Ch 3: The First Trial
Discord sighed as he saw Twilight's baby dragon walking beside him. The dragon was currently dragging a heavy satchel behind him.
'Arg! I can't believe I agreed to this, he will just get in the way. I'm not a babysitter!' Discord thought to himself.
Flashback
"Discord, all of us have agreed to your offer" Twilight said
"Great" Discord replied,
"You get to choose which trial to do first"
"Oh, okay…"
"One more thing, Spike wants to assist you with your quests"
"You're kidding me right? You know he's a baby dragon, it be like if a filly had to help Celestia raise the sun."
"Discord, just give him a chance, besides he could record your deeds down while you do them."
"Expect, I can do that too" Discord emphasized the point by making a scroll appear with a quill, the quill moving by itself on the scroll.
"Well, maybe there will be a trial that needs your undivided attention, besides he is very good assistant,just give him a chance?"
Discord wanted to disagree, but he could not come up something that contradicted her point.
"Fine…"
Spike disrupted Discord's flashback by saying "So...Discord, where we are going first?"
Discord then had a thought 'I could just go without him, he won't even know where I went'
Spike eagerly looked at him as he pulled out a quill ready and waiting.
It remained Discord of a dog waiting for a treat
Discord grumbled and sighed.
'I am trying to redeem myself here, if I just left him here, it would hurt his feelings… or something'
"I think maybe we could try a simple one first, so Applejack's place" Discord stated
"Do you really think it will be…"
"Of course it will be easy, I mean it's Applejack. I'm sure she'll will ask me to be more honest or something for her trial, couldn't be more easy."
"I didn't tell lies" Discord said, taking an almost heroic stance.
Spike looked at Discord oddly 'did his muzzle grow longer?' Spike thought as he tilted his head.
So Discord teleported both Spike and himself to Sweet Apple Acres.
Applejack was already in the field gathering apples, when she spotted Spike and Discord.
"Well, guess I'm the first one, ya'll ready, for my trail?" Applejack asked.
Discord and Spike nodded.
They followed Applejack near the edge of the orchard, where the apples from the tree were not taken yet.
There were twelve medium sized empty barrels waiting for them.
"Here's your trial… it comes two parts so listen carefully, the first part is to harvest ten barrel full" Applejack stated
"Ha! no problem..." Discord said ready to snap his talon
"Without using any of your magic"
"But magic what I'm best at it's what I do, you won't ask Rarity or Twilight to do the same thing"
"Ya you're right about that, but I'll give the answer to that when you finish this task"
"But, what does this have to with being honest?"
"Discord, didn't ya want the trials to be based on our elements?" Applejack said emphasizing the word based
"Yes, but you're not creative, I thought it would be something had to with being honest." Discord said bluntly
"And ya assumed it be would be easy didn't ya, I figured as such, and because that I made this trial jus fur ya, serves ya right fur assuming"
Applejack gnashed her teeth together and angrily said "and I can too, be cryeative"
Discord and Spike gave her a look of disbelief
"Ok, I'm not, but who says it doesn't half ta do with honesty"
Discord rolled his eyes and answered "Fine what's the second part?"
"I'll tell ya that later"
"AJ, are two barrels extra?" asked Spike
"Yep, just in case I needed it" Applejack answered
So with that Discord moved five barrels under one of the trees, he stood in front of it and stared at. He tried recall if had any knowledge about apple trees.
'Come on Discord, you've been around for a long time surely there's gotta be something'
He thought and thought and knowledge of many galaxies, different worlds, time and space flooded his mind, but nothing pertaining to this situation came to mind.
Discord looked at Applejack, she was just standing there eyeing him "Are you just going to stand there watching me? it's kind of creepy"
"Well, I gotta make sure, you ain't gonna cheat" answered Applejack
'Of course… Well I'm doing these trials to earn trust, so it makes sense nopony trusts me yet' Discord thought to himself
With that Discord went back to the tree and looked at it up and down trying to size it up.
Discord snapped his claw the and the tree came to life and shook the apples off into the buckets above managing to fill them a little bit .
