Controlled Chaos

“As I’m sure at most of you know,” James began, “Twilight had a dark and furious episode last night. This has resulted in Spike being hospitalised and a majority of the town’s populace to forget what they were doing last night.” He breathed in and out slowly. “I want you to know this; that was not Twilight.”

“Then who was it, featherbrain?!” Rainbow yelled.

“All questions and criticisms must be reserved for the end of the tale,” James said with a frown. “Now are you going to be quiet or am I going to have to get the duct tape and rope out?” He waited for her to cross her hooves and scowl silently before continuing. “Good girl. Anyone else who so rudely interrupts without prompt or break will be duct taped and tied up to keep them quiet. Clear?”

“What counts as a break?” asked Rarity. “I thought you said there weren’t going to be any.”

“That does; when I ask a question. So are we clear?”

“We get it, just get on with it,” Rainbow spat crossly.

“Alright… Like I was saying, that wasn’t Twilight. You probably won’t believe this, but that was Nightmare Moon.” He waited a second as the stunned silence filled the room. “That was a prompt to react. Feel free.”

“What do you mean, Nightmare Moon?” yelled Rarity.

“How is that even possible?” Pinkie exclaimed.

“Ah hope you’re gonna give us a little more detail than that, James,” said Applejack.

“Okay, one; I mean the monster that Luna became when she got jealous that nobody liked her,” James answered. “Two; it’s possible because of what I explained to you and Fluttershy last night. Three; I never said that was the end of the story, apples.”

“Then get to the story, stupid!” Rainbow yelled.

“Okay, you were not prompted there, feisty, so you have to be duct taped and tied up,” James said with cruel amusement.

He snapped his fingers and a rope that appeared out of thin air started tying itself around her. As she protested and struggled against it, he dragged a finger across his lips and a strip of duct tape appeared over hers, correlating with the movement of his finger. When he was sure that she wasn’t going to talk over him again, he chuckled to himself.

“Let her go!” Rarity yelled, hurrying forward to her struggling friend.

“Do I have to do the same to you, curly?” he asked, readying his hand to snap his fingers again. She shook her head and sat back down slowly. “Are any of you going to interrupt without being allowed to first?”

“No…” Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie Pie muttered together.

“You four aren’t as required to keep quiet though,” he said, pointing at the four on the bed.

“How come?” asked Scootaloo.

“You’re children,” he explained. “Children couldn’t keep quiet if you gave them everything their heart desires. Now, back to the story. Nightmare Moon. I told Pinkie and Fluttershy the principle of Nightmare Moon last night; she’s not a real pony. Instead, she’s just a parasitic entity that will latch onto any being that becomes too furious to see things clearly.”

“That doesn’t even make any sense!” Sweetie Belle protested, standing up on the bed. “If that’s true then how come nopony else has been latched by Nightmare Moon yet?”

“She likes to aim for those of you with more power. While I’m sure you could make the planet explode if you wanted it to one day, Sweetie, I don’t think you’d really count as what the Nightmare is looking for.”

“So is she lookin’ for a princess to turn into?” Applebloom asked.

“That is correct, Applebloom. Now you’re thinking outside the box. Good job, you!”

Applebloom beamed again at the praise. James smiled weakly at the sight of her so pleased with herself.

“Thanks for making my day, Applebloom. I’ve not seen someone so pleased with themselves since I was back at home with my daughter. Even better job on that.”

“James, you’re getting off topic!” Rarity exclaimed.

“I’m allowed enjoy a little achievement too, aren’t I?” he asked, frowning at her. He sighed lightly. “But I suppose you’re right. Nightmare Moon, then. The reason she can’t latch onto any princess when they’re not enraged is because each princess has a subconscious mental barrier up. She can’t get through it when it’s not cracked by fury.”

“But… surely the princesses have been angry enough for this to happen before!” Rarity suggested.

“Oh, they’ve been angry before, just not angry enough.”

