Discord, Mania And Charlie Mareby The Snazzy HatChaptersCH 1CH 2CH 3EpilogueCH 1It sucked to be Charlie Mare; constantly teased at school because of his straight bright orange hair and pale complexion, pestered by his big sister, constantly overlooked and never got a break. He lived on a farm out in the country and lived in a house next to the horse pen. The only friend he had in the whole world was his horse, Run Run, but not for long. “Mummy, where’s Run Run?” he asked as he came home from school “How was your day sweetie?” his mother asked. “The Bully Brothers taped me inside a bin again.” He said “Where’s Run Run?” “That’s nice dear. Could you put out the good knives and forks tonight dear? We have guests coming over.” “You’re not even listening to me are you?” He raised his voice a little “Where’s Run Run?” “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about dear.” She said as she knelt down “You see, money is tight these days and we need money to put food in our bellies and the last batch of eggs we had went rotten in the cartons because our electricity ran out so the cooler got turned off. So I had to sell Run Run to get some food. Don’t worry, you can ride Nightmare instead.” “WHAT?! That’s Mean’s horse! And the last time I got too close, it bucked me in the teeth! She doesn’t even ride it anyway!” “It’s Megan dear. And don’t worry, that was a long time ago.” “It was a week ago!” “I’m so glad you understand dearie.” She said turning back to her cooking pot “oh, and we’re having bean stew tonight.” “Oh joy of joys.” Sighed Charlie, “I’ll be in my room if you don’t need me.” So Charlie went up to his room. He fell face first into his pillow covered himself in his blanket. He should have expected this. Run Run was the only thing that made living worthwhile and now he was gone. So much for a happy birthday. That’s when he noticed it; a small yellow envelope, quite possibly one of the smallest in the world, sitting on his bedside table. He was a little suspicious at first, it could have been a trick letter sent by The Bully Brothers. They sent a Christmas card covered in itching powder once, why wouldn’t they do something else? Charlie carefully opened the letter with a butter knife from a plate on the bedside table and seeing no tricks or traps of any kind, put his hand in the envelope and took out the card. It read: Hi! I hear you’re having a few problems out in your world. I think I can help. Come to the Big Old Apple Tree nearby and bring the key in the envelope with you. Sincerely, T.S Ok, this definitely wasn’t a fake letter from the Bully Brothers OR Mega Mean Megan. The handwriting was way too good. Charlie turned over the envelope and sure enough, a small gold key fell out of the envelope. It was something unlike he had ever seen. The teeth of the key were so intricate; it looked like a music box. There wddas a rainbow on the handle. This was either real or a really well planned prank. But Charlie couldn’t pass up an opportunity like this. He grabbed a torch, his coat, the key and letter and strode to the door. Only to be blocked by Mega Mean Megan. “Where are you going twerp?” she sneered “Back off sis. I’m just going for a walk.” Charlie said “At 7 o’clock at night? Gimme that torch!” “Mum! Megan’s trying to take my stuff again!” “Stop fighting kids!” Charlie’s mother yelled from the kitchen Charlie yanked the torch from Megan’s grip and ran down the corridor. He ran through the kitchen to the door. “I’m just going for a walk Mum!” Charlie yelled as he dashed out the door “Don’t run in the kitchen!” She yelled back as Charlie plunged into the night. Charlie flicked on his torch and jumped over the fence. He jumped over fallen logs and ducked under branches until he made it to a small clearing. In that clearing was the biggest apple tree he’d ever seen. Though the tree had clearly died a long time ago, it must have been huge in its time. Charlie could just imagine the shiny, crisp apples that must have grown on it. Now, the branches were bare of fruit and leaves, and the wood was as grey as steel. Suddenly, something moved behind the tree! Charlie moved his torch to a nearby shrub to see who, or what, it was. Out stepped something Charlie never thought he would see. A unicorn! It was small enough to be a pony. It had a straightened purple mane and its coat was a delicate lavender, and it had a strange mark on its flank, but he couldn’t make it out in the gloom. It trotted over to Charlie and put its hoof out in front of it. Charlie hesitated for a moment, and then took the hoof in his hand. The unicorn pony led him over to the wizened old apple tree and tapped its horn on the trunk. A knobbed part of the tree slid away to reveal a keyhole. Charlie remembered the key in his pocket and took it out. He looked over to the pony and it nodded its head. Charlie took a deep breath as he put the key into the lock and turned it. With a great groaning sound, part of the tree swung out revealing a secret doorway. The unicorn took Charlie’s hand and jumped down the hole. The drop wasn’t as long as Charlie had expected, but it still gave him a jolt as he came down like a ton of bricks. In front of him was a dimly lit tunnel constructed of tree roots that ran deeper than the foundations of a skyscraper. “Hey! Wait for me!” He cried as he ran after the pony. Invisible things brushed against his face, but he didn’t want to be left alone in the darkness. Eventually, he rounded a corner and a great sight beheld him. The portal was beautiful to behold. The frame was made of ebony and encrusted with every kind of precious stone, and for some reason some odd things as well. But somehow, it all fit together perfectly! Diamonds, emeralds, sapphires and rubies meshed together seamlessly with dirty socks, snail shells, apples and, somehow, clouds. The portal itself was amazing; a shimmering curtain of all possible and impossible colours that wafted in the non-existent breeze. The odd uni-pony was standing next to the portal. Then, to Charlie Mare’s amazement, it opened up its mouth and said “Hi! I’m Twilight Sparkle!” “So I see you got my letter! Great! Follow me, I’ll explain when we get there!” shouted Twilight Sparkle as she dived into the portal “Wait, go where?” Charlie shouted, but Twilight had already jumped through the portal. Charlie didn’t want to go in. It was too confusing, too weird and just plain strange. Charlie turned around to walk away from the portal but something barred his way. A huge furry hand shoved him through the portal with an evil chuckle. As Charlie fell through the portal, he felt a tingling in his arms and legs. This tingling spread to his chest and through his face. Then things started to move. Things that shouldn’t move moved and things that shouldn’t be growing grew. His skin turned to a pale creamy coat and his hair grew into a wild orange mane. Then he hit the ground and went out like a light. CH 2He woke up. He couldn’t remember anything. He remembered the rainbow veil, the hairy fist, and that horrible grinning mouth. But who was he? He remembered somepony helping him up, walking to a tree house together, and seeing a small dragon. What was his name? “Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey,” said somepony “are you awake yet? Huh? Are ya? Are ya? Are ya?” “Calm down Pinkie Pie.” Said Twilight “He’s had a rough time. He needs to recover. I hope he’s okay.” “Darn tootin’” Added another pony “He took a mighty fall back there. Must’ve hit his head somethin’ awful.” “Oh boo hoo. He fell over. It’s probably nothing serious. Just a bump on the head.” Said some other pony “Rainbow Dash! He was pushed through the World Veil!” scolded Twilight “You know what happens if anypony goes through it without the necessary precautions!” “But it was your idea to bring him here anyway!” she shouted “Yes, but that’s only because he needed some help. He needed a better life.” “Hey, Twilight, I think he’s waking up.” Somepony whispered. The pony on the bed stirred slowly, and lifted his head from the pillow. “Where am I? Who are all you ponies?” he said “You already know me, but then again, you probably don’t since that nasty fall through the World Veil. I’m Twilight Sparkle” She said and pointed at the ponies gathered around her. “These are my friends. Pinkie Pie,” “Hiya!” squeaked Pinkie Pie “Applejack,” “Well howdy do.” Said Applejack “Rainbow Dash” “Hey.” “Fluttershy” “Um... H-Hi.” Stammered Fluttershy “Rarity,” “The pleasure is all mine” said Rarity in a calculatedly smooth, velvety voice. “And last but not least, my trusty companion Spike” She motioned to a small purple dragon re-shelving books who was doing so suspiciously carefully. “And we would all like to welcome you to Ponyville!” said Twilight “Thank you” Said the pony on the bed “But, who am I? I can’t remember a thing after that portal thingy I went through. What’s a ‘World Veil’ anywa…?” “Don’t worry about that now silly!” interjected Pinkie Pie “We wanna show you around the town! Come on out of bed and let’s go, go, go!” She dragged the poor pony out of bed and through the door. “Help me!” he managed to blurt out before being dragged out of the house and out onto the street. As Pinkie Pie dragged the nameless pony down the street, he couldn’t help wondering, when will this end?! But also, why were these ponies so friendly to him? Nopony was ever so kind or friendly before. But then again, he couldn’t remember anything before entering the tree with Twilight Sparkle. Finally, Pinkie Pie skidded to a stop just outside a candy shop. “This is Sugarcube Corner!” She yelled excitedly “You can get lots of yummy things to eat! Candies, cakes, muffins, pastries and everything sweet!” “That’s nice.” He muttered, spitting out dirt and gravel “But could you please not drag me to the next place we visit?” “Oh. Okey doke!” she laughed “Next up is Sweet Apple Acres!” Twilight Sparkle and the other ponies were on the other side of Ponyville when this was going on, looking for a rogue Pinkie Pie and her hostage. “Where do you think Pinkie Pie would take him first?” asked Spike “Well, Pinkie Pie loves all things sugary, so it would be most likely if she was at Sugarcube Corner.” Twilight reasoned “But it’s a little too obvious don’t you think?” said Rarity “If there’s one thing we know about Pinkie Pie, it’s that she’s about as unpredictable as Discord.” “So where is she?” pressed Rainbow Dash “Well, I think we can find her by followin’ this here rut in the ground.” Said Applejack, pointing to a deep trench “Well, I guess that’s a clue” said Fluttershy nervously “And this is Canterlot Palace!” Pinkie Pie yelled excitedly. It was amazing the distance she could travel in such a short period of time. The nameless pony was dazed to say the least. “Do you wanna go inside? It’ll be fun!” “Uh…” he began but Pinkie Pie cut him off “Great!” She yelled, grabbing him by the tail and zooming off into the palace. “Are we *oof* even *ow* allowed in *ack* here?” he said as his head bounced up and down on the stairs “Of course we are silly! Why wouldn’t we be?” Pinkie Pie was going very fast, every turn sliding the pony behind her across the polished marble floors. Eventually, they came to a stop. Well, one of them did. Pinkie Pie stopped completely while the other pony slid straight through her hooves and came to a complete, and sudden, stop at a small flight of stairs. Standing above him was one of the most majestic horses ever. With a coat as white as freshly fallen snow, and a mane and tail that looked softer than silk and glowed with every colour of the rainbow. She had blindingly white gossamer wings and a sleek, slender horn fixed to her forehead. “Well, well, Pinkie Pie, it looks like you’ve been showing somepony a whirlwind tour of all of Equestria.” Said the Rainbow Mare in a sleek and smooth voice “Tell me young one, what is your name?” “Uhh…” the small pony