Spring time was finally upon Ponyville, with Winter Wrap Up being another huge success thanks to the organizational skills of Twilight, and with the extra help of one or three different Entities. In all that time Proselyte had gotten to enjoy staying with Fluttershy. She was quite different from the wielders of his light, and the others of the dimension they left behind. She displayed true acts of kindness to all around her, to the animals in the forest, and to ponies in the town. Although he could tell that Fluttershy was able to be stern and strong when the need arose, like now for instance.
Proselyte was watching as Fluttershy was talking to Angel, her pet rabbit, about his current attitude towards the young pegasus colt. He was somehow covered in a sticky substance, later identified as syrup from the kitchen. Somehow the little rabbit had filled a bucket full of the stuff and dumped it off the top of the stairs all over the colt.
“Angel, now you know what you did was wrong. You need to be nice to Lyte while he’s living with us, he’s as much a part of this home as you are, mister,” scolded Fluttershy.
Angel chirped and chattered, doing his part to at least appear to be apologetic.
“Angel I know this wasn’t an accident. All of the bottles of maple syrup are empty and the bucket for my chicken feed isn’t in the back shed. And I know I told you many times not to go in my shed, you could hurt yourself.”
Proselyte cleared his throat, gaining Fluttershy’s attention. “Fluttershy, it’s really alright, it’s was just a harmless prank.”
“It won’t be that harmless if you stand there any longer. Now go to the bathroom and take a shower to get rid of that syrup before it dries and hardens. If you don’t, we’ll have to cut your fur and hair till there’s almost nothing and let it regrow,” said Fluttershy.
Proselyte didn’t say another word; he quickly made his way to the bathroom, whereupon the sound of running water was heard. Angel began to snicker, imagining the colt completely shaved and bald. Fluttershy’s stern expression was returned to Angel, but it soon softened as she lowered her body as to not tower over the bunny.
“Angel, I know it’s a big adjustment, having Proselyte live here with us. But he has no place to go, and he’s a really nice colt. Can you at least try and get along with him, for me?” Fluttershy asked.
Angel let out a huff and crossed his forelegs across his chest. Fluttershy let out a sigh, not really sure if she would ever get her pet bunny under control or find a way to help him get along with Proselyte.
“Well…I’m going out then, since we’re out of maple syrup.” Fluttershy threw on her saddle bags and made her way to the door before turning back to Angel. “Angel, when I get back, we’re going to have a serious discussion.” With that said Fluttershy walked out the door.
Angel hopped a few times to the window and watched as Fluttershy trotted down the road towards Ponyville. When the little critter was sure she was a good distance away Angel went into action. He quickly dashed towards the bathroom door, a plan working through his head as he got closer. But when Angel tried to grasp the doorknob he found himself being repelled from it. Angel fell on his rear and rubbed his head; he then looked up and saw that there was a thin layer of indigo light over the door.
“@#$%&,” he squeaked.
Just then the room began to rumble. A small spark of light began flickering in the living room. Angel hid behind the sofa, waiting to see what was going to happen. The spark then flashed brightly and something skidded into the living room, trails of fire hot on its heels. Angel peeked behind the sofa and slapped his forehead in annoyance. Standing with a serpentine body, and a mishmash of different animal parts, was Discord, the Spirit of Chaos. He was wearing a white lab coat, with a sort of platinum visor over his eyes, and had wild silvery hair.
“Great Scott,” he exclaimed, “Whatever you do, do NOT go back to 145 BCL, they are some of the craziest bunch of ponies you’ll ever meet! But they do know how to party.”
The draconequus then snapped his lion’s paw and the outfit vanished. He then then looked around and saw that there was no one inside. Discord scratched his head in confusion.
“Oh Fluttershy! Dear, little, Fluttershy! Your good friend, Discord, is here!” Discord continued to look around the living room, poking his head into a birdhouse and scaring its occupants, lifting up chairs and tables, looking for Fluttershy and growing frustrated that he wasn’t able to find her.
“Now where is that adorable little bundle of shyness?!”
It was then that the draconequus heard a creaking noise coming from behind him. He then spotted the source, Fluttershy’s ill tempered, grouchy bunny, Angel, was quietly trying to sneak away from Discord. Angel looked behind him to see if Discord had spied him, the little bunny let out a sigh of relief, happy that he hadn’t been found out. As he turned his head to continue to sneak away, Angel’s eyes were soon met with the red and yellow eyes of one Spirit of Chaos.
“Boo!”
Angel let out a squeal of fright as he jumped into the air and clung to one of the low lying supports. The bunny looked back down and saw that Discord had somehow shrunk down to the same size as Angel, and was now currently laughing it up. Angel scrunched his eyes shut, his anger boiling up from being pranked by the draconequus for the umpteenth time. The white bunny was about to lay into Discord, but when he opened his eyes Discord had once again disappeared to who-knows-where.
“Ha, ha, priceless, simply priceless, oh Angel you are a quite easy.”
Angel looked up and saw that he was hanging onto Discord instead of the wooden support beam. He quickly let go of Discord’s body and fell to the floor with a THUMP.
“Okay, all joking aside, tell me, where is Fluttershy? I came to visit – now that Celestia’s errands are done – so where is she?!”
Angel rose up from the floor, rubbing his rear from where he landed. Now facing Discord, Angel began to chirp and chatter angrily at the draconequus. All the while Discord was stroking his goatee, listening intently to Angel’s rant.
“I see…Uh-huh…That’s interesting…”
Angel stared at Discord, giving him a look that said, “Do you actually understand me?”
“Of course I don’t understand a word you’re saying, do I look like a speak bunny!?”
Suddenly the door to the bathroom opened up, steam began to pour out as a figure began to walk out. Discord looked at the steam confused, he could tell that the silhouette was that of a pegasus, but it seemed too small to be Fluttershy. Soon the steam cleared away, showing a purple pegasus colt drying his mane with a towel.
“What is going on, I’ve been sensing many different emotions and –!” Proselyte stared at Discord, his uncovered eye scanning his form as if trying to determine what exactly he was looking at. “Um, pardon me, who are you?”
“Who am I!?” Discord cried out aghast. “‘WHO AM I!?’ I am the guardian of lost souls! I am the powerful, the pleasurable! The great and powerful wizard of – wait, wait sorry wrong speech – ahem – I am Discord, the Spirit of Chaos!” Discord then pointed an accusatory talon at the colt. “And who might you be, and why are you here, in Fluttershy’s bathroom no less!?”
Proselyte blinked a few times, “I am Proselyte, and I live here.”
Discord’s talon went limp upon hearing those words, “You…you live here!? With Fluttershy!?”
“Um, yes, this is Fluttershy’s residence and she has invited me to live with her.”
A large book appeared out of nowhere in his lion’s paw that read “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Script”. He then flipped through the pages of the book, pulling out a pair of reading glasses with his tail and putting them on as he glanced over the text. Both Angel and Proselyte watched as Discord continued to read the manuscript, wondering what he was trying to find.
