Chapters Meeting Dewdrop and Flying Kite
Out on the wide glen, Discord leaned on a lawn chair and tanned his fur with his sun reflector. He sighed, “What a perfect sunny day! A nice tan, a refreshing drink, and not a single nuisance in sight! What could get better than this?” He was taking a sip when he suddenly heard shouting. He stopped sipping and looked around. When there was only silence, he set the drink down and resumed tanning.
He heard the sound again and it stopped just as quickly as it started. When the sound resumed again, it grew louder. Discord became fed up with this, so he shouted, “All right! Whoever’s making that racket better…”
WHUMP!
Discord found himself on the ground, apparently from being knocked off his chair. After he regained his senses, he growled as he tore off his sunglasses, “Watch it! Are you trying to break my bones or…” He stopped when he saw a Pegasus mare on him. She had a daffodil yellow coat and a light blue mane and tail in bunches. What was most striking about her, however, was that she had a patch on her left eye. She looked terrified, so Discord calmly said, “Uh…Hello.”
Despite his calm greeting, the frightened pony scampered off the left side of his body. He turned to face her, only to see a colt with a red coat and scruffy purple mane rush in to protect the mare. The colt pointed his horn towards Discord and warned, “Back off, foul creature, or I’ll blast you beyond the cosmos!” Discord chuckled, “I’d like to see you try.” When the colt summoned a teal aura from his horn, Discord wrapped his talon to cover the pony’s horn. Following a mini-burst, a flag with the word “BANG!” on it emerged between Discord’s thumb and forefinger.
After Discord released his horn, the colt proceeded to take off the flag attached to it. As he was doing so, Discord said, “That is why you should never mess with the Lord of Chaos.” The mare’s blue eye widened and she gasped, “You’re Discord? Wow! I never thought we’d get to meet you face-to-face!” She blushed and sheepishly said, “I’m sorry I got scared of you.”
Discord shrugged, “Eh, it’s not every day you meet a creature with as many mismatched parts as I do. So, what are you kids doing out here?” The colt gestured to his friend and said, “Well, I’m trying to teach…” The mare quickly covered his mouth with her hooves and chuckled nervously, “Er…some foals how to…uh…create their own dance moves. Yeah, that’s it!”
The draconequus didn’t quite take her story, but his focus was on something else. He pointed towards her flank and said, “How odd that you don’t have a cutie mark.” The mare immediately looked at her blank flank and covered it up with her tail. She blushed as she smiled nervously, “Oh, wow! That yellow paint must’ve really covered up my cutie mark good. Come on, Kite. Let’s go back and wash this off.”
Just before the two could go anywhere, Discord floated over them and said, “Ah, bup, bup! Let’s not be hasty now. I mean, look at me. I don’t have a cutie mark and I never will. Don’t pity me, because I’m glad to be a unique creature.” He chuckled, “One who has the power of chaos.”
Kite shrugged, “Well, I guess this makes me the odd pony out because I have a cutie mark.” He turned to show Discord his cutie mark, which was a piano. The mare giggled and then apologized, “You’re right. I’m sorry I lied to you, Mr. Discord.” Discord waved his paw and claw in dismissal and said, “Oh, please. None of that ‘Mister’ stuff now. Just call me ‘Lord Discord’.”
When he struck a dramatic pose, he looked at the two ponies. Kite looked less than amused and he remarked, “Oh, really? If you’re ‘Lord Discord’, shouldn’t you have Equestria under your rule by now?” Discord slumped as soon as Kite said that and he explained, “Well, I did twice until I got turned to stone both times.” The mare asked, “Then how did you get out after the second time?”
Discord then gave a sly look as he said, “You know, I never got your names. You know mine, but I don’t know yours. How can I tell you my story if I don’t know who you are?” The mare said, “Oh, sorry! I’m Dewdrop, and this is Flying Kite.” Discord couldn’t help but stifle a snicker as he said, “’Flying Kite’? But you’re not even a Pegasus!”
