"Woah… are those giant pieces of toast?" Treehugger couldn't tell your cardboard wings were cardboard wings. They were brown sure, and hastily colored. But toast? You almost felt like you could anime sweatdrop.
But Fluttershy knew better, she could tell they were wings. She just didn't understand the significance of it. "Anon? Why do you have cardboard wings in your saddle bag?"
You put on a cocky grin "Trust me, you're gonna find this really cool Aunt Fluttershy. Everypony brace yourselves for..."
You felt like being a showoff was appropriate for the situation. You wanted to wow the cute horse. Treehugger being impressed would be a plus. You slap on the wings. And they instantly morph and graft onto your back. Becoming real wings in a flash of light. You even pose to add on to the grandeur splendor. "Pegasus Anon!"
Treehugger was near speechless, she'd never seen anything like it before. "Wooooooooooooooooooooooah"
Fluttershy however, wasn't impressed. She smiled though. And she did think they were nice. But she wasn't blown away by them. "Oh, they look very nice on you Anon. Do they work?"
Wut? Wait… no seriously, wut? You expected her to be all "that's amazing Anon" in the cutest way possible. But she was underwhelmed. "A-aunt Fluttershy, aren't these cool? Look!" You flap the wings just enough to hover. It was the only thing you could manage without falling flat on your face. "I can even get off the ground with them!"
"woooooooah, Fluttershy, I thought your nephew was an earth pony." Treehugger rubbed her eyes "I must have not been paying attention or something."
Fluttershy giggled from Treehugger's astonishment. "Oh no no, he's very much an earth pony. I think Discord gave him enchanted wings so he could be a pegasus pony too. Is that right Anon?"
Your smile and enthusiasm, gone.
"Y-yeah, he did. It was a gift. For uh. Being a good boy" You lied as you gently brought yourself to the ground, flitting your wings a bit after landing.
Well, that made Fluttershy smile at least. Even if it was a lie. You got them for the exact opposite of being a good boy. Or maybe you were being a good boy when it came to being Discord's son? Who knows.
"A good boy?" Fluttershy beamed a warm smile at you, while Treehugger moved in close, probably to get a closer look. "Do you mind me asking what you did? I'm sorry if I'm being intrusive, I'm just really interested . Discord never told me that he was giving you gifts like these."
Well, at least she was curious. That made you feel a little better. But, egh. You couldn't just tell her you got them by insulting him the way you did. "I uhh… he gave them to me for uh. Doing what he asked me to do. I engaged him in a conversation about, uhm. Himself."
Fluttershy was confused by those words. She thought you may have not been totally honest with her. But then she thought that was pretty silly. You're a good boy after all. She concluded that it was probably Discord being a little self centered if the conversation was about him. And with that thought. She laughed. "Oh, I think I got it. Oh Discord, he can be like that sometimes. But Anon, I… well, please don't tell your father this. But do you think you could be a little, not as, ummm, how to say this. But. Well, your father can be a little boastful in what he does. And I just don't want you to learn to be like that too. It's ok to be a little boastful. But erm, don't take Discord too seriously when he's doing it. It's not a good trait."
Now she was looking sad and apologetic, she didn't want to say anything bad about him. But she got the impression that he was teaching you a wrong lesson.
"Oh, well, I think I can do that. I've noticed Dad can be a little, um, would arrogant be the right word?"
"Well, um. Arrogant might be too mean a word." Fluttershy explains
Treehugger began rubbing her hoof along your right wing, you could even feel it. It felt like a gentle massage like rub. "Woooooow, they feel so real" You turn and take a step away from her, Your upgraded and fresh wings were actually more sensitive than you realized. The rubbing began to feel ticklish.
"O-ok, yeah. That's because they are real. In a sense. It's Dad's chaos magic that makes this all happen."
Fluttershy at least understood that. However, a fear suddenly popped into her head as she realized how real the wings were.
"A-anon, actually. There's something else I really really really have to ask you to NOT do. It's very important."
Really important? "What is it Aunt Fluttershy?"
"You got to promise me Anon, promise me, that you'll never ever fly close to the sun. I don't know how real those wings are. But only bad things can happen if you fly too close to the sun. Ok? So please, don't do it."
