//------------------------------// // The Weaving of Tales // Story: Once There was a Beautiful, but Tragic Knight... // by Jade Crossroads //------------------------------// Ah, yes the Wonderbolts institute of Knights, It was every pegasus’s dream - every pegasus because this squadron was most specifically aimed at recruiting only the strongest and bravest fliers. It was one of the most prestigious training centers a knight could aspire to. Two fillies in particular dreamed of joining these ranks. Well, one of them dreamed of creating change so that everypony could live in peace at last. The other lived for the traditional order of things and longed to be a part of something greater, she knows she can be great if they would only give her a chance to prove her worth. The latter was Rainbow Dash who often lead the two into trouble and mischief her friend would try to dissuade her from. The former, and the cautious friend of the aforementioned Rainbow Maned one was Fluttershy. Quiet and timid as her name suggested, the pegasus was always true to a kinder nature than the competitive ferocity that so often consumed Rainbow. Fluttershy had always been an odd one, she always brought home a lost or sick animal home with her to show her Uncle. Her parents had sadly passed away years before, but she knew she had been loved, and though she missed them dearly, having an understanding Uncle was enough to numb the pain except in the worst of times. Whenever she brought an injured animal home he never scolded her, and perhaps that was what encouraged her to stand by her beliefs. He never thought her daft or silly. Her Uncle Major Arch was patient with her and at times spoiled her, though with Fluttershy it was rather difficult, as long as she had her animal friends around her she couldn’t ask for anything more. It was no surprise then when she got her cutie mark, three butterflies representing her kindness and gentleness towards animals and ponies alike. He had been a good stallion, though in the past he had been an even better commander. He had learned a lot about compassion and commodore during the war. He always had many stories to tell about his service in the army as well. Celestia’s army to be exact. This also bore a great significance in how Fluttershy lived her life as well as Rainbow Dash. Whilst they sat by the blazing hearth fire, Major Arch would bring his stories to life, literally, using his unicorn horn to animate the elements he weaved into his story. He left out many of the bits though, all the gore and tragedy, and made for them a world of whimsy. Dragons were defeated by the teamwork of different races of ponies, while pegasi flew in great bands alongside the ranks of unicorn and Earth pony alike to defend their land and to keep the monsters at bay There were also many villains. Sombra, the ever living shadow, Chrysalis, the greedy heart and her changelings, and many others. The most interesting perhaps, to both fillies were his tales of a majestic and wise being, who became cruel spirit of all things disharmony and chaos. Discord, the embodiment of chaos. It was a strange sort of fascination, that if a presumably extinct, if not mythological monster, that according to legends couldn't care less about you. Fluttershy would be frightened at the mention of his appearance, she'd never been very brave or find of chimeras. They all had a tendency to be unpredictable in their own right from what she knew of them and experienced first hand, muzzle to beak with a cockatrice as a young pegasus of seven flight years. It was certainly not a welcomed memory, but it was a lesson learned and it earned her more respect with her friend Dash. If and when it came to the region and strange animals, Shy must always be needed. She made sure everyone in the village knew of it too on the rare occasions they left the many acres that were Arch’s property. Despite this familiarity with the dangers of such creatures, her Uncle made this Discord out to be a pony and she couldn't help but feel sympathetic towards the mistreated character. Perhaps he was just misunderstood? Surely there was nothing evil about him, he just struck out at the ones who hurt him like most animals do when they feel scared or threatened.She thought sadly. His was a tragic, if somewhat vague history. Her Uncle never ventured far into his tales with added details that could help her make sense of Discord’s personality, other than to say that the chimera had been shunned by the world, and she never asked. This left Fluttershy to imagine how awful that must have made him feel, and how isolated. Besides, the story was just that, a story, wasn’t it? If only his deeds following up his mistreatment hadn’t been so horrible. He changed the rules of reality to benefit himself, drove ponies mad and overthrew all law and order, ruling everything with constant change and the consequences that come with it. She took this strange Chimera’s tale as a cautionary one. It couldn’t be a true story, where the other fabrications her Uncle told her were really form parts of history and his own experiences, this one even sounded like tall tale, though, she wasn’t sure she understood the moral if there was one. Her Uncle Arch never told her stories that didn’t bear some significance or truth to them. Still years later, she had yet to find one for his tellings of the Spirit of Disharmony. Fluttershy was certain of one thing though, nopony could hold so much power and such grudges and hatred to last throughout eons as Arch assured her was true. Yet, what reason did he have to lie about, or was the story more than he let on and that was the true reason he never went into much depth, or maybe it was because it was true, but he knew little of the situation. She new her Uncle hated telling tall tales and