started again, only to be cut off again by an overly excited Pinkie Pie. “Well, miss Celestia, Twilight heard about this young boy beyond the world veil with the snail shells and diamonds and lots and lots of glitter but anyway he was having a rough life and was all depressed and had no friends *gasp* I know can you believe it? Anyway she wrote him a letter telling him to meet her at the tree housing the World Thingy and she brought him through it but now he’s lost all his memories so Twilight took him back to the library so he could rest but then she was getting worried so she called us over so we could help and she told us we couldn’t say anything about his past because it would make him all depressed an ruin his chances of friendship here *gasp* and…” “Yes, yes Pinkie Pie, that’s a very interesting story, but we have more pressing issues.” Said Celestia, finally ending Pinkie’s endless monologue, much to everyone’s relief “After all, this young colt can’t go on without a name forever can he? So what will be your name young one?” The young pony thought about this. It was hard to think up names on the spot. This is probably how most parents felt when trying to decide their children’s names. “How about Veil?” he said. “I think it’s a wonderful name.” Said Princess Celestia, “I now pronounce you, young colt, Veil Otherworld. May you make many friends and your days be filled with happiness.” “YAY! YAY! YAY!” Squealed Pinkie Pie “Let’s have a party to celebrate!” From somewhere on her pony person, she wheeled out a cannon that started firing confetti, streamers and table decorations. “Never leave home without a Pinkie Pie Party Cannon!” She cheered as she danced around firing even more confetti. How many charges were in the cannon? Veil Otherworld wondered as he laughed at Pinkie’s antics. It felt good to laugh again. The other ponies cantered into the royal hall just as Pinkie Pie wheeled out her welcome wagon. Loud music was playing, streamers and confetti littered the gleaming marble floors, most of the guards were dancing around drinking impossible amounts of cider, and in the middle of it all, Pinkie Pie was throwing the other pony up into the air again and again, while Princess Celesia was laughing at the silliness of it all. “Pinkie! What’s going on here?” Twilight yelled to make herself heard over the din “He got a new name! He got a new name! Hooray for Veil Otherworld!” Pinkie was chanting “You can, woah! Let me down, woah! Now Pinkie!” Veil laughed as he was flung up into the air. He then came crashing down as Pinkie forgot to catch him. After dusting himself off, Veil trotted over to the other ponies. “I think we now need a proper introduction now that I have a new name. I am Veil Otherworld, as ordered by Princess Celestia!” he beamed “It feels really good to have a name again!” “And it feels good to call you something!” Twilight grinned “Well, welcome to your new life in Equestria!” Discord was bored. One tended to get bored if there was nothing to do. Yes, he could choose to invade another Brony’s fan fiction novel and make it a bit more interesting, but what was the point? He was frozen in stone yet again, beaten by the power of love and friendship and rainbows, but somehow, still alive. It was best not to think about it too much. If he thought about it, the delicate spell holding his chaotic consciousness together might dissolve like an ice cube in the sun. Speaking of sun, Discord had somehow managed to create a whole new realm inside his head. In it, he was sunbathing with a cool drink in his hand while eating something made out of fish in his other. He then heard a knock on the door. The scenery changed from a sunny beach into a cosy living room with green wallpaper and wooden floorboards. He got up from his beach chair, which was now a plush leather couch and went to answer the door. He passed through the kitchen and through someone’s dream (It would be a miracle if they weren’t scarred for life with his sudden appearance in a dream about unspeakable things. Four sided triangles? Whoever heard of such nonsense? Better write that down for later) and out onto the entrance room. He opened the door and there was no one there. Darn kids. Discord closed the door and looked behind him. Barring his way was a giant furry yeti. His breath stank of meat and his white fur was matted and splotched with mud and dirt and a vast array of seeds were clinging to his chest. “Ah. Victor. Glad you could make it in time.” Said Discord, changing the world back to his living room “Please, have a seat. But don’t sit down.” “I did what you asked boss.” Said the yeti “Can I have that pudding now?” “What? Oh! Of course you can. Oh and be careful, last night’s fruit punch has gotten a bit unruly. Tried to knock my teeth out when I opened the fridge.” Almost on cue, a bright pink fridge with pictures of Discord and miscellaneous small fluffy animals stuck to it by old magnets. When he opened the fridge, a huge liquid fist rushed at him. The yeti caught it in his hand and squeezed it. It squealed in pain as it slithered back into the bowl. Victor the Yeti pulled out a comically small carton of pudding and shoved the entire thing into his mouth. “How are you gonna get back to Equestria boss?” asked the yeti “All I did was shove a kid through a rainbow curtain.” “I don’t want to get back to Equestria you bumbling fool!” Discord barked, smacking the yeti on the head “It’s a lost cause anyway. I’m looking for somewhere much more different. A world without magic! No resistance shall meet me! I’m attacking the Human World!” “Duh, but why did you make me shove that kid into Equestria?” asked the yeti “Eh, the kid looked like he could use a break. Seriously, have you ever been duct-taped into a bin before? Not a pleasant experience.” Far away in Equestria, Veil and his new friends were continuing the party at Pinkie Pie’s house. “Isn’t this a great party?!” Pinkie Pie squeaked a she fired more confetti out of her cannon “Yhea, I’ve never SEEN anyone drink so much cider in one sitting.” Twilight laughed. Applejack, Veil, Spike, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash were having a cider drinking contest, and Spike was already under the table, belly full of sweet, golden cider. Rarity was judging the contest and determined to stay as far away from the table as possible. It would be an absolute disaster if her mane got cider in it. “Uh, Pinkie, how can you be talking to me here and drinking cider over there?” “What are physics?” She asked tilting her head confusedly “Oooookay.” Twilight laughed nervously. Applejack, Veil and Pinkie Pie had just finished their fifteenth mug. Rainbow Dash had just fallen off her stool and Spike burped heavily under the table. “Hot diggity Spike! If you lit your breath on fire, it could heat all of Ponyville!” Applejack laughed. “It’s not just bad breath.” Twilight exclaimed “There’s a letter from Princess Celestia!” “Go on Twilight! Read it.” Everypony said. It read: To my dearest little ponies, something terrible has happened! Discord has somehow returned, but he remains encased in stone! Don’t know what he’s planning, or what he’s going to do, so I need you to find out. Please hurry my little ponies! Princess Celestia “Well, it looks like we’re going on another adventure!” Twilight said, eyes lighting up. “Can’t it wait till tomorrow Twilight?” Spike groaned “I second *burp* that” said Rainbow Dash quietly At the brink of dawn, the ponies set out for the Everfree Forest to seek out Zecora. Hopefully, she would know where Discord was hiding. They passed through the first wave of trees, occasionally brushing spider webs out of their way. After hopping over some roots seeking the light, Rainbow Dash spotted Zecora’s hut. A small yellow filly trotted out of the low hut to greet us. “Hiya Applejack!” the young pony said. She was so adorable; it hurt to look at her for too long. She had a bright red mane and a banana yellow coat, with her mane tied back by a large ink bow. “Hey there Applebloom.” Applejack said to her kid sister, gently ruffling her mane with a hoof “What are you doin’ out here?” “I’m collecting herbs for Miss Zecora!” she said brightly “She’s been real busy, and she says she’s been having some weird and scary dreams.” “We were just looking for her.” Said Twilight. “Have you seen her?” “Mmm, sorry. She just went off to the ruins to find some special herbs.” She said “You can probably find her there.” “Thanks Applebloom” said Applejack “Who’s your friend?” asked an inquisitive Applebloom “Is he new here?” “Uh, it’s a long story Applebloom.” Said Twilight “We’ll tell you when we get back to Ponyville.” Charlie’s Mother was getting worried. It had been a few days since Charlie went for his walk, and he hadn’t come back since then. She asked Megan where he was but she just shrugged and slammed the door to her room. She must be going through a rough patch. After all, she went through one when she was growing up. But this couldn’t find Charlie. Just as she opened the door to go look for him, the phone rang. She went to answer the phone and after an hour, she completely forgot what she was supposed to be doing. Then she remembered. She had to get dinner ready. Some very important businessmen were coming over for tea. If They didn’t like her steamed pudding, her farm might be sold to some yokel from overseas. At the ruins, Twilight was getting worried. The other ponies had split up to try and find Zecora, but the twisting corridors and confusing lay of the land ensured they got lost. Veil was with Applejack, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash went together, Pinkie Pie and Spike went off in another direction, and Twilight went with Rarity. “When are we going to find her? My hooves are killing me.” Groaned Rarity “I think she may have moved on.” Twilight sighed “We should go back and find the others.” “But Twilight, where exactly IS back?” Rarity asked. She was right. Before was a sprawling labyrinth of corridors, with doors leading to oblivion and some doors that just didn’t open. “You’re right.” Twilight moaned “I wonder how the others are faring.” At that point, Spike was getting his ears talked off by Pinkie Pie, Veil was asking Applejack about the difference between Golden Delicious and Granny Smith and Fluttershy was telling Rainbow Dash to be careful around the big archways. And yet somehow, someway, they were all teleported to precisely where they wanted to go. Everypony was blinking furiously as they each struggled to find out where they were and how. They were all back at the entrance, standing on top of eachother in a giant pony column. Unfortunately, Pinkie Pie was standing at the bottom and the entire thing collapsed. After dusting themselves off, they headed back to Ponyville. “Well ‘ain’t that the strangest thing you ever saw. And I’m not just talkin’ about your brand new do Rarity.” Applejack sniggered “Yes. Yes it is.” Rarity said simply, stunned not only at the teleportation, but that her precisely combed mane had puffed up into a giant purple afro. But they had all had a good laugh back at the ruins. Several other odd things had happened at the ruins as well. Spike got a cutie mark of a book which promptly faded away, Applejack’s hat decided on a better life as a vegetable gardener, Pinkie Pie became deadly serious and hyper intelligent for a total of 3.141592654 seconds, Rainbow Dash went monochrome, Fluttershy grew two horns which jumped off her head, sprouted arms, gave each other high fives and scurried into a crack in the floor, Twilight Sparkle grew to almost fill the entire entrance room then shrank back to her normal size, and Veil had fifteen different varieties off banana stuffed into his mouth. “This is bizarre; none of what happened just made any sense whatsoever.” Twilight said suspiciously “The last time this stuff happened, Discord was loose