//------------------------------// // ... and Rhyming Strife, a.k.a. It Never Fails // Story: Ponyville Paintball // by Wisher //------------------------------// Ponyville Paintball -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter VI Applejack trotted a little forward towards the zebra, keeping her distance all the same. She made sure to make just a little noise, so as to make her presence known and not startle Zecora, which would lead to a shootout. “Howdy there, Zecora!” she called out. Zecora kept tipping the surface of the pond with her hooves. Then she turned her head just a little, without looking behind her. “And a good day to you, my pony friend. What brings you here to the wood’s end?” Applejack took a step forward. “Well, it’s kinda silly, heh,” she chuckled. “Ah was jus’ mindin’ mah own business when the wind blew mah hat away into the forest! So I ran after it ‘n here ah am. An’ lucky enough fer me, I reckon yer the one who found it! Celestia knows how long ah woulda been runnin’ otherwise, so thanks a mite there!” She stopped talking, expecting some sort of polite reply from the zebra. But there was none. Instead Zecora simply turned her head a little more, staring strangely into space. She spoke quietly. “The wind brings to me many things. But why should it be your hat, as the wind blows and sings?” Applejack slowly put a hoof to her gun. “Yeah, well, can’t stop the wind from blowin’, right?” Zecora stepped off the rocks at the edge of the pool and turned to face Applejack, who withdrew her hoof from her weapon a little quicker than she would have liked. The zebra gave her her usual serene, soothing smile. “Indeed. The wind is reckless, and it does not halt. The way it snatched your hat was not your fault.” Applejack, feeling just a little relieved, tried to return Zecora’s smile. There was a moment of silence, in which Applejack expected Zecora to trot up to her and return her hat. But that didn’t happen. Instead the zebra kept on smiling, and Applejack’s became increasingly awkward and hard to maintain. “Um... Ah’m gonna come an’ collect mah hat now,” she said. She didn’t know why she said it like that, like a policemare addressing a felon, but it was too late now. She started walking slowly towards Zecora, when the latter raised a hoof in the air. Applejack froze. “Normally,” began the zebra, “it would all be the same. But I believe you and I are playing a game?” Shoot. Applejack knew it couldn’t have been this easy. But at least now the truth of the matter was coming to light, and she didn’t feel as awkward anymore. She steadied herself and looked at Zecora with a focused look. “That’s right,” she said. Zecora brought a hoof up to the hat, from under which she produced her own gray paintball gun. The average player would have been startled and would have clumsily started shooting left and right out of panic. But not Applejack. She tensed up at Zecora touching her hat, but she was focused enough not to lash out. Zecora raised her gun for Applejack to see the side of it. It bore the zebra’s curious spiral of a cutie mark. Applejack saw, beyond the gun, that Zecora’s eyes had narrowed a little, making her smile less comforting. “A game of paintball, for all to play. This is where we find ourselves today. But wealth or friendship, we have to choose. For only one player wins; the others lose.” * * * I hear something. Something. Or somepony? Something is running through the woods. I feel it. Its fear. * * * There was definitely no turning back now. Applejack had fallen into another sticky situation; and she knew that the only way she was going to get out of it was by gaining the upper hoof. "Hmph. Yer quite right," she said. She took another couple hoofsteps forward. This time they were bolder, not slow and silent like before, as if she had no opponent in front of her. Zecora made no move, but became a little more alert. "So which one is it? " asked Applejack almost defiantly. "Friendship? Or the bounty?” She took another few steps forward. “If you want it yer gonna have to shoot me out of yer way. And ah'm right here. Ain't got mah gun towards ya. So go ahead, shoot me. Nothin's stoppin' ya, nothin's in yer way. Jus' shoot me an’ ah’m gone.” Zecora watched Applejack intently. She knew that this pony was the level-headed type, but she was still surprised at how much guts the pony showed her in the face of her gun. She looked at Applejack for a while. Then she gave a good chuckle in her low voice. “Like you, I choose the most righteous path; for I know that reward never comes after wrath.” Applejack put on a little grin. Her intimidation had worked. Zecora knew what she was up against, and wasn’t going to simply shoot her out like a lost little filly. But still, she was not completely relieved. She knew Zecora as a kind and wise zebra to whom ponies could go for counsel. Now it seemed to her that like many other good paintball players, the zebra had discarded