> Offshoots and Oddities
>  by Semivivus
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Pillow Talk
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fluttershy let out a soft sigh, breathing deeply as Discord gently caressed her. "So?" he asked, grinning his signature snaggletooth grin. "Was I amazing as always?" The pegasus only responded with a deep, passionate kiss, catching the draconequus off-guard. "Heh." he chuckled, "Somepony's feeling bold today."
Fluttershy blushed and looked away. "S-sorry," she mumbled, letting her bangs drape back over her face to hide her expression.
Discord huffed and slithered his way around the pony so he could see her face once more. "I wasn't complaining, my dear. I was just surprised. Did something happen?"
The butterscotch pony shook her head, squirming nervously. "N... no... I'm just a bit... um... clingy right now." She said, unable to look her lover in the eye.
Discord frowned and crossed his arms. "Come on, Fluttershy. We promised to be honest with each other, did we not?" he spoke, his eyes pleading and his voice surprisingly soft. "If there's something you need to tell me about, you know I'm here to listen. Is somepony bothering you? Am I bothering you?"
Fluttershy reached out and grabbed Discord in her forelegs, holding him close. "No!" she almost shouted, squeezing him against her chest, before blushing once more and releasing him. "Um... I mean... no. It's nothing like that. I just... I'm worried. About our future." she spoke, eyes searching his to try and convey the meaning of her vague words.  Discord only blinked in confusion. As much as he thought he understood ponies and their naive mentality, his dearest Fluttershy always made him feel lost. Had he not sworn himself away from mental manipulation, he would happily spend hours in her mind, trying to make sense of her thoughts. Maybe then he could figure out how to make her happier. He was drawn out of his own internal soliloquy by his wife speaking up once more. "When I was in the market earlier today, I saw a couple out for a walk, pushing a stroller," she whispered. Discord looked at her searchingly, his gaze pushing her to continue. "Would you ever want to be a father?"
Discord frowned slightly and raised his brow. "I never really thought about what it would be like to raise a foal." He replied honestly, before giving her a small grin. "Though if I was ever going to be a parent again, I'd certainly like to raise one with you."
Fluttershy beamed happily, snuggling up against his fluffy chest for warmth. "I think I'd like that." She replied softly. "I think you'd be a good fa-" Her mouth stopped moving suddenly as Discord's words caught up to her. "W-wait!" She cried out. "Y-you mean you've had a foal before?" Discord blinked in confusion, before suddenly breaking into a snicker... followed by hysterical laughter. "Discord!" Fluttershy shouted, sitting down on his chest and giving him a stern glare. "This isn't funny! I thought you said I was your first love! You've had a foal with another mare before?"
Discord tried his best to calm his laughter, seeing how upset his wife was. "No, no, my love. You've got it wrong. I never lied to you. You are the first pony I loved, and the first mare I laid with."
Fluttershy blinked tears from her eyes. "But... didn't you just say you've been a parent before?"
Discord chuckled awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck. "It's... a long story. It happened just before I was trapped in stone, actually. I had a feeling the ponies were getting grumpy with me. I never actually expected to lose to them so soon... but I decided I wanted to have a backup plan, so if I was imprisoned or killed, my chaos could live on." Reaching out and snapping his fingers, he summoned a pitcher of supercooled water, sipping at the way-below-freezing liquid and letting out a sigh.
The pegasus pony frowned and continued to stare at Discord, her gaze encouraging him to continue. "You're not making any sense. How would you have that foal if you never slept with a mare?"
Now it was Discord's turn to blush. "Well... I couldn't just trust somepony else to take care of my legacy. I doubt there was any pony alive back then who would happily bear the heir of chaos. So... I decided I would do it. You should know by now that I am more than capable of turning myself into a pony. It wasn't much harder to turn myself into a mare instead."
Fluttershy stared at him for a few moments in confusion, her thoughts swirling around in her mind as she struggled to comprehend what he was saying. "So... you had the foal?" She asked, tilting her head to the side. "Then... who was the father?"
Discord shrugged, taking another swig. "Don't really know. It was some drunk stallion in a tavern. I just wanted to get it over with, so I mind controlled the first male I found. Don't even know his name."
Fluttershy turned her head to the side, continuing to frown slightly. "What happened after? You said you didn't end up raising the foal."
Discord let out a sigh, setting down the glass and allowing it to melt into a pile of sand, entropy returning it to its original state. "I was planning on raising them to be my heir, and assist me in my chaos... but I made a mistake. I tried to give them chaos magic... but... it didn't take properly. The magic itself was sealed inside their body, unable to be accessed. Being stuck inside a harmonic being such as a pony... the magic solidified into a hard shell. It would have needed a force as strong as the Elements of Harmony to shatter such a barrier and free the magic for the pony to use. I, of course, wasn't even aware of those artifacts' existence at the time."
Fluttershy's frown deepened. "What.. happened to the foal?"
Discord looked away from her, staring out the window. "When Celestia and Luna confronted me, I knew my time was nearing its end. I don't know what they would have done with such a foal, had they known where it came from, so using the last of my strength as I was turning to stone, I transported the poor filly to the doorstep of a small orphanage far on the outskirts of Equestria, with a letter telling them to take care of her."
Fluttershy sighed, leaning in and holding her husband tight. "Even back then, you must have cared for that little foal, didn't you?"
Discord let out a huff. "I suppose it was that damned 'maternal instinct' you ponies always talk about. I have no idea what happened to her afterwards, as she's long gone now. I wonder if the chaos magic inside her survived? I designed the spell in such a way that it would be passed on to the next generation if she herself had a foal. I did desire a legacy, after all."
Fluttershy blinked in surprise. "So, you might still have a living descendant? I'm sure if you wanted to, we could ask Twilight. If anypony could track down your relative... it'd be her."
Discord chuckled, leaning back with his paw and talons behind his head. "You know... I think I'd like that."
Fluttershy nodded, laying her head down on his fluffy chest. "We can write to her in the morning and ask. I'm sure she'd be happy to help a friend reconnect with his family. Did you ever name the filly? Having a name would help with the records searching."
Discord cracked a smile. "Yeah, in the letter I sent to the orphanage I left her name. 'Silly String.'"
> Dear Discord
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Discord sat at the table, frowning softly as he stared down at the offending envelope. The packet of paper hadn't done anything to warrant his disapproving glare, but he stared down at it just the same.
"Um... Discord?" His wife asked softly as she pushed her way through the door. "Have you still not opened the letter?"
The draconequus in question looked up from the paper leaflet and turned to glance at his wife. "No. Not yet. I don't know if I should."
Fluttershy smiled gently and leaned in, nuzzling against his side. "It's alright to be afraid, you know."
The mad god scoffed in response, looking away from her. "I'm not afraid. I'm never afraid. I... just..." He sighed. "I'm just not sure if it would be right to find out. Maybe it would be best if I just leave my descendants be. I doubt any of them would be pleased to know that I'm their great-great-great-whatever."
Fluttershy let out a soft giggle. "Discord. I'm sure everything will be fine. You don't even have to contact them. The only other pony who knows about this is Twilight, and does she seem like the kind of mare to share a secret like this?"
Discord sighed in response. "You're right, my dear. As you always are." Taking hold of the letter with a shaky paw, as if it was an explosive about to go off in his face, he peeled off the wax seal and pulled out the sheet of paper. He took one last glance at Fluttershy, staring into her deep eyes for comfort, before unfolding the parchment.



