Where Fluttershy found herself was by no means her first choice. She would have much preferred to find herself back at home, stretched out on the couch, with a nice cup of tea, and her surrounded by her animals. Still, there were probably worse places to be, and in a way she was grateful after all that had happened.

After flushing and washing her front hooves, she looked at herself in the mirror. Turning slightly, she looked at herself from the side.

It was so strange to not have her wings. While true that she never really used them very often, they were a part of her. Admittedly, mostly in the literal sense as they were a part of her body, but also in the greater sense that probably all pegasus ponies felt. It was also something she used in her work with animals, especially when she had to resort to... less then friendly means: such as "the stare."

Strangest thing was that it felt like they itched. She had never experienced a phantom limb before. Hopefully, she would get it back when this odd little game of Discord was over.

Thinking about the odd creature gave the mare a moment of pause. She felt bad for the poor thing. As far as Fluttershy knew, there was nothing else like him. It must have been very lonely to be the only one of your kind. Besides, he may have done some strange things, but it seemed like he was not actually hurting anypony. It seemed more like a foal throwing some sort of tantrum to get attention. Except in this case, the foal was a lot stronger and more powerful than most, and was messing with reality more than throwing its toys.

Maybe they could reason with him. Settle down and talk, maybe convince him to stop. They could even possibly become friends after this. If that failed, maybe The Elements of Harmony would affect Discord the way it did Princess Luna. Maybe he would become a kinder creature and regret what he had done to make ponies upset.

It was possible.

Alternatively, maybe she could stay hiding in here until the whole thing was over and just go home, forgetting the whole day.

Unfortunately, that was not really an option. In order to use The Elements, the six of them all had to be together. If Discord refused to stop and she stayed hidden, then her friends would have no way to stop him.

Looking at her reflection in the mirror, she took a deep breath.

"Okay, Fluttershy," she said aloud. "You can do this. Just go out that door, find your friends, and try to find your way to the engine." Her eyes looked away from her reflection, the long pink mane falling to cover her face. She closed her eyes and let out a sigh, trying to collect her nerves. Feeling less scared, she stepped away from the sink and headed for the door.

It did not open.

Fluttershy tried pushing the door, then pulling it. Nothing. There was no lock that she could see, and the handle was just screwed into the door. No knob to turn, no tab to press. As far as she could see, there was nothing on her side that would keep the door from opening.

Seeing no other way, Fluttershy found herself having to resort to something drastic. Raising a hoof, she tapped it gently against the door.

"Hello?" she said. "If anypony can hear me, I seem to be stuck. If you're not too busy, I would appreciate it very much if you could help get me out, please."

A sudden noise made her yelp and jump. Her eyes went wide as she searched for the source.

Somehow the sink had come on. That was all. Maybe she had not turned it off all the way, or there was something loose in the plumbing. Either way, it probably just got jarred slightly and turned back on.

Walking back over to it, she turned it off again. As she did, she noticed that somehow the mirror had become fogged. It was odd because the water was neither warm enough nor running long enough to have created so much steam. Even stranger, someone had written "yhsrettulF" across it.

Who would write my name backwards in the mirror? Fluttershy wondered. And why would they do that? Reaching out, she pressed her hoof against the glass to wipe the writing away.

"Aren't you sweet," a voice said, making her jump. It sounded just like her. Well... except it was a little more sarcastic.

"Always so kind," the voice continued. "So gentle. It makes me sick."

Fluttershy had not wiped the entire mirror clean. Most of the r and the rest of "ettulF" remained. In the gap she had made, she could see what looked like her own reflection. Except something about it was off.

"Don't you ever get tired of it?" the reflection growled. "Being so weak and pathetic?"

"Well," Fluttershy replied, tapping her hooves together, "I don't really think that I'm pathetic. I mean... I am weak -- physically -- but I feel I am very helpful. Besides, I always have others to help and support me."

"Right," the reflection huffed as it rolled its eyes. "Our so-called friends." She spat out the last word. "They walk all over us, dragging us with them on these stupid, dangerous mission."

"But they need our help," Fluttershy said. "Think about all those poor ponies that could get hurt if we didn't do anything, to say nothing of all the poor innocent animals."

"And what do we get out of it?" the reflection asked. "Nothing." She slammed her hoof against something. "No money, no reward, barely even a 'thank you.'"

"That's not true," Fluttershy stated. "We get to enjoy the feeling of having helped others, and we have plenty of money to take care of ourselves and our animals. Besides, just because nopony actually says the words 'thank you' doesn't mean they aren't grateful. Just think of how happy Celestia was to be reunited with Luna."

"Well what about..." the reflection paused, tapping her chin. "Uhm... uh..." She let out a huff and shook her head.

"Oh, forget it."

Reaching through the mirror, the reflection of Fluttershy placed her hoof against the original's head. As soon as it touched, Fluttershy's eyes started to shift and swirl. The reflection's hoof shifted, slowly changing into a lion's paw. As it did, a grey color spread from where it touched.

The reflection pulled free of the mirror, turning into Discord. He grabbed Fluttershy by the neck and walked her toward the door.

"You have been too kind for far too long," he declared. "Time to be cruel for a change." He then opened the door, shoved her through it, and slammed it shut behind her.

"Fluttershy," Shining Armor called out, running toward her. "You have no idea how happy I am to see your friendly face." Before he could reach her, Fluttershy suddenly turned to face him, glaring.

"Oh, boo-hoo-hoo," Fluttershy snapped. "What's the matter? Don't know how to do anything without your horn?"

"What?" Shining Armor asked, blinking in confusion. This was nothing like Fluttershy normally acted.

Looking past him, Fluttershy noticed the other three mares. Her lips shifted into a smirk as her eyes narrowed. She returned her attention back to Shining Armor.

"Or maybe you just don't have the proper...'motivation.'"

Rearing up, she grabbed Shining Armor and pulled him forward. Fluttershy pressed her mouth firmly against his, her lips puckering and eyes closing. She let out a small moan, her lips parting slightly.

For his part, Shining Armor froze. His eyes went wide as his ears dropped in surprise. He had not expected anything like this, and certainly not from Fluttershy of all ponies.

The kiss suddenly broke and Fluttershy gave Shining Armor a hard shove, knocking him onto his back.

"What's gotten into you?" he cried out, moving to try and get back up.

"Maybe the problem is what hasn't," she suggested. One of her eyebrows quirked up as she let her gaze drift down along Shining's exposed underside.

Cheeks heating up as he blushed furiously, Shining Armor moved to block where Fluttershy's gaze had been focusing. Standing up, he quickly brushed himself off, looking away from the mare that had made him flustered.

"Whatever," he huffed. "We'll deal with it later. Right now we need to find Rainbow Dash and--"

The rest of his statement was lost as the train came to a screeching halt. All five of the collected ponies was thrown forward, crashing into a pile.

Through one of the windows, a rainbow colored streak could be seen flying away from the train.