My Little Pony: Third Gear

Chapter 18: When Chaos Is Your Friend

That evening Applejack, Fluttershy, and Dawn all conspired to put on a dinner in Discord’s honour at Fluttershy’s cottage. There was a large, round table with settings for everyone, and apart from their plates, the table itself was piled high with all manner of food.

“As though I would fall for such a basic trick as bribery by food,” Discord said, dismissing the gesture at first.

“Oh come on: who passes up free food?” Pinkie asked. She gave herself a generous helping of vegetable sticks, then passed it to Dash, who was sitting to her left.

“I think you’d better eat up, Discord: You’re going to have a full day again tomorrow and you’ll need your energy,” Fluttershy said, passing him the mashed potatoes.

“Oh very well,” Discord snapped his fingers, animating the gravy boat. It panted as it ran up to Discord’s plate and tilted forward to spread some gravy there. “Oh, would anypony else like some too?”

“Yes please!” Pinkie said, and the gravy boat-dog went her way.

“Don’t blame me if I’m still a little skeptical about all this,” Dash said.

“Oh, you’re far from the only one,” Discord said.

“I have to admit all this seems unlikely,” Rarity said.

“To put it lightly,” Twilight added.

“And yet here we are, giving it a chance anyway,” Dawn said.

“Forgive me, but who are you?” Discord asked.

“I guess I cannot blame you for failing to recognize your handiwork again,” Gearhead said.

“Really?”

“I’m Dawn. Dawn Shadow.”

“What an odd name,”

“I’m very odd for my family,”

“Oh so that’s why Gearhead asked me about the Shadow and Azure.” Discord turned to the stallion. “But wait, I thought you said Fluttershy was your marefriend.”

“She is,” Gearhead said without hesitation, and Fluttershy blushed. “Dawn is a very close friend from a long time ago, and now she has come to Ponyville to help me with my shop.”

“Come now, even I can see there’s more to it than that, and I’ve not even been here a day.”

“Can we please talk about something other than Gearhead’s mushy love life?” Dash asked.

“I’d actually like to hear more,” Rarity said with a grin.

“Oh, but this could get very interesting indeed,” Discord said.

“It gets more interesting: there’s another Pegasus mare who’s interested in him,” Rarity stage-whispered.

“Was,” Gearhead said. “Prism is focusing on her career. In any case, while Fluttershy and I are officially dating, I cannot marry until I am quit of my Black Sheep status.”

“Oh, how’s that going so far?” Twilight asked.

“I still cannot grow a thing,” Gearhead shook his head. “But I shall not give up.”

“’Course not,” Dash said, “you’re almost as stubborn as Twilight is.”

“No, I think he’s got me beat,” Twilight said.

“Well, I have a feeling you’d best hurry up before things get even more complicated for you,” Discord said, munching on some food. “Just a feeling, mind you. Mm, my compliments to the chef.”

“Thank you, but I think you mean ‘chefs,’” Fluttershy said.

“Oh, helping hooves, is it?”

“We had to have everything ready for after you and Pinkie got done,” Applejack said. “We cut it pretty close, but we made it.”

“Well, you did masterfully,” Discord said. “I certainly don’t eat like this normally. Then again, I don’t have to eat at all, being me.”

“Oh,” Fluttershy looked down at her plate.

“It is a pleasure, though.”

“Thank goodness,” Fluttershy beamed. Discord smiled a little too, and none of the others missed that.

“By the way, your Elements..?”

“Well hidden and out of the way,” Twilight said.

“We want you to feel free to enjoy your time in Ponyville with us,” Rarity said.

“And that’s all there is from now on,” Twilight said.

“We’ll see whether or not that’s true soon enough,” Discord muttered.

* * *

The following morning, Dash’s plans became derailed when, flying over Sweet Apple Acres as part of her pre-duty checks, she found it flooded. The Pegasus went to alert Applejack so she did not step into the water by accident, but she didn’t have to worry, since her friend was well aware of her farm’s situation. The question was what to do about it.

While the Apples looked for a way off their property, Dash went looking for the source of the flood. When she found the beefed-up beavers, she immediately concluded that a certain level of chaos magic was involved. It wasn’t as if her hunch was without cause either, since she had just watched Fluttershy deal with the critters under more normal circumstances yesterday.

