"I Never Knew THAT Happened!"
"Heya there Fluttahshy! How ye're doing?" AppleJack greeted the kindly pegasus as she came into view.
"I'm fine! Have any of the others showed up yet?" Fluttershy asked, looking around the lush green fields as AppleJack shook her head as a no to her reply. It was beautiful outside, filled with splendid green trees varying from maple to white pine. The lush grass cushioned the land and small critters could be seen hopping about. The heat of summer was cooled down to an unbearably pleasant point which made even the laziest foal want to go outside.
Although, no pony else was out here in the wide expanse of green hills surrounding Ponyville, as most were simply strolling around the buildings surrounded by plenty of shade, while others played in the already founded parks down below. It was nice though, as the mane seven would finally be able to have some privacy since the events with Tirek. Many ponies swarmed them, while some stayed back because of a particular being, one with mismatched limbs and a deep regret for his doings.
No worries were in store for them, though, as most ponies had forgiven Discord, and surprisingly seemed more open and relaxed with him. Sadly, many ponies, including the mane seven, always had the instinct and feel that Discord would betray them someday, which he did. Now that it was all over, many ponies were now assured that he was truly reformed, including the mane seven. Fluttershy was truly proud of him in some ways, as she didn't see a single thing that was out of place in her journeys along the way to defeating Tirek, which meant that Discord must have caused little to no chaos at all.
"Hey guys! Look who just showed up!" Came a voice from behind her, and Fluttershy turned around in surprise, bringing herself out of her thoughts. Standing behind her was the one and only Rainbow Dash, she fastest flyer in all of Equestria. The cyan pegasus grinned as she dropped a bundle to the soft floor below. "I brought tons of snacks!" she announced.
"Well good then! Hey have ya seen anypony else comin' up along here? Maybe Twilight? 'Cause she supposed to be gettin' the checkered ol' soup blanket there." Applejack slurred with her southern accent, making Rainbow's face change to that of a confused one.
"You mean the picnic blanket?" Rainbow asked, hoofing over her bundle to Fluttershy.
"Isn't that just about what Ah said?" Applejack asked.
"Uh..." Rainbow Dash stuttered, not exactly sure of what to say. "Kind of?"
Applejack snorted and shook her head as she glared over Rainbow Dash's blasphemy. Fluttershy exchanged glances with her rainbow-maned friend as they continued to wait for the rest of their friends.
"Hey there everypony!" a few minutes later a young, strong voice came from what seemed to be the left side of the hill in the ponies' perspective. All cheered their welcome as a young purple alicorn emerged into view.
"Twilight!" Fluttershy jumped up as she rushed into her friend, embracing her fondly.
"And what about me?" Came another voice down below, as yet another figure came into view, this time as a shimmering white unicorn with a royal purple mane and tail. Fluttershy quickly let go of Twilight and jumped into her other friend, who returned the embrace lovingly.
"We've been waiting like, forever for you guys!" shouted Rainbow as she exchanged quick embraces with Twilight and Rarity.
"Ah agree, sugarcube. Ya'll took quite the time." Applejack gave a curt nod as she stepped aback to where Fluttershy's Rainbow's and her own baskets were.
"Sorry, we were just helping Pinkie for a bit before we could get here. Spike's still with her, actually." Twilight explained as she set out the blanket. "But don't worry, they'll be here soon. As for as our last attendant, does anybody know where Discord is?" she added.
"Oh, he's just a bit busy with Celestia; he told me he was going to be a bit late in our latest letter." Fluttershy explained as she set out Rainbow's bundle of snacks after hers.
"Oh really? You two still do letters?" Rarity inquired.
"Why of course we do!" Fluttershy exclaimed looking up at her pristine friend. "Why wouldn't he?"
"I...really don't know darling, it just seems like you've been doing it for so long. Meaning of which, hasn't it been almost half a year now since his's reformation?" Rarity faltered with her own reasons, quickly deciding to change the subject.
"Yeah, maybe we should celebrate!~" a bouncy pink earth pony appeared from the opposite side that Rarity and Twilight had come up on along with a purple baby dragon by the name of Spike.
