"Discord, are you sure you can handle this?"
"Of course, Fluttershy, you know me, I can handle anything life throws at me!"
Thump, thump, thump!
"Ouch! Including Thumper over here."
Angel Bunny stomped his feet...then charged into a run, barreling towards him.
Thwump!
"He lunges at me as if he is some great beast. He must be a giant monster in a prey animal's body; despite his weaker frame, he hits hard."
"Haha!" Angel laughed mockingly.
Today was an unusual day. Both the Council of Friendship meeting AND the Princess Summit were set to occur the next day, causing the Mane Six AND the Princesses - ruling and retired - to leave for the week. Coincidentally, the Cake parents were on a business trip up to Manehattan, to reach a wedding in which their cake had been ordered.
Since so many important creatures were out of town, and Discord had nothing to do (since Guys Night was put on hold since Spike was also attending both events,) Fluttershy had found it best to give the Lord of Chaos something to do other than prank the animals or miss her all day. He was now tasked with looking after the pets, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and the three babies for most of the week.
Not all at once though, not just to prevent overwhelming Discord (or overwhelming the children and pets in actuality,) but to let them spend quality time with their parents. Well - Grandparents in Apple Bloom's case.
Discord would mostly be looking after the Cake Twins and Baby Flurry Heart. As well as Angel, which was a given. It was a big responsibility, especially for him, since he had to promise that there would be no dangerous adventures on this foal/petsitting escapade. Fluttershy knew it took his mind off of lonely thoughts and quelled some of his more mischievous tendencies. He was starting to enjoy foalsitting and did not seem to influence the kids too badly with his unlimited powers.
Plus, he owed everypony from the last few season finale stunts he'd pulled. He was supposed to calm down and do something productive and social - even though he was looking after recognizable small animals and young children - his preferred ages and creatures to socialize with other than Fluttershy. Except, both he and the bunny needed to learn how to enjoy their own company without starting fights and, without becoming so bored that they do something rash, naughty, or dangerous. This was to re-teach Discord especially, the responsibility of caring for others. Bonus points because it made him earn his stay, not just continue to keep living on her couch rent-free.
"I'll be fine, Shy."
"But Discord," Fluttershy protested, "The last time you looked after the pets, Angel got stuck in Chaosville when you left with the other pets and couldn't even look at carrots and spinach for a week, much less eat them because someone turned his food into hungry predators that chased him around your dimension."
"Well...you are what you eat. Plus, I am sure he lost weight with my prescribed workout routine. Just what the plague doctor ordered."
Discord snickered with a paw to his mouth as Angel glared at him with contempt. A sighing Fluttershy slapped her face with her wing and rolled her eyes thinking: "This again."
Discord floated upwards and flicked his tail defiantly -CRACK! -Making sure to only miss Angel's place on the wooden floor by a fraction of an inch, causing the animal to stumble and dodge the incoming whiplash.
"Oops, sorry, Angel."
The vexed, yet terrified Angel scowled and flopped to the ground in temporary defeat, mentally drained and unable to return the provocation with a good retort. He hit the ground.
Thwa-lup!
"He simply cannot take a joke, and he needs to learn to stop being antagonistic. And for some reason, he is one of the only creatures who couldn't care less about my power and title. The witty little thing will take me on regardless of my status. We would become powerful allies if he wasn't so irritating."
Discord materialized a paper fan and used his griffon claw to work it.
"Well, I would appreciate you being kinder to my pet in the future," Fluttershy huffed, "Though I do get that both of you act like brothers who cannot help but get on each other's nerves. You simply need to stop getting under each other's skin. And I am not TOO worried about your babysitting and pet-sitting since you at least do a good job looking after the Crusaders. But you could stand to be a bit nicer to Angel, especially since you are so powerful. You can stop his attempts to get you back as easily as you can snap your claws."
The Draconequus pouted. To prove his aforementioned point, Discord put his case to the one-pony jury.
"Case in point, here are the mitigating circumstances."
Bash!
He slapped a literal black case down on the floor with full force, evidence papers flying out and fluttering forth - just missing the bunny's full body. Not taking another jumpscare lying down, he kicked the briefcase back in Discord's face.
"I mean," Discord said, pulling out a piece of evidence and shoving it in the young mare's face - "He called me an "irritating floppy-eared noodle." And HE is the one that is floppy-eared. I have not been flop-eared since my teensy-weensy, teeny-tiny cub days. Besides, I am built more like a dry string of spaghetti than cup noodles anyway. He really needs to pay more attention to my mismatched frame - he gives terrible descriptions and metaphors! And cotton-tail is more of a delicate and fragile dandelion puff that can break apart in a light breeze anyway."
He sniggered again, enjoying the insult...until -
THUMP!
"OW!"
