Episode 1: Every Moment Counts
The sun shone brightly down on Ponyville on this spring day. In a small cottage in the woods just outside of Ponyville, a small yellow Pegasus pony named Fluttershy sat at a desk inside this cottage, preparing to write a letter to The Princess of the Sun, Princess Celestia.
She picked up the feather quill in her mouth and dipped it into the pot of ink. She hesitated, not quite sure what to say. She put it back down on the desk quickly. “I can’t do this! I don’t know what to say, or how to say it! Ugh!” Fluttershy hit her head against the desk in frustration. Angel Bunny hopped onto her shoulder and gave her a nod.
“Are you sure this is the right thing to do, Angel?” She lifted her head again.
The bunny nodded solemnly once more, giving her a thumbs up.
“A-alright then. If you say so.” Fluttershy picked up the quill and put it to the paper, beginning to write.
"Dear Princess Celestia, today Discord came over to the cottage for tea and sandwiches, and oh it was so good and he brought the cucumber ones this time.”
Angel Bunny violently hopped up and down on her shoulder in disapproval. Fluttershy glanced back over to him with a sheepish smile.
“Oh right, anyways, he told me something…....um…..I'm not really sure if I should be saying this, so please don't tell anypony I'm telling you! I just don't want to be a bad friend!" The mare paused nervously, lifting a hoof to her chin as she thought about what to say next. She was beginning to sweat. "Discord… he…..he told me…..he has feelings for you! But, um just uh you didn't hear this from me! Um bye!"
Fluttershy quickly wrote it all down, scribbled her name at the end, and dropped the quill onto her desk with a sigh of relief.
The Pegasus pony rolled up the note. "Oh Angel, I just…….I can’t send this to the princess…...... but no, I simply have to! Princess Celestia needs to know! I’d better get Spike to deliver it. And just hope everything goes well.” She grabbed the scroll with her hooves and began flying towards the door. “I’ll see you later, Angel.”
The bunny waved back to her as she closed the door behind her and left.
/////
Fluttershy arrived at The Friendship Castle on the other side of Ponyville. She landed on the steps leading into the castle and walked inside. Trotting down the main hall, she made her way into the library in the back.
"Spike!" Fluttershy yelled, which kind of came out as a loud whisper.
"Oh, hi there, Fluttershy!" Spike replied happily as he walked across the library carrying a stack of books. "What's up?" He asked as he placed the books on the shelves.
"Um, can you send this to Celestia?" Fluttershy asked timidly, pulling out the scroll.
Spike turned to her and took the letter in his claws. "Sure! But….can I ask what it is?" Spike questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"Um…….nothing!!!!!!" Fluttershy shouted quickly as she turned away from Spike, hiding behind her mane. "It was just, um, a question I had to ask her about......Phoenix care. Yes, that’s right. Can you please just send it for me? If it's not too much trouble that is..." She whispered shyly.
"Uh, sure I guess...." Spike shrugged with a bit of confusion as he blew a cloud of green smoke and sent off the letter.
"Thank you, Spike. Now I’d really better leave." Fluttershy nodded as she quickly galloped out of the library, through the hall, and right out of the castle doors, closing them behind her with a small slam.
Twilight trotted over to Spike from one of the bookshelves and asked, "Hey, Spike. Uh..what was that all about?"
"Not a clue." Spike shrugged again, turning towards her. “Fluttershy just wanted me to send a letter to the Princess. Had to do with phoenix care or something.” He scratched his head.
“Huh. That’s strange. Well, anyway, we’d better get back to work. This library isn’t going to clean itself.” Twilight began to trot back to the bookcases.
“Alright, Twi.” Replied the young dragon.
/////
The green smoke floated through the air to Canterlot Castle. It flew through the front doors and down to Celestia who was sitting in the throne room, doing some paperwork as usual. As the cloud of green unfurled into a scroll, Celestia noticed it fall on her hooves. She put down her quill and paper on the steps beside her and picked up the scroll with her magic, unrolling it. Glancing at the bottom of the paper, she realized who it was from.
"Hmm, a letter from Fluttershy? This is rare. I wonder what it's about." Celestia began to read aloud. "Dear Princess Celestia, Today-" She was suddenly cut off as Discord’s head poked right through the parchment. She quickly reeled back, startled.
"Why, hello, Celestia, fancy seeing you here!" Discord teased, slowly getting the rest of his body out of the scroll, poking a huge hole through the middle of it. "I appear to be parched." He joked, letting out a chuckle.
"Oh, hello Discord, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Celestia laughed as she watched him step out of the hole in the scroll and dust himself off, the scroll still floating in the air without her magic holding it anymore. With a snap of his fingers, the ripped scroll transformed into a cake, which Discord began to frost while in a chef outfit.
"Well, I heard you needed some assistance." Discord said, quickly snapping away the cake and disguise. His demeanor suddenly became serious, too serious for even himself. Celestia knew something was up.
"I actually don’t, Discord. What are you really here for?" Celestia pushed, her eyebrow raised.
"Oh, I just wanted to spend some time with my favourite Princess of course!" Discord chuckled. He snapped his claws and turned Celestia's flowing mane into Luna's. "Well, hello Luna!" He chuckled then turned her back. The color of his body wavered to grey for a only a split second, but Celestia still noticed.
"Um, Discord? Did you just turn grey for a moment there?" Celestia said with concern in her voice as she got off the throne and walked towards him.
"Oh, it's nothing, just a little side effect of a cold." Discord mused as he floated around her with a mischievous grin.
"Okay..." Celestia was a little unsure of him.
"But because of my cold, I want you and I to spend the day together!" Discord said as he landed back on the ground and walked around Celestia. “What should we do first?!" He exclaimed excitedly, clapping his paw and claw together.
"Oh, I’m sorry, Discord, but I’m busy and I don’t think I’ll be able to spend a day with you. Just look at my schedule!" Celestia apologized as she used her magic to levitate a scroll in front of him. The scroll was titled "To Do Today - Celestia" and had meetings and a party to go to late in the afternoon.
"Ah, well we can fix that up!!" Discord exclaimed as he snapped his claws again and made only one thing remain on the list, the afternoon party. "Now all we have to do is party! Oh what fun we will have today, Celestia! Where would you like to start?"
“Discord!” She scolded. “I need to get these things done, I’m sorry. We can spend the day together some other time.”
“Hmph,” He scoffed. “Fine, fine. You’re no fun.” He snapped once again, causing a bunch of quills and paper to appear. They began to write on their own.
“Discord, stop!” She ran over to him and glanced over at the papers. They were actually doing the work for her, and doing it correctly nonetheless.
“Huh? But how?”
“Chaos, my dear, sweet chaos.” Discord snapped the quills and paper away and turned back to her. “Now to reiterate, what to do?” He flew around to face her and stared directly into Celestia's big magenta coloured eyes.
Celestia looked back into Discord's eyes and couldn't help but blush at the spirit of Chaos. "Um-m" Celestia stammered before collecting herself "Well, I'm not really sure. It's been forever since I have been off work, and I don't know what there is to do."
"Well then, Tia, do you want to go cause some chaos?" Discord parodied the cliche’ Frozen tune jokingly.
"No." Celestia said firmly, her expression suddenly turning cross.
