//------------------------------//
// Chapter 5 
// Story: "I don't know how to deal with this!" 
// by Dirty Bit 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 5


Crona's true origin! Meeting the solar princess?


Crona looked around and began to grow uncomfortable with the perplexed looks the others gave it "Wh-What's wrong? Did I say something strange?" It asked nervously.

Fluttershy looked away awkwardly "Um...It's not so much what you said was strange, Crona, but...It's just-" She said, trying to come up with a way to lay Crona down gently "Well..."

"We ain't heard o' no Death City 'round these parts." Applejack finished bluntly, though was still confused by what was said.

Crona widened its eyes "What? There isn't?" It nearly shouted.

Twilight frowned "I know this might come as a shock to you, but such a place was never heard of throughout the reaches of Equestria. In fact, I'm honestly surprised you hail from such a place. Is it a new city?" She asked curiously.

Crona shook its head "No, it's an old city ran by Lord Death. I live there with my other friends."

Pinkie grinned "Other friends? That's great! If we somehow manage to find this 'Death City' place, maybe you can introduce them to us!"

Rainbow Dash blinked "Let me get this straight." She said to Crona "You come from a place called Death City." The frightful pony nodded "Ran by some guy named Lord Death?" She asked, wishing to clarify what was heard.

Crona nodded again "Uh huh, the Grim Reaper." Most of the room went pale.

Discord leaned in on Crona "Okay, pal, I know you've got two otherwordly tricks up your sleeve, but you must be yanking our chains if you're saying that you've actually lived next to the very aspect of death for the longest time." He said with a skeptical look in his mismatched eyes.

Crona shook its head after backing away from Discord "I-It wasn't long. I've just gotten used to living there, and then..." It looked down "And then..."

Fluttershy approached Crona "And then?" She asked gently.

Crona frowned as it recalled another horrible memory in silence.

"Nosy little girl...Say goodbye."
*stab*
"CRONA!"
"Great...Now we're both dying...And it's all because of you, idiot..."
"No, you'll be alright."
"Maka..."
"This is the end of the line...We're really finished now. You've been nothing but trouble since we've known you. You really suck...Yeah, you suck...but at least you're here with stupid Crona in the end..."
"Maka, please...don't cry. I-...I'm happy now for the first time...I finally am. Because you...are my friend...It's okay..."

Crona really thought it was happy, but ever since it woke up in the dark and dangerous forest in a different form, it was as if the happiness had never happened. Crona had already missed Maka; It regretted seeing the look of sadness on her face. The frightful pony had calmed down and looked at the others "I've...made a sacrifice. But I really miss Death City."

Pinkie frowned "Why? Who'd wanna be happy at a place where anypony could die the next moment?"

Crona shook its head "It's not like that at all. Death City's a nice place."

Applejack scratched her head "But we already told ya that there ain't no such place in Equestria. If y'all know about it so much, then who else would?"

Discord hummed before a mischievous smirk crept onto his face "I think I know what to do..."

Fluttershy turned to Discord "You do?"

Rainbow Dash leered at the draconequus "If it's another prank, then so help me-"

"No prank." Discord interrupted with a serious tone "If we're actually going to pitch in and help Crona while dealing with knowledge that is barely known to us all, it's only best we turn to the go-to pony for Crona's troubles." He said while pointing up a claw.

Twilight paused before looked up at Discord "You're talking about the princess? You think she'd help Crona?"

Discord shrugged "Only one way to find out. Let's go wake up Rarity and prepare for departure." He said as they trotted into the living room.

Twilight perked up "Departure? But shouldn't I just send her a letter to let us know we're going to meet her?"

Discord smiled "Twilight, sometimes you have to drop formalities for the sake of getting things done. Besides, we're doing this for Crona, aren't we?" He turned to Rarity laying on the sofa "Now how to wake up Rarity...hmmm..." A smirk appeared on his face as he snapped his talons to make a floating bucket of water appear over Rarity's head.

"Discord..." Fluttershy spoke in a warning tone with a light glare.

