Author's Note

I know I uploaded a chapter this week but chapter 12 of this turned out so good I wanted to get to it a little faster, so I’m uploading chapter 7 a bit ahead. Hope you all enjoy the double upload this week

Chapter 7 A Rough morning

Chapter 7 A Rough morning

Fluttershy lay awake in her bed, her body feeling drained of all energy. She wanted so desperately to get up and feed her animals. But that morning, despite being fully awake, every ounce of her didn’t move as she lay there, helpless. Her mind couldn’t even think of a single thing, her head feeling so foggy. Suddenly, a loud knock coming from downstairs, along with the ring of her doorbell, caught her attention. With a drained moan, she tightened her muscles, trying to stand. Stumbling out of bed, her legs felt like jelly as she swayed left and right. But as she got to the steps, her senses became clearer. She could smell the awful, familiar stench and looked down to her hand, finding the source in her right hand.

A half-smoked joint of weed sat between her fingers. With a wave of her left hand, she looked at it, trying to remember the events of yesterday. Finally, it came to her like being hit by a bus.

Her mother was missing, her attempt at finding her, of course, meeting Discord and the way he snapped at her—all finishing off with going home empty-handed. Until she headed up to bed, thinking she would cry herself to sleep when a panic attack struck her, and she pulled out her emergency stash and lit the whole thing up in one go. “Damn it,” she thought as the knock on the door became ever louder. Stumbling out of bed, she rushed to see who it was, finding the last thing she wanted to see that morning.

“Cops,” she internally panicked and snapped her eyes back to the substance in her hand. “Oh God.”

“Fluttershy,” she heard a familiar, otherworldly voice from the other side of the door.
“Celestia,” her eyes shot wide. “My aunt Celestia is with them,” she internally screamed, before verbally saying, “Uh, just a minute,” she said louder for them to hear. She then ran through the apartment, leaping up the steps, not even bothering with the danger of slipping down them.

…

Meanwhile, in the hot rod parked on the side of the curb, not too far away from the door, Discord stumbled in his sleep until he rolled over. Big mistake, since the second he did, he fell, hitting the car floor. With a groan, he was finally awake, his body in knots. He tried his best to stretch in hope of finding relief, only for a surge of pain to strike his body. “Ouch,” he groaned, before clearing his eyes of whatever dust he had accumulated. “Still better than sleeping in that prison cell,” he mumbled to himself, as he remembered the stale brick of a mattress he once had no choice but to use. He could still feel their metal springs on his back. For months, he was more comfortable sleeping on the ground of his cell than what they provided him. But as he slapped his lips and yawned, he opened his eyes just to a sight that immediately spiked his heartbeat.

A woman sat just outside Fluttershy's house, along with three cops. He immediately ducked just in time before one of them turned in his direction. “Damn it, what are they doing here?” he groaned as he pulled the back seat down, revealing a space into the trunk of the car. The real reason he got this vehicle was for this purpose. Sure, he liked the color and the flashy design, but it also had a great hiding spot for him if need be. He crawled into the back, pulling the back seat over him, once again submerged in darkness. “Ha, if it weren’t for my nerves, I’d go back to sleep back here,” he chuckled to himself, as he wondered what on earth they wanted.

…

As soon as she got to her bedroom, the stench of weed made her gag. “God, I can’t let them in here with this,” she thought, running to the window and popping it open before turning on her fan. She then ran to the bathroom and came back with a bottle of lavender perfume, spraying it all over the area. She tossed her half-joint in a lunchbox and hid it underneath her bed. “God damn it, of all the times for the cops to show up,” she thought as she sniffed her clothes. Turning to her closet, she changed into her pajamas and sprayed herself down with more perfume before running back downstairs to the door. With a swift motion, she opened it and set her sights on her aunt and the officers.

“Ca-can I help you?” she stuttered.

“Yes, Fluttershy, hi you—” a man dressed in a coat tried to say, but Celestia rushed in instead.

“Oh, Fluttershy!” her aunt interrupted the cop and immediately wrapped her in a hug. “We have some awful news to discuss, dear. I’m sorry, but my sister—” she sniffled, trying to hold back tears.

