“Um, Pinkie Pie, do you really think it’s alright for us to just spend time here having tea like this? Shouldn’t we maybe be looking for the rest of our friends?” Fluttershy asked as she looked across the table at her friend. In truth, Fluttershy was the only one of the pair actually having tea, Pinkie Pie instead engaged in devouring a parfait nearly the size of her head.
“Relax, Fluttershy, it’s not like they’re in danger or anything. We’ll probably just run into them randomly if we wander around enough, kind of like going on a map mission.” Pinkie Pie said before returning to her dessert, pausing just long enough to pick out a strawberry and feed it to the dancing blue alligator-like creature standing next to her chair. Pinkie’s Totodile (or Toothy, as Pinkie Pie had named him) was a near match for his trainer’s personality, cheerfully hopping and dancing around her chair in a display of boundless energy.
Fluttershy initially looked as though she wanted to say something in response but quickly closed her mouth and remained silent instead. Trying to argue with Pinkie Pie was a frustrating endeavor under the best of circumstances, and it wasn’t as though Fluttershy had much to offer by way of an actual plan herself. “To be honest, I’m just glad I was able to run into at least one of my friends,” Fluttershy thought to herself as she looked down at her teacup. “Though I guess it’s not as though I’d be completely alone even if Pinkie and I had run into each other.”
“Cynda?” the small yellow and blue creature sitting on Fluttershy’s lap chirped quizzically.
“Oh, nothing, I was just thinking out loud,” Fluttershy said. Aside from Pinkie Pie’s presence the other reason Fluttershy had been able to avoid panicking over her situation had been her ability to communicate with the odd creatures called Pokémon. Thus far, all of the Pokémon Fluttershy had encountered had seemed particularly friendly, albeit surprised when they realized that she could understand them. That friendliness, however, didn’t seem to extend to each other, as the Pokémon Fluttershy had seen engaged in so-called battles had all been eager participants. Even Fluttershy’s Cyndaquil, who seemed to be relatively docile otherwise, had shown a distressing amount of interest in battling.
“So, do you think we should try going to the gym again?” Pinkie Pie asked suddenly. “I mean, it can’t be all rumbly-crashy-explodey all the time, can it?”
“I’m not so sure that would be such a good idea,” Fluttershy replied with a shudder. One of the first things the pair had done once they exited the Javik Welcome Center actually had been to go to the Mercury City Gym on the advice of several of the other trainers. However, the pair had scarcely even gotten inside the front doors of the building when something massive had impacted one of the inner walls with enough force to cause the wall to cave outward. As a result, Fluttershy had beaten a hasty retreat with Pinkie Pie in tow. “I’m not even really sure I’d want to back to any gym, I just hate the idea of seeing Pokémon hurt each other while fighting.”
“I guess I can understand that. But, didn’t you say that the Pokémon we saw battling were having fun?” Pinkie Pie asked as she finished the last bits of her parfait. “I don’t really get why they’d enjoy that so much, but if that’s the sort of thing they think is fun…”
“They do seem to enjoy it, but it’s still hard for me to watch.” Fluttershy replied, unconsciously allowing her hair to partially fall across her face.
“It’s alright, we don’t have to go back there if you don’t want to,” Pinkie Pie said quickly. “Though before we do go anywhere else I kinda need to hit the little filly’s room. Berightback!” With that, Pinkie Pie dashed off, leaving Fluttershy alone with their Pokémon.
Heaving a sigh, Fluttershy lifted her teacup to her lips only for her Cyndaquil to start squirming frantically in her lap. “What’s gotten into you? Is something wrong – Oh!” As Fluttershy spoke she felt someone tap her on her shoulder. Letting out a yelp of surprise, Fluttershy spun around only to find that there was no one there. When Fluttershy turned back to the table, however, she saw that an odd rectangular object had been placed on the table in front of her. Fluttershy had seen several humans who had appeared to have been talking into similar devices, but Fluttershy wasn’t entirely sure for what purpose. As Fluttershy pondered where exactly the device had come from it suddenly lit up while playing the tune to the Ponytone’s Music in You. Peering at the screen, Fluttershy could see the message ‘Incoming Call’ displayed across it, along with a green circle that said ‘Accept’ and a red one saying ‘Reject’. Tentatively, Fluttershy poked at the green circle, causing the device’s song to be replaced by a familiar voice.
