> Friendship and Harmony: Darkness Awakens
>  by BoeingtheDraconequus
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Friendship and Harmony: Darkness Awakens: Prologue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A wagon got pulled through the hot and arid climate of the desert of Equestria as two earth pony stallions pulled it with their strength. The hot sun beating down on them as sweat dripped down their foreheads, their mouths craved for the water that they long since needed ever since entering these hot and uncomfortable conditions.

As they approached the city of Saddle Arabia, they were greeted by a gray elderly unicorn mare with a white mane and tail wearing a brown cloak over herself as she smiled at the approaching stallions.

“Greetings, gentlecolts,” she said to them. “I trust that your journey wasn’t too exhausting.”

“Not more than usual,” the first stallion replied as he wiped sweat from his forehead. “But we sure need some water.”

“Then follow me to my shop and I’ll give you both your water as well as your payment.” The elderly mare turned and led them through the streets towards a small two-storey building with desert gray bricks and a brown door. She stepped inside and allowed them to enter as one of the stallions carried a wooden crate inside and placed it down on the floor next to the check out desk.

“Thank you, boys.” The elderly mare smiled at them as she levitated two jugs of water over to them as well as two bags of 20 bits. “Your delivery is greatly appreciated.”

“You’re welcome ma’am.” said the second stallion as he drank his water. “What is it that my friend and I had to deliver? We weren’t told what it was, only that it was very dangerous and it was top secret.”

The gray unicorn went over to the crate as she opened the lid and lifted out a glass container that had a medallion. It was gray in color and had a pitch black gem in the center that seemed to radiate what the night sky would look like without the moon and stars. “This medallion is extremely dangerous,” she explained. “All I can tell you is that it can corrupt the soul of the one who uses it and bring upon eternal darkness. The fewer that know of this, the safer Equestria is. That is why you both delivered it here.”

“So that it can be stored away so nopony can take it and use it for their own selfish reasons,” concluded the first stallion.

“Correct.” the unicorn mare nodded as the stallions shared a look. “And I thank you both for bringing it here once again. You both are doing Equestria a huge favor.”

“Again, it’s no trouble, miss,” the second stallion smiled. “Well, we’d better get going.”

“Wait.” The elderly mare held up a hoof as she levitated four more water jugs over to them. “Take these, for your journey home.”

“Really? Thanks,” the first stallion said as he opened the door and pulled the wagon towards it, allowing himself and his comrade to load their wagon with the extra water and payment.

“Have a safe trip home,” the elderly mare called out to the stallions as they went down the streets and eventually out of Saddle Arabia.

Once they were gone, she went back inside her shop and closed the door. “Right, now to put you away with the rest of my treasures.” she said to the medallion as she lit up her horn and entered a small closet that consisted of lots of other necklaces and amulets.

She placed it down on an empty spot on one of the 5 shelves available. “There you go, safe and sound.” The elderly mare said as she patted the glass protector before turning and exiting the closet, closing and locking the door.

Unbeknownst to her, a pitch black shadow with red eyes and a curvy unicorn horn materialized into the darkness of the small room. It spotted the medallion that was delivered not too long ago and smiled darkly at it as the shadow lit up its horn, enveloping the magical artifact in a purple and green aura and pulling it through the glass.

“At long last,” the shadow whispered in a dark and sinister tone. “After all these years, it’s finally mine.”

It then lit up its horn and made an exact replica materialize in the spot where the real medallion once was before disappearing in a black poof of smoke soundlessly, letting out a low and evil chuckle.
> Friendship and Harmony: Darkness Awakens: Chapter 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Discord laid down in a hammock that floated in mid-air as he took a sip of some icy cold chocolate milk, causing him to shiver in response as his body got enveloped in ice for a moment before it melted away into thin air. Due to the heat wave that baked all of Equestria, the Lord of Chaos was out stretched in his garden at his castle in the Everfree Forest.

The Castle of the Two Sisters was a gift to him from Princess Celestia and Princess Luna in honor of helping Starlight Glimmer, Trixie, and Thorax save everyone from the Changelings, under condition that he contain his chaos magic within the castle grounds and not harmed anyone as well as keep an eye on the Tree of Harmony for any signs of trouble. 

Discord didn’t mind the old crumbly ruins of the former palace nor the requirements, mainly because he could add his own spin on it and make it a place of his own. When he moved in, he turned the castle back into what it looked like back when Celestia and Luna used to live in it on the outside, but the inside was a completely different story.

The castle walls on the inside had different colors and art styles, changing to other colors and arrays of creativeness automatically whenever Discord felt like redecorating, which was every few minutes or hours. The floors were bouncy like the floor on a trampoline and could easily be bounced on by simply bouncing on it, and the gravity was only half as much inside compared to outside.

