It was a beautiful afternoon in Equestria, and all was peaceful in Fluttershy's cottage. The yellow mare was lying adorably on her couch, breathing softly as she napped peacefully.
"UP AN AT 'EM, PAL!!!" Discord declared as he teleported into the cottage, sending streamers and confetti in every direction.
Fluttershy shrieked in terror as she shot up and hugged the ceiling.
Discord teleported up on the ceiling, clinging to it with suction cups, and put his paw under her cheek. "Oh come on, Shy! You know it's me!"
Fluttershy smiled nervously and said, "Oh, yes. But, 'um, you really shouldn't surprise ponies like that."
Discord teleported back to the floor and said, "Oh, but you knew I was coming. . . .Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiight?"
Fluttershy landed back on her couch and thought, "Um. . OH!" Fluttershy gasped, "Yes, we were going to hang out today! . . .But. . .you showed up late. . ."
Discord sighed in annoyance, "Oh yes. I apologize for that, my dear Fluttershy. Something came up I just had to take care of." Discord glanced at the wooden chest held by his tail. He set the chest down on the floor and focused his attention on Fluttershy. "Anyway, I should probably tell you that I had an ulterior motive in my dramatic entrance." Discord threw his lion arm around Fluttershy's shoulder and said, "Today, I am going to give a crash course in chaotic pranking!"
Fluttershy looked nervous, "Oh, um, pranking is really Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie's thing."
"And it's also my thing. And it could also be your thing too for the low, low price of only one afternoon!" Discord said, and he teleported to the other side of the cottage. He wore a black and cap and gown, and held a pointer which he used to indicate points on a blackboard which produced chalk images by itself.
"Pay attention, my faithful student! In essence, a prank is nothing more than a medium of 'Chaotic Good.'" The blackboard showed Princess Celestia getting doused by a bucket of water. Discord and Fluttershy appeared next to her, and all three of them shared a good laugh. "It channels the Element of Laughter," Discord explained. A chalk image of Pinkie Pie popped up on the board and waved at the real Discord and Fluttershy.
"Hi Discord! Hi Fluttershy! What's up!" she asked.
"Pinkie Pie, you are interrupting my lesson," Discord said in annoyance.
"Oops! Sorry! See ya!" the image said before ducking down out of the frame.
"Sometimes that pony freaks me out," Discord commented. He straightened his cap and adjusted the tassel. "Anywho, pranking is nearly vital to this world's survival." The blackboard showed a balance scale. One side said chaos, and the other side said order. "In a world with too much order, then everyone is bored and does everything the same and looks the same and acts the same. Everyone is sad." Discord made a show of pouting as the scales on the black board tipped down towards order. On the order side, expressionless ponies all dressed the same with identical hair styles appeared.
"However, add a little chaos in the form a pranking. . ." Discord said.
On the board, Discord and Twilight appeared chaos side of the scales. Discord shook Twilight's hoof, and zapped her with a joy buzzer. The scales then balanced out.
". . .and everything happy!" Discord cheered as he tossed off his outfit and sent more confetti everywhere.
The black board disappeared in a flash, revealing a scroll which floated into Fluttershy's hooves.
"And you have just graduated Discord's School of Chaotic Pranking!" Discord cheered.
Fluttershy opened the scroll and read over the diploma. It had a wax seal of Discord holding a thumbs up and winking at her.
"So, what do ya say, pal? Ready to introduce Ponyville to it's newest pranking duo?" Discord said.
"Um. . ." Fluttershy said, slowly putting a nervous smile on her face, "Well, okay. I'll be glad to give it a try."
Discord laughed as he hugged the pegasus and rubbed her head, "That's the spirit, pal. Let's go!" Then the pair teleported away.
Applejack walked over to an apple tree, positioned herself next to it, and bucked it.
SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH!
Instead of apples falling from the tree, apple-shaped water balloons fell from the tree and homed in on Applejack, soaking her hat and fur.
"What in tarnation?! Rainbow Da-!" Applejack began, but then the guffawing laughter of a Draconequus reached her ears. She turned and looked up to see Discord laughing in a tree, and Fluttershy was in the tree with him. She was doing her best to hang onto her nervous smile, although she was sweating profusely.
Applejack just smiled and shook her head. She chuckled and waved good naturedly at the pair before turning to another apple tree.
Discord nudged Fluttershy and said, "Ya see? She loved it! Wasn't it fun?"
"Um. . .I guess?" Fluttershy said unassuredly.
"Come on," Discord said as she took her hoof, "Let's go for broke! Let's prank a prankster!"
"Rainbow Dash?" Fluttershy gasped.
"Noooooo way. She trusts me the less. Let's prank the other one." The pair teleported away.
Outside of Sugar Cube Corner, Pinkie Pie was bouncing around, putting up wooden poles and stringing up flags and colored water lanterns.
Fluttershy flew over to her pink friend, "Hi Pinkie Pie."
"Hi Fluttershy! Are you excited for the masquerade ball tonight?" Pinkie asked.
Fluttershy hid behind her mane. "Oh, um, no. I don't really like parties like that."
"Aw, come on Fluttershy! You and Discord can go together! By the way, what was Discord teaching you before?" Pinkie asked.
Fluttershy was confused, "Huh? How do you. . .? Oh. . .right. Um, nothing important. Anyway, I'm just going to go get a cupcake at Sugar Cube Corner-."
"Great idea! I needed a break! Let's go!" Pinkie cheered as she rushed into the building.
Just then Discord teleported next to Fluttershy. "Get ready Flutters. This is gonna be golden!"
"Yeah. . ." Fluttershy said nervously as Discord nudged her forward towards Sugar Cube Corner.
Fluttershy and Pinkie sat at a table with two unwrapped cupcakes with a mound of pink icing on top.
"Come on, Fluttershy! The masquerade is gonna be soooo much fun! If you don't have costume, then I'm sure Rarity will make you one in time!" Pinkie said.
Fluttershy looked away. "Oh. . .um. . .no. . .I just. . .no. . ."
