.

On a cold, dark night, a glowing yellow fogbank floated through the empty streets of New Canterlot City. The fog spiraled upward along the side of the Courthouse, up to the Clock Tower, to the back of its glockenspiel, and the four big minute hands on all four of the big clock’s faces began to spin rapidly.

That particular morning, Spike was extremely tired.

He kept sensing a mysterious cloaked figure gliding past the balcony windows. Then a sinister shadow with long fingers on clawed hands grew along the walls of Spike’s master bedroom as he slept. Suddenly, the military tech alarm clock on his nightstand counted up as minutes passed in seconds. Meanwhile, in his own quarters, Fancy Pants slept on as the numbers on his clock quickly climbed.

When the clocks all reached seven a.m., they abruptly stopped... and Spike bolted up in bed, his mouth opened in a gasp. He glared at the clock then rose out of bed, and he, Celestia, Luna, Fancy Pants, Fleur de Lis, and the servants all gathered in the castle’s main kitchen.

“It’s still dark,” Red Ribbons, the head maid, said as she glanced out the kitchen window. “A storm front must be moving in.”

“Not according to the weather report,” Cobalt Stone, the second butler, replied.

“Since when can weathermen predict the weather, let alone the future?” Lemony Crumble, the head butler, asked.

“Maybe the clocks are wrong,” Twinkleworks, the second maid, said.

“That’s it! I’m calling Time of Day,” Spike stated.

He reached for the kitchen’s wall phone, dialed a number, and then waited.

“Oh, great, a recording,” he groaned.

“At the tone, the time will be 3:12 a.m.,” the voice on the machine said. “So go back to bed and leave me alone!”

And then the call got cut off.

“I wouldn’t trust the Time of Day with the time of day!” Fleur commented.

“Well, according to the Naval Observatory website, it’s 4:23 a.m.,” Fancy Pants said. “The clocks all say 7:23. The clocks are wrong.”

Needless to say, it was hard to get back to sleep after that.

And since everyone was already up, Celestia decided to make them all a big breakfast of her famous berry pancakes. But when she groggily opened the refrigerator, she saw that the key ingredient was missing.

“What happened to the eggs?” she asked in confusion. “There were two dozen eggs in here last night, now there aren’t any.”

While Celestia tried to solve that mystery, Spike went back to his room and decided to get dressed. As he made his way upstairs, he kept wondering why all the clocks had been sped up. He knew there had to be an explanation. That’s when he heard the maniacal laughter.

That was never a good sign.

.

As he approached the Zenith Industries’ main building later that morning, Spike paused when he spotted an elderly man with rose-colored sunglasses lounging on one of the large decorative stones in the middle of the rock garden out front. He was sipping a cherry slushy, munching beef jerky, and reading a Playboy.

Then he removed his shades and grinned at Spike.

Spike moved toward the main entrance, a confused frown on his face, and after he passed through the turnstile and entered the building, he turned back to look at the garden once more, only to find it empty... and the man in the shades was gone.

It was like he was never even there.

After he rode the elevator up to the top floor, Spike thought he could grab some shuteye in Fancy Pants’ office, but a sound caught his attention and he ducked behind the desk.

“What? What’s that?” he exclaimed. “I’ve heard that sound before! Oh, yeah. Yeah, sure. It was back in ’74, outside Saskatchewan. Muskrats! Wild ones! Droves of the little buckers, they--! Oh, no. They always get quiet just before they attack. The clever little demons, I can still hear their nasty hearts beating. I can hear... Ditzy?”

Ditzy Doo, the cute, clumsy, bubbly 24-year-old blonde muffin woman—who had always had a huge secret crush on Spike—walked in, pushing her little muffin cart. She and Spike had been exchanging glances for weeks now; she was checking him out while he was checking her out. And her cart had almost every kind of muffin known: chocolate, chocolate chip, pumpkin spice, apple cinnamon, raspberry streusel, blueberry, banana, lemon poppy seed... she even had muffins that were jam-filled.

“Mister Spike?” she asked.

“That’s me,” he answered.

“I’m sorry I’m late,” she apologized. “I got lost on the way here, and then I got hungry, so I ate the last muffin. And when I went back to get more, I had to wait a whole hour for them to cool after they came out of the oven.”

“The bakery is one block away!” Fancy Pants exclaimed as he walked in. “What did you do, roll them here?”

“Well, her cart has wheels, so she did roll it here,” Spike told him as he helped himself to a chocolate chip chocolate muffin. “Here, have one.”

“Muffins are not breakfast!” Fancy shouted. “They are cake in a doily!”

“Don’t listen to him,” Spike told her. “Here.”

“Oh, a $20,” Ditzy said. “I’m sorry, I don’t have change.”

“Well, you’ll just have to keep it then, won’t you?” Spike smiled.

“Oh, thank you,” she smiled back. “And I’ll need you to sign this. Oops, wait. That’s my other job. Excuse me.”

After Ditzy left, Spike and Fancy Pants were joined by Fleur de Lis, Davenport, Prim Hemline, and Carol Finch--a receptionist with mouse-brown hair who gave the others a headache because she talked like she was chewing her face--as they walked down the hall to the main conference room.

“I wish you would rake me over the coals like that,” Carol said. “I could use the money.”

“She said she was sorry, and she corrected her mistakes,” Spike replied.

“And I suppose the fact that she’s a cute, airheaded bimbo had nothing to do with it?”

“I wasn’t nice to her because she’s cute,” Spike told Carol. “I was nice to her because I’m hungry and I finally got my muffin.”

“Well, excuse me for thinking that pretty people get all the breaks,” she snapped.

“Oh, mon Dieu, please, not le cheerleading tryout story again,” Fleur groaned.

“Tell me it’s not true,” Carol challenged them. “They get out of speeding tickets, they land better jobs...”

“Do not get carried away,” Fancy Pants told her. “Looks may help with trivial things, but not an important job.”

“That’s when a little thing called ‘nepotism’ kicks in,” Spike added.

“You know, this would make a great social experiment,” Carol said. “I’ll set two women up with interviews for the same job; one, good-looking but completely unqualified, the other plain but perfect for the position, and I guarantee you that they will pick the gorgeous one. And you know why? Because the world places too much importance on looks!”

“Carol, how did you get to be so cynical?” Davenport asked.

Suddenly, T-Bone and Photo Finish walked up to them, the latter carrying a photo she had taken, and said, “Spike, I need you to look at zis girl. Do you think her shins are too long?”

After barely two seconds, Spike slowly shook his head and said, “What a waste.”

“You people are so screwed up,” Carol stated.

“Oh, no, what’s today’s sermon?” T-Bone groaned.

“She thinks that beautiful people get unfair advantages in the job market,” Prim Hemline explained. “I disagree. I did not rise to the top because of my good looks.”

“No, you got to the top because you slept your way here,” Davenport replied.

