//------------------------------// // Chapter Ten: Heaven's Light. // Story: The Draconequus of Notre Mare // by Inkquill //------------------------------// The Draconequus of Notre Mare. By Inkquill. Chapter Ten: Heaven's Light. “So, what's today's schedule, Twilight?” Spike asked, holding a quill and parchment. Walking alongside the violet unicorn, the two of them made their way down the long corridor of the church towards the three doorways. “Well, Mother Luna asked me to help collect a few things for the evening's sermon, so we need to hurry. We need texts, incense, Holy water-" Twilight cut herself off. Something was off. She stood there for a moment while Spike turned to her in confusion. “Twilight?” He spoke. “Something seems off…” she said. “I feel like something's missing.” She brought her hoof to her chin and thought for a moment. She couldn't place it, but something was missing, but what? It was then it dawned on her. “The bells!” “The bells? What about them?” Spike asked. “Listen.” She replied. She fell silent and raised her ear. “They're not ringing. They should have been rung by now!” Spike thought for a moment and realized that Twilight did have a point. “Yeah... your right! I wonder what could be keeping them?” Twilight looked towards the high, vaulted ceiling, “I don't know, but I'm going to find out.” She said as she began trotting over towards the spiral staircase. She hesitated for a moment, looking up into the dark winding passageway. She looked back towards Spike, “You coming, Spike?” Spike looked at her, he had remained in place as Twilight went over to the staircase, but now he sprang forward to her side saying, “Yeah! I'm with you, Twilight.” And with that, the two of them began their ascent up the spiral staircase. “Oh! Hey Spike... could you?” Spike nodded and pulled a candle out from his satchel. Holding it in front of himself, he let his fiery breath stream out from between his lips, lighting the small wick to illuminate their way. “Perfect.” Said Twilight with a smile. Fluttershy gently moved about the rafters, her wings keeping her aloft as Discord lead her upwards. He turned to her for a moment and said, “Come on, Fluttershy, come one," he called out with excitement. “I have someponies for you to meet!” Fluttershy was a little confused, however, she followed on as Discord continued to ascend up the bell tower. He hadn't specified exactly who he was taking her to meet. He had woken her in a state of excitement, telling her that she had to come and meet some very special friends of his. Fluttershy was understandably surprised and honestly a little confused by this, but nonetheless, she let him lead her upwards to where his friends apparently were, carrying Angel in her hooves.  After Discord had finally reached the summit, he placed his mismatched hands on the ceiling and began to feel around as if he was looking for something. Fluttershy had landed next to him on a large suspension beam from which several large bells hung from. After a few moments of prodding, Discord finally located what he was looking for: a small seam between the stones. Wedging his claw between the gap, he pried it out of place and lifted it upwards, allowing light to stream in. He looked back to Fluttershy and gestured for her to follow. Following close behind the draconequus, Fluttershy stepped out into the light. It was late in the day and the sun was beginning to set, but it was not excessively dark. After her eyes had adjusted to the dim light of sunset, her eyes were met with open sky. Cool air gently blew past her cheek and rustled her mane slightly. She looked around, and to her awe, found that they were standing atop the left bell tower of the cathedral. She went over to the railing and looked out, seeing the vast city far below. “I bet the Queen herself doesn't have a view like this.” She said with chuckle. She could see bakers and millers moving about the streets with their wives and fillies. In the distance, she could see the river and its many vast bridges. However, one sight took her most off guard. It was the vague outline of a camp just beyond the city walls. She could see the smoke of campfires rising up into the air. “The caravan…” She whispered to herself. Seeing it again brought both happiness and sadness to her heart. It was in her sight, but so far out of reach. She wondered if perhaps Pip and Trixie were there, and somehow were staring at the cathedral wondering about her. But her thoughts were cut off when she felt a claw fall on her shoulder. “Is that your caravan?” Discord asked. Fluttershy looked at him and nodded. “You can't really see it from here? Can you?” Fluttershy sighed and shook her head, “No... You really can't. It's funny. I can almost smell Old Mamma Turtle Lilly's cooking. That's probably her cooking at the campfire.” She said with a smile. “She always makes the food a little too spicy, but it's never bad. I usually help with the ingredients…” Fluttershy began to trail off. Discord saw the joy in her face drain away. Discord was quick to react though, “Oh, well hey! How about I introduce you to my friends?” He said with a sympathetic smile. Fluttershy nodded and smiled at him. Discord then rather excitedly raced over to the far end of the rooftop to where three gargoyles stood. Fluttershy took note of the statues and saw that they were carvings of the three different kinds of ponies; one a Pegasus, the other a unicorn and the last an earth pony. Discord had gone over to the Pegasus first and said, “Okay! This here, this is Rainbow Dash. She's one of my oldest friends, and quite the speed demon she is, right, Rainbow?” He asked the statue. Fluttershy looked at him a little confused at first, but soon realized what the truth of the matter was. Discord then burst out into laughter as if he had just heard a joke. "Oh Rainbow, you're too modest," he said before turning to Fluttershy and whispering, “She's really not.”  