It was your ordinary day in Ponyville. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, the clouds were pink, and the streets were made of ice cream.
At this point, what isn't normal in Ponyville anymore?
Oh, how absolutely horrible!" Rarity wailed as she looked down at her soiled hoof. "And I just had my hooves done!" Shaking off the sticky sweet mess from her hoof, she looked up to see the spirit of chaos himself reclining on a cloud over town hall. "Discord!"
Rarity's shrill screech woke up Discord from his nap. "Oh what is it now?" He grumbled as he took off his shades and peered down at the ground below. "Ugh, Rarity! I swear that mare needs to listen to a recording of her own screeching. It sounds like a couple of parrots with sore throats trying to sing. Blech!"
A small shadow came up over Discord, blocking his sunlight. He took off his pink butterfly sunglasses. "Oh, what is it now Rainbow Crash? Are you going to threaten to pulverize me into powder again?" He asked as he slowly turned around. "You know, I'm quite capable of-" His words died in his throat when he realized which pony was blocking his light. "Why, hello there Fluttershy! What brings you here?" He asked with an innocent smile.
Fluttershy's narrowed her eyes in disapproval as she crossed her hooves.
Discord quickly closed his eyes and turned away. He knew that she knew that he knew what she wanted. "Nuh uh, you can't get me that easily," he declared. "I won't look into your... eyes… must resist... the urge... to... look." Steam was whistling out of his red and sweaty head at this point as he tried to ignore the pegasus that could even make him cower.
"Discord."
It was such a simple word, but it made Discord feel a stab of guilt strong enough to shatter his resolve in a heartbeat. "Fine," he said with a sigh as he lazily raised his paw. With a snap of his digits, he returned everything to their normal state. "Though I still don't understand why you ponies like everything so boring. I mean, sometimes I feel like taking a vacation where some pony would appreciate-" his grumbling was cut off when Fluttershy pulled him into a gentle hug. "You know what? I think I'll be fine with the boring pony lifestyle," he said with a happy sigh.
"Oh, am I boring?" Fluttershy asked as she averted her gaze to the ground. "I'm sorry."
"Gah... N-no Fluttershy! That's not at all what I meant!" He declared as a halo appeared above his head. "I could never dream my best friend in the whole wide world boring!"
"Oh, thanks," Fluttershy said with a small smile as she landed on the now-white cloud beside him. "Will you be coming by for tea tomorrow?"
"Three o'clock sharp?"
She nodded. "Well, I don't mind if you come a little late. After all, you're probably very busy." She scuffed the cloud awkwardly.
Discord put a talon under Fluttershy's chin and tilted Fluttershy's head upwards. "As my first and bestest friend you matter more to me than any chaotic endeavor I could have lined up. I wouldn't miss our little meeting for the world!" He pulled out a cupcake from behind Fluttershy's ear. "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!" He recited as he slammed the cupcake into his eye.
"And you wouldn't mind if we had the others over to join us would you?" Fluttershy asked.
Discord opened his mouth, and then shut it. He stroked his goatee thoughtfully. "Well, they are our friends," he admitted. "But... how about we invite them next time. Let's have this tea party be our last one-on-one party together. From then on, we will extend our invitation to the other elements!"
"Yay," Fluttershy exclaimed quietly. She flapped her wings and jumped off the cloud. "I need to get back to the cottage to take care of my animals. Bye, Discord."
"Goodbye, my dearest Fluttershy!" Discord called back. Based on the way she pulled her mane over her face, he knew he had gotten her to blush. He chuckled in satisfaction. "Now then, what to do and where to go to spread chaos," he asked himself.
Suddenly, Discord felt a creeping sensation work through his reptilian tail. It started at the tip, and then followed through the scale-covered muscle until it reached his lower body. But it didn't stop there. Discord soon had his legs and body shivering. The sensation became even more violent as it passed its arms and traveled to his neck. By the time it reached his head he was shaking like a leaf on a windy day.
"Jumping hayburgers!" He exclaimed as second-long ordeal subsided. "That was a doozy! Hm, but what does it mean?" He carefully stroked his goatee as he considered the possibilities. "What could cause so much change in the balance? That was a different feeling from the time Twilight absorbed the magic of three other Alicorns. Quite possibly foreign.” He snapped his talons. “This will require some investigation!" He quickly donned a bowler cap and a bubbling pipe. "Allons-y! Hm, might've used the wrong reference there. Ah, who gives a hoot anyway?" With another snap of his talons, the spirit of chaos vanished from Ponyville.
