An Heir's Frailty

by Codex92

Rating: teen
Tags: Alternate Universe, Human, Main 6, Princess Luna, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Comedy, Adventure, Discord, Princess Celestia, Slice of Life
Length: 78703

Discord decides to retire early, so he finds himself a replacement to help spread his chaos.

Discord knows many things, has powers that can make heads flip and worlds turn upside down with a snap of his fingers, but if he's turned to stone again if Twilight can break her friends free from his influence, he was going to need an heir. Before his secondary loss, which he knew would eventually be inevitable, he chooses someone from another world, a young man named Charles, to take his stead and be the next Lord of Chaos. But with a new life comes a new body, and it's hard to be a menacing, chaotic deity when you're turned into a young draconequus colt.

This is a story requested by LordOfChoas.

Published 2021-10-06 13:40:01 UTC
Last updated 2022-06-01 12:28:24 UTC

Prologue

Discord sat in his throne, watching all of his chaos wreak havoc upon Equestria. He had tricked Princess Celestia’s protege and her friends, changing their personalities to make the Elements of Harmony useless against him. And even when Twilight Sparkle had any hope of stopping him once she found them hidden in her library in Ponyville, it was already too late. He gave her an opening, and the Elements had failed, especially when she tried to use her little dragon companion, Spike, as the Element of Loyalty’s replacement when Rainbow Dash was nowhere to be found. He was free to unleash his chaos however he pleased, and the Elements of Harmony were no longer a threat now that the six bearers were all broken and separated.

Though, as he watched the buffalo dance a hilarious ballet, homes and pieces of the land floating and spinning around in their own lack of gravitation force, and all manner of nonsensical hilarity, Discord knew that his freedom wouldn’t last long. His gut feeling told him the Elements of Harmony will eventually be reunited, possibly no thanks to Celestia, almost forgetting about the powerful alicorn goddess who turned him into stone with her younger sister, Luna. He should have done something to corrupt her, but she was wise to steer clear of an all-powerful being who can bend reality with just the snap of his fingers.

“Wonder when Twilight Sparkle will eventually come to her senses and wake her precious friends from my influence?” the draconequus pondered aloud. Letting out a heavy sigh, Discord slumped out of his seat like a slithering snake, then shooting back up on his feet with a bored look. “I’ve spent a thousand years trapped in stone, many years wasted on nothing while I had all my fun in the past...I don’t even remember how old I am. Or even when my birthday is!” Snapping his fingers, Discord materialized a cracked mirror. He glanced at his figure in the multiple reflections, running his digits along his face, mane, and his gray goatee. “I can’t even remember everything from my youth.

“Maybe I have gone a bit senile.” Slowly, he turned his gaze from his mirror to a dimension he knows exists, leering blankly at the invisible window that other creatures could see what he does and hear him say. “Or maybe the writers didn’t elaborate more on my past and my youth is left up to the interpretations of the fans and fanfiction writers.” He continued staring into space, at least that’s what it would seem to any passersby, though they were a bit caught up in his chaotic influence to pay the draconequus any mind. Sighing again, he flicked his mirror away, letting it fall to the ground and turn into an explosion of bubbles. “I might not even be immortal. And I’m the only one of my kind.

“If those Elements actually take away my life, I won’t even have anypony to take over for me. You can’t live in true peaceful harmony without a little chaos. Where would I even find an heir to be the next Lord of Chaos?” Discord paced around as he formulated an idea to keep his legacy going if worse comes to worse. “I don’t even know if I’m compatible with other creatures to have a child with. Plus, that would take too long. There is the thought of adoption, but I doubt anypony would want my chaotic powers...Except maybe Pinkie Pie. She’s definitely got what it takes with her unique ‘magic’. What sort of creature would be willing to-?”

Discord froze in his tracks, suddenly getting an idea. With a snap of his fingers, he teleported away to someplace not even Equestria was aware of.

The sound of the bell ringing snapped me out of my focused dazed. I hadn’t realized how much time had passed since I began reading one of the assigned books my teacher listed for a book report in a couple weeks. Placing a bookmark in the page I left off on, I placed all of my supplies in my backpack, barely paying attention to my teacher reminding us to read our books and get some notes down for our important assignment. Of course I would follow through as I strive to get the best grades possible, giving a small response with some of my other classmates and filed out of the classroom to head back home.

My name is Charles. I’m fifteen years old, have brown skin, hazel eyes, and a short dark brown afro. I’m not much of the outgoing type, though I do have a couple of friends I occasionally talk to. My parents both work with decent jobs to help raise me and my younger sister. Her name’s Alyssa, who’s only a few years younger than me with the same skin tone and hair color, but her hair length reaches an inch from her shoulders and ties it up in a ponytail. She’s also really obsessed with the show “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic”. I’ve heard through the internet that the other earlier generations of the cartoon were pretty terrible, and many young boys in that generation cringe whenever they heard that telltale theme song when commercials for their toys rang on the TV. Even I did when I heard that opening jingle of the current show’s theme when Alyssa would snatch the remote and change the channel to watch the newest episode...for a couple weeks. I will admit, when I was forced to watch some of the episodes, some of the bits and jokes did get a laugh out of me, and the animation and characters were far better than those older shows.

After half an hour of waiting for my bus and riding it through the busy afternoon streets, I got off at my stop and immediately headed for my house. Luckily, my place was only about two or three streets away from the bus stop in the neighborhood, so I didn’t have to worry about rushing if I was running late. I was glad it was the weekend. I could relax, finish up this intriguing novel for my book report, and do a bit of gaming with some of my friends online.

When I arrived, I noticed both cars my parents drive weren’t in the driveway, which meant I was stuck watching Alyssa until they got back later tonight. I walked in through the front door, and from the living room, I could hear Alyssa’s favorite cartoon playing on the TV.

“Alyssa, I’m home!” I called out to get her attention, though I doubt she’d pay much attention when she’s so engrossed in her colorful ponies and the magic of friendship.

As I expected, she didn’t even turn to see who it was or hear the front door open and close. Placing my backpack down in the kitchen, skimming over the note mom wrote for us saying she and dad would be out late tonight, I made my way back to the living room. Alyssa seemed to be watching the second part of the season two premiere of My Little Pony, for the umpteenth time. We got her the DVDs of all the seasons and episodes that were currently out, and she watches them all from beginning to end until the newest episode was about to air. She was at the part where that weird guy with all the animal parts, Discord, turned Ponyville into his chaos capital, and the purple unicorn, Twilight Sparkle, was getting annoyed by her friends’ alternated personalities. I’ve seen the episodes where Discord’s around, and he kills the show as one of the best villains I’ve ever known in any show I’ve watched. He’s clever, but he’s a psychotic nutcase with the power to bend reality and create whatever he desires with just a snap of his fingers. It’s so awesome.

Sneaking up behind Alyssa, I quietly raised my hands over her shoulders, stifling a laugh, then grasped her shoulders faster than she could react with a small yell. “AHHHH!” she screamed, jumping off the couch as she turned around, and I laughed at her surprise. “C-Charles, you big dummy! Don’t do that!”

“I said I was home!” I said through my laughter. “I swear, if we were getting robbed, you wouldn’t even hear them break into the house with your favorite show on.”

She puffed out her cheeks angrily and let out a huff. “I would not!” she argued.

“Uh huh. I’ll believe that when I find a way to simulate a break-in,” I snickered. Alyssa let out another huff, then sat back down in her seat with a pout. I’m only teasing her, and I’m sure she knows it, though I can never tell if she’s just acting or she’s going to tell mom and get me into trouble. I walked around the couch and plopped down next to her to watch the second half of this two-parter. “You know, if the ponies can see color, why doesn’t Twilight realize that her friends’ colors are grayed out, and turning more gray by the minute?”

“Because Discord wants to hurt Twilight and think the others don’t care about her or saving Equestria,” Alyssa stated matter-of-factly.

“So why doesn’t he corrupt her like the others?” I asked. “He forced Fluttershy to when his plan to trick her failed.”

“Because he cheated, and he has fun messing with the ponies,” she answered in that very same tone, like she was actually the expert in everything about the show.

“He’s been cheating since he tricked them into going into that hedge maze,” I countered. “I would have just corrupted them all, and just like that, no magical crown and necklaces to stop me from spreading chaos.”

“You’re a cheater, too, then.” I just rolled my eyes at her response.

“An all powerful god who can’t be defeated by anything except his own hubris,” I said. We watch Discord poking fun at Twilight as her friends up and leave her, changing her and giving up hope as she sadly walked home to her home. “He even took the Elements of Harmony before from that safe. He can take them again.”

“Why do you have to ruin the story?” Alyssa questioned bitterly.

“Because some people like to pick apart flaws in stories that could end up with a different scenario. That’s called criticism.” She said nothing and we continued watching the episode for a few minutes before a thought crossed my mind. “Did you finish any of your homework?”

“Yes,” Alyssa said, far too quickly to my liking.

“You sure? Because dad’s gonna check on your stuff, and if you’re falling behind again, he’s gonna take all your favorite pony toys until you get better grades.” Alyssa let out a grumble, muttering something about her schoolwork being boring, but she got up out of her seat and headed to her room. I paused the episode so she didn’t get more moody when she “misses” the episode despite seeing them dozens of times. “I’ll order us some pizza, and I’ll help check on your work, ok!?”

“Alright!” I heard her call back.

I got up, stretching out my back as I stared at the moment in the episode I paused on. Discord was sitting on his chaos throne, having just made a glass of chocolate milk rained down by a pink cotton candy cloud to toast to his power. I think it would have been funnier if he actually had his beverage in a wine glass instead to make him look much more like a sinister villain, but fans would probably complain about the usual villain tropes most evil characters have through the last decade of internet whining.

I walked back into the kitchen to order us that pizza. I noticed the money mom had left before I found the number of my favorite pizza place. I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket and dialed the number, but I barely pushed four of the numbers when I noticed an odd flash coming from the living room. Taking a glance into the room, I thought Alyssa snuck back to the TV to continue watching the episode, but I didn’t see her, and the video was still paused with Discord on his throne.

I shrugged and continued dialing the number and ordered our dinner for tonight. It would be delivered in about thirty minutes. Plenty of time for Alyssa to finish up any missing homework, check it, and finish up the episode to move on to, hopefully, something else to watch. I love my sister and all, but it’s pretty embarrassing if anyone sees me watching a cartoon’s original demographic was only for little girls.

Grabbing my backpack, I took out my book while I took my pack into my room and set it down. As I walked back into the living room to read a little more, I noticed something odd about the TV; more specifically, something was odd with Discord on the screen. Well, odder than he’s supposed to be, but I could have sworn I saw him frozen on screen while he was gloating, not literally sitting on his throne with his chocolate milk like a villain. Curious, I grabbed the remote and pushed the Play button, but I didn’t see the arrow appear on the screen. Nothing should be wrong with the controller. Not even the batteries needed to be changed.

“What’s going on with this thing?” I mumble to myself. When I looked back up, I balked when Discord was suddenly much closer to the screen, his eyes looking like they were staring into mine. Thinking I was delirious from all the lessons at class today, I rubbed my eyes and looked at the TV again. Thankfully, Discord was back in his original pose I was supposed to see him in. Rubbing my eyes again, I let out a small groan. “Maybe I’m just too tired today. I think I’m losing my mind.”

“Hmmmm, well, I wouldn’t say that.” I snapped my eyes open in surprise. I swear I just heard Discord’s voice come from the TV. When I looked at the screen, he was nowhere to be seen. Before I could even question what was happening, I saw what looked like an eagle’s claw lower down in my line of sight, holding a clear glass with a brown liquid, which smells heavily of chocolate milk. Slowly, I looked to my right, recalling that claw was attached to a specific character’s left side. Sitting right beside me on the couch, my jaw dropped when I saw the mismatched chimera that was the Lord of Chaos, Discord, smirking down at me while still offering his glass of chaotically crafted chocolate milk. “Thirsty?

Many things ran through my mind: Why was Discord, a cartoon character, sitting beside me? How did a cartoon materialize himself and mess with my brain for a brief moment before appearing on the couch? Is that animated glass of milk able to be grabbed and if I was able to drink it? However, of all these questions that should have been meant to be exciting, I was the exact opposite.

“AHHHHHHHH!!!!” I scrambled off the couch, falling over, then squirmed away before getting up on my feet and sprinting to my room.

I quickly slammed the door shut and barricaded myself, panting heavily as my terrified heart was beating several hundred beats a minute. “Charles? Are you alright?” Oh no! I forgot about my sister! How would she react seeing Discord casually lounging in our living room!? Was he going to hurt her!? “What happened?”

I was about to tell her to stay in her room, but I felt something cover my mouth. Looking up, I let out a muffled scream seeing Discord now somehow in my room, keeping my mouth covered with his bear-pawed hand. He gestured with his other hand to keep quiet, then quietly cleared his throat.

“Oh, don’t worry, sis! I thought I saw a wasp fly in the house!” My eyes widened in shock as I heard MY voice coming out of Discord’s mouth. “Just stay in your room and I’ll get rid of it once I figure out where dad put the bug spray!”

“Oh! Ok!” I heard my sister run back into her room and close her door to avoid getting stung.

I was stunned, frozen in place, actually feeling Discord’s paw against my face. He snapped his fingers with his free hand, making my room flash for a tenth of a second, but thankfully, he didn’t change anything.

“Ok, NOW you can start screaming,” Discord said, using his own voice this time.

All I could utter was a squeak when he removed his paw, my hand fumbling around for the door handle, but either I was too startled to find it or it somehow disappeared. Discord seemed amused by my shock, waiting for me to make some sort of noise in response.

I finally lifted a finger, pointing at him, then shakily inched it forward to touch his serpentine body, feeling the brown fur of his torso. “...Y-Y-You...Y-You-You...Y-You-”

“Yes, I know,” he interrupted. “The Lord of Chaos graces your presence, Charles. You’re quite the lucky human.”

“Y-You’re...You’re real?” I finally uttered, ignoring his words due to the fact that Discord was actually in my room, in the flesh, and gave me a fright. I was in disbelief, either hallucinating or having some sort of vivid dream, though I don’t recall passing out to take a nap. I let out a small laugh and shook my head. “This is crazy. I think the show is finally making me a little bit bonkers.” I walked past Discord, barely noticing the way he looked at me. “Maybe I have a fever or something. I’ll just close my eyes, and when I turn around and open them, Discord will be gone.” So I did just that: shut my eyes, turned on my heels, and after counting down from ten in my head, I opened them back up. No Discord in front of me, not to my right, nor my left, or even behind me. “There. Just a figment of my imagination.”

“Nope. Still here.” I flinched when I heard his voice coming from above me. I quickly looked up, expecting Discord to be lounging or having a random tea party on my bedroom ceiling, but it was bare aside from my ceiling fan. I then felt something ruffling around in my hair. Quickly grabbing what I hoped wasn’t the wasp Discord lied about, I pulled it out and held it in front of me. Shocked, but a bit annoyed at this point, it was the Lord of Chaos himself, shrunk to the size of a wasp with an amused grin. “You’re not dreaming. I really am here.”