What? Wait… OH RIGHT. Riiiiight, that would also explain further why she wasn't blown away. Even Twilight could give wings to earth ponies. This was nothing new. Though it was Rarity being really show offy that caused her wings to get burnt to dust. You wouldn't be so foolish. Besides, these wings were probably a lot more sturdy and burn resistant. But, it's still something you could easily do. And it might be good to heed her warning anyway. So you nod
"I promise Aunt Fluttershy, flying that high doesn't really seem appealing anyway. My wings actually have a sort of time li-" Your wings then pop off. Seems the extra charge didn't have a lot of time on it as even the old normal one did. "Yeah, as I was saying. Time limit"
Treehugger looked at the cardboard wings and tapped them. "So like, if I were to put them on. Would I get wings too? That actually sounds pretty rad, because I think, like, with wings. I could probably go up in the sky and see if clouds are like nature too. Because I notice clouds kind of come in different shapes and colors sometimes. And it really speaks to me. Though, sometimes they spit out rainbows. Which is cool because rainbows are nice.”
You quickly take your wings before she could grab them, and slip them into your saddle bag. Didn't need her trying them on and wasting your essential regular charge. "Treehugger, can I ask you a question?"
"Yeah" She nodded
"Um" You thought of a way to put it delicately, because you were now really curious to find out if she was just baked off her ass. You asked this question before. But now you'd be more broad about it.
"Are you always like this? Or do you take something, erm, special to be extra happy?"
"I'm always like this. Ever since I was a young filly. I've always had this, I dunno, connection to nature. The trees, the grass, the rocks. Everything. It just speaks to me. I can see things on a whole other level, you know? It's kind of like how Fluttershy can talk to animals. It's because she's able to see things in a way, and hear things in a way other ponies can't and it's really cool that she can do that. And the air is always so clean, and the plants are always so healthy. It really puts me in a good mood, it's soooooo groovy" Treehugger took a breath of fresh air, stalled, as if to enjoy it's "aura", then breathed out "totally groovy..."
So she really was "High on nature". Huh, that made you want to inquire more on it. It wasn't everyday you were going to get to talk to Treehugger, and if she REALLY could feel auras and vibes. You wondered what she could feel from you if she really looked hard at you. "So, um. You can feel auras and stuff? Even from other ponies?"
"Totally"
"Can I ask you another question then Treehugger? I mean, if you don't mind."
"Sure little dude, what is it?"
This question was a pretty risky one, or maybe it wasn't. It depended on if what she said wasn't just insane shit. But you wanted to know what you looked like deep inside. If you were inherently good or bad. She could already sense something "Not Pony" about you. If it was one thing that still bothered you still, and this was especially when you were around Fluttershy. Was the fact you were lying to her when it came to who you were. And she was so nice, and so loving towards you. You loved being around her, and enjoying her affections. But you felt like a shmuck at times. And you wanted to know. If that made you a bad person, to just keep lying instead of trying to find a way to let her in on the truth.
"You think you could just, I dunno. Read my aura or something?"
Treehugger nods, she didn't mind at all. Why would she, she doesn't seem to mind anything unless it was straight up "messing with the vibes"
"Sure, all you gotta do is close your eyes and concentrate. Follow along with me. Alright?" You nod, you wondered what she was going to sense. Well, there couldn't be too much risk in this. She wasn't Luna, she would have no way of poking around in your head.
You close your eyes, Treehugger doing the same. She starts humming in a single tone. She stops a moment for you to do the same. As it supposedly helps. Fluttershy just watched silently. She wondered what the results of this could be. She felt in her heart that'd you of course have a good and loving aura.
After a few moments. Treehugger stops humming. As it seems she had felt the deepest recesses of your aura. "Wooooooooooah"
You pop one eye open, not wanting to ruin anything. But wondering why she was reacting. "You felt something?"
"What is it Treehugger? What did you feel?" Fluttershy asked
"It's weird, Anon's aura is like… all over the place." Treehugger was heavily confused by it. She didn't expect to get this kind of vibe from you. It made her more "woken up"
All over the place? "What do you mean Treehugger? I-is there something wrong with Anon's aura?" Fluttershy too, was not expecting that kind of reaction.
