Wednesday, 11.25pm – All-Equestria Summit Soiree, Las Pegasus Equine
Fluttershy followed Rarity and Applejack through the crowds of summit guests. She was dimly aware of them but it was hard to focus on anything that was going on around her.
She knew she was partly using Twilight's troubles as an excuse to give herself some breathing space, fearful of being swept away on a tide of events that was rushing along much too fast. Her thoughts whirled like a cyclone as scenes from the previous evening replayed themselves in her head.
"I thought Discord was my best friend … but it seems like I was wrong. Or… no…not wrong exactly; he is my best friend but he says he's in love with me – do I dare let myself believe it? And even if I do believe it, even if he is in love with me, he's at war with Twilight!" Her brow crinkled in a worried frown "Oh, I'm in deep trouble… because when he said he loved me, I realised that I… I…"
They found their way to a little side room and she saw Twilight sitting at a vanity table with her back to them. Fluttershy could see in the mirror the were black smudges under her eyes where she had been crying. Immediately overcome with sympathy, she trotted over to embrace her friend.
"Are you ok?" She asked. The Alicorn shook her head tearfully and Fluttershy felt terrible "Oh Twilight, I'm sorry!"
"Don't be silly," The Princess sniffed and rubbed her eyes on the back of her hoof "I've only got myself to blame for this mess!"
"It ain't your fault sugarcube!" Applejack said.
"No of course not!" Rarity tossed her mane angrily "It's that brutish loud-mouth who's really to blame here!"
"I don't get why you won't just let me pound 'im!" Snarled Rainbow Dash, smacking her hooves together.
"It's completely out of the question Rainbow," Twilight said flatly "I'm here as an official representative of Princess Celestia. I can't have my entourage getting into fights."
"What about them?" Dash cried pointing at Spike, Rarity and Applejack who all coughed and looked at the floor.
"Getting into any more fights," Twilight corrected herself "Besides, it's one thing getting into a fight in some bar – can you imagine if we start a ruckus right here at the summit soiree? We could cause a diplomatic incident!"
"Twilight, I don't understand why you don't just give him the money." Said Spike.
The Princess rounded on him "Because I don't have it! And I can't just go round helping myself to the royal treasury without any explanation – it would be wrong, in fact it would be stealing!"
The Dragon frowned "But I'm sure if you asked, Princess Celestia would just give you the money?"
"Spike, I can't tell Celestia about this!" Twilight buried her head in her hooves "Whatever would she think of me?"
"Hey, why don't you just ask Discord?" Pinkie asked "He could magic up the money easily, and he already knows about Jet Stream anyway, so you don't need to worry about telling him!"
"I'm not sure Discord's in the mood to help me," The Princess sniffled, "We kinda… had a fight earlier."
"A fight?!" Exclaimed Spike.
"What about?!" Asked Pinkie and Dash together.
Twilight carefully avoiding looking at Fluttershy "I… I'd rather not say."
"Sugar," Applejack turned towards the Pegasus "Ah don't suppose you had any luck convincin' that sulky sidewinder to come n' help us out?"
"Um no… not yet…" Fluttershy bit her lip as Twilight shot her an inquiring look "Discord and I… well we… uh… we had a little… disagreement too."
"Was it about me?" Twilight asked in a small voice.
The Pegasus twisted uncomfortably under her gaze, not wanting to make her friend any more upset than she already was, but Twilight could guess from her expression what had sparked the rift with the Draconequus.
"Oh … I'm sorry Fluttershy, I really didn't mean to…" She tailed off, obviously unwilling to say any more in front of the others.
Fluttershy felt pathetically grateful "I can't let this thing with Discord get in the way of my being there for Twilight," She thought determinedly "She's my friend too and she needs me!"
"Well if neither the Princess or Discord can help you, then it's up to us," Said Spike "And I think I might have the answer!"
The six mares exchanged puzzled glances as he pulled out a slim book, a huge smile on his face.
Twilight peered at the title "How to Win At Blackjack?"
"I found it in my hotel room earlier when I went upstairs for a nap," He explained "I couldn't sleep so I spent the afternoon reading in case we decided to go back to the casino. Twilight, using this, we could win the money for you! How much cash do you girls have?"
A trawl of pockets and purses produced a grand total of four-hundred and seventy bits.
"That's more than enough!" The Dragon enthused.
Twilight sighed "I dunno Spike, it sounds kinda…" She struggled to find a word that wouldn't hurt his feelings.
"Try 'kinda crazy'!?" Applejack finished for her "Spike, last time we walked into a casino, ya took a pastin'! Ya really think a book can help ya win?"
"There's really nothing to it AJ," He said, not at all discouraged "It's just a numbers game, once you know the secrets it should be easy!"
"Yeah, I was just talking to the bartender and there's a casino downstairs," Added Pinkie "So we don't even have to leave the hotel. C'mon Twilight, it's gotta be worth a shot!"
Dubious as Twilight felt, she had to admit she couldn't think of a better idea "OK Spike," She sighed "I guess it couldn't hurt to give it a try, just promise me you'll walk away if we lose too much money..."