in the world. “Don’t you dare speak that name!” said an incredibly high pitched voice which surprisingly, wasn’t Pinkie Pie. There in front of them, with a slight sucking sound, appeared a small and very strange creature. It had a horse’s face with a goat and deer horn fixed to its head, a long, snaking body with hind legs of a dragon and a horse and the front paw of a lion and an eagle talon. It also had a giant scaly tail with a small tuft of fur at the end. “What the heck is THAT?!” Yelled Veil surprised “A Draconequus!” cried Fluttershy “Let’s get it!” shouted Rainbow Dash “No, wait!” the strange beast said “I need your help.” “To do what? Cause even MORE Chaos?” Rainbow Dash cried “No, it’s about my big brother Discord.” “What?” Twilight Sparkle said surprised “He’s decided to invade the realm of Humans.” “WHAT?!” All the ponies cried out All the ponies and the Draconequus had decided that they needed to confer with a higher authority. After a brief period of explaining everything to Celestia and her royal guard, they started talking about why Discord was attacking and how. “So how did y’all come across this information?” Applejack said “For all we know, y’all could be in cahoots with Discord.” “I keep telling you, I’m not the enemy!” said the Draconequus, whose name was Mania “Don’t believe me? Who do you think teleported you out of the ruins?” Rarity gasped in horror “You are solely responsible for my horrid haircut!” “Sorry about that.” Mania chuckled “But the thing about chaos magic is that anything can happen at any possible time for no reason. That includes funny haircuts.” “So anyway, how do you know that Discord wants to attack the human world?” “I disguised myself as a small jar of cocktail onions in his fridge.” She said “I thought my cover was blown when Victor the Yeti tried to eat me.” “So who’s this Victor character?” Veil asked “Discord’s newest henchman.” Mania explained “Stronger than Big Macintosh and dumber than two rocks banging against each other.” “Those poor rocks!” Pinkie Pie shrieked “He’s tired of trying to take over Equestria and now he wants to plunge the Human Realm into an age of complete and total chaos!” “But why?” “Because there’s no magic there and even less opposition since there’s already chaos leaking out of every crack and crevice.” “Well, we can’t stop him by just standing around here. How can we stop him?” said Twilight “You can’t use the Elements of Harmony again; they don’t work in the human realm. Plus, the only magic that can exist there is the World Veil.” She said as the other ponies gasped “WHAT?! But that’s the only way we can defeat him!” Twilight protested “There is another way” Said Celestia “But I always feared to use it.” “What is it? If we can use it to beat Discord, we have to use it!” Rainbow Dash argued CH 3“Well, that was much quicker than I had expected.” Discord said as he finished off the last of those delicious steamed puddings one of the humans had made for him. In the space of an hour, Discord had taken over half the continent some of the humans had shouted ‘America’. Nice name, nicer steamed puddings. He was just about to pour himself another glass of chocolate rain when Victor stumbled into his throne room. “Boss, something terrible has happened!” he roared “Well spit it out man!” Discord squawked “You made me spill my drink!” “The ponies! They’re here! And they have your sister hostage!” “I HAVE A SISTER?!” The plan was working perfectly. With Mania bound to a tree the ponies were dragging, the ponies were striding through Discord’s massive army of horrid, misshapen creatures. The ponies were striding to Discord’s surprisingly brightly coloured tower of solidified Chaos. Though something felt very wrong for Veil. As the ponies entered Discord’s throne room, they saw him smacking Victor the Yeti around the head with the closest thing he had at hand, his throne. “What in tarnation…?” Applejack began “Long story. Don’t want to bother you with the details.” Discord said casually “So where is this Draconequus claiming to be my sister?! I never had a sister! I recall having two brothers and a walking kumquat for a pet, but that’s beside the point! SO WHERE IS SHE?!” “Right here Discord.” Said Mania cruelly, “Sorry my little ponies, looks like you’ve been double crossed!” As she said this, chains appeared around all the ponies’ necks. When the chains were attached, all the colour drained out of them. They struggled at first, but then they began transforming. All the ponies grew long, savage teeth that were chipped and notched. Their manes and tails grew wild and untamed. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershys wings grew to huge proportions, while the horns of Twilight and rarity elongated and split, and soon they had a near forest of horns on their heads. Even Pinkie Pie and Applejack weren’t safe from Mania’s evil chaos magic. Pinkie Pie’s wild mane became perfectly straight and razor sharp, while Applejack’s hind legs became huge and muscled. The ponies had been turned savage, wild and barbaric. So this was the power of Mania. Mania held the chains holding the straining ponies back from tearing Discord limb from limb. Their mouths were foaming and even in Mania’s strong grip, it looked like she couldn’t hold on forever. She didn’t say a word, but instead motioned for Discord to evict his throne. Discord was off like a flash. Mania sat on her throne, and nailed the chains of the ponies to the ground, surrounding her throne from any attack. Then she spoke in a new, infinitely more commanding and powerful voice, FEAST YOUR EYES ON THE NEW RULER OF THE REALM OF HUMANS! I SHALL CAST A TERRIBLE REIGN, WHICH WILL BE EXTENDED TO ALL OF EQUESTRIA, AND THEN, OH AND THEN, I SHALL SHAKE THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE CHAOS REALM! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! BUT A FITTING TITLE MUST BE MINE. NO LONGER SHALL I BE MANIA, BUT NOW, ALL WILL TREMBLE BEFORE DEMENTIA! Veil was at a loss. The entire world was plunged into even more chaos than it was before. Veil cantered out of the chaos tower. Even chaos was changing. The bright colours of Discord had now become dark, gloomy and foreboding. Discord himself was sitting upon the steps, wallowing in self-pity. Veil was about to attempt to comfort Discord, when he noticed a familiar rainbow mane. Celestia was fighting her way through the hordes of chaos creatures when she noticed Discord on the stairs of his palace. She flew into the air and dived to the steps. She landed with grace and poise, and trotted over to Discord who was- no, he couldn’t be, he was weeping! “Great. Now you, of all ponies show up now. What now? Turn me to stone again? Torment me on how I lost my entire kingdom in the space of five minutes? Because I’m sick of it! This world was already in complete chaos! All I had to do was make myself known!” he wailed. “No.” Celestia said simply “Dementia now threatens the human realm, Equestria and she has set her sights on the Realm of Chaos. We cannot allow her to destroy these worlds!” “WHAT?!” Discord yelled “I don’t get it. What will happen if those three realms are destroyed?” asked Veil. “Yes, there are millions of other realms, and many gateways to them.” Discord explained “However, The Human Realm, The Chaos Realm and Equestria are the only three realms who keep all the other realms together. That’s why they are called Guardian Realms.” “So essentially, if all of the Guardian Realms were to collapse, all of the other universes would collapse too. It would be the end of everything. Worse than any Doomsday.” “We need to stop her!” Veil yelled “We have to do something! Anything!” Celestia and Discord both looked at each other and nodded. It had seemed that they had come to an unspoken agreement. “Well, I do have one hidden power I can use. But it’s a biggie, and even harder to use.” Discord said “I could make you my champion. It will lend you my powers, but only for fifteen minutes.” “I can also give you something. I never thought I would have to use this.” Sighed Celestia. She lowered her horn and summoned a sword, with a shining alabaster blade and golden wings for a handle guard and a small golden shield as a pommel. “It is a dark thing, created by ancient ponies long ago.” She explained “Created only for destruction, this foul weapon was locked away for centuries in the palace. It was never meant to see the light of day, but I’m afraid it is a very dark day.” “Thank you Celestia for your sacrifice, but how will I use it? I have no magic, and I don’t have hands!” Veil moped. Discord put his hand on Veil’s shoulder. The same tingling sensation arose through him as when he was pushed through the Rainbow Veil. Bones shifted, hair receded, fingers grew and soon enough, there was standing Charlie Mare. Dementia was plotting. She had a massive army, unlimited resources of chaos and some of the most powerful ponies of Equestria corrupted and at her command, but where, oh where did she attack first? Equestria, or the Chaos Realm? Both were VERY good choices, but she was afraid that she would need a much bigger army to attack Equestria, and a veritable galaxy of soldiers to attack her home realm. So invading another realm sounded like a good idea. But where to start? And how could she find a portal? Her train of thought was interrupted as a human slammed open the door, startling her guard ponies. Charlie Mare was furious. He remembered everything. The mocking laughter of Dementia was burned into his memory, and the fact that he may never see the only friends he had ever had again fuelled his anger even more. He brandished the sword so tight, his fingernails gut into his hand and made it bleed. But Charlie didn’t take any notice. FOOLISH MORTAL! WHO DARES CHALLENGE MIGHTY DEMENTIA? SPEAK THY NAME SO I MAY KNOW WHO I AM SENDING TO THEIR OBLIVION! “My name is Charlie Mare!” he cried, emphasising every word with a heavy foot fall “And I will NOT stand by as you destroy my world! I will NOT watch as you collapse the very fabric of our world! And I will NOT STAND BY WHEN YOU TAKE MY FRIENDS AWAY FROM ME!!!” To this, Charlie was met with yet more mocking laughter YOU LITTLE FOOL! YOU ARE WEAK AND PATHETIC! EVEN WITH YOUR PUNY WEAPONS YOU ARE NO MATCH FOR MY CHAOTIC POWERS! “That’s where you’re wrong Dementia. Discord! Now!” Charlie yelled defiantly. Discord rolled up his imaginary sleeves and threw all the magic he could muster to the young boy. He had to admit, that kid had some guts. Charlie Mare was beginning his transformation. Discord’s chaos magic felt rough and sharp. Almost dangerous, which it probably was. He grew to match Dementia’s immense size, his teeth nails became sharper than an eagle’s talons, his muscles bulged and twisted beneath his thin t-shirt and coat and a magical set of armour was placed on him. It was a haphazard piece of work, but what good bit of chaos wasn’t? It had multiple iron, steel and ebony pauldrons, a helmet thicker than was humanly possible to wear, an incredibly heavy pair of steel boots, a chainmail neck protector, an intricately decorated breastplate of a glossy black metal and a blood red cloak lined with even more chainmail. All to do now was to wait for Celestia’s magic. Celestia’s magic was very different from Discord’s but one would expect it to be. It felt flowing, natural and soft. He felt a magical horn protrude from his forehead, and huge feathered wings sprouted from his back beneath his cloak. The Champion’s Armour Discord had granted him was now glowing in a rainbow variety of colours. Charlie Mare was now not just a young boy, but the protector of many worlds he never knew existed. But this wasn’t the time for speculation. He was now the product of enemies working together to face someone they both could not face alone. He was The Knightmare. WHAT IS THIS? I CAN SEE NOW THAT YOU ARE NO MERE MORTAL. VERY WELL. YOU SHALL HAVE YOUR FIGHT! BUT FIRST, YOU MUST PROVE TO ME THAT YOU ARE WORTHY! DESTROY THESE PONIES! THEY ARE OF NO USE TO ME. This was obviously a trick by Dementia. She thought that he would fight fair against her. She thought he would destroy his only friends in his search for revenge. She wasn’t dealing with a stupid boy. The Knightmare uprooted all the chains from the ground and smashed the spikes into a wall. The savage ponies dangled there, forced to watch. Knightmare struck at Dementia, clawing her on the cheek. She fell to the ground and shrieked in pain. HOW DARE YOU?! YOU SHALL DIE HERE AND NOW! Knightmare wouldn’t stand for it. He drew back his sword and swung at Dementia who dodged back but slammed into a wall. Knightmare tried to slam her further into the wall, but she rolled over and smacked the back of his helmet. Discord and Celestia were watching the battle from a safe distance, but Discord wasn’t treating it very seriously. He had summoned a row of movie seats and a bucket of popcorn for him and Celestia. Only his side had more butter. The ponies that were stuck to the wall were still raging. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were struggling and pushing to fly away, but the chains holding them back were too strong. But something happened. Twilight Sparkle was watching the two titans fight and she began to wonder. Why was he doing this? He had nothing to gain from fighting her. He could lose his life fighting her. Why? Then she remembered. He was doing it for them. The chain around her neck began to steam. GIVE IT UP FOOL! YOU CAN NEVER DEFEAT ME! Cried Dementia. Knightmare was in a bad way. He was bleeding heavily from his shoulder, his vision was blurry and he had nearly nothing left. He raised up his hand in a feeble attempt to block what should have been the last blow, but Dementia’s hand was stayed. Everything stood still. Dementia looked up to her hand to see what was wrong. A purple particle cloud surrounded her hand, which could only mean one thing. Twilight had broken Dementia’s spell! And sure enough, she had freed her friends too. They looked at Knightmare with a grim look in their eyes. They knew he was doing what had to be done. They just had to help him. “Discord! We need the Elements of Harmony!” Twilight yelled. Discord was so bowled over by excitement, he almost fell over in his rush to stand up “But they won’t work in this realm!” Celestia yelled “Ah, but the one fundamental, unshakable thing about chaos magic my dear princess is that anything can happen at any time for no reason. Essentially, it is completely unpredictable.” He smiled wickedly. He clapped his hands and in a flash of white light, all the ponies were wearing their Elements of Harmony. They activated, and a rainbow beam of light was shot directly into Knightmare. He was so powered at this point, he became like a god. Knightmare rose into the air, wind rustling his cloak about him. He then spoke from beneath his gleaming helm Dementia, for your wicked crimes, I hereby banish you… to oblivion! Knightmare raised the sword, and out of it shot a blinding white light. It twisted around Dementia, Snaking between her arms and legs and covering her in white light. The light slowly pulsed and expanded as she cried out. But then it stopped. Fifteen minutes had passed. It was all over. The glowing armour evaporated, his teeth and nails became reasonably sized again and his muscled form shrank and twisted Knightmare back into the young boy Charlie Mare. Dementia laughed triumphantly. YOU FOOLS! NOTHING CAN STOP ME! I AM INVINCIBLE! I WILL DESTROY THE ENTIRE MULTIVERSE, AND EVERY SINGLE LAST THING IN IT! STARTING WITH YOU! She lunged at the small boy. He stood up. The world had been slowed. Discord was using the last of his magic to save Charlie. He gave Discord a nod, and the raised the sword. He raised it far above his head and brought it down with a thunderous yell. He heard the blade sink into the flesh of Dementia, and then, she started to change. It was slow at first, then gradually, from the hilt down, the sword turned to stone. Dementia reeled back in shock as her face slowly turned to stone. She tried to scream, but only a muffled gasp of air came out, but somehow, it was scarier than any scream. In a few minutes, it was all over. There stood a perfect statue of Dementia. But then, cracks appeared. The cracks quickly spread and soon, the whole statue was crumbling. All that was left was a small pile of dust. Charlie collapsed and became Veil Otherworld once again. There was a small flash on his flank, and there appeared a pair of golden swords crossed behind a shield. The ponies carried Veil back to the portal, while Discord was made to clean up the mess he had created by Celestia. Hopefully with all the blanked memories of humans, none would ever believe this happened. When he awoke, Veil was back in the library again. He slowly sat up, but Fluttershy told him to lie down again. His injuries had not been able to heal completely. Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Celestia walked into his room. “I think I stirred up a bit of trouble when I came here. I’m sorry.” Veil moped “It’s not your fault Veil. It never was.” Fluttershy reassured him “Yes. You were only doing what you had to do.” Rarity said “If anything, we should apologise to you.” “Yeah! And it was so awesome when you took on Dementia!” Rainbow Dash squealed ecstatically “And then when you wooshed across the room to tackle her, a rainbow appeared behind you! It was soooo cool!” Pinkie Pie bounced up and down “It was a very brave thing you did Veil Otherworld.” Celestia said “It takes great courage to stand up to your enemies, but even greater courage is needed to stand up to your friends.” “Thank you Princess.” Veil said as he bowed his head “In fact, I think we all learned a valuable lesson about friendship. Even Discord.” She said amusedly “But now, it’s time to PARTY!!!” Pinkie Pie squeaked as she wheeled out her party cannon. The party was an amazing success. Even Discord was invited. He was showing magic tricks to some of the young fillies while the cider drinking contest was underway yet again, and it was down to Veil and Applejack. Pinkie Pie was dancing with what looked like multiple copies of herself, along with other ponies who were watching with amazement, confusion and happiness. Many of the other ponies were playing games and eating the delicious cakes and pies from Sugar Cube Corner and most importantly, everyone was having fun. Celestia decided that it was time. She walked over to Veil who had just won the cider contest and was now celebrating by taking a long sit down. “It’s time to go Veil.” Celestia said “Go? Where?” Veil managed “Home.” Charlie Mare woke up just outside the portal. Celestia had made it quite clear. It was a shame. He hated to say goodbye to his friends. Pinkie Pie was crying a river that almost washed away Ponyville and Rarity could barely hold back her tears. Even in times of great sadness, she had an image to protect after all. Veil was about to step through the World Veil when Celestia tapped her horn on his head. He stepped through the portal into the human realm. But he remembered everything; before entering the portal, his stay in Ponyville, defeating Dementia and all of Pinkie Pie’s fantastical parties. This last memory is what made Charlie smile the most. He shed a single tear and felt something fall out of his pocket as he stood up. It was a photograph. It was all of them, smiling together, laughing together and playing together. It also had a small note in the corner. It read: Thank you for being another friend to us Veil. We’ll never forget you, and we hope this will never let you forget us. Signed, Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack Pinkie Pie And Spike And written on the back of the photograph was another small message. P.S: If you ever want to send us a letter, just send it to 14 Apple Street. EpilogueTen years passed since Charlie Mare had his adventure in Equestria, and his life had turned around for the better. He had friends at school, his mother loved him more than ever, and even Megan stopped pestering him. Every night, Charlie would lie down in his bed, and when no one was looking, he opened the bedside table drawer and took out the photograph of his pony friends. Then he would write a letter to Twilight. In the back of his mind, he thought such memories as childish. Sometimes, even a little bit naieve and stupid. But every time he saw something just a little bit magical, he thought of Twilight. When his friends told him something completely honestly, he remembered Applejack. Every time he saw a rainbow, Rainbow Dash sped at full speed through his mind. Every party he atended, he could swear he heard Pinkie's stifled giggling. In every reflective surface he saw, just out of sight, was the perfectly pampered tail of Rarity. Every cute animal he saw reminded him of Fluttershy, and even when he saw something odd or out of place, he even thought of Discord. These were the things that had propelled him into his life, that explosion of non-sensical glee just added more fuel to his fire of happiness. He just was glad that he, someone from a completely different universe, species and reality, learned to make friends with another. He shook his head and sighed. 10 years is a very long time. he decided to sit himself down and write one. Dear Everypony, Thank you all for being my friend. I can't belive to this day that this is actually how I got to where i am today. I have friends, a caring and trustworthy family, a roof over my head and a smile on my face. Needless to say, it's more than enough to get me through the day. I just wanted to... Ah, who am I kidding. I really miss all of you, and my graduation ceremony is coming up. All I really want is to see you one more time! Soon after graduation I'll be going to University. It took me ages to get in. I'll be going across the entire country! i'm not sure if I'll be completely sane without your letters. Though that weird one written in riddles from Discord didn't help much. How DOES he make a four sided triangle anyway? Well, this might be my final letter to you, so thank you and goodbye. Charlie sighed as he stepped out of the car. he said goodbye to his mother and kissed her on the cheek. He picked up his suitcase and swaggered towards his new dorm. His pony friends may be gone, but he can make some new ones. After all, not everyone sticks with childhood friends their whole life. He found his room and opened the door to be greeted by some strangely familiar faces. Many with brightly coloured hairstyles. "SURPRISE!" Yelled a girl with bushy pink hair tht sounded suspiciously like Pinkie Pie "Howdy Charlie!" grinned a girl with blonde hair and a cowgirl hat "Hello darling." said a beautiful girl with a smooth flowing voice "What's up?" said an athletic one with a wacky rainbow hairstyle "H-hi there." one said with a weak smile and long pink hair covering most of her face "Hi Charlie!" the last one said. She had purple hair with some bright highlights. Charlie's mouth broke into a huge smile. "Well, I did ask to see you all one last time." He hugged them tightly. "How did you get here? And how long will you be staying?" he asked "We all got your letter, and Princess Celestia was kind enough to let us come here." Twilight explained "It also serves as a way to see how humanity is recovering from Dementia's attack." "The Princess gave us these neat-o human bodies so we can blend in!" Pinkie chipped in "It dosen't really seem to be working though..." Gee, I wonder why? Charlie thought to himself "So anyway, since we're going to be staying here to check on how humanity's going, we decided to enroll in your university too!" "Well, I guess the rest of my life is just going to be one interesting event after another." Charlie said "And that's perfectly fine with me."
