...
When Fluttershy awoke she was alone in a place she did not recognize in the least. Her head hurt like never before, and she was laying on the softest blanket ever. The last thing she remembered before she blacked out was the warm buttery feeling. She didn't remember if her friends came for her or what else happened. She sat up and looked around. Instead of her animals friends surrounding her, she saw nothing but furniture placed carefully around. The room that held her was small, and there was a tiny area that substituted a usually large room. There was a stove in the corner, with pans stacked messily on top of and a sink nearby that. There was a closed cabinet as well, and a clock that hung on the wall. The only exit was a large hole that was covered by two shutters. It was like a doorway, without a door. In another corner there was a large teal wardrobe and beside that, a table and two stools to sit on. There was a bay window on her left, its large velvety drapes drawn. A dress mannequin stood nearby the window, out of place. There was another floor to the strange place, with curving stairs leading into one small room that Fluttershy, from where she sat, could not see into. She looked up and noticed that the place had very high ceilings and many rafters that were exposed. There was another wall that stood in the center of the back of the room, with a large ornate wood door type thing stationed at the very top. At the bottom, there was a hearth and fireplace for when it got cold, with an empty log holder nearby. Dark blue drapes were pulled just by the ornate wood slab, hung by thin golden cloth ropes. The floor was stone and wood in some parts, covered by throw rugs and a strange series of thin pale pink carpeting that covered most of the room.
Fluttershy stood up, finding this a difficult task, without looking down, and her hoof caught something and she slipped and fell into the soft blanket, pain shooting through her.
"Ow!" she cried, and decided quickly to sit for a few more minutes until the pain stopped. It was then that she looked down and saw what the blanket was. It was pale pink, the exact shade of her mane, and it looked like the carpeting that covered the room. It was then that it dawned on her. She was sitting in miles and miles and miles of her pale pink mane. She turned and looked at her tail to discover it had grown in length too. It was everywhere, curling by her hooves and weaving along the ground, and how it had grown as much as it had, Fluttershy hadn't a clue.
"Wha-?" she began to say in confusion, when she caught somepony lurking in the shadows. Fear shot through her, and she saw it slowly move toward her. Looking for place to hide, the pegasus opened her wings and flew into the air, zipping under the table as fast as she could. Once there she took advantage of her mane and started mounding it around herself for protection. The figure came closer, but didn't come into the dim light of late afternoon. It moved along the shadows, and finally made its way just by the table Fluttershy was under. She held her breath as sweat trickled down her face. Then, much to her surprise, the figure above her laughed and stepped into the light.
As it did Fluttershy saw a large black pony with holes dotting her entire body and hooves. She had hole clad gossamer wings and a jagged hole covered horn. Her mane was sheer and turquoise, as was her tail, and her eyes twinkled a bright and luminous green. She had fangs, a sly smile, and a devilish look about her. This pony's appearance only made Fluttershy tremble more. Then, for a brief second, Fluttershy recognized the strange alicorn. A foe that Fluttershy saw catapulted out of Canterlot a long time ago.
"Chrysalis?" she said softly, letting it roll off her tongue. The changeling queen turned and looked straight at the wimpy pegasus.
"Oh yes. You're awake." said the Queen, and without another word, ignited her horn a scary green hued magic and levitated the pegasus out from under the table, Fluttershy crying out in fear, her long mane trailing after her. Once in front of the Queen and the magic around her had relented, Fluttershy sought to run away again, and maybe get out in the process, but again the Queen used her magic to bring the pegasus closer to face her. Instead of keeping her in the same place, though, Queen Chrysalis made a cage magically appear from thin air and then swung the pegasus in the air without giving her a chance to fly off and Fluttershy, remembering her childhood when the coaches would randomly shove her off a cliff, her wings snapped shut and she fell down into the cage with a soft bump. Once inside, she again wrapped herself in her mane and peered fearfully out of a small slit she had allowed.
"That's better, isn't it?" asked the Queen, menacingly.
