//------------------------------// // Chapter 76. Come on in, the water's fine. // Story: Becoming Fluttershy // by Hope //------------------------------// I woke with a gasp, trying to place the music that was playing all around me as I wiped my face clean with the bedsheets of Twilight’s bed. Besides the music, everything was eerily still. The cameras showed that everypony was laying asleep on the building roof while Discord laughed to himself, swinging his finger side to side like he was conducting an orchestra. I got to my hooves and went to the door, which opened easily, revealing a bunch of nurses and doctors running around frantically. They looked busy. I closed the door again and looked back to the TV screen where my friends were all motionless. Why wouldn’t they get up? The music, it had to be the music. I covered my ears and listened through the earbud, finding a clash of many different songs on top of eachother, clashing horribly. So each one of them had a different song which was keeping them knocked out. How could I fight that? How could I stop his music? I took the earbud out of my ear and covered my ears so I could think over the music still blasting over the hospital PA system. Music was intrinsic to ponies. He used that to break us, but there wasn’t a way to shut off music. However, I remembered a few times where ponies had used music on purpose to raise their spirits. I set the laptop aside and grabbed Twilight’s phone before I went outside, down the hall and outside again, looking above until I found him. “Halo Four!” I shouted. He looked down, wide eyed, and immediately flew down to where I was perched on the edge of the parking structure. “How can I help? I heard your friends are all at the location now…” “I need to convince everyone in the city to sing,” I said firmly, face set in an air of confidence I didn’t feel. “Because Discord’s using song to stop us. Everyone needs to sing together.” “Alright, but sing what?” he asked, landing next to me. I stopped and realized I hadn’t even thought that through. “It… has to be pony, has to be happy, has to be… A True True Friend,” I finally concluded, the words and melody coming to mind easily. “From that sneak peek they released, we just repeat the section they showed.” “Okay, can you start it if I get you on a radio?” he asked, and I nodded quickly. He stepped away, and my heart was racing as he spoke over his earpiece. I was about to lead New York in song. What if I froze up and couldn't speak? What if I said the wrong thing? What if it didn't work? I closed my eyes and focused on my friends, laying there asleep, imagining all of them supporting me. Then I felt a wing cover my back, and I opened my eyes. Celestia was sitting next to me with a calm smile, and Luna was in front of me. "H… hi," I whispered. "Hello Erishy," Celestia said. "We're here to help." “That’s good, that’s really good,” I chuckled nervously. “Because… I have an idea, but I think Discord’s going to figure it out really fast, and… Stop us.” “Then we shall have to keep him occupied,” Luna said, sounding pleased with herself. Celestia nodded, before looking back at me. “What is your idea, Erishy?” “Discord is using songs. Specific songs to… get in our heads. I woke up by my friends are still trapped, and… If we sing something else, something hopeful, I think it will help. That, and destroying the speakers he’s using to put out his music.” Luna spread her wings and took to the air, looking off into the distance at the skyscraper all of the noise was coming from, before landing. “Tia, if you fly past him, and get him away from the rooftop, I can carry Ms. Erishy to the location.” “But we may want to start the reply song first,” Celestia added. “But we will need to be singing the better song as we do it…” “The city will be singing, your highness,” Halo Four said as he landed and held out a radio to me, which I took very gently. “It’s on a frequency which will be broadcast through as many methods as we can. When you press this button on the side, just tell them you’re ready, and they will switch it all on, and tell you that you can start singing, alright?” he asked me as he held my hoof in his, just making sure I understood and nodded before he let go of the radio. “So… I should… just start,” I said softly, looking around at them. “Then we can rescue my friends.” Luna nodded, as Celestia put a wing over my back again. “We’ll be here to help,” Celestia reassured me. I took several deep breaths before holding down the radio’s transmit