tugged it off with all her might. It came cleanly out of Discord’s sleepy grip, leaving him completely exposed. Discord grunted and buried his head under his pillow.

She laughed at this. “Tonight is the Harvest Moon festival,” said Bright Eyes. “I told Majesty that we would help set up the festival today.”

“When’s the festival start?”

“When the sun sets, around seven o'clock tonight.”

“And what time is it now?”

“Almost eight.”

“So why don’t you come back this afternoon?”

“Because there’s lots to do. Come on. Get up.”

Finally he relented, but only because now that his body was waking up, it had decided it was hungry. As sullenly as he could, he dragged himself into the kitchen and flopped down into his chair, where he waited bleary-eyed until Bright Eyes put some breakfast in front of his snout. “It’s not that early,” she said.

Discord didn’t answer. He just put his face on the plate and tried to get the food in his mouth.

Half an hour later, after he’d eaten and Bright Eyes made him go wash his face, they were outside walking down the paths of Paradise Estate. “Now, I’m going to be helping everypony set up in the center of the estates,” she said, “and since you’re strong you’re going to help move supplies there.” They got to the center of the estates, and Bright Eyes flagged down a passing coral pony. “Oh! Cherries Jubilee! Just the pony I wanted to see!”

Cherries Jubilee turned around and saw Bright Eyes and Discord. “Hey, howdy, how y’all doing?” She nodded to Discord. “You’re looking better these days, better’n the last time I saw ya.”

“You look exactly the same,” said Discord, unimpressed.

“Discord, you know Cherries Jubilee, right?”

“In passing.”

“Cherries, Discord is going to be helping you move the instruments to the bandstand.”

“Glad to have ya aboard,” said Cherries happily. She held out her hoof, but Discord wasn’t biting.

“I’ll leave you to it,” said Bright Eyes, and she trotted away.

Immediately Discord felt something weird in his stomach. He wasn’t sure what to do with himself now that she was gone, and he didn’t know when he was going to see her again. The whole thing was silly, really, but he would have felt better working alongside a familiar face.

“Come with me,” said Cherries, and she trotted off in another direction, Discord flying low behind and beside her.

“So,” she said, after some silence, “How do you like living with Bright Eyes?”

“It’s all right,” said Discord dismissively.

“Don’t mind all them baby ponies around?”

“Not really.”

“What do you do there?”

He shrugged.

Cherries Jubilee couldn’t think of anything else to say, so they traveled in silence. Discord wasn’t paying attention to where they were going, nor did he notice whose house they approached. That’s why he was caught entirely off guard when Cherries rang the doorbell and Medley, of all ponies, answered.

“Yes, hello, how can I help--” she stopped. She was looking at Cherries, but her eyes drifted over to Discord. She paused, and then looked straight at Cherries and finished, “you?”

“Well, shucks, we’re here to help you, remember?”

“Oh... oh, yes, that’s right.” She opened the door all the way. “This way... I just need help loading up the cart.” She glanced over her shoulder. “It’s a bit cramped in here. I’m sorry, Discord, but you’re just a little too big to fit. Would you mind terribly waiting outside?”

“Not at all.” Discord turned around, leaned against the house, and sat down. Cherries looked at him, then at Medley, then followed her friend into the house.

They didn’t close the door behind them, so Discord could hear all of the thumps and bumps that came with trying to sort out which instruments they needed to take, not to mention getting the music stands out of the closet. After a while he noticed he could hear urgent whispering. He wasn’t really eavesdropping, but once he noticed it he couldn’t help but hear the words.

“... really surprised at you, Medley,” Cherries was saying. “He’s here to help, and we sure could use it.”

“I”m sorry,” said Medley brusquely, “but I do not want that thing in my house. And that’s final. It’s my house, after all.”

“Well, yeah, but it isn’t real neighborly of you.”

“Neighborly has nothing to do with it. After what he’s done, I don’t think my actions are out of line at all.”

“But he hasn’t done anything since he got here! Y’all just give him flack, no wonder he don’t like you.”

“Since he-- really now, am I the only one who’s studied Equestrian history?”

“What’s Equestria got to do with it? We’re in Ponyland.”

There was the sound of a tuba falling off a shelf. Discord couldn’t orient his ears properly after the loud noise to hear their hushed whispers, so he wasn’t sure exactly what Medley told Cherries Jubilee. All he heard was the end, “... and that was supposed to be the end of it!”

“Well, if he got himself imprisoned forever, why’s he here? Maybe it’s a different, uh, whatever you called it.”