Yes, Ponyville, the calmest, most peaceful town in Equestria. Which is probably why it's the number one place in Equestria to be targeted by evil and chaotic beings.
Elsewhere in this tranquil town, a castle was getting a very intriguing shipment.
"Where does this go, miss?" One of the burly stallions asked.
"Ooh ooh ooh! It goes right inside the library, right next to the first window on your left."
"Right, gotcha," the stallion replied as he began rolling the oversized crystal ball.
"No, I said left!" The mare insisted.
"I thought that's what I said," the stallion replied in confusion as he grabbed the ball to prevent it from rolling away.
"No, you said right. I said left. Unless you meant 'right' as in right in left, in that case you're right!"
"Wait, right where now?"
"This could allow me to create a newer, simpler version of the teleportation spell,” Twilight said to herself as she exited the throne room and entered the hall. “I need to make sure I write down-" Twilight Sparkle paused when she noticed what was happening in the castle. "Uh... Pinkie? What is going on here?" She asked as observed multiple stallions moving in crystal balls of varying size and multiple literatures ranging from magazines to encyclopedias.
"This stallion here doesn't know his left from his right!" Pinkie said accusingly as she pointed a hoof at the offending pony.
The worker released his grip of the crystal ball. "You know what? I'm quittin' this job and going to me and education. That way, I can get a job where right and left make sense." With that, the stallion stormed out of the castle.
"Pinkie, what is going on here?" Twilight asked as she continued to look around in confusion. She quickly noticed the crystal ball was rolling away and hastily glued it to the floor with a quick spell.
"Ponies are moving in a bunch of stuff silly!" Pinky replied. "Can't you see?" She asked as she tugged the skin below Twilight's eyes.
Twilight winced as Pinkie let go and her skin snapped back. "I can see what is happening; I just don't why it is happening. Would you mind telling me what this is all about?"
"Of course not!" Pinkie replied with a wide smile.
Moments passed. Pinkie didn't even blink as she continued to smile. Twilight sighed and rolled her eyes as she remembered how oblivious Pinkie could be. "What's this all about, Pinkie?"
"Well you see..." Pinkie began. "I woke up this morning and found that it was a lovely day outside! So brushed mane and combed my teeth to get ready to start the day—after I finished my morning song, of course—and then I realized that I didn't do my morning routine right. So then I went back and brushed my teeth, and then combed my mane, but then I realized that my mane was way too curly to be combed so I had to brush it instead. So after that I ate breakfast and-"
"Pinkie..."
"What?"
"Please, just skip to the point when this started!" Twilight indicated the movers with a flailing hoof.
"Hold your horses! I'm getting there!" Pinkie declared with a raised hoof. Twilight narrowed her eyes in a glare. “Fine… I’ll skip a little. Now, I was going about my totally average pinkie day when suddenly..." She paused for the dramatic effect and slowly leaned into Twilight's ear. "MY PINKIE SENSE SENSED A DOOZY!"
"Ow..." Was all Twilight could say as she rubbed her ringing ear.
"So then I asked myself, 'What could the doozy be?' Then I decided to go to you since you're the smartest pony I know!" Pinkie continued as she bounced around Twilight in a circle. "And tada! Here we are now talking about my morning!"
"So... why are all these things being moved into the castle?" Twilight asked as she neared the end of her patience. There was only so much of Pinkie a pony could take before they needed an aspirin.
"I wanted to see if my Pinkie Sense can do other things besides warn me about vague, immediate events," said Pinkie as she continued to bounce with a large grin on her face. She grabbed a book off the stack one of the stallions was carrying. "See? This one's about astrology! Maybe my Pinkie Sense affects the stars and that’s why horoscopes always work!" She pulled out a shawl and wrapped it around her mane. “Behold the powers of Gypsy Pinkie Pie!”
Twilight sighed and shook her head. "Pinkie, Luna's the one who moves around the stars. Your Pinkie Sense probably doesn’t have impact on the celestial bodies," she said as she levitated the book back onto the stack.
"And how would you know?" Pinkie asked as she stuck her head in front of Twilight’s face with a scrutinizing look.
“Because Luna would probably tell me if her night sky was being moved around.” Twilight slowly pushed away Pinkie’s head with hoof. “Plus, horoscopes aren’t nearly as accurate as your Pinkie Sense.”
