Chapter 3: Canterlot of Chaos.

Discord gazed over the landscape below. The bored, gender-bent draconequus ran an idle claw through a patch of grey cloud. It flashed all the colours of the rainbow at her touch causing a smile of satisfaction to ripple across the otherwise annoyed looking face. ‘Well I guess I at least still have my powers. What a shame I can’t turn myself back to normal. I don’t need all those useless ponies knowing the lord of chaos is under the same spell as they are. I’m above them.’

As it turned out, the lord of disharmony between ponies had simply become bored with not being her usual self. It just seemed to drain draconequus's will and need to be herself.

The unreal noise of the UPS brought the brooding harbinger of chaos back to reality. "Sheo," she called out, turning around to face the man who had changed everything. The gender warped draconequus fluttered her eyelashes at the figure in front of her.

"Ahh mh' favorite draconequus. Ah’ see ye’ got bored o’ playing with yer toys down there. What can ah' do ye' fer?"

Discord waved a hand, motioning to her own body.  "Well? It’s not going to change itself!"

"Oh tut tut tut. Ah'd have thought a lord of discord such as yerself would have loved a grand ol' laugh."

"I do ponies. Not myself." Discord stated defensively.

"Weel... Ah guess... If ye' can win a game I'll offer to change ye' back. How aboot it?"

Being no stranger to tricks and twists, the cunning draconequus just had to ask, "What's in it for you, oh Lord of Madness?"

"Ye’ got me there.. That ya do." he scratched his chin staring off into another dimension. "How aboot... If ah’ win ye’ come down as ye are and meet them ponies that are coming to get ye’? That’ll be a grad ol’ laugh fer me. Ye’ll be no allowed ta just hide up here all day and play yer games from afar. That would fix ya." He grinned in a haphazard way at the gender-bent immortal before him.

"Done." The master of disharmony between ponies offered a claw. The madman before her shook it, wearing a grin upon his crazy old face.

"Right. Now, what game?"

"Ah was thinking. How bout a game of madness and questions, tricks and traps.”

Sheogorath waved a hand and what looked like a chess set appeared on a giant mushroom. The fungus expanded and flattened to accommodate the warped looking pieces that maneuvered themselves into place upon its slowly shifting surface. The Daedric prince seated himself calmly, grinning a challenge to his chaotic counterpart.

“Are ye’ ready to ‘ave some fun?”

Discord rubbed her forepaws together, eagerly anticipating victory. The draconequus teleported to her side of the board, clapping odd paws together. A tree floated up, positing itself under Discord who immediately reclined upon it.

“Oh and tis good that ye’ve found a nice place to relax because some parts of this ‘ere domain migh’ disappear as we play. We migh’ also wind up on th’ other side of Equestria... but ye’ can ferget that ah’ ever said that.” Sheogorath grinned as he made the first move.

Canterlot.

The most magnificent city in all of Equestria. Home to the royal alicorns who had ruled their kingdom with kindness and love for as long as any pony can remember. Today however, discord reigned, very close to complete madness. The normally clear sky was dominated by enough brightly coloured balls of cotton candy to keep Pinkie Pie busy for a week. Several buildings were floating around with no sense of gravity. The upper class ponies trapped inside found themselves too busy hiding to take notice of the horrors of the outside world.

The train pulled up to Canterlot Station, coming to a stop along the platform, right on schedule. Many of the Royal Guards stationed in and around the station were now noticeably female, considering many of the guards had been stallions. Despite that they were trying their hardest to maintain their cold, hard, stoic stares as they stood in place, there was no denying that they looked incredibly embarrassed, as if out of place. It was apparent in their eyes, which oftentimes shifted about, as if nervous.

Passengers from the train disembarked, heading in all directions to their various destinations. A group of six stallions made straight for their goal, the royal palace. Everypony was hoping that nothing too evil had befallen their rulers.

Twilight immediately started out ahead of the group. Trying to look as confident as he could in the face of the madness that Canterlot was suffering. Bubble Berry bounced alongside the lavender unicorn, it seemed nothing could get that stallion down.

Even in his new body, Rainbow Blitz still felt the incredible urge to just soar in the skies faster than a speeding bullet. After some time on a train, it was no wonder his powerful wings were just itching to flap like never before. In fact, he felt ready to announce he was going to fly a head to give the city a once-over and see if there was any trouble to keep an eye out for. Not that it was necessary, but it was something to do, and it was better safe than sorry. It was win-win.

However, he caught sight of his best friend at the corner of his eye. He looked immensely nervous and out of place, much like some of the guards that let their emotions slip. Except even worse. All at once, his heart sank. Even as a stallion, Fluttershy was still Fluttershy. Nothing would change that. He couldn’t stand seeing his best friend so upset and nervous like he was, and right now was no different. The protector thought for a moment about what he could do to make his friend feel better.

