D for Discord

by AdmiralSassMcAwesome

Dreams

She felt the wind blow against her face, tousling her mane and tickling at her ears. In times past, this sweet and refreshing gale would have elicited a contented smile from the lips of Fluttershy, but today she did not feel like smiling. She felt something grasp at her foreleg and knew before she looked that it was Angel, wondering what was wrong.

What was wrong?

She was home, her sweet little cottage stood before her, the Everfree forest swaying lightly in the breeze just beyond the stream that graced her garden. It was spring and the bluebells were in full bloom, dashing up to meet the suns golden rays. Everything was perfect, just the way she remembered it. Just the way she remembered it?

Yes, things had changed in Ponyville. In fact, things had changed all over Equestria. How had it all happened?

Fluttershy could remember a time when things not only looked perfect, but they felt that way too. Of course there were small issues that arose from time to time, but nothing that the magic of friendship could not resolve. Friendship. That word had lost its meaning now. It used to be the special bond that held Fluttershy to her five dear friends in such an intimate way, and it didn’t stop there. It was as though Fluttershy and her friends were the stalwart trunk of a great oak, their friendship extending out from them to all the ponies around, a mist of harmony keeping them all together, one could almost say; alive.

But years passed and things, as they so often do, changed. A famine swept across the pony world leading nations to desperation. As the only realm where magic was still used to control nature, Princess Celestia’s kingdom remained prosperous, and this did not escape the notice of other ponies. With pleas for mercy the equines of Saddle Arabia, Prance and numerous other pony nations flocked to Equestria, seeking aid of the Princess. But Celestia was no longer the loving monarch she once was, and the price she put on her assistance proved too high. She demanded that ponykind submit themselves to her as their supreme ruler. In anger, the ponies turned to a different means of obtaining sustenance. East of Equestria lay the lands of Griffony and Dragonia, homes of the fearsome races which were the only likely contenders against the two pony Princesses.

In time, the ponies convinced the griffons and the dragons to rise up against Equestria and a battle raged on for a period of six years which nopony would ever forget. By the time the war had ended, Celestia stood victorious over a world almost entirely decimated. The famine continued and the fear and hatred that began as a result of the invasions did also. Equestria could not stand immune forever and eventually the ponies under Princess Celestia began to experience the pangs of rations and scarcity.

Fluttershy shuddered as all those years of pain and fear swept over her once more. Through all of it, she had tried so hard to keep a positive outlook, and to some extent she had succeeded. But she could not say the same for her friends. The hatred and mistrust of all things foreign had broken them down over time leading them to do horrible things that Fluttershy spent a great deal of energy suppressing. However, despite the fact that she knew her friends had changed, she could not bring herself to sever the link between them.

Well, that and…

In the distance she saw two of her friends trotting towards her, Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie. Twilight was smiling, the corners of her mouth turned up in a soft and contented way, while Pinkie bounced behind her with a mischievous grin plastered across her face.

“Hey Fluttershy, what’s going on?” Twilight slowed her pace as she grew nearer.

“Oh, nothing much…”

“Pinkie and I were about to go and have a picnic when we thought that maybe you’d like to join us?”

“Uh-huh, the more the merrier!” Pinkie beamed.

Fluttershy’s heart leapt at the invitation and she was about to reply with a hearty ‘yes’ but she felt something niggling in the back of her mind that made her stop herself. “This is just a dream Fluttershy!” Fluttershy’s mind argued, “If you say yes, you’ll only be more disappointed when you wake up and realise how unlikely it is that you’ll ever spend time with your friends this way again….” She saw her friends still waiting expectantly for an answer and grinned sheepishly as her mind continued to mull, “but why should I deny myself even the joy of pretending I still have friends? It’s not fair… Why did everything have to change? Why can’t things be the way they were? Why?!”

Fluttershy’s heart won out, “Of course, I’d love too!”

As she trotted away with her friends who were busy recounting their mornings to her, she felt her mind ache with dread at the thought of the sorrow she would inevitably feel upon awaking.
She glanced at Twilight who was excitedly telling her about a spell she had been practicing with Spike. The Twilight Fluttershy knew now never possessed the same naïve enthusiasm for simple activities, let alone taking the time out of her schedule to tell her friends about them. Fluttershy shuddered involuntarily again. She wasn’t sure she would like to know what Twilight got up to these days anyhow.

******

Time passed effortlessly with her two friends. The three fillies lay spread out on a checkered picnic blanket relaxing under the warm sun, Fluttershy could still detect small bursts of flavor from the delicious dandelion sandwich she had just eaten. Pinkie giggled wildly as a butterfly landed capriciously on her snout.
Her laugh was innocent and infectious in a way that Fluttershy missed intensely. The laughter of Pinkie Pie had all too quickly turned sour and malicious during those years of hardship. Fluttershy tried to remember the point when her friends’ spirits had been broken, but the images that came to her mind took her by surprise after these blissful carefree moments and she tried unsuccessfully to stifle back a sob.

“Fluttershy! What’s wrong, are you okay?”

Fluttershy turned her head away, “I-it’s nothing, I’m alright. R-really.”

“Fluttershy… You can tell us what’s wrong. We’re your friends…” Fluttershy looked up through her tears to focus on Twilight, her voice had been growing distant and muffled as she spoke, and despite the wateriness of her eyes, Fluttershy could see that the scene around her had begun to fade. At first, things fell away gradually, but the pace steadily increased. Within moments Fluttershy was alone in darkness, her tears falling into the deep void surrounding her.

Something moved in the dark nearby which caused Fluttershy to jump up in surprise. She searched frantically for somewhere to run as she felt something begin circling her tensed body. An evil laughter emanated from the darkness and she realized that it was not one, but three figures which advanced upon her, the shadows hiding their forms. She felt their hooves greedily snatch out towards her and she cowered away only to find herself in the grasp of another. Her breathing grew shallow and quick paced and she attempted to back away, only to find herself more confined with every step. Three pairs of hooves reached out to restrain her and her heart thumped madly against her chest. With a dizzy feeling she felt a rush of blood to her head and her chest constrict as she let out an almighty scream!

She was still screaming as she awoke, the bed sheets around her soaked in a warm and sticky sweat. Fluttershy leapt up, clutching her hooves around herself, closing her eyes tightly, so grateful that it had only been her imagination. She was fine. It hadn’t happened. She was safe…

Fluttershy felt her blood cool and her breathing settle as she opened her eyes again with a sigh of relief. All too soon the constricted feeling returned as Fluttershy took in her surroundings…

Where was she?

Author's Note:

I made sure to upload a couple of chapters so you can see where I'm taking this.
Feedback is always welcome!