The Most Un-Chaotic, Painful Dinner Ever
The wind whipped at Fluttershy’s hair as her hoof hovered over the doorbell, Discord tapping his foot at her side. It was colder outside than she was used to; she was accustomed to Ponyville’s sunny weather, having not experienced Cloudsdale’s chilly temperatures since her teenage years.
She hadn't been in this spot in years, and from what she could tell, not much about the city had changed in her absence. The white mansions dotting the residential areas of Cloudsdale still looked the same. The residents themselves hadn't changed either; she saw some of her old neighbors doing chores like taking out the garbage, or getting the mail. She tried giving them a smile, but they turned and ignored her, for the most part. They probably still considered her a traitor after running away, but she tried not to let it get to her.
She thought this city put too much emphasis on its warped perception of loyalty, anyway.
They were standing outside a white door that had been expertly chiseled from a section of cloud, building up the nerve to make their presence known. Fluttershy wasn’t looking forward to seeing her mother, Sky Heart, again, and Discord was simply bored and slightly annoyed. He was missing cupcake taste-testing at Sugarcube Corner for this. He didn’t see why they couldn't visit another day, but he figured it was important enough -- Fluttershy had actually bothered to style her mane. She never did that unless it was an important occasion.
Fluttershy looked at her friend and bit her lip nervously. “Do you remember what I asked you to do?”
“Yes, yes, no magic, no smart comments, be on my best behavior, yadda yadda yadda.”
“Please don’t joke around now. Normally I wouldn’t mind, but please… not now.”
He raised an eyebrow. Usually, Fluttershy only asked him to not bother other people, not to stop joking completely. “Is she really as bad as you say she is?”
She lowered her gaze to the welcome mat. “She’s not a bad person. Just very opinionated. Um, and blunt…”
“So, in other words, she’s a bitch?”
“Discord!” Fluttershy’s eyes widened and Discord snickered at her reaction. She pleaded, “Please, don’t use language in front of her!”
“Alright, fine.” His pitch shifted to a mutter. “Doesn’t change my suspicions, though…”
She decided to ignore his last comment. “Okay, we’re going in now. Remember to behave. Please.”
“Oui, mon capitaine!”
She pursed her lips and tentatively pushed the doorbell. The two waited, and it was silent for a few moments, but heard hoofsteps approaching, and finally the door opened.
Sky Heart peered out, a big smile on her face. Her light blue mane was in a bun, and her coat resembled Fluttershy’s, but it was slightly more gray-tinged. Her cutie mark was a soft, white cloud in the shape of a heart, sun rays shining from behind it.
She stepped out and caught her daughter in an embrace. “Hello, sweetheart! Oh, I’m so glad you’ve come back to visit!”
Fluttershy returned the hug and smiled back. “Hi, mother.”
Sky Heart’s eyes darted over to Discord, and she pulled back from Fluttershy but kept her hooves on her shoulders. Her smile dropped slightly, but didn’t completely leave her face. “And this is your friend, I presume?”
“Yes! This is Discord.” She paused, recognizing her mother’s change in expression. “I mentioned he would be eating with us, remember?”
“Yes, I remember.”
“A pleasure to make your acquaintance.” Discord bowed in an over-dramatic fashion. His voice dripped with sarcasm as he suppressed the almost irresistible urge to make a pun out of Sky Heart’s name.
The older mare only nodded as she gestured towards the inside of the house. “Well, let’s not sit out here! Come in, dinner is almost ready. I just have to set the table.”
She immediately turned and disappeared into the house. Fluttershy kept her head up and followed, Discord close behind her.
As they entered, they looked around; Discord familiarizing himself with the place, and Fluttershy being flooded with melancholy nostalgia. The house was exactly as she remembered it; elegant, extravagant, and empty. Even though there were lovely cloud columns that reached the ceiling, vases with flowers, and a lavish, curved staircase, it felt lonely.
That was how it always felt to Fluttershy. Her mother bought all these nice, expensive things, but they never had any heart behind them. The house had never felt like a home. A familiar loneliness crept up on Fluttershy, but she ignored it, figuring it was just her brain trying to deal with what her surroundings were reminding her of.
Sky Heart motioned for them to follow her to the dining room, which was connected to the entrance hall. “Have a seat, and I’ll have dinner out in a minute. Make yourself at home again, dear.”
