Chapter 04: Friendship Is Something Or Other
The city of Canterlot passed by the convertible as it rode back into the city proper with its new guests. Sugarcoat was driving with Sunset Shimmer and Princess Twilight beside her, while Sour Sweet, Lemon Zest, and Fluttershy sat in the back. Fluttershy was leaning against the door with wide, bulging eyes examining the approaching city.
"Oh my goodness..." Fluttershy's voice was an awed whisper. "I think this place might be even bigger than Manehattan..."
"Well we're quite a bit bigger than you ponies." Sugarcoat smirked into her rearview mirror. "We just need more room in general."
"We should try not to be here too long." Princess Twilight pointed out. "I agree with Celestia when she says that having two of us in one world could just get confusing."
"Yeah, I think that's safe to say at this point." Sunset Shimmer smirked. "I've been confused with my other-self a couple of times now." Sour Sweet grunted from the back seat, but said nothing.
Sugarcoat called into the back of the car. "Hey, thanks for coming with us to another dimension to help us out. There's some food back there if you're hungry."
"Oh?" Fluttershy looked down curiously, spotting the plastic bag of burgers at her feet. "Oh thank you, but it's really not necessary. I'm happy to help, and Discord is sort of my responsibility anyway."
Sugarcoat waved a hand behind her. "I have plenty to go around, and I really don't want them to go to waste. Please, I insist."
"Well, if you insist, thank you very much." Fluttershy leaned down to pull a burger out of the bag and unwrap it, bringing it to her lips for a dainty nibble.
"Uh, Fluttershy, I don't know if..." Princess Twilight trailed off, looking back from the front seat worriedly as her friend thoroughly chewed her food before swallowing. "Um... are you... okay?"
"Of course, it's just food." Fluttershy smiled. "It tastes a little bland, but it's not bad. What is it?"
"They're hamburgers." Lemon Zest replied helpfully. "Mostly made from cow meat."
"Oh." Fluttershy took another dainty bite and looked out at the approaching city again as she chewed.
Princess Twilight seemed a bit dumbstruck as she spoke. "You're okay with eating... you know, animals?"
"Huh?" Fluttershy looked at her friend. "Sure, I know what carnivores are, and I know they're an important part of our ecosystem. If humans are carnivores then eating meat while I'm human is just natural."
"Oh... I... guess that's true." Princess Twilight blushed.
Sugarcoat sighed. "Man, rational people can be so boring."
"Were you hoping she would freak out?" Princess Twilight frowned.
"Yep." Sugarcoat turned the radio on as they made their way into the city proper.
The former eerie calmness was beginning to give way to an air of nervousness from those who were still out on the streets this late at night. Thankfully, though, the city hadn't yet begun to break out into a full panic, but it was definitely on the way there. If things got much weirder they could crack at any moment. In all likelihood if things didn't get better by sunrise, this city was screwed. So Sugarcoat pressed the gas just a little bit harder as she navigated the city streets to Twilight Sparkle's house.
They climbed out of the car and rushed inside, where they found Spike and Mina curled up on the carpet in the living room together. Princess Twilight seemed surprised by this. "Spike? There's a Spike here too?"
"Huh? Twilight! You're back!" Spike leapt to his paws.
"And he talks!?"
"It's a long story." Sugarcoat explained. "He was exposed to magic from your world and gained the ability to talk." She scratched her chin. "Actually it wasn't a very long story, was it?"
"Girls, we're on a timer." Sunset Shimmer pointed to the stairs. "Twilight's bedroom is up here, Fluttershy. That's where we think Discord is holed up."
"Okay, let's go." Fluttershy led the way up to the second floor, stopping at the bedroom door that Sunset Shimmer gestured to. "So you're sure he's in here?"
"Pretty sure," Lemon Zest replied. "At least I've never seen demons from Tartarus in Twilight's bedroom before."
"Aw, I'm sure it can't be that bad." Fluttershy reached out and fumbled for a moment to push the door open with her newly-acquired fingers.
The door opened into the inky blackness, and a bitter wind instantly ripped through the hallway. The sound of wailing could be heard from inside, a sickening warning cry that made their stomachs churn and a chill run up their spines. Deep in the room a pair of blood red pools opened, as if staring at them and waiting for the first one to dare enter the abyss. Even as they watched several more pairs of crimson eyes opened, each swirling around the others, waiting and hungry.
"Yeah... as we were saying..." Sour Sweet gulped.
"Hmph." Fluttershy crossed her arms over her chest and stepped into the darkness.
