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// Friendship and Harmony: Darkness Awakens: Chapter 2 
// Story: Friendship and Harmony: Darkness Awakens 
// by BoeingtheDraconequus 
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Spike, Rarity, and Sweetie Belle all sat at the table in the kitchen of Carousel Boutique together as they each ate bowls of ice cream. Due to the new idea that the purple dragon gave the white unicorn, she was now back in high spirits and managed to make fifteen more dresses.

“I cannot thank you enough for the idea you gave me, Spikey-wikey.” Rarity smiled at him. “You really are the kindest and sweetest dragon I know.”

Spike chuckled as he scratched his head. “I have my moments.”

“Indeed you do, and I thank you again for that.”

Sweetie Belle looked between the two as she watched Spike blush a shade of pink and Rarity gaze at him sweetly. Ever since he started visiting her older sister more often after getting his growth spurt, she noticed that Rarity was acting slightly differently around him. She would sometimes gaze at him for long periods and feel a little flattered whenever he commented on her beauty or sense of generosity.

Sweetie also knew that Spike had a crush on her older sister ever since she overheard her talking about it when she was alone in her work room. Perhaps she may have misheard her, Sweetie thought, but thought wrong when she saw Rarity smiling to herself at how adorable it was for the purple dragon to have feelings for her.

Sweetie Belle placed her spoon down on her plate with an audible clink and cleared as her older sister turned to her. “Rarity? Would it be okay if I went ahead and started cleaning up all the dresses on the floor?” the unicorn filly asked.

“Oh, well, I don’t see why not.” Rarity replied. “But aren’t you going to finish your ice cream? You’re nearly finished.” she pointed to her younger sister’s ice cream bowl. True to her word, there was only a little bit of ice cream left.

“Oh!” Sweetie scooped the remaining ice cream into her spoon and ate it whole as she levitated her bowl and spoon into the sink. “I am now, so I’ll be upstairs putting away all the dresses in the hallway if you need me.”

The unicorn filly trotted out of the kitchen and up the stairs as Spike and Rarity were left alone in the kitchen. They sat in silence for a moment as they glanced at each other and felt a sense of awkwardness.

“We should go ahead and start cleaning up your home too.” Spike said as he stood up and took his bowl into his hand before taking Rarity’s bowl and spoon as well. “Here, let me take care of that for you.”

“Why thank you, Spike.” Rarity smiled at him as she got out of her seat. And went out of the kitchen. A frown adorned her expression as she looked around at the sheer mess that she created during her depressed state. ‘Oh my, I’m going to need a day at the spa after this.’

“So what are we doing first?” Spike asked once he exited the kitchen. “Do you want me to take care of the cleaning?”

“Oh no, I couldn't possibly allow you to do that when I was the one who made this mess. I can take care of things from here, Spike.”

“What? No way.” he shook his head. “I can do this, Rarity. This isn’t the first time I’ve handled large messes, you know.”

She knew he had a point. Cleaning up piles of books in the Golden Oaks Library and the library in the Castle of Friendship proved his point. “But I still don’t want you to do this. It was my fault for neglecting this for so long and I have to take responsibility.”

Spike let out a chuckle. “Sorry, Rarity. But I’m not taking no for an answer.”

He began to pick up the unfinished dresses off the floor and the papers as the white unicorn stared at him for a moment before sighing and shaking her head. Despite that, a smile formed on her lips. “Well, if you’re sure, then I won’t stop you, darling. But I’ll clean up the mess upstairs and we can call ourselves even.”

“Sure thing.” Spike nodded as he took the unfinished dresses outside and into the garbage can.

The white unicorn smiled off in his direction before going upstairs, lighting up her horn and levitating any dress that was on the floor onto her back and any crumpled piece of paper into the trash can she brought out of her room. As she continued, her thoughts drifted off to the purple pre-teenage dragon.

It wasn’t too long ago when he was little and chubby, and he was now taller, more strong and muscular, and slightly attractive in her opinion. For some odd reason, Rarity felt slightly different around him whenever he came over to help or to simply just hang out. She would feel more happy than usual and a little giddy. She kept telling herself that it was just her imagination, but the more time they spent together, the more happy she was for his company and assistance.

Once Rarity finished getting all the unfinished dresses and crumpled pieces of paper off of the stairs, she took them back downstairs and towards the garbage can outside as she looked around the main area of her home to see that it was halfway clean and all the curtains on all the windows were pulled open. She looked to see the front door opening as Spike stepped back inside and wiped his forehead.

“Whew! I’m getting close to being almost done with all the cleaning down here.” he said.

“I can see that.” Rarity said as she moved towards the door.

“Do you want me to put those dresses in the trash for you?” Spike asked. “You don’t seem to be moving all that well with the weight of them on your back like that.”

True to his word, the white unicorn’s legs were shaking due to the weight of the dresses on her back. Despite that, she shook her head. “Spike, I appreciate your concern, but I can handle this.”

“Rarity, I know you’re determined to do most of the work, but I can help. Besides, what’s wrong with the extra assistance?”

“Well…when you put it like that,” she let out a defeated sigh. “Oh, how can I say no? Here you go, Spike.”

Rarity positioned herself and allowed the purple dragon to lift the dresses off her back as she let out a sigh. “Oh, it feels so good to get those off my back. They were getting quite heavy.”

“Happy to help.” Spike smiled as he took the dresses over to the garbage can and crammed them in.

Rarity waited until he came back inside before going back upstairs and levitating more dresses onto her back and pieces of papers into her trash can, which was now overflowing with lots of other crumpled pieces of paper. She turned and went downstairs as Spike waited at the bottom for her as he took the trash can into his claws and took it outside and emptied it into the garbage can.

With the combined efforts, they both managed to complete cleaning all of Carousel Boutique within 45 minutes as they both came down the stairs and sat on the fainting couch together.

“Spike, you don’t know how thankful I am for your assistance today.” Rarity said as she smiled gratefully at him. “You were a big help.”

“What can I say? I love helping you.” Spike said as he smiled back. “What are friends for, anyway?”

They continued to smile at each other before the white unicorn cleared her throat and stood up. “You deserve an award.”

Spike looked at her in surprise. “Really?”

“Yes, and I insist. Now wait here.” Rarity turned and went up stairs as the purple dragon waited patiently. It didn’t take too long for his crush to return as she came up to him with a small chest in her magical aura. “This is from me to you.”

She placed it in his lap as he picked it up and opened it, widening his eyes and staring down at the delicious array of gems. He then looked up to see Rarity smiling at him.

“Is something wrong, Spike?” she asked him.

It was as if this were deja vu. He shook his head and smiled down at his tasty treat. “Nope. It’s perfect.” he placed the chest down on the couch and stood up as he embraced her in a hug. “Thanks, Rarity.”

“You’re welcome, Spikey-wikey.” She hugged him back before breaking the embrace. “Well, you should probably go on and head back to the castle. I’m sure Twilight is waiting for your return.”

“Y-yeah, you’re right.”

Spike grabbed the chest of gems and went out of the front door back to the Castle of Friendship as Rarity stepped outside and waved at him. “Farewell, Spike! I’ll see you tomorrow for the picnic!”