Kite retorted, “Watch it, pal! I may have a name that doesn’t suit my destiny, but I know more about flying than she does!” He gasped and covered his mouth, in horror of what he just said. Dewdrop hung her head low and Kite tried to apologize, “Dewy, I’m sorry. I…”
Dewdrop whispered, “It’s okay, Kite. You see, the whole reason we came out here was that he could teach me to fly.” Discord looked at her in surprise and asked, “You’ve never flown before?” The mare answered, “Well, it’s more like since I was a filly. I did fly before…before…”
The lump in her throat cut off the sentence as she sat down and began to weep. Flying Kite placed his front legs on her to comfort her and snarled at Discord, “Now look what you did. You shouldn’t have asked her.” Discord stood there dumbfounded as Kite helped Dewdrop stand up and said to her, “Come on, Dewy. Let’s get back home.”
Kite shot Discord a dirty look as he and Dewy headed straight back to their residence. Discord, although guilty that he had hurt Dewdrop’s feelings, couldn’t help but think, What did I do?
“The nerve of him! Talking to me like a schoolpony who got in trouble! Who does he think he is?!”
Discord sat at a table in Sugarcube Corner while he ranted to Pinkie Pie. She gave him a plate of chocolate cupcakes with cotton candy frosting. “Thank you,” he said in a bitter tone before snatching up a cupcake and biting it in contempt. Pinkie simply trotted back to the counter as she said, “You’re welcome. They’re your favorite, guaranteed to cheer you up.”
He said in between bites, “I really appreciate this, Pinkie dear. Sometimes you know when to brighten my day…” He lowered his voice in disgust as he continued, “…and other times just annoy the hay out of me.” Pinkie just stared at him from behind the counter, and then smiled, “That’s what I do best!” Discord just rolled his eyes and continued eating his cupcake.
The door opened and in entered two familiar ponies, one with an eye patch and the other completely entranced by a small device. Through the only uncovered eye she had, Dewdrop happened to spot Discord at a table and facing away from them. She nudged Kite and whispered repeatedly, “Kite? Kite! Discord’s here!”
She turned to Kite, whose eyes were glued to the screen as he tried to finish his video game. He mumbled as Dewdrop looked at him in an annoyed manner. She then shouted at the top of her lungs, “FLYING KITE!!!” His video game went flying as he shakily snapped out of his zone. Pinkie took notice of this and so did Discord.
He pressed his chest against his chair as he remarked, “Well, well, well. It looks like Piano Colt came back for Round 2 of smack talk.” Kite turned towards Discord and scowled, “Listen, you…” Before he could charge at the spirit, Dewdrop held him back. She apologized, “We wanted to apologize to you about what happened earlier. We didn’t mean to act so rudely to you.”
Pinkie jumped up and said, “You know what this calls for? Apology cake!” Quicker than either of the ponies could register, Pinkie had already pushed them into chairs, slid them at Discord’s table, and retrieved a cake with white frosting and red lettering that said “I’M SORRY”. There were a few moments of awkward silence before Dewdrop smiled nervously, “Well…I guess this is one way of putting it.” Pinkie singsonged before disappearing into the kitchen, “Enjooooy!”
When it was just the three of them, Dewdrop asked, “So, who wants to cut the first slice?” Discord said, “Well, I think that it should be the one to apologize for acting so harshly.” He pushed the cake towards Flying Kite and the colt shook his head, “Oh, no, no, no, no. I think you should be the one to apologize for hurting Dewy’s feelings!”
He pushed the cake back to Discord, who pushed it back while he said, “No, I believe it’s you.” Kite snapped as he slid the cake across the table again, “No, you!” This started a back-and-forth fight between Discord and Kite until Kite used his magic and slammed it into the draconequus’s face. Dewdrop scowled at Kite and scolded, “Kite! You shouldn’t have done that!” Kite just shrugged in a what-are-you-going-to-do manner.