Discord took another sip of his ice chocolate milk as he let out a content sigh. He summoned a pair of sunglasses over his eyes as well as a Hawaiian shirt and a large umbrella for shade and an electric fan as it blew the air around him directly at him.

“Much better.” he sighed with a satisfied smile as he closed his eyes and took another sip of his drink.

The sound of papery flapping could be heard as he turned to see his calendar flying towards him, clearly in an urgent state as it flapped around him frantically. “Oh what do you want?” Discord asked with a displeased tone. “I thought I made it clear to never disturb me unless it’s an emergency.”

The calendar flipped its pages towards the current month of the year as Discord eyed it for a moment until it circled a certain day of the week that caused him to widen his eyes.

Tuesday.

Today was his weekly Tuesday Tea with Fluttershy and he nearly forgot about it.

He slapped himself in the face. “I knew I was forgetting something.” Discord muttered as he made all his things and shirt disappear. “I suppose I should thank you for the interruption, but don’t ever disturb me like that again unless it’s a real emergency. Got it?”

His calendar gave a swift nod as it flew back inside the castle.

The Draconequus then teleported inside of the living room of Fluttershy’s cottage, which was surprisingly hot despite all the windows being open, as he looked to see that the yellow Pegasus was nowhere in sight. Angel glared at him from the couch, but Discord ignored him.

‘Strange,’ he thought. ‘Perhaps she’s a little late preparing the tea.’

Discord teleported into the kitchen, only to find it completely clean and devoid of any action. “Fluttershy?” he called as he stepped out of the kitchen and re-entered the living room, only to receive no response.

“Perhaps she’s in her animal sanctuary and forgot about your little get together as well.”

He turned to see an exact copy of himself wearing a pair of glasses lounging on the couch with a book in his hands. He tossed the book aside as it disappeared before he sat up. “I mean, why else would Fluttershy not be in here at the moment? Aside from the fact that she’s probably outside trying to roast herself.”

“I was just about to think that, thank you.” the original Discord said as he snapped his fingers and summoned a portal underneath his copy as it sucked him in it before disappearing in a flash of light.

The Draconequus then teleported into Sweet Feather Sanctuary and spotted Fluttershy sitting over by the trees giving some squirrels small bottles of water as he teleported behind her. “Hi, Fluttershy!” he said in a merry tone.

She let out a surprised scream and jumped to her hoofs as the squirrels ran back up into the trees. Turning around, she saw her chaotic friend standing behind her with a smile on his face. “Oh, Discord. You startled me.”

“Sorry for the surprise, my dear, I couldn’t resist.” Discord chuckled. “But Today’s our weekly get together. Is there a reason you’re out here and not inside preparing tea?”

“Sorry Discord, but due to today's heat wave, some of the animals here in the sanctuary are getting really hot and need lots of water.” Fluttershy replied. “Maybe we can have our tea party tomorrow.”

“We could, or I can take care of your chores for you.” Discord raised his eagle claw and poised his talons in a snapping position.

“I appreciate the offer, but I’m fine on my own.”

“Are you sure? You look like you’re melting.”

He wasn’t kidding. Beads of sweat slowly dripped down Fluttershy’s forehead and her face was flushed slightly from the heat.

“Oh, Don’t worry about me. I’m almost done with my tasks for the morning.” she said as she wiped her forehead with her foreleg. “I’m fine. Really, I am.”

The Draconequus folded his arms and eyed her with suspicion for a moment before shrugging. “If you insist on doing this by yourself, then I won’t stop you. But I can still be by your side and chat, right?”

“Of course you can.” Fluttershy flew up and wrapped her forelegs around his chest. “It’s still good to see you.”

“Same here, my dear.” Discord wrapped his arms around her body for a moment before they broke the embrace.

“So what’s been going on since we last saw each other?” Fluttershy asked as she made her way towards the supplies shed.

“Oh, do I have a story for you!” Discord replied cheerfully as he floated alongside her. “A few days ago, I was lounging on my thinking tree when I suddenly got an idea about pranking Celestia. I went into the Canterlot Castle dining room when it was time for her lunch disguised as a cake as she noticed me from her seat and levitated me onto a plate and next to her hayburger. Contrary to common belief, Celestia secretly loves cake and is an absolute sucker for it.” a snicker escaped him as he fought against the upcoming storm of laughter building up within him. “When she cut out a slice to sample on and was about to eat some of it, I made my face appear on it and pretended to scream in agony as if she actually hurt me!”

No longer taking it anymore, the Lord of Chaos bursted into laughter. “Oh, Celestia should’ve seen the look on her face, purely priceless! She was frozen in shock and horror as I turned back into my normal self and laughed at her before disappearing, leaving another cake for her!”