Discord bounced up and down; rubbing his tail up and down where the bunny had assaulted it - visible sparks flying off the tip. The assailant blew a raspberry and hopped away, outside, and into the far reaches of Fluttershy's garden.
"Hmf. Annoying runt. I cannot wait to foalsit Flurry Heart. Out of all the tiny creatures of the world, at least she gets me."
"And it would help things if you two would get along." Fed up, Fluttershy picked up her bags and headed towards the front door, ignoring the fact that she was effectively a 24/7 babysitter for these kids. She opened the cottage door, turning towards the foalsitting Draconequus to say goodbye.
"-Don't forget to water the plants, feed the animals, guard the house, and continue to bring the scheduled animals to the Sanctuary. Make sure the children are safe and that they do not have too much sugar. Tree Hugger and Zephyr Breeze will check in on you all tomorrow and will help babysit with you until Wednesday. Then, Big Mac and Sugar Bell will occasionally accompany you for the rest of the week as you Crusader-sit and pet-sit. Oh, and don't let Angel attempt to bully and boss you around - and do not bully him. Stay safe and have fun!~"
"Pshhh...OK, mama, I remember the list - you've only restated it three times a day every day at every meal. Bye-bye!~"
Once she had relayed these instructions, Fluttershy waved and shut the door. Discord had waved back and continued to do so even after she was out of sight - her delicate form minimized in height.
3...
2...
1...
...The lonely Draconequus could not take it anymore! She had been gone for all of three seconds! What an eternity!
Back outside, Fluttershy blinked. She was nearly down the hilly road when she felt a small pang of anticipation. She looked at the saddlebags. She rummaged inside, blankly admiring her hoof-ti-work. She had not forgotten anything, she'd said goodbye to everyone in the cottage, finished her veterinarian work, organized the babysitting; and had done all of her chores...so what was it? What was the problem?
Poof!
Ah, there it was - there THEY were.
Both Angel and Discord were in front of her, staring at Fluttershy with annoyed "kid-left-at-home-with-the-babysitter" eyes. Oh, wait, that had been last week.
She had left them during dinner unexpectedly due to a sick client. Discord had promptly teleported them, giving her the stink eye because she had promised quality time with them. Fluttershy had apologized but explained that sometimes work truly was important, but she would do her best to spend time with them. When she had done so, they had let her off and had her continue with the unexpected house call without protest.
***
Back to the present blockade, two mismatched Draconequus puppy-dog eyes filled to the brim with tears. They were whining for emphasis.
"I know you will miss me." Fluttershy cooed reassuringly, "But I really must be going."
She patted the eyes lovingly.
"Now, have a great time, my needy foal."
Sympathetic yet determined, she flew off, leaving the tearful look floating in the air behind her.
It gave an offended, though defeated, huff:
"Aw, phooey...this is going to be a long day..."
Bing-bong! Knock-knock-knock-knock!
"Huh, wha, huh?"
Discord blinked, wondering where the fire was. He and Angel had become bored yet again and had fallen asleep after tying in every board game that day - the Draconequus had somehow avoided the urge to cheat and had accepted Angel as a worthy opponent. Discord shook his mane, collecting his thoughts and uncoiling himself from the ground, causing Angel to slide off his side and safely plop onto the floor - plop!
Discord rubbed his tired eyes and floated to the door in a somnambulistic state. Gaining his bearings, he shook off the slumber and opened the door. "Yawwwwwwn!"
Creaaaak!
"Hey, dude, the stork has a delivery for you!"
"D'ahh!"
Discord jumped a little when he spotted Tree Hugger's head shoved through the door immediately upon opening.
"It left a cute little present - a - trio, no less!"
"Yes-" Zephyr Breeze agreed, "-And a baby care kit just in case you run out of supplies, though I am sure with your powers, you won't. But this gift is just common courtesy."
"Thanks, broskis!" A now awake Discord beamed as the children were slid off the couples' backs, as they were safely deposited into Discord's paw and claw respectively - The Twins from Zephyr's, the Princess from Tree Hugger.
"Enjoy your date, and see you tomorrow."
"Thanks, snakey dude," Tree Hugger smiled, waving.
"Bye chaos-bro," Zephyr replied. "Don't do anything too exciting with the kids, not without supervision."
"I'll try my best, but not promise!" Discord chuckles, as Tree and Zephyr trotted away, tail in tail.
"-Discy!"
An excitable baby's voice filled the royal advisor's ears as Discord looked down at his outstretched limbs.
"Uncy Discy!"
"Flurry-Whirly!" He replied, as the baby alicorn teleported and reappeared on his head, smiling at him upside down and booping his nose.
Half the day had passed, and Discord and Angel stared at the ground idly, already feeling restless. Half the day had passed, and Discord and Angel stared at the ground idly, already feeling restless...at least Flurry Heart was happily snoozing atop Discord's head between his horn and antler.
