//------------------------------// // Ch.10-Hoofside Asylum // Story: A Case of Mystery and Love // by cheerful9 //------------------------------// Ch.10-Hoofside Asylum Later on, an old building was seen perched by a cliff with a waterfall beside it. It was the Hoofside Asylum. This building had once been a facility for patients who were severely, mentally ill. However, due to low funds and budget costs, the asylum went out of business a long time ago and the building had been long abandoned. Until now… Diamond Dogs were all over the outside of the asylum. Some were on guard-duty while others sat around lazily. Several groups of them were stationed outside to keep an eye out for any unwanted visitors. Nearby, Spike, Discord, and the ponies poked their heads from some bushes and saw the building. Outside the asylum were Diamond Dogs on patrol, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious. Then they spotted three familiar Diamond Dogs that were by the guarded gate. The ponies saw that they were the leaders of the Diamond Dogs, Rover, Fido, and Spot. They quietly approached the gate and watched as the Diamond Dogs leaders were busy looking for intruders. Looking at the ponies, Discord began to gesture with his hands. They just silently looked at him in confusion, not knowing what he was doing. Only Pinkie Pie seemed to understand and she nodded before she began to do the same thing, only way more goofier. Discord nodded as he gave her a thumbs-up and quietly began to slink through the gate while the others looked at each other, wondering what just happened. After sneaking past the Diamond Dogs, Discord motioned for the others to follow. First, Pinkie Pie went, then Twilight and then Starlight. After Spike made it through, he poked his head out to the others. Just then, Spot, the smaller dog, caught a whiff of Spike’s scent. The baby dragon quickly ducked his head back before he looked at the others and quietly placed a claw near his lips as a way to tell them to be quiet. Spot continued sniffing as he was getting closer to their hiding spot until… “Awoooooooo!” Spot instantly turned around once he heard howling. In their hiding spot on the other side, Apple Bloom was howling, hoping it would get his attention. Spot looked with curiosity as to what that sound was. “Awoooooooo!” Apple Bloom howled again, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo helped their friend out by howling along as well. As they howled, Spot smiled as he panted in excitement. He couldn’t help it, so he began to howl. “Awooooooo-!” Rover and Fido quickly rushed up to Spot. “Spot, quit it!” Rover, the middle sized dog said. “Yeah,” Fido, the taller dog said. “What’re ya trying to do? Start a howl?” “I didn't start it.” Spot said, shrugging innocently, claiming that he wasn't the one who started howling. “Well, cut it out!” Rover said with an annoyed look. “I can't help it!” “Awoooooooo!” The CMC howled together again. “Awoooooooo!” Spot began howling again. As he howled, Rover and Fido couldn't hold it in either and both began howling as well. The other Diamond Dogs nearby heard them howling and joined in. Soon, every Diamond Dog in the area was howling. “Awoooooooo!” “Awoooooooo!” “Awoooooooo!” “Diamond Dogs.” Rainbow Dash whispered, rolling her eyes. “Come on!” Twilight whispered to her friends. They ran while the Diamond Dogs continued howling, who surprisingly didn't see them. They all had their heads raised up and didn’t notice them running by. After hiding behind a wall that was near the waterfall, Discord looked at the CMC, impressed with how they got the Diamond Dogs distracted. “You three are clever little fillies.” He said with a grin. The CMC smiled. “So, how do we get in?” Fluttershy asked, wondering how they were going to get into the building. They looked around until they spotted a pipe. “Ugh. We’re not going through there, are we?” Rarity said, not liking what her friends had in mind. In a room, everything was quiet. Then a lid on the floor began to move and was moved to the side. Out of the hole came Twilight and her friends. Twilight, Rarity, and Starlight used their horns to light up the place. As they looked round the room, they saw that it was full of old, rusty medical equipment, beds, medicine cabinets, and other stuff. “What is this place?” Apple Bloom asked. “It looks like this was a hospital once,” Applejack said as she looked at the old equipment. “More like a looney bin.” Rainbow Dash added, looking at a bunch of straitjackets that were all hung up and had dust on them. Just then, there was a scratchy metal noise. “WHAT’S THAT?!?!” Rarity shouted in terror as she grabbed hold of Spike and held onto him for dear life. They look around to see where the noise was coming from. Starlight Glimmer turned her head and her horn revealed Pinkie Pie happily jumping up and down on a bed. The others sighed in relief. Rarity gave a huge sigh and released Spike. Spike fell over and gasped loudly, as Rarity had almost squeezed all the air from him. Twilight frowned at the pink earth pony. “Pinkie!” She whispered angrily. “What the hay are you doing?!” “99 ponies jumping on the bed. One fell off and bumped his bed.” Pinkie Pie happily sung to herself as she bounced on the bed. As she jumped on the mattress, clouds of dust sprayed out. “Will ya get down from there?” Applejack whispered with frustration. “I can’t. I still have 98 more ponies to go.” Pinkie Pie replied. “Pinkie Pie,” Rarity whispered sternly. “We are on a serious mission. We do not have time to be jumping up and down on old beds!” “Aw, come on, you guys.” Pinkie Pie said as she jumped even higher. “You should try it out!” Fluttershy noticed something. “Uh...Pinkie, I think you should stop doing that. I don’t think that bed is very stable.” “Don’t worry, Fluttershy. It’s as solid as a rock.” All of a sudden, there was a creak from underneath the bed and the moment Pinkie landed on the mattress, the bed gave in. Pinkie Pie fell through the mattress and there was a large cloud of dust. Springs and old stuffing went flying everywhere. Pinkie Pie was stuck in the middle of the mattress, all four of her legs pointing upward, leaving her in an awkward position. She gave a nervous smile. “Uh...a little help?” After they finally got her