"Oh of course, my boring princess! Sorry!" Discord said with a little laugh, putting his claw and paw in the air in surrender. "Now why don't we go visit Twilight and her friends in Ponyville instead!?" Discord asked enthusiastically, but something dark began to loom in the back of his mind.
"Well it has been quite a while since I have seen Twilight and her friends in person...we should go! But remember, we do have to be back in time for the party." Celestia said as she smiled at Discord, who turned away from her quickly to hide a blush.
"Then let us be on our way!" Discord said as he grabbed Celestia with his paw, who made a horrified expression, and pulled out an umbrella. Discord proceeded to jump out a random window, open the umbrella, and catch a breeze Mary Poppins style to Ponyville.
“Really, Discord?” She chuckled.
/////
"We are here!" Discord said as they landed in front of Twilight's castle. "Thank you for flying SS Umbrella have a nice day!" He joked as he snapped his tail and made the umbrella disappear. Suddenly, he began to feel weak. “Ugh……” He put his paw to his forehead before shaking his head violently to try to shake it off.
“Discord? Is everything alright?” She turned to him with concern.
“It’s fine, Celestia, I’m-” He was cut off as his color suddenly flashed grey and he fell to his knees in exhaustion. "Oh my, that was strange." He sighs.
"Oh Discord! Celestia lowered beside him in worry.
"It’s okay, Tia. I’m okay.” Discord smiled and slowly stood up again. “You-”
"Discord!! Celestia!!" Fluttershy cried with horror as she saw them. The two turned around to look down at her from the castle doors. "Oh no no, I'm so sorry!!" Fluttershy said quickly as she galloped away from them.
When she had disappeared, they could hear a faint "I'm a horrible pony," in the distance.
“Fluttershy, wait!” Celestia was about to run off after her before Discord pulled her back.
“Oh don’t you worry, Tia, I’m sure Shutterfly will be alright.” He joked.
“Fluttershy.” She corrected. “But Discord, something’s gone-” Celestia was suddenly blocked by Discord’s talon over her lips.
“Seriously, Celestia, relax. We’re here to have fun, not be stressed out like you usually are anyway.”
She looked at him crossly.
“Well now, let’s go meet the others!” He suddenly dragged her off once more as he opened the castle doors and skipped inside. "Hello my little ponies!!!" He exclaimed flamboyantly as he walked into the castle down the hall to the meeting room. Celestia rolled her eyes with a smirk.
"Discord!" Applejack exclaimed, jumping to her hooves from her chair with a surprised expression on her face. All the others stood up too. “What are you doin' here? It's sure been a while." Applejack said, raising an eyebrow at him jokingly.
"Discord!!! OH MY GOSH I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'RE HERE!!” Pinkie Pie bounced up to him, full of energy as she wrapped her hooves around him in a hug. “YOU'RE NEVER HERE DISCORD AND IT'S SO COOL TO SEE YOU!! WHO’S BEHIND YOU WHO WHO WHO!?
"Hello, Pinkie Pie." Celestia chuckled as she walked up beside Discord. "Applejack, Twilight, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Starlight, Spike." She greeted, nodding her hellos to each of the ponies and dragon in the room.
"Princess Celestia!" Twilight shouted as she trotted over, completely stunned. She gave her ex-mentor a hug. "But why are you guys here? And together? What's happened!?” Her eyes widened as she let go of the princess. “ Is this a test!? Is Equestria in danger!? Is the world-" Celestia cut off her panicking with a hoof to her mouth.
"No, Twilight, don’t worry. All is well." Celestia chuckled as she put a hoof on Twi’s shoulder to calm her down. "I had the day off all thanks to Discord, who insisted on me having more fun." Celestia smirked as she glanced over at Discord who shrugged with a sheepish smile.
Everyone in the room except Celestia and Discord exchanged nervous looks, beginning to suspect something more was going on.
Rarity was the first to speak after a long, awkward pause. "Well, darling, I hate to say this but Discord is so right! You simply just work work work, all day, everyday! When do you ever have the time to do anything else!" Rarity exclaimed passionately. "Do you want me to set up an appointment at the spa?" The white unicorn asked with a twinkle in her eyes.
"Thank you for the offer, Rarity, but I plan to just have a nice calm day with Discord." Celestia smiled.
"Well, alright, but if you do change your mind, all you need to do is ask." Rarity nodded before taking a seat in her throne again.
"Well then, Princess do you wanna go see my first race with the Wonderbolts today!?" Rainbow Dash said, zipping around to the back of the room where Celestia stood.
"Oh, well Rainbow, I will root for you but sadly the race is at the same time as a party I must attend today." Said Celestia, sounding a bit sad about it.
"Oh that’s okay! Hope you have an awesome time at the party! Rainbow said as she dashed back over and sat down on her crystal throne as well.
“Thank you, Rainbow Dash.” The princess nodded back to her.
Her eyes slowly drifted over to a unicorn standing next to Twilight.
"Starlight, you haven't talked much. How are you?" Celestia said, trotting over to her.
"Oh me!? I've been good a lot of friendship lessons but yeah" Starlight replied nervously. “And I’m sorry I haven’t been so social, it’s just I haven’t talked to you in person for a while and like you’re the ruler of all of Equestria and everything, and it’s just kind of you know, nerve-wracking?”
“Oh Starlight, it’s fine. You really don’t need to be nervous around me; I’m just a normal pony like you.”" Celestia chuckled as she placed a hoof on Starlight’s shoulder.
“Ha, thanks.”
“So….uh…...do you want to do something with us, Princess? I’m bored.” Rainbow Dash joked as she trotted over.
“Oh of course! That’d be great.” She smiled.
“Awesome! But….uh...what to do?” The pegasus shrugged.
"Ur, well, we could always have a picnic over on my family's farm if y'all would be up to it. Really have no idea what else we could do." Replied Applejack.
"That would be wonderful! Oh, it's been forever since we've done that! And with Princess Celestia and Discord here it would be simply lovely!" Rarity beamed with delight.
"Well, why don't we have a picnic then! I will get cucumber sandwiches!" Discord cheered from the back of the room as he snapped his fingers and made some cucumber sandwiches appear on a tray strapped around his neck. "Voila~" Discord said. He got a little dizzy for a moment, but recovered before anypony noticed.
"This is going to be so much fun!" Celestia cheered with joy.
“Then let us be on our way!” Replied the orange earth pony.
“Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait!” I need to finish packing first!” Whined Rarity from the other side of the room, already beginning to fold a picnic blanket.
“Oh, Rarity.” She rolled her eyes.
/////
After the white unicorn had finished packing up for their picnic (which took surprisingly not that long of a time considering Applejack kept pushing her), the ponies, dragon, and spirit of chaos all began on their walk to Sweet Apple Acres.
As they got closer, they began to hear yelling noises. Wondering what they were, they continued toward the farm.
"Big Mac! Where is my jam presser!? Have you seen it!?" Granny Smith shouted from inside the big red barn.
"Nope." Big Mac replied the way he usually did.
"Granny! It's on the counter beside the fridge!" Applejack yelled back to her.
"Why, thank you sweetie!
AJ chuckled. "Granny always loses her hoof jam presser." She chuckled.
As the group made their way up the hill to the top, they all began to help Rarity load all of the stuff out of her picnic basket.
The unicorn used her magic to place the picnic blankets, baskets, plates, and food on the ground all sophisticated and pretty as usual.