“Let’s see, ‘Discord arrives at Fluttershy’s. Discord then messes with Angel’s head by doing random things. And a mysterious colt appears from the bathroom and announces that he is Fluttershy’s housemate…’” Discord glanced from the script to Proselyte, back to the script, and then back to Proselyte again. He then closed it and tossed the script over his shoulder, which somehow resulted in an explosion that didn’t destroy anything. “Okay, I’m going rogue here. Since when does Fluttershy, the pony who’s practically scared of her own shadow, allow a colt to stay with her? Are you her younger brother!?”
“No.”
“Her cousin?”
“No.”
“A brother-in-law?”
“No, again.”
“A second cousin twice removed on her mother’s side?”
“Um…no, I guess.”
Discord then gasped loudly and looked like he had seen Faust herself. “ARE YOU HER SON!!?”
Proselyte couldn’t help but facehoof himself. “You are the second, um, being to think that. I am twelve years old, and Miss Fluttershy is nearly twenty-three. She would’ve been eleven years old when she had me.”
Discord thought it over for a moment, his argument was valid, and honestly he couldn’t imagine his dear Fluttershy acting in such a promiscuous manner, even at such a young age. Still, that didn’t mean anything to him right now.
“Listen you I –!”
“Discord!?” All three occupants turned towards the front door and saw Fluttershy standing there with a saddlebag full of maple syrup and a smile upon her face. “I didn’t know you were coming over. Oh my goodness, I’m sorry that I wasn’t here to greet you!”
Discord slithered up next to Proselyte and slung his lion arm across his shoulders, “Oh not at all, dear Fluttershy. I only arrived just a moment ago, by the way who is this colt; I’ve never seen him before?”
Proselyte looked up at Discord confused, “But I just –gack!” Proselyte suddenly felt a strong pressure around his neck.
Fluttershy smiled kindly at Discord and obliged him, “No problem. Discord, I’d like you to meet Proselyte. For, um, certain reasons that I can’t go into detail about, Lyte is living with me. He has nowhere to go, and I couldn’t very well let him be on his own.”
“Of course not, you were just being your kind and caring self.”
“Well, let me put these bottles up and I’ll fix us all something to eat,” said Fluttershy happily.
When Fluttershy was out of earshot Discord looked down at the colt, “I got my eye on you, ‘Proselyte’.” The Spirit of Chaos punctuated his point by having both of his eyes pop out his head and start hovering around the colt like electrons on an atom.
This…is going to be a tiresome ordeal, of this I am sure.
(That Following Morning)
Discord watched as Fluttershy went about the grounds, feeding the animals that the timid mare took care of, tending to their wellbeing, and humming happily as she did so. At the same time Proselyte seemed to be doing the same thing, handling some the more difficult animals that came stomping in from the forest. The young colt merely shot them a glance (Discord swore he saw a flash of purple light when he did so) and the animal suddenly went more lax, not afraid, but more out of a profound respect that he didn’t think he deserved for such a youngling.
The Spirit of Chaos kept his vigil from the window of Fluttershy’s cottage. Noting that there was another who watched with annoyance and a slight degree of distrust. “It would seem that I am not alone. So tell me, Angel, what or who is this Proselyte?”
Angel regarded the draconequus, although he disliked him, compared to Proselyte, he was the lesser of two evils, so to speak. So Angel started speaking, of course it was in his chattering squeaks and chirps that only another animal would understand. Discord sighed.
“I don’t have time to learn ‘bunny rabbit’, so I’ll just have to change that!” Discord snapped his talons and immediately Angel went still and the top of his head unscrewed like a lid on a jar, revealing his brain. “Now, let’s see what I can do about your language problem.”
Cracking his knuckles, Discord went to work on Angel’s brain. The sounds of drills, hammering, and a jackhammer could be heard within the cottage. After about a few seconds Discord stepped away and screwed Angel’s scalp back on and snapped his talons again.
“Okay, say something.”
Angel rubbed his head for a moment, looking disoriented from what Discord did.
“Nani... Anata wa watashi ni seikaku ni nani o shimashita ka? Nē, watashi no kuchi kara dete kuru no ka, chottomatte!”
Discord blinked a few times, “Guess I somehow rewired your brain for Neighponese. Easy fix!” Discord snapped his fingers yet again and went to work rewiring the bunny’s brain. Once again the room was filled with the random sounds of various tools. The Spirit of Chaos shut the lid on Angel’s brain and stepped back. “Okay, how about now?”
Angel coughed for a moment, his voice sounding deep and raspy. “Könnten Sie damit aufhören! Na toll jetzt bin ich sprechen eine andere seltsame Sprache! Können Sie etwas richtig machen Sie verdammt mischen von Tierteilen ! Ich meine, wie viele Möglichkeiten diese Schraube auf!?”
Discord scrached at his chin, confused as to how he transitioned him into Germane? With yet another snap, and various power tools, Discord went to work again and hopefully third time was the charm.
“Bon, c'est assez, si vous ne vous arrêtez pas, je vous jure que je vais planter mon pied droit dans le cul sale fils de -!”
Alright maybe fourth time was the charm. “This better be it, because I am not going to spend hours translating our conversations.” With one last snap the lid of Angel’s scalp slammed shut.
“Would you stop messing with – I CAN TALK!” Angel quickly covered his head with his paws and scowled at Discord. “No more brain surgery! Ya got that!”
Discord clapped joyfully, “Success! Now we can carry out a civilized conversation.”
“Bite me, Discord,” spat Angel.
“……Well, at least we can carry out a conversation. So tell me, Angel, what’s the news on that colt out there?”
Angel thought it over, again. And after weighing in the comical brain surgery he had undergone, he still believed, as crazy as it sounds, that Discord was the lesser of two evils. At least he knew that Fluttershy and her friends could use the Elements of Harmony on him and turn the draconequus to stone, Proselyte on the other hand, he wasn’t as sure.
So Angel told Discord, well, everything. From the unnatural way he made a purple light shine from his body, how he would often create constructs made of light to help Fluttershy around the house, and how he often had strange symbols of light appear over his forehead sometimes. He even went into detail about an incident that happened around Hearth’s Warming.
When all was said and done Discord regarded the colt from the window and narrowed his eye, contemplating. “Looks like the enemy of my enemy is my friend, Angel,” he concluded.
Angel looked up at Discord confused, “Say what?”
“You don’t like him, and I don’t like him. And after what you just told me, it explains this weird vibe I got from him when I first laid eyes on that colt. I purpose we work together, for Fluttershy’s own good, we have to drive this unknown being out!” Plus, I’m bored and need some fun.
Angel stared down the draconequus, was it really in his best interest to team up with this spawn of destructive, chaotic force? On the other hand he did want to get rid of Proselyte, plus something about him didn’t sit well and he didn’t want to see Fluttershy hurt…Angel then extended his paw up to Discord.
“Against my better judgment, and for her sake, I’m willing to agree to this unholy alliance, for now,” said Angel.
Discord smiled and reached out his own paw, but before he could grasp Angel’s paw the bunny retracted his it.
“Also, no weird bodily transformations on me, or messing around with my brain,” he quickly added.