She disappeared through another doorway. Discord muttered, “Not a single word to me… and I’m the one who needs to behave…”
His eyes drifted lazily around the room, taking in the décor, and when they reached the ceiling, they stopped to take in a chandelier that was adorned with blue crystals. “Ooh, swanky!”
Fluttershy nodded and smiled. “We got that when I was around eight. I remember when the workers put it up.”
“I wonder how it would look in chartreuse?”
“Please don’t.”
~~~
Fluttershy gripped her fork like a vise, her eyes subtly darting back and forth from her plate, to her mother, to Discord, and then back to her plate. She could see Discord becoming tense, and he was showing signs of repressed annoyance due to the lack of chaos he was creating; she could tell by his constant scratching of the back of his head. She had seen it a million times before; she could read his physical cues like a book.
Thankfully, her mother didn’t seem to notice. Sky Heart was eating, sitting stiffly upright in her chair in her usual manner. The sight gave Fluttershy a small, slightly painful flashback to her childhood.
Sky Heart shot another smile at her daughter. “This is so lovely, sweetheart. Very nice to see you again after… how many years has it been? I’ve lost count.”
Fluttershy exhaled quietly. “I’m not sure how many it’s been. But it’s good to see you, mother.”
Sky Heart glanced at Discord. “And it’s good to finally meet you as well, Discord. I appreciate you not flipping my house upside down. From what I’ve heard about you, it seems like that would normally be your first order of business.”
Discord scoffed indignantly. “Well, that was a bit uncalled f—“
He stopped as Fluttershy threw him a pleading look. He narrowed his eyes and shoved a forkful of food in his mouth. “You’re quite welcome, dear Mrs. Sky Heart.”
The older mare rolled her eyes, but continued eating.
Fluttershy spoke up, trying to remedy the awkward lull in conversation. “So, mother, have you heard about Princess Twilight Sparkle’s promotion?”
“Yes, it’s a big affair, isn’t it? I mean, it’s not like it’s that much higher of a position than what she had before.”
“She’s the Royal Sisters' second-in-power, mother. That’s… that’s a big thing. ” She toyed with the food on her plate using her fork. “You remember, I’m good friends with Princess Twilight, right?”
Sky Heart’s eyebrows rose nonchalantly, and her voice had a twinge of annoyance to it. “Oh yes, Elements of Harmony. Well, tell her I’m just ecstatic for her.”
Fluttershy glanced at Discord, whose talon was resting on the table. His middle finger and thumb were both twitching—the fingers he used to snap with. She decided to switch the subject to him, to shed some positive light on him. “Oh, I just remembered! Discord has been helping the princess, too! He’s been patrolling around the atmosphere to make sure there’s no external threats near our planet.”
“Like himself?”
Discord chuckled darkly. “Oh, if I were a threat, you would know it by now, trust me.”
“That doesn’t sound like something that a reformed somepony would say.”
The draconequus looked like he was about to insult her, but was, once again, silently stopped by Fluttershy. He instead sighed and said, “Well, rest assured, I’m well over shenanigans like that now.”
Sky Heart shook her head. "They were hardly shenanigans. And I don't want any of that happening to this house, or to me."
"I already told you, I'm not--"
Fluttershy interjected, trying to change the subject. "Well, u-um, mother, how has the weather up here been lately? Has everyone been keeping it nice?"
"The weather's fine, dear. Just fine." The older mare narrowed her eyes at the draconequus and set her fork down. “Please excuse me. I’ll be right back after I… ahem… freshen up.” She stood and walked out of the dining room into a hallway.
The two left at the table listened intently for the sound of the door shutting, and immediately, Discord was leaning across the table, grabbing Fluttershy’s shoulders. “Flutters, I’m about to explode! I have to cause chaos of some kind!”
She squeaked. “But you’ve gone much longer than this without using your magic before! We haven't even been here very long!”
“I know, but that was when I was entertained, and not around your mother!”
“Oh, Discord, please don’t do anything to any of my mother’s things! She’ll get mad!”
He drug his claws down his face dramatically. “Pleeaase? I promise, I’ll turn it back! I will!”
Fluttershy whimpered as she glanced around the room for something invaluable he could mess with. After frantically brainstorming for a moment, she let out a small gasp. “Wait, you can do something to me!”
