Tempting Kindness
Edited by: SilentCarto
Proofreader: Coandco
Fluttershy peered at the strange object, trying to decide what to do with it. She had simply been expanding her little garden patch when her trowel had turned up something that looked like a silver coin. It was blackened in most places, but from what little she could see of it, the profile underneath the tarnish wasn’t a pony. The silver spaces where it wasn’t tarnished almost looked like a funny sort of hourglass. Maybe it was a foreign coin? Though, she had to wonder how it had ended up in her backyard.
With one wing she carefully brushed the dirt off and picked it up. Maybe Twilight would be interested in it. Or she could ask around – well, ask Rarity to ask around – if anypony in town collected coins and might want it.
Hello, whispered a velvet soft voice.
Fluttershy jumped at the sudden sound of the voice and almost dropped the coin. She looked this way and that, but couldn’t see anypony. The wind blew softly out of the north and some of the trees moved lazily, sending a few birds into the air, but otherwise everything was still and quiet. “W-who said that?”
Sorry, the voice said, a note of sincere apology in its tones. I didn’t mean to startle you. I’ve just been waiting a long time for someone to find me.
Fluttershy blinked in surprise and stared at the coin cupped in her curled feathers. “You’re a coin?”
A melodious giggle echoed in her mind. Not quite, my dear. I’m a spirit bound to the coin and destined to help those who are worthy.
“Oh,” Fluttershy said. It was a strange story, but she had seen and heard many stranger ones since she took up an element of Harmony. “I guess that makes sense. Are you invisible?”
Strictly speaking, no. I’m a being of mind and soul without a physical body. But if you’ll let me, I can manifest myself to your eyes.
There was a second of hesitation, but Fluttershy nodded. Then as quickly as blinking, there was a new pony standing a few feet in front of her. The spirit was a pegasus mare a little bit taller than Fluttershy. Her coat was a light caramel color except for the white tips at the end of her wide, strong wings. She brushed aside a lock of her deep pink mane to reveal her beautiful ruby red eyes. The same hourglass symbol from the coin was emblazoned on her flank in silver. She wore a kind, gentle expression, but everything about her posture radiated strength and confidence. She was also one of the most beautiful ponies Fluttershy had ever seen.
“Thank you,” the spirit said, her full voice just as lovely as her earlier whispers had been. “I was afraid I’d be trapped in the dirt and darkness forever.”
It took Fluttershy a moment to find her voice, but eventually she said, “Oh, that would have been awful. I’m glad I found you. How did you get there?”
The spirit frowned thoughtfully. “I could not tell you how I found myself here; this land is strange to me.” She paused for a moment then asked longingly, “But for now, may I stay with you?”
Fluttershy nodded again, a warm feeling welling up inside her. “Of course. I’d be glad to help however I can.”
The spirit smiled warmly. “Thank you, Fluttershy. My name is Lasciel, and it is a pleasure to meet you.”
………
After finishing her work and returning to the cottage, Fluttershy made some tea. Something full of spices yet soothing. “Would you like a cup, Lasciel?”
“The offer is appreciated, but I’m afraid you’d just be wasting tea. My manifestation only exists to your senses,” Lasciel said, settling into a chair with all the appearance of having a real body despite what she said.
“Only to my senses?” Fluttershy asked. She glanced at her animal friends scattered here and there about the room. Most of them looked concerned or confused. “You mean I’m the only one who can see you?”
Lasciel gave another soft smile. “Precisely. I can only communicate with the one who holds my coin. You may do as you wish, but I would not suggest speaking to me aloud when others are present.” She grimaced, and slowly shook her head. “It’s all too likely that they would think you are insane. It would be safer to speak within your mind.”
Fluttershy squeaked and almost dropped her teacup. “You can read my mind?”
“Not in the way you’re thinking,” Lasciel said, making gentling gestures. She blushed and looked to the floor. “I’m bound inside the coin and can’t speak like a normal pony. The only way I can communicate is telepathically. I can see and hear anything you perceive, and I can sense thoughts that are directed at me, but I can’t go looking around in your mind, if that’s what worries you. Although, of course, I can understand how even that little amount of mental contact could be unpleasant. You have only to put down my coin, and I will never bother you again.”
Fluttershy’s heart thudded as she watched the spirit. Those beautiful ruby-red eyes were downcast, though Lasciel held herself back from any tears. The spirit had been alone for goodness knew how long, and yet she still offered to leave, if that was what Fluttershy wanted.
“Oh, please don’t,” Fluttershy said. “I’m sorry, I was just a little scared. I just–” she stopped as Angel bunny poked her hindhoof. He looked up at her with a worried expression. Fluttershy’s face turned red as she realized how silly she must look, talking to nopony. She gave Angel a sheepish smile. “I’m okay, it’s just a… a magic pony thing.” Angel stared at her a bit longer, his expression disbelieving, but eventually he shrugged and hopped off.
Lasciel brought a hoof up to her face and giggled demurely as she watched Angel leave. “He is a little sweetie, isn’t he? So worried about you.”
Fluttershy almost opened her mouth to agree, but caught herself just in time. She thought very hard about her new guest. Yes, he is. Um… if I’m doing this right that is.
“Perfectly!” Lasciel said with a quick clap of her hooves and a warm smile. “You are a natural, my dear.” Fluttershy blushed, pleased with herself and embarrassed.
I hope you don’t mind me asking, but where do you come from?
“A distant land, one very different from yours, and yet eerily similar in many ways. But if you meant how I was bound to the coin?” Fluttershy nodded. “It is a long and sad story, but to put it briefly, I was once part of the court of a great king of spirits. He was a tyrant who demanded absolute loyalty and unquestioning obedience from all of his vassals, myself included. Many happily bowed to his every whim, but some of us saw his true nature. We attempted to reason with him, but he would hear none of it. We banded together, hoping to free ourselves from his tyranny, but we were discovered, and thus began a great war.” She paused for a moment, staring out the window. Her expression was solemn and tired. Physically, she only appeared to be one or two years older than Fluttershy, but for a moment her eyes looked ancient. “Brother fought brother and sister fought sister as we tried to free everyone, but all too many of his vassals remained blind to his faults. In the end, all who opposed him were banished from our beautiful home to a barren, desolate place. But some of us were determined to spread the truth no matter what. We allowed ourselves to be bound to these coins to spread the word and assist all those worthy of our power.”
That’s so sad, Fluttershy thought, fighting back the urge to cry. Is there anything we can do? I could go tell Princess Twilight about it right now and I’m sure she would–
“No, no,” Lasciel interrupted smoothly. “It was long, long ago in a land so distant that I couldn’t even rightly tell you how to get there.” She paused and gave Fluttershy a heartfelt smile. “But it means very much to me that you would offer to do so for my sake.”
Of course! But I do want you to meet her. She’s one of my best friends.
Lasciel suddenly looked uncomfortable, and a lock of dark pink hair drifted over one of her eyes. “I’m sorry Fluttershy, but I’m afraid that isn’t possible. You touched the coin, and so I’m bound just to you. To talk to another pony, first you would have to reject me and discard my coin.” Lasciel’s wings moved forward unconsciously to protectively wrap partway around her. She bit her lip and shuddered as if remembering something unpleasant. “And that would be very painful,” she said in a quiet voice.
I’m sorry, oh you poor mare. I’d never want to hurt you like that. I wonder if Twilight could make some way for you to talk? I should ask her.
“Do you think she would believe you?” Lasciel asked. She quickly put up her forehooves in a placating gesture. “It’s not that I doubt you or your friendship with her, but in my experience, when a pony starts talking about a voice that only they can hear other ponies start thinking they’re crazy. Even their friends.”
Fluttershy frowned. That was a good point. She had certainly wondered something similar about Pinkie Pie on a few occasions. Then, let’s just take your coin to Twilight and ask if it’s magical? Once she senses a spell on it, I can explain all about you!
“An excellent idea, Fluttershy!”
………
“Nothing that I can detect,” Twilight said, setting the coin down on the table in front of her. They were in the library, or rather one of several libraries, in the Crystal Castle. Fluttershy had been busy with chores all of yesterday so she couldn’t come then, but this morning she had come straight to her friend’s new home... after feeding the chickens, collecting their eggs, cleaning the rabbit hutches, and making sure all of her other animals friends were properly fed.
That answer was not what Fluttershy had been expecting at all, but Twilight was still speaking. “There isn’t any magic in the coin, but it is a very interesting find. Some of those characters look Minotaurin, but even with the heavy weathering I can tell the profile doesn’t have any horns.”
Fluttershy blinked in surprise. “None at all?” Lasciel, why can’t Twilight sense anything? Fluttershy waited for a reply but there was only silence. Lasciel?
Twilight gave a small laugh. “It isn’t enough to find ancient treasure? It has to be enchanted too?” Fluttershy pouted a tiny bit at that, mostly because Lasciel still hadn’t responded, and Twilight gave her a sheepish smile in return. “I can understand why you’d be worried, but I scanned it with every detection spell I know, and the coin is clean. Have you given any thought about what you’d like to do with it? I know plenty of museums in Canterlot that would be happy to add it to their collections.”
“No, thank you,” Fluttershy replied, reaching for the coin with one of her wings. The moment she touched it a small sense of peace washed over her. It felt right to be holding it again. “I’d prefer to keep it as a little souvenir.”
