Fluttershy and I were having tea as usual one afternoon. That’s when I noticed something was off. I smacked my lips.
“This tea tastes different,” I said “Is this premade?”
Fluttershy giggled. “You’ve got the taste buds of a catfish, Spike. I’ve been really busy lately, so I bought a jug of tea that’s already been made, hopefully to save some time. But when I took one sip of it, I knew right away it wasn’t as good as normal tea you’d make from a tea bag. I mean...that’s my opinion. ”
As we continued drinking, a mailpony arrived.
“Special delivery for Fluttershy!” He called out.
Fluttershy put her cup down. “That’s me!” She fluttered over to the mailpony. “Strange, I wonder who it’s from.”
“Looks like it’s from some organization: The ESPRC?”
Fluttershy gasped. “The Equestrian Society for the Preservation of Rare Creatures! Thank you, sir.” Fluttershy took the letter and opened it. “It must be important if it’s a special delivery from them.”
I remained seated as Fluttershy returned to our tea spot. Her smile grew bigger as her wings fluttered faster.
“Spike! You’re not gonna believe this!” Fluttershy exclaimed. “The Breezies are coming to Ponyville!”
I sat up. “Really?!”
“Yes! Read this letter!”
I took the letter Fluttershy had in her hooves and read it.
“Dear Ms. Fluttershy,
I do hope you are doing well. I’m contacting you to let you know that you have been selected to assist the Breezie migration through Ponyville. We chose you not just because you live near Ponyville, but also because you have shown enthusiasm for taking care of other critters. Details for letting others witness the migration are listed in the back of this letter. We hope everypony there will enjoy the Breezies as much as you do.
Sincerely,
Care Giver, honorary member of the Equestrian Society for the Preservation of Rare Creatures”
“Wow, Fluttershy,” I said. “This must be an honor.”
“It is!” Fluttershy clapped her hooves like a wind-up monkey with cymbals. “Words can’t describe how cute the Breezies are, and now the girls can witness what you and I saw during our trip!” Fluttershy grabbed me and placed me on her back. “Come on! We gotta tell the girls, and all of Ponyville!”
As Fluttershy pulled a Paul Revere, it didn’t take long for me to discover this was her key episode, “It Ain't Easy Being Breezies.” I knew what was going to happen. After some of the Breezies careened off their migration path, Fluttershy would take care of them. However, they didn’t want to leave, much to one of the Breezies’ frustration.
I don’t know if I can change anything in this episode, except...
I remembered in the show, Spike was responsible for causing the Breezies’ path diversion.
But I had doubts about doing the same thing, and I wondered what would happen should the leaf not fall.
The girls and I were in the middle of a field. Fluttershy wanted all of us to practice our cheering. I joined as well just to brush up my skills.
“Okay, everypony,” Fluttershy announced. “As you know, the adorable fairy creatures known as Breezies are about to come through Ponyville.”
“Yes! Ooh, it's so exciting!” Pinkie exclaimed as she hung from a nearby tree branch. “I can't wait for Rainbow Dash to make the breeze for them so I can see how cute they are up close!”
“I've never done it before,” said Rainbow Dash, “not that I won't be totally awesome at it, because I totally will!”
I smirked and rolled my eyes.
“And that breeze is very important,” said Fluttershy, “but so is cheering on those teeny-tiny little things, so they have the confidence to ride that breeze to their native land.” She grabbed her own cheeks. “Did I mention how tiny they are? So tiny! I was thinking we could do a special Breezie cheer!”
“I love cheers!” Pinkie shouted.
“But these cheers should be quiet cheers. We don't want to startle them. They need to be able to concentrate.”
“Fluttershy’s right,” I said. “On our last trip, we had to be quiet even though we were about a mile away from the Breezies. Now that all of you will be witnessing them up close, we have to be much quieter.”
Fluttershy nodded. “Why don't we try it? Repeat after me: ‘You can do it, Breezies.’”
“You can do it, Breezies!” Every mare shouted.
“You can do it, Breezies,” I whispered.
“Oh, my,” Fluttershy brushed her mane aside.
“Sorry, Fluttershy,” Applejack said. “I had no idea how hard it was to do a cheer quietly.”
“Why don’t you do what Spike did? He got the cheering down pretty well, and I couldn’t hear anything.”
“Wait, Spike said something?” Pinkie rubbed her ears. “But I didn’t hear a word from him.”
