The daughter of a count, Lucia Fluttershy, thought she would have her happy ending the way she thought it would be. Her brother Zephyr has other plans for her. He manipulates her and her lover and poisons their only comforts for his own gain.
Lucia Fluttershy is hopelessly in love with Discord, her brother's enemy, and she knows that he loves her equally. Upon sight, both knew that he would be murdered if her brother were ever to come across him.
Yet, he is willing to risk everything to make their lives right again. He is the only thing she has left, save her callous and vengeful brother.
Zephyr had intended to murder him, for Discord had protected the mare he lusted after, and assisted in her elopement. He was never to forgive the one who deprived him of his cruel, twisted happiness.
Fluttershy had successfully protected her only comfort - love - quite a number of times. What she does not realize, was that her brother was much more callous than she ever anticipated.
Knowing of his sister's protective nature, he arranges for a number of incidents to damage her psyche and force her to marry the Prince Blueblood, whose riches will secure their position in society.
Composing an elaborate scheme, he drives Fluttershy and Discord apart, and sends his own sister in a horrid downward spiral.
What he doesn't realize is that his actions have consequences. He damages his sister irreparably and murders her will to live.
The story is based upon Donizetti's "Lucia di Lammermoor" and the Walter Scott's "The Bride of Lammemoor".
She feet strangely calm, her turbulent feelings dimming as he wrapped her in a soft embrace, the horrors she had witnessed fading from her gaze, as she allowed herself to soften in the presence of love. ~~~
Lucia Fluttershy, known mostly as Fluttershy, hid in the abandoned attic in her - no her brother's - manor, curled up next to Discord, and both shivered in the cold winds. It was the only place where her brother wouldn't look for her - who thought a mare who loathed and shivered at her own shadow would be able to stay in the dusty, dim attic laced with spiderwebs?
Certainly not Zephyr. Conniving as he was, he could not tell when his unhappy, sullen, soon-to-be wife ran off with another stallion. She was unhappy and upset, and her rage was something to be feared.
And the only reason Zephyr loathed Discord - loathed her love for him, and loathed his being with every fiber of his - was that he saved Rainbow Dash from a certain doom with Zephyr. Zephyr's affections for her were quite questionable.
Fluttershy loathed her brother too - loathed his lack of empathy, compassion, and utter idiocracy, yet he still dictated what she did. She hated it, but she didn't have much of a say. He had plenty of things he could take from her, and yet she couldn't bear to lose them.
But for now she should've savored his embrace. She knew how little time she had, and she didn't want to waste it. Her brother was more suspicious than ever, and she didn't want to suffer his wrath. More so, she didn't want Discord to face the same things she had faced everyday - his anger, his drinking problems, and the constant cloud of smoke that followed him loyally.
She curled up, willing her dress to be thicker and willing Discord's coat to be warmer. The attic was cold.
He scours the place, followed closely by his guards, and at the end was his friend Raimondo, looking near and far for the intruder - his nemesis, his sister's lover. ~~~
To Zephyr, it was no secret that his sister had secretly been seeing his worst enemy. He knew it for sure, but he couldn't find Discord.
He had taken away Rainbow Dash. He had let them run away. In retaliation, he had cut his horns off, and the magic that Discord possessed was nearly gone.
He could never find him to finish him off though. The thought gave him strength, and he circled the gates again.
He knew who the intruder was. It was just that he could never find Discord. Discord was elusive and he knew more of Zephyr than Zephyr ever admitted. It was Discord's talent of understanding ponies - he had the ability, and never lost it.
Zephyr also loathed that part of him.
He could not understand his sister's penchant for animals. He could not understand her willingness to do things for them. He could not understand how he could not bribe her with glittering jewels and luxurious dresses.
It was all beyond what he understood.
But he had to search for this Discord, and bring justice. Discord was the biggest scum, and if he were to take Fluttershy's purity...
The thought alone made him angry. He was going to lose his title of lord if he couldn't get money. He needed Fluttershy to marry Blueblood.
She sees the wild rainbow mane, signature of her friend, and motions her to sit down under the shade of the chimney.
She sees too, the pale white shadow delicately sitting on the rim of the fountain, in the garden, and combing her mane. ~~~
Fluttershy finally sees someone in the distance. Discord has never been this late before.
Instead, it is Rainbow Dash, who escaped the arrangement with Zephyr nearly a year ago. Fluttershy could not blame her for doing so. She didn't like her brother's nature much either.
"I see a ghost", she explains again.
Rainbow shakes her head softly. "Zephyr doesn't care. He will murder Discord sometime. Please, for your own safety. You know who the ghost is."
