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brideofdiscord-rewritten · 9 months

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Bride of Discord Rewritten, Chapter 7: The Arrangement

Discord was still laughing huskily when they arrived at their destination. On the outside it looked as if it were a quaint little maroon cottage on a floating patch of earth, surrounded by fences and stone paths. Below the floating land was bridges that lead nowhere, other land plots housing trees, which melted as if they were molten. The grass had patterns unnatural and almost sickly. Some were upside-down. Coral floated in places it shouldn't. Surrounding it all, was a view of the Everfree Forest, desaturated and piercing. Jutting out at every angle was rot and mustard yellow.

Fluttershy gazed up at what seemed to be a dark floating castle to her. dark Cotton candy clouds surrounded it, raining chocolate milk.

"Like what I've done with the place?" the draconequus asked her.

"It's…" she stammered, "lovely."

"Wait until you see the inside!"

He carried her to the door and opened it up. Fluttershy's eyes widened at the interior. It was like looking at a drawing by M.C. Escher, with stairs leading to nowhere and doors hanging sideways. It looked like he collaborated with Jackson Pollock.

"Welcome to my humble abode!" Discord said proudly. "Or should I say our humble abode? What do you think?"

Something drained her entire head. Her vision was fuzzy, as if her eyelashes stuck to her eyes. God, her head felt like the inside was expanding, pressuring the skull like a hydraulic press. Her hooves were sore, and unbearably hot. Her balance was gone and she felt her mouth go to mush.

He chuckled. "You'll get used to it, my dear. After all, this is your new home."

"My…my…"

Fluttershy fainted in his arms. He summoned a daybed and set her down gently. He gazed in triumph at his prize. how easy it would be to simply not give her anything? It'd work just as well if I tweaked the plan just a bit. The thought sent a shudder down his back. One that was known when somepony sees something terrifying. How disturbing, though? Is she not a living thing like me?

"She sacrificed herself for us?" Cadence asked in wonder.

"She thought she was the only one who could do it," Applejack explained solemnly.

"He told us what our freedom would have cost, but I never would have thought Fluttershy…"

She buried her face in her husband's shoulder

"That creature hath gone too far!" Luna bellowed, using her traditional Canterlot voice. "We motion that we go to that castle and demand he return the pegasus at once!"

Celestia put a wing around her. "No, sister. If the agreement made is broken, Discord could have the right and power to unleash his chaos again."

Her head hung heavy next to her sister's. "Thou canst not expect us to allow such an innocent soul to be tied to that monster! We know not of his intentions!

"This is all my fault," Twilight whimpered. "I'm sorry, Princess Celestia. I've failed you."

Celestia raised an eyebrow. "How have you failed me?

"You left me in charge of Equestria, and it was put in danger because I didn't take precaution. And…I let one of my best friends accept a fate worse than death!" She hid her face in her hooves. "I'm a terrible ruler!"

She stopped crying as her mentor lifted her chin. "To be a ruler means one has to make difficult decisions for the good of her subjects. There was nothing else to be done."

"It should have been me then! I could have handled him, I could have…"

"I am as distressed as you are, but this was her choice. Discord may do terrible things, but believe me when I say he won't bring Fluttershy any physical harm."

"How do you know that?"

"His nature is to corrupt that which is orderly, not to inflict pain. Some creatures…are not as evil as they seem. In the meantime, you made as best of a princess as you could. Now, your duty is to be duchess once more."

"So," Pinkie Pie sniffed, "what do we do now?"

"what we may do now is contact her as much as we can while we live out our days. To keep her as a part of our lives is as important to her as it is to us."

When Fluttershy had gained consciousness, she was lying on a couch. She glanced at her surroundings and the ring around her neck, realizing that the events of the day hadn't been a dream, sighing heavily. I've accepted Discord's proposal, saved the princesses, lost my friends and freedom all in one day. Now I'm engaged to the Lord of Chaos with no escape. Speaking of which, where was Discord?

Her answer came sooner than expected as the creature materialized above her. She squeaked and jumped to the back of the couch in surprise.

"Have a nice rest, my dear?" he asked.

She struggled to get her words out. "H-how long was I out?"

"About an hour or so. I took the time to decorate your room. You like green, right?"

"S-sure?"

"Of course, we could always share the room after the wedding..." He said, before laughing. "Just jokes, just jokes!" He began to walk off.

Fluttershy shivered at the thought. "Hey hey hey, don't go away!"

He turned his head 180 degrees, like an owl. All before turning his body to match.

"Um, w-when i-is this w-wedding exactly?"

"Oh, it could be next month, next week, or even tomorrow, if you like!"

"T-tomorrow?!"

"That reminds me. We need to pick out your dress! I know it's bad luck for me to see it and all, but given the circumstances…"

"Um, don't you think…?"

She found herself standing on a pedestal facing three mirrors. Discord was dressed as a tailor and taking her measurements.

"Now, let's see. I'd say you're a size four. Am I right?"

"Aren't you going…?"

