Shy Continuum

Fluttershy hummed to herself, drawing in her sketchbook. She was drawing all she’d seen on her adventure, a smile on her muzzle. It was a lot more fun than she imagined it’d been, those people had been so nice. She thought Geordi and Data were cute together, like brothers, Data possibly the cutest out of the two. He wasn’t organic, an artificially created life form, but he had personality. He had heart, despite not having a physical one. Beverly was more interested in her biology than her, but she didn’t mind, it made sense for a doctor to be curious about her. Deanna was really sweet, her empath powers a very curious thing to have. She wondered if she had empathic abilities? It was a possibility. Worf wasn’t all that bad, he just left her alone. Then there was… What was the other man’s name again? Riker? Yeah, that was it, Riker.

When she told him that she’d convinced Discord to make her immortal, he told her about his own experience with him. Discord had turned him into a Q, pushing towards having him in the Continuum. He was, in Discord’s own words, a brat back then who didn’t think as far ahead as he did now. Which still wasn’t very far, but he’d gotten better. He’d told her that he felt himself changing, he acted differently, and Riker said it was akin to being erased and replaced at the same time. He was being hollowed out and replaced by something else. She found that strange. How come she wasn’t experiencing the same thing he had? Was it because Discord hadn’t turned her into a Q?

Then… then there was the Calamarian event. Discord had been turned into a mortal. It’d only been for a day, but it’d happened. She wondered why he didn’t want to tell her? Was it because of the Calamarian constantly trying to kill him? That’d be a good reason, but, she was still curious. She’d bring it up what he popped by, or when Anarchy popped by. She wasn’t sure where Discord was, he was probably doing something that a deity would do. Not really sure what it was? She likely wouldn’t comprehend it, and she didn’t mind that.

Taking her mind off that event, the pegasus concentrated on the drawing. The supernova, possibly the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen. It made her wonder what else was there in the universe? All of those planets, dimensions, realities, how much would she be able to see? Angel was eating a carrot, watching her draw the beautiful event. He had a little flick through her other drawings, confused by the odd creatures he saw. He glared at one of them. It was of that creature, his spawn and her, the three of them together. Not only did that irritate the fluffy rabbit, but the fact he was left out made him upset. He’d made sure she’d do one of him later… that supernova drawing was quite beautiful to look at. Almost made him wish he’d seen it for himself.

The mare wasn’t aware that she was being watched by someone very curious. Not Discord, not Anarchy, but another of their kind. He’d wondered where Discord had gone off too when he took that break, and for whatever reason attempted to build a relationship with that psychopath that killed eighty of their kind. This world had Q written all over it. Literally. The energy here stank of him. This mare had been made immortal, and it’d been a willing transition. A Q could tell whether immortality was forced or not, right now this Q could sense a couple of creatures here who had been forced into immortality. None were turned into Q, thank eternity for that, but the ones forced into immortality were likely being led to believe they were deities. Believe it or not, it wasn’t uncommon, nor common, for a Q to make a being immortal to make them believe they were a god or messiah, then rip the carpet from under them, destroying the feeble idea which was religion.

He wasn’t alone either. Altogether, there were three of them, all curious about how Q was spending his time. They’d seen the form Q, or Discord as he’d nicknamed himself as, had taken so they’d all fitted their own forms to fit in with his chaotic theme. They watched the pegasus and looked at what she was drawing. She was very close to Q-Discord whatever, and she was currently humming in a little tune. Her voice was likely soft like honey, but you should be careful of those with voices of honey, for they may rot your teeth. It’s an Algrean saying, so don’t be surprised if that doesn’t make sense.

“That’s a nice wee drawin’ ye got there lassie,” said one of the three, who had a thick Scottish accent. He revealed his form to the surprised pegasus, a smile on his muzzle. He had the tail of a crocodile, the left hind leg of an orange salamander, the right hind leg from a coyote, the left front leg from a cougar and the right front leg from a black bear. She couldn’t see his face because it and his back all the way to his rump was shrouded in thick dark grey hair. She could see some of his muzzle, seeing it was a navy-blue cow face with overly large cow ears poking out the sides of his hair. He didn’t have wings, oddly, but he did have two deer antlers atop his head.

