Chapters Chapter 1: A New World
Trying to get this to work.
Twilight walked towards the school, wondering if this was really the place she had been searching for. “I don’t know Spike,” She said, glancing down at her dog. “This doesn’t look like a place where any power fluxes would normally take place. I mean, just look at it!” It was a Sunday afternoon, and the birds were out enjoying the nice weather. “It’s just a school; it’s not like its any place special.” Spike barked, looking up at her in dismay. “What is it boy?” She asked, looking around suspiciously. “You know, you have been acting really weird ever since I discovered this place. It’s not like you’ve been here before.” He barked again and jumped into her arms. “All right, I’ll carry you. But only if you stop worrying so much.” She picked him up and walked away from the building. “I’ll be coming back here tomorrow for my first day of School.” She said ominously. “Then I’ll finally have some time to find out what’s really going on.”
Sunset Shimmer walked into the school every day and got the same reaction. All of her other classmates shunned her, making sure that she always knew what she had done. “I just wish I could do it all over.” She thought, walking towards her seat in the band’s practice area. The rest of the Rainbooms had yet to arrive, but Applejack was already there, reading a book as she had been set up for an hour already. “Howdy, Sugar Cube!” She said, looking up from her book. “Why the long face?”
“Oh, Applejack, I’m just so tired of every single student here hating me. Even after I helped defeat the Dazzlings, they won’t forget that I used to be, well you know.”
“A super ginormous extra large evil demon from beyond Tartarus Itself!?!” Pinkie Pie shouted as she bounced in, carrying a big balloon in behind her.
“Yeah, that.” Sunset said a dejected look on her face.
“Now that’s just silly talk. Everyone here knows what you’ve done, but they’ve forgiven you.” Applejack said. “Remember when Bulk Biceps helped you get Angel down from the lamp?”
“I know but…”
Rainbow Dash burst in, running at full speed. “Guys, you’ll never guess who’s back!!!”
Twilight walked through the school, looking up and down the halls for anything that could have caused the mysterious power fluxes that she measured, when she saw a girl with rainbow-colored hair practicing the guitar. “Wow, the trends these days.” As she walked away, she could have sworn that she saw a pair of wings on the girl’s back. She turned around to get another look, but the wings were gone. “I must have been hallucinating, that cafeteria really does stink.” She walked down the hall and entered her first class of the day, English, and sat down in her chair, right across from a girl with pink hair and a green skirt with butterflies on it. The girl turned around to stuff a pair of fluffy white ears in her backpack, when she looked up and saw Twilight. “Ohmygosh. Twilight, your back.” She whispered. “I mean, we don’t have any trouble going on here and, you usually only come here if we have some magical creature attacking, not that I’m unhappy or anything, but what are you doing here?”
“Sorry, What?”
“Well, last time you came back was because of the Sirens and before that it was…”
“Sorry, Sirens? Are you sure you know what you’re talking about?”
“Yes I’m sure, I mean you were there with us remember?”
“No, I’ve never met you before.”
“But, you were there. You helped us defeat Sun…”
Ms. Cheerlie whacked her baton on the desk. “Settle down class, it’s time for the lesson to start.” The lesson started and the class’s attention turned to the board and, as the girl beside her kept giving her weird looks, Twilight decided to talk to some of the other students about the mental status of that girl next time she got the chance.
Twilight walked out of the school at three o’clock, wondering what was wrong with everyone at this school. There was a guy with blue hair who was apparently her boyfriend, five people who supposedly helped her defeat a magical demon and three Sirens and even a picture hanging in the hall of her winning the Fall formal crown. There was definitely something weird going on at this school. “Twilight!” a voice yelled, and she cringed as she turned around to face her “Friends.” “Yes?” She said, with a note of irritation in her voice. “You’ve been acting kind of strange today,” Applejack said. “We’re all really worried about you. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“No, I’m not.” She replied.
“Then what’s wrong, Sugar Cube?”
“I don’t know! Everyone here says that they know me but I don’t know any of you!”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, I have never met any of you before today!”
“But we…”
“Don’t give me that story again! I’ve heard it from everyone at school, including both the principals, I don’t need to hear it again!”
“How can you not remember this? You’re the one who brought us back together in the first place!”
Twilight stormed towards the statue. “I’m telling you, I have no idea what you’re talking abou…ah!!!” Twilight screamed as she threw her fist at the pedestal of the statue, and it went right through.
Applejack screamed. “Twilight!” She then quickly ran inside to fetch the others, never noticing the second flash of light exploding from the portal.
Chapter 2: Transformation
Twilight groaned and rubbed her eyes. “Where am I?” She said as she stood up, glancing around the room. “It looks like a castle. But that’s impossible, castles haven’t been around for centuries and this one looks like new.” She looked down at Spike and screamed. “Ahhh! A dragon!” Spike stood up on his hind legs and began to wobble over towards her. “No! Stay away!” Spike jumped and landed on her. “No! Stay awa…” She looked at his name tag and realized who it was. “Oh, Spike, it’s only you. Wait, if that’s you then what do I…” She turned around and looked at the mirror. “What! Why am I a pony! That doesn’t even make sense! My dog gets to be a dragon, and I’m a,” She looked over her reflection more closely. “Unicorn?” She said in disbelief. “And purple at that! What kind of crazy world is this?” At that moment, she heard music playing down the hall. “Come on Spike, whatever’s going on, I’m sure we could find someone to help us understand it.”
Twilight trotted towards the main ballroom, where the Grand Galloping Gala was taking place, and peeked through the door. “Halt! Who goes there?” A guard said, walking up to her. Twilight turned around and faced the guard. “Hi, I’m new here and, I have no idea what’s going on. Can you help me?”
“How can you not know what’s going on? This is the Grand Galloping Gala. Everyone knows what’s going on.”
“Well, I just…”
“Hold on. You never answered my first question. Who are you?”
Twilight thought about this and decided to make up a name, at least for now. “My name is Midnight Sparkle.”
“Oh, you’re a relative of Twi, I mean, of the princess. My deepest apologies, Ma’am. I had no idea, Please enter.”
“Thank you, Sir.” She said, walking through the door.
“Um, Ma’am?”
“Yes?”
“If you see Twi, I mean the princess. Could you talk to her? Something went wrong and she won’t tell me what.”
“I’ll try.” She said, trotting through the door.
She froze, looking at the room filled with multi-colored Unicorns, Pegasi and regular ponies. Some were up on stage singing, others were dancing, but the ones that really caught her attention were a yellow Pegasus dancing with a blended zoo, An orange pony dancing with a dragon that looked suspiciously like Spike, (Except he was a lot bigger.) and most interesting of all, Two ponies flying above the dance floor, swaying to the music. She noticed that everyone there had a tattoo of some sort on their flank. “Must be some weird fashion statement.” She trotted along the perimeter of the ballroom, slowly working her way towards the door, when the song ended and the crowd began to disperse. The floating couple trotted towards the door and Twilight decided that, while she did not want to ruin their evening, she had some questions and they seemed most likely to be able to answer them. She slowly followed them through the garden, and was about to approach them when the colt erupted in green flames. When the flames died down, the colt had a black coat with strings of green hair, insect wings, holes in his feet and glowing horn on his forehead. She backed into a bush and watched tentatively as they began to converse. The filly leaned in to kiss the colt, but he pulled away. The filly was about to talk some more when the Zoo animal materialized out of nowhere, growling at the colt and telling him to get away from his daughter. Twilight cowered further into the bush and watched as the filly threw her “Father” into a tree, and then told her colt friend to run away. Twilight decided it was time to leave when the filly’s father and the yellow Pegasus turned towards their daughter and teleported away.
Twilight walked out of the castle towards the main road, Spike trailing along behind her, sniffing and occasionally burning the bushes outlining the roads. “Okay, that was weird. What kind of creatures were those?” She looked at Spike, who happened to be relieving himself on a nearby bush. "Said the purple unicorn to the dragon." Twilight sighed, knowing that there had to be a way home. "Come on Spike," She said, just as it began raining chocolate milk. "Let's find someplace to dry off and figure out where we're going next."
Human Applejack paced across the room, waiting for the last member of the band to walk in. "Come on Applejack," Rainbow Dash said, getting up from her chair. "Spill the beans already! I've got soccer practice in ten minutes."
"I ain't talkin' until Rarity get's here. This concerns her too."
"Well, it's a good thing I'm here then." Rarity said as she walked through the door.
"Okay, Rarity's here, now spill."
"Okay, but no interruptions, got it?"
"Yep."
"Of course."
"Yeah."
"Oh, um, okay."
"Got it, Pinkie Pie?"
"Yep!"
Applejack inhaled. "Twilight was here just like Rainbow said, but she didn't remember any of us or the battles we fought together. I tried to talk to her after school, but she wouldn't listen. She kept saying we were all crazy and that there was no such thing as Sirens or magic. When I tried to convience her, she got angry and went to punch the pedestal of the statue. You can guess what happened next."
