Part One: Love Cannot Live Where There Is No Trust
Once there was a king who had three lovely daughters: Rarity; the oldest, Pinkie Pie; the middle child, and Fluttershy; the youngest and the most stunning of all. Fluttershy’s beauty surpassed her sisters so greatly, that beside them she appeared to be a goddess among mortals. However her beauty paled in comparison to her kindness. Most mares graced with such looks were spoiled and arrogant but not Fluttershy. She was the most gentle, benevolent mare known to pony kind and her fame spread all over the land. Everywhere stallions journeyed to gaze upon Fluttershy and pay her homage. However Fluttershy was very shy and felt embarrassed around the awe-stricken stallions. This made her even desirable in their eyes and every stallion began to forget all about Cadence, the Goddess of Love, for they believed that even Cadence could not rival Fluttershy’s beauty. Stallions adored Fluttershy so greatly, that the Temples of Cadence were neglected. There were no longer any offerings upon her dusty, ash covered shrines. All the praise that once belonged to Cadence were now bestowed to a mere mortal pegasus who was destined to grow old and die.
Of course, Cadence being a jealous goddess would not allow such insults to her vanity to go unpunished. She decided to enlist the help of her mishappen son, Discord. Although he was a god, Discord was not handsome by pony standards but his joyful and boisterous personality was so infectious the other gods forgot all about his strange appearance. Though he himself did not see his inner beauty and cursed his form. Cadence had told him his appearance was due to the fact embodied the chaotic beauty of love. Love came in so many forms and was unpredictable just like Discord's body parts came from many different animals and he was always making ponies fall in love with the most horrible match for them. For no pony could defend themselves against his arrows. Once struck, an all-consuming desire and passion would envelop the target. They would not be able to live without the first pony they looked at.
“Use your power,” Cadence shrieked angrily at Discord, “make that namby pamby pegasus fall in love with the most despicable, vile donkey there is.”
Normally Discord would have obeyed his mother’s orders without a thought but upon seeing the creature that erupted so much hatred and jealousy from his dear mother, he felt as though he had shot himself with one of his own arrows. He could not speak nor could he defy Cadence. His mother was confident that he would destroy her rival, but Fluttershy hadn’t fallen in love with horrible beast. Fluttershy hadn’t fallen in love at all and surprisingly no pony had fallen in love with her. Stallions were elated to look upon her and shower her with praise and worship yet they went on to marry other mares. Both her sisters, Rarity and Pinkie Pie, were married to wealthy nobles but Fluttershy, the loveliest mare in the world, was sad and alone; only admired, never loved. Did no stallion want her? The thought disturbed her parents greatly.
One day Fluttershy’s father sought wisdom from an oracle of Celestia. They needed advice on getting Fluttershy a good husband. Celestia answered him, but her words broke the king’s heart. Discord had told Celestia his plight and she had agreed to help him, so Celestia told Fluttershy’s father that as punishment for incurring the jealousy and wrath of Heaven, Fluttershy was to be left alone upon the base of the tallest mountain while dressed in her deepest mourning clothes for she was destined to marry a horrifying demon, stronger than the gods themselves.
Fluttershy’s family was heartbroken upon hearing the news. Rarity adorned her youngest sister in the most elegant of fabrics even though Fluttershy was dressed as if she were to be buried. They all wished that she was dead, for death was better than living at the mercy of a terrible demon. Fluttershy did not want them to leave her but she also did not want them to see her being whisked away to her doom. Such a sight would kill her dear father instantly. She took a deep breath before speaking.
“Please go and be happy….You can’t mourn the living,” she had to turn away for them to hide the tears that began to stream down her face, “So please go…I’m happy the end has come…really I am…”
And that her family departed from her but they did not stop grieving for the helpless pegasus. They would mourn her for the rest of their days. Fluttershy sat at the mountain base waiting for her doom. She wept bitterly to herself and did not notice the soft pink cloud lift her up. “How strange,” she thought, ”I never would have expected to ride to hell on a pink cloud as soft as cotton…” The pink cloud carried her to an enchanting meadow filled with exotic flowers. It was so peaceful that Fluttershy soon fell asleep upon the flower bed. When she awoke, she realized she was now by bright river and across from it was an elegant mansion far grander than any castle she had ever laid eyes upon. The pillars were made of solid gold, the walls of silver, and the floor was embedded with precious jewels. Fluttershy was awestricken at the mansion’s splendor. She hesitated to enter but disembodied voices whispered sweetly in her ears to enter without fear for this was to be her new home.
“Go and refresh yourself child,” another voice whispered.
A banquet table appeared before Fluttershy.
“We are your servants,” the voices continued, “here to fulfill your every wish.”
Fluttershy had never had such a wonderful bath. The waters were scented with lavender and filled with rose petals. Food had magically appeared the banquet table just as the table had done. The food was strange but it was enjoyably sweet. Sweeter than anything Fluttershy had ever tasted. The silverware and dishes danced around the table as soft music played. Everything was perfect but Fluttershy still had a foreboding feeling that come nighttime her husband would arrive. And so it happened, however when her mysterious husband whispered into her ear, all of her fears left her for the first time. In her heart, the shy pegasus knew she was safe and that this was right. Her heart told her that her new husband was not a horrifying demon but the lover she had secretly dreamed of.
The arrangement was no fairytale; Fluttershy longed to see her husband’s face. Voices could not ease her loneliness. She needed physical companionship but Discord cringed at the thought. He was afraid that somepony as beautiful as Fluttershy was would find him repulsive. She would run from him the moment she laid eyes on him. He warned her about her sisters’ arriving.