Discord let gravity push him back onto the ground as he rolled around and guffawed hysterically.

Fluttershy turned around and looked at him with a frown. “I don’t think it was nice to make fun of the princess like that.”

“Oh come on, Fluttershy, it was hilarious.” Discord said once his laughter stopped and teleported to her side. “If you were there, you’d find it to be a little disturbing at first, but amusing once I reveal myself.”

“I still think that was a little mean. You should apologize to Celestia for that.”

“I left her an apology note after I left, and I’m more than sure she’s already let that slide.“

“Well, if you say so.” Fluttershy allowed a small smile to form on her lips. “Anything else happen besides pranks?”

“Not much,” Discord replied. “But what about you? Did you do anything exciting?”

“I let a female bobcat and her mate move into the sanctuary. They’re over in one of the caves and won’t harm any of the other animals.”

“That’s nice to hear.”

As Fluttershy continued her chores around the animal sanctuary, Discord floated alongside her and occasionally engaged her in a few friendly conversations while using his magic to get a few good giggles out of her.

However, as the day went on and the temperature got hotter, she became more flushed and sweaty, even feeling light headed and dizzy a few times.

It was then when she finished giving her bear friend, Harry, a couple of sardines for lunch that she felt another dizzy spell, which didn’t go unnoticed.

“Are you alright, Fluttershy?” Discord asked as he looked at her with concern, something he only did to his one and only friend. “You’re sweating a lot and you’re getting dizzy.”

“Oh. N-no, Discord, I’m fine.” the yellow Pegasus shook her head as she took a sip of water from her water bottle. “I’m almost done with my chores and then I can have my lunch break.”

“Are you sure you can’t take a break in the shade for a minute? I’m not a doctor, but even I know that being out in this kind of heat is harmful.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be okay.” Fluttershy gave him a reassuring smile as she carried a basket of carrots over to the rabbits. As she did so, her mind vision began to blur and began to feel dizzy. ‘You can do this, Fluttershy. You’re almost there.’ she said in her mind as her hoofsteps began to slow down and subtle a little bit.

“Fluttershy, I’m not joking. Go over to the shade for a few minutes and drink some water.” Discord said in a serious tone as he made a plastic bottle of water materialize and float in front of her.

“No, I still have lots of work to do.” Fluttershy shook her head firmly as the bottle disappeared and continued onward, only to experience yet another dizzy spell, this once the strongest out of all the previous ones all morning. “Oh dear.”

She stumbled from side to side as her vision became too blurry to see out of and her head too woozy to concentrate, causing her to faint and drop her basket.

“Fluttershy!” Discord exclaimed as he scooped her up into his arms and placed his lion paw on her forehead, noticing that not only was it really sweaty, but hotter than normal. “That’s it, young lady, you're going somewhere cool to get some much needed water and relaxation and I’m not taking no for an answer!”

Not wasting another second, the Draconequus turned his tail tuft into a hand and snapped his fingers, disappearing with the unconscious Pegasus in a flash of light.

He reappeared inside the cottage and used his magic to close the windows and lower the temperature to a more cooling and comfortable state as he laid Fluttershy down on the couch and materialized an ice pack on her forehead.

‘Maybe Fluttershy wouldn’t mind if I took care of all her tasks for the day.’ Discord thought as he snapped his fingers. ‘There, all done.’ he materialized a cold chocolate milkshake with a cherry on top on the table as he teleported into the armchair next to the couch and waited patiently. Only time would tell until Fluttershy would wake up

Thankfully, he didn’t have to wait for long as the yellow Pegasus began to regain consciousness and let out a moan as she slowly opened her eyes. “Oh my…what happened?” she murmured as she looked up to see an ice pack on her head.

“You fainted when you were going over to those bunnies with some carrots.” Discord said as she sat up and looked at him. “Don’t worry about that, my dear. I took care of it for you.”

“You did?”

“I most certainly did, and I even took care of all your other tasks for the day.”

“Really? You did that all for me?” Fluttershy looked at him with an astonished look. “You didn’t have to do that though. I could’ve done it myself.”

“True, but you were overheating. Speaking of which, why did you continue your work if you knew you were getting dizzy and not taking a break for some water?” Discord asked.

“I couldn’t just let my poor animals suffer in the heat for much longer. If I took a break, they would’ve gotten even hotter and suffered sun stroke.”

“Then why didn’t you drink any water? I mean, when was the last time you ever thought about yourself for a moment?”

“I don’t really do that very often. I sometimes think that if I think about myself too much, I’ll become too selfish and nopony will like me.”