out of the mattress, they continued their search. As they were looking around, Pinkie Pie pulled a stray spring that was in her mane. She looked at it for a moment before she began squeezing it.The spring made a creaky noise when she did. Smiling, she began doing the same thing over and over again. Rainbow Dash, who was right next to her, was getting pretty annoyed by the noise. Finally, she walked up to Pinkie and angrily whacked the spring out of her hooves. Pinkie Pie frowned before the blue pegasus dragged her along. Twilight, Rarity, and Starlight continued lighting up their horns until the alicorn spotted a metal door at the other end. Curious, they approached the door. Discord then slowly approached the door and reached for the handle. Then he turned to Twilight and moved her near the door. “You know, after you. You’re the princess after all.” Twilight frowned at the draconequus before using her magic to turn the handle and slowly opened the door. She then poked her head through the door and saw that it lead to another room while she looked around. Soon, everyone else began poking their heads out, their heads on top of the other. After making sure the coast was clear, they entered the room and began to look around. Twilight and Starlight Glimmer shined their horns and saw some medical equipment. “Twilight, all this equipment...it’s all brand new.” Starlight said, taking notice of the equipment that looked shiny and modern. Twilight nodded before noticing a screen showing what seemed to be an x-ray scanning a brain. “And by the looks of this screen, somepony has been doing some studying on something.” “But for what exactly?” Applejack asked. “Uh...guys?” They heard a nervous Spike say. They turned their heads and saw Spike nervously pointing to some scratches on the floor that were near a cell. “What are they?” Sweetie Belle asked. Fluttershy took a close look at them and gasped. “Claw marks.” Feeling a little scared, Spike began to back away from the cell nervously. “Yeah, huge, huge claw marks. What kind of animal could have-” A growl interrupted him and a locked-up tiger draconequus appeared and began clawing at its door while it roared, terrifying the baby dragon. “YAHHHHH!” Spike quickly ran from the cell and hid behind Twilight, who was absolutely terrified as well. They all watched as the tiger draconequus paced around its cell while it growled at them. Looking at Twilight, Scootaloo asked with a nervous look, “Is that a tiger draconequus?” Twilight nodded and said, “Definitely is.” Rainbow Dash turned her head and saw something. “Guys,” she said, looking a bit nervous. “I don't think it's the only one here.” They turned to where Rainbow Dash had looked and their eyes widened. In front of them were more cells with red eyes and animal noises coming from them. They quietly walked along the corridor and looked in the cells. A large bear draconequus growled, making Fluttershy and the CMC back away. Just then, a tapping noise was heard. “What's that?!” Rarity gasped. They all turned and saw Pinkie Pie tapping the glass door of a wolverine draconequus, who snarled angrily. “Pinkie! What're you doing?!” Starlight said angrily. “Tapping on the glass.” Pinkie Pie replied happily. “Knock it off!” Rainbow Dash hissed angrily. “There's no sign that says I can't.” Pinkie Pie replied back in a singsong voice as she continued tapping the glass. Pinkie Pie wasn't trying to be mean. She only wanted to see what would happen if she did tap the glass. Of course, she had no idea that she was only irritating the already savage wolverine draconequus. The wolverine draconequus finally snarled and charged at the glass door. It scratched at it furiously, determined to break out of its cell and rip apart the pink intruder. “RARARARARARARA!!” The wolverine draconequus snarled furiously, scratching at the glass and fogging it up with its breath. Saliva dripped from its mouth. “SHARARARARARARAGH!! ARGRARARARARARA!! SHARARARARARARAGH!!” The wolverine draconequus stopped snarling for a moment as it breathed loudly to catch its breath. After some silence, Pinkie Pie gave the glass a small tap. “ARGRARARARARARA!!! SHARARARARARARAGH!!” Immediately, the wolverine draconequus went back to clawing at the glass. “RARGHRARGHRA!! SHARARARARARARAGH!! RARRGH!! RARRGH!! RARRGH!!!” Pinkie Pie smiled as she was about to touch the glass yet again. But Rainbow Dash and Spike stopped her. “Let's go, Pinkie.” Rainbow Dash said nervously as she and Spike pulled her away from the cell. “Yeah,” Spike gulped nervously with an equally worried look. “I think you’re just making him angrier.” “But...but...but...awwww.” Pinkie Pie pouted as they left the cell. As they continued walking, several draconequuses in their cells growled at them. Just then, they heard a roar coming from the cell next to them. They gasped before Rarity shined her horn at it. Inside the cell was a familiar jaguar draconequus growling at them, his eyes glowing red as he paced around. It was Juan Rico. “Mr. Juan Rico.” Rarity said to Applejack. “Well, at least we found him.” Applejack said in relief. As they continued looking at Juan Rico, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle walked to the next cell and took a look. They saw something inside that made them gasp before turning their attention back to the others. “Twilight, guys! Come here! Come see who we found!” Apple Bloom said. Twilight and the others approached the cell the fillies were at, wondering what the fillies had found. “Right there. Look.” Sweetie Belle said, pointing a hoof. Twilight shined her horn in the cell to take a closer look. On the ground were a pair of broken glasses and right beside them was a feral otter draconequus wearing only pants as it was hissing. Twilight moved her horn a little bit closer at the otter draconequus. When the light flashed at him, the otter draconequus snarled as he hid under the bed, his eyes flashing red. Twilight gasped when she saw who it was. “It's him,” she said. “We found our missing otter draconequus.” That was Nelson Otterus. “Finally.” Rainbow Dash said, smiling in relief. They finally found the otter draconequus that they were looking for. Fluttershy approached the door and spoke to the otter draconequus gently. “Mr. Otterus, my name is Fluttershy