It came to him then. Blitz gave his best friend his most charming smile and then lifted his wing, gently laying it over him protectively. Fluttershy blushed, visibly, but he smiled sweetly in appreciation. To further add, the nervous stallion walked closer and snuggled up to the daredevil. Blitz blushed, feeling embarrassed about this position in public. But he put his discomfort aside. At least Fluttershy was at ease, he could never turn down his wonderful snuggles.

“Thank you, Rainbow...” Fluttershy’s still sweet and soft baritone whisper made the the protector grin widely.

The embarrassed athlete nuzzled him and felt his cheeks heat up even more. “D’aww, you’re welcome, Flutters. Don’t mention it.”

Purity hung close to Applejack who walked with purpose alongside the still distressed fashion artist. Although the farmer would have prefered to be up front leading the group with Twilight, he felt obliged to stay back and keep a watchful eye upon the highly nervous unicorn. He really didn’t want his friend to lose heart now that they had arrived.

“Hey there, Purity. How about ah give this...” He stopped and gave the nervous ex-fashion queen a quick hug, holding onto it for a few moments for added comfort.

He pulled away, blushing ever so slightly. “Now come on, we need ya.” He offered his hoof to the delicate stallion.

“Thank you dear.” Purity wiped away a tear. “It’s just so very hard to live with...this body.”

“Ah know... Ah’ll be there for ya’ ever teeny step of th’ way. Okay?”

Still distressed by his lack of feminine charm, the unicorn nodded, fighting back a few tears. “Yes. Thank you Applejack.” He took the hoof of the strong stallion and allowed himself to be led along, trailing the other ponies in the group.

A very sad looking Spike trailed her crush. All she could think about was the disaster that was going in front of him. There was Rar-Purity, in need of her comforting and loyal presence and yet the alabaster unicorn had gone seeking the comfort of the uncouth farmer who looked a little embarrassed by the whole situation.

With more of a peace of mind, for the most part, the Elements of Harmony made their way to Canterlot Castle. Together. As a team. Ready to face this. Whatever might mean.

“Look. There’s Shining Armour!” At Twilight’s cry the group centered their attention upon a lone bone white unicorn who was standing majestically at one of the upper towers. Defensive magic radiated from the strong guardian. It is clear he was in the middle of trying something important. However no pony had any idea what he was trying to do.

The alarmed group broke into a full on sprint in their effort to get to the safety of the palace. Rainbow Blitz took flight, zipping on ahead like some sort of scout.

The main gates entered view. To everyponies horror they were bent open revealing a whole range of strange changes within.

The regal form of Prince Luna appeared from behind the munted gates. He rushed up and gave Twilight a surprise hug. The stallion on the receiving end stared at the royal alicorn hugging him in complete shock.

Pulling away, the prince addressed the group. “We were so worried about you.”

“About us? Look at you!” Purity, having told himself that a solution would rest within the Royal Sisters, burst into his usual tears.

“We actually... Celestia... we must show you. It is beyond words.”

Luna led the stallions through a massive maze of unproportional chaos. Stairs were warped, widows floating without support and candles shone with every colour of the rainbow. Candy grew along the leaves of potted plants. Bubble Berry happily devoured each and every one, finding himself euphoric in the presence of the sugary sweets.

“Behold... this is what has become of our- my sister.”

“Oh my Celestia... look at... Celestia.” Twilight became nothing short of an icicle. His mentor, teacher, idol...

“Oh! Can you make me into a lobster? I’ve always wanted to be a lobs-”

“Bubble!” the chorus of annoyed ponies quietened the source of comic relief.

“Thou shall not make a mockery of thy sister!” Luna quickly rose over the pink stallion, his tone nearing that of the royal canterlot voice.

“Hold on... Luna... it’s just Pinkie. Or Bubble Berry...” Twilight gazed into Luna’s eyes. “I need you to tell me everything. Who did this? And why?”

Luna spread her wings apart and dramatically rose above the stallions. “We saw the chaos master... we believe you know the foul creature as Discord.”

“Chocolate ra-”

“Bubble! Be quiet or I’ll make you quiet!” Blitz threatened.

“There was something else with...” Luna paused for a brief second, as she was alien to the word to calling her old foe Discord. “Discord. Whatever it was, it took the appearance of a human. But thou did not recall it being a human. It was much more powerful...”

Tiny pincers clapped here and there in tiny rage. Bubble Berry rushed over to the Royal crustacean and took a seat. “Pattie cake? I’m never too old for pattie cake!”

“Just ignore him,” Twilight said to Luna. “He’s like a child in an adult’s body.”

“Thou, I mean... Twilight, do you have any ideas for thy? We must save our- my sister.”

“Well... we gotta find out what was helping Discord. Anypony have any ideas?”

