Fluttershy flew swiftly down the stairs in her cottage, as the quick-paced knocking at her door continued. The small animals milling about cleared a path, scattering to their little cubbieholes. “I’m coming!” she called out softly, barely loud enough to hear over the knocks.
Fluttershy grabbed the top half of her door, swinging it back to see who it was. She barely got out a welcome before a pink hoof continued to knock gently on her forehead.
“Oh, sorry, Fluttershy!” Pinkie Pie giggled and set her hoof down. “I was just so excited about today!”
Fluttershy rubbed her forehead, temporarily ignoring Pinkie’s infectious grinning. “Today? What’s today?”
“Don’t you remember? I’m going to teach you self-confidence!” Pinkie said, bouncing on all fours.
Fluttershy looked away, a frown crossing her face. “Oh, yeah, that.”
Pinkie saw the worried look in her friend's eyes, and took her head in her hooves. “Oh, silly! I’m not going to make you a monster like that Iron Will did. We’re going to do this right, the Pinkie Pie way.” She flashed another beaming smile into Fluttershy’s face. “And it’s all for free, no matter what!”
Fluttershy returned a weak smile of her own, but her eyes told Pinkie a different story. “I still don’t know. You know I don’t like to be scared.”
“Oh, come on! It’s just your Auntie Pinkie!” Pinkie winked at her friend. “I Pinkie-promise nothing will come to harm you.”
“Err, don’t you mean ‘no harm will come to me?’” Fluttershy asked.
“Oh, you know what I mean,” Pinkie teased, pulling Fluttershy over the door with ease.
Fluttershy yelped as she was pulled over the threshold. “Pinkie!” she cried out in a barely audible voice.
Pinkie laughed and placed a hoof around Fluttershy. “You’re such a scaredy-pony, Fluttershy! We’re just going to go to my room in town. What harm can come to you there?”
Fluttershy caught her breath. “Well, if you think it’s okay...”
“Great!” Pinkie exclaimed, and started bouncing towards town. Fluttershy looked down, her ears drooping. She’d rather have nothing to do with the entire prospect, considering the recent event, but at the same time, there was no way she could let Pinkie down.
“Oh, Angel!” Fluttershy called into her cottage through the half-open door. A scamper of little feet immediately echoed through the cottage. Angel stopped in front of the door, waiting attentively.
“Angel, I’m going to Sugarcube Corner with Pinkie Pie. I’ll be back later today, okay?”
The bunny quickly nodded, but paused. He raced quickly off towards the kitchen, reappearing moments later with Fluttershy’s saddlebags and a scroll of paper.
“Oh, right! I’ll certainly get the shopping done while I’m out.” Fluttershy reached beyond the door to take the offered supplies from him and don the saddlebags. “Thanks, Angel! See you later!”
After closing up her cottage, Fluttershy raced to catch up to Pinkie, who was still happily galavanting on the road into Ponyville.
The reddening sun dipped below the canopy of the nearby Everfree Forest as they worked their way into town. Ponies of all colors were milling about and chatting around the common areas, relaxing after a hard day of work. The pair continued down the street towards the bakery, Pinkie happily greeting everypony they passed. The smell of freshly baked goodies floated out of the gingerbread house as they neared it.
“Here we are!” Pinkie cried gleefully, looking up at Sugarcube Corner. She was already at the door, the bell jingling inside.
Fluttershy took to the steps, then suddenly felt a strange shiver cross her body, like a cold breeze in the middle of summer. She stopped and looked around, but nopony else was close by.
“D-did you feel that?” she asked, but Pinkie was already half-way inside, chatting with the Cakes and a few other customers. She took another anxious step, expecting the chill to happen again, but nothing came of it. Fluttershy paused, then shrugged the strange feeling off, and continued into the building.
Twilight Sparkle led Spike through the busy market. The sun had fallen past the distant mountains, and the soft violet and indigo of the night was peeking out from the east. For Twilight, it was just enough time to get some last minute shopping in from the market before she began her evening studies.
“Hurry up, Spike. Tonight’s supposed to be the best time to view Vega.”
Spike picked up his pace, towing a wagon carrying their collected purchases from the market in one claw, and carrying one of Twilight’s infamously long checklists in the other. “I’m... coming,” he said, panting heavily.
Twilight continued towards the tomato vendor’s tent. Wordlessly, Twilight levitated a few bits on the counter while taking a few tomatoes and depositing them in the wagon. The mare gave a brief nod and a smile as she swept up the coins into her cashbox.
“You can cross those off the list, Spike,” Twilight said, looking around for another stall.
“Right… ‘tomatoes,’” Spike stopped to draw a check mark on the list with a quill. “That leaves just radishes and celery.”
Twilight had already started towards a specific stall. “Great, just a few more min—" She stopped in her tracks, a hoof still raised in mid-stride. A strange sensation washed over her body, like a chill, giving her goosebumps for a brief moment. In a fraction of a second, it was gone.
“Huh?” she said aloud, looking around at the other ponies at the market. They moved about as usual, continuing to shop and talk without a care in the world. She called back to her companion, her voice edged with a bit of concern. “Spike, did you feel that?”
Her mind was still adrift, trying to discern the cause when she realized that he hadn’t replied yet. “Spike, did you hear me?” she asked, turning her head to look back at him.
He wasn’t there. Neither was the wagon, or their goods they had just bought.
Frantically, Twilight scanned the entire market. “Where did you wander off to, Spike?” A few onlooking ponies turned towards her at the call, but otherwise continued their business.
Twilight trotted around the market, looking around and between the stalls and tents, calling out Spike’s name. Her shouts soon became a bit more panicked, as she knew that Spike wouldn’t usually just walk off like that. She quickly exhausted all the places her dragon could possibly hide, her mind reeling at what may have become of him.
She caught sight of Bon-Bon and Lyra, chatting excitedly over two hay smoothies at a nearby table, and raced up to them. “Sorry to interrupt, but have you seen Spike?” she blurted out over their conversation.
Both stopped, turning to look at the frantic mare that interrupted them and giving her an annoyed look. “Spike who?” Bon-Bon replied, turning back to her smoothie.
Twilight huffed at the response, giving the pair a stern look. “Spike! You know, my assistant?”
“Uh, Twilight, you’ve worked alone for as long as you’ve been in Ponyville,” Lyra said, shaking her head.
Twilight’s jaw dropped. “Come on, you two. You’ve got to know Spike!” She gestured wildly with her hoof. “You know, purple, green, about this tall, has a crush on Rarity, and all that?”
Bon-Bon and Lyra looked at each other, shaking their heads.
Twilight slammed both her front hooves on the table, making the smoothie glasses jump for a moment. “You know, my baby dragon?” she exclaimed, pushing her head between them.
“What’s a ‘dragon?’” Bon-Bon asked as calmly as she could.
Twilight was about to say something else, but Bon-Bon’s reply threw her off guard. “Dragons! Big lizard things with wings, and teeth, and claws!” She tried to convey the size with her hooves.
Lyra’s eyes grew wide. “Claws you say?” Her voice took on a dreamy tone.
Bon-Bon cut in. “Not now, Lyra. No, we have no idea what these ‘dragons’ are. You must be thinking about something from one of your books, Twilight. Now, if you’d excuse us...” She made a coughing noise to break Lyra out of her trance and nodded her head over her shoulder towards the main part of town. Both stood up and walked away, leaving their half-finished smoothies behind and taking concerned glances back over their shoulders at Twilight.
Twilight took no notice of the skeptical looks, instead taking in what the pair had told her, catching her breath from her anxiety. She sought out a few other vendors and shoppers, but learned the same thing from them: they never heard of Spike, and they certainly never heard of dragons before. Twilight recalled that the town did have a selective memory when it came to dealing with disasters, but there was no logical way that anypony would forget what a dragon was.
Her brow furrowed in concentration, her mind drawing a singular conclusion: there must be some magic involved. What that was, she had no idea, but knew exactly where to start. In minutes, she was already well out of the market and en route to the library.
As she was crossing the bridge, she heard a familiar voice. “Twilight!” Rainbow Dash cried out, flying at a quick pace to catch up with her. “What did you do?”
Twilight stopped, raising an eyebrow at the accusation. “What did I do?”
Rainbow landed next to her. “Yeah, it must have been you! You’re the only one powerful enough to pull off that type of magic!”
“I haven’t done any magic today!” Twilight retorted. “Besides, I’m more worried about Spike right now—"
“Who’s Spike?” Rainbow asked.
Twilight grumbled under her breath. “Let me guess, you don’t know anything about dragons, either?”
“Twilight, this is no time for your silly fantasy games!” Rainbow shoved her hoof in Twilight’s direction. “We’ve got a real problem to solve!”
Twilight shook her head. “What problem is this, now? Still trying to pull off one of those fabled ‘Sonic Rainbooms?’” Her voice dripped with sarcasm.
Rainbow took Twilight’s head into her hooves and looked directly at her. “No, this is serious, Twi! Can you explain why my house is suddenly only five feet off the ground?”
“Uh, Dash,” Twilight said, rolling her eyes, “Your house has always been five feet off the ground.”
Rainbow fell backwards. “Wha?!”
“How do you think we visit you all the time? Where else would your house be?"
Rainbow Dash pointed a hoof to the sky. “Up there! Overlooking Ponyville, of course!”
Twilight gave a quick laugh. “Rainbow, you know pegasi can’t fly that high!”
Rainbow Dash’s eyes grew large, and she instinctively flew up a bit in response. “That’s what I’m trying to say! Look!” Without pausing for Twilight’s reaction, she propelled herself into the air at top speed. She quickly gained altitude but seconds later, found herself stuck. Despite all the power she pushed into her wings, she simply could not gain any more height, and stalled about twenty feet from the ground. “Unngh, why can’t I fly any higher?” Her voice strained with the same effort she put into her wings.
Twilight shook her head slowly after watching the display. “Rainbow, were you born only yesterday? Everypony knows that pegasi can only fly close to the ground. Their magic prevents them from going any higher.”
Rainbow landed forcefully on the ground and grunted. “But that doesn’t make any sense! We’ve always flown high! What about Cloudsdale?”
Twilight waved a hoof in recollection. “Oh, I’ve visited there several times. It’s a great city.”
“Let me guess, on the ground, right?” Rainbow asked, flatly.
“Of course, where else would it be?” Twilight said in a matter-of-fact tone.
