Sorry for not updating! Too much school and anxiety. Here's a fat chapter to make up for it... I hope.
• Chapter Forty-one: Uncovered Prediction •
…
Intimidating, dark chambers loomed in the very crevices of the low jail, expanding into dingy cells. Light was scarce; everything was absolute blackness, besides the sets of eyes which glowed anxiously. Two pairs in particular- a bluey-green, and a purply-pink. Both sets of eyes were locked on a chamber in between the two, where the familiar pink alicorn slouched. Wrinkly bags hung under her closed eyes, so dark that they contested the light of the place she was in, and she was almost motionless besides the odd rise and fall of her chest. If her heartbeat was pitiful, her breathing was so faint, that a speck of dust could leisurely float past her nostrils without being stirred by the gush of air from an exhale. Being a wreck was an understatement.
Concern flowed through the two watching, before they exchanged solemn gazes. Celestia and Luna's conditions weren't too crash hot either. They were both absolutely drained, their eyelids drooping over their pupils, and their wings were dangling down so low that the feathers brushed against the cold stone floor. Their bedraggled states were no match for Cadance's, but at least the former Princess of Love had escaped with a Cutie Mark. Celestia's rump lacked a noble sun, and Luna's a worthy moon. Magic was in short supply, if not extinct, with the exception of strength, and again, even strength was limited.
"Not much time left," Luna slurred, her voice sounding mechanic as though this wasn't the first time she had verbolised this statement. Her eyes were milky, and her mane, which usually swirled like waves was as still as stone.
"Don't waste your energy on talking," Celestia scolded, but even her voice was meek and easily negligible.
Luna flickered her gaze to Cadance, and lowered her ears sulkily. "May as well not waste energy on breathing."
Celestia bit back her tongue from a witty retort. It wasn't worth arguing over. Nothing was. Perhaps it had been a waste of time and energy to give the magic to Discord. He might have been dismissing the alicorns beneath his unpredictable, chaotic shell. Perhaps even mocking them. Chaos was definitely not Celestia's forte, and she would continue to stumble every time she came upon a decision or action to do with the... subject..? Matter?
Celestia jolted back to reality as a wholehearted gasp flew through her ears. Luna was poking- more shoving her snout through the bars of the cage and staring at the third alicorn in utter shock.
The white alicorn's gaze darted towards Cadance, before she stumbled back in surprise, flapping her massive wings to stop her from falling to the floor.
Cadance's eyes were wide open, but lolling to the back of her head, with crimson veins brimming the edges of the whiteness. The pink alicorn was panting heavily, her chest rising and falling dramatically, but each gulp of air was fainter than the last. Celestia went paler if that was even possible.
"Cadance! Just keep breathing! Spare your energy as Celestia said! Breathe at an even pace! Please!" Luna's demands seemed like the buzzing of a mosquito at the same time as a gunshot. Her words dropped into unheard ears, but it didn't stop her determination.
Cadance's breathing slowed, but not as Luna had requested. Her ears hadn't even twitched at the familiar sound of the former Night Princess's voice. Instead, Cadance's eyelids began to slowly slip, and her rising and falling chest eased until it seemed to have expired.
"C-Cadance...?" Luna whimpered, sliding her full head through the bars so that the skin around her neck deflated into a plump dent. How she wasn't strangled to death remained a mystery. Luna sniffed slightly, and blinked several times, causing the water glassing her eyes to cascade down her blue cheeks. There was still a dim spark of hope in her eyes, as though she expected Cadance to suddenly jump up into the air, and merrily cry, 'April Fools!' Nothing happened.
Celestia held her breathe, which didn't seem to help the lump which was beginning to emerge somewhere in her oesophagus, as she peeped through her cell. Cadance seemed only an inch away, yet, so distant. Celestia slid her hoof through the bars, and reached out, but she wasn't even half the length away from the dying alicorn. She was unable to reassure the pony while the last ounces of life were still in her before they faded to zilch.
Cadance's eyelashes flinched a tad, before they softly rested, and she endured her last, small breath. Then there was nothing, as her tortured state went limp, and lifeless. 0 heartbeats per minute, per hour, per forever.
"Cadance..? Luna repeated, her voice croaky, and laden with horror.
Celestia lowered her gaze and felt her heart sink.
Cadance's abused form was mangled and tormented, her greying fur and wrinkled skin very conspicuous despite the dim light... her youth had been annihilated; her life having rapidly fallen. Yet, she was still beautiful, from the tip of her tail to the end of her snout.
Celestia mumbled something under her breathe, which caused Luna to drag her eyes away from the wretched form.
Luna shared a brief glance with her sister, before glimpsing away, her ears flattened, and her eyes distant, as though she was thinking very hardly. "What?"
