Chapters Prologue
It was dry outside, yet it felt like it was raining.
"I'm so sorry." That was the sad voice of her mother.
That day, which was as sad as a funeral, was known as her wedding day.
Fluttershy hid behind her veil, away from the prying and pitiful eyes that watched her every move.
Decorated in the most expensive and lavish dress that her village could afford. Painted with the makeup used only for ceremonial occasions. Walking with the upmost perfect posture.
She felt hideous.
Mares, Stallions and foals whispered to each other.
"So that's the Bride of the Chaos God."
"Poor thing. She's so young."
"That's the girl who received divine revelation."
It was hard to ignore, but she had to if she wanted to hold back the tears. They faded out soon enough, but started again when she and her escorts walked passed the next crowd.
"There's nothing we can do. The Chaos is affecting the crops and we won't have enough food for the winter."
"Our children will starve if we don't do something about it."
"Let's just hope that offering up a bride will appease the Chaos God."
Fluttershy bit her painted lip at the next sentence.
"Someone needs to be sacrificed on our behalf."
Reaching the peak in which the ceremony would take place, Fluttershy stopped walking.
The minister, a rather big stallion, stood next to her. His speech didn't reach her. Nor did her wedding vows, which her voice answered for her. She kept staring at the boat that would take her out to the sea where her new husband would pick her up.
She didn't even notice that the ceremony had finished until people came up to bid her farewell.
"Please don't hate us. We didn't want this to happen either."
"But Fluttershy, I'm so happy that you're going."
"We're very thankful for you."
"Now we can live because of you."
It was all lies. She had heard their words when they thought she was away.
"I'm so glad that she's not our daughter."
"It's not our fault that she was the unlucky one."
"Anyways, a sacrifice is needed."
"As long as it's not me, I don't care."
Fluttershy ignored all of their false goodbyes and looks of pity. Taking a shaky breath, she stepped onto her ride to hell.
Yelping slightly at the sudden push, she whimpered as the boat started to go out to sea.
Terrified as she was, she managed to control herself long enough to make a wish to the heavens. A wish to her husband.
'I don't care what happens to my village.'
Fluttershy screamed.
There in the distance, greater than anything she had ever seen before, roaring with might and far more powerful than any unicorn or magic user she had encountered, was a hurricane.
'But please, Chaos please.'
The boat shook as the sea began to toss and turn like a child throwing a tantrum. The water, brown and sticky like chocolate milk, rained down on her. The boat shook, throwing her around like a discarded doll.
'I beg of you!'
Fluttershy screamed in fright. Her veil was ripped from her head and sucked right into the storm. Her hair, now free from its restraints, undid itself from its braided mess and flew around, blinding the poor girl.
'Just this time!'
Fluttershy cried out and held on for dear life. But alas, the boat was thrown in the air, sending her flying right into the center of the storm. Her wings, trapped underneath layers of heavy silk fabric, were useless in her attempts to stop falling.
'For once!'
Fluttershy crashed hard into the freezing chocolate sea, sending a great shock through her fragile body. Too frozen to scream or even move, much less try to hold her breath, Fluttershy sank down to the bottom of the now unnervingly calm ocean.
'Forgive me, please!'
Fluttershy saw black.
'Relieve them of your curse.'
Fluttershy shivered slightly, feeling the bright light of the sun sting at her eyes.
"Oh my! You're here already!" A female voice said, causing her to snap her eyes open in surprise.
A pair of gentle hoofs carefully helped her up.
"You must be the bride. Please to meet you." The voice said.
Once her eyes adjusted, she took in her helper's appearance, and bit back a gasp.
She was a beautiful mare, radiating such an aura of beauty and compassion. Wearing the most exquisite dress and jewelry meant for royalty, and holding herself up with such grace, she could only be a goddess.
The mare bowed to her, an act that Fluttershy couldn't even fathom why, with such practiced elegance that it made her feel as if she was the one who was bowing.
"My name is Cadence. Goddess of Love and Family. It's a pleasure to meet you, Lady Discord." She said in the most polite tone Fluttershy had ever heard.
But it only made Fluttershy look down in shame.
Lady Discord.
That's right. Even her name was stripped from her.
Cadence rose, returning to her perfect posture in mere seconds.
"Please allow me to escort you to your room. Your husband shall call you for dinner tonight. In the meantime, he has prepared for you to be bathed and dressed. Please follow me."
Fluttershy nodded, not daring to speak to someone of such high power. She followed the goddess, feeling sick to her stomach.
Already, she felt like an object. A mere puppet for him to control and stare at. Without a say in anything meant for her. A lonely trophy wife for him to admire and order around, not expected to have a mind of her own.
