> The Land of Dreams
>  by Rocky The Unicorn
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Prologue
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Flura was girl who lived in one of the most beautiful places in Europe. Some say it was so beautiful, that it was nicknamed “The Land of Dreams,” because you felt like you were in a dream walking through the fields filled with buttercups, and looking at your reflection in the crystal clear lake. She went to a boarding school in the valley. Flura was a little different from the other students at her school. She had a learning disability, well, at least that’s what her teachers thought. She was rescued from a terrible storm and brought to this school. The cold storm affected her brain so that she suffered from memory loss. She had no idea who her parents were, and what her purpose in life was. Because of this, her peers would make fun of her.
Apart from her abilities, Flura looked normal. You would assume someone like her would just blend in with the crowds, but not at school. She had beautiful dark brown hair, lovely pale skin, and gorgeous teal eyes.
Flura enjoyed venturing around the campus in her spare time. The nature surrounding the school was amazing. They were allowed to canoe in the crystal lake, enjoy bonfires with their friends, and best of all go hiking in the hills! They could hike anywhere they liked, except on the top of the left hill. At the top of the left hill was a cave. Rumor has it, that no one had ever gone into the cave and lived to tell the tale. Some think a beast lurks in the cave, waiting for easy prey, but no one is sure because no one has ever returned to tell the tale.
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Meanwhile, in Equestria, crisis had struck. Ponyville hadn’t been same because of it. One winter day, Fluttershy disappeared, never to be seen again. Some say she ran away, others say she is deceased, but still others have hope that she will return someday, when the time is right. Without Fluttershy, her friends’ friendships slowly started to fall apart.
Granny Smith had recently died, so Applejack took over the family business. It had kept her so busy that she didn’t have any time to spend with her friends. Pinkie Pie started a national party corporation with Cheese Sandwich. With this new job, Pinkie had to travel a lot, not giving her much time to see her friends. Rarity ended up opening more boutiques throughout Equestria. She had practically at least one in each city. As you would think, this kept her bustling and busy as well. Rainbow Dash got promoted to Captain of the Wonderbolts, after Spitfire’s flying accident. When Spitfire went to the hospital, she found out she would never be able fly as fast as she used to, so she gave Rainbow Dash her job. Because of this, Rainbow had been spending most of her time in Cloudsdale. Twilight has been kept occupied with all of her jobs she must do and roles she must play as a princess, and Spike has been there to help her along the way.
The one who has been affected the most by Fluttershy’s disappearance though, was Discord. He hasn’t been nearly as chaotic as he used to be. He doesn’t find as much pleasure in pulling a prank, telling a silly story, or making a corny joke. Fluttershy had always been there with him, laughing at his jokes, scolding him about his pranks, and listening to his stories. He felt so uneasy when any pony brought up her name. Because of this, he slowly began to isolate himself from other ponies. He sort of felt that what had happened was his fault. That it was his fault that Fluttershy disappeared. If he would’ve just been sooner. If only had had been fast enough to rescue Fluttershy from her own fate.
As each day passed, Discord just felt lonelier and lonelier. He would try to stop by some of Fluttershy’s friends houses and shops, but they always seemed busy. If he was in the area, he might stop by to say hello to Twilight and Spike, but usually this just lead to annoying Twilight. He didn’t understand. So what if he glued some of her scrolls to the ceiling? You had to admit, it was pretty funny, but, Twilight didn’t think so. She go rage on Discord and yell at him, telling him to leave.
Whenever he stopped by Sugar Cube Corner, only Mrs. and Mr. Cake were there. Pinkie Pie was usually off throwing a party with Cheese Sandwich somewhere in Equestria. The same would go for Rarity, traveling around to her different boutiques, she was rarely in ponyville. Whenever he stopped by Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack would always say she didn’t have time to deal with his shenanigans. But before he left, Discord would do something a little chaotic. Once, he made all of the pigs tap dance when Applejack went out to feed them. He would be watching in secret to see her reaction. Usually things would happen like this: She would get upset that he was messing around and then she would call him out about.
"DISCORD!" Applejack would scold.
“Applejack, you really are no fun," Discord would reply. That's usually how it went.
Discord wanted nothing to do with Rainbow Dash. Every since Fluttershy’s disappearance, Rainbow had been avoiding Discord. If she thought he didn’t notice, she was wrong. It was pretty obvious. Whenever he saw her in ponyville, she would make up an excuse to not talk to him. It was really getting on his nerves. Why on earth was Rainbow so anxious around him?
Most of the other ponies wanted nothing to do with Discord, or were terrified of him. He wasn’t so scary, was he? Fluttershy never thought he was scary. She always looked at him with a loving look in her eyes. He always wished they could’ve been more than friends, but now it was too late. He could still remember that day when she disappeared. Everything had been going perfectly. He still remembered her adorable little laugh, her big, beautiful, teal eyes, and how her cheeks would grow bright red sometimes while talking with her. It was as if she thought he didn’t notice. Of course he did! He just wished he could have done more that day. He still remembered how everything happened. It was still so clear in his mind. The day the tragedy struck.
> Chapter 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 1
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It was a cold and windy afternoon. Ponyville had been warned about a storm coming. It was supposed to be the worst in years, because it was not caused by the pegasi, but from an unknown magic. Because of this storm, Fluttershy would have to round up all of her animals into her cottage, and store enough food in there for her and her animals. Fluttershy had overslept, which meant she had even less time to prepare for the storm. The first chance she got, she trotted outside, with her scarf and hat on, to gather her critters. Even though some would soon enter hibernation, the storm was supposed to be so bad that she couldn’t risk leaving them out there, no matter what.
“Um, so, if you all wouldn’t mind helping me out and coming inside, that would be wonderful.”
All of the animals gave her blank stares.
“I have lots of yummy treats inside, and warm beds for you. It’s just wonderful in here! You can come in, unless, you would rather stay out there in the cold.”
Angel Bunny glared at Fluttershy and stuck his tongue out. All of the animals started running wild around her yard.
“Oh come on now. A storm’s coming, and I can’t just leave you all out here! It would be really nice if you all could help me out!”
“Did somepony say they needed help?” A familiar voice said.
“Discord! Oh yes! My animals are going on a rampage and are refusing to go into my cottage. Do you think you could teleport them all inside?”
“Well, I suppose.”
And with the snap of his claw, Discord teleported all of the animals, along with Fluttershy and himself, into the cottage. Fluttershy quickly scurried over to the door and shut it before any animals could escape. Fluttershy skipped on over to her pantry. Discord decided to take a seat on the couch, waiting for her.
“Oh no! I forgot to buy food for the animals! Well, I guess I could give them some of my food left in the cupboard.”
“Nonsense my dear! I can’t have you starving during a winter storm like this! Allow me!”
Discord snapped his paw, and food appeared in all of the animal’s dishes, along with extra in the kitchen cupboards.
“Oh Discord, you didn’t have to.”
“It’s fine. I’m here to help, remember?”
“Ok, ok,” Fluttershy giggled.
Finally, everything was finished. Discord felt overjoyed because he was going to be able to spend some quality time with his favorite mare in the world!
They were sitting in the living room, having tea as usual. Discord was telling another one of his crazy stories.
“So I turned his head into a watermelon! I mean, he was asking for it after that horrible pun of his! I mean, I could do much better! I am pretty punny.”
“Oh Discord, you’re too much!”
“I know. I’m the highlight of any magazine somepony will read, or the best part of somepony’s favorite show! I’m magnificent!”
“Oh you! Stop it!”
The two burst into laughter and giggles. All of a sudden, their fun came to a halt with an unexpected visitor. Without warning, Harry the bear came charging from upstairs, coming straight at Fluttershy and Discord.