"Pinkie! Spike! What took you so long?" Rainbow asked as she glanced over two dishes hidden by a rounded metal cover. "And what's in those?"
"Oh it's-" Spike began, but was muffled by Pinkie, who had somehow gotten her dish on her head and held her hoof over Spike as she whispered loud enough for everybody to hear.
"Spike, it's a secret!" Pinkie shushed him as Spike gulped and slowly nodded. Twilight and the others stifled giggles as they set their surprise dishes in their places and sat down.
"So you guys, what's next? Do we dig in?" Rainbow Dash asked, looking hungrily over at all the sweets and sours on the blanket. Lemon drops, bon-bons, carrots, salads, and more, but yet there was something missing as she looked deeper into the meal.
"Of course not! We must wait for everypony before we 'dig in'," Rarity harrumphed, pouring herself a cup of tea but yet not drinking a single drop. Rainbow sighed, and Spike flushed as his stomach growled.
"Hello!" rang a deep voice from above. Looking up with wide eyes all the seven beings saw the one and only Discord as he slowly floated down to the large space in between Twilight and Fluttershy.
"Hey there, Discord!" Twilight greeted him as she settled himself down beside her. The others also welcomed greetings and Discord let out a chuckle as he set his plate which he had been carrying in it's place next to the salads.
'That's what was missing. Discord's cucumber sandwiches was what was missing!' thought Rainbow Dash as she glances over the appetizer, and noticed how neatly they were assembled. It actually looked like he spent time to make this batch, which he probably had, along with everypony else.
"You know," Discord went on, disrupting Rainbow's complete attention to the food in front of her. "Our relationship has changed so much in only such a short time."
"Really?" Rarity asked. "How so?"
"Well," Discord began. "Before the whole, er, incident with Tirek, you all would practically scream at me whenever I showed up. I even watched you as you all showed more courtesy with each other than with me." Discord chuckled and many faces flushed slightly red with embarrassment at his comment.
"Well, ya were quite obnoxious back then, Discord," AppleJack said as she exchanged glances with Rainbow Dash, who couldn't stop herself from snorting in laughter.
Now it was his turn to go hot pink with embarrassment. "Well of course, I was! Even though, I could get a bit out of control sometimes..."
"It's okay," Fluttershy gently nudged him. "We all can go a bit...overboard sometimes." she assured him, remembering the time when she had literally screamed at her own two friends Rarity and Pinkie Pie, which brought her to giggle at her past follies. Discord pouted with confusion, but dismissed the thought as he slightly leaned forward to take a look at all the goodies stashed there.
"My, my, this could last me for weeks! Or...maybe just one. It's hard to tell." Discord commented as he inspected each lemon-drop and cut of carrot. Rarity gave a curt nod.
"Indeed," she spoke. "But, it's better to have left-overs at times, don't you think?" Everypony gave agreements and Rainbow jumped up into the air with sudden excitement.
"Does this mean we get to eat now?" she asked, as she brought her practically-drooling self back down to admire the lusciousness
"I guess, sure!" Twilight nodded as she looked around.
"Oh wait! I forgot!" Spike suddenly hopped up as he dug into Twilight's saddlebag, bringing up a handful of plates in one hand and utensils in the other.
"Oh yeah! How could we eat without plates! Duh, we can't!" Pinkie bonked her head with sudden realization as she giggled to herself.
"Thank you, Spikey-Wikey," Rarity patted the top of his head as Spike gently set down her main course plate, fork, knife, and spoon, causing him to stifle an immature giggle.
Soon enough, everypony had their plates full and began to dig in, Rainbow Dash practically shoving it all in at once. For once, Discord and Rarity exchanged disgusted glances as they both looked on at the piggy pony. Rainbow noticed this and flushed red as she brushed herself off with her napkin.
"Uh, sorry," she apologized, looking rather at Pinkie than Rarity, Discord, or Twilight.
"Jeez Rainbow, when did you learn to eat like that?" Spike retorted, stuffing another sandwich into his mouth.
"Says who!" deadpanned Rainbow as she jumped up and grabbed Spike, giving him a nookie and causing him to laugh with stuffed cheeks.
