An Apple a Day Keeps Discord at Bay [Invite]

[SteelEagle]

 

She gave him a queer look, which went from top to bottom. Not because she was judging but because there were about ten Discords floating around the edges of her vision and she wasn't sure which two or three to focus on. Plus he was speaking funny. Were those words? They seemed mighty jumbled and ill-suited to his draconic mouth. She was sure there weren't letters coming out or words, just honks and noise. The look continued. She shook her head to clear it- it helped her hear a little better. Only then she did make out that he was hemming and honking about work and how little of it he wanted to do. Well, she wasn't gonna sit here and abide by that!

 

"Weail hoowld awwwwwn nawwww yahl' thking st' thots," she slurred her way through her response before trying to pat him on his rump and instead getting a hoof full of air. She wasn't being very accurate but it was hard when there were still three Discords to deal with. She guffawed. "Yarrr duhn nad mayic; ah shur yuu kahn du iht!" she said positively, excited to see him at it. Cleaning the coop, collecting eggs, and getting the chicks all nice and comfortable was an important part of the job as well.

 

Applejack led the way into the coop. The various chickens bawked and squawked ad raised a terrible racket as they entered. More than a few looked at Applejack happily, and then concerned, as she approached- stumbling and bumbling most of the way. "Well hooooooo-wwwwwwdy thar, Marebeline! How's you?" She asked as she approached an older looking chicken. It gave her a cross eyed stare and bawked questioningly. "Alllll tha goo' eggs, yeah?" She said, picking up some eggs. "Ahn thahn weh sehndum tah othar fam'y, have'm gettin' chicks tah," she responded, putting a few in baskets as she beckoned him to join ALL THE FUN.

[RexDraco]

The nonsensical prince was having trouble understanding the Apple and that was quite a feat as the spirit of madness has quite the skill for deciphering cruder languages and more complex ones as they neared the Equestrian syntax. He could understand other languages if he bothered, but whatever this drunken beatboxing was, it was no recognizable speech pattern. It took a moment but soon it was clear what the mare was on about. How troublesome. Work? Sure magic was his forte, but physical labour never really appealed to him. After all when you've phenomenal, cosmic powers and can materialize your desire in the drop of a hat… As she went on he rolled his eyes as he floated just off the ground. His hind, left hoof was crossed over his right talon and his forelimbs crossed over his chest. His chin rest in his claws and his paw would give a flick of his digits, creating a small gust of wind that aimed to knock her hat off her head so it tumbled down.

 

Though many would determine that Discord simply took what he wanted from one place and brought it to another in a state of theft. The law of physics did dictate that something could not be made of nothing and this anything Discord created had to have previously existed a on some level. But they forget, if he so pleased, Discord could alter the principle laws that dictate reality if it so suited his mood.

 

And his ability to be humble shone bright. “While I am a master of magic, this is completely different.” He waved his paw and sighed. “I mean what is the first step of such a chore?” He seemed to resist the idea.

 

Discord didn't usually mind critters. He treated them like any pony, which made it hard to tell if he respected them or disrespected ponies… Never thought there seemed no distinct reason he would have trouble with a few harmless hens. He watched as AJ stumbled in her drunken stupor looking like a fox sniffling about for eggs. He put his paw to his muzzle’s end, folding his ears back as if offended by the mare’s dutiful actions.

 

“Henrietta…” he murmured, recalling Fluttershy's head hen. “Don't just go and grab them--!” He fretted as Applejack just went for it! “How primal.” He scolded. “Won't they nip at you with this tiny beaks?” It was clear he had either never had experience with chickens, or had has a bad one.

 

And if anyone asked he would deny it vehemently. He was the Lord of chaos! Not some -- chicken. The spirit sighed and crossed his forelimbs over his chest. The draconic couldn't just leave her to her own devices, not with her head all scrambled. He sighed and he sank down to a more, conservative pony shape. While still a mangled set of parts, at least he'd be able to fit in the hen house now. He followed Applejack in as she was sweet talking to hens. The chickens seemed baffled by her mannerisms today and looked to Discord.

 

The spirit manifested a baseball and screw overhead, motioning his finger to indicate the spinning, unhinged nature of the mare. Before the Apple could turn her head he pulled a baseball bat from the egg basket he suddenly manifested and hit the ball out of view. The bat was kicked under a pile of hay as he pulled up his sleeves, a white blouse having appeared on his chest with a loose, egg pattern tie loose around his neck. He flexed his limbs, pumping himself up. He could do this! He was the god of chaos. How much trouble could a few chickens give him?

 

The basket balanced atop his head as he reached toward the nest. “Heeere chick, chick, chick…” he called as he lowered down.

 

But alas the chicken wasn't having the weird creature dog around in her nest. She pecked his paw. Discord snapped it back and glared at the avian defiantly. Slowly he reached back, but got pecked again! He would turn away and whistle. Folding his paw and claw behind his back he turned as if to leave the situation with casual ease.

 

“Ha ha!” He whipped around to lol unch at the nest but was pecked between the eyes right on his brow. The critical hit sent the half-sized, pony shaped chimera to the ground with his eyes spinning. “Did anypony get the number of that Archer…?”

 

He blinked clear his vision and growled. Tossing up his paw whilst clutching the basket to his chest with his claws: he would use his magic to pull the eggs from their hidden placed and levitate them into the basket, the the he’s irritation. It was made known with a sharp peck to his flank when he turned around.

 

“Ow!” He glared back and snorted before looking to Applejack with a smug grin. “Easy as opening a quantum portal to another world!” Though when as that ever easy?

 

This was a no brainer this farming thing. If he ever had to grow his own potatoes he would just need some water! He seemed quite proud after fending off such harrowing critters! Chickens did not play around!

“So what's next?” All he had to do was keep the game up until she was less concussed. “No time to lie around on the job, as they say!”

[SteelEagle]

 

Applejack couldn't help but giggle infectiously at how hard a time the chickens were giving him as he tried to involve himself in this particular activity. He might be the embodiment of chaos but in her eyes today he was a well-intentioned, but somewhat bumbling, farmhoof. His consistent failure did more to endear her to him than any game or piece of fluff could and if he knew that, maybe he would have tried to be a little less quick to pull the magical trigger. He did the job but he did it without actually getting the point of the exercise; she sighed and laughed. He had tried, and that much she was sure of.

 

She gathered up the eggs and then took them to their destination, which was right where she had dropped them off. She picked the basket up and down six times, smiling the whole while and unable to comprehend what she had done until she had the basket in her mouth the seventh time. Then she felt awfully wobbly and stumbled around in the coop, shaking it as she fell aginst the sides. The chickens bawked in alarm and worry for their good friend and caretaker, Henrietta and Marebeline in particular. She steadied herself and felt better than a peached plum pruning in the sun with raisin wine and apple juice in either hoof.

 

Which meant she wasn't feeling well. Her head swam. She felt as if she was suffering from vertigo, which meant it took everything and more to stay up. That didn't mean she couldn't try and talk, though. "Yar doin' 'uch ah gud yob disdch, yeo and p-proud of tha wok ya'll doing," she stuttered and stammered, a lazy and unacknowledged smile slathering her features. She continued walking for a moment more before she felt...quite awful. She put the basket down, feeling wobbly, her legs shaking like they were noodles. "Ah'm nawt fehlin' so-" she started up before she stumbled once more and fell on her side unconscious, her front right leg twitching as if trying to gallop.

[RexDraco]

Discord never liked chickens. He much preferred a vegan diet. With a snort he would brush his paw over his ear to check along his mane for any bald spots. He would pull a few extra eggs from behind his ear and place them in the basket. Those peck happy avians needed more lessons on just how domesticated fowl should act. If he wasn't a better pony these days he would have found himself enjoying a lovely chicken di-- what was that now? Applejack laughing? As great as his despair was, and the despairing insult that came from the mare's, particularly, obnoxious guffawing was surprised. She was laughing so hard at his misgivings. It made him wonder if she really lost a few apples in her tree with that puck to the head. That was a bit much. He was new at this ... but it seemed she was seriously amused or severely rattled in the brain. Far be it for the spirit to realize his very serious, at least as serious as a chaos spirit could get, efforts had been more endearing than entertaining and his attempt to reinvent a game that ponies seemed to enjoy was far less fruitful. Well whatever it was tickling her fancy: did so with fervor.