Celestia grit her teeth, and attempted to speak again, but her voice caught. Probably because of the lump which felt like the size of a watermelon now. "She's..." The rest was inaudible.
"Didn't catch that," Luna hissed her eyes ablaze, mixed with fear, anger, dread and sorrow.
"She's-"
Suddenly, a potent light filtered down from the roof of the dungeon, spiralling around all three alicorns like a viscious tornado.
Luna screamed as the magic engulfed her, swallowing her up into it's clutches, so that even her dark figure was sightless beyond the luminosity.
Celestia was consumed by the brightness next, the fluorescence gobbling her up and emitting a blazing light from her majestic body.
The magic was inaudible, yet, when the two alicorn princesses screamed, their voices couldn't even be heard by themselves, and if so, muffled. They were lifted into the air, and the magic reached out through the cells, connecting the two together, and displaying a magnificent show like fireworks. It alerted a few Changeling Guards who'd been patrolling the dungeons- for once.
The last ray of magic swirled down, and gingerly embraced Cadance's limp figure. After what seemed like ages, it finally seeped ever so gently into her skin, barely rousing a fur. The light caused the pony to glow a dainty, petite light, before dying away, as quickly as it had arrived, which wasn't very fast.
Celestia and Luna were only just recovering from there own experience, and were laying on the floor in exhaustion, their magic having too, deceased.
Luna peered up, aghast, and met eyes with Celestia. "Was... that...?"
Celestia weakly nodded and curled her lips up into a relieved smile. "Yes... Discord has played his part."
Without needing another word, the two got up onto all four hooves in unison, and stepped up to Cadance, each's expression capturing caution, hope and curiosity.
Cadance still slumped on the floor, her body as still as a statue.
Luna's ears lowered as she ducked her head in a disappointed manner. "Too late..."
Celestia winced as she caught the hurt expression in her sister's eyes, and felt her own dread welling up. "Luna, I'm..."
"Save it," the indigo pony muttered, as she turned away, barely acknowledging the fact that she had all of her magic and her Cutie Mark back. "I don't care anymore."
Celestia held back a whimper as she peered away as well, and trudged her own direction.
At the same time, Cadance raised her head, and felt her slow breathes begin to quicken in rate. She shook the dust from her mane, and felt her brain ache slightly at the sudden movement. She peered down, and noticed her breathes fogging up the icy cold rock beneath her hooves. She shivered slightly, and flexed her wings, before slowly stumbling up. Her legs wobbled dangerously, before she finally felt her weight lighten in her stance and her buckling legs stiffened. Her eyes were wide, and each time she blinked it no longer hurt like it usually did. Her beating heart sounded even, leisurely, and healthy. Cadance smiled, and felt joy rippling through her pelt at the fact that she was plain alive- and it didn't hurt to be! She felt like jumping... or flying, or dancing, or just rolling around on the ground like a lunatic. She didn't care what others thought of her. Oh how splendidly amazing it was to be youthful again! She felt free, despite the prison bars which were looming over her and shadowing down from the crepuscular light which managed to seep through the crystal walls.
After having a swift look around, Cadance noticed two ponies sitting towards the walls, their backs facing each other, which meant they weren't facing her either.
Cadance's heart lurched. Why weren't Celestia and Luna talking? Why were they not arguing? Being their bubbly, serious and clashing personalities? Their arguing may seem bad, but Cadance knew that it was their way of showing how much they loved each other. Cadance could smell their thick, sisterly love as though she were a changeling, and it didn't alarm her, since the two sisters were her closest of friends, and good friends could sense things like this. It also helped that she was the former Princess of Love. Right now they were mournful, and depressed, and perhaps spiteful towards one another. It made Cadance tremble. Inhaling the icy air, Cadance closed her eyes, and arched her spine, before clearing her throat and singing.
"Thou shan't worry...
Thou shan't deny.
No need to hurry...
Hear me imply."
Cadance saw both other alicorns flinch, startled at the sound of her voice, and dauntingly turn around. They were unsure whether she was true or not.
"It doesn't matter...
About your doubts...
And your collisions which scatter,
Which are about;
All the hatred, and rage, and envy, and scorn..."
Cadance trembled slightly, and listened to the hoofsteps of the two sisters edging closer. They seemed to be trembling too, too scared to make a sudden movement in case Cadance disappeared like an illusion.
"They are nothing...
So do not mourn.
The one with power's bluffing.
To avoid...
All the truth, all the lies,
What she rejects and abides.
So do not worry...
We're here together...
With love.
And love forever."
Awestruck, Luna and Celestia ambled forwards, and pressed their ecstatic faces to the cell bars, their overdone smiles, somewhat unnatural, from ear to ear.
