The REF Palimpsest

by Brass Polish

Rating: everyone
Tags: Thriller, Fluttershy, Adventure, Random, Discord, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Comedy, Other
Length: 5273

Fluttershy, Discord, Crosspatch and Tree Hugger have a casual get-together… aboard a derelict pirate airship. Same time tomorrow?

Fluttershy, Discord, Crosspatch and Tree Hugger have a casual get-together… aboard a derelict pirate airship. Same time tomorrow?

Published 2016-03-05 14:50:01 UTC
Last updated 2016-03-05 14:50:01 UTC

1 Inspiration

Fluttershy had been particularly outdoorsy lately despite the fact that Rainbow Dash had been making such a noise about the upcoming Daring Do release being held up. This was because Tree Hugger was coming to Ponyville to have a look at Crosspatch’s pet cockatrice Scavenger and their home. As soon as she’d heard the news, Fluttershy sent a letter to Discord. This seemed to her like a golden opportunity for her and her three good friends outside of the Friendship Council to spend time together. She never got a response by the time Tree Hugger arrived in town. She assumed this meant Discord wasn’t interested, and it bothered her that he didn’t respond at all.

I hope he’s still not upset about me taking Tree Hugger to the Grand Galloping Gala instead of him, she thought as the train she was waiting for pulled into the station. I thought he’d gotten over that.

The locomotive let off steam, and from the white fog emerged Tree Hugger.

“Wow. Light water,” she grinned as she exited the coach and stepped onto the platform. “This must be what it’s like to touch a cloud. Hey Fluttershy, what’s it like to touch a cloud?”

“Uh, hello to you too, Tree Hugger,” Fluttershy faltered. “Um, for a pegasus, it’s not that different from touching ground.”

Tree Hugger looked up at the sky. “So… I’ve known my whole life what touching a cloud is like. Sweet.”

They heard grumbling from the cloud Tree Hugger was looking at.

“That’s just my friend Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy said quickly, having caught to look on Tree Hugger’s face. “She’s upset that a new volume of her favourite book series isn’t coming for a while.”

“Oh. I thought that cloud was complaining about me,” Tree Hugger chuckled.

Fluttershy took Tree Hugger to Crosspatch’s house and introduced her to Crosspatch.

“And is this your pet cockatrice?” asked Tree Hugger.

“No, actually,” smirked Crosspatch.

“Oh. Well, could you show me your…?”

“He is,” groaned Crosspatch.

Tree Hugger inspected Scavenger, who stood by Crosspatch in a relaxed sort of way.

“So how did you come by him?” asked Tree Hugger.

“He came from the Everfree Forest and started turning ponies to stone just for laughs. So I gave him the Stare and told him to turn everypony he looked at back to normal. But it turned out he’d turned somepony to stone a while ago and we got him to help us find her. And during that time, we bonded a bit. And now he helps me and my brother with pest control.”

Tree Hugger never took her eyes off of Scavenger the whole time Crosspatch was talking.

“Does he ever use his powers?” she asked.

“Sometimes he hides in the bushes in ponies’ backyards and turns skunks to stone,” said Crosspatch. “Then when we take the skunks to a field or a forest, he turns them back to normal.”

“Could I see his power?” Tree Hugger asked.

“You mean you want him to turn you to stone?” asked Crosspatch.

“It’s not that I don’t trust you or anything. I just wanna experience it for myself.”

Scavenger looked up at Crosspatch, who nodded to him. So he leered, and one second later, Tree Hugger was stoned.

Fluttershy and Crosspatch spent the next minute dragging Tree Hugger’s statue across the room and spinning it around. This way she’d know she had indeed been an inanimate object once Scavenger restored her.

“OK, go ahead,” said Crosspatch.

Scavenger leered in the statue’s eyes and backed away. Tree Hugger turned to face Crosspatch.

“Did he do it?”

“Yeah,” Crosspatch raised an eyebrow. “Can’t you tell you’re in another part of the room?”

“Uh, I haven’t really had enough time to let this room soak in,” said Tree Hugger.

“I’m sure you can take my word, Tree Hugger,” interjected Fluttershy.

“Sure. So what I wanna do is keep an eye around here for a few days to see how he’s doing living in a suburb,” said Tree Hugger. “How about we start by leaving him here for a few hours? See how he deals when he’s alone.”