“Wait, what?”
She urgently grabbed his face on impulse. “Something small, like change my colors or something! Make my hair yarn! Make me speak Ancient Griffonese! Just make sure whatever is done is done to me, and change it back before my mother gets back!”
Discord stood there blinking. Fluttershy didn’t think she had ever seen him so bewildered. He stuttered for a moment, but they heard hoofsteps coming down the hallway. Their heads whipped to face the doorway as Sky Heart returned.
She pursed her lips upon seeing the two. “Oh my. Was I interrupting something?”
Discord swiftly planted himself back in his seat. Fluttershy shook her head, blushing. “No, he was just asking if… if I was done with my dinner!”
Sky Heart raised an eyebrow, and glanced between her daughter and the draconequus. After a moment, she gestured for Fluttershy to follow her back into the hallway.
The yellow pegasus gulped and looked nervously at her friend. Sky Heart clucked her tongue. “Now, it’ll only take a moment, dear. I promise. Then we can get back to dinner. I just need your opinion on something.”
~~~
Sky Heart shut the door behind her; she had led Fluttershy into a guest room. It obviously hadn’t been disturbed in a while; there was dust gathering on every flat surface, and there was a slightly musty smell hanging in the air. Fluttershy figured that, since Spinning Wheel had died, her mother hadn’t been able to afford another maid, and just never bothered cleaning this room since it was never used. But Fluttershy remembered this room well; she had hidden in it plenty of times during hide-and-seek sessions with Rainbow Dash.
Fluttershy lingered by the door, looking around at the familiar furniture. “Um… what was it you wanted to talk about, mother?”
Sky Heart walked over to a mirror to adjust her mane, and glanced at the reflection of her daughter. “May I ask you why you invited him to dinner tonight?”
“Oh, Discord?” Fluttershy blinked. “W-what do you mean?”
“Oh, darling, you know exactly what I mean. Surely you noticed his behavior. I can’t imagine what he must be like at home, if he behaves this way as a guest.”
“I know he’s been a little bit rude tonight, but h-he’s been doing very well in general, actually. He’s learning to be more respectful of others, he just has trouble sometimes, since he isn't used to doing it after so long.”
“Fluttershy, he’s a maniacal tyrant. There was a reason he was encased in stone for all those years, you know. Don’t tell me they didn’t teach you basic Equestrian history in flight school?”
Fluttershy was slightly shocked at her mother’s bluntness, although she didn’t know why; it wasn’t unusual of her. She felt a sense of dread forming in her heart; her mother had acted mostly civil, albeit passive aggressive, the whole dinner, and Fluttershy had been hopeful that she wouldn’t snap out of it before it was over.
She took a deep breath and collected herself. “I’m aware of his past. That’s why Princess Celestia asked me to befriend him. He’s very powerful, and his magic could benefit Equestria a lot. Has benefited Equestria . I know it’s harmed it, too, in the past, but he’s changing. And he really is very sweet… well, to me at least, most of the time, but he’s just not used to—“
Sky Heart turned to face her daughter face to face, her eyes like ice. “He was about to jump out of his seat, I could see it in his eyes. He was itching to turn my house into a carnival, and then the rest of the kingdom along with it!”
“Oh, he wouldn't do that—”
“And why not? He has before! I’m just trying to protect you, sweetheart. I couldn't bear to see my daughter getting hurt. And I’m afraid that once he snaps, you and I will be in the line of fire.”
Flutterhy’s mother had feigned concern like this before, acting as if she were concerned for her daugher’s well being instead of her own. The yellow pegasus tried stopping herself from letting any negative emotions out, but she let some words escape anyway. “He’s not going to snap! Did you even try saying anything to him that wasn't a snarky remark or something that brought up his past? Did you try and be friendly to him at all?”
“I feel no need to show affection towards—“
“You don’t have to be affectionate, just considerate! You’re not even trying all that hard!”
Sky Heart sharply crossed her arms. “Why should I try?”
“Because he has been! He agreed to come here since I asked him, because I wanted you two to meet each other, but all you've done is act passive aggressive about him!”
