Fluttershy was sad.
She came into the cafeteria minutes after her friends, absent-mindedly grabbed a bowl of vegetable salad and dragged her feet to the table without even picking anything to drink.
As she approached, the conversation at the table halted.
If you asked her friends, they’d tell you that a sad Fluttershy was one of the most heart-wrenching sights they could imagine. Yet they couldn’t look away, for it was their duty as decent human beings to make Fluttershy smile once more—no matter the cost.
There was one among them who, by an unspoken consensus, was the dedicated conversation starter in situations that required a delicate approach.
“Fluttershy, dear, what’s wrong?” Rarity softly spoke.
“Oh, uh, nothing,” said Fluttershy. “I wouldn’t want to bother you all.”
“Come on, Fluttershy!” said Rainbow Dash. She put her hand on her friend’s shoulder. “You’re never a bother. Spill it!” Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy’s oldest friend, had long perfected her complex approach to getting through the meek girl’s defences. It involved repeating her requests in an increasingly demanding tone, all the while exuding an air of gentle supportiveness, until Fluttershy caved.
“Thank you, Rainbow Dash,” mumbled Fluttershy, “but it’s really nothing important.”
“You know we’re not gonna let it go until you tell us what’s bothering you, right?” said Applejack, who could always be relied upon to bring a voice of reason to the table (whether it was the cafeteria table or a metaphorical one didn’t matter—Applejack was flexible).
Fluttershy accepted the inevitability of having to burden her friends with her problems. “I’m just a bit sad that nobody takes my fliers.”
“You mean for the animal shelter?” said Sunset Shimmer. Sunset Shimmer was always kind of around and, unless things had to do with magic, a perfectly regular person. Nobody could tell she was actually a unicorn from another dimension who had spent years as a high school tyrant.
“Yes,” Fluttershy sighed, “I feel useless.”
“Why don’t you go hand your fliers out in the city?” said Pinkie Pie. This girl liked to bury her nuggets of genius under so much nonsense that it could be condensed into solid matter and still fill a whole truck. But those nuggets were there.
“In... the city?” repeated Fluttershy with a confused tilt of her head.
“Yep!” chirped Pinkie. “I bet you’ll get noticed by lots and lots of new people!”
Fluttershy squeaked in a faint suggestion of protest.
“I have to agree with Pinkie Pie,” said Rarity. “I think it’s safe to assume most students here don’t want the responsibility that comes with adopting a pet.“
“They could just come help at the shelter,” whispered Fluttershy.
“Yes, darling, but not everyone has the same passion for cleaning hamster habitats as you do,” said Rarity with a shudder.
“Look, Pinkie might be onto something,” said Rainbow Dash. “I think you should try handing out fliers in the city instead of, you know, the front of the school.”
Fluttershy didn’t want to argue with her friends and agreed.
Fluttershy was happy.
Her friends gave themselves mental pats on the back. Whatever they had done (they’d agreed with Pinkie Pie’s idea? Yes, that was pretty much it) had clearly worked. It was time to listen to the story.
“Someone’s looking chipper,” said Sunset Shimmer with a grin.
“Oh, yes!” said Fluttershy as she sat down. “It was wonderful!”
“Whap wash?” asked Pinkie Pie, chewing... whatever it was she’d picked to eat. It was too late to understand at that point, her whole meal already too far gone. Not that anyone was going to try, anyway.
“Well,” said Fluttershy, picking at her salad with a fork, “I tried to do as you suggested and went out into the city with my fliers.” She took a single slice of fruit and ate it with a relaxed slowness, chewing very thoroughly, despite all of her friends leaning impatiently towards her. “For the first few days it wasn’t really different, but yesterday people took all of my fliers! I’ve never been so successful!”
“Wow!” said Pinkie. “I didn’t actually think it’d work THAT well!”
“It’s strange, though.” Fluttershy tapped her chin. “It was mostly boys, about our age. They walked right up to me and took the fliers.” She looked at Rarity who had chosen that moment to giggle. “Like they already knew they wanted them.”
“Oh, yes, quite a mystery.” Rarity continued to chuckle. “Indeed, why would they approach you.”