"She fell right through didn't she?" Sunset said, looking concerned.
"You betcha, Sugar Cube."
"So, why didn't she remember me?" Pinkie said, on the verge of tears.
Sunset replied "I think I know why."
Everyone followed Sunset to her locker, where she put in the combination and opened the door."Ugh. What are we doing here again?" Rainbow asked.
"We're here again,' Sunset said. "Because I have some answers for you."
"Um, these are just pictures of you." Fluttershy said as she flipped through the photo album Sunset handed her.
"No, these are pictures of my doppelganger. The reason I am able to fit in here is because she lives in Manhatten and I live here."
"So…" Rainbow said, a skeptical look overshadowing her face.
"So," Applejack said. "This world's Twilight came here and fell through the portal!"
"Exactly!" Sunset said.
"So, what are we supposed to do about it?" Rainbow replied.
Sunset looked at each one of them and declared, "I'm going in after her."
Twilight trotted into the hotel and set down Spike, who immediately started sniffing around the room.
“Hello.” She said, trotting up to the clerk’s desk. “I was wondering if you had a spare room available?”
“Why of course! We have one right here! Please follow me, your Highness.” He said and started trotting towards the stairwell, when he tripped over a potted plant. “Stupid plant.” He mumbled, pushing it to the side. “Boss always moves it, just so he can watch me trip. If I ever…”
“Excuse me, but are you blind?”
“Why yes, your Highness.”
“Sorry, did you just respond to me as, ‘Your Highness.’”
“Are you not the Princess of Friendship?”
Twilight decided she should just play along. “Yes I am, I’m just not used to being called Princess.”
“Oh, okay.”
“So, who is this boss of yours?”
“Oh, he’s a nasty orange stallion who’s always trying to make me trip. It wasn’t his idea to hire me; it was his superior who said it would be good for business. So he tries to trip me up at every turn, just so he can fire me.”
“I shall have to do something about it when I go back.”
“That would be nice. Pray tell, why did you leave the castle?”
“Um, uh… Official royal business.”
“I see.” He said, as they reached the top of the stairs. “Well, we’re here. If there’s anything else you need, just ring this bell and I will come running.”
“Thank you sir.” She said, leading Spike into the room. “That will be all for now.”
“Very well.” He said, and started to close the door.
“One more thing.” Twilight said, placing her hoof in the door.
“Yes, your Highness?”
“What is the name of the nearest town from here?”
“Why, Ponyville, of course.”
“And, how do I get there?”
“Well, you could take the next train.”
“Of course. Well, good night.”
“Yes, yes. Good night.”
Twilight closed the door, and lay down as Spike curled up on the bed beside her. Twilight sighed and closed her eyes. “Tomorrow Spike, we’ll see if we can find some answers in Ponyville.” She whispered and then promptly fell asleep.
Sunset strapped on her backpack and walked towards the portal.
“Are you sure you don’t want us to come with you, Sugar Cube?”
“Yes, I’m sure. We can’t have you bumping into your parallel selves. The results could be disastrous.”
“Say hi to Twilight for us.” Pinkie said.
“Which one.” Sunset said, a dull look on her face.
“You know which one. Now get going.”
“Okay, then. I hope to see you all very soon.”
Sunset stepped through the portal and disappeared.
Twilight walked out of the hotel feeling very pampered. Spike was asleep on her back, having wandered around the room all night.
“Well Spike, it looks like we may make it to the train station after all.”
A filly walked up beside her. “Excuse me.” She said, tugging on her back hoof. “I was just wondering, why don’t you have a Cutie Mark?”
“What’s a Cutie Mark?”
“How can you not know what a Cutie mark is!?!”
“Uh…”
“It’s only the embodiment of who you are meant to be in life!”
“Uh…”
“Seriously, how can you not know?”
“I’m… Gonna miss my train. Gotta go.” Twilight galloped down the street, heading towards the train station.
“That was weird.” She said as she slowed down to a trot. She walked up to the ticket booth and ordered two tickets for Ponyville.
“Yes, your Highness, right away.” The ticket master said as he quickly went to fetch the tickets.
“Wow,” Twilight whispered to herself. “These ponies really respect royalty.” The train had just started to leave the station when the ticket master looked up and noticed that she had no wings and lacked a Cutie Mark.
“Hey!” He yelled, galloping after the train. “Stop that pony!”
But the train had already left the station and no pony heard him.
Sunset Shimmer stepped out of the mirror and was met with a Royal Canterlot Belch.
“What in all of Equestria was that!?!”
“Sunset Shimmer?” Princess Celestia said, her cheeks turning cherry red. “What are you doing here?”
“Well, apparently I was interrupting royal business. I should probably just,” She turned towards the portal to leave.
“No, wait. Me and Luna can finish our…” She looked at Luna helplessly
“Royal business.” Luna said, finishing her sentence.
“Right, Royal business later. Now, what brings you here?”
Well, you know how there are parallels of ourselves on the other side of this mirror?”
“Yes…”
“Well… Twilight’s doppelganger fell through, and I need to get her back.”
“Ah,” Luna said, getting up from her throne. “I looks like you have some work ahead of you.”
“Yes, it does. She fell through an hour ago, so she can’t have gone far.”
“Actually…” A guard said, walking through the door.
“Soldier!” Luna yelled in her Royal Canterlot Voice. “Why was’t thou eavesdropping?”
“My apologies your Highnesses, but I have been concerned about Princess Twilight and so couldn’t help myself when I heard her name. You say her clone came through an hour ago?”
“Yes, Sir Sentry. She fell through an hour ago.”
“Well then, you must keep terrible time because, I saw her at the Gala last night.”
“Last night!” All three exclaimed looking equally shocked. “She could be anywhere by now.”
“She claimed to be a relative of the Princess. Called herself Midnight Sparkle.”
“We must begin to search for her.” Luna said, walking towards the guard. “Tell me can you remember anything else about her?”
“Well,” The guard replied. “She had a baby Dragon with her, as well as no Cutie Mark.”
“No Cutie Mark!”
“Indeed.”
“That would make sense. There is no magic in the other world. It would make sense if she had no Cutie Mark.”
“Well, this should make her easy to find. Guard. Tell everyone to look for a Unicorn who looks like Princess Twilight, except with no Cutie Mark.”
“Of course.”
“We must begin at once. It is most likely that she will head for Ponyville.”
“Then let’s go.”
The two Princesses and Sunset galloped at full speed towards the train station.
The three ponies arrived at the train station, Celestia and Luna both very much out of breath. “Apologies.” Luna said, puffing as she sat down. “We are not used to running around.”
Celestia sat beside her and asked Sunset to go find out if Twilight had come by the station yet. “Excuse me sir,” Sunset said as she walked up to the ticket booth. “Has a young unicorn with a baby dragon come by here recently? She has purple fur, and no Cutie Mark. As well as she looks almost exactly like the Princess of Friendship.” The ticket master looked up sharply.
“Why yes, she did!” He said, very gruffly. “She passed herself off as the Princess and boarded the next train for Ponyville. I noticed that she wasn’t the Princess but, the train had already left the station.”
“How quickly can you get me three tickets to Ponyville?” She asked.
“Well… the ticket master said, leaning back in his chair. “That depends on who’s asking.”
“How about two Princesses?” Celestia said, walking up behind Sunset with Luna in tow.
The ticket master got up and quickly grabbed three tickets to Ponyville, handing them over with the utmost care. “Here you go, your Highnesses.” He said, bowing as he levitated them over the counter.
“Thank you, sir.” Sunset said coldly. “Next time think before trying to stiff two Princesses.”
The trio trotted into first class and sat down as the train left the station. “Looks like we have a long ride ahead of us.” Sunset said, curling up on one of the chairs. “Might as well make the most of it.”
Midnight walked onto the train station, and was greeted by the Tri-Pies getting ready for a race. “Wow,” She thought, looking at their manes, tails and fur. “They must be triplets or something. I can’t tell them apart.” The Tri-Pies took off, never noticing the blank flank duplicate of their aunt.
Midnight walked into town. “If I look like the Princess in this town, it might cause more attention then I want.” She thought, looking down at herself. “If I’m a unicorn, then I must have Magic right?” She concentrated hard and, in a flash of purple flame, changed her coat to a deep magenta. “Not bad for a first try.” She said, walking out of an alley and into town. “Maybe now I can get some answers without ponies looking at me funny.” She walked past Sugar Cube Corner, where those same three fillies where sitting on the steps; licking ice cream cones, and catching their breath. They all looked up at the same time and inhaled sharply. Jumping up in the air, they quickly sped off to some unknown location.
