Chapters “Wake up, sleepyhead! The sun is already shining!”
I open my mouth and let out a long yawn. Keeping my eyes closed, I stretch my hooves, one by one. I unfold my wings, and flap them twice before folding them again. I take a deep breath, and open my eyes.
My name is Flora. I'm a young pegasus. I was born here at Ponyville a few years ago.
With a small jump to the floor, I get out of my bed. A pair of squirrels and a ferret are waiting to greet me. “Good morning to you too,” I answer.
I walk to the dresser and hop on a chair. I take my brush in my hooves, and carefully brush my mane. After I'm satisfied that my mane is free of tangles, I hop out of the chair and go down the stairs, greeting each one of the small animals I meet.
As soon as I arrive at the ground floor, I see my favorite pet, Angel the bunny. He runs to my side and nuzzles my face. He's so gentle, and so polite.
“Good morning, Flora. Breakfast is ready. Did you sleep well?”
“Yes, Mom!”
This is my mother, Spring Egg. She takes care of the town's animals. She's kind and caring.
I walk to the table, carrying Angel on my back, and climb on a chair. There are four plates of food waiting for us. One of them is for me. Another one is for Mom, and the third one is for Dad. The last plate of food, the smallest one, is for Angel.
Angel jumps onto the table, and Mom recoils. I don't get why Mom is so afraid of him. He's not going to bite her.
“Good morning, my little angel.”
“Good morning, Dad!”
This is my father, Script Letter. He's a writer. He's smart and calm.
I love Mom and Dad!
He takes off his glasses, and sits at the table. Mom sits next to him, eyeing Angel with suspicion the whole time. My pet ignores her and continues to eat.
I grab my fork and knife, and look at my plate to decide what I'll eat first. Angel gets a spare fork, and picks a piece of carrot from my plate with it. He holds the fork in front of my face. I open my mouth, move forward a bit, and bite into the carrot.
“What are the plans for today, dear?” asks Dad.
“Today we'll go to the spa with Rarity,” answers Mom. “Then we'll have lunch. I'll take Flora to the library, Twilight said there is a new book she'll like. While she's there, I have to go to the market. I think I miscalculated something, we're almost out of food again.”
-*-*-*-
We leave our home. I'm wearing a nice large hat which Rarity gave to me. I wave at the birds as we cross the bridge over the stream in front of our house.
The warm morning sun is nice. The sky is almost cloudless. We walk slowly, and I stop often to smell the flowers next to the path, or to talk to some of the many animals who come to see us.
“Hey, Spring Egg!”
We look up. We see an unmistakable rainbow-colored mane, dangling from a small fluffy white cloud.
“Wanna race?”
She looks down from the cloud at us. Mom immediately jumps into the air and flies towards her. “Sure!”
“Mom! We were going to the spa with Rarity! Mooom!”
It's too late. They are already too far to listen to me. I can only run after them.
-*-*-*-
When we finally arrive at the spa, Rarity is already there, waiting for us in front of it. She looks at Mom with a face of disapproval.
“Listen darling, I know that Rainbow Dash is a genius flyer. I agree that you can learn a lot by flying with her. But you should not try to copy everything that she does.”
I stifle a laugh, looking at Mom's fur covered in mud, with a few leaves sticking out.
We enter the spa. Lotus and Aloe welcome us warmly. They immediately help clean Mom, as if a pony entering their spa covered in mud was the most natural thing in the universe.
Rarity asks Lotus to prepare a hot bath for us three, giving her a complicated and detailed set of instructions. Lotus happily agrees, and soon we're in front of a steamy tub of water. I jump into the water, ignoring Mom's complaints. The water is nice and relaxing.
Rarity and Mom walk into the tub after me. While they chat, I let the water soak into my coat and mane, feeling the soothing sensation on my skin. I spread my wings, letting the water drip from them, before pushing them again under the water.
The bath is so good that I don't want to leave it. But Mom grabs me and lifts me out of the water. She rubs a dry towel all over my body, before using it to dry herself. Lotus helps me brush my mane and tail.
-*-*-*-
After leaving the spa and having lunch with Rarity, Mom takes me to Twilight's library. The library is also her home. It's a large house carved within a single tree.
Mom knocks on the door.
“Oh, hi, Spring Egg. Hi, Flora!” says Twilight after opening the door.
“Hi, Twilight!” I answer before entering.
Twilight turns to talk to me. “The book I told you about yesterday arrived this morning. It's the latest book of the Daring Do series: Daring Do and the Ocean of Storms.”
I run to the Daring Do shelf, where I know I'll find the new book.
While I eagerly open to the first page of the story, Mom talks to Twilight through the door.
“I know it's a bit early this month, but...”
“...you are out of food and need next month's money to buy more, right? Like every month?”
Mom giggles. “Yeah, I think I counted some supplies twice last week.”
Twilight giggles too. “It seems Celestia guessed correctly again. Here.” She gives it to Mom. “Try to get it right this time.”
“Thanks, Twilight. Flora, Mom is going to buy a few things, so you will have to go back home by yourself. Take care!”
I nod, and flip to the next page.
Twilight closes the door. “If you need me for anything, Flora, I'll be in the lab downstairs.”
Many pages later, the outside door opens. It's Spike, the small dragon. “Hey, Flora! How are things going?”
I stop my reading and smile at him. “Just fine!”