"Hey, wait! Are you sure...?" Princess Twilight reached her arm out, but it was already too late.
Fluttershy marched on without fear, her body the only thing visible in the darkness aside from the dozen pairs of eyes that were all watching her approach. As she moved closer the eyes seemed to open wider, and a bloodcurdling screech split the air. The wind that had been trying to suck them in suddenly blew them back. Lemon Zest and Sour Sweet actually stumbled into the far wall, holding their ears against the vicious assault.
"Don't you roar at me, mister." Fluttershy lifted her fist to waggle it at the eyes. "I am so mad at you right now that I should be the one screaming!"
The eyes all widened in surprise. "Fluttershy?" The darkness instantly receded, as if allowing the light to flood into the perfectly normal bedroom, occupied by the perfectly abnormal creature Twilight had described. "Well fancy meeting you here..." Discord turned away from her, crossing his arms over his own chest. "To what do I owe the honor?"
"I want to know what you think you're doing," Fluttershy demanded. "You must notice the effect your magic is having on this world! If you stay here, people could start getting hurt."
"If they get hurt because of a little incidental weirdness that's not exactly my fault." Discord held out his claw, as if inspecting the nails with a discerning eye. "Besides, it's not as if it's your place to talk about caring about strangers when you neglect your friend..."
"Neglect?" Fluttershy blinked. "You feel like I've been neglecting you? Again? Discord, I..." She put her fist against her head for a moment. "I don't mean to dismiss your feelings, quite the opposite in fact. This is the second time you've run off and fumed at me instead of bringing what I did to my attention!"
"Well what am I supposed to say?" Discord's head morphed into her normal pony face. "Hey Fluttershy, I'm really angry at you for spending so much time with Tree Hugger! You blow off our tea times, you're never around for my surprise visits, and you never come visit me anymore! I feel like there's nothing left in Equestria for me! Is that what I'm supposed to say?"
Fluttershy took a deep breath. "If that's how you really feel... then yes, that's exactly what you should say." Fluttershy stepped closer as Discord's eyes turned away from her, but a gentle touch on his lion's paw brought her gaze to her eyes again. "Friends aren't perfect, Discord... I'm not perfect... which is why if I do something to upset you, I need you to bring it to my attention, so we can talk about it." She blushed. "Maybe I am spending more and more time with Tree Hugger, but that doesn't mean I'm intentionally cutting you off."
Discord looked down at her searchingly. "Just be brutally honest about it? Isn't that hurtful?"
"Pfft..." Sugarcoat scoffed, but got slapped in the back of the head by Sunset Shimmer in return.
Fluttershy nodded. "Yes... yes it can be... but it's necessary sometimes, and it's certainly better than trying to run away where none of us can find you without even trying to make things better with me, isn't it?"
"I..." Discord sighed. "Perhaps you're right. I knew you wouldn't let me send Tree Hugger to another dimension, so I thought if I came to one I wouldn't have to deal with the whole thing anymore..."
"You shouldn't be afraid to face your problems head on... that's something all of my wonderful friends have taught me over the years." Fluttershy placed her hand on Discord's claw with a smile. "It can be hard, but a true friend will never push you away for speaking your mind, no matter how much they don't want to hear what you're saying."
Discord finally turned toward her. "I'm sorry, Fluttershy..."
"It's okay... I'm sorry for making you feel unappreciated." Fluttershy stepped into a tight, warm hug with the massive creature.
Sugarcoat gave the scene a slow clap while Sour Sweet cooed cutely. "Awwww isn't that just the most adorable thing? It almost makes you forget our friends are still missing!"
"Discord?" Fluttershy pulled back to give the taller creature a stern glare.
Discord held up both claws defensively. "Save your stare, Fluttershy, I promise I didn't harm a hair on their primitive primate heads. They're at my house safe and sound like a couple of newborns in momma's belly. See?" Discord snapped his fingers and suddenly the group of them were standing in a small dirty-looking house. They gasped as they collapsed to all four hooves, aside from Sugarcoat, who just plopped face-first onto the floor.
"Screw the universe and everything in it," Sugarcoat grumped against the floor.
"Perfectly safe and snug and-oh." Discord turned around with a flourish when he saw that the house was empty. There were strange craters in the ceiling and the wall over the door, but otherwise it looked like a normal, empty, house. "It appears they've run off. Boy, was that the wrong idea or what? A couple of mortals floating around this place? I sure wouldn't want to be them right now." He turned back toward the ponies to find every pair of eyes giving him a vicious death-glare. "I mean they're perfectly fine, clearly. Wherever they are, they are one hundred percent okay."