“Well, that was certainly interesting.” She said as she trotted away. “I would’ve thought that only Pegasi could fly.” She walked down the street and, passing the spa, she heard a loud clatter. Going around the back, she caught a yellow Pegasus kissing an orange stallion and a garbage can lid rolling around. She recognized the Pegasus from the Gala, and realized that she probably shouldn’t be here. She turned to leave when she heard somepony say, “Fluttershy?!”
Midnight turned back towards the group to see an orange mare with freckles and a cowpony hat staring in shock. She quickly hid behind a cart, determined to see where this went.
The Pegasus pushed the stallion away to look at the stunned cowgirl, rolling her eyes in annoyance.
“Uh, hello?” She said, sounding very angry. “Do you mind?”
She was about to pull the stallion in again when the cowgirl cut in between them.
“What is this?” She demanded. “Who is this? What about Discord?! And Screwball and Zany?!”
The Pegasus named Fluttershy scoffed. “They’ll be fine, so long as they don’t find out. And if they do, they’ll get over it.”
The cowgirl stood still, momentarily stunned. She shouted, “What’s come over you?! Do ya have any idea what Discord will do if…”
“Move aside, will you?” Fluttershy snapped, shoving the cowgirl away. “We’re in the middle of something.”
Fluttershy pulled the stallion back in and Midnight looked away, unable to watch anymore. She didn’t know who Discord was, but he was not going to be happy.
The cowgirl ran out of the ally in tears and Midnight decided to follow her; see if there was anything she could do to help. The cowgirl ran down the street, right past the living zoo, who stopped her with his paw. “Whoa there, cow girl.” He said, sounding a lot like Q. “What’s the rush?”
Midnight saw her mutter and respond, “Oh, uh, howdy partner! I was just, uh… I have to, uh… I left the bathwater runnin’! Yeah, I gotta get home, see? So, uh… bye!”
She galloped off, almost away when the Zoo grabbed her by the tail and lifted her up.
“Element of Honesty, huh?” He said, smirking. “What’s really troubling you, AJ?
Midnight leaned in, trying to hear better.
“Uh… I don’t really wanna talk about it!” She said, sweating nervously. “Plus, it doesn’t concern you!”
The Zoo shook his head. “You know I can always just peek into your head and discover what you’re hiding?”
“No!” The cowgirl shouted, kicking her legs and trying to escape. “You’re not gonna like it!”
“Ooh, that juicy, huh? This is gonna be fun!”
“Discord, trust me on this! You don’t wanna…”
“The more you say that, the more I do wanna.”
It was at that moment that Midnight registered the creature’s name, and, more importantly, what the cowgirl was trying to hide. She jumped out of the bushes as Discord placed his claw on her temple, and the two stood there frozen as Midnight tried desperately to get their attention. After several minutes of trying to get their attention, Midnight gave up and decided on a wiser course of action. “I have to find someone who can help.” She said as she galloped towards the nearest building.
Sunset Shimmer stepped off of the train and beckoned the two sisters. “Come on, this is our stop.”
Luna stepped out, closely followed by Celestia who looked very sick. “Ohhh.” She moaned, stumbling out of the train car. “That is the last time I take the train.” She leaned over the railing and puked.
“Come now sister, we must find this doppelganger and return her before it is too late.”
“Luna is right, Princess. We must hurry. Luna, you go check Sugar Cube Corner and go from there.”
“WE SHALL DO OUR BEST!!!” She announced.
“Celestia, you take the library. You know Twilight well so you should know where she would go from there.”
“Of course.”
“And I will check around the Everfree forest. If anything, she will be over there. And I could always ask Discord to find her. And we all know the Cutie vibrate right?”
“Yes, we do.”
“Yes.”
“Alright then, just light up the others Cutie Marks with your magic if you find her. We will come to you right away. Now let’s go.”
The trio split up and went to look for her.
Luna galloped at full speed towards Sugar Cube Corner. When she got there, she trotted through the door.
“Surprise!!!” Shouted Pinkie Pie, Red Shoes and the Tri-Pies. “Oh, sorry girls,” Said Pinkie, turning towards her daughters. “That’s not her either.”
“Aww.” The Tri-pies said, looking dejected.
“Sorry we had to interrupt.” Luna said looking around. “We are looking for someone.”
“Who?” said Pinkie.
“Twilight’s Doppelganger fell through the portal, and we’re trying to get her back.”
“Wait,” She turned to Blueberry. “Blueberry, didn’t you say that she looked like Aunt Twilight, except with brighter fur?”
“Yeah, just like her! Why?”
“Did you see which way she went?”
“Ooh, ooh, ooh! She was walking towards the spa.” Raspberry said, bouncing up and down.
“We must go there right away!” Luna said as she galloped out the door again.
Sunset walked towards the entrance of the Everfree forest. “Uh, Oh great and ancient forces of Chaos, show us the path that shall lead us through! Cotton candy and chocolate of rainstorm and snow, take me to the Castle of the Sisters Two!” She stared at the forest, but nothing happened. “Huh, I guess Prism pranked me again. Okay, how about this. I’d like to visit Discord please.” The forest split open to reveal a path straight to Discord’s castle.
“Well, that was easy.” She said as she walked through. “I just hope he’s in a good mood.”
Celestia walked into the library to find Princess Twilight reading. “I would have thought you finished everything in here.” She said, glancing around.
“Princess Celestia? What are you doing here?” Twilight said, standing up in shock.
“Trouble, I’m afraid. You are aware of your friends at Canterlot High.”
“Yes, I remember them well.”
“I’m afraid your doppelganger has fallen through the portal.”
“Well that can be remedied easily. But I’m not sure why I would want to.”
“What do you mean?” Said Princess Celestia, looking confused.
“I mean I don’t take orders from you. In fact, I think Queen Chrysalis will promote me to General when she finds out I caught a Princess.”
“What!”
In a flash of green flame, Twilight transformed into her real form, a changeling who immediately shot a green laser at Celestia, encasing her in the green liquid.
“Now I just have to call her and the promotion is mine.” He turned around to face her. “It’s best you’re not awake for this.” He said, and as his horn glowed bright with a sleep spell, he turned to make his call.
Sunset walked up towards the Castle of Chaos to see cotton candy clouds zooming around, making brown puddles everywhere. “Wow,” She said, staring at them in shock. I didn’t know that was actually possible. He must have gotten into a fight with someone again.” As she walked towards the castle, she wondered who it could be. “Maybe Screwball? She would be around the fighting age. I don’t think Zany would have caused a fight. He’s five years old for heavens sake.” She stopped to find the door open. “Wow, I’ve spent too much time on Earth. I’m starting to sound like one of them.” She walked in to find Discord and Fluttershy arguing.
“…Each other for all eternity, I assumed you would do the same!” Discord said, eyes ablaze.
Sunset looked slowly around the corner, and saw Fluttershy blink in confusion.
“What are you talking about?”
“But that was never enough for you, was it? Was it!”
“Discord, I don’t…”
She squealed as he grabbed her foreleg.
“Who is he?!”
“Discord, you’re hurting me!”
“WHO IS HE?!”
Sunset thought she should intervene, but she also did not want to be an orange for the rest of her life.
“He?” Fluttershy said, looking at him in confusion.
“That stallion! The one that you were playing tonsil hockey with!”
Sunset’s eyes widened. Fluttershy would never do that.
“What?! Discord, I don’t know what you…”
“You were kissing him! I saw you!”
“Discord, I… no! You’re the only one I’ve ever kissed!”
“Don’t play innocent with me! I saw you! Applejack saw you! You calling Applejack a liar?!”
“What… I…”
He let go of her leg and lifted her up by her necklace.
“Does this mean nothing to you?” He bellowed. “After everything I’ve done for you, after having my children, this is how you repay me?!”
“Discord, please.” Fluttershy begged. “There is no other stallion! My heart belongs to you!”
“Oh, is that so? And what about the rest of you?!”
“Discord!”
Sunset didn’t know who to believe. Applejack was the most honest person she knew, but Fluttershy would never have an affair. She couldn’t think of any other way.
“Discord, you have to believe me! I love you and only you!”
He dropped her on the floor and turned away. Sunset could not bear to watch any more, she turned around too.
“Apparently, you didn’t love me enough!” He said, and Sunset heard something clatter to the floor. “You will regret this! YOU ALL WILL!”
There was a burst of light and a wave of heat. Then nothing. Sunset ran out of the castle, determined to find out the truth, as she could not bear to hear Fluttershy cry.
Chapter 5: Midnight & Shimmer
Luna galloped into the spa, looking around for Twilight. “We are looking for a unicorn that looketh like Twilight Sparkle without her wings or Cutie Mark. Hast she been here?” She asked Aloe, looking around nervously.
“Why yes,” Aloe said getting up from behind the desk. “Right this way.”
“Good, we must find her as soon as possible.”