“Now, now Harry! What’s wrong? Please, could you calm down?” Fluttershy asked, but, nothing could stop this startled bear. He knocked both of their chairs over, sending them toppling on top of each other. The two of them eventually came to a stop after rolling on the floor. They found their muzzles practically touching, and staring into each other’s eyes. Fluttershy felt her cheeks begin to feel hot.
Of course, Fluttershy thought. Now of all times I blush, with Discord staring right at me! I’m such a fool! Why can’t I just play it cool.
Discord stood up, looking a little flustered. He held out his paw to Fluttershy. She looked up into his eyes, and took hold of his paw. Discord then pulled her onto her hooves.
“Now that was odd. Why on earth was Mr. Fuzzy Wuzzy so upset?” he thought out loud.
Just then, Harry came charging out of the kitchen, chasing some of the hares, including Angel Bunny. Harry charged straight at Fluttershy’s cottage door, knocking it open. Worst of all, the storm was coming closer and closer, and some of her animals were now missing!
“Angel Bunny, no!”
“Fluttershy, my dear, you must not go out. The storm will be starting soon, and you could get hurt.”
“I appreciate your concern Discord, but my animals will be in danger if I don’t go after them.”
“How about both of us go looking for them, and when the storm starts, I’ll teleport us to your cottage. But, I must warn you, after the storm starts, I won’t be able to use my magic to teleport us back. Because the storm is created from an unknown, powerful, magic, I won’t be able to use my powers during it.”
“Ok then, we better get started.”
So they put on their winter clothing, and headed outside to search for the lost animals.
The two of them had been searching for what felt like hours, when the storm finally struck.
“Fluttershy, we really need to get back to your cottage. The storm is starting. We don’t have much time before my magic stops working.”
“But we still haven’t found my animals yet!”
“Maybe they made it back to your cottage. Come on, let’s go check.”
Discord had his claw ready to snap, when suddenly, a white hare scurried in front of them.
“Angel!”
Fluttershy ran after him, into the snowy woods. Discord watched as she chased him into the Everfree forest.
“Fluttershy! No!”
Discord zoomed after her, but she was gone. He tried to teleport himself to her, but it was too late. His magic wasn’t working. Discord found Angel Bunny with Fluttershy’s scarf, sitting at the edge of the forest. Discord scooped Angel up into his arms, and placed him under his hat. The only thing on that side of the forest was a small cave, with a few animals in it, but not Fluttershy’s animals, just some wild ones. There was no sign of Fluttershy. Discord felt as if he was going to fall apart.
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Flura still could remember all those months ago, the day she arrived at her boarding school. It was a cold and windy winter evening. Flura was aimlessly wandering through a storm in Europe. She was freezing, hungry, and very weak, as she stumbled across the valley. You could tell the valley was oh so beautiful, even covered in the white snow. As she was traveling she saw a figure in the distance. As she continued on, the figure got closer and closer. She saw a women before her, dressed warmly, with a scarf wrapped around her neck, and a hat upon her head. The woman took off her scarf and wrapped it around Flura’s neck. Then, the woman began asking lots of questions.
“What’s your name, Sweetie?”
“Oh, my name is, um, is, Flura I think.”
“Where are your from?”
Flura’s head started hurting. It felt as if she had a migraine. She was trying to think, but all she could think about was how much her head hurt.
“I, I don’t know.”
“Well, what were you doing out here?”
“I don’t know, I can’t remember.”
“Where are your parents? What are their names? I will contact them, so please just tell me who they are.”
“I don’t know. I’m really sorry, but I don’t know who my parents are. I can’t seem to remember.”
The woman looked very puzzled and confused. She took Flura up in her arms, and carried her the rest of the way to the school. There, a nurse took a look at her. The nurse decided that she had developed brain damage from being in the storm for too long. Flura hoped that someday, she would be able to remember everything.
When Flura arrived, she had been wearing worn out clothes, so the people there gave her fresh, clean, new ones.
Now fitting in wasn’t very easy for Flura, especially her first day. The night she arrived, someone had taken her to a dorm where three other girls slept. It was so late, all of them were sound asleep. She would get to meet them all the next morning, and introduce herself. Flura was also required to take classes at the school.
The next morning Flura awoke with three girls looking back at her, all hovering over her bed. Startled, she leapt out of bed. The girls took a few steps back.
“Eww! What are you doing here in my dorm?” The blonde one interrogated.
“Relax Sadie! She’s probably just new. And, since when has this been your dorm?” A curly haired girl declared. Then, she stepped forward and spoke.
“I’m Arietta. The blonde one is Sadie, and the nerdy one is Claude.”
“Arietta, don’t call me Claude! My name is Claudia!”
“Isn’t Claudia hilarious? Anyways, what’s your name?”
“Oh, um, my name is, Flura.”
“Wow! Was that a joke? What a dumb name! My name, Sadie, is much more beautiful. What are you even doing at this camp? Where are you even from? I’ve never seen you here before!”
“I, I don’t know”
“Oh, you don’t know? How dumb are you?”
“The nurse said I probably received brain damage during the storm, that’s why I don’t remember anything.”
“Eww! What a freak!”
Rita came up and shoved Sadie out of the way.
“Classes are starting soon. Get ready, and then I’ll show you around. You’ve got a lot to learn about this here valley.”
> Chapter 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 2
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Discord stood in the freezing snow. He could barely feel his limbs. It felt as if icicles were growing upon his chin that very moment. He knew that it was possible for the weather to hurt him, since the storm had been created by an unknown magic. His head told him to return to Ponyville, but his heart was telling him something different. His heart wanted to go out into the heart of the storm to look for Fluttershy. His heart felt that she was out there all alone without any protection. He needed to find her, no matter the cost. Discord slowly and steadily started moving. He brushed the snow off himself. He began to search in the snowy biome of Ponyville. He searched for a while, but still no sign of her. Discord began to worry about how the weather could affect Fluttershy. If weather this bad could hurt him, Discord, the King of Chaos, it could definitely hurt a gentle, loving, beautiful, mare like Fluttershy.
She was so precious to him. Her light pink mane that reminded him of cotton candy clouds; her yellow coat the color of the golden sun setting upon the horizon; and he couldn’t forget her beautiful teal eyes, that always looked at him so lovingly. Sometimes, it felt as if no other creature in the world cared about him but Fluttershy. Most of all, he loved Fluttershy because of her sweet personality and her being able to easily forgive somepony. Wait, what was the word he used? Oh yes, he loved Fluttershy.
Do I really love Fluttershy? Do I want us to be more than friends? Wow, had this buttercream mare really come into his life, and softened his heart? This mare did more than soften his heart. She went right ahead and stole it. His life would never be the same. That was specifically why he had to find her, no matter what!
Discord’s head suddenly hurt. He felt so dizzy, and let out a groan. Angel Bunny lifted up Discord’s hat, to see what was going on out there. Discord felt a sharp pain in his head. His body was intensely shivering. He was making his way through the snow, in the direction of Ponyville. He had to be at least 2 miles away. There was no possible way he would be able to fly in this weather, or use his magic. The only option was to walk. His coordination was really bad. He couldn’t tell which direction was which. Was he headed towards Ponyville, or farther into the Everfree forest? He continued onward, no matter the direction. But, what was he doing? Why return to Ponyville when Fluttershy was still out there, probably freezing to death in the storm. He would be fine. He had no reason to worry. Discord felt lethargic. The shivering was just getting more intense.
He saw Fluttershy’s scarf lying on the ground. He must have dropped it earlier. As Discord reached down to pick it up, his shivering came to a stop. He felt warmth surrounding his body. He assumed the storm must be coming close to an end since he was already feeling better. He put the scarf up to his face. It smelled just like her. He knew she had to be out there, somewhere. He started to feel even warmer than before. He thought the sun was coming out, so he looked up at the sky. To his horror, he found that dark gray clouds still covered the sky and were pouring down snow.
