//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: Meeting a hero // Story: Time Travel Flower // by mariahmaru //------------------------------// Chapter 2: Meeting a hero Fluttershy walked with caution inside the Everfree forest. She would feel safer if Zecora's cabin was nearby, but Zecora wasn't born yet. The yellow pony gulped regretting her decision to go to the past alone, she should've tried to persuade Dr. Whooves to let Ditzy accompany her. "M-Maybe I should just head back and patiently wait for Doctor to come back…" Fluttershy mumbled before three earth ponies two stallions and a mare came walking towards her. One of the stallions was dark brown, he had a black mane, his eyes were green, and his cutie mark was a pitchfork shoveling hay. The second stallion was grey, he had a black mane, his eyes were brown, and his cutie mark was three gold coins. Lastly the mare, she was light grey, her mane was white and braided, her eyes were green, and her cutie mark was a book and quill. She sighed in relief and smiled, "Oh thank goodness, can you three help me?" The three ponies sneered and the grey stallion spat towards her feet. Fluttershy backed up two steps scared. "I-I'm sorry if I've done something wrong." Fluttershy said softly. "Ha! 'If' you did somethin' wrong!? What a joke!" The mare said. "Everypony knows that pegasuses aren't aloud in earth pony land." The dark brown stallion said. "Yeah, get out of our land, pegasus!" The grey stallion stated stomping his hoof. "Oh no! I must be at the time when earth ponies, pegasuses, and unicorns were at war with each other!" Fluttershy though scared. She wanted to fly away but her wings were injured, there was only one thing she could do. She ran. "Get her!" The female pony commanded as they started to chase after her. Fluttershy ran as fast as she could through the Everfree forest scolding herself as she ran. "I'm so stupid! I shouldn't have gone alone! Fluttershy you should've thought this through!" She thought before stopping at an edge of a cliff. She squinted her eyes to see through the fog to barely see another cliff across from her. She gasped and looked around, there was no where else to go and the earth ponies were right behind her. The yellow pegasus took a deep breath and took a leap. She stretched out he wings so she could somewhat glide, but it didn't really work, only her front half of her body made it. "Oh no!" Fluttershy cried as she struggled to get up, but the cliff started to cruble. "Stupid pegasus!" The mare shouted from the other cliff. Then the three earth ponies started picking up rocks and started to throw them at poor Fluttershy. "Stop-Please!" Fluttershy begged as tears poured down her face. She flapped her wings, trying to get up but the pain. "Somepony help me!" She shouted at the top of her lungs before the grey stallion threw a rock at her right wing, making it snap. She cried in pain and slipped off the cliff. "No!" Fluttershy shouted as she fell. "Good riddance pegasus!" The earth ponies shouted. "Is this the end?" Fluttershy thought as she started to black out. Before she completely blacked out, she saw a long slender figure flying after her. "An an-angel?" She whispered before seeing only darkness. (H)(E)(R)(O) The yellow pegasus' eyes fluttered open. It was night time. She looked around to find herself next to a campfire. "Where am I?" Fluttershy asked softly and tried to get up, but she collapsed back onto the ground. "Be careful, you had a rough time, you need more rest." A male voice said. Fluttershy looked around and spotted a cave behind her. "Wh-Who are you?" She asked slightly scared and confused. "… My name is Discord…" He mumbled. Fluttershy's ears perked up, "Sorry, I can't hear you." "My name is… Discord." He said a bit louder. Fluttershy stood up taking a few steps towards the cave and sat down. "Um… One more time." She said softly. "Discord!" He stated. The mystery pony sounded annoyed with the pegasus, making her cringe in fear. The pony in the cave noticed that Fluttershy was scared at his outburst. "Oh, I'm sorry! Truly sorry. I… just… I'm shy." He said softly. Fluttershy relaxed and smiled. "It's okay, I'm shy too. In fact, you remind me of me when I met my friend Twighlight Sparkle." "Really?" He asked. "Oh yes." Fluttershy said nodding. She then stared at the cave, "… Are you… um, hiding?" "I just… I don't want you to run away from me… I haven't talk to a pony in a long time." He said. "Oh don't worry, I wouldn't do that." Fluttershy said. He was silent for a moment, "Are you sure, I'm pretty bizarre looking." "I'm positive." She said truthfully. "Well… Okay then, don't say that I didn't warn you." The pony said emerging out of the cave. Fluttershy gasped softly, he wasn't a pony. He had a long slick body like a Chinese dragon, his head was like a pony, he had a deer antler and goat horn, his front claws was a lion paw and an eagle claw, his back legs were a goat's hind leg and a lizard leg, he had wings also a bat and pegasus wing, and his tail was like a dragon's with a fluff at the end. In all of her life, Fluttershy never saw a creature like this before, but she had a feeling that she knows him from somewhere. "Well?" The creature said, "Say it, I'm hideous, a monster, a freak of nature." The pony frowned sadly, "Oh no no no! I don't think that at all, in fact I think you're beautiful." She smiled at him and walked forward to him and clasped his lion paw between her hooves. Discord blushed, "R-Really?" "Of course, as my friend Rarity says, 'Beauty is good to have, but the inside is where it counts the most'." Fluttershy answered removing her hooves from his hand. "I wish that the other ponies thought like your pegasus friend." He said softly lowering his head. "Oh no, Rarity isn't a pegasus she's a unicorn." She said softly. Discord's ears perked up and he rose his head. "A unicorn? You're friends with a unicorn?" He asked as his brow rose. "Of course. My friend that I mentioned earlier Twilight, she's a unicorn also." Fluttershy answered. "Don't you have any pegasus friends?" He asked curiously "Yes, I have a pegasus