Chapter 9
Fluttershy tossed and turned in her sleep, something that had been occurring a lot over the past few days. Lumen felt sorry for the pegasus and hopped to her side, rubbing his head against her cheek to comfort her. Fluttershy woke up and saw the dust bunny, she smiled kindly at him.
"Good morning Lumen." She reached out her hoof and petted his head. "I'm fine, you don't need to worry about me, I just..." She paused and looked up at the cage ceiling. "I just keep feeling as though there's something important that I need to remember. I only wish I knew what it was." Lumen rested his head on Fluttershy's arm, to show that he was there for her.
"Thank you, maybe when Eve gets back I can talk to her about it." Fluttershy smiled as she thought of her. Dear Eve, her only friend and the only pony who made her happy when she was a little filly. They'd been together for how long now? It was a all a blur, not unlike her dreams. The only things she seemed to remember clearly were the memories of when she and Eve were little, all the times they played together, and nothing else. 'Nothing else other than Eve...somehow...that doesn't sound quite right. There should be more than just Eve, shouldn't there?' Fluttershy picked up the sound of the cage door rattling and turned to see Eve stepping inside.
"Oh, you're already up, I hope I didn't keep you waiting long." said Eve.
"No, not at all, in fact I woke up not too long ago."
"Good, are you hungry? I brought some more food this time."
"Yes please." As Fluttershy nibbled on a biscuit Eve had brought, she looked to her friend and asked her question.
"Um, Eve, do you ever have a certain dream that's trying to tell you something important, but no matter how hard you try you can't make it out?" Eve looked at her in bewilderment over such a strange question.
"I wouldn't know." she said, focusing on her own food. "Nightmares don't have dreams."
"Never?" asked Fluttershy. Eve shook her head.
"That's one of the reasons we call ponies dreamers, because unlike us they possess the ability to dream."
"Then, what happens when you sleep?"
"Nothing, it's all blank and empty. We close our eyes and see nothing. It's a time where we rest and wait till it's time to start our usual routine." Fluttershy couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"That sounds awful!" she cried. Eve shook her head.
"It's really not that bad."
"But dreams are important! They allow you to be who you want to be, to imagine the impossible. I can't imagine what it'd be like if were to suddenly stop dreaming." Fluttershy looked at her friend with pity. "I shouldn't have said anything."
"You didn't know, there's no harm done. It's just something we Nightmares need to live with." Even though Eve didn't seemed to be bothered by not being able to dream, Fluttershy couldn't help but feel pangs of sadness in her own heart. A life with out dreams, what kind of life must that be like?
"Why did you ask? Is something troubling you?" asked Eve. Fluttershy just looked down and sighed, "No, it's nothing really." She didn't bring up her dreams again after that for the duration of Eve's visit. How could she? As Eve said, she wouldn't understand. Right as Eve was about to leave, Fluttershy stopped her and said, "There's...one more thing I want to ask you Eve."
"Yes?" Fluttershy gulped, and let out her question.
"Well, I've been thinking, it gets a bit lonely and dull here, and I was wondering, if I can go outside the cage? Just for a bit?" Eve froze.
"Whatever for? You've seen those thorns outside, it's best you stay in here."
"Yes but," Fluttershy ruffled her wings against her sides, "I want to see what else there is. Something other than just this cage, other than you." Eve's face became almost a dark gray as she paled at those words. She'd gotten rid of those pesky memories of Fluttershy's old friends, and still she wanted to leave? How could this be?
"B-but we've been having so much fun!" said Eve, a wild look started to pass over her eyes and her voice raised in pitch as she frantically spoke. "Is it because I'm always leaving? I can stay here with you if that's what you want. I can use my dust to transform this place into a living dream, I'll surround you in a garden of roses and wonder. You don't need ever leave here." Fluttershy took a step back, somewhat alarmed by Eve's behavior.
"You don't have anypony else, just like me, so tell me what's missing. I can give it to you. Whatever it is, I'll give it to you." Fluttershy remained calm and replied softly, "It's not enough."
"What do you mean?! What's not enough?!"
"This, our friendship. I care about you Eve, as any friend does. But, there must be more than just you in my life. I've been feeling...empty somehow. I want to go out and see beyond this cage, to see and experience other things." Fluttershy then gave Eve a pleading look. "As my friend, then you know that this is true." Eve felt her body shaking. Her friend wanted to leave. Wanted to leave her. She...she couldn't! And yet, somewhere inside, Eve could hear a voice telling her that what she was doing was indeed wrong. She wanted her friend all to herself, but at the cost of her friend's freedom? No, this was all crazy. It was time to set things right.
"Alright," she whispered. "I'll...let you out." Fluttershy's face light up.
"Really?"
"But...not right now. I've run low on dust, and I'll need to make some more in order to get safely through the thorns."
"How long will it take?" asked Fluttershy.