Rainbow let off an annoyed grunt and paced in front of Twilight for a few moments before jumping back to look at Twilight with a cunning smile. “Wait, what about the weather? Pegasi control the weather, right?"
“Well, sure, of course they do.” Twilight looked at Rainbow, head askew. “Are you sure you didn’t hit your head again?”
Rainbow’s wings flared out as she stared directly at Twilight, her eyes narrowed. “Then how are we supposed to get to the clouds if they are all the way up there, and we’re stuck down here?”
“Oh, just like that,” Twilight said while pointing to a nearby field, where the pegasus Thunderlane and their friend Applejack were working with some rope. Thunderlane grabbed one end of the rope in his mouth while Applejack finished tying the other end into a lasso with her teeth. Expertly, she took the rope with her tail and looped the lasso over her head, eying a puffy-white cloud high in the sky. Timing it right, she released the lasso, which smoothly sailed over and around the cloud. Thunderlane pulled down on the rope, securing the cloud tightly in the knot. Applejack helped to grip the rope and together, the two ponies moved the cloud to its designated place in the darkening sky.
“...So you see, the pegasus transfers their weather magic to the rope, thus allowing them to move the cloud,” Twilight lectured as their impromptu demonstration concluded.
Rainbow’s jaw remained open through the end of Twilight’s speech, her eyes wide with astonishment. “What?! That’s not how it’s done! What the heck is going on here, Twilight?”
Twilight winced as if a sharp pain had struck her body. She used her hoof to rub her temple. “Let’s say you’re right, Rainbow. Then that seems to be in common with what I experienced—that nopony knows of Spike or dragons except me.” She mulled to herself for a moment, her eyes quickly lighting up. “Okay, tell me this. Do I still send friendship reports to Princess Celestia?”
“Well, duh!” Rainbow explained. “You practically bore us with them every week!”
Twilight rolled her eyes again. “Yes, well, I do know I get a bit wordy, but let’s stay on track here. How do I send them?”
“How? That’s easy. You just drop them in the mail. Of course, with Derpy, it’s hit-or-miss if the Princess actually gets them—“ Dash said.
“See, that’s just it!” Twilight countered, pointing a hoof at Rainbow. “I know that Spike would normally just use his magic fire breath to send the scroll immediately off to Princess Celestia. It’s just like you claiming that pegasi can fly high, an outlandish claim if I ever heard one!”
Rainbow was taken aback. She lifted herself off the ground and looked down at Twilight across her snout. “But I’m telling you the truth! And besides, it’s no better than your silly fire-based magical teleportation creature!”
The two continued to argue, failing to see Applejack galloping up towards them.
“Twilight! Dash! What the hay just happened?” Applejack narrowed her eyes at the pair.
The two spoke at the same time.
“Spike’s gone missing!”
“And pegasi can’t fly right anymore!”
Applejack shook her head. “Whoa, now, I don’t know anything about this Spike or about pegasus problems. We’ve got more important concerns right now!”
Twilight frowned. “How could there be anything more important than finding Spike?” She took a sideways glance at the flustered Rainbow Dash hovering beside her. “Oh, and this deal with pegasi not flying right, I guess.”
Rainbow Dash, still hovering in the air, snorted at the comment.
Applejack pointed a hoof up into the sky. “The sun! It just sprang back up into the sky!”
“Get serious, AJ. That’s where it’s supposed to be,” Rainbow argued.
“Ain’t no way that’s true.” She threw a hoof towards the clock tower in the distance. “It’s after seven! It should be dark now!”
Both looked at her with heads tilted and mouths agape. “Dark?”
“Yes, dark! You know, the sun sets, the moon rises, and all that?”
“Moon?” Rainbow asked with a smirk.
“The sun setting?” Twilight also teased. She looked to Rainbow, and both couldn’t help but break into a chuckle.
“Twilight, you of all ponies should know better! Princesses Celestia and Luna move the sun and the moon each an’ every day!”
“Who’s this ‘Luna?’” Dash asked, still giggling a bit.
However, Twilight quickly dropped her smile, and turned towards Applejack with concern. A worried frown crossed Twilight’s face. “AJ, do you know who Spike is?”
Applejack shook her head quickly. “Ne’er heard that name before. But what’s that gotta do with the sun and the moon?”
Twilight was about to answer when they heard Rarity screaming, running up to where the three were gathering.
“Oh, this is just horrible!” Rarity bemoaned, her high-pitched voice cracking with panic.
“What, the sun being up at this hour?”
“Spike gone missing?”
“The fact that I can’t fly any more?”
Rarity balked as she stopped near the other three, then quickly shook her head. “No, it’s not that. It’s Photo Finish! I can’t find her!”
The three all raised their eyebrows simultaneously. “Who?”
“Oh, come on!” Rarity shouted in frustration. “You know, the famous photographer from Canterlot! Has a roving band of mane and makeup specialists to back her up?”
The other three simply gaped.
“How can you forget—” Rarity spoke with a horribly fake accent, and waved her hoof with flair, “—Ze Magicks!”
“No idea what you’re talking about, Rarity,” Applejack said.
Rarity paced in front of them, frantically explaining her plight. “She was just in my boutique, having finally come around to appreciating my work, when suddenly she just vanished. I’ve looked everywhere for her, but to no avail!”
Rainbow shrugged. “Maybe she left town?”
“No, see, that’s just it,” Rarity continued, her voice rising in pitch. “When I got back to my boutique, it wasn’t a boutique anymore. I mean, it still had all my fashion-making accessories and fabrics, but where my showroom was was just another workroom! I’d never let my customers see the place that messy, and I know I can’t blame Sweetie Belle for that this time!”
“Customers?” Twilight asked.
Applejack smirked. “You’ve never sold a dress in your life, Rarity. Fashion is just your hobby, remember?”
Rarity took a deep gasp. “Fashion... as a hobby?! I’ll have you know that I cater to the fashion trends throughout Equestria!”
The other three mares stared at each other, giggling to themselves. Rainbow Dash broke the moment. “Rarity, I hate to break it to you, but there’s no fashion market. Nopony ever buys clothes! Maybe they’ll make their own like you do, but...”
“There’s... no... fashion market?” Rarity struggled getting across each word, her face sinking with each one. “Ooooooohh...” She swooned, her magic pulling in a couch just in time to catch her before she hit the ground.
Twilight ignored Rarity's drama and turned back to Applejack and Rainbow Dash. "Well, I'd say that Rarity's experiencing the same thing we all did."
“Twi, do y’all think Pinkie or Fluttershy might be affected by this?”
Twilight’s eyes went wide. “I never thought about that! Fluttershy would be devastated if anything like this has happened to her. We’d better check on them just—”
Her friends were already in a trot towards the edge of town before Twilight was done talking. She quickly got her bearings and caught up to the three.
Rainbow Dash had taken off to beat the others to Fluttershy’s cottage and was already knocking on the door when they joined her. “Fluttershy, are you in there?” Rainbow called through the door.
They heard a few clicks before the two-part door swung open; it took a moment for them to see Angel, staring up at the group with a tilted head. Rarity asked, “Oh, hello, Angel-dearie. Is Fluttershy around?”
The bunny shook his head, shrugging to them.
“Well, do you know where she went off to?” Twilight asked, a hint of desperation in her voice.
Angel thought this over for a moment, and then dashed off away from the door. Before anypony could say a word, he brought a large drawing pad and pencil, and quickly drew out something on the pad.
“I didn’t know Angel could write,” Applejack said as she watched him work.
“I don’t think he is writing,” Twilight said as Angel revealed the pad. On it was a near perfect representation of Sugarcube Corner, down to the finest detail and with impeccable shading.
“Wow, Angel, where’d you learn to draw so well?” Rainbow gasped.
Applejack pushed Rainbow aside. “No time for that now, Fluttershy’s over at Sugarcube Corner! I betcha we'll find Pinkie there as well.”
“Oh dear—" Twilight uttered, a look of panic crossing her face.
“What is it, Twilight? There can’t be anything bad there, could there?” Rarity asked.
“Wasn’t Pinkie going to try to teach Fluttershy how to stand up to her fears after that whole Iron Will incident?” Twilight said, her eyes wide with concern. “Oh, this can’t be good. Thanks, Angel. We’ll go get Fluttershy back, okay?”
Angel could only watch as the four ponies raced off, shrugging to himself before taking a moment to admire his own work.
“Twilight, dear, what do you think is happening?” Rarity asked as the four trotted into town.
Twilight never broke stride. “I’m not sure, but we’re not taking any chances. Knowing Pinkie, Fluttershy’s probably experiencing every fear she can think of, Pinkie-style, right?”
“So what?” Rainbow asked. “They’re not unicorns, so how could that affect anything?”
Twilight frowned. “I don’t know, but there’s too much coincidence here.”
“Like what?” Applejack asked.
“Remember how scared she was to go face that dragon that was threatening Ponyville with its smokey breath?"
"What's a ‘dragon?'" Rarity asked.
Twilight shook her head to herself as she kept her pace. "Right, you guys won't remember that because of, well, whatever this is. But you have to trust me, she had a total phobia against the creatures, to the point where her wings locked up and she couldn't fly at all. And now all of a sudden, no one else knows what dragons are and Spike's gone missing."
"But that doesn't explain why we pegasi can't fly high anymore!" Rainbow begged. "She's a pegasus too, why would she do something like that?"
"Well, consider her acrophobia. We try to take her anywhere in the Twinkling Balloon and as soon as we clear the rooftops she starts to close up, hiding herself in the corner of the basket, right?"
"Well, she always was scared of being too far off the ground, ever since flight camp," Rainbow said. "Oh! I see what you mean! There's no way she'd be afraid of heights if she could only fly a few feet above the ground!"
"Exactly!" Twilight exclaimed. "Something's changed so that Fluttershy would never have to worry about that fear at all by that limitation. What we're each experiencing seems to be fundamentally tied to something Fluttershy is scared of."
The other two quickly caught on.
“She’s always been ‘fraid of the dark!”
“The poor dear just hates being the center of attention!”
Twilight continued her explanation as they neared the edge of town. “They're all normal phobias anypony can suffer, but only Fluttershy has all of those fears. Scientifically speaking, it’s improbable that anypony else is connected to this. And with Pinkie involved...” She shook her head “I don’t know exactly what’s going on. This seems far more powerful than even unicorn magic could produce.”
“But wouldn’t they be able to tell something was wrong?” Rarity asked.
