"Princess! Princess!"
Over the centuries, Celestia had determined the many different tones and their implications that could be used just by yelling her title. Shouting like that, sans excited greetings, usually meant something very important. The continued calling and the quickness between them indicated a sense of panic. The speed of his gallops and the look in his eyes confirmed a sense of urgency and fear.
"What is it, guard?" She asked with a concerned look.
The guard, rather reluctantly, paused to catch his breath. That was a bad sign that he had been running for a while, "M-Milady! There's an incident in the garden! Two large monsters are attacking!" He answered quickly.
Celestia had heard enough, giving the pony a nod of thanks as a serious frown marred her usually serene face; with that, she teleported away.
She found herself, as intended, flying above the garden and began scanning it. What she saw made her frown a millimeter deeper.
A good chunk of the garden was all but destroyed. Statues lay in rubble, some of the staff were trying to put out small fires, and the guards she currently saw were tending to wounded comrades.
She heard the sounds of fighting and roaring, drawing her attention to the source of this destruction. She flew over to another area where the guards had formed a perimeter around something, with the Pegasi floating above the space. They all looked a bit uneasy, but weren't engaging the enemies…for good reason.
For in her royal garden stood two great beasts…one was a giant red and yellow praying mantis, and the other was a larger grey leopard with a purple manticore-like stinger for a tail. The mantis dwarfed her, but the leopard was only less than a foot taller than her withers.
And both of them were having a death battle.
The mantis swung ferociously at the tiger, its pincers locking around a statue as the feline dodged. The piece of art exploded, electricity cackling between the bladed limbs. With a growl, the leopard's stinger struck its foe. The pincers blocked it, sending the cat's larger attacker back several yards in a skid. The bug lowered its arms to find the predator charging at it. With an odd, wailing growl, the six legged creature jumped up in the air, over the charge. It landed and quickly turned around as its enemy did a quick turn about as well.
With an unholy screech, the insect swung at the ground, sending slash of pure light at its enemy. The big cat let loose a great roar as a wave of utter darkness raced out to meet its opposite.
The two attacks met and instantly exploded, blinding the guards temporarily and scorching everything in a fifteen foot radius- luckily, the perimeter was outside that range. The two beasts marched forward before the smoke even cleared, clearly ready to do battle still. They drew close, prepared to strike...
"That is enough!" Celestia called loudly as she landed on the ground with an audible thud beneath her hooves, her horn flared with magic as she glared at the intruders. She didn't know how they got here, but she would not have her home and subjects terrorized by these two.
To everypony's shock and amazement, they both obeyed, stopping instantly as they turned to face her. She couldn't read the mantis's expression, but the leopard almost looked strangely curious at her.
"You can understand me?" She asked slowly, raising an eyebrow at the strange pair. The mantis cocked its head in confusion, but nodded. The feline blinked, as if bewildered by the question as well. Still, it seemed to understand, "I don't know how you both got here, but you must cease with this fighting, at once," She ordered, leaving no room for argument.
What happened next was very strange for the princess.
Both beasts started screeching and roaring in their own tongue, gesturing to each other as if to put blame on one another. Then, they both suddenly stopped and looked at each other in confusion, making a few more noises. Celestia shared a look with the new captain of the guard, Shining Armor's replacement and both of them shrugged, not sure what to make of it. Both creatures suddenly started making sounds of shock, making everypony tense, waiting for another fight...before they almost face faulted as the two creatures hugged each other tearfully. Celestia was very sure they were both apologizing for...whatever had happened.
After another moment, the two parted and started walking up to the princess. The guards tensed again, but held their ground at Celestia's subtle headshake. She stared hard at the pair as they came to stand in front of her...before the mantis erupted into a brief flash of light
The guards were treated to the rare spectacle of Celestia jaw dropping as a familiar phoenix emerged from the flash, landing on her withers with a happy shrill, "Ph-Philomena?!" Celestia asked in shock, getting a happy squawk from the flaming avian. Celestia turned to the leopard, shadows covering its body as it vanished...leaving a possum in its place, known to some as Luna's pet, Tiberius. He scurried over to her hooves, obviously hoping to go back to his owner.
As all the soldiers stood, uneasy and stunned, Celestia looked between the furry familiar, than to her feathered one, and finally to the destruction they had caused. She ultimately let out a sigh and muttered one suffering word.
"Discord..."
"Ohhh, who's an adowable scorpion-leopard!? You are, yes you are!"
Philomena, Celestia, and the three guards sweat-dropped as they stood in the lunar Alicorn's bedroom, watching Princess Luna baby-talked to and scratch the transformed-possum's belly, making him wiggle happily on his back with her hooves on his belly, "Well, I'm glad that you're taking this so well, Luna," Celestia said evenly, just a bit annoyed with that reaction.
"Ohh, lighten up, sister! Tibby here is too cute! If this is truly a prank of Discord's, it is one I enjoy," Luna said gleefully.
"They did destroy the gardens and put about two dozen mixed members of the staff and guards in the medical wing, Your Majesty," Iron Sky, a male Pegasus, reminded neutrally.
"Yes, but I am relieved to hear that none were permanently injured," Luna said with a smile, scratching Tiberius under the chin, "Besides, am I wrong in my understanding that these two, not recognizing each other, both attempted to ward off an unknown monster from attacking our royal home?" She pointed out with a smirk as the pets nodded rapidly, "Misunderstanding aside, it is quite commendable."
Iron Sky sighed, "I suppose I can't blame them, since that's essentially what we were doing ourselves," He mused.
"Do not fear, good guard, we will insure our companions manage these new abilities well in the future," Luna promised before scowling. Tiberius, sensing fun time was over, changed back as she placed him on her withers, "Still, this is a rather strange bout of mischievous from Discord, Sister. Are we sure he simply hasn't contracted a cold?" Luna asked as they all shivered in horror.
Chaos sneezes. Not good, very not good.
"He's my main suspect for the moment, but I'm having trouble reaching him. He seems to be ignoring my attempts to summon him," She said with a scowl, "I'm assuming he's hiding for the moment, if this is his doing."
"Possible, but regardless, we should be on the lookout for any more cases like this," Luna advised, raising an eyebrow as the guards all twitched oddly, "Is there a problem, Captain Iron Sky?" She asked curiously.
The Pegasus, his armor enchanted to make him look like a standard grey coated guard, cleared his throat awkwardly as both princesses focused on him, "There...have been a few strange things happening in the guard for the last day or so," He answered nervously.
"Strange how? And why were we not informed?" Celestia asked with a hint of disapproval.
"Apologies, Princess. It wasn't harmful and we weren't even fully sure what was going on yet, so we were trying to take better stock of the situation before reporting it," Iron Sky said, turning to one of the others, "Go wake up Moon Punch and tell her to use IT to get here," He ordered, getting a salute from the soldier a she walked off.
"Moon Punch? Isn't that one of the lunar guards?" Luna asked in suspicion and surprise.
"Yes, she is, Milady," Iron Sky answered, taking a moment to gather himself, "Over the past day or so, we've begun to notice some of the soldiers exhibiting...odd abilities," He answered carefully.
"Abilities? Explain?" Luna requested with a curious scowl.
"A lot of it didn't seem too weird. For instance, a private named Brass Brick suddenly gained a knack for fire magic," Iron Sky began, getting interested looks, "At first, I thought it was just the troops doing some off-duty training and finding a new talent or two."
"A reasonable conclusion," Celestia agreed off-hoofedly.
"Then some of them became...well, technically, they should be downright impossible," He answered unsurely.