"Well I do believe this is perfection! If I do say so myself." Rarity commented with a satisfied nod to herself. Suddenly her eyes widened as she realized something. "Oh no, I forgot to bring my picnic outfit!" Rarity said, ducking her head down sadly. "Oh, well I guess I can picnic without it. Would just get dirty anyways" Rarity tried to hide the fact she really was upset.
"Oh Rarity." Twilight chuckled with a hoof to her mouth.
"Well, I think you look amazing no matter what!" Spike said, smiling up at Rarity.
"Aww! Thank you, Spikey Wikey!" Rarity smiled down at the purple dragon sweetly, who turned away blushing.
"Oh it's no problem at all, Rarity" The young dragon replied as he took a seat on the blanket and began to nibble at his gems.
"Come on, sit down everypony!" Discord sat down criss cross applesauce in mid air. He let out a chuckle before falling directly to the ground with a thud. "Oh no the chair broke!"
"Oh, Discord." Celestia giggled and sat down with a sigh as she rested. "Wait, where is Fluttershy?" Celestia suddenly questioned, remembering what happened earlier and becoming worried.
"Hmm, I don't know. We saw her once earlier today when she asked me to send you that letter about proper Phoenix care." Spike replied with a shrug of his shoulders.
"Yeah, and she was acting a little weird then, too!" Added the purple alicorn sitting across from them. “Rainbow Dash, can you fly to her cottage and check on her?" Twilight turned to the pegasus who hadn’t taken a seat yet and was still hovering in the air.
"Of course! Be back in a dash!" Rainbow gave a confident salute to the princess before zipping away from Sweet Apple Acres and in the direction of Fluttershy’s cottage.
"Oh, I had forgotten Fluttershy sent a letter to me! I never got a chance to read it because of Discord here…” She turned over to the draconequus with a smirk. “But I will tell her about proper Phoenix care when she gets here.”
"Hey, guys, I found her!" A familiar voice said from the distance.
“Wow, that was fast!” Remarked Spike.
Everyone looked over to see Rainbow Dash pushing a certain yellow pegasus to the picnic with her head. The pony’s hooves were scraping the dirt road as she struggled. Her hoof prints could be seen as a trail coming all the way from the forest. "She won't talk though, and I kinda had to push her all the way here.”
Fluttershy ended up face planting right onto the picnic blanket as Rainbow abruptly stopped pushing her. She lifted her head and shook it violently to regain her conscience.
"Oh dear, are you okay Fluttershy?" Celestia rushed over to her and sat down, putting a comforting hoof on her shoulder.
“Oh um, um, I’m just fine, thank you Princess. Now uhhhh I really must be on my way! Animals…….need…...um….help! Yes. Bye!!” She blurted out super quickly and stood up, ready to gallop away as quickly as her hooves could carry her.
“Wait!” Celestia held her back with some magic and brought her back. “Before you leave, Fluttershy, I wanted to ask you something.”
Fluttershy’s expression immediately turned frightened.
“Has something been on your mind? You’ve been acting quite strange today. Does it have anything to do with the letter you sent me about proper Phoenix care?”
Fluttershy looked into her concerned eyes with great nervousness. "Um proper Phoenix care?" She stammered out.
"Yes, like your letter asked. I didn't get a chance to read it, but Spike told me what it was about." Celestia calmly stated.
Her scared eyes darted around for any possible answer. "Oh um, it’s fine, you really don't have to, I figured it out a few moments ago." She had a sheepish expression on her face as she backed away and sat down, letting her mane cover her face.
“Are you sure you wouldn’t like some help?”
“Yep! Sure! Perfectly sure!”
"Um, alright.." Celestia replied, a little confused. “But feel free to come to me if you have any questions, okay?”
She silently gave a small nod.
The princess smiled slightly at her before returning to her spot on the picnic blanket. She then used her magic to lift a cucumber sandwich from the plate to her mouth and took a big bite. "Wow, these are amazing Discord!" Celestia exclaimed, taking another huge bite and completely devouring the sandwich.
"I know, right? They are the BEST!" Discord cheered, proudly nodding to himself. He watched Celestia eating intently. Discord sighed with contentment as a soft smile appeared on his features. "I'm going to miss this.” He thought to himself.
The group ate their food had some laughs. They made some jokes with one another and finished their meal.
"Wow, I sure needed that!" Celestia said with a smile, rubbing her eyes with her left hoof.
"And I know you said you didn't want to, but we got you an appointment at the spa as well! You definitely need some relaxation. Oh yes, and I also made you and Discord some outfits for the party tonight." Rarity cheered with glee. "I really hope you will like them. I am quite proud of the outfits myself!”
"Oh Rarity, you didn’t have to. How did you ever find the time?" Questioned the princess with a hoof to her mouth in surprise.
“I just couldn’t miss another opportunity to design for you again, Princess! And of course Discord was a challenge for me, but it was actually quite fun! I made you a dress and Discord a tuxedo for emergencies." The unicorn continued. "And as for the spa, I made you both an appointment even after you said no." She pointed out with a sheepish smile.
"Oh that’s wonderful! Thank you, Rarity!" Celestia beamed with a smile.
"And I a-.........wait why do I have to go to the spa!?” He placed a paw to his chest in mock offense. “I look flawless!" Discord exclaimed. He held up his one cloven hoof and it was absolutely filthy. He also showed his dirty claws to Rarity, which made her shriek.
"Oh my stars, you’re simply filthy Discord! We will need to do more work on you then I thought!” She complained. Come now, everypony! Twilight, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie, go with Celestia and make sure she is perfect!" Rarity said to the three mares who nodded and quickly grabbed the Princess, dragging her away already. "Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, you will join me on our quest to fix up Discord! To THE SPA!”
*Insert Spa Song - Let’s Get To It*
“Well darling, I must say you cleaned up nicely!” Rarity admitted with a grin, walking around Discord whom we can’t fully view. “I think even you will adore you!!” She joked.
“I agree; you do look quite dashing, Discord.” Fluttershy giggled as she gave him a subtle wink.
“I’d say you look about 20% cooler.” Rainbow Dash added, giving him a nod of approval.
“Now come, Discord, you must go outside and hop in that carriage. You and Celestia will be arriving separately, and you just can’t be late!” Rarity went on, pushing Discord right out the door and into a gorgeous but somewhat chaotic red carriage outside, perfect for him.
Rarity glanced back at the two mares and gestured for them to follow her. They all trotted over to the other side of the spa, and went in through a different door. Inside the room, they saw Twilight trying to fix up the front of Celestia’s dress. Once again, we cannot fully see Celestia from this angle.
“Darling, let me help!” Rarity said as she used her magic to fix it. “Well, I have to say, you three did a simply marvelous job!” The unicorn declared.
“Thanks!” Twilight smiled.
“I’m glad you like it, Rarity.” Applejack added with a nod.
“Her mane was a bit of work considering how crazyyyy it was, but we managed to pull it off!” The pink party pony standing beside them joked in her regular silly voice, earning a small slap on her side from Applejack.
“What? Her mane is crazy!”
“Now Celestia…….” Rarity cleared her throat and looked into Celestia's eyes.
“Yes, Rarity?”
“Discord is heading to the party separately, so the carriage outside is just for you. Now we have to get going! You don't want to be late, do you?” Rarity opened the front door for Celestia.
