//------------------------------// // A Cruel Trick // Story: The Element of Kindness // by BlueHeartTattoo //------------------------------// The sun rises over the horizons, giving the sky a glorious golden orange hue. Sweetie Belle and Diamond were awake early, trotting down the path of the Everfree Forest to the CMC Treehouse. “Thanks again for asking your parents to stay at your place;” Diamond said gratefully to the white unicorn beside her, “I’m sort of surprised that they didn’t hesitate to help.” “Yeah, Mom and Dad are really understanding,” Sweetie Belle replied, “Besides, it’s the least I can do for you as a friend.” As mentioned earlier, Diamond Tiara was granted permission to stay with Sweetie Belle and her family after her mother kicked her out of the house for disobeying her and defending her friends. To be completely honest, Diamond didn’t think she would be brave enough to stand up for herself after years of neglect and bitterness. But she couldn’t have done it without the influence of her friends. It also did help when it comes to housing arrangements, she joked to herself. They arrived at the treehouse and went inside. They looked at the empty main area confused as they were supposed to meet them here. “Why did we need to come back here again?” Diamond questioned. “The girls and I left our supplies back in his dimension when the vines took over the forest. Since we were all very busy last night, we should ask him now if he can find them for us. Though, Apple Bloom and the others should’ve been here by now.” “Maybe they’re upstairs?” Sweetie followed Diamond up the stairs to where the trapdoor leading to the clubroom slash bedroom is. When they reached the top, they saw Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Bab Seed holding up the trap door slightly and peeking through it. Sweetie tried greeting to them, “Hey, guys—“ “Shhh!” The three girls turned their heads sharply and hushed them. That made the two girls blinked in confusion. “Why are you guys peeking under the trapdoor?” Diamond asked. “Come over here,” Scootaloo whispered, gesturing Diamond to come closer. “Be prepared for the cutest thing you’ll ever see,” Apple Bloom whispered right before Diamond and Sweetie peeked through the trap door and see the sight in front of them. On top of the several rows of beds were the sleeping forms of Fluttershy and Discord. Her head was pillowed against his chest while his rested on the top of her head. And both were hugging each other while his entire body was curled around her like a dragon hoarding its treasure. Sweetie Belle’s face grew the biggest smile she ever made and her eyes shining brightly. Diamond, on the other hoof, remained neutral while being pleasantly surprised and confused. “Is that Discord?” Diamond asked. “Yes!” Sweetie squealed before realizing that her volume was a little too loud, “Oops, sorry.” “He must’ve gotten her home while the rest of us stayed at Ponyville,” Scootaloo explained, “He’s gotten a lot nicer to her since then--And a little soft. Don’t tell him I said that.” Diamond looked between the group and the couple on the beds with a strange sense of skeptical puzzlement. “Like we said earlier,” Babs Seed stated, “You kind of missed a lot since you left.” Diamond replaced with a sense of awe, “I guess I have.” Discord stirred in his sleep and slowly opens his eyes, feeling the soft pink locks under his chin. He glances down at the mare sleeping peacefully beside him and remembered how exactly how he’d gotten to this position. After they arrived at the treehouse and he’d gotten her bed, she tiredly begged him to stay, to which he granted and slept with her around his arms and coil. Then the memory of the kiss came into his mind. To which lead him to realize how much he is falling for her. He often caught him bewildered by the fact but at the same time he wasn’t even bothered by it at all. She had meant so much to him that he had no idea what it would be like if she didn’t treat him nicely as she did now and be his friend. But everything that had happened and the fact that her life is in grave danger, he was beginning to fear that he’ll lose her. Plus the truth of her being the long-lost bearer to the Element of Kindness is almost hard for him to think about. But being the trickster that he is—and a selfish one in that—he is not willing to lose her over one thing or another; no matter how great the consequences can be. Surely now he will find some way to make her his and be happy together without any repercussions. His thoughts came to a stop when he felt Fluttershy stirring and she slowly opened her eyes tiredly. “Good morning,” Discord said softly, his claw gently tucks the strands of pink hair off her face. “Good morning,” Fluttershy yawned, happy to see his odd yet familiar face by her side in the bright morning light. “Sleep well?” She replied back with a small nod, “Thank you for staying here for the night. It was sweet of you.” He smiled while looking at her teal eyes that are now shining in the sunlight, “Anytime, my dear.” Their trace came to a sudden stop when they heard a loud squeak. Both their head snapped to the trap door which was held open by Apple Bloom and five other fillies. Apple Bloom had accidentally lifted the door up than she should, letting out a creaking sound coming from the door hinges. When she noticed that the pair saw what they were doing, she quickly lowers the door enough to shut it. But it quickly reopened with the ‘help’ of Discord’s magic and they were finally caught red-hoofed. “Well, well, sneaky little peepers, aren’t you?” Discord said with a smirk, “If I didn’t know better, I would think that you enjoyed it.” He had meant it jokingly, though to be honest he is a little embarrassed. Almost the same thing goes to Fluttershy whose cheeks hold a pink hue. “W-W-We’re very sorry, Discord!” Apple Bloom cried out, “We didn’t know that you two were still asleep. We were actually