As they trotted down the stairs towards the casino, Rainbow Dash nudged her fellow Pegasus in the ribs "So, where is the big baby?" She said scornfully "Did he have a tantrum and storm off?"
Fluttershy mumbled something non-committal but inside she felt a little stab of worry "That would be like him," She thought "To just disappear. After all I did sort of reject him, but I didn't mean to! I just had to come and see if Twilight was alright! What if he has left without me? Oh, but he promised he wouldn't! Or worse, what if he's met somepony else?"
The rage she had felt seeing Glamour snuggling up to him came flooding back and she tossed her head, trying to shake off a wave of jealousy so intense it made her feel sick. Then she pulled herself together "No, I have to be there for my friends. If Discord really cared about me, he'd understand!"
Wednesday, 11.45pm – Las Pegasus Equine
Discord stood on the balcony, seething with frustration.
His teeth ground together with a noise like a steel file and his talons clenched on the balustrade, gouging into the stonework.
"I can't believe she left like that – curse those infernal, interfering busybodies! Curse everypony else! We were this close – THIS CLOSE!"He howled at the starry Las Pegasus sky.
Instantly, he was wreathed in bright orange fire; the water in the swimming pool below him transformed into cola and all the inflatable sun loungers turned into giant sherbet lozenges. Ponies in the courtyard screamed and ran for cover as the pool fizzed and frothed violently with dissolving sherbet.
Right on cue, Wrathful Discord appeared on the balcony next to him in a flash of flame "The Spirit of Chaos is a vengeful and jealous god!" The other him snarled "We should pursue the Pegasus now, destroy those interlopers and take her back again; she is ours and ours alone!"
"Hmmm, zis is somesink ve should talk about," A softly spoken version of himself wearing spectacles and a cardigan and smoking a pipe appeared beside Wrathful Discord in a puff of smoke.
"You zeem to haff issues mit jealousy and posseziff behaviour, not to mention zer God Complex." Cardigan-wearing Discord said in a strange accent, taking out a notebook and licking the tip of a pencil "It may be due to zome childhood trauma. I am alzo sensing a lot of rage - haff you conzidered a course of anger management?"
"My anger is rightful and just," Wrathful Discord growled "The Alicorn is our enemy, she accused us of terrible crimes against the Pegasus!"
"But zis Prinzess, she has shown vorgiffnezz to you in zer past, jah?"
His dark self was momentarily puzzled "Vor-giff-nezz?"
"Jah voll! She vorgave your mishtake und rescued you, even after you betrayed her. Perhaps zer Prinzess has also made a mishtake," Therapist Discord prompted "Perhaps she needs your vorgiffnezz?"
"Do you take me for a foal?" Wrathful Discord's burning eyes narrowed "The Princess of Friendship does not deserve our forgiveness! She tried to take the Pegasus away from us!"
"Und how did zat make you feel?" Asked thepsychiatrist Discord, writing meticulously in his notebook.
"Hey, why aren't you asking me?" The original Discord pushed Wrathful Discord to one side, feeling extremely put out at being ignored by not one, but two alternate selves "It's my feelings we ought to be discussing not his; you're just parts of my psyche anyway!"
He sighed in irritation as Wrathful Discord shoved past him and grabbed Therapist Discord by the throat "Be silent puny insect! Do not presume to question our will!" He thundered "We will inflict our vengeance upon the Alicorn! The Pegasus belongs to us!"
"Oh, do change the record, will you?" The original Discord flourished a razor sharp talon and punctured Wrathful Discord's tail, causing him to fly off into the sky like a deflating balloon, whizzing round and round in circles until he disappeared with a vanishing scream.
"Oh zank gootness for zat," His Therapist-self calmly brushed an imaginary speck of lint off his cardigan and turned towards the original Discord "Now ve can start to address zer real problem here; your deep-rooted inzecurity issues und fear of abandonment. Tell me, vere you ever in love vith your rocking horse as a child?"
"And you can get lost too!" The Draconequus snapped his fingers and immediately Therapist Discord was tied to a giant rocket with a fizzing fuse.
"Fine, I go!" Said his other self "But at least you should think about how your egozentric behaviour vill make Fluttershy fe-e-e-e-e-e-el!"
His last words were shrieked at high volume because the rocket shot into the darkness, taking him with it.
Discord watched him go. Then he stood staring up at the stars for a while, thinking.
Finally, his shoulders slumped in defeat "It's no good. The nerdy me in the dreadful cardigan is right; I can't let something happen if I know it will make you unhappy, Fluttershy. And I suppose I can't just let Jock Strap treat Twilight this way either… so I guess I'm just going to have to take matters into my own talons." He tapped them together "Hmmm, what to do… what to do…"
Thursday, 12.30 am – The Las Pegasus Equine Casino
"I can't believe I'm saying this," Rainbow hissed to Rarity "But I think it's actually working!"
"Shhh Rainbow," The Unicorn whispered back "You're going to give the game away!" And she gave the croupier a winning smile "I'd like to place a bet please," She said loudly, fluttering her lashes at him "I do believe I'm feeling lucky!"