button. “I’m ready,” I whispered, before letting go of the button. There was a moment of silence, a pop and hiss on the radio, and then a voice said one word. “Go.” I closed my eyes, and I focused on the words as I held down the button, and sang, hoping dearly that at least a few people would join in. “A true true friend helps a friend in need, A friend will be there to help them see, A true true friend helps a friend in need, To see the liiiiight, That Shiiiiiiines, From a true, true, friend!” I sang it out with all my heart before I opened my eyes, and I heard my own voice in the streets below fading on the final note, and then softly I heard an echo. A hundred voices maybe, scattered throughout the city, were raising their voices in return. Tears slipped down my cheeks as I smiled and Luna picked me up, the radio slipping back into Halo Four’s grip, and then I was soaring effortlessly in the safety of Princess Luna’s arms, as a song spread throughout New York city like a rising tide. It was a simple song, critically and necessarily simple, but it carried more than just a message of friendship with it. Love, care, joy, and hope rose on the tunes of a simple song being sung by more and more and more people by every passing moment. Then an explosion shook me out of my happy thoughts, and I looked up to see Discord slithering into the sky as Celestia threw up golden fields of magic around herself, deflecting whatever horrible things he was trying to do to her. Luna sat me down on the rooftop and pointed to the laptop. “I believe that is what you seek. We will keep him busy.” Then she flew off, and I saw all of my friends laying out on the rooftop, while Stephanie was trying to wake RJ, shaking her gently. “Agent Chase!” I shouted as loudly as I could. She turned and saw me, before jogging over. “What is this?!” she shouted over the noise of the speakers. “I unplugged them but it didn’t do anything!” “The song, it’s forcing… It’s bad!” I replied before running to the laptop and looking at it. The screen was just a blank blue square with an ASCII image of Discord dancing back and forth. “I… I don’t know… how to fix this,” I admitted. Stephanie gestured for me to move back and aside, and then drew her pistol, unloading four shots into the laptop. Popping and flaring like a blowtorch, the battery ruptured and then finally the music cut out. “Yes!” she cheered, as I laughed and turned, seeing Twilight and RJ sitting up and blinking away tears. “Twilight, RJ!” I said as I ran up to them and pulled them into a hug. “Erishy?” Twilight laughed. "What just… happened?" I grinned and pulled away a bit from them to look them in their eyes, wiping tears off my cheeks. “You were all asleep thanks to…” Then I stopped. Over their shoulders I could see Raritony, Dash, and Pinkie. Still asleep, twitching in pain. Pinkie looked like she’d been emotionally broken, her mane and tail flat sheets spread around her like a halo, her coat dark, a scowl on her face. “Oh no… Why… Why didn’t they wake up?” I whimpered as I looked between all of my friends. “You two woke up, so it works, so why didn’t they… Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no!” If stopping the music and providing a better song didn’t work… What did that mean? Were they trapped forever?  “Easy, Shy, easy sugarcube,” RJ said, stroking my back gently. "What didn't work? What happened?" "Discord hit you guys with a magic whammy, and you all passed out, cold," Stephanie explained. "Clearly," Twilight said, lighting up her horn. She went over to the napping group and passed it slowly over each pony. "But what kind of magical- Ah! Found it." After a moment, she nodded. "Well, whatever counterspell you two came up with, it is working," she announced "I think it's just going to take some more-" Raritony sat up abruptly with a little snrk! noise. "-time," Twilight finished. Raritony blinked blearily, and smiled up at us. “Oh good. You’re all real again,” she said. As Twilight and Stephanie helped Raritony to her hooves, we were all watching Dash and Pinkie, who were still very much asleep. "Where is Discord?" RJ asked. "The Princesses are keeping him busy," Stephanie said, pointing over the roof. At that moment, the three of them zipped overhead with a whistle and whoosh, as Discord shouted “stop calling me Q!” Princess Luna taunted him, as she flew behind him and tossed an electrical burst across his tail that briefly illuminated Discord in black and white, revealing his skeleton like an old cartoon. He turned and chased her as she shot off towards the horizon at an incredible speed. Twilight looked gobsmacked. “Did Princess Luna…?” “Eeyup,” RJ said. "But, I don’t think we have a lot of time." "We don't?" Twilight asked. "Yeah," RJ said, motioning everyone over to Pinkie and Dash. "We gotta speed this thing up. 