Applejack rolled her eyes. “You gotta admit, it’s weird that it only started several days in,” she said. “I smell something fishy.” Before Pinkie could even open her mouth, Applejack fixed her with a glare and added, “Figuratively, Pinkie.”
Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Does it matter?” If there was anyone adverse to overthinking things, it was Rainbow Dash. “It’s good, right? End of story. Let Fluttershy enjoy her moment!”
“I suppose you’re right,” said Rarity. “Fluttershy, dear, I’m ever so happy for you. Are you going to do this again?”
“Oh, yes!” said Fluttershy with a level of enthusiasm her friends rarely saw in her. “We just need to print out more fliers at the shelter!”
“I hope it keeps working, sugarcube,” said Applejack to everyone’s unanimous agreement.
Fluttershy was glum.
“Fluttershy, dear, what’s wrong?” said Rarity, not noticing that she inadvertently repeated her concerned query from the last time Fluttershy had come to the cafeteria in a sour mood. Exactly word for word, even. Perhaps she knew, but bowed to the wisdom of ‘if it ain’t broke...’.
Fluttershy looked over her friends and decided not to go through the hesitation routine. The concern on their faces made it obvious she couldn’t avoid fessing up. As usual.
“Did nobody take your fliers again?” said Rainbow Dash before Fluttershy could gather the will to explain herself.
“No, that’s not it.” Fluttershy shook her head. “Actually, people are still taking lots of fliers.”
“Then what’s the problem?” said Rainbow Dash, uneasy about the prospect of having to think twice about something she had deemed done and dusted.
“It’s just,” said Fluttershy, “we still don’t get anybody adopting animals or volunteering.”
Sunset Shimmer snapped her fingers, drawing surprised looks from her friends. “Right, and giving away all the fliers doesn’t matter if they don’t attract anyone.”
“And you have to print new ones, too,” the ever-business-oriented Applejack said with a nod.
“Oooh,” said Rainbow Dash, visibly relieved. “I get ya.”
“This still doesn’t explain the unusual interest in your fliers, darling,” said Rarity. “As a matter of fact, it almost makes it even stranger.”
“Look, Fluttershy.” Sunset Shimmer took Fluttershy’s hand in hers. “How about we all come to the shelter with you on saturday and help.” She looked over her friends. “Maybe we can at least help you decide if you want to continue going to the city.”
“Thanks, everyone,” said Fluttershy with a smile.
The rest of the friends nodded, happy that Sunset saved them from having to come up with advice on the spot.
Fluttershy was overjoyed.
Not only had her friends all gathered to assist at the shelter on saturday, but on sunday, out of nowhere, a veritable avalanche of young men flooded the place, adopting animals left and right.
Okay, maybe it was not quite an avalanche.
“I think there was about... twenty people?” Fluttershy said with her finger on her lips and her eyes on the ceiling. “Throughout the day, I mean, not all at once.”
Sunset smiled. “That’s still a lot, isn’t it?”
Fluttershy looked at Sunset and her mouth widened in a rather dopey smile of her own. “Yes, it is.”
“Well, congratulations, darling!”
“That’s awesome!”
“Yay! I’m so happy for you!”
Fluttershy basked in the bliss of everything being right in the world. She glanced around the cafeteria, trying to locate her fellow student by the name of Micro Chips—the only one she’d recognized among the visitors on Sunday—but he was nowhere to be found, so she resolved to thank him later. Not that she hadn’t thanked him at the shelter, right before he walked away with Mister Puffy. She just felt like thanking him again.
Though come to think of it, why did he come on that specific day, with the rest of the surprise visitors? Why not before, when Fluttershy had tried so hard to spread fliers among the Canterlot High students?
An ominous feeling creeped down Fluttershy’s spine, but she chose to ignore it.
Fluttershy was sad.
Pinkie Pie looked at her friend standing in line for her salad and complimentary apple and turned to Applejack. “You owe me ten bucks!”
Sunset Shimmer snickered.
“Sunset Shimmer, don’t you see that Fluttershy is sad?” said Rarity. “This is not an appropriate time for laughter!”