Dash went to get Fluttershy, and since Discord and Gearhead were both at her cottage, they came along immediately. In sweeping through Ponyville, they picked up their other friends. Twilight’s jaw dropped open, and Rarity and Fluttershy both gasped. “What a disaster!” Rarity said.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Discord said. “Change is a part of life. You’ve really got to be able to roll, and make the best of the situation when it happens. For example...” Discord pulled a flip and snapped a claw. When he landed on the water, he had a pair of laminated boards strapped to his hindquarters, and a pair of fish-shaped soup terrines appeared to tow him at high speed all around the flooded area.

“I can appreciate wanting to have fun, but this is ridiculous,” Pinkie said. “What?”

“No, I just don’t think anyone expected to hear that from you, Pinkie,” Twilight said. “But you’re right,”

“And, no surprise, Discord’s taking advantage of the situation,” Rarity said.

“Then I guess it’s time we tested him with the situation,” Fluttershy said.

“Yes, if he does not return the farm and beavers to normal, then we will have a day of it,” Gearhead said.

“That’s all? I mean, if we could get things back to normal in time for dinner, why not?” Pinkie asked.

“Because we can’t call Discord ‘reformed’ until he wants to fix this sort of thing,” Twilight said.

“And not do it in the first place, I hope,” Fluttershy added. “Okay, here I go,” Fluttershy spread her wings to fly from the hill where the friends were congregated, to where Discord was being pulled around the impromptu lake.

“Hold up,” Dash said. “Let me try, guys.”

“You have a plan?” Gearhead asked.

“Yup,”

“Then I’m all for it,” Twilight said.

“Me too,” Fluttershy stepped back from the water and sat down, sighing in relief.

* * *

As Dash flew out to Discord, Applejack was joining the others. The Pegasus focused on catching up with the Draconequus, and soon she was flying above and beside him. “Hey Discord,”

“Rainbow Dash? I was expecting Fluttershy,” Discord did not slow down in the slightest, but Dash was a fast flyer, so this was fine with her.

“Sorry, you don’t get her yet.”

“So what do you want?”

“You know you’ll have to turn the farm and the beavers back to normal, right?”

“I don’t have to do anything. Besides, if the beavers want to build a dam, who am I to get in their way?”

“Look, I get it: you want to have fun. Pinkie and I both pull pranks on others all the time. Especially on our other friends. But there’s a big difference between our pranks and... this.” Dash indicated the flooded farm with a sweep of her forehooves. “Your powers are practically custom-made for pranking, so how about we put ‘em to good use?”

“I am putting them to good use: Water skiing.”

“See, this is the difference between pranks and your jokes, Discord: things like this put others at a disadvantage, and they have a good chance of hurting one or more ponies. Pranks are called ‘practical jokes’ because even though they’re usually at somepony’s expense they don’t hurt them or harm their livelihood. Not only is this flooding hurting Applejack’s earning ability, but it’s also endangering the other animals that live on the farm. A prank’s target can laugh about it, but do you see any of the Apples, or the animals living here, laughing?”

“No, I suppose not,”

“But pranking’s pretty easy to learn. I’ll teach you, if you clean up here first.”

“That might be more amusing,” Discord said, stroking his goatee thoughtfully with his paw, while he still held on to the tow rope. “Very well,” he said, coming to a decision. The terrines pulled him over to where the others were, and he stepped out of his skis with ease. Discord snapped his claws, and the water vanished.

“The beavers too, please,” Fluttershy said when Discord looked expectantly at Dash.

“Fine,” Discord did an off-claw snap, and the beavers shrunk to their smaller, more usual size, the red leaving their eyes, which they blinked as they regained their senses.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but thanks, Discord,” Applejack said.

“Oh, I can’t believe it either,” Discord said, “so don’t thank me yet: the day has just begun!”

“Then lets go,” Dash said, taking wing. She led Discord back into Ponyville, where they stopped at the joke shop for supplies.

* * *

“The first thing you gotta know about pranking,” Dash said as she and Discord flew back out, “is to only do it to a pony who can take the joke. Even just hurt feelings is enough to set a good prankster back, because the point is for everyone to be able to laugh about it, not just the prankster. ‘Till recently that meant we couldn’t prank Fluttershy, but she’s gotten much tougher lately, so we can.”

“Who’s ‘we?’”

“Me of course, plus Pinkie Pie, and until recently, Snowbelle.”

“The big, white stallion with the tiny wings?”

“You’re thinking of Snowflake. Snowbelle’s someone way different.”

“Oh, you mean the little, white filly with the two-coloured hair,”

“I don’t think so,” Dash said, having to connect the description with the pony. “That’s Sweetie Belle.”

“The bigger, white mare with two-coloured hair?”

