Tree Hugger had been smoking weed all morning, and it took her and Fluttershy quite a while to get to the beach. By the time they’d found a spot to lay out their things she was completely baked. “Puerto Caballo! I haven’t been here since last year.” She flopped onto her back, her deeply-tanned skin hardened to the sun’s rays.

Fluttershy was small and fresh-faced, with large, long-lashed eyes. Her rose-pink hair was so long it reached her knees, but she kept it loosely tied back from her face with a wide strip of turquoise fabric. The breeze rolling in off the ocean cooled her just enough to be comfortable in the shade of the umbrella she had lugged from the hotel, and she sat down beneath it just as Tree Hugger offered her a bottle of beer.

“This is the life, eh?” Tree Hugger drawled, her voice low and crackly from years of smoking various substances. She always spoke slowly and with drawn-out vowels, often rising her tone at the end of a sentence as if asking a question. She was lying spread-eagled in the sun, directly on the sand.

“I came here with Discord several times,” Fluttershy said, popping the cap off her bottle. “Different beach, though.”

“What did you see in that guy?” Tree Hugger said, her voice low and drawn-out and her eyes nearly closed. “Didn’t he, like, lip-lock with someone else?”

“No.”

“Didn’t he, like, steal your car?”

“No,” Fluttershy whispered. “He would never. And I don’t have a car.”

“Oh, riiiight,” Tree Hugger murmured; she sounded as if she were about to fall asleep, but she patted Fluttershy’s hand. “Sorry, babe. I think I have you confused with someone else.”

Fluttershy snapped her bikini bottoms several times to dislodge the sand that was caught underneath the seams, then lay back, her drink cradled on her belly. “Thank you for inviting me.”

“I know, right?” Tree Hugger drawled, offering Fluttershy her joint. “I always save a Puerto trip for the best occasions.”

Fluttershy took the joint and shaded her eyes with her free hand. “It is nice, but I’ve been here before.”

“Yeah, but as you said, not here,” Tree Hugger said, propping herself up on her elbows. “Look. Lookee. Over there, you see it?” She pointed vaguely a short way down the beach to a pile of rocks. “Just think of all the amazing creatures in those tidepools.”

“Tidepools?” Fluttershy took a drag and coughed.

“Sure. We’ll check ‘em out later, ‘kay?”

Fluttershy nodded and lay down; she’d only been up for a few hours but was already ready to go back to sleep. She didn’t want to admit it to her friend, but she was still hungover from their exploits the previous night. Something about a yacht and a party and some men lowering her to the water from the boat’s edge by her ankles; the reason was lost on her by that morning.

Somehow Tree hugger's energy seemed endless. She was always working on something, always planning or searching or scheming. She had even come out with her own web series, something called “The Green Guru” where she talked about light and chakras and drinking everything out of home-blown canning jars. Fluttershy appreciated her friend’s passion and knowledge, but lately the thought of doing anything besides smoking, drinking, and lying around on a beach was far too much effort.

“Flutters, you’ll forget him, I promise," Tree Hugger said. "We should go meet people; I’ve been feeling a lot of emotion on this beach today.”

“Mm,” Fluttershy mumbled, closing her eyes.

“Don’t fall asleep yet,” Tree Hugger said, and mysteriously produced a large bong (the one she and Fluttershy had, after first use, dubbed “The One-Hit Wonder”). She held it close to her and got to her knees, swaying precariously.

“Erm, Treesie, I don’t know if I can.”

“Sure you… look!” Tree Hugger sprang to her feet, surprisingly steady after her discombobulation a moment ago. “Isn’t that Discord?”

Fluttershy’s heart spasmed and she looked around, but then Tree Hugger said, “Nope. My bad,” and kneeled back down.

Fluttershy had clutched her chest and was now trying to steady her breathing. Her head ached, and she wondered again if she shouldn’t just return to the hotel and sleep in the dark for the day. Her bathing suit was a bit uncomfortable, anyway, and she didn’t look as good in it as Tree Hugger did hers.

Tree Hugger always looked good in a bikini, and this one was a lime green number with green and clear crystals spangled across the bottom. Whenever she lay down or sat up the tanned skin of her slender form moved fluidly like a snake. When Fluttershy lay down and sat up, her breasts threatened to spill out of her top and she had to use most of the muscles in her body to do either. She was content to cover her own cyan bikini with a loose yellow cover-up, thought the bow-tied straps constantly slid off her shoulders and down her arms.

And, all right, she had been digging in to Pinkie Pie’s gifts of cakes and pastries for the past two months, at least one box of which she had shipped to Fluttershy every other day since Discord had left.