"Everyone," Fluttershy blinked in surprise. She took a look around, seeing herself reflected on the spotless floors and walls of an elaborate bathhouse.
Wait, everyone?
Glancing forward, she was met with the sight of five more goddesses, each one vastly different from each other, in both dress and aura.
The first, hovering above the ground with powerful looking wings, was a cyan mare colored by a rainbow and dresses in decorative armor. Clouds and lightning was stamped on her flank and her armor's insignia. She radiated a feeling that strangely reminded Fluttershy of that which you got before a storm came.
The second, wearing the clothes that only a jester would wear, was a pink mare that looked as if she never stood still for long. She was humming a merry tune. Balloons, a luxury for the rich, were proudly displayed anywhere they could without looking even the slightest bit awkward. Fluttershy was surprised at the extreme feeling of laughter that came from her.
The third, and by far the most beautiful of them all, was a mare whose coat was so white that it shone in the light. She had decorated herself with the finest silk and jewels, some that Fluttershy didn't even know existed, and the best makeup possible. Pure grace and beauty, much stronger even that that of Cadence, didn't even begin to compare to the feeling she emitted.
The fourth, dressed in mostly modest attire, was a lavender mare with an owl perched atop of her back. While she didn't appear very special, with not a single thing she wore being of much value, minus the star pendent she wore, her eyes told a different story. One of wisdom and knowledge that could only be aquired through centuries of experience.
The final mare, by far the strongest looking of the bunch, was dressed in what Fluttershy could only classify as farmers clothes, with three apples adorning her flank. Her face was freckled and her hair was messy, while her coat was not much better than her father's, indicating that she spent most of her time in the sun. Even so, the aura of a hardworking and honest mare was strong enough that only a goddess could have it.
Fluttershy quickly dropped her gaze, hiding behind her surprisingly dry hair.
"This is Lady Discord. We are to get her ready for tonight's dinner." Cadence then turned to Fluttershy. "Lady Discord, allow me to introduce you to everyone."
"This is Rainbow Dash. Goddess of War, Speed and Competition." Cadence gesture to the first mare.
"Yo." She responded, her voice a bit raspy and tomboyish. Fluttershy nodded politely in response.
"This is Pinkie Pie, Goddess of Laughter and Trickery." Cadence continued, pointing at the second mare.
Before she could blink, Pinkie Pie gasped and in a mere second, Fluttershy had a goddess in her face speaking so fast that she didn't understand a single syllable coming out of her mouth. Fluttershy yelped in fright, slowly starting to back away.
Not that it did any good, since Pinkie merely took a few steps forward while continuing her verbal assault.
It wasn't until Fluttershy was nearly in tears that someone grabbed the pink pony by the tail and pulled her away.
Instantly, the lavender goddess walked up and bowed to her in apology.
"I'm completely sorry about that, Lady Discord. Pinkie Pie here gets excited whenever we have company." The mare rose and stuck out a hoof. Fluttershy waited a few seconds, before she shyly took it and gave it a gentle shake.
"My name is Twilight Sparkle. I'm the Goddess of Wisdom. Nice to meet you, Lady Discord." She said.
It took a few moments for Fluttershy to notice that she was waiting for a response. Gathered up all her courage, she gulped before responding.
"L-Likewise." Her voice was soft, barely audible and stuttered, but the goddess merely smiled and nodded before backing away.
Cadence cleared her throat before gesturing to the farmer.
"This is Applejack-"
Cadence was cut off when Applejack walked over and firmly, a bit too firmly, shook Fluttershy's hoof.
"Nice to meet yah! My name's Applejack. I run all the plants and whatnot." She had a thick southern accent.
Fluttershy nodded, pulling her sore hoof away.
"As you can see, she's the Goddess of Agriculture." Cadence said, looking a bit annoyed at being interrupted.
Applejack didn't even notice the look. And if she did, she ignored it completely.
"I can introduce myself, Cadence." The beautiful mare said, walking forward with such delicate steps.
"My name is Rarity. Goddess of Beauty and Desire. And might I say, you look absolutely beautiful in that dress, darling." Even her voice was elegant.
Fluttershy bowed in thanks, then stood still as she waited for her next instructions.
"Now, girls. Discord wants her ready for dinner tonight and has asked us to help bathe and dress her. We have a bit of time, so this will a snap." Cadence clapped her hoofs, a sound that scared to poor pegasus.
"Oh, leave the dress to me! I know just the outfit that will work. If you would excuse me, I'll be back in a bit." Rarity said.
With a small flash of light, she was gone.
Fluttershy didn't get much time to stare in shock, as she was pulled over to the large bath.