Fluttershy's voice was as soft as a butterfly's flapping, but as sharp as a sword as she spoke. "Discord, if anything happens to those innocent girls I don't know if I'll ever be able to forgive you!"
"Now Fluttershy don't get all dramatic!" Discord forced a laugh as he slipped smoothly to her side and wrapped a paw around her torso to lift her against his side. "Of course I wouldn't let anything happen to the little darlings! Just give me a few minutes to catch up to them, it'll be a snap!" Discord snapped his fingers and suddenly vanished, leaving Fluttershy to open her wings and flutter back down to the ground.
"Well this is fantastic!" Sour Sweet exclaimed. "Do we get some kind of compensation if our friends are dead?"
"Now Discord may have his issues..." Fluttershy turned toward them with a blush. "But I trust that he'll bring them back safe and sound. He's really very sweet."
"Technically we do get some compensation, anyway..." Sugarcoat mused with a flipper on her chin. "I call dibs on Sunny Flare's CD collection."
***
This was a place of wonders, Sunny Flare thought to herself as she and her two friends floated through the void. There were colors here that she had never imagined existed, and couldn't even describe if someone asked. There were landmasses floating through the void as well, each of different sizes, and some were in shapes that her mind couldn't even interpret. So she shook her head and tried to focus on the nonexistent path ahead, but her attention was drawn to Twilight, whose jaws were tightly clenched.
"Twilight? Are you okay?" Sunny asked worriedly.
"I... I'm okay, just getting a little tired." Twilight's return smile was forced and awkward. "Keeping the magic going like this is exhausting..."
"Then let's try to land somewhere so you can catch your breath. You shouldn't push yourself too hard, we have no idea what the consequences might be." Sunny pointed to one of the less mystifying landmasses floating in the odd void. "That seems like a good place to set down."
"Okay..." The three pony girls turned toward the landmass, and landed on the outer edge with a slightly harder impact than Sunny would have expected. Twilight stumbled and collapsed to the ground panting. "Ugh, sorry... didn't mean to do that..."
"Don't sweat it Twi, you did great." Indigo Zap patted her friend's mane. "At this rate we'll be out of here in no time!"
Sunny looked at her curiously. "What rate? I can't even tell we're moving aside from moving past the land, and I'm pretty sure these are moving too."
Indigo glared back at her. "You know, sometimes pragmatism gets in the way of making people feel better."
Sunny blushed. "Right, sorry..."
Twilight pushed herself up to her legs and stretched out her back, blinking in surprise as she turned in towards the center of the small island. "There's a cave...? But the island is only ten feet wide..."
"Huh?" Sunny and Indigo followed her gaze. Indeed, sitting in the middle of the tiny floating island was a small cave only slightly taller than them, that looked like it opened into a massive dark cavern that stretched further than what passed for 'light' in this realm could reach. "That is... odd."
"But hardly surprising, in this place." Indigo smirked. "I vote we do the smart thing and stay right here until Twilight's strong enough to get us out of here."
"Oh, agreed." Sunny nodded. "Wandering into a dark cave in a strange chaos-dimension is something only an idiot would think to do."
"Mmhmm!" Twilight nodded. "Staying right here! So... how are things going with Shining Armor, Sunny?"
Sunny blushed. "Are you sure you want me to talk about that...?"
The three pony girls sat on the edge of the island talking in light tones about the gossip from their lives. Despite the chaos and strangeness around them, it was easy to relax, but it didn't last long. They drifted into silence when a strange... not exactly a sound, but more of a feeling began to waft from the cavern like a ripple in a pond. They fell silent as their eyes turned to the darkness, which itself felt like it was beginning to writhe before them.
"Twi?" Indigo asked. "Do you think you're strong enough to get us out of here, yet?"
"I can certainly..." Twilight's voice drifted off.
Sunny could feel it too, the strange sensation tugging at her mind. She saw flashes of light, and the feeling of joy dominated her thoughts. She didn't know why, she didn't understand... and yet it was as if she couldn't feel afraid.
"Wh-who are you?" Twilight's voice wavered as she spoke. "What are you? Are you... something?"
A soft red haze filtered over her mind. She swore she could see something emerging from the cavern, but even looking directly at it, she had no idea what it even looked like. The only thing she was certain of, somehow, was that it was alive, and that there was a strange sense of happiness washing over her. A sense that, perhaps, might have been coming from the creature.
"Um..." Sunny Flare shook her head. "I'm sorry, we... don't know what's happening right now."
