The Discordian's Daughter

by Pumpkin Patch

Part 2, Chapter 9

For many a pony, the idea of sleeping outside in the woods would probably sound uncomfortable and depressing. To Willow, however, it was just like home. The Greenhouse practically was the outdoors after all. Even beyond that, however, Willow's love of nature wouldn't have had it any other way.

Still, her rest in the nearest patch of forest she could find wasn't entirely peaceful. Her nerves constantly got the better of her. Everything little noise sounded to her like a predator or, perhaps worse, somepony looking for an escaped hospital patient.

However, as nervous as she was at the prospective of being caught, her agenda for this day was to join a large crowd of ponies, namely the ones that would be attending the Canterlot Garden Gallop. She had worked hard on that float with Fluttershy and even besides that, she had been longing to see this parade ever since Twilight and the others told her about it.

Of course, this posed a dilemma: Twilight and her friends would also be at the parade, and many of them in the spotlight at that. And as much as Willow wanted to simply wave at Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack as their floats passed, she knew she couldn't be seen by them, at least not in a way that they recognized.

In fact, Willow concluded that it was probably best that absolutely nopony saw her in her usual state. Despise's attack on Ponyville was well-reported on and there was a good chance somepony would recognize her from her description in the news.

As unashamed as Willow usually was of her appearance, she felt that this time she needed a disguise. Unfortunately, having no money and the need to avoid being seen limited her options in this pursuit. Canterlot had so many clothing stores it blew Willow's mind, but she couldn't use any of them. It was like the key to her jail cell was right outside the bars, but just out of reach.

What was in reach, however, was a piece of cloth that she found in one of the many alleyways she found herself ducking into to avoid detection. She wasn't sure where it originally came from, but judging by its condition it was likely used as a tarp or for some other industrial purpose. Even if it wasn't dirty and tattered, it was still a dull, lifeless grey.

Still, it was large enough to cover her and stuff away her bountiful hair. She tied it around her neck and just let the rest of drip over her head and body, making it into a makeshift cloak and hood. It was a new look for her, but it somehow still felt very cliche. And besides that, her current appearance would have left Rarity traumatized.

But at least now Willow felt free to explore Canterlot with slightly less paranoia. The parade wasn't for an hour or two yet and Willow decided to give herself a tour. She gave her newfound robe a few last minute adjustments, tightened the knot holding it together around her neck and then set off.

While tightening that knot, however, there was a small snap. It was a very brief and subtle noise that went completely unnoticed by the Willow as she busied herself with her disguise. Also evading her senses was a certain piece of neck jewelry which fell out from underneath the makeshift robe and quietly landed on the ground. Willow stepped over it completely unaware as she made her way into the heart of the city...

Up until now her memories consisted solely of the Greenhouse and her brief time at Ponyville, so Canterlot to her was nothing short of overwhelming. It was the complete opposite of that town she saw in her dream that one night. The building were all immaculate and expertly constructed, some of them reaching high into the sky. The city was loud and full of life, with ponies going to and fro from the seemingly endless establishments that guided the roads.

Those same roads guided her now from place to place. She managed to get some free samples from the several of the restaurants, but all the stores and boutiques made her wish that she even had a single bit to her name. Still, the city had so many of them and in such variety that window shopping itself was an experience Willow would've gladly paid for.

In fact, it was so much fun that she had lost track of time, until stumbling upon one place in particular that reminded her. After a long day of exploring, Willow had found herself looking at the entrance to Graceful's Greenery, the same place she and Fluttershy had designed the parade float for. It was a Greenhouse, naturally, but a far cry from the Greenhouse that Willow had called home mere hours ago. This was entirely made of glass and she could see the wide variety of beautiful decorative plants within it.

Willow was conflicted. On one hand, she would like nothing more to tour the greenery, but at the same time she feared that the Gracefuls would be in there and recognize her from their previous visit to the Greenhouse. Worse yet, Fluttershy could be there with them preparing for the Canterlot Garden Gallop.

The Gallop...

Willow quickly realized that there would be no time to scour Graceful's Greenery even if she wanted to. Beyond the Greenhouse she could see large groups of ponies beginning to flock in one direction.

Willow turned and followed the crowds. It was about to start.

As amazing as Canterlot itself was to Willow, it was a rock quarry compared to the Canterlot Garden Gallop. Ponies in band uniform marched in formation down the street, blaring their instruments and twirling batons in expert form. Crowds of onlookers flooded both sides of the road, whistling, cheering and waving flags. So much confetti and glitter was raining down on the scene that it would even put Pinkie Pie's parties to shame.