“What do you mean?” Applejack asked.

“They have to be so angry that they forget right from wrong if it means making the one responsible suffer,” James explained. “Moony was angry at her sister for taking all the credit, and Twilight was angry at me for what I’d done yesterday.” He closed his eyes and sighed. “And I amplified that rage.”

“What?!” came the yelling voices of Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack and Spike at the same time.

“So you made Twilight even angrier then?” Applebloom queried.

“Oh, you. Stop being so clever!” James laughed appreciatively. “You’re right again, of course. I did make her angrier.”

“Why?!” Rarity yelled.

“You’re the reason I’m in here then, not Twilight!” Spike shouted, shuffling back in the bed. He winced in pain when he did so.

“Fluttershy, can you take care of Spike, please. I don’t want him hurt any more than he already is.”

Fluttershy stood up and trotted over to the bed, where she gently lowered Spike back down against the pillow and whispered something to him about not moving. Once she was finished, she sat beside the bed and waited for James to continue.

“Yes, Spike,” he said slowly, frowning. “I am the reason you are in here. I cannot be any sorrier than I am for making this happen. But before you say anything else, I want you to know that I did not, in any way, mean for it to get so out of control.”

“Well, you should’ve thought of that before you did it!” Applejack snapped.

He stood up and put his hands behind his back. “I didn’t know what the spell would do, apples. I knew it would make her furious and maybe start a whole scandal about a princess losing her mind, but not angry enough to let Nightmare in.”

Spike spotted James’s fingers moving behind his back, but didn’t think much of it. “You still made her hurt me!” he yelled. “You made me think that she hated me or something!”

“Spike, I swear to you, cross my heart and hope to fly, that I didn’t mean for her to hurt you. If I could have prevented it by any means, I would have.” He smirked. “I probably shouldn’t have stayed in town with her, actually.”

“You shouldn’t have done anything at all!” Applejack yelled.

“Ah, you weren’t allowed to speak there, apples,” James replied with a smug smile.

He snapped his fingers and a leather muzzle appeared in front of Applejack’s face. She gasped as it shot towards her mouth and strapped itself on, clamping her mouth shut. Rarity and Pinkie Pie glanced warily at Applejack as she tugged at the muzzle, but said nothing.

“At least you didn’t tie her up and put duck tape over her mouth, ah guess…” Applebloom reasoned. “But you are gonna let her go after this, right?”

James let out a single, quiet laugh before smiling down at her. “Yes, she will be freed from my muzzle of evil, Applebloom, just like feisty will be freed from the rope and duck tape,” he explained. He smiled widely and ruffled her hair. “My daughter was a lot like you are in that way too; she always thought that every cloud had a silver lining.”

“Get back to what you were saying!” Spike yelled angrily.

“Right, sorry, Spike.” James cleared his throat before standing up straight again. “Uh… I think that’s it actually. The only thing left to say is…” He frowned. “I need you all to keep this quiet. I’ve only told you all this instead of just wiping your memory because I believe that I can trust all of you to keep Equestria safe.”

“What do you mean?” asked Scootaloo. “Are you saying… we need to keep this a secret unless we want Equestria to explode or something?”

James smirked and turned to face her. “Yes, Scootaloo, something like that,” he said. “You must all keep this away from everyone, particularly Twilight. If she finds out about it, she could panic and let it happen again. We can’t, by all means, let that happen.”

“But… ah thought you said that Nightmare Moon only comes back when the pony forgets right from wrong,” Applebloom thought out loud, tilting her head in confusion.

James chuckled to himself and looked up at her. “You’re too smart for me, Applebloom,” he said, smiling at her. “That is correct, but if Twilight knew what happened, there is a chance that the memory of that granting Nightmare a tiny crack in Twilight’s defence and, therefore, getting back in.”

“That don’t make much sense…” Applebloom muttered.