“You’re correct, Rarity.” Celestia chuckled as she trotted out the door. Before she stepped into the carriage she turned back with a smile. “Thank you all so much for your help. I owe you!”
“No problem.” Said Rainbow Dash.
“Happy to help!” Pinkie Pie bounced.
The others said their farewells also as the carriage began to drive away. Rarity shut the door to the spa when it was completely out of sight.
/////
“Girls, we have done well!” Rarity cheered proudly as she walked over to the corner of the room where the group gathered.
“Now, um one last thing. Before we all leave to go home and get some rest…….” Twilight piped up. “Fluttershy, I really don’t mean to be pushy or anything but, are you sure everything has been okay?”
She gasped. “Oh! Uh me? Oh nothing! Why do you ask?”
“Well, you’ve been really quiet and shy all of today, even for you.”
“Oh yeah I noticed that too.” Nodded Applejack. “Is there somethin’ you gotta get off your chest? Cause if so, we’re all here to listen.”
“Wha? No, no! Everything’s okay, there’s no need for you to worry! At all!” The pegasus backed away from them, a very nervous expression on her face.
“Come on, Fluttershy, really. Is there something we need to know?” Asked Rainbow Dash.
“No! I’ve just been….….uh…….I’ve been really really worried about my animals cause I…...uh….forgot to bring them with me to the spa! Yeah that’s it!” Fluttershy flashed a sheepish smile. She had always been horrible at excuses.
“Come on, you never bring your animals with you anywhere except for Angel Bunny sometimes!” Pinkie piped in. “Just tell us what’s going on! We won’t judge you!”
Fluttershy’s back bumped into the wall behind her as she backed away. Uh oh. She had nowhere to go now. She was cornered.
“We don’t mean to stick our noses in your personal business; we just want to make sure you’re alright!” Said Rarity.
“Oh well um…...it’s really not my personal business…...but…..but-uh…...if I tell, Princess Celestia is going to kill me! No wait-” She caught her tongue before she accidentally revealed any more. Beads of sweat began to trail down her face. “No I didn’t say anything!”
“Princess Celestia?” Twilight raised an eyebrow.
“Why would the Princess kill you for anything?” Pinkie inquired.
Fluttershy began to squeak as she held her breath.
“Fluttershy, I have thought to myself many many times that if I failed one of her tests or didn’t make a good grade, Princess Celestia would kill me. But eventually I learned just how kind she was, and I very was glad. Now that did not stop me from trying my best to pass every single test, but it was just comforting to know. And it’s the same for you.”
“But….but…..this is not the same! At all!” Fluttershy stammered in fear as she closed her eyes, hoping it would calm her nerves.
“Wait, did the Princess ever tell you to keep this secret?” Applejack questioned.
“Uh…….wellll…..” She couldn’t lie. “Not exactly….”
“Did she ever tell you she would kill you if you told?” Rarity continued.
“Um…..no……”
“Then…….it shouldn’t hurt for us to know. It’s only gonna hurt if you keep it in longer. You can tell us anything Fluttershy, and I promise the Princess won’t kill you.” Reassured Twilight.
The others nodded. All the ponies began to step closer toward her.
Fluttershy squeaked more as her shell began to crack. Her cheeks grew from the air that built up in her mouth from holding her breath and more sweat began to fall from her face. Her heart pounded as she squeezed her eyes shut to try and stop herself. But she couldn’t.
“DISCORD LIKES CELESTIA” She shouted very loudly before dropping down to the ground in a burst of sobs.
“WHAT!?” The others all shouted simultaneously.
/////
The air in Canterlot was still. Luna had done Celestia’s task for the day and lowered the sun, as Tia had told her to. But she had no idea why.
Discord was already in the ballroom of Canterlot Castle, nervously waiting for his date, Celestia. Celestia however, was still outside of the doors to the ballroom. She was pacing quite a bit with Luna standing still and watching her trot back and forth.
“Why do you act so nervous, sister?” Luna asked to Celestia, a little concerned.
“Me? Oh, I'm not nervous at all.” Celestia replied calmly, snapping out of her thoughts. “Thank you for lowering the sun for me and doing all of those other tasks.”
“No problem.” She smiled. “But why did I have to do that again...?” Luna questioned with a raised eyebrow and a confused expression on her face.
“Discord.” Celestia said with a sigh.
“Oh………...I guess that makes sense.” Luna shrugged. “Anyways, I love your dress. Was it Rarity's handy work?”
“Yes it was. She treated Discord and I all day at the spa, made us both new clothes to wear, and dolled us up for the ball.” Celestia chuckled.
Luna’s eyes widened. “Wait wait, Discord is here!? Do you really deem that wise?” She hollered at her sister, looking at her almost like she was crazy. “Don’t you remember what happened last time at the gala?”
“Well I didn-” Celestia began to say before a guard cut her off.
“Your Highnesses.” The guard said, walking up to them both and bowing. “We are ready for your entrance.” he stated.
“Ah yes, lead the way.” Smiled Celestia.
He and another guard both stepped back and used their magic to open the doors. Everypony in the ballroom, including Discord, stopped and stared. Celestia was in the most marvellous dress they had ever seen, and she looked perfect. Luna stood beside her, looking at her strangely still from their earlier conversation.
“We shall discuss it after the ball.” Luna whispered to Celestia, who nodded in reply. She then turned towards the ballroom and smiled.
“Presenting Princess Celestia and Princess Luna!” The guard projected to the ballroom. Everypony was still staring at Celestia and ignoring Luna. They soon snapped out of it and began to bow. As Celestia made her way across the room to Discord, Luna began to mingle with some ponies from Manehattan.
“You look nice.” She said with a casual smile to the very lovestruck looking draconequus.
He snapped out of his trance at the sound of her voice. “And you look….uh…..l-like you’re in a dress.” Discord stuttered sheepishly with a deep blush growing across his face.
“Thank you, Discord.” Celestia giggled a bit, looking at his silly smile. Her expression suddenly turned serious. “Um, Discord? Your face is red; are you alright?” The princess questioned in concern.
“Oh! I’m okay.” Discord uttered quickly, trying to hide his embarrassment. “Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy really fixed me up. And Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie Pie made you look good.” Discord added, not knowing at all what to say.
“I’ll admit, they did do a great job.” Celestia smiled.
They both awkwardly stood together in silence for a few minutes.
Celestia eventually broke the silence and cleared her throat. “Well, um, I should go socialize. You go have some fun and make sure to keep your chaos under control.” She smirked at him before turning away and walking in the direction of Luna.
Discord stood there baffled. His ears drooped in slight sadness. He really had no idea what to do; he had barely talked to Celestia at all cause he just couldn’t get his act together. Discord scolded himself in his mind for this and facepalmed. He stood there for a bit longer as the ball continued around him. Eventually, he decided to turn away and head over to a door that led to the Canterlot Gardens. He snapped his claws to open the door and slowly made his way outside. The master of chaos stood again in silence once more, staring at the beauty around him. His yellow and red eyes drifted over to a stone pedestal that was missing a statue on top of it. This was where he rested when he was in stone. He slowly sauntered on over to it and placed his clawed hand upon it. His head lowered. “I need to tell her…..”
/////
He found himself back inside the castle, looking for Celestia. His eyes darted around until he spotted her across the room talking to her sister. He clenched his clawed hand tightly in his nervousness and walked over to Celestia and Luna.