“But if you don’t think about yourself normally, you’ll end up being so caught up in being selfless that you’ll end up forgetting and ignoring what you want and need. I mean, look at myself.” Discord placed his lion paw on his chest. “I think about myself all the time, but I also think about you, my dear. I even made you a milkshake to help you cool down.”

He pointed to the said drink on the table as she looked down at it. “You made that for me?” Fluttershy asked.

“Why of course.” Discord replied. “Go on and take a sip.”

She picked up the milkshake and brought the straw to her mouth as she took a sip, widening her eyes and humming in delight. “This is delicious!” she proudly proclaimed as she continued to drink it.

“There, you see? I may think about myself most times, but I also think about you.” Discord smiled at her as she continued drinking.

“You’re right, and it was really thoughtful of you to do this for me.” Fluttershy smiled warmly at him as she finished her milkshake, only to let out a small burp and cover her mouth with her hoof. “Oh, excuse me.”

“You’re excused, my dear. Now then, would now be a good time to have our tea party? You are free from all your chores for the day, thanks to yours truly.”

The yellow Pegasus let out a small giggle. “Why not? You were really helpful after all.”

“Splendid!” Discord smiled as he clapped his hands twice, causing a tea set materialized on the table. “I managed to perfect my cucumber sandwiches a few days ago, so go my dear. Try them.”

A tray of cucumber sandwiches materialized and hovered in front of them as Fluttershy took one into her hoof and put it in her mouth, chewing it thoroughly before swallowing it. “Oh my, it tastes so much better than your last batch.” she smiled.

“Why thank you.” Discord smiled proudly as he placed his eagle claw on his chest in pride.







Princess Twilight Sparkle and her former pupil Starlight Glimmer were sitting in the library at the Castle of Friendship reading books together. Due to the hot weather outside, the entire building was casted in a cooling spell to prevent the heat from getting inside and kept it nice and cool inside.

The doors opened as they both looked to see Spike entering. “Hey Twilight. Can I go over to Rarity’s and hang out with her?” he asked.

“Of course, Spike.” Twilight replied with a smile.

Her baby dragon was officially no longer a ‘baby’ anymore. He went through a growth spurt a month ago and was now a few inches underneath her height and was more slender with muscles showing on his arms, stomach, and legs. His spikes were slightly larger and sharper and his tail was slightly longer.

“Great! See you later. You too, Starlight.” the purple pre-teenaged dragon waved to the both of them as he turned and left the library, closing the doors behind him.

“Still trying to get used to the new Spike?” Starlight asked her former teacher.

“Yeah,” Twilight replied with a sigh. “I can’t believe my little Spike is growing up so quickly. It wasn’t that long ago he was able to ride on my back.”

“Well, soon he’ll become an adult and find his special somepony, or somedragon and move out of the castle.”

“I know, but I’ll always see him as my baby.”

This brought another smile on her lips as they both heard the sound of something powering up. Twilight and Starlight stood up and turned over to the portal to the mirror world whirring up as the archway got encased in a magenta aura.

Immediately afterwards, a yellow unicorn mare with a fiery red and yellow mane and tail stepped out with a pair of saddlebags on her back.

“Sunset!” Twilight exclaimed excitedly as she stood up from her chair and rushed over, embracing her friend in a hug. “It’s so good to see you!”

“It’s good to see you too, Twilight.” Sunset smiled at her before noticing another unicorn in the library. “Who’s that?”

“Oh! I nearly forgot.” Twilight pulled away as Starlight went up to them. “Starlight, this is my friend Sunset Shimmer. Sunset, this is my former pupil Starlight Glimmer.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Starlight.” Sunset held out her hoof with a friendly smile.

“Same here.” Starlight smiled back as they shook hooves. “So how did you get here through that portal just now?”

“Oh, I live in an alternate world with creatures called humans and actually have friends there. It’s a little complicated to explain but they’re just like the ponies here in Equestria only there’s no magic but a lot of technology and machines.”

“Wow, I may have to visit your world one of these days. So what brings you here?”

“It’s the first day of summer vacation at my high school and I want to spend the first week here in Equestria.”

“Really? That’s wonderful!” Twilight said. “Feel free to spend time here in the castle for as long as you want.”

“Thanks, Twilight.” Sunset smiled at her as they shared another hug.

“Would you like a tour of Ponyville?”

“Sure. It’s been so long since I was last here in Equestria, and I want to see what’s changed.”

“That’s good to hear.” Twilight smiled. “Just be advised that we’re suffering a heat wave.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Sunset nodded as she turned to the light purple unicorn. “Do you want to come with us, Starlight?”

“I don’t see why not.” she replied. “I need a break from all this reading anyway.”