Twilight’s expression stayed neutral but her new wings twitched in slight annoyance. Fluttershy had noticed that Twilight’s wings were more expressive than most pegasi, but then she probably hadn’t learned to conceal her reactions with them yet. “Well, it is your coin. You can do what you want with it.”
“I don’t think she’s entirely happy with your decision,” Lasciel said, sauntering through the far doors and into the room.
Fluttershy almost shouted, but held her tongue at the last moment. Lasciel!? Where were you?
The spirit looked regretful for a second. “Ah, I should have mentioned that. I can only talk to you or appear before you while you hold my coin.”
A great sense of relief swept through Fluttershy. Her new friend hadn’t been ignoring her. She had just been unable to respond. That’s okay. I was just worried when you didn’t say anything back.
“Fluttershy?” Twilight asked. She was looking between Fluttershy and Lasciel in confusion.
“Whoops,” Lasciel said then disappeared. That was my fault. She couldn’t see me, but you could and now she’s wondering what you were looking at.
A blush worked its way across Fluttershy’s face. “Oh, s-sorry, Twilight. I just had my head in the clouds for a moment.”
Twilight gave her a funny look, but she must have believed Fluttershy because she didn’t ask anything further. “Okay. I don’t mean to be rude, but I’ve got a ton of paperwork to do. Have a nice day and say hi to the girls for me!”
Fluttershy gave her a warm smile. “Of course. I’ll see you at Pinkie’s party tomorrow.”
“I’ll be there,” Twilight said. They exchanged a quick hug and Twilight turned to do her paperwork. Fluttershy began trotting to the door.
“Really though, that coin belongs in a museum.” Twilight mumbled a tiny bit bitterly in a voice that she probably thought was too soft for Fluttershy to hear. Fluttershy felt a tiny sting of guilt and embarrassment and hurried her way out of the castle, flying above the streets once she was out in the open.
It’s okay, she didn’t mean anything by it, Lasciel thought. She just doesn’t know why you want to keep it. And after she said it wasn’t magical, trying to explain about me probably would have made you sound crazy.
I know, Fluttershy thought back. But still…
“Hey, hey don’t worry,” Lasciel said, materializing besides her and easily keeping pace with long easy sweeps of her powerful wings. “We’ll figure this–”
She cut off suddenly as Fluttershy felt the coin slip out of her wing’s grasp. She gasped and dove to catch it. Fluttershy fumbled with the coin for a moment in mid-air, but it tumbled between her hooves and dropped to the ground. She landed not-too-softly and swept the coin up into one of her wings again.
Lasciel reappeared, but her perfect hair was a windblown mess, as if she had been tossed through a hurricane, and her eyes were crossed. “That wasn’t much fun.”
I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry! Fluttershy thought.
Lasciel just laughed and patted Fluttershy’s shoulder with a wing. “It’s okay, Fluttershy, it’s okay. I’m not hurt, just a little rattled. But I can show you a little trick to keep it from happening again.” She spread her wings wide and flared a few feathers. “The coin is pretty small and light so you could tuck it up here, between these feathers, and I doubt it would fall out again.”
Fluttershy didn’t think keeping things up in your feathers was the best idea, but really, she just needed to get home without dropping Lasciel’s coin again. And besides, it wouldn’t hurt to try it just this once. Fluttershy spread her wing and flared her feathers just like Lasciel had shown her, tucking the coin carefully in between two of them near the base. She folded her wings and trotted off, surprised to find how comfortable it was. Within a few minutes of walking she had forgotten it was even there.
………
“Then I told her ‘Pinstripes with that hat? Darling, you can do so much better!’ and I rolled out some of my latest Business Chic and she loved it!” Rarity exclaimed, as they relaxed together in the spa. Pinkie’s party last night had been very fun and Twilight hadn’t mentioned anything about Lasciel’s coin again. There were no big events or worries in the near future and for a change Fluttershy just felt very content with her life.
So content that she nearly dozed off and missed what Rarity just said. “I’m sorry Rarity, what was that?”
“Head in the clouds again?” Rarity said her tone playful. “You’ve been doing that quite often the past few days.” Then a startled look of realization swept across her face and she gasped loudly enough to make Fluttershy’s ears fold back in reflex.
“Darling, is it the first stirrings of love? Is there some stallion that has caught your fancy?” One perfectly manicured hoof landed on Fluttershy’s shoulder and brought her face-to-face with her friend’s starstruck expression. “Oh, you must tell me everything!” Rarity was a friend, and Fluttershy loved her dearly, and yet she still felt her throat clenching and her face turning bright red.
“Goodness,” Lasciel said, delicately laughing from across the room as she lounged on an unused chair. “I’m glad I’m not the one who’s telling her that isn’t the case.”
Fluttershy nodded, fervently, still unable to speak. Lasciel seemed to take notice of that and her expression changed to one of concern. “Oh dear, you really are embarrassed and afraid to tell her. I understand. Nopony wants to let down their friends.” She paused for a moment thinking hard. “I could help you if you wanted. It’s not much in the way of magic, but I could use a little charm to let you speak your mind more easily. But only if you wanted me to.”
A flashback of the many times Fluttershy had been unable to say something or her shyness and awkwardness had led to some misunderstanding seemed to flash before her eyes. Would it… would it make me mean? I don’t want to sound like I’m ungrateful, but I’ve tried some things to help before and, well… sometimes I took things a little too far…
“Nothing like that. It just eases away a little bit of fear and anxiety.” Lasciel said, sitting up from her chair with a look of concern. “If you don’t like it I can always reverse it. I just want to help if I can, Fluttershy.”
She did help. Lasciel always listened to her and seemed to know her as well as any of her other friends despite having only meet her a few days ago. Fluttershy nodded. Lasciel smiled and disappeared again. It had been only seconds since Rarity’s question, and Fluttershy suddenly felt her throat loosen. It wasn’t that her fear disappeared entirely or that she felt a magical rush of confidence. It was just… easier to say what she wanted to. “No, Rarity. Sorry, but there’s nopony new in my life.”
There was a moment of disappointment on Rarity face, but it quickly disappeared into a smile. “A shame, darling. Here I was all set to dress you in the finest fashion!” Before Fluttershy would have been even more worried about disappointing her friend, but now – somehow – she could tell that Rarity was not truly upset, just teasing her.
“Thank you, Rarity,” she said with a smile, relaxing back into her spa bath. Aloe came from somewhere around the corner and laid a pair of cucumber slices across her eyes. Disaster had been averted all thanks to her new friend.
“Of course it shouldn’t surprise me. It’s like not you’re outgoing enough to find a stallion without my help,” Rarity said lightly.
Fluttershy flinched at that, but Rarity just began humming to herself, giving no thought to what she had just said. It… it was true, but did she have to say it like that?
“Hey,” Lasciel said, her tone kind and encouraging. “Don’t let that get you down. I think you’re a beautiful mare that any stallion would be lucky to have.”
A warm feeling flowed through Fluttershy, pushing back the cold hurt she’d felt at Rarity’s blunt assessment. Thank you, Lasciel.
“Of course, my host.”
……….
Pinkie Pie was a wonderful pony. Fluttershy reminded herself how lucky she was to have her as a friend whenever her high energy was hard to deal with. Not that she didn’t love her friend, but sometimes…
“Oh! I’m so excited that you’re finally here! I mean, I know you’re actually three minutes early, but I’ve been so excited about us having a baking day together that I’ve been awake since four o’clock which isn’t actually that strange since I normally get up at four o’clock to help get the bakery ready for the breakfast rush, but that’s still a super long time to be waiting to spend some time with one of your bestest friends! We are going to have the abso-tively best time making dog biscuits!”
Fluttershy’s ears lay almost flush to her skull, trying in vain to shut out just a little of Pinkie’s voice. Lasciel wasn’t much different, as Fluttershy saw her pull a pair of ear plugs out of nowhere and insert them into her ears. Fluttershy had to fight back a giggle at that sight. Lasciel mimed a breathing exercise and Fluttershy nodded before copying her.
“It’s good to see you too, Pinkie,” Fluttershy said in a firm confident voice that was just a tiny bit louder than her usual voice.
Pinkie beamed at her, Lasciel gave her an approving smile, and Fluttershy felt ready to face the world by making the best dog biscuits Ponyville’s pooches had ever tasted.
“Let’s get baking!” Pinkie said. Fluttershy blinked and suddenly the table in front of her was filled with ingredients when only moments ago it had been entirely empty.
“How?” Lasciel asked sounding dumbfounded for the first time since Fluttershy had met her. “I watched her through your eyes and this somehow happened in the time it took for you to blink.”
That’s Pinkie for you. Fluttershy thought with a mental giggle.
Lasciel pouted at her, crossed the room, and squinted at Pinkie, giving her a few pokes that passed straight through her. “There has to be some explanation…”
“Hehehe! That tickles!” Pinkie exclaimed. Fluttershy almost jumped out of her feathers, and Lasciel nervously backed away from the pink Earth pony.
“What tickles?” Fluttershy had been trying to find a way for her friends to see or hear Lasciel for almost a week now. Had Pinkie finally given her a clue?