Dropping the draconequus, I gave up and flopped on my bed, where he grew back in size and loomed over me, though I could have sworn I heard the sound effect that was from a Mario Bros. game when you grab a super mushroom. “This is actually happening. I really am talking to Discord.”

“Yes, and lucky you, Charlie boy, I came to you!” Discord eagerly said. Before I could ask what he meant, he made my bed warp and pushed me back up to my feet with a startled yelp. “I know you have a lot of questions, but I’m going to be very brief with you about why I’m here getting your attention.” He handed me the same glass of chocolate milk he had earlier, placing it in both my hands. I looked at it strangely, confused, but he tilted my head back up to look at him. “You see, I had realized something in the long, long life that I seemed to have, possibly including my one thousand year prison in stone thanks to the Elements of Harmony. I have no idea how old I am, or even if I am truly immortal.”

“But...aren’t you?” I asked quizzically.

“Exactly my point!” he exclaimed. “I’m not crazy enough to test that theory, but the Elements of Harmony could have KILLED me! They stop disharmony, and I’m the pure embodiment of that: chaos! And at this moment, Twilight Sparkle is going to snap out of my spell, free her friends, and use the Elements against me again.”

“Wait, you mean you know you’re going to lose? Even after all you did?” I asked, startled to know that Discord actually KNEW he wasn’t going to succeed in his second chaotic siege on Equestria. “But...but you...How!? You got too overconfident and underestimated them!”

“Oh, you mean this?” Discord made a TV screen appear in front of me, giving me a blank look as he played the moment Twilight and her friends used the Elements of Harmony on him once they were reunited. Discord tries to corrupt Applejack, but Twilight saves her, protecting herself and all her friends in a magic bubble, then Discord, in his hubris, lets the bearers use the Elements, turning him into stone. The draconequus in front of me was not amused by the results of the premiere’s ending, dismissing the screen with a pop. “Whatever that show details, it only has a majority of those events recreated flawlessly. I may be silly, but I’m not THAT gullible.”

“...So...you’re going to eventually go back and turn to stone again?” I asked. Discord nodded his head silently with a forlorn expression. “...Then why...are you here? And...why am I lucky?”

“Because I’m having a bit of an existential crisis,” he said. “I appear to be the only one of my kind, and mere moments ago, I was wanting to go into an early retirement. But, in order for me to pass down my chaos, I need an heir. The only issue is making a baby would take way too long, and no creature from my world would want to agree to a deal like that after witnessing my reign. So, after some thinking, I figured out who would be perfect for the job.” The curl of his lips in that smirk made me grimace. Discord lowered his muzzle closer to my face, then poked me lightly in the chest. “Humans spread so much havoc in your world, so who better than one of you?”

“B-But I’m not chaotic,” I nervously said. “I’m just in high school. I can barely socialize with any of my peers.”

“That’s why you’re the lucky one,” Discord said, giving me another couple friendly pokes in the chest. “If you agree to be my heir, you will be granted all of my chaotic powers. And it’s very simple for such a complex form of magic. All it takes is a wild imagination, a creative thought, and with a snap of the fingers-” Discord held up his hand, gave his fingers a snap, and with his power, he created a pink cloud smelling of strawberry cotton candy. He snatched a piece of the edible cloud, then stuffed it into my mouth, to my surprise and chagrin. Strangely enough, it really did taste like strawberry cotton candy, and as I chewed on it, I tasted chocolate milk blending with the sweet cottony confection. It was a weird combination, but it was actually really delicious. No wonder Pinkie Pie wanted some. “-it comes true. No gimmicks, no drawbacks, just your brain and what you can come up with on the fly.”

I swallowed the piece, smacking my lips slightly. The thought of having such chaotic powers was kind of exciting, almost like being a superhero. But, being Discord’s heir, that meant I would have to leave my world and live in Equestria, which actually does exist if the draconequus in my presence tells me otherwise. That would mean leaving my family behind, the few friends I had. Alyssa would probably be jealous if I told her I was going to be transported to her favorite show’s world and be with all her favorite pony characters, but he didn’t want to leave her all alone. Part of him still thinks this is all too real to be true, however, by proving he actually touched the draconequus, he made his bed bounce him back up on his feet, and actually taking a bite of his chaotic confection, this wasn’t a dream or an hallucination.

“...What about my family?” I asked Discord. “They’ll know if I’m gone. And I’m supposed to watch my little sister. I can’t just leave her by herself.”

“Hey, with chaos, you can go anywhere you want, whenever you want, and be whoever you want!” Discord reassured. He proved his point, transforming into a variety of different creatures, including a normal, human version of himself, though his eyes were still yellow and red with different-sized pupils. Unless he wore sunglasses to hide his eyes, I wouldn’t have known he was the chaotic deity up close. He turned back to his old self, slithering up to my right side and draped an arm over my shoulders. “You can come back whenever you want once you get the hang of controlling your new powers. It’s like you never left.”

“I...I don’t know…” I wasn’t sure if I should even trust Discord. He was a villain and he could be trying to trick me into taking his place for some devious scheme. But from the way he talked about his midlife crisis, as odd as it sounded, I have no idea just how old Discord really is. Maybe he is much older than he seems and he just wants to spend some peace and quiet in someplace secluded. Well, that actually sounded out of character for Discord, but it would be a peaceful retirement in his own way. “Do you even trust me to handle your power?”

“I’ll leave a little bit of my personality within you to see your progress, and help fix any messes you get into that are too big to handle,” Discord promised. “You’ll still be yourself, so you don’t have to worry about me taking complete control over your brain. Though, you might have some split personalities, but those can be fun once you get to know them.” I quirked a brow at him when he mentioned “split personalities”. I kind of hope I don’t really go insane with chaotic powers. “Oh, don’t give me that look. You’ll be fine! You can get down with the chaos, home fly! Come on, give me some claw, my brony!”

Discord held his eagle hand out to me with a wide grin. I just gave him an awkward look. Was he really trying to be cool and “hip” with me with his style of ‘70s lingo?

“...Do you have any idea what year it is in this world?” I asked him. “I don’t even think my dad ever said anything like that when he was my age.”

Discord’s grin dropped into an annoyed frown, lowering his hand with a huff before disappearing and reappearing before me. “Hey, I missed a thousand years of different trends in Equestria. I’m just trying to get on your good side.”

“Scaring the daylights out of me just to tell me I could be your replacement wasn’t a good start,” I grumbled.

“...Right,” I heard Discord mutter. “But, anyways, what do you say? Want to be my heir, Charles?”

After a bit of thought, I contemplated the pros and cons of taking Discord’s deal. Granted, I could come back and explain to my family what happened while I’ve been gone, and hope they don’t freak out if I show them my new powers. Alyssa might even get a kick asking me about Equestria, the princesses, Twilight and her friends in Ponyville, and ask for autographs from all of them. I was also curious to see how the world would look up close, if it was just like the show or maybe something else.

“...Ok. I’ll...I’ll do it,” I answered.

“Splendid!” Discord cheered, shooting confetti as he raised his hands in triumph. The bits of colorful paper disappeared when it hit my floor. At least he was keeping my room spotless so no one thought anything strange happened while I was gone. “Now, before we go, I need you to drink up that chocolate milk.”

“Uhh...Why?” I asked curiously.

As I looked down at the glass, Discord hovered both his hands over the glass, then wriggled his fingers as he sprinkled a flurry of some strange magical aura of purple into the milk. It almost looked like he was pouring in a void with odd, warping patterns flickering inside it. After distributing the extra “ingredient”, he removed his hands, and I watched the chocolate milk shimmer briefly before it turned back to normal.

“Drink every last drop, and you’ll receive all my powers,” Discord instructed.

“...Is it...gonna taste weird?” I asked nervously, wondering how chocolate milk would taste with essence of chaos blended in.

“Hmmm...I don’t know,” Discord said with a shrug. How reassuring of him. “A little warning, you might feel a little bit nauseous, but that’ll be normal. Having chaos magic inside you can make any mortal woozy and feel like a hive of bugs squirming around in your stomach.”

THAT doesn’t help reassure me at all. I sighed, already accepting Discord’s deal, and I wasn’t going back on my word to someone who could bend reality. Bracing myself, I brought the glass to my lips and began to drink down the enchanted chocolate milk. I only tasted the cocoa-flavored dairy as the liquid hit my tongue, but I continued downing it if there was a horrible aftertaste. I finally drank up every single ounce, removing the glass from my lips as I swallowed the last mouthful. I smacked my lips, feeling perfectly fine as I stared at the empty glass, then back up to Discord, who smiled eagerly as if he was waiting for something to happen.

“...I don’t really feel all that si-” I let out a sudden grunt, dropping the glass as it fell to the ground. My insides suddenly felt like they were on fire. I was too focused on the pain to notice the glass bounce off the floor and back into Discord’s hand. Falling to my knees, I clutched my stomach as my body began burning up. “W-What’s...happening!? I-It...It hurts so bad! I...I feel like...I’m dying!”

“It’ll pass.” I shakily looked up at Discord, who remained completely nonchalant as he looked down at me and ate the glass I drank from. When he finished his crunchy snack, he lowered his bear paw and placed it on my head while raising his eagle claw up, poising his fingers to snap them. “I’d brace yourself. Teleporting for a first timer can be very disorienting.”

I had no chance to react or question Discord. With a snap, I felt like I was shot out of a cannon and flew through an epilectic void of flashing lights. I wanted to scream in terror, feeling like I was freefalling in thousands of directions a millisecond, which only made the intense feeling in my body worsen from what was happening to me a moment ago. I wanted to vomit, but it wouldn’t come, and the pain I was feeling caused me to black out. The last thing I saw in my fading vision was a faint image of Discord smirking at me, then it disappeared as I faintly heard what sounded like the draconequus’s fall to Twilight and her friends using the Elements of Harmony to turn him back into a statue.

Slowly, all my senses began returning to me. My stomach still hurt from that awful experience, but my limbs felt intact. I had no idea how long I was out for, but teleporting was something I don’t ever want to experience again. The dull sound of silence began to disappear as I started hearing muffled voices around me. I had no idea what they were talking about, but they must have noticed I was unconscious and gathered others to help me. At least, that’s what I hoped.

I let out a small grunt, squinting my eyes open, only to flinch when the sun’s rays burned my retinas. I strained my ears to listen to what sounded like men, which sounded like panicking as I tried to move.

“It’s waking up!”

“Did it come from the statue?”

“How did that thing even disappear? Didn’t the Elements of Harmony seal that monster?”

The Elements of Harmony? Am I really in Equestria? And the voices I’m hearing are coming from stallons? I tried to open my eyes again, wincing slightly in order to finally see my surroundings. The first thing I saw was the grass beneath me, along with a couple pairs of white hooves in front of me. I blinked, clenching my eyes to adjust to the light some more when I heard more voices and hoofsteps rushing over to where we were.

“What is going on? What is the emergency?” I recognize that voice; feminine, almost like a goddess. As I tilted my head up slightly, I got a glimpse of the legs that belonged to that voice. Much more slender and longer than the stallions I could see, and with a color of a purer shade of white while she wore royal gold horseshoes, those legs belonged to none other than Princess Celestia. I heard her gasp in surprise, struck with silence before she spoke again. “H-How? That’s not possible. Twilight Sparkle and her friends sealed Discord with the Elements.”

Wait, he’s free? I thought he said he was going to lose on purpose. More hoofsteps arrived, where more gasps rang out. Moving my arms, I struggled to push myself up a bit. As I felt my fingers clench at the grass, something felt odd about them. I sat myself up, but before I could look at my hands, my eyes shot open when a spear was pointed inches from my face.

“Don’t move!” the stallion holding the spear ordered.

Aside from the long-reaching weapon pointed at me, the stallion was wearing the golden armor that Celestia’s guard wore. And behind him and a couple other guards who found me, my jaw dropped when I saw the Princess Celestia, and standing at her sides were the six Element bearers: Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Fluttershy. I was too stunned for words as I’m staring at them all, in the flesh, but they seemed a bit...taller than I thought? If Princess Celestia was the normal size of a horse back in my world, I would have been a few inches shorter than her. And they looked...terrified of me?

“No. How did the Elements of Harmony fail again!?” I heard Twilight exclaim in distress. “I pulled the girls back to their senses and we turned him into stone! They shouldn’t have failed!”

“Twilight, remain calm,” Celestia said to her nervous student.

“W-Wait,” I tried to say, only to freeze when I heard my own voice. I sounded younger. MUCH younger. “H-Huh? W-What happened to my voice?” I grasped my neck in confusion, only to balk when I felt two different sorts of digits. Pulling my arms back, I looked at my hands, and immediately regretted it. I didn’t have matching hands, not even four fingers and a thumb; my right hand was now a tiny bear paw and the left was a small eagle claw. I flexed my fingers, watching them move as I willed them to, which made my stomach drop. “W-W-W-What the-!?”

“I said don’t move!” the guard shouted.

He gave a warning thrust, inching the spear closer and making me fall back in shock. I landed on my back, getting a good look at my front, which made my anxiety skyrocket. My body was tiny, but what horrified me the most was that I had all sorts of different parts of my anatomy that were of a different animal; exactly like Discord. Panicking, I rolled and tried to get up, but my strange new body couldn’t handle standing on two legs as I flopped onto my stomach several times. I heard the guards warning me not to move, but I stumbled over to a nearby fountain that was in where I woke up in a royal garden.

Thankfully, the wall for the fountain was small enough for me to grab. I pulled myself up with a grunt, flopping my belly onto the railing and looked at my reflection. I looked at myself, staring at the water’s surface with a gasp. I looked exactly like Discord, but much, much younger, like he was the age of a young colt. I had the same yellow eyes with two different sized red pupils, a short snaggletooth fang sticking out from the right side of my small muzzle, a huge tuft of white hair that led to a thin black mane running down the middle to the back of my neck, small stumps barely sticking out of my white hair that would eventually be the two mismatched horns that would grow in, and on my back, I spotted a pair of mismatched wings at my sides, which I didn’t even know I had when I fell earlier.

I was suddenly yanked away from the fountain, held in a golden aura as I was carried away. I squirmed, unable to escape, but froze in fear when I was staring face to face with Princess Celestia, and she was NOT as calm or collected with a small, motherly grin on her face; she was glaring at me with a small frown, no hint of kindness in her eyes, and I felt powerless underneath this alicorn goddess’s furious gaze.

“How did you manage to get free, Discord?” Celestia questioned.

The Start of a New Life

I stared at Princess Celestia as she continued to glare at me. She thought I was Discord? I glanced at the other ponies around me. The guards still leered at me with weapons pointed at me, and the Mane Six, as fans and my sister called their group, eyeing me, some in shock while others were just as threatening as the alicorn still holding me and her soldiers ready to strike at a moment’s notice.

“W-Wait!” I exclaimed nervously. “I’m not Discord!”

“We’re done playing games, Discord!” the princess said, apparently fed up with the real draconequus’s chaos and wanted respite from the madness he had unleashed. Again. “Our celebration honoring my students and her friends for using the Elements on you again was interrupted when one of my guards told us your statue went missing.”