A frown appeared on Discord’s face; he then sighed and shook his paw. And with that the unholy alliance was formed and Equestria would burn for all eternity in a war that could tear the very fabric of reality and thrust its habitants into the event horizon of destruction…Nah I’m just kidding, they’re going to make Proselyte’s life a living Tartarus.
“Now who says we can’t do all that other stuff?”
~~~
Discord I get enough with Pinkie Pie, I don’t need you breaking the 4th Wall too! Just stick to the script – and don’t destroy reality, again!
~~~
“Who are you talking to,” asked Angel in confusion.
(War: Day 1)
Proselyte was sleeping soundly in his bed. The morning sun rose up on the horizon as the rays poured into his room. The pegasus colt found himself squinting at the intruding harsh light, turning in his bed to avoid the light in his eyes. Unfortunately he remembered that it was his turn to feed the chickens this morning. With a sigh, Proselyte got up, made his bed, and headed towards the shower.
Proselyte was feeling a little lazy this morning, so he decided to concentrate a bit of his energy on the knobs, turning them till the water started to shoot out of the shower head. The Entity of Compassion waited a moment for the temperature to get just right, placing a hoof in the stream to test the water. Once he was certain that it was at the optimal temperature Proselyte entered the shower and started to rinse his fur.
As he continued to wash, Proselyte started to feel that something was off. His hooves were starting to feel heavy; as a matter of fact the water’s viscosity was feeling rather odd. Proselyte opened his eyes to see what was happening and saw that the shower head was not pouring out water, but instead was spewing a blue jelly like substance, and it was quickly filling up the tub, and the spilling out into the bathroom itself.
“What in the name of –!”
Suddenly the shower head burst apart and a flood of the blue substance began to fill the room. Proselyte held his breath and tried to swim in the jelly-like substance, but it was like moving in molasses, each movement hindered by the jelly. The Entity of Compassion had had enough of this and focused his power on the door, a bright flash of indigo light blasted the door off its hinges and allowed the blue jelly substance to pour out of the room and carried Proselyte with it.
The pegasus colt gagged and took in deep breaths of life giving air. Some of the substance got into his mouth, he then smacked his lips. “Blueberry Jelly, how did that happen?”
At that moment Fluttershy rushed downstairs and saw what had happened to Proselyte, with a worried look, she quickly rushed to his side and helped him up. “Oh my goodness, Lyte, what happened to you, what is this stuff,” she asked frantic.
“I’m alright Fluttershy, and to answer your other question this appears to be…blueberry jelly of some sort, at least that’s what it tastes like.”
Fluttershy placed her hoof in the substance and brought it up to the nose; she then took a cautious sniff of the blue goo and found that it did contain the scent of blueberries. Fluttershy then took a look inside her bathroom and saw the destruction the jelly had caused.
“Oh my, now what happened here!?”
Both pegasi turned around and saw that Discord had appeared behind them, wearing a monogrammed robe and holding a bowl filled with…shredded paper. The Spirit of Chaos craned his neck over the two and scanned the inside of the bathroom, looking positively shocked at its state.
“My goodness, whatever happened in here,” he asked.
Proselyte eyed the draconequus wearily as he answered, “I was taking a shower and somehow the water turned into blueberry jelly. Quite an odd thing to happen to water, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Oh very, somepony must’ve tampered with the water pipes. I mean, there’s no other way that this could’ve happened to just you, although I do hope it is blueberry jelly,” said Discord with a hint of mirth in his voice.
Fluttershy then began to inspect Proselyte’s body, checking his wings, legs, and head for any sign of injury. When she saw that there were no physical injuries she breathed a sigh of relief and hugged the colt.
“Fluttershy, you shouldn’t – you’ll get it this stuff all over your coat and mane,” warned Proselyte.
“I don’t care, I’m just glad you’re alright.”
As Discord watched the display of affection, his left eye began to twitch. He then cleared his throat, making Fluttershy separate herself from Proselyte, a pink blush adorning her cheeks.
“Well, um, I guess I should call a plumber to come over and fix this,” she said.
“Nonsense!” Discord then tossed the bowl of shredded paper over his shoulder (resulting in another non-destructive explosion) and disrobed rather dramatically. Underneath however was a workpony’s belt, with various tools holstered, and a light-blue shirt with a name tag that read “Bob”. “You just leave everything to me, dear Fluttershy, and I’ll have this mess cleaned up in a jiffy.”
“Thank you, Discord, that’s very kind of you,” said Fluttershy as she beamed at the draconequus. “Lyte, you can use it first after Discord’s finished fixing it.”
Proselyte shifted his glance between Discord and the shower; an uneasy feeling began to form in his mind. “No…that’s alright, I’ll go outside and see if the hose is still working properly. You can use it first, I insist.”
“Okay, well, if it’s too cold be sure to come back inside and warm up.”
Proselyte nodded and took his leave. The pegasus colt trotted to the back of the cottage and found the water hose. Not wanting to experience a second round of jelly, Proselyte decided to hold the hose aloft in an aura of indigo light, aiming it off towards the grass. He then turned on the hose and immediately water poured from the other end. Thinking it safe, Proselyte held the hose in his teeth, watching the water carefully as he rinsed out the sticky substance from his fur and wings.
Strange…water changing into jelly of all things. Could Discord have – no, he’s Fluttershy’s friend, and even so, it was probably an accident, he thought.
Giving Discord the benefit of the doubt, Proselyte shook his body free of any water that still clung to his coat. He could hear the hens clucking for their breakfast and smiled at their impatience. Proselyte went to Fluttershy’s shed, a place that she thoroughly warned
Angel never to go to, and always told Proselyte to be careful of as well. Thankfully the chicken feed was in a container attached to the side, so he didn’t need to go in there. Proselyte dragged out the feed and took it to the chickens, spreading it out upon the ground so that the hens could eat.
Thankfully the rest of Proselyte’s day turned out to be uneventful. Spending most of the day helping whatever animal wandered onto the grounds, running errands for Fluttershy, or checking up on Ion and Adara when he felt the need to.
It was now three in the afternoon and still everything was normal. Apparently, during the time he was out, no pony else seemed to encounter any strange jelly coming from their showers. Proselyte decided to file that away for investigation later. As he was finishing up taking care of a dispute between some beavers and a bear, Proselyte decided to clean up a bit and then head back inside the cottage. It was then that he felt a light thumping on his left hind leg. He looked down and saw Angel, looking apologetic for some reason and holding his paws behind him.
“What’s wrong little one, are you not well,” he asked.
Angel’s gaze became downcast as he produced something from behind his back. It was a blue flower, one that Proselyte hadn’t seen before; he then looked at the bunny confused.
“Is this for me?”
Angel nodded.
“Is this for what happened a couple of days ago?”
Again, the bunny nodded.
Proselyte took the flower into the crook of his hoof and sniffed it.
“You did not need to, all was forgiven. But I thank you nonetheless. I hope we can become better friends.”
With that Proselyte tucked the flower carefully under his wing and went back to work. Angel then hopped away back to the cottage; all the while a mischievous smile grew wide upon his face.
“Sucker,” he whispered.
(War: Day 2)
“WHAT IS THIS!!?”
The door to Proselyte’s room suddenly burst open, revealing Fluttershy.