Aloe knocked on the steam room door. “We have another visitor!” She called cheerfully. “Give her the full treatment!” She then turned around and ushered Luna inside. “She’s right in here.”
Luna walked in to find exactly who she was looking for. “Twilight, We hast been looking all over for you.” Twilight turned around to reveal a changeling face.
“Why?” It asked, looking up innocently. “Do you need me for something?” She then quickly spat out enough webbing to completely encase Luna. “Huh, I guess it was nothing.” She walked out of the steam room and called to the fake Aloe. “Call the Queen. We got another one!”
Midnight had tried as hard as she could to rally a group of ponies to help her stop Discord, but most of them would not believe that Fluttershy would even try to cheat on him. Those who did believe it was even possible, followed her towards the spot she pointed them to, only to find that there was nothing. They all dismissed it as a bunch of hooey and went back to their normal lives. However, they did wonder why Discord had turned the clouds to cotton candy again, but they figured he was pulling a prank and would turn them back within the hour. Midnight walked along the edge of town, wondering what possibly could have happened, when she stumbled upon a rock farm where more pink clouds than usual were hovering over one pony in particular.
Gold Digger was hitting the rocks half-heartedly, when she heard a voice yell, “Geronimo!” She looked up with a start to find a pile of bricks raining down overhead. Twilight watched as she scattered away, slipping on a banana peel in the process. Looking up, she found Discord and his daughter rolling with laughter. She watched as the purple and white pony turned to her father as he said, “Classic! That’s a classic!”
She begged her father, “Can we make it rain now, Dad?” Bouncing up and down at the same time. “Can we, can we?”
“Already?” He said, mildly surprised.
“Yeah! But I’ve something better than chocolate milk!”
“I don’t know what could be better, but go ahead.”
Midnight heard a snicker and saw a new group of clouds appear out of nowhere, dripping a purple substance onto Gold Digger. With a scream, he ran away from the cloud with his hair quickly turning the same shade of purple. Midnight quickly realized what it was and turned to talk with the two delinquents, only to find them all three of them zapping away. She looked around for them for a couple minutes before giving up hope and walking slowly towards the forest. Then she heard a voice. “Hi!”
Sunset trotted out of the Everfree forest to find Midnight sitting on the ground, looking up at the sky. As she watched, Discord, Screwball and Zany teleported away, leaving Midnight in awe. Sunset hid behind a rock as Midnight began searching the farm for any trace of them. When she finally stopped, she hung her head and started walking back towards the Everfree. “Hi!” She said walking up towards her. “My name is Sunset Shimmer. Perhaps you can help me.”
“Um, okay.” She said, looking around. “My name is Midnight Sparkle.”
“No it’s not.”
“What do you mean?” She said, looking around nervously.
“I know what you are doing here, and more importantly, how to get you home.”
“Really?!”
“Yeah. Until then, you will have to stay Midnight Sparkle though; otherwise people will start wondering why there are two Princesses. Especially if one has no wings or Cutie Mark.”
“Why?”
“Because, we don’t want ponies like Lyra Heartstrings trying to get there.”
“Oh, okay.”
“Wait, what is my name?”
“Why are you asking me that?”
“How do I know we can trust you? You might just be out to hurt me and Spike.”
“Your name is Twilight Sparkle and your pet dragon over there used to be a dog.”
“Okay, you pass.”
They started walking towards the Library.
“How were you able to change your coat like that anyway?”
“What do you mean? Isn’t it natural for everypony to be able to do this?”
“Why in the wide, wide world of Equestria would you think that?”
“Because I’ve never seen any pony who was pink, or any other color for that matter, who hadn’t had its fur dyed in some way.”
“We were all born with these colors; we don’t just get to choose in any color we want.”
“Oh, okay.”
“So, I’ll ask you again. How did you change your coat color?”
“Well, I just sort of concentrated and my magic made it happen. I was just standing in an alley when…”
“Hold on, we’re here.”
They arrived at the Library to find Twilight and her friends galloping away at full speed. “Wait!” Sunset called, trying to get their attention. “Agh! They can’t hear me!” They trotted into the Library, not noticing a certain unicorn carrying an encased Princess Celestia and Princess Luna out the back door.
Colgate trotted out of the Library, levitating the two cocoons behind her as she headed for the train station. “Why did Chrysalis want these ponies taken back to Canterlot?” She mumbled to herself. “It’s not like they’re going anywhere.” With a hypnotic spell on the ticket master and the conductor, she was off. “I guess I’ll just have to find out when I get there.”
Midnight and Sunset began rummaging through the Library for any sign of what the others could be running towards. While they were looking, Midnight asked, “Sunset, do you know who Discord is?”
“Yes…” She said hesitantly. “Why do you ask?”
“Because I saw his wife kissing a mean old stallion from Canterlot.”
“WHAT?!”
“It’s true. In the short time I knew her back at CHS, I never would have thought of her capable of that. Apparently, I was wrong.”
“That can’t be right.”
“What can’t?”
“I was visiting his castle to see if he could find you, but when I got there, he and Fluttershy were having an argument about that very thing. Only, the thing was, Fluttershy had no idea what he was talking about.”
“What is a Discord exactly? He looks like a Zoo, put together into one animal.”
Sunset sighed and turned around. “Discord is a draconaquues, a magical creature that can bend reality. He, being the last of his kind, is the Lord of Chaos and terrorized Equestria three times before Fluttershy married him. Now he uses his magic for good, but only because of Fluttershy. Now that She has left him, or something else that we don’t know about has happened, He will most likely start transforming Equestria once again.”
“So… Not good.”
“Yeah, that’s pretty much sums it up.”
Sunset and Midnight were rummaging through the piles of books when the door opened behind them. "Hello?" Said Sunset, turning around to see who was at the door. "Luna! Oh my gosh, I completely forgot, I was supposed to send out the signal." She quickly turned around and began to light her horn.
"There will be no need for that." Luna said, placing a hoof on her shoulder. "Celestia is on her way."
"But, how did she…"
"Hold on a second." Midnight said, stepping between them. "Who are you? And who is this Celestia you're talking about?"
"Twilight," Said Sunset, turning towards her. "Celestia and Luna are the other two ponies that were helping me look for you. We can trust them." She turned back to Luna. "Normally, I would say that we need to get Twilight back but, we saw Discord and Fluttershy having some…" She paused as she searched for the right word. "Relationship problems. We should probably take care of that first. You don't mind do you?"
"Well…" Luna looked over at Midnight. "As long as she doesn't mind."
"Do you mind Twilight? It would mean a lot to the ponies of Equestria if we could take care of this."
"Of course not." Midnight said cheerfully. "I saw firsthand how Fluttershy was treating Discord and how he took it. I would do anything to fix it."
"Good. We will need all the help We can… Sorry, But, what is a hand?"
"That doesn't matter right now Luna, we need to get Celestia and stop Discord before he wrecks all of Equestria."
"Right! The sooner We find her, the sooner We can make everything the way it was meant to be."
The trio walked out of the Library and, as Luna turned back, she noticed a bit of goo she had missed. She quickly shot a green ray of light and vaporized it.
A Changeling walked into an alley, changing out of its disguise as it walked. Looking behind itself, it quickly ducked into a door and disappeared with it. Back at the Changeling Hive, the Changeling stepped out of the door and into the congregation with the rest of them. "Has it started yet?" He rasped, looking at the General in charge.
"It will within the hour. The Queen must still figure out a way out of the care of her Parents." They both snickered at the joke. "For now, go and feed. We must be at full strength for the attack."
"Right!" The Changeling saluted, and turned back towards the door. Opening it, he looked out to see a Manticore. He quickly slammed it shut. "Wrong door." He muttered. Opening it again, he found the same alley he had left. He walked out to find two muggers holding down a mare, taking both her purse and her necklace. "Hey!" The mare screamed. "That was my mother's! Give it back to me!" One of the stallions threw a left hoof and knocked her out cold. The Changeling quickly changed form into an extremely buff Pegasus. He walked up behind the stallions and gave them a good roar. They ran off in fright, dropping the bag and necklace as they went. He walked up to the mare and, changing forms into a brown Pegasus with a dirty blonde streak through his hair, shook her awake.
"Ahhhhh!" She screamed, hitting her with her back hooves. "Get away from me!"
"Hey, calm down, I was just returning your bag and necklace. You don't have to hurt me for it."
"Wait!" She said as the brown colt began to walk away. She quickly trotted towards him. "Thank you. I couldn't have taken them by myself. There must be some way to thank you?"
"Well…" He said, fake considering. "You could stop with the kicking."
"Sorry." She said, quickly blushing. "It's genetic. It's like, the one thing my son inherited from me."
"It's okay, I'm fine. I was just passing by and thought I should help. I really should…" He was cut off when the mare decided on his reward and kissed him full on.