“B-But he should be in your garden!” I said. “Where did you put him?”

Celestia turned me around in her magical aura, pointing out where Discord was supposed to be resting in his re-imprisoned state. There was an empty stone dias that was perfect for a statue, but if I recall correctly from the beginning of the premiere where Discord was introduced, this was the same exact spot in the garden he stood in when the teacher in Ponyville, Ms. Cheerilee, I think, took her class on a school field trip.

“We put ‘you’ right there,” Princess Celestia said.

“There’s not a single trace of stone, dust, or debris around the area,” one of the guards said. “If Discord didn’t break free like before, then it must have disappeared. Or transformed into a child.”

“What!?” I shrieked, quickly covering my mouth when my voice cracked. It felt worse than hitting puberty when I made such a shrill noise out of getting shocked by this. Thankfully, no one was laughing or mocked me, but it still didn’t help that they thought I was actually Discord. “...B-B-But...But he said-”

Being quickly turned back around, I yelped, facing Princess Celestia once more. “Whatever devious schemes you’ve got up your amalgamous limbs, you will not be fooling any of us with this youthful charade.” She dropped me, but I was quickly picked up by a unicorn guard’s magic aura, forced into the middle of the group with spears trained at me. I gulped, nervous and absolutely terrified. “Guards, follow us, and keep a close eye on him. If he begins to spread chaos, try to contain him as much as possible. We’re using the Elements again, and this time, he will not escape.”

The princess turned on her heels, leading her entourage through the garden. I helplessly floated in between the boxed-in formation of the soldiers, shaking uncontrollably at the thought of being permanently turned into a statue. Since no one was going to hear me out, or even try to, I just took one last look at my surroundings before I would remain stuck in one pose for the rest of my possibly new immortal life.

The garden had a lot of different, exotic plants and decor, making it scream royalty. Nearby was the grand castle where Princess Celestia and Princess Luna reside. They took me inside the grand halls, which looked exactly like how the show’s animators designed it. The long halls had columns along the walls, red carpeting in the middle of the halls, tall glass windows overlooking the garden or other sections of the castle within the perimeter walls. As regal as anyone could imagine, but it didn’t help with my anxiety about what my fate had in store.

Through one of the halls, I saw the stained-glass murals depicting important moments in Equestria’s history that the ponies revere. The first image was of Discord causing trouble by controlling three different ponies, then the one next to that with Celestia and Luna turning him to stone. Then there was one of Princess Celestia battling Nightmare Moon, Princess Luna’s dark alter ego from the despair of her loneliness and lack of adoration from her subjects, banishing the evil alicorn mare with the Elements of Harmony. The next had Nightmare Moon being stopped by the Mane Six with the Elements of Harmony, which led to freeing the Princess of the Night from the evil in her heart. The next window after that seemed to be a work in progress, which was no doubt going to be the image of the Element bearers stopping Discord. The pony artists who were working on it noticed us, then me, causing them to gasp, accidentally drop one of the fragile pieces of glass art, then flee for their lives. I was definitely going to be paying for that. With my freedom.

“This doesn’t make any sense,” I heard Twilight between the guards and their golden armor shifting with each step. “Discord let us use the Elements on him again, and he barely flinched when he saw that they were working.”

“Maybe he had a backup plan in case he really did think he would lose,” Pinkie pondered aloud.

“By turning himself into a colt?” Rainbow questioned.

“Duh. To make the Elements of Harmony not harm the innocent youth?” Pinkie explained.

“I highly doubt there’s any innocence in that horrid creature, even if he looks adorable as a colt,” Rarity haughtily said.

Great. I’m adorable and horrid. I look almost exactly like the fanart some people online made about Discord as a baby or a young draconequus. I will admit the foals and young colts and fillies are cute, even baby Discord. Too bad I don’t have the charm to win any of them over and make them believe me.

As we got closer to where I assumed the vault Princess Celestia held the Elements of Harmony for safekeeping, I noticed Fluttershy glancing over her shoulder to look at me. I know she’s the Element of Kindness, loves animals, and is really, really timid around other ponies. I thought she would turn her head back around to avoid my gaze, but she didn’t seem all that frightened of me. Maybe she thinks I’m innocent? After all, she was the only one Discord wasn’t able to manipulate with his traps in the maze. Her innocence and understanding her own flaws frustrated him and he forcibly changed her personality in order to win his fake game.

We arrived at the vault. It was huge with alicorn statues beside it, the door colored red and blue with a sun symbol in the center with an indent for Princess Celestia’s horn to insert and unlock with her magic aura. The unicorn holding me unceremoniously dropped me to the floor, making me land hard on my belly with a winded grunt. They backed away, though still kept their weapons aimed at me in case I tried anything. I’m still struggling to try to stand up on four legs. What danger could they even be in when they’re detaining a child?

Celestia was about to unlock the vault when we heard a pair of loud hoofsteps echo through the hall. “Sister, where art thou?” I turned around, and there I saw the Princess of the Night herself approach us with a slightly annoyed look. “We have heard that roguish fiend, Discord, had been freed from his prison. Has he been sealed away by the-?” She froze when she looked at me, surrounded by guards while the Mane Six were beside Princess Celestia, who was about to stick her horn into the vault’s “keyhole”. The look she gave me made me want to find a place to hide and slither away forever, but with the stallions keeping a close eye on me, all I could do was just sit awkwardly in place with a nervous grin on my face, or my muzzle, I should say. “...Is this not Discord as an infant? Or are our eyes playing tricks due to his infernal magic?”

My grin was quickly wiped from my face. Add another pony who doesn’t trust me by my appearance. Now that I think about it, Equestria seemed very judgemental about other creatures before getting to know them, even before the country was founded. At least later seasons made better moral lessons about judging a book by their cover.

“Yes, Luna,” Celestia said. “We thought Discord was sealed away once more, but he seemed to have fooled us by using a magically crafted copy and replaced himself in the form of a foal.” Luna leered at me, walking around the guards to join her sister and the Element bearers. The girls all stared at Luna as she approached, though it was understandable as to why. They wouldn’t have seen her real design until the Nightmare Night episode, her smaller, brighter blue form in the season one premiere basically considered a “rough draft” for the animators until her true design was finished later in this point in the show’s story. Celestia continued unlocking the vault, using her magic to light the door and open it up. Inside was a small pedestal with the same royal blue ornamental chest the Elements of Harmony were placed. Celestia peeked inside, letting out a sigh before opening the chest, revealing the five necklaces and crown, each of them bearing the same symbol of the mares’ respective cutie marks in different colored gems. “Good. They’re here this time. Discord was not smart enough to take them from under our noses again.”

“But I’m not Discord!” I exclaimed, getting desperate at this point.

I tried to stand, wobbling slightly while getting a feel for being on all fours. “Don’t make any moves, creature!” one of the guards shouted as he thrust his spear at me.

I flinched and fell over, getting frustrated and visibly upset. I didn’t like confrontations, I behaved at home and at school, and I always did my schoolwork on time. I was a good kid, and I’m being mistreated because I look like the chaotic deity who just wreaked havoc on Equestria, but in a younger form. Discord didn’t tell me I was actually going to be his scapegoat. He promised he was still going to leave a statue of his defeat so he could retire and take his place as the heir to his chaotic throne. But when I realized how much trouble I was in, I felt just like a bigger fool who got suckered into his lies, just like the Mane Six.

I didn’t bother getting up this time as I saw tears begin to blur my vision. Celestia hovered the Elements of Harmony to the six bearers, putting them on one by one. They wouldn’t lend me their ears and hear why this was happening and who I really was. I was going to turn into another one of the royal sisters’ lawn ornaments. I curled up in a ball, clutching the long tail I now had tightly to my chest as I began crying.

“Alright, girls. This time, let’s not miss,” Twilight said. I just shut my eyes and waited for the inevitable. “Fluttershy, put your necklace on.”

Through my tears, I squinted my eyes, choking back sobs. Fluttershy seemed to be staring at me with concern, the Element of Kindness still held in her hoof. Why was she hesitating? She and her friends all think I’m the monster who tricked them. Does she feel sorry for me? Or is she fooled by the fact I’m a colt version of Discord, and as a different creature, she doesn’t want me to be harmed?

“Fluttershy, wake up!” Rainbow exclaimed with impatience. “We got an evil chaos lord to put in stone! Put your necklace on!”

Fluttershy glanced at her friends, then back at me, then back to everyone again. “Umm...If this was Discord...why doesn’t he teleport away if he broke free?” she asked.

“Discord is a deceptive and manipulative creature, Fluttershy,” Celestia said. “He can take any form he wishes. His magic is able to bend to his will and change anypony and anyTHING with a simple blink. He is the embodiment of disharmony.”

“When us and our sister battled the draconequus, his magic overwhelmed ours by an unprecedented margin,” Luna added bitterly. “We have tried, but we could barely scrape the fiend while he openly mocked us, changing our features around for his own amusement. That is when we sought the Elements of Harmony to seal and dispel his chaotic evil on the land before he destroyed it.”

“Then why does he look so scared?” Fluttershy asked. “Can he regress to a younger age?”

“To fool us,” Twilight stated. “Do you girls remember what he did before his influence transformed your personality to the point where I was about to give up hope on all of you?”

“He told me Cloudsdale would be in trouble without me before my brain started getting fuzzy,” Rainbow said.

“I remember a fun party with balloons, but the balloons came to life and laughed at me, not with me,” Pinkie said.

“I do not wish to recall mine,” Rarity reluctantly commented. “All I remember was a rock wall blocking my way with my cutie mark shimmering like real diamonds.”

“And ya thought that boulder you were luggin’ around was a big diamond that ya named ‘Tom’,” Applejack mentioned. Rarity grimaced, only to look away with a huff, her cheeks flushing pink in embarrassment. “Ah walked into some piles of livin’ apples that showed me what would happen if we failed. Ah’m ashamed to admit Ah would even consider lyin’ to hide the truth if the worst came to worse.”

Everyone then looked to Fluttershy to recount what happened to her, a scene I recall many times as Discord’s cheapest tactic in his game of trickery. “Well, I followed some butterflies in the maze, which I guess was Discord trying to trick me,” the yellow pegasus said. “He mentioned how alone I was, that you girls wouldn’t bother to find me because...well, I’m not really the strongest of us, both physically or emotionally.”

“And he broke you for picking on you?” Rainbow questioned with a snarl, then leered at me. “That’s it! The rainbow zapping’s gonna have to wait! Let me at that brat!”

My eyes widened as Rainbow flew right at me faster than I could blink. Before I could even flinch, Fluttershy had let out a gasp, then flew with surprising speed, and to everyone’s shock, she tackled her friend down to the marble floor. My jaw dropped. Fluttershy was able to display some incredible feats later in the series, but being able to catch up to Rainbow Dash, the pegasus who was fast enough to break the sound barrier AND the light spectrum in a sonic rainboom before her other defining moments in bravery?

“No, Rainbow Dash! Discord didn’t trick me like he did all of you!” Fluttershy scolded. She got up off of Rainbow Dash, who looked startled after her timid friend took her down so easily. “I know I’m not the bravest, or the strongest, and I know I can be a bit of a burden to all of you, but I know all of you want me to be the best I can be! I told Discord the exact same thing and admitted I have those very flaws he pointed out. I’m lucky to have made friends like you to help me improve, even if sometimes they seem like big hurdles I can’t jump over.”

“...Wait. Discord didn’t fool you?” Twilight questioned. “But you were so mean and heartless! That makes no sense! How did you manipulate you when he failed to do so!?”

“He cheated,” I mumbled aloud. I didn’t think anyone heard me, but it was loud enough to get everyone’s attention. No one uttered a word as all eyes were on me, waiting for some sort of explanation. I mean, I was basically Discord to them, and I knew exactly what happened, so they all wanted to know what I did. Slowly, shakily, I sat up on my haunches, sniffling a little as I wiped my face with my bear paw of my stray tears. “...Fluttershy didn’t get tricked at all. She accepted all the things Discord said.”

“You mean what YOU said,” Rainbow grumbled, but quickly shut her mouth when Fluttershy turned to give her a harsh glare.

Fluttershy glanced back at me, giving me a small smile and an encouraging nod, letting me continue. “...For his plan to work...he needed to corrupt all of you,” I continued. “The maze was all just a game to fool you all, but his manipulation couldn’t trick Fluttershy. So, he forcefully changed her against her will with his magic in frustration.”

The girls and princesses gasped in shock. “You mean Discord cheated at his own game that he made up for us!?” Pinkie shrieked. “That’s...That’s so unfair!”

“And so was giving back Rainbow’s wings when she managed to fly away right at the end!” Twilight added. “You just gave them back to her right after you tricked her!”

“He did, but he left a present that had Rainbow Dash’s wings inside when his spell took hold,” I explained. “He gave her a choice to ignore them or take them to ‘save Cloudsdale’, but his spell was stronger than her loyalty, and she took them back, costing you all the game. So, it was fair, and Rainbow Dash was the last pony he needed to corrupt regardless.”

“Discord being compared to fairness,” Princess Luna scoffed. “Such a farce.”

While the others were startled by the outcome of Fluttershy’s “test” and Rainbow costing the girls the game, I thought I saw Princess Celestia have some sort of revelation. “Fluttershy’s kindhearted nature was immune to Discord’s wiles?” she uttered.

“Why is Discord talking about himself like he’s a different pony?” Rarity wondered aloud.

“Because I’m not Discord,” I said again. “I just woke up in this body, and I’m being accused without being given a chance to defend myself.”

“Really?” Twilight questioned, growing skeptical at me. “If you’re not ‘Discord’, then who exactly are you?”

“I’m his heir. And my real name is Charles.” All the ponies were taken aback by my words. Even the princesses were shocked to hear I was, in some weird way, Discord’s “child”. I know they were wondering how that was possible, if Discord could even have a child with any creature, or when I was even “born”, and after being treated so badly, I don’t know if I should even answer any of their rising number of questions at the point, but I wanted to speak my mind when they threatened to turn me to stone. “I’m not his biological son; I was originally a human in another world that he randomly picked to be the next Lord of Chaos, but he didn’t tell me all the magic he would pass on to me meant turning me into his ‘Mini Me’! He said he was retiring while I was to take his place, but I didn’t plan on being his scapegoat and turning into stone in his place! I haven’t even used this chaos magic once since I woke up, and your guards are pointing their spears at me threateningly when I’ve done absolutely NOTHING to anyone! So, in pony terms: I was a sucker just like the rest of you!”

I panted heavily, giving every pony in the room a huge piece of my mind. At least, for those who did deserve it, unlike Fluttershy. She may have been shocked at first at my presence, but it quickly passed when she saw how distressed I was. I broke down in tears in defeat, didn’t fight back against them, even while being magic handled by both Princess Celestia and the unicorn guard, and the fact I was stumbling when I tried to run to the fountain to see my reflection earlier should have risen some suspicion that I was not the malicious draconequus that razed their kingdom with his chaos.

Silence was all that rang in the corridor aside from my frustrated breathing. Most of them remained skeptical, of course. All except Fluttershy.

