Scotch on the Moon Rocks

Butterscotch walked down the brown, beaten path towards his home. His long day had come to an end, and he had spent a large portion of it helping Dusk Shine and the rest of his friends clean up around Ponyville. Thanks to a long battle with Tirek, Dusk’s home got destroyed in the chaos and large portions of the inner village got damaged by debris. With the clean up being long and strenuous, Butterscotch was ready to call it a day and relax for the rest of the evening.

Though he was happy he could finally rest, he found his mind elsewhere. Looking forward as he trotted, he had been wondering where Discord had been all day. Shortly after the battle, Butterscotch had tried to approach Discord and get his feelings on the matter, but the draconequus was too depressed and couldn’t even look Butterscotch in the eyes. No doubt feeling ashamed for what he did, Butterscotch wondered if his friend was going to be okay.

If anything, it was for the better that Discord had not been around with him while in the presence of the others. Thanks to Discord’s actions, Tirek had nearly gotten away with siphoning all the magic in Equestria, and if it wasn’t for Dusk’s and friends' efforts, the whole land would have been destroyed. Suffice to say, some of Butterscotch’s friends weren’t too keen on seeing the draconequus for the time being, and Elusive in particular noted that Butterscotch should ‘take better care to hold his leash’. Butterscotch felt disheartened at the implications of that comment and felt an ache in his chest. His lips curled into a frown as several other mean things that were said came up in his mind, but quickly drowning them all out, he knew he already had addressed his concerns with the others. Even though Butterscotch knew that Discord screwed up, he could see the devastation of betrayal on Discord’s face back when Tirek betrayed him. Butterscotch knew that Discord would be changed for the better from that point on, and in his eyes, he knew he shouldn't expect something like that to happen again. Thanks to seeing Discord regret that decision, it helped Butterscotch talk down Elusive for his mean words and convinced all the others to give Discord another chance. Though they were skeptical, they respected Butterscotch enough to not go against his wishes.

As Butterscotch turned the last roundabout, the view of his cottage came into focus, and much to his surprise, he had noticed Discord himself hovering near the chicken coop. Happy to see his friend was out and about, Butterscotch hastened his steps as his somber mood started to ebb away. As he walked, he could see Discord talking with one of the chickens, while he was waving a talon in front of the chicken's face, looking rather proud of himself.

“And that’s why the chicken came before the egg, my feathered acquiescence,” Butterscotch managed to hear as he drew closer. “Had it not been for Faust's genius and how she figured out how to alter a cockatrice’s genetics, you wouldn’t be here today.”

“Bawk bawk?” Butterscotch heard his chicken reply.

“Well in the cockatrice’s case, the…” Discord stopped speaking and turned in the direction of Butterscotch as the sound of hooves beating against the dirt had made its way to Discord’s ears. “Welcome back, Butterscotch, my dear friend! So glad to see you again!"

For a brief second Discord disappeared entirely, until he reappeared right in front of Butterscotch.

"How is my favorite pony doing this boring and mundane evening?" Discord asked as he outstretched his arms.

"I'm doing…" Before Butterscotch could answer his question, Discord quickly reached down, lifted the stallion up, and hugged him close to his body.

"Glad to see you ain't depressed anymore, Butterscotch wheezed, barely able to speak. "But can you loosen up? I can barely breathe."

"Terribly sorry," Discord replied as he pushed Butterscotch away, yet still held him in his hands. "Just really glad to see my bestest and closest friend after a long day of feeling absolutely miserable."

“I was worried you were still upset about how the others talked about you,” Butterscotch spoke up. "How are you holding up?"

There was a brief frown on Discord’s face as he looked away, before he turned back to Butterscotch with that same carefree and smug expression he always wore.

“Water under the bridge!” Discord proclaimed as he put Butterscotch down beside him and wrapped his broad lion’s arm around Scotch’s neck. “Now how about we talk about other important matters?”

"Are you sure you don't wanna talk about it?" Butterscotch pressed, knowing very well Discord wasn't being truthful, while at the same time hoping to engage in a meaningful conversation.

"Oh please, talking about my feelings won't get us anywhere," Discord replied as he pulled Butterscotch closer to his body. "Instead let's talk about your feelings! I can imagine you're rather tired after a long and boring day of playing cleanup."