It was the ghost of a women murdered by her jealous lover.
Fluttershy hums the notes of the folk song. The lovely poem, yet grim and dark, described the murder in excruciating detail. Her lover then plunged the dagger into himself, and ended his life after he realized what he had done. He had murdered the woman he loved.
Rainbow simply shook her head. "I wish you the best of luck. I hope that you work it out though. I can't stay either."
Fluttershy also knew why. Rainbow escaped the marriage. The marriage she loathed.
She waited again. Perhaps Discord would come soon. Perhaps. He was very late. She shivered in the dark gray dress. It was good for belinding in with the bleak roof of the manor, but good for little else.
But he never did.
A day later, she receives a letter that her trusted maid Zecora brings.
"Dear Fluttershy,
I must stay away for your brother has tightened security for a while. I will return with our rings and I will take you to my manor where we shall be wed. I promise you all happiness and comforts you will shall ever wish for.
Zephyr sees the letter. His anger is ignited as he realized he was right all along. His sister had lied to him. A sinister plan composes itself as he reads it again and again. ~~~
Zephyr knew that Fluttershy would send a letter. He sees her composing the reply through the window, and he waits. Fluttershy leaves, and he reads it.
If the lies have already enraged him, the reply made him even more so incensed.
She spared him no pain with calling Discord her "dearest" "love" "only comfort".
Quickly, he composes a reply and slips it into his pocket.
He hopes that Fluttershy will not notice the missing paper.
He must make plans quickly - if Fluttershy runs off, he will lose everything.
He will not give her the chance. He must seize on to the plan.
If Discord betrays her however, it would've been easier for him to persuade her into marrying Blueblood. Blueblood would get bored soon if Fluttershy rejected him one too many times.
Soon he flies down and pretends to casually stroll. He sees Fluttershy writing again, and sealing the letter. He sees the light from the candle.
First he has to hand the reply. Then he will convince her to marry Prince Blueblood. And after, he shall be able to revel in his newfound wealth, and Fluttershy would live a luxurious life.
The words of her brother rang in her ears. She held back tears that were ready to slip down her cheeks, and willed herself to think of happier times. ~~~
She reads the letter silently. The cruel, cold, heartless words ring in her ears.
She feels angry. She feels the hurt. She is heartbroken.
He had loved someone else all along! She was nothing but an unwitting pawn! Her brother was right for once, as he did use her and abandon her.
She could not believe Discord had deceived her in such a way.
He loved her! Or did he?
She tears the letter in half, and storms into her brother's room.
"You were right about him!" She spits. "Happy?"
Zephyr fakes his sympathy. His heart was bursting in joy when she spoke.
"I'm sorry. But I wanted you to know the truth." That wasn't a lie. Discord was scum. He should have been tortured and executed - in Zephyr's logic - but fate had other plans.
"I will help." Zephyr says softly. "Blueblood, though, has shown an unceasing interest in you. You will be helping the family, Fluttershy. " He holds her hooves. "Please. You will be able to live like a queen."
She only wanted Discord back. The sweet, loving, adoring Discord she loved.
She did not want to live like a queen, or a princess, or even a Countess. She just wanted the comforts she desperately sought from Discord. Yet fate was cruel in the way, and tore the love away from her with claws, away from her heart still dripping blood.
"Okay." She collapses into the chair. She buries her face into the cushion and when her brother leaves, she sobs.
She smiled, but there was no joy in her eyes. The corners of her mouth turned up, yet her eyes did not match the expression displayed on her face otherwise.
She stared into the empty space. There was no going back ~~~
Zecora arranges Fluttershy's hair as she stared into the mirro. The long, wispy strands were woven together to creat braids, and then they were pinned to the top of her head. The viel and comb were then pinned on top, the gaudy, thin, and breezy fabric moving at the slightest provocation.
The dress came on after the lacy, equally gaudy chemise. The dress of heavy silks and precious jewels and delicate gold thread hung limply as Zecora fiddled with the petticoats. The silvery lace of the petticoats were equally luxurious.
The reflection in the mirror was not her. It was a mare made up, dressed up, so artificial that she might have been a doll, with the empty eyes and emotionless face.
"Thank you." She whispered.
"Good luck, m'lady." Zecora replied, wrapping her arms around Fluttershy. "I will miss you. The castle is cold without your compassionate nature."
Fluttershy smiled softly.
She navigated the maze of hallways until she reached the ballroom. The notary was there. Blueblood was there. Her brother was there.
She suddenly felt self conscious. Everyone was staring at her, decked out in so many luxuries that she did not even recognize herself.