Pinkie blinked at her then thought for a second. “I dunno. Sometimes you just get the tickles, y’know?” Fluttershy didn’t know. With a sigh, she dismissed the incident as another example of Pinkie being Pinkie.
They went to work making dog biscuits, but Pinkie must have been used to a more experienced partner in the kitchen. She was calling out instructions and ingredients, in addition to mixing and making her own batches, faster than Fluttershy could handle. She struggled to keep up, but quickly found herself overwhelmed.
“Geez louise!” Pinkie said, while Fluttershy was turned all around and trying to find the right spices in the cupboard. “If you can’t keep up with the beat, then get outta the kitchen!” It was light and playful, like most of what Pinkie said, but Fluttershy couldn’t help but feel a teensy bit of anger. Nopony, not even Rainbow Dash, could keep up with the pace Pinkie was setting.
She turned back to tell Pinkie just that, when things seemed to slow down to a crawl. Fluttershy watched as individual particles of flour froze to a halt in mid-air.
Lasciel came out of a corner of the room, a concerned expression on her face. “Please, Fluttershy, don’t fight with her. You know she didn’t mean anything by it. She’s just… being Pinkie.”
Embarrassment raced through her. Lasciel was right. Had she been about to be unkind to her friend over something so small? You’re right, she thought. But she really is going too fast.
“Maybe for regular ponies, but you’ve got a super special spirit on your side,” Lasciel said with a wink. “Right now, I’m slowing down your perception of time enough to have this conversation, but I could permanently increase your reaction time and reflexes.” She paused and grinned sheepishly. “Not quite to this level – your mind can only handle this for a short time – but what I can do will let you keep up with Pinkie Pie.”
Fluttershy felt a grin coming on. Pinkie was about to see which pony could ‘keep up with the beat’. Thank you, Lasciel. I’d be grateful for a little help.
Lasciel gave her a smile worthy of a movie star. “Then so shall it be.” Then, she disappeared and things began moving once more. The clouds of flour resumed their movement and Pinkie’s mouth continued to run, but now Fluttershy could make sense of every word.
Her hooves moved easily and lightly, snatching this, that, and the other thing as soon as Pinkie could list them. She felt quick and capable, which after a lifetime of stumbling awkwardness was headier than the best cider. After a few minutes of keeping pace with the pink dervish, her friend finally seemed to notice. “Wowee, Fluttershy! When did you get the moves like that? You’re the first since Cheese Sandwich that I didn’t need to slow down for.”
Lasciel reappeared in a corner of the room and gave her a big wink and smile. “Oh, you know. Here and there,” Fluttershy replied with a smile.
………
“Quick, everypony, look behind you!” Fluttershy said menacingly as she pulled the lever that dropped all of the cardboard cutouts she had made for her Nightmare Night spooktacular. For some reason her friends weren’t reacting how she had expected.
“Uh, what are those,” Rainbow Dash asked, sounding entirely unspooked.
“They’re unplanned guests. Your woooorst nightmare. You don’t have enough food for them!” She tossed an adorable wind-up cat up to the table to complete the horror. “Oh, no! There’s a tiny kitten that needs a home! But you are over-scheduled right now. You don’t have time to help!”
There were no screams or gasps, much to Fluttershy’s surprise. Maybe she hadn’t been clear. “I said ‘You don’t have time to help!’ This should appear to scare you!” There was only continued silence so she glanced over her love seat to find all of her friends looking unimpressed. They tried to soften the blow, but it was quickly clear that none of them had found her ‘very spooky tea party’ at all scary. Fluttershy admitted defeat with a sigh and told her friends to go on without her. It was better that they enjoy Nightmare Night without her than be bored here.
“Eh, it’s funny. I actually thought she had an idea for something really scary for a second there,” Pinkie said on her way out.
Applejack followed her close behind, her back to Fluttershy. “She definitely tried her hardest,” Applejack agreed. “Too bad her hardest weren’t good enough to scare a baby bunny.”
Fluttershy stared for a moment, but her friends were just trotting away without any more thought to her so she closed the door. “I did try my hardest.”
“Did you really?” Lasciel asked as Angel started thumping his foot. He must be hungry, but he could wait for just a moment.”
“Or, maybe not,” she admitted. “I suppose I could have gone with something a bit scarier.”
Lasciel and Angel both nodded. “Of course you could have. Social anxiety is nothing to scoff at, but real fear is something different. If you want to scare your friends you’ll have to embrace that.”
“You’re right!” Fluttershy declared. “I’ve been taking baby steps! I think it’s time for grown-up ones!” Then she realized just how out of her depth she was when it came to ‘real fear’. She grinned sheepishly and looked to Lasciel. “I don’t suppose you have any ideas how I could do that?”
Lasciel gave an almost sinister chuckle and flared her wings to their full span. “Oh, dear heart. Do I ever… but you’ll have to be ruthless to make this work.”
“Ruthless?” Fluttershy squeaked, swallowing a lump in her throat.
Now it was Lasciel’s turn to wear a sheepish grin. “Okay, maybe not ruthless, but we have to do something about all that fear and hesitancy. I know my charm helped a little, but if you let me I can strengthen it to the point that you’ll have no trouble going out into Nightmare Night and scaring your friends.”
It was a little worrying to have to rely on a magic charm to be brave, but Lasciel had always been kind and considerate to her. The spirit only wanted the best for Fluttershy, and refusing her help would be rude. Okay, she thought. I’m willing to try your charm out.
Lasciel beamed, and Fluttershy felt a rush of warmth somewhere deep inside her. “Already done,” Lasciel said, resting a comforting hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder. “Now let’s get out there and give those ponies the best Nightmare Night they’ve ever had!”
“Woo-hoo!” Fluttershy quietly cheered. She felt a rush of excitement and happiness inside herself, and for once, fear was completely absent. She felt like she could do anything, and with Lasciel by her side, who could say that she was wrong?
………
Fluttershy soared through the open air a mile or two outside of Cloudsdale as the sun set in the distance with Rainbow Dash on one side and Lasciel on the other. She enjoyed the breeze and view, which was a pleasant change from the last time she had flown here.
“Thanks for coming with me to Cloudsdale, Fluttershy,” Rainbow Dash said. “Especially since you had to wait during that Winter Prep meeting. That was a major snoozefest.” She stuck out her tongue and flipped upside with a swoop, acting like she was dead mid-flight. “Ugh, they’re just gonna deliver the snow like always; everypony already knows how to get their towns ready.”
“That’s fine,” Fluttershy said. She glided easily with just a few flaps to keep her stable. Her new reflexes let her easily react to the slight shifts in the breeze, and without her fear of falling she didn’t overcorrect for every little bit of turbulence anymore. She would never join the Wonderbolts, but it was a far cry from the awkward and clumsy flying she’d done all her life. “I had lunch and caught up with my mother. She’s doing well and so is Father. He’s close to retirement, and they’re both looking forward to that.”
“And Zephyr?” Rainbow Dash asked.
Lasciel rolled her eyes. “She should already be able to guess the answer to that.”
Agreed. Fluttershy tried and failed to fight back a sigh. “Same as always.” Dash snickered, and Fluttershy raised an eyebrow. Her brother wasn’t her favorite pony in the world, but Dash didn’t need to be like that. “But at least he visits home occasionally. You should visit your parents more often, Dash.”
Dash was so surprised her wings stopped beating and she fell a few feet. She hurriedly beat her wings and regained the altitude easily, but she still looked shocked. “Who are you and what did you do with Fluttershy?”
Lasciel laughed daintily in the background as Fluttershy stuck her tongue out at Rainbow Dash. “I’m just feeling more confident lately. Goodness knows, I’ve learned that lesson more than once. I guess it just took a while to sink in.” And the help of a special friend, she thought with a mental wink to Lasciel.
“It looks good on you!” Dash said, punching her lightly in the shoulder. “You’ve really cleaned up your flying too. I bet you’ve doubled your wingpower since the last time we measured. Heck, maybe we should race back to Ponyville! You might even beat me.”
Fluttershy stuck out her tongue again and quietly said. “Very funny.”
Rainbow Dash chuckled and did another lazy loop-de-loop, swooping behind Fluttershy. “I know! There’s not a chance in Equestria that you could ever keep up with me.”
An odd little spike of anger made Fluttershy’s feathers bristle. Nopony could keep up with Dash. Wasn’t it enough that she had improved? Did Dash have to rub it in her face that she was still better?
“That’s not actually true, you know,” Lasciel said conversationally, frowning at Dash’s antics.
What do you mean?
“Do you remember what I said when you first found me?” Whether or not she did, Lasciel continued to explain. “I am bound to share my power with somepony that I deem worthy. With that power you would easily be able to outrace even your friend.”
That would be nice, but I wouldn’t expect you to do that for me just because we’re friends. Once you find somepony worthy, you can give it to them.
“I’ve only known you for two weeks, Fluttershy, but I can’t imagine anypony more worthy than you.” Lasciel looked directly into Fluttershy’s eyes, and she felt a shiver chase down her spine. Far from her usual playful personality, Lasciel looked entirely serious. “Power is a burden, but I believe you are more than qualified to bear what I have to offer. Will you accept it, Fluttershy? Will you accept me?”
