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In N's Journey across the vast multiverse, the fates finally cut him a break and had his portal land someplace peaceful.
The woods.
As far as N could tell it was just a normal forest. Of course before his wild adventures began, the only forest he had been in was a dead one.
Still, a thick canopy protected him from the killing sunlight. So there really wasn't too much to complain about there. If he was reading things right, then the sun was even going down! Finally, a little break.
This obviously wasn't his home universe either. He'd been portal hoping blindly so much that at this point he was starting to wonder if it was even possible to get back home. What if he was actually getting farther away instead of closer? He had no way to tell!
Instead of running off to find someone like he usually would, N decided to just rest for a change and sat on a log.
He started to draw aimlessly with a stick on the dirt.
"I sure do miss Uzi. Her with her exciting, angsty, rebellious spirit probably would have found us a way home by now."
N had been thinking about Uzi a lot lately, he couldn't stop himself. Uzi gave him a chance when nobody else did, when nobody else would! He didn't know what exactly they were, they hung out a lot together but he didn't know what that meant. All that he did know was he could really use her company right now. Just being here would be enough to raise his spirits.... but for all he knew, she could be dead.
N stood up.
"Uzi wouldn't let these kind of thoughts fly! She'd probably let out a maniacal laugh, rant about screwing over Cyn's plans, and then find a way back!"
Uzi had changed N for the better. If she wasn't here then he would just have to be angsty and rebellious for the both of them!
Any direction seemed just as good as any other, so N picked one and headed out.
The woods were a little creepy but he had been in creepier environments. Even some of the places he had been in his home universe would be considered scarier than this.
N's audio receptors suddenly picked up a high pitched.... Well he wasn't sure what it was. Certainly didn't sound like a noise any sentient being he ever met would make.
Whatever it was, it sounded afraid. Perhaps it was his Nice Guy Reflex flaring up but N went to investigate.
Pushing through bushes, N found the terrain was quickly worsening. The dry forest was quickly turning into a mucky swamp.
And then he saw it.
Stuck in the mud of a pond shore that stood between them was a small little white rabbit. It couldn't pull it's foot free from the mud as some kind of monster slowly swam towards it.
It looked like it was made of rocks but resembled a creature in a photograph N once saw called a 'crocodile'.
A rockodile if you will.
N deployed his wings and flew off, easily outpacing the monster. He grabbed the bunny and easily plucked him out of the mud.
At first, the rabbit was just confused as to how his salvation was even possible. Didn't take him long to look up at N though.
"It's okay, little buddy! You're safe now!!"
A look of wonder glossed over the rabbit's eyes.
After landing in a clearing, the bunny hopped out of N's hands and hugged his ankle. Thankfully, nightfall had descended quickly so N didn't have to worry about burning to death.
"Aww! You're welcome, new friend! I'm happy that I could be useful to at least somebody! I don't suppose you know anyone who could help me with my problems? I'm in a little bit of a pickle!"
His new friend jumped off his ankle and motioned to N to follow him.
"Lead the way, Goober!"
They eventually came across a small little cottage just on the edge of the woods. It was nothing short of cozy.
N followed his long eared friend right up to the door where he knocked on the door with his feet.
The door opened and the rabbit was picked up by a strange yellow quadruped. It had wings too, in fact, it was flying with the little rabbit into the air.
"Angel Bunny!! I was so worried about you! I looked all over the cottage and..."
She cut herself off when she finally noticed N, just standing there waving a friendly hello at her.
She let out a sharp gasp and dashed inside the cottage with Angel and closed the door. The door then opened a crack a little bit of her could be seen looking at him.
Not the reaction he had been hoping for.
He cautiously approached the door, bending down to look at her in the eye.
"Hi Miss! I really didn't mean to scare you, I've had more than enough of that in my life... Wait... Biscuits!! I shouldn't have told you that! Oh well, honesty IS the best policy.... Let's start over! I'm N, what's your name?"
The answer N got was a quiet mumbling even he couldn't make out.
"I'm sorry? Could you say that again?"
His answer was an even quieter mumbling.