Tree Hugger had initially invited Fluttershy on the pretense of finding something called “The Gargonzyle”, a mysterious sea monster reported to be living beneath the waves of the port and a major but secretive legend of the local island lore. Fluttershy had accepted the invitation to distract herself from Ponyville and Discord, and anyway, two weeks on a hot sandy beach sounded like the perfect way to de-stress.

Fluttershy took another hit and lay back on her towel, covering her eyes with her arms. Relaxation enveloped her, and for a while she felt as if she were resting on a speedboat that was barrelling through the waves. Only when a loud and terrible twanging reverberated near her did she awaken again.

A young woman with golden skin was sitting on the smaller cooler, holding Tree Hugger’s ukulele and humming. Fluttershy was first mesmerized by her shockingly bright blue hair that had several dark turquoise stripes in it and was completely drenched in a glittery spray that made it shine like the waves in the sun. A shimmery blue and gold starburst cutie mark was on her shoulder.

“Oh, heeey,” Tree Hugger said when she saw Fluttershy’s eyes open. “This is my new friend, Astra Azul.”

“Not new,” Astra Azul said, “we met two years ago.” She laughed. “But you always were drunker than a skunk!”

Tree Hugger nodded in agreement, her usual dazed smile on her lips. “She wants to be a musician, like me.”

“I am a musician,” Astra Azul said. She smiled at Fluttershy. “Keep sleeping if you want to; don’t want you to bow out early from the party tonight.”

Fluttershy paled. “Party?”

“Yes, of course. After all you’ve been through... we’ll find you some sweet hunk, won’t we, Tree Hugger?”

Tree Hugger nodded. “I told her about you troubles with the opposite sex.”

Fluttershy sighed.

“And look over there,” Tree Hugger said, scooting closer to Fluttershy so she could point down the beach. “Bon Bon and Lyra! I waved, but I don’t think they saw me.”

She can’t be serious, Fluttershy thought, looking down the beach. Sure enough, in the distance, amidst a brutal game of beach volleyball, were the forms of Bon Bon and Lyra.

“We’ll have to invite them over,” Astra Azul said. “They look tough.”

“Yeah,” Tree Hugger coughed, “actually, I already did. Psychic, you know.”

“Yes, well, I think I’ll go get us some food or a drink or something,” Fluttershy said, stretching and carefully standing up. “What would you like? Nachos? Tacos? Clams?”

“I don't need anything,” Astra Azul said.

Tree Hugger looked at Fluttershy, her eyes wide. "Want me to come with?"

Fluttershy waved her offer away. Winding her way through the myriad people sprawled along the beach, Fluttershy made it to the esplanade and looked around the various food carts and cantinas for something that would suffice. A small, cheery cantina that was open to the esplanade had the best aroma, so Fluttershy stepped in to order. After ordering, she moved to the bar side of the counter to order a drink, and only then did she notice the man behind it.

She bit back a gasp; it was Discord. He was just as Fluttershy remembered him: tall, angular, white goatee, worried eyes and all. He stared at Fluttershy much as she imagined she was staring at him, but his expression softened. “Fluttershy.”

She nodded her head once. “Discord.”

He smiled, and though his red eyes were bright, his smile was tired. “How are you?”

“I’m fine, but... what are you doing here?”

Discord glanced away from her, furtive. “Just, you know,” he said, running his hand through his hair, “keeping busy.” He cleared his throat. “And you? Enjoying the sun?”

Fluttershy looked down at her ghostly arms and legs. “As much as I can. I’m here with Treesie.”

“That’s nice. I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“Well, she was already coming, so…”

Discord nodded, his eyes fixed on her, until someone behind Fluttershy coughed very loudly and glared at him. Fluttershy said, “Er, I’d like a beer, please.”

“Oh, right. What kind?”

“Tap is fine.”

Discord filled a glass and handed it to her, but when she held out the bits he shook his head. “It’s on me.”

“But-”

“It’s on me.” He was already smiling at the customer behind her and she crept away with her drink.

She didn't realize it until she was heading back across the beach, but her heart was pounding. He was absolutely the last person she had ever thought she would see on that beach. Yes, they had visited Puerto Caballo together, but it was far from this town, and she had found it somehow freeing to be building new memories in this place. It was too nice an island for such painful feelings.

By the time she returned to the beach, Lyra and Bon Bon had joined them with chairs and a cooler of their own. Bon Bon opened a beer and leaned back, shading the sun from her eyes with her arms.

“So, what brings you two out here?” Tree Hugger asked. “The Equestria Volleyball Club Tournament?”

“Nah,” Lyra said, “just a holiday. Been working too long without a break. Especially Bon Bon, since she’s an un-“

“Yes, thank you, Lyra,” Bon Bon gritted. Lyra grimaced.

