//------------------------------// // The Highest Leaves Of The Barest Fruit Trees // Story: The Wife of the Old Draconequus // by misskoifishpony //------------------------------// “What comes to my mind are mountains of savage beauty, ancient castles, werewolves, and witches - a land of magical obscurity. How, in short, am I to believe I will still be in Europe, on entering such a realm? I shall let you know if it's Europe or fairyland, when I get there.” Elizabeth Kostova, The Historian The Highest Leaves Of The Barest Fruit Trees “Are you sure that I can’t get you anything else, Father Sunburst?” Said a very eager to serve Autumn as she floated right by the Father’s side, her whole body and her horn illuminating in a beautiful shade of blue.  Laying before Sunburst’s side of the dining table was truly a meal made for kings. To be honest, it looked more like a grand dinner than a humble afternoon lunch. But for Sunburst, he was used to this kind of generosity from Autumn. Even if it meant he can never finish his lunch and he ends up walking home with a belly as heavy as a bowling ball. This servant of God couldn’t help but compare and contrast the generosity displayed by this fae maid… to the “hospitality” displayed by her master. Especially with his “welcoming presence” looming over his shoulder. In fact, all of his “generosity ” took over the entire atmosphere of the room. Thanks to Discord’s magic, the room had transformed into a foggy, moonlit graveyard filled to the brim with headstones. There were even signs of the dirt being dug into and filled in front of these headstones. Said stones were covered in moss and the trees in this graveyard were bared and black. And he, Sunburst, at his end of the twisted, spiraling, magical dining table, was on top of one of these tall, bare, black trees. While his “gracious” host and the Sleigh Beggy were safe on the ground at their end of the table.  Looming over his shoulders, perched on each side of him, were two giant four winged, red eyed, rainbow swirled ravens.  The two new creatures’ eyes glared at the mage that created them. What made it worse was the fact that these hugmunous birds never blinked and that- “I feel like this isn’t enough food, you know. I’m always happy to make you more,” Autumn insisted once again, clasping her hands together gleefully and with a bright expression on her face. A face bright enough to light up this gloomy room.  “This may not be enough for a Ursa Major,” Father Sunburst nervously chuckled, trying to be as polite as possible.  “But for a man like me, it’s more than enough. Thank you Ms. Blaze.”  “Pfft! Please Father! I told you to call me Autumn! ‘Ms’ is for little old ladies! I mean sure, I may be a century or two older than you, but c’mon! Really?” She teased, playfully jabbing him lightly in the shoulder. “Are you really going to do me dirty like that?” “Ahem, my apologies. Thank you Autumn,” said Discord, his muffled voice coming from the opened beak of the giant raven on Sunburst’s left. “That will be all.”   “You guys have a fun lunch!” As Autumn happily started to float out of the room she leaned over to Sunburst and whispered in his ear, “But still, just in case you’re a little peckish.” With a sharp and quick use of her magic, making sure that Discord couldn’t see her doing it, Autumn summoned another plate for Sunburst to eat. Sadly, it seems like Autumn had forgotten about another possible problem.  Where there was supposed to be a delectable dessert on the plate, was instead a pile of very satisfied looking Parasprites. The ravenous insects and now bloated insects all looked quite proud of themselves, letting off the occasional burp, which in turn led to a few more of them being created.  But, the Parasprites’ victory  did not last long once they felt the harsh laser-like sensation that was their adopted mother’s gaze. They slowly turned their innocent faces towards her, knowing exactly what was going to happen next. “GRRR! GRRREMLINS!” Autumn shouted, her voice booming in the eerie room and her fiery form glowing bright in the darkness. Before she could scold them some more, the Parasprites fluttered away as quick as they ate their adopted mommy’s dish. And Autumn buzzed after them like an angry wasp. “GET BACK HERE! MOMMY IS VERY UPSET WITH ALL OF YOU! AND I DO MEAN ALL OF YOU! YOU’RE ALLGUILTY BY ASSOCIATION!” “That’s it Autumn dear! You go get those rascals! Show them what for!” Discord’s muffled voice shouted through the raven as Autumn left the room, leaving Father Sunburst feeling a bit stupefied. But, still nervous above all else. Without Autumn acting as a buffer, he would have to face The Chaotic Mage on his own. Which was never the favorite part of his visits. But perhaps, maybe there was a glimmer of hope. After all, that Sleigh Beggy is sitting right next to The