More Than Complicatedby ThunderChaserCreateChaptersA Meeting in the WoodsAcceptance? Maybe tomorrow...PrologueA Meeting in the WoodsWell, Sunny seemed like the perfect plan. This would be the way for me to live my own life, away from over-protective parents and swiftly approaching royal duties. Of course, me being me, nothing can go right every time. I think I had picked the wrong patch of woods. I made my way out, sneaking past the guards and servants, and galloped into the hills. I lost my wings with the spell (since an alicorn would draw attention), and it was tough to get used to moving without them. I spent a good few minutes hauling myself up into a tree, and sat back against the rough bark on the trunk, listening to the birdsong. That was when the noise started. There was this faraway thumping that echoed through the hum of the forest. It sounded like something running, but the actual individual footfalls was a little off. Thump-clop-click-click, thump-clop-click-click. My snow white ears pricked at the noise and I sat forward, listening intently. The footfalls grew closer, and a strange silhouette appeared in the distance. I could not describe it if I tried. I spotted several birds take frantic wing, fluttering away from the noise-maker. "Oh, no, wait!" called a male voice. It cracked a bit when he tried to shout, and I chuckled at the femininity of it. The voice sighed, and the ungainly shape lifted off the ground without the slightest movement of wing or feet. "H-hello?" I called. The form jumped, but floated closer. I could see his shape clearly in the shadow on the leaves, but still couldn't tell you what he was. "Who are you?" the voice murmured fearfully. "Uh..." I momentarily forgot about my fake personality. "Uh... it's Sunny. Sunny Days." "That's a pretty name," the boy muttered to himself. "Are you a pony?" he asked suddenly. "Well... yeah. I'm a unicorn." "Oh... that's too bad..." "Ugh!" I huffed, standing up. "What's that supposed to mean?!" The form pushed through the branches of the tree. "I'm not a pony. I'm a draconequus. My name's Discord! What's yours?" "Y-you already..." I trailed off, staring at his various limbs. His head looked a bit like a goat, and he seemed to have a matching mane, but everything else was completely mish-mashed. "Oh! I already asked that, didn't I?" Discord landed on the branch, weighing it down to the point where I slid toward him and into his chest. Discord took the chance to run a claw through my hair. It was now a powder pink, and it hung in gentle waves around my face. "You're pretty. How old are you?" "F-fifteen..." I muttered, backing up against the trunk. Discord gasped comedically. "No way! Me, too!" "Uh-huh..." "Hey! You wanna see a really cool trick?" Discord seemed to be more than a bit distracted. "I've been practicing. It's really cool! You'll love it! Can you sing?" "Well... yeah, I guess so..." I answered, looking for a way down out of the tree. "Oh, that's great!" Discord hopped off the branch and it sprung back into place, tossing me into the air for a brief moment. "Ready? Ready? Ready?" "Mmph..." "Okay, great!" He floated next to me, raising his two front appendages (which appeared to be a lion paw and an eagle claw) in a graceful pose. He swung down quickly with both, as though conducting, and after a few swings I started to hear faint music. The birds were all singing together, the same song, a song I knew. Discord dropped his arms to his sides and turned to me. "How..." I whispered, not being able to finish the sentence. Discord shrugged. "It just works. Do you like it? Can you sing along?" "It sure is... weird," I admitted. "Come on, sing! Please?" Discord begged. I sighed. "Why should I?" "Because... because... you're really pretty... and, you know, nice... and I'd like to be friends with you," he stuttered, asking me if I wanted to be friends with him as though he were asking for my hoof in marriage. "Um..." "Oh, please?" "Well..." "Just a little, then I'll go away!" Discord clasped his paw and talons together. "I promise!" "Oh, I guess..." I could feel my cheeks getting hot already. I took a deep breath, waiting for the chorus to come around again. The mist lifts from the forest A new day has begun The sun rises And shines through the clouds And you are safe and sound. I sung softly with my eyes squeezed shut. I let my eyelids sneak open, catching a glimpse of Discord's face. He was utterly in awe, staring at me with eyes wide and mouth slightly open. "Wow..." he whispered. "Okay, I'm gonna go now." I muttered, dropping off the branch and heading away at a brisk trot. "That was beautiful!" Discord insisted, following just a few steps behind. "I'm going," I repeated. "You have an amazing voice!" "I'm going." "Well, will you come back?" "Going!" I broke into a gallop, breaking free of the heavy air of the