“Well, my mom and brother live here too,” said Crosspatch.

“Oh. Well, let’s see how Scavy does without the one who checked him out around.”

“Checked out?! That’s a weird word for the Stare,” Crosspatch tried not to laugh at the pony give was her best shot for a legal license to have a pet cockatrice.

“I think Fluttershy said we should eat out or something,” said Tree Hugger.

Fluttershy shuffled. It wasn’t often she took this sort of initiative with ponies.

“Can we eat in?” asked Crosspatch. “I don’t wanna hear Rainbow whine about A K Yearling’s writer’s block.”

Fluttershy shuffled again. She was the only one in the room who was aware that A K Yearling’s books were actually autobiographical.

“You’re not surprised, are ya?” asked Tree Hugger, looking up at the red evening sky. “I’d totally wig out if my favourite author was sitting on her hooves for a bit. Too bad I can’t touch clouds. I could go up there and give her some sonic bliss. Hey Crosspatch, does your mutation let you walk on clouds?”

“What gave you that idea?” asked Crosspatch.

“Fluttershy said you gotta water yourself every ten minutes.”

“Well I don’t wanna go up there. I’d probably faint, whether or not I could walk on clouds,” shuddered Crosspatch.

Tree Hugger frowned. “I hear ya. I didn’t like hanging in midair when Discord was gonna fling me into that hole in the air at the Gala.”

“Boy, am I glad I turned down Fluttershy’s +1 invitation,” said Crosspatch. “I’ve never even met Discord yet. How come you’ve never introduced me, Fluttershy?”

“Oh. Well, you don’t like when others take your spritzing bottle from you, and… that seems like something Discord would do,” said Fluttershy. “He’s a big trickster.”

“He must be a riot on Nightmare Night,” grinned Tree Hugger.

Fluttershy admitted to them that she’d never hung out with Discord on Nightmare Night.

“I think he might be a bit overbearing,” she said sheepishly.

“Overbearing?” Crosspatch scoffed. “What about that stuff you pulled on your friends that one…?”

“That was only one time!” burst out Fluttershy. “But like I told you, I promised them I’d never scare them like that again.”

“Now that you’d told them that, you should go ahead on scare the living snot outta them next Nightmare Night,” suggested Tree Hugger.

“Why would I go against my promise to my friends?!” cried Fluttershy.

“They won’t see it coming,” said Tree Hugger.

“That’s true,” grinned Crosspatch. “They wouldn’t suspect you when they try to work out an explanation for the spooky stuff that’s happening to them.”

“Oh, I couldn’t,” insisted Fluttershy. “I mean, I couldn’t do it on my own in the first place. I had to get help from Angel Bunny. And he used all his A material that night. Even if I did decide to break my promise and pull a scary prank on my friends on Nightmare Night, I wouldn’t know how to do it. I’d need some sort of inspiration.”

“Did I hear somepony call for some inspiration?” asked Discord.

“What in Celestia’s feathers is that?!” cried Crosspatch.

“I am hoping to get onto your non-pests list,” Discord looked down on Crosspatch with an unsettling smile.

“You have a non-pests list?” asked Tree Hugger. “That’s kinda speciesist.”

“I’m a pest pony. It’s my job to categorise creatures like that,” protested Crosspatch.

“Hey, if anything, ponies are the biggest pests in Equestria,” frowned Tree Hugger. “Can you imagine how many animals we had to shove outta the way to make our homes?”

“That only happened because of the Windigoes,” said Crosspatch. “And if those aren’t pests, I don’t know what is.”

“Um, hi, Discord,” Fluttershy said.

Discord scooped Fluttershy, Tree Hugger, and Crosspatch into a hug.

“Splendiferous to see you three. And thanks again for the invite.”

“Uh… again?”

Discord’s confused-looking head appeared in front of Fluttershy, Crosspatch, and Tree Hugger while they were still in his clutches.

“Am I to take it you weren’t expecting you dear old draconequus pal?” he asked.

“Oh, no. That’s not…” Fluttershy blushed a bit. “Well, it’s just, I don’t remember getting a reply from you after I wrote to you.”

“Oh, dear. It must have sent my reply to the wrong nose,” said Discord.