He closes the door, and puts the sack he was carrying on the floor. “Just a few more quills and inkwells.” He comes near me, and takes a look at the title. “I see. It's the new book that arrived in the mail!”
“Yes, and it's exciting!”
“I'll read it later.”
I look directly at him. “Spike?”
“Yes, Flora?”
“Could you show me... that again?”
He sighs. “You know I'll get in trouble if Twilight finds out I'm showing that to you.”
“Pleeease?” I make my best cute face.
He sighs again. “How could I possibly say no to you?”
We go to a corner of the room, where there is a large box completely covered by an ornate piece of fabric. He removes the fabric, and folds it neatly.
Within the glass box, there are six pieces of jewelry. Five collars and a crown, each encrusted with a beautiful colored gem. I love watching them. They are so pretty, so shiny. Something in them resonates with me. When I look at them, I feel as if I was living my own adventures, as exciting as Daring Do's.
We hear hoofsteps coming up from the stairs. Spike quickly covers the box again, while I run back to the book. Spike grabs a broom and pretends to be cleaning the floor.
-*-*-*-
The sun is almost going down as I make my way home, singing a happy tune to myself.
As I turn a corner of the path, I see a strange stone statue, which was not there this morning. It's as if the sculptor had taken parts of many different animals and mashed them together into a confusing whole, with little thought to coherence. I walk to it to take a closer look.
While I try to identify which animal each piece came from, I notice the statue is changing its color. Slowly at first, then faster, each part changes from gray to something else. I take a step back as the statue moves, stretching and yawning.
The mismatched creature which was a statue floats into a circle, before turning to me.
“Good afternoon!”
“G-good afternoon,” I reply.
“What is your name, little pony?”
I gather my courage and answer. “Flora.”
“What a beautiful name!“ He laughs and snaps his fingers. A flower appears in his hand, and he places it on my mane. “A flower for another flower!”
He puts his hand behind his back and takes out a small mirror. I look at my reflection on it. I think Rarity would approve of the way the flower matches my hat.
I look at him. “What's your name?”
He smiles widely, and bows. “I'm Discord.” He raises again. “Would you be my friend?”
“Discord. It's a strange name.”
“But it matches my appearance, don't you think?”
I have to agree with that. “Yes, it does.”
“Would you like to hear my story?”
“Yes, please.”
“You know, I was once the bad guy.” He sits on an old fallen tree trunk. “I did everything I wanted, and it didn't matter who I hurt. I made everypony's life miserable. It was fun.”
I sit on the grass in front of him.
He sighs. “But of course, whenever there is a villain, there will be ponies who decide to be unreasonable and spoil all the fun. The forces of boring defeated me not once, but twice.
“The third time we fought, I almost won. But there was one single pony who believed in me. My first and only friend. If I won, I would lose her. So I surrendered.”
He pauses, his gaze lost in the distant sunset.
“And where is she now?” I ask.
He looks at me. “She went to a place where I can't follow her.” After a pause, he continues. “Now I'm alone. I don't have a friend anymore.”
“I can be your friend.”
Discord claps and smiles. “How wonderful!”
He stands up. “So, Flora, I told you my story. Now it's your turn.”
“I was born here at Ponyville a few years ago. My father is a writer. My mother takes care of the town's animals. I have lots of friends.”
“Could you tell me more about your friends?”
“Sure!”
I stand up too.
“First, my mom's friends. They have been with me since I was born.
“There's Rainbow Dash. She loves flying. She says she's the fastest flier in all of Equestria! She often goes flying with Mom, and she said she will teach me to fly!
“There's Rarity. She's very elegant, and gives me lots of presents. She makes clothes and accessories. She has a younger sister, Sweetie Belle. She's my friend too.
“Then there's Applejack. She lives at a big apple farm. She has a little sister too, Apple Bloom, and an older brother, Big Macintosh. Their grandma, Granny Smith, lives with them. I'll go there tomorrow to help them with the farm and to play with Apple Bloom.
“There's also Pinkie Pie. She lives with the Cake family. She's so fun to have around, and she always gives me something delicious to eat! She also makes the best parties!”
Discord is smiling. Talking about my friends must be making him happy.
“Finally, there's Twilight Sparkle. She's the smartest pony, I think she's even smarter than Dad! She's always thinking about something or studying. She lives with the small dragon, Spike.
“Now, my friends at school...”
-*-*-*-
“You really have lots and lots of friends, Flora.”
“Yes, I love everypony!”
“I'd love to hear more about your friends, but” — he looks at a watch which appeared on his paw — “it's getting late. Your mom will be worried if you don't go home soon.”
The sun is already gone below the horizon. He's right.
He puts his hand on his chin. “Could I ask you to do something for me?”
I nod.
“There are many ponies who did not forgive me, and they still think I'm a bad guy. If they find out I'm your friend, they will try to take you from me. I don't want to lose another friend.”
“Don't worry, Discord. I won't tell anyone.”
“Thanks, Flora. You have no idea how important that is to me.”
“Goodnight, Discord.”
“Goodbye, Flora. When you want to meet me, just call. I'll be around.”
I go home. When he's almost out of view, I turn and wave at him. He waves back, with a wide smile.
Today, I found a new friend!
-*-*-*-
I leave my home earlier this morning, after talking to my bird friends. I take the same path as yesterday.
When I arrive at the place where I saw that statue yesterday, I leave the path.
“Discord? Are you here?”
He walks from behind a tree. “Good morning, Flora. Welcome back!”
“Did you sleep well?”