going to ask you if you can help us at your place.” Discord blinked confused, “What for?” “We left our supplies there. Remember, yesterday when the vines….?” Scootaloo added. He then suddenly remembered, “Oh! When the vines came in—right, right. I forgot about that.” He then moved to get out of the beds, uncurling his tail around her, “Yeah, I don’t see why not. I was going to go there to check the damages anyway.” He turned to Fluttershy who was still in the beds, “Do you want to come with us?” “Oh, actually, I need to check on my animal friends. I wanted to make sure if they’re okay; I think yesterday took a lot out of them,” She said as she started to get out of the beds, “Maybe when I am done I can come over there.” This has been a part of Fluttershy’s daily routine for a while. Ever since she was given permission to stay at the Cutie Mark Crusader’s Treehouse, she would visit the same woodland animals that befriended her when she ran away from the changelings. It was the only way she can do to repay her debt to them, for if it wasn’t for them, she would still be lost, cold and afraid. She would meet them by the treehouse and just talk to them or let them help whatever task she had. Later, when Discord taught her how to read and when she helped Applejack’s dog, she would have some cases where she had to aid other animals in need. Every once in a while, she finds a bird with a broken wing or a mouse with a broken leg and she would recall what she read on a medical aid book and practice it on them. Though she admitted she’s not yet perfect at it, she was surprised how fast she was able to learn it. But she found that she enjoyed talking and helping those animals that she decides that makes it a priority to her daily routine. Both the CMC and Discord knew about it as soon as they found out about it and there were some time where either one of them gets caught up with the animals. Fluttershy smiled at this one memory of Discord looking annoyed while all the birds rested on his antlers and arms; he had stated that it remained him about his times as a statue and how birds often make nest in his mouth and ears. Discord knew that the animals were the part of her day, though he’s not particularly fond of them, but it was important to her. “Oh, you don’t have to come over. You go ahead and talk to your furry little rodent—I mean, friends,” he said jokingly. She snickered of the ridiculous joke, “Just take care. That goes for you too, girls.” “We will!” All five of them exclaimed as all of them headed downstairs to the main floor. Little did they notice a pair of bug-like eye peering at the window. Discord and the five fillies just arrived at the dimension with a big surprise waiting for them. The Plunderseed Vines’ invasion has left a massive mess, with leaves and candy cane tree trunks floating on the chocolate lake, rubber tree bending down awkwardly with the small piece of island floating upside down and bits of cotton candy sticking around almost every items and areas as if the vines went through the clouds and smeared it everywhere. There were also small noticeable messes like the sand soaking and holding chocolate milk like a sponge and a random tree sticking out of the sky as if a hole was teared right through the invisible ceiling. The girls’ jaws dropped instantly while Discord whistled impressively, “As a critic for chaos, I say that this is a masterpiece of itself. But as a bit of a neat freak,” he snapped his fingers and every little mess and destruction suddenly disappeared and looked exactly how it looked before the invasion, “I prefer this kind of chaos better.” “I’ll say,” Babs Seed said under her breath, almost kind of relived of seeing everything in this odd space ironically back to normal. “Any sign for our stuff?” Scootaloo asked Discord, who materialized a pair of binoculars for his eyes to pop into the lens and observe the surroundings. “The last place we been on was on the east side, where the gummy bear pebbles are.” “We should get over there,” Babs Seed suggested, “If we’re lucky enough, they might still be there.” “Well, what are we waiting for?!” Scootaloo exclaimed before she galloped to the other side, “Last one to the pebbles is a rotten egg!” “Hey! Wait!” Apple Bloom and Babs Seed raced after her while Sweetie and Diamond stayed behind with Discord. He is already one step ahead of him and snapped his finger to teleport himself and the two fillies to their destination. “Why were you guys in here yesterday?” Diamond asked. “We were digging for dinosaur bones for our cutie marks,” Sweetie replied. When she saw Diamond’s confused face, she explained again, “Cutie Marks for archelogy.” “Well, better find your stuff,” Discord stated as he started looking around, “Those three are going to take a long time getting here.” The two girls searched along with him around the beach shores. Sweetie then thought of something and turned her attention to Discord. Now she thinks is the moment to talk about a certain topic between him and the certain pegasus. “So Discord,” She spoken out loud, “I saw you and Fluttershy leaving the party last night.” He turned to her to answer her question confused, “Yes?” “So, where exactly did you take her?” He decided to be blunt about this since Sweetie is starting to be a little too personal with the questions and he doesn’t think he’s ready to share his… emotional discovery now, “Nowhere special.” “’Nowhere special’? Knowing you, you would’ve taken her to some crazy wonderland.” “Well…. Yeah. But Fluttershy was feeling a little run down from yesterday, so I thought I would help her feel… relaxed.” “Well, that must’ve been nice.” Discord recalled the memory and smiled, “Yeah, it was.” At the corner of her eye, Sweetie saw a little blush on his cheeks, signaling her that she was getting closer, “And you decided to take her home after that?” “Yep. I would’ve gone home myself but Fluttershy was starting to be a little clingy