Fluttershy vs. Rock
Fluttershy and Discord were having their weekly get-together over a nice cup of tea, exchanging news about what both had been up to during the week when Discord caught sight of something glittering in the distance.
“I wonder what that might be?” He asked, glancing toward the direction of the sparkling object, and then added, “I better go have a look!”
And with that he sped off to inspect the foreign object, leaving poor Fluttershy alone at the table with the tea and refreshments.
“But Discord!” she started, leaving the table and hurrying after him, “What about our tea date?”
Discord was either too far ahead to hear Fluttershy at that point, or else didn't care to answer her. Fluttershy couldn't tell which but in any case she continued to chase after him until he stopped in front of a large rock with white quartz crystal pieces sticking out of it. Fluttershy walked up to the where the rock and discord were and watched as he circled around the formation, making a big fuss about its ‘infinite value’ and ‘great potential’.
Fluttershy wasn’t sure what they big deal was about but she wanted to be polite so she said, “Um, that’s a lovely rock you've got there. Maybe we could bring it back with us to my place and you could take it home with you after we have tea.”
Without taking his eyes off his new discovery Discord said, “Oh dear I am not going back to have tea today. Not after making THIS discovery. I think I've found my new besty!”
And with that Discord hugged the rock.
Fluttershy’s lip quivered a bit when she said, “But...I thought I was your best friend.”
Discord continued to hug the rock and said, “Oh yes, yes. You are still my friend. But after finding this…I would have to say it is going to be in first place for quite a while. Oh the fun the two of us are going to have together! In fact, we should get started getting acquainted right now! Come on Rocky!”
Discord snapped his fingers and the rock turned into a smaller, more portable version of its former self. He was about to teleport himself back to his place but Fluttershy rushed in front of him at the last moment and said, “But…what about tea?”
Discord momentarily halted his dimensional travel and said, “Oh that’s right. I am terribly sorry dear. We will have to catch up some other time. Rocky and I need some time to get to know one another. You do understand don’t you dear?”
“Well yes, but…”
“Oh good, then I will see you next time. Goodbye to you!”
And with that, Discord teleported away, his new pet rock grasped firmly in his hands. Fluttershy was left alone on the grassy knoll with her thoughts.
“Well, I better put away the tea and refreshments then,” she said, feeling disappointed that her tea date had been cut short.
Later that day, Fluttershy caught up with Rainbow Dash at the local watering hole. Dash was practicing her swimming strokes while Fluttershy was sitting on the bank of the watering hole, watching her swim along. Fluttershy filled Dash in about what had taken place earlier at her weekly tea date which was met by a hearty laugh from her friend.
“He left you hanging...for a rock? I know that Discord is weird but…that seems like a bit much.”
Fluttershy sighed.
“Well he did have a lot of catching up to do since he just met it. And that rock did look very interesting. Oh but I hope it didn't look too interesting. What if he really does become best friends with the rock and stops coming to our weekly tea parties?”
Rainbow Dash promptly stopped swimming and flapped her wings. She shook her body off as she rose up into the sky and headed to where Fluttershy was sitting on the bank of the waterhole.
“Well,” she began as she walked up to Fluttershy, “Are you just going to let that rock move in and take what’s yours? I say that you should challenge that rock for Discord’s friendship. If the rock wins, you will agree to let it be Discord’s new best friend. But if you win, then that rock has to back off and head back to where it came from. What do you say?”
Fluttershy tapped her two front hooves together nervously.
“Oh…I don’t know. Can’t we all be friends? I could just invite them both to tea and…”
Rainbow dash cut Fluttershy off before she could finish.
“You can all be friends? Do you even hear what you are saying? It’s a rock! As in solid, hard…doesn’t even have a personality. This isn’t about making friends. This is about showing Discord that he can’t just abandon his true friends for an inanimate object! Really, the more I think about it, the angrier I get. Come on Fluttershy. We are going to find Discord and set him straight.”
“But Rainbow I…”
“No buts about it! We are finding Discord right now!”