Discord tried to breathe, but all of his breaths were very shallow and slow. He knew what was happening. He tried calling for help, but his speech was slurred.
Oh no. Apathy, very shallow and slow breathing, bad coordination, slurred speech, and intense shivering leading to warmth. This only meant one thing. He had hypothermia. Discord thought.
Discord felt his muscles loosen, and his body sulk. He felt himself as if in slow motion falling down, and collapsing into the snow surrounding him.
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As the closest princess to ponyville, Twilight Sparkle had the duty of flying over ponyville with the captain of the Wonderbolts, Rainbow Dash. They were to make sure everypony was safe, inside during the storm. If somepony wasn’t, they would have to assist them. Rainbow Dash had gone through lots of training at the academy, so she was supposed to be Twilight’s guide during this time of disaster.
As they flew over the town of ponyville, the two began to talk.
“Wow, it’s been awhile since we last talked Dash.”
“Yeah, no kidding Princess.”
“Rainbow Dash, honestly call be Twilight! I’m your best friend. You don’t have to call me Princess!”
“Oh, well, um, ok then Twilight.”
“You’ve been so busy lately! I heard rumors that Applejack is going to start running the family business. It must be hard on her, with Granny passing last week.”
“Yeah, definitely. I heard Cheese and Pinkie have some big news. I wonder what it is?”
“I know right! What are they planning? I really hope we all don’t become more distant, with all of these new responsibilities. Do you know what Rarity’s been up to?”
“I heard she is going to open her 12th shop next Friday! Business must be booming for her! It’s insane! Do you know what Fluttershy’s been doing?”
“Oh, the usual. Dealing with her animals, and hanging out with Discord. Speaking of which, we haven’t flown over her neck of the woods. We should go check on her, and maybe stop by to say hello, since we are done searching the rest of ponyville.”
“Good idea!”
The two mares landed outside of Fluttershy’s cottage. To their dismay, the cottage door wide open, with snow inside. It was so dark inside it looked as if nopony was home.
“Oh no! Where could Fluttershy be? I hope she’s ok!”
“I think we should follow these prints in the snow,” Rainbow Dash pointed out.
There were two tracks of prints. There were the prints of a mare, and of a strange creature. Twilight and Rainbow were very confused at first, but then they realized, it had to be none other than Discord.
“Oh Dash I hope Fluttershy’s ok! What on earth are her and Discord doing out there? We have to go find them!”
“I agree! Let’s go!”
The tracks got harder and harder to see. They eventually altogether disappeared. It seemed useless, until they spotted a scarf half buried in the snow.
“That’s Fluttershy’s scarf!”
Rainbow Dash ran up to it. She grabbed hold of it in her mouth, and began to pull. She jumped back in horror to find that it was wrapped around somepony’s hoof! No, someone’s claw! An eagle talon. Discord’s eagle talon.
“Twilight, you really need to see this!”
“What is it Dash?”
Twilight cantered over and saw the half buried arm in the snow, with the scarf wrapped around it.
“Oh no! Dash, help me dig him out! What if Fluttershy’s under there too?”
The two mares began frantically digging Discord out of the snow. Twilight reached to feel his pulse.
“I’m no doctor, but I can only assume he has hypothermia. We need to hurry and get him inside! He could die out here if we don’t!”
“Why didn’t he just teleport himself back to ponyville.”
“The storm has prevented all unicorns and alicorns to use their magic. This probably also prevented Discord from using his. Now come on!”
The two of them hauled Discord onto their backs, and carried him to Fluttershy’s cottage.
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When they arrived in Fluttershy’s ghostly looking cottage, they hauled Discord onto her sofa. Twilight and Rainbow ran to the door to fight it into closing. Eventually, the two mares took the upper hoof and shut the door. There was no warmth whatsoever in her cottage. The two mares decided to rummage through the dark home looking for some sort of heat. There were no candles, no firewood, and no source of warmth anywhere. Finally, Twilight found some blankets for all of them. The two mares wanted to know what had happened, so Rainbow Dash shouted at Discord.
“Discord wake up! What did you do with Fluttershy?”
There was silence. Discord didn’t stir.
“Rainbow are you sure we need to ask him right now?”
“Yes I’m sure!”
Rainbow grabbed Discord’s shoulders and shook them. When that didn’t work, she smacked him across the face.
“Rainbow Dash stop that! You might hurt him!”
Discord eyes fluttered open. His face stung as if he had been slapped. He looked up and saw Rainbow Dash glaring at him. He was so surprised that his head flung up. He startled Rainbow Dash with the sudden movement, and she leaped down onto the floor. Discord looked around the room. He was in Fluttershy’s cottage. He looked down at his claw to see her scarf still wrapped around his palm. He wanted to cry, but he knew he couldn’t show any pain in front of these two mares. They would be awfully suspicious to why Discord cared so much about Fluttershy, which might lead them to uncovering his crush.
Angel Bunny, who had been hiding in Discord’s hat, jumped out onto the floor, and ran up the stairs, leaving the three down stairs.
“Where did you get that scarf Discord?” Rainbow asked.
Discord was silent. All sorts of thoughts filled his head. Fluttershy had been so sure she would be fine. She went after the animals, even though he told her the about the dangers. Did she really take into consideration what could become of her? Could he have done more to protect her? Did she realize that she had stolen his heart? Did she know how he felt about her, about how much it hurt to lose sight of her in that cold winter storm?
“I said, where did you get that scarf?” Rainbow interrogated with so much force that Discord broke. He couldn’t help it. He just snapped, shattered, and tore apart.
“She’s gone,” was all Discord could mutter as he broke into tears.

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When Flura was shown around the school it was so awkward! Her whole dorm was supposed to give her the tour, but Claudia and Sadie said they were “too good” to be showing around a “loser” like her. Out of the kindness of her heart, Arrieta offered to give her the tour.
“Come on now! This is going to be so much fun!” Arieta said.
“Ok coming Arieta!”
“Oh please, call me Rita.”
Rita grabbed Flura by the wrist and the two of them raced off around the campus.
Finally they had reached the end of the tour. They had gone to every classroom, every hiking trail, and even to the crystal clear lake which was at least two miles away from the dorm!
“And that is everything! How did you like the tour? Would you recommend me to give tours to others? Was I a good tour guide?”
“Yes you were great! I just have one question.”
“Yeah, what is it?”
“Why didn’t you take me up there?”
Flura pointed in the direction of the left hill, at the cave toward the top.
“Oh, well, you see, the students here are forbidden to go up there, even for tours.”
“How come?”
“Well, you see, no one who has gone in has ever returned. There are so many rumors and theories, but, do you want to know what I think?”
“What?”
“I think that there is a beastly creature lurking in the depths upon that very cave, and that one day, when the time is right, it will attack the school campus!”
“Wow! You really think so? I mean, how do you know for sure, if no one has ever lived to tell the tale?”
“Oh don’t be scared. You most likely won’t be harmed if you stay away from the cave. It’s better to be safe than sorry!”
“I guess you’re right.”
In the distance, Claudia and Sadie were walking by. They watched Flura and Arieta talking and having so much fun together.
“I can’t stand that girl Claudia!”
“Why not? What’s so bad about her? I think she’s pretty nice.”
“Are you disagreeing with me?”
“Oh, um, no Sadie. You’re probably right. Well, what is it that you don’t like about her then?”
“She is so pretty! I am supposed to be the prettiest girl at this school! I can’t let her use this to her advantage! I mean, Arietta used to always agree with you and me! We were a trio! I don’t like how this Flura girl is getting in the way!”
“Don’t you think you’re exaggerating? She arrived last night.”
“Are you disagreeing with me again?”
“No, no! I’m so sorry Sadie! I really am! You are totally right!”
“That’s what I thought.”
“What are you going to do about Flura?”
“Oh Claudia, you must learn. Do you really think I don’t have a plan?”