“That’s the point,” I said. “Not only would the loud noise break the Breezies’ concentration, but the air exhaled from your lungs could interrupt their path.”
“It’s okay, Pinkie.” Fluttershy approached us. “Quiet doesn't come naturally for everypony. Let's try it again.”
Just like in the show, the girls’ cheer grew quieter. It was like watching that “Yay” scene from “Sonic Rainboom” in reverse. Eventually, the girls were able to nail that quiet cheer.
“Perfect!” Fluttershy shouted, but suddenly regained her composure. “Oh, um, I mean...yay.”
Good call back.
The day the Breezies would visit Ponyville couldn’t come soon enough. Almost everypony was at the center of town waiting for the G3-immigrants to show up. The pegasi were working on making a breeze to help the Breezies travel across the sky.
I was with Fluttershy making sure the preparations were complete. We were chatting with Mr. and Mrs. Cake who were in charge of the food.
“What I don't understand is why they need the pegasi to make a breeze for them,” said Mr. Cake.
“Well, you see, it's the breeze that activates the Breezies' magic,” Fluttershy replied, “and that magic protects the pollen they're carrying from being destroyed.”
Now that’s what I call “wind energy.”
“So, no breeze means no magic means the pollen goes bad?” Mr. Cake asked.
“That's right,” said Fluttershy. “And they only have two days to get that pollen back before the portal to their home closes. That's why it's ever-so-important that we help them make their way through Ponyville safely.”
During our conversation with the Cakes, I noticed Rarity wearing a shiny cloak. It didn’t take me long to get blinded by her light. Fluttershy quickly put on a pair of sunglasses and handed me another.
“Thank you.” I put the shades on.
“Um, Rarity?” Fluttershy asked. “I, uh, hate to weigh in with you when it comes to fashion, but...”
“Oh, there's too much purple on this, isn't there?” Rarity asked panically. “I knew it! But Twilight refused to admit it.”
“What?! I...” Twilight denied as she looked away from her flashcards.
“Oh, no-no-no-no-no. It's the perfect amount of purple,” said Fluttershy. “It's just that there's an awful lot of sequins on your jacket.”
“Oh, darling, please! One can never have too many sequins!” Rarity announced.
“You can if they reflect the sun, and the light catches a group of Breezies right in their eyes, and blinds them long enough to get them off their course so they never get home!”
“She’s right, you know,” I said.
Rarity sighed. “I stand corrected! I suppose there is the rare instance where one can have too many sequins. I'll just take off my jacket.” She undressed to reveal a blouse that was whiter than her own coat. “I suppose this won't do either?”
Fluttershy shook her head. As I looked away, I noticed Rainbow Dash looking at the horizon. She caught her breath and zoomed down to whisper something to Twilight. I knew what she whispered.
“Everypony, it's time,” Twilight whispered. “Please welcome...the Breezies.”
“Come on, Spike,” whispered Fluttershy.
I hopped on her back. We quickly and quietly joined the crowd just in time to see the Breezies flutter on by. I could hear Fluttershy’s little squeaks of joy.
“They’re just as cute as last time!” She squealed like a baby bird.
“My thoughts exactly,” I whispered back.
I soon realized what was supposed to happen next. I looked behind me to see the same tree as in the show. The same one I have to climb on, disturb the Breezies’ path with a leaf, and have Fluttershy earn her key by the end of the episode. That’s when it occurred to me. Why did I have to do it?
You know what? Forget it! I’m not doing it! I’m not repeating what the old Spike did in the episode! There’s no reason why I should!
I crossed my arms and sat firmly on Fluttershy’s back.
Fate can find it’s own way to give Fluttershy her key! I am not disturbing the Breezies path! There has to be another story that involves Fluttershy getting her key.
I sighed gently and looked up at the Breezies. I didn’t care if I angered some pony god or three mares or whoever controlled this dimension. I wasn’t going to act out of character just for the sake of a plot.
“Everything alright, Spike?” Fluttershy asked quietly as she turned her head.
“It’s fine,” I replied with the same volume. “I was just...”
Suddenly, Fluttershy caught her breath and pointed at something behind me. When I turned to see what that “something” was, I widened my eyes.
It was a leaf! And it was flying towards the Breezies!
I quickly climbed up Fluttershy’s head and tried to catch it. Just when I was about to reach its stem, I lost my balance and fell off. Fluttershy quickly caught me.