“They may not be aware of anything happening out of the ordinary. That’s why we’ve got to stop them, right now, before anything else Fluttershy is afraid of disappears from existence!”
“Stop them how?” asked Applejack.
Twilight shook her head. “I don’t know, yet. But it could be anything either of them are doing. We’re going to need to restrain them until I can figure out what’s going on.”
“Fluttershy! Pinkie!” Twilight called as soon as Sugarcube Corner was in eyesight. Her friends followed suit, causing a ruckus among the other citizens milling about the streets.
Fortunately, the noise appeared to have an effect, as the shutters on Pinkie’s garret flew open. “Hey, Twilight! Applejack, Dash, Rarity! Is it time for another surprise birthday party?" Pinkie waved to them as they got close.
“Is Fluttershy with you?” Twilight asked.
“Well, sure, but—"
The four mares didn’t wait for Pinkie to finish, but barged into the store and raced up the stairs, leaving a confused look on the Cakes’ faces.
Fluttershy gasped when their four friends raced into Pinkie’s bedroom. “Rarity and Dash, keep Fluttershy quiet. AJ, we’re on Pinkie,” Twilight ordered.
The four split into two and practically pounced onto their friends on opposite sides of the room. Fluttershy was still stunned by the last few moments and could only utter a meep before two hooves clamped down on her mouth. Pinkie put up more of a fight, thinking it was good-natured wrestling but soon, she too was pinned down by Applejack. Twilight stuck a hoof into Pinkie’s mouth.
“Sorry to have to do this, Pinkie,” Applejack apologized.
“We’ve got Fluttershy here,” Rainbow Dash announced.
Twilight stared into Pinkie’s eyes. “Pinkie, I’m going to take my hoof off your mouth, and when I do, I need you to tell me exactly everything that you’ve been doing up here with Fluttershy. But nothing more, okay?”
Pinkie vigorously nodded her head in agreement, a bit of a smile still on her face.
Twilight carefully lifted her hoof off, ready to clamp it back down if necessary.
“Oh, Twilight! I was just teaching Fluttershy here how not to be scared of her fears! She told me things that she didn’t like, and I tried to explain how you can laugh those fears away, just like my Granny Pie taught me!”
Twilight listened intently, her brow furrowed in thought. “Huh, that doesn’t sound too strange, but that’s too much of a coincidence to be unconnected. Fluttershy, is this true?”
Rainbow had let her hoof out of Fluttershy’s mouth to let her reply. “Uh, yes, I guess. Pinkie was just trying to help...” she replied, looking confused and scared at the same time.
“What do ya reckon is goin’ on, Twi?”
Twilight shrugged, looking back and forth between Pinkie and Fluttershy. “I just don’t know.”
“Why, what’s happening, Twilight?” Pinkie asked.
“Spike’s gone missing."
“Oh, no!” Fluttershy gasped.
Pinkie was also in shock. “Oh, I hope he didn’t run away again!”
Twilight pointed to both of them with a hoof. “See, you both know who he is, but...” she turned her head back to the other three, who all gave a sad shake of their heads. “Nopony else in town knows of Spike, or dragons for that matter!”
Applejack quickly jumped in. “And the sun! It shouldn’t be out this time of day! It should be nightfall!”
Pinkie gazed out the window, and realized that it was still bright outside. “Oh, I didn’t even see that! I thought we still had plenty of time left this afternoon!”
“Exactly! But everypony else is actin’ like there’s no such thing as night!”
“Twilight, do you think it’s something we did here?” Fluttershy asked, her voice already falling in volume and filled with concern. Her eyes had been widening in fear through every step of Twilight’s summary.
“I hope not,” Twilight said as she thought things over. “But I do know one way to check, but I’m going to need to cast a spell on you both, is that okay?”
Fluttershy nodded, but Pinkie jumped up in front of Twilight. “Oh, me first! Me first!”
Twilight rolled her eyes while taking a step back. “I’ve got this scanning spell that will let me see if either of you have been put under another enchantment.” Twilight narrowed her eyes in concentration. Her horn glowed with its purple aura, and soon the aura had spread across Pinkie. Twilight carefully examined every inch of Pinkie’s body, looking for something out of the ordinary. The pink mare could not help but giggle incessantly as the magic trickled over her body.
“Well, except for your Pinkie sense, there’s nothing different with you.” Twilight released the magic spell and trotted over to Fluttershy. She could see the fear in Fluttershy’s’ eyes, and rested a hoof on her shoulder. “Don’t worry, this won’t hurt, I promise.”
Fluttershy could only nod and mumble, “I trust you, Twilight.”
As before, the glow of Twilight’s magic surrounded Fluttershy. Twilight then studiously took a look all over her body before spotting something strange.
“There, see!” Her hoof pointed to an area on the back of Fluttershy’s head glowing an icky green rather than the magenta of Twilight’s own aura. “Somepony’s cast a spell on you.”
The other four gathered around, peering at the oddity. Fluttershy gasped in shock, her eyes large and pupils small as she was suddenly the center of attention.
“That’s a very strange color... do you have any idea which pony cast that?” Rarity asked, her eyes narrowed in examining the spot.
Twilight shook her head. “The spell doesn’t tell me who the caster is, just that there’s something amiss.”
Rainbow pointed her free hoof to the spot. “You’re telling us that this is why I can’t fly like I normally could? And all those other things you claimed?”
“I really don’t know, but it’s the only thing that’s out of place between these two,” Twilight offered. “And with Fluttershy involved, it all fits the same pattern. But there’s only one way to make sure...” Twilight’s eyes danced across Pinkie’s messy room, but soon settled on a slice of cake sitting on a table. “This will do,” she said, levitating the plate with the cake towards Fluttershy.
“Not my pre-dessert cake!” Pinkie cried out.
Ignoring Pinkie’s complaint, Twilight brought the plate before Fluttershy’s face. “Now, Fluttershy, listen carefully. I want you to say exactly what I say, got it?”
Fluttershy barely nodded.
“I want to you say ‘I don’t like that piece of cake.’ Nothing else, okay?” Twilight waited for Fluttershy’s brief nod for affirmation, and then turned her attention to the green part of the aura surrounding her friend. “Ok, go ahead.”
After taking a deep breath, Fluttershy quickly and quietly muttered, “I don’t like that piece of cake.” She immediately put her own hoof in her mouth to stop herself from talking.
The green spot gave an unmistakable flash, visible to all of the mares. Twilight felt a twinge, similar to the one that preceded the disappearance of Spike. “Did anypo—"
“MY CAKE!” Pinkie screamed, diving for the spot in mid-air where the cake was once hovering, but fell right through the now-ethereal image of the confectionary. In moments, there was no sign of the cake.
“Twilight! What have you done with my cake?" Pinkie cried, her hooves pounding the ground. Her friends gave sideways glances at each other. Fluttershy, on the other hoof, was completely aghast, her eyes wide and tearing up, realizing what she had done.
“As I was saying, did anypony else feel something just then?” Twilight continued, speaking over the bawling pink pony.
“I sure did! Just like when the sun jumped back up in the sky.”
Rarity nodded. “Same here, but I felt that right before Photo Finish disappeared on me.”
“I thought so, but I want to try one more test.” Twilight turned back towards Fluttershy. “Now, same as before, but here’s what I want you to say: ‘I'd love to have that piece of cake.’ Got it?”
“Oh, are you going to bring back my cake?” Pinkie jumped back to her hooves, beaming once again into Fluttershy’s face, but Twilight gently pushed her aside.
Fluttershy nodded to Twilight, and then took a deep breath through her nostrils. She pulled her hoof out, and quickly rattled off the statement before closing off her mouth again.
Twilight stared intently at the spot. Nothing changed.
“Where’s my cake?!” Pinkie demanded.
“Well, whatever spell this is, you can’t use it to make things that you like appear. It definitely seems attuned to your fears, Fluttershy.” Twilight released the spell on Fluttershy, and brought a hoof up to comfort the pegasus. Fluttershy shivered, her eyes darting between her friends.
Applejack came up to hug her. “Fluttershy, did you say anythin’ about being scared of the dark, here with Pinkie?”
After a brief pause, the pegasus nodded her head briefly, her irises shrinking even further with realization.
“Wait a minute,” Rainbow said. “I know you’re scared of heights too! Did that come up too?”
The muted, cracked high-pitched squeak was painful to listen to. “D-do you think I made anypony else d-disappear?” she whispered. “Do you think Spike’s okay?”
Twilight shook her head solemnly. “I wish I could say you haven’t, Fluttershy, but with how this spell seems to be affecting everypony’s memories, we may never know. And I hope that if we can figure out how to reverse it, we’ll get Spike back as well.”
Tears were welling up in Fluttershy’s eyes. “Oh, I’m so sorry—” her voice croaked as she sobbed to herself, sticking her hoof in her mouth to muffle the sound.
“Fluttershy, it’s not that bad,” Rarity said. “If it’s a spell, it’s bound to be reversible, and then we’ll just have everything back to normal.”
Twilight nodded. “Rarity’s right, but you’re just going to need to be careful about what you say. I don’t think we can have you keeping your hoof in your mouth forever.”
Fluttershy looked between her friends and her hoof several times, and then slowly brought it out of her mouth. “I’m sorry,” she uttered, her voice at a whisper.
Twilight gave her a hug. “It’s not your fault. Somepony did this deliberately to you, and you didn’t know that you were having that effect.”
Rainbow flew above the group, nodding in agreement with Twilight. “We’ll just all help you to make sure you don’t say something you don’t want to say, okay?” she said hopefully.
Fluttershy paused and nodded, closing her eyes with a faint smile.
Pinkie grabbed Twilight from behind and spun her around, glaring her down in the face. “Twilight, you made my cake disappear! I’ll have you know this is now personal!”
Twilight rolled her eyes. “Well, good, that means you’re ready to come with us to Canterlot.”
“Canterlot?” they blurted out simultaneously.
Twilight waved a hoof towards the window. “Well, of course, I’ve no idea who the caster is; my scanning spell isn’t that powerful. And I don’t know how to get rid of it, but I do know someone who can...”
“Princess Celestia!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
“Exactly!” The sound of a train whistle echoed into the room from the open window, sending Twilight into a sense of urgency. “And thankfully we’re just in time to catch the train to Canterlot. We better get going...”
