To my Dear Friend D:
I'm sorry about not writing for a while, I know you get lonesome. The strangest incident happened earlier today. Well, last night was when it started but I don't remember much. AJ called me over to take care of a pest problem. I thought it was just bugs but it was Vampire Fruit-bats! They were such fascinating creatures, but they were tearing up the orchard.
Anyways, I don't want to ramble since I know you don't like long letters, but I apparently became a vampire! I don't remember anything and nopony would tell me about it all day. I managed to get Pinkie alone later and asked her about it and she said I had fangs and red eyes and bat wings and everything, it didn't dawn on me until I laid down to bed that I had a friend who looked just like that! I know you're busy traveling and that my friends don't quite understand you yet, but you would enjoy the going-ons in Ponyville lately. It's a bit frantic sometimes but I know you like that sort of thing.
I don't want to let this letter drag on too long so I hope to hear from you soon, I do enjoy your letters.
With care,
~Fluttershy
The envelope was licked shut and delicately wrapped with a pink lace. The mare smiled as she sat up, disheveling the thick blue blanket she had draped over her. She leaned to open the small side table drawer near her bed. There were two shelves, she opened the bottom to withdraw a strange ornament. It looked to be constructed of a vibrant green glass, shaped like a lamp. A candle lay within the glass shell, blue in color but somehow just as transparent as the glass. Above the candle lay a thin shelf which she slid the letter onto.
As strange as it was, it was routine at this point. She took the small vial of water she kept near the lamp, and with care poured just a drop over the wick of the candle. As soon as the water touched the wick it began to sizzle and the envelope was consumed in blue flame. And then the wick went out, no trace of the letter having ever existed. Fluttershy examined the lamp for a few seconds before setting it back in its shelf and locking it.
She lay back onto her pillow, gazing out the open window at Luna's brilliant display of the evening over the Everfree Forest. A slight breeze danced in and out of her cottage bedroom, not cold enough to be disruptive. The only light was a small candle the mare kept atop her side table. She wasn't fond of complete darkness. Angel's quiet snores were just barely audible from his pet-sized bed beneath the mare's. Laying her wings over her shoulders for an additional blanket, she turned to face the window and dozed off into a comfortable rest.
Three Days later
The sun was just beginning to set when she arrived at the trail of smooth stones that led to her humble abode. She wiped her hooves before creaking the door open. She slid the apron off of her and set it on the rack by the door. A few stains of batter lay on it, but it wasn't often Pinkie would request help at the bakery. Plus there was a nice basket of 'thank you' confections to take home with her. A pleasant, but very full, day. She'd already taken the time to feed her outdoor animals as she made her way home, and had now started to feed her many birds as well as prepare a salad for Angel. She hummed as she worked, before washing her hooves and making he way to her bedroom.
An envelope lay atop her pillow. A simple envelope of regular white paper, no lace or stamp. Clearly not delivered by the local mail mare considering the location. All that stood out was the center of the letter which was marked in black ink with a D.
A grin met the mare's face as she immediately took the letter, like all of these letters this one had a unique scent to it. It smelt strongly of salt, like a sea breeze. The last one smelt like smoke, the one before like wildflowers. Unable to resist the temptation she quickly opened the envelope and dispensed a single sheet of plain white paper.
She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, and after feeling a brief rush, like falling, she opened her eyes. She was no longer in her cottage, possibly not even Equestria, all around her was a white void. Not the discerning sort that would trigger paranoia, it had a warmth in its simplicity. The smell of salt was being blown about the void, tickling the mare's nose and blowing her hair out of place. A familiar voice began to speak, echoing through the void yet reaching Fluttershy as more of a whisper, another curious effect of this bizarre middle dimension.
“I apologize for the wait on the return, I'd been so busy in my own little adventures that I lost track of time. Luckily I found it and was able to get your letter. It's good to hear things are as zany in Ponyville as they should be, too much of the mundane isn't good for an always growing mind, Fluttershy. I can't criticize you for lack of experience though, a vampire! That is absolutely splendid, it's a shame you couldn't keep the look. No really, it would suit you, and I'm not just saying that because I might have had a claw involved the whole creation of Sanguinarianism. Oh, come now, don't roll your eyes I'm only kidding.”
The mare sighed, once again having had her reaction predicted to a tee. Regardless, the void was growing a pleasant shade of blue as the voice continued.
“Anyways, I'm certain you'd like to know what's going on in the usually daily life of old Discord, well take a look, this one is quite a treat that I almost couldn't fit it in a letter this time!”