“Huh?” asked Crosspatch and Tree Hugger together.

“I guess I should explain how we send each other letters,” said Fluttershy.

“Of course!” exclaimed Discord. “A pleasant conversation over a lovely picnic dinner. You read my mind. And luckily for you, I’ve scoped out the perfect picnic spot.”

He snapped his fingers.

“Whoa. Did Scavenger turn me to a statue again?” asked Tree Hugger.

Crosspatch’s reply was soundless. The three ponies looked around. None of them recognised the place Discord had transported them to. Discord was holding a small grey disk. Fluttershy had heard from Twilight, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash that he once used a magical dial to keep their voices down, and figured this must be the same thing.

“Welcome to the grand tour of the REF Palimpsest,” he said softly and exuberantly. “The brightest jewel in the sky. Long since abandoned in a combination freak storm and pirate invasion, during which the vessel was damaged to the point of being undrivable, and everything of value was stolen. Everything… accept that.”

He waved his paw at a large padlocked wooden chest sitting near one of the walls.

“This, ladies, is the legendary Treasure of Admiral Gust,” he said softly. “Myth states that he enclosed a storm cloud in the chest with his gold and silver, and should the chest be disturbed, ZAP. Even a loud noise could cause the chest to emit lightning bolts. Hence why the pirates who boarded his airship never claimed it.”

Tree Hugger would have said “radical”, but she still had the mute spell on her just like Fluttershy and Crosspatch did.

“That concludes our tour,” Discord said, waving his claw. “Please enjoy our complimentary picnic supper.”

From his waving claw came a chequered tablecloth with tea and buns on it. Then he turned the dial he was holding.

“So,” said Crosspatch quietly, “what made you think having a picnic next to a treasure chest liable to explode was a good idea?”

“Who’s better at being quiet than the world champion?” Discord nudged Fluttershy, who managed not to yelp.

“Wow. Are we high or what?” said Tree Hugger.

Crosspatch walked over to the window Tree Hugger was gazing out of. There was no sign of land beneath the airship gondola they were standing in. All they could see were clouds and patches of dark evening sky.

“Where is this airship anyway?” Crosspatch turned to Discord, who had parked himself on the tablecloth.

“The sky. If you’d like to have a seat…” he reached out and plonked Fluttershy on the cloth opposite himself.

Crosspatch groaned. She was sure it was a lost cause trying to get a straight answer out of Discord.

“What does REF mean?” asked Tree Hugger.

“Royal Equestrian Flyers,” Fluttershy spoke up for the first time aboard the Palimpsest. “They were formed during a squall hundreds of years ago to find the cause of the rainstorms and snow flurries.”

“Correct,” said Discord. “Little did they realise that the storms were being caused by a band of pegasi pirates, to lure them…”

“I think you mean pirate pegasi, guy,” interrupted Tree Hugger. “Pegasi pirates makes it sound like they stole pegasi.”

Discord looked like he was about to set off Admiral Gust’s treasure.

“And so, the challenge begins. Can we enjoy our picnic on this old, unstable, ill-fated airship? Or will one of our number lose their nerve and let loose a cry of fright that will free the thundercloud Admiral Gust imprisoned in his treasure chest? And if that happens,” Discord paused dramatically, “will we survive? Let’s get started.”

Right away, things were looking dangerous. The tea kettle let off a whistle that would make a locomotive feel inadequate.

“Shut it off,” hissed Crosspatch.

By the time Discord had shut the kettle up by pinching the spout, the noise it made was echoing all around the airship. Steam surrounded the four picnickers and filled the gondola. Tree Hugger shut her eyes and breathed deeply, as though she was listening to a soothing lullaby. Fluttershy was shaking with worry. And she was sure her shaking was making more noise, which made her shake even more.

“It’s fine, Fluttershy,” said Crosspatch, placing a hoof in the tense pegasus’ back. “The noise is dying down. We’re safe… ish.”

Discord pretended he hadn’t seen the doubtful look Crosspatch had given him as he helped himself to a warm buttery biscuit. Crosspatch poured herself some tea.

“Uh, oh,” Crosspatch didn’t mean to worsen Fluttershy’s concerns. “I haven’t got my spritzing bottle with me. Uh… Discord?”

