Chapter 1: Connections of a Story
Fluttershy was strolling through the streets of Ponyville on a sunny afternoon. Many ponies were busy, rushing around to finish today’s work. Fluttershy in particular was happy. She had begun reading a book of her favorite musical: The Pony of the Opera. Today, she was hoping to sit at the park and read in a quiet place for once; her animal-filled cottage isn’t what you’d call “quiet”.
As she walked through town, she saw Applejack at her applecart. She walked up to her country friend.
“Good afternoon Applejack. Have you been busy on the farm recently?”
The orange earth pony smiled at her Pegasus friend.
“Not really Flutters. Some of the family has come down to help, since the weather is better here than in some of the other cities.”
The butter yellow Pegasus responded, “Oh, well that’s nice. May I have an apple, Applejack? I am heading to the park for a bit to read this wonderful book, and I skipped lunch.”
“Sure Fluttershy.” The earth pony tossed her friend an apple, fresh from the orchard.
"Thanks Applejack. See you later.”
The Pegasus continued on her way to the park. She was hoping to sit under a big oak tree in the park, and read undisturbed.
When Fluttershy finally got to the park, she placed down her saddlebag she was wearing and took out a picnic blanket. She laid out the blanket and searched through her saddlebag once more.
After pulling out a large novel, she sat on the picnic blanket and began to read. She had just gotten the book from Twilight, as a thank you for watching Owlowiscious when she went on a meeting with Celestia.
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She read for two hours, at one point in that time, eating the apple she was given. When Fluttershy noticed the sun had gone down, she packed up her things and headed back to her cottage. Her book was getting very good, but sadly, she already knew the ending. It was not the one she would’ve taken; comparing her own choices to the story always cheered her up.
In The Pony of the Opera, the main character, Christine, falls in love with her old foalhood friend, Raoul, and a mysterious stallion named Erik, or as he is called in the opera house, the Phantom or Opera Ghost. At the end of the story, which she knew already, since she has seen the musical many times, Christine leaves the Phantom in the opera house and leaves with Raoul.
Fluttershy loved romance novels, especially her new one.
She walked home to her cottage, thinking about what she had just read. She was already on chapter 4, which wasn’t too far into the book.
After returning to her home, she fed her animals their food. After not being home for more than two hours, her animals were quite hungry. She made herself a daisy sandwich, which was never hard to make, since she had a garden outside.
She sat down with her animals as she began to eat her food. There was a knock on the door, making Fluttershy drop her sandwich back onto the plate. She walked over to the door and opened it.
It was Discord.
“Oh, hello Discord. What do you need?”
“Well nothing much, Fluttershy. Since I moved out of Ponyville and into Canterlot, I haven’t seen you, my dear friend.”
The complement made Fluttershy blush. “Discord, you were always welcome to stay in my cottage, if you wanted to stay in Ponyville.”
“Sadly, Celestia said I had to stay in Canterlot because she doesn’t trust me.” Discord rolled his eyes at the memory of being told this. “But, she didn’t say I couldn’t visit.”
Fluttershy giggled. She knew Discord liked to take a seriousness of something and make a little a joke. “Well, that is true. There is nothing wrong with visiting. It is getting late Discord. Do you need a place to stay?”
“I guess that would be best, even though I can just teleport back home with a snap of my claws.”
The small Pegasus smiled. “Great. I will go prepare the guest room for you. You are welcome to come in.”
Discord was about to step into the cottage, until he was stopped by a small white rabbit. Angel.
The small bunny could sense that Discord was up to no good. Discord just stepped over Angel, no care in the world, and shut the door behind him. He sat himself on the couch, Angel staring at him carefully.
Fluttershy was in another room, preparing it for Discord. She moved the animals’ items and swept the floor. She put new sheets on the bed and moved some pictures out of the room.
She walked back into the living room, and saw Angel giving Discord a mean look.
“Angel, come here. You remember my friend Discord.” Angel nodded his head slightly. “Discord is staying here for a bit. Be nice Angel.”
Angel hopped over to his bed and fell asleep.
Fluttershy yawned. “I am going to bed now, Discord. If you need me, I’ll be upstairs. Goodnight.”
“Good night Fluttershy.”
Fluttershy walked up the stairs to her bedroom and changed into her nightgown. She fell asleep on top of the covers, being so tired.
Meanwhile, Discord sat silently on the couch. He sat. And he sat. And he sat. He was bored and wasn’t very tired. He finally got up from the small couch, and found the novel Fluttershy was reading.
Discord wasn’t a fan of reading, but he opened up the book and read. He had to admit, the book wasn’t too bad.
Discord put down the book for a second.
“Now, where have I heard this before? The Pony of the Opera. Hmm. It rings a bell; I just can’t put a claw on it.” He muttered quietly.
He pushed the thought away and picked up the book again.