Wonderful Friendships
Discord was getting impatient. It was the same kind of impatience that he had when he was sealed away for all those long, boring (lonely) years. He still remembered clearly how that wizened old wizard Starswirl and his little magician buddies ganged up on his and sealed him in stone. And even though he was free, he was still stuck with Eldra, who much to his irritation had power over him. It was ridiculous, and he should know, he practically invented ridiculousness. Much had changed while he was gone. When Eldra had freed them and made that "deal", he'd conjured several history books to catch up on recent events, by flipping through them with ludicrous speed. Unlike the Old World, the New World had given up being governed by a ruler and instead they were governed by a group called the Magisters, wise and powerful ponies who got together in counsel to discuss political matters and all those other dry and boring things one usually tuned out of when regarding politics.
From what he could gather, this place was nothing short of being dull and boring. Thankfully, he was there to stir things up a little. First thing's first, he needed to hurry up and his contract with Eldra, and right now the best way to do that was to play along with her little game and look for an opening. Of course, in order for him to do that, he needed to gain the trust of Fluttershy for Eldra. But how to go about it? He couldn't rush into it, that would be too suspicious. And he couldn't take forever as Eldra appeared to be on some kind of time limit with her scheme. A grin started to form as he developed a plan in that cunning mind of his. With a snap of his lion paw, a piece of parchment and a quill appeared, floating in midair.
"Time for Tony, to have another little get together with Fluttershy." he said with a chuckle as he scrawled down his message. Placing the signature of his alias in big, looping words, he placed it into an envelope, and sent it to Fluttershy's villa via his magic. "Now to get things set up, there's a lot to do if I'm to fool that mare."
Fluttershy wasn't sure when it had arrived, but in the morning, she'd found a crisp white letter on her doorstep from Tony Stanza. She'd shown it to the girls and read it aloud for them.
Dear Fluttershy,
I'd like to have the of you accompanying me on a little get together today. I have something planned that I think you might like. Wait for me in front of the Dress Shoppe at noon sharp. I shall be there shortly.
Sincerely- Tony Stanza
"Are you gonna go?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"How can I not?" asked Fluttershy in reply. "How can I turn him down after all the effort he probably went into for planning this?"
"Still, don't you think it's a bit, rushed?" asked Twilight. "I mean, you barely know this stallion, and already he's asking you out on a date." Was it a date? Fluttershy's face felt warm at the thought of going on a date, but she tried to convince herself that this was something different.
"I'm sure it's just an intimate get together among acquaintances." she said. "Nothing more." Twilight and Rainbow Dash still looked at her skeptically, not really sure if this Tony Stanza was a trustworthy pony. Maybe they were being a bit harsh on the guy, but they didn't want the kind new friend they'd made to get hurt.
"Just be careful, okay?" said Twilight.
"I will." said Fluttershy with an assuring smile. "You girls will be okay while I'm gone?"
"We can take care of ourselves." said Rainbow Dash confidently.
"Good, I should probably get ready, I don't want to keep him waiting long." Fluttershy hurried away to her room to get prepared for her outing with Tony. Rainbow looked over to Twilight.
"We're following them aren't we?" she asked.
"Oh big time." said Twilight. It wasn't that they didn't trust Fluttershy not to be careful, but they didn't know what this Tony Stanza could be capable of. They'd follow at a distance, and would only butt in if he decided to try anything. To keep their friend safe, and to show thanks for what she's done for them.
Fluttershy had been standing outside the dress shoppe for the past 15 minutes or so, and Tony was nowhere in sight. Fluttershy pulled her cape (a gift from her father that she thought would be nice to wear on the outing) tighter around her shoulders. She felt a little awkward standing out as she waited in front of the grand shoppe's window. Did he end up changing his plans? She decided to wait a little bit longer for him. Maybe another five of fifteen minutes.
"Are you alright, darling?" Fluttershy turned to the speaker, a white unicorn who stood in the open doorway of the dress shoppe.
"Oh, I'm alright." said Fluttershy.
"Are you certain? You looked a little sad for moment, and you've been standing here quite a while."