He laughs. “Oh, no, the night was so lovely that I did not see any point in sleeping. Don't worry, I'm not tired.” He smiles.
“Can I show you something?”
He sits down on the tree trunk. “Of course!”
I whistle. My little bird friends answer to my call, and land on the tree branches.
I raise my hoof. The first birds answers, starting a slow melody. I let myself feel the flow of the song, a song which tells of the wonders of nature. As the song reaches a quieter passage, I make a small gesture, and the second bird enters the song, its voice complementing the first one.
A third bird enters the song, its tempo now faster. It now tells of the ponies of Equestria, and their often complex relationship with nature. One by one, each bird joins the song, until they are all singing together. My eyes are closed, but I can see each one of them, as I use small gestures to help them sing together.
As the song comes to an end, I open my eyes. I can see Discord hastily hiding a tear. I thank my bird friends, who fly away.
“That was beautiful, Flora!”
“Thanks, but I can't take the credit for it. It was another pony who taught this song to the birds, many years ago. I just practiced it with them.”
“I see.” He puts his hands together. “Even then, I could tell you were an important part of the song.”
He looks at the sky. “I guess it's my turn.” He gestures to a small cloud, which moves by itself to us. As the cloud goes below the treetops, he snaps his fingers, and the cloud turns pink. He gets two sticks, and takes part of the cloud on each one. He then takes a bite of his part of the cloud, giving me the other stick.
I take a small bite. “It's cotton candy!”
“You can eat as much as you want.“ He leans against what's left of the cloud. “Of course, if you eat too much, you will not have appetite left for lunch. You were going to an apple farm, weren't you?”
I nod. “I'll be going them. Thanks for the cotton candy!”
“It was a pleasure. It's me who should thank you for the music.”
“Bye, Discord!”
“Goodbye, Flora!”
I go ahead, while he stays there, smiling widely.
“Howdy, Flora! You're early!”
“I woke up early today! Good morning, Applejack! Good morning, Apple Bloom!”
“Good morning, Flora!” Apple Bloom drops her rake and runs to greet me. “I was raking some leaves, do you wanna help?”
“Sure!” I go grab another rake, while she goes back to hers.
I drag several of the fallen leaves into a small pile, while Apple Bloom does the same to another pile. When she turns her back to gather more leaves, a gust of wind undoes her pile.
With an annoyed look, she drags the leaves together again. But as soon as she turns her back, another gust of wind spreads them.
She stops and stares at where her pile of leaves was. I drag my rake there. “Let me help you!”
Together, we gather the leaves into a new pile. This time, no gust of wind undoes our work. While we rake, I hum a happy tune.
“You're even happier than usual today, Flora,” says Apple Bloom.
“Yes, it's because... the sun is very nice today!”
She gazes at me, and says nothing while we continue to clean up the garden.
-*-*-*-
“All right, Flora,” says Applejack, “this morning we will plant this area. Big Macintosh and I will plow the field, and you two will follow and plant the seeds in the furrows. Apple Bloom will show you how it's done. Any questions?”
“None!” I answer.
“Then let's get started.” She puts on and adjusts her plow harness.
“Eeyup.” Big Macintosh does the same.
They drag their plows, cutting into the ground. I follow them together with Apple Bloom, placing apple seeds at regular intervals.
Out of nowhere, an apple falls on Applejack's head.
“What the hay?” She stops and looks around. “We're far enough from the apple trees. Where did this come from?”
“I didn't see anything,” says Apple Bloom.
“Me neither,” I say.
“Did you see anything?” asks Applejack to Big Macintosh.
“Nope.”
“Must be some pegasus pulling a prank. Keep your eyes open.” She resumes her plowing, followed by her brother.
A few minutes later, another apple hits Applejack's head. We all look at the sky, but we see nothing. I giggle as silently as I can, hoping they won't notice. I think I can guess who is doing it.
We finish the rest of the field without any further incident.
-*-*-*-
After lunch, I follow Apple Bloom to their clubhouse. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo are already there.
“Hi, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo. What are you two doing?” I ask.
“We're playing with the hoops!” answers Sweetie Belle.
“I don't think that is how most ponies play with the hoops,” snarks Apple Bloom. Sweet Belle is holding a pair of hoops vertically, while Scootaloo speeds on her scooter towards them.
Scootaloo makes her scooter jump without using a ramp, and passes through the pair of hoops without touching them.
“Hey, Flora!” greets Scootaloo, taking off her helmet. “We were just waiting for you two!”
“What are we going to do now?” asks Sweetie Belle, dropping both hoops on the ground.
“How about hide-and-seek?” I suggest.
“All right, Flora, you're it,” says Apple Bloom. I close my eyes and count to ten.
First, I climb into the clubhouse, trying to not make any sound. I look behind the furniture, but they are not here. I find Scootaloo hidden on the second level of the clubhouse.
I look outside. From this vantage point, I don't see either of them. I climb down silently, and look behind the trees. A few minutes later, I find Apple Bloom, and finally Sweetie Belle.
“It's my turn now! One, two, three, ...”
While Sweetie Belle counts, I run and hide behind a distant tree.
“..., nine, ten!”
It takes her only the time to walk to where I was hiding. “How did you find me so fast?” I ask.
“The tip of your tail was showing!”
-*-*-*-
We play together for hours. The sun is painting the horizon with a vivid orange color as we say our goodbyes. Applejack gives me a bucket of apples to take home. I thank her and go on my way.
