Flitter ran through the streets with Dusk and Cheese close behind her. She hadn't said a word yet to them about her new powers. She wanted to be as far away from Kibou before she took a chance to stop.
She just hoped he wouldn't notice she was gone right away. Finally she turned a corner and took a chance to catch her breath.
She turned to see Dusk and Cheese doing the same. Flitter suddenly felt hesitant about how to tell them what she had done. She wasn't sure how they would react.
"Okay Flitter. Spill. How did you get through the barrier just now? No one but Kibou should have been able to do so." Dusk asked as if reading her mind.
She sighed and tried to find the best way to answer. Cheese noticed the uncomfortable look on her face and asked a different question.
"Are you okay Flitter? I mean with Uncle Discord being sick and all…we wanted to come check on you."
Flitter looked over at her other friend and smiled for a minute. Cheese was just like his mother, he always knew how to make her smile.
"Yeah I'm okay. Actually…what I'm about to say will answer both of you." She said and the two of them looked at her curiously.
She took a deep breath and told them her secret,
"I drank a potion and made a wish. I wished to have my dad's chaos magic…I wanted to know what it was like finally to be great like my father is. Well it worked…too well. I didn't know it would actually give me his magic.
"But it's going to be okay! Because the spell only last until the sun goes down. That's about the time I made the wish last night and it only lasts for twenty-four hours."
She stopped and waited for the two of them to react. Neither said anything, just continued to stare at her. She waited with her ears tucked back and her tail wrapped around her legs.
As expected, Dusk was the first to react.
"What!? Flitter, you took your dad's magic? How is that even possible? Where did you get the potion to even accomplish this?"
Flitter sighed, leave it to DL to need all the details. Unfortunately, he was just like his mother in that aspect.
"It's a long story. Remember when you left me in the woods DL?" She blushed slightly when she said this and Dusk did too. He nodded and looked over at Cheese.
"Well, once you had gone, this…well…alicorn showed up and-"
"What? What alicorn? There aren't any other alicorns but me, mom and the other princesses." Dusk interrupted and Flitter had to roll her eyes.
"Don't you think I know that? This one was different. She looked like a…well kind of like a breezie, but not exactly. She was really beautiful…but that's not what matters. She said her name was Queen Titania, queen of the fairy ponies. She's the one who gave me the potion that would grant any wish I desired for twenty four hours."
Cheese looked at Flitter, his eyes full of concern.
"Flitter. How do you know that you can trust her? What if this Queen Titania isn't what she says she is?"
Flitter shook her head and smiled in assurance.
"I thought the same thing when I met her. That's why I went to Aunt Twilight and borrowed some books on the legends surrounding her. She's the real thing. And so is this potion, watch."
She closed her eyes and focused on what she wanted. She thought of chocolate and flicked her tail.
When she opened her eyes, there was nothing in front of her.
"That's strange I thought I…" She frowned and tried to see what she did wrong.
The three of them jumped when they heard a scream. They turned and ran back to the middle of town and Flitter's mouth fell open.
Raining from the sky was chocolate ice cream. It was covering all of Ponyville in its stickiness and ponies were running all over to avoid it.
"Oopps…" She whispered.
"Flitter you have to stop it!" Dusk shouted at her and she turned to him panicked.
"I don't know how! I-I can't control it!"
Several ponies had taken shelter under an awning and were glaring up at the sky.
"That Discord. Can't leave a peaceful day alone. I swear, he's still so much of a nuisance." One of the mares said.
Flitter looked over and her ears fell back more. She had been told by her mother that ponies didn't trust her father completely. Although she had never been told why, she knew that this wouldn't help.
She took a deep breath and prayed that she could fix things. She put all her focus on making the chocolate stop. For her father's sake.
This time when she flicked her tail a bright yellow light that covered the town and the 'rain' stopped. She sighed in relief, but it was short lived.
Apparently the other mare had noticed Flitter's actions and her mouth was hanging open.
"You! It was you! Oh no not another one!"
This got the attention of several other ponies. They came over and began to shout at her in anger. Dusk was quick to step in front of her and spread his wings in warning.
This stopped the ponies' advance, but not their shouts.
"What were you thinking you trouble maker!?"
"Your pranks went too far this time!"
"Some pony could have been hurt!"
"Great another chaos user that will torment us all!"