Butterscotch went silent as he felt one of Discord's lion claws rub a small circle in the downy of his chest fluff.

“Working all day and grinding your hooves to the bone just to make that little hamlet more livable and cozy for others,” Discord started as he bent over and put himself head level with Butterscotch, before he grabbed one of the stallions' hooves and rubbed it. “And then you have to come home and clean up after all your little animal friends to top it all off!? I can only imagine how overworked and tired you must be."

A slight blush crept onto Butterscotch's face as Discord rubbed his hoof. "It really isn't much of a-"

"Underappreciated and constantly striving to make everyone and everything around you happy." Discord started to talk more dramatically as he hugged Butterscotch close to his body, causing the stallion to abruptly stop speaking. "How do you handle all that stress?"

"Well... all the animals are very well mannered and always clean up after themselves," Butterscotch said.

“Oh don’t be so modest.” Discord pointed at the nearby chicken coop before he snapped his fingers and telekinetically pulled the roof and walls off the coop, revealing all the chickens inside.

“Discord, what are you doing?” Butterscotch asked, anxiety rising in his voice as the chickens started to cluck loudly and began to panic.

“I hardly call that well mannered,” Discord cut in as Butterscotch was quick to see hay was all over the place, and one of the chickens had actually moved it’s nest onto the floor.

“W-well, sometimes..,” Butterscotch said as Discord put the roof back on with a hard slam, causing all the chickens to go wild and run out of the coop. “Oh no, they're gonna run into the forest again.”

Discord's eyes lit up. “Oh? This sounds like a problem I can help with."

Before Butterscotch could say another word, Discord snapped his fingers again and as all the chickens started to scatter, a giant bug net appeared out of nowhere and began to scoop them all up. Opening his mouth to speak, Butterscotch instead just let it hang open as he stared ahead and watched the chickens get funneled back into the coop.

“See, look at that. Crisis averted," Discord spoke, rather proud of himself.

Watching his expression, Butterscotch saw a cocky grin appearing on Discord’s face, but with a twitch of the draconequus’ nose, his expression turned right around, before he started to reverse the flow of magic and sucked all the chickens back into the net that sounded very similar to how a vacuum made noise.

“Is something wrong?” Butterscotch asked.

“When was the last time you cleaned out that coop by chance?” Discord asked as he snapped his fingers and caused a giant nose plug to magically appear and be put on his nose.

“I was supposed to clean it today actually,” Butterscotch replied sheepishly as a small flush of red appeared on his cheeks.

“Well lucky for you, I’m here to help!" Discord pushed Butterscotch to the side, before he reached up and tugged on the strip of hair on his chin off his face, before it turned into a small duster.

Growing worried that Discord would spook the chickens yet again, Butterscotch shook his head and moved back forward. “No no no, that’s quite alright, Discord. I’m perfectly capable of cleaning out the chicken coop myself.”

Discord pushed Butterscotch to the side and waved his free hand, and conjured up a bottle of weird dark green fluid. “Oh nonsense, you won’t have to worry about that!” he said with a big smirk.

Butterscotch was about to protest once again, but before he could, Discord crawled into the chicken coop. Unfortunately, thanks to his stature, he was barely able to fit in, causing his rear to stick out of the entrance, but rather than being distracted by Discord’s butt, Butterscotch cringed as the sound of the chickens clucking wildly filled his ears.

“Calm down you barnyard fowls, before I re-introduce you to your long lost cousins,” Discord spoke out from within.

For a brief second there was silence, but as Butterscotch heard the bottle spray whatever was inside of it, the entire chicken coop was sent into a frenzy and a bunch of feathers flew out the small windows.

“Discord please be gentle with them!” Butterscotch spoke up but found his voice drowned out by the obnoxious clucking.

Discord didn’t reply as the sound of the duster sweeping fast filled the air, and for a few seconds, a cloud of dust started to form inside the coop. Butterscotch watched Discord’s body wiggle about, as the sound of chickens, water bottle sprays, and sweeping constantly filled his ears. He was worried and unsure of what was happening and growing more nervous, he got ready to speak up once again.