Fluttershy pulled on Twilight’s tail. “Oh, Twilight, with whatever this spell is and what its doing to me, I don’t like the idea of taking the—"
Five hoofs raced to try to stop Fluttershy but came too late.
“—train."
Twilight felt the same ripple that she had minutes before, and could tell her other friends were experiencing the same. Outside, the train whistle cut off in mid-blow, leaving a disconcerting quietness about the town.
“Oh dear,” Fluttershy gasped as the others turned to glare at her.
“Well, that settles it, we’re hoofing it. Applejack and Pinkie, we’re going to need supplies for a suncycle-long trip. Rarity, we need to make a quick stop in your boutique, and Fluttershy,” she said, shooting a glance at the frightened pony struggling under Rainbow’s hooves, “you’re coming with us.”
Ten minutes later, Applejack came up the road from Sweet Apple Acres, wearing a bulging set of saddlebags. She joined her five friends. “Are we ready to go?”
“You got all the supplies we’ll need?” Twilight asked. “Pinkie’s set up with food, but...”
“Don’tch y’all worry. Old AJ’s got us covered. I’ve got a tent, some blankets, flint, and plenty of last year’s apple juice ready to go.”
“Oh, I didn’t really like last year’s very much,” Fluttershy mumbled.
Ten more minutes later, Applejack came up the road from Sweet Apple Acres. “Okay, this time, I’ve got a tent, some blankets, flint and plenty of water,” she said, stressing the last point with a narrowed eye at Fluttershy.
Fluttershy only nodded, her muzzle now encased in a soft velvet fabric cage to prevent her from talking. Rarity was pointing her horn towards a small metal box on the side that all the straps came into, her faint white aura of magic surrounding it. With a soft click from the box, she released her concentration and stepped back. One only needed to look to Fluttershy’s eyes to know how devastated she was; the other mares frowning and whispering among themselves.
“I’m sorry, Applejack,” Twilight apologized, “I didn’t think we were going to have to use this contraption that soon.”
Applejack shook her head. “Not ta worry. The sooner we get this done, the sooner we get things back to normal.”
With little fanfare, the group began the trek on the main road out of town towards the glistening city of Canterlot in the far distance.
Following Twilight’s directions, Applejack led the group as they made their way at a steady pace towards the valley at the base of the mountain upon which Canterlot stood. As Twilight recalled, the old meandering hoofpath up the mountainside used by founders of Canterlot would likely be the only way to the Princess. While the other five chatted quietly during the hours, Fluttershy stayed at the back of the group, her head hung low. The others had taken turns travelling alongside the muted Fluttershy, trying to give her words of encouragement, but the poor mare barely acknowledged their emotional support.
Twilight angrily huffed as she caught up with the group, after stopping a pair of stallions heading towards Ponyville, pulling a wagon filled with old relics like telescopes and sundails between them. “Ugh, they have no clue either!”
“No clue about what?” Pinkie asked.
“Oh, about what dragons are, or what a ‘moon’ might actually be,” Twilight grunted in annoyance. “They even laughed when I tried to explain what a ‘train’ is, just like the last three travellers I asked!”
“It could be worse, y’all,” Applejack said, looking towards the cloudless sky. “At least them earth and pegasus ponies are keepin’ the weather nice and clear for us.”
“Geez, I could have been there by now if I could just fly normally!” Rainbow Dash complained, hovering with unrestrained anxiety above the group.
“Rainbow, if you’re so impatient, why don’t you just go and find a place that we can rest at? I’m positively worn out,” Rarity suggested, looking at her hooves. “And I could really do with a bath!”
“I think we could all use a little break,” Twilight said, nodding.
Rainbow gave a bit of a salute. “Sure thing, guys! Back in a jiffy!” She sped off disappearing around the cliff face ahead.
The five continued forward without much conversation, soon moving into the shade of a forest that ran up near the cliff face.
“Say Twilight, why do you have all them telescopes in your library?” Applejack asked as she moved into step next to her friend.
Twilight said in a matter-of-fact tone, “Well, so I can look at distant points across Equestria, obviously.”
“You can’t even remember that meteor shower that we had watched before?"
“Meteor shower?" Twilight boggled. “Now you’re just making stuff up, AJ!”
“No more than the idea of these ‘dragons’ of yours, Twi.”
“Hey, I’ll let you know, dragons are re—" Twilight said.
“Watch out! A roc!” Rainbow Dash’s yell from around the next bend in the cliff wall interrupted their thoughts.
“Rainbow, of course there’s rocks! We’re right next to a cliffs—" Rarity scolded the pegasus.
“No! Not that type of rock!” Rainbow, flying towards the group, thrust her hoof towards the sky. “The living type of roc!”
The other five turned their heads upward, and gasped at the large grey bird-like creature, swooping out of the clouds directly at them. Its red eyes glowed with hunger, and the high-pitched squawk it unleashed as it neared sent shivers to the mares. Its talons, as large as one of Applejack’s farmwagons, flexed in anticipation of snatching its prey.
“Everypony, scatter!” Twilight ordered, the others already seeking cover in the nearby forest. She bit down on the pink tail of one escaping mare. “Fluttershy, stay with me!”
Fluttershy, initially shocked, turned and nodded back to Twilight.
The two galloped and jumped into some low bushes just as the roc reached out to grab them, missing them by inches. The rush of air in the creature’s wake rustled the leaves on the trees, leaving behind only a faint screech.
“Ya reckon it’s gone?” Applejack asked, peering out from a set of close-group trees farther up the path.
“Far from that, I’m afraid,” Rarity said, having taken cover in another set of bushes. “I’ve encountered one while gem-dowsing and it only left me alone after it got bored of waiting for me to appear.” She sighed. “Talk about the most boring six hours of my life...”
“Six hours?" Rainbow complained. She had taken to the leaves of one of the lower trees, looking out through the canopy for the roc. “That’s like, forev—INCOMING!”
The group collectively ducked their heads back under cover as the giant roc rushed the tops of the forest, tearing a branch off one of the nearby trees as it made another pass.
Twilight shook her head. “We can’t wait that long! We’re going to run out of cover before then.”
“Hey, I’ve an idea!” Pinkie shouted, her head popping out of a small knot in one of the trees. “We could just have Fluttershy make it go away!”
Even with the muzzle, Fluttershy’s gasp of shock was quite audible. She grabbed at Twilight’s tail, shaking her head back and forth vigorously.
“Fluttershy’s right, we can’t use this spell just to make the problems go away,” Twilight said.
“We’re gonna run out of trees before that roc gets bored of hunting for us. We’ve don’t got much choice,” Applejack said, watching the skies through the trees for any sign of the creature.
Rarity nodded. “I’m afraid AJ’s right, there. Having Fluttershy use whatever spell that it is to make the roc go away j—”
“No!” Twilight shouted at the others, her eyes narrowed at the rest of the group, and then turned back to lay a comforting hoof on Fluttershy’s head. “Fluttershy’s already traumatized enough by all this. We dare not ask her to make our problem just disappear, particularly if—"
“LOOK OUT!”
“—the spell can’t be undone,” Twilight angrily continued after another set of branches on the trees above were torn free. She took a moment to take a deep breath. “Look, I don’t mean to shout, but we’ve been in worse situations than this. We’ll figure a way out now, I’m sure of it.”
“You’re absolutely right, and I would never want Fluttershy to feel that bad about herself,” Pinkie admitted.
Rarity looked up towards the thinning treetops. “But we still have that roc to deal with, and it’s not going anywhere soon.”
Twilight let off a soft sigh, her head hung low in humiliation. “That’s right, Rarity. Anypony have any ideas?”
“He’s a speedster, all right, but I could probably outpace him for a bit,” Rainbow called down from the trees before resume her roc-watching post. “But I don’t know how that could help.”
Rarity shrugged. “I didn’t see much after I took cover that one time.”
Twilight tapped a hoof to her head, her eyes closed tight. “I only vaguely remember that rocs are nocturnal, which probably means they have poor vision and prey by sound.”
Applejack jumped towards Twilight and was about to say something before Pinkie butted her way to her first.
“What if we tricked it then with a surprise?” Pinkie said.
“Oh, there’s an i-de-a!” Rarity sang. “If we could just distract it for a bit...”
“Luring it away is easy,” Applejack said, nodding in agreement. “But whichever one of us that does so, it’s goin’ stick to them like bristles on a cactus.”
Twilight’s eyes darted around the area, looking at the trees, and the nearby path. ”That’s it!” she called out, her desolate mood quickly changing to one of surety. She shouted up to the trees to where a rainbow-colored tail peeked out from the leaves. “Rainbow! You need to fly off and lure that roc to follow you!”
Rainbow’s head poked back out of cover, her brow furious. “Fly? Can I remind you that, oh, for some strange reason, I can’t fly up!”
Fluttershy curled further into her ball, tears rolling down her cheeks.
“Why would you fly up?” Twilight said. “Just do like you normally do, parallel to the ground!”
Rainbow was stunned for a moment before comprehension dawned on her. “Oh, right!” She disappeared into the treetops, but her loud taunting voice could be heard easily. “Come on, you big dumb roc! Try to keep up with me!” A rush of air shaking the canopy quickly followed.
“Applejack, we need some large branches off these trees! Preferably ones with lots of leaves,” Twilight commanded.
“Ya got it, Twi.” She had already drawn her lasso before Twilight finished speaking. She expertly snagged one branch, and she tugged back on the rope. “Pinkie, give me a hoof here!”
With the combined efforts of the two ponies, the branch quickly snapped off, and was caught in mid-air by Rarity’s magic. “That’s it, girls. This will do quite well.”
As the three mares continued to work to collect foliage, Twilight turned to Fluttershy. She whimpered to herself, the philosophical bombshell still traumatizing her. Twilight put a hoof around her neck and spoke to her softly. “Fluttershy, you can still help. We need to get some of the smaller branches from the tops of the trees that AJ’s rope can’t reach.”
Fluttershy looked towards Twilight, her eyes filled with worry. She gestured upward with her head, a frown crossing her face.
“Don’t tell me you’re afraid of the roc?” Twilight asked.
Fluttershy gave the briefest of nods.
“Fluttershy, I know that roc is big and scary, and could probably eat any of us in one gulp, but we need your help! The rest of us are just as scared as you are.”
Rarity had collected another large branch, her magic interworking it with the other branch they had just pulled down, as she called over to the two. “Yes, dear, you need to face your fears. You shouldn’t worry about being eaten with Rainbow Dash luring it around.”