“We remember very little. The foul creature took the appearance of an old stallion human. With a multi-colored suit and a staff.”

“Did you say a staff? And a multicolored shirt? I know that guy!” Bubble Berry sprung towards Luna and bopped him on the nose. “That’s Sheogorath; the Daedric Prince of Madness. I once got teleported to his dimension and had to mess with pony’s minds. And turn humans into bunnies. He turned out to be pretty cool.”

“Thou must tell us immediately! For Celestia’s sake!” Navy hooves gripped the energetic pink figure.

Bubble Berry bobbed his again. “Calm down Mr. Nighty Pants. He’s from a realm called Nirn to the morties there... it was so much fun! I met this really cool girl who was part dragon and part pony! She taught me something awesome! Are you ready?”

“Get on with it!”

FUS RO DAH!

Luna was thrown down the hall by the power of the dragon shout. With look of shock written across his face, Twilight rushed to the crash site. Everypony else just stared in shock at the impossible event.

“What has thou...”

“Princess! Are you okay?” Twilight threw his grip around Luna, completely forgetting the change in title, attempting to lift the alicorn.

“We are fine. Where did you learn such dark arts?” Luna replied as she shrugged off the pain.

“Yea’ where did ya’ learn that, Bubble?” Applejack added, slowly recovering from the experience of witnessing the power of the dragonborn for the first time.

“I already told you. Jeez...” Bubble took another seat and began to play with an unwilling Celestia. “We can’t get there unless we are summoned, silly.”

Purity aggressively rushed the party pony, glaring into Bubbles’s eyes as he were trying to burn them out. “Listen to me. I must have this fixed. Now! Tell me how we can get summoned.”

A pink goof ball rolled with uncontrollable laughter across the warped floor. The sane ponies found no humor in the situation.

“Oh silly! We can’t summon ourselves! We need to be summoned! But look at it this way, you have a rocking stache! And Dashie and Fluttershy are still going to fall in love! So we’re all good! Party time! Let’s go get a pool for ‘Tia! Come on guys! Mudcrab party!”

Bubble Berry bounded energetically out of the room, leaving nothing but silence.

“Luna... there has to be some solution. Somewhere in this library...” Twilight Sparkle and Prince Luna searched through the royal Canterlot library. The pair often clashed into each other as they levitated piles of books in their haste to find answers.

“Princess- Prince, are you sure you don’t know anything about Daedra?” Twilight asked, paging through several encyclopedias.

“We are sorry Twilight Sparkle. We know- I know nothing of which you speak,” Luna frowned, continuing to leaf through his volume before dropping it and hastily grabbing another.

“Okay... so Pinkie- Bubble Berry says we can’t summon ourselves; we need to be summoned. This Sheogorath... we need to get his attention. And maybe he’ll summon us. Surely you Luna, with your power power and status, could draw some attention?”

The royal alicorn shut his books and turned his gaze upon Twilight, “Are you sure Twilight Sparkle? We are not sure...”

“Luna... just Twilight is fine,” she smiled, admiring the Prince’s innocent eyes.

“It shall be done Twilight! But we need a plan to get his attention,” Luna paused. “SURELY THE ROYAL CANTERLOT VOICE COULD DRAW ATTENTION!” The loud bassy tone rang out across the castle, you could just about see the shelves shake from the force.

“Nice... but I think we might need to be a little more creative than that...” the purple stallion trailed off shaking his head trying to stop the ringing.

“Did somepony say creative?” The unwanted bundle of joy appeared, knowing, as usual when he was needed.

“What is thy business Bubble Berry?” Luna said, mildly annoyed at the sight.

“I’m super-duper creative! Like super-duper! Sheogorath and I, we’re good buddies. But he only talks with us morties when he goes on vacation! He’s so funny about his vacation spots! But if we can get his attention when he’s on vacation, then we might be able to find him!” Bubble spoke, occasionally throwing confetti to lighten the atmosphere.

“How dost thou know when Sheogorath is on vacation?” Luna investigated.

“He’s probably still here, but I don’t know where he is, silly! You don’t either! And you! And you! It’s would be like finding a sprinkle in a pool of frosting... yummy! Let’s do that! I’ll get it ready! Pool-frosting party!” Bubble disappeared as quickly as he arrived.

“While thy Bubble has odd priorities, I sense truth in his words. Finding this Sheogorath is challenge massive in scope.” Luna took a seat and slowly exhaled, “Twilight, you must have some sort of idea.”

“Well. Do you know how the two arrived?” Twilight asked the prince with an inquisitive look upon his face. After a moment of silence he decided to continue, “we could try a tracer spell. They will show up if they are anywhere in Equestria.”