Pinkie sat down and pondered this for a moment. “That sounds like a good reason to me,” she decided as she threw away her shawl and resumed her bouncing.
Twilight sighed with relief, but winced when Pinkie took out a bullhorn and announced, “ATTENTION EVERYPONY!”
The pony movers dropped everything – literally – as they covered their ears. Twilight quickly used her magic to pull the bullhorn out of Pinkie’s hoof as frowned at Pinkie and shook her head.
Pinkie smiled sheepishly and continued, “I won't be needing anymore of these silly thingies so you can pack them up and send them back!”
“Sorry ma’am but you already filled the paperwork,” one mover pointed out.
“And we already moved in the last bit,” said another as he put down a crate.
“And we’re needed on the other side of Ponyville,” said a third as he made for the door.
“No wait! You can’t-” The slamming of the castle doors cut off Pinkie in mid-sentence. “-Leave yet,” Pinkie finished glumly as she fell on her haunches and her hair deflated. With watery eyes, she gazed around the entry hall of the castle that was littered with books, charts, and various other items.
Twilight slung a comforting hoof around her friend’s shoulders. “Don’t worry, I’m pretty sure this won’t be too difficult to move out,” she assured Pinkie.
“I know but…” Pinkie paused for a sniffle. “I was going to give them cupcakes for the good job! And now I’ll never see them again!” she wailed as she squeezed Twilight and cried into her mane. “What am I going to do with the dozen of dozen cupcakes I baked for them?”
Twilight raised an eyebrow. “I’m pretty sure you give it to some other ponies in Ponyville,” she assured her friend. “Or maybe you could let Fluttershy’s animals snack on them.”
Pinkie blinked. “Yup! That sounds like super-stupendous idea!” she exclaimed as he mane puffed back to its original shape. Then her tail gave a violent twitch.
Pinkie and Twilight looked at the tail apprehensively. “Do you happen to have an umbrella hat anywhere?” Twilight asked Pinkie nervously.
Pinkie pulled out a pair of hats and tossed one to Twilight as she slapped on her own head. "My Pinkie Sense says... thataway!" Pinkie exclaimed as she took off running to the castle doors.
“Wait up, Pinkie!” Twilight quickly put on her umbrella hat as she chased after her friend.
Pinkie threw open the castle doors and bounded across the castle grounds. Twilight followed Pinkie, but made sure to walk slowly and keep her eyes peeled to the sky. Fluttershy was nowhere to be seen, so there was a very small chance that a frog would fall from the sky just like the first time Twilight witnessed the effect of the Pinkie Sense. The sky was fairly cloudy, but there was no chance of rain today. Even Rainbow Dash was absent from the sky, so it was unlikely that lightning or something of that nature would be coming down. "How's your Pinkie Sense doing?" Twilight asked Pinkie as she continued to watch the skies.
Pinkie turned her head around to observe her tail, which was now vibrating like a jackhammer. "Twitchy tail tells me that it's going to happen... here!" Pinkie pointed to a spot on the ground that was bare except for single daisy that was growing there. “Oh no!” Pinkie gasped. “This flower’s going to be crushed!”
Twilight smiled as she lit up her horn with a levitation spell. "Not to worry, I can fix that little issue," she said as she levitated the flower and some of the surrounding dirt into the air.
Pinkie gasped again and pointed a hoof at the sky behind Twilight. "Incoming!" She screeched as she put on a hoofball helmet and dived into a nearby bush.
Twilight quickly turned around and screamed as a dark colored mass fell towards her. She quickly dropped the flower and teleported behind Pinkie's bush. The object hit the ground with a heavy thud. Twilight could hear multiple soft thuds and the rustling of the grass as the fallen object rolled. After the noise had stopped, Twilight and Pinkie peeked out of their respective hiding places to look at what had fallen.
The first thing Twilight noticed was the blood.
The red liquid stained the grass in a splotchy trail that began at the point of the crash and ended at the motionless body lying a few yards away.
"Oh no," Twilight said in almost a whisper as she approached the body. The body was that of a pony, specifically, a stallion. The stallion had a dirty midnight blue coat, just a few shades darker than Luna's. Bloody stains covered his fur and small, fresh streams seeped from an assortment of nicks and gashes that adorned his body. His mane was surprisingly long for a stallion and was a dingy off-white color. Like the rest of the stallion’s body, it extremely bloodstained. Twilight honestly surprised the stallion was still breathing. She wasn't the most experienced in the medical field, but she knew that the amount of blood on the pony indicated severe blood loss.