and these are my friends.” Otterus poked his head and looked at the pegasus curiously, almost as if he could understand what she was saying. “Your wife sent us to find you. Don't worry. We're gonna get you out of here now-” Suddenly, Otterus screeched and lunged at the glass door, almost as if he was going to attack. The gang yelped in surprise as they backed away in fear and landed on the floor. Otterus snarled at them before he began to scurrying around his cell as they watched. “Or not.” Scootaloo said nervously. “I guess he’s in no rush getting home to the family.” Discord said, startled as well while getting up. “Now I see why Juan Rico was absolutely terrified.” Sweetie Belle said, remembering how terrified Juan Rico was when Otterus attacked him. As she spoke, Otterus savagely tore up the pillow on the bed. Spike nervously nodded in agreement. “Yeah. You usually don't see that in cute little animals.” Starlight began counting all the cells in the corridor with savages draconequuses in them. “...11, 12, 13, 14, not including Juan Rico,...Twilight, they all add up to fourteen!” She said in surprise as she turned to the alicorn. Twilight thought for a moment before she remembered something. “Guys,” She said. “Back in Canterlot, remember what Princess Celestia told us?” “Whether chimcherry is better than cherrychanga, or the other way around?” Pinkie Pie asked randomly. “Wha-? No!” Twilight said in annoyance before she continued. “King Disconcert told her that fourteen draconequuses had gone missing.” She then looked at all the imprisoned draconequuses. “They’re all here...All the missing draconequuses are standing right here.” Her friends all looked at her in surprise after she said that. Finally, Rarity broke the silence. “Then...that would mean that we found all the missing draconequuses.” She said, finally realizing what Twilight was just talking about. “Oh, yeah! Score!” Rainbow Dash cheered quietly while doing a small fly in the air. “But there’s something here that don’t make sense.” Applejack said, trying to figure something else out. “Why would Diamond Dogs be bringing them here of all places?” No one couldn’t figure that out either. Before anyone spoke up, they heard a beeping noise and turned their heads at a door in front of them. They saw the head of a pony through the window of the door. “Somepony’s coming!” Twilight whispered. Looking around, she spotted an empty cell close to them. Pointing a hoof, she said, “Quick! In there! Hide!” Twilight dashed inside the cell and the others ran after her. Pinkie Pie just stood there smiling until Rainbow Dash grabbed her by the tail and quickly pulled her into the cell, the pink earth pony said in surprise, “Whup!” Inside the cell, they all laid down very quietly so that the figure from the door wouldn’t see them in the dark. Pinkie Pie lifted her head up to take a look. She spotted somepony very familiar and she smiled before she began to speak. “M-!” Rainbow Dash quickly covered her friend’s mouth and pulled her back down, not wanting Pinkie Pie to blow their cover. “ENOUGH!” A familiar voice shouted, getting their attention. They slowly lifted their heads up to see who it was. Coming inside was a familiar pegasus...Mayor Flashhoof! Walking beside him was a female unicorn carrying a clipboard with her magic. Her coat was light green, her eyes yellow-orange, her mane was black and light gray, and her cutie mark was a stethoscope. Around her neck was a stethoscope. Based on the outfit she was wearing and the stethoscope she had for as a cutie mark and the one around her neck, this pony must be a doctor. Flashhoof looked tense and his eyes were tired. “I don’t want excuses, doctor! I want answers!” He said to the doctor, sounding very serious. “Mayor Flashhoof, please,” the doctor said, trying to calm him down. “We’re doing everything we can.” “Oh, really?” Flashhoof said sarcastically while Twilight used her magic to record their conversation. “‘Cause I have a bunch of Diamond Dogs outside who are howling like there’s no tomorrow. Not to mention I have a dozen and a half draconequuses in here who’ve gone off the rails crazy, and you can’t tell me why! Now I call that awfully far from doing everything.” “Sir, it may be time to consider their...biology,” the doctor said. “Biology?” Flashhoof rolled his eyes in annoyance. “Spare me, doctor. What do you mean biology?” “The only creatures going savage are draconequuses. We cannot keep it a secret. We need to come forward.” The doctor explained. Flashhoof put a hoof on his chin, pretending to consider it. “Hmm. Now that’s an idea. Yeah, let’s tell the public that I, the mayor of Manehattan, have been secretly hiring Diamond Dogs to go around secretly capturing any draconequuses who have somehow gone insane, to have them be brought here to this abandoned asylum, only to be studied and locked up against their will.” Then he glared at the doctor and shouted, “ARE YOU CRAZY?! Do you know what’ll happen if the press gets wind of this?! I’ll be ruined!” The gang looked at each other when they heard him say that. “Well, what do the princesses say?” the doctor asked. “The princesses don’tknow.” Flashhoof said with a stern look. Then Spike began to feel his nose starting to twitch and found himself starting to sneeze while Flashhoof continued talking. “And we are going to keep it that way.” “ACHOOO!!” Spike sneezed so loud and the CMC quickly covered his mouth, hoping that the two ponies didn’t hear that. Unfortunately, that loud sneeze blew their cover. Flashhoof looked up, startled. “Somepony’s here!” “Sir, you need to go now,” the doctor said. As they headed for the door, the doctor said, “Security, sweep the area!” After she closed the door, the alarm began to ring. Inside their hiding spot, the gang saw the door to their cell automatically close. They tried to pull it open, but it didn’t work. Those who had magic tried to use them to unlock the door. But the door was anti-magic, so they couldn’t use magic to open the door. “Oh no! We’re trapped!” A terrified Rarity said. Just then, they heard barking and saw heads of Diamond Dogs through the window. “Great, we’re dead. That’s it. I’m dead. You’re dead. He’s dead. She’s dead. Everypony’s dead.” Discord said before he laid his back against a toilet