“Oh, hello, Discord.” Luna turned around, being the first to see Discord.
“Um, Luna, I need to have a word with your sister.” Discord said in seriousness, snapping his fingers and making Luna teleport right to the other side of the room.
“UM ALRIGHT THEN” She shouted over to them. “You could have just asked me to walk away.” She mumbled under her breath.
“What was that about, Discord?” Celestia asked as her eyes scanned the room for Luna. Once she found Luna had landed safely on the other side of the room, she met eyes with Discord.
“Well, I need to tell you some-” Discord started before a guard began addressing the room. “Of course.” Discord cut himself off, annoyed by the guard
“Everyone proceed to the middle of the ballroom floor; it is time for the dance.” The guard declared.
Soft music began to play and the lights turned off, being replaced by little fairy lights all over the room. The room looked so magical even Discord was in awe.
“What were you saying earlier?” She continued.
His eyes widened as he burst out of his trance. “Oh! Uh…..don’t worry it’s fine. It’s nothing. I just……thought I forgot something in my dimension and I actually didn’t so uh...yay.” He chuckled sheepishly. He just didn’t have the courage to tell her yet.
“Oh. Alright.” She smiled.
The two stood there awkwardly, watching some pony couples begin to dance around them. Discord took a deep breath to calm his nerves and spread out his wings. “Um…..Celestia?
“Yes, Discord?”
“W-would you like to dance?” He bent forward and extended his claw.
“Oh...um, yes.” Celestia stammered as she blushed, putting her hoof in Discords claw and preparing to fly. “I can’t like him, no….” She thought to herself, looking into his eyes.
“Let’s dance.”
*Dance Song - Here With You*
They both landed on the ground again staring into each other's eyes affectionately.
“Oh Discord I just have to tell you this….” Celestia blushed deeply.
“Oh Celestia….” He caressed her cheek with his soft lion paw.
“Discord…..I-I lo-” The princess began to say before Discord suddenly fell to the ground on one knee, his body turning slightly grey. “Discord!” She shouted in distress as she immediately kneeled to his side.
Discord breathed in and out in his exhaustion. He didn’t even have enough strength to stand up anymore.
“Whats going on?!! Discord! Speak to me!!” She yelled, tears forming in her eyes. Everyone in the ballroom turned to this scene.
“Tia…....this...this is what I wanted to tell you…..” Discord uttered weakly with a very raspy voice. “I’m not doing well. I-I don’t know what’s wrong with me but I know if this keeps up…….” He stopped and took a breath. “I will be dead soon.”
“What?! N-no!! No, Discord it can’t be!! You just can’t leave me now!!” She screamed.
He nodded slightly before his exhaustion took the best of him and he fainted directly to the ground.
“Ahh! Discord! Discord! Wake up!! Please!!” Celestia shouted as she sobbed. She shook Discord back and forth violently in her hooves, trying to get him to awaken. Nothing worked. “No....no…..NO!”
Episode 2: For You
We open to see Discord lying on a bed in Zecora’s hut. Discord’s skin is a stone grey and he is unconscious. Celestia paces around the room while Zecora mixes something in her cauldron.
“Do you know what's wrong with him, Zecora? Or why he passed out yesterday?” Celestia asks as she stops and stands over Discord.
“I am afraid I do not know, there aren’t enough signs to show.” Zecora responds while continuing to mix different things into her cauldron. “This is not something I have seen before, we will have to dig deeper to find out more.”
“Well, do you at least know if Discord will wake up? Or if there’s a cure at all for whatever it is that he has?”
“He will arise, I know for sure. For right here, I have the cure.”
“Oh thank goodness.” She breathed out a sigh of relief. Celestia looked back to Discord again. She paused for a moment before turning her head towards Zecora. “Well, if there’s a cure, why won’t you cure him already!? I’ve been waiting far too long for this! We came here for your help; not so that you could just laze around and take your time!” Celestia yells at the Zebra, tears threatening to spill from the alicorn’s eyes. Celestia quickly realises what she has done and covers her mouth with her hoof. “Oh, Zecora i'm so sorry, I did not mean to……..urrgg forgive me, I….. I’m just really really worried for Discord.” Celestia says as she looks down. “I’m just…. I’m terrified that he won’t make it…….”
“Do not fret for it is okay, you are scared for your friend is fading away.” Zecora states calmly. “But I do understand why Discord has fallen, tis why I have a cure here in this cauldron. It will wake him from his deep sleep, but what is turning him into stone will continue to creep.” She takes a bottle from the shelf and puts some of the liquid from the cauldron in it. She then trots over to Discord and puts a spoon of something in his mouth. Discord immediately wakes up, but his body is still slightly grey.
“Oh, Discord! Thank me you’re alright!” Celestia said excitedly. She would lean down and hug him, but she was afraid of hurting him.
Zecora walks to the other side of the hut and begins looking for something on the shelves.
“Whaa? When did I get here? And what’s with that striped horse in the corner??” Discord exclaims looking around quite confused.
“She is here to help you out…….I’m just not entirely sure how.”
He decides to suddenly sit up which causes him to get really dizzy. “Wow, headrush.”
“Discord!” Celestia says looking at the draconequus with worry. “Are you alright?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
“Discord……...why didn’t you tell me something was wrong last night?!” Celestia angrily shouts the tears in her eyes starting to flood out. “I could have saved you!”
“There is nothing wrong, Celestia” Discord stated innocently.
“Like I believe that! You passed out and turned grey after our dance!! Discord, I was so worried about you!”
“Fine, Tia. I don't know what's wrong, but something is wrong. Every day it gets worse, and last week...” Discord trails off and then shows her the back of his neck. “This spot appeared.. My skin… its turned back into to stone here…...”
/////
“Oh no……..But why would it turn to….stone…” Celestia says thinking of the 1000 moons Discord was sealed in stone. “He couldn’t turn back to stone… It's impossible” She thought to herself.
“I have never seen anything like this, it is not something to dismiss.” Zecora says walking over to Celestia and Discord again.
“She rhymes too?” Discord says still amazed by the Zebra.
“Is there any way we can figure out what is happening to him? Cause if we don’t hurry, I’m afraid it could get…...so much worse..” Celestia trailed off.
“Well, I do not know for sure myself, for I have checked each spell on every shelf. However, I may just know of a mare, who can help you solve this affair.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful! What is her name?” Celestia asks.
“Her name is Gypsy Heart, She may have your start”
“Thank you so much Zecora” Celestia smiles at the zebra. “Where can we find Gypsy Heart?”
“She lives in the heart of the crystal empire, in a house that looks like dragon fire. She does not live far from the Crystal Heart, so from there is where you must depart.”
“You make no sense, then again what fun is there in making sense!” Discord says with a chuckle. Celestia glares at him. Zecora just kinda ignores what he said.
“There is another thing you must not forget, for if you do there is much you will regret.” Zecora pulls a small bottle off the shelf and fills it with some of the liquid in the cauldron then she gives it to Discord. “Take this potion once every hour. Remember it or things may turn sour.”
“Yes, striped horse!” Discord says jokingly as he holds the bottle and starts floating towards the door.
Celestia sighs at the draconequus “Thanks again Zecora, you have been a great help to us.” she says as she hugs the zebra.
“Do not fret, there is hope yet.” Zecora says.
