Chapter 2
"A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones."—Proverbs 17:22
Skywishes woke the next morning to the sound of soft but still audible sniffling. She padded into the main room to see Fluttershy crying and cradling Angel's limp body. The coral-colored pegasus walked over to the couch and just stood there, silently waiting to be noticed.
Realizing she had an audience, Fluttershy looked up, wiping at her eyes and intending to explain things. Before she could, Skywishes spoke.
"You planning to bury him?" Skywishes's brisk, matter-of-fact tone helped snap Fluttershy momentarily out of her grief.
"Oh, um, yes."
"Where?"
"In my garden. There was a spot there he liked."
"Hmm." Skywishes pushed herself up onto her hind legs and put her front hooves onto the couch on either side of Fluttershy, looking down at them as if measuring the space between them. Then she lifted one hoof so that it was near where Angel's head tipped back limply over Fluttershy's foreleg. At first Fluttershy wondered if the other pegasus intended to pet Angel's head, but Skywishes just kept her hoof in the air several inches away from him, her vacant eyes flicking back and forth between them for about five seconds. Then she dropped back onto all fours. "If you show me the spot where you want him buried, I can dig the hole while you say your goodbyes."
A few minutes later, Skywishes was outside, digging a hole with her hooves while Fluttershy got a box to put Angel in. With tears trickling down her face, she laid him in the box and tucked one of his favorite blankets around him. The grief in her heart over losing him was painful, but as she finished wrapping him in the blanket and gazed down at his face one last time, that pain was suddenly tempered with a strange sense of relief.
As Angel had gotten older and feebler over the past year, there had been many days when he was clearly in pain, and she had sometimes wondered if it would have been kinder to put him down rather than prolong his suffering. Yet every time those thoughts had crossed her mind she just had to go to him, stroke his thinning fur and look into his cloudy, but still determined eyes. She knew he would resent her making that kind of decision for him and he wasn't about to go anywhere until he was good and ready. Now that he had finally moved on, she wouldn't have to worry about his discomfort any longer. While part of her longed to be able to hold him one last time and bid him a proper goodbye, his dying peacefully in his sleep was really the best way he could have gone.
Now, as she gazed down at his motionless face, she thought of the various ups and downs they'd had over the course of his life. There had been times when he had been unpleasant and demanding, but there had also been many times when he had taken care of her as much as she had taken care of him.
And last year he had even helped save her life—
The memory sent a sharp jab of pain into her heart because with it came the confusion she now felt whenever she thought of Discord.
Squeezing her eyes shut, she tried to force any thoughts of the draconequus away. This isn't the time to think about him. Think about Angel. Opening her eyes, she looked back down at him and fresh tears filled her eyes. She wanted to tell him how much she loved him, and how much he'd meant to her, but all she could choke out was a soft, "Goodbye Angel. I'll never forget you." Then she kissed the top of his head one last time before covering his face with the blanket, and putting the box's lid in place.
Carrying the box outside, she saw Skywishes still pawing away at the soil like a machine. As Fluttershy drew nearer, she noticed that the hole looked just about the right size to hold Angel's box, and she wondered if Skywishes had calculated those dimensions when she'd been moving her hooves about on the couch earlier.
Fluttershy cleared her throat, and Skywishes looked up from digging, her eyes flicking to the box and back up to Fluttershy's face.
"I—" Fluttershy set the box down and wiped at her eyes. "I said my goodbyes."
Skywishes nodded and flapped her wings just enough to lift herself up onto the ground next to the pile of earth she'd dug up. Fluttershy laid the box in the hole and Skywishes shoved the pile of earth back over it, patting the mound down with her hooves. Since winter was on its way, there weren't many flowers around, but Fluttershy found some leafy carrot tops and used them to mark the grave instead.
Finally the two pegasi moved back to study their work.
"Thank you for helping with that," said Fluttershy, trying to hold back more tears.
Skywishes shrugged, then looked around as if not sure how to respond. "Well, I should probably get back to the TreeHAB." She pushed off the ground and flew to the cottage. "Sorry about your pet, but thanks for telling me about Sunny."
"Skywishes wait!" Fluttershy cried and flew after her. "Before you go, would you like to come meet the rest of my friends?" Considering the time it had taken to find the coral-colored pegasus, it didn't seem right to just let her go off without giving the others a chance to meet her.
Skywishes had been tugging on her camo, but at Fluttershy's words she paused and gave the yellow pegasus a considering look. At first Fluttershy thought she was going to refuse, but then Skywishes replied with: "Sure, I'll go meet them."
Fluttershy decided that Sugarcube Corner was their best bet to meet up with any of her friends. Most of the other five ponies had spent the past year traveling about, making it much harder to get together like they had always been able to before, but over the past couple of days Pinkie Pie had been staying at Sugarcube Corner more often than usual. The Cakes had gone away on a family vacation and she was minding the store for them.
However when Fluttershy entered the bakery, she saw not only Pinkie Pie, but also Twilight.
"I've got it narrowed down to High Winds and Haystings—" Twilight was saying when Pinkie Pie's head suddenly went up.