Another Draconequus. Another Q, one she hadn’t met before. And since Discord wasn’t here, it meant that this one had just turned up out of the blue without Discord’s knowledge. She was slightly afraid of him because of that fact. But, she didn’t have a reason to be afraid. She was sure that Discord would protect her if something happened. She’d been made immortal, but these beings were powerful enough to be able to end the life of an immortal, so she was practically mortal before this creature, vulnerable. She’d be brave though. She did want to meet more of Discord’s kind, after all, this was her chance, time to make a good impression.

“Thank you,” she smiled. “Do you draw as well? I’m not too good at it yet, but I’ll get there with the right practice and determination!” the being wasn’t as tall as Discord or Anarchy in this form, and seemed more comfortable on all fours, which was another difference to the bipedal father and son. he also looked vastly different from the two. She liked his accent, it was so foreign and different, she thought it was sweet.

“Nah, no need ta draw when ah see the whole universe in front of me eyes. Either me eyes are failin’ me, or you’re an immortal?” She nodded. “Aye, so, how did a wee lass like yerself become immortal then? It ainnae somethin’ yer kind are supposed tae have yet.”

“I asked Discord to make me immortal. I’m his friend, someone that he holds very close, and I didn’t want him to be hurt by my passing.” Her wings ruffled a little as she took a couple seconds to decipher the very thick accent. “You’re a Q, aren’t you?” So, she knew about them, did she? Interesting. He nodded to her, a grin on his face. The visible part, anyway. “It’s very nice to meet you, I’m Fluttershy.”

“So, you’re friends with that pain in our backsides?” She was very cute. For a mortal. “Well, since they’ve taken nicknames, guess ah should too. Call me… Pandora. Aye, that’s what ye wee ones can call me for nows.” Pandora? That was a sweet name. It sounded feminine, but she’d seen Discord’s feminine side, so she knew not to judge. She even theorized that Q’s didn’t have genders but had preferred pronouns. It made them all the more interesting to her for some reason.

“That’s a wonderful name!” She complimented. “Wait here a moment, I’ll go and make some tea for us.” He watched her get up and trot into her home, curiosity starting to surge throughout his body. Pandora was very interested in the wee one now. She knew about them, she’d thrown away her mortal life just to make Discord happy. A very unique individual indeed?

The other two revealed themselves, equally curious about the mare. One was another male, the one who’d kicked Discord out of the Continuum all that time ago actually. He made his form to be a little larger than Discord’s. No major reason for it, he just liked his forms being large. It wasn't anything insane, but it was intimidating. His body was pure white and unlike the other Draconeqi Fluttershy had seen, he was even on both sides. He had a lion's rear end with an abnormally long tail, his front half from a snowy owl's body and his face looked like a mix between a tiger and a horse. He had bear ears and two moose antlers. His mane and tail had long fur with the color of fire. His sclera was black with blue irises and pink pupils.

The other was a female and made herself just slightly smaller than Pandora. She had the head and neck of a lamb with two gazelle horns atop her head, her right front leg was from a grizzly bear and her front left leg was from a fennec fox, her right back leg from a tiger and her left back leg from a gazelle and finally her lemur tail that twitched against the breeze. She was a very light blue sclera with darker blue irises, her pupils the same color.

“She’s a cute wee thing isnae she?” Pandora said to the other two, who couldn’t argue with that statement. She was rather cute. “Didnae even have tae ask! Just gone and went tae make me tea. Ah like her.” Since Pandora had chosen a nickname, they’d have to have nicknames too. The other male decided his name would be Maelstrom, while the little female chose her nickname to be Furore. They hadn’t really chosen their own nicknames before, and as a guide, they kept with the chaotic theme Discord started.

“You’d like anybody who did something for you for free,” Maelstrom snorted, raising a brow to Pandora’s wide grin. “I’m surprised. I expected everyone here to be dead, given how that psychopath is here.” The chances of Discord changing her was pretty much impossible, even the most optimistic Q could see that. Fluttershy walked outside, her sweet eyes widening when she spotted the other two. She zipped back inside, leaving the three on their own. “Not too bad at drawing, is she?” He didn’t even acknowledge that she’d come outside, instead focusing on something that interested him. “Even got his bad hair.”

