Words Will Always Hurt the Most
"Discord, can you please pass me the teapot?" Fluttershy uttered, politely extending a hoof towards the object.
"Allow me, Fluttershy." With a snap of his talon, Discord levitated a small porcelain teapot to Fluttershy's cup. A trickle of warm tea poured itself into the matching cup.
"Fluttershy, I don't mean to put a damper on such truly wonderful tea party, but I have to bring up something." Discord tapped the side of his teacup, his brow shaking ever so slightly.
"Of course," Fluttershy chirped, sipping her tea.
"I just want to...I-"
"Yes?" Fluttershy uttered politely.
Discord paused and moved his teacup towards himself.
"If you're still thinking about any past mishaps, I want you to know that It's okay. You don't have to worry about it anymore. It's been forgiven." Fluttershy put down her teacup, giving a small nod and reassuring smile.
"Well...I just...you know what? Nevermind. It's nothing." Discord swallowed his teacup and waved away the thought.
"Come on Discord, what is it?" Fluttershy cocked her head to one side.
"Forget it." There was a glint of fire in his eyes, but the aggression subsided.
"Discord, you know that you can talk to me. I'm here for you." Fluttershy smiled.
He shifted uncomfortably, but softened upon seeing the pegasus pony's smile. He grabbed another teacup and spoke.
"To put it in the bluntest fashion, I think nopony likes me." Discord's eyes dropped. He flicked his tail and dramatic, somber violin music danced through the air. Fluttershy frowned, seeing that he was trying milk every last bit of drama out of the situation, so much so that any seriousness in the situation immediately dissipated.
"Some ponies just need a little more time to get comfortable around you, that's all." Fluttershy put her hoof around her draqonequus friend.
"Yes, I know, but-well, it's just that-I've already given them a lot of my time. Just last week I spent two hours reading to Granny Smith!" Discord said. “Two whole hours!”
"See? Granny Smith likes you!" Fluttershy beamed.
"Yes, except she was trying to get me out of the house the entire time. It was almost as if she felt uncomfortable in my presence.'' He stroked his long, white goatee, his head wandering to another place.
"Aw, don't worry. Granny Smith is known to be very stubborn. Have you tried getting to know somepony a little more sociable?" Fluttershy asked.
"I did! Remember that time I helped Rainbow with her obstacle course? Well, apparently exploding hoops were too much for her.” Discord snapped his talon and a miniature shadow of what looked like Rainbow Dash getting blown away from a monumental explosion appeared just above the table.
"Like I said, all you need is time. And-"
"Also, may I point out that you've always been hesitant to bring around your friends when we hang out together." Discord's tone hardened as he stared at his pegasus friend.
Fluttershy thought for a moment, playing around with a few strands of her mane.
"You know what, Discord? You're right. I do need to introduce you to more of my friends." Fluttershy stood up.
"Oh, you come up with the brightest ideas!" Without a warning Discord snapped his fingers, suddenly transporting Fluttershy and himself to the town square. Fluttershy dropped her teacup in shock.
"Um...okay, but...maybe not right this minute." She swiftly retreated behind Discord, feeling uncomfortable around such a large crowd of ponies. This was the busiest time in the square. Ponies were buying goods, eating out, and just trotting about minding their own business.
And then they weren't.
A silence filled the air. Ponies immediately stopped going about their daily activities to stare at the draqonequus. Some parents were dragging their foals away. One stallion muttered something under his breath and galloped away. Pretty soon the town square was completely empty, save for one mare. Derpy still hopped around cheerfully, absent-mindedly smelling a flower, and giggling as a butterfly landed on her muzzle.
"See?" Fluttershy whispered, before trotting towards the grey pegasus. "Um, hi Derpy."
"Oh hey Fluttershy! Nice day, huh?" The pegasus spoke rather loudly, and her voice echoed throughout the empty space.
"I just wanted to, um, maybe introduce you to a dear friend of mine." Fluttershy giggled, trying to sound as confident as possible.
"Sure, I love meeting new ponies!" Derpy chirped, completely oblivious of Discord's presence.
Fluttershy motioned for Discord to come over.
Discord began to slowly near the blue-gray pegasus, putting on his kindest smile. She turned to see him. He flicked his tail and a large bouquet of tiger lilies, daffodils, roses and carnations appeared. Derpy sniffed at the flowers. Her smile slowly disappeared as she let out a very loud sneeze and fell on her back. She paused for a moment.
"Are these carnations?" Her eyes started to glaze over.
"Some of them, yes." Discord thought he saw a little glimmer of warmth in her eyes.
A single tear fell from her face as her lip quivered. "I'm allergic to carnations. Now my tongue's gonna bbbrpl bfft prrrblt-” Derpy's eyes widened. She burst into tears, her tongue swollen and hanging outside her mouth. Whimpering, she galloped away.
