‘’Join me, and together we can rule Equestria,’’ Tirek said.
Discord considered him for a moment, and with him his offer. It was tempting to go along with it, to cast down the alicorns and rule their kingdom in their stead.
His thoughts flashed from them to six other mares, and two in particular who had gone out of their way to help him.
Could he really betray their trust?
Mind made up, Discord shook his head. ‘’Nope, sorry. That train has long since departed.’’ With a snap of his fingers chains of enchanted steel formed around Tirek.
‘’Please reconsider,’’ Tirek growled.
‘’No means no,’’ Discord cheekily replied. ‘’But you know what? I’ll cut you a deal: I’ll send you to another prison instead of Tartarus.’’
‘’Oh?’’ Tirek raised an eyebrow, then grunted in pain as the chains tightened around his form.
‘’That doesn’t mean you’re going to have an easier time though,’’ Discord continued with a smirk. ‘’In fact, I dare say this prison is worse than the one you just came from.’’
Tirek’s eyes widened as Discord raised his talons. ‘’Wait-’’
Discord snapped, and Tirek disappeared in a puff of smoke. The Draconequus looked at the spot he had been for a few more seconds, before nodding and teleporting away to Canterlot Palace.
‘’Helloooo!!!’’ he called out through the hallway, startling the guards.
‘’Discord,’’ one of them said with carefully repressed irritation, ‘’why are you here?’’
‘’I did that thing Tia asked me to do,’’ Discord answered as he idly pulled out a milkshake. ‘’Does one of you happen to know where the ponies that lost their magic are being kept?’’ He fished a ball of constantly shifting light out of his milkshake. ‘’I think they’d appreciate having this back.’’
The guard’s eyes widened upon seeing the orb. ‘’Second floor, Palace Medical Wing,’’ he said quickly.
Discord inclined his head. ‘’My thanks.’’
Two teleports later, Discord hung down from a mountaintop and looked out over Canterlot below him. The city’s many lights shone brightly, and in the distance he could see those of Manehattan trying and succeeding in outshining those below him.
But all paled to the Stars. He looked up, and couldn’t help but grin as he beheld Luna’s art. It was not as chaotic as he would have made it, but he could respect its beauty nonetheless.
He looked away from the sky and towards Ponyville, where the six ponies that had gone from enemies to hesitant friends all lay sound asleep.
Correction, five were asleep. One was still hard at work in her home.
Discord smiled, and jumped down from the mountain.
‘’Almost… finished…’’ Rarity muttered under her breath as she completed the final stitch. Once it was done, she let out a sigh. ‘’Done.’’
She stepped back and analysed her work. The dress had been commissioned by a wealthy socialite from Manehattan, and she had had some pretty specific things that she wanted to have on the dress. It had been a pain and a half to make, but she had pulled through as she always did.
‘’Why hello there,’’ a familiar voice said from behind her.
‘’Discord,’’ she greeted the Draconequus as she turned around to face him. ‘’Pray tell, what brings you here?’’
Discord shrugged. ‘’I was bored.’’
‘’Fair enough,’’ Rarity decided. ‘’But do try to keep this short, whatever it is you’re doing. I was planning on going to bed.’’
‘’Oh pish-posh, you work until you’ve decided something is finished,’’ Discord said. ‘’You’d have kept up all night if it meant finishing your work in time.’’
‘’And then I’m dead to the world for twelve hours,’’ Rarity dryly pointed out. She raised her hoof to her mouth to suppress a yawn. ‘’Not all of us can work indefinitely.’’
‘’Hey, I take breaks too, y’know!’’ Discord idly glanced around the room. ‘’Just… not as often as other people.’’
‘’Really?’’ Rarity raised an eyebrow. ‘’Do tell when the last time you took a break was.’’
Discord grinned at her, then stretched himself out and yawned. ‘’Right… about… now.’’
And he dropped to the floor, already snoring.
Rarity stared at his apparently asleep form for a few seconds, before sighing. She used her magic to clean up her work and store it, so Discord wouldn’t ruin it when he woke up. Then she stepped over his body, left the room and headed for her bed.
Discord blinked awake. For a moment, he wondered why he was on the floor, surrounded by dresses and clothes. Then he remembered what he had done last night.
