Of Dark Dreams and Whispered Legends

Chapters

Of Dark Dreams and Whispered Legends

Of Dark Dreams and Whispered Legends

Fluttershy tapped her hooves impatiently on her desk. Their whole class was just waiting for one more member before Miss Ocellus started, and it was hard to wait without risking a peek towards the back of the classroom, where…she blushed and focused her eyes straight ahead.

She had worn a white t-shirt and pink cardigan today, along with her usual green skirt emblazoned with three big butterflies. She wanted to look nice, even if the person she would most love a compliment from probably wouldn't even notice. She had also come to school early, though that was more out of habit than anything else.

Surprisingly, their one late classmate wasn't the usual offender, hence why Miss Ocellus was bothering to wait. The class troublemaker, the one who was often late and even skipped class regularly, had actually come early to school today and taken their seat.

Fluttershy glanced back at where they were sitting, and managed to not flinch or blush for a full three seconds. Discord the troublemaking draconequus was leaning back in their seat, balancing a pencil on top of their nose, completely unfazed by the strange and confused looks the rest of their classmates were sending in their direction.

They were unlike anypony else in the classroom, or even in their town—they shared some features with ponies and dragons, but certainly wasn't like either of them. They wore a faded, oversized t-shirt and ripped jeans, a long patchwork jacket with crude slits for wings in the back, and bracelets on their wrists in multiple colors. Fluttershy had heard there were insults for the reader printed on them, but had never been able to get close enough to confirm for herself.

The pencil rolled off of their nose, and they looked down, eyes facing her general direction for a split second. Her head snapped back towards the front, her ears turning pink. Everyone was wary of Discord, or scared of them…everyone except her. Well. She was scared and wary in a different way. But…

Her thoughts were interrupted when the classroom door opened. A blue pegasus with a rainbow mane yawned and mechanically walked inside, rubbing at the bags under her eyes. “Oh, Rainbow, you're here!” Miss Ocellus said. “I was starting to get worried…I mean, even Discord showed up before you did.”

The rest of the class chuckled. “Hardy har har,” Discord said, rolling their eyes.

“Sorry…rough night,” Rainbow said, taking a seat at her desk. It was right in the middle of the classroom…and right in front of Discord. Fluttershy wished she was brave enough to trade desks and have that seat.

“Well, now that you're all here, let's begin the lesson,” Miss Ocellus said, turning and using her magic to jot a schedule on the chalkboard.

Fluttershy glanced over her shoulder. Rainbow and Discord ended up as project partners, due to both being late the day before. She had hoped to maybe trade places with Rainbow, and talked to her late in the afternoon about it, but Rainbow had said that Discord was…actually kind of nice? And now they were whispering, voices so hushed that no one else seemed to notice.

Then Discord kicked the back to Rainbow's chair with a loud clang, and everyone's attention turned to them.

Miss Ocellus sighed, putting down the chalk. “Discord, we've talked about this,” she said. “You should respect school property, just like you respect creatures.”

“Oh, my bad,” they said in a rich baritone voice. “I'll make sure to aim for its vitals next time.” They reared their head back and cackled, showing off their collection of sharp fangs. The whole class besides Fluttershy and Rainbow shivered, even Miss Ocellus.

Their teacher gulped, taking a second to buzz her wings and compose herself. “Now, ah, we're going to start class today with a reading from Page 142,” she said. “Any volunteers?” The classroom was as silent as the grave, aside from the sound of Discord scratching at his desk.

Fluttershy shifted, feeling awkward in the silence. She didn't like having eyes on her, but she also disliked sitting in a silence like this, where their teacher would inevitably pick someone to read… “M-Miss Ocellus,” she said, raising her wing. “I could—"

"Worry not, fair Fluttershy!" Tadwell boasted from the desk right next to her, standing up and placing his forehooves on his desk, puffing his chest out. He was an earth pony with a tan coat, brown mane, and bottlecap glasses...and was her frequent study partner. "I shall valiantly take this blow of humiliation!"

Fluttershy shrank down into her seat as more eyes turned towards the two of them. "T-That's ok, really," she said. "I can..."

But Tadwell had already whipped out his book and was loudly clearing his throat. "Page 142," he read. "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Times-a pretty good, times-a pretty bad. Mediocre times. Iffy times. So-so times..."

From right behind him, there was the distinct but familiar sound of Rainbow's head thumping against the desk, soft snores spilling from her mouth. Just like every time it happened, Miss Ocellus just sighed and shook her head.

"I'll let Ms. Birch know later," she said, writing something down. "Tadwell, please continue."

Tadwell nodded and continued to read. Fluttershy sighed, leaning her cheek against her hoof. His voice was a bit dry, and the story wasn't terribly interesting…she could understand why Rainbow had nodded off.

But no. She had to be strong and stay awake. She had to do her best in school, she couldn't risk getting in trouble! And so, she stayed wide awake and listened to the story.

After Tadwell read his part, it was then on to math, then history, then a quick discussion over how their group projects were going. Rainbow stayed asleep through the entire thing, occasionally snoring, even as Discord would kick at and rattle her chair.

As the morning finally came to an end, the bell rang. “Class dismissed!” Miss Ocellus said cheerfully. “Remember to work on your school projects!”

Fluttershy grabbed her saddlebag and moved out with the rest of the class. Rainbow groaned and was starting to raise her head, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. Discord was one of the last to leave besides Rainbow herself, snagging some chalk on the way out and loitering near the door.

“Ready for an afternoon of studying, Fluttershy?” Tadwell asked from beside her. She squeaked, blushing at the realization that she had been caught in the act of staring at Discord.

“Well, yes, almost,” she said. “I need to swing by my locker for a second. You can go ahead if you'd like.”

Tadwell beamed and nodded, adjusting his glasses and heading towards the front door. Fluttershy went to her locker and grabbed a few things…but also glanced at where Discord was leaning against the wall, tracing a hoof over her old lunchbox and trying to work up the courage to approach them.

In her hesitation, she saw Rainbow come out of the classroom, Discord say a few things to her while grabbing the front of her shirt…then drag her away from the front doors and to the supply closet. What are they up to? she wondered.

Though she stalled for a few more seconds, she took a deep breath, grabbed the lunchbox, and headed in the duo's direction. They were still standing in front of the closet. “Excuse me, Discord?” she called, making them jump and whirl around.

“Fluttershy! H-Heeeeey…” they said, trying to lean casually against the door to the supply closet. “What…the heck…are you doing around here?”

“Um, sorry to bother you,” she said blushing and scuffing at the floor. “It's just…I wanted to…” She gulped. “Tadwell and I are headed to the library to do some research for our group projects, and…if you're not busy, would you want to come, too!?”

Discord's eyes widened in shock. Fluttershy's blush grew brighter…and only grew hotter when she remembered that Rainbow was standing right there, watching this. “Oh, Rainbow, you're invited too, of course!” she quickly said. “I-I mean, it wouldn't make sense to not invite you…”

“Uhhhh…” She glanced over to see that Discord was pacing in a tight circle. “We're kinda busy. With, um…” They rushed over and whispered something to Rainbow, who gave a short answer back. Discord coughed, nodded, and turned back to Fluttershy.

“Y'know. Just committing…crimes,” they said. “Just gonna do some crimes and go to…jail.” They gave one of their more intimidating grins, more to show off their fangs than joy. “Forever. It sucks.”

“Um. Well…that sounds…” Fluttershy paused, trying to think of what to say. “Have…fun, I suppose? I'll be at the library.”

She glanced at Rainbow. “If you could bring Discord by later…it'd really mean a lot to me!” she mouthed. Rainbow blinked and slowly nodded.

Fluttershy turned to go…then suddenly remembered the lunchbox. “Actually, before you commit…crimes, I have something for you!” she said, whirling back around.

"H-Here!" she said, quickly shoving the lunchbox into Discord's hands. "Rainbow, um, told me you like chalk, so I just...put in some that were lying around...uh, bye!"

She quickly turned heel and rushed down the hall, a bright blush on her face. Hopefully she wasn't too obvious...and what if they looked at the variety of chalks and realized she had gone and bought all of them on a whim just for them? That would be too embarrassing...she had to get to the library before they realized.

She quickly spotted Tadwell waiting near the school entrance, a tall stack of books on his back. "You didn't need to wait up for me," she said, quickly trotting up to meet him.

"It's no trouble," he said as the two of them stepped outside and headed towards the library. "Besides, I know you wanted to catch up with Rainbow, but Discord can be..." He grimaced. "...unpredictable."

“Yes, they can,” she said with a sigh. Tadwell nodded and adjusted his glasses, seeming to miss the fondness that had shone through her statement.

It was a lovely spring day outside. The birds were chirping, flowers were blooming, and Officer Smolder's voice echoed through the air as she shouted and tried to clear up a large traffic jam on Main Street. Fortunately for the two of them, the library was close to the school, and they ducked inside without having to weave through the traffic.

There was no one in the library yet…perhaps they had already weaved through the traffic to go home, or get to work. “Ah, looks like we have the computer lab to ourselves!” Tadwell said, opening the door and turning on the lights.

“Shame the internet is still down,” Fluttershy said, sitting at a computer-less table and sliding her saddlebag off of her back. The light bulb overhead flickered for a moment.

“Yes…” Tadwell sighed. “But! In a library, there is more than the internet to provide both resources and entertainment!” He dropped a large stack of books onto the table. The lightbulb flickered again, sending strange shadows crawling on the wall for a moment.

“Right,” Fluttershy said, nervously eyeing the books. “…where should we start?”

“Well, I figured that you could take charge of finding out everything about the ecology of the Equestria of Olden Days, while I organize the information we have so far. After that, I'll dive into…”

Fluttershy's eyelids began to droop. She couldn't help it—Tadwell had a voice that, once he started rambling, made her sleepy. And it didn't help that the room was comfortably dim, and slowly darkening. The darkness whispered, inviting her to relax, to forget work, to escape.

Surely if she closed her eyes for a second, it wouldn't hurt…

Fluttershy opened her eyes and immediately realized that she was not in the library's computer lab.

She was standing on a green metal platform with yellow light blinking on the edges. All she could see in the distance was darkness. “W-What?” She took a step back, and almost tripped and stumbled. She gasped, head snapping back to see what she had been caught on.

There were flowing, forest-green robes on her body, highlighted with pink spots like fluttering petals. There were strange shoes on her feet, with a design of thin flowering vines that crept a short distance up her ankles. Finally, a golden necklace was around her neck, a pink butterfly gem hanging off of it. “What…”

Her final realization, while looking around, was that she was alone…aside from a few creatures that looked like pink kirin, though they were too short, and their faces reminded her of…outlets, somehow. “E-Excuse me!” she called to the pair that were whispering together, huddled not too far away.

They both squeaked, looking her at with wide eyes. “L-Lightner!” one said. “You have to get out of here, before she—”

“The wires are back!” the other yelped, pointing up. Fluttershy looked up and saw two blue wires thrashing overhead…one of which suddenly shot towards and attached itself to the kirin's face.

“No!” their friend cried as the kirin's body went limp. Electricity pumped into them, and they grew larger, fur turning black and mane and tail becoming fiery. The wire lifted them up into the air and out of sight.

The other wire shot towards the second kirin. “Look out!” Fluttershy cried, galloping towards them. The gem on her chest glowed faintly, and her wings flared out as she dove to push them out of the way—but she was too late. The wire had plugged into them and pulled them out of sight.

Fluttershy collapsed on the ground, wrapping her wings around herself. What kind of place was this? She stayed frozen like that until she heard hoofsteps and turned around, only to see two very familiar faces.

"Rainbow! Discord!" Fluttershy said, staring at the two of them in shock. They were also wearing completely different outfits—Rainbow's was a skintight, dark blue suit with yellow lightning stripes across it, a small rainbow cape slung over her shoulder and a red lightning-shaped gem pinned to her chest. And Discord's...

She gulped, drinking in how Discord looked despite the fear and confusion she felt. They were wearing a black faux leather jacket with gleaming silver studs, several spiked armbands on both of their arms, and gold piercings in their ears.

"Fluttershy!" Discord called, taking a step forward. But before they could move any closer, a green disc hovered over her head, green lightning arcing down from it and connecting with another disc that had slid under her hooves.

She reached a hoof through the bars of electricity, but before she could reach out to her classmates, the green discs—which she realized with a jolt had formed a cage around her—soared into the air, carrying her off.

"Fluttershy!" she heard Rainbow and Discord both cry out just before they were out of her sight. Seconds later, all she could see was the green blur of the walls and lights.

With a shiver, she wrapped her wings around herself and closed her eyes, trying not to whimper.

Not long after, her cage landed on the ground...or at least, the green metal that seemed to make up the ground here. She slowly unfurled her wings and looked around, only to flinch back when she saw a pony—an alicorn standing just nearby.

"Hello, Fluttershy," she said with an electronic waver to her voice. Fluttershy suddenly realized that the alicorn was made out of some kind of dark blue metal, even her wings and horn. A hologram of a starry night sky formed her mane and tail, and she stood at least a head taller than Fluttershy herself.

"Who...who are you?" Fluttershy squeaked, shrinking back.

"We are Unit LXUQPNA," the alicorn said. "But you may call us 'Luna'...or even more accurately, your Princess."

“A…princess?” Fluttershy said, gawking. Of course it made sense an alicorn was a princess, even if she was…odd, but she just couldn't believe she was somehow speaking with royalty when she still didn't even know where she was! She slowly bowed as best she could in the small cage she was in.