Discord snapped his talon, causing the bouquet to transform into a blue bird, which flapped its wings gingerly and flew away. He walked back to Fluttershy, who stared in disbelief.
"I guess I needed to wait longer." Discord teleported himself and Fluttershy back to her abode, where he collapsed onto the couch. The violin music returned, only this time it was a full orchestral score.
"I'm sorry, I know this makes you feel-" Fluttershy tried to scream to be heard as she neared Discord, her smile fading at the misfortune of her friend.
"I'm fine, Fluttershy, really. I don't feel anything at all." Discord snapped his tail and the music stopped. He shrugged.
Discord gave a shaky smile, his jaw clenching in an effort to stay strong. He waved his paw and engulfed Fluttershy in a swarm of multi-colored balloons. She pushed through them and walked to her friend.
"It's okay to cry, Discord. Sometimes that's the only way to feel better." She nodded to him.
"No, honestly Fluttershy, I'm fine." The draconequus snapped his talon. A cupcake platter appeared. Each one was decorated in icing with the word 'Happy'. "See? I even made cupcakes. Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I'll go nap in a hole somewhere." And with that, he was gone.
***
"Maybe we could throw him a party?" Pinkie Pie's eyes lit up as she bounced up and down on Fluttershy's chair cushion.
"That's yer answer to most problems, Pinkie." Applejack took off her hat and chuckled.
"Perhaps we should have a town meeting? I'm sure Mayor Mare would allow it, and it would give a chance for everypony to meet Discord without being scared." Twilight looked around the room for nods of approval, but her eyes lingered on Fluttershy, who was sitting in front of her.
"No, Twilight. Discord won't like being placed the spot like that," Fluttershy said, looking at the floor.
"I say we simply leave him be." Rarity stomped her hoof down. Rainbow was seated next to her, and she nodded in her direction.
"I'm with Rarity. He can handle it on his own. Besides, ponies wouldn't be so scared of him if he wasn't so weird." Rainbow avoided Fluttershy's gaze, even though she could feel her staring her down.
"We could feed him lots of chocolate! Chocolate always cheers me up!" Pinkie smiled. She looked ahead at Applejack.
"I think it's the sugar that cheers you up, Pinkie. Anyhow, I doubt that what he needs is sweets." Applejack lowered her eyelids.
"I'm worried. He really seems upset, no matter how much he tries to hide it." Fluttershy furrowed her brow.
"I think that Discord is still trying to get used to the whole friendship thing. Ponies not being ready to share in his friendly pursuits are probably shaking him up a bit too much." Twilight scratched her chin contemplatively.
"I guess Twilight's right," Applejack admitted, turning toward Fluttershy and raising an eyebrow.
"I agree with you, Twilight. I think I just need to have a nice, caring conversation with him. Just because some ponies in town aren't ready to accept him doesn't mean he has no friends." Fluttershy sat up.
"I mean, just look at us. He's got the coolest friends around." Rainbow beamed proudly.
***
Discord was taking a stroll through the Everfree Forest. It was dark, but he could see some Timberwolves drinking from a puddle of water, while a chimera slept under a tree.
"Why in the world would nopony like me?" Discord spoke to himself as he kicked a spiked rock around. "Am I not amusing to them? Do they not marvel at my power?" He snapped his tail, and the rock transformed into a bathtub, who cowered and ran away from him.
"My own creations don't even wish to be around me." He frowned.
A tiny seedling of an idea began to manifest itself in the ventricles of his brain. He had the power to transform anything he wanted. It seemed that the reason why none of the citizens of Ponyville wanted to make merry with him was perhaps because he was different from them, or rather because he looked different. He had to be intimidating to them. After all, they were only ponies.
"Perhaps if I altered my demeanor a tad, they wouldn't be so distant. After all, I've done it once before in the presence of Tirek. It can't hurt to try again." He giggled and snapped his tail. "Now, to make some friends." Discord set off for Town Square.
***
Chatterbox flew around Town Square, waving to her friends as she made her way to Sugarcube Corner. A new face caught her eye. She flew to the stallion and halted right in front of him.
"Are you new to Ponyville? Sorry to be so direct, but I don't think I've met you before, and I make a point to meet every single pony who's new in town." Her smile seemed to big for the stallion. He backed up a few steps.
"Well, that's rather welcoming, thank you."
"No problem...so what's your name?" She carefully considered the stallion for what seemed like an eternity before he answered.
"Um, Tornado Twist?" The stallion peeped hesitantly.
"Gee, I've never heard of a pony so uncertain of their own name. You are a pony, right?” Chatterbox pressed right up against his face.