At that very moment, reality slapped her right in the face. It was bad enough she was dealing with all of this by herself; the fact that she wasn’t the only one who lost someone only made her heart ache worse. As she stood there, hearing the whimpers in her aunt's voice—someone she always looked up to as the brave, strong, confident adult—fall apart before her, Fluttershy could only stand still and listen as her aunt did everything she could to hold it together. And why was she doing this? For herself, maybe, but mostly it was all too clear she was trying to stand strong for Fluttershy, for her niece who was also going through the motions at that moment.

But Fluttershy had already had her time to process and cry, and now she needed to be the one to stand tall. Slowly, but surely, her body moved on its own, wrapping her arms around her aunt, holding her as close as possible, surprising Celestia in the process.

Her eyes shot wide as she felt Fluttershy hold her in a comforting embrace. She looked down, expecting to see tears falling down her niece's face, but instead, she saw a look of burning confidence strike the young woman’s eyes. Despite being much taller than her and older, Celestia couldn’t help but feel like a child as she stared at the bravery of Fluttershy. With a sigh, she shed her last tear, and her lips quivered into a smile as she softly said, “You’ve grown up, Fluttershy…” before undoing the hug and turning to the officers waiting.

“You remember Detective Rhubarb, don’t you?”

The man in the trench coat lifted his hat in a friendly gesture. “Detective Rhubarb at your service. Yes, hello, Mr. Pie. How’s your daughter?”

“Oh, Pinkie is working today; otherwise she’d be here too, I’m sure. Maybe come in, Miss Breeze. There’s a lot we must discuss.”

Fluttershy blinked, emotionless, before stepping aside and letting the cops into her home. As one of them walked past her, he caught wind of a strong lavender scent and sneezed. “Sorry, allergic to laven—achoo.” He sneezed again.

“Oh, it’s my perfume. I still must have some on from yesterday,” she wiggled her lips into a convincing smile, hoping the officer wouldn’t catch any other scent on her at the moment.

Once all were inside the room, they sat down on the couch and chairs in the living room. The detective cleared his throat and was the only one standing in front of the TV. “Miss Breeze—”

“Please, Mr. Rhubarb, I’ve seen you at Pinkie’s birthday parties, just call me Shy,” Fluttershy mumbled, barely audible as usual.

“Yes, well, Shy,” he continued. “I am looking into the missing case of your old vice principal. When Mrs. Star here came home yesterday from working late the night before, she found her house in shambles and her sister missing. She called the cops, and since then I’ve instantly begun a full investigation as soon as I could. As I began looking through files, however, I stumbled onto something that threw me for a loop.” He said, grabbing a briefcase from another officer and setting it on the table. Once opened, it revealed a set of files, and he searched through them until he found what he was looking for.

“Oh great, here it comes,” Fluttershy thought to herself as the detective pulled out a paper.

“Luna Star’s name is on your birth certificate. I brought this up with Celestia, and she said it was best to come to you. Since I found your fingerprints at the crime scene, I was going to have to come and talk to you anyway, but Miss Star here insisted she came along too. Care to explain?” He raised an eyebrow, speaking as professionally as he could.

Fluttershy inhaled and let out a depressed sigh. “When my mother was very young, she got pregnant and had me. She gave me my father's name, though, and due to my anxiety and shyness, she did whatever she could to give me a life free of worry, including…” Fluttershy rolled herself up into a ball on the couch. “Letting me go to school without being labeled the principal's pet. But yes, Luna is my mother, and Celestia is my aunt. I know they’re missing because I went to their house yesterday and saw the scene. I then went searching for her but found no evidence and came home.” She winced as she began sniffling. “I was going to call the cops as soon as I woke up, but—”

“Oh sweetie, I am so sorry,” her aunt wrapped her arm around Fluttershy.

“I see. That explains why we found your DNA at the scene of the crime,” the detective placed a hand to his temple. “I see… Well, whoever did it is good. They not only destroyed the camera footage, but they also took Luna’s phone as well. We’re trying to track them down but have had no luck on the case. I stayed up all night last night looking for a possible solution.”

“Th-thank you,” Fluttershy mumbled as she dried her tears.

“Oh, but we do have one lead,” he said, holding up one finger and kneeling back over the case.