“That’s Bon Bon. You’re not even connecting them now, are you?”

“What do you mean I’m not... you know what? Nevermind. I don’t think I’ve ever seen or met this other pony before, though. New in town?”

“Snowbelle’s not even a Pony: she’s a Dragon. A baby one, actually, and the reason you’ve never met her is because Gearhead recently took her to her home in the north. She’s a really good prankster ‘cause her small size lets her get away with a lot. Most ponies don’t even know she can pull pranks. But at the same time trying to prank her was never my or Pinkie’s best idea.”

“Why not?”

“Snowbelle and Gearhead are linked. That means that she can send him an alarm instantly, and he doesn’t like anyone picking on her: Snowbelle’s sort of his daughter. Adopted.”

“But if Snowbelle’s not in Ponyville it should be easy to prank Gearhead, then. Right?”

“Actually, we were never able to pull one off ‘cause his magic tells him something’s coming. Same deal for his friend, Dawn, as well as for Radar, who helps him at the shop.”

“And Twilight Sparkle?”

“No, we’ve gotten her a couple of times, like with disappearing ink and other non-magic things. But the instant Gearhead touches something he knows what it is, and then the prank doesn’t work.”

“Hm,” Discord rubbed his goatee.

“You have an idea,” Dash grinned.

“I might,” Discord allowed, and he had a loopy, lopsided grin of his own.

* * *

It started with a paper bird, which Discord folded into a shape that more closely resembled the Silver Wind. Dash created a wind to carry it all the way to Gearhead’s Gadgets, and Discord sent it flying. The paper craft wove and looped through the air, catching the eye of various ponies along the way.

Nearly an hour after the original toss, the paper bird floated into the shop through the door, which a customer opened as she left. Torrent watched the bird’s lazy flight as it swayed this way and that over the display shelves and made its way into the stairwell.

The instant the paper bird flew into the middle of the stairwell, it got grabbed by a curious updraft and rose swiftly to the top floor. The paper of the wings made a cracking sound as the wind pushed at them. Out of the stairwell, the bird went into a faster flight, where it took a widening spiral. Eating his lunch, Gearhead looked up in curiosity and watched the craft’s flight – until it was directly over the table and did a nose dive into his half-finished sandwich.

As Gearhead examined the downed bird, his curiosity only increased. He found a loose flap, and pulled on it gently with his Light Magic. This allowed him to unfurl the bird, and it revealed a message written within. The message asked him to come to a spring that was close to Fluttershy’s cottage, and it looked very much like her writing. Skeptical, Gearhead nevertheless decided to follow it.

* * *

Gearhead was surprised to find that the spring in question was a hot spring, the water heavily-laden with steam. He zipped a shoe up to get a solid Read on the water, and found that it had many healing and relaxing properties. Even so, he was surprised that there did not seem to be anyone else taking advantage of it at the moment.

Gearhead walked around the edge of the spring until he found a likely spot to leave his vest, shoes, glasses, and dagger. Once he had taken everything off, he slowly got into the pool and lay down into the water to enjoy it, wondering if and when Fluttershy would arrive.

Since Dash and Discord had gone off to pull pranks, Gearhead had been focusing on keeping his guard up, but the water was so soothing he found this a challenge. At one point he nodded off, and when he came to all he saw was steam. Figuring he could not have drifted far, he merely started to swim gently in the direction he thought he had come.

Gearhead thought he heard something unusual lapping in the water ahead of him, so he stopped and focused ahead, twitching an ear to the sound. A few moments later, a silhouette began to emerge, and by the way its outline was shaped, Gearhead immediately concluded that the newcomer was female. Suddenly he became aware of a louder lapping from behind, and half-turned so he could see what was approaching from behind.

In an instant, the steam thinned considerably, revealing Dawn on one side and Fluttershy on the other, with Gearhead caught in the middle, and looking curiously from one mare to the other. He looked up at the sky, then down toward his hooves as he treaded water.

Gearhead looked up when he heard some more vigorous movement ahead of him, just in time for Dawn to ‘boop’ him on the muzzle with a hoof. He could not stifle the snicker. He saw Dawn smiling past his shoulder at Fluttershy, and none of them could resist the laughter. “Of course,” Gearhead said when the mares told him about the paper birds that had visited them.

Even given the spring’s rather large size, it did not take them much longer to find the edge so they could get out and dry off when they wanted to get out and return to work. But first, they relaxed for just a little bit longer: since they were all ponies and their coats gave them ample coverage, no harm had been done in catching each other in the hot spring. Rather, they eventually emerged feeling refreshed, and they had had a good laugh too.

