Meanwhile in Canterlot, Princess Twilight was looking over a rather unsettling letter from Fluttershy that had been sent to her only a short while ago. Reading the contents of the letter, a look of concern crossed her face. This was quickly picked up by Spike who was standing next to the throne on which the princess was seated.
“What’s wrong, Twilight?” he questioned.
“It’s this letter from Fluttershy. She says that Discord’s magic has disappeared for some reason.”
“That’s never a good sign.”
“No it’s not.”
The princess then got up from her throne and walked over to one of the many windows that lined the walls of the room. Looking out from the window, snow was coming down heavily outside. Not quite at Windigo levels, but definitely not a light dusting either. A solemn look remained on Twilight’s face as she spoke back up to Spike.
“David’s been gone for quite a few months now. I hope whatever he had to deal with back in his world wasn’t too serious and that he’s doing alright.”
“I’m sure he’s fine. He can handle just about any situation no problem.”
“The fact that Discord is without his magic and that none of us know why this is the case doesn’t sit well with me. Outside of Starlight and possibly even David himself, Discord has some of the most powerful magic I know of.”
“Don’t forget about yourself.”
Twilight blushed.
“I was trying to be modest.”
Spike opened his mouth to continue, but a loud thunderclap sounded outside. Looking out the window, the two of them saw the ever familiar dark blue clouds gathering over a distant Ponyville as lightning flashed brilliantly against the heavily falling snow. Bolts of lightning then came forth from the north, south, east, and west, striking the very center of Ponyville with blinding luminosity.
“Welp, there’s David right now,” Spike finally stated.
“He’s probably freezing out there. Let me see if I can summon him here.”
And so, with a flash of violet from her horn, Twilight used her magic and brought forth a rather familiar looking individual into the throne room.
* * * * * * * *
Although I still couldn’t see after my blinding arrival back to Ponyville, for a brief few seconds, I could feel the bitter coldness of winter as the snow came down hard all around me. But just as quickly as I’d felt that frigid chill, I soon felt a warm, welcoming sensation after having heard a loud zap that I immediately recognized as magic being used. As I waited for my eyesight to return, I was greeted by a familiar voice.
“David. It’s great to see you again.”
“Twi?” I asked. “Is that you?”
“Mhmm.”
“Where am Ah?” I continued with my heavy accent coming through. “Ah still can’t see quite yet.”
“You’re at Canterlot Palace,” Twi continued. “I thought you might want to be somewhere warm rather than standing out in the snow for however long it took for your eyesight to return.”
“Well Ah definitely ‘ppreciate that a lot.”
“Hey, David,” Spike greeted. “Long time no see.”
“Hey, Spike. Tell me ‘bout it. How’ve things been goin’ since Ah was last here?”
“If you’d asked me several minutes ago,” Twilight began, “I’d say things were going along perfectly.”
It was at that moment that my eyesight had fully returned and I was able to see the look of worry etched across her face.
“What’s wrong?”
“I just recently got some bad news from Fluttershy.”
Upon hearing that there was bad news from my beautiful Flutters, I immediately gasped as a sinking feeling formed in the pit of my stomach. I was almost too nervous to ask what said bad news could be.
“Did… did somethin’… terrible happen ta her?” I asked out of concern.
“No. Nothing happened to Fluttershy. I had just gotten a letter from her saying that Discord has mysteriously lost his magic.”
With that piece of news that it was something that had happened to Discord rather than Fluttershy, my expression changed from genuine concern to rather cold-hearted indifference.
“Oh. Well at least it’s nothin’ too serious.”
Twilight then looked at me with an expression of reserved alarm on her face before she spoke back up.
“Why would you say that it’s nothing serious? His chaos magic is out there somewhere where it could potentially cause severe damage if it were to fall into the wrong hooves.”
“With all due respect, Princess, Ah personally think that Discord already caused plenty o’ damage himself when he had his powers.”
“What makes you say that?”