“Proselyte what’s wrrrrrr – OH MY CELESTIA!!!”
Fluttershy couldn’t believe what she was looking at. Proselyte was out of bed, standing on, well, not hooves. They were wiggly, long, purple tentacles. Proselyte wore a deadpan expression as he looked upon his transformed appendages; the surprise had worn off and now was replaced with curiosity and annoyance.
“Lyte…what, what happened to your legs, they’re, they’re tentacles,” cried out Fluttershy.
“It would seem so.”
“H-How did this happen – when did this happen!?”
Proselyte brought up one of his tentacles to his chin in thought. Nothing particularly strange was coming to mind, as far as he was concerned, yesterday, except for the jelly incident, was pretty much a normal day. And it was this that he conveyed to the panicky pegasus before him.
“O-Okay, well, did you come into contact with anything strange, anything,” she asked desperately.
The purple colt thought it over once again, at that moment something popped to the forefront of his mind. “There was this flower that Angel gave to me…”
Fluttershy looked at Proselyte inquisitively. “Flower, what kind of flower?!” Proselyte then pointed his tentacle to a vase that held the flower in question. Fluttershy inspected the specimen carefully and gasped when she realized what it was. “Proselyte this is Poison Joke!”
“Poison what?”
“Poison Joke, when you come into contact with this flower it causes strange things to happen to the pony who touches it. My friends and I ran into a patch of these flowers once, and it made me ‘Flutterguy’!”
Proselyte looked confused at that name. “‘Flutterguy…?’ Did it turn you into a stallion?”
Fluttershy’s face blushed red, “Oh no, no, no, no, it didn’t! It just made me have a really deep voice. Fortunately Zecora has the antidote for Poison Joke! Just wait here and I’ll go and get it!”
Before Proselyte could say another word Fluttershy had zipped away down the stairs and out the door, heading straight for the Everfree Forest. The young colt sighed and proceeded downstairs, his suction cups making annoying popping noises with every step he took. Now Proselyte’s true form was that of a giant squid-like creature, so he was used to moving with tentacles, but this was an awkward feeling to have them as his actual legs.
“I can’t believe that actually worked,” said a voice.
“Ha, ha, it must’ve been a horrible sight to make Fluttershy rush out the front door like that. I got to say, the Poison Joke was a nice one,” complemented Discord.
Proselyte peeked from the top of the stairs and saw that Discord and Angel were both laughing it up, had he not been in a his current state, Proselyte would’ve inquired as to how Angel was speaking Equuish, but that could wait until later.
“Hello Discord, Angel.”
Both the draconequus and bunny looked up at the staircase as Proselyte descended it. The two of them were barely trying to contain their laughter at seeing the colt’s current state.
“My Proselyte, whatever happened to you,” asked Discord feigning concern.
“Apparently Angel ‘accidentally’ gave me a Poison Joke flower yesterday, and when I woke up this morning I had these.” Proselyte made the ends of his four tentacles wiggle to emphasize his point. “Oh and Angel, you can drop the act, I know you can talk now.”
Discord and Angel stopped laughing and looked at Proselyte in slight surprise. Angel looked up at Discord, who only shrugged as if saying “No point now.”
“Yeah, I can talk now. And I got a few things to say to you,” said Angel pointing his paw at the colt.
Proselyte sighed and crossed his tentacle forelegs across his chest while he sat on his haunches. “Proceed.”
“I don’t like you, I don’t trust you, and ever since that Hearth’s Warming thing it’s only made me more suspicious of you! As far as I’m concerned, I don’t think you should be around Fluttershy, you’re dangerous!”
“I-I assure you – as I have countless other times – I mean Fluttershy no harm,” said Proselyte.
“Hmm, true, but then there’s my problem,” Discord rose from the couch he was sitting on and began to circle Proselyte. “You don’t feel right, and there seems to be a strange aura about you that unsettles me. And I don’t suppose you’re in a mood to fill us in as to what you are?”
Proselyte remained silent.
“Very well, until you either admit to Fluttershy what you are, or leave altogether, the Prank War shall continue,” declared Discord.
Proselyte looked between the two beings before him, “Be very sure you want to pursue this path. Because once you do, know that I am not so easily dissuaded.”
Angel then hopped till he was in front of Proselyte; he then narrowed his little beady eyes as he stared at the young colt, “Game on then, game on…!”
(War: Day 10)
The last few days had been mildly unpleasant, but not very. Angel and Discord had been true to their word about pursuing their path of a Prank War in order to drive out Proselyte from Fluttershy’s home. He didn’t retaliate, but he did find ways to get around their little pranks, some were unavoidable, but when he got the chance, Proselyte would use his powers to disable or hinder them.
Currently however, Proselyte was accompanying his fellow Entity, Adara, Scootaloo, and Rainbow Dash today. Apparently Rainbow Dash, well her and most of Ponyville, had heard about how Proselyte risked his life to help find Dinky. For her part, Rainbow Dash was skittish of the young colt, especially after the whole incident with the thunderbird, Storm.
Nevertheless, she decided to bring the colt in for some flying with the two fillies, being that he was homeless and Scootaloo and Adara were also homeless till now, she thought they would have something in common.
Right now Proselyte and Adara were hovering in the air, side-by-side, watching as Scootaloo flew through the skies, trying to catch up to Rainbow Dash in a game of air tag. Proselyte had to admit he was impressed after hearing what Adara did to heal her friend.
“It would seem that our circumstances warranted the use of our powers,” said Proselyte.
“Well…Ion used his to save Applejack and those ponies during the Running of the Leaves, and…I couldn’t just let that happen to her,
Proselyte,” said Adara, a bit of sadness to her voice.
“But it didn’t, you saved her wings and now she’s happier than ever, your light shines brightly within her, even more so than before,” said Proselyte.
Adara smiled at the colt, glad that he saw the good in her actions. “Anyway, how’s it going with Fluttershy? Has anything good happened lately?”
Proselyte let out a slight groan, remembering the situation that was going on at Fluttershy’s house. Which reminds me…“You might want to duck right about now.”
Before Adara could ask why Proselyte forced her head down as a pink cloud zoomed over their heads, Proselyte looked behind them, below, and to the sides before he removed his hoof from the cerulean pegasus filly.
“What was that!?”
“That would be the answer to your earlier questions. And it would seem that we are needed,” said Proselyte pointing with his other hoof.
Adara looked straight ahead and was confused by the scene before her. Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo had somehow gotten caught in the strange pink cloud. No matter how much either pegasus struggled to get out, the cloud would not yield.
“DISCORD,” shouted Rainbow Dash at the top of her lungs. “You get your rear out here and get us loose, NOW!”
(War: Day 15)
Proselyte was hungry after helping out Derpy with an errand. The mare had the poor colt running all over the place looking for a package she had accidentally delivered to the wrong pony.
Once he got home he decided to help himself to some leftovers from a restaurant Fluttershy and the rest visited a couple of days ago. At least Discord can remain civil around Fluttershy’s presence, and out in the open where it’s easier to see him do something. So with that in mind it was only during the times when he was alone at the cottage that he had to keep his guard up.