The rest of the scene played out like in the show, the leaf disturbed some of the Breezies’ path, and the pegasi couldn’t adjust the wind in order for the group to catch up with the others.
With sheer determination in her eyes, Fluttershy gently put me down and raced upwards to save the Breezies. Just like in the episode, she and Seabreeze (a blue Breezie with a pink mane) managed to group them all together.
The crowd cheered as Fluttershy guided the group of Breezies to a nearby rock to rest on. The Breezies had their turn to cheer.
“Mugudi saikendus?” Seabreeze asked. I’m pretty sure he was saying, “You can understand our language?” I knew that because I obviously saw the episode and that I studied the language back before our Breezie trip.
“I understand the language of all kinds of creatures,” Fluttershy said.
“You must be so proud.” Seabreeze said sarcastically.
“And you speak my language too?”
“I can. This lot can only understand you. Clearly, they're not the brightest bunch around.”
The other Breezies took offense to that.
“That was amazing!” Pinkie shouted as the girls and I walked over to Fluttershy.
“I'm sorry we couldn't get a breeze going that would get them back to the others,” said Rainbow Dash.
“Oh, it's not your fault,” Fluttershy replied.
“I, for one, am very proud of you, Fluttershy,” Twilight said triumphantly. “Leaping into action like that.”
Fluttershy blushed a bit.
“I feel like I should design you a special hero's gown!” Rarity proclaimed. “Or a sash. At least a sash.”
“I still wish I caught that leaf,” I said. “The breezies wouldn’t have fallen behind if I grabbed it.”
“Oh, it’s okay, Spike,” replied Fluttershy. “At least you tried to help. It’s all in the past now.”
I sighed and looked away. “You’re right. I just wish I could’ve prevented it.”
When I said in my mind that fate can find its own way to give Fluttershy her key, I didn’t mean it should move the leaf regardless of whether or not I was on the tree.
It was at that moment I reached one potential conclusion. I figured out why Discord said I couldn’t change fate no matter what I did.
“Twilight,” I said. “I need to head to the library for a sec. It’s really important.”
“Go ahead, Spike,” Twilight replied. “I can meet you there later.”
I hurried to the library and up to the bedroom. I grabbed some parchment and a quill. I took a few deep breaths and thought about what I should write. Once the words popped into my head, I wrote them down.
“Dear Discord,
I need to talk to you immediately. If you have time, please come find me. You probably already know where I am.
Signed,
Spike.”
I rolled up the scroll and used my fire breath to send it to Discord. I didn’t know if it was possible to do so given he could be in a different dimension, but it was worth a shot.
I sat on my bed patiently, hoping that the multi-animal hybrid would appear shortly. Suddenly my bed turned upside down, and I plummeted right into a hole.
“WOOOAAAH!!”
As I disappeared into a swirling vortex of pure purple, a slide materialized below me. The next thing I knew, I was sliding through twists and turns like I was on a giant carnival slide! I couldn’t tell which way was up! The only thing that kept me from vomiting was that I ate a very light meal earlier.
After what seemed like hours of sliding, I reached the exit and tumbled across the ground. With my eyes closed, I felt the ground and concluded by the texture that it was grass. I opened my eyes and observed my surroundings.
Plots of land including the one I was standing on floated around like dizzy planets. The sky was nothing more than a violet void where space and time never existed. Many unnamed objects and creatures drifted across the sky as if I had a hallucination. If I could find a word to describe this place, it would be one of those words a lazy person would use in Scrabble to get rid of all of their letters.
I turned to see a red house with a yellow roof resting on top of the hill. I didn’t have to guess to figure out it was Discord’s house, and this place was where he lived. I walked up the stone path and rang the doorbell.
Ding! Dong! Ding! Dong!
The doorbell sounds strangely normal. Wait.
I turned around to see four giant bells right behind me.
Ding! Dong! Ding! Dong!
The bells sheepishly smiled and vanished into the sky.
“Coming! Coming!” Discord’s voice called out from inside the house.
A couple of footsteps later, Discord opened the door and saw me.
“Why, it’s little Spike,” said Discord. “Do come in and make yourself comfortable.”
As I stepped into Discord’s abode, I noticed that his house was no different from whatever was going on outside. Sets of stairs were arranged like they escaped from one of Escher’s paintings. The furniture was oddly-shaped and positioned in different walls. Even the carpets and wallpaper had unrecognizable textures. I couldn’t picture all of this if I had a fever dream whilst taking hallucinogens. The only thing that made sense in this place was that Discord lived here.