that dominant side of her for a cold and calculating exterior. She often wondered why that was. Why good players felt the need to change themselves for the sake of a game. She tried being honest and fair with everypony and everypony she met; and that included paintball. She couldn’t understand why some players had to be ruthless and unkind to win. Perhaps it was their fear of losing that hardened them, rather than their will to better themselves. That was why Applejack played the game herself. She was drawn out of her short daydreaming by Zecora. “But it seems that that to be righteous, there is only one correct way; for one of us will be ousted, at the end of the day.” “Fancily said, but yeah. Only one of us is gonna leave this here place untouched. But does that mean ya can’t stay righteous for the sake of the game, like ya put it?” She took yet another step forward. “Or does that mean ah talk too much to yer taste?” * * * Yes, I feel it. Somepony, somepony is running. Running for... their life? Maybe. That fear. I can feel it. I can taste it. That fear is like wild berries. Tasty... I need to know who’s so tasty. This way... * * * Zecora’s smile was gone now. Applejack did indeed talk too much for her taste. And she was getting too close, too. She wasn’t so close that it was threatening to her, but the zebra felt she had let her opponent come too close already. “So what’ll it be?” said Applejack. “Duel? Mexicolt standoff? You name it.” Zecora gave another chuckle. “When it comes to paintball, I am quite a mess; this unfortunately I must confess. But for this lack of skill, I feel no shame; for I am quite skilled, but in another game. And since you, Applejack, have set hoof in this place, you have little time to beat me in this race.” “Just what are you goin’ on about, Zecora? What game? If it’s a race you want ah’ll outrun the wind if ah have to!” Zecora chuckled. “I meant that there will be no shooting anymore; and the race was just a metaphor. No, I challenge you to neither race or standoff; Instead, I challenge you to a rhyme-off.” Applejack was not expecting that at all. “Beg ya pardon?” “A rhyme-off, I say, a test of your wording! The art of waging war only by speaking. From the next sentence on, when you speak, every time, you will have to follow it with something that will rhyme. This will go on and on, so that there are no ties; If one of us can’t rhyme...” She cocked her gun without taking caution in front of Applejack. “... Then that player dies.” Applejack stared long and hard at the zebra opposite her. She considered her options very carefully. She could run away. Right there, just turn around and gallop out of the clearing without a word. But even though she could, that was not an option; Zecora had her hat. Besides, poor paintball skills or not, the zebra would easily be able to shoot her in the back that way. So no running away. She would have to stay. But the thought of staying here for a moment longer frustrated Applejack. Time was short, she had a competition to win, and Fluttershy was probably beside herself with worry right now, on her own. Why was Zecora even doing this? Just for the satisfaction of having her hat? Did Zecora feel in power right now? This was paintball time, gosh darn it, not fancy rhyming time! And Applejack had a mind to set the zebra’s priorities straight. There was only one problem, however. Zecora had her in a bind. She’d announced the rules of a new game, and as much as Applejack hated to admit it, the zebra did have the upper hoof right now. Applejack had the gut feeling that if she just didn’t play along, she would be shot unceremoniously on the spot. She would have to bargain with her, just like she did with Big Macintosh a few days ago. But this time she wasn’t speaking to family. Shoot. She’d really put her hoof in it, this time. Put her hoof in it big time. * * * I’m close now, I think. Yes, I’m close. That feel of panic in the air... So good. So sweet on my tongue. It’s running. Crying. It’s terrified, yes. But where is it? * * * Time to act. Applejack was a mare of action and little words, so she choose to proceed in little rhymes. “Listen, Zecora, ah don’t know what yer gettin’ at. Ah’ll leave ya alone if ya just give me mah hat.” Zecora flashed her a grin. “So you chose to play along with my game, I see. I must say you have chosen quite wisely.” “Ah ain’t playin’ for long, ah intend ta be short. Ah was already caught up in another sport,” she replied dryly. “Yer also a player, said Celestia by the way. Ya can’t jus’ bend her rules and have yer say.” “You’ve been showing off your paintball skills all day long. I’d say it’s time for you to sing another song.” Applejack was fuming. The nerve of that zebra! “How dare you, Zecora, ta trap me like a rat! What in tarnation has gotten into ya like that?” “If you’re talking about our friendship, it remains all the same. I’ve just cast it aside for the duration of the game.” “What