Pinkie was never one to let herself be outdone, however, and Willow soon saw that today was no exception: the float for Merry’s Marvelous Malts was among the first show off to Canterlot and showed off it did. It was formed into a giant chocolate cake with the top platform covered in sprinkles. Circling around the top of giant desert on wheels was a series of pony-sized candles and in the center of them an enormous cherry. Right next to cherry was Pinkie Pie herself. She waved her hooves in the air at crowds to her left and to her right, jumped up and down, cartwheeled, and anything else she could to raise their excitement. Then, as soon as she got the crowd about to burst, she pulled the stem of the cherry and streams of powdered candy erupted from all of the candles at once. Everypony cheered. Willow never saw so many tongues hanging out at a single moment.

That was a tough act to follow, but the other presenters did their best. A few more sections of marching band went by as well as a few floats of places Willow didn’t recognize, but eventually a display rolled by of a giant barrel of cider and Willow didn't need to guess who's that was.

The oversized keg had a giant marquee on it that read “The Fruit House”. The lid was lifted up and Applejack could be clearly seen floating in a giant pool of what looked to be rich, brown cider, her left foreleg securing her to the rim as the right one waved. Other ponies were swimming around casually in the beverage while scores and scores of fruit — though mostly apples — bobbed up and down around them. Willow presumed they were Applejack's family, though she had never met them before. She liked the little red bow the younger one wore on her head.

Of course, that bow pailed in comparison to the countless ribbons on the following float from Lady Flora’s Flower Boutique. They were long, lavish, and colorful. Rarity used them to tie up the countless bouquets floral arrangements, all of which were even more beautiful. The flowers ranged from red to yellow to blue, but they were all arranged with obvious precision. The patterns made the platform look like it was a natural wonder. In fact, the platform itself could barely be seen. Had Rarity herself not been trotting back and forth to wave at the crowds, Willow would not have known it was anything more than a bed of flowers.

As Rarity's float made its way down the street and out of Willow's view, the hooded pony turned her head in the opposite direction to see what was coming next. Her eyes were met with more marching bands and more floats. Some sections were more impressive than others, but they weren't what held her gaze. What held it was pure anticipation. There was only one float left that she was looking forward to.

And eventually, her patience paid off. The crowd cheered once more as the Graceful's Greenery float came into view. It was just as Willow remembered it, pony-shaped hedges and all.

It was hauled out of the Greenhouse a few days before Willow hauled out of there herself. Willow had worried that it would have been damaged in transit, but now she could see that Fluttershy had it all under control.

What Fluttershy didn't have under control, though, was the crowd of cheering ponies around her. In fact, it seemed more like the inverse. She would constantly lift her hoof, as if about to wave to them, but would quickly put it back down. This was usually followed by her walking backward and attempting to hide herself behind the float's decorations. She would then realize this was futile as there was no way to cover herself from all angles and then attempt to return to her starting position in the limelight. Then, she would get scared again and the process repeated. This happened several times within the span of the one minute Willow had Fluttershy and their float in view.

Despite the awkward performance, the crowd seemed to love the Graceful Greenery display. Willow overheard several of the ponies surrounding her discussing the amazing design, many of them wondering how its makers pulled it off. This made Willow feel proud, especially after seeing the large plaque on the side of the float that read “Co-Created By and Dedicated to Willow Voidsdale,” the same one that Twilight and Spike had promised her.

Satisfied and touched that her contribution to the parade went without a hitch, Willow decided to sneak out of the crowd before she risked being exposed any longer.

Willow pushed her way to through the countless ponies still fixed on the parade, keeping her hood pulled down over her head as she went. It took a lot of effort, but she expected that it would get easier as she made her way to the back, where the crowd was thinner.

However, it never got any easier. As she continued her escape from the parade's onlookers, Willow's legs felt heavier and heavier. It felt like she was trudging through a swamp. Then, her lungs slowed and her breathing became labored. This brought on some lightheadedness, which begat blurred vision. Willow felt like she was going to faint soon, but she was still determined not to draw attention to herself. Slowly and painfully, she marched on. As much as her impaired vision would allow, she scoured the street, looking for an alleyway or alcove to duck into. But soon her vision became unusable, gradually being covered in a horrifyingly-familiar bright green haze.

Comments

[Amos Anon]

Well... she's f%@%ed