Luna squealed. "Cadance! You're-"
"-alive!" Celestia joined in on Luna's sentence. "You were-"
"-dead, and we-"
"-were so-"
"-worried!" Celestia and Luna wailed at the same time, clapping their hooves over their mouths, which both mirrored the perfect 'o'.
"I know!" Cadance shrilled, dashing from side to side, unsure what princess to greet first. "I am so happy to see you two again! I assume the draconequus came to his senses?"
Luna nodded vigorously, a whooshing sound coming from her head at the speed of which her head took on by shaking. "Uh huh. And now your alive, and we're alive with powers!"
"And Cutie Marks," Celestia chortled, bouncing to the side to show off the mark which was undeniably there, as though she were a foal who had just gotten theirs for the first time. Suddenly she froze, like water hardening into ice. "I hear hoofsteps..."
Cadance skidded to a halt, and nearly fell onto her rump as her hooves got used to the floor below her.
"Right you are, Celestia." Out of the shadows which menaced beyond their cages, emerged Chrysalis. First her snout, then the rest of her head, to her neck and not long after the tip of her tail, in a brusque manner. Cadance wasn't sure whether she was smirking or not, but there was something evil about Chrysalis's expression. "I've received constant reports and reports on you imbeciles in the past two minutes. I'm greatly sorry to interrupt your little..." The changeling scowled in immense displeasure. "Party. Now would you care explain what you have been up to?"
Celestia opened her mouth to answer, when Chysalis lunged forward, fluttering her wings midair and landing in front of Cadance's cage.
"Hmm, I see." Chrysalis bared her pointy fangs. "What is the little Miss Love doing with her magic again?"
Cadance was startled at the crescendo in the changeling's booming voice. How was it possibly getting louder than it was already?
Luna bared her 'fangs' back at the insect in a deep loathing. "Your power is falling, Chrysy. Not long now before you're at the back of the line again!"
"Fiend!" Chrysalis bellowed, her pupils tiny slits in her golfball-like eyes. "Discord is dead! I know the plot!" Letting out a spleen cackle, Chrysalis's horn erupted into flames, and she teleported into Luna's cage, snapping her jowls at the mortified alicorn. "You wanted your lousy, friend Discord to fall in love with Butterfly, didn't you?"
"Fluttershy!" Celestia hollered, raking her hooves down the bars.
Rolling her eyes, Chryalis teleported into Celestia's cell, thrusting the former princess to the ground with a swift knock of the hoof. "Whatever! Discord substituted her name to Snow Flutter as a matter of fact; even worse if you ask me!" Chrysalis raised a victorious hoof to the air, before finally teleporting into Cadance's dungeon, and leering forwards, her nose touching the pink alicorn's. "The pegasus may have fallen in love, but I slaughtered Discord before he could make a single move! Shame. His chaotic magic would have truly benefited me too."
"Objection!" Cadance howled, narrowing her eyes venomously, and curving her lip down like a dog, when growling.
Chrysalis stepped back in shock. She obviously wasn't used to Cadance fighting back. "What did you just say?"
"I object," Cadance yowled, a childlike smirk spreading across her face. "I'm afraid on your behalf, that Discord was saved from his downfall by my friends: Celestia and Luna."
Panic flashed on Chrysalis's face, as she peered at each prisoner, whom each held a smug grin, trying to determine whether she was being tricked or not. Luna's smirk was particularly conceited. Shaking her head, Chysalis regained her dominant and angered expression, speaking with ferocity. "How?"
"You forgot one thing when you were forcing Discord into the ground," Celestia quipped.
"The dungeons are just underneath your lair." Luna jeered.
"There's really only an approximate of three metres of earth on your floor before it hollows out into where you keep us hostage," Cadance pranced forward. Despite Chrysalis being a lot taller than the pony, it still seemed almost as though Cadance was towering over the queen. Chrysalis's gaze darted from side to side, as she backed into the wall, whilst Cadance slipped forwards.
"It... m-means nothing!" Chrysalis's voice cracked, and overflowed with uncertainty.
"We nursed Discord back to health," Celestia shouted.
"And transferred our powers to him so that he could escape and find Fluttershy," Luna explained.
"Then how come you have your powers now?" Chrysalis sprang into the air, buzzing her wings, and descending on the other side of Cadance. The Changeling Queen teleported back to the safety of the outsides of each cage.
"Because Discord succeeded in finding Fluttershy" Cadance thundered, racing forward to the bars, only centimetres from Chrysalis. "And he succeeded in completing the first step of our staircase to harmony!"
"No!" Fury seared through Chrysalis, as she built up all her anger, and felt a flurry of magic soar through her horn. "The magic must go to ME!" Veins bulging out of her skin, Chrysalis stomped forwards, and jutted her twisted horn through the bars of Cadance's cage. Cadance tumbled back in surprise. Chrysalis belted her brilliant green magic out, the pirouetting beams eradicating Cadance from sight underneath the sheer blinding rays.