a cheap excuse just ta escape the blame. Didn’t think ya’d be the type ta play a coward’s game.” Zecora’s grin vanished. Applejack could see, with moderate satisfaction, that her words had some effect on the zebra. Not only because she was being very blunt about her thoughts in an effort to distract her opponent, and was being successful, but also because both of them felt to their mutual surprise that Applejack was slowly getting the hang of rhyming and that her word flow was easing itself. Zecora decided that she couldn’t allow the farm pony to take control. This was her domain, not the ponies’. “Meanwhile, you shall play till you can’t rhyme again. We shall see who is the coward then.” That zebra has gone and lost it. Ah guess too much spooky forest medicine will do that to ya. “Yer on, Zecora. I’ll show ya.” * * * I can feel it in my blood. So good... that fear... so intoxicating. Now then, let’s see who’s a tasty little pony... * * * An hour had passed. The game still wasn’t over. Zecora hadn’t budged, easily countering every rhyme her opponent offered her with her own carefully crafted poetry. She was steady and ready to carry on like this for days. The same couldn’t be said for Applejack. She was shaking. Invisible droplets of sweat were pearling at the sides of her head. It was taking her all of her strength to actually think through every single word she said and craft her sentences coherently; much more than usual, in any case. She understood now that the zebra had been somewhat clever; while a rhyming game was seemingly a fair deal compared to a shootout, one that most ponies would take without thinking twice, she realized now that it was actually much harder than it seemed. Especially for a farm pony like her. She didn’t know how much more of this she could endure. Briefly she reconsidered that option. Could she just call it off and shoot the zebra right now? No. No, she couldn’t. Zecora would be expecting it. And with her nerves slowly getting the better of her, she would hardly be able to make it a successful shot, and Zecora would just avoid it, shoot back straight at Applejack and that would be the end of her. She cursed herself for being such a fool. She was sure now that she should have taken a risk and just started shooting at Zecora, especially since she had admitted to not being a good shot. She could have taken her out easily. Instead, she had let herself be tricked into a bad compromise. A rhyme-off! with Zecora! What was she thinking? She was just a country mare, and that zebra had been talking exclusively in rhymes since Celestia knows when! She was playing the devil. An’ there ain’t no winnin’ against that. Zecora broke the unbearable silence -- for Applejack, at least -- that had been hanging like a ton of bricks between them. “It’s your turn to talk, and yet, not a peep,” she said. She flashed her opponent a cheeky grin. “Perhaps now you realize that you’re in too deep?” “What in all tarnation d’ya want me to say?” shouted Applejack, actually struggling to speak out the words. “It’s just ah... ah don’t have all day!” “Anything you might say will do just fine,” replied Zecora. “That is, if it rhymes, or else victory is mine.” Consarn it! thought Applejack. She was really grasping at straws now. She would have to say anything that came to mind and just hope that the zebra would somehow trip. She decided to just make up a final, long-winded rhyme and call it quits. “In Sweet Apple Acres, born an’ raised, on the orchard was where ah spent most of mah days, chillin’ out, maxin’ an’ relaxin’ all cool and all buckin’ some apple trees outside o’ the local school, when a couple o’ colts, who were up to no good, started makin’ trouble in mah neighborhood! Ah got in one lil’ fight an’ Granny got scared, and said ‘Yer movin’ with yer auntie and uncle in...’” She hesitated, her heart rate rising as Zecora raised an eyebrow and slowly raised her gun. She couldn’t just say ‘Manehattan’. “... Somewhere,” she finally said with a sheepish smirk. It was a rhyme, after all. She would have waited for Zecora’s reply, but instead decided to pull a fast one on her. “And there ya have it, that’s it, ah’m done. Mah final rhyme’s this long an’ twisted one. Now if you’ll excuse me, ah gotta grab my hat and git; ah got a game ta win lickity split!” Zecora looked at Applejack with a neutral expression for a moment. She seemed to be mulling something over. Applejack felt a little proud; she intended to leave with her hat right now and leave it at that, but now she was thinking she actually might have managed to stump Zecora. But the zebra simply shrugged. “An hour into the game, and already you’re stuck,” she said with a grin. “But from a mare of orange, I expected no further luck.” Now it was Applejack’s turn to be stumped. Orange? What, her fur? What did that have to do with anything? She would have just taken her hat, and left quietly. But curiosity got the better of her -- as well as pride, because even though she couldn’t exactly tell why, she felt insulted somehow. She’d have to give just one more rhyme, to prove herself. “What do you mean, ‘a mare of orange’? What does that have ta do with... with...” Something awful clicked inside Applejack’s brain. The world seemed to progressively become distant, as the sound all around her faded out. “W-with...” Oh buck. It was a trap. There was no word that rhymed with orange. Applejack started sweating profusely, and her heart rate picked up dramatically. She looked about, and caught Zecora’s gaze. It was cold, and narrow-eyed. The zebra shot her a ruthless, triumphant grin as the audible clack of her loaded weapon resounded in Applejack’s ears. It... It can’t end! Not like this! Applejack felt scared and helpless. She knew that look only too well. It was the look of a pony who had lost itself in a game of power, and would stop for no one to be its winner. It was a terrible feeling, to watch the friendly zebra turn into a greedy predator. Her mind raced desperately to find a solution, as the world seemed to slow down and became quiet around her... but all she could feel was despair. It had been nagging her for a while, and it was now that she realized it. She had played many a good game of paintball before, with her friends and family. But now that she was playing on a much larger scale, everypony only thought about the promise of reward anymore, and the whole thing had spun out of their control. The prize... She didn’t care about that, for one. She never thought that paintball would turn into this for her. It was supposed to be a game, a friendly competition she enjoyed with her friends. A game of respect, camaraderie and just all around fun, a test of one’s heart and skill. Not a game of greed and trickery... not this. She stared into Zecora’s cold eyes without moving. The zebra had raised her weapon and was taking careful aim at the farm mare. Applejack then sighed, and closed her eyes. She tried to relax. It was over. Sorry, Fluttershy. For a moment, there was silence. Then a gunshot rang out loud in the quiet clearing. Applejack flinched just a little. She bit her lip, bracing herself for the impact. But it didn’t come. Or at least, she hadn’t felt it in the slightest, when she should have. Carefully she opened one eye to look at Zecora. When she saw what she did, Applejack straightened up, regained her breath, and stared wide-eyed and mouth slightly open at the zebra. It took awhile for what she saw to sink in. In front of her, just as she had been moments earlier, Zecora was still pointing her gun at Applejack. She gasped when she saw that Zecora bore on her left temple a large stain of sky blue paint. Her face was strewn in tiny streaks and droplets of the same colour, as if it were blood that had been sprayed across her face. The zebra stayed there without moving. She was staring to the ground with huge eyes bearing shrunken pupils, and her breathing was labored. She was still absent-mindedly pointing her gun in Applejack’s general direction, but with a trembling hoof that shook the barrel. Both equines did nothing for a few seconds, Applejack not daring to move and Zecora still lost in whatever trance she was lost in. Eventually the zebra blinked once, and turned her head to where the shot had come from with an extremely alarmed expression. She started shouting to the forest something in some native African language Applejack couldn’t recognize. But she hadn’t aligned two or three words that she was brutally shot again, straight in the face. The zebra yelped and took a forced step back, swaying in dizziness from the shot. Applejack flinched. She was normally used to paintball shots, and didn’t flinch at the sight or sound of them. But these were different. They were shot fast and mercilessly hard at Zecora, completely out of the blue. And they’d saved Applejack’s spot in the game. It dawned on her; somepony had just saved her flank! But who? As she turned to the spot in the woods Zecora had been shouting at, out came the mysterious shooter. Slowly walking to meet them, Applejack discovered a pony whom she only knew too well. A sky blue mare, with a rainbow mane and tail unlike anypony else’s. “Y-You...!” gasped Zecora, still staggering madly and clenching her paint stain like a bad wound, “The element of--” “Of surprise! That’s right!” cut in Rainbow Dash. “And incidentally, the element of loyalty!” Zecora looked at the pegasus with bewilderment, but also a fierce anger of some sort. Applejack had never seen her like this, and now that she was, she felt quite sad. No one should let competition go to their head like that, and even though the zebra would probably calm down and forget all about it once the game was over, Applejack wasn’t sure how this would affect their friendship. Zecora was being... quite the jerk. Rainbow pointed her gun to the zebra, who strangely enough stopped staggering