"Are you gonna eat me?" asked Fluttershy, softly, fear clutching her stomach. To this the Queen gave a rather hearty laugh.
"I would, pony, I would. But you're more useful to me alive than dead." replied the Queen.
"You have swallowed, or as I suspect, DRUNKEN my flower. I have tried to cut it out of you, but it seems to have dissolved in your mane and tail, resulting in its length. Your mane has special powers of healing, and thus you will heal my army."
"B-B-But, my friends...they will come looking for me." said Fluttershy, softly still, more braver than she felt. Again, Queen Chrysalis gave another hearty laugh.
"By now the changelings I have healed while you've been unconscious have wiped your friend's memories. You are gone in your friend's minds, and if they find out otherwise I will suck the life out of them for opposing me again." spat the Queen.
"As for you, you will be held here until I decide what to do with you. You will heal my entire army, and then we will leave and you will be freed. But for now, I'm keeping you here. I'll be in whenever I feel like it three times a day to feed you, because as I said, you're more use to me alive than dead. In these times I will heal my changelings one by one."
"W-W-Why don't you just....c-c-cut my mane and tail off?" whimpered Fluttershy. She could live without her mane and tail for a little bit if it meant going free. Going back to her friends.....
"I already tried, believe me." said the Queen, and used her magic to yank a lock of Fluttershy's mane into Fluttershy's face. After wincing in pain, Fluttershy studied the lock. It looked fine, except that it was colored a deep and ugly brown. It was the only lock of mane that wasn't colored pink, and it was the only one that had jagged edges where it had been cut. In light of this new information, Fluttershy still cowered and felt the new information pull at her heartstrings. Her friends.....they wouldn't remember her anymore? She couldn't bare the thought, and almost began to cry when Queen Chrysalis began to speak more.
"You'll get bored, I'm sure, so I've left you chores and some other things for you to do. And don't think this kindness is any consolation for you. You're still my prisoner, and if you weren't magically powered I'd happily feed off you. Anyway, I must be going. I have better things to do." the Queen turned away from the magic cage, and she ignited her horn again and destroyed the cage she had made and Fluttershy fell to the ground again.
"Why don't y-y-you wipe m-m-my memory?" blubbered Fluttershy, fat tears now streaming down her cheeks.
"Why, to leave you with these fond memories, of course." said the Queen, and walked toward the exit. She used her magic to open the shutters, letting the golden light of the sunset fill the room. The Queen opened her hole filled wings and flew semi gracefully out of the room. Before her prisoner could react, the Queen lowered her horn right by the exit and from it a bolt of green hued magic shot out and hit the open space that separated Fluttershy from the Queen. Instead of hitting Fluttershy(who cowered), it hit the space and formed around it, the magic fizzled around the exit, and sparkled slightly. The Queen cackled as she flew away and out of Fluttershy's eyesight.
Before Fluttershy could move or scream or do anything, the sadness consumed her, and she released herself from her mane and put her head in her hooves, and began to cry.
Little did Fluttershy or Queen Chrysalis know, the changeling that was said to be sent to wipe Fluttershy's friends' memories never did make it to Fluttershy's cottage, because it was spotted by another creature of the Everfree forest, one more menacing than Chrysalis herself, and this creature took the changeling against its will, and the changeling, though fought for its life, was taken and ended up becoming this mighty creature's lunch. The mane six, now five, was safe. At least, until Queen Chrysalis found out.
When Twilight Sparkle awoke, her head hurt like nopony's business. Her memory flooded back to her, and then she about jumped up in realization. She had come by unaccompanied to see Fluttershy about meeting her and her animal friends for waffles sometime next Tuesday, but instead found the pegasus passed out on the floor, and all her animal friends with her. Twilight took one look at her passed out friend and ran out of the cottage to tell her other friends. Soon they were all there, wondering what to do. Then, according to Twilight's memory, they all felt the same weird feeling and all of them, one by one, passed out on the floor for some unknown reason. Now she had woken up again, and she sat up slowly and looked around the room. Her friends were around her as well, still passed out, and all the animals were as well. She looked around the room, expecting to see her butter yellow pegasus friend in the same place she was before, but instead, all Twilight saw was the floorboards, and a single pale pink strand of mane. In surprise, the violet unicorn was on her hooves in seconds. She galloped over to the nearest friend she could see, which was Applejack, and gave the farmer a hard shake.
