//------------------------------// // Plan in Motion // Story: The Element of Kindness // by BlueHeartTattoo //------------------------------// Discord laid belly-flat on the lower branch of this thinking tree. He stirred his stone arm around in the chocolate milk water, working through his magic slowly healing it. He was still in thought about everything that happened yesterday; Fluttershy being attacked, she saying she doesn’t want to see him anymore and her accidentally attacking him? As upsetting that was for him, it also didn’t make any sense. He had tried explaining what happened, but she was too stubborn to listen. But he couldn’t blame her though; as she might be as broken and confused as he is. That look of horror on her tear-stricken face still haunts him now. After what seemed to be a while, he pulled his lion arm out of the lake, completely healed and new. At for him, it was all he was able to fix out of this mess. “Discord?” Sweetie Belle’s voice echoed outside of his bubble. He had sent the girls home after what they witnessed, for he needed some time alone. They also tried to ask about the secret that he’s keeping from them, but he completely ignored them since it doesn’t matter to them. As it is near dawn now, nearly a day after, he could’ve sworn it had been a few hours. “Discord? May I come in, please?” Sweetie called through the bubble, “I know that you locked me out.” Reluctantly, he got up from his tree and floated towards the beach, where he stepped out of the dimension and see Sweetie Belle standing in the middle of the forest. “Hey,” she greeted quietly, trying to change the gloom that seemed to overcome them, “How are you feeling?” He sighed, “As better as it could’ve been.” “I see your arm is back to normal,” she pointed to her lion arm. “Yeah,” he held it up and glanced at it, “I’ve been healing it for a while… nothing like chocolate milk couldn’t help.” Sweetie frowned as a question came into mind, “If you were able to heal a stone arm, then how come you couldn’t get out of that statue before?” “You need to remember that my body was trapped in stone, not part of me. I can’t do anything when I’m turned to stone besides eavesdropping,” he tried to sound like his usual silly self, but finds too difficult to cheer up. “How’s Fluttershy?” he was hesitated to ask, but he needed to hear about it. “Not good,” Sweetie shook her head sadly, “She won’t come down from the bedroom, she doesn’t listen to us, eat or drink. She won’t even tell us what happened before we came for her. We think the best we can do right now is to give her time.” “Yeah, I guess that’s best.” He sighed, “Boy, what mess yesterday was, wasn’t it?” “I know,” Sweetie agreed, “I’ve never seen her so upset before. I don’t think she’ll come around any time sooner.” They both look downcast as the silence resonated all around the forest. “Um, Discord?” Sweetie hesitated, “Can I ask you something?” “No,” Discord uttered low. Sweetie blinked, “But I didn’t say what it is yet—“ “I know,” he replied back, “You are going to ask me about my little secret I kept from Twilight like you did yesterday, and I’m telling this to you again—no.” Silence sweep over them again and Sweetie sighed in defeat, “If you don’t say to talk about it, I won’t force you. But… whatever it is, you don’t have to hide it. You can trust us; we’re your friends.” “How can you be so sure of that?” Discord uttered in a low voice, “You don’t even what I—who I was back then. What I did to survive; to live in the world that hates me. How I lie and and cheat to get what I want,” he sighed dejectedly as he turned his body away from the filly, “No matter what the consequences are.” “But we can learn to understand. Fluttershy would’ve wanted the same thing.” “Not all of it though,” he said beyond a whisper. “You don’t know that. You know how understanding she is; she had always listened and trusted you. If you can tell her about your time during the changeling war, you could definitely tell her what you’ve been hiding all this time.” Discord’s eye widen in alarm. He turned around to her, who seemed to be innocent, “How did you know about that?” Sweetie blinked, “What?” He frowned at this, “About my ‘time during changeling war’? I have never told you girls that.” Sweetie realized her slip-up and he noticed it. “I also heard what ‘I’ve been hiding all this time’? You haven’t realized that I’m been keeping a secret since yesterday.” “Discord!” Sweetie Belle and Diamond Tiara came rushing through the trees, and came to a stop when they came beside him. Discord lightly gasped and realized what is happening. “There you are,” Sweetie panted, “We just wanted to check on you—hey, your arm is better! How did you heal it?” “Uhhhh, Sweetie Belle,” Diamond pointed on her shoulder and then to the imposter in front of them, looking like she’s seen a ghost. The imposter then smirked and chuckled evilly as green flames encircled around her and engulfed her entire body. “Girls, get behind me,” Discord whispered as he pushed Sweetie Belle and Diamond Tiara behind him and growl lowly. Just then, the queen of changelings descended from the flames and acknowledged her victims. “Well, it’s been a while, Discord,” Chrysalis greeted, “I was actually wondering what happened to you all those years.” “The feeling’s mutual,” Discord replied. Chrysalis spotted the two fillies cowering behind him. “I must say, you’d impressed me. I never thought you would be growing soft on ponies, especially one from my kind.” “Fluttershy doesn’t belong to you!