A/N:
I'm back! Hello everyone I'm so sorry for the long wait, I've had so much work on and essays and coursework and family stuffs and agghhh! But I'm back and I should be able to get this fanfic done by the end of the month. Speaking of which, Happy New Year! XD Well I hope this chapter makes up for the absence! Can't wait to hear from you guys again!
"Everything alright, sugarcube?"
I opened the door only to look down at her and stand back for her to join me into the bathroom, "Not really... Please, I need to tell you something."
She tilted her head quizzically, but nodded and walked inside for me to close the door. I ran a hand though my hair and sat down on the edge of the bath. Hell where do I start with this? How do you explain to someone that all the time you were helping them you were actually selling them out? And there was no making excuses anymore, I had been selling them out.
"I... I don't really know what to say here." I admitted, "But, I think you should see this."
I picked up the Element of Laughter from the side of the sink and held it out to her. We both knew it wasn't her element, but it was the best way to get this confession started. So I waited impatiently, anxiously as her big green eyes widened in recognition, jaw opening a fraction from confusion. For a moment, there was just silence as she tried to create an explanation. Evidently she found none.
"That's Pinkie's Element... Where did yeh get this?"
"Honestly, I don't know how it works. But it's got something, or rather a lot, to do with Discord." I winced.
"Discord?"
"After you guys showed up here... so did he." I shifted and looked at her pleadingly as I let the words fall out of my mouth like shards they were that difficult to say, "I just wanted my normal life back and he promised I could have it if I helped him get the Elements to him. He said he wasn't going to hurt you, he just needed the Elements to take you all back home, and I thought that since you've beaten him before then it would be a good thing but..."
"So wait a minute, just how many Elements does he have now? And how in tarnation did he get 'em? It ain't like he has control over them."
"I really don't understand it either. He started spouting out riddles and rhymes about how I had to collect them for him because he doesn't know how to get them himself. It all had something to do with acting out the Elements?" I shrugged weakly, my brain was hurting, "I... I gave Rarity what she needed for her dress-making, and that's how I got-"
"Generosity?"
"I think so. Then after that Fluttershy was scared so I stayed with her-"
"Kindness."
"And just now," I indicated to the Element in my hands, "Pinkie and I were talking, then she made me laugh and... I don't know what happens, they just show up!"
"Okay, Freya, calm down-"
"I can't! I thought that if I collected them all then you'd get home and you could fix your own problem but it's not that simple is it! He's got the Elements and-"
"He ain't got all of them. He still hasn't gotten Honesty, Loyalty and Magic so we got some hope."
"Actually... turns out that he already had Loyalty, he said it showed up when you guys stuck together after being sent here." I muttered, shaking my head, "I'm sorry. I just thought that I... I didn't know he... I'm sorry!"
She blinked, taking it all in. I expected her to shout or accuse me of being as bad as him but instead she just took a breath and asked seriously, "What changed your mind?"
"I don't know." I muttered, looking at the floor and trying to keep my voice steady, "He... He's not going to help anyone. I know that now. And... I can't just hand you over to him when you've been nothing but understanding about all of this and me and you're all just... It's not right. I'm so sorry, Applejack."
I really was. The guilt was eating away at me. I wasn't just telling her this because Discord had ticked me off, it was also because I just couldn't take them being nice to me anymore when I was being anything but. I watched anxiously as she furrowed her brow in thought. What was she going to do? What was Discord going to do when he found out? Oh please don't tell me I was scared, I don't have the energy to be scared right now.
Applejack shook her head, "Ya lied to us, Freya. And lying don't sit well."
"I know. And I'm sorry. Honestly I am and-"
"What the hay is that?" she asked suddenly, staring up at my throat.
Looking down, I noticed an unfortunately familiar glow forming just under my chin. The snug feel of cool metal circled around my neck and made me shudder. Another one? But how? I looked pleasingly at Applejack, wanting her to see that I had no control over this. I didn't even know why this one popped up! My hands tugged it off of me and I saw that unlike the blue balloon shaped jewel in the centre, this one had an orange gem in the shape of an apple, a tiny green stone acting as a leaf.
"Okay, sugarcube, now tell them exactly what ya told me."
Why was she so accepting to this? Okay 'accepting' was not the right word to use at all. She had shaken her head with an encouraging smile and led me down the stairs to gather the group. Great, this was going to make things just as difficult. But then again, they all deserved to hear it I guess. Well, no guessing, they did deserve to hear it. I just... kind of hoped I could take the cowards way out and let her pass on the message. No such luck. And thinking about it, it's the way it should be. But I was so... uneasy about it. Discord could be listening at any time if he wasn't already. And maybe a public announcement wasn't the best way to go.