I quickly shook my head. I couldn’t let the surrealism distract me from my down-to-earth discussion with the Lord of Chaos.
“I’ve just received your letter, Spike.” Discord poofed out the letter I just sent to him. “So what do you wish to speak about?”
“Discord, I found out the truth,” I said sternly. “You’re nothing but a liar!”
“But I’m standing, Spike.” Discord poofed a red armchair and sat down. “Now I’m sitting.”
“I’m just going to continue. I know the truth about you saying I can’t change fate. Because you are fate!”
Discord remained silent. His nonchalant expression didn’t change.
“You are the one keeping things the same ever since I came here! I remembered you telling me how you kept repeating the timeline expecting things to change, all to no avail. But in reality you wanted the entire series to repeat itself! You pretended to be stoned for the first few seasons so I wouldn’t think it was you! Just admit it, Discord! You’ve been altering everything so nothing would change!”
There was nothing but silence. Suddenly Discord guffawed in the loudest tone he could possibly make without deafening me.
“Oh, Spike.” Discord wiped a tear, which tore up into bits of paper. “Your theory is as preposterous as the one about me and Star Swirl being the same guy. You’d think I, a creature of pure chaos, have been keeping things...normal? You’ve seen that episode about what would happen if I was normal, right?”
“But who’s to say you didn’t alter things a bit, like spawn a cockatrice to scare the Ursa Minor into Ponyville, or brainwash Dashie to convince Pinkie to clone herself, or better yet, moved that leaf so the Breezies could stay with Fluttershy?”
“Who’s to say I did alter those things? All you’re doing is speculating, Spike. I can assure you that I have nothing to do with all of this.”
“I seriously doubt that.” I squinted my eyes like I had no name. “Some of the things I’ve tried to change just happened to fall right back to their original place. As if someone was controlling them.”
“Alright, then let me ask you this.” Discord slithered to me. “Remember how you caught that parasprite and shooed it back into the forest? Did you remember seeing it or its buddies return after that?”
“No, but...”
“So let me ask you another question.” Discord poofed up some colored cotton balls. “If I was fate, why would I, a creature of chaos, let the parasprite go on its merry way back into the Everfree Forest instead of ‘convincing’ it to return to Ponyville and devour everything?”
“Uh...”
Discord slid back into his seat. “If I was fate, why would I let you avoid your greed growth instead of forcing you to become a Godzilla-ripoff? Why would I let Trixie be on neutral terms with Twilight instead of having the former buy that corrupted amulet? Why would I let you stop Twilight from casting that chaotic spell instead of having her friends’ cutie marks switched anyway? Do you seriously believe that someone like me, who spreads chaos at every opportunity, would let things slide if it meant sacrificing havoc?”
“Maybe you’re...”
Discord spawned a Spike-like sock puppet. “‘...trying to get me into a false sense of security.’ Again, Spike, why would I miss my chances? Because I’ve already done them and I’m bored? Spike, you’ve seen how I am. I’m impulsive. I’m reckless. I’m the opposite of Twilight Sparkle. I’m the persona of anarchy and all it brings. I’m Discord. Do you really believe that I’m the one who’s been trying to keep things orderly? You can’t even put those words together.”
Discord spawned his name and the word “order,” and then he tried to push them together. But like the same poles on a pair of magnets, the two words repealed from each other.
“So you see, David? Your theory’s debunked. I’m too disorganized to keep the timeline stable; therefore, I’m not fate as you presumed.”
“Then who is?” I asked.
“If I knew that, I would’ve caught them and turned Equestria into my own utopia by now. I may sound like a broken record at this point, but no matter what you do, you just can’t fight fate. It will always try to pull something out of its hat in order to keep things the same.” Discord shrugged. “However, if you believe you can make a difference for this timeline, then go ahead and believe it.” Discord leaned forward. “But let me tell you a story.”
Discord snapped his fingers, and on the cup-shaped coffee table spawned a bunch of pony and non-pony minifigures. Discord put a figure of himself in the middle.
“Many repeats ago, right after I broke out of my stone prison, I decided to surrender unconditionally to Celestia and Luna.” Discord put a Celestia and Luna figure in front of his own. “I told them that I was a changed draconequus, that I wanted to use my powers for good instead of evil. I even offered them cake and tea. Did they believe me? HAH! Fat chance! Care to guess what happened next?”