Flitter listened to the continued shouts and she tried to explain,
"It was an accident. I'm sorry. I-I'm still new to my magic and…"
"If you can't control it then you have no right being around others!" One pony shouted and others agreed.
"She'll be just as much trouble as her father was! At least Kibou is harmless!"
"Yeah she apparently has the same heart her father does."
This made Flitter angry.
"What's that supposed to mean? My father is amazing!"
"And still a giant pain to us all! Even if he's reformed, he's still a menace at times!"
"That's not true! You just don't understand him! You're always judging him and it's not fair!" She shouted, tears forming in her eyes now. Cheese moved to her side and whispered in her ear.
"Calm down Flitter. Now is not the time for Aunt Fluttershy's temper to come through."
She turned her glare on him briefly and then back to the crowd. DL turned his head and nodded at her.
"Cheese is right Flit. Emotions can affect your magic and with chaos magic, that's twice as dangerous."
She gritted her teeth and told herself to calm down. That her friends were right, she remembered her father saying as much to Kibou. That he must be careful not to get angry or he would lose control of his magic.
She had just managed to calm her anger when she heard one whispering.
"Guess we shouldn't have gotten our hopes up that the freak's other child would be just the same."
That one word was enough to get her heart racing again in anger. She had heard it whispered so many times about her older brother whom she loved.
And especially about her father, whom she idolized.
"Take. That. Back." She hissed through gritted teeth. The crowd looked at her in surprise.
Flitter felt her whole body shake with a new kind of energy as her anger rose. She raised her eyes to the crowd and they took a step back.
What they saw were her red eyes glowing brightly. They knew that it could only spell trouble, even her friends took a cautious step away.
"Flitter. You have to calm-"
"Take it back!" She shouted again cutting off DL.
Now there was a clear yellow aura surrounding her. She focused her eyes on the mare that had dared to insult her family.
"Take it back." She whispered. The mare swallowed and backed up, but she ran into an invisible force that stopped her.
"My father's not a freak. I'll make you pay for even daring to whisper such a word in my presence. I know the perfect punishment that you ponies are so fond of." She chuckled and the crowd backed up further. Dusk and Cheese moved further away from her, looks of horror on their faces.
She grinned and as she focused on the pony she sent a wave of magic towards the mare and it crashed into her.
The mare was engulfed in a yellow flash and when it faded the crowd screamed and ran from the area in a panic.
It was their screams that snapped Flitter out of the foggy daze she had fallen into. She shook her head and groaned as she put a hoof to her head.
"Ow…what…what happened just now?" She whispered and looked back to the crowd and gasped.
"Oh no…NO!" She shouted and ran to the statue that had once been the mare before her. She put her hooves on the cold stone and tried to change it back, but found her magic no longer responded to her.
"How did this happen? Dusk, Cheese, help me!" She turned to see her two best friends looking at her differently. They were shaking and staring at her as if she were…
A monster.
"Guys…please…I-I didn't mean…" Tears welled in her eyes as she tried to make them understand.
She took a step towards them and Dusk stepped in front of Cheese protectively. The move froze Flitter and her heart cracked.
"Please guys…you know I would never-" She took another step towards them and Dusk's horn glowed with his magic. She noticed that his eyes were also shining with tears as he gritted his teeth.
"Don't come any closer." He whispered and she gasped in pain again.
Now her tears were freely flowing down her cheeks as she watched her best friend threaten her as if she were dangerous.
She turned and looked at the statue again.
"I am…I'm…"
She sobbed and took off at a gallop towards the edge of town, heading for the Everfree. The place where monsters belonged.
Discord groaned again he watched Twilight pour different potions into different tubes. He was quickly growing impatient with this whole thing.
He wanted nothing more than to find out what was wrong with him and to get back to his family.
A sudden cold stabbed his heart and he gasped.
Twilight turned as he staggered and grabbed at his chest.
"Discord!" She ran to him, thinking that he was getting worse from whatever had attacked his magic.
However as she reached him and helped him back up he growled and turned to leave.
"Discord! Hey! Wait, where are you going?" Twilight flashed in front of him, blocking the door before he could run out.
"Move Twilight. I have to get home." He growled again, his hackles raised.
"Wait a minute Discord. What's going on? Where is this coming from?" She asked.
He looked away frowning. Then he looked back at her and used his claws on her head to move her out of his way.
"I can't explain it. But everything inside of me is screaming to go to Fluttershy right now. Something must have happened and I have to see her."