“I resent that,” Prim said. “I slept around because I was promiscuous, not ambitious.”

“Fair enough,” Davenport relented.

“You. Are. All. Warped!” Carol shouted. “I mean, Mr. Zenith, the muffin girl; and Prim, you are so obsessed with your looks, you fell into the reflecting pool at Lincolt Center.”

“I resent that!” Prim Hemline repeated. “I fell in because I was drunk, not vain.”

“And Davenport, when was the last time you dated a woman who wasn’t absolutely perfect in your eyes?” Carol asked.

“Cameo. Belle,” he answered without a second of hesitation.

“Miss September?” Carol asked, unimpressed.

“Her belly button’s an outie,” he said disgustedly.

“What a waste,” Spike said.

Five minutes later, everyone had gathered for the staff meeting.

“Let’s go, people. It is officially 9:45 and we’ve got a lot to cover this morning,” Sunburst said. “Carol, glad to see you could make it.”

“Salutations, confreres,” Fleur greeted the others. “You’re all looking resplendent. Serena, lovely as always. Prim Hemline, this year’s fall line is your best yet. And Davenport, I don’t care what Carol says, I love what you’ve done with Quills and Sofas.”

“Can we please get on with it?” Fancy Pants asked.

“Old business,” Sunburst began. “Carol?”

“None,” she said quickly.

“Okay, let’s move on to new business,” Spike said as he glanced at his notes. “Let’s see... Carol... Fancy Pants and I have been going over the numbers. You’re into me for five thousand bucks. You turned in an expense report from Germaney, where the branch director’s office said you never showed up. The same for Brayzil, and Monacolt, Maredrid, and the entire West Coast of Equestria...”

“Spike, this is ridiculous!” Carol said. “Marego Oneupher makes more money than I do!”

“I know. I tried to hire her,” he replied. “And it’s Mr. Zenith to you.”

“I want a raise. I deserve a raise. I demand a raise!”

“Salary isn’t everything. This job comes with a lot of perks,” Fancy Pants said.

“Like what?” Carol spat.

“Your free lunches, for example,” he replied.

“Those are working lunches! I’m out there every day from 11:30 to 3:00!” she shouted.

“We all have to make sacrifices,” Fancy Pants told her.

“Oh, that reminds me, how’s that solid gold pen working out for you?” Sunburst asked.

“Is that your idea of ‘sacrifice’?” Carol asked.

“This is not some frivolous toy. It’s a crucial tool of industry. I’m going to use this forever,” Fancy Pants said as he held the aforementioned pen up. “And you know something else? While I was looking over your expense reports, the name ‘Fit Sensations’ kept popping up. That struck me as a little odd.”

“Well, that’s where I do my business lunches,” Carol lied.

“I never heard of it,” Spike said.

“It’s lovely,”

“I’ll have to try it,”

“Oh, you’d hate it,”

“You just said it was lovely,”

“No, they cram you in, family-style,”

“Sounds festive,”

“Well, it’s not!”

“You know, I had lunch just the other day at that place,” Fancy Pants said.

Fancy held up his gold pen, pressed a button on the side of it, and everyone heard Fancy’s voice coming from it.

“Hi, I’d like to order a steak,”

Then they heard someone else say, “We don’t serve food here.”

“Why is that?” Fancy’s voice asked.

“Because this is a shoe store,”

That’s when they realized that the gold pen wasn’t just a pen.

It was also a tape recorder.

“Now, call me crazy, but I’d never take a client to have lunch at Fit Sensations,” Fancy Pants told her. “And do you know why?”

“Because this is a shoe store,” the pen-recorder repeated.

“If you are implying that I am using company funds to buy myself shoes, I am deeply insulted!” Carol sneered. “Let me ask you something, Mr. Fancy Pants. On your way to condemning me, did you even bother to go up to the second floor?”

“Why, yes,” he responded. “And I wonder what my little pen has to say about that...”

Fancy pressed the button again, and they heard his voice once more.

“Is there a restaurant upstairs?” he asked.

“No, just the boots,”

Fancy glared at Carol and asked, “You were saying?”

“Who, me?” she giggled. “Didn’t say a word.”

“Clearly, words like ‘hypocrisy’ mean nothing to you,” Davenport commented.

Carol stammered, desperately trying to come up with any kind of an answer.

“Zenith Industries is not a travel agency or your personal credit card! It does not exist just so you can fly off to wherever you want! Even in the ‘70’s that wouldn’t fly!” Spike shouted. “You are on thin ice. I have no less than fifty employees who would literallymurder you just to be in your position, and if you don’t square your accounts by Monday morning, they won’t need to. Your position will be vacant. Have I made myself clear?”

“Yes,” Carol replied.

“Yes what?” he asked.

“Yes, Mr. Zenith,” she said.

“Then get out,” he told her. “Meeting adjourned.”

“That was quite the maelstrom,” Prim Hemline said as everyone dispersed.

After Spike and Carol left, Fleur pulled Fancy Pants aside and asked, “Do we have time to publicly humiliate Carol this week?”

“I can move some things around,” he replied.

Meanwhile, as Spike walked with T-Bone to the C.E.O.’s office, the gofer was telling the boss about his latest date-turned-fiasco.

“T-Bone, if the handsomest man in the world acted the way you did, any woman would go running in the opposite direction,” Spike told him.

“No woman runs from you, Zenith,” T-Bone replied in retort. “You could barf all over her and she would say, ‘Do it again.’”

“That is both incredibly disgusting and untrue,” Spike stated.

Later, Ditzy Doo—now the delivery woman instead of the muffin woman—returned. She was wearing her ill-fitting brown EPS uniform now; the shirt’s tiny buttons looked like they could burst any moment and her skirt was way too short, like it would rip with every step she took, and when she bent over to retrieve her pen, which she had dropped, Spike caught more than just a glimpse of her red lace panties.

She handed Spike a clipboard to sign then ran her scanner over the package before giving the box to him and said, very sincerely, “Have a nice day.”

As Ditzy left, Fleur de Lis made her weekly inspection in the accounts department office pool on the 26th floor of the building.

Suddenly, something goosed her.

She reacted instinctively: she looked around, clearly miffed, but saw no one.

As she walked on, her hair ribbon mysteriously came undone and her hair dropped as she walked past two typists standing at the water cooler. The women programmers noticed the C.O.O. struggling across the room, fighting with her skirt as she headed for the ladies room, past the desks of her subordinates, who began to notice and giggle.

Drizzle laughed at the scene... until her own blouse suddenly popped open.

Then her panties dropped.

And the invisible molester ran wild.

Meanwhile, back in the C.E.O.’s office, Spike opened the box Ditzy had delivered. It contained a universal remote control—the same one that went to the T.V. that was in the office—with a note that said, “One creature’s torment is another creature’s delight.”

It was signed only with a single letter: D.