“Oh, Fluttershy, sweetheart, please calm down, you’re making a scene out of this—“
“Please let me finish talking. Please.” She took a shaky breath, and tried focusing on a vase sitting on a nearby shelf, so that she wouldn’t have to look at her mother. “He’s trying so hard tonight. He’s been rude sometimes, I admit that, and I’m sorry about that. But I asked him not to use magic while we were here, and he hasn’t, and it’s hurting him because his magic is such a big part of him! He’s doing that so that you’ll be happy! He doesn’t want you to dislike him, mother. At least, I think he doesn’t want me to dislike him, and by doing this, he’s making me happy. So even if you two can’t get along, please realize that he cares about me and is trying his hardest.”
“You’re being so dramatic about this.”
The words made Fluttershy’s heart twinge with resentment. She had heard that phrase one too many times out of Sky Heart’s mouth when she was expressing any negative emotion at all, and she decided to cut her off. “You said you were worried about me. But you don’t need to be! If Discord had any plans of doing anything bad again, he would have done it by now. He wouldn’t be sitting here in this house, trying to make me happy.”
Both of the mares stood there, staring daggers at each other, Fluttershy’s chest rising and falling heavily. Sky Heart’s voice cut through the silence like a blade. “Alright, then. I see you’re adamant about this. If you’re so stubborn about being ‘friends’ him, then go. I don’t want him anywhere near me or my house. You are welcome any time, but not him. I will not have my lovely house being turned into a playground.”
Fluttershy’s words stuck in her throat before they managed to force themselves out. “…If Discord isn’t welcome, then I’m not coming to visit again, either. I don’t want to be anywhere that isn’t accepting of my friends. All of them.” It took all her strength not to break eye contact with Sky Heart. “We’re leaving now. Thank you for dinner, but we’re leaving. Goodbye.”
As she turned and walked towards the door, Sky Heart said, “Don’t expect sympathy from me once he turns again, sweetheart.” Her voice had a bit of a desperate tone to it, almost as if she were daring her daughter to turn back around and continue talking to her.
Fluttershy didn’t hear what was said after that, because she had walked out of the room and closed the door behind her, perhaps a bit too hard. She almost collapsed on the floor from simply being overwhelmed. It had taken all her strength to say at she had said.
She ran through the situation in her head, looking at the situation through her mother’s eyes. If Sky Heart had really been worried about her daughter instead of simply herself, she wouldn’t have put so much emphasis on keeping Discord away from herself, and instead would have emphasized keeping him away from Fluttershy. She wouldn’t have accused her daughter of making a scene.
Even with the rationalizing, she felt a strong urge to open the door again and apologize, to say she shouldn’t have acted so nasty towards Sky Heart, so that her mother would hold her and tell her that all was forgiven and they could get back to dinner. But the memory of leaving Cloudsdale with Rainbow Dash resurfaced; it reminded her why she ran away in the first place, why she hadn’t tried to contact her mother since she left.
She couldn’t fall back into the cycle, not after so many years of being out of it. She had told herself this on numerous occasions, but now that she was actually facing Sky Heart again, it was hard to make herself believe it. She forced herself to take steps back towards the dining room, before she ended up changing her mind.
After only a couple steps, she noticed something on the floor. It was something long, fuzzy and beige and it formed a trail to the dining room. She normally would have smiled at the absurd display, the kind she had grown so, so used to. So, so attached to. But she didn't really feel up to it, after what she went through just moments ago.
Instead, she just muttered, “Discord, I know that’s your ear. I know you were listening.”
With that, the ear swiftly rolled up backwards towards the dining room like a noisemaker in reverse, and its owner stepped out, adjusting it back to its original position. “I might have slightly eavesdropped. Only slightly.”
She didn’t have the energy to scold him for listening in on a conversation he wasn’t a part of. She would mention it later. “I know. We’re going home.”
Discord nodded, a frown on his face. “I heard. Right now?”
“Right now.”
~~~
Faster than Fluttershy could blink, she and Discord were in her bedroom at the cottage, and her mother was nowhere in sight. An audible sigh escaped her lips, but it was hard to say whether it was one of relief, or one of frustration.
Discord made a loud, exaggerated noise of disgust once he was out of Sky Heart’s earshot. “Well, that was certainly an ordeal. Is she always so passive-aggressive?”
Fluttershy’s voice was barely above a whisper. “She’s always acted like that. You learn to live with it after a while.”
