Day approached, and Discord had a mission. Should he choose to accept it, it could pose serious harm to his dear Fluttershy. It required a plan, and that was why he had to lock himself in the broom closet at the Castle of Friendship; it's where they kept the spare magical crystal map tables. With a snap of his fingers, the small storage space became a slightly bigger Planning Room, roughly the size of a conspiracy nut's small apartment. "*scoffs* As if!" He mumbled indignantly.

Blowing dust off the old map table, he snapped his fingers and it sprang to life, transforming into a more chaotic version, complete with the Draconequus' face etched into the crystalwork. "Now, time for plans!" He smiled heartily. A flash of light, and the table now projected a holographic gridline, its surface completely able to be written on. Summoning a Twicane stylus, he began drawing up a blueprint for his plan. Once done, the cane/pen nodded in approval before disappearing with a burst of fanfare and confetti.

The blueprint was pretty straightforward: Discord's ~~bad~~ superb drawings depicted ~~archaic~~ accurate portrayals of himself and both Fluttershy as well as her vampiric other half, Selene. Above the magical drawings was the God META written in bold and angry letters, hoping he would take the hint. "Alright, fine! Your story, your rules." He groaned defeatedly. Moving on, he laid out the plan.

*SNAP*

The drawings became animated, laying out the beginnings of his plan for demonstration. "First, I go to dear Fluttershy's for teatime as usual on our Tuesdays!" Discord's drawing knocked on the faux mare's door, being invited in for teatime and snacks. "Next, I get rid of those shackles binding, ugh, the mean one..." Discord spat out in disgust, his drawing snapping its fingers behind its back. Fluttershy's drawing was replaced with the vampiric version, fangs and all. "After that, all I need to do is assert my dominance via 'animal kingdom' style by showing my strength, promoting my position as pack leader! Oh, how wonderfully CHAOTIC this will be!" He clapped his paws with glee, knowing his plan was foolproof and full of the chaos he so wonderfully craved...

...Only to be proved wrong by how strong "Selene's" willpower was compared to his own. Every bone was shattered, every tooth chipped, every organ burst; She stood unwavering, her cocky grin still oozing with hubris. "HOW-ARE-YOU-EVEN-ABLE-TO-STAND?!" Every word was followed by another violent telekinetic lunge into the nearest object. Fluttershy's cottage looked like a war-zone, every wall, ceiling and floor was painted red with her blood, all her animals scurrying away as soon as "Selene" made her debut. There were even some signs of score marks from magic blasts, presumably from Discord discharging them in self defense.

"H-heh heh. You s-still don't g-get it, do you?" She gasped, those crimson irises glaring in defiance. "I am *coughs* in control now." Selene spat out a mixture of saliva and blood, her breathing becoming even more ragged.

He glared back at the beast before him, wondering what to do next. She blatantly refuses to leave, and dying is out of the question, both because she's stubborn and my dear Fluttershy is still in there... the Draconequus sighed in defeat.

*SNAP*

In a blinding flash, Fluttershy's home was restored, and the barely functioning ragdoll of a body that Selene was inhabiting was also healed. It was at that moment, he saw a brief flash of teal take over her red eyes, if only for a moment. It brought hope that he wouldn't be creating another villain like himself and Luna. "Very well then!" Discord shrugged, going for the entrance to the cottage.

She looked at herself, then all around the previously unrecognizable interior living room they had their mini-war in. "That's it?"

He nodded.

"No more trying to kill me?"

He scoffed. "I consider it more aggressive persuasion, thank you very much!" He held the doorknob in his grasp, ready to leave. However...

"I don't know if you can hear me, but please Fluttershy, know I did what I did out of kindness..." *SNAP*

A flash of light enveloped everything, erasing all traces of Discord as well as Selene. All that was left was white.

You are free now, no more "Sides" to choose. Use it wisely...

Darkness, everywhere... There was nothing but her and the darkness. She looked around, scared and wailing like a newborn foal would. Suddenly, there was a reflective surface in the distance. She sprinted towards it, the only sign of something aside from the utter darkness surrounding her. What stood before her was a pony sized ornate mirror.

It seemed familiar to her somehow, but she couldn't figure out where she saw this mirror before. Looking more closely, the mirror was an odd one to be in the darkness. It was worn and chipped in places, showing its years of use, yet the ornate gem encrusted gold frame didn't have a single blemish. Completing the oddity in the darkness was the fact that no matter how much she tried, a reflection never showed. That's when she noticed it: a round crystalline handle protruded from the mirror.

