“Stop her!” Shouted Celestia. “She has the bracelet!” She chased after Fluttershy as fast as her wings could take her, and Twilight followed on her hooves.
“I'm so sorry!” Fluttershy cried out, as tears ran down her face with the bracelet on her hoof. She made it to the castle doors and flew outside quickly, into the air and out of Canterlot as fast as she could. She made her way around the mountain that the castle was built on and flew into a cave. She didn't know how much time she had left, but she needed to rest and calm herself down. She cried to herself in the cave, tears dropping onto the floor like rain. Just then she heard a voice behind her.
“Stealing? From the Princess? Well that's not like you at all Fluttershy. It just doesn't make sense, and I like that!” The familiar voice said. Fluttershy turned around with wide eyes. Behind her was a Draconequus, known as Discord. He had the head of a pony, a deer antler on the right side of his head, and a blue goat horn on the left, one long fang, different-sized pupils, a snake tongue, a goat beard, and white bushy eyebrows. His right arm was the arm of a lion, the left being the claw of an eagle, right leg of a lizard and left leg of a goat. On his back were a bat's right wing and a pegasus' left wing. He had a horse's mane and a dragon-like snake's tail with a white tail tuft. He walked up to Fluttershy and put his right paw on her head. “What's going on Fluttershy? Why did you steal a powerless bracelet?” Discord asked
“I-… I-… I liked it?” Fluttershy replied, lying through her teeth.
“You liked it that much? Well I suppose I understand that feeling, usually when I want something I'll just take it too.” Discord said as he chuckled. “Well I guess I'll let you go off then, I don't wanna see my only friend end up in the Canterlot Dungeon. Not that Celestia would do that to you, probably just yell or something. She can be so boring sometimes.” Discord turned and started walking out of the cave “Bye Fluttershy, see you later!” He snapped his fingers and vanished.
Fluttershy continued to cry for another 15 minutes before she finally calmed down, she took a deep breath and fluttered out of the cave, and over to the cliff she was instructed to go to. When she landed there she looked around, she had no idea what time it was so she waited. She kept waiting and waiting until finally a flash of red light startled her, when it faded Sinister Moonlight was standing there with Trixie. Sinister was wearing the other three bracelets already, and Angel was also there, floating and unconscious in Sinister's magic.
“Well, well, well.” Said Sinister. “It would seem she made it here before we did, how shocking, and on the first day too. This is very pleasing.”
“The great, and powerful, Trixie agrees.” said Trixie.
“Trixie… is here too?” Fluttershy asked, confused.
“Yes, I decided to invite my cousin to this meeting, as there is so much for us to do together now.” Sinister said, laughing. “Now quickly, toss the bracelet over here and you will get your precious Angel back.”
Fluttershy complied without hesitation, throwing the bracelet over to Sinister. Trixie caught the bracelet with her magic and Sinister started laughing evilly.
“You fool! You have just doomed yourself and everypony in Equestria!” Sinister shouted as she threw Angel to the side, allowing him to roll against the floor. Sinister quickly slipped the other bracelet on and the gems inside immediately began to glow, as did Sinister. She laughed, but Fluttershy didn't care. She ran over to Angles side in a panic, hoping he was not badly hurt, and thankfully he was breathing. “Now that I have finally been restored to full power, it is time for you to die, Fluttershy! You will not have to worry about Angel though, he will be joining you in the afterlife very quickly!” Her horn glowed red as she charged an attack. It got very large much more quickly than it used to, as the bracelets caused her eyes to become a bright, bright red. Not just her eye color but the entirety of her eyes was glowing red. She launched the attack at Fluttershy, causing her to break down in tears one last time. Fluttershy was terrified and she didn't know what to do, so she closed her eyes and waited for the end.
Fluttershy's ears were ringing. The laughter coming from Sinister Moonlight was terrifying to her. It was more than she could take. Time seemed to slow down as the ball of red energy came at her, she couldn't help but just keep crying. She didn't want things to end this way. Her life and Angels, about to be extinguished, and it was all her fault.
“Goodbye Fluttershy! I hope you enjoyed being my pawn!” Shouted Sinister, very pleased with herself. Trixie showed no emotion in this instance, instead she just looked away. She didn't want to watch.
The attack from Sinister Moonlight came closer and closer, until it hit Fluttershy square in the face. Fluttershy yelled out in pain, but then she realized it didn't hurt. She opened her eyes and noticed that all around her was nothing but feathers, tickling her nose. “What...?” She asked, confused.