"Oh? In what way?" Luna asked with a raised eyebrow, only to be interrupted by the familiar sound of a teleport spell.
The princesses nearly blasted the lunar guard sitting on Luna's bed, eyeing them sheepishly, "Sorry," She apologized, rubbing her head in embarrassment as she climbed off.
"You are Moon Punch, correct?" Luna asked evenly, getting a nod and bow from the fanged mare, "Then tell us...what...your...," Luna trailed off with wide eyes, Celestia already blinking in realization, "You're a Pegasus."
"Well, bat-pony while the armor is on," Moon Punch answered with an awkward chuckle. There were, in fact, bat-ponies, but not every Lunar Guard with wings was one- armor with illusion spells was very handy for appearances.
"And...you teleported," Celestia finished Luna's point.
"Yep! I woke up one night and found I could teleport...was hard explaining that to the staff sergeant," She said with a sigh.
"...Are there more cases like this?" Celestia asked slowly.
"...Vanilla Hoof, a maid, can walk through walls and got her back hoof stuck in one," Moon Punch informed off-hoofedly.
Everypony turned to her and blinked, "That is new to me," The Guard Captain said in surprise.
"It only happened this morning as I was heading to bed," Moon answered with a shrug.
Luna and Celestia shared a look at that, "It would seem that whatever gave Philomena and Tiberius the ability to transform is also affecting ponies as well," Celestia commented.
"Indeed. Strange though. While confusing and alarming, these powers could be a great aid in the future, with time and practice," Luna mused curiously, "Could this be Discord's misguided attempt to benefit Ponykind?"
"Possible, but he had best aid us in minimizing incidents like today's if that is the case," Celestia said with a shake of her head, "For now, it might be best to request Princess Twilight attend a meeting and get her up to speed on the situation."
"Yes, and in the meantime, we can figure out why your shadow is doing that," Luna said idly, drawing everypony's attention to Celestia's shadow, which looked like a giant tentacle swishing about, "Hmm, wonder what powers I'll get," Luna mused as Celestia continued to stare. Iron Sky cautious took a step closer to it, only for it physically slap his hooves, "I best get something sun related if you have shadows," Luna said dryly as Celestia glared at her in disapproval.
Meanwhile
"See ya Granny, see ya Winona!" Apple Bloom called as she left the farm house to go meet with her friends, waving over her shoulder at her grandmother, rocking away with the family dog eating out of a dog bowl on the porch.
She hummed a tune as she went, feeling in good spirits today for some unknown reason.
"Hi Big Mac! Hi Winona!"
It must have been something in the air, because she felt extra ready to meet the day with a smile.
"Hi Sis! Winona, don't "go" on the path!"
It wasn't like today was anything special though. Maybe she just slept well.
"Be a good girl, Winona!"
Okay, maybe she hadn't gotten enough sleep, she realized, wondering how Winona got all over the farm so quickly.
"Ahh-there-you-are-Apple-Bloom!"
The young earth pony nearly jumped as she found that Rarity was suddenly standing right next to her, "Rarity! You scared me!"
"Oh?-Dreadfully-sorry-about-that,-Dear!" Rarity apologized quickly, yet calmly with a smile, "I-do-believe-this-belongs-to-you?" She asked with a knowing smirk as she pushed forward a shivering, scared, and fuzzy Winona towards Apple Bloom, "I-found-her-outside-my-boutique," She explained idly yet speedily.
"Winona? How...ya know what, never mind," Apple Bloom said with a head shake as she turned to the unicorn, "Thanks, Rar-" She started, only to blink and find her gone, "Huh?"
"Hey, Apple Bloom!" A familiar voice greeted, making her blink in surprise.
"Scootaloo! Where are you?" Apple Bloom called in surprise, looking all around for the filly, but seeing no trace of her.
"Ruff, Ruff!" The puffy Winona barked, looking straight up
"Up here!" Scootaloo called again, making Apple Bloom look up at her flying friend.
"Scoots, since when can you fly!?" Apple Bloom asked in surprise, blinking as she saw the filly's passenger- how Scootaloo could carry that was beyond Apple Bloom's understanding of flight.
"Since this morning! I got something for you!" Scootaloo said with a grin as she plopped down yet another Winona. The purple maned filly blinked as she spotted the other hound look alike, "Wow, when did Winona have a twin?" She asked as she put her Winona down on the ground, both dogs yapping happily at each other.
"She doesn't," Apple Bloom answered with wide eyes, "You think they might be changelings?" She whispered loudly to Scootaloo.
"I thought they only turned into ponies?" Scootaloo asked in confusion.
"I don't know, I'm not some bug-pony expert! All I know is there is...more than one Winona now," Apple Bloom trailed off, not sure how many she actually saw back at the farm. Four? Five? Why was she the only one noticing this?!
"Well, look on the bright side? You got more pets!" Scootaloo said with a grin, trying to perform an aerial backstroke before getting wobbly in mid-flight, "Okay, that is dizzy!" She said, righting herself before she fell out of the air.
"How are ya doing that? Yer wings aren't even flapping that much!" Apple Bloom pointed out.
"Bloom, I have no idea what I'm doing right today, but I hope it sticks," Scootaloo answered honestly, "Ohh, just wait until Rainbow Dash sees me now!"
"Yeah, well, help me show these two ta my sister," Apple Bloom requested with an eye roll, as she nudged the playful dogs back towards the farm, "Hopefully someone knows what to do about this..."
Meanwhile
*BANG!*BANG!*BANG!*BANG!*
"Okay, okay, I'm up," Twilight said with a yawn as she rolled her neck and blinked away her sleepiness. She squinted as a baby dragon came into focus, "Spike? Why do-*YAWWWWWN!*-you have a broken shovel?" She asked curiously. Spike sighed in relief before looking very, very annoyed, "...What? There something in my mane?" She asked in confusion. Spike, in response, jumped up on the bed and pinched Twilight on the nose, "OW! Spike! Whoot woos thoot for?!" She demanded, her words coming out awkwardly as she rubbed her nostrils. Spike, still annoyed, pointed to a corner of the room, "...Why is there a pile of broken stuff in my room?" She asked flatly, eyeing the heap, almost twice as high as her withers. Spike, still silent, held the shovel up again and pointed to its dent. Twilight looked at the rounded shape..., "WERE YOU HITTING ME WITH THOSE!?" She screamed in disbelief.
"NOTHING WOKE YOU UP! You actually GIGGLED when I broke most of these!" Spike finally answered, obviously frustrated as she went over to the pile.
"You hit me with a FRYING PAN?!" Twilight yelled in outrage.
"Are you even LISTENING to me!?" Spike asked with a glare.
"YES! I'm Just Having A Hard Time Processing It!" Twilight answered loudly.
"I'm buying a metal bat," Spike informed flatly.
"Please be very sure you need to use it before you ever do," Twilight requested, also flatly, as she turned back to the pile, "How the buck am I still alive? You should have fractured my skull ten times over!" She asked in confusion.
"Buck if I know! Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get a drink and lay down- all that banging gave me a headache," Spike informed with a sigh as he left, "Oh, and message from Princess Celestia on the stand."
Twilight blinked as her assistant left, her brain still booting up, before glancing towards the table next to her bed. There indeed was a scroll, lying innocently for all to see.
Twilight's mind rapidly spun through twenty terrible reasons for why the Princess had sent her a letter: Had she contracted some skin-hardening disease? Did some Alicorn allergy suddenly come about? Was this some weird effect of the Elements of Harmony? Or the Rainbow Power? Or was this an odd way of growing into her new species? Did Discord go evil again? Did Discord's brother show up? Or his father?! Were the Changelings invading again!? Had the Griffons declared war!? Was Sombra back?! Was she being fired from being a Princess!?