Dear Discord,

First of all, I'd like to personally thank you for trusting me enough to let me help you with something like this. While it came as a great surprise to me that you would have had offspring, I believe I may have found what became of the foal.

The orphanage in question burned down a few centuries ago, so any paperwork of admittance or adoption was nearly impossible to find. I had almost given up hope, before finally finding the name of Silly String in a marriage certificate. It seems she had taken the last name of her husband, one Basalt Pie. Once I knew that I was looking for a Silly Pie, it became much easier to find a few records, including the original deed to a small farm in the south. The only thing of note was their product not being agricultural, but geological.

I doubt you have ever been to this farm, but I'm fairly certain if you brought this information to Fluttershy, she would be able to tell you more about it. The six of us are quite familiar with this location, after all. I'll leave the rest of the explanation up to her, as it would be a bit rude for me to say any more just over the mail.

Your Friend,
Princess Twilight Sparkle

P.S. Thank you for sending me a letter instead of teleporting to me in the middle of the night.  I appreciate the consideration, and it seems Fluttershy has been an even better influence on you than any of us ever expected.




Discord finally looked up from the letter, frowning in confusion. When Fluttershy silently turned her head in question, he passed the letter to her to read. Her expression seemed mostly unchanged, right up until the end when her eyes widened. "O-oh! I see. Well... that would explain... quite a lot actually. That answers more questions than just what happened to your child." She said, staring off into the distance.
Discord raised his brow in response. "How so?"
Fluttershy only gave a small awkward smile, hiding behind her mane once more.
Frowning, Discord leaned in and put his paw and talon on his hips. "Oh, no you don't. You can't just go quiet on me when I'm this close to finally having the answers. Come on, Flutterbutter. What's going on?"
Letting out a squeak, the pegasus pulled away from him. "I-I-I'm sorry!" She peeped out, shuffling her hooves awkwardly. "I just don't know how to say it..."
Discord sighed, rubbing his head. "Well, by what Miss Book-flank said, I'm assuming you're friends with my descendants? Do you know which one inherited the chaos magic?" Fluttershy silently nodded. Discord pursed his lips as he tried to be patient with the game of twenty questions they were having. "Do I know them?" Again, the pegasus nodded. "So I'm assuming they're from Ponyville?" Once more, a nod. "Well, that doesn't help. Everypony in this town is crazy enough to fit the bill of having a core of chaos inside them."
"W-well..." She began, looking away from him. "I'm sure if you asked Pinkie, she would help you find the pony."
Discord tilted his head to the side. "Well, she does know everypony in town... but why are you bringing her up? Can't you help me?"
Fluttershy shook her head. "I-I'm really sorry. I just... can't."
Discord only sighed and shook his head. "Well, then I don't see how asking Pinkie would help anymore. Is she even better friends with this pony than you are?"
Fluttershy opened her mouth, before closing it and trying to think through the answer. "She and that pony are the only ones who really understand each other."
Discord continued to frown silently. "Somepony who understands Pinkie? Does such a pony truly exist? I didn't think there was a creature alive who understood that mare. Not even I can predict her. How could a pony know what goes on in Pinkie's mind... unless..." His eyes snapped open. "Fluttershy. Where did Pinkie grow up."
Fluttershy finally smiled, letting out a sigh. "She grew up in a farm on the outskirts of Equestria. A rock farm."
Discord froze, his eyes bulging out of his skull as the loud, crashing sound of his brain snapping itself in two echoed through the room. After a full minute of doing an awfully good impression of a statue, he snapped his fingers and vanished suddenly, warping off to a bakery down the streets.
Fluttershy just let out a small giggle in response, returning to her morning cup of tea.