Accord

Chapters

Prologue
The First Meeting Then Off To Rarity's Boutique
Pinkie Pie's Welcome Party For Accord

Prologue

Discord was sitting in his throne located in the middle of "the chaos capital of the world" or better known as Ponyville, before he completely overran the small town with chaos. Buildings floated into the sky and some were even floating upside down, animals were dancing all around the place (mostly buffalo), and the ground was in an unnatural checkerboard layout and not even in the natural black and white colors either, the ground was all sorts of different colors.

Discord laughed happily as apple pies began raining themselves down on Ponyville, quickly moving past him and towards the northern part of the small chaotic town. Discord smiled at all the chaos he had created, positive that this is what Equestria was going to be like from now on. A cotton candy cloud appeared next to him, catching him by surprise, but smiled as he summoned a glass and filled it with the chocolate milk rain falling from the cloud.

"Chaos is a wonderful, wonderful thing." he mused as he was about to sip the glass of chocolate milk, but got cut off by a mare's confidence-filled voice.

"But not as wonderful as friendship!" Twilight Sparkle stated, her friends by her sides as they had all been freed from Discord's personality altering spell. They all had the look of confidence on them, determined to end his reign of chaos.

Discord smirked as he let out a half annoyed groan. "This again?" He sipped on the glass of chocolate milk but actually sipped away the actual glass, and leaving the chocolate milk itself completely as solid as the glass that had surrounded it. He eyed the chocolate milk for a second before throwing it behind him, which exploded on impact as he smiled evilly.

"That's right! You couldn't break apart our friendship for long!" Applejack spoke determined.

"Oh Applejack don't lie to me!" he spoke as a finger on his lion paw began to glow, causing the Applejack's elemental necklace to pull forward towards Discord and was hoisted into the air by him. "I'm the one who made you a liar!"

Applejack tried to break free of Discord's magic, but he was more powerful than she was. In an instant, Discord's entire lion paw began to glow as a happy evil look was plastered on his face. Using his magic, the rest of the elements, expect Twilight, levitated in front of him. The others tried to break free of his magical grip like AJ had, but they failed as well.

"Will you ever learn?" he taunted the floating elements.

Twilight knew she had to do something. With focus determination, her horn began to glow as she disappeared from her spot and up towards her friends, a now protective bubble surrounding them. Her friends looked at the protective bubble in surprise as Twilight used her magic to lower them back onto the ground.

"I'll tell you what we've learned, Discord." Twilight spoke with all the confidence she could as Discord gave her a look of pure amusement. "We learned that friendship isn't always easy, but there's no doubt it's worth fighting for!"

Discord quickly approached the Mane 6. "Eww, gag!" he said with a disgusted expression, startling the ponies just a bit. "Fine go ahead. Try and use your little elements. Friend me!" he taunted.

"But just make it quick!" he spoke seriously the next second. He disappeared and reappeared in his throne sporting an almost sadistic look. "I'm missing some excellent chaos here!"

"Alright ladies, let's show him what friendship can do!" Twilight smiled, knowing that Discord would be defeated this time.

"Wait! Wait! Wait!" Pinkie Pie called as she was under a cotton candy cloud, drinking some chocolate milk rain. She filled her mouth once more and swallowed the milk rain happily before returning to her friends, now sporting a serious face, determined to defeat Discord with them.

Twilight's horn began to glow as a bright glow surrounded the Mane 6. Discord yawned in boredom, thinking that they would just fail like they had before. Twilight's glow quickly touched the Elemental necklaces, causing their shapes to pulse out rather quickly in their own special color. The elements stopped pulsing after a second and began firing their shapes outwards at Discord.

Discord looked at the Mane 6 in surprise, as this hadn't happened the last time they tried the elements on him. "Huh? What's this?" he spoke in confusion. The elements' shapes kept shooting out towards him, he could see that they were actually working this time. "No."

The Mane 6 were now floating in the air as the magic of the elements began to work. Twilight's crown was the last to effectively glow. She opened her eyes as they were now filled with the Elements powerful magic.

'Teach him a lesson he'll never forget.' Twilight thought to herself as a rainbow emerged from the elements and immediately made their way towards Discord. The rainbow completely engulfed him as he cried out his last no before the rainbow that surrounded him completely blocked out his sound from the ponies.

The rainbow also created a dome around Ponyville, which wiped out all of Discord's magic from it and it spreaded outwards, removing all the potential chaos Discord had spread through Equestria. The ponies levitated back down onto the ground as their elements had stopped glowing.

"We did it!" Fluttershy cheered happily, an outburst that was very rare from her, but she was so happy that he had been defeated, she couldn't control herself. "He won't cause any more danger to Equestria or the poor little animals." she smiled.

"That meanie pants won't cause no more harm! You know what, we should throw a Discord-is-defeated-and-Equestria-is-saved party!" Pinkie offered happily.

"Easy there, sugarcube. We need to inform the princess on Discord's defeat first." Applejack informed her.

Twilight looked at the ground ahead of her in confusion. "Where is Discord anyways? Didn't the elements reverse him back into a stone statue?"

"Well, a tacky stone statue couldn't have just disappeared like that, dear." said Rarity. "Perhaps the magic of the elements threw the statue abit out of our views. He shouldn't be hard to find. After all, he's the only statue of his kind." she smiled.

The Mane 6 trotted forward to go and look for Discord's statue, only to stop after a few steps when they heard a familiar groan behind them. They all quickly whipped themselves around and saw Discord, lying on the ground on his back, and moaning as if he had a headache.