"I have to go. Maybe I'll see you around sometime." She said as she trotted away.
"Yeah. I'll see you around."
Once she was gone, the Changeling sat down, relishing the love he had just absorbed. Hearing voices, he quickly transformed to the first thing he could think of. Glancing down, he saw huge white hooves with golden horseshoes on. Turning his long white neck, he saw huge white wings and a golden sun Cutie Mark. Realizing who he was, he got ready to change again when he heard a voice. "There she is!"
Midnight, Sunset and Luna trotted down the street, glancing down every corner for the Princess. "Where did you last see her?"
Luna turned her head, trying to think of a good lie when they turned a corner.
"There she is!" Sunset said, running towards the alley. "Princess Celestia! I found her!"
"Funny, I smell burnt mustard." Luna thought.
The others followed her down towards the alley. "Sister. What are you doing here?" Luna asked ominously.
"I… I was…" Looking at Luna, she looked where she was nodding her head and quickly read Midnight's mind. "Looking for Twilight, but it would appear that you found her first." She quickly trotted towards the exit. "Let's get her home and then get back to Canterlot."
"Sister," Luna said, placing a hoof in her path. "We have a problem."
"What?"
Luna pulled her aside and whispered in her ear. "They found out about Discord."
"What?!"
"Play along."
They turned towards the others. "Right, let's go."
The foursome galloped through the Everfree Forest and, having already checked the rest of Ponyville, was hoping to find some trace of where Discord went when they stumbled upon a lake. This would not have been worth even remembering, except for the fact that it was made entirely out of chocolate milk. “Wow!” Sunset said, impressed. “Her powers have really improved since I last saw her. She was just a filly then, but she was already a handful.” She then remembered who else was with her. “We must be getting close. This is Screwy’s playground, I should know, I helped her create it.” She walked towards a tree on the far corner, pulling on a couple branches with her magic. “I had her install a magic tracker in this tree so I could keep an eye on her and whoever else she was with.”
“How will that help us?” Celestia asked, looking confused.
“It means that we shall be able to track Discord with his magic.” Luna said, with an exasperated expression and a facehoof.
“Oh, right.”
“Well? What are you waiting for?” Midnight asked, reaching for one of the big red buttons. “Press the button and get on with it.”
“That’s the problem. We may not be able to track him. This machine is very old and may not function properly.”
“But, it’s worth a shot right? I mean, it’s not like we have another option.”
“I guess…” Sunset said, turning around and pressing the “on” switch. The machine hummed to life, and with a sound not unlike the Looney Toons opening theme, it booted up.
“Are you sure this will work?” Luna said, glancing at Celelstia in concern. “How far of a range does it actually have?”
“Well, from what I can tell, the range goes a little bit beyond the Eternity’s Crossing. So it should cover all of Equestria with ease.”
Luna glanced at Celestia and, with a nod, converged on the two unicorns. “Sorry, but we can’t let that happen.” They shot a double laser at the duo and, as Sunset threw herself and Midnight to the side, they hit the machine, thoroughly reducing it to a puddle of metal and wires.
“What are you doing?! We needed that!”
“Yes, well our Queen needed the exact opposite.”
“Queen? The only Queen I know of is…” The unicorns shouted in unison. “Elizabeth!” “Chrysalis!” They looked at each other in confusion.
“Then that mean that you’re…” The changelings transformed as Sunset finished her sentence. “Changelings!” They grinned and charged, Celestia galloping towards Sunset and Luna towards Midnight. Reading their opponents minds, they quickly transformed into the most beloved person they could find.
When Sunset looked up, she found a Flash Sentry pony galloping towards her. She quickly dodged out of the way, firing a flaming laser towards him at the same time. Midnight had a different problem though. The Changeling stood up, towering over Midnight as she suddenly realized just who she was impersonating, simply looked at Midnight and, with a wink and a grin, charged towards the other changeling to help with Sunset. Midnight had no idea what to do. As the two changelings flew off, they changed out of their ruined forms, gaining sleek new bodies in the process. “What do you think made them leave in such a hurry?” Sunset said, trotting towards Midnight.
“I’m not sure…”
“At least we’re still alive.”
“What were those things anyway?”
“Changelings. We don’t have them on Earth, at least not anymore. They’re evil, malevolent creatures with the ability to shape shift into the person you love the most.”
“So… who was that blue haired colt you were fighting with?”
Sunset sighed, glancing dejectedly and the ground. “He was a guy I had a slight crush on back at Canterlot High. I had thought I was over him, but I guess I’m not.”
“So, why don’t you get back together with him?”
“Because this world’s Twilight is his new girlfriend.”
“Ah. So that’s why he was acting like me and him were an Item.”
“Yeah, in any case, who did you get?”
“I don’t know, some pony with a black and green shell, holes in her legs; green, stringy hair and wings like a fly.”
“Bu… Bu… but that’s… You just described Queen Chrysalis in perfect detail! How did you do that? You’ve never even met her before!” Sunset narrowed her eyes and slowly backed away. “Unless… you aren’t Twilight.”
“What!”
“It all makes sense! You have the ability to change the color of your fur. Have you ever done more than that?”
“No! I don’t know what you’re talking about! I fell through a portal and ended up here. I had no idea what a Changeling was until you told me! How could I possibly be one?!”
“Fine, then prove you’re not one.”
“How?”
“Who is the person you love most?”
“Queen Chry… I mean Mom and Shining Armor.”
“Hah! I knew it. You were about to say Queen Chrysalis! I knew it! You’re a Changeling!”
“No way! If I’m a Changeling, then I should be able to transform right? I’ll prove you wrong right now!” Midnight focused and, in a flash of purple flame, she transformed into a purple Changeling, with one exception. She had no wings and a purple horn with fewer holes than normal.
“I knew it! You’re a Changeling!” The reality of that sentence sank in. “You’re a Changeling.” She sat down and started to sob. “What do I do now?” She said looking up as Midnight ran around the lake, screaming and trying to figure out how she was a Changeling. “SHUT THE BUCK UP!!!” She screamed at Midnight, instantly freezing her with her magic. “Why are you screaming? You knew about this the whole time!”
“No! I never knew about this! And now I’m some hideous creature with a purple shell and a weird purple star on my butt!”
“Wait. A purple Star?”
“Yeah! Why does it matter?!”
“Because that means that you are telling the truth.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that you somehow came across a sample of Changeling DNA. Remember Chemistry class? They taught how if you combine to pieces of DNA, it creates an entirely new strand. That and some magic created a new species. Don’t you see? You are the first of your kind. A combination of Unicorn and Changeling.”
“What!”
“You are a Unicorn with the powers of a Changeling!”
“But, where did I get these powers?”
Sunset gasped and spun around, having paced all the way around the lake. “The portal!”
The Changeling walked through the school, intent on finding out who was responsible for the Magical surges Queen Chrysalis had sent her to investigate. She had been shocked when she fell out of the portal already camouflaged. She had no idea why she had come out looking like a teenage girl, much less Twilight Sparkle. She had quickly deducted this fact when, as she walked through the doors the next day, she was greeted by six people calling her name and asking where she had been. She quickly followed suit and responded accordingly, giving them all hugs and making up excuses. They had been following her all day and while she was enjoying the love she tasted, she was happy when the school bell rung and first period began. Walking the empty halls, she turned to find a display case filled with different photos for the past few years. Examining the items inside, she discovered the source of the Magical surges. It was Twilight Sparkle and the six other girls she was with. The Changeling thought hard and snapped as she recalled their names. "Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Sunset Shimmer." She looked at the display of this year. "But, who are these girls?" She wondered, looking at the three oddly dressed girls standing on-stage with microphones. "Queen Chrysalis never mentioned them. They look oddly familiar, but I can't place it." She thought hard but, as she was wasting what precious time she had here, she gave up and focused on the seven girls in the photograph. "I must find these girls. Queen Chrysalis demands that there be no one to stand in the way of her invasion." She walked away, determined to find and capture the other six. However, she failed to notice a blue haired figure watching her from the shadows.
"I don't know what's wrong with her." Flash said, looking at each of the Mane five in turn. "First day she gets back, she acts like she doesn't know us. Next day, she sounds like she's playing along."
Applejack stood up and, with a glance at the others, spoke up. "We believe that was this worlds Twilight, Flash. She came to the school with no idea of what we've done or who we are."
"So…"
"So when I went to talk to her, she worked up into a rage and punched the pedestal of the statue out front."
"And she fell right through." He finished.
"Right. We sent Sunset in after her, but she hasn't come out yet."
"So, if this worlds Twilight fell through the portal, then who have we been with today?"
"Any chance you found a pod in your backyard?"
"Rainbow! Not the time for your movie references!"
"I don't know Flash, We just have to keep an eye on her and hope we get some answers."