on the spot. The mare looked at her with a very serious expression that was not really usual of her. “You can’t have this one,” she said. “This one’s mine.” Zecora simply stood there, still in shock at how the tables had suddenly turned against her so quickly. Eventually she gave up and, mumbling furiously in that African tongue of hers, limped out of the clearing. Rainbow watched her leave with a resolute expression. “D’you notice how weird Zecora was acting? Like, not her usual chilled type?” she asked Applejack without looking at her. Applejack, who was regaining her senses, nodded absent-mindedly. “It’s because this clearing right here is actually imbued with wicked magic. It’s called a rage spell, and it makes you furious and wanna fight with everypony in sight. I heard other ponies talking about this place, so I came to check it out. Apparently Celestia herself set it up, to spice things up a little. What a troll,” she chuckled, turning to Applejack, “choosing a cool little clearing like this to--” She was interrupted when her muzzle met unceremoniously with the barrel of Applejack’s own gun, pointed straight between her eyes. Rainbow looked at her friend. The latter was standing on her hind legs, breathing heavily, and looking so angry she was virtually foaming at the mouth. “Ah’m not exactly sure what you meant back there when you said ah was yers,” she growled, “but if it meant what ah think it meant, ah’ll have ya know ah ain’t nobody’s!” Rainbow looked at her friend quizzically. Then she gave a sigh, seemingly unimpressed by the threat she was under. “Applejack,” she said calmly, “kinda proves my point, don’t you think? Come on...” She calmly pushed the barrel away from herself. “You don’t even remember I just saved you from a mad Zecora.” Applejack calmed down. Slowly, her breathing eased and her expression became smoother. She realized that Rainbow was right. She’d become a nervous wreck over a simple game of rhymes earlier, and when Rainbow had saved her from losing stupidly to it, her old rivalry with the pegasus had thrown her into a blind fury. Sure, she would rather have found her way out of this mess herself, and not be saved by Rainbow -- especially not by Rainbow. But not so much that she would have shot her benefactor. She decided it was time for her to get out of this place, and to be extra careful of where she went from now on. It was clear to her that the game had shifted to a higher level, and that it would be hard to call a game anymore. She went to pick up her hat, that had fallen off Zecora’s head. She found that, like Zecora’s face, it was streaked with very thin dotted lines of blue paint at the brim. “Darn it, Rainbow,” she said. “You got some of that paint o’ yers on mah hat.” “Heh, sorry,” said Rainbow with a wink. “But you know; when you mess with the Dash, you get dirty!” Applejack put on her hat with a sigh. She’d always known from her tales about the Wonderbolts that Rainbow had a knack for corny theatrics and one-liners, not to mention bragging. She gave the pegasus an unimpressed look to signify her thoughts. “Oh come on!” said Rainbow. She took a step forward towards her friend and looked at her dead in the eye. “You know you love it. You can’t resist the Dash.” The two of them stayed like this for a moment, exchanging serious looks. Then they simultaneously burst out laughing, the way good friends often do. Applejack thought she could feel the spell of the clearing wearing off, and the grass becoming a more natural green. “Yeah, ah guess ah owe you one, don’t ah. Thanks, Rainbow,” she said. “No sweat,” replied Rainbow Dash. “Someone had to save your flank from the crazy bewitched zebra anyway.” Applejack scoffed. “Yeah, yeah, keep on braggin’. You’ll be a mite more humble once ah save yers, ya reckless sally.” “You’re just saying that ‘coz I have a nice flank!” Rainbow said, immediately realizing that she had blurted it out without thinking more than simply saying it. Applejack looked at her with a mixture of surprise and amusement. Then she chuckled heartily. “Honey that flank o’ yers is so skinny ya could squeeze yer way outta jail through the cell bars, and ain’t no deputy that would notice.” Rainbow was actually impressed by her friend’s comeback. Well. That went better in my dream. “Ah’ll tell ya somethin’,” said Applejack. “Ya got a fair point. Know what ah reckon? Ah reckon that if the two of us play it safe, we might actually find ourselves ta be the last ponies standing. Jus’ you an’ me, we can take ‘em all out.” Rainbow was immediately intrigued. Applejack extended a hoof to her, and she looked at it curiously. “Ah say we oughta form a truce. What d’ya say?” Rainbow stared at the hoof for a few seconds. Then she shook her head with a chuckle. “Sorry, AJ,” she said. “I fly solo.” “Ah ain’t talkin’ ‘bout an alliance. Jus’ a copro... a comrop...a pomcromi-- a deal, darn it. No shootin’ each other until we’re absolutely sure we’re