Rainbow nudged Fluttershy forward and then pulled her away from the waterhole to find Discord. They visited all of the usual places he hung out at; the Everfree Forest, Zecora’s hut, Twilight Sparkle’s newly built castle, and the area behind Fluttershy’s backyard but he was nowhere to be found.
“Huh.” Said Rainbow Dash, rubbing her chin in thought.
“I guess he really did go home. Well, we will just have to bother him there. Now where did you say he lives again?”
“Well,” Fluttershy began, “He lives in a parallel universe actually. But he gave me this device that lets me go there any time I like.”
Fluttershy pulled out a purple crystal looking object she had tucked into a comb storage unit fastened to her tail.
“See? Apparently if I say his name three times it will take me to his home. But I've never used it before. I mean, I don’t want to bother Discord on the days he doesn't come to Equestria. And today wouldn't be a good day to use it as he met a new friend and he must be ever so busy getting acquainted with him. So I’ll just put this away and…”
Before Fluttershy could put away the crystal Rainbow Dash grabbed it out of her hands and sighed.
“No Fluttershy, we are seeing this through until the end. You said that we have to say his name three times right? Well I am saying it. Discord, Discord, Discord!”
Before Fluttershy could protest, the two were transported to a strange place where the ground was made out of a giant chess board and the trees were floating above the ground. The sky was orange and most of the landscape including the hills and other terrain also floated above the chess board-like structure.
“Yep, this definitely looks like the place Discord lives alright.” Said Rainbow Dash, searching for anything that resembled the house Discord lived in.
Fluttershy looked around the surreal landscape as well, trying to remember what Discord had told her about his house. Then she remembered he had said something about it being behind a tree.
“Rainbow Dash,” said Fluttershy, surveying the landscape, “Look for a tree that looks different than the others.”
“Different huh?” Dash answered, seeing if any of the trees did indeed stand out.
She did her best to find the weirdest looking tree in the landscape, although that was admittedly a difficult task as all of the trees were a little strange. Some had many tentacle-like branches, others were covered with fur instead of leaves and there were even those that grew unusual things like cupcakes or hotdogs.
“They all look weird to me,” said Dash, not really seeing one tree that stuck out among the others.
Fluttershy nodded and continued to scout the landscape. She noticed after a while of looking at many different kinds of trees that they all seemed to face in one direction. That is all of them except a blue polka-dot covered tree in the center. It almost appeared to be pointing down.
“I think I found something,” mentioned Fluttershy as she made her way toward the tree. Rainbow Dash followed briskly behind.
The two stopped in front of the large, towering tree with blue fur and stared up at it.
“Now what?’ Rainbow asked, trying to look for an entrance of some kind.
“I think we walk through it. You know, like a door.” Answered Fluttershy, slowly making her way toward the tree trunk to see if her theory would work. Sure enough, she was able to stick one hoof through the tree.
“Whoa,” said Dash, “That’s pretty awesome. Well, let’s get going then.”
And she nudged Fluttershy through the portal entrance, walking through and joining her once she was on the other side.
They ended up inside of a strange house with all kinds of knickknacks, mismatched furniture items, and displaced items strewn about. Other items were floating about in the air around them.
No sooner had they arrived, the two heard what sounded like someone moving around in the next room.
“It looks like we've found him,” said Dash, walking in the direction of the noise. Fluttershy followed cautiously behind her.
Sure enough, Discord was in the next room which appeared to be something like a dining room and kitchen all combined into one. It had all of the familiar items of a kitchen like a stove for example but also had a dining room table.
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes when she saw that the rock Discord must have picked up earlier was pushed up to one end of the table with a bowl of soup placed in front of it. Fluttershy noticed that it had been returned to its original size. Discord was at the stove cooking all sorts of side dishes to go with the soup like green beans and mashed potatoes. When he noticed the footsteps of new visitors entering his domain he whipped around with one of the kitchen spoons in his hand and boomed, “Who dares disturb the Lord of Chaos in his own home? Soon you will suffer my…oh, hello Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy.”