“I’ll be there!” he called back to her as he walked back home to the castle.

As he continued through town, he opened his chest and looked at his gems with a smile. This wasn’t the first time he had received a generous gift from his crush throughout all the time he and Twilight have lived in Ponyville. There was the time when Rarity gave him a gem for helping him extract gems from near the Diamond Dog tunnels and when she kissed him after he gave her his Fire Ruby.

Yet there was one thing that was missing from all this that he always wanted the minute he first saw her.

He wanted to become her special somedragon.

Spike knew that there was a chance he would win her heart now that she wasn’t chasing after any handsome stallions and devoting more of her time to her work.

Only time would tell if this was his fate.







Discord materialized in his kitchen back in his castle as he began searching in all the cabinets and drawers for a cookbook. “Now let’s see, where is that cookbook? I know I have one somewhere.” he muttered to himself as he shrank himself and went inside the oven in hopes that a cookbook was in there, but to no avail.

He teleported out of the oven and grew back to his normal height as he began searching in the refrigerator for any signs of anything that looked like a book, but wound up with the same results.

“Where is it?” he said with annoyance. That’s when realization hit him.

He doesn’t have a cookbook.

He slapped himself in the face before a light bulb flashed above his head as he grinned with an idea. He may not have a cookbook, but there was a certain pink pony who did.

Discord teleported outside of Sugarcube Corner and spotted Pinkie over by her ice cream stand as he teleported over to it. “Ah, Pinkie Pie. Just the pony I need to see.”

“Hi Discord! Do you want some ice cream?” she asked with a grin.

“While I appreciate the offer, I’m actually here for an entirely different reason,” he replied.

“Ooh, what is it, what is it?”

“Do you happen to have a cookbook by any chance?”

“Yup, and it’s in the bakery! But why do you need one?” Pinkie asked.

“Well, see here’s the thing, my little pony.” Discord began. “I was having tea with Fluttershy when she invited me to this picnic she and your friends are having tomorrow, to which I happily agreed. I even offered to bring my cucumber sandwiches.”

“You did? I bet they taste super duper yummy.”

“They are, and Fluttershy even said so herself, but I also told her that I would bake some cupcakes as an extra. That’s why I’m here actually." The Draconequus paused for a moment before continuing. “Can you teach me how to bake? Please?”

Pinkie was silent for a moment before breaking out into a grin. “I’d love to!”

“You would?” Discord asked in surprise.

“Of course, silly! It’s not every day that I get to teach others how to cook, and you’re my second student. So step right into the bakery and I’ll be right with you!”

“Well…alright.” Discord said as he teleported into the kitchen, surprising Mrs. Cake as she jumped at his sudden appearance and turned to face him.

“Oh, It’s just you, Discord. What brings you here to the kitchen?” the blur earth pony asked with a forced smile.

“If you must know, Pinkie has agreed to teach me how to bake cupcakes,” he replied before looking around. “Where’s your husband? I thought he’d be here with you as well?”

“He took the twins to their doctor's appointment, he should be back later though.”

“Ah, I see. The job of a parent is never done.”

Pinkie bounced into the kitchen with her pet alligator, Gummy, on her back as she placed him on the counter top. “Alright, Discord. Are you ready to put your baking cap on?”

“I most certainly am.” the Draconequus proudly replied as a chef's hat and apron materialized on him. “Now then, how will we start?”

“First, we need to find a good recipe.” Pinkie replied as she pulled out a large baking book from her mane.

Discord stared at her with confusion. “How did you do that?”

“I dunno,” the pink earth pony replied honestly with an innocent grin. “Everypony else asks me the same thing.”

“And yet you don’t know how you pulled a book from your own mane like that?”

“Nope.”

Discord just stared at her. The fact that she should just do that and have no idea how just didn’t make any sense.

‘Then again, what’s the fun in making sense?’ a thought entered his mind as he sighed and shook his head. Perhaps this pony had magic and didn’t realize it yet, or simply had Draconequus in her family history. “Nevermind. Anyway, how about a good recipe for beginners?”

“Coming right up!” Pinkie said as she placed the cookbook on the counter and opened it.

She flipped page after page before stopping and turning to face him. “What do you wanna bake, exactly? A cake? Cupcake? Both?” she paused her questioning as she licked her lips with a hungry smile. “Ooh, cupcakes.”

“Actually, I want to just make some cupcakes.” Discord replied as she beamed at him.

“Ooh! What kind should we make?”

“Anything with chocolate? I do love chocolate if I do say so myself.”

“Gotcha.” Pinkie turned around and continued to flip the pages in her cookbook before stopping and showing him the page. “Should we try and make these?”

Discord levitated the book over to him as he looked at the page with fascination. The cupcakes on the image were a rich chocolaty brown with chocolate frosting that swirled around with equally brown sprinkles on top. The very sight of them was enough to cause the Draconequus to lick his lips before grinning. “Those look absolutely perfect! Fluttershy will surely be pleased.”

“Then let’s get started.” Pinkie said as the cookbook floated over to a book stand. She pulled out 4 cupcake trays and two mixing bowls before pulling out all the needed measuring cups and ingredients. “Alright, Discord, this is the moment you’ve been waiting for.” she said to him in a serious tone yet still smiling.”You’ve been waiting to get baking lessons ever since…um, how long have you wanted to bake without magic?”

“Since I left Fluttershy’s cottage an hour ago,” he shrugged, figuring it was the best answer.

“Exactly! You’ve been waiting to bake for over an hour. Are you ready?”

“Pretty much.”

“Uh uh! You need to be confident! Now let me ask you again; are you ready to bake the most delicious cupcakes you have ever baked in your entire life?”

“I’m ready!” Discord jumped in the air with a salute with a confident smile.

“Great! Then let’s get baking.” Pinkie smiled as he teleported in front of the cooking area. “The first thing we need is to set the oven to 350 degrees.”

“Already on it.” Discord reached over with his snake tail and turned his tuft into a hand as he twisted the temperature knob to the said temperature. “There.”

“Great. Now we need to add ¾ cup of flour, ½ cup of cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon of espresso powder, ¾ teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon of baking soda, and ¼ teaspoon of salt. Make sure to make the ingredients thoroughly combined.”

Discord immediately began adding the ingredients to his mixing bowl with the needed measuring cups, making sure that the amount was just right, as he poured them into the mixing bowl and mixed them together. He looked over to see the pink earth pony doing the same thing in her own mixing bowl only at a much faster pace. “I didn’t know you were making cupcakes with me. I thought I was doing all the baking on my own?” the Draconequus raised an eyebrow at her.

“Well yeah, but the recipient requires you to use another cupcake pan.” Pinkie said. “Besides, I wanna make my own chocolate cupcakes for later!”

He stared at her for a moment before shrugging. “Anyway, what’s next?”

“You need to put 2 eggs, ½ cup of granulated sugar, ½ cup of brown sugar, ⅓ cup of vegetable oil, and 2 teaspoons of vanilla into a separate medium bowl, and make sure to make it completely smooth.”