"Okay, but I don't like it."
The school bell rang, signaling the final period. "We'll talk later." Applejack said, walking out the door. "I have a dentist appointment. Something about too much apple in my diet."
"See ya!"
Applejack walked out the door and down the street when a big, black van with tinted windows pulled up beside her. She instinctively backed away, but the men in suits were too fast. They bound and gagged her, shoving her in the car and, tires squealing, pulled away from the school
Midnight and Sunset galloped towards Ponyville, swerving to avoid a traveling banjo minstrel. "Queen Chrysalis must have plans for the human world!"
"What do you think she wants?"
"You're the Changeling, you tell me."
"I'm thinking, I'm thinking!"
Midnight skidded to a halt as her horn glowed. In a flash of purple flame, she was transformed into a Changeling soldier. "Wha…" She concentrated again, but to no avail. She could not change back. "Um, Sunset."
"What is…" Sunset trailed off as she saw her. "Oh."
"A little help?"
"Hold on." She said, trotting towards her and focusing her magic. "Camouflage magic has always been difficult. Gimme a sec." She too concentrated with the same results. "Sorry, looks like you're stuck."
"Think we could get some info with this outfit?"
"Worth a shot."
*****
The human Applejack woke up in a cellar, drowsy but not too tired. "Good, you're awake." A man in a black suit walked out of the corner. "TRIGGER! She's awake." He turned back to Applejack, raising his sunglasses to his forehead. "We were wondering if you could tell us about a couple incidents at your school."
Raising her head defiantly, Applejack responded. "Who wants to know?"
"Our phones have been ringing off the hook. We had several calls from the school during the Fall Formal. We sent some agents to investigate, but there was nothing to see. A few weeks later, we get a call about a magical battle between three pop stars, some rainbows and a transformer. My daughter went to your school a couple months later and has been missing since."
"Your daughter?!"
"Yes. I think you can understand why this is personal for me."
"Yes, I believe I do. What I don't believe is that ya'll will believe me when I tell you about Twilight."
"You mean you know what happened to her?!"
"Yes…"
"Then tell me."
"You ain't gonna like it…"
"Tell me."
"Alright, but I can't promise nothin."
*****
Sunset peeked around the corner, motioning for Midnight to follow with her hoof. "Are you sure you wanna do this?"
"As long as we're here…"
"It could be dangerous."
"It's the only way for me to get home. Besides, this Chrysalis sounds like a biscuit anyway."
"Okay… Can you smell the Changelings?"
"What do they smell like?"
"Supposedly, burnt mustard."
Midnight sniffed the air. "That way." She said, pointing towards an alley. The duo walked towards an out-of-place door on the alley wall. "Ready?"
Sunset walked forward, and then stopped suddenly. "We have a problem."
"What?"
"I don't look like a Changeling."
"I don't think I can change you, and you would need to be able to change on the spot."
"What are we gonna do?"
Midnight paced the road for a moment. "I've got it. You go find Discord while I do this. If we can find him, the Queen's entire plan will be ruined."
"Okay, but call me If you need help."
"I will."
"Good luck."
"Likewise."
Midnight pushed open the door and was met with a green, buzzing, fleshy tree. It growled at her and, as she slammed the door, she heard an explosion. "That was creepy." She opened the door again and saw a red Pegasus with a baseball bat in hoof attacking a Hippogriff dressed in blue. She closed the door and opened it one more time.
She was met with a Changeling glaring at her. "Hello."
"Get in! The Queen is about to begin her speech."
Midnight was ushered in and she sat down between a gray Pegasus and a brown earth pony. Looking up at the stage in the front of the room, she saw a flash of green magic and a window opening. Peering closer, she saw a smallish foal with yellow eyes and antlers floating over a purple and white mare. "Be prepared, my children." It said, making sure not to wake the pony behind her. "In the next twenty-four hours, Equestria will be ours for the taking!" Cheers went up around the room. "I need a small force to retrieve this pony and keep her locked up until we have her father safely frozen."
Several Changelings raised their hooves and Midnight realized she should probably do the same. The foal looked around the room. "You." He lit up a Changeling standing in the corner. "You." Another Changeling floated into the air. "And you." He pointed his hoof directly at Midnight. As she floated into the air, she looked around in shock. "Shortly, I will take the place of Discord and anger the Harmony wielders enough that they will have no choice but to turn Discord to stone." Midnight floated quickly to the ground and trotted towards the door. "Halt."
"I have to go and fetch her." She said, pointing to the mare onscreen. "I cannot be late. It is vital to the mission's success."
"Of course. Let me fix the door." The guard turned a knob and the door opened in the middle of the Everfree forest. "You're lucky, you know. The queen only selects the very best for missions of stealth."
"Thank you. I'm sure she has her reasons."
"She does. She just hasn't told anypony yet."
Midnight watched as he closed the door in her face, then turned and walked through the forest. "I have to find Sunset. If these Harmony wielders get to him first, we could have a big problem."
*****
Sunset shimmer galloped towards the screams. "What happened?!"
A blue pony with a toothpaste cutie mark was screaming at Screwball. "What did I ever do to you?"
Screwball looked confused. "Come on, Aquafresh! It was just a joke!"
"Colgate must've had a foal." Sunset thought, watching them as they fought.
"Look around, Screwy. How many ponies do you see laughing?"
As Aquafresh ran off, Sunset made an attempt to reach Screwball. Slipping into a puddle, she ended up all the way across Ponyville. "Just great." She growled, making her way through the chaotic mess once again to try and find Discord.
*****
"You expect me to believe that?!" Night Light yelled, turning his back on the girl in the chair. "What kind of fool do you take me for?!"
"I told ya! I said ya'll wouldn't believe me, and that is the truth!"
"How could my daughter have possibly traveled through a statue and into another world? These things have been theorized by Scientists, including my daughter, but no one ever thought it would be a reality."
"I know it doesn't make sense, but believe me, it is the truth."
Twilight Velvet came down the cellar stairs and stood behind her husband. "Maybe we should hear her out…"
"No!"He said sharply, turning around and pounding his fist on the workshop counter. "There is no way this story could possibly be true."
Applejack spoke up again. "If ya take me back to the school, I'll show you the portal."
"And if there is no portal?"
"Then we can go from there."
"Alright. But if no portal appears, we're going to the police."
"I have no problem with that. If my sister went missin, I would do the same."
Applejack stood up and followed the two parents out the door.
*****
Sunset galloped back through the chaotic mess that used to be Ponyville, heading back towards the spot where she had last seen Discord. Arriving, she was met by Discord roaring. "SHE LEFT ME FOR ANOTHER STALLION!"
"WHAT?!" Screwball said, staring in shock.
"It's true! I saw her!" Discord had started pacing and Sunset cowered behind a passing buffuloerina. "She was playing tonsil hockey with that… that…" Screwball covered her ears as Discord turned back around. "But we don't need her, my darlings! We don't need any of them! We'll show them what happens when you mess with the House of Chaos!"
"Daddy…" Screwball said, voice cracking. "Mom couldn't… She wouldn't! She… she loves us…"
"Loved us!" Discord hissed, floating into the air. "But we apparently were too repulsive for her to continue loving!"
"No! She would never! Mom loves us more than anything! She told me…"
"Lies! All lies!"
"She wasn't… I didn't…"
"Then your talent is clearly flawed, my dear!"
Screwball paused for a moment, eyes filling with tears. "She wouldn't!" She shouted. "You're… you're lying!"
"Am I?" Discord arched an eyebrow and Sunset could not watch anymore. She turned away, but continued to listen. "It's time you learned, my dear: You cannot trust anyone, especially the ones you love!"
Sunset heard nothing for a moment, then: "Well, I suppose I can't trust you either."
"What?"
"I don't want this daddy! It wasn't so bad when it was just a few harmless pranks, but this… this… this is wrong. It's… its evil!"
"Honey, listen to me…"
"NO! You listen! All my life, ponies have told me you were evil and that I was evil too! I never believed them, but now… now I see their right! You promised you would never be evil again! You promised the Princesses, you promised Mom, you promised me!" There was a pause and Sunset peeked around the corner once more. "But you lied."
"Sweetie, I…"
Screwball looked up at her father. "Go ahead, then! Spread your evil! Just leave me out of it." She looked down at her brother. "Leave us out of it."
"What are you saying?"
Screwball turned away, almost seeing Sunset. On instinct, she ducked behind the wall. "Bye, Daddy."
"Screwy, wait!" But he was too late. Sunset heard a teleport spell and found that Screwball and Zany were nowhere to be seen. She watched as Discord floated up to a cotton candy cloud and lay down. "Maybe I should look for Screwball instead." Turning, she tripped over Screwball's paint gun. Standing up and grinning, she used her horn to activate a tracker spell on the gun. Glowing with energy, it began floating towards the Everfree forest. "And here we go."