“You got turned to stone again?”
“I got turned to stone again!” The Discord figure turned grey. “And get this: some time after that, Celestia started to believe my words, and then that episode where Fluttershy reformed me played out all the same.” Discord pushed the two princesses away. “I don’t want to discourage you or your goal to change everything; I just want to tell you my experience.”
“How many times have you repeated the timeline anyway?”
Discord shrugged. “How many gems have you eaten since you first came to Equestria?”
“Why haven’t you given up by now?”
“If you played one of your video games and didn’t like the ending, would you play again with different variables to see if you could get a different ending?”
“Well, I'd just look up to see if it was possible to get a better ending...”
“Unfortunately, David, there’s no way to do that here. If there was, I’d have already found it by now.”
“Wait, can’t you time travel? You’re a creature of chaos who can bend reality into an origami crane. You must know how to time travel.”
“I can. Sadly, when I do, I end up in a different timeline. Repeating my own timeline from when the show first started was the only way I could truly travel back, change things, and see if they have any effect. Even my power has limits. You’ve seen it before.”
I sighed. “So...how did you figure out I wasn’t the real Spike?”
“I have my ways.”
Figures he wouldn’t answer that question directly.
I was disappointed that my thoughts about Discord being fate was proven false, but in a way, he had a point. He wouldn’t let things change if it meant wasting a chance at chaos. And seeing how there were times in the show where his powers were actually limited, like when he visited the changeling hive, I had to take his word for it. Though I was still fairly sure he was lying.
“Can you at least get me home now?” I asked.
“With pleasure.”
Discord snapped his fingers again, and a book spawned in his hands. He turned the pages until a picture of the Golden Oaks Library showed up. He then grabbed me.
“It’s time for you to bid adieu!” Discord sang as he threw me up in the air.
I flailed my arms in fright as I fell into the book. I passed through the pages until I found myself appearing back at the library, somersaulting across the wood floor. Once the rolling stopped, I lied on my back knowing I was finally back to reality.
“Spike?” Twilight’s voice asked.
I sat up to see Twilight approaching me, dumbfounded by what she witnessed.
“Did you just pop out from that book?” Twilight asked. She went over to the book and read the cover. “‘Entropy and what it used to be.’ How did you do that, Spike?”
“You can thank Discord for that,” I said as I stood up. “I went over to his place to talk to him.”
“About what?”
“I just wanted to know if he’s okay with me being with Fluttershy,” I lied. “I knew she said he was, but I wanted to hear it straight from the draconequus’s mouth to confirm it. Can’t be too sure, you know.”
“Anyway, since you’ve been gone, Fluttershy’s been taking care of the Breezies for a bit. They were a bit shaken from that leaf incident, and they needed some time to relax.”
“Say, where’s that book about the Breezies? I want to study their language a bit more.”
“It just so happens I have the book right now.” Twilight levitated the book towards me. “I wanted to learn about their culture as well.”
I spent some time learning their language more. Aside from greetings and goodbyes, I also studied simple yet important words, such as “please,” “thank you,” “where is…?”, and more.
Twilight looked up at the clock. “We better check on Fluttershy and the Breezies. They need to head home soon.”
“I’m right behind you,” I said.
I hopped on Twilight’s back as we rode to Fluttershy’s cottage. Along the way, we met Applejack, who also wanted to see Fluttershy.
“I reckon ya wanted to see if them Breezies are ready, too, huh?” Applejack asked.
“It has been a while,” replied Twilight. “I’m sure they’re well rested by now.”
Once we arrived at the cottage, Applejack opened on the front door.
“Hey there!” She called out to Fluttershy. “Can we come in?”
“Oh, of course,” said Fluttershy. “But watch your step!”
Fluttershy stopped Applejack just in time, as the latter nearly stepped on one of the Breezies.
“Oop, sorry about that, little one,” Applejack said to the shivering Breezie.
“Yeski hawker dularker enbrinka,” I said.
The Breezie gave me a confused look as it climbed up Fluttershy’s mane.
“Why would they build a well, Spike?” Fluttershy asked.
“Oh, sorry! I was trying to say, ‘I hope you are well’ in Breezie tongue.”
“It’s ‘Yeski hawker dularpi enbrinka.’ Good job trying, though.”
“Moving on. We just wanted to see if you thought the Breezies were ready to give it another try,” said Twilight.