Pinkie Pie shrugged. And she went down to take a bite. Fluttershy felt Discord slip an identical cupcake into her hoof from underneath the table, and she quickly pointed behind Pinkie's shoulder and and shouted, "Look, it's Cheese Sandwich!"
"WHERE?!" Pinkie shouted in excitement as she turned around fast.
Fluttershy quickly swapped Pinkie's cupcake with the one Discord gave her.
"Oh, sorry. . .my mistake," Fluttershy said with a guilty look on her face.
"Oh, okay. No big deal, Fluttershy," Pinkie said, and she hit the plate the unwrapped cupcake was on, sent the cupcake into the air, and caught it in her mouth. She chewed on the treat for a moment, but then stopped with a quizzical look on her face. Then she hiccuped, on blew bubble gum bubble. She hiccuped again, and the bubble got bigger. Pinkie Pie hiccuped rapidly, blowing the bubble up bigger and bigger, until the bubble finally popped, coating Pinkie Pie's head in bubble gum.
Discord shot up from under the table and a banner that said "GOTCHA!" unfurled down from the ceiling. After a bout of laughter, she clapped Fluttershy on the back and said, "Oh, good job there, Fluttershy! She gotcha good that time, didn't she?"
Pinkie smiled and snorted with laughter. "Oh, that was great Fluttershy! Discord taught you to be as good as me and Dashie!"
Fluttershy looked extremely uncomfortable, a stark contrast to Discord and Pinkie Pie. "Um, sure, I. .. I have to go!" Fluttershy got up from the table and ran out the door.
Discord frowned, and then teleported after her.
"Hey wait! You left your cupcakes!" Pinkie called after Fluttershy. She looked at the cupcakes for a moment, shrugged, and started gobbling them up.
Fluttershy ran back to her cottage with her head down. She didn't notice Discord appear in front of her.
"HUG TIME!" Discord shouted comically as he caught Fluttershy in his arms. He swung her around a few times before setting her down in a psychologist's couch. "Now," Discord said as he got out a notepad and put on a pair of tiny glasses, "What seems to be the trouble, my dear."
Fluttershy looked away in shame and said, "I. . .can't prank with you anymore, Discord."
Discord nodded, focused on his notepad. "Mmm-hmm. So, when did you start having these feelings of 'not wanting to prank'?"
Fluttershy got up off of the couch and said, "I just can't keep doing this! Each time I tried your pranks, all I could do was think of how I would've felt if it had been me being pranked! It just felt awful!"
"But your friends loved your pranks!" Discord said, "You saw those smiles!"
"But I wouldn't have liked being pranked, so what gives me the right to prank others," Fluttershy said strongly.
Discord held out a lollipop and shoved it into Fluttershy's mouth. "Oh, come on, Fluttershy. Cheer up! A little pranking makes the world go round. Forget about your own worries and focus on making others happy! And you get to explore your chaotic side a little more."
Fluttershy pulled the lollipop out of her mouth, and it promptly turned into a flower. She sighed and handed it back to Discord. "I'm sorry, but, I don't think I want a chaotic side. Ponies can get hurt if pranks get out of hand."
Discord looked surprised, "How can pranks hurt anypony?"
"Well, what if the water balloons were too cold and gave Applejack pneumonia? Oh what if Pinkie Pie choked on that bubble gum?"
Discord stared off into space for a moment a blinked his eyes. Then blew into his paw until it grew 3 times its size, and then face palmed hard. He quickly recovered and got back up. Then he said, "I am truly sorry for saying this Fluttershy, but that really is the silliest thing I've ever heard in my life."
"Maybe. . ." Fluttershy said, "But it's better to be safe than sorry. No more pranking for me."
"And miss out on the chance of a lifetime?" Discord snapped his fingers and made a crown appear on his head and a tiara appear on Fluttershy's head. "You and me? Best friends and pranksters extraordinaire?"
Fluttershy tried to smile pleasantly, and she said, "But friends don't have to be exactly alike."
Discord shrugged as their headgear vanished, "Well yes, but think of all the pranks we could pull tonight at that party."
Fluttershy shook her head, "Oh. . .um. . . I'm not going."
"What!? I thought that was a part of the prank!" Discord said in legitimate surprise.
"I just don't like it when ponies are all wearing costumes. . .I just don't. . ." Fluttershy said fearfully.
"Fine. I'll protect you!" Discord said cheerfully as he threw an arm around Fluttershy with a cocky wink, a suit of armor appeared on him.
Fluttershy smiled back, "Thanks you. . .but I think I'd much rather have a quiet night at home. Please understand."
"Okay," Discord said with a smile as his armor vanished.
"I just really don't- wait what?"
"Okay."
"That's it?"
"What do you mean?"
"I figured you'd try to do whatever it took to convince me to go."
Discord pinched Fluttershy's cheek and said, "What kind of friend would I be if I were pushy?" Discord sighed and said, "Although, it won't be the same without my best friends by my side, and I'll be thinking about my little lost Prankster Princess and all the fun she's missing out of, and how she's denying her chaotic side enjoyment. . ." Discord then bopped Fluttershy on the nose and said, "But, who am I to be pushy. Later, pal!" Discord snapped her fingers and teleported away, leaving Fluttershy alone with her thoughts.
"I just don't know Angel," Fluttershy said as she paced back and forth as Angel reclines on the sofa, staring at his owner in annoyance. "Discord wants me to be like him. And shouldn't friends have some things in common? Is he so wrong to want to share his likes with me?" Fluttershy sat on the floor in distress. "Should I go pranking with him? Should I go to that masquerade ball?" Fluttershy looked over at a mirror on the wall. "I don't even have a costume. . .how can I-?" Fluttershy stopped when she noticed the wooden chest Discord has absentmindedly left there. Curious, Fluttershy walked over to the chest, and opened it. Inside, she found a green wooden mask.
"Discord probably got this for me; to wear at the party," Fluttershy said, feeling quite touched. She reached in and picked the mask up. She felt something tap her on her side, and she turned to find Angel thumping on her. He stared at her and shook his head vigorously.
Fluttershy smiled, "Oh Angel, don't worry. It's just a mask." Fluttershy lifted the mask over her face. "See?"