This caused Fluttershy to giggle. He then went over to the Unicorn, “And this is Rarity, she adores fashion, you know? She helps me when I have those rough mornings. You know? When you wake up and your mane's a mess and everything just feels a little out of place? Yeah, she knows just what to do to fix me up.” After that, he moved over to the final statue in the line. The earth pony who had seemed to have been molded after the classic farm workers of the rural regions. “And this. This here is Applejack.” “She’s quite lovely,” Fluttershy replied with a smile.  “She’s often the voice of reason among us.” Discord replied, “She says that she’s glad to meet you.” “Well, I’m happy to meet you to Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash. You all are quite lovely. Aren't they, Angel bunny?” Fluttershy inquired on the small rabbit. Angel, however, gave no response and simply stared at the chimera and his statues with an expression of concern.  With a wide smile on his face, Discord hopped over to Fluttershy's side, “Do you like them?” Fluttershy looked at him with a smile, “Oh yes, their… wonderful.” “Their my best friends, and they can be yours too. We’ll all get along splendidly, the six of us.” Fluttershy was silent. She didn't know what she could say. “You know, this is a very nice place, and the view is beautiful. I could stay here forever.” “You could, you know?” Fluttershy sighed and shook her head, “No... I couldn't…” “Oh! But yes, you have sanctuary.” “But not freedom... this isn't the place. Not my home.” She said sorrowfully. “My home is with the gypsy caravan. With my friends, Trixie and Pip... and the forest. Oh, how it would be wonderful to see the forests again. The birds singing in the tree, the deer playing in the meadows. The flowers in full bloom.” “B-b-but, you're not like other gypsies! They are... evil.” “Who told you that?” “My Mistress, her majesty the Queen. She raised me.” “How could such a cruel mare have raised someone like you?” “Cruel!? Oh no! She saved my life. She took me in when no one would. I am a monster, you know?” “And who told you that?” He gestured to himself, “Well, look at me.” Fluttershy looked at him for a moment. “Give me your paw.” She said, taking his lion feline paw in her hooves, catching him off guard. His breath was caught in his throat and he looked down at her with surprise.  “What are you doing?” “Just watch.” She said as she studied his paw, “Hmm... a long lifeline. Oh! And this line means your shy.” “How are you reading that?” “My father showed me... hmm. That's funny.”  “What?” “I don't see any...” “Don't see any what?!” “Monster lines. Not a single one.” Discord pulled his paw back and observed it closely. He wondered if he had perhaps read her lips wrong? No, that couldn't be it. He had seen the honesty in her eyes and the truth on her lips.  She then held out her hoof to him. “Now look at me. Do you think I'm evil?” “No!" He exclaimed, taking her hoof in his palms, "No, you are kind and gentle and good—” “And a gypsy. Maybe Chrysalis is wrong about both of us?” Discord sighed and looked away. Fluttershy saw this and sat down next to him, slightly leaning up against his warm, serpentine form. She could hear his heart in his chest for a split second before he tensed up. Discord felt her body against his. He returned his gaze towards her. “You’re a good person, Discord. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise...” she said, wrapping her foreleg around his waist. Discord was breathless. He was unsure how to react. But after a moment of hesitating, he followed her example. Reaching around with his lion's paw, he returned her gesture and held her in his arm. It felt so strange to him... he wasn't quite sure how to feel, but he knew something was certain. He knew that he liked this.  “Fluttershy?” said Discord. “Yes, Discord?” “What were your parents like?” This caught Fluttershy off guard a little, “It's a long story...” She had been a Pegasus in the prime of her youth. She worked as a wine maiden in a small inn along the east to west road. They had met after the caravan had stopped to make camp for the night. But Autumn had decided to rent a room for the night in the local inn due to the ominous storm that could be seen coming up from the south. The tavern had been warm and inviting. There was an open fire pit in the middle of the building with several pots of cooking, hardy stews placed over the glowing embers. The smell of mead, spices and pipe smoke filled the air, alongside the drunken laughter of stallions.  He had taken a seat by the fire pit when he first saw her. She wore the simple garments of the peasant folk, her hair a rich scarlet pink, and carried a metal plate with two tankards of ale. His eyes followed her as she approached a pair of farm hooves who had clearly already had their fair amount of alcohol for the night. As she served them, one of the gruff stallions had reached back and grabbed her buttocks.  