“A most excellent idea Twilight! We- I, will search the library for the spell. You must ready your companions. Time is of the essence. We must locate Discord and Sheogorath before it is too late! Celestia’s sake depends on it!”

“Right. And the rest of Equestria. I better go round up the guys!”

Twilight galloped out leaving the alicorn in peace to continue his research.

“Come on Fluttershy. Lets go. I need to stretch my wings.” Blitz announced.

“Um... okay.” The soft reply was almost inaudible as the shy yellow pegasus shrunk a little, nervous about going flying with chaos in the air.

“Look... I can hold your hoof if you need me to...just lets go, come on! I really need to stretch my wings.”

“Oh... It’s okay... Y-you can go. I’m happy stay here...”

“Oh no you don’t.” Rainbow lend down and nuzzled under the panicky stallion’s chin. “Up!” He heaved, easily lifting the bundle of shy. “Right...now. It would be really nice to have a flying buddy and I figure you’re my best friend Fluttershy, so please...” His cerise eyes shone pleadingly into his friend’s own aquamarine ones.

Rainbow held out a hoof with an ever slightly annoyed look upon his face.

“Okay... I guess I can...” Fluttershy nervously took the offering.

The bold wasted no time in leading the shy into the sky above the chaotic city The pair hovered above the palace, Fluttershy found his gaze ensnared by how warped the once beautiful structure appeared. Hunks of stone and statues floated by while windows swirled with menacing power.

“Right. Now how about you go find a nice place to sit on that tower over there and I’ll warm up. You look a little uncomfortable up here.” Dash grinned knowingly over at his acrophobic friend. The shy pegasus happily took the opportunity to glide over to the uppermost balcony.

“Are you ready there Fluttershy?”

The nervous stallion glanced down at the ground far below his balcony then up at his friend. A moment of silence hung in the air as he fought his nerves.

“Yes...”

“Are you ready to cheer your best friend on?”

“Yes...”

“Okay then. Lets hear it!”

Fluttershy summoned up his courage then unleashed the loudest possible cheer his deep voice could muster. “Yay!”

The trickster let out a groan. Even as a stallion, the soft bassy cheer was barely audible.

“Well. Just... try to be louder. We gotta practice for when we’re back to normal."

Fluttershy nodded in agreement, his eyes starting to wander as the powerful weather pony hovered in the air with graceful ease. The daredevil stallion took off like a speeding bullet leaving his signature rainbow trail. With his newfound strength Blitz found unexpected power and plowed through his first choice of obstacle, a candy cloud.

The annoyed pony shook himself dry once more, muttering curses under his breath. With the watchful gaze of his buttery friend below, he sped off toward another set of candy clouds. This time, Blitz remembered his new male body and zig-zagged between his targets like a Wonderbolt in action.

Far below on the balcony, Fluttershy’s aquamarine eyes followed the stallion’s every move. He could feel his gaze slipping, slowly, very slowly away from the tricks to the hot form of his friend. His wings started to flutter and lift as his imagination ran away with him. Never before did Fluttershy think he would be into Stallions. But, strangely, it seemed that Rainbow Blitz was an exception. The normally sleek muscular form of the athlete was accentuated by the transformation that had been forced upon his body. Fluttershy just couldn't tear his gaze away from that flank as it darted across the sky, teasing him. The beats of powerful cyan wings were hypnotizing, adding to the amazing display. Fluttershy had to admit, the unwanted sex change had been kind to the rainbow.

He was so focused on the stallions form and not his moves that it took him a few moments to realize that Blitz hovering in the air, smirking down at him.

The mighty wings carried their owner on a rapid flight path toward the bashful pegasus on the balcony. Alighting, Rainbow Blitz gave his eccentric mane a swish. His smirk continued to hold as he noticed the eyes of his friend fixed upon him.

Taking note of how the shy pony was squirming, Blitz decided to turn it up a notch and try to get a larger blush from his friend.

Powerful wings hanging limp, the speedster slowly advanced on his nervous friend.

“You know Fluttershy, you’re pretty cute for a stallion.”

The reaction was instantaneous, the yellow complexion darkened considerably and the nerves showed in his voice. “Y-You mean it?”

“Hay yea!” Still smirking, Blitz wrapped a muscular forehoof around his friend. The hug caused the poor thing to blush profusely as his wings subconsciously sprung outward. Yellow hooves quickly notched the feathery limbs in a futile attempt to conceal the most noticeable problem.

A blue hoof stroked one of the erect appendages and Fluttershy knew he had been found out. Instead of a smart reply all the shy pony received was a heartwarming hug. Giving in to his wishes, Fluttershy hugged back. It was amazing. The warm fuzzes exploded around them making him wish Blitz would never stop. The normally shy pony nuzzled into the embrace, savoring it, drawing in the sweet, sweaty scent of his friend. He was in bliss...