The Draconequus snapped up a medium sized mixing bowl as he looked over at the open egg carton and he took 2 eggs before looking at them. “So, do I just drop them in or what?” he asked with confusion.

Pinkie giggled. “No silly. You need to crack the shell and let the yolk fall in. Watch.” As a demonstration, she took one of her eggs into her mouth and taped it against her medium sized mixing bowl before placing the egg in her mouth and pulling apart the shell, causing the yolk to fall into the bowl. “Go on and try! Just be careful to not let any part of the egg shell fall in with the rest of the ingredients.”

Discord looked down at his egg before knocking it against the tip of his medium mixing bowl with the correct force input as he gently pulled apart the shell with his fingers, allowing the yolk to fall into the bowl. When he noticed that not a single piece of the egg shell unintentionally fell in, he picked up the other egg and cracked it, pulling apart its shell and allowing the yolk to fall into the bowl and join the already present one as he scooped out the other ingredients with the required mixing cups and dumped them into the bowl, making sure to make the ingredients completely smooth.

“Wow Discord, you’re doing great!” Pinkie smiled over at him. “Now you need to pour half of the wet ingredients and half of the buttermilk in with the dry ingredients.”

He poured the wet ingredients in the large mixing bowl and added the buttermilk. “This is turning out to be a lot easier than I thought.”

“It is! Now all you need to do is gently mix the ingredients in the large bowl for a few seconds and do the same for the medium bow.”

The Draconequus summoned two electric mixers as he turned them on and placed them in the mixing bowls, making sure to get the mixing just right before making the mixers disappear.

“Alright, I did that. Now what?” Discord asked with a slight hint of impatience. “All of this baking is making me hungry.”

“We’re almost done, you just need to pour the batter into the cupcake holes on your cupcake trays, but only fill the holes up halfway.” Pinkie said as she began pouring her batter into her own cupcake tray holes.

“Finally, we’re getting somewhere.” Discord lifted up the large mixing bowl and began pouring half of the chocolate cupcake batter into the cupcake holes.

“Great! All that’s left is to put the trays in the oven and let them bake for 18-21 minutes.”

“You mean I have to wait?” Discord asked with an annoyed and bored expression. “I thought this would be quick?”

“Sorry Discord, but you can’t rush cooking, not even with your magic.” Pinkie stated matter-of-factly as she opened the oven door and placed her cupcake trays on the rack. “Besides, it would really impress Fluttershy if you were patient for once.”

He grumbled as he snapped his fingers, teleporting his cupcake trays inside the oven as Pinkie closed the oven door and set the timer. “There, the hard part’s over.”

“Yup, and you did a fantastic job!” Pinkie grinned at him as she held out her hoof. “Wanna shake hooves for a job well done?”

Discord looked at her for a moment before smirking. “Alright, if you insist.”

He held out his eagle claw and placed it on her hoof as she suddenly felt an electric shock, earning a snicker from the Lord of Chaos as he bursted into laughter. “Oh that was priceless! You fell for the joy buzzer!”

Discord held out his eagle claw as Pinkie looked to see a familiar device on his palm, causing her to bust out laughing as well. “You got me good!” the pink earth pony giggled. “You’re so funny!”

“I guess I am.”

The two of them continued to laugh for a little longer before finally calming down. “Right, now that we’ve gotten that out of the way,” Discord said as he snapped his fingers, making a small box with a brown and gray button materialize on the counter. “This button will summon me no matter where I am. When the cupcakes are ready, just press it and I’ll be right here.”

“Okie-dokie-lokie!” Pinkie grinned as the Draconequus disappeared in a flash of light. Soon, his delicious treats will be ready, and he hoped that Fluttershy would love them.







The front doors to the Castle of Friendship opened as Spike stepped inside the home he, Twilight, and Starlight shared as the purple dragon went towards the library.

As he approached the door to the library, he saw Flash Sentry standing at his post next to the doors and gave the Pegasus guard a smile. Ever since he moved into the castle and became Twilight’s guard, he and Spike became close friends and treated each other like brothers. Despite the purple dragon’s slight distrust towards Flash, he saw that the Pegasus guard took his role seriously and swore to protect Twilight if she was ever in any kind of danger.

Flash himself was also glad to be Spike’s friend. He’d never seen a dragon before and was eager to meet the number one assistant to the Princess of Friendship, despite being a little nervous around him. He eventually grew to like the purple dragon and even expressed his liking of the Power Ponies comics, much to Spike’s surprise. They would sometimes read them together whenever they both were available and they were friends ever since.

“Hey Flash. Is Twilight in the library still?” Spike asked as he placed his hand on the doorknob.

“She sure is. It’s kind of hard to get her away from her books for too long.” Flash Sentry replied with a chuckle.

Spike chuckled in agreement. “Yeah, I know the feeling.”

Flash held out his hoof as the purple dragon bumped it with his fist before opening the door and entering the library.

“Hey Twilight, I’m back.” Spike called over to the Princess of Friendship as he saw her and Starlight sitting in their chairs, only to notice another chair pulled up to their reading area with a familiar yellow unicorn sitting in it with a book in her magical grasp. “Sunset Shimmer?”

“Hi Spike.” she smiled at him as he came up to her and briefly embraced her in a hug. “I hope you don’t mind, but I’m staying here in the castle for the week.”

“No, not at all. It’s great to see you again.” Spike smiled back at her. “And you’ll even join us for the picnic tomorrow.”

“Picnic?” Sunset frowned at him in confusion and raised an eyebrow.

“Oh, I nearly forgot.” Twilight spoke up as she lowered her book and placed her bookmark in it before closing it. “Every month, me and my friends have a picnic in the park at our usual picnic spot.”

“It’s true.” Spike added in agreement. “I’ve actually been on a few of them.”

“What are they like?” Sunset asked with curiosity.

“They’re really nice and relaxing.” Starlight answered. “We get to eat and spend time together with our friends.”

“You’ll like them, Sunset,” Twilight added as she cut into the conversation. “My friends are just like the girls back in the mirror world, and they’re super nice.”

“Is Discord going to be at the picnic tomorrow?” Sunset asked with slight hesitation, part of her unsure if she’d like him.

“Meh, I doubt it,” Spike replied with a nonchalant wave of his hand, much to her relief.

“But even if he does come to the picnic, it would be a great opportunity for you to make a new friend.” Twilight added.

The yellow unicorn felt a wave of nervousness from that statement. “I don’t know. I mean, Discord is the Lord of Chaos, isn’t he? What if he decides to use his magic on me?” she shuddered at the thought.

Twilight gave her a comforting smile. “I understand that you’re nervous Sunset, but Discord isn’t as bad as you think. I mean sure he’s annoying and a little immature, but he’s pretty nice once you get to know him.”

Sunset was still unconvinced. “Okaaaay? What was Discord like when he was reformed?”

“Don’t even get us started.” Spike replied as he explained the time when the Draconequus never bothered to tell Twilight and her friends about the plunder seeds he planted, interfered with Twilight and Cadence’s day out together, joined forces with Tirek, behaved rudely at the Grand Galloping Gala, and ruined a good game of Ogres and Oubliettes.