She watched in shock as Discord made several wedding gowns appear on her body.

"Too frilly. Too casual. Too flowery. Not flowery enough. Too white. Too blue. Ooh, do you like an alternative wedding? I sure do! How's about a scene dress? Or what if we didn't go for the western wedding at all!"

He stopped at an ivory colored gown with green trimming. A thin veil draped over her head from a crown of blue daisies.

"Why, darling," he purred, gesturing towards her reflection. "You look beautiful. Your fiancé's very lucky to have you. Oh wait. That's me!

She couldn't take it anymore and shouted, "DISCORD YOU LISTEN!"

"Yes, my dear?"

She turned to face him. "Don't you think tomorrow's a bit…soon?"

He pretended to think about it. "No."

"B-but…I hardly know you as it is…"

"Do I need to remind you of the terms of our agreement?"

"I'll still marry you, just…not yet."

"Care to explain your reasons behind this?"

"Well…I…you see…"

"Oh, come now, dear. Let's not be strangers. Tell me."

She fiddled with her mane. "I'd wanna fall in love before I get married."

"Oh, there will be plenty of time for that."

Fluttershy swallowed her fear and narrowed her eyes at him. "You said you would give me whatever I desired, right?"

Discord fiddled with his hands. "I did say that, didn't I?"

"Well, I desire that we postpone our wedding. you said you wanted a willing bride, right?"

"I did, but…"

"I would be even more willing if we got to know each other first!"

A faint sense of tension cut through the air briefly. "Alrighty, okay!" He snapped his fingers, making the gown and mirrors disappear. "We'll postpone the wedding for now."

"Until…when?" she could not help but ask.

An idea struck him. "I'll tell you what." He continued as he circled her. "Every night, I will ask you a teensy question. If you don't give me the answer I want, I will keep asking until you do."

"And…when I do?"

"Well," he smirked, "let's just say that'll be our wedding day."

Fluttershy was confused, although less frightened. "W-what's the question?"

"I'll tell you later. Right now, you look hungry."

As if on cue, her stomach grumbled. "I did skip breakfast…"

"Say no more!"

An oddly shaped table appeared between them and they were seated on either end. Discord summoned a candelabrum as a last minute touch.

"What will it be, my dear? Chicken à la king? Lobster? Does it need to be kosher?"

As he listed each dish, it appeared before her.

"Um," Fluttershy uttered. "I'm a vegetarian."

"Oh, right. My bad. Hay? Oats? Baked Alaska?"

"oh!" She beamed! "May i have cold carrots and oats? It's been a while!"

Sure enough, a bowl of perfectly large oats and cold wet, crisp carrots materialized before her. Discord then summoned a bowl of what appeared to be…

"Um…is that…paper?"

"Is it?" he said, taking bite of it. "Hmm, crunchy. Want some?" It was vintage pages of an old mystery series, Nancy Croup.

She raised an eyebrow. It was tempting, but it probably wasn't good paper. It had ink on it, and was likely parchment. "I'll…pass."

Well, he is part goat after all. Fluttershy glanced down at the dish in front of her, shaking as she lifted her fork. Discord was confused at her hesitation.

"It's not poisoned, if that's what you're thinking."

She smiled nervously and took a bite of the oats and carrots. The flavors practically popped on her tongue. It was refreshing!

"Delicious," she gulped.

"Perhaps you would like some dressing! Thousand-island or ranch?"

"Um, ranch? On the side for the carrots."

A bottle appeared in the air and squirted the substance into a small plate. One of them played that are only used by fancied ponies.

"T-thanks." Fluttershy uttered once the bottle had vanished.

"Anything for my fiancé!" He stared at her as she shivered in her seat. "You find me terrifying, don't you?"

She looked down at her hooves. "I…well… I'm not quite terrified. You're not as scary as a bear, Or dragon, or manticore. You just look like that, don't think I'm surprised by much anymore..."

He shrugged. "Perfectly understandable. After all, my appearance is quite…unique." He grinned slyly at her. "Yours, on the other hand… well, its unique in the other direction!"

He put his paw in the direction of her face, never quite touching it, as if to ask beforehand. She backed away, slowly as possible before her chair fell. Fluttershy forgot she was sitting. He caught her with his tail before she could hit the ground and lifted her to meet his eyes.

"What? Ravishing not a good enough word? How about stunning? Beautiful? Gorgeous?"

"Stop!" she squeaked.

"Stop what?" he asked as he teasingly.

Fluttershy wriggled out of his hold. "L-look, I…appreciate the compliment, but…"

She forced a smile as she returned to her seat. She tried to finish her food, but her stomach turned. It was nice to be complimented, but golly, it was uncomfortable. Maybe because it meant nothing after all those stallions said it to her. They didn't know real love, they just wanted her because... She had money? She had looks? Was beauty even real? To her there was no such thing, because nothing in the world is ugly.

"What?" Discord said. "Not used to some pony calling you beautiful?" He chuckled. "Well, you should get used to it, because I'm going to keep calling you that."

