AN: So we took a long weekend from work, and with the help of my assistant, Corporal PancakeBatter, we are edited up to this chapter. Oh, and we adopted a second cat. Not that it matters. I just like to brag.
As per usual, I do not own My Little Pony.
Chapter 10: A Moment on Cutie Marks
Doctor Strong Bones was ready to scream. She had poured through too many books to count at this point. And still, nothing!
The books on how a cutie mark appeared held little useful information. Something about "finding the inner self," and "the power of inner magic inherent in every pony." Funny, last she checked, only unicorns or alicorns had any real power over magic. The rest sounded too mystical for her to really find of any use.
Others talked about illnesses like the cutie pox or rare cases where a disease would alter the colors of cutie marks. It usually was the sign of extreme sickness that could be fatal, such as brain tumors or strokes. One author took the mystical root again and called it the disconnect between the inner spiritual destiny and the pony's mental self. It made her want to pull out her mane! Couldn't they just stick to science and medicine already?
Then there were the books that went into the medical investigations on cutie marks. As much as she hated herself for it, she did find and read the article on the switched cutie marks. Oddly enough the cutie marks would not stay and morphed back into the host's original mark. At least, in the cases where the flesh was accepted...and the host lived. She still shuddered at the thought of such experiments that were conducted on helpless ponies.
Another talked about cases of amputations or disfiguration of the flank where the mark would appear. In these cases the cutie mark usually moved itself. In one case a small filly was caught in a burning building. The burns to her body has been so bad, that they permanently scarred her flank. Yet one day, her cutie mark simply appeared further up her figure on a healthy portion of her hide.
Yet as much as she searched none talked about a changing cutie mark!
Strong Bones wanted to give up. She really did. But the look on poor Fluttershy's face as she talked about this destiny that was not for her, not to mention this unspoken threat she felt from Discord, made her open the next book.
"Ah, Medical Records of the Pre-Classical Era. Sounds simply amazing," she muttered to herself.
Pinkie Pie looked out over the forest with a pocket telescope with so much enthusiasm, Twilight honestly thought that the basket was going to tip over.
"Really, Pinkie," Rarity chided, "Must you really bounce back and forth so much?"
Pinkie swiveled around, her magnified eye looking like it could practically touch Rarity's own eye as she looked back at the fashion pony, "Well how else am I supposed to keep an eye on the entire forest?!"
"If you could do so with less bouncing, maybe?" Twilight asked, holding on to the basket that swung back and forth over the forest.
"Fine," she huffed, sitting herself at the front end of the basket.
"Don't worry, Pinkie," Rainbow's voice came from above the balloon, "I'll help you keep a lookout!"
"Thanks Rainbow!" she called out, waving as the pegasus.
Looking at Twilight, Rainbow glided herself down so she could speak with her.
"So...what are we looking for exactly?" Rainbow asked.
"Well, anything I guess," Twilight replied, "You remember how the balloon looked, right?"
Rainbow nodded.
"Look for anything that matches that! Anything that looks damaged or maybe lived in."
"I'll see what I can do," Rainbow flew off into the distance, far faster than their balloon could take them.
The four ponies left in the balloon looked out over the forest, trying to spot any signs of their missing friend.
"Whoa!" Applejack's voice made all the others turn around. Within the chest that held all the elements of harmony, Fluttershy's necklace began to glow.
"What does it mean," Rarity asked, scared to touch it.
"I...I don't know," Twilight honestly spoke. Could Fluttershy be solving this by herself? Was the spell only temporary?
But seconds later, the light faded away.
"Do ya' think Fluttershy's returned to normal on her own?" Applejack voiced the question they were all wondering.
Twilight studied the necklace with a frown, "No. I don't think so."
Tapping the face of the necklace, she motioned to the others in the basket, "It's still not the right color of gem. Your's all returned to their regular colors after your memories were regained."
"So...what just happened?" Pinkie asked.
"I really have no idea." Twilight sighed and the group descended into silence once more.
"Hey! Guys!" Rainbow's voice broke the silence for those in the balloon.
"Rainbow!" Pinkie cried out, "You won't believe what happened! Fluttershy's necklace went all glowy and we were all like, "WOW!" but Twilight thinks-"
"Not now Pinkie," Rainbow practically shouted in a serious voice.