"One more time maybe?"
This time it came out as a whimper of sorts.
N needed an answer to this dilemma. He didn't want to scare her or force the situation, but he needed help. Still he had to earn her trust somehow.
An idea suddenly hit him! He reached into his hat and pulled out a piece of paper and a blue crayon. He scribbled something on it and then folded it up like a card.
He didn't hand it directly to her. No. Instead, he placed it on the ground so just the top of it was under the door.
"If you really don't want to help, that's fine; but if you could just at least look at the card, I would really appreciate it. And if you still don't want to help me after reading it... I'll just go away and not bother you anymore!"
N took a couple of steps back and turned his back to her.
The inside of the card had a crudely drawn picture of N and Angel. It also entailed a written message that read: "I'm sorry I scared you! I helped your little friend in the forest and he said that you could help me! Please don't be afraid, I just want to go home. :'("
*CREEK!*
The sound of the door creeking open gave N hope but he didn't want to ruin his chances so he made sure to slowly turn around.
"You........ helped Angel? Angel is this true?"
The rabbit proceeded to do a string of charades to explain the situation. It probably could have been better but there was a silent vibe that perhaps the bunny shouldn't have been in the forest to begin with. It was kind of like a child explaining to his mother about how he accidentally broke an explicit rule recently stated.
"Really? A rockodile? I told you not to go into the Everfree by yourself! No matter how good the wild carrots are!!" scolded Fluttershy.
Angel kicked the ground for a moment but regained his composure and motioned to N.
"Right! Mister N? Angel varifies your story so I suppose for at least a little while, I could hear you out."
N's face lit up with a smile exactly like the one he wore in episode 2.
Fluttershy's Cottage....
N just finished replaying his entire backstory to Fluttershy. He knew it was a lot to process, Cyn, the multiverse travel; he didn't blame her for needing a minute!
Finally, she spoke.
"Are you okay?"
N started off with his usual smile. "I'm...." The gravity of his situation sinking in, however, made him soon lose it. "I'm really frightened for my friend."
"Is there anything I can do to help?"
His smile came back. "If you had a way, or a friend that could open a portal to send me home than that would be awesome!"
"Well my friend Twilight has traveled to another world before. And another friend of mine, Discord, can do all types of crazy things! I'm sure at least one of them would be willing to get you home!"
"That sounds great!!"
"It's the middle of the night though. Both Twilight and Discord are probably asleep by now! Think you could wait until morning?"
"As long as I don't have to be in the sunlight. That'll kill me!"
"Oh my! I'm so sorry to hear about that, Mr. N!"
"It's fine!" N waved off her concern. "I'll just stay nearby in the cover of that forest! Nobody else will ever know I'm here! Just promise you won't forget about me, okay?"
"Absolutely not!"
Fluttershy hovered herself up to look N in the face.
"You're my new friend! I can't just have you living in the woods while you wait for me to help you!"
"But..."
"No buts mister! You can stay here for the night and in the morning I'll get one of my friends to help you!"
"...... Wow, Fluttershy! That sure was assertive!"
Fluttershy landed back on the floor with a big smile on her face.
*SQUEE!*
"I know! I'm so proud of myself!"
"I could learn a thing or two from you!"
"Would you like to talk about it over a teaparty?"
"What's that?"
"I have them with my friend Discord all the time! We sit down, drink tea, have cucumber sandwiches, and have a delightful time talking!"
"That sounds awesome! I can't drink something like tea though. I would super die! And I'm pretty sure I can't consume organic food..."
"That's right, you told me you needed.... Oil?"
Fluttershy turned her head to side in confusion.
"Yeah! Like from another robot or a machine? Like in my backstory I just explained!"
This was the problem! The only machine Fluttershy could think of off the top of her head that would require the kind of oil that N was talking about would be the rainbow machine up in Cloudsdale! And even then it wasn't all that likely it needed such a thing.
Pony technology was usually magic based, and the ones that weren't were usually simple hooves on machines. N's oil might simply not exist in this world!
She was about to deliver the sad news when a mental image of a train suddenly flashed in her mind. If anything would have the oil N needed it would be that!