forest. "See ya tomorrow, Sunny!" he yelled after me. And the strange thing was that I was actually thinking about it. Acceptance? Maybe tomorrow...Even though Discord had sort of freaked me out, it didn't change the fact that I was a teen in need of freedom. I continued to become Sunny, transforming and slipping into the woods where I hid from the odd pace of the draconequus. I didn't need to have a worshiper, just a little peace and quiet now and then. The woods were finally doing me some good, at least the good I meant it to do. In fact, I even started to like my time spent out of the castle. Until he found me again. Well, I guess I found him this time. I started using the time to practice my magic, making daisy chains and fairy houses using only my mind. It was kind of fun, doing little girl things where nopony could see. It was quiet work, being on my own. Sometimes I'd find myself singing little ditties to myself, but stopped them as quickly as I could. I couldn't risk anypony or anything else finding me. Anyway, that day I had just finished a daisy crown, and was using my reflection in a small puddle to position it properly on my head when I heard him. This time, it wasn't his noisy movement that caught my ear, but his little voice belting a song. The only reason I don't call it singing is because... well, it definitely wasn't singing. I pass all my hours in a shady old grove, But I love not the day when I see not my love: I survey ev'ry walk now my Sunny is gone, And sigh when I think we were there all alone My cheeks instantly caught fire. He put my name in a love song? How crazy was this guy? I dropped the crown, following the sound to a grassy clearing. I snuck up a tree, inching out on a bough near him to spy on his activities. I mean, come on, if he could do it, so could I. There he was: the gangling creature who had somehow fallen in love with me. He had made himself rather comfortable on a checkered scrap of fabric, sitting upright and happily munching on a sandwich. I stifled a chuckle. This was just pathetic. He was all alone, in the middle of the woods, eating a lunch that stunk to high heaven. And just as I was realizing how sad that was, I heard a deep creaking coming from behind me. "Oh, no..." The branch snapped. I fell. I fell right onto Discord's head, his gross sandwich soaking my hair in god-knows-what. This was gonna be tough to explain. "Hey! Sunny, it's you!" Discord immediately embraced me in a suffocating hug. "Yup... m-me again..." I choked out, pawing at his arms to let me go. "I brought some lunch! You wanna eat lunch with me?" He snapped his claws and a picnic basket appeared next to him. "Didja see that?" he asked excitedly. "Uh-huh... well, my mom's expecting me back home, so--" "Aw..." Discord hung his head. "Well, at least take a snack!" He reached into the basket, rooting around for a bit before whipping out a small brown bag. "Um... what's in it?" I asked, reaching out hesitantly to take the gift. "Hay fries! I-I heard ponies really liked 'em, so..." he trailed off, then smiled brightly. "Do you like them?" I chuckled. "Yeah. Thanks, Discord." His smile grew. "Oh! Almost forgot: lemme fix your mane!" He reached over, putting both front appendages on my head. He closed his eyes, then opened them suddenly. The smell disappeared, my hair regained its volume. I looked at him funny, a smile threatening to cross my face. "Huh." "Do you really have to go?" he asked. "Mm..." I looked at him, then back the way I came. "I... I guess not." "Really? You wanna eat with me? I can make some tea, or-or anything you want!" He was so eager to please me. "I'll do anything, if you'll just be my friend... I don't have any other friends..." For the first time, I could see what I did to his little heart when I left him last time. "That's what everypony does, isn't it?" "Huh?" "Everypony does the same thing when they meet you. They act all nice, then leave. And they don't come back." He hung his head, his ears drooping. "Why?" " 'Why' what?" "Why do they do that? Do you know?" His eyes were so pleading. "I think... I think they're scared." He shrunk away, his eyes growing even larger. "S-scared? But... why?" "It's... your powers. I think they scare ponies. We can't do that stuff, not even with magic." I sniffed. "I didn't know that." "It's okay. It's not your fault," I said, still not approaching him. He sniffed again. "I didn't know." "I know." "I just... I just tried to be myself." "I know." "But then there was you... you like me, don't you? You came back. You were right, nopony's ever come back before. Why did you come back?" I shrugged. "I'm not sure..." I lied. "Is it 'cause you liked me?" I thought about that. "I think so..." His ears lifted again. "Yeah?" I smiled. "Yeah." "You'll be my friend?" He jumped up, hovering a few inches above the blanket. "I'll be your