“Just remember that song I told you about!” Pinkie dropped the rope she had been pulling on before taking a deep breath.
Applejack quickly stuck a hoof into Pinkie’s open mouth. “Oh, no, no time for singin’, Pinkie.” She called back towards Fluttershy, “Trust us, we’ve got ya covered! You ain’t got nothin’ to be scared of.”
Twilight nodded with a weak smile to Fluttershy. “Do you think you can help?”
Fluttershy let go of her breath. The muzzle kept her from speaking but, after a pause, there was a quick nod of assent.
“That’s our girl,” Twilight mumbled as she nuzzled her head against Fluttershy. She stepped back to give her friend room to take off. Though a bit slow to start, Fluttershy soon disappeared into the dense leaves of the trees above. After a brief bit of rattling, small loose branches fell from the trees.
It took a few more minutes for Twilight and her friends to gather the branches, while Rainbow played cat-and-mouse with the giant roc.
Pinkie stepped onto the open path and shouted over to the rainbow-colored blur. “Rainbow!”
Rainbow continued to lead the roc, but changed course towards the path. “I can’t keep this up much longer, Pinkie!”
“That’s okay! Twilight said that you should just fly through those trees over there!” Pinkie’s hoof pointed towards part of the forest up the path.
It took another loop with the roc in close pursuit before Rainbow could answer. “Are you crazy?! I’ll just get stuck in th—" She yelped as the roc’s beak snapped shut inches from where her tail had been. “This would be a lot easier if I could actually fly,” she mumbled to herself as she flew off.
Pinkie waited for another circuit of the two before shouting off instructions again. “Twilight said you need to trust her on this! And be ready to make a right turn!”
Rainbow’s face twisted in confusion. “A right turn?" She looked back towards the trees that Pinkie had pointed, her eyes brightening. “Ah! Got it! Hang on!”
She turned off into a large loop across the top of the forest, the roc still matching her pace. Soon, she had the set of trees straight in front of her, the tell-tale glow of unicorn magic surrounding them. She turned back to the roc, briefly braking in mid-air to tease the creature. “Nyan nyah, you can’t catch me!” she taunted before darting straight for the trees.
The enraged roc let out another screech and put on a new burst of speed in pursuit of its prey.
Rainbow took only moments to dive into the leaves, breaking off a few of the smaller pieces as she tore through it. The roc’s entrance was much less graceful as loud snaps of wood announced its arrival.
On the ground, Applejack watched the chase from the edge of forest. As soon as Rainbow entered the thick tree cover, she shouted, “NOW!”
Rainbow Dash immediately executed a sharp right turn, finding herself only inches from the sheer cliff face that ran next to the path. She quickly adjusted her angle to avoid losing any of her wing feathers to the rocks.
At the same time, Twilight and Rarity, their horns aglow with magic within the cover of the forest, pulled their respective heads away from each other. The “trees” above split away into two halves, leaving the surprised roc exposed to open air.
And heading at its top speed straight for the cliff face only a few feet away.
The crash echoed through the valley for several minutes.
The roc had fallen to the base of the cliff, and Applejack, Pinkie, and Rainbow were quick at work securing its beak and wings with rope. Twilight watched them work. “I don’t think that it’s about to wake up any time soon, but let’s not take any chances.”
Rainbow finished securing the ropes around the creature’s beak, and with a bit of anger, bucked the sides of the beak to no effect. “That’s what you get for trying to eat me!”
“You know what’s strange,” Twilight said aloud as she examined the unconscious roc with scientific curiosity, “but I always thought rocs were nocturnal creatures.”
“Hey! That’s what I was goin’ to tell ya earlier!” Applejack dropped the end of the rope she was helping to tie off and hoofed it over to Twilight, staring her right in the face. “You do know what nocturnal means, right?”
Twilight smirked, and couldn’t contain a brief snort of laughter. “Of course I know what it means! It’s about creatures that generally sleep during the day and prey during the night, of course.”
Applejack herself couldn’t hide her smile of satisfaction. “And this whole ‘night’ thing?”
Twilight opened her mouth to say something, but stalled out, her ears drooping as realization dawned. “Wait, what?"
“Ya see, Twi?”
Twilight shook her head, trying to ignore the strange thought. “But there’s no such thing as ‘night’... but then there’s nocturnal creatures...” She held a hoof up to her head, feeling a sudden wave of nausea coming on. “Ugh, it feels like I’m living in a paradox!”
“Oooh, I knew a paradox once!” Pinkie jumped in between the two. “But those two could barely move a loaded party wagon between them!”
Twilight and Applejack simultaneously facehooved, both letting out short grunts.
“No, a paradox!” Twilight said, her hoof still on her face. “Like having something be true and not be true at the same time. But there’s just no scientific way this could happen!”
Rarity had trotted up to join the two, with the muffled Fluttershy a few steps behind. “Somepony is messing with our heads, it sounds like.”
“It’s this spell on Fluttershy, I’m sure of it,” Twilight asserted, confidently. “We’re probably the only ponies not affected completely by it because of our connection to the Elements of Harmony.”
“That would explain why I realize this whole lack-of-night thing is wrong, but you can only vaguely remember it...” Applejack said.
“It’s basically causing one big mess, that’s all I know,” Rainbow blurted out, annoyed. “Why would anypony want to do this?”
“Unfortunately, I’ve got a good idea of who’s at work behind this, somepony who would thrive in causing exactly this type of confusion...” Twilight said, but was interrupted by the sound of a deep chuckle reverberating through the woods. An extremely familiar laugh that all six mares instantly recognized.
“DISCORD!” Applejack shouted, looking for the source.
“Discord! Show yourself!” Twilight demanded.
“But of course, my little ponies,” the voice intoned, followed by a flash of light. There, unmistakable, was the spirit of Chaos himself.
“How did you escape your stone prison, Discord?” Rarity demanded. Like all but Fluttershy, Rarity had ground her hooves into the earth in anticipation, her nose flaring as she stared down the malevolent entity.
“Escape? Oh, deary me, no! The statue’s still up there in Canterlot, if you want to check,” Discord said while waving a paw upwards towards the city. “But if you thought that the spirit of Chaos would ever allow himself to be completely trapped by the Elements a second time, well, you thought very wrong, my friends.” A satisfied grin crossed his face.
“But if you’re trapped there, how can you be here?" Pinkie blurted out.
“Oh, I’m still mostly stuck in that statue, no thanks to you six,” Discord said, nonchalantly. “I just split off parts of my personality to the ethereal void, allowing me to come back in some, how can we say it, ‘limited capacity,’ to have a bit of fun while I’m trapped up there.” Somewhere, Discord had produced a set of sunglasses and put them on, while sipping what appeared to be fruit cocktail from a glass that had not been there a moment ago.
Twilight looked confused, and pointed a hoof towards him. “Wait, so you’re not—"
Discord snapped his fingers, and a similar drink appeared in Twilight’s hoof. “Oh, calm down, Twilight. Have a drink, on me!” The spirit laughed before continuing. “Of course I don’t want to take over Equestria. My powers in this form are far too weak to do that.”
Twilight took one look at the drink before tossing it aside. “There’s no way we’re going to believe that.”
“I trust that about as far I as could buck you, Discord,” Applejack warned, her eyes sternly blazing at their foe.
“Oh, come now. Do you think I’d be idly chatting with you if I could take over the world?” He waved a hand around. “I barely have enough power to affect one pony at a time, much less an entire kingdom!”
Rainbow Dash grunted, still poised to charge the beast. “Just what is your game, Discord?”
“‘Game?'” Discord recoiled with a loud gasp. “There’s no ‘game’ here. Just some harmless fun, of course!”
“Harmless?" Twilight said loudly, pointing a hoof behind herself. “Look at what you’ve done to Fluttershy!”
Fluttershy had hidden herself behind Rarity, trying to cover herself in the folds of her mane and wings, her whimpering easily heard throughout the conversation.
“I’ve done nothing to her! How dare you accuse me of that!” Discord mocked astonishment, and floated over to where Fluttershy was cowering. “Oh, and what’s this?” He took a sudden interest in her, running one of his talons along the fabric muzzle. “Why would they ever want to keep you quiet, my dear?” Fluttershy began to crawl backwards away from Discord, but soon found herself up against a tree trunk.
“Oh, you know very well, you cur!” Rarity growled.
Discord shot a claw to his chest, and his eyes shot open. “You accuse me of this? I only gave Fluttershy the ability to deal with her fears! You should be thanking me!”
Rainbow Dash flew into Discord’s face, snorting. “Deal with her fears? More like ‘wiping out her fears from existence!'”
“‘Deal with,’ ‘wiping out,’ it all has the same effect, doesn’t it, Fluttershy?” He twirled the end of Fluttershy’s mane in a talon gently. She couldn’t back up any farther into the tree and tried to hide herself under her hooves.
“But look what you’ve done!” Twilight berated. “You’ve wiped out dragons...”
“Made night non-existent,” Applejack continued Twilight’s rant for her.
“Made me unable to fly high!” Rainbow Dash shouted.
“And you ruined my business!” Rarity cried out.
Pinkie jumped on top of Rainbow’s head to look down at Discord. “And don’t get me started on what they did to my cake!”
“And isn’t it all wonderful?" Discord laughed with glee.
Twilight ignored his sarcasm. “Discord, you better reverse that spell right now, or...”
Discord stopped her short. “Or what? The Elements are in Canterlot, miles away. You’re powerless to stop me.”
“We may be powerless, Discord,” Twilight warned, “but we’ve still got the power of Friendship behind us!”
“Pshaw!” Discord laughed. “Even in my weakened form, you’re incapable of stopping me with your magic without those Elements.”
Applejack snorted. “Who ever said anything about magic?”
“Physical threats aren’t really my thing,” Rarity said as she shook her head, “but there’s times that I’ll make exceptions!”
Discord used a claw to wipe a tear of laughter from his eye. “You think you can beat me up? Har!”
Pinkie suddenly appeared from behind Discord’s back, holding one of the roc's feathers in one of her hooves. “Who ever said anything about fighting?” She immediately began rubbing the tip of the feather along Discord’s sides.
“Wait, no! I’m tick—" Discord tried to pull Pinkie off him before he broke out into giggles. “Stop it!” he cried out between his fits.
Applejack gave a smirk as she watched Pinkie antagonize their foe. “Now, are you goin’ tell us how to fix all this?” she asked sternly.