"Applejack!" she said at once, and the farmer gradually snapped out of her trance.
"Wha?" she exclaimed, suddenly and groggily, as if everything were coming in to focus.
"Applejack, its Fluttershy." said Twilight, urgently, her eyes snapping over to the place where the pegasus had once lay.
"She's still not wakin' up?" asked Applejack, still groggy.
"No! She's gone!" said Twilight, and once Applejack got wind of that, she too was on her hooves in an instant.
Together they both began to go about the room and wake their other friends, which all of them sort of gave the exact same response. Soon they were all around the place where their pegasus friend had once lay, at the exact same conclusion they were at the night before: nothing.
"Where...where is she?" asked Applejack, carefully, examining the place where Fluttershy had been.
"I'm not sure. First we find her passed out, and now this." responded Twilight, worriedly.
"Maybe she ran away?" suggested Pinkie, who had also become as worried as the others.
"Why would she do that? She was passed out when we last saw her." remarked Rainbow, doubting that somepony unconscious could snap out of their trance in a second to run off. And as far as they all knew, Fluttershy was very contented. Then, without warning, a gasp sounded across the room and all eyes turned to the source; their other unicorn friend.
"Or...somepony took her!" said Rarity, her eyes wide. Pinkie and Applejack gasped as well, but Rainbow and Twilight remained unfazed.
"Why would somepony take Fluttershy?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"I don't know. I wish I had some sort of clue as to why. But then again, if somepony did take her, then why would they have left her unconscious for us to find? Maybe they wanted to get revenge on all of us for something?" inquired Twilight,and as she turned around to look for more evidence, a flash of pink caught her eye. Confused, she slowly walked over to it for a better look, and once she was directly in front of it, she used her magic to levitate it closer to her vision. It was a long and graceful piece of somepony's mane, and it shimmered pink under the immense amount of light in Fluttershy's cottage.
"Twilight? What is it?" asked Applejack, carefully.
"What do you make of this?" returned Twilight, and levitated it generally in the middle of where everypony was standing. Gasping, everypony reached around for a piece of their own mane.
"It's definitely not one of ours....." said Rainbow, tossing her rainbow colored mane back behind her head.
"I'll bet it's Fluttershy's! Only she has pretty long and pink mane like that! I saw everypony's manes on that train to Canterlot that one time for the baking competition, rahmember? It has to be hers!" insisted Pinkie, tossing her mane back in its resting place as well.
"So it is..." said Twilight, and inspected it carefully once more. It was true that none of her other friends had mane such as this, but why would their friend run off like that? Unless...unless Rarity's assumption was true?
"I just don't understand..." said Twilight softly. The rest of her friends gathered around her protectively and studied the mane piece along with the purple unicorn. Worry swirled and danced and filled the room, and the usual playful aura felt in Fluttershy's cottage was extinguished almost completely.
"You don't think it's Discord, do you?" asked Rarity, putting a hoof to the side of her face worriedly.
"Moi? Why in Equestria why would you all think such a thing?" said a voice from nowhere. Then, as if on cue, the draconequus materialized from thin air above Fluttershy's couch. The five friends sprung into action, formating and putting anger on their faces. They should have known it was the work of this trickster.
"Discord!" challenged Twilight, still levitating the mane piece.
"What have you done with Fluttershy?"
"I've done nothing with her." said the draconequus, and then a halo materialized around Discord's head innocently.
"Yeah, right. We know you've kidnapped her!" said Rainbow Dash, angrily.