Angel was absentmindedly rolling a shiny red bouncy ball to Pound as the colt resisted the urge to excitedly smack it back to the bunny whenever it rolled to him, and Pumpkin was trying desperately to grasp Discord's unconsciously slithering tail with her mouth, failing miserably.
The fur-tipped end looked so much like marshmallow fluff to her, and when she started to whine, Discord finally awoke from his half-asleep stupor and noticed the comical activity. He decided to prank her by turning the tip of his tail into a bag of marshmallows and watched the now-standing filly desperately wave her forelegs and jump for the treat, starting to wail in frustration. Amused, Discord overestimated his opponent by making the activity go on for too long - Pumpkin had finally timed her moves correctly and jumped onto the tail, using her magic to yank the bag of marshmallows off.
"OOF!" Discord flinched, feeling the surge of power as Pumpkin stopped wrestling with the tail. Discord turned his head to see that the yellow unicorn had landed safely and had dropped onto the bag, satisfied with her prize.
She ripped open the bag of cotton candy-flavored sugar squares with her horn, her chubby face filled with delight, morphed into a shape as squishy as the sweets she was eating.
"Mmmm! I win!"
"Yes, you certainly do," Discord caved, magicking his fluffy tail back to its proper location. "Seeing how much you enjoy these mallows, I assume that you miss your parents, Pinkie Pie, and Cheese Sandwhich's sugary baking, little one."
"Mmm-hmm!" Pumpkin replied. "Fangs for the marshies!"
"You are very welcome," Discord said, head on wrists - happy to have had some excitement to the foalsitting gig, even if an adventure had not yet occurred.
He heard some rustling behind him and turned to witness Angel and Pound standing on their hind legs now engaging in a soccer match. The two were having a staring contest, a silent challenge - with the pegasus whirring his wings as if to gain the power to charge up an attack. He rushed at the cup - which was the goal - swaying in a zigzag pattern and suddenly jerked to the left and kicked, successfully tricking the goalie into diving right. The bouncy ball careened past Angel and he lay on the ground, defeated.
"Woo-hoo! 11-10, I WIN!"
Pound Cake cheered for himself and jumped for joy, side to side, the sound of a legion of ponies filled the air, as confetti rained down from nowhere.
"Hee-hee," Discord laughed, quite entertained. The visual and sound effects had been courtesy of him, of course, and Angel Bunny crossed his arms in disapproval, though a dancing, jiving pegasus colt flew up to him and shook his paw.
"Good game, Fluffy."
Angel saw the good-natured display and swallowed his pride nodding:
"Uh-huh."
"Good job kid," he squeaked out with some effort, as talking in Ponish was quite hard for him to do.
The cream-coated colt beamed.
Discord's visage was suddenly blocked by two tiny hooves in his eyes and he smirked as Princess Flurry Heart slid off his head and onto his back, slightly miffed at being ignored by the audience and demanding more screen time.
"Weeee!"
She plopped onto his back, between Discord's wings and he smiled at her. Flurry cooed, quite cozy, having reached the pinnacle of happiness. Stretching out to her full height, she subconsciously felt his quiet breaths reverberating against her own back - the strength in his muscles contracting and feeling like the waves of the ocean, reliably carrying her to where she wanted to go, yet rife with the possibility of overtaking her tiny form with giant waves. Discord decided to go back to sleep and gently writhed around a bit until he had curled up in a comfortable cat-like position again.
As he laid his head on his front limbs, the other two babies waddled over and jumped onto them - the paw and claw acting as comfortable pillows for them to sleep on - yes, even the griffon claw felt nice. Discord wagged his tail, pleased with having someone to look after and protect. He was doing a great job at it as well.
And there was no chicken noodle soup hanging from the ceiling like there had been last time, one of the first times he had twin-sat. There were already a lot of things to learn in life, but especially when you are forgetful, immortal, or trapped in stone, there are a lot more things to relearn.
This was before he had remembered that he could understand baby "gibberish" and figured it out as just another language - similar to pet vocabulary in that they all could be pretty smart and use big words (despite how babyish it can sound); but the translation was harder on older creatures because most of the specifics and colloquialisms sound the same. The Draconequus knew he was smarter than the average pony, and he was child-like enough to understand children, but for a while there, it seemed that he had to relearn baby language and infer things from body language.
One day back then, Discord had been stunned when Pound had kicked the big cook pot onto the ceiling away from his sister's hungry maw - thinking that Discord had planned on feeding them meat. He had honestly forgotten that ponies did not eat meat since he had been feeding carnivores in the cottage all day before that, but it did not stop the misunderstanding. That's when the Draconequus really noticed that the baby children were more powerful than a lot of adult ponies. Now that everyone was back to being friends, everything had calmed down this time.
