An Offer Too Good To Pass Up
( Pip is an OC earth pony, which I neglected to mention in the chapter itself. I should re-write this to give some background detail. )
It's a typical, pleasant day in Ponyville. Well, except at Miss Cheerilee's school. Yet again, the bigger foals--some of whom are younger than Pip--have hogged all the playground equipment, and there's nothing she can do about it. Well, she could complain to Cheerilee, but that would be the easy way out, and the other foals would get their revenge on her as soon as school let out.
So Pip was relegated to sitting by herself in one corner of the playground, yet again, stewing over the fact she was a runt, and constantly teased for it. Why had life been so cruel to her? She tried to think of something she could do. She had once before tried to convince Zecora or Twilight Sparkle to use magic to make her normal-sized. But no, that would also be "the easy solution" rather than "the right solution". She kicked a stone out of frustration.
Discord, Lord of Chaos, was familiar with Pip's predicament. He'd inconspicuously witnessed the taunting the young filly had endured on several occasions. Perhaps he could make use of her angst? Yes, he could offer a solution to her problem in exchange for favors, and mold her into a loyal follower who would help him to spread chaos to all of Equestria!
Discord waited patiently until Pip wandered into a secluded area of the playground, then snapped his fingers and teleported himself right in front of her.
Pip startled at Discord's sudden appearance, and let out a little shriek, but due to how far she was from the other students and how noisy the playground was, nobody heard her.
Pip turned around to run away, but Discord merely snapped his fingers and appeared in front of her once again! "Now, now, at least give me a chance to introduce myself before you run away, little filly," he said to her.
"I know who you are!", Pip nervously replied. "Miss Cheerilee showed us the statue you were trapped in!"
"Ah, then we can skip the introductions and get down to business," Discord said.
"I don't want to have any business with you! Go away!", Pip protested.
"You may not be so eager to be rid of me once you've heard what I've come to offer you, Pip."
"...offer me?", Pip repeated, confused. What could the Lord of Chaos possibly offer her?
"Indeed. You see, I'm well aware of your 'little' insecurities."
Pip gritted her teeth. How rude of him to presume to understand what her problems were! "What of them?", she demanded to know.
"Well..." Discord began, drawing out the suspense. "Suppose I had a way to make your problems go away?"
"What, you want to make all the bullies disappear?", Pip blurted.
"No, think bigger!", Discord said with a smirk.
Pip blinked. "You can make me bigger?", Pip replied, disbelievingly.
"Yes! Think of it. You could outgrow those who taunt you, and then nobody would dare to bully you!"
Pip's mouth hung agape. She had to admit that would be pretty awesome! She absolutely hated being a runt in the eyes of her peers, and even some ponies who were younger than her. "What...what do you want in return?", she asked at length, afraid it would be something nefarious that could get her into lots of trouble, and cost her her soul or something. She'd heard nothing but bad stories about Discord and how he liked to spread chaos.
"Oh, I merely want to see justice served," Discord said, crossing his fingers behind his back. "I want you to give the bullies a taste of their own medicine. Nothing more."
Pip could hardly believe the terms of Discord's offer. It was win-win for her! A little voice in the back of her mind warned her that it was probably some kind of trick to get the better of her. But the thought of towering over her tormentors was so very appealing to her!
Discord watched patiently as the proverbial gears spun in Pip's head.
"...exactly how much bigger would you make me?", Pip asked. It couldn't hurt to ask, after all.
"Ah! It's good that you thought to ask for specific terms before agreeing," Discord said approvingly. He snapped his fingers and a tape measure appeared in his hand. "Stand up straight," he requested.
Pip did so. Usually she was anxious about getting measured, but this was different.
Discord proceeded to measure Pip's height. "You are six hooves tall," he announced. With another snap of his fingers, the tape measure disappeared. "The other foals your age are an average of seven and a half hooves. So...I could make you a little bigger than that. Perhaps eight hooves tall?" he offered. "How does that sound?"
"Make it nine," Pip said. She wanted to be a lot bigger than average!
Discord pretended to debate it for a moment. "Very well, then. If you accept my offer, then when you wake up tomorrow morning, you'll be nine hooves tall, but you must promise to treat your bullies the way they treated you. Do we have a deal?"
"Yes! Thank you!", Pip exclaimed. This was going to be awesome!
Discord grinned broadly. "You won't regret this," he promised before snapping his fingers and disappearing.
Pip smiled to herself, excited. She returned to the main part of the playground and watched as the bigger foals enjoyed the equipment. For once, she couldn't wait to go home and get to bed.