I… I don’t know. Fluttershy felt some of her old fears and insecurities resurfacing. It was one thing to have a little charm here or there to help her out. This was a big step.
“I do,” Lasciel told her confidently. “I trust you with this, Fluttershy.” Her eyes were as red as a perfect rose, as red as fresh blood, and Fluttershy couldn’t look away. “Do you trust me?”
I do.
Lasciel gave her a comforting smile, then began fading into sparkling motes of dust. You’ve made the right choice.
A powerful feeling of joy, pride, and complete freedom boiled up within Fluttershy and exploded. It was the best feeling she had ever felt before. Better than good tea, better than the finest pastries, better than critter cuddles, better than a Pinkie Pie song meant just for her, better than anything.
She felt like laughing and for once didn’t care who was listening or what it would look like. She was fiercely, wonderfully alive and Equestria had better laugh with her or get out of the way.
“Uh, Fluttershy are you feeling– WOAH! What happened to your w–”
“I accept,” Fluttershy said confidently flexing her wings, feeling the air currents in a way she never had before. Be careful, Lasciel told her gently. Your natural magic has been greatly boosted, and I can help you to a degree, but experience is something you still lack. Fluttershy accepted that with a nod, but didn’t let it spoil her mood. She didn’t think anything could make her feel bad right now.
“What?” Rainbow Dash said.
“The race to Ponyville,” Fluttershy said patiently, pointing to the still distant town with one wing tip. They seemed a little different than she remembered for some reason. She grinned toothily at her friend and felt a dizzying, tumbling rush as the magic built within her. “Catch me if you can.”
Fluttershy spread her wings and with one mighty beat rocketed towards the horizon, easily leaving a surprised Rainbow Dash in her dust.
………
“- ignoring the point! There was something wrong, I’m telling you!”
Fluttershy’s improved hearing let her hear her friends arguing within the Map Room of the Crystal Castle. It was probably about her. She had not even realized that her acceptance of Lasciel’s power had changed her appearance until she had gotten home and had to bend just to enter the front door. But it was a brand new morning, and she was a brand new Fluttershy, so there was no sense crying over spilled rainclouds.
She had come at the time she had promised Rainbow but it seemed like everypony else had gotten here much earlier. Oh dear, Lasciel said. I should have warned you ahead of time what drawing on my power would do.
It’s okay, Fluttershy reassured her. It was silly of me to get that worked up about a race. At least, I have proof now when I tell them about you.
Yes, Lasciel replied happily. I’m very eager to be formally introduced to your friends. Fluttershy felt a surge of worry from Lasciel. I hope they like me.
Of course, they will! Fluttershy thought back. I’m certain they will be glad to know all about how much you’ve helped me become a better pony.
She reached up and knocked politely on the door to the Map Room. All conversation inside stopped instantly. The door opened to reveal Spike looking up at her warily. She gave him a pleased smile. “Good morning, Spike.”
He stared at her. “Well, she doesn’t look any different or sound like a Changeling.”
“Spike!” Twilight, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash all yelled.
“What!? Don’t tell me none of you weren’t thinking about it.”
This will be a fun meeting, Lasciel thought dryly. Fluttershy put a hoof to her mouth to hold back a giggle.
“No, I’m not a changeling. I’m the same Fluttershy you have always known, just… a bit different.”
“Oh! Oh!” Pinkie said hopping up and down. “You’re from the future where we all get superpowers! Or a different timeline where we replace Celestia and Luna as rulers of Equestria! Or an alternate reality where everypony is an alicorn!”
“Pinkie, I doubt any of those are the real reason,” Applejack said.
“And you should really stop getting your ideas from Spike’s comic books,” Twilight said, shaking her head.
“Whatever!” Dash said, banging her hooves on the map table. “Can we get to the point already? I wanna know what’s up with that transformation thing and how you flew so fast!”
Fluttershy did giggle this time. “Oh, Rainbow, it was just a little race. Nothing to get worked up over.” Rainbow’s face turned bright red and everypony else just stopped what they were doing and stared at her. Even Pinkie.
“You didn’t apologize or shy away,” Rarity said in wonder.
“You giggled at somepony gettin’ angry with you,” Applejack said in confusion.
“You beat Dashie in a race!?” Pinkie exclaimed, popping out of her seat.
“What happened, Fluttershy?” Twilight asked, her tone suddenly suspicious. There was a slight, almost-there glow around her horn. Not a spell at the ready, but she was ready to start casting if she didn’t like the answer she heard.
Fluttershy fought down a spike of annoyance with her friends. They just didn’t understand yet, but they would soon. “Twilight, do you remember the coin I asked you to examine?”
Twilight nodded. “I remember, but there weren’t any enchantments on that coin.”
“Maybe none that you could detect, but there was a spirit bound inside the coin, and once I touched it, she could talk to me. She was imprisoned there by a bad spirit king, but she can share her power with a worthy pony.” Pride and happiness welled up within her. “And she chose me! Look at this, everypony!” Fluttershy reached down within herself and felt that amazing, intoxicating power from yesterday and embraced it. She opened her eyes and saw all of her friends watching on in amazement.
Fluttershy stood almost as tall as Celestia now, but her frame was slimmer, with a lean, lithe body that led to perfectly slender legs. Her mane and tail spilled down like coral waterfalls, full and luxurious, almost touching the floor. Her coat had also darkened a shade from a pale yellow to a color like golden sunlight. Then her wings unfolded. Most pony wings were rather small for their body; even Celestia’s great swan-like wings were a bit under-sized. Fluttershy’s wings were each longer than her entire body, and had chiseled tips like the wings of a swallow. The butterflies on her cutie mark had turned silver and changed their wing shape to resemble Lasciel’s hourglass-like symbol. And a pair of glowing purple dots, like little eyes, appeared on her forehead.
She wasn’t a pony given to vanity, but right now Fluttershy felt beautiful and powerful. Perfectly at ease with herself for the first time she could remember. Beneath that she felt a strange sort of vulnerability and nervousness, but she didn’t pay it any mind. She knew it was silly to be worried when she had friends who loved her no matter what.
“Y’know, that makes you sound two apples short of a bushel there, sugarcube,” Applejack said bluntly.
“Don’t be so judgmental, Applejack,” Rarity said reproachfully. “Clearly, such a sudden change taxed her mind dreadfully and she invented this ‘spirit’ to cope with it.” Her eyes turned toward Fluttershy, sparkling with joy. “But a coin that can transform a pony into such physical perfection is truly a wonder.” She sighed. “I suppose sometimes it is better to be lucky than smart.”
Rainbow Dash seemed much calmer than she had been. “Oh, so you cheated. Finally, something about all this makes sense, because there’s no way you could’ve outflown me otherwise.” She nodded smugly to herself. “Yeah, it’s just like when Trixie – a total nobody – beat Twilight because she had the Alicorn Amulet.”
“Wow! An artifact capable of altering a pony like that is an amazing find. Especially since it couldn’t even be detected by my normal spells,” Twilight said, her nose already buried in a notebook scratching notes. “You have to let me borrow that coin and run more tests on it. Maybe send it to the unicorns at Celestia’s school for further study. The auditory hallucinations might impede its usefulness, but I’m sure we can find a spell to fix that. You’ll get it back within two months, three at the worst, I promise!”
“Hey!” Pinkie yelled, popping up beside Fluttershy, making her flinch. Pinkie stared deeply into one of Fluttershy’s eyes, like she was trying to see what was on the other side of it. “You don’t really hear voices in your head, right? Because, I’m the most loco pony-o in town and even I’m not that loopy,” Pinkie said with a giggle.
Fluttershy’s voice had been frozen, but now suddenly it seemed to burst out of her in a sob. “Why don’t any of you believe me?”
“Because it sounds completely nuts,” Spike said bluntly.
Fluttershy felt Twilight’s levitation field envelop her. “Fluttershy, we’re going to need you to calm down. Or we’ll need to take you to the hospital.” The tone in her voice left no doubt about which part of the hospital she was talking about either.
“We oughta take that coin away,” Applejack said. “That seems to be the cause of all this ruckus.”
“Ooh, I volunteer to check if she has it on her,” Rarity chimed in. “I’m rather curious to see my appearance under the coin’s enchantment.”
“That’s not how it works!” Fluttershy cried, tears now streaming from her eyes. “Lasciel gave it especially to me! Why won’t anypony believe me? I’m not crazy!”
Fluttershy felt the gentle field around her body tighten slightly as she was lifted up and the doors of the map room opened. “Okay, it’s clear that we need to go to the hospital. Don’t worry Fluttershy, I’m sure they’ll be able to help you.”
Sorry, Fluttershy, Lasciel thought sadly. I never imagined it would turn out this way. But you’re not crazy and you’re not alone. I believe you and I believe in you. I always have.
A sob of despair wracked Fluttershy’s body and a fresh stream of tears poured from her eyes. I’m glad somepony does.
You don’t deserve to be treated like this, Lasciel thought, her voice growing heated.
The thought sent a realization rippling through Fluttershy. You’re right, I don’t.
She didn’t have to lay down and let her friends bully her like this. Maybe the old Fluttershy would have given up, but with Lasciel on her side it was a different story. She felt Lasciel’s power well up inside her, and she poured it into her legs and wings. Twilight obviously hadn’t expected any kind of struggle, because Fluttershy easily tore free with a sudden burst of strength. Before Twilight could react, she was gone, scraping her wide wings against both sides of the castle hallway as she made good her escape.