"Hi, Fluttershy! Care to join us?" Then she frowned. "Are you okay?"
Before she and Skywishes had left the cottage, Fluttershy had washed her face to hide the signs of her crying, but on the way to the bakery she hadn't been able to stop fresh tears from spilling out.
"I will be," she said, her voice trembling with the effort not to break down. "It's just that ... well ... Angel died last night." She sniffed hard and swallowed. "I knew it was probably going to happen soon ... but it's still hard..."
Her two friends got up from the table, moved to her side, and pulled her into a comforting hug. In the ten years that had passed since Applejack's disappearance, Owlowiscious, Opalescence, and (much to Applejack's regret) Winona had all passed on as well. Now that Angel was gone, Tank and Gummy were the only two surviving pets. Realizing that most of her friends had also experienced the loss of a pet helped sooth Fluttershy as much as Twilight and Pinkie's embrace did.
"Thanks, girls," she said, pulling back from them. "I'll be all right. I just ... need to focus on something else for a bit now." She glanced over at the paper Twilight had left on the table. "What were you talking about when I came in?"
"Oh, we were trying to figure out who Rainbow Dash's mystery pen pal is, and I brought a list of all current and former Wonderbolts," said Twilight.
"You're looking for all the ones who start with H?" asked Fluttershy, a small smile tugging at her mouth, as she thought of the mystery the rest of her friends had been trying to solve involving a postcard Rainbow Dash had accidentally dropped almost a year ago.
"Oooh, who's that from?" Pinkie had said as she scurried over to the card. She had started to read it out loud, but was interrupted by a loud "Give me that!" from Rainbow Dash, as the blushing blue pegasus snatched up the card.
At the time, this little event was far overshadowed by the news of Applejack's return, but later on Rainbow Dash's friends (with the exception of Fluttershy who had been too consumed with confusion over Discord's sudden departure to feel curious about much else) had started to wonder why she was so determined to keep that card's contents a secret.
According to Pinkie Pie, the card had said:
Ray,
See you at the usual place at the usual time.
—H
They had guessed that Ray must be some sort of nickname H had given Rainbow Dash, but they still hadn't been able to figure out who H was, nor why Rainbow Dash seemed so determined to keep him or her a secret. They had noticed that Rainbow Dash seemed to be unusually sneaky with some of her letters, which made them suspect the letters were either to or from H but the girls never got a chance to check this for sure.
At the thought of mail, Fluttershy suddenly remembered who was still standing outside the bakery, waiting for the signal to come in. "Oh, girls, sorry. I forgot to tell you—"
"You found Skywishes?" Pinkie Pie guessed.
"Yes, and I brought her with me." Fluttershy motioned with her head to where Skywishes was still standing outside, but Pinkie had already shot past her out the front door and was now pushing the camo-clad pegasus into the bakery.
"Welcome to Sugarcube Corner, Wishie! Can I call you Wishie?"
Skywishes looked a bit disoriented by the fact that she was now sitting at a table with several other ponies, but before she could figure out how to respond, Pinkie had plonked a cake down on the table and showered the pegasus in confetti.
"Happy-short-notice-much-delayed-welcome-to-Ponyville!" said Pinkie, grabbing Skywishes's hoof and pumping it up and down enthusiastically.
Skywishes leaned as far away from Pinkie as she could with the energetic pony still holding her hoof, and squinted down at the cake. "That thing says 'Happy Birthday Gummy.'"
"Does it?" Pinkie looked down at the cake. "I was wondering where that went. Oh well, he won't mind if we use it anyway—"
Twilight cleared her throat pointedly.
"Oh, where are my manners?" Pinkie let go of Skywishes's hoof and tapped herself on the chest. "I'm Pinkie Pie. This is Twilight Sparkle," Pinkie gestured toward Twilight who raised a hoof in a small wave. "You've already met Fluttershy, and—" Pinkie suddenly stopped and frowned at Skywishes. Apparently it had just occurred to her that she hadn't actually made sure this pony she'd snatched from outside was the right one. "Uh, you are Skywishes right?"
The pegasus in question was busy shaking the confetti out of her mane. "That'd be correct."
"Oh, good! That would have been weird if you weren't. And that's Gummy." Pinkie pointed at the floor and Skywishes looked down in time to see a tiny alligator just as he clamped his jaws around one of her forelegs. Cocking an eyebrow, the pegasus raised her foreleg so that the gator was dangling from her sleeve. She gave the sleeve a small experimental shake, not as if she wanted to get him off, but as if she wanted to see just how firmly he was stuck there. Suddenly he let go of her sleeve and snapped at her face, causing Skywishes's normally dead eyes to go wide then slam shut as she jerked back with a startled yelp.
"It's okay," said Pinkie. "He doesn't have any teeth."
Skywishes opened an eye to study the gator now dangling off her forelock. Then her mouth twitched in what was almost a smile. "I used to have a pet reptile too. A chameleon. Well, technically he started as my sister's but we ended up sharing him. ... Until she died and I just kind of took over..." That faint smile slipped for a second, then she made a noise that was half-laugh, half-snort. "His name was Mittens. Can you imagine that?"