WOOOOOOSH!
Angel shielded his face as the mask burst into a flash of green light and a chaotic wind blew through the cottage. Angel fell flat on his back, and the wind stopped abruptly. As the bunny lay on his back, he looked up at Fluttershy.
"What's up, doc?"
Luna's moon lit up the night sky over The Ponyville Masquerade Ball. Ponies, both couples and singles, danced to the groovy tunes being played by the pony musicians on the wooden stage in the center of town.
Twilight chuckled as she watched Spike shove his face with nachos from the long tables full of snacks. Twilight had decided to wear a few pieces of imitation regalia to look like Celestia, and Spike had decided on a Humdrum costume from the Power Ponies comics.
"Twilight, darling!" Rarity called out as she walked over to the young alicorn. The fashionista wore a black mask and cat ears along with a black dress; a simple yet elegant choice for the masquerade ball.
Spike saw Rarity coming, and quickly swallowed down the nachos in his mouth and wiped his face with his cape.
"Pinkie certainly has not lost her touch," Rarity said as she came to a stop by her two friends.
"Very true. We certainly did have a great turnout tonight," Twilight said brightly.
Discord's head suddenly rose out of a bowl of punch. "Ah yes. . .a 'great turnout.' Sure."
"Anything wrong, Discord?" Twilight asked.
Discord pulled himself out of the punch bowl and made a bubble of the pink punch in the shape of a butterfly. "You realize that one of our number is not present and accounted for."
Rarity shrugged, "These kind of parties simply are not her thing. It makes sense to respect that."
Discord pouted, "Well, she doesn't know what she's missing."
"Hey, where's your costume?" Spike asked.
"I'm going as myself. I am Discord after all."
"You can't go as yourself!" Spike complained.
"Spike you dressed as a dragon for Nightmare Night," Twilight said in a deadpan tone.
Spike blinked as he stood silent in the awkward moment. Then he turned to Rarity and bowed quickly as he said, "Miss Rarity. . .may I have this dance."
Twilight and Discord both facepalmed as Rarity smiled and blushed.
"Booooorrring!" Rainbow Dash said as she stood in her Wonderbolt Academy flight suit, glaring at the musicians that had just started to play slightly slower music. She sighed and turned to fly off. "Wake me when you play something snappy."
She was about to take flight when she heard someone clear her throat. Dash turned around, but saw nothing.
"Down here."
Dash looked down and saw Angel Bunny wearing a mail carriers' outfit and holding a clip board.
"Are you Rainbow Dash?" he asked.
"Yeah," Dash replied.
"Sign here, please," Angel said as he handed Dash the clipboard and a pen. Dash signed her name, and Angel pulled out a cardboard box out of apparently nowhere. "Thank you. Enjoy," Angel said, and he dashed off in a puff of smoke.
At this moment, Rainbow's brain finally caught up to what just happened. "Wha-bu-huh? Did he-? I just-? HUH?" Dash stammered in utter confusion and disbelief. She shook off her confusion, and then brought her attention to the box in front of her. Not knowing what else to do, Dash pulled the flaps apart, ripping the tape and opening the box.
KA-BOOOOOOOM!
"WAAHHH!" Dash shouted as the exploding package knocked her flat onto her back. "Owww. . .what the-?" Dash looked up and peered through the cloud of green smoke. Just as she managed to make out the silhouette of a pegasus, a horrifying green face was suddenly shoved into her own.
"AAAAAA- Wait, what!?" Dash shouted in disbelief as she fully took in the pegasus in front of her. Her body was yellow, and her mane and tail were huge, spiky, and the same mustard yellow color as her body, although there seemed to be a trimming of red hair outlining it. The best way to describe it would be a smear of mustard with thin lines of ketchup on either side of it. The pony's head was the real shocker, as it went against the rest of her color scream and was straight up green.
"Fluttershy!?" Rainbow gasped.
"I'd say it's time. . ." the yellow pegasus said with a manic smile as she suddenly produced a huge mallet out of nowhere. ". . .to HIT IT!" she finished as she suddenly swung the weapon.
The next thing Rainbow Dash knew, she was flying tucked and rolled through the air at ludicrous speeds. Then she smashed right onto the stage and all the musicians. When the dust settled, Rainbow Dash and the musicians found that not only was the stage still in one piece, but they themselves were all no worse for wear. However, their instruments had suddenly changed to that of a rock band, with a drum set, keyboard, and bass. Rainbow Dash found herself holding an electric guitar.
In addition, Fluttershy had somehow gotten on stage although she had just finished hammering Rainbow Dash at the stage a mere second a go."How's this for a remix!" she said, and she suddenly turned into a yellow and red tornado, spinning into Dash and the other musicians and causing them to twirl around in a blur as well. She moved back to the center of the stage and stopped spinning just as everypony else did. Now, Dash and the other musicians were now dressed as punk rockers, and immediately started playing fast paced electronic music as Fluttershy whipped out a microphone out of nowhere and started singing as she danced on her hind legs.
Oh please, excuse me, I don't mean to alarm
And certainly, I mean you no physical harm
I'm just the reigning queen of chaos here to rock your world
So just sit tight and let this little story unfurl
My mission is simple: Neverending Strife
I'll worm into your heart and then I'll cut like a knife
My intentions are clear, so just surrender your will
I'm a predator, and I'm going in for the kill
Fluttershy stamped onto the ground hard, and suddenly two tall stacks of banana cream pies arose out of the ground beneath her hooves and carried her up into the air. She began kicking the pies out into the crowd, and although she seemed to be kicking haphazardly, the pies seemed to home in on targets as if they were alive.
"Not the dress! NOT THE DRESS!" Rarity screamed as she took off running.
"Oh come on! The one chance I get to dance with Rarity, and this happens?!" Spike complained. He looked up to see a pie headed straight for Rarity. Thinking quickly, the little dragon made a mighty leap an incinerated the pie with his fire breath. He landed in front of a grateful looking Rarity and bowed. "Humdrum at your sevice, my lady!" he said proudly.