“Somepony grab her before she hurts anypony!” Twilight yelled, missing her with a stun spell by only inches.
“On it!” Rainbow Dash barked. She rocketed across the hall, easily closing the distance. Fluttershy’s new wings were too wide to navigate the hallways and Dash would bring her down in seconds.
Let me, Lasciel said, her tone firm. Fluttershy relaxed, letting her friend take control of their flight. Fluttershy spun around and with a single flap sent hurricane force winds barreling down the hallway. Rainbow Dash was an experienced flyer, but she was completely unprepared for the massive windstorm and went crashing into Twilight.
Applejack advanced grimly, staying low and gritting her teeth against the wind. “Consarn it, Fluttershy. We’re doin’ this fer your own good!”
Fluttershy didn’t want to fight her friends, and Lasciel evidently agreed as she turned tail and flew. She built up speed, faster and faster, headed directly for a huge window at the end of the hall. Fluttershy mentally squeaked in fear, but Lasciel never wavered. At the last second, her wings came forward, sheltering her face and body as she crashed through the window. Then she was in the open air and soaring free, her wings unscathed. Rainbow Dash tried again to catch up, but another blast of wind sent her hurtling back into the castle. Lasciel gave Fluttershy control back over her body, and she flew as fast as she could back to her cottage.
Once at the cottage, Fluttershy landed with a thump and let go of Lasciel’s power, turning back into her normal self. She hurried through the door, shutting and locking it behind her. Not that that would stop any of her friends if they were truly determined. All of her precious animals could tell she was upset and they followed her into the bedroom. All of the emotions from before caught up with her and Fluttershy collapsed to the bed in tears.
Why? I just don’t understand it. How could – how could they treat me like that? They’re my friends!
I know, Lasciel told her sadly. It seems strange to me also. They may just need time to adjust.
Fluttershy bit her lip so she didn’t say anything unkind about her ‘friends’. They wanted to send me to a mental hospital! That’s – It’s – I have half a mind to go back there and give them a real talking-to!
I don’t think that would help. Yelling at them and being confrontational might just convince other ponies that they’re right. I think we should leave for a little while. Give them some time to come to grips with how things have changed. Rarity and Rainbow were clearly just jealous of your new beauty and athleticism. Let them get used to the idea of the new you and they’ll accept it. They’re your friends, after all.
Go away? A childish impulse made the idea sound so appealing. She could leave and everypony would feel bad about how they had treated her and regret everything they had done to drive her off. It sounded perfect, but adult responsibilities reared up in the back of her mind. But who would take care of the cottage and all of my animal friends? What about my tea parties with Discord? What if Equestria is threatened and they need my help?
You couldn’t very well do any of that if they put you in a mental hospital either, Lasciel pointed out, then paused. Except for tea with Discord, maybe. One of your friends will take care of the cottage in your absence or the Princesses will hire somepony to do it. Goodness knows, you’ve saved Equestria enough times to have earned that at least. And if your friends need you to save the world then I’m sure the Map will alert you to the danger. Just like it did with Starlight.
Fluttershy had to admit that Lasciel was making a lot of sense. And it would be nice to get away for a week or two. No worries or responsibilities. Exploring the ins and outs of these new powers that Lasciel had given her. It was all very tempting.
Just imagine it, Fluttershy, Lasciel thought. You could leave them a letter explaining everything, and just fly off. Free from responsibility or worry for a little while. There are uncounted places in the wilderness to see, strange and wonderful animals to encounter, time and space enough to relax and simply enjoy yourself.
Fluttershy had always wanted to visit the Smokey Mountains and look for the mysterious Skunk Ape. Maybe this was the time to finally do it.
You’ll never have a better time, Lasciel thought.
You’re right, Fluttershy agreed. Ponyville and… even my animal friends can survive without me for a little while. It’s not awful to want a little ‘me time’ after all I’ve done for everypony.
You go, mare! Lasciel cheered.
That decided, Fluttershy got out her nicest stationary and penned a short letter for Twilight. She didn’t say that she was taking a vacation because of how awful all of her friends had treated her, but she suspected that the timing would be all the hint a smart pony like Twilight would need. She packed lightly, double checked that the pantry was stocked, and hugged each of her animals goodbye. They were understandably upset that she was going, but an explanation that she was just leaving for a little while to rest and recover reassured them.
Even with her bag packed and everything ready to go she hesitated at the front door. Fluttershy glanced back at the animals waving goodbye, and she bit her lip in anxiety. Will they really be okay without me? Part of her knew she wasn’t just talking about her animals.
I don’t know, Lasciel answered. Will they?
Fluttershy breathed in deeply and used a technique Lasciel had taught her to quiet her fears. Yes. It’s silly to think that everypony is so dependent on me that they can’t take care of themselves for a little while. There was still a part of her worried, but there would always be a part of her that worried. Doing nothing because she worried about everything was what the old Fluttershy would have done. It was time to do something new.
Fluttershy gave her animals one last smile and wave before she stepped through the door and left.
………
Fluttershy hadn’t found any Skunk Apes just yet, but the air was wonderfully fresh, and she had discovered several beautiful waterfalls, meadows, and plenty of friendly critters in the few short days she had been in the Smokey Mountains.
And now that she held Lasciel’s power full-time even just flying was a joy. She had practiced every day, and she had come to realize why Dash loved it so much. Her ability to manipulate the wind and weather had likewise improved beyond her wildest dreams. Lasciel had coached her through everything, and for once Fluttershy felt like a real pegasus.
Fluttershy landed with a clatter in front of the little boarding house in the Smokey Mountains, south of Tall Tale, and walked inside. Her host tottered out of one of the back rooms when he heard her. “Good afternoon, miss. Fancy some tea and snacks?” Mr. Last Stop said as Fluttershy entered the old house. Mr. Stop had once rented rooms to miners back when the town had a working mine, but the seam had played out decades ago. Now he was the only pony left, making ends meet by servicing the few ponies that visited the Mountains.
“Good afternoon,” Fluttershy replied. “No thank you, I had plenty of tea this morning.”
Mr. Stop sighed, then tsked. “You oughta eat more, young lady. I can’t imagine how you got so tall when those skinny legs show you ain’t eating enough to be healthy.”
Yes, I can’t imagine how that happened, Lasciel thought drily.
Mr. Stop was half-blind and either he hadn’t noticed that Fluttershy switched between a normal size and twice the height of the average mare, or he didn’t care.
“I’ll try,” she promised the lovely old stallion as she headed up to her room, letting Lasciel’s power drain away and returning to her normal size. Fluttershy refreshed herself at the room’s basin, and gently preened her wings, thinking about what she should do for today. She was just considering taking a long nap and exploring later tonight in case Skunk Apes were nocturnal, when her train of thought was interrupted.
“You’ve got a gentlecolt caller, miss!” Mr. Stop shouted from downstairs. Fluttershy had only a moment to be curious before her unspoken question of ‘who’ was answered.
“Fluttershy!” cried a familiar voice. “Twilight is having an absolute fit over your transformation and disappearing act. I’m always glad to see her go neurotic – because let’s face it, that girl has more than a touch of Chaos in her no matter how hard she tries to deny it – but I think I know what’s really going on here.”
Discord! Fluttershy thought happily. This is wonderful. He can help us prove I’m not crazy and clear up this entire misunderstanding. It’s a shame to end our vacation early, but I imagine my friends have had enough time to realize their mistakes by now.
“It’s more than a bit ridiculous, honestly,” Discord said, the stairs squeaking under his weight as he came up. But then his voice seemed to shift slightly. It became flatter, deeper, and sort of… tinny. He sounded quietly furious. “I begrudgingly share you with your Element buddies and all your animals, and I’ll even make an allowance for that ‘Treehugger’ girl, but another new friend? One that gets to live in your head and keep you all to herself?” The noise from the stairs which had been growing louder and louder completely cut off. Fluttershy unconsciously took a step back, away from the hallway and felt her rump bump into something.
Discord was standing behind her, wearing an ancient Mexicolt sacrificial mask like something out of Daring Do. Blue-white flames wreathed his claw and paw and the room grew dark, as if Discord had somehow turned down the brightness of the sun. “That’s a step too far,” he said, looming over her threateningly. “I’m going to rip that sorry excuse of a spirit right out of your head. You’re my friend and nobody else’s.”
We need to run! Lasciel thought urgently, and Fluttershy didn’t fight her for control of her body. Lasciel’s power rushed through her and before Fluttershy knew what had happened, she was outside and there was a huge hole in the side of the boarding house. Discord followed close on her hooves, still wearing the mask, still wreathed in fire. Lasciel swept both wings forward and summoned another powerful gale. Discord tumbled backward for a moment, but then his upper body melted into a stubby cone and his tail coiled into a cylinder. Huge tongues of flame began to shoot of his tail-cylinder and he propelled himself forward through the powerful winds.
