Dead Heart

by Leila Drake

Level 6 - There's a Corpse in My Living Room

Discord floated around Fluttershy's living room, grinning at Priest like a skull.

"Well, my first impression was that you species was intelligent but it seems that I have to keep my expectations lower", he teased. "I obviously asked you a question so of course what I want is an answer!"

Priest frowned. "That's none of your business."

He could see Fluttershy walking out from behind him and standing at his side from the corner of his eye.

"Careful, Fluttershy, Twilight warned me about this guy", he said.

The pegasus shook her head. "I know that Discord can seem a bit... unusual... but please don't worry. Everything is fine, isn't it, Discord?"

In that moment, Mara entered the room, a tray with a glass of water on her back.

"Oooh, a glass of water!", beamed Discord, completely ignoring Mara's protest and grabbing the glass. He downed the water in a single gulp, then released a pleased and exaggeraterd, "Aaaah! Tasty!" Then his head swung back to Priest. "Now, where were we? Right, my business!"

Priest took a cautious step back. "Fluttershy", he asked without taking his eyes from Discord, "can you elaborate that a bit more?"

I have to be careful, he thought. Twilight said this one can do nearly anything with his chaos magic. She didn't mention he was on the loose, though.

Fluttershy looked at Priest with pleading eyes. "Discord is reformed", she explained. "He is telling the truth: We are actually friends."

Mara's jaw dropped at that. She put the tray down with shivering hooves. "B-beg pardon?"

"Yes, my dear Shutterfly here" – "Fluttershy", corrected the pegasus with a small voice – "is my friend now so I would highly recommend to refrain from any aggressive acts on your side", sneered the dragonequus.

Priest shook his head, bewildered.

Mara frowned. "I didn't take you as somepony who would make friends with the spirit of chaos", she said slowly. "That kinda sounds like a trick to me."

Fluttershy's expression hardened a little. "I didn't say it was easy", she said, her voice quiet but steady, "but please believe me. Discord won't hurt anypony because he promised, right, Discord?"

Discord rolled his eyes, trying in vain to still appear intimidating. "Urgh. That."

Priest suppressed a grin. It seemed that Discord owed the pegasus despite his mischievous attitude.

This could be fun.

"Well, I'll answer your question then", said Priest. "I wanted to visit because Fluttershy is the local animal caretaker. I intend to buy a pet."

"You do?", asked both mares.

Priest folded his arms. "Yeah, so what?"

Discord grinned. "Now that is really strange! You are not even a pony yourself! And you want to buy a pet? Well, good luck, then, I wonder if you will find anything that doesn't run away barking or screeching or whatever sounds the animals make which you want to purchase!"

He cackled and emphasized his words by making his shadow do an impression of a dog and some critters dashing and hopping across the entire room.

Priest's expression darkened. "Humans are good with pets", he stated.

"Oh, I would never doubt that", said Discord in an voice dripping with sarcasm. "But I still think you would be much better at handling Fluttershy's pets if you actually were a pony!"

He snapped his fingers, grinning from ear to ear. There was a blinding flash of light.

Fluttershy and Mara gasped, staring at Priest with wide eyes.

He blinked, trying to see again. Small dots were dancing in front of his face. His perspective seemed a bit off, suddenly everything was much taller than before. Mara and Fluttershy were only slightly smaller than him while Discord was still towering above all of them.

"Priest, are you all right?", asked Mara, her voice trembling.

"Discord, what are you doing?", scolded Fluttershy.

"But he's looking so much better now, don't you think?", laughed Discord.

Now it dawned to Priest why his perspective was off. He looked down at himself and realized his clothes were gone – and he was indeed a pony! He could feel some appendages on his back and realized he had wings.

I'm a fucking pegasus. This is wrong on so many levels!

"Turn me back right now!", he spat.

Discord's yellow eyes widened as he leaned in to have a closer look at his newest prank. "...Wait a minute", he said in an almost serious tone, seemingly oblivious to Priest's demand.

Mara stepped away from Priest, her eyes wide with horror. Fluttershy started to tremble violently while Discord walked around Priest with crossed arms, examining him from all sides. Her eyes darted from Discord to Priest and back. She seemed unable to react, her wings tightly folded.

"What?", asked Priest, his tone level though his left ear twitched with irritation. What a weird sensation... "What's with that look?"

"Y-you're - a c-c-c-", stuttered Fluttershy.

"Corpse", finished Discord matter-of-factly. "How curious..."

Oh crap, don't tell me I'm undead as a pony, too?!

Priest turned his head, trying to get a better look at his body.