The same problem arose. It was the middle of the night! Even if she went down to the train station, it would be so closed that nobody would be there to help her!
"I...... Don't have that kind of oil on me right now, but if you're willing to wait then I could try to get you some in the morning!"
"That'd be great!! You're awesome, Fluttershy! Is there anything I could do to help you in return?"
"Help me? Nonsense! You already helped Angel Bunny! Isn't that right, Angel?"
Angel Bunny hugged N's ankle in gratitude.
"Helping you is the least I can do." Fluttershy beamed.
"Are you sure? Because I really do like to be useful! Maybe I could chop some firewood for you? Or feed your chickens?"
"My chickens are all asleep right now, N. Thank you ever so much for offering though."
"Well maybe we could have that tea party anyways? Even if I can't eat or drink anything, we can still put our heads together and figure out a way for me to pay you back."
Fluttershy nearly giggled. "I'm afraid we might be going around in circles, N."
N held onto his hat and pointed a friendly finger at Fluttershy.
"Oh you're right, Fluttershy! We'll be at it all night if we don't watch it! Still, want to just grab a couple of chairs and... Talk?"
"Why I think that would be downright delightful!"
The next morning...
Fluttershy and N chatted the night away, exchanging stories and interests, basically having a good time.
Dawn finally approached and they agreed that they should both try to get in a little bit of sleep. This brought them to N's...... unusual sleeping habit.
N hung upside down from the rafters like a bat, hanging by his tail. It was a little concerning since her cottage wasn't that big, that meant there was about an inch between the floor and N's head but he assured her it was fine.
Eventually, the need for sleep came and left for both of them and it was time to handle the tasks for the day.
Fluttershy was about ready to head out the door but wouldn't leave until she was sure N would be fine.
"Now, you have enough places to hide from the sunlight?"
"I'm good, Fluttershy!"
"And you're suuuure you don't want me to ask my friend Rarity to make you a suit? I assure you, she would only be too happy to make you one."
N squirmed embarrassedly.
"Fluttershy! You know how I feel about being Dapper! I get home, I won't have time to be fancy!"
Fluttershy beamed again.
*SQUEE!*
"Oh my, N. I'm only teasing! Although Rarity would still probably argue that there would be nothing wrong with showing up fashionable!"
For a moment, N hid his face in his coat.
"I don't know how long I'll be gone but I see no reason why things shouldn't go smoothly. I'm certain Twilight would love to meet a person from another universe again!"
N showed his face again. "Oh! Maybe I could clean for you while you're away? I was a butler in another life after all!"
"Oh but you don't have to do anything like that, you're my guest after all!"
"But I want to do it! I like you, Fluttershy!"
"Aww! Well I suppose if you must, you could dust."
N shot her some finger guns. "You got it!"
Much later...
Fluttershy walked home dejectedly. The train station had no idea what she was talking about, apparently they used something else other than oil for their maintenance, but they still refused to give her any because they couldn't understand the situation.
Twilight was a wash too. She and Spike had gotten sucked into another adventure into the world of bipedal duplicates so she wasn't due back anytime soon.
She could always just call Discord but the spirit of chaos could be considered a little much. It was probably better to make N mentally prep for him first. Not that she hadn't already mentioned Discord to her metal friend but things like dancing furniture could be a little hard to explain.
The sun was already down, so Fluttershy would probably have to give him the short version.
She opened her front door and found a sight which was both utterly baffling and absolutely adorable.
N was sitting on the ground but he was covered in Fluttershy's chickens. The chickens were all nestled into comfortable spots on the disassembly drone, snoozing away without a care in the world.
"Fluttershy! I can explain.............. Okay I can't! One thing just sort of lead to another and then this happened!"
Fluttershy was about to go off on how cute the scene looked but she never got the chance.
*KABOOM!*
An explosion knocked out the far wall of Fluttershy's cottage, sending her chickens off in a scattered panic frenzy.
The smoke cleared and through the hole in the wall came J.
"Found you at last, loser!"