All too soon, his protector broke contact and the yellow stallion felt a pang of anxiety as Dash turned away, his face unreadable. ‘I hope I didn’t do anything wrong.’ Fluttershy worried. ‘Now he might be mad, if she-he’s found out then he might not want to be friends anymore.’

“Hey ‘Shy.” The over confident voice of Fluttershy’s guardian ran out in the silence.

The nervous pony almost jumped sky high at the sound, electing a few filly like giggles from the athletic pony in front. Fluttershy calmed himself 'nothings wrong. I think. I hope...'

Rainbow Blitz settled down on the balcony overlooking the warped city. He was seemingly oblivious to his friends line of thought, of which Fluttershy was thankful for.

“Come. Sit.” The order was not one to be disobeyed. Especially since it came from the hottest mar-stallion in Equestria who just so happened to be lounging in front of Fluttershy’s forehooves.

The culprit of the nervous pony’s train of thought flicked his tail idly, enjoying the breeze despite the chaotic view.

Fluttershy joined him, lying there on the edge of the balcony overlooking the city. The buttery stallion could feel his heart beating faster and faster as his nerves caused an overdose of adrenaline to be pumped through his system. Bright rosy red eyes locked Fluttershy’s timid gaze and the unfortunate pony found himself unable to tear his eyes away. ‘Even as a stallion, you are the most beautiful mare I’ve ever seen...’ Realizing his meandering thoughts mistake, he once again blushed furiously and did his best to hide behind his pretty pink mane.

Rainbow Blitz was observing his shy friend out of the corner of his eye. He idly wondered what the hot  yellow pegasus might be thinking about. It must be something highly personal and secret since it made him want to hide behind his mane. Probably embarrassing, he thought. Even as a stallion, Fluttershy still managed to look just about adorable, especially in her-his shy moments like this.

“Hey, Flutters, relax. There’s nothing to be upset about. You okay?” Dash asked, his voice softening a little bit.

A soft “eep” escaped the creamy yellow stallion as he nodded rapidly. There was no possible way he could admit to why he was feeling this way. How would he? “I...I’m alright, Rainbow... I’m just...just thinking...”

“Really now,” Dash leaned closer, as a smirk settled on his features. “Bit for your thoughts, Flutters?”

“Um....” Fluttershy swallowed a bit, unable to look away from his best friend’s amazing cerise eyes.

Oh, this was too fun. Getting this kind of reaction out of Fluttershy, stallion or mare, was just adorably priceless. If you asked Dash why he did, he wouldn’t be able to offer an answer. But all their lives, it was just something he was admittedly curious of.

“Come on Fluttershy, you can tell me!” Dash chuckled, a confident smirk adorning his features.

“Oh, well... Nothing in particular, nothing...” Fluttershy replied softly, tearing his unsteady gaze away from his crush, doing his best to escape further interrogation.

Tilting his head, Dash studied his longtime companion for a moment before sighing, “Okay, fine. You don’t have to tell me. But come on Fluttershy, what you have to say can’t be stupid! You know I’d listen to you.”

Glancing up into those sincere, passionate cerise eyes, Fluttershy felt his heart do several backflips. Unable to respond, he nodded slowly.

In turn, Dash grinned and placed a hoof on the side of the creamy yellow pony’s face in a gentle caress. It was a strange little act of affection, but he didn’t care. Fluttershy was worth it.

Fluttershy couldn’t do it. He couldn’t break the moment and just tell the bold stallion in front of him how he felt. The shy pony broke contact, very reluctantly, with his companion’s beautiful rosy red eyes, gazing out over the warped city. The strong stallion beside him mirrored his actions, glancing out over the city in chaos.

Tearing his own gaze from the view before them, all Dash found he could look at any further was his companion. Despite how nervous and flushed he looked, there was still that air of sweet cuteness that even as a stallion, still implemented Fluttershy. Of all the things they had experienced in their lives together, this was likely the most extreme yet the most tame.

Quickly growing tired of the harsh, chaotic view, the shy pegasus let his head rest in his forehooves, closing his eyes. This really was getting to be too much for him. He wanted to be at home, with Angel bunny, the poor gender-swapped thing that she now was. To be away from the epicenter of the damage. To be far away from discord and his evil plans. A tear slowly rolled down his face, he wanted to be someplace warm and cosy... someplace with Rainbow Dash...

Seeing that his companion was distressed, it yet again tore at his heart. Dash slowly scooted closer, wrapping a protective wing around Fluttershy. To further add to it, he even brought a foreleg around his thin form and nuzzled him. “Hey, you okay? I’m sorry this is real hard on you, Flutters.”

The protective embrace made the shy pegasus’s heart flutter as butterflies attacked his tummy. “I-it’s okay Rainbow... I...I just want to be someplace safe and warm... with my animals... I don’t belong here. It’s dangerous and scary...” He gazed pleadingly into the stunning eyes of his longtime crush, hoping for further comfort to become available.