 

The spirit shook out his head, tossing a few chickens feathers from it, when Applejack took the basket. He perked his ears and looked to her as she seemed to be having repetitive motions. “Applejack dear, mayhaps you should sit before you start changing colors.” He seemed to be growing a bit more concerned.

 

Though that didn't stop him from snapping his claws and turning her purple for the sake of a laugh.He knew ponies were peculiar creatures, but he's been around them long enough now to be sure that this was outside of the realm of healthy for them. They weren't, naturally, chaotic or mad beings. Even their “mad” scientists paled in comparison to the influentially insane who bartered with the world of alchemy and failed the basic contributions of equivalent exchange. Beings like that have truly crossed into madness. This.. this was verily ill. He felt himself well up when she praised him, said she was proud of him. He had experienced many things around the ponies, humility being a burdensome one, but he had never had anypony openly… proud of his achievements. Whilst Fluttershy praised him so: it was inherently expected of her as the best friend. But Applejack? Whom he was sure found his very breathing a night inescapable prerequisite of his existence.

 

He felt she never wanted him around, which only drove him to try harder and play the fool. It was a need for attention and only knowing one way of getting it. Several lifetimes of bad habits often painted him as a bad guy to outsiders, but he was hardly evil and malicious by choice. A spoiled fol who threw fits when he didn't get his way… it was a natural response to a pony who has never been told no, or who has gotten away with every misdemeanor since and after time. He was a good pony and wanted his friends’ approval. More than anything he was sure that was what he wanted: for them to see him as a friend as he saw them to be.

 

When she collapsed the purple faded from her like a liquid spilling onto the grass around her, turning it decidedly dark and flavoring it to grape. “Applejack?” He vanished, appearing at her side to right the basket with his tail before the collected contents was spilled. He put his paw and claw on her shoulders and shook her.”This is no time to run to that big corral in the sky Applejack!” He sighed and floated around to try and levitate her.

 

Holding out his paw he pulled at the gravity around her to generate force to manipulate her off the ground. He would head back toward the farmhouse with mare in tow, making sure her hat lay securely on her belly. Once inside he tossed the basket , having it land perfectly on the hat rack before proceeding to the living area where he flopped the head confused .are on the couch.

 

“How problematic.” Snapping his claw a glass of water appeared on the end table, the only thing he knew about getting sick! “Honestly you've picked a terrible time to fall into an episode. I haven't the foggiest how to care for an ailing pony.” He snapped again only for a coconut and lime to appear over head.

 

Taking said food items in paw and claw he would force the lime through one of the coconut's peepholes before popping a straw into it and regarding the mare.

 

“No?” He took a sip from it. “These things perk me right up.” Tossing it back it clean shot into the waste basket as he floated there pondering: never once would asking for help cross his mind. “Maybe I should contact Flutter…” until it did. “No, no I can do this. Right! Think, think. What do ponies do when they are sick? Rest… water, food didn't work. Um a story? No that's me. Oh bother.” At this point he has been walking back and forth snapping his claws as he pondered, digging a worry trench into the ground, all the while manifesting mundane objects like a tricycle, a hamster wheel, complete with hamster, and a set of pajamas for the ailing Apple in a cow print, hoofie pajamas with a hood, horns and a brass bell. “Oh, I've an idea!” He clapped his paw and claw together before pulling them apart to manifest a tube of smelling salts.

It stood on his paw and sniffed around, barking a bit. “There, maybe now I can sniff out what ails the little pony.” he would let the loving tube of smelly salts snuffles around the mare, hopefully able to find the trouble!

[SteelEagle]

 

Applejack had very obviously suffered a concussion. Rest and water could help, sure, but her symptoms hadn't improved. In fact, they got worse. Her Earth pony constitution would ensure a quick recovery as well as a limit to the worst possibilities of her condition, but that didn't mean the road to the more positive outcomes didn't need a little push. Indeed, this wasn't the first concussion she had suffered. Wasn't even part of the first three. But it was never good, and if Discord knew pony physiology a third as well as he knew psychology, she'd have been at the hospital already. Maybe she'd be better and they could be playing a game of cards or something, but that didn't look like the path this was heading down. And so she was under Discord's tender care, or as tender as he could get, which was a big improvement from their first meeting. 
 
Applejack didn't have a very good "sleep". It wasn't really sleep. It never felt very good to have yourself go right on out of consciousness, after all. Your mind didn't rest as much as it tried to handle whatever crisis it was that made you go there in the first place. And when that crisis was a head injury, well, you didn't get much except for shapes, sound, and sharp, stinging pain whenever brief consciousness found you. And so it was for Applejack as she lay there, Discord trying some form of 'his best', her head a crash-course in confusion. By the time anything would make sense it would b too late to properly thank anypony'd who'd help her. Or Discord, if this was considered help.

 

"M...Mooooo....." Applejack moaned in no particular way, vaguely aware of the bell on her neck which rattled and prattled as she moved. her eyes half-opened. She was warm. In pajamas? She didn't really know. She half-heartedly moaned, which was the aforementioned cow-sound, as she came to. Her head felt like it was in a thousand pieces. She wanted to puke but didn't have anything to send on out. She absent-mindedly played with the bell, one eye half open, the other a quarter open, the ringing bringing her to the edge of laughter. "Discooord, why do Ah have a cowbell, mooooooo?" She tittered, before letting out a soft cry. "Mah head hurts so much, moooo..." why was she mooing so much, moo? "Ah think Ah need a-hospital, mooooooo...?" she mooed, mooing when she needed to moo. Discord really did mean well, but a god of chaos rarely had such easy luck helping others. He was absurdly magical after all, and even when he didn't mean to prank somepony, he could start to absentmindedly.

[RexDraco]

Despite the canoodling noodle the spirit has a very real, albeit, odd way of showing affection. Being a good with phenomenal cosmic powers often left one oblivious to the word and suffering of others. Infinite power often swelled egos into vicious creatures of destruction. And while the spirit had never gone so far to destroy a world he did often grasp the ire of residents of said really due to his obnoxious and wholly unsettling, vindictive behaviors towards those who just wouldn't play his game. He treated his “friends” like pieces on a chessboard. And whilst he considered them friends they thought of him, at best, as an annoyance and, at worst, as a menace. As he grew to better know the altruistic nature of Equestrian ponies the more humbled he became and the more concerned he was with how they thought of him.

 

Being alone for another few millennium with primitive, under-evolved bacteria wouldn't seem as trite knowing he had true friendship at some point in time.

 

Was Applejack hurt, sick? He wasn't sure what ailed the pony or even if it just wasn’t simple exhaustion that wrecked her so. She always did seem to work herself brittle, which was one of the many, odd habits ponies seemed to carry. In fact there were many hundreds of peculiarities that ponies has he knew nothing about. It was rare enough learning they needed to prepare their meals. Planting them, growing them, harvesting than preparing? Generally Discord skipped passed most of the steps and often came to the same, if not a better, conclusion. But none of the things ponies seemed to like helped the mare raise back to her hooves. There she lay, possibly distressed and reduced to a moaning mess. Fever? Or maybe a stomachache? He wouldn't know. Despite all the knowledge in the world ponies were still so foreign.

 

No it wasn't ponies that were foreign… it was his ability to take care of others.

 

What he faced now was perhaps the second highest dilemma of his long life. The nightmares had been the first and warned him. He was soothed by the night princess, given a piece of hope that in knowing him his friends wouldn't easily fall to the inevitable fate of chaos. He wasn't some wild force of nature wholly unstoppable.  But each door he had opened to held events that seemed to go terribly wrong. As he watched each scene he was stopped by the Luna mare as he fretted over what had yet to come to light. His claw has been on that knob though. The one belonging to Applejack…

 

“Care enough and you can change even yourself.” Those words haunted him until that day….

 

He wasn't sure what to do, but he knew he was now worried for the mooing mare -- wait.

 

Mooing?