“Sheesh, and here I thought I had a bad track record.” Sunset said. “If we do become friends, at least we’ll have one thing in common.”

“Try not to worry too much about tomorrow, Sunset.” Twilight said as she gave her a reassuring smile. “The picnic will be fine, and even if you don’t become friends with Discord, it’ll be a good opportunity to meet him.”

“Y-yeah, you’re right.” Sunset nodded, feeling slightly relieved and nervous at the same time.

She had never met Discord before and was wondering how he would treat her tomorrow at the picnic. Would he turn her into something strange or pull a mean prank on her? Would he be nice to her and give her a chance at friendship? The more she thought about the possibilities, the more she felt unsettling. Only time would tell if Discord would like her.







The timer in the kitchen at Sugarcube Corner went off as Pinkie stepped back inside the cooking area and opened the oven door, immediately being welcomed by the eat from the inside and the rich smell of chocolate as she placed the heat-proof cloth on her mouth and carefully took the cupcake trays out of the oven and placed them on the counter before closing the oven door and turning the oven off.

“Ooh! I’d better summon Discord.” Pinkie said through her cloth as she spat it out and went over to the button that summoned the spirit of chaos and pressed it. Immediately afterwards, the Draconequus teleported into the kitchen, who was currently relaxing in a warm bubble bath.

As soon as he realized that there was a sudden change in the environment, he opened his eyes and jumped to his feet with a surprised yelp before crouching down in the water and glared at the pink earth pony. “Do you mind? I’m in the middle of a luxurious bubble bath.”

“Sorry, but your cupcakes are ready.” Pinkie said, completely unfazed from his displeasure.

Discord’s unhappy expression changed into one of delight. “Finally!” He made his bathtub disappear back to his bedroom bathroom in his castle as he got on all fours and shook himself dry like a dog before teleporting over to the counter and looking at his cupcakes with a smile. “These turned out a lot better than I thought.”

“I know, and you did a super duper good job creating them!” Pinkie grinned at him. “Now all that’s left is to add chocolate frosting and add the chocolate sprinkles.” She went over to the pantry and pulled out 2 chocolate frosting bottles and 2 small boxes of chocolate sprinkles before returning to her spot next to the Draconequus and handed him one of the sprinkle boxes and frosting bottles.

“So how do I do this?” Discord asked as he eyed them with confusion. “Without magic?” he added with disappointment and boredom.

“Yup, but it’s not hard at all.” Pinkie said. “All you need to do is squirt the frosting and make it look like a swirl. As for the sprinkles, all you need to do is sprinkle them on the frosting.”

Discord picked up the chocolate frosting bottle as he slowly and carefully began squirting the frosting onto the first cupcake he chose in a swirl before opening the sprinkle box and taking a small sample of chocolate sprinkles in his lion fingers. He carefully rubbed his fingers as the sprinkles rained down on the cupcake in an almost perfect fashion, with a few of the sprinkles falling onto the pan instead. Once he finished, he carefully placed them on the cupcake before picking up the frosting bottle and moving onto the next cupcake.

He repeated the process on the remaining cupcakes (except for dropping a few sprinkles unintentionally) as he finished adding sprinkles to the last cupcake on the second tray.

“Finally!” Discord exclaimed with relief as he cracked his fingers. “That took forever.”

“It didn’t take you that long, and your cupcakes look super super yummy!” Pinkie said as she looked at them with a grin.

“They do look pretty tasty if I do say so myself.” Discord said as he snapped his fingers, summoning two large plates large enough for the cupcakes as they floated out of the tray and onto the plates. “I suppose I should thank you for the cooking lessons, Miss Pie. let me know if there’s anything I can do to return the favor.”

“You’re welcome, Discord!” Pinkie grinned at him. “Buuuuut, did you say you’ll do anything to return the favor?”

“Yes?”

The pink earth pony pretended to think for a moment. “Maybe, just maybe, I can get some chocolate milk with whipped cream on top?” she suggested thoughtfully.

The Draconequus rolled his eyes before shrugging as he snapped his fingers, causing a glass of chocolate milk with a straw and whipped cream on top to materialize in front of her as she immediately snatched it and took a sip.

“Mmm! Thanks, Discord!” Pinkie smiled at him. “See you at the picnic tomorrow!”

“Yes yes, farewell.” he said nonchalantly as he teleported with his chocolate cupcakes back to his kitchen in his castle as he summoned a picnic basket and levitated the cupcakes into it. He then snapped his fingers and summoned a good enough amount of cucumber sandwiches for the picnic and placed them in the picnic basket before closing its lid and brushing his hands together.

Once he finished, he teleported into his bedroom bathroom and filled up his tub with fresh warm water with bubbles in them as he slithered in it like a snake and let out a relaxed sigh as he closed his eyes. He could already imagine how impressed Fluttershy will be when she’ll taste the cupcakes.

“Oh Discord, these cupcakes are so delicious! You’re so talented.” Discord said in a perfect replication of the yellow Pegasus’ voice.

“Why thank you for noticing, Fluttershy.” he said in his normal voice to himself with an acted smirk of pride. “All I want is to please you with my endless talents, my dear.”

Discord’s smirk melted into a warm smile as he imagined Fluttershy smiling warmly at him. He secretly found it to be adorable and beautiful when she smiled at him, which caused a strange warmth from his heart. He didn’t know why that happened but chose to forget about it.







The rest of the day at Discord’s castle was pretty uneventful. All he did was just float among the chaos that lived within the brick walls and imagine himself and Fluttershy tomorrow at the picnic with her friends having a wonderful time and making her laugh with his endless jokes and talents. After eating his dinner and relaxing in his bed reading a newspaper upside down, he put on his nightcap and turned out the light as he made his newspaper disappear and sink into the warmth of his bed before dozing off into a peaceful slumber.

When the sun began to rise the next morning, Discord was awoken by the loud honking of his air horn alarm clock as he made is disappear before sitting up and yawning, which was combined with the low roar of a lion as he rubbed his eyes and took off his nightcap before teleporting into the kitchen and fixing himself some breakfast, which consisted of chocolate milk and cotton candy.

As the Draconequus ate his meal tiredly, he noticed a picnic basket on the table. It took him a  moment to realize why it was there as flashbacks of yesterday flash in his mind.

Today was the picnic.

His demeanor immediately changed into a more positive one as he gulped down the rest of his cotton candy whole and drank his chocolate milk quickly, letting out a burp afterwards, as he quickly teleported to his bathroom and brushed his teeth as a fast pace before returning to the kitchen in a flash of light and grabbing the picnic basket and teleported inside of Fluttershy’s cottage.

Once he arrived, he noticed that most of the animals that slept inside were still asleep. Some were already waking up while a small portion of them were awoken by his sudden appearance, glaring at him with annoyance as Discord ignored them and settled down on the couch. Since it was still early in the morning and Fluttershy had not yet awoken, he had to wait.

The Draconequus had to resist the urge to groan in annoyance. ‘Waiting is so boring.’ he thought with annoyance. He considered using his magic to liven the place up a little bit or mess with the animals that were already awake, but dismissed the thought. Fluttershy would probably be upset with him and change her mind about him accompanying her to the picnic.