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed, resulting with her pushed closer by Discord’s tail. She was confused for a second before stating, “Oh, yes! That little nickname you gave to my little Nameless. A fitting name for her; if not too sentimental for my taste. But I am getting off the topic here; I trust, Discord that you have known who she was all along?” Discord didn’t reply; just a low growl in his throat and the mere look in his eyes, full of determination and fury, was enough to give her an answer. “Don’t worry; I won’t hurt her—for now. I’m actually waiting for my changelings to arrive. So, in the meantime, maybe you and I can talk.” “About what? I really don’t think you and your family would come here just for a friendly chat.” “Glad that you kept your wits,” she said with a smug, “We actually come to take Equestria at our hooves again, and claim ourselves back into glory.” “The same way the past queens did before you?” Chrysalis was taken back from that remark and turned to yell to the draconequus face to face, “DON’T YOU EVER DISGRACE MY ANCESTORS IN FRONT OF ME!” She cleared her throat and regains her posture. “No, I swear it will be different this time,” she said in a calm, cold tone, “Not only will I try to claim Equestria for my children to feed, but I will gladly wipe that element of kindness and its pathetic little bearer off the face of the earth!” This caused Discord growled more deeply and his fur rising in response. The two little fillies behind him looked at the Queen confused. “Bearer?” Diamond Tiara spoke out, “But the element of Kindness doesn’t have a bearer; at least not right now.” “Not only if you paid close attention to your ‘Fluttershy’,” Chrysalis replied, “Ever wondered why her chest glowed when she was mentioned to the elements? Or how about when she almost turned your friend into stone?” The girls pondered until their eyes widen with realization. “You—“Sweetie Belle uttered, “You mean Fluttershy… IS the missing bearer?!” Chrysalis laughed at their response, “You really think we wouldn’t have kept her captive 20 years for a reason? You ponies are so delightfully clueless.” “That doesn’t matter right now,” Discord exclaimed, “What matters is that you forgot that you now have me in the middle of this!” “Now, now, I was actually getting to that. I heard from my guards how you brutally attacked them not once but twice now. As I am upset about that, I am glad to hear of another ruler is still around. Mainly since---not in mind of offending you--- other infamous ones are now bound to the chains of Tartarus.I remember the day you had conquered Equestria. I was a child then when my mother and grandmother came for your help in the Changeling war. I had witnessed your uncontrollable chaos with my very own eyes. I know from that fact that you loved the power---you embraced it! YOU were that chaos that ponies feared! And yet those princesses and the Bearers of Harmony kept you locked into stone like an cockatrice’s prey. Even when you’re free, you’ve kept yourself hidden; Limiting your magic and running away for your need of survival. You didn’t even tell that little princess about Nameless being the—“ “DON’T EVER CALL HER BY THAT NAME! AND ARE YOU TELLING ALL OF THIS JUST TO MOCK ME?!” Discord grew impatient. Chrysalis looked offended, “Oh, no; I would never do that; I am a fan of your work after all. That’s why I’m offering you a second chance.” Discord’s fury disappears, and his eyes widened, “A second chance?” Chrysalis smirks in satisfaction, “At taking back your throne. Think about it. Once the element and its bearer are gone, there’ll be literally nothing stopping you. The other bearers will eventually die out, becoming the last generation to the Element’s power, and the princesses can’t hold onto their power forever. That little stunt for Nameless was a set up for your submission —despite for her dramatic reaction,” she pointed to his newly healed lion arm and he held it back closer to himself. “I sent her away so that she won’t get in the way of your decision. You can have your throne back and take over Equestria like you did in your glory days! Of course, it’s either that or try to rescue a pony who clearly doesn’t want you anymore; throwing your dreams of power and chaos out the window forever and exposing yourself into stone forever. So, what will it be?” The fillies grew anxious about the deal and look up to Discord, who thought over his options. This is exactly what he was anticipating for ever since he was freed. He was actually fine spreading one part of area then swiping it off, but it wasn’t until now he realized how much he missed taking control over everything. If Chrysalis kept her promise and the bearers and princesses will be no longer an issue, he can live up to the full potential he had been holding in forever. But on the other hoof, there are others that depended on him as well as he depended them. He would betray Twilight’s trust, even though she is nothing but a thorn on his sides and the same to the other bearers. The CMC will get caught up of the chaos and possibly get hurt. And Fluttershy…. Despite the implication that Chrysalis will indeed kill Fluttershy and that she tricked her into leaving him; There is a possibility that she will never forgive him. Her trust has already been broken the day before, but agreeing to this will make matters worse. And he doesn’t think he could bear to see that tear-stricken horror on her face again--- He cared too much to let that happen. Making his decision, Discord looked upward to the queen, with determination and fury coming back to him. “I may love chaos like you said.But if it means hurting her more than you already did, then I will do whatever it takes to not let you hurt one strand of hair on her head!” He then went on all fours and leapt towards Chrysalis. She acted quickly and dodged herself away from the draconeqqus before using her horn to shoot her magic at him. He shouted with pain and collapse to the ground unconscious. “Tis a shame,” Chrysalis said, “I really did like you, but I couldn’t let you take over everything, now can I?” She heard a set of hooves clopping behind her and turned to see the fillies running away from the scene. She used her horn to stop them, incasing them in a green aura and pulls them towards her. “Tsk, tsk, tsk. Don’t think I have forgotten you, my little ponies. You’ve learned too much, and I can’t afford any slipups this time,” Chrysalis growled in a low tone. She heard the buzzing sound and looks up to see the General flying towards her. “My Queen,” The General saluted, “The changelings are set in place; in every corner of the forest and among the Ponyville residence.” “Excellent,” Chrysalis congratulated, “I have the draconequus trapped, but these little brats had seen everything. Take them away; you can do whatever you want but make sure they don’t escape.” “Yes, my queen.” She gave the fillies through her magic to which he used his horn to levitate them and at her