 

He pricked an ear. With his hoof and talon on the ground he leaned close over the unconscious mare. He held his paw and claw out to balance himself asn he precariously leaned. Hold it -- hold it…. AH! “Oh! Oh dear it seems I’ve used the wrong hoofie pajamas. These are the ones i borrowed from Masquerade for the sleepover.” Well darn. “There’s no time!” With her condition and time apart causing the heart to grow fonder he gave a snap and the pair would appear smack dab in the middle of the Ponyville Medical Care Facility. With such a case not even Flim and Flam could get out under the good graces of the ponies with their bamboozling charm. Here was the hardest worker in the town. Its most honest, dependable and perhaps member of the oldest family in Ponyville under what looked to be dire distress of the derelict sorts!

 

He held considerable reservation bringing the fruit loopy mare to such a station, for he was perhaps, in part, cause to her dire state. What would ponies think of him? He hoped they be understanding. One thing he did, also, hope was that the one, rather intense, Nurse was not on duty. She did him a frighten. With the moo-bonked apple farmer in arms: the spirit was quite a sight standing in the middle of the facility. The large, upright, chimeric entity was a formidable force when it came to magic and standing as a challenge to the presently seated princesses. If not for the active Elements of Harmony there was risk he'd fall back to his old ways. Always risks. There was a moment where all traffic came to a halt at his abrupt appearance, but once the residents and workers along became more aware of his ill-defined presence as that of the god of chaos they would resume their usual course. Discord’s expression flattened.

 

“Oh come now I am carrying a half conscious Element of Harmony and you just pass by? I have to say this damages my ego extensively. The repairs will be expensive.” He supposed it was good they had a neutral view toward him, but it was also a strike to his chaotic nature on some level. The Ponyvillians were growing used to his presence. He would have to pull something fantastic for them to start taking notice of him again!

 

So long as he remained in their good graces like this….

 

Discord folded his ears back. Indeed it did look more like he had a cow than an Apple pony. Sighing the chaotic spirit supposed there was only one way to garner the attention of a medical official. Or of an Equestrian in general. Swallowing his pride for Applejack’s sake he exhaled. “....I need help.” And there, suddenly, a doctor right before his eyes! “Really?”

“How can we help you Mister Discord? You seem to be in perfect, chaotic health.” the doctor seemed familiar with the mind boggling noodle, but having to deal with ponies who often had nervous breakdowns because of him or serious baind-aid needing booboos after somepony thought rolling a barrel of pear jam down a hill was funny ended up slipping and sliding right into a tree. Not Discord, of course, but he did get the lecture.

 

“It isn’t me, it’s my friend.” He showed the doctor the ailing Moojack. “She bumped her head and has been acting strange since.

“Oh well, your friend seems to have spots as well.” The nearsighted doctor adjusted his thick spectacles which seemed to reflect the sun with enough magnification to fry and ant colony.

 

“That isn’t her condition.” Discord spat.

 

“Well we only take care of ponies here Mister Discord. I am afraid we can’t take cows.”

 

Discord’s fuse snapped. “SHE’S A P--- oh… you are a card.” Discord sighed realizing the doctor’s game as he checked her pulse.

 

“Ho ho ho ho! No need to worry we’ll take her into the next room. Nurse!” He called before a nurse came to take Applejack to a room to start the examination. First: fluids and making sure she was laid somewhere nice. “Though why is she mooing?” THe doctor questioned.

“Don’t ask. I tried to fix it.” Discord pushed.

 

“You made it worse.” The health official debated, obviously.

 

“Will you fix her?!” Discord demanded.

“We aren’t a vetenari--umph.” Discord threw a giant cottonball in his muzzle to hush him up, though the muffled laughter came in clear and true.

 

For now all Discord could do was sit and watch worriedly as they would examine the mare! Heifer?

[SteelEagle]

The grass was always greener on the other side, or so the saying went. Applejack wasn't sure that she ever really believed the saying but she understood what it meant. Life always seemed better for somepony else from afar, but once you lived it, you saw that there was always something better and that what seemed golden was more often than not gilded. Applejack tried to imagine that somehow this could apply to how she took care of her cows and thought about them, but she realized that it wasn't really the case. They could walk around all day and graze and all she asked from them was milk, which they were more than happy to give. She washed them, fed them, talked with them, and generally treated them pretty darn well. It would be easy to say that their life was golden, but she always knew it was gilded. The smarter cows were smart enough to be Equestrians but they still had the same general limitations as the other cows. They couldn't do much and, for all intents and purposes, their lives were fairly dull. They all seemed to like it that way, and they never seemed ti think that the grass was greener on the pony side.

But as Applejack grazed alongside them in the field she didn't just think the grass was greener on the other side, she knew it was.

Masquerade's costume had been one thing, but for some reason Discord had panicked right after they left and used magic to...enhance the costume. She was a cow now, completely and utterly. The only difference was her udder wasn't all that functional but it looked the part and that was all he seemed to care about. The Docs at the hospital had helped her out with her concussion so she was finally fully aware of what was happening, which made it all the more annoying. She could moo but unlike some of the other cows she couldn't speak Equestrian at all. Her body only vaguely responded to commands. It seemed to roam lazily, grazing as it went. He had told her it was only for a little while when her friends visited so he could save some face or something, but that didn't much help her. He had said some other things, but she was undergoing a transformation and not everything had sunk in completely. Slowly, she was sure, the words would sink in more powerfully.

She wanted to let somepony or somecow know she was Applejack but all she could do was moo, and she looked every bit the part of a normal every day cow in black and white. A little bit on the bigger side too, which made movement all the more tedious. She couldn't tell if that was intentional or not. All she did know was that she was very, very, very angry. A part of her knew that Discord wasn't a bad sort, and that he had tried his best today. This was just the result of his excessive worrying. Things could, perhaps should, have been better but if she didn't hold this against him then on the grand account of the day he would come out quite good. But she was gonna hold this against him. She didn't want to be a cow. The grass was greener on the other side and she was stuck watching it. She had many conflicting emotions regarding Discord today. Being a cow may have allowed her to think about them more in depth since she wasn't able to do anything else, but it as still annoying to go through.

“Mooooo.”

[RexDraco]

Green grass, blue Grass: Discord has seen it all sorts of shades. The sayings ponies made up with color, nature and emotions was truly fascinating. Poetic in its own sort of way. Though this had to be a case of poetic justice in his case. Rarely would a prank drift so awry that it would catch him adrift in the crosshairs! Rare, but not unheard of. There were times where, for the spirit of the game he would relinquish full control of the surrounding switches for a smoother run he could ride. While his intentions were just to create a comedic, visual effect it seems Masquerade's outfits surpassed expectations and because cause for a miscalculation that cost Applejack her ponyhood! He couldn't account for it and he couldn't stop it! It was one of those things that either ended in it's own time or… gulp, remained a permanent fixture to remind Discord of his failure. Ugh! He shouldn't have cast that, but how could he have known?! Pony physiology was so unknown to him!

 

The spirit wasn't willing to lose, especially not to himself. He was also unwilling to let those nightmares be right. For his friends to be hurt in any way would do not only him a disservice, but Fluttershy as well. She had put her reputation on the line for him. Whether or not she knows that she had done such a thing: Discord would feel a sense of … shame were he to let her down, to hurt his friends. It was a rather stressful situation for a Sprite who had only recently become aware if the care he held for them. Despite the air he put on it was clear he hung himself with the bit of rope he has pulled out for his visual gag. It was..

 

“....only meant to make you more comfortable!” He declared.

 

Discord has decided on a whim to put her to field, make her a bit more comfortable in her rather unique situation. He asked the cows to hide her for now so that if the Princess of Friendship caught wind of the Apple’s absence she wouldn't have an aneurysm! It wouldn't do. He as determined to resolve his actions with his magic, even if it had betrayed him! He sat perched upon the back on one of the cows. A pair of overalls twas what all covered his lower half and a flannel shirt atop. While he sat pondering his dilemma it seemed even the cows were rather curious of their new, milkless compatriot. The mare wasn't built for such a thing so a collective sense of pity was felt.