Celestia and Luna raced forwards, fiercely peering through their cages to glimpse at there friend in horror. And then, the magic died down, to reveal Cadance... still standing... still breathing... still youthful.
Chrysalis fell to the ground with a thump, panting heavily, with her jaw dropped. "H-how..?"
Cadance stepped forward, not a single strand of mane out of place. "Your magic may be strong, but nothing," Cadance stomped one hoof, causing the stone beneath her to chip, and her voice quivered with the force which she bellowed it out in, "I mean nothing, is stronger than... the power... my element... of love."
"Ridiculous!" Chrysalis yawped, but each syllable sounded puny.
"Say what you like," Cadance's voice calmed, but her scowling expression spoke otherwise. "But I shan't toil with thy tyranny."
"Nor shall I." Celestia dipped her head respectfully to Cadance.
"Nor shall I," Luna agreed, mirroring Celestia's action.
Cadance's heart swelled as she finally turned to Chrysalis who was still crouching tentatively on the floor. "And after the first step has been completed, the next few will be accomplished with ease."
"Not with me around..." Chrysalis hissed, more than not like a snake.
Cadance ignored her claim, and continued on with her speech. "Us Equus shall rise and rebel against Changeling kind, and do not even think for a second, that we will go soft on you, for we are fed up with how you disgustingly treat us each and every day. I give you time to rethink your actions now and surrender, and maybe we can come to a harmonious conclusion. Well?"
Chrysalis staggered back to her hooves, and stubbornly raised her head to the sky, her glorious mane whipping behind her. "I'd rather die. You don't know what you're bluffing about. Now I have some business to attend to." Chrysalis swished around, her elegant tail skimming against the bars of Cadance's cage. Despite it still being beautiful, Cadance couldn't help but notice that some of the strands were greying, and others had evident split ends.
"I will not forget this Cadance," Chrysalis seethed, making sure each hoofstep sounded proud and superior. "Someday, you will realise that there is no happy ending, and you will be sorry."
…
"Are you sure we're going the right way?"
"Positive."
"How could we ever deny Fluttershy? She knows what she's doing."
Fluttershy peered up into Discord's eyes, seeing through the insanity to reveal kindness and trust. She felt her heart melt.
Fluttershy. She spun the name around in her head, and got used to how it sounded. She doubted she'd be needing Snow Flutter again. She was brave enough to face Chrysalis now. That changeling wouldn't hurt her. "We're nearly there."
The dwarves- no, ponies trailing behind them exchanged uncertain glances.
"We're awfully close to a town, y'know..." Soarin uttered, biting his tongue. The way he said 'town' sounded the same way someone would regretfully say a very ugly and offensive curse word.
"With ponies," Fancypants added, cringing. 'Ponies' sounded the same.
"You're not dwarves anymore, remember?" Fluttershy stated, rolling her teal eyes. "You're not going to be discriminated for your race... oh it's so sad how society works. But there's no need to worry."
The stallions quickly nodded and formed a single file line behind Fluttershy and Discord as the trees narrowed.
The colourful foliage swayed in a warm breeze which managed to weave among the flora barriers. The sun had no trouble peeking out from behind the trees and welcomed the travellers with it's luxurious beams. Birds chirruped and grass rustled underneath the presence of friendly woodland creatures.
Fluttershy jumped as a little mouse broke out from underneath a pile of damp leaves and intercepted her path.
"Oh, hello, little guy." Fluttershy merrily bent down and nuzzled the mouse which squeaked in reply, before scuttling away, it's elephantine ears flapping behind it.
Discord backed away precariously, causing Shining Armour, who had been walking behind him, to smack into his backside. The whole domino effect occurred over the single file line.
"He was sweet," Fluttershy purred. "How it glees me to know that even in my absence there are still critters frolicking around in the undergrowth near my cottage." She turned around to see all of her friends distance away, all laying dazed on the floor. Fluttershy's ears drooped slightly, and her mind almost instantly calculated what term of events could cause this. "Was it the mouse, Discord?"
"Sorry," the draconequus lowered his head, coiling his long, serpentine body into a slinky-like shape, wringing out all of the mud and dirt which had settled in his fur. He had somehow fallen over as well, despite being the one to stop and cause the domino effect in the first place. "I'm not used to... eh, minors, that's all..."
"Minors?" Fluttershy looked outraged, her jaw dropped, and her ears now flattened to the back of her head. "You mean other living souls, with feelings, and-"
"-animals," Discord recovered, wavering his arms frantically. "I meant... animals."
"Ponies are animals too!" Cheese Sandwich bobbed up from the back of the line, and somehow hovered in the air by whipping his curly tail around like a helicopter. Who needs physics? Discord muttered something through gritted teeth about how he was not helping.