Twilight was using every ounce of willpower not to throw up at the sight. "Pinkie," she said hoarsely. "I need you to go and find a doctor in Ponyville, now."
"Okie dokie loki," Pinkie replied with a formal salute. She ran off with enough speed to leave a trail of dust in her wake.
With Pinkie gone, Twilight turned her attention to the stallion. She quickly assessed his vitals with the best of her medical knowledge. "Haggard and shallow, but steady breathing," she said aloud to calm herself down. "Heart rate is elevated. His head is warm, but not hot enough to be a fever.” She sighed in relief. “It’s not too bad, but hopefully Pinkie comes back soon. This much blood on him worries me.”
The lack of any other pony nearby began to unnerve Twilight. Spike was out with Rarity, and the castle was far away enough from Ponyville so that no pony would be there unless they were specifically coming to visit her. This was great for getting a little privacy, but when she was alone with a pony that could possibly be dying the isolation was less than comforting. Twilight looked kept her eyes peeled for Pinkie as she slowly began to pace next to the stallion. After what felt like forever for her—but was actually under half a minute—the stallion began to stir.
"Oh, thank Celestia! Are you alright?" Twilight asked in concern as she ceased her pacing. The stallion carefully shook out his messy mane, revealing a spiral horn. His legs twitched uselessly as he grimaced in pain.
"Sorry, dumb question. You shouldn't try to move just yet," Twilight advised as she put a hoof on his shoulder to comfort him. She immediately took a step back when he let out a hiss of pain.
"Sorry! Your shoulders might be broken! I should’ve considered that possibility! I’m really sorry!" she apologized profusely. The stallion didn’t reply as he tried to move his legs again. "You should wait until a doctor gets here before you try moving. I'm not sure how badly you're hurt and-no! You shouldn't be trying to use magic either!"
The stallion had stopped attempting to physically move himself, and instead used his magic to coat his entire body with a dark blue aura as he levitated himself into a sitting position. However, his horn flickered as the spell died out before he could finish. The stallion let out another hiss as he fell back onto the soft grass. He barely managed to tilt his body into a sitting position to avoid toppling over.
Twilight’s eyebrows rose in surprise. She was quite surprised that he could levitate himself despite how serious his condition appeared. “Looks like you’re not in as bad condition as I thought,” she said in relief. “But you really should try to relax. You’re injured and probably have severe blood loss. I can't risk you hurting yourself even worse.”
The stallion didn't respond as he le lit up his horn for another spell. "Listen to me,” she said firmly. “You need to stop trying to using your magic until a doctor can take a look at you. That fall could have done some permanent damage to your horn and it’s dangerous using magic until you’ve been looked at. Are you even listening to me?"
The stallion, without stopping his attempt to use a spell, finally acknowledged her presence by looking her in the eye. Twilight winced in surprise when she saw that his eyes were as red as the blood on his body. His expression was even more unnerving. There was no fear, no anger, no sadness, or any readable emotion on his face. In fact, his face reminded Twilight of Maud’s blank stare. The only difference was that Maud also carried an air of easily misinterpreted disinterest, while this stallion looked haggard. His eyes were bloodshot and coupled with bags underneath them. On top of that, even though he was making eye contact with Twilight, he didn’t even seem to be looking at her. Rather, he seemed to be looking past her eyes. Before Twilight could even digest this, the stallion's eyes drooped and his horn flickered out as he wordlessly collapsed to the ground.
Hmm... he's pretty much dead at this point. Such a pity; I would have like to know what had happened to him. I lazily wiped the image of Ponyville from the crystal pillar I was gazing into. No matter, his appearance was entertaining, but nothing worth keeping in mind.
I grinned deviously as an image of Twilight Sparkle's panic-stricken face appeared on the crystal pillar. Now this one I need to keep my eye on. Not only is she the former student of the Princess Celestia, leader of the Elements of Harmony, and one of the few ponies to undergo an ascension, but she is also the only one I can use to escape this place. My smile widened as I envisioned my future. Princess Twilight Sparkle, you do not know how much you will be helping my plans come to fruition. Soon I will be free from my prison, and not even the Elements of Harmony will be able stop me.