"....... J?? What're you doing here? HOW are you here?!"
"Ugh! You really can't figure it out for yourself, idiot?"
"................ NO!!! NO, I CAN'T!!!"
N snapping at her actually caught J by surprise.
"Oh. I guess I should explain then."
During their short little exchange, Fluttershy had already found safety by hiding behind N.
"Cyn got the planet's core but after everything went kablooey even she noticed that you were gone. Like gone gone. Not even any remains to be found."
J's explanation wasn't making Fluttershy feel any safer. She was shaking like a leaf.
"Like seriously, not even any ashes! So I was assigned to analytics! Turns out some of those old scientists had been experimenting with multiverse travel before they kicked the bucket! Turns out the explosion messed with the power source they were experimenting with and blew you away!"
N felt as if he just went pale.... But he knew that was an impossibility since he was a robot.
"Cyn knows I'm not dead....."
"That's right! And the boss says that your savings account is officially over withdrawn! She sent me to find you to do a foreclosure! She was real specific too! Wants me to bring back your core, doesn't care what condition it's in!"
She changed her hand into a sword and started to walk towards him, dragging it across the floor.
"This'll balance out the margin. You were never a valuable asset to begin with! But you love doing anything, right? So you'll be okay with me killing you; you'll have finally achieved something useful! Isn't that what you always wanted? To be useful? You want this, right N?!"
Fluttershy emerged from behind N, catching J by surprise for a second.
"He does NOT!!!"
In a fashion very similar to what she once did to Rainbow Dash involving a dragon migration, Fluttershy blitzed J. She hit J in the head with all the speed she could muster, knocking the squad leader onto her back where Fluttershy thrusted her hind legs into the torso.
Before J could retaliate, N deployed his wings and snatched Fluttershy taking her with him into the Everfree Forest.
They flew for a little distance until N found refuge in a large bush. Thankfully, it was big enough for both of them but they still had to crouch. He put Fluttershy down and checked to see if J had followed them. Once he was certain the coast was clear, he turned to his new friend.
"What was that?!" N harshly whispered.
Fluttershy blushed. "I panicked."
N just smiled sympathetically at her and returned to his lookout. J was already searching for them.
"Come on out, N!!" ordered J. "You know that you can't take me!! Not alone anyway!!"
N had to admit, J had a point. It was Uzi who beat her while N dealt with V. N never dealt with her one on one, and in all honesty he wasn't sure that he could.
A part of him still saw her as his squad leader... No. As his friend. Or rather as the friend he wished she was. He always wanted J to like him but she was always dead set on hating him no matter what.
She tried to kill him more than once but a part of him always wanted to believe in the best of her. Maybe because he could never understand why she only saw the worst in him. Or perhaps it was because he wanted to see the best in everyone. She always belittled him but he figured so long as he tried to improve and stay positive than maybe J would come around. She never did though...
There were even times where he believed the insults she threw at him as absolute facts. Uzi always helped him to believe otherwise but she wasn't here right now.
It was Uzi that fought J the first time, maybe because she knew he would have trouble with her. N barely was able to talk back to J during their first confrontation and that was only after Uzi gave him a little pep talk. And even then, it really was more like constructive criticism.... Because it was. That's exactly what it was.
Now? There was no tricks, no false pretenses. J was openly trying to kill him because she was ordered to.
N hated the scenario but like it or not, it was him or her. Life or death. And he didn't like his chances.
"N?"
The sound of Fluttershy's voice reminded him of her presence.
"Are you okay?"
Her voice was filled with nothing but compassion and concern. How could he not trust her to be vulnerable with.
"J.... Has always had my number pegged. I've never really beaten her either. She's never really liked me, even tried to kill me a few times...."
"Oh N...."
"Even back in our mansion days, I suppose she was kinda mean to me... I just wanted to be her friend! Then again, I was a legit part of her squad..."
"N..."
"Maybe she's trying to be a good friend and preserve the memory of me being a loyal coworker?"
Fluttershy stood up and gave N a stern look.
"No she is not!" Fluttershy proudly stated.
"What? But I..."