“Yes, yes, thank you,” Luna said. “Now…if you want us to let you out of that cage, you must become our willing peon and do our bidding in our quest for world domination.”

“W-Wait, what?” Fluttershy stuttered. A tablet was held out to her in a blue magic aura.

“Just initial and sign the Peon Release Form,” Luna said, trying to place the tablet in her hooves. Fluttershy quickly pulled her hooves back, holding them to her chest.

“I….I'm scared,” Fluttershy said in a choked whisper, wings quivering at her sides.

Luna tilted her head. “Have you not signed a form before?”

“No, it's everything else that's scary!” Fluttershy said, cowering back and wrapping her wings around herself.

Rainbow and Discord suddenly rushed into the area, a third creature behind them. "Fluttershy!" Discord said, getting into a fighting stance and pointing towards Luna. "Don't worry, we're not going to let her roboticize your face or wings!"

Fluttershy could feel the blood drain from her face, heart dropping into her stomach. "That's...that's something she's going to do!?" A cold sweat sprang up on her forehead.

"Uh...whoops," Discord said, actually looking a little abashed. "Thought...thought you might have already known that."

"We meant for that to be a surprise," Luna said with a slight pout. "Oh, well."

Her horn sparked with magic, and Fluttershy's stomach lurched as her cage was sent off into the distance yet again. "W-Wait—!" Discord said, rushing towards the edge and reaching out towards her...but by then, they had already vanished from her sight.

Fluttershy swallowed and forced herself to take deep breaths, even as her heart raced. She didn't want to be roboticized! She didn't want to become a peon! But she couldn't see a single way to get out of this cage.

Though that might have been because it was hard to think and panic at the same time.

It wasn't long before her cage landed (again). This time, she didn't look up, and covered her head with her wings and forehooves. "I...I don't want to be roboticized," she whimpered.

"That's good," an electronic voice she recognized as Luna's said. "Because if you sign up to become a peon in the next fifteen minutes, your chances of robotization decrease by about seventy-five percent."

"I don't want to be a peon, either!" Fluttershy said, voice cracking in frustration and fright.

"...not even to spend more time around Discord?"

Fluttershy paused, glancing up at the princess. “How…did…?”

“We are a computer,” Luna said. “We know of your internet searches, both strange and sad.”

“A-All of them?” Fluttershy asked, face starting to turn a bright red. Luna nodded, which did nothing to help her growing embarrassment.

“Become a peon, and Discord will most certainly notice you,” Luna said. “Perhaps even fight you.” Fluttershy coughed, tugging at the collar of her dress. It would make her Discord and Rainbow’s enemy, technically, but…she had seen Discord fight others before. What would it be like to be on the receiving end? It was too embarrassing to say aloud, but she was extremely tempted to know…

“Additionally,” Luna said. “If you assist us in world domination, we can dedicate all our programs to both medicine and searching for missing creatures.”

Medicine and searching for missing creatures…Fluttershy's eyes widened. It sounded too good to be true, but at the same time…if Luna could actually help, this could finally be her opportunity to…!

“…okay,” Fluttershy said. “If you'll really help with those, then I'll…be a peon.”

Luna's metal lips stretched into a smile. “Excellent,” she said, using her magic to hover a digital tablet over to her. “Now, just sign this form, and we'll get started.”

Fluttershy took the tablet in her hooves, and the offered digital pen in her mouth. Minutes later, she had managed to scrawl a shaky, wobbly signature onto the form, and she handed the pen and tablet back to Luna.

Luna smiled, and with a spark from her horn, the cage around her was deactivated, the green disc overhead flying off somewhere. “Now, to business,” Luna said. “First of all…for our plan, it's very important that you have a weapon.”

Fluttershy gulped. “I….I don't…”

Luna held out her hoof, which held a tiny pin in it. One half was of a gleaming white moon, the other was pitch-black. Fluttershy accepted it, looking at it with some confusion. “It might not be much, but when you are ready to unleash your full power, it will be mighty in your hooves,” Luna explained.

Still unsure, Fluttershy pinned it to the front of her robe. “Now, onward!” Luna declared, grabbing her by the foreleg and marching forward, tugging her along. “Your coaster cart should be finished soon, even if the coaster itself isn't…”

“C-Coaster…?” Fluttershy said, confused and worried.

Fortunately, the coaster Luna mentioned wasn't the high-speed, looping, terrifying roller coaster that first came to Fluttershy's mind. But…she was still placed in a large cart designed to look like a blue butterfly, shimmering pink wings extending from the sides and into the air. And was riding the track backward.

She shivered, trying not to look behind her. “Come forth, our…peon!” Luna declared. Fluttershy squeaked and gripped the front of her cart as it was tugged forward.

Luna hovered overhead, and Fluttershy was now in front of three much smaller carts—a blue one with rainbow stripes that Rainbow was riding, a green one with blue horns that a strange deer (with blue horns and a green robe) was riding, and…one that Discord was riding, in the middle. Theirs was grey, with two mismatched horns in front, and with flames painted on the side, spikes jutting out at the very bottom.

Each of them looked stunned to see her. “Um...sorry, everyone," she said, abashed. "But I just...couldn't say 'no'."

The air was thick with awkward tension. Swallowing thickly, she glanced up and managed to bring herself to wave at Discord. "Um...Hi, Discord!"

They slowly, awkwardly waved back. "Your coaster is, um...I like it!" Fluttershy added. And she did! It seemed very them.

"Uh...thanks," they said. "Yours, too, I guess."

"Thank you!" she said, smiling and trying to fight against her blush.

Several more seconds passed by, Fluttershy shifting awkwardly and trying not to stare for too long at any of them (especially not Discord, even though they looked amazing in that outfit), while the three of them were tense, looking ready for battle.

"Ok, this isn't working," Luna said from overhead with a sigh. "Send in the next guy!"

Fluttershy felt something ram into her coaster from behind, and covered her eyes with a squeak as she felt it fly off of the tracks. "Fear not, milady Fluttershy!" a voice she recognized as Tadwell's declared. "Your knight in glow-in-the-dark armor is here!"

"Tadwell!?" she heard Discord exclaim. At the same time, her cart stopped in mid-air, and she uncovered her eyes to see that it was being held in a blue magic aura. Glancing up, she noticed Luna's horn glowing, sparking every so often with electricity. She was right beside and just under the track, probably out of everyone else's sight. "You asked Tadwell to be on your team!?"

"We did not ask him," Luna said with an annoyed huff.

Fluttershy's gaze flicked over to Tadwell. Just like the rest of them, his outfit had changed—he was wearing a grey breastplate with a flowing green cape behind him, and his glasses had been replaced with some sort of white headband, with a thick green lens over one of his eyes. His coaster was the plainest of all, merely matching his coat color with two thick, glasses-like headlights on the front of it.

Tadwell began speaking, but Fluttershy shifted her focus away from the track and towards her other surroundings. What was she thinking, agreeing to become a peon? She didn't want to actually fight Rainbow and Discord. Maybe...maybe now was her chance to sneak away. Find somewhere to hide until she could figure out what was going on.

She quickly hopped off of her coaster with her wings unfurled, gliding away. She could pick up the sounds of coasters smashing into each other behind her...hopefully, that would distract Luna long enough that she could sneak away without a trace.

With a flap of her wings, she pushed herself forward, aiming for the city she could see not far ahead. There had to be somewhere in there she could hide.

Fluttershy was thoroughly confused even more once she managed to reach the city. Everything about it was so…strange. The inhabitants all seemed to resemble technology or toys more than ponies, streets were filled with pink cars that seemed to be made of rubber, and it felt overwhelmingly large.

She hung around the outskirts for quite a while before finally gathering the nerve to head in a little bit deeper. She passed the large neon sign welcoming her into the city, flinched and tried to not look directly at the nirik-like creatures on the sidewalk with wires plugged into their faces, and crossed a few streets after pressing the buttons to get through the traffic.

It was only when she was passing two albino batponies in red suits, sweeping up a blocked-off street, that she realized she could hear a set of hoofsteps behind her. She gulped and walked a little quicker, ducking into and weaving through the alley in front of her.

She soon paused, though. Those hoofsteps hadn't been metallic. Maybe…

She heard the hoofsteps again, and turned to look. Rainbow was standing there, looking surprised to see her. “Oh, Rainbow!” she said. “What are you…?”

“Oh, Fluttershy honey!” Luna called from not too far away.

Fluttershy flinched. “Rainbow, please don't let her find me!” She quickly dove the shadows of an alley off of the alley, huddling in on herself and pressing her hooves to her muzzle, holding her breath.

Luna came into the alley not a moment later. “Fluttershy, where are you?” she called. “We're a team now, remember? You signed the form and said you'd be our willing minion!”

She walked forward a bit…and her eyes landed on Rainbow. “…Rainbow. It appears our allies have pressed the escape key on both of us.”

Rainbow opened her mouth, but Luna held up a hoof to stop her. “So, it has come to this,” she continued. “If we wish to find our respective teams…we must form an uneasy truce—"

“Luna! Princess Luna!” Tadwell called, hoofsteps approaching. “Where are you!?”

Luna groaned. “By the moon and stars, don't let him find us!” She dove into the air, spread out all her limbs…and hid right above Fluttershy, planting all six limbs against the walls to hold herself there. Fluttershy's eyes widened in horror as she glanced up, and nearly shook with the effort to not take a single breath.

“Ah, Rainbow,” Tadwell said, now in the main alley. “Not the pony I was looking for.” He glanced around. “Hmm? Where's the rest of your supposed study group?”

“We're not a study group, egghead,” Rainbow answered. “We're a team.”

“Apparently not, if they'd just abandon you like this!” Tadwell said with a chuckle.

“Oh yeah?” Rainbow said, raising an eyebrow. “Where's your team, then?”

Tadwell flinched back. “Y-You mean Fluttershy and Princess Luna?” he squeaked. “They're…probably just playing a strategy game, or doing some filing! Waiting for me to take on the hardest boss and organize the toughest of files!”

He laughed off the question…until his face fell with a sigh. “So, it's come to this,” he said. “In order to find our respective teams…it appears we must form an uneasy truce…”

“What the—!?” Luna exclaimed. “Who said you could do double trucies!?”

Tadwell turned to look in their direction. Fluttershy's eyes widened. “Did you hear something?” Rainbow's face went pale, and she started shaking her head, though Tadwell didn't see.

“Honk honk No, it's just the noises of the city,” Luna said.

“Oh okay.” Tadwell turned back to Rainbow. “Well. I'll be ahead. Time is of the essence, so don't be late!” With that, he turned and left the direction he had come in from.

The moment he was gone, Luna jumped out, and Fluttershy relaxed (though only slightly). “Rainbow, as part of our truce—the superior one,” she said. “Keep distracting Tadwell and find Fluttershy.”

She looked away dramatically. “Tadwell…he's…” She sighed, placing a hoof against her temples. “Okay, there's nothing wrong with him, he's just very annoying.”

“Fare thee well in finding Fluttershy, trucie,” she said, finally walking away and leaving the alley.

Fluttershy finally breathed, taking in a large gulp of air as she stumbled out of her hiding place. “…thanks, Rainbow,” she said shyly. “If it's okay, um...got any room for another truce?”

Rainbow smiled, stretching a wing out to her. "Of course," she said. "I'm more than willing to do triple trucies for you."

Fluttershy sighed in relief, feeling several of her muscles relaxing. "Oh, thank you," she said. "So, um...why don't you lead the way?" She took a few steps and stood behind Rainbow, looking to her for guidance.

Rainbow quickly started heading forward, and Fluttershy followed. They were just about to leave the alley when she remembered that Rainbow hadn't been alone earlier. "So, um...do you know where Discord is?" she asked.

Rainbow glanced over her shoulder and gave her a look. "I-I'm just asking!" Fluttershy stammered, face turning a shade of pink. “Just a normal, curious question…” She scuffed a hoof on the ground while Rainbow just grinned knowingly.

“We might run into them eventually,” Rainbow said, leading the way into the next part of the alley. It was set up strangely, with part of the ground lower than the rest, and with green boxes set inside.

Fluttershy's brow furrowed in confusion, while Rainbow just shrugged and headed towards a button on the far side. When she stepped onto it, a hole in the wall opened up…and a computer mouse with ears, whiskers, and a nose poked its head out.

“A mouse!” Fluttershy exclaimed as it came towards her. She eagerly picked it up and gave it a small nuzzle. “Oh, it's so adorable!”

“Uh…Fluttershy?” Rainbow said. “I'm pretty sure we can't carry a mouse around with us through the whole trip. So…”

“Oh…yeah. You're right,” Fluttershy said. She bent and placed the mouse on the ground, where it shot in a straight line towards a second mousehole. “Do you think there will be more of them?”

Rainbow just shrugged as they kept moving on. She froze when she bumped into a large pink Breezie, though, and hopped back into a fighting stance. A red heart shot out of her chest, floating between her at the Breezie.

“H-huh!? What is this? What's going on!?” Fluttershy said, head whipping between Rainbow and the strange Breezie in confusion.

Rainbow pointed a wing at them. “Fluttershy, help me Take Care of this Virovirokun,” she said.

“I don't…what does that even mean?” Fluttershy asked.

“Oh, hey, is this your first battle?” Virovirokun said. Fluttershy meekly nodded. “Oh, boy. Alright, so…” They and Rainbow worked together for the next few minutes to explain what was happening.

"So...we each take turns, kind of like in Dragon Blazers or Saddlemon?" Fluttershy asked for confirmation.