“Has it been an hour already? Oh, my goodness!” Fluttershy looked out the window. “Time flies when you're making sure little creatures don't feel that you're abandoning them to the cruel world.”
“But they're not going to a cruel world, right? They're going home.”
“Oh, yes, that's right.”
Suddenly the Breezies cried in denial. I didn’t have to translate their words to understand they didn’t want to leave.
“On second thought,” said Fluttershy. “I don't think they're quite ready.”
“Supa laipas data kurpa!” Seabreeze shouted. “Mise neku ersken laika maur! Siripat sulat!”
“Woah! You kiss your mother Breezie with that mouth?” I asked sternly.
“What? What did he say?” Applejack asked.
“I...rather not say,” replied Fluttershy.
“Okay, well, I'm sure you know what you're doin'. No one knows rare magical creatures like you do.”
“We'll just wait for your word,” said Twilight.
“Thank you,” Fluttershy said as we left her cottage. “I'll be in touch very soon.”
Applejack, Twilight, and I headed back into town.
“I hope the Breezies don’t overstay their welcome,” said Applejack.
“It’s okay,” Twilight said. “They’ll get back on their hooves soon.”
“Hopefully they will before the portal closes,” I said. “I don’t know what the Breezies will do if they’re too late.”
I knew what would happen though. The Breezies would try their best to stay with Fluttershy, and Fluttershy would put her hoof down and get them to head home.
During my thought process, Rainbow Dash flew in.
“So what did Fluttershy say?” Dashie asked. “Are the Breezies ready?”
Twilight shook her head. “Not yet.”
“Seriously? It’s been over an hour. I know Fluttershy’s taking good care of them and all, but we need to create that breeze soon if the Breezies are gonna get home in time.”
“Well, it’s not like we can teleport them home,” I said. “They’re too delicate physically and mentally.”
“We’ll just have to wait for now,” said Twilight.
Minutes turned to hours as we waited for the Breezies. Rainbow went to Fluttershy’s earlier only to come right back.
“Still not ready,” said Rainbow. “At this point, we’ll have to create a hurricane in order to get the Breezies home.”
“I hope Fluttershy’s not considering making them stay permanently,” Twilight said. “The local environment doesn’t seem suitable for the Breezies.”
I sighed. “I’m gonna head on over to Fluttershy’s and convince the Breezies to head home. One way or another they have to understand they’re running out of time.”
I hurried down the road to Fluttershy’s house.
“Duk maklies...jenapu!” I said to myself. “Yeah, that's how you say ‘You need to go home!’”
Soon I arrived at Fluttershy’s place. I was about to knock on the door when Fluttershy swung it wide open and slammed right into me!
“Oh, Spike! I’m so sorry!” Fluttershy quickly got up. “Did you see Seabreeze on your way here?!”
“The blue tough one?” I asked. “I don’t think so. Why?”
“He just flew out! We need to find him!”
I stood up quickly. “Okay, where could he be?” I bet he was near the beehive like last time.
“Judging by the way the wind’s blowing, he must have headed in that direction!” Fluttershy pointed to the nearby trees. “Let’s hurry!”
I followed Fluttershy as she galloped into the forest. Sure enough, we heard Seabreeze’s voice.
“Ibeku-u-u! Ah, sa-sabada! [Wait-o-ho! Ah, h-help me!]”
“There he is!” Fluttershy called out.
Seabreeze was clinging on a twig for dear life while a swarm of bees was preparing to strike him.
“I’ll get the bees away from him!” Fluttershy declared. “Try to find some sticks in case we need to make a fire! Smoke will tire the bees out.”
I saluted and gathered a few nearby twigs. The scene played out like in the show. Fluttershy politely asked the bees to leave Seabreeze alone. When they ignored her, she tried to distract them with her bee costume (I didn’t know where she got it or how she put it on so fast). Her third attempt was to scold the bees to shoo them off. That last part thankfully worked.
“Menkyulen! [Thank you!]” Seabreeze shouted. “Thank you! Thank you so much! Thank you for coming after me!”
“Varshkagud, [You’re welcome],” I said as I dropped the sticks.
“You could've gotten seriously hurt out there,” said Fluttershy. “Ponyville is much too dangerous for you. One tiny acorn is a threat!”
“Yeah, I know!” Seabreeze shouted. “That is one reason why I have been trying to get us to go from the beginning!”
“Oh, my goodness. I was just trying not to hurt any creature's feelings, but my displays of kindness may have cost you everything.” Fluttershy gasped. “Time is running out, and you may never make it home!”