Dash felt his heartstrings tugged all over again and hugged his companion closer to comfort him. The look in his eyes was all he needed to know. “Hey, hey, I know you. I know you’d prefer that. Tell you what, once we get this whole thing figured out, for the most part, I’ll take you home. There you can run and frolic with your little woodland creatures and have a ball.” He smiled a bit, wiping his tears from Fluttershy’s eyes. “And hey, don’t worry. You’ve still got all of us right here. And I’ll be there to protect you, Fluttershy. You’re my best friend, you know, and I’ll never let you down.”

“Thank you Rainbow Dash...” He nuzzled his protector, relishing the sense of ease that washed over his quivering system at the touch. “I-I think I’ll be safer here with you...just as long as no pony hurts you....I think I’ll be okay.”

Chuckling a bit, Dash grinned as he hugged his adorable friend closer. “Definitely, Flutters. Nothing’s going to happen to me!”

He paused, just taking a moment to reminisce for a bit, to try to think of happier, better times. Especially in their fillyhood in Cloudsdale. How they’d always been there for each other, good times and bad. He’d always been Fluttershy’s protector, it was a part of what came when they hung out together. Many would think he would be tired of it, but in all honesty, he wasn’t. There had been times, yes, he went a little overboard in trying to get her to assert herself, all of which he regretted, but he still did like having somepony to take care of. And he would defend her honour any day.

Even with this situation at hoof, it didn’t stop the warm feelings that came with hanging out with his longtime best friend. Dash felt more relaxed and at ease, without the need for speed, whenever they were together. Now that Fluttershy was feeling a lot less sad, it only made their little moment a lot better.

Fluttershy snuggled in a little further, laying a wing of his own around his protector. As long as he had his rainbow, the shy pony figured that everything would be okay. Sure there had been times where all that Fluttershy wanted to do was run away and hide. But the bold cyan pegasus had always been there for him, sometimes even having to forcibly keep him by his side.

“Hey, Flutters? You know I mean it, right? Nothing’s gonna stop me from protecting you, being there for you. And well, if you really need some help, you know you’ve got me to turn to.” Dash murmured to him, gently angling his face to look into his eyes.

“Y-yes Rainbow... I know. If there’s anything I can do for you in return... just let me know.” He gave his bold companion a quick nuzzle, leaving his creamy muzzle pressed up against the jutting cyan jaw his best friend.

Dash’s wings rose slightly. He smirked a little, his eyes narrowing. “Oh, really? Well...I can think of a few things...” He said in a suggestive tone, licking his lips and running a hoof along Fluttershy’s chin.

The shy ex-mare’s wings rose in reply. ‘What is he going on about...? No... He can’t possibly...’

“You’re blushing, Fluttershy,” Dash said flirtatiously, giving his body a once-over. “And I think your feathered friends there have a few things to say...” He leaned in, breath hot on the frozen pony’s face.

‘my what!?!’ Fluttershy glanced back and a mild look of horror crossed his face. His traitorous wings were a dead giveaway, almost standing straight up. He squirmed on the spot, wanting to get away fromt the torment but unwilling to leave the safety of his friend’s protective wing.

“I...I...They... don’t have anything to say...” He trailed off feeling very hot under the midday sun.

A chuckle escaped the cyan pegasus before he leaned up and nibbled Fluttershy’s ear, before whispering, “I know mine do...”

“Eeep!” Fluttershy nearly leapt up into the air at this.

He did not expect his noramly self centered friend to become so... attached to somepony else all of a sudden. Although Fluttershy did know that his friend was very bold and outgoing... ‘What if he’s just doing this to prank me?’

“You know I meant it when I said you were cute, for a stallion, right? Well, I gotta say, the more I think about it...you still are beautiful and so cute, Flutters,” came Dash’s smooth and suggestive voice in his ear, before his tongue licked along it. He then brought his gaze back down to his companion’s, meeting their eyes. “I’m not just saying it, you know.”

“T-thank you...” Fluttershy trailed off nervously, feeling like he wanted to slip away. “Y-you’re not too bad either...”

This caught Dash off guard for a moment as his own cheeks flushed and he smiled, looking flattered. “Gee...thanks, Fluttershy. That’s nice of you to say.”

Fluttershy let out a small squeak and pulled his head away, blushing. “I mean... you looked very nice before... but getting changed into a stallion has been much nicer to you than to me...”