"What is it?" Applejack asked, seeing the nervous energy the pegasus was practically emitting.
"I think I found the balloon." Rainbow stated.
"Think?" Twilight repeated, "What do you mean by think?"
"I'll show you," Rainbow said, grabbing some of the ropes around the basket to guide them there.
Just as Discord has promised, they began to make a cake later that afternoon, after she had time to rest or at the very least be left alone for a bit. He still wouldn't let her out of bed, but at least he was giving her something to actually do rather than sit around.
In the end, while Fluttershy wanted the cake to simply be a basic, if not thoroughly decorated, chocolate cake, he kept insisting on adding various surprises to it on every level. After a bit, they agreed that he could decorate the top tier the way he wanted, so long as he left the bottom tier to her.
"Are you sure about this, Discord?" Fluttershy asked.
"Completely," Discord said, "Now do not move."
A snap of his fingers and the sun began to shine upon her mane where chocolate chips had been scattered from a popped bag. Instead of melting, they began to bloom into flowers of various types. Roses, pansies and lilies scattered across her hair, all still chocolate in their makeup, but flowers nonetheless.
Discord immediately plucked a flower from her mane, before getting a sniff of the flower.
"Ah, almost as pretty as you," he said with a smile.
Fluttershy's face turned beet red as she looked away.
"You really are too easy to make blush," Discord laughed before using his magic to remove all the chocolate blossoms and place them on the cake, "How does that look?"
Glancing at the cake, she saw a marvel as the white buttercream covered the chocolate cake, with icing trimming it in golden and copper hues. The chocolate blossoms were placed across newly made vines, making the cake a masterpiece.
"It's beautiful," she replied honestly.
"To the fridge then?" Discord asked, "I believe you were saying something about a party for the good doctor?"
"Y-yes," Fluttershy nodded, almost forgetting her strange episode from earlier, "That would be perfect. Perhaps we can invite some of those foals you were playing with earlier?"
"Perhaps," Discord said, "But we might have to move the party location then. Wouldn't want to look like we were trying to foal-nap them now, would we? Though I think the doctor already thinks that of me…."
"Of course not," Fluttershy looked horrified at the thought, "We'll move this cake to where ever we need it to be! And Doctor Strong Bones just doesn't know you well enough yet. You really are a sweetheart."
Discord blushed lightly and nodded. Grabbing the cake with one arm, he maneuvered himself to the doorway that opened to reveal a winter wonderland.
"Hey!" Discord yelled out at a second Discord who was ice skating across a pond, "Anyone there?"
"You again?" the second Discord cried out, "What do you want this time? I thought you only wanted breakfast!"
"Put this in there, will ya'" Discord yelled at him, "And if you drop it, I will...I don't know...lock you away in the dungeon for a century or two!"
"Yeah, yeah," the second Discord skated over and got the floating cake.
"Why did I even hire that guy?" Discord questioned aloud.
Fluttershy giggled.
"Now what, she-who-has-hair-that-makes-flowers-grow?" Discord asked, floating lazily over.
Fluttershy squeaked as her bed and other furniture in the room began to float slowly as well.
"Well..um…" Fluttershy mumbled to herself, "I don't know. Did you have something in mind?"
"I have an idea," Discord said with a smile making all the floating cease and the furniture fall back to the floor with a soft thud, "Thought it up during your little nap!"
Hovering over next to Fluttershy, he leaned in close, taking no notice of the furniture that had been levitating not moments before, "Perhaps if you cannot remember how the past was, I can help remind you of it!"
"Remind me?" Fluttershy repeated slowly, uncertainty dripping off of every word.
"Yes!" Discord exclaimed with glee, "I will try my magic on your cutie mark! Perhaps that will change it back to normal!"
"M-magic…" she asked nervously.
"Sure! It is only a snap away!"
Yet Fluttershy only stared at him in uncertainty.
"Ugh," he sighed, throwing his arms into the air, "I thought we already got past this whole untrustworthy thing! Do I need to do the whole promise cupcake again?"
"I-I trust you," Fluttershy quickly tried to placate him, "I just...I don't know. Magic makes me...nervous."