“Yes?”

“C-Could you bring my bottle here with your chaos magic?”

“I’ve got a better idea.”

Discord took Crosspatch’s tea cup and put the used tea bag from the pot into it. The tea retracted into the bag, leaving clear water.

“There you go,” said Discord, passing the cup back to Crosspatch.

Crosspatch was impressed, but she didn’t realise that the water was still hot until she dipped her hoof into it. She dropped her cup and stuffed her other hoof into her mouth to stifle her yell.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you you ought to blow on it first,” apologised Discord.

Fluttershy covered her face with trembling hooves. They’d just started their picnic aboard this unsettling vessel and already things were going amiss.

“I’m not burned or anything, Fluttershy,” said Crosspatch when she noticed this.

“Perhaps some sonic bliss will calm her?” Discord glanced in Tree Hugger’s direction.

“Uh… I don’t know if it works on ponies,” said Tree Hugger.

No one said anything for a few minutes. Discord, Tree Hugger, and Crosspatch ate a few biscuits and sipped some tea. Fluttershy didn’t touch a morsel. Crosspatch was sure it would be no use asking Discord to take them someplace else.

“Why not give that sonic bliss stuff a try?” she suggested to Tree Hugger.

“Oh, OK,” Tree Hugger closed her eyes.

No one heard the noises Tree Hugger made in the same way. Crosspatch didn’t think they were loud enough to set off a thundercloud. Fluttershy was sure she would bring the whole airship down. Discord was stuffing biscuits into his ears. Either way, they seemed to be working. Fluttershy’s breathing became steadier and she stopped shaking… for a moment.

Then she saw something fly over the treasure chest and make a grab for Crosspatch, who was sitting with her back to the chest. Then the zap apple magic Crosspatch had inherited from the Zap-O-Lantern kicked in. Her eyes glowed multiple colours, sparks ignited all over her coat, and whatever attacked her was propelled backwards. The bang was deafening in the surrounding silence. The unidentified attacker sailed over the chest and out of sight, leaving behind a streak of light vapour.

“What’s all that white powder?” asked Tree Hugger.

“I don’t know,” Discord sounded concerned. “The legend of Admiral Gust’s treasure doesn’t say anything about ghosts.”

“G-ghosts?”

Fluttershy started shaking again. Crosspatch looked behind her towards the chest, and accidentally inhaled the white vapour the attacker had left behind. Her cough was awful. And to Fluttershy’s ears, ear-shattering. She could swear she heard the chest rattle. And she wasn’t the only one. Crosspatch was watching the shuddering chest and doing her best to control her coughing. Tree Hugger was holding some of her dreads over her face. Discord hid behind her.

Author's Note

Inspired by TUGS Audio Productions' "Chimera", and After the Fact: Make New Friends But Keep Discord.

2 Cockatrice License

Soon enough, the chest stopped rattling. Crosspatch took a sip of tea to ease her throat. Fluttershy calmed down.

“It must have been dust,” she said.

She stepped off the tablecloth and onto the gondola floor. She found that there was so much dust about, that she wasn’t even leaving hoof prints.

“It wasn’t a ghost that attacked Crosspatch,” she said. “It must’ve been some kind of bird.”

Discord slinked out from behind Tree Hugger. “How rude. This is a private party.”

“If birds have been nesting in here, then we’re the trespassers,” said Tree Hugger.

“I’d have said we could share our biscuits with them if one of them hadn’t tried to scratch me,” groaned Crosspatch.

Fluttershy took a few steps towards the dark corner of the gondola the attacker had been flung into.

“Hello? Are you alright?”

No reply or movement.

“You should apologize, Crosspatch,” insisted Tree Hugger.

“Oh, sure. Sorry I’m immune to unwarranted scratches and bites,” Crosspatch griped. “How about you calm the idiot down with your sonic bliss?”

“Isn’t that what prompted the attack in the first place?” inquired Discord.

“Oh, yeah. You missed her, stupid bird.”

Fluttershy ventured forward and walked around the chest towards the dark corner. The chest made no noise or movements.

“It’s alright,” Fluttershy said softly. “We’re not gonna hurt you. My friend didn’t mean to throw you backwards. She can’t help it. It just happens whenever she gets attacked.”