CH 1It sucked to be Charlie Mare; constantly teased at school because of his straight bright orange hair and pale complexion, pestered by his big sister, constantly overlooked and never got a break. He lived on a farm out in the country and lived in a house next to the horse pen. The only friend he had in the whole world was his horse, Run Run, but not for long. “Mummy, where’s Run Run?” he asked as he came home from school “How was your day sweetie?” his mother asked. “The Bully Brothers taped me inside a bin again.” He said “Where’s Run Run?” “That’s nice dear. Could you put out the good knives and forks tonight dear? We have guests coming over.” “You’re not even listening to me are you?” He raised his voice a little “Where’s Run Run?” “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about dear.” She said as she knelt down “You see, money is tight these days and we need money to put food in our bellies and the last batch of eggs we had went rotten in the cartons because our electricity ran out so the cooler got turned off. So I had to sell Run Run to get some food. Don’t worry, you can ride Nightmare instead.” “WHAT?! That’s Mean’s horse! And the last time I got too close, it bucked me in the teeth! She doesn’t even ride it anyway!” “It’s Megan dear. And don’t worry, that was a long time ago.” “It was a week ago!” “I’m so glad you understand dearie.” She said turning back to her cooking pot “oh, and we’re having bean stew tonight.” “Oh joy of joys.” Sighed Charlie, “I’ll be in my room if you don’t need me.” So Charlie went up to his room. He fell face first into his pillow covered himself in his blanket. He should have expected this. Run Run was the only thing that made living worthwhile and now he was gone. So much for a happy birthday. That’s when he noticed it; a small yellow envelope, quite possibly one of the smallest in the world, sitting on his bedside table. He was a little suspicious at first, it could have been a trick letter sent by The Bully Brothers. They sent a Christmas card covered in itching powder once, why wouldn’t they do something else? Charlie carefully opened the letter with a butter knife from a plate on the bedside table and seeing no tricks or traps of any kind, put his hand in the envelope and took out the card. It read: Hi! I hear you’re having a few problems out in your world. I think I can help. Come to the Big Old Apple Tree nearby and bring the key in the envelope with you. Sincerely, T.S Ok, this definitely wasn’t a fake letter from the Bully Brothers OR Mega Mean Megan. The handwriting was way too good. Charlie turned over the envelope and sure enough, a small gold key fell out of the envelope. It was something unlike he had ever seen. The teeth of the key were so intricate; it looked like a music box. There wddas a rainbow on the handle. This was either real or a really well planned prank. But Charlie couldn’t pass up an opportunity like this. He grabbed a torch, his coat, the key and letter and strode to the door. Only to be blocked by Mega Mean Megan. “Where are you going twerp?” she sneered “Back off sis. I’m just going for a walk.” Charlie said “At 7 o’clock at night? Gimme that torch!” “Mum! Megan’s trying to take my stuff again!” “Stop fighting kids!” Charlie’s mother yelled from the kitchen Charlie yanked the torch from Megan’s grip and ran down the corridor. He ran through the kitchen to the door. “I’m just going for a walk Mum!” Charlie yelled as he dashed out the door “Don’t run in the kitchen!” She yelled back as Charlie plunged into the night. Charlie flicked on his torch and jumped over the fence. He jumped over fallen logs and ducked under branches until he made it to a small clearing. In that clearing was the biggest apple tree he’d ever seen. Though the tree had clearly died a long time ago, it must have been huge in its time. Charlie could just imagine the shiny, crisp apples that must have grown on it. Now, the branches were bare of fruit and leaves, and the wood was as grey as steel. Suddenly, something moved behind the tree! Charlie moved his torch to a nearby shrub to see who, or what, it was. Out stepped something Charlie never thought he would see. A unicorn! It was small enough to be a pony. It had a straightened purple mane and its coat was a delicate lavender, and it had a strange mark on its flank, but he couldn’t make it out in the gloom. It trotted over to Charlie and put its hoof out in front of it. Charlie hesitated for a moment, and then took the hoof in his hand. The unicorn pony led him over to the wizened old apple tree and tapped its horn on the trunk. A knobbed part of the tree slid away to reveal a keyhole. Charlie remembered the key in his pocket and took it out. He looked over to the pony and it nodded its head. Charlie took a deep breath as he put the key into the lock and turned it. With a great groaning sound, part of the tree swung out revealing a secret doorway. The unicorn took Charlie’s hand and jumped down the hole. The drop wasn’t as long as Charlie had expected, but it still gave him a jolt as he came down like a ton of bricks. In front of him was a dimly lit tunnel constructed of tree roots that ran deeper than the foundations of a skyscraper. “Hey! Wait for me!” He cried as he ran after the pony. Invisible things brushed against his face, but he didn’t want to be left alone in the darkness. Eventually, he rounded a corner and a great sight beheld him. The portal was beautiful to behold. The frame was made of ebony and encrusted with every kind of precious stone, and for some reason some odd things as well. But somehow, it all fit together perfectly! Diamonds, emeralds, sapphires and rubies meshed together seamlessly with dirty socks, snail shells, apples and, somehow, clouds. The portal itself was amazing; a shimmering curtain of all possible and impossible colours that wafted in the non-existent breeze. The odd uni-pony was standing next to the portal. Then, to Charlie Mare’s amazement, it opened up its mouth and said “Hi! I’m Twilight Sparkle!” “So I see you got my letter! Great! Follow me, I’ll explain when we get there!” shouted Twilight Sparkle as she dived into the portal “Wait, go where?” Charlie shouted, but Twilight had already jumped through the portal. Charlie didn’t want to go in. It was too confusing, too weird and just plain strange. Charlie turned around to walk away from the portal but something barred his way. A huge furry hand shoved him through the portal with an evil chuckle. As Charlie fell through the portal, he felt a tingling in his arms and legs. This tingling spread to his chest and through his face. Then things started to move. Things that shouldn’t move moved and things that shouldn’t be growing grew. His skin turned to a pale creamy coat and his hair grew into a wild orange mane. Then he hit the ground and went out like a light.
CH 2He woke up. He couldn’t remember anything. He remembered the rainbow veil, the hairy fist, and that horrible grinning mouth. But who was he? He remembered somepony helping him up, walking to a tree house together, and seeing a small dragon. What was his name? “Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey,” said somepony “are you awake yet? Huh? Are ya? Are ya? Are ya?” “Calm down Pinkie Pie.” Said Twilight “He’s had a rough time. He needs to recover. I hope he’s okay.” “Darn tootin’” Added another pony “He took a mighty fall back there. Must’ve hit his head somethin’ awful.” “Oh boo hoo. He fell over. It’s probably nothing serious. Just a bump on the head.” Said some other pony “Rainbow Dash! He was pushed through the World Veil!” scolded Twilight “You know what happens if anypony goes through it without the necessary precautions!” “But it was your idea to bring him here anyway!” she shouted “Yes, but that’s only because he needed some help. He needed a better life.” “Hey, Twilight, I think he’s waking up.” Somepony whispered. The pony on the bed stirred slowly, and lifted his head from the pillow. “Where am I? Who are all you ponies?” he said “You already know me, but then again, you probably don’t since that nasty fall through the World Veil. I’m Twilight Sparkle” She said and pointed at the ponies gathered around her. “These are my friends. Pinkie Pie,” “Hiya!” squeaked Pinkie Pie “Applejack,” “Well howdy do.” Said Applejack “Rainbow Dash” “Hey.” “Fluttershy” “Um... H-Hi.” Stammered Fluttershy “Rarity,” “The pleasure is all mine” said Rarity in a calculatedly smooth, velvety voice. “And last but not least, my trusty companion Spike” She motioned to a small purple dragon re-shelving books who was doing so suspiciously carefully. “And we would all like to welcome you to Ponyville!” said Twilight “Thank you” Said the pony on the bed “But, who am I? I can’t remember a thing after that portal thingy I went through. What’s a ‘World Veil’ anywa…?” “Don’t worry about that now silly!” interjected Pinkie Pie “We wanna show you around the town! Come on out of bed and let’s go, go, go!” She dragged the poor pony out of bed and through the door. “Help me!” he managed to blurt out before being dragged out of the house and out onto the street. As Pinkie Pie dragged the nameless pony down the street, he couldn’t help wondering, when will this end?! But also, why were these ponies so friendly to him? Nopony was ever so kind or friendly before. But then again, he couldn’t remember anything before entering the tree with Twilight Sparkle. Finally, Pinkie Pie skidded to a stop just outside a candy shop. “This is Sugarcube Corner!” She yelled excitedly “You can get lots of yummy things to eat! Candies, cakes, muffins, pastries and everything sweet!” “That’s nice.” He muttered, spitting out dirt and gravel “But could you please not drag me to the next place we visit?” “Oh. Okey doke!” she laughed “Next up is Sweet Apple Acres!” Twilight Sparkle and the other ponies were on the other side of Ponyville when this was going on, looking for a rogue Pinkie Pie and her hostage. “Where do you think Pinkie Pie would take him first?” asked Spike “Well, Pinkie Pie loves all things sugary, so it would be most likely if she was at Sugarcube Corner.” Twilight reasoned “But it’s a little too obvious don’t you think?” said Rarity “If there’s one thing we know about Pinkie Pie, it’s that she’s about as unpredictable as Discord.” “So where is she?” pressed Rainbow Dash “Well, I think we can find her by followin’ this here rut in the ground.” Said Applejack, pointing to a deep trench “Well, I guess that’s a clue” said Fluttershy nervously “And this is Canterlot Palace!” Pinkie Pie yelled excitedly. It was amazing the distance she could travel in such a short period of time. The nameless pony was dazed to say the least. “Do you wanna go inside? It’ll be fun!” “Uh…” he began but Pinkie Pie cut him off “Great!” She yelled, grabbing him by the tail and zooming off into the palace. “Are we *oof* even *ow* allowed in *ack* here?” he said as his head bounced up and down on the stairs “Of course we are silly! Why wouldn’t we be?” Pinkie Pie was going very fast, every turn sliding the pony behind her across the polished marble floors. Eventually, they came to a stop. Well, one of them did. Pinkie Pie stopped completely while the other pony slid straight through her hooves and came to a complete, and sudden, stop at a small flight of stairs. Standing above him was one of the most majestic horses ever. With a coat as white as freshly fallen snow, and a mane and tail that looked softer than silk and glowed with every colour of the rainbow. She had blindingly white gossamer wings and a sleek, slender horn fixed to her forehead. “Well, well, Pinkie Pie, it looks like you’ve been showing somepony a whirlwind tour of all of Equestria.” Said the Rainbow Mare in a sleek and smooth voice “Tell me young one, what is your name?” “Uhh…” the small pony started again, only to be cut off