“A lead?” Fluttershy raised her head, her eyes glinting with light. “Perhaps they’ve found out about Tirek and the fangs. Perhaps they know where she is and how to get her.” With this in mind, her heart felt a flutter of hope lifting her spirits, only for them to fall apart the moment the detective opened a new folder. All her hope came crashing down as she looked upon the image of a mugshot.

“This is Discord Grogar, a very dangerous criminal,” he said, handing Fluttershy the folder. She looked in awe and horror as she took in the information on the page.

Crimes include resisting arrest six times, four robberies, fifteen street fights, and eight disturbances of the peace. “One act of arson and one attempted murder charge at the age of seventeen, leading him to fifty years in the state penitentiary.” As Fluttershy read these claims, her heart ached as she looked back at the photo. He was clearly younger in it, but she could tell by his red eyes and sharp fangs that it was him.

“He spent ten years in maximum security prison, but we have security footage of your mother paying his one hundred thousand dollar bail in cash. How she got that money, we don't know, but why she would let out a scumbag like him, I hope you can provide us answers.”

“No,” she infamously declared on the spot. “No, I—I don't know anything,” Fluttershy lied and diverted her eyes downward, hoping no one would catch it.

The detective raised an eyebrow at her but let it go. “Alright, thank you,” he said, taking the file back and closing his case. “It may be possible Mr. Grogar has kidnapped your mother, holding her hostage until he gets whatever he wants. He may have threatened your mother into doing something; I’m not sure yet.” He said as he took his case and turned to the door. “Either way, I promise you, as a friend of my niece and daughter, I will not rest until I find this Discord and get to the bottom of this crime.” He told her, looking over his shoulder.

Fluttershy could only lower her head further down, almost into her lap, thankful for his help and secretly wishing he’d leave it alone.

“Now, normally I would set a police guard on you, but seeing how much distress you’re in, I think it’s best if I just let your aunt take it from here. Besides, her house is a crime scene, and so she will need a place to stay anyway.”

“Thank you, officer,” Celestia nodded, before turning to Fluttershy, her lips still quivering.

Fluttershy lifted her head, giving her aunt a small nod, silently confirming that she could stay in the guest room.

With the matter settled, the officer wasted no time and headed on his way. But before the last one could leave, he stopped and turned back. “Oh, uh, one more thing,” said the sneezing cop. “Ma'am, is that sports car outside yours?”

“Sports car? Uhhh, yeah,” she fumbled, remembering who actually owned it.

“Well, ma'am, it’s a nice car, but it’s in a fire lane,” he said, fixing his hat. “I should give you a ticket, but instead, I’ll let you off with a warning. Please remove it when you can.” He told her before leaving with the others. But before he left, another sneeze struck him.

“Uhh, yes, officer. I’m afraid I was just so caught up yesterday that I parked it there, so I will—thanks again,” Fluttershy quickly said, sounding nearly as fast as Pinkie, before closing the door behind her and crumbling to the wall.

“A sports car? When did you get that?” Celestia tilted her head.

“Oh, uh, no, never mind that,” she dashed her eyes away from her and began thinking, Where’s Discord? “Anyway, I’d better get ready for work, so feel free to take a look at the guest bedroom.”

Her aunt was thankful for the room, but she was smarter than that. Crossing her arms and adjusting her hips, she smiled but gave her niece a ‘mhmm’ sound that told her she was not convinced. “If you don’t want to talk about it, I understand. But—” she raised her pitch and widened her eyes, as if to say, I’m watching you. “When you are ready, I am here to listen.”

With a groan, Fluttershy headed back upstairs, wanting to distance herself from her aunt's all-wise gaze. “I have to get ready for work, and so do you.”

“Is that really a good idea?” Her aunt's voice echoed off the walls, surrounding her as if it were an arm wrapping around her. “Such a traumatic event, I am taking the time off, and I think it’d be best if—”

“No,” Fluttershy's voice snagged Celestia's attention back as an odd silence built between the two ladies. “I have things I have to do. I can’t fumble on my responsibilities just because my mother is missing. She wouldn’t want me to do that.”

