//------------------------------// // Chapter 47 (Keep Calm and Flutter On) // Story: Spike The Brony Dragon // by red4567 //------------------------------// Twilight was able to finish up the books in no time. It really helps to be a bookworm’s assistant. The book about alicorns was the most interesting to me. Apparently, male alicorns were just as common as female alicorns. Seeing how I only saw five of the latter in the show (excluding temporary ones and possible animation errors), I took the book’s word for it. One day, my stomach started squeezing. Within moments, I burped out a scroll. “Geeze, I wish the princess had a better way of sending letters to us,” I said. Twilight picked up the scroll and read it. “Dear Twilight Sparkle,  I will be arriving in Ponyville tomorrow with a special visitor. Bring all the girls and Spike to the fields at 1 p.m. Signed, Princess Celestia” “Wow, can you believe it, Spike?” Twilight asked. “The princess is coming over to visit us.” “Oh, no,” I said under my breath. “What did you say, Spike?” “I said ‘oh, no.’ I was supposed to have tea time with Fluttershy that day. Oh well, we can arrange one some other time.” But the truth was that I knew this was when “Keep Calm and Flutter On” was going to occur. That meant Discord would be released from his stone prison, and Fluttershy would try to reform him. The problem was I didn’t know what the two’s relationship was like in the show.  Were they just friends? More than friends? Lovers? Would Discord be upset if he knew I was dating Fluttershy? Should I break up with her before he gets out? I could try to keep the relationship secret, but what if he already knew about us? He already knows my real name and where I came from. I decided I should just keep things mellow and not show so much affection to Fluttershy for now.  That’s when I had another idea. I quickly looked through some of the books hoping to find what I was looking for. “What are you looking for, Spike?” Twilight asked. “Reforming spells,” I replied. “I was thinking we might need one just in case the princess’s visitor turns evil or something.” “Oh, Spike, you’re being too paranoid.” “Can you blame me? We don’t know who this visitor is. For all we know, it could be some creature who we’ve never seen before. Can’t you write down a few reforming spells?” “Look, Spike. Princess Celestia would never bring a dangerous creature that could run rampant across Ponyville. I assure you that her visitor will be very friendly, and we’ll get along with them just fine.” I doubt that. The next day, most of the girls and I were waiting at a nearby field. Applejack and Fluttershy were absent because some beavers built a dam at Sweet Apple Acres resulting in a minor flood. “What’s taking the princess so long?” Rainbow asked impatiently. “Is her guest a giant turtle or something?” “Maybe it's somepony so terribly important,” Rarity suggested, “she still had many more terribly important things to do before she got here.” I looked up to the sky to see the Princess’s carriage arriving, and the familiar statue that followed close behind confirmed my suspicions. “Or maybe the visitor is the Lord of Chaos himself,” I said worryingly. “Yeah, right. That's Discord,” Twilight said. “Why in the wide, wide world of Equestria would Princess Celestia bring along someone like that?” Rarity asked. “Why don’t you ask her yourself?” I pointed to the arriving carriages. The girls were frightened when they noticed the Discord statue. Twilight calmly approached Celestia. “With all due respect, Princess Celestia, HOW COULD YOU BRING DISCORD HERE?! Your majesty?”  “I'm fully aware that the last time Discord was here, he created serious havoc,” Celestia said in her relaxed tone of voice. “If by ‘serious havoc’ you mean ‘turning Ponyville into the chaos capital of the world’...” Rainbow snarked. “...and nearly making us go through that horrid maze to retrieve our elements...” Rarity added. “...and making yummy delicious chocolate milk rain all over the place without a single dollop of whipped cream to go with it anywhere in sight!” Pinkie complained. “Not a single dollop!” I rolled my eyes. “Yes, I understand,” said Celestia. “But I have use for Discord's magic if it can be reformed to serve good instead of evil. This is why I've brought Discord here, because I believe that you are the ponies and dragon who can help him do just that.” “Assuming he doesn’t betray us or enforce some sort of confidence-boosting test for Twilight,” I said as I looked at the statue. I knew Discord could hear me. “Need I remind you that you are the ponies and dragon who turned him back into stone like this in the first place?” “I suppose we can just use the Elements of Harmony against him again if it gets out of hand,” Twilight said. “Should I find that reference guide?” I asked. “No need, Spike. I have the elements right here, and I've cast a spell so Discord can't take them and hide them again.” Celestia opened a chest to reveal the elements. “Now where is Fluttershy? I believe she may know best how to begin