All three of them exited the library as Sunset Shimmer stopped and turned around, noticing a familiar yet not familiar face. Twilight noticed that she wasn’t coming and turned around, teleporting next to her friend.

“Sunset, this is my guard Flash Sentry. Flash, this is my friend Sunset Shimmer. She’s staying here in the castle for a week.” The Princess of Friendship said as the yellow unicorn eyed him for a second before reaching out with her hoof and shaking his.

“It’s nice to meet you.” Sunset said as she forced a smile on her lips despite feeling slightly awkward.

“It’s nice to meet you too, and welcome to Ponyville.” Flash smiled at her as they shook hoofs before she turned around with Twilight and caught back up with Starlight as they exited the castle and stepped out into the hot humid heat.







Spike happily marched through the smoldering heat of Ponyville as he went towards Carousel Boutique with a proud smile on his face. He wasn’t only heading over to the home of the bearer of the element of generosity just to hang out with her, but in hopes to impress her.

The purple dragon had a crush on her ever since he and Twilight first moved into town and would always go out of his way to make her happy by doing all sorts of tasks for her and helping with her dresses, but she seemed to not catch on to his feelings like he would’ve hoped, not to mention Rarity would always be chasing after handsome stallions like Prince Blueblood and Trenderhoof.

Spike didn’t give up though. He would continuously try again to impress her and earn her affections, and become her special somepony, or rather special somedragon, in the process. Whether Rarity felt the same way or not, he would always continue to be a good friend and support her fashion business.

He went up to the front door to her home and knocked on it as he waited patiently, only to receive no response as his smile fell. “Rarity?” he called as he knocked again. “Are you in there?”

The door opened to reveal Sweetie Belle as she looked up at him. “Hey Spike.” she said. “Rarity’s up in her room if you’re looking for her, but she’s not happy at the moment.”

“Really? Why?” Spike asked.

“I don’t know. I tried talking to her but she won’t let me in her room.”

Spike frowned in concern. What could Rarity be so upset about that she wouldn’t let anyone, including her younger sister, talk about. “I should go and talk to her,” he said.

“I agree.” Sweetie Belle nodded in agreement as she opened the door further and allowed him to enter. Once he stepped inside, he looked around with slightly widened eyes.

All over the floor were incomplete and tattered dresses as well as several crumpled sketchbook papers of dress designs. Clothing racks of previously designed dresses stood at various locations around the area and all the curtains on all the windows were pulled closed.

“Wow.” Spike managed to say. It wasn’t the first time he’d been to Carousel Boutique in this kind of condition, minus the crumpled pieces of paper on the floor. “Is Rarity facing some kind of a designer's block?”

“No doubt about it,” Sweetie replied. “I even heard her mumbling to herself how she couldn’t come up with any designs for the summer.”

Spike frowned in concern. “I should go and talk to her.”

He followed the unicorn filly up the stairs, being careful to not step on any of the incomplete dresses as they reached the 2nd floor of the building and went over to the door to Rarity’s room.

“Rarity?” Sweetie Belle knocked on the bedroom door. “Spike’s here to see you.”

A moment of silence passed as they both waited patiently. “Come in.” a voice came from the other side as the purple dragon twisted the doorknob and entered.

The entire bedroom was exactly like the rest of the house, only much more messy with even more crumpled sketchbook papers on the floor as well as incomplete dresses.

Spike looked over at the work table and spotted Rarity sitting at it on her stool, wearing her robe and facing away from him.

“Rarity?” he called over to her as he cautiously approached her. “Are you okay?”

She didn’t voice a reply, but rather nodded her head.

“Are you sure? Your home is a mess and the windows are closed. Is there something wrong?”

Rarity shook her head as the purple dragon came up to her side and looked at her in concern. He noticed a tear streaming down her cheek and tried to get a better look, only for her to turn her head away from him.

That really concerned him. She would never turn away from him like that and not say anything in reply.

He placed his hand on her shoulder, and that touch finally seemed to get to her. Rarity began sobbing as she spun around and wrapped her forelegs around his body as she buried her face into his chest, surprising him in the process.

“Oh Spike, it’s positively terrible!” she sniffed. “I can’t come up with any dress designs.”

It took a moment for him to snap out of his trance as he slowly wrapped his arms around her. “Why not?”

“There hasn’t been anything inspiring for weeks! I feel like I’ve lost my creative spark and I don’t know what to do.”

Spike continued to hold her as he awkwardly rubbed her back with his hand. “Um…there there.” he said hesitantly. He wasn’t really an expert on this sort of thing compared to others who were or probably had foals, but he couldn't let her wallow in her own misery.

It took a few more minutes of sobbing for the white unicorn to finally let it all out as she finally calmed down and pulled away, giving him a small smile. “Thank you for the comfort, Spike, but I’m still in a pickle. Do you happen to have any ideas?” she asked him hopefully.