signal, the general flew off to the sunrise with the girls at his grasp. “Now for his appointment with Princess Twilight.” She chuckled evilly as she glanced back at the unconscious Discord and engulf herself into flames once again. A knock of a door alerted Twilight of the visitor that she was expecting, “Come in!” The door opened and Applejack stepped into the main area of the library, expecting to see Twilight in there, only she wasn’t, “Twilight?” “I’m up here!” Hearing her voice, Applejack went up the stairs to the room where she was staying and found the walls and boards covered in papers. Anything that she can see, newspapers, print copies from books, maps, were all there. But with that she saw Twilight at the desk would a book in her hooves and looking up just as she entered the room. “Hi!”, Twilight stood off from the desk and went towards her. She then took notice of the scrapes of paper lying around. “Sorry about the mess,” she chuckled awkwardly. “It’s nothing,” Applejack replied, “You’re really take this Discord case pretty seriously.” “She’s like this to almost everything,” Spike says as he tries to organize each pile of paper to each subject or information. Twilight glared at him while he stared back at her confused, “What?” “Anyway, Applejack, we can talk downstairs. Spike, can you tidy a bit in here, please?” Spike saluted, “Sure thing.” The two girls then went downstairs with Twilight holding the book and a scroll with her magic and brought them with her. “Okay, Twi, what did you call me here for?” Applejack asked. “First things first,” Twilight then explained, “how is the defense system here in Ponyville? I know that it’s been changed a lot since you and Mayor Mare teamed up to improve its conditions.” Applejack nodded, “The teams that we build are the finest set of ponies I’d ever organized. We have controls over at the skies, which Rainbow is in charge of, we have one overlooking of the trading supplies and we have a team that overlooks the Everfree Forest for any threats.” “Like those vines a few days ago?” “Exactly; anything that would overgrow or even hurt some pony. Like one time we had a bunch of timberwolves lurking on the outing and—Wait, why do you need my team for?” “Well,” Twilight hands over a scroll to Applejack, “I have some questions for them that I need some answers from; Questions about Discord and if they have ever heard or seen him or if they have experienced anything unusual during their shifts. This is probably too much to ask, but do you think you can interview each pony in those teams and ask them these?” Applejack looked over the list of question and replied to her with her usual optimistic smile, “I certainly can. I’m planning to do my weekly inspection on them soon, so I can ask each team leaders to interview them. But I probably need copies on them.” “I can do that. Just tell me when you need them and I can send them to you in time for your inspection.” “Great!” Applejack then hands the scroll back to Twilight, “Is that all that you need from me?” “Actually there’s one other thing. Have you seen Fluttershy lately?” Applejack paused for a moment, “Actually…. I hadn’t seen her since the party. And I’ve been so caught up with my work and with the vine incident; it’s hard for me to check in on her. But I know that Apple Bloom and the girls look after her. Why you’d ask?” “Well… this might sound a little strange…” Then Twilight explain of what she saw during their battle against the Plunderseed vines; of how she sworn to saw Fluttershy in pain and her chest glowed the same thing as their elements. Applejack was caught surprise by this information, “Huh….. That does seem odd. But why does this concerns you?” “Because,” Twilight explained as she levitated the book that she was reading earlier and skim the pages before she stopped on one, “the exact same thing happened to before.” Applejack then realized what book she was holding, “Is that the Journal of the Bearers?” “Yes, and look at this,” Twilight showed to her the page she stopped on. It was an illustration of a purple earth mare standing in a dark forest with her glowing chest that was the only light in the darkness. Applejack recognized the figure and the illustration, “That’s Prairie Blossom! I remember her story. She got lost while she tried to reach to Canterlot for her official coronation. She didn’t bring anyone to come with her since her folks at the Smoky Mountains were occupied building a new home. But despite that she was alone, she continued walking; following her instincts as if it were….” “….Guiding her exactly where she wanted to go!” Twilight said the rest with her in unison, “Wow, I didn’t know you memorized all that.” “My ma always read that book to me as a filly,” Applejack explained, “It was kind of her way of explaining to me about the elements and the bearers. But if memory serves me, Prairie wasn’t the only one who glowed, there was--” “Aquarelle and Lacey Waltz,” Twilight concluded, “They had also glowed in their lifetime. But it turned out that this phenomenon is so rare that others couldn’t figure out why they were able to do it or even after they became bearers. I don’t know how this would seem possible, but I think the same thing’s happening to Fluttershy.” “But…. But how?”, Applejack uttered in confusion, “There’s no way she could’ve glow the same way we were. Have you talked to her about it?” “I tried. I asked Gusty and the girls when they came over yesterday if they can tell her to come here but I haven’t heard back from them since.” Applejack was still shook by this piece of news but managed tried to process all of it in and try to get into action, “Something doesn’t feel right about all this. If you haven’t heard anything from her yet, I’ll try going over to Fluttershy and bring her come over.” “Thanks, Applejack;” Twilight said gratefully, “You don’t know how much this means to me.” “Hey, I’m a bearer of Honesty; so this means more to this like it does for you. It does seem strange that it happen. I mean, we never glowed. But I didn’t think it’s a possibility for us or that it could happen to any pony. Just thinking about all this feels weird.” “Probably what’s weirder than Gusty’s reaction to it.” She raised an eyebrow, “Come again?” “When I mention this to him