Proselyte took out the hayburger and used Fluttershy’s oven to warm up the food a bit. Once hot enough Proselyte took out the food and placed it on the counter and went to the refrigerator to get himself something to drink.
Suddenly he heard the pitter patter of something scampering about. The pegasus colt turned around to see what made the sound, but nothing was there. Proselyte shrugged it off and continued to rummage through the fridge, but stopped when heard the sounds once again. He scanned the area, looking for anything out of the ordinary. For now, at least, there seemed to be nothing.
Proselyte turned once again to the open fridge, but quickly glanced over his shoulder in an effort to catch whoever it was that was crawling around. There was no noise this time, and no one to be seen. Although not completely satisfied, Proselyte hurriedly chose his beverage and took it out of the refrigerator. He then took the beverage to the table, and soon his meal. The colt sat on his haunches and grabbed the burger in the crook of his forehooves. Proselyte cautiously raised the sandwich to his mouth but paused to make sure that no one was around.
Truly, am I that weary of those two that I can’t enjoy a meal? Stop worrying, and eat the burger.
With his resolve steeled Proselyte took a bite out of his burger. An action he soon came to regret. Suddenly his body temperature rose drastically, tears formed in his eyes, and sweat started to drip down for his forehead.
“HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOTTTTTTT!!!!”
Proselyte felt as if he had just swallowed a small piece of the sun, his mouth was burning up as he cried out in pain. He quickly chugged his drink, but it did little to quill the flames in his mouth.
“IS NOTHING SACRED!!!?”
Unbeknownst to the colt, Angel was standing behind the wall that separated the kitchen from the living room, grinning evilly as he held a bottle labeled: Celestia’s Sun Fire Hot Sauce.
“Guaranteed to spice up any meal or your money back, best fifty bits I ever spent…Actually that the first fifty bits I ever spent…or owned…I hate you, Discord.”
(War: Day 25)
Truly the devious duo were wearing on Proselyte’s nerves. He may be the Entity of Compassion, but if this continued any longer he may have to fight Butcher for the title of Entity of Rage. In order to calm himself, Proselyte journeyed into the Everfree Forest and visited the zebra, Zecora. In her he found a sort of kindred spirit, she reminded him a lot of the Indigo Tribe back in the universe from which he hailed, and she too had the light of compassion within her. Though, if he was being honest, Fluttershy’s shined much brighter.
At this moment both the colt and zebra mare were standing on a lake. Well, ‘stand’ being a relative word. Zecora was balancing on a wooden pole, one hind hoof on the pole and the other tucked up. She had her forehooves in a sort of prayer position while her eyes were closed, remaining perfectly still, and the other end of the pole never breaking the surface. Proselyte was sitting on his haunches, hind legs crossed, his rear touching the water’s surface, but like the pole, he didn’t break the stillness. He found meditating with Zecora helped him sort out and relief his stress from the past few days of this “Prank War”.
“No muss, no fuss, must interrupt your focus,” spoke Zecora.
“Nata amon rek leira, nok,” he responded.
A single ripple appeared between them and flowed outwards till it hit the edge of pond and faded away. The Everfree still made its usual noises, birds chirping, animals roaring and snorting, and the occasional rustle of the leaves as the wind blew through the branches. But to them it was all merely background noise, barely audible to them, there was only the now.
While the two meditated Discord and Angel spied on them from a distant bush. Ever since the Hot Sauce Incident Proselyte had been even more diligent than before, and up till now he had countered every one of their pranks, or managed to avoid them altogether. But this time, this time the draconequus and bunny would get his goat.
“Bleeeeeeah.”
“Why are you holding a goat,” asked Angel.
“What, you mean this isn’t his goat?”
Angel smacked his forehead (and the author simultaneously does the same). Groaning indignantly, Angel jumped up and slapped Discord across the snout.
“Focus would you!? We have the perfect opportunity, the element of surprise, so don’t blow it! And get rid of that goat!”
“Humph, sorry Billy.” Discord was about to chuck the goat over his shoulder. The goat seemed to have an idea of what happened to objects that were thrown over his shoulder and was about to bleat in an attempt at begging for mercy.
“Don’t do that! They’ll here it!” Angel yelled quietly.
“Oh very well,” Discord then set the goat down, “run along now.”
Billy the goat then ran through the forest, thankful to be alive and happy not have blown up nonsensically. That is until a pack of Timberwolves found him and Billy began to run for dear life.
“Okay, I swiped some of these bottles and stuff from Zecora’s hut,” Angel then opened a bag filled with a few bottles and vials filled with unknown powders and liquids and showed it to Discord, “what do think we can do with this?”
“Well I don’t know, I’m not a chemist,” a white lab coat appeared on Discord, “or an alchemist,” followed by a red cloak with a cross on the back and snake entwined in it, “or a witch doctor,” and to top it off a tribal mask appeared over his face, “So how am I supposed to know which these things does what!?”
While Discord and Angel were arguing, unbeknownst to them, Proselyte and Zecora were very aware of their presence, their peace of mind allowing them to extend their senses further, helping them to locate their position.
“They’re going to try something,” said Proselyte.
“Let them try, there shall be no harm, no cause for alarm,” replied Zecora.
“Think they have any idea of what’s about to happen?”
A smile appeared on Zecora’s face as she shook her head.
Meanwhile Angel and Discord were busy mixing the various ingredients that were taken from Zecora’s hut. Discord had summoned a bowl for them to create their concoction, the strange liquid within was bubbling and churning as they continued to pour more and more of the vials into the bowl.
“Something’s happening,” said Angel.
“Really, well make sure it’s pointed their way!”
“Not that I care mind you. But shouldn’t we wait until that zebra is gone, we’re only after Proselyte after all?”
“Collateral Damage my dear boy, some sacrifices must be made for the greater good,” proclaimed Discord.
“Works for me!”
With that Angel pushed the bowl outside of the bush and waited for something to happen. A few seconds passed, but there was only silence. Curious, the dastardly duo poked their heads through the bushes to see what was taking so long. The liquid within the bowl was still, no longer bubbling. Angel reached out and dragged the bowl back to them, inspecting it.
“What happened, shouldn’t something have happened,” asked Angel.
“Maybe we neutralized whatever was going to happen when we poured that stuff in it, oh well,” Discord cracked his knuckles, “guess we do this my –!”
At that moment a giant explosion burst forth before them. The blast cloud soared high over the canopy of trees, forming a mushroom cloud overhead. When it was over, Discord and Angel stood still at ground zero, both charred black with a blast ring extending at least ten feet. Angel opened his mouth as a puff of black smoke escaped his maw, while Discord turned to a pile of ash, his eyeballs the only things left, blinking in confusion at what had just happened. Both of their eyes wandered to find Proselyte and Zecora trotting by with bemused expressions.
“If you were wondering, Proselyte told me of your little war. I knew of your presence and purposefully laid out those ingredients for you to find,” said Zecora.
“At my behest, of course, well, see you guys back at the cottage.” The two equines trotted off, Proselyte then looked a Zecora. “I thought you only spoke in rhymes?”
“Not always,” she answered.