His gaze soon drifted over to the stairs. ‘Maybe she won't wake up.’

Discord stood up and floated up the stairs as he came to a stop in front of a closed bedroom door and made himself invisible before stopping. He knew he shouldn’t be sneaking into her room without her permission, but he just couldn’t stop himself, even if a part  of him told him to stop and go back to the couch.

Making up his mind, he used his magic to soundlessly seep through the door and float above Fluttershy’s bed, spotting her sleeping peacefully with a small smile. He mentally noted how cute she was like that before soundlessly teleporting back to the couch downstairs.







Fluttershy woke up a few hours later with a yawn as she sat up and got out of bed and looked down to see Angel still sleeping in his bunny bed. “Angel, it’s time to wake up.” she spoke in a soft voice.

Angel squeezed his eyes slightly and shifted his position to face away from her as he buried himself deeper inside the comfort of his bed, only to feel light stroking on his back.

“Sorry Angel, but it’s time to wake up.” Fluttershy said as she picked him up and placed him on her bed. He grumbled groggily in his bunny language as he rubbed his eyes with his paws with a sleepy expression.

The yellow Pegasus went over to her bedroom window as she opened it and drew in a breath before letting out a sigh. The morning air was much cooler now that the heat wave had passed and it was now safer for her to go to the animal sanctuary and do a few tasks before the picnic.

She was immediately greeted by the chirping of three of her birds as she smiled at them. However, her smile faded once she noticed her flying friends were chirping at her with urgency.

“Oh my, what’s wrong, friends?” Fluttershy asked as one of the birds landed on the windowsill and chirped at her. Due to her talent with animals, she could understand every single word the bird was chirping at her as she gasped.

“There’s two lost baby squirrels wandering the edge of the Everfree Forest? Oh no, I need to help them.” She turned her attention to her pet white bunny. “Angel, I’m afraid that breakfast will have to wait for a little while. Can you look after the cottage for me?”

Angel gave Fluttershy a swift salute with a serious expression as she smiled gratefully at him before flying out of the window and searching for the baby squirrels. It didn’t take her long to locate the first one as she landed on the ground and gently approached it.

The squirrel kit stopped her little trek and turned around as she noticed the yellow Pegasus approaching her with a gentle smile. “It’s okay, I won’t hurt you.” Fluttershy cooed as she held out her hoof and allowed the squirrel kit to sniff it for a moment before nuzzling it. “There, you see? I’m here to help you. Can you tell me why you’re wandering around on your own?”

The squirrel kit chittered at the yellow Pegasus as she nodded in understanding. “You and your brother got hungry when your mother didn’t return from looking for some nuts for breakfast?” she summarized as the baby squirrel nodded in reply.

“I understand that you were hungry but you really shouldn’t wander off on your own, and your mother is probably worried sick.” Fluttershy said in a gentle scolding tone as the squirrel kit looked down with guilt. “I know you didn’t mean it. Do you know the way back to your burrow?”

The squirrel kit nodded in reply as she pointed towards some trees closer inside of the Everfree Forest.

“That’s good. Would you like me to carry you back to your home?”

The Squirrel nodded as Fluttershy gently picked her up and placed her on her back before flying off in the direction of the burrow. As they entered the Everfree Forest, they spotted a worried adult squirrel in front of a tree with a small squirrel-sized hole at the bottom. She saw the yellow Pegasus fly up to her and land on the ground as a baby squirrel hopped off her back.

Once the adult squirrel saw the kit, she smiled at her as she scurried over to the baby squirrel and nuzzled her before chittering at Fluttershy gratefully.

“Oh, you’re welcome.” she smiled at the squirrel mother as she chittered at her once again. “Oh, I’m sorry but I haven’t seen your son anywhere.

The mother squirrel grew worried at this.

“But don’t worry, I’ll find him I promise.” Fluttershy quickly added.

Before she could get far, the sound of a twig snapping nearby caught everyone's attention as the squirrels scurried back inside their burrow. The sound of upcoming hoofsteps caused a wave of fear to overcome the yellow Pegasus as she ran towards the nearest tree large enough to hide her and hide behind it. Her heart was pounding at the possibility of a Timberwolf or any other kind of dangerous creature stalking over to eat the squirrel family or her.

Fluttershy chanced a peak from around her hiding spot as she saw a tan Pegasus colt with a blonde mane and tail with a grassy meadow for a cutie mark and sapphire blue eyes carrying a baby squirrel of his own on his back. He landed in front of the squirrel burrow as he allowed the baby squirrel on his back to hop off.

“Hello? Is anyone home?” the Pegasus cold asked in a soft and gentle tone as the mother squirrel and her daughter peaked their heads out of the hole. Once they spotted the squirrel kit that moved up to them, they broke out into grins as they scurried out of their burrow and embraced him before looking up at the Pegasus cold and chittering at him.

“You’re welcome.” he smiled modestly. “Remember to stay in your burrow, little ones.”

The baby squirrels nodded as they and their mother went back inside their burrow. Once they were gone, the Pegasus colt spread his wings and prepared to take flight.

“Excuse me?”

He paused his preparations as he folded his wings back against his body and turned his head.

Fluttershy stepped out of her hiding spot as she slowly approached the Pegasus colt with a shy expression.

For a few moments, they both looked away from each other shyly and rubbed their forelegs awkwardly.

“Hi.” Fluttershy said softly.

“Hi.” the Pegasus colt said back in the same volume.

“What are you doing out here in the Everfree Forest?”

“I found a baby squirrel nearby and decided to return him to his mother.”

“Really? I found a baby squirrel closer to my cottage and brought her back here as well.” Fluttershy said with less shyness as she faced the Pegasus colt. “I think you found the mother squirrel’s son.”

“Looks like it.” he said as he faced the yellow Pegasus. Once he saw her, his own shyness melted away considerably. “Are you Fluttershy?”

“Yes.” she replied with surprise. “How do you know my name?”

“I actually heard about you, and I’m a big fan of your heroism.” the tan Pegasus replied as he smiled at her. “My name is Meadow Brook, by the way. But you can just call me Meadow for short.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Meadow.” Fluttershy smiled back at him. “I didn’t think I was good enough to have any fans.”

“Well, now you do.”

They smiled at each other for a moment before Fluttershy cleared her throat. “I should probably head back to my cottage. My animals are probably wondering where I am.”

“That’s understandable.” Meadow nodded in understanding. “I hope I’ll be able to see you again soon.”

“Me too, and it was nice meeting you.” the yellow Pegasus smiled at him.

“Same here. See you around.” Meadow waved at her before turning and flying up into the air.

Once he was gone, Fluttershy turned and trudged through the forest and returned to the familiar setting of her garden as she went up to the front door to her cottage and opened it.

Once she opened the door, she spotted Discord laying down on the couch as he looked over at her with a grin.

“Ah, there you are, Fluttershy.’ he said as he teleported over to her side. “I was wondering when you were going to wake up, but it seems you were out in the woods with your animals, hmm?”