and I decided to stay for the night.” As she continues searching, Diamond peered between Sweetie and Discord. Her unicorn friend seems to be leaning too much on the subject, as if it was the most important part of the conversation. It also seems to be working since she noticed that Discord had a little dreamy look when talking about the experience. What on earth is she doing? She thought to herself. “You know, I’ve been noticing something about you for the last couple of months,” Sweetie stated. “And what would that be?” “You changed,” she said with sincerity in her words, “In more ways than one exactly.” Discord’s body tense for a moment. He is starting to notice Sweetie was acting very strange, as she was a little bit too personal on these questions. He might’ve responded her questions a bit too explanatory when it was about last night; then he realized that he noticed that Sweetie seemed satisfied with his answers. He had absolutely no clue what sort of scheme is launching inside that little filly’s head, but he knew something was up. He turned to her, chuckling, “Well, of course I’d changed, silly filly. What makes you think I’m not?” “Oh, Nothing at all! I don’t have anything against you. It was something that just came into my mind. I mean, do you ever think about what would happened if Fluttershy never came into our lives?” After she said that sentence, she noticed that Discord started to listen attentively and looked a little softer. She then continues, “If she hadn’t escape from her mother’s soldiers, she would have never been in this forest. She would never have met us, have a sanctuary in Ponyville and our treehouse, became your friend, rediscover her talent with animals…” “Never would have kissed her,” Discord uttered without thinking. “You kissed her?!” Diamond gasped. His eyes widen in realization on what he just said. Both the girls were gawked until Sweetie’s face grew to a knowing smirk. She has caught him trapped. “I did not say that,” He quickly said nervously. Her reaction stayed the same. “Really, it’s not. I was just playing out for shock humor,” he chucked nervously, “You know how I can be at that. You can even see from Diamond’s reaction from that it is pretty funny.” Her smirk didn’t waver. “Listen here, young lady; if you don’t stop inspecting me, accusing me or whatever it is your thinking inside your little brain right now; I will turn your mane into soft-serve ice cream! Do you understand?!” “You love her.” Sweetie slyly stated. His face quickly went blank. And his cheeks began to glow red—literally. “You do!” Diamond gasped, “You so do!” “I am not hearing this,” he uttered before turning away with embarrassment. Sweetie is already celebrating with her hooves galloping with excitement and cheered, “Yes! I knew it! I knew it, I knew it, I knew it! You’re in love with Fluttershy! Diamond still stood there stunned and said with puzzlement, “I’m not sure how to react to this.” Sweetie was still continuing her elation, “And you kissed her! That just made the sleeping together a lot cuter!” “It was only on the forehead!” Discord defended. Then he realized something, “Wait a minute—How can you tell?” Sweetie ceased her excitement for a moment and explained, “Well, I am a unicorn. For some reason, we can empathize with others through our magic; meaning we can sense what they’re feeling.” Discord blankly nodded, processing this information, “I guess that makes sense. how long have you known?” “Since Fluttershy defended you and called you a friend. But the funny thing was, at first, it started as friendship. But every day after that, whenever you two are together—it became more than friendship; and more powerful too. And, uh, I don’t mean to brag, but I considered myself a hopeless romantic,” she blushed nervously at the last line. And then her excitement came back and she giggled, “And now that I found that I was right all along—I can’t believe that I was right! When did you realize for your feelings for her?” Discord was still red with embarrassment and answered lowly, “Last night.” Sweetie gasped, “Oh my gosh, this is a weird coincidence! Not that it is weird at all, heh. Are you going to tell Fluttershy you love her?” “NO!” Discord blurted out loud a little too abrupt, “I mean—No, I am not telling her.” Sweetie’s joyful face quickly reverted to one of devastation, “Why not?! You said you—“ “I KNOW WHAT I SAID!” He shouted at her. He realized that he might’ve scared her so he calmed down, “Sorry. Look, I do love her, but you don’t know if she could feel the same way. And I have never done anything like this! If you couldn’t tell, I am not exactly the kind of creature anypony would have a relationship with,” he pointed to his entire body just to make a sad but honest point. “But you won’t know unless you try!” Sweetie stated, unable to believe that his love story’s all for naught, “If you’re going keep your feelings away from her-- “But isn’t it better that way? I won’t be ruining a perfectly good friendship that we had and—“ “But that’s the point! If you keep your feelings away from her, you might have a chance of losing her. Plus I feel that Fluttershy could feel the same way; the aura was coming from her too.” “And why exactly would she want dangerous, devious criminal like me?” there was a low sarcastic tone in his voice as if he’s proving another point. “But you’ve changed! I know you have! Fluttershy wouldn’t be your friend if she didn’t know that you’re worth some effort!” This caused Discord to pause and his body turned stiff. “You noticed that not once have you hurt anypony like you did in the past? If given the opportunity, if you can rule Equestria again and play your usual tricks to everypony on this land—would you take it?” He didn’t answer; he didn’t think he can give an answer that he would like. “You can’t. You couldn’t do it even if you’re given the chance—because you knew that Fluttershy wouldn’t want it. You had sacrificed