At that one, Twilight banged her head against the crystal wall. That last idea was a good sign that she wasn't thinking straight, prompting her to take several deep breaths as she collected herself. It could have nothing to do with...whatever was going on with her. It could just be Celestia checking to see how she's settling in to her new home…or informing her of a meetings or event. Or asking her if one thing or another was from her or Discord, a prank he occasionally played.
With one more breath, she righted herself and opened the letter with her magic.
"My Dear Princess Twilight
I regret to inform you that this letter is not one between friends or even former mentor and former student. I have recently become aware of strange events taking place in Canterlot and possibly other places. Creatures, be they ponies or otherwise, have suddenly gained new abilities for no apparent reasons and many defy what that individual is normally able to do. We do not know why this has occurred or the full extent of these abilities yet. I have witnessed full body transformations and heard of element manipulations, along with things we have not classified yet
I must request that you come to a meeting in Canterlot and I would advise bringing your friends. Partially to catch them up to speed on this as well, but also to see if they are experiencing any changes like this as well, as we do not know how many it affects or how wide the area yet. As you are no doubt aware, these abilities will likely lead to panic and accidents if we do not handle this situation with care. I do hope to see you soon.
Your Fellow Princess Celestia"
"..." Twilight took a deep breath as she reread the letter to make sure she understood it correctly, realizing that she did indeed read it correctly, "...Oh my bucking buck, this is bad!" She declared with pinprick eyes.
Everypony, no, possibly every living and thinking creature gaining some measure of new power out of the blue?! That...The amount of chaos that could cause was unimaginable! No one would know what kind of power they had until it made itself obvious and even then, they wouldn't know how to control them! The amount of damage a young unicorn could do without knowing what they were doing was already a risky hoofful in their lives, but at least they knew how to deal with that! This was...this wasn't new territory, this was a new continent!
"Okay, okay, calm yourself Twilight," The Alicorn of friendship shakily said to herself, her wings and tail twitching a bit as her face trembled in its forced-calm expression, "It might not be that bad. Transformation, elemental control, you've heard of all those things before! Sure, there's bound to be some hiccups, but this should be manageable, right?" She asked herself, looking towards her mirror...prompting her to stare owlishly.
The mirror rippled like water as a figure stepped out of it. Normally, she'd be worried but the mirror-traveler threw her for a loop. It was a very sleepy and groggy Sweetie Belle, looking about lazily before determining she had made a wrong turn and walking back into the mirror without a word.
Twilight only resisted the urge to faint because she knew Spike would probably start hitting her again.
Author's Note
And there we go! For the record, yes, everyone/thing is liable for superpowers. Also, not everyone is going to have powers you'd expect them to have. In fact, most probably won't.
Next Time, on Land of Superpowers:
Twilight sees some of her friend's powers, the meeting with the Princesses gets underway, and Discord shows up.
"So...superpowers?" Spike asked with a small smirk as Twilight paced in front of her castle, waiting on their friends to arrive.
"No one said superpowers, Spike," Twilight said with a scowl to herself, never ceasing in her stress-induced walking, "It's just that certain creatures, not ponies exclusively, are showing unexplained and abnormal abilities for no yet-apparent reason."
"So, yeah, superpowers," Spike repeated, a bit smugly.
"UGGGH! That makes no sense!" Twilight groaned, throwing her head in the air.
"...Huh, almost expected Discord to pop out at that," Spike mused, stroking his chin.
"Ohhh, if he did do this, then I hate it! The sheer logistics of giving different powers to all these various different creatures! Gah! Spike, I know I'm going to have soooo many episodes just trying to rationalize a pattern that probably doesn't exist!" Twilight fumed, breathing heavily for a moment.
"Twi, you okay?"
"WOW!" Spike yelled, jumping on the equally-shocked-Twilight's back, looking to the surprisingly sneaky pegasus, "Rainbow! What the hay, you'll give a drake a heart attack!" Spike complained, clutching his chest tightly as the mare blushed with a downcast look.
"Sorry...," Rainbow said meekly.
The Alicorn-Dragon duo blinked and shared a look at that, "Dash, did you switch minds with Fluttershy?" Spike asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Wouldn't that make her Fluttershy?" Twilight pointed out.
"So you do acknowledge these are superpowers?" Spike asked with a triumphant smirk.
"I'm resigned to that summary until we have more data," Twilight deadpanned as Spike blew a raspberry.
"I didn't switch minds!" Rainbow answered with a very uncomfortable look, "It's just...I can't fly," She answered in a subdued voice.
The two had concerned looks at that, "Why? Did you sprain your wings?" Twilight asked in concern.
"No, nothing like that...," Rainbow answered awkwardly.
"...You have a superpower related to your wings, don't you?" Spike asked bluntly, getting a weak nod.
Twilight face-hoofed, "And my friends are affected as well," She muttered with a sigh.
"You guys too?" Rainbow asked curiously.
"Not me, but Twi's got some kind of invulnerability or metal skin or something," Spike informed with a smirk.
"You don't know that," Twilight retorted through gritted teeth.
"The pile of broken metal stuff with skull-shaped dents begs to differ, Your Denseness," Spike snarked smugly.
"...Moving on! Rainbow, what is wrong with you?" Twilight asked, ignoring Spike's snickering.
Rainbow raised an eyebrow at the strange exchange, but acknowledged the question nonetheless, "I'm...not sure exactly how to explain it, but...every time I open my wings...something happens," She informed slowly.
"...Is it something embarrassing or gross?" Spike asked cautiously.
"No, I just hate not being able to fly...and I'm a bit worried I won't be able to anymore with...this," Rainbow answered, raising one of her wings ever so-
*ZAP!*
-slightly.
Twilight jumped back as an electric bolt shot out of Rainbow's wing, leaving a scorch point in the ground that, thankfully, didn't catch fire.
"...I'm pretty sure that makes you a literal Wonderbolt," Spike commented with wide eyes.
"Very funny," Rainbow Dash said with a small glare, "Twilight, you know what's happening?" She asked hopefully, biting her cheek, resisting the urge to do ANYTHING with her wings.
"Not exactly, but you're not an isolated case," Twilight answered, stroking her chin, "Ponies in Canterlot have strange things happening as well, according to Princess Celestia. I have to assume that's happening to others in town and possibly throughout Equestria," Twilight admitted.
"Well, that's good, I guess," Rainbow mused thoughtfully, "At least if I'm not the only one going through it, I know other ponies might figure out what this is and what to do about it," She elaborated before frowning in concern, "Think the others have it?"
"Hello-Twilight!-Hello-Rainbow!"
"We brought Fluttershy!"
The trio blinked as they looked toward the new arrivals. There stood Rarity and Pinkie Pie, both smiling- Pinkie's obviously wider, but Rarity's did seem more energetic than normal. Between them, they were holding a disoriented and swirly eyed Fluttershy on their backs.
"...What did you two do to her?" Rainbow asked in surprise as Fluttershy sat on the ground.
"So...fast...and...sudden...," Fluttershy whimpered out, looking just a bit green.
"I-just-don't-know-what's-wrong-with-the-dear. She-seemed-to-be-having-trouble-walking-and-since-it's-an-emergency,-Pinkie-and-I-decide-to-carry-the-poor-mare-here," Rarity answered in a slightly rapid, but still understandable, voice.
"Yeah, Flutters takes her time some times, but it was almost like she had a big owie! We didn't find any, so we figured she must just be tired," Pinkie Pie answered in her usual hyper voice.