Discord wiped the cake from his eyes, but instead of scowling, a mischievous smirk spread across his face. He slyly asked, “So that’s how you want to play it? Then let’s take this food fight outside.” He walked towards the double doors to the kitchen and said as he leaned over them, “Pinkie, we need you to bake as many sweets as you can. We’re going to have a food fight outside.”
When he didn’t hear anything, he asked again, “Uh, Pinkie…?” Suddenly, a pink blur with a mountain of treats whizzed out as fast as a rocket and a voice shrieked delightfully, “FOOOD FIIIIIGGGHHHT!!!” Pinkie raced by so fast that Discord got caught in the slipstream and the remains of cake were wiped completely off his face by the rush of air. Discord sat there dazed before he remarked, “Well, I must say her head’s in the game.” He grabbed his head and mumbled, “I’m not sure about mine, though.”
In the town square, Pinkie and Discord stood on one side while Flying Kite and Dewdrop were on the other. Both sides were ready to throw their foodstuffs while various ponies were watching them, waiting for the food fight to unfold. A minute passed and Discord shouted, “ATTACK!” At the signal, all four participants threw sweets at each other. After half a minute had passed, the mood had turned from competitive to fun. Even Flying Kite, who had been feuding with Discord earlier, was enjoying this harmless battle.
Just then, Dewdrop accidentally threw a pie at a bystander. She blushed and uttered, “Oops!” Fortunately, Minuette didn’t take it too hard. Instead, she grabbed one of the treats on Discord and Pinkie’s side and threw it at Dewdrop. This was no act of malice, but of desire to join the battle. Soon, everypony got involved in the food fight, laughing and having fun doing it. It wasn’t until a loud voice bellowed:
“WHAT’S GOING ON HERE?!!”
Everypony stopped and turned to face Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity, who were clearly peeved. “All right,” Applejack asked, “who’s the pony responsible for this?” Most of the townsponies pointed their hooves at the four who began the food fight. Discord, now completely covered with assorted frosting and jams, put his hands on his hips and humphed, “Hmph! Tattletales.”
Rarity admonished, “Just look at this mess! Twilight’s going to have quite a fit if she sees this.” Rainbow Dash nodded, “Yep, so I think we should get to work, ponies. No excuses!” The ponies all grumbled before Discord suggested, “You know, this would go a lot faster if…” Rarity tried to stop him, “No, don’t!”
She was too late, for Discord had already snapped his fingers and a rotary brush descended upon the ponies and the mess. It swiveled and rotated rapidly before lifting upward into nothingness. The ponies and the mess were all clean, but some weren’t too happy with the course of action taken. Rarity gasped as she looked at herself, “Just look at me! I’m a walking feather duster!” Some of the townsponies were nauseous from the rotary brush and some even scowled at the one responsible.
Discord saw how unhappy he made the ponies, no matter if everything was all cleaned up. Slowly and mournfully, he walked to the outskirts of town. Dewdrop watched pitifully at him and turned to Flying Kite, who shared her expression. They nodded their heads as they silently agreed to talk to Discord.
The spirit of chaos lied on a branch as he lamented, “Why can no pony see my talents as something special? Why do they have to look at me like I’m some sort of…” He nearly choked on the word, “…freak?” He closed his eyes and was about to cry until he heard a voice say:
“You’re not the only one.”
He gasped and looked down to see Dewdrop and Flying Kite looking at him in pity. Discord put a claw over his heart and said, “Don’t ever give me a heart attack! Do you hear?! For all I know, I could’ve fallen out of the tree and gotten seriously hurt!” His ears then drooped and his features became downcast as he sighed, “But maybe it’s better that way. After all, just about nopony seems to care about me.”
Discord lied back on the branch again and resumed his melancholy mind wandering. Dewdrop stepped up and disagreed, “That’s not true. We care about you.” Discord’s ears perked up and he once again turned to them, this time in curiosity. He asked half-skeptically, half-intrigued, “Oh, really? I thought I hurt your feelings in the glen.”