“Sorry, sorry,” said Sunset. “Just, if you said that to the Equestrian Applejack, I bet you’d be in a world of hurt.”
“Huh?” said Applejack. “How do you mean?”
“Nevermind. Difference in terminology.” Sunset shook her head. “Why do you owe her ten bucks, anyway?”
“Applejack and I had a bet going,” said Pinkie.
“I said there was no way the pattern was gonna continue,” said Applejack grumpily.
“And I said that Fluttershy would be sad again today,” said Pinkie.
“Wait a minute,” said Rarity slowly, “were you girls placing bets on our darling Fluttershy’s mood?”
“Sorta, yeah.” Pinkie Pie had the good sense to flush. “But don’t worry! This is the last time this happens!”
Rarity couldn’t deliver her scolding response thanks to Fluttershy approaching the table and reacquiring the whole group’s attention. “Hi, girls,” Fluttershy said in an especially low voice.
“Fluttershy, dear,” begun Rarity. She paused and looked to the side for a second. “Is, uh, something troubling you today?”
“I just don’t know what’s going on anymore,” said Fluttershy, sagging her shoulders.
“What happened?” asked Sunset Shimmer.
“Oh, it was terrible.” Fluttershy’s eyes began to glisten. “Almost every animal came back!”
“What do you mean?” Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. “They just, what, returned?”
“Some of them were returned, and some were caught on the street, already abandoned!” Fluttershy began to sniff. “And so soon after giving them so much hope!”
Applejack patted Fluttershy on the shoulder. “You think maybe most of those boys just weren’t ready for the responsibility?”
Pinkie tilted her head. “But why did they all do it in the first place if they weren’t sure?”
“I don’t know,” said Fluttershy. She looked dejectedly to the side, only to catch Micro Chips looking at her with a sad expression of his own. Fluttershy gave him a weak smile. Mister Puffy was one of the pets that hadn’t been returned, and she hoped Micro Chips took good care of him.
Applejack followed Fluttershy’s eyes after noticing her changed facial expression. “You eyeing Micro Chips there, Fluttershy?”
“Oh, uh...” Fluttershy was already distracted from crying, so her reply was relatively calm. “He took a pet too, and I don’t think he gave him up like most of them.”
“Wait,” said Rarity, ”are you saying he took part in the mass adoption from the shelter?”
Fluttershy nodded.
Applejack stared at her in bewilderment. “And you didn’t ask him about it?”
“I didn’t want to be a bother,” said Fluttershy.
Her friends performed a synchronized sigh, and some even chose to flavor it with a closing of the eyes or by touching a part of their face.
Fluttershy’s head sunk into her shoulders. “I’m guessing you want me to go ask him, then.”
“It’s your choice, Fluttershy,” Rarity said, “but I for one would strongly advise doing so. It only makes sense.”
“Yeah,” Pinkie sprung up, “don’t you wanna know what the deal was?”
“I suppose I do,” Fluttershy mumbled hesitantly. “Alright, I’ll talk to him, but I’ll do it after class. And alone.”
Sunset smiled. “We understand, Fluttershy.”
“Told ya!” said Pinkie upon noticing Fluttershy enter the cafeteria with a perfectly neutral expression.
“Told who? What?” Rainbow noticed Fluttershy too. “Oh, that.”
“Anyone else itching to know what Micro Chips told her?” asked Applejack, looking between the rest of her friends. They answered mostly by nodding.
“I admit,” said Rarity, “the shenanigans with Fluttershy’s animal shelter have perplexed me, however mundane the mystery may seem.”
“Ooh, I have a feeling it’s gonna be something big!” Pinkie said excitedly. Rainbow Dash shrugged.
By the time Fluttershy headed to their gathering spot, all eyes were on her. Whether because it was just her friends or because she was feeling so incredibly neutral today, she didn’t even flinch or shrink into her hair in typical Fluttershy fashion.
“What is it, everybody?” she inquired as Pinkie scooted aside to give Fluttershy her sitting room.
“Well go on, darling,” Rarity said, waving a fork with a piece of some nondescript vegetable impaled on it, “do tell what Micro Chips had to say! We’re all simply dying to know.”