"Nice try, Discord but it doesn't count, ya halfa ta harvest the apples yourself"
Discord responded with a semi aggravated groan then he returned the tree back to normal.
Applejack dumped all the apples, he collected so into the extra two Barrels
While Applejack did that, a real light bulb appeared atop of Discord's head, he took the light bulb blow it up like a balloon, then it floated away.
Discord snapped and then a clone of himself appeared
"Oh no, that won't work either…"
"But Applejack, how you know which one is which?" They both said switching positions over and over quickly before Applejack could answer.
When they stopped, Applejack really could not tell the difference between the two.
Discord and his copy both had a big grin of victory on their faces.
Applejack stood for a moment, looking like she was defeated, but a smirk came on her face.
"Okay then, I'll only count fur half of what ya picked"
Both Discords' jaw dropped, "Well played Applejack" Discord said snapping his clone away
Then after awhile Discord give the tree a big push, but it stayed firmly there, then he pulled and got the same result.
Discord stroked his beard in thought, he firmed gasped an apple with his talon from the tree and pulled.
The apple successfully came off the tree, and a few drops of sweat appeared on his forehead.
Discord wiped the foreign substance off his forehead.
'Sweat?...Actual sweat? A lord like me sweating, preposterous'
Discord then saw a strange look on Applejack when he put the apple, in a nearby basket.
"What?" Discord asked kind of annoyed
"It's…nothing" Applejack said looking at the ground.
An obvious lie
"You're lying" Discord stated.
"Really, it's…"
Spike sighed and interrupted Applejack "Discord, you left deep claw marks on the apple, it can't be sold" he said pointing the apple.
"It's not a big deal, I'll just use it ta make applesauce, just try ta being careful next tyme"
"Okay, why don't show me how you do it then…" Discord stopped himself " and do it without bucking the tree" He finished his intentions was clear; he wanted to give Applejack a taste of her own medicine.
"No, problem" Applejack said running off.
Spike slapped his forehead "you shouldn't have said that"
Discord just looked at him.
It did not take Applejack long to get a rope, Then Discord watched as the farm pony lassoed many apples into the baskets with almost no effort.
"Show off" Discord grumbled under his breath
Discord grabbed the rope and usually he just would just use his magic to enchant the rope, but he was sure Applejack would say it did not count if he tried that.
Discord tried to toss the rope around an apple, it ending up not even going near tree, he tried again and again it still was not going anywhere close.
"Alright fine, let's try this the hard way!"Discord said impatiently.
Discord made a big boxing ring appear, Discord then leaped on the center of the ring and suddenly had referee outfit and pulled down a microphone that materialized in front of him.
"In this corner we had the devilishly handsome spirit of Chaos, traveler of many dimensions of time and space...Discord"
"In corner… we have ...an apple tree" Discord said dismissively
"He's not" Applejack said in disbelief
Spike just shrugged his shoulders.
"Let's get ready to…."
Discord was suddenly interrupted by Pinkie Pie who came out of nowhere who yelled "Wait!"
Discord was actually surprised, he was pretty sure he did not make she came here. He did not know how or why she was here "don't finish that sentence" begged Pinkie.
"Let's get ready to…"
"Yes, yes that sentence" said Pinkie
"Why?" Discord asked
"Because it's copyrighted and you won't want the author of this story, to get sued right?"
"I…." Discord said, words failing him at that time
'"Good, you understand... wait is that all the lines I have for now...seriously?" and with Pinkie disappeared
'What do you even say to that?' Discord thought as he turned back to what he was doing.
"I didn't think I would ever see anyone try to punch a tree, but there is, now I've seen everything" Applejack said in disbelief
The sound of Discord punching the tree was loud.
"YEOW!" Discord screamed in pain his lion paw throbbing red.
Applejack gasped "Sweet Celestia! Are ya alright?" Applejack said sounding genuinely concerned.
"I'm gonna ta run and get some ice" Applejack said sprinting away
Discord sighed and sat on the ground, the look on his face was a mix of sadness and frustration. He leaned against the very apple tree he tried to punch.
Discord looked awful, Spike looked at him from across the tree, Spike knowing all too well what Discord was going felt the same thing during the Equestria games. It was the feeling he felt when he found out that he failed lighting the torch.