> Chapter 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 3
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It was officially Flura’s first day of classes. The day before she didn’t have enough time to start her classes after the tours around the school she got from Rita. She was currently getting ready. She had gotten new clothes from the school staff. She was trying to brush out her hair, but was really struggling. That’s when Sadie came in.
“Oh, hey Flura. I just wanted to apologize for yesterday. I know I was kind of rude. Do you forgive me?”
“Yes of course. I understand it must be overwhelming with a new roommate.”
“I’m so glad you accepted my apology! To make it up to you, I wanted to let you borrow my leave-in conditioner. I see you’re having trouble with your hair. This will work perfectly!”
Sadie handed Flura a decent sized bottle, which was silver with a white screw on lid. The label read “Leave-in Conditioner.” Flura looked up at Sadie with grateful eyes.
“Thank you Sadie! I’ll give it back to you as soon as I’m done!”
“Oh, there’s no need to! I already have about five! It’s yours to keep.”
“Really? Well, thanks so much!”
“Anytime.”
Sadie exited the room. Outside the door Claudia was eavesdropping. When she saw Sadie coming, she tried to act natural, as if she wasn’t doing anything wrong.
“Oh please, I know you were eavesdropping.”
“It’s just, I thought you wanted to get back at Flura?”
“I did. You honestly thought I meant that apology? Just wait until she finds out what I did! She won’t know what hit her!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Twilight and Rainbow Dash watched as the Being of Chaos fell apart before their eyes. They were shocked, and weren’t quite sure what to make of it. Both mares looked at each other, as if hoping the other finally say something. Rainbow had grimace on her face as she cocked her head toward the whaling draconequus. Twilight glared at Rainbow Dash as if saying.
This is all your fault, so you better fix it.
Eventually, the look of defeat was plastered across Rainbow’s face. She took a step forward, and cleared her throat.
“For goodness sake Discord! Just tell us what happened!”
Twilight scowled at Rainbow Dash, looking very disappointed.
Discord’s face looked full of humiliation and embarrassment. Is sorrowful looking yellow and red eyes were still damp with tears. His lion paw reached up to brush the remains of them away. His voice shook, but he finally began to speak.
“W-Well, you see, F-Fluttershy needed, sh-she needed, my help, b-but I let her down.”
Discord’s voice cracked. He wanted to continue, but at the same time he didn’t. Even mentioning her name brought tears to his eyes, reminding him how it was all his fault that she was gone. About how he could do nothing right. Every time he tried he messed everything up.
“Discord, we really need to know what happened to Fluttershy. Could you please tell us. If you do, we might be able to help,” Twilight said.
“She ran into the forest. I tried to stop her, but she was gone. It’s all my fault!” Discord managed to croak.
“Wait you don’t mean, the Everfree forest, do you?”
“Well, what other forest would he be talking about Rainbow Dash?”
“But Fluttershy gets so scared even when we even mention the Everfree forest! Why would she want to go in there?”
Discord looked at the two arguing mares, and finally worked up the courage to tell them the whole story. Well, not exactly the whole story. Of course he wasn’t going to tell them about the muzzle to muzzle incident, and about how he discovered he had feelings for this buttercream mare. They didn’t need to know that extra information anyway.
“I looked everywhere, but she was nowhere I looked! I even looked in that small cake at the edge of the forest!”
“Wait, hold on a second! There is no cave at the edge of the forest! I have flown over the Everfree so many times, and I’ve never once seen any cave at the edge of the forest in Fluttershy’s neck of the woods!”
“Well I saw it with my very own eyes. I even walked in, but there was really nothing in there. You probably just weren’t being very observant, as usual.”
“You take that back you...you…”
“Oh, are you at a loss for words just looking at me? I mean, I am pretty amazing! I know, I know, breathe it in, you are actually having a roast battle with moi!”
“Discord you're so full of yourself! Why can’t you just think about somepony else for once in your life?”
A strange feeling of sadness washed over Discord that very second. It appeared as if nopony other than Fluttershy appreciated his sense of humor. Did the others really think he was arrogant and selfish? Was he really? Did he even care about what happened to all of his pony “friends?”
“I do care about her!” Discord yelled, as tears were brought forth to his eyes.
Oh great, here we go again. They’ll just think I’m even more pathetic now.
“Discord for Celestia’s sake, get a grip!”
“Rainbow, calm down! Fluttershy could be in potential danger, and Discord is the only one who knows here last whereabouts!”
“I knew it! He did it! He is the cause of her disappearance! What kind of sick joke are you playing you monster?” Rainbow angrily asked.
“You think I did this? Why on earth would I do something to the mare that I lo...love to have tea parties with?”
Twilight and Rainbow Dash both looked confused. They needed to come up with a solution to the problem somehow, but what could they do? They both looked at each other and then at Discord in a way as if saying:
Got any ideas?
Finally, Discord had the courage to speak up.
“When the storm is over, I will continue looking in the forest for Fluttershy.”
“That sounds great Discord! The girls and I will be fixing all the damage in Ponyville cause by the storm. Rainbow, you should probably have the pegasi plan for a warm day, to melt the remaining snow!”
“Sure thing Princess!”
The two mares got up, and wrapped up in winter clothing. They opened the door to see the storm had calmed down. Now, the winds weren’t as strong, and a light snow came down from the clouds above. As the two of them left, Discord couldn’t help but feel lonely. He had a job to do though, and sitting her on Fluttershy’s sofa sulking wouldn’t help him solve any problems.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Flura had rubbed in all of the leave-in conditioner. She hadn’t looked in the mirror yet, because she was too busy focusing on getting out all of the tangles in her hair. Finally, when all of the tangles were out, she decided to look in the mirror. She was terrified at what she saw.
As she looked in her mirror, her hair appeared to be pink! She was so confused. Then, she remembered the bottle of conditioner. Flura picked it up un unscrewed the cap. There, inside was pink hair dye.
Flura couldn’t believe she had actually trusted Sadie! Classes started in less than 10 minutes! She had to do something. Then, Flura remembered the hoodie Arietta had been wearing the first day. Flura ran into her Rita’s bedroom and began digging in the drawers. Eventually she found the hoodie! She put it on over her clothes, at put the hood over her head, making sure all of her hair was tucked in, and no loose strands were hanging out. After she was finished, she headed on over to classes.
The first class was on biology. She had actually found the subject quite interesting. Everything was going great, until Sadie walked in.
“Excuse Ms. Rosemary, but class started fifteen minutes ago.”
“Yeah, yeah I know Ms. Ronda. Please, just call me Sadie, not ‘Ms. Rosemary.’ I don’t like being called by my last name.”
“Do not back talk to your teacher, and take a seat.”
The only seat available was behind Flura. Flura was so upset when Sadie took a seat behind her. She sunk down into her chair, pretending like she didn’t exist.
Finally, class was almost over. Sure, it had been interesting, but Flura was filled with worry the whole time. When the bell was about to ring, she felt tugging on her hood. Before she could do anything, Sadie ripped the hood off her head. Everyone began staring at Flura and laughing. The bell rang at students were getting out of their desks and coming her way. Some took out phones and starting taking pictures of her. Tears filled her eyes as she ran outside. Sadie and a few other kids followed, one of which was Sadie’s older brother.
Flura was running away when she felt a hand grab her shoulder. Suddenly, she turned around, facing Sadie.
“Hey there you clown. Sorry, but the circus is next week.”
The people around her starting laughing and Sadie’s rude and very hurtful remark.
“Get off of me!”
Flura shoved Sadie to the ground. Sadie looked up at her in shock. Her face grew red and she began to yell.
“Did you just push me? Oh you’re going to get it! Get her! Nobody pushes me to the dirty ground, especially when I’m wearing my favorite blouse!”