the last ones standin’.” Rainbow Dash considered the idea for a moment, carefully thinking all of its implications through. She was not an especially skilled paintball player. She was just generally skilled at what she put her mind to. She didn’t consider it as showing off, since it was the truth and everypony could see it. She was just a dedicated pony by nature. For her, reaching her goals was the sole motivation to do anything. And when it came to that, she had understood long ago that the only way to do so was to stay true to herself, and her principles. She always gave her all and stopped at nothing to reach those goals, for there was no other way about it that she could imagine. Also, she never let anypony else than herself and her skill be part of the equation of victory; where others could perhaps help her, they were just as sure to bring her down as well. In her view, when it came to competition, others were just double-edged swords that she could not trust, and the only way to be on top of her game at all times was to be in perfect control of it. There was absolutely nothing at all that could sway her resolve and get her to try something risky and unpredictable. Nothing at all... Except a challenge. She could never resist that. And to this day, only Applejack had figured out that loophole in Rainbow’s thinking. It was how she had come to be the mare’s sole rival. She knew just the words to spark the fire that would consume Rainbow’s level-headed dedication and make her crash forward recklessly like an amateur. “Unless, ya know, ya don’t feel up to it.” For Rainbow, that was it. She grabbed Applejack’s hoof and shook it firmly. “You’re on, cowgirl,” she said. The fire of a frenzied lust for adrenalin blazed in her eyes. Applejack smirked. It never fails, don’t it? * * * Lost. She was lost in the Everfree forest. Running at full speed through the trees, Fluttershy didn’t even know where she was going. In her panic, she just ran and whimpered like a frightened hare, hoping with all her heart to find some sign of safety in the woods. Only one word ran through her shaking mind. Why? She couldn’t understand how all of this had suddenly happened. How a day that had started so perfectly could just suddenly have gone so wrong. A few hours ago she’d been walking through a lush autumnal forest with Applejack, and all was warm and well. Now it was night. She was alone in the dark, and she could be shot any minute. Earlier that day she had been resting delectably under a tree with her friend by her side. They were talking about fun and games and how little Applebloom had won at something for the first time. Then, there was a strong gust of wind. Just that, a gust of wind. Then everything had gone downhill from there. That stupid hat had been blown off, and Applejack had ran after it. Fluttershy knew that when it came to her hat, there was no stopping that mare, and she had decided that there was nothing to do but wait for her to return. She had waited a few minutes. Those had turned to hours. She remembered, horribly, how the sky had grayed, how the wind had drained the forest of its warmth, and how fear, that fear of being left alone and defenseless in a strange place, had eaten her slowly all afternoon. At some point she trotted to where her friend had been before, and called for her. With no answer in return, and no Applejack, she had started galloping, and she hadn’t stopped since. And now, she was lost in an endless world of dark trees and crooked branches, galloping so fast the sound of her hooves echoed that of her thundering heart. Nothing. Nowhere to go forward, nowhere to go back. Just the blackness of night, forever beyond. For the meek pegasus, it was just too much. She curled up on the ground, and started crying. She just wanted it all to stop, to be back safely in her cottage, tending to her rabbits while the morning sun streaked through her windows and the kettle sang happily for her tea. She wanted daylight. She just wanted to go home. She cursed the wind, for following her all the while, whispering sneakily in her ear, and running its cold touch on her fur. She hated this slow, chilly breeze that had blown Applejack and her hat away, and lost her in the woods. But little did she know that it was not the wind that had been following her all day. * * * … Her? … Perfect. * * * A great shape moved slowly between the trees, unseen and unheard in the night like a serpent. It moved towards the prey that it had been eyeing for a good while now. There she was. A small, lonely yellow mare, crying in terror in the lonely night. He always loved the fragile ones. How their nerves burned like electric wire at the slightest stress. They gave off so much fear. So much juicy, tasty fear. Right now he could have blissfully fainted from the intoxicating cloud of fear that was hanging around the mare. But there was much work to do, and he would need her for it. Soundlessly he curled