They exchange a look and Celestia walks out the front door and to Discord.
“So where we going now sunbutt?!” Discord exclaims while slithering around in the air.
“Off to find Gypsy Heart. We will first go back to Canterlot to pack our things, and I will arrange for Luna to take over my duties for now. Then we will leave for the Crystal Empire.” Celestia says as she uses her magic to teleport them both to Canterlot Castle.
/////
“Hmm…...yes, I suppose that would work…..” Luna mumbles to herself.
The night princess trots through the throne room reading some scrolls when suddenly Discord and Celestia appear in front of her.
“Celestia!? Wh-where did you come from?” Luna says surprised by the sudden appearance of Celestia and Discord.
“Ah, hello Luna, sorry if I startled you. I teleported Discord and I here from Zecora’s hut.” Celestia states as she walks over to Luna and gives her a hug. Discord uses this opportunity to sneak away from the two sisters and mess with the stained glass windows in the throne room.
Luna looks over at Discord and watches him leave the room, she signals for 2 guards to follow and keep an eye on him.
“Oh I see… how is Discord, by the way?” Luna says looking at Celestia.
“Well…... something is wrong, but Zecora doesn’t know what. She gave Discord a potion that he has to drink every hour to prevent any more… problems. Then she pointed the two of us in the direction of a pony named Gypsy Heart. We are now on our way to the Crystal Empire to find her so she can help us figure out what's wrong. So….while we’re gone, ” Celestia says hesitantly, “could you please handle some of my duties again? We won’t be gone for too long.”
“Well, of course I can help you with them, but do you think it wise to help Discord? Yes, I understand he may be reformed, but I believe he still has evil inside him to some extent. And you know that he always leaves the second a better offer arises.” Luna says with a slight very subtle anger in her voice. “You remember what happened with Tirek, don’t you?”
“Luna, he hasn’t been reformed for that long, and we can’t expect him to be perfect. He is allowed to make a few mistakes. Now he understands friendship fully and how valuable it is. Please, give him another chance. If not for him, for me.” Celestia says, starting to get a little annoyed by her sister.
“Sister, listen to me. He may make mistakes, and that is perfectly normal, but what about when he constantly turns his back on us? I cannot help but have my doubts. And remember Tia, I am just trying to make sure he doesn’t harm you or our people.” Luna says beginning to get more annoyed as well.
“Discord would never do that! Luna, he’s only turned on us once, but that taught him a valuable lesson. He understands now!”
“You can’t cut him so much slack, sister! How many more times must he betray us before you finally realize and act upon it? You shouldn’t trust him enough to be pouring all of your emotions into him!”
“I won’t give up on him! Remember, I had my doubts when you first came back but I still trusted you! I forgave you and let you have a second chance, so why can’t you give him the same privilege!?” Celestia snaps at Luna. “Wait no I-I didn't mean that!” She stammers.
Luna puts up a hoof to stop her. “Say no more. I understand exactly what you meant, sister. It is not my fault if you won’t heed my warnings.” Luna states angrily as she turns away from her sister.
“N-no! Luna, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that…..it’s just…...ugh, you don’t understand! Please, just I-I want to help him… I HAVE to help him.” Celestia says tears forming in her eyes. “He’s become such a dear friend to me, and I can’t just let him….”
“Sister, don’t you see? He has to be using you! He's an immortal being of chaos, Celestia! He can’t actually die!” Luna says beginning to raise her voice.
*Insert Luna’s Song - Don’t Go With Him*
Celestia storms out of the throne room and angrily walks past Discord.
“Celestia? What was that about” Discord says looking at the angry princess.
She lets out a long sigh. “Don’t worry, Discord. It’s nothing, just leave it alone.” she replies.
“Uhhh okay!” Discord says beginning to follow her down the halls of the castle. The two were silent as they walked up to Celestia’s room to begin packing up for their trip. When they got there, she closed the door angrily and began to throw some things into her saddle bag.
/////
“Princess Luna, excuse me but is everything alright?” Bob says walking up to an angry Luna.
“... no. Yes. Maybe?” Luna paused looking down “I believe I have made a mistake but only time will tell”
“Alright your highness. Just know I’m always here if you need me.” Bob says as he bows and leaves the room.
“Thank you, Bob.” Luna nods her head to him.
“Hmm, maybe I should write to Twilight and ask her to come and help me run the kingdom. She’s always up for a little task like this, and some company might be helpful for me during this time.” Luna says making a scroll appear. Luna pauses for a second and looks at the scroll. “No, I can’t. After what just happened with Tia, I have to do all that I can to prove to her that I can handle whatever is thrown at me. She has to come to the realization that I am a pony she can fully trust to help her, and that my advice counts. I must prove it.” Luna makes the scroll disappear and begins on her sisters tasks.
“I can do this.” she says as she walks to a meeting room in the castle.
/////
“Wait, Celestia, why are we taking the train again? Can’t we just teleport there? Not that I would usually complain about such a thing, but this is utterly boring!” Discord says floating around in a train car.
Celestia sighs and looks out the window of the train. “I felt like I needed a bit more time to think about everything going on……”
“......Tia…...I’m sorry I had to put you through all this trouble...” Discord says as he sits across from Celestia.
“No, Discord, don’t be! This isn’t your fault, and never think anything of it. I promise you’ll be okay. I won’t let this happen to you again.” She says , turning around and looking into his eyes with sadness. “It’s my fault not yours” She thought to herself.
“But I’m the-”
“Shhh.” She cut him off. “It’s fine, you didn’t do anything wrong. Please stop blaming yourself for all this.”
“Thank you, Tia.” The two sat there in silence for a few moments until a train whistle blew, signaling that they had reached their destination.
Celestia and Discord got off the train, now in the crystal empire. No one was around and the train station seemed almost abandoned other than a bored worker pony watching anime in the ticket booth.
“Uhhh hello? Is anypony alive?” Discord shouted, hoping to catch somepony’s attention. He turned back to Celestia. “Why is no one here? CayCay, didn’t you send somepony to meet us?” Discord exclaims floating around the platform.
“Oh no... I believe I forgot to tell Cadence we were coming. I’m sorry about that, Discord. Oh well, I suppose we will have to walk to the crystal castle.” Celestia says as she trots off the platform and towards the empire.
“Aw, well, that’s fine, but again why won’t we just teleport or fly there?” Discord says in an annoyed tone. As he follows the sun princess to the empire.
“I agree that would be quicker, but if Cadence and Shining Armor aren't expecting us to arrive, that would seem a bit more like a threat. We wouldn’t want to frighten them, now would we?” Celestia explains to Discord.
“Oh, I guess that makes sense. It’s no fun but I get it.” He says as they continue their walk.
As they enter the empire crystal ponies begin to gather due to the unexpected visit from Discord and Celestia. Murmurs are heard from the slowly growing crowd.
“Is that Princess Celestia?” A mare named Silver Sky asks from the crowd.
“I think it is!” A stallion named PSColdFire responds.
“Wait is that… Why is Discord with her?” A pony named Brushie says in shock.
“Whats going on? The Princess AND Discord here with no heads up? Something must be up” A pony named Kimmy says with worry.
“What's with them?” Discord asks Celestia.
“Oh god they noticed us!” A pony named Kira said.
“I should have known this would happen. They are panicking because I showed up unannounced.” Celestia says with worry. “Lets just get to the palace.”