It was the sense of trying so hard at something and failing anyway was the worse feeling in the world.
This give Spike more determination to help him out.
"I gotta to help him out, there has to be a way. Think Spike, think" Spike said
His train of thought was interrupted by a growling stomach, his own.
'Must have been that light breakfast I ate, I wanted to be sure I wasn't sluggish'
Spike use his claws to climb a tree and stood on a thick breach, he then eyed a juicy apple on the breach he was standing on.
He grabbed the apple and started to eat it, while thinking.
'Okay, so there's got be a way to do this, If Twilight were here, she would able to figure this out logically'
"Logically" Spike pondered, then quickly scurried to get a scroll, an inkwell,and a quill pen.
Then Spike climbed back up tree and sat down on the branch leaning against the trunk of the tree.
Spike unscrolled the scroll in one claw, and gripped the quill with another one, and his tail wrapped around the inkwell.
"Okay, I have been Twilight's number one assistant for long enough to be able to figure this out" Spike said
"So,one of the methods Twilight uses is brainstorming"
"Also she lists what she knows"
Spike scribbled down notes as he talked to himself
"What do I know about Discord?...He is a draconequus, he can makes things appear out of nowhere, he is the a Lord of chaos."
Spike took a long look at Discord, to see if he could notice something.
"Well none of this is helpful to this situation, so what else"
"Oh I know, he is a creature made of different parts of animals"
"Two horns which he can't use to pick apples because they will piece them, He can't used his legs or his arms for the same reason"
"But he does have a goat's leg, which he could used to buck the tree...but then again he might get hurt again while doing that."
As Spike took notes, when his quill run out of ink he brought his tail closer to dip the tip of the quill in.
This time Spike took a long look at his tail and got an idea.
Meanwhile as Spike was figuring out something up that tree. Applejack came back with a big bag of ice.
"Ya okay Discord?" Applejack asked with concern
Discord rudely grabbed the ice pack without even thanking her and put it on his paw.
"I'm sorry ya got hurt, I honestly thought ya couldn't get hurt like that"
Discord just looked away from her
Applejack sighed "Maybe, I should just give ya another trial"
Spike then interrupted Applejack by saying that "That wasn't be necessary AJ"
"Because I figured a way for Discord to do this trial"
"Discord, could you please wrap your tail around the tree"
Discord's eyebrow raised and then he tried it
"Okay, now shake tree hard, but not too hard"
Discord did as Spike suggested and sure enough the apples fall off the tree
"Wow, good job Spike" Applejack praised
Spike grinned happily
Discord looked really happy about it
"I have seen Discord's tail being strong enough to lift Twilight, I thought well, if it can do that maybe it's strong to shake the apples off the tree." Spike explained
"That was real good thinking on your part" Applejack commented
Spike blushed and smiled humbly.
Discord replied "Yeah, thanks Spike"
Although he knew he should be thankful, Discord was disappointed that he do not come up a solution himself.
However, he knew now was not the time to reflect on that, now was the time to harvest apples.
So Discord kept using his tail to shake the apples off.
Then after awhile Discord get all ten barrels full.
""Well, that was mighty fine work Discord" Applejack encouraged
Applejack let out a whistle and a few moments later Big Mac came with a wagon.
So everyone helped put the full barrels in the wagon.
"Great, so that means I passed this trail" said Discord
"Nope, I said that there are two parts to this trial, remember, you completed one part" Applejack reminded him
"Two parts?"
"Yes,come inside the house and I'll tell you what it is"
"Let me guess, I can't use my magic"
"Yeah, but it might be all a little easier for you"
So they went to Applejack's house and carried all ten apple filled barrels to the kitchen.
"Here's the second part, make an apple pie"said Applejack when they all were in the kitchen.
"Make an apple pie? What am I a baker?" asked Discord in frustration
"It's doesn't have to be like the ones we make here, just try to make the best one you can."
Discord stayed silent still looking angry
"Discord, I don't have anything else, finish this task and you will pass this trial I promise ya"
Discord let an annoyed sigh and said "Fine"
Applejack give Discord a recipe card "This is simple apple pie recipe, here go grab the ingredients first"
So Discord looked for the ingredients all over the kitchen
Applejack noticed that Spike looked a bit sad though "What's the matter, sugarcube?"