Chaotic Mage. So,... maybe she’ll be the new buffer? “So,” remarked Discord, interrupting Sunburst’s internal struggle. “What brings the Church into my humble abode? Don’t tell me that I’ve missed Sunday Mass again. I’ve been meaning to tell you, but didn’t know how to say it. Sadly, the horrible truth is… I’m not a Christain. There! I said it! Phew! Glad that I got that off my chest. Who knew this whole confessional thing could be so beneficial?” Sunburst cautiously yet insincerely snickered, “Oh he he, thank you for… confessing that to me. As always, I appreciate your honesty.” “And I would appreciate it if you get to the point.” “Right, right, of course. I have the Church’s concerns right here.” Sunburst reached into one of the front pockets of his pants and pulled out a folded piece of paper, holding it in the air for Discord to see. “As always, the Church is deeply appreciative for all that you-” “Stuff it into the bird,” Discord instructed, his trollish tone clearly wearing thin. “Oh, um, r-riiigght. I’ll just… “ Sunburst let his own rambling die off his tongue. If he put too much thought into how the note was supposed to get to Discord by letting a giant raven basically eat it, well, Sunburst feared that his own mind would burst.  As the priest reached over to the towering avians opened beak, he accidentally knocked over the hot tea pot. “Ah! Oh no! I’m so sorry! Here, let me clean up - huh?” Instead of hot tea spilling all over the table, a furry, dark blue and light blue liquid slowly covered the table’s surface. As Sunburst nervously inspected this strange and extremely slow moving liquid, he noticed some items creeping upon the surface.  The first item seemed to be a line. But when the line unnervingly opened up, it turned out to be a wide, fanged smile. The second and third items that popped up were two round balls. However, these two balls were not as they appeared, mainly because they began to blink, revealing them to be two wide, reptilian eyes. Sunburst almost fell out of his chair as the liquid began to take shape, forming into two pointed ears. Then, the grin, eyeballs, and ears found a home upon the giant oval that began to form. And before he could fully process it, the shape solidified and created a very large, fluffy, but disturbing looking cat. As the creature’s eyes started to open, Sunburst finally lost whatever nerve was keeping him in place and jumped as the beast started gasping violently for air.  Once the cat stopped coughing and regained its usual breathing pattern, the feline proclaimed, “Fin… a… lly! Ugh! Do you know how long I was cramped into that itty, bitty thing?! Two words: two days! Two. Days.” “Ah Capper, there you are,” Discord’s muffled voice quickly chipped in. “We were wondering where you scurried off to.” Capper rapidly began to search for Discord, his eyes instantly dismissing Sunburst’s presence and the monstrous ravens, mind set on a single goal. That desire: Finding Discord and making that bone headed mage pay.  Once his gaze finally found Discord at the end of the table, Capper pointed his claw at him and growled loudly, “You!” Like a lion escaping from his cage, Capper ran down the long table towards Discord. Crashing into every dish along the way. Fangs flared out, his sinister grin grew wider with rage, and his bright eyes narrowed upon The Chaotic Mage.  Once he reached his desired destination, he halted hastily. This halt caused some of the plates and cups to go flying and shatter upon the floor.  Fluttershy squeaked in fear and ducked underneath the table, shielding Angel from the chaos. But, this didn’t stop the bunny from growling in her arms. He didn’t need to see who it was in order to recognize. Capper’s scent alone gave that away to Angel. As for Discord, he didn’t duck or hide from this display. He didn’t even flinch, merely looking upon the entire affair with as much casual amusement as one would have watching a play.  “Alright you no good, slimey, grim reaper knockoff,” Capper barked, surprisingly well for a feline. “It’s time for you to pay up. Give. Me. Back. My. Body.” “You know Capper,” Discord responded with delight. “If this minion of God wasn’t here right now, I would say that you were the most annoying little bug in this room. At least he knows the meaning of the word respect. Tell me, why should I give it back to you after treating me so terribly? Hmm?” “Because I did as you asked,” Capper answered through his gritted, forced grin; knowing, despite his outburst, there was no way he could harm the mage... not physically anyway.  Suddenly, he pointed his claw towards Fluttershy. “You got the girl. I did the dirty work. That… was our deal.” Fluttershy shuddered, and hid behind Angel to try and avoid the cat’s claw. Normally she’d simply hide behind the long bangs of her hair, but as soon as she arrived back at the cottage, she found her butterfly hair clip and pinned it back into a bun. She felt so naked without her clip. Meanwhile Angel snarled at the sound of Capper’s voice. However, her fear was quickly forgotten as she finally realized what exactly he’d just said.  “He… he was there,” She thought. “At my house… because of Discord? Discord… hired him? But why? Why did Discord need Capper to… bring me to him?” “And your help wasn’t much help at all, was it?” Discord reminded the feline. “Turns out that you couldn’t even retrieve Fluttershy at all. Verko and his minions accomplished that in a quick second, while it took you all day just to even an inch close to her.” “You never specified how to get the girl, just to make sure that she comes to you. And, oh! Would you look at that? She’s right here! With you!” Angrily huffing for a moment before calming down as he saw he was getting nowhere, Capper let out a defeated sigh. “Look, we can go on and on all day about this. You hate me and I hate you. You don’t want me to be here just as much, if not, more than I do. If you want me to scurry off, then just give me back my body. Okay? I mean, can’t we just agree to disagree?”  Discord suddenly but steadily rose from his chair, creating a lumbering shadow over Capper. Said cat's eyes followed upward until they reached his glowing red gaze, which slightly lit his shadowy, ever unreadable face. The magical cat instinctively gulped. “Ha ha, well done kitty”,  Discord purred and chuckled deeply in his throat. “Well done.” This dark sound of his voice, not only sending chills down Fluttershy’s spine, but even Capper’s spine. The cat remembered who he was exactly talking to, and regretted everything he ever uttered in this moment. He was beyond grateful that The Chaotic Mage was more amused by this situation than insulted. If this guy was insulted,... who knows what he would have done to him? All kinds of possible tortuous spells, transformations, and incantations came to Capper’s mind.  “You just gave me an offer I just couldn’t refuse,” Discord continued. “Bravo. Although, I would have appreciated this offer a lot sooner. Just sayin.”  SNAP! Capper hissed and shielded his big, sensitive eyes from the quick flash of light. After blinking several times, trying to re-adjust his sight, he pulled his paw away and looked down at it. He smiled and let out a elated sigh of relief. At last, he was his tall, rather sleek and roguishly handsome humanoid cat self again. The sight left Fluttershy equally stunned, a great deal of her previous fear now gone, as her previous attacker looked quite different from before.  Instead of looking like the demon brother of the Cheshire Cat, Capper looked like someone that could’ve been part of Robin Hood’s merry band of thieves from the Disney movie.  He had light brown orangish fur, and like a Siamese Cat, had faded, dark brown spots that covered his face, the tips of his ears, his paws, his hind feet, and the tip of his slightly fluffy tail. Attire wise, he wore a long, patchy, red trench jacket that emphasized his height and slender form. Smooth, lengthy whiskers and a tuft of dark purple fur on top of his head. A dark piece of cloth wrapped around in the middle of his tail, signifying some kind of battle wound that still needed to heal.  But, the one detail that captured Fluttershy’s gaze the most was his eyes. For the most part, they were the same bright, vibrant green she remembered. The only real difference now was the fact that his eyes were truly feline in nature instead of reptilian like they were before. “Is he,” Fluttershy wondered. “Is he an Abyssinian?” “Notice something you like, Miss Queen Bee?” asked Capper, raising an eyebrow at her and smirking towards her way with a wink. “Huh?” Fluttershy answered, finally noticing just how long she had been staring at the tall cat. “O-Oh! I’m so sorry! I-I didn’t mean to stare at you like that. It’s just… “ The young woman cleared her throat before continuing calmly with, “We haven’t officially met, have we? My name is Fluttershy. And your name is Capper?” “Yes ma’am,” He responded confidently with a light bow. “In the fur. Or should I say, in my true fur at last.” “Thanks to your, um, ‘friend’ over there,” Capper casually but still cautiously gestured his head towards Discord’s direction, “Let’s just say that… you got a different impression of who I truly am. But still, apologies are still long overdue and I’m sorry.” “It’s alright Capper. There was, um, no real harm done.” Meanwhile, Angel, while no longer baring his “fangs” at the feline anymore, was still glaring at Capper suspiciously, making a point to blow through his lips at Fluttershy’s description of events.  “No real harm done, huh?” Angel pondered, “Getting sold into the underground black market and then pulled out by a despicable monstrosity is considered ‘no real harm’ done here?”  