“In tha time between when Ah las’ visited here ‘n now, Ah got maself caught up on yer guys’ show whereupon Ah saw what had happened with Discord pretendin’ ta be Grogar ‘n gatherin’ those villains together ta ‘ttack you guys. All that bullshit he pulled could’ve nearly gotten all o’ y’all killed, Equestria destroyed, ‘n yet he was far more concerned over tha fact that he’d lost his magic rather than bein’ concerned ‘bout tha threat he’d unleashed upon tha land! If ya ask me, he’s far too dangerous with his powers as an ‘ally’ than when he was a villain. Not ta mention tha unsettlin’ fact that he can jus’ bring ponies back from tha dead, like King Sombra, is not tha kind o’ power that would be used by a good guy!
“Most importantly, Ah care too much fer Fluttershy ta see her get hurt ‘n, seein’ how Discord’s negligence nearly got her killed on several occasions, Ah can’t in good conscience say that he had her best interest in mind when he was pullin’ all this bullshit! Aside from puttin’ her life in danger multiple times over, there’s also tha fact that he was purposefully toyin’ with her emotions when he was fakin’ injury from King Sombra’s shadow blast! As far as Ah’m concerned, no true friend would manipulate another friend’s emotions like that! All Ah know is that Ah certainly would never even think o’ doin’ that ta her or any o’ you guys because Ah genuinely care for y’all’s safety ‘n wellbein’!”
Impassioned by the words coming out of my mouth, I paused briefly as I felt a bit of emotion getting caught in my throat before continuing.
“If y’all had gotten killed off by those 3… before Ah was able ta see you guys again…, in all honesty… Ah… Ah’d be devastated. That’s why… Ah don’ think Discord can be trusted with his powers… ‘n why… it’s better with him… not havin’ ‘em at all.”
Twilight and Spike stood there in stunned silence for several seconds after I’d made my emotional, heartfelt case before them, unsure of what to say. Finally, though, Spike broke the silence.
“He does kind of have a point there. I mean, I’m still haunted by that moment when Chrysalis was threatening to rip my wings off to this day which never would’ve happened if Discord had never united them the way he did.”
“I understand your concern for us, David, which is quite admirable on your part and you do bring up some valid points,” Twilight began, “but, at the same time, we need to make sure that Discord’s powers haven’t wound up in the hooves of somepony who would use them for more sinister purposes.”
“Personally, Ah can’t think of any purposes more sinister than yer guys’ immediate demise, but Ah get what yer sayin,” I stated.
“Was there anything else that you wanted to bring up?” she questioned in a motherly tone.
“Well, now that ya mention it, Ah did wanna follow up on yer proposition fer me ta take up that singin’ career ya’d mentioned tha las’ time Ah was here.”
“Ah yes. I remember that now. Did you have a specific time frame when you wanted to start?”
“Fer tha time bein’, Ah’m not entirely sure. Tha thing is that… Ah already have a… proposition o’ ma own… fer Fluttershy.”
Twilight’s eyes lit up at my statement before replying.
“David, that’s incredible!”
“Ah know. In fact, Ah was plannin’ on goin’ ta her parents’ place ta make sure that Ah have their blessin’ before proceedin’ ta ask her.”
“Well, I’m not sure if you’re aware of this or not, but Hearth’s Warming Eve is coming up within the next couple of weeks. Maybe that would be a good time for you to consider popping the question to her?”
“Ah ‘ppreciate that a lot, Twi,” I replied as I went over to hug her.
“Oh you’re welcome,” she followed up, accepting the hug from me.
Pulling apart from the hug, I then gave a “brohoof” to Spike before speaking back up.
“Well, Ah best be makin’ ma way over ta Fluttershy’s parents’ place ta see ‘bout gettin’ their blessin’.”
“We certainly won’t keep you from that,” Twi replied.
“Good luck, David.”
“Thanks you guys.”
Suddenly, a thought crossed my mind.
“Oh. Ah almos’ forgot. Twi, do ya know if Star Swirl The Bearded is still ‘round any more?”
A grave look crossed Twilight’s face before she spoke back up.
“Star Swirl The Bearded passed away about 10 years ago.”
My stomach dropped down to my feet at this recent revelation.
“Oh. Ah’m sorry ta hear that.”
“Why were you asking?”
“It’s not that important. Ah can jus’ tell you ‘n tha others later.”
“Oh. O.K. I guess we’ll see you later then.”
“Yup. See ya later.”