When I reach that part of the path, I stop. I don't even have to call him.
“Hello, Flora!”
“Hi, Discord!”
“Did you have fun?”
“Yes! I had a lot of fun! You were there watching us, weren't you?”
“I think you caught me.” He makes a mock guilty face, and then laughs. “Did you see the look on her face? She thought she was seeing things!”
“That wasn't very nice, Discord.”
“Oh, come on, you laughed too! It was a harmless one!” He laughs a bit more, and then stops. “But if you don't want me to, I'll stop for now. I promise,” he says with a serious face.
I think I can believe him. I take one apple from the bucket and give it to him. “For you!”
He smiles, and breaks a couple of twigs from a nearby tree. He straightens them with his fingers, and picks the apple with one of them.
“Try it,” he says while he takes a bite from his apple. I pick another apple with the second twig, and take a bite. The apple fills my mouth with a sweet taste.
“It's a candy apple!”
“It's my thanks for today. Even if I didn't do much, watching you was the most fun I had in years.”
“You must have been very lonely.”
“You have no idea.”
“But you're not lonely anymore!”
He smiles widely. “All thanks to you!”
I pick my bucket of apples. “I'm going home now. We'll meet again later.”
“Goodbye, Flora!”
“Bye!”
Sugarcube Corner is packed with ponies today. Behind the counter, Pinkie Pie is selling many different kinds of tasteful sweets.
Before I can greet her, she jumps and hugs me. “Flora!”
“Good morning, Pinkie Pie!”
“I thought I'd never see you again!”
I giggle. “Pinkie, it's been only a few days!”
She looks into my eyes. “Three days is a very long time!”
I hear a pony on the queue clear his throat. “I'll be right back!” says Pinkie, releasing me from her tight embrace and jumping back to the counter. “Don't go away!”
I walk to a corner desk, while Pinkie efficiently clears the queue. Faster than one would think possible, she's done. She hops to my desk.
“So, Flora, what are the news? Did you meet a mysterious bearded stranger wearing a hood and a cloak and carrying a staff and with an eyepatch over his eye?”
I blink. It doesn't matter how long I know her, I still can't follow her train of thought. “There was a stranger with an eyepatch in the Daring Do book. But he didn't have a beard.”
“Speaking of books, do you want to hear a story?”
“Yes, please!”
“I call this one ‘The Princesses And The Cakes’.”
-*-*-*-
“A long time ago, in a distant land, there were two princesses who loved to eat cake. They ate many cakes every day.
“But one day, they had a fight. ‘Your cake has more frosting than mine!’ said the younger princess. ‘No it doesn't!’ said the older princess. ‘Yes it does!’ said the younger princess. ‘No it doesn't!’ said the older princess. ‘Yes it does!’ said the younger princess. ‘No it doesn't!’ said the older princess. ‘Yes it does!’ said the younger princess. ‘No it —’”
“I think that's enough, Pinkie.”
“Okey dokey lokey. Anyway,
“The younger princess was so angry, that she tried to steal all the frosting. But the older princess caught her, and banished her to a dark place, where there were NO CAKES!”
She gestured exaggeratedly.
“The older princess did not want the younger princess to be there forever, so she sent her best baker to the City of Candy, where she should defeat the King of Sour Things and find the Legendary Frosting.
“The baker could not defear the evil King alone, so she disguised herself as a common pony and went into the city. She talked to everypony, and found five sisters who baked in secret.
“The six ponies used their baking abilities together and were able to defeat the dark King. Hidden in his castle, they found a beautiful pony, who was the keeper of the lost Legendary Frosting.
“They brought it back to the older princess, and together they all baked a special cake. They gave it to the younger princess, who ate it all. The two princesses were friends again, and the six bakers made many cakes every day to everypony!”
-*-*-*-
“And that's how I got my cutie mark! Want some ice cream?”
“Sure!”
She runs to the kitchen, while Twilight enters.
“Hi, Flora!” she says, smiling.
“Hi, Twilight!” I answer.
“Rainbow Dash is looking for you for today's flying lessons.”
“Yay! I'll go as soon as I finish eating the ice cream!”
Pinkie returns with a large tub of cold ice cream.
“Here's your ice cream, Fluttershy!”
Twilight glares at Pinkie Pie. The temperature in the room seems to drop several degrees. It feels as if there had been a happy background music until now, but somepony had violently yanked the needle from the record, stopping the music with a scratching sound.
I've never seen Twilight so angry before.
Pinkie freezes mid-movement. She slowly sets the ice cream on the desk, shakily puts the cups and spoons next to it, and zips to her room.
-*-*-*-
I walk out of Sugarcube Corner feeling down. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a disembodied claw beckoning me to a nearby shrub.
I go there.
“What happened, Flora?” asks a miniature Discord.
“I don't know. Everypony was so happy, then Twilight became angry and Pinkie ran away. Then they left me alone.”
He puts his hand on his chin. “I see.” He looks at me. “Let me show you something.”
He snaps his fingers, and we appear hidden in another shrub, next to one of the library's windows.
In the middle of the room is Pinkie, looking at the floor. Twilight, Rarity, Applejack and Rainbow Dash are in front of her.
“I thought we had discussed this before, darling. We had agreed to not call her by that name.”
“But she is Fluttershy...” says Pinkie, slowly tracing small circles on the ground with one of her hooves.
“FOR THE LAST TIME, SHE'S NOT FLUTTERSHY!” yells Twilight.