She gasped and drew back from them as they let out an amused laugh simultaneously. They followed that up, but insisting that she join them for the night; giving her smug complements and gabbing at her form. Disgusted by the two, Autumn rose from his place and approached the two.  He defended her chivalrously and managed to stay the farm hooves without any form of scuffle. Afterwards, the two properly introduced themselves, and they struck up a conversation. Her name was Scarlet Sunset; she thanked him for defending her and asked where he was going. He told her about his profession as a traveling merchant and of the many places he had visited throughout his carrier. Scarlet had longed to travel the land, but never had found the money or courage to do so.  For the next few days, Autumn and Scarlet became close friends. He introduced her to the members of the caravan and before long, she had been practically intergraded into the small traveling band. Autumn would sometimes entertain the idea that she could join them on their travels. But she simply dismissed them as distant fantasies, her home was here, in the village.  Eventually, the gypsy caravan finally set out again upon the road. Autumn and Scarlet gave one final goodbye before they departed, but promised her that one day he would return. A year passed before he finally did return to the road side inn. He was surprised when he was greeted by the young mare. Apparently, over the last year, she had been saving up and had managed to by a wagon of her own. Along with all the necessities needed for the long travel.  From that point on, Autumn and Scarlet were inseparable. They had grown extremely fond of each other, and before long, they had fallen in love. They were married by a village priest and made their lives along the caravan a happy one. As it is usually the case, not long after their union, Scarlet became pregnant with Autumn's child. The two could not have been happier.  But as the time came for the child to be born, so did the winter. It had been an excruciatingly devastating frost that year, and the caravan had become stranded in the snow. Scarlet had grown weak from cold, causing great concern from Autumn, but she reassured him that she would be fine.  It was the night of Hearths Warming Eve when the time had come. Scarlet had gone into labor as the sun began to set and the snow began to fall. It was now close to midnight, and she was in dire distress as she desperately tried to deliver the child. The gypsy-mares of the caravan tried to help, but made extraordinarily slow progress; and the while Scarlet's strength was rapidly depleting from her. Autumn had been there the entire time, holding her hoof and comforting her; giving her reassuring words and kisses.   Finally, after several agonizing hours of labor, Scarlet finally managed to give birth to a beautiful, healthy baby girl.  One of the gypsy-mares that had help in the birthing presented the tiny filly to the exhausted couple. With a somber, joy filled smile, Autumn took the filly in his hooves and showed her to Scarlet. Tears of happiness streamed from the weary mares eyes as her hoof caressed the tiny being. Autumn looked at her with a warm smile, holding her and the filly close to himself. "Name your child." He whispered.  Her eyes closed and her breathing became ragged. "Her name... is Fluttershy...." She was silent after that. Autumn looked at his wife with concern, shaking her slightly to gain her attention. "Scarlet?" He said with worried eyes, "Scarlet, can you hear me?" She did not respond.  A sudden realization dawned upon the Pegasus. His eyes widened and his heart sank as his beautiful wife laid limp in his arms. His lips quivered and his eyes filled with tears; his breath became heavy as he looked at his wife then to the newly born filly. He remained at her side for hours, cradling both wife and daughter in his arms, staining the sheets with his tears. Finally, after what seemed an eternity, the sun peaked above the lofty crown of the distant mountains.  Scarlet Sunset was buried atop a high reaching hill overlooking a vast forested area crowned by a single oak. A slab of natural stone had been erected to mark the grave site, and into it were etched these words: "FROM DAWN TO DUSK, UNDER FAUSTS MERCY WE SHALL CONTINUE THE FLOWER WITHERS, THE SEASONS CHANGE, BUT ALLWAYS LOVE SHALL REMAIN." Autumn Leaf was the last to linger at the grave. In his arms, he held the sleeping form of their daughter, Fluttershy. "I'm sorry," he said. "I'm so sorry, Scarlet. I feel so lost. I don't know what do." He was almost choking on his words. "But I promise you, Scarlet," he continued. "Their shall not be a day that our daughter will not know love."  In the several years that followed, Autumn Leaf would certainly hold true to his promise. There was a day when Fluttershy did know what was love. She and her father traveled far and wide across the land; trading the bounties of vine and vale, a life peace and prosperity. And while some would examine Fluttershy's humble upbringing with disdain, Fluttershy wouldn't have had it any other way. “Hello?” A foreign female voice called out. Fluttershy's ears perked up at the new voice and she looked towards the trap door they had come through. “Fluttershy? What is it?” Discord asked.  She pointed towards the trap door. “Stay here.” He replied, pulling away from her. He snaked over to the trap door and peered in. Far below, he could see the outline of pony covered in grey fabrics. Along with a smaller figure who was carrying a lamp. “Hello? Is anyone there?” The voice called out again.  