Pinkie let up long enough for Discord to catch his breath. “Why would I do that? I’m still having way too much fun,” he said between his gasps for air.
“Keep going, Pinkie,” Rarity commanded. Pinkie continued to assault Discord’s sensitive sides with the feather, keeping him in a state of laughter.
The three continued to torment Discord, giving the opportunity for Rainbow to fly herself over towards Twilight. The pegasus whispered to Twilght, “Hey, I’ve got an idea how to stop Discord.”
Twilight never broke her stare on Discord, speaking aside to Rainbow. “What is it?”
Rainbow gave Twilight a wink. “You’ll see!”
He was still distracted by the other three, allowing Rainbow to fly around behind Discord, towards where Fluttershy was still cowering. “Hey, Discord, how come you never asked Fluttershy if she wanted this power?” she said.
Pinkie let up on the tickling to give their foe time to respond. Discord twisted his neck to look back at the two, looking annoyed. “Oh, she would want it, trust me.”
“Prove it!” dared Rainbow.
Discord grinned maliciously. “Well, if you insist...” He turned back to Fluttershy, lowering a talon towards the lock on the fabric muzzle Rarity had constructed.
Twilight realized too late what Rainbow’s plan involved, and raced forward to stop it. “Wait! No! Stop, Discord!”
Discord tapped the lock, undoing the muzzle and allowing it to fall off Fluttershy’s mouth. “Now, dear sweet Fluttershy, tell your uncle Discord, do you really want this power?”
“NO! Stop, Fluttershy!” Twilight jumped towards her but was already too late.
Fluttershy narrowed her eyes, staring right into Discord’s. “I really don’t like you very much, Discord,” she uttered in a quiet but firm voice, each word enunciated with hatred.
Twilight landed on Fluttershy, slamming her mouth shut, but already felt the familiar tingle running through her body. “Fluttershy, no!”
Discord chuckled. “Aw, what are you afraid of, Twilight? Maybe Fluttershy can make that go away too.”
Keeping her hooves on Fluttershy’s mouth, Twilight screamed, “Don’t you realize what you’ve just done?"
Discord looked genuinely confused. “Me? What have I done? I just asked your Fluttershy a simple question.”
“Twilight! It’s working!” Rainbow eagerly said, pointing to where Discord stood.
“Oh, no, oh, no, no no! That’s not good!” Twilight said, panicking. The other mares followed her glance towards Discord with various looks of shock and glee.
“What? What are you all staring at?” Discord asked before finally peering down at himself. A look of fear crossed his face. “What have you done?!” he screamed, panicked.
Discord’s feet were becoming translucent, and the effect was quickly moving up his body.
“It’s not what she’s done, it’s what you’ve done to her, Discord!” Twilight exclaimed.
“Twilight, what are you complaining about? We’re finally going to get rid of Discord!” Rainbow posed proudly, a grin of satisfaction on her face.
“And probably our only way to reverse this spell on Fluttershy and put everything back to normal!” Twilight berated her.
“Oh, yeah,” Rainbow said sheepishly, a hoof behind her head. “I guess I didn’t think that far ahead.”
By now, all of Discord’s lower torso was gone, and all but his head were transparent. “Twilight! You have to help me!”
Wordlessly, Applejack had come to take over keeping Fluttershy’s mouth shut, allowing Twilight to approach Discord. “Can’t you reverse the spell?”
Discord tried to touch a claw to Fluttershy’s head, but it passed right through her. “Oh, fiddlesticks—"
Twilight’s horn glowed a bright purple as she rapidly glanced all around Discord’s body, her eyes narrowed in focus. “I can’t stop it! Your magic’s far too powerful for me!” She let go of her concentration, her face falling into panic. “Can you tell us anything about the spell? What it does, how you cast it?"
Discord shook his head frantically, trying to find the words to explain before he disappeared. “It’s literal—" was all he was able to get out before vanishing completely.
Twilight fell back on her haunches, exasperated. Her head fell between her shoulders. “Oh, great. There goes our best chance of fixing everything.”
Rainbow flew down and rubbed her hoof on Twilight’s back, a sad look on her face. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize—"
“No, it was a good idea, don’t blame yourself, Dash,” Twilight said. “Next time, though, let’s just plan it out a bit better.” She looked up, and the others could see the exhaustion in her face. “We’ll just have to continue to Canterlot and hope that Princess Celestia can resolve this. At least knowing that Discord’s behind it, that may make it easier for her to counter it.”
Applejack and Rarity had helped Fluttershy back into the muzzle. The poor pegasus’ eyes were wet with tears, and she avoided looking at any of her friends directly.
“No, it wasn’t your fault, either, Fluttershy. Discord did this to himself. He had absolutely no right to taunt you,” Twilight offered, trying to encourage Fluttershy. She refused to turn around and face them.
Both Pinkie and Rarity stayed by Fluttershy’s side, trying to give her words of encouragement, though Twilight couldn’t tell if they were having any effect.
Twilight sighed to herself, knowing inside that Fluttershy was an emotional wreck, moreso than her own worn-down state. She trotted over to Applejack and whispered, “Let’s give her a few minutes and then we should keep on moving. We should gather our saddlebags in the meantime.”
Applejack nodded quietly, though she too glanced back towards Fluttershy. The two silently recovered the bags and returned to the other four, where Pinkie, Rainbow, and Rarity were trying to coax Fluttershy along.
“We’d better get moving, girls,” Twilight said. “We’ve definitely got to get to Canterlot and we’re still a few hours from the road leading up to it.”
The rest of the mares helped to gather their goods, and soon they were back on the dirt path, walking in a line. Pinkie stayed back by Fluttershy to make sure she was coming, trying to offer any words of encouragement to her, but soon fell silent, as nothing seemed to break her distress.
The path continued to lead around the mountain before reaching the crossing of a paved road that lead directly away from the slope. Twilight looked up, following the carved rock path that crisscrossed the face of the mountain. It wasn’t very steep and would be an easy climb but its meandering length would take several more hours to complete.
“I’m positively exhausted, dearies,” Rarity whined. “Can we take a break here?”
Applejack took a quick look around. “Looks like we’re not the first to have that idea.” She pointed a hoof to the grasses between the trees around the crossroads, well eroded by numerous hoofsteps. “Seems to be a prime campin’ spot for travellers.”
Twilight nodded. “Let’s set up camp here. We’ve still got a good climb to go.”
The group began pulling out the tents and blankets that Applejack had packed.
Within the hour, the campsite had been assembled. Pinkie was cooking some vegetable soup for the group. After much assurance from Fluttershy, Twilight agreed to let her free of the muzzle to enjoy the soup as long as she would be careful of anything she said.
“Twi, how long ya think it’s goin’ to take to get to Canterlot?” Applejack asked.
Twilight shook her head. “At least another suncycle, and that’s assuming we keep a good pace.”
“‘Suncycle?!' Don’t you mean ‘day?'” Pinkie asked with a confused look.
Twilight sighed. “Suncycle, day, whatever. We’ve still got a lot of time before we get there.”
“Argh!” Rainbow Dash shouted, taking off from the ground. “This is going to take forever! There’s got to be a faster way!”
Rarity nodded in agreement. “Yes, Twilight, can’t you use your magic to teleport us up there?”
“I’ve told you before,” Twilight said. “I don’t think I could even teleport myself all the way up there in a single go, much less the whole group.”
Rainbow crossed her hooves in front of herself. “Couldn’t we have just taken the Twinkling Balloon?”
Twilight shook her head. "We could have if somepony hadn't damaged the balloon while trying to race with it," she said while glaring at Rainbow.
“Hey, I didn't know it was that fragile!" Rainbow retorted. "You'd think that those Canterlot balloons would withstand a bit more punishment."
Twilight snorted at Rainbow. "Well, the balloon's still torn and you haven't gotten around to fixing it yet, have you?"
“Well, if you wanted it fixed, you should have fixed it yourself, egghead!" Rainbow shouted, staring Twilight down.
“Girls, girls!” Rarity shouted, trying to calm the pair down. “We’re all under pressure from this!”
“Calm down, there, Twi—" Applejack interjected herself between Twilight and Rainbow, trying to use her hooves to keep the two apart, her own nostrils flaring.
Rainbow snorted, turning away. “And who do you think you are, Ms. ‘Oh, the sun sets and the moon rises?'”
“Oh, that settles it!” Applejack lost her temper and jumped onto Rainbow, pulling her down to the ground. The two wrestled each other, even with Pinkie and Rarity trying to pull the pair apart.
A random hoof struck Pinkie in the side of her face. “Ow! Watch it!”
Rarity herself got a bash, knocking her impeccable mane out of position. “My hair! Oh, that does it!” she screamed before throwing herself into the pile.
Soon, all five of the ponies were in various scuffles with each other, pulling on each other’s tails and kicking each other with their hooves.
Fluttershy could only look on as the five fought amongst each other. She had only taken a few sips of the soup, her stomach turning over in anguish over what disasters she had caused already. She stroked her mane, trying to keep her mind off thinking about what she did, but with her friends yelling at each other, it was just so hard to think straight.
“I really don’t like my friends fighting,” Fluttershy mumbled to herself. It took but a fraction of a second for her to gasp in shock realizing what she just did.
The group instantly stopped arguing, each feeling that same chill they’d felt several times earlier in the day.
“Fluttershy!” All five immediately stopped fighting, turning to stare in horror at her.
“What did you do?" Rarity cried in a panic.
Twilight looked down and already saw the tips of her hooves disappearing.
“Oh, no,” Fluttershy uttered, barely above a whisper, and backed off, shaking her head as if it was a bad dream.
“Fluttershy! Keep with us!” Applejack said. She tried to move towards Fluttershy but was stuck in one place as her hooves faded away.
“Twilight! Do something!” Rainbow yelled, panicked like all the others.
Twilight’s brow was furrowed in concentration. “Argh, what was Discord trying to say to us?! ‘It’s literally easy as pie?’ ‘It’s literally just like turning a switch?’ Think, Twilight, think!” she shouted to herself.
Rarity, agape as her beautiful tail disappeared, tried to encourage ideas. “Wait, what if he meant it was ‘literal?'”
“A play on words!” Pinkie screeched, unable to stop crying as the effect passed her neck.
“Right! Fluttershy! FLUTTERSHY!” Twilight screamed to get their friend’s attention.
