Dragonshy
Fluttershy ran through Ponyville pleading for somepony, anypony to help with the smoke. Her animals could get sick. Her voice was so quiet that nopony could hear her. A ball made Fluttershy squeal in fear as she ducked down.
Rainbow Dash came rushing by, bouncing the ball on her head. "Don't be such a scaredy-pony. It's just me, future Equestria ball-bouncing record holder. 146, 147..." Rainbow continued to count each bounce as Fluttershy and Pinkie watched her.
"This calls for a celebration!"
Pinkie ran off to get party decorations as Fluttershy continued to warn ponies of the smoke. "Oh, no, Pinkie Pie. This is no time for celebration. This is a time for panic, for..."
"Ooh! I'm gonna need balloons! One for everypony in Ponyville."
Pinkie bounced away to get her balloons and Fluttershy rushed after her. "There's... there's smoke, and... and where there's smoke, there's fire, and..."
Pinkie stopped abruptly causing Fluttershy to run into her. Pinkie started to count each pony, one by one. "That's 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6..." The counting messed up Rainbow's so she stopped bouncing her ball and put it under her wing. "Pinkie Pie! Now I have to start over."
"We're all gonna have to start over in a new village, 'cause ours is gonna be..." Again, nopony heard her as Rainbow Dash flew off and Pinkie decided to follow her.
"Hey, Rainbow Dash, wait up!"
"Oh, please. This is an emergency. I-I need everypony to..."
"Listen up!" Twilight shouted, getting everypony to look at her, Spike, and Discord. "Smoke is spreading over all of Equestria."
"What?"
"Oh no!"
"That's awful!"
"That's what I've been trying to..." Fluttershy started but was interrupted.
"But don't worry, we've just received a letter from my Aunt Celestia informing us that it is not coming from a fire."
Fluttershy sighed with relief, her animals' homes were safe. "Oh, thank goodness."
"It's coming from a dragon," Twilight told them bluntly. Everypony gasped in fear.
"A... d-dragon?" Fluttershy opened her eyes in fear. Terrified at the thought of a dragon being near Ponyville.
At the library, the Mane 6 and Discord were discussing their plan with the dragon. "What in the name of all things cinnamon swirled is a full-grown dragon doing here in Equestria?" Applejack asked, hoping the two unicorns knew the answer.
"Sleeping," Twilight told them as she looked through her books.
"Huh?"
"Some larger dragons find a cave to keep their treasures in and some can sleep for years. Only leave when they are hungry. Luckily, like all dragons, they only eat gems," Discord explained.
"According to Princess Celestia, he's taking a nap. His snoring is what's causing all this smoke," Twilight continued as she packed her bag for the long trip.
"He should really see a doctor. That doesn't sound healthy at all."
"I know right!? That's what I kept saying to my aunt for years. But nopony has a dragon training cutie mark."
"Well, at least he's not snoring fire. What are we meant to do about it?" Rarity asked, unsure why Twilight asked them to come, they could handle a lot but a dragon seemed to be a bit much.
"I'll tell you what we're meant to do: give him the boot! Take that. And that!" Rainbow Dash pretended to fight a dragon in the air, acting as if she was winning the fight.
Discord playfully rolled his eyes at Rainbow Dash. 'Like she's ever seen a grown-up dragon before.'
"We need to encourage him to take a nap somewhere else," Twilight told them. "I doubt it that'll get him to leave if only one of us goes up there so we all need to go, in case things get dicey."
"Like you ever seen a dragon before," Rainbow Dash pointed out.
"Um hello, Spike?" Discord said in a sarcastic voice.
"Oh, right."
"Princess Celestia has given us this mission, and we must not fail. If we do, Equestria will be covered with smoke for the 100 next years!" Twilight told them, getting straight to the point.
Fluttershy gasped. 'Oh, my. all the animals, the smoke could get them sick. But... it's a dragon.'
"Talk about getting your beauty sleep," Rarity commented.
"Alright, everypony, I need you to gather supplies quickly. We've got a long journey ahead of us. Let's meet back here in less than an hour," Twilight addressed to her friends as she put the map in her bag and then the bag on her back.
Encouragingly, Rainbow Dash shouted, "Okay, girls, you heard her! The fate of Equestria is in our hooves! Do we have what it takes?!" Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity voiced affirmation and then left, ready to tackle their next challenge.