 

“No I've tried that.” He said, snapping his claw, only for a sputtering spark to manifest. “I cannot dispel it because the game isn't over.” But he wasn't sure what rules had been set to find a clear stage. “What if we try -- no no the last time I tried that the pony was turned into a flea and I lost them for about a week…” all of this was quite distressing!

 

He looked at Applemoo and sighed. He was sorry! It was only meant to be a friendly game of puck stick. But wait! Perhaps he could fix this. If it was a game and for Moojack's sake perhaps all he had to do was get her fun, or admit to it at the very least. Though for some reason she couldn't speak! Perhaps a chortle, a chuckle? The spell has to be broken soon. There was only so long he could keep the mare to himself.

 

“I'll fix this Applejack. I meant no hard feelings. Just relax here, I'm going to fix this!” But how was the question. Sometimes his spells were too complicated, even for him! There was a difference between casting with intent and intentionally casting.

[SteelEagle]

 

Applejack stared with dark, beady eyes at Discord, more than a perplexed as to why he couldn't just reverse the spell. This was one of the many reasons why ponies were so worried about him. Even when his intentions weren't stained with impurity or cruelty he could cause a tremendous amount of trouble, his very form oozing trouble from the many pores of magic that acted as rivulets in his aether. The game they had been playing was fun, fair, and simple; it was a simple accident that had brought her low, and then a series of unfortunate decisions and timing which brought her even lower. None of this was by his own cloven hoof. Applejack knew this, and she appreciated in many ways the intent of the day. He hadn't been trying to be a troublemaker of the most vexing sort, nor even all that egregious a friend. He simply had been trying to have fun with her. And, for her money, it had been a fine enough day.

Until it hadn't been anymore and she had a hard time trying to out it all down positively as she grazed lazily in the grass. She wasn't a magic mare, but she was pretty dang sure there were more than a few transformation spells and just as many ones used to reverse the transformations. And that was just the sort of stuff Twilight had access to. If he was gonna claim that he couldn't reverse it then he was either lying- something she didn't really think he was doing considering what had happened- or he was really unsure at the moment. Caught up in fake rules for fake games that weren't even being played anymore, as if they mattered in the least now! It was extremely, outrageously frustrating to hear him speak the way he was. All she wanted to do was to have him just remove this stupid spell.

Too bad she couldn't tell him any of this! How did he think that was gonna happen? She couldn't speak! She couldn't even really get her body to follow commands. Her big ol' heefer frame was in need of milking and apparently every blade of grass in the world. She could moo, that was it. And even that wasn't all that effective a method of, you know, actual communication. Hard to tell the difference between moos. She had always relied on her other cows to help her understand the others, but that was more of an instinctual thing- it wasn't like cows could talk to one another with moos, as exciting a possibility as that was. No, she was simply stuck for now while Discord tried to fix this. She ate some more grass. It tasted good, she guessed. A bit of relaxation didn't hurt.

“Moooo”

[RexDraco]

It would come to be that it only took an Apple a day to keep Chaos away because in all the time he has been spending with Applejack he had not been around town causing well -- his usual tomfoolery amongst the citizen of Ponyville. Not to say his foalish antics and terribly timed puns did to entirely disrupt the day by day errands that encompassed what was an average day, but it was one way to spice up a visit to the fruit vendor, considering he was somehow shacked up across from the salsa vendor whom he held a rivalry with. It was small, obscuring occurrences that undid the humdrum and it was the enthusiastic banter and play that made the semi-god a semi permanent fixture in town. Something about tomatoes being vegetables did always create intriguing dialogue. His presence, or lack thereof, did to raise questions. What was he up to that he is wasn't cajoling amongst the townsfolk?

 

The chaotic spirit deflated amidst his pomp be splendor. “Oh you don't seem to be having fun anymore.” He lamented as he crouched down to face the mare. “I rightly cannot confirm what went awry with my spell.” But he wouldn't know.

 

He couldn't fathom his worry for the mare had done to disrupt his own magic. So the spell he was trying to undo wasn't the spell he cast for, as the spell he though he used was simpler to dispel than the one he had cast. Simply put he was using the wrong magic. Worry was a new concept for the spirit. Caring and worry were not things a spirit of chaos ever had need for. In all of his presumed infallibility he was, with certainty, quite discordant in his ways this paradoxically fallible. He could make mistakes and to err was to grow. So in his errors he grew that much more understanding of a pony's way.

 

In a flash he would settle on Cowjack’s back with his hindlegs crossed as they were daintily trapped in a tight skirt. With a blouse, an overly noir mane-do the spirit pushed up his large bifocals and began to scrub a letter. Looking akin to an old fashioned secretary the stallion, of sorts, quilled his message and made sure to cross and do all the necessary characters. He would clear his throat and hold out the letter.

 

“Alright what do you think of this?” He would dictate the letter to the grazing moo-mare.

 

Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship: it has come to our attention that a certain spell cast in order to aide one Miss Applejack, who had fallen a bit under the weather, has gone awry and we will be requiring your assistance in order to compel the powers that be to release Miss Applejack from its compulsory hold. Though a warning: tampering with the powers that be is tricky business. Do bring backup.

 

Yours Truly,

Discord P. Sullivan

 

He looked down to her, the costume having vanished. “Too formal? Oh it’ll be fine!” He would roll up the parchment and tie it off with a lovely green ribbon.

 

Holding up his paw a glass bottle appeared in his grip. The parchment would be slipped into the glass than corked. The spirit pulled a wooden bucket of water behind his back. Wiggling his white brows he tossed the bottle into the bucket. After a moment the bucket flushed, the noise quote obvious. Like a magician showing off his skill he turned the bucket upside-down to show nothing was there.

“There is no faster way to receive a letter than sending a message in a bottle!” He'd hope she'd get it post haste for this was a magical emergency! "Alright since you're stuck this way…” he put on a straw hat and sat down on a stool, holding up a metal bucket. “I'll help with the rest of chores!” In his own chaotic way...

[SteelEagle]

 

 

Applejack looked up at the draconthingy with as much chagrin a cow could muster. With one long, vexed cry she let out all of her passionate rage at the state she was in as he made sure to send the letter in the most silly way possible.

“Mooooooooooooo....”

***

Twilight was having an excellent session today. She had just received a copy of the Saddle Arabian text, “The Ten Sultans of Ten Questions”, an important and ancient philosophical tome. Saddle Arabian philosophy was always so interesting to the Equestrian mind. It was centered along a more conservative mindset in problem solving intermixed with a more progressive scientific culture- not that Equestria lacked that, rather, Saddle Arabians took more risks after taking longer to come up with the solution. Ponderous in thought but swift in deed, such philosophy permeated their whole society. That was why it was both greatly advanced and very efficient at the same time. Such a combination was truly rare. Equestria was a more liberally minded, faster-deciding culture at its core, but often only ever took small, safe scientific steps.

Boldness did not come naturally to Equestrian philosophy. Agrarian and humble in nature while the Sultanate Solutions seemed to sprung forth from an urbanized and ambitious culture. There was a duality in play but also contradiction. As covered in the text: It seems unusual that the Saddle Arabians would adopt conservative thought and high-action deeds together while also being urbanized and ambitious. Conservative thought tended to favor slower-action and disfavored cosmopolitan thought and ambitions- at least outside of Saddle Arabia. But as the text covered, therein lies the strength of their culture. And should somepony from Equestria understand the Ten Sultans and their Ten Answers to the Ten Questions, all of which led to the One Answer Above All, they would understand the central conflict of life.

And that was chaos versus order.
Chaos is best represented by urban thought in the most mainstream of views, but some Sultans postulated that this is incorrect. Urban thought demands action, but it has little space, little movement, and a great deal of expense for little gain if not thought out. Chaos thrived on the surface, but perished down below. Chaos, they argued, was best fostered in the agrarian nature of life, where space allowed the natural order to be upended by the sheer imbalance that could exist. Chaos may seem the way of action, but it is often the domain of the small step. No order meant no progress, with Chaos unchecked devouring itself and resulting in a cycle.

Order demanded conservative thought, for considerations needed to be set aside for potential outcomes. Yet once a conclusion is reached, it allows for decisive action free of doubt or randomness. Action could be taken in the extreme. Yet if Order is left without a balancing force, it can stagnate- Order without reason can defeat itself and turn evil. Urban thought demands an order to things, while ambitions rely on a sense of scale that Chaos is unable to provide. Without challenge, Order was meaningless.