They were sitting around one of the gaming tables in the hotel casino, arranged in little groups, so as not to look suspicious;
Rarity, Rainbow and Fluttershy were sat together and Pinkie was sitting with Spike.
At her friend's suggestion, Twilight had gone for a little walk with Applejack as the others were worried the tension of the game would be too much for her. Also, as Rainbow had pointed out, having the Element of Honesty sitting next to you wasn't exactly a bonus when you were trying to play cards.
Fluttershy wasn't sure what the Blackjack book had taught Spike in the space of one afternoon, but whatever it was had totally changed his game. He never seemed to lose. She and Rainbow and Rarity had been placing modest bets just to take the attention off the little Dragon, but every time he put money down, he won. Already he had a big stack of chips in front of him. She'd tried totting up the value of the pile in her head and she was certain that he had to have won at least sixty thousand bits already.
She also couldn't help noticing how closely the dealer pony was watching him. She and the other girls were trying their best to distract the stallion by chatting loudly and flirting with him (except for Rainbow Dash – who was making ever more ridiculous claims about her own skills as a gambler) but she had seen how his eyes rarely left the Dragon's claws.
Once or twice, she had also intercepted little glances between the croupier and another pony, whom she guessed was probably his superior. They certainly didn't seem happy about what was happening at their table.
"Rarity," She murmured "We have to do something; I think the casino ponies are watching Spike!"
The Unicorn raised her eyebrows in alarm and surreptitiously glanced over to where the boss pony was standing. A grim look settled over his face as Spike won yet another thousand bits – taking his total up to seventy thousand.
"Oh goodness me!" Said Rarity, fanning herself frantically "I just don't know which cards to pick; it's so confusing! All these little pointy symbols," She slid her hoof over that of the croupier with a wink "Couldn't you tell me what they mean?"
The dealer pony snatched his hoof away and tried to concentrate on his job, beads of sweat starting out on his forehead.
Just then, Pinkie Pie leaped into the air with a shriek as Spike won another hand and another two-thousand bits "Woohoo!" She screamed "In your face Las Pegasus!"
She and Rainbow Dash hoof bumped excitedly, completely forgetting they weren't even supposed to know each other.
There was a terrible moment as the croupier, his boss and the other ponies gambling at the table looked first at Pinkie, then at Rainbow and then as one swung round to look at Spike, who grinned nervously under their scrutiny.
Fluttershy realised she had to do something "Discord's good at this kind of thing, what would he do in this situation?" She thought "Probably just use his magic to turn them all into hamsters or something! Well, that's not going to work for me – I need to be a little more creative…"
Giving a squeal of alarm, she threw herself deliberately backwards off her stool, falling to the floor in a dramatic flurry of frothy skirts and streaming pink hair.
"Fluttershy!" Screamed Rarity, swooping to her side.
"O-o-o-oh!" Fluttershy blinked dazedly, as the Unicorn and several other ponies, including a couple of members of staff, clustered around her "What in Equestria happened?"
"You fell darling!"
"Oh yes," Fluttershy said, smiling up at the casino ponies apologetically "I'm such a nervous gambler, I just get so clumsy when I play!"
"Let me help you up Miss!" Said one of the staff ponies. He took hold of her hoof but Rarity held her in place.
"Now let's not be too hasty, darling," She said "You might have injured yourself!"
"Oh, maybe you're right Rarity," Fluttershy moaned.
"Does it hurt?"
"Oh yes, it hurts! And I do feel a little woozy."
"She looks fine to me," Said the casino pony irritably.
"Yes she looks fine, but that was a terrible fall," Said the Unicorn, in tones that left no room for argument "If you move her, you might be doing irreparable damage!"
Suddenly Applejack and Twilight's faces appeared above her.
"Omigosh! Fluttershy, are you ok?"
"What in Equestria happened sugarcube?"
"Please stand back ladies," Said the casino pony "Give her some air!" Over his shoulder, she was very relieved to see that Spike and Pinkie Pie had managed to slip away during the disturbance.
At that moment, one of the hotel managers came hurrying up to Twilight, in a terrible lather "Princess!" He gasped, so agitated he didn't even acknowledge the fact that one of their party was lying on the floor "I've been looking for you everywhere! I'm so sorry to disturb you, but we need your help! Somepony has enchanted the swimming pool!"
"Oh it's really not a – what?!" Twilight was in the process of waving his apologies away graciously until suddenly her ears caught up with what he was saying "What do you mean enchanted the swimming pool?"
"The water's been transformed into a carbonated beverage and now it's bubbling up everywhere! Our guests are getting drenched in sticky soda-pop! You have to help us!" He sobbed "It's cola-carnage out there!"
Before he'd even finished speaking, Fluttershy sat bolt upright, leapt to her hooves and ran for the exit.
"Miss, wait!" The casino staff pony called after her, but she ignored him. As she disappeared up the stairs he turned to glare suspiciously at Rarity.
"Thank heavens she recovered!" The Unicorn exclaimed, then shrugged as the casino pony continued to eyeball her "Uh…haha... well… she really loves cola!"