It was a calm Thursday afternoon in Ponyville.
Fluttershy tended to her animals, making sure each of her friends had a nice lunch for the day. She had a sack of salmon for Harry, a bustle of carrots for Angel, seeds for the birds, cheese for the mice and a simple tea set for Discord when he popped in.
For a creature as chaotic as Discord, he was very punctual. Not that she’d ever say that to his face. After years of growing closer to her jumbled friend, she knew better than to compliment him on something so “bland” as being punctual.
Still, despite always arriving at 12:00 right on the dot, she could never expect what would happen at 12:01 during any of his visits.
Case in point…
“Fluttershy, I need your help! I have to win an argument with myself!”
Funnily enough, the weirdest part was that he actually used the door that time.
“Um… Could you explain? Oh, wait, should I get a mirror?” Fluttershy guessed as Discord stepped inside.
“I love the enthusiasm, but no… Actually, maybe, we’ll put a pin in that for later. Anyway, it’ll all make sense when I take you there,” he explained, gently guiding her to the door while she looked back at him.
“Um, the animals—”
“Done, and done!” Discord chirped, snapping his talons to fill the house with enough food for a zoo. “Animals fed, your schedule is free and aaaawaaay we go!” He cheered, snapping his talons to teleport them to his chaotic realm.
A lot of ponies would have probably been shaken by a randomly shifting realm, losing whatever senses they had in a place where time and space were about as important as soup or salad. But, for Fluttershy, Discord’s realm had become just another part of her life.
Gravity was illegal on Mondays, Tuesdays didn’t exist except on the third of every month, Wednesdays were a mash of anomalies, and that day… Well, it was a typical Thursday for her.
Opening the door to Discord’s strangely humble home, Fluttershy was instantly greeted by an unusual sight.
Her eyes instantly fell on Discord, and then another Discord who looked like a mare, a Discord who looked a few inches shorter than hers, a Discord who had a few more grey hairs than the others, and a number of Discord's who seemed to blend into the crowd.
It wasn’t the first time she had seen a drove of draconequui, so she wasn’t too surprised by their presence. Their words, however, certainly caught her off guard.
“My Fluttershy put a bear in a headlock!” One the Discord's exclaimed.
“That was a neck massage, and you know it!” Another Discord accused, holding up a wallet that was bursting with photos of himself and his Fluttershy. “My Fluttershy fought a dragon.”
“Oh wow, how original,” a Discord jeered. “What Fluttershy hasn’t stared down a dragon? Mine saved an entire town from a forest fire.”
“Boys, boys, boys,” the female Discord interrupted, holding up her own photo album of a yellow pegasus stallion. “Your Fluttershy may have fought a dragon, but my dear Butters nabbed a prince.”
“Oh please. We all know how desperate Twilight is in any dimension,” her older male counterpart scoffed. “Besides, bucking a royal isn’t nearly as amazing as bucking them. My Fluttershy bucked Chrysalis right in the face. Beat that.”
“Easy. Mine bucked Sombra. And then she bucked him.”
“Gross, and confusing.”
“Well my Flutters gave me a ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala!” A new Discord threw in. “I remember when all of you losers came here crying about being ‘oh so betrayed. Boo-hooo.’ Heh-hehe-heh-heh.”
“Well I got to walk her down the aisle on her wedding!”
“Aw, cute. Mine let me officiate hers,” the older Discord challenged.
“Butters became a minister in my world.”
“My Fluttershy has a religion on her world!”
“You started it. That doesn’t count.”
“Oh, you’re one to talk. Didn’t you make your Fluttershy an alicorn?”
“One day! You do it one day and you never hear the end of it!”
"You did it today!"
Fluttershy’s Discord simply rolled his eyes as his cosmic copies continued to argue in circles.
“Oooh, I see they all started without me. Hmph. Cowards,” he spat.
“Um, Discord, what's going on?”
“Just a harmless fight,” he dismissed. “We… I’ve told you about the multiverse, right?”
“Several of them, yes.”
“Perfect! Anywho, me is arguing with I about which you is the best and we can’t lose to us about you,” he explained, earning a slightly hesitant nod as Fluttershy tried to follow his logic.
“So… Fluttershy Fight?”
“Oh! Yes! You see? This is why you’re the best you!” He squealed, wrapping her into a quick hug before slithering back to his hooves.
“Thanks, Discord, but I don’t think—”
“That you’re not the best Fluttershy?” Discord guessed. “Bah, don’t be silly, Fluttershy. You’re wonderful! I came here to prove to every-me how amazing you are, and that’s exactly what I’ll do! In the meantime, why don’t you get to know those losers over there?” He said, pointing a thumb at a corner of blushing and quivering Fluttershy’s.
How she hadn’t noticed them first was… Well, not too surprising, all things considered.
“I’d say you’d fit right in, but that would mean they’re anywhere near as great as you. So… You won’t fit in,” Discord shrugged. “But I hope you have fun. Tood-allo. Hey! You think your Fluttershy’s are so great?! Mine saved Cloudsdale!” He triumphantly shouted, joining the verbal brawl as Fluttershy glanced at her counterparts.
Not bothering to waste any time, Fluttershy quickly trotted over to the group of nervous mares, and stallion, and took a seat next to them.
“Um, evening,” her male counterpart, Butter Skies, hesitantly greeted.
“Good afternoon. And a good some time to the rest of you. How long have they been arguing?”
“A-an h-hour,” a younger version of herself stuttered.
The poor mare was shaking like Harry during a thunderstorm, occasionally peeking from the curtain of hair that blocked her face as the Discords' debate grew louder.
“You just missed my Discord’s power point,” an alicorn Fluttershy added on, using her magic to summon a paper bag for Fluttershy. “Need to breathe?”