Without Chaos, Order meant nothing. Without Order, Chaos lacks life. The One Answer Above All is that Saddle Arabia demanded Chaos to challenge Order, for its conservative thought processes to boil against the tide of Chaos, for Chaos to foster change that Order can improve upon. The contradictions in Saddle Arabian thought weren't contadictions of culture, they were the constructs of a society that sought to constantly improve itself by leveraging the greatest and longest battle of all for itself.

And the message for an Equestrian was that the potential for Chaos within Harmony was there and was not simply allowable, but perhaps should even be encouraged, as long as its effects could be Ordered. Your flaws weren't mistakes, they were definable traits that if leveraged well could help you. For some this would be learning to live with it and love oneself anyway. For others, their flaws could be fights to be fought, habits to attempt to change. The attempted imposition of order was more important than the success. Whatever it was, becoming your best self didn't require perfection, flawlessness, a sense that you had done everthing possible to be your best self.

It required a little Chaos, inside and out.

As she thought that, the bottle hit her in the head and made her drop her book into the bath.

******

Twilight Sparkle, still wet, zapped into existence just a few feet from Discord with a scowl, a rubber ducky on her ear, and a drenched book sticking to her back.

“Discord, what. HAPPENED?!”

[RexDraco]

“What a shame Miss Apple.” He tossed the empty bucket and changed out of his outfit with a snap.

 

He floated over the moomare as he pondered the Friendship mare’s lateness. With a sigh he waved off AJ’s temper. “Oh don't become cross with me. I've done my best to make you comfortable. It isn't my fault you couldn't produce a lasting --” with a squish and plat it seems Twilight appeared in all her so glory!

 

The spirit puffed up, his head fur and back feathers bristling out. Clenching his fore paw and claw before tucking to his chest he leaned his head forward. Those long ears pinned back as he had a rather nervous grin. She appeared sooner than he expected. Completely when she was, precisely, not meant to be! It ruined his joke!

 

Turning his head slightly, waving his paw gingerly as if to beckon her over to oversee the minor disaster. “Well, darling, if I knew I wouldn't have phoned you.” He determined with a certainty. “Undoing spells I've done that aren't coming undid isn't an issue I frequently come across. In fact, never.” He assured this was a first time and that it was wholly accidental.

 

To be quite fair it was a rather simple transformation spell that was being interfered with by Masquerade's outfit. Of why Discord was borrowing that should everypony’s question at hoof. He was looking at the problem all wrong, because when looking at a problem he was not given to try and solve it like a pony would. He would simply cease it to be or make it anew, not undo or take something apart. It was all quite contrary for him to fix a problem he had made to be temporary, or he thought he made it one way and not the other.

“She'll be fine, right?” He did seem concerned, despite his tomfoolery.

[SteelEagle]

 

Twilight's jaw nearly fell off when she saw what had happened. She didn't know how or why, but Applejack was now a cow. The events that lead to this were so obtuse that even if explained, she would have had trouble following. Suffice it is to say that chaos is as chaos does. Of course she knew something had to have happened, because Discord wasn't one to ask for help. Normally he would let his pranks and jokes play long past the point of common hilarity and deep into the discordant fields of discomfort and unhappiness. Receiving a plea for aid could only mean that trouble had found its way past his blind spots and drowned him in events beyond his control. And seeing what had transpired, Twilight could only be thankful that something more deadly wasn't happening in front of her. With how chaos functioned, this was actually on the better end.

Her horn lit up as she inspected the increasingly frustrated cow.
“Some sort of transformation spell- active aether? No, not active. Aetheric currents aren't flowing counter-intuitively. Reactive perhaps? No, not that either. Clockwise motions aren't reactive. The aura is unharmed as well, ruling out hexes or curses. Hmm...seems to be two different sets of influencers on the transformation. One static, one not- expansive internal aetheric flow, stagnated change otherwise. Rules out several vectors of-”

“Mooooooo!”

“-possible change. Internal aetheric flow indicates...yes, a more blatantly obvious transformation spell. Poorly constructed, many cracks, but not uncommon. Panicked work, Discord? Powerful all the same. Recent. After the other influencer was in play. Two-stage working or something else? Couldn't be two stage. Static magic lacks the same flow, this spell is attached haphazardly. Hmm...that can't be good. Are you in any pain, Applejack?”

“Moooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo”

“I see. Okay, so the first influencer is static, and came first. Let me see...familiar readings. Not a spell, an item, full body. Costume. Masquerade, it seems. Slightly different though. Chaos-influenced? Hmm. Directly enchanted? Unlikely. Hmm...the connecting point is a little weaker. Accidental influencing by chaos magic, leading to slow changes. Panicked, additional spell work to complete the change for...some reason. What reason would that b-”

“MOOOOO!”

“-Just a second, Applejack. What reason would that be, I wonder? Hmm. Discord is usually near flawless. Panic casting. Costume is not dangerous, so why the additional spell? A practice joke? Unlikely, he would know his way out of a joke. Not unintentional because it is too well crafted, even if flawed,” she sighed and turned to Discord.

“So I am guessing something happened before the costume was placed on her. Scared we might get angry, you committed a series of actions that led us...” she waved towards her cow-friend. “here. You didn't know how to undo it, so you asked for my help while not telling me what happened because you are, again, scared. So I am going to ask you to give me a detailed explanation as to how we ended up here, because if I miss something while undoing this, the consequences could be severe.”

[RexDraco]

Leave it to Twilight to overanalyze a situation. He could do naught but sit there and blink as she went on. At one point he slid a visor cap atop his head and would manifest a pinstripe vest over a blouse with suspender trousers to sit on a stool in front of a stenotype machine trying to keep on with the mare. He typed away on the keys, causing the diction machine to click and shuffle, trails of paper being spat out. His features shrunk in focus as he tried keeping up. The mood were even written in. It didn't take long for the machine to overload from the strain of keeping up with the Alicorn mare and kerpop! Keys and gears ruptured from the device and clattered about.

When Twilight looked to him with question he would be all but completely engulfed into paper, mummified betwixt the notations. He adjusted the bifocals on his nose and pushed the visor up. "I'm sorry judge, I couldn't quite keep up to all that."

In a flash the equipment and paper was gone, leaving the draconequus floating over the grass. His brows furrowed as his ears folded back. He didn't much care for the accusations of being fallible, despite, very clearly, having made a mistake. He was really incorrigible when it came to admitting such things. He was yet capable of being honest with himself about needing others, let alone the worry he fostered since the Tirek incident. More than anything he wanted ponies too like him, particularly those he was already close to, but to err was to fail… If he was not perfect and amazing how could they respect him? Who would admire a creature as powerful as he, which made mistakes?

Nopony forgot a mistake. That was the nature of things. While there was one who would ensure he was no mere force of nature and that he could care… there was still a wary trepidation. He pressed his paw to his chest and folded his ears back. His eyes cast to the ground as he turned his head from the princess of Friendship. Consequences could be severe, huh? He looked to Applejack, quite aware of how irate she was in her current state hood. He clenched his paw, letting his claw brush over it. It was with these he caused the problem.

The problem? "Well, we were playing a game and she bumped her head. How was I to know that ponies were so fragile?' but he knew. He knew they weren't as durable as he pretended. "She laid down and I tried making her comfortable…" but nothing he did worked. His ears folded down. "...I don't know. I tried fixing it." And Chaos was chaos. He, inherently, was just unable to fix anything.

He could change it. Alter it, make it new, rebuild it, unbuild it but to create something exactly as it was after it's fallen apart was far against anything he has learned. Quite simply Discord could not fix things. Entropy was all he knew. To break down and build back from scratch. The costume, more than likely, interfered with such a spell! And in such a state of worry he simply did not consider it!