Discord looked around for something that was missing. A little bunny-rabbit sleeping a few feet away from them all alone. Nope, that wouldn't do, anti-social Angel was going to join the snuggles! Whether he wanted to or not! Without even opening his eyes or looking up, Discord yoinked the entire bunny's body with his tail and wrapped him up with it, forcing Angel to join the naptime. The pet was thoroughly whirled around and constricted. Angel tried to pull out the bind of the restrictive movements, but it did not work. He tried to bite to free himself, but the muscles had turned steel-hard and nearly broke his teeth. Unamused, he huffed. He even worked out a brilliant plan of using the fluffy tip of Discord's tail to tickle its owner, and it nearly worked but the 'disaster master' just guffawed and repositioned Angel back into the vice grip. Not distracted enough from holding Angel bound, Discord calmly laid his head back down to rest.
"Ugh."
"Nice try, Cottontail. But you are stuck here. Get comfortable!"
Knowing the truth of the statement, Angel sighed. Realizing the reason for his capture, got back into a sleeping position, and Discord loosened his tail's grip from the trapped bunny rabbit; now only slightly constraining him. As Angel reluctantly got comfortable between the tensed muscles, he stretched and went back to bed, knowing fully well that he was entwined between the tail of a serpent. Serpentwined.
At dinner time, the cozy bundle of fluffy things had awoken after a nice cat nap and had eaten a healthy meal of fruit and veggie salad (with milk for the three babies.)
They played with building blocks, letter blocks, and color blocks - as well as socializing with the house-native animals.
Finishing the cutting and preparing of Angel's high-end, picky, specific salad, Discord spitefully plopped the spinning bowl down without spilling the food. He then materialized a purple robe, marvelous crown, and golden Twilicane scepter onto Angel's mistrusting figure. He performed the act of a flourishing bow, low and "proud." "Here you are, your majesty."
"Yes...thanks...And you actually made it correctly this time, without maiming my food or turning it into a monster. Huh. Thank you...."
Discord smirked but did not add any contention between them. Babies were watching. And he maybe, possibly enjoyed being nice, too.
A while afterward, Discord levitated the baby care kit towards him, then checked the babies' hindquarters.
"Sniff, ew. Oh no, it's potty time."
At the back of his mind, he was eternally grateful for his magic as he snapped and zapped away the old diapers into oblivion and swapped the new, clean ones onto the babies. Suddenly, they had gone from wearing two whites and one blue, to two blues and one white, and an interesting color-swapped change next to their individual fur colors.
With the infinite reach of his magic, the kids were now squeaky clean without him having to touch or see anything. Mercifully, this would be their last few months with diapers and he hoped their kindergarten pull-ups would rarely have to be changed.
Pumpkin Cake hiccupped, cutting his monologue short and drawing his attention. She was full, and half asleep, cuddling and chewing on some plastic. Discord swiped the empty marshmallow bag away, the filly's distraught gaze cutting into him, looking for all the world as if she had had a traumatic and tragic thing done to her. "Let's get you some real food before your parents find a way to ground me."
An hour before the children were supposed to turn in for the night - and Pumpkin had been given a healthy pumpkin to eat - everyone was taken outside to play and burn off any unforeseen energy. Yet again, an uninterested and impulsive Discord caved in.
"It is time for dessert, what should we have? And in any case, what should we do? Have a fun adventure?"
"We are not supposed to," Flurry protested. "Aunt Shy said that you are not
allowed any adventuwes, none caused by you, most definitely. Only ones outside your contwoll are allowed. Especially because we are young, not allowed to leave due to safety issues; if anything bad happened, you would be gwounded. Somehow."
"'Safety issues?'"
"Yes, you. Both being left alone AND being with you is a problem."
Flurry nodded her head and closed her eyes, in an impressive imitation attempt of her biological Aunt Twilight.
"What are you going to do, stop me?"
"Yes."
"What will you do to stop me?"
"This."
...
Seeing nothing happen, Discord reached for his paw, concocting a plan to reveal the bluff for what it was. It was nothing too harmful - just something to stop the princess from getting too big-headed. He thought of summoning some goofy pink clouds for chocolate pies to rain down on them.
He snapped his fingers.
...
Silence.
...
Nothing happened.
Discord looked at his lion paw. It had been frozen with yellow magic right before the snap's sound effect had taken place and before the magical shockwave could hit.
"Hmmm, chocolate pie is good, but I prefer coconut cream."
Unbeknownst to him, she had an ace up her sleeve. Unlike most creatures, the pink baby had started to learn the timing of his "snaps." Flurry had been waiting for Discord to make the first move, then would act like a magical boxing sand bag, bouncing back at full force.
"Besides, my fwends would have been pelted with rocket-speed pies anyway - ow - that would not have been fun."