around the trees, surrounding the sobbing pegasus without her noticing until he towered over her little frame. It was time. Time to stop hiding in the wind, and to break the silence of the night. When he spoke, his voice boomed in the dark. “Now, what do we have here then?” The pegasus froze on the spot and jerked her head up in a swift moment. Her pupils were tiny, and she was holding her shaking breath. He circled around the trees, making some more wind. “Who is it that’s crying like this in the dark? Is it a lamb, or a motherless pup?” His voice bounced off the trees, making it seem to come from everywhere at once. The mare’s eyes darted furiously, trying to find him. “Ah, but it’s too big to be a pup, isn’t it... And it doesn’t cry like a lamb. No, no, it can only be...” He coiled his neck and stuck out his long head between two trees. He moved it further, slowly, until his face was inches from the pegasus. She was still looking everywhere frantically but in front of her. If he spoke any more, she would hear him, and know he was right there. “... Fluttershy,” he whispered. The pegasus jumped back and gave a most shrill shriek of terror. He moved, curling around the trees so that he was floating in the air in front of her, and no longer around her. With a trick of his scales he removed the camouflage that cloaked him, revealing himself to her. “Hello there. It’s been a while,” said Discord, the embodiment of chaos. Fluttershy thought she would faint, or scream even louder. She didn’t dare move while he gave her his usual mischievous grin. Finally, after a while, she spoke. “What are you doing here...?” she said, her voice a trembling whisper. “Have... You’ve come back to haunt me, haven’t you...?” “Haunt you?” said Discord in surprise. He gave a hearty laugh, which made Fluttershy flinch. “My dear pony friend, you look haunted enough already!” He levitated towards a nearby tree stump, and sat down on it. He crossed his legs and put his right elbow on his lap before holding his head with the palm, as if to have a chat with someone. “Now, tell me. I’m quite sure it’s way past your bedtime already, so what are you doing here at this time of night?” he asked. Fluttershy said nothing for a few seconds. That casual manner of his, considering who he was and what he had done to her and her friends was quite unnerving. She didn’t want to talk to him at all; but it seemed that she had no choice. “I... I got lost...” she whimpered. “Lost?” replied Discord empathically. “Oh my, that doesn’t sound good. How did you get lost?” “I... I was with Applejack, and--” “Applejack!” said Discord, beaming and slapping his hips in apparent delight. “So she’s here too, then! How’s the old gal doing? Still doing... whatever she does that has to do with apples?” he asked with a sheepish grin. Fluttershy stared at Discord with a curious look. She’d stopped shaking a little. There was something tugging at her mind, something that she normally would not have said. But in the present circumstances, she just couldn’t help herself. She had to say it. “Who... Who do you think you are?” she said, her voice going a little above a whisper this time. For those who knew her, it meant she was very much upset. Discord’s smile faded, and he cocked his head to the side and gave her a quizzical, almost innocent look. “Do you think I don’t know you?” Fluttershy continued, her voice gaining a little volume. “You... You tried to destroy Ponyville! You turned me into an awful and mean pony, and worst of all you tried to set me and my friends up against each other!” She took a step forward. She was almost shouting now, which was very rare for her. “Did you think I’d just forget that? We’re... We’re not friends, or whatever you think we are! You’re a monster! Now leave me alone!” She stopped, catching her breath. There was a long silence in which Discord looked at her without moving or blinking. He seemed stumped by what Fluttershy had just said. The pegasus didn’t feel any more confident, however; once she’d stopped yelling, the forest had become quiet and dark again, and the sight of Discord shining on a pitch-black background brought all of her nervousness back to her. She was about to actually apologize, as was the timid pegasus’s manner, when Discord simply shrugged and got up. “Hmph. Fair enough,” he said, sounding slightly hurt. “It’s alright, though. You’re just a little worked up right now, I’ll leave you alone. I think I’ll go to Ponyville, for old time’s sake. I’ll be there if you need me.” He started slowly walking away into the night. Fluttershy watched him go, and thought it was a good deed done. But then, something clicked in her brain. Wait, he knows the way out? Without looking back, the draconequus raised his hand. “Toodles!” “D... Discord! Wait!” Fluttershy called. Discord stopped in his tracks, not looking behind. He waited for Fluttershy to speak. The pegasus tried to, but she couldn’t bring herself to