Fluttershy was hesitant as she followed them. "Um...actually..."
Discord noticed her apprehension but he shrugged it off. 'She probably nervous like the rest of us.'
The mares got ready, and prepared their bags, outfits, and everything they needed for the journey ahead. While the others were excited, Fluttershy was terrified. Once they were ready, they returned to the library to discuss their plan.
"All right, girls. Listen up. Discord and I are mapping out the fastest route, but we've all got to keep a good pace if we expect to make it up the mountain by nightfall."
"M-mountain?" Fluttershy stuttered.
Discord pointed to the mountain they were going to climb. It was surrounded by a large cloud of smoke. "The dragon is in the cave at the very top."
"Looks pretty cold up there," Applejack commented.
Rainbow Dash smiled as she confirmed AJ's thoughts, "You bet it is. The higher you go, the chillier it gets."
Rarity was prepared for this moment. "Good thing I brought my scarf." Rarity pulled out her pink scarf and wrapped it around herself. "Ooh! Pretty!"
Rainbow chuckled. "Oh, yeah. That'll keep you nice and cozy."
Fluttershy looked at the top of the mountain again and fear filled her stomach. 'I can't do this. Maybe I can ask Twilight and Discord if I can stay behind, they don't need all of us to stop the dragon.'
Twilight pulled out the map and she and Discord began to discuss the possible paths they could take. "Maybe this one?" Twilight suggested.
"Excuse me, Twilight? Discord?"
"No, it's short but there are a lot of caves. Dangerous creatures could live in them, we need a fast but safe route to the dragon. Maybe this one?"
"I know you're busy, but..."
"No, it's safe but it's long. Like you said, we need to get to the dragon fast. How about this?"
"But if I could just have a second..."
"No, we definitely want to avoid that," Discord told her.
"So, um, I-I was thinking that, um, maybe I should just stay here in Ponyville."
"Yeah, you're right."
Thinking Twilight was talking to her, Fluttershy sighed with relief. "Oh, good! I'll stay here and..." That got Twilight's and Discord's attention.
"Wait! You have to come." Twilight told her.
Discord walked over to Fluttershy and told her, "Twilight is right, my dear. Your way with wild animals will surely come in handy. Don't worry about the animals in the meadow. Twilight and I asked Spike to take care of them."
"You can count on me!" Angel bumped Spike's head with his foot multiple times. Spike freaked out which scared all the animals away. "Hey! Hey! Wait!" Spike chased after the animals.
Twilight returned the map to her bag as Fluttershy said, "I don't really think he's up to the task. Maybe..."
Discord put a comforting hoof on her. "It's okay. I gave Spike a few tips that you have shown me." Fluttershy smiled at him but even that sentence didn't give her the confidence she needed.
"All right, girls. Move out!" With that, the Mane 6 and Discord made their way to the mountain.
A loud snore scared Fluttershy, she hid behind Discord in fear. "Whoa! What was that?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"That is what it sounds like when a dragon snores."
"It's... it's so... high."
"Well, it is a mountain. I'm gonna fly up there and check it out!"
Discord used his magic to grab her by her tail. "Hold on, Rainbow. We should all go up together. There is safety in numbers."
Rainbow crossed her arms. "Oh, all right."
Slower than what Rainbow would like, they climbed the mountain. "I hear the only thing that sparkles more than a dragon's scales are the jewels they use to build their nests." Twilight looked at the map again, then put it back, happy they were following the right path. "I might be able to convince him to part with a few."
Discord playfully rolled his eyes at that. I have a dragon leg and it doesn't sparkle, course, I don't have an obsession with gems.'
"Welcome to my cave, Rarity. Care for a diamond? RRARRR!"
The girls and Discord laughed but Twilight was not. "Girls! This is no laughing matter. Fluttershy, you're the expert on wild creatures. What do you think the dragon will be like?" Twilight and the others looked around and saw Fluttershy was nowhere in sight.
Rainbow noticed her still on the ground. "Hey, what are you waiting for... an invitation?"
Pinkie perked up and looked through her bag, "Ooh! I think I have one in my bag." Pinkie bought out an invitation causing confetti to burst out.