friend too, her name is Rainbow Dash." Fluttershy said before asking, "Why does this seem surprising to you Discord?" "Weeeeell unicorns, pegasuses, and earth ponies don't quite get along here. Remember when those three earth ponies attacked you? You must had come from a different place if you didn't know that." Discord answered. "Wait… you saw the earth ponies attack me?" The yellow pony asked. Discord nodded and said, "I caught you before you hit the ground, I also bandaged up your wing." Fluttershy blinked and looked at her right wing, it was bandaged up. She didn't notice because her wing didn't hurt. "You fixed my wing? You saved me from falling?" Fluttershy asked stunned. In response Discord rubbed the back of his head and nodded. Fluttershy embraced the male dragon creature. "You're a hero! My hero!" Discord blushed fiercely; no pony ever hugged him before. "How can I ever repay you?" Fluttershy asked letting him go. Discord was silent for a second before he said, "I would like to know your name." "Oh how rude of me! My name is Fluttershy." She answered. "Fluttershy." Discord said dreamingly, "Such a pretty name." (H)(E)(R)(O) A few minutes of talking and Discord's heart was struck by Cupid's arrow. Love leads to obsession. Obsession leads to jealousy. Jealousy will destroy everything. (H)(E)(R)(O) "You see Discord, I borrowed Twilight's book about flowers and came across an article about vapor flowers. There's no picture of them, so I came here to find them. I only have one day before Dr. Wh- I mean- my friend Time Turner comes and takes me back home." Fluttershy explained. Discord tapped his chin with his eagle claw and started to think. After a moment he snapped his fingers when an idea came to him. "I know precisely where they're at the top of mountains a few miles from here." He said. "How much time would that take?" Fluttershy asked. "About a hour." Discord said. "Oh dear, I don't think I can make that." She said a little disappointed. "That's why you have me." Discord said picking the little pony up and put her on top of his head. Fluttershy held on to his antler and horn confused. "I would normally teleport there, but I never teleported a pony with me, I really don't want to risk it." "O-Oh." Fluttershy said softly, thinking the worst possible outcome from making a mistake while teleporting. "Hang on tight." Discord said before he started to flap is mismatch wings. Fluttershy 'eeped' when they descended from the ground. She rubbed her face into his fur, refusing to look down. "Are you okay?" Discord asked confused as he flew above the night clouds. "I-I… well… I'm afraid of… heights…" Fluttershy answered. Discord was silent. "Well not of heights exactly." Fluttershy said embarrassed, "It's more of falling. When I was a filly, my teacher pushed me from a high place when I wasn't ready and I fell. All of the pegasuses laughed at me… I rather be on the ground than in the air." "Don't worry Fluttershy; I would never drop you. I'll be extra careful with you." He said smiling. Fluttershy smiled and removed her face from his fur, "Thank you Discord, you're a good friend." Discord blushed and smiled a bigger smile, "Thank you Fluttershy. …Do you mind if you tell me more about your friends, since we have a hour before we reached are destination?" Fluttershy nodded and started to tell her new friend about her greatest adventure with her friends. (H)(E)(R)(O) Forty-five minutes passed and Fluttershy was finishing her story. "So at the end when my friends and I defeated Nightmare Moon, we found out that my friend Twilight is the element of magic, Applejack is the element of honesty, Pinkie Pie is the element of laughter, Rarity is the element of generosity, Rainbow Dash is the element of loyalty, and I am the element of kindness." Fluttershy said. "Wow, you're friends with earth ponies too and you help defeat an ancient evil? You're incredible Fluttershy." Discord said. Fluttershy blushed and said, "W-Well… I'm not as incredible as my friends." "Nonsense, you're just as good." He said as he flew towards a large mountain. The air was getting colder so Fluttershy fluffed her wings to keep warm. She then snuggled into Discord's fur. "I'm glad you think so, other ponies don't. My only friends were animals for a while and I was too scared to talk to anypony, but when I met my friends that changed." She said. Discord nodded understanding what the little pony was saying, but Discord didn't believe that she actually had pony friends; he thought she was making all her friends and stories up so she wouldn't feel lonely, but he shrugged it off and continued to listen to his friend's stories. (H)(E)(R)(O) Once Discord was high enough to land on the peek of the mountain, he landed on cool grass. "We're here." He said. "Thank you Discord." Fluttershy said as she let go of his horns, but once she did she slid down his back like a slide and landed on the grass. Discord started to laugh making Fluttershy blush. The dragon creature wrapped his tail around Fluttershy and helped her up. Fluttershy thanked him again. "Now, let's go look for those flowers." The male creature said. The yellow pegasus gave a nod, not noticing that Discord's tail went inside her satchel and took the flower book. He hid the book behind his back and said, "You go that way and I'll go this way. We'll shout when we find them, okay?" "Oh… okay." Fluttershy said as she started to walk into her direction. "Be careful." Discord said. "I will." She said. When she was out of sight, Discord started to look through the book of flowers. "What on earth are vapor flowers? Is it another thing she made up?" Discord asked himself before he noticed the published date on the book. "Huh!? That can't be right! This book was published over five hundred years into the future!?" He thought as he scratched his head with his tail. Then he finally understood-Fluttershy was from the future. "Talk about a complicated relationship…" Discord mumbled sadly. He then closed the book and started to walk towards a small group of trees. (H)(E)(R)(O) A secret is revealed. Another downfall for the future.