"I don't know… it's like. I can't tell what's going on with it." Treehugger was dumbfounded. You didn't know what that could mean. Maybe you just didn't do it right?
"umm, is it because I didn't do it right?"
Treehugger shook her head "No, you got it right. But, the feeling is really gnarly. I can't tell what kind of aura it is. Never felt anything like it. Never felt anything close with anypony else"
Considering its "All over the place". It could only be... "Are you saying my aura is… chaotic?"
Treehugger didn't even think of that word as something she should say, but it sounded right "Yeah, that's what I'm trying to say. It's all chaotic."
Chaotic. For Fluttershy, She didn't know if that was worrisome or not. She tried to rationalize it the best she could. "Maybe, um. Maybe it's because Anon doesn't actually live in Ponyville? And considering it's Discord who adopted him. Maybe his aura has just changed because of it. That sounds right, right? I mean… nothing bad would happen to Anon for having that kind of aura… right Treehugger?"
Treehugger shrugged "Don't know, Discord's kind of got the same aura. But Anon's is like. Different. But that's all I can say about it, it's really hard to read. I don't know what it could be. It's kind of wigging me out."
"Well um, maybe Aunt Fluttershy is right. I live in a house that's floating in some weird subspace where waterfalls go up and lava is cold as ice and stuff. Maybe that's what's causing it?"
"Oh hey, if it's like that then maybe. But like I said, I don't know for sure. I don't even know if it's good or bad. But… you seem like a cool little dude, but let me make sure. Anon, you mind me asking you a question." Treehugger stared at you, she looked pretty serious. It was kind of weird given her mussy dreadlocks and such. And with her attitude. It was hard to take her fully serious.
"Sure, what is it? Is it going to reveal anything?"
Treehugger nodded "mhmm, it's gonna tell me if you're good or bad. So answer truthfully."
You nod. And hoped to god it wasn't a question about your "home" life. "ok good." Treehugger hesitated a moment, it was like she was syncing up to you or something. "ok, here it goes, Anon..."
"Yes?" You ask
"Do you… like nature?" She asks
What? Well, yeah. Especially in Equestria where it was beautiful and not ruined by industry shit. "Yeah, it's pretty"
Treehugger nodded and looked to Fluttershy "He's a good little dude, totally rad in my book… but I don't have a book really. But he's still totally ok"
Did that really just. Ugh, why were you even the least bit surprised? You really should be used to not just most of the shenanigans of Discord. But other ponies in general. They really usually stuck to their personality and cutie mark meaning. Fluttershy with being nice and cute. Pinkie Pie, actually stop right there. Just her telling you that she's missed throwing you a ridiculous amount of parties was still catching you off guard. You took a quick look around after that thought… You wondered if she was still following you.
"So does that mean there's no meaning to my Aura? Or… maybe a really big meaning? You can figure that out right?"
Treehugger gave it some thought, and she came up with something. "Maybe there's nothing to figure out. Your aura, little dude. It's like the morning breeze. You always expect it, like your friends and your family would always expect you to be you, and to be there, but when you think about it. You never know where that breeze is going, it can be going back to the ocean, or maybe up a mountain. It's always changing, it's always doing it's own thing, ya know? But you could always count on it to be there every morning, to make everything really chill. Maybe your aura has always been that way, as if to say that you're always doing your own thing in your own way, Like beyond anything anypony else would ever even think of. And you know what's really cool about breezes? They could turn into hurricanes. I think, you got like, all this potential inside you. And it's up to you to find your own way, like the morning breeze does to meet us every morning no matter where we are."
Woah… that's… deep. Ok, yeah, you were pretty surprised. You thought she was going to just say something simple again. Which would have given no or little insight. Instead. As you thought about it. You never did think about your overall potential. You thought, well… Twilight became an Alicorn princess after all. And Fluttershy's potential, she's able to pacify even Discord. But, you never had any potential back in your old world. Maybe you'd be able to do something here? Well, as long as you never went crazy living with Discord at least.
"Treehugger, that's really amazing. I didn't know you thought about stuff that deeply."