and the girls the other day, he got all nervous. It was like he was scared of them for some reason.” “Why would he suddenly be scared of them now? He wasn’t like that when he told us that elements would stop the vines.” “I know. I should’ve had asked him why, but he was so anxious to leave and I didn’t want to push him.” “That does seem weird. Weirder than he usually is,” Applejack pondered as she had a thought, “Do you think it would possible that Gusty knows about Fluttershy’s…. glowing?” “It could be,” Twilight stated, “But whatever it is, we need to figure this out.” A scream was suddenly erupted from outside, alerting the two mares and eventually Spike with fear. “What was that?” Spike shouted from upstairs. The door was suddenly slammed opened by Rainbow Dash, who looked at the two mares with a shocked, fearful look on her face, “You guys better come quick! Something just happened just near the Everfree!” “What is it?!” Applejack exclaimed. “No time to explain it! Come on!” Without a hesitation, Twilight, Applejack and Spike followed Rainbow Dash out of the library and galloped across Ponyville to where they can see a large crowd huddling near the Everfree Forest. Twilight can see from far away Rarity and Pinkie Pie immerging themselves into the mass. As soon as they arrived, some of the ponies turned their attention towards her and their expressions were as shocked and afraid as Rainbow was. She goes into the crowd, pasting each one of the bystanders while some tried to step out of the way to make her through. Applejack and Rainbow followed after her just as the path for her was cleared. Meanwhile, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Babs Seed were sitting on an outdoor café table, picking on what’s left of their breakfast. They couldn’t keep their minds off the events that made Fluttershy upset. Sweetie Belle and Diamond told them about what happened---while keeping an important detail a secret--- and they were all distraught of what they’d heard. Especially after seeing Fluttershy after that, they wondered how this will be resolved. But then their head snapped up as soon as they heard a scream from the distance, and they recognized it as Sweetie Belle’s. They immediately stood up from the tables and galloped to their friend’s aid when they saw a huge crowd huddling near the Everfree. When they arrived though, they couldn’t see what was happening so they push themselves forward, pasting the bystanders to the front of the mob. And when Twilight, Spike, Applejack, Rainbow Dash and then three fillies is finally in the front of the crowd, they finally saw what was in front of them and their faces grew white. There he was, Discord, the invincible lord of chaos and disharmony, lying on the dirt ground unconscious! Twilight was in shock and awe as she saw the creature before her. She eyed on every detail—his mismatched appendages, his long serpentine body, his dragon tail, his included mismatched antlers—every single one. He was here; Equestria’s most notorious villain, the creature she’s been looking for since she moved to Ponyville, is literally there in front of her, in plain sight! She has finally found him! The three fillies overlooked the scene with shock. They couldn’t believe that Discord is now in the open and is caught! But the question that remained with them is how was he discovered. Twilight heard a young filly crying and look up to see Rarity and Pinkie Pie comforting Sweetie Belle, who was the source of the sound. She, along with Applejack and Rainbow Dash, went up to the two sisters and asked Rarity concerned, “What happened?” “I don’t know,” Rarity replied, “I was inside the boutique when I heard Sweetie screaming for help and then I saw her with that….. Thing!” She pointed to Discord’s body with a mix of fear and disgust. Twilight then turned to Pinkie, “You saw what happened?” Pinkie shook in her head in response, her face covered with worry. Twilight then turned Sweetie, who is still crying in Rarity’s arms, “Sweetie Belle, what happened?” “Oh, princess,” Sweetie sniffed and spoke through her tears, “It was awful! I was checking in on Fluttershy this morning when I saw her out of the forest with him.” The ponies lightly gasped on this and they began to murmur. “I hid behind a tree as soon as I found them and overheard the whole thing. He was hypnotizing her. He made her lie about being his friend, and used her to get into Ponyville undetected, all in disguising himself as a pony!” “Disguise?” Twilight uttered under her breath. “He had also given himself a name to cover it; the name was Gusty Hex.” Twilight and the four bearers gasped in horror. “Gusty Hex?!” Rainbow exclaimed in shock. The murmurs from the crowd became louder, their voices echoing out their deepest fears and panicked accusations. “And that’s not all of it,” Sweetie Belle continued her tale, “I overheard them that once you gone back to Canterlot, he would unleash his chaos onto Ponyville and then take his revenge on Equestria!” The gasps and whispers from the crowd became more audibly loud. They were almost shouting on the top of their lungs, words echoing in the air: “He was here all along!” “He truly is a monster!” “It’s a matter of time before he wakes up!” “He needs to be put back to stone!” “I pity the poor Fluttershy; she didn’t have a choice!” “Princess Twilight will put an end to this creature once and for all!” The young fillies were caught in surprise and confusion, as all that Sweetie Belle said to them is a lie. What is she doing?!They thought to themselves Why is she lying to them? Discord is her friend—OUR friend! “When I saw that he was releasing Fluttershy out of his spell, I used my magic to attack him from behind and then he fell down unconscious. I dragged him all the way for you, Princess.” “What about Fluttershy?” Applejack asked in concern, “Is she okay?” “I think so,” Sweetie sniffed, wiping her tears, “She ran away as soon as I attacked him.” Twilight felt like she had been stabbed in the back. Gusty was Discord all this time! And suddenly, it finally made sense of why he’s pulling pointless pranks; he’s trying to distract her from her investigation! He tricked her so that he had more time plotting his revenge. And here she thought that the connection he had