The time is nearing. Soon, all that Princess Celestia had trained her star pupil for would come to pass. First though, Celestia needs some extrordiary magic - the kind of magic that only one creature in Equestria can perform.
It was the night the Crystal Empire won the games. Celestia is certain that the time is come. She is sure that her star pupil, Twilight Sparkle, is prepared to overcome her final challenge. First, though, she must seek help from the only creature in Equestria who can turn one type o pony into another - Discord. Unfortuantely, Discord does not much care for Celestia's star pupil. Originally a oneshot, but has since refused to stay that way.
It was a day the Crystal Empire would never forget.
Across Equestria, night was beginning to fall. Slowly, Celestia lowered the circle of the sun, spreading pinks and purples across the dusky sky. From the North, an array of multicolored streaks danced across the troposphere, announcing the joy that filled a once-fallen nation. The Crystal Empire was overflowing with love and joy, and that love and joy was now beginning to shine all over Equestria.
It was time.
Looking out across the castle grounds, Celestia searched for her target. Over and over again, Discord had been told to stay within the castle grounds. It was essential if this plan was to come to pass. And yet, over and over again, Discord wandered off. He would find himself bored and utterly uninterested in being confined, and would decide that a spirit of chaos such as himself had no business being confined in a stuffy castle.
She had tried chaining him in the dungeon once, but that had lasted all of five minutes. As soon as Celestia had left the room, he had snapped his fingers and disappeared, leaving his chains behind him. It wasn't until an angry letter appeared in front of her that Celestia learned he had run to Fluttershy, telling her all about how mean old Celestia was locking him up. Timid as that little pony was, she certainly wasn't shy when she heard that her friend was being mistreated, even if it was for only five minutes.
Aggravated, Celestia stormed off towards her carriage. Tonight, of all nights, was not a good night for Discord to run off. It was tonight that Celestia's plan was finally coming together. It was tonight her faithful student, Twilight Sparkle, would be given her final test. It was for this time and this purpose that Celestia had ordered Discord's release in the first place. Now, where did that draconequis run off to?
Calling for her carriage ponies, Celestia searched the night sky for her sister. Seeing as she understood the gravity of the situation, Luna might be able to help in her search.
Fluttershy was just beginning to put away the remnants of her animal picnic. Mr. and Mrs. Beaverton Beaverteeth had just welcomed a new little one into their family, and Fluttershy had thrown a picnic to celebrate. Of course, she had spent most of the day trying to explain to Applejack why Mr. Beaverton Beaverteeth couldn't just take his newly expanded dam apart this time. Applejack called Mr. Beaverton Beaverteeth a "dang varmit", and Mr. Beaverton Beaverteeth used some words he really shouldn't have used with the baby in such close proximity.
Upon returning home, she had found that Discord had dropped in for a visit. She had not expected Discord to visit that day, but had invited him to the celebration all the same.
"No, that's quite all right.", Discord replied. "I'm still quite stuffed from that hay loaf you made."
Fluttershy smiled. The loaf had gotten a little overdone, since she had spent far longer than intended at Sweet Apple Acres. Still, it turned out pretty well for what it was.
"Well, I'm glad you enjoyed it. Is there anything else you might need?"
Discord shook his head. "No, no. I'm just glad to be out of that dusty old castle."
Fluttershy looked concerned. "Princess Celestia didn't lock you up again, did she?", she asked. The last time Discord was here, Celestia had locked him in chains in the dungeon. Fluttershy had let him crash with her for the night, before writing an angry letter to Princess Celestia. Timid as she normally was, nopony was going to treat her friends that way. Not even the Princess.
"No", Discord sighed, "She just expects me to stay within castle grounds. As if she could control a creature of chaos like me."
"Are you sure I can't offer you a place to crash for the night?", Fluttershy asked, putting away the last of the teacups into her picnic basket. "It sounds as if you might need to get away from the castle for a bit."