“I-I was.” she managed to say as the Draconequus closed the door for her. “I didn’t know you were coming over before the picnic.”

“I was too excited to wait, so I decided to come to your home and spend the morning with you.” Discord said. “Oh, and I fed all your animals while you were gone.”

“Really? Thank you, Discord. You didn’t have to do that for me, you know.”

“You know I want to make you happy, my dear.” Discord smiled at her. “So go on and wash yourself up. You are rather dirty.”

Fluttershy looked down to see that her hoofs had dirt on them and the lower part of her tail had leaves and small twigs in them. “You’re right. I’ll be right back.”

She turned and went up the stairs to her bathroom as Discord heard the door close. He heard thumping as he turned and looked down to see Angel glaring at him.

“Sorry, little fellow, but I’m the king of this couch.” the Draconequus smirked at him as a crown materialized on his head. “So run along.”

Angel didn’t seem to hear the last part as he hopped up and grabbed Discord by the lion paw and tried to pull him off the couch.

The Lord of Chaos couldn’t help but laugh at this. “Do you really think you can pull me off this luxurious couch?” He rubbed his back against the couch as he closed his eyes and pretended to sleep.

This seemed to infuriate Angel further as he hopped onto Discord’s chest and kicked him on the nose. The Draconequus wasn’t hurt, but it did seem to annoy him slightly as he opened his eyes and gave the white bunny a bored look. “You know, you’re more of a brat than you realize.”

Both of them heard hoofsteps from the stairs as they turned to see Fluttershy descending down the steps.

“Ah, there you are, Fluttershy.” Discord smiled over at her as he took a sniff of the air. “You smell lovely.”

“Thank you.” she smiled back as she reached the bottom of the stairs.

Angel rolled his eyes as he hopped onto the floor and outside through an open window. They were incredibly cheesy together in his opinion, and wouldn’t be surprised if they fell in love with each other and got married.

“Shall I make you some breakfast, my dear?” Discord asked. “I already had mine in case you were wondering.”

“Oh, no thank you. I can do it on my own.” Fluttershy declined politely.

“Nonsense. You need a pick-me-up before doing whatever it is you do after your morning meal.”

Discord teleported them into the kitchen as a plate of 5 pancakes with syrup and a lump of butter on top materialized on the table as Fluttershy sat in the chair in front of the yummy looking meal and took a bite.

“This is delicious!” Fluttershy proudly proclaimed.

“I knew you’d like it.” Discord smirked with pride. “Only the best for a pretty mare like you.”

She blushed from the compliment as she continued to eat her meal happily. After finishing all her pancakes, Discord made the plate disappear as they went out towards the animal sanctuary where the yellow Pegasus did as many tasks there as possible, with the help of her chaotic friend of course.

They both stayed in the animal sanctuary all morning and into the early afternoon hours as Discord made his picnic basket materialize in his lion paw and floated behind Fluttershy to the park for the picnic.

“Are we there yet?” Discord asked. “It feels like it’s been an eternity.”

Fluttershy giggled. “We haven't been walking for that long, and we’re almost there.”

“Well, I hope we get there soon. I’m hungry.”

At long last, they reached the park and came to a stop in an open area as Discord snapped his fingers, causing a picnic blanket with a red and black checkered pattern to materialize on the ground before opening his picnic basket and pulling out a tray of cucumber sandwiches and the two plates of chocolate cupcakes as he placed them on the ground.

“Are those the cupcakes you made?” Fluttershy asked.

“Why yes they are.” Discord boasted in reply. “But don’t snack on them yet, we’ll have to wait until the others get here. No matter how boring it may sound.” he laid down on the blanket as Fluttershy took her seat next to him on his left, both of them waiting for the others to show up.







Nearly a half hour has long since passed since Fluttershy and Discord showed up at the park for the picnic with the rest of the MANE 6, with the others yet to show up. The Draconequus was growing even more hungry by the seconds that passed by

“Where are those friends of yours?” Discord asked impatiently. “I have the perfect mind to summon them with my magic.”

“Discord, be patient.” Fluttershy said in a light scolding tone. “I’m sure my friends will be here soon.”

“Well they better hurry up. The sandwiches and cupcakes won’t eat themselves.” The very thought of such a chaotic scene caused the Draconequus to chuckle. “Unless I make them.”

A distant sonic boom could be heard as Fluttershy and Discord looked up in the air to see Rainbow Dash speeding towards them in the air before landing on the ground in front of the picnic basket.

“Hey Fluttershy.” The cyan Pegasus smiled at her fillyhood friend before looking to see who accompanied her. “Oh, hi Discord.” Rainbow frowned at him.

“Ah, Rainbow Dash. A pleasure to see you again.” Discord smiled at her as she took a seat at the picnic blanket. “Win any races lately?”

“I haven’t even been in any races.” Rainbow replied, clearly annoyed by his presence.

“Well, I’m sure you’ll win the first race you see.” Discord said with a calm smile. “After all, you are the fastest pony in the world.”

“Gee thanks.”

The sound of a teleportation could be heard as the group looked towards the path to see Twilight, Spike, Starlight Glimmer, and an unfamiliar yellow unicorn mare walking up to the picnic blanket and sitting down. As the second ticked on, Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie each came up to the picnic area one by one.

“Sorry for being late, y’all.” Applejack said as she sat down at the picnic blanket. “Applebloom sprained her hoof this morning while apple bucking and I had to take care of her chores.”

“I apologize for being late as well.” Rarity said as she sat down. “I had to take care of a last minute dress order.”

“I had to handle the front desk at Sugarcube Corner.” Pinkie said as she took her seat

“Practice at Wonderbolts headquarters took longer than expected, so I was slowed down.” Rainbow Dash confessed.

“And we lost track of time.” Twilight said with a sheepish smile. “But it’s good to see you all again. You as well, Discord.”

Everyone except for Fluttershy and Rainbow looked up at the spirit of chaos and disharmony with surprised expressions. The only ones who didn’t frown at him were Pinkie and Fluttershy.

Twilight cleared her throat to get everyone's attention. “Girls, this is my friend Sunset Shimmer. Sunset, these are my friends: Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, and our kinda sort of friend Discord.”

“Howdy.”

“A pleasure to meet you.”

“Sup?”

“Hiya!”

“Hi.”

Discord, who was currently deep in thought, stared at Sunset for a moment. For some odd reason, that name sounded familiar. ‘Sunset Shimmer, Sunset Shimmer.’ the last time he heard that name…

The Draconequus perked up as it all made sense. “Sunset Shimmer? As in Celestia’s old student?” he grinned at her

“Um, yes that’s me.” Sunset nodded nervously. “And you’re Discord, the reformed spirit of chaos and disharmony?”

“That’s me, and I’m free as a bird.” He transformed into a bald eagle with his mismatched wings still present, earning word looks from everyone except for Fluttershy and a giggle from Pinkie. “And it’s all thanks to my dear friend Fluttershy.”

“Oh…you’re welcome.” Fluttershy mumbled shyly as she hid behind her mane.