“That’s why I came here in the first place,” I said. “To tell you and the Breezies that we don’t have long!”
“That is exactly what I have been telling all of them!” Seabreeze cried. “But they do not listen to me! Nobreezie ever listens to me!”
“Seabreeze, I understand your feelings are hurt, but it's hard for them to hear you when you're shouting and being mean. The message doesn't get across.”
Not usually for the shouting part, anyway.
“But what about those bees?” Seabreeze pointed at the beehive. “You were not nice to them, and that was the only way they listened!”
“Yes, but they had to go, and they wouldn't listen to me any other way,” Fluttershy replied.
That’s when Fluttershy’s irises shone a rainbow.
“We need to go, now!” Fluttershy announced.
Seabreeze hopped on Fluttershy’s hoof, and three of us made it back to the cottage. We got all the other Breezies together, and they lined up like they were in the army.
“My dear Breezies, I had to rescue Seabreeze from serious harm,” Fluttershy announced, “and now I know more than ever that you must leave before it's too late! You would never survive in Ponyville.”
“Erski parli polin! [Don’t do this to us!]” pleaded the Breezies.
“I can't help you any more. In fact, I wasn't helping you at all by being nice. Oh... But the truth of the matter is that I must be firm!” Fluttershy opened the front door. “You must go, now!”
The Breezies reluctantly left the cottage. Seabreeze told Fluttershy that she did the right thing, but the tears in her eyes said otherwise. I hugged her to cheer her up a bit.
“I know it wasn’t pretty, but it’s for the best,” I said. “I’ll tell the girls they’re ready.”
Fluttershy somberly nodded. I quickly left the cottage and hurried to find Twilight and Rainbow Dash. Sure enough, I found them and the other girls at a cafe.
“Spike, there you are,” said Twilight. “What happened? Why do you look so glum?”
I shook my head and cleared my throat, “The Breezies are ready.”
“Ugh, about time,” said Rainbow Dash. “I’ll get my helpers.”
As Rainbow zoomed away, Twilight asked me, “So why are you upset? Did something happen to one of the Breezies?”
“Something almost did,” I replied. “Seabreeze nearly got attacked by bees. But that’s not the reason why I’m feeling a bit sad. Fluttershy unfortunately had to be firm to them in order to get them to leave, and...well...she didn’t enjoy it.”
“I’m afraid it was the right thing to do.” Twilight put a hoof on my shoulder. “The Breezies can’t stay any longer.”
“I know, I know. I just don’t like seeing Fluttershy cry.”
“Nopony does, darling,” said Rarity. “For her or for anypony else”
Later, the girls and I returned to Fluttershy’s cottage. Rainbow Dash and her helpers were trying to get a good breeze going, but every breeze they made was either too much or too little.
“Maybe it's because there are too few of them,” said Fluttershy. “When they started their journey, there was more of them to face the breeze together.”
Twilight scratched her chin. “I've been studying an old spell book from the Castle of the Two Sisters. There's a spell that I think could help us. Everypony, group together. You too, Spike.”
My eyes widened. I knew what she was going to do, and I never thought I would join them to become Breezies. Then again, I didn’t see Spike with the girls after his incident.
“This is probably gonna feel a little funny at first, but you're gonna have to trust me.”
Twilight’s horn glowed, and we were lifted into the air. The next thing I knew, my body shrunk down to the size of a teacup, my fingers and toes disappeared, and a pair of antennae and wings sprouted from my body.
I got wings again! Too bad this isn’t going to be permanent.
Once the transformation was complete, the girls and I became Breezies. I could tell the girls were thrilled as well.
“This is amazing!” I squeaked. “Woah! Now I sound like a chipmunk inhaling helium!”
“Maifo flai batendud!” Fluttershy called.
The girls exchanced confused looks.
“She means ‘Let’s go!’” I said to the girls.
With the help of Rainbow’s helpers, the girls and I joined the other Breezies and floated along the breeze. My body was so light that the wind made me float like a tiny piece of paper. To be honest, the weightlessness felt almost unreal for me, like I was either a ghost, in space, or both.
While the trip was long, it wasn’t all that tiring. Since I relied on the wind so much, I didn’t bother flapping my wings. I wondered if this was how migratory birds felt.
Seabreeze apologized to the others for being so harsh. He was worried that they might not make it home. The other Breezies forgave him.