Chapter 10: *Catchy Title*
Chapter 10: *Catchy Title*
The two parents followed Applejack to the front of the school, passing several students on their way home from school. Applejack stopped in front of the statue. “Here we are.”
“You’re kidding right?” Night Light said, staring at the pedestal of the statue. “This thing? It’s been here for ages. It was the first thing Sweetie Drops investigated when she patrolled the grounds.”
“I’m telling you, this is the portal. I’d go through it if it would prove anything, but…”
“No buts. If you can, then prove me wrong. Step through the portal.”
“I’m telling you, I can’t.”
“And I’m telling you, you must. Or is Juvie more preferable?”
“Fine! I’ll do it. Just don’t blame me if something goes wrong.”
“Just go already.”
“Night. Are you sure we should do this?” Twilight Velvet said, placing a hand on his shoulder. “What if something happens?”
“It’s the only way to know, Honey. I’m sorry, but it’s the only way.”
“Alright. I’m going.” Applejack stepped towards the pedestal, and bumped into the wall. “Oops. Heh heh. Wrong side.” She stepped around the corner. “Alright. Here we go.” She reached for the pedestal and, with a shudder, she stepped through.
*****
Midnight trotted through the Everfree, looking around at the forest in wonder. “Wow! I’ve never seen a forest this big!” She dropped down into a bush when Screwball appeared suddenly, holding a little foal in her hooves. “Where’d she come from?” She whispered, looking through the leaves as the mare collapsed.
“Wow, I’m more tired than I thought.” She said, looking around with puffy eyes. Midnight felt like she should come out of hiding, when Screwball spoke again. “Well, it looks like it’s just you and me bro.” Midnight watched as Screwball looked up at the sky. “Where can we go? Mom will be looking for us, and so will the princesses. I don’t believe what Daddy said, but if it is true… Mom certainly won’t be happy, that’s for sure. What if the princesses punish us?”
Midnight shuddered and began to back out of the bush.
“I won’t let that happen to you, I promise.” She said, hugging her little brother close. “We can’t go home. That’ll be the first place they’ll look for us. We can’t stay with Dinky and I can only imagine what my other friends must be thinking of me right now. Every pony must think I’m a monster!” She held her brother up. “I really screwed up this time, didn’t I?”
She watched in horror as Zany’s eyes began to glow green and Screwball slowly began to slump to the ground.
Then she heard a voice scream, “Snap out of it!” Screwball shook her head and looked around. “What the…” She looked at her brother and dropped him. “You’re not Zany!”
She almost screamed as the little foal scowled and transformed into the wicked queen of the Changelings. “I underestimated you’re perceptiveness, I’ll give you that.” She said. “Though the fact that I have kept the charade this long just shows how good I am!”
Midnight had seen the queen through the green portal at the Gathering, but had never imagined how truly horrifying she really was. As Screwball began to reply, Midnight quickly turned tail and ran for the hills, just trying to get away from the spectacle in front of her. Running through the forest, she dodged Changelings who starred in shock, some shouting at her and calling with a buzzing noise which she assumed was their language. Coming near the edge of the forest, she was knocked unconscious as she charged into a glowing, hovering object.
*****
Sunset tripped as her magic suddenly cut out, the gun dropped to the ground noiselessly. She looked up to see a purple Changeling unconsciously face planting on the ground. “Midnight!” She called, rushing over to help. “Oh my gosh! Please tell me you’re okay!” She shook her, getting no response. “Come on, wake up!” Instead of reviving, her horn sparked with power, transforming her back into a magenta Unicorn. “Well, at least that’s one problem solved.” She hefted Midnight up and placed her in Fluttershy’s abandoned wagon. “No pony uses this old thing anyway.” Hooking herself up to it, she levitated the gun once more and in a flash of light, it was moving again. “Let’s go.”
*****
Applejack stepped through the mirror, colliding with a guard almost immediately. “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry.” The guard looked at her in wonder, then brought his weapon up and, in a voice that sounded extremely familiar, asked: “Where’d you come from?”
“If ya know Princess Twilight, you should know exactly where I came from.”
“Wait, Twilight? What do you want with my wife?” He looked closer. “Applejack? What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be out stopping Discord?”
“First, what is a Discord? Second, I just got here. And Third, Twilight has a Husband?! She’s never mentioned you before.”
“My name is Flash Sentry, and…”
“Wait. Flash Sentry?”
“Yeah. What’s so weird about that?”
“Now I know you’re pulling my leg!”
“You can explain all this later! Right now Discord is out wrecking the country and you’re in here!” He paused for a moment. “What do you mean, you just got here?”
Applejack groaned and turned towards the portal. “Twilight came through this portal awhile back. She saved us from a wicked She-Demon and later three Sirens. Now her counterpart fell through the portal. We sent the Princess’s friend to retrieve her, but she hasn’t come back.”
Flash paused. “Wait. So, Sunset Shimmer came through the portal, took both Celestia and Luna, and went to get Midnight?”
“That sounds about right. Except for the part about a girl named Midnight. Who is she?”
“Midnight is the name she was going by when I found her.”
“So ya know where she is?”
“The Princesses said she was in Ponyville.”
“Well, let’s go find her then!”
“Right!” They both galloped down the hall. Applejack had completely forgotten about her captors. Night Light, Twilight Velvet and Sweetie Drops stood outside the Portal, patiently waiting for Applejack to return.
Midnight opened her eyes blearily, watching trees and bushes pass her by. She sat up. “What…” She mumbled, seeing Sunset pushing the wagon she was in. “What’s going on?”
Sunset laughed awkwardly. “Heh heh. You kind of… walked into my tracking device. I was trying to find Screwball and she had dropped her paint gun after…”
“Wait. Why were you trying to find Screwball? You were supposed to be looking for Discord. What happened?”
“They had a fight. Screwy took her brother and teleported away. I thought it might be wiser to leave Discord alone. He’s not in a good mood.” She stopped, allowing Midnight to step out of the wagon. “What are you doing out here? I thought the Changeling gathering was in the middle of town?”
“Queen Chrysalis selected me and a couple others to hunt down Screwball. She was disguised as Zany. I stumbled upon them in the forest. Screwball was about to fall asleep when a voice called out to her. She snapped back awake and Chrysalis returned to her true form. That was about when I took off.”
“So we don’t know what happened?” Midnight shook her head. “Alright, well I’ve been tracking Screwy with her gun, so we should be golden.” She shook it for a moment, then recast the spell and got it running again. “It fizzles out from time to time, but its working. We seem to be headed for Zecora’s hut.”
“Great! We should be there in no time!” She sniffed the air. “What is that smell!” Then they heard a loud growl. “Oh no.”
*****
Flash Sentry tossed two bits to the conductor, grabbing the two tickets and boarding the train with Applejack right behind him. “Alright then, we should reach Ponyville within the hour. I paid the conductor extra if he could get us there as quick as possible.”
“How’d ya convince him to do that?”
“We go way back. He was the drummer in our high school band. He knows I work for the royal guard, that I’m married to the Princess of Friendship and that the Princesses are in danger. He’ll get us there quick.”
“Good. The sooner, the better.” She looked over at him, thoughts forming in her brain. “Hey, so Twilight never told us. What do I do here?”
“You? You run Sweet Apple Acres down at the edge of Ponyville.”
“What about Pinkie Pie?”
“She runs a Party store with her husband and her three foals.”
“Really? Pinkie Pie? Married?! What’s it like?”
“Well, her husband is just like her, and her triplets take after them both.”
“And what about Rainbow Dash?”
“She and Soarin have a set of twins and a younger foal.”
“Never imagined that. Rarity?”
“Fancy Pants. They currently have one foal and are expecting another.”
“Wow. I hope he’s some big city nut. What about Fluttershy? She’s not married too, is she?”
“Yep. Remember Discord? They have two children and live out in the Everfree forest.”
“Really? Isn’t he like, another species?”
“Believe it or not, they’re not the only odd couple.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, Big Mac and Mrs. Cheerlie have a wonderful young filly named Apple Blossom.”
“Really?”
“Yep. But they aren’t the couple I meant.”
“You mean You and Twilight?”
“No, although I am the second stallion to be married to an Alicorn. We have a nice little filly. Twi insisted on naming her Twinkle Sparkle.”
“Alright, so who’s this odd couple?”
Flash paused, an uncertain look crossing his face. “Um, you and Spike.”
“Say what.”
“It’s true. Cinnamon Stick and Cinnamon Roll are very lucky to have you for a mother.”
“Why? What happened?”
“Oh, that’s right. You don’t know. You were concerned that you weren’t gonna be able to give birth, so you adopted two foals instead.”
“What!”
“As it turned out, you’re were able to and gave birth to a half-dragon half-pony hybrid.”
“What!”