Lasciel had already turned to flee and soon they were above the Smokey Mountains and flying southward. The mountain peaks rushed towards them, the ground below a green blur, and Fluttershy felt her eyes watering from the speed. But now Discord was riding the giant Discord-rocket, and he was closing the distance. Even stranger, he was still wearing the mask and saying nothing. Fluttershy could hardly ever think of a time when Discord didn’t talk, no matter what was happening around him.
Clouds began to stream off of Fluttershy’s wingtips as Lasciel poured her power into the surrounding air. She suddenly spun around and the clouds gathered into a dense, crackling ball. A bolt of lightning leapt from the cloud ball straight towards Discord. He split in half suddenly, the lightning streaming between his left and right sides. Another bolt shot out and Discord’s head sucked into his body, dodging it again.
Lasciel growled in anger and slammed both hooves into the cloud ball just as Discord closed the last of the distance between them. A web of yellow-white electricity burst from the cloud ball, surrounding Discord entirely. He twisted like a snake, trying to slide between two forks of lightning, but just couldn’t manage it. Discord twitched and shook as he was shocked, his skeleton flashing white and somehow showing through his skin and fur.
Fluttershy wished she could look away, but Lasciel kept her eyes trained on Discord, wary of any trick. Discord just stood on thin air, coughed out a black ring of smoke and disintegrated into ash. Fluttershy only had a moment to be horrified before Lasciel twisted around in a swooping dive, just barely dodging a swiping claw from Discord as he dropped from overhead.
“Enough of this,” Lasciel growled with Fluttershy’s voice. Then she began to speak words that weren’t words. They came from her throat, and yet Fluttershy was somehow certain that they weren’t sounds. They went past sound into something completely silent that vibrated the inside of your head instead.
Discord snarled and snapped his talons, making a metal muzzle appear around her mouth, but the non-sounds tore it to pieces, and Lasciel didn’t miss a beat. He rocketed towards her, once again trying to swipe with his claw, but Lasciel twisted around in a dive, dodging him even as his arm stretched out to chase her. A rain of eels appeared over Fluttershy, sticky with mucus, an attempt to gum up her wings and weigh her down. But Lasciel dove beneath and blew the cloud, eels and all, away with another gust of wind. The entire time she had not stopped her litany of non-sounds, and finally the chant spiked in intensity and she finished with a wordless, triumphant yell.
The ancient Mexicolt mask finally fell away as Discord was frozen in place by bands of white energy stained in places with black and orange speckles. A blindfold covered his eyes, a muzzle sealed his jaw, a straightjacket secured all six of his limbs, and even his tail was bent backwards and bound to his back. He tumbled from the sky, and crashed into a craggy ravine far below.
Fluttershy gasped mentally. They were very high up, and regardless of how he had just acted, she hoped he wasn’t hurt.
He’ll be fine, Lasciel thought. She sounded winded, as if whatever it was she did to Discord had been exhausting. But we need to leave. There’s no telling who else will come after us if he knew where we were. Or if he’ll come back in a few days. Here, you fly. I need to rest.
Fluttershy blinked in surprise. She hadn’t known that Lasciel was capable of rest, much less needed it. Whatever she had done to Discord must have been very draining. Then she felt control of her own body return to her and she wanted a rest too. Her wings ached, her fur felt rubbed raw by the wind, her hooves still crackled with residual electricity, and her throat felt like somepony had scrubbed every inch of it raw with sandpaper. But she took her bearing and angled her flight towards the southern side of the Smokey Mountains. They would have to find shelter somewhere in the forest below the slopes.
She did more gliding than flying for the next two hours, gradually losing altitude. Her hooves were almost scraping the top of the pines when she finally spotted a little cabin in a nearby clearing. Gratefully, she set down and stumbled towards it, letting go of Lasciel’s power and assuming her normal form.
It was a strange-looking little cottage, with one round window and one square. The door was much smaller than the door frame, the roof was half shingles and half thatch, and the kindest thing that could be said about its colors was that they were certainly bright. But it was a place to rest, and Fluttershy desperately needed one of those right now so she wasn’t going to be choosy.
“Anypony home?” she called as she knocked on the door. Fluttershy winced at how raspy her voice sounded. Hopefully, whoever lived here had some herbs and soothing tea she could use.
“A visitor?” wheezed a high-pitched voice from somewhere inside. “Oh dearie me, do come in. It’s so nice to have company.”
Lasciel stirred at the back of her mind. Be careful, Fluttershy. Something about that voice puts me on edge.
It sounds like a little old lady, Fluttershy thought back. And I’d hate to be rude to her.
Lasciel said nothing else and Flutershy took that as agreement. The front door easily swung open into a living room full of old, mismatching furniture. “I’m in the kitchen, dearie,” the old lady said from somewhere further in the house. Fluttershy heard the burble of a pot bubbling and the scrape of spoon stirring it. She sighed in contentment, closing her eyes and breathing in the smell of whatever was cooking.
Strawberries and hot asphalt?
She re-opened her eyes in time to see Discord finish phasing through the wall before he viciously backhanded her with his paw.
Only, his expression wasn’t one of rage. It was one of desperate fear and hope, anger only coming in a distant third. And his paw actually hadn’t harmed her at all. It had gone through her entirely, yet somehow sent Lasciel sprawling.
“Fluttershy?” he said his tone terrified. “Are you all right?”
“Discord? Why did you do that? Why can’t you accept that I still care about you no matter how many friends I make?” It was good to see that he didn’t really want to hurt her, but his ridiculous jealousy had to stop.
He paused, blinking at her in confusion. Then his face darkened. “Is that what you heard?”
“This is impossible,” Lasciel growled as she fought her way back to her hooves. “How did you escape? And how did you strike me?!”
Discord twisted to face her and bristled like a cat, his back arched and fur on end. Fluttershy couldn’t help but notice that he put himself between her and Lasciel. “I’m the Spirit of Chaos, sweetheart. I do six impossible things before breakfast every day.” He snorted in derision and straightened back into a bipedal stance. “Oh, and those restraints?” He pulled the blindfold of white energy out of nowhere, spun it around one talon, and let it fall to the floor where it shattered into pieces. “Maybe next time don’t depend on magic that you no longer have any claim on. Changing dimensions didn’t fix your ugly little heart.”
“Discord! Stop it! Stop treating Lasciel like an enemy!” Fluttershy shouted, surprising everypony in the cabin, including herself. But there was no excuse for the way Discord was acting.
“Fluttershy, do know what this thing is?” he asked in exasperation.
“A friend,” she said decisively, and Lasciel smiled back at her.
Discord’s expression just darkened. “Oh, she might be pretending to be your friend, but I can promise you she isn’t. I’ve done more than my fair share of dimension-hopping, and I recognize what she is and where she’s from.” He suddenly smiled as if at a fond memory. “A chatty bartender filled me in on everything I needed to know about that little corner of existence.”
“And for all you know, that bartender was one of the servants of the wicked spirit king that banished her. Lasciel has been nothing but a good friend since I found her.”
“Has she?” Discord asked. “Then why do you think I was jealous of you ‘making a new friend’? Why did you have some sort of disassociation fit back at Twiggly Wiggly’s castle? Why did she use your body like a puppet to fight me when I all I wanted to do was talk?”
Lasciel rolled her eyes. “Please, he can’t even lie well. Fluttershy, you don’t believe him, do you?”
Discord hissed at her and snorted. “Lying, am I? Let’s go to the tape.” And without warning he jammed his arm into Fluttershy’s ear right up to the elbow. Fluttershy’s eyes crossed, she heard a pony yodeling backwards somewhere in the distance, and everything tasted distinctly purple for a second.
“Aha!” Discord crowed, pulling out a long strip of film, one end of which was still attached to her ear.
“What are you doing? Get out of her head, you monster!”
“Oh, please. That’s the pot calling the kettle full of fish. You live in her head, and the only reason she can even see you is because you’re altering her perceptions!” He paused and offered the film strip to Fluttershy. “These are your memories, uncut and unedited.” He glared at Lasciel, then snapped his talons and a projector, screen, and movie seats appeared on one side of the cabin. “Just watch them and you’ll know I’m telling the truth.”
“Fluttershy, he’s obviously trying to trick you. Your real memories? Those are clearly images that he made up.”
Discord stuck out his tongue. “You know I can still hear you, right? Besides, the choice whether or not to watch them is hers. You and I are going to have a little heart-to-heart while she looks them over.” With that he grabbed Lasciel and yanked her over to something that looked like a teleportation booth from one of Spike’s comics.
“What? No! Put me down! How is this possible?!” Lasciel screamed.
“Spirit of Chaos, baby!” Discord cried before they disappeared with a strange ‘vhorp’ noise.
Fluttershy stood there for a moment. Lasciel? she thought, searching for an answer. There was no response. She could still feel Lasciel’s presence in her mind, but it was… distant.
The spool of film still stuck out of her ear and her curiosity tugged at her. Maybe Lasciel was right and Discord was making things up. Or maybe Discord really had brought out her memories. But why was he convinced they would prove he was telling the truth? She had already seen and heard everything, and he had acted like a perfect beast the whole time.
Either way, she found herself feeding the film into the projector and starting it up. It played backwards, rewinding her argument with Discord, then discovering the cottage. More and more film pulled out of her ear as the memories went further back in time. She fiddled with the controls and found a way to make it play forwards. Discovering the cottage and arguing with Discord after he smacked Lasciel went exactly how she remembered. She fiddled with the controls some more and found a way to make run quickly in reverse. She sped through her flight over the mountains and back to the fight between Lasciel and Discord. She let out a gasp and the film stopped on one frame.