Fortunately for him, the chickens went completely quiet as Discord’s body stopped moving.

“Umm, are you okay in there?” Butterscotch asked, after a few awkward seconds of silence.

Discord’s body suddenly exited the coop. “Perfectly fine and dandy!” Discord spoke out as Butterscotch saw him holding a chicken in his thick lion arm, as the other griffon hand sprayed the bottle on it, while a magical floating hand of some sort was brushing the chicken with the duster.

The chicken was motionless, almost like it was in a trance of some kind as Discord cleaned it up, and it wasn't until he put it on the ground and gently pushed it towards the coop, that made Butterscotch speak up.

"What did you do to them?" Butterscotch, greatly uneased by the awkward silence of the chickens.

"Why don't you see for yourself?" Discord replied as he pointed to the coop.

Still nervous, Butterscotch decided to take up Discord's advice and walked for the coop door. Peering inside, he was amazed to see all the chickens in their appropriate spots, the floor swept and polished to the point that he could almost see his reflection in the wood, and lastly all the chickens were silent and staring back at him like nothing even happened. Everything looked normal, but Butterscotch still felt uneasy for some reason. To top it off he twitched his nose and noticed there was a scent of something different. He wasn't sure what it was but whatever it was it made him feel uneasy.

"Well that was fun and rewarding," Discord spoke up with a big yawn. "Honest to goodness hard work like this is something that should be appreciated nowadays."

Though he still felt uneasy about the coop, Butterscotch decided to not think about it and pulled his head back out.

"Umm, thanks for cleaning it up," Butterscotch spoke quietly as he looked at it one last time before turning to Discord.

Anything for my dearest and bestest friend!" Discord chimed with a glowing grin as he reached out and pulled Butterscotch close to him again. "Now do we have any other little chores to take care of this evening?"

"Well… umm, no?" Butterscotch answered hesitantly, as he realized his only evening plans were to clean the coop, eat dinner, shower up, and then head to bed.

Discord turned for the cottage and floated his way to it, while Butterscotch began to walk beside him. "Magnificent news! That means you and I can spend more of the evening together."

"Did you have something in mind?" Butterscotch asked, his smile growing.

My dear boy, I'm glad you asked. You see, I came by to make it up to all my friends for my recent foolishness with trusting Tirek, and I was hoping I could treat you all to a nice little one on one outing," Discord proclaimed.

Butterscotch said nothing as Discord continued to speak.

"How does a date sound? Or maybe a nice dinner instead along with a moonlit stroll? Maybe even a nice little chat over a bottle of alcohol so we can learn even more about each other? An overnight trip to the Shivering Isles to meet an old acquiescence of mine? Oh! Even better! How about all four? Actually nix that overnight trip, your mortal mind couldn’t handle talking with olè Sheo for an extended period of time."

"D-date?" Butterscotch muttered, his cheeks quickly feeling hot, while his face turned a crimson red out of embarrassment.

Despite hearing Discord speak, the only word that echoed in Butterscotch's mind was 'date'. A simple and powerful word that put the anxious Pegasus on edge and it was a word that Rainbow Blitz and Bubble Berry loved to throw at him from time to time. In truth, Butterscotch had always been surprised that his friends were forthcoming and interested in a relationship with him, and though he always refused, thanks to constant fear of doing something wrong or out of place, in the back of his mind he was more open to the idea of a relationship himself.

The idea of Discord having an intimate relationship with him as well was also a thing. Despite being a different creature altogether, Butterscotch couldn't help but be attracted to the draconequus. His oddly eccentric personality and unpredictability was a very compelling factor, and ever since he would remember, Butterscotch always had inner fantasies about dabbing in a little interspecies fun. Sadly though fantasies stayed in his head and he never acted in them at all.

However just hearing Discord talk about a date brought those interspecies fantasies back, along with a wave of fear and anxiety. Barely able to think straight, Butterscotch’s mind started to race non stop as he thought of what Discord asked. Him of all creatures, interested in taking Butterscotch out on a date, an immortal god of chaos that’s older than Equestria, was asking him out on a date. Folding his ear’s back in shame, Butterscotch felt an uneasy stiffness in his chest, along with a growing knot in his stomach. The need to hyperventilate started to surface, but as Butterscotch looked back towards Discord - whom was still talking but the words failing to register in Butterscotch’s mind - the lion’s paw on his chest started to move again, and the oddly soothing feeling of a claw rubbing a circle into it, kept the butterflies in his body at bay.