And then three separate pies all collided with Rarity at once.
"Seriously?" Spike said emotionlessly.
Rarity wailed in anguish, but then Fluttershy jumped out of one of the pie tin and grabbed Rarity by her cheeks and smiled crazily at her. The music suddenly slowed down a bit as the pegasus sang to match the slower bit.
Don't hate me cause I'm funny
Don't hate me cause I'm beautiful
You should hate me cause I'm better than you
Fluttershy's hooves stretched out and pulled Spike and Rarity close together. Then she pulled a tall standing microphone out of her mane and sang into it emotionally.
I only want to party
I only want to play it cool
I'm beholden to seeing this through
Fluttershy then spun around like a tornado and drilled straight into the ground, taking Rarity and Spike with her. A huge tree then burst out of the ground. Spike and Rarity dangled from its branches tied up in spider silk as Fluttershy swing from branch to branch, spinning a green web behind her.
I could trot around your little pony head
Spreading white lies and whispers
I'm gonna tell you about your fickle pony friends
Your rage is so hot, it blisters
The beat of the music suddenly picked up again with it Fluttershy swung up into the air, break danced in mid air, and landed right on top of Pinkie Pie in her Cheese Sandwhich Cosplay. She stomped on the earth pony, flattening her with a comical video game sound effect. Fluttershy bounced off as the pink mare's body sprang back to normal, albeit a little dazed; and the infamous Party Cannon popped out of her poofy pink mane with another video game sound effect.
Fluttershy turned the weapon onto the Minecraft themed Cutie Mark Crusaders plus Button Mash, who were watching Fluttershy disbelief. The mare fired the Party Cannon at the ponies, and in a blast of confetti, they were all suddenly dressed in fox costumes. Fluttershy zipped in front of them and started dancing wildly in an attempt to imitate a fox standing on it's hind legs.
"Do-do, do-do-do-do. Do-do, do-do-do-do. We-wow-we-wow-wow! Do-do-do-do-do-do-do!"
The four younger ponies imitated Fluttershy's actions perfectly."Do-do, do-do-do-do. Do-do, do-do-do-do. We-wow-we-wow-wow! Do-do-do-do-do-do-do!"
A green spotlight suddenly shone down on Fluttershy, highlighting her ketchup and mustard mane. She suddenly grabbed a zipper beneath her mane and pulled it down, apparently taking off a top layer of skin and revealing a military general's outfit she had on. She took off her cap and threw it to the side; not bothering to look as it exploded when it hit the ground; and launched further into her song.
I have your attention now, it's futile to flee
Your Elements of Harmony are worthless to me!
So please--you can't beat me, just fire away
I'll shrug it off and live to laugh another day
My chaos and wisdom are a thousand years old
Millennia trapped in stone and desolate cold
Your princesses can't save you, so you have no hope
You're hanging yourself, I'm just providing the rope
"OH, HAY NO!" Discord shouted when he got a good look at the chaotic mare. He immediately flew towards her at top speed, but then Fluttershy effortlessly tossed the Party Cannon at his head, and the Draconequis suddenly found himself stuck in the barrel. Fluttershy put a hoof to her mouth and whistled, and a safe with the word ACME on it fell from the sky and landed on the Party Cannon, with Discord's head still stuck in it. The music abruptly stopped as the vibration ran through Discord's whole body. Fluttershy pulled the cannon off of Discord's head, and without warning gave him a sloppy Bugs Bunny style kiss.
Meanwhile, Applejack, dressed as the Lone Pony Ranger, saw the cannon headed her way. She tried to run, but the cannon landed right on top of her, trapping her inside of it. It suddenly took of like a rocket, revealing Applejack standing upright in a gaudy cowboy outfit with golden tassels. She was also playing western music on a fiddle, causing all the guest to break into a square dance.
Fluttershy slapped cowboy hats on both her and Discord, who was still dazed from having his brain rattled inside of the Party Cannon. She then led him in a bizarre looking square dance.
I love you baby
Don't bring me down I pray
Oh handsome baby
Now that I found you stay
And yet me love you, baby
Let me love you
Discord finally sucummed to his dizziness and agonizing headache and passed out. Fluttershy just laughed as the original music suddenly replaced the western with it's fast beat and electronic tone.
Don't hate me cause I'm funny!
Funny
Funny
Funny
Funny
Funny
Funny
Funny
Funny
Funny
Funny
Funny
Funny
Funny
SMASH!!!
Fluttershy hit herself on the head with an oversized mallet. She shook her head a bit, creating a rattling sound. She tilted her head and tapped one side of it, and broken pieces of a record fell out of her ear.
"One more time!" she shouted as she zipped towards the musicians on stage. The rock band played one last stronger tune that had a deeper, more threatening sound to it; along with an added note of enigma.
Don't hate me cause I'm funny
Don't hate me cause I'm beautiful
You should hate me cause I'm better than you
I only want to party
I only want to play it cool
I'm beholden to seeing this through
I could trot around your little pony head
Spreading white lies and whispers
I'm gonna tell you about your fickle pony friends
Your rage is so hot, it blisters
Fluttershy butt bumped Rainbow Dash off the stage and snatched her guitar. She shredded the last few harsh notes on it, concluding the song with flare, and then cannonballed into the wooden stage with a tremendous crash.
At that moment, all of the ponies suddenly had their exhaustion from all that nonstop dancing catch up to them, and then all fell down flat completely drained of energy.
Author's Note
Neverending Strife (Remix) - The Living Tombstone
Neverending Strife (Silva Hound Remix)
Neverending Strife by H8_Seed
Neverending Strife (Aviators Remix)
Eventually, morning came, and the light of the Sun slowly nudged the ponies lying in the streets awake. Still tired and sore, the ponies groaned as they got up off of the hard ground.
Twilight Sparkle moaned as he held her throbbing head. That safe had made a beeline straight for her after it hit Discord. Although this wasn't the first time her head was the target for an insanely heavy object, but that didn't make it nay more pleasurable. She looked around at the huge mess all around Ponyville. From confetti, to pie tins, banana peels; the entire place was a mess.