Fluttershy looked at the other pegasus with new eyes. She hadn't really expected this laconic dead-eyed pony to be a pet-owner and was curious to know more. "What happened to Mittens?"
"He died several years ago."
"Oh, I'm sorry."
"Eh, don't be. As chameleons go, he had a good long life."
Just then the bakery door creaked open, and they looked up to see Applejack peeking in.
"Hi, Applejack," said Pinkie, waving for her to join them. "Come on in. We found Skywishes. Well, Fluttershy found Skywishes. Did you know she used to have a pet chameleon named Mittens?" As Applejack moved slowly into the bakery, Pinkie noticed that her eyes were red as if she had been crying. "What's wrong?"
Applejack hesitated and when she finally spoke her voice was thick. "Granny Smith died last night."
Her three friends all moved to her side, voicing their condolences.
"The four of us were planning on a family outing today," Applejack went on in a choked voice. Ever since her return, she, Apple Bloom, Big Mac, and Granny Smith had been spending nearly all their free time doing things together as if to make up for a decade's worth of lost time. "But when I went to get her this morning ... she didn't wake up." She drew in a shuddering breath before collecting herself enough to go on. "I reckon it's probably the best way she could have gone. Falling asleep looking forward to our outing the next day ... but it's still hard..."
"It's never easy," Skywishes muttered from where she was still sitting at the table. "No matter what their age." The seriousness of her statement was a bit undermined by the fact that she still had Gummy hanging off her forelock, but Applejack didn't seem to notice.
"What about Apple Bloom and Big Mac?" asked Twilight. "How are they taking it?"
"Well, we got in touch with some ponies to take care of the funeral—"
Pinkie sighed. "Why do funerals have to be sad?" she mused aloud then brightened. "When I die, everypony is going to love coming to my funeral. I'm going to put the 'fun' in 'funeral.'"
"Uh, Pinkie, I don't think now's really the time to joke about that," said Twilight.
"Who's joking? It'll be my funeral, so I'll want it to be every bit as fun as any of my other parties. There will be balloons and bright colors, and bouncy houses, and I'll be laying there with a big bowl of candy on my chest." She leaned back with her eyes closed, and her front hooves up as if they were holding a large bowl. "And when the dancing gets underway, I want them to pick me up and make me crowd surf," she added as, still leaning back with her eyes closed, she began walking backward on her hind legs with her front legs stretched out in front of her with the hooves flopping about. In spite of recent events and the rather sobering subject of funerals, the other ponies couldn't help laughing at Pinkie's antics. Even Skywishes couldn't hold back an amused snort. Satisfied at having coaxed some smiles out of them, Pinkie stopped the routine and moved back to join the group. "What were we talking about?"
"Why Applejack was here instead of with her family," said Skywishes.
"Well, after we made the funeral arrangements, we didn't really want to go on that outing without Granny, so Apple Bloom and Big Mac went to see their friends, and I decided to see how y'all were doing."
"Twilight and I were talking about Rainbow Dash's mystery messenger, but now we're getting to know Skywishes. Speaking of which..." Pinkie Pie went eyeball-to-eyeball with the coral-colored pegasus, bumping Gummy in the process and causing him to swing over Skywishes's head so that he and her forelock were now dangling back into the rest of her mane. "Where have you been hiding all these years? I know everypony in Ponyville, but I've never seen you, and you'd think with all that camouflage on you'd be easy to spot. What gives?"
At that moment Gummy let go of Skywishes's forelock and she reached one hoof behind her to catch him. "Maybe it's because I don't live in Ponyville," she said, using her free hoof to paw her forelock back into its proper position. "I only come here once in a while to get my mail and a few supplies I can't get other places. Also I generally don't wear my camouflage around town because here it's a bit of a misnomer. And until yesterday, I've never even had a pony try to talk to me unless I asked them something first."
Fluttershy could sort of understand that last one. While the look in Skywishes's dead eyes had never been openly hostile, it didn't exactly scream "Come over and talk to me!"
A two-minded pony gets twice the headaches.
Discord had seen that written somewhere once and he was currently experiencing it.
When he'd first awakened, half of him wanted to dive right back into the dream and try to finish it, while the other half was berating him for once again dreaming about Fluttershy.
And what's wrong with dreaming about her?! the first half demanded. In my dreams she's always happy to see me so why can't I indulge?
Yeah, and keep waking up disappointed afterward? sneered the second half. Forget it! In fact, why are you even "indulging" in that sort of thing? You don't NEED her! You don't need anypony!
Making a sound that was half-groan, half-growl, he snapped his talons, instantly undoing all the improvements he'd given the Haywaiian beach. A bubble wand flashed into his paw and he swiped it down over himself, somehow squeezing his head, neck, body, and tail all through the wand's much smaller hole. He came out the other end encased in a large bubble. Flashing the wand away, he sent the bubble spinning down into the water and didn't stop until he was down in the depths of the ocean.
He sighed, leaning back against the bubble's wall. How in the world had he sunk this low?
Easy, you dove down here, said a small snide voice in the back of his head.