And with that, I left the palace and flew off to meet with Fluttershy’s parents in the hopes of receiving their blessing to propose to her. As I flew through the snowfall, I couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to Discord’s powers. I made no point of hiding the fact that I was relieved that he didn’t have said powers as I was sure that there wouldn’t be any chance for him to cause anymore bullshit that put the lives of my friends in jeopardy.
However, Twilight had brought up a crucial point that I hadn’t originally thought of. That point being that someone out there might have stolen his powers from him for their own nefarious purposes. While I didn’t have any idea who might’ve done such a thing, I honestly hoped and prayed that this wouldn’t come back to haunt me later on. That and the fact that Star Swirl was no longer around hit me hard as I was now back to square one in regards to figuring out why my friends had forgotten about my royal ancestry. As I made my way to Flutters’ parents’ house, these were the thoughts that lingered in my mind the strongest.
* * * * * * * *
After a good several minutes of flying through the snowy skies, I finally saw my destination. Coming in for a landing on their front porch, I popped a mint into my mouth and made sure that my hair was well groomed enough before walking up to the front door. I then knocked out my familiar greeting upon the door itself.
Tap. Tap. Taptap Tap.
After several seconds of waiting, the door finally opened whereupon I was greeted by Mrs. Shy.
“Oh. Hello, David. How are you doing today?”
“Pretty good, thanks fer askin’. How ‘bout you, Mrs. Shy?”
“Can’t complain. Would you… like to come in?”
“Sure.”
She then moved aside to allow me entrance into the house before speaking back up.
“I feel like I should let you know that Fluttershy isn’t here at the moment.”
“Oh Ah know,” I answered. “Ah actually came here lookin’ fer you ‘n yer husband.”
“Oh? Is everything O.K.?” she posed the question as we made our way into the living room.
“Yes. Everythin’ is great right now.”
It was in that moment that we were joined by Mr. Shy as he came into the living room from the back of the house.
“Oh. Hello David,” he quickly spoke up upon recognizing my presence there. “How are things going with you?”
“Pretty good, Mr. Shy, thanks fer askin’.”
“David has something important he wanted to check with us about,” Mrs. Shy followed up.
“Indeed. It actually has ta do with yer daughter.”
“What about her?” Mr. Shy questioned, his curiosity piqued.
“Well… Ah was hopin’ that… Ah could get yer blessin’… fer when Ah propose ta her.”
Mrs. Shy then gasped as a smile simultaneously spread across her face. Mr. Shy also let a smile cross his own face before his wife spoke up.
“Of course! Yes! We wholeheartedly approve!” she exclaimed.
“Couldn’t think of anypony more worthy of our daughter’s heart than you, David,” Mr. Shy followed up, taking his wife’s hoof in his.
I blushed at his compliment before speaking back up.
“Ah definitely ‘ppreciate yer words of affirmation.”
“May we see the ring you have picked out?” Mrs. Shy asked.
“Mhmm,” I replied, reaching into my pocket.
Pulling out the small velvet box, I opened it up for them to see. Mrs. Shy’s eyes lit up at the sight of the ring.
“It’s beautiful, David!” she uttered. “The diamond matches the color of her eyes perfectly.”
“Ah’m sure it even sparkles jus’ like ‘em too,” I smiled.
“So have you thought about how you’re going to go about proposing to her yet?” Mr. Shy posed the question.
“In all honesty, Ah hadn’t entirely thought it through yet. Ah was mostly jus’ concerned ‘bout gettin’ yer guys’ blessin’ before goin’ ahead with tha actual proposal.”
“Which we greatly appreciate on your part.”
“Thanks. Anyhoo, Princess Twilight informed me that Hearth’s Warmin’ Eve is comin’ up within tha nex’ couple o’ weeks ‘n that might be a good time fer me ta pop tha question ta her. How Ah’ll go ‘bout doin’ that, however, Ah’m still tryin’ ta figure out.”
“Well we’re sure that you’ll come up with something,” Mrs. Shy assured. “Knowing you, I have no doubt that you’ll make it extra special for her.”
“Oh yeah. Definitely,” I followed up, turning to leave. “Ah wish Ah could stay here longer, but Ah really mus’ be headin’ out. Ah’ve got some friends who might wanna see me now that Ah’ve come back ta Equestria. Thanks fer yer time, Mr. ‘n Mrs. Shy.”