Twilight's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of anguished crying. Rarity was in tears over her cream pie covered dress, and Spike was doing his best to console her.
Rainbow Dash stumbled through the awakening crowd, bags under her eyes as she held her head as well. When she made it to Twilight, she asked, "Twilight? Did what happen last night. . .really happen last night?"
Twilight frowned, "If you mean Fluttershy showing up in that crazy looking get up and tortuously livening up the ball. . .then yeah."
"Well, what Ah wanna know is how. And why." Applejack said impatiently.
Pinkie Pie ran up to them and shouted, "MY PARTY CANNON! SHE STOLE MY PARTY CANNON! WHERE IS IT!?"
Twilight put a hoof on Pinkie's head and pushed down. "Calm down, Pinkie Pie. Let's gather some information first." Twilight gained a suspicious look and said, "And I think I know where we can look first."
Twilight immediately went over to Discord, who still seemed to be unconscious. Wasting no time, Twilight zapped Discord in the rump.
"OOOWWWWWWWWW!!!" Discord shouted as he shot fifty feet up into the air, but then floated down gently with an umbrella. "Haven't you ever heard of smelling salts?" he complained, and to emphasise his point, he took out a salt shaker with a nose on it. The salt shaker sniffed a few times, and then sneezed hard enough to blow itself out of Discord's claw.
"No more funny business, Discord! We all demand to know what you did to Fluttershy!" Twilight sid angrily.
"What I did!?" Discord said in shock, holding his mismatched hands up in defense.
"Come on, Discord. Fluttershy as acting just like you, if not a little worse!" Rainbow Dash accused.
"Look, it was an accident!" Discord said desperately.
"HA! So you admit it was you!" Rainbow Dash said as she pointed a hoof in his face.
"It was an accident!" Discord repeated.
"YOU!" Rarity practically scowled as she ran over with Spike close behind, "THIS IS YOUR FAULT! THIS TRAVESTY OF FASHION-"
Discord snapped his fingers and Rarity's dress was instantly made prestine.
"There! You're dry cleaned, okay? Now will you hear me out?" Discord asked a little shortly.
"All we want are answers, Discord," Twilight said in a calmed tone. The rest of the friends nodded.
"Well good, because here's the answer: the Mask," Discord said.
"What mask?" Twilight asked.
"The Mask that I made over a thousand years ago," Discord explained as he pulled down a projection screen. The screen showed Discord apparently barfing up some of his chaotic magic into the green wooden mask. "I had wanted to make myself a little Chaos minion to help me spread more Anarchy, so I made a magical mask that would make whoever wears it chaotic like me. And lo and behold, it worked." The screen then showed Discord slapping the Mask on a hapless pony, and then the pony turning into something similar to what Fluttershy had looked like. The the film seemed to melt, along with the screen. "I had sent my minion to spread Chaos on the other side of the world, but then Celestia and Luna used the Elements of Harmony for the first time. Maybe the Elements somehow made the Mask come off despite the long distance, or maybe it just came off by itself. All I know is that my minion must have really brought on quite a storm of chaos. Why else would somepony have built a secret cavern just to hide it? I had completely forgotten about it, but then somepony found it just yesterday. I had put enchantments on it so I'd know whenever somepony picked it up, so I just popped over there and reclaimed my property."
"And you gave it to Fluttershy!?" Twilight exclaimed.
"No!" Discord said in disbelief of the accusation, but then he shuffled nervously and said, "I . . .put it in a chest. . .and. . .I might have. . .accidently. . .left the chest at Fluttershy's cottage."
Twilight growled in frustration and face hoofed hard. "I can't believe you left something so dangerous just lying around!"
"It was not just lying around! It was in a chest!" Discord said desperately.
Spike and the Mane Six all glared at him.
Discord actually sobbed as he shrunk himself down to the size of Owlicious. "Look, I didn't do this on purpose! You gotta believe me! True, I wanted Fluttershy to see how fun a little chaos could be, but not like this! Finding that Mask was all a coincidence! Honest!" Discord did the motions for a Pinkie Promise, "Cross my heart and hope to fly! Stick a cupcake in my eye!"
Pinkie Pie instantly cheered up. "Oh, okay then! We believe you!"
Applejack nodded, "Ah'm with Pinkie on this one. Discord's telling the truth I can tell."
Rarity sighed, "Well, he did fix my dress. . .so fine." She and Spike turned to each other and nodded.
Rainbow Dash hovered in the air with her forelegs folded grumpily for a moment while averting her eyes from Discord. She then sighed and said, "Well, you and Fluttershy are so 'palsy walsy,' so yeah, I guess it all checks out."
"Just don't be so careless ever again. Friends can get hurt that way," Twilight warned.
Discord expanded back to his normal size and said, "Save the lesson for after we solve the problem. Speaking of which, we need to find Fluttershy and get that Mask off, pronto!"
"Let's try her Cottage first," Twilight said.
"WAIT!" Rarity cried out as Discord was about to snap his fingers, "My outfit-"
Discord sighed with annoyance and went through with snapping his fingers, causing everyone's masquerade outfits to disappear and reappear in neat plastic bags next to them. "There, now let's get Fluttershy out of my mess already!" Discord snapped his fingers and everyone teleported off.
The group reappeared in front of Fluttershy's cottage, which seemed to be calm and quiet.
Twilight put a hoof to her mouth and shushed everyone. "Shhh! Be quiet. Maybe we can just sneak in and-"
"To hay with that!" Discord shouted as he marched forward and roughly opened the cottage door. Once inside, Discord produced a megaphone and said, "ATTENTION! FLUTTERSHY THE PEGASUS! COME OUT WITH YOUR HOOVES UP AND THE MASK IN PLAIN SIGHT!"
Twilight teleported in and slapped the megaphone out of Discord's hands. "What are you do- ugggh! Forget it!"
The rest of the group came in and looked around the quiet cottage.
"It seems quiet," Applejack commented.
"Too quiet. . ." Rainbow Dash said smoothly with shifty eyes.
"You're right Rainbow Dash," Twilight said.