“Well, not off the top of my head.” Spike replied as he saw her frown in disappointment. “But maybe you could make some summer dresses,” he quickly added.

“I thought about that already, but they don’t seem to speak to the fashion world.” Rarity said with a sigh as she used her magic to levitate a tissue over and blew into it before placing it in the already overflowing trash can. “Not unless I create something I never thought of before.

The purple dragon thought for a moment before perking up with an idea. “Wait a minute. What if you tried to combine your sense of fashion into a typical summer dress?”

“You mean make a dress that’s part casual and part formal?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Why not? And maybe you can design a nice summer hat to go with it.”

Rarity put a hoof to her chin in thought before gasping. “Why Spike, that is an amazing idea!” she smiled as she levitated her sketchbook and quill over before flipping to an empty page and sketching down her idea in it. Once she finished, she tore out the paper and levitated it to him. 

“How does this look?” she asked as he took it in his hands and looked at it. The dress Rarity drew had a long and flowy gown with small flowers on it in a pattern and a pair of smooth slippers and a nice summer hat with a large flower on the side.

“I think that’s a great design.” Spike smiled.

“You’re right.” Rarity muttered as she looked at her drawing. “You’re right!”

She immediately placed the paper back on the table as she levitated several rolls of fabric out from the shelves as well as a few more stitching machines from the closet as she swiftly went to work, creating a series of dresses in no time at all before hanging them on an empty dress rack.

“Wow. That was fast.” Spike said with amazement.

“It certainly was.” Rarity flipped her mane before smiling sweetly. “And I have you to thank for those fabulous ideas.”

“Aww, it was nothing.” a blush coated his cheeks as he scratched his head bashfully. “Would it be okay if we had some ice cream together?”

“It most certainly is.” the white unicorn replied as she stood up and took off her robe before she and Spike exited the room and went downstairs.







“Whew! It’s super hot out here.” Sunset wiped her forehead as they entered Ponyville. “But Ponyville sure is nice and peaceful around here.”

“It sure is, but we do sometimes get threatened by powerful villains.” Twilight said.

“Really? How often does that happen?”

“Thankfully not too often, but a little over a month ago, me and all my friends got ponynapped by the Changelings when they tried to exact their revenge on us.”

“What’s a changeling?” Sunset asked.

“They were cruel and ruthless creatures that could transform into the ones you love and feed off of your love for them.” Starlight answered as she explained when she, Trixie, Thorax, and Discord teamed up to save everyone and overthrow Queen Chrysalis.

“Wow. that must’ve been quite the adventure.” the yellow unicorn said. “And you say that Discord helped you? As in the spirit of chaos and disharmony? I thought Princess Celestia and Princess Luna turned him into a stone statue a thousand years ago?”

“He was, but he broke free when the princesses were no longer connected to the elements of harmony.” Twilight said as she explained the day when Discord escaped his stone prison and unleashed his chaos before explaining when Celestia tasked the bearer of the element of kindness to reform the mischievous spirit of chaos. “It wasn’t easy, but she successfully reformed him and they’ve been close friends ever since.”

“Wow. looks like I’ve missed out on a lot since I ran away from Canterlot.”

“You did?” Starlight asked. “Why?”

Sunset explained to her how she used to be one of Celestia’s old students and became cruel when she didn’t get what she wanted and ran away to the mirror world as a result. “I regret the day I went mad and nearly invaded Equestria with an army of teenagers, but I had Twilight and my friends back home to show me the light.”

“I also had a pretty rough past.” the light purple unicorn said as she explained when she took the cutie marks of the ponies in her old village and got defeated by Twilight and her friends and attempted to go back in time to exact her revenge, only to get convinced of the error of her ways and gain not only a home in the Castle of Friendship but friends.

“Looks like we have something in common.” Sunset said.

“We do.” Starlight nodded in agreement as she held out her hoof. “Friends?”

“Friends.” they both shook hooves together as Twilight watched it all with a proud smile. Her former student has come a long way since her reformation.

As the three of them went near Sugarcube Corner, they spotted Pinkie Pie with an ice cream stand outside the building. “Hi Twilight! Hi Starlight!” she waved over at them. “Step right up and get fresh cold ice cream!”

Twilight, Starlight, and Sunset all went over to the ice cream stand as the pink earth pony looked at the yellow unicorn and drew in a sharp but long gasp, instantly recognizing her from the night when she stole Twilight’s crown. “Are you new here?”

“Um, kind of,” Sunset replied. “Why do you-”

“One second!” Pinkie cut her off as she zipped inside Sugarcube Corner and came back out in an impressive speed wearing a barrage of different musical instruments. The mallet to the base drum began beating a steady beat as Pinkie cleared her throat.