[SteelEagle]

 

Discord could be awfully silly for a God. Not that she would have any real ways to compare him, but it seemed as though most gods would be a bit more stable. Well. A God of Chaos was perhaps entirely different in that regard. Watching him 'struggle' with following her, complete with backed up papers and typewriting, was pretty funny. She did smile, but only because she knew she could help her friend. Had he messed up egregiously, there would be no laughter, only anger. “Well, if you have trouble keeping up there are always some remedial magic courses you can take with the foals I teach on the weekend,” she shot back evenly, though with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. Applejack moo'd, and was very unhappy with this entire thing. Twilight turned to her friend. “Well, it could have been much worse, Discord. We all make mistakes; it is what makes us relatable. Luckily, this shouldn't be beyond me.”

 

Twilight took a deep breath. She had to work two different spells at once and needed to keep focused on the job. "I'm going to try something. It is difficult, and I need to concentrate. Applejack- this may hurt a little," she said softly. Then her horn lit up and her eyes went white. Twilight started to hover in mid-air and went to work, the swirling energies dramatic for their silence. The first spell was harder, as it had to breach the barrier of the costume. The work was sloppy though; enough holes and barriers for her to pierce, and the change itself was recent enough that reconnecting Applejack's shattered aura wasn't on its own tremendously difficult. No, the real problem was that the costume was still in the way, but had to remain so, because of the way the two magical impacts on Applejack were working in discordant concert. Bit by bit she did her part, slowly stitching Applejack back together. Slowly was a matter of contention of course; in real time, this was blinding fast.

 

As she did that, she worked another spell to separate the costume from Applejack. Normally this required no effort, but the panic casting of magic had created an unlikely seal and sticking effect. As Applejack was being reformed under it, so did it need to be removed for the sake of the mare. She slowly undid Masquerade's magic and then started to unravel the costume itself. Combined with the other spell, it fell off and then started to disappear thread by thread. Soon it was all gone, only a small trail of sickly magic dancing around the mare. Twilight cleaned up the aetheric exchange involved in order to ensure that the spell wouldn't backfire and soon even this last vestige of residue was gone. Combined with the other spell, and soon the cowified Applejack reappeared in a flash of light. Her horn continued to be lit as she scrubbed the last of the non-pony aether from her aura, but Applejack was soon down on the ground, unlit and knocked out. Twilight took a heavy breath as she fell back down to the ground, horn and eyes normal and no longer aflame.

 

“Wheew...well, she should be fine. Just needs a good rest.”

[RexDraco]

It seemed he and the mare we're looking at the problem differently if she couldn't see how much worse it already was. “I don't see how much worse it could be. I find losing your original form to be quite an inconveniencing punishment.” he protested the thought.

 

Perish such an idea, really. He didn't know how ponies could even fathom using Masquerade's outfits for extended periods of time. Being something other than yourself?! But when you were an egotistical god of chaos one tended to believe you were the most fabulous thing on Equus… such thoughts tended to be offensive. He had … messed up. Her mention of remedial courses was, obviously given no attention.

 

But perhaps she was right. He had trouble with these nuances that existed in pony magic. To be specific limitations. In everything they did, he had noticed, they had a habit of limiting themselves. At first he thought they were simply too primitive. But spending more time with them he has come to realize they were more advanced than their cute, little bodies could handle. After all corruption was something That worried Celestia often. A pony too powerful, too greedy… They could harm themselves or those around them. Ponies, despite the rare few naughty equine: many more stood to be disgustingly selfless. It was a trait a majority of them had and, despite any differences, they would manage to get along and benefit from one another. Become prosperous even. The spirit could not fault them for this.

 

He has found it all the more beneficial to his sense of -- well it was beneficial and they needn't know how and why. But that was what made this error all the more vexing. All the more despairing. It had become what he could only see as an inevitability.

 

“Relatable?” He repeated. “You mean dangerous.” The spirit corrected.

 

There was a moment of silence as he watched her undo the entire process. While it took mere seconds… he could do nothing. All this power and yet he has nearly cast a nigh irreversible spell. He could see the strands of magic unknot whilst the twisted coils unfurled. It was like watching Applejack be pulled from a cocoon, reborn anew as a shiny dragon butterfly. He sighed, ears folding back as he looked at the apple mare.

“What if none of you will be fine? What if I just keep causing trouble and -- she may have been gone forever.” Why we're ponies so fragile and why… did he have to care? “I had a nightmare like this where each of you … well you didn't come out so well after playing a game with me.” He left the tale rather vague, but it was clear it bothered him. Raising a paw he would brush it gently against Applejack's mane, pushing the loose strands from her face.

[SteelEagle]

 

Rare to see him defensive and vulnerable. To someone like him, this was a terrible event not only because he had harmed a friend, but because he had been less than perfect in his ability to control a situation. For all of his chaotic tendencies, for all of his powers and centering on chaotic impulses, few beings tried to exhibit such stark and dangerous levels of control over their environment as he. To fail to do so, especially when he wasn't trying to cause harm, in a situation where harm befell a friend must have seemed to him a gaping wound in his pride. It would be hard for him to understand that mistakes didn't reveal weakness, they revealed strength: the strength of character to make amends, move on, and become better for having made them.

 

"Discord, it could be much, much worse. Physical changes are almost always easy to revert. Mental ones, not so much. Judging by the nature of the spell, this will pass and it will be well. And you know with your power you could have made it much, much, MUCH worse. You made a mistake, but you didn't make one that couldn't be undone," she said, trying to be pleasant with him while not bragging too much about her ability to undo the spell. It was hard work, but for a God, the idea that anything could work against him was likely a bit humbling. She had been humbled herself and she wasn't a Goddess and that could rankle her in some ways. Celestia knows how much more of his pride was shattered by the ease with which she was able to undo his work.

His vulnerability was further expanded upon quickly. He was powerful enough that such worries and concerns weren't null things after all. In his newer, better state he was not liable to ever do those things on purpose, but as his dreams revealed, he worried about the unintentional consequences of his actions. Twilight approached, ears down. “Discord,” she started simply, reaching up to touch his face gently with her hoof, “when you are powerful, it is only natural to worry about your friends. But we don't expect perfection out of anyone- Celestia, myself, you- only their best efforts. And you have been doing so well, trying so hard- an incident like this won't change how I view you. It won't change how anyone views you,” she took a deep breath. She walked a few foot and observed the dying sun.

“To err is to be pony, after all. Without mistakes, there is no growth- as living creatures, as friends, as families,” she turned back around. “Use this mistake to grow yourself and your friendships, and look at this as a positive experience. Turning a negative into a positive- that is an admirable Equestrian trait, and one I hope you can benefit from,” She finished, patting him compassionately.

 

[RexDraco]

 

 

Despite his entropic touch on a pony's perception Discord had, indeed, what could be viewed as absolute control of the world around him. It was what made him quite dangerous, in fact. It was like giving a foal a can of whipped cream and not expecting a mess after the fact. It didn't take much strength to push that nozzle, yet it took a great deal of self control to move one's hoof off that nozzle. Discord certainly lacked the impulse control to stop much of his hijinks and yet he did very little to damage the fabric of reality in the process. Anything and everything he does he can undo in an instant. Being unable to -- incapable of moving his hoof off the nozzle, despite his desire to, twisted a fear deep down inside him that made him believe he had lost his own self control. It was one thing to be locked up in stone in due part to one's ego, but another entirely would he had encased himself accidentally. There was a clear and stark contrast between committing the folly and being part of the folly which, of the latter, he typically was.

 

He looked to Twilight, his grey brows furrowed and ears pinned back as he groused at her lecture. It was allllways a lecture with her. Sure it could have been worse but he needn't be reminded! He snorted and turned his head away from her, stewing in the possible inadequacies that he faced. He turned his head back toward her when she called his name. The way she had spoke it was -- odd, almost pitying. When. Her hoof touched to his face the chaotic snake floofed up, ears pricking forward in surprise. Natural… huh? He glanced away and sighed.

 

“You sound, annoyingly, like Luna… but even more so you sound obnoxiously like Celestia… and for that I shall not submit to your Creed, despite you being right.” He sat up proudly. “I won't give dun butt that satisfaction.” He knew she was watching somewhere… always nosing around his business. Feeling the pat he looked to her and raised a claw to boop her muzzle. “But I'll try.” He offered. “You're becoming mature in your old age little princess.” He teased. “I don't like it.” Ahhh but no malice was in his tone, just that teasing curl always present in his voice.