Discord smiled at the little pegasus, considering the offer. "That does sound nice." Discord mused. "I just might take you up on that offer."
At that moment, Princess Celestia's carriage touched down in front of the cottage. Fluttershy stepped between Celestia and Discord, ready to defend her friend if need be. Celestia, however, made no move towards them.
"Discord, can I have a word, please?" Celestia asked, "Alone?" She did not sound happy.
"Alone.", Discord retorted, "There. There's your word. Now if you don't mind, Fluttershy and I have a celebration to clean up after." Celestia did not look amused.
"I assure you, this is quite important." Celestia told him, keeping calm and collected. "You must return to the castle at once."
Discord rolled his eyes. "And what if I refuse?"
"I'm afraid this matter is far too important to wait." Celestia answered. "In any case, in involves a deal that you might find interesting."
Discord shot her a look that clearly told her he wans't buying it.
"I will allow you to return here later. For now, though, I have a very important task to complete, and I am going to nee your help to complete it."
Discord looked towards Fluttershy, who shrugged. "Perhaps tomorrow night?" she offered, referring to the offer to crash. "Or maybe after you're done with your important matter. Either way, I'll still be here." Discord nodded, grateful for the chance to escape. Whatever this important matter was, at the very least he would not be spending the night at the castle. As soon as whatever this is was over, he was out.
"Very well." Discord answered Celestia, "But this had better be important."
Princess Celestia wasted no time after reaching the castle. Discord trailed impatiently behind, annoyed that his little sleepover had been postponed.
"As you know," Celestia began, "My student, Twilight Sparkle, has reached a new level in her studies."
"Well hooray for her", Discord replied sarcastically.
Was this what Princess Celestia had dragged him all the way back here for? What a waste of time!
"In fact, all that is left is just one final test before she finishes her studies." Celestia continued, "After that, Discord, is where you come in."
Out of all those element bearers, Twilight was pretty much Discord's least favorite. He had barely been released from stone for two minutes before Twilight had threatened to turn him back, and the threats had not stopped since. There were certainly less of them coming his way since Twilight realized that Fluttershy would not go back on her promise, but she still behaved in an overtly hostile manner any time he was near.
"As you know," Princess Celestia continued, "you are the only creature in Equestria who is capable of changing ponies from one form to another. If Twilight succeeds in her final task, I would like you to turn her into an alicorn."
Discord burst out laughing. An alicorn? She had to be kidding! "And what makes you think I am going to do THAT?" Discord asked. There was no way he was taking a pony who was that hostile towards him and making her even more powerful.
Celestia smiled mischievously, holding up a spiral-bound book. "On the last page of this book, there is a spell that will change each pony's destiny, rendering the Elements of Harmony unusable to their respective owners."
Now, Discord was listening.
"As of now, there is no way to reverse this spell. Twilight's task will be to create new magic in order to reverse its effects. Should she succeed, I would like you to use your magic to turn her into an alicorn."
"And if she fails?" Discord asked, "What's in it for me?"
Celestia looked grim. "If she fails, the Elements of Harmony will be forever unusable, leaving their respective owners unable to turn you back to stone. Not only that, but the spell would put all the wrong cutie marks on all the wrong ponies, which is sure to cause some chaos."
Celestia did not look happy over that prospect.
Discord mulled it over. Eternal chaos, plus the guarantee that he would never be turned to stone again! It was tempting, very tempting. To top it off, Twilight would be the one who would mess things up, leaving no possibility for Fluttershy to disown him as a friend because of it!
There had to be a catch. Either that, or Celestia put way too much faith in her neurotic little protégé. Was she really so confident in beleiving that Twilight could create her own magic? To his knowledge, Celestia herself wasn't even capable of that! The little brat was talented, but she wasn't that talented!
Celestia was putting way too much faith in this little unicorn, which would ultimately be her undoing.
"Princess Celestia, you drive a hard bargain." Discord concluded. "I accept your challenge."