"Just a day or two, I'll come back for you and we can leave together." Fluttershy smiled widely.
"Oh thank you Eve! Thank you!" Eve smiled sadly, and headed back out into the Garden of Shadows.
The walk back was taking longer than usual, for Eve was feeling downtrodden that Fluttershy wanted to leave, that she wasn't content with just their friendship. It was probably for the best. It was foolish to assume that she keep Fluttershy forever. And why can't you keep her forever? A chilling voice whispered, tickling at Eve's ear. 'Am I imagining things?' she wondered. Oh, this is no imagination, I assure you. The voice seemed to be reading her thoughts. She wanted to run, but something made her stay frozen to the spot.
You've waited for so long for your friend, you've showered her with attention, your friendship, and how does she repay you? By wanting to leave you. Poor Moonlight Eve, all alone for eternity. 'That's not true! Fluttershy's still my friend!' Perhaps, but friend or not, what should happen should you let the pegasus go? Eve's pupil's shrunk, she could feel the voice entering her, speaking directly inside her. You've disobeyed the queen twice now, what will she say or even do once she finds out? And what about those old friends? The ones you've made her forget about. What if they should find her, and she should regain her memories? She would never forgive you for what you've done to her. And you'd be all alone, forgotten, an insignificant spec to be tossed aside without so much as a passing thought.
With each word, Eve began to believe the voice. She believed everything it said, convincing her otherwise why not to free Fluttershy.
"Then what should I do?" she asked aloud. In front of her hooves, shooting up from the ground came a flower. It looked a bit like a lotus, with dingy gray petals. Pick the flower, and use its pollen. You shall find that it'll prove most useful.
"What will it do? she asked. The voice chuckled darkly. With this, your dear friend can't possibly refuse you. She'll be yours forever, just like you've always wanted.
"Just as...I've always wanted...." Eve said almost mechanically. Yes, now go on, take the flower. You don't want to lose your friend do you?
".....No....I don't...." Eve reached out and picked the flower, it's stem shriveled and died while the blossom remained healthy. Eve no longer thought about Fluttershy's wish or what was truly best for her, for in that flower, she only saw what she perceived as the answer to all her problems, to claiming her happiness.
A plan to get back at Eve had been festering within Discord's mind over the past few days, and now he was ready to execute that plan. He waited till Twilight had fallen asleep before he headed out of the house. For it to work, he needed somepony to do the dirty work (so as not to alert the suspicions of an already peeved Princess Twilight). And he knew just the pony for the job. He knocked on the door of the house, waiting for its resident to appear. Starla opened the door, and gave him a friendly yet confused smile.
"Oh, hello Dusk, what brings you here?" she asked. Discord gave her what he considered his most charming smile.
"I beg your pardon for coming here so late, but I wanted to come and apologize for the way my sister acted toward you during the, ahem, prank incident." Starla opened the door a bit wider, trusting in what he was telling her.
"You don't need to apologize, I've put it all behind me." she said. Discord smiled and gave an understanding nod.
"Yes well, I'm afraid she has a bit of a habit of talking without thinking things all the way through." The corner's of Discord's mouth curved into a smile as he saw that his deception was working. Now he needed to lure into his little plan.
"Though, and this is just my opinion mind you, you were right in suspecting that Moonlight Eve in being the true perpetrator. That mare just seems so shady, and so reserved. I mean, just what do we know about her? And if she were the one who did all those pranks, just what could she be planning to do next?" Starla tapped her chin thoughtfully, thinking about what he said.
"Of course," added Discord. "I really shouldn't be saying such things. I'd hate to tarnish the good name of your friend."
"She's not really my friend." said Starla. "She's not anypony's friend." Discord gasped, pretending to be astonished by what she said.
"No friends at all? Dear me, no wonder she seems so...so...what's the word?" Discord waved a hoof and said, "Oh never mind, it doesn't matter much. But in all seriousness, somepony really should keep an eye on her, just to be sure that no funny business happens again." Discord could see the glint in Starla's eye. He had her right where he wanted her.
"I'm sure nopony would object, considering it would be for everypony's own benefit." he said. He gave Starla a small bow and turned his hoof to leave. "I enjoyed this little chat, but I must be heading back. I wouldn't want my dear sister to worry about where I've been. Goodnight, dear Starla." Starla waved a little, a small smile on her face.
"Goodnight, Dusk." Discord allowed a devilish grin to curve upon his face. He'd given Starla a little suggestion, and it was up to her to handle the rest. 'This should be quite interesting.' he thought gleefully. He could just feel the trouble that would soon be brewing. He made it back inside the house, just as he was closing the door, a voice from behind spoke up.
"And where were you?" Discord whirled around to see Twilight looking at him suspiciously.