everything for her. You had always stood by her and saving her life countless of times! You even risk exposing yourself to Twilight! I know we’d never been friends from the start, but I realize now that you never had a connection like this. You’ve been feared by everypony since before you overtook Equestria, and that caused you to be bitter and lonely. Fluttershy was the first to ever give you a benefit of doubt. And by that I know how important she is to you… to which I am saying you should go to her now. Before anything happens.” Discord was caught off-guard of Sweetie’s reasoning to which all her points were true. He would do anything to keep Fluttershy safe and to love her for as long as forever. And it is true that he wouldn’t be where he is standing now if it wasn’t for her; he would still be hiding in exile, waiting in the trees for his next victim. Still, he is unsure of the possibility of her actually loving him back. Diamond knew all too well what it is like holding yourself back from the things you truly wanted, and she can see all that fear and uncertainty in Discord. She may not know what has grown between him and Fluttershy, but at least she could tell that his feelings were genuine. It was a good thing for him to have a friend like Sweetie Belle to help him see the light. “But if there even is a chance,” Discord asked, “How am I going to know if she feels the same way?” “Hmm,” Sweetie pondered, “Maybe you should give her something that she likes, and we’ll know for sure?” “Will it work?” Diamond asked. “It’s worth to try. Now let’s see—what can you give to Fluttershy that’ll show your love for her?” The three of them pondering, trying to find the solution. “Flowers? She does love flowers” Sweetie suggested. “No, you can give to her anytime,” Diamond muttered. Then a lightbulb appeared at the top of Discord’s head and he gasped, “I got it!” “What? What is it?” Sweetie asked intrigued. “I’ll tell you later, but first we need to get to the library!” With that, he quickly swooped Sweetie and Diamond into his arms and zoomed to the other side of the beach. “But what about our bag?!” Sweetie yelled over his arm. “Hey, guys! We found our stuff!” Apple Bloom’s voice echoed to their direction, as they can now see them as they’re rocketing towards them. Suddenly, Discord swooped Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Bab Seed into his arms as he whooshed out the bubble and into the forest. “Whoa! What’s going on?!” Scootaloo shouted. “Where are we going?!” Apple Bloom cried. “You three are going back to the treehouse to look out for Fluttershy while you two coming with me!” Suddenly he dropped the three girls to the ground, right next to the treehouse. Then he sprinted further away with Diamond and Sweetie Belle still in his arms. “What the hay just happen?” Babs bluntly stated, confused. “I have no idea,” Scootaloo simply said, agreeing to Babs. “We should probably do what he says and check on Fluttershy,” Apple Bloom said, to which all the girls agreed. They went inside, hoping to likely see Fluttershy on the couch reading or still be talking to her animal friends. But they saw that it was quiet. A little too quiet for a pony like her. “Fluttershy?” Apple Bloom called out, “Are you here?” There was no answer. “Fluttershy?” No answer again. The three of them looked at each other with concern. Where did she go? Earlier, right after Discord and the girls left for his realm, Fluttershy waited for her animal friends to arrive while she made tea with the kettle hanging over a fireplace. One of the things she learned from Discord is the types of tea that was available in Equestria. She personally liked the chamomile with honey stirred into it; as it was one Discord had surprised her back when he was teaching her to read. She heard a chomp sound from the window still and turned to Octavius, her piranha plant. She giggled when she realized that his attention was on the tea bag that she dipped into her cup. “Don’t worry; I know how much you like these,” she says as she hands over the used tea bag to Octavius and he gulped it up right away happily. It wasn’t long until the birds, the squirrels and eventually the deers, raccoons and bears to arrive at the window still. It has been Fluttershy’s favorite part of the day, besides the days where she spends with the girls or Discord. She felt like every time she talks to them, the closer she was getting with her talent that was locked away for years. She and the animals were at their usual conversation until she got up to the point to what happen yesterday after the vine were defeated. They were engaged to the story, starting from when they were concerned for her life and then felt contended as she describes the scenery of fireflies glowing over a pond. “Oh, it was so lovely there,” Fluttershy sighed contentedly, “I wish you could just see it! And we just sat there and watch.” One of the squirrels then chittered to her what seems to be a question; though Fluttershy understood it was asking about Discord and why did he stood by you the entire time. “Well, he was concerned for me,” she answered, “Even back when he saved me, he was still in shock. I think that was his way to relieve both of our stress. He always knows how to cheer me up. I don’t know how he does it, but it’s part of his charm, I guess.” Unbeknownst to her, her cheeks were hueing a light pink. A deer cried and Fluttershy was attentive to hear what it was saying. “What happened after that? He took me home, of course. Though…” she shuffled her hooves nervously, “This might sound silly, but… I asked him to stay for the night.” Some of the animals were caught surprise by this statement and there were even a few who got excited at the thought of it. “He slept with me the whole night. We didn’t do anything rash, honest; it was all we’ve done. Though, I admit it was… really nice.” Then one bird chirped a question to her, to which she didn’t hear. “I-I’m