The stallion giggled nervously. He didn't know whether it would be rude to back away.
"I'm just pulling your hoof. Welcome to Ponyville! Now if you'll excuse me, I have some clouds to clear." Chatterbox disappeared just as abruptly as she had arrived, not giving any indication of her name to the stallion.
Discord took a deep breath. He felt much more at ease after that confrontation. Smiling his usual smirk, he trotted along with a spring in his step.
***
Fluttershy opened the door to her home hesitantly. Discord didn't seem to be anywhere.
"Discord? Where are you?" She scanned the room.
"Fluttershy, lovely to see you!" Discord emerged, seemingly out of nowhere, as a pony, with a brown coat and mane, a tornado cutie mark, and an Alice blue horn.
"What's wrong? Is there something in my teeth?” His horn glittered. His front tooth disappeared.
"You're a-" Fluttershy forgot to breathe.
"Amazing? Handsome? Splendorous?" He smiled triumphantly. His horn light up and a full body mirror appeared. He stared into it amorously, brushing his mane.
"Discord, what did you do?!" Fluttershy raised her voice a bit.
"Well, I figured that maybe in order to fit in, I would have to tweak my appearance a little." A pair of glasses and a mustache fell on his face. He grinned.
"B-but, you're a stallion!' Fluttershy didn't know how she was even standing. Her knees wobbled uncontrollably.
"Precisely! And in the time that you've been gone, I have acquainted myself with almost everypony in town square! Look!" He used his horn to transport himself and Fluttershy back to the town square. Fluttershy held her head in pain.
"Hey Tornado Twist, over here!" A pony waved at Discord, then threw an apple in his direction. He caught it in his mouth and ate it.
"Tornado Twist?" Fluttershy gave a questioning glance to her unicorn friend.
"I needed a pseudonym." He shrugged, looking around for any other familiar faces.
"Tornado, you're coming to my garden party tonight, right?" A mare with a basket of flowers called as she flew past him.
"Wouldn't miss it for the world!" Discord smiled widely.
Derpy trotted past the two ponies. "Hi there Tornado Twist! Are we still gonna go flower picking tomorrow?"
"Of course!" Discord smiled, waving at the pegasus.
"Discord, I-" Fluttershy's face hardened.
"Hold on Fluttershy, I need to talk to that stallion over there. I'm going to be the guest of honor at his birthday party!" Discord began to trot towards the stallion, but Fluttershy pulled him back.
"We will walk home this instant or you can forget about our tea party tomorrow. All this teleporting is making me dizzy. "
Discord sighed and allowed himself to be dragged to Fluttershy's house, a sight which elicited a few giggles from the townsponies.
Finally, they reached the cottage. Fluttershy opened the door and tried her hardest to heave Discord into her home. Once inside, Fluttershy sat down with the stallion.
Fluttershy put a hoof on Discord's shoulder. "Discord, I know you feel like ponies are finally warming up to you, but please listen. Right now, they're seeing you as something you're not. You're hiding behind a disguise because you're afraid that nopony will like you in your true form. This isn't the case and you know it. If I learned to trust and care for you, then anypony can."
"There's no need for concern Fluttershy. I'm content as I am."
"As a stallion?" Fluttershy sighed as her eyelids lowered.
"Yes. Yes I am, and that is final. I can take care of myself." Discord lied down on the couch. He sighed.
“Discord, what about chaos? It's a part of you. If you stay this way forever, you won't be able to act like you do now. You can't play around and joke all the time anymore. Do you really want to lose that? Will it make you happy?” Fluttershy put a hoof on his shoulder.
"I'm well-liked. Of course I'm happy." Discord waved her hoof off.
"Tornado Twist is well-liked. Not Discord." Fluttershy winced at her harsh comment, but it had to be said.
"You don't mean that." The inner corners of Discord's brows lifted.
"As much as it hurts to say this, yes, I really do. If you just turned back into your regular self and went back to them you would see."
Discord's eyes widened as he stared at Fluttershy, mouth agape.
"They're not afraid of you, they're afraid of your past. They aren't quite ready to accept the fact that you have reformed yourself and become a better draconequus." She patted him on the shoulder.
"Excuse me, Fluttershy, but I have absolutely no desire to expose myself to all my new friends." Discord's eyes narrowed. "Also, I need no help in dealing with the situation. I am perfectly capable of handling it on my own." He snuffed at her angrily.
"Is hiding yourself how you plan to deal with the situation Discord?" She raised one of her brows.
"MAYBE IT IS!" In a quick change of temper Discord raised his hoof and stomped down on the wooden floor. He sent a heavy tremor through the entire house, causing pots, vases, and picture frames to fall over.
Fluttershy immediately changed her demeanor and put a hoof on Discord's. She looked into his eyes, smiled, and motioned for him to take a deep breath.