again by an overly excited Pinkie Pie. “Well, miss Celestia, Twilight heard about this young boy beyond the world veil with the snail shells and diamonds and lots and lots of glitter but anyway he was having a rough life and was all depressed and had no friends *gasp* I know can you believe it? Anyway she wrote him a letter telling him to meet her at the tree housing the World Thingy and she brought him through it but now he’s lost all his memories so Twilight took him back to the library so he could rest but then she was getting worried so she called us over so we could help and she told us we couldn’t say anything about his past because it would make him all depressed an ruin his chances of friendship here *gasp* and…” “Yes, yes Pinkie Pie, that’s a very interesting story, but we have more pressing issues.” Said Celestia, finally ending Pinkie’s endless monologue, much to everyone’s relief “After all, this young colt can’t go on without a name forever can he? So what will be your name young one?” The young pony thought about this. It was hard to think up names on the spot. This is probably how most parents felt when trying to decide their children’s names. “How about Veil?” he said. “I think it’s a wonderful name.” Said Princess Celestia, “I now pronounce you, young colt, Veil Otherworld. May you make many friends and your days be filled with happiness.” “YAY! YAY! YAY!” Squealed Pinkie Pie “Let’s have a party to celebrate!” From somewhere on her pony person, she wheeled out a cannon that started firing confetti, streamers and table decorations. “Never leave home without a Pinkie Pie Party Cannon!” She cheered as she danced around firing even more confetti. How many charges were in the cannon? Veil Otherworld wondered as he laughed at Pinkie’s antics. It felt good to laugh again. The other ponies cantered into the royal hall just as Pinkie Pie wheeled out her welcome wagon. Loud music was playing, streamers and confetti littered the gleaming marble floors, most of the guards were dancing around drinking impossible amounts of cider, and in the middle of it all, Pinkie Pie was throwing the other pony up into the air again and again, while Princess Celesia was laughing at the silliness of it all. “Pinkie! What’s going on here?” Twilight yelled to make herself heard over the din “He got a new name! He got a new name! Hooray for Veil Otherworld!” Pinkie was chanting “You can, woah! Let me down, woah! Now Pinkie!” Veil laughed as he was flung up into the air. He then came crashing down as Pinkie forgot to catch him. After dusting himself off, Veil trotted over to the other ponies. “I think we now need a proper introduction now that I have a new name. I am Veil Otherworld, as ordered by Princess Celestia!” he beamed “It feels really good to have a name again!” “And it feels good to call you something!” Twilight grinned “Well, welcome to your new life in Equestria!” Discord was bored. One tended to get bored if there was nothing to do. Yes, he could choose to invade another Brony’s fan fiction novel and make it a bit more interesting, but what was the point? He was frozen in stone yet again, beaten by the power of love and friendship and rainbows, but somehow, still alive. It was best not to think about it too much. If he thought about it, the delicate spell holding his chaotic consciousness together might dissolve like an ice cube in the sun. Speaking of sun, Discord had somehow managed to create a whole new realm inside his head. In it, he was sunbathing with a cool drink in his hand while eating something made out of fish in his other. He then heard a knock on the door. The scenery changed from a sunny beach into a cosy living room with green wallpaper and wooden floorboards. He got up from his beach chair, which was now a plush leather couch and went to answer the door. He passed through the kitchen and through someone’s dream (It would be a miracle if they weren’t scarred for life with his sudden appearance in a dream about unspeakable things. Four sided triangles? Whoever heard of such nonsense? Better write that down for later) and out onto the entrance room. He opened the door and there was no one there. Darn kids. Discord closed the door and looked behind him. Barring his way was a giant furry yeti. His breath stank of meat and his white fur was matted and splotched with mud and dirt and a vast array of seeds were clinging to his chest. “Ah. Victor. Glad you could make it in time.” Said Discord, changing the world back to his living room “Please, have a seat. But don’t sit down.” “I did what you asked boss.” Said the yeti “Can I have that pudding now?” “What? Oh! Of course you can. Oh and be careful, last night’s fruit punch has gotten a bit unruly. Tried to knock my teeth out when I opened the fridge.” Almost on cue, a bright pink fridge with pictures of Discord and miscellaneous small fluffy animals stuck to it by old magnets. When he opened the fridge, a huge liquid fist rushed at him. The yeti caught it in his hand and squeezed it. It squealed in pain as it slithered back into the bowl. Victor the Yeti pulled out a comically small carton of pudding and shoved the entire thing into his mouth. “How are you gonna get back to Equestria boss?” asked the yeti “All I did was shove a kid through a rainbow curtain.” “I don’t want to get back to Equestria you bumbling fool!” Discord barked, smacking the yeti on the head “It’s a lost cause anyway. I’m looking for somewhere much more different. A world without magic! No resistance shall meet me! I’m attacking the Human World!” “Duh, but why did you make me shove that kid into Equestria?” asked the yeti “Eh, the kid looked like he could use a break. Seriously, have you ever been duct-taped into a bin before? Not a pleasant experience.” Far away in Equestria, Veil and his new friends were continuing the party at Pinkie Pie’s house. “Isn’t this a great party?!” Pinkie Pie squeaked a she fired more confetti out of her cannon “Yhea, I’ve never SEEN anyone drink so much cider in one sitting.” Twilight laughed. Applejack, Veil, Spike, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash were having a cider drinking contest, and Spike was already under the table, belly full of sweet, golden cider. Rarity was judging the contest and determined to stay as far away from the table as possible. It would be an absolute disaster if her mane got cider in it. “Uh, Pinkie, how can you be talking to me here and drinking cider over there?” “What are physics?” She asked tilting her head confusedly “Oooookay.” Twilight laughed nervously. Applejack, Veil and Pinkie Pie had just finished their fifteenth mug. Rainbow Dash had just fallen off her stool and Spike burped heavily under the table. “Hot diggity Spike! If you lit your breath on fire, it could heat all of Ponyville!” Applejack laughed. “It’s not just bad breath.” Twilight exclaimed “There’s a letter from Princess Celestia!” “Go on Twilight! Read it.” Everypony said. It read: To my dearest little ponies, something terrible has happened! Discord has somehow returned, but he remains encased in stone! Don’t know what he’s planning, or what he’s going to do, so I need you to find out. Please hurry my little ponies! Princess Celestia “Well, it looks like we’re going on another adventure!” Twilight said, eyes lighting up. “Can’t it wait till tomorrow Twilight?” Spike groaned “I second *burp* that” said Rainbow Dash quietly At the brink of dawn, the ponies set out for the Everfree Forest to seek out Zecora. Hopefully, she would know where Discord was hiding. They passed through the first wave of trees, occasionally brushing spider webs out of their way. After hopping over some roots seeking the light, Rainbow Dash spotted Zecora’s hut. A small yellow filly trotted out of the low hut to greet us. “Hiya Applejack!” the young pony said. She was so adorable; it hurt to look at her for too long. She had a bright red mane and a banana yellow coat, with her mane tied back by a large ink bow. “Hey there Applebloom.” Applejack said to her kid sister, gently ruffling her mane with a hoof “What are you doin’ out here?” “I’m collecting herbs for Miss Zecora!” she said brightly “She’s been real busy, and she says she’s been having some weird and scary dreams.” “We were just looking for her.” Said Twilight. “Have you seen her?” “Mmm, sorry. She just went off to the ruins to find some special herbs.” She said “You can probably find her there.” “Thanks Applebloom” said Applejack “Who’s your friend?” asked an inquisitive Applebloom “Is he new here?” “Uh, it’s a long story Applebloom.” Said Twilight “We’ll tell you when we get back to Ponyville.” Charlie’s Mother was getting worried. It had been a few days since Charlie went for his walk, and he hadn’t come back since then. She asked Megan where he was but she just shrugged and slammed the door to her room. She must be going through a rough patch. After all, she went through one when she was growing up. But this couldn’t find Charlie. Just as she opened the door to go look for him, the phone rang. She went to answer the phone and after an hour, she completely forgot what she was supposed to be doing. Then she remembered. She had to get dinner ready. Some very important businessmen were coming over for tea. If They didn’t like her steamed pudding, her farm might be sold to some yokel from overseas. At the ruins, Twilight was getting worried. The other ponies had split up to try and find Zecora, but the twisting corridors and confusing lay of the land ensured they got lost. Veil was with Applejack, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash went together, Pinkie Pie and Spike went off in another direction, and Twilight went with Rarity. “When are we going to find her? My hooves are killing me.” Groaned Rarity “I think she may have moved on.” Twilight sighed “We should go back and find the others.” “But Twilight, where exactly IS back?” Rarity asked. She was right. Before was a sprawling labyrinth of corridors, with doors leading to oblivion and some doors that just didn’t open. “You’re right.” Twilight moaned “I wonder how the others are faring.” At that point, Spike was getting his ears talked off by Pinkie Pie, Veil was asking Applejack about the difference between Golden Delicious and Granny Smith and Fluttershy was telling Rainbow Dash to be careful around the big archways. And yet somehow, someway, they were all teleported to precisely where they wanted to go. Everypony was blinking furiously as they each struggled to find out where they were and how. They were all back at the entrance, standing on top of eachother in a giant pony column. Unfortunately, Pinkie Pie was standing at the bottom and the entire thing collapsed. After dusting themselves off, they headed back to Ponyville. “Well ‘ain’t that the strangest thing you ever saw. And I’m not just talkin’ about your brand new do Rarity.” Applejack sniggered “Yes. Yes it is.” Rarity said simply, stunned not only at the teleportation, but that her precisely combed mane had puffed up into a giant purple afro. But they had all had a good laugh back at the ruins. Several other odd things had happened at the ruins as well. Spike got a cutie mark of a book which promptly faded away, Applejack’s hat decided on a better life as a vegetable gardener, Pinkie Pie became deadly serious and hyper intelligent for a total of 3.141592654 seconds, Rainbow Dash went monochrome, Fluttershy grew two horns which jumped off her head, sprouted arms, gave each other high fives and scurried into a crack in the floor, Twilight Sparkle grew to almost fill the entire entrance room then shrank back to her normal size, and Veil had fifteen different varieties off banana stuffed into his mouth. “This is bizarre; none of what happened just made any sense whatsoever.” Twilight said suspiciously “The last time this stuff happened, Discord was loose in the world. “Don’t you dare speak that