"Yeah," Virovirokun said.

"And...we can end battles by being nice to you and sparing you? We don't have to fight?"

"Yeah."

"And...the way we're nice to you is...dressing up in nurses' costumes and pretending to take care of you."

"Yeah."

Fluttershy blinked, staring at the enemy for a few moments before her eyes flicked to Rainbow. She nodded to confirm what they were saying, and Fluttershy sighed. "Well...I guess if we can win battles without having to hurt you, that'd be pretty nice."

And so, with a deep breath, she (somehow) changed into a nurse's costume, complete with a tray holding a mug of hot tea. Of course, the change caught her a little by surprise, so she ended up tripping over her own hooves and falling onto her stomach, spilling the tea…

“Nice,” Virovirokun said, beaming widely. With a wave of their staff, a few small arrows aimed towards the red heart (Rainbow had explained that was her soul, and then had assured Fluttershy that no, she didn't have to worry, she would be fine as long as she was careful). The soul twirled and easily dodged all of them, and with a wave of her wing, Rainbow spared their enemy, who flew away with a cheerful smile.

“And that is how battles work here,” Rainbow said, continuing forward. Fluttershy nodded in understanding, wondering how Rainbow knew so much but also a little nervous to ask.

They exited the alley and found themselves in an area full of flashing signs and neon lights, all promoting...advertisements itself, it seemed. A few strange creatures wandered about, ponies with heads like syringes.

"...we don't have to fight them, do we?" Fluttershy asked worriedly.

"Not if we don't run into them," Rainbow assured. "Just follow my lead, and we can stay out of avoidable fights."

Fluttershy breathed a sigh of relief, and Rainbow weaved past the strange creatures. "Hello, we're the Addisons!" an orange changeling called out to them. "Come to us for all your advertising needs! This is also an ad!"

"Block ads for only ten bits!" a blue changeling called. "Change your mind and bring them back for another ten!" Rainbow just rolled her eyes and headed through a narrow alley to the north.

A line of cones blocked their path, but they could both easily see over into a small fairground, where Discord and the deer from earlier were eating cotton candy together.

"Discord...! They're right there!" Fluttershy said to Rainbow in a stunned, almost scared whisper. "But I..." She took a step back. "I can't get the courage to say anything..."

"...who are they with, anyway?" she asked. "They look...kind of like..."

"Bramble?" Rainbow said, her voice not nearly as quiet. "Yeah, we know. That's Barb Elm, though, not actually my brother."

Fluttershy opened her mouth, about to ask more questions, but saw that Discord's ears twitched, gaze starting to move towards their hiding spot. "Ah, they're looking this way! Let's go!" She tugged at Rainbow's foreleg. Rainbow sighed, and the two of them headed back through the alley and began to press further east.

They crossed several roads, though it took several minutes of Rainbow having to coax Fluttershy through the stopped traffic. They passed by a Virovirokun and another of those strange, syringe-headed creatures, and Rainbow headed towards a blue changeling Addison.

"One of these guys has to be selling something useful, right?" she reasoned as she approached, Fluttershy right behind her.

“Ah, two young mares out and about on a school night!" the changeling said as soon as she noticed them. "Could I interest you in a pair of Dating Shoes?"

Fluttershy's cheeks turned faintly pink. "Oh, no, Rainbow and I are just..." She paused. It had been so long since she and Rainbow had spent time together that the word 'friend' didn't feel quite right for her to say.

"We're just friends," Rainbow told the merchant. Fluttershy's muscles relaxed, and she shot Rainbow a grateful smile. Hearing that from her own lips...it felt quite reassuring, in a way.

The changeling nodded in understanding, and Rainbow turned to walk away. But after just a few steps, she turned towards one of the ads and began to stare at it.

It was an advertisement for a large, golden Ferris wheel that towered over a city. “Wow,” Fluttershy said, her eyes sparkling. “It makes the one at the school festival seem like a toy, doesn't it?”

“I wonder if Discord would want to…?” She paused, clamping her mouth shut with a blush on her face. That was a silly question...and she shouldn't have bothered Rainbow with it. Besides…who could predict what Discord would say, or if they even cared about the ride at all?

After a short pause, Rainbow smiled at her. "Discord would ride with you."

Fluttershy immediately brightened up. "And that comes from 'Discord Expert' Rainbow, so it must be true!" she said with a laugh. Rainbow just smiled.

A few moments later, Fluttershy frowned in thought. "Rainbow...when did you become the 'Discord Expert', anyway?" She had to admit, it made her feel a little...jealous. Maybe she should have pushed more to be Discord's project partner...

Rainbow just shrugged, and after a few moments spent looking around, headed south and into a small alley, Fluttershy trailing right behind her. There was an electric beam blocking their path, with a button on each side.

Rainbow stepped onto the button, and the beam turned off. When she took a step forward, it turned back on. “Looks like one of us has to stay on it,” Fluttershy said. “Rainbow…?”

“I'll stay here,” she said with a nod, stepping back onto the button. “You get the next one.”

Fluttershy started walking forward…and paused right in front of where the beam used to be, glancing back at Rainbow. It wasn't that she didn't trust her, but…well. Rainbow was a bit of a prankster. But she just grinned innocently and gestured for Fluttershy to go on.

She did so, and reached the next button without trouble. She stood on it and turned, watching as Rainbow approached. She shouldn't have doubted her. Rainbow might like playing tricks, but she would surely never risk hurting her with a prank like that!

The two of them continued onward once they were both past the beam. They soon came to an open area as they exited the alley…and Fluttershy froze when she heard Luna's voice, practicing a dramatic evil laugh.

“She's right there…!” she squeaked, quickly stepping back into the shadows. “Could…could you please distract her for me?”

Rainbow saluted her with her wing and walked towards Luna, who was now practicing a speech of some sort. Fluttershy snuck backward through the shadows, mind racing as she tried to think of a plan.

She rushed back over to the pile of boxes they had just passed, quickly digging through them to look for something that could help her as a disguise. But the only things in them were even more boxes!

...well. She could still make this work, couldn't she? She started looking more closely at the boxes themselves. There was one with a robot face on it, and it was just the right size to fit her head.

She peered back over into the area where Luna was. Tadwell was there now, as well, but he was leaving...and Luna was rushing in the opposite direction as him, right towards her!

Fluttershy quickly plopped the box on top of her head and stood ramrod still as Luna entered the alley. "Wow cool face," Luna said as she passed by, not even giving her a second glance before leaving.

Fluttershy breathed a sigh of relief and walked towards Rainbow, taking the box off of her head. "I guess this disguise works," she said. "...it looks silly, but it beats having to hide every time she appears."

Rainbow nodded, and Fluttershy slid the box back on her head. "Let's go, Rainbow!" she said.

She heard Rainbow's hoofsteps as she walked away, and did her best to follow the sound...only to promptly trip over something, the box falling off of her head. "...maybe I should only use it when Luna is around," she said sheepishly, putting the box away. "I can't really see anything."

"Thought so," Rainbow said with a chuckle. "Ready to go for real?"

"Oh, yes!" Fluttershy said, jumping to her hooves and stepping away from the golden statue of Tadwell (with huge muscles, for some reason??). Rainbow smiled, and the two of them headed off for real.

The next space held three boxes, each of which had a robotic pony behind it—a unicorn, earth pony, and pegasus, all young-looking, and all resembling some sort of music player.

"Hey, Rainbow!" the orange pegasus called. "The Compatible Music Crusaders have more stock. Come get some!"

"Finally! Now, this is a good store," Rainbow said, heading over and purchasing a few things. Fluttershy stayed back and tilted her head, trying to puzzle out the latest confusing thing this puzzling land sent her way.

"Got us some CD Bagels," Rainbow said, showing off what looked like normal CDs to Fluttershy.

"...are you sure those are edible?" Fluttershy asked as they moved on into another area filled with changelings hawking odd wares—from free shoe samples with toothpicks sticking out of them to teas of your own flavor.

Rainbow shrugged and moved past the advertisers...only for two nirik with wires plugged into their faces to drop from the ceiling and catch them by surprise.

Fluttershy yelped and jumped back, while Rainbow leaped into action, defending herself with her wings and dodging the electricity they sent her way.

"Fluttershy, you've gotta use a spell!" Rainbow commanded. "Something to put them to sleep!"

"I...I don't know magic!" Fluttershy said.

"Yes, you do! You're a Springcaster!" Rainbow said. Before Fluttershy could get any more confused, she added, "Just...focus on casting Sleep Mist! I know you can do it."

Though thoroughly confused, Fluttershy closed her eyes and focused. Sleep Mist...when she thought about those words, she did feel something...

The gem on her chest started to glow, and with a little focus, she felt a pink mist surrounding her. With a flap of her wings, it was sent towards the enemies...who slowly nodded off and fell asleep, slipping off of the wires and turning back into pink kirin.

"I...it worked," Fluttershy said as Rainbow's soul slid back into her chest. "...how did you know I could do that, Rainbow?"

Rainbow froze, staring silently into the distance for a long, long moment. "...let's...keep...going, shall we?" she said.

"...alright," Fluttershy said. Rainbow was acting...different than usual. Just in small, subtle ways that suggested something wasn't quite right.

But then there were moments that she seemed just like herself, like rolling her eyes at a fancy dress being sold by the Addisons, or eagerly rushing to weave through dangerous traffic in a daring stunt.

...either way, it was still Rainbow, her childhood friend. The one who was helping her, so she would stick by her side through thick and thin. She probably just had more experience in a world like this. That was all.

After weaving through traffic and solving another mouse puzzle—Fluttershy was still shocked that the solution was to fly over the forcefield and press the button to turn it off, not guide the mice into their hole—they came across an alley with a single piece of cheese, and a mouse eagerly nibbling on it.

“I didn't think mice really ate or preferred cheese,” Fluttershy said.

“They're computer mice,” Rainbow said, continuing forward. “They're probably different than normal mice.” She stopped in front of a maze made out of cheese, and they both just…stared at it for a few moments.

“...who would leave all this cheese just...sitting in an alley?" Fluttershy asked, brow furrowed.

Rainbow just shrugged, flapping her wings and flying over the maze and the mice scurrying around inside it. Fluttershy followed behind her, both of them landing once they were across.

Their next obstacle was a dead end—or rather, a large gap that kept them from reaching the next of the walkways. "Hold on...I think I see a button down there," Fluttershy said, heading down a nearby set of stairs. She walked onto the platform and stepped on the button...and nothing happened.

"Hmm...the switch didn't work?" she said, tilting her head. A moment later, the bridge to the main area disappeared, and the platform began to shake.

"Rainbow! It's falling!" she yelped.

"Just fly off!" Rainbow said, flapping her own wings. Fluttershy extended her wings and was about to fly off...but noticed the mousehole set in the shaking wall.

"Wait, the mice!" she said. "I can't let them fall! Rainbow, help direct them to me!"

Rainbow quickly fiddled with the console next to her, moving blocks before opening the hole and releasing the mice. Fluttershy caught them all in her hooves, then flew up and onto the next platform, landing on another button.

The first platform collapsed, the one she was on shifted forward...and began to shake. "Rainbow, we have to help all the mice! Please!" Rainbow nodded, face set in determination, and began working the puzzle again.

Just as she was moving the blocks into position, Tadwell suddenly wandered in on the scene. "Ah, Rainbow. Stuck on a puzzle?"

"Not now," Rainbow grunted, releasing the mice. Fluttershy caught them and flew onto the next platform.

"I thought I heard Fluttershy calling for help," Tadwell continued. "But I get it now! That was you...or perhaps your brain calling for help."

"Poor, sweet Fluttershy. Where could she be? Stuck on a puzzle just like this one, perhaps."

Fluttershy was almost tempted to draw attention to herself (how had he not seen her? Rainbow must have been blocking his view), but was too occupied with catching the mice Rainbow released.

Rainbow only grunted in response to Tadwell, but he continued speaking, undeterred. "If only I was there to help her. She's a gentle, powerless soul without my help..."

"Powerless!?" Fluttershy huffed. This was a lot of work, flying and holding all of these mice...she was starting to run out of breath.

"Though working alone must be better than working with you!" Tadwell joked. "Rainbow, you'd just get in the way. You don't understand Fluttershy the way I do, now."

"You may have been her lifelong neighbor, but I can read her feelings like a well-organized form. I know that, deep down, she's a lovestruck mare with her heart on her sleeve."

Fluttershy almost missed the next group of mice. Did...did Tadwell know...?

"Oh, yeah, big secret," Rainbow said sarcastically.

"But Rainbow...her heart's affections..."

Before he could finish what he wanted to say, Fluttershy landed on the last platform...and with a loud click, it felt stable under her hooves. "...what?" Tadwell said. "How? How did you...?"

He stopped, then shook his head. "It doesn't matter. Rainbow, solving one puzzle won't make you any better than me or Fluttershy! Especially if you keep hanging out with and relying on our local class hellion!"

With that, he trotted off across the bridge formed over the gap before Rainbow could answer. "...wow," she said, rolling her eyes. A bridge appeared between her and Fluttershy. Fluttershy quickly rushed across, mice held in her forelegs.

"There you go, little mice," she said, setting them gently on the stable ground. "Nice and safe." They all squeaked and nuzzled her in thanks before heading into the distance, grouping together.

"...thank you for helping me save them, Rainbow," she said, smiling at her friend.

"It's no problem," Rainbow said. "I probably could have been faster if it wasn't for...you know..." She scowled and shot a dirty look in the direction Tadwell had gone off in.