"You listen to me, N! I know a thing or two about friendship! I have some of the best in the world! And J is no friend to you!"
"But..." N trailed off. He didn't want to believe it because he always wanted to see the best in everyone, but he knew there was no denying how J truly felt about him. "Okay, she isn't. I'm pretty sad to admit that, but I don't know if I can beat her! She knows the ins and outs of my weaknesses pretty well!"
This excuse didn't stand with Fluttershy.
"If I can be assertive and stand up for myself, then you can face J and fight back! If she doesn't want to be your friend then you don't owe her anything!"
N stood up. He still had his frown of disappointment but his face was one of determination.
"You're right! I can't let her stop me now! I have to get back to Uzi! It's time to fight back!"
Part of the bush was pulled back to reveal J.
"Here you are!!"
"AAAAAGH!!!"
N grabbed Fluttershy and flew out of the bush.
"N!!"
J fired her machine gun but thanks to some fancy aerial maneuvering from N, they dodged every shot.
"Fluttershy, I can fight J or I can keep you safe, but I'm pretty sure I can't do both!"
"... Down there!" Fluttershy pointed. "By that cave! I have a bear friend who lives there! He can keep me safe until this is over!"
N placed her down on the ground, J was probably still looking for them. Fluttershy could see the doubt on his face so she put a hoof on his arm.
"N, if you can't do it for yourself then do it for Uzi! Do it for me! Do it for every person you've met that honestly likes you! We've seen you for your worth and it's time J saw it for what it is too!!"
N smiled. Just a little bit though.
"... Even if J takes me down... It was still nice meeting you, Fluttershy. I wish more people were like y-"
"No!!"
"Excuse me?"
"Would you're friend Uzi allow such narrow minded thinking! What would she say if she were here?"
"...... She would say... that I'm not.... going to die, and I should believe in myself?"
"That's right! Now get out there and show her what you're really capable of!!"
N had a much bigger smile now. He gave her a salute. "Yes Ma'am!!"
"N!!!" called J's voice. "Come out and die you little..."
She was close, but N was as ready as he possibly could be.
J had regretted not simply flying after them, the forest had a swampy ground in some areas and it was making it difficult for her to walk.
"Oh when I find that little- ACK!!!"
J was cut off as N swooped her out of the mud and into the air.
"I'm not going to let you push me around anymore J!!" N proudly declared.
"We'll see what CYN has to say about that after she downloads your personality into another body!!"
J kicked off N and deployed her own wings. J changed his hand into a sword and charged in. His blade was met with J's as he pushed against it for dominance.
"Cyn destroyed our Earth, just look at what she did to Tessa!! We've been her puppets for I can't even guess how long!! She's made it clear that she's no friend of ours so WHY stay loyal to her?!"
J pushed him off of her and changed her other hand into a machine gun.
"Better to be a loyal puppet... THAN A LIQUIDATED VICTIM!!!"
N got full force of her bullets this time. He fell out of the sky and onto the forest ground below. It didn't take him long to heal though, not with his Solver.
As he slowly pushed himself up, he saw some nearby boulders and got an idea that would've made Uzi proud.
J swooped down below the canopy, ready to finish the job.
"The earnings from your death are going to wash over me like an economic flow!"
Her business ramblings were cut short as a boulder flew up from the ground straight towards her. She narrowly avoided being hit by the thing but not completely.
Her wings had scratched the surface of the boulder and the front of her foot got hit off. She shook her leg as her Solver grew her a new foot. Down on the ground, she spotted N lightly juggling a boulder with one clawed hand.
"A ground based attack? That is so...." J was almost impressed by N's resourcefulness but quickly reminded herself to exactly who she was dealing with. "Like him! Avoiding a face to face inspection! Coward!!"
J flew down towards him but N started to chuck the boulders he was bogarting. A firm swipe from her sword hand cut the first one in half but the second one knocked off the arm that held her machine gun hand.
As her Solver worked to grow her a new arm, she fiercely focused on cutting the last boulder lobbed at her. The boulder almost proved too much for her as she had to use her wings to help the cut along and break it in two, pulling it apart.