Discord laughed nervously and returned to finishing up the rest of the meal to place on the table. Dash and Fluttershy watched as he put the final touches on the rest of the dishes and placed them on the center of the table, next to a large pot of soup. When everything was in place, he gestured for Dash and Fluttershy to join him at the table.
“Now that you are here, you two might as well join me for lunch as well. Come take a seat next to Rocky.”
He gestured to two seats position on either side of the rock. Fluttershy took the seat on the right while Dash took the seat on the left. When they sat down, Discord served them each a plate with green beans, mashed potatoes, and gave them each two bowls of soup. He served himself and then sat next to Fluttershy at the table.
“Don’t be shy girls, eat as much as you like,” Discord said before shoveling a few spoonfuls of mashed potatoes into his mouth.
Dash exchanged glances with Fluttershy and then said, “Um, we didn't really come here to eat. We want to know why you are making such a big deal over that rock.”
She shot Rocky a look who noticeably hadn't touched his food since it had been placed in front of him.
“Rock?” Asked, Discord, a bit confused. “Oh you must mean Rocky. A cheeky fellow isn't he? I am so glad that I ran into him today. It has been ages since the last time I ran into his kind. It was the days of Star Swirl the Bearded wasn’t it?”
Here he paused as if listening for Rocky to answer. He nodded a few times and continued, “Oh yes, it was a little bit after that when his kind was found all over Equestria. Thank you for reminding me.”
Discord took a few more bites and Fluttershy took a few bites from her own meal. Rainbow raised an eyebrow in her direction and Fluttershy shrugged.
“We might as well eat since we are here. Discord did work hard to cook everything.”
Dash let out a heavy sigh and took a few bites of her own meal which she had to admit wasn’t too bad. The three ate in silence for a few moments and then Dash asked, “What do you mean ‘his kind’? It just looks like a normal rock to me.”
Discord let out a dramatic gasp.
“Oh heaven’s no. Rocky is a Rock Knoll. He is just like you or I. Isn't he grand?”
Dash finished up the remaining food on her plate and gave Rocky a look from top to bottom. She noticed at that moment that the food on his plate had disappeared.
“What…happened to Rocky’s food?” Dash asked, surprised that it was missing.
Discord chuckled.
“Oh he must have eaten it all. Rocky, do you want seconds?”
Discord paused to listen and then shrugged.
“Well suit yourself.”
Fluttershy had just finished her own plate so Discord asked, “Would you girls like seconds?”
The two declined so Discord snapped his fingers. After he snapped them the entire spread on the table including the main course and side dishes disappeared in a flash.
“Cleanup is always such a hassle, wouldn't you agree?”
He said as he made a rag appear and started whipping the table with it.
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes.
“Yeah. So much work.”
“Isn't that the truth,” said Discord, snapping his fingers once more and making all of the dishes on the stove disappear as well.
With their meal finished, Fluttershy sat up from her chair at the dining room table and examined Rocky from all four sides. There didn't appear to me anything out of the ordinary about him, save the fact that he had quartz crystals sticking out of various crevices situated around his body.
“How do you communicate with him?” She asked, trying to find distinguishing features of some sort.
“Usually I can talk to all sorts of creatures but I can’t seem to understand Rocky’s language at all.”
Discord snapped his fingers and a yellow crystal appeared in his hand.
“Why with this of course. It allows me to communicate with the Rock Knolls. Why don’t you give it a try?”
Discord handed the yellow crystal to Fluttershy. As soon as she grasped the crystal in her hooves she started to hear a gravely kind of voice speaking behind her.
“Tell them that I have been talking to you this entire time. Really. Didn't they ever go to school? My kind can pretty much be found everywhere.”
Fluttershy realized that the gravelly voice was coming from somewhere inside of the rock.
“Oh my. You HAVE been talking. We just haven’t, been listening. I’m ever so sorry.”
Rainbow Dash looked around the room, confused to what was going.
“Who has been talking? I don’t hear anything.”
Fluttershy handed Dash the crystal. Immediately, Dash heard Rocky’s graveling voice mutter, “Boy it sure takes you two a while to catch onto things doesn't it?”