Fluttershy sighed. "Tadwell, he's...not so bad," she said. "He just..."

"Gets really clingy, annoying, and condescending?" Rainbow said. "Fluttershy. You don't have to be nice to everyone, you know?"

Fluttershy scuffed a hoof against the ground. "...could we just keep going, please?"

Rainbow sighed, but dropped the matter, walking over the newly-formed bridge. Fluttershy followed behind her. The next area was full of trashcans, which Rainbow opened to dig through. “Um…”

“What? It's just like Saddlemon,” Rainbow said. “Gotta dig through the containers to find items!” She shoved a CD Bagel into her inventory.

“I…guess,” Fluttershy said. “But what about…” A colorful pony shouting clickbait titles popped out of the next trashcan Rainbow opened. Both of the mares yelped in shock as Rainbow’s soul popped out.

“Ambush battles!”

Fortunately, all they had to do was ignore the Pop-Ups (though the one saying it could show Fluttershy cute kittens was tempting) before ending the battle. Rainbow still dug through the rest of the trashcans, Fluttershy looking around to make sure no one could sneak up on them from behind.

Once Rainbow had cleared out the trashcans, they entered the next alley—empty, aside from the lone pony waiting there.

"Oh no, oh no..." Fluttershy said, trying to duck behind Rainbow when she caught sight of Tadwell standing ahead. Unfortunately, he turned and quickly spotted her.

"Fluttershy!? What are you doing with Rainbow?" He jumped back, surprised.

"Um..." She gulped. "We...have a truce...?"

Tadwell blinked...then laughed. "That's impossible! That would be double trucies."

"Actually, it's triple..." she began to say. But Tadwell stepped forward with his head lowered, a serious expression on his face.

"Don't worry, Fluttershy," he said. "I know exactly what's weighing on your mind and heart."

"You...do?" she said, unsure.

"Going along with all of this...you feel...forced, don't you?" he asked, head lowering and ears flattening.

"Yes! Yes, that's exactly it," Fluttershy said, relief flooding through her. "You understand?"

"Of course I do!" he said. He pointed a hoof accusingly at Rainbow. "Rainbow is forcing you to be on her side!"

Before Fluttershy could react, he was reaching into the air. "Kidnapper! Rainbow, our truce...is over!" A glowing green halberd appeared in his hoof, and he dropped into a fighting stance.

"Fluttershy! This might hurt, but it's to help you!" he called.

"Wait, wait, please just listen—!" Fluttershy said. But it was too late. Rainbow's soul burst forth from her chest, quivering with fighting spirit. Fluttershy gulped and wrapped her wings around herself, looking to Rainbow for what they should do.

Rainbow planted her hooves on the ground, gritting her teeth in determination. “Just defend yourself for now,” she instructed. “I'll give Tadwell a good fight…nonviolently.” She cracked her wings.

That was all the encouragement that Fluttershy needed to turn away, using her wings to shield herself. “Oh, no,” Rainbow moaned dramatically. “Look at me. I can't do any school projects. If only I could be an egghead like Tadwell. Blah.”

Fluttershy peeked through her wings, enough to see that Tadwell's chest smugly puffed up at Rainbow's acting. “Rainbow! I see your head's gotten big thanks to you solving that puzzle through dumb luck!” he said. He whipped his halberd around, sending a flurry of papers in their direction, all marked with high grades.

Rainbow and her soul bobbed and weaved through the storm, skimming easily past the attack. Fluttershy squeaked, sidestepping as many as she could, and blocking the rest with her wings. She winced, not wanting a few papercuts to make her give up!

“…try to talk to him,” Rainbow said in a whisper, stepping back and throwing her wings up as a confident shield.

“O-okay,” Fluttershy said, her own wings relaxing. “Um, Tadwell, I…appreciate that you're trying to help…”

“Of course, Fluttershy!” he answered with a grin. “Anything for you.” Oh, dear. Seemed like he had taken that as a compliment…

His attention snapped back to Rainbow, grin falling. “You think that you can usurp me at my lowest,” he accused. “By stealing my most precious thing…!” He tossed report cards and homework from the past into the air, all of them shooting towards Rainbow's soul like darts instead of fluttering down.

Rainbow did her best to dodge, but was hit a few times. When the onslaught was over, she stuck out her tongue and rolled her eyes, acting astounded by the attack. Fluttershy quickly dug through their inventory and tossed her a CD Bagel, which she quickly munched through. Huh. It was actually edible, apparently.

“But Rainbow, I have a few things you never will!” Tadwell boasted, even as Rainbow’s act put a grin on his face. Two nirik-like creatures approached, wires attached. “Behold, comrades!”

Rainbow looked over the new enemies and smirked. "Fluttershy, they look tired, don't they?" she said with a wink.

"Oh...oh, right!" Fluttershy said, closing her eyes and preparing Sleep Mist while Rainbow pretended to spill her IQ points on the floor. While Tadwell was busy laughing, she sent the pink mist in their direction, putting both of the nirik into a deep sleep. They crawled into a corner to nap as they transformed back into kirin.

"That's right, Rainbow!" Tadwell said. "Unlike you, I have a supportive team on my side! You can't beat us alone!"

He paused...then looked around, finally noticing that his allies had vanished. "H-Hey, wait, where'd they go!?"

He pointed his halberd at them, firing off several arrows of energy that swerved in curving lines. Rainbow and her soul nimbly dodged them, though Fluttershy was grazed a few times.

"Take some time to heal," Rainbow said to Fluttershy. Fluttershy reluctantly pulled out a CD Bagel while Rainbow mimed knitting a dunce cap, and slowly took a bite.

It...tasted like a normal bagel, just...musical? And she could feel some of her health returning to her?

"My...my allies are gone?" Tadwell stuttered. "I mean...they've probably just left to help Princess Luna search for me!"

Rainbow opened her mouth, but Tadwell cut her off. "Shut up, Rainbow! I don't want to hear another one of your quips!" He whipped his weapon through the air, sending another whirlwind of reports at them. Fluttershy tried to dodge as easily as Rainbow, but got hit in the face with a lot of the papers.

"Use magic to heal yourself this time, please," Rainbow said. "Just like using Sleep Mist."

She turned to Tadwell and said, "According to my calculations, you'll be summoning more guys." She pulled out an old, stained math assignment...which Fluttershy could tell with just a glance was terribly, terribly wrong.

"S-Summon more guys!?" he said, while Fluttershy focused on something inside of her, using it to soothe her cuts and bruises. "I...I don't need to! The original ones will be back any minute with Princess Luna in tow!"

Another flurry of report cards, which both of them dodged with only a few grazes. Rainbow started grunting like a primitive animal, to Tadwell's pleasure, while Fluttershy tossed her another CD Bagel—she was starting to look roughed up.

"Why are you hitting me!?" she demanded of Tadwell while Rainbow munched on the item.

"Don't worry, it's all part of my calculations!" he assured, already aiming another volley of energy arrows in their direction.

They dodged, Rainbow and Fluttershy meeting together when the last chain went past them. "Okay, so playing dumb isn't working fast enough," Rainbow said. "Fluttershy...start playing smart."

"But...how?" Fluttershy said. "I mean, I might have assembled color-coded notes on the local ecology at home, but..."

"You did!?" Tadwell said. "That's so...amazing. I'd love to see those." He stared at her with a blush on his face, plainly impressed.

"...I don't know if I want to play smart anymore," Fluttershy said, shifting closer to Rainbow as they weaved between the papers of his attack.

"Fine," Rainbow said. "...he's running out of stamina. One last blow should go it." She turned and shouted, "Hey, Tadwell! What's the hundredth digit of pi?"

"It's...it's...it's, um..." Tadwell's mind raced...and while he was busy thinking, his tired legs wobbled and collapsed underneath him. Rainbow's soul slid back into her chest.

"Tadwell, are you okay...?" Fluttershy asked. He seemed to be breathing pretty heavily, and he was sweating profusely... "Rainbow, maybe we should have gone easier on him."

Tadwell suddenly jumped to his hooves. "Easier? Ha! Haha! Hahaha!" He laughed uncomfortably for a few more moments before adding, "The only one going 'easy' in this fight was me!"

"You look exhausted," Fluttershy pointed out.

"Exhausted of holding back my true power!" he boasted. Rainbow and Fluttershy exchanged a look, and Rainbow rolled her eyes.

"Ah, Fluttershy. It'd be too...simple to save you now," Tadwell said. "Rainbow! Just try to increase your strength. Maybe one day, you'll be a worthy rival." He took a deep breath and trotted away, acting as cool as a cucumber.

"...he hit me in the face with his report cards," Fluttershy uttered in quiet disbelief. Rainbow nodded and patted her on the shoulder, staring blankly into space for a second before continuing onward, in the direction Tadwell had gone rushing off in.

They emerged onto an open street, cars blocked off from them by traffic cones on both sides. They didn't travel very far before they heard a familiar voice.

“Fluttershy, honey, where are you?” Luna called, looking every which way as she trotted in their direction.

“Oh, no…!” Fluttershy quickly pulled out her disguise and tugged it onto her head, peering through a small gap at the top to see.

Luna stopped in front of the two of them, holding a grey pie with her magic. “Fluttershy, come home! We baked you a Moon Crunch Pie!”

"Oh, Rainbow, perfect timing," she said, suddenly noticing the two of them there. She slammed the pie into the ground, where it broke to pieces and exploded. She turned back around to look at Rainbow as though what happened was completely normal. "Have you seen—"

"Oh, my wonderful Princess Luuuuna!" Tadwell called from off in the distance.

"Oh my stars," Luna grumbled, placing a hoof against her temples. "Rainbow, get in the car!"

A limo reversed in front of them, and Luna dove in, pulling Rainbow along with her, who in turn pulled Fluttershy along with her. Just as the door closed behind them, Tadwell ran up, a pie on his back.

"Princess Luna, where are you!?" he said, looking around. "I baked you a Potion Pie, just like from Moon Quest!"

Luna was unfazed, and after a few moments, Tadwell sighed and rushed off again, still in search of her. "That was close," Luna said, wiping non-existent sweat off of her brow. Her eyes drifted over to Fluttershy.

"Rainbow. Who is your friend?" she asked. Fluttershy froze. "Our software doesn't recognize their biometrics."

Her eyes narrowed. "And yet." She shifted closer, and Fluttershy's heart began to thud. "Something about them seems..."

"...cool," Luna finally said. "Robotic, even."

Fluttershy stared forward for a few moments, then wobbled and slumped back in her seat, partially out of relief, but mostly out of disbelief. She couldn't believe she hadn't been figured out yet!

"It seems we must drive in order to find Fluttershy," Luna said. "Rainbow, take the wheel!" Rainbow was shoved into the driver's seat, while Luna took the passenger side, leaving Fluttershy with the back.

Luna slid a tape into the radio, while Rainbow took a few seconds to stare at the pedals before pressing the gas and cruising forward...right towards oncoming traffic. Of pink rubber cars. Walking on orange legs.

"Rainbow, don't hit the cars!" Luna warned. Rainbow flinched at her loud warning, drifting right into one of the closest cars. It squeaked and was sent flying away harmlessly. Luna just laughed. "Actually, go ahead and hit all of the cars."

"So much traffic, isn't it wonderful?" Luna commented, leaning back in her seat. "Lightners love traffic. They look it up all the time."

"Poor Fluttershy. She would just love hitting all of these cars."

Fluttershy gulped. "Um, actually, I...I mean, she, um, might not..."

"Wait! Stop everything!" Luna said. Fluttershy flinched, pressing back against her seat. "Rainbow, get the apple."

Fluttershy leaned over and saw that yes, there was a bright red apple sitting right in the road. Rainbow drove over to it with a neutral expression, and Luna scooped it up with her magic. "Mmm, cider."

"Rainbow, here comes a crossing," Luna said, while Rainbow munched on the apple. "Get ready to stop."

They approached, Rainbow carefully slowing down...and Fluttershy's eyes widened when she saw that the next road was packed to the brim with cars. "Oh my stars, it's a traffic jam!" Luna declared. "A cat must have wandered into the road or something."

"Rainbow, be a dear and go press the 'walk' button. It should be on the other side of the road."

Rainbow moved to get out, and Fluttershy unbuckled herself. "I'll go, too..."

"No," Luna said seriously. "You must stay."

Fluttershy froze, looking at her with worry. "At least until you hear all of our mixtape," Luna explained, turning up the radio's volume.

"A-Alright, then..." Fluttershy said. She looked towards Rainbow and whispered, "Hurry, please."

Rainbow nodded and stepped out of the car, already trotting into the alley. Fluttershy gulped and turned her attention to Luna, who was bobbing her head along to the music.

"So, have we told you about our final form yet?" she asked casually. Fluttershy shook her head. "Well, it's finally finished, and it's great. For one thing, we'll be invincible..."

After what felt like an eternity (what had taken Rainbow so long, anyway?), the cars in front of them all sprouted legs and strolled away. Luna, who had by now shifted to the driver's seat, pulled forward and came to a stop in front of Rainbow.

"Get in," she said. Rainbow climbed in and sat next to Fluttershy, who realized that she looked banged-up. Luna started driving across the bridge in front of them.

"What happened?" Fluttershy asked in a whisper.

"Something...weird," Rainbow whispered back. "I'd rather not talk about it."

"Rainbow, Rainbow's friend, we must find Fluttershy quickly," Luna said. She reached over and flicked a switch...and a spotlight with her cutie mark was projected onto the sky. "When she sees the Moon Signal, she'll come to us."