The draconequus frowned in defeat "Oh alright. We'll do it your way." He said as he made the bucket disappear, then brought a paw down on Rarity's shoulder and lightly shook her "Wakey wakey."

Rarity murmured as she stirred from her comatose state and lifted herself up as she shook her head "Huh? Where am I?"

Twilight smiled "You're inside Fluttershy's cottage. We wanted to get you up so we could head for Canterlot."

Rarity rubbed her eyes before blinking "For what occasion? Is it something important?"

Fluttershy nodded "We're going to see if Princess Celestia could possibly help Crona out with finding this place called..." She donned a light wince "Death City..."

Rarity arched an eyebrow "Clearly I must be hearing things now. I've already thought I've witnessed something grotesque coming out of Crona's back earlier." She noticed Crona and smiled lightly "Oh, hello, darling."

Crona smiled awkwardly "Hello, Rarity..."

Applejack and Rainbow Dash shared worried and awkward glances before looking back at Rarity "Errr, Rarity, ya weren't seein' things earlier..." Applejack pointed out hesitantly.

Rarity tilted her head at Applejack "Whatever do you mean?"

Rainbow Dash held up a hoof "She means that you've actually saw Ragnarok come out of Crona's back before blacking out."

Discord held up a paw "I gave you a nice couch to lay on when that happened. No need to thank me!" He said in feigned modesty.

Rarity frowned "And who, pray tell, is Ragnarok?"

The mentioned growth appeared behind Crona and looked at Rarity "What do you want?" He asked rudely.

Rarity stared wide-eyed at Ragnarok before giving off another tired moan and laid back on the sofa. Crona and Ragnarok glanced at each other before looking back at Rarity.

Discord sighed "Well, that's one less pony to take with us, I suppose. Why don't we get going so we can sort things out?"

Pinkie voiced herself with a frown "Wait a minute. What about Spike?"

Discord snapped his talons and a parchment of paper appeared in his grasp. He lightly placed it on Rarity's horn as it stabbed through it and covered her face; The note read:




'Gone to Canterlot.'
BRB
- Discord and friends




Discord dusted his paw and claw together "There we are, problem solved. Now, if everypony would kindly join hooves please?" Everypony did as requested, and Discord joined in as his tail formed a pair of digits that snapped and caused everypony beside Rarity to wink out of existence; Discord's pair of eyes on the window have also disappeared in a flash of light.

After a moment of silence, the front door to the cottage had opened to reveal Spike waddling in "Hello? Girls? Discord? Where is everypony?" He noticed Rarity laying on the sofa with a gasp and rushed to her side "Rarity!" After inspecting the note laying over her face, he pulled it off of her horn and read it "...BRB?" He craned his head with a quizzical glance "What does BRB mean?" He asked himself in confusion.
_____

Discord and the ponies reappeared in the middle of a vast courtyard that rested behind sturdy castle walls. Twilight looked around before turning to Discord with an arched eyebrow "Your aim's accurate as always. We're at the front of the castle. I'd expect us to be at the throne room."

Discord scoffed "I have my standards, you know. Not to mention, I want this to be a surprise for our new friend." He smiled down at a dazed Crona "Isn't that right, Crona?"

Fluttershy was instantly concerned when said pony was mentioned "Oh my goodness." She said to herself in worry as she carefully held Crona "Crona, are you okay?"

The frightful pony shook itself out of its daze before looking at Fluttershy "Yes, I'm fine..."

Discord smiled down at Crona "Good to hear, dear Crona. Now it's time for you to get acquainted with royalty."

Crona looked up at Discord "Royalty? Who lives in this castle?"

"This is a castle in Canterlot that is home to Princess Celestia and her sister Princess Luna. They both rule Equestria together." Twilight explained to Crona in a lecturing tone.

Crona turned to Twilight "Are they nice?"

Twilight smiled "Very nice. You'll know once you get to meet them."

Discord leaned down and whispered in Crona's ear "Be careful around Celestia. I heard she kills ponies with kindness..." He warned with feigned caution in his voice.

