*inside the Sim*
. About an hour passed as Andrew and the girls worked their way around the edge of the Everfree forest, trying to find a good entry point into the chaotic Ponyville. All while the mane 6 filled in Andrew on what had been happening in Canterlot while he had been doing his dig in the ruins of the princesses castle.
Finally they stopped to catch their breath just below a small hill that positioned them so they could just see the tip of Rarity’s boutique. Crouching down Andrew and the girls were quick to note where the Everfree forest ended. Primarily because the normal trees and grass abruptly changed into plaid pattern marking a clear border between the two areas.
Rainbow Dash leaned down and sniffed, before scrunching up her nose at the strong licorice smell emanating from the altered greenery
“ Ugh! and black licorice at that... I tell ya Discord has no taste....”
Rarity sniffed as she brushed back her mane.
“Rainbow dear, Discords horrid taste in candy grass is HARDLY the main trouble we are facing right now.”
Twilight nodded in agreement.
“Yes we need to focus. The good news is Discord doesn't seem to be aware We've broken his spell on everypony.”
Andrew shook his head.
“He wouldn't. From what I gathered from my own encounter with him, as well as your own descriptions of what he did in Canterlot, I’d say Discords defining trait is that he is incredibly arrogant.”
Andrew paused as they all watched several buffalo in Tutus prance across a meadow by the pathway from the Everfree to Ponyville road. A performance that was being ob served by several frogs with wings, happily croaking their approval while they sipped on some cotton candy clouds.
Andrew winced and glanced back at the girls ruefully
.
“Although to be fair as a reality warper he probably does have a right to be arrogant, if he can see it coming he can neutralize pretty much anything. Heck even the idea that his spells CAN be broken by anything short of the Elements is probably inconceivable to him. Which is an advantage for us. He's not going to be looking for you girls or keeping an eye on the elements. As far as the bastard is concerned, he's won.”
Rarity pursed her mouth in thought before commenting
.
“But even if he's not looking for us Andrew darling there is still the fact that he is a Spirit of Chaos, popping up....”
Rarity fell silent as they all noticed Discord’s form appearing in the distance, just over Sweet Apple Acres. They all fell silent and crouched low on the forested hill top to avoid detection.
Discord lounged back in the air and snapped his claws. Andrew found his hand automatically shooting to cover Applejacks mouth as they watched the Apple family barn suddenly appear and flip upside down. Then the Barn doubled, and doubled again. Each copy stacking roof down onto of another until they all formed a giant inverted Eiffel Tower like structure.
Discord nodded and leaned back onto a chair that floated up out of nowhere. He began to munch on a croissant, while muttering something in between bites. Although he was too far away to be heard clearly, from the rhythm of his voice Andrew guessed he was reciting some sort of poem. The beatnik outfit he was wearing was also a fairly big clue. Just as he finished his pastry, he seemed to spot a passing flock of birds. With a grin Discord suddenly changed them all into flying squirrels, which proceeded to dive-bomb and bedevil a passing moose. Laughing in amusement Discord’s body flashed brightly and then he vanished from the surrounding area to spread mayhem elsewhere.
Several moments passed as everyone scanned the skies to ensure Discord was nowhere to be seen. Then Rarity let out a loud sigh.
“As I was saying Discord is popping up wherever the whim seems to take him.”
Andrew nodded.
“Good point. And while arrogant, Discord certainly isn't stupid. If he sees you girls together, it’s not going to take him long to realize you’re free from his spell. Just the fact you are back in color should clue him in, if nothing else.”
Pinkie suddenly bounced, pulling out several buckets of paint.
“OOOH! I know! We could paint ourselves grey again!”
Andrew stared at her, wondering for a moment if it was worth the headache of asking where Pinkie had gotten said paint from. As he decided the answer was no, Twilight put a hoof on Pinkie’s shoulder and shook her head.
“Pinkie even if we were grey, Discord would still be suspicious of us altogether if he happens to pop up while we are trying to reach the Elements. He put a lot of effort in distracting us from our friendship. No speed is likely to be our best option, get to the library as fast as we can.
”
Twilight bit her lower lip while glancing down into Ponyville towards the library. Her face showing hesitation and fear.
“But... but with no way to predict when Discord might appear... the odds. And until we have the Elements of Harmony again, what he can do to us....”
As she trailed off Twilight and the rest of the girls shuddered in fear. Frowning Andrew let his gaze cross over all his pony friends, before letting his eyes rest on Fluttershy for a moment. Then with a resigned sigh he stood up.
“Than its obvious what you all need. You need a distraction.”