Flurry Heart's aura painlessly zapped the older creature's paw and he felt the magic drain from it. Using his power, the princess changed the ingredients of the final result, adjusted the trajectory of the blast, saved the coordinates, and released the energy, including the delayed snapping.
SNAP! Splat-slap-splat!
A barrage of attacks hit Discord's entire body, both chocolate pies and chocolate rain slapped down on him with both beeline and centripetal force forcing him into the first or second layer of ground.
"Defffutuwah! What's happened?! It's raining cats and dogs in here! ...On second thought, I'll take the pies! OOOOF!"
Safe and out of harm's way, an isolated instance of pie appeared in front of the Cake twins, a cream pie, and chocolate pie for both of them to share. They giggled and cheered, Pumpkin eating and Pound clapping his hooves.
"Hooray for Flurry!"
"Whew, that was draining. But fuuuuuun!~ Let's do that again!"
(Strained silence and muffled groaning.)
"Are you OK, Mr. Discord?"
Discord mumbled some form of "yes," and both his "hands" and Flurry's magic worked to release the beast from the splat-a-thon marathon. When he could see, he gazed upon the malice-less pride of the filly, the pink cloud hoof-ti-work floating above both the entire yard and cottage. Thunder rumbled with static rainbow energy. He grinned and slurped the frosting and filling that had stained and wet his fur.
"Mmm, exquisite taste, young lady."
"Hee-hee, thanks!"
"That was some pie-in-the-face prank."
"I just did what you would have done!"
Princess Baby Flurry Heart had proven why she deserved the title of "princess" and the "nation's first naturally born alicorn."
Even now, she stayed humble and gave a kind smile, refusing to gloat over the full extent of her power.
Defeated, Discord relented. "Hmmm...that's why I like you. You are one of the only ponies that can give me a run for my money."
"What to become my full-time accomplice?" Shoom!
His next question turned into a literal directional arrow from his mouth and shot toward her. With a bored expression, she barely flew right, figuratively sidestepping with minimal effort.
KABOOM!
The words exploded into the puff of clouds above and dispersed the storm, causing nature around them to return to normal with a small shock wave shooting past everyone. All who were present corrected their positions, but Flurry didn't even flinch as the explosion happened behind her.
Staring blankly at the sparky-eyed, excitable Draconequus, she merely blinked as the twins gasped in shock, scared.
"-I'll traaaaaain youuuuuuu...."
"Sorry sir, my parents wouldn't allow it; royalty and all."
"Stop dodging the question with protocol - literally. Stop playing around and give me a real answer."
Discord demanded, not truly angry - just putting pressure on her. However, Flurry stood her ground, flying close to his face, about to negotiate a deal.
"Maybe they would let me if I used my powers for good, like beating up baddies or getting broked-up ponies back to falling in love again."
She smiled hopefully.
"Ugh, fine...goodie two-hooves."
"Yay!"
"You drive a hard bargain, little mare."
"So do you, Uncy Discord."
"Dang, all this chaotic energy and not an ounce of true naughtiness."
"-I mean...I can be mischievous as long as we don't really hurt anypony or any-creature..."
Pound and Pumpkin looked at each other, confused. Angel face-pawed. He knew what would likely come next. "Big mistake."
"Great! Anything in mind? For either an activity, adventure, or scrumptious desert? Like putty in my hooves...um, paws, uh claws, erm...everything."
He decided to make use of the opportunity by belaying his orders and let her think of something to do or play.
♬"Well, I just have but one reqwest - a teeny, tiny, small reqwest...
...could I please have this - just one thing? A giant bowl...of ice cweam?"♬
It was not quite what he had in mind, but doing this had changed reality without hurting anyone - it was quite tame - and it made things more exciting, so...SCORE.
P.S., It is unknown where Flurry had come up with her suspiciously familiar lyrics. Perhaps it was some form of chaotic song magic shared between them like she shared with Pinkie Pie?
A veritable ice cream paradise had replaced Fluttershy's backyard, turning Summertime into Wintertime.
The children (and Angle - I mean - Angel), were dressed in winter clothing, as Discord made a snow angel...snow demon...something in-between? In a scoop of ice cream snow.
Discord had created an ice cream wonderland to have everyone play in - with various types of the sweet-treat from a myriad of different companies. Pound and Flurry had ridden in a sled, on the more slushie, sleet-like section; and Pumpkin was currently building a snowpony out of yellow, pink, and green Neighpolitan, and Blue Bunny ice cream. She used chocolate chips and cherries to decorate her creation.
Thunder rumbled and lightning crashed, as it started to flurry. The snow emanated from Flurry Heart, swirling and whipping around her in a pretty display of wind power. It contained a sweet smell, and even sweeter taste when you stuck your tongue in it. It was not just a snowstorm - it was soft-serve ice cream!