“Say what? Oh come on, Fluttershy, don’t sell yourself short! Sure, I look awesome no matter what gender I am!” Dash grinned, but then looked serious. “But I meant it. You’re still same old Fluttershy, and well...okay, fine, I’ll admit it, okay? As a mare you’re absolutely beautiful. Hay, I’d even go as far as to say that you’re the most beautiful pony I’ve ever seen. And now that you’re a stallion, well, it kinda works on you. You don’t look too...well, stallion-ish and yet not too mare-ish, you seem to look like Fluttershy if she were a stallion. You’re still the same old Fluttershy though...” He blushed a bit, and then smiled in a suggestive yet sweet manner. “And you’ll always be my snuggle bunny.” He leaned in closer, laying their foreheads together.

Stunned silence was all the shy pony could manage as he sat there frozen, trying to process the unexpected information. ‘What is going on here...? This is past any sort of prank. I...I...Wonder...No...He can’t be attracted to me now that I’m a stallion...’

“Y’know, after all that, as long as you’re still Fluttershy on the inside, doesn’t matter to me whether you’re a mare or stallion!” Dash threw in, hugging him closer and nuzzling their foreheads.

“O-okay... Th-that’s nice...” The yellow stallion melted into the hug, finally forgetting all the problems of the outside world.

The shy pegasus breathed deeply. This is it. A perfect time to say what he had been meaning to tell his friend for a long time now... just how much he meant to him in return. How much he wanted to cuddle up with the strong athletic pony at night, go for romantic flights together... even... well... if the stunning rainbow mar-stallion would say yes... even more too.

Breathing deeply, his body quivering, as were his lips, Fluttershy opened his mouth to speak, “...Rainbow....?”

“Yeah?” Dash whispered, his eyelids lowering as he leaned closer to Fluttershy, smirking.

“I....I....” Fluttershy leaned closer also, their breaths intermingling, their lips just barely inches apart. Oh, he was so close! Just a little more and he could finally kiss him.

The bold cyan pegasus peeked out of his closing eyes at the pretty pony in front of him. This was going to be great! He was about to kiss his first ever stallion. And it was Fluttershy! What could’ve been better about that?

“Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash! Come quic- Oh!” Twilight skidded to a halt in front of the two frozen stallions. “What’s going on here?” The purple stallion asked with a worried look upon his face.

At the sight of the interruption, the quivering shy pegasus ‘eeped’ and hid himself behind his protector. ‘Why did he have to do that?’

“Twilight...we were... Wait...what’s wrong? I mean, more than usual?” Blitz said, throwing a wing over Fluttershy’s cowering figure.

“Luna and I got a plan. We need your muscle and Fluttershy’s knowledge of nature. We meet in five. Get ready guys!”

Twilight was already off to the other ponies before Blitz had finally lifted Fluttershy up. Purple hooves thundered across the warped royal floor towards the royal pool in hopes of finding a very certain stallion and prince.

“Bubble Berry! We’re going to go capture Discord and Sheogorath. Hand over Celestia and get ready! You're our expert on Sheogorath and we need you. Playtime is over!”

“Okie-dokie-lokie!”

Twilight reached for Celestia with her powerful magic. She could sense that even now her mentor powerful. However, the tiny creature allowed itself to become ensnared in the hold of the scholar.

“Oh Twi’, I got an awesome idea! Check this out!” Bubble conjured a large saddlebag and strapped it onto Twilight. “It’s a little home for our Prince of the Mud crabs!”

Twilight sighed impatiently before placing an unwilling Celestia into the saddlebag. “Fine. It will do. Come on Bubble or Pinkie- whatever you are! Let’s go!”

The tiny arthropod inside of the saddlebag rocked back and forth as the stallions galloped toward their last targets. There was nothing for Equestria's ruler to do except hope that her student and sister could uncover the answers.

Twilight burst into sight of his last two targets. Purity was clearly still in distress and Applejack had a forehoof around his quaking shoulders in a comforting manner.

“I hope ya’ got a plan Twilight. You wouldn’t come a runnin’ if ya’ didn’t,” Applejack dryly asked as he looked up at the intruder.

“Get Purity on his feet! We need him and we especially need you! I’ll explain later! Lets go!”

Twilight thundered along past them, leaving no option but to follow the galloping unicorn.

“Are we leaving this place? I must disguise myself! I cannot be shown in such a sta-”

The farmer gently shook his friend, trying to shake some sense into his distraught mind. “Snap out of it! We need ya’! I need ya’! So get on yer feet and let’s save Equestria! Come on!”

Applejack hurriedly assisted his friend up. Despite clearly not wanting to, the tearful alabaster equine allowed himself to be led along, after the bookworm.

The pair quickly found themselves in the massive library. The lavender stallion and prince of the moon stood before them waiting for the others to show up.

Bubble Berry burst in, energetic as always. "Oh sorry I'm late guys. I first had to go to the toilet.  I never knew that-"

"Bubble Berry please, contain yourself. Prince Luna has something important to say." Twilight did his level best to contain the excitable party pony.