Curious, Spike turned on the T.V. with the remote just in time to see the weather report: chocolate milk rain from pink cotton candy clouds.

“And those are just some of the things happening around town this morning. So watch your step, and your back, because I have a feeling today is going to be a wild one. I am Nosey News, and I’ll see you back here for the noon report.”

“Oh, yeah,” Spike said to himself. “This is gonna be a long day...”

.

At the same time, in Rainbow Dash’s house, which was a short drive from New Canterlot University, Dash was wondering why it was raining.

“It wasn’t supposed to rain until tomorrow,” she thought.

And when she went downstairs, she found Pinkie Pie standing in the laundry room.

“What in the Tartarus is goin’ on?” Dash asked. “Pinkie Pie, why are you in my house at eleven o’clock on a Monday morning ironing your clothes?”

“To get the wrinkles out,” Pinkie replied. “Besides, it’s nine o’clock Wednesday night.”

“Says who?” Dash demanded.

“Says my highly accurate wristwatch, which hasn’t worked in three years,” Pinkie answered, showing Dash the watch that was on her right wrist. “See? Eight-fifteen p.m.”

“You said nine,” Dash replied.

“Well, it was forty-five minutes behind when it broke,” Pinkie said.

“Why don’t you get it fixed?”

“Because it’s slow!” she screamed.

The two girls walked outside as they talked, and saw Fluttershy and Applejack sitting, waiting for them in the latter’s pickup truck. Rainbow Dash sat up front next to Applejack while Pinkie got in the back with Fluttershy. In an effort to cut down on the cost of gas, the girls had started a carpool... with moderate success. They preferred walking to class whenever they could, but none of them wanted to be caught out in the chocolate milk rain.

“Mornin’, gals,” Applejack greeted them.

The truck was just about to take off when Pinkie braced herself and cried out, “Applejack, slow down! One, two, three, four, mach five! Mayday! Hit the chute!”

“Notice the speedometer, zero. Notice the gearshift, it’s in park. Notice the keys, not even in the ignition. Consequently, we are not moving!” Rainbow Dash told her.

Pinkie chuckled and said, “Honest mistake, could’ve happened to anybody. Let’s go.”

“Ya know, ya don’t usually act this strange,” Applejack commented. “Don’t get me wrong, you’re strange, sometimes even very, very, very strange, but never quite this strange.”

“You and me both, cousin,” Pinkie replied. “Speaking of strange, did I tell you that all the clocks in Maid Sugarcube went off three hours early this morning? And Mrs. Cake said the neighbors’ clocks were all wrong, too. Can you believe that?”

“I thought I was imagining things, but our clocks did the same thing,” Fluttershy shared. “I also heard the church bells at midnight as I started to drift off to sleep, and suddenly all the car alarms went off.”

“For absolutely no reason?” Rainbow Dash asked. “That is so weird.”

“Ya think that’s weird?” Applejack asked. “Winona started barkin’ at midnight last night and didn’t stop until 6:00 this morning. When I went outside, I found her up on the roof of the barn, pointed toward the Everfree Forest and growlin’. What’s that tell ya? My dog goes crazy and decides to bark at the woods all night. And when I came to pick ya’ll up, the dirt roads turned into soap and our cornfields all popped into popcorn.”

“Now that’s weird,” Dash corrected herself.

It was true. Not only did evil lurk in the deepest, darkest reaches of the Everfree Forest, but odd occurrences had been known to happen there as well. Many individuals had returned reporting strange things that happened to them.

Applejack’s truck rounded the corner and pulled up to Sunset Shimmer’s apartment building, and she and the other girls saw Sunset being attacked by a swarm of hardcover books. Not only did they levitate, but the covers of the books mimicked wings as they charged in formation like a flock of bats... all while screeching like bats, too!

Fluttershy quickly opened the passenger door and Sunset dove into the back seat and closed it just before the book bats hit.

“Drive, Applejack!” she screamed. “Drive!”

Applejack put her foot down to the accelerator and took off again. She made several turns, even though she’d lost the book bats blocks ago, and when she pulled up to Rarity’s house, she and the other girls saw Rarity run outside, clad in only a bath towel and crying.

“Gee, it looks like a come-as-you-are party,” Pinkie said. “Rarity, are you all right?”

“Me? No! My life is going to pieces!” she wailed. “I went to take a bubble bath, but I was already in the tub. So I had to wait an hour until I was finished, one hour which turned into seven hours, and of course I used every last drop of hot water in the city. I am so inconsiderate!”

“Oh, my, look at the time!” Pinkie exclaimed, looking at the watch on her left wrist.

“I thought your watch was broken,” Rainbow Dash said.

“No, no, this one’s broken,” Pinkie replied, pointing to the watch on her right wrist. “I’ve got more time on my hands than I know what to do with!”

She rolled up her sleeves to reveal four wristwatches on both of her arms.

Fluttershy went inside just long enough to help Rarity get ready, and when they came back out, they rejoined the other girls and proceeded to New Canterlot University.

When they got there, they heard two of the custodians talking.

“There was water in the generator,” one of them said.

“Yeah, but the floor was dry as a bone,” the other replied.

Something was definitely wrong.

All sorts of strange things were happening all over New Canterlot City that day.

Someone put more than a little instant Jell-O mix in the University’s indoor swimming pool--when Pinkie dove into the water, her legs stuck up from the mass of red gelatin. A colony of bees colonized Headmistress Amore’s office and swarmed the hallways. The public school buses developed unexplained leaks--one of the bus drivers opened the door to his vehicle and water burst out from within, knocking him off his feet--the pavement had adapted fabric-like qualities, the trees were flat as cardboard... and then there was the graffiti.

All over and around New Canterlot City, the letter “D” appeared on various surfaces, everything from building walls to the soles of people’s left shoes.

Nobody knew who was responsible.

Nobody knew who to blame.

But they wanted to blame somebody.

At the New Canterlot Police Department, the dispatchers’ lines were jammed with phone calls from citizens all over town claiming that someone was “wrecking the city.”

When Captain Shining Armor’s phone rang, he shouted, “What?!”

“Armour, is that you?”

Shining slapped his own forehead and said, “Armor! My name is Armor! Unless this is the Chief, in which case, Armour’s fine. Actually, I-I prefer Armour, especially if this is the Chief. In fact, I’m thinking of having it legally changed. Who’s this?”

“I need you, man, on the Q.T.,”

“On the Q.T.? What is it, sir?”

“It’s just a figure of speech, but that’s not important. Just get up here!”

Shining and several other officers made their way to Chief Ganache’s office just in time to find him being attacked by the cleaning equipment and supplies: a vacuum cleaner, a mop, a mop bucket, a feather duster, a broom and a dustpan.

“Something must be done about this intolerable situation,” Ganache said.

“We’ll do our very best, sir!” Shining Armor replied.

“Man, your best won’t do! I want better! When I ask for results, I only want to hear yes!”