On the other end of the boulder, however, was N. He had followed the boulder up to her and was waiting for her on the other side. She had moments to process the situation, she wide open, N had actually managed to trick her.
His screen turned into a giant yellow X and just for a fraction of a second, he waved his claw fingers at her. A quick slash to her midsection sent J spiraling down to the ground.
J landed on her back just as her arm reformed. Her arm was back, sure, but now she had a big diagonal gash from her shoulder to her hip. It was an oily mess, and yet she was starting to wonder if N was trying to over tax her Solver.
Dusting off a finisher he once did to V, N dropped down to J with a falling axe kick. J rolled out of the way in the nick of time, the impact from N's kick creating a small crater.
"Alright, I've had enough of this!" J declared. She changed her sword hand into an EMP generator. "TIME TO CLOSE THIS MEETING!!!"
Just as her weapon was starting to power up, N's tail shot out and stabbed J's EMP.
"AAAAAGH!!!" she screamed in pain. "AGAIN WITH THE NANITE ACID?!"
As her weapon dissolved away, N changed his other hand into his laser cutter and sliced off her right leg.
J fell onto her back and N plunged his claw fingers right into the ground next to her head.
"You've lost!!" N firmly declared.
J looked to her still melting EMP and N pulled off the entire arm attached to it. She looked to her other arm, it changed into her virus injector, but N pulled his hand out of the ground and pinned it down. His nanite tail stabbed that too. She screamed again as her weapon melted so N pulled off that arm too.
To someone else this might seem brutal and cruel but N was actually preventing the nanite acid from consuming her entirely.
She tried to stab him from behind with her own nanite tail but years of accidentally pricking himself had trained N's subconscious to catch such a thing effortlessly. He plucked it off and tossed it over his shoulder without a second thought.
"FINE!!! DO IT, THEN!!! END ME!!!"
"....... No J. I won't."
He stood up and let her Solver fix her body. It was a slow job, she clearly didn't have the oil to go another round. When she was patched up enough to get to her feet she found that N let her do so.
"Why?"
"Because.... I want you to head home and report to Cyn that you lost! You tried to kill me and failed! That's something that never would've happened with the N she knew! And that you only live because of the mercy I have and you've neglected!"
This was a giant blow to J's ego. As infuriating as it was, she couldn't afford another round with N. Her only choice was to do as he said and go home.
An orange loading circle appeared on her screen and an orange portal opened up behind her.
"Moron Bot!" J weakly taunted. "If you were as half as smart as you just showed, you would see this portal is your only sure fire way home!"
"To where Cyn is waiting with an ambush? I'll pass! I'll find my own way home without either of your help!"
N crossed his arms in finality.
"Ugh! Whatever! See you in about a hundred years then..... I'll still tell Cyn what happened here tonight, so don't think this is over!"
"Tell Cyn that I'm coming! And when we meet, one way or another, it will end!"
J rolled her eyes.
"You're still worthless and terrible!" shot J.
"Only according to you! And I'm afraid that's an opinion that I no longer care for! Goodbye J!!"
N turned his back to her and J walked through the portal, it closing behind her.
With her gone, N let out a giant breath and sat his butt on the ground. He clenched his coat collar and tried to calm down.
"That......... was a lot!"
He would rejoin Fluttershy but first he needed a moment.
Fluttershy's Cottage...
N had looked for Fluttershy at the cave he had dropped her off at but she wasn't there. He found some tracks leading in the direction back to her cottage so he assumed she went back.
Fluttershy was indeed at her cottage, or rather just outside of it. J had still blown a massive hole in her wall and it would probably take a lot of work to fix it.
"Oooooh!" winced N. "Right! Sorry about that. I guess since J was looking for me this property damage is kinda my fault. Don't worry! I can help repair and-"
"N!!!" Fluttershy shouted before tackling N with a hug. "I was so worried! Does mean that you beat J?"
"... Yes, actually! I won and sent her back home! She kinda didn't have any other options."
Fluttershy squeezed him tighter. "I knew you could do it!"