"I'm just waiting for somepony, that's all."
"I see, mind if I chat with you?" The unicorn stood beside Fluttershy, smiling sweetly. "I nice chat might help occupy you while you wait." Fluttershy wasn't sure what to say, but agreed to talk a little with her.
"First, introductions. I am Rarity, the owner of this lovely dress shoppe." She made a grand sweeping motion with her hoof as she gestured to the entire building.
"My name's Fluttershy." said Fluttershy.
"Oh yes, I've heard about you. You and your father live in the villa outside of town, right?" asked Rarity.
"Y-yes."
"Sigh! It must be wonderful, living out on a grand estate, waited upon by handsome servants." A dreamy look came into Rarity's eye, which quickly faded when she heard Fluttershy's next words.
"Um, we don't have servants actually."
"Gasp! No servants? Then, who takes care of the estate?"
"Me and papa. He says that it's good to do things on your own and to learn how to do many things."
"I suppose so, but it sounds like a real chore if you ask me."
"Perhaps it is, but at least it gives me something to do while papa's away." At the mention of her father, Fluttershy became a little sad once more, even though she had some new friends at home, the villa never really felt the same without him. Rarity became concerned by this shift of mood and quickly changed the topic.
"That cape of yours is absolutely stunning!" Rarity complimented. She lifted up the hem and examined it. The lining of the cape was buttery golden silk, and the exterior was a deep teal silk embroidered with filigree. "Something like this would be perfect for my fabrics."
"You think so?" asked Fluttershy timidly.
"Of course! When you've been in the dress business as long as I have, you tend to know these sorts of things." Rarity then looked behind herself and up at her shoppe, smiling as though she was thinking of a fond memory.
"Making dresses has always been my passion." she said. "There's a certain special something that comes out of designing, creating, and presenting a finished dress that I absolutely adore. I can't imagine what life would be like if I were suddenly unable to design anything."
"I can only imagine."
"One of the great things about it is that I also get to meet all sorts of interesting new ponies." Rarity flashed a bright smile. "Like you for example."
"Y-you think I'm interesting?" asked Fluttershy.
"Yes, in a good way of course. Everypony is interesting in their own special way when you really get down to it. It's all a matter of being able to see it." Fluttershy didn't fully understand, but nodded in agreement anyway.
"Sorry I'm late!" Fluttershy saw Tony gallop towards her, appearing to have rushed over in a big hurry. "I got hauled up with something, I didn't leave you waiting long did I?" Fluttershy shook her head.
"It was nice talking with you, Fluttershy." said Rarity. "But I must get back to work. I hope we can talk like this some other time." As Rarity reentered her shoppe, she gave a wink to Fluttershy and said, "Good luck on your date." Fluttershy waved goodbye to Rarity. She was nice pony, and seemed like another possible friend for her to have.
"Shall we get going?" asked Tony.
"Oh, yes. Lead the way." Tony took her hoof and led her to where he'd planned to have their outing.
Fluttershy let out a soft and delighted gasp when Tony had taken her to the town lake, where set up on the bank was a little picnic blanket and basket.
"This is wonderful!" she said sincerely. Tony grinned, pleased by her words.
"I thought you might like it." he said. He offered out his arm for her to take. "Shall we?" he asked. Fluttershy smiled and politely took it as they say down on the blanket. Tony began to pull out an assortment of foods from the basket, laying them out. There were so many choices that Fluttershy wasn't sure which one she should pick. She finally decided to try the watercress sandwich. She took a bit a savored the taste.
"Did you make this?" she asked. Tony nodded. "It's really good."
"I'm glad you like it." he said. Fluttershy took a few larger bites out of the sandwich, and moved onto the rest of the food.
"Aren't you going to eat too?" asked Fluttershy.
"Huh? Oh! Right." Tony sampled some of the grapes that were in a bowl.