"I'm reformed, as you all seem to forget, so naturally I wouldn't kidnap a friend. I came by Fluttershy's for a harmless visit, but then I see you all here and decide to see what all the fuss is about." replied Discord calmly, and rearraged himself on the couch comfortably.
"He looks pretty shifty to me, Twilight." said Pinkie, going over and looking the spirit of chaos over.
"If you're not here to be mean, didn't you at least bring me some chocolate milk rain? With maybe a dollop of whipped cream this time?"
"Do ya at least know anythin' about Fluttershy's possible kidnappin'?" asked Applejack, ignoring Pinkie's comment.
"Why, of course not. I told you, I've only just got here. There was somepony or something walking around last night, but that was probably Princess Luna, yes?" he asked, slyly.
"Where was this something going?" asked Twilight, eyes softening ever so slightly.
"The Everfree Forest, of course. The only place decent enough in Equestria." replied Discord, examining his eagle claw.
"Then you wouldn't mind going on the search with us, would you?" demanded Rainbow, sticking her muzzle in Discord's face. He pushed her away, stuck his tongue out at her and then faced Twilight once more.
"I suppose I'll go with you ponies. You all are always good for a laugh."
Though the tower was a place of confinement, Fluttershy found one thing that made her a little bit happy. A cameleon, one small and green, wandered in the tower one day and saw the pegasus crying. He stayed there and tried his best to comfort her without speaking. He stroked her mane with his little green feet and gurgled occasionally. He then stayed when she stopped crying, and she thanked him for being there. It had been almost four days since Fluttershy had been brought to the tower, and already it had felt like she had been there a thousand years. Chrysalis had left her chores, but didn't seem to care if Fluttershy did them or not. Fluttershy did them anyway, not about to take the risk of being yelled at by the ruthless queen. True to her word, however, the Queen did bring Fluttershy food, and it wasn't as horrible as she thought it would be. The Queen dropped by on the first full day Fluttershy was captive and said she didn't want Fluttershy to get sick and risk loosing the healing power, so the Queen would give her healthy and good food from then on. But while the food was a small kind consolation, the Queen also brought in her changelings to be healed everyday. The Queen would pop in at any time she pleased and bring a wounded changeling on her back with her up to the tower. If Fluttershy wasn't terrified of the changelings, she would have felt sorry for the poor creatures. After they were healed, however, they turned as menacing as Fluttershy remembered, and Chrysalis would leave without another look at Fluttershy. Fluttershy was thankful whenever they left, leaving her to her peaceful tower.
However, every day became more saddened and brittle for Fluttershy. She became empty and pale. Without her friends and the animals there wasn't much Fluttershy could feel happy for, minus her new friend. She wondered every day what her friends were up to, and if her animals remembered her. She wondered what part of the farm Applejack was harvesting, what books Princess Celestia sent Twilight to read, and what parties Pinkie was planning and what dresses Rarity was sewing. She longed to fly with Rainbow(or at least fly behind Rainbow) and to feel the sun on her face and the air rushing into her mouth and drying it out. She longed to see Angel and her cottage, Elizabeak and Hummingway, and all the animals that made her happy, but with each passing minute the weight of reality bogged her down. The only thing besides her new cameleon friend(whom she had named Pascal) was the large cedar chest of paints and brushes that Chrysalis had somehow forgotten to mention. There were all sorts of happy colors, and for days after finding them Fluttershy would only look at them and begin to sob. The colors reminded her strongly of Rainbow Dash, and thinking of one friend made her remember they may not ever remember her again, and the weight began all over again.
So, to commemorate this sadness, Fluttershy picked up a brush and coated the empty walls with pictures of her friends. All of them together, and each of them specifically. She painted her life and everything about it: her friends, her home, her animals, her cutie mark, her element, Discord, her smiling, everything. By looking at these paintings they made her very sad, yes, but it also gave her a sense of peace and hope. That one day she would be let go, and she would return to her friends, and after convincing them she was their long lost friend, Twilight preform the memory spell on each of them, and they would all remember. And things would return to normal, including her mane and tail.
