Chapter Eight
“Fluttershy,” Twilight said—in the dark old Canterlot castle, the indicated pegasus flinched—“who tamed the manticore with her compassion, represents the spirit of...Kindness!”
The shards of the shattered stone glowed brightly as they came to orbit Fluttershy. She looked at them, eyes wide. She was the bearer of Kindness? She, just a little
Cadance's horn flashed, sending the fat old witch flying into the cavern wall. “I can't keep Hydia back much longer!” she shouted.
Behind her, Celestia eyed a purple-and-green egg. “How could such a fascinating thing come from this dreary volcano?”
“Um, Auntie!” Cadance spotted the witch's two daughters approaching. “You need to find the flume and destroy it! Quick!”
“Wait, Cadance.” Celestia's eyes narrowed. “I think this is a dragon egg. Perhaps we should
“Oh, isn't this sickening.”
Luna stared, eyes wide, at the unicorn before her. In the pale moonlight, and injured as he was, Auros Osmosis looked less like a pony and more like a walking corpse. He took a shuddering step towards her, bearing the same simper as always.
Luna felt her rage wash away as she beheld her enemy. Despite the treachery, despite the awful lies, everything he'd done...even as she noticed Celestia lying behind Auros, even more grievously battered...
Her angry expression gave way to one of weariness. How could she bear such hate toward somepony so pathetic?
Auros eyed her, raising an eyebrow. His smile faded. “Ah. I see how it is. This heroine is not letting her anger get the better of her, is she?” He rolled his eyes. “Oh, no, she's far too mature for that! It will be a noble battle, fought coolly and with wisdom. Maybe even mercy!”
His eyes flashed white as he grinned. “But it won't bring Sombra back, my little pony. He's lost forever.” His horn shone bright silver. “And whose fault is that?”
Luna blinked. She hadn't expected Auros to taunt her with that. Silly, really. He was too cruel for his own good.
A tear trickled down her cheek, as her eyes narrowed to slits. Her horn began to
“Oh, dear. It appears I've damaged the slide-moving-wheel thing.”
Discord peered at the projector, scowling. It was a mess. Half the slides didn't even seem quite real—accidentally-produced illusions. Honestly, these contraptions are like perfectly-contained pockets of chaos masquerading as order. He jabbed at the device with an eagle's claw.
He considered it. This was the fifth possession of Fluttershy's he'd broken during his short stay here.
He glanced up at the locked iron cage hanging from the ceiling. Angel glared down at him. “I should probably release you soon, shouldn't I?”
Angel stomped his foot.
“Oh, patience. Just let me try and fix this.” Discord snapped his fingers. The slide projector turned into a small steel box, with a glass cover on one side and buttons and cords all over.
Discord peered at the strange device. “No, that's not right.” He snapped his fingers and the box changed again. “Oh, bother. This isn't
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Discord looked around. The telegraph had changed back into a projector, though all the slides were gone. Frankly, he didn't care.
He looked up at Angel and grinned. “See? I told you I could fix it.”
Angel made a rude gesture.
Discord shrugged, raising an eyebrow. “I suppose using magic safely is harder than I thought.” He snapped his fingers, and the steel cage vanished. The rabbit within let out a yelp as it fell to the floor.
“Oops again, then.” Discord eyed Angel warily. “You won't tell Fluttershy, right?”
Angel's eyes narrowed.
“Hmph.” Discord crossed his arms, sighing. “Fine, fine. What will it take to keep you quiet?”
In a flash, Angel was up and gone. A moment later, he returned, dragging a massive cookbook opened to a particular page. He set the book down and poked the page, scowling up at Discord.
“That doesn't look terribly healthy.” Discord grinned. “It's a deal.” He waved his lion paw, and a fancy salad topped with whipped cream and a cherry materialized before Angel. Without hesitation, the rabbit began digging into his 'gift'.
Discord chuckled, watching the display. He had been tempted to put some sort of trick in the salad, of course, but Angel's silence was worth a moment of boredom. It was Discord's job to watch the dull old house in Fluttershy's absence, and he knew losing Fluttershy's favor wouldn't end well for him.
Besides, he reflected, it would be dreadfully boring without that silly pegasus humoring me, I suppose.
So nopony could be the wiser about...whatever it was he'd done. Honestly, not even he was sure—Discord never really understood his magic. Understanding made things less exciting. Hopefully, his little accident wouldn't have long-term consequences of any real
“And the Princess?”
“Oh, um...” Fluttershy gave a little shrug. “I'm not sure, Lord Fancypants.”
“Fancypants is fine.” The well-dressed unicorn looked around the empty throne room, raising an eyebrow. “I am a little concerned. Grogar may not realize the consequences of driving Princess Luna over the edge.”
“Oh, that would be simply awful.” Fluttershy cringed. “Do you...do you think that will happen?”
Fancypants looked at her sharply. “Where is she now? Oh, and I doubt it, but—”
“She's sleeping.” Fluttershy frowned. “Well, she's not really sleeping, she's—”
“Meditating. Watching over the dreams of her subjects.” Fancypants nodded. “I know, she's explained it to me.”
“So, um, how are Twilight and the others?”
“They're well.” Fancypants looked a bit cheerier at the question. “The Princess is guilty over her 'failure', your fellow pegasus is very agitated, Miss Rarity wishes she were here helping with the inspection rather than stuck searching though dark caverns.” He adjusted his monocle, sounding troubled as he continued. “They're very concerned, particularly Princess Twilight. She's read enough to understand what's at stake here. To say the least, the witch's escape could have been timed better for us.”
“Oh, definitely.” Fluttershy nodded. “But we can handle it.” She pointed at the stained window depicting Nightmare Moon's defeat. “See? The sun's coming out. Luna can get some rest, and Celestia can handle Grogar for a while.”
Fancypants looked, and frowned. “That's odd. It still seems rather early.” He started toward the doors.
“Where are you going?” Fluttershy asked.
“I'm just off to investigate,” Fancypants called back. “Stay here. Celestia should be arriving shortly, if the morning has come.”
He exited, and the doors shut behind him. Still a bit disoriented, Fluttershy looked around. It did seem a bit early.
She froze. Something had just occurred to her. All of the windows on one side of the hall showed a bright sunrise. The ones on the other side showed a still fairly dark city. It was ordinary enough for a winter morning, but there was one big problem.
The light was coming from the west side.
Something was wrong.
In case it's not clear, we are now going to be transitioning into a new format! Discord messed up my one-perspective-per-chapter rule, so we can bounce around as needed. Huzzah for chaos making my job easier! 
Oh, and FYI, expect to see Discord later on. His appearance does actually have a purpose. 
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This sounds serious...
Fluttershy's going to be really upset about all her missing slides.
I can't wait to see what's happening.
What.
2130552 Here, I'll be nice.
Perfectly written Discord. And it's not often a fourth wall breaking moment doesn't feel too blatant and doesn't jar you out of the story briefly.
Yay reformed! Discord.
Yay Discord!
Have to say, I REALLY love what you did with the "telegraph" bit.