“Oh it was no problem at all. Anything for our future son-in-law.”
I couldn’t help but smile at Mrs. Shy’s remark before Mr. Shy spoke up.
“Don’t be a stranger.”
“Sure thing. Bye.”
“Bye,” the two of them simultaneously stated.
And with their blessing obtained, I left their house and made my way back towards Ponyville, eager to see my old friends as well as the mare who I hoped would someday soon become my wife.
* * * * * * * *
Before long, I found myself back in Ponyville after a relatively short flight from Fluttershy’s parents’ house. In the time that it had taken for me to fly back there, I was unsure which of my friends I’d come across first. It had already been a good while since I’d officially arrived back in Ponyville and I hadn’t exactly been there long before Princess Twilight had summoned me to the palace. I could only imagine how confusing that must’ve been for my friends who had seen my entry back to Ponyville, but hadn’t arrived there in time to greet me.
The snowfall had cleared up significantly since leaving the Shy’s residence as I came in for a landing in the Town Square. It wasn’t long after landing that I saw Rainbow Dash and Applejack exiting Sugarcube Corner together, chatting amongst themselves. As I made my approach towards the happy couple, they soon recognized my presence there, Rainbow Dash being the first to speak up.
“Twin!!!” she exclaimed, flying forward to greet me.
“Hey, Rainbow,” I replied, pulling her towards me in a sibling-like hug. “Good ta see you too.”
“Dayvid,”AJ followed up with a smile on her face, “great ta have ya back, pardner.”
“Great ta be back.”
“Where did you go too?” Rainbow questioned. “We came here as soon as we saw the lightning storm, but couldn’t find you anywhere here.”
“Well, Twilight had summoned me ta tha palace with her magic because she didn’t want me ta be stuck waitin’ out in tha cold fer ma eyesight ta return.”
“Makes sense,” AJ remarked.
“Had you 2 been here tha whole time?”
“Well, not tha whole time. Rainbow ‘n Ah had jus’ come here ta make an apple delivery ta Sugarcube Corner. Got plenty of ‘em stored up from our last harvest o’ tha season, more than we know what ta do with ‘em if that’s even possible.”
I let a smile cross my face at AJ’s statement before I heard someone call out my name.
“David?” a soft-spoken voice reached my ears.
I knew without a doubt whose that was as my pony ears perked up and I turned to face her. Sure enough, standing several feet away from me, looking like a vision of beauty, was my beloved Fluttershy.
“Flutters!!!” I exclaimed as the 2 of us ran towards each other.
Pulling her close in my arms, I pressed my lips against hers in a passionate kiss, never wanting to let her go. Our tongues wrestled with each other for several seconds before we finally pulled apart, me gazing into her beautiful eyes while gently stroking that silky mane of hers with my fingers.
“Ah’ve missed ya soo much, Flutters.”
“I’ve missed you even more, David,” she replied.
“Ah’ve missed ya most.”
Fluttershy smiled softly before posing a question to me.
“Where had you gone too? I came flying over here as fast as I could the second I saw your lightning storm entrance, but I couldn’t find you when I first arrived here.”
“Twilight summoned him to the palace,” Rainbow stated. “She thought it would be more considerate to have him there where it was warm rather than having him stand out in the cold while waiting for his eyesight to return.”
“That,” I began, “‘n Ah also had a quick errand Ah needed ta run.”
“Oh? What kind of errand?” Fluttershy asked.
“Ah’ll tell ya ‘bout it sometime later.”
“Oh. O.K.”
“How were things back in yer world, Sugarcube?”
“Pretty O.K. Spent a good amount o’ time gettin’ caught up on yer guys’ show.”
“And how was that?” Rainbow questioned.
“It was… O.K. Kinda confusin’ in some realms. Certain things that Ah thought would’ve been answered by me watchin’ it only brought up even more questions. Ah’m no closer ta figurin’ out why none o’ ya can remember me bein’ an Alicorn Prince ‘n Twilight informed me shortly after Ah arrived that Star Swirl The Bearded, tha only pony who might have any semblance of an explanation fer ma little conundrum, passed away many years ago, even long before Ah last returned ta ya guys.”