Twilight tried to stop him again by blocking his path.
"And what if something has happened? What can you do right now? You don't have your magic!"
He growled and went around her again, his eyes glowing gently with instinctive anger.
"I don't need magic to protect the ones I love." He growled and ran out of the castle, leaving Twilight behind.
"Stubbornness sure does run in this family." She muttered and decided the best way she could help was to finish her work.
She ran back into her lab determined to finish the potion she had been creating. If she could find out what was wrong with his magic she could start on a way to reverse it.
She had been working for only a few minutes when she heard her name being called and turned to see her other friends walking into the lab.
"What's this we heard about Discord being sick?" Rarity asked as she looked around for said draconequus.
"How did you all…oh right. I sent Dusks Light to your house AJ." Twilight said as she looked at Spike and Applejack.
"Yeah and then we rounded up the girls to come check on him. Although Pinkie was already on her way over when we ran into her." Applejack explained.
"Where is Dissy? I brought him balloons and a get well soon cake!" Pinkie shouted, showing off her gifts.
"You just missed him. He ran out of here in a frenzy. He believes that there's something wrong at home and insisted that he had to check."
"Didn't he leave the kid there?" Rainbow asked and Twilight nodded.
"Yes, he left Kibou behind to watch over the girls. That's why I'm not too worried, but I couldn't have stopped him without using force. I saw no point in that as I'm sure he'll be back once he sees everything is okay." Twilight said and turned back to her work.
The others sighed in relief and Spike came to her side and looked at all she was doing.
"Need a claw with any of this Twi?" He asked and it made Twilight smile in memory of all the other times he'd asked the same thing. It didn't feel like years, but days since he grew up.
"I'd like that Spike. I'm just waiting for this potion to finish and then-"
"Mom! Mom! Come quick, it's an emergency!" Dusk shouted as he and CheesePie ran into the lab.
Twilight sighed,
"Although at this rate of interruption, I'll never finish. What is it Dusk?"
Dusk skidded to a halt in front of his mother and took a second to catch his breath.
"I know what's happened to Uncle Discord! Flitter got his magic transferred to her! She-"
"What!? How did she do that?"
"Mom! There's no time right now. I'll explain on the way, but she's done something awful! She turned a pony to stone!"
Twilight gasped and looked to the others, they had the same expression she did. She nodded and turned back to her son.
"Take me to the pony and explain everything you know on the way."
The group made it to the poor pony trapped in stone in record time.
"Okay so let me see if I understand this right. This supposed Queen Titania gave Flitterbee this potion that granted her one wish and Flitter wished for her father's magic?" Twilight asked as she studied the stone.
Dusk nodded and asked,
"Who is this Queen Titania mom? I've never heard of her in any of the books I've read."
"You wouldn't have except in a few on legends. There is no such being. Even Discord said that the fairy ponies don't exist and he's been around long enough to know."
"So who do you recon this creature was Twi?" Applejack asked, she and the girls had followed along to help how they could.
Twilight frowned and looked at her friends.
"I have a pretty good idea. If I'm right there's not much time. We have to stop Discord before he reaches his castle. Luckily for us, without his magic he'll be slower and catchable. Rainbow…"
"On it." Rainbow said, needing no instructions and took off towards the Chaos Castle.
Twilight turned back to the statue and focused her magic.
"Can you help her Twilight?" Rarity whispered and Twilight only nodded as an answer.
She focused on the spell and her magical aura surrounded the statue. After a few seconds of holding their breaths, the girls noticed a small crack forming in the stone.
As it spread they watched in anticipation and soon the stone fell away, releasing the pony trapped inside.
The mare fell to the ground, where Pinkie and Rarity helped her up.
"That was incredible Twilight. How did you undo the spell so easily?" Spike asked and Twilight chuckled.
"Discord taught me a spell to counter simple chaos magic. I'm sure you remember what happened when Kibou caught that cold? It was so we could keep up with what his sneezes caused."
Twilight then walked over to the mare and asked if she was okay.
"I-I think so…What happened?"
"I'm afraid we'll have to explain later. For now I need you and every other citizen to get inside their homes and stay there. Don't come out unless I say 'By Starswirl's Beard, it's safe.' Unless I say those exact words don't come out. Even if you hear my or any other voice, not even if Celestia herself says to come out. Do you understand?"
The mare gave Twilight a strange look, but nodded and ran to get inside the safety of her home.
