//------------------------------// // Fleur de Lis Reharmonisation: Charm // Story: Pony POV Series: Fancy and Fleur-Dreams and Duty // by Purple Patch //------------------------------// Pony POV Series Fleur de Lis Charm Recursive Fanfiction Yes, yes, you can come in, I’m...I think I’m ready. How has it been? Tartarus...to be honest. The memory of what that aberration did to me burns through my skull every time I close my eyes. Eyes...all those eyes...all those hooves...they just won’t leave me alone! Sorry...I’ve been like this for some time. I just...can’t seem to forget...what it was like. What Discord did to me...What Fancy did to- No! No, I can’t think like that! He was under that mad serpent’s spell. He would never have done it if he were in his right mind. He would never mean to hurt me! I know that...I know that... But if I know it, why can’t I act like it? Why do I always flinch when he enters the room? Why do I always avoid talking to him or his friends? Why have I been staying inside more and more? Unable to eat, unable to sleep, unable to talk. I can barely think, let alone hold a conversation. I just see them everywhere. That disgusting maniac! He almost drove me completely insane just for a joke! He’s the most sadistic creature I’ve ever known... And yet...he’s just like the rest...looking at me like I’m some sort of toy! And he treated Fancy like a toy as well! The one stallion who has ever treated me like a living, breathing pony with thoughts and feelings and he turned him into a monster! And now I have nothing! Nothing! I’m not safe! Ever!!! *Deep breath*...Sorry, I’m sorry... Alright...ahem...I can focus now. Continue. Well...right after Discord’s defeat the first thing I discovered was that I looked like the back end of Sweet Apple Acre’s Messiest Pig Competition Winner so of course I didn’t want anypony seeing. The paparazzi would have had a field day. But I needed somewhere to tend to the cut on my face. And every time I felt that cut for an instant, I was reminded of the cruel words and hateful glares coming from the stallion I love most in the world. I’m reminded of the sword slicing across my face. Fancy loves my face... I never thought I’d ever see Fancy angry at me. Never once had he found a reason to be angry or even irritated with me, however many times I could have given him one. Yet here he was, raging before me, accusing me of doing things I would never even contemplate. Everything I ever believed I was safe with trying to harm me. The nightmare Discord had thrown me into just kept getting worse. If I was any other pony, nopony would know but...I’m Fleur de Lis... Too tall... Too thin... And not so pretty anymore. Damn you, Discord... So I hid. I hid my body from the creatures who wanted it all for themselves until I knew they were gone. Then when I crawled out of the muck I’d landed myself in, staggering back to Canterlot in delirium...I saw him. Fancy was here. The colour in his mane and eyes was back...but his charm and composition was gone completely. He was a sobbing wreck. Just like me. I’m ashamed to say I flinched when he held me. I just...I just couldn’t forget the blade. But once he put his hooves around my shoulders, holding me close, I was reminded what he had once been...What he always tried to be...And I’d like to say that was the end of it. We walked home together, both staggering, filthy shells of ponies, and tried to put the day behind us. But I couldn’t. I just kept seeing the eyes and hooves again. When I got in a shower and washed the mud away, I just saw hundreds of little eyeballs on their stalks crawling up my legs like worms! I wouldn’t stop flailing and shrieking until Fancy came for me. And he tried to calm me down...I almost hit him in the face... I’m sorry, Fancy, I’m sorry. Please...don’t give up on me... I don’t feel safe. Everywhere I look; eyes. Every time I close my own eyes I see those of others. Hundreds and hundreds and hundreds. I find myself taking a sword to bed. Fancy’s sword, hidden in a cane. It takes about three nights before I cut myself on it and the doctors arrive. I end up making a scene, attacking the doctors and nurses. Fancy apologised for it all...I felt wretched. I was already a burden on his reputation and finances before this endeavour... I’m sorry. Fancy always tells me I shouldn’t say that. He hates it when I act like I’m bad for him. This continued for