As Zecora and Proselyte began to vanish in the distance, Angel and Discord were finally able to get over the shock and paralyzing effect of the explosion. Angel shook off the soot that marred his white fur, and Discord’s ashes collected until his body had reformed back to his normal self. The rabbit began to fume at how they were so easily deceived.
“I can’t believe it, he got us!”
“Looks like he’s not above retaliating, this could prove to be a problem,” said Discord.
“Well, I’m out of ideas, unless you got something?”
A light bulb, literally, went off above Discord’s head. Without a word the Spirit of Chaos snapped his digits and transported Angel and himself away from the Everfree Forest. When next they reappeared the two of them were a large space. Angel looked around and saw that there mountains of papers, stacked higher than most of the structures in Ponyville. The only clear space was the one the two of them were standing in, along with a board that seemed to have mathematical problems, most having to do with physics, logistics, and other things Angel didn’t care about, or didn’t quite understand.
“Okay, I’ll bite, where are we,” he asked.
“This is my little ‘War Room’; in here I have many a prank ready to use, about eight-hundred thousand to be exact.” Discord paused for
a moment to allow that number to sink into Angel’s brain. Once he saw the bunny’s jaw drop he continued. “I’ve been saving this because I thought our previous pranks were good enough. But it seems we need to up the ante!”
Angel had to admit he was seriously impressed, knowing that Discord was taking this seriously.
“Hold on, why haven’t you used any of these in the first place?”
“Oh well, the answer to that is simple: many of these could kill, maim, or seriously injure somepony,” said Discord in a matter-of-fact tone.
The brakes in Angel’s mind came to a screeching halt upon hearing that. “Whoa-whoa-whoa, we don’t want to kill him! We just want him to leave, and in one piece! Or else Fluttershy’s going to be crying about it and blame herself for weeks, and I’m not ready to put up with that! Now get rid of all the things that could kill him,” he ordered.
Discord sighed and snapped his digits, a good chunk of the papers vanished but there was still a sizeable amount. Angel looked up at the draconequus, knowing that Discord was known for pulling a “monkey’s paw” kind of wish.
“Now the ones that involve anything having to do with fire.”
Once again Discord whisked away chunk from the stacks, but they were still pretty tall.
“Dangerous animals.”
Another snap and now the stacks were as tall as Discord was.
“Evil spirits?”
Now the stacks came up to Angel’s ears.
“Maiming…?”
Now only one stack remained, but it only came up to Angel’s chest.
“Broken anything…?”
And with that last filter only one paper was left. Angel hopped over to the remaining parchment and read over it, and the more he read the broader his smile became till it was particularly wicked.
“Now this is what I’m talking about,” said Angel.
Discord leaned over and read over the prank plan, “Eh, not one of my better ones, but I guess it’ll do. Still, if you ever change your mind~”
“Yeah…no.”
(War: Judgment Day)
It was all set, today was the day, soon Discord and Angel would finally be rid of Proselyte or at the very least get him to confess who or what he really was. It had taken a long while and much preparation, waiting for both pegasi to be gone from the cottage, using Discord’s magic to keep the trap hidden and out of sight, but it was worth the wait and time spent making it, and now their plan was about to go into action. Discord and Angel hid behind a nearby bush, waiting to hear the satisfying snap of the trap springing into action.
Luckily both Fluttershy and Proselyte were out on separate errands, Fluttershy told them that she would be home late, but Proselyte would be walking down the dirt path to the cottage, it was all perfect.
“You sure this’ll work,” asked Angel.
“No problem, I’ve planned for every contingency,” said Discord.
*TWANG*
“And there it goes!”
There was the sound of something bubbling and being ejected from a spring board. Whatever was launched sounded as if it struck the ground, with its contents spilling out.
“That was phase one, I anticipated that that colt would be able to dodge that, so the first trap will lead him into the second.”
There was another sound, leaves being rustled and falling down in one big pile. There was also sloshing water and the crackling of electricity going off in the background.
“Hmm…sounds like he avoided phase two, but now that should lead him into the final phase, the one where he’ll really get it,” said Discord giddily.
“Who will get what?”
“You know, who, Proselyte you dunce,” said Angel.
“And exactly what will I get?”
Angel and Discord couldn’t believe it, they didn’t want to believe it, there was no chance in Equestria that it was true. They both slowly turned their heads, only to find Proselyte standing not but a couple of feet from them, his left eyebrow rose as he awaited the answer to his question.
“B-B-B-But how did – you were supposed to be trotting down that road! How did you get around it!?” Angel asked dumbfounded.
“I flew and got here about an hour ago. I saw you two building that contraption out there, so I decided to wait till you hid and awaited my arrival,” explained Proselyte.
“Hold on one moment, if you’re standing here, then who sprung the…”
Both Angel and Discord stuck their heads out through the bushes and saw the mayhem that had occurred. A tripwire had been laid out and triggered a nearby springboard and launched a pot containing tar, with a pile of feathers on top of it. A few feet from that was a pitfall, some leaves still rested on the outer ring of the pit, which lead down to water, and swimming in that water were some electric eels. When their eyes drifted further from the second trap they were able to see, to their horror, Fluttershy. She was panting hard, completely terrified at what had just happened, narrowly dodging their prank traps.
“I THOUGHT SHE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE LATE!?” Discord shouted.
“Discord, what the buck, this isn’t the prank trap I saw on that paper! What happened!?”
Discord reached behind his back and produced a piece of paper with a diagram of the prank trap they had just constructed. “This is the one you gave me, it says Prank #3…hold on now,” Discord licked the thumb of his lion’s paw and swiped it across the number, revealing a second number, “oh my, this isn’t Prank #3, it’s actually Prank #33…Well, I guess that explains why we needed Tom, and here I thought it was a counterweight to something, silly me.”
“What or who is Tom,” asked Proselyte.
“Just some huge boulder that mix-mash over here tricked that uppity unicorn into thinking it was a diamond or something,” answered Angel.
There was a brief silence between the three of them. At that moment there was a whistling sound that seemed to break the silence, growing closer and closer with each passing second. It was then that it dawned on them at the same time.
“A HUGE BOULDER!!?” They shouted in unison.
All three stuck their heads through the bushes and gazed skywards as a giant boulder hurdled towards an unsuspecting Fluttershy, who was ironically standing on a bull’s-eye. Proselyte wasted no time; he burst through the bushes and made the leaves explode off the branches.
Proselyte flew fast, concentrating his energy at the last second he disappeared in a puff of purple smoke. Fluttershy, having gotten over her fright from the other two prank traps, started to notice a growing shadow. She then looked down and saw the target, and then finally up to see the huge boulder about to smash her into the ground. Normally a pegasus would unfurl their wings and zoom away at the sight of danger, but that’s not the case with Fluttershy, instead her wings snapped shut and refused to flare out when she was scared bad enough, and right now she was terrified. Fluttershy could only stare at the incoming object, fear gripping her and paralyzing her completely.
At that moment, Proselyte appeared on Fluttershy’s back, his forelegs encircling her neck. “HANG ON!”
