Zecora turned around as Fluttershy approached. The look in the pegasus' eyes made what Zecora had to tell her all the more heartbreaking.
"Did you figure out what's wrong with him?" Fluttershy whispered, as she glanced at Discord. Her eyes misting with tears as she looked hopefully at Zecora.
Zecora sighed, "Indeed I have, but what I have to say is nothing to laugh" She straightened up tall to show the importance and the seriousness of the situation.
Fluttershy got the message of Zecora's position. She gulped, bracing herself for the worst.
"I am afraid the news is tragic, for he is starting to lose his chaos magic."
Fluttershy gasped when Zecora said that. A part of her was expecting that to be the case when she took note that Discord was only getting worse instead of better. However, at the same time, she also was not expecting it. She started to softly cry
"How is that possible? Do you have any idea on what could've caused this?" Fluttershy looked at Zecora with so much hope shining in her eyes right then, that it broke her heart further to tell the little pegasus that this was one thing which her potions couldn't fix.
Zecora sighed, and the way she did gave Fluttershy her answer. "His suffering, I wish I could undo. But, I think I have something that might be able to give you a clue." She walked away from Fluttershy and headed toward the stairs.
Fluttershy glanced up, her eyes held the faintest spark of hope within their depths. She watched as Zecora descended down the stairs. She turned to look at her husband, just looking at him when he's like this brought tears to her eyes, she walked up to his side and gently put a hoof on his lion paw. It felt colder than before
"It..it'll be okay honey...Zecora's trying to help..to...to help you feel better.." Each word becoming softer and softer as she let out quiet cries. She nuzzled her head under his chin, resting her head on his neck as she gave out more quiet sobs.
Her ear twitched when she heard Zecora's hoof steps coming back up the stairs. She sighed and pulled her head away from where it was laying on Discord's neck. She gave him a light kiss on his cheek, and then turned to Zecora, who was approaching carrying a vial of white liquid in her mouth.
Fluttershy stared at it quizzically with an eyebrow raised. The liquid was the same color and consitency as milk, and it also reminded Fluttershy of the potion Twilight drank when she was trying to figure out why the Everfree Forest was invading, when she first became a princess.
Zecora stopped in front of Fluttershy and gently put the vial on the ground. She looked up at Fluttershy and said, "This potion will tell you of the future, present, or past. It may show you why his magic is disappearing so fast."
Fluttershy looked at the potion on the ground skeptically, then back at Discord, who hadn't woken up from his potentially fatal slumber. She looked back at Zecora.
"How does it work?" She said full of determination.
Zecora smiled at her, proud of the determination the young, timid pegasus was showing.
"You simply think about what you wish to see, as long as it's a question regarding those three. It cannot answer specific questions, so wishing it to show you something is my suggestion." She said.
Fluttershy looked down at the bottle one last time before picking it up and holding it in her hoof. She closed her eyes to think of a way to ask her question, without a question.
Show me what is taking away Discord's magic.
She opened her eyes and popped the lid off with her teeth. She took a decent sip of the potion. When she was done, she licked her lips, evaluating the taste. Fluttershy waited a few minutes for the potion to take effect. After about five minutes, she opened her mouth to tell Zecora that she had accidentally given her the wrong potion. When Fluttershy opened her mouth to say just that, her eyes suddenly widened and turned completely white as the potion started to work...
Fluttershy was in the Everfree Forest. The place that seemed so unnatural to ponykind. Where the plants grow, animals care for themselves, and the clouds move, all on their own! Not only that, it was also filled with strange and terrifying creatures that nopony wanted to face, especially Fluttershy.
The scene shifted, and she found herself in a cave inside of a gorge. The cave was filled with a bright white light that was even brighter than Celestia's sun. When the light softened enough, she saw a tall, magnificent tree made purely out of crystal. It was absolutely breathtaking. It was then she saw the symbols intricately carved into the trunk. On the bottom was a blazing sun. Above it, was a crescent moon. Finally, at the top of the tree was a shimmering star...
Suddenly, a light purple aura trail was seeping into the crystal tree. The small trail was coming from somewhere outside of the cave.
The scene changed again. This time, Fluttershy saw Discord, lying in bed and hardly moving except for the small rising and falling of his chest. The transparency of his body was becoming dimmer and dimmer. There was a light purple aura surrounding him. It left his body in the form of a trail and was leading outside.
The scene shifted one last time to reveal the crystal tree once more. The purple aura trail split and went to six different places on the tree that seemed to represent the tops of the branches. One trail was leading into one branch that had a purple diamond shaped stone. Three more trails were leading into an apple, a lightening bolt, and balloon shaped stones. And the last two were leading into a butterfly and a star shaped stone...
Fluttershy blinked the white away as the vision ended. She rubbed her eyes to rid of the blurriness. She looked at Zecora, who was calmly sitting on her haunches. There was no emotion on the zebra's face as she looked up at the pegasus.
"Well? Did you find anything of use? Or what has caused his magic to diffuse?"
Fluttershy didn't know what to say, she was so shocked on what she just found out. Gathering her thoughts together, she gulped and looked at Zecora.
"Y-yes...I-I think the Elements of Harmony are causing this..."