/////
The two finally make it to the crystal palace. Cadence, and Shining Armour come out to greet them.
“Celestia! It's nice to see you again!” Cadence says to the princess.
“What brings you here?” Asked Shining Armor.
“Hello Cadence and Shining, great to see you too. I’m sorry for dropping in so suddenly, but when I left I forgot to send you a scroll telling you I was coming.” Celestia says apologetically.
“Oh, that’s alright.” Cadence nods.
“Wait a second, why is Discord here as well?” Shining Armour says defensively as he steps up beside Cadence. “Prove to us that you two are really who you say.”
“Hmmm…. Shining Armor is afraid of the dark.” Celestia says in a hushed tone.
“Hey, it’s a real problem okay!” Shining exclaimed defensively.
“Oh Shining…” Cadence says with a chuckle.
“Wait, what? Why did we have to do that?” Discord whispered, confused.
“Changelings, remember? It’s complicated.”
He nodded in reply.
“Now, can we please come in for a bit? There are some matters to discuss” Celestia says.
“Oh, of course! Sorry about that. Can’t be too careful with Chrysalis still on the loose” Cadence says as she leads them all inside. “Let's go to throne room! Sunburst and Flurry are in there right now”
“Alright.” Celestia replies with a chuckle.
/////
They enter the throne room and Flurry is the first to notice they enter.
“Mama!” She exclaims crawling over to them.
“Oh hello Princess Celestia, Discord” Sunburst says as he follows baby Flurry over.
“Hello Sunburst, Flurry. I see she can talk now.” Celestia says smiling at Flurry. Discord standings awkwardly to the side looking uncomfortable.
“Yes! She can only say a few words but she's still doing so good!” Cadence uses her magic to pick up Flurry “aren’t you!” Cadence says with a smile as she kisses Flurry’s head and puts her down again. Flurry giggles adorably crawling over to Discord and holding his leg.
“Um I appear to have a small creature on my leg” Discord states looking kinda horrified at Flurry.
“Sorry about that!” Sunburst says as he picks up Flurry with his magic. “If you don't mind me asking, why did you two come here? Not to be rude but it's kind of weird to see you both here together. Especially since you gave us no heads up.” Sunburst awkwardly asks.
“Oh right.” Celestia says walking over to Discord. “Don’t forget to take your medicine.” She says to him. He nods swiftly and pulls out a potion bottle and begins to drink some of it.
“Why does he need medicine?” Shining Armour asks Celestia.
“Well you see.. something is going on with Discord. He doesn't know what it is but we fear it could be deadly to him” Celestia says motioning for Discord to turn around. He nods and does as she asks. On the back of his neck is a large and slowly growing patch on his skin made of stone. “As you can see his body seems to be turning into stone…” she trails off.
“What? Turning to stone?” Cadence says in confusion.
“But why?” Shining asks.
“We’re not sure. We went to Zecora for help, and she told us to come here.”
“Oh no…. well is there anything we can do to help?” Says Cadence.
“Yes, as a matter of fact. We came here looking for a mare named Gypsy Heart. Zecora said she lived here and that she would be able to help.” Celestia says “Do any of you know her?”
“No, I'm sorry, but I’ve never heard of her.” Cadence states.
“Me neither.” Shining says.
“Wait, what did you say her name was?” Sunburst asks.
“Gypsy Heart” Discord states.
“Hmm I think I may know who she is, although we’re not good friends or anything. I believe she's the one who came to my house looking for a herb book the other night” Sunburst states. “She lives in the red crystal house in the centre of town. She's the only one with a house that colour in this empire, so it shouldn't be hard to miss”
Discord nods “Alright, thank you.” he says to Sunburst.
“Um, Discord? Could you wait for me outside?” Celestia asks the Draconequus.
“Sure, I guess so.” Discord says. He waves and walks out.
“Is he doing okay? He's not really acting like himself. He seems a bit less animated than usual.” Cadence says sadly to Celestia.
“No, I’m afraid he’s not. He is losing hope in himself, and it’s almost like something has broken him inside. He's was like this on the train because he feels bad for doing this to me. I just hope Gypsy Heart can help.” Celestia says.
/////
“Shining, can you please take Flurry and Sunburst to the nursery. I feel I need to have a private talk with Celestia.” Cadence smiles at him.
“Yeah sure.” Shining says as he leads the other two out of the room.
“So…. is it possible that this could be an effect of when the Elements of Harmony encased him in stone?” Cadence questions.
“That’s what I suspect….”
“I…….I’m so sorry, Celestia….”
“No no, Cadence, please don’t be…. It was all my fault anyway…” she whispered to herself. Cadence could slightly hear her however.
“Wait, what? I’m sorry but what did you say?”
“What? N-no! It’s...it’s none of your business….”
“Are you sure? I….you can tell me if you’re comfortable, Celestia. I’m here for you, you know that right?”
“It’s not that…...I just…….” She paused before mumbling, “It was all my fault.”
“What? Sorry, I couldn’t-”
“It was all my fault!” She shouted suddenly. “It’s all my fault that Discord was turned to stone in the first place, we were friends! Best friends and then because he made a single mistake I sealed him away! If I had just talked to him this probably could have been avoided. His pain, my pain. None of it would exist if it weren't for my own stupidity...”
Cadence was taken aback by this. “Celestia, you need to calm down! And what do you mean it’s your fault? How?”
“If Discord is turning back to stone it's most likely because of a side effect of the Elements of Harmony all those thousands of years ago, than it is my fault and I have no one else to blame for it. I was the one who turned him to stone.”
“Celestia, no! You had a good reason to turn him to stone. He was wreaking havoc and you were just being a good ruler and protecting the ponies of Equestria. Besides, Luna was there as well. Don’t blame everything on yourself.”
“I know I shouldn’t, but I can’t help it! Plus, he was apologizing to me earlier about making me go through all this pain when I should be the one apologizing to him. That's why I need to help him.”
“Are you sure that that's the only reason?” Cadence asked.
Celestia looked at her kinda shocked “What else would it be?”
Cadence sighed. “I’m sorry, I know this is hard for you. But remember, you shouldn't make yourself feel guilty. It’s not going to help. Just remember that I’m here if you need me, and so is everypony else.”
“Thank you, Cadence.” Replied Celestia after a long pause.
“Of course.” The two shared a friendly hug.
/////
Celestia walks out the front entrance of the Crystal Castle and over to Discord.
“Sorry for making you wait Discord. Now let's go find Gypsy Heart” Celestia exclaims as she walks past Discord.
“Okie dokie.” Answered Discord as he followed the princess. “I don’t know why, but something seems….wrong.” He thought to himself.
They both began looking for this house but very soon became lost and disoriented.
“I thought they said this would be easy to find! I don’t even know where we are anymore!” Discord exclaimed as he frantically looked around them.
“I thought so too, but I suppose the empire is bigger than I expected. Maybe it would have been a smarter idea to ask for directions.”
Celestia then walked over to a crystal pony. “Excuse me Sir?” She said trying to get the green and red ponies attention.
“Huh? Oh um hello, Princess Celestia.” The stallion (Brony Guardian) said looking slightly confused before nodding her head.
“Hello there, I was just wondering if you could be able to help Discord and I?”