"Oh you know, just thought I'd go out for a walk to help clear my head. I mean, it's been days now, with no change whatsoever, and poor sweet Fluttershy is probably despairing somewhere right now. Wondering what has kept her so called friends from rescuing her." Twilight interrupted Discord's ramble.
"I'm sure Fluttershy is alright Discord." she said.
"How can you know that? Huh?! How can you be so sure that she's alright?" he narrowed his eyes, waiting to hear her answer.
"Because she has friends like us, like you, who won't give up till they find her." she said. Discord dropped the narrowed looked he'd been giving her.
"Well it would be a lot easier if I just used my own powers. This whole situation would be cleared up in an instant."
"We can't Discord, Princess Luna said that as long as we're here, we need to obey they queen's rules. Otherwise she'd never let us here again, and Fluttershy really will be lost forever. Do you want that?" Discord's face became hard boiled.
"Of course I don't want that! But you ponies with all your rules and regulations, all you're doing is making things needlessly difficult. If you were Fluttershy's real friend, you'd let me use my powers to get the answers out of Eve."
"Discord! That's enough. What would Fluttershy think if she heard you say that?" Discord wanted to retort, but instead he kept his mouth shut. He went to his side of the room, turning his back to Twilight. She just didn't understand. She didn't know Fluttershy like he did. He looked down at his Nightmare form and grimaced, wanting his own Draconequus form back. He was tired of all this waiting, and the thought of his dearest friend trapped and alone, waiting to be found, was almost too much for him to take. His mind guiltily recalled upon a few occasions in which he had let her down, one of which being the incident with Tirek. And of course, the last time they had spoken to each other, when she'd said that she was disappointed in him. He winced slightly at the memory of her angry face, and how that had probably been the last time he would ever see her. Well, not anymore. He wasn't going to let her down anymore. He'd find her, he'd see her sweet, dazzling smile and then everything would be alright. And Eve would pay dearly for what she'd done.
As all this was occurring, the girls, along with the assistance of Princess Luna, had been combing through the castle library. Searching the musty old tomes for any kind of clue that could stop Moonlight Eve and rescue Fluttershy. A task that only proved to be only more difficult considering that they didn't know exactly what it was that they were looking for.
"Ugh! This is starting to turn out to be a dead end." Said Rainbow Dash, tossing aside what felt like the billionth book she'd flipped through. Applejack nodded in agreement.
"I gotta agree with Rainbow, we've been at this for days now and we still haven't found anything useful."
"Perhaps it's best if we try a different approach." said Rarity, using her magic to place a book she'd finished back on the shelf. Princess Luna sighed.
"I'm sorry that I too could not be of more helpful assistance." she said.
"Don't be so hard on yourself your highness." Rarity said. "True, we haven't really been of much help to Twilight...yet...but what's important is that we're doing our best." Princess Luna didn't seem very uplifted by Rarity's little speech, so Applejack butted in.
"What Rarity means is, there's no reason to beat yourself just because we didn't find exactly what we're looking for. We'll try a new strategy, and see what turns up.
"What would be good right about now, is if we knew where Moonlight Eve is keeping Fluttershy. I mean, there can't be that many places to hide a pony." said Rainbow Dash, cleaning up the books by putting them into some scattered piles.
"You mean like this place?" asked Pinkie Pie, pointing at something in a long, thin book she'd been looking at. The girls and Princess Luna gathered around to have a better look. It was detailed map of Aestas that took up two pages. Pinkie's hoof was pointing at an illustration of a large black thorn bush that was labeled: The Garden of Shadows.
"Yep, that's definitely a good place to hide somepony." said Applejack. "Good work Pinkie." Pinkie smiled and batted a hoof.
"Aw, it was nothing." she said. Rainbow Dash picked up the book, examining it.
"Alright, now we're getting somewhere." Princess Luna however, was less than thrilled. The garden, why hadn't she thought of that? It seemed so obvious and yet, she couldn't help but fear dread. Dread of ever returning to that cursed place.
"Princess? Are you alright?" Rarity asked worriedly. Princess Luna looked up, her attention brought back to the girls whose eyes were all on her.
"I-I'm fine. I shall report this to Queen Amalthea personally, and perhaps, send you girls back to Equestria."
"What?! Why?" asked Rainbow.
"It's best that you all wait there until Twilight, Discord, Fluttershy, and I return. But this information we have could prove most helpful." said Luna calmly.
"Are you sure?" Applejack asked. "What if you need help?"
"I will be fine. When you return to Equestria, please inform my sister that it might take me a bit longer for me to return." The girls protested with the princess, wanting to continue the search for their friend, but she convinced them that their time was better spent else where. The girls gave in and agreed it to go back to Equestria. "Very good, now if you excuse me, I must speak to the queen about this." Luna left the library, hurrying as fast as she could to find the queen. If Fluttershy really was in Garden of Shadows, then they needed to hurry before it was too late to save her.