sorry—Can you say it again?” The bird obliged and chirped the question again. This almost caused Fluttershy to pause. “Y-you’re asking… if-if I ever had feelings for him?” The bird confirmed it with a chirp, though Fluttershy was still confused. “Um, pardon me, but… I’m not really sure what you mean by that.” The bird then chirped the question again, this time a little more straightforward. Her eyes grew wide, “Feelings for him… as if do I…. love him?” The bird sent out a confirmative chirp, though she stood still as the question rush through her head. She recalled how she was questioning how does she feel towards Discord, but she couldn’t pin out what it was; it was scary for her to find she might think of him more than a friend. But now being faced with this again with her friends—it’s going to be very difficult for her to decipher. “What---?” Fluttershy tried to utter a word out, feeling nervous, “What made you say that?” The bird chirped in response, saying how Discord had always stood by you. And then another bird chirp by pointing out how his attention was always towards you or that he seemed to care for you more than anypony he met. “Well, I know he does; he’s always been kind to me.” A squirrel chittered, explaining how personally close he was towards you that it didn’t bother her at all. “Well, we’ve always been so close; it didn’t even bother me that he kissed me on the forehead last night.” Suddenly all the animals roared in shock, as if all of them were saying “he kissed you?!” “It was only on the forehead!” her cheeks were flaming red, “why is this big deal to you?!” The squirrel squeaked out loud, saying the obvious hint to her who is now her turn to be shocked. “He likes me?” she squeaked, “That’s ridiculous! Discord doesn’t like me! I mean he does like me, but not in the way you’ve put it!” The animals chattered one at the time, trying to make some sense to her. But Fluttershy was getting all the more confused by this and with her own emotions. When every noise is becoming too much for her, she shouted, “STOP!” All the animals stopped and stared at her with surprise; she had never raised her voice towards them before. Fluttershy tried to calm down before she can speak to them in a sensible way, “Look, I don’t know why you would think all of those things, but Discord is my friend. He has always been kind and gentle to me. How could he have feelings for me now after everything he’s done for me? How could he possibly love me if it was true?” One white bunny from the group, who Fluttershy recognized being the first one who approached her after her escape, spoke to her; explaining if she had ever noticed any signs that she’s been having lately. Like from its examples-- light blushing, very close personal space and close affections towards each other. Fluttershy took that into consideration and pondered, “Well, I did said that I didn’t mind his kiss…” The bunny chittered again, asking about how I think of him personally. Fluttershy was honestly hoping that she didn’t come to that question. She hesitated but answered anyway, “I don’t know to be honest. I would like to think of him as a friend, but sometimes…. I feel like…. It’s more than that.” The animals stared at her as they realized that this pony may have trouble realizing her feelings. She sighed in defeat, “I’m not sure what to think about it anymore. I do enjoy his company, but whenever I’m around, or when he holds me in his arms, standing right beside me; I feel… different, but I liked it. I may have not realized it before last night--Maybe longer than that. But how can I be sure it’s true? I’ve never done anything like this before! Mother and everyone in the kingdom told me that I’m incapable of love!” The animals shouted in disagreement when they heard that statement. “I know! I know! I shouldn’t be thinking that,” Fluttershy justified, “But I can’t help it; it was the one thing I’d been taught ever since I was little! I’d been dreaming about it ever since then; but now…. I’m not really sure if I can do it.” She put her hooves on her face in defeat while the animals stared at her sadly, unsure what to do to make her happy. Then, Octavius grunted a noise that made Fluttershy look up from her hooves and turned to the plant. He seemed to look at her with concern, despite having no eyes, and whimpered. Sensing his worry, she went over to the window still and petted him in comfort, “Oh, Octavius. I didn’t mean to upset you--Or all of you. It’s not your fault; it’s just something I had to deal with.” She paused for a moment before she uttered, “But then again…. He always has made me forget all that.” She glanced up to the plant, who gave her a sympathetic smile; one that looked a little silly but sincere at the same time. Almost the same look that Discord always give her. “You’re right. I shouldn’t be worried about this. I may not know if all of this can be true, but I am willing to find out.” She walked away from the window still and into the closet to fetch a blue wool scarf from the closet and wrap it around her neck. She then exclaimed to her woodland creatures as she makes her way to the door, “Thank you so much for the talk! Wish me luck!” Even right after she had closed the door, she can hear the animals screeching in triumphant from behind the treehouse and even came around it just to wave goodbye and cheered their good luck to her. Fluttershy grew more determined each step she took and only had one thought in mind, I hope Discord is still in his realm. Twilight was reading a book when the door was suddenly slammed open. She turned sharply to see Gusty Hex along with Diamond Tiara and Sweetie Belle rushing from the door. “Princess Twilight Sparkle!” Gusty exclaimed while giving Twilight a mockingly exaggerated bow, “How lovely to see you again.” Twilight became annoyed by Gusty’s flamboyant and snarky nature towards her and from the fact that he surprised her, “What do you want, Gusty?” Gusty