with Fluttershy was genuine. But now that she knew the truth. As she would never admit that she was slowly beginning to trust him---That has been shattered instantly. With her mind set into action, she stood up boldly before the raging, panicked crowd. She used her magic to set on orb of light to her throat and spoke in a loud yet grand echo “QUIET!” The ponies stopped and turned to their princess with awe and shock. “Discord will not unleash his chaos and take over Equestria again. As a request from Princess Celestia, I was sent here in hope that through investigation, I will find Discord and his whereabouts so that he will be brought over to the Princesses themselves. Now that he has been found, I can say my mission is complete and that he will immediately be sent over to Canterlot with me to execute his final sentence!” The crowd cheered at this proclamation while the CMC looked on with horror. Twilight turned to Spike who was beside the bearers the whole time, “Spike, write down a message to Princess Celestia—“ “I already have,” Spike stated, “I was writing while you were talking in that Canterlot voice enchantment.” Suddenly, something dark whoosh over the skies and they saw that a pair on Palace Pegusi guards had arrived in front of them with an iron cart strapped into them. The cart was specially made for a prisoner, with its small, barred window on the door and inside was a pair of chains with a specifically crafted anti-magic cuffs that were so huge and wide it would cover all of Discord’s claws. “Wow, that was fast,” Spike said in surprise. “Guards!” Twilight spoke to the pegusi soldiers, “Get Discord into the cart; We need to get him to Canterlot immediately.” “Yes, Princess Twilight!” The guards exclaimed as they rush over to the square towards Discord who remained unconscious. They carried him over to the cart through their magic and in a matter of minutes, gotten him chained into the cuffs and locked in the iron cage. Twilight was caught up with it that she doesn’t realize that now she has to leave her friends. And it made her upset. She turned to her friends, who were smiling and walking towards her. “Yay!” Pinkie cheered, “You finally found that meanie pants choc-cula whatever he is!” “We always knew that you would find him,” Rarity stated before cringing on the last thought, “Despite the…. Unfortunate discovery.” It was then they notice that Twilight was strangely upset. “What’s wrong?” Applejack asked in concern. “I’m fine,” Twilight excused, “It’s just that…. It’s all happening so fast that I… I didn’t get a chance to—“ “Your highness! We’re ready to go!” A guard shouted from behind, signaling for her time to go. Twilight looked between the iron cart and her friends. She knows that she has a duty to do but she didn’t have a chance to tell of what was afraid of once the mission is over—that she may not see them again. She had been planning on the top of her head of the things she wanted to say and how she wanted to explain it; just about anything to tell them how much they’d come to mean to her and that she want to be their friend. But she realized that she didn’t thought about the time to pack, so she made a mental note to come back to Ponyville as soon as Discord is done with. “I….” Twilight said with her voice shook for a moment regaining it before stepping away, “I’ll come back! I promise!” She galloped, scooped Spike into her back and took off to the skies with the palace guards following her with the captive Discord. The girls watched her leave with concern. “Why was Twilight seemed so sad all the sudden?” Pinkie Pie uttered among the group, “She should be happy that she found him. Why isn’t she happy?” “I don’t know,” Applejack answered, “But I just we have to wait until she comes back.” “Also as a remainder to all of you, she’s not the only sad one in all this,” Rainbow stated, making the girls realize who she was mentioning to. “Oh no, Fluttershy!” Rarity gasped, “Oh, the poor thing must’ve been traumatized!” “Especially since Discord brainwashed her to become his social puppet,” Pinkie said out loud which results from glares from her peers, “What? I’m just stating the facts!” “Pinkie’s right,” Applejack declared, “We should go find her and see if she’s okay.” “And if she’s not, we’ll be right there for her!” Rainbow exclaimed. All the girls agreed and began to march over to the Everfree Forest. “Wait,” Rarity stopped and looked uneasy towards her peers, “She lives in there, right?” “Well, yeah,” Applejack answered, “In my sister’s treehouse.” “Oh, um,” Rarity pondered uncomfortably, “Isn’t there any other way to reach to her?” “Why is this an issue to you?” Rainbow groaned, “It’s the Everfree!” “Oh, I know, it’s just…. You know, there are so many animals and nature in there. You can only get hurt…. Or have your mane ruined.” “RARITY!” The group shouted to the unicorn. “Alright, Alright; I’m coming!” Rarity said. Then she hesitantly hops over the line to the forest and all along the way dodges from any tree branch and mud substance, squealing under her breath. Applejack and Rainbow rolled their eyes at her over-dramatic nature. Meanwhile, as the crowd disperses with the excitement of Discord’s capture, the three fillies desperately searched for Sweetie Belle. “Any sign of her?” Apple Bloom shouted to the others. “No,” Scootaloo replied, “I thought she was with Rarity a second ago!” “I can’t believe she would expose Discord like that!” Babs stated, before she was hushed as they are in the open where anypony can hear them. With that, Bab kept quiet and finish her statement, “Not to mention lying to Twilight and your sisters.” “Something’s not right about this,” Apple Bloom uttered, “He is our friend and Sweetie Belle trusted him more than any of us.” “And we all know that Fluttershy wanted to be his friend,” Scootaloo added, “she wasn’t forced into it. If it were, I don’t think he would need her to get into Ponyville.” Then Apple Bloom gasped in realization, “Last time I saw Sweetie this morning, she was with Diamond Tiara. Why wasn’t she with her?!” The two other fillies had realized this and grew more worried than before. “We need to talk to Applejack,” Apple Bloom declared, “If we can explain to her everything, there’s a chance that we’ll save him. And if