“Listen, sugarcube, we all know how you feel. But that's all in the past now. For our friendship's sake, don't use that name in front of her. Are we clear on that?”
“Yes...” answers Pinkie, with an almost inaudible voice.
“Good,” says Applejack. “Now let's go.”
-*-*-*-
“They were fighting because of me.” I look at the ground. “I don't want them to fight because of me.”
“Don't worry, Flora,” says Discord, raising my head. “It's not your fault.”
“But why...”
Discord puts a finger in front of my mouth. “They have their own reasons. One day you'll understand.”
He grows a bit. “Now put a smile again on your face. You don't want them to worry about you, do you?”
I force myself to smile. He returns my smile. “Now that's better. See you later!”
With a snap of his fingers, he disappears.
“Come on, flap these wings harder!”
I try to increase my speed, but my hooves are still firmly on the ground.
“Harder!”
I feel my back hooves leave the ground.
“Harder!”
I trip on my front hooves, and fall on my head.
“Are you all right?”
“Yes, Rainbow Dash.” I answer, cleaning my mane.
“Let's try something different.”
In less than two seconds, she gathers a large pile of leaves.
“Don't worry and just concentrate on flying.”
“Rainbow Dash, what are you —” She grabs me and hovers above the leaves.
“Now, flap your wings!”
“Wait, Rainbow —”
She drops me. I flap my wings as fast as I can. I manage to hover for a second before finally diving into the leaves.
She digs me out of the pile. “Not bad! You almost made it this time!”
“That was scary!”
“Yeah, it's easier when you're fighting for your life! Of course, there was no real risk, I wouldn't put you in danger, you know.”
She plucks the leaves from my mane. “Want to try again?”
“Maybe another day.” I flex my wings.
“I see, your wings are tired. Let's do a stretching exercise then.”
-*-*-*-
“So, how was your flying lesson, Flora?” asks Discord.
“I still can't get out of the ground.”
“But you almost did, didn't you?”
“Yes, almost.” I look at the ground. “Like the last time. And the time before that.” I look at him. “I want to learn how to fly, Discord. I want to accompany my bird friends. I want to see Ponyville from above the clouds.”
“Oh, I'm sure you will learn when you last expect. Don't worry about it. Some pegasi just take longer.”
He smiles. “That's it! Flora, do you want me to carry you to the skies?”
“Can you do that?” I answer, excitedly flapping my wings.
“You've seen me flying, and I'm bigger than you. It'll be very easy. Here, hop on my back!”
I climb on his back, and he takes off with a powerful flap of his mismatched wings. I scream with joy as the wind rushes past my body.
“I don't want to be seen, so we'll fly far from the city. Is that okay with you?”
“Yes!”
He flies low for a while, just above the tree tops, until we're far enough. Then, he climbs fast, and flies slowly in a circle while he shows me the view.
“To your left, you can see the city of Ponyville.”
From this distance, everything is small. I see the big tree that is Twilight's home. From there, I find Rarity's house and Pinkie's house. I follow the roads, and find Applejack's farm. I've been there many times, but never really noticed how big it is!
I follow another road, and see my house. One day, I'll fly there with my own wings, together with my mother. We'll meet the birds, and play with them in the sky.
I find Rainbow Dash's cloud home. When I can fly by myself, I'll go visit her on her home.
“To your right, in the mountains, you can see the city of Canterlot. I lived there for a while.”
“Mom is from there! And Twilight told me she's from there too!”
“I see. Did any of them take you there for a tour?”
“Not yet!”
“You should really ask them. It's very different from Ponyville. There's also a nice hedge maze near the castle that you really should see.”
“I will!”
“I heard Rainbow Dash is from Cloudsdale... There it is!” He points to a big cloud, with many buildings above it. “When your wings get stronger, you could ask her to take you there too.”
He changes direction. “Enough with the boring cities. Let's see some different things.”
He flies directly to the top of a big mountain, where he shows me a large cave.
“Some time ago, a dragon lived in this cave. An adult dragon, not a baby like that Spike.”
“A dragon?”
“Yes, but he snored too much and was kicked out.” He flies away from the mountain. “Now let's see...”
We fly over a dam, decorated with a pair of pegasi statues. We fly next to a multicolored waterfall.
We fly over a dark forest. I shiver with cold. “Discord, this forest is scary!”
“I'm sure you know about the Everfree Forest, since you live right next to it. And I'm sure everypony has already told you this, but just in case:”
He pauses right over the middle of the forest. The cold wind shakes the tree tops.
“Never. Enter. The. Everfree. Forest. Alone.”
He resumes flying, and soon we're out of the forest.
-*-*-*-
We rest on a fluffy cloud floating above the town.
I'm perched on the edge of the cloud, looking at the view below. Discord is seated on the middle, eating cotton candy.
“Did you enjoy the trip?”
“Yes! It was all so pretty! All the rivers, the fields, the forests... Except the Everfree Forest, that was scary!”
I run to the other side of the cloud, and look down. “I can see Rainbow Dash flying down there!”
“Oh good, let's prank her!”
“Discord...”
“Come on, it's all in good fun! Isn't Rainbow Dash a prankster herself?”
“Yes, but...”
“Just this once. Please?”
I look at him.
“Please?”
“Just this once?”
“For now at least. Until the next time you let me.”
“Okay.”