“What in Equestria?! My magic… it turned into… feathers? Who is responsible for this?!” Sinister yelled, she was angry that Fluttershy was unharmed.
“That would be me.” Out of nowhere Discord appeared next to Fluttershy, looking rather full of himself. “I won't have you hurting my friend anytime soon, if you want to get to Fluttershy, you'll have to go through me first.” he said, putting his lion arm in front of Fluttershy.
Sinister laughed. “Oh, you wish to battle me do you? Discord, master of Chaos? Well, let us see what you can do while I have the strength and power of one thousand unicorns, and when I'm through with you, Fluttershy will be next!” Sinister quickly charged up another spell, but this one seemed different. She fired it into the air and the sky became dark, the only light came from a red orb in the air. “Discord, I hear you enjoy chaos. You enjoy it when things make little sense. Well that being the case, since you are going to die here… I feel you should die happy! We will see just how much you enjoy chaos when I am through with you.” Sinister said with her signature evil grin.
“Oh I can already tell this is going to be a fun battle, I wont go easy on you though!” Discord said, as he snapped his fingers and the layout of the cliff changed dramatically. It was now seperated into a large amount of floating rock platforms. He and Fluttershy were on one side, with Sinister and Trixie on the other, below them was several thousand feet of air. “One wrong move and it’ll be your last!”
Sinister only smirked. “Very well, Discord, I will play along. It only goes to aid me anyhow!” She jumped quickly from platform to platform, shooting another ball of energy at Discord with every jump.
Discord managed to dodge each shot quickly, making sure none would go for Fluttershy afterward. As he noticed Sinister was about to land on another platform he used his own magic to make the platform move from beneath her.
“Huh?!” Sinister was caught off guard but she managed to focus enough to cast a spell that caused the wind to blow her back up above the platforms, giving her enough momentum to land closer to Discord. “That won’t be enough to stop me! You are wasting your time!” She said, as she looked up into the sky. Discord looked up with her, he noticed the red orb immediately. It was growing fast, and shaping itself into what looked like a full red moon.
“Is that your trick? A big moon? What are you gonna do, give it a creepy face and throw it at me?” He asked, laughing. “Face it, you can’t beat me! I'm stronger than you in every way, so just give up and go home and I won’t have to hurt you!”
This made Sinister laugh. “I have yet to begin trying! I'm conserving my energy for Fluttershy. If I wanted to I could destroy you right now, but I would much rather just wait it out until the finishing touches are prepared!” Sinister began to attack Discord again and again, while Discord either dodged her attacks or flung them back at her. The two of them continued fighting like this for a while, as the red moon above them grew larger and larger until it was almost as large as the actual moon, this moon seemed to have no pull, like it was some kind of illusion. Meanwhile, Trixie was making her way over to the motionless Fluttershy, who was just watching the battle take place, scared for her life and Angels. Trixie was approaching from the side, going unnoticed by both Discord and Fluttershy.
“You'll have to do better my dear! Your attacks just aren't enough for me!” Discord shouted in boredom.
“Very well then, if you insist, the spell has completed! The moon is powerful now, and so am I! Just look for yourself!” Sinister shouted back, laughing maniacally. Discord looked up at the red moon, and the bright red light coming from it caused his eyes to hurt. Her rubbed them and looked back at Sinister, but found himself confused at the sight of 10 Sinister Moonlights glaring at him, they all seemed to move in sync, and the amount of platforms around him seemed to have multiplied as well, the Sinisters all spoke at once but only one voice was heard. “You see now?! The red moon is known for its ability to cause insanity, as are my red eyes! You will fall by the chaos your own eyes create. You will never see my attacks coming, and you will be helpless to fight me! Now sit there and die like a good boy!” The team of Sinisters all charged and fired an attack at the same time, they all curved towards Discord. He dodged most of them but found three hitting him, only one actually made him feel pain though and he was unable to trace which one it came from. His head was spinning as the light from the red moon made his vision blurrier and blurrier by the second. He felt the sting of several more attacks hit from random directions, but he couldn't see them coming anymore.
Trixie, now having gotten right next to Fluttershy uttered two words. “Trixie apologizes.” her horn glowed light blue and she zapped Fluttershy with a strange spell, causing her to howl out in agony before collapsing.