"Ugh," Discord landed next to her bed and summoned a plate of cupcakes to his side, "Here we go. Cross m-"
"No-no!" Fluttershy stopped him, "I'll do it! Just...just do it fast."
"There's the adventurous spirit!"
Discord happily floated over to Fluttershy, tossing the cupcakes over his shoulder where they exploded in the background. A quick snap and Fluttershy's cutie mark disappeared under a small cloud of smoke. Both Discord and Fluttershy stared in hope and expectation, only for the smoke to clear and the balloons to remain.
Discord dropped to his knees and shouted to the sky in despair.
"It's alright. You tried your best, Discord." Fluttershy tried to reassure him with a pat on his shoulder, though deep down she was slightly relieved that nothing happened.
"I have not yet begun to try, dear Fluttershy!" Discord exclaimed as he jumped back to his feet. She could only watch as he began to pace around the room, deep in thought.
"Of course!" he finally exclaimed, making Fluttershy jump, "That was so silly of me! I must say though, I must be a genius."
"Genius?" Fluttershy whispered, fearful of whatever "genius" idea Discord may have come up with.
"It's all too simple, really," Discord stated more to himself than to anyone else. Reaching out behind Fluttershy's head, he removed a small white bunny that he handed to Fluttershy.
"A...bunny?" Fluttershy asked in confusion, looking at the creature being offered to her.
"Why, yes?" Discord smiled, "Don't you like it? Don't you just want to pinch its little cheeks."
As Discord began to pinch the small rabbits face the rabbit began to squeak in protest.
"Now, now," Fluttershy intervened, grabbing the bunny from Discord, "I don't think he likes that very much."
"Oh really," Discord questioned, smiling as he watched his plan come together.
"Yes, really," Fluttershy declared, giving him a disapproving glance before focusing on the bunny in her hoofs, "Now do you?"
The bunny responded with various squeaks, pantomiming his frustration at the Chaos Lord.
"Is...is that so?" Fluttershy asked nervously, "Well then, we will just have to make sure that he doesn't do that again. Would you happen to like a snack while you...recover?"
The bunny nodded in excitement, his excited squeals echoing across the room.
"It's so strange," Fluttershy whispered, the air around her began to glow, "It's almost as if I...I knew what he's saying. It's like...like this is what I was supposed to be doing…."
Discord watched in awe as she levitated slightly from the bed, glowing a light yellow. He knew he could do it! He simply was too smart!
"But that can't be right," Fluttershy said sadly, the glow immediately began to fade.
"What?" Discord exclaimed, "It is completely right! Why would you think otherwise?"
"My destiny lies elsewhere," Fluttershy mumbled, "My cutie mark shows that. Even if it feels right, it is simply not meant to be."
"No. No!" Discord whined as the glow completely vanished from Fluttershy, "But what if it is what you were meant to do!"
"Maybe you're right," Fluttershy said after a minute of silence, "Maybe I was meant to be…"
Discord leaned in close as Fluttershy paused.
"A magician!" Fluttershy exclaimed, holding out the bunny, "I could work on pulling a rabbit out of a hat! Wouldn't that be great, Mr. Bunny? We could make so many laughs that way!"
As Fluttershy began to have a one sided conversation with the rabbit, Discord sighed and sat down, instantly making his throne appear to sit in. Well, his ideas were used up. Perhaps Doctor Strong Bones had found something that would work better.
Twilight sifted through the wreckage of the balloon with a frown on her face. She had hoped that there was some clue as to where Fluttershy had vanished to, but this was not promising.
She stomped on one of the broken branch from the tree above in frustration. She had known not to get her hopes up after what Princess Luna had written her, but still when Rainbow Dash came back with news, she had let herself hope. And now she was paying the price.
"Twilight," Rarity voice scolded her, "Look what you are doing to your hooves!"
Twilight huffed. Now was not a time to be worrying about her hoofs! Her friend was out there, alone, hurt, confused, and there was nothing she could do about it!
"Don't worry," Pinkie Pie's face came into view, not even a full foot from her face, "I'm sure that Rainbow Dash and Applejack will be back with some news!"
The sounds of galloping across the ground made them look up.
Pinkie smiled ecstatically, "And there they are now! Hi Rainbow Dash! Hi Applejack!"