Had he really fallen asleep on Rarity’s floor, of all places? He’d just had a thousand year nap!
Then again, sending Tirek to the far worse version of Tartarus did take a lot out of him. He’d have to find a way to make it up to Hades later.
But that wasn’t important now. He’d slept on Rarity’s floor, and the least he could do was thank her for not throwing his body onto the street. Even he knew to respect hospitality like that.
And so, he floated up and out of the room. Once he stood in the hallway, he sniffed once, then tracked Rarity’s scent. She smelled of rosy perfume and a combination of different fabrics. It was actually quite soothing to the Draconequus’ chaotic senses.
He pushed open the door to Rarity’s bedroom and peeked his head inside. The mare was gently sleeping under a cover, surrounded by what could generously be called a pillow fort. No light was in the room, which might have had something to do with the fact the curtains were closed.
Discord felt something stir inside him as he watched Rarity sleep. Before his reformation, he would have taken great joy in disturbing such a peaceful sight as rudely as possible, and even now he might have done something if it had been another person laying there.
But now he couldn’t bring himself to do such a thing. He knew Rarity had only gone to bed after he had fallen asleep, and it had been very late then. Perhaps more importantly, Rarity was his friend. Sure, she and him didn’t see eye to eye on a lot of subjects, but she was still one of the few ponies that he interacted with on a regular basis. He didn’t want to upset the fragile bond they had.
Just as he was about to close the door and snap himself, Rarity stirred. Slowly, one eye opened. As she stood up in the bed, her other eye opened, and both fell on Discord’s head.
‘’Discord!’’ Rarity yelped. ‘’What are you doing here?’’
‘’I fell asleep in your room, remember?’’ Discord replied as he opened the door and floated into the room. ‘’I wanted to thank you, but you were still asleep.’’
‘’Oh for…’’ Rarity muttered under her breath. ‘’I do apologize, darling. I’m just not much of a morning mare, I’m afraid.’’ She jumped out of the bed and walked over to her vanity. Lifting a brush in her magic, she set upon the arduous task of combing and styling her mane.
‘’Still,’’ she continued without looking at him, ‘’I appreciate the sentiment, darling, but I could hardly throw you out.’’
‘’I was sleeping on your floor without an invitation,’’ Discord wryly pointed out. ‘’Most people would throw someone that did that out.’’
‘’Friends don’t do that to friends,’’ Rarity stated as she put the comb down. ‘’There, that looks at least somewhat presentable.’’ She turned around to face Discord. ‘’What do you think, darling?’’
Discord agreed with Rarity’s statement that her mane definitely wasn’t on the level it normally was, but he was more occupied with the fact that she had called him a friend. He knew they were friends, of course, but something inside him stirred at the idea of Rarity calling him her friend.
He shook himself, and answered, ‘’It looks fine.’’
Rarity’s eyebrow raised ever so slightly at his atypical answer, but she did not press him. Instead, she asked, ‘’Do you want to stay for breakfast, darling?’’
‘’What are you having?’’ he asked in return.
‘’I was thinking pancakes,’’ Rarity replied. ‘’I feel that, as it is a Saturday, I can indulge myself.’’ She fixed him a stern glare. ‘’But no messing with the food, or you’re not getting any.’’
Discord held up his limbs in a sign of peace. ‘’I won’t do anything. Chaos Lord’s honour.’’
‘’Good.’’ Rarity’s glare turned into a smile. ‘’Then let us go. Sweetie is staying with our parents, so it’ll be just the two of us.’’
Discord didn’t know why she told him that. As if it mattered to him. But again, that feeling inside him stirred. He didn’t know what it was, or what it meant, but he didn’t like it. He didn’t show his displeasure though; Rarity would think something was wrong.
Since when did he care so much about what Rarity thought?
As he pondered this question, he followed the mare downstairs to the living room. ‘’Have a seat,’’ Rarity said. ‘’The pancakes will be done in a few minutes.’’ And she turned around and entered the kitchen.
Discord looked away from the kitchen and let his eyes roam over the room. He had never been here before, but it looked exactly how he’d expected it to look. Prim and proper, with just the right mix between elegance and functionality. In a minute he spotted over two dozen different ways to create some wonderful chaos, but he held himself back. It wouldn’t do to give Rarity a heart attack when she entered with the pancakes.