Fluttershy sighed and she began to strip out of the ceremonial dress.
The girl was terrified.
It was very noticeable, in fact. She was shaking like mad and refusing to meet his eyes. He could hear her rapid breath, despite her obviously trying to calm herself down. She looked as if, and most likely was, very close to tears.
"What's your name?" He asked, frowning when he saw her jump.
"F-Flutter....." Her voice was soft. Too soft for him to understand her.
"I'm sorry. What was that?" He asked, leaning towards her and putting a claw to his ear.
"Flut....." She was shaking even more, looking down and hiding behind her mane. He heard her sniffing and saw a few tears rise to her eyes.
"Didn't quite catch that." He said. The girl squeaked, backing away slightly.
"Oh fine. Never mind with the names. You already know who I am, don't you?" Discord asked, leaning his chin on his claw.
The girl gulped and nodded slowly.
Discord sighed in annoyance, grabbing a brand new glass of milk out of nowhere and taking a sip. The mare watched in amazement as the glass disappeared, leaving only the milk, now solid, in his hand. She flinched when he tossed it over his shoulder and it exploded.
"You're hungry, right?" He asked, his tone saying that he really didn't care. He didn't even waited for her to respond and snapped his fingers.
She screamed in surprise when she was suddenly lifted into the air, dragged over to the table, and plopped down on a chair. She managed to stop her screams by biting down on her lip, grimacing a bit when she tasted the bitter lip gloss.
"Anything specific you want for dinner? Soondubu Jjigae? Kimichi? Kamja Guk? Chap Ch'ae?"
Her eyes widened as each dish appeared before her, each one smelling as delicious as the last. Discord saw her eyes move from each dish to him, then back to the food. He suddenly felt a bit of anger. Was she asking for his permission to eat ?
"Are you just going to stare a it?" Discord asked. She winced a bit, but quietly grabbed the nearest bowl and pulled it close to her.
"Th-Thank you." She stuttered out, which he just barely heard, then grabbed her utensils and began to eat.
Discord didn't answer. In fact, he didn't even look at her. He summoned another glass of milk and drank it in small sips, notice how she flinched ever time he used his magic.
The room was silent after that. And Discord hated it.
"So, exactly how old are you?" He asked, asking the thing that had been bugging him for a while. The mare paused in her eating, shrinking down in her chair.
After a few seconds of awkward silence, the girl finally answered.
"I-I'm si-sixteen this M-March, S-Sir." She whispered.
Discord was ready to burn that village to the ground. March was 7 months away. She was FIFTEEN !? What in the great pit of Tartarus were those ponies thinking? This girl wasn't even old enough to care for herself, in his opinion!
A series of frantic whimpers snapped him out of his rage.
The mare was trembling even worse than before, pressing her back to the chair and curling up was much as the dress would allow her to. She was crying, eyes shut tightly in absolute terror.
It was then that Discord realized that he had set himself on fire because of his rage.
He took a few deep breaths, willing the flames to disappear. He sat himself back down, also realizing that he had stood up to his full height, no doubt intimidating her even further.
She was still crying, even after everything had stopped. She was still cowering from him, whimpering out apologies and other incoherent things. She was still shaking, though thankfully that was calming down.
Discord didn't know what to do afterwards.
Author's Note
I KNOW IT'S REALLY SHORT! I DIDNT KNOW HOW TO MAKE IT LONGER!
This is actually the third re-write of this chapter. I didn't like where the other two were going, so I did it over.
Sorry for any mistakes.
He had sent her to her room. It was the only thing he could do for her right now. As for him, he was taking his anger out on anything and everything in his own room. Blasting everything his magic could destroy, then rebuilding them and destroying them once more. He didn't know how long he had been doing this, but none of it made even a dent in cooling down his anger.
It wasn't until a loud knock on his door was heard that he froze in place.
His eyes narrowed. Only one Goddess would ever dare to interrupt him in his rage.
"What do you want, Luna?" He nearly shouted.
The door opened, revealing the very pony he wanted to see the least right now. She stepped inside, her body poised and controlled, but her eyes saying otherwise.
She was beautiful pony, with a dark coat and a mane that seemed to be embedded with stars. Even her simple, dark blue gown seemed to shine. After all, what else would you expect from the Moon Goddess?
"I think we both know why I'm here." Her eyes narrowed, as if daring him to deny it.
She looked around the room, not at all surprised by the mess that had become of it. The windows were torn off and shredded, with the silk sheets having the same fate. Everything made of glass and porcelain were shattered into bits, with the shards thrown in random direction. Some things were set ablaze and still burning among the ash, while other things were frozen solid. Even the ceiling, walls and floors had deep cracks running across them from the hard impacts.