When she heard Rocky talk she nearly dropped the crystal onto the floor but caught it at the last moment.
“It…it CAN talk.”
Dash handed the crystal back to Fluttershy and walked around the rock, inspecting it from every angle.
“How does it do that?”
Discord snapped his fingers and something like a university professors’ robe and hat appeared on his body and head. He pulled down a chart seemingly out of thin air and pointed at a picture of a rock that looked similar to Rocky but with purple crystals sticking out of it.
“Simply put, it can talk because it is alive. All of these kinds of rocks around Equestria are known as Rock Knolls. They were very well-known during the days of Star Swirl the Bearded but these days not too many creatures in Equestria bother with their kind. It is probably due to the language barrier. But what makes Rock Knolls unique is that each one is a little power source. And one of their crystals has enough energy to power an entire city. That is why they were well-known in the old days. Princess Celestia would ask the Rock Knolls to give them some of their crystals which are easily removed and can grow back instantly in exchange for land. That is why you find them all over the world these days.”
His explanation given, he rolled up the chart and after snapping his fingers, both the pull down chart and his new set of clothes disappeared.
Rainbow Dash stopped circling around Rocky and gave Discord a suspicious look.
“I guess that explains why you've been talking to a rock. But something still seems off about all of this. What makes you so interested in being friends with Rocky anyway? It couldn't be because you want to use him for his power source or something could it?”
Discord put on the most innocent look he could manage.
“Who? Little old me? Why Rainbow Dash, I am surprised you would even suggest such a thing. Fluttershy has just been doing such a good job teaching me about the magic of friendship that I decided to become best friends with Rocky.”
Rainbow Dash frowned.
“You can’t decide to just make someone you recently met your best friend. At the very least you should agree to be both of their best friends. Which reminds me why Fluttershy and I came here in the first place.”
Rainbow Dash pointed at Rocky and Fluttershy and said, “Fluttershy is going to go head to head with Rocky in a friendship competition. If she wins, you have to agree to be both of their best friends. If she loses, you can make Rocky your best friend. But in any case, we will still be keeping an eye on you. We don’t trust whatever plan you have with Rocky. Isn't that right Fluttershy?”
Fluttershy handed the yellow crystal back to Discord, who gladly accepted it, and shrunk into herself.
“Well actually, I don’t mind if Discord wants to be best friends with Rocky. And I don’t think he is going to do anything bad. So we can just go back home…”
Fluttershy tried to sneak off but Rainbow Dash blocked her way.
“Oh no you don’t. We are seeing this through to the end. What do you say Discord?”
Discord rubbed his chin, deep in thought and then said, “That might not be a bad idea. I’m kind of new to this whole friendship thing and holding a competition is the perfect way of sorting out who I should call my best friend. Alright then, what kind of competition should we hold?”
Rainbow dash raised one of her hooves up in victory.
“All right! Fluttershy is total going to dominate this competition because she can actually, oh I don’t know, MOVE.”
Dash shot Rocky a look and then continued on.
“Rocky and Fluttershy should each be given a test about how well they know you. To make things fair we all need to be able to understand one another. Do you happen to have any more of those crystals lying around?”
Discord shook his head.
“I’m afraid not. However, I do know a spell that will make us all understand one another. Here goes.”
Discord said the words ‘Translatus Rockus” and snapped his fingers. At that moment, both Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash could hear the gravelly voice of Rocky say, “You should have just done that from the beginning.”
Discord shrugged.
“It must have slipped my mind. Anyway, shall we get started?”
Rainbow Dash nodded and gestured for Fluttershy to sit next to Rocky at the Table. Fluttershy cautiously took a seat next to the rock knoll as Rainbow Dash gestured for Discord to sit next to Fluttershy. As Discord took his seat, Dash sat next to Rocky on the opposite side.
“Alright,” Rainbow Dash began, “I am going to ask each one of you three questions about Discord. You have five minutes to answer each one. The person who answers the most questions correctly wins the competition. Are you two ready?”