“No, it doesn’t, but that’s the truth,” James said, smile faltering a little. “Now then…” He snapped his fingers and the restraints on Applejack and Rainbow Dash vanished. “Any questions?”

“You better hope that was the whole story, James!” Rainbow yelled, flapping up into the air and stretching her wings.

“That wasn’t a question,” James replied.

“Well here’s one for you! Do you want your flank to be kicked so hard you can’t sit for weeks?!”

“I would prefer that to not happen, feisty.”

“While I do think that Rainbow Dash may be making violent threats, I kind of agree with her,” said Rarity, trotting over to James slowly. “Is that the whole story? Is there anything you missed?”

“To the best of my knowledge, that is the whole story,” James answered. “If I missed anything that you noticed, you can talk to me and I’ll tell you about it.”

“Wait a second, how do you know all that stuff about Nightmare Moon anyway?” asked Pinkie Pie.

James smirked and snorted with amusement. “That’s one little detail I think it’s safer to keep to myself,” he said. “I mean, if that time-travelling wizard found out that I told you, he’d throw into the abyss.” He put a hand over his mouth. “Oops. Silly me. I’ve gone and told you now.”

“Ah can tell that was a joke, but are you gonna tell us the truth about how you know or not?” Applejack snarled.

“No, apples, not even for the whole world.”

“Thank you for telling us all that, James,” said Fluttershy.

“And thanks for giving me credit for how smart ah am!” Applebloom added happily.

“Thanks for saying thanks, girls,” James replied. He turned back to the rest of the group. “So then, do I have your word that you won’t speak to this to anyone at all?”

“Does that include my other friends?” Pinkie asked.

“Yes, Pinkie, yes it does.”

“Aw, fine!” Pinkie moaned, kicking at the ground.

“We promise, James,” said Rarity and Fluttershy.

“Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” said Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash at the same time.

“What about the rest of you?” James asked, smirking at the four on the bed.

“As a Cutie Mark Crusader, I give you a Crusader’s promise that ah won’t tell anypony about this ever!” Applebloom said confidently, putting a hoof over her heart.

“When did that become a thing?” asked Scootaloo.

“Just now when ah made it a thing, Scootaloo!” Applebloom replied.

“Alright, we do the same as her then,” Sweetie Belle said. “Crusader’s promise.”

“Oh, that’s cool,” James commented with a small grin. “You’re making your own promises. That is very cool.”

“Uh… I guess I’m with them,” Spike said, looking down at the bed. “I swear to not tell anyone about this. I don’t want Twilight to do that again.”

“Excellent,” James said, clapping his hands together. “I’ve got to go check some things now though, so I bid thee good day. Go back to whatever you were doing, or stay and chat with Spike.” He slapped a hand against his forehead. “Oh! Spike, you fell down some stairs. That’s the story for Twilight, okay?”

“Okay…” Spike muttered.

“She’ll be coming to visit you very soon,” James said with a weak smile. “That, I can guarantee, if I’m right about the chloroform’s effect time.”

He vanished with a puff of green mist, leaving the girls and Spike to chat amongst themselves.

-=-=-=-=-

Twilight could hear knocking somewhere.

She sat up in the bed she had no recollection of getting into and rubbed her aching head. What had happened yesterday? She could remember the meteorite, the chaos, and James resolving everything, but beyond that, nothing. It was like someone had locked the memories away from her.

“S-Spike!” she yelled, climbing out of the bed. “Can you go see who that is, please?”

She was surprised when she couldn’t hear the sound of tiny footsteps rushing towards the door, or even a yell of affirmation. Spike must have been out somewhere…

She stretched her wings out and –

Hold on a minute.

Something was wrong.

She slowly turned her head back to look at where her wings should have been, feeling an absence there. When she spotted that they were completely gone, she gasped. What had James done?!

“Spike!” she shouted, feeling the panic take over. “Spike, where are you?!”

Knock knock knock.

This wasn’t the time to be panicking! It was probably just some practical joke of his! He would probably give them back like he did Luna’s anyway!