He looked at her for a moment and followed her orders. After exhaling, he saw the damage he had inflicted and felt instant remorse.
"I'm sorry, Fluttershy. For once I didn't mean to break anything. It seems I have been keeping the wrong perspective, but I'm not sure how to fix things. I don't think I can stand another minute of waiting." He fell onto the couch once more.
Fluttershy softened her gaze and looked away, lost in thought. She turned her head towards him after a few moments and gave him a hard stare.
Discord's eyes darted back and forth as he attempted to avoid her gaze.
Fluttershy took a deep breath. "I want you to go to town square, stand in front of everypony, and change back into the wonderful draconequus that you are. Then, I want you to tell everypony how you feel."
"Fluttershy, you're completely insane." Discord waved his hoof, and Fluttershy was momentarily engulfed in a large straitjacket.
Her demeanor altered as she let out a few heaving grunts. She struggled for a few moments, but eventually managed to wiggle her way out of the jacket. “Do you want to make friends?” Fluttershy's tone was like that of a mother to her child.
"Yes...Alright, I see where this is going." Discord huffed into his chest.
He started walking very slowly towards the door. Beads of sweat dripped down his face. He slowed down until he reached a complete halt in front it.
Suddenly, Discord flicked his tail and he was wearing a suit. He opened a briefcase to reveal a stack of papers. "Can't we discuss the financial implications before I go?"
"Discord,I know it's going to be hard, but you have to do this on your own. I can't be there to help you. This is a friendship test that only you can overcome." Fluttershy opened the door and pointed her hoof outside. "Go." She kept her eyes on Discord as he got up and left the house.
"And don't be shy to let out some emotions!" Fluttershy winked and closed the door.
***
Once in the town square, Discord was greeted by a few of the friends he had made earlier. Ponies were quickly charmed by his charisma, and many were comfortable enough to invite him to parties, foal showers and picnics. He politely declined to their offers, but many of them proved quite insistent.
“What do you mean by 'other plans'? I thought you were going to show up to my garden party!” Chatterbox squeaked, waving her hooves in despair.
“I already embroidered your name in a seat cushion and everything! You were going to be the guest of honor,” another mare said.
“Can't you make an exception and come to my hoofball game anyway?”
Discord felt trapped and a little rude, even. These ponies seemed so nice, but he knew what he had to do. The stallion stood up taller than he felt, took a large breath, and spoke.
"Before you all run away in fear, please let me speak. I know that I've made mistakes. I know that I've betrayed all of your trust. I know that many of you really don't like me very much at all. I'm here to say that I'm completely fine with that. I tried and tried and tried to fit in among you, to become something I'm not in order to please all of you. I just wanted to be liked. I wanted to be included. Before I do what I came here to do, I just wanted to let you know that your words hurt me. Your running away hurt me. Your judging eyes hurt me. So I ask you now, as a friend, to please not hurt me anymore." Discord's eyes became glazed with tears.
His horn glittered and suddenly he was caught in a large, dark tomato. Carved out of it was a massive smile that broke out into sonorous laughter. In an instant, it subsided and what was left was a nervous, shaking draqonequus.
Ponies gasped and stared. Some were horrified and ran away in fear, others didn't move at all. Discord lowered his eyes and slumped, but when he looked around again, he saw that a few ponies did not run away. In fact, some were even smiling.
Derpy galloped to him and put a hoof on his shoulder.
"I-I don't understand."
Chatterbox spoke. "I think we just found it hard to relate to you. And maybe we were a little too harsh on what you did in the past. You seem like a pretty cool dude now."
Discord beamed. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a yellow pegasus approaching. He ran to her and scooped her up in a hug.
“Thank you, Fluttershy! I did it!” He snapped his fingers as confetti filled the air.
“See? That wasn't so hard.” Fluttershy smiled at him as she floated to the ground.
“But….some ponies still weren't ready to accept me for who I am. Why is that?” Discord's mouth drooped.
“They will, soon enough. You just need to give them time, remember?” Fluttershy winked at him.
“I suppose waiting a tad longer couldn't hurt. And besides, I've accepted it. You can't please everypony, but what matters is that I'm being welcomed for being myself.” He smiled.
Fluttershy nodded in approval.
The ponies in the square stood up and walked over to him.
"So...you're still coming to my birthday party, right?"
"Are we still watching hoofball on Sunday?"
"Would you like to have dinner Friday night?"
“I've got this great book that you need to read…”
Fin
Author's Note
This is the updated version of Nopony Likes Chaos. The story has been proofread and corrected accordingly. Thanks so much to Roranicus, who helped fix anything that was wrong with the fic. So much help was provided! Anyways, enjoy reading!