changing facts like the historians would. That was his claim whenever Fluttershy asked why he didn’t use the many books he had in his archives to teach them history, not that she didn’t enjoy his displays of magic and weaving tales into a living story as an alternative, but nopony else did it so why did he? He only replied that it was his special talent and it would be a waste otherwise. Another tell perhaps, was her uncle’s inability to use scientific genesis to name animals and it showed in Draconequus she thought. From what she gathered from Arch’s descriptions she couldn’t do much better though. While Shy went on to believe in the world’s happy endings and a tie that held all ponies close together in peace and harmony, and worlds where breezies truly existed, Rainbow thought differently. Many ponies can hear the same song or read the same book, and they’ll always come out with a different sense of it. This could be observed throughout the foal-hood of the two opposing personalities that were Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. While the more timid of the two believed in breezies, the other longed for action and adventure, feats of strength and prowess. In other words, it was just as easy to placate her as it was to cause her disinterest. Arch’s special talent just so happened to allow his creation of a goldmine of stories for both fillies. His cutiemark, a rolled up treaty and a half blank open paged book, representing his his ability to bring ponies together and his destiny as some have speculated, as a war veteran in the last years of the solar war. The book represented his belief that the past was not what made the pony one was in the present, whether they be mare or stallion. He pulled her aside that day a while after Rainbow had left to rejoin her own family that was waiting at the front gates to take her home and told her something she wouldn't be able to make much sense of until much later. “Shy,” He told her, his face grave, “I need you to promise me that you’ll always stay true to you.” He shook his head at her when she made to speak, and was rewarded by a curious expression on her part, however she waited for him to continue. Certain she would hold back any questions until after he had finished speaking this time, he carried on, telling her that although she had found her Cutiemark, that did not mean she had found her destiny, despite everything she had heard about finding one’s mark. He told her that the true mark of one’s destiny was not found on the outside of a pony’s being, rather it laid within, and that one day, she would know what he spoke of. It wasn’t something you could see, so much as feel, and if she remembered anything, she must remember that. He told her to do with the information what she would. Mock it, he said, ignore it, laugh or shrug it off as nonsense, so long as she didn’t forget it. She gave her Uncle her word, that she would never forget, and with a nod, he lead her back to the solar room where he had been teaching her the stories behind the constellations found in the night's glorious skies at just the right time and season. He was always teaching Fluttershy all manner of things that most ponies wouldn’t even have heard of. He taught her dead languages, how to map the stars and how to treat wounds and broken limbs, and at her insistence he had picked up a few methods for the latter to be used on animals as well as ponies that he would then teach her. Fluttershy always knew he was a scholar ad a knowledgeable pony, but she never dreamed that there could be so many lessons and things to learn! A few times she had grown frustrated, why did he insist on teaching her things she would never be able to use! She felt bad afterwards, when she thought this way and a little ashamed, and so she never brought it to his attention. Besides, she would think, I’m all he had and I do find everything he has to share with me interesting. I only wish I could spend more time with Rainbow or my animals. She remembered when he sued to spoil her, she was not much older than she was then, she never wanted anything so much as her freedom now, her freedom to choose if she deemed something worth learning about or not. She knew a little of her standing as a lady and the descendant of a long line of Knights, but she really just wanted to see things change more than have her muzzle stuck in the pages of a foreign language textbook (there were limits to arch’s magic of course, letters and characters being one of them) and the other ebbing tides of knowledgeable that showed no sign of changing anytime soon. She sighed as Her Uncle now read aloud the coordinates of their position according to the aligned stars at any given point, and she answered his questions when it was her turn to show that she had been listening. At least she still had another story to look forward to tonight, Arch had promised his niece at last that he would tell her a princess story. He had asked her why, and she felt bad about giving him some half baked excuse. She kept the real reason, that she needed a distraction from her now weekly thoughts of a certain fabricated chimera to herself. It was something she couldn’t quite explain to herself yet, and she thought there might be more information on him in some of her Uncle’s old books. She wasn’t sure if she’d ever find the right one, or if she’d ever take the time to search for it, but she was certain that if Discord wasn’t some made up character, then her Uncle was hiding something from her. He deserved his secrets, but she needed to know. It was the first time Fluttershy thought of the saying about the curious cat. There was nothing that would suggest that she’d come to a similar end though, and just like this character was, that quote too was a fabrication of a creative mind.