"Oh, yay, Flurry!" Pound Cake yelled, shielding his eyes from the blustery storm, "You don't just make snow - but cold sweet cream as well!"
Pumpkin giggled and ran through the multicolored snowy field.
"This kid is stealing my powers," Discord said, slightly offended.
"No, it's all her own," Pumpkin said, panting with her tongue out and wagging her tail like a puppy.
"It honestly FEELS like she is emulating me..." Discord retorted smugly. "Either way, she's my future apprentice. Well, I just need to get her to sneeze and blast magic into the air and cause a snowstorm so that we can leave under the cover of night and ice - like undercover spies - set for a real adventure..."
"Achoo!" Flurry Heart sneezed; a regular one. "Was someone trying to be...bes...bees...besmirk...besmirch my good name by using me as a weapon and escape woute?"
"Oh, no my dear," Discord lied, sweating.
"I hope it's not," Flurry stated, "I think I am starting to smell lies. And don't like barefaced lies. I only like bears. OH! Let me build a snow-polar bear! I'll name him Growly-wait, no-Frosty!"
Just like that, she clopped her hooves together, her displeasure melting away as Spring snow.
Crisis averted.
On the tour of the place, they scoured the recesses of the ingredients scattered around and found the necessary materials to add to the existing outline of a gingerbread house and cake palace with frosting roof tiles, lollipop pillars, candy cane spires, wafer awnings, and gumdrop window panes.
It was a true nursery rhyme or fairy tale, and even though they were not allowed to eat much for fear of stomach aches and parental wrath, but they savored what they could and excitedly anticipated the adventures they would have over the rest of the half-week, they would be spending with Discord.
Flurry Heart offered the twins heart-shaped candy apples she had found, and Pumpkin took hers - and without so much as a thank you, stuffed the whole thing in her mouth. She looked quite ridiculous, and Flurry laughed at her.
"Oh Pumpkin," she giggled, "There is always more for later."
Yeah, Pound agreed, "That was rash and kind of rude. Anyway, you're still hungry?"
"Yes, she's always hungry - you should know that! It's a good thing we exercise at nursery!" Flurry giggled.
"Gulp! Sorry, I'll chew next time, and thank you, Flurry! I'll see if I can find you a nice cinnamon roll over there in return."
"Oh, gee-golly, thank you!" Flurry squealed, excited. "Let's search for it together!...Or search for other sweets to stockpile for tomorrow!"
After Pumpkin had retrieved the cinnamon buns, the trio had some refreshments courtesy of bodyguard 'Cord. The children later ran off when they found that a new cave had sprung up in the garden. When they ran over, they noticed the pretty white walls had thin, pink and red stripes. They started harvesting the mascarpone, marzipan, and meringue madness frosting that hung from the stalactites and stalagmites of the rock-like hole. They also gathered crystal berries from ice trees outside of the cave. They were hoping against all hope that their parents and Auntie Pinkie would bake their famous and special MMMM Cake again!
Using her powers to her advantage, Flurry put her earth, unicorn and pegasus strength to good use, chipping away at the frosting using force with Pound; and magic with Pumpkin.
The children started chattering absentmindedly, Discord floating by to make sure the sugary snow was not too cold and that no arguments had been started.
Overhearing the trio's conversation about the gingerbread house, and how it resembled the fairy tale Hoof-sel and Nettle, Discord stroked his bearded chin, brainstorming with an actual thinking cap-a too small thinking cap. Button Mash would wonder where the hat got off to in time, as soon as he replayed the Mare-io level he had been distracted from.
He tried to cheat the system again by attempting to create some sort of villian for the story (like a candied trap-setting witch) - but Flurry sensed his intentions and flew forward, catching his claw with her small body, stopping any possibly dangerous, mostly unsupervised adventures from occurring. The versatile, brave, distrusting filly retained a strong grip, successfully nipping the problem in the bud.
Discord thought: "Wow, she could wrestle a bear - how was she so fast, I did not even hear her telepor-"
"-Nope! Bad Uncle!"
"H-Hey weren't you deep inside that cake-like cave, like - two paragraphs ago?!"
"Yes, but the story's plot demanded that I look after you - including by stopping you from making impulsive decisions."
There was going to be no naughty behavior on her watch. When she understood dire situations, she was not a namby-pamby pretty-in-pink pony princess.
"Stop disobeying Auntie Flutters' simple wules!-"
Psshooh-booom!
CRACK!
She had put her horn to work by zapping a humungous popsicle icicle down from a ceiling with a smash, her tipping point of annoyance becoming so evident, it was almost palpable. It wasn't only the ice's breaking and melting point.
Everyone's frightened and bewildered expressions spoke volumes for the shock of barely reaching the zenith of Flurry's true power - it was not even close.