Fluttershy gave a wholehearted nod. "Of course, so I don't see why different animals should be treated as inferiors just because of their genes. That would be the same as the victimisation of Shining Armour, Soarin, Flash Sentry, Big Macintosh, Cheese Sandwich and Fancypants for being different as dwarves and not ponies. So much segregation."
Discord was utterly flabbergasted. "I'm impressed. You definitely know what you're talking about."
Fluttershy's cheeks went rosy as she spun around and began skipping down the path. "Thanks! Oh, we're nearly there! I am so excited to see my home again! I hope Angel is all right! And the others!"
The group finally broke free from the thick plantation and arrived at what seemed like a... bog?
"This seems lovely!" Cheese Sandwich chirped, smiling, oblivious of all the others around him gaping in horror.
Fluttershy peered down at the moist soil, which was home to a cluster of weeds and rotting litter, a putrid stench drifting off of it. Her twinkling, oceanic eyes fogged up. "It... it used to be a... a stream..." She prodded at it with a hoof, which went from butter yellow to brown with dirt. "And... a-and the water was blue... and it had fish swishing through the current... and ducks paddling through the water, which I'd often feed scraps of bread!" She rushed along the bank of the dried up stream, not waiting for the others to catch up to her. Every step she took squelched sickeningly in the mud, and left behind a perfect hoof-print. Eventually she reached what used to be the bridge which crossed the stream to get to her cottage. The whole bridge had collapsed. Most of the bricks and rubble lay in the dirt, with flies buzzing around them. She cautiously kicked at a stone, which broke into quarters as it bounced through the debris.
The sound of clopping reached her ears, and she heard her friends arrive behind her panting. A second later Discord materialised above them.
"What's wrong? Was it always like this?" Shining Armour breathed, unintentionally wiping sweat off of his forehead with a muddy hoof, smearing dirt all over it.
"No, it wasn't," Fluttershy snapped in a tone another would give to someone who'd just stated the obvious.
Flash Sentry sniffed at the scattered bricks and cement. "Was this a bridge?"
Fluttershy nodded, her head whirling, before she let her wings free from the sides of her back, feeling the wind catch the feathers, before flying over the bridge. She ignored the shouts behind her, more, she couldn't hear them above the sound of blood pounding in her ears as she descended into a maze of long grass. It went as high as her neck, and stretched all the way up to the door of her cottage, which curiously stood among the vegetation.
Gulping, Fluttershy allowed her eyes to take in the sight. The windows were all shattered, triangles of glass sticking out in dangerous angles, with blackness behind them as the interior the house. Curtains flailed out of the windows, tears and rips laden among the fabric. The door had a medium to large hole in it, and the rest of the it had been scratched beyond repair. It was almost as though a bear had ran it's massive claws down the wood. A patch of her roof was missing, and the rest of the house was practically just overgrown flora, taking whatever crack, or space it could among the tiles to call home.
"I swear it was different last time I saw this place," Discord ignorantly muttered. Fluttershy peered emotionlessly up at him. Discord swallowed, and lashed his tail as though he were disciplining himself for speaking. "Not that I'm complaining, it still looks... great... very original, yes."
Thoroughly scanning the house, the pegasus let out a solemn sigh. "There used to be bird houses... in the roof." Fluttershy examined the ground, but the grass was too high to identify any broken down houses which occupied feathered creatures. A sudden thought struck Fluttershy like lightning. "The animals!" Gasping, the pegasus frantically scrambled through the grass and barrelled towards the door.
"Wait, it might be-" Fancypants trailed off as the pegasus bolted into the house, the door flapping behind her with a trail of dust in her place. "-Dangerous."
There was an awkward moment with the dwarves just standing there, watching the door creak shut, before falling out of it's hinges and snapping into two on the floor.
Silence. A bunch of birds flapped out of the grass and soared up into the sky. Big Macintosh yawned, and trotted away. "Ah'll go n' get the first aid kit."
Fluttershy frantically stared around the house, her breathing echoing through the blackness. She couldn't see a thing. Walking forwards, she tested her hooves on the ground before properly stepping.
"Hello?" She called, before banging into something, headfirst. It seemed... furry? She bounced backwards in shock, and glimpsed around towards the door which she'd heard fall down. Before she could even make a move, the sound of something scraping across the floor sounded, and to her horror, a massive boulder was pushed into the doorway, blocking the entrance, and any remaining light. The windows didn't seem to be working, and she assumed that that was because they had some object blocking them as well. Fluttershy could hear her heartbeat, twice as loud as she usually would because of the bloodcurdling silence.
Opening her mouth, she tasted the stale air, before stumbling for words and letting out a pitiful cry. "I... I'm sorry for trespassing on... who... whoever lives here n-now... I'll be going now... if you don't... m-mind..."