“But fluttee-“

Fluterhys didn’t give that aunt a chance to say a mother word before running up the steps, to get ready for work.
…

Meanwhile Discord in the trunk listens carefully for any sign of the cops. He could hear them leaving, giving him a sigh of relief for the time being. “Hmm now what,” he argued with himself as he began to crawl out the back seat, only for the sighting of fluttershy along with someone walking up to the car. In seconds he dashed back in the trunk.

…

“Alrighty, if that’s what you wish to do, I won’t stop you, but—” Celestia raised a finger as she tightened her grip on her purse. “I will not let you break the law; your mother would kill me if I did.” She finished, setting her free hand on her hip.

“Break the law? But I have a—”

“A permit not a license,” her aunt chirped. “I cannot let you drive by yourself, so I’m coming with you.”

“But—” Fluttershy tried to interject before giving up completely, knowing her aunt.

“You can go to work, and with my free time, I will go shopping. Maybe catch a movie,” Celestia said, placing a hand on her chin as a frown edged on her face.

Fluttershy, for a moment, stared at the woman before her. Celestia was tall and beautiful, with a rainbow of pink, green, and blue hair that seemed to sparkle in the sunlight. A bit of jealousy for her height stuck in Fluttershy, but she was amazed at how strong her aunt stood as the principal of a school. The one thing that always puzzled her, though, was why Celestia never had kids of her own. With her looks, it would have been easy to snatch a man, and yet here she was, the only family she ever had being Luna and herself.

Now, with her sister missing, Fluttershy felt bad being the only family member Celestia had left; here she was already ditching her. The guilt was already swelling in her stomach, but she knew she had to if she was going to get anywhere to find her missing mother.

“Alright then,” Celestia said, bringing Fluttershy out of her thoughts as she headed to the trunk of the car. “You drive, and we’ll see how you do.” She continued, unlocking the handle. “But if this car has anything to do with you feeling like you need to catch some eyes, let me give you some auntie advice,” she said, raising the trunk but never taking her gaze off of Fluttershy.

“You don’t need some fancy car and a change of personality to get what you want.”

“You—you know about—”

“Shy, the whole town knows about your crush on that Big Mac fellow. There were endless rumors around the school about it, but I am glad, mostly for your mother’s sake, that you chose to be more professional. But sneaking away from the wedding and then showing up with some hot rod clearly shows there is some room to grow…” She said, never noticing the man who lay in the trunk. She tossed her bag in over Discord's face.

Fluttershy’s eyes shot wide, and she immediately jumped between Celestia and Discord, hiding him in an instant. She tossed her bag in and closed the trunk quickly, hoping her aunt didn’t see him. “Uhh, okay, yeah, I get it, I just…” she stumbled as her mind began to race.

Great, of course, this had to come up now: her old crush marrying one of her friends and the whole issue with her mother. “Damn it,” she cursed herself in her mind as she turned to her aunt. She had to say something and say it fast.

“Alright, fine, I got the car, trying to look cool so I can attract a man. Happy?” she stomped, lowering her eyebrows to a sharp point. She just hoped Celestia would buy the lie that it was even her car and not Discord's.

Her aunt stifled a chuckle at the poor girl’s expression. “Fluttershy, you’re getting older, and we’ll…” her aunt looked down, with a smile that was filled with sadness. “I’m proud of you and your mother. One day we won’t be here, and I—”

“I know,” Fluttershy turned her back to the tall woman. “But believe me, I know what I’m doing.”

Celestia lifted her head at her niece’s strong words, a proud smile crossing her lips for the brave woman Fluttershy was turning out to be before turning around and getting into the sports car.

…

Fluttershy, once she knew her aunt was in the car, gave her a moment—a small moment to let her eternal panic bubble to the surface. She smiled a twitching smile, letting out a crazed giggle escape her throat as she felt her face grow warm. “Okay, calm down; it’s just a ride to work with your aunt teaching you how to drive… and a wanted criminal hiding in the trunk of the car that you're taking. Great, what could possibly go wrong?” She shook her head before sighing away her nerves and getting into the driver's seat.

“Alright, here we go to my work,” she said in a raised voice so Discord in the trunk could hear her.

“I may be old, but I am not deaf,” her aunt grumbled, pulling on her seatbelt.