Sadie and a few others ran after Flura. She ran as fast as she could, all the way to the lake. There were a few canoes, but Flura didn’t know how to use them, and she wasn’t a very good swimmer, so the there was a possibility of drowning. The only other option was the left hill. She took off running up the hill, while Sadie and two others continued chasing her. Finally she got to the top. Flura looked down to see they hadn’t given up yet, and they were still running after her, not too far behind. She would either have to face the meanest bullies at this whole school, or face whatever may await her in the cave. It seemed pretty simple to her. Go into the cave.
> Chapter 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 4
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Applejack and Pinkie Pie had made some apple muffins and were delivering them around town. It was nice that the two friends could finally meet up again. Applejack had been so busy at Sweet Apple Acres. Recently, she had injured one of her hind legs. She said she was fine, but the doctor said at most to wait five days before getting back to apple bucking. It just so happened that during those five days, Pinkie was in town. Cheese Sandwich was working on a party in Manehatten, and Pinkie was on her way to Los Pegasus. Ponyville just happened to be one of her stops for supplies along the way. They wanted to visit every one of their friends and deliver them an apple muffin. They all missed each other, and didn't want to become too distant. Pinkie thought it would be a good idea to give them one of their new creations, that they made, together.
The two mares had left a basket of muffins by every one of their friend’s houses, since all of them were unable to open the door. They might have been out and about, didn’t hear them knock, or just ignored them. They had hit all of their friend’s houses when Applejack spoke.
“I think we’re done Pinkie. Let’s go head back to Sweet Apple Acres.”
“We haven’t gotten every friend silly!”
“Well, we got every one of my friends.”
“Oh Applejack, I know you just don’t want to deliver to Discord! Twilight said he was at Fluttershy’s cottage taking care of the animals. Come on! Let’s just go say hi! I’m sure he could use the company!”
“Pinkie, I said let’s go back. You’re right, I don’t want to deliver to Discord.”
“Why are you so against him? I mean, what had he ever done to you?”
“He was the last one to see Fluttershy.”
“You don’t think...APPLEJACK! He had nothing to do with Flutter’s disappearance, and you know that!”
“Will you stop your yapping if we bring him the muffins?”
“Maybe!”
“Fine. Let’s go.”
The two mares galloped along to Fluttershy’s cottage. After a few miles of walking, they finally arrived at their dear friend’s home. One thing was off though. If Discord was here, why was there no noise and no chaos? Discord was always doing something strange. In fact, he was nowhere to be seen. The two mares decided to take a look inside the cottage.
“Where in tarnation is that draconequus?”
“He has a name Applejack!”
“Well, whatever! What mischief is he up to now? He could be plotting something behind our backs this very moment!”
“Just calm down! Maybe he left to get something for the animals!”
“We best be going. We have no business here.”
And just like that, the two mares left.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Discord was sitting in the forest, resting. He had been looking around for any signs of Fluttershy, again, but he still had found nothing. He sat in a shaded area underneath a tree. There, the draconequus gazed off into the distance and day dreamed. He thought about all of the good times Fluttershy and him had. The time he messed up at the gala, and almost sent Tree, whatever her name is, to another dimension. He remembered when he had saved Fluttershy from the changelings, and how hard it was knowing she was in danger back then. He was even more frightened by the thought of her missing now. He ran her through his head all the time, so that he would never forget her, if he never did find her.
How he missed her so much! Her kind heart, such a sweet and gentle voice, how graceful she walked, when the animals would come up to her like she was a magnet pulling them to her. Her mane was such a beautiful color, and went wonderfully with her yellow coat. Her eyes though, were a different story. Those teal eyes. He could never forget those.
Finally, Discord decided to go searching for Fluttershy again. He was walking through the forest when he passed that cave again. He stopped for a second to stare at it. Twilight and Rainbow had said they had never seen it before, yet there it stood, as if it had always been there. He almost felt like it wasn’t there before also, but, that was just him being silly. How could a cave just appear?
The draconequus heard noises coming from the cave. At first, he thought he was imagining things, but then he heard it again. A faint whimper, coming from the cave. He stepped inside. It was very small. It could maybe fit him and two other ponies comfortably. It wasn’t very tall so he had to walk on all fours. He went to the wall of the cave where he heard the noises the loudest. There was nothing in there. He reached out his left claw to touch the wall. It shattered, like glass, revealing a long pathway.
He was so shocked! How could this happen? How was this possible? What was behind this mysterious wall. He stepped into the long path. He took a few steps into the other part of the cave. The whimpering was louder. He decided to follow the sound, and see where it lead him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Flura ran into the cave. She hid behind a large stone, panting and trying to catch her breath. She watched the other students come up to the cave entrance, peering from behind the large rock. Flura held her breath, hoping they wouldn’t dare come in and look for her. She decided it would be best to slip away before anyone decided they would go investigate.
Slowly and quietly she crawled along the cave floor, trying her best not to be seen. The stone surface was cold. It sent a shiver down her spine as she made her way across the ground. The dark cave seemed like it went on forever. Almost as if it was never ending, and that she would be lost in there. She heard voices, and they were very angry voices.
“YOU GO IN THERE AND FIND HER!”
“But Sadie, why can’t you? It was your idea in the first place.”
“ARE YOU TALKING BACK TO ME? I am NOT going in that cave! It looks really creepy, and I heard that no one has ever returned from it! Claudia, just take this guy with you!”
Sadie grabbed a startled guy from the small group by the wrist, and pushed him into Claudia. Claude barely managed not to fall over from the unexpected shove.
“Ok, ok. I’ll go.”
So the two went in looking for Flura.
Flura panicked! She didn’t know what to do or where to go! She was sure they wouldn’t follow her in here, but, it was plain to see that idea didn’t work out. She saw the dark area covering the path she was crawling down, and the other area, toward the entrance. The area closer to the school seemed safer, nicer, and not as scary. The only problem was, a bunch of angry peers waited there for her, and were making their way over to her right now. She had no idea what to expect if she went the other way. She decided she would try. Yes, no one had ever returned from this cave, but, there’s always a first time for everything. Right?
As Flura made her way down the endless stone cold cavern. She heard a noise. The noise got louder and louder as she went. Was it whimpering? No. Was it a voice? No. It sounded more like, but no, that was impossible. There was nothing else in the cave. Right?
> Chapter 5
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 5
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Flura was still traveling through the cave, when she realized something. She was lost. Her hands were sweating like crazy, as her nerves got to her. She didn’t even want to imagine what could happen if she was caught. Her left foot had a cramp, which was very painful. She was too afraid to do anything about it. She didn’t want to risk getting noticed. She was so scared. She heard an occasional thumping, or a voice at the other end of the cave. She wasn’t sure if the noises were coming from her peers, or a creature who waited at the other end of the cave for her. She wasn’t even sure which way lead out in the endless winding paths of the cave. Eventually, very tired, she sat down by a fork in the path. She began to cry. She was so terrified. How had she even gotten herself into this mess in the first place?
She heard it. Big thumping footsteps. They were getting closer and closer. After the footsteps had stopped, she felt a presence in the area. Her knees were scrunched into her stomach as she sat there. Her arms were folded on top of her knees, with her head buried in them. She was in that position while she was crying, but she immediately stopped her whimpering and held her breath when she felt someone, or something, was watching her.
She was too afraid to look up. She could hear heavy breathing. She gave in to her curiosity, and lifted her head. There she saw it. The huge creature. It’s beady eyes. Those big claws. It was about nine feet tall on all fours. She cowered back, fear plastered on her face.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Discord traveled through the cave, in the direction where he heard the whimpering. He followed the sound as best he could with his sensitive hearing. It felt like he had been in here forever. Why had he even decided to go in here. So what if he heard a noise. It was probably a squirrel or something. He was too paranoid. He should’ve just stayed outside, and continue to look for Fluttershy. His Fluttershy.
