//------------------------------//
// 23 - Got You 
// Story: Prince of Errors 
// by David Silver 
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Twilight directed her quill at Discord. "First, I would like to know what you see? You seemed suspicious from the start before there was a second Fluttershy, why was that?"

Discord waved a hand at the prince a bit wildly. "My Fluttershy does not... this. Whatever it is, it's practically lousy with magic of the worst kind." His brows went up. "Much like a certain reform spell you were preparing; oh the memories."

The prince looked between each mare in part. "Wait, so you... remember me?"

Rainbow shrugged gently. "Sort of, remember?" She fished out her notebook. "We all have one of these now."

Fluttershy waved hers, and Twilight's floated above her head. Applejack sighed and got hers out.

The prince ran a yellow fetlock over his cheek. "Huh... where's Pinkie, and Rarity?"

Applejack shrugged at that. "I think Rares just forgot. Can't really blame her none."

Twilight blushed softly. "And I... forgot to invite Pinkie. We should have done that. Let's put that aside for the moment. So it's like a reform spell, but instead of reforming the one it's on, it reforms everyone around him?" Her quill took notes busily. "Fascinating..."

Fluttershy timidly reached for the prince, touching his shoulder. "Excuse me, um, I heard you moving around in the medicine drawer... Is everything alright?"

Discord hiked a thumb outside. "They got a bottle, oh, here it is." He plucked it up from where it had fallen and offered it to the real Fluttershy.

"Thank you." She read it quickly. "Why did you need this?"

"A goat has stomach problems. Poor thing ate a shoe."

"Oh my."

"That's what I said." The prince smiled a little awkwardly. "He should get better now."

Twilight pointed at the prince directly. "Before we were faced with two Fluttershies in the same place, everything seemed easy to remember. I can recall your entry and movements without difficulty, and that was before we started talking. What you do as a pony is not subject to the same rules, it seems, provided you stay in character."

Applejack tilted her head a little. "Ah mean, can anyone make you fill in fer 'em? I could always use another hoof in the fields. Can you be another me?"

The prince did not change. He was still Fluttershy. "Sorry. Um... Not to be rude or anything, but..." His speech was Fluttershied, still wearing her, "can you not plan how to use me?"

Fluttershy blushed softly. "They're right, that was rude, Applejack."

Applejack snorted softly. "I was just testin'!"

"Test results recorded." Twilight's quill hadn't stopped in its note taking. "Appeals to 'assist' are not persuasive enough. So far, it seems, they have to replace a pony. Interesting... You sound like Fluttershy, this may be difficult to answer, but do you think like Fluttershy?"

Discord's hands closed in around the prince, plucking up the false-yellow-shy by their shoulders. He turned the prince around to face him along the way. "Who are you, exactly? You do have a 'thing' besides being someone else, right?"

The prince's ears folded against his head as he squirmed, unable to make easy eye contact with the irate chaos spirit. "Oh, well, um... yes, of course. I mean... I am someone when I'm not... someone, specific that is..."

"About the thoughts?" Twilight advanced, moving to be at his side with her scribbling quill.

"I don't know? How can anyone know that? I mean... when I'm... someone else... I can think like they do.  It comes, you know... naturally?"

Applejack pulled down her hat a little. "Nothin' natural about this."

Fluttershy raised a hoof over her mouth. "Oh my. You know my secrets?"

Discord hiked a brow with sudden interest. "Do you now?" He gave the prince a little shake. "Divulge and maybe I'll forgive you."

The prince rapidly shook his head. "No! I mean... I musn't. I can't! That would just be... mean." Stronger words were in his mind, but the Fluttershy filter did not permit them. Gushing out a pony's secrets? Fluttershy's no less?! Of all the ponies he could tweak the nose of...

Applejack's expression warmed. "Ah can appreciate a pony that has some respect. So, partner, what's yer real name?"

All eyes were on him. He wriggled a little in Discord's grip. "Can you... put me down, please?"

"After we have your name," flatly replied Discord, cocking a brow. "And no fancy pseudonyms either.  I'm onto you."

"I..." He felt... violated, and under attack. "Let me down!"

"Just a name, a little thing, go on." Discord's soft words casually ignored any discomfort he was feeling, watching him like a serpent ready to strike.

"No!" With a mighty thrash, the false Fluttershy tumbled to the ground. "Besides, I'm Fluttershy right now." The instant he was free of Discord, the panic attack began to ebb. "That's just... how it is."

"Fascinating..." Twilight was still taking notes, an activity that had little pause. "Rainbow's notes include your previously being a human. Not right now, of course. You're Fluttershy."

"Yes." He smiled a little, feeling better at his guise being affirmed. "Your dear friend, um... if that's alright." He rubbed behind his head. "I mean, you... this is complicated." He sank to his haunches. He knew Twilight wasn't actually his dear friend. "Fluttershy was never a human, except past the mirror."

Twilight's ears perked up. "Tell me about that Fluttershy."

"She loves animals too," easily provided the prince with a little smile. "She doesn't actually talk to them as often, but she can. I prefer the pony Fluttershy to the human one."

The actual pony Fluttershy began to blush brightly. "Oh, um, thank you?"

Twilight brought her forehooves together in a firm clop. "Fascinating. I never went into detail with the, uh, other Fluttershy." She casually made a note: "Human, has seen 'the show'". "Who is best pony?"

