Ruining Harmony

by Artaelian

Fluttershy's Farce part three

Fluttershy stared in shock at Fireshot’s revelation, taking a couple of steps back. She attempted to speak, but the words stopped in her throat, unwilling to let themselves be uttered. Her eyes shrunk to dots, and she looked at the three colts in the room.

“You have heard of him then?” Fireshot asked.

“Y-yes.” Fluttershy managed to say.

Cloudswirl, who had still been in the air landed, and sat on a stool, releasing a sigh. He looked at Fireshot, slight concern in his eyes.

“Discord’s reputation is known everywhere. I was worried then that miss Fluttershy here had taken a rather nasty knock to the head.” Cloudswirl said, smiling.

Fluttershy zoned out, as Fireshot, Cloudswirl and Forest Breeze begun to talk. She begun to wonder if she had done something wrong to deserve being sent far enough into the past that Discord was the current ruler of Equestria. Maybe she shouldn’t have told Rarity what she thought of the dress that she had been working on just last week.

But regardless of what she had done, the truth remained. She was stuck in the distant past, with three heroes nopony had ever heard of, and Discord was the current ruler. It couldn’t get any worse.

“I say, miss Fluttershy? Are you alright?” Forest Breeze snapped her back to reality.

Fluttershy looked up, rather embarrassed, to the sight of the three colts looking at her.

“Oh... um, yes. I’m... okay.” she answered.

“Cloudswirl, take miss Fluttershy outside, she looks like she needs a bit of fresh air.” Fireshot said, turning away and walking to a table.

Outside, she sat down and took a deep breath. While she hadn’t paid much attention on the way to Canterlot, Fluttershy used this moment to look around.

The ponies walking around looked depressed, one unicorn in particular, that she saw, had half of his horn broken, while a pegasi tried to fly with one wing on her left hind leg. None of them talked to each other, and any that walked into each other, diverted their gaze and continued walking.

In the distance, pink clouds drifted erratically, and parts of the landscape floated any way they seemed to wish. The ground at that distance also changed colours, as though painted into a checkerboard style. The signs of Discord’s rule were obvious.

“Everypony is worried, miss Fluttershy,” Cloudswirl struck up conversation, “Discord was summoned by Starswirl by accident, as he tried to summon something better to lead us. Discord did begin to lead Equestria, but only for the fact Starswirl was too exhausted to try again. We all thought he would make Equestria a better place, and the occasional cotton candy cloud storm for a foal’s birthday led us to believe he would be.”

“Then what went wrong?” Fluttershy asked, looking Cloudswirl in the eyes.

“While we were kept hidden of the fact at the time, Discord loved the chaos he caused just for birthdays. He wanted to do those sort of things all the time. Starswirl explained to him why he could not. And before we knew it, Discord had gone power-mad, killed Starswirl, and begun causing chaos across Equestria.” Cloudswirl answered.

“Come, let me show you around a little, maybe you can understand then what we must do.” Cloudswirl stated flatly.

Fluttershy walked beside Cloudswirl as he led her around Canterlot. Around her, ponies of every kind and age, and of both genders, walked around, selling food, clothing and flowers, or generally holding conversations only as necessary. While earlier they had all seemed to avoid each other, there were some cases where ponies were holding conversations. Cloudswirl paused and pointed to two ponies, an earth pony and a unicorn.

“Any news?” the light yellow earth pony asked the green unicorn.

“No,” he sighed, “my brother said he would return quickly from Manesville with mother and father, I can only assume the worst, as he should have returned last week.” the green unicorn stared at the ground.

Silently, Cloudswirl begun to walk on again. He led her to a small wooden building beside a fountain and walked inside. As Fluttershy’s eyes adjusted to the dark, it became clear she was in a hospital, though all the patients and the nurse shared the only room. As Fluttershy looked at the still forms of ponies in worn down beds, Cloudswirl had walked up to the nurse, a smile on his face.

“May I visit her?” he asked the nurse. The nurse simply nodded.

Fluttershy stayed close as Cloudswirl walked to the furthest corner of the room. He came to a stop by a bed, upon which lay a white mare, with a yellow mane. Gently, Cloudswirl nuzzled her, and she stirred, smiling weakly at him as her sky blue eyes opened.

“How are you today, Rainflower?” he asked quietly, sitting down in her line of sight.

“The nurse told me I am going to be fine,” Rainflower’s eyes fell on Fluttershy, but expressed no emotion, “who is this, Cloudswirl?” she asked, studying Fluttershy.

“Sweetheart, this is Fluttershy. Forest Breeze spotted her laying at the side of the road as we returned from the Everfree, and we brought her to Canterlot to be safe from Discord. She has already had an encounter with that tyrant, so we will need to find her friends, to see if they know how that could have taken place.” Cloudswirl replied, his eyes never once leaving the direction of Rainflower.