“🎵Welcome welcome welcome,
A fine welcome to you.
Welcome welcome welcome,
We’re glad to see you too.

We’re glad that you could come,
To the town of Ponyville.
Where you can have lots of fun
or you can sit, relax, and chill.

No matter what may come,
No matter what the weather.
We slow down or give up
Because we have each other.

Now to give my name,
My name is Pinkie Pie!
I love to throw lots of parties
And spread joy so you don’t cry.

Now to wrap this up,
And to send you on your way.
I welcome you to Ponyville
With a hip hip hurray!🎵”

Pinkie finished playing her instruments and singing her song as Sunset Shimmer looked at her with a look of amazement and bewilderment. “Wow.” she managed to say. 

“I know, right? I know it’s last minute, but I wrote that song all for you!” Pinkie grinned at her. “Did you like it? Huh, huh? Did you?”

“Yes. It was very…creative.” Sunset replied.

“I knew you’d like it! Here, have some ice cream!” The pink earth pony rushed back to her ice cream stand and pulled out a plastic bowl as she scooped some strawberry ice cream in it and put some sprinkles on it with a cherry on top before pulling out a plastic spoon and rushed back over. “Here you go!”

“Thanks.” Sunset smiled at her as she scooped a sample of it on her spoon and took a bite, immediately feeling a cooling sensation from the sweet taste. “This is delicious.”

“I knew you’d like it!” Pinkie grinned as she rushed back over to her ice cream stand and made two more ice cream bowls for Twilight and Starlight. “Free of charge!”

“Really?” Twilight asked as she took the ice cream into her magical aura.

“Yup! Mr and Mrs. Cake wants me to make free ice cream for anyone who shows up due to the heat wave.”

“Tell them we said thanks.” Starlight said as she took her ice cream into her magical aura and took a bite. “And this ice cream really is delicious.”

“Will do!” Pinkie smiled as she went back over to her ice cream stand. “Have a nice day, and stay cool!”

“We will.” Twilight waved at her as she, Starlight, and Sunset continued on their way. “Let’s head  back to the castle. It’s getting too hot out here.”

“I agree.” Sunset nodded as the group went through town and back to the path to the castle. Once they stepped back inside, they immediately felt a rush of cold air blow over them as Twilight closed the doors.

“Ahhh, this feels so much better.” Starlight sighed as they went towards the library.

“Hey Sunset, can I take you up to your guest room so that you can get your things settled?” Twilight asked.

“Sure thing.” Sunset replied as she followed the Princess of Friendship towards the stairs.

“And I’ll go on and meet you in the library.” Starlight called up as she continued on her way towards the library.

Twilight and Sunset Shimmer trotted through the sleeping quarters as they entered an empty guest bedroom.

“Thanks again for letting me stay here.” Sunset said as she smiled at her friend and levitated her saddlebags onto the dresser. “It feels so comfortable here.”

“I’m glad you think so.” Twilight smiled back. “Are you gonna come down to the library and hang out with me and Starlight?”

“I will, just let me unpack my things first.”

“Alright, see you in a bit.” the purple alicorn turned and left the room as she closed the doors behind her and trotted back to the library.

Suddenly, as she turned the corner to go down the stairs, she bumped into someone as she looked to see Flash Sentry standing in front of her.

“Flash!” Twilight exclaimed. “I’m so so sorry, I didn’t see you coming around the corner like that.”

“It’s alright, your highness.” Flash smiled at her. “It was an honest mistake.”

“Y-yeah, you’re right. What are you doing up here, anyway?”

“Starlight told me that you were up here and I thought I’d come up and check on you.”

“I appreciate it, but I’m fine. Thank you for checking up on me, though.” Twilight blushed a shade of red as she cleared her throat. “Right…so, I should head back to the library. Do you wanna come?”

“Sure thing, your highness.” Flash bowed before following her back down the stairs. Awkward silence filled the air as Twilight glanced back at him slightly every so often, feeling flustered and awkward. She had no idea why she was still acting like a filly with a school-pony crush even though Flash had been in the castle for a few weeks.

He was assigned to be her guard from her sister-in-law, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza AKA Cadence so that he could look after the castle and protect her in case she was in any danger. Twilight was quite surprised that day when Cadence visited her that day and gave the Pegasus guard to him, but was nonetheless happy to have some extra company in her large and still somewhat empty castle.

Twilight was also glad to see him because she had recently developed small feelings for Flash and would sometimes hope to be his special somepony, but always shied away from the idea, mainly because a relationship between a commoner and a princess would feel like an obligation to him. Only time would tell if he would ever feel the same way. Once Twilight and Flash Sentry approached the doors to the library, he trotted ahead of her and opened the door for him as he bowed his head.