"Discord?" the ponies said in unison.

"But how can that be? We watched the rainbow completely engulf him!" Rainbow panicked. "How is he not a stone statue?"

"Does that mean the elements can't work on him after being in that stone imprisonment for a thousand years?" Rarity panicked as the thought as a chaos filled world made her shiver. "We can't let him escape! I can't live in a mismatched world created by him again!"

Discord, whose head was now pounding after being hit by the elemental rainbow, quickly took notice that he was still fine and hadn't been turned back into stone like he had the first time the elements were used on him. He turned his head and saw looks of horror on the elemental bears' faces. Their looks caused him to start laughing, despite the headache he had.

"It seems Celestia's elements aren't as powerful as once they once were supposed!" he laughed as he got onto his feet. "This is just too perfect! It seems chaos is more powerful than friendship."

"Friendship will always triumph over chaos, Discord!" Twilight yelled angrily.

"You say that and yet, here I am, still gracing your presence. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some chaos that your little elements wiped out. Ciao!" he smiled as he snapped his eagle claw. He just stood there, no magic had taken him away to wherever he wanted to travel to. "What's this?" he tried to use his magic to teleport again, but he remained where he stood. "What in Equestria is going on here?" he spoke, slightly panicked.

"It looks like your magic got drained by the Elements, it seems." spoke Twilight happily. "I guess friendship is more powerful than chaos."

Discord crossed his arms in an annoyed matter. "Your little princess still doesn't know, so ha!" he said as he stuck his snake-like tongue at him, in which he made a noise of a snake before he pulled it back in.

As is on some cue, Princess Celestia appeared before the Mane 6 and Discord. Seconds after descending onto the ground, Celestia wore the same look of shock on her face as the Mane 6 had just mere moments ago. She surely thought he would have been imprisoned in stone like he had before, yet, there he stood, arms crossed in annoyance.

"Discord, I see the elements failed to imprison you back into stone, yet, they were able to remove your chaos from across Equestria." Celestia stated.

"Your elements aren't as powerful as you thought, Celestia." he spoke mockingly.

Celestia gave him a glare before turning towards the Mane 6, more notably towards Twilight. "Tell me, my faithful student, did the Elements do anything to Discord besides rid Equestria of his chaos?"

"They also took his powers as well, Princess. I don't seem to understand why he didn't turn into stone. Didn't he commit horrible deeds?" Twilight asked.

"He did indeed, but the Elements can also detect the good that resides in any creature and they must have saw inside of him that he had some good that hadn't been there a thousand years ago. They saw that he could possibly redeem himself in the light of harmony and friendship."

"Me? Connected with harmony and friendship?" he laughed. "You're a riot, Celestia!"

"Don't laugh at the princess!" yelled Rainbow Dash.

"It's alright, Rainbow Dash. He won't be laughing when I tell him what I have planned for him." Celestia smiled.

"What exactly do you have in mind, Princess?" asked Rainbow.

"Quite simple, Rainbow. Since the Elements did spare him for a reason, I want him to learn all about friendship and harmony and see how it is much better than chaos and disharmony."

"And how are you going to make me, Celestia? Hmm?" Discord taunted some more.

"That's quite simple. You're going to become a young colt." Celestia smiled as her horn began to glow.

Celestia's horn produced a ray of white magic as it swarmed itself around Discord's body before completely engulfing him. The magic showed his body changing into that of a young pony about the CMC's age. The magic quickly dispersed from Discord, leaving in his place a small gray pegasus colt with a black mane and tail. He even had red eyes to match. Celestia smiled at Discord, knowing now that he was now completely harmless.

Discord quickly took notice of his change and glared up at Celestia, who now completely towered over him. "What did you do to me?" he yelled when he noticed his voice was also high as well. "And what have you done to my voice?"

Celestia laughed. "Like I stated, you must learn about friendship and harmony and all it has to offer. It gave you a second chance to redeem yourself, so I'm giving you a second chance as well. Besides, as a young colt, you can start over completely and make new friends."

"No! I won't do it!" Discord pouted in annoyance.

"Princess, how is he going to make friends if he is refusing?" Twilight asked.

"That is simple. He is going to stay here in Ponyville and start attending the schoolhouse that is being ran by Miss Cheerilee." Celestia informed.

"WHAT?" the Mane 6 yelled.

"But where is he going to even stay, Princess? He can't exactly live on his own. He may try something." Rainbow warned.

"Rainbow, I would like him to stay with Twilight in Ponyville library."

"But P-Princess!" Twilight argued. "I know I usually don't go against your word, but he can't simply stay in the library! He may ruin the books or do something to Spike!"

Celestia put up her hoof up, causing Twilight to stop talking after going on about the horrible things Discord could do. "My dear student, to ensure Equestria's safety and his as well, I'm going to wipe his memory until he can prove himself that he can make friends and be in harmony with others."

"What? You will do no such thing, Celestia!" Discord stomped his hoof in protest.

"Yes I will, Discord. I should have done something like this a thousand years ago, but I was more worried about bringing back order than having you redeem yourself. This will be done and you will have no say in the matter since you keep refusing."

"He won't remember a single thing, Princess?" asked Applejack.

"That's right, Applejack. He won't remember anything, not even you guys. It'll be like he was just reborn. The only pony he'll even have the faintest idea of is of Twilight here. She'll have to introduce him to you all again."

"Wait, if he's becoming a new pony, shouldn't he also have a new name as well?" Rarity asked.

"I will leave that to you all." Celestia said as she turned to Discord. "As for you, your chaos memories are now to be wiped from your head and you are to begin life anew!"