Dewdrop sighed, “Yeah, about that. It wasn’t you, it was me. I remembered something from a long time ago that made me give up flying. Well, that and this.” She then pointed to her eye patch and continued, “I don’t think I can fly with one eye. I can barely get even a foot off the ground without crashing.”
Discord cringed, “Ooh, lousy wing-eye coordination, huh?” He then thought of something and said, “No biggie. Just look at me.” He conjured up an eye patch, put it over his left eye, and began flying. His maneuvers were somewhat clumsy, but gracefully enough for the two ponies to be awed by his flying. He smiled as he flew on his back, “See? There’s nothing to…”
THUNK!
His horn and antler rammed into the tree trunk where Discord had been sulking earlier. Dewdrop and Kite giggled as Discord tried to free himself. He grunted, “Okay. I think I…see your…point, dear…Dewy.” When he pulled one more time, the whole tree uprooted and was still attached to Discord’s horn and antler.
The ponies laughed at this and Kite suggested, “Hey, you have an eye patch and an oversized hat. Can you put on a bushy beard?” Discord grabbed for some leaves on a branch and stuck them on his chin. He smiled, “Consider it done.” They all laughed at this, and it truly was the beginning of a wonderful friendship.
The Day that Changed Everything
About a week had passed and Discord got along with the two ponies swimmingly. They exchanged stories, including when Discord discovered friendship and why Dewdrop wore an eye patch. Discord remembered what Fluttershy told him about having more than one friend and he was glad that those friends were kind of outside like he was. True, he was mostly welcome in Ponyville, but there was a special connection amongst him, Dewdrop, and Flying Kite.
At Sugarcube Corner one afternoon, Discord and the kids were hanging out and eating their favorite treats.
Flying Kite remarked as he chewed, “Wow! Pinkie Pie knows how to make the best candy canes! Oh, they’re awesome!”
Dewdrop scolded at her friend, “Kite! Where are your table manners?”
Discord said, “Oh, let him have a little fun, Dews. After all, Pinkie Pie and the Cakes do make the best treats in all of Equestria. Well, aside from the master chef, yours truly.”
Dewdrop giggled before she took a bite of her apple brown betty.
Kite asked, “So, what do you think we should do?”
The Master of Chaos responded, “Well, I was thinking that we could take Dewdrop flying.”
The yellow Pegasus paused with a shocked expression on her face. After she swallowed nervously, she asked, “Are…are you sure about that? I can’t even fly well enough.”
“That’s why I have a plan.” The mischievous smirk on his face worried the two ponies.
“Discord?” Dewdrop nervously asked. “Is this really going to work?”
“Of course it will, Dews!” Discord replied confidently. “It’s 100% guaranteed to work.”
Flying Kite held a hoof up to Discord while the pony threatened, “Or else he’ll have to answer to me.”
“Oh, lighten up, Piano Colt. I know what I’m doing.”
Kite muttered under his breath, “I hope you do.”
Dewdrop was wearing a flier’s helmet and had a belt attached to a strap that was fastened around Discord’s tail. Discord was also wearing a flier’s helmet, but he had a red scarf unlike Dewdrop. The threesome was near a cliff and there was a ramp sitting on the edge. In a flash, roller skates appeared on Discord’s feet.
Dewdrop whimpered as she covered her eyes and braced herself, “Oh, I hope this works.”
Discord flapped his wings and crouched forward as he shouted, “Contact!”
Flying Kite held up a checkered flag as he said, “Okay…three…two…one!”
As soon as the unicorn dropped the flag, Discord went zooming towards the ramp and shot up into the sky. Dewdrop screamed as she held on to the strap for dear life. Discord looked behind him and saw that her eyes were closed.
He said, “Dewdrop, open your eyes! You can’t fly with your eyes closed!”
Slowly, Dewdrop began to open her eyes and gasped when she first saw the view.