and crossed his arms in frustration. Looking at the toilet, Twilight got an idea. “Can you swim?” She asked the draconequus. Looking at the alicorn in confusion, Discord said, “Yes, I can swim. Why?” Suddenly, the door burst open and the Diamond Dogs entered into the room, lead by the Diamond Dog leaders as they began to search for the intruders while barking and growling. Then one of the Diamond Dogs heard a flushing noise and turned its head to see a toilet in a nearby cell flush. It just watched before raising an eyebrow in confusion. It turned out that Discord had used his magic to shrink himself and the others to the size of breezies and flushed themselves down the toilet. As they slid through the pipe, twisting this way and that, they all screamed in terror, except for Pinkie Pie, who was enjoying this thing as if it was a water slide. Except for the slimy sewage part. “NOT A WORD OF THIS TO ANYPONY!!!!!!!” Rarity wailed as sewage water ran through her hair. Finally, they were shot out of the pipe. Unfortunately, they found themselves falling down the waterfall and continued screaming. It was all quiet for a moment until Twilight and her friends emerged out of the water and were back to their original sizes. Pinkie Pie, however, splashed around in terror as she held onto Spike. “Help, help, help!! I’m drowning! Somepony, please save me!” She screamed. Her friends, however, just looked at her as she continued calling for help. They were all standing in shallow water. Then Applejack spoke up. “You can stop splashing, Pinkie.” “I can’t stop splashing! I’m drowning! I’m drowning!” “We’re in shallow water.” Rainbow Dash said. Pinkie Pie stopped splashing and looked around before giving a sheepish smile and released Spike, who coughed up as Pinkie Pie nearly drowned him. Starlight Glimmer looked around and saw that there was one pony missing. “Guys! Fluttershy’s missing!” Hearing Fluttershy’s name, Discord and the others looked around frantically, hoping that nothing bad happened to the pegasus. “Fluttershy? Fluttershy? Fluttershy!” Discord said. Just then, Fluttershy emerged out of the water and gasped for air. Discord sighed with relief. His beloved Fluttershy was okay. “Are you okay?” Starlight asked. The pegasus nodded. “I’m okay.” Turning to all her friends, Twilight then spoke. “Come on! We gotta tell the princesses!” “Um...could some of us take a shower first?” Rarity asked with a sheepish smile. A familiar app with Singing Diva and one of her dancers was seen dancing together, only the dancer’s face was revealed to be Officer Gruff’s this time. “Wow. You are one hot dancer,” Singing Diva’s voice said, before finishing with the same robotic-like voice. “Officer Gruff.” As he sat back on his desk, Officer Gruff smiled as he was watching the app on his cellphone. Just then, he heard the door and placed his phone down. In came Inspector Fantastic, Number Two, and Antic. “Officer Gruff!” Antic said. “Uh, not now!” Officer Gruff said. Number Two then noticed the app on Officer Gruff’s phone. “Wait, is that...Singing Diva?” he asked. Officer Gruff placed his hooves on the phone. “No!” He immediately said. “I’m Singing Diva and you are one hot dancer.” Singing Diva’s voice said. The pony officer looked embarrassed as he looked at the others. Inspector Fantastic, Number Two, and Antic just stood there in surprise. “Yer ‘ave that app as well?” Inspector Fantastic asked. Then he smiled before he chuckled. “Oh ‘ohohoho, Gruff, yer sly old dog, yer…” Officer Gruff just looked at him with an annoyed look on his face. “Inspector, can’t you and the others see I’m working on the missing draconequus cases?” He said, pointing to a poster right beside him that had pictures of all the missing draconequuses. When she heard him mention that, Antic spoke up. “Oh, about that. I just received a message from Princess Celestia about Twilight and her friends. They say that they found all of them.” Once he heard Antic say that, Officer Gruff’s annoyed face was replaced with a surprise look while the Singing Diva in the app said, “Wow. I’m impressed.” Hours later, the Manehattan police and the royal guards arrived at Hoofside Asylum. All the Diamond Dogs had already escaped by the time they had arrived. The same could not be said, however, for Mayor Flashhoof and the ponies working for him. As police officers and royal guards swarmed and overtook the abandoned asylum, Officer Gruff and Inspector Fantastic led a hoofcuffed Mayor Flashhoof out of the building. Next to them were Twilight, her friends, and Shining Armor. “Mayor Flashhoof,” Officer Gruff said angrily. “You are under arrest for the kidnapping and imprisonment of draconequuses and illegal recruitment of Diamond Dogs.” “You have the right to remain silent.” Shining Armor said. “Anything you say will be-.” Mayor Flashhoof interrupted them. “You don't understand!” He said frantically. “I was trying to protect Equestria!” “That's a lie!” Starlight Glimmer said. “ The only thing you were trying to protect was your job.” “To think, it wos yer the 'ole time.” Inspector Fantastic said. “I wos starting ter think that it wos the last pony I would expect. I even thought that some’ow, it might of been me. But it wos really yer I wos lookin’ fer! It's the perfect bloomin’ crime!” Rainbow Dash angrily glared at the pegasus she had once worshipped. “I can't believe this! Everypony in Cloudsdale looked up to you! You liar!” Rarity was also equally angry at the pegasus she had completely fallen for. “You fiend!” She growled. “Have you no respect, deceitful one?!” “No, listen! We still don't why this is happening! It could destroy Equestria!” Flashhoof said, trying to explain everything. “You have the right to remain silent.” Twilight said angrily. “Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.” Then Flashhoof turned to the princesses, who glared at him disapprovingly. “Your majesties!” Flashhoof begged. “Please, let me explain-” Princess Celestia waved a hoof, cutting him off. “No, Flashhoof. No more lies.” She said sternly, with a hint of sadness. “We trusted you to improve the relationship between ponies and draconequuses. Yet you went behind our backs and kidnapped the draconequuses that were missing.” Princess Cadance then spoke up. She was equally angry and