The sudden growth of her mane and tail at first scared Fluttershy, but the more she sat with it, the more it didn't bother her. It just weirded her out. She didn't remember doing anything to cause it to be like it was, and she didn't understand why she had blacked out in the first place. All she remembered was trying to stay conscious to go for help, but the warm buttery feeling knocked all her animals out and her along with it. But the more Fluttershy pondered, the more her brain would hurt from confusion. Before long Fluttershy had a routine going, and to keep herself from crying or laying around being miserable, the pegasus had made up a song for herself, one which she hummed throughout the days. (song:When Will My Life Begin
Seven a.m., my usual morning lineup
I'll start on the chores and clean till the tower's nice
Polish and laundry, wax and sweep up
Sweep again and by then its like seven thirteen
So I'll read a book
Or maybe none at all
I'll heal a changeling, there
And then I'll paint the wall
I'll fail at dancing, sure and maybe watch outside
Just wonder when will I be free.
Then after lunch it's healing and darts and thinking
Paper mache, maybe ballet, no chess.
Pottery, maybe ventriloqy, candle making,
Then I'll sketch, maybe stretch, take a fly, try a dress!!
And I'll reread the books if I'm not in pain
I'll paint the walls some more, maybe a candy cane
And then I'll brush and brush and brush and brush my mane
Been stuck in here all day
And I'll keep wondering and wondering and wondering and wondering
When will I be free?
Tomorrow night
Another day will go
Just like it does; my pain only grows
What are they doing?
Oh how I miss them......
Maybe just maybe
She might just let me go?
Three quiet figures manuevered alongside the walls of the majestic Canterlot castle. It should have been nighttime, so the figures would have been cloaked more easily, but no thief ever pulled a heist off easily. It was actually midday, and guards of all kinds were alongside the magnificent builiding. What the figures wanted was inside the castle; the most protected item in the entire place. It was a golden tiara, the crown of not a princess, but of a high honor. The crown represented pure kindness, and could only be wore by a pony of such. Of course, the tiara had been tried on by many a kind pony, but the tiara would only made to fit one. It was said that if a pony of pure kindness was found, all evil would be destroyed and good would prevail always. There was rumor of such a pony, and the princesses had searched for her for a long time, almost fifteen years. She was rumored to be still in Equestria and alive, and to celebrate this belief, every year on the pony's inferred birth, the princesses and the citizens of Canterlot would release millions of paper lanterns into the sky, thinking that the pony would see them in the sky and come. But no such pony ever came, and every year chances dwindled. So day by day the magnificent crown was guarded, and every day it collected more and more dust. To keep its magnificent sheen, however, it was polished once a week to keep from tarnishing. It was truly a thing of beauty, pure gold with curls in its design, with tiny delicate diamonds placed carefully in in a pristine pattern around the crown's outline, all circulating around a rose quartz, the very thing symbolizing pure kindness. It was also said that when the true pony came into Canterlot, the quartz would glow so brightly the entire kingdom of Canterlot would be illuminated and seen from a thousand miles away.
Besides being the ultimate honor, it was also seen by some as the ultimate prize. The pure gold and diamonds would surely fetch a lot of bits, more than some thieves had ever seen before in their lives. This was the ultimate goal of the three figures as they held on for dear lives onto the Canterlot castle walls. They would sell the crown and forever be rich.