pretended to be offended, “Why the sour welcome? I figured you’d be happy to see me and your little fans again,” he gestured to Sweetie and Diamond, who stood there confused. “I would be if you weren’t crashing through the door, interrupting my light reading.” Twilight stated, pointing to the small tower of books that lies right beside her on the floor. The stack was tall enough to reach the upper half of her body. “You call that ‘light’?” Diamond pointed to the stack with a weird look. Sweetie elbowed her, signaling her not to offend her. “Oh, dear,” Gusty replied back to her, “I’m sorry about that—truly I am—but the thing is that I need your help. Do you know if you have any fairy tails books that I can lend?” Twilight didn’t expect this kind of request from him and so did the fillies. “Why do you need a book like that?” Twilight asked somewhat curious. “Something that is definitely not of your concern, princess, but I will say for the matter that it is a surprise gift for Fluttershy.” “Is that why you dragged us all the way here for?” Diamond asked. Apparently Gusty didn’t hear it for he continued to explain, “You see, Fluttershy told me this one time that she read this book when she was a filly. Unfortunately due to the circumstances with her….’family’, she was never allowed to indulge herself into the wonders of reading.” Twilight did recall Applejack telling her some things about Fluttershy moving to Ponyville a while before she came here. Granted she didn’t tell her a whole lot, about why she was moving or where had she lived before. That was which why Twilight felt like she has been shot through the heart when she heard that part of the story from him, “Fluttershy never read when she was a filly! Oh, that must’ve been horrible!” “Oh, yeah, like you’ve never done that as a filly,” Spike snickered from behind, but then turned his glaze downward when Twilight glared at him. “But thanks to me, I was able to educate her and now she reads through your books like an expert,” Gusty congratulated himself and puffing up his chest, looking proud. Twilight then turn and looked at him almost amazed. This is, as she experienced it, the nicest thing he had ever done. Then again, he was always nice to Fluttershy, not to mention they are inseparable. But still, to her, to hear about him teaching her to read, her all-time passion, almost made her see him in a different perspective, “Woah, I didn’t realize that. Fluttershy has always come to the library for animal books.” “And you always call yourself an observer,” Gusty muttered a comment to which Twilight’s face quickly turned into a frown. “Kidding! Kidding!” Gusty chuckled, “Anyway, she told me how the first book she saw was a collection of fairy tails. She especially liked the one with the sleeping princess and a handsome prince. Unfortunately, she’d never read the ending to that; she doesn’t know the story either. So that’s why I came to you to see if you had any copies of those fairy tails or even a collection of them.” Twilight pondered over the possibilities of finding the books he requested, “Well, I might have that somewhere in the fiction section. Spike!” “On it!” Spike speed over to one corner of the book shelves, climb onto a track ladder and search on every book shelves hoping to find the right book. Twilight then joined him on the search, spreading her wings and flying over each shelve. Gusty, Diamond, and Sweetie stood by and watch the two shuffle all over the library. “Oh! I think I get it now,” Sweetie whispered to Gusty as in not to let Twilight hear, “You’re planning to give that book to know if she loves you, right?” “Well, of course,” Gusty whispered back to the girls, “What else have I drag you out here for?” “You know I did say that earlier?” Diamond whispered to which he has ignored again. “Fluttershy would know how much I care for her from the fact I’d listened to her. And then I would confess to her and right before you know it, she’ll be throwing herself into my arms and—“ “And you two will kiss?” Sweetie squeaked excitedly. She then cleared her throat and giggled nervously “Sorry. Got carried away there.” “I found one!” Spike exclaimed, waving the book in his claw into the air. Twilight took the book with her magic and skimmed through the pages before reading the title: “Stories of Equestria: Fairy Tail Edition. Yep, this is the one!” “Wow, that was fast,” Diamond stated impressed. “Does this book has the sleeping princess story in there?” Sweetie asked. “Yep,” Twilight confirmed, “And there are illustrations so Fluttershy can remember which fairy tail she was talking about. I personally liked the one illustrated with the poem on there. Did you know it was written by Frank P. Maneline—“ “Well, this has been a lovely visit,” Gusty interrupted, “But we are in a bit of a hurry, so…” Twilight looked at him deadpan, finding his interruption unnecessary and rude, but she quickly let that aside, “Right.” She levitated the book to Gusty who now holds it with his horn’s blue aura. “Thank you for your help, princess; you’ve done a marvelous job! Well, we best be at our way.” Gusty and the fillies were about to walk away until Twilight stopped them, “Wait!” He turned back to the princess in surprise, “My, my. I haven’t step outside the door yet and you already missed me?” Twilight quickly disregard that remark, “Actually, can you do me a favor? When you see Fluttershy, can you tell her to come over here? I would like to talk to her about something.” Gusty blinked, “What do you want to talk with her about?” “Just something I was thinking about since yesterday. You might think of me crazy for this but--the other day when we used the elements against the vines, I thought I saw her glowing.” Gusty was stunned still. Oh, no. He thought, Does she now know? “Again, it’s crazy; I’m not really sure why or even how it could happen. But I couldn’t stop thinking about it!” Then he relaxed when she confirmed she doesn’t