Ha. Ha. I need a change of scenery. He conjured a map and tacked it to the bubble wall in front of him. Deciding he could use some more light, he pumped his horn and antler down then up again like a pair of levers, and his tattoos all lit up. That was better.
The map was covered in a multitude of checkmarks indicating the places he had already visited. As he gazed at them, he grinned and felt a swell of pride at the fact that he'd gotten away with stirring up chaos in so many places. When he'd first started his travels, he had been tempted to try taking over Equestria as he'd originally planned, but had quickly decided against it. With Applejack restored to them (ironically thanks to him) the Element Bearers now had the power to turn him back to stone, and they would likely be on their guard if he tried to trick or brainwash them a second time.
No, straight-up hostile takeover had been out of the question ... but that didn't mean he couldn't work out a system to still have some fun.
His method of travel had involved choosing a place at random, flashing himself there, and turning things upside down both figuratively and literally while there. Then as soon as news began to spread that he was in that location, he would change things back, teleport away, and do the whole thing over again in another location. While it often pained him to undo his improvements, it beat being turned to stone.
His grin faded as he continued studying the map and realized that he'd visited just about every corner of Equestria.
Except one.
Ponyville.
For the past year he'd told himself that he'd been avoiding Ponyville because it was the most likely place for the Element Bearers to be. But deep down, he knew that there was more to it than that. Visiting Ponyville meant he would risk running into Fluttershy and that was currently the last thing he wanted to do.
Before he could stop it, his cinematic memory dredged up the last time he'd seen Fluttershy. She was sitting at an outside restaurant table, smiling and laughing ... and he hadn't been the one sharing that table with her, and inspiring that smile and that laughter.
He groaned at the jumbled feelings that memory always stirred in him. Since that day when she'd broken his heart, there had been many times when he wanted to hate and loath her with every fiber of his being, but try as he might, he just couldn't bring himself to do it.
Maybe it was because deep down in his heart, he knew that she hadn't intended to hurt him. If she had knowingly two-timed him, then maybe he could have hated her, but as it was he couldn't deny that apart from those times Fluttershy had declared herself his friend they had never really discussed their relationship. There was that one time he had sprung the statement "I love you, marry me." on her, but that was just to see her reaction. A wry laugh trickled out of his throat at the memory. At the time, he hadn't meant the words even though he had come to love and value her as a friend—as in fact, the only friend he'd ever had in his lifetime. It hadn't dawned on him until several weeks later—when faced with the prospect of leaving her—that he was in fact in love with her. Even he had trouble believing it at times. The very idea that a powerful, reality-bending master of chaos could fall in love with a simple, quiet, shy, soft-spoken pony was absurd even by his standards.
And yet fall he had, and fallen hard.
And she had picked some plain ordinary pony over him.
Then why not turn yourself into a pony? the little voice in the back of his head suddenly piped up. You could even be any size, shape, or build that she—
I don't want to turn into a pony! he mentally snapped. I hate looking like a pony!
And yet you can't seem to get that particular pony off your mind even though you haven't seen or spoken to her in a year, the little voice pointed out.
At those words, Discord's head came up as a new idea suddenly popped into his head. It was true; he hadn't seen Fluttershy in over a year. He had only dreamed about her again and again ... but what if that was part of the problem? What if he had been building her up too much in those dreams? Seeing her the way he wanted her to be as opposed to how she really was? After all, he hadn't found her attractive when they first met. Maybe ... maybe instead of trying to avoid her, he should go see her and—if he could convince himself that he felt absolutely nothing for her—he could finally be free of her.
Eager to try this, he jumped up, pumped his horn and antler down then up to switch his tattoos back off, and yanked the map from the bubble's wall. As the tacks pulled free of the bubble, air whooshed out of it, and it shot back toward the ocean's surface with Discord still in it. As he rose, he began magically pulling water up with him, stirring it into a frenzy.
Oh, yes. To show just how little he cared, he wasn't just going to flash himself to Ponyville. He was going to arrive in style.
"Why'd you get a mailbox in Ponyville if you didn't plan to stay here?" asked Twilight.
"It was the closest option I could find near the Everfree Forest."
"Why'd you want to build the TreeHAB in there?"
"Oh, several reasons. For one I found the perfect tree: big, tall, plenty of branches to build on and thick bark to protect it from possible forest fires. Also the weather isn't controlled in the forest and I wanted the HAB to be able to hold up in any weather. But mostly because it was the best place to avoid kibitzing. I can't stand that."
The four friends had been getting to know Skywishes over cake until Pinkie had excused herself to go fill some baking orders. Now Twilight and Skywishes were deep in a discussion about what had gone into designing and building the TreeHAB. At first Fluttershy had expected Skywishes to be close-mouthed and unsocial, but the camo-clad pegasus actually seemed to enjoy talking about her project.
"Of course, the trade-off to not having other ponies poking around telling me how to do my job, is that the whole thing is on me so the HAB's got a ways to go before it's completely functional. So far the only thing I've had much success growing up there is tomatoes."
"Hmm, maybe we should help you get in touch with Strawberry Swirl's old partners," said Twilight. "They're still doing her experiments to combine different plants together."