The girls stared at him blankly for a moment. Then Fluttershy and Twilight's eyes both widen as they figured out what he was implying. In unison the two cried out in shock
“Andrew! NO! You Can’t!”
Andrew smiled at the girls sadly.
“Yes I can. We have to face the facts; I can't use any of the elements. Even worse in a dash for library, you all would be quicker without me slowing you down. I’m just not built for speed. The only logical thing for me to do to help is to be a distraction for Discord. Buying you girls the time you need to reach the library and the Elements.”
Rarity frowned.
“But Darling He is the spirit of Chaos! What could you possibly do to keep him occupied that long???”
Andrew scratched the back of his head uncertain for a moment
“ I'd... Um... think of something! I'm good at that!”
Applejack shook her head and placed a hoof on Andrews shoulder
“But Andrew hun.... what if Discord.... did something to you?”
Andrew turned his head taking the rest in. He winced as he caught the pleading look in Fluttershy's eyes, while missing that Twilight had the same expression on her face. For a moment he hesitated than with a deep breath he rallied his confidence and replied to Applejack.
“To tell the truth, I'm actually not worried about physical changes AJ. Discord doesn't seem to get any jollies from causing pain to the body. Heck from what you told me about what he did to Granny Smith Discord seems to go out of his way to ensure his victims don't have any physical discomfort... I mean all that dancing would be torture if eh didn’t fix her bad hip right?”
The girls step back and look at each other, clearly unconvinced. Then Rainbow steps up to present her argument against the idea.
“ But what about your MIND??? You saw what Discord did to all of us!”
Pinkie decided she had to chime in as well
“Yeah! He could have you worshiping his scaled butt! Or thinking you’re a real monkey to throw your own crap! And then you’d have to move into a mansion with a musically talented manchild who will lose you in customs while claiming historically tragic teenagers would be followers of his songs!!!”
Andrew and the rest of the girls topped to stare at Pinkie. Andrew then sighed and rubbed his forehead.
“... I should never have mentioned nature documentaries to you...and I know I never mentioned Bieber so how… no. that’s getting away from the subject of Discord screwing with my mind.... and well, that is a concern to be honest. A rather frightening one at that. “
Andrew gulped nervously and then shook his head as he visibly steeled himself before continuing.
“But no matter what he does to my hard skull. I know it won't last. Because there is something Discord hasn’t counted on to fight it...”
As he said this Twilight’s face brightens. She began to open her mouth to reassure Andrew that she would be ready with her memory spell. But before she could speak Andrew suddenly walked over and wrapped his arm around startled Fluttershy, as he continued speaking.
“ I know that whatever Discord does to my head. Fluttershy will be able to bring me out of it.... just like I broke his hold over her...”
Twilight visibly wilted at Andrews words, but no one noticed. Everyone elses attention was on Fluttershy as her eyes widened and she gasped. Quickly turned a panicked stare at Andrew while she stuttered.
“But... but... you.. I... Andrew.. I couldn't... I mean... I can't.”
Andrew gave her a reassuring squeeze.
“You can... I know you can Fluttershy.”
Fluttershy whimpered, as she stepped away from Andrew. She turned around and stared at the ground while she whispered.
“But what if I can't?.... what if.... I'm not strong enough to reach you? Like you did me?”
Andrew smiled fondly, before walking around and kneeling down to stare Fluttershy straight in the eye as he responded.
“Fluttershy... You are the strongest pony I know where it counts. If I need you, I know you will be able to reach me.”
“ But-!”
Andrew hushed her with a finger and then leaned his forehead against her as he continued.
“Look, out of all the girls here... YOU were the only one Discord couldn't corrupt with his lies. He had to brainwash you directly. I know you Fluttershy, all those months living with you. Your lovely spirit is so bright and where it counts so strong. And besides there is this…”
Andrew took his hand and reached out to caress Fluttershy's chest just above her heart.
“What's in here...what you feel and I do, between us. That's a strength and bond Discord could never destroy. Even if he were a thousand times as strong as he is. As long as that bond is there you will be able to reach me.... No matter how far he takes my mind away from the truth....”
Fluttershy stared at Andrew with her eyes shining. She clearly wanted to believe, but Andrew could still sense her doubts. He stood up and stepped backwards, his tone rising. So caught up in the moment as he tried to project his confidence to Fluttershy that Andrew didn’t pay much attention to what he was doing as he began to gesture dramatically.
“That bond between us is what makes us strong. I believe in it.... I believe in your strength Fluttershy. If I need you, you WILL be there. And you WILL be strong enough to beat Discords magic. But Fluttershy....”