"Okay you guys, stop it!" Twilight cut in as the others joined in with the laughter. After a few moments everypony settled down again and this time, both Rainbow and Spike ate more carefully.
"So," Pinkie Pie began. "How are we gonna celebrate almost half a year since Discord got reformed? Or is this how we're gonna celebrate it?" Pinkie grabbed a bon-bon after finishing her cucumber sandwich and popped it into her mouth as she spoke, pondering the subject.
This caused Discord to stammer with sudden distress. "Oh, I wouldn't need it, Pinkie, I think I'm just fine!"
"Why so, Discord?" Rarity asked.
"Everypony's forgiven ya. What's to be afraid of?" AppleJack joined in, causing a multitude of others questions to pop up in spoken form.
"I'm kind of celebrating something else right now, as you can say," Discord admitted, face showing slight sudden regret at the information he just gave way.
"Ooh! Is it your birthday? Don't tell me it's your birthday!" Pinkie screeched.
"No no, it's not my birthday, I can assure you...and...and I'm not really celebrating," Discord avoided his friend's curious eyes as he awkwardly twiddled his thumbs. No, he wasn't used to situations like this. "It's a bit more on a personal level, I'll say that for sure."
"Oh? Is it-Celestia forbid-a funeral, then?" Rarity pressed, scooting closer to Discord. Discord didn't answer, which made her gleaming white snout turn down in a frown. "It is a funeral, isn't it then, dear?"
Discord finally looked up at all his friends again, surprised to find them so much closer to him now than before. Even Spike had moved over to his side. The draconeqqus heaved a sigh, closed his eyes, and solemnly nodded, changing his mood completely.
"Oh dear, poor thing!" Fluttershy cried.
"Truly sorry, darling," Rarity frowned.
"Ah know what ya feel, Discord," AppleJack sighed.
All these quotes and more brought Discord to snap his eyes open once more. He hadn't expected so much care or sympathy from them for someone like himself. 'But,' Discord thought. 'I guess it's just a part of friendship.' He felt multiple hooves surround him as he realized that everypony had given him one, big hug. A smile creeping onto his face, he squeezed them back and finally, they separated and sat back down.
"Now, if you want to tell us, we'll be there," Rarity assured.
"Yeah!" Cheered Rainbow, Pinkie, and Spike.
Slowly, silence settled upon all as they refocused their attention on Discord.
"Well," he began. "You guys do know that, well, I'm the only one left of my kind, don't you?"
"Mm-hmm!" Pinkie hummed.
"Yep," Spike nodded.
"Read it in legends." Twilight told.
"Well, it wasn't...always that way," Discord scoffed, but he continued. "I had parents too, a family, friends..." Discord trailed off, leaving his friends with solemn yet curious faces.
"Ugh, let me start over." Discord shook himself and looked down into Fluttershy's deep aqua eyes. "Now, do you really think my name is just 'Discord'?"
"Um, maybe?" Fluttershy shrugged.
Discord chuckled. "Well, I guess that's my fault. See, I didn't used to call myself 'Lord' for no reason, you know. I was born into royalty myself, and every one in the royal family was to be named after a god. Because I was just that rare type with every limb being from different animals, my parents named me by my full name as Discordius Eidas Drostconne"
"Dros-what-what?" Rainbow asked, making a face.
"DROST-CON-AE. Drostconne. My middle name comes from my grandfather, the god of wisdom." Discord frowned with frustration at Rainbow's broken attention. "It's easy, really!"
"Uh..." Rainbow droned on until she was nudged by AppleJack. "Ouch!"
"Never mind." Discord grumbled through gritted teeth. "Shall I continue? Or am I boring you?"
"Nonsense! Keep going," Rarity encouraged, nodding.
"Mmph..fine." Discord muttered and cleared his throat. "Well, I'll skip ahead to the interesting parts. I was only twenty one years old at the time, after living quite a happy life with my mother, Athena, the kind and beautiful god of war, and Loki-"
"-the trickster god!" Twilight interrupted. "I've read about him, but I never knew he was naturally a draconeqqus!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Well, not exactly naturally, but...coincidentally, the god you are named after is the one you have the powers of, along with regular draconeqqus magic. Same with the personalities at times. My father and I would used to...play pranks on others when I was little," Discord gave a strange smile as memories flooded back to him. "It was fun for us only, really," he smirked.