"Ahh, you might have something there," said Skywishes, rubbing her chin and squinting one eye at the alicorn speculatively.
Up until that moment Fluttershy had just been passively listening to them, but at the mention of the late Strawberry Swirl's botany experiments her mind pulled up the memory of Discord first telling her about them.
"She should have put me on that job," he'd said scornfully. "I could have gotten results—" Then he'd snapped his talons, instantly conjuring up several samples of hybrid fruit. "—like that."
Now she began to wonder if he'd ever conjured up more hybrid fruit since he'd left her. She'd heard reports of him popping up and wreaking chaos in different locations throughout Equestria, but he never left behind any physical evidence of his activities. All they had to prove he'd been there were eyewitness accounts and she couldn't remember any of them mentioning hybrid fruit.
Then her mind shifted to the dream she'd had of him the night before. She'd been having similar dreams on and off ever since he'd left. Why couldn't she stop having such vivid dreams about him when it was clear he wanted nothing to do with her?
She glanced toward Applejack, who had also been listening to Skywishes and Twilight converse. Despite the part Fluttershy had played in finding Applejack, she had seen surprisingly little of the orange earth pony over the past year. While Applejack no longer used her Amberlocks disguise, she had continued managing the Orchard she had started in the Crystal Empire. And though Apple Bloom and Big Mac had been able to keep Sweet Apple Acres afloat in her absence they had been quite happy to let her resume management there as well. Thus, Applejack had spent a good chunk of that year traveling back and forth between the two orchards.
Still, considering what Applejack owed her and Discord, she was probably Fluttershy's best candidate for discussing her mixed feelings about her former partner.
"Applejack, can I talk with you alone?" she whispered.
"Sure," Applejack tipped her head to Twilight and Skywishes. "Excuse us." They nodded to her and Fluttershy before going back to their own conversation.
Applejack and Fluttershy moved to the other side of the room.
"What did you want to talk about, Fluttershy?"
"Well..." Fluttershy hesitated, trying to come up with a way to explain her feelings without mentioning her dreams. "Well, it's been almost a year since Discord left, and ... well ... I still miss him ... but I'm not sure if I should. ... I thought we were friends; I really wanted us to be..." I even thought I might be in love with him. "But now I wonder if that was just a lie to get his freedom, and I'm not sure I should want to be friends with somepony like that." But I do want to be with him. Maybe I shouldn't, but I want it so much.
Applejack was silent for several seconds, pondering what Fluttershy had told her. Then she sighed and put a foreleg around Fluttershy's withers. "Sugarcube, I wish I could tell you what to do or how to feel... but all I can really think to tell you is: If somepony shows you who they really are, believe them."
If somepony shows you who they really are, believe them.
Who had Discord shown himself to be?
He had tried to break apart her friendship with the other ponies, but he had later helped her track down Applejack. He had tormented her mercilessly, but he had also cleaned and bandaged her injuries with as much care as she would have shown one of her animals. He had a definite knack for spotting patterns and fitting them together logically, yet he seemed to thrive on doing just the opposite. When they had been together he seemed to relish her attention, and yet he had spent this past year completely avoiding her.
Fluttershy mentally sighed in frustration. Applejack's normally good advice just seemed to fall apart when she tried applying it to her former partner. Sometimes she had felt so sure that she knew and understood him, but other times he was just as much of an enigma as the case he had helped her solve.
At that moment Rainbow Dash was flying toward Ponyville. She hadn't needed to fly with the Wonderbolts that day and had decided to use her free time to check in with her friends on their search for Skywishes. Maybe she would take a turn watching the mailbox, and while she was there she could check if there had been any letters from—
"Hiya, Ray!"
The voice jolted her out of her thoughts, and she spun awkwardly in the air as she tried to turn in the direction of the voice. Looking down, she saw an earth pony standing on his hind legs and waving up at her. His coat was a light golden brown, while his mane and tail were jet black. He wore close-fitting pants with a pattern of red, yellow, and blue flames on them, and a sleeveless black shirt that revealed a pair of forelegs wrapped in athletic tape.
Rainbow Dash quickly looked around to make sure there were no other ponies nearby before folding in her wings and swooping down to hover in front of the stallion. "Screwjob, what are you doing here?"
"Oh, come on, Ray. Is that any way to—"
She covered his mouth with her hoof. "Don't call me that."
Screwjob ducked out from under her hoof. "Why? I thought you liked it?" Then he quirked one thick dark eyebrow at her. "Or do you only like it when he calls you that?" he asked in a teasing voice.
"Will you keep quiet," Rainbow Dash snapped. "I don't want anypony to hear you."
He looked around. "I don't see anypony else." Then he grinned back at her. "You know you can't keep this a secret forever."
"I know," Rainbow Dash said in a resigned voice. "I'm just trying to figure out the right time to tell them."
"Well, you better tell them soon because if you don't ... I will!" Screwjob said in a sing-song voice.
Rainbow Dash's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "What are you talking about?"
"You mean he didn't tell you? We're both out on medical leave, so we're sticking around. And while we're sticking around I want to meet the rest of the lovely ladies, so if you don't tell them—What the hay is that?!"