Applejack cocked a brow. "What kinda cockamamie question is that?"

Rainbow pointed at herself. "Me, obviously. Why would we even ask that?"

Discord snorted with agitation, a glowing neon sign appearing just behind Fluttershy, pointing at her without her knowledge.

The prince wriggled a little. He felt... itchy in some strange way. "Best pony, oh, well, they're all so... lovely in different ways. I don't want to hurt anypony's feelings. Um... I guess... Pinkie is my favorite right now." He thrust a hoof at Rainbow Dash. "But you're a close #2!"

"Right now?" Twilight leaned forward, quill dancing. "Who was your favorite... a moon ago?"

Despite living in Equestria, he still had no solid grasp of what duration of time was a moon. It was like ponies just... sorta knew and assumed everyone else knew. It was maddening! "Oh, um..." He looked across at the other Fluttershy. "I guess... it would..." His cheeks began to burn, unable to finish the admission.

Discord suddenly slapped him across the back, making his yellow wings pop out to either side. "It's alright. There's plenty to like about dear Flutters. Why, she is objectively the best pony. It boggles my mind why anyone would think otherwise. Well, unless they picked me. I can't really argue that."

The actual Fluttershy's cheeks were just as bright. "T-thank you, I think? Um... wait, are you a... mare or a stallion? I mean, oh... you're me, so you're a mare... right now, obviously, um... I'm not asking this right."

Twilight nodded softly. "She poses an excellent question, but one I think I already have the answer for." She flipped through her notebook with her magic. "Pinkie refers to them as the 'Prince of Errors'. Assuming that gender can be used, when not Fluttershy, male. I won't ask you to confirm that right now."

The prince felt relief of tension he didn't realize he had. "Talking about, um, not Fluttershy is difficult. I'm Fluttershy." He looked to the other Fluttershy. "What was it you needed me to fill in for? You... seem to have everything under control."

Applejack's eyes fell to the prince's hooves. "Uh oh." Greyness was starting to tease upwards, threatening to break the illusion. He wasn't actually needed as Fluttershy, and whatever power allowed it seemed to be taking notice.

Rainbow elbowed Fluttershy to act, getting a squeak out of her. "Oh, yes, could you please feed the animals for me? I'm really not feeling well."

"Certainly." The prince turned towards the exit, the yellow flowing back down over his hooves as he trotted outside to see to the animals' needs.

"I feel awful just lying like that..." Fluttershy shook her head a little. "Did we, um, learn what we needed?"

Discord hiked a brow. "I don't know about you, but I'm not feeling particularly 'enlightened'. I can feel that reform magic trying to do its nasty business."

Twilight reached up to tap at her floating notebook. "This is why meticulous note taking is required. Discord, can you resist it?"

Discord had a whip out and was cracking it at a glowing ball of nothing. "Doing the best I can. Back, back!" He grabbed a chair to join the act of trying to 'tame' the magic. "Sit!"

Applejack shook her head slowly. "What were we talking about and when's the, uh, other Fluttershy showing up?"

Rainbow's face fell. "Already?" She flipped through her notebook quickly. "Here we go. He was already here, and... shoot, I forgot to write what he did last. Oh! Twilight, totally a dude. I've seen him when he wasn't Fluttershy. Kinda shy, but a dude."

Twilight read back and forth through her book, muttering to herself. She was, perhaps, the least affected of the group. "Reform spells are almost specific manifestations of order, imposed on a mind to force conformity with how things 'should' be. While I agree that there probably shouldn't usually be two Fluttershies, I cannot agree that this human slash pony deserves to be forgotten." She thrust a hoof at the note of humanity. 

Fluttershy shook her head. "I wouldn't want to be forgotten, even on my, um, worst days."

Twilight suddenly pointed at the shy pegasus. "Which is why I think you may be the key."

"Me?!" she squeaked, jumping back.

"I want you to talk to him, when he's not busy trying to be you. I have a theory."

Applejack shook her head. "Ah don't pretend to even slightly get a lick of this, but what's yer theory?"





The prince set out bowls for the animals, whistling as he filled each with a different food suited for the animal depicted on the side of each bowl. Even the meat was poured, he noted, worked into dry food like dog or cat food back home. Where did they actually come from, he didn't know, just that no precious animals were hurt in the process.

The animals came when he rang a little triangle and a happy flood of bestial flesh filled the area. They said their thanks in a chorus of different animal noises and he felt a little blush coming on. It was nice feeding animals, but extra nice actually hearing them say thanks.

"You're all very welcome. Eat up." He gently pat the the head of a racoon close to her. Racoons were always so... cute, but he wouldn't have dared to try approaching one as a human. As Fluttershy, it came so easily, and the racoon wasn't upset by it.

A soft kick arrived. He looked down to see Angel glaring at him expectantly. "Oh, yes." He fetched a bowl of fresh greens and carrots,  not pellets like many of the other animals. It paid to be Fluttershy's personal pet, he supposed. He set it out in front of the needy rabbit.

About time, he seemed to imply before starting to devour his food.

The prince's snout wrinkled a little. What Fluttershy saw in the sour rabbit, he couldn't say exactly... but it also wasn't his job to try and sort through that.

Then there was the gang of ponies that had ambushed him. His skin still crawled thinking about it, and he wasn't even sure why, exactly... They were trying to help, right? He should be happy.