“You’re one to talk,” Furore snapped with a Boston accent. “No matter what form you take, your hair is horrible, even if the form ain’t meant to have hair!” Maelstrom rolled his eyes, not bothering with her insult. “Though, you’re not wrong. Maybe our baby brother managed to whip her into shape, or at least locked her inside of something so she can’t attack us when we’re at our most vulnerable.” Pandora and Maelstrom silently agreed that the psycho should be inside a black hole, one of the few things able to keep a Q in one spot if it didn’t get any help. Or if you weren’t smart enough to know how to get out.

The mare trotted outside holding a tray of tea with her wings, humming a little tune. She simply sat down and poured tea into four cups. One for her, three for them. She’d gone in to get tea for Furore and Maelstrom as well? Oddly nice of her since they were strangers. Fluttershy was very curious as she hadn’t seen other Q yet, and was very curious as to who they were and what stories they may have? She didn’t expect to be told any secrets, there was time for that. Maelstrom simply rose a brow to the mare, glancing down at the tea but not touching it. Pandora on the other limb levitated the cup to his lips and tasted it. They weren’t organic, so they didn’t need to feed or need any liquid, but they could still taste things. If it tasted good, they wouldn’t mind it. Though, their non-existent taste buds could get a bit muddled? For instance, Pandora had a personal liking for cement.

“You can call me Furore, grumpy grumps there decided his nickname is Maelstrom.” Furore walked up to the mare, looking deep into her eyes, their noses touching. “How did our lil bro manage to wrangle an adorable lil thing like yourself? Eh?” Her older voice didn’t really fit her cute form, but the Q were an extremely odd race, so Fluttershy didn’t question it. She did wonder why they chose to be Draconeqi when they could’ve chosen any form they wanted? They were likely keeping with Discord’s theme, which was a little cute in itself.

Fluttershy began telling the tale of how she met the spirit, reminiscing about those old memories. In a way, it was like looking at two different people. Discord the Draconequus and Discord the Q were almost like two different people, yet they were the same. The Discord before was simply an antagonistic chaotic spirit that cared for no living being other than himself, shattering all concepts of order and spreading chaos. The Discord now was deeper than that. He had deep emotions, he did care for others more than just himself and he actually brought order, just in his own way. The spirit she knew now had started and won a war that his homeland desperately needed, bringing change and was putting together a new flavor of order. It was difficult to explain...

She looked back at each event, taking notice of little things she didn’t before. How Discord watched parents with their foals, how his expression was one thing, but his eyes told quite another emotion. They now looked older, a grin could be hiding a grimace, a smile hiding a frown. She wondered how many events had taken place before Equestria that he buried away, refusing to deal with? She had time to work through them all, taking everything one step at a time.

Then she started to frown. Equestria, the home she’d known for so long was a lie played by an ancient god who’d taken on more than he could handle. When he did leave, her home would crash and burn. The alicorns, their beliefs, the magical animals, magic itself, all of it would shatter. The animals… what would happen to them? The Timberwolves, the Wendigo, the Ursa majors, and minors, would they all perish? It was a very heart-breaking fact. Discord couldn’t stay in Equestria forever, his people and his son needed him, but if he left, then many would die. It was a conundrum she was sure she’d be faced with in the future. That was the curse of a god. To make decisions mortals shouldn’t have to. Something she was going to have to accept along with her choice. There was a lot she’d have to accept along with this curse she’d willingly taken on.

She then spoke about the days leading up to the reality shattering event. How he seemed contemplative, daydreaming and his mind elsewhere. Only now did she know it was because he was thinking about how to reveal who he was to her. And then what happened afterwards. She looked at her hooves, her mind starting to wonder again. Now she was immortal, was she going to be eaten up like Discord had warned? Like how Riker described? She wasn’t as timid as she used to be anymore, a lot braver than before, she didn’t even have stage fright when Data asked her if she wanted to sing when he heard her sing a little tune from the Pony Tones. When she helped animals, she was a lot less cautious than before… perhaps she jumped into this faster than she should’ve. But if she took it back now, how would that allow her to help Discord? But if this change got worse, wouldn’t it hurt him more to see his warning come true?

“He didn’t tell you everything,” Maelstrom snorted, his tail waving. She knew he hadn’t told her everything, but again, she had time for that. “You know he’s got two thousand mortal years till he has to come back to the Continuum, and no way you’re coming along with him. Last time we let a mortal turned immortal come to the Continuum, thirty neutral Q died…” not everyone got involved in the war. Some decided to stay out of the conflict, which was understandable, but they didn’t have any defence against that lunatic when she slaughtered them. There weren’t many Q, barely a few thousand. That number had been cut down a third, which was a big deal to their kind.