And then, just as she closed her mouth to finish the sentence, a row of flames burst out in front of her, behind her, on her sides, everywhere, attached to wooden stakes. The eyes of those who shook them in front of her glowed through the darkness, of red and yellow, all narrowed devilishly. Fluttershy screamed in fright, falling backwards in a faint, minus the unconscious part and a massive form pinned her down by the belly. The fiery stakes were mockingly dangled above her face, and those responsible let out maniacal laughs.
Shuddering, Fluttershy felt a sturdy rope begin to be tied around her hooves, and before she knew it, she was heaved up into the air, suspended like a puppet, with no escaping. She desperately tried to flap her wings, but they were tied together too.
"Please! I didn't mean to hurt anybody's feelings! Please! Let me go!"
…
"Do explain what happened again," Shining Armour smiled, sipping a tiny (when tiny, I mean the size of a grape) cup of tea in a femenine manner.
All of the stallions pricked their ears jollily, as Fluttershy fiddled her hooves around her teacup. All of them were sitting on a pink, red and white picnic blanket in the sunshine, surrounded by a meadow of daffodils.
A bear sitting next to her let out a happy roar, and a bunny none other than Angel hopped onto her shoulder, fighting off a bird which had been formerly sitting there. It let out an angry tweet as it flew away and decided to sit on Discord's antler instead. The draconequus barely noticed it as he pricked his ears to Fluttershy who began her story.
"Well you see, I ran into the house, and it was all dark and dreary in there. It was very scary!" Fluttershy grinned, feeling Angel hop on her shoulder proudly, puffing out his fluffy chest. "And you see, I was looking around, and then I bumped into something furry. It absolutely terrified me! It turned out to be Harry, the bear." The big, brown bear snuffled friendlily, grunting as a butterfly landed on his snout. The ponies, and the draconequus intently nodded. Fluttershy continued. "Fuzzy Legs, the spider used his spectacular skills, with the art of cobwebbing, to wrap the threads around a large rock, and pull the web forwards, to drag the boulder in front of the doorway." She nodded towards a spider which was crawling into a cup. "If that wouldn't freak you out, then listen to this! all these wooden stakes caught aflame. Many of the animals held them up, and I fell down. They then tied me up and dangled me down from the ceiling. I was so petrified, that I'm surprised I didn't have a heart attack!" The yellow pegasus giggled. "Angel was the one shouting orders. It turns out that in my whole absence, Angel formed a gang of all of the animals, who survived by themselves out in the wild. And attacked any intruders... fortunately they recognised me, and were just letting me down." Rolling her eyes, Fluttershy peered at Soarin and Flash Sentry. "And then you two came in."
"I'll tell the story!" Soarin shouted, spitting out some water he'd been drinking in the process. Flash Sentry wiped the water off of his face in immense displeasure.
"So basically," the ice-blue pegasus began, "we were trying to get in, but the door was blocked as you know. I don't know why Discord didn't bother teleporting in. He was having a panic attack or something. Saying, 'oh no, I can't lose her again! Not Fluttershy! Please don't let me lose you! I can't live without you!'." Soarin put on a high-pitched, very girly voice to imitate Discord and everyone laughed.
The draconequus spluttered on his own drink, spitting it onto Flash Sentry who'd only just finished wiping the remnants of Soarin's off of his fur. Flash Sentry shook his head, glaring at everypony as though he dared them to be the next to spurt their beverage at him. Discord spoke. "I wasn't!"
"You were!" Soarin smirked.
Discord shook his head stubbornly. "I wasn't, and my voice doesn't sound like that."
"If you say so." Soarin's sarcasm was obvious. "So anyway, me and Flash Sentry thought up a plan. The patch in the roof. Every other passage was blocked, so that hole was the last remaining option. So, we flew up, and went towards the patch in the roof." Pausing, Soarin's expression went blank as he snatched a pair of shades from Cheese Sandwich's mane ("hey!" Cheese Sandwich complained) and pushed them up his snout dramatically. "The journey was rough... the winds were cruel and harsh, and there was so much rain that we couldn't even open our eyes. Every flap our wings achieved took up so... much... energy... but the two courageous heroes reached the roof... the brave, fearless Soarin, and his loyal sidekick, Flash Sentry."
The orange-yellow pegasus with the dark blue mane narrowed his eyes. "Do I get any say on this?"
"None at all!" Soarin shouted, giving Flash Sentry a filthy look. "So we flew through the roof, and saved the damsel in distress... our heroine, Fluttershy. Done."
"Saved?" Fluttershy tried to stifle her laughter. "More like start a war! My, it was absolute chaos!"
"I like the sound of that," Discord chortled, earning a bat on the shoulder from Fluttershy's hoof.