Capper snickered, and before Fluttershy knew it, he pounced over to the window sill behind her. Fluttershy let out a scared peep and ducked her head out of Capper’s way. She twisted around in her chair and found Capper hanging from the open window; smirking at her all knowingly.  “You’re real forgiving, aren’t ya Sleigh Beggy?” Capper perceived humorously, “If I were in your shoes,...” He gave Discord a sideways glance, which made the mage’s eyes glow bright in the dark, graveyard room. “I wouldn’t be as… saintly… ” Capper finished.  Before Fluttershy inquired into Capper’s odd little observation, he leapt through the window. Her eyes followed him as his body disappeared into the tall grass, wondering where in the world he was heading.  As she observed the rustling field, Fluttershy noticed something else that was gently walking through the grass. Strolling through as if it was the breeze itself rather than a living creature, an forbidding sight finally came into view.  It was a stocky built horse with little but mighty legs, and a long flowing mane. Her gaze widened when she beheld it’s black and white coat, and it’s glowing yellow eyes. Even in the daylight, it’s eyes glowed bright like the sun. Almost reflecting, no, competing with the sunshine itself. “N-No… it can’t be… “Fluttershy muttered in horror in her mind, “It’s just… it’s just a coincidence! Yes, j-just a coincidence. But,... that coat… those colors… those eyes… Oh Fluttershy, there’s no use in denying it. The giant hare back at school had the same coat and eyes. But, why is it here and how did it find me? Was it following me? Oh goodness, it doesn’t matter. That horse,... that hare,... that fae,... that whatever is,... that thing showed up right before everything fell apart. Capper, the Timberwolves, Discord, and Verko.” “Oh nobody,” said Discord, seemingly to no one.  This drew Fluttershy away from the window and the omen like fae wandering around outside. “Just a mangy stray that has lost his way,” Discord continued, looking up towards Sunburst up in the tree. “Nothing for someone like you to be concerned with.” He held up a piece of written paper high into the air with his magic, high enough for Sunburst to see. “This is all, I suspect?” Before Discord could pause and let his guest answer from where he’s at, the mage quickly added, “Good! Toodles!” SNAP! A distant poof could be heard at the end of the table, and Sunburst was nowhere to be found, leaving Fluttershy to look up at the tree in wonder. Obviously her main concern was where Discord poofed Sunburst to, but she also wondered if she'd get the chance to get this priest someday. He seemed so gentle and kind. She didn’t understand why Discord had so much disdain for the young man. More importantly however, she couldn’t help but wonder if Sunburst was like her or not. Was he a Sleigh Beggy too? Maybe… just maybe… she wasn’t alone in this crazy, fae driven world…  “Let’s see,” Discord mused while scrolling through the now unfolded paper, poofing tiny reading glasses to appear at the end of his boney nose. “Boring, boring, cliche, expected, oh please! Really? I swear.” Fluttershy opted not to ask what he was looking at, figuring it was best to just roll with whatever he was up to.  “Hmmm…,” Discord hummed aloud. His eyes are now reaching towards the bottom section of the scroll and he reacted with, “Wait! Ha ha, now this is what I'm talking about! For once, the Church actually has some good timing.” While poofing away the glasses and the paper away in the process, he announced with flare, “Autumn, pack up Fluttershy’s bags! The first day of class has officially commenced! Our classroom awaits far yonder!” Autumn magically poofed in between The Chaotic Mage and his possible soon to be apprentice, holding a large suitcase in each hand. Soon after her arrival, Discord’s magic made three other large suitcases fall from the sky and almost smashing  Fluttershy’s feet, making the shy girl scatter away from Autumn and Discord.  From where the Sleigh Beggy stood, she noticed how droopy Autumn’s ears look and the small but still forced smile that accompanied the droopy ears.  “Already ahead of ya, big guy!” Autumn rallied, swinging the suitcases about with so much cheer. When she placed the suitcases down on the ground by Discord’s sides, she reached into her dress pocket and pulled out a tiny piece of luggage. With a genuine excited grin towards Angel, making the bunny back away slightly, she added in a cutesy tone, “I even packed a little travel bag for this cutie right here.” The bunny gave a gravely disappointed and exhausted glare towards Autumn and her tiny suitcase. He cranked his head to the side, desperate to find his human mom’s gaze. Once he found her, he gave her a pleading look. Begging her to save him from this crazy maid.  “That won’t be necessary Autumn,” said Discord. “The rabbit will be staying here with you.” “Why can’t Angel come?” Fluttershy responded in concern. Angel began to hop up and down furiously, squeaking loudly in bunny talk, “Yeah! Why can’t I come, you stupid mage?!” “You’re using too much unnecessary magic in order to communicate with that… wittle bunny of yours.” Discord answered through gritted teeth, his nasty stare directed towards Angel. “And for our first lesson, you’ll need to be in top shape by preserving all the magic in your body as much as possible. Performing your first proper spell will be draining, and I don’t need any other useless spells taking their toll on you as well.” Both Fluttershy and Angel cocked their heads to the side in confusion to Discord’s explanation. Then, Fluttershy hesitantly uttered, “Umm,... I don’t use any magic to ‘talk’ to Angel.” “Then, explain how you’re able to perfectly understand his squawking all the time, and how he’s able to understand you in return.” He questioned. In that moment, Fluttershy of all things, giggled. Discord’s eyes unconsciously sparkled with interest hearing this light hearted sound from her. If he didn’t know any better, this is the first time he had ever heard her laugh, if not the first time she’d ever smiled.  As a matter of fact, this was the first time that anyone had smiled towards his way and laughed freely in his presence. Discord cocked his head to the side in confusion, feeling unsure as to why his question was so humorous to her, but also… why such laughter towards his direction didn’t bother him. Usually, if such a creature dared chuckle at him, they would be rewarded by being transformed into a half apple, half raccoon creature. “What’s so funny?” He inquired.  “Oh, sorry,” She apologized in the midst of her giggling. “I didn’t mean to laugh. It’s just... your question was so funny to me because, well, I had to teach myself to understand Angel’s language over time. Believe me, when we first met, neither of us could understand each other. It took me an entire month to gain his trust before actually getting to know him. After that, it took us a couple of years to get to the place we’re at.” “Hmm,” Discord pondered aloud while stroking his boney chin. “Still though,... you do have to admit that… it’s technically an unnatural ability for a human to have. Self taught or otherwise.” “That… that is true,” Fluttershy realized aloud. “I… I hadn’t thought about that,” She thought in awe. Not even Dr. Fauna, one of the most dedicated, animal loving veterinarians she knew, could communicate with animals like she could with Angel. “Maybe I did use some magic after all.” “The same kind of logic goes for that bunny of yours,” Discord explained, now pointing his gloved finger towards Angel. “Learning your language is unnatural for creatures like him. Animals may have the power to see the fae like you do, but they don’t naturally understand us. The only way that they can is through a spell or a potion.” He brought his attention back to Fluttershy and continued with. “You may not be casting a spell, but like I’ve said before, sometimes one can use magic without even realizing it. Trust me, I know. As the embodiment of all things chaotic, more often than not, my magic will act on its own and create chaos without me even noticing it.” Clatter! Crash! Fluttershy rapidly whipped her head around to the sound of clashing and breaking plates behind her. Her eyes grew wide when she witnessed the sight of the giant ravens devouring all the food on the dining table, fighting over each scrap like ravenous vultures. Such a sight made the Sleigh Beggy shudder.  “Speaking of,” Discord emphasized while gesturing towards the huge magical birds, before snickering, “Those rascals. I just might keep those two. Once they cough up all your school supplies that is. Anyway, just in case if you are using magic, I’m afraid your white ball of fluff has to stay here for your first lesson.”  Fluttershy looked down at Angel sadly as he stomped about and squeaked angrily at Discord. Thinking about going out on this journey alone, going to who knows where without Angel, was absolutely terrifying to her. Angel had been with her ever since this nightmare began. In fact, he has always been there when things had been hard at school, when things were rough with Sunny Flare, when things were unbearable with Aunt…  As scared as Fluttershy was, she once again remembered that she made a promise to Discord. She gave him her word that she would give him a chance. She promised him that she would give magic a chance. She had to be brave and participate in his first lesson, or else, she would never know if Discord was her only chance in surviving this horrifying, magical world. So far, he had been taking this lesson seriously. In