"Wait, Princess! How will I be able to care for him? I haven't enough bits to care for another pony." Twilight asked.

"I will send you over more, of course, my faithful student. Now, are you and your friends willing to raise him in the name of friendship and harmony?" Celestia asked.

The Mane 6 bowed in front of Princess Celestia as a sign that they were willing to show Discord the way of friendship and harmony. "We'll be glad to, for the fate of Equestria." spoke Twilight.

"Thank you, my little ponies." Celestia smiled at them before she turned and walked towards Discord. "As for you, it is time for you to begin to redeem yourself. I hope you will find the light and will end up walking the path of harmony." Celestia spoke as her horn began to glow faintly.

"No! I will not-" he argued but got cut off as Celestia's magic wrapped itself around him again, but this time removing everything in had experienced in life, expect for being able how to talk and do basic things like walking, how to eat, etc. All Celestia left in his head was that he lived with Twilight and that was all.

Celestia's magic left Discord again, who was asleep by the loss of the memories. Celestia turned and looked at her element bearers. "Tomorrow there will be a celebration over your triumph over Discord. I want you to bring him so he will learn quickly that chaos is punished and harmony is always rewarded. He is now a brand new colt, he remembers nothing and it's up to you all to lead him down the right path."

"Yes, Princess." the Mane 6 replied with a second bow.

"Until then, may you and him all live in friendship and harmony." Celestia said as she left in a burst of light, leaving the Mane 6 alone with the sleeping Discord.

"What do we do now?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"I say we give him a new name, preferably something that isn't related to chaos in any form." suggested Rarity.

"How about something that involves flight in the name since he's a pegasus colt?" said Rainbow. "How about Storm?"

"Heavens no! Storms can be quite violent and we don't want to give him a name representing anything that could possibly be bad." Rarity objected.

"We should give him a name that represents harmony." Fluttershy suggested quietly. "Since we're trying to get him to go down the path of good now."

A name quickly flashed in Twilight's mind. "How about Accord?"

"Accord? What the hay does that mean?" Applejack asked in confusion.

"It's the complete opposite of Discord. Accord is an agreement while discord is a disagreement. It's the perfect opposite." Twilight smiled.

"Maybe we can call him Accordion and he can play one too!" Pinkie laughed.

"I think Accord will work better, Pinkie." smiled Twilight. "Is Accord all right with you guys? We all are going to raise him together, after all."

"I'm cool with it. I'll just nickname him Cord." smiled Rainbow Dash.

The others spoke in agreement on the name 'Accord.' It was the exact opposite of what Discord was all about originally and they wanted him to now stand for friendship and harmony. Just as the Mane 6 decided on his new name, he began to stir and wake up.

The First Meeting Then Off To Rarity's Boutique

The newly memory wiped colt that was formerly known as Discord opened his eyes sleepily. He sat himself up and looked around his surroundings to see where he was. The Mane 6 and him were in Ponyville park as this is where the final battle between harmony and chaos had took place. He then gazed at the Mane 6, who all gave him a blank look.

"T-Twilight?" he spoke. "W-Where am I?"

Twilight, now knowing that she was going to play the role as a guardian to him, gave him a heartwarming smile. "You're in Ponyville Park. Do you remember anything that happened before you fell asleep?" she asked.

"All I remember is that I came to live with you just a while ago. You took us to the park to have fun and then I just fell asleep after playing." said the gray colt when a thought struck him. "Twilight, what's my name? I can't seem to remember."

"Accord. Your name is Accord." Twilight smiled.

"Oh." he stated as he got onto his hooves and walked up to Twilight. "Are these your friends, Twilight?" he asked.

"Yes they are. This is my good friend, Applejack." Twilight smiled as she pointed a hoof at AJ. "She's a very honest pony."

"Well howdy there, Accord. How are y'all today?" Applejack spoke, trying to push out of her mind that this young colt was Discord.

Accord gave Applejack a worried look before looking at Twilight, wondering if it was ok to speak back to Applejack. Twilight gave him a reassuring smile, which was enough to cause him to smile and turn back towards Applejack.

"I-I'm good. I feel abit dizzy after waking up, though." Accord answered.

"You know what y'all need? An apple. It'll cure that dizzy feeling right away. I'd go back to my farm and get ya one, but you'll-" Applejack said before getting cut off by Accord.

"You live on a farm? What kind of farming do you do, Applejack?" he asked excitedly.

"I live on an apple farm, kiddo. I harvest all kinds of apples that I sell at the market." Applejack smiled.

"Do you have any animals that live on your farm?" he asked.

"Well, if you want to know more about animals now, Sugarcube, ask Fluttershy about them. She has all kinds of critters living at her house." smiled Applejack as she pushed Accord in the direction of Fluttershy. "Tell him what animals live at your place, Fluttershy."

"Well, I have seals, bunnies, eagles, goats..." Fluttershy spoke so quietly, it was a miracle if Accord could even hear her.

"Really?" he spoke excitedly. "Could I come over to your house and see your animals sometime, Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy face lit up as she didn't know many ponies that seemed so interested in animals. "Of course you can, Accord. I would love to show you all my cutey-wutey animals." Fluttershy spoke, now at a volume that everypony could hear her at.

"He can't spend all his time with just animals, Fluttershy. He's gotta learn to fly too!" Rainbow Dash protested.

"Really? What's your name?" Accord asked as Rainbow was now flying above the rest of them.

"I'm Rainbow Dash, the fastest pegasus in all of Equestria. I'll be teaching you how to fly with those wings of yours the right way so you're not always grounded like unicorns or Earth ponies." Rainbow smiled.