N hugged her back and for a moment N had no worries. A pity it couldn't last.
An alarm flared on his screen and he suddenly pushed Fluttershy off of him. His chest started to glow red hot and he fell to the ground on his back!
"N!! What's wrong!!"
"Been too long without oil..... Fight probably just made things worse! I'm... overheating!!"
"Oh no!!! You need oil right?! I couldn't find any machine oil like you asked but maybe some on hoof oil will do?!"
Fluttershy flew off and came back with a yellow bottle and a clear bottle.
"Cooking oil??"
N looked at bottle and shook his head.
"No."
Fluttershy flew off and came back with something else.
"Vegetable oil??"
"I don't think so."
Fluttershy's world was a bit old tech. There was no machine oil in her house because very few places in Equestria required machine oil, if at all.
She felt absolutely powerless as she watched her new friend start to glow a brighter red in the chest.
"Thanks for the tea party, Fluttershy. It was super fun even without any oil! I really would have liked to return home instead of dying but I guess it just wasn't in the cards. Thanks for making my last day of being alive a wonderful one! You're awesome!"
Tears flooded out of her eyes as she watched him basically die with a smile on his face.
So she did the only thing she could.
"DIIIIISCOOOOOOORD!!!"
Discord heard Fluttershy's cry for him all the way in his home dimension. He didn't hear her with his ears though, he heard her with his heart.
He knew something was wrong!
He KNEW Fluttershy needed him!!
At a speed only he himself could accomplish, Discord flew across multiple dimensions and barriers and was in her house in seconds.
"Fluttershy!! What's wrong?!"
Fluttershy pointed at N, sobbing almost uncontrollably.
"My new friend is going to die unless he gets some oil!! But I don't have the right kind!!"
"Stand aside! Let me look!!"
Discord took out an eyeglass from behind his back and looked over N's body. Discord might not have known anything about robotics but he knew a cog for chaos when he saw one.
Oh sure, Cyn was almost completely different from Discord, especially in her approach but he could see N's existence was clearly for her amusement. A play thing to reek havock at her command.
Thankfully, she wasn't an artist at the craft of chaos like Discord so he had an idea of what to work with.
"Stand back!!" ordered Discord. "We don't have a lot of time so I need to take drastic measures!!"
Two Murder Drones Vinyl Records appeared in his hands.
"What're those things?" asked Fluttershy.
"Essentially? The life blood for any Murder Drone!"
Discord squeezed the discs and they started to turn into a black goop that just poured into N. Discord squeezed and squeezed until there was nothing left.
N sat up and gasped sharply as if life were forcefully injected into him, which in some ways... It was.
"N!!!" cried Fluttershy. "You're alive!!! Are you okay now?!"
N patted himself down. Not only was he no longer overheating but his body was acting like it had never happened in the first place.
"I am! I really am!!" cheered N.
"Of course you are, my dear boy! Your design by this 'Cyn' is amateur chaos at best! I'm the expert artist on the subject and... Hey!!"
N couldn't stop himself. He had to shake this new person's hand... Er paw!
"Wow!! Thank you so much!! I owe you one!! I thought I was a goner!! I'm N!! Did I hear Fluttershy call you Discord? I remember her saying that she had a friend with that name!!"
Discord's attitude just went from partially insulted to egotistically flattered.
"Oh, Fluttershy mentioned me?"
"She said that you could do all kinds of crazy things!! I didn't doubt her, but I had no idea they were so amazing!!"
Discord held his chin up high. "Well of course, my dear boy! I am Discord! It's only natural that my feats be nothing short of amazing!"
"I also really like your look! Very unique!"
N stopped shaking his hand and Discord leaned down to Fluttershy. He whispered "Okay, I like the robot. Can he stay?"
"Sadly no, Discord. In fact, we still need your help."
Discord snapped his fingers and Fluttershy's wall repaired itself.
"Then we simply must talk about it inside! We'll have our usual tea an cucumber sandwiches while your friend can dine on..." Discord squinted his eyes at N, like he was reading the smallest line on an eye exam. "Batteries. I'm going to say batteries."
