Discord's Resolution - A Fluttercord Oneshot

Discord's Resolution

a/n -- Hey, before you guys get reading, I want you to know how glad I am that you're here! Fluttercord is, as we all know, the superior mlp ship, and I am a sucker for writing fanfics... so... here I am?

(Cover arts are by me!)

***

In all its years, Equestria had never known the true meaning of a 'resolution' – at least not until the day that the Lord of Chaos made his greatest one.

***

Sitting under the mossy eaves of Fluttershy's cottage, Discord could tell that a harsh morning was encroaching on Equestria.

It tasted like bitter salt in the air, he thought. The nerves in his cheeks burned, and his tongue was punctured by an unpleasant sort of ache. Worst of all, though, the taste in his mouth brought Discord an amount of unease and – could it be? – anxiety that he hadn't felt for the longest time.

This tangy discomfort had nothing to do with any tangible, solid threats from the outside world. It wasn't because of the clustering clouds up above, or the dewy grass below, or the subtle shifting of leaves as summer fell into fall. It certainly wasn't because of Ceslestia's rising sun, which rose in the background with grace and with pride like the crowning jewel of a headpiece.

No, the harshness he felt around him was a different sort. It was the kind that not many creatures felt, and which only came to Equestria once every aeon or so, whenever a terrible catastrophe was caused by a teensy-weensy, tiny, stupid mistake...

He'd been spending the last twenty minutes distracting himself with the sunrise. Usually his escapisms involved activities with a little more chaos and 'pizazz', but the view was helping the Lord of Chaos bring to mind a little phrase he had coined from Fluttershy's friend Treecuddler a while back... something about how every day was like a new play, and while at sunset the curtain always fell upon the third act, sunrises were like fresh starts, new leaves.

New beginnings.

He reckoned he needed one of these, above all. Which is maybe why he was sitting here watching solar phenomena in the front garden of a Ponyville pegasus, struggling to ignore the complete scandal and, well, discord, that had befallen the kingdom of Equestria the previous day.

"The current state of affairs isn't looking so bright, I'm afraid." He looked guiltily towards a family of humming birds that was nestled in the roof above. Was he talking to them, or to himself? Looking around, he saw that there were no duplicates of Discord to speak with, so figured it was the former. He hovered up to the family, watching them but not really observing. "At least the worst is over now, I suppose. Even though I could've prevented all of this in the first place."

He knew they weren't listening to his heartfelt confidences, but that was okay. Enough creatures hated Discord already, and who could even blame them? Yesterday had been the new princess' coronation, but in an attempt to boost Twilight Sparkle's ego, he'd instead unionised three tyrants, upended centuries of magical architecture, and jeopardised an entire kingdom of civilians.

He should've known it was a fool's game. Nobody can keep beasts at bay when it comes to matters of world dominion, not even Discord himself. Cozyglow... Tirek... Queen Chrysalis. And now he needed to make a lot of apologies – even though it seemed like only one really mattered.

"Fluttershy has never done any real harm in her life," he mused. "Frankly, I don't even think she could, her being the Element of Kindness and all. I really ought to give her more credit for her efforts, don't you think?"

A floating 'thumbs-up' drifted above him, carried by the wind.

In all honesty, this sequestered chink of Ponyville seemed like his one and only respite from the world. Fluttershy's cottage wasn't quite in town, but it wasn't quite in the Everfree either, and this assortment of 'in-betweens' felt like the perfect liminal space for him, made of animals and luscious greens. A holding ground of sorts, perhaps for him and his many mistakes – though hopefully not all of them, because he had a feeling they might be too heavy even for this place.