> A Draconequus' Guide to Being Human > by fluttershyy > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Step one- Adapt > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Being contained in a statue for thousands of years is truly quite tiring. Uncomfortable, dreadfully boring, and honestly a little bit humiliating. Though, Discord would have preferred that to his current situation. How he got here, truly he had no recollection of. One moment, he was in the Canterlot sculpture garden, as he had been for far too long. The next minute, he awoke to find himself free, yes, but embarrassingly weak. He stood fine enough- but any magic he tried to use hardly worked. Most tediously, he could no longer float. With a grumble to himself the draconequus walked throughout the forest without aim, trying to find any sign of where he was. It didn't feel like Equestria, there was something different about the air that he was unable to explain. It was far noisier than he was used to, he'd note, the farther he walked. Unfamiliar noises grew closer and louder, as he approached tall buildings- similarly to those seen in Manehatten, but... bigger, somehow. Through the trees, he could see crowds of creatures he'd known about many, many millennia ago, and only now did he recognize the world he was in, albiet barely. Humans. Discord had heard in passing the human world made it nearly impossible to use Equestrian magic in. He was lucky he could still feel even the faintest bit within him, honestly. Though, now, he knew he had to lay low. A disguise would be easy enough, if he could muster the strength for it- if the world would allow enough of the magic to pass through. With a breath, he gave a snap of his fingers. ---------- εїз ---------- Bzzt! Bzzt! An alarm sounded throughout a small apartment, disturbing first a small rabbit sitting upon his owner's bed. He hopped over the covers, to a mess of pink hair peeking out of the blankets. He stepped atop the person's head, and proceeded to stamp his feet until the figure shifted, a tired groan leaving them. Satisfied, he'd hop off of the person's head, who would slowly sit up, stretch, and turn off the alarm. The young woman would then move her hand towards the bunny, gently petting his head. "... Good morning, Angel." Fluttershy rose from her bed, giving another stretch before moving out of her room, followed close behind by the little white rabbit she'd called Angel. Her following morning routine would consist of feeding Angel, first and foremost. Then she'd shower, brush the knots out of her hair, put on some light makeup, and change into clothes. She had class today. Not urgently soon, but she did have a breakfast outing with a friend of hers soon- so she was out earlier than usual, to Angel's dismay. He stood in front of her feet, near the door, stamping his back legs on the ground in protest. "Oh, Angel, dear... I'm sorry. But Twilight is waiting for me. You understand, don't you?" Thump thump. "O-oh... alright. I'll give you some extra carrots when I get home from school today... deal?" Thump! And, seemingly satisfied with that, Angel hopped aside, allowing Fluttershy to dart out the door, book bag tossed over her shoulder. Thankfully the cafe she would be meeting Twilight at was nearby, so Angel holding her up wouldn't make her too late. A ding! sounded as the door opened up and Fluttershy entered. Immediately she could spot her friend waiting for her, sitting alone at a table and reading through a book. Twilight was always very punctual, so it was no surprise to see her already there. Upon hearing the ding, though, the young women looked up, a smile forming on her visage. "Fluttershy, good morning!" She'd chirp from her seat, though would soon put a bookmark in her book, close it, and stand to greet her. "Twilight!" Fluttershy stepped up to the table, giving her friend a hug. "Oh, I'm sorry I'm late. Angel was being a bit difficult today." Twilight gave a bit of a chuckle, and a playful roll of her eyes. "I don't think I've ever seen a bunny with as much sass as he's got." Letting out a faint, almost exasperated laugh of her own, Fluttershy would nod a little bit in response. It was... admittedly, a little tiring. But she loved Angel, so she put up with it. "Oh- here, let's sit. I already ordered your usual, so they'll be bringing it by soon." Twi gave a bit of a grin towards her friend, having her own cup of coffee on the table, and a small cookie. "Huh? You- oh, goodness, you didn't have to do all that, Twilight. But thank you." Fluttershy sat down, with Twilight, brushing smooth the shorter skirt she wore currently. It was a cooler spring day outside, so she was happy to be able to wear her favorite sweater with it- a lovely shade of yellow, a soft, and gentle buttercream color. Spring had always been a favorite season of hers- not only was the weather lovely, but many of her favorite flowers were in full bloom, and she saw more butterflies flitting about the air. She always felt refreshed around this time of year. "Really, it's alright. I'm glad I did in such good