Chapter 6
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The draconequus and the girl walked through the cave together, in silence. They both quietly thought to themselves about what had just happened, especially about the deal.
One positive, Flura thought, was that she didn’t have to face her peers searching for her in this very cave. It still troubled her. What if they somehow managed to find her in these endless tunnels? Then what? Also, how did she know to trust this creature? He could very well be tricking her and possibly leading her into a trap. She might have gotten a little ahead of herself when she made this deal. How on earth was she supposed to help him? If he was telling the truth, couldn’t he have his friends in his world help him instead? Did he really need one extra person? What difference would she make?
Flura avoided eye contact with the creature, or, draconequus, the whole time they walked. He was so much bigger than her and very odd looking. He had four mismatched legs. It looked as if it would be impossible for him to walk on all fours, as he was doing this very moment. She steered clear of his tail as it whipped back and forth as he walked. His two different wings looked like they would be useless for flying. His red and yellow eyes frightened her. He looked like a monster to her. She was too afraid to say anything, so the two of them continued on in silence.
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Discord was deep in thought. It was odd, walking on all fours. He couldn’t stand on two legs like he usually did, because he was too tall. The roof wasn’t very tall in this never ending cave. On all fours, his two horns barely missed the ceiling. When he first entered the cave, he had tried flapping around. He realized this world actually had logic, so he couldn’t even get off the ground. His wings weren’t strong enough to lift himself up. So much for causing any chaos. He wondered if his magic still worked. Probably not. He could test it out, but now was probably not the best time. It would break the long ending silence, which might startle the girl. He could tell she was trying to avoid him. She walked a good distance behind him, and didn’t even look at him the whole time. Her face remained staring at the floor whenever he looked her way. He was more interesting than that cold stone floor for crying out loud! Once, he turned and caught her staring at him. Quickly, she looked down again. Discord thought it was best not to say anything.
To take his mind off of his current “situation,” he decided to think over their deal. What was he thinking, asking this human to help him? She was absolutely useless. How could an ordinary, weak, human, who had never seen his Fluttershy, possibly help him look for her? She didn’t even know what Fluttershy looked like, other than how he had described her earlier! Then again, if this world made him powerless and of no use, maybe his world would give her Equestrian magic. Then she might be of some use. Still, even if she had magic in Equestria, she would have no practice with spells, which would make her once again, useless.
Discord was so deep in thought that he didn’t see the stone wall in front of him. He walked right into it, muzzle first. It was one of the most painful things he had ever experienced. Without magic, there was no way to heal himself. Luckily, he didn’t think anything was broken. He wasn’t going very fast, so probably just bruising. He had never really experienced much pain in Equestria, because of his powerful magic. It kind of surprised him. He sat there, in shock, with a blank expression on his face. Flura didn’t realize he had stopped, and walked right it to him, causing her to stumble back. She looked up and saw the creature all of a sudden snap into alertness.
“Ouch,” Discord said, reaching for his muzzle. He cuffed both his claw and paw around it.
“Well, it seems you lead us to a dead end.”
“What? Wait, where did this wall come from? It wasn’t here before.”
Discord realized that this wall was blocking the way back to Equestria. If they couldn’t get through, they both would be stuck here.
“Well, we may have a slight complication Flutters.”
“It’s Flura.”
Discord, realizing what he had just said, went silent. His face grew a crimson red. He was so mad at himself for saying that! The draconequus quickly tried to change the subject.
“Well, this was the entrance to my world, Equestria. With the wall in the way, we can’t reach the entrance.”
“Wait, you mean we’re stuck here?”
“Possibly.”
“How long could we be stuck here?”
“No need to worry! We can have everything we need to survive a lifetime with the snap of my claws!”
Discord snapped. Nothing happened. He tried again and still, nothing.
“That’s odd. I guess Equestrian magic doesn’t work in your world.”
“WHAT? Does that mean we can’t leave, and we have no food or water?”
“We won’t be stuck in here forever if we go out the other way.”
“We can’t! They’ll find me!”
“Who is they?”