But sitting around for even a couple of minutes and just looking around was about the most boring thing there was, regardless of if you were a normal pony or a Draconequus. And Discord was very easily bored.
His eyes fell upon one of the ponyquins that stood against the wall. On it hung a long dress, bright blue with pale yellow frills and emeralds stitched into the fabric. It was a work of art, like all of Rarity’s dresses, and Discord could appreciate that, if nothing else.
That gave him a startling thought. He had to repay Rarity for her generosity somehow. Even if the mare would insist he didn’t have to. Originally he had just been planning on getting some flowers or maybe a tub of ice cream, but now a far more brilliant idea came to mind.
‘’Discord?’’
‘’Huh?’’ He looked down to see Rarity standing in front of him. Looking at the table, he saw two empty plates and one filled with pancakes.
‘’I’m sorry for interrupting your train of thought,’’ Rarity apologized, ‘’but the food is ready. Shall we?’’
Discord nodded, and grabbed the first pancake off of the plate. He spun it around his griffon talon, then put it in his mouth and inhaled it. When he was done, he saw Rarity staring at him with a look that was equally disturbed and disgusted. A half-eaten pancake lay on her plate.
‘’Darling, please don’t ever do that again,’’ Rarity said with a shiver. ‘’Eat without knife and fork if you must, but at least chew on your food.’’
Discord locked eyes with Rarity. His red pupils met with Rarity’s blue irises. A moment of silence passed between, then Discord shrugged and nodded, before lifting another pancake from the plate. This time, he snapped his fingers and separated it into tiny chunks, which he then proceeded to munch on like it was popcorn.
Rarity didn’t seem to find this disgusting, as she only gave a short look of incredulity to the scene, before returning to her own food. They ate the rest of their meal in silence, until Rarity decided to break it.
‘’Never thought I’d be eating pancakes with a Draconequus,’’ she remarked with a casual smile.
Discord stopped chewing and looked down at her. ‘’Never thought I’d be eating pancakes with a unicorn,’’ he replied with a smile of his own.
‘’So why did you come here?’’ Rarity asked, before taking a sip from her tea. ‘’I’d think you would go to Fluttershy, perhaps Pinkie or Twilight.’’
Discord shrugged. ‘’You were the only one still awake.’’
‘’Oh?’’ Rarity took another sip. ‘’And if I hadn’t been? Where would you have gone?’’
Discord had no idea, and he said as much. Rarity hummed. ‘’Well, for what it’s worth, you’re always welcome to stay the night here, provided you don’t make a mess of course.’’
Discord blinked, and reached out with his magic. No, it really was Rarity sitting in front of him.
‘’Is something wrong, darling?’’ Rarity asked as he stayed silent.
Discord shook his head as he pulled his magic back. ‘’No, nothing,’’ he said.
‘’Hmm,’’ Rarity hmm-ed. ‘’Well, I don’t know about you, darling, but I’ve got to get back to my work. Already, I am inspired, and the day has barely begun!’’
‘’Yes… work…’’ Discord muttered. He would probably fare better at Rarity’s work than at more conventional jobs, but the very idea of being tied down to doing one thing for survival abhorred him.
Rarity ignored his comment. ‘’You’re free to stay, of course, and you can even watch me work if you want to, as long as you don’t disturb me in my work.’’
Discord shook his head even as he rose from his chair. He grabbed the last two pancakes and stuffed them into a paper bag. ‘’Thank you, but I’ve got places to be, chaos to spread.’’ A small smile appeared on his lips. ‘’And thanks again for letting me stay the night.’’
‘’It was no problem, darling,’’ Rarity said. ‘’Have a nice day.’’ And with that said, she turned around and left the room. Discord waited until he could no longer hear the sound of her hooves on the stairs, then teleported himself to a cloud somewhere above Ponyville. He unpacked his bag with pancakes and began to eat them as he looked out over the town.
He could freely admit to himself that the place had grown on him over the past months. It wasn’t his idea of a perfect town, far from it, but he knew now that his idea of perfection left no room for someone other than himself, and now that he had other people he cared about, he couldn’t do such a thing again.