Fluttershy had turned away, refusing to look back at her friends. They barely heard her quiet “I’m sorry...” over their own panic.
“FLUTTERSHY!” they all shouted in unison, but their voices were already fading like the rest of their bodies.
“Come on, Fluttershy, I know what you’re feeling!” Twilight shouted as her head began to vanish completely. “Just say that—"
The silence was deafening. After a few moments, Fluttershy looked over her shoulder, sniffling back tears at seeing nopony around. She looked to the trees, the empty tents, and the bushes nearby, but there wasn’t a single animal around, likely scared away by the earlier arguments.
She couldn’t hold back any longer, and broke out into a river of tears.
It may have been minutes or hours, but Fluttershy eventually sniffled out the last of her tears, looking up with bloodshot eyes around the clearing. A few of the woodland critters had returned, poking their heads out from trees and bushes surrounding it, drawn in by Fluttershy’s aura and natural empathy with all living creatures.
“I...I promise I won’t hurt you,” she whispered to them. A few of the braver ones came closer to her, and once in hoofrange, she petted their soft heads. The remaining creatures soon followed, surrounding her.
She struggled through her tears, sniffling back every so often, as she talked to them. “I tried. I really tried not to say anything.”
One of the chipmunks that had approached chittered something to her.
“No, I know you don’t know what I’m talking about, but...” Fluttershy said. “It really is just a long story...”
The woodland creatures were patient with Fluttershy, who struggled to recall all the details and had to take several moments to calm herself.
She reiterated the events to this point, broken by her frequently sniffles and long pauses to make sure she said the right words to avoid causing her animal companions to disappear out of existence as well. The animals, not fully understanding everything that she said, still stayed around, entranced by her tale.
Fluttershy finally reached the end of her summary, petting one of the chipmunks that had gotten close. “I didn’t mean to make them go away. I just wanted whatever Discord did to me to be gone. But it’s so hard for me to not be scared of things and want them to go away.”
The chipmunk in her hooves chittered away, and the other animals gave their own nods.
“Well, I’m trying to not be afraid. But, I’m all alone...”
She was cut short by a quick outburst from the animals.
“Well, that’s true. But I’m so far from home...”
The chipmunk’s squeaks cut her short.
Fluttershy shook her head. “I know it shouldn’t matter, but my nerves...”
A sparrow landed on her mane, chirping briefly.
“You’re right, there’s nothing to be afraid of here,” Fluttershy sniffled, looking around. “You’re all here, we’re at least near a well-travelled road... why should I be afraid?”
The animals all quickly nodded.
“Oh, thank you, everyone,” Fluttershy sighed with some relief. “Thank you.” She reached to pet the other animals that were close by.
The chipmunk in her hooves, however, continued to chitter.
Fluttershy narrowed her eyes in thought. “Well, I really haven’t thought about it much...”
Another chirp from the sparrow.
“Well, there is what Discord was saying about this being literal, but if Twilight couldn’t figure it out, I don’t know if—"
The animals gave a burst of chitters.
The mare giggled. “Oh, all right. Let me think here...”
Over the next several minutes, Fluttershy chatted with the animals, proposing ideas of how to reverse or cancel Discord’s magic. Though the animals clearly had no idea of the complex magic or Discord’s power, they pointed out the flaws in Fluttershy’s ideas after she thought them out.
“I can’t just say that I’d love to have them back. Twilight had me try that before, but it didn’t work,” she said, her voice edging on frustration.
The chipmunk sadly shook its head.
“Oh, I just don’t know!” Fluttershy screamed in her own soft way. “I have no idea how to fix this! I really don’t like not having Twilight around, she’d know exactly what to do,” she sniffled to herself, lowering her head into her hoofs.
In her angst, Fluttershy was oblivious to brief chill that her body felt. It was only until one of the critters pulled on her mane did she look back up. “What is it?” she asked wearily.
A faint image of Twilight stood in front of her.
“Twilight?" her voice wavered with hope. “Did I do that?” she asked of the animal friends. They all gave their various forms of a hopeful shrug.
As she watched, the nearly translucent shape of her friend became more opaque, and soon solidified into her best friend. Realization dawned on Fluttershy. “Oh, that’s what he meant!”
“—it! Say that you d—" Twilight shouted, but was cut short by a mass of yellow and pink crashing onto her.
“Twilight!” Fluttershy shouted in glee after they had rolled to a stop. “I got you back!”
The unicorn was still dazed by her brief erasure from history and the sudden attack from Fluttershy. “Fluttershy?! What did you do?"
Fluttershy was all smiles as she stood atop Twilight. “I figured it out, Twilight! I figured it out!”
Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Figured what out?”
Fluttershy blushed a bit, but nodded. “Oh, right, let me show you...” She cleared her throat, and said, in a clear, assured voice, “I don’t like not having Applejack around.”
Twilight was stunned to watch as the faint unmistakable outline of Applejack, hat and all, started to appear in the clearing. “Fluttershy! How...”
“Discord! He said it was literal!” Fluttershy said, beaming with a self-congratulatory smile. “I used his own spell to cancel itself out.” She paused briefly before falling back in a blush. “Well, I sorta stumbled on it by accident...”
“It doesn’t matter how you got there, Fluttershy!” Twilight said with full elation. “We know how to fix all this, right?”
Fluttershy nodded vigorously. “Yes, yes!”
“What the hay is goin’ on here?” Applejack had fully solidified, but was staring at the two mares with a raised eyebrow. “Do you two need some time alone?”
Both Twilight and Fluttershy looked at each other, still in the rather awkward position. They both blushed with faint smiles and quickly scrambled back to their hooves, clearing their throats.
Fluttershy, under Twilight’s guidance with the right wording, quickly helped to restore their three friends, and all of them fell into a group hug, having been restored.
“But, Fluttershy, dear,” Rarity asked while muffled in the hug, “how did you figure it out?”
Flutterhsy beamed wide. “Discord’s spell! It works ‘literally!' That means it’s based on what you say, and not what you feel!”
“Almost like a riddle? I’m good at riddles!” Pinkie asked with excitement.
Twilight nodded, her eyes wide with curiosity. “Do you remember what happened after we disappeared?”
Rainbow jumped in, waving a warning hoof in front of Fluttershy. “Just don’t say it exactly as you said it.”
“Oh, right, I was talking about being alone, at least until my animal friends showed up,” she explained as she waved a hoof towards the creatures that still sat nearby, ”and they got me to think about what Discord was saying. Er, but then,” she paused, blushing a bit, “I guess I came upon bringing Twilight back by saying that I don’t—er, you know—that I missed Twilight being around.”
“And that restored us, because you don’t like that, right?”
Fluttershy looked a bit confused. “Er, I guess...”
Twilight backed off with a grin. “Let’s try something else, shall we. Repeat exactly what I say, Fluttershy: ‘I don’t like Pinkie not having her cake.’”
Fluttershy raised an eyebrow but followed Twilight’s instruction to the letter. Again, a brief chill passed through them all, followed shortly by the same plate of cake that has disappeared in Pinkie’s room, appearing in mid-air in the center of the group.
“MY CAKE!” Pinkie happily pounced on the dessert and ate it in one mouthful.
“Oh, my...” Fluttershy said.
“Does this mean—" Applejack asked, hopeful.
“Yup, we’re going to undo the damage that Discord’s spell has done by using his own spell against it,” Twilight said, grinning. “Let’s try another one.” She pulled Fluttershy in to whisper something to her. Fluttershy responded silently with a sly grin.
“Whenever you’re ready, Fluttershy...” Twilight let her go.
Fluttershy cleared her throat. “I don’t like that pegasi can only fly low to the ground.”
Rainbow’s face lit up, hopeful upon hearing Fluttershy’s wish. The familiar tinge they all felt indicated something changed. “Rainbow, if you would be so kind as to test that?” Twilight asked.
“You betcha!” Rainbow Dash blurted out before shooting off into the air, breaking through the forest canopy and gaining altitude every moment. A fading “Wooo-hooo!” echoed back down at them.
“Twilight, you got my cake back! I completely forgive you!” Pinkie hugged her friend, mumbling her thanks through a mouthful of dessert.
Twilight performed a few more experiments with Fluttershy to make sure they knew the full extent of what the spell could do.
The first order of business was to get back to Ponyville. A bit of complaining about the ails of traveling from Fluttershy, and the mares soon found themselves back in the center of town.
“Whoa, Nelly!” Applejack exclaimed, holding onto her hat.
“That’s gotta be a new speed record!” Rainbow said, then pointed a hoof into the sky. “Hey, there’s my house, right where it belongs.”
“I’ve got to make sure to remember that spell. That could come in very handy in the future!” Twilight said, while sorting out a large scroll and quill from her saddlebags. “Now, let’s see about getting the rest of Ponyville back in order.”
The mares helped Twilight to fill out a checklist of what they knew had changed due to the spell on Fluttershy. Following the list to the letter, Twilight guided Fluttershy with the proper wording to assure the restoration of each item.
By the time they got to fixing the pattern of the sun, it had apparently become nightfall, the stars filling the skies above.
“That’s very odd,” Rarity said. “I know that night and day is what is normal, but calling it a suncycle still seems perfectly normal.”
“Probably the same way that I think of pegasi as low-flying creatures even though it’s plain obvious they should be flying around,” Applejack countered.
“I have a feeling we’re going to be the only ones to remember what happened, given how we’re the Elements of Harmony and all that,” Twilight said as she made another mark on her parchment.
They finally got through the list, leaving only one item left unchecked.
Rainbow Dash looked over Twilight’s shoulder. “‘Discord?' Do you really need to bring him back?” she naggingly asked.
Twilight sighed, “Unfortunately, yes.”
“But ain’t it better without him around?” Applejack asked.
“He’s nothing but trouble! And a danger to my dessert collection, if you ask me!” Pinkie said.
Twilight shook her head, and paced in front of her friends. “Look, girls, we’d be as bad as him if we don’t restore him to normal. And Fluttershy would have to watch what she says for the rest of her life if we don’t get that spell removed.” She thought for a moment. “And besides, I wouldn’t be surprised if Discord doesn’t just remove that spell himself on returning. I wouldn’t want to be the target of my own spells, that’s for sure.”
The other five took a moment, thinking to themselves.
“Well, I guess you’re right,” Rainbow admitted. “I’d hate to feel guilty for that for the rest of my life.”