“Yes, sir!” they stated.

The officers followed the latest lead on the mystery vandal to the bus depot.

“Well, he was definitely here,” Shining Armor thought out loud. “The paint is still wet.”

Meanwhile, Spike returned to Pendragon Castle and was swarmed by several waiting news reporters and camera crews.

“There he is! Mr. Zenith? Mr. Zenith!”

“Why was your home the only one in the area with power?”

“Can you make a statement, sir?”

Forcing his way through them, Spike walked up to the front door and entered the Castle, slamming and locking the doors behind him.

Inside, he was “greeted” by Celestia, Luna, Fleur de Lis, Sandra the wolf, and two large monstrosities: a dire wolf—a large lupine beast almost as big as a horse, mostly white with grey markings on his back and the tip of his tail—and a giant, female, green hooded cobra... named Acwulf and Vayla respectively.

Wise and good, this beautiful serpent protected sacred places and items of magical power from falling into evil hands. In her hidden redoubts, she researched spells and hatched convoluted plans to thwart the evil designs of her enemies. As a guardian, she did not actively seek out violence, warning off intruders rather than attacking. Only if her foes persisted did she attack, accosting them with a combination of magic and poisonous spittle.

They led the human Equestrian Dragon into the main dining room, and Spike gaped at the mass of monsters and other magical creatures that had assembled there: three white mice, seven dwarves, three witches, three Halflings, a badger, a wolverine, dozens of rats, a faun, two Cyclopes (plural form of Cyclops), over 40 leprechauns (wee little men dressed in green suits), red, blue, pink, purple and green pixies, and half a dozen yellow fairies—including their rulers, King Colbert and Queen Tabitha—as well as the tall, handsome, muscular gargoyle, King Scorpan and his parents, the former King Vorak (who was looked almost exactly like his other son, Tirek, except for a longer beard and deer antlers instead of horns) and Queen Haydon (whom Scorpan took after more than his father).

While Red Ribbons, Twinkleworks and Tote Bag served drinks, Lemony Crumble and Cobalt Stone served sandwiches, including cucumber sandwiches with the crusts cut off, peanut butter with grape jelly on white bread, and pimento loaf with Swiss cheese on whole wheat.

“Okay, who’s got the corned beef?” Cobalt Stone asked.

“I’d like a cup of coffee,” one of the little men said.

“Who wanted the egg salad?” Lemony Crumble inquired.

“I don’t know, I had the ham on rye,” one of the Cyclopes replied.

“Who wants to try the tuna?” one of the Halflings asked.

Celestia had even opened one precious jar from Spike’s prized collection of caviar.

“Fish eggs? Yuck!” Queen Tabitha exclaimed in disgust.

The magical creatures all came to a standstill when they heard Spike and turned to look at him. Then one of the little men, Brian Connors, the king of the leprechauns, sprang forward.

“Spike, oh, for the love of clover, we’ve been looking all over for ya!” he said.

“A minute of your time?” another leprechaun asked.

“This obviously can’t wait,” Spike replied as he helped himself to a turkey club sandwich. “So... what are you all doing in my house?”

The Equestrian Dragon knew that something was off beam; things must have been pretty out of kilter for King Vorak and Queen Haydon, King Colbert and Queen Tabitha, and even Brian Connors—the King of all the Leprechauns himself—to come all this way, from the safety of their homes, most of which were back in the Old Countries.

Then Brian the Leprechaun King, looked around shiftily, as if to make sure they were truly alone, and whispered, “Don’t tell anybody, but... something’s wrong.”

“Yeah, I believe we have established that,” Spike replied. “Maybe you could go into some more depth on the subject, hmm?”

“It’s bad,” the dire wolf said. “You have to do something. Before things go to Tartarus in a hand basket.”

“At the risk of sounding offensive, Acwulf, you said the exact same thing when they put up that Springvale Bunny display in Founders Square,” Spike replied.

“There was something wrong with that rabbit,” the dire wolf shuddered.

Even though Acwulf had fiery red eyes, Spike could see the fear reflected in them.

“Spike, it’s not what the pranks are, it’s the magic behind them,” Vayla the Naga added.

“It’s something strange,” Colbert the Fairy King went on. “It feels... different somehow.”

“How long have most of us lived here, centuries?” Spike told them. “I know all about the forbidden arts, I’ve been up to my ears in dark magic.”

“Forgive us, Spike, but have we ever lied to you?” King Vorak asked. “Have we?”

“We are not imagining things, something evil is going on!” Queen Tabitha exclaimed.

Then King Vorak’s wife, Queen Haydon, mentioned something about fog.

“This is going to sound strange, but I saw fog last night,” she told Spike. “It was... glowing. But, what seemed to be happening was the wind was moving east but the fog kept moving west. I know that sounds crazy.”

“Not right now, it doesn’t,” Spike replied.

“Something else happened last night,” Scorpan went on. “At the same time that fog was moving in, this whole city just seemed to come unglued.”

The assemblage was almost in an uproar when a trio of trolls with blue skin and red hair entered the dining hall. There were only a handful of blue trolls left in existence; there hadn’t been a sighting of them in centuries! The only benevolent kind of their species, they were usually a sign of very dark forces at work.

That’s when Spike was finally able to put the pieces together: all the chaos running loose, the presence of King Vorak and Queen Haydon in his home, and now finally the blue-skinned trolls, who were the guardian jailers of the evil demigod, Discord.

An old foe of Celestia and Luna--as well as Spike--long ago, Discord was the “guardian spirit” of chaos and anarchy, and chaos was the key to true peace and harmony. It was one of the magical world’s biggest, deepest, darkest secrets of all time. Like mortals and magical creatures, harmony and disharmony had to be in perfect balance. Without that balance, chaos would turn into pandemonium and reality itself could collapse.

Discord attacked Equestria in the First Century and turned it into a devastating state of unrest for one thousand years. Humans and magical creatures alike were trapped in a never-ending mass of misery and horror under his rule.

Spike, along with Celestia and Luna, combined their powers and rose up against him, sending him to the underworld. They thought that the banishment spell they used would keep him imprisoned forever. And Discord had been a member of King Vorak and Queen Haydon’s court before Scorpan came to power and assumed the throne from his and Tirek’s father.

“He must have escaped,” King Vorak said.

“Discord’s been off the job for a while now,” Celestia said. “But if he’s back, all he would have to do is tap into Equestria’s magical energy for twenty-four hours and he could return to full power.”

“Nobody panic. All we have to do is find Discord and send him back to where he belongs,” Luna told them.

“So, any ideas on where to begin?” Scorpan asked Spike.

But before Spike could answer, Fancy Pants barged in and said, “Sir, you may want to take a look at this.”

Wielding another universal remote, Fancy pressed a button and one of the dining room walls retracted to reveal a big screen T.V., which displayed the updated weather report: the Sun was blue, the moon was red, and the sky was green.