It was the reason he had refused Tirek’s offer. The centaur would probably have eventually betrayed him anyway, and he was a piece of scum altogether. Discord didn’t intentionally hurt anyone, at least not physically. Stealing a creature’s magic was about the worst thing you could do to a person, and it went against Discord's very loose sense of fair play. So he didn’t feel bad about dumping Tirek in a far worse Tartarus than the one he’d escaped from.
Something popped into his view, a letter. He idly caught it in his magic as he finished eating the last pancake, then looked at the letter. It was sealed by Celestia’s seal.
‘’Let’s see what old Sunnyflanks has to say,’’ he said to himself, before opening the letter.
Discord,
Thank you for your quick action against Tirek. The stolen magic has been returned to the ponies, and though a few are being kept for observation, most of them have already returned to their waiting families. Because of the nature of the incident, I released an official press statement, in which I explained what had happened. Because I don’t know what you did to Tirek and how your meeting went, I just told them you put him back in Tartarus after you retrieved the magic.
Already, more than a few of the nobles have clamoured for you to receive some sort of reward. Now, I know you don’t like ceremonies, but could you consider at least attending this one? You’ll be given the Equestrian Medal of Service, awarded by me and Luna. It has little effect beyond a shiny medal, but the populace would love to see it, and it would improve your reputation with them.
As I said, I don’t know what transpired between you and Tirek, but I felt your push of magic all the way in Canterlot. You don’t have to tell me, but I would appreciate at least hearing where you send him.
And please, do give the ceremony a thought.
Signed,
Celestia
Discord chuckled as he folded the letter up again and tossed it over his shoulder, where it disappeared into a pocket dimension. He pondered on what to do.
Ignoring the letter was the easiest option, and when Celestia inevitably asked about it, he would just say it got lost in the mail. But he knew Celestia; if nothing else, she was persistent, perhaps now even more so than a thousand years ago. She would keep on sending letters until he replied, either in person or otherwise.
So that was out. The next simplest thing would be to say he didn’t want to attend. Discord didn’t care for the medal or the supposed ‘honour’ it was. He didn’t even care about what the citizens of Equestria thought of him.
But he did care about his six friends, and he knew that they would probably want him to attend, so he could get the recognition they thought he deserved.
He scoffed. He was Discord, Lord of Chaos! He didn’t need recognition by way of some worthless medal! If he wanted Equestria’s citizens to recognize him, he would find a far more amusing and memorable way to do so than a stupid award ceremony!
But just as quickly as it had come, his anger deflated. Celestia was predicting that he wouldn’t show; she had said as much in her letter. So he would show up and be a perfect gentle… Draconequus. That would be some delightful chaos to watch.
He looked the letter over again, then nodded and snapped his fingers. The letters scrambled apart and reassembled themselves into a reply, which Discord then sent away with a flick of his talon.
Author's Note
I have watched only the first 8 episodes of the show and just bits and pieces of the rest on YT, and I have read a great deal of fanfics. Still, if I've made any inconsistencies with the show, please tell me.
I said I'd make this longfic one day and I will, but for now this'll remain as is. I don't think Ch 2 will be finished for some time, especially given that I am not actively working on it, in favour of the sequels to On the shores of the West and Set Sun, Broken Heart, as well as Piece by Piece.
Regardless of all that, I hope you enjoyed it. Do check out my RariCord short if this relationship seems interesting to you.
Discord poofed himself into Canterlot’s throne room with a flood of rubber duckies following in his wake. ‘’Good day!’’ he called out.
‘’Hello, Discord,’’ Celestia serenely greeted him, content to ignore the tide of rubber duckies that had conveniently drowned out Noblepony #23’s stupid request. ‘’It is good to see you again.’’
‘’It is good to see you as well, my dear Celestia!’’ Discord snapped up a throne of cotton candy in front of Celestia and laid down horizontally on it. ‘’I came to give you my reply to your letter.’’
‘’Oh?’’ Celestia leaned forward. ‘’Tell me, what have you chosen?’’
Discord smiled. ‘’I’ll attend your little ceremony, if I can cause some chaos afterwards.’’
Celestia nodded. ‘’Deal.’’
‘’Wait, just like that?’’ Discord raised an eyebrow at the alicorn. He had honestly expected that to be harder. ‘’Don’t tell me you’ve gone soft in your old age.’’