Both Rocky and Fluttershy said ‘Yes’ at the same time.
“Good. Then we will start with you Rocky. What is Discord’s favorite color?”
Rocky immediately replied, “That’s easy. He told me that when I first got here. He likes the color green.”
“Is that correct?”
Discord nodded.
“That is indeed correct. One point for Rocky!”
“Yes, that is one point for Rocky. All right, now we will move to you Fluttershy. What is Discord favorite kind of tea?”
Fluttershy gave a big smile and said, “Oh I know this one. Discord likes mint tea. He requests it every week at teatime.”
“Is that correct?”
Discord smiled.
“Yes indeed. That is one point for you Fluttershy!”
Rainbow did a hoof pump.
“That’s my girl! Now for the second question. Rocky, what is Discord’s favorite type of music?”
Rocky chuckled.
“That is another easy one. When I first came here, Discord told me that he liked Jazz.”
Dash wrinkled her nose.
“Really Discord?”
Discord nodded.
“That is indeed correct. One point for Rocky!”
Rainbow stuck out her tongue and then said, “Well, to each their own. One point for rocky. Now it is your turn Fluttershy. What is Discord’s favorite place in all of Equestria?”
Fluttershy thought for a few moments and then said, “Oh I know this one. Discord likes to go exploring in the Everfree Forest. It is his favorite place because he can always discover new things.”
“Is that the right answer?”
Discord clapped enthusiastically.
“Yes! Good job Fluttershy. I am quite impressed.”
Rainbow gave a sideways smile.
“Yeah! That is another point for Fluttershy. All right, final round. Whoever gets the final question correct will be the winner!”
Rainbow pointed at Rocky and said, “Again, we will start with you, Rocky. What is Discord’s greatest dream?”
Rocky thought long and hard, then said, “I will have to pass on this one.”
Dash did a victory dance.
“Rocky forfeits the round which makes Fluttershy the automatic winner of the friendship competition! Good job Fluttershy. I knew you had it in you.”
Rocky sighed.
“Eh, you win some you lose some. Good competition.”
Fluttershy smiled.
“Yes, good game,”
“Well,” said Discord, “I guess that settles it. Fluttershy is still my best friend. And Rocky is my new best friend. Now the two of you can be on your way so Rocky and I can continue to get better acquainted with one another and…”
Rainbow Dash cut Discord off.
“After learning about Rocky’s special abilities there is no way we are leaving him here with you. In fact you better take us all to Twilight’s castle right now so she can hear all about this. I mean it. You are still on thin ice because of the last stunt you pulled with Lord Tirek.”
Discord winced at the memory of betraying his friends.
“I do feel bad about that. It was a momentary lapse of judgment, what can I say?”
Rainbow Dash frowned.
“Yeah, well that momentary lapse in judgment almost drove all of Equestria into eternal darkness. So if you don’t mind, take us all to Twilight’s place NOW. And don’t forget to bring Rocky. Don’t play any of your usual tricks.”
Discord let out a heavy sigh.
“Fine. As you wish.”
He snapped his fingers and the four found themselves standing in the main council room of Twilight’s newly built castle. Twilight was sitting in the main council chair reading a book about the laws of pony physics when everyone appeared.
She immediately put the book aside upon seeing her friends arrive and said, “Oh hello. I wasn’t expecting everypony to stop by today.”
Twilight noticed that Rocky was sitting next to them and added, “Eh…especially with that. What’s going on?”
Rainbow Dash glanced at Discord and pointed at Rocky. He immediately got what she was trying to say and said the words, “‘Translatus Rockus”.
When he snapped his fingers Rocky said in a gravelly tone, “It is an honor to meet you Princess Twilight Sparkle. Princess Celestia always says such good things about you when she visits the Rock Knoll Kingdom.”
Twilight Sparkle took a few steps back in surprise.
“My goodness. Did that rock just…speak?”
Rainbow Dash nodded.
“Yes. And that is not the only thing it can do. That is why we are here. Fluttershy and I need you to cast a spell that will keep Discord from being able to take its energy.”