"I-it's so... so... steep."
"Well, it is a cliff. You could just... oh, I don't know... fly up here."
"Come on, Fluttershy, you can do it! Flap those wings."
Fluttershy flapped her wings and reached the height of the girls but once the dragon snored her wings closed up, making her fall to the ground. She tried to open her wings but she couldn't.
Twilight sighed with frustration. "We don't have time for this."
Discord took the map from her bag and looked through it. "Discord, what are you doing?"
"I'm going to take Fluttershy around the mountain another way. I'm going to use this to help guide us."
Rainbow Dash groaned and Discord slid down the mountain. "Around the mountain? That's gonna take them forever."
Once Discord made it to the ground, the dragon snored loudly again. Fluttershy flipped to her back in fear. "Don't worry, my dear. We'll be there as fast as we can." Twilight watched the smoke go further into Equestria, worrying her greatly. The girls continued up the mountain while Discord stayed behind with Fluttershy. 'This is going to be a challenge.'
Discord bent down to her level and began to talk to her. "Fluttershy…"
"I can't do it Discord! I'm sorry I can't do it, I'm just too scared."
He smiled at her. "Fluttershy, it's okay. We're all scared of the dragon. We don't know what could happened. Besides, everypony has fears. Even me." He hesitated but he knew if he said it, it would help her.
"Okay, it was a really long time ago, but when I was a colt, I would go to the gardens often. The plants, the peaceful quietness, was so calming to me but..." He bit his lip.
"But what?"
He sighed. "Can you keep a secret?" She turned over on her stomach and nodded timidly. "Whenever I saw the statues of ponies, I... I ran away."
Fluttershy was completely shocked. Discord was one of the bravest ponies she ever met, she didn't think he was scared of anything. "Why?"
"Because I had this strange fear that I could turn into a statue or I would be turned to stone." He laughed a bit. "Weird I know, but I just would get this panicking feeling that I'll turn into a statue and not be able to move or talk. I would just be cold and in the dark with nopony to help me. Just alone with my thoughts…" He shuddered in fear.
"How did you get over it?" She asked, hoping he had a spell that would help her.
"I would talk to my mom about it, Princess Luna, she told me that could never happen and after walking with her through the garden, I eventually got over it. But, if I being honest, I still have that nagging fear about being a statue."
"I'm sorry that happened to you."
With a smile, Discord told her, "There's nothing you could do about it, my dear. The point is we all have fears, sometimes we just have to face them if we wanna get through what we want in life."
Fluttershy smiled at Discord. "Thank you Discord, but I'm still scared. It's so... high."
"Hey, I'll catch you and if that dragon hurts you, I'll teach him a lesson he'll never forget. Now come along, That smoke is getting further into Equestria and we need to stop it." He stood up and held out his hoof to her. With a timid smile, she took his hoof and together, they walked to the mountain to their friends.
It took a long time, but Discord and Fluttershy made it to their friends, who were waiting for hours for them. "Hello, girls. We made it." They were surprised to see Discord walking with Fluttershy but glad she finally came, even if it took a long time.
They continued their trek up the mountain with Discord and Fluttershy slowly following behind them. They reached a gap and Rainbow Dash jumped over first. Twilight was next following Rarity, Pinkie, and Applejack then Discord. Fluttershy hugged a rock in fear. "Your turn, Fluttershy."
"But it's so wide."
Twilight held in a groan, they didn't have time for this. "Come on, Fluttershy. We should be much farther along by now."
Applejack smiled and told her, "You could just leap on over."
Fluttershy looked down at the gap. "I..." The dragon snored loudly again. fluttershy squealed in fear. "I don't know." She hugged the ground in fear. Applejack and Twilight just shook their heads.
Pinkie Pie had a plan. "There's nothing to be afraid of. It's just a hop, skip, and a jump!" Pinkie jumped back to the cliff Fluttershy was on with ease. "See?" She smiled at Fluttershy showing the the ease of it. "It's not very far, just move your little rump. You can make it if you try with a hop, skip, and a jump."
"We don't have time for this."
Pinkie kept singing and each time she jumped back and forth, it gave Fluttershy a bit more confidence. "A hop, skip, and a jump, just move your little rump. A hop, skip, and a jump, a hop, skip, and a jump, a hop, skip, and a jump, a hop, skip, and a jump, a hop, skip, and a jump!"