"She is?" both Applejack and Rarity said at once.
Twilight motioned to the empty cottage and said, "Where are all the animals!?"
Suddenly, a carrot hit Twilight hit her on the head. She looked down to see Angel Bunny tapping his foot impatiently.
"Ooh! There's one!" Pinkie Pie cheered.
"The worst one," Spike muttered.
"I'm right there with ya, Spikey-Boy!" Discord said as he nudged Spike on the shoulder.
Angel looked up at the group for a moment, and then pulled a straw hat and cane out of nowhere. Banjo music started playing as Angel began dancing and singing.
The Wonderbolt Derby sings this song,
Doo-da, Doo-da
The Wonderbolt's racetrack's five miles long
Oh, de doo-da day
I went down there with my hat caved in,
Doo-da, doo-da
I came back home with a pocket full of tin
Oh, de doo-da day
Goin' to run all night
Goin' to run all day
Fancy Pants bet on the Rapid Fire nag
Somebody bet on the gray
And with that, Angel dashed off in stage left and vanished.
Everyone stared in slack jawed silence.
"That was supposed to be funny. .. right?" Pinkie asked, sounding very unsure of herself.
Discord looked over at Pinkie and said, "Uh, no. There's Funny Chaos, there's Creepy Chaos, and there's Destroy the World Chaos. That was not Funny Chaos, and I know funny! And I know that wasn't funny because-"
Angel suddenly appeared in Discord's face and gave blood curdling shriek with eyes three times as big as normal, causing them to pop out dramatically.
"AHH!" Discord screamed as he lost his balance and fell over.
And then Angel pulled his head off like an over the head rubber mask and revealed that he had the head of Princess Celestia smiling deviously.
"WAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Discord shouted as he waved his arms in front of his face frantically.
Angel pulled the Celestia head off like before, revealing his normal head. He then twirled one foot around, a zipped into the cottage. .. or at least into what appeared to be a wide of sheet of paper that depicted the cottage. The bunny tore through, leaving what looked like a hole torn in space.
Discord looked up slowly, and then gained an impressed demeanor, "Well, well, well. If it isn't the old 'room is actually a really realistic looking picture' trick. How original." Discord reached out and ripped the wide canvas off, revealing Fluttershy lounging on a pink throne with a pair of flapping butterfly wings sticking out of it. As she lay there, her mane was moving like the Mane-iac, or Pinkie Pie, and hung a bunch of grapes over her mouth.
Fluttershy noticed the arrivals and lept into the air as her eyes stretched out and slapped everyone across their faces.
The eyes shot back into her face, and she said sassily, "Woooah, man! You haven't heard of knocking?"
"GIVE ME BACK MY PARTY CANNON!" Pinkie Pie shouted. A bucket of water suddenly landed on her head, and the water froze her solid.
Twilight teleported to Fluttershy's side and said, "No stalling, Fluttershy. That mask has gotta go!" Twilight reached out with her hooves, but Fluttershy bumped her hooves against Twilight, and the Alicron was suddenly zapped by electricity.
Twilight fell down burnt and dazed as Fluttershy laughed and showed off the joybuzzers on his hooves.
"Twilight!" Spike shouted fearfully as he ran towards her.
"What in the hay was that for?" Applejack asked.
Fluttershy quickly lassoed Applejack and pulled her in close to her face. "Well, it's a joke! Ya know? Joke!"
And then gallons of apple cider poured out of Applejack's hat, washing her down as if she had fallen into a waterfall. The lasso floated stiff in mid-air, and Fluttershy walked along the thin tightrope and towards Discord.
"It's okay if you girls don't understand Chaos like I do," Fluttershy said as she made a final jump over to Discord and landed in his arms. "Discord and I are partners in Chaos, and that's enough for me!" she said as she lounged carelessly against Discord's lion arm.
Discord sighed. "Sorry, Fluttershy," he said as she dropped her. She crashed through the floor as if she weight a ton, leaving a Fluttershy shaped imprint in the wooden floor, complete with hair. Fluttershy shot up out of the hole, her legs grown so long that she looked like a giraffe.
"Let me refresh your memory," she said, and she flipped the scene back to the party last night with Fluttershy singing the Western and dancing with Discord.
Don't bring me down I pray
The scene flipped back to the present, with Fluttershy hovering in front of Discord with her hooves on her shoulders sassily. "I gave you just one thing to do, and you really couldn't do it?"
Discord pushed Fluttershy down to the ground and said, "Look, pal. I thought I wanted you to embrace the wonderful world of Chaos. I thought I wanted you to prank and go wild and have fun. But what good is that if you're not yourself, and the truth is, Fluttershy just isn't chaotic."
"Oh, I certainly am chaotic!" Fluttershy said as she shot back up into the air.
"Then you are not Fluttershy!" Discord said as he poked the pegasus in the chest, "So, be a pal, and let me take that darned mask off now!"
Fluttershy humphed sourly and shoved Discord angrily, singing threateningly at him in a harsher, crazier voice that further differentiated herself from their normal Fluttershy.
Better wait a minute.
Ya better hold the phone.
Ya better mind your manners.
Better change your tone.
Don't you threaten me son.
You got a lot of gall.
We gonna do things my way.
Or we won't do things at all.
Fluttershy backflipped away from Discord and pulled the guitar from the party out of her mane. She twirled around and played it, although the instrument not only produced guitar sounds. It also produced some horns and percussion. Everyone's attention was grabbed by the sudden music. It even caught Rainbow Dash's attention, causing her to cease chugging apple cider from Applejack's hat.
Twilight looked up at Fluttershy and gulped nervously as the chaotic pegasus played and sang.
Ya don't know what you're messin' with.
You got no idea.
Ya don't know what you're lookin' at
When you're lookin' here.
Ya don't know what you're up against,
No, no way, no how.
You don't know what you're messin' with,
But I'm gonna tell you now!
It was suddenly revealed where all the animals had gone when tons of birds, mice, squirrels, chipmunks, gophers, and rabbits wearing randomly colored leather jackets and holding microphones. They surrounded the group as they oohed and ahhed and sang a chorus along to the beat of the song that was still going on in the background.