“Hello Fluttershy, how have you been enjoying your little impromptu vacation so far?”
“Discord!” Fluttershy exclaimed loudly enough to send her Cyndaquil scrambling off of her lap. “Are you saying you’re the one responsible for sending us to this place?”
“Well…not exactly. You see, you and your friends, along with…oh, let’s say most of the ponies you’ve ever met were caught in a bit of a dimensional kerfuffle. That part wasn’t my doing at all, I can assure you. Now, I couldn’t very well let my friends wind up in just any dimension, some of those places are downright dangerous. Luckily for everypony concerned I was able to send everypony to the charming world you find yourselves in now.”
“And you didn’t just send us all back to Equestria because…?” Fluttershy asked using the same tone of voice she typically reserved for when her younger brother tried to justify moving back in with their parents.
“Well, normally I would have done just that, but in this case there were certain…complications involved.” Years of being Discord’s friend had given Fluttershy something of a knack for reading the Spirit of Chaos, and there was something in his tone that caught Fluttershy’s attention. It sounded as though to Fluttershy that Discord was actually nervous about something beyond the possibility of her being upset with him. “In any event,” Discord continued, “part of the reason I picked this particular dimension is the fact that they’ve been cooking up some very interesting ways to travel between dimensions. Think of your friend Twilight’s magic mirror, just on a larger scale. So, all somepony has to do is point their little experiment towards Equestria and everypony will be back home safe and sound.”
Fluttershy closed her eyes for a moment as she absorbed what Discord was telling her. “Alright, what about the rest of my friends, where are they?”
“Well, they’re…somewhere,” Discord replied hesitantly. “I was able to contact Twilight earlier, but my magic is somewhat limited when it comes to this dimension. Although, if you really want to find the rest of your friends you may want to start by checking the Javik League’s Gym Circuit. I only mention it since that’s the path I sent Twilight on, seeing as how she’ll need to complete it to gain access to the league’s headquarters.”
“The gym circuit? I don’t know if I’d want to go anywhere near those places.”
“Ah, yes, of course, your boundless empathy for all living creatures. I suppose you would have some reservations when it comes to the whole ‘battling’ thing, wouldn’t you?” There was a note of genuine concern in Discord’s voice as she spoke, as if this was an issue he had never previously considered. “Well, if it makes you feel better there really wouldn’t be any need for you to participate in the battles themselves. All you would need to do is travel to the gyms and try to meet up with your friends there.”
“Well, I guess that doesn’t sound too bad,” Fluttershy admitted.
“And besides, just think of all the adorable little Pokémon you’ll be able to meet along the way!” Discord added encouragingly. “Now, if it will make you feel any better I can see what I can do to arrange a little extra help for you as well. All you’ll need to do is head west out of the city towards a place called Faunaville. It’s a quaint little town, very peaceful. I mean, sure it has some problems with the occasional stampede but where isn’t that an issue?”
“And you really think I’ll find the rest of my friends there?” Fluttershy asked hopefully.
“Well, probably if you stay there long enough. In any event you’ll have a much better chance of meeting them there than if you just stay where you are,” Discord added.
“I suppose if you really think it will help I can talk to Pinkie Pie about it at the very least. Couldn’t you help us yourself, though?” Fluttershy asked.
“Oh, believe me I would if I could, but unfortunately I need to work on unraveling this whole multi-dimensional mess on my end. I’ll keep in touch, though, and if there’s anything else I can do for you you’ll be the first to know. Toodles!” With that, the device went silent, its screen simply displaying the message ‘call ended’.
“Back now!” Pinkie Pie suddenly announced as she bounced back into her seat, causing to Fluttershy to jump slightly in surprise. “Hey, what’s that thing you have there?”
“It’s something Discord sent me,” Fluttershy replied. “He used it to talk to me from wherever he is right now about what we should try to do next.”
“Uh huh,” Pinkie Pie said suspiciously. “And how exactly did he get that to you?”
“Um, well, I’m not entirely sure. I felt somepony tap me on the shoulder so I turned around and when I turned back there it was.”