"Are you really the fastest pegasus in Equestria?" Accord asked excitedly once more.

"Well, she likes to think she is, but she's not." laughed Applejack.

"Hey, I'm still pretty fast and the only one qualified here to teach little Cord how to fly!" Rainbow yelled. "Besides, who else can teach him how to do flight tricks?"

"Cord? Whose Cord?" asked Accord in confusion.

"You're Cord, silly. It's a nickname I've given you." Rainbow laughed. "It's not replacing your real name or anything."

"Oh." smiled Accord. "Cord. I like it. Like a music cord right?"

"Exactly." smiled Twilight.

"Speaking of music, we need to throw him a party! We lots of dance music, food, and cake! Yes, cake! We need lots and lots of cake since Dis-" Pinkie spoke before Rarity shove her hoof over Pinkie's mouth.

"Pinkie, dear. Discord is long gone. We have Accord now and he is much more civilized than Discord ever will be." Rarity said at Pinkie with a glare. After giving Pinkie her glare, she turned her head back around and smiled down at Accord. "I'm sorry about Pinkie Pie, dear. She gets quite excited when a new pony comes to town. Oh, I haven't introduce myself to you either! I am Rarity. You can call me Miss Rarity if you'd like."

"Miss Rarity, who is Discord?" Accord asked.

Rarity looked at her friends worried, wondering if she should tell him about who he was just a little while ago. Rarity was worried that speaking of Discord could somehow remove Celestia's memory erasing spell from Accord and cause him to revert back to who he once was. Twilight gave Rarity a smile, indicating she should tell him about Discord, as Twilight was positive that Celestia's spell was quite powerful and would hold up.

"Go ahead, Rarity. He deserves to know about Discord and why to NOT be like him." Twilight spoke.

"Was Discord a bad pony?" asked Accord.

"He was a terrible pony indeed! He caused chaos all over Equestria and made ponies all over argue and fight with the ponies they loved. He even broke apart lifetime friends with his horrible chaos! Not to mention his chaos caused the world to look absolutely terrible! I can't even think about it without shivering!" Rarity rambled as she did indeed shiver at the thought of Discord's horrible world.

"He broke apart families and friends? That wasn't very nice of him." Accord said with slight anger in his voice.

"It was terrible! That's why he had no friends either. Since he was mean to ponies, ponies were mean back to him as well." said Rarity. "If you want friends, Accord, you have to be nice to other ponies."

"I want to have friends!" spoke Accord. "Friends sound like a wonderful thing to have."

"They are the best!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie, as Rarity had removed her hoof from her mouth to tell the story of Discord. "They do things with you, they give you presents, and always want to be round you too! Oh, I'm Pinkie Pie, party planner! I'll teach you how to throw a great party and how to have fun and pull pranks on other ponies!"

"A party?" asked Accord. "When is your next party? They sound like they're so much fun!" he smiled.

"Oh they are! Oh! I'll throw you a party! It'll be a Welcome-to-Ponyville-Accord party! I gotta get to Sugarcube Corner and start whipping up some cupcakes!" Pinkie Pie said excitedly. "Bye guys! See you later for the party!" Pinkie said as she literally bounced in the direction towards Sugarcube Corner.

"That's Pinkie Pie for you." Rarity laughed.

"It sure is, sugarcube." said Applejack.

"Accord," said Twilight. "I'm surprised you warmed up to my friends so quickly after I introduced you to Applejack."

"I feel like I could just trust them even if I had just talked to Applejack at first. There's this strange feeling, like I've known them all before, Twilight, but I just met them right now." spoke Accord.

"That's because we're the best group of friends a pony could ask for!" said Rainbow Dash happily. "We're your friends now too, Cord and we're gonna show all sorts of neat things, like the celebration in Canterlot tomorrow!"

"What's being celebrated?" asked Accord once more.

"Discord's defeat, of course. We were the ones who stopped his nasty reign of chaos using the Elements of Harmony. He deserves to be in stone again." Rainbow spoke proudly, knowing she had to come up with a lie, so she took the most obvious (and easiest) one she could think of.

"He's in stone?"

"Oh heavens yes." spoke Rarity. "That way he can't hurt anypony no more and it'll give him time to think about the horrible things he's done. Now, since we're heading over to a party for you, we should get you something to wear for the party!"

"Rarity, I don't think he needs to wear anything for Pinkie's party..." Twilight spoke up.

"I will not have him go to his own welcome party without having some sort a party outfit or at least a hat for him to wear. Just because I wasn't there to do anything for you at your own welcome party, Twilight, will I allow him to not look dashing at his own party!"

"Is it really necessary Rarity?" Twilight asked. "He looks just fine the way he is."

"It isn't necessary, but he shouldn't just blend in with all the other ponies! With those red eyes and gray coat of his, he won't blend in for that matter. I'm sure I could figure something-IDEA!" Rarity said excitedly as an accessory flashed in her mind. "I know exactly what to make him! Come, Accord, I will make you look fabulous for your party."

"Whatever you say, Miss Rarity..." Accord said as he followed Rarity as Twilight followed directly behind him.

The three ponies arrived at Rarity's boutique. The boutique inside was very colorful as pony mannequins dressed in the latest outfits Rarity had made just the other day. One mannequin held a flowing purple dress with stars running down the front and another mannequin holding a white leotard covered in black stars on the shoulders. Rarity immediately walked over to her table and used her magic to put on her red sewing glasses and to turn on her sewing machine.