So what do you say my dear boy?” Discord’s words rang in Butterscotch’s ears once again. “What kind of movie shall we see instead?”

“Movie?” Butterscotch repeated, releasing he must have missed an important part of the conversation while he was having his mild anxiety attack. “U-us?”

“A movie about us? Ha! Now that’s an idea I can get behind!” Discord laughed loudly as he brought up his other hand and snapped his talons, causing the area around them to disappear.

For a brief second there was a bright light, until Butterscotch’s vision returned to normal. Instantly noticing he was in a much dimmer area than before. He looked around him and was quick to notice he was in a movie theatre of some kind. The air was musty and reeked of stall popcorn and soda and rows of empty seats sat in front of the Pegasus as he looked on.

“Where are we?” he asked as he noticed no one else was around them at all.

“You wanted a movie about us and I recently heard the creatures of this universe actually created something.” Discord’s lion paw pinched around the top of Butterscotch’s head as the Draconequus moved it to face a large screen at the end of the room.

As he looked at the screen, the tail end of some kind of show preview was playing, until the screen went black and the lights around the room seemed to dim on their own.

“Ooh perfect timing!” Discord spoke, his face wrapped in a big grin as he snapped his talons, causing two large bags of popcorn to appear briefly in the air before they fell on his and Butterscotch’s lap. “The show is about to begin!”

Blinking silently and still trying to process what was going on, the strong scent of melted butter and salt filled Butterscotch’s nostrils. His stomach rumbled in response and realizing just how hungry he was from the long day, he simply shrugged and decided to go along with it. Loud music of some kind began to play all around him and refocusing his attention on the screen, Butterscotch saw the colorful words ‘My Little Pony: The Movie” pop up. Growing more curious as to what was about to come, Butterscotch snuggled himself in his seat, craned his neck forward so his face could enter the popcorn bag, and took a big mouthful of it as he started to watch the movie.

One hour and forty minutes later

The movie had come to a finish as the end credits started to roll. Half eaten bags of popcorn sat on the empty seats beside both of the sole occupants as they sat quietly in place. While Butterscotch had a small smile on his face, Discord was slumped back in his seat, looking rather annoyed.

Hmph, what a lackluster movie that was," Discord pouted. "And who was the genius that decided to not even put me in the movie in the first place? I could have teleported that supposed Storm King to the bottom of Tartarus, gave Tempest a proper horn, and had it all complete within five minutes. Though seeing Celestia and Luna turned into stoned lawn ornaments was oddly soothing and really appreciated."

Butterscotch opened his mouth to speak, but stopped as Discord turned towards him and put his face right against his. "And you! How unfair was it that you, the most important pony of the group, was given the least amount of lines and had barely any actual impact in the story!? Never mind the writer's gender swapping you and the others to pander to little children and girls, which is rather odd in this world considering this movie was proper with older men for some reason."

"Maybe the older ones were more interested in the characters than the actual intended audience was," Butterscotch replied with a shrug.

"Oh please, did you see how they butchered Twilight Sparkle's personality? I mean, I know she's a mare in this movie and they are hormonal creatures that cave to emotional manipulation and tricks more easily, but she was portrayed nowhere near Dusk's actual reasoning ability. And of course, I must repeat that you barely had any time focused on your character that whole movie as well."

"Umm, well I think Fluttershy did an okay job," Butterscotch spoke up quietly, realizing he actually enjoyed the movie and was happy his portrayed character didn't have much focus.

"I think being a borderline background character is hardly fitting for somepony of your caliber, and I'm equally skeptical that playing therapist to one of those furry brutes counts as an okay job, but as your friend, I suppose I should respect that decision," Discord spoke with a somber and oddly quiet tone as he pulled his face away and sat up straight.

