Chapter 2
In the confines of her castle library, Twilight was buying herself by going over the maps of Equestria, looking over the places that had been searched for the Tenebris and anyplace where the Tenebris could possibly be hiding. Since their return to Equestria, Princess Luna warned her and her friends to be vigilant until for the Tenebris, and had begun to search them out, to put a stop to them once and for all. So far however, there had been no luck in finding them.
Knock! Knock!
Twilight looked up from the maps toward the door of the library, where two of her friends, Sunset Shimmer and Starlight Glimmer, were standing just outside in the hallway.
"Hey, Twilight. Can we come in?" asked Starlight.
"Oh, girls! Of course, come right in." said Twilight, ushering them into the library.
"How's it coming along with the search?" asked Sunset, peering over at the maps.
"Not much luck I'm afraid." said Twilight in disappointment. "I've looked over this map over a hundred times, and I can't seem to find where the Tenebris could be."
"I hear you, wherever they are, they seem to be doing a great job of lying low." said Sunset Shimmer.
"Makes you wonder what sort of scheme they might be planning." said Starlight Glimmer, entering into deep-thought mode, along with Twilight and Sunset.
Their concentration was quickly broken as Spike barged in and said loudly, "Twilight! I've got something for you!"
"What is it, Spike?" asked Twilight.
Spike held up a little scroll to Twilight. "This arrived for you, it's from Princess Luna."
Twilight didn't hesitate as she levitated the scroll and read through it aloud, "Dear Princess Twilight, after many weeks of searching and with little results, I've finally uncovered something that should aid us in subduing the Tenbris threat. I want you and Moonlight Eve to please come to Aestas as soon as possible so that we can discuss this further in detail. Sincerely yours- Princess Luna. P.s. Please send word through Spike when you are ready and I shall send a portal for you to bring you straight to the castle."
"What do you think the princess found?" wondered Starlight aloud.
Twilight shrugged as she set down the scroll. "I'm not sure." she said. "But what I do know is that we can't waste anymore time. If Princess Luna really did find something that can stop the Tenebris, we should find out what it is and have it ready for if and when they try to attack."
"Do you want us to come with you?" asked Sunset.
Twilight shook her head. "No, you two stay here. If anypony asks where I went, tell them that I've gone to see the princess. Eve and I will try to hurry back as soon as possible."
"Got it." said Starlight.
Twilight then left the library and hurried down to Eve's room to tell her about Luna's letter. But when she got to the room, she found the door open and that Eve was nowhere to be found. "Spike!" she called.
"Yes, Twilight?" asked Spike, who had been following after her close behind.
"Do you know where Eve is?" she asked him.
"Let's see...I think she went over to Fluttershy's to pay her a visit." he said.
"Great, thanks." Without another word, Twilight disappeared in a blast of magic, teleporting to the cottage to find Eve.
A few minutes earlier at Fluttershy's...
In Fluttershy's cottage, Eve was sitting down next to Fluttershy, drinking some tea with her old friend.
"So, how've you been Fluttershy?" asked Eve.
"Oh, everything's been...fine." said Fluttershy, looking away and blushing.
"I take it then that everything's good between you and Discord?"
Fluttershy's blush deepened, confirming Eve's suspicions. The two of them had been steadily spending more time with each other, and yet they both claimed they weren't officially a couple.
"Discord's been so nice, and so charming." cooed Fluttershy, taking a small sip from her cup and smiling fondly to herself. "Though, I would be lying if I said I wasn't flustered as well."
"Of course you're flustered. This is your first relationship, isn't it?"
"I-I wouldn't call it a relationship, exactly."
"Oh yeah? Then what would you call it?"
"Well, we're just, taking it slow, you know? To see what happens and how things should go from here."
Eve snorted. "Honestly, I wish you two would stop acting like a couple of schoolponies and kiss already."
"Eve!" exclaimed Fluttershy in embarrassment.
"What? It's true!" said Eve defensively. "Every time you guys come close to taking it to doing something romantic and taking it to the next level, you both get all nervous and awkward before changing the subject."
Fluttershy's face went pink as she looked down at her teacup. What Eve said was true, but she couldn't help it! When Discord first told her that he loved her and admitted to his crush, she wasn't sure what to think. She did enjoy the longer get togethers she and Discord had and how he now opening showed his affection to her, but each time, Fluttershy would end up getting a little nervous, not sure of what to do or what to say. She'd never been in this kind of situation before, and it was with somepony who'd been one of her best friends. What if it turned out that the affections he showed her were nothing more than a passing infatuation? What if he became possessive of her like with Tree Hugger and Eve? What if she were to never have the same feelings as him and only end up breaking his poor heart? With all these worries swarming around in her, Fluttershy tried to be careful so as not to hurt Discord's feelings and to give him a chance to see whether or not they should change their relationship to the next level. But she'd gotten so used to having Discord as a friend, that the thought of Discord becoming something more made Fluttershy's heart beat faster than a humming bird's wings, and caused her stomach to tie itself into all sorts of complicated knots.
"Look, I'm not telling you what you should do." said Eve, resting a hoof on Fluttershy's arm. "But sooner or later, you're gonna have to make a decision about whether or not you want a serious relationship with Discord, or if you just want to remain friends."
Fluttershy felt a little better and cracked a smile at Eve. "You're right, Eve."
"Well, duh, of course I am. That's what friends are for, right? Giving their friends good advice when they need it." replied Eve.