* * *

Dash and Discord decided that since the beavers had already flooded Sweet Apple Acres, they didn’t need to subject Applejack to any sort of prank. Similarly, they had caught Fluttershy at the same time as Gearhead and Dawn, so they moved directly on to Pinkie.

At first, given how random Pinkie was, they did not know how they should prank her. Then Dash suggested loading a cake with confetti, and Pinkie’s party canon with cake. They also replaced a whole tube of icing with non-toxic modeling plastic. Pinkie stared at it all for a few moments, then tasted it. Watching her twist her eyes and mouth in reaction was well worth her wanting in on some of the other pranks.

Pinkie, Dash, and Discord hit Rarity by turning one third of her materials inside out. Not doing the same thing to all of her materials meant she would not have to spend very long turning everything back the right way around, but at the same time it made her do a double-take the first time she saw it. And it even ended up inspiring her further, so she laughed with Discord and the others rather easily.

When it came to pranking Twilight and Spike, Dash insisted on balancing the act with being considerate toward Twilight, so she would not have to spend that much time putting things right again. So they simply rearranged small sections of the shelves in the library, turning books upside-down or setting them with their spines inward. Discord had a little more fun watching Twilight when she realized that part of her fiction collection had been arranged chronologically by publication date instead of alphabetically by author – although for a moment it even looked like she was considering keeping it that way.

Seeing that the prank targets could have just as much fun with a proper prank as the prankster, Discord decided to give it a few more tries, while Dash watched. After a couple more attempts, he got the idea that a prank would not do any harm, and Dash decided that the lesson was done.

* * *

It was late afternoon when Rarity came to get Discord, taking him back to Carousel Boutique. “I hope you don’t intend on trying to make me pretty,” Discord said, gagging.

“While I would welcome the challenge, that wouldn’t exactly be a fitting angle, now would it? No, as a clothier it’s my privilege to find designs that fit my clients’ tastes and image. Since everyone is different, each being who walks through those doors has different tastes, and a different palette to fit her or his image. Naturally, my strengths lean more toward clothing fillies and mares, but I can design raiments for colts and stallions just as well. As for you, darling, I could hardly wish for a client more unique.”

“I already guessed you’d be making something for me,” Discord said, exasperated.

“Well, not yet. First I’d like your help filling some orders. Then, if we have time, we’ll see exactly how dashing we can make a Draconequus.”

“Oh good, all I have to do is make sure we don’t have the time,” Discord said. But Rarity was already leading the way into the showroom, where some customers were already looking around.

Most of the customers were mares or mothers with daughters, although Discord did not recognize all of them. Rarity’s reputation was strong enough to pull her own customers from out of town, but some ponies also had a look around after coming to look at the wares available at Gearhead’s Gadgets. The two businesses were very good for one another.

Discord hung back a bit and watched as Rarity met with and spoke with each customer in turn to find out what preferences each one held. His mind wandering, Discord quickly got bored, and started materializing different, random objects just to see how the customers would react. He did not summon anything dangerous or inappropriate, but they were definitely put together out of order, or simply mismatched.

Unfortunately for him, some of these objects seemed to catch some customers’ eye, and those ponies soon walked away with some very strange-looking garments. Discord shrugged: he could make more any time.

As Celestia started to lower the sun, Rarity finally closed up shop, and they went into the back so Rarity could quickly take Discord’s measurements. Looking at him, though, and remembering the designs on some of the things he had summoned, she went on her own designing spree. Soon Discord had a suit that accentuated his flowing, serpentine body, the colours flowing and transitioning as they went from limb to limb. This made the suit as different, mismatched, and unique as Discord himself.

And Discord did not immediately hate it.

“Yes, I’m very satisfied with it myself,” Rarity said in response to Discord’s comment. “The part of my job that I enjoy the most is being able to see the beauty that’s there and bringing it out to best advantage, for all Equestria to see if my client should wish it. I enjoy it most when my customers come to see what I have seen in them all along.”

“Bringing inner beauty out, eh?”

“Indeed so,” Rarity said, looking at Discord’s reflection in the mirror from beside him. “And don’t you think you look dashing?”

* * *

Not everyone knew how to react when Discord came back to Fluttershy’s cottage for dinner, wearing his new suit. Fluttershy recovered the fastest, saying “you look really nice.”

“Why thank you, Fluttershy. I owe it to Rarity this time around.”