Rainbow Dash whirled around to see what he was looking at and saw what appeared to be a tornado consisting of tomato sauce and spaghetti spinning straight toward them!
Discord cackled as the spaghetti tornado whipped him about. He was up near the top of it, and didn't see when a nearby gray pegasus lost control of her flight and was sucked into the pasta vortex. Nor did he notice the two unicorns—a pink adult one and a light purple one in her mid-to-late teens—running toward the tornado, trying to pull the pegasus out of it with their magic only to get sucked in as well.
Their screams were drown out by the wind and the sound of wet noodles slapping together, so it wasn't until the smaller of the two unicorns collided with Discord's head that he realized his ride had picked up a few extra passengers. Startled he tried to shake her off, but the unicorn hung on. Then the other two ponies smacked into his stomach. Without thinking about what he was doing, he grabbed them and teleported himself and the three hitchhikers out of the spaghetti cyclone.
As they reappeared several yards behind the still spinning tornado, he somersaulted over the tomato sauce-covered ground, dislodging the three ponies in the process. Sitting up, he wiped the tomato sauce from his face and turned to see who had so rudely interrupted his ride. The three ponies were all stumbling around dizzily and coated so thoroughly in sauce that he couldn't tell what color they actually were. Then the pegasus turned in his direction, and despite the fact that the pupils of her gold eyes seemed to be skidding off in different directions he got the impression that she was studying him.
"Hey, I know who you are," she said, a woozy smile spreading over her muzzle.
He snorted. "Well, of course you know—"
"You're that guy who helped Fluttershy."
For once Discord was at a loss for words. That was not quite the title he had been expecting. "That guy who helped Fluttershy" could certainly have applied to him a year ago, but it was a long way off from the Spirit of Chaos, the Patron of Pandemonium, or the Mucky-muck of Mayhem.
Then the pegasus licked the tomato sauce from one hoof. "Not bad, but it could use some parmesan."
Yay its been a while but that's okay. Thank you for the new chapter!!!
Ok this chapter was good. And Granny Smith is gone too now...
I'm starting to guess Rainbow might get killed off, as she is close to Discord at the current moment, and he's supposed to be accused of the deaths in this story, right?
Also, who the heck is H? Please tell me that's just a red herring and its actually going to be Soarin?! I ship them so hard!!!
Oh well Discord is coming to Ponyville. Can't wait to see how this goes...
Ponies and pets need to stop dying, that is not okay! (sees description) And there's still more! Gahhhh
Oh, god, will they even see each other, now that they're both in Ponyville? I'm not worried about waiting for them to reunite, I'm interested enough in what's going on. But man, what's gonna happen?! I'm excited!
Ok I'm super into it. Thanks for keeping this going. For no fluttercord moments, I'm still feeling like I had some by getting into their heads and seeing how much they are thinking of each other. I can't wait to see how they react to each other!
Yipeeeeeeee! Chapter 2 is out for us to read!!!!!!!!!! See, I made a rhyme Sorry for the kinda delayed review:/ But, I was so excited to read this and after reading it, favorite chapter so far (even though I keep saying that for every chapter of this story so far hehe)
Before I begin, just to get it out of the way, first Angel dies and now Granny Smith Oh man, I just wasn't expecting that at all Not only a good plot twist, but also a good follow up(dang good is a bad word for this context:/) to Angel's Death...in a sense. Here, let me explain: Angel, like Fluttershy said, passes away almost on his own terms and leaves the earth almost knowing that he is no longer needed. He already fulfilled his duty in protecting her when she needed him the most. Thus, another pony and/or creature will take over his spot so that she can move on with her life. Granny can finally pass in peace because she finally solved the great mystery about her grand daughter and Applejack was finally returned to her after all those years. She was able to have one last year with her before passing She fulfilled the role she was meant to play and was there for Applejack when she really needed her. And now it's time for...let's just say....somepony to take care of Appleajack Though, I have no idea who
Second:
Squuuueeeee!!!!!XD
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Sorry, had to get that out of my system
Third: Tehee, Wishie :3 New Nickname confirmed
Fourth: Oh my gosh Pinkie!XD I know it's so Pinkie for wanting to bring out the "fun" in funerals, but still oh my gosh!XD So dark yet so hilarious! No wonder the others couldn't help but laugh, yet feel guiltyXD So portraying my feelings during that situation;) Also: love that joke Pinkie made about spotting a camo pony;) Only Pinkie can make Wishie smile;) Hooray for hilarious Pinkie in this chapter
Fifth: Dawww Mittens the Chameleon :3 Miss Maud Pony and her Pascal Chameleon Tangled reference for the win!