Crona went pale "Wh-What?"

Twilight quickly recovered with a reassuring smile "It was a figure of speech." She turned to Discord with narrowed eyes "Right, Discord?" She asked in a firm tone.

Discord smiled "Oh, that's what she wants you to think. But I suppose it's best to have Crona find out firsthoof. Let's step inside the castle and pay Celly a visit, shall we?" He said as he took point in the group entering through the castle's large doors.

Once inside, Crona took a look around and gave a light gasp in awe at the castle's interior architecture; The many features inside had given off a vibrant display in its eyes. Crona continued to look around until it finally turned to Fluttershy "Will Princess Celestia actually help me and Ragnarok out? I'd be very grateful if she did."

Fluttershy smiled reassuringly at Crona "I'm sure she'll do whatever it takes to make sure you'll be happy, Crona." She looked ahead as her smile grew thin, uncertainty starting to grow onto her face 'I'm confused...Crona couldn't really be serious about living in a place called Death City. I hope Princess Celestia could go out of her way to help out just this once...' She then thought about what was said between her and Discord, stealing a small glance at Crona.

Crona acknowledged Fluttershy and spoke again "What does Princess Celestia do as a ruler? Is she as powerful as Lord Death?"

Fluttershy blinked "Um...I can't say for certain, since I haven't actually met Lord Death, but..." She smiled "She is very powerful and very kind." Discord looked back at Crona with stealthful eyes and waggling eyebrows of mock warning after Fluttershy's words.

Crona ignored Discord's gesture and looked down "Well, hopefully she'll be as kind as you are if what you're saying is true."

Pinkie giggled "That's funny. Fluttershy's the Element of Kindness, silly. Nopony's kinder than her!"

Crona glanced at Pinkie "Element of Kindness?"

Fluttershy perked up "Oh, that's right. You don't exactly know about us yet." She placed a hoof on her chest "Me and my friends are known as the Elements of Harmony. I'm the Element of Kindness."

Pinkie grinned "And I'm the Element of Laughter!"

Crona shifted her glances between Fluttershy and Pinkie before turning to the others "And what about the rest of you?" It asked curiously.

Rainbow Dash glided over Crona with a proud smirk "I'm the Element of Loyalty! There are times when you gotta stick with your friends to the end, after all."

Applejack tipped her hat "Ah'm the Element o' Honesty. Best policy if Ah do say so m'self." She said in a friendly tone.

Twilight looked back at Crona with a smile "I'm the Element of Magic, and Rarity's the Element of Generosity. We've been protecting Equestria for quite some time now."

Pinkie pointed up at Discord "They even had to use it on Discord one time." He said to Crona nonchalantly.

Discord frowned deeply at Pinkie "Sure, bring that up, why don't you? I'd say I'm making very good progress right now!"

Fluttershy smiled at Discord "Of course you are. And we're very grateful for that."

Discord donned a cheerful smile "As always, Fluttershy, your kindness knows no bounds. It makes me feel all warm and tingly inside..." On cue, a collective of goosebumps were seen on Discord's chest as he looked down "Oh, wait a minute." He said as he stopped in his tracks and opened his chest like a door, pulling out what appeared to be a chicken clucking and flailing wildly while it was in the draconequus' paw "So THAT'S where you were. Who'da thunk it?" He said with a raised eyebrow.

Crona craned its head back "He had a chicken inside of him this whole time?" Its eyes widened slightly "How did he do that with his chest? Is he a robot?"

Fluttershy widened her eyes "Henrietta Hen? How did you get inside of Discord?" She asked in surprise.

Discord smiled at the disoriented fowl in his clutches "She must've crawled into my mouth while I was asleep after I had a midnight snack consisting of corn and toothpaste. Guess she couldn't resist." He chuckled in amusement before he snapped his talon, causing the hen to disappear "At least now she'll know not to be as curious as a monkey." He said as he pointed towards the throne room doors "Onward!" Discord said as he marched like a trained soldier, the others following him.