say what she wanted. She had something in mind that was even harder to say than a long rant. “I... I...” Eventually she gulped. The words were leaving a very sour taste in her mouth, worse than poison. “... I need your help.” Discord said nothing for a second. Then, slowly, he turned around and looked at Fluttershy with a malicious grin. “Well, well, well... Things change quickly with you ponies. I like that.” Discord took a few steps towards her. “You’ve been lost. Lost, for what seems to be forever. Nowhere to go, no one to talk to you but the dry cackle of leaves in the wind...” Fluttershy was on the verge of tears. “And now that you’ve finally stumbled upon someone in the night, someone who could help you... that person is nothing but a monster. And you hate it, you wish it could be anyone else, but you...” He was in front of her, and slowly lowered himself to her level. He looked straight into Fluttershy’s eyes, and she looked back in terror, not daring to break eye contact. “You’d do anything for a way out... wouldn’t you?” They stared at each other for a moment. Discord was boring holes into Fluttershy’s eyes. After a while he lifted his head up thoughtfully, as if he’d figured something out. “But a way out of what, I wonder? Out of this scary forest? Or could it be..." He looked back at Fluttershy, who had started sobbing again. He flashed her a knowing smile. “... That there’s something else?” Fluttershy sobbed, asking silently for him not to make her admit to what she couldn’t. Discord grinned. “Oh... Oh, I see what this is about. Well, well, well, well, well. I think I’ve figured out what ‘prize’ you want to win. It’s not a new cottage, nor is it all the bunnies in the world. No, no it’s not that at all... isn’t it?” “Please...!” she cried, not so much for his help as for him to stop teasing her. “You want to stop being so weak.” The words struck Fluttershy like a bullet. Discord had said them ruthlessly, and it was painful for Fluttershy to hear him reveal her deepest secret so bluntly. “You can’t stand to always be the one ponies have to save. You don’t understand where all their confidence comes from, and why you’re always struggling to be the one in charge of your own life, while it seems to come so naturally to everypony else. I remember, you told me once that you appreciate everypony always being so understanding and kind to you...” All the while he’d been talking, Discord had moved slowly, coiling up around Fluttershy who was paralyzed with fear. “... But you actually hate it... don’t you?” he whispered eerily in her ear. “You want to step up to their level... and never be weak again.” There was a long silence, in which Fluttershy convulsed in fear and twitched as Discord was wrapped all around her like a devilish snake. After a long while, she managed to speak in a frail whisper in between sobs. “I... I don’t want my friends to leave me behind,” she said, as the tears started streaming down her cheeks. “I’m all alone... And I don’t want to be a burden. I want to be strong for them... Like Applejack.” She started shaking as her crying became more violent. She was finally letting out a very long time’s worth of frustration and repressed sadness. “There, there...” said Discord in a deep and soothing voice. He curled up just a little tighter around the pony. She would never admit it, but in that moment, his warm touch all around her was quite comforting. She could feel her wings slowly rising on their own, brushing against the draconequus’s scales. She blushed strongly in the dark. She hated herself for this. “I know that feeling well,” said the draconequus. “To struggle alone, and to feel like you don’t truly belong... You and I, we’re not so different after all.” Suddenly he slipped around and off of her, leaving Fluttershy exposed to the cool nightly air. She gasped as she felt instantly lighter and colder. “But to always struggle for the acceptance of others... Where’s the fun in that?” said Discord. “Over the long years of my life, I’ve learned to find my pleasure in other places than in the heart of other people. I grew strong, as a result. But you, Fluttershy, you can’t grow strong if you don’t win this game. Or else, you’ll just be left behind again. If you don’t want this fate for yourself, you’ll have to win against all others. And if you choose to side with me...” He reached out his claw to the pegasus, who stared at it wondrously. “I’ll show you the way.” Fluttershy gazed at the draconequus’s claw. In that moment she forgot about the cold, the dark, the forest, the night. All of that seemed isolated and distant to her. She wasn’t thinking about it, and about anything else than the promise at hand. Slowly and delicately, as if under hypnosis, she placed her little hoof in the palm of that claw. She said nothing, and hardly breathed, as the whole world turned to gray around her. Discord watched her color drain. He grinned. No, you’re right. It doesn’t.