“Draconequus,” said Medley, “and no. There’s only one Discord, sure as there’s only one sun and moon in our sky, and one Celestia and Luna to raise them.”

“Do y’all know what he’s been doing this whole time since he got here?”

“What?”

“Racin’ with Firefly, playn’ with Buttons, and helpin’ Bright Eyes with the baby ponies.”

“I shudder to think what he does with those poor fillies.”

“Now cut that out. Bright Eyes is right there with him the whole time and she knows what’s good for little fillies and colts. It’s her special talent. You mean to tell me she don’t know her own special talent? ‘Cause that’s what you’re sayin’ if you think her lettin’ Discord near them fillies is doin’ them wrong.”

There was a loud shuffling, as if someone dropped a large sheaf of papers. “Oh, feathers!” Medley said angrily.

“This would go a whole heck of a lot faster if you got someone bigger than us to move that wall of instruments you got goin’ here.”

Silence. Then, hooves clopping. Medley appeared in the doorway and said cheerfully, “Oh, Discord, it’s actually a bit roomier in here than I thought. I am a bit hopeless with spatial recognition, you know. Cherries can tell you all about the time I built a piano too big for the sound-proof rehearsal room. Anyway. Could you be a dear and help us move these superfluous instruments out of the way and get to the ones I’m supplying for the band tonight?”

“Hmmm.” Discord put a claw to his chin and pretended to think.

“Discord,” said Cherries, “She’s askin’ ya nicely.”

“Oh, very well.” He heaved himself up and eased his way into Medley’s house. It was almost exactly the same as it was when he’d first seen it- endlessly cluttered with more instruments than any one pony had any business owning.

It took them four trips to get all of Medley’s instruments to the bandstand. Then, while Medley tuned them, Cherries and Discord set up the music stands and folding chairs for the band members, according to a seating chart Medley had drafted earlier. The whole thing took a few hours, much longer than it should have, because Medley was such a perfectionist about everything that Discord couldn’t help messing a few things up behind her back.

When he’d finished the setup but Medley was still tuning the stringed instruments, Cherries Jubilee said they had to wait about half an hour for their next job.Discord took this opportunity to wander around the festival setup. It was still a real mess. Unfortunately, it was all starting to come together.

“Discord! Yoo hoo!” He heard Bright Eyes calling him as he floated past two ponies hoisting up a small tent. She was two festival stalls away, surrounded by some ponies Discord hadn’t seen before. He went to her.

“How was everything at Medley’s?” asked Bright Eyes.

“Fantastic.” This was going to be a snack stand, clearly. There were already trays of baked goods, and a sign with a cupcake painted on it.

“I don’t think you’ve met my friends here,” said Bright Eyes. “This is Cupcake...”

“Hello,” said a pink pony with a blue mane and cupcakes for a cutie mark.

“Sweet Stuff...”

“Hi!” chirped a light blue pony with a pink mane and gumdrops for a cutie mark.

“Fizzy...”

“Huh? Did someone say my name?” A turquoise unicorn with a pink mane and soda pop for a cutie mark looked up and around, as if she wasn’t quite sure what was going on.

“And Shady,” finished Bright Eyes. She indicated a pink pony with a yellow mane and sunglasses on her flank. This pony didn’t say anything, just looked up and acknowledged Discord in the most melancholy way possible.

“Oh, hi!” Fizzy seemed to just notice Discord. “I’ve heard so much about you. You’re Bright Eyes’ new friend!”

“What?”

“Yeah, I’m Fizzy!” She turned around in a circle. “Wow, I’m so glad to meet you!” Then she tripped over her tail and fell flat on her snout. “Whoops! Sorry. I’m a bit of a bubble brain.”

“It’s not you,” said Shady sadly. “It’s me. I’m bad luck.”

Sweet Stuff rolled her eyes. “Oh, not this again.”

“It’s true,” said Shady sadly. “Everywhere I go something bad happens.”

“Bad things happen all the time,” said Cupcake. “To everypony.”

“Yeah, but they happen to me more often than to anyone else.”

Sweet Stuff swatted at the air above Shady’s head. “There’s a dark cloud building up over your head,” she said.

“See what I mean?” Shady glanced up and regarded the literal dark cloud over her head with a melancholy face.

“Your mood is doing that.”

Discord swatted the cloud. Right away it began leaking chocolate milk. It came down in big drops, right into her mane. Shady waved her hooves over her head. “Oh, no! What’s happening now?”