"Welcome to my boutique, Accord." Rarity said as she began to make a hat for him. "You may look at all my outfits if you want to. If you want me to make you anything to wear, I'll be happy to make you it!"

Accord smiled at Rarity as he began to look around the shop. There were more than just mannequins wearing Rarity's latest creations, there were also little stands that were holding some of Rarity's recently created accessories. On one stand held a simple black beret while on another held a pair of hoof sewn red velvet shoes. Accord smiled at the creations. They were so pretty and to think that Rarity was the one that had created them.

"Rarity, since you're already making him a hat, could you make him a vest as well?" asked Twilight.

"A vest? What for? To wear for the party?" Rarity asked as she began to use her magic to sew on some red feathers to a finished black hat.

"Well, no. I'd like him to have it so he'll be protected."

"Protected? What on earth does he need protection for?"

"Well, from anything really." Twilight said, sounding like an over protective parent.

"Twilight, you're starting to sound like an over protective parent. Celestia asked us to raise him in light of friendship and harmony, not as a jailed up little foal." Rarity joked. "But never the less, I'll be glad to make the vest for him and give it my own little personal touch, like openings for his little wings."

"About his wings...do you think Rainbow will be too harsh with him when she teaches him flying? I'm worried he may end up hurting himself..."

"Twilight, dear! You've only had him for a little less than an hour and you're already starting to worry about him getting hurt with a small flying lesson!"

"Celestia entrusted us to take care of him! I can't allow him to get hurt. What if after one incident he wants to turn back to chaos?"

"Twilight, dear, you're overreacting. It'll take a whole lot more than him getting hurt once to turn back to chaos. He would have to be hurt physically and emotionally quite alot for him to go against friendship and harmony."

"What if it does?" Twilight panicked.

"Dear, he'll be fine. The sooner he gets enrolled into school, the better. At least in school, Cheerilee will teach him that good triumphs over evil." Rarity said as she finished sewing on the feathers to the black hat. "There! Accord's hat is finished! What do you think, dear?"

Twilight looked over at the hat. It was a black bowler hat with red feathers sticking out tall and proud on the right side. "I haven't seen this style hat in a long time."

"It true that the bowler hat style isn't worn very much but this hat will fit him so perfectly, I bet this hat will become his favorite clothing article! I can see him still wearing this hat after several years! Accord, come and see your new hat!" Rarity called, snapping Accord out of the daydream he was having wearing one of creations Rarity had.

"Oh! This is such a cool hat!" Accord smiled. "I get to wear this to the party, right?"

"Of course, dear! You'll be the life of the party, especially since it's your own after all." Rarity smiled as she levitated the hat onto Accord's head. "I knew it would look simply fabulous! If you wore this to school, all the foals would definitely be jealous of you."

"He is not wearing that hat when he starts school. It's much too flashy for the classroom environment." Twilight said.

"School? What's school?" Accord asked.

"School is where you get to learn about new things, Accord. It's also a great place to make some new friends. Applejack and Rarity's sisters attend there and I'm sure they would love to become your friend." Twilight smiled.

Rarity glanced at the clock soon as Twilight had mention Sweetie Belle. "Speaking of school, it seems they just got let out as well! I still can't believe Cheerilee was able to hold school during the entire chaos disaster." Rarity spoke. "If you just wait a few minutes, Accord, you can meet Sweetie Belle if you'd like. Perhaps you both can get your cutie marks together."

"Cutie marks?" asked Accord in confusion.

"A cutie mark represents your talent, Accord. Right now, you don't have one on your flank since you don't know your talent yet. Sweetie Belle and her friends don't know theirs either, so they try many things in an attempt to earn them. I'm sure they'd let you join since you don't have one either."

The door to the boutique swung open in a fury as Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo walked into the main room with big grins on their faces. It seemed like they both had a great day at school today. They were talking excitedly among themselves until they walked across the room towards Twilight, Rarity, and Accord.

"Rarity! Twilight! You won't believe the day we had at school today! It was so weird it was awesome!" Sweetie Belle chimed.

"Yeah! We were playing on the playground when the ground turned all checkered like and then we saw buildings floating in the air! It was insane!" Scootaloo spoke excitedly.

"And Cheerilee let you all kept on playing?" Rarity asked.

"Well...as soon as she saw the ground turned all checkered, she made us all come indoors and stay there. She tried to teach us until this weird guy appeared in our classroom..." Sweetie Belle explained.

"I think he said his name was Discord or Disharmony...?" Scootaloo said, trying to remember the correct name.

"Wait, Discord came to your school, girls?" Twilight spoke in panic. "Tell me immediately what he did!"

"Well, he appeared in a burst of light and began to say how happy he was to see us all scared. Cheerilee kept telling him to just to go away, but he didn't. He tapped Cheerilee on the head really quick and the just disappeared. He put Cheerilee under some spell because the next thing we knew, she was all sad, saying we could do whatever the hay we wanted, as long as we didn't bug her." explained Scootaloo.

"But then we saw this really bright rainbow outside the windows and everything was immediately turned back to normal! The rainbow even brought Cheerilee back to her senses. She said everything looked safe, but she made everyone else run home as quickly as we could though. So here Scoots and I are." Sweetie Belle smiled.

"Oh my goodness! I'm glad you didn't dare leave the school, Sweetie Belle! You as well, Scootaloo! It wasn't very pretty sight here anyways." Rarity said as she hugged the two fillies.

"What happened with you? Did you get affected by the same spell that Cheerilee did?" asked Sweetie Belle.