Fluttershy let out a laugh and flashed a huge toothy smile.
Get this straight!
I'm just a mean green pony with the magic Mask
and I'm bad.
Mean, green, bad!
I'm just a mean green pony with the magic Mask
and it looks like you been had.
I'm just a mean green pony with the magic Mask,
So get off my back, don't you even ask,
'Cause I'm mean and green!
And I am bad.
Twilight narrowed her eyes at Fluttershy, and her horn glowed as she pulled at Fluttershy's head. The pegasus wiped the magic aura away as if it jelly. She then whistled, and a bunch of gophers and chipmunks tackled Twilight as they cackled and giggled as they spoke to each other in fast high pitched tones.
"Hey! Get off! AHH!" Twilight shouted as she took flight. However, the animals covered her eyes and pulled at her wings, causing her to fly blindly and wildly.
Wanna save your skin, huh?
You wanna save your hide?
You wanna see tomorrow? Ha-Ha!
You better step aside.
Fluttershy produced two rings of fire and held them up for Twilight to blindly fly through, much to Spike's terror. Twilight then went on to knock over cages and knock into furniture and house plants.
Better take a tip now.
Want some good advice?
Ya better take it easy,
'Cause you're walkin' on thin ice!
CRASH!
Twilight smashed into Pinkie Pie's frozen form, freeing her but sending them both rolling into the wall. Fluttershy took an impossibly huge step over to them and slapped Dunce caps on their heads.
Ya don't know what you're dealing with.
No, you never did.
Ya don't know what you're lookin' at,
But that's tough toe nails, kid!
Applejack and Rainbow Dash ran over with the intention to tackle Fluttershy, but were shocked still when she suddenly turned around wearing a white karate gi with a black belt. Fluttershy winked and began performing a slew of wild kicks, punches, jumps, twirls, and other wild karate moves.
The Lion don't sleep tonight,
And if you pull her tail, she roars!
THWACK! SLAP!
"OUCH!"
Ya say, "That ain't fair"?
THWAP!
"Hey-OWW!"
Ya say, "That ain't nice"?
Ya know what I say? "That's war!"
Applejack and Rainbow Dash were comically tossed into a wall, where there bodies left imprints after they fell down. Squirrels ran over wearing big noses, glasses, and mustaches and stuck their tongues out at the two mares.
Watch me now!
I'm just a mean green pony with the magic Mask
And I'm bad.
Mean, green, bad!
Discord came in with a huge bird cage and slammed it over Fluttershy. The pegasus just sneezed and the grew legs and ran towards Rarity, who screamed and started running circles around the cottage.
I'm just a mean green pony with the magic Mask,
And you've got me fightn' mad.
I'm just a mean green pony with the magic Mask,
Gonna rock this place! Gonna have a blast!
I'm mean and green,
And I am bad.
Fluttershy threw a pie at Discord, but the Draconequis' head split in half and let the pie soar through. But then the pie stopped in mid air, turned around, and flew back at him. Discord caught the pie with his tail and turned to give it a quick glance.
POW!
A huge boxing glove popped out of the pie and knocked Discord to the ground. All of the animals in the cottage applauded, and Fluttershy soaked up the praise. She bent down to Discord's eye level and lyrically lectured him.
Don't talk to me about King Sombra
You think he's the worst? Well he just aint! Huh!
Don't talk to me about the Changeling Queen.
You think she's ruthless? HA! She ain't like me!
Discord's facial expression changed from shocked to angered, and he snapped his fingers to teleport from the ground to the other side of the cottage, which now suddenly contained a boxing ring. Spike massaged Discord's shoulders encouragingly, and then handed him his mouthguard and boxing gloves. The Draconequis bobbed and weaved and threw a few practice punches, breathing in and out heavily through his nose. The bell rang, signaling the start of the next round. Discord turned to face Fluttershy. . . only to find that the red, yellow, and green pony now stood three times his height, the cottage suddenly tall enough to accommodate her sudden increase in height.
You know I should know when somebody's doomed.
I don't need the Sun, I don't need the Moon!
You can keep the Nightmare,
Keep the vines,
Keep Lord Tirek, his don't have my mind!
The mouth guard fell out of Discord's gaping jaw with a clatter.
"That's it, I'm gone!" Spike shouted, and he ran towards the door.
The boxing ring suddenly vanished, and a normal sized Fluttershy appeared in front of the door, causing Spike to skid to halt. Spike cried out in fear as Fluttershy's face was an inch away from his own.
I got garden style, major moves.
I got the stuff, and I think that proves,
You better move it out! Chaos calls!
You got the point? You're gonna hit that wall!
Spike blinked in confusion. "Wall? What wall?"
As an answer to Spike's question, the section of the floor he was standing on sprang out and launched Spike into a conveniently placed brick wall, which he slid down off of like a rotten tomato after impact.
Discord stared at Fluttershy as she laughed at this. He just gaped at her for a bit, but eventually found his voice and said, "Alright, now you're acting like me before I was reformed!"
"GOOD!" Fluttershy cheered, and she started spitting out seeds at the ground like a machine gun.
Discord backed off from the bullet seeds, and his eyes widened in shock when he realizes that they were Plunder Seeds, like that ones he used to attack the Tree of Harmony.
The ground began to tremble violently as the black vines burst out of the floor.
Here it comes!
I'm just a mean green pony with the magic Mask
And I'm bad.
Mean, green, bad!
Discord tried snapping his fingers, but the vines quickly bound all of his limbs and pulled him down to the ground. Fluttershy flew over and stepped on top of his chest.
I'm just a mean green pony with the magic Mask
You can't beat this trouble, man.
I'm just a mean green pony with the magic Mask,
So just give it up. You're gonna have a blast.
I'm mean and green!
Discord strained to move as the vines wrapped around both of his horns. "At least this couldn't get any worse," he muttered.
Angel Bunny fell down out of nowhere in a Mafia outfit and put the pointy end of a carrot to Discord's chin.
"WHY DID I SAY THAT!?" Discord shouted in disbelief in himself as Angel and Fluttershy laughed and sang.