"...why do you...need to find Fluttershy so badly, anyway?" Fluttershy asked quietly.

"What do you mean? This city is dangerous," Luna answered. "Imagine poor Fluttershing clipping into a wall somewhere. Wasting away from cider deficiency."

"Y-You're actually worried about her?" Fluttershy said.

"We would be, if we weren't going to find her," Luna said.

Fluttershy was silent for a few moments. "...why her? Is it because...she's weak enough to make into your peon?"

Luna laughed. "It's the opposite, of course!" she declared. "It's because she's strong."

Fluttershy was stunned into silence once again. Luna suddenly stopped the car, screeching to a halt and pulling the two pegasi out with her.

"What's wrong now?" Rainbow asked. The car suddenly exploded behind them.

"Phew," Luna said. "We were worried because it hadn't exploded yet."

She turned and looked out over the city. "Looks like we must split up to search again."

"Rainbow, if you find Fluttershy," she said. "Tell her that our knowledge of her preferences is an absolute. And if she wants proof..."

She handed the mixtape over her Rainbow, then spread her wings and took off into the sky. "Fare thee well in your search!" And with that, she vanished into the distance.

Once she was definitely gone, Fluttershy took off her disguise, letting out a sigh of relief. "Somehow, it...feels like we're almost out of here," she said. "Let's go, Rainbow!"

Rainbow grinned and nodded, and they stepped off of the bridge and onto the sidewalk. "That was pretty close, wasn't it, Rainbow?" Fluttershy said. "This whole city, and...everything strange that happens here...it kind of makes my head spin."

Rainbow paused, and Fluttershy looked around. There was a small electric beam in front of them, a button behind it, and traffic cones to their side. "...looks like another puzzle. I can take the other side."

She approached the traffic cones, and with a small flap of her wings, hopped over to the other side, then walked forward and stepped on a button with 'Z' printed on it. A speaker announced the letter, and the electric field in front of Rainbow turned off.

Rainbow trotted forward, pressing down the blank button in front of her and turning off the beam in front of Fluttershy. Fluttershy walked forward onto the next button (an 'E'), and the two of them walked together, over buttons and through tunnels. It was so simple...and so Fluttershy began to speak her mind.

"...when I said this place makes my head spin," she started. "I didn't mean it in a bad way, you know? Sometimes things that are confusing or scary feel...good."

"Plus...Zephyr always insisted he was destined for a city like this," she said. "Big, and covered with shining lights. He always promised that he'd take me someday."

She took a deep, shaky breath, focusing her attention on Rainbow. Still there. Still here, even with the others…not. “…do you miss exploring, Rainbow?” she asked quietly. “Back when the four of us were foals?”

Rainbow’s expression may have been neutral, but her eyes shine with emotion. "Goodness, remember that time we all went to the forest behind the graveyard at night?" Fluttershy continued. "You were so brave, even back then. I was scared and crying, but Zephyr...even though he was scared, too, he put on a brave face. And he and Bramble both comforted me."

She sniffed. "I still remember him using his jacket to wipe my nose...how Bramble hummed a tune to try and help. Back then, we did scary things, but...I really do miss those days. They feel nostalgic now…"

“I guess it wasn't so bad being scared when…there was someone around to comfort me.”

She blinked and looked up. A dead end. They had already gotten through the puzzle. After taking a moment to wipe her eyes, she fluttered her wings and hovered back over the cones, sighing as she landed next to Rainbow. It didn't seem fair that Rainbow was the only one around to know how strange she could be.

Rainbow laid her wing on her back for a moment in a comforting gesture before moving forward. Fluttershy followed behind, not even realizing the words she had typed by solving the puzzle…

Zephyr Breeze.

The next area looked like an abandoned fairground…just like the one they had seen earlier. Food carts were knocked over and emptied of their contents, and most of the game booths seemed damaged, aside from a few spared ones.

“…Luna's coming,” Rainbow said, ear perked up. It was true, Fluttershy could hear her heavy metal hoofsteps.

With a squeak, she quickly placed her disguise on her head, diving into one of the booths and hiding behind the pyramid of bottles. She heard Luna enter the scene. “Hey…hey, Rainbow. Rainbow,” she said. “Watch this.”

Fluttershy felt and heard something crash into the bottles in front of her with a loud explosion. She yelped and dropped to the ground and they all rained around her. “Hey, what’d I win?” Luna asked right in front of her.

“Oh, um…here!” Fluttershy said, grabbing the first thing she could feel under the booth and thrusting it up at the alicorn.

“Cool,” she said, taking it out of her hooves and walking away. “Wait.” She paused, and Fluttershy's blood went cold, fearing she had been found out.

“I don't actually want this,” Luna said. “You take it, Rainbow.” She then walked off, and Fluttershy breathed a small sigh of relief, slowly standing up. The prize—a present box of some kind—was perched on Rainbow’s head.

As soon as Luna was gone, two more people entered the area, laughing. “Discord, I can't believe you did that!” a familiar yet unfamiliar voice said.

“What?” Discord laughed, tearing off a bite of cotton candy. “They were being jerks. A bit of soda was the least I could use to teach them a lesson.”

The deer they were with (what had Rainbow said their name was, again?) smiled, then seemed to finally notice Rainbow. “Oh, Rainbow!” he said. “We haven't seen Luna or Tadwell for a while.”

“You've got to be kidding!” Rainbow complained. “Both of them kept messing with us!”

“Us?” Discord said, furrowing his brow. “…wait. Is that a present for someone?”

“…you know what? Sure!” Rainbow said. “It's for…” She paused for a moment, as though considering her options…then walked over and placed it on the stall in front of Fluttershy.

Fluttershy's heart felt warm and light. Rainbow hadn't given her a gift like this since they were fillies. Those days were nice. If Rainbow wasn't giving her bugs, it was nice sweaters, or…knit hats, or…

“Hey...wait a minute!" she said. "You're just regifting this! Like how you gave the beanies and sweaters Ms. Birch knit for you to me!"

She threw the gift box up into the air...and with it, threw off her disguise. “…um. Whoops.”

“Fluttershy!?” Discord said in disbelief. Fluttershy nodded and sheepishly stepped out of the booth, while the rest of the small group gathered around her.

“…the heck were you doing in there?” Discord asked. “That's cheating.”

“I…um.” She couldn’t hear her eyes off of them, much less try to untie her tongue!

“…hm. Glad you're okay, though,” they said. “Since Princess Moonbutt took you, I was kinda worried.”

Fluttershy's eyes widened in surprise, her heart thumping loudly. “…wait,” Discord said. “Aren't you on their side!?” He pointed accusingly at her, baring his fangs.

“H-Huh…?” she said, shocked by the sudden change in mood. “Wait, wait, I-I can…I can explain…” Still, her tongue was so tied that she looked to Rainbow for help.

“Discord, cool it,” Rainbow said. “We have a truce.”

“T-That's right!” Fluttershy said. “Rainbow said…she said I could join your team!”

Discord blinked, seeming to relax. “Well…fine, if Rainbow said so,” they said. They turned away and shrugged casually, like there hadn't just been an intense scene a moment ago. "Didn't feel like taking you down, anyway."

Fluttershy just smiled, her wings quivering at her sides as her heart raced. Whew, that was...a rush. Was the air getting hotter, or was it just her?

“What are you waiting for?” Discord said. “Let's get in line, already.” They stood behind Rainbow, with the stranger in the back. Fluttershy shuffled to the very back, gulping and glancing up at Discord. If they were on the same team…there wasn't any harm in taking the chance to become closer, right?

"Rainbow also said...I should be behind Discord," she managed to blurt out.

Discord blinked, then shrugged. "If Rainbow thinks it's a good idea, I guess," they said.

The deer who looked so similar to Bramble (Barb Elm, wasn't it?) stepped aside, and Fluttershy quickly stepped forward, getting as close as she dared to Discord. Rainbow looked back at them, giving Fluttershy an encouraging grin.

"We're all ready?" she asked. "Then let's get going!" She started trotting forward, Discord keeping pace behind her, and Fluttershy stumbling right along behind.

Her face felt so hot. Surely it was pink, or even fully red! At least Discord couldn't see her. But she had no idea where to focus her eyes. She glanced up at their back and neck as much as she dared, though her eyes always quickly darted away as though she might get caught doing something wrong. But they always drifted back to Discord, too enticed to be able to fully stay away...

She only snapped out of her embarrassed stupor when Rainbow stopped to stare at a large disc with three big teacups. “Ooh, another teacup ride!” Barb Elm said. “Oh…but there's only three cups…”

“Maybe…two of us could share one…?” Fluttershy said, her voice so quiet it could hardly even be called a whisper.

“Dang, guess we've gotta take the stairs,” Discord said with a sigh, scratching the back of their neck. Fluttershy felt disappointed, but she didn't dare voice her suggestion aloud! And so she joined the group as they climbed up the nearby flight of stairs, occasionally flapping her wings and hovering so as to not fall too far behind them.

At the top was a winding pathway of tall platforms, electrical forcefields blocking their path forward. Rainbow grumbled and took a side path, and they soon came across a dead end with a large button.

"Wait, I know how this puzzle works!" Fluttershy said brightly. "To turn off those forcefields..." She stepped forward and stood on the button. With a click, several fields were deactivated. "You just have to stay standing on this switch!"

"Huh," Discord said. After a pause, they grinned and turned around. "Well, see you later!"

Oh dear, she thought with a gulp as the group walked away, Rainbow giving Discord a rough nudge in the ribs. They'd be back, right? Right, of course they would. So she stood completely still, watching the fireworks go off in the distance. They...looked like Rainbow, Discord, and Barb Elm's faces, strangely enough.

A minute or so later, she heard another click off in the distance, and saw the main forcefield that had been blocking their path turn off. Her friends came back to her, and she stepped off her button once she knew they were out of forcefield range (it stayed off, anyway), and trotted over to them.

"Miss us?" Discord asked with a grin as she took her place behind them. She giggled and shrugged, and they all headed into the next area.

She swallowed and tried not to look at the ground far below as they hurried across a thin platform. Instead, she turned her attention to the sky, where the fireworks of her friends shifted into fireworks that burst into large embers of every color of the rainbow. It...it was...amazing.

Even as Rainbow galloped ahead, Fluttershy stayed in place for a moment to watch the fireworks. She had never been this close, so close that she could feel the embers flying right past her. Still, she stayed rooted to the spot, eyes transfixed on the sky...

...at least until she realized how time had quickly flown by, and that the others were already at the other end of the platform. Discord had paused and was looking around. "...where's Fluttershy?"

"S-Sorry!" she said, trotting to catch up. "I've just never seen fireworks up close before..."

"What, those bullets?" Discord said. "You scared?"

"Um...I suppose so," she said. Was that why her breath was taken away, why she couldn't stop watching?

"Well, just stick close and follow Rainbow's dodging," they said, gesturing towards the blue pegasus. "Even if you get hit, it'll just be a little sting. Probably."

She suddenly noticed a part of their coat that stood out, and realized there was a small burn on their wrist. "Oh...you're hurt!" she said.

Discord glanced down at their wrist. "Tsk. Guess one of them grazed me. Barely even a little sting."

"Hold on, I have..." She started to dig through her supplies. Everything looked a little different than it should have, but hopefully... "Ah!" She pulled out a Band-aid that was yellow with a butterfly pattern.

They stared at her with a furrowed brow, tilting their head. "I know it's not much," she said, offering it to them. "But it'll at least keep it from being infected."

"...not sure that's a thing we need to worry about here, but sure, go for it." They bent down and held their arm out to her.

She smiled, carefully peeling the Band-aid away from the paper it was in and sticking it over their wound. They tilted their wrist, inspecting it for a few moments. "...thanks," they said.

She beamed up at them, and a light blush covered their face. They coughed and quickly stood up. "Well, Rainbow? Don't we have an evil tyrant to defeat? Don't laugh at me let's just keep going!"

Rainbow still chuckled a bit, even as Discord pushed her onwards. Fluttershy smiled and followed behind. Who knew that Discord could get flustered like that?

A bucket sat in their path, which Rainbow picked up and put on her back. Above them, a mouse hovered with a balloon, and a large button sat in front of them. When Rainbow stepped on it, lightning arced between two rods, breaking the balloon and making the mouse fall into her bucket.

"Ugh, great. Another puzzle," Discord said, rolling their eyes as Rainbow dropped the mouse off in a mouse hole. The counter above dropped from one to zero, and a bridge formed in front of them.

"What's wrong with puzzles?" Fluttershy asked, tilting her head.

"Nothing, other than that they're boring, pointless, and only succeed in slowing us down," they answered. "I mean, it might be cool if there were like...I dunno. Spikes. Fire. Lightning that might actually pose a danger to us."

"But then we could get hurt," she pointed out.

"Yes, but at least we wouldn't be just watching back and forth like it's some sort of chore." They gestured to Rainbow, who was working her way back and forth, releasing mice, breaking balloons, and unloading the bucket.

She hummed in thought, mulling over his words as they approached the next hole...which had a sign reading 'twenty' above it. Rainbow groaned, sitting back on her haunches.

"Twenty!?" Discord roared. "Are you kidding me? That'll take forever!" Rainbow and Barb Elm both seemed as frustrated.

"Maybe...it doesn't have to," Fluttershy mused. Discord's ears perked up, and they turned their attention to her. "I...might have an idea that can speed things up."