"Sure! I love doing anything!" beamed N.
"Can you whip up some machine oil for him to drink?"
"Certainly! Tea time with batteries and oil! A delightful excursion without a doubt!"
So time passed again, Fluttershy and N filled Discord in on the entire situation. Of course this was all still over a cup of tea/oil.
"Well N, I can see that you are a being of outstanding character, as any friend of Fluttershy would be! So I'll help you out, but it won't be like with your other portals." explained Discord.
"It won't?"
"No. The chaos your Cyn is using is very mechanical, very step by step, only using what she seems necessary. To someone as great as me, it's like she's painting by numbers. Very predictable. I can send you home with the right portal right now!"
N's whole face lit up with an excited smile. "I can finally go home and help Uzi!! Thank you, Discord!!"
"Of course, I don't want anymore of her hooligans coming through so let's try to make this a one way trip! I'll give you some time to say goodbye to Fluttershy. I know she's worth it."
It didn't take N long to give the little pony a big hug.
"Thank you, Fluttershy! Out of all the people I've met, I think I'm going to miss you the most!"
"Oh N, I'm so happy that I was able to help you! I'll miss you too!"
The hug only partially broke and N held out his hand to Discord.
"Discord, get in here! Inclusive reflexes can be incredibly appropriate! You're basically the man of the hour!!"
"Well... I... don't mind if I do, actually!"
Discord joined the hug and they all squeezed each other tight.
The hug finally broke and Discord cracked his knuckles.
"Alright! Better get started on this or the sweet goodbyes will never end!" declared Discord.
With a snap of his fingers a clear portal opened up.
"Okay, now for the ingredients! A bag of marbles," A bag of marbles materialized into Discord's hand only for him to empty the bag. The marbles flew into the portal and merged with its rim changing the color.
"A street cleaner,"
Another snap of his fingers and a giant street cleaner fell out of the sky headed straight for the portal. The machine crumbled away as it was deconstructed to dust, changing the rim's color to yellow.
"A vacuum cleaner,"
A hand held vacuum cleaner materialized only to be tossed at the portal, changing the color to red.
"And what am I forgetting? Oh that's RIGHT!! Duck!!! Because here comes Tom!!!"
Discord pointed a couple of fingers like a gun at the portal and from behind them shot a large grey boulder.
For a moment, Discord was dressed like an army general. He saluted the boulder as it started to turn the portal orange.
"All of Equestria thanks you for your sacrifice, Tom! I will have a statue made in your honor.... Which will probably be another boulder."
The portal now looked exactly like the one that J used.
"Are you ready, N?" asked Fluttershy.
"...I am. I really am! Thank you both so much!" N stepped towards the portal. "I'm coming Uzi."
N stepped through the portal and it closed behind him.
Fluttershy was sad to see N go but she knew it was for the best. Besides, the truly important thing was...
"We helped our friend, finally putting his journey to an end."
"Oh this isn't over!" Discord clarified. "By going after you, they've made this personal!!" Discord's eyes glowed red for a second. "This 'N' obviously has superior tastes in friends so I'll make sure he stays safe, but this 'Cyn'?"
Discord sneered with a look he would only wear before his rehabilitation.
"She has declared war and thus invited my wrath!!"
"And I'll go with you!" Fluttershy proudly declared.
All of Discord's fury disappeared and became replaced with fear.
"What?!"
"In the short time we've gotten to now N, he's proven himself to be a true true friend! And a true true friend is a friend in need! So I'm going with you to help him!"
He scampered over to her with a face practically begging for her to reconsider.
"No!!! No no no no no no no!! It's too dangerous!! If something were to happen to you, I'd fall apart!!"
"I know that. Which is why I'm going to need your help with a little surprise I've thought of."
Discord's interest was officially peaked.
"Oh? Do tell!"
"Lean down and I'll whisper it to you!"
Discord did exactly that and Fluttershy whispered what she had planned.
"Oh! That's a weird strategy to use, yet strangely genius! I'm so proud of you you!"
Fluttershy beamed.
*SQUEE!*
To be continued....