“Chirpy’s just lucky he didn’t attack me by accident,” Discord whispered to Tree Hugger and Crosspatch. “I’ve got my own built-in defence mechanism. It makes the attacker break dance involuntarily.”

Tree Hugger and Crosspatch stifled their snickers as Fluttershy kept her eyes peeled for movement in the dark gondola corner. Then, out of the shadows came a small grey cat.

“It’s a kitty,” beamed Fluttershy, extending a hoof to the small animal.

“A cat? Why is there a cat in an airship?” asked Crosspatch. “Did you plant one here, Discord?”

“You’d know if I planted something here,” smirked Discord.

“Airship crews liked to have cats aboard,” said Tree Hugger. “They kept the rats from chewing on ropes.”

“I think you’re thinking of water ships,” said Crosspatch. “What kind of ropes would they have aboard airships?”

“Anchor ropes. Sandbag ropes. Tow ropes,” said Tree Hugger.

“Fascinating,” Discord scratched his chin.

The cat wouldn’t let Fluttershy pet him.

“How did you get on this ship?” asked Fluttershy.

The cat just hissed. Fluttershy turned to her fellow picnickers.

“He won’t answer,” she said.

Her back wasn’t turned to the cat for long before he took a swipe at her. She yelped and jumped backwards.

“Man. That cat’s a total square,” Tree Hugger groaned.

The cat meowed in an aggravated way.

“He said he wants to go back to land,” said Fluttershy.

“So he doesn’t live here. How’d he get here?” asked Crosspatch.

Fluttershy could see the cat was in an ugly mood and most likely wouldn’t answer.

“I could take you home if you like,” she offered.

The cat’s grumpy face lightened and he stepped towards Fluttershy. He meowed again.

“Was that an obscene insult?” asked Discord.

“No. He said it doesn’t matter where I leave him,” Fluttershy replied, “as long as it’s solid ground. I’ll just take him somewhere beneath this air ship.”

The cat jumped onto Fluttershy’s back and sunk his claws into her.

“Ow!”

Discord produced a grey apple out of nowhere and held it out to Fluttershy.

“Oh, quit it,” groaned Crosspatch over Tree Hugger’s giggling.

The view was lovely. Fluttershy completely forget that she was carrying a moody cat stuck to her back for a moment.

“So many lanterns down in that village,” she said. “It’s like there’s two skies. I wonder what village this is.”

As Fluttershy descended, she couldn’t see any ponies about. Perhaps everypony in town was in bed.

“I guess I’ll have to be quiet down here as well,” she said, glancing up at the REF Palimpsest, which was partially obscured by the clouds in the red/purple sky.

When she touched down onto the dirt path that ran through the village, the cat meowed, which Fluttershy understood to mean “I can find my way home from here.”

“Alright. Goodbye,” Fluttershy said warmly as the cat retracted his claws from her back and walked away.

She watched the cat walk down the path for a moment before taking one last look around the peaceful village.

“I hope the next time the Cutie Map sends me somewhere, it’s this place,” she said. “Although, I don’t know what could cause strife in such a pretty town as this. Then again, Starlight’s village looked trouble-free too before we found out why everypony looked so happy.”

She took to the air back towards the REF Palimpsest. As she got closer, she realised that the airship itself was just as photogenic as the village. Fluttershy had never felt this way while flying before. She was usually so worried about being so high above the ground that she had hardly ever stopped to admire the view. She was so dazzled by the Palimpsest, she circled around it once before returning to the gondola.

When she re-entered, she found it was deserted. The table cloth and tea fixins were gone, and Discord, Tree Hugger, and Crosspatch were nowhere to be seen.

“Huh? Where is everyone?”

A hole suddenly opened beneath her. She fell into it and found herself inside a tube slide, which slanted, twisted, and turned for a minute before opening into a short pool in Ponyville. Discord, Tree Hugger, and Crosspatch was standing at the end.

“Sorry to cut our little get-together short,” said Discord, “but I’m a bit behind on my crazy-sleep. I’ll meet you ladies tomorrow and we’ll have some more fun then.”