A blue pegasus with a fading pink mane and pink whistles on her flank flew by the cloud and grabbed it. “Hm,” she said. “Unusual.”

“What’s unusual, Wind Whistler?” asked Cupcake.

“The precipitation in this cumulonimbus cloud is producing a cacao-flavored milk beverage rather than the water you’d usually expect.”

“What? Chocolate milk?” said Sweet Stuff.

“Oh, no,” moaned Shady. “Now my mane’s going to get sticky!”

Just then Buttons appeared out of nowhere, dove into Shady and knocked her out of the way, taking her place under the cloud. She held her mouth wide open, tongue lolling out, catching all the chocolate milk rain she could.

Shady, meanwhile, had been knocked into the table. It collapsed, and the empty serving trays went rolling. “More bad luck!” she cried.

“That wasn’t bad luck,” said Bright Eyes. “That was Buttons. Buttons, say you’re sorry.”

Buttons gargled.

“Try again,” said Bright Eyes sternly.

Buttons swallowed, tilted her head around, and said, “I’m sorry, everypony. I was just excited about the cloud. I didn’t mean to make a mess.”

Fizzy laughed. “I’m just glad it wasn’t me who made a mess this time.” She turned around bent over to pick up a tray that had rolled under another table. When she got up, she banged her head on that table and knocked it over, sending those empty trays rolling. “Whoops!”

Sweet Stuff sighed. “Well, looks like we have to wash the trays.”

Wind Whistler, scooped up the cloud. “I need to take these out to the forest. We don’t want to have to hand out rain checks.” Cloud in tow, she took off.

Buttons rolled onto her stomach. “Aw.”

“I better just go home,” said Shady sadly. “We’re behind schedule as it is without me slowing everything down.”

Bright Eyes nudged Discord and gestured for him to lean down. When he did, she whispered, “Would you mind very much staying with Shady for a while?”

“Why?”

“Because she’s feeling gloomy.”

“I know. Why do you want me to stay with her?”

“Because it might cheer her up.”

“Then who’s gonna cheer me up?”

Bright Eyes nudged his back. “Just go.”

Discord stumbled forward a few paces until he was in front of Shady. He cleared his throat. Shady looked up at him. “Uh, hi.”

“Hi,” she said sadly.

“So.” Discord glanced over his shoulder. “Let’s blow this popsicle stand.”

“‘Kay.” Shady was an Earth pony so they walked through the fairgrounds, heading back the way Discord had come. Along the way they passed the pavillion, where Medley was still tuning the last of her instruments. She was working on an elegant, gold-plated harp, tuning the highest string. Discord clicked his fingers and it snapped. Medley’s mane immediately frizzed out.

“So what’s eatin’ you?” Discord asked. He put his arms behind his back and strolled along casually beside Shady.

Shady trotted slowly with her head down. “I’m bad luck,” she said, “and I don’t want to be here. I want the festival to be good, and everything is going terrible.”

Medley, meanwhile, suddenly started sobbing uncontrollably. Everypony at the fair stopped what they were doing and looked at her. unsure of what to do or even what exactly had happened. Even Discord and Shady stopped and stared.

Finally Bright Eyes approached her and said something. No one could hear what she said over Medley’s loud sobbing, but apparently Medley could as it caused her torrential tears to slow to a trickle. She wiped a tear away with her hoof. Bright Eyes fished a hoofkerchief out of her saddlebags and handed it to Medley to wipe her eyes.

“Thank you, darling,” said Medley, “but it won’t do. I’m afraid that we’ll have to cancel the Harvest Moon Festival.”

Bright Eyes gasped. “Oh, no! We can’t do that.”

“Well, what else is there? The centerpiece of the festival will be the rising of the moon accompanied by our symphony. The piece was specifically designed for the harp to be the lead, and this string is used heavily in the piece! Without this string, the festival is over.”

“Can’t you get another string?”

“I’m afraid not,” said Medley. “I don’t have a spare string.”

“But I saw a whole box of spare strings in your house just the other day.” Bright Eyes sounded surprised.

“Those were for the cellos, violas, guitars, and violins. This harp is special. It’s very rare and valuable. It’s made out of almost completely pure enchanted gold and strung with the tail hair of a zebracorn. A single string is supposed to last for ten years. I re-strung it for Nightmare Night two years ago.” Medley shook her head. “I just don’t know how it could have broken.”

“I know,” said Shady glumly. “It was me.”

“I wonder. Who do you think it was, Discord?” Bright Eyes said, suddenly looking right at him sternly.