“...This has to be another trick,” Luna mumbled.

“Ah don’t think he’s lyin’,” Applejack said. Twilight, Rarity, Princess Luna, Rainbow Dash, and the guards glanced at the farm pony like she had a second head. “Obviously, Ah can be a terrible liar. But if that colt really was Discord, as strange as that story was, just from how upset he is, there’s no way he’s makin’ it all up.”

“Seriously, AJ!?” Rainbow exclaimed. “You BELIEVE him!?”

“Element of Honesty,” Applejack stated, even as she pointed to her necklace. At least someone else gave me a chance. “And thinkin’ about it now, Discord would have made some elaborate escape plan by usin’ his magic. It all disappeared when he was hit by the Elements’ power, and with this young Discord around, there hasn’t been any weird things happenin’ since we found him.”

“Really!?” Pinkie zipped over to one of the windows, smushing her face against the glass as she seemed to look up at the sky for something. “Awww! There’s not even a single cotton candy cloud making chocolate milk rain! Applejack’s right.” She peeled her face off the window, which I thought would have been hilarious with her cartoonish antics, but I was still a bit miffed with the group misjudging me. Pinkie then looked at me, and when I blinked, she was suddenly right in front of my face, startling me on my back. “Say, you think maybe you can...make some chocolate milk-raining cotton candy clouds? Just one at the very least?”

I blinked a couple times, trying to ponder her question, but I scowled angrily at her. “I don’t know how it works,” I said, pushing Pinkie’s muzzle away from me as I sat back up. “Discord told me it was simple to do, but he probably left out how complicated it actually was to trick me into agreeing to be his heir.”

“What were his instructions?” Twilight wondered.

“Just think of something and then snap my fingers,” I scoffed. “Sounds too easy to be true. Just think of cotton candy clouds filled with chocolate milk, and then snap my fingers.” I lifted my eagle hand and snapped my fingers to emphasize. However, popping in front of me, to mine and everyone’s shock, there was a pink cotton candy cloud floating in front of me. It wasn’t as big as the one Discord showed me back in my world, but that was enough to make Pinkie squeal with glee and snatch the cloud. She stuffed the whole cloud in her mouth, and with one bite, her cheeks swelled up, humming in delight as I saw some brown liquid, which was definitely chocolate milk, seeping out between her lips. Dumbfounded and slack jawed, I slowly looked down at my hand, then back to the ponies. The guards eyed me warily, backing away, though unsure if they should point their spears at me. “...Ok...Maybe it...really is that simple.”

“And then the chaotic power will eventually go out of control,” Luna added. “Thou might spread more chaos than Discord, and even he had some semblance of controlling his own magic.”

“I could practice in small increments?” I suggested sheepishly. I looked at my hand, my fingers still poised for another burst of chaos magic. Quickly, I separated my digits and placed them behind my back. “Probably not right now.”

And back to the skeptical glances and worried frowns. Applejack and Fluttershy had vouched for me, but me displaying my small bit of chaos control didn’t help clear me that much. Fluttershy then stepped forward, past the startled guards, and sat down in front of me. I never thought I would feel so tiny compared to Fluttershy of all ponies. I’m probably as big as either of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. I wonder if I might meet them, assuming I won’t still get turned to stone.

“You’re not really dangerous, are you?” she asked to clarify, even though she knew the answer moments ago.

“No. Just confused. And a bit traumatized,” I said, giving the guards a dirty look.

My gaze softened when I looked back up at Fluttershy, silently judging me through my eyes. She still held the Element of Kindness in her hoof, never considering putting it on to go through with using the Elements power against me. She looked down at her necklace, then back at me.

“I think we should give you the benefit of the doubt and give you a chance,” Fluttershy finally said, then, to the others’ shock, she tossed the Element of Kindness over her shoulder. I didn’t even see that coming. She suddenly picked me up in her hooves and hugged me against her chest before I could process what just happened. “We’re so sorry for scaring you, little guy.”

“Uhh, actually, I’m really fifteen years-” Fluttershy gently squished me closer against her, completely ignoring me while whispering some cooing sounds like I was actually a baby.

I got sick of being treated like a baby when I was seven, and it seems like I’m going to be coddled by Fluttershy. Hopefully not for so many years.

“Fluttershy, don’t hug him!” Rainbow cried out. “He’s still probably trying to trick us! Or...infect you to be a rude jerk again!”

Fluttershy turned around to face Rainbow, showing everyone my annoyed blank stare while being squished against her gentle, but surprisingly firm grip. “He’s just misunderstood. He hasn’t done anything wrong since he woke up. And what if he really isn’t Discord? We should give him a chance, and we can teach him to use his magic for good.”

Snapping out of my irritation, I squirmed myself in Fluttershy’s hooves to look at everyone with a small grin and an eager nod. This moment seemed a bit too early for Discord’s reformation since that came up later in the show, but with me in his place, I’ll take that chance to avoid being petrified by the powers of harmony. Rainbow Dash blinked, then frowned after a couple seconds of silence.

“Ok. It’s official. That kid’s already corrupted Fluttershy,” she said.

“I’m not corrupted,” Fluttershy argued.

“Yes you are; by a baby creature, who is our ENEMY,” Rainbow emphasized. She swiftly flew over to where Fluttershy’s necklace was tossed aside, then came back, holding it out to her. “Put the necklace on and let’s blast him.”

“No!” Fluttershy exclaimed, smacking the necklace out of her best friend’s hoof. “Don’t judge Discord Jr. because of what he looks like! I thought all of us learned that when we met Zecora!”

“My real name is Charles,” I tried to voice out.

“Zecora is a zebra, a different kind of pony compared to us!” Rainbow argued. “If he’s the spawn of that...that...whatever he is, or if he really shrunk himself to look younger, he’s going to destroy Equestria again!”

“He’s just a baby!” Fluttershy yelled back.

“I’m fifteen years old!” I exclaimed. “I just look young because Discord turned me into this form after I drank that chaotic chocolate milk concoction he gave me! I’m not a toddler!”

I was forced to listen to the two pegasus mares bicker with each other like an old married couple while I was the unfortunate “baby” in the middle of it all. Despite my grievances, I glanced at the other four bearers and the princesses. Pinkie finished swallowing my first ever chaotic creation, licking her lips clean of the chocolate milk dribbling down her muzzle, so I don’t know what she’s thinking. Applejack seemed reluctant to side with Fluttershy, but since she understood I was telling them all the truth, she might be able to back me up, too. Twilight and Rarity were unsure, Luna clearly disagreed, but Celestia was still struck with that expression of revelation. She finally snapped out of her daze, noticing me staring at her. She’s clearly mastered masking her real emotions after over a thousand years ruling a kingdom, which worried me as to what she wanted to do with me.

She cleared her throat loud enough for all to hear her, silencing Rainbow and Fluttershy’s argument over me. “Guards, you may return to your posts,” Princess Celestia said.

Confused, the stallions glanced at each other, then back to their Princess of the Sun. “I-I’m sorry, Your Highness?”

“You are no longer needed to assist us in reigning in...Charles.” Baffled, I watched the stallions flinch at her command. And the princess actually used my name, not Discord, which didn’t sit well with Luna. Silently, the guards gave Princess Celestia and Princess Luna a salute, then filed in line and marched back to their original posts throughout the castle. With a flick of her head, Celestia used her magic to pick up the Element of Kindness off the floor, then took the other remaining Elements from the other mares. Shocked, everyone looked at Celestia as she placed the six accessories neatly in the chest and closed it. “I believe Fluttershy has come up with a brilliant idea. We will give this young draconequus the benefit of the doubt and give him the chance to prove he is not really Discord.”

“Really?” I asked quizzically.

“Really?” Fluttershy asked hopefully.

“REALLY!?” Rainbow Dash exclaimed in exasperation.

“Really,” Celestia answered with a curt nod.

“Sister, this is not ‘brilliant’!” Luna argued. “We are going to let the child of a monster roam free without consequence!? His tale holds no flame to a candle of woe that is nonexistent and will burn the foundation it was crafted upon!”

“...What did Princess Luna just say?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“She’s basically saying Discord - or, Charles, rather - is only pretending and will eventually betray us,” Celestia translated, then gave her sister a small frown. “We’re going to have to work on your modern speech a bit more, Luna.” The lunar princess huffed, giving me a furious glance. “But I am not going to let him run free in Equestria as he sees fit. He will be under the watchful eyes of Twilight Sparkle and her friends in Ponyville.”

“Whoa, wait, Princess Celestia, are you serious!?” Twilight exclaimed. “You want us to watch him!? What if he-!?”

“If he acts out of line, I will leave the Elements of Harmony in your care.” Celestia lowered the chest, placing it on her pupil’s back. I could see that level of responsibility was going to cause Twilight’s mind to snap. As hilarious as it can be to watch the purple unicorn struggle, it is a bit disheartening to see her go crazy over something she sees as more important than life itself. “I hoped I would have crafted a spell in time to prevent the Elements from being taken by Discord again, but if Charles is telling the truth, I will trust him not to cause any trouble.” Celestia looked at me, giving me a warning gaze, which I immediately heeded. “At least, as much trouble as you can handle if you’re practicing controlling your chaotic magic.”

As much of a kindhearted and forgiving goddess Celestia was, she appears to have some limits if you cross her too much. I just quickly nodded my head silently, clearly not going to cause any harm to anyone. And I’m going to live in Ponyville with this limited freedom, which I am completely ok with. I’m not like Discord, so I’m not going to squander this deal. Fluttershy squeezed me tightly with a squee, happy to know I’ll be given a chance.

After leaving the castle, I was helplessly carried by Fluttershy as I traveled with the girls through the city of Canterlot. While passing by the posh noble ponies of the rich city, most of them never paid us any mind, too busy lifting their noses high into the air as they walked by. I wonder how they could navigate these streets doing that on a daily basis. I imagined them being so blind to their uptight aristocracy that they’ll smack into a light pole or run into a bench, barely phase them, and continue their neck-breaking stroll.

We eventually reached the train station and boarded the first train bound to Ponyville. I’ve never been on a train before, at least not a small rollercoaster ride at an amusement park my parents took me and my sister to a few years ago. As soon as we got inside and found our seats, I looked out the window when the train began to move. I nearly fell out of my seat when the train lurched forward, but I hung onto the windowsill to support myself. I’d rather practice walking while not in a moving vehicle and trip over my own feet on unstable ground. Watching the scenery pass didn’t feel as different while riding in a car, just the fact you’re in a much bigger mode of transportation and you’re not so cramped and confined in a singular seat for long trips. The world was just as bright and colorful as the show made it look, almost like I was a part of the animation.

“So, anypony want to volunteer to watch Little Discord?” Twilight voiced out in the train car.

My ears folded against my head as I stared blankly at the window. “My name is Charles,” I said as I turned around to stare at Twilight, who was sitting in the row behind me with the chest containing the Elements of Harmony. Fluttershy was sitting next to me, Rainbow and Pinkie sat on the opposite side of us with Rainbow sitting as far away from me as possible, and Applejack and Rarity sat behind them. “And if anyone calls me a mini Discord, it’s not going to help me show others I’m not like him.”

“Hee hee! Charles is a weird name!” Pinkie laughed. “Maybe you’d like Baby D.? Ooh! How about Dizzy!? Oh wait, that nickname’s been taken by another story written by this author.” Wait, what did she just ramble about? “Oh, I know! Crypto! Like the word ‘cryptic’, and it makes sense since Discord makes much less sense than me!”

I just stared at Pinkie Pie, baffled that she doesn’t seem to make any sense when she goes on a tangent, and I hope being the young Lord of Chaos doesn’t mean I’ll be able to understand her. “...Just Charles,” I repeated. “After all that, I don’t ever want to BE associated with Discord.”

“...Ok!” Pinkie said with a shrug. “Charlie it is!”

“No! Just-!” I huffed, rubbing my eyes, which felt so much bigger compared to my small hands. “Don’t question Pinkie Pie. Don’t question Pinkie Pie. Don’t question Pinkie Pie.”

Twilight’s question still hung in the air as she giggled nervously. “So, uhh, Di- I-I mean, Charles’s living arrangements?” she asked.

“Not happening,” Rainbow said with a scowl.

Yeah, same to you too, Rainbow Dash. I wonder how Scootaloo, your number one fan and surrogate sister, deals with your attitude when you’re moody. You improve a little in the future, but goodness gracious, you’re more stubborn than Applejack on a work binge.

“Ok, that answers that,” Twilight mumbled. “Uhh, Pinkie?”

Pinkie let out a loud, excited gasp, but she paused, shifting her eyes around before shutting her opened maw. “Eh, actually, probably not a good idea. The Cakes allowed Gummy to stay with me since he’s my pet, but if they saw a small, itty-bitty version of Discord, it might not be good for Sugarcube Corner if ponies saw the real Discord in Ponyville earlier.”

“...Really?” I asked. “If I practiced this magic, you wouldn’t even reconsider the idea if I made all different batches of candies or baked goods?”

“As yummy as that all sounds, and I really, REAAAAAAAALLY wanna be your taste tester, Mr. and Mrs. Cake prefers hard work when baking their treats instead of taking shortcuts,” Pinkie explained.

That...was actually a decent enough reason. Mr. and Mrs. Cake are earth ponies, so doing the work themselves would feel much more satisfying when making customers happy. And I think this is before Mrs. Cake gives birth to the Cake Twins, Pound and Pumpkin. Now I can’t wait for that moment to happen. My sister loves the babies in “My Little Pony”, even if others might not agree they’re cute with their beady eyes.

“Applejack? Rarity?” Twilight gestured to the mares across from her.

Both mares looked at each other, probably the busiest out of the group with their lines of work. “Uh, sorry, Twilight,” Applejack apologized. “Ah’d love to take Charles in, but if he wants to practice his magic, Ah don’t want him to accidentally turn the apples into pears, or uproot the trees and turn them into chocolate, or...somethin’ weird by mistake.”

“Yes, sorry, darling,” Rarity apologized as well. “I’d rather not see my supplies hopping around and hiding from me. Especially if they get turned into...garish colors for the fashion lines I’m working on.”

I wanted to protest, but they did have a point. If I can’t control this magic, then I won’t be able to reverse whatever mistakes I make on my own. Plus, Applejack and Rarity have such serious jobs: one supplies delicious apples and apple products throughout Equestria while the other sets fashion trends that could help her lead to growing her business and spread her clothing line throughout the kingdom. I didn’t want to destroy what they’ve both worked hard at what they each strived for.

“Are you sure?” Twilight pleaded. “What about your sisters? They could have a playmate so they don’t distract you.”

Rarity grimaced, then let out a nervous titter as she shifted her eyes warily. “Oh, definitely sure, Twilight!” she quickly said. “I’d be too busy anyway!”

Or she’d be worried I’ll get Sweetie Belle involved in making a mess of your house and place of business. At least I know how to make toast and not melt it into porridge. I couldn’t help but grin as that scene popped into my head. Just the confidence in Sweetie Belle’s voice after cooking her version of breakfast was hilariously adorable.

Twilight glanced over to Fluttershy, looking pretty desperate. “Fluttershy?”