And he flew into the slide, the only part of which was visible was the exit. The hole vanished as soon as he disappeared into it. None of the mares said anything as they returned home. They were all quite tired themselves, and a little shook up by the evening’s events. Crosspatch led Tree Hugger back to her house without a word, and Fluttershy went to her cottage feeling exhausted, but pleased. The only time she spoke for the rest of the night was when she told Angel where she’d been upon her return.

“I’ve just had the best picnic ever.”

Tree Hugger spent the following day observing Scavenger as he lounged about at home, and for an hour on duty when Crosspatch was called upon to chase an osprey from Seafoam’s koi pond. She was glad that Scavenger was getting plenty of exercise, and that Crosspatch had invested in a hefty supply of dietetic food for him. Fluttershy dropped by Crosspatch’s house that evening, and found her and Tree Hugger in the backyard with Scavenger. Tree Hugger was just saying that she’d like to see how Scavenger gets on in the evenings.

“No! We’re supposed to be with Discord,” Fluttershy interjected, landing in the backyard.

“Oh, yeah,” smiled Tree Hugger. “He’ll probably have some far out activity planned for us.”

“I hope so,” said Fluttershy.

Crosspatch chuckled. “Me too. I actually enjoyed myself last night. I thought Discord was scary at first, but he does such funny stuff with his magic, I don’t mind being around him so much anymore. I mean, that way he sends you mail… hilarious.”

“Yeah. And until he came along, I never would have thought that there are some animals in this world that are just plain jerks,” said Tree Hugger.

“And I liked being on the Palimpsest,” said Fluttershy. “I felt… excited on that ship. I was terrified to start with, but then I found out how beautiful it was. I’d love to picnic up there again.”

“Did Scavenger just lay an egg?” asked Tree Hugger.

When Fluttershy and Crosspatch looked at the round white object next to Scavenger, they quickly learned that it was one of Discord’s jokes. The creature himself hatched from the egg and perched himself on a coop he conjured from nowhere.

“I gleaned a great deal from our get-together myself,” he said. “I got to learn about airship cats from Hugsy, and I got to see Patchy’s zap apple magic for myself. It was such a thrill watching it catapult that cat away. Why I’ll bet that defence could even ward me off.”

And without warning, he sprang forward and took a swipe at Crosspatch. Sure enough, the two of them tensed up, Crosspatch’s eyes flashed multi-colour, and sparks ignited all over her body. Moments later, Discord was shot backwards into the sky. Along his way, he stretched his arms, reached down to the ground, and grabbed Crosspatch, Tree Hugger, and Fluttershy. He carried the three mares with him along the way through the sky, and they sailed through a gondola window and landed on a floor caked with dust. They were back aboard the REF Palimpsest.

“Welcome back, ladies,” chirped Discord, not appearing phased at all by the force of Crosspatch’s magic.

He made a tablecloth and multiple pie dishes appear.

“Didn’t we just do this?” asked Crosspatch.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, man,” said Tree Hugger. “We had biscuits last time. Those are quiches.”

“I believe I heard Fluttershy say she’d like for the four of us to eat up here again,” said Discord.

Fluttershy was delighted. “Thank you, Discord. This is gonna be so much fun.”

It didn’t take long for Fluttershy to realise that this wasn’t to be. It wasn’t nearly as much fun this time around. They all knew to keep their voices down so they didn’t disturb the treasure chest, there were no animals aboard to pounce on any of them, and when Fluttershy flew out to admire the view, she didn’t find it as attractive as she had last night.

“Maybe you were just so happy to find out it was a cool-looking ship after being so terrified of it at first,” Tree Hugger suggested when Fluttershy told them this.

“Maybe,” sighed Fluttershy.

“Disappointed?” asked Discord. “I mean, this is what you wanted, isn’t it? To do the exact same thing as we did yesterday evening?”

Fluttershy smiled. “I think I made a mistake. I didn’t realise it wouldn’t be as fun so soon. It’s just not the same knowing what to expect. I guess if you do something you enjoy too often, the novelty can wear off.”

Crosspatch and Tree Hugger agreed, and Discord showed no sign of annoyance.

“In that case, what’s say we leave these quiches behind and go with Tree Hugger’s plan of watching Scavenger?”

He didn’t wait for a response. He teleported the four of them away, leaving their second meal aboard the Palimpsest barely touched.