there’s still time, we need to find Sweetie and Diamond.” “Better act now, because she and the others are leaving!” Scootaloo shouted as she pointed to Applejack and the other three ponies entering the Everfree Forest. “Oh, shoot!” Babs gasped, “They must be going over to Fluttershy!” “We need to stop them before they get to her!” Scootaloo cried, “She doesn’t need to hear this right now!” “Right,” Apple Bloom said determined, “You two get to Applejack; I’ll find Sweetie and Diamond.” The three of them agree and they set off their ways, hoping to set things right. Unbeknownst to both of the group, a familiar zebra stood still into the square and quickly gallops back to the forest. Apple Bloom ran further into the square, desperate to find her unicorn friend. At the corner of her eye, she saw Sweetie entering off-path into the Everfree in the distance and followed her. She followed her deep, deep into the forest, trying to catch up to her. But then Sweetie stopped in a middle of a misty opening. And then suddenly, she burst into a ring of green flames. Apple Bloom couldn’t believe what she saw after the flames had diminished—standing right before her, unnoticed, was Queen Chrysalis! Chrysalis groaned as she stretched her muscles, “Well, that was too easy.” Trying not to make herself noticed, Apple Bloom quickly duck into a bush before the Queen would recognize she was being followed. Suddenly, everything from before started to make sense, but why are the changelings here?! Have they come here for Fluttershy? She makes a small peeping hole from the bush. There she spies on Chrysalis who waits for the changeling General that just landed in front of her after hiding in the trees. “General, Status report,” Chrysalis spoke. “We have each of our troops hidden into every corner of Ponyville, Canterlot and in this forest. Everything is almost ready for the attack.” “And Nameless?” “Small change of whereabouts. She was still hidden inside the pony’s hut, but one of our spies witnessed a zebra coming towards the hut, then leaving with Nameless to another hut not so far from there.” “That doesn’t change anything. And have you taken care of those fillies?” “Not yet, but Gypsum volunteered to finish the task.” Chrysalis smiled wickedly in satisfaction, “Good. Everything’s going very smoothly. All is left is for me to bring Nameless my little gift,” she brought the apple into her hooves and Apple Bloom had gotten a small glimpse of it from afar. An apple? She thought confused. “Go!” Chrysalis ordered to her general, “Keep our troops hidden until I sent out the signal.” “Yes, my queen,” he bowed before taking off to the skies. Then the green flames reappeared around the queen until she came out as a hooded figure and started walking forward into the trees. Unfortunately, Apple Bloom couldn’t see what she looked like from behind. She waited until the disguised queen was out of sight. Then she jumped of the bush and panicked, “This is bad! I need to get to the others!” She galloped to the other way, hoping that her friends have got to Applejack and her friends in time. Meanwhile, Applejack and the others were still walking on the trail that she was familiar with. “How much farther do we have to go?” Rarity groaned, “My hooves are starting to ache.” “Not too far from now,” Applejack replied, rolling her eyes, “You know we would’ve been there now if you haven’t made us stop every time you get near a tree or a puddle of water.” “Hey, if we are going to tend to a friend in aid, I need to look my best,” Rarity defended. Rainbow sighs in annoyance before she can speak out her worry, “I just hope Fluttershy is okay. Who would’ve thought that Discord would trick us all with that stupid pony disguise and use someone like her as a puppet? Just thinking about it makes me want to—“ “Blow up like confetti?” Pinkie spontaneously shouted, ending Rainbow’s sentence while she gave her a raised eyebrow. “I know, this makes me mad, too,” Applejack stated, “But it happened now, and there’s nothing we can do to change it.” “APPLEJACK! STOP!” The group stopped as they heard voices shouting from behind. They turned around to see Scootaloo and Babs Seed running towards them, shouting them to stop. “Babs? Scootaloo?” Applejack uttered confused. The fillies finally caught up to them and panted for a breath of air. “Girls, what are you doing out here?” Applejack asked. Suddenly the two fillies exploding in their shouting, trying to explain everything they know. But the words overlap themselves that the message was hard to convey to Applejack and the others. When they were getting out of control, Applejack whispered into Rarity’s ear. Then Rarity did what she asked her and used her magic to shut the fillies’ mouth tight. “Slow down, you two!” Applejack yelled at them, “I could hardly understand a word you’re saying! Now, I want you to talk one at a time after Rarity lets go of your mouths. Is that clear?” The girls nodded a ‘yes’ sheepishly before Applejack gave Rarity a signal to release her magic on them. But after a moment of pause, the girls resumed talking over each other. Applejack jumped back in surprise and annoyance before yelling at them, “ONE AT A TIME!” And it was this time that the girls finally said a sentence in unison, “SWEETIE BELLE LIED!!” The group stared at them with disbelief, “What?!” “Look, I know this sounds crazy, but Sweetie knows Discord was Gusty all along— “Babs Seed explained along with Scootaloo who added, “We all did!” “We promised we keep it a secret, but it’s not what you think it is—“ “He just wanted to stay close to Fluttershy.” “And what Sweetie said about Fluttershy being his slave isn’t true at all—they really are friends!” “They never leave each other’s sides!” “She is the only friend that he had and compared to what he was back then—“ “Remember we tried to tell you about him living in the Everfree one time but he was gone once you checked?” “He has changed—for the better, in fact. I know this for a fact he cares for her and doesn’t want her to get hurt—“ “He had once saved her from a freakin’ hydra!” “And the last time we saw Sweetie this morning, she was with—“ “Woah, whoa, whoa, hold up,” Applejack interrupted, with disbelief written onto her face, “Are you saying that Discord is your friend?!” “Well, not at first,” Scootaloo shrugged, “But we’ve grown to him.” They were caught by surprise as Applejack zoomed in their faces and shouted in an upset tone, “ARE YOU INSANE?! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHO THAT MONSTER IS?! OR WHAT HE DID CENTURIES AGO?!” “Yeah, he nearly destroyed Equestria with raining chocolate milk in his cotton candy cloud without a single dollop of whip cream in them!” Pinkie exclaimed angrily which result at mixed stares from her friends, “And chocolate bunnies!!” “Look, I know that this doesn’t sound much, and you won’t believe us,” Babs explained “But he is really is changed. Fluttershy made that happen.” “If that were true,” Rainbow stated suspiciously, “Then why would Sweetie Belle didn’t tell us that?” “We… we don’t know,” Babs was unable to answer that question, “But we know that Sweetie wouldn’t say all of those things. She supported Discord the most out of all of us.” “That might be true for you,” Rarity interjected, “But as her older sister, I know that she would never lie in a situation like this. Not to mention that she wouldn’t try to be associated with the likes of him.” She said that last part with revulsion. “But--” Scootaloo tried speaking out a word before Rarity interrupted her. “You say that Discord is innocent but we don’t believe it. And you say Sweetie was lying to us when there is only one of her in this entire town! How are you going to make us believe what you’re saying is true?” Babs thought for a moment before she has come up with this piece of detail, “Had you noticed that Diamond wasn’t with her in the square?” Rarity’s eye grew wide in realization, “What?” “You didn’t mention Diamond Tiara was in this?” Rainbow asked confused. “She didn’t know who Gusty was at that time,” Babs explained, “But since she had moved into Rarity’s place and that Sweetie’s responsible for her…” It took a while for Rarity to realize what those girls are saying. She let out a long gasp, covering her mouth in shock, “They’re telling the truth!” The others looked at her in confusion, “What?” “Sweetie has been looking after Diamond since her mother left her!” Rarity explained, “I didn’t notice she wasn’t with her at all!” She turned to the two fillies with a newly sense of fear, “Where is she now?!” “I don’t know,” Scootaloo replied, “She disappeared right when the crowd had dispersed.” Suddenly, they heard a scream in the distance and Rarity recognized whose it belongs to. “That’s Sweetie Belle’s voice!” Rarity exclaimed worried. Another scream alerted the group, but it wasn’t as high-pitched as Sweetie’s. “That must be Diamond’s!” Scootaloo uttered. “We need to go after them!” Rarity announced, before galloping past the group and down the path, trying to follow her sister’s voice. The group were surprised by Rarity’s sudden change of attitude, but they nevertheless followed her in hope that what those fillies, that followed after them, was saying is true. Gypsum punched the stuffed bag with her hoof, “Hey! Quiet in there! There’s no pony around to hear you.” She was flying in the air with her horn holding onto the bag that Sweetie Belle and Diamond Tiara were stuffed into. It seemed to be forever being trapped in there since both had no way of knowing how much time has passed or even where that changeling is taking them. For most of the time, they’d squirm and stretch, hoping that they would get out. It didn’t took them long to recognize the echoing sound of a waterfall as they were getting closer to it. They started wriggling and pushing even harder just to avoid their inevitable fate. Then Gypsum stopped just as they were over a gorge which held the raging waters down below. “I never thought there will be a day where I could make a difference in helping with my queen and her cause,” she said as she levitated the bag at her eyesight, “Ever since my comrades and I had failed to kill Nameless, I don’t think there was going to be a second chance for me. Guess I was wrong.” The bag continued shaking back and forth while the fabric muffled the fillies’ pleas. “Have a nice swim,” she declared as she lifted the bag over her head, planning to let go of her magic and drop them into the abyss below. But then she was caught surprise by a whoosh of wind and a sudden rainbow trail. “Hey!” Gypsum looked up to see Rainbow Dash flying above her, holding up her hoofs in fist, “Why don’t you pick on somepony your own size?” “Rainbow Dash!” Sweetie exclaimed muffled. Rainbow zoomed towards her and Gypsum defended herself with a shielding spell. The pegasus then swoops back while the changeling tried firing shoots at her which resulted her foe dodging every shot. The group reached to the cliff of the gorge where they can see Rainbow fighting off a changeling holding a bag in the air. “Is that a changeling?!” Applejack exclaimed. “What’s in that bag she’s carrying?” Pinkie observed. “It’s probably Sweetie and Diamond!” Rarity cried, her anxiety grew as she thought of her sister being trapped in there. Gypsum saw more ponies at the corner of her eyes, which got her distracted and Rainbow threw a punch at her. It was hard enough for the changeling to lose control of her magic and the bag started to fall from the sky. The fillies were screaming as they were falling, which made the group, including Rainbow, gasped in horror. “No!” Rainbow cried, as she tries to fly down to catch the bag. Then Gypsum got in the way averting her flight and continues the fight. Rarity watched in horror until she realizes her own abilities. Just when they were about to pass the gorge’s edge, she caught the bag with her magic and she slowly levitates it towards the group safely. Rarity rushed over to the bag and use her magic again to untie the strings, finally setting the girls free. Before the girls can see what happened, Sweetie Belle was swooped out of the bag and was welcomed by a death-gripping hug accompanied by her sister’s cries of worry, “Oh, Sweetie Belle! I was so worried! I thought I lost you!” “Choking—not breathing,” Sweetie gasped for air through the death grip. Rarity then noticed Diamond Tiara and grabbed her into the hug, “And you! I had nearly forgotten about you and I feel so bad! Forgive me!!” “Apology accepted—now let me go, please!” Diamond