Twilight turned to her friends next,
"Spread those words to all the citizens and make sure all of them understand how important it is to listen for the code words."
The mares nodded, now understanding what they were getting ready to face from Twilight's instructions.
"Mom…Why do we need code words? And what did you mean by even if they hear your voice?" Dusk asked and Twilight gave him a small smile.
"Nothing…but the same thing goes for the two of you. I need you to return to the castle and take Flitterbee with you…Where is she? I thought she'd be around here waiting for us."
Dusk and Cheese shrunk down and Cheese muttered,
"She ran off."
The older mares looked down at the two colts surprised. Applejack said what they were all thinking.
"And you let her go? Why didn't you chase after her?"
Dusk looked even more ashamed at that moment.
"We…we were afraid of her…she wasn't acting like herself when she turned that pony to stone…and I…I…" His ears fell back when he remembered the crushed look on Flitter's face when he had stood against her in fear.
Twilight instantly understood what had happened and sighed.
"Son. Flitter had no control over what happened. This is why your Uncle Discord went through so much trouble in training Kibou. Chaos magic can not only get out of control, but can turn on the bearer of it."
"What do you mean Aunt Twilight?" Cheese asked and Twilight sighed.
"I'll try to explain this quickly. Chaos magic is different from pony magic. It's more alive in a way and without the proper control it can grow too powerful for the one who holds it. Discord even fell to its power when he was younger. It can corrupt the being it resides in if they don't know how to tame it. Now no more questions. Get back to the castle and stay there."
"What about Flitterbee Twilight?" Rarity asked and Twilight frowned, not sure how to find the filly. Luckily her 'Number One Assistant' had the answer.
"I'll track her. My senses have gotten much sharper and I'm sure I can follow her scent and bring her back."
Twilight nodded and gave the others their instructions.
"I'll take Dusk and Cheese back to the castle and tell Flash what's going on. I need you girls to start spreading word around town about what I said before. We don't have much time, we have to collect Discord so all of us can come up with a plan. Let's go."
She began to lead the colts back to her castle. Applejack gave Spike a quick kiss,
"Be careful honey. Bring her back safe."
Spike cupped his wife's cheek and nodded before running off to find the filly and Applejack followed Pinkie and Rarity.
All of them understanding the importance of time.
She groaned as she tried to move her body, it felt sore all over. Fluttershy slowly opened her eyes and looked around. She was still in her living room, she tried to stand and found that she was very weak.
Then memories flooded through her mind and she gasped. Her head shot up and she looked around until she saw him.
"Kibou!"
She stumbled to her son's side and nudged him with her muzzle.
"Baby, wake up. Come on sweetie, answer me."
A chuckle behind her made her blood run cold and she turned to see who was standing behind her.
"Chrysalis." She whispered and her pupils shrunk in fear.
The queen laughed again and grinned at Fluttershy.
"I wouldn't bother trying to wake him up."
"What did you do to him!?" She demanded.
"I needed to make sure that he wouldn't pose a threat. I simply slipped him a sleeping potion. He will be blissfully unaware of what will happen to his loving family in his absence. At least until it's his time to join them."
Chrysalis chuckled again and started to walk closer to the pair. Fluttershy instantly stepped between the changeling and her son.
"Don't you dare touch him!" She hissed and Chrysalis was momentarily taken aback by the pegasus.
However she quickly recovered and laughed again.
"My, my…haven't we grown braver since the last time you and I met. If I'm not mistaken you were the one trembling the most in Canterlot. I have to admit it was a surprise when I learned that the Element of Kindness had not only tamed the Lord of Chaos, but had in fact married the beast."
She started to pace around the two again, Fluttershy made sure to keep herself between the villain and her baby.
"It definitely put a damper in my plans to once more invade Equestria."
"You failed last time, what makes you think this time would be any different?" Fluttershy asked and Chrysalis grinned down at her.
"I changed my chosen target. I realized that Princess Mi Amore was too small a pony to have any real influence. I needed someone more powerful, and yet within my power to change into. Obviously the two princesses were out of the question. Then it hit me. The answer had been presented the moment I was discovered at Canterlot."
She leaned in closer to Fluttershy, surprised once more that the pegasus didn't flinch back in fear. The mare was too focused on protecting her child to think about her own safety.
"The very ponies that tried to stop me. You six are more powerful than any other in the land and inspire more love than even Celestia herself. I realized that I should capture you six and place six of my own children in your place.