“Oh, no, I’m alright. I haven’t used one of those in… Wow, I actually can’t remember,” she giggled, earning a flinch from the youngest Fluttershy as she twirled her mane.
“Y-y-you uh d-don’t?”
“Nope. I used to have an emergency stash of them in my bathroom, but I think I recycled them about a year ago."
"Oh, at least a year bagless? I'm six months in," another Fluttershy shared, her short mane making her stand out from the other yellow ponies.
"I had to use a bag last week. Discord unleashed Plunder Seeds on Equestria."
A chorus of hums of "ohhs" filled their group as most of them knowingly nodded.
Fluttershy felt a little odd as she heard the other ponies reminisce about their respective Discord's. She almost never felt comfortable sharing something about Discord with other ponies back home. Usually if she told a fun story about him or even had a light complaint about him, they'd react with horror or disgust at even the lightest prank. Sure, Discord could be a little much at times, but he wasn't a repulsive and irredeemable monster.
And nopony in the group appeared to be judging him or the other chaos spirits. They all shared familiar stories about flying pigs and lock picking pianos, fondly recalling the colorful days they all had with Discord. She couldn't help but smile as she naturally joined the conversation, sharing a few of her own unique misadventures along the way.
"So, I've been meaning to ask," Butter Skies said, looking towards the Alicorn Fluttershy's horn. "Did... Discord make you immortal or something?"
“Oh, no, Discord knows better than to do that. This,” she pointed at her horn. “Is just from Discord Day.”
"Discord Day?" The original Fluttershy asked.
"Oh, it's such a great holiday! Once a year on a random day, everypony gets to be somepony else. Twilight's getting used to her bat wings, Pinkie Pie was playing with her fire mane, Applejack and Rainbow were teasing each other about earth pony and pegasi magic, and Rarity was admiring her crystal pony fur. We had the idea about four years ago after he complained about not getting to snap his talons enough."
"That sounds wonderful!" Fluttershy cheered, followed by her alternates agreeing in various ways until one came up with a question.
"You said this started four years ago, right? How long have you known your Discord?"
"I think it's been about seven years now. Time really flies when you're around him."
"Seven? Wow, I've only known Eris for three," Butters Skies noted as he looked over the youngest mare. "What about you? How long have you known your Discord for?"
“W-well I-I um j-just met him a month ago actually,” she stammered.
Butter Skies hissed through his teeth. “Ooooh. So, you’re not really used to… this, right?”
That earned a meek nod from the shivering mare.
“Yeah, I was the same way. Eris can be a bit… strong. But if Discord, or-um, your Discord is anything like her, then you’ll start to warm up to him,” Butters promised.
“I’ve known Discord for a few years now. You just… Go with the flow after a while,” the shorter maned mare shrugged. "Rule of hoof, though, don't push against the tide, but let him know when he needs to pull back a little bit."
"And don't let him barge in whenever he feels like it," another Fluttershy added. "If you have your own plans and he wants to take you somewhere else, just tell him that you can't."
"I-it can't be that simple... right?" The shiest Fluttershy asked.
"Not all the time, but... Don't tell Discord I said this, but he's a stickler for the rules," a Fluttershy revealed. "Sure, he'll try to break them all the time, but he secretly really loves having something to work with. If you tell him not to snap his talons for a day, he'll find a way to snap a tooth to use magic instead."
"Eris always did like a little challenge."
"Oh yes. Give Discord a puzzle box and he'll try to solve it without any magic. It'll keep him busy for a good hour or so."
The other Fluttershy's fell back into a series of stories, recounting the odd and fun times they shared as they advised their younger copy. They did their best to comfort the young mare, completely unaware of the chaotic spirits slipping away as they continued to share their chaotic stories.
Discord enjoyed a nice cup of tea with his duplicates outside of their unharmonious house, reclining in his chair with a gentle sigh as he savored the moment.
“I love the girl, I really do, but it’s soooo hard introducing her to new ponies,” some other Discord complained, earning a few knowing nods from the others.
“Oh, tell me about it. I love tea time with her as much as the next Discord—”
“Hi,” the Discord next to him waved.
“— but there’s only so many tea jokes and puns I can make before it gets boring.”
“Right? And she has no sense of adventure! I really wish she could at least join me for a rollercoaster ride or something."
"Ah, I got mine to ride the tea cups with me, I think you should start there," one of the Discord's recommended, earning a big grin from the distraught Discord.
"Oh, that's perfect! What a great idea,” he complimented, earning a chuckle from his devious duplicate.
“Why thank you. It’s so nice to meet someone who has an appreciation for sharing stories about Fluttershy."
“Yes. Why didn’t we do this before we were stoned?”
“Because we were all trying to kill each other,” Eris answered.
“Oh riiight… Good times.”
“Perfect, really.”
“I miss it a bit.”
“But it’s definitely not as good as now.”
“Of course, I never said it wasn’t. I wouldn’t trade this for the world.”
“Absolutely. I couldn’t have said it better myself,” some Discord toasted, raising their teacup with a warm smile. “To… Whatever this is.”
“Here, here.”
“Agreed.”
“Couldn’t have said it better,” they cheered, toasting to their chaotic moment as their friends got to know eachother inside.
Discord glanced back at his humble abode, as an idle thought floated through his mind, a thought his counterparts all likely shared.
If this was really a fight, my Fluttershy would absolutely win.
Author's Note
Discord Day came from SpinelStride and the embedded story below. Check them out! It's a fun and chaotic time.
EDiscord's Day
Discord gets his way. And everypony is enjoying it. Mostly.
SpinelStride ·
4.2k words
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