Mean green pony with the magic Mask
I'm mean and green!
Mean green pony with the magic Mask
I'm mean and green!
Mean green pony with the magic Mask
Mean green pony with the magic Mask
Fluttershy performed an impressive backflip and spun around and around into a small living tornado.
And I...
Am...
Bad!
When Fluttershy stopped spinning, she was holding a huge black round bomb with a lit fuze. The bomb was twice Fluttershy's size, and yet she didn't seem to have any trouble holding it over her head.
"Ah-hahahahahaha! Bye-bye, Discord!"
And then, out of nowhere and unexpectedly, Pinkie Pie's Party Cannon fell from the sky, smashed through the roof, and landed right on top of the bomb. The added weight seemed to be too much for Fluttershy, and she gasped, groaned, and struggled as she appeared to loose her balance in mid air. She fell back with a scream and went straight down the Fluttershy shaped hole she had made in the floor earlier. The huge bomb smashed through the floor after her, it's fuze still hissing as it burned. There was a loud whistling sound as Fluttershy fell for what seemed to be a few minutes, and then-
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
When the dust and smoke settled, everyone took the chance to slowly open their eyes. Discord noticed that the Plunder Seed Vines had vaporised, and that all the animals were back to normal, their eyes wide with confusion as they looked around fearfully at the wrecked cottage.
Rainbow Dash rubbed her face and looked around. "Is it over?" she asked.
Twilight dusted her wings off as the gophers and chipmunk ran from her fearfully. She noticed Rarity stuck in the cage, and used her magic to release her. Twilight looked around and said, "Well, it looks like everypony is safe now."
"Yeah. . .safe. . ." Spike muttered as he dizzily walked away from the brick wall, and then fell flat on his stomach in exhaustion.
"So, what about that darn mask?" Applejack asked Discord, who was slowly getting up and stretching his sore limbs.
As an answer to the question, the Mask suddenly fell from the sky ring in front of Discord. He wasted no time in immediately snatching up the Mask and glaring at it with that were literally on fire. "You! This is all you fault!" he shouted at the Mask. He then opened his mouth wide and shoved the Mask down his throat. He swallowed hard, and the Mask landed in his stomach with an audible splash. A loud rumbling was heard, and Discord quickly turned to an open window and let out a huge blech of green fire.
"Ahh. . ." Discord sighed, "Better now. . ."
"But what about Fluttershy?" Twilight asked nervously.
"On it!" Pinkie said with a salute, and she dived into the hole the bomb made. Her voice could be heard from the surface. "Come on. . .come on. . .YES! YES!" Pinkie jumped back out, hugging her Party Cannon. "Don't worry, Auntie Pinkie Pie is here," she cooed to the Party Cannon as she nuzzled it.
Discord groaned in disgust, "Oh, for goodness, sake!" He then threw himself into the hole and landed in the sizeable alcove the bomb carved out. He turned to the left, and saw Fluttershy lying unconscious, looking just as she had before the whole incident.
Discord quickly carried Fluttershy out of the hole and shook her by the shoulder. "Come on, Fluttershy! Come to, Fluttershy, come to," he urged. Suddenly, the "smelling salt shaker" with the nose on it from earlier landed on Fluttershy head and floated under her nose. This cause Fluttershy to stir and finally open her eyes.
"What. . ." she said groggily, "Where am I . . .what happened. . .I'm so confused. . ."
Fluttershy was cut off when everypony else ran forwards and joined in on a huge group hug.
"What's going on?" Fluttershy gasped, surprised by the sudden show of affection. When her friends backed off, she noticed the condition of her cottage. "Oh my goodness! What happened!?"
Everyone stared at Discord.
The Draconequis laughed nervously. "Heh-heh-heh. . . uhhhh, I got some explaining to do, don't I?" he said miserably.
It's nice when friends have things in common. Usually that goes without saying. And friends can help you learn to enjoy new things. However, friends don't have to be exactly alike or like the exact same things. I had wanted Fluttershy to like Chaos as much as me. When Fluttershy reformed me, she just wanted to help me and show me friendship. I just wanted to be more Chaotic because I wanted to be able to practice more Chaos. I was in it for myself. But the thing is, when you try to change a person for selfish reasons, for your own benefit and not theirs; you can end up turning your friend into something they're not, someone who's not at all like the person you wanted to be friends with to begin with. . . .Granted, Fluttershy putting on the Mask and turning into a crazy being of Chaos was not a deliberate act on my part and not something I wanted to happen, but it did help me appreciate Fluttershy for who she is; a kind, gentle friend who I never want to change.
Discord
Discord signed his name in the Friendship Journal and sighed contentedly. "Ah yes. Finished! My very first Friendship Journal entry!" He then turned to Fluttershy's cottage and smiled, "And the cottage is good as knew." Discord folded his arms as he stood in a carpenter's outfit, complete with hard hat. "Although, it would've taken me two seconds rather than a day and a night if somepony had just let me-."
Twilight nudged Discord in the side as she took the Friendship Journal from him. "Sorry, Discord, but I couldn't just let you use magic like that and fix in instantly. You needed to see some consequences for your actions."
"And being tormented by a Chaotic Fluttershy wasn't 'consequences' enough?" Discord asked incredulously.
"Don't you feel better?" Twilight asked.
Discord though this over, and then nodded. "Yes, I suppose I do."
"Good," Twilight said brightly.
Discord turned to Fluttershy and said, "Again, I am so very sorry for leaving that Mask where you found it. I was so careless, and I ma so sorry."
Fluttershy hugged Discord and said, "It's okay. It was an accident. I forgave you the moment you told me what happened." Fluttershy the flew up and held her hoof out to him. Discord smiled, and too her hoof in his paw.
He was suddenly zapped with electricity.
Discord eventually let go and stared up at Fluttershy as she showed him the joy buzzer on her hoof.
The pegasus shrugged, smiled adorably, and said, "A harmless prank is okay. . .when it's harmless."
THE END
Author's Note
"Mean Green Mother From Outer Space" from Little Shop of Horrors