“My dear sweet Fluttershy,” he whispered, “Those sisters of yours are traveling to the base of the mountain to grieve for you, but I beg you not to let them see you. They will tear us apart.”
Fluttershy promised not to let her sister’s see her but she desperately needed to see someone again. If only she could see the heartbreak and fear in Discord’s eyes. He relented to her request but begged her not to let anyone persuade her into seeing him or they would be separated forever. And so Fluttershy gave him her word she would not do so. She couldn’t ever imagine betraying him. Even though she had never seen his form she had fallen in love with his gentle nature and his unique humor. He showed her things that she had never seen before and though at first they terrified the meek pegasus she learned to appreciate the strange wonders he shared with her.
Fluttershy was carried down the mountain by pink fluffy clouds to wait for her sisters. They were all overjoyed to see each other again. None could talk but they exchanged hugs as they wept blissfully. The clouds brought the three sisters back to the mansion. The joy Rarity and Pinkie felt upon being reunited with their beloved little sister quickly turned into jealousy when they saw how lavish the dwelling was. Rarity demanded to know the identity of Fluttershy’s husband and how he acquired such magnificent splendors. Both she and Pinkie felt as though their own wealth and good fortune were nothing compared to Fluttershy’s. Their hearts burned with so much hatred and jealousy they plotted against her as they returned home.
Fluttershy was playing with her new animal friends when Discord returned. He could sense the malice within elder sisters and he begged his beloved to never allow the sisters to return. Fluttershy began to cry.
“I-I can n-never see y-you…” she stuttered between sobs, “A-Am I forbidden t-to see any p-pony else? Even my dearest s-sisters?”
It broke Discord’s heart to see her so sad; He had no choice but to relent to her request.
“Know that you are far more important to me than all the wonders of this world, my dear. You are the love of my life.”
He left a gentle kiss upon her cheek before he departed from her and soon after her sisters had arrived. Pinkie and Rarity had been perfecting their wicked plan all night. They were able to deduce that Fluttershy had never seen her husband since her descriptions of him contradicted themselves.
“Oh Fluttershy you poor dear,” Rarity wailed dramatically as she threw her arms around the small pegasus.
“I can’t believe you were hiding so much pain from us!” Pinkie bellowed more dramatically than Rarity.
Fluttershy stared at them both in confusion. The devious sisters explained that they knew for a fact that Fluttershy’s husband was no pony but an even worse creature than the oracle of Celestia had led them to believe. Yes, he was nice now but soon he would reveal his true self and murder Fluttershy in her sleep.
Fluttershy gasped. Her wings snapped shut against her sides as she trembled in terror. Fear replaced the love in heart. What did she really know about her husband? Fluttershy had wondered why Discord was so against allowing her sisters to visit and why he always hid his form from her. Upon seeing the tears threaten to stream down her face, the wicked sisters continued to feed the doubt festering in Fluttershy’s heart. They handed her a knife and a lamp.
“Hide these near your bed,” Pinkie explained, “When your husband is asleep plunge this knife into him and end his life before he ends yours.”
“We’ll stay near to take you home with us once it’s all over, “Rarity affirmed.
Rarity and Pinkie struggled not to smile at each other. Fluttershy was such a gullible, naïve fool. She was eating out of their hooves and soon she would be as miserable and lonely as they were. Rarity and Pinkie had both entered loveless marriages to wealthy stallions. Listening to Fluttershy gush over how much of a sweetheart Discord was made their blood boil with jealousy. Fluttershy was like an infatuated, pampered puppy while their neglected hearts had withered away long ago. They were eager to make their sister just as miserable as they were and their plan was working.
By the time the sisters had departed, Fluttershy was torn apart with doubt and fear. She had fallen in love with a monster. But he wasn’t a monster, he was gentle and sweet. No, he was an evil spirit playing her for a fool. She had to kill him to protect herself. But she would rather die than cause harm to her beloved. Oh how she loved him so. He was so different from all the other stallions and she couldn’t remember a time when her life had been so lively. She struggled with her decisions for the rest of the day. When dusk settled in she was still torn, but one task was made certain. She would lay eyes upon him tonight and nothing would stop her.
Discord was plagued by nightmares that night. His wife was begging her sisters to take her away from him. No matter how much he pleaded with her to stay, she rebuked him and demanded his death for keeping her prisoner. This dream had haunted him every night since Rarity and Pinkie’s first visit and he could never shake the feeling that it was an ominous warning of the not so distant future. Of course he had always planned to eventually reveal his true form to Fluttershy for she could not be wed to a ghost all her life but he wanted some assurance that she would not run away from him. She was the first pony he had ever fallen in love with and even though their relationship was new and fast formed he did not want to lose it. He wanted her to trust him as he trusted her with his heart.
Fluttershy lit the lamp Pinkie at given her and tiptoed to the bed. She nearly dropped the light when she saw the creature she had pledged her life to. Yes, his form was highly unusual; he was a mix match of multiple creatures but she recognized him instantly as the deformed son of Cadence. Her husband was Love himself and in her eyes he was more handsome to her than any stallion in all of Equestria. Fluttershy sank to her back legs. Tears began to stream down her cheeks for her lack of faith. How could she have not trusted in her beloved husband when all he had been was kind and loving. He had never given her any reason to betray him. She hated herself for doubting him and vowed to never disappoint him again but her relief was short lived. Hot oil from the lamp dripped onto Discord’s furry chest. He bolted upright and saw her crying. He mistook her anguish for rejection and fled without word.