time before you got here, though. I would've felt bad if it grew cold." Twilight picked up her coffee, which was a light, caramel color, and took a sip. "Have you heard of the meteor that flew over late last night?" "Meteor?" Fluttershy would cock her head aside with intrigue, very briefly offering a gentle smile and nod in thanks to a barista who brought over her tea and set it down before her. "Mhm. Or, that's what they believe it to be. It was out of nowhere, usually they're able to see things like that coming for a few days in advance at least." Twilight would nod, idly drumming her fingers atop the hard cover of her book. She always would seem to be very intrigued in space, and the stars, both astrology and astronomy were fixations of hers. "I suppose that is... odd. Maybe it was just, uh... random?" In no way was Fluttershy as versed in it as her friend, who seemed to be pondering it already. "... Maybe. But something about it just seemed off to me, I don't know. I've had a weird feeling all day, but maybe I just needed caffeine. Any who-" ---------- εїз ---------- Walking... Walking is so much more tiring with only two legs. Especially in such a big... place. City? He wasn't used to being in these things. Neither was he used to being in an unfamiliar situation, being weak- all of it. "Well, at least I look... semi-believable." Discord would utter to himself, gazing into a large window as a mirror- a form he'd have to get used to stared back at him, one he'd mustered up all his strength to get right. He wasn't used to needing a disguise, but in a place like this, it was either that, or... get killed, probably. Something like that- neither of which he was entirely thrilled for. He looked human now, despite the sickly pale look to his skin- almost grey. Black, unkempt hair pulled back into a low short ponytail with a long white streak, which was the same color as the goat beard he decided to keep. His face was normal enough, standing at a bit of a taller height, though his fashion choice was certainly... questionable. The blazer he wore was dark brown, his pants being miss-matched colors of green and a far lighter brown, bright yellow gloves, and once more dark brown shoes to finish it off. ... He'll just chalk it up to "modern fashion", or something. That was a good enough excuse, right? Either way, he wasn't getting many weird stares, which was his goal. Usually, he loves the attention. Avoiding it was definitely a first for him. Though, now that he was properly disguised... he had to figure out where to go from here. He had to- His thoughts were quite rudely interrupted by a sudden flash of pink hair and a bump into his shoulder- he blinked, moving to look at the mess of papers flying, and the culprit to this blockage of his thoughts. "Jeez, with as much space this... road, has, you would expect people to stay in their own bubble." The draconequus grumbled, eyes watching the young woman who'd tripped and fallen on the ground scramble to gather the papers that'd flown about, though she would seem to stop, turning her attention towards him at first. Upon seeing her, he noted she was quite pretty- her uniquely teal colored eyes caught his attention rather fast. "O-oh, goodness, I-I'm so sorry-... I didn't hurt you, did I? Ooh, oh dear..." She would turn, looking to her scattered papers again, and beginning to pick them up soon after. Discord rolled his eyes a little bit. "It takes far more to hurt me than that. You should watch where you're going, though. Running on a sidewalk you're bound to run into people. They could've been thinking about very important plans." The young woman would shake her head, coming to a wobbly stand as she tries to straighten out her papers. "I-I'm sorry-... I didn't mean to, I am just... late for class." "Class? What for?" Discord had only heard of adults taking school for magic, whilst being a statue- and there was no magic here. What did they need classes for. The woman would seem a bit surprised at this question, carefully brushing the hair out of her face. Slowly, Discord's eyes would trail down, briefly- to notice her knees were bleeding. Oh. "... I-I'm learning to be a veterinarian. I-" She paused, checking her phone, eyes widening. "O-oh dear- I'm sorry, I've got to go!" And with that, she was off- running again. Now that he was watching her, she wasn't very fast. No wonder she was in such a hurry. He remembered seeing the blood on her knees- feeling a very faint twinge of guilt, for the first time. "... What is a veterinarian?" ---------- εїз ---------- > Step Two - Research > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Library, library, library... Where the hell is someone supposed to find a library around here? That's how people do research, right? Reading books? Ugh... reading. He wasn't used to not knowing things, either. He'd been searching and searching all bloody day for a stupid library. But it was late afternoon now, and he was getting tired. And hungry. And he couldn't manifest bits for himself anymore either, so buying food was out. He just had to trudge through the day, until he found something of use. Thankfully the weather was kind on him today- the blazer and long pants wouldn't be too harsh quite yet, not until summer. But, how hot were the summers here? And his food situation would remain a problem for a good while, even if he did find a library anytime soon. Maybe he'll just eat the books. He's eaten them before.  