"Everything was ready to go too. I was so close to executing my plan…and then…" The changeling's eyes narrowed and she hissed at Fluttershy.
"You had to go and put another road block in my way! Discord could have been manageable when he was still on the fence over reformation. But once you married the beast it was next to impossible for one of my changelings to fool him."
Chrysalis grew even angrier and Fluttershy hoped that she could keep the creature from harming her son. She was just thankful that her daughter had somehow gotten away from these beasts.
Chrysalis turned away angry and stared about the living room. She snorted and glanced to the side at Fluttershy.
"I tried to make changes to my plans to get around Discord, but then an even greater challenge presented itself. Every time I got close to a new plan, you had to destroy it."
Fluttershy didn't respond, but she had a good idea of what Chrysalis meant. She looked back at Kibou.
Chrysalis growled,
"Yes. A second Chaos Lord. Now I didn't have just one powerful chaos master to deal with. But two of them. With the second one being even more powerful than his father. I had almost given up on my plans completely." Then the queen smiled and that smile chilled Fluttershy more than her previous anger.
"However. I was given an unexpected lucky break. One of my sentinels overheard a certain conversation between a young filly and her friends. It seems your daughter felt so left out being without chaos magic.
"She wanted to know what it was like to possess it, even if just for one day. That foolish filly's wish is exactly how I was able to accomplish all this."
Fluttershy's eyes widened in panic,
"Flitter…she…she took Discord's…"
"Magic? Yes, but not intentionally. She couldn't have known that the potion I gave her would target the source of her wish so thoroughly. It is a small shame that she only mentioned her father's magic.
"I was counting on her asking for chaos magic in general, which would have also drained your son of his magic. Not that it matters much now, things are working out fine. Any minute now I expect even better news."
Fluttershy glared at the changeling and whispered,
"You won't win Chrysalis. Discord and the others will stop you once they realize me and Kibou are missing."
Chrysalis laughed and shook her head.
"Do you honestly believe that I wouldn't think about such things? Dear little pony, I plan to eradicate all possible threats this time. I won't make the same mistake twice. Imprisonment is far too chancy."
Fluttershy shivered at the implications and looked back at her son. Chrysalis had told her that she intended to kill her whole family. She had to try and stop her somehow, but she didn't have any magic to fight the queen with.
She only had her wits. She had to buy as much time as she could.
"Then why am I still alive? Why haven't you killed us already?" She asked and Chrysalis looked over in surprise at how calm the question had been presented.
She smiled and turned away.
"Because I still need you for something just as important. And that my darling pegasus is a surprise."
Fluttershy frowned in confusion. What could the queen need her for? Certainly not luring Discord to them. A changeling could accomplish that easily…
Whatever the answer was, Fluttershy knew she wouldn't like it. She moved closer to Kibou, lying next to his head and trying to rouse him from his slumber.
She was distracted when another changeling came in to speak with the Queen.
"Your majesty. He's on his way and I'm happy to report that the filly was spotted. It seems that she has taken shelter in the forest."
Chrysalis turned to look Fluttershy right in the eyes.
"Send several of the soldiers to deal with her and remember...she still has unstable magic within her, so be cautious. Do not fail me again captain. We can't let the spell reach its limit. The girl must be taken care of before the sun sets. Do you understand?"
"Yes your majesty. I will give the orders now"
Fluttershy stood up and charged at the captain.
"No! I won't let you hurt my family!"
The captain flinched back as Fluttershy leapt for him. She was shot back by a blast of magic and landed hard next to Kibou again.
"Go now captain. I will deal with these two once they have served their purpose." Chrysalis said and the changeling nodded before leaving.
Fluttershy winced in pain and looked down at her stomach, it was badly burned.
Chrysalis moved closer and sighed.
"That was very foolish. You're lucky I need you alive at the moment or that blast would have been powerful enough to kill you. However…try something like that again and I will chance your son being able to unlock it."
Fluttershy looked up at the queen, trying to fight against the pain and continue being strong against the vile creature before her.
"Unlock what? What are you trying to obtain here Chrysalis? This seems like it's about more than Discord's magic." She asked and Chrysalis chuckled again before turning towards the door as if sensing something.
"Yes indeed. So much more…hmm it's show time." She whispered as she looked down at Fluttershy, a dark expression highlighting her face.