As Butterscotch looked up at Discord's face, the draconequus instead turned back and watched the ending credits continue to roll. His face was neutral for the most part and given that he didn't even appear in the movie, Butterscotch could easily figure out why his usual chipper mood wasn't present. Not enjoying seeing his friend acting out of character, Butterscotch stretched his hoof and put it on Discord's paw, causing him to once again turn his eyes back to the pony.

"Are you okay?" Butterscotch asked with a sincere tone.

Discord smiled in return, but Butterscotch could tell it was forced. "I'm fine, just peeved that this movie left a bad taste in my mouth. Oh, speaking of tastes, how about we continue this little date of ours?"

"Absolutely." Butterscotch felt that familiar flush in his cheeks start to surface, but not wanting to show Discord any discomfort he nodded his head in approval. "What was the next part of our d-date?"

"I was thinking a nice dinner under the Equestrian night sky would suffice." Discord put his paw on Butterscotch's head, and in an instant, both of them teleported back in front of his cottage.

Sadly a heavy rainfall had been scheduled for that night, and as water began to pelt against his coat, Butterscotch opened his wings and covered his head.

"Oh dear," he muttered as he turned to stare at Discord, only to find the draconequus staring up at the night sky with a pair of glasses that had weird little wiper blades on it, constantly moving.

"We can't catch a break, can we?" Discord spoke with an annoyed sigh. "Oh well, option B it is!"

"Option B?" Butterscotch echoed but found his question to go unchecked as him and Discord teleported yet again.

Almost instantly the feeling of water falling became nonexistent, and the deafening sound of silence filled the air. Taking in the new location, Butterscotch was unsure of what to make of it.

The land around him was barren and gray for as far as his eyes could see. The night sky hung above, yet for some reason Artemis's moon could not be spotted at all. The ground beneath him was rough and rocky and as he ran his hood against the ground, not even the sound of rubble shifting, managed to fill his ears.

Hello? He tried to speak, yet the words left his mouth with no sound whatsoever, and before he could question where he was, the feeling of a talon tapping his back became apparent.

Quickly turning around he was greeted by the sight of Discord. Wrapped in a shimmering bubble of some kind, Butterscotch watched as his friend beckoned him towards him. Without a moment to waste, he stepped forward and as he did, the bubble expanded quickly, causing him to share it.

"That's better," Discord spoke as his voice seemed to echo all around the small space. "Good thing Arty made the air breathable up here for ponies."

"Where are we?" Butterscotch asked, his voice echoing throughout the bubble as he spoke.

"Why my dear boy, we're on the small floating rock right above Equis right now!" Discord proclaimed as he shifted to the side, allowing Butterscotch to see a large object in the night sky.

Confused and bewildered, Butterscotch just looked at the round object and felt an odd familiarity with it. A mixture of blue, white, brown, green and all sorts of colors dotted the object and as the realization started to set in, Butterscotch gasped and went wide eyed in shock.

"Wait, you mean we're on the moon!?" Butterscotch shouted, barely able to contain himself as speak, before he felt an uneasiness in his legs.

"Well I did say part of the plan was to have a nice dinner under a moonlit night," Discord replied as he shrugged his shoulders. "But with it raining right now, I thought we could do the next best thing. A nice dinner on top of the moon itself!"

Staying silent as he watched his friend smile a big grin, Butterscotch wasn't sure of what to make of this new location. With nothing but rock for miles, he began to wonder what else Discord had in store for him.

"Even better, we actually teleported to the same area where Arty had his first mental breakdown!" Discord spoke up, causing Butterscotch to refocus and turn his attention to the rim of a large crater in the ground not far from him.

Wondering what Discord meant by that, Butterscotch cautiously walked towards it. As he moved, the hole became much more noticeable and sparks of dark magical energy could periodically be seen. The crater itself what's a solid 200 feet deep at the minimum, almost like something smashed hard against the ground.

"Ooooohhh." Discord's body wiggled and spasmed wildly, catching Butterscotch off guard and causing him to look at his friend with a questionable stare. "You can still feel the raw magical power in the air around here."

"Raw magical power? Wait, you mean Prince Artemis caused this hole?" Butterscotch asked, utterly amazed at the sheer display of power before him.