His thoughts were once more interrupted by a familiar head of pink hair walking down the sidewalk. People in school read books. Books are in libraries! Perfect! But, he didn't know her name. Hm... As she passed by in front of him, he casually reached out to stretch, sticking out his leg right by her foot, causing her to trip and topple onto the ground like she had earlier that morning. This time instead of papers, books flew from her arms. Instead of complaining, this time, Discord would stand. Now he's got her attention. "Oh, dearest apologies, miss. We must quit bumping into each other like this." The young woman would raise up, putting a hand to her head. "O-oh- it's.. alright, really." she'd mutter, though Discord could feel a rather annoying pang of guilt again by seeing this person on the ground. Reluctantly, he moved to stand and begin helping her up. At least he'd look nice this way- people like to help nice people.  Looking at her more properly this time, Discord felt she looked familiar- not familiar in the sense that he'd seen her earlier that day, but in the sense he'd known her a time before. Though due to her being a human, her face wasn't akin to anyone he'd met in Equestria, so there was no way he'd be able to place it, at least not yet.  "Thank you," the woman's soft, gentle voice sounded again as he helped her this time. "... I-I guess I'm a bit more clumsy than I had realized." Ugh- her voice too seemed to strike a chord in his memory. Yet, irritatingly enough, he once more couldn't find why. Though for now, he contained his frustrations. There was work to be done. "Not to worry, my dear. Hopefully I'm not keeping you from anything far too important." The woman paused briefly- had something put her off? Surely not. Perhaps his charisma was being laid on just a little too thick. "Oh-... No, not.. not really. I-I was just on my way to the library to study-" Jackpot. "- and it stays open pretty late." "Oh!" Discord's lips curled into a smile, as he would straighten up, some of her papers still in hand, having 'accidentally' pulled them right outside of her grasp. "The library, could you show me the way? I've been trying to find some sort of place to study a certain subject of my own." The woman would push a strand of pink hair from her face as she listens to Discord speak, a faint smile gracing her gentle features. "Oh, of course. It's not all that far from here." As if remembering only just now, he'd move the hand that held the papers towards her, which she then took into her own. "Then by all means, lead the way." The smile on his face would form into a grin, trying his best to be charming, though his smile always had a sort of wicked, wild look to it, even in his currently weak disguise. Even so, she would smile and nod, carefully tucking the papers back into the books she held in her arms, starting to walk the direction she'd been heading beforehand, Discord following close behind her. The smile would fade as he began to think. A human library, he rarely really visited Equestrian libraries, so he only really had a vague idea of what he could expect. And in a place like this, lacking nearly all traces of magic, would there really be anything he could research? There was only one way to find out, and it was, unfortunately through befriending this skittish, pink haired woman that walks slower than he can swim through a pool of molasses, which he discovered a long while back is terribly, terribly slow. "By the by, miss, what might your name be? He'd suddenly speak, twirling his hand with his words. The silence quickly began to bore him, and he may as well know this person's name if he's going to be using her as his source of information, at least for now.  "Oh, my name is Fluttershy." Now that definitely rang a bell. He could remember that one all too well from before he'd been turned back into a statue, and now he kicked himself for not realizing how obvious it was sooner. Of course it'd be the only one who was resistant to his manipulation beforehand that he'd run into now. She particularly irked him, taking all the fun out of his mind games. Even that Twilight's persistence wasn't as irritating. Discord was snapped out of his thoughts, quickly wiping the frown from his face when Fluttershy turned to him to speak. "What's yours?" "Oh-... you can call me... Discord." He would say, hesitantly. He was unsure if the human realm had any knowledge of other-worldly beings.. It was not likely to be the case, however,if Fluttershy had a counterpart here, he couldn't be too sure there wasn't one of him here as well. Or, maybe with being a god of chaos, there was a chance that he was the only of his kind in these realms.  "Discord... alright." Fluttershy would nod- seeming to think the name odd, but otherwise continuing as if nothing else. A faint sigh of relief left the draconequus, something he hadn't felt in a very long time. Though, her next question raised a small amount of unease once more. "Where are you from?" "Oh, you know, an inch past a hair, somewhere and whatnot." He'd twirl his hand slightly- half expecting to turn himself into a hare for a delightful visual gag, yet none came, which would only mildly infuriate him. Damn this blasted human realm.  Fluttershy gave him a look of confusion, but before she could question his odd response, he pointed to a building they approached, displaying a sign atop it saying 'Canterlot Library'. "Ah, lookie there, we've arrived."  "Oh...! We have." A gentle smile would grace Fluttershy's features. And she'd seem to forget the confusion of his place of origin as she led him inside.  The library itself wasn't anything overly impressive, but it was better than he expected. Two stories, but the second story was more a balcony overtop the lower floor, giving the ground a higher ceiling. It only really had one main library room, and it wasn't very big otherwise, but Discord was definitely pleasantly surprised. Perhaps he would be able to find more than he hoped here.  Fluttershy would move towards a big, comfy looking chair towards a far wall, near a desk that seemed to have... Those little light boxes Discord had forgotten the name for. Comp.. compressor? No, no, that wasn't right. Well, whatever it was, hopefully he'd not have to use it anytime soon. He's known of them, but never had the... displeasure of needing one. Following close behind Fluttershy, he watched her sit down and leaned into the chair as she began to set aside a couple textbooks.  "... So." He began, getting a bit of a look for his volume. He'd continue, slightly quieter. "Does this wonderful establishment contain any books that delve into the society of humans?"  ---------- εїз ---------- Blink. ... Huh? Fluttershy was completely dumbfounded by this man. This oddly dressed, strangely formally speaking man. She wasn't opposed to meeting a new person, even if they seemed a little odd. One of her closest friends sometimes can be a bit weird, so truly, it didn't seem to far out of the norm.  ... But this was more than just a little bit weird, at least to her. Why did he have to specify humans? An inch past a hair?? Even his skin was just the tiniest bit gray, which she just brushed off mostly in case he was sick. He seemed to have quite a bit of energy, but she could notice a weary look in his eyes- almost desperate.   What an interesting man. "... On... society?" Fluttershy echoed after a brief pause to process the question.  "Precisely, my dear!" Discord would flash a grin in her direction, his volume once more having grown despite their location. "On society."  "... That's a little vague." She began. "... I guess there's things like.. culture studies, though I'm not too sure how updated the books are here... If you can't find what you're looking for, you could look it up, I'm sure." Now it was Discord's turn to pause, and he'd squint for a moment. A couple of moments, to be more accurate. "... Look up?" He would then look upwards, to the ceiling. "Up where?"  When Discord looked back to Fluttershy, she'd been pointing at the computer to the desk next to her. "... Online." "... Yes! Right. Look up. I was just… testing you to see if you understood." He'd confirm with an awkward chuckle, before suddenly, and quickly, scuttling off into the sea of books to begin his search. Fluttershy would then watch him leave, still feeling a bit dumbfounded by his odd and erratic behavior, before pulling out her own laptop, setting it in her lap, and typing away. Occasionally, she would flick to another tab, either to pull from more research, or to do something entirely unrelated. Before, soon, Discord would return. A couple books in arm, but nonetheless he'd take a seat at the desk with the computer on it. Then, she witnessed quite the display. Raising his hand to the mouse, he picked it up,, first following the wire, and clicking the buttons, soon seeming simply delighted he'd discovered its function. Next he would click about the screen a few times, a mildly frustrated look forming on his face before a window opened. After another few seconds, he discovered what the search bar did, and he had this look of utter victory on his face that made Fluttershy giggle. How silly.  She would turn to continue her studies. Though, as soon as she would, a sudden plop on the seat next to her announced someone's arrival, along with a dramatic, exasperated groan.  "You know, those little light boxes you've got are terribly hard to use." He'd grumble, taken over by a very sudden grumpiness. "... Do-... do you mean the computers?" Fluttershy cast her gaze to the computer he'd been using, still open on the window. The last search on it was 'free house'. ... What??  "Yes! That's the word. They're completely and utterly useless in finding what I need to know." "... Well... what do you need to know?" Fluttershy would tilt her head to the side, hands idly resting on her laptop's keyboard. "I'm sure I can help, even just a little bit. And if I can't, I've got friends who might be able to." Another smile would seem to gently form on her face, and Discord would seem to pause, seemingly briefly surprised by her willingness to assist. "... Well,-" He began, but would seem stuck a moment trying to word his question. He'd pause once more in thought. "If one were to try to blend into society without actually belonging to that society, how would they do it?" "... Oh. Eh..." Now, Fluttershy would pause. What an odd question. Perhaps he was writing a book, and wanted to research for a character? Or, perhaps he just... struggled with interacting with people. She could certainly relate to that.  At her hesitance to answer, he'd rephrase. "For example. What does your schedule look like?" ---------- εїз ---------- "My schedule?" Fluttershy would blink. "...I wake up, take care of my bunny, eat breakfast and go to school, and some days I've got a part time job in the animal clinic nearby." She'd list off. "... Then I study for school and go home, if I don't have other plans after." Discord would pause another moment to think, earning him another confused expression from the woman. A job... that might be part of it. School seems to be very big as well, it took up just about half the day. "What does one study in school here?" "Oh, a lot of things, I guess." She'd shrug her shoulders, idly bringing her fingers across  the keyboard of her laptop and tapping at the keys- not hard enough to actually type anything in, but enough to make a very faint clacking noise. "I'm majoring in animal science and biology, my friend Rarity is a fashion major, and another friend of mine Twilight is majoring in a couple things, Philosophy and Chemistry, I think, and-"  The names she listed off, especially the second one, were irritatingly familiar- that Twilight Sparkle was the source of his last downfall. Even worse, knowing what he knew of her, what her counterpart was studying here was in fact not magic, but some other complicated nonsense. He knew there was some magic in this world, even if a little, if there weren't, he'd not be able to hold up his disguise at all, or worse, he'd be dead. Or he imagined as much. He doesn't actually think he can die, or, can he now, in this new world, where most his strength has been drained? "... Applejack... studies agriculture-" Fluttershy would continue listing off, until she was interrupted.  "What other things do you do, then?" "Things...? Like... plans that I make?" "Yes, what sort of hobbies, or activities do po- people partake in around here?" Fluttershy opened her mouth after a moment to pause and process the question- before once more being interrupted by a faint buzzing coming from her phone, followed by a quiet ding. Pulling it out, she'd gasp, and hurriedly seem to begin packing up. "Oh goodness! I almost forgot- I was supposed to meet my friends soon... I-I'm sorry, I have to go-" Discord would watch, apparently quite affronted by their so called study hall being cut short. "Oh-! Well. I suppose you go and have fun. I will be... about." He'd end this with a grumble, returning to the cursed computer on the desk that he was trying to avoid figuring out how to use. "Y-yes.. Thank you. It was nice speaking with you-"  "Yes, yes, you too." Discord mumbled this through his hand, staring at the screen... focused for the first time in a good century at least. Fluttershy would say not another word, and her hurried, light footsteps could be heard fading out of the library, leaving poor Discord to fend for himself with the little knowledge he could gain. > Step Three- Blending In > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Over the span of one day, Discord very quickly came to the conclusion his attire would not fly. He wasn't particularly used to wearing real clothes, especially something so stuffy and uncomfortable. After an embarrassingly long time spent figuring out the light boxes, he left after doing what he considered an ample amount of research, and even though it was cooler outside, it was certainly not cold enough to wear this awful thing out in the sun. It also drew too much attention, which normally, he ate up like nobody's business- but it was the wrong kind of attention unfortunately. How is he supposed to lay low if he sticks out like a sore thumb? He had to blend in. Some way or another. And that meant more people watching. After enough wandering he came across a street lined with different sorts of clothing shops- and while he had no way to conjure up any sort of money in this world, since most of his energy was being wasted on this ridiculous disguise, he could at the very least study the people who came in and out of these stores and what they had on display. His current knowledge on humans and this realm they lived in was very limited and outdated. He found a suitable bench and would simply sit and stare, watching people