“Maybe you’re dying,” muttered Applejack, “I’m only itching.”
“Oh,” said Fluttershy and remembered how to act like herself. “He didn’t say much, really.”
“Aww,” said Pinkie.
“But what did he say, sugarcube? ‘Not much’ is still something,” said Applejack. “We’ll take anything at this point. This stuff has been downright weird!”
“Ah, well, he said he couldn’t talk about it, and that I shouldn’t worry,” Fluttershy near-whispered with fake confidence. Fake Fluttershy-level confidence, to be precise. “He also said that someone called Discord said hi.”
“Discord?” Sunset tapped her chin. “That sounds familiar.”
“So who’s this Discord fellow?” said Applejack.
Fluttershy looked intently at her food. “I, um, didn’t want to bother Micro too much.” She gulped. “I didn’t ask that.” Fluttershy didn’t need to raise her eyes to know what looks her friends were giving her. She felt guilty about giving up so easily and not getting the full truth. If only she wasn’t so cripplingly polite and considerate! How much easier would life be for a Bad Girl Fluttershy?
“Fluttershy, I believe you’re physically incapable of bothering anyone too much,” said Rarity with a dramatic sigh. “But I don’t know what I expected, letting you go alone like that.”
“Please don’t bother Micro Chips on my behalf, girls,” said Fluttershy pleadingly, finally managing to look her friends in the eyes.
“Oh, fine.” Rarity fixed a strand of hair with an elegant, practiced gesture of her slender hand. “I suppose it can’t be helped.”
“More importantly,” Sunset Shimmer piped up, “how’s the shelter doing, Fluttershy? Anything more unusual happen?”
Fluttershy gave the question a moment of thought. “Not really. We’ve received some small donations, but there was nothing like the stuff that’s been happening.”
“That’s good,” Sunset smiled.
Rainbow Dash snapped her fingers and cried out, “Ah-ha! Donations!” When she saw everyone stare at her in confusion, she elected to own her outburst instead of getting embarrassed about it. “Guys! I know what we can do!”
Rarity gave her a disapproving look. Dramatic outbursts were her territory. “And what, pray tell, might that be?”
“Hey, Rarity,” Pinkie giggled, “stop giving Rainbow Dash the cross eye!” She suppressed her giggling fit and looked at Rarity expectantly. “Get it? Because you look cross with her? Eh? Cross eye?” When no response came from the fashionista (beyond a look of completely silent bemusement), Pinkie became confused. “Isn’t that something you say, ‘cross’? Instead of ‘mad’, like normal people?”
Rarity could only roll her eyes and turn to Rainbow Dash again. “So, as I was asking...”
“A fundraiser!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed proudly. “We’re a band now, we can totally do a fundraiser! Why didn’t I think of it sooner? We could’ve been having fundraisers every week since the Battle of the Bands!”
Applejack smirked. “Some tiny part of you probably knows that nobody would come to a fundraiser dedicated to getting you a sweet new... whatever expensive thing you want at the moment.” She contemplated the question for a second. “That Playbox thing?”
“Totally! The Playbox is awesome!” Rainbow pointed a finger at Applejack. “Don’t even start, you play me at Pinkie’s all the time.” She shook her head violently. “Nevermind that! I mean a fundraiser for the animal shelter!” She looked at Fluttershy inquisitively. “You guys can use all the money you can get, right?”
“Oh, yes,” Fluttershy said. “We really can!”
“Then it’s settled,” Rainbow said with a nod. She came to a quick realization and gave her friends a look-over. “I mean, is everyone cool with the idea?”
Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Sunset Shimmer all looked between each other and voiced their agreements.
Rainbow pumped her fist. “Alright! I’ll find us a venue!”
Fluttershy was happy.
“Oh no, it’s starting again,” Pinkie said.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” said Applejack.
“Why are you guys upset by Fluttershy looking happy?” questioned Sunset.
“That does sound weird, doesn’t it,” said Pinkie. “I’m just afraid of things happening with Fluttershy. It’s always such a wild ride! I can barely handle the tension of sitting here and worrying that she might be sad again.”