As she walked, with the train trailing behind her, she felt as if she were a lamb sent to slaughter. Every step brought her closer to what she never desired.
Finally, after the priest finished his speech, she felt rough hooves grab her into a kiss. She grimaced at the sensation.
She signed it slowly, taking her time, and Zephyr was certainly unpleased.
The doors burst open, and an angry Discord stepped in.
Raimondo stopped him, yet he fights and resists and seethes in anger.
"She signed the contract." Zephyr pronounced each work harshly, and showed Discord the piece of paper. He knew Fluttershy's signature,
"Curse you! Curse all of you!" He bellowed, and took out two rings. He threw one at Fluttershy, and trampled the other one. The simple gold band was crushed into pieces.
"I challenge you! Despicable Zephyr! You are a disgrace!" He roared at Zephyr, who did not show any reaction.
"Then it is." He replied bluntly.
Fluttershy's face had gone very white. And then she collapsed, while the dense, heavy skirt held her up.
She wanders the ballroom, covered in blood, wiping the remaining fluid off a thin silver dagger. The guests turn in astonishment, expensive glasses of wine and champagne toppling to the ground as they stare at her ragged mane, her bloodied chemise, and most of all, her hazy, unfocused eyes ~~~
She enters the martial chamber with Blueblood.
Blueblood was drunk. As soon as the doors were close, he tears at her corset and skirt and she hides. He soon finds her again. She throws a vase at him, only further enraging him.
She would not let him take her.
Frantic, she reaches for the dagger hidden in her chemise. She finds it, and plunges it towards his heart. It doesn't hit the target. It goes left, hitting a shoulder.
He cries out in pain. She cries too. She plunges the dagger into him again and again, until his chest is a bloody mess.
She wipes the dagger on the chemise. It stains and cuts a thin line. She pushes open the door violently and is relived when she sees the yellow floor.
The guests are in shock. Was that Fluttershy? Sweet, kind and compassionate Fluttershy was unrecognizable. The mare standing before them had a tousled mane, bloodied clothes and coat, and a frighteningly empty look in her eyes.
And she begins to sing. She wipes the blood again and again, and she wipes her hooves on the cold floors again and again.
Her voice was mellow, sweet. She sang of love. She sang of warmth. She sang of their meetings. She holds her hooves tight to her chest and imagined a lover's soft embrace.
She wandered the balcony overlooking the ballroom. She runs her hooves across the delicate iron rails, and descended quickly as she stepped and slipped on the blood. She embraces the edges of a tablecloth.
But suddenly a change takes over her. Her voice is frantic, her notes are filled with rage, and the story she tells is warped and unintelligible. She sees things. She chases a ghost that was never there.
Then Zephyr realizes what happened. He motions for a doctor to be called.
Her voice becomes more frantic and soft and she sobs the last refrain of a song. She cries out for someone to save her, yet none do. She throws and tramples the dagger the same way her lover did with their rings. The hem of her dress was now stained with both her own blood and Blueblood's.
The dagger is left alone. She pursues the feather atop the head of a noble, and pulls it away.
Soon Zephyr returns. They have not inserted a needle into her arm, but yet a peacefulness comes over her and she falls to the ground softly, crumpling on top her bloody garments. Her eyes close, and her hooves drop.
He plunged the dagger into his chest, and willed himself to lie on her grave. He prayed to heaven that he would find her once more.
He would search through every lifetime until he found her again. ~~~
Discord heard of the news of Fluttershy's death from Zecora. She was loyal until her untimely end.
The duel was not on. He staggered to her grave and looked at the gray headstone.
Lucia Fluttershy Ashton.
He found no courage to fight nor live now. Why?
What did he do? He had pushed her to the brink of madness. Zephyr and Blueblood did not kill her. He did, and he was guilty of killing the only mare he loved dearly.
Why? Why did he have to be so unforgiving? How cruel was he, to kill the mare he loved?
Zephyr was right. He was a monster.
He was a true monster. Not Zephyr, him.
He found his dagger in his belt. He unsheathed it, and looked at the cold, cruel blade.
He plunged it in his heart, and he lay next to the flowers.
The soft fragrance of the flowers calmed his heart.
He would see her again. He would not be in heaven, but if he could catch a single glimpse of her, he would not regret it. He would not regret taking the chance to catch a single glimpse either.
He swore, as the blood steadily poured out, as the pain lessened, as his vision darkened, that he would find her again. And this time, he would cherish her. He would never hurt her again. Ever.
He would search through a hundred lifetimes to find her and make things right. If he could gain her forgiveness, he could die happy.