"Well?" Luna raised an eyebrow at him, like a mother would to a child who misbehaved.
Discord crossed his arms, glaring heavily at her.
"She is alone right now, Discord. She is alone and thou art doing nothing but destroying thy room like a child throwing a tantrum." She scolded, walking closer to him.
Discord looked away from her. The urge to break another one of his objects rose, but he pushed it down. He had already shown enough weakness to the younger Goddess and he wasn't going to break in front of her. Instead, her gritted his teeth and clenched his claw and paw.
"What are you planning on doing?" She asked.
"Get out, Luna." The threat in his voice did not faze her.
"I will not. Not until thou stops this nonsense."
"I. Said. GET OUT!" Discord shout, levitating the only vase that remained intact.
The vase was then hurled towards her at a rapid speed. Luna merely clenched her teeth, lighting the horn. Just before it could make contact with her, the vase flew to the other side and shattered against the cracked wall.
"This will get thee nowhere, Discord!" She stepped forward again. "And you know it."
A long, tense pause rang throughout the room. It wasn't until something caught her eye, the one thing, a picture frame, that remained untouched by his rage, that Luna broke it.
"You were thinking of Her , weren't you?" Luna asked, already knowing the answer.
"Get out, Luna." Discord said again.
This time, Luna complied. Right before she left, however, she turned back to say one last thing.
"I know you miss her. We all do. But thou must move on. Don't ignore thy new Bride. She has done nothing to deserve it."
The door closed.
Fluttershy was crying. Even though she promised herself that she wouldn't, she was crying. She didn't know how long it had been since she started, but she knew that it was not going to end anytime soon.
The satin, feathered pillow and silk sheets were already soaked with tears and a complete mess from her hugging them close to her body.
It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair!
Her head hurt, both from crying and it being pulled back by the hair pins, which she didn't even bother to take out. Her nose was running, making it hard for her to breath through it. She was shaking with sobs, gripping and pressing the pillow to her face to muffle them.
Why? Why did it have to be her?!
Knock Knock Knock
Fluttershy jumped.
"Oh Lady Discord! May I come in?" A high pitched voice said from the other side. "It's Pinkie Pie here to cheer you up! ~I brought cake~."
Fluttershy sniffed, pushing herself up to a sitting position and wiped her eyes and nose. She really didn't want her to come in, but who was she to deny a Goddess?
"C-Come in." She whispered.
She didn't know how anyone could ever hear it, as she barely did, but no sooner than she said it, the door opened. The pink Goddess, was completely blocked from sight. Fluttershy felt her jaw drop as she saw the huge pastry that Pinkie Pie was pushing in.
"Hey, silly filly. I hope you like sweets, cause old auntie Pinkie Pie is here with the Marzipan Mascarpone Meringue Madness, or the 'MMMM', as I like to call it!
Fluttershy found herself humming along with her. She wiped her eyes again and gave the jester a small smile.
"Thank you." She said, accepting the rather large slice of cake and the fork that was handed to her.
"It's no problem. Anything for a new friend!" Pinkie said, flashing the biggest smile that Fluttershy had ever seen.
Fluttershy felt her eyes widen in shock. Why on Earth would a Goddess, especially a High ranking one, ever want to be friends with a lowly mortal like her? A peasant no less?
"I'm friends with everypony! Even old Cranky Doodle Donkey, though that took a while. Who knew donkeys could be so stubborn?"
There she was, talking rapidly again without losing her breath. This time, however, Fluttershy didn't mind it. It was king of comforting to see someone so carefree. Nopony in her village, not even the foals, were even close to being this energetic.
"Isn't that right, Lady Discord?" Fluttershy blinked in surprise.
She had no idea what this pony had just said. How was she suppose to respond?
"I-I...umm..." She bit her lip. She was terrified of angering her, but she had nothing else to say.
The Goddess then smiled. What did she do?
"It's OK if you don't like the banjo! I can play any instrument you want at the Wedding!"
What?
"W-Wedding...?" Of course. She was to be married.
The thought made Fluttershy look down.
Discord was getting impatient.
Tapping his talons on the table, he scanned the room again. He had been waiting for two hours already and there was still no sign of his new wife.
Though, now that he thought about it, he shouldn't really have been surprised since it was Rarity in charge of getting her ready. Seriously, that mare took forever to just get her makeup done, not to mention picking out her clothes.
He was snapped out of his thoughts when the door opened.
In came a small, scaled being wearing armor, usually meant for only the highest rank of warriors, and a flowing red cape.
"Sir Discord, your bride shall be here shortly." The drake bowed.