disappointed. “You kidnapped these mentally unstable draconequuses and locked them up in unsafe conditions, when they needed proper health care.” Princess Luna shook her head, in disapproval. “Thou has brought nothing but shame upon thyself.” “Yeah!” Pinkie Pie said, poking her head in front of the pegasus and glaring at him. “You're a liar! Liar, liar! Plants for hire!” “Um, it's pants on fire, Pinkie.” Applejack said, correcting her. “Oh.” Pinkie Pie was quiet for a moment before she angrily looked at Flashhoof again. “Liar, liar! Fire in the pants!” She said as she pointed a hoof close to Flashhoof's face. “And to think that I was going to throw you one of my random surprise parties next Tuesday!” “Take him away, boys.” Rainbow Dash said furiously to some pony officers. “Yeah, yeah. We know that we're supposed to take him away. You don't have to remind us.” An annoyed pony officer said. “Please!” Flashhoof begged. “Just let me explain-!” “Yeah, yeah. Tell it to the judge, pretty boy.” A pony officer with sunglasses said as he took the former mayor of Manehattan to a police car that the doctor and other ponies that were working for him were already inside. Flashhoof tried to speak as the pony officer tried to push him into the car. “No, please, listen to me! You’re making a mista-HEY!!” He was interrupted when the pony officer finally managed to push him into the car and closed the door all the way. “So long, yer bugger!” Inspector Fantastic shouted while waving his umbrella. “So it was Flashhoof all along.” Scootaloo said, still surprised by the former mayor of Manehattan’s actions. “I still can’t believe this.” Rainbow Dash snapped angrily. “My nephew is a big fan of Flashhoof.” Number Two said sadly. “He’s going to be rather upset when he hears about this.” “I always knew he had a big ego, but I never thought that he would stoop so low as this.” Applejack said. “And to think that I had a crush on him” Rarity said with disgust. “The injustice of it sears my heart!” Fluttershy was not happy with what Flashhoof had done to Mr. Otterus and the other draconequuses. However, the way he pleaded desperately made her wonder if there was something else he had to say. “He sounded pretty concerned about something.” She said. Starlight looked at her friend and said, “You, know, come to think of it, he did say that they still don’t know why this is happening.” Rainbow Dash just scoffed it off. “He was probably trying to think of some lame excuse to make himself look innocent.” Spike didn’t know if he should feel sorry for the pegasus or be glad that he got what he deserved. “There’s something that still doesn’t make sense.” Twilight said. “What’s that?” Spike said, turning to Twilight. “Why would Flashhoof capture and imprison savage draconequuses just to preserve his job?” “Because he’s a dirty, no-good, traitorous crook! That’s why!” Rainbow Dash said furiously. “Yes,” Rarity said, agreeing with her friend. “And a rather handsome and charming one at that!” She sounded really disappointed. Pinkie Pie was equally angry and said, “He’s never invited to any of Gummy’s birthday parties EVER AGAIN!!” Nearby, Discord was wearing black sunglasses and drinking a chocolate milkshake. A royal guard and a police officer just looked at him in confusion. Discord simply looked at them and shrugged before going back to drinking his chocolate milkshake. The next day, pony and draconequus reporters arrived in Canterlot for a press conference to get the info about the missing draconequuses that had disappeared recently, who were now found. Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Princess Cadance were standing on a platform in front of the reporters. Behind them was a screen with pictures of all the missing draconequuses. Officer Gruff and Shimmering Beauty were right beside them before Princess Celestia walked up to a podium and spoke up. “Citizens of Canterlot,” she said to the press. “Fourteen civilians had gone missing and all fourteen have been found by my faithful student, Twilight Sparkle, and her friends, who will speak to you in a moment. But first, Officer Gruff would like to say something important first.” She moved to the side and let the pony officer take her place at the podium. Bowing to the princess, he said, “Thank you, your majesty.” Turning to the press, he said, “First of all…” While he was busy talking to the press, the Mane Six, Starlight Glimmer, Spike, the CMC, and Discord were off to the side as they watched. “I can’t believe that we finally solved the case!” Sweetie Belle said happily. Apple Bloom nodded in approval. “Yeah, and it’s a good thing that Shimmering Beauty took over as the new mayor of Manehattan.” “Yeah. I’ll bet she’ll do a better job running as mayor than Flashhoof did.” Scootaloo said. “Hey, Twilight! After this press conference, can we celebrate a ‘We Solved The Mystery’ party when we get back to Ponyville?” Pinkie Pie asked the alicorn with an eager grin. “Of course, Pinkie,” Twilight said with a smile. “YAY!!!” The pink earth pony cheered as she jumped into the air. Rarity was all worked up as she applied various makeup and eyeliner with her magic. Spike was holding several accessories while he held a hand mirror in between his teeth. “Oh, sweet Celestia! How do I look?” asked an anxious Rarity. “Do I have enough makeup on? Is my hair combed correctly?” She then gave a horrified gasp. “Is there a smudge on my cheek?!” “Roo rook frine, Rarity,” Spike said, still holding the mirror between his teeth. What he said was ‘You look fine, Rarity’. “Oh, thank you, Spikey-Wikey. You always say simply the nicest things.” Rarity said with a smile while playfully pinching his cheek. This almost caused the baby dragon to fall over, but he regained his balance. Just then, Rarity looked in the hand mirror and gasped. “Oh no! My hair is not brushed well enough! Where’s my hairbrush? WHERE IS IT?!” She shrieked. “Would ya calm down already?” Applejack said with an annoyed look. “I have to look my best when we go up onstage.” Rarity said as she brushed her hair, using the hairbrush that she found. Fluttershy, however, didn’t look excited as the others. “You alright, sugarcube?” asked Applejack. “Oh, I'm fine.” Replied Fluttershy. “ It's just that…” She gulped nervously as she carefully chose her words. “...I'm not used to speaking to crowds.” Starlight Glimmer tried to comfort her friend. “Don't worry, Fluttershy. It won't just be you. You'll be with us also.” “Yeah,” Pinkie Pie said as she hopped in front of Fluttershy. “It’ll be fun!” Pinkie Pie smiled. “You’ll be up there with us, basking in front of the cameras! One of the centers of attention! A shining celebrity!” Fluttershy nervously wrinkled her muzzle in fear as Pinkie Pie continued. “Everypony will be taking pictures of you, staring at you, and asking you questions that you can't answer quickly enough!” At that part, Fluttershy stepped back in shock. Pinkie Pie continued talking happily, unaware that she was making her friend uncomfortable. “Not to mention that they’ll be seething jealous of you, thinking that they could be way better than you! ‘Why wasn't it them?’ ‘Why wasn't it them?!’ ‘Why couldn't they get chosen by the princess to solve a dangerous mystery?’ ‘Why didn't they get the chance to be chased by a savage jaguar draconequus and live to tell the tale?!’” Tears began to form in Fluttershy's eyes as she trembled in fear as Pinkie continued. The pink earth pony was on a roll. “And then,” she said. “When you fail to answer a question and you choke, they’ll turn on you, becoming aseething, angry mob!” Fluttershy was on the verge of crying her eyes out as Pinkie said, “They’ll drive you out of Canterlot, and you’ll be so horribly, humiliated that you’ll lock yourself up in your cottage, NEVER ABLE TO SHOW YOUR FACE IN PONYVILLE AGAAAAAINN!!!” Pinkie Pie finished the sentence as if she was a deranged lunatic. “Pinkie Pie!” Rarity scolded her friend angrily before whacking the pink earth pony on the head with her hairbrush, making a conk noise. “You're not helping!” “I'm not?” Pinkie Pie asked. Discord looked at Fluttershy, the pegasus horrified from hearing what Pinkie Pie just said. He decided to help her by giving her some advice. “Okay, Press Conference 101,” he said. “You wanna look smart, answer their question with your own question. Like this.” They watched as he conjured up a reporter's tie, a microphone, and a reporter's hat. Pretending to be a reporter, he held up the microphone and said, “‘Scuse me, miss Fluttershy. What can you tell us about the case?’” Then he teleported to another spot. He no longer had the tie, microphone, and hat as he now pretended to be Fluttershy. “‘Was this a tough case? Why, yes. Yes, it was.’” Turning his attention to the pegasus, he said, “See, simple as that.” Fluttershy and her friends looked at the draconequus in surprise. Scootaloo turned to her friends and said, “Wow, I didn't know it was that easy.” Fluttershy, no longer trembling, looked at him. Discord's advice helped calm her down. Smiling, she said, “You should be up there with us. We couldn't have done this without you.” “Well, am I one of the Elements of Harmony?” The draconequus said with a smile and shrugged. “Sadly, I'm not.” “Oh, I just remembered.” Fluttershy said. “I spoke to Twilight the other day and I have something for you.” She then held up a familiar flower pen while the draconequus looked at her. “Twilight already took the protection spell off of it.” Discord looked at the pegasus in surprise. “You're...giving me the pen?” He asked her. “Why, of course.” Fluttershy replied happily. “A deal’s a deal after all.” Placing the pen in Discord's paw, she looked at him and said, “Here. In case you want this for something to write.” Discord looked at the pen in his paw and looked the pegasus, who was looking at him with her gentle smile. He smiled back at her. As she watched them, Starlight knew what was going on between the two. They were becoming more than just friends. They were falling in love. Just then, they heard Shimmering Beauty calling them. “Girls, it's time.” Twilight and her friends looked at Spike, Discord, and the CMC. “Wish us luck, guys.” Said Rainbow Dash As they walked up the stage, Scootaloo said, “Break a leg, guys!” “Was that a figure of speech or was she being serious?” Pinkie Pie asked Twilight while Officer Gruff was still talking to the press “...And nopony is more surprised or more prouder than I am.” Officer Gruff said. Turning to the Mane Six and Starlight Glimmer, he said, “So now, I turn things over to the ponies who cracked the case, Princess Twilight Sparkle and her fellow ponies.” He stepped aside as the ponies each stood behind a podium that had their cutie marks on them. As they looked at the reporters, who were all shouting their names at once with multiple questions while cameras were seen flashing at them. Fluttershy silently took a deep breath and became calm. “Miss Applejack!” An earth pony reporter said. Turning to the pony who said her name, Applejack pointed a hoof at the stallion and said, “Uh, yes?” “What can you tell us about the victims that went savage?” The earth pony reporter asked as he held up a microphone. “Well, the victims in question...uh,” Applejack said nervously. She turned her head at Discord, not knowing what to say. Discord gesture a hand at the earth pony, reminding her what he just told Fluttershy. “Oh.” Applejack remembered what he told Fluttershy and turned back to the press. “Are they all different creatures? Yes. Yes, they are.” She said. Once she said that, pony and draconequus journalists wrote down what she just said. Spike, Discord, and the CMC smiled, impressed how Applejack handled the situation. Apple Bloom smiled, happy for her big sister. Discord then summoned a piece of paper and began to use the flower pen to write something on the paper. “Okay, what's the connection?” A female pegasus reporter asked. Rainbow Dash turned to her friends with a smile as if she was saying, ‘Hey, this is easy’. Turning to the press, she said, “Well, all we know is that they're all members of the draconequus race.” Scootaloo smiled once Rainbow Dash said that. Her hero nailed that one! “So, draconequuses are the only ones going savage, is that correct?” A unicorn stallion asked. Rarity answered that question. “Yes, that is indeed accurate.” She said while Spike and Sweetie Belle watched with smiles on their faces. “Why? Why is this happening?” An earth pony stallion asked. “We still don't know…” Twilight replied sadly. The reporters muttered in