The boulder finally hit its mark, landing with a great thundering THUD. Both Discord and Angel started to walk to the site, mouths agape. They couldn’t believe it, Fluttershy was gone, and so was Proselyte. Angel hopped up to Tom; tears began to form in his eyes. Discord just stood there, silently, stunned at what he had seen happen, knowing that he had killed the only friend he ever truly had.
*POOMPH*
The bunny and draconequus quickly turned around and saw a puff of purple smoke. It quickly faded away and revealed both Fluttershy and Proselyte, safe and sound. Proselyte let go of Fluttershy and landed on the ground next to her. She seemed confused until she noticed the boulder that nearly killed her, and it clicked. Fluttershy looked down at the colt and nuzzled him graciously.
“That’s the second time you’ve saved me, Lyte,” said Fluttershy.
Proselyte chuckled a bit, “Yes it is, we must stop this from becoming a habit.”
“FLUTTERSHY!” Angel ran towards his owner and quickly hugged her foreleg. “You’re alive, you’re alive!”
“It’s alright Angel, I’m alright, thanks to – YOU CAN TALK!?” Fluttershy cried.
Angel winced upon realizing that he just blew his secret. Fluttershy didn’t need long to figure out exactly who it was that made it possible for Angel to speak Equuish. Before Fluttershy could ask the draconequus, a bright, indigo light flared into existence, the others looked upon the purple pegasus, his eyes and body exhuming the light of compassion. Fluttershy saw something that she thought she’d never see…Proselyte angry.
“Fluttershy, may I have use of your home? I wish to speak with these two, alone.”
The tone of his voice suggested that this wasn’t a requested. Fluttershy nodded slowly. He smiled at Fluttershy, but then quickly turned his stern gaze upon Angel and Discord; he did not need to say it. They knew what he wanted. The bunny and draconequus walked towards the cottage, wondering if it was such a good idea to follow the glowing purple pegasus into the house, alone. Proselyte opened the door and pointed his hoof to the open doorway, gesturing for them to enter. With a collective gulp the duo walked inside until they were in the middle of the living room. There was an ominous thudding of the front door, and the two of them turned around slowly.
“I have tolerated your antics because you both are dear to Fluttershy. I have tolerated it, evaded, and retaliated, that’s fine, I didn’t mind, they were pointed at me and no pony else,” he said in calm even tone. “But…when you endanger those around you – especially Fluttershy – that is when I do mind!”
Discord gave the colt an indignant look, “Now see here, that was a complete and total accident! I would never –!”
“SILENCE!” Proselyte’s voice rang out deep and strong, but still steady and even.
The room seemed to shake a bit from his voice, the area growing darker, and the light of indigo acted as the only light source. Angel’s more innate animal senses were telling him many things right now. To run, to stay, to get to safety, that this place was safe, but all this only confirmed to him that Proselyte wasn’t an ordinary pony, not even by alicorn standards.
“I knew you weren’t normal, not even close! So what are you,” demanded Angel.
“I am a being much older than you, Angel, and even far older than Discord.” At this the Spirit of Chaos did a double take. “I am an Entity, one of seven that controls and embodies the power of the Emotional Spectrum. My light is that of Compassion, and its color is indigo. It affords me the power to empathize with all living things, and connect to the other six lights of emotional energy.”
Proselyte’s body began to hover in the air; his indigo light shined brighter, washing over Discord and Angel. Suddenly the seven symbols of the Emotional Spectrum appeared above Proselyte’s forehead, shining with their own individual shade of light. Discord and Angel looked upon these symbols wearily, not knowing what Proselyte was going to do to them.
“The seven lights live within each of us, though one may shine stronger than the others, all living things are driven by their power. And it is through them, that a living beings life story can be told…like yours, Angel.”
The bunny rabbit looked up at the glowing pegasus incredulously, but then gasped when the seven symbols grew larger and formed large portals before them.
“The red light of Rage burns within you. Abandoned at a young age, and no family of your own, you lashed out at any woodland creature that dared to approach you, even ponies, and never joining others of your kind, you basically isolated yourself.”
Angel snorted, but he knew what Proselyte was saying was true, although good luck getting him to admit it. At that moment the orange symbol appeared, taking the place of red one.
“The orange light of Avarice, this power is all consuming, and never satisfied. After giving into your rage and isolation you began to feel a sense of entitlement. You took from other animals, their food mostly, bullying them into getting whatever you needed or wanted, even when it wasn’t needed. This only further isolated you from others of your kind.”
Angel felt his anger rise and was about to protest this, but the appearance of a yellow symbol cut him off before he had the chance.
“The yellow light of Fear; in the following years you became overconfident and found yourself hunted down by Timberwolves. You believed you were the fastest, but their numbers, their cunning and speed, far outmatched yours. You were cornered, hurt, and for the first time in your life, you were gripped with fear.”
Angel looked upon this image within the portal, remembering that day vividly. It was the worst day of his life, one that still haunts his nightmares even today. But the yellow portal vanished and two others replaced it.
“The green light of Willpower bathes over you and protects you from harm. And its bearer is Fluttershy. She was a young teenage filly, yet she fearlessly stepped between you and the Timberwolves. Fluttershy used her unique ability to force the Timberwolves into submission and made them leave. At the same time the blue light of Hope shines, and gives you comfort. Your life is saved and a great feeling of relief washes over you.”
The next portal opened up and it was the same symbol that Proselyte had upon his flanks.
“And now we arrive at my light, Compassion. Fluttershy took you into her care, nurtured you, and nursed you back to health. It was the first time in your life that someone ever cared for you or about you. Of course you were skeptical, no one had ever cared for you unconditionally, so why would she?”
The indigo symbol faded, giving way to the final symbol, that of a violet star. Angel felt an unusual comfort from this light, something that he had felt before, but from a certain mare.
“And finally, the violet light of Love enters your heart. For the first time in your life you cared about someone other than yourself, and that same one cared for you the same way, but…” The red symbol reappeared next to the violet symbol. “You saw how fragile, timid, and indecisive she was. You also saw how some would take advantage of that, and while her kindness to others in disregard for her own self angered you, you were more angered by those who took advantage of that. So, you decided to protect her, and even try to bolster her through your abrasive – if not irritating – attitude.”
Angel wanted to say something, anything to prove that this colt was lying, but he knew in his heart, although he never admitted it, this was his truth. He then felt a gentle hoof rest upon his tiny head, looking up, Angel saw the kind and compassionate smile of Proselyte, he still glowed with power but it wasn’t as intense.
“…I just…she can be so frustrating sometimes! She looks after others without first considering what might happen to her! I like that about her…but,” Angel was shaking, some part of him wanted to say what was in his heart, but it was difficult.
“There is no need to say it Angel, I know what you mean. Your emotions, the strongest being Love and Rage, lie on the opposite ends of the Emotional Spectrum, so it is no surprise that you act as you do. And now I understand you better, tam Angel eylan waya klek, nou uru barark daran, nok,” said Proselyte.
Discord was silent throughout the entire thing, but after seeing the way that Proselyte unraveled his entire life’s story in less than a minute, it made him weary that he might be on the receiving end of that power. Just as Discord was about to turn around and leave his muzzle came face to face with that of Proselyte’s. Discord jumped back a bit, surprised by his sudden appearance.