friend." He grinned, scooping me up in a huge hug. This time, I hugged him back. Because I wasn't lying, not even a little. I really did like Discord. He may have been weird and a bit of a mystery to me, but right now he was the only stable thing in my life. I could always count on him being there in the woods, doing his own little thing. I just wish I could tell him the truth... PrologueLife is hard. It's hard for everypony. One might even describe it as 'impossible' from time to time, though that particular adjective is usually reserved for parents. Something is always going wrong, or somepony is always hassling you, or you have just plain run out of luck. Of course, most ponies can wistfully dream of a charmed life full of butlers and maids and plush furniture. I've never wished for that. Not once. Never even thought about it. I, instead, wish for a small house on the outskirts of a small town. One with a tiny bedroom and a bed that creaks just like the doors and floorboards. I want a frazzled mother and a hard-working father, and maybe a scraggly dog who likes to lay in the little spot of sunlight that filters through the beat-up blinds. I want to go to school, I want to have real friends, I want to live life just like everypony else. But I know that will never happen. Not to me. I mean, I can't leave my own room without being swarmed by an army of servants. And I hate it. Sometimes I just want to be free of it all. I just want to be able to walk around town and do normal things like everypony else. It's enough to drive a mare crazy... especially a teenage mare like me. Mainly because I'm restrained. Partly because I'm going to be a princess. Take your pick. I'm pretty clever. I figured out almost immediately that since I couldn't get out of this stupid castle, I needed to pretend to be somepony completely different. And thus, Sunny Days was born. She was a polite little mare who existed purely for me to sneak away without drawing attention to myself. But Sunny seemed to draw a different type of attention. Turns out I'm actually pretty, and I became this magnet for colts. This quickly led to me avoiding the city as a whole and just making a beeline for the woods. There, I could sit in solitude and do whatever I wanted. Even there, however, I couldn't escape the boys. There was only one out there, though. An odd little creature who seemed to worship me. And he really wasn't to bad once you got to know him. I'll let you work it out from there.
A Meeting in the WoodsWell, Sunny seemed like the perfect plan. This would be the way for me to live my own life, away from over-protective parents and swiftly approaching royal duties. Of course, me being me, nothing can go right every time. I think I had picked the wrong patch of woods. I made my way out, sneaking past the guards and servants, and galloped into the hills. I lost my wings with the spell (since an alicorn would draw attention), and it was tough to get used to moving without them. I spent a good few minutes hauling myself up into a tree, and sat back against the rough bark on the trunk, listening to the birdsong. That was when the noise started. There was this faraway thumping that echoed through the hum of the forest. It sounded like something running, but the actual individual footfalls was a little off. Thump-clop-click-click, thump-clop-click-click. My snow white ears pricked at the noise and I sat forward, listening intently. The footfalls grew closer, and a strange silhouette appeared in the distance. I could not describe it if I tried. I spotted several birds take frantic wing, fluttering away from the noise-maker. "Oh, no, wait!" called a male voice. It cracked a bit when he tried to shout, and I chuckled at the femininity of it. The voice sighed, and the ungainly shape lifted off the ground without the slightest movement of wing or feet. "H-hello?" I called. The form jumped, but floated closer. I could see his shape clearly in the shadow on the leaves, but still couldn't tell you what he was. "Who are you?" the voice murmured fearfully. "Uh..." I momentarily forgot about my fake personality. "Uh... it's Sunny. Sunny Days." "That's a pretty name," the boy muttered to himself. "Are you a pony?" he asked suddenly. "Well... yeah. I'm a unicorn." "Oh... that's too bad..." "Ugh!" I huffed, standing up. "What's that supposed to mean?!" The form pushed through the branches of the tree. "I'm not a pony. I'm a draconequus. My name's Discord! What's yours?" "Y-you already..." I trailed off, staring at his various limbs. His head looked a bit like a goat, and he seemed to have a matching mane, but everything else was completely mish-mashed. "Oh! I already asked that, didn't I?" Discord landed on the branch, weighing it down to the point where I slid toward him and into his chest. Discord took the chance to run a claw through my