Fluttershy felt a little uneasy at the thought that she had originally arrived in the past version of the Everfree Forest. It had been so beautiful, yet, the Everfree she knew was highly dangerous. The question of what changed it would have to be answered later, as it wasn’t a priority right now.

“It is a pleasure to meet you Fluttershy. How fortunate it was that you were found by my husband and his friends, and not a pony loyal to that foul beast. Has he told you how I came to be here?” Rainflower asked, smiling at Fluttershy.

“Now dear, I’m sure that can wait.” Cloudswirl objected.

“Cloudswirl, you are far too modest. Now, Miss Fluttershy, a few weeks ago, I was trapped within Discord’s Citadel, I shall spare you the horrible details of what I saw, but just the other week, I wake to see this one,” she paused to playfully nuzzle Cloudswirl, “kicking the flank of some horrible demon. More than that, he then used the demon’s own claws to pull the bars that held me in the prison, and then he carried me from that dreadful room, right through the citadel, kicking flank all the time, and right back here.” she smiled. Beside her, Cloudswirl seemed almost embarrassed about the story.

“That’s really sweet. But um,” Fluttershy quickly glanced at Cloudswirl, then back to Rainflower, “why are you in here? You look fine.” she queried.

Rainflower sighed, and threw back the woolen blanket covering her. Her belly showed that she was in the late stages of pregnancy, on her back were two stumps where her wings had once been, and stitched up skin on her flank showed where her legs had once attached to her body. Fluttershy felt sick at the sight, and held back as much as possible her desire to be physically sick, as she ran out of the hospital. She only just managed to get to the edge of a nearby alley when her restraint against her stomach finally ended, and what she had eaten and drank previously came out the wrong way.

Cloudswirl followed her soon after, and stood beside Fluttershy as she sat, shaking violently.

“I am sorry Fluttershy. I was hoping at least she would not show her injuries to you. She feels bad about it now, but she never thinks before she acts. That is how Akyrun captured her and tortured her.” Cloudswirl said calmly.

Fluttershy said nothing, as she slowly raised her head up to look at the sky. Around her, wing beats of pegasi, and the clopping of hooves on the ground made the only sounds that reached her ears. Turning her head slightly, she saw Cloudswirl’s face had become filled with rage.

“That monster, Akyrun, the last monster that is closest to Discord. He knew who she was, and waited. Rainflower loved to fly to the clouds before a rain shower, and swim up there. That was when he grabbed her, and took her to the citadel. And I...” he paused, and stepped forward slightly, his wings had unfolded and were now raised high.

“I was powerless to stop it. I always followed her since my return to Equestria, to ensure she was safe. He blind sided me, and when I woke up, both he and Rainflower were gone. I never felt so useless and helpless. My own wife, pregnant with our unborn foal, snatched from me by the most twisted of Discord’s loyalists.” Cloudswirl continued his rant, now visibly shaking from all the rage stored within him.

Fluttershy felt scared. Cloudswirl, in the time she had met him seemed very calm, collected, almost the perfect idea of a hero. And yet, that same ‘perfect hero’ now stood before her, shaking with uncontrollable rage. She felt like telling him that it wasn’t his fault he hadn’t been able to defend Rainflower, but decided against it.

“I swear, when the time is right, I will find that monster, that demon, Akyrun, and I will make him suffer far worse than he made my wife suffer. He will beg for his end to be swift, and I will instead grant him a slow, agonising death.” Cloudswirl spat.

--
After Cloudswirl had calmed down, he had taken Fluttershy to see where the sisters that governed Canterlot were usually based when not away somewhere else, along with buildings closer to the edge of the town that were damaged by fighting between the citizens of Canterlot and the forces loyal to Discord. Once she had seen everything Cloudswirl deemed important, the pair had returned to the building Cloudswirl and his friends were staying in, and sat outside, neither saying a word, as Fluttershy looked around, watching the ponies walk around.

Fluttershy’s eyes soon landed on a dark blue unicorn wearing a black cloak. This unicorn’s eyes seem fixed on her, and made her feel uncomfortable. She moved a little, turning her head but keeping her eyes in the unicorn’s direction. Beside her, Cloudswirl noticed the change in attitude.

“Is something wrong miss Fluttershy?” he questioned.

“Over there, across the street. That unicorn is staring at me.” she muttered.

Cloudswirl stared and saw the unicorn she mentioned. Fluttershy didn’t see his face, but Cloudswirl’s eyes grew larger, and a look of anger covered his face.

“Discord has ponies loyal to him, they all wear cloaks of varying colours, depicting their rank, black is the colour of the commanders,” he took a deep breath, “Fireshot! Forest Breeze! Discord loyalist in Canterlot!” he yelled, and set off flying.