“I know.” That Amanda, she was someone she could possibly turn into if she lost her way. She needed to keep her virtue of kindness. Even if it wasn’t even real, she was the Element of Kindness, and she was going to keep that close to her heart. Just keep hold of that. The Element of Kindness. She needed to hold onto that and never let go, she wouldn’t become like Screwy! “I’m immortal now, so I can wait for him when he can take the time to see me.”

“Sorry lass,” Pandora apologized. “The five thousand years he’s taken is pretty much a five-minute smoke break tae us, and with all the rebuildin’ going on, I’m afraid you might not see ‘im fir a few… possibly million years.” Was time that different to them? “He sounds pretty attached tae ya as well, I donae think he’s gonnae let her go that easily.” The last sentence was aimed more at Maelstrom and Furore than Fluttershy, and the two reluctantly agreed. It was bad to get attached to something like this… especially since Discord was supposed to be fixing what he’d broken.

“Listen toots,” Furore started. “Our home is in shambles. That’s been said ta death, but it’s kinda clear the dude that left ain’t the same as the one now. That’s a problem. We barely know how to deal with the old Discord, let alone the new one. Then there’s ‘Anarchy’ as ya call ‘im. How’re we supposed to deal with this new development? Hell, what if he develops love! He’s already got a kid and started a war, who knows what else the glitch is capable of?”

Love. Something that was unkillable, it was eternal, and it was a fire that couldn’t be snuffed out. Had she lit that flame? If she had, what was she going to do with that fire? Judging how Furore said it, the Q didn’t really feel love like they did, but Discord wasn’t any old Q. He was different, something new and was constantly flipping off their standards. He’d done two things the Q considered impossible, which was becoming a parent and starting a war that, while not wanted, was needed. Was love really so outrageous? Fluttershy smiled slightly, her resolve about her immortal returning to what it was when she encouraged him to make that snap. If he was starting to develop feelings, or already had them for her, then it made her life that much more valuable to him. Her death would be just that more painful. Question was… would she be able to return the feelings he may be giving her?

“If he did, would that be such a bad thing?” Fluttershy said with a warm smile. “Love is a tricky thing, it isn’t very easy to explain if it’s explainable at all? Maybe you three will find someone to love, to want to spend your existence with, to share your soul with. The Continuum is reshaping itself to be more modern, right? I think love should be something you at least investigate.”

“You really think we should waste our precious time with something as meaningless and futile as love?” Maelstrom snorted, something he apparently liked to do.

“Didn’t you have a war to change the fact you had too much precious time?” Fluttershy countered.

“Well…” despite having blonde fur, she wasn’t stupid. Pandora and Furore grinned, liking her a little more.

“She’s got ya there,” Pandora said, grabbing Maelstrom’s tea as he’d finished his. “If we did investigate this ‘love’ then how’d we go aboot it? we wouldnae have a clue. We watch mortals frilly aboot with the silly concept, but we havenae really dealt with it ourselves?”

“It isn’t something you can force, it’s something that comes naturally. If Discord does love me, it was through our friendship, which is how many find love. Friendship is very hard for immortals, having to watch those you care about die, but it’ll make you cherish your time with them all the more.” Had a wise head on her winged shoulders, that was for sure. She didn’t have half bad advice on all these new things, despite being a little one. “If Discord can find somebody, I’m sure all of you can.”

“Could use more of that optimism back home, it’s a bloomin’ mess back there,” Furore said as she sipped some of her tea. She suddenly found herself turned green? Pandora snickered at the sudden change while Maelstrom just stared at her, not knowing what he should do about it. “Do I have to ask the question?”

“Oh, sorry. It must be left over from our last tea weekend before this all happened. Discord likes to enchant our tea in different ways. One time he made ginseng tea actually sing,” she sighed with nostalgia. “It’ll go away in a couple minutes, so no need to worry about it.” Furore looked at her now green fur, rolling her eyes.

“Got any other enchanted tea? I want tae gi’ it a try,” Pandora smiled. Fluttershy nodded, mirroring his expression. She got up and went back inside her cottage to get some more tea. The deity then looked to his two companions, his smile still on his muzzle. “Ya sure we cannae take her with us?”