"Did you find anything?" Twilight asked.
"Not much," Applejack huffed, catching her breath.
"We found some clearing with a doctor's office and a tea party set up in it," Rainbow said in confusion.
"Her tracks went there," Applejack provided, "And so do a set of Timberwolves. But only the Timberwolves leave."
"We looked everywhere!" Rainbow exclaimed, "But there was no sign of her!"
Twilight frowned. Could Fluttershy have been taken away by those wolves? What else could have found her? This forest was filled with so many strange and unexplained things, was it really too much to think something else had found and taken Fluttershy away?
"Darling," Rarity's voice finally found it's way into Twilight's mind, "What do you think we should do now?"
"Do?" Twilight asked in annoyance, turning around she used her magic to spread light on the forest floor, "We keep searching. Maybe we missed something. There has to be some clue as to where-"
"Twilight," Applejack halted her ramblings, "We looked. There was nothing."
"Yeah, but you weren't using magic!" Twilight urged, "If we can keep looking-"
Applejack growled out, "Can you not see that we tried?"
Twilight turned around, her eyes threatening to spill tears.
"Sugarcube," Applejack sighed, moving closer to give her friend a hug, "We all miss her too. Listen, we have a location now! How about we contact Celestia and we bring in the guards to check the forest."
"I do think that they would be better equipped to handle the mud and, ugh, dirt," Rarity tip-toed around a puddle.
"I...I suppose you are right," Twilight sighed.
"Right?!" Rainbow cried out, "No! Twilight! We need to keep going! Just because these guys don't want to get dirty doesn't mean we should leave."
"Rainbow!" Applejack yelled at the pegasus, "Stop that!"
"Stop what? Searching for my friend? Or did you guys forget what it means to be a friend!"
"No!" Applejack glared, "We didn't forget! But you are hurting your other friends with that bullheaded attitude of yours! Can't ya' see? We are all tired and scared and nervous! We want to see Fluttershy come home! But it is getting dark, and we all know what sort of creatures roam the darkness of the Everfree Forest!"
"But…" Rainbow looked taken aback, tears forming in her eyes.
"No! No but's!" Applejack continued on, "You are not doing us any good at this rate! I know the two of ya' are good friends, but we are all her friends as well!"
Rainbow Dash looked at the earth pony in shock. She honestly had no comeback to her argument.
Applejack studied Rainbow before sighing, "When was the last time ya' slept? Or ate for that matter?"
Rainbow Dash landed softly on the ground, refusing to look at the group as tears began to fall freely. She was tired and scared. And while she didn't want to admit it, she had not had a meal since the day before yesterday. Curse Applejack for knowing her too well.
"It's going to be ok, Rainbow," Twilight said, giving her a hug, "We'll head back, give Celestia a letter through Spike, and go again in the morning!"
Rainbow Dash looked up, and saw the determined looks on all her friends faces, before she gave them a half-hearted smile.
"Yeah."
"Did you find anything?"
Doctor Strong Bones jumped at the voice behind her. Turning she found Discord standing behind her, looking upset.
"Actually, I might have," Strong Bones said, pulling out the book from the library, "I found this book that may have some clues. Can we talk as we go to check on my patient?"
"Your patient?" Discord asked with a raised eyebrow as he grabbed the book.
"Yes," she glared at him, "My patient. Or did you not want me as her doctor anymore?"
"Of course not," Discord may act the part of the fool, but a fool he was not. Opening the door to his stairway, he stepped out of the way and let the doctor through. Following her through, he closed the door on the now empty office.
"So what am I looking at," Discord asked, studying the text upside down.
"Maybe if you read it right side up…" Strong Bones resisted the urge to righten the book for him.
He only smiled down at her. It was too easy to get under these silly ponies skins.
"It is a text on medical records. It goes over the strange cases from the past. It went into so many different scenarios! It was quite interes-"
Discord waved her on, "Can we get on with it?"
With a roll of her eyes she continued, "In one section it told of a group that may have suffered from a magical amnesia or memory rewrite."
Discord opened a door ahead with a soft snap, following the doctor through.
"And this has to do with Fluttershy...how?"