"...I think Rarity has it, but I'm not sure about Pinkie," Twilight noted with a raised eyebrow.
"Twilight, when are we EVER sure about Pinkie Pie?" Spike asked dryly.
"What he said," Rainbow said with blankly, seeing Rarity practically vibrate in place.
"Is-some-thing-the-matter-Dear?" Rarity asked with a head tilt.
"Super speed, nice," Spike mused.
"You don't know that," Twilight hissed to him.
"Pinkie, Rarity, are you two forgetting anything?" Rainbow asked evenly.
The white unicorn and pink earth pony both looked thoughtful for a moment before gasping, both blitzing away in blurs. Not as fast as Rainbow would have, but still blurs.
"I hate to see her leave, but I love to watch her go," Spike quipped with a smirk.
"...Well, Pinkie has it," Rainbow noted with wide eyes.
"So, you were saying, oh Princess of Omniscience?" Spike gloated.
"Fine, fine, I get it- no more denying they're superpowers," Twilight consented with a sigh, "Fluttershy, you okay?" She asked to the still-down pegasus.
"I'm fine, girls, the ride was just a bit bumpy," Fluttershy admitted shakily as she rolled onto her back, "I'm just going to lie here until the world stops shaking..."
"Take your time," Twilight said with a nod, looking to Canterlot to see if the Chariot was visible yet. The answer was unfortunately no.
"...You know, I'm actually glad I didn't get super speed," Rainbow commented randomly.
"Really?" Twilight asked curiously.
"Well, yeah, I'd go faster, but...look; one reason is because I've gotten this far on my own, so using a "superpower" almost feels like cheating. But not only that, it'd be BOOOORING! Yes, I get to go faster, so what? I'd rather get something new, to be honest...I just wish it wasn't messing with my wings," Rainbow ranted off, glaring at her folded wings at the end.
"Huh...that makes sense," Twilight admitted.
"Yeah, it'd be like me getting fire breath," Spike said with a grin.
"Or me telekinesis," Twilight joined in with a small chuckle.
"...Or a pegasus getting flight?" Fluttershy asked with wide eyes.
"Yeah, that would kind of suck," Rainbow admitted, blinking as she felt something on her neck. She looked over one shoulder and found nothing there. She looked over the other and still found nothing. Yet, she still felt it. Annoyed, she got up to turn around, finding only empty space. She scowled, wondering if Pinkie or even Rarity was pulling a prank on her.
"Hiiiiii~" A familiar voice sang above her.
She looked up and her jaw fell open as she came face to face with a flying Scootaloo, floating over her, "SCOOTS?! You can fly!?" She said in disbelief and joy. The giddy filly could only grin and nod rapidly. Rainbow plucked the young mare out of the air and hugged her close, making the orange-purple filly giggle in delight, "That's awesome, Scoot! How'd you pull that off?" She asked curiously, glancing at the wings with a raised eyebrow, "They don't look bigger..."
"I don't know! I just woke up this morning and I was flying!" Scootaloo cheered, flying out of the grasp in excitement.
Rainbow blinked, looking to an curious Twilight, who nodded as in to say, 'It's probably from the same thing.'
The fastest flyer in Equestria nodded, turning back to the filly, "Listen Scoots, as much as I want to celebrate with you, I got to go to Canterlot with Twilight. So keep an eye on the fort while I'm gone, okay?" Rainbow requested with a grin.
"You got it, Dash!" Scootaloo saluted before flying off.
Rainbow waited before her sister figure was out of hearing range before giving Twilight a blank stare, "Twilight, if we have to undo all of this, I am going to break whatever asshole is going to make me break that little mare's heart," She said flatly.
"No arguments, assuming someone did this all intentionally," Twilight acquiesced with a sigh, glancing to the other pegasus, "Fluttershy, you okay?" She asked in concern, the pink maned mare still lying on the ground.
"Oh, um, yes, it's just...I think I'm stuck," She confessed sheepishly, trying to roll over to no avail.
"Seriously?" Rainbow asked, getting a nod, "Twilight, you better do this. I might open my wings if I have to try too hard."
Twilight nodded in agreement, not wanting Fluttershy to get shocked, literally. She grasped the animal whisperer's hoof with her own and pulled back, surprised to find a lot of resistance, "I'll take a look," Spike said, jumping off before Twilight could even think to ask him. The Alicorn kept pulling, Fluttershy hissing lightly as Spike leaned over to get a good look under her, "What the...?" He mumbled in surprise, reaching his claw under Fluttershy's back.
"H-hey, that's starting to work!" Fluttershy exclaimed as she jerked forward a bit.
"Keep going Spike, we're almost ther-wow!" Twilight called, only to fall back with Fluttershy on top of her.
"We're-back!" Rarity and Pinkie Pie announced as they came to a halt right in front of the group, right where they had stood before leaving. They blinked, Pinkie grinning and Rarity smirking, as they took in the compromising sight.
"Are-we-interrupting-something?" Rarity asked with a teasing smirk to the two.
"No, Rarity, I just pulled Fluttershy up too quickly," Twilight answered with an eye roll as the blushing pegasus climbed off her without another word.
"Shy, did you go rolling in bushes or something? You got a loooot of vines in your wings!" Pinkie noted with a grin.
"I, um, don't know," Fluttershy noted, unfolding her wings to see all sorts of long grass and plant stems intertwining in her feathers.
"The-nature-look-suits-you-as-grand-as-always-my-dear," Rarity said with a smile as she pulled some of the greenery out of her friend's appendage, "Still,-you-really-shouldn't-make-such-a-mess-of-your-lovely-wings."
Twilight considered asking what the two speedsters went to do, but decided against it, "Now we just need to wait on Applejack," She commented to herself.
"No need, I'm already here, Sugarcube," Applejack called, walking out from beside the castle.
"Were you eavesdropping?" Rainbow asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Sorry, yeah. Got a bit too curious over this whole thing. Weird stuff going on back on the farm too," She answered apologetically.
"Dare I ask?" Twilight ask evenly.
"Scootaloo was droppin off Wiona before I got the message," Applejack answered flatly.
"So?" Rainbow asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I was already dealin with three other Wionas at the time," Applejack elaborated bluntly.
"...So you have a self-replicating dog," Spike mused, "She must be Tartarus to clean up after."
"Spike," Twilight scolded lightly.
"I hope he's wrong, but he might be right," Applejack admitted with a sigh.
"You-have-any-idea-what-they-are-talking-about?" Rarity asked to Pinkie Pie.
"Nope! But it sounds interesting and exciting!" Pinkie Pie answered cheerfully.
"Princess Twilight?" A formal voice called respectfully.
Twilight blinked as she turned to see a Lunar guard, a bat pony to be exact, approaching them with no chariot. Both things were vaguely odd, "Did something go wrong? Where's the chariot?" The Princess of Friendship asked curiously.
The bat mare smiled disarmingly at that, "No, nothing's wrong, your highness. But with ponies gaining abilities without warning, she thought it might just bit a little risky sending you on a chariot with ponies that might suddenly turn into a spider without knowing how to turn back," She explained sheepishly.
Everypony blinked at that, "Is...Really?" Rainbow asked in confusion.
"We're basically treating everyone like they might be a bastard child of Discord now," The night guard-mare answered with a nod, not joking in the slightest, "Now, Your Highness, Ladies? If you would please come close to me, I can get you all to Canterlot," She said with a smile.
"...How?" Applejack asked with a raised eyebrow.
Moon Punch just smirked.