hair. It was now a powder pink, and it hung in gentle waves around my face. "You're pretty. How old are you?" "F-fifteen..." I muttered, backing up against the trunk. Discord gasped comedically. "No way! Me, too!" "Uh-huh..." "Hey! You wanna see a really cool trick?" Discord seemed to be more than a bit distracted. "I've been practicing. It's really cool! You'll love it! Can you sing?" "Well... yeah, I guess so..." I answered, looking for a way down out of the tree. "Oh, that's great!" Discord hopped off the branch and it sprung back into place, tossing me into the air for a brief moment. "Ready? Ready? Ready?" "Mmph..." "Okay, great!" He floated next to me, raising his two front appendages (which appeared to be a lion paw and an eagle claw) in a graceful pose. He swung down quickly with both, as though conducting, and after a few swings I started to hear faint music. The birds were all singing together, the same song, a song I knew. Discord dropped his arms to his sides and turned to me. "How..." I whispered, not being able to finish the sentence. Discord shrugged. "It just works. Do you like it? Can you sing along?" "It sure is... weird," I admitted. "Come on, sing! Please?" Discord begged. I sighed. "Why should I?" "Because... because... you're really pretty... and, you know, nice... and I'd like to be friends with you," he stuttered, asking me if I wanted to be friends with him as though he were asking for my hoof in marriage. "Um..." "Oh, please?" "Well..." "Just a little, then I'll go away!" Discord clasped his paw and talons together. "I promise!" "Oh, I guess..." I could feel my cheeks getting hot already. I took a deep breath, waiting for the chorus to come around again. The mist lifts from the forest A new day has begun The sun rises And shines through the clouds And you are safe and sound. I sung softly with my eyes squeezed shut. I let my eyelids sneak open, catching a glimpse of Discord's face. He was utterly in awe, staring at me with eyes wide and mouth slightly open. "Wow..." he whispered. "Okay, I'm gonna go now." I muttered, dropping off the branch and heading away at a brisk trot. "That was beautiful!" Discord insisted, following just a few steps behind. "I'm going," I repeated. "You have an amazing voice!" "I'm going." "Well, will you come back?" "Going!" I broke into a gallop, breaking free of the heavy air of the forest. "See ya tomorrow, Sunny!" he yelled after me. And the strange thing was that I was actually thinking about it.
Acceptance? Maybe tomorrow...Even though Discord had sort of freaked me out, it didn't change the fact that I was a teen in need of freedom. I continued to become Sunny, transforming and slipping into the woods where I hid from the odd pace of the draconequus. I didn't need to have a worshiper, just a little peace and quiet now and then. The woods were finally doing me some good, at least the good I meant it to do. In fact, I even started to like my time spent out of the castle. Until he found me again. Well, I guess I found him this time. I started using the time to practice my magic, making daisy chains and fairy houses using only my mind. It was kind of fun, doing little girl things where nopony could see. It was quiet work, being on my own. Sometimes I'd find myself singing little ditties to myself, but stopped them as quickly as I could. I couldn't risk anypony or anything else finding me. Anyway, that day I had just finished a daisy crown, and was using my reflection in a small puddle to position it properly on my head when I heard him. This time, it wasn't his noisy movement that caught my ear, but his little voice belting a song. The only reason I don't call it singing is because... well, it definitely wasn't singing. I pass all my hours in a shady old grove, But I love not the day when I see not my love: I survey ev'ry walk now my Sunny is gone, And sigh when I think we were there all alone My cheeks instantly caught fire. He put my name in a love song? How crazy was this guy? I dropped the crown, following the sound to a grassy clearing. I snuck up a tree, inching out on a bough near him to spy on his activities. I mean, come on, if he could do it, so could I. There he was: the gangling creature who had somehow fallen in love with me. He had made himself rather comfortable on a checkered scrap of fabric, sitting upright and happily munching on a sandwich. I stifled a chuckle. This was just pathetic. He was all alone, in the middle of the woods, eating a lunch that stunk to high heaven. And just as I was realizing how sad that was, I heard a deep creaking coming from behind me. "Oh, no..." The branch snapped. I fell. I fell right onto Discord's head, his gross sandwich soaking my hair in god-knows-what. This was gonna be tough to explain. "Hey! Sunny, it's you!" Discord immediately embraced me in a suffocating hug. "Yup... m-me