The others exchanged glances before Discord cleared his throat and started again.
"Ahem, as I was saying, it was only a few days before my very own coronation, as I would soon become king of my kind once I found somepony to love. Until then, I would simply be getting more responsibilities." Discord almost gagged at the word before continuing. "I remember seeing your pony kind first move here bickering and arguing-" he mocked the ponies with his hands. "-but not daring to go inside the Ever Free Forest, and I thought I was safe. You know, you make the Ever Free sound scary but it's really not. Until you moved here, the sun moved on it's on, and so did the moon, the winter wrapped up itself, and clouds moved slowly on their own. It was...normal. Yes, strange for me to like it but it was. I remember the days as it began to get colder and colder as you ponies continued to bicker, until finally a giant snow storm was formed, killing the weak first, then going for the tougher ones..."
By this time Discord finally gave a shudder as the cruel memories got to him He remembered seeing his own kin die and yet he couldn't do anything about it because the ponies were no where to be found. Everypony was consumed in shock and interest at Discord's personal confession and sympathetically whispered encouragement to him, all there for him.
Finally Discord pulled himself straight. "Soon, there were only a handful of us left...we were starving, and had barely any energy to provide ourselves with food...all until it was just my parents and I..."
His eyes were watery yet no tears shone through. Even so, his expression was sad with a splatter of longing. "Using all of their strength, they cast one final spell on me...sending me back to the age of two...they collapsed, and I couldn't hear any heartbeat...t-they..." Discord cringed with sadness as another memory came to him.
"Passed on. And then it finally came...if only we lasted longer....the harmonizing spell brought back all the lush greens, and I-" Discord sat up slightly as a weak smirk came across his face. "I...had to investigate, of course." Giving them a final squeeze, Discord shook his friends off and they each stepped back to return to their original places, but still keeping close.
"You wouldn't believe my luck or pure irony. Twilight, do you know who Queen Staria is?" Discord asked as he pawed as his eyes, shaking himself of his emotions.
"Yes! She is the goddess of the sun and the moon, believed to be the mother of Princess Celestia and Luna. Why?" Twilight asked, curious with confusion at the mention of the great god.
"Why, she was the pony I stumbled on. After you ponies found your harmony, she came over to lead your kind in those rebuilding and vulnerable times, and well, seems like she was having a nice stroll around the Everfree and she seemed to have simply stumbled into me. I found out later on as she took me in, that she had two beautiful daughters who I would grow up with later on..." Discord turned to look over to Fluttershy, a full grin etched on his face. "Can you guess who they are?"
"Ooh! I know! I know! Princess Celestia and Princess Luna!" Pinkie sprang up as she flopped her fore hoof around the air. "Am I right?"
"Quite," Discord beamed, and many of the ponies of the crowd gasped.
"Wow, really?" gawked Fluttershy. "What were they like?"
"Were the Princesses always so awesome?" asked Rainbow, jumping up from her seat.
"I've never really gotten my hooves on details about the Princesses' early lives! Even so, I never knew you grew up with them!" Twilight cheered, searching over her mind for any information on the subject.
"Did the Princesses like cake? I hope they did! Cause it sure does seem that Celestia has a big whoop with-" Pinkie was interrupted by Spike as he jumped up only a few inches from her face, screaming:
"That's so cool, Discord!"
As he was overwhelmed with questions Discord chuckled to himself at the girls' shouts of wonder. He raised a claw for silence, but when they continued to babble, Discord put on a sharp glare until they all settled down.
"Well, they were quite fun, and I remember getting along with them very well. Tia and Lu-Lu weren't so serious back then, I'll tell you that. Which brings me to another thing. Do you know how before the Tree of Harmony was formed, there was no such thing as the Elements of Harmony?" Discord quizzed, and once he became satisfied by the number of agreements and sharp nods, Discord continued. "Well, back then I was the representation of harmony between all beings, giving a positive look to all my different limbs...as hard as it may be to believe." Discord admitted with a wince, this was definitely embarrassing compared to what he was known for.