Discord in the trunk rolled his eyes at Fluttershy’s attempts to communicate with him.

“Okay, first thing we do now is—?” Celestia raised a hand.

“Seatbelts,” Fluttershy responded, putting on hers.

“Right, next—”

“Start the car,” she said, turning the key. With a loud roar of a fast, furious engine, the car started.

“Alright, now put it in reverse and gently press on the gas pedal,” Celestia instructed, and Fluttershy did so carefully.

As the car moved, Discord’s head banged across the side as it came to an abrupt stop and started again.

“Okay, good. Now give it a little more speed when we hit the road, alright?” Celestia told her, ignoring the hard stops of the car.

Fluttershy tried to do as instructed, but as they drove through the town, coming to very abrupt stops, she could hear Discord's body slam into the side of the car.

“Uh, probably just our bags; ignore that, Flutter, you're doing great,” Celestia tried to encourage her. But the tightening of her seatbelt told Fluttershy everything she needed to know about her aunts true opinion on her driving. “I’m going to—” she began again as the sound of Discord's body hit the back of the trunk again.

“Damn, this bitch can’t drive; she better not scrape my car up,” he grumbled to himself as his head made contact with the side again. “Ouch!” he groaned, clutching his forehead.

…

“Hmm, did you say something?” Celestia asked.

“Na, no, we’re almost there,” Fluttershy stated, not really to her aunt but to her companion in the back.

…

“I’ll get your purse,” Fluttershy told Celestia as she jumped out of the car the moment they pulled up. She dashed to the back where she grabbed her and Celestia's, ignoring Discord’s glaring red gaze as she closed the trunk and returned to her aunt's side.

“Alright,” Celestia sighed as she took her purse and turned toward the shopping mall. “I guess I’ll see you for lunch then. Eleven thirty, right?” She asked with a smile, yet her eyes gave away her sadness.

“Yeah, lunch. Thanks, Aunty,” her niece replied, giving her one last hug before heading off her way to work.

Celestia took a moment to watch her stroll away. “So grown up,” she thought before heading in the opposite direction.

…

The moment Fluttershy felt her aunt’s gaze gone, she instantly redirected her path back to the trunk, popping it open. “She's gone, but stay hidden,” Fluttershy said in a low voice, hoping no one else heard her.

Discord rolled his eyes and rubbed his head as best he could as he leaned on one elbow.

Fluttershy was amazed that such a tall figure could scrunch down so small. Even so, he filled up the entire trunk, looking anything but comfortable.

“What’s the story? I saw the cops earlier and hid in here,” he muttered.

“Oh, not much,” she gave a twitchy grin. “They’re just looking for my mother and subsequently you.”

“Oh, is that all?” He rolled his eyes, nonchalantly as if it were just another average day. “Well, that complicates things a bit,” he deadpanned. “They’ll be out looking for me, hmm.” Stroking his beard, he tried to think of a solution.

“Why not just tell them? I mean, all that stuff about Tirek and the fangs.”

At her remark, Discord scoffed. “Do you really think they would listen to someone like me? No.” His lips pursed. “No, not without proof that we both don’t have. So what about that other chick?”

“My aunt,” she rolled her eyes. “Since her house is a crime scene, she moved into mine for a few days. She also thinks the car is mine.”

“I got that, sweetheart,” Discord sarcastically smirked. “What now, I’m just supposed to sit here in a trunk while you go to work?”

“Yeah, pretty much. Sorry I don’t have time to grab you breakfast, but I’ll get you something for lunch.” She raised her head and looked over the horizon, scouting for police. “Just stay hidden today, and I’ll think of something,” she instructed him.

“Hey, since when are you in charge?” he grumbled.

“Look, when we’re in your world, you will be, but when we’re in mine, you’re going to have to listen to me, or do you want to go back to prison?” She replied with a scrunch of her nose.

He gave an amused laugh at her bravado before ultimately throwing something at her.

She turned just in time to catch it, her eyes fixating on it. Before he himself pulled down the trunk, ending the conversation right there and then, leaving her holding a crumpled-up McDonald’s hamburger wrapping.

Though not a word was said, a smile came to her lips as she cradled the paper ball in her hands. The message symbolized in it was clear: I’ll work with you, at least.