Fluttershy's smile then turned into a smirk as she said, "Although, I can't help but wonder, when did you get to be such a expert on relationships anyway?"
Eve's pupil's shrunk. "Well, I--"
"Is there a stallion or something?"
"What?! No! Nothing like that."
"Then what?"
Eve looked away. "Well, it's a little embarrassing."
"You can tell me. I am your friend after all."
"Well...okay. So long as you promise not to laugh."
"I promise." said Fluttershy sincerely.
Eve opened her mouth, about to speak, when a gust of wind blew open the door. Fluttershy got up and quickly closed it before returning to her seat. "You were saying?"
"Yes, you see, I've kinda, sorta, been reading a few romance novels from Princess Twilight's library. A lot of them are the really cheesy ones that play out kind of like soap operas."
Suddenly, a burst of laughter filled the air, but it wasn't coming from Fluttershy. Fluttershy was looking around in the seemingly empty air of her cottage. "Discord? Is that you?"
The laughter stopped as a familiar voice spoke up. "Guilty as charged my dear. Do forgive me, but I just couldn't help myself!" He suddenly appeared in the air above them.
Eve's eyes widened. "What the! When did you get here?"
"Oh, just a few moments ago." he said, pointing at the door that had been blown open, though now both the girls knew that it hadn't been a wind that blew it. "Just thought I'd drop by to see how my dearest friend has been, when much to my amusement, I ended up overhearing how a certain little Nightmare has developed a fondness for cheesy, dramatic romance novels."
Eve's black cheeks flushed with touches of red as she narrowed her eyes at the Draconequus, feeling a mix of embarrassment and anger. "That was a private conversation!" she said.
"Now, now dear Eve, there's no reason to get all testy with me." Discord said in usual nonchalant manner.
"Discord, could you please not bother Eve?" asked Fluttershy politely. "It was a private conversation, and you shouldn't have been listening in on it."
"You're right, Fluttershy, how careless of me." Discord turned to Eve and said. "I'm deeply sorry, Eve, really I am." Though he didn't sound like he meant it.
"Yeah, I'm sure you are." said Eve sarcastically.
"Oh! Where are my manners? Would you like some tea, Discord?" asked Fluttershy.
Discord shook his head and held up a paw. "No, no, that won't be necessary. Though thank you for taking me into consideration. I just wanted to see you before I head off."
"Right, I almost forgot you were leaving today." said Fluttershy.
"Leaving? Leaving where?" asked Eve, wondering what they were talking about.
"Well, you see Evie," began Discord. "Princess Celestia has asked me to help further the search for the Tenebris, and so I shall be gone for a while. I'm not certain when I shall be back, but hopefully soon."
At the mention of the Tenebris, Eve couldn't help but wince, while Fluttershy looked at Discord with worry.
"Oh dear, will you be okay?" she asked.
"But of course!" answered Discord confidently. "Why wouldn't I be?"
"Well, you did fall for one of their traps." pointed out Eve.
Discord frowned at Eve and shot back, "Please, like you're one to talk."
Eve's mouth tightened as she looked down at the floor.
"Those Tenebris may have gotten lucky when they...tricked me," he said that last part as if it left a bad taste in his mouth. "But not this time! There's no way I'll let them try to fool me twice. Just you wait and see."
Eve rolled her eyes. Fluttershy smiled a teeny bit. Then, without any warning, Twilight Sparkle popped out of thin air and quickly turned to Eve.
"Eve! I need you to come back to the castle with me." she said.
Eve blinked in surprise. "Wait. What?! Why?" she asked.
"I got a letter from Princess Luna, she wants us to come to Aestas as quickly as possible." answered Twilight.
Eve felt her throat tighten. She gulped and replied, "Sh-she wants us to return, to Aestas?"
"Yes! And we need to hurry, we don't want to waste any time."
Eve bit her lower lip, glancing over at Fluttershy. "Um, Fluttershy, do you mind if I--?"
"Not at all." said Fluttershy. "You go on, and we can get back to our talk later."
"W-well...okay then." Eve went to Princess Twilight. "So, should we hurry to the castle?"
"There's no need for that." Twilight's horn lit up as she prepared. "We'll be there in no time." she said. As the aura began to envelope them, Eve took one last look at Fluttershy and said, "I'll see you later, Fluttershy." And like that, they were gone.
"Well, that was certainly an interesting little visit from our dear princess." said Discord, stroking his goatee before looking down at a squiggly handed watch that suddenly appeared on his right wrist. "And I should be going as well." He spun to face Fluttershy and looked down at her. "So sorry to cut this visit so short, my dear. But as they say, duty calls."
"Don't worry, Discord. I understand. Just promise me that you be careful, okay?" she said, looking at him with her sparkling doe eyes.
"Aren't I always?" he replied back.
Fluttershy giggled. "Do you really want me to answer that?" she asked.
Discord chuckled in reply. "Don't you fret, Fluttershy. I'll be back here and ready or tea before you know it."
Fluttershy's mouth slowly curved into a relieved smile, and quite suddenly, gave Discord a warm hug. "Good luck." she said.
Discord smiled warmly at her before returning her hug.
"Thank you, Fluttershy."
With their goodbyes said and done, Discord snapped his talons and disappeared in a flash, heading off to Celestia knows where.
Fluttershy's gaze lingered to the spot Discord had been standing and whispered, "Be safe."