He slithers to my side. He digs into the cloud, takes a lightning bolt on his hand, and throws it. The lightning bolt makes several curves, and hits Rainbow Dash near her tail.
She screams and dives into a nearby lake.
Discord falls on his back laughing. “Did you see her face?”
Rainbow Dash gets out of the water, shakes herself dry, looks around, and quickly flies away.
“I know I shouldn't find ponies getting hurt funny, but...” I giggle. “Yes, it was funny.”
“She's a weather pegasus. Do you have any idea how often they get hit by lightning? She's used to it. She didn't really get hurt. Although it would be hilarious if she did get hurt.”
“Discord...”
“Oops, sorry. I slipped into my old habits for an instant.”
He sighs. “Being one of the good guys is hard.”
He looks at the setting sun. “I'd better take you back to the ground, before somepony gets worried and starts looking for you. Let's go, Flora.”
I climb on his back, and he glides to where we first met.
I whistle a happy music while I walk through the Ponyville streets, thinking about yesterday's flight. If I close my eyes, I can almost feel the cool high altitude wind still caressing my whole body.
I wave to Granny Smith, who is crossing the street. She waves back to me.
I hear somepony call my name. “Flora!”
I recognize him by his voice. He's Cobble, a young unicorn. He has the same age as me, and he's my best friend at school.
“Cobble! Where have you been?” I run to hug him.
“Grounded for a whole week! Mom caught me playing with a kite again.”
“Again? That's the sixth time she's grounded you just this month!”
“What can I do? I love playing with kites! When I grow up, I want my cutie mark to be a kite!”
I giggle.
“So, Flora, did anything happen while I was stuck at home?”
“Not much. Rainbow is still trying to make me fly. I went to the farm and played with Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo the day before yesterday.”
“So I only missed one day of fun. Great! So, which games did you play?”
“We started with hide-and-seek, but they always got me so fast! If you were there, you'd win all the time, since you're so great at hiding!”
“Yeah, you're really bad at hiding.“ He disappears behind a tree. “How about I teach you?” He pokes his head from behind the tree. “So next time, they'll have two great-at-hiding ponies to find!”
“Sounds great!” I hide behind a tree.
“Your tail is showing!”
I giggle and try to hide better.
-*-*-*-
With our coats wet with sweat from running around playing hide-and-seek, we sit together on a desk at a small open-air restaurant.
We come often to this place. The owner greets us, asks about our parents, and takes our order.
We eat our sandwiches and drink our juice, while we talk about the other games I played at Apple Bloom's farm.
After our lunch, we go to the market, where we meet Applejack selling apples.
“Hi, Flora! Hi, Cobble!”
“Good evening, Applejack!” I answer.
“Good evening! Two apples, please!”
I didn't see where Cobble got the bits to pay for the apples. He got a few lessons from Pinkie Pie some time ago, and now he has hiding spots everywhere. He likes to take things from his hiding spots when other ponies are distracted, to make they appear to come from nowhere.
He gives me one of the apples, and we say goodbye to Applejack.
He closes his eyes, and eats his apple slowly, one bite at a time.
I'm curious. “Why are you doing that, Cobble?”
“I'm pretending this is a big, sweet candy apple! It's delicious!”
I giggle. “Seriously? Was this one of Pinkie's ideas?”
He laughs. “No, it wasn't. I don't know where I got this idea, but it works!”
We're now at a nearly deserted side street. Cobble looks to one side, then to the other. Satisfied that we're alone, he quickly dives into a corner and returns carrying a large kite.
For some reason, seeing him playing with a kite always makes me nervous.
He runs until the kite is airborne, and pulls on the string to control it.
He continues to run and pull on the string, until the kite is flying above the trees.
“Isn't it pretty?” he says with a smile. “This is the best kite I've made so far!”
-*-*-*-
I watch the events unfold in slow motion.
A gust of wind pushes the kite, entangling it with a high tree branch, near the roof of a house.
To retrieve the kite, Cobble begins to climb the tree.
I unfold my wings as wide as I can.
Cobble grabs another low branch, and pulls himself a bit higher.
With a strong flap of my wings, I jump into the air.
Cobble turns his head and looks at me.
I fly to the top of the tree and grab the kite.
He loses his footing, and slips back to the ground.
I float down to meet him, carrying the kite with me.
That was dangerous!
-*-*-*-
“You can fly, Flora!”
I say nothing. My heart is beating fast, and my legs are trembling.
I look behind Cobble. He follows my gaze and sees his mother, pale as if she had seen a ghost.
She runs to my friend and embraces him, crying.
“Mom?”
She doesn't answer, and continues to hug him.
“I totally am grounded again, aren't I?”
“So you can fly now! That's marvelous!”
Discord smiles widely, while I dance in the air. Since I got the hang of it, flying is easier than I thought.
“Are you going to show it to Rainbow Dash and the rest of your friends?”
“Yes! But I'll try to make it a surprise to Rainbow Dash!”
“You could jump from a cliff and make her believe you died!”
I frown at Discord. “That would be mean.”
“Sorry.”
“I'll go look for her now. Bye, Discord!”
“See you later, Flora!” He waves to me, with an even bigger smile.
-*-*-*-
Today is a nice day to go to the park. There are many ponies here, some eating, some resting, some playing.
I see a couple of earth ponies I don't recognize, and go greet them. “Good evening!”
“Good evening!” both answer with a smile.
“My name's Flora. I'm pleased to meet you.”
