Discord feels Fluttershy needs to be a little more assertive when it comes to expressing her own views and maintaining her beliefs against the weight of other arguments, especially when those counter-debates turn... well, personal. Fluttershy doesn't want to risk it.

So Discord mentions a simple fact: two plus two equals five.

Fluttershy naturally disagrees.

It gets worse from there.

(A stand-alone, no prior-reading-necessary part of the Triptych Continuum, which has its own TVTropes page (with new Recap section) and FIMFiction group: new members and trope edits are welcome.)

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The opening of the Empire has also meant the reintroduction of the species who live there. It's been over a thousand years since Equestria has been through this particular migration -- more than enough time to forget how hyper-territorial, angry, unreasoning, and just plain foul these travelers are. But it's finally the right season again, and that means Ponyville is about to get a refresher course in dealing with the second-worst thing to ever come out of the North.

...well, maybe first.

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Rainbow just discovered water balloons.

Discovering why ponies don't use them is going to take slightly longer.

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Everypony gets sick sometimes. A number will try to ignore it. Some fight through it, even when they shouldn't. Others make sure they succumb as quickly as possible, and that everypony around them knows it. One or two might refuse to admit anything's wrong at all. But eventually, everypony will fall ill.

Seven short stories.
Six sick Bearers.
And one dragon.

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Certain aspects of the palace have been stable for a long time, and the longer that time has gone on, the harder they are to shift -- no matter how badly Luna might desire it. But one tapestry is undeniably ugly. It's been ugly for more than a thousand years. And so she's going to do what should have been done centuries ago and simply kick it out.

Inanimate objects have a way of returning to the scene of the crime.

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Dedicated to Bill Veeck

Somepony Rarity never met just died. She never had a chance to see him or truly learn anything about him. And yet she mourns -- while trying to figure out why she's mourning at all.

And if it's even deserved.

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There are several reasons Rarity stays inside on Nightmare Night. Because she's Generosity, and it makes more sense to be giving away treats than to go out collecting them. Because really, costumes are their very own fashion trends, darling, and there's only so much a reasonable pony can be expected to deal with per season. But mostly because when it comes to the truest holiday nightmare of Ponyville, the thing which sends colts, fillies, and adults galloping their screaming way into the night?

She's it.

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Libraries have a way of accumulating excess reading material. Periodicals pile up. Ponies who fail to sell off their own books at stable sales decide donations are easier than just waiting for the next go-round. And of course, a truly dedicated librarian will be adding tomes at every opportunity, until the shelves are full -- and then some. There's a cure for this situation, and Twilight's been avoiding it for a few years.

Time's up.

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Everyone needs to relax sometimes, especially those who deal with more responsibility and pressure than the average pony would ever comprehend. So when Ambassador Power finds Celestia and Luna in a stressed-out state, he offers to introduce them to the newest minotaur sporting innovation in guaranteed relaxation.

Golf.

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In the first days of attempting to establish the foundation of a new nation's currency, a pair of rookie rulers decided to back Equestria's economy with the greatest offering they could make to the world: the promise of their own labor. And it worked -- but there was a certain problem with the way that promise had been made, and so the original currency was eventually recalled. But the sisters never got all of it. And legally, that promise is still good.

Whether Celestia likes it or not.

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