“Flash, you don’t have to be so formal with me.” Twilight smiled at him. “But thank you for the gesture, anyway.”

“You’re welcome, your highness, and enjoy your time.” Flash saluted at her as he stood at his position next to the doors.

The purple alicorn looked at him for a moment before closing the doors and returning to her reading chair where Starlight was waiting for her in her own chair. Twilight noticed that she was giving her a knowing look.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Twilight asked as she levitated her book over to her and opened it to the page she paused at.

“Flash certainly has your attention, doesn’t he?” the light purple unicorn asked in a knowing tone.

“U-um, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Admit it. You have a crush on him.”

“No I don’t!” Twilight snapped as she immediately covered her mouth with a hoof, praying that he didn’t hear her as she cleared her throat. “Besides, we aren’t even friends yet, not to mention we don’t know each other that well.”

“That doesn’t mean you can’t do all that, and maybe you’ll become a couple one day and get married and have foals.”

“Starlight, I’m not even ready for all that yet.”

“There’s nothing wrong with liking somepony and imagining a future together.” Starlight said as she flipped to the next page in her book.

“Oh really?” Twilight sent her a knowing smirk of her own. “Then tell me, Starlight. Do you imagine a future with Sunburst?”

“W-what? No, of course not!” a small blush coated Starlight cheeks as she looked up from her book and cleared her throat. “We’re just friends, and we never had crushes on each other growing up.”

“Understood, but let me know when he confesses to you.”

“Twilight!” Starlight snapped as her former mentor laughed. She felt a smile pull at her lips as she joined in on the laughter, realizing that the Princess of Friendship was only teasing her.







Discord and Fluttershy shared a laugh as the teapot and tea cups did a tap dance on a miniature stage the Draconequus materialized in front of them on the floor. They then began doing silly dances as well as circus stunts as Fluttershy watched them with amazement as they finished their grand finale with the teapot lifting the cups on its arms.

“Ta da!” they said in unison as small confetti cannons on the side of the stage fired small bits of confetti.

“That was amazing.” Fluttershy said as she clapped her front hooves in applause. “Woo hoo.”

Discord chuckled at her quiet cheer as he turned the teapot and tea cups back to normal and teleported them back on the table. He then took a tea cake into his eagle claw and swallowed it down as three mini copies of himself popped up on the table and ate one of the tea cakes each before sitting and patting their now bulging stomachs.

“You really do make the best of tea cakes, my dear.” Discord smiled at her as she blushed in modesty. Suddenly, one of the mini Discord’s let a loud but high pitch burp could be heard as they both widened their eyes.

The mini Discord blushed and looked to the ground with guilt as the original Discord looked at him disapprovingly. “What do you say?”

“Excuse me.” the mini Discord said with a smile.

“I really can’t take them anywhere.” Discord muttered as his mini copies popped out of existence one by one.

Fluttershy let out a giggle. “Oh Discord, you’re so funny.”

“I guess I am.” he smiled. “So. is there anything else going on for you this week?”

“Me and my friends are going to have a picnic at our usual picnic spot tomorrow. Would you like to come?”

“My dear, I would absolutely love to.” Discord replied. “And I’ll even bring my cucumber sandwiches.”

“That’s great.” Fluttershy smiled. “I’m sure they’ll love them just as much as I do.”

“And I’ll even try and make some cupcakes to go with them.”

“Really?” Fluttershy asked. “Have you ever baked cupcakes before?”

“Well…no.” Discord replied honestly. “I always used my magic to make all the food I need, but it wouldn’t hurt to try and bake some cupcakes.”

“It’s up to you whether you want to bake or make them with your magic. I don’t mind what your decision is.” Fluttershy said.

“Then I’ll bake cupcakes by hand.” the Draconequus proudly announced. “And trust me, Fluttershy. They’ll be the best ones you’ll ever eat.”

“Okay.”

After a few more hours of chatting together and laughing while drinking tea, the time for their time together had to come to an end as Discord stood up and stretched. “I hope you enjoyed our little time together, my dear.” he said.

“I always do, and thank you for taking care of my tasks and cooling me down. It was so sweet of you.” Fluttershy smiled at him as she flew up into his arms and shared a hug with him. “See you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow.” Discord smiled at her as he put her back on the ground and disappeared in a flash of light, causing the tea set to disappear in the process.

Before the yellow Pegasus could move, he immediately teleported back in front of her. “I can’t wait!” he said before disappearing once again.

She put her hoof to her mouth and giggled. “Oh Discord.”


To be continued…
> Friendship and Harmony: Darkness Awakens: Chapter 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

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…