“Well, in any case, it’s over. She won’t be trying to contact you for a while. Will she?”
“There’s no telling. I can probably expect a letter from her soon, asking me to apologize.” She leaned against the wall and rubbed her temples. “I’m so tired of dealing with her. It’s such an awful thing to say, but it’s true. It’s so overwhelming.”
“A bit like dealing with me, eh?” He chuckled.
Fluttershy was reminded of the Tirek incident momentarily, and her heart ached, but she pushed it back. That was months ago, this is now. It wasn’t as if they pretended it never happened, but Discord had changed for the better, and she knew that. “No, no, it’s not nearly the same thing. You see, you were willing to change, even though it took a while. She won’t budge, no matter what anyone does or says to her.”
“If you’ll forgive me for using such vulgar and offensive language, your mother’s an old fuddy duddy, and it’s probably for the best that you got away from her early.”
Discord half expected Fluttershy to reprimand him, but she just stayed still and stared at the ground. After a few moments, he stretched and yawned in an theatric fashion to fill the awkward silence. “Well, it’s getting late, is it not? You must be tired.”
She didn’t say anything, just made a small whimpering noise. He had heard her do this plenty of times before, and knew what it meant. There was no stopping it; if she was going to cry, he just had to let it happen until she had let everything out. He had gotten accustomed to comforting her at this point. It made him a bit uncomfortable sometimes, since he didn’t understand her reasons for breaking down most of the time, and consoling wasn’t something he did very often. But, in any case, it seemed to make her tears stop quicker, and he didn’t really like seeing her cry—it made his chest hurt in an odd way.
“Alright, come here.” Rolling his eyes, he held his arms out, and she was in them almost immediately.
They spent the better part of five minutes like that, with her sobbing ungracefully into his shoulder and him petting her hair while staring at the wall across from him. Occasionally, it would seem like she was close to winding down, but another pang of emotion would hit her, and she would start again.
After a bit, she had partially calmed down, and she rested her head against his neck, right above his shoulder. She nuzzled him with her cheek. He tried not to react to the sudden affection, since, even after all this time, he was still unsure of what the appropriate reaction would even be. Instead, he continued stroking the back of her head.
Fluttershy sniffed. “I think I owe you an apology.”
“An apology?” Discord wanted to pull back to look at her face, but he was, admittedly, enjoying the current position they were sitting in. “What for? You haven’t done anything.”
“For making you go in the first place. I knew it wouldn’t go well from the start. I shouldn’t have made you come. I’m sorry.”
“If anyone is going to be apologizing, it should be your mother.”
“She won’t, though. So I guess I’m doing it on her behalf.”
“Well, it’s appreciated, albeit unnecessary.” He paused. “…While we’re at it, I suppose I should say thank you for defending me, Fluttershy. I… it means a great deal to me.”
“It’s alright, you would have done the same thing for me. And don’t take it personally that she was being mean to you. She was never very fond of Rainbow Dash, either. I don’t think she’s ever liked any friends I’ve made. Which really wasn't that many back then... but she would always call Rainbow a hoodlum, and never wanted her in the house because she was afraid she would trash it.”
Discord genuinely laughed. “That I would love to see. In fact, I’d help.”
Fluttershy laughed with him. “Mother would throw a fit.” She was silent for a moment, thinking, and her hooves shifted slightly on his back. “Do you think I overdid it? Was I mean to her?”
“Nah. She needed a good talking-to, I think.”
She pulled herself away from him. Sitting back, she rubbed her already-red eyes. She then took another heavy sigh and stared at the ground, tears still lingering on her cheeks. Discord carefully wiped one off with his talon, and transformed it into a tiny crocodile doing the can-can, prompting Fluttershy to softly giggle.
He smirked, but his eyes were soft. “Not implying that your tears are of the crocodilian variety, of course. They’re completely justified.”
She looked at the little dancing reptile, her gaze a mixture of sad and amused. “You know, you just created another living creature. You’re going to have to take care of it.”
“Yes, yes, I know. You’ve given me this lecture before. Perhaps I’ll size him up, and he can be one of Gummy’s friends.”
He lowered his finger to the floor, and the crocodile scampered over to Fluttershy’s bed, crawling under it. She turned back to her companion, and her smile fell, the façade fading along with it. “Are you staying over tonight?”
“Of course I am.”