'Shy? Steph? What'd y'all do to wake Twi, Rares, and me up?" Raritony yawned hugely. "Mostly awake," she muttered. "We sang," I told her proudly. "Sang?" Twilight said, as Stephanie nodded in agreement. "Alright y'all," RJ said. "Time to get our song on." "Can I have coffee first?" Raritony asked. "Song first, defeat Discord second, coffee third," RJ instructed. "Slave driver," she replied, but she smiled. We all gathered around Pinkie and Dash, and looked at one another expectantly. I knew the song, it was flowing all around us, but I’d already led all of New York and I felt it deep in my heart that I needed one of them to take the lead, so I could follow this time. I needed to know someone else had the reigns. "A true, true friend helps a friend in need," RJ finally sang, her voice soft and reverent. "A friend will be there to help them see," Twilight picked up. "A true true friend helps a friend in need," I added, as my heart leapt for joy.. "To see the light," Raritony belted out. "That shines from a true, true friend," Stephanie finished. I giggled and we all looked to Stephanie, who was blushing. "Felt right," she muttered, scratching the back of her head. Before anyone could reply, Pinkie’s snores stuttered and stopped. There was an audible sproing! as her color brightened and her mane and tail curled right back up. Her eyes snapped open, and she grinned up at us. “C’mon everypony,” she said, bouncing onto her hooves. “I wanna see you smile!” "It's so good to see you!" I said gleefully as I pulled Pinkie into an all-encompassing hug. “Whoo! You too!" Pinkie said, matching my enthusiasm. "Wow, did you know I had the worstest worst dream I ever dreamed? Well, aside from that thing with the falling apart cat. And the one where the sea whale lizard thing--no, that was actually a pretty good dream it just had a sad ending. Oh but I guess the dream with the frozen-car scrapyard and the wizards was pretty bad...” "Uh, what just happened?" Dash asked as Pinkie kept rambling, rubbing sleep from her eyes. "A lot, darling," Raritony said, fluffing Dash's mane. "Are you alright?" "Yeah, but I had this wicked- Incoming!" Dash shouted, pointing to the sky. A spiraling white and blue meteor screamed toward us, only to pull up at the last second as it skidded across the roof. The light faded, and the meteor became Princesses Celestia and Luna. They jerked to a halt on shaky legs, standing sweat-streaked and panting. The Princesses looked around, then sighted on us. It took her some effort, but Princess Celestia smiled at our ragtag group of just-woken ponies. “It worked?” Princess Celestia asked. I nodded quickly, standing as tall as I could with bruised ribs. “Yes, your Highnesses!” “Good,” Princess Luna huffed, lying on her stomach, wings splayed out. “I feel like plot. Fighting Discord sounded better before we actually had to do it.” "Question," Raritony said, raising her hoof. "What exactly, worked?" "’Twas fair Erishy’s plan," Luna said, pointing to them. “I had help from Stephanie!” I insisted, letting her stand in place for her whole agency who had gotten the song started with me. "Wait," Twilight said. "You two cast the spell that woke us up?" "Nooooot exactly," I replied with a soft chuckle. "Erishy figured out that Discord got to you guys through the whole pony music magic thing,” Stephanie said, which made Twilight’s eyes widen. “Holy…” Twilight murmured. “That’s… ingenious. Awful, but ingenious.” “You mean, totally Discord?” Dash said, as RJ jostled a drowsing Pinkie back to full wakefulness. “So you guys just sang to us and we woke up?" I grinned and looked to Stephanie. “Not quite," I said. "We figured it was going to take more than that." “I heard the plan unfolding over the radio,” Stephanie explained. “Erishy and even a few others singing together wouldn’t have done it.” "And since the Princesses needed to use their power to keep him distracted…" I added. "The team figured the best way to break Discord’s music magic was to get the ponies and the humans to sing together," Stephanie finished, proudly. “So… the agency got the whole city to sing.” Blinking, Twilight, Raritony, Dash, Pinkie, and RJ looked at each other, then out at the city. As they