Across the street, the unicorn looked surprised, and begun to run away, as Cloudswirl gave chase. Behind Fluttershy, the door into the building the three colts called home burst open, and Fireshot raced off after Cloudswirl. Forest Breeze gently forced Fluttershy up and hurried her back into the building.

Back inside, Fluttershy sat on a stool, as Forest Breeze walked into the kitchen. A minute later, the sound of a kettle boiling could be heard, along with the rattling of a spoon in a cup. After another minute, Forest Breeze walked back into the front room, and set down a cup in front of Fluttershy.

“Fireshot loves this stuff. It is called ‘chamomile tea’. You can not get this in Equestria, but Fireshot will only tell me that the land it comes from has promised him as much of this as he wishes for the rest of his life. Drink up, he said it will help you get over any shock you might be in.” Forest Breeze said, rolling up a scroll.

“I’m fine.” Fluttershy stated. Across the table, Forest Breeze’s face looked serious, then changed to reflect his internal laughter.

“You do not seem fine, miss Fluttershy. Quite the opposite. That Discord loyalist did seem to scare you.” Forest Breeze replied.

“Are there many of these loyalists?” she asked.

“Oh yes. That is why we are being careful when it comes to planning our attempt to end Discord and his reign. Discord may like chaos, but he is not stupid. That is why it was so hard for Celestia and Luna to depart from the border in search of what they need for their own attempt at beating Discord.” Forest Breeze smiled.

Fluttershy felt curious. Sure, she had known Celestia was alive at the time Discord ruled Equestria, Celestia had said it herself when Discord had broken free. But what she had done before she and Luna defeated him hadn’t been mentioned, simply that they had found the Elements of Harmony.

It made sense, as she thought. Forest Breeze had just said Celestia and Luna had left Equestria to find something. That meant they would soon find the Elements of Harmony. What didn’t make sense was where the three colts, Fireshot, Cloudswirl and Forest Breeze, came into things.

“Could I ask what you three are doing while waiting for them? I mean... if you can...” Fluttershy grew nervous.

Across from her, Forest Breeze looked confused, then suspicious. He moved his head closer to Fluttershy.

“You aren’t a loyalist to Discord are you?” he asked.

“N-no! Never. I remember what he did to me, to my friends. I’d rather die than side with him.” Fluttershy answered, looking shocked at Forest Breeze.

“I suppose you can tell me what he did to you and your friends then?”

Fluttershy’s eyes grew wide. She had just slipped up. What Discord had done to her and her friends hadn’t taken place yet. But to lie about it would get her into a lot of trouble.

“He... he,” she thought for a minute, shifting slightly, uncomfortable with the stare from Forest Breeze, “Discord pushed the bonds of our friendship, made us the opposite of what we were normally like. We almost lost our friendship, but we overcame that.”

Forest Breeze’s suspicious look changed into one of sadness for Fluttershy. He sighed and hung his head.

“Did you turn grey? Discord usually does that when focusing on specific ponies.” he questioned.

“Yes, we all did. It made me dislike my friends. I mocked them, hurt their feelings, all to make myself feel better.” Fluttershy answered, sounding sad.

“I am sorry that I thought you were loyal to him. It is a shame we found you alone in that forest. When we have made sure you are safe, I shall try to find where your friends are,” Forest Breeze now looked up, smiling, “now to answer your question. The three of us are great heroes, the fact we have returned to Equestria has Discord worried. But we protect ponies that are not under his control. Outside, you must have seen how no one talks to each other, unless they really have to.”

Forest Breeze looked at Fluttershy, waiting for some sort of confirmation that she had seen exactly that. With a nod, Fluttershy answered him.

“They are scared, scared that the next pony they talk to is under Discord’s direct influence. He can pass it on through others, not just directly. Soon though, soon we shall go and confront him, regardless of if Celestia and Luna have returned or not. The city of Ponypeii has disbanded completely, everypony has gone mad or dead there. Equestria can not survive much longer if we do not act in the next week or two.”

--
Author's notes; Sorry this took a while to get out, it was originally way too short, so me and my editor worked on making the character development fit. Anyway, work will begin soon on the next chapter, but I cant promise that will be out in a week. I'm sure you all would agree, better to take the time and do each chapter well, than rush dozens out that are absolutely awful.

As for where Ruining Harmony diverts from the show, its some time after the Discord two parter, but before the episode "Putting your hoof down". Not that it really matters however.

Comments

[Artaelian]

I removed the 'Dark' tag on the advice of my editor. He said that so far, there was nothing he considered really 'dark' about the story, and the tag was just pointless as a result.
Please let me know if you disagree with this.