Discord transformed back into his normal form as he returned his attention to the yellow unicorn. “I’m sure you’ve heard all about my chaos in Equestria, just how I also heard about how you broke poor old Kay-Kay’s heart and ran away.

Sunset raised an eyebrow at him despite her discomfort. “How do you know about that?”

“Being turned to stone doesn’t take away your ability to hear things.” Discord replied matter-of-factly. “Besides, Celestia would sometimes show up to my statue and complain about all her woes and dilemmas. Not like I could help her anyway.”

“Oh.” Sunset smiled nervously. “I probably should’ve guessed that.”

“But it’s an honor to make your acquaintance.” Discord teleported over to her as he scooped her and Starlight up into his arms in a tight bear hug. “Us three reformed villains. Oh we’ll be the best of friends you and I.”

“Discord…can’t…breathe.” Starlight gasped as the Draconequus placed them back in their respective spots.

“Sorry about Discord, he’s not as well mannered like he should be.” Twilight said as she gave Sunset an apologetic smile.

He gasped with fake hurt. “Why Twilight, how rude of you. I’m plenty well mannered!” to prove his point, he levitated one of the chocolate cupcakes into his lion paw and handed it to Sunset Shimmer. “Go on and taste it.”

“Oh, n-no thanks.” Sunset declined. “I’m okay.”

“Oh come on, try it. It’s not poisoned if that’s what you're thinking.”

The yellow unicorn looked at for a moment before lighting up her horn and enveloping the chocolate cupcake in her magical grasp as she levitated it in front of her mouth and took a small bite. She chewed it thoughtfully for a second before humming thoughtfully and swallowing it. “That tastes pretty good.” Sunset said as she took another bite, this one slightly larger.

“I know.” Discord smiled as he teleported back to his spot next to Fluttershy and sat down. “I baked them myself.”

“It’s true.” Pinkie added in agreement. “He came over to Sugarcube Corner yesterday and I taught him how to bake!” she took one of the chocolate cupcakes into her hoof and took a large bite out of it, humming with delight. “Soooooo good!”

Fluttershy took one of the chocolate cupcakes into her hoof as she took a bite out of it. “Oh my, this is delicious.”

After hearing this, everyone else took their own cupcakes and took bites out of them as they shared similar reactions.

“I have to admit, Discord, you did a really good job making these.” Twilight said as she smiled at him, one that wasn’t forced.

“These are quite exquisite.” Rarity nodded in agreement as she took another bite of her cupcake.

“They’re right.” Fluttershy smiled up at the Draconequus. “Oh Discord, I don’t know if I ever knew anyone more talented than you.”

Discord didn’t know if he could take much more of the praise. Then again, he’d never been praised before. “Oh please, I’m not that talented.” he noticed that Sunset Shimmer was still a little nervous from his presence. “You think I’m intimidating, don’t you?” he asked her.

Sunset looked up from her chocolate cupcake as she gave him a sheepish grin. “Oh, well I, uh…”

“It's understandable, but I won’t harm a single hair on your head. Just learn to cut loose, enjoy some chaos.”

Discord snapped his fingers as cotton candy clouds slowly began to form above the picnic area. Thunder rumbled from them and there were brief flashes of lightning from within the clouds as everyone glared at him.

“Discord! Don’t you dare ruin my mane!” Rarity said in warning.

“No, no! I want my chocolate rain!” Pinkie objected as she pointed her head straight up and opened her mouth wide expectantly.

“Don’t listen to her, Discord.” Rainbow snapped. “You said you were gonna behave.”

“While it’s true I said that I would use my magic for good instead of evil, I said I would do it most of the time.” Discord said, making sure to put emphasis in the last 4 words. “Besides, it’s been far too long since I last made my favorite food rain my favorite drink in the world.”

A single droplet of chocolate milk fell on his head as another thunder rumble emitted from the cotton candy clouds. It was only a matter of time before it became a full on downpour.

“Discord.” a soft and stern voice came from his side. He turned to look down at Fluttershy as she gave him a disapproving glare similar to the one a mother gave to her son when she caught him doing something wrong. It was honestly more adorable than intimidating in Discord’s opinion.

“You really shouldn’t make it rain on others just for your own amusement.” Fluttershy scolded him. “And you promised you would behave.”

Discord just laughed. “Oh relax, I’m only kidding.” he snapped his fingers as the cotton candy clouds disappeared.

“Aww!” Pinkie whined as she gave him her best puppy dog eyes and quivered her lips in disappointment.

Discord saw this as he snapped his fingers once again, causing a glass of chocolate milk to materialize in front of the pink earth pony as she happily took it in her hooves and drank it.

“Now that we’re all settled down, why don’t we share what’s been going on.” Twilight suggested.

“Well, I have something to share.” Applejack volunteered as she gave Rainbow Dash a knowing look. “Rainbow Dash has been spending a lot of time with a certain Wonderbolt.”

All eyes turned to the cyan Pegasus as she shifted uncomfortably in her spot. “Well duh.” Rainbow said bluntly with slightly narrowed eyes. “Soarin and I are Wonderbolts, so it’s only natural that we’d practice our flying skills together.”

“Who’s Soarin?” Sunset asked.

“He’s a member of the Wonderbolts.” Rarity answered before giving Rainbow a knowing look. “And it appears that Rainbow Dash has taken an interest in him.”

“W-what? No I haven’t!” Rainbow snapped flusteredly. “Soarin and I are just friends, and I’m not the kind of girl who does whatever it is you’re thinking.”

“But you like him, don’t you?” Starlight asked.

“Well…he is a Wonderbolt after all.” Rainbow Dash muttered as she felt a small blush coat her cheeks. “And I have found him to be pretty awesome.” she added that last paper in a quick mumble.

“Oh Rainbow, I’m so happy for you.” Fluttershy smiled at her fillyhood friend. “It looks like you found your special somepony.”

“Now hold on, I’m not even ready for that sort of thing!” Rainbow said as everyone laughed at her embarrassment. She realized her friends were only teasing as she let out a small chuckle. “Well, since we’re on the subject, let’s talk about Twilight and Flash. They certainly look like they could tie the knot”

“Rainbow!” Twilight snapped as she shot her friend a glare. “Flash and I aren’t even friends yet.”

“Oh yeah? Then how do you explain the little date you both went on a couple weeks ago?”

The Princess of Friendship felt a blush of her own heat up her cheeks as she let out a small grumble before clearing her throat and taking a bite out of her chocolate cupcake. “Well, if you must know, I took Flash for a little day out a couple weeks ago.”

“Oh, and what exactly did you do to your crush?” Discord teased.

Twilight’s blush darkened. “Well…we went to Sugarcube Corner to get some milkshakes.”

“It’s true. I saw them there myself.” Pinkie added.

“Oh, that’s so adorable.” Rarity gushed. “It looks like Rainbow isn’t the only one with a crush.”

“I don’t have a crush!” Rainbow snapped sternly.

“And I don’t even have the time to settle down and find a special somepony.” Twilight said with her own embarrassment and discomfort towards the situation. “Besides, if anyone has a good chance at starting a romance life, it’s probably Applejack.”