“Fluttershy?!” Discord shouted as he turned his head towards her. The sound of her cry caused him to snap out of the illusions created by the red moon. He quickly rushed over to her side, checking up on her in a panic. He couldn't detect her breathing, no matter how close he brought his ear to her mouth. He clenched his fists and glared at Sinister. “Very well then, I didn't want to have to do this, but you've left me no choice!” Discord shouted as he pointed his hand at the red moon. The moon began to distort and react, it cracked in several places.
“Ah, so you've decided to destroy my creation? Very well, I didn't fortify it, or summon all of its power so it was not worth keeping anyhow.” Sinister said laughing. “Also, good work to you Trixie, taking Fluttershy out while I was distracting Discord. You have made things much easier for me! We should be on our way now.” Sinister's horn began to glow yet again, and in another bright flash of red light both her and Trixie has vanished, leaving only Fluttershy, Angel, and Discord on the cliff which had now returned to its normal state.
Discord turned to Fluttershy, still hopeful she would survive. He picked her up and placed Angel on her back. “Don't worry Fluttershy… I'm not about to let you die… but, if you do…” he sighed “I will make that unicorn suffer.” Discord looked in the sky, which had also returned to normal. He flew upwards with the two held tightly in his arms as he made his way back to Canterlot to explain the situation to Celestia and hopefully get help for Fluttershy and Angel.
As Discord was busy with Fluttershy, Sinister and Trixie had made their was to the train station. They took no time buying tickets and taking the trip back to Ponyville. On the way there the two of them chatted.
“So, Sinister, what is your next plan? Who is next?” Trixie asked, trying to prepare for whatever was coming.
“Well, I already have a plan for Pinkie Pie. She has a party coming up soon, and that is where I intend to strike. That still leaves Rarity though, I am not sure what I should do with her. There are many ways to mentally scar her, I just cannot decide which will be the most effective.” Replied Sinister.
“Well, if you think of anything at all, remember to tell Trixie what the idea is.” Said Trixie, she seemed desperate to know what Sinister was thinking at any time.
After a while they arrived back in Ponyville, and the two unicorns got out of the train as quickly as possible. They walked around for a while, thinking of what they could do next. They had free time, as Sinister explained to Trixie that the party Pinkie Pie was throwing for her cousin was not for a couple days.
Things were silent for a moment, until Trixie spoke again “Sinister?” She asked.
“Yes, Trixie?” Replied Sinister.
“This plan for revenge, what purpose does it serve?” Trixie asked, the slightest bit nervous about her cousin’s response.
Sinister stopped walking “… This plan is for you, Trixie. I heard every detail about your humiliation, when it happened I could no longer get in contact with you. I was heartbroken. So I decided I would avenge your good name by eliminating Twilight Sparkle so you could be the most renowned unicorn in all of Equestria again.” She replied, no longer looking at Trixie.
“Oh… I see.” Trixie said, dropping the way she spoke in third person given the matter was so serious. “Well you see… you don't have to-” Trixie was cut off by the shouting of three voices, all saying the same thing.
“CUTIE MARK CRUSADER CRIME STOPPERS!” The loud shout of the voices caught the attention of both unicorns as three fillies jumped out of a nearby bush. Apple Bloom was one, and others were an Orange coated, purple maned, and purple eyed Pegasus named Scootaloo and a white coated green eyed Unicorn named Sweetie Belle with a purple and pink mane and tail. The fillies were each wearing a red cape, which depict an emblem of a filly wearing a cape. The three of them glared at Sinister and Trixie, Apple Bloom speaking up.
“We know y'all are the ones who hurt my big sister, and we're gonna make sure yer brought to justice!” Apple Bloom shouted with a fierce look in her eyes.
“Yeah, you can’t just hurt ponies like that, it’s not right! So were gonna stop you!” Scootaloo added.
Sinister simply stared at them, she did not have any idea whether or not they were seriously about to challenge her. She prepared an attack but Trixie stopped her by putting a hoof in front of Sinister. “Don't do that.” Trixie said.
“Why not? They wish for a challenge, so I shall give them one.” Sinister responded, sounding very annoyed.
“Because… Because look at that one.” Said Trixie, directing Sinister at Sweetie Belle. “That is Rarity's sister.”
This made Sinister smirk. “Is she now? Very interesting indeed. In that case I know what must be done.”
“Huh?” Sweetie Belle asked, confused. “What do you mean by that?”
Sinister laughed. “Nothing at all dear! We just need you to come with us. You'll do that, won’t you?”
“N-no way!” Shouted Sweetie Belle. “My Sister taught me not to go off with strangers!”