walk down the walkways outside of the shops lining the street. After what felt like ages, a familiar, soft voice finally broke him out of his study- which had turned into him taking a nap on the bench after about thirty minutes. "Mister... Discord?" Ugh. This girl, again? He can't seem to escape her. He opened an eye, a little annoyed his "people watching" had been interrupted. "Yes, what is it? I'm a little busy, here, if you can't tell." Fluttershy seemed to twiddle her thumbs a little bit, with a pause. She was... formulating what she wanted to say, or how to say it, in her mind before speaking it out loud. "... Are you alright? You've been sitting here asleep for.. a couple hours." Discord suddenly straightened up off the bench. More disheveled than he'd been beforehand, he raised up a hand to smoothen out his hair. "I'm quite fine. I just got a little bit bored, is all. You people are just so dreadfully unfun to watch." "... Watch? What do you-" "Nothing, nothing, never mind. What brings you here? I didn't take you for much of a... oh, what do they call it, fashionista?" Fluttershy just sort of paused a couple moments, staring at him before gathering herself again and speaking. "... Oh. Well.. I was on my way to visit my friend who works here. I was going to help model something she was working on." Discord had barely opened his mouth to respond, when the door to the shop opened with a ding! and out stepped a tall, slim young woman, with curled purple hair. She was dressed chic, with a slim silhouette, but it was still very fashionable- good taste, even Discord could tell. "Fluttershy, darling, there you are! I was beginning to wonder-" She'd smile towards her friend- before Discord was seen out of the corner of her eye, and gained a suspicious squint in his direction. "... Is this man here bothering you? He's been out here nearly all day watching my clients come in and out of the boutique- oh dear, and he looks utterly dreadful!" 'Dreadful'! And so casually, too, who did this woman think she was?! Before Discord could begin a retort, Fluttershy raised a hand with a meek, almost hesitant smile, resting it on the other woman's shoulder. "... Rarity, it's alright. He's a... friend, of mine. He's the person I met in the library the other day." Of course. How could he have forgotten that... attitude. Prissy, uptight. But fun and... easy to mess with. Rarity would seem to soften a little bit at Fluttershy's reassurance, but only a little- she'd look at Discord with great suspicion. "... Well, at least let me get you something less.. awful to wear." "But Rarity, didn't you have a project to-" "The project can wait, my darling. This crime is to be seen to first. Come, come." Rarity waved the both of them into the boutique, and Fluttershy would let out a faint giggle as she'd then follow inside- Discord soon after. He'll not throw away this opportunity so quickly, as it landed right into his lap. ---------- εїз ---------- Rarity's boutique was bustling. Customers in, looking through clothes and dresses on racks, displayed upon mannequins- the clothes themselves being far more extravagant than Rarity's current dress, though somehow she still stood out with her creations. Fluttershy and Discord followed her through a door, to a workroom. Relatively tidy, a little bit or organized chaos, half-finished projects strewn either on a table or draped overtop a mannequin with pins holding fabric and patterns in place. They were there for maybe three hours tops. Fluttershy had seen Rarity work before, but she'll never be not impressed at the speed Rarity can make a quality piece, let alone multiple articles of clothing. "Oh, Rarity- it was really nice of you to do all of this for him." Fluttershy would be sitting down on a chair, nearby a dressing room that Discord currently stood in- he'd been in there a while. "Nonsense, darling. If he is a friend of yours, then I'm eager to help. God, even if he wasn't your friend I might have. I'm not sure I would've let that disaster slide no matter the circumstance." Rarity would say this with a proud smile, inspecting her well manicured nails as they wait. "And I must say, I think I've done quite the impressive turnaround." When Discord stepped out, he was almost unrecognizable. The stuffy and very formal attire had been swapped out for something more loose and comfortable. Admittedly, stylish, as well, though that was typically a given when Rarity was involved. Discord himself seemed,, pleased, enough, though he was clearly glad for it to be over. "Are we finished here, now?" A huff came from Rarity in return. "Yes. You're welcome, by the way. You're the toughest case I've had to manage since the Gala." "Yes yes, generosity is your thing." More grumbling from Discord, who was moving towards the exit already. "Thhhhank you, I suppose." And just like that, he was gone, the bell above the door to the boutique quietly chiming with his exit. Rarity brought a hand down her face. "...Fluttershy, darling." "... Yes, Rarity?" "... I'm beginning to grow concerned with the company you keep."