Andrew smirked as if knowing some vast secret of the universe. Seeing how Fluttershy was reacting he decided to end his speech as epically as he could. Quickly assuming the most inspiringly dramatic pose he could think of to drive home the point.
“Fluttershy, don't believe in yourself. Instead... BELIEVE IN ME! BELIEVE IN THE ANDREW WHO BELIEVES IN YOU!”
Meanwhile Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Rarity stood to the side watching starry eyed. Rarity herself was mumbling under her breath about 'how romantic' it all was.
Twilight was staring as well, but not starry eyed. Rather the expression on her face more akin to a look of rabid Jealousy. At least until she blinked suddenly and shook herself as if trying to knock a thought out of her mind. Twilight then glanced aside as her face and posture changed to as if she were feeling some great self-shame. This only lasted a minute before Twilight regained her composure and glanced back up. A minute no one else noticed, so enraptured was every other pony in Andrews speech.
None more so than Fluttershy, who gasped and strode forward, clearly drawing confidence from Andrew.
“I... I do! I do believe in you Andrew! I will reach your heart. No matter what that BIG DUMB MEANIE DOES!”
Andrew nodded, and then glanced at the rest of the girls.
“Good than we are in agreement. Just give me about ten minutes to find Discord and start distracting him. Than you girls will make a dash for the Library and Elements. After which you can rescue me. Any questions?”
Pinkie hopped up and down, waving her fore hoof wildly into the air.
“OOOH! OOOH!! ME ME! I HAVE ONE!”
Andrew sighed and rolled his eyes to the sky in a ‘of course’ expression before facing the hyper pink mare.
“... Yes Pinkie?”
“Where did you get those COOL red sunglasses???”
Andrew blinked in surprise. It took him a moment to realize that indeed everything around him did appear to have a reddish tint to it. He had been so caught up in his speech that he hadn’t even noticed it.
Slowly he Reached up and pulled the glasses from his face to examine them clearly. It didn’t even take him more than a second to identify them as a dead on copy of the infamous Kamina style sunglasses.
Andrews face scrunched up in confusion, then letting his gaze fall downward he found another clue So caught up in the dramatics earlier he hadn’t even noticed that during his posing he had accidently strode out of the Everfree and on to the plaid licorice grass field of Discords area.
Andrew stared down blankly for several moments as he twisted his foot back and forth among the candy grass. His mind was running a mile a minute as he tried to comprehend how his unexpected new sunglasses and being out of Ponyville correlated. Then he suddenly straightened as a, idea occurred to him. A crazy yet brilliant theory of the correlation. This was further emphasized by the giant light bulb that suddenly flared into existence just above his head and then faded away.
“ I... wonder....”
Andrew glanced at the glasses in his hand again. He then proceeded to put both his hands and glasses behind his back. After a moment he pulled his hands back in front of him and stared. Specifically he stared at the pair of white gloves that he was suddenly wearing, as well as the large carrot that had replaced the sunglasses. He turned his gaze outward, staring at nothing in particular, while his hand idly began to twirl the carrot around in a circle. Ever so slowly a VERY evil smile began to cross Andrews face.
“Oh yes.... I can WORK with this......”
Applejack stepped forward worriedly.
“Andrew hun... what in Equestria are you muttering about?”
Andrew waved his empty hand at her.
“Oh don't worry Applejack! I just realized something. Namely that Discord's Wacky land here.... well.. It is apparently more Space Jam than Who Framed Roger Rabbit.”
Now Twilight stepped forward looking concerned, while the others just looked confused.
“Andrew what are you talking about? Are you feeling okay?”
Andrew shook his head and let out a small chuckle.
“Don’t worry Twilight. It would take too long to explain. Let’s just say that now I know how I am going to distract Discord, and I am fairly confident I can keep him occupied for a Quite a while.”
Andrew evil grin grew wider. He stopped twirling the carrot and began to gesture with it as if it were a cigar.
“ For what he did to Fluttershy and the rest of you.... well I hope he realizes..... THIS...MEANS... WAR!”
With that declaration Andrew took a very large bite out of the carrots tip. He then turned around to face towards Ponyville. Taking one step Andrew paused and glanced over his shoulder.
“Remember give me ten minutes, then hurry to the elements girls. I know I can delay him.... still I'm not real confident that I can beat him.”
With those final words Andrew did so he put his carrot to his lips and started acting like it was a flute that he was playing. As he did so out of nowhere a drum beat started up and the instrumental melody of ‘The Girl I left Behind me' began to play. As he marched soldierly to the tune towards Ponyville and Discord, Andrew let his mind wander to one last idle thought.
“But then, if this works... I won't have to.”