“Oh my,” Fluttershy uttered. “I’m sorry that you’ve reached this dead end, David.”
“Ah wish there was some way that Ah could help,” AJ stated.
“Definitely,” Rainbow affirmed.
“Ah ‘ppreciate yer condolences, guys,” I followed up.
“That’s what we’re here fer, Sugarcube.”
“Umm,” Flutters began, “had Twilight told you about the situation with Discord?”
It was at Fluttershy’s mentioning of Discord that I immediately got flashbacks to The Last Problem when she’d been exiting that portal from his realm to meet with the rest of the Friendship Counsel. Fear swept over me as I thought over it and the possibility that by me pursuing this relationship with Fluttershy I’d been interfering with any potential relationship she might’ve had with Discord at the time. Had I jumped the gun in asking her parents for their blessing so that I could propose to her? I had very little (if any) respect for Discord in that realm, but I had mountains of respect for my beautiful Flutters and didn’t want to get in the way of her happiness.
Finally, I made my reply.
“Yes… ‘n Ah actually have somethin’ ta talk with ya ‘bout that at a later time when tha two of us are alone.”
“Oh. O.K.”
It was then when Fluttershy’s attention turned to one of the pockets in my leather jacket where her feather was sticking out from. She spoke back up soon after that.
“You kept my feather with you!”
“Of course Ah did.”
“That reminds me that I should probably get you your grandmother’s ring back. If you want, I can take you back to my cottage and get it to you there.”
“Ah’d like that a lot, babe.”
Flutters blushed at my statement before AJ followed up with her own statement.
“Well, me ‘n Rainbow best be gettin’ back home. Big Mac ‘n Sugar Belle could prob’ly use our help right ‘bout now. It was nice gettin’ ta catch up with ya, Dayvid.”
“Same here, AJ,” I answered back.
“See ya later, twin,” Rainbow offered a hoof bump.
“You too, Dashie,” I reciprocated.
And with those parting words, Fluttershy led me along to her cottage to get me my ring back all while the ring I had for when I proposed to her weighed heavily in my pocket. Weighing just as heavily on my mind, though, were how I would go about expressing my true feelings regarding Discord to her and how I felt that him not having his powers any longer was more beneficial than anything else. I guessed that I’d just have to wait and see where that train of thought took me, though I honestly hoped with everything in me that I wouldn’t end up burning a bridge between myself and the mare I loved.
* * * * * * * *
A good several minutes had passed along by the time the two of us arrived at Fluttershy’s cottage. Letting me come inside with her, Fluttershy led me up to her bedroom where she began looking through one of her drawers for my grandmother’s ring. It wasn’t too much longer before she finally found the ring and returned it to me.
“Here you go, David,” she stated, passing the ring back to me.
“Thanks, Flutters,” I gratefully accepted the ring, pocketing it immediately.
“You’re welcome. Umm… did you wanna talk about what you’d mentioned earlier now that the two of us are alone?”
I was instantly reminded of the statement I’d made earlier in the Town Square, regarding my thoughts that I had about Discord. Despite my apprehension, now seemed as good of a time as any for me to tell Fluttershy how I truly and honestly felt about him. Taking a deep breath, I finally let the words escape my lips.
“Ah jus’… think that things are better off now… with Discord… not havin’ his powers at all?”
With the expression that came across Fluttershy’s face, you’d think that I’d slapped her (not that I ever would do that to her obviously). It took several seconds before she spoke back up to me, not accusing, but still firm nonetheless.
“Why would you say something like that?”
“Because Ah care ‘bout ya ‘n Ah’m tryin’ ta look out fer yer own wellbein’.”
“And how exactly are you doing that?” she puzzled, sporting a confused look.
I let out a heavy sigh before finally speaking back up.
“While Ah was back in ma world ‘n watchin’ yer guys’ show ta get caught up, Ah saw how Discord had gone behind yer backs pretendin’ ta be Grogar ‘n unitin’ those villains inta launchin’ an attack on Princess Twilight ‘n you guys. Upon doin’ so, he put all o’ yer lives in jeopardy on several occasions ‘n yet seemed far more concerned over tha fact that he’d lost his magic rather than thinkin’ over tha threat that he’d unleashed upon tha land. Not ta mention tha fact that he was purposefully playing with yer emotions when he was fakin’ injury after bein’ struck by King Sombra. That is somethin’ that Ah’d never do ta any of ya. 'N don't even get me started 'bout tha time he manipulated tha Friendship Map ta send ya guys on a fake mission where y'all nearly got eaten by giant worms all so that he could boost his ego 'round Starlight.
