//------------------------------// // Sins and Sacrifices // Story: Demonic Brother // by kurusagi16 //------------------------------// Sins and Sacrifices As soon as everyone had returned to the villa, Fluttershy quickly retreated to her room and flopped onto her bed, burying her head into her pillow. How could he? How could Drake do such a cruel thing? Right now, Fluttershy could feel a whirlwind of emotions washing over her, she wasn't sure what to think. A part of her was a little glad that Eldra was gone, and yet the thought of her being killed in cold blood...and by a person who had treated her so kindly. A knock sounded on the door, followed by Twilight asking softly, "Fluttershy, may I come in?" Fluttershy sniffed and slowly lifted her head up. She glanced at the door and squeaked in reply, "Yes." Twilight entered the bedroom, carefully closing the door behind her as she sat down at the foot of Fluttershy's bed. "Are you okay?" She asked. "I don't know." Fluttershy answered. "I just..." "Hey, it's okay." Said Twilight, rubbing a hoof on Fluttershy's back. "You've been through a lot, you just need time to get things in order." "You're probably right." Sniffed Fluttershy, sitting up to face Twilight. "How are papa and Discord?" "Oh they're fine." Said Twilight. "Right now they're getting in touch with the purebloods to let them know about Drake." "I see." Said Fluttershy quietly. Twilight frowned. "Fluttershy, what exactly happened while you were away?" Fluttershy looked unsurely at Twilight then glanced down at her hooves. "If I tell you, promise you won't tell papa or Discord?" "If you want to keep it between us, then you have my word." Replied Twilight. Fluttershy sighed. "Alright then." She then went on to explain the whole story to Twilight, including what Drake had told her back at the castle. During the whole thing, Twilight would interrupt on occasion, but for the most part, she listened carefully to what her friend had to say. "And that's when you guys appeared to rescue me." Concluded Fluttershy. "Wow." Said Twilight. "So then, Drake is actually your brother?" Fluttershy nodded. "Yes, he is." "But...then why didn't you tell your father? I mean, he has the right to know that his son is still alive." "I thought that was best left to Drake to explain." Said Fluttershy. "He feels ashamed of himself, and I felt, that since he decided to tell me that he was my brother, it should be up to him whether or not to tell papa about himself." "I guess that makes sense." Said Twilight. "But, you got to admit, the scheme his servants pulled off is pretty crazy." "I know, but they seemed genuinely sorry for all the trouble they caused, especially Drake, he wanted to help make up for everything I was going through, and tried to give me my space." "Even so...he still killed Eldra, and even though Eldra was pretty wretched, that doesn't excuse the crimes he's commited." "I know." Sighed Fluttershy. "I still have a hard time believing he could do such a thing." "Well, it's not that surprising." Said Twilight. "I mean, Eldra was pretty crazy, it's not hard to imagine her pushing somepony over the brink. He probably couldn't take her anymore, especially when he heard what she was going to do to you." Fluttershy was silent for a moment as she thought over it. Twilight did have a good point. All those years, tormented by Eldra, the things he must've endured...it was any wonder he hadn't snapped earlier! "Twilight...you have a brother, if you were in my position, what would you do?" Asked Fluttershy. Twilight's eyes widened in surprise, then she tapped her chin thoughtfully before replying, "Well, like you I'd be pretty upset if I found out Shining had done something so horrible. But, after giving it some time, I think I would try to work with my brother through the situation. Help him to make up for what he's done." "So...I should forgive him?" She asked. "Well, yes. Your brother's going to be sentenced, right? I think helping him to make up for his crimes is a good step to move past this." "You're sure?" "I'm sure." Fluttershy smiled sweetly. "Thank you Twilight, I feel a little bit better now. Though, I think I'd like some time to myself if you don't mind." "Of course." Said Twilight, getting up from the bed. "If there's anything you need, just ask." And with that, Twilight left the room, with Fluttershy alone to go over her thoughts. Meanwhile, at Castle Alucard, Drake was sending his servants to work on the preparations for the upcoming ritual. Batty however, was hanging from the rafters, too upset to come down and help out. "Master...foolish, foolish master." He whimpered. "Why must you do this?" Unable to bear being in the castle, Batty flew as fast as he could down to the village and down to Zecora's. There, he interrupted the Zebra as she was brewing up a potion. "Ah, it's dear Batty I see, what is it that brings you to me?"She asked him. "Oh Zecora, it's horrible. Master is about to make a terrible mistake, the mistress is gone, and Batty doesn't know what to do!" The poor bat then slumped to the ground, his wings wrapped over his head as he cried. "Poor master!" Zecora smiled softly. "Cheer up little bat, there's no need to cry. It is quite good that you have flown by." "Really?" Asked Batty, lifting his gaze up at her. Zecora nodded. "I have a potion for entering one's dream, just dab it over your eyes like a cream. With a piece of the one whose dream you wish go in, will help you save your master and undo his great sin." "Really?! You mean, I get contact the mistress through her dreams?" Zecora replied with a simple nod. "But, what do you mean by a piece of her?" "Just a personal item from the young mare, such as an eyelash or strand of hair." She answered. Batty smiled and swooped around in the air joyfully. "Oh thank you Zecora, thank you!" "Your thanks is appreciated indeed, but you still have yet to succeed." She said. "You're right!" Cried Batty. "There isn't much time, the ritual will begin soon! I will have to stall for time, at least until the mistress arrives." Zecora handed the potion bottle to him and replied, "I wish you the best of luck Batty, and don't worry, this potion is on me." After giving his thanks one more time to the kind Zebra, Batty flew off back to the castle, hoping that there would still be a chance of stopping his master from going through with his decision." Fluttershy didn't feel like leaving her room just yet, so she asked for it to be brought to her instead, but even then, she scarcely touched it. Then, Fluttershy