Princess Celestia smiled, sealing the box that contained the notebook. "Very well." Celestia responded, handing the box over to a mailpony to deliver. "I expect you to hold up your end of the bargain when Twilight Sparkle prevails."
"I am a draconequis of my word." Discord told her, making a halo appear over his head. There was no way Twilight was going to be able to pull this off. Discord would forever be free of the Elements' curse, free from constant threats, and free from anypony ordering him around!
Celestia rolled her eyes, and Discord headed for the door. He had some excellent chaos to see.
Discord soared along the skies, sailing happily over the vast fields and forests. Could this night get any better? Celestia seemed to think her little student capable of perfecting a spell that had eluded ponykind for well over a millennium! While that little brat scrambled to figure it out, the Elements would be out of commission, leaving him free from their nasty threats, free from their attempts to change Fluttershy's mind, free FOREVER! No more confinement! No more of being forced to take orders from his former captor! No more hearing about how those nasty little ponies were going to confine him to another millenia of dreadful imprisonment! He would be truly free forevermore!
Discord did a loop-de-loop in the air, overjoyed at the prospect.
And now, he would get to spend the night far from the castle walls, far from the palace that had been his prison for over a millennia. He would spend his night sleeping on a cloud hammock in the home of his one and only friend. For the first time in his life, he had someone to share his joy with. For the first time, there was one pony who didn't view him as an evil monster, someone who truly cared for him! Could things get any better for a creature of chaos?
As Discord approached the house, he found Fluttershy standing outside on the lawn. The picnic supplies had been long since cleared away, and she appeared to be pacing a little. There was a slight look of concern on her face, although Discord couldn't quite figure out why. Had she waited up for him this whole time? How thoughtful!
"Hey there, Fluttershy!" Discord called. Fluttershy looked up, looking as if she hadn't expected to see him there. Had she forgotten all about him crashing at her house? Was this a bad time to drop by? Why was she out on the lawn, then? Discord touched down, wondering what exactly was going on.
"Oh. Hello Discord." Fluttershy greeted. She sounded tired, as if the events of that day had taken quite a lot out of her. A look of worry began to spread across Discord's features.
"Is something wrong?" he asked. "Did you lose something?" Fluttershy shook her head.
"No. I'm not really sure how I ended up at Rainbow Dash's cottage." She told him. "I can't even remember coming here." The look of concern on Fluttershy's face was beginning to worry him. Wait, whose cottage?
Discord was a bit confused now. "Rainbow Dash's cottage? Fluttershy, that's your house!" What was going on? Was this part of the spell? What did not recognizing her own house have to do with her Element of Harmony?
Fluttershy laughed. "Discord, you know I live over Sugar Cube Corner! I don't know what I was thinking, coming over here. Dashie isn't even home!" With that, Fluttershy began to walk away, still looking confused as to how she had gotten there.
Discord followed her, not quite sure of what was going on. Was this part of the chaos he was promised? Was this a side effect of the elements being put out of commission? If so, how did this relate to her element of kindness? Was she acting this way just to mess with him? To worry him? What did this spell do, exactly? What was happening to his one and only friend?
"Are you sure this isn't a bad time?", Discord asked. For once, he was actually interested in the answer.
"Not at all!", Fluttershy answered, a happy smile returning to her face. "I know you said you don't like staying at the castle, and I did invite you to crash at my home tonight." That didn't answer his question. Still, it was nice to know that her memory wasn't totally altered. Apparently, her sense of kindness was still intact. Strange, for a spell that supposedly altered the Elements of Harmony. Then again, Discord had come to prefer the kind Fluttershy over his cruel creation.
Something strange was going on. When they had first left Fluttershy's real home, she had seemed somewhat perplexed at the situation. Now, as they got further and further from her home, Fluttershy's confusion wore off. In its place, there appeared to be a growing despair. Discord couldn't seem to figure out why.