When they reached the doors, two identical guards in golden armor stood and regarded the group's leader with cold and calculating glances. Discord merely held out a paw with a laidback smile "No need to flatter yourselves, gentlecolts. We've got an appointment with Celestia."

Twilight smiled politely, albeit regretfully towards the two guards "We're sorry to come here on such short notice, but we have a pony in need." She looked back at Crona with a carefree gaze "Isn't that right, Crona?" The others turned to the pony in question waiting for an answer.

Crona flinched at being in the spotlight, but managed to nod to the guards "Uh-huh..." It muttered. The guards traded glances before nodding to Twilight and giving the group room to enter the throne room.

Rainbow Dash looked at Crona with a frown "Here's hoping she'll last against the princess."

Applejack smiled "Ah think Crona's in good hooves. Let's get a move on."

Discord opened the doors while he was found wearing a stetson of his own on his head, holding a toothpick in his mouth as he tried to look intimidating before tossing off the hat to the side and eating the toothpick "Ding dong! Friendship calling!" He piped up jovially.

Crona got a look at the vast throne room ahead; There were stained glass windows of different portraits, and at the end of the room sat a large alabaster pony with both a set of wings and a horn on her head, a tiara resting behind it; her body was adorned with a golden breastplate with a gem encrusted in the middle. Crona was nearly captivated by her mane and tail; how they were multicolored and flowing in a nonexistent breeze like clouds 'Wow...She's pretty...'

The pony seemed to appear gentle at first, but her expression shifted to that of deadpan as she glanced back at Discord "You really need to work on your entrances, Discord."

Discord crossed his arms and looked away with a mockingly indignant look on his face "I'm not here to impress you..." He muttered.

Twilight and her friends all stepped into the throne room and bowed to the one on the throne; Crona looked at the others before it tried to bow as well, although it was haphazardous at first. Twilight rose to smile, then trot towards the regal pony to embrace her "Nice to see you, Princess Celestia. We've actually come here for something we hope you could handle."

Princess Celestia returned the embrace and looked down at Twilight "Is it something involving your friendship reports?"

Twilight shook her head "Not at all." She directed a hoof towards Crona, who was still in a bowing position "It actually involves that pony over there. We were wondering if there could be a way for you to be of assistance."

Celestia examined Crona and blinked at its features, namely its cutie mark "I see..." She trotted over towards Crona with Twilight following her.

Discord watched them approach and leaned down to whisper at Crona "Remember...watch out..."

Celestia stopped in front of Crona and looked down at it with a warm smile "You don't need to remain bowing to me. Feel free to rise." She said kindly as she watched Crona look up at her while rising to its feet "And what is your name, my little pony?"

Crona stared up at Celestia and rubbed its left foreleg with a hoof "It's Crona...I was hoping you could help me return to a place called Death City."

Celestia went silent, and Discord shifted his eyes between her and Crona "Awkward~..."

Crona kept its gaze locked on Celestia "Can you do that for me? Please?"

Celestia stared down at Crona with mild befuddlement "I-...I don't exactly understand your request Crona. Could you perhaps elaborate on what it is you desire?"

Crona felt troubled "But that's all I want. I just want to go back to Death City if it's possible. Can you help me out?"

Celestia stared with a frown before taking a deep breath "You're unlike anypony I've been approached by to ask me such a thing. Could there be an explanation for this request?"

"Allow me." Everypony turned to Discord as he crossed his arms "No doubt this situation has reached an all-time high, so I suppose an explanation is in order." He pointed his paw at Crona "You see, we've found this one here in the Everfree Forest as of this morning." He smirked "And prior to that, a shooting star had somehow soared across the sky since last night."

Twilight perked up "A shooting star?"

Discord shook his head "Now I see where Ragnarok's coming from..." He muttered before he continued without facing Twilight "Yes, a shooting star." He turned to Fluttershy "According to Fluttershy, of course. Anything to add?"