"Can you help us get home, by any chance?" Indigo asked. Suddenly a flare of frustration swept through Sunny's mind, so intense it made her wince. Sunny had half a mind to get away, to run, but she couldn't make her body move. A quick glance beside her showed that her friends' faces were similarly pained, each staring blankly ahead into the living void before them.
Suddenly in a flash of light Discord appeared before them. "Aha! There you are! I've come to take you home! Let's-oh!" He whirled in surprise. Pure, seething rage raced through Sunny Flare's mind. Not even rage, it was beyond rage. And yet there was also sadness buried deep within it.
"Um, toodles!" Suddenly Sunny Flare's knees wobbled as she found herself standing in the living room of the small shack she and the others had been trapped in before. Discord swept in front of them grandly. "See? What did I tell you? Completely unharmed." Discord licked both of his paws before running them down each of the three girls' hair, smoothing them out into their normal hairstyles. "And looking fabulous, if I say so myself."
"Twilight! Sunny! Indigo!" Lemon Zest leapt forward with flapping wings to throw her hooves around each of them dragging them all into one giant hug. "I was so worried there for a while!"
"Yeah, it's so great to see you all okay!" Sour Sweet rushed forward with a relieved smile. "For a while I was afraid I was gonna have to figure out how to kill a God."
Sugarcoat came flopping forward across the ground, using her fins to inch her way forward. "Are you three okay? You... hughn... don't really... uhn... look so good."
Sunny finally snapped out of her daze to peer down at her bespectacled friend. "... Are you a seal?"
Sugarcoat's eyes narrowed. Slowly she lifted her front section up a bit to slap her fins together three times, speaking on each slap. "Arf. Arf. Bitch."
"Thank you, Discord." A pony with pink hair and yellow fur, who Sunny surmised was Fluttershy from her voice, hovered up to Discord on feathery wings to pat him on the head. "You saved our friends! Thank you so much!"
"Hmhm, yes, well, I do have my moments I suppose..." Discord coughed.
Indigo glared up at him. "And no offense or nothing... but next time you have a moment, please do it in your own universe, okay?"
"Indigo..." Sunny slapped her forehead. "Did you learn nothing from this?"
"Don't worry, I'm done throwing temper tantrums and running away from my problems." Discord held up one claw with a brown uniform appearing on his body. "Fillyscouts honor."
"Well, this all could have gone better, but I guess all's well that ends well." Sunset Shimmer approached her six friends with a ghost of a smile on her lips. "But it's getting really late in our world, and tomorrow is a school day, so we really should try to get home and get some rest."
"Of course." Princess Twilight approached the Shadowbolts. This was the first time Sunny had seen her before... she really did look just like Twilight, well her pony form at least. Twilight Sparkle looked like she had a deep blush on her cheeks as she took in her royal counterpart. "Please accept my apologies on behalf of Equestria for this incident. The last thing we want is for our problems to come barging into your world... again."
"Ahehe..." Sunset Shimmer blushed.
"It's alright, we know you didn't mean for it to happen." Twilight smiled and adjusted her glasses on the end of her nose. "And if someone wants to take a vacation in our world we certainly wouldn't object... you know, as long as our world doesn't start falling apart as a result of it."
"And I extend the same invitation to you. If you ever wish to visit Equestria, we can certainly arrange it. Just let Sunset Shimmer know. She can contact me at any time." Princess Twilight nodded authoritatively, then turned back to Discord. "Okay Discord, we've had enough fun for one day. Send everybody home so we can all get some rest."
Discord bowed with a trace of a smirk on his lips. "Yes, oh mighty and respectable princess Twilight... your command is my wish." He raised one claw and snapped his fingers.
***
The evening sun was just peeking over the horizon as Princess Twilight marched into her friendship palace. "Pinkie Pie? Are you still here? We can finish those chapters now."
Pinkie bounced into the main hallway with her mane and tail flapping behind her. "Twilight? Who has time for that!? Do you know whose birthday party is coming up!? Everypony's! I need to make plans for the entire next year! I'll catch up with you later!" Pinkie zoomed past her out of the palace in a blur of pink and deeper pink.
"Pinkie! Wait! But..." Twilight sighed as she looked after her. "Your memoir..."
"Maybe she'll settle down for real someday." Starlight Glimmer walked up behind her, watching Pinkie bound through Ponyville outside. "She's still buzzing with youth. Time will catch up to her eventually, even if nothing else can."
Twilight sighed. "I guess so. It was just nice to be able to sit down and spend some real time with her for once." Twilight turned to walk toward the library.