“I’ve never tried volleyball before,” Fluttershy said, settling back under her umbrella.

“You should,” Lyra said. “It’s a great way to relieve stress. We can sign you up for some games tomorrow, if you want.”

“Er, no,” Fluttershy said quickly, “I don’t think I want to actually play.”

“Yeah, just relax if you want to,” Bon Bon said gently. “I was sorry to hear about you and… you know.”

Fluttershy looked at Tree Hugger, who shrugged.

“We heard about it from some people in Canterlot,” Lyra explained.

“But you don’t have to tell us about it,” Bon Bon said, attempting to rescue Fluttershy again.

“No, tell us, tell us,” Astra Azul said, settling her chin in her hands.

Fluttershy closed her eyes, her drink forgotten. “There’s not much to say. We stopped getting along.”

It was about as true an answer as she could give. Things had started off well, but as the months went by, a mutual frustration developed between them. The real problem was that Fluttershy couldn’t pinpoint what the cause of her frustration was. Or, perhaps she could, but she wasn't certain how to tell him, or how either could fix it. Discord had always been able to read her moods well, and her irritation was not lost on him. They did less and less together, and spent more time away from each other, until one big fight severed their relationship completely.

“Anyway, we hadn’t really planned to live together,” she continued vaguely. “I invited him to stay whenever he wanted, and eventually he never left.”

“What, no declarations of love?” Astra and the others leaned closer.

Fluttershy shook her head again. “It just sort of… happened.”

“And then you threw him out? It sounds like you did the right thing,” Astra said, leaning back.

"I didn’t tell him to leave. He left on his own and never came back.”

“So, he dumped you?” Lyra said. Bon Bon bumped her shoulder against Lyra’s.

Fluttershy stared despondently at her beer as Tree Hugger exhaled smoke. “Aw, c’mon girls, lay off, will ya? She’s sad enough.” She leaned forward to ruffle Fluttershy’s hair. “Our goal this last week is to make her completely forget about that red-eyed heel.”

Fluttershy nodded, not for the first time wishing she could actually forget. It was easier said than done, and while Tree Hugger and the others were trying to help, after a week she didn’t feel any better.

Close behind them, the siren of a police car sounded, startling Fluttershy from her reverie. She and the girls whipped their heads around to see where the noise had come from, and found two uniformed officers coming toward them.

“Aw, shit, it’s the cops!” Tree Hugger lurched to her hands and knees, looking considerably more alert than Fluttershy had seen her for their entire trip. With a speed worthy of the Wonderbolts, she gathered her pouches and bags, joints and bong, and covered them with armfuls of sand like a clam digging its way from certain death.

“Be cool, be cool,” Astra Azul told them, though her muscles were tense, ready to flee.

Fluttershy bit her lip, quivering. She couldn’t open her eyes.

Tree Hugger had covered her bloodshot eyes with a pair of oversized blue plastic sunglasses. She had one hand in the cooler and smiled when the officers stopped and looked at her. She held up a soda can and wheezed, “Orange Slice?”

“No, thank you,” the shorter officer said. “We’ve had two reports of illegal drug activity. It concerns all of you.”

Fluttershy wanted to die or disappear, or both, and kept her eyes squeezed shut as if not seeing the officers would at least make them disappear.

“Not here, officers,” Astra Azul said, her voice as smooth as silk. “Just some beer, some soda, and some good old-fashioned fun with friends.”

“And how might you explain this cloud of smoke? Smells like marijuana to me.”

“Marijuana?” Astra Azul laughed. “Here? Well, I was smoking some cigarettes, but-“

“Yes, marijuana. Weed. Pot. Dope. Call it whatever.”

“Not ‘dope’,” Astra Azul said. “Sorry, officers, but it must’ve been someone else.”

“Can you take your sunglasses off for a moment?” the officer asked Tree Hugger. He hadn’t smiled at all.

Tree Hugger rubbed her lips together, stalling, then slowly removed the glasses.

“Ah,” a new voice said. It was the tall officer, removing his own shades. “I think it was someone else, Hernandez.”

The girls stared at the officer; even Fluttershy opened her eyes and peered upward when she heard Discord’s voice. Sure enough, there stood Discord in uniform.

Discord snapped his fingers and three young women, looking quite lost and confused, appeared out of nowhere, an open bag of weed in their hands. A large, fluffy sheep had randomly appeared along with them. “There, you see?” Discord nodded toward the newcomers.

Hernandez looked just as surprised as the women with the bag of weed, and the bleating sheep, but left Tree Hugger and the others in disgust.

Discord started off after him, but Fluttershy said, “Wait.”

Discord paused, then turned back to her and took his cap off. “Fluttershy. Ladies.”