Silence.
"Really?" Rainbow asked, her face full with disbelief.
"Yes, really." Discord deadpanned as he brought his claws up to massage his temples. "Is it really that hard to believe?" Discord thought it through yet again.
"Well," Rarity began as she tried to stifle a giggle. The others agreed with snorts of concealed laughter.
"Ugh, anyways. So, as you might guess, I grew up with respect in the town, something....something I...haven't had in a while." Discord face turned into a scowl as the memories of his treatment rushed up to meet him. "I was just a couple years older than you girls when I was yet again betrayed by your pony kind." the draconeqqus scowled, hating the feeling. "Twilight, do you know who Starswirl the Bearded is?" he asked through gritted teeth.
"Yes! He was the great magic user in all of Equestria back then! He was the one who guided ponies to using more powerful and constructive spells!" Suddenly Discord's face was pressed against her's, his temper increasing to an incredible height.
"Who said he was the only one who helped Equestria establishing it's magical grounds? I helped him on an on for hours! I considered him my friend until he betrayed me, and made me feared by all of my friends! How...How many times can you ponies do this to me?" Discord gaze softened, and he leaned back. Fury still showed in his eyes though as he glared on.
"Starswirl the Bearded was the one who cast a spell on me many years ago which made me release all my powers at once, making the whole world filled with chaos until I could once again regain slight control. Really, that's what I can do, and more, trust me. Yet I didn't know this until later on when Celestia and Luna told me that he couldn't simply fight the urge, as he knew that it lead to my destiny. Which I still don't know, even though I've lived quite a time to you ponies..." Discord remained unmoved and the other seven almost died with suspension.
"W-What happened next, Discord?" Twilight dared as she cautiously laid a hoof on her friend's shoulder.
"I got broken to pieces, Twilight," Discord retorted, a large frown covering a good portion of his crooked face. "Luna's later corruption was surely awful, but nothing to what I felt I had to go through..." Discord finally drooped slightly, but still remained vigil. "If you think when I all corrupted you those two years was bad, imagine that except everypony hated you, that they hated you so much after an accident you didn't even cause that they kicked you out of your own home. How would you feel?" Discord asked as he waited for his friend's answer.
"So basically what you're telling us is that everypony hated you so much but Staria didn't do anything about it and just let you get thrown out?" Spike asked.
"No, not like that! You see, Queen Staria left us and returned to her goddess form a little after Celestia and Luna got their cutiemarks. Tia and her little sister had tried to do everything they could but the public eventually overran them. It's funny how one could change so quickly against their friends." Discord explained, trying to clear the confusion.
"We're so sorry, Discord," came a sudden whisper as Discord felt a pair of arms wrap around him, and recognized the voice as of that of the kind little pegasus Fluttershy. Soon enough, he felt bundled by the amount of pairs around him and almost gave a roll of his eyes with all their warmth and pure fuzzy friendship.
"Yes, well, unless you want to hear about my story about going mad and getting imprisoned in stone for a thousand years, I'll have to hold that for another time, sorry." Discord finally returned the hug as they finally settled to their original places at the beginning of the picnic.
"Sorry?" Rainbow escaped from the bundle of hugs. "That story was awesome! To bad we can't really tell anybody else, Discord, I'll bet they love it too, even though it's, like, super personal!"
"Really now?" asked Discord, surprised. He finally grabbed another sandwich and began eating again, a confused look on his face. "I never would think so," he spoke with disbelief. "Not with all I've done."
"Why, it was so emotional, darling! Really, the whole thing brings a tear to my eye! Such a tragedy!" Rarity agreed as she wiped her eyes.
"How did you even manage to get through it all? I mean, I would be super sad if I saw Limestone or Marble die! Not to mention Maud!" Pinkie whined.
"Marble? Limestone? Who are they?" Spike asked.
"My other sisters, silly! Didn't you ever see my first party picture?" Pinkie asked.
"Yeah, I did! Wow Pinkie, if those are your sister, then you're really different, and I mean like REALLY-Ow!" Spike frowned as Applejack withdrew her gentle yet stern orange hoof from the back of his scaly purple head.