“It’s okay, Dewdrop! Think of yourself as the giant and the ponies below as ants! Show them who’s boss!”
This gave Dewdrop a little confidence and she gradually began to flap her wings. It was a bit erratic at first, but Dewy finally managed to get the wing beat down. Soon, her wings were flapping in rhythm.
She cried gleefully, “I’m doing it, Discord! I’m flying!”
Discord smiled, “Yes! I knew you could do it!” He did a backward flip and then realized that he had a passenger in tow. He smiled embarrassedly, “Oops! Sorry.”
“No! Do it again! I liked it!”
“Then, by all means…”
The two kept spinning and turning in the sky until they both got dizzy. Flying Kite met them when they returned to the ground.
“That was awesome, Dewy! You were a terrific flier!”
Dewy nodded through her dizziness, “Thanks.” She placed a hoof on her head and said, “Whoa, I’m really dizzy from all of those stunts. I need to lie down.”
“Yeah, I guess one too many spins and flips can do that to you. Say, where’s Discord?”
His question was soon answered by the sound of vomiting in the woods.
Dewdrop smiled, “Poor Discord. I think he took it hard, too.”
Kite smirked, “No kidding.”
When Discord returned, Dewdrop was lying on a log, trying to regain her senses.
Discord wiped his hands, “Well, I suppose today could be qualified as a success.”
Flying Kite said, “Yeah. Thanks for helping her get her courage back so she could fly again. It really means a lot to Dewy and me.”
He patted the colt’s head, “You’re quite welcome, Flying Kite.”
THUMP!
The two of them turned to see Dewdrop on the ground and unconscious. Kite was the first to rush over to her and he asked, “Dewdrop? Dewdrop! DEWY!”
Discord asked worriedly, “What’s wrong with her?”
“I…I don’t know! Maybe your airborne stunts must’ve done something to her!”
“Well, let’s get her to the hospital!” He scooped up both ponies and teleported them to the hospital. He rushed them in and told the nurse at the desk, “This is a dire situation! We need a doctor to check Dewdrop!”
Nurse Redheart asked, “Okay, which one is Dewdrop?”
Discord and Kite shouted simultaneously while pointing to Dewy, “She is!”
“I’ll get Doctor Stable. Just sit tight.”
Discord scoffed, “‘Sit tight’? ‘Sit tight’?! I don’t think so!” When he snapped his fingers, he and his friends disappeared into thin air.
Doctor Stable was going over his medical reports when a draconequus appeared in a flash.
The spirit of chaos wheeled a cot right up to the good doctor while he pleaded, “Doctor Stable! This is an urgent matter! Dewdrop is sick!”
A voice then shouted, “I’m not Dewdrop!”
Discord looked down to see Flying Kite in the cot and turned to see Dewdrop on the floor.
The Lord of Chaos blushed as he said, “Oops! My bad!” Instantly, he switched the ponies to their rightful places. He told the doctor, “Dewdrop was feeling dizzy from all of the stunts we did in the air. When she decided to lie down, she fell to the ground and wouldn’t wake up! Please, can you fix her, Doc?”
Doctor Stable felt pitied yet unsettled by the puppy dog eyes Discord batted at him. He then responded, “I’ll do what I can.”
Discord quickly embraced the doctor and said, “Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!”
Flying Kite and Discord waited for hours to hear anything about Dewdrop. The colt sat on a chair while the draconequus paced back and forth.
Kite glared at him and said, “You know, you’re not helping the situation much.”
Discord retorted, “Well, can I help it if I’m feeling nervous for the both of us?! It’s almost five o’clock and there’s still nothing!”
Just as soon as he said that, the double doors opened to reveal a somber Doctor Stable.
The two of them gathered around the doctor for the news, but Stable shook his head and said, “I’m sorry to bear such horrible news, but Dewdrop has Stage 3 brain cancer.”
Kite and Discord were in absolute shock. They both wondered how this could’ve happened, especially to a sweet mare like Dewdrop.