"And now we're having a picnic..." Shining Armour levitated a kettle into the air, and poured some milk into a tiny little mug, "with a bunch of woodland creatures..?"
"Pretty much," Cheese Sandwich squawked, lifting up a bag of sugar and tipping it into his mouth. He nudged Soarin, speaking through a mouthful of sugar, "can I have my sunnies back yet?"
"Now that we've gone over the tale, should we get on to the point as to why we're here?" Fancypants mumbled, peering at everyone dubiously.
"I'm afraid so." With a snap of the draconequus's talon, the whole picnic blanket, and tea set had vanished into thin air. Next thing, everypony or animal was sitting in a chair in front of a tiny, kindergartener desk, all facing Discord. The draconequus stood at the very front of the class, wearing spectacles, a wig like one in a jury, and a very antiquated attire. "Good-morning-year-elevens!" Discord droned, his voice somewhat know-it-all-ish.
"Good-morning-Mr-P.-Sullivan!" Everypony covered their mouths as their voices came out, most likely responsible towards the one with the chaotic magic.
"Discord P. Sullivan?" Fancypants suppressed his laughter.
Discord shrugged. "Something Luna once said to me."
Fluttershy eyed daggers at Discord, and all of the animals sitting on the seats among the ponies were crying, especially Harry, whom was swiping angrily at the desk. The bear attempted to get up, but his rump was glued to the seat. Escape was impossible for all of them.
"Not a lecture!" Cheese Sandwich wailed, burying his face into his hooves, before looking up, his scent of fear easy to identify, without needing to be a dog. "Is it mathematics..? Anything but maths!"
"Or history!" Soarin added.
Fluttershy glowered at Discord. "What is this?"
"Well you see, Fluttershy, dear," Discord cooed, summoning a ruler in midair, only to slam it down on the desk closest to him, which was Big Macintosh's. The red earth pony's face went pale, as the ruler splintered in half and flew over his head as though it had wings. "We have absolutely no idea what we are going to do now!" Discord ground his teeth together, which made the sound of a saw cutting a tree down. The draconequus clicked his paw, and a blackboard with chalk appeared behind him, and another ruler materialised beside him. "Remember the prophecy I gave you, oh so long ago?"
The chalk floated into the air, and began to write on the chalkboard itself, producing an ear-splitting scratching sound. It wrote in a fancy font, 'For she true of fair, she alone, needs the love of a seventh to turn thou back to original selves. Thy personalities return and thou are no longer elves. Thy destinies tormented, but thy foal tales shall proceed. Once completed thou break the rule and thou are no longer fantasied.'
"What does that have to do with our situation?" Flash Sentry questioned from the back of the class.
"Everything!" Discord replied, an appalled look on his face. "Let's slice the prophecy into sections, shall we, and uncover the meaning to each and every line. So," using the ruler, Discord scraped an invisible line under the first five words. 'For she of true fair...' "Okay everypony, now regurgitate the knowledge you have at the top of your minds." Before Cheese Sandwhich could stuff his hooves into his mouth, Discord added, "not literally! Now tell me, who is the 'she of true fair'?"
"Chrysalis?" Fluttershy spoke, her docile voice wavering slightly at the three syllables.
"Ah yes! Chrysalis is a 'she of fair', but not a 'she of true fair'. Now tell me, who is the 'she of true fair'?"
"Fluttershy!" All of the ponies except Fluttershy shouted in unison, smiling proudly at their discovery.
"Perfect!" Discord cackled, and summoned the chalk to circle the first five words and write 'Fluttershy' above them. "Next line! I think I'm enjoying this non-physical-non-death-autopsy!" Discord went red at the next line, before circling the line 'she alone, needs the love of a seventh' and quickly writing 'Discord', above the word 'seventh'. "Okay, no need to make an unnecessary fuss over this line!"
Cheese Sandwich coughed, which sounded an awful lot like, "Fluttercord."
Fortunately, Discord had no clue on what that meant, and continued. "Okay! Next line! 'To turn thou back to original selves. Thy personalities return and thou are no longer elves'. Now tell me what this means? Any volunteers?"
Shining Armour raised his hoof, and mumbled "pick me! Me!"
"Shining Armour!"
"We are the ones it was talking about- we were in our dwarf state, and it simply means that we get rid of the personalities Chrysalis gave us, and we return back to our original form! Not quite original, since we're six years older, but generally a lot less elf-like!"
Cheese Sandwich coughed again, which sounded a lot like "nerd," before Fuzzy Legs offered him a tissue made of his cobweb.
"Spot on, Shining Armour! Here's a lolly!" Discord tossed the unicorn a little sugary sweet in a wrapper. "Yes! And you all know why you changed back to your original selves?" Discord almost immediately regretted this question.
The bunny, Angel, replied with a bunch of remarks in his own language, a sinister grin on his face.