 

He motioned his paw, shooing the princess. Leave it to Discord to treat a princess like any other pony. Their authoritarian positions meant next to nothing to a spirit who lived in the present. He sat and would continue to pet Applejack just waiting for her to wake up. Maybe, by that time, he'd be able to apologize for the game going too far.

[SteelEagle]

 

 

What he intended as an insult she would take as a compliment. A spirit of chaos such as himself could barely imagine the need for caution or advice, as his seemingly infinite power was limited by his imagination alone. It would be hard for anypony to really want to accept that their mistakes were learning experiences and not incidents of great shame if they had that sort of power. Hence, no, Twilight was not going to really respond negatively to his comparisons. To be as caring as Celestia, as forthright as Luna? These were qualities she aspired to have, not things she felt ashamed. Not that he meant it as a direct insult, of course, especially based on his behavior that followed. She giggled at his booping. “Well, sorry to disappoint you, Discord,” she replied with mirth. She looked once more at Applejack. All things should be okay for her now, if not good. There wouldn't be any long term damage done but if they weren't careful, she could wake up awfully angry. And she didn't like to see Applejack awfully angry. She was awful at it, really.

Discord was petting her, waiting for her to wake up. It was rare to see his more caring, considerate side outside of his friendship with Fluttershy and she wasn't going to interrupt it. Still, Applejack shouldn't be out in the fields. It looked very strange and it would invite some very uncomfortable memories back very quickly during her emotional healing process. “Before long we should move her back inside to rest. Better to be in bed and inside than outside for now,” she stated plainly. She was sure Discord, now properly wanting to take care of Applejack, would make sure she was made more comfortable soon. All things said and for all jocular attitudes they could share, she really did wish for him to learn from this. If nothing else it would turn a day of failed fun into a mirthful lesson in the vagueries of friendship, and that was always worth the price of admission. For Twilight, she had done as much as she could. This was now Discord's tale, one way or another, and she didn't want to interfere any further. Now that she was sure Applejack was in good...claws...hooves...tails?...she decided that now was as good a time as any to make her exit.

“Well, I think you've got this in hoof. I've got a date that was interrupted. It involves a bat, a book, and chaos theory, all of which are very intriguing. Have a good day, Discord- don't cause too much trouble,” she said with a wink before zapping away in a flash, the only evidence of her meeting the light after-effects of aether that sprinkled down. With her gone, the only sound was the mooing of cows, the fitful rest and snoring of Applejack, and the sound of silence from the ominous Everfree just a couple dozen paces away.

[RexDraco]

 

Jests aside it was truly peculiar to see the young mare reaching such a point so soon. He could admit it was interesting, even unexpected. Her growth since their initial meeting was far from accidentally. Not just hers but Fluttershy, Dash, Applejack and the others. Be it at the interference of their mentors or their absolute trust and care for one another it has seemed that their camaraderie, love, and tolerance and certainly created a place of optimal growth. Even he could not deny the growth he has faced living among ponies despite living lifetimes quintupling their own. A curious race. More love and tolerance than anything else. He has found it rather humbling, though he is remiss to admit such.

 

Chaos theory huh? “Well, try not to buy into the gimmick. Chaos isn't at all black and white, nor is it grey. It's a kaleidoscope of colors, constantly transitioning…” Perhaps a confession.

 

When the mare went on her merry way the spirit was still an apple short of a pie. He supposed he should move her as Twilight suggested. With a snap of his paw digits the draconequus would pop them out of existence with a snap, only to appear back inside the Apple Homestead. The overly flexible snake of madness had the mare cradled in his larger limb: the soft and cuddly lion’s arm. He would set her down on her bedding. He fluffed the pillow until it exploded into a mass of feathers that seemed to exceed the actual capacity of the pillow. He snapped once more and manifested a white vase with a single flower in its mouth: a Poison Joke. He dropped down beside the Apple and curled his form around her like a housecat would their favorite toy. With his forelimbs crossed over one another the spirit would sit proudly, despite his shortcomings that day. Glancing around he would look down to the mare in question and raise his paw. Carefully he would allow the right paw to rest upon her hat-covered head before brushing the topper aside to brush the padded palm through her mane in soothing motions. Well it turned out -- not as bad as he thought it could be.

 

So Twi was a little correct. He would fold his ears back and sigh, grumbling to himself as he cocked his head. “Sorry…” He spat his forked tongue out at the distaste which came with the words he was quite unused to. “Next time we’ll play something a bit safer, suited to you. Though that doesn’t mean it will be an easy game!” What fun was that?

[SteelEagle]

 

Applejack's rest was fitful but good. Chaotic magic when used unintentionally had a nasty habit of moving across the mind, pillaging sedentary thoughts and allowing gaps to appear. Unbidden nightmares and malicious thoughts filled in the gaps, notes of despair playing melancholy songs in a distracted and terrified mind. Luckily Twilight had done what she had done and such things were flushed out. The rest allowed the shattered thoughts to return and find their comfortable country homes in the mare who persisted on hopes and dreams of family and friends, hearth and home. She wasn't somepony who would normally give a lot of thought to such matters but she was more than a little happy, even if she didn't know it just yet, to be whole and back again. The mind wandered and returned and found the holes and damages done to it being repaired with the kindness of unfamiliar sources comforting it.

Applejack moved a lot during her sleep. Constantly shifting, always mumbling. Her dreams were not nightmares and her nightmares weren't dreams but, like a slow, sad jazz song played with a haunting melody she couldn't call herself comfortable. Once or twice she was on the verge of coming out of it but she went right back down hard and deep into the realm of sleep and dreams. Discord's snakelike, cat-like movements made her feel warm and cozy- let nopony say that Discord didn't make an amazing pillow and blanket all in one. The rest of the Apples didn't come in, didn't even investigate- whether they were on the farm or were off doing business, nopony knew. Maybe they were there and saw everything and decided the better art of valor in this scenario was to hang back and observe in the ways only a loving family could when they knew that they were beyond the stage where simple familial love could help.

Slowly after a time her eyes flitted open, and Applejack slowly took in what was happening around her. Her head felt like it was split in twain by a hammer and her muscles felt loose and pulled apart, as if she had been doing some rather extreme exercise sans a break to calm her frazzled nerves. Her breath came in fast and momentarily panicked, a strange feeling of shattered unease only slowly being whisked away. It took a moment to realize what was going on outside of her own form, which confused her for a moment or six. When she was finally aware, she shot Discord a look. It may come across initially as angry, unhappy, or even something more. But she held it long enough for it to be clearly seen that it was a look of stark concerned confusion washing over her beatific features. “W...what happened?”

[RexDraco]

Perhaps there was one thing the bookhorse was right about, that Discord allowed himself to admit: he was powerful. Sometimes he could forget himself, despite his best efforts. Perhaps there was something else he had to admit to himself as well… practice makes perfect. With his powers only just recharging there were going to be a few quirks here and there. Well, no matter. As long as Applejack was safe he supposed that was all that mattered. As a spirit of chaos he was not the sort to simply ‘fix’ things. If nothing else he was quite good at changing them. Maybe there were things, he wondered as he lay there, need not be changed or altered to be enjoyed. He did fancy a glass of chocolate milk from time to time. Sometimes he fancied the glass! It was quite rude to disregard the fundamental process of his own chaotic redemption and that was he was trying to help the ponies without interfering too, too much.

 

Reaching his paw up the draconequus brushed his curled beard, ears folding back as a sigh would finally escape his chest. It was at that moment the mare snugged up against his feathers and fur stilled for a moment as the fitful, restless sleep escaped her. She had struggled, as any would, against the silence to follow such a chaotic existence. To dream nightmares of chaos was not reasonable by any stretch for an ordinary creature. As it were any extended period exposed to pure chaos affected the common mind of a pony. It was why when others visited him he confined them to the walls of his mad, little abode. He lowered his paw to rest beside his claw as the mare roused from her deep slumber, questioning the turn of events.

 

“Oh, good morning sleepy-head!” He seemed to flash into action!