Discord put on his innocent face. “Who, me? Why would you suspect me of doing such a thing?”

Bright Eyes stared him down.

“Okay, okay, I might have had something to do with it.” He couldn’t hide forever the fact that his tail was normal this morning and now had stone halfway to the base. “You should have seen her, bending all over that harp like a stuffy old boring pegasus.”

“Discord, I am very disappointed in you.” Bright Eyes turned to Medley. “I’m very sorry. I’ll make sure he replaces it.”

“Thank you, but that’s just impossible,” said Medley. “The only zebracorn in Ponyland lives on the other side of Big Rock Candy Mountain. He could never get there.”

“I most certainly could,” protested Discord. “I could get there and back again before the sun set.”

“It’s already noon,” said Medley.

“So I have seven hours.”

“More like six and a half,” said Shady, “since it’s a little after noon and she would still have to cut the string and string the harp. Or maybe just six, since she still has to re-string and tune the harp...”

“Yes,” said Medley, “so you see it’s quite impossible. You don’t even know how to get to Big Rock Candy Mountain.”

“Is it that huge mountain there on the horizon that I can see from right here?” He pointed to demonstrate.

“So you’re thinking you can just fly in a straight line there?”

“Uh... yeah, I mean, the shortest distance between any two points is a straight line. I mean, duh.”

Bright Eyes reached into her saddle bag and pulled out a candy-striped scarf, which she tied around Discord’s neck. “Don’t fly too high. The candy clouds there are full of static that’ll zap your tail off. But don’t fly below the canopy of the Warning Woods.” She bit her lip. “I really don’t like the thought of you going there all by yourself... I worry.”

“Well, don’t.” Discord brushed his paws. “I’ll be back before the downbeat.” And with that, he took to the air and started flying. After two false starts due to his rocky tail, he managed to get on track.

He hadn’t even gotten past the border of Paradise Estates when he heard a pony calling, “Hey, wait up!” He glanced over his shoulder and saw Firefly gaining on him rapidly. When she caught up to him she said, “I heard you needed some speed, so I thought I’d tag along!”

“Well, great,” said Discord. “Just keep up, if you can.”

Firefly laughed. She gunned it and pulled ahead, then flew behind him on his left, then pulled in front of him on the right. “As you can see,” she said confidently, “I can fly circles around you, Rockbutt.”

The mountain on the horizon slowly grew larger as they flew along. Unfortunately, it wasn’t growing as quickly as the sun was setting, and Discord wasn’t quite as fast as he would have liked. Firefly matched his pace, even though he knew she would rather be flying ahead at top speed. Why didn’t she, he wondered, and beat him to the mountain and back. She could really show him up that way.

Even with a ticking clock to keep you motivated, flying for hours on end got tedious. Though neither was certain who started it, Discord and Firefly had begun a sort of stunts-based game of HORSE. One of them would turn a loop-the-loop or barrel roll or some other stunt, and the other would match it. So far neither of them had gotten a letter, but they were both having some fun.

Then Firefly dove low. At the time they were flying over a forest, and she disappeared between the canopy. Discord kept an eye on where she had vanished, waiting for her to burst up so he would know it was his turn to dive. Five seconds passed, then ten, fifteen, and twenty. Discord stopped. What was taking so long? He doubled back to where he had last seen her, hovering directly above that spot in forest canopy. Even though his toes were skimming the leaves, he couldn’t see a foot below his foot.’

“Firefly?” he called. “You down there?”

When he didn’t get a response, he dove into the forest as well.

As soon as he was under the leaves, he heard a sharp cry. “Discord! Look out for the vine snakes!”

Two thick jungle vines with fangs lunged at Discord. Reacting quickly, he grabbed both of them just below the mouth and tied them in a knot. They struggled and squirmed, but couldn’t fight back.

Firefly was tied to the nearest tree by more of the horrible beasts. Vine snakes were wrapped around all four of her legs, her wings, and her torso to keep her from moving. She struggled as hard as she could, but she could barely move.

Several more vine snakes lunged at Discord. “Wow,” he said lazily, “You guys would really be a problem if I couldn’t just turn you into taffy.” In a bright flash, his statement came true- the vine snakes now hung limply as taffy.

A few other vine snakes froze and looked at Discord. He grabbed a piece of taffy and took a huge bite out of it, then chewed slowly and glared at them. The vine snakes holding down Firefly let go and slithered away.

Firefly fell and landed flat on a branch below. “Whew,” she said. “Thanks. They were about to swallow me up whole!”