The day was getting stranger by the minute, and not just in New Canterlot City, but all over Equestria. It was hailing taxi cabs in Appleloosa, raining frogs in Flankfort, Kentbucky; there was a sideways tornado in Foaledo, and a thunderstorm in Peoreina, Illineighs.

But it wasn’t just in Equestria, either. Several countries all around the world were experiencing very unusual weather: there was a pink hurricane in the South Equestrian desert, a sandstorm across all of continental Europone and the Hooviet Union, snow was falling UP in Saddle Arabia, and the Black Sea had turned orange.

“Hey. That one looks sunny,” King Brian observed.

“We know. Unfortunately, that’s Seaddle,” Luna said.

Suddenly, it went dark outside... even though it was still the middle of the afternoon.

“All right, who turned out the Sun?” Celestia demanded.

As Spike glared out the window, he saw that the glowing fog had returned, and King Vorak said, “I hope you’re not planning to do what I think you’re doing.”

“I think we better track Discord down before things get any worse,” Fleur suggested.

The Equestrian Dragon’s mission was clear: he had to find and defeat Discord before he plunged Equestria back into eternal chaos.

“Oh, please don’t let things get any worse,” Spike thought. “Please, please, please.”

He said, “Okay. If it means that much to you, I’ll find Discord. But now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go and disappoint the sweetest girl in the world.”

Spike picked up the phone in the main foyer and dialed Fluttershy’s number, but she didn’t answer. He asked himself why she wasn’t home then he thought about paging her but decided it would be better to just meet up with her at the zoo like he had planned.

Later, as the Equestrian Dragon moved through the darkening streets, his every sense alert to any insidious injustice and malicious misdeed, he slipped into the zoo... only to find that Fluttershy wasn’t there. And when he flew to her house, he saw that she hadn’t returned, nor were any of the other girls. They weren’t at their homes or their usual hangout spots, and he began to wonder where they could have gone.

.

Later that night, at Pendragon Castle, a storm raged outside while Celestia nervously paced back and forth. When she heard the foyer phone ring, she quickly answered it.

“Hello? Is that you, Spike? Never mind that. Now, where are you? I’m coming right down-- You’re where?”

“The Applewood Cemetery,” Spike replied.

Applewood, Coltifornia also known as Tasseltown, Tra-La-La-Land, and the place where dreams are made, it was one of Discord’s favorite old haunts; he used to hang out there, killing time... and its cemetery served as one of the gateways to Tartarus.

The storm continued as the Equestrian Dragon hung up the pay phone he’d called Celestia from, ventured into the cemetery through its main gate, snuck into one of the underground tombs, and loomed over the padlocked coffin in the center of the crypt.

He was going to see if Discord was still sleeping, but before he could advance any further, he heard heavy footsteps approaching.

“Welcome, Equestrian Dragon. It is I, the all-powerful Discord, spirit of chaos, guardian of disharmony, and king of lies,” he formally reintroduced himself. “Did you miss me?” he asked. “I missed you.”

The Equestrian Dragon recognized that condescending tone anywhere.

“That’s Discord, all right,” he thought.

“Show your face, you coward!” the Dragon roared. “You can’t hide from me forever!”

Suddenly, a Draconequus appeared before him in a bright flash of white light.

A subspecies of chimera--like griffons--being a fusion of many other creatures, his body was made up of a tattered pelt of brown fur with a deer antler on the right side of his head and a goat horn on the left side. His right arm had the paw of a lion, the left hand was the talon of an eagle, the right leg of a lizard, the left leg of a goat, and he had the tongue and tail of a snake. He also possessed one feathered wing, one bat wing, pale yellow eyes with crimson pupils, and when he opened his mouth, it revealed sharp teeth and fangs.

“Equestrian Dragon, here on official business,” the Dragon said. “You are causing a major disturbance out there.”

“Oh, I’m causing a disturbance, am I? It’s all my fault, is it? And the Titanic! You want to blame that on me, too? Maybe the Chicoltgo Fire? Ha! I was in Pittsburgh that day!” Discord shouted. “You are so dumb that when you have a brainstorm it’s a light drizzle!”

His voice echoed throughout the mausoleum.

“You know, I almost admire you, Equestrian Dragon. The only being that has ever defeated me. Nobody else has even come close,” he went on. “But now that I have been here long enough to feast on Equestria’s delicious magical energy, guess who’s running at full power, baby! GO ON, GUESS!!”

“You got what you wanted!” the Equestrian Dragon shouted. “You got what you came for now put things back the way they were before and get out of my territory!”

“Nope. Not interested. I’m already unpacked and everything. Besides, I like it here. I feel... settled. It’s quaint, not to mention the property values. I mean, I thought about San Fran, but it’s gotten so... bourgeois. It’s a real shame,”

“All right, then, how about a little competition?” the Equestrian Dragon asked.

Discord grinned as he curled his goatee.

“A showdown over the fate of all Equestria?” he asked. “Interesting proposition... Pick your poison.”

“A battle of wits, winner takes all,” the Equestrian Dragon stated.

Discord snorted smoke and said, “If that’s the way you want it, let the games begin!”

With a smile and a snap of the Draconequus’ eagle talons, the mausoleum chamber began to spin as the Equestrian Dragon was bombarded with rumba music, and he found himself transported onto the studio set of a T.V. game show... inside the New Canterlot Cable Access (NCCA) building back in New Canterlot City!

Discord had taken over the studio to televise this—every single channel was broadcasting the same images of a man standing, bathed in shadow—to every box set in every home in New Canterlot and all of Equestria!

Now, nearly every T.V. show that had a studio audience but wasn’t a sitcom had an announcer whose duties were as followed: deliver opening and closing spiels for the show, introduce the show’s host, and describe the prizes the contestants could win.

It was revealed to be an almost exact duplicate of Discord, as were the members of the audience... all clones of Discord.

“Live from New Canterlot City, the show that nobody wants to see but everyone will watch,” Announcer-Discord broadcasted over the P.A. system. “Welcome, everybody, to... Let’s Save Humanity! Sponsored by Naked Furniture, makers of the finest oak chairs, tables and bookshelves... Naked Furniture, where raw beauty meets refined craftsmanship in its purest form. And now, ladies and gentlemen, humans and creatures alike, here’s your host. The monster with the questions... master of style and intrigue... the lean, mean, chaotic machine: Discord!”

The “audience” Discords cheered as the real Discord slid out wearing a tacky lime green polyester suit—the motif of a smug, slimy, obnoxious game show host—complete with a hairdo held in place by gel hard as cement.

“Hello and welcome!” he began. “Now, who’s ready to play...?”

“Let’s! Save! Humanity!” the audience Discords shouted.