“What are you doing here?” Lyra gasped.

“Part-time job,” Discord said simply.

“But Fluttershy said you were at the cantina.”

“That’s my other part-time job. I got off twenty minutes ago.” He hadn’t taken his eyes off of Fluttershy, but she seemed incapable of saying anything else, so he followed his partner.

When he was out of earshot, everyone gasped and looked at Fluttershy. She was taken-aback, wondering why they thought she knew anything about this.

“This is just too weird,” Bon Bon said.

“Yeah, and since when did Discord ever have a job?” Lyra added.

Tree Hugger, who must have been holding her breath for most of the encounter, erupted in a series of hacking coughs. “Who cares? He saved our butts.”

Astra Azul had her hand to her face and was regaining control of her own breath. “Yes, and one has to wonder why anyone’d break up with such an angel. Fluttershy, why’d you let him leave? I could have used him in my life three years ago.”

Tree Hugger and the others raised their eyebrows at Astra Azul, who shrugged and said, “Felony.”

“He’s not an angel,” Fluttershy snapped, then covered her mouth. “I’m sorry. But can’t we all agree that no relationship is perfect? It was complicated. Really complicated.”

Astra Azul smirked. “Yes. So, come on. Spill it. We’re all girls here; we’ll understand.”

Fluttershy looked at the sky, frowning. “It was a lot of things. Just that… and then someone told me he was visiting the princess, and... but, you know, not ‘visiting’ her, exactly.”

“He was two-timing you with Twilight?” Bon Bon growled, just as Lyra gasped dramatically and clutched her own chest.

“No. Princess Celestia.”

With that information, Lyra looked ready to faint, and Bon Bon grabbed her arm just in case.

Fluttershy looked at her feet in misery. She hadn’t noticed at first, but Discord had become distant. And it hadn’t helped that he was gone more and more, and would stay out later and later, and the worst of it was when she found out he had been visiting Princess Celestia and had never even mentioned it.

She hadn’t known what to think, and couldn’t even believe Celestia would ever go behind her back with her boyfriend. The few times she had to speak with Celestia, she watched the princess carefully out of the corner of her eye, but Celestia was her usual calm and matronly self.

“Are you sure?”Bon Bon asked.

Fluttershy lowered her head. “I hadn’t known he’d been going there. I went to see for myself, and it was true. I don’t know what they were doing. I didn’t want to know. He did often bring her flowers.”

“What a beast,” Lyra exploded. “But I can’t imagine Celestia… well, she does rule everything, the old biddy. I suppose she can have everything the way she wants it.”

“But now he’s here,” Fluttershy said. “As far as I can tell, he hasn’t seen Celestia in a month, at least. I should have talked to him about it.”

Lyra bit her fingernail. “True, Celestia’s been in Canterlot all this time. You think she dumped him, too?”

“Lyra,” Bon Bon hissed, “lay off that word.”

Fluttershy didn’t think she could say anymore. She fought to keep tears from spilling, but her voice choked up and she hid her face in her hands. The shrill girls suddenly gathered around her like a flock of hens.

“Aw, sweetie, it’ll be all right,” Tree Hugger said, moving to put her arm across Fluttershy’s shoulders.

“It shouldn’t hurt this much,” Fluttershy squeaked. “I’m the one who…”

“Just focus on the party tonight,” Bon Bon told her. “We’ll all be there. There are some mighty cute guys around here. We’ll make sure you get someone."

“Why, sure,” Astra Azul chimed in. “It's our mission to get you laid.”

“You won’t have even a lick of trouble,” Lyra said. “You’re so sweet, Fluttershy. Cheer up.”

Fluttershy was touched by her friends’ words, but her insides still twisted sharply. Why did Discord have to show up here? Twice, already! What would be next? He’d be the housekeeper at their hotel? Their flight attendant on the way back to Equestria? The receptionist at the love hotel she was pretty sure she’d end up in tonight?

“And we’ll get to go Gargonzyle hunting soon,” Tree Hugger said happily. “I’ve been waiting for just the right moment, and I think seven-nineteen p.m. tomorrow is it.” She then handed Fluttershy off to Bon Bon and Lyra, while she painstakingly worked to clean out all of the paraphernalia she had hidden in the sand. The goal was to get Fluttershy baked and resting peacefully until the party that night, and they did.

Author's Note

I started this last April, but it has just been a collection of scenes sitting around and gathering dust. I do have a definitive ending in mind. Actually, the final chapter is already written. But I don't necessarily know all the details of what will happen between now and the ending, so I apologize if things are a little slow or confusing. You will find out the specifics of Fluttershy and Discord's problems. I've really enjoyed writing this, anyway.