“Ah, your sister.” Sinister said while chuckling. “Well, before I force you to come with us, you should know, this is mostly her fault.” Sinister's horn began to glow, before shooting off a light that blinded the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
“Ah! Can't see! Can't See!” Scootaloo said in a panic.
“Where'd yah go off too yah coward!” Apple Bloom said as she stumbled around, helpless.
Sinister walked over to Sweetie Belle and used her hoof to hit her in the side of the head, causing her scream briefly before falling unconscious. Trixie just watched the whole thing happen, she did nothing to help Sinister or the Crusaders. Using her magic Sinister picked up Sweetie Belle and went over to Apple Bloom. Sinister whispered in her ear. “You will tell Rarity what you have seen here, but only Rarity is to know. If anypony else finds out, I will do worse to this girl than I did to Rainbow Dash.”
“So it was you who hurt Rainbow Dash!? You jerk, come here! I'll beat you up so bad! Nopony hurts Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo shouted in anger.
Sinister merely laughed as she walked away. “Come now, Trixie. We have business to attend to. We will contact Rarity later.”
Trixie Nodded. “Very well. Trixie will begin writing a letter whenever we get to… wherever we are going.” She said as she followed after Sinister.
A few minutes later the remaining Crusaders could see again, and they looked at each other with tears in their eyes. “It's all our fault, ain't it Scoot?” Apple Bloom asked, sounding heartbroken.
“Yeah… It sure is…” Scootaloo replied. “Let’s hurry up and tell Rarity!” She said as she ran off, Apple Bloom quickly following her. The two of them were extremely worried about their friend. They didn't know what was going to happen to her, if she was going to be alright or not, and what Rarity was going to do when she found out. All they could do was hope for the best as they ran off to Rarity's home, the Carousel Boutique.
Meanwhile back in Canterlot, Twilight Sparkle, Discord, and Princess Celestia were all gathered around the hospital bed of Fluttershy. She was hooked up to a heart monitor. The beeping coming from the machine was very slow, and there were several seconds in between each one. They all stood there, hoping for the best, knowing full well what could happen. A few seconds later the monitor let out one long extended and never ending beep. Twilight began to cry, Discord simply looked away in shame. Celestia looked out the window and towards the sky. Celestia Spoke. “Sinister Moonlight. You have gone too far, I swear by all the power I have that I will find you, and I will stop you… ”
“Fluttershy… I'm sorry… I'm so sorry.” Twilight repeated again and again, mourning the loss of her friend.
“What have you got to be sorry for? It's my fault she’s here. Rather than taking her and running I instead decided to stay and fight, then that blue unicorn got behind me and did this while I was distracted.” Discord said, trying to calm Twilight down, with no Success.
Twilight stopped crying for a moment, after realizing what Discord had said. “Wait… Blue unicorn? You don't mean…Trixie, do you?” She asked.
Discord nodded. “That was her name. She was the one who cast the spell to end Fluttershys life…”
“That's not possible though! Trixie and I already made up, I understand her cousin being angry at me still… sort of… but Trixie wouldn’t do something like that for no reason, especially not something so drastic!” Twilight shouted in Trixie's defense. “Something's not right here… I think I know what it is too, keep Fluttershy here, don't move a thing until I get back. I'm going to Ponyville to find those two… chances are they are still going after my friends.”
“Very well, Twilight.” Said Celestia. “When you find them though, have Spike send me a letter and I will make my way to Ponyville immediately and help you put a stop to their plans. There will be no more violence on my watch.”
“Alright Princess.” Twilight responded. “Discord, you should stay here with Fluttershy, I have a feeling, a really strong one, and it’s telling me you need to be with her right now.”
“Be with her? How can I be with her… She’s done… It's over… There's nothing I or anypony else can do to change that…” He said, holding back his own sadness.
“Trust me!” Twilight said. “Things are gonna work out I can feel it, just stay here with her!”
Discord stayed silent for a full minute before nodding. “Alright, I will stay here with her until you get back.”
Twilight smiled at him. “Thanks. Now I have to get going, Goodbye Discord, Goodbye Princess Celestia.” The purple unicorn ran out of the room, hurrying as fast as she could to the train station so she could return to Ponyville.
“That pony is going to put a stop to this. I can tell. Don’t worry, Discord. If Twilight says things will work out, they will.” Celestia said, with a smile.
Discord gave a faint smile back to her. “Well, if you say so.”