“Oh. I can take care of Discord Jr.” Darn it, Fluttershy. I don’t want to be upset with you, but why are you the most innocent out of the Mane Six? I just sighed in defeat and slid down my seat, hearing Twilight let out a relieved sigh and possibly copying me. I felt Fluttershy pat my head, making me pout as I was either treated like a puppy or a little kid to her. I think I’m only a couple years younger than these ponies. I actually have no idea how old they really are, but I’m pretty sure they’re either young adults or older teens. “I should have enough room at the cottage for him with all my animal friends visiting.”

“Am I sleeping in a dog house?” I asked sarcastically.

Fluttershy giggled at my question, then scooped me up in her hooves and cuddled me again, much to my chagrin. “You’re so silly.”

“Ok! That’s settled!” Twilight said. “I mean, I would have, but I’ve got...quite a lot of studying to catch up on! And I need to find a good place to store the Elements of Harmony! Which are entrusted to me! Not pressured or anything!”

Yeah, I think Twilight’s being “silly” here, not me. And she clearly doesn’t trust me that much. Understandable. Squirming out of Fluttershy’s hooves, I thought of some cotton candy and chocolate milk, then snapped my fingers, creating another small ball of sweet fluff in front of the unicorn, which startled her.

“Twilight, have some cotton candy filled with chocolate milk,” I said.

“Why?” she asked.

I stood up in my seat and gave Twilight a blank stare. “You’re not you when you’re hungry.”

“What’s that supposed to-?” Suddenly, Twilight’s stomach began to rumble. She glanced at her belly, then up to me, where I gave her a cheeky grin. She frowned at me, using her magic to move the chaotic creation away from her. “I’ll eat something when I get back home. And I also need to check on Spike and his stomachache from Princess Celestia sending all those friendship letters back to me.”

“Hey, can I eat that, Twilight?” Pinkie asked. Twilight tossed the sweet treat/drink combo to the pink pony, which she eagerly caught. “Yay! More yummy chaos!”

I watched Pinkie chomp down on the edible strawberry cotton, squirting chocolate milk from her bite and splashed Rainbow Dash with some of it. “Agh! Pinkie!”

“Want shome?” Pinkie asked with her mouth full, offering Rainbow a bite of her snack.

“No thanks!” Rainbow wiped the chocolate milk staining her fur with a look of disgust.

Pinkie shrugged and continued eating her second helping of my chaotic food. I think that little remark I made to Twilight just made it harder for me to gain her trust. Actually, where did that snide comment toward her slowly dwindling sanity even come from? I’m not that mean. But, then again, I was threatened to be turned to stone by these six mares after completely misunderstanding my own situation. I just shook my head, hoping I won’t do anything too stupid to get me in more hot water than I never jumped into.

The train eventually reached the train station in Ponyville, the friendliest town in all of Equestria. We soon got off, and I began to practice the first thing any newborn did in life: learning how to walk. And walking on four legs was weird, as well as embarrassing. Even though the train had stopped, it was troublesome trying to put one leg in front of the other with both the back and front legs. I continued to stumble out of the train car while the Mane Six followed after me, clearly finding my awkward waddling amusing from the snickering behind me.

My goal to get off the train was met with messy results, but I made it. “Ok. I think I’m getting the hang of walking on all fours: right front and left back, then left front and right back. Rinse and repeat, and rinse, and-” Getting a bit too confident, I clipped my hooved back leg and my eagle claw. I yelped and fell flat on my face with a grunt. My ear twitched when I heard Rainbow bust out laughing at my slip up. “Yeah, yeah. You try walking with a different pair of legs.”

Fluttershy gave Rainbow a disappointed frown. “Rainbow Dash, don’t make fun of him,” she chided. Fluttershy came over to me and helped me back up. “Just take it slow. There’s no rush, Jr.”

“Why doesn’t he just fly?” Rarity wondered. “He has wings.”

“If I can barely figure out how to walk, why would I try flying?” I questioned. Curiously, I looked at my sides, scrunching my face to try to move these new appendages. I managed to find them after a few seconds, but it was so weird having wings to control. They flapped erratically and out of sync, and the thought of hovering up in the air a bit too high and stopping was pretty scary. I folded them back to my sides, giving up on trying that until I was a bit more confident in this body. “Yeah, I’ll stick to walking.”

“Welp, great meeting you and everything, ‘not Discord’, but I got work to do. Thanks for causing a scare, and ruining an awesome party dedicated to us for stopping your ‘dad’.” Rainbow Dash sped off after her “heartfelt” goodbye.

Soon, the others took their leave back to their homes. At least Pinkie Pie and Applejack were genuine with their farewells, although Pinkie can make friends with just about anyone. Rarity only gave me a small nod, barely uttering a word, and Twilight just walked off with the Elements of Harmony back to her tree library. I hung my head, slightly disappointed that my first day in Equestria was already going poorly. At least three of them were giving me a chance.

“Maybe everypony just needs a bit of time to get to know you better,” Fluttershy said. “I’m sure they’ll like you as yourself and not like Discord.”

“We’ll see,” I said. “As long as I’m not a statue, I can sort of live with that.”

I felt and heard my stomach growl a few seconds later. I kinda wished I stayed at home a little bit more and waited for that pizza.

“Sounds like it’s dinner time,” Fluttershy giggled. “Let’s head to my cottage and I’ll whip up something to eat.” She began to walk on ahead, only for me to realize something: Fluttershy’s cottage is on the other side of town. And the walk there with my size and slow stumbling on four legs, it’ll take me a couple hours to get there. I didn’t notice Fluttershy came back to me while contemplating how I was going to make it. She snapped me out of my thoughts when she hoisted me up with a wing and placed me on her back. “We can also practice walking while we’re at home, too.”

“T-Thanks, Fluttershy,” I said sheepishly.

“You’re welcome, Discord Jr.,” she said with a smile.

“Can you please stop calling me that?” I begged. “My name is Charles. Heck, you can even call me Charlie. Anything but Discord Jr.”

“Oh. I like Charlie better.” I just sighed, glad to finally get the name situation sorted out with Fluttershy.

While taking a ride on Fluttershy’s back, I got a good look around Ponyville. There wasn’t much that I needed to know about the layout of the town from the cartoon. All the more prominent buildings that stood out among the normal houses were there: Sugarcube Corner, the hospital, Rarity’s boutique, the Golden Oak Library, Town Hall, the schoolhouse, Sweet Apple Acres, the bell tower, and even the market. Navigating wouldn’t be an issue, just the long walking. There’s also teleporting, but after last time, I kind of don’t want to feel like losing my lunch or blacking out while staring at an epileptic void.

There were some ponies I did recognize as we walked through the town. I spotted Derpy Hooves flying above us, the town’s resident mailmare and fan favorite to lots of the bronies back home. I saw Big Macintosh, Applejack’s brother, delivering some apples in a cart to a supermarket we passed called “Barnyard Bargains”, and the owner of the establishment, Filthy Rich, was outside waiting for the farm stallion. Speaking of Filthy Rich, I caught a glimpse of the business stallion’s daughter, Diamond Tiara, and her friend, Silver Spoon, hanging out by themselves at a cafe, drinking extravagant smoothies that cost more than a simple one while poking fun at other foals their age without a cutie mark. I really do not like those two fillies. I’ve had my fair share of bullies at school, and that rich filly and her best friend picking on Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo made me dislike spoiled rich jerks like them.

We finally arrived at Fluttershy’s cottage, which was just as being out in nature as much as it could. The path went over a small bridge over a small brook, and the cottage stood on a small hill on the other side with a grassy roof, a few birdhouses, and some burrows along the hill made by some of her underground animal friends. I never had a dog or a cat before, but I guess I’d be the first to tell my close friends I was around lots of different critters, and I might help take care of them with her for taking me in.

“Here we are,” Fluttershy said. Opening the door, she walked us in and closed it behind her. In the living room, there were mice, birds, a ferret, and some squirrels minding their business, but when we walked in, they looked at us, though I think they seemed to be staring at me. “Hello, my little friends. We got back from Canterlot a little bit earlier today.” Fluttershy lowered herself down to help me climb off her back. I just slid down her side, being careful not to hurt her wing. “Everycreature, this is Charlie. He’s going to be staying here with me for a while.”

“...Uhh...hi?” I greeted awkwardly. I know the animals in this world were pretty intelligent, and from how quiet they were, I think they’re a little bit wary of me for who I was. I don’t blame them at all. “...Yeesh. Tough crowd.”

“I’ll go and get dinner started. It’ll be ready in a few minutes.” Fluttershy trotted through the living room and into the kitchen while humming a little tune.

I was left alone with the animals. Thankfully, they went about their normal animal business, making me sigh in relief. I thought for sure they were going to swarm and attack me. I guess they can tell if someone’s got a good heart if they look suspicious. Out of the random animals that come and go in Fluttershy’s home, there was one specific pet of hers I didn’t see yet.

I took a curious look around the living room, keeping my steps slow so I can avoid tripping over myself while getting the hang of walking around. When I looked at the stairs leading upstairs, that was where I saw the delightful little rodent Fluttershy dotes as her pet. A white bunny hopped down the steps, his huge ears no doubt hearing his owner return home. But when he laid eyes on me, he stopped hopping, stared at me, then gave me a dirty look.

“Oh. Hello, Angel,” I greeted with a leer of my own. I shocked the rabbit when I knew his name. I disliked this pet out of the Mane Six’s, even worse than Rarity’s Persian cat, Opal. Her cat was spoiled rotten and was always picky and moody no matter what Rarity tried to do to appease her feline companion. Angel was a despicable little bunny who gets pretty aggressive with Fluttershy when he doesn’t get his way. He’ll throw a tantrum like a five year old child when he doesn’t get the exact food he requests, he kicks her out of the house to force her to do something she’s terrified of doing, and he’ll even thump his foot against her leg to get her attention when she’s busy taking care of the other animals she looks out for. “My name is Charles. I know everything about you. And I already don’t like you.”

Angel growled, clearly expressing his disdain toward me as well. Oh, we were definitely going to be the best of friends. During our small glaring contest, Fluttershy came out from the kitchen.

“Ok, Charlie, dinner is- Oh, hello, Angel.” Angel and I dropped our gazes as Fluttershy approached us. “I see you met Angel Bunny. He’s my pet.”

“I had a hunch,” I said.

“Angel, this is Charlie. He...looks like Discord, but he’s really not,” Fluttershy said to her bunny. Angel eyed me, seemingly recognizing my form. I almost forgot Angel and his rabbit buddies were affected by Discord’s chaos, growing long legs and trampling everything in a stampede. “Now, I want you to be nice to our guest, Angel Bunny. And be careful when he practices his magic. We don’t want another chaotic bunny stampede running through the town again.” Angel sighed, then nodded his head, semi-promising to be on his best behavior around me. I doubted that would ever happen. “Anyway, time to eat. I’m starving.”

She hummed and trotted back into the kitchen, oblivious to the staredown Angel and I resumed. He gestured to me with his paw that he was watching me, and I did the same right back at him. His name may be Angel, but he’s a little demon dressed as an adorable cartoon rabbit. I turned and began walking toward the kitchen, but I spotted Angel hopping on ahead. I didn’t notice him kick one of his big feet in my path, tripping me as I smacked my muzzle against the wooden floor. Growling, I lifted up my head, cheeks puffed out angrily, watching the evil bunny shake his butt and fluffy tail at me mockingly before hopping off innocently to his owner for his dinner.

“Oh, you’re lucky I can’t torture you,” I grumbled. “At least not yet.”

Rubbing my poor nose, I stood back up and walked into the kitchen. I leered at Angel while he munched on a bowl of carrots before I climbed myself on one of the chairs around Fluttershy’s kitchen table. I watched her set up a couple small bowls for us and some forks, while in the center was a big vegetable salad. Not exactly a pizza, but I’d rather eat that than gorge myself on cotton candy clouds and get a stomach ache from all that sugar. Or am I able to tolerate pounds of sugar and sweets without suffering from a sugar rush or an upset stomach?

“I’m not really sure what kind of food Discord preferred to eat when he was wandering free besides candies and the like, but I hope a healthy salad is fine,” Fluttershy said as she scooped a decent helping into my bowl.

“I don’t care what it is. I’m so hungry, I could eat a hor-” I quickly stopped myself, jaw hanging open in shock as I slowly glanced over to Fluttershy. She tilted her head at me curiously, wondering what I was about to say. I can’t think of any animals, I can’t think of horses, otherwise I’ll traumatize her and have a good reason to be kicked out and turned to stone in a flash. “...Uhhhh...I could...eat a…” I looked down at the bowl, at the mix of lettuce, tomatoes, bell peppers, cauliflower, chopped carrots, and spinach. “...A hoard of...delicious, healthy veggies?”

“Oh. Well, there’s plenty to go around.” She went to get herself her own helping with a smile.

I had to be careful with what I say with Fluttershy. I just grabbed my fork and quickly stuffed a huge portion of leafy greens in my mouth. Everything tasted really delicious and fresh, though it was obvious she gets her produce fresh from the market in town for her animal friends. I wonder how much she actually makes being Ponyville’s resident animal caretaker. Clearly not enough for the spoiled rabbit happily munching away at his owner’s seat. Maybe the mayor gives her a stipend for her job or something.

We spent some time in silence as we munched on our dinner. At least Angel didn’t cause any trouble for me, but I kept an eye on him just in case. I watched some random critters going about in Fluttershy’s home, some going for the indoor feeders or begging for a bite of our salad. Oh man, if Alyssa knew I was actually in Fluttershy’s cottage and hanging out with her animal friends, she would flip out and hate me forever.

After I ate my second bowl, I felt so full. My belly even looked comically bloated in fullness. Or was my body doing that on purpose with some passive chaos magic to make that happen? Getting out of my seat, Fluttershy took our dirty dishes and washed them up while I went back to the living room. It was unfortunate that Equestria didn’t have certain technologies to entertain everyone, like TVs. I know there’s video games, but the best they have are arcade machines in the show. And I highly doubt Fluttershy would want to buy one for herself with all the work she does.

I hopped up onto the couch, wondering what to do now. I ignored Angel as he hopped past, giving me the stink eye before he bounded off to a small opening next to the double-hung front door to rest in his little home outside. Thank goodness he lives outside and not inside. He’d probably take up all of Fluttershy’s bed and kick her out on the couch.

I looked over my new body to pass the time, curious about all the different animal parts Discord had. His body definitely shrieked chaotic, making him seem like a freaky genetic mutation that went out of control, and the creator just put everything together in one body, even the kitchen sink. I flexed each of my limbs, from my hands, feet, my dragon-like tail, and my wings. I tried to get used to moving around muscles that were attached to my back, but it felt so weird. It wasn’t like flapping my arms up and down and pretending to fly. It was like an extra set of arms that shouldn’t exist, and there had to be a specific part of my brain that was meant to control their movements. I tried to flap them again, slowly this time, and tried to do easy flapping motions. I didn’t get myself off the ground, but I was getting the hang of moving these things. Now, flying, that’s going to be a long while until I can practice without freaking out about “falling with style”.