Meanwhile
"Are you sure it was a good idea to not send over the chariot?" Luna asked curiously, watching as Tiberius acted very catlike in chasing the tendril that Celestia's shadow had become.
She wondered, was Celestia intentionally moving it just out of his reach or did the shadow, figuratively or literally, have a mind of its own?
"If it was just Twilight, I would have recommended just her coming on her own via wings, but the more we know about this, the better," Celestia explained with a thoughtful scowl.
"That and you're curious as to what abilities, if any, she and her friends have gained," Luna noted with a smirk.
"Luna, this is serious," Celestia scolded lightly.
"I know, Sister," Luna assured with a scowl of her own, at her sister's worsening behavior, "Is something wrong, Celestia?"
The sun princess sighed and nodded, "Just thinking too deeply on how badly this could go. We already know fire manipulation is an ability that has appeared. Imagine ponies, or worse yet fillies and colts, accidently setting places ablaze just by getting annoyed. And there's no telling what could...oh, by Star Swirl's beard, imagine the inmates in the prisons suddenly gaining these abilities!" Celestia said with a groan as she massaged her head.
"Sister, do not dwell on such possibilities just yet. For now, all we can do is try to prevent such things by getting a handle on this event and discovering how it is happening," Luna instructed soothingly.
Celestia let out a deep breath and smiled, "How did I make it a thousand years without you?" She asked lovingly.
"An obsessive amount of cake and tea?" Luna teased.
Celestia glared blankly at her sister for that, "I told you those stories were exaggerated!" She hissed before scowling, this time curiously, "Hmm, it seems like they should been here by now..."
"I'd give them another few minutes, then message Spike and ask the situation," Luna suggested...smirking as several bodies suddenly appeared, sprawled on the floor, "Speak of the Ursa, there they...Moon Punch?!" Luna cried in shock, seeing that everypony was disoriented, but Moon Punch was lying on her back, looking very unwell.
"Ugh, Princess, I'm dead, I'm dying, I'm dead...," The night guard groaned in exhaustion as the princesses raced over to the group, Luna going straight to her guard mare.
"Twilight, is everything alright?" Celestia asked in concern.
Twilight watched as Spike jumped off her back, running over to a potted plant to vomit into, "Define alright?" Twilight asked uneasily.
"Moon Punch is alright, just...near magical exhaustion, I believe," Luna called over in relief.
"This is what that feels like!?" Moon Punch asked in what felt like boneless agony, "Oh, Bucking dammit. I do not envy you horn heads...no offense, Princesses, and, er, Ma'am."
"Think nothing of it, Moon Punch. You are most definitely off duty for now," Luna assured with a smile.
"Thanks...turns out teleporting passengers is a lot harder than teleporting myself. Had to make a dozen or two smaller jumps between there and here..." Moon Punch grumbled, getting close to passing out.
"Guards, take her to the medical wing and inform the physicians of EXACTLY what happened," Luna ordered to the two nearby soldiers, getting salutes from both of them.
"We're fine, Princesses," Rainbow assured, blinking several times to get her vision straight, "Just...rapid teleporting seems to be a bit like a rollercoaster, without the fun part," She explained.
Celestia smiled in relief, taking a breath as her horn glowed, a faint golden light forming over all of them as their heads cleared, "...Pain relief spell?" Twilight guessed in thanks.
"Anti-hangover spell, actually," Celestia answered with a small smirk, "Works great on stomach issues in general though."
No one dared to think on why exactly the princess knew that spell, "...Am I imagining things?" Applejack spoke up with wide eyes at the solar diarch's hooves, "Or is Princess Celestia's shadow flexin like a snake in a muscle contest?"
Everypony looked down to see that, yes, Celestia's shadow was still moving about. Said Alicorn cleared her throat at that, "Safe to say, it seems that no race of pony is immune to this event, nor does it seem to be exclusive to ponies," She answered calmly.
"Excuse-me-Princess,-but-what-event?" Rarity asked curiously, getting raised eyebrows from the elder royals.
"Super Speed," Spike answered flatly.
"Ahh," Luna said in understanding, "Miss Rarity, you may not be aware of this, but you are actually speaking in a very...quick manner. And if Spike's words hold true, you are likely moving faster than you realized."
"Oh,-my!-I-was-wondering-why-everypony-seemed-so-sluggish-today," Rarity said in surprise.
"Princess Luna, has anything shown up with you yet?" Twilight asked curiously. The lunar princess just looked at Twilight and snorted...small whiffs of flames jumping from her nose, "...I'll take that as a yes."
"Twilight seems to be invulnerable at times," Spike spoke up, "She couldn't feel anything while asleep, but she felt me pinch her nose after waking up."
"Says the hatchling that used my skull as batting practice," Twilight grumbled under her breath, getting an eye roll from Spike. "We think Pinkie is the same as Rarity, but...it's Pinkie."
The party pony beamed widely as Celestia rose an eyebrow, "I see. I take it your...ability has something to do with your wings, Rainbow Dash?" Celestia asked patiently to the unusually quiet and subdued mare.
"They shoot lightning whenever I open them. At all," Rainbow all but grumbled as Applejack patted her on the withers. "I think Flutters makes plants grow," She added in, the pegasus nodding a bit.
"Applejack, has nothing changed for you?" Luna asked curiously.
The farmer smirked a bit as she feigned thoughtfulness, "Well...maybe just a few things," She admitted, oddly playful as she stood up, as if to pace...
"Though, nothing to get too excited about," Another Applejack said, sitting right where she had been.
Absolute Silence.
"...What. The. Buck!?" Rainbow said in shock and awe, "That is SOOOO- Oh, hay! Pinkie, hug me, don't let my wings ope-"
*ZAPP!*
Rainbow winced as she scorched the marble floor in her excitement, "...Sorry, Princesses, Twi? Could one of you magic up some rope or something before I burn the castle down?" She requested apologetically.
"It's quite alright, Rainbow Dash," Celestia assured, even as Twilight did as Rainbow requested, who gave her a sympathetic look...before rushing over to the Applejacks.
"FASCINATING! Exact copies, down to the simplest details!?" Twilight asked in amazement, looking over them keenly.
"Yep, and we even got the same mind. Albeit, staring at you from two places is a might bit weird, Twilight, "Applejack, the one on Twilight's right, admitted before she walked back into her other self and merged, "Not exactly sure how I'm doing and undoing it, to be honest. Just sorta...happens."
"So. Much. I need. To know," Twilight said with a massive grin, Applejack scooting back a tiny bit.
"Twilight Sparkle," Luna called calmly, though also a bit amused, "It might be best to get a handle on your own powers before taking interest in the mechanics of others."
"Yah, breathe, Twilight, breathe," Spike advised, patting her withers, prompting her to take a deep, calming breath.
Applejack, no longer mildly worried about ending up being dissected, stepped back to the group, "So, Princesses? No sliver of an idea as to what caused this mess?" Applejack asked curiously.
"Yeah, this could be awesome, but I'm guessing this'll be annoying to figure out how to control," Rainbow added in, motioning to her wings.
"That is partially why I asked all of you here," Celestia answered patiently, "When was the last time any of you saw Discord?"
All eyes went to Fluttershy, her answer most likely the right one. She only looked slightly nervous at all the attention, "Hmm, he did say he was heading to Chaosville about four days ago."
"Right before any of this happened, and to the one place we can't physically get to. How convenient," Twilight commented in annoyance.
"Oh, oh, I saw him than too!" Pinkie Pie cheered, suddenly at Fluttershy's side, "He said the Harmony was smelling funny and he didn't want to be sneezing all over the place!"
"...The Harmony smelled funny?" Twilight repeated skeptically.
