//------------------------------// // Called Home // Story: Episode 2: The Return to Flatts // by mr lovecolt //------------------------------// Discord chuckled as he hid behind a leaf and peered into the window of Mayor Mare’s residence. He waited patiently as the shower turned off and a light tan hoof reached for the towels and pulled them into the shower. A moment later, Mayor Mare emerged from the shower room and made her way into her bedroom. She went to the vanity, and Discord held his breath and watched as she considered herself in the mirror. A moment later, she reached over and pulled over the white collar she always wore and placed it around her neck. Discord’s eyes widened and his body vibrated with laughter as she reached up to pull the towel off of her mane. His grin widened until it stretched across his face as Mayor Mare looked in horror at her reflection. She shook her head back and forth and then squinted her eyes. Her mouth turned to a grimace as she charged out of her room and down the stairs. Discord’s laughter finally burst through as he lowered himself to the street in front of Mayor Mare’s door. A moment later, the door swung open and Mayor Mare emerged. She stomped on the ground and her nostrils flared. “Discord!” She yelled. “Oh, Mayor Mare,” Discord said as he contained a chuckle, “Fancy seeing you here. Love the new do.” “Change it back! Now!” “Just a minute,” Discord said, “I promised a friend I would get a picture of this.” There was a bright flash, followed by the shutter of a lens, and Mayor Mare closed her eyes at the light. She heard Discord snap his fingers, but when she opened her eyes, Discord was gone. She tried to look up to her mane, but she couldn’t see anything. She ran back into her home and made her way to the nearest mirror. She was relieved to see that her mane had returned to its normal grey hue. Mayor Mare rolled her eyes and shook her head as she made her way back up the stairs. Discord reappeared moments later in front of Fluttershy’s house. He fell onto his back and rolled back and forth as he opened the camera and pulled out the film. He snapped his fingers, and the film turned into a single picture. He looked at the picture for a moment; Mayor Mare’s face was contorted into a snarl, and her nostrils were still flared. Her eyes had widened until they took up most of her face. But Discord laughed the hardest when he turned his attention to her mane, which he had turned into a series of blue scales thanks to a special shampoo he had placed in her shower the night before. He had promised Fluttershy he would get a picture, and he was glad that he had been able to draw out Fluttershy’s mischievous side. He remembered the way she looked at him when she had said she wanted a picture. When his sides began to hurt from the laughter, Discord finally moved to his feet and made his way to Fluttershy’s. He knew she wouldn’t be home because Rainbow Dash and Applejack had promised to take her to therapy this morning. He had promised to take care of the animals for her while she was gone. Discord decided he would leave the picture on her dresser for when she returned home. “Let’s see,” Discord said out loud, “Fluttershy said that around noon, it would be time to feed the indoor birds and mammals, and then Angel gets his tail brushed and curled. After that is feeding the outdoor critters, then Angel’s foot massage.” Discord stopped the moment he saw Twilight Sparkle’s face in the window. He could see that her eyes looked at him, but they didn’t register him. Discord moved back and forth and waved his paw in the air, but Twilight Sparkle didn’t acknowledge it, either. There wasn’t a twitch in her lips, nor even a blink. Discord snapped his fingers and appeared inside, where he saw Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Rarity. Rarity sat on the chaise lounge with a hoof over her eyes. Applejack and Rainbow Dash paced next to the staircase. “Why hello, everypony,” Discord said as he chuckled, “I just came from the mayor’s house, helping her out of a hairy situation.” Rainbow Dash and Applejack glared at Discord. Discord snapped his fingers and a small cloud appeared over his head and began to snow over him. “My, that is certainly a cold stare. You know, I did promise Fluttershy that I would take care of the animals, so while your lack of faith in my abilities to care for animals is charming, I must-” “Shut up, Discord.” Rainbow Dash yelled. Discord willed the cloud away and looked around the room. Twilight Sparkle hadn’t moved from the front window and Rarity’s shoulders began to tremble. From behind her fore leg, Discord watched as Angel appeared and rubbed his paw across her hoof. “Rainbow Dash, Applejack,” Discord said, “Why aren’t you with Fluttershy at her therapy?” “Fluttershy’s