“I know what you mean,” said Rarity slowly. “I want only the best for Fluttershy, of course, but I cannot deny there’s a selfish part of me that wishes her life was perfectly regular and charmingly boring.” She looked at her interlocked hands, a guilty expression on her face.
“Hey, if it makes you feel better, I bet Fluttershy’d accept that in a heartbeat,” said Rainbow Dash, almost reaching to put a hand on Rarity’s shoulder, only to realize that she’d inevitably do some invisible but horrific damage to Rarity’s hairdo by shifting the air particles around it. There had been precedent.
Fluttershy joined them with her platter and an absent-minded smile.
“So, how much did we make for your shelter?” asked Applejack, briefly halting the spoonful of mashed potatoes that had been on its way into her mouth.
“I don’t know exactly,” said Fluttershy. “Mister Slick hasn’t transferred the money yet, but he says it’s a lot!”
Applejack narrowed her eyes. “Well that ain’t suspicious whatsoever.” She turned to Rainbow Dash. “Where’d you find this Slickmane character anyways?”
Rainbow waver her hand. “Eh, Gilda knows him.” Seeing her friends’ questioning gazes, she elaborated, “She’s a friend from before CHS. Had her own band for a while. She swears Slick’s trustworthy.”
“Are you completely certain this ‘Gilda’ wasn’t just pranking you?” said Rarity.
“C’mon, I know Gilda,” Rainbow said. ”Sure, I haven’t talked to her in a while, but when I said how we wanted to have a fundraiser for Fluttershy’s shelter, she was eager to help.”
“I didn’t like Slickmane at all,” said Rarity. “Did you see what he wore? His fashion sense is at least five seasons behind!”
“But there’s only four seasons,” said Pinkie.
“Either way,” Applejack said, “I think I oughta pay Slick a visit. Just for a friendly inquiry.”
Fluttershy didn’t pick up on the subtext.
Applejack was angry. Partially at a certain con artist, and partially at having to be the instrument of the perpetuation of “Fluttershy’s Mood Change Pattern”.
Approaching the table, Fluttershy caught sight of Applejack’s furrowed brow and slightly grinding teeth. Only then did she remember that her friend had wanted to visit mister Slick to ask about the money they’d earned. All of a sudden, Fluttershy felt uneasy.
“So, Applejack, what did mister Slick say? I checked at the shelter and they still hadn’t received the money...”
Applejack squeezed her fists then exhaled and tried to appear calm.
“That no-good, rotten, conniving little vermin,” she said. Realizing the contrast between her words and her facade of calmness, she mentally shrugged and gave up pretending not to be mad. “I’ve already chewed Rainbow out on this, Fluttershy, and I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but that jerk swindled you.”
“I don’t know why Gilda recommended him so much!” Rainbow Dash protested weakly. Even she knew this was not the time to worry about placing the blame. “I think she might have been bitter about me getting out of touch for half a decade. And then coming to her out of the blue asking to help my new friends.” Her stare unfocused. “Oh.”
“W-what do you mean, ‘swindled’?” asked Fluttershy fearfully.
“When I pressed him a bit, he showed me the contract and the small print,” Applejack said, crossing her arms. “Turns out he was only obligated to pay us what people donated on top of the entry fee, while he would keep the earnings from the tickets.” She shook her head. ”And , of course, there hadn’t been any mentions of donations during the concert. Not a donation box, nothing.”
“If we ever do another fundraiser, we’re organizing it ourselves,” grumbled Rainbow Dash.
“Oh no!” Fluttershy said in a louder than normal volume. “I’ll have to disappoint everyone at the shelter... This is horrible!” Her eyes slowly grew wet.
Her friends were at a loss for ideas. They could only watch Fluttershy and despair.
Rainbow Dash bounced in her seat nervously as she waited for the rest of her friends to make it to the lunch room.
“Aww, when’s my turn?” said Pinkie, the second Rainboom to arrive, as usual.
Rainbow greeted her with a nod and didn’t explain the reason behind her wound-up state. She just waited until the rest of her friends, including Fluttershy, gathered at the table.