"Well, he is the Spirit of Chaos and, at the very least, formerly Disharmony," Luna reminded with a shrug, "That might be the truth for him."
"Wait...please, please don't tell me we got these powers from a Draconequus induced cold!" Spike pleaded before face-palming.
"For now, we must assume it's something more permanent," Celestia pointed out with a scowl, "This...may also be Discord's intentional doing. Whether for underestimated mischief or as a misguided gift to Equestria, it is hard to say," Celestia mused.
"Fluttershy-dear?-Has-Discord-mentioned-anything-about-trying-to-help-ponies-or-pull-a-prank-recently?" Rarity asked curiously.
The pegasus looked up thoughtfully, "Nothing about a prank, but he does muse about trying to help ponies...he's had a few bad moments since Tirek...but he never mentioned anything like this…except for maybe the double-marks," Fluttershy answered, mumbling at the end.
"Double-marks?" most of the room asked with raised eyebrows.
"Hmm? Oh, yes, Discord sometimes doesn't like Cutie Marks, something about limiting potential, but he said once he'd like the idea of a pony having another mark showing their next best talent," Fluttershy explained.
"Not a horrible idea," Luna consented with a shrug, "But not exactly what we're looking for."
"Are we really sure this is Discord?" Rainbow spoke up with a scowl, "I know I'm not usually his biggest fan, but the guy usually likes to bask in whatever he does, even if you can't prove it's him."
"You raise a good point, Rainbow Dash," Celestia admitted with a nod, "But it is still strange that Discord hasn't responded, in any fashion, to my attempts to summon him," She added on with a scowl.
"Ummm, Princess?" Applejack spoke up awkwardly, "Begging your pardon, I don't know much about magic like this, but...isn't it possible that whatever is happening to everypony, includin you yourself, makes it so Discord can't feel the summons?"
"That...is a possibility," Twilight mused as the Princesses blinked and turned thoughtful.
"Assuming that Discord isn't behind this, he would still be a boon in sorting this debacle out," Luna mused with a scowl.
"Hey, is it just me or is it getting a bit chilly in here?" Pinkie asked idly, looking around the throne room.
"Yes,-I-do-feel-a-bit-of-a-chill-as-well," Rarity seconded, rubbing her hooves together.
"Yeah, I'm feeling it too," Spike agreed with a shiver.
"Okay, Spike's a reptile, I get that, but what's with those two?" Rainbow asked in confusion.
"Another ability?" Luna suggested.
"Or super-speed makes them hyper aware of temperature differences," Twilight mused, rubbing her chin, "...And now I feel it," She admit it, starting to see her breath.
"I imagine somepony has stumbled onto an ice or weather related power," Celestia mused, scowling as she glanced to her throne and saw the waters around the dais starting to freeze and the flowers wither, "...Something isn't right."
"Ummm, why is there ice on the ceiling?" Spike asked in worry.
Everypony immediately looked up, seeing that there was indeed water solidifying rapidly along the throne room's ceiling, "....That can't be good," Applejack summarized
"Everypony get behind my sister and me and stay together!" Luna urged. Celestia formed a shield while Luna blew fireballs from her nose and used her magic to hold them, keeping them warm from the frostbite that would surely come at this rate.
By the time they had done this, the throne room doors were frozen solid and the stained glass windows were starting to creek and crack.
"Twilight Sparkle, are you POSITIVE this isn't your unintentional doing?" Luna asked over her shoulder as Twilight used some spells to help insulate the heat in the room better.
"Yes, I think so, why?" Twilight asked with a scrunched brow.
"Because we have not seen an ability with this range and potency yet, Twilight," Celestia answered with a scowl, "It would make sense if this was powered by an Alicorn."
"........" Twilight paused at that before her eyes went wide, "Oh no....."
"Umm, girls?" Fluttershy spoke up nervously, "Wh-what's that?" She asked, pointing to the air in the middle of the freezing royal room.
Twilight numbly walked forward to stand by her fellow princesses, her eyes gleaming at the odd shimmer of intense light floating there. There was something...unnatural about it, almost wrong.
"......It's a portal," Twilight whispered.
"How can you be sure?" Celestia asked in concern.
"I...don't know, I just do," Twilight answered, confused by her own words.
Spike spoke up at that point, "But...if it's a portal, than whe-"
*SLINK!*CRAWWWWWWWWWW!*
A slash through the air was replaced by howling winds rushing to a void. It was almost like thunder without end. And as the vortex kept up, the ice and windows broke, being sucked in with the wind. Yet the cold remained, intensified even, forcing it to refreeze together in midair, only to shatter again to refreeze once more. For what felt like hours but was only a few minutes, this continued until the winds finally came to a halt.
Celestia tentatively brought down her shield, eyeing the icy formation forming n the midst of the room. It looked like a giant ice sculpture, somewhere between a spider web and a whirlpool, large curved beams of ice forming to a solid ball of ice at the center, with smaller ones in-between them. And the way the sun shone off the ice and frozen pane glass....
"Beautiful...." Rarity whispered in appreciation, Pinkie Pie awing over it.
"What. Was. that!?" Luna asked, confused and alarmed.
"Perhaps this...portal failed to form properly?" Celestia suggested with a head tilt at the structure. Honestly, if it wasn't in her throne room, she would be calling it an excellent if extreme work of art as well.
*Creeeeeeee*
"Well.....that wasn't ominous at all," Rainbow muttered as everypony took a step back.
"Maybe it's just going to break?" Applejack suggested hopefully.
"I...wouldn't be too sure of that," Twilight commented, "Fluttershy, be ready," she whispered to the pegasus.
The pink maned mare blinked, "For what?" she whispered back.
"Oh, you'll know it when you see him," Twilight answered uneasily.
*CRASH!*
Fluttershy didn't have time to question that, as something busted out of the ice formation, shattering and collapsing it as a result. All eyes watched the icy rubble cautiously. Most of them thought they had seen something just before the collapse. What, they weren't sure, but they were sure it had been there.
Just as the princesses were about to step forward, they went wide eyed as a limb emerged from the rubble. A talon, to be exact…a blood soaked eagle talon.
Bursting upwards emerged the torso of Discord, still half hidden in the ice and panting wildly. More alarming was his state of being. He was covered in patches of blood and other colored liquids mixed in. Frost clung to his fur and horns. There was an ice-covered slash on his torso, neck and two on his lion arm. His eagle talon was covered half way up and down the elbow, making disturbing popping and cracking noises as he moved it. And part of the membrane of his bat wings was missing.
Blood dripped from his lips as he glared with unsteady, rage-filled eyes at the ponies. His lips curled up cruelly as his murderous and crazed gaze turned toward Celestia.
"....Discord?" Celestia whispered in disbelief, seeing the mighty chaos god brought low and wounded so heavily.
"D-dick move, Celestia, dick move," Discord whispered, spitting out blood, that froze and stabbed into a chunk of ice. He clutched his talon arm with his lion paw, one eye wincing as he stepped fully out of the ice. The rest of his body didn't look much better, the cloven hoof having lost most of its fur to what looked like acid burns, while the draconic leg had teeth marks in it. The tail just lay limp, as if paralyzed. In fact, it might have been.
"Discord, what happened to you?!" Twilight yelled in horror.
"Oh, isn't it obvious, TwiTwi?" Discord asked with a hollow, broken laugh, "I lost my powers! Most of them, at least. A few random ones seemed to slip through whatever you did, Celestia, but really, if you want me dead, at least have the ovaries to do it outright," Discord mocked as he slowly treaded over the ice.