name!” said an incredibly high pitched voice which surprisingly, wasn’t Pinkie Pie. There in front of them, with a slight sucking sound, appeared a small and very strange creature. It had a horse’s face with a goat and deer horn fixed to its head, a long, snaking body with hind legs of a dragon and a horse and the front paw of a lion and an eagle talon. It also had a giant scaly tail with a small tuft of fur at the end. “What the heck is THAT?!” Yelled Veil surprised “A Draconequus!” cried Fluttershy “Let’s get it!” shouted Rainbow Dash “No, wait!” the strange beast said “I need your help.” “To do what? Cause even MORE Chaos?” Rainbow Dash cried “No, it’s about my big brother Discord.” “What?” Twilight Sparkle said surprised “He’s decided to invade the realm of Humans.” “WHAT?!” All the ponies cried out All the ponies and the Draconequus had decided that they needed to confer with a higher authority. After a brief period of explaining everything to Celestia and her royal guard, they started talking about why Discord was attacking and how. “So how did y’all come across this information?” Applejack said “For all we know, y’all could be in cahoots with Discord.” “I keep telling you, I’m not the enemy!” said the Draconequus, whose name was Mania “Don’t believe me? Who do you think teleported you out of the ruins?” Rarity gasped in horror “You are solely responsible for my horrid haircut!” “Sorry about that.” Mania chuckled “But the thing about chaos magic is that anything can happen at any possible time for no reason. That includes funny haircuts.” “So anyway, how do you know that Discord wants to attack the human world?” “I disguised myself as a small jar of cocktail onions in his fridge.” She said “I thought my cover was blown when Victor the Yeti tried to eat me.” “So who’s this Victor character?” Veil asked “Discord’s newest henchman.” Mania explained “Stronger than Big Macintosh and dumber than two rocks banging against each other.” “Those poor rocks!” Pinkie Pie shrieked “He’s tired of trying to take over Equestria and now he wants to plunge the Human Realm into an age of complete and total chaos!” “But why?” “Because there’s no magic there and even less opposition since there’s already chaos leaking out of every crack and crevice.” “Well, we can’t stop him by just standing around here. How can we stop him?” said Twilight “You can’t use the Elements of Harmony again; they don’t work in the human realm. Plus, the only magic that can exist there is the World Veil.” She said as the other ponies gasped “WHAT?! But that’s the only way we can defeat him!” Twilight protested “There is another way” Said Celestia “But I always feared to use it.” “What is it? If we can use it to beat Discord, we have to use it!” Rainbow Dash argued
CH 3“Well, that was much quicker than I had expected.” Discord said as he finished off the last of those delicious steamed puddings one of the humans had made for him. In the space of an hour, Discord had taken over half the continent some of the humans had shouted ‘America’. Nice name, nicer steamed puddings. He was just about to pour himself another glass of chocolate rain when Victor stumbled into his throne room. “Boss, something terrible has happened!” he roared “Well spit it out man!” Discord squawked “You made me spill my drink!” “The ponies! They’re here! And they have your sister hostage!” “I HAVE A SISTER?!” The plan was working perfectly. With Mania bound to a tree the ponies were dragging, the ponies were striding through Discord’s massive army of horrid, misshapen creatures. The ponies were striding to Discord’s surprisingly brightly coloured tower of solidified Chaos. Though something felt very wrong for Veil. As the ponies entered Discord’s throne room, they saw him smacking Victor the Yeti around the head with the closest thing he had at hand, his throne. “What in tarnation…?” Applejack began “Long story. Don’t want to bother you with the details.” Discord said casually “So where is this Draconequus claiming to be my sister?! I never had a sister! I recall having two brothers and a walking kumquat for a pet, but that’s beside the point! SO WHERE IS SHE?!” “Right here Discord.” Said Mania cruelly, “Sorry my little ponies, looks like you’ve been double crossed!” As she said this, chains appeared around all the ponies’ necks. When the chains were attached, all the colour drained out of them. They struggled at first, but then they began transforming. All the ponies grew long, savage teeth that were chipped and notched. Their manes and tails grew wild and untamed. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershys wings grew to huge proportions, while the horns of Twilight and rarity elongated and split, and soon they had a near forest of horns on their heads. Even Pinkie Pie and Applejack weren’t safe from Mania’s evil chaos magic. Pinkie Pie’s wild mane became perfectly straight and razor sharp, while Applejack’s hind legs became huge and muscled. The ponies had been turned savage, wild and barbaric. So this was the power of Mania. Mania held the chains holding the straining ponies back from tearing Discord limb from limb. Their mouths were foaming and even in Mania’s strong grip, it looked like she couldn’t hold on forever. She didn’t say a word, but instead motioned for Discord to evict his throne. Discord was off like a flash. Mania sat on her throne, and nailed the chains of the ponies to the ground, surrounding her throne from any attack. Then she spoke in a new, infinitely more commanding and powerful voice, FEAST YOUR EYES ON THE NEW RULER OF THE REALM OF HUMANS! I SHALL CAST A TERRIBLE REIGN, WHICH WILL BE EXTENDED TO ALL OF EQUESTRIA, AND THEN, OH AND THEN, I SHALL SHAKE THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE CHAOS REALM! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! BUT A FITTING TITLE MUST BE MINE. NO LONGER SHALL I BE MANIA, BUT NOW, ALL WILL TREMBLE BEFORE DEMENTIA! Veil was at a loss. The entire world was plunged into even more chaos than it was before. Veil cantered out of the chaos tower. Even chaos was changing. The bright colours of Discord had now become dark, gloomy and foreboding. Discord himself was sitting upon the steps, wallowing in self-pity. Veil was about to attempt to comfort Discord, when he noticed a familiar rainbow mane. Celestia was fighting her way through the hordes of chaos creatures when she noticed Discord on the stairs of his palace. She flew into the air and dived to the steps. She landed with grace and poise, and trotted over to Discord who was- no, he couldn’t be, he was weeping! “Great. Now you, of all ponies show up now. What now? Turn me to stone again? Torment me on how I lost my entire kingdom in the space of five minutes? Because I’m sick of it! This world was already in complete chaos! All I had to do was make myself known!” he wailed. “No.” Celestia said simply “Dementia now threatens the human realm, Equestria and she has set her sights on the Realm of Chaos. We cannot allow her to destroy these worlds!” “WHAT?!” Discord yelled “I don’t get it. What will happen if those three realms are destroyed?” asked Veil. “Yes, there are millions of other realms, and many gateways to them.” Discord explained “However, The Human Realm, The Chaos Realm and Equestria are the only three realms who keep all the other realms together. That’s why they are called Guardian Realms.” “So essentially, if all of the Guardian Realms were to collapse, all of the other universes would collapse too. It would be the end of everything. Worse than any Doomsday.” “We need to stop her!” Veil yelled “We have to do something! Anything!” Celestia and Discord both looked at each other and nodded. It had seemed that they had come to an unspoken agreement. “Well, I do have one hidden power I can use. But it’s a biggie, and even harder to use.” Discord said “I could make you my champion. It will lend you my powers, but only for fifteen minutes.” “I can also give you something. I never thought I would have to use this.” Sighed Celestia. She lowered her horn and summoned a sword, with a shining alabaster blade and golden wings for a handle guard and a small golden shield as a pommel. “It is a dark thing, created by ancient ponies long ago.” She explained “Created only for destruction, this foul weapon was locked away for centuries in the palace. It was never meant to see the light of day, but I’m afraid it is a very dark day.” “Thank you Celestia for your sacrifice, but how will I use it? I have no magic, and I don’t have hands!” Veil moped. Discord put his hand on Veil’s shoulder. The same tingling sensation arose through him as when he was pushed through the Rainbow Veil. Bones shifted, hair receded, fingers grew and soon enough, there was standing Charlie Mare. Dementia was plotting. She had a massive army, unlimited resources of chaos and some of the most powerful ponies of Equestria corrupted and at her command, but where, oh where did she attack first? Equestria, or the Chaos Realm? Both were VERY good choices, but she was afraid that she would need a much bigger army to attack Equestria, and a veritable galaxy of soldiers to attack her home realm. So invading another realm sounded like a good idea. But where to start? And how could she find a portal? Her train of thought was interrupted as a human slammed open the door, startling her guard ponies. Charlie Mare was furious. He remembered everything. The mocking laughter of Dementia was burned into his memory, and the fact that he may never see the only friends he had ever had again fuelled his anger even more. He brandished the sword so tight, his fingernails gut into his hand and made it bleed. But Charlie didn’t take any notice. FOOLISH MORTAL! WHO DARES CHALLENGE MIGHTY DEMENTIA? SPEAK THY NAME SO I MAY KNOW WHO I AM SENDING TO THEIR OBLIVION! “My name is Charlie Mare!” he cried, emphasising every word with a heavy foot fall “And I will NOT stand by as you destroy my world! I will NOT watch as you collapse the very fabric of our world! And I will NOT STAND BY WHEN YOU TAKE MY FRIENDS AWAY FROM ME!!!” To this, Charlie was met with yet more mocking laughter YOU LITTLE FOOL! YOU ARE WEAK AND PATHETIC! EVEN WITH YOUR PUNY WEAPONS YOU ARE NO MATCH FOR MY CHAOTIC POWERS! “That’s where you’re wrong Dementia. Discord! Now!” Charlie yelled defiantly. Discord rolled up his imaginary sleeves and threw all the magic he could muster to the young boy. He had to admit, that kid had some guts. Charlie Mare was beginning his transformation. Discord’s chaos magic felt rough and sharp. Almost dangerous, which it probably was. He grew to match Dementia’s immense size, his teeth nails became sharper than an eagle’s talons, his muscles bulged and twisted beneath his thin t-shirt and coat and a magical set of armour was placed on him. It was a haphazard piece of work, but what good bit of chaos wasn’t? It had multiple iron, steel and ebony pauldrons, a helmet thicker than was humanly possible to wear, an incredibly heavy pair of steel boots, a chainmail neck protector, an intricately decorated breastplate of a glossy black metal and a blood red cloak lined with even more chainmail. All to do now was to wait for Celestia’s magic. Celestia’s magic was very different from Discord’s but one would expect it to be. It felt flowing, natural and soft. He felt a magical horn protrude from his forehead, and huge feathered wings sprouted from his back beneath his cloak. The Champion’s Armour Discord had granted him was now glowing in a rainbow variety of colours. Charlie Mare was now not just a young boy, but the protector of many worlds he never knew existed. But this wasn’t the time for speculation. He was now the product of enemies working together to face someone they both could not face alone. He was The Knightmare. WHAT IS THIS? I CAN SEE NOW THAT YOU ARE NO MERE MORTAL. VERY WELL. YOU SHALL HAVE YOUR FIGHT! BUT FIRST, YOU MUST PROVE TO ME THAT YOU ARE WORTHY! DESTROY THESE PONIES! THEY ARE OF NO USE TO ME. This was obviously a trick by Dementia. She thought that he would fight fair against her. She thought he would destroy his only friends in his search for revenge. She wasn’t dealing with a stupid boy. The Knightmare uprooted all the chains from the ground and smashed the spikes into a wall. The savage ponies dangled there, forced to watch. Knightmare struck at Dementia, clawing her on the cheek. She fell to the ground and shrieked in pain. HOW DARE YOU?! YOU SHALL DIE HERE AND NOW! Knightmare wouldn’t stand for it. He drew back his sword and swung at Dementia who dodged back but slammed into a wall. Knightmare tried to slam her further into the wall, but she rolled over and smacked the back of his helmet. Discord and Celestia were watching the battle from a safe distance, but Discord wasn’t treating it very seriously. He had summoned a row of movie seats and a bucket of popcorn for him and Celestia. Only his side had more butter. The ponies that were stuck to the wall were still raging. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were struggling and pushing to fly away, but the chains holding them back were too strong. But something happened. Twilight Sparkle was watching the two titans fight and she began to wonder. Why was he doing this? He had nothing to gain from fighting her. He could lose his life fighting her. Why? Then she remembered. He was doing it for them. The chain around her neck began to steam. GIVE IT UP FOOL! YOU CAN NEVER DEFEAT ME! Cried Dementia. Knightmare was in a bad way. He was bleeding heavily from his shoulder, his vision was blurry and he had nearly nothing left. He raised up his hand in a feeble attempt to block what should have been the last blow, but Dementia’s hand was stayed. Everything stood still. Dementia looked up to her hand to see what was wrong. A purple particle cloud surrounded her hand, which could only mean one thing. Twilight had broken Dementia’s spell! And sure enough, she had freed her friends too. They looked at Knightmare with a grim look in their eyes. They knew he was doing what had to be done. They just had to help him. “Discord! We need the Elements of Harmony!” Twilight yelled. Discord was so bowled over by excitement, he almost fell over in his rush to stand up “But they won’t work in this realm!” Celestia yelled “Ah, but the one fundamental, unshakable thing about chaos magic my dear princess is that anything can happen at any time for no reason. Essentially, it is completely unpredictable.” He smiled wickedly. He clapped his hands and in a flash of white light, all the ponies were wearing their Elements of Harmony. They activated, and a rainbow beam of light was shot directly into Knightmare. He was so powered at this point, he became like a god. Knightmare rose into the air, wind rustling his cloak about him. He then spoke from beneath his gleaming helm Dementia, for your wicked crimes, I hereby banish you… to oblivion! Knightmare raised the sword, and out of it shot a blinding white light. It twisted around Dementia, Snaking between her arms and legs and covering her in white light. The light slowly pulsed and expanded as she cried out. But then it stopped. Fifteen minutes had passed. It was all over. The glowing armour evaporated, his teeth and nails became reasonably sized again and his muscled form shrank and twisted Knightmare back into the young boy Charlie Mare. Dementia laughed triumphantly. YOU FOOLS! NOTHING CAN STOP ME! I AM INVINCIBLE! I WILL DESTROY THE ENTIRE MULTIVERSE, AND EVERY SINGLE LAST THING IN IT! STARTING WITH YOU! She lunged at the small boy. He stood up. The world had been slowed. Discord was using the last of his magic to save Charlie. He gave Discord a nod, and the raised the sword. He raised it far above his head and brought it down with a thunderous yell. He heard the blade sink into the flesh of Dementia, and then, she started to change. It was slow at first, then gradually, from the hilt down, the sword turned to stone. Dementia reeled back in shock as her face slowly turned to stone. She tried to scream, but only a muffled gasp of air came out, but somehow, it was scarier than any scream. In a few minutes, it was all over. There stood a perfect statue of Dementia. But then, cracks appeared. The cracks quickly spread and soon, the whole statue was crumbling. All that was left was a small pile of dust. Charlie collapsed and became Veil Otherworld once again. There was a small flash on his flank, and there appeared a pair of golden swords crossed behind a shield. The ponies carried Veil back to the portal, while Discord was made to clean up the mess he had created by Celestia. Hopefully with all the blanked memories of humans, none would ever believe this happened. When he awoke, Veil was back in the library again. He slowly sat up, but Fluttershy told him to lie down again. His injuries had not been able to heal completely. Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Celestia walked into his room. “I think I stirred up a bit of trouble when I came here. I’m sorry.” Veil moped “It’s not your fault Veil. It never was.” Fluttershy reassured him “Yes. You were only doing what you had to do.” Rarity said “If anything, we should apologise to you.” “Yeah! And it was so awesome when you took on Dementia!” Rainbow Dash squealed ecstatically “And then when you wooshed across the room to tackle her, a rainbow appeared behind you! It was soooo cool!” Pinkie Pie bounced up and down “It was a very brave thing you did Veil Otherworld.” Celestia said “It takes great courage to stand up to your enemies, but even greater courage is needed to stand up to your friends.” “Thank you Princess.” Veil said as he bowed his head “In fact, I think we all learned a valuable lesson about friendship. Even Discord.” She said amusedly “But now, it’s time to PARTY!!!” Pinkie Pie squeaked as she wheeled out her party cannon. The party was an amazing success. Even Discord was invited. He was showing magic tricks to some of the young fillies while the cider drinking contest was underway yet again, and it was down to Veil and Applejack. Pinkie Pie was dancing with what looked like multiple copies of herself, along with other ponies who were watching with amazement, confusion and happiness. Many of the other ponies were playing games and eating the delicious cakes and pies from Sugar Cube Corner and most importantly, everyone was having fun. Celestia decided that it was time. She walked over to Veil who had just won the cider contest and was now celebrating by taking a long sit down. “It’s time to go Veil.” Celestia said “Go? Where?” Veil managed “Home.” Charlie Mare woke up just outside the portal. Celestia had made it quite clear. It was a shame. He hated to say goodbye to his friends. Pinkie Pie was crying a river that almost washed away Ponyville and Rarity could barely hold back her tears. Even in times of great sadness, she had an image to protect after all. Veil was about to step through the World Veil when Celestia tapped her horn on his head. He stepped through the portal into the human realm. But he remembered everything; before entering the portal, his stay in Ponyville, defeating Dementia and all of Pinkie Pie’s fantastical parties. This last memory is what made Charlie smile the most. He shed a single tear and felt something fall out of his pocket as he stood up. It was a photograph. It was all of them, smiling together, laughing together and playing together. It also had a small note in the corner. It read: Thank you for being another friend to us Veil. We’ll never forget you, and we hope this will never let you forget us. Signed, Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack Pinkie Pie And Spike And written on the back of the photograph was another small message. P.S: If you ever want to send us a letter, just send it to 14 Apple Street.
EpilogueTen years passed since Charlie Mare had his adventure in Equestria, and his life had turned around for the better. He had friends at school, his mother loved him more than ever, and even Megan stopped pestering him. Every night, Charlie would lie down in his bed, and when no one was looking, he opened the bedside table drawer and took out the photograph of his pony friends. Then he would write a letter to Twilight. In the back of his mind, he thought such memories as childish. Sometimes, even a little bit naieve and stupid. But every time he saw something just a little bit magical, he thought of Twilight. When his friends told him something completely honestly, he remembered Applejack. Every time he saw a rainbow, Rainbow Dash sped at full speed through his mind. Every party he atended, he could swear he heard Pinkie's stifled giggling. In every reflective surface he saw, just out of sight, was the perfectly pampered tail of Rarity. Every cute animal he saw reminded him of Fluttershy, and even when he saw something odd or out of place, he even thought of Discord. These were the things that had propelled him into his life, that explosion of non-sensical glee just added more fuel to his fire of happiness. He just was glad that he, someone from a completely different universe, species and reality, learned to make friends with another. He shook his head and sighed. 10 years is a very long time. he decided to sit himself down and write one. Dear Everypony, Thank you all for being my friend. I can't belive to this day that this is actually how I got to where i am today. I have friends, a caring and trustworthy family, a roof over my head and a smile on my face. Needless to say, it's more than enough to get me through the day. I just wanted to... Ah, who am I kidding. I really miss all of you, and my graduation ceremony is coming up. All I really want is to see you one more time! Soon after graduation I'll be going to University. It took me ages to get in. I'll be going across the entire country! i'm not sure if I'll be completely sane without your letters. Though that weird one written in riddles from Discord didn't help much. How DOES he make a four sided triangle anyway? Well, this might be my final letter to you, so thank you and goodbye. Charlie sighed as he stepped out of the car. he said goodbye to his mother and kissed her on the cheek. He picked up his suitcase and swaggered towards his new dorm. His pony friends may be gone, but he can make some new ones. After all, not everyone sticks with childhood friends their whole life. He found his room and opened the door to be greeted by some strangely familiar faces. Many with brightly coloured hairstyles. "SURPRISE!" Yelled a girl with bushy pink hair tht sounded suspiciously like Pinkie Pie "Howdy Charlie!" grinned a girl with blonde hair and a cowgirl hat "Hello darling." said a beautiful girl with a smooth flowing voice "What's up?" said an athletic one with a wacky rainbow hairstyle "H-hi there." one said with a weak smile and long pink hair covering most of her face "Hi Charlie!" the last one said. She had purple hair with some bright highlights. Charlie's mouth broke into a huge smile. "Well, I did ask to see you all one last time." He hugged them tightly. "How did you get here? And how long will you be staying?" he asked "We all got your letter, and Princess Celestia was kind enough to let us come here." Twilight explained "It also serves as a way to see how humanity is recovering from Dementia's attack." "The Princess gave us these neat-o human bodies so we can blend in!" Pinkie chipped in "It dosen't really seem to be working though..." Gee, I wonder why? Charlie thought to himself "So anyway, since we're going to be staying here to check on how humanity's going, we decided to enroll in your university too!" "Well, I guess the rest of my life is just going to be one interesting event after another." Charlie said "And that's perfectly fine with me."