"You must've worked really hard and put a lot of thought into making this picnic." said Fluttershy. Tony avoided looking her in the eye and mumbled in agreement. In actuality, it'd only taken him an instant to prepare with his magic. But why tell her otherwise? Fluttershy looked out over the lake, watching the ripples on the water's surface, the pink waterlilies dotting it and giving it some color, and listening to the pleasant ribbits of the frogs.
"Papa used to take me here when I was a filly." she said wistfully. "It's still just as peaceful as ever." Her face slipped back into her frown as she once again thought about her father.
"You're worried about him aren't you?" asked Tony. "Your father I mean." Fluttershy looked up at Tony in surprise.
"How did you know?" she asked.
"Just a guess." he said. "It's perfectly normal you know. To worry about him. I'm sure right now he's worrying about you too." Fluttershy said nothing but gave Tony a bright and beautiful smile that showed her thanks. Tony found himself a tad speechless himself. Having never been shown such a smile before by anypony. Especially not somepony who, he had to admit, was quite lovely. But he couldn't get distracted. He needed to work his way in, gain her full trust and then hand her over to Eldra.
"Uh, Tony?" asked Fluttershy.
"Y-yes?"
"How are you getting along in town? Are you feeling comfortable?"
"I'm carrying on just fine, though this town is a bit boring if you don't mind my saying so."
"I don't mind. In fact, I kind of agree with you." Tony looked at her in confusion. She, agreed with him? Fluttershy then went on to explain.
"Not a lot happens around here. It's awfully quiet, and at times the days end up being routine." she said. "But, I do enjoy it in some respects. These recent vampire attacks have been the closet thing to stir things up around here, it has me on edge to think about what'll happen once the vampires come." 'But you're a vampire', Tony wanted to say. But kept his mouth firmly shut.
"I'm glad I met you." Fluttershy said, smiling beautifully at him.
"What?"
"You, Twilight and Rainbow Dash, I'm glad to have met you all. Even though it's only been a few days, you've all treated me so nicely and brought something into my life." Tony looked into her teal eye, they shined almost in the light. What was happening? Was she putting a spell on him? Well, it would take more than that to affect him.
"I'm glad to have such good friends as you three." she said. Tony felt a touch stunned. He was normally the one who played with emotions, so how was it that this mare managed to turn the tables? Was it because she was a vampire? No, Tony already new that wasn't it. This mare, she was simply saying what she truly felt. She was sweet, innocent, not a manipulator like him. And yet...
"We're friends?" he asked. Fluttershy nodded.
"But of course. We've been talking all this time, and we've been getting along so well."
"But you don't really know me." Tony countered. Then he thought, what was he doing? He was supposed to gain her trust. So why was he trying to make her doubt them being friends by pointing out how they know so little about each other? Fluttershy however replied sweetly, "I may not know you now, but I'd like to."
"You would?" Tony was starting to feel a bit foolish asking all these questions, but he couldn't help it. He was curious about her. What kind of mare or vampire was she?
"I want to know more about you, Twilight, and Rainbow Dash. I want to become a good friend to all of you. It may sound a bit silly, especially since you're working with papa, but I've always wanted to have friends to talk to and to share my feelings with. And now, I do."
Tony felt himself being taken in by her words, until he stopped himself and focused on the last part she'd said. '...to talk to and to share my feelings with.' This gave him an idea. A way to completely gain her trust, was to see her vampire side. Once he "accidentally" stumbles onto the truth, Fluttershy would entrust him with her secret. But in order for that to work, he'd need to get her to reveal herself. And there was one, easy way he could think of to get it done. He'd have to see her feed. Vampires could eat different foods, but they needed to drink on what gives them the most nourishment. What they crave for the most.
"Are you done eating my dear?" asked Tony.
"Yes. Thank you again for the meal. It was very good." said Fluttershy politely, dabbing her mouth with a napkin.
"Well in that case, let me take you out on the second part of our outing." he said. Fluttershy tilted her head slightly in confusion.
"There's a second part?" she asked.
"Yes, I thought it would help add a light something to my otherwise boring stay. You don't mind do you?" Fluttershy shook her head.
"Splendid!" he said. "And don't worry my dear, I'll be sure to have you back in time for dinner."