Fluttershy looked away "Umm...Well, I thought about how there were some ponies in Equestria that go through so much trouble, that I wished that I could try and help at least one." She looked down at the carpet, not facing the others "I noticed a shooting star in the sky, and I didn't hesitate to make a wish. But when I did..." She looked up "The star fell from the sky...and into the Everfree forest..."

Twilight pieced together the explanation "So what you're saying is..." She turned to Crona with realization "Crona is the star; your wish?"

Fluttershy hesitated, feeling lost on what to say. She thought about what would be the best response to Twilight's question, but her mind had drifted back what was seen inside of the forest last night; The maddening gaze; the intimidating sword; the floating wisps "W-Well...I-"

"In layman's terms, it's a plausible theory, but we haven't really come to that conclusion yet." Discord said, twisting the truth and subtly defending Fluttershy.

Twilight rubbed her chin "Well, I'd be willing to consider it just this once." She looked away in thought "Then again, I saw a shooting star with my telescope two nights earlier and nopony came out of that, what with it being distant and all..."

"But I wasn't a pony before I came here..."

Everypony quickly directed their attention towards the one that spoke while it looked down "Before I ended up in the Everfree Forest, I wasn't even a pony to begin with."

Fluttershy turned to Crona with widened eyes "What? But how? How could you not have been one before, Crona?"

Crona glanced at Fluttershy despondently "I-...I had trouble trying to deal with this form the moment I was in the forest. I didn't even know where I was or how I came here." It sat down and stared at its forehooves "Especially like this...It doesn't even make any sense."

Discord smirked and went to speak, only to be stopped by Twilight and Celestia raising their hooves and speaking simultaneously "Not now." Discord slumped his arms and turned away.

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow at Crona "Well, then what WERE you before you came to Equestria? If you're even from Equestria, that is."

Crona looked up at Rainbow Dash "I was a human." It held up a hoof "I looked completely different. I had hands instead of hooves, and I-" Crona looked down and blushed in embarrassment "I wore clothes..." It murmured sheepishly "I didn't know how to deal with being naked..."

Celestia looked into Crona's eyes, frowning in concern 'That poor pony must've been through so much...' She smiled compassionately "Crona, would you feel better if I said that I'll find a way to sort this issue out?"

Crona instantly looked up at Celestia with hopeful eyes "Y-You would? Really?"

Celestia nodded "While this may seem like a situation of otherwordly proportions, it wouldn't be right to make it seem like you've come all this way for nothing. Let it be known that I'll do my best to help you, but I'll need some time."

Crona stared at Celestia before embracing her in a hug, burying its face into her chest. She was taken by surprise at first, but smiled warmly as she gently returned the embrace "Don't worry, Crona. I won't go back on my word." She looked down at Crona "In the meantime, can you spend time with Fluttershy and her friends while I help you?" The frightful pony was frozen in its embrace until it nodded its head and muffled a positive answer "Good. I assure you that you won't be disappointed in the long run."

Fluttershy gave a curt bow to Celestia "Thank you very much for your help, princess." She smiled up at the solar princess "I'm sure this will mean a lot to Crona."

"It's the least I can do for Crona." She said as she lightly ended the embrace with Crona  "I'll let you know when I've reached a solution."

Crona frowned "It won't take too long, will it?"

Celestia gently stroked a hoof on Crona's mane "It won't, but you'll have to be patient." She turned to the others "Can I trust you all to care for Crona for the time being?"

Twilight nodded "Of course, princess. You can count on us!"

Rainbow snapped a salute with determined eyes "We'll make sure she'll enjoy herself with us."

Applejack looked up at Rainbow Dash "Ah think ya mean himself?"

Pinkie grinned "Why not-"

"No way!" Rainbow Dash and Applejack said in unison to Pinkie.

Crona trotted back to Fluttershy, who held a determined gaze of her own "We'll do it." She turned to Crona with a smile 'After all, Crona is the pony that I've wished for...'

Discord smirked "I'll do it, but only because I feel like it. I don't exactly have to take orders from you."