“Isn’t it kinda a hassle standing still to be measured, though?” Dash asked.

“It’s not that bad,” Discord said, waving the comment off.

“Oh, you didn’t complain that much the last time,” Rarity said.

“But they didn’t need to know,” Dash hissed.

“Are you secretly a model, Rainbow Dash?” Twilight asked.

“Nope. Absolutely not.” The others laughed.

The friends spent some of dinner talking about the pranks Dash and Discord had pulled on them throughout the day, and then they spoke about what they were going to do tomorrow. “I guess we might finish our lessons then,” Twilight said.

“Are we in a rush or something?” Discord asked.

“Only if you are,” Dash said.

“Not particularly, to be honest: I haven’t been threatened with being turned to stone lately, and I rather like that.”

“And hopefully we can keep that up,” Gearhead said.

“Of course, you’ve gone and hidden your Elements, but that means it’d take time for you to get them before you can react to anything I might do.”

“Don’t you worry about that,” Dash said.

“I’m starting to think we won’t even need the Elements,” Fluttershy said.

“We’ll see,” Discord said slyly.

* * *

Gearhead was barely finished his morning training when Twilight came to get Discord: It was now her turn to give the Spirit of Chaos his friendship lesson. She decided first to lead him through the collection at the Golden Oak Library to see what suggestions he might have for its shelving order. He had one that worked according to specific subject classification which could work well for the non-fiction items, but he also suggested author and series organization for fiction. He also mentioned something called ‘Eyes Bean,’ but Twilight did not know what that was. But she did know what the Unicorn Dewey Decimal had been known for: organization!

Once they could be certain that the rest of Ponyville was waking up, Twilight took Discord into town. When he asked her what they were doing, she said to keep an eye out for anyone who might need help, no matter how big or how small the task. When they found a pony who could use some extra hooves to hold a board in place so she could nail it down, Twilight motioned for Discord to come forward and lend a paw.

When the Cutie Mark Crusaders wanted to set up an impossible jump for Scootaloo to make, Discord popped up and held the ramp in place, even reinforcing it. He also put an extra-cushiony mattress below for when the Crusaders crashed, since they were taking turns.

Twilight and Discord walked through most of Ponyville solving minor problems, and each time Discord was able to help either with his effortless flight or with a snap of a paw or claw. “Why just minor stuff?” Discord asked.

“This is the sort of thing that usually pops up,” Twilight said. “Not every day in Ponyville is end-of-the-world severe, yet it’s still important that these everyday situations get resolved. There are a few ponies like you and me with exceptional power, and I think that where we can make a difference, we should.”

“Blah blah power, blah blah responsibility,”

“That’s... pretty much it, yeah. You know, as quickly as you’ve been picking up all our lessons I think that you might have already known them, but it’s been a long time since you’ve been able to apply them.”

“I have been locked in stone for over a thousand years,”

“Which means it’s good that we’re able to help you remember,” Twilight said, “but even if you weren’t already a friend to other ponies before, you can be now, if you want to be.”

“Well, the jury’s still out on that one,” Discord shrugged, and behind him, twelve other Discords sat in a double-row bench, each of them with puzzled expressions. One of them had swirly eyes, and another was holding up a giant placard with a question mark on it.

* * *

“So what lesson do you have for me?” Discord strode toward Gearhead, who was sitting in front of a long coffee table in the middle of Fluttershy’s cottage. The Pegasus herself closed the bottom half of her door, leaving the top open because it was a nice day.

“It would be nice to know, would it not?”

“You mean you don’t? How very odd.”

“I have been thinking about it for awhile, after all I helped come up with this plan,” Gearhead said as Fluttershy walked around the table to sit beside him.

“So what’s the problem, wise guy? Finally find something you can’t invent your way out of?”

“In a way: Most of the things I value are outright useless to you, so it would not make sense to try to teach you about them. Even I am still learning what it means to be a productive and social member of a community, considering I have been a town-to-town salespony for so long. So when I ask myself what sort of lesson I could teach you that would be useful for you to have now...” Gearhead shrugged. “Sorry, I do not have an answer.”

“You’ve been trying so hard,” Fluttershy said.

“At least you’re not worrying yourself silly over it,” Discord said, snorting. “Still, I’m disappointed you didn’t come up something for us to do, other than to test how far you’ve come in an all-out match.”

“Oh, I would not say that,”

“But you just said..?”

“I do not have a lesson, true, however I still have something in mind for us to do that will not end in tearing up the landscape and reality as we know it.”