"Very much so! You would be surprised at how much destruction you could do without worrying about accidental collateral damage,” Discord replied as he pulled a telescope out from nowhere in particular, before he scanned the horizon with it. “If you were to take a full trip around the moon, you would count about another 1000 holes left behind by him, but nothing beats the size of this one," he finished as he folded the telescope back up and popped it out of existence as he looked back at Butterscotch. "Would you like a grand tour?"

"I-I uhh," Butterscotch spoke, his voice growing nervous as he could barely imagine the mental anguish the prince suffered for all those years locked away from Equestria.

Discord put a talon to Butterscotch's lips, shushing the Pegasus up. "No, no. We should actually save the grand tour until after our dinner together."

"Umm, okay," Butterscotch muttered as he watched Discord being up his other paw.

"For now, how about we enjoy a nice meal?" With a snap of fingers, a table appeared from out of nowhere.

Flinching as the table appeared beside him, Butterscotch barely had a moment to look it over before Discord poofed out of existence for a second, and then reappeared to be sitting in a chair that came along with the table. In his talons was a menu of some kind that Butterscotch didn't recognize, while his lion paw rested behind his head, and his legs were propped up on the table in a laid back fashion.

"Have a seat my dear boy! I know of a nice little restaurant that I've been dying to show you for quite some time!" Discord spoke, his eyes not leaving the menu.

For a second Butterscotch wasn't sure what to say, but for a brief moment he saw one of Discord's talons get coated in a layer of magic, before another chair appeared beside Butterscotch. As it came into existence, it crumpled to the ground to form a flat surface, before it shimmied under the stallion and picked him up and regained its normal form. Now sitting in the chair, Butterscotch said nothing as it moved him towards the table and just as it came to a standstill, another menu appeared and fell in front of his face. Instinctively catching it, Butterscotch's eyes began to survey a bunch of options on it.

"Oh wow, there is so much on here," Butterscotch muttered out as rows upon rows of food items greeted his vision.

"They serve the absolute greatest hay burgers and hay fries in all of Equestria and so many other delicacies." Discord put his menu down and at the corner of Butterscotch's eyes, he watched the draconequus reach up into the air, and snap his talons once again.

Another object popped into existence, and much to Butterscotch's surprise it was another pony. Though he didn't recognize it at first, Butterscotch noticed it was a light green mare, wearing a brown apron and a small black hat labelled 'Buck's', and as he looked at the mare, she in turn looked around in a shocked manner.

"What the hay? Where am I?" She spoke, her voice unmistakably Ponyish, yet carried the subtle accent of a Manehattan.

"Hello! Terribly sorry to pull you from your workplace, but me and my date would like to place an order from your establishment," Discord said to the mare, causing Butterscotch to instantly blush, open his wings, and bring the feathers up to his face in order to hide himself.

"Discorrrd," Butterscotch whined, utterly embarrassed he got addressed as his 'date'.

"Ha, cute date you got there, buddy." Though the mare stared at Discord with a confused look on her face, she turned her attention to Butterscotch and gave off a small chuckle, followed by a smirk. "So uhh… What are you ordering?" She asked further as she pulled a pencil from her apron with her teeth and brought up a small notebook with her hoof.

"I'll order an emerald salad with a side of hay fries," Discord proclaimed as he pointed to a random spot on his menu. "And my friend will order…"

Discord stopped speaking, and from behind his feathers, Butterscotch could feel the eyes of both creatures on him. Not wanting to make the situation awkward, he put his feathers down and looked at the menu one last time before you saw the hayburger and fries option.

"Oh umm, I'll just order a hay burger with hay fries and gravy, if that's okay with you," he replied quietly as he put his wings down, trying his hardest not to blush harder than he already was.

"One number 9 with gravy and a number 45," the mare spoke as she scribbled the orders on the notebook. "What would you like to drink?"

"I'll just ha-"

"Two watermelon smoothies, my dear," Discord spoke out loudly, cutting Butterscotch mid sentence. "Trust me, their smoothies are something you need to try once."

"Umm, okay, I'll have that." Though annoyed he was cut off, Butterscotch didn't want to make a scene.

"Alrighty, cool," the mare replied as she finished scribbling her notes and put the book back in her pocket, before she looked back at Discord. "So uhh, could you put me back?"