Twilight looked around the vast, dim bell tower with searching eyes.  “Doesn't look like anypony's home.” Said Spike as he held up the lamp.  “Well, we can’t just give up,” Twilight replied as she trotted ahead of him. “The sermon is in a few minutes. The bells need to be ringing.” “Well, where do you think the bell ringer went? I don't think he would leave at a time like this.” “Well, what if we can't find him?” Spike asked with concern; placing the lamp on the floor.  Twilight thought for a moment before coming to a quick conclusion, “Then we'll just have to ring them ourselves!” This caught Spike off guard and he looked at her with surprise. He watched as Twilight strode over to a nearby rope suspended from the rafters and took hold of it in her muzzle. She started to pull, but found that she couldn't get it to budge. Determined, she tried to use her own body weight to try and bring the rope down, letting her legs give way, but this got her nowhere as the rope inly held her up. Spike all the while rubbed his temple.  “I don't think that's working.” He commented.  Discouraged, Twilight let go of the rope in her muzzle and huffed in frustration.  “I think we should just try and go without the bells if we can’t ring them ourselves.” Said Spike, “I'm pretty sure everyone in town knows the routine.”  Twilight sighed in defeat and considered Spike's words. However, in her frustration she had failed to take note of the new presence that had join her and the little dragon. “Your pulling the wrong rope.” A deep voice commented from behind. Twilight jumped a little and whirled around to find the looming form of Discord directly behind her. Fluttershy was standing behind him and peering over at her curiously.  “Oh! There you are.” Twilight exclaimed nervously, “Um, uh... sorry to intrude like this but um, it’s almost time for the evening mass and um, the bells need to--.” “Hold on! Hold on!” Discord cut her off, holding up his hands, “You’re going to fast, I can't read your lips.” Twilight looked at him in confusion. Fluttershy then stepped forward, “Um... I'm sorry. He can't hear anything. He can use signs and read lips but you need to slow it down a little.” Twilight looked at the draconequus and smiled a little in embarrassment. “Guess ringing bells all your life would do that to you.” She thought to herself. “Um... it's almost time for the evening mass.” She repeated slowly, “Could you please ring the bells?” Discord had no trouble following her this time and slapped his head in realization, “Right! The evening mass! I completely forgot.” He exclaimed before turning to Fluttershy. “I'll be right back, but cover your ears, this will get really loud.”  “She can come with me if she'd like.” Twilight suggested, “I'm sure you'd like to get some change in scenery.”  Discord frowned at this, not feeling all that keen of having her leaving him, but he could understand what Sister Twilight meant. He could understand more than any.  He jumped a little when he felt Fluttershy's lips grace his cheek, and he turned to her. “I won’t be long, Discord. I'll be back shortly after, and then you can show me around more. How's that sound?” Discord felt his heart flutter at her words, “Oh! Oh yes. Okay then, yes, you go with Sister Twilight and I'll take care of things up here.” Fluttershy smiled at him and took him in her forelegs, wrapping them about his neck she embraced him with a warm hug before joining Twilight and Spike as they made their way to the stairwell. “I'll be back soon, Discord.“ And with that, she disappeared down the stairwell.  Discord's eyes lingered a little on the stairs for a while after they had left with a smile on his face. He could feel his heart beating rapidly in his chest and the burning sensation of his blushing cheeks. Suddenly, he burst into a fit of giddiness, energy and excitement coursing through him. In his delight, he quickly launched himself into the rafters, swinging up to his station as he giggled merrily. “Yes!“ He exclaimed.  After he had reached his station high in the rafters, he paused for a second to catch his breath, every part of his being felt so warm and marry in ways he had never felt before. “Fluttershy.” He said to himself, letting the name fill his thoughts.  After a few moments of catching his breath, he sat down on his perched and casually took the rope in his claw. He looked upward into the bell towers vastness. “Fluttershy.“ He felt warmth fill his heart and mind as he repeated the name. Suddenly, a thought over took his mind. Or more so, a possibility. He had spent his whole life hidden away within these walls. The sacred House of the Great Mother, and yet, in all that time, he had felt that he had been alone. But now... now... that just simply wasn't the case.  Finally, taking his place, he clasped the rope in his mismatched hands, and as he had done so many times before, he began to ring the bells that had, for so long, been his only company. “So many times out there, I've seen a happy pair, Of lovers walking in the night. They had this sort of glow around them... It almost looked like heaven's light.” “I know I'll never know, that strange and loving glow, Though I can fool myself all night... No face as hideous as my face, was ever meant for heaven's light…” “But suddenly Somepony has smiled at me, and kissed my cheek without a trace of fright... I dare to think that she may even care for me, and as I ring these bells tonight... Somehow the darkness feels so bright. I think this might be heaven's light…”