a.dilcdn.com/bl/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2014/08/Pascal-pointing-his-tail-in-Tangled.gif
I have a feeling that Mittens was a nice combination between Gummy and a kitten :3
Sixth: Hooray for nerdy Strawberry Swirl!:D
Seventh: (Dang, my list is getting long:/) What do you mean there's no Fluttercord moments in this? There's Fluttercord moments even when they're not together cause our two cuties just miss each other soooooo much XD I mean, the little things in life remind them so much of their time together and it's just...my heart I love it
Eighth:
YES!:0
files.riffsy.com/images/34277ad572d37c59aac4722957e28b6c/raw
Yes Discord, yes arrive in style. Yes Discord, please subtly reference "Make New Friends but Keep Discord" through this crushy clingy, needy potato boyfriend behavior
Ninth: Daww yay Fluttershy and Applejack comfort prep talk moment
Tenth: Oh my gosh ScrewjobXD! You cheeky little devil you!XD
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I cannot wait for you to meet the others!XD
Eleventh: That tornado reminded me of...
sonypictures.com/movies/cloudywithachanceofmeatballs/assets/images/onesheet.jpg
I've never seen the movie, but I saw in the trailer that it had a scene showing a massive spaghetti tornado and that scene reminded me of Discord's tornado:)
Twelfth:
Derpy! Yes to Discord and Derpy interaction:D
This chapter was so worth the wait
PS I will message you back this weekend, promise
Tim Hawkins. Athiest church songs. Best thing ever, lol!
Thanks for the update!
~Melly~
the only fluttercord moment i want to happen is them screwing on fluttershys table!
that must happen!
also im really happy this updated again X3
cant wait for the next chapter
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Never! Heh, heh, heh.
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*Chuckles* I can't reveal that just yet, but you'll find out soon enough.
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Thanks for the comments, guys. I'm glad to hear you enjoyed the chapter and want to find out what happens next. And regarding what happens next, I'm glad to report that I'm already at work on the next chapter and will post it as soon as I can get ready.
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Oh come on! there has to be a scene where these two say screw it and just start having angry sex! XD
6898966 Not while the Shark controls the keyboard! Mwahahahaha!
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Nooooo!
6899020 *Looks pensive* Wellll ... not on Fluttershy's table.
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Oh! Rarities fainting couch? :P
maybe on spikes bed?
or celestia as a special "hahahaha!" to celestia on Discords part :P
Is Discord going to disguise himself as a pony?
First off, I apologize again for taking so long with this when I told you I would review it. I've been putting off a lot lately, I'm so sorry.
But I read the chapter a second time, but not because the chapter was forgettable, not at all. I just wanted to make sure my review covered everything I wanted. I remembered a lot, but I didn't want to risk forgetting a detail or two.
I'm quite glad I never read the novel. There are several reasons, but this story is a new reason. I like not knowing things. I have no idea how all of this is going to come together, with Skywishes and the TreeHAB, and Rainbow's mysterious pen pal and the entertaining Screwjob. (His illustration is awesome, btw; he's quite a cutie with a lot of visual charisma.)
I love how you treated Angel in both of these stories, showing his stubbornness and loyalty, his weaknesses and strengths, all while conveying that he's grown old and weak. The analysis of the relationship between Fluttershy and Angel is spot-on in my opinion, and I appreciated the part where Fluttershy pondered over whether she should have put him down, only to conclude that Angel wanted to make that decision and not her, so she wouldn't have to be guilty and so he could be responsible for his own life. It's also interesting that Granny Smith died on the same day. Not that I find it mysterious of course, but I do see a certain connection here. Granny Smith finally had the truth of what happened to her granddaughter, and despite her own fears, she got to be with her again in the world of the living, so she could finally leave in peace. Angel also left at what seemed to be a good time. Even though Fluttershy is still suffering from Discord's abrupt leave, she also finished her mission of solving the case (for now), and she was safe and with her friends. He could also go, knowing this and that Fluttershy had grown stronger since he'd met her. Very beautifully done, that.
Skywishes is interesting because in a lot of ways, she reminds me of Discord. She's been alone a lot and she's very good at logical thinking, and despite her exterior, actually has a lot of warmth to her that's not easy to see. They're interesting parallels, to say the least.
Oh, Pinkie Pie. She was great in this, though I have to say, the thought of ponies lifting and surfing her dead body around is a...disturbing image, to say the least. But oh, her personality was spot-on here. Not that anyone was OOC of course, you've always done extremely well with characterization, but she seemed to shine in this chapter. Love that she's perky like she always is, but isn't made out to be a dunce. I hate it when people do that to her.
And of course, DISCORD. If I could draw and use a tablet, I would definitely make fanart of Discord in the bubble underwater, with his tattoos glowing as he stared at his map in satisfaction, with a pin on each town he had wrecked havoc on. It's a gorgeous image in my mind. Oh how I wish I could...but the scene itself was great. And I'm still amused that we both put him in a bubble in our latest chapters. :D
I love how in denial he is; that he thinks just because he hasn't seen her in a while, that maybe he's over it. Oh Discord, you noodley fool you. As if all you went through with her was just an illusion.
A few lines I found amusing and/or thought provoking:
Ah, but Discord, it's so unpredictable! Don't you just LOVE that, you disharmonic son of a gun?!?!? ANYONE could easily see why you'd like a pony like Pinkie Pie. But Fluttershy??? LE GASP! (Unless you're a hardcore fluttercorder, ;D)
YES. It's one of the very reasons why he can be a pain to write. But at the same time, it makes so much sense. You can't know what's illogical if you don't know what makes it illogical. You have to understand logic in order to be the Master of Chaos and DIsharmony. It's one of the reasons he's so fascinating and fun to write, which makes the difficulty worth it. And you show it well.