did, I could see them picking out the melody, feeling it, and all the harmony that came with it. The entire City of New York, ponies and humans alike were singing together. RJ whistled in appreciation. “Damn, girls," RJ said. "That’s... pretty amazing." “Wait! Where is Discord now?” Twilight asked. “New Jersey,” Princess Celestia replied, with a tiny smirk. “But he’ll be back soon. And angry. We managed to prank him quite effectively.” “Myyyyy idea,” Princess Luna sang lightly, bobbing her head with a grin. "How angry is he?" RJ asked, squinting in Jersey's direction. "Very," Princess Celestia said. "Good," RJ said, with a decisive nod. "'Cause I got an idea of my own. Think y’all can make a little light show? Shoot some magic at him and keep his attention on you a little while longer?" Princess Celestia laughed, as Twilight cocked her head at RJ. “I... think I can do that much," the Princess said. "But why?" "Because y'all are gonna be the light to Discord’s bug," RJ said. "And we're gonna be the zappers." she tapped her Element by way of explanation. "That sound good to you, Highness?" Princess Celestia laughed. "That sounds good to me. How about you, Sister?” “Indeed!” Princess Luna said, joining my side. “‘Tis a grand plan in its simplicity. I can’t wait to see the look on his stoned face, when all is done.” “Thanks, y’all,” RJ said. “We’ll set up just behind ya. Shouldn’t take too long. We got some good fightin’ music going here.” “Work quickly. I see him,” Princess Celestia said, pointing to a pinprick of light that was getting bigger, fast. “On it!” Twilight said. She pulled her tiara out of her hospital gown. With Raritony’s assistance, she got it on her head. The Princesses' horns glowed brightly. They shot some very obvious sparks of blue and white-gold across the city at the oncoming Discord comet. Discord responded to the prodding with a roar that sounded like a hippo that ate a tuba. As my friends assembled, Stephanie kneeled down in front of me, taking the element of kindness off her neck and carefully putting it back over my head. “I think I’m probably the luckiest fangirl in the world, to get to be saved by Fluttershy,” Stephanie admitted softly, making sure the element rested firmly on my shoulders. “You and your team saved us in return,” I told her, hobbling forward to hug her. “Friends?” “Friends,” she laughed wetly. “Now save the day, Erishy.” I smiled so hard my cheeks hurt, as Dash landed next to me, letting me lean on her as we finally assembled. The Mane six together again. Battered, beaten, worn down inside and out, but still standing and standing proud. The Element of Kindness shimmered and glowed as Pinkie hopped up next to RJ and we were all facing towards Discord, off in the sky over New York City. “You know…” Twilight said to RJ said, gaze forward. “I usually make the battle calls in times like this.” RJ blushed, glancing down a little. “Heh. Sorry Twi. I guess I let the shield go to my head,” she said, with an apologetic grin. “No, no. It’s fine, RJ. You didn’t do anything wrong,” Twi said, her own smile widening, her Element pulsing with power. “I’m just glad I can count on you.” “Feeling’s mutual, Twi,” RJ replied. Another roar broke into our moment, and Discord was here. He slammed into the Princesses' interlocked blue-white magic, reaching out to grab at us. The Princesses’ horns blazed bright as stars as they held him with a net made of multicolored light. Teeth bared, he pushed so close to us, we could feel the heat of his breath, see the blind rage in his eyes. Then their magic snapped down and yanked him back. “Let me go! Let me go! And quit singing!” Discord spat, wildly contorting himself in midair. “What is with you aggravating little ponies and all this singing?!” We all smiled at one another. “It’s a friendship thing,” RJ said. “Because…” she pointed to Twi, who picked up, right on the beat. “A true, true friend helps a friend in need,” Twi sang, her Element shining like a new sun. “A friend will be there to help them see,” Dash and I added, our Elements glowing bright as well. “A true, true friend helps a friend in need,” Raritony continued, her Element joining the light show. “To see the light!” Pinkie and RJ crowed, their Elements rounding it out. “To see the light!” Luna, Celestia, Stephanie, and the city echoed. “That shines!” we sang. “That shines!” they echoed. “From a true, true friend!” we all sang. Harmony peaked, flowing out of us, the world righting itself as pain became beauty, and the future became real.