"Discord, please listen, this is NOT my doing!" Celestia replied urgently, not sure to be more worried for herself or Discord, who looked to be heading for Death's door.
"I mean, I get your love of ironic punishment, but really, taking away my chaos and leaving me to the ravages of my own Chaosville?" Discord asked with a scowl, ignoring her denial, as shards of ice began to rise around him, "That's cold, even for you."
"Ohhhhh, buck," Rainbow whispered, summing up most of their thoughts.
"Discord! Calm yourself!" Luna instructed with a glare, "We understand you have been through an ordeal, but we are not your enemies! You are hardly the first one today that something strange has happened to, let me assure you," Luna tried to explain, snorting fire from her nose.
"Oh, very nice trick, Lulu," Discord said with a grin that just didn't reach his eyes, "So, let me ask, how many were in on it? Come on, how many were on board with finally offing the Draconequus, once and for all!?"
"Discord."
The Lord of Chaos looked down to see Fluttershy had somehow gotten right in front of him, floating at his shoulder level. She stared up at him soulfully, placing her hoof over his heart, "It's okay. You can stop now. No one hear wants to harm you," She promised soothingly, much how she had done many other animals in the past, "You can rest now. You're safe now."
The mismatched creature stared at her for a moment before slowly giving her a lion-arm hug, letting out the pitiful groan of a tired and beaten animal. The mare wrapped her hooves around his neck, trying her best not to freak out about wanting to treat his injuries. He needed to be calmed down first.
"Well.....that was a bit too close for comfort," Spike commented numbly.
Discord sighed as he looked back up at the much more relaxed mares, "Okay.....you ponies got ten minutes to explain what the Tartarus is going on!" He demanded with a small snarl, ruined by his wincing, "......because, I'll probably pass out after that," He added on as he moved to sit down.
"Luna, melt the doors and get some doctors and medics in here," Celestia instructed urgently, eyeing Discord in a mixture of concern and wariness. She turned to Twilight, who was doing much the same until their gaze met.
They nodded in unspoken agreement. If whatever was going on had affected even Discord, then not only did this get a lot more complicated, but it also meant no creature was off limits: From the lowliest insects to the mightiest gods.
And if Discord could be taken down from his level, did that not many that somepony, someone could be brought up to those same heights of power? More than one? Further?
It was a strange, unknown world now.
Author's Note
Well, there's the new chapter. Had the mane six show some of their abilities and, low and behold, Discord has lost his omnipotence and replaced by new abilities as well, ice being a major one, but boy did he get chewed up. And yeah, after barely getting out of that alive, his mind made a small jump and thought Celestia was behind it. Given their history and that there aren't many others that could potentially do that, we shouldn't be surprised.
Still, hoped you all enjoy this little display of powers. Until next time!
PS Everyone has at least two powers, but some have more than that.
Celestia should be angry…she should be. Her throne room was covered in ice and Discord had not only arrived, but all but threatened to kill them after accusing them of betraying him.
But she couldn't bring herself to feel even a bit of bitterness right now for the Lord of Chaos; Or, former Lord by the looks of things. More surreal than any work of his once overwhelming magic was the sight of Discord's scarred body. He sat on a large chunk of ice with Fluttershy sitting nearby with a comforting hoof on his draconic leg. To face one's own realm turned upon them in a fight for survival, any creature would be driven to the edge of sanity and paranoia.
Not to mention, the damage to her throne room was mostly cosmetic; the ice needed to be melted then dried, the windows and plants needed to be replaced and the throne needed some small repairs.
Currently, said Draconequus was quickly being attended to by no less than nine unicorns: six doctors, and three guards with healing magic. They bathed his body in a mixture of golden and emerald lights as they desperately tried to heal the wounds before their patient's condition deteriorated. How it could, they didn't want to know.
"You should be dead," one of the guard-ponies whispered in sheer disbelief, gaping as he watched Discord's side gashes starting to heal. Quicker than they should be, but still an agonizing crawl.
"I guess I'm a Lich then," Discord joked dryly, scowling at the royals and heroes before him. "You're telling me that, in the same freak event that I lost most of my powers, you ponies started gaining your own?" he inquired in a low voice of interest and irritation, his talons drumming across his leg.
"Not just ponies," Luna corrected gravely. "My possum and Celestia's phoenix were affected as well, gaining the form of a large feline and a giant mantis respectively," she elaborated, not sure if he was aware of their pets' names.
"Hmph. That doesn't bode well," he remarked thoughtfully.
"Yeah, imagine what the dragons and Ursa Major will get!" Pinkie Pie pointed out, sounding more excited about that than she should be.
"You're not thinking small enough," Discord retorted, not the least bit amused as he rested his chin on his lion paw, the lesser of the two gashes free of ice now.
"Hey, hey, careful! You'll open your wounds again if you shift around too much!" one of the doctors warned frantically.
Discord paid him no mind. "If a possum can receive it, then even an ant might be able to," he pointed out evenly.
"The...ants?" Twilight repeated with wide, wide eyes as horror fueled her mind. "B-b-but insects outnumber all other species by a million to one, if not more!"
"Wait, so the bugapocolypse is real?!" Rainbow asked in shock.
"I-knew-such-creatures-would-be-the-death-of-me,-but-I-never-imagined-the-world-as-well!" Rarity declared, hoof over her chest.
"Silence!" Celestia called, just barely raising her voice as she glared at Discord intently. He returned the look, the only change being a raised eyebrow. "I can say it's safe to assume you had nothing to do with this?" she summarized.
Discord's eyes darkened as the ice near Celestia's feet crackled, loud and ominous. Her shadow struck out at the ice on instinct, barely grazing it even as she maintained eye contact. Rainbow jumped back in surprise at the sound and sight, causing her wings to shoot up and zap Applejack. The scorched farm-mare twitched as she fell into the hooves of...another Applejack. "We're fine ya'll," she assured as everyone minus Celestia stared at her and herself.
"...Applejack has clones. Interesting," Discord mused, actually looking at the scene a bit like his old self for a moment. He turned his attention back to Celestia with a frown. "No, Celestia, I didn't give out superpowers and allow myself to be mauled by my own home."
"Good. However, this seems like something you would do as much as it seems like something you would understand," Celestia pointed out.
"You want ME to make sense of this?" Discord asked skeptically.
"Nonsense seems to have abandoned you for the time being," Celestia countered evenly.
"Ohhhhh, that's a low blow," Rainbow remarked under her breath as Luna, Spike and the ponies looked at Celestia in surprise.
"..." Discord didn't say anything for a moment, glancing down at Fluttershy. "What can you do?" he inquired idly.
"M-make plants grow, I think," she answered quietly, still worried about him even as he healed.
"Hmm. Of course you would be a tree...," Discord paused before looking back at the solar princess. "If we assume that...whatever this is took away ALL my powers and gave me new ones, then I can tell you one thing: it's not just one power and there is little indication of any limit to what they can do. I think it's safe to assume that everypony probably has at least two, but those two could be almost anything..."
"How many do you possess?" Luna inquired with a head tilt.
"At least six, maybe more," Discord answered with a shrug.
"Six?!" Twilight repeated in shock.
"And here we thought it'd be eleven," Pinkie murmured to herself, stroking her chin as Twilight gave her an odd look.
"Just can't ever stop being over the top, can ya?" Applejack asked in amusement, still holding up her other self.
"Wouldn't that imply that the stronger individuals would get more powers?" Celestia inquired.