This was Spike the Dragon, God of Riches and Jewels. He usually carried a spear that looked far too big for him, but Discord knew better than to assume he couldn't use it. He had seen him fight on the battlefield before and knew not to underestimate him.
"About time. What is Rarity doing that's taking them so long?" Discord grumbled.
"Well, it was kind of last minute preparations, so she didn't really have the whole thing planned out first. Plus, you know how Mistress Rarity gets when she's in charge." Spike said, shuddering a bit as he remembered the last time someone interrupted her 'inspiration'.
"Oh yes. You looked absolutely dazzling in that Crystal Suit of yours." Discord smirked.
Spike's cheeks turned a brilliant shade of red. It had taken him ages to eat through that suit. He shook his head, forcing the blush down.
"So, anyways, why?" Spike asked, trying to go to another topic.
"Why what?"
"Why a bride, of all things? You really aren't the type to ask for that kind of stuff." Spike said. The whole thing was really surprising when he found out about it that morning.
"Well you see," Discord frown, resting his chin on his paw. "I didn't ask."
Spike's eyes widened.
"You didn't? Then why is she here?" He was really confused at this point.
"A sacrifice, I suppose." Discord's voice turned serious for the first time in a millennium. Spike saw him clenched his glass of chocolate milk, almost to the point of shattering it.
"Sacrifice?" Spike gulped, horrified. 'Ponies still do that?'
He had sacrifices made to him before, usually animals and the occasional object of value. But there had been only a few times where actual ponies were given to him as an offering. Those few times, he had made sure to punish the offenders severely for it.
"Yes, sacrifice." Spike jumped when the glass cracked. "Do you know what a surprise it was when I felt myself being summoned, only to find that they were forcing a mare, a child, to say wedding vows to me!"
The glass shattered, but Discord paid no mind to it. Spike was beyond disgusted at this point.
"Not only that, but they were celebrating afterwards! Those ponies celebrating the death of a girl." Discord took a few deep breaths.
"And yet, despite it all, she still prayed for me to stop the chaos. Praying for the very village that had sent her to her death." Discord sighed, snapping his fingers to clean up his mess.
Spike stood there, shocked at how cruel ponies could be.
Knocking on the door caused the pair to look up.
"Sir Discord, your bride is here." The singsong voice of Pinkie Pie called out.
"No no no." Rarity's voice interrupted. "That is Not how you introduce someone. Allow me."
Discord rolled his eyes as Rarity cleared her throat.
"Presenting, the beautiful and honorabl-" Rarity yelped, followed by a small thud.
"Just get on with it. You already made us look at dress after dress for two hours!" That was obviously Rainbow Dash.
"Um, girls..." Twilight tried to get their attention.
"Well, I'm sorry that I actually care about making her presentable for Sir Discord, unlike someone."
"Girls..."Twilight tried again.
"She was already presentable twenty dresses ago!" Their voices were getting louder.
"Girls, please!" Poor Twilight.
"You know perfectly well that that dress didn't match with her mane right!"
"GIRLS!" Twilight screamed.
"WHAT?!" The two bickering goddesses shouted back.
"Sir Discord is waiting."
"Oh."
'Finally' Discord thought, getting a bit irritated.
"Spike, would you be a dear and hold the door open." Rarity called out, using the most charming of voices.
Spike's eyes turned into hearts.
"Anything for you, Mistress Rarity." He said, love struck beyond belief.
Once Spike opened the door, the six goddesses walked inside. Surprisingly, Cadence was leading them inside as opposed to Rarity. Even more, when Rarity turned around and walked back into a hallway.
"Come along, darling. He's waiting for you." Rarity said to the pony left outside in the hallway.
Discord heard a faint whisper, but not enough to make out words.
"There's nothing to be afraid of. He's not going to hurt you, dear."
The girls looked a bit nervous, eyes going to the open door to Discord, the back again. Twilight gave a very forced laugh, before rushed outside to help Rarity bring the girl in.
It was another few minutes before hoof steps were heard once again. Discord didn't even bother sitting up straight, being too annoyed by the wait.
Rarity walked back in, pulling the girl, whose name he didn't even know, inside. Twilight quickly shut the door, just in case she tried to run out again.
"I sincerely apologize for the wait, Sir Discord. Please allow us to present your Bride." Twilight bowed deeply.
The girl was gently pushed forward.
Discord studied the mare, feeling more disgust building up in him.
She was younger than he had originally thought. The mare didn't look like she was even sixteen yet, even with all of the mature accessories and dress that Rarity has dressed her in.
"Please excuse us." Cadence's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "We will let you spend time with your Bride."
With one last bow, they all teleported out.