know; but there was still a problem rising. Twilight continued, “And since this morning I was doing light reading because I recall something about this happened to a bearer. I have a theory there must be something connected with this.” Then she thought of something and she asked him, “Has Fluttershy ever mentioned having something about that?” “Actually, she--!” Sweetie tried to speak out but her mouth was suddenly shut tight by a blue aura; the same aura coming from Gusty’s horn. “Ha-ha, kids!” Gusty chuckled anxiously, “They have a fantastic imagination. Well, I’ll best sure to tell Fluttershy that you needed her soon. Very, very, very soon.” Twilight noticed that Gusty just acted very strange—stranger than usual. He seems very nervous when she mentioned about the Journals of the Past Bearers and when more anxious to leave. But she wouldn’t let him know of her suspicions and lets him go, “Thank you, Gusty. You have a good day.” “Thanks—you too—bye!” Gusty quickly said before dashing out of the door. Twilight stood there confounded. “Well, that was weird,” Spike commented. “Yeah, a little too weird, if you asked me,” Twilight replied, “He seemed very nervous when I mention the journals to him. It was as if he was scared of them for some reason.” “I’m sure it’s nothing important,” Spike reassured her until a thought came to him, “Unless he’s hiding something, and he didn’t want us to know it?” “Oh, Spike, I doubt he would keep a secret,” Twilight said, “He would just brag about it.” And with that, she returned to the journals, hoping to find the answer to both Fluttershy’s mysterious glowing and her possible connection to the Elements of Harmony. Fluttershy was getting closer and closer to the realm. Already, she was confident enough to know exactly what she needed. When she arrived at the clearing, she stepped through the invisible wall and search around the ocean shore, hoping to see him while she took off her blue scarf. Then she heard his voice from a distance and saw his silhouette on his thinking tree that was standing in the middle of his chocolate ocean. She was about fly up to him until she heard him, “Boy, what a troll she is!” She stopped and stood there as she listened; Something feels wrong. “I wonder how long she’s going to talk to those filthy little rodents. It’ll be nighttime before she can come over here; all the things I do for her.” She grew confused; this didn’t sound like him at all! Still, she kept listening. He sighed, “But still I guess it’s worth it. I’m surprised that she didn’t realize that she’s being played for a fool.” Her eyes widen in shock as she still stood completely still and as her heart slowly started to shiver in fear. He chucked in his throat, “All that talk about ‘you’re special’ and ‘you’re worth it’. Boy, she’ll believe anything! Still, I just have to keep this thing going until that princess is done with her little ‘investigation’”, he mockingly said in air quotes, “Once she’s gone, I can unleash my chaos to the world and take my role as the ruler of Equestria. And the best thing will be that I give my thanks to Fluttershy, the one who started it all!” His maniacal laughter echoed throughout his dimension as Fluttershy stood there. She couldn’t move she couldn’t speak; she had felt like her world is shattering apart and she’s about to break through. She didn’t feel the tears dripping down from her face. When she felt she couldn’t stand it anymore, she ran away out of the realm and into the forest, dropping the scarf that lied on the sandy shore. She didn’t care where she was going; her mind was racing with every word that was echoing through her head. All the voices she knew, all the taunts, all the lies that had stuck with her. It was even more worse she can hear Discord’s voice with them. Suddenly, she bumped to something in front of her and she fell down to the ground. She looked up and freeze at the figure in front of her. “Fluttershy, what’s wrong?” Discord kneeled before, seeming concern, “Why are you crying?” She scooted away from his touch, “Is it true?” He blinked, “What’s true, my dear?” “Is it true that--” she couldn’t get it out without her voice cracking, “that you were using me?” Discord then looked confused, “I don’t understand, my dear--” “I heard everything!” she shouted, “I heard it all! How you were going to take over Equestria once Twilight leaves Ponyville. How you were using me like it was a game to you—Is it all true?!” Then Discord’s face turned dark and serious, “So… it finally took you long, huh?” “So…” her voice grew quiet, “So it is true?” He scoffed, “Well, of course it’s true, you dumbo! You think I wouldn’t say those things if I wasn’t alone?” She tried her hardest to speak about a word, “But… but I thought you changed.” “Changed? Changed?!” he laughed hysterically, “I didn’t change; I simply played along to stay in your good graces—to get in everypony’s good graces. Now they don’t even inspect me to turn evil again,” then does a mocking bow towards her, “All thanks to you, Nameless. By that way, I think your new name sounds pathetic. You should consider changing back to your old one.” “Why?!” she cried, “Why would do all this? And why me in all of this? Was I nothing to you?” “Why is all of this such a concern to you?” “Because I thought--!” she stopped. Her heart was breaking more and more as she tried to let the words out, “B-because I- thought you… y-you…..” “That I love you?” Silence stood between them. All that Fluttershy can say that was above a whisper, “Yes.” He laughed again, this time more hysterical and harder. She kept her head down in shame; she couldn’t bear to see him laughing like this. “Why in the world would I consider loving you?” Discord said in a cynical tone, “My dear, you truly swallowed in everything I said about you like you actually deserved it. No, you don’t deserve it. You are exactly what those changelings think of you; you’re weak, spineless and incredibly