Normally, he would enjoy the eccentric patterns of weather falling all over Equestria. There were thunderclouds mixing with snow, patches of baking heat next to patches of freezing cold, hailstones the size of tennis balls, and none of these clouds ever stayed in the same place for more than a few minutes! Rarity was running around yelling "COME BACK HERE!" at a cloud that had escaped her control. He should be enjoying this. Instead, all he could think about was the growing look of sadness and hopelessness on Fluttershy's face.
"Is something wrong?" Discord asked. He was becoming more worried by the minute.
"No," Fluttershy answered, "It's nothing."
It certainly didn't sound like nothing. There was a heaviness to her voice that made it clear she was upset. Unfortunately, she didn't seem to want to share the cause of her sudden and mysterious change in mood. As they walked, her head seemed to fall lower and lower. Her eyes seemed to be holding back tears. Something was definitely weighing heavy on Fluttershy's mind, and Discord was going to find out what.
As they reached Sugar Cube Corner, Fluttershy seemed to be hiding her face. She opened the door and hid behind it as Discord entered. Pounding rain could be heard on one side of the roof, with driving hail pummeling the house somewhere near the back. Fluttershy continued to hide her face as she climbed the stairs to her apartment. Discord followed close behind, having never been in here before. As she opened the door to the apartment, she rushed in the door and jumped onto the balloon-patterned bed, hiding her face in the pillows. This must be where Pinkie Pie normally lived.
"Something is definitely wrong, Fluttershy." Discord mentioned, closing the door behind him. "Please tell me."
From beneath the pillow, he could hear soft, muffled sobs. Fluttershy's shoulders were shaking, and her ears were flat against her head.
"Oh Discord!" she sobbed, raising her head slightly so she could speak, "I can't do anything right!" Her shoulders began to shake a little harder. Her small, choked sobs became harder to conceal. Fluttershy flopped her head back down into the pillow, sobbing.
Discord wasn't entirely sure what was going on, or why she would say a thing like that, but he couldn't allow this to continue. Slowly, he sat down on the edge of the bed next to her, gently patting her back with his paw. That was consoling, right? He wasn't sure, seeing as he had never had the need or the inclination to console a crying pony before. Did ponies like being patted like that? Was that consoling? Or would it be seen as creepy or out of line? What was the best way to help her?
"Now, you know that's not true." Discord told her, in what he hoped was a soothing tone. "You're very good at a lot of things." They hadn't really been friends long enough for him to know what those things were, but he knew that Fluttershy didn't normally walk around like this.
Fluttershy shook her head, unable to speak at this point.
"You're good at taking care of animals." Discord offered. He at least knew that her job had something to do with caring for creatures. She had organized that picnic earlier, and she always got bent out of shape whenever Discord did something to her animal friends. That was something, right?
Several moments passed before either of them said a word. Several long, awkward moments that seemed to last an eternity. Finally, Fluttershy spoke.
"I can't make anypony laugh."
Was that all? Was that the cause of all this heartbreak? That she couldn't make anypony laugh? Discord gave a slight chuckle, which elicited a furious glare from Fluttershy.
"You are good at plenty of other things, Fluttershy", Discord reassured her. "Who cares if you can't make anypony laugh?"
"It's my destiny!" Fluttershy insisted, pointing to the image on her flank. It had changed from an image of three butterflies to an image of three balloons. Discord hadn't thought anything of it at this point. What did these little images have to do with anything? He'd always assumed they were merely decorative.
Discord gave a confused look. "How do you know that's your destiny?" he asked. "How do you know it's not something you're better at?"
Right away, this seemed to be the wrong thing to say. Fluttershy buried her face in her front legs, hot tears spilling over her cheeks. It took several more uncomfortable, unending moments for her to finally be able to speak again. Finally she raised her head.
"A pony's cutie mark is her destiny." Fluttershy explained. "My cutie mark says that it is my job to make everypony smile." Her voice broke. "Yet I've failed miserably since the day I got it!" This last statement almost seemed to choke her. A fresh wave of tears fell over her face, and she buried her face in her front legs again.