Big chunks of his flesh were missing and several ribs and bones exposed, especially at the joints. His coat, a sickly greyish yellow, was uneven and rough and hardly covered his necrotic flesh. His tail (and probably his mane as well) still were the same white as when he was a human. His wings also looked awfully bony and had only a few feathers. There was an image on his flank, in the same place he had noticed adult ponies had their so-called Cutie Marks. His was a wand with a sapphire star as a tip, crossed with a sword.

Does this represent my talent with enchanting gems and weapons?, he mused. Guess I could use my light magic even as a pegasus.

Who cares, I'm still a pony! And undead! And they can see all of this!!

"Boo, surprise, you found me out", growled Priest. "Can you change me back now? Please?", he forced through clenched teeth.

Discord snapped his fingers again, turning Priest back into a human.

Priest exhaled with relief, noticing his clothes were back as well. He turned at Discord. "That was uncalled for!", he said as anger kept rising in his gut.

"Calm down, human", said Discord, raising his paw and claw defensively. "You're back to your original shape! So stop the nagging already. I must say this is one of the few times somepony managed to genuinely surprise me. That alone was worth it!" He grinned and bowed graciously. "Good luck reviving your friends!"

He vanished in another flash of light, leaving his so-called friend to her own devices. A harmless-looking colorful patchwork pillow reappeared on the sofa, right where the Discord-pillow had been during Priest's conversation with Fluttershy.

The undead scratched his neck nervously, looking at Mara and Fluttershy. Both were still standing still with shock. Mara drooled a little which would have been adorable given different circumstances.

Poor mares. Discord can't be much of a friend if he leaves Fluttershy of all ponies in a state like that. Thanks for nothing, asshole...Though technically it's my fault. I shouldn't have come here in the first place!

Priest sighed. "Would you ...kindly snap out of it now?", he pleaded. "I'm still the same guy, you know!"

Mara blinked several times, then shook her head. "Sorry", she mumbled, avoiding his gaze. "I'll... go ahead back to Ponyville..." She hurried out the door, leaving Priest and Fluttershy behind. The pegasus took a few steps back, unable to speak, her eyes wide with terror.

Priest swallowed, concern etched into his face. "Fluttershy, are you all right? ...Please say something."

There was that strange sinking feeling again. Why did he feel so sad?

Fluttershy squeaked and hid behind her sofa. "Please... leave...if you don't mind", she whispered.

"All right, I'm going", said Priest. "I guess I'm gonna buy that pet later..." He let out an awkward laugh that fooled no one, then left, carefully closing the door.

Once he was outside, he hit the wall so hard that dark blood oozed from his hand, leaving a small smudge on the plaster.

Priest carefully wiped it off with the back of the other hand, then he made his way back to town.

- - -

"So what do you think?"

"Huh, what?", asked Priest, raising his head from the couch pillow.

Twilight frowned at him, holding two sets of saddlebags in her magic. "Really", she said, "it's about time you stopped sulking on that sofa. I asked you which one of these I should take to the party."

Reluctantly, Priest sat up and scratched his neck. "I'm not sulking, I'm thinking", he lied. "And why are you asking me a question like that? Just choose the one you're more comfortable with."

Mares and human women are disturbingly alike, he thought. Asking me about fashion! Might as well try and get tips from the Lich King about gardening!

Twilight smiled and floated her older but prettier saddlebag back into the closet. "It's the one from Azeroth, then", she decided. "Rarity will disagree but I kind of like it now - even though it's leather." She blushed violently.

Priest shrugged. "Whatever you like better. You wore it for three months, I can get why you would want to keep using it."

"Exactly", said Twilight, relieved that somebody understood her antics, and fastened the belt of her blue saddlebags. "Are you ready to go, too?"

"No."

"Aw, come on! It's your party! Pinkie Pie has put a lot of effort into it, the least you can do is show up!"

He grimaced. "How do you know she did?"

"Because she always does. Now get your … butt... off that cushion and have a little fun!"

"Urgh", he groaned. "Fine, I'm going. Haven't eaten since midday. But don't expect me to play any games! There won't be many peo- uh, ponies anyway.

"Where's Spike?"

"He is already at Sugarcube Corner. Don't worry, nopony is going to judge you there. And there will be a cake and everything. Pinkie's parties are the best."

With that promise on her lips, Twilight unceremoniously shoved Priest outside with her wing and locked the library door. He noticed that despite many pony houses didn't even have locks on their doors, Twilight never forgot to make sure her books were safe.

- - -

"Hello, Priest!", shouted Pinkie happily as they entered Sugarcube Corner. "I'm so happy you could make it!"