Oh what was he saying? How could she ever be his? She was already gone, and no one knows where. Even if she was still here, why on earth would she like him? He had a bad past, was known for messing up, and frequently caused chaos. But she liked his chaos, right? Oh nonsense! She probably just put on that act around him. It was her duty to reform him. Yet, their friendship felt so real. He had always wished they could have been more than friends, but now, it was too late.
Without realizing it, Discord had stumbled upon a fork in the cave path. The whimpering was very clear now. Then, it immediately stopped. Discord looked down. There, curled up in a ball, was a girl. She had her face in her arms.
She must have been what was whimpering, he thought.
The girl slowly lifted her head up, and stared at him. Her cheeks were stained with tears. He could see fear in her eyes, yet at the same time, they were filled with curiosity. Then he froze. Her eyes. They were damp. But that wasn’t it. They were teal. Her eyes were teal just like Fluttershy’s! Her hair. It was pink, just like Fluttershy’s!
“You're just like her,” Discord accidentally said out loud.
The girl looked terrified. It hurt Discord to see anyone with teal eyes look at him that way. It just made him imagine as if it was Fluttershy looking at him that way. He didn’t like the feeling of Fluttershy being scared of him. She was once, with the Tirek incident. It hurt him so much to see her that way. Now, this girl stared at him the same way, with the same eyes. It stung his heart.
It felt like they were silent for eternity. Finally, the girl stood up, and screamed. She tried to run. She was trying to run away, from him. Discord just couldn’t let her go. Not yet. Not when she reminded him so much of Fluttershy. She could be very useful. He had to stop her. Discord just did what he could. He ran in front of her, stopping her in her tracks.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Who are you?” The creature asked
Flura was silent.
“I-I’m F-Flura,” she stuttered.
“That’s an odd name. But, I guess I should be used to odd names by now. They’re everywhere where I’m from.”
“My name. Flura. It’s a nickname. It’s short for my full name, Flutura.”
The creature froze. His eyes grew wide. Flura was confused. Did he not like her name or something? It almost looked like he was hurt, sad, or confused.
The silence was terrible. She felt uncomfortable seeing the creature this way. Flura just had to break the silence. She said the first thing that came to her head.
“My name. I-It means butterfly.”
This only made the creature more uneasy. She wasn’t sure what to expect from it. It just sat there, feeling sorry for itself. This angered her. He had no right to feel sorry! If anyone had the right to feel sorry, it was her! She lost her memory, didn’t know who her parents were, had only one friend, and was currently being hunted down by her peers. The thought that they were still in the cave troubled her. What was this creature going to do to her? Would it eat her? Finally, Flura snapped.
“YOU HAVE NO REASON TO PITY YOURSELF! Just let me go!”
The creature’s face grew pale. It looked at her with a sad yet confused expression.
“Well, what are you going to do with me you menacing creature? Are you going to eat me?”
“Hahaha! Eat you? You’re joking right? I don’t eat people! Also, I have a name you know. You don’t have to call me ‘Menacing Creature.’ The ideas some have! Hilarious!”
“B-But. What about all of those people who never returned from this cave?”
“I discovered the entrance to you world only minutes ago! Hahaha! You really are quite ambitious!”
“Your world? Who are you? What are you? What do you want with me?”
“I am Discord, the Draconequus! The Master of all things Chaotic! I come from the mythical land of Equestria, where ponies, pegasi, and unicorns live in harmony. We are ruled over by the four alicorn princesses. Many mythical creatures, such as myself, live there.”
“Wow. That’s incredible!”
“You asked what I wanted with you. What I want is to just ask you a simple question.”
“Well, what is it?”
“Have you seen a pegasus around this part of your world? She has a buttercream coat, a light pink mane, and teal eyes. She is a friend of mine. Well, she was a friend of mine, but she has recently gone missing, and my search lead me here.”
“I’m sorry, but I haven’t”
Guilt rushed over Flura. He did have a reason to be sad. She had yelled at him for no reason. She felt like she needed to help him. She couldn’t just leave him, all alone, pointlessly searching. She had to do something.
“I can’t return to my world right now. I upset some of my peers, and now they are out to get me. How about we do each other a favor? You can take me to your world to escape, and I will help you find your friend. Deal?”
“Deal.”
> Chapter 6
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 6
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The draconequus and the girl walked through the cave together, in silence. They both quietly thought to themselves about what had just happened, especially about the deal.
One positive, Flura thought, was that she didn’t have to face her peers searching for her in this very cave. It still troubled her. What if they somehow managed to find her in these endless tunnels? Then what? Also, how did she know to trust this creature? He could very well be tricking her and possibly leading her into a trap. She might have gotten a little ahead of herself when she made this deal. How on earth was she supposed to help him? If he was telling the truth, couldn’t he have his friends in his world help him instead? Did he really need one extra person? What difference would she make?
Flura avoided eye contact with the creature, or, draconequus, the whole time they walked. He was so much bigger than her and very odd looking. He had four mismatched legs. It looked as if it would be impossible for him to walk on all fours, as he was doing this very moment. She steered clear of his tail as it whipped back and forth as he walked. His two different wings looked like they would be useless for flying. His red and yellow eyes frightened her. He looked like a monster to her. She was too afraid to say anything, so the two of them continued on in silence.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Discord was deep in thought. It was odd, walking on all fours. He couldn’t stand on two legs like he usually did, because he was too tall. The roof wasn’t very tall in this never ending cave. On all fours, his two horns barely missed the ceiling. When he first entered the cave, he had tried flapping around. He realized this world actually had logic, so he couldn’t even get off the ground. His wings weren’t strong enough to lift himself up. So much for causing any chaos. He wondered if his magic still worked. Probably not. He could test it out, but now was probably not the best time. It would break the long ending silence, which might startle the girl. He could tell she was trying to avoid him. She walked a good distance behind him, and didn’t even look at him the whole time. Her face remained staring at the floor whenever he looked her way. He was more interesting than that cold stone floor for crying out loud! Once, he turned and caught her staring at him. Quickly, she looked down again. Discord thought it was best not to say anything.
To take his mind off of his current “situation,” he decided to think over their deal. What was he thinking, asking this human to help him? She was absolutely useless. How could an ordinary, weak, human, who had never seen his Fluttershy, possibly help him look for her? She didn’t even know what Fluttershy looked like, other than how he had described her earlier! Then again, if this world made him powerless and of no use, maybe his world would give her Equestrian magic. Then she might be of some use. Still, even if she had magic in Equestria, she would have no practice with spells, which would make her once again, useless.
	Discord was so deep in thought that he didn’t see the stone wall in front of him. He walked right into it, muzzle first. It was one of the most painful things he had ever experienced. Without magic, there was no way to heal himself. Luckily, he didn’t think anything was broken. He wasn’t going very fast, so probably just bruising. He had never really experienced much pain in Equestria, because of his powerful magic. It kind of surprised him. He sat there, in shock, with a blank expression on his face. Flura didn’t realize he had stopped, and walked right it to him, causing her to stumble back. She looked up and saw the creature all of a sudden snap into alertness.
“Ouch,” Discord said, reaching for his muzzle. He cuffed both his claw and paw around it.
“Well, it seems you lead us to a dead end.”
“What? Wait, where did this wall come from? It wasn’t here before.”
Discord realized that this wall was blocking the way back to Equestria. If they couldn’t get through, they both would be stuck here.
“Well, we may have a slight complication Flutters.”
“It’s Flura.”
Discord, realizing what he had just said, went silent. His face grew a crimson red. He was so mad at himself for saying that! The draconequus quickly tried to change the subject.
“Well, this was the entrance to my world, Equestria. With the wall in the way, we can’t reach the entrance.”
“Wait, you mean we’re stuck here?”
“Possibly.”
“How long could we be stuck here?”