Like Alice chasing the rabbit down to Wonderland, the mare turned the handle and was greeted by a blinding light, but only for a moment. Recovering from the temporary blindness, she rubbed her eyes and gazed curiously at her new surroundings, the door she entered mere seconds ago disappearing and leaving her stranded in what looked to be nothing more than a small cottage. Littered with small wooden homes for woodland creatures, It gave off a lucid aura, no doubt calming even the most savage of beasts. Before her eyes was a piping hot cup of tea sat upon a small coffee table, a sofa and chair placed on either side. Sniffing the smoke wafting from the enticing drink, she smelled a classic blend of herbal tea, tempered off with a subtle hint of apples.

"Smells good, doesn't it?" A melodious and kind voice spoke right in her ear, causing the mare to duck frighteningly behind a piece of furniture.

"W-WHO'S THERE!?" She peeked around the arm of the chair she was hiding behind.

"Don't worry, I dont bite!" The voice chuckled sweetly, this time coming from the same chair she hid behind. Screaming, she jumped backwards into a small woodland home, thankfully not occupied.

"Owwww!" She groaned.

"Your tea's getting cold, you know." Looking back, she saw a Pegasus mare with teal eyes and a cream colored coat staring back, a gentle smile on her face.

Timidly, the mare approached and snatched the cup quickly, sniffing it cautiously once more to try and detect any poison. Taking the risk, she drank the brew and exclaimed as her tastebuds sang in pure ecstasy. "This is really good!" She exclaimed.

"I'm glad to hear it!" The mystery mare smiled back, pouring herself another cup.

"Who are you?" She cautiously asked, scooting onto the couch she was now hiding behind.

"I am you."

"...who am I?"

"Selene." Suddenly, as if waiting for an opportune moment, the mare's surroundings twisted and warped along with her being, the cream coat becoming unkempt and matted with blood in some areas. Her ears morphed into conical canals, while her teeth now sported blood-soaked fangs. Her feathered wings became leathery and bat-like, and lastly, her teal eyes turned crimson, hungry for blood. The once homely and peaceful cottage now sported a gruesome blood-tinted and wild new facade, animal remains oozing out of the little woodland homes. A bowl near the kitchen labelled "Angel Bunny" had a pool of dark red paste, no doubt blood.

Cowering before Selene was a sad and pathetic excuse for a mare. "Fluttershy..." She kneeled down and petted her pink mane, soothing her. "Shh, it's alright..." She gently spoke, trying to ease her alter ego into calming a bit. It took several attempts, but Fluttershy was finally calm enough to bring her wailing to a small sniffle. Looking around still caused her to jump, but less than before.

"W-what happened t-to my home?" Fluttershy squeaked out between sniffles.

"Nothing," the vampire replied stoically. "Or rather, the real one that is." Suddenly, they swapped places, the scenery going back to the way it was; Fluttershy was now the calm one whilst Selene was silently crying.

Fluttershy looked around some more, studying the small cottage. "What you see," she spoke, turning her focus back on the distraught vampire. "Hmm..." She paused for a moment, thinking. "Well, I guess you could call it your 'safe space'."

"Y-you're scaring me! You're not m-making any sense!"

"Oh Selene... she gently petted the vampire's matted pink mane, trying to soothe her once more. "[/color=#26a4af]D-AHA! I,Discord, thought you'd read this! It's just a placeholder for blurred words that may or may not be revealed later! Ta-taa! *SNAP*" The rest of the conversation went fuzzy, a sinister and yet melancholy laugh echoing within her cottage walls.

"You are free now... the voice echoed. "No more sides to choose. Use it wisely..." Suddenly, their animal cottage started to violently rumble and shake, the walls crumbling like sand.

"It looks like we don't need to fight anymore. The 'safe space' is gonna collapse soon...

"B-but what does that do to you? To me? To us?!"

She chuckled heartily."Who knows! Maybe nothing. she smiled, the last of the walls crumbling down.

Maybe something...Wonderful happens...

Maybe we become something new...

Author's Note

For those of you who read the optional chapter, Life, this scene may sound familiar. The optional is still, well, optional, as it gives you some context without it being necessary. However, this scene is plot-relevant so it needs to be included.

Moving on, another question for you readers: Were the shackles real? Or was it another illusion? In the previous chapters, I talked about how Discord/Selene might have represented the rational/irrational sides of her mind. This one talks about the shackles "Discord" implemented. Were they on Selene? Or did the shackles just represent control? Was Selene shackled, or was it the mania of Vampirism? Did she really cause some trouble, or was the conversation Discord had with Luna about the dreams and nothing more?

We all like to bury things within our minds. We "Shackle" traumatic events to make it easier to handle, and everyone does it in different ways. We have five more chapters to go before the real story begins. Stay tuned...