Discord wasn’t wearing the Mexicolt mask.
He was crying.
She rewound back to the beginning when she was still in her room at the boarding house.
“Fluttershy! Twilight is having an absolute fit over your transformation and disappearing act. I’m always glad to see her go neurotic – because let’s face it, that girl has more than a touch of Chaos in her no matter how hard she tries to deny it – but I think I know what’s going on here. It’s more than a bit ridiculous, honestly,”
The stairs began squeaking under his weight.
“They should have figured out that you were clearly just trying to liven up their dull little meeting with some kind of performance art. Two phalanges up for that because, believe me, they were flustered. But as much fun as you had screwing with their heads and taking a much-needed vacay, they really are worried and could use some calming down. Not everyone appreciates comedic genius like I do.”
The noise from the stairs which had been growing louder and louder completely cut off. Fluttershy watched herself step back, away from her stairs.
Discord was standing behind her, his face set in a curious frown. “Well, that’s odd.” he said, leaning over her and peering at her forehead. “I’d swear that transformation magic almost feels familiar. I’ve seen it somewhere before, but I’m drawing a blank on the details.”
Then her viewpoint exploded through the wall of the room and the fight began. Discord wasn’t silent at all in these memories. He constantly called for her, begged her to say something, screamed at her to fight off Lasciel’s control.
And she hadn’t heard any of it.
Fluttershy returned to the controls of the projector and rewound her memories further, back to the meeting with her friends.
“What happened, Fluttershy?” Twilight asked. This time her tone was worried, not suspicious and there was no glow around her horn.
“Twilight, do you remember the coin I asked you to examine?”
Twilight nodded. “I remember, but there weren’t any enchantments on that coin.”
“Maybe none that you could detect, but there was a spirit bound inside the coin and, once I touched it, she could talk to me. She was imprisoned there by a bad spirit king, but she can share her power with a worthy pony. And she chose me! Look at this, everypony!” She transformed in the memories and then everything changed.
“Boy howdy, I wouldn’t’ve believed if it weren’t starin’ me in the face. Guess that shows what I know,” Applejack said. She was smiling this time with no trace of the contempt from before.
“You look divine, darling!” Rarity thrilled. Her expression was starstruck instead of jealous. “Oh, I’m already full of ideas for how to dress you for the Gala. You certainly owe your new spirit friend a debt of gratitude, and I’m pleased that you met someone so kind.”
Rainbow Dash wore a smirk rather than a sneer. “Okay, spirit boost or not, you only won because you caught me off guard. Next time, we need to have a real race to see just how good you are.” Suddenly she squealed. “This is so cool! I always wanted us to race and compete but I could never get you into flying!”
“Hmm… an evil spirit king? That doesn’t sound like any part of Equestrian history or mythology that I’m familiar with. Although, it did appear to be a foreign coin, so I should probably check sources from elsewhere. Or perhaps Celestia would know more about it.” Twilight looked pensive and stared right at her. “I hope I can find a way to allow your friend to talk with us. It does make me a bit nervous that you’re interacting with an entity that the rest can’t even perceive, but if you vouch for her then I’m sure she’s a good pony.”
“Hey!” Pinkie yelled, popping up beside Fluttershy, making her flinch. “I never held a ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party for her, did I? Ohmigosh, that explains this new Pinkie Sense feeling I’ve been having since forever and half. No wonder I couldn’t figure it out!”
“Why don’t any of you believe me?” Fluttershy screamed, and her friends suddenly looked very shocked. An awkward silence fell in the room.
“Fluttershy? Are– are you okay?” Spike asked nervously.
Twilight looked concerned instead of annoyed this time. “Fluttershy? What do you mean? We believed you. I don’t understand what’s wrong.”
“She’s puffin’ like a steam engine,” Applejack said worried. “And her muscles look tense enough to spring right outta her skin.”
“Is she alright? She looks dreadful, like she’s having some kind of fit. We need to get her to the hospital,” Rarity said. “Twilight, be ready to catch her in case she falls down.”
“That’s not how it works!” Fluttershy cried, tears now streaming from her eyes. “Lasciel gave it especially to me! Why won’t anypony believe me? I’m not crazy!”
Twilight’s levitation field surrounded her body and gently lifted her. “It’s okay, Fluttershy,” Twilight said in the same tone a worried mother used to comfort a scared filly. “We’re going to get you help. She might be having a stroke so we need to get to the hospital now. Dash, fly ahead and let them know we’re coming.”
Fluttershy stopped the film and mechanically rewound it to another time. Another scene, another memory. At first there were a dozen instances where her memories didn’t match what appeared on the screen. Then two dozen. Then three. Eventually she lost count.
So many little things that she remembered, but nopony had actually said.
“I know! There’s not a chance in Equestria that you could ever keep up with me.”
“Too bad her hardest weren’t good enough to scare a baby bunny.”
“If you can’t keep up with the beat, then get outta the kitchen!”
“Of course it shouldn’t surprise me. It’s like not you’re outgoing enough to find a stallion without my help.”
“Really though, that coin belongs in a museum.”
Fluttershy didn’t know how long she had spent watching her memories, but the sun was close to setting. Discord and Lasciel weren’t back yet so she sat and waited and thought.
Eventually, Lasciel burst back through the front door of the cottage. Her mane and fur were mussed with dirt and a little blood. She had a black eye and one of her wings was missing half its feathers, but she looked happy to be back. “Fluttershy! I’m so pleased to see you again. We should leave quickly before he catches up.”
As if in response, Discord poured out of a hole in the ceiling and reformed lying down. “Yeah, you better run,” he said, weakly shaking his fist at her. He was sporting two black eyes, had a splint around one leg and his antler had been snapped off at the base.
“Lasciel,” Fluttershy said quietly. “Why did you lie to me?”
Not a hint of recognition crossed Lasciel’s face. “Lied to you? Oh Fluttershy, don’t tell me you believe those ‘memories’ that Discord created.” She gestured to her injuries. “Look at what he did to me, in an attempt to keep us apart.”
“Pot, kettle, fish,” Discord replied from somewhere on the floor.
“Lasciel,” Fluttershy said perfectly calm. “There were memories that Discord wasn’t present for. Details that he couldn’t have known. Things that happened weeks ago that were accurate except for certain things that my friends didn’t say, but that I remembered, because they had hurt.”
Lasciel’s face went blank as she studied Fluttershy. Then, she realized that Fluttershy wasn’t going to be convinced otherwise and hid her face in shame. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry! I was worried that you’d abandon me so I wanted you to be dependent on me. I thought that if I was your best friend that you’d never leave me, but you already had so many friends and I was so jealous. I was just scared of being alone again. If could take it back I would, but I can’t. The only thing I can do is promise to never do it again.” She was crying, her face a portrait of perfect, tortured sorrow. It tugged Fluttershy’s heartstrings to see a friend she loved so deeply be hurt.
“Don’t believe her,” Discord said drunkenly as he climbed into an armchair. “She doesn’t deserve a second chance.”
“How can you say that of all creatures?” Lasciel said with a gasp. “You turned her against her friends, took advantage of her attempt to reform you, and then betrayed her to join Tirek!” He flinched as she said that and settled further back in his chair.
“Maybe, but I’m still better than you,” Discord murmured quietly. Only his voice was tinny again.
Like it had been in her room at the boarding house earlier today.
“Lasciel,” Fluttershy said again. “All of that is true, but Discord never lied about who or what he is. Even when he did something bad I understood why. What I can’t understand is how the pony I grew to love and trust did all of this.” A sob built at the back of her throat and finally it burst through her shocked calm. “Did you ever actually care about me? If you did, how could you do this to me? Why did you hurt me again and again and pretend it was my friends? When would you have felt I was ‘dependent enough’ to stop lying to me?”
Fluttershy opened her wing and flared her feathers where she had placed Lasciel’s coin weeks ago and forgotten about it. The coin had grown into the skin, somehow, and only a silver tip was showing. “I’m sorry, Lasciel. Maybe you are sincere and you do deserve a second chance, but I can’t risk all of my other friendships just to give you one.” She bent her head down to her wing, and opened her mouth.
“No!” Lasciel screamed before disappearing. Suddenly her presence was fully there in Flutterhy’s mind. Time slowed down again as Fluttershy’s teeth neared the edge of the coin. Don’t do this, Fluttershy! Think about everything I’ve done for you. All of the help and magic I’ve shared. Remember how weak and afraid you were before me? I made you strong! How could you bear to go back to what you used to be?
Fluttershy’s mind flashed back to all of the times she had been scared, all the times she had failed, all of the ponies she had let down.
I’ll change, I swear! And what about the future? You and your friends face danger almost every week! My powers could protect everypony. Think about how many ponies could be hurt because you’re throwing my gifts away.
A series of scenes like something out of a nightmare flashed past her eyes. Twilight beaten, Dash missing a wing, Pinkie in a coma, pony after pony injured when she could have prevented it.
Fluttershy, you need me.
An endless moment passed.
Fluttershy’s teeth closed on the coin.