“Take…its energy? What are you talking about?”
Twilight Sparkle glanced over the rock, completely in the dark to what was going on.
Discord crossed his arms over his chest.
“I would just like to go on record of saying that I never intended to use the energy of the Rock Knolls to cause trouble. I learned my lesson last time with my little run in with Lord Tirek. I just thought that their crystals could help me power a few inventions I have been working on lately. That’s all.”
Twilight Sparkle glanced from one friend to the next, still completely confused to what was going on.
“Guys, I kind of need some background information on all of this to know how I can help you. Exactly what is going on here?”
Fluttershy proceeded to step forward and tell Twilight Sparkle all about their recent adventure and all about the Rock Knolls. Twilight Sparkle patiently listened to the whole thing then smiled at Rocky.
“Well first off I will start by saying that it is a pleasure to meet you Rocky. You and your people are welcome to visit me at my castle any time.”
“Thank you Princess.” Rocky said, appearing to move a tiny bit in a way that Twilight assumed was a bow.
“You are welcome. Now, as for you Discord, you may take one crystal from Rocky as one crystal holds a lot of energy on its own. If I learn that you have taken more and are using them for a purpose other than powering your inventions, then I am going to summon the rainbow magic to turn you to stone for a week. Do you understand?”
Discord made a face of disgust at the idea of being turned to stone again.
“Oh you don’t have to go making threats like that Princess. One crystal is all I need. So Rocky may have one then?”
Rocky moved back and forth, surprising Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash in the process as that was the most they had seen the Rock Knoll move all day. After moving around for a while, one large crystal floated out of Rocky’s side and was pushed over to Discord with a stream of white magic.
Discord grabbed the crystal in midair and gave a small bow.
“My thanks to you, Rocky. This will help me a lot with my latest project; a machine that brews the perfect pot of tea! I was going to get the crystal from Rocky and finish building it so I could bring it to tea time next week. However, some ponies just had to go and stick their noses where they didn't belong. I am sorry that I had to ruin the surprise Fluttershy.”
Discord gave an apologetic look to Fluttershy who nodded sympathetically. Then he stuck his tongue out at Rainbow Dash who merely huffed in reply.
“Now if you will all excuse me, I am going to finish my Tea Maker Deluxe Edition. I will see you at tea time next week Fluttershy!”
And with that Discord gave a small wave to Fluttershy and snapped his fingers, taking Rocky along with him.
“Discord? Bring Rocky back right now. You can visit him here if you want to catch up on stuff. That is part of the deal.” Said Twilight, narrowing her eyes toward the empty space Discord had just stood in.
She heard a disembodied sigh from somewhere in the room.
“Fine. Whatever you say Princess. I got what I wanted anyway. I’ll visit you again next week Rocky.”
And in a flash of light, Rocky was brought back to his original place in front of Twilight Sparkle in the castle.
“Bye for now my little ponies!” Said the disembodied voice before it was clear that Discord had left the castle for good from the eerie silence that followed his departure.
“Well,” said Twilight Sparkle, “This has been weird. I would like to learn more about Rock Knoll culture though. Rocky, will you stay in my palace and let me know more about where you come from? I would love to take lots of notes so I can share what I learned with Princess Celestia.”
Rocky moved back and forth.
“I would be honored to princess.”
And so Rocky agreed to stay with Twilight Sparkle in the castle for as long as it would take to study his culture. Twilight Sparkle visited with her friends for a while until Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy both decided that it was time to return home as it was getting late. Rainbow Dash flew up to her home in the clouds, and Fluttershy returned to her small house outside the Everfree forest. They each went about carrying out their evening rituals and went to sleep.
At the end of the following week, Discord brought his Tea Maker Deluxe Edition to his weekly tea party with Fluttershy as promised and it turned out to be a big success. Rocky joined in on the tea party as well and the three had a good time catching up on the various adventures they had had during the week. As a reward for doing what he promised to do with the crystal, Fluttershy gave Discord a special blend of mint tea made from leaves she had harvested from her garden which made him a very happy Draconequus indeed.