“No need to worry! We can have everything we need to survive a lifetime with the snap of my claws!”
Discord snapped. Nothing happened. He tried again and still, nothing.
“That’s odd. I guess Equestrian magic doesn’t work in your world.”
“WHAT? Does that mean we can’t leave, and we have no food or water?”
“We won’t be stuck in here forever if we go out the other way.”
“We can’t! They’ll find me!”
“Who is they?”
“The real reason I wanted you to take me to your world was so that I could escape my peers. They’re angry with me, and chased me into the cave. They could still be in here this very minute, searching for me. I can’t even imagine what they’ll do when they find me! I don’t want to go back to my school and deal with them!”
Discord watched as tears rolled down her cheeks, staining them. Her teal eyes filled with sadness. Without thinking, Discord cuffed her right cheek in his paw, wiping away the tears from her face with his thumb. She reminded him so much of Fluttershy. If only he could see his friend again. Then, Discord realized what he had just done. The girl had a look of fear plastered on her face. He instantly pulled his paw back.
“There has to be an entrance somewhere. We’ll find a way out, I know we will,” Discord assured her.
The two began feeling along the walls, hoping to find a way out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The two of them had been searching for what felt like ages. It was pointless. There was no other way out. Flura didn’t want to think of it, but realistically, they would probably have to go out the entrance. She couldn’t though, not when there could still be people looking for her. She didn’t want to show her face at that school again.
“Hey, Discord, was it?”
“Yes?”
“Well, I’m going to see if I can find another way out. I’ll just be down here.”
“Ok. I’ll continue looking over here. Holler if you need anything.”
Flura walked down the other side of the cave, feeling along the walls, trying not to get anywhere close to the entrance. She touched her hand to her right cheek. Minutes ago, the creature had gently wiped her tears away from that very cheek. His eyes had looked so lovingly at her. She was so startled. He must have noticed because not too long after, sadness filled his red and yellow eyes, and he instantly pulled away. He was only trying to be kind, yet, something didn’t feel right. When they had first met earlier, he had looked at her the same way. He said she was “just like her.” Who was her? Did she remind him of someone? The only person, or pony, he had mentioned was that pegasus. Why would he go through so much trouble for one friend?
“Sadie won’t be happy if we don’t find her,” a voice said. It sounded like Claudia.
Flura held her breathe. She wanted to panic. There was nowhere to hide in this long tunnel. If she went back to where Discord was, she would have to go about two hundred feet, and then turn the corner. That was the only way to get out of view. If she tried though, she might make too much noise.
Before she could take action, Claudia and a boy came around another corner at the opposite end of the tunnel. They spotted her, and ran straight at her.
“HEY! STOP!” The boy shouted.
Flura was terrified. She tried to run, but she tripped on a stone. She came tumbling down. When she got back up, someone grabbed her shoulder. She shot around to see Claudia. Claudia grabbed her by the wrist, and pulled her toward the direction of the other end of the cave with the boy.
Flura couldn’t think. Her heart was racing. Tears filled her eyes. Everything was happening so fast. Then, she had an idea. Flura took a deep breath. The two who had taken her prisoner turned to look at her. Then, Flura let out a piercing scream. The awful sound echoed through the cave. The two fell to the ground, covering their ears. That’s when Flura took off in the direction where Discord was.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Discord was feeling along the wall when he heard the most shrill scream. It was Flura. She must be in trouble. Before he could move, he watched her come running full speed down the cave path. She was headed straight for him. Flura ran into Discord, knocking them both through the rock solid wall.
Discord blinked. He lied on the ground, stunned. How had they gotten through the portal? It was too crazy to believe what had just happened. He had been sitting there, feeling along walls, and moments later, Flura and he crashed through a rock solid wall, leading them to the magical world of Equestria. It took him a little while to realize where he was. He was in the small cave, at the edge of the Everfree forest, close to Fluttershy’s cottage. He turned his head slightly to see the wall he had gone through earlier. It was perfectly in tact, as if it had never shattered like glass when he first had entered the cave, discovering the human world.
He felt weight on his torso. Was something on top of him?
“What just happened?” A familiar voice asked.
Discord raised his head, shocked by what he found. There on top of him, was a yellow pegasus, with a pink mane, and teal eyes. She was staring right at him, with a confused look on his face.
“Why are you staring at me like that? I thought you needed to go find your friend? If we’re going to find her, we can’t wait here all day.”
Oh no! No this couldn’t be happening! He had found Fluttershy, but she didn’t even remember who she was, let alone, who he was.
> Chapter 7
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 7
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Discord was frozen stiff. He couldn’t take his eyes off of her. He was so surprised to see her sitting on top of him. Only moments earlier, he had been in a cave with a human girl, and now, he was in Equestria, with Fluttershy. Btu no, she wasn’t really his Fluttershy. She didn’t even remember who she was, let alone who he was. Still, she was so beautiful. Her teal eyes twinkled in the sunlight. He had been so lonely without her and had missed her so much. He wished this moment could last a little while longer, but then, it was abruptly interrupted by the yellow mare.
“Why are you staring at me like that?”
Discord’s cheeks became a bright crimson red.
“Oh, um, sorry! I was, us, lost in thought!”
“Okay then...so, are we going to find your friend or what?”
“I think I already did.”
“What are you talking about? We just got here! What did she look like again?”
“Yellow coat, pink mane, and teal eyes.”
“Seriously! Stop staring! You’re starting to creep me out! What’s wrong?”
“Look at yourself.”
“Well I don’t exactly have a handy mirror with me, now do I?”
Discord snapped his talons, and a mirror appeared.
“Now you do!”
Hesitantly, the mare looked at herself in the mirror. Yellow coat, pink mane, teal eyes...she looked just like her! There on her flank were three pink butterflies, her mane slightly curled at the ends, and she had beautiful long lashes.
“I-I look just like her!”
“Flura.”
“Yes?”
“That’s because you are her.”
“But, that’s impossible! I just look like her! You probably have me confused with her!”
“I have to be right! Fluttershy was my first ever friend! Of course, I know exactly what she looks like! You’re voice even changed just like her’s! Did you even notice that?”
“Oh, wow, it really did change. Anyways, why do you care about her so much? You’re so determined to save her. Why not just make new friends?”
“MAKE NEW FRIENDS? ARE YOU CRAZY? I could never replace my dearest Fluttershy! She’s one of a kind!”
“Your dearest Fluttershy?”
“Let’s just go to Twilight’s castle to get some help with the situation at hand, paw, claw, hoof...you get the point!”
“But…”
“Nope! You’re done talking!”
Discord swooped the mare up into his arms. Her face went pale, and a worried look grew over it. Discord didn’t seem to notice. He teleported them to the castle of friendship.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Discord teleported into the castle. Twilight sat in the throne room, reading the newest Daring Do book. The book had come out only yesterday, and knowing Twilight, it was probably the fifth time she had read it. It was interesting, how fascinated she was by books.
“Hello, Twilight!”
“Oh, um, hi Discord. What do you want this time?”
Twilight looked as if she had completely ignored him. Her face was buried in the book.”
“Oh honestly Twilight! Look up from that dusty old book! You’ll see this time, I have news that will absolutely be to your delight!”
Twilight hear Discord. He sounded...different. He sounded...happy.
The book grew wings and flew up. Twilight had a worried and confused expression on her face, as she watched the books every move, almost as if it was her child.
“Just please don’t lose my page!”
“Twilight, never mind that! I’d like you to meet somepony!”
The lavender alicorn saw the mare in Discord’s arms. Her face lit up at the sight of her old friend.
“Fluttershy? Is that you!”
“Who are you? What’s going on? Is this that Twilight you were speaking of?”
Discord was still holding the mare in his arms. Annoyed, the pegasus looked up at him and glared. At first, he was confused. Then, he realized he was still holding her. His face went red with blush and embarrassment. Reluctantly, he placed her down on the ground.