“What are you doing, Charlie?” Fluttershy startled me, causing my wings to suddenly shoot out and stiffen. I didn’t even hear her walk into the living room. I guess she was already done with the dishes. “Were you trying to hover?”

“Uhh...Just getting used to this body, actually,” I said. Looking at my stretched out pegasus and bat wings, I pushed them back against my sides after the shock passed. “I wish I was actually Discord’s real size. I’d rather walk on two legs than four.”

“You said you were a...hue-man back in Canterlot,” Fluttershy said, finding it funny as she tried to enunciate the species I formerly was. “I’ve never heard of a hue-man.”

“...How do I explain what a human is?” I mumbled to myself. I scratched my head, thinking of a good example without making me sound like a tall, gangly, and grotesque creature that Equestria probably doesn’t even have. “Well...we’re part of the primate genus. So, like monkeys, just less hairy, taller, less hunchy, unable to climb or swing from trees with much ease, and we’re a bit more intelligent.”

Fluttershy glanced up as she imagined what a human would look like from the simple description I gave. If I was able to transform, I could give her an actual image, but I’m not risking anything after I learned to control my new powers.

“Goodness. How do you stay warm with less hair?” Fluttershy asked curiously. She had a small glint in her eye, an eager curiosity to learn about this wonderful new creature she’s never heard of. “Do you have opposable thumbs? Are hue-mans similar in stature to a gorilla or a chimpanzee? What do hue-mans eat? Well, you actually ate a salad, so if you are like monkeys, you’re omnivorous.”

So much for Fluttershy being shy and timid. As soon as animals are the major subject in the room, she’s acting like Twilight during her excitable study binges. No wonder these two have a close connection with each other: both of them are reclusive, they enjoy learning about the things they enjoy, and when push comes to shove, they can get pretty aggressive. I answered as many questions as I could, but she was rapid-firing them in her excitement, she looked like she was dying to meet one. I wonder how she’d feel when she gets cuddled by a human when she was the one doing the cuddling to any cute critter she meets.

I didn’t even realize how much time had passed during the questionnaire. It was starting to get late. The sun was already down and the moon was up in the air, the sky littered with twinkling stars in the dim moonlight.

“Wow. What time is it?” I asked.

Fluttershy noticed the time as well. “Oh my. Time really flew,” she said. She let out a small, startled gasp. “Oh! I completely forgot about setting up a room for you! I was so distracted with all the things hue-mans can do!”

“I can just sleep on this couch,” I offered, bouncing slightly on the cushion. “Better than the floor.”

“Oh, no no no no. I can’t let you do that,” Fluttershy said. Before I could protest, she scooped me up, much to my chagrin, and carried me up the flight of stairs. Down the hall, Fluttershy took me into her spacious bedroom. There were some more bird houses hanging from the ceiling, a small hearth for a fire on cold winter nights, a chest at the foot of her bed, and some dressers and a small bookshelf on the left side of the bed. Fluttershy set me down on her bed after pulling back the covers, then began tucking me in. “You can sleep in my room for the time being.”

While I didn’t enjoy getting tucked into bed like I was a baby, I didn’t want to take her room while I was her guest. “Fluttershy, you don’t have to do this. I’ll be fine sleeping on the-”

“Ah ah ah. I insist,” Fluttershy interrupted. “You’ve already had a rough day as it is. You just relax and get a good night’s sleep.” I just let her continue tucking me in until I was as nice and cozy as she wanted me to be. Once she was satisfied, she surprised me by giving me a light kiss on top of my head. My face turned a bright red. The only one who ever kissed me good night was my mom, when I was little. “I’m sure my friends will warm up to you a little bit more tomorrow. I’ll see you in the morning, Charlie.”

I watched Fluttershy exit the room and quietly shut the door behind her, my cheeks still burning red. I think she still sees me like a kid and not a fifteen year old, as I had stated numerous times to everyone. Maybe she’ll understand one day, assuming she can believe me when I actually sound like I was back to being five or six years old.

I just sighed and shook my head, nestling my head into the comfortable pillow. Today was not a really good day, but at least I’m not turned to stone. I wonder if my family even realizes I’m missing. And where the heck did Discord disappear to? I have a few choice words with that draconequus if he’s somewhere out in Equestria enjoying his retirement. After spending a few minutes leering at the ceiling over Discord’s “benefits”, I closed my eyes and tried to get to sleep. Hopefully, I’ll be much more welcomed by Ponyville tomorrow. Assuming everyone doesn’t cower in fear at the draconequus colt freely wandering town after his second defeat.

Lesson Zero

My ears twitched at the sound of birds chirping out the window. Or rather, a lot of birds, and some other chittering, squeaks, and other small critter sounds, both in and out of the house. Squinting my eyes open, the sun’s rays shone through the curtains in a bedroom that wasn’t my own. Everything that happened yesterday still lingered on my mind, which meant that what happened to me wasn’t a dream: I was here in the world of “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic”, in Equestria with all the ponies that were the stars of the show, I was in Fluttershy’s cottage, I was laying in her bed, and I was a tiny Discord Jr. after being tricked by the real one to take his place as the next Lord of Chaos.

Grunting slightly, I sat up, flipping the covers off my tiny body. I couldn’t tell what time it was, but it must have still been pretty early in the morning. I yawned, a lot more exaggerated than I meant it to be, and stretched my mismatched limbs. Once my body was as awake as my tired mind was, I shifted over to the side of the bed and dropped down, falling flat on my face, completely forgetting I turned into a quadruped creature.

“Ow,” I grumbled. I really wish I could walk on two legs. Rubbing my face from the possible bruise I was going to get, if something like a draconequus can really get injured, I got back up on all fours and shambled tiredly out of Fluttershy’s bedroom. “Didn’t think it would ever get loud in Fluttershy’s house. She must have a hundred animals downstairs.”

Well, I was only about half off. When I went downstairs, being very careful going down while on fours like a puppy discovering stairs for the first time, there were plenty of Fluttershy’s morning critter friends gathered around the living room and kitchen. There were feeders and bowls filled with feed for the small birds and friendly rodents, each of them chattering among themselves in their animal tongue while eating their breakfast. Fluttershy soon came into the living room with a bag of bird seed, humming what sounded like the theme song for My Little Pony. Her voice was like an angel’s, but with her timidness, she’ll only sing to her animal friends or her friends, no other ponies.

After filling up one of the feeders, Fluttershy finally noticed me watching her. “Good morning, Charlie.”

“Morning,” I greeted back.

Fluttershy fluttered back down to the ground, set the bag of bird seed down, and gave me a hug. “How’d you sleep?” she asked.

“Uhh, fine,” I said, still feeling a bit awkward getting a morning hug for a greeting, but I guess I was going to have to live with it. She finally set me down and headed back to the kitchen. “What time is it?”

“Oh, a little after eight,” Fluttershy said. “I’m just about done feeding my animal friends. Then I’ll get started on some breakfast for us.”

Hopefully it wasn’t another salad, but if I want to eat healthy, it’s better than risking getting diabetes by eating candy and sweets with my chaotic magic. Speaking of, I wonder if I can get some practice after we eat. I want to go bigger with this power, but not too much to cause a tear in the dimension and open a wormhole that sucks everything into the billionth one.

I followed Fluttershy into the kitchen and climbed back into the seat I took last night for dinner, waiting for her return. It didn’t take much longer as the pegasus came back inside, stashing away the remainder of birdseed back in her pantry, then went to her fridge and took out a few eggs. I watched her cook, the stove on and burning hot as she cracked some eggs in a frying pan. After stirring them up, she grabbed a loaf of bread and set a pair into a toaster. All that was missing from my perspective was some sausage or bacon, or both, and my stomach would be satisfied with a big breakfast. Sadly, the meat was going to stay out of my diet while I’m around ponies, or sentient herbivores.

I started to get a bit bored, wanting to help cook breakfast so I didn’t feel like freeloading in Fluttershy’s home. Curious, I stared at my fingers, wondering if I could levitate stuff with my mind rather than making things come to life with a snap of my fingers. I looked at the salt and pepper shakers on the table, then held my hand out and focused on grabbing one of them from a distance. I didn’t have any hopes that it would work, but my eyes widened in shock when my brain felt “something” in its mental grip. When I lifted my hand up, I was actually lifting the salt shaker up the same height. I couldn’t stop the grin growing on my face when I found out I can use telekinesis.

Getting too confident than I should, I set the shaker down, then focused on Fluttershy’s cabinets. With a simple thought, the doors opened up, and I grabbed a couple of dishes and glasses, then some silverware, and a small pile of napkins. Fluttershy was so focused on the eggs, she didn’t even notice her floating plates and cutlery leaving her cabinet as I set up the table. I was tempted to make them bounce and dance in a line as I set them in their place, but I didn’t want to lose my focus and accidentally drop anything. Once everything was set up, I couldn’t believe how easy I made that seem. Maybe chaotic magic was much easier than I expected, even though Discord told me I had to use my thoughts to do anything chaotic.

“Ok, eggs are almost done,” I heard Fluttershy say. “I’ll get some-” As she turned around, she froze when she saw the table was already set, but I was too busy wondering what else I could add to the setting. Some milk or juice would be a fitting beverage for breakfast. With a snap of my fingers, I made a cotton candy cloud, grasped it, then wrung it out like a towel as I drained the chocolate milk into my glass. “...Charlie? Did you...set the table?”

I finally heard her, dismissing the dried out chaos cloud. “Yeah! I can move things with my mind! Watch!” Like a little kid, I thrust my bear paw out, flexing my digits with my tongue sticking out comically in concentration, then began lifting up the salt and pepper shakers. I made them float around, feeling proud of myself while Fluttershy was a bit startled. At least she didn’t scream in terror, but the shock on her face made me feel sheepish. I lowered both shakers back in their rightful places, clearing my throat with a small, embarrassed blush on my cheeks. “Uhh...It’s easier than I thought. Using levitation.”

“...Oh...Well, thank you,” she said. “But...Maybe it’s better to practice that outside, too.”

I nodded timidly, silently reaching for my glass of chocolate milk and took a small sip. I had no idea why I had gotten that giddy like that. It was like I really turned back to being a five-year-old, and tried impressing my mom with something I did that was incredible in my eyes. After a bit of awkward silence, Fluttershy finished up her scrambled eggs and made several pieces of toast. She gave us a nice helping of eggs and placed some butter and jam for our toast. I wanted to ask if Fluttershy wanted some chocolate milk to drink, but she already grabbed her glass and poured herself some orange juice from her fridge. I think she had enough chaos after the other day with the real Discord for anything chocolatey.

After we were halfway done eating, I wondered what she was going to do today. “So, Fluttershy, are there more animals you need to take care of?” I asked curiously.

“I have a few more to take care of later today,” she said. “But Twilight also has a picnic planned for us this afternoon.”

“A picnic? After you girls stopped Discord?” I asked curiously. “What day is it today?”

“Umm...Tuesday, I think,” Fluttershy said as she tapped her chin.

My ears perked up. I remember the episode after the season two premiere, which was exactly what happened the other day. It was the “Lesson Zero” episode that came next: the episode where Twilight goes mad trying to find a friendship problem and write a report to Princess Celestia. All the memeable faces Twilight makes in her manic state to please the princess with her studies and findings, and it bothered her to Tartarus and back when none of her friends had a problem and she had to create one, which ended in disaster. Part of me wanted to see that in action, but would she trust me to hang out with her the whole day to try to calm her already stressed nerves?

I had to try to get on all the other girls’ good sides some way or another, so I was going to take a chance. “Can I help her set the picnic up?” I asked curiously. Fluttershy stared at me silently, reminding me of my impromptu levitation practice on her dinnerware. “...No magic or chaos. I swear.”

“...Well...As long as you don’t cause any trouble,” Fluttershy said.

I quickly nodded, my head making an erratic shaking noise like a maraca being flailed around, then scarfed down the rest of my breakfast and downed the last of my chocolate milk. “Thanks for the breakfast, Fluttershy!” I said as I hopped out of my seat, this time landing properly, then stumble ran out the door.

Running was weird when on four legs, and far different than how it was to walk. I had to start with both front legs, practically pull myself, then with my hind legs, I bring them close and push off. It was hard enough finding a rhythm with walking; running was just as out of sync and messed with my brain. Whenever I think I had it, my brain would cause one of my limbs to move out of place and cause me to stumble, or threaten to topple me over and flip on my back. It was going to take me a long while to get used to this body.

Once I ran at a reasonable jog, getting used to the quicker, but slower run, I arrived at Ponyville and searched around for the Golden Oak Library. Or should I look for Sugarcube Corner, where the start of Twilight’s OCD and insanity show itself to her overly-stressed expectations to deliver? It was hard to see a lot of the tall buildings when you’re the size of a colt or filly. If I could fly, which I really don’t want to start practicing in the middle of a busy morning street, I could find my way much easier.

I ignored the other ponies staring at me. I knew they all thought I was Discord, but I’ll win over Twilight and the others’ approval of me, and they’ll eventually change their minds. If they thought a zebra like Zecora was evil, they’ll forget about who I am by my appearance and get to know the real me in this young draconequus body. I was going to have a hard time convincing Rainbow Dash, though. She really didn’t trust me as far as she could sonic rainboom me.

“Charles?” Hearing my name, I looked to my left. Surprisingly, I didn’t have to find Twilight for very long. She stared at me, along with her baby dragon assistant, Spike, who was carrying a box that was filled with the cupcakes for the picnic later. I was a bit disappointed; I missed Twilight flailing about with a spatula to evenly place the frosting on the baker’s dozen cupcakes inside. Spike stared at me, both curious and a little bit cautiously. “Where’s Fluttershy? I thought she was supposed to be watching you.”

“She’s busy with her other animals,” I said. “And I’m allowed to go wherever I want as long as I don’t cause any trouble. I just left and was trying to find you.”

“Why?” Twilight questioned skeptically.

“Because she told me about the picnic you were going to have with the others, and I thought I could help,” I said with an innocent grin.

Twilight grumbled slightly, clearly annoyed with me wanting to tag along. “Uhh, is this...Discord?” I heard Spike ask Twilight. “He looks...smaller than I thought.”

“It’s a long story, Spike,” Twilight said.

“My name is actually Charles,” I said, stepping closer to Spike and holding out a claw to the baby dragon. “I’m...Discord’s heir.” Spike gave me an odd look like I really was Discord’s crazy spawn and he couldn’t believe it. “It really is a long story. I thought Twilight would have mentioned me yesterday.”

“I kind of stayed in bed all day,” Spike admitted. “All those letters Princess Celestia sent messed my stomach up, so I missed out on the celebration for Discord’s defeat.” I did find that a little weird. No wonder Spike wasn’t with the girls that day when I woke up. I was about to lower my hand, but Spike seemed to give me the benefit of the doubt, gave me a grin, and grasped my eagle claw with his claw. “Well, you don’t seem that bad. Nice meeting you, Charles.”

“Same,” I said as we both shook hands. “At least I met someone who didn’t hate me immediately because of my appearance.”