again..." I choked out, pawing at his arms to let me go. "I brought some lunch! You wanna eat lunch with me?" He snapped his claws and a picnic basket appeared next to him. "Didja see that?" he asked excitedly. "Uh-huh... well, my mom's expecting me back home, so--" "Aw..." Discord hung his head. "Well, at least take a snack!" He reached into the basket, rooting around for a bit before whipping out a small brown bag. "Um... what's in it?" I asked, reaching out hesitantly to take the gift. "Hay fries! I-I heard ponies really liked 'em, so..." he trailed off, then smiled brightly. "Do you like them?" I chuckled. "Yeah. Thanks, Discord." His smile grew. "Oh! Almost forgot: lemme fix your mane!" He reached over, putting both front appendages on my head. He closed his eyes, then opened them suddenly. The smell disappeared, my hair regained its volume. I looked at him funny, a smile threatening to cross my face. "Huh." "Do you really have to go?" he asked. "Mm..." I looked at him, then back the way I came. "I... I guess not." "Really? You wanna eat with me? I can make some tea, or-or anything you want!" He was so eager to please me. "I'll do anything, if you'll just be my friend... I don't have any other friends..." For the first time, I could see what I did to his little heart when I left him last time. "That's what everypony does, isn't it?" "Huh?" "Everypony does the same thing when they meet you. They act all nice, then leave. And they don't come back." He hung his head, his ears drooping. "Why?" " 'Why' what?" "Why do they do that? Do you know?" His eyes were so pleading. "I think... I think they're scared." He shrunk away, his eyes growing even larger. "S-scared? But... why?" "It's... your powers. I think they scare ponies. We can't do that stuff, not even with magic." I sniffed. "I didn't know that." "It's okay. It's not your fault," I said, still not approaching him. He sniffed again. "I didn't know." "I know." "I just... I just tried to be myself." "I know." "But then there was you... you like me, don't you? You came back. You were right, nopony's ever come back before. Why did you come back?" I shrugged. "I'm not sure..." I lied. "Is it 'cause you liked me?" I thought about that. "I think so..." His ears lifted again. "Yeah?" I smiled. "Yeah." "You'll be my friend?" He jumped up, hovering a few inches above the blanket. "I'll be your friend." He grinned, scooping me up in a huge hug. This time, I hugged him back. Because I wasn't lying, not even a little. I really did like Discord. He may have been weird and a bit of a mystery to me, but right now he was the only stable thing in my life. I could always count on him being there in the woods, doing his own little thing. I just wish I could tell him the truth...
PrologueLife is hard. It's hard for everypony. One might even describe it as 'impossible' from time to time, though that particular adjective is usually reserved for parents. Something is always going wrong, or somepony is always hassling you, or you have just plain run out of luck. Of course, most ponies can wistfully dream of a charmed life full of butlers and maids and plush furniture. I've never wished for that. Not once. Never even thought about it. I, instead, wish for a small house on the outskirts of a small town. One with a tiny bedroom and a bed that creaks just like the doors and floorboards. I want a frazzled mother and a hard-working father, and maybe a scraggly dog who likes to lay in the little spot of sunlight that filters through the beat-up blinds. I want to go to school, I want to have real friends, I want to live life just like everypony else. But I know that will never happen. Not to me. I mean, I can't leave my own room without being swarmed by an army of servants. And I hate it. Sometimes I just want to be free of it all. I just want to be able to walk around town and do normal things like everypony else. It's enough to drive a mare crazy... especially a teenage mare like me. Mainly because I'm restrained. Partly because I'm going to be a princess. Take your pick. I'm pretty clever. I figured out almost immediately that since I couldn't get out of this stupid castle, I needed to pretend to be somepony completely different. And thus, Sunny Days was born. She was a polite little mare who existed purely for me to sneak away without drawing attention to myself. But Sunny seemed to draw a different type of attention. Turns out I'm actually pretty, and I became this magnet for colts. This quickly led to me avoiding the city as a whole and just making a beeline for the woods. There, I could sit in solitude and do whatever I wanted. Even there, however, I couldn't escape the boys. There was only one out there, though. An odd little creature who seemed to worship me. And he really wasn't to bad once you got to know him. I'll let you work it out from there.