reforming Discord.” “Fluttershy? Really?” Rainbow asked. “We better go get her and Applejack,” Twilight said. “We need both of them to use the elements anyway.” Rainbow dashed to Applejack’s farm. After a few minutes, she came back with Applejack and Fluttershy. Celestia explained to Fluttershy what she told us. “I realize that this is a tall order,” Celestia said, “but I wouldn't ask if I weren't confident you could get him to use magic obediently of his own free will.” “And you really think I'll know best how to do that?” Fluttershy asked. Celestia placed her hoof under Fluttershy’s chin. “I do.” Fluttershy blushed. “Now, I must return to Canterlot for Equestria's royal summit. You may release Discord when ready.” Celestia got back on the carriage and flew away. “Hey, Fluttershy,” I said. “I know Discord was once a powerful being, but if Celestia believes that you can reform him, then so do I. I know that you can do it.” “Thank you, Spike.” Fluttershy and I hugged lightly before Twilight picked up the elements. “Okay, ponies and Spike, guess it's time to get started. Let's just hope this releasing spell works,” Twilight said. “We'd best keep our elements on at all times until further notice.” Twilight put each respective element on each mare. I was a bit envious that I didn’t have an element. Twilight’s horn glowed brightly as each and every element shot out their respective shapes before being joined by a rainbow ribbon. Soon, the Mane 6 were lifted off the ground. I watched the statue and noticed one of Discord’s legs moved a bit. Before I could question it, a giant rainbow shot out of Twilight’s Element of Magic and collided with the statue. Cracks appeared before Discord shot his limbs right out. Eventually, the draconequus himself bursted out of his granite prison with a loud roar, followed by a series of grunts and groans like he just got out of bed. “Well, it was about time somepony got me out of that prison block,” Discord said. “What a relief!” Suddenly he snapped his fingers as he stretched, and a nearby squirrel suddenly became bulky and mean. We all gasped. Well, this reunion’s off to a good start. “What do you think you’re doing?!” Twilight asked. “Why, stretching, of course,” Discord replied. “When you're a creature of chaos, stone bodysuits aren't your typical go-to fashion choice.” He snapped his fingers again, resulting in a nearby bunny turning savage. “Make that bunny cute again! Now!” Pinkie Pie shouted. “He's adorable the way he is,” Discord said as he tickled the bunny’s chin. “You know what else is adorable? You ponies and dragon truly believe that you can reform me, and you’re putting your faith in this one here to make it happen.” Discord then appeared in a grandma-like outfit and grabbed Fluttershy’s face. “Makes me wanna pinch your little horsey cheeks...” I hope you mean her face… “How'd you know about that?” Twilight asked. “Being turned to stone doesn't keep me from hearing every word Celestia says,” Discord replied. “Although I admit it makes rolling my eyes a challenge.” He took his eyeballs out and rolled them across the ground. “Well, unless you want us to turn you back to stone, you'll zap those animals back the way they were, pronto!” Discord put his eyeballs back into his sockets. “Oh, you wouldn't dare turn me back to stone and risk disappointing your precious princess.” “Try us,” I said. “Exactly what he said, Dip-cord!” Rainbow exclaimed. “You think you can treat poor defenseless animals like that and get away with it?!” Fluttershy shouted at Discord. “You'd best watch your step, buster, or I'll give you... the Stare!” It was nice to see Fluttershy acting so bold once in a while. Sadly though, her stare didn’t work on Discord. He chucked at the fact that Fluttershy thought it would. “If it turns out we need to use our elements against you,” Twilight said, “I'm sure we can convince Princess Celestia it was for a good reason!” Discord sighed. “I suppose that's correct.” He snapped his fingers once more, and the squirrel and bunny were back to normal. That’s when I noticed his tail snapped. I knew what he just did: he corrupted some of the beavers nearby. I wanted to call Discord out on it, but I didn’t want to see him turning back into stone so soon. “Well, it looks like I know where I'll be crashing while I'm being ‘reformed’.” Discord suddenly poofed Fluttershy in his arms. “With you, Fluttershy.” He gave her a noogie as he chuckled evilly. “Oh dear,” Fluttershy whimpered. “Oh dear” is right. I hope Discord doesn’t get mad over my current relationship with Fluttershy. We all went to Fluttershy’s cottage. Fluttershy quickly went around the room cleaning up everything. “Discord may be horrible,” Fluttershy said, “but that doesn't mean we have to act the same way. We should at least try to be hospitable.” Discord hopped on the couch. “Uh...you don’t mind giving up your favorite spot on the couch, do you, Angel Bunny?” Fluttershy asked. It was clear that Angel did mind. He tried to pull Discord off, but his bunny strength was no match for the