“Eh, being the only dragon in Canterlot and Ponyville has the odd looks, but I’m not dangerous,” Spike said. “And you haven’t done anything chaotic, so Equestria’s safe another day.”

“Try telling that to Princess Celestia,” I said. “They were going to use the Elements on me and turn me into stone before giving me a chance to explain.” I noticed Twilight looking very annoyed as she was reminded of her and her mentor’s harsh judgement toward me yesterday. “I was lucky Fluttershy stood up for me, otherwise I’d be another living statue in the garden.”

“Yes, you are lucky,” Twilight mumbled. “But you’re still under close watch, so you’re already treading on a very thin line.” Well, at least I made a friend in Spike, mostly due to how different we are compared to the ponies in this kingdom. It was a bit upsetting knowing these friendly ponies can really be harshly judgemental against other creatures who aren’t like them without fully understanding their background until much, MUCH later in the series. “Anyways, we’ve still got quite a lot of things to do on our checklist before the picnic today. Come on, Spike.”

“Can’t Charles come with us?” Spike asked. “He probably never got a proper tour of Ponyville when he arrived. And the library’s a good start.”

Twilight just sighed and rolled her eyes in annoyance. “Fine, he can tag along. But no funny business.”

“Promise,” I said as I held my eagle claw up and placed my bear paw over my chest.

Twilight huffed and continued on her way. Spike and I caught up with her, striking a conversation and let him get to know me a little more. Aside from the box of cupcakes, I noticed the long scroll that was Twilight’s checklist gripped in his tail, along with a quill furled into the rolled up log of parchment. All the double checking and quadruple checking on a list that was completely unnecessary for Twilight to make sure everything works perfectly. It was odd, but her desire to be one hundred percent organized is so messed up, it almost sounds chaotic.

It didn’t take long for us to reach the library, also known as the Tree-brary for many fans of the show. Inside, it was exactly how it looked: shelves of books all along the walls, a stairway leading to the upstairs area where Twilight and Spike sleep, a kitchen near the stairway, and a door that must have led to the basement for some of Twilight’s more serious science experiments. I let Spike and Twilight be with their checklisting and examined some of the books Twilight had. Aside from what they pulled for some information important to the episode plot or a random spell, I wanted to see the books that weren’t mentioned.

I started with the lower shelves closer to my height. I didn’t want to freak Twilight out with any levitation until I was certain I would be in complete control of it. Reading the spines for the titles, some of them were novels, science or math books, biographies, historical records, the usual type of reading material meant for someone like Twilight. I did see the Daring Do series lined up in one section, all of them set in order of their release dates by the famous A.K. Yearling. I knew Rainbow would get hooked on these adventure novels by the pegasus who looked similarly like her. I wonder why she never discovered other adventure stories like these before after enjoying Daring Do’s dangerous and explorative stories.

Curiously, I grabbed the first book, dying to read the beginning of Daring’s tales. Just as I was about to open up to the first page, I thought I heard Twilight shout something. Putting the book back in its place, I approached the stairs and began climbing up to see what she was worried about.

“Bad?! BAD?! Of course it’s bad!” I heard Twilight shriek. I entered the duo’s bedroom, poking my head inside as I was about to witness Twilight begin her day of stress-induced panic. “I’m supposed to send Princess Celestia a letter every week, telling her about a lesson about friendship! Not every other week! Not every ten days! Every! Single! WEEK!”

And there she goes running around to find her calendar. I walked up to Spike, who seemed just as baffled as we watched the unicorn searching frantically.

“Is she alright?” I asked, clearly knowing Twilight wasn’t fine.

“I have no idea,” Spike mumbled. He moved toward a cabinet, where he remembers where they put their planning calendar. “She’s freaking out about not sending a letter to Princess Celestia.”

The moment Spike pulled the calendar out, Twilight snatched it with her magic and dragged it toward her podium, along with the baby dragon. I cringed when I saw Spike slam into the podium, slightly dazed, but quickly snapping back to his senses. No wonder Spike was the voice of reason for Twilight at times.

“When did we send the last letter?” Twilight asked, flipping the calendar rapidly for the date.

“Last Tuesday?” Spike said.

“And today is…?” Should I even tell her what she didn’t want to hear?

“Uhh...It’s Tuesday today,” I said.

And there it was; the start of Twilight’s breaking sanity. She let out a startled, panicked squeak with a grimace, then sped up the flight of stairs up to the loft.

“No no no no no!” she exclaimed, planting her face against the window. I had a feeling she was staring at the sun, but my ears twitched when I heard a strange, loud ticking sound. “If I don’t send her a letter by sundown, I’ll be...TARDY!!!!!”

Spike and I glanced at each other, then we both looked at the panicked unicorn. “Twilight, I don’t think Princess Celestia will punish you for being late for one little assignment,” Spike said, trying to diffuse Twilight’s stress. “You’re the most studious student I know. She’ll forgive you for missing one letter.”

“I am not taking that chance, Spike!” Twilight exclaimed. “This is Princess Celestia we’re talking about: the ruler of Equestria! The pony who holds my fate in her hooves!”

And she’s rambling about her worries and fears. I tuned her out, blankly staring at her while she listed all the worst case scenarios that run through her head on a daily basis. She’s a grown mare, Celestia puts all her faith in her pupil, no matter what the circumstance, and Twilight’s afraid of being sent back a grade for missing one assignment. I did well in school, and I did miss one or two assignments before, but none of those ever held me accountable for being held back from going up the next grade. And she expects to be flung all the way back to magic kindergarten over one little friendship letter?

Spike and I looked at each other again, and he had the same expression I had. “Yeah, she has a bit of a problem overreacting to certain things sometimes,” he said to me.

“Yeah, I can see that,” I mumbled.

When we looked back at Twilight, we winced when she seemed to space out, probably thinking about her “horrible” experience at magic kindergarten. “Come on, Twilight, you’re not going to get sent back to magic kindergarten,” Spike said.

Twilight perked up, but I could still see the manic, panicked look in her eyes. “You’re right, Spike!” she said. Spike sighed in relief, but I shook my head, knowing the worst was going to come. “Because I’m going to solve a friend’s problem and get that letter to Princess Celestia before sundown!” Spike flinched, letting out a tired groan as his words barely assuaged the unicorn. “So, got any problems, troubles, conundrums, or any other sort of issues, major or minor, that I as a GOOD friend could help you solve?”

Twilight leaned closer to Spike, giving him that big, toothy grin that seemed a bit too friendly, ready to hear out whatever “issues” her number one assistant has for her to help solve. “Uhh, sorry, Twilight. I don’t have any problems,” Spike said, which quickly disappointed Twilight.

“I have a few problems,” I spoke up.

Twilight glanced at me, her frown telling me she didn’t want to help me. “You have a problem?”

“Yeah. I have a really big issue with being trusted by you, Rarity, and especially Rainbow Dash,” I said with a sarcastic tone. I was still a bit miffed with everything yesterday, but maybe reminding her about dealing with judging people, or creatures who are completely different from them. “You see, I am a ‘Discord Jr.’, the real Discord’s heir who was tricked into taking on this body to take over his throne. But whenever I tried to explain, no one took the time to listen to me except Fluttershy. Maybe you can figure out why everyone hates who I look like, but not who I am on the inside.”

I had an ecstatic look on my face, but quickly dropped it into an annoyed frown once I was done. Twilight grumbled at me slightly, clearly striking a nerve as I reminded her of how much everyone judged Zecora, the zebra shamaness who lives in the Everfree Forest. Speaking of, I wonder how she would react to seeing me.

“Well, Charles, you aren’t a friend of mine, so I cannot solve a friendship problem when the ‘friend’ part between us is lacking,” Twilight stated with a smug, haughty air to her.

“Then how about getting to know me a bit more, like Spike did, and maybe you can help me,” I suggested bitterly.

“I have no time to waste!” Twilight quickly said, ignoring me and trotting downstairs. “I’m going to find somepony who actually has a real friendship problem!”

I growled, fuming as Twilight practically ignored me. “No wonder Princess Celestia had to send you all those letters the other day! You’re not that bright of a student if you forgot all those ‘important’ friendship lessons last season!” I shouted, my face burning red, and quite literally, too.

“Wait, how’d you know about that?” I heard Spike. When I turned to look at him, he winced when he saw my face. “Whoa. You ok, dude? Your face is all red like an apple.”

Confused, I stared at him for a moment, then turned to find a mirror nearby. I grimaced when I saw my face. Or rather, my entire head; from my neck up to my head, it was completely red. I quickly looked at my claws, not remembering casting any spells, but I remembered Discord was able to do weird stuff even without snapping any of his digits. Taking a few deep breaths to calm down, I watched the red on my face slowly drain down like I was a living thermometer checking the temperature of my temper. Once my head was back to normal, I let out an annoyed huff.

“Ok, so my magic’s also going to pop up whenever it wants, whenever I’m emotional, or maybe what I think of, and without warning,” I muttered. “I really need to practice controlling this chaos. And soon.”

“...Ok...But, you knew about the...thing with the scrolls?” Spike asked again.

Should I tell Spike and explain how I knew about the moments Discord wasn’t around for? Or should I hold my tongue and just say it was a lucky, but very specific, guess? No, he probably wouldn’t believe that. I suppose I should tell him, but I hope he doesn’t freak out and tell Twilight.

“Uhh...Well, to start, I wasn’t a pony, or any creature from this world who turned into a baby Discord,” I said. “I was a creature called a human. And from my perspective, you, Twilight, this library, Ponyville, Canterlot, all of Equestria...this whole world is a cartoon show.” I let that little bit sink in for Spike. He stared wide-eyed at me, though I wasn’t sure if he believed me or was just baffled by the nonsense I was making up. “It’s been going on for a few years, very popular, even though it was originally meant for little girls. I know about all your adventures since you and Twilight moved to Ponyville and far beyond everything that could have happened if Discord was still around. Which means I also know Twilight’s going to freak out, not find a friendship problem, and eventually create one herself in a state of insanity, throwing all of Ponyville into chaos, and really be in trouble with Princess Celestia.”

I don’t know why, but mentioning how chaotic the town would be with Twilight’s desperate friendship problem made my spine tingle. That was really weird, and I enjoyed it. Hopefully Spike didn’t notice my awkward grimace and the grin that was about to curl up, but I held it back. Spike just blinked, processing my foresight into the future today.

“...Dude, that’s...so creepy,” Spike finally uttered. “So, if you’re right and you know what’ll happen next...what’s Twilight going to do that’ll make all of Ponyville go nuts?”

“I’d rather not say, and you need to send Princess Celestia a letter to warn her about what’s going to happen in the next few hours,” I said. “Meanwhile, I’m going after Twilight and see if I can help her with that friendship report before I let that happen.”

Spike was still suspicious, but he was willing to give me the benefit of the doubt at the least. “Ok. If you say so.”

“Also, don’t tell anyone what I just told you,” I quickly warned the dragon. “I’m already in hot water just by being Discord’s heir. Knowing what’s going to happen from me would be enough to give me a one way trip to Stonesville.”

“Oh. Right,” Spike said, wincing slightly. “My lips are sealed, Charles.”

“Thanks, Spike.” I let him get to work on that letter while I hurried as fast as I could down the stairs and out of the library.

I knew her first destination would be near Rarity’s home and place of work: the Carousel Boutique. I wasn’t much of a fan of Rarity’s clothing designs, but they were quite interesting to see and gave a little fashion flair to this world. Just as long as they weren’t as hideous as “rough draft” of the girls’ Grand Galloping Gala dresses. Alyssa even gagged when she saw them. And speaking of little sisters, maybe I’ll get to meet Sweetie Belle, but hopefully before Twilight goes through with her insane friendship problem.

Out of nowhere, I heard a loud shriek that stretched all throughout Ponyville. That was the scream of a certain unicorn fashionista in severe distress and panic. Sadly, I know that was a bit too dramatic for a small ribbon. I rushed toward the direction it came from, where Twilight wasn’t probably too far off from the boutique. When I arrived at the unique boutique with a fake carousel ride for a roof, the front door was wide open, and I could hear Twilight and Rarity inside. Panting slightly from the run, I caught my breath and caught on to the two unicorns and their conversation.

“I lost my diamond-encrusted purple ribbon!” Rarity cried out, acting a bit too dramatic for losing one strand of ribbon. I could understand if it was actually worth millions of bits, but with gems being the norm throughout the world, they aren’t that precious of materials. Especially with dragons eating them like candy. “I have searched high, and I have searched low. Low and high! High and low! But I can’t find it anywhere!” Her magic pulled out her precious fainting couch, then plopped down onto it to wallow in misery. I rolled my eyes, wondering how she drags that thing everywhere when the need arises. If Rarity became an actor instead, I would think she was just hamming it up for the camera. “How can I possibly finish my latest creation if I can’t find it!?”

Twilight looked away from Rarity with an excited grin and a creepy rub of her forehooves, like she just dug up a goldmine. Sadly, that faded when she saw me, but she ignored me and faced Rarity again.

“Never fear, Rarity,” Twilight said. She acted all heroic, prepared to give a speech as her close friend to help her in her time of need. I looked around the floor, remembering Rarity finding it in the last place she left it, which was under a wooden bucket that I think was used for washing her laundry. And I found said bucket and walked over to it. “As your friend, I will do my best to help you find-”

“I found it,” I called out. I held up the roll of ribbon, but I found a huge lack of diamonds encrusting the material. “At least, I think I did. No sparkles or anything on this ribbon.”

“Oh, there it was.” Rarity got up from her couch and walked over to me. “Heh. Always in the last place you look.” She took her ribbon, then gave me an awkward pat on the head. “Thank you, Charles.”

Well, it might not be a grateful thank you, but I’ll take it in stride. Let’s just hope Spike doesn’t get jealous of me. I noticed Twilight was a bit baffled, and a little peeved at me.

“So...you just lost your ribbon?” Twilight asked Rarity. “And...Charles found it for you?”

“Mhmm,” Rarity said as she went back to work on her next design.

“And nothing else is bothering you?” Twilight asked, hopeful and desperate. “Nothing that I, as a good friend, could help you with?”

“Hmmm...There is one thing.” Twilight’s grin returned as Rarity put a hoof on her chin. “I think I left my measuring tape under the fabric over there. Could you or Charles get that for me?”

Disappointed, Twilight levitated the measuring tape Rarity pointed at, dropped it unceremoniously at her hooves, then walked out of the boutique to find an actual friendship problem. Rarity watched the lavender unicorn leave, then looked down at me with confusion.

“...Uhh, I’m gonna follow her,” I said awkwardly with a sheepish grin before taking me leave. I picked up my rushed walk into a quick jog, catching up to Twilight before I lost track of her. Hearing that ticking sound from earlier again, I managed to glance up, thinking the sun was shifting randomly in a different position. “Ok, I guess the sun moving like that really is happening. Wonder what Princess Celestia is even doing with it today.”

Without paying attention, I smacked my chest into Twilight’s leg. I didn’t even realize she stopped, but when I looked up at her, she was not happy.

“Why are you following me?” she questioned.

“To help you,” I said.