“Do not think I have forgotten you Discord, yours is an interesting story,” spoke Proselyte.
“Well that’s nice to hear, but you really don’t have to…”
“No…I believe we do. During the time you have been here it was hard for me to discern your emotional energies. Your chaotic powers made it hard for me to understand you, but now that I’ve exerted more power, I can now see more clearly.” Unlike Angel, the first symbol to appear before Discord was that of the violet star. “Your story begins with Love. Love for one whom you’ve met many millennia ago. But you were not in this form, no, you were a pony once, a unicorn at that. And your name was Spell Binder.”
Discord glared at Proselyte, his talon and paw glowing with chaos magic. “How did you know that, no pony alive knows about my old name, or who I was as matter fact!?”
“The light reveals all to me, Discord. Your love stemmed from a being who was, or rather is beautiful, regal, and powerful. Princess Celestia.” At this Discord gritted his teeth, his magic flaring dangerously, but still Proselyte carried on. “Others admired and revered her, but you fell in love with her. You were also part of her royal staff, a scholarly mage who wished to become closer to her, though you and Celestia enjoyed the others company, Spell Binder, could never be with Celestia, because he was not an immortal like she was, nor were you on her level of power.”
The blue and green symbols appeared now, along with indigo. They seemed to interlock with each other, showing how the events of the past took shape.
“You were a great mage back then, an inspiration to many young ones; it is this that the blue light of Hope shows me. Compassion motivated you to help others, and Willpower gave you the drive to see your works through. But it was your love that drove you to seek out powers, powers that would allow you to be with the mare you loved. And so you found that power, in chaos. And so, Discord was born, however, you did not take into account that the chaotic powers would warp your mind.”
The red, orange, and yellow symbols appeared now. Scenes of destruction and mayhem appeared within them, making Discord turn his gaze. Surprisingly, the chaos magic faded upon seeing these scenes.
“Celestia looked upon your new form, and thought you a monster, not seeing the true you underneath. Rage took hold, and you decided to unleash that rage upon others. Fear sprung the very fear from the chaos that you spread throughout the land. And then Avarice took hold, claiming all that you saw before you with your power, you would have everything that was precious to Celestia if you couldn’t have her.”
Discord saw the look on Angel’s face; he did not know any of this, the shocking truth that Discord, the Spirit of Chaos, was once a pony like Fluttershy. The draconequus became angered at the pitied look he was receiving and glared hatefully at Proselyte.
“You have no right to look into my past as you did! You say that your light of ‘compassion’ is powerful!? Emotions have no power! They are but feelings…painful…sometimes overwhelming…but not the source of power,” shouted Discord.
Proselyte’s glowing eyes narrowed at that statement, it was if he were calling his very existence into question. “Know this Discord, you too Angel. My light nurtures and protects the innocent, and helps to bring understanding to all. The only ones who need fear my light are those with wicked hearts, and who wish to do others harm. That is why neither of you need to worry about me ever hurting Fluttershy, I’ll never harm her, nor allow her to be harmed. But you Discord, you have more to fear than me.” Proselyte’s right hoof glowed, an orb of indigo light appeared around it, brimming with power. “If I so wished, I could use my power to make you experience all the fear and pain you brought about during your reign. The many lives who cried out for help, I can tap into that and bombard you with that combined power. It will eat at your psyche and rack your body with pain unimaginable. That is the extreme of my light.”
Discord stared at Proselyte’s hoof, somehow he could feel the power gathered within his hoof, and he knew Proselyte’s words to be true. “Then do it.”
Proselyte snorted, “I will not.”
“And why not,” he asked.
Proselyte’s aura began to fade, his eyes returning to normal as the energy within his hoof dissipated and the air in the room became less heavy and ominous. The young colt then hovered back to the floor and smirked up at the draconequus. “Because Fluttershy wouldn’t like that, and I stand by her decision to trust you. That is why.”
Discord and Angel looked at each for a while. Proselyte was indeed not from this world; his powers were proof enough of that, as well as his explanation. After all this, they were fairly sure that he did indeed pose no threat to Fluttershy, and they’ve seen how attached she was to him. But there was still one more thing that they needed to know.
“What do you really look like,” asked Angel.
“I don’t think that’s wise,” said Proselyte.
“After everything you’ve showed and told us, and after revealing who I really was, I think it is only fair,” protested Discord.
Proselyte thought this over, was it a good idea to reveal his true form before them, and in this confined space. “If I show you, will you finally agree to stop this ‘Prank War’ and be satisfied?”
Angel and Discord nodded at the same time.
“Very well…but you are not to tell Fluttershy, or anyone else besides the Princesses, about what you’ve seen.”
Fluttershy had been waiting outside this whole time, pacing back and forth, watching as the indigo light brightened and faded at different intervals within her cottage. She had been waiting for some ten minutes now and there was no sign that either of them were coming out yet. When the light faded she sighed, thinking that whatever they were discussing was over.
At that moment the indigo light shined brighter than she had ever seen, pouring out of the windows. Fluttershy felt the power of the light; it was a familiar feeling, similar to the incident with Storm. It empowered her, comforted her, and made her feel safe and strong at the same time. Just as quickly as it appeared the light vanished, the feelings she had disappearing along with it. At that moment the front door opened and Proselyte stood before her.
“Lyte, what happened in there,” asked Fluttershy.
“Oh, we just came to an understanding.”
Fluttershy looked over Proselyte’s shoulder and saw a stunned Discord and Angel standing there, frozen like statues. Their mouths were agape, eyes bulging out of their skulls.
“That was uh…yeah…that was…I uh…I think I need to go have a talk with Celestia…yes…I think I will.” Discord began to walk out of the cottage, passing Fluttershy and Proselyte. “It was nice visiting you Fluttershy, but I really must get back. And Proselyte…please keep watch over her, will you?”
Proselyte nodded, smiling happily.
With that Discord vanished from sight. Leaving only Angel and the two of them, “Does Angel still talk, or did Discord fix that?”
“I’m sure I could reverse that, but that’s Angel’s decision,” said Proselyte.
It was then that Fluttershy felt something warm and furry grab onto her foreleg. She looked down and saw that Angel was hugging her right foreleg, nuzzling her affectionately. “My goodness, Angel, are you alright?”
“I’m fine, Fluttershy, really. And…thank you,” he said.
Fluttershy cocked an eyebrow, “For what?”
“For saving me and for letting me stay with you…” Angel let go of her leg and looked up at her with a frown. “I don’t remember if I ever told you that…so I wanted to make sure you knew…”
Fluttershy’s lips curled up into a happy smile, she then scooped up the bunny and hugged him close to her chest. “I always knew, Angel.”
Usually Angel would try and get out of the hugs that Fluttershy would give him, but he found that he didn’t feel like leaving the hug, instead he held out his paws and wrapped them across her chest the best he could. The two of them stayed like for a while, with Proselyte smiling contently as he watched the display. Angel then opened one eye and smirked at the colt, to which Proselyte did the same, a kind of mutual understanding being established.