Tree Hugger didn’t stay in Ponyville for as long as she’d intended. Discord joked that she must have been sick of hearing Rainbow Dash’s voice, which went from disappointed to excited when she learned that the release date was going to be sooner. Tree Hugger decided she was satisfied with how Scavenger was being looked after, and presented Crosspatch was an Equestrian Society for the Preservation of Magical Creatures stamp of approval for owning a cockatrice as a pet. Crosspatch, Fluttershy, and Discord gave Tree Hugger a nice send off the day she left.

“I’ll be sure to scope out another stimulating picnic location for your next visit,” said Discord.

“Groovy,” smiled Tree Hugger.

“Are you still looking for something to inspire you for the next Nightmare Night, Fluttershy?” asked Crosspatch.

“Oh, no. I decided I’ll keep my promise to my friends,” replied Fluttershy. “But I think I’d enjoy picnicking in a dark, scary place again, as long as I stagger these get-togethers.”

“Sounds fine,” shrugged Crosspatch.

“Glad I could find something all four of us can enjoy,” said Discord. “In moderation, of course.”

Fluttershy wasn’t a Daring Do fan despite knowing that the stories weren’t fictional, but the title of her next release grabbed her attention when Rainbow Dash zoomed around town clutching her freshly bought copy.

“Daring Do & the REF Palimpsest?!”

The blimp on the cover looked incredibly familiar. She asked if she could join Rainbow Dash as she read the book for the first time. Rainbow read aloud in her most dramatic voice, which fitted the story to a tee. She was getting through the story quickly, and when she reached the point where Ahuizotl had tied up and gagged Daring Do and shut her in a wooden chest, several passages peaked Fluttershy’s interest.

“A high-pitched scream infiltrated the chest, prompting Daring to raise her head and peer through the key hole. All she could see was a white vapour. She lowered her head again, her mind racing to the old legends of pirates and ghosts. They were sure to be attracted to a large wooden chest like the one she was imprisoned in. She heard an eerie noise; not a scream like before, but she was sure it was a voice. As she raised her head to peek through the key hole again, there was a flash of light, and something white flew towards the chest. Panic absorbed Daring Do. She thrashed about inside the chest, unable to break free of her bonds. Soon, her depleting energy gave out, and she lied on the bottom of the chest, allowing her fear to grip her soul.”

The next few paragraphs were difficult for Fluttershy to listen to, as they descried an anxiety and hunger that she didn’t think she could cope with herself. Eventually, another part of the story caught Fluttershy off guard.

“She rolled over in her sleep, and awoke with a start. Her head was resting on her left foreleg. She realised that she hadn’t eaten for so long, she’d lost so much weight, the ropes weren’t constricting her anymore. She wriggled out, took the hanky off her mouth, and felt around the dark chest. Her long sleep had rejuvenated her enough to conserve her energy despite the ache in her stomach, and the nightmare she’d had only made her more determined to break free. It took her four tries. She threw her whole weight against the lid of the chest, and broke free at last. Her nose was immediately filled with the smell of fresh quiche. Without a care for where it came from, without worry that it might have been placed there by ghosts and that it was somehow cursed, she lunged for the neatly spread chequered tablecloth, seized a tin, and shovelled quiche into her mouth.”

That grey cat… thought Fluttershy. What if it was just covered in dust?

Fluttershy knew that Rainbow Dash wouldn’t approve of what she felt like doing, so she bought her own copy of Daring Do & the REF Palimpsest.

Discord was playing a hydra’s heads like a drum kit when an entire book dropped out of his nose.

“Has my dear little Fluttershy sent me a recommendation?” he chuckled as he inspected the book.

He saw that some of the pages were bookmarked with yellow feathers. He found a number of highlighted parts of the story, and on the very last page, she had written “Care to explain?” with her highlighter. Discord took his antler from his head, clicked it, and wrote a response under Fluttershy’s inquiry.

“Well, I figured if the atmosphere aboard the Palimpsest didn’t inspire you,” he dictated with a smirk, “we might provide somepony else with some much needed inspiration. Besides, it’s not the first time I’ve meddled with Miss Do’s affairs.”

Author's Note

I wish Tree Hugger had her own icon. I imagine the site'll be updated to include more season 5 characters at some point.