“Guys, guys!”
“Oh, are you finally gonna say what’s got you all jittery?” said Applejack.
Rainbow ignored Applejack’s remark. “Guess what. Gilda called me yesterday—”
Rarity scoffed. “I think we’ve all had enough of mentioning that ruffian already.”
“No, this you wanna hear, I promise!” Rainbow pulled her chair in and put her elbows on the table, leaning forward. “So apparently some guys have been harassing her, and Slickmane as well, ever since AJ’s visit.”
“Harassing?” Fluttershy almost didn’t feel concerned for the duo who had caused her such emotional distress in the last scene.
“Yeah, like all sorts of things, you know, shoving her on the street as they pass her by, call her names, and someone spray-painted some choice words on her bike,” Rainbow said not without some excitement. “And they found ways to get to Slick too, I didn’t exactly get the hows, but Gilda says they might seriously ruin his life, expose him as a con artist on the web, maybe even get him arrested. They’re phoning his home address, sending threatening mail, pretty rough stuff.”
Fluttershy gasped. “That’s horrible!”
“Fluttershy, darling,” Rarity said, ”I would agree, but remember what they did to you!”
“I remember!” Fluttershy threw her arms up. “But this is completely disproportionate! Who’s doing this?”
“Oh, right!” Rainbow snapped her fingers. “The most important part! Gilda said that they both got the name ‘Discord’ as the one behind this! Sound familiar?” She saw her friends’ eyes widen. ”Gilda heard it from the guys who shoved her, and some of the threats that Slick received called it ‘Discord’s righteous vengeance’ or something.”
“Wow, yeah,” Sunset said, “I get why you were so on edge, Rainbow. This is serious.” She turned to Fluttershy. “Listen, after the last mention of Discord I couldn’t shake the feeling that I knew the name, so I wrote to Twilight.”
“Oh boy, here we go...” mumbled Pinkie.
“There is a being by the name of Discord in Equestria,” Sunset continued. “He’s a spirit of chaos itself, very ancient and very dangerous.” Fluttershy started shaking, so Sunset hurried to clarify. ”Twilight and her pony friends dealt with him, and later they even managed to reform and befriend him.” She glanced over the rest of her friends. “That’s where I knew the name from, Twilight told me about him before.”
“So this is his counterpart in our world, then?” said Rarity.
“Oh dear, I don’t want to deal with magical threats again...” Fluttershy gulped. “...Ever.”
“I don’t think we have to worry about that,” said Sunset. “If our Discord is native to this world, he can’t possibly have magic. Magic comes from Equestria.” She grinned. “Besides, Equestria’s millennia-old alicorn princesses are simple high school principals in this world. How bad can a spirit of chaos be?”
“Bad enough to cause all these shenanigans,” said Applejack.
“Wait—” Rainbow’s eyes bulged “—do you guys think this Discord’s been behind all this weird stuff from the start? Even those hordes of people taking fliers out of the blue?”
“I don’t see why not,” said Sunset. “I can’t put my finger on it, but I feel like there’s some connection between all these things that have been happening.”
Pinkie slammed the table and stood up in such a dramatic way that Rarity felt equal parts envious and awe-struck. “And we already know one person directly involved in all of this—” In the blink of an eye, Pinkie vanished. Her friends glanced around in bewilderment until they heard her voice from elsewhere in the room. “Don’t we... mister Micro Chips?”
Micro Chips fell out of his chair.
Pinkie grabbed him by the arm, helped him up with a polite smile, then forcibly dragged him to the Rainboom table.
“Um, hello,” Micro Chips said.
“Alright, fess up, Micro,” said Applejack. “What do you know about Discord?”
“I can’t say!” protested Micro and attempted to flee, only to find Pinkie’s grip was stronger than steel. “You can’t make me!”
Rainbow leaned towards him with an evil grin. “Oh, can’t we?”
“Rainbow Dash,” scolded Rarity, “you can’t just immediately resort to violence!”
“I wasn’t gonna,” Rainbow said, putting her hands up. She then pointed her thumb at Sunset. “Sunset is much better at it.”
Sunset almost choked on her food. “Hey!”