Discord tried patting her on the back again. It broke him to see his one and only friend like this. Fluttershy was the only one who had ever cared about him, and now she seemed to need a friend more than ever.
"Fluttershy," he told her, "Up until a few weeks ago, I didn't have a friend in the world. You…you changed all that, and ... well, you certainly put a smile on my face." That sounded awkward. Up until tonight, Discord had never really had the desire or inclination to cheer somepony up, either. He hadn't had any experience in relating well to other ponies, or to attending to anypony's needs other than his own. This was new to him, but he had to get this right.
"What I mean to say is…"
Before he could say any more, Fluttershy sprang from the bed, wrapping her arms around his torso. Discord stared awkwardly. He'd never gotten a hug from anypony before, either. Was he supposed to reciprocate it? Slowly, he wrapped his paw around her back, like she was doing. Then, he did the same with his talon. She didn't seem confused or upset, so perhaps he was doing this right.
Within a few minutes, the sobbing had stopped. Fluttershy's tears had begun to slow and dry. She sat there, clinging to his chest, seeming to derive comfort from his presence. Discord was quite glad when he realized the hugging seemed to have worked wonders in calming Fluttershy down. He would have to remember that, in case he ever needed it again.
So, this was friendship. This was what is was like to actually care about somepony, and have somepony care about him. It felt nice. He was beginning to see why those other ponies all treasured their friendships so much.
Best of all, Fluttershy seemed to have calmed down. The tears were beginning to dry, and a small smile was beginning to appear on her face. Somehow, she had understood his awkward first attempt at a consolation speech, and seemed to appreciate it. Discord was glad. He hated to see his one and only friend so upset.
Within a few minutes, Fluttershy's front legs began to go limp. Looking down, Discord could see that Fluttershy hadn't seemed to notice letting go. Her expression was peaceful, and her breathing was slow and even. She had fallen asleep.
Slowly, so as not to wake her, Discord inched over towards the bed. Pulling back the balloon-patterned bedspread, he gently placed his only friend on the bed. She stirred slightly in her sleep, but did not awaken. Discord couldn't help but smile as he tucked the covers in around his little friend. She nestled into her new surroundings, unaware of the fact that she had been moved. An adorable little smile crossed her face.
Satisfied that Fluttershy was all settled in, Discord stepped back several paces. With a snap of his fingers, several clouds from the sky outside dissapeared. With another snap of his fingers, the clouds reappeared before him, convieniently arranged into the shape of a hammock.
Back at the castle, Princess Celestia never would have allowed this. She seemed to be quite paraniod at the idea of Discord using his magic for anything she didn't command. The slightest little thing from him always seemed to set her off. If he didn't know any better, he'd swear she was looking for any excuse to turn him back to stone as soon as she was done using him.
Personally, Discord couldn't see what was so evil about conjuring up a nice bed for himself. Pony beds may be well and good for her, but they certainly weren't built to comfortably hold a full-grown Draconequis. He was much too tall and bipedal for those little pony beds in the castle, and always had to either scrunch himself up to fit on the bed or try to make himself comfortable on the floor. Most nights he had ended up sleeping on the floor.
Flopping onto his newly formed cloud bed, Discord breathed a deep sigh of relief. Tonight had turned out far better than he had expected. He was free of the castle, the elements were unusable, and he got to use his powers to make his surroundings more comfortable. Things were beginning to look up for him.
A loud crack of thunder filled the air outside. Looking to the window, Discord could see that the rain that had pounded the roor earlier had now become snow, and the hail had been replaced with lightning. A powerful gust of wind seemed to pass by the house every once in a while, breifly rattling the windows before moving on to somewhere else in town. Oh, how beautifully chaotic! Looking over towards the balloon-patterned bed Discord nervously looked towards Fluttershy. The noise didn't seem to have woken her. Taking another deep breath, Discord stretched out on his comfy new bed, enjoying the sound of chaos.