She flew back to the last mouse dispenser. The others waited near the button on the other side. "If I release the mice," she said. "Then Discord can press the button to break the balloons, and Rainbow can catch them!"

"Yeah…yeah, that could work!" Rainbow said, trotting into the area between the button and mousehole. "Ready!"

"Ready!" Discord called, sending a lazy salute in her direction.

Fluttershy nodded and pressed the button to release the first mouse, which was pulled up into the air by their balloon. She glanced over just in time to see Discord eagerly jump onto the button and Rainbow catch the falling mouse, and pressed the button to release the next mouse.

They fell into a rhythm, and in no time at all, Rainbow's bucket was filled to the brim with computer mice, which she promptly poured into the mousehole to activate the bridge in front of them.

"That wasn't too bad, was it?" Fluttershy said. Rainbow and Discord nodded.

"Guess puzzles aren't too bad if you do 'em like that," Discord said. They smiled at Fluttershy—and not in an intimidating way, but a friendly one.

"You're one smart cookie," they said. "...maybe you can do my homework." They cackled at their own joke.

"...could I?" Fluttershy said under her breath. She could just picture having Discord over at her place, sitting close together as she explained concepts to them, maybe even staying over for the night and watching a movie together...

For a moment she got so lost in the daydream that it took her by surprise when Rainbow started moving forward, and she hurried to keep up with the rest of the group. Rainbow popped the bucket into a larger hole, and a set of stairs popped up in front of them.

At the top, a red carpet was sprawled in front of them, leading to a mansion off in the distance with images of moons plastered all over it. Luna was written on the neon blue sign above it, and behind it...something was pouring up into the sky, like a pillar of dark smoke.

"Look! We're finally close to the Dark Fountain!" Barb Elm declared. "That must be Luna's mansion!"

"Wait...what!?" Fluttershy said, wings flaring out in shock. "Why did we come here!?" And why hadn't she asked where they were going!? The other three were looking at her with concern.

A loud clang came from the other side of the carpet. Luna had landed there, and her eyes were already locked on Fluttershy. "Rainbow, you brought Fluttershy right to us!" she said. "We knew our truce was the best."

"But unfortunately, that means trucies are over," she continued. "Fluttershy, come over here."

Fluttershy shivered, almost taking a step back. "But...I..."

“Fluttershy…do we detect hesitation?” Luna said. Fluttershy gulped, staying rooted to the spot. Luna sighed, closing her eyes.

"Let us put it another way," she said. "Come over here or else a certain irritating, nerdy pony is going to take a float down the acid river."

"T-Tadwell?" Fluttershy said, face growing pale. She lowered her head...and slowly started to walk towards Luna. "Sorry, everyone...but I...I can't let him get hurt."

She stopped just in front of Luna and turned to look back at her traveling group, a small smile on her face. "I...I would have loved to keep adventuring with you all..."

Rainbow frowned slightly. And Discord...they frowned even more, lower lip jutting out. Even their gaze lowered, and she wanted to believe it was because they didn't want to watch her leave...

Suddenly, Tadwell ran from the direction they had just come from, galloping past the party and coming to a stop on the red carpet, panting heavily. "F-Fluttershy, Princess Luna!" he gasped, wiping sweat off of his brow. "I've been...searching for you...everywhere..."

Fluttershy froze, staring at Tadwell for a moment before turning and looking at Luna. The robotic alicorn had lied...she hadn't captured Tadwell! Maybe she had a chance to make a break for it...

“Alright, Plan B,” Luna said. Before Fluttershy could run, a capture cage hovered over to her, and she was whisked away, despite Tadwell, Rainbow, and Discord's loud protests.

She scowled and bit her lip, muffling a small scream of frustration as she was once again carried away against her will.

Fluttershy was placed in her room, which a recorded message from Luna told her was personalized based on her interests. And it was…nice. The walls were painted a soothing green, decorated with paintings of cherry blossom trees whose petals were drifting in the wind. There were meteorological reports plastered on the wall, detailing when winds and breezes would be coming through, and there was a shelf full of books filled with strange and confusing medical jargon.

In the corner was a wooden statue of Discord, their jacket open and an ax held over their shoulder. She did spend a few minutes admiring the…craftsmanship before she went and sat on her bed, staring out the window. A dazzling full moon shone outside. She couldn't remember seeing one brighter and more beautiful in…goodness, years.

Suddenly, two wired nirik dropped from the ceiling on either side of her bed. “W-Wait, wait!” she exclaimed, pressing closer to the window as they bobbed towards her. “You can't capture someone who's already been captured!”

But they didn't seem to hear her, bobbing closer…but suddenly, two arrows of purple, crackling energy shot forward, slamming into and cutting through their wires. The freed kirin fell to the floor, already asleep.

Fluttershy turned to the source of the attack. Discord stood there, flaming ax in their hand, in a position that suggested they had just swung it. “It's…it's you!” she uttered in amazement.

They grinned and dropped their ax, which disappeared in a flash of multicolored flames before it hit the ground. “Yep, it's me,” they said, grinning and dusting off their hands as they approached her. The moonlight gleamed off of their snaggletooth, and she hoped they hadn't looked too closely at the statue.

“Thank you for saving me,” she said.

“Eh, don't worry about it,” Discord said, sticking their hands in their pockets and shrugging. They glanced out the window she was sitting in front of. "Huh. Cool moon.”

"I know, right?" she said, smiling at them. "You don't really see a moon that bright and clear back home...except maybe if you go a few miles out of town."

Her ears slowly drooped, and she sighed, glancing out the window. Even this high up, she couldn't see a single landmark that she recognized. She noticed Discord's faint reflection tilting their head. “…where are we, anyway?” she asked aloud. “How did we get here?”

“Uh…you're dreaming!” Discord exclaimed. “That's right, this is allll a dream!”

“Oh…” she said. “That makes sense. I mean, if you're here, then it must be a dream." Discord tilted their head in confusion. “And…the real Discord probably wouldn't save me.” She hung her head. “They…probably don't think much of me at all…”

“…hey,” Discord said, making her look up. “Did you ever wonder why I…I mean, Discord…never picked on you?”

She sighed. “All the time…”

“Well,” they said. “On their first day of school, they felt so…out of place. They weren't like anyone else, and they didn't even have their own school supplies to bring.

“But you gave them a pencil, when they were feeling lost and alone. Some…silly one with flower-shaped cookies on it. And even if it didn't actually taste like cookies…”

“Wait…you ate the pencil?” she said with a laugh. She didn't know why she expected anything else, but it was still kind of funny.

“Hey, I'm confessing a big childhood memory! Anyway...uh," they said, rubbing the back of their neck. "Maybe they remembered how you were nice when you didn't have to be, and how sweet your smile was, and decided to...you know. Spare you from their chaos and wrath and all."

“Oh…” she said. A part of her really, really wanted to believe that was true. That she really meant something to Discord, even if it was just a small act of kindness. And a part of her was really beginning to. “Well…thank you for explaining it to me, Dream-Discord.”

She sighed and hopped off of her bed. “Well, I guess I'd better wake up to help Tadwell with our project,” she said. She fluttered over to Discord. “Discord, could you please use your ax to wake me up?”

“Um, uh…” they stuttered, eyes glazing over for a moment. “You aren't…worried that it'll…hurt?”

“It's a dream, isn't it?” she said, tilting her head. “The shock will be enough to wake me.”

“Right, right…totally a dream. Completely,” Discord muttered. “But…I mean. Tadwell can totally handle himself, right? Why not take the time to enjoy a dream like this?”

Fluttershy mulled it over. She couldn't remember the last time she had had a dream this incredible. When she woke up, who knew if she would ever have one like it again? And Tadwell was great at doing research, and could probably make progress on their project by himself…

"Well...I guess Tadwell can wait a little longer," she decided.

"Alright then!" Discord said, rubbing their hands together and heading towards the other side of the room. "Let's get out of here. All we gotta do is head over on this..."

They paused, staring at what was in front of them. A gigantic Ferris wheel waited, the door of one of the heart-shaped cars opened for the two of them. "Cheesy. Heart. Covered. Ferris wheel."

Fluttershy couldn't help it. She smiled widely, a light blush on her face. This dream...was amazing.

"...What's the dang holdup!? Let's get on already!" Discord snapped once they had broken out of their stunned stupor.

"S-Sorry!" she said, getting into the car with them. Once they closed the door, the Ferris wheel began to turn and move, taking them away from her room.

They both sat in awkward silence for a while. Fluttershy alternated between looking out the window and at Discord, while Discord shifted awkwardly. "So...Ferris wheels, am I right?" they said with a forced laugh. "Makes you wonder what car they were made for."

Fluttershy forced a small laugh. This ride...it felt different than the ones she had been on with Rainbow. Not just because Discord was with her, but because this one was so much bigger than any she had been on before.

"...the hay's wrong, you scared of heights?" Discord asked.

"No!" she lied. "No, I...I love heights!"

They frowned, narrowing their eyes at her. "...you're shaking."

She gulped and realized it was true—even her wings were trembling. "Well, um, maybe I am a little scared," she admitted. "But, if...if you don't do things that are different, then...things get boring, right?"

They tilted her head. "I mean...my brother and I used to go on adventures together, with Rainbow and her brother," she elaborated. "It was scary, but still fun. So...even if I'm scared of things like heights, just giving up...means I could miss out on something good."

She glanced up at Discord, then quickly looked away and down at her hooves. "Now it's mostly just...people who scare me the most."

Discord mulled over what she said for a moment...then chuckled wryly. "When you say 'people', you can just say it's me."

"Well, no!" she said. "I mean, you...that's true, but that's what's nice about you."

"Nice!?" they barked. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're the...good kind of scary," she said. "You're not afraid to break the rules. ...I wish that I was brave enough to do crazy stuff like you."

Discord seemed stunned, a light blush on their face. "So, if you could do something crazy right now...what would you do?"

Kiss you was her first thought, but there was no way she could say that out loud, even if this version of Discord was just a dream! "Well..." she thought about it for a moment, looking out at the horizon. "I'd fly out of the window!"

Discord's eyes widened. "It's a dream, right?" she said. "I might not be the strongest flier when I'm awake, but here, I could be. I'd catch the breeze and fly off into the distance, watching the lights under me fade as I reached some faraway jungle..."

"...that's kind of beautiful," they said. "...you're not actually going to fly out of the window, are you?"

"No promises!" she said with a laugh. She wouldn't really, but...it was kind of nice to see them concerned for her. "So, what are you thinking of, looking out there?" She gestured towards the gleaming city lights, far below.

"Hmm," Discord said, slicking back their pure black mane. "Seeing everything small like this, I just think..."

They grinned, showing off their fangs. "If I was Discordzilla or something, I could wreck this whole city!"

Fluttershy laughed. That was so them. "Discord!"

"Heh, what?" they said, still grinning.

Still giggling, she asked, "Is being Discordzilla something you think about a lot?"

"Uhh...no I made it up just now," they said quickly.

Beside them, the tip of their tail curled into a corkscrew shape, their tail feathers bunching in on themselves. Fluttershy tilted her head, intrigued by the sudden reaction. "...does your tail always do that when you lie?"

"Hey!" they said, quickly grabbing their tail and shifting it behind them. "My tail doesn't emote like that! It's just part of your dream, okay!?"

She giggled, then smiled up at them. "Well...it wouldn't be so bad if it did," she said. "I think that would make it a very nice tail. W-Which I already think it is, but, you know..."

Discord glanced between her and their tail...before finally huffing and letting go of it, crossing their arms with their lips pursed. Fluttershy could just barely make out a dark grey blush on their cheeks. "Whatever," they grumbled.

Their tail thumped up and down on the seat as it started to wag. Fluttershy smiled, and had to press her hooves to her mouth before she started gushing about how cute that was.

She spent a few more moments looking out the window at the shining city lights before finally swallowing her nerves and scooting the last few inches over to Discord. She slowly leaned against their side, barely putting her weight against them in case they pushed her away.

Their tail slowly wrapped around her. "You stopped shivering," they commented quietly.

"...guess I finally got comfortable," she said. It was true. Because she was right next to Discord, glancing out the window and seeing how high they were didn't frighten her as much.

"...me too," they said quietly, placing a hand on top of her head. She smiled and dared to lean a little more of her weight against them, staring out at the strange and beautiful city below.

Not long after, the Ferris wheel rolled to a stop. "I guess that's it," Discord said, starting to stand up. Fluttershy frowned, a little disappointed, but quickly followed them out of the car.

They were standing on a tall platform of grey metal, and a little glancing around told her that they had moved to a different part of the mansion. "Well, that wasn't too bad," Discord said, stretching.

"Y-Yeah," she said, watching the way their muscles moved before glancing away with a blush. If only the ride had lasted a little bit longer...she sighed. Discord's ear twitched, causing the piercings there to jangle, and they turned back to look at her.

"I just wish that I could have a dream like this every day," she explained, feeling her blush grow a little bit hotter.

They stared at her quietly for a few moments, then turned out to stare at the city and said, "Maybe...maybe it doesn't have to be a dream. Y'know?"

Fluttershy tilted her head. "Discord...?"

She noticed a bit of sweat form on their brow. "Maybe someday...we could..."

Before they could finish their thought, Tadwell strolled in from the other side of the platform, loudly humming a cheesy tune with a rose in his mouth. He stopped in between the two of them, and Discord frowned, looking slightly miffed.

“Oh, the good part of the dream's over,” Fluttershy mumbled under her breath, shoulders sagging in disappointment.