Celestia gave a light glare at Discord before she chuckled "Then it's settled. I'll let you all go about your business while I take care of Crona's problem. It was nice to see you all again."

Twilight nodded "The pleasure is ours. We hope to hear from you soon."

Pinkie grinned and waved "We'll tell you how much fun we've had with Crona once you're finished!"

Discord clapped his paw and claw together "Okay, everypony, we're ready to leave! Join hooves, please." When everypony but Celestia huddled together, Discord snapped his talons and the group was gone in a flash of light, leaving Celestia by herself.

Celestia stood idly by as her mane and tail continued to move by themselves, then closed her eyes as she frowned "This could be a problem..."

"Oh, but of course. I could tell you were about to crack the moment you heard Crona's request."

Celestia opened her eyes and shifted them to look back at one of the throne room's curtains "You and I both know that what Crona wants from me won't be easy. No...It could no doubt be impossible."

"And yet you went with the generic 'I'll do my best' to lift the poor child's spirits? You could've at least been a little honest about your thoughts."

Celestia looked down in reluctant sadness "I couldn't risk breaking Crona's heart in front of everypony, even myself; It would've been devastating for us all."

"True enough, though once little Crona finds out about your little fib, you're going to be looking at some serious character development. But at least you won't have to beg for forgiveness around that time."

Celestia sighed before she turned to face the curtain she was looking at with a glare "And just who are you to judge me about honesty? If I'm not mistaken, you've been twisting the truth yourself..." She narrowed her eyes "Discord..."

The curtain shuffled, and from behind it hovered the draconequus in plain sight with his arms crossed, a neutral frown on his face "What if I am? You think I wasn't surprised myself when Crona mentioned the words 'Death City'? This is really tying me in a knot!" He said as he literally twisted his body into a pretzel knot "That pony isn't just timid, we're talking about somepony who ISN'T a pony, from a different world!" There was a flash of light around him until it receded to show that Discord's body was back to normal "And considering the location, I'm already intrigued with our new guest."

Celestia turned to the throne room's doors "Yes. Crona does have an interesting background, and yet..." She looked sympathetic "I could plainly see the pain behind that poor pony's eyes. Crona must have been through a lot of trouble in the past."

Discord nonchalantly walked up to Celestia "Part of it has already been explained to Fluttershy and friends; the poor thing's led a hard knock life, being a guinea pig and whatnot. But who's to say that we can't turn it around?" He smirked at Celestia "After all, Crona's going to spend time with your most dependable subjects yet."

Celestia managed a smile "That's true. I'm certain that they can do their best to make Crona happy." She then held a calculating glance "But I should make some private consultations before I can go further with helping them out."

Discord raised an eyebrow "What, you think that would be best? I mean sure, we've already got enough on our plate as it is, but what can some measly advice do for our cause?" He laid comfortably in the air "By the way, where's little Lu-Lu? I'd figure she'd be with you in here when we swung on in."

Celestia turned to Discord with a frown "She's at Donut Joe's, indulging in a small treat before returning to her duties."

Discord chuckled "I suppose you've made a mistake by introducing her to baked goods." He brought a lion paw to his face, which had a wristwatch on it "I should be returning to my other half before everypony gets suspicious."

Celestia stared at Discord "Please promise me that you'll watch over Crona."

Discord rolled his eyes "You heard me before, didn't you? I'm all over it. Meanwhile, you do your thing and speak with that old windbag. Tell him I said hello." He said as he snapped his talons and disappeared in a flash of light.

Celestia sighed to herself and trotted towards her throne when Discord was gone, thinking to herself 'Could something possibly be done about Crona? Only one way to find out...' Instead of sitting on her throne, she decided to use her horn to teleport into her bedchamber, looking around to see nothing amiss before she trotted over to a large mirror beside her bed, gazing upon her reflection; The mirror gave a slight gleam when it was hit by the sunlight from the bedroom window. She looked away towards the window, looking out into the sky 'I don't understand...What was the intention? Why?'


End of Chapter 5