“Oh no,” said Micro Chips, “I remember what you used to be like! Please, no! I’ll talk!”
Rainbow gave Sunset a smug smirk. “Great work, Sunset.”
Sunset levelled a glare at her friend. “Woo, thanks so much,” she said with her mouth full. “Jerk.”
Rainbow shrugged. “Hey, it worked.”
“Anyway, mister Chips,” Rarity said, “I believe you were about to tell us who Discord was.”
“Yes, yes, fine,” said Micro. “Oh, they won’t forgive me for this...”
“Who?” asked Fluttershy with a hint of concern.
“Discord isn’t one person or anything, despite what our news programs would tell you about a ‘mysterious hacker’ and whatnot,” Micro Chips said with a scoff. “How to put it... Basically, there’s a website.”
“There’s actually several,” said Pinkie and giggled.
“Do you want me to explain or not?” said Micro.
“Okay, okay, sorry, jeez!” Pinkie crossed her arms. “Some people don’t appreciate a joke.”
“Anyway, there’s a website where people talk about stuff anonymously. There’s a number of... um, areas, I guess, for different topics and whatnot.”
“Dude, just say ‘boards’, we’ve used forums before,” said Rainbow.
“Okay,” said Chips. “So, there’s a lot of people on the site, they’re all anonymous, and they kinda act like a crowd sometimes.”
“Naturally,” said Rarity.
“Yeah. I’ve caught myself jumping on bandwagons too,” continued Micro. “An idea just appears and suddenly everyone’s all swept up by it, you know?”
“What’s this have to do with who Discord is?” asked Applejack with a tilt of her head.
“Well, that’s what we call ourselves, collectively. ‘Discord’.” Mirco Chips rubbed the back of his neck. ”It’s fun to belong to a huge group like that, you know?”
“Sure, I getcha,” said Rainbow.
“So, wait,” Applejack shook her head, “‘Discord’ is just... random people?”
“Yep. Hundreds of them.” Micro Chips nodded. “I’d be considered a part of it, too.”
“This makes too much sense,” said Sunset, deep in thought. “A chaotic entity acting on a whim, wielding too much power for someone so impulsive? That’s totally Discord.”
Micro Chips’ confused look lasted a few seconds then was replaced by a look of recognition. “Is that another thing from your pony dimension?”
“Equestria, and yes,” said Sunset, “but this is the first time someone’s counterpart isn’t just a person here. Or a dog.”
“Well, if it’s ‘Discord’ you’re looking for, that’s what it is,” Chips said. “I like to think that we have our senses, human decency and all that, but we can definitely blow things out of proportion when a lot of people get involved.”
“But... why me?” asked Fluttershy meekly, her brain refusing to process the implications of what she was learning.
“Oh dear, Fluttershy, you’re right!” Rarity brought her hand to her chest. “How unsettling, all these people must have known who you were, and you only know one of them!”
Fluttershy began to shiver. Sunset put an arm over her shoulders.
“Well, you see—” Micro Chips hesitated “—someone noticed her in the city handing out fliers, took a picture...”
“W-why would someone just... t-take a picture of me?” Fluttershy whispered.
“Apparently you looked so downcast that the guy felt like garbage,” Micro explained, “because he really wanted to ask what was wrong but couldn’t muster up the courage.”
“Pfft.” Rainbow put a hand over her mouth. “Someone too shy to approach Fluttershy? That’s rich.”
“More likely than you think, actually,” said Micro Chips. ”Anyway, instead of asking, he took a picture to share his, uh, pain with us. People kinda went crazy because they all felt the same way.”
“Oh my,” Rarity said with a smirk. “Our dear Fluttershy has an army of secret admirers?” She looked at the ceiling, no doubt imagining herself in Fluttershy’s shoes. “Honestly, I would prefer to be admired openly, but still!”
“I think I’m starting to see where this is going,” said Sunset. “Let me guess, you told them you attended the same school as Fluttershy?”
“Yep.”
“And then you suggested how they could help?”
“Yep. I overheard you girls talking to her about it.”