“I'm Winter Leaf!” answers the blue colt. “And I'm Summer Leaf!” answers the green filly.
“Are you new to Ponyville?”
“No, we're on vacation!” answers Summer Leaf. “We come here every year!”
“We live on Manehattan!” says Winter Leaf.
“I heard Manehattan is a big city!”
“Yes, it is!” says Summer Leaf. “But Ponyville is more colorful!”
“And the ponies here are so nice!” says Winter Leaf.
“Do you want to play with us?” asks Summer Leaf, raising a small ball.
“Sure!” I answer.
She tosses the ball to Winter Leaf, who tosses it to me.
“Are you brothers?” I ask, passing the ball back to Winter Leaf.
“We're twins!” he answers, passing the ball to his sister.
She passes the ball to me. I try to pass the ball to Winter Leaf, but I miss and hit their saddlebags on the ground.
“Sorry!”
“It's not a problem!” Summer Leaf goes get the ball, while Winter Leaf puts their things back into the saddlebags.
I notice a Daring Do book. “Daring Do and the Ocean of Storms!”
“Do you want to read it?” asks Winter Leaf. “We already finished it!”
“I already finished it too!” I answer. “It was great!”
“The best part was the one-eyed pirate!” Summer Leaf makes a pose, pretending to hold a sword on her mouth. “You arr out of ya element, miss Do!”
I giggle at her impression of the character. “But I'm not the one who will get wet!”
We all laugh.
“Little miss talk big for a landlubber!” continues Rainbow Dash, swooping from the sky.
I run to the ball and throw it at Rainbow Dash. “She threw the stone at her opponent, distracting him for a moment.” Rainbow Dash tries to grab the ball, misses and flies after it. I continue the narration: “That was all the time she needed. She jumped and caught him by surprise!”
Rainbow Dash grabs the ball before it hits the ground, while I hug her from above. It takes her a moment to understand.
She grabs me. “You can't jump that high. Did you just fly?”
I giggle and hover out of her hooves. “Yes, I did!”
She hugs me. “Awesome! I just got a new flying buddy!”
She lands and releases me. “Let's see how fast you are!”
“Later, Rainbow Dash. I'm playing with my new friends!”
-*-*-*-
I play for a while with the twins, until their mother comes to take them to dinner.
We say goodbye, and I go back home. Mom asked me to come home earlier today.
I have dinner together with Mom, Dad, and my pet Angel.
After dinner, Mom puts on a nice dress, and Dad puts on a bowtie.
“We're going to a very important reunion, dear. Take care of the house for us.”
“Can't I go with you?”
Mom and Dad exchange glances.
“Listen, Flora. The reunion your mom and I are going to is only for older ponies. Be a good girl and stay here with your little friends.”
I pout, while Mom talks to Angel. “Make sure Flora doesn't get in trouble.”
Angel answers her with a salute.
Mom and Dad go out, leaving me alone.
I sit on the sofa. “Why don't they let me go?”
The world stops moving. Discord appears in the middle of the room. “Do you really want to know, Flora?”
I look around. Everything is frozen. “Yes, I do!”
“Then close your eyes, and pretend to sleep.”
Discord disappears, and everything starts moving again. I fake a yawn. “I think I'll sleep a little, Angel.”
I close my eyes. A few seconds later, I feel everything spinning.
“You can open your eyes now.”
I open my eyes. I'm floating next to the ceiling, without moving my wings. I look down, and see myself sleeping on the sofa, breathing softly.
“This much I can do. Let's go, Flora!”
-*-*-*-
Other than the youngest ponies, all the citizens of Ponyville are here.
In the middle of the crowd, I see the twins and their mom.
Facing the rest of the crowd, Twilight is standing on a slightly raised platform, flanked by two mares I don't know. The one to her right is an elegant white unicorn, wearing a simple dress, with a sun cutie mark. The one to her left is an elegant black unicorn, also wearing a simple dress, with a moon cutie mark.
Nopony is speaking or smiling. Not even Pinkie Pie.
Finally, Twilight speaks.
“Many years ago, Celestia sent me to this small town, to learn the magic of friendship.
“Once I arrived, I met many ponies. Of all the ponies I met here, five were special to me. Pinkie Pie, with her smiles and laughter. Applejack, with her honesty and hard work. Rainbow Dash, with her courage and loyalty. Rarity, with her sensibility and generosity. And Fluttershy, with her gentleness and kindness.
“Together, we lived many adventures. Some were big, with the whole of Equestria at stake. Others were small. It didn't matter. With each day, we grew closer. We complemented each other.
“A few years ago, we lost one of us. In a tragic accident, she gave her life to save two foals, who she had just met. Her death left a hole in our hearts. Not just the hearts of us five, who were her closest friends, but I believe I speak for everypony present when I say that it left a hole in the hearts of all the citizens of Ponyville.
“We are here today, to honor the memory of our best friend. The one who cared about everyone in this town, no matter how big or small. The one who...”
Twilight can't continue. She's in tears. The white unicorn to her side embraces her tenderly.
I hear a sad melody. My little bird friends are here, and I recognize the song. It's a variation of the one they taught me, with a slower tempo and a sadder lyric.
They're singing about their loss.
I look at the crowd. I can't find anypony who isn't crying.
Nopony speaks anything, even after the song finishes.
One by one, each pony goes to a tombstone, and deposits a single flower next to it.
I float there to read what's written on it.
Fluttershy. Rest in peace.