disappointment. Turning to her friends, Rarity whispered in concern, “We’re losing them!” Fluttershy looked around nervously as she tried to figure out what to say until she thought of something. “But...um, it may have something to do with... biology!” She said. Once she said that, everyone looked at her in surprise. Even the princesses were surprised. Discord, who had also conjured a bouquet of flowers, was reading the letter he had just written until he heard Fluttershy say that and looked up in confusion. Spike and the CMC looked concerned as well. “Biology?” A pegasus stallion reporter asked. “What do you mean by that?” Fluttershy said, “You know...a biological component in their DNA.” “In their DNA? Can you elaborate on that please?” A female earth pony asked. “Um...yes.” Fluttershy nodded as the screen behind her changed to reveal some of the draconequuses who had gone savage that were now being muzzled by the police and royal guards. “What I mean is...from what Twilight told me, thousands of years ago, before discovering how to use magic, draconequuses survived on their aggressive hunting instincts. For whatever reason...they seem to be reverting back to their primitive, savage ways.” Spike turned to the Cutie Mark Crusaders. “I don't like the sound of this.” He said in concern. “That can't be the reason.” Sweetie Belle said in concern. “But what's making them act this way? Scootaloo asked. “I don't know.” Apple Bloom said before turning to Discord, seeing if he might know. “What do you think, Discord?” She waited for the draconequus to answer, but he didn't reply. Apple Bloom looked at him in confusion. “Discord, can you hear me? Discord?” Discord didn't hear her. He put the letter and bouquet of flowers down, walked up, and looked at the screen. As he looked at the savage draconequuses wearing muzzles, he looked in horror as he began to remember that horrible experience he had encountered as a draconequus cub. A younger Discord was hiding in the bushes, wearing a muzzle that the young ponies put on him. As he was trembling in fear, the ponies cruel laughing and mocking filled up his mind. “Aw, is the freak gonna cry?” Discord snapped out back into reality as he then looked concerned about something. “Could it happen again?” A unicorn stallion asked. “Uh...It may be possible...so we must be well prepared for what might happen.” Starlight Glimmer said nervously, still thinking about what Fluttershy said. “Y-yes.” Twilight quickly said. “That's why me, my friends, the police, and royal guards are here to protect everypony.” “Miss Pinkie Pie!” Pinkie Pie smiled and turned her head to the pony who just said her name. Now it was her turn to answer the reporter's question! “What does the Pony and Draconequus Friendship Initiative have to say about this?” The unicorn stallion asked. Pinkie Pie’s smile disappeared and she frowned nervously. “Um...Uh…” “Will more creatures go savage?” asked a female unicorn. “Um...Uh…” “What is being done to protect us?” A male pegasus said. “Um...Uh…” “Have you considered a mandatory quarantine on draconequuses?” A female pegasus asked. “Um...Uh…” Pinkie Pie stammered. “Um...Uh…” “Miss Pinkie Pie, we need an answer!” A male earth pony said. “Um...Uh...Um...Uh…” Pinkie Pie's mane deflated as she continued spazzing out. Her friends looked at her in concern with raised eyebrows. “Er...Pinkie, are you okay?” Rainbow Dash asked. Pinkie just continued stuttering. “Um...Uh…” Her right eye twitched while the pupil in her left eye slowly moved about in random directions. “Um...Uh...Um...Uh…” Pinkie couldn’t understand a single word the reporters were saying. It was like they were speaking in another language. To be honest, they lost her at the word ‘initiative’. “Um...Uh...Um...Uh…” “Oh boy.” Spike whispered to the CMC. “She’s caught in a loop.” Spike was right. Pinkie Pie just kept saying ‘Um...Uh…’ over and over. Ironically, Pinkie Pie was the one getting nervous instead of Fluttershy. Seeing that this was getting out of hoof, Shimmering Beauty rushed up to the stage. “Uh, ok. Thank you, girls.” She said before turning her attention the the press. “Uh, that’s all the time we have. No more questions!” The reporters grumbled disappointedly. Twilight smiled at the unicorn and whispered, “Thanks, Shimmering Beauty.” Then, gesturing to the others, she said, “Let’s go, girls.” Her friends followed her, except for Pinkie Pie, who was still nervously spazzing out. “Um...Uh...Um...Uh…” Applejack nudged her friend. “Come on, Pinkie. Time ta go.” Pinkie Pie shook her head and her mane went back to its poofy self. “Huh? What? What’d I miss?” She asked as she looked around in surprise, unaware of what happened. “We’re done now. We can go.” Rainbow Dash said as she grabbed Pinkie’s hoof and pulled her along. “But-but...but I haven’t answered anypony’s questions yet!” Pinkie Pie protested as she tried to grab and reach out for the microphone. “Come on.” An annoyed Rainbow Dash said, still holding onto her friend’s arm. The stage was silent for a moment. Then, Pinkie Pie, once again, tried to grab the microphone, while Rainbow Dash tried to pull her back. They both grunted in frustration before Pinkie Pie said, “I didn’t even get to say ‘hi’ to my family!” “Come...on!” Rainbow Dash grunted angrily as she pried her friend away from the microphone. The stage was silent once more, before Pinkie Pie managed to grab the microphone for a brief moment as she shouted with a smile, “HI MAUD!!!” She screamed before Rainbow Dash finally pulled the determined earth pony away from the microphone. “WHAUGH!!” Pinkie Pie yelped as Rainbow Dash pulled her along. While the reporters were busy discussing stuff, the Mane Six and Starlight got off the stage, followed by Shimmering Beauty. “Awwwww……” A disappointed Pinkie Pie pouted, upset that she didn’t get a chance to answer anypony’s questions all because of her nervous breakdown. Unsure of how she had done, Fluttershy looked at Shimmering Beauty. “Was I okay?” She asked. “Oh, you and your friends did fine,” Shimmering Beauty assured her with a friendly smile, which Fluttershy smiled back as well. Twilight approached the princesses, who looked rather worried. “So, how were we?” Twilight asked. The princesses looked at each other, unsure of what to say. Finally, Princess Cadance spoke up. “Well...it was...interesting.” She said to her sister-in-law. “Y-yes.” Princess Luna said. “You all did good. The odd behaviour from your friend, Pinkie Pie, was quite...unusual.” Princess Celestia, however, looked rather concerned. “I’m just a little concerned about what Fluttershy said. I’m worried how it will affect the friendship between ponies and draconequuses all over Equestria.” Twilight looked at her mentor. “Don’t worry, Princess Celestia.  