As we continued the journey, some of the landscapes looked familiar. That’s when I recognized them.
“Hey, Fluttershy,” I said. “This looks like the place where we observed the Breezies a while back.”
“It does!” Fluttershy exclaimed.
“You observed us?” Seabreeze asked.
“Spike and I were invited a couple of weeks back to see you guys pass by here.”
“Ment viska degu aldrida. [But we never saw you],” said one of the Breezies.
“Well, we were told to be discreet about it.” Fluttershy rubbed the back of her head. “We didn’t want to disturb you after all.”
“If you saw us here, then that means our home is nearby,” said Seabreeze. “We’re almost there.”
The other Breezies cheered after hearing that.
A few minutes later, we entered a cavern. Seabreeze pointed to an opening straight ahead. Once all of us entered, we were granted a spectacular view of the Breezies’ village. From the glowing mushroom houses to the colorful flowing water, the entire place looked like something from a fantasy novel.
Judging by the girls' reactions, I wasn’t the only one amazed.
“Holy mini-sized paradise!” Rainbow squeaked.
“This is simply beautiful!” exclaimed Rarity. “So much inspiration. Where's my sketchpad when I need it?”
“So...stinkin'...cute!” Pinkie squealed.
The other Breezies reunited with their friends and family, including Seabreeze who had a wife and a newborn child.
“You okay, Fluttershy?” Applejack asked.
Fluttershy had tears of joy running down her cheeks. “I'm just so very happy they got to be reunited with their family!”
“I feel the same way,” I said.
“We'd better get going before the entrance...well, exit for us, closes,” Rarity said.
As we said goodbye to the Breezies, Seabreeze handed Fluttershy a flower.
“To remember us by,” said Seabreeze.
The girls and I left the cave just in time for the portal to close behind us.
“Whoa! That was a close one!” Rainbow Dash squeaked.
“Okay, gather round,” said Twilight.
Her horn glowed once more. With a big poof, we were back to our normal forms. It felt good to have digits again, though I was disappointed I lost my wings for the second time.
Is this going to be a running gag where I gain a pair of wings only to lose them a while later? I hope my molt breaks the streak.
“So... I've always kinda wondered what it would be like to be a griffon,” Rainbow suggested.
“Not a chance,” Twilight bluntly refused as we left the valley.
“You sure? What about a dragon? It doesn't have to shoot fire!”
“I hate to interfere with this discussion, but where do we go from here?” Rarity asked. “We must be miles from Ponyville by now.”
“Actually, there’s a train station not too far from here,” Fluttershy replied. “We just have to go to where Spike and I first saw the Breezies, climb up the hill, trot through that tall forest, and we’ll be at the station in no time. ”
We did all that and managed to catch a train home. Fluttershy stared out the window like she was lost in thought.
“Is everything alright, dearie?” Rarity asked.
Fluttershy blinked. “Oh, sorry. I was just thinking about...nevermind.”
“Don’t tell me,” I said. “The rainbow thing?”
“What rainbow thing?” Applejack asked.
“You mean that rainbow thing where we see a rainbow and realize we’re not representing our elements so we do something about it and receive something that coincidentally also shines a rainbow?” Pinkie asked rapidly.
Fluttershy’s eyes widened but she nodded. “It happened when Seabreeze was in trouble.”
“Yeah, I noticed it too,” I said. “Your irises turned rainbow-colored for a brief second.”
“So it was not something only we could see, then?” Rarity asked.
“Fluttershy, did that flower on your head glow a rainbow?” Twilight asked.
“Yes. It did.” Fluttershy replied. “Right after we just left the valley.”
“Then you need to keep it safe,” I said. “It could be important.”
“Oh, I’ll try.”
“Wait a minute,” said Twilight. “Girls, raise your hoof if this rainbow phenomenon happened to you already.”
The only ones in our group who didn’t raise our hands/hooves were Applejack, Twilight, and me.
“Hmm...I better take note of this when we get back,” said Twilight.
“I wonder if the same thing will happen to us later on, Twi,” Applejack said.
“I wonder if it will happen to me,” I added.
“You don’t have an element, Spike,” Dash said.
“One that isn’t confirmed yet. I'm still hoping for a hidden seventh element.”
I didn’t know what to feel about this episode, honestly. Even though I never touched that tree, the episode still played out normally. I wanted to believe Discord was behind it all, but he told me himself that he was not responsible. I still had doubts, though.