-*-*-*-
Mom and Dad come back home, and find me sitting on a corner, crying.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“How did she find it out?” asks Twilight, angry.
Mom and her friends are at Twilight's library. I'm spying on them together with Discord, while my body sleeps peacefully at home.
“She told me that Discord showed her what we were doing.” answers Mom.
Twilight recoils at the mention of my friend's name. “I can't believe it! Celestia told me that when she brought him the news of Fluttershy's death, he listened without saying anything, and then just disappeared without a word!”
“I'm worried,” says Mom. “I don't know what that monster is doing to my little Flora.”
“How is she?” asks Applejack.
“She cried herself to sleep. I left my husband watching over her.”
“What are we going to do?” asks Rainbow Dash.
“We're going to do what we should have done a long time ago. Spike, write a letter.”
Spike grabs a quill and a sheet of paper, while Twilight goes to the corner of the room. She rips the fabric covering the box, and lifts the glass.
“Dear Princess Celestia, as we feared, Discord is back to his old self. We are going to make sure he does not get away with it. Signed, Twilight Sparkle.”
Spike finishes writing, rolls the paper, and burns it with his breath. The ashes fly out through an open window.
Twilight gives each of the ponies one of the collars, keeping the crown for herself.
“I don't think I can use it,” says Mom.
“Celestia chose you to take her place because you have the potential to use it. Trust me, it'll work,” says Twilight.
“Now we have to find him.” Rarity adjusts her collar. “I don't think he's going to appear in front of us and say, ‘have you missed me?’”
“It doesn't matter how long it takes, I will find him and make him pay!” says Rainbow Dash.
“What are you going to do, Discord?” I ask.
“I have to face them. I promised to my best friend that I would not hide from them.”
“But they're going to do something bad to you!”
“They're just going to turn me into a lawn ornament again. I'm getting used to it.”
“Lawn ornament? They're going to turn you into stone?”
“Well, yes. It's time to say goodbye, Flora.”
“No, Discord, don't go!”
He ignores me and follows the six ponies as they exit the library. He flies ahead of them, waves goodbye at me, smiles, and becomes visible.
“Hellooo, my little ponies! Have you missed me?”
“Discord!” Twilight glares at him. “What are you planning?”
“Ooh, the purple pony is angry! How scaaary!”
“What did you do to my daughter?”
“You mean that little, innocent filly?“ He answers, while filing his claw. “I just showed her what you all were hiding, nothing more.”
“Why did you do that, Discord?” asks Twilight.
“You're angry because I exposed what you didn't want her to know. That her mother is nothing more than a replacement for the friend you lost. That she's living on a house that belongs to a dead pony. Do you really think it's better to let her live a lie, just so she doesn't lose her oh-so-precious innocence? Or is it you who doesn't want to face your guilt over not being able to save your friend?”
“SHUT UP!” screams Twilight.
Discord smiles widely. “So, what are you going to do? Turn me into stone? Without Fluttershy?”
Twilight smirks. “That's exactly what I'll do!”
I have to do something.
I fly with the speed of thought to my sleeping body, and wake up. Dad and Angel are sound asleep, as are all the animals.
I fly as fast as I can back to the front of Twilight's library.
A strong glow is already encircling the six ponies. I dive between them and Discord, and yell. “STOP!”
The glow around Mom and her friends disappears. “Get out of the way, Flora!” demands Twilight.
“You won't turn my friend into stone!”
“He's not your friend, he's a monster!” says Twilight.
“He used to be a monster! He's reformed!”
“He's lying to you, Flora!” says Applejack.
“He's the only one who didn't lie to me!”
Applejack is taken aback.
I hear Discord giggling.
“You won't get away with it, Discord! Fluttershy is not here anymore to protect you!” says Twilight.
Discord is rolling on the floor laughing.
“What's so funny?” blurts Rainbow Dash.
“How can you all be so blind?” he says between fits of laughter. “You say she's not here to protect me, when she just did it! She's been here the whole time! Don't you get it? Flora is Fluttershy! ”
Twilight rolls her eyes. “Not you too!”
Pinkie Pie walks slowly to me. “Flora... no... Fluttershy... I was right...”
She embraces me tenderly, crying silently.
Discord raises to his feet, with a serious face. “You know, when Celestia told me the news, I was very sad. Not even I can go to where a pony goes after she dies. But when you live for as long as I have lived, you notice some things.”
He smiles. “I knew she would come back. They always do. I just had to wait, and observe.”
“But why did you have to do all that? Why not just come up and say it?” asks Twilight.
“Would you believe me? Or would you try to turn me into stone, like you just did? Your friend noticed it even before me, but did you believe her? No, you didn't. Instead, you forced her to deny it.”
Twilight sighs. “All right, you win. What do you want?”
“I want to get back to how things were. I'll make to Flora the same promises I made to Fluttershy. I just want to be her friend again, even if she does not remember me.”
He looks at each of the six ponies. “Will you all accept me?”
-*-*-*-
I am seated at a bridge, looking at the stars together with Discord.
“It's strange to think that I had a whole another life before this one.”
“Don't worry about it. You don't have to follow your previous life's hoofsteps. Your previous life was Fluttershy. Your current life is Flora. You have a kind mother, and a smart father. Leave your old life behind, and live your new life to the fullest. You deserve it.”
“How did you know I'd go back and save you?”
“It was because of something very important that Fluttershy taught me.”
“What is it?”
“Friendship is magic.”