draconequus’s weight. “Oh, I'm sorry about Angel. Are you alright?” Fluttershy asked. “Oh, yes,” Discord replied. “Thank you, Fluttershy, for your concern. If only your pony and dragon friends could be as considerate...” Just like in the show, most of us were doubtful of Discord being reformed. I knew he'd become friendly soon, but the others thought he was trying to pull Fluttershy apart from us so the elements couldn’t be used. We quickly headed outside. Fluttershy assured us she would try to befriend him in order to reform him. “Fluttershy’s really alright with him staying there?” Rarity asked as Twilight closed the front door. “That's what she said,” Twilight replied. “If it helps her reform him, then I guess who are we to judge?” I asked. “Personally, I think we should come up with a backup plan,” Rainbow said, “in case this whole ‘befriending’ business doesn't work out.” “Rainbow Dash is right,” Rarity said. “This is Discord we are talking about, girls. It wouldn't be a bad idea to have another trick up our sleeves.” “Well, I initially suggested a reforming spell…” I said. “That can work,” Twilight said. “Come on, we better get to the library, pronto.” Twilight and I hurried to the library. Unfortunately, the scene played out like in the show. Twilight and I could not find a single reforming spell in any of the books in the library. Most of the pages looked like they’ve been torn out. “Discord must’ve known we’d have a Plan B!” I exclaimed. “Now do you see why I wanted you to learn some reforming spells prior? And you said I was paranoid.” “I didn’t know it would be Discord, Spike. He’s the last creature the princess would send to us.” Twilight flipped through the last of the books, but to no avail.  “We gotta warn Fluttershy about all this.” “My thoughts exactly.” Twilight and I hurried back to Fluttershy’s cottage. “I know I have confidence that Fluttershy could reform Discord,” I said, “but she needs to know what he’s been up to.” When we arrived at her place, the cottage wasn’t in its normal spot anymore. It was floating high in the sky and spinning around. The sounds of crashes and thumps inside didn’t make either of us feel easier. “Oh, no! Fluttershy!” Twilight shouted. “Fluttershy, can you hear me?!” A few minutes later, Fluttershy came out of the rotating house with a dizzy Angel. “Fluttershy, what's going on? Are you okay?!” Twilight asked. “We’re fine,” Fluttershy calmly replied. “Everything's going great. Isn't it, Angel?” Angel hopped away like he just came off a spinning carnival ride. “We've come to get you away from Discord!” Twilight exclaimed. “He's just terrible and, from the looks of it, completely out of control!” “Oh, but you're wrong. We're making great progress!” Fluttershy said. “I'm earning his trust by giving him a little space to be himself.” “I guess giving him a little freedom would make sense so he wouldn’t rebel,” I said. “But he kinda also tore out the reforming spells in the library with that freedom.” “That does explain the paper eating.” “He ATE them?!” Twilight cried. Strange minds think alike, huh, Discord? “But we aren't gonna need a spell,” Fluttershy assured us. “He's already really considering being reformed! He said so.” “So you’re taking his word for it?” I asked. “If I'm going to be his friend, I have to start by giving him the benefit of the doubt! Tell you what. Bring all the girls and Spike over for a dinner party this evening, and I'll bet his manners will have really improved by then. I'll even get him to put the cottage back on the ground first.” Fluttershy flew back into the cottage. Twilight was pretty reluctant to attend, but she agreed. After informing the rest of the girls, Twilight and I got ready for dinner. “I wish she told me what dinner party this will be,” I said as I looked through my outfits. “I don’t know if I should wear my penguin tux, just a plain bow tie, or go au naturel like I always do.” “That doesn’t matter, Spike,” Twilight retorted. “Don’t tell me you believe Discord’s reformed, too.” “I know Fluttershy. She talked down to a dragon and petted the belly of Cerebus. I think she can handle a creature of chaos. I have full faith in her.” “Spike, I know you and Fluttershy are a thing, but there’s a fine line between trusting somepony and blindly agreeing with them.”  “Don’t worry, I haven’t crossed that line.” Later, the girls and I arrived at Fluttershy’s cottage. The girls were feeling pretty uneasy. Rarity wore her least fanciest outfit, which still looked pretty fancy to me. “Fluttershy thinks this is the way to reform Discord and asked us to give it a chance,” Twilight said. “Say, doesn’t the water back there look pretty high to anypony?” I asked.  “Probably just some heavy rain from a nearby city,” Rainbow said. “The weather team has been a bit behind giving rain in some areas lately, so they made downpours to make up for it.” Fluttershy’s front door opened, and Discord appeared in a butler outfit. “Oh, our pony guests!” Discord exclaimed as he rolled out the red carpet with his tongue. “We're so delighted that you've come. Please, do come in.” We entered the cottage to see the room had changed drastically. The deformed furniture and decorations looked like something out of a Dr. Seuss book. “See what a beautiful job he did helping?” Fluttershy asked. “Discord set the entire table himself. I'm so proud.” We sat down and ate dinner. It felt very awkward eating in silence with Discord around. It was similar to having dinner with your family after they discovered you cheated on an exam. Fluttershy cleared her throat. “As you all know, Princess Celestia hoped we'd help Discord use his magic for good instead of evil.” Just like in the episode, some of the items in the show came to life, like the gravy boat, candles and soup tureen. At least I avoided the last one’s soup spitting. “Fluttershy! Can't you see what he's doing?” Rainbow shouted. “He's playing innocent with you so you'll never agree to use the Elements of Harmony against him!” “Oh, well, that's a bit harsh, isn't it?” Discord innocently said. Rainbow quickly covered the tureen with a cloche. “You see what I'm saying, right, Fluttershy?” “You know what I see?” Fluttershy asked. “I see that Discord's far from perfect, but I also see none of you giving him a chance!” “Hey, I’ve been trying to do the same,” I said. “Giving him the benefit of the doubt and all that.” Twilight stared at me while Discord raised an eyebrow. “What's gotten into you, Fluttershy?!” Rainbow complained. “Why do you keep cutting him so much slack?” “Because that’s what friends do.” Fluttershy wrapped one of her arms around Discord’s shoulder. Discord’s eyes widened. “We’re friends?” “Why, of course! I can't remember my house ever being this lively before you came along.” “Oh...Well, I've...never really had a friend before.” “Well, now you do!” Fluttershy held his paw. I couldn’t help but find it adorable. I was starting to second-guess my relationship with Fluttershy. I really didn’t want to break up with her, but I didn’t want Discord to be downhearted if he was looking to be more than friends with Fluttershy. Soon, my thoughts were interrupted by Angel, who just appeared from a nearby window. He chittered panically like something was wrong, and I knew what that something was. “Now is not a good time, Angel,” Fluttershy said. “We're having a dinner party.” “Hold up! I think he's tryin' to tell us somethin'.” Applejack said. Angel quickly mimed to us what was happening. It didn’t take long for us to figure out what he was trying to say. There was a flood going on at Sweet Apple Acres. “And we all know who's behind that now, don't we?!” Rainbow asked. “Who, me?” Discord asked as a halo appeared over his head. “Oh, give it a rest! What do you think of your friend now, Fluttershy?” We quickly left the cottage and headed over to Sweet Apple Acres. When we got there, more than half of the farm was underwater. “Land sakes! My apples are drownin’!” Applejack cried. “Now it’s becoming Wet Apple Acres!” Pinkie yelled. “This is a bad time to joke, Pinkie,” I said. “Who’s joking?!” “I've never seen the floodin' this bad!” Applejack shouted in dismay. “They've built dams 'round here before, but never like this! What's goin' on?” Fluttershy tried talking to the red-eyed beavers, but they either ignored her or spat insults at her. Not even her Stare helped. “It's no use. They won't listen to a word I say!” Fluttershy cried. “You see Discord's behind all this, right?” Rainbow asked. “Of course I do! Do you all think I'm a silly, gullible fool?” There have been mixed reactions all around us. I kept silent. “I've just been trying to gain his friendship any way I can, so he'd come to trust and listen to me.” Speaking of coming, Discord arrived in water skis pulled by two tureens. “Hey there, Fluttershy, you want a turn? The water's great!” Discord called out. “Time to see if it worked,” Fluttershy said. Fluttershy told Discord about the flood, and that he needs to fix everything and get Sweet Apple Acres back to normal. There was just one problem: Discord had a small request. “I ask that you never use your Element of Harmony against me,” Discord said. “As a sign of our friendship.” The girls all shook their heads. Fluttershy took a deep breath and removed her element and tossed it aside. I quickly caught it.  “I will never use my Element of Harmony against you,” Fluttershy declared. Discord snapped his fingers with glee. The farm transformed around him, but the water did not disappear. Instead, ice and snow had formed all around us. “Discord!” Fluttershy shouted. “That's not fixing it! Why, I oughta...” She quickly slid across the ice, passing Discord. “Where are you going?” Discord asked. “What's wrong, pal?” “Don’t call me your pal!” Fluttershy struggled to stay balanced on the slippery surface. “Come skating with me, and we'll let bygones be bygones.” He then materialized some skates for her. I quickly slid over to Fluttershy and gave her the Element of Kindness.  “Sorry, Discord,” I said under my breath. “He fixes this or he goes back to stone!” Twilight called out. “Princess Celestia would understand!” Fluttershy went back and forth looking at her element and the skates. Discord and I both knew exactly what she was going to choose. “I made a promise not to use my element against him, and I’m going to keep it!” Fluttershy grabbed the skates and trotted away, much to the girls’ disappointment. I wonder if I should be the new Fluttershy. As I skated back to the girls, Discord boasted about Fluttershy being his friend, and that she would not have anything bad happen to him. Just like in the show, Fluttershy was clearly frustrated. She slammed her skates on the ground and declared she was not his friend anymore. Discord was not amused. “Who cares?!” growled Discord. “I can do whatever I want, whenever I want! I'm Discord, the master of chaos! You think you can boss Discord around? You think I'm just going to turn all this back because you say so? Because if I don't, I'll lose the one friend I ever had?” It was then Discord realized what he just said. He sighed and cupped his hands together, resulting in all the ice and snow to vanish. The beavers also reverted back to their normal minds. The girls and I cheered. “I like it better my way,” Discord said, “but...I guess when you're friends, you can't always have things exactly your way all the time, eh?” The next day, Celestia returned. Discord promised to use his magic for good instead for evil (most of the time). Celestia congratulated us and allowed us to keep the Elements of Harmony with us. “Go on,” Fluttershy said to Discord. “Say it.” Discord sighed. “Friendship is Magic.” “See? He can be a real sweetheart once you get to know him.” We chuckled sheepishly after she said that. Suddenly, the air around me grew still. All the ponies stood motionless. “Girls?” I asked. “Are you alright?” Nopony responded. I waved my hand in front of Applejack and snapped my fingers at Rainbow Dash. Neither one of them reacted. In fact, they weren’t moving a bit. “What’s going on?!” “Ah, I see my spell worked,” Discord said. “Huh?” I turned to see Discord looking at me. “What did you do?” “I just stopped time, ‘Spike’. I wanted to talk to you personally.” “What do you mean?” “Since my time in that stone prison, I’ve heard about certain changes you’ve done, especially what you did to Chrysalis during the wedding.” Discord poofed a toy Chrysalis with a bandage on her head. “I wouldn’t say it was the most exciting method I could think of, but I’m not you.” “I knew that you were lying about not changing fate, Discord,” I said. “Knocking Chrysalis out, sending her to prison, and prevented the changelings from entering Canterlot proved that.” “And you believe that? What about all the other times you fixed something only to have something happen regardless? Like when you saved the Crystal Empire, or when you got rid of all the Pinkie clones? In the end, the Crystal Ponies were still free from Tall, Dark, and Gruesome, and the clones still returned to the mirror pool. All you did was alter your path only to end up back on the main road.” “What about all the other stuff I did? Befriending Garble and Trixie? Preventing Babs from being a bully and the school newspaper form being a gossip column? Keeping myself from turning into Godzilla and pulling a King Kong? You can’t deny that those changes were significant. Did you seriously stop the world just so you could repeat what you said to me about not changing fate?” “Actually, I needed to let you know that from here on out, I will be keeping a close watch on you.” Discord pulled out a giant movie camera and pointed it at me. “Why?” “Since I had to let you know immediately, and I couldn’t do it in front of everypony, I considered this to be the best option rather than letting you fall under a false sense of security for the next few days.” “I mean, why do you need to spy on me?” “Isn’t it obvious, David? It’s clear that you didn’t come from this world, and that you’ve seen every single episode of this show. The fact that you’re behaving exceedingly different from the original Spike, and that your goals mostly involve saving or preventing stuff, is enough to prove that you’re attempting to alter this timeline. And I for one would like to see where this rabbit goes.”  I was suddenly in a yellow bunny costume. I quickly took it off. “If you truly believe that fate can be changed, then so be it,” Discord said. “Just don’t complain to me when something remains unaltered despite your actions.” Discord suddenly placed me back in my original position and walked back to Fluttershy. “And before you ask, yes. I’m fully aware of your relationship with Fluttershy. When I saw you two together at the Gala, it didn’t take much to put two and two together.” “So you’re not upset?” Discord remained silent as he returned to his original position. He snapped his fingers, and time moved once again. While I liked having Discord back, I was a bit worried about my relationship with Fluttershy. It didn’t help that Discord didn’t answer my question. I just hoped he wouldn’t get any funny ideas that could make us split apart.