Flitterbee cried harder as she lay in the patch of flowers she had tumbled into. She noticed that as her tears hit the ground it changed colors. She couldn't even take joy in that silly trick.
She hadn't realized that chaos magic was so much trouble, her father and brother always made it look so easy.
On her way through town she had released more magic on accident. Her panic making it harder and harder to control.
She had managed to turn one house into a fish bowl with the ponies that had been inside left swimming in scuba gear. She had turned part of the road into sponges that shot anyone who touched it into the air. Finally as she was entering the forest, several trees grew legs and arms and began to rampage through the town
Ponies were running through town in fear and as she saw all this happening around her she felt so helpless. She had wished at that moment that she could give the magic inside her back, or at least that Kibou was there to help her.
She sighed again and looked around her clearing. She figured it was best to stay there until it was almost time for the spell to end, that way she wouldn't be a danger to anyone else.
She had always heard the whispers around town, not understanding why those things were said…but now…
'It's such a relief that she isn't like her father.'
'Imagine if that troublemaker had magic on top of it all?'
'We already have two of them running around. Heroes or not, they're still dangerous creatures.'
'At least we can rest easy now that we know she's normal like her mother.'
Now she knew…they had always been afraid of her. Secretly resenting her family and the magic they bore. No matter what the Chaos family did, there would always be that innate fear coursing through them.
Flitter had been spared from their full hatred by not being born with magic. And she had resented that gift her whole life. She had believed that it was a sign of weakness, a sign that she wasn't truly her father's daughter.
She laid her head down and wrapped her tail around her body, a defensive move she did when upset.
Why did I never realize how hard it would be? Not just the control…but how others would see me. I remember hearing my parents whispering about Kibou and how ponies treated him, but I didn't believe it.
I never could have imagined how strong he must be to always be so kind to others. He never once lost control like I did today, not even when he was attacked so cruelly by others.
"Kibou…how did you do it? Oh I'm so stupid! I never should have been jealous of him. I should have realized that it isn't easy being so different from others…I just wanted to be strong like them…but I'm not…I never will be…Daddy, Kibou…I'm so sorry…"
She began to sob again into her hooves as she thought of how much trouble she had caused. She thought of what her father had told her before.
'I love you Flitterbee...no matter what you are...magic or no...you will always be my daughter.'
She should have listened to him. Realized what he had meant by those words. She didn't need magic to be something special, to be the daughter of chaos. She just needed to be herself.
She sighed and decided it was time to stop sulking in the forest and to set things right. She had to go to her father and explain everything to him and hope that he would forgive her.
Her body gave a violent shake and she looked around the clearing. Something was off, she worried that Timberwolves had somehow managed to reach her unnoticed.
"Flitter! Are you out here?"
She turned around as she heard more voices calling for her. It was her aunts. They must have been told where she was and gone looking for her.
She sighed in relief and called out,
"I'm over here!"
She trotted out of the clearing to see her five aunts and her mother waiting for her. She stopped and frowned when she saw her mom was there too. Mostly because Kibou was nowhere to be seen.
"Mom? What's going on?" She whispered and her mother smiled.
"It's okay sweetie. We got worried when we discovered you were missing. Come on, let's go home. Your father is back and worried sick about you."
Warning bells rang inside Flitter and she took a step back away from her family. Something wasn't right and she couldn't explain what. But her instincts were yelling at her to run, and they were rarely wrong.
"Flitter? Come on darling it's time to go." Her Aunt Rarity cooed and Flitter's eyes widened. Then she glared at the mares in front of her and growled, a magical aura surrounding her in defense.
"You're not my family…who are you really?"
The mares' eyes widened in surprise and her Aunt Twilight stepped towards her. Flitter sent out a spark of magic on instinct and it hit a nearby tree. The tree twisted itself into a ball and bounced away.
"Flitter, it's okay sweetie. We know that you didn't mean to hurt anyone. Come home and we can make everything right." Her Aunt Twilight said and Flitter glared harder at them.
"Stay away from me! You're not my family! There's no way you are!"
"Now that's just silly. How can we not be?" Pinkie asked.
Flitter backed up further and felt the magic around her increasing in power.
"You aren't my real family. My Aunt Rarity never calls me Flitter! And Kibou would never let mom out of his sights!"
Twilight stared at her for a minute and then looked down, shaking her head. She turned to the others and grinned.