 

Vanishing the spirit reappeared with a mug of coffee tucked in his paw and claw, steam raising from the porcelain cup! A purple scarf manifested, floating to settle around the Apple and tie itself nice and snug, attempting to cover her muzzle and smother any protests. “Now I’ve made a lovely breakfast consisting of scrambled eggs, roasted beans and a helping of applesauce for the hungry mare!” The mug would push into her hooves as his magic moved to try and settle her up on a chair: the table pushing up with the morning meal appearing along with a basket of muffin, a bagel with cream cheese and a cup of fruit juice. “You’ve slept through the whole afternoon!” Mind you he was treating it like she slept a whole day and one could have almost considered such if he had not spoken up.

 

He was attempting to dress the situation in humor. He had nearly change Applejack, irreparably. He was saved by the scales of his tail by Twilight’s quick, obnoxiously detailed, judgements. His behavior was clear that things had gone wrong and the attempt to collect the good of the earlier day was a desperate grab for redemption to his serious, magical goof. He floated at the other end of the table with his paw and claw clasped together, the noodle grinning. He blinked as a light bulb appeared overhead. The head of a mailbox formed beside him. The large, fur covered lion’s limb reached into the snapped open flap of the metal container and would retreat with what looked to be a newspaper.

 

“The Sunday Post to read with your breakfast!” It was Tuesday.

 

Right? Well, no matter. He sure was acting strange.

 

“I do hope you enjoyed the game! You were so tired after!” Hoping to the Stars the mare could not recall her near-moo experience!

 

[SteelEagle]

Applejack wasn't a dolt. She was confused as all get out, but she wasn't so easily fooled and misled. Took more than the admittedly massive misdirection he was shoveling in her face for her to be turned away from an obvious sign that something was ahoof. Not that it wasn't an exciting possibility to invest in, even momentarily. The scarf was silky sweet and smothered the burgeoning protests. The mug was warm and inviting and the chair under her moved forcefully enough to end her abortive attempts at standing straight. The rush of movement made her feel momentarily ill, but it came to pass and go in blinks of bleary, bloodshot eyes which had little to focus on except the most current predicaments.

He was acting beyond strange, even for him. To lavish her with this much attention was...rather absurd. He was chaos incarnate, chaos without pause or thought much of the time, and was treating her with all the attention to detail and care of an over-caffeinated domestic worker. Normally he wouldn't waste his time on such mundane activities. He was so insistent on the how and why of the situation that it threw everything into doubt. Could she trust him? Maybe if he was being normal she could believe him, sure. But he was being very odd. And she wasn't the sort who would sleep the day away and he wasn't the type to allow it to happen either. And she couldn't remember being so tired after playing a game that she would fall over, dead tired, and just sleep all confused like. She didn't remember any of it.

Didn't mean she wouldn't eat and drink what was being offered, that was just impolite. She slowly started to consume what he had placed in front of her, but her face took on a more inquisitorial form as she looked around. “Well Discord, Ah appreciate yer tryin' an' such, but Ah don't believe a word of what ya just said for a second. Y'all know you wouldn't allow me ta sleep tha day away if ya wanted ta play and come to think of it, neither would I. So, while Ah eat this delicious meal-” hey, she wasn't a liar! “-how about you get a little bit more honest with me,” she said slowly, surely, evenly, and calmly. She was gonna be nice about this, but was very worried.

[RexDraco]

It seems the spirit's ploy was seen right though. But it was hardly in him to lie. Perverse reality, alter it to his liking, but lying wasn't something that suited a god of chaos. After all.what need did he have to lie? If there was something he wished to be he so willed it and it was. At least that was the easiest way to explain his peculiar ability and propensity to just magic that which he needed into existence. Working for things came foreign to him. It was why the game of Ogres and Oubliettes seemed to fascinate him so. It was a rule one had to work through and leave all to chance and the will of the world's gamemaster. There Discord had little to no control over how things turned out and it was -- intriguing. To think even in their leisure ponies were able to leave things up to chance!

 

His ears would pin back as he pressed the tips of his paw and claw’s digits together like a foal caught with their hooves in the cookie jar indeed. He floated off the ground, hind legs tucked close in guilt and tail curled around his hind quarters. He seemed a pitiable beast sometimes. It was difficult to imagine just how Discord managed amongst the ponies. With such powerful magic and bad habits one could do little to relate in how he struggled to keep it all at a reasonable level. It was not as if he wasn't learning though! Mistakes were proof enough of his attempts at learning new skills. Had he his way he would simply change things to his liking.

 

Though in this case…

 

“Well… “ oh how did he go about explaining such a thing?! “You didn't seem all too peppy after our game and well putting you to rest was no simple task. I mean sleep, who does that?” He dismissed. “One thing led to another and instead of removing your ailment I turned you into a cow for about four hours.” Three of which was his attempting to cover up the err. “I mean to think…” he fluffed up like an offended pegasus, pressing his paw to his chest in a haughty manner. “Who would have thought Masquerade's costume, which I used for makeshift pajamas, would alter the metamorphic aether around you, and countered by some harmonic interference my attempt to slightly increase the morphic values of the transformative spell gave to a near permanent value of spots. Well I had to get help to dispel it?” he seemed to pester off at the end of his rant realizing how truly troublesome it all sounded! Well he had tried to fix it. At least.

 

He huffed and lowered down to the ground, his little Sunday brunch vanishing, save for the coffee in the case the mare needed it for this headache. He didn't look her in the eye and worried the end of his tufted tail between his paw and claw. It seemed he had something else to say by the way his jaws parted, held hung until he could crawl over the obstacle of his pride to profess his particular penalty.

“...sorry….” the words snaked between a huffing snout, the preeminent prince of panic not at all well processing his verbal vindication for his pratfall. “Sorry.” He bit our in a clearer tone, head turning to face the mare in question. His eyes were wide and foal-like as they pathetically glistened in unshed tears. Surely the mare of Honesty could appreciate his truth and his heartfelt, if not noodly, apology.

[SteelEagle]

 

Applejack listened to him and his words wandered lazily into her mind she grabbed ahold of each syllable and attacked it like a waterskin to a dehydrated mare. Memories that had been fuzzy, blocked, torn apart or simply lost in a haze that seemed to entrench itself against reason in her brain were reignited and reformed in pitter-patter manner. It wasn't long before the whole day, silly and outrageous as it was and bookended by domesticity, started to filter back in clear and vibrant ways. She didn't know how or why she couldn't remember before but she started to think, and then confirmed it as he continued speaking, that it was probably for the best in some strange way. It didn't sound like the day went as well as he had hoped.

 

She didn't know what to say. They had been playing a game and it hadn't gone well? Costumes, turning her into a cow, general silliness and chaos? It all fit so well into his normal modus operandi that Applejack was at first more than a little confused as to the secrecy and myths surrounding the day. It was only in the totality of all things when the tallymare was finished and the accounting was clear that Applejack's awareness was brought up to full speed. Beyond all reason and happenstance Discord had been unable to rectify his errors and needed help. And if she knew who he was willing to turn to, that meant Twilight was called upon. The idea of the mare who beat him needing to save him was...somewhat hysterical. Okay, not somewhat. Completely hysterical.

 

She started busting up laughing, falling down on her back with a pleasant thud. Her laughs were deep belly ones too, none of that giggling fiasco. Her back legs kicked up in the air like a dog slowly dreaming of running. "ohh-hahahaa! Tssss, hahahaha!" She laughed, slowly trying to regain control. "Ah- bahahhah- Ah'm sorry Ah don't 'member much. That sounds downright silly, Discord. You-you turned me into a cow? Bwahahahahaa! A real-a real moo cow, cow?" She laughed heartily some more. After a few more moments she pulled herself back up, her eyes red and sore from tears. "Ah accept yer apology, Discord. Next time, don't get all crazy if somethin' goes wrong. Yer power's a bit much for day to day mistakes. An' next time you decide ta get all silly-like, best make sure tha other pony's into the silliness. Ah find it...pretty funny you turned me into a farm animal after all that, but only when Ah look back on it. You don't have to go full chaos all day every day, you weird, big dracon-thingy," Applejack playfully chided. She wasn't upset, at least now. He was remorseful and that did a lot for the mare.