"Worry not, Fluttershy!" Tadwell assured, apparently not having heard her comment. He tossed the rose at Discord, who grunted and batted it away. "I'm a fool now!"

"Um..." Fluttershy said, looking to Discord for an explanation. It seemed like she might have missed a few things.

Discord sighed, rolling their eyes. "Not denying he's an idiot, but what he means is that he's good now," they explained. "He's going to help sneak you to safety."

"Then...what about you?" Fluttershy said.

"Me?" they said, grinning and showing off their pearly white fangs. "I'm off to go stop an evil force. Be a hero and all that jazz."

They turned, their wings flaring out. "See ya punks later. Stay safe." With a lazy salute, they hopped off of the platform and fell through the air without a care in the world.

Fluttershy gasped and peered over the edge, but they slowed their descent with their wings long before they hit the platform below. She let out a small sigh of relief.

“They really are amazing, aren't they?” she said.

“Indeed,” Tadwell said. “Fluttershy, before I take you to safety…there is something I must confess.”

Oh, no. “…yes?”

Tadwell scuffed a hoof against the ground. “I've truly enjoyed our friendship. The long study sessions, the perfect projects finished…I dare say my heart beats for you.”

He turned. “Unfortunately, I…can no longer pretend you're the only mare for my heart. I'm dearly sorry if this crushes you.”

She blinked. “I'll…survive,” she said. She was fine with him getting over his crush, anyway. But something bothered her at the back of her mind, worrying her. “…who do you like now…?”

“Discord.”

“What!?” Fluttershy grabbed onto the collar of his cloak and began shaking him. "I saw them first!" she exclaimed. "What do you mean, you might have a crush on them!? Were you just trying to flirt with them when you came in!?"

Tadwell just groaned, headband sliding up and down on his forehead as his eyes started to roll. After a moment or so, Fluttershy realized what she was doing, and released him. "Um, uh...sorry."

"Per...perfectly fine, fair...Fluttershy," he stuttered, wobbling on his hooves as he tried to regain his bearings. She bit her lip, feeling a bit guilty. Jealousy was no excuse to start treating him that way.

“Sorry. Now, you were saying something about a…safe…” Something blue and thin appeared in her field of vision behind Tadwell. Her heart dropped into her stomach. "L-Look out!" she said, rushing forward to push him out of the way of Luna's wire.

But another wire she hadn't seen wrapped around her middle and pulled her away. "Wait, no—!" The wire she had seen latched onto Tadwell's face, and she watched in horror as his body went limp and he was lifted off of the ground.

Before she could do anything to try and help him, she felt the wire around her waist latch onto her face...and everything went black.

Fluttershy slowly came to, her vision still blurry and hearing muffled. She could tell the wire was gone, at least, but…something was wrapped around her forehooves, which were above her head. A weak glance up, and she saw white silk ropes wrapped around them, holding her aloft and on the palm of a gigantic metal hoof.

“This power…this Determination,” she heard Luna say not far away. Her eyes flicked over, and she saw the alicorn standing on a metal platform, staring out at the city at nothing, as far as she could tell. “Is this not something that all Lightners possess?

“If one was simply…determined enough. Could not anyone create a Dark Fountain? So then...if the Knight has taken their leave…we shall simply make a new one."

Luna simulated taking a breath…then turned to Fluttershy with a smile. “Fluttershy, darling,” she said. “How do you find the giant hoof?”

Fluttershy scowled and looked away, refusing to answer. “Great, and how do you feel about world domination?” Luna pressed. Fluttershy still kept quiet.

Luna walked a little closer…only to be slammed in the back with a burst of energy, which knocked her off the platform. “Thou shall pay for disrespecting thy princess!” she shouted as she fell.

Fluttershy's head snapped up. Of course, Discord was there with their ax in their hand, already rushing towards her with Rainbow and Barb Elm not too far behind. “You came for me,” she gasped. With one slash of their ax, the ropes holding her up were cut, and Discord dropped the ax to catch her in their arms.

“Of course I did,” they said. “You're not hurt, are you?” She shook her head, and they sighed in relief.

"Somehow, I knew you'd be here to help," she said breathlessly.

"You...you did?" they said.

She blushed brightly as she was set on the ground, looking away. "Um, I mean...I...well..." Realization hit her. The giant metal hoof meant...

"Wait! You all need to get out of here! Hurry!" she cried.

Discord and Rainbow tilted their heads in confusion. But before she could explain, Luna's laughter echoed—much louder than it usually was. Fluttershy shook as giant hoofsteps thudded on the ground.

Suddenly, a gigantic robot head rose up beside them. It belonged to a giant mecha that looked nearly identical to Luna...except that it was painted a deep black, and had sharp white fangs in its mouth. They could see through the transparent blue eyes, where Luna sat and piloted the machine.

She laughed again, the sound echoing through the mansion. "L-Luna!?" Barb Elm exclaimed.

"Seems that you failed to notice the freaking huge robot in the middle of our mansion," Luna said, raising an eyebrow. The giant robot's eyebrow also rose.

"T-This isn't good..." Fluttershy said, trembling. "She's invincible like this!"

"What?" Discord said, glancing at her.

"She was bragging all about her final form to me earlier!"

Discord froze, staring between her and the giant robot in disbelief...then began to chuckle. “So you grew a couple of inches!” They shouted. “You think that's going to help!?”

"Yes," Luna said. She swept a wing over the platform, knocking all four of them off of their feet. "Can we take over the world now, or...?"

"D-Discord..." Fluttershy said. "W-We can't win..."

"Don't you dare quit on me!" Discord snapped. Her head shot up, and she stared at them in amazement. "Like we're going to just give up now!" They managed to stumble to their feet, summoning their ax and pointing it right at Luna.

"Discord..."

"So what if you've got another form!?" they continued. "We've got one, too!"

"You do?" Fluttershy said, looking towards them hopefully.

Discord puffed out their chest and grabbed Rainbow's forelegs, hoisting her into the air. "My strength!"

Barb Elm grabbed onto Rainbow's back hooves, planting his own back hooves against the ground and lifting his chin. "My strategies!"

"And my speed!" Rainbow finished, punching at the air, pulling Discord's arms along with her movements.

They turned to face the giant robot. “See!? We…uh…” Discord swallowed, glancing up and down. Even assembled together, they were still smaller than even its horn.

"Oh no. You appear to be equal to us in every way," Luna said dryly. "We suppose this means we won't have to hold back."

Magic hummed around the giant robot's horn, then shot forward in a beam, completely destroying the platform under the three heroes' hooves in a massive explosion.

"Rainbow, Discord!" Fluttershy shouted as the platform crumbled and the three began to fall. Her wings flared out, and she was prepared to dive after them, but magic gripped the platform pieces and pulled them back into place, stopping her.

"Not so fast," Luna said. “We wouldn't want you getting hurt, Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy's wings shivered with rage. “I…I have to help them…!”

“Oh, please, they're fine. Look, Rainbow and Discord are flying, and they already caught the third one...wait. Is that…?”

Curious, Fluttershy peered over the edge. Her friends had been caught by a chain of flying coasters, and in the lead was…Tadwell!? And behind them, filling the coasters, there were the many strange and unusual citizens of this world, including the three young robot ponies and all the beings she had fought with Rainbow.

She galloped along to keep up with the chain as it flew onward, watching in amazement as the citizens broke down into data and began to swirl around Tadwell's gold statue, which the three heroes were perched on top of.

To her amazement, the gold statue was transformed into a large quadruped mecha, with a strange cannon as its head, the trio of heroes inside.

The mecha landed on Main Street and immediately got into a fighting stance, challenging Princess Luna. “Now, this is unexpected,” Luna said. “Finally…a worthy opponent…”

Fluttershy unfurled her wings and darted towards the mecha…but was almost immediately stopped by Luna's magical grip. “Let me go!” she demanded, trying to fly and thrash forward as she was placed on the platform.

“Absolutely not,” Luna said. “You'd be crushed in a giant robot fight.” Fluttershy legs trembled in fright, but she still glared defiantly at her, wings twitching as she prepared to take off again.

“And, if you get hurt,” Luna added. “We shall inflict equal injuries on Rainbow and Discord.”

The threat made Fluttershy freeze. She didn't want her actions to hurt her friends…and while she was frozen, she also had second thoughts about joining the fight in the first place. What could she do against a giant invincible robot?

Seeing that she wasn't moving off of the platform, Luna flew off, landing with a thud in front of her friends' robot. It was still smaller than her robot, but…it rose onto its hind legs and delivered a series of punches, sending Luna reeling back. They could clearly still put up a fight.

She bit her lip as she watched the robots duke it out in the city. She could only hope and pray that her friends would win.

It had been going so well. Her friends' robot was nimble and delivered blow after blow to Luna's, dodging most of her attacks. Luna's robot was starting to look rather worse for wear.

But then, Luna rose into the sky. She clamped her wings to her sides and fell towards the smaller robot horn-first, horn glowing and crackling with so much magic that it was blinding.

She slammed right into the smaller robot, and there was a great explosion of white magic. The only thing Fluttershy could see was the robot breaking into pieces. She gasped in horror, covering her mouth.

The blinding light slowly faded. Pieces of the robot were littered over the street, some transforming back into the world's strange citizens. But Fluttershy couldn't see her friends…and surprisingly, Luna's robot was also missing.

“Flutter…shy…” crackled a voice from below. Luna's robot lifted her head above the platform, sparking. Its horn was crooked, and half of an ear was missing. “Honey…darling…”

The magic around her horn flickered and buzzed, and Rainbow, Discord, and Barb Elm were lifted above the platform, all thrashing and struggling against the magic aura. "Take...the pin we gave you," Luna said, her voice crackling. "And...strike the earth...creating our new...Supreme Dark Empire."

"I...I..." Fluttershy stammered, legs trembling.

"What's...wrong, Fluttershy?" Luna said. "We know it would make you...happy."

"Or with the last 1% of our battery," she said. "Should we crush Discord into eight bits?" The magical aura around the trio of heroes tightened, and all three of them grimaced in pain.

"Leave..." Fluttershy said, taking a deep breath and gathering her nerve. Her head snapped up, and she pointed at Luna. "Leave Discord and Rainbow alone!"

Luna's eyes widened, and Fluttershy continued. "You think listening to you will make me happy? No!" she declared. "I'll never be happy! Not if I'm just a puppet to be controlled by you!"

Her face scrunched up, and it wasn't completely in anger. "Why...why can't you understand that...?"

Luna was silent for almost a full minute. "Fluttershy..." she said slowly. "Perhaps our calculations were...incorrect."

The giant robot slowly lifted its head with a creak, grinning at her. Fluttershy stared at her silently. "Fluttershy...disregard...me," she continued. "With your own power...choose the world that makes you happy."

The robot suddenly slumped down, its head falling and eye screens filling with static. "Luna...?" Fluttershy said. The static cleared, and the screen was completely dark—so dark she couldn't see Luna inside. "Luna! Luna, are...are you alright?"

The magic holding the trio of heroes disappeared with a flicker, and they dropped nimbly onto the platform. "Seems she ran out of battery power," Barb Elm said, smiling softly. "Guess we can seal the Fountain now, right everybody?"

All of them were silent. "...everybody?" Barb Elm said, a nervous grin on his face.

Fluttershy hung her head. "Luna...said to choose the world that makes me happy," she said slowly. "I...don't want to live in a world ruled by her. But...if that wasn't the case...would this world really be so bad?"

"Huh?" Barb Elm said, eyes wide.

"Discord...don't you think so, too?" Fluttershy asked, glancing over at them.

Discord frowned in thought, stroking their beard. "Well...now you mention it...Rainbow, isn't this world just...better?" they said. "We've made...a lot of friends here."

"I've...never had an adventure like this before," Fluttershy added.

"With axes...and battles...and magic!" Discord said.

"Where everything can be healed with a spell," Fluttershy said, looking away and smiling sadly.

Discord grinned, showing off their wide array of sharp fangs. "And no matter what happens, no one tells us what to do!"

Fluttershy smiled. "Yeah! So...even though things were really scary just now..."

Tadwell slowly wandered in, looking a little worse for wear. “So…is there any reason not to?”

“Not that I can think of,” Fluttershy said, smiling.

“Nope!” Discord said. “It sounds crazy, but…heck, let's do it!”

“Then, Fluttershy, Discord…I'll do this for you!” Tadwell said, raising his hoof into the air and summoning his halberd.

"Summoning my will into this weapon!" he shouted, holding it high in the air, energy starting to swirl around it. "I will strike the earth with determination to form a new Fountain! A new future! One of light...born from darkness!" He reared back the halberd, ready to swing and strike the ground—

"Stop!" Barb Elm cried, rushing in front of him. Tadwell was so shocked that he let go of the halberd, which disappeared.

Everyone froze, staring at Barb Elm. "What...what are you all doing?" he said.

Tadwell coughed. "Well, I—"

"No!" Barb Elm said. "Just...stop. Don't you know what opening too many Fountains will lead to?"

Fluttershy blinked and exchanged confused glances with the other three. Barb Elm sighed, lowering his head until his eyes were cast in shadow. "You'll bring the Roaring." And with a shaking breath, he began to explain.

"When the light is subsumed by shadow. When the Fountains fill the sky. All will fall into chaos.

"The titans will take form from the Fountains, and envelope the land in devastation.

"The surviving Darkners, crushed by the darkness, will slowly, one by one, turn into statues...leaving the Lightners to fend for themselves. Lost eternally in an endless night...

"Is that your idea of paradise?"