“There’s just one problem Twilight.”
“She doesn’t remember us, does she?”
“Nope. That’s why I came here, for your help. You have an answer, right Twilight? You always do!”
“First, please tell me what happened. You were in the forest longer than usual today! Applejack and Pinkie went by to bring you muffins, but they said you weren’t there.”
“Well, I fell into this portal thingy, and it led to a different human world dimension unlike Sunset Shimmer’s. I met this girl, and she agreed to help me find Fluttershy. Blah blah blah, long story short, when we went back through the portal, she transformed into Fluttershy! Tada!”
“Wow, that’s incredible! Only very powerful magic could do something like that! The only magic that has ever done this is ancient magic, or powerful magic like an alicorn’s, or even a draconequus’s.”
Twilight looked up at Discord.
“You’re not suggesting I had anything to do with this, are you? I haven’t used that kind of power in a while! You know better than to think I would do anything to harm Fluttershy! She’s my best friend!”
It stung to say that word, friend. Of course, Fluttershy was his best friend! It’s just, sometimes he wished they could be more than that. Obviously, that wasn’t happening anytime soon, especially with the state Fluttershy was in now. She didn’t remember anything about her life in Equestria!
“I know, I know!”
“What other kinds of ancient or powerful magic could have done this?”
“Wait, the storm, it was powerful magic! It could have somehow sent Fluttershy to the other world.”
“Yes, and?”
“I think somehow the magic affected her train of thoughts and her memory. Now we need an antidote to get her to remember who she is! A memory, an object, it could be almost anything!”
“Yeah, but my question is, what could be powerful enough to create a storm like that?”
“I’m not quite sure. You try to take find something to jog her memory. I’ll do some research here in the castle, ok?”
“Alright then. Oh, and Twilight?”
“Yes, Discord?”
“What happens if I can’t get her to remember?”
“Well, the longer she goes without her memory, the harder it will get to help her remember. If we wait too long, she might never remember.”
“That’s what I was afraid of.”
Discord sadly looked down at the yellow mare. She was several yards away from them, examining the crystal walls. It was cute, how much they had intrigued her. Almost as if it was something unexplainable. She didn’t even remember how much she’d been in this castle. If a friend like Twilight, or a castle, couldn’t get her to remember, what could? This was going to be hard. Discord knew just where to start.
> Chapter 8
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 8
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Rainbow Dash and Rarity were just leaving from Sugarcube Corner. They had done some reminiscing with Pinkie Pie and caught up with their friend. It had felt like forever since they last saw her months ago. Pinkie had returned to town after she heard the news about the Storm.
“So Rainbow, darling, how about we take a stroll on the outskirts of the forest. It seems like such a lovely day for a walk! Maybe after we could go to the spa!”
“Sure! That sounds chill to me. I could really use some relaxation. Everything I’ve been doing for the Wonderbolts has gotten me exhausted.”
The two mares began to trot along a path right next to the Everfree forest. It was a nice day. The snow had finally cleared up thanks to the ponies who were on cleanup duty. There was still a cold breeze in the air, and you could see your breath when you talked. Everything seemed so peaceful and quiet. A little too quiet for Rainbow’s liking. She thought it was the perfect opportunity to strike up a conversation.
“I hear that yesterday Applejack and Pinkie Pie were handing out muffins to some ponies.”
“Well, that’s very nice of them! Were they the ones we tried at Sugarcube Corner? Those were simply divine!”
“Yeah, they were the same ones, but get this. Pinkie said it took a lot of convincing to get Applejack to even think of delivering one to Discord. When they finally got to where they thought he was at, he was gone. My guess is that he was spreading mischief nonetheless.”
“That’s very odd darling. Does Applejack have something against Discord?”
“Yeah, she does. She thinks he has something to do with Flutter’s disappearance, and I don’t blame her for thinking that. He was the last to see her, wish is pretty suspicious if you ask me.”
“Oh Rainbow Dash, don’t you think you’re getting a little carried away?”
“Are you serious? How could he not be guilty? The act he puts on drives me insane! He thinks if he gets all teary eyed we won’t suspect a thing! The very nerve!”
“Rainbow Dash! How could you say such things? He gets teary eyed because he is worried about Fluttershy. Just like she is our friend, she’s his friend too. You cried over your turtle, Tank. How is that any different?”
“First of all, he’s a tortoise. Second of all, leave Tank out of this! At least I can trust Tank! We can’t trust Discord! He tried to take over Equestria before for crying out loud!”
Because the two argued so long, they didn’t realize how far they’d walked. They had walked all the way to where Fluttershy’s cottage was. The old cottage looked so sad and lonely without her. Something seemed different though.
“Oh Rainbow, I really do miss Fluttershy.”
“We all do Rarity.”
“Wait...darling, do you see that?”
“See what?”
“I think there’s a light on in the cottage!”
“You’re right! Let’s take a closer look.”
The two quietly snuck up to one of the windows in the cottage, which had been left a crack open, probably to let some air in. They heard voices, very oddly familiar voices. The two mares peeked inside, shocked by what they saw.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Discord and Fluttershy teleported into her old cottage.
“Remember this place, Fluttershy, my dear?”
“No, and my name is Flura, not Fluttershy.”
“Well anyway, let’s see what you have here. Maybe something will remind you.”
Discord rummaged through Fluttershy’s cottage. He kept going up and down the stairs, hoping to find something to remind her. He searched through closets, drawers, and rooms. He showed her everything that could possibly be of some importance, but she still remembered nothing.
“Hmmm...how about your animals?”
“My what?”
“You love animals, remember? It’s your special talent!”
Flura turned to look at the three butterflies on her flank.
“I do?”
“Of course you do my dear!”
“I’m not your dear,” Flura mumbled.
Before Discord could hear her, he rushed off into the other room, looking for some animals. He came back with several in his arms. One by one he showed them to her.”
“Do you remember Constance, your bird?”
In Discord’s paw and claw sat a cute little red bird. It looked at the pegasus with a loving look.
“No, I don’t have a bird. That’s not mine.”
“What about this mouse, or this squirrel?”
“Sorry, I’ve never seen them in my life.”
Discord lifted up a white bunny. The little critter squirmed around in his grasp. His expression was very unamused.
“What about Angel Bunny? He’s always with you, and you always talk about him. You’ve always been so determined to please him! He means the world to you! You adore me, I-I mean him.”
Discord’s face grew crimson with embarrassment. How could he have said that to her? He really needed to work on his social skills.
“Do you remember?”
“Um, well…”
Discord was filled with hope. What if she remembered? She hadn’t said no! He stared at her with bright eyes, hoping she would remember.
“Sorry, I don’t remember...that rabbit.”
A scowl came over Angel’s face. He jumped out of Discord’s grasp and thumped away.
Discord was getting very annoyed, yet he was very concerned. He thought she had remembered for a second, but no. For that one moment, he thought that he could possibly have his Fluttershy back. The Fluttershy that understood him, and didn’t give him strange glances that made no sense. If Angel couldn’t remind her, what could? It was hopeless.
“What about Harry the Bear? Does he ring a bell? He’s the one that started this whole mess in the first place.”
A bear crawled out into the living room, yawning to show all of his teeth.
“BEAR!” The yellow pegasus yelped.
Terrified, she leaped into the arms of the draconequus. She held Discord in a tight grasp, as if she would die if she let go. It seemed it would be impossible to pry her off. Her face was buried in his chest. Eventually, she looked up at him. He looked down into her teal eyes in a loving way. They were so beautiful. For the first time that whole day, she looked at him differently. Instead of looking at him annoyed or scared, she looked at him with care and concern with her beautiful eyes. Before Discord knew what he was doing, he leaned in and kissed the mare, and to his surprise, she kissed him back.