He made a gold crown appear on her head. Fluttershy relaxed, but it was rather heavy.

"You know what?" she said quickly. "I'm really tired!"

"Imagine! Our own little chaos corner of the world! No pony to tell us what to do! You can have whatever you want, be whatever you want, and do whatever you want! And I'll be by your side, doing all the heavy lifting!"

Discord scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous! It's hardly even noon yet!"

"Oh, but I didn't get much sleep last night!" She faked a stretch. "Oh yes, I'm very tired! I should really get to bed!"

"Oh, very well! But first, my question…"

Fluttershy shrunk. "Yes?"

He cupped her chin in his paw. "Do you love me?"

Her eyes widened. "W-what?!"

"I asked: do you love me?"

She was silent for a long while, about ready to faint again. Would he get mad if she gave her honest answer? But if she said yes, then they would be married immediately.

"N-no."

Discord shrugged. "Fair enough. Though here's a heads up, my dear. I'm going to keep asking you until you say yes."

"W-why do you…want to…?"

"You said you wanted to fall in love before you got married, so…" He gave her a wink. "Now, let's get you to bed, shall we?"

He picked her up bridal style and carried her to a door that was thankfully right-side-up. He opened it to reveal a room with wavy green walls. It felt like a perfect cottage with fairy lights and... Nordic weapons. For whatever reason.

"I know how you ponies are about gravity," Discord said, "though it is quite boring." He opened a white oddly shaped wardrobe. "Here are some clothes for you, in case you're in a fancy mood. If you don't like them, I can make a few alterations."

He carefully set her down on a canopy bed and gestured towards the chandelier hanging above. "Watch this."

He clapped his hands and the candles went out. Another clap illuminated them again.

"Neat, huh? Ooh!" He pointed to a record player. "In case it gets too quiet for you…" He moved the rod and the record played Fluttershy's favorite lullaby. How did he know?

"Oh, and if you get hungry in the middle of the night," he showed her a microwave sitting on a counter in the corner, "simply press one of these buttons: hay, oats, honey melon, pineapple, whatever you'd like! Except honeydew. That sucks. Oh!" He flew over to the windows. "And I made sure you got a great view!"

He flung open the green curtains, revealing the foggy, dreary forest outside. "Well, maybe not a great view, but hey, any view's better than no view!"

He waited excitedly for her reaction. Fluttershy was struck dumb as she glanced around the room. He had really put a lot of effort into this, and he seemed so eager to please her. She was starting to think Zecora was right, but it was all so much to take in.

Discord frowned at her silence. "Is it not to your liking?"

"N-no it's…" she stammered, "it's…fine."

"Was the microwave too much?"

"probably…"

"Would you prefer pink instead of green?"

"Um…"

"The bed not comfy enough?"

"It's fine!" she snapped. "Really, it's fine! Lovely, even! It's…nice. But..."

Discord accepted her answer and drifted to the door. "Now if there's anything else you need, just holler! Sleep tight!"

"Sly?" his reflection scoffed. "You're acting like a big softy, kissing up to that wimpy pegasus!"

Once he had closed the door, Fluttershy waited until she was sure he was gone. Then she buried her face in a lace pillow. It felt like a distant and tragic ballroom song echoed in her head. Like it was being slowly forgotten.

"Oh, Discord, you sly devil!" the draconequus mused as he admired himself in the mirror.

"Don't you understand? This is better than we could have hoped for! Listen, the ponies can't turn us to stone without the Element of Kindness, right?"

"Right. But what does that matter? They already promised not to use the Elements against us."

"Only because they didn't have a choice, but if any of our deals were to be broken, then we could be free to do whatever we want!"

"And where does the pegasus fall into this?"

He cackled. "I'll bet you by the end of the month, that pegasus will be so hopelessly in love with me, she'll do just about anything for me! She won't be able to use her Element against me, which means there will be nothing stopping me from taking over Equestria! And just think! I'll even gain a queen in the process!"

His reflection burst into laughter. "Really?! That's your plan?! Do you honestly think that little pony would fall in love with you?!"

Discord put his hands on his hips. "And why not?"

"Well, have you looked at yourself lately?"

"Hey, I have my charms!"

"Are you talking about the magic kind of charms or the wooing kind of charms? Because the latter is just hopeless!"

He grabbed the mirror. "How would you like to be smashed into millions of pieces?!"

"Hey, hey! Seven years bad luck!"

"Don't talk to me about bad luck! I invented bad luck!"

He lifted the glass, ready to destroy it. Then he paused and slapped himself in the face.

"What am I doing?"

He set the mirror down and stared at his reflection, which had returned to normal. He studied his distorted face and thought of Fluttershy's beauty. How could he win her heart? She had already agreed to marry him, but not because she wanted to. She only wanted to save her friends. Why would she ever want him?

He shook these thoughts out of his head. "Oh, what does it matter? There are other ways to impress a lady." He studied his reflection again. "Though maybe I should trim my beard."

Oh Discord, still talking to yourself.

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