"Yes, which means Tartarus is going to be a mess if it reaches down there. Still, ponies have more magic in their body on average than most races, so I'm going to stand by my Two-Power rule for ponies. You Alicorns though are bound to have several more," Discord elaborated as he let loose a mighty roll of his shoulders. The doctors and guards all flinched back as the ice on his body shattered off him into snowy dust. "Thank you for your help, docs," he said, wincing as he stood up. Fluttershy rose with him, flying to keeping her hooves on his shoulder supportively. "But I'll handle the rest from here."
"Sir, please! You need bedrest and a proper hospital visit!" one of the doctors pleaded desperately as the former Lord of Chaos limped forward, his tail dragging behind him.
"And what would a pony know of tending to a Draconequus?" Discord inquired, chuckling at the silence as he waved dismissively and raised his claw to the air in the same motion. The whole room grew tense as he slowly brought it down, literally tearing a hole in reality to expose a swirling vortex of grey and black.
"...What was that about losing your powers?!" Rainbow asked with an eyebrow twitch.
"My claws are razor sharp, okay! They can cut through space, apparently. How else do you think I got here?" Discord snapped in tired annoyance.
"Discord, where are you going?" Fluttershy asked softly.
"Your place, where else?" he asked with a fake smile, as wide as he could give her. "I wasn't lying about passing out and I'm about out of time."
"You are welcome to stay here if you wish, Discord," Luna offered as she stepped forward.
"I'll take my chances with the cottage next to the forest of death, thank you very much" Discord shot back coldly as he stepped through before a response could be made, leaving a worried Fluttershy watching as the portal repaired itself.
"...I always thought I'd pay my right hoof to see that fella brought down to earth and given some humble pie," Applejack commented offhandedly.
"I think I preferred him the other way," Rainbow pointed out, Applejack nodded. "...When did you absorb the clone?" the pegasus inquired, getting a shrug from the earth pony.
"I think it's best if we let Discord recuperate before asking him for help again," Twilight commented cautiously.
"Agreed. Discord is in a troublesome place as far as his mind goes. He has lost a great deal of his power, a part of his identity and will need time to heal his paranoid mind as well as his body after...whatever he faced in his own realm," Luna stated with a heavy sigh.
"Two powers...?" Celestia muttered, glancing back at the non-Alicorns in the room. "This situation already looked dangerous with just one."
"He could be wrong," Twilight offered with a shrug. "Discord is the exception in every case. While I wouldn't be surprised if Alicorns got two or three more, he may have overestimated ponies. For once."
"...Forgive me, your highness, but didn't your pet have light and transformation powers?"
The group turned towards the group of guards and doctors that had healed Discord who had been conversing with Fluttershy.
"You raise a good point, Doctor...?" Luna inquired with a head tilt. Being an immortal goddess meant she had little reason to meet with a medical expert.
"Hoofin Smart, Princess," he introduced with a nod. "Though, I suppose that might just be a result of their bond with you and your sister."
"Doctor, if you don't mind me asking, could you tell me a bit about what you learned regarding Discord's physiology?" Twilight requested a bit too eagerly.
The doctors and guards looked a bit uncomfortable. "Apologies, Princess, but what we learned was more puzzling than it being a mystery. Logic, by all rights, applies to that one without his chaos magic to bend reality to his will. And yet, by all logic, he should have never survived this long. He should have been in too much pain to even speak, let alone sit upright! Too much blood was lost, bones had punctured organs, muscles had been torn, and amputation should have been needed for at least one of his wings. Yet he appears able to walk it off," he explained helplessly.
"Perhaps Discord possesses a powerful regenerative ability from recent happenings?" Celestia suggested with a raised eyebrow.
"A very powerful one, if so," Smart admitted, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, Princesses, Ladies, but we are ALL in uncharted territories now," he informed gravely. "Now, if you'll allow us to go, we need to return to the medical wing."
"Yes, thank you for your services good sirs," Luna agreed with a nod as the group of nine left.
A very pale Fluttershy rejoined them, to Rainbow's concern. "You okay, Flutters?" she asked, wanting to wrap a wing around her.
"Y-yes, I ju-just wanted to ask them advice on how to h-help Discord, but..." she trailed off with unshed tears in her eyes, "I don't know how to help him."
"...It's best if you just be there for him, Fluttershy," Celestia said, sighing as stress rolled off her. "I trust Discord to survive even this, but I'd rather not face him with powers that windigos could only dream of, if his fears get the best of him."
"You...think Discord might hurt somepony?" Twilight asked in concern.
"He's mortal now- or more mortal than we've ever seen him," Luna mused. "It would not be unexpected for him to lash out at a perceived threat before his sense of vulnerability subside."
"Okay, putting Discord aside for right now, what the buck do we do?" Applejack inquired.
"We should alert the public-" Twilight started.
"No," Celestia interjected. "Not yet. I want to send a message to all the border towns and cities, to see if anything odd is going on there. I'd like to know how far this has spread before telling everypony the situation."
"Wouldn't that put ponies in danger, not knowing about this?" Twilight inquired.
"Discord's paranoia is not unreasonable. Imagine how ponies will react if they're all looking over their shoulders, wondering who does and doesn't have a power," Luna countered.
They all wanted to deny that but remembering past events, like Zecora moving in, reminded them of some issues that ponies had as a species.
"Twilight, I need you and your friends to keep an eye on Ponyville and the forest wildlife. It might give us some idea of what to expect long term," Celestia requested, frowning in worry, "But don't hesitate to evacuate the town if something too powerful attacks. We don't know all of what we're dealing with yet. We won't for a long while."
Twilight nodded determinedly...before her stomach growled to her shock and embarrassment.
Luna smirked as her sister smiled fondly while Twilight's friends had a giggle at her expense. "I believe you can stay for dinner and the night if you wish. I'm sure there are many long days ahead for us all," Luna invited sagely.
Meanwhile
Discord collapsed to the floor the moment he got through the portal, groaning and almost roaring as he clutched his sided. A thin sheet of ice spread around the wooden floor of Fluttershy's cabin as he wretched in pain.
Where once a endless well of wild chaos surged in his chest, now only a sphere of ice remained. He almost welcomed the pain, if it helped him ignore that. Never had he envied ponies or even Alicorns. They would only feel a gain from this, never that something was taken out of them and replaced with.....something else. It would take him a while to accept something so....solid as a part of his being.
A smirk forced itself onto his pained face as he held out his talons in front of his face, a blackness about it. On the upside, there was some variety to it. That helped, that helped a lot.
He breathed, deep and slow, before passing out as the pain subsided.
What could have been minutes, hours, or days later he frowned in his sleep. He fell on the floor, why was he on something soft now? He poked open his eyes, finding he was on the couch, covered up in a blanket. Thankfully, neither were frozen. He heard something scrapping and glanced to the floor.
There was Angel Bunny, grumpily cleaning the ice off the floor with a small broom, breaking it up with the handle.
Discord scowled. Fluttershy wasn't home and he probably would have noticed the door opening, let alone being picked up, so...
"Ho te buck id you ge me on tis c'ouch?"" Discord mumbled in a tired, slurred voice. The bunny just glared at him without so much as a bit of chitter before going back to work. Discord didn't have the strength to bother further so with a flex of his digits, he shattered the ice. Hopefully that would make the job easier on the little guy....
Author's Note
Well, I'm back motherbucker! Oi, sorry about the long delay on everything. Shit happens, life happens. Hope you all enjoyed this. And yes, Discord has been brought down to lower levels and its not pretty, for anyone. But being the Former Master of Chaos, he has some idea of whats going on even if he doesn't know the cause.
And, yes, that's right, everypony has at least two powers but the Alicorns and Discord get more. That said some of the regular ponies get REALLY dangerous powers.