“But first, let’s meet today’s contestant, shall we?” Discord told them. “He’s the tall, strong and handsome protector of an enchanted world who likes martial arts, Carnivore Pizza and has a soft spot for the bassist from the Rainbooms, who is also a blonde farmer’s daughter named Applejack. Here he is, your enemy and mine, help me give a big, out-of-this-world welcome to... the Equestrian Dragon!”

The Equestrian Dragon recognized this obvious set-up; it was a rigged game show where people competed by having to give obscure answers to almost unanswerable quiz questions and then complete a deadly physical challenge that somehow related to the question... one they seemed to have no chance of winning. But if the competitors did, they got a prize for each challenge completed and were also given a chance to either walk away with them after each victory or move on to the next round, and risk losing everything if they couldn’t pass.

But if the Equestrian Dragon was going to beat Discord at his own game, he would have to play. That meant answering the way-too-hard questions correctly, suffer very painful penalties (like getting pummeled with a mallet) if he didn’t and survive the nigh-impossible challenges... as well as Discord’s sadistic sense of humor.

“We’ll start with a single practice round,” Discord said. “The first question is... banana.”

“That’s... not a question,” the Equestrian Dragon replied.

“Isn’t it?” Discord countered.

Out of the blue, a sour note buzzed, indicating the contestant had given a wrong answer.

“I’m sorry. The answer was Neighsay. We were looking for ‘Chancellor Neighsay’. No points there. All right, let’s begin Round One, shall we?” Discord asked. “The first category is Geography. ‘What country has a red circle in the center of its otherwise completely white flag?’”

“Jockeypan,” the Equestrian Dragon answered.

“You’re absolutely correct! And now, on to the physical challenge! You have 60 seconds to pass under that archway and deliver this plate of sushi to your lovely Jockeypanese maiden,”

As Discord handed the Equestrian Dragon a dish of bento, nigiri, sashimi and tamagoyaki, a curtain parted to reveal Sunset Shimmer dressed in a blue happi, a white obi, and wood geta sandals, with her hair pinned back in a bun. And she was sitting tied up on a bench under a traditional Jockeypanese torii.

“But in order to get to her you’ll have to get past my hungry, hungry sumo wrestler!”

Discord pointed to a doorway in the shadows and a tall figure, well built with the large stature and muscles befitting of a rikishi, and clothed in a traditional black mawashi, walked in and positioned himself between Sunset and the Equestrian Dragon. The sumo wrestler then slapped himself across the face, once on each cheek, before assuming a squat stance.

“Sayonara!” Discord laughed.

The clock started to count down and the Equestrian Dragon flew right at the sumo wrestler... only to be bounced back when he hit the wrestler’s belly. The Equestrian Dragon shook his head and flew at the sumo again. But this time, he dove between the wrestler’s legs and reached Sunset Shimmer... with 33 seconds to spare.

“Terrific!” Discord said as he moved toward a colorful, 10-foot wide carnival wheel mounted on a stand, split up into wedges with images of all the different options illustrated on each space. “And now, for bonus points and a chance at a free spin!” he added. “‘In the country of Thrace, why did travel by sea become so popular?’”

“The rocky cliffs and mountains of the Thracian mainland make travel by land both tedious and difficult,” the Equestrian Dragon replied.

“Zing! And let me remind you again, folks, that you’re watching ‘Let’s Save Humanity!’Brought to you by Zenith Industries, makers of the Zing Hand Soap,” Discord said into the camera. “If your hands are dirty, wash them clean with new Zing soap. Now, back to our contestant...” He cackled sinisterly. “Would you like to continue, or leave with what you have? Don’t be a sucker, chum, the next question’s a snap,” he added in a whisper.

“You’ll be sorry!” one of the audience member Discords said.

Discord glared at the duplicate, pulled a hunting rifle out of his suit coat, and shot him!

And he proceeded on... as if nothing had happened.

“The next question is: ‘What was Cleopatrot’s aunt’s maiden name?’”

“Which one, her maternal aunt or her paternal aunt?” the Equestrian Dragon inquired.

“Watch your language, bub, we’re on the air!” Discord exclaimed.

But before the Dragon could respond, the buzzer sounded.

“Oh, I’m sorry! You didn’t answer fast enough. So you must pay the penalty!” Discord said as he motioned to the board behind him. “Will it be ‘Multiple Choice’ or ‘The Molten Pit of Eternal Torment’?” he asked.

The Equestrian Dragon blinked and said, “I’m going to have to go with Multiple Choice.”

“Are you sure?” Discord asked sincerely.

“Uh, yeah!” he replied.

“Fine,” Discord grunted. “No one ever picks the pit!” he added under his breath. “Take a good look, Equestrian Dragon. Will it be curtain Number One, curtain Number Two, or curtain Number Three? You have five seconds.”

Ignoring the shouts of the crowd, the Dragon said, “I’ll take curtain Number Three.”

“As you wish,” Discord replied. “But first, let’s see what you didn’t choose. Behind curtain Number One, a thousand demon dogs from the Ninth Circle of Tartarus... Behind curtain Number Two, a lifetime supply of Devil’s Food cake... Which means, Equestrian Dragon, you are today’s big winner! Congratulations! Audience, let’s see what he’s won.”

It was one thousand beef steaks (flank, strip, T-bone, tenderloin, rib eye, porterhouse and filet, among them) and one dozen Pizza Palace pizzas, one of which was thrown into the Equestrian Dragon’s face.

“Would you like to continue?” Discord asked.

“Yes,” the Dragon replied undeterred.

“Moving on to Round Two, the next category is Sports. ‘In baseball, who holds the record for the longest consecutive game hitting streak?’”

“Joe DiManeggio,”

A bell dinged, indicating a right answer, and Rainbow Dash walked in, dressed in a baseball uniform and holding a wooden bat, which she handed off to the Equestrian Dragon before standing beside a room divider with a single round hole cut into it.

“It’s opening day at the Angel-Dodger Park and Stadium, and you have one minute to hit a homerun through that hole,” Discord explained. “Here’s your ball.”

He pulled out a helium-filled balloon and tossed it into the air as the clock started counting down. The Equestrian Dragon swung the bat, making contact, and the air shot out of the balloon, propelling it out-of-control around the studio, before it flew into the hole... with 39 seconds left on the timer.

“That’s the way to do it! And for being such a good sport, I’m going to give you a crack at the super-deluxe jackpot question,” Discord said. “Are you ready? Now think carefully. Here’s the question: ‘Who,’ mind you, ‘who was the referee in the first ever World Heavyweight Boxing Championship fight?’”

“Buckle Preen,” the Equestrian Dragon answered.

Shocked and angered, Discord looked at the index card he was holding then the audience.

“No coaching, please! What was his second grade teacher’s name, if you’re so smart?”

“Gale Twitch,” the Dragon said.

Stunned but still determined to win, Discord said, “This program’s brought to you by the Zing Hand Soap. Tough but gentle, Zing cleans all dirty hands in the family.”