"We did but it's all over now, girls. But right now, I'd like you girls to meet somepony. This is Accord, a colt that Princess Celestia has asked my friends and I to take care of in the time being." Twilight smiled as she slightly nudged Accord in the direction of the girls. "Go ahead, Accord. You can say hi. They are really nice fillies."

"H-Hello." Accord spoke, not feeling as comfortable around Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle like he did with Twilight and her friends.

"Oh, a new pony!" Scootaloo smiled. "Are you gonna be joining us in school now that it's normal again?" she laughed.

"I am." Accord said, feeling a tad more confident upon hearing Scootaloo's friendly voice being directed at him.

"Awesome! Starting next week then?" asked Sweetie Belle.

Accord didn't know what to say. When was he starting school anyways? He was about to speak when Twilight spoke for him instead. "He'll be starting first thing Monday of next week."

"Awesome! Can't wait to see you there!" smiled Scootaloo when she noticed that Accord was a blank flank like her and Sweetie. "You don't have your cutie mark either, huh?"

Accord simply shook his head no.

"Neither do Sweetie or I. Maybe you should join the Cutie Mark Crusaders. We'll help each other find our cutie marks!"

"R-Really? You'd let me join your group just like that?" asked Accord.

"Well sure. You seem like a nice colt and you're new here too, so you also need some friends. Sweetie and I would be happy to be your new friends. Accord, was it?" asked Scootaloo.

Accord nodded his head.

"Accord. Your name sounds so positive." Sweetie Belle smiled. "Unlike that Discord guy, whose name sounds so negative."

"Thanks." Accord smiled.

"Oh! You'll also get to meet Applebloom on Monday too! She's a CMC too. She's the leader of the group and will be more than happy to have you join us." smiled Sweetie.

"I'm sure she'll be at the party today." said Rarity happily.

"Oh, is Pinkie throwing a welcome party for Accord?" asked Sweetie.

"Yes, and she wants everypony in Ponyville there to welcome him. That means you two as well." said Rarity.

"Hooray! The newest CMC member gets to be in the group even sooner!" Sweetie cheered.

"Now go and play girls. I have to talk to Accord abit more. You'll see him at the party." smiled Rarity.

"Ok then. See ya at the party Accord!" Sweetie said cheerfully as she and Scootaloo disappeared up the stairs towards her bedroom.

"Now, you wanted Accord to have a vest on him for protection, correct, Twilight?" asked Rarity, wanting to confirm.

"Yes. Just in case something should happen to him at school or Rainbow's flying lessons." Twilight informed her once more.

"Well, since this is for you, Accord, I'll let you pick out the kind of fabric you'd like it to be." Rarity smiled. "You can choose any type you'd like but I would stay away from any black at the moment as it's coming into summer and you'll become very hot in black after wearing it everyday. I would recommend some red or perhaps some gold!"

"I like the idea of gold but I think red would match this hat better, right?" Accord asked, a bit confused.

"You're absolutely right! You seem to pick up on things rather quickly, Accord. That's always a good quality in a pony." Rarity smiled as she pulled down some red fabric. "How is this fabric, dear? It'll match your charming new hat and you can even wear the vest tonight as it won't take me too long to make it."

Accord felt the fabric with his hooves. He quickly took note that the fabric was very firm yet, it was very soft as well. "I like this fabric, Miss Rarity. It seems just right to me."

"This is an excellent choice, dear. I'll get on your vest straight away." Rarity smiled.

Twilight simply watched as Accord seemed to be mesmerized by Rarity's making of the vest. Twilight was happy that he was taking interest in something as simple as sewing. Well, simple if you're a unicorn that is.

'I can't believe this colt was Discord. He's the complete opposite of Discord though. He wants to make friends and learn new things from my friends. Did Celestia switch Accord and Discord when we weren't looking? He's just so much better than Discord in every way. At least he hasn't developed Discord's nasty habit for invading everypony's personal space.' Twilight thought to herself.

"And you sew along this part so the vest won't fall apart." Rarity explained to Accord. "And you sew along this back part and there! You're all and now are the proud owner of a new vest, my dear!"

"Can I try it on?" asked Accord excitedly.

"But of course. I have to make sure it fits or I'll have to adjust it so it can fit you properly." Rarity smiled at him. "Just hold still and I'll just slip this on you."

As Rarity slipped the vest onto Accord, she couldn't help but begin to think to herself. 'It's amazing to think that this colt was formerly Discord. But at least Accord doesn't have Discord's horrible tastes and is much more civilized than him. I also won't have to worry about him causing any spells on me or my clothes. The last thing I need is to look horrible!' she thought to herself.

Rarity finished slipping the vest onto Accord and quickly used her magic to drag one of her many mirrors directly in front of him. "You look great! How does it feel? Not too uncomfortable, I hope?"

Accord wiggled around in the vest a little bit to test that it was on comfortably. "It fits just fine, Miss Rarity."

"Excellent! It goes so well your hat as well. A complete outfit all ready to go! I must say, the red really does make your eyes pop, dear." smiled Rarity.

Accord looked in the mirror to see that Rarity was right. His red eyes did seem to stand out in the vest and hat. "I guess they do."

"Thank you so much, Rarity!" Twilight said happily, finally speaking up after just watching Rarity and Accord talk among themselves the last few minutes. "How much do I owe you?"

"You will pay me nothing, Twilight dear. Think of it like his birthday present from me." smiled Rarity. "After all, it is his first offical day in Ponyville."

"If you insist, Rarity." smiled Twilight when she heard a knock on Rarity's door. "Rarity, somepony is at your door."