gone.” “I know that,” Discord replied, somewhat annoyed, “She’s not supposed to come back from therapy until this evening… therapy which you promised to be with her for, Miss Element of Loyalty.” Discord closed his eyes and huffed. A moment later, he felt a hoof hit his jaw with a powerful kick. “Rainbow Dash!” He heard Rarity exclaimed in between her sobs. Discord opened his eyes and turned his attention to the blue mare in front of him. She shook in front of him as though she fought to hit him again. Her mane had become even more ruffled than usual, but she ignored it to continue to glare at him. “Loyalty?” Rainbow Dash said, “You come here every night to be with her, it’s your fault this happened! You are always here! You should have been here last night, too!” Rainbow Dash continued to yell at him as Applejack pulled her away. Rainbow Dash struggled against her and managed to pull away from her and fly towards the door. “I see I won’t get anywhere with you ponies,” Discord said as he rubbed his jaw, “Angel, can you tell me where Fluttershy is so we can end this mess?” Angel looked up to Discord, but then he hid his head behind Rarity’s hoof again. Discord willed a carrot to appear in front of Angel, but the bunny ignored it. “Upstairs,” He heard Applejack say, “We’re all just tryin’ to figure out what to do, is all.” Discord looked up the staircase to Fluttershy’s room. He gulped as he ascended the stairs. He knew he could have simply snapped his fingers, but he felt nervous going up there. He had never been in Fluttershy’s bedroom before. Besides that, he felt a strange energy from upstairs. He reached the second floor and pushed open the door, but when the door opened, he covered his mouth. He knew that smell. Discord looked on the other side of the room at a small tuft of pink mane that lay on the floor just past the bed. For a moment, he could feel the walls start to bend as he tried to step forward. Discord shook his head and took another step. Blood had pooled around the pink hair. Discord thought he heard the sound of voices behind him, but they seemed to speak in slow motion. Discord instinctively snapped his fingers, and then room turned into a foal’s room, complete with stuffed animals piled to the ceiling. He snapped his fingers again, and the floor turned into a chessboard and the furniture turned into large chess pieces. He continued to snap his fingers together until he felt a hoof on his shoulder. “Discord, please,” Rarity begged, “Please stop.” “I don’t like this feeling.” Discord said as his stare became blank, “Even under my rule, I never caused this feeling.” Rarity backed away for a moment, unsure of what the draconequus would do. “I remember a feeling like this, thousands of years ago,” Discord continued, “I forget what it’s called. What is the feeling, when your chest feels like a timberwolf is clawing at it while it bites at your skull?” Discord turned to Rarity, who simply looked at him as though she was confused by the question. He racked his brain to figure it out, but he couldn’t recall it. The room started to spin around him and he braced himself at the foot of Fluttershy’s bed. His attention turned to the corner of the room, and he felt the energy from before pulse from it. He reached forward to touch the wall, but a flash of light blinded him. He heard Rarity scream and fall to the floor. The light faded, and Discord could see in the corner of the room and small drawing on the wall. He knew that drawing from somewhere. “Shadows.” Discord said. “I beg your pardon?” Rarity asked from behind him. “Like the ones from the night before?” “How do you know about those?” Discord asked as he turned back to Rarity. “There were ponies here,” Rarity said, “From Manehatten. Edger-” Rarity began to stutter as she backed away from him. “Rarity,” Discord asked, “Please tell me how you know about this.” “Edger kept talking about how he could see shadows and his agent, Script, gave him prescriptions to stop it. But the shadows… the shadows came to life.” “Where are these ponies?” “Princess Luna… took them back… to Canterlot.” Discord made his way out of Fluttershy’s room and down the stairs. “Discord,” Rarity called, “What do you know? Please, tell us. Please, as our friend, tell us what happened!” Discord was already downstairs by the time Rarity reached the door. He looked around the room and saw that Applejack had moved in front of him. “Where are y’all goin’?” Applejack asked as Rarity made her way down the stairs to join her. “Tell us what you know, Discord!” Rainbow Dash yelled. “They have to know about this.” Discord said to himself, “If they know that there are ponies who can create death, then they know that there are ponies who can create life.” “Create life?” Discord and the ponies turned to the purple