The next category was Literature.

“I’m sure everyone has heard the stories of King McCracken and his round table,” Discord said. “For five million dollars, name the legendary city where he held his court.”

“Canterlot,” the Dragon stated confidently.

“It certainly was Canterlot,” Discord replied. “And while I’m thinking about it, what’s the word for a trench usually filled with water that you find around an old castle?”

“A moat,” the Dragon answered.

“Moat is right,” Discord said.

He led the Equestrian Dragon over to a makeshift moat in front of a tiny castle—the usual scenario of a knight on a white horse rescuing a princess from the clutches of an evil dragon—with another Discord duplicate as the knight on horseback, which was just a rocking horse with a heavily modified lawnmower engine... and Rarity dressed as the beautiful princess, complete with a medieval dress and hennin.

“One of the books Mark Twang wrote was A Connecticolt Kid in King McCraken’s Court--a time of brave knights, stone castles, and no indoor plumbing,” Discord went on. “But instead of rescuing the fair princess, your objective is to joust past the knight protecting her, capture his flag, and claim the princess for your own... Just like a real dragon. Go!”

The Equestrian Dragon charged the knight-Discord and effortlessly tossed him aside before capturing the flag and rescuing Rarity.

With a resentful smile, Discord walked up to the Dragon and said, “Now, in my hands, you’ll notice I hold two buzzers. You must push one. Hurry now! Which one? Quick!”

The Equestrian Dragon pressed the buzzer that was in Discord’s right hand... and a bank vault (containing the five million bucks in cash) dropped from the ceiling and onto the Equestrian Dragon.

“Aren’t we gruesome?” Discord asked. “You’re a great sport. A great sport,” he said as the Dragon emerged from the safe as its door swung open. “And for being such a great sport, I’m going to let you push the other button and win a prize. Come on now, don’t be bashful. Push it!”

The Dragon did... and a large boulder dropped on top of him.

“And the Equestrian Dragon wins the Rock of Gibrayaltar!” Discord proclaimed as he pulled the Dragon out from under the monolithic promontory. “And that’s not all! The gentledragon also wins... six hundred gallons of genuine Neighagara Falls water! Give the lucky winner a hand, folks. Would you like to take your prizes and go home now or--?”

“Just give me the next question already,” the Dragon grunted.

“All right, what is the word for the sash or a band that men wear instead of a vest?”

“A cummerbund,”

“Cummerbund is right,” Discord replied as he approached a nearby grand piano, which Fluttershy, in an extravagant evening gown, was laying on top of and bound to by several ropes. “I will now play a passage from a famous opera and you must name the opera. Listen carefully.”

.

As Discord played, he demonstrated a fine control over the dynamics, clearly separating the soloist’s part from the chorus’s while still playing the part of the accompaniment... so unlike him, given his chaotic nature.

“And there you have it,” he said. “Now, what’s the opera?”

“Rigoletto?” the Dragon guessed.

He tried to correct himself, but Discord turned to look toward the audience for the correct answer, and they shouted, “Bizet’s Carmane!”

“So you must pay the penalty!” Discord told him.

He directed everyone’s attention to a wooden gallows set up across the studio, depicting a life-size version of the iconic paper-and-pencil game Hangman, the guessing game where the player tried to guess the word by suggesting letters within a certain number of guesses... and Applejack, in full cowgirl gear, was standing, bound and gagged, on the gallows’ trapdoor with the noose around her neck.

Discord then pointed to a row of twenty-eight blank spaces, representing each letter of the answer, and told the Equestrian Dragon, “Guess the word.”

“It’s antidisestablishmentarianism,” the Equestrian Dragon said.

The longest, non-scientific word in the Trotish language, it referred to a political movement that started in 19th Century Trotland as an opposition to the liberal proposal for the disestablishment of the Church of Trotland as the state church of Trotland and Bales.

“That’s right,” Discord replied as he snapped his talons and the ropes around Applejack and Fluttershy snapped, releasing them both.

“Hooray!” Sunset Shimmer, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity (and even the audience) cheered.

The next portion of the game show was a lightning round, a single round in which the goal was to answer as many questions as possible within the given time limit... which was cut down from one minute to forty-five seconds. The category was Science, and the questions were not exclusive to just chemistry or basic biology. They included physics, climatology, gravity, geology and oceanography.

And instead of Discord asking the questions, it was Pinkie Pie, dressed in a white lab coat reminiscent of any doctor or scientist.

“If an object rolls down a twenty percent incline plane from a height of fifty meters what is its velocity at the moment of impact?” she asked.

“Forty-two foot pounds per square inch,” the Dragon answered.

“What happens to a 96-pound object traveling 1,200 meters into the troposphere?”

“It freezes,”

“What is the rate of acceleration for an object falling from space?”

“Thirty-two feet per second per second,”

“Name the outermost layer of the Earth,”

“The crust,”

“What do you call a rapidly rotating vortex of fluid?”

“A whirlpool,”

“How much weight can a brown-spotted tree frog lift with its tongue?”

“Two hundred and ninety-seven pounds,”

“What barrier would be broken if a body was to travel faster than 768 miles per hour?”

“The speed of sound,”

The questions and challenges kept coming and after almost an hour—sixty whole uninterrupted minutes with no commercial breaks (except for Discord’s shameless product plugs)—the Master of Chaos couldn’t believe that the Dragon still hadn’t given up.

“Well done, Equestrian Dragon,” he hated to admit it. “Thanks to such categories as ‘Benevolent Beings,’ ‘Hooray for Heroes,’ and ‘The Menagerie of Monsters,’ you have won sixty-three billion dollars and two cents, a combination washer-dryer, a dive bar, a Hi-Definition DVD player, a gorgeous state-of-the-art 90-inch stereophonic surround sound wide screen plasma T.V., a pair of new motorcycles, two high performance All-Terrain Vehicles, his and hers mountain bikes, season tickets to the Chicoltgo Bulls, a pair of matching jet skis, a 17-karat gold tiara, a pair of solid gold brass knuckles, an all expenses paid week-long vacation to Haywaii, as well as ownership of the Rocky Mountains, the La Bray Tar Pits, Neighagara Falls, the Rock of Gibrayaltar, Mount Kilimanejaro and Mount Everhoof... and are one question away from victory! Do you wanna call it quits and leave with what you have or go for the grand prize and risk it all in our sudden-death round?”

It was his choice: he could either test his knowledge with one more question he had almost no chance of getting right, or square off for an exciting winner-take-all fight to the death.

“You can do it!” Fluttershy cried.

“We believe in you,” Pinkie Pie added.

As weary as the Equestrian Dragon was, he wasn’t about to let Discord win.

“I’ll take the question, Discord,” the Dragon stated. “Give it to me.”