They each slowly climbed up the roof and were perched atop it, overlooking Canterlot and all below and around. Two figures pulled off their magic camouflage cloaks(stolen from a rich unicorn who invented things in the mountains; it had the ability to take the outside form of anything and camouflage any user; it still had some bugs in the spell. Why the unicorn had more than one was still a mystery) and began to look around the roof for possible entrances. They were twins, each with similiar fox cutie marks and carrot orange coats. They had unruly black and grey manes and matching tails and menacing blue eyes. They were earth ponies, and the only way that one could tell them apart was that one of them had scars all over his face, an eye patch, and didn't speak at all. The other twin did all the talking, and when he did speak it was limited. The other figure pulled off his magic cloak's hood and stared out the beautiful view. Unlike his fellow thieves he was a dark grey in color with a white and pale blue mane. He was a pegasus, but his wing had been injured in the last heist he and the twins had pulled. His eyes were light chocolate brown, and he smiled as they swept across the beautiful landscape. He wore a magic camouflage cloak, same as they did.
"Wow...." he said aloud, loud enough for his twin partners in crime to hear. The twins didn't take any notice, and the one with the eye patch tapped his hoof around the roof tiles, looking for weak spots. The pegasus kept looking at the view and didn't pay any attention to the twins.
"I could get used to a view like this."
"Lane! Come on!" said the twin who usually spoke.
"Hang on." said the pegasus. He took one more huge eyeful.
"There. I'm used to it." he turned to the twins.
"Guys, I really want a castle. Have you ever wanted one?" The twin who usually spoke smirked. The twins had found a place to enter the castle.
"Once we finish this job you'll have enough bits to buy your very own. Now let's go!"
The colt rolled his eyes and trotted away from the overlook. The twins then pulled a rope from a saddlebag hidden underneath the cloaks secured a thin rope around his middle and opened a rusted roof tile. This tile obviously hadn't been changed in a while, which made it easier for the twins to open it and slip the colt inside. Before sending him down, however, the eyepatched twin tossed the colt a worn leather satchel, a beloved item they always carried to put stolen things in safely. It was patched and scuffed in many places because of often use. Clutching the satchel, the colt slipped safely through.
He was lowered into a large and spacious room. There were windows everywhere, adding delicate and gorgeous light to dance and fill the room at every angle. There were expensive and well made long tapestries that hung from the rafters that looked hoof made. There were equal amounts of tapestries with Princess Celestia's cutie mark and Princess Luna's, to show their joint ruling. And there, directly below him, was the magnificent crown, resting on an overstuffed satin purple pillow, the pillow resting on a wooden pedestal. But, not only was there a lot of light and beauty in the room, there were also an impressive array of guards. They were in a perfect fan in front of where the crown lay. They all wore golden armor, symbolizing that they were Princess Celestia's guards.
The twins slowly and quietly lowered the colt down farther, and soon he was directly above the crown; one more inch could make him fall. He was so close to the guards he could hear them breathing slowly and evenly. He froze the rest of his body, and slowly reached one hoof down to retrieve the crown when a loud sneeze pierced the silence. One of the guards directly in front of the colt had sneezed, causing the rest of the guards to jump ever so slightly.
"Ugh. Hay fever?" asked the colt, pleasantly. He got his hooves on the gorgeous crown and placed it in the satchel as carefully and as hurriedly as he could manage. Expecting the guard to react, the colt tugged on the rope twice to let the twins know he had it. He was halfway up the room before the guard realized.
"How'd you guess?" asked the guard, to no one.
"Who are you talking to?" remarked another, examining his fellow guard. The rest of them stirred as well.
"Him." said the guard, absentmindedly, pointing a hoof in the colt's previous direction. Then the reality hit him. He whipped around, spear at the ready.
"Where are-" he started to demand, but then realized nopony was there. He looked up and saw one black hoof disappearing into the open sky above.
"Get him!" yelled the guard, and the array of guards sprang into action, five leaving the room and two staying behind.
The twins and colt got off the castle faster than anything, and were galloping as fast as they could away from Canterlot, towards the train station. They were in the train before anypony could say anything, and with that, the train hummed to life and was out of the station before the guards could reach the thieves. The thieves found an empty car nearest the caboose and settled in. They panted for twenty minutes, standing erect and motionless, and when nopony came after them, they sighed. They found seats away from each other and rested their sore hooves. The colt looked out the window and saw Canterlot castle once more. He sighed, wistfully and slyly.