some time until...she paid a visit. The Princess? No, no, no. She...she had her own problems. One of the Bearers. The Element of Honesty. Applejack, she said her name was. Interesting choice of headwear, I have to say. Not my kind of thing but it’s quite striking. She was a country pony, Sweet Apple Acres-born and raised and known to be hard-working and ever helpful, as well as a good advisor. She was going around Equestria helping those in similar positions to our own. Dear Celestia, other ponies had the same problem?! It’s a wonder Equestria didn’t tear itself apart! She sat us down in the living room. I instinctively chose the small armchair and did my best to sink into it, shivering. The mare called Applejack spoke. “Ah can’t stay long.” She began “Probably shouldn’t anyways. City life’s never agreed with me. But ah want yer both to know ah’m here to help. Ah know what happened when that lying varmint, Discord, went around turning everypony into...something they weren’t. Ah won’t pretend to know what yer goin’ through. But ah ain’t lyin’ when ah say it’s not too late to sort things out.” She turned to Fancy and told him all the things we both should have known. That he’s a gallant soul, with few limits to his generosity and not a shred of dishonour. Discord hated that on sight and so turned him into something he would never choose to be, twisting his mind to allow his slightest anxieties to rule him. Because that’s what he does, the cackling bastard... Ahem, pardon my Prench. It seemed to do Fancy quite a bit of good. I was so happy to see him look more like himself. His colours returning weren’t enough. All of him had to be there. To be perfectly honest, I felt ashamed. I only now realised what my Fancy had been going through all this time...and I hadn’t done a thing to help him. I should have the one saying those words to him and making him feel better. Instead I’d just been stewing in my helplessness since this whole sordid business began. Perhaps I really am a burden... Then Applejack turned to me. “Mrs Fleur? The Princesses showed me what happened. Long story. Let me start by saying it’s all over. Discord is gone an’ so are the eyes and hooves ya kept seein’ everywhere. What yer feelin’ now is just bad memories and the worst yer imagination can do with ‘em. Discord lets it linger with everypony he twists an’ warps for his sick jokes. What he did to ya turns mah stomach an’ nopony blames ya for how scared ya were. But yer only lettin’ him win by lettin’ it stick around this long. Nopony wants to hurt ya or scare ya or whatever Discord said they wanted. He’s gone now. You – are – safe!” She gently put one hoof on my shoulder and looked me in the eyes. I flinched slightly but I didn’t fly into a fit as I often had. “Now listen, Fancy loves ya. As much as my pa did mah ma. An he’s gonna’ keep ya safe. An’ you gotta keep him safe in turn. That’s the way it works. That’s the way ya both get better. That’s how me and mah friends got better.” She paused and gave a sigh. “He made me see things too. Things ah ain’t never wanna’ see again. But when that happened, ah became his plaything. Ah became a liar, hurtin’ others without realisin’ as ah hurt mahself. Now look...this ain’t gonna be easy to hear...but yer hurtin’ others too.” My eyes widened. I was hurting others?! Had she any idea what I’d been through?! Did she think I wanted to be this way?! “Ah’m sorry. Ah know that sounds wrong but it’s the truth.” The way she spoke was like a parent or a teacher. I hadn’t known her long but she seemed very...wise. “Think about it now. Yer hurtin’ Fancy. Yer hurtin’ yer friends. Yer hurtin’ the ponies who try to help ya by clingin’ on to yer nightmares. Yer afraid they’ll become real again but they were never real to begin with. Now ah know it’s had a very bad effect on ya but yer not gonna’ make it get any better by curlin’ up in a dang ball, feelin’ sorry fer yerself. Ah’m mighty sorry to be blunt to both o’ ya but ya can’t let that snake win. He’s a sore loser an’ what yer feelin’ is proof o’ that. He takes the things that are most precious to us and turns them into curses. Yer looks are not a curse. Fancy is not a curse. Don’t let him win, Fleur de Lis. Yer a very lucky pony. Don’t throw it all away...” She stepped to the side and turned my gaze to Fancy Pants, who sat pondering in front of the fireplace. She was right. I’d neglected him. I’d been