"At first glance, nothing," Strong Bones admitted, "But it is when you read through the witness accounts that it gets interesting. One of their acquaintances kept saying something was wrong. Something about a spell and destinies being switched. Nopony really listened at the time, but it sounded similar enough for me to keep looking into it.
"They were sent to a hospital to be inspected," she continued, "They found nothing truly wrong with the group physically, but none of the ponies could do what their cutie marks depicted. It was as if they lost the ability to do so.
"Their friend kept insisting that it was magic, and tried to prove it to the group, but nopony ever remembered them being anything other than the way they were at the time. In the end the doctors decided that it had to be a spell that messed with their memories."
"And?" Discord now floated closer, holding on to every word, "What happened to the group?"
"Well…" Strongbones paused, nervous to continue. They were standing right outside Fluttershy's door and she didn't really want her to hear it.
"Well what?"
"It didn't end too well…."
"What do you mean by end too well?"
Studying the area, she weighed the risk of telling him, and having Fluttershy overhear, or not saying anything at all. At Discord's impatient huff, she finally gave in.
"All the ponies involved suffered from a severe depression," Strong Bones said softly to Discord, "While some were able to move on with their lives, some got lost in this...I don't know. The book called it an insanity of the mind, but they had to be locked away for their own safety. They barely ate or slept or did anything except that which pertained to their cutie marks. All they seemed to focus on was their cutie marks. Those few that could not work with it...they died."
Discord sank down so that he was once more standing on the ground, his face holding that of worry, "Really?"
Silence answered him.
"Now what?" he asked.
"Well, I talked with the librarian to try and get some more information, but our library didn't have anything on it. So, since this was magic based, I was recommended to the magic library in Canterlot to-"
"Canterlot!" Discord exclaimed, stepping between her and the door to the room, "Tell me you didn't!"
"Didn't what?" Strong Bones asked confused.
"Didn't contact them!" Discord shouted.
"Of course I did!" she looked offended, "They might have information on this spell that could give us a counter or cure for what is affecting Fluttershy! Why would Canterlot be a problem?"
"Canterlot is the home of the princesses," Discord huffed, "If they find out about Fluttershy, they may take her away! What if they take her to experiment on? What if they take her back to Ponyville and never allow me to visit!"
"The Princesses have always been kind, I'm sure they would do nothing of the sort."
Discord rolled his eyes, "Yeah. So that's why I was turned to stone for over a hundred years."
"What?!"
"Nevermind." Discord growled, "Just know this. I hold you responsible for Fluttershy's wellbeing. She has done so much for me, I don't want to see her get hurt."
Discord opened the door before the doctor had a chance to respond. Giving him a scared glance, she entered the room to look over her patient. Fluttershy meanwhile seemed blissfully unaware of the conversation they just had outside the door, or was at least doing a great job of pretending to not have heard it.
After checking over the wrappings, and a quick x-ray of the worrisome areas, Strong Bones was finally able to let out a sigh of relief. At least on one front she didn't have to worry about the draconequus' wraith.
"You seem to be doing well," she said with a smile, "And it seems that concussion I was worried about isn't going to be a problem."
"That is wonderful," Fluttershy said with a smile, before yawning deeply, "Oh my. Sorry. It is getting late, isn't it?"
"Perfectly alright," Strong Bones turned to look at Discord, "Perhaps it is best we left and let her rest?"
Discord nodded at the doctor, "I'll be back soon if you need anything Fluttershy!"
"Of course," she smiled up at him, "Good night doctor! Thank you for all your help!"
Discord and the doctor walked through the stairwell again in silence. Upon returning to the office, Strong Bones turned and looked at Discord.
"What did she do?"
At Discord's questioning gaze, she clarified, "What did Fluttershy do to get you to care for her this much?"
"She...she helped me." Discord whispered, "I don't want to go back to the way it was before. Spreading chaos is fun, but it was always lacking a certain...je ne sais quoi. But when Fluttershy befriended me…."
Discord turned to look at her, "That small little pony is perhaps my only friend. If she gets hurt, I will not stop in using my power to make your life miserable."
Strong Bones nodded, her eyes wide in fear.
"I am glad we have an understanding. Now if you do not mind."
With that, Discord stepped back into the shadows and disappeared from the hospital. Strong Bones released a breath that she didn't even realize she was holding. Why did she feel like she was in over her head?