All of the sudden Fluttershy nearly tripped as she felt her body began to rock back and forth. It was a slow rocking as the blue around her split, the top a calm sky blue and below a rocking wave of darker blues that began to form the lines of waves. Next she knew she felt planks of wood beneath her hooves as the foundations of a grand ship began to form out of thin air. Billowing sails of cloth grew out of an imposing mast as the ship finished forming, being rocked by the waves below. The final detail to the scene was formed into existence, a gloriously bright sun suspended above the ship, reflecting its way across the bright blue ocean waters. Bits of spray was carried along the breeze, and Fluttershy winced a bit as she adjusted to the sunlight. The warmth was extremely comfortable.
“Ah yes, this was such a fun time, this ship is called the S. S. Stalliongrad. For the record I didn't steal it or conjure it up, you'll be proud to know that my latest escapades had me on the opposite side of Equestria near the port town of the same name as the ship. I was just visiting the port town and teaching the locals how to turn fish into books when the locals told me that they lost a crew at sea and needed help. You should have seen it, they were kneeling and begging, it was hyster-erm, very humbling. Yes. Any-who I naturally couldn't resist assisting a poor defenseless town in need being the heroic and kindhearted spirit I am and took to the seas.”
The air grew still, then heavy. The ocean began to grow more violent, waves slamming against the boat as a storm began to form, blocking the sun away as a whirlpool began to form ahead of the boat. The boat was being drawn in perilously fast. Fluttershy began to panic and attempt to shield herself from the beating rain when she found herself levitating above the ship and a small pink umbrella now floated above her, defending her from the storm.
“Oh my, I forgot how rough it was out there, my apologies Fluttershy. Anyways, after a specific amount of time I had managed to swim many, many miles and found this storm battering this poor boat. A group of sailor ponies were frantically running back and forth desperately trying to regain control of their ship but that whirlpool was too powerful. Oh dear, it looked like the end for these seafaring ponies.”
As he explained it, the gruff sailor ponies, captain included, formed atop the boat, running back and forth throwing luggage overboard and trying to reposition the sails. Fluttershy instinctively covered one of her eyes as the boat grew closer to the whirlwind.
“Time was of the essence, when I had the most amazing idea. You see I took the whirlpool and after a windup threw it into the sky. It was rough business, I nearly threw my arm out but I live to serve, of course.”
The whirlpool began to foam at the edges, and while the draconequus couldn't be seen, the storm began to levitate before lifting above the water, spraying large quantities of sea water all about (the levitating umbrella was kind enough to shift to take most of the blast from the Pegasus) as a cyclone of wind grew visible above the water. After a few shakes in midair the cyclone was shot directly into the sky where it continued spinning to absorb the storm clouds. The rain came to a halt and as soon as all the gray skies were sucked in the cyclone dispersed and the sun brightened the ocean again. The whole scene reset itself almost exactly as it was before, with the exception of a group of very relieved and very surprised sailors clearly wondering what had just saved their lives.
“Now I'm not the type to brag or demand compensation, so after helping myself to some of their delicious fish I had decided to head off to the seas for a bit. It was quite serene, I made myself a fine house of coral at the bottom of the ocean where I am currently writing this letter. I plan on searching for mermaids for now and afterward, well, it's been a while since I've been to space. That's for another letter, though.”
The ship had already faded away, leaving the Pegasus time to just sit in midair and watch the waves move across the waters in foamy lapses. The sky was clear and the rain from before had already dried out of her mane. Discord's voice continued its narration.
“Well that was my latest tale, in a nutshell. Doing very nice, not evil deeds as per usual. I hope to hear of how things are going on your side of Equestria with your interesting little friends soon, until then I'm thinking of flounder for dinner tonight. Tata, your friend, Discord. Oh, also, if you don't mind don't tell Twilight about the whole 'saving the sailors' thing, I do have a reputation to uphold.”
With that the ocean and sky disappeared and the white overtook the void again, the brief rush hit Fluttershy again as she whited back into her room. Her mane was disheveled but the salt and sea water had disappeared like it never touched her. The paper had already tucked itself back into the envelope which resealed itself and lay atop her pillow like it was when she first entered her room. The mare gave a small giggle before unlocking the top drawer beside her bed. It slid open to reveal a large folder with many tabs, one reading 'Mountains of Saddle Arabia', another 'The Emerald Rainforest', another 'Above the clouds of Canterlot'. In each tab lay a letter, marked with a bold D and identical to the rest. Humming to herself Fluttershy took the folder out and taking care with the quill between her teeth, wrote a new tab.
'The S.S.Stalliongrad'
She filed the letter away and set the folder back inside the drawer. It was heavy with all the letters she'd received, but each one was significant in its own way. Fluttershy tilted her head, she hadn't had any adventures lately to write about. Maybe tomorrow something worth writing about will come up.
“Maybe tomorrow,” Fluttershy sighed as she sat atop her bed and began to lay back. It wasn't dark yet but it was close enough to sleep. It was after a few seconds of closed eyes that she sat back up and took her quill between her teeth and a piece of blank parchment.
She was sure she could think of something worth writing tonight.