his own way. “A-Angel,” She spoke out to the seething rabbit in a guilty tone. “S-Stop. Discord… has a point.” Angel immediately halted his infuriated frenzy against Discord, and stared up at his guardian with wide and bewildered eyes. Fluttershy winced at such a look from her bunny, she almost couldn’t look at him. “I’m sorry, but you know that Discord is right.” “Could you please not say ‘I’m sorry’ before stating how right I am?” Discord interjected, “It’s taking away my credibility in this situation.” “I could be using a lot of magic right now just for us to have conversation together without even knowing it,” Fluttershy continued, completely ignoring Discord’s interjection. “I’d be making myself even more vulnerable than I already am. Who knows what kind of dangers are out there when you’re around a defenseless Sleigh Beggy like me?” Angel squeals softly in response, trying to convince her out of Discord’s suggestion. But deep down, he knew that Fluttershy was right and begrudgingly so was the mage. “I know you can protect me.” She answered his weak squealing. “Believe me, I know. You’re the strongest bunny I know. But,... I care about you too much to get hurt for my sake. Deep down, you know that it’s my job to protect you. Not the other way around.” Suddenly, the memory of her imprisonment in Verko’s grips flashed in her mind. She remembered how terrified she was when she heard Verko and his men discussing how they captured Angel, and how they refused to confide in her in where they kept him. “I’m sorry sweetie,” was all that Fluttershy could utter in response to such an emotional memory. “But,... you have to be a good boy and stay here.” “At last!” Discord rejoiced in his consciousness, “We’re finally free, for the moment, from this wretched bunny! Note to self: work on some good arguments to convince her to ditch the rodent for good.” Autumn picked up the very shocked Angel Bunny gently and assured her, “Don’t worry Fluttershy, I’ll make sure to take good care of him while you’re gone.” Autumn then proceeded to snuggle into his soft fur, which made Angel snarl in her grip.“ We’ll have soooo much fun that the time will just pass on by!” “Thank you Autumn,” Fluttershy thanked with a soft, relieved smile. “I can’t thank you enough.” Autumn pulled herself away from Angel’s soft fur and commented, “As much as I love a good thank you coming my way, there’s really no need. This is what family does for family after all. And you and Angel are part of our family now.” Fluttershy was once again taken back by Autumn’s use of the word “family”. As unsettling as it was for Fluttershy to be part of a family of fae, Fluttershy couldn’t deny that Autumn at least cared about her and Angel. She’s so kind and nurturing despite being a fae, so much so she couldn’t help but be reminded of her own maid back home. “Mrs. Cake,” She remembered sadly. Meanwhile, Discord, with a swish of his long robe and sleeves, made all the suitcases disappear into the long threads of his attire. Before Fluttershy could say goodbye to her pet and the kind maid, Discord swished his robe and sleeve over her and said, “La revedere Autumn! La revedere Angel!” “W-Wait! Discord, hold on! Ang-!” Fluttershy was soon cut off by Discord’s magical robe and sleeve as they quickly engulfed her into their darkness. Tenting her into it’s dark, ever expanding vortex. Before she could scream out Discord’s name, shout out for help, and find a way to escape this, her eyes met with a bright ray of light. As her eyes slowly opened and adjusted towards the light, she was happy to see that she was no longer in the mysterious darkness created by Discord’s long clothing. Oh no, she was in a place that she has only seen in her dreams.  Fluttershy had never thought that she could find a spot even more beautiful than Discord’s cottage and the Trottingham countryside that it resides in.  While standing on top of an evergreen hill, she looked over a sunny, lusciously green valley just nestled near the comforting shadow of forestry hills and some snowy blue mountains off in the distance. In the center of this beautiful valley was a quaint fairy tale like village and rows upon rows of fruit trees of all kinds. But strangely, these fruit trees had no fruit on them. It was summer, and they should be full of fruit by now. Maybe they were already picked?  While the gentle cottages of this town couldn’t compete with the height of the orchard’s trees, the town’s church certainly can. The church, with its height, it’s soft yet timeless architecture, and it’s mossy roofs, looked like a castle watching vigilantly over its small kingdom.  Fluttershy had to know the name of this breathtaking paradise. And unluckily for her, Discord was happy to give her the answer before she could even ask, “Welcome Fluttershy, to Tramplevania!” “T-Tramplevania?!”