Even the sleeping Angel Bunny had heard and woken up, and he was situated at the sunny front of the house! They were at the farthest corner of the backyard near the Everfree!
"-And that was the low setting. Anyone brave enough to see past the stun gun?"
"Yeah-I mean..." Once again, Discord had a knack for both overestimating and underestimating himself and other creatures, such as underestimating his capacity to be good and overestimating her personal power - especially underestimating his opponents. He should have known; that the shorter ones had definitely surprised him in the last thousand-plus years.
"No, I do not want to see a magic duel right now. Especially if Fluttershy witnesses me cleaning up the leftover mess."
Flurry Heart's horn glowed brightly, the corona lighting up with the sharp sound of a Nerf gun cock - even the sound of an unsheathed sword, loudly voicing her displeasure.
Click-kick! Shing!
"Great. So do you give up or are you thirsty for more?"
Pound Cake raised his hoof. "I would like to see more of the awesome power, if only for it to be used to warm the candy and make hot chocolate to go with those marshmallows over there."
"No," Discord commented sheepishly, "I am not a glutton for punishment. Heh-heh."
Her stormy anger quelled, Flurry once again romped and lolled about with her friends, remaining in sight of yet a bit away from the annoying Draconequus.
Boing, boing, boing, boing!
Singing, they joined in 'Pinkie Pie bouncing' inside the tall scoops of ice cream, leaving holes in their wake where the ice cream hills had swallowed them up moments before. The order was Flurry, Pound, and Pumpkin. Her hat, scarf, and boots trailing in the wind the fastest, Flurry was a mare on a mission in an ice cream haven. It was an adorable sight to behold.
♬"Winter Wrap Up, Winter Wrap Up, don't finish our holiday cheer~!"♬
Crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, pftah!
"There we go, some peppermint for Mama!" Pumpkin squealed, bending down in the noisy snow after finding an extraneous piece of candy for her and Pound's mother Mrs. Cake - one of her mom's favorites.
Pound had collected ginger drops; his daddy's favorite.
Flurry had collected full pies and cakes for Cadance and Shining Armor, not just lone flavors.
By and by, the children had started to slow down, feeling the call of sleep. They'd decided to pick some estranged bits of candy for their parents in satchels on their way back to the cozy cottage.
Seeing the sun start to set and the moon start to rise, a half-awake Discord conspired one more time, for the final time in this story. He whispered to what felt like an adopted brother.
"Hey, bunny, how about this? I scratch your back, you scratch mine."
The pragmatic bunny actually hopped to it and gave a good scratching and massaging session, having been well-rested and in an agreeable mood.
"Ooooh-ohhh-oooh! ...Oh my, that feels good. Keep going! Oh wait, I mean "scratch backs" as in "team up" - as allies!"
The pet gave a bemused glare.
"Fine, what the hay? Sure, I'll help you out, but only if you scratch my back, Noodle-head," he mimed.
Expertly ignoring the gibe, Discord carefully picked up the bunny and lightly scratched Angel's common sweet spots. Angel squeaked in delight, thumping his feet midair as an unthinking reaction. He certainly did not mean to accidentally smack Discord's cheeks, pleased with his body's reflexes; causing the Draconequus to have to maneuver the bunny's body in a way that would not cause collateral damage to Discord's fragile face. Today was the best they had gotten along all month, and they were starting to consistently appear as best friends.
Discord's voice dropped to a low, venomous whisper.
"It's a deal. I would like some stone-cold revenge, ice-cold in fact."
"Yes, revenge is a dish best-served cold. What do you have in mind, Chaos-bringer?"
"A snowball fight."
Dun-dun-dun!
***
"Did you enjoy the day?" Discord cooed, with baby-doll eyes.
"Yes, Mr. Discy, it was great!"
"It was awesome!"
"Thank you sir; the taste of everything was amazing!"
"You are welcome, kiddos," Discord puffed up with pride, curtseying proudly.
"Hey guys - since it's nearly dark, I want to show you my 'Northern Lights' trick!"
"OK then," Dsicord concurred, "Blast away!"
FSSSSSSH-Boom, Pshahhhhhh~!
Using periodic shots of blue, green, and pink magic, Flurry put on a bioluminescent light show for everyone, Flurry created an icy firework show to end the ice cream party. Sometimes she thought to combine it with small bursts of her literal flurrying cyclone, dancing within the center and kicking up bits of ice cream to smash against the spiraling column of ice - creating sparks of snowflakes. She even made it lightly snow a warm snow that which the clouds only surrounded the five creatures outside. Reminiscent of soft-serve ice cream swirls, it was a masterful, beautiful, multicolored performance that imitated the Aurora Borealis well.
Snap!