"Spike," she scolded. "You got none to talk like that, ya hear?"
"But-" Spike potested.
"No buts Spike, I can tell you were about to say something not that nice. You should try to think more often before you speak." Twilight agreed.
Discord let out an amused chuckle as he motioned over Spike with his tail, his mood having changed back to a merry one. "For goodness's sake, give him a break! Here-" Discord whispered into Spike's ear and the baby dragon's eyes glowed with excitement.
"Okay, I'll meet you there!" Spike cheered, and went, giggling, over to sit down by Twilight. Twilight exchanged glances with Rarity and AppleJack before grabbing another helping of salad herself.
"Hey! You didn't answer my question!" Pinkie pouted.
"Oh? Well, I didn't really manage, Pinkie, I really didn't...as I said, I basically shattered. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to change into my old self but..." he glanced over his loving, caring, best friends. "that...that could change." Discord revealed a bright, shiny flash of his teeth as he grinned almost maliciously. "Apologies for being so sappy today," he gagged as he changed the subject of the conversation. "-but I want to let you know that this conversation was an important one; I'm glad we had it."
"Of course, darling." Rarity smiled as she sipped at her cup, then practically spit it back out. "Ugh! It's cold!" she shouted as she dumped out the old and filled in with the new.
"We would do anything for our friends!" Fluttershy exclaimed, giving Discord a quick embrace. The draconeqqus smiled as he stretched out and cracked his back, having been sitting in the same position made his musles tense and tired.
"Yeah, I'm really happy for you, Discord. You really have a lot in common with another-erm-creature we reformed. You see, I went to another dimension and deafeated one girl who used to be a pony named Sunset Shimmer. Now she writes to me all the time and is well on her way to making good friends, just like you are. I mean, she even helped me defeat these siren girls!" Twilight grinned. "It's another memory I'll never forget."
"I suppose so," Discord looked down at his suddenly messy fingers and quickly wiped them off, just now realising how much he actually ate. "Although, I...want to move off the topic, this is supposed to be a fun day, so let's try to be a bit more positive, hmm?" Discord turned towards his friends, his usually joyous personality fully returning.
"Well, I do have another set of liner design dresses coming out next week," Rarity suggested.
"Ah'm going over to Applecon next moon," AppleJack explained.
"I heard Cheese Sandwhich is coming over to Ponyville next Friday!" Pinkie sqealed.
"Ooh, really? That's awesome!" Rainbow gasped.
"He really did throw the awesomest party ever for Rainbow!" Spike agreed.
As the others continued to babble on about their personal activities, Discord looked off toward the Everfree, where he could just make out a few dots of grey in between all the greens. Excusing himself, he took off, soaring through the bright blue skies until he landed on familiar ground. He looked around, the desolate buildings coming to life with every touch until he could almost make out his friends and parents standing before him once more, giving encouraging smiles. The images went away too quickly, and Discord tried helplessly to grasp them as they faded away. Emotions got the best of him though, as he finally let himself get somber now that he was alone.
"You're the last one, Discord, simply face the facts already," Discord scolded himself, but then he looked toward the lush greens hills by where he could barely make out his dearest friends, and slowly a smile crept on his face. "But..I'll never be truly alone again now that I have my friends." Discord whispered to himself, acting out of his normal ways and becoming truly sincere with every word.
"And I know I'll always be there for them just like they are for me."
Discord was done with his business here and he jumped up as he took off into the cloudless sky. Meanwhile, two pairs of eyes watched him from the shadows, nothing but joyous smiles etched on their otherwise-hidden faces.
"He's alive," said one. "Our son has returned!"
Author's Note
Dun Dun DUUUNNNNN!
Cool story eh? I loved writing this one, and albeit it's in the same universe as the main cast and isn't exactly connected with my Unexpected series, you can all pretty much make the ties. I tried to be more descriptive on this one, and I added the brief mentioning of the Dazzlings as I have just watched Rainbow Rocks in theaters on the day it released, which was also coincidentally my birthday!
As for a sequel there might be one someday, if I ever get the motivation to write it!
Have a fun and splendid day,
Evia the Unicorn~