"It's just that, I wish I could help with this, but I'm bad at baking"
"Ah, didn't worry about that, there is still some things ya can do, I mean ya can peel apples or ya can slice them"
Applejack then whispered in Spike's ear "Actually I'll tell ya secret, some ponies in the Apple family who can't bake to save their lives"
"Really" Spike whispered back
"Ah huh, but let's keep that between you and me alright?"
Spike nodded in agreement
So Discord gathered all ingredients, and followed the instructions and after some trial and error he managed to make an apple pie that he was satisfied with .
Although he did not do it alone, he got pointers from AJ, and the apple were cored, peeled and sliced by Spike.
Discord put the the pie on the windowsill and then he tried wash the leftover dough from his mismatch arms.
However, the dough refuse to get out, it was and if it was attached to him.
"Congratulations, Discord ya passed your first trial"
"Oh finally"Discord said relived
"Now, let's taste that pie" said Applejack
Discord swore he heard Applejack's lips smack when she said that.
Even though, Discord wanted to leave as soon as he passed the trial,He wanted to know how the pie tasted.
After all he went through all that effort to make it.
When the pie was completely was cooled, Applejack grabbed it from the windowsill.
Pinkie Pie came through the door.
"Oh no" Discord said with groan
"Discord, She's here cause I asked her to come over ta taste the pie."
"Wait, I thought you just wanted me to make the best pie I could, you don't say anything about judging it"
"Who said anything about judging it, Pinkie might be a baking expert but I asked her to come here and taste the pie, nothing more, nothing less"
"Oh...Okay"
So Pinkie come in
But then something happened that either Discord or Spike could have never predicted ever happening.
Applejack said "Hey Pinkie, think fast" then she took the apple pie throw it right on Pinkie's face.
Pinkie stood there like statue with pie dripping from her face.
Discord and Spike were completely shocked.
"...Ww..w..wha...why...why would you do that?" asked Discord completely in shock
"I thought it would be funny" Applejack replied nonchalantly
"Y...You thought...it would be funny!" shouted Discord
"Why in name of Star Swirl's beard? Did you think that was even remotely funny? I mean we all worked hard to make that pie!" Discord ranted.
"Discord asked me earlier, I would not ask for Rarity or Twi not use their magic, when they are helping on the farm"
"This is the lesson this trial was suppose ta teach ya, the value of good honest work"
"Something they both know the meaning of" AJ continued
"Rarity puts her all in the dresses she makes, and Twilight studies hard"
"Discord, you got angry when something happened ta that pie, weren't ya?"
"Because of the all trouble that went into making it"
"But I work hard … there was ...um" Discord retorted back
"Ah! there was that time when I had get rid of my plunder seeds" Discord striking a gesture that said 'take that'.
"Ya mean, you enchanted a bunch of shovels, while laying back in a hammock the whole time." Applejack replied back
"That is the problem Discord, everything comes easy for you, but you felt it Discord don't ya, that feeling of proud of something you made with you own ...claw and paw"
"Throwing the pie, was kind of like what you do when used your chaos powers to 'have fun' at a pony's expensive."
"It's disruptive and destroys the accomplishment ponies strive for"
"I understand" Discord said
With that lesson learned Discord and Spike left the farm
Pinkie was no longer a mess having cleaned herself using her tongue.
"So he passed his first trial huh?" asked Pinkie Pie
"Yeah, he did… hey Pinkie thanks again for helping out"
"No problem AJ, I don't really think you would ever ask me whether you could throw a pie in my face" Pinkie Pie reposed
"Yeah"
"You think he'll pass the other trials?"
"Well I think he will, but he still got a long way to go"
TRIAL OF HONESTLY COMPLETE!
A/N: After a long time hiatus, this story has a new chapter and you get read it before I publish to fimfiction. Sorry for the long wait but I had an important test to study for. (which I failed cause I am a dum dum).
BTW lets get ready to rumble is actually copyrighted, that why that joke was there.