“And here I was so looking forward to that,”

“We can still play a game, though,” Gearhead said, waving a hoof at the playing cards that were sitting in the middle of the coffee table.

“I hope it’s at least an interesting game,”

“I shall leave that to your judgement. Have you ever heard of ‘Crazy Eights?’”

“Of course I have: it has the word ‘crazy’ in it.”

“Good, then I will not have to explain all the rules.

“The game is called ‘Wild Card.’ Just like in Crazy Eights, the objective is to get rid of all of your cards, starting with a hoof of seven. The game can be played with at least two players, but I would not recommend it for more than four, considering there are only fifty-two cards in a deck, not including the Jokers.”

“Oh, but I like the Jokers,”

“This game is flexible, so we can add them back in if we have more players. With just two players, they would lead to excessive switching.”

“Do you mind if I play, then?” Fluttershy asked.

“Not at all,” Gearhead said.

“Ooh, me too!” Dawn said from the doorway.

“Four players? That will certainly make things move more quickly. What do you think?” Gearhead asked Discord.

“I’m interested,” Discord said as Fluttershy went and let Dawn in.

“Then perhaps we shall get a little payback for your and Dash’s prank on us,” Gearhead said.

“Just a little,” Fluttershy said.

“Wait, prank?”

“You do not have to play innocent: you may have triggered it from a distance, but your and Dash’s signatures were all over your note. I just had to look at it closely enough, which I did once Dawn and I got back to the shop.”

“It was well-planned,” Dawn said. “So many moving parts, though. The degree of control that had to have required was amazing.”

“Well, I can’t speak to that,” Discord said, waving the compliment off. “Anyway, the game?”

“Right. As I was saying, you need to play all of your cards in order to win. You can play one card as long as it has the same number or suit as the top-most face-up card, which is the card in play on that turn. If you cannot play a card, you must pick up a card from the face-down deck until you can, no matter how many cards you end up picking up in the process – although the game would be over by default if there are not any more cards to pick up, even if the face-up pile is reshuffled. Fortunately, it is possible to simply restart the game and go from there.

“The reason the game is called ‘Wild Card’ is because there is always a suit that is ‘wild,’ and therefore can be played even if it is also a number that is different from the active card. The player who uses a wild card also changes the active suit to any suit of choice, however any time a wild card is played, the entire wild suit changes on to the next one. This means that there are not always the same number of wild cards left in the deck, and you can never tell how the game will play out. It also means we will be tracking which suit is wild so we do not get mixed up. The order is Spades, Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts, and Spades again. The first wild suit is also the first face-up card.

“Since we have four players, the two Jokers will be full wild cards, meaning they can act as any card you want. In addition, they are the only card that allows you to play one more card on the same turn.”

“So no playing a set of threes, for example?” Discord asked.

“Let us say that we do not use chain play in the main game, however if we add a time limit, then after we have exceeded it chaining would be allowed in order to finish the game more quickly.”

“And what did you have in mind for tracking the wild suit?” Dawn asked.

“We have one of the most powerful beings in this world as a player. Why not a magic display we can all see?”

“I can do that without a sweat,” Discord said, and a big spade appeared to hover over the table. “Oh wait, wrong one,” Discord said, and with a snap of his cloven hoof (somehow), the card symbol replaced the gardening implement.

“Thank you, Discord,” Fluttershy said.

“If everyone will take one side of the table, I shall deal for the round,” Gearhead said. As the others moved, he continued, “if you want this can be a practice round, and then we will play a single real round.”

“Good plan,” Discord said, “it lets us get used to the game and all the rules.” The others agreed, so Gearhead used his magic to telekinetically deal the cards.

The practice round went quickly, with the wild suit changing frequently for the first five minutes before slowing down just slightly. Even Dawn and Gearhead got caught having to draw more cards when they were ready to play out and win. “Everyone get the idea?” Gearhead asked. It had only taken twelve minutes for Discord and Dawn to play out, leaving Gearhead to fend off Fluttershy.

“Uh-huh,” Dawn said, and Fluttershy nodded.

“Definitely interesting,” Discord said.

“In that case, we shall go for real this time,” Gearhead said.

“My deal,” Dawn said, taking control of the deck in order to distribute everyone’s hooves for the round. She flipped the first card from the deck face-up, revealing the Eight of Hearts. Fluttershy led with the Three of Hearts, declaring ‘Diamonds’ as the new active suit. At the same time, the wild suit went to Spades because Fluttershy had played a wild card. Discord played the Seven of Diamonds. Gearhead followed with the Two of Diamonds, and then Dawn completed the first circuit with her Ace of Diamonds.