Everyone craned their neck to see the excitement, as Discord poofs everycreature 3d glasses. As "oohs" and "ahs" hit Flurry Heart's ears, she grinned. The private performance ended with another 'Fluttering, Flurrying Flourish' and a crescendo of warm and cold-colored fireworks.
After finishing her dramatic pose, Flurry panted, tired. She was very drained from all of the magic she had exerted that day. Everyone clapped their limbs and cheered, as she blushed and squeaked with joy and accomplishment.
"Whew! I'm beat. *Pant, pant,* I will continue to pwactice these talents for when I am old enough to attend the official pwincess summits.
Discord smiled. He was proud of her - that light show had been created by the alicorn all on her own. He knew that he would think fondly of these sweet and powerful children for years to come.
Although, he wanted the night to end off with even MORE of a bang than the crescendo had.
He picked up a ball of snow with his tail, using the tip of his tail as a feather duster to brush off dirt and compact the object.
Snap, Snap!
Angel noticed the quiet paw snaps and completed the same action, tightening the snow with his hind legs. - He was careful not to use his kicking feet to destroy the ball and turn it into a fine powder, but not too heavy as to knock out the babies.
"The suspense is unbearable, I hope it lasts," he whispered to Angel.
But alas, the Draconequus had neglected to check if Flurry Heart had been paying attention to subtle changes in his face as he prepared his attack. The pink baby princess sensed that something was wrong, and her "Flurry sense" registered the danger more than her still gushing best friends' "twin sense" had.
"Hey guys, maybe we should step back...I feel a big stowm comin'."
Suspecting a trick, Flurry had cut off her conversation and warned her friends to step a hoof back just as the oppressor Draconequus sounded the alarm for the critical attack.
The trap was set, and the pivotal moment had arrived. The only warning was the slight rustle of Discord's tail as it moved from the snow mound into view of everypony.
...
It was too late to run.
...
"En guarde!" The sneaky Draconequus shouted.
Choo-fwoo!
It was a a ruthless, rule-less game of rapid-fire throws until somepony could not bare to stand anymore.
The twins had just enough energy to dodge three high-speed straight-ahead attacks from Discord, as well as curveballs from Angel and they ran out of steam. Pumpkin was taken by a fastball on the right, Pound, a throw from behind on the left side that he had unfortunately not taken into account. Sadly, he missed his last shot.
Before the duo were out of the game for good, however, the twins had coordinated a hit on Angel by using telekinesis to fly Pound at Angel - his wings whirring to upkeep speed, and he smacked the bunny traitor and accomplice in the face.
Now that there was only one filly standing. The royals were at it, flinging ten fast snowballs at a time - all anyone could hear was extreme bashing and crashing; the snow looking like fallen flour everywhere. Like a hailstorm, it obscured the vision of all in the vicinity.
Once the whirlwind was over and they both were tired of throwing, it was found that Flurry had been hit once; Discord had been fired upon twice. Everyone else in the party's jaws dropped.
"Ow. Wow, expert maneuvering, Princess - you really are like a baby Draconequus, aren't you?"
"Hee-hee! Thankies! You were awesome yourself, hahaha! That was so much fun~!!"
Discord admitted to himself that he had honestly enjoyed the day and that these small tots had made him appreciate everything, even the feeling of wanting to protect someone other than Fluttershy.
He heard someone fly up to his ear.
"Uncy Discord, I wuv u!"
"I wuv you too, Flurricana."
As he smiled warmly, she squealed and hugged Uncle Discy, she had slapped herself on his face and of course, with nowhere else to go was hugging his entire head. She had learned tight squeezes and bear hugs from Pinkie, as well as her randomness and some of her joyful nature. And it showed as she snuggled into his horsey fur with no hard feelings from the happy day.
"Come along, my lil ponies." Discord gathered them up and teleported everyone to bed, and falling asleep on impact, cuddling the tiny younger ponies and pet, in his various limbs.
Oh, and cute lil' Flurry Heart acted as a pillow over Discord's face, shielding his eyes from the moonlight that dared to squeak past the curtains, and Angel was nestled in the Draconequus' chest fluff. Finally, Discord was spread out, limbs akimbo and spilling out over the small couch.
***
Because everyone fell asleep on the couch and later refused to change the perfect cottage back; the babysitters of the week (as well as Fluttershy) would wonder why her entire backyard had been transformed into a deliciously colorful, unmelting, always fresh palace of ice cream and soft serve - among other sweet treats. But right now, everything is awesome.
...Yeah, with this duo's power, Equestria was probably doomed, absolutely finished. Oh well, at least the ice cream was awesome! :D
"Now, Uncw Discy, tomorrow, I would just like one little thing, a really small favor."
He patted her head and she booped his nose.
"Sure Flurry-Whirly...what do you request?"
♬"A teeny-tiny bowl...of ice cream."♬
"Touché."