so selfish. Applejack cleared her throat. My beloved gentlecolt turned his head to see me looking straight at him and giving him a small smile. It was the best I could manage but it seemed to help. I paced over, almost carefully, and held his hoof. There were tears in his eyes as he gently took it and smiled back. “I’m here for you, Fleur.” he said "Whenever you need me.” Once Applejack was gone, Fancy was sent for by the Princess and I was the one left to ponder. I hadn’t noticed it had gotten dark. I’d barely noticed the fire going out. I saw the eyes in the light...and when I closed my eyes. Relative darkness seemed safe enough. Not pitch-black, you understand but I felt almost...invisible. It was then I realised that Applejack spoke every word of truth. Discord was winning. I was afraid of showing myself. I was afraid of looking good for others. Then the fire lit. I saw a flash of gold magic as it did so. Fancy... I felt him hold me...I almost flinched but...as he just sat down beside me...and warmed me...I felt different. I felt so much better, him just being there. For me... And me being there for him. I finally managed to find myself again, gratefully accepting his embrace as I felt a wondrous warmth spread across my body. The eyes were gone. The hooves were gone. Finally. It was just us again. I’m so happy to have you back...Fancy. * We spend so much more time together lately. I like to stay beside him. I like being beside somepony who knows I’m more than just a pretty face. I’m posing again. I don’t mind mirrors anymore. Me and Fancy go out shopping in Canterlot, meeting friends and generally reminding ponies we’re important. Things seem to have gone back to normal. I’m looking good for others again. I must remember to send Applejack a present. I’m not sure she’d really appreciate latest Canterlot fashion items...unlike her colleague. Yes, me and Fancy stumbled upon another of the Elements, though we didn’t know until later. Rarity, the Element of Generosity. A pony of expensive tastes. But then all the best mares are. She and Fancy began a certain partnership. You’d think I’d be jealous but really, the girl’s simply not his type. I should know. I think he likes a mare tall enough to look him in the eye. It’s so like him. So...is that everything? How we met? Well...if you really want to know... Listen, this is in strict confidence. Fancy’s the only one I talk about with this so I expect you to take this secret to your grave. I’m not joking. Right...I probably told you already, I was born like this...with all that entails... Yet I didn’t get my cutie mark until...quite recently actually. It would have to have been about...three years before Luna returned. I became nearly as tall as you see now and I still hadn’t got it. Flank as blank as a paper sheet. High-life just...bored me. It was actually worse than school and I cannot believe I just said that! But it wasn’t that they looked down on me or made fun of me. It was that they ignored me. I was just a piece of decoration to whomever was dragging me along! Nopony wanted to hear the words that came out of my mouth or even ask me how I was feeling. I was just...there! So I decided to get back at them a little. I really wanted to show them I wasn’t the fool they thought I was. They weren’t playing me, I was playing them! Alright...here’s where it gets a little controversial but...it’s all in the past. I became an excellent thief. I played the charmer, duping the elite with the only things they cared to acknowledge, my looks. And the things they ignored, my wits, bamboozled them time and time again as certain items went missing from their belongings or sometimes straight from their persons. My charm became the most dangerous weapon in Canterlot. I was never caught. Never even came close. I suppose Equestria has a pretty low crime rate but still, I like to feel it was somewhat impressive. I never kept anything either. They’d usually find the missing items in a dumpster somewhere or a pawn shop. Money meant little to me. It hadn’t made me any happier so far. I sometimes gave it to those who it could make happier. You remember that beggar in Manehattan I told you about? Well...let’s just say he found a use for that gold-rimmed whisky glass that one certain puffed-up Senator never found. Who even needs gold on a whisky glass? I’d never liked it. The rich spending too much money on useless