"What did he say?" Soarin asked, who was sitting next to the bunny in the third row.
"He said," Cheese Sandwich cleared his throat, before imitating Angel's speech. "Tttt... tttt... grrrraaaa! rrrrrruuuuuugggghhhh! jjjjjjjjjlllllllll-"
"That's quite enough Cheese Sandwich!" Fluttershy sighed, shaking her head, as though she was wondering how her life had came to this. "Angel actually said, 'because the weird, nasty, insane-guy realised that he was in love with Fluttershy, who is the prettiest pony in the world, and is so out of his league!'. Angel, how much times do I have to tell you that he is a draconequus! And if anything, it's me who's out of his league! And he's not nasty!"
Discord disappeared, before reappearing, looking extremely jittery, and swiftly, yet, clumsily wrote his notes around the third part. "Okay, what is the next line? Oh, I see. This is where it gets tricky! Now listen up everypony." Discord cleared his throat, summoned a scroll, whilst pushing his spectacles up his snout. "You see, we haven't completed this prophecy yet. There is still more that awaits in the future. We have only just accomplished the part where the dwarves turn into ponies again. Now we need to move on and follow the next instructions. 'Thy destinies tormented, but thy foal tales shall proceed.' This is the step we need to complete now. Does anypony know what we are meant to do to accomplish this?"
There was a silence, and everypony peered at each other, before a butter yellow hoof raised to the sky.
"Fluttershy? Do you know?" Discord tilted his head curiously.
"I... I think," she replied, shyly hiding behind her flossy mane. "Well you see... it says that your destinies are tormented." She nodded towards the ponies which sat among her. "I think that means what happened... how you turned into dwarves... that's how they are tormented." She raised her head, as though her confidence was building up. "And it said that something should proceed, so continue. Now tell me, what did you all doing to get sucked into Chrysalis's ploy?"
"I jumped after Cinderainbow." Soarin spoke quickly.
"Who else?" Fluttershy urged, a smile spreading across her face.
"Ah' jumped after Red Applehood," Big Macintosh murmured.
"I jumped after Raripunzel." Fancypants nodded.
Cheese Sandwich yipped, "I jumped after Pinkariel!"
"I jumped after Twilaura," Flash Sentry offered.
"And I jumped after Jaspike," Shining Armour finished.
Fluttershy nodded vigorously. "Yes! You all had someone you were trying to get to! And did any of you ever get to them?"
Everypony shook their heads, and Discord had an awstruck look on his face, as Fluttershy put more pieces into her jigsaw puzzle.
"Then I know what happens!" The yellow pegasus cried. "You must pursue them and you must find them."
"Brilliant! Absolutely astonishing! Marvelous!" Discord cried, in a very bad accent.
"You impressed?" Fluttershy blushed looking hopefully at the draconequus.
"That's an understatement!" He replied, and tossed her a lolly, which she accepted in an upbeat manner. "Now let's go over the final part. 'Once completed thou break the rule and thou are no longer fantasied'. I think I can crack this one. After you take the step Fluttershy suggested, the ones you find will be free from Chrysalis's ploy as well. I bet the Changeling Queen did something to them just like you all! Perhaps she turned them all into dwarves as well?"
"Sounds easy... and after that, the prophecy will be completed?" Flash Sentry questioned.
"Yep!" Discord spoke. Snapping his talon, all of the desks were gone, as well as his attire. The chalkboard remained, which Discord folded in half, and tucked under his arm. "I think I want to save this. Now does everypony know what they have to do?"
"Yes, but what do we do after we complete the prophecy?" Fancypants stepped forward anxiously.
Discord's smile faded, and the others peered at him questionably. "I... didn't think that far. How about we just meet here again- at Fluttershy's cottage? We can make further plans from there?"
"Sounds good," Big Macintosh approved.
"Everyone'll remember where where to meet?" Discord checked, and was pleased by a chorus of nods. "Okay then. Off you go. Go and find them! Complete the prophecies! We'll be waiting for you!" Discord waved goodbye as the six ponies scampered away in opposite directions, leaving only him, Fluttershy and a bunch of woodland creatures.
"What do we do in the meantime?" Fluttershy casually asked, sniffing at a daffodil.
"How about we renovate your house a bit?" Discord offered, giving her a smile, which she kindly returned. "We might need a few more rooms for when they return."
"It's a plan!" Fluttershy cried, excited to get her cottage back to what it was before all the damage of her absence. "Well, Angel," Fluttershy turned to the fluffy, white bunny who was chasing after the same bird as he had been roughhousing with earlier. He stopped hopping, and turned to her, his floppy ears perked. "Looks like we'll be having a few more guests than normal, shortly. C'mon Discord. Let's get started."
Discord P. Sullivan is from a My Little Pony comic, Friends Forever #20