Her smile was so wide that Priest couldn't help but cheer up a little. He felt the corner of his mouth turn up. "Thanks. I heard there's cake."

Pinkie Pie giggled. "Of course there's cake! But what would a party be without guests?" She led them across the room, waving at random ponies.

There were about two dozen of them, standing in groups and chatting. They turned their heads and smiled at Priest and Twilight. Spike was standing at a table with Sweetie Belle and her two filly friends. They waved at Priest enthusiastically. Rarity approached him from the side, along with a mint green unicorn.

"I'll leave you to it, there's something I want to talk about with Twilight. Have fun!" Pinkie bounced away, taking a curious Twilight with her.

Rarity cleared her throat. "Priest, I would like you to meet Lyra Heartstrings. Lyra, this is, as you may have guessed, Mr Baker or, as he prefers, Priest."

Lyra gave him a hesistant smile and stretched out her hoof. Priest bumped it with his fist. He had watched Spike doing that with Scootaloo after waving at him.

"Hi", he said.

Lyra shuffled around nervously. "So you're new to Ponyville, huh?"

"Yes, it's a nice town", replied Priest. "Very peaceful."

She nodded, smiling more genuinely now. "More or less", she admitted. "There is some trouble now and then but luckily for us, Rarity and her friends helped us through the rough parts."

Rarity waved dismissively with her hoof. "Please stop it", she said, though seemingly enjoying the compliment.

Priest frowned, trying to remember what Twilight had told him a month ago. "Right... The Elements of Harmony. Yours is the Element of... uh..."

"The Element of Generosity. Without their magic we would have lost peace a long time ago. We had to use them from the day after Twilight came to town... and the Celestial Princesses used them before as well." She waved at Twilight who was currently talking to Pinkie Pie. The pink pony listened to her eagerly, nodding nonstop.

"Well, nice talking to you", said Lyra. She mingled with the small crowd faster than Priest could say "evasive manuevers".

Priest sighed and threw a glance at Rarity.

"Don't mind her", she tried to cheer him up. "Would you like some cake? I've spotted somepony you haven't met yet."

"You know", said Priest as they made their way to the counter, "your Element makes a lot of sense. I still can't believe you gave me all of this for free." He nodded at his clothes.

Rarity just smiled and elegantly put her hoof around the neck of a cyan pegasus who was standing next to the cake.

The mare grinned and flicked her rainbow mane. "Hey", she said nonchalantly.

Priest immediately liked the pegasus. She had a certain air about her that made him feel at ease. He smiled at her, forgetting the awkward introduction to Lyra. "Hey yourself. So you're the famous Rainbow Dash, I presume?"

"Ooh, you know my name? Seems my rep precedes me. Awesome!"

Priest shook his head and picked up the knife next to the cake. "Twilight told me about you. She said you're one of her best friends and a really fast flyer."

Rainbow Dash stroke a pose and flashed another smile at Priest. "I am trying to be - and succeeding so far. What's your name anyway?"

"I'm Priest. Nice meeting you. Who wants cake?", he added, raising his voice a little. He did not know why but Rainbow Dash's self-confidence had boosted his own somehow.

"I'm always for cake", said Rainbow, accepting the plate Priest offered. She set it down on the next table and started munching away.

"Did somepony say cake?", came a voice from behind.

Rarity floated another plate with a slice over to Applejack. "Thank ya kindly", said the cowmare and joined Rainbow at the table. Pinkie Pie was still in the conversation with Twilight, now chattering at an incredible speed while Twilight scribbled down notes on a parchment.

Really, Twilight? At a party?

Priest rolled his eyes, then kept slicing the cake as some other ponies joined them. He recognized Mara though she was still avoiding his gaze and quickly withdrawing to join a grey pegasus with a bright yellow mane.

But she's attending, he thought. Either she's very loyal to her princess or she's feeling guilty for avoiding me earlier. Or both.

"Have you seen Fluttershy?", Rarity asked Applejack as they enjoyed the cake.

"Nope, haven't sheen har", she managed to say with her mouth full, making Rarity cringe. "Wonder what'sh keepin' her."

"Huh, now that you're mentioning it... I haven't seen her either", said Rainbow Dash.

Priest coughed and got his own piece of cake.

Rarity turned to face him. "You wouldn't happen to know?", she asked.

He grimaced, shoving the slice of cake into his mouth. He was hungry, so what?

Comments

[CoastalSarv]

New chapter! Even when reformed, Discord is kind of a dick, as expected.

[Teraunce]

Your image is yet again down.