They kept playing, and again they kept coming close without being able to play out. The game went on long enough that they had to use chaining to end it quickly. In the end, Fluttershy won, with Gearhead following closely. Discord just barely beat out Dawn, who, for the fun of it, played her last card on the following turn.

Discord had tried to cheat a couple of times, but he was unsuccessful because Dawn and Gearhead were both cheating in their own way, by counting cards. When Dawn played a Joker-Ace combination, Discord gave up on cheating and started to play the game straight. It was then that he actually started to play better, and then too, because the wild suit kept changing, he was having more fun: the game was unpredictable enough without anyone trying to making it more so by cheating.

* * *

While Dawn and Gearhead played another round, Fluttershy took Discord around to the section of her cottage where she took care of her wounded and sick animal friends. As Discord watched, the forest critters became more relaxed and happy for every moment that Fluttershy spoke to them in her gentle, quiet voice.

While she was tending to a squirrel’s bite, Fluttershy motioned for Discord come over. The Draconequus looked at her, curious but uncomfortable being around so many injured and ill animals. Without any hesitation or doubt at all, the Pegasus was just as gentle in the way she guided Discord through cleaning and dressing the wound. The squirrel chittered in thanks, and was soon on his way.

There were many others to tend to, from rats to foxes to a bear. Fluttershy showed Discord what to do, only taking the lead with the most difficult cases, or when Discord refused to get too close to an alligator with a coughing fit.

“Oh my, you’re running such a fever,” Fluttershy said to one house fly.

“I’m surprised you can tell,” Discord said, “but really, that one’s easy.” He snapped a claw, and with a little puff of smoke that rose out of the fly’s head, she recovered and flew off.

“How wonderful!” Fluttershy said, clapping her forehooves together. “But then, why didn’t you do the same for the alligator?”

“Please, everyone knows there’s no cure for the common cold but time,” Discord said.

“True, we have to have patience, whether it’s us or someone else who has gotten sick or hurt. The best thing we can do, in any case, is to be there for them.”

“I’ll remember that,” Discord said, and indeed his patience was put to the ultimate test as he continued to assist Fluttershy in tending to the sick and hurt animals, until none were left.

“You know,” he said when the waiting room was empty, “I’m surprised you don’t have to turn anyone away.”

“Oh, Angel is always making sure there aren’t more animals here than I can handle.” Fluttershy put a hoof to her chin, thoughtful. “You know, I think there were more friends here today than before.” She looked Discord right in the eye. “And you know what? I think you had something to do with it.” She gave him a big smile, which made the Draconequus blink, before he looked quickly away.

“Yes, well,” Discord cleared his throat. “I’m happy to be able to help.”

“Me too,” Fluttershy said, giggling. “That’s most of why I do it.”

* * *

Dear Princess Luna,

I think that Discord has surprised everypony with his willingness to learn whatever lesson we have to offer him, even if he originally intended, and still plans to, make further trouble for us. It is his openness to us that has set us all back, and yet we must still meet his expectations.

I wonder, then, why I have so much trouble coming up with my own lesson plan for him, despite being one of those who contributed to this overall plan? As I told Discord himself, most of what holds high value to me is not useful for him – and more, could lead him in a negative spiral if he is vulnerable to the conclusions that some of my values might hold for him: what is ‘family’ when you do not have, or might never have had, any comrades of the same species? What is the discipline of control to a being who represents chaos, and yet has perfect control over his power? What are responsibility, fairness, and accountability to a being who can raise the sun and the moon as soon as think it?

None of my lessons could hold value for Discord, until he chooses to see enough value in our friendship, and in committing to being a part of the community – whether this is as small a thing as the Elemental Six or Ponyville, or even as large as the whole of Equestria. This, I still believe, is the key to convincing Discord to use his powers for our sake.

And yet I still do not have an answer.

But maybe not knowing is okay: there are always limits to our understanding, wisdom, and knowledge, and it can be wiser to acknowledge those limits than to keep trying to surpass it on one’s own. That way lies an intellectual rut, and not expansion of one’s wisdom. I do not believe such a thing can happen to a being living alone, in isolation from all. True wisdom happens most often within a community of like-minded beings.

Such as the wisdom of knowing that there are moments when we do not know the answer.