“The real reason I wanted you to take me to your world was so that I could escape my peers. They’re angry with me, and chased me into the cave. They could still be in here this very minute, searching for me. I can’t even imagine what they’ll do when they find me! I don’t want to go back to my school and deal with them!”
Discord watched as tears rolled down her cheeks, staining them. Her teal eyes filled with sadness. Without thinking, Discord cuffed her right cheek in his paw, wiping away the tears from her face with his thumb. She reminded him so much of Fluttershy. If only he could see his friend again. Then, Discord realized what he had just done. The girl had a look of fear plastered on her face. He instantly pulled his paw back.
“There has to be an entrance somewhere. We’ll find a way out, I know we will,” Discord assured her.
The two began feeling along the walls, hoping to find a way out.
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The two of them had been searching for what felt like ages. It was pointless. There was no other way out. Flura didn’t want to think of it, but realistically, they would probably have to go out the entrance. She couldn’t though, not when there could still be people looking for her. She didn’t want to show her face at that school again.
“Hey, Discord, was it?”
“Yes?”
“Well, I’m going to see if I can find another way out. I’ll just be down here.”
“Ok. I’ll continue looking over here. Holler if you need anything.”
Flura walked down the other side of the cave, feeling along the walls, trying not to get anywhere close to the entrance. She touched her hand to her right cheek. Minutes ago, the creature had gently wiped her tears away from that very cheek. His eyes had looked so lovingly at her. She was so startled. He must have noticed because not too long after, sadness filled his red and yellow eyes, and he instantly pulled away. He was only trying to be kind, yet, something didn’t feel right. When they had first met earlier, he had looked at her the same way. He said she was “just like her.” Who was her? Did she remind him of someone? The only person, or pony, he had mentioned was that pegasus. Why would he go through so much trouble for one friend?
“Sadie won’t be happy if we don’t find her,” a voice said. It sounded like Claudia.
Flura held her breathe. She wanted to panic. There was nowhere to hide in this long tunnel. If she went back to where Discord was, she would have to go about two hundred feet, and then turn the corner. That was the only way to get out of view. If she tried though, she might make too much noise.
Before she could take action, Claudia and a boy came around another corner at the opposite end of the tunnel. They spotted her, and ran straight at her.
“HEY! STOP!” The boy shouted.
Flura was terrified. She tried to run, but she tripped on a stone. She came tumbling down. When she got back up, someone grabbed her shoulder. She shot around to see Claudia. Claudia grabbed her by the wrist, and pulled her toward the direction of the other end of the cave with the boy.
Flura couldn’t think. Her heart was racing. Tears filled her eyes. Everything was happening so fast. Then, she had an idea. Flura took a deep breath. The two who had taken her prisoner turned to look at her. Then, Flura let out a piercing scream. The awful sound echoed through the cave. The two fell to the ground, covering their ears. That’s when Flura took off in the direction where Discord was.
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Discord was feeling along the wall when he heard the most shrill scream. It was Flura. She must be in trouble. Before he could move, he watched her come running full speed down the cave path. She was headed straight for him. Flura ran into Discord, knocking them both through the rock solid wall.
Discord blinked. He lied on the ground, stunned. How had they gotten through the portal? It was too crazy to believe what had just happened. He had been sitting there, feeling along walls, and moments later, Flura and he crashed through a rock solid wall, leading them to the magical world of Equestria. It took him a little while to realize where he was. He was in the small cave, at the edge of the Everfree forest, close to Fluttershy’s cottage. He turned his head slightly to see the wall he had gone through earlier. It was perfectly in tact, as if it had never shattered like glass when he first had entered the cave, discovering the human world.
He felt weight on his torso. Was something on top of him?
“What just happened?” A familiar voice asked.
Discord raised his head, shocked by what he found. There on top of him, was a yellow pegasus, with a pink mane, and teal eyes. She was staring right at him, with a confused look on his face.
“Why are you staring at me like that? I thought you needed to go find your friend? If we’re going to find her, we can’t wait here all day.”
Oh no! No this couldn’t be happening! He had found Fluttershy, but she didn’t even remember who she was, let alone, who he was.