alicorn who had remained silent throughout the entire exchange. She still stared out the window, but Discord knew she had begun to pay attention. He cocked his head for a moment before he turned back to Rarity and Applejack. “I can’t be here anymore! I can’t!” Rainbow Dash yelled as she flew out the door and into the sky. “I will return.” Discord snapped his fingers and disappeared. Rarity and Applejack looked at each other, but the sound of Twilight Sparkle’s voice sent a shiver down their spines. “There are ponies who can create life.” ***** Caramel opened the door to Sugarcube Corner and looked around. The lights were off, but with the sunlight as it was, he figured there wouldn’t be need of any lights. The blue sky of morning gave way to the clear sky of midday. It was strange for an autumn day to be without clouds, but Caramel figured that the pegasi felt that Ponyville needed for it to be a nice day out, considering the news that Mayor Mare had given the citizens of Ponyville that morning. Caramel rubbed the barrel of his chest as he thought about the night before last. Though he had taken off the bandages, he could still see the light marks on his body from the whip. It wasn’t a dream at all, Caramel thought as he made his way to a corner booth. He couldn’t stand to be out about town anymore; he couldn’t stand to hear the citizens talk about timberwolf attacks when he knew the truth about what had happened. He thought back on how he came across the bodies of the flower girls. And we all lied to Mayor Mare, Caramel thought. The sunlight peered through the window, and Caramel reached up to the blind and yanked it down so that he could sit in darkness for a while. The soft melody that Lyra had played before the service rang in his ears, and he thought of how they had gathered all of the roses, lilies, and daisies that the three mares had collected in their shops and made them into bouquets. Caramel felt his upper body grow heavy as he fell onto the table and sobbed in the darkness. Caramel looked up. He had expected Pinkie Pie to be here, since she wasn’t at the service nor at the town meeting Mayor Mare had held to deal with the “timberwolf problem”. He was relieved, however, that his friend wouldn’t have to see him like this. He knew that he had to be the strong one, especially with what had happened. He had to leave the town hall meeting, however, once he became physically ill at the constant shouts from the townsponies about controlling the timberwolf population. If only they knew what really happened, Caramel thought. But after the meeting with the mayor, they had decided that lying about the issue would be best for “stability”. He had sided with Rainbow Dash and Applejack, but they were outvoted. Rainbow is going to be mad when she finds out about patrol duty. Caramel slowly stood to his hooves and looked around the room. The smell of burnt chocolate ran through Caramel’s nose. As he made his way across the room, he noticed how heavy his hooves sounded on the wooden floor. Caramel looked over the counter and saw that the oven door was still open, and a chill ran down his spine. “Pinkie?” He called out. Caramel waited for a moment before he made his way into the kitchen. He looked down at the trashcan and found the source of the smell. Pinkie Pie had made brownies, but she had chopped them into tiny pieces. Caramel looked around the room. He knew that Pinkie Pie had been prone to making mistakes in cooking, mainly mistaking sugar for salt, but he never knew for her to make a mistake like cutting. He knew something was wrong. He left the kitchen and began to make his way towards the staircase up to the bedrooms, but a piece of paper on the front counter caught his eye. The paper had been folded like a letter, and Caramel reached over to open it. His eyes scanned the letter: Pinkamena, I don’t know who else to turn to. Father has always been upset about you leaving, so he forbade contact with you. But something is wrong with Father and Mother, and I don’t know what to do. A lot of other ponies have left town since you left. There aren’t many of us here anymore. Flatts is dead. We’re scared of the night. Please come home, Bellamine Caramel set the letter back on the counter and took a step back. An image of the welcome sign to Flatts entered his mind, as did images of the creatures he had seen from that night. He remembered the two ponnequin creatures he came across when he was in Pinkie’s foalhood home. Bellamine, Caramel thought, Pinkie’s sister. Caramel’s eyes widened as he thought of the other ponnequin who was in that room, the one who had turned to shadow. That must have been Isabella, Caramel thought. He had to go there and stop Pinkie from going back. She had no idea what waited for her back in that village. Caramel left