“Okay, that’s kinda creepy, Micro,” said Rainbow Dash, furrowing her brow.
“Hey, I only had the best of intentions! I just acted on impulse.” Chips paused and rubbed his hands together awkwardly. “Look, I’m very sorry, I shouldn’t have done any of this, but you know, as I said, the crowd.”
“I understand,” said Fluttershy. “I appreciate your good intentions, even if you are all absolutely horrible at being helpful.” She giggled.
The rest of the table’s occupants stared at her in disbelief.
“You boys are like a silly little puppy,” continued Fluttershy, still giggling. “You thought that just taking my fliers would help or at least cheer me up. Then you wanted to do something noble and adopt all the animals, even though you weren’t prepared to take care of them.”
“Mister Puffy is doing great,” Micro interjected.
“And I really do appreciate that you all wanted some justice for what mister Slick and Gilda did,” Fluttershy continued, in a more serious tone. “They weren’t very nice, but what you’ve been doing to them is wrong and mean.”
Micro was frozen under Fluttershy’s very slightly disappointed look.
“You should stop doing these things, not just harassing Gilda and mister Slick, but trying to find ways to help,” Fluttershy went on. “I’m thankful, but I don’t want you boys forcing this. It has to happen naturally. If someone actually wants a pet, they will adopt it.”
“You could probably still use some publicity,” Sunset said to Fluttershy. “That, and money.”
“Well, I suppose so,” said Fluttershy, her stoic demeanor already gone.
“Darling, I can’t believe how well you’re taking all this,” said Rarity.
“Oh, I will absolutely have a major freak-out once I’m home,“ Fluttershy answered with a smile.
“I can’t just tell Discord what to do, though,” said Micro Chips.
Fluttershy’s expression saddened. “So they’ll just continue being horrible to Gilda and mister Slick?”
Micro Chips stared at the table in deep contemplation. “Nothing I say can change the mind of Discord, but,” he grinned, “there’s someone whose word they’ll follow for sure!”
“Oh, oh, oh!” Pinkie raised her hand. “I know! I know!”
Fluttershy eeped. “Oh dear, I don’t know if I can just command so many people,” she said hesitantly. “Even over the internet.”
“You won’t have to!” Micro Chips beamed. “I recorded you talking just now, and you pretty much said all that was needed to be said!” He touched the screen of his phone, which he had been holding in his hand the entire conversation, like he nearly always did.
“Are you just always recording everything?” asked Rainbow.
“Of course! What if something amazing happens?” said Micro Chips defensively. “It could be over before I can take the phone from my pocket and press ‘record’!”
“Dude.” Rainbow shook her head. “Creepy!”
Fluttershy’s mental faculties appeared to be slowing down, overloaded with information still in need of processing. She could squeeze some more activity before it went into full reboot, though. “Okay. That would be nice if you just show them that.” She stared at the wall across the hall. “If it means I won’t have to address them myself. Knowingly.”
“Hey, I just remembered,” Sunset Shimmer said. “Twilight told me that Discord’s first and only true friend over in Equestria was the pony Fluttershy!” She winked at Fluttershy and grinned. “This might be the start of a beautiful friendship!”
“Yeah, with hundreds of people,” said Rainbow.
Fluttershy fainted.
“Hm, I gotta ask Twilight what Discord’s been up to since his reformation,” Sunset said to herself. “Hopefully he hasn’t caused too much trouble after befriending their Fluttershy.”
Micro Chips spared Sunset a knowing, somewhat condescending glance. He wondered how it came to pass that he was the most likely person at this table to correctly predict the behavior of a magical creature from a parallel dimension. High school was strange sometimes.
He only hoped that Sunset Shimmer would have the common sense to be very selective about what to tell Fluttershy. Assuming Micro’s guess about the other Discord was correct, of course. He’d hate to be a part of something that caused Fluttershy distress—even indirectly.
At the moment, though, the still unconscious Fluttershy looked pretty happy.
Author's Note
Another one-shot I had to get out of my system before returning to work on the two bigger stories I'd promised in the last blog post. This one might eventually get one or two sequels about some other characters I have ideas about. Starlight Glimmer at the very least.