Celestia chuckled. ‘’Hardly. But you put away a dangerous villain, and quite likely saved Equestria from much trouble in the future. One night of indulgence is a small price to pay.’’
‘’And besides,’’ she continued in a conspiratorial whisper, ‘’I might be inclined to make it an official holiday, if you happen to cause some trouble for the nobles.’’
‘’You have yourself a deal, my dear.’’ Discord stuck out his griffon talon, which Celestia shook with her hoof.
‘’Oh well,’’ Discord said as he got up from his impromptu chair. ‘’Keep this, as a memorial. I’ve got places to be.’’
Celestia smiled and nodded. ‘’Of course. I’ll send you another letter once the ceremony has been given a date.’’
‘’Until then,’’ Discord said, before teleporting away. He reappeared above Ponyville and immediately snapped up a window that showed him the room he’d just been.
He gave it three hours before Celestia noticed the pink stripes in her mane were now actually cotton candy.
‘’Hey, Discord!’’ the voice of Rainbow Dash called out from above him.
Discord angled his neck at an uncomfortable angle upwards. ‘’Hello, Rainbow Dash.’’
The pegasus dove down and landed next to him. ‘’What’s that?’’ she asked, gesturing at the screen.
Discord chuckled. ‘’I may have just pranked Celestia.’’
‘’Really? Cool.’’ The pegasus stretched her wings. ‘’Sorry, but I gotta get back to napping. Bye!’’ And away she was.
Discord chuckled again, and for a moment considered pranking her once she fell asleep. But he decided against it, because getting into a prank war was not on his list of things to do. Something that was on his list was making a gift for Rarity.
Discord reached into his skull and pulled his brain out, before beginning to pick it for ideas. Clouds? Too pegasi, and they would dissipate or make her wet.
He inadvertently blushed. Not in that way, he amended himself. A part of him continued that train of thought, regardless of his wishes in the matter. After a few seconds of bemusement, he gave up and continued with his work.
Gems? Too heavy. Gold? Too gaudy. The flesh of a thousand virgins crying out in ecstasy? He really shouldn’t have visited cousin Slaanesh. Hir presence always brought out the worst in him.
Again his thoughts drifted to Rarity, but this time as a Dark Eldar, standing over him with a whip. He blushed again, and quite literally swatted the thought away.
Chaos, what was getting into him lately? He needed to look at it before it became more than an irritation.
He picked up his brain again. Silk? Too boring. Dreams? Luna would demand one as well. The same went for the Sun, Moon, Stars, and for books.
Then he had it. It was simple, and yet it fit so well.
Determined, he set out to complete his task.
Rarity had just started working on a new order. This one came from another rich pony, a stallion that wanted a new suit for his wedding. She had politely inquired if the bride needed a new dress as well, but to her hidden disappointment an order had already been placed at another company.
Oh well, it mattered little. Working on the stallion’s clothes was a refreshing change of pace from the clothes she usually made, which were almost unilaterally made for mares. And the money didn’t hurt, of course.
She reached for another piece of fabric when she heard the bell ring. ‘’One moment!’’ she called, before putting down the things that were being held in her magic. She then walked down to the door, quickly checking her appearance and deeming it satisfactory.
She opened the door, and… ‘’Ah, Derpy!’’
‘’Hello, Rarity!’’ the mailmare said. ‘’I’ve got a letter for you.’’
Rarity graciously accepted the letter with her magic. ‘’Thank you, darling. Have a nice day!’’
‘’You too!’’ Derpy replied, before flying off. Rarity closed the door, then opened the letter.
Dear Rarity,
I write this without my seal, so that people don’t get all uppity about it. You know who I’m talking about.
Anyhow, you’re hereby invited to Discord’s award ceremony for imprisoning Tirek again. I do hope you will attend. The ceremony will be held the coming Sunday, from 12:00.
Signed,
Celestia
A personal letter from the Princess! And how informative it was. Rarity made a note to store the letter somewhere safe later. Wouldn’t want it to get lost or damaged.
And apparently, Discord had imprisoned Tirek again? Did the Princess mean Lord Tirek, the centaur? But he was imprisoned in Tartarus, no? And if he had escaped, why had the Princess sent Discord to capture him, and not the Elements of Harmony?