Rarity used her magic to swing open the door to reveal Pinkie Pie who was smiling excitedly.

"It's time for Accord's party! You don't want to be late now, do you?" Pinkie said happily. "Of course you guys don't! Come on, the party is already started and we can't have as much fun until the guest of honor arrives!"

"Hold your ponies, Pinkie, dear. We're coming. Sweetie Belle! Scootaloo! It's time to head on over to the party!" Rarity yelled upstairs as she grabbed one of her hats, which was a red summer hat. "I have to match something after all and I might as well attempt to match Accord." she spoke to Twilight.

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle came rushing down the stairs, excited to go to yet another one of Pinkie Pie's infamous parties. They stood ready at the door, excited to go to another party in which they could devour as many sweets as they could until they got a sugar high.

After Rarity made sure her hat was secure on her head and Accord's hat was secured on his own, the five ponies left Rarity's boutique and began to walk towards Sugarcube Corner.

Pinkie Pie's Welcome Party For Accord

After a short walk across Ponyville, the five ponies reached Suagarcube Corner to see the outside of the colorful building was even more colorful than it normally was for Pinkie Pie had hung up various colors of balloons and had different colored streamers hanging across the front.

"What do you think, Accord?" Pinkie smiled. "I thought you might like some party decorations that were bright and colorful!"

Accord smiled. "These are really neat but-" he said when he noticed something off about some of the balloons. "-why do some of the balloons have faces drawn on them?"

"Oh, I found some smiley faced balloons in my party supplies and I thought I'd use them since it's your first day here in Ponyville and since it's your party, you need to have the happiest decorations at your party!"

"They certainly are an interesting touch, I'll say." Rarity commented.

"Let's get inside and party instead of standing out here like boring chairs!" Pinkie smiled as she pushed the five ponies in through the door.

The inside of Sugarcube Corner was even more brighter and colorful than it was outside. Streamers hung all over the ceiling while several tables that were set out for the party were covered in different shades of red, gold, and black. At least Rarity and Accord would match the decor of the tables. Balloons with smiley faces also graced the ceiling and tables as well. The balloons themselves were all sorts of colors.

The instant they walked into the door, the ponies that were already there cheered "Welcome to Ponyville!" in unison, catching Accord and Twilight by surprise. The ponies all gave him a warm and welcoming looks on their faces.

"Were you surprised, Accord? Were you? Were you?" Pinkie asked excitedly.

Accord simply nodded in response.

"Oh goodie! Then another surprise party is all go! Now that you're here Accord, you can have some food and make some new friends!" Pinkie insisted.

"Well, I need make some friends at Rarity's. I think their names were Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo I think." Accord said, trying to recall the two CMC's he met and walked over to the party with.

Scootaloo, who was grabbing a cupcake from the refreshment table overheard her name begin talked about by Accord. She ate her cupcake in a single go and walked over to Accord.

"That's right. The name is Scootaloo, Accord. Applebloom is here now, so we need to officially make you a Cutie Mark Crusader!" Scootaloo smiled as she used a hoof to wrap it around Accord's neck and began to walk towards the table where Applebloom and Sweetie Belle were standing.

"So, where is this pony y'all told me about, Sweetie Belle?" Applebloom asked her.

"There he is!" Sweetie smiled as she pointed a hoof at him. "Hey there, Accord! This is Applebloom, the CMC leader."

Applebloom gave Accord a smile. "Hey there. So you're the newest colt in Ponyville and ya'll have no cutie mark I see. We don't have ours neither. Sweetie been telling me you've been wanting to join the CMC?"

Accord nodded at her question.

"A shy pony now? Don't worry." Applebloom smiled. "We'll break you of your shyness so you're not so timid like Fluttershy."

"I-I'm not that shy...b-but I feel like I can trust you." Accord smiled. "You're giving off a positive vibe. Applebloom, was it?"

"That's right. Applebloom of the Apple family. I live on Sweet Apple Acres, where we grow the best apples on this side of Equestria!"

"Wait, you live on the apple farm?" Accord asked excitedly. "With Applejack?"

"Applejack's my big sister. You met her already?"

Accord nodded. "She's says you guys harvest apples and sell them at the market!"

"Well, that's what Big Mac and Applejack do. I sometimes help sell, but after that one incident, Applejack won't let me sell apples in town. Only apple cider during cider season."

"Big Mac? Whose that?"

"Big Mac's my older brother. I'm the youngest in the family. There's also Granny Smith whose already asleep by this time."

"All four of you live on the farm and collect apples all day long?"

"Well, most of the time, yes. Wow, you sure ask a lot of questions, Accord. I've never met a foal who asked so many questions."

"I just want to know all I can about Ponyville and Equestria!"

"Twilight has told us that knowledge is the most valuable thing there is. Now, wasn't I going to let you into the Cutie Mark Crusaders or you just gonna keep asking questions about me?"

"I'd like to join the Cutie Mark Crusaders." Accord smiled.

"That's what I thought." Applebloom laughed. "I dub thee into the Cutie Mark Crusaders! I learned that from this knight book Twilight showed me one time."

"I'm living with Twilight." Accord responded. "In the big tree that's Ponyville library!"

"We've been there quite a few times."

"Are you two just gonna just chit-chat through this party or are we gonna have some fun?" Scootaloo asked eagerly.

"Enough talking! Time to get on the dance floor!" Sweetie Belle spoke excitedly. "We only get to attend so many parties!"

"They're right! Come on, it's time to show Ponyville your stuff, Accord!" Applebloom said as she motioned a hoof for him to come forward and follow her to the open space that was serving as the dance floor.