Fluttershy stood up and took a deep breath. "Okay, here I go." She went to the edge and prepared herself. "A hop..." The girls and Discord smiled, she was going to do it. They shouted words of encouragement at her. "skip..."
Fluttershy jumped and Twilight told her, "Just don't look down." Fluttershy looked down and saw the ground, which was miles away from her. She stopped in fear and when she opened her eyes, her front hoofs were on the other side while the back hoofs were on the other side of the mountain.
Rainbow Dash groaned. She flew back to the other side and started to push Fluttershy while Rarity and Pinkie pulled her. "I guess I forgot to jump."
Fluttershy smiled while Rainbow Dash, who was under her, looked at her annoyed. 'We're going to be here for weeks!'
They continued their trek up the mountain and Twilight noticed the area they were in. She whispered, "Let's keep it down. According to my map, we're entering an avalanche zone. The smallest peep could cause a huge rockslide."
Terrified, Fluttershy studdered, "An-an ava...ava..." Twilight shushed her. The group began to walk quietly. Rainbow Dash continued to fly and she flew through a tree and two leaves fell and one Fluttershy's back. "AVALA-!"
Discord quickly plugged his hoof into her mouth, her echos could be heard for several seconds. The group remained quiet and when the echoes stopped, everyone let out a sigh of relief. It wasn't over, the ground rumbled rocks started to fall from the mountain.
"AVALANCHE!" Rainbow Dash flew around each falling boulder as everyone except Fluttershy ran in random directions, avoiding the falling rocks.
Discord noticed Fluttershy not moving as a boulder was about to land on her. "FLUTTERSHY!" He ran as fast as he could and used his magic to stop the boulder then he moved her out of the way.
Once the dust settled, everypony coughed. Nopony was harmed but now there was a large pile of dirt and rocks blocking their way. "Everypony okay?" Applejack asked.
Fluttershy looked at Discord in awe. "You saved my life. Thank you."
Discord blushed. "Yo-You're welcome, my dear. I did what needed to be done."
"Whoo-hoo! Let's do it again!"
Rarity shook the dirt off herself and it went onto Pinkie Pie. "Uh! This is why a girl always packs extra accessories." Once Rarity put on her scarf, she looked back at the bag. "Oh, please tell me I brought the tiara that goes with this."
Rainbow Dash looked at Rarity and told her, "Uh, think we got bigger problems than making sure our hair bows match our horseshoes." She gestured to the large dirt mountain blocking their path. Everypony looked at the dirt mountain, knowing that their journey just got longer.
Feeling guilty, Fluttershy said, "Sorry."
Discord looked at her and said with sympathy in his voice, "Don't worry, my dear. It was an accident."
Applejack confirmed his words to her. "He's right, no big whoop, sugar cube."
Twilight smiled at her friend. "Yeah, we'll just have to..." She sighed. "...climb over."
After the group made it over the dirt mountain, they continued their trek until they finally made it to the dragon's cave. "We're here."
Everypony looked at the cave, not moving a muscle. Their journey up the mountain was hard but getting the dragon to leave would be even harder. Twilight and Discord had a plan. Taking a deep breath, Twilight said, "Rainbow Dash, you'll use your wings to clear the smoke." Rainbow Dash nodded and flew up into the sky.
"Rarity and Pinkie Pie, you create a diversion to distract the dragon if things get a little hairy in there." Pinkie Pie took out her rubber chicken, happily squeaking it like a dog with a toy.
"Applejack, you're ready with the apples in case he decides to attack." Applejack took two apples out of her bag and kicked them to a tree, smashing them. "Twilight and I have a few spells ready to help in case things get dicey. However, it shouldn't come to that because Fluttershy will do what she needs to do to wake him up. Between Twilight, Fluttershy, and I we should be able to get him to understand why he needs to go. Is everypony ready?"
Everypony nodded in agreement except for Fluttershy who hugged the ground in fear. 'No. I'll never be ready.'
Twilight and Discord walked into the cave, hoping they were ready for this. "So... what is the best way to wake up a sleeping dragon without upsetting him?" Twilight asked.
"I am unsure, Fluttershy, what do you think?"