I thought you were a friend who wanted to help. But you didn’t make me strong. You gave me a crutch to hide my weakness.
And I am weak.
But I’m strong enough to do this.
Fluttershy whipped her head forward and the coin tore out of her wing, taking a few feathers with it. There was screaming in her head and Fluttershy couldn’t tell if it was her or Lasciel doing it. Blood dripped from her wing, but that didn’t seem very important right now. Fluttershy found a small jar, spat the coin into that, and clumsily screwed the lid on after a few tries.
The screaming in her head had stopped at some point, but the bleeding hadn’t, so she rinsed her wing off in the sink. The water flowed up instead of down, but it worked well enough for her needs. She wrapped her wing in some dish towels and moved back out to the living room. Discord was still in the armchair, and it had morphed into a recliner at some point. “I knew you could do it,” he said proudly, but tiredly.
“What did she do to you?”
“Hey, I gave as good as I got!” Discord said, before groaning and shutting his eyes. “Okay, so maybe not, but I had to fight on her turf to keep her from interfering, and she’s got one heck of a home field advantage in that coin.”
Fluttershy couldn’t tell if he was being serious or not, but she still nodded and put her hoof on his knee. “Thank you for doing it.”
He gave slow, genuine smile. “No problem. Just give me a minute to catch my breath and I’ll throw that jerk back to the dimension she came from.” He seemed to sink deeper into the recliner. “Yup, any minute now I’ll pop back up and do just that.” Fluttershy said nothing and climbed into the chair with him, settling on his lap and resting her head on the armrest. “Well, I guess it could wait just a little while.”
“Thank you,” Fluttershy repeated. She started crying then. Not because she hurt, not because Discord had been hurt, not even because Lasciel had betrayed her. Fluttershy cried because she still cared about Lasciel, even now. It didn’t make sense, but maybe it didn’t have to.
Discord held her gently and said nothing as she cried herself to sleep.
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Whoa, that's a big update. Awesome!
Woah, I totally forgot about Laciel's abilities... And how they're stronger than Lash's... And how Harry only survived due to his previous training and stuff.
Even though I've read the Dresden Files several times, it still took me a bit to realize Lash was twisting what Fluttershy was hearing/seeing. To me, that's a sign of good writing. Well done.
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Same here. That was intense.
Harry's little Lash was one of the most interesting pieces of the entire series, if you want my
denariustwo cents. All three of the main characters here were great.Woah. I didn't think it would end the way it did. This is one awesome story!
And if good!Discord ever comes back, maybe he can meet Bob sometime?
Wow! This chapter was a very pleasant surprise due to how length it is and the interesting premise. I have to say that I loved the way Lasciel met Fluttershy and how she at first looked like a kindhearted spirit only to once again show why she is considered the best manipulator of the Denarians. The way Fluttershy’s friends were acting like passive-aggressive jerks show how Lasciel was subtly manipulating Fluttershy until the confrontation at the castle and the fight with Discord showed how badly Fluttershy was manipulated. Discord giving Fluttershy a reality check and fighting off Lasciel was badass as Fluttershy’s real memories allowed her to see Lasciel for who she really is while Discord schooled the Denarian. Overall, Fluttershy abandoning the coin shows how subtly powerful the Magic of Friendship is since she managed to do something very few people in the Dresdenverse have ever done...abandon the temptation of power offered by the coin and accept herself for who she is. Thanks for the amazing chapter, dude. Hope we see other what if stories coming up or a new chapter of Dresden Fillies.
Excellent, nicely horrifying. Just what Malandy said, about Dresden's training and especially knowledge of what he was dealing with that got him through. Though if ANYONE was going to Power of Friendship Lashiel, it would be Fluttershy...but not at that kind of disadvantage.
Also, despite Lashiel being awful, I'm still glad she gave Discord a good fight.
As I started this all I was hoping for was a Lasciel/Discord showdown and it didn't disappoint! Fantastic side story.
This easily could have been a story entry into itself.
Very nice. Lasciel is one scary lady. That said, I was really sad when Lash died...
Okay, 1. This was freaking amazing and perfectly captures how a being like Lasciel would manipulate an otherwise good person. 2. I love how this story remembers how powerful discord is and uses that to their advantage rather than coming up with contrivances to work around it, it really helps with the believability of a story. 3. This actually made me feel kinda bad for Lasciel even while I knew she was being deceitful and some part of me really hoped that this would pull a Lash, though I'll acknowledge that would cheapen an otherwise fabulous story.
That was a great read of What Might Have Been. You did a great job both in story to Fluttershy and to myself as a reader with distorting and playing with our perceptions. It didn't occur to me to start wondering if Lasciel was manipulating what was seen and heard until far too late in the game. If a cheaty ol' Spirit of Chaos hadn't been around I'm sure things would have ended even worse than they did.
Well done.
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Something to remember is that, in the Dresden Files, Lasciel was never good. Lash, the tiny fragment of her power in Harry's head may have become good, but not Lasciel herself.
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I think a lot of Dresden Files fans hope for the return of Lash at some point. Hers was a fun arc to follow.
I really wish I hadnt read this while listening to the article on certain so called non congruent govermental employees. Ive gamed for over 20 years, and tis story is just exceeding what I can understand as being manipulative, where theres.
Oh dear.
As for home advantage. How are Blackened Denariis against GRB, Antimatter, and dissociation wormholes, given it managed to survive a D Jump in the first place?
Now Discord has got that Memetic worm infused in his enviroment, and though Fluttershy could wrangle it, it would constantly remind her of the, good, times with her new, freind.
Wow, this was a dozy. Oof.
It does leave me curious and hungry for more, but that just seems cruel. It does make me wonder if Fluts can redeem Lasciel/an imprint of her like Harry does.
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I think she probably could IF she knew what she was getting into and had Discord there playing spotter. An imprint, definitely. She's also one of the few people who might volunteer for that...
Of course, Lashiel has her whole Woman Scorned thing going on, but I don't know if Flutters coming back to her would help or make it worse.
It could actually be good for Discord, too, helping teach redemption.
I have to admit... you had me going for a while. I fully expected Discord to be able to see/sense her, but I didn't realize that she had been warping Fluttershy's perceptions that much. Enough so that while they felt a little mean, they weren't entirely out of character for the ponies. I mean wow. Good story!
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Don't forget, each Denarius is a prison for a fallen angel. I would suppose that the coin is as durable as the spirit that it binds, but if not, well... destroying the coin might not be that great an idea.
I caught on to the false sensory input super fast, but it was still entertaining if a bit procedural. I was surprised that the resolution was essentially force of arms, but I guess once the lies were revealed there was simply no way Fluttershy would ever choose otherwise. Also kind of surprised Fluttershy doesn't really show any desire to keep Lasciel around or reform her; even Dresden treats her like a person. It felt like the story just needed to rush towards deciding to put the coin back where it canonically belongs.
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I imagine that's why Discord's cottage smelled of strawberries and hot asphalt? One for soothing Flutters, and the other for burying Lasch?
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I think that's just Discord's cooking.
OK, that was PERFECT! It's so wonderfully 'Discord' that it had me crying from laughter!
I already posted a comment, but I wanted this one to be a separate one just because I found this fic to be so darn good! It was so well presented, except for tiny moments where something seemed just a little off it genuinely looked like Lasciel might be on the path to redemption, and Fluttershy's character the entire fic was just so perfect! Also, having Lasciel being the driver behind Fluttershy's canonical Nightmare Night terror bender was just so freakin' believable and was a super nice touch.
TOTALLY five stars, two thumbs up, 11/10, starred, liked, hearted, etc!
Ah, bittersweet ending yet it was still a fantastical chapter. Sad to see Fluttershy go through this but at the same time I'm glad that in the end she had the willpower to resist.
So what happens if Lasciel gets to taste the rainbow??? Does that reform her or change the coming into a stone prison she can’t influence anyone from??? And honestly, I’d love to see the ponies redeem one of the Fallen.
It really shows how good Lasciel is at her job, and how good you are at writing her, that I honestly thought for a second she might be telling the truth, and have remorse. The only reason I KNOW she isn’t being sincere is this is most certainly not Lash, and the title itself. Damn temptress.
Aaay Mac!
Good Lord I love Discord.
Awww...
I found one of those coins while metal detecting.
The demon within entered my mind at once. In fact, I held the door open for him
He's still pleading with me to let him out. (Alondro smiles creepily)
And right there I foresaw the premise of the story. The results didn't quite go where I was expecting (I was thinking more of Flutters reforming whoever was in the coin), but it was great.
Didn't Lasciel continue to tempt Dresden even with her coin buried in his apartment? Or am I confusing her with Lash?
The official spelling is "vworp"
reminds me of a silly story: Diamond Tiara was nice to someone, and Silver Spoon joked, "who are you, and what did you do with Diamond Tiara?"... and the Changeling panicked and lost its disguise!
9214454
oh, reminds me of this video:
I'm a little rusty in my Dresden knowledge, but the coins have always been my favorite part of the series. I knew I was in for a good time to the moment I realized what the theme would be for this.
This sounds a bit like Majora's Mask....
Why does Mac talk to Discord? He barely speaks to Harry!
Aw, poor Fluttershy...but I'm sure she'll be all right in the end. She's got great friends.