“Interesting. And what did Discord want to talk to you about?”
“Oh, well he explained how we go here, well, sort of, and he gave me some suggestions on how we can find the rest of our friends,” Fluttershy said, brightening up a little.
“And did Discord actually say how we can find our friends and get back?” Pinkie Pie asked, leaning over the table as she fixed her gaze on her friend.
“Well…um…he didn’t say exactly, it was more of a suggestion, really,” Fluttershy whimpered as she shrank back in her chair.
Pinkie Pie continued to stare at Fluttershy for several moments longer before abruptly smiling brightly. “Well ok then! So, what did Discord suggest we do?” This abrupt change in demeanor was met by Fluttershy with a confused stare. “What? Like you said earlier, we really should be doing at least something to find everypony and it’s not like I have any ideas.”
“Ok, anyway, Discord said we should try heading west to a town called Faunaville because our friends are probably going to pass through there soon.”
“Alright, then what are we waiting for! Let’s get a move on!” Pinkie Pie leapt up and pulled Fluttershy out of her seat. Fluttershy barely had time to recall her Cyndaquil to its Poké Ball before Pinkie Pie began dragging her down the street, Toothy scrambling happily behind.
*********
“Well, if nothing else Fluttershy should at least enjoy the scenery on the way,” Discord said to himself as he ended the call. With a casual flip of his talons Discord caused the phone he was holding to vanish into the air before he turned his gaze to the dimension he had taken up residence in. It was a lavender void filled with floating islands, many of which had waterfalls spilling off in some random direction. A place of complete chaos, where even the laws of time and space had broken down. “And to think that this place is only two hours perpendicular to last Tuesday in my own little realm,” Discord mused. “I should really make a point of coming here more often.”
“Master, do you really think your friend will be alright?” asked a light-purple, vaguely humanoid creature as it floated beside Discord.
“She’ll be fine, Hoopa, Fluttershy and her friends have dealt with far worse than whatever they’re likely to encounter on that island.” As Discord spoke he materialized an odd-looking Poké Ball in his paw, plaid with an image of himself etched on the top, into which he recalled his Pokémon. “Of course, it certainly helps that Equestrian magic won’t work in that dimension, which should help to keep you away from them.” Discord snarled angrily.
As Discord spoke, the shadows of several nearby bushes stretched out and came together, coalescing into a pitch black mass with a pair of crimson eyes glowing in its center. “Honestly I’m just surprised you even cred about my plan to capture the Equestrians” the darkness rasped in a low echoing voice. “I wouldn’t think that a being of your power would have cared about the fates of a few insignificant mortals –“
“Oh give it a rest! I fell for that once already, no thanks to Tirek, and I’d still trust that miserable centaur over you!” Discord snapped. “And for what it’s worth, I’d hardly call hijacking the dimensional rift Twilight created to kidnap a few ponies a ‘plan’. Really, I don’t even know why ponies were ever even afraid of you.”
Several moments of silence passed before the darkness spoke once again. “You don’t really think you can protect them from me forever, do you? Your shunting them off into that occurred dimension may have inconvenienced me for the moment, but it won’t protect them forever. Sooner or later they’ll try to escape and I’ll be right here waiting for them, if my agents in that world don’t capture them first.”
“Oh yes, I had almost forgotten about your ‘agents’,” Discord said mockingly. “Two failures who’ve been bested by Twilight and her friends already, along with your court jester.”
“Each of those so-called failures has nearly conquered Equestria in the past, or have you already forgotten?” the darkness snarled back.
Discord snorted dismissively. “Maybe I might be a little concerned if they still had their magic, but they’re completely powerless in that world. That’s why you didn’t go there yourself; you’d get turned into just another powerless mortal.” The darkness remained silent for almost a full minute after Discord spoke, though the edges of its form seemed to tremble with barely contained rage. Finally, the blob of darkness finally dissipated, leaving Discord alone with his thoughts. “Hmph, you’d think the old goat would have developed at least some manners over the last thousand years or so. Ah well, I may as well see what I can do to about getting a message to mister ‘I love plates’ to see if that human of his can meet up with Fluttershy.” As Discord mentioned the name of the one pony he cared about above all others, however, his cheerful demeanor rapidly drained away.