When there wasn't an answer, they stopped in their tracks. "Fluttershy?" Twilight called out but there was no answer.
Twilight groaned as she and Discord left the cave. "We don't have time for this." Discord understood Fluttershy's fear but he knew Twilight was right, they didn't have time for this. Fluttershy's face was in the ground, trying to hide. "We have to do this!" Twilight pushed Fluttershy forward but she didn't move. "Now!" Rainbow Dash helped her but Fluttershy used her hooves to prevent herself from moving. "Every..." Twilight pushed again with the others joining her from Discord, to Rarity, to Applejack, then. Pinkie Pie. "that dragon.." They pushed again. "...sleeps is another..." They pushed again. "...acre of Equestria that is covered in..." They started to move her with Applejack's help but it was barely working. "...smoke."
Once Fluttershy heard that, she decided to speak up. "I...I... I can't go in the cave." Everypony groaned.
"Oh, great! She's scared of caves now, too."
Discord glared at her annoyed but shrugged it off as Fluttershy said, "I'm not scared of caves. I'm scared of dr..." Her words faded away.
Applejack walked up to her asking, "What's that, sugar cube?"
"I'm scared of drag..." Her words faded again.
"What?" Twilight asked, still not understanding what she was saying.
"I'm scared of dragons!" The dragon snored loudly and a cloud of black smoke came out covering them all. They all coughed it out and when it disappeared, Fluttershy was seen hiding behind Discord.
"But, Fluttershy, you have a wonderful talent dealing with all kinds of animals," Twilight reasoned.
"Yes, because they're not dragons."
Rainbow Dash couldn't believe this. "Oh, come on! We've seen you walk right up to a horrible manticore like it was nothing."
Fluttershy turned to look at her and said, "Yes because he wasn't a dragon."
"My dear, Spike is a dragon. In fact, I can remember you being extremely interested in him asking him all kinds of questions about who he is and what he could do. You're not scared of him from what I can tell," Discord reasoned.
"Yes, because he's not a huge, gigantic, terrifying, enormous teeth-gnashing, shark-scale-having, horn-wearing, smoke-snoring, could-eat-a-pony-in-one-bite, totally all-grown-up dragon." The dragon snored again, more smoke was released into Equestria. This statement terrified Discord, if she was scared of a dragon, what would she think of him as a draconequus.
"But if you're so afraid of dragons, why didn't you say something before we came all the way up here?" Twilight asked her, clearly distressed that the original plan wouldn't work without her.
"I was afraid to." Rainbow Dash groaned.
"All of us are scared of that dragon."
"I'm not!" Applejack and Discord rolled their eyes at Rainbow Dash's statement.
"Almost all of us are scared of that dragon, but we've got a job to do." Applejack smiled at her, trying to give Fluttershy the confidence she needed.
"My dear, Applejack is right. Remember what I told you, we all have fears, but we just need to have the courage to face them. Come on, Fluttershy, you, Twilight and I can do this together."
Discord and the girls looked at her with confidence in their eyes but she couldn't do it. "I just... can't." Fluttershy walked away sadly, feeling bad that she was letting her friends down.
Knowing she had a job to do, Twilight walked into the cave without Discord, who stood from a distance watching Fluttershy sadly. "I'm going in." Twilight said as she walked into the cave.
Discord knew he had a job to do but when he looked at the sad pegasus he knew from experience words wouldn't bring her comfort. 'So, Fluttershy won't help and I just can't teleport that dragon just anywhere. What to do, what to do?' Discord paced as he thought of a different plan while the others tried their own ways.
"All right! That's it!" Discord was taken out of his thoughts by Rainbow Dash's shouting. "We've tried persuasion, charm, whatever it is Pinkie Pie does. It's time to stop wasting time! I'm going in!"
Rainbow Dash flew into the cave before Discord could stop her. "Rainbow Dash! Don't do anything rash!"
The dragon looked at Rainbow annoyed then she kicked him. "GET OUT!" The dragon sneezed smoke on Rainbow Dash then he growled angerly at her. Rainbow smiled nervously, she knew she made a mistake. "Heh, sorry!" Rainbow was roared out of the cave and she knocked everypony down like bowling pins.