Interesting...Did he do it solely because they "rudely" interrupted the ride, as you further wrote, or does the fact that he took them safely out of the cyclone "without thinking" mean that he's even more deluded than he thinks he is?
He has no idea about just how much he's changed. At least, that's what I think. Oh, DIscord, you're so adorable in your delusion.
Needless to say, I am SO excited for the moment they meet. Needs more Parmesan, Discord? HOW ABOUT PARMESAN-COLORED PEGASUS INSTEAD?!?!?
So once again, great job! Keep doing your thing, and the wait is always so totally worth it.
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I think Fluttershy would be even more horrified at the idea of having such intimacy on somepony (or somedragon's) bed, whether they knew about it or not, than the idea of it on her table.
And angry? Noooooooo! Fluttershy needs it gentle and loving and sweet and slow until she's worked up enough for the final finish. On the bed or on fluffy blankets in front of a roaring fire. At least, for a first time, that's how it would be. Maybe the angry kind can be for later when she's more...experienced.
And ya can't make it too fast. Flutters would take her time with it and make sure it was right. And after not seeing Cordy for a year...Nope. Goodness, by how it's written, Fluttershy only thinks she might be in love with him, but it's been so long that she's doubting herself.
So if you want that kind of activity, you may have to wait for another story or write it yourself. :)
6923171
oooh gee poke a hole in my idea. all i want is these two to bang nice and hard! is that so much to ask for!?
6923515 Not at all! Actually, a lot of people have a headcanon where Fluttershy actually does enjoy such things; she just doesn't talk about it. It was just me blathering about my own opinion. And you could always try to write some yourself...But there are some mature fics of the two on this site if you haven't read any yet.
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i know~
its just i really want these two to bang in this story! at least in bride of discord you know they banged :P
6923171 Well-worded, Tater and I thank you for it.
6923515 Sorry to disappoint, dude, but if you're hoping for the Odd Couple to quote unquote "bang nice and hard" any time soon, I'm afraid you must look elsewhere, since in this story they've got quite a ways to go before they're even remotely ready for that sort of thing.
6931530 i am willing to wait XD
this story is like many others i have read. where two charaters have such a good chemistry that you say "Oh they should bang"
I want them to bang in the show! will it ever happen? NO XD
doesnt mean i wont stop wanting it! i love this series. honestly? i thought it was a dumb idea. like im like "really?" after i saw it in a discord and fluttershy list on tumblr and i thought why not? read it i could not stop reading the first story till i was done XD
and same goes for this one! feel in love with it. and yes while i may never get the "they banged" chapter doesnt mean i wont be wanting it X3
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Thanks for the review, I really appreciated it.
Yay! He was certainly an interesting challenge to write, trying to make him both likeable and in-character while at the same time trying to factor in that he's a lot older then he is in the show.
*Chuckles* Kind of funny that she'd remind you of him, considering (as I mentioned in my author's note) that like him, she was inspired by a sci-fi character. Albeit a very different one from Q.
*Laughs nervously* Yeah, it probably is. But on the plus side, it was really rewarding to hear you felt she was in-character since I've always found her rather hard to get right.
Yeah, I don't like when they make her look like a dunce either.
*Laughs and shakes head* I know I've said it before, but I just have way too much fun with those tattoos. Even though I haven't read you're latest chapter (though I do plan to read it and the rest of your story when I finally get this Salanderized-version of Discord out of my head) the fact that we both put him in a bubble amuses me as well.
*Laughs* He'd probably insist it's the former... but in reality I think it was probably the latter.
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*Chuckles* To be honest, so did I.
6937701 ...You could have Discord turn her into a drum and literally bang her.
Now THERE'S an interesting idea...!
(I am so sorry)
6948390 Well, considering she didn't exactly freakout when he turned her into an orange, one has to wonder: Um, does he do that kind of thing often?
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im happy you decided to do it X3
i mean when i think of something i find dumb its ether dead or rewritten XD
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yes after all your suppose to bang the drum slowly
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ahahahaha
A+ would laugh again!
I hope that Discord and Fluttershy get back together!
6974937 Well, I hope to have the next chapter up soon so we'll see. By the way, did you have a chance to read the first story?
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Sort of, I didn't read the ending chapters, i only got to the part where Fluttershy reunites with her friends and Discord is given a second chance. Note to self, reread first story.
6974969 Please let me know what you thought of it after you get a chance to reread it.
This chapter was hard on me. I lost my grandpa AND my kitty cat last summer. The wound's still fresh.
My Grandfather died last year from a disease called Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the name for a group of lung conditions that cause breathing difficulties. It includes: emphysema – damage to the air sacs in the lungs. chronic bronchitis – long-term inflammation of the airways my Grandfather is my mom's father and my parents and my little sister and I loved my Grandfather we always called him Poppop.
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Aww, I'm sorry to hear that.