“You’re slowing me down,” said Discord wryly. Then he flashed his now-repaired tail past her nose.

Firefly jumped up on her hooves and huffed. “I’m slowing you down? I could still fly circles around you!”

“Okay,” said Discord, “but no more stunts. They take up too much time and I’ve got to show up Medley.”

“Yeah, I guess.” Firefly sounded disappointed.

The rest of the trip there was uneventful. It wasn’t until they made it to the mountain that anything happened. Discord flew up the mountainside until he spotted a large plateau and the entrance to a cave. Firefly landed on the ground next to him and looked it up and down.

“You think this is where the zebracorn lives?” asked Discord.

“I dunno,” said Firefly. “I forgot to pay attention when anybody talked about her.”

“Well, one way to find out.” He confidently strolled into the cave with a swagger. Firefly followed behind him. They walked inside enough to see that the cave was long and narrow, but artificially lit with magic orbs strung along the top. Discord had to duck under them, and they went along until they reached the end of the hall where it opened into an enormous cavern.

“Whoa,” breathed Firefly. “Would ya look at that...”

The Cave of the Zebracorn was large. The top of the cave seemed to go all the way to the top of the mountain. The walls were covered with crystals and gems jutting out, reflecting the light all over. More of those magic orbs were hanging all over the walls and ceiling, making it as bright as day inside. There was a ledge all around the cavern which gave way to a deep chasm, and in the center of the chasm was an enormous island. On that island rested the zebracorn: a large, graceful zebra roughly the size of Her Royal Highness Princess Luna, with butterfly wings tucked at her side and a majestic horn on her forehead. She was decked out in the finest of jewels, a plate necklace bearing a royal emblem, thick silver bracelets on both her forelegs, and long French hook earrings in her ears. Her body was covered in a flowing royal purple cape.

“Come in,” she said in a deep, alluring voice. “I am Morning Star, queen of this mountain. Why have you come?”

“We’ve come on behalf of a pony friend,” said Discord. “Medley needs a new string for her harp.”

“Ah.” Morning Star nodded knowingly. “Medley the pegasus pony, who composes and performs the most beautiful music my ears have ever heard. If she doesn’t have that string, the Harvest Moon festival will be a bust. I dropped a fresh string for her two years ago, I believe.”

“Yeah, it broke,” said Discord.

“What a shame. And you have come all this way for her? How loyal of you. But it was for nothing- you won’t be be able to make it back in time.”

“I could,” said Firefly defensively.

“She could,” agreed Discord. “Give us the string and she’ll go ahead. She could make it easy.”

Morning Star considered this. Then she swished her tail, took a single hair in her teeth, and plucked it out. “There,” she said. She spread her wings and flew herself over to the ledge, offering the string to Firefly.

Firefly took it in her teeth. “I’ll get it there in time. See you when you get back, Discord.”

“Don’t dive,” Discord warned.

She laughed. “I won’t!” And she took off.

“I should get going too,” said Discord.

“No, please. Stay. You won’t make it back in time for the Harvest Moon festival anyway. Visit with me.”

“Uh... okay.”

Morning Star gestured for him to follow, and they both flew over to her island. “It has been many an age since Discord has graced our fair land with his presence.”

Discord grinned. “Finally! Someone who’s heard of me! Except for that turquoise music-maker, no one has any clue who I am!”

“Those hicks don’t get out as much as they ought to,” said Morning Star. “Especially since they moved from Dream Castle to Paradise Estates. Not to mention Megan hasn’t been by in ages. Used to be every monster and its cousin wanted to destroy the Little Ponies. Now nothing ever seems to happen to them.”

Discord laughed. “Oh, don’t worry. Once I get my chaos back, I’ll be sure to make this my satellite office of chaos. Canterlot has to be the official headquarters, of course--”

Morning Star nodded. “Oh, of course.”

“--just because it will be so beautiful to overthrow Celestia with the very elements she once used against me and then turn her castle into mine. And I think I’ll make Ponyville my weekend getaway home.”

“Ah.” Morning Star flashed him a knowing grin. “So you’ve got plans, have you?”

Discord nodded eagerly. “I’ve been planning since I got here.”

“And how long has that been?”

“... About a month, I think? Six weeks? Something like that.”

“Dear me. What’s taking you so long?”

“I got limits, thanks to Equestria’s stuck-up sun goddess. If I don’t play by her rules, I get turned into a statue. If I make nice with the little ponies, though, then Discord gets to play.”

“Interesting... interesting.”

“So...” Discord slicked his mane back. “You a fan of my work?”