“Oh yes, of course Princess. What is it you need?” (Brony Guardian)
“Well have you heard of a pony named Gypsy Heart? We came to visit her and well.….. we got lost” Celestia says awkwardly with a chuckle and a smile.
“Yes I do, your highness” The crystal pony (Brony Guardian) says with a nod “She lives on the second street to the right. Shouldn’t be hard to miss because her house looks like it's on fire around this time of day.” the pony says with a smile. “Just be warned she's pretty… Eccentric?”
“Hmmmm.... Alright then! thank you! And have a good day.” Celestia says as she gestures for Discord to follow her.
“Well, why didn’t we do that to start with?! Now you're causing chaos….. I like that” Discord teases with a wink. Celestia roles her eyes and continues walking.
/////
Bob walks into the throne room and sees Luna sitting on the throne with scrolls scattered about on the floor around her. Her mane is messed up and she looks like she went through hell. He slowly and carefully approaches her.
“Princess Luna? Are you okay?” Bob asks Luna. Luna looks up at him from the throne with bags under her eyes which look fogged over.
“Sorry what did you say?” Luna asks sounding somewhat dead inside.
“You need to take a break Luna, you're pushing yourself too hard. You don’t need to take on all these extra tasks. Not even Celestia would do that.”
“But I have no time for taking breaks! I have to prove to Celestia that I am responsible and my advice is worth listening to! She told me to do these extra tasks, and I’m going to do every single one of them the best I can. This is the only way!”
“Burning yourself out won’t prove that Luna. It will only set you back farther!”
“But I have to at least try!”
“You’ve tried all day long. It’s time for you to rest.”
“... I know” Luna says as she gets up and moves over to him. “I just want her to listen to me for once. I have to be able to do this. I have to make her listen to me!”
“You can’t prove yourself to her if you're burnt out from doing too much! How many times do I have to say this? Listen to ME Luna.”
*Insert Bob’s Song Here - Just Be You*
“Alright…” Luna says as she sits down.
“Now lets work together to get all this done.” Bob says as he picks up a scroll and gives it to her. “One scroll at a time”
“Thank you Bob” She says with a smile.
“No problem Luna, I would do anything for you” He says to her with a smile.
She turns away with a heavy blush on her cheeks. “What would I do without you?”
“You would be fine, you're strong. A little stubborn, but strong”
The two turn away awkwardly blushing and begin work on responding to all the scrolls.
/////
Discord and Celestia approach a small red crystal house. The front lawn is uncut and from inside shouting is heard.
“SCARLETT FOR THE LAST TIME WHERE IS THE DRAGON HAIR?!” A commanding and strong voice is heard from inside.
“As I said it is on the counter that is labeled Dragon Products.” A soft and calm voice Celestia and Discord assume is Scarlett is heard in response.
“Oh right. Thank you” The other voice responds sounding embarrassed.
“Do we knock?” Discord asks Celestia.
“Uhhh I guess so…” Celestia says beginning to have doubts about this. She takes a deep breath and knocks on the door. A couple of moments pass and the two exchange a look of confusion.
“ARE YOU GOING TO GET THAT?” The commanding voice yells once again.
“Yes.” Scarlett says as she opens the door rolling her eyes. “Sorry about that how may I he-” She began to say before a look of shock crosses her face. “P-p-princess Celestia!” She exclaims and bows.
“It’s fine, please, you don’t have to bow. Anyways we are looking for-” Celestia began to say before she was cut off.
“Who’s there Scarlett? Why can’t you just do your job right for once” a light pink unicorn says as she opens the door wider. “Oh, Princess Celestia! Why didn’t you tell me the princess was here?” she says as she elbows the pegasus. “Your majesty how can we help you today?” She says as she bows to the princess.
“No need to be so formal” Celestia says wish a chuckle.
“We are looking for someone named Hipsy Geart” Discord says trying to get noticed by the two ponies.
“Who?” The two say in sync.
“I believe he means to say Gypsy Heart” Celestia says with a smile as she pats Discords arm. “Close enough.” She says to Discord who awkwardly laughs and scratches the back of his head a slight blush on his presently pale face.
“That would be me” Gypsy says pushing Scarlett out of the way “Come in” She says as she gestures towards the inside. Celestia and Discord walk in and Gypsy closes the door while giving an annoyed glare at Scarlett. “What can I help you with?” She says as she walks over to them.
“Well… Discord has a problem and Zecora didn't know what it was when we visited her. She was hoping you knew and could help us so she sent us to you” Celestia says.
“Ah Zecora it's been so long since I've seen her” Gypsy says as she walks over to Scarlett. “What is the problem anyways?” Gypsy asks.
Celestia and Discord share a look and nod. Discord turns around to reveal a slowly growing patch of skin that has turned into stone.
“What the-?” Gypsy says as she gets closer to have a look. “Do you mind if I touch it?”
“Nope” Discord replies.
Gypsy touches the stone on his neck. “Have you ever seen something like this Scarlett?” She asks.
“No. I’m afraid I haven’t... What do you think it is?” Scarlett asks.
“Well it's obviously stone you dunce” Gypsy snaps. “What’s causing it though is beyond me.” she pauses for a second and turns her back to Discord and Celestia, thinking about it. “How long has this been going on for?”
“About a month.” Discord responds.
“Hmm that is strange. Has anything like this happened before?”
“No never”
“Except when you were sealed in stone for 1000 moons…...by me” Celestia thinks to herself as she looks at the ground.
“Odd…” Gypsy says as she moves over to a shelf, Scarlett goes over with her.
“Let’s figure this out” Scarlett says with a smile.
*Insert G and S Song - Try Again*
/////
Gypsy walks over to Discord and Celestia once again. “... I-I’m afraid I don’t know of a cure for this. I’m sure if I had a few days I could but you two will need to get back to Canterlot…” She says with a sigh.
“Oh no, well do you know what this is at least?” Celestia asks, her voice filled with a slight fear.
“We think this is a type of… after effect. We think that when Discord broke himself free from stone something may have went wrong” Gypsy says while looking at the ground.
“You see the stone may have been his prison, but the Elements of Harmony might have done something inside of him as well.” Scarlett elaborates.
“We aren’t sure of specifics as we can’t do tests with the elements, but that is what we know…” Gypsy says with a sigh.
“I-I see…” Celestia says tears threatening to spill from her eyes. “The one time I wish I could have been wrong about this…..”
“So... the elements caused this?” Discord asks sounding slightly defeated.
“We aren’t certain as I said, but we think so.” Gypsy says “If we had more time I could figure this out but you can’t stay here forever.”
Celestia thinks for a moment “We may not be able to stay in the crystal empire, but can you two come with us maybe?” she asks.
“Come to Canterlot??!!” Scarlett exclaims.
“Oh well, I guess we could.” Gypsy says with a grin.
“Wonderful.” Celestia turns to Discord. “Don’t you worry, Discord. We will fix this somehow.”
He nods his head shyly in response.
She quickly turns back to the Unicorn and Pegasus. “Well, what are we waiting for? Pack your bags for Canterlot!”
“OH MY CELESTIA! WE GET TO GO TO CANTERLOT!” Scarlett says excitedly.
“Scarlett, calm yourself!” Gypsy scolded. “We’re going to Canterlot on a mission, and not on a vacation or something.”
“Heh, right, right.” She smiled sheepishly.
“Alrighty then, let’s do this.”