But I still didn't know what had made Applejack just suddenly drop all scepticism of me. Not that I was complaining. But as I repeated my story to the others, starting from the very beginning from the first time Discord appeared, I saw that the group didn't have the same understanding reaction. For the most part anyway. Twilight looked alarmed, but at the same time empathetic at best, as did Rarity which surprised me. Pinkie was occupied looking back and fore between all of us, seemingly as curious to their reactions as much as I was, 'ooh'-ing and 'ahh'-ing at the supposedly right moments. Poor Fluttershy looked near heartbroken; a total contrast to Rainbow Dash who looked outraged.
"See, I told you we couldn't trust her!"
"Really, darling, I know that Discord can be sneaky as a parasprite but what on earth made you think doing what he asked was a good idea?" Rarity asked abruptly.
"I'm sorry! I don't know, I just wanted things back to normal and he said he could get that for me. I wasn't thinking straight after that!"
Twilight stamped her front hoof forward to get our attention, "It doesn't matter now. What matters is that we know that Discord is here and that he has the Elements. Most of them anyway."
"What're we going to do?" Fluttershy asked feebly, looking worried as per the norm.
"Well now we have two Elements with us, we just need to figure out how to get the others back from Discord."
I was glad she had some sort of a plan, no matter how basic it was, "How're we going to do that?"
"We? There isn't a we!" Dash insisted.
I deserved that one... Twilight however seemed to have other ideas, "Actually, we'll need Freya to help on this. Since Discord is using her to collect the Elements, it makes sense that he'll be back soon enough for these two. We just have to wait until he does."
I was going to be used as bait? What? Okay I admitted that I was in the wrong here and I did want to help I guess but I did not want to be bait.
"How do we know she isn't working for Discord now and this is all another trick? She's been lying all this time, how do we know she's not lying now?" Dash demanded.
"A valid question, Rainbow, but what could anyone possible have to gain from more tricks?"
"I'm just saying, it's Discord we're dealing with..."
Finally, Applejack spoke up, "Listen here, y'all, I know this is a tough situation here, but Twilight's right. It's the best chance we got at fixing this mess and we're going for it. And Freya's helping us, she wants to show she's sorry and I believe her."
That one threw me off guard, "You... why?"
"Because this showed up." she replied, nodding her head towards her Element. Honesty, I'd learned, "And that's proof enough for me that you're telling the truth."
"That she was, and that's possible the best trick she could have played..."
Oh no... We all had the same reaction of jumping back in alarm as the mockingly familiar voice wafted around us like smoke we couldn't grab. Suddenly all eyes were on me. I tensed anxiously, wondering what had happened to make them either glare or cower from me depending on the pony. But it didn't take long to figure out that they were actually looking at something directly behind me. It's hands, or rather paw and claw, landed on my shoulders.
I flinched and tore myself away, turning to face our intruder. He leered over us, feet on the ground for once and standing his full height to try and look more intimidating. Discord. Wait, what had he said about me playing a trick? Oh don't you dare try and turn this around on me again!
Discord chuckled darkly, "You're playing the game better than I thought, bravo I must say."
"I'm not playing a game!"
"Of course you are, why else would you deliberately tell the truth about our little arrangement if you didn't plan on getting the Element of Honesty to me?"
"Freya, that's not true right?" Fluttershy asked hopefully, but weakly.
"What? No, it's not! He-" I went to shove him away but he'd already slithered to the air and out of the way, "You tricked me!"
"You have your version of the story and I have mine. And just look at these short stories before me, now this is just too entertaining."
He swooped around and gathered the six in his arms now that they were small enough in their toy-size to fit. They struggled against him but were too small to fight back. I tried to reach for the two trinkets at the side, but his tail snapped out and gathered them too. Now he had five of the gold bands looped over his tail, mocking me and them.
"Get offa me, you creep!" Dash snapped.
"You don't steal a Pinkie-hug unless she likes you!" Pinkie yelled.
I stepped forward, "Let them go!"
"Oh I plan to as soon as we get to where we're going. And you, my dear, have been such a helpful assistant that I've decided to let you out of our arrangement early. Enjoy your perfectly normal, peaceful life. You earned it."
"No!"
But it was too late. Just like that they blinked out of the room using his freaky as hell teleport tricks. The light forced me to look away a second, the sounds of the six yelling and struggling overridden by the maniacal laughter coming from the kidnapper. And then, silence. Mocking, tormenting silence. I was alone. No ponies, no discord, no elements. Nothing. Just me, in the quiet.
A/N:
Well, Freya, he's right, you got what you wanted. Normal life back once more! But is she going to be as happy with it as she thought? You'll have to wait and see to find out! Until next time folks! Can't wait to hear from you guys again, I'm missed you! XD