Pinkie Pie had recently gotten a special dance floor put in (she had to save quite a few bits) that it lit up whenever anypony danced on it. The floor was made of tiles and each one was always a different color then the ones around it to give it more of that party feel. Pinkie said she just had to whip it out for this party.

"I see the guest of honor has finally made it to the dance floor!" Vinyl Scratch called from her DJ booth. "Do I have the perfect song for you! Pinkie said it'll remind you of something from the past or whatever. Let's get this party really started!"

The DJ unicorn used her magic to levitate down a record and place it on her DJ station. She placed the needle on top of it, producing a techno beat to come roaring out of the stereos.

"Get out there and shuffle, my little ponies!" Vinyl yelled over the music, her head bopping to the beat.

"S-Shuffle?" asked Accord.

"It's the newest dancing sensation! Vinyl has been telling everypony in Ponyville that she saw some pony earlier yesterday doing the move and she made the dance spread like wildfire at the party she hosted yesterday." Applebloom explained. "It's real easy to do it too! You just have to have some balance standing upright on your back hooves. Like this!"

Carefully getting up on her back hooves and making sure she didn't fall over, Applebloom slowly began to slide her back hooves as her front hooves bounced each time as her back hooves went back. She quickly increased in speed and was now performing the dance move Vinyl had called shuffling.

As Applebloom was shuffling happily, several other ponies had began to mimic the same exact move. Within a few moments, at least half of the ponies on the dance floor were now performing the dance move.

"Come on, Accord! Join us and dance the shuffle!" Applebloom encouraged as she kept on shuffling, occasionally switching into the opposite direction.

"I'm not sure if I should." Accord muttered.

"Don't tell me your scared to dance in front of other ponies? You shouldn't be scared, we're all just here to have a good time and celebrate your arrival in Ponyville!" smiled Applebloom as she kept on dancing.

"But I've never-" Accord spoke before he realized he heard a small voice coming from the back of his head.

"Go in and dance. Show them a little chaos with your moves." the voice laughed, sounding eerily like Discord.

"O-Ok." Accord agreed with the voice, feeling as if he could trust the voice, like he knew who exactly was talking to him.

Accord walked onto the dance floor and began to mimic the dance move Applebloom and about half of the ponies on the floor were doing. He moved his front hooves back and forth with the rhythm while his back hooves were sliding against the ground. He smiled that he was dancing, it seemed to feel amazing just to get out there and dance!

Before Accord knew it, he went beyond shuffling and began to throw in other moves like spins and jumps to his shuffling. He began to go everywhere, causing most of the other ponies that were dancing to stop and stare at little Accord. For a young colt barely less than a few hours old, he sure had some dance moves. Then again, he used to Discord, so some things Celestia's magic could never take away from him, even if he was Accord.

"Go Accord! Show off them dance moves!" Applebloom cheered excitedly.

Accord kept on dancing, earning loud cheers from the ponies that were watching him. In a corner, Twilight was sipping on some punch when the cheering caught her attention. Using her magic to carry her drink, she walked over to the dance floor to see what all the commotion was about. She saw the same Accord that everypony watching saw. She was stunned, she had never seen a foal dance so well!

As she looked closer at Accord's dancing, something about the dance seemed familiar. She remembered Pinkie telling her on the way to the party that Vinyl had just learned the move literally just yesterday. She knew she had seen the move before Vinyl had ever discovered the move. But why was that dance move so familiar. Accord quickly performed another small jump before returning to normal shuffling position.

Then the thought it her. Twilight remembered where she had seen that move before. That stupid dance move! It was originally Discord's! When they were in the castle and found out he had stolen the Elements, he had taunted them all as a stain glass painting and performed that stupid dance on top of her painting in one of the glass windows. That little dance still urked her, even though it had only been a few seconds of her life and she thought she would have simply would have forgotten it. But with all her constant studying, she quickly devolved a photographic mind, being able to remember quite alot, even the smallest events if the were significant.

After watching Accord dance for at least another ten minutes, she decided then that she had enough of seeing Discord's old stupid dance move. Twilight walked out onto the dance floor to tell Accord to come and get some food as he hadn't eaten anything since he arrived. Before she could lay a hoof on him, Pinkie Pie quickly walked out and began doing the shuffle and purposely used her hips to knock Twilight into the center of the dance floor, in order to get her to dance since she was technically being a wallflower.

"Dance, Twilight! Dance!" Pinkie Pie encouraged as she kept on doing her shuffle.

"B-But..." Twilight stuttered as she was no dance pony, only being able to dance in front of her close friends and family.

"Come on, silly filly! If Accord can do it, then you should be able to dance no problem! Oh! That's gives me an idea!" Pinkie said excitedly. "Hey Accord! You should show Twilight here a few of them dance steps!"

Accord turned around still shuffling and smiled at Pinkie Pie. "Sure thing, Pinkie!" Accord spoke as he shuffled on over to Twilight. "Come on Twilight, you really should join me. I was nervous just fifteen minutes ago, but something to told me to just get out there and dance! And now look, I'm the life of my own party!"

"B-but..." Twilight stammered.

Pinkie Pie stopped shuffling and ran over to Twilight. "When in doubt, shake that flank!" Pinkie said excitedly as she pushed Twilight further onto the dance floor.

Now that she was in the middle of the dance floor with everypony staring at her, she really didn't have a choice. She slowly got onto her back hooves and began to do the shuffle. For a good portion of the party, both Twilight and Accord seem to just dance the party away!