“Maybe,” Morning Star said with a sort of deep purr. “It’s not like you’ve had an exhibition in a while.”

They chatted for a long time about this and that, or nothing in particular at all. Discord filled her in on all the gory details of his downfall in Ponyville, and his residency in Paradise Estates. Morning Star told him a bit about how she used her magic to maintain the balance of nature out in Ponyland, but he didn’t really understand or listen to that. She, however, listened intently to his detailed plans for chaos, his eager monologuing about getting rid of Celestia and Twilight, claiming the Elements as his own.

Slowly the light orbs dimmed as it got later and later in the night. The Harvest Moon festival started, miles and miles away, and still Discord remained in the cavern, talking with Morning Star. Though after a while his jaw grew sore, and he felt himself growing tired.

“I can give you a lift back,” said Morning Star during a natural lull in the conversation.

“Trying to get rid of me so soon, eh?” Discord nudged her playfully.

“Not at all. You seem tired, and after all, you do have a curfew.”

“How did you know that? Oh. Right. I told you, didn’t I?” He stretched his arms and found they were much more cramped than he thought. “Well, I’ve already broken it, so it doesn’t matter.” Then he was unable to keep his yawn inside.

Morning Star got up and spread her wings. “Come,” she said, “climb on my back and I shall take you home.”

“Aren’t I a little big for you?”

“Don’t flatter yourself,” she replied.

Not exactly sure what she meant, Discord hopped onto her back. It was a bit awkward riding on a pony smaller than he was, but it didn’t seem at all that way to Morning Star. She unfurled her glittery wings and in one leap cleared the wide chasm of her lair. Discord ducked his head low as she bounded down the corridor and outside into the night. Then she leaped over the edge and caught the air, soaring boldly through the night.

She was fast, much faster than you’d think a pony with fussy butterfly wings would be. She picked up speed quickly, and Discord found himself squeezing tightly around her neck, his legs digging into her side. It wasn’t as if he was afraid of falling, because he knew he could easily catch himself in the air. It was just so unsettling, physically.

Still, it was a long flight back to Paradise Estates, and he found himself dozing off once he was used to feeling his stomach pressing against the bottom of his ribcage. He missed the middle of the flight and most of the last leg before he saw the white and coral roofs of what passes for paradise these days. She flew over the roofs and paths, scrutinizing the scenery.

“This is the place,” said Discord. “Paradise.”

“Very good,” said Morning Star. “Then... goodnight!”

She flipped upside down so quickly that she knocked Discord off her back and he went tumbling onto the grass below. He was so surprised that he barely had time to slow himself down, and he landed right on his tail. “Oof!” It took him a moment to analyze what had just happened. He could see Morning Star silhouetted against the moon, turning around to fly herself back to her mountain cave. She didn’t look back.

Discord sat up and checked who’s yard he was in. Even in the dark he could recognize Bright Eyes’ house, and yep, there it was. Quietly, a bit afraid of getting caught, he crept up to the door and opened it quietly. It was dark inside except for the light from the last glowing embers in her fireplace. He tiptoed in and closed the door with his tail as he peered into the living room. Bright Eyes was asleep on the couch.

He slipped past the entrance to the living room without Bright Eyes hearing him, and he was home free. He was about to open the door to his room and go to bed. He even had his hand on the knob when he stopped. He stood there a moment, and then turned around and went back to the living room.

Bright Eyes was in her robe and slippers, snuggled up on the sofa. Discord reached over and nudged her. “Hey. Hey. Hey. Wake up.”

She opened one eye a crack. “Discord?” she said sleepily. She yawned and raised her head. “What time is it?”

“I dunno.” He glanced at the clock on her mantelpiece. “Three in the morning.” He looked back. “Sorry I got back so late. Did Firefly make it in time?”

“Just in time,” replied Bright Eyes, still half-asleep. “The festival was wonderful. I’m sorry you missed it.” She yawned again. “I was worried about you.”

“I’m going to bed now.”

“Okay.” She got off the couch, reached over, and closed the fireplace. “I’m going to be d now, too. Sweet dreams.”

“G’night.” Discord stepped out of the way as Bright Eyes passed him on her way to her room. Then he went to his own room, threw back the covers on his bed that Bright Eyes had made up fresh for him, snuggled in, and went right to sleep.

Comments

[DayDrifter75]

Very interesting. I'mma stick this on my read later list, along with adding a like.

[baronessbyron]

ALL THE D'AWWW!!! but who is this morning star? no me gusta