"Because of all that bullshit he’d pulled, you guys could’ve died ‘n he would’ve been directly responsible fer all o’ yer deaths. He said that he had good intentions behind what he was doin’, but there’s an old sayin’ where Ah come from that says ‘tha road ta Hell is paved with good intentions’ ‘n he very clearly didn’t think enough of this idiotic plan through before enacting it. Ah mean, fer Christ’s sake, he brought back Lord Tirek who had already tricked him before ‘n never stopped ta think he might stab him in tha back… again! Which is exactly what happened anyway!
“It was already bad enough that Ah’d lost you guys that first time when Ah denied our friendship after Savannah’s murder…, but… if y’all had died before Ah saw ya again… because of his stupidity… Ah… Ah don’ know how Ah’d ever be able ta live with that guilt. That’s why Ah don’ think he can be trusted with gettin’ his magic back ‘n that we’re all better off without him havin’ it anymore.”
My eyes began watering heavily after my heartfelt confession to Flutters which she seemed to pick up on relatively quickly as she tenderly placed her hoof in my hand and spoke in a tone as soft as melted chocolate.
“I appreciate your concern for us, but all of that is in the past now.”
“How can ya be sure ‘bout that? Can ya honestly look me in tha eye ‘n say that he won’t try pullin’ another idiotic stunt like that again? Can ya promise me that yer life won’t be put in danger because of him? Promise that ta me ‘n Ah’ll take back everythin’ Ah’ve ever said ’bout him.”
Over the next several seconds, I could see the gears turning in Fluttershy’s mind as she thought over and weighed everything that I’d just told her. Finally, she let out a long, sad sigh before speaking back up.
“No. You’re right. I can’t make promises to you like that, even as much as I wish I could. Discord is still a friend of mine, but, after what you’ve said to me, I now realize that truly loyal friends would never put another friend’s life in danger like that.”
“Ah wish that it didn’t have ta be that way,” I followed up, “but, as yer boyfriend, Ah hafta be lookin’ out fer yer best interests which Ah can’t in all honesty say that he was doin’. Ah jus’ don’ wanna see ya gettin’ hurt.”
I then pulled her close to me in a tender, loving embrace, not wanting to let her go. It was then that I was thinking over whether or not there had been a relationship between her and him that had formed in my absence that I was possibly interfering with. I soon voiced said concern to her.
“So you ‘n Discord are still only friends? Nothin’ else has gone on between you two at all?”
“Of course not,” she answered back. “I’d had a crush on you ever since the first day you came here to save us from that hag, but, after finding out that you already had a girlfriend, I was willing to accept you as just a friend. Even after Savannah’s murder and your denial of our friendship, I still always held on to a sliver of hope that you’d eventually come back to us. I never stopped caring for you even after these past couple of decades.”
Fluttershy’s dedication to me warmed my heart as I pulled her in for a passionate kiss before speaking back up.
“It’s been nice bein’ able ta get this all off o’ ma chest ‘round ya, Flutters.”
“Of course. That’s what I’m here for as your girlfriend,” she smiled back at me.
“Well, Ah’ve gotta go ‘n get somethin’ ta eat, but Ah’ll be sure ta catch up with ya some time later, ma love. Thanks fer tha ring.”
“Oh it was no problem at all. See you later, David.”
And with that, I left Fluttershy’s cottage to grab lunch for myself, feeling somewhat relieved that my talk with her had gone as smoothly as it did. I’d spent that time being worried about what she’d think, but, aside from a rocky subject like my belief that we were better off with Discord not having his magic anymore, things had gone pretty swimmingly between me and Flutters. As I went about the rest of my day, I was full of confidence that my upcoming proposal to her, once I had it figured out, would be just as easy to pull off when the right time came about. What I couldn’t have foreseen was just how complicated things were about to become. A dark force from my past was about to threaten all that I knew and loved. I just didn’t know it yet.