things while far more deserving ponies could save lives with a mere fraction of that much. But to be perfectly honest...It was all for a good sport. However, my days of robbing the rich came to an end when I first met Fancy Pants. It was at a party...I can’t remember who was hosting it, doesn’t really matter...when I saw him, walking primly along with a gaggle of hangers-on. At first I thought he was no different from the others, definitely deserving of a bit of degradation. But even then, there was something so...unique. The way he walked, the way he smiled. It was without an ounce of arrogance or conceit. When he spoke to me...actually spoke to me...He asked me if I was enjoying the party! And he meant it. From the tone of his voice, I knew he cared. Even so...I tried my hoof. Got close to him, shared some wine, sneaked his pocket-watch and I was all set to leave. But I found him waiting for me at the exit. He spoke, so calmly, with a slightly unimpressed yet friendly smile on his face and giving me a measured glance through that delightful monocle. "Dear, petty theft doesn't suit you.” he said “You're far too smart to waste your life on such things." Smart... He actually acknowledged I was smart! Despite knowing that, at last, I had been caught...I couldn’t help but feel a sense of wonder. He’d figured me out. He knew what I’d done. What I’d achieved. And all from little details. I’d placed one hoof over his shoulder as he poured me a drink. That hoof had slid across his chest. Why had I placed my hoof right around his neck when I could have just held the shoulder closest to me? Unless I was trying to get at his coat pocket. My hooves had a slight metallic odour that came from holding gold or brass. Yet I had no jewellery on me. My hooves wouldn’t smell of copper if I hadn’t touched any jewellery. But, of course, I had touched jewellery. Other ponies’ jewellery. My horn had lit up while we were talking but I was holding my wine glass in my hoof. Because I was casting a small invisibility spell to hide the watch as I deposited it into my hoof-bag. And my eyes had never truly been on him the whole time we were talking. And I’m sorry they weren’t. Had I seen him truly, there and then, I would never have wanted to rob him at all. This pony before me was a genius! And better than that, he was a nice genius! He didn’t call the guard. And I never stole again. He helped me find enjoyment in other places. In other ways. Ways the rest of the upper-crust couldn’t see below them, so busy sticking their noses in the air. And now, every time I look at them, I don’t feel hatred or resentment. I don’t even feel irritation. I actually pity them. Because they’ll never see what me and Fancy see. What we saw in each other...was how we fell in love. The two of us spent a lot of time together after that. The charismatic gentlecolt and the mysterious beauty. We made the headlines. Of course, that brought certain individuals to the scent. We weren’t without enemies. And those enemies, banded together, proved dangerous. I ended up saving his life. Spur of the moment thing, really. I didn’t think, I just acted. Well, I did think. I thought about how happy I was with him and how much more friendly Canterlot feels with him around. I didn’t want to lose it. I didn’t want to lose him. And that was how I got my Cutie Mark. My family, you see...and this is where I sound like an egotist, sorry...are from a long line of knights in the days of Old Equestria. Defenders of the Princess, charging into the fray with lance and sword and shield. The stuff of storybooks was very real for them. Lance and Bright Eyes, my ancestors, took the Fleur-de-Lis as their sigil. They once saved the Princess’s life. As I saved Fancy’s. I protect him. As best I can. I failed to protect him from Discord and spend a week in hell for it. I won’t go through that again. Ever. We protect each other. That’s how we’ve got this far. I like to feel he needs me as much as I need him. I think he feels that way too. We keep each other safe when Equestria turns on itself. When Nightmare Whisper took hold, we picked the wrong day to visit the Carousel Boutique. But Fancy and me just spent the day helping each other. That’s what we do. All the ups and downs, the perils and heartaches and trials we overcome for each other. That’s our marriage. That’s our story. And I’ve never been happier than to be a part of it.