“Listen, Twi explained what Spike was in your world, so I can understand why this is shocking for you.”
“Bu… Bu…But…”
They spent the rest of the trip in silence.
*****
The trio stood outside the school, growing quickly tired of waiting for her to come back through. “Where is she?!” Night Light finally bellowed, turning towards Sweetie Drops. “Mrs. Drops, Would you put down those cards! We need to get her back!”
“Night,” Twilight Velvet placed a hand on his shoulder. “Are you sure?”
“We have to. It’s the only way.”
“Be safe.” She stood back, letting them step towards the statue pedestal.
“Let’s go.” Sweetie Drops said, stepping into the portal.
“I love you.” Night Light said, kissing his wife and stepping towards the portal. “I will bring our daughter back safe.”
“Wait!” His wife called, holding something out for him. “She left this at home. Make sure she gets it.” She handed him a purple hand mirror on a necklace.
Night Light grinned and accepted the charm. “I will.” With that, he stepped through the portal and disappeared.
*****
“Timber Wolves!” Sunset shouted, galloping down the path. “Run for your life!”
“What’s… A… Timber… Wolf?” Midnight panted, stressing herself to keep full sentences.
Sunset ducked past a large tree and into an alcove in the forest wall. “Quick, in here.” She half-whispered. Midnight ducked in just as a large wolf came around the bend. “They’re large wooden wolves held together by powerful dark magic. They mainly live in the Everfree forest, but they have been known to roam the countryside.”
“So how do we stop it?”
“We don’t. We just have to wait it out. Ponies have tried to destroy them, but unless you wanna start a forest fire, we’ve got nothing.”
“What do you mean?”
“If you destroy a Timber Wolf by natural means, in will just reform itself.”
“So we can’t do anything?”
“I’m afraid not. We’re just gonna have to hold out for a bit.”
Midnight sighed and curled up, closing her eyes for a rest. “Might as well get a couple hours sleep out of it. Don’t know when we’ll have this chance again.”
Sunset sat down beside her. “Might as well.” She yawned. “Well, goodnight.” With that, both ponies fell sound asleep.
Midnight tossed in her sleep, dreaming of her old school. As she walked down the hall, she waved and Moondancer. She didn’t even acknowledge her. She sighed and entered her classroom. Taking her seat, she looked up at her teacher’s desk. “Wait, why is Mrs. Candence here?” She thought. “This is Sombra’s class.”
“Good morning class. Mr. Blake is out sick today-” She was interrupted by a cheering student. The principal walked over and handed him a pink slip. “As I was saying, Mr. Blake is out sick today, so we have hired a substitute teacher.” She called through the open door “Mr. Cipher. Will you come here, please?”
Mr. Cipher was a rather spry looking man with an odd sense in fashion. “Class, this is-“ The new teacher ran in front of her, shaking hands with every student in the room.
“Nice to meet ya. Glad to see ya. My mother owns a pizzeria. I’m Bob. I’m Ted. I’m Fred. I’m Larry, but you’ll like Tom.” He slammed his hands on her desk. “I drew a banjo on my mom.”
Speeding back to his desk, he jumped up on top and said to the class. “The name’s Bill. Bill Cipher. But you can call me Discord.” He hopped into his chair, pulling an apple out of his pocket and crunching down. “Any questions?” Everyone’s hand shot up.
Mrs. Cadence stepped out of the room, a little worried about him. She shrugged. “If he does anything wrong, I could always fire him.” With that thought, she headed back towards her office.
“Right, first question.” He pointed at the hand right beside Midnight’s. “You there.”
“M-me?” He stuttered. Composing himself, he asked. “I was- I was just wondering, Why does your suit look like that?” He pointed at the green pant leg, then the brown one. Next, the brown left sleeve, then the gold right one. “It’s all just so…”
“Chaotic? That my friend, is exactly why I like it.” He cackled, and then grabbed four pieces of chalk. Juggling them through the air, he ran back and forth at the blackboard for a solid five minutes. When he stepped back, we were all met with a grand masterpiece.
“Welcome,” He said with a bow. “To Chaos 101.”
Midnight looked around at all the other students, to find they had all vanished. “What!”
Discord looked directly at her. “What are you doing here?”
“What do you mean?” She looked around. “Is- is this a dream?”
“Well, I don’t know. Whenever I come here, I always make the students disappear.” He peered at her. “So why didn’t you?”
“Wait. Are you real?”
“Of course I’m real! I wouldn’t be talking to you if I wasn’t real.”
“So, if you’re Discord, prove it.”
“How?”
“Supposedly, you’re a spirit of Chaos. So, snap your fingers or something. Leave me something for when I wake up.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know. Pick something.”
“Fine!” He concentrated. “Done.”
“Alright then. If I find something in front of me when I wake up, I’ll know this was real.”
“So how are you here? I come here only when I miss meddling in human affairs.”
“Wait. What?”
“I said-“
“Did you bring me here?!” She shouted, pushing him up against the wall.
“Whoa.” He teleported away, landing on a desk in the middle of the room. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Me and Sunset have been spending the past few days trying to stop your rampage! What have you done?!”
“Wait. Sunset? Sunset Shimmer?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“Oh. I get it. You just happened to fall through Starswirl’s portal just as Fluttershy decides I’m not good enough for her. Typical.”
“Look, I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’m just trying to stop you and get home. Now can you help me or not?”
“Well…”
Just then the dream began to ripple. “What’s happening?!”
Discord disappeared, leaving her alone in the class room. “Discord? Discord!!”
She sat up screaming. “Help!” Looking around, she saw a spilled glass of chocolate milk where she had lashed out. “So it was real.” She thought of her old friends, even though they had forgotten her long ago.
“When will I see them again?” She mumbled, rubbing her eyes and standing up. Sunset had left a few hours ago, presumably to make sure the Timberwolf had gone for good.
Midnight sat up and began to make a fire. It was actually quite warm when the sun was down. But every few minutes it would come back up and then it got really cold. She was rubbing two sticks together when Sunset walked back into the cave.
“It’s gone.” She said, lighting the fire with her magic. “Pick up a torch. We gotta get moving.”
“Why? What happened?”
“That thing spent the whole night trying to wait us out. We need to get moving.”
“Where do we go?”
“To the last place I saw Discord. The middle of Ponyville.”
“Are you sure?”
“It’s better than nothing.”
The two mares galloped out of the forest at full speed.
*****
Applejack stepped off the train, immediately slipping into a chocolate puddle. “Ew! What’s up with the sky?” She said, shaking her pelt. “Is this normal?”
“No. Discord’s really messed the place up.”
“So what do we do?”
“I suppose we should try to find them.”
“So, you’re familiar with this place, where do we look first?”
Flash glanced around, looking the chaotic mess that used to be Ponyville. “I guess we could start at the Library.”
“Right, let’s go.”
They ran towards the library, avoiding the occasional tap-dancing buffalo. Arriving, they paused to figure out how to get in. “Where’s the door?”
“Discord.” Flash grumbled. He flew up and around the top of the tree, finally finding the door in one of the branches. “Found it!” He called, pulling the branch down to ground level. “Step in.” They walked in and came up out of the floor. “Hate it when Discord wrecks the place.” They searched the library, and naturally came up empty hooved. They left the library and searched each of their houses in turn.
“I don’t know what to tell ya. They seem to have vanished.”
“Let’s at least go ask the mayor if she’s seen them.”
“Sure.” They galloped towards town center.
*****
Night Light and Sweetie Drops stepped out of the mirror and onto unsteady hooves. “I swear, I did not sign up for this.” Sweetie said, looking down at her hooves in shock. Normally, she would’ve screamed at the sight of it. But she was working. She needed to act professional. “So, where do we start?”
“Well,” Night said, slowly getting accustomed to his new hooves. “We could always ask someone over there.” He pointed at some of the patrolling guards. Noticing the two ponies standing in the throne room, the guards galloped over. “Thank goodness. We’re looking for-“ He was cut off when the guards placed magical hoofcuffs around their legs and cast a disabling spell on his horn. “Wait, what?! Why are you cuffing us? We were just looking for-“
“Save it. We know all about your involvement with this.”
“What?! B- But, we just got here!”
“Save it for the Princess, Bud.” They marched them off towards the dungeons.
“I’m telling you, whatever you think we did, we didn’t do it!”
*****
Locking up the duo, the guards transformed back into Changelings and flew out of the castle. Landing in an alleyway, they met Colgate with her ‘Packages’.
“Need your help guys. I brought these two here, now the queen wants them back in Ponyville. It was hard enough transporting them the first time. This time it’ll be impossible.”
“Right, I’ll take Luna, you two take Celestia. We’ll fly them back.”
They hefted the two cocoons onto their backs, transformed into Pegasi, and flew towards Ponyville. They made sure to be as careful as possible not to be seen.