All eyes turned to the cowgirl as she raised an eyebrow in confusion. “What are y’all talking about?”

“Oh come on AJ, we know that Caramel’s been dropping in on your farm a lot lately.” Rainbow said as she took a bite of her chocolate cupcake and gave the orange earth pony a smirk.

“It’s true.” Applejack shrugged honestly. For the past few weeks, Caramel had been visiting Sweet Apple Acres almost every day and helped out around the orchard, to which the Apple family was grateful for the extra help.

“But do you like him?” asked Twilight.

“I honestly don’t know. Caramel’s fine and all but I’m not sure he’s the one for me.” Applejack replied honestly.

“It doesn’t hurt to consider the opposite, Applejack.” Starlight said as she took a bite out of one of the cucumber sandwiches.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“What about you, Starlight?” Sunset asked the light purple unicorn. “Do you have a special someone on your mind?”

“Um, well…” a small blush coated Starlight’s cheeks as she looked away. “I might have a small crush on my fillyhood friend Sunburst.”

“Oh, this is so exciting! All of us except for me, Fluttershy, Sunset, Rarity, and Discord have crushes!” Pinkie said happily.

“And why would I have a crush on anyone?” Discord asked, clearly uninterested.

“Why not? Wouldn’t it feel good to love somepony and have them love you in return?”

Discord scoffed as he summoned a glass of chocolate milk and drank it. “Please, I’m a realist, and love, like all things warm and fuzzy, doesn't exist.”

Fluttershy was slightly saddened by this but didn’t show it. “Oh! I nearly forgot.” she spoke up as everyone turned their attention to her. “Earlier this morning while I was helping a baby squirrel reunite with her mother, I met a pony named Meadow Brook.”

“Meadow Brook?” Rainbow raised an eyebrow curiously.

“He was really kind and gentle with the other baby squirrel that I was about to find, and he was shy when we first met, but that all changed when he saw me, and he confessed to being a big fan of my heroism.”

Twilight was now grinning from ear to ear. “You have a fan? That’s so wonderful!”

“It is?” Fluttershy asked shyly.

“Yeah, Flutters.” Rainbow added on in agreement. “I mean, what’s wrong with having an admirer?”

“I quite agree.” Rarity nodded. “If I ever had that kind of admiration, I would bask in it.”

“Well, I admire you, Rarity.” Spike smiled at her.

“Why thank you, Spikey-wikey.” the white unicorn smiled sweetly at him as he blushed a shade of pink.

Discord didn’t know how much more of this he could take. It was one thing in his opinion to have fans, but a random fan just showing up out of the blue? That’s strange even for him, and he was often the cause of strange things. A bored expression came upon his features as he gulped down another chocolate cupcake whole.

“Discord?”

He looked down to his side to see Fluttershy looking at him with concern. “Is everything okay?”

“But of course!” he instantly brightened up as he gave her a grin. “Why would I be the opposite?”

“Well, you were being bored and distant when I was talking about Meadow Brook. Are you sure you’re alright?”

“Fluttershy, I’m more fine than a cotton candy cloud raining chocolate milk.” Discord smiled. “I just find it strange that a random pony shows up out of nowhere and claims to be a ‘fan’ of your heroism.”

“Why is that strange?” Fluttershy asked.

“For one thing, you already have a fan. Your biggest fan is yours truly, me.” a butter yellow shirt with Fluttershy’s cutie mark materialized on Discord’s upper body as a pair of blush pink pom poms in his hand. He stood up and took a step back from the picnic blanket as he began waving his pom poms around.

“Who’s the pony who’s really shy, who’s the pony who can hardly fly?
Who’s the one who loves animals, and who’s the one who’s pure kindness? 
Well let me tell you a little tale, about the Pegasus who’s not weak and frail.
She loves her friends oh so dear, and doesn’t cry a single tear.

No matter what comes in her way, she’s super strong and oh so brave.
So come on everyone and don’t be shy, let’s give it up for Fluttershy!”

Discord launched into the shy and spread his arms out wide as blush pink confetti fired up from out of nowhere. He made it and his cheer leading outfit disappear as he teleported back to Fluttershy’s side at the picnic basket. “See, my dear? I’ll always be your number 1 fan.”

“Thank you, Discord.” she smiled at him as everyone stared at him with strange expressions.

“What?” Discord shrugged at the others. “You know Fluttershy’s my friend, so it’s only natural that I would take it in my pride to admire her as a fan.”

Everyone stared at him for a moment longer before shrugging. Sometimes Discord just didn’t make any sense, and he always said that there’s no fun in making sense.







The rest of the picnic went on without incident, or silly chaos interrupting it. After two and a half more hours, everyone began to take their leaves.

“It was nice seeing you, girls!” Twilight called as she, Spike, Starlight, and Sunset Shimmer made their way back to the Castle of Friendship.

“Bye bye, and I loved the cupcakes, Discord!” Pinkie waved as she hopped back to Sugarcube Corner.

“Farewell.” Rarity said as she trotted back to her home.

“Take care now ya hear?” Applejack called as she made her way back to her family farm.

The only ones who remained were Fluttershy and Discord as he snapped his fingers and made the remaining food and picnic blanket float back into his picnic basket.

“That was a lovely picnic, Fluttershy.” Discord said as they teleported back inside her cottage. “And I’m glad that you love my cupcakes.”

“I do, and they’re so good.” Fluttershy smiled up at him. “I really meant it when I said that you were so talented.”

“Why thank you.” Discord bowed. “And you don’t have to wait to try them another time, you know.” he snapped his fingers as one of the cupcake plates with 5 chocolate cupcakes on them floated out of his picnic basket and onto the table next to the couch. “You can even have some of your own.”

“Really? Thank you.” Fluttershy flew up and wrapped her forelegs around his chest as he wrapped his arms around her body. “I hope I’ll see you soon.”

“I do as well, but I’ll have to check my schedule.” Discord nuzzled her mane before placing her back on the ground. “Farewell, Fluttershy. Until next time.”

He disappeared in a flash of light with his picnic basket as Fluttershy smiled to herself as she sat down in her chair next to the table and began to eat one of the cupcakes. As she ate in silence, her mind drifted off to the little cheer leading the Lord of Chaos did.

It wasn’t nicely written and it didn’t rhyme, but it was still a chant for her and she liked it.

She giggled to herself as she continued to eat her cupcake, happy that Discord was one of her biggest fans.







Once Discord returned to his castle, he teleported his picnic basket to the kitchen and went to his bedroom as he sprawled out on his bed and let out a relaxed sigh. He enjoyed the picnic with Fluttershy and her friends and was glad to show that he was her number 1 fan.

His thoughts soon drifted off to the pony Fluttershy was talking about as his smile melted into a frown. It was still strange to him that a random pony, let alone a stallion, would fly in and declare to be a big fan of his favorite pony.

A pang of suspicion emitted within Discord’s mind. ‘If that Meadow Brook guy turns out to be a fraud, I’ll turn him into a cupcake and eat him.’ he thought as he narrowed his eyes slightly.

He never met him, but something told him he wasn’t going to like him, fan of Fluttershy or not.


To be continued…