Rarity shook her head to clear her thoughts. It didn’t matter how it had happened, it just had, and now Discord was getting a medal. Good for him.
She walked back up the stairs to her workplace, and picked up where she left off.
The rest of the week came and went, and on Sunday morning, Rarity and her five friends gathered at the train station. They had all received invitations, of course, and Spike and Sweetie Belle were staying with the Apples for the day.
‘’Imprisoning Tirek is pretty impressive,’’ Twilight said. ‘’From what I’ve read, he could steal the magic right from a pony.’’
‘’That don’t sound too good,’’ Applejack commented. Rarity resisted the urge to give a un-ladylike snort. Understatement of the century.
‘’No,’’ Twilight agreed. ‘’He was a real threat to Equestria back in the day, but the Princesses imprisoned him in Tartarus.’’
‘’And then he was stuck for a thousand years, right?’’ Rainbow asked. As usual, the pegasus resisted common decency and remained in the air while her friends were on the ground.
‘’Yes, he was,’’ Twilight affirmed. ‘’I’m curious how he got out though.’’
Their conversation was cut short as the train pulled into the station. They boarded and soon enough they were away. Rarity sat against the window, with her to her left Twilight and then Fluttershy, and across from her were Applejack, Rainbow and Pinkie.
‘’So, you think Discord’s gonna show?’’
‘’He better.’’
As Rainbow and Applejack began what was no doubt a very interesting and intriguing discussion, Rarity instead looked out the window. There wasn’t much to be seen, and she’d taken the train often enough in recent years that she already knew the sights anyway.
So instead, her mind wandered to Discord. Would he show? She certainly hoped he would; while she didn’t mind coming to Canterlot, she had needed to reschedule some things in her planning, so if the trip wasn’t worth it Rarity would be quite cross with the Draconequus.
And… Maybe seeing him wasn’t such a bad thing. They’d gotten off on the wrong hoof, but things were alright now. Rarity had called him her friend, and meant it.
But, as she looked out the window at the landscape rolling by, she wondered what friendship really meant.
The Throne Room of Canterlot Palace was filled with ponies. Celestia had announced yesterday that Discord would be receiving the Equestrian Medal of Service, and a crowd had turned out to see it for themselves. Rarity and her friends were at the front; Princess’ privilege and all that. She didn’t mind in the slightest.
Everyone waited eagerly for the guest of honour to arrive. And arrive he did.
‘’Good afternoon!’’ Discord greeted as he moonwalked out of the floor. ‘’I thank you all for joining me here tonight-’’
‘’It’s not night,’’ a random pony in the crowd pointed out.
Discord snapped his talons, and day turned to night. ‘’As I was saying,’’ he continued, ‘’I am honoured that you are here to witness my ascension as the undisputed ruler of Equestria!’’
Celestia coughed pointedly. ‘’Ahem.’’
‘’What? Oh yes!’’ Discord bowed dramatically to Celestia. ‘’Seeing as Her Sunnyness is still in charge, I will pass taking direct control from Canterlot and instead will accept the medal I’m apparently getting.’’
Celestia, to her credit, took it all in stride. ‘’Discord,’’ she said, stepping forward, ‘’for your aid against the escaped criminal Tirek, we hereby award you the Equestrian Medal of Service!’’
With her telekinesis, she floated over a golden medal and pinned it on his chest.
‘’That’s a very pretty medal,’’ Discord said idly. ‘’Just one question: wasn’t Luna supposed to be here as well?’’
Celestia nodded. ‘’She was, but there was a diplomatic incident between two nations in Manehattan, and she had to go and smooth things out.’’
‘’Understandable.’’ Discord didn’t really care, he was only here for the medal. ‘’Well, if that is all…’’
‘’It is.’’
‘’Brilliant.’’ Discord snap-teleported away, leaving behind several hundred balloons filled with firecrackers, because why not?
Rarity sighed. ‘’Nothing’s ever normal around you…’’ she muttered under her breath.
Author's Note
Apologies for the delay, and for the shorter chapter. However, I've got some great content coming up in the next couple of days, so keep an eye out for that!
I've also gotten myself involved in a writing contest, you can read my submission here: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/508094/all-quiet-on-the-home-front
Edit: https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/979100/a-short-break