Knock knock knock knock.

“Hello?” somepony Twilight had never heard before yelled. “Princess Twilight? Can I come in?”

“N-now’s not a good time!” Twilight yelled back.

“But it’s important!” the strange pony yelled, sounding like they had entered the castle. “It’s about what happened last night!”

“I…!” Twilight stopped. Any information about what happened last night would be welcome. “Give me a minute! I’ll be right there!”

She hurried over to her wardrobe and rummaged around for anything that would hide her missing wings. She procured a wide ribbon and hurried back over to the bed. She levitated two pillows off of it and held them beside her. She then wrapped the ribbon around herself and the pillows, making it look like her wings were beneath the ribbon.

“Coming!” she yelled when she was sure that the stranger wouldn’t think her wings were missing.

She hurried out of the bedroom towards the main entrance of the castle, making sure to keep the pillows in the right positions. When she got to the main hall, she found the strange pony waiting there for her.

“Oh, hello, Princess Twilight!” said the stranger.

“Hello! I’m sorry, but we’ve never met! Who might you be?” Twilight replied politely.

“My name is Prism Shine!” the pony replied, bowing to Twilight. “It’s a pleasure to meet you!”

“The pleasure is all mine,” Twilight replied. “Now, you said you knew something about last night. Can you tell me about it, please?”

“Yes, about the battle between you and that strange creature!” said Prism. Twilight tilted her head. “Oh, that’s really what I wanted to speak to you about!”

“Uh… what do you mean, battle?” Twilight asked confusedly.

“I heard he was taking over for Discord. Is that true? Is he the new spirit of chaos?”

“No, the battle! What was this battle you’re talking about?”

“Oh, I’m sure you can talk to your friends about it and they’d tell you!” Prism grinned and anxiously stepped from hoof to hoof. “I want to know more about this new spirit of chaos! Can you tell me more about him please?”

“I could tell you about myself if you wanted, stranger,” said James, snapping into existence beside Prism, making her jump. “In fact, we’ll talk about me as much as you like. But later. I need to speak with Twilight for a moment.”

“Oh, thank you!” Prism said gratefully, grinning ear to ear. “I’ve wanted to find out more about you since I learned about you from my cousin that lives here! She said you made a giant glass appear to put out a fire! Is that true?”

“I’ll talk to you about it later,” James insisted, gently nudging her back towards the door. “I need to speak with Princess Twilight alone.”

“Oh, yes!” Prism replied, backing away to the door. “Forgive me, all powerful spirit! I shall leave at once!”

She turned and hurried out the door. James watched her go and smirked. As much as Twilight wanted to know more about what had happened yesterday, something was telling her that it would be a better idea to keep her questions to herself.

“She seems like a lot of fun,” James stated, turning to face Twilight. “Now then.” He frowned. “I’ve got some bad news, princess.”

“What is it?” she asked. She decided to feign ignorance. “Did I do something yesterday? I can’t remember anything after that meteorite was destroyed.”

“I know, but that’s another story. Oh, you know that your wings are missing?” He snapped his fingers and the ribbon holding the pillows against Twilight’s sides unravelled and fell to the floor. “That’s the same story. I’m sure you’ll want to know it, but that can come later.” He sighed. “It’s about Spike.”

Twilight gasped, all questions and accusations put on hold at the thought of her number one assistant being in trouble. “What about Spike?” she asked breathlessly. “Is he alright? Did something happen?”

“He fell down the stairs and ended up in hospital last night. He’s alright, but he’s cracked a few ribs and suffered a concussion.”

“I’ve got to go see him!” Twilight yelled. “Thank you for telling me! Bye, James!”

She teleported away, leaving James alone. When the residual magic faded, he sighed and put his hands on his hips.

“Hope you know how to deal with this, guys…” he muttered. He looked at the door out. “Now then… Where’s that happy little pony gotten to?”