"Can't you two think of me in a castle of my very own?" When the twins only glared at him, he smirked and continued.
"I can. Well, you know what they say. All the stuff we've seen and it's only half past nine! What a day this will be!" He said triumphantly, thrusting the satchel in the air.
The mane six, now five, including Spike and Discord, decided to leave as soon as possible to find Fluttershy. They all prepared supplies and saddlebags for the trip. Rarity was advised(or rather, demanded) to pack as lightly as she could, and she was limited to one small bag that she herself would carry on her back. Spike, however, volunteered to carry that one small bag, and Rarity happily allowed it, so the matter was settled. Discord, though not needing to bring a saddlebag at all, brought one anyway, although it wasn't really a saddlebag by nature. It was more like a rucksack, one worn and a sandy brown. It was made of burlap and Discord had only placed a few items inside; all of which the mane five didn't get glimpses of. The first place to start looking was in, of course, the Everfree forest. Twilight had packed a reasonable amount, a few books and a field guide on all strange monsters and other creatures, food and water, and other bits and bobs here and there, including the mane piece just in case. She went to bed early, and advised Spike to do the same, much to his protest.
They all met at Fluttershy's cottage to feed the animals and say goodbye to the animals as well that morning. They all brought their saddlebags, and just before they entered the Everfree, Twilight began with her usual pep talk.
"Alright everypony. We're venturing now into the Everfree forest." she said, hiding the fear in her voice.
"Obviously." said Rainbow, under her breath. Tempers had been very high since Fluttershy had disappeared, and all were anxious, scared, and worried.
"I do hope I brought enough plastic protective boots. I simply cannot have that awful dirt on me," complained Rarity. The pristine unicorn was fashionably dressed, with a mud skirt and a purple blouse. She wore her hair piled up and away from her face, and she wore purple plastic protective low rise boots on all four hooves. She wore cute purple sunglasses, three hoop earrings in each ear, and a look of sheer worry. Her one saddlebag was stuffed to the brim, and Spike's face could barely be seen over it's volume. Besides her saddlebag she also brought her tent, which she would allow each of her friends to sleep in.
"I am positive we will bring Fluttershy back safe and sound. Now that you're here, Discord, since you're accompanying us on this trip, you have to promise to behave yourself." said Twilight, carefully.
The draconequus was a few minutes late to Fluttershy's, and wore a visor, a puffy orange vest, forest green parachute pants with pockets galore, and a camera around his neck.
"Behave? I hardly know the meaning of the word." he said. Twilight cast a glare at Discord, and remarkably, the draconequus was quiet. Twilight gave a huge sigh, and took a step inside the mighty Everfree, and everypony followed.
Even in the soft daylight, the Everfree still looked as mysterious and foreboding as it did at night. Mist hung on the branches of trees, and there was a strange yet peaceful morning quiet. The girls walked in a line of pairs and one trio, Twilight and Discord up front, Rarity and Spike behind them, and Pinkie and Applejack bringing up the rear. Rainbow Dash flew somewhere just above the middle of the pack, and surveyed what could be seen from the air. Twilight didn't particularly want to walk next to Discord; she would prefer if he brought up the rear with Applejack and Pinkie, but she figured if she asked him to go to the back he'd shoot stuff at her head just to annoy her. There wasn't much to talk about, so the group pressed on in silence until the spirit of chaos broke the silence.
"So...none of you remember what happened when you last saw Fluttershy?"
"No, not really. We ran in, and then she was gone. I guess I must have fallen asleep or fainted, because the next thing I knew it was morning, and I was on the floor." said Twilight, not meeting the spirit of chaos's gaze.
"Her animal friends were just fine, though, so she couldn't have been gone for very long." said Rarity, worriedly.
"We should have made her a care package!" said Pinkie, biting her lip.
"Everypony calm down. I'm sure she's fine." said Applejack, carefully.
"Let's hope wherever she is, she's not crying in a corner somewhere."