naïve. The least I can say is that you were useful in giving me a benefit of doubt.” He kneeled down to her and lifted her chin with his claw. She shivered in fear from the touch and flinched when those cold red and gold eyes glared at her tear-stricken face. “You were never made for love and nothing in the world can change that.” He let go of her chin, standing up to his full height while she stood there on the ground. “And now that you know the truth, why don’t we have a little fun with it?” Fluttershy’s body now is stunned with fear. Before she can realize what he meant, his golden aura engulfed her and lifted her up in the air. “Since I’ll be taking back my throne soon, better started back with what I should’ve done to you long ago!” With that, he started swinging her around in the air, manipulating her body as if she was a puppet. Fluttershy squealed with fear in every movement he made her do. There were few moments where he nearly let her crash against a nearby boulder or tree! She tried begging him to stop but it was no use; Discord was back being the power-hungry monster she once knew and her heart was breaking that she couldn’t do anything about it. Meanwhile, the real Discord carried the two fillies in his two arms as he did before as he flies back to the direction to the treehouse. “You know, I am starting to think that you’re hiding something from us,” Diamond said over his arm, “You’ve gotten nervous Sweetie Belle tried to—“ He hugged her tightly in order to cover her mouth. “Oh, that’s not really important right now,” Discord stated, giving an excuse to keeping this secret at bay, “For now, we should focus on giving the book to---” He stopped when he heard a scream in the distance. His heart even stopped when he recognized the voice. “Fluttershy?” Sweetie Belle uttered. They heard her scream again and Discord quickly tracked down the sound, zooming faster to her location. He stopped as they gotten closer and saw that she was being attacked by…. Another Discord?! Discord didn’t have time to think as he putted the two girls down and pouched at the other Discord. They both crashed to the farthest tree while Fluttershy fell limply on the ground, completely free from the faker’s grasp. “Fluttershy!” Sweetie and Diamond cried as they rushed over to her. The imposter groaned as he saw the real Discord pinning him down against the tree. “WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?” Discord yelled angrily at the imposter. The fake Discord then sends him a wicked smirk, “I think the better question is: what did you do to her?” The imposter transformed back into his original form—a changeling. He then used his horn to put a shield to force Discord off him and flew off into the sky, leaving his victims alone for now. Discord rushed to Fluttershy, who lies down exactly where the changeling dropped her. Kneeling down and reaching his paw to her face, he asked her worried, “Fluttershy, are you okay? Are you hurt--?” Fluttershy slapped his hand away before he can touch her. Discord recoiled in shock while Sweetie Belle and Diamond Tiara gasped lightly at the act. Fluttershy scoots inches away from the draconequus and glared at him with her tear-stricken, furious eyes, “Don’t you touch me!” Discord started to become confused, “What?” He tried reaching her again, only to have her scoot farther away from him. She scrambled up to her hooves and screamed, “You stay away from me!” More tears were streaming down her face as Discord became more confused than before. “I don’t want to see you again!” She started to sprint away, but Discord chased after her and he stopped in front of her, “Fluttershy, I don’t understand— “ “I’m not dumb, you know! You think I can trust you after everything you said to me?!” She moved aside him and tried to resume her running. “Said to—No, wait!” He then moved to block her again, “Fluttershy, that wasn’t me!! That was--” “Don’t lie to me! I am not going to let myself getting hurt again!” She then scoots again to get away from him. All of them didn’t notice that her chest started to glow again, but more brightly and more violent; matching the overwhelming rage and hurt she is feeling right now. Discord then went after again, this time his paw was reaching to grab her shoulder, “Fluttershy, if you let me explain--!” “DON’T TOUCH ME!” Her chest then burst out energy, blasting him away from her! He roared in pain as he crashed towards a tree. Both Fluttershy and the girls gasped in horror at the sight; for when Discord slid onto the ground, they saw that his lion arm completely encased in stone! Discord gasped at the damage of his arm and looked at Fluttershy horrified, finally taking notice of her fading glowing chest. Fluttershy did the same thing and stared in a mix of fear and panic. So much confusion is going on in her head! She knows Discord had hurt her, but she didn’t want to hurt him back! And she didn’t know that her chest can reacted this violently before! And even though she was still hurt, there was a sense of yearning for him; to go and comfort him in this state. But she couldn’t bring herself to do it; not right after her heart had been shattered a million times today. Discord tried to stand up, holding his stone arm with his claw, but couldn’t find the balance and kept falling to his knees. He called out in a frightened voice, “Fluttershy….?” “No, don’t!” Fluttershy said quietly. The fear and regret from her broken face was killing him. He didn’t want to see her like this, despite all the confusion that’s going on. “Please… don’t….” Once again, she galloped away, going farther into the forest. Only this time, Discord didn’t stop her, leaving him in an empty, upset and confused state. And so did the fillies that saw the whole thing, who looked at each other as they asked themselves, How are we going to fix this? The changeling, who oversaw the whole thing, flew off from his hiding place and to the horizon to make his report.