caught the faint scent of Discord, as he quietly appeared in the room. She didn't say anything, and instead waited for him to speak up. After a moment of silence, he finally said, "I...I wanted to see if you were enjoying your meal." "...I'm not feeling very hungry." Fluttershy replied without turning to face him. "I see." Said Discord. The atmosphere in the air was stiff and awkward. "You know...we were all pretty worried about you...I was pretty worried about you. But, it's good to know that you weren't hurt or anything. Still, I can't imagine that that vampony's company was anything pleasant." Fluttershy swallowed hard, her hooves clutching the sheets tightly. "He was actually quite nice." She said softly. "Nice?" Discord cried in disbelief. "Nice?! Oh sure, other than the fact that he kidnapped you and held you against your will, I'm sure he was quite charming." Turning around, Fluttershy got a look at Discord, and was surprised to see the bitter look on his face. "Discord, are you okay?" She couldn't help but ask. "Am I okay? What about you? There we were, ready to rescue from the clutches of one of Eldra's wretched minions, only to find out that you two have become such good friends! You didn't seem the least bit scared or concerned, you didn't even want us to punish him for what he'd done." "Like I said before, it was all a misunderstanding." Said Fluttershy. "Oh sure, I'm sure he didn't mean to kidnap you, just as he didn't mean to kill Eldra, or do any of her bidding." "He didn't have a choice." Fluttershy replied defensively. "He wasn't in the position to stop her, just like you were." Discord's body noticeably tensed. "We are nothing alike. Not alike at all." "Discord, why are acting like this? This isn't like you at all." "Well how do expect me to react? Did you want me to just stand aside while you and that...that Drake looked sweetly into each other's eyes? Blech! The thought of it sickens me." "We weren't looking into each other's eyes." Then a thought struck Fluttershy. "Wait, Discord are you...jealous?" Discord froze. "Jealous? Me?! Of that little rat? Don't be ridiculous." "But you are, you are jealous." "Am not." "But why? Why are you jealous of Drake?" "I'm not jealous." "Discord, it's clear something's bothering you, so please just tell me why you're jealous." "I told you already I'm not jealous." "Then why are you acting like this?" "Because I'm in love with you okay?!" Fluttershy gasped. Discord just then seemed to realize what he'd said and covered his mouth with both paw and claw. The two looked at each other for a moment before Discord spoke once more. "Now you know, I love you, alright?" He then turned his back to her and didn't say anymore. Fluttershy got up from her bed and slowly walked over to Discord, tapping him lightly on the back. "I'm sorry." She said. "For what?" Asked Discord, looking down at her curiously. "I didn't realize that you felt that way about me." She said. "You have no reason to be sorry for that." He replied. "So...for how long?" Fluttershy asked. Discord shrugged. "I can't say. I...I believe it may have started when I was trying to trick you under Eldra's orders. But, it wasn't until quite recently that I came to understand what this feeling was. Believe it or not I'd never felt this way about anypony before." "Really? Never?" She asked. Discord shook his head. "You are the first thing to a friend I've ever had, and in what seems like such a short amount of time you've become so much more. That's why...when you'd been kidnapped, I was determined to rescue you. Part of me thought, in some small way, this would be a way for me to officially make up for my tricking you back when we first met." Fluttershy quickly recalled her conversation with Twilight. "Go on." She pressed. "I was looking forward to seeing you again, and how you would react when I saved you. I'd swoop you up into my arms, and you'd smile, happy to have been rescued by the one you..." He cut off momentarily and cleared his throat. "Anyway, that was what I was hoping for. But, at the castle...the way you and Drake acted toward Drake, how nice you were to him, it made me feel..." "Jealous?" "As much as it pains me to admit, yes. Imagine that, the Spirit of Chaos jealous over a second rate henchpony." "Discord, you have nothing to be jealous of. Drake and I...we were good friends, nothing more." She said somewhat sadly. "Really? You seemed pretty close." "I mean it, I just saw him as a friend. But, right now I'm still trying to figure things out and decide just how I feel toward Drake. I want to forgive him and keep being his friend, but I can't ignore what he's done." "Hmph! If you asked me, he deserves whatever punishment he gets." Said Discord. "What about you, Discord?" Said Fluttershy. "I wasn't lying before, you and Drake are quite similar, if you were in his position, would you want me to turn my back on you and leave you to your fate?" That silenced Discord, until he admitted, "No. I would feel ashamed. Ashamed for you and myself." Fluttershy wrapped her hooves around Discord's middle and gave him a little hug. "It's okay Discord, I've already long forgiven you. You've worked so hard and have changed so much. You're very dear to me, as much as papa and Twilight are." Discord placed his paw and claw on Fluttershy's hooves and gave them a little squeeze. "Thank you Fluttershy." "Thank you too, Discord." "What for?" "You, and Twilight too, have given me some needed insight. For that, I'm grateful." Discord turned around and returned Fluttershy's hug. "Glad I could be of help." That night, Fluttershy felt completely drained, and had fallen sound to sleep. At first, her dream seemed foggy, until she spotted a black blur flying towards her. "Mistress!" The blur called. Fluttershy instantly recognized the voice. "Batty?" She asked. Indeed it was Batty, who had now come into sharper focus. He let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness Batty has found you. Batty was worried Zecora's potion wouldn't work." "What potion?" Asked Fluttershy. "What are you talking about?" "Batty used a special potion to enter your dreams, because Batty needs the mistress' help. Mistress must come back." "Please, slow down Batty." Soothed Fluttershy, trying to calm down the frantic bat. "What's this all about?" Batty took a deep breath and said, "Batty came to ask the mistress for help. Master is in trouble, mistress must help master before it is too late!" "Too late? What do you mean too late?" "If mistress doesn't help master, then master will die."