strained her voice as she felt like she was suffocating. Scootaloo and Babs ran over for the hug, grateful for that they were safe. But then the battle continued, and the group averted their attention to the sky. Gypsum is still throwing shots and punches in the air while Rainbow kept on dodging and punching a few herself. It was like they were caught in aerial whirlpool. Then Gypsum got an idea. She’d blast one last shot at the pegusi but once Rainbow looked back at her, she was gone. She hadn’t noticed that the changeling was flown behind, then she blast a powerful shot at Rainbow’s wing! She cried out in pain as she started to fall down from the sky. Taking action, Rarity used her magic to catch Rainbow like before and brought to safety. Rainbow hissed at the pain and the others saw the blistered wing. With a great thump, Gypsum landed in front of the group and growled furiously at them. “You ponies always make a mess of everything,” she hissed between her teeth, “I don’t care if I hadn’t given orders for this, I shall kill you all!” She ignited her horn to create a green orb of energy and it grew bigger as she lets her anger out on her magic. The girls recoiled in fear as Applejack threw herself over Rainbow, guarding her and Scootaloo while Pinkie covered her eyes. Sweetie and Diamond grab hold onto Rarity who is shook in fear along the others. But once Rarity was reminded by Sweetie’s embrace and what this changeling had almost done to her, anger swelled up inside her and she stood up defiantly. “You think you can scare me that easily?” Rarity shouted over to the shrieks of energy reverberating through the changeling’s charging horn, “Well, you have messed with the wrong mare!” She then charged up her horn which started to glow so violently that her body begun to shake. When Gypsum had finally blast the giant orb towards the group, Rarity unleashed her magic that resulted ricocheting each other and throwing the orb back to where the changeling stood. The cliff crumbled and gave away beneath her, causing her to fall to the raging river below. The group gawk at what Rarity had done and she collapses to the ground, exhausted from the amount of magic that she’d mustered. She then felt the crashing embrace of her sister. “Rarity, that was amazing!” Sweetie exclaimed excitedly, “I didn’t know you could do that.” Rarity chuckled, “I thought I couldn’t either.” She then returned the hug, “Oh, I’m so glad you’re safe! I’d thought I lose you after I realized that imposter wasn’t you.” Sweetie blinked, “Imposter?” “Applejack! Girls!” They all turned to see Apple Bloom coming out of the bushes, panting for all the running she has to go through. “Apple Bloom!” Applejack ran towards her and hugs her sister. Then the rest of the CMC ran over to give them a hug and Apple Bloom. “Where have you been? “Applejack “We got a problem!” Apple Bloom panted worriedly, “The changelings are here!” “We know, silly. we just fought one,” Pinkie stated. “No, no—you don’t understand. I saw Queen Chrysalis!” The others gasped in shock. Applejack muttered out loud, “Queen Chrysalis?!” “Yes—she was pretending to be Sweetie Belle back at Ponyville,” Apple Bloom continued, “She’s planning an invasion and she’s going after Fluttershy.” “She was impersonating as me again?!” Sweetie asked surprised. “We were all there,” Rarity stated, “We saw you with Discord at the square and—Wait, what do you mean again?” “Chrysalis confronted Discord disguised as Sweetie and we came in by accident,” Diamond spoke out, “She offered him a place to rule Equestria with her; but he refused, and she knocked him out!” “Wait…Discord rejected her offer?” Applejack awed in disbelief as much did the other adults as they heard this. “We weren’t lying when we said Fluttershy changed him,” Scootaloo stated with a smirk. Applejack, Pinkie, Rarity and Rainbow weren’t expecting that an infamous monster like him would reject world domination over a pony that he seems to care the most. Then they thought about the Gusty Hex that they knew before he was revealed to be Discord. Suddenly the icy image of him melted away and their idea of him started to change a little. “If that’s true,” Applejack pondered and she felt a great anxiety inside her, “Then Chrysalis must’ve sent this up from the start! Because of her, Twilight has probably gotten Discord into Canterlot right now!” “You mean Twilight finally found him?!” Sweetie Belle cried worried. “Applejack, we need to get to Discord,” Apple Bloom pleaded to her sister, “He’s the only one powerful enough to fight Chrysalis!” “Yeah!” Scootaloo supported, “You’re the Bearers to the Elements of Harmony! You’re free to step into the castle whenever you like.” “And Twilight would definitely listen to us!” Pinkie interjected, “We’re her friends!” “You’re right,” Applejack declared, standing up boldly to the rest of the group, “But we need to get there fast; there’s no doubt that the princesses would want to turn him back into stone as soon as he gets there.” “But how will they do that?” Diamond asked confused, “The spell wouldn’t be complete without all of you or without Fl--” Sweetie slightly punched her, telling her that now is not the good time to say who the missing bearer is. So, she slurred her words before she finished, “…. The missing bearer?” “Twilight told me that Princess Luna found a spell that can do just that; but the catch is that once it’s performed, the spell will last permanently.” The young fillies reacted to the news with shock while the other stood and acted determinately. “Well, what are we waiting for?" Pinkie exclaimed, running her hooves into racing start before she could actually gallop away, “Let’s go crash that castle!” The girls followed Pinkie’s lead and galloped as fast as they can back to Ponyville, hoping that they would make to Canterlot in time. At the edge of the broken cliff, a wet hoof gripped onto it and Gypsum pulled herself back up and rested for a while to catch her breath. She might’ve avoided death for this one time, but she promised that she will bring an end to those ponies as soon as the invasion finally starts. When she felt like she had regained her strength, she flew up to the skies and into a rendezvous where she knows the General had set up for the impending attack.