“All right, for the grand prize, and the win, the category is... ‘Mysteries of History,’” Discord said. “Here is the clue. ‘What was the winning strategy used by Flash Magnus at the Battle of Marathon?’”

“Flash Magnus made expert use of... the surprise attack!”

Exasperated, Discord threw up his hands in defeat.

“Oh, well. Fair is fair,” he said. “You have clearly out-dueled me. Here’s your pot, Jack!”

Discord stomped on a button in the floor and the game show set spun again as giant playing cards showing skeletal kings popped out from the walls and swung their swords.

“Well, come on, Dragon!” Discord dared him.

The six girls watched as the Equestrian Dragon nimbly jumped and dived between the twirling blades, and Discord gawked as he snapped his fingers, causing three robots dressed as cowboys, which had been in the shadows behind the gallows, to come to life and aim their guns.

“Fire!” he shouted.

The Equestrian Dragon jumped, avoiding the mechanical cowboys’ gunshots, as Discord slapped another button in the floor and a circular saw blade descended from the ceiling.

“Look out!” Fluttershy cried.

The Equestrian Dragon dodged the saw, which cut off the cowboy robots’ arms. Then he tackled Discord and smashed his clawed fist into the Draconequus’ face. Easily absorbing the Dragon’s punch, Discord threw him into the wall. He then snapped his talons, giving the Equestrian Dragon three heads.

“Yawn,” Discord said.

Groaning, the Dragon pushed his heads together, back into one, and using his tail, the Equestrian Dragon swept Discord’s feet out from under him then roundhouse kicked him. Then, still using his tail, the Dragon slapped Discord five times across the face. Grunting, Discord head-butted the Equestrian Dragon into the wall again.

The Equestrian Dragon then grabbed Discord and ripped him in half! However, Discord simply reassembled himself and attacked the Equestrian Dragon. What started out as a simple brawl quickly evolved into no less than thirteen rounds of thudding, crashing, screeching, glass shattering action... with Discord just countering most of the Equestrian Dragon’s attacks.

“Fool. I can destroy you anytime I like,” he laughed evilly. “You can’t stop me.”

“Oh, yes, I can!” the Equestrian Dragon snarled.

Every book the Equestrian Dragon read said the same thing: only an Immortal had the power to defeat Discord once and for all. Fortunately for the Equestrian Dragon, Grogar had cursed him with immortality.

“But it’s a good thing I called for backup,” the Equestrian Dragon thought. “It’s time to put a stop to this!”

The girls took cover among the audience Discords as the Dragon landed two more punches to the original Discord’s face and rolled away just as the roof was blown off the building and two women in armor descended from the ceiling, one of whom was carrying a net gun, which she pointed and fired at the Draconequus, pinning him to the floor.

“Forget it, Discord,” the one in dark, moonlit armor said. “That net is pure Sphinx hair.”

“All right, you got me. Lock me up! Throw away the key!” Discord shouted. “Hide my radiant personality away in the dark of a prison cell!”

“No,” the one in bright Sun armor stated. “Tartarus is too good for you, you loathsome...”

“HEEELLLP!” Discord yelped like a woman. “This call for help came to you through the courtesy of the Counter Assault Dog Spray. I’m prepared to be defeated now. You may fire when ready. Just make it quick.”

As the Draconequus prepared to be throttled, the two fallen angels produced six supernatural artifacts, which looked more like gems, from their armor and used their combined power to turn the chaotic spawn of darkness to stone.

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Discord screamed.

His wide eyes rolled about wildly before staring straight ahead at the Equestrian Dragon and the two angels, and he hardened into a statue, an expression of fear stuck on his face.

Once Discord was defeated, all of the things he had caused were undone. From the damage and vandalism in New Canterlot City to the bad weather all over the world, as well as all the copies of himself, disappeared or they reverted to their original forms and state.

.

Fluttershy, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Sunset Shimmer all woke up in their own beds the next morning. But when the six girls showed up at Spike’s castle for a special unveiling that afternoon, they couldn’t help but wonder exactly what happened last night.

“Spike, I had the worst dream,” Fluttershy shared. “I had a nightmare of the Equestrian Dragon fighting for us on a game show!”

“Are you sure you dreamt it?” Fleur de Lis asked.

“Well, there have been a few cases of people having the exact same dream,” Sunset said.

“And it sure felt real,” Rainbow Dash added.

Fancy Pants called for everyone to gather on the back lawn, where something was hidden under a large sheet.

“Behold!” he declared as Spike’s butlers pulled the sheet aside.

All of the key department heads of Zenith Industries were present, and they gasped in shock and awe at the new birdbath on Spike’s back lawn. But it wasn’t an ordinary bird bath. It was a huge statue of a creature that had a deer antler, a goat leg, a bat wing and a snake tail.

“This doesn’t look like any birdbath I’ve ever seen,” Rarity said thoughtfully. “I bet Spoiled Rich doesn’t have one like this.”

“Well, it is one of a kind,” Celestia replied.

“Oh, it’s one of a kind, all right,” Applejack admitted. “But what kind of a kind is it?”

“An original,” Luna said.

“An original?” Rarity asked.

“Uh-huh,” Fleur and Fancy both said.

“First one ever made?” Rarity asked.

“Yes,” Celestia and Luna replied.

“And you made it for Spike?”

“Mm-hmm,” the two sisters said.

“I love it!” Spike exclaimed.

While Photo Finish photographed the fountain for the company’s newsletter, several men in black three-piece suits arrived. One of them was a businessman who claimed that he was the President of the NCCA Broadcasting Company.

“Hello. I have sixty-three billion dollars and two cents, a combination washer-dryer, a Hi-Definition DVD player, one state-of-the-art 90-inch stereophonic surround sound wide screen plasma T.V., a pair of motorcycles, a pair of matching jet skis, two high performance All-Terrain Vehicles, his and hers mountain bikes, a 17-karat gold tiara, a pair of solid gold brass knuckles, and the deeds of ownership for a dive bar, the Rocky Mountains, the La Bray Tar Pits, Neighagara Falls, the Rock of Gibrayaltar, Mount Kilimanejaro and Mount Everhoof for Mr. Spike Zenith,” he said. “As well as season tickets to the Chicoltgo Bulls, an all expense paid week-long vacation to Haywaii, one thousand beef steaks and one dozen Pizza Palace pizzas.”

“Oh, good, the catering showed up,” Spike said. “Let me just get out my check book--”

“Oh, no, sir, this is all already paid for,” the other man replied. “This is strictly a delivery, not a buy.”

Sunset Shimmer, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Rarity looked at each other then at all the stuff--which the Equestrian Dragon had won on the game show--in amazement, and it caused them to wonder if their shared dream really was just a dream after all.

Author's Note

Next time: While the Equestrian Dragon investigates mysterious robberies, Spike recalls when he stumbled into the life of a woman with uncompromising convictions, great patience and a will of iron... one who changed the field of science and practice of nursing forever.