Fluttershy could only stare at Barb Elm with quiet horror. Discord, Tadwell, and even Luna looked completely shocked, their jaws dropped. Rainbow...she must have been upset, as well. Her face was cast in shadow, just like Barb Elm's.

"...we did not know that!" Luna said in amazement.

Barb Elm blinked, lifting his head. "You...didn't!?" he exclaimed. "But your plan..."

Luna laughed. "Just because we are a computer doesn't mean we know everything. We only ran calculations based on the Knight's actions. Why the hay would we want to destroy the world?"

"W-Well...that's a relief!" Fluttershy said, already feeling less tense.

"Uhh...ummm," Tadwell said, sheepishly wiping sweat off of his brow. "I'm sorry. I...after everything, I just caused trouble for you again, Fluttershy."

"We understand your intentions, Tadwell," Luna chipped in. "We thought it over while our battery was charging. One cannot calculate the feelings of others."

"You...you understand?" Tadwell said.

Luna chuckled. "Not really. But we don't want Fluttershy to be sad."

Fluttershy smiled. "I'm glad that both of you kind of understand now."

Tadwell puffed out his chest. "Looks like we made a good team after all!"

Fluttershy's smile became a little tighter, and she exchanged a glance with Luna. "Well..."

"No, not really."

Discord leaned over and rapped their knuckles against the muzzle of the giant robot. "Not to be completely rude, but are you going to eerily tower over us for the rest of this conversion?"

"Oh, one moment," Luna said. She pressed a button on the controls in front of her, and the gigantic robot slowly started to lay down. Discord huffed and headed over to Fluttershy.

"Discord!" she said happily as they stopped in front of her.

"Hey, you stood up to a crazed robot alicorn," they said, leaning their head back into their hands. "And an authority figure, to boot. Not half bad."

Fluttershy blushed. "You...you really think so?"

"Uh, yeah!" Discord said, grinning and giving her a thumbs-up. Fluttershy smiled back. Discord glanced around for a bit, then sighed. "...just...guess you've gotta wake up soon, huh?"

"Oh...oh, right," she said. For a moment, things had felt so intense and real that she had forgotten it was just a dream. "I just hope...I can have more dreams like this."

Discord pursed their lips, looking off into the distance. "...look, Fluttershy," they said. "When you wake up, well...I just want to tell you, um..."

Luna flapped her wings and landed on the platform with them. "We suppose it is about time for you to make your exit," she said. "Now running: TenderGoodbyes.EXE."

Her horn flashed, and “Tender Goodbyes" appeared in cursive green font on the horizon. All of them turned to look. “We'd like to thank each of you for what you have given us.”

"Fluttershy, your unwavering kindness," she said. A green image of Fluttershy's face shone on the horizon inside of a heart. "Rainbow Dash, your chill vibes. Discord, your manic energy." Both of them also got images of their faces inside hearts.

Luna paused, and a question mark popped up in the sky. "Tadwell, your...uh..."

"This doesn't have to be goodbye, Princess Luna!" Barb Elm said cheerfully. "Rainbow can take everyone here back to the Castle Town!"

"Oh," Luna said. Her horn glowed, and the images and text all blinked out. "Cancelling TenderGoodbyes.exe."

“…whelp!” Discord said, pumping a fist into the air. “Time to finally do what we came here for!”

Fluttershy frowned slightly, her ears drooping. Sounded like her dream really was coming to an end. Discord turned to her. “Fluttershy…” they said. “If you see the real Discord…” They swallowed and turned around, hiding their face. “Just know that maybe, they…”

They were silent for a second before whipping around, fangs bared. "They don't have a nice tail, okay!?" they snapped. The tone of their voice was more exasperated than threatening, though. "Even if they did, it wouldn't wag!"

Fluttershy couldn't help it. The corners of her mouth twitched up into a smile, and she giggled. "Whatever you say." Her shoulders shook a little, and both Tadwell and Luna joined in on the laughter.

"Ugh!!" Discord said. "C'mon, Rainbow, let's go save the world or whatever." They stepped over to Rainbow and began pushing her towards the right, grumbling under their breath until they were both out of sight.

Luna laughed for a few more moments, then turned towards her. "Fluttershy," she said. "While your taste in partners is...strange, we hope that things go well for you in this endeavor."

Fluttershy blinked. "I...I really hope so, too," she said. She scuffed a hoof against the ground, then added, "Even if this is just a dream...it was nice meeting you, Luna."

Luna blinked, seeming stunned for a second, then smiled warmly at her. "It was nice to meet you as well, Fluttershy," she said, extending a wing and placing it across her shoulders. "We wish you well on all your future journeys."

Fluttershy gave a small smile back. But before she could say anything else, a sudden bright light appeared from the direction Rainbow and Discord had gone in. It quickly spread and enveloped the land, including the four of them on the platform.

It was warm and strangely comforting, but Fluttershy still had to close her eyes from how bright it was. This must be the end of her dream…!

“Mmgh,” Fluttershy said, frowning and slowly blinking her eyes open. Her cheek was pressed against a cold table, and she slowly lifted her head. She was in the library's computer lab, with Tadwell right next to her, who was also stirring awake. No signs of robot alicorns, amazing outfits, or great spells anywhere.

“Oh…” she said, a little disappointed. “It really was a dream, after all…”

“Dream?” Tadwell said, puzzled. His confusion morphed into relief. “Of course…of course that was a dream! There's no way I would ever feel that way towards—Discord!?”

Fluttershy's head snapped forward to where he was looking. Discord and Rainbow were standing in the doorway of the computer lab, wearing…well, for a second she saw them as they had looked in her dream, but when she blinked, everything returned to reality.

“’sup,” Discord said, leaning against the door frame and waving. “Have a nice nap?”

“…what are you doing here?” Tadwell said. “You two are the last creatures I'd expect to run into at the library.”

Rainbow narrowed her eyes, and Discord's lips peeled back to show his fangs. Tension started to rise in the air. "Actually, Tadwell," Fluttershy chipped in before it could rise any higher. "I invited them to come study with us." It was still a delightful surprise they had come, though.

"What!? With them?" Tadwell yelped. "But Fluttershy, they're...they're..."

He paused for a long moment, the wheels turning in his head as he looked at Rainbow and Discord. "...well, I guess we could try it," he conceded. Fluttershy smiled.

Something began to chime in Tadwell's saddlebag. "What? My...my alarm?" he said, pulling out his phone and checking it before gasping in horror. "Oh no, I'm going to be late for my shift at Town Hall!" He hurriedly assembled his belongings.

"Oh dear, how is it this late already!?" Fluttershy said, helping him gather his things.

"Thank you, dear Fluttershy. You're always helping me," he said once his bag was full. He headed towards the door, pausing in front of the surprising duo. "...good day, Rainbow. Discord."

With that, he headed out. Fluttershy wasn't too far behind him, her own saddlebag hastily packed. "Goodbye, Rainbow!" she said. "And, um...bye, Discord!"

"...see ya," Discord said, giving a small wave and turning to inspect the lab.

Fluttershy was about to leave...but paused in the doorway and turned back, staring at Discord. Her eyes were immediately drawn to their tail. She tried to remember if she had ever seen it move in real life...

Discord suddenly whipped around, eyes gleaming dangerously. "What? What!? Are you lookin' for somethin'!?" they snapped, surging forward and showing off their fangs just inches in front of her muzzle.

"N-N-Nothing, sorry goodbye!" she said, flinching and turning on her heels. She galloped out of the room, her heart pounding and face flushing. Goodness, that was scary...though pretty exhilarating, too! Though also embarrassing...

She kept galloping all the way outside. It was evening already…she really had slept the entire afternoon! She should be heading home before her mom started to worry.

…but then again, she still had some time before curfew. And she had already planned to see her dad today. Mom would understand if she was a little bit late.

And I should be a little crazy and make my own choices, a tiny, bold part of her said. And so, with barely a moment's hesitation, she trotted through the now-clear streets towards the hospital.

“Goodness, this boss is difficult,” Fluttershy said. She was sitting on the edge of her dad's hospital bed, Gamefoal held in her hooves at an angle so that he could see the screen. Currently, she was facing the next boss in Dragon Blazers—the powerful Snowmancer.

“Maybe a Fire Shock could weaken her a bit,” her dad suggested.

“I would, but the mage left the party already,” she said.

“What about all those potions of Fire Breath you have?” he said. “I know you were collecting them throughout the last level.”

She scrolled through her inventory, but shook her head. “I'm saving those. I can't find any shop where they're sold.”

“What are you saving them for? Your birthday?” he joked. “C'mon, live a little!”

She smiled. "Alright, dad! This one's for you!" she said, selecting the Fire Breath Potion and waiting with bated breath as it was used on the boss. "They...reflect fire attacks."

"Whoops," her dad said with a laugh. "Hey, you should probably heal!"

She nodded, commanding the cleric to heal everyone in the party. "...I wish I knew healing magic in real life," she said. "Then I could make you better, and..."

Her dad was silent for a moment before reaching over and ruffling her mane. "Hey, it's okay, sweetheart," he assured. "I'm getting better. Should be able to come home by Hearth's Warming, even."

"...you're sure you're okay?" she said, ears slowly raising.

"'A Breeze swings by whether you want it or not'," her dad said, grinning.

"'Even the Shy ones'," she finished, smiling softly. "...I'd better head home soon. Mom must be getting worried." She saved her game, tucking it back into her saddlebag before hopping off of his bed.

"See you tomorrow, honey," her dad said.

"Bye, dad! I love you!" She smiled and turned towards the door...only to see Discord and Rainbow standing there, watching her exchange.

"Discord!? Why are you here!?" she yelped, jumping back.

"Heck if I know," Discord mumbled, pointing at Rainbow with their thumb.

"Ohh, so this is Discord!" her dad said, eyes gleaming. "I've heard quite a bit about you!"

"You...have?" they said, tilting their head in confusion.

"Okay, I think I should go now!" Fluttershy yelped, rushing towards the door.

"Uh...Rainbow, you do what you wanted here!" Discord said. "I'll just..." They started to follow her out the door, which did not help her total embarrassment at all.

"You'd better be good to her!" her dad called after them...before breaking into one of his coughing fits. Fluttershy froze, worried for a second, but he soon stopped and was breathing normally again.

She heard the door close, and glanced over her shoulder. "...sorry about that," Discord said. "I was just following Rainbow around to see what kind of trouble she gets into, y'know? Didn't mean to intrude."

"It's fine," she said. "I was just, um...surprised is all."

Discord shrugged, reaching up to scratch the back of their neck...and something caught her eye. Her eyes widened, and she stepped forward to peer at their wrist. Their brow furrowed, and they glanced over to their wrist and back at her. "What?" they said.

"It's...nothing," Fluttershy said slowly, taking a step back. But her eyes stayed trained on their wrist, which did have something on it. She almost hadn't seen it under their bracelets, but there was a Band-Aid there.

The same butterfly-patterned Band-Aid she had given them in her dream.

What if…it hadn't been a dream? What if everything crazy that had happened, everything Discord had told her, was real? It was a crazy thought. But still…there was evidence that it could have been real sitting right in front of her.

Even if it wasn't real…she should still be brave. Still believe that Discord was really a creature with goodness in them, and deep down…a chance they might care for her.

“Whelp. I'll probably go hang outside before someone starts thinking I'm here to mess with the patients here,” they said. They started to head towards the entrance, and Fluttershy's heart raced. This could be her chance…!

“Mind if I come with?” she asked, walking alongside them. “And…talk a bit?”

They blinked, seeming surprised. “Guess I don't mind,” they said casually, tucking their hands into their pockets. Was it just her, or did they just slow down as they were walking?

Neither of them said anything for several long seconds. But Fluttershy gathered her courage and started on her speech, which she had daydreamed about since the festival was announced. "So...Discord," she said, scuffing a hoof against the ground. "Um...the school festival is coming up pretty soon."

"Heh, yeah," they said, grinning. "You think they'll kick me out after what happened last time?"

"Well...maybe," she said. "But Miss Ocellus loves participation, so...maybe they'll just ban you from the soda shack. A-And the sandwich shop. And maybe...the cotton candy station..."

"Feh," they said. "I'll still find something fun to do. Maybe. Anyway, what makes you bring it up?"

"W-W-Well...I was just wondering. Maybe we...I maybe, do you want to..." Her voice faltered, and she stopped, taking a deep breath. She remembered her dream, where Discord was so nice and Luna encouraged her...

She took another deep breath, then said quickly, "Do you want to maybe go to the festival together!?" She closed her eyes tightly, her face bright red.

For a long, terrifying moment, there was just silence. Then, Discord spoke, “I…I'd probably drag you into trouble with me.”

She slowly opened one eye. They looked confused more than anything. “T-That's okay,” she said. “I'm sure a little trouble would be fun, as long as it's with you.”

They blinked, blushed…and smiled. “Then I'd love to go together,” they said.

She opened both eyes, smiling widely, wings fluttering happily. “Really!?”

“For sure,” they said. “It'll be a blast.” They frowned. “Hey, weren't you heading back home?”

She had forgotten that for a second, and night was only creeping closer by the second! “Goodness, you're right!” she said, trotting forward…but stopped at the front doors to wave goodbye. “I'll see you tomorrow at school!”

Discord grinned and waved back. Fluttershy turned and headed home, practically skipping all the way, even fluttering into the air with delight a few times. Who knew that a crazy dream that maybe wasn't a dream could give her the courage to do something like that?

Best day ever! And now more than ever, she had the festival to look forward to.