Treehugger shrugged "Little dude, I think about EVERYTHING deeply. Everything has meaning behind it, even when there's no meaning. You get what I mean?"
Ahhh no, you just now lost her on that one. "Ummm, I'm sure I can figure it out. What do you think Aunt Fluttershy?"
Fluttershy agreed with Treehugger, in her eyes. You were a smart colt with a big brain. Your speech sometimes ranged to childish to something an intelligent adult would say. And she knew Discord, and the fact that she knew he has to have done some "mistakes" with you and you still are the way you are, just sticking with him instead of becoming frightened of him. She could tell you had so much potential. "I think Treehugger is right. And I know you'll be able to figure out the meaning to your aura, Anon. Just like one day you'll get your cutie mark. Who knows, maybe your cutie mark and aura are related."
Related? Huh, given from what you were hearing. Cutie marks being special talents and your aura apparently being untapped potential. That sounded like the whole Megaman X unlimited potential deal. Ergh, you hoped your cutie mark wasn't a big X. Even if it meant unlimited potential. It just seemed unimpressive and could probably be taken in other ways. "Well, I guess we won't know until I get my cutie mark. Whenever that happens."
"Hey, don't worry little dude. Trust me, everypony gets their cutie mark one day. You'll find yours soon, or maybe it'll find you." Treehugger stretched "speaking of breeze, I gotta get going. I can hear the wind calling me, telling me I need to be somewhere else."
Seems Treehugger goes wherever she felt she was being called. And the picnic was over anyway. Treehugger bids a farewell to the both of you. You thank her for her insight. And you and Fluttershy wish her a safe trip. This leaves just the two of you. "You really have interesting friends Aunt Fluttershy"
"I do? Well, I guess I do. I just like to think of them as more friendly than anything else. But, that was very interesting. You really are something special Anon"
Something special, well that made you smile. Fluttershy always knew what to say to make you feel fuzzy and warm. "I guess I'm a little special. Not to toot my own horn. But I am pretty great"
"oh?" Fluttershy giggled "So does that mean you've mastered Equestria history yet? I remember you having trouble with that"
You flinch, oh… oh… she still remembered that. "I uh...I think I've." You sigh "Yeah no, I haven't brushed up on it at all… yet"
Fluttershy's giggling went to some light hearted laughter.
"H-hey, come on. It's not that funny"
Fluttershy laughing at you, that did hurt. Not too badly, more of a "picked on" sort of feeling.
"I'm sorry Anon" She did her best to stifle her giggling "But didn't I just say you shouldn't get too full of yourself? I just thought it was funny… erm" She stops laughing, feeling she may have gone too far "a little funny… sorry"
You grimace at her sorry, she didn't need to be sorry. "It's ok, Aunt Fluttershy. You don't need to be sorry. I sort of set myself up for that one… actually, speaking of setting up." You looked to your saddlebag. "I probably should be heading out myself to go see Rainbow Dash… you wouldn't want to come, would you?"
Fluttershy hesitated on that answer. She did have animals to take care of. But, She did leave them extra food before coming to the picnic. And none of her other friends needed her. And she did want to be more of an aunt. So she decided.
She looked to you with a smile, and nodded "I'd love to Anon!"
FUCK YES YEAH!
You hopped about in excitement, Yeah Yeah! not only were you going to learn flying from an actual expert, but someone you cared about was going to be there to cheer you on. Then you heard Fluttershy giggling again. You realize it was due to your sudden excitement.
You stop "Ahrm… yeah. Cool cool, thanks Aunt Fluttershy. I... am..er. Glad that you want to come."
Dammit, don't be a spaz Anon. You better not do this shit when you actually go girl hunting, it'll be failure all over again. Just like back in human land. But, you were super glad she was coming with you. It'd also probably make communicating with Rainbow Dash easier as well. If there was one pony with an arrogant streak as big as Discord's. It was hers. But training wise, you knew she'd be the pony to go to.
And so, you and Fluttershy went off to her house. You began to imagine all the cool tricks you'd be able to do once you got flying down. You'd probably never be skilled enough to pull off a Sonic Rainboom. But flying well enough just to get around. Well damn, what human hasn't dreamt of shit like that?