"All in good time..." Starlight closed the door behind her. "Sssoooo.... another student, huh? Were you ever going to tell me about her?"
"Huh? Excuse me?" Twilight looked back in surprise.
"I mean I'm not mad, but I think having another protégé you're not telling me about is kind of a big deal, isn't it?" Starlight Glimmer's hoof was waving carelessly through the air even as she fixed a sharp gaze on Twilight's eyes. "It's not like there's a reason you would keep her hidden from me, is there?"
"Uh..." Twilight coughed into one hoof. It looked like this was going to be a long evening...
***
Twilight Sparkle reached up and touched her head with her fingers. Her normal, human fingers. She had only been a pony for a short time, but she almost couldn't believe how much of a relief it was to be back in her body, and back in her bedroom. She almost let out a squeal, but restrained herself modestly when she realized she wasn't alone. All six of her friends had joined her, each wobbling slightly as they suddenly found themselves on two legs instead of four.
"Does anyone else kind of feel like Bimbo Baggins right now?" Indigo Zap mused. "I mean... do we really just go home and go to bed after all that crap? We were just magic ponies for crying out loud!"
"Eh, you start to get used to this sort of thing after a while." Sunset Shimmer winked at Twilight. "Isn't that right?"
"Heh, yeah, I think I've been through worse." Twilight adjusted her glasses into place on her normal human nose now. "But you can all stay at my place for the night, if you'd like. The sooner we can get to bed the better, with school coming up so soon."
"I hope we get to go back to Equestria soon though!" Lemon Zest giggled. "Next time I want to learn to fly for real! Being a pony is awesome!"
"Speak for yourself," Sugarcoat grumped.
"Come on girls, settle down." Sunny Flare insisted. "Let's just take Twilight up on her offer. It would be rude not to anyway." There was a chorus of mumbles of acceptance, and soon they had enough spare blankets and sleeping bags laid out across the room.
Twilight laid in the darkness on the edge of her bed, pulling her blankets snugly up around her neck. The sound of her friends' breath was the only thing she could hear... but no matter how long she laid there, sleep proved elusive. She found her mind going back. Back to that moment, back to that... thing. She didn't even have a name for what it was, nor could she bring up a picture in her mind's eye. She just thought about its existence, and it kind of made her shiver.
With a grunt of forfeit, Twilight carefully slipped out of her bed so as not to awaken her two partners, Lemon Zest and Sour Sweet, and tiptoed her way out toward the living room. As she hobbled in sleepily, she caught sight of Spike and Mina huddled up together in the corner of the sofa. Mina was whimpering in her sleep, while Spike's eyes were open, looking down at her, but they flicked up to Twilight as she entered.
"Hey." Spike smiled. "I guess you got everything taken care of?"
"Yeah, I think so." Twilight tilted her head. "How did you know?"
"'Mina... she can't talk anymore." Spike sighed.
"Awww, I'm sorry Spike." Twilight ran her fingers over his head in a gentle scratch as she approached the front of the house. "But it's not like she's going anywhere. You can still be together as long as you want."
"Yeah, I know..." Spike watched her approach the window at the front of the house curiously. "Are you okay?"
Twilight stared out into the night, clasping her hands in front of her. "I..."
"You can't sleep." Twilight and Spike both turned when Indigo Zap spoke from the hallway. "I can't either."
"Are you thinking about... it?"
Indigo nodded as she moved to join Twilight in front of the window. "It's hard not to. I don't know if I've ever felt anything like that in my life. I never even imagined anything like that."
"What do you think it would have done to us if Discord hadn't shown up?" Twilight asked.
Sunny Flare spoke from behind them this time. "I think we should probably try to avoid thinking about that too hard. We could lose a lot of sleep for a long time." She approached her two friends with her arms crossed over her chest. "I recommend you forget the whole thing, lay down, and try to never think about it again."
"Really?" Indigo asked lightly. "I notice you're not taking your own advice."
"I never claimed not to be a hypocrite," Sunny pointed out with a wry smile, which soon faded. "Seriously though, we shouldn't dwell on it. It's over, it's done, and we'll never see that thing again. Or... er... experience, that thing... whatever it was."
"Yeah, you're right." Twilight nodded. "As always, Sunny. I'll try to forget about it..." She stared out into the blissfully clear midnight sky, devoid of all signs of Discord's chaotic clouds. "Might not be that easy, though..."
"I never claimed it would be." Sunny slipped an arm around Twilight's shoulders, pulling her into a firm half-embrace. "But we'll be fine as long as we work on it together."