The others all nodded in agreement. “Dashie is absolutely right,” Pinkie said. “Even if I hate his guts, there’s no way I could consider making him disappear forever!”
“However,” Twilight nodded once the others agreed, “that doesn’t mean we can’t be ready to deal with Discord when we bring him back. Applejack, you got your rope?”
“Already on it!” Applejack acknowledged as pulled out a fresh length from her saddlebags.
Twilight gave the others a few moments to prepare and then turned to Fluttershy. “You ready?” she asked.
Fluttershy gave a nod. “Here goes nothing.” She took in a deep breath, and then uttered, “I don’t like Discord, but I really really don’t like not having Discord around.”
In the center of the circle of friends, a flash of white light preceded the reappearance of Discord. He appeared stuck in mid-speech, his face frozen in panic. A moment passed and he blinked, realizing where he was.
“I’m back? I’m back!” he said, patting his body down to make sure it was all solid. He then dove towards the earth. “I’m so happy, I could kiss the ground! In fact, I think I’ll do so!” The sound of his wet sloppy kissing causes a few of the mares to turn their heads away in revulsion.
“Discord—” Twilight commanded.
He looked up. “Twilight Sparkle!” He hovered over and grasped her in his claws, spinning her in a silly dance in mid-air. “I am so glad to see you again!”
Twilight coughed rather loudly to get Discord’s attention. “We brought you back, Discord. Now, would be so kind as to remove that spell on Fluttershy?”
“Oh, right.” Discord snapped his claw, disappearing with a flash and leaving Twilight hanging in mid-air, soon landing face-first into the grass below.
He appeared an instant later behind Fluttershy. “Don’t worry, dear, this won’t hurt a bit.” He carefully brought a talon down onto the back of her neck, where Twilight had previously seen the odd magic. “There, all do—hey!” Discord was surprised to find himself being lassoed about the waist.
Applejack pulled tight on the rope. “You’re not going anywhere until we’ve made sure you’ve made good on your word!”
Twilight, wiping the dirt from her face, nodded to Fluttershy. “You know what to say.”
Fluttershy glared at Discord, and took a deep breath. “I really don’t like Di—"
“STOP! Wait!” Discord screamed, waving his claws at the group. “You caught me! Just, uh, trying to make sure you’re on your toes, girls,” he fumbled, laughing awkwardly at himself. “I’ll do it for real, this time!” He repeated his previous action, but took more time to dispel his magic. This time, each of Fluttershy’s friends saw a flash of light accompanying the action. “There, you happy now?”
“I’m sure you won’t mind if I check something, would you?” Twilight mumbled, and without waiting for a response, cast her scanning aura across Fluttershy.
“Ain’t no sign of it, Twi!” Applejack stated, looking at the spot on the back of Fluttershy’s head that had previously glowed a sickly green. The others quickly nodded in agreement.
“Fine,” Twilight said while releasing her spell on Fluttershy. She stared directly at Discord’s eyes, her gaze dripping with contempt. “Now, what are we going to do about you?”
Discord wriggled his mismatched claws in front of himself, looking extremely worried. “Well, um, how about I promise to leave you alone?”
“Forever?” Pinkie emphasized, also giving him a harsh look.
“Well, I can’t say ‘forever,’ forever.” Discord quickly tried to find the right words. “My magic is only powerful enough during certain celestial events, and you can’t just expect me to stay cooped up in that statue all day.”
“When,” Twilight asked, each word dripping with strong hatred, “is this next event?”
An abacus and small globe suddenly appeared in front of Discord, and his claws played over each rapidly. “Well, let’s see. If Pleiades is rising to the west, and the Moon is—"
“WHEN, Discord?” she shouted at him, disrupting the spirit’s machinations. Her horn was aglow, and her hooves had settled deep into the ground.
Discord balked, a look of fear crossing his face. With a snap of his talons, the globe and abacus vanished. “Three months! In another three months I’ll be able to escape.” His voice was on the edge of panic.
“Good, we’ll make sure that Princess Celestia is waiting for you, right girls?” Twilight turned back to her friends, all giving a firm nod of their head.
Discord gulped. “Well, then, I guess my warm welcome is worn out... could it be too much trouble to ask you to release me?”
“As long as your next stop is back to your statue...” Applejack tugged on the rope to make sure it was still on snug, eliciting an “oomph” from Discord.
“Of course, of course. I would never go back on my word.” Discord nodded, perhaps too vigorously.
Twilight snorted, but relaxed, her magic glow fading away. “AJ, let him go.”
Applejack gave an expert tug on the rope with her teeth, causing the knot to unravel and freeing Discord from the lasso’s hold.
“Right, well.” Discord floated free of the rope, but still had a look of concern on his face. “I guess I’d better be going...”
“YES,” the collective group yelled, circling him.
Discord harumphed, “Well, I guess I know when I’m not wanted! Arrivederci, my little ponies!” With a snap of his talons and a flash, the spirit was gone.
“Thank Celestia that’s over!” Rarity took a deep breath.
Rainbow wiped her brow, letting out a sigh of relief. “You can say that again!”
“Celestia’s going to be getting a nice long letter from me shortly here, I think,” Twilight said.
Pinkie smiled, pointing her hoof towards a short figure running up towards the group. “Well, here comes your help for that, Twi!”
“Twilight!” a young voice called out. “There you are!”
“Spike!” Twilight normally wasn’t emotional at greetings but the other five could see her eyes tearing up as she raced towards Spike, who was running to meet the group. She grabbed the young dragon into a tight hug, spinning them around on her rear legs.
Spike choked a bit at the sudden grip of his friend. “Uh, Twi, nice to see you too.”
“Oh, Spike,” Twilight laughed at herself, nuzzling her face against his. She let the dragon go and wiped a tear from her eye. “It’s been a loooong day.”
“Yea, the whole town was wondering where you guys got off too!” Spike quickly explained as the others gathered around. “Rarity, I managed to convince Photo Finish to stay another day before she goes back to Canterlot on the morning train. She really really wants to buy some of your dresses, it seems, for her next fashion magazine spread.”
Rarity’s eyes sparkled at hearing the news. “Oh, really! Thank you, Spikey-wikey!” she cried, giving the young dragon a brief kiss on the side of his face.
Spike twisted his foot into the ground, wearing a goofy grin before regaining his composure. “But really, where have you all been?”
Twilight smiled to her friends, particularly Fluttershy. “It’s quite a long tale, but—"
Fluttershy tapped Twilight’s back, giving the unicorn a timid look. “Oh, can I tell it, Twilight?”
Twilight nodded. “I don’t see why not, but why the sudden excitement about it?”
The pegasus took a moment to think. “There’s been something very helpful recalling this whole experience for me, and I when I told it to the animals back there, it really helped me to get over my fright of being alone and saying the wrong things. Maybe I won’t get completely past my fears, but thinking back and telling it to others tells me that that’s something I could do in the future.” She flashed a quick smile from out of her mane. “Besides, I really don’t like how long-winded you tell things, Twi.” She paused, and then giggled softly to herself.
The other five took a moment to realize the joke and began laughing between themselves, leaving a bewildered Spike to scratch his head. “Huh, I guess I don’t get it.”
Fluttershy flew down the stairs quickly as the knocking on her door continued. “I’m coming!” her voice barely heard over the repeated raps.
She opened the top half of her door, and, yet again, a pink hoof gave her forehead a few soft knocks. “Oh, there you are, Fluttershy!” Pinkie giggled.
“Ow,” Fluttershy winced in pain. She rubbed her forehead as she realized who was at the door. “Oh, hi, Pinkie...” she trailed off.
“It’s time for your next lesson in getting over your fears!” Pinkie announced, her hooves spread wide.
Fluttershy stepped back a bit from the door. “You think that’s good idea? You know, given what happened last time?”
Pinkie was all grins. “Silly, what’s there to worry about? Twilight has assured us that Discord’s spirit is under close guard at Canterlot, so he can’t pull that type of magic on you anymore the next time he’s powerful enough to free himself.”
“B-but I don’t think I’m really up for it, today,” mumbled Fluttershy, looking back into her cottage. “I have to, um, feed my animals.”
Pinkie reached over the door and grabbed Fluttershy, who could only manage a squeak before she was pulled out of her cottage. “Oh, that’s no excuse!” Pinkie carried her squirming friend above her head, racing along the nearby road. “We’ll do something fun today!”
Fluttershy’s eyes were wide with shock, unable to react to the sudden action by Pinkie.
It took only a few minutes for Pinkie to get to her destination, at the crest of a hill where she had set up a wagon. With perhaps a bit too much force, she plunked Fluttershy into the wagon. “Today’s lesson, is learning to have fun while facing your fears!”
Fluttershy was still dazed by these events. “Uh, Pinkie, I’m not so sure—"
Whatever else she was about to say was interrupted by Pinkie slapping a safety helmet on her head. “Of course I’m sure it’s safe!” Pinkie’s smile went from ear to ear. “I’ve seen fillies race down this hill all the time.” She paused, thinking to herself. “Of course, a lot of them end up with bruises in the hospital, but nopony’s died on this yet!”
Fluttershy panicked, trying to squirm out of the wagon. “H-h-hospital? D-d-died?"
Pinkie could only laugh, working her own safety helmet on. “Oh, I’m kidding of course!” She waved a hoof down the hill. “I’ve done this dozens of times!”
Fluttershy gulped. “I really don’t th—" she tried to complain, but caught herself, looking back to Pinkie. “Well, I’m a little scared, but...”
Pinkie’s infectious grin shot back at her. “But?”
Fluttershy looked down the slope with a gulp. It didn’t seem that bad, maybe dropping a couple of stories over its length. A large pond at the end of the hill glistened in the distance, a safe landing spot should the wagon get out of control. And there were her wings, as well, she could always fly away. In fact...
“You’re right, Pinkie,” Fluttershy said, a bit nervous but with more confidence. “I shouldn’t be afraid of that.” She fell into a mock rage. “Let’s do it!”
“Great!” Pinkie beamed, and quickly spun the wagon around one-hundred-eighty degrees. Fluttershy yelped as they were now facing the infamously steep hill that led down towards the center of town, the one that ended abruptly at a cliff overhang that was dozens of feet above the flat ground.
Pinkie quickly jumped in the back. “Are you ready?” she shouted. She didn’t wait for Fluttershy’s response before she pushed the wagon off with a hoof. Her own cheering laughter joined the panicked screams of Fluttershy as the wagon rambled down the hill.