Your student,

- Thirdson Gearhead

* * *

“So then, it’s been a few days,” Discord had his forelimbs crossed as he stared down at Gearhead and the Elemental Six standing in front of him in the field outside of Ponyville. “How do you see me?”

“I tell ya, I didn’t think you’d ever be anything better than a nuisance. But ya surprised me in the best way: you’re all kinds of useful to have around, and ya made things lots easier for me, Big Mac, and AB,” Applejack said.

“You’re a good baker,” Pinkie said, “and surprisingly good at following a recipe. For a creature of chaos, I mean. I’d share my kitchen with you again any day!”

“You’re definitely more fun to be around than I thought,” Dash said.

“And more than just being dashing, you’re the most creative being I’ve ever worked on or with. Darling, you’re welcome back at Carousel Boutique any time. Of the day. A girl needs her beauty sleep, you know.”

“Granted,” Discord winked.

“I think you’ve learned a lot, but whether or not you use what you’ve learned is up to you,” Twilight said. “But if you want to talk magic, I’m always up for it.”

“I admit, I had a lot more fun that I thought I would,” Spike said.

“Oh, I am always up for a challenge,” Discord said.

“I think we might be ready to call it,” Gearhead said. “What do you think, Fluttershy?”

“I said at the beginning of all this what I thought was the best approach to fulfilling Princess Celestia’s wishes, and I do agree with you all now.”

“Which is basically agreeing with you,” Dash said.

“Good, I’m glad you all see that giving Discord a chance was a good idea. It meant that we gave him the opportunity to prove that he could be a good friend. So, Discord, I hope that you keep giving us opportunities to prove that we can be great friends for you as well.”

“Well, I’ve never had ‘great’ friends before. I guess we’ll just have to play it by ear, eh? As long as doing things this way lowers the chances that I’ll be wearing a stone jacket again anytime soon.”

“One thing you can count on, Discord: we don’t harm our friends,” Twilight said. “That’s why we didn’t even bring the Elements out today.”

“I noticed. Say, any chance you could tell me where you’ve put them?”

“Friendship and trust takes more than three days to earn. We don’t quite know what you could get up to next, even if the Elements are protected against you,” Gearhead said.

“That goes both ways,” Discord said.

“That’s fair,” Applejack said.

Discord thought a moment, then nodded. “You can call Celestia: I may not always be on Equestria’s side, but I like having friends. I’m ready to listen to what she wants me to do with my power.”

“Spike?”

“Already on it,” the little Dragon held up a set of rolled parchments, and sent them on their way with a breath.

* * *

Four hours later, they were back out on the field to receive Princess Celestia and her Royal Guard escort. Gearhead was wearing the Stabilized Engines for the first time in three days, but otherwise they had decided to leave the Elements and Anklets behind, avoiding giving Discord any sense of a threat so he could commit himself as fully as he was able to to the princess’s cause.

“Are you truly ready to get started?” Princess Celestia asked.

“Yes, I’m ready to use my powers for good... most of the time,” Discord said.

“Considering no one is ‘good’ all of the time, I believe that is a perfect starting place. Now then, I believe congratulations are in order for all of you,” Princess Celestia said, turning to the others. “You have found an alternate path and convinced Discord of the value of friendship. I am grateful that you were able to go beyond even my instructions. You all have my full commendations. Especially you, Fluttershy.”

“No, I enjoyed getting to know Discord better, and becoming friends.”

“Yes, well, I didn’t exactly hate it either,” Discord said.

“You can be a real sweetheart when you want to be,” Fluttershy said with a smile. The others just glanced around nervously.

Discord cleared his throat. “Shall we be off, then, Celestia?”

“After you,” the princess indicated the second chariot that her guards had brought along.

There was a sudden, strong gust of wind from the direction of the Everfree Forest. As Discord wiggled like crazy, everypony else turned and looked toward its source, to see a massive multicoloured energy beam climbing slowly through the treetops, shooting directly skyward.

“That’s coming from where—“ Pinkie started, in horror.

“To be visible from so far –“ Gearhead shook his glasses into place. “My sensors cannot quantify it.”

“I have a really bad feeling about this,” Twilight said.

“Join the club,” Discord said, finally able to stop his strange dance. “I can’t believe I’ll have to actually work now,” he muttered.

“Should we check it out?” Dash asked, spreading her wings. The beam seemed to strike something, so high up that everyone had to crane her or his neck to watch. The energy seemed to radiate outward in a disk-shaped pattern.

“Don’t bother: they’ll come to us,” Discord said.

“’They?’” Princess Celestia, Pinkie, and Twilight chorused.