The dragon stomped out of the cave as the girls ran around in fear. They hid behind Discord but before he could do anything, he roared smoke at them. They all rolled into a large rock when broke revealing a terrified Fluttershy. She peeked out and saw her friends down. 'Oh no!' She looked up at the dragon and then back to her friends. She did the same action again, she knew what she needed to do.
With a deep breath, she said, "How dare you?" The dragon didn't hear her so now she was serious. She flew up and started to shout. "How dare you!" The dragon stopped in his tracks as Fluttershy walked on his snout. She walked to his eye and gave him the stare. "Listen here, mister. Just because you're big doesn't mean you get to be a bully! You may have huge teeth, and sharp scales, and snore smoke, and breathe fire. But you do not! I repeat. You do not! Hurt! My! Friends! You got that?"
The dragon whimpered in fear while everypony looked at her amazed. Fluttershy was shouting and standing up for them. She was facing one of her greatest fears. Discord couldn't help but be amazed at the sight. 'Wow, she's kind of cute when she's angry.'
"Well?" She asked, making sure the dragon understood her. "But that rainbow one kicked me." Rainbow Dash smiled nervously at that.
Fluttershy's tone softened as she spoke again. "And I am very sorry about that." Rainbow stopped nodding, confused why Fluttershy was apologizing. "But you're bigger than she is, and you should know better. You should also know better than to take a nap where your snoring can become a health hazard to other creatures."
"But I..."
"Don't you 'but I' me, mister. Now what do you have to say for yourself? I said, what do you have to say for yourself?" Fluttershy sounded like she was talking to a child who broke a vase and that's when the dragon started to cry. His tears were falling on them like rain. Fluttershy smiled and started to soothe him. "There, there. No need to cry. You're not a bad dragon, you just made a bad decision. Now go pack your things. You just need to find a new place to sleep. That's all."
As Fluttershy landed her friends cheered for her, she encouraged the dragon to leave and the smoke would soon be gone. "You did it! I knew you could do it," Twilight told her.
Discord hugged her which surprised her. "Sorry, my dear. But you were amazing. Like I told you, we all have fears, but we just need to have the courage to face them. You showed incredible courage today. That was delightful!" The dragon gathered his things and then left to find a new place to sleep.
After everypony returned to Ponyville, the pegasi cleared the skies. Meanwhile, Spike was trying to get Fluttershy's animals back in one place. "I said, come back here!" Angel was being the most difficult since he climbed a bookshelf to get away from him. Spike managed to grab him after a few minutes and he held the bunny by his foot. "How does Fluttershy put up with you furry, little things?"
Twilight entered the library ready for her next letter. "Spike? Take a letter."
He sighed happily as he dropped Angel. "With pleasure."
Dear Princess Celestia,
I am happy to report that the dragon
has departed our fair country and that
it was my good friend Fluttershy
who convinced him to go.
This adventure has taught me
to never lose faith in your friends.
They can be an amazing source of strength
and can help you overcome even
your greatest fears.
Always your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle.
"Twilight, you gotta come see this!" Applejack shouted. Twilight walked out to her balcony and saw Rainbow Dash bouncing her ball. "She's just five away from a new pony record." The girls watched her bounce the ball, getting closer and closer to the new record.
"347, 348..." A roar stopped her in her tracks. "DRAGON!" Rainbow fell to her back in fear like Fluttershy did earlier causing all of her friends to laugh. "Why are you laughing? That awful dragon is back!"
Discord appeared out of nowhere and roared again. "Like it? I've been practicing it for hours. With some help from Pinkie Pie," Discord told her with a playful smile.
"Discord! You scared me!" Her eyes widened at what she said, "I mean, uh... you broke my concentration."
Discord smiled and walked away as Fluttershy flew to her friend and said, "It's okay, Rainbow Dash. Not everypony can be as brave as me." A leaf fell and it landed on Fluttershy who squeaked in fear. She landed on her face, frozen in fear as everypony laughed.
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Yet another well-done spin on this episode. Yeah, makes sense that Discord would be afraid of what the others would think of him if they knew his true form, but I DID like his efforts to help out anyway, such as the protection during the avalanche. And needing to be in his true form to do things like conjure up a properly sized fireproof muzzle and growing to the dragon's own size is a logical reason for him to not do more against the dragon.
And, on to the next chapter.