"Guess she's smarter than her brother after all. Oh well, no point in this charade anymore. Be on guard soldiers. You all know our mission."
Flitterbee's eyes widened in horror as her family was engulfed in green flames and replaced with insect-like ponies. She gasped as she realized where she had seen them before. Briefly in the book as she was looking for information on Queen Titania.
"Changelings…" She whispered and the one who had been her Aunt Twilight grinned.
"Yes. It's surprising that the child of the Element of Kindness wasn't more aware of our abilities. You were so easy to manipulate that you practically handed our queen the kingdom."
Flitter felt her panic rising as she watched the six changelings surround her. What's worse was that the magic that had been surrounding her was lessening.
No not now. I can't lose control of it now when I need it most. Please, just this once let me catch a lucky break.
She looked around and tried to think of a way around these things. They were all smiling at her as they circled her.
Maybe she could outfly them, she doubted that even if they all turned into Storm they'd be able to fly as well as the real thing.
She glanced between them, looking for an opening. Waiting for her chance to escape.
There!
As two of the changelings charged at her, she leapt into the air and took off through the trees. Flying as fast as her wings could carry her. She had to try and clear the forest and get back to her family.
They would know what to do. She chanced a peek over her shoulder to see what the changelings were doing.
They were close behind her, they hadn't even bothered to change out of their original forms.
She put more speed behind her flight, trying to distance herself from the group.
She cried out as a green bolt sped past her and grazed her wing. However she ignored the pain and continued to fly as fast as she could.
More shots of magic flew past her and she had to use all the tricks she knew to avoid them. Unfortunately the group chasing her were obviously trained and able to keep up with her.
"Come on Flitter. Prove that you can be great without magic." She whispered and tried a trick Kibou had taught her. She put on a burst of speed and the changelings did as well to keep up.
Then when they were closing in on the tip of her tail, she spread her wings wide and stopped. The changelings flew past, confused at the move and collided with one another. They fell to the ground in their collision and she used that opportunity to gain some distance.
Flitter grinned and turned to the right, putting all her strength into her wings. Trying to get farther ahead, before the soldiers were able to recover and pursue her again.
She smiled in triumph and glanced behind her. Her smile fell as she saw that part of the group had recovered quickly and were chasing her already.
She gritted her teeth and focused ahead of her again. Her pupils shrunk and she cried out as a green bolt was speeding directly for her.
She had fallen for a counter trick that she was familiar with and now she couldn't avoid it. She snapped her wings closed in hopes of avoiding the attack.
It grazed her side and burned her, but she had managed to avoid too much damage. As she collided with the ground she heard screams behind her. She looked up to see the two that had been behind her were now engulfed in the green flames and screaming in pain.
Her eyes widened as she realized the magic they had been shooting at her wasn't meant to simply knock her out. They were seriously trying to kill her.
The realization spurred her back into action and she rose to her feet and began to run faster. Pure adrenaline pushing her beyond her normal limits. She wasn't even sure at this point where she was heading, but she had to escape.
"Someone! Anyone! Help me!" She shouted as she ran for her very life.
Discord cursed the fact that he was without his magic once more as he ran along the path to his home. Everything inside of him was screaming for him to move faster.
He couldn't explain it, but it felt like Fluttershy was calling to him. He knew something was wrong and even if he was without his magic he had to do something
He growled again as he pushed himself to run faster. He looked up and was relieved when the top of his castle came into view.
"Almost there." He whispered.
"Help me!"
Discord skidded to a halt at the shout and looked to his right. His blood turning to ice as he recognized the owner of the voice.
"Flitterbee."
He turned to head for the sound and was brought to another halt as a second shout came from the castle ahead of him.
This was a scream of pain that belonged to his wife.
"Fluttershy!" He shouted and turned back to the castle. He heard Flitter calling for help and the fear in her voice was evident, just as another scream of pain filled the air.
He broke out in a cold sweat as he looked between the forest and the castle.
Between saving Flitterbee and Fluttershy.
'You can't save them both…'
That cold voice from his dreams taunted him. He began to breathe heavily as he kept turning from left to right. The sounds of his wife and daughter's screams filling his head.
He covered his ears and let out a roar of his own. He fell to his knees and tears filled his eyes as he realized it was true.
I can't save them both…without my magic…I'll never reach them both in time…I have no other option. I have to choose…
He looked towards the castle as another scream tore at his heart.
"I'm sorry…"