"Okey dokey lokie." A pink hoof maneuvered an invisible zipper across the muzzle, making it clear he was listening.

Prince Luna opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by the sound of a pony crashing into a bookshelf.

"Are you okay?" The quiet voice of Fluttershy made the source of commotion crystal clear.

Twilight winced at the thought of the poor books. Before anything could be done about it the sound of a crashed stallion taking off hit his ears and the scholar threw a protective spell over the nearby books.

"I'm fine Fluttershy. Now keep up. We must be nearly there."

Moments later, the last two members of the group rounded the corner. Blitz crashed to a halt in the middle of the assembled stallions. Twilight felt glad he had used his magic as a safeguard.

Fluttershy gave unnecessary assistance to her crashable friend, who sprang up "Okay egghead why are we in this boring place?"

“Yeah Twilight, tell us yer’ plan!” The farmer added.

“Okay... Luna... take it away,” Twilight said as she stepped backward.

“THOU MUST LISTEN TO THY! TWILIGHT SPARKLE AND I HAVE DEVISED A TACTICAL APPROACH TO THIS PROBLEM-”

“Prince... they can hear you just fine,” Twilight winced.

“ACKNOWLEDGED- oh... okay Twilight. I will cease speaking in such a tone. Now, we must prepare. I have devised a spell that will track Discord and Sheogorath. If the spell finds success, we should surely be able to find them and confront them for a solution. I know the aspect of facing them is intimidating, but have no fear, FOR PRINCE LUNA, ALICORN OF THE NIGHT IS HERE TO PROTECT YOU!”

“You ready guys?” Twilight asked before beginning the spell. “We’ve been through worse, right?”

“Do it Twilight!" Purity confirmed, hope swirling in his eyes.

The spell began to chaotically cover Twilight’s horn. Tiny sparkle swirls of magic pulsed through her nerves. All four hooves were planted firmly on the ground as a countermeasure to the massive mental-recoil of the spell.

“Almost... there...”

Pow!

A magical aura spawned from Twilight’s horn. It slowly formed a two dimensional pool that hovered in the air facing the wide eyed assembly of ponies. The glazed pool floated in front of everypony like a still lake. Suddenly ripples spread outwards, as if a stone had been cast into the middle. An audience of confused stallions and a single mud crab gazed into the strange spell as it simmered slowly. After a few long seconds, the ripples faded out and an image appeared, almost as if it were in a mirror or screen.

A male draconequus was perched upon a tree. A tree in the middle of the sky. Discord was also grinning, as if victory was within his grasp. A slight distance away, Sheogorath spread his wings across a pink cloud. A chess set hovered between the duo, waiting patiently for it’s masters to make a move.

“IN WHAT PART OF EQUESTRIA DO TREES FLY?”

“Ssh Luna,” Twilight whispered. “We might hear something.”

Indeed they did, for the two crazed beings were in the middle of something important. “My madness... what is our next plan for ruling Equestria under the fist of chaos and madness?” Discord asked before moving a chest piece forward.

“Rule? That wasn’t part of the plan! Ah' was a thinking... How about after Equestria, we could go tae another realm and force th' United States to use an outdated measurin' system!” Sheogorath laughed at his cunning plan of madness. “Oh... then we could go ta the Mario Universe and put a toad in every castle Mario goes to. An' have him say ‘But oour Princess is in another castle.’  Oh, ain’t ah’ just a hoot?”

"Yes, but what about Equestria? I want it."

"Well ye' can have it. If ye' can win th' next round."

“Okay. I will just have to add that to my winning streak as well.”

“Don’ ye’ get cocky ma’ ol’ Discord. Ah has a few fun moves in store fer ye’.”

The draconequus grinned in reply to the challenge, moving a chess piece with an aloof claw before opening his mouth and continuing the idle chat, unaware that a group of ponies were watching on from afar.

Petty squabbles exploded onward between the two immortals as they continued their banter. Squabbles that didn’t suggest the massive scale of their egos.

“I can’t- I can’t hold it much longer!” The call from the straining unicorn brought everypony back to reality.

“THE EVIL-DOERS ARE ABOVE THE EVERFREE FOREST! YOU MAY REST TWILIGHT SPARKLE!” The royal voice boomed out across the quiet room.

The magic halted in a manner of seconds. Twilight and Celestia were on the ground as quickly as the spell ceased. Navy hooves wrapped and the exhausted mage. “Twilight? Is thou alright? Speak to me!”

The drained stallion unsteadily rose “Yeah... I’m okay. How about you guys go off and save Equestria? How about I take- take a week off.” He collapsed once more upon the floor.

“Come Twilight Sparkle! I shall assist you! We must depart for the Everfree Forest at once!” Luna declared, grabbing Twilight and galloping off towards adventure.