I’m pretty sure it won’t have any effect.” She said. The alicorn looked at her pupil. “If you say so. I will inform you if something happens.” “Yes, Princess Celestia.” Twilight said before leaving to join her friends. The three princesses then looked back at each other, worried about what they feared might happen. The alicorn and her friends walked to Spike, Discord, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. Fluttershy turned her attention to Discord. “Oh, my.” She said. “That went so fast. I didn’t get a chance to mention you or say anything about how we-.” “Oh, I think you said plenty.” Discord interrupted her, looking rather upset. The pegasus looked at him. “What do you mean?” She asked, confused what he just said. “‘Clearly there’s a biological component,’” he said sarcastically, repeating the same words she had said. “‘These draconequuses may be reverting back to their primitive, savage ways.’” He then looked at her, his face looking rather hurt and not believing what she said. “Are you serious?” “Fluttershy was just stating the facts of the case.” Twilight said, trying to explain what Fluttershy was doing. “Yeah,” Rainbow Dash said with a shrug. “It’s not like a pony can go savage.” “Yeah, but apparently, a draconequus could, huh?” Discord replied angrily. “Discord, stop it. You're not like them.” Fluttershy said. “Oh. So, there's a them now?” “You know what I mean. You're not that kind of draconequus.” “Oh, then what kind am I supposed to be?” Discord asked angrily. “The kind that needs to be muzzled? The kind that makes you cringe in fear when you see the picture of one on a stained glass window before getting a chance to know them? Yeah, I saw how you reacted the first time we met.” He said, reminding what happened after he broke free out of his stone prison. Then his face looked rather worried as he looked at the shy pegasus. “But that's not it. The thing is...I'm scared. Okay?” He admitted sadly. Fluttershy looked at him in concern. “Scared?” “Scared that I'll go savage.” Looking at the worried draconequus, Fluttershy tried to comfort him. “Discord. You don't even know that it’ll happen. And if it does, I’ll be there to make sure it doesn't happen.” She lifted up her hoof and tried to place it on his paw. But Discord pulled his paw back, still unsure. “But what if it does happen and you can't stop it? What’ll you do then?” He asked her, the pegasus looking at him, not able to answer his question. “Will you be afraid of me if I go nuts? Or if I go savage? Will you wanna be near me if I try to...eat you?!” He lunged, like he was going to attack her. Fluttershy gasped as she shielded herself and flinched in fear as she hid her face. She whimpered as she was trembling in fear. Discord looked at her while she trembled in fear and at his hands. He realized that she was afraid of him. She would never love him if he did become savage and attacked her. Even if she did say she would be there for him, he couldn't risk the chance of it happening. And after everything she had said onstage, it tore his heart into a million pieces. He looked back at her while she was still whimpering. He wanted her more than anything else in the world, but he didn't want to hurt her. He then knew what he had to do. “I knew it.” He calmly said. Fluttershy stopped trembling and looked at him. “Just when I thought somepony finally understood me, huh?” As Fluttershy and her friends watched, Discord said, “Probably best if you don't have a draconequus as a friend.” He then walked away while they just watched. It was quiet for a moment until Pinkie Pie spoke. “Was it something we said?” She asked her friends. Then Spike and the CMC approached Fluttershy, the baby dragon holding the letter and bouquet of flowers that Discord had earlier. Fluttershy took the two items from him and looked at the letter. Discord's letter was for her, telling her about his feelings he had for her. As he walked, Discord still looked upset until he stopped. His face then changed to a face of sadness as he thought of Fluttershy. His head was telling him to keep going and leave, but his heart urged him to go back to the pony he loves. Although he was heartbroken from what Fluttershy said, he still had feelings for her. Sadly, he just couldn't risk himself to go savage and hurt her. And what she said about his race going savage hurt his feelings even more. As he hung down his head, he quietly sobbed and began walking again. By the time Fluttershy had finished reading the letter, she watched as Discord walked past the reporters. She then gasped, realizing what she had done. “No. Wait!” She ran after him, her friends following her as she said, “Discord! Discord!” But before she could get to the draconequus, pony reporters turned their heads and saw her. “There she is!” A pony reporter said, spotting Fluttershy. Soon a whole bunch of pony reporters surrounded Fluttershy and the others. “Miss Fluttershy! Were you just threatened by that draconequus?” A male pegasus asked. Fluttershy looked at the ponies. “No. No. He’s my friend!” She tried to explain. “We can't even trust our own friends?” A female earth pony asked. “No! That's not what I said! Please-!” Fluttershy said as she tried to get through the crowd and get to Discord. “Hey! Outta the way! Let us through!” Rainbow Dash said, trying to get past the reporters. “Do you mind?” Rarity huffed angrily as reporters crowded her and her friends. Unfortunately, they couldn't get past the reporters. Fluttershy watched as Discord kept on walking until he was gone while the reporters were busy asking questions. “Are we safe?” “Have anymore draconequuses in Ponyville gone savage?” As they continued asking questions, Fluttershy just looked on with a sad look as one horrible thought appeared in her mind. What have I done?