Sugarcube Corner and began to trot towards the Ponyville Train Station. He wouldn’t have time to pack; he didn’t need to pack anything; all he wanted to do was get to Pinkie Pie before she got into the village. He knew it was close to Dodge Junction, so maybe one of the townsponies there would help him. “And just where are you going?” He heard Rainbow Dash call from above him. “Uh, nowhere.” Caramel lied; the fewer ponies that knew about this, the better. “Nowhere, huh?” Rainbow Dash asked as she lowered herself to the ground, “Well, how was the service?” “I couldn’t stay,” Caramel replied as he slowed to a trot, “I couldn’t just sit there and listen while the mayor lied about how they, well, how things happened.” Caramel and Rainbow Dash looked around. Most of the ponies had returned to their homes, leaving the town square empty. Caramel heard a train whistle in the distance, and he began to run again. “Wait,” Rainbow Dash called behind him. “I have to prepare for patrol duty soon.” Caramel yelled behind him. “What!” Rainbow Dash yelled, “I’m going to have a talk with the mayor about that.” Caramel ran past the shops and stalls until he came to the wooden platform of the train station. He reached into his saddlebag and handed his bits to the stallion in the ticket counter. “Dodge Junction, please.” “o’course, Caramel. Catchin’ up with Pinkie, are ya?” “Yes,” Caramel replied as he attempted the small talk, “When did she leave?” “She took the seven o’clock train, which means she got there ‘bout an hour ago.” “Do you know how long it takes to get to Flatts from there?” “Ta where, son?” “To Flatts. It’s where she grew up.” “Can’t say I ever heard o’such a place. Ya sure that’s where she’s goin’?” “I’ll find her.” “Good luck, then, son.” Caramel nodded his head and made his way to the train. It would take a while for the stallions who helped pull the train to separate the cars into two trains so that one could go to Appaloosa while the other could get to Dodge Junction. It was Thursday, so that meant the Dodge Junction train would have just one car. He wondered if he would be able to convince the conductor to stop the train whenever he saw any signs of the village of Flatts. Caramel made his way to the back of the train to the car that would be detached so that it could continue on to his destination. As soon as he entered it, he saw that a small blue stallion with a blue and black mane was seated in the back corner seat. He stared out the window as he used his magic to adjust his glasses. “Edger?” Caramel asked. The stallion turned his gaze from the window for a moment, and then smiled at Caramel. “Hey Caramel.” Edger looked down at his seat and then slowly crouched over. Caramel made his way to Edger’s seat and was about to sit next to him when he realized Edger wasn’t wearing his pants like he always did. He tried to ignore the scars as he sat down next to him. For a moment, neither stallion spoke. “Princess Luna forbade me from wearing my pants. She said I was using them to deny what had happened to me, and that I could only control my magic if I learned to accept what happened.” “I see.” Caramel said as he reached over to wrap his friend in his arm, “I know it’s only been a day, but you still needed a hug anyway.” “Thanks,” Edger replied, “I had to escape from Canterlot.” “Escape?” Caramel asked, “What do you mean?” “It’s a long story,” Edger said, “I’ll explain on the way. Why are you here, by the way?” “Pinkie went to Flatts.” Edger’s eyes widened. The train whistle blew, and they both heard the larger train begin to move away from them. Their car would begin to move in a few more minutes. “When?” “This morning.” “When we get close, I’ll teleport us out of here and onto the tracks. She’s probably coming from Dodge Junction, so we can intercept her.” “Can’t we just ask the conductor to stop?” “No, he wouldn’t know where to stop anyway, and he could think we were crazy if we asked him to stop. There is something terribly wrong with that village.” A few moments later, the single train car left Ponyville, and from the main building on the platform, Rainbow Dash looked out the window in anger as she watched Caramel and Edger as they talked near the back window of the car. Rainbow Dash held her hooves to her face, as though she had mentally mapped her train of thought on them. “Okay,” Rainbow Dash said to herself as calmly as possible, “Two ponies appear with weird magic. Their magic kills the flower girls and Fluttershy. The two ponies get taken to Canterlot. Discord talks about creating death and life. Now Caramel is with one of the ponies whose magic killed Fluttershy.” Rainbow Dash flew out of the train station and shook her head. She knew these pieces fit together somehow, and she would get to the bottom of it, no matter what.