“Well, fat lot of luck that did when you found Rarity’s ribbon for her,” she said. “I’m trying to find a friendship problem, and I’m the one who needs to solve it and write the letter!”

I just gave Twilight a blank expression. “...Really? Finding a lost item for a friend as a friendship letter?” I questioned. “How will that go? ‘Dear Princess Celestia, I helped my friend Rarity find her precious ribbon that she lost. I searched high, and I searched low. Low and high. High and low.’” While mocking Twilight’s friendship letter, I copied Rarity’s dramatic motions she made back in the boutique, even the despondent pout at the end before standing back up. “‘But, thankfully, it was always in the last place you look. Sometimes, another eye can help you find what you’re missing. Your student, Twilight Sparkle.’”

Twilight leered at me, one of her eyes twitching, believing I was making fun of her. Well, part of it was, but I was proving a point that a simple letter like that wasn’t even worth being written as an important lesson about friendship. It would only show Celestia that she was grasping at straws and paying attention to the academic side of doing these friendship letters in the first place and not focusing on bonding and growing with friends through the issues that came with the lessons she discovers.

“...Well, Rarity is just one pony, but I’m sure the others will need me for something,” Twilight said, turning about and continuing on her hunt for a friendship problem to solve. I sighed, seeing she completely ignored me and didn’t understand how desperate she was getting, but I continued following her. “And they’ll be asking for MY help, not yours, Charles.”

“Sure. Whatever,” I grumbled.

We seemed to be approaching the fields at Sweet Apple Acres, where Applejack and her family lived. The two of us heard something in the distance, like someone fighting with something and putting a lot of effort into it. And that voice must have come from Rainbow Dash, where she was probably taking down the old barn Applejack was planning to rebuild and she needed the speedy pegasus’s help. As we ran toward the noise, we found Rainbow Dash flying around, busting up the old boards of the decaying barn with her hooves, and hilariously, biting one off with her teeth.

“What in the world?” Twilight uttered. “Rainbow must be angry with Applejack! She must hate her guts! How wonderful!”

“How are two friends fighting with each other ‘wonderful’?” I questioned Twilight’s logic, but the unicorn already ran off to stop Rainbow Dash. “And she’s off.”

I just let Twilight deal with Rainbow’s destruction until she finally realized she was stopping a friend from helping a friend. I looked around the farm, where several hundreds of acres of apple trees lined the massive grove a small family of four could barely handle on their own. There was the farmhouse where the Apples lived, a small plot of land for other crops like corn for some variety of food for the farming family, a pig pen, a storage shed where most of their farming tools were held, usual stuff you could find on a farm.

“Charles?” Hearing my name, my ears twitched as I looked to my left, where Rainbow was busy wrecking up Applejack’s barn. In a dug up trench on the Apples’ property, there was Applejack’s head poking up and staring at me. She was wearing a helmet, no doubt protecting herself from the flying debris Rainbow Dash was raining down in the area. “What brings ya here?”

“I was helping Twilight,” I said.

“Well, don’t just stand out here. Rainbow’s takin’ down the barn for me, and she’s showin’ off at this point.” Applejack let out a laugh and shook her head. “Just so long as she takes it all down, Ah don’t care if she does any of her fancy flyin’ tricks while doin’ so.” As she beckoned me over, Applejack noticed a lack of wooden pieces flying around. “Huh? Did she need a break or somethin’?”

When I got closer, I saw Twilight and Rainbow Dash nearby at a bench. Twilight stopped Rainbow and was trying to play therapist and resolve Rainbow’s issues with Applejack. Sure, these two bicker and fight a lot, but they’re considered rivals and one-up each other competitively.

“Now, why don’t you tell me about all your issues with Applejack,” we heard Twilight say to the confused pegasus.

“I don’t have any issues with Applejack,” Rainbow said.

Now it was Twilight who was confused. “You don’t? Then why are you destroying her property?”

“Ah asked her to,” Applejack said as she and I approached the two. Rainbow gave me a small glare before ignoring me. “Ah’m plannin’ to build a new barn, but the old one needs to go. So quit slackin’ and back to workin’, Rainbow!”

“Yes, ma’am!” Rainbow shot up into the air, nearly knocking Twilight over as a rainbow trail flew behind the pegasus.

“Ah’d take cover if Ah were y’all,” Applejack warned as she ran back to her trench.

I quickly followed after Applejack, diving right in to avoid the hail of broken wood, nails, rivets, and metal bars and rods that made the old barn. I poked my head up, expecting Twilight to jump right in when she looked up, but she still stood by that bench, baffled and stressed even further.

“Twilight, get in here!” I called out.

“That doesn’t make any sense,” she seemed to mutter to herself. “Why ask Rainbow Dash to destroy her property she wanted to take down? Why not ask for an actual demolition crew to do it!?”

“Twilight!” I called out again, but she was too lost in her worries to pay attention. Applejack seemed nervous as well as we both looked up. We could hear Rainbow Dash yell as she dive bombed straight for the barn for a powerful explosion of a nuclear rainbow. “Twilight, get down!”

She finally heard me, then looked up, noticing it too late. Thinking quickly, I had no choice but to use my chaos to protect her. With a snap of my fingers and thinking of a protective bunker, I managed to create a wall of tough steel in front of the startled unicorn when she flinched, then ducked into the trench with Applejack. I felt my heart leap out of my chest when Rainbow slammed into the earth, literally creating a nuclear rainbow explosion and demolished the barn to pieces. Applejack and I got piled on by some debris that reached the trench, but thankfully, we came out unharmed.

We both poked our heads out of the dirt and pieces of the barn, then over the trench. To my relief, my wall stood tall, protecting Twilight as a pile of debris laid against the other side. Twilight peeked from behind her hooves, staring at the steel wall that shielded her. Rainbow flew out from the colorful dust cloud, laughing triumphantly and brushing off some dirt on her shoulders.

“Piece of cake,” she boasted proudly.

“Rainbow, ya could have gotten Twilight hurt!” Applejack scolded. “She didn’t get in the trench in time! You’re lucky Charles saved her before ya landed!”

“Huh?” Looking down, Rainbow noticed the random steel wall. “Where did that come from?”

“From me,” I said. I climbed out of the trench and walked up to Twilight. “There wasn’t any other way to get her to safety, so I had to use magic. I’m actually glad that worked.” Looking at the wall, I wondered how I would get rid of it. I tapped it with my eagle claw, somehow puncturing it as it let out a hiss of air, then startled all of us when it flew out of control like a deflating balloon. I watched it fly and flail about, its path ending by smacking Rainbow Dash in the face, letting out a weak, tooty sputter before flopping down to the ground. “Oops.”

She leered at me, then zipped down and stood over me. “You did that on purpose, you little runt!” Rainbow shouted.

“Don’t go blamin’ him!” Applejack scolded, chomping down on Rainbow’s tail and pulling her far away from me. “If anythin’, ya deserve much worse than gettin’ slapped by a wall balloon thing.”

“He couldn’t just do the snapping thing and make it disappear!?” Rainbow questioned.

“He’s still learnin’, and we should be glad he rescued Twilight before any part of that barn could have seriously injured her!” Applejack argued. I’m really glad Applejack trusts me despite my inexperience, but now I’m going to have a tougher time getting Rainbow to trust me after that. I swear, that wall wasn’t supposed to intentionally hit her. “Maybe next time, warn us when ya do a sonic rainboom sort of dive like that!”

“That thing could have exploded in my fast or splattered me with some sort of goop! Who knows what that kid could do!?” Rainbow exclaimed.

Growling, I lifted my hand, forcing Rainbow to spin around and face me with my telekinetic powers. “I am not a kid! I’m fifteen!” I shouted. “I’m younger than all of you by a few years! I had no control over that, and I didn’t know I was able to puncture it when it was able to withstand your dive bomb! Twilight was supposed to jump into the trench with-!” I glanced back at Twilight, but when I looked back at Rainbow, my head twisted around on my neck like an owl to look behind me again. Twilight was gone. I turned my body around, one of my hands subconsciously rubbing my neck, ignoring how I did that as I searched for her. “Where did she go?”

Before Applejack or Rainbow could find an answer, I remembered Twilight was going to go to Fluttershy’s next. I quickly ran as fast as my tiny legs could carry me back to Fluttershy’s cottage, leaving Applejack to chew Rainbow out for judging me and the unintentional prank. Maybe helping Rainbow prank ponies might lighten her up with me a little when I can control this chaos. But right now, I needed to find Twilight and make sure she was alright.

I managed to catch up to her, though she seemed to get more frazzled by the minute, even as I heard the sun “ticking” across the sky. “I can’t believe I wasted all that time,” I heard her say to herself. “Fluttershy always has some fear she’s trying to get over. As a good friend, I’ll be able to help her.”

“Twilight, wait!” I called out. I caught up with her, panting slightly as I tried to get in front of her to bar her path. “Fluttershy doesn’t need any help. She’s doing fine today.”

“Nonsense! If she puts up with you and any random chaos you fired in her house last night, I can sort this out faster than you can say ‘friendship letter’!” Twilight said boldly and brimming with overconfidence.

We arrived at her cottage, clearly chaos free, but Twilight continued trotting forward. “Twilight, seriously, she doesn’t-!” I was suddenly picked up in a lavender aura, moved aside, and then dropped to the ground as Twilight passed me. I grumbled to myself and chased after her around Fluttershy’s backyard. “Will you listen to me for-!?”

A sudden roar distracted us as we peered around the house. There we saw Fluttershy dealing with an angry bear. Or, from what I recall, and putting this lightly, Fluttershy’s brown bear friend named Harry, and her version of giving him a massage. Twilight and I got front row seats to the timid pegasus mare “facing her fear”, and face it, she did. The bear roared at her, but Fluttershy zipped between his legs, then swooped back and divekicked Harry hard in the back, sending him crashing to the ground. Then Fluttershy grabbed one of Harry’s back legs, and with incredible strength for someone so frail as her, lifted the bear’s leg and put him in a near back breaking leg lock while putting a lot of pressure on his upper back, making him roar out in pain. Fluttershy let go after an agonizing few seconds, then aggressively stomped on Harry’s back. And the coup de grace of Fluttershy’s wrestle-like massage, she grabbed Harry’s head, and with a sharp twist, she looked like she snapped the bear’s neck with a sickening crack. Harry flopped to the ground, startling Twilight as she had practically witnessed Fluttershy “killing” a bear, an animal she takes care of, which is completely unlike the pegasus who was grinning at her accomplishment. And this scene was made for a cartoon for little girls?

“...W-Wha…? How can this be happening!?” Twilight exclaimed in disbelief. “Of all the days she had to stop being a scaredy-pony, she had to pick today!?”

I looked back to see Twilight running off, panicking even more as her time was running out and there were barely any friends left to help solve a friendship problem. “You really should have come to me sooner,” I heard Fluttershy say. I looked back at her, who was giving a proper shoulder massage to Harry, who was alive and well, but much more relieved. “You were carrying so much tension in that shoulder.” Harry uttered his response with a very pleased rumble. Fluttershy glanced up for a moment, spotting me and gave me a wave with a wing while her hooves were busy with her friend’s massage. “Oh! Hi, Charlie.”

“Hey,” I greeted back. I gave up pursuing Twilight at this point. I knew she was going to eventually get desperate and lose her marbles, but we’ll see her go a little nutty at the picnic later. “Uhh...What are you...doing?”

“Just giving Harry a little massage,” Fluttershy said, not even phased that she had wrestled an eight-hundred pound bear into submission as a massage technique. “Don’t worry. He’s a big teddy bear.”

“Yeah. ‘Teddy bear’,” I mumbled nervously. I’ve seen bears randomly waltz up on cabin houses and rummage through garbage for food on random videos online. I know not to mess with a bear of any kind, or else you’d be its next meal instead. “Hope he’s cuddly when he’s around me.”

“So, is the picnic ready yet?” Fluttershy asked curiously. Her smile faded when I grimaced and looked down, trying to figure out how to explain what I’ve been doing the last couple hours. Getting off of Harry once she got that dreadful knot out of his shoulder, she came over to me. “She...didn’t let you help her, did she?”

“Well...A lot did happen in town, but Twilight didn’t do anything picnic-wise,” I said. “...Or anything involving plans.”

I felt Fluttershy’s hoof gently rub my head. “Maybe she needs a little bit more time,” she assured me. “We’ll see how it goes at the picnic. You can even make some cotton candy clouds for dessert.”

I just shrugged in response, and we soon left for the park a while later. I didn’t want to tell Fluttershy about Twilight’s desperate search for a friendship problem. I doubted she would help the unicorn after we both watched her wrestle Harry and overpower what was one of the world’s many dangerous wild animals that wasn’t a mythical creature from my world. My ears twitched at another ticking sound, glancing up at the sky to see the sun shifting in position again. How did no one else besides Twilight see that happening? Is Princess Celestia trying to teach Princess Luna how to move the sun, and she’s doing it in short increments on purpose?

We arrived at the park, where the other girls were already there and getting the picnic set up. Applejack brought a quilt for us to sit on, Pinkie and Rarity both brought baskets, though Pinkie’s had balloons that flew out after moving the cover, and Rainbow was wearing her sunglasses and brought sunscreen. I completely forgot about Pinkie Pie. I haven’t seen her all day today, and Twilight didn’t think to check on her to ask for a friendship problem. Speaking of, she saw me and bounced over toward me and Fluttershy.

“Hey, Fluttershy, Charles! You’re right on time!” Pinkie said. “So, Charlie boy, any crazy adventures since your arrival in Ponyville? Because that kinda happens around here.”

“Uhh...define crazy?” I asked nervously.

“Oh, please don’t tell me I forgot the plates.” Rarity let out a gasp after rummaging through her picnic basket in shock. “I did. I totally forgot them. Of all the worst things that could happen, this is THE. WORST. POSSIBLE. THING!” Out of nowhere, Rarity dragged her beloved fainting couch from home, with no idea how she had that thing on hand to act like a drama queen. “Why, why, why!?”

“...Like that kind of crazy?” Pinkie asked me.

Suddenly, we all turned to something thudding on the ground nearby. From the sound, we all gawked in surprise as we saw Twilight, who looked a lot more frazzled and a little bit insane with her wide eyes and creepy grin, and she unceremoniously dropped the box of cupcakes like it was empty. The box was in bad shape, as would the cupcakes after being dropped like that.

“No, that kind of crazy,” I muttered under my breath.

“Uhh, ya alright, hon?” Applejack asked.

“No, I’m not alright!” Twilight exclaimed. “It’s just terrible. Simply awful. It’s the most horrific trouble I’ve ever been in!”

“For Celestia’s sake, egghead, spit it out already!” Rainbow said, rushing Twilight to tell us all the horrible trouble she got herself in.

“She’s going to be late writing a friendship report to Princess Celestia,” I said. Everyone glanced at me, though Twilight’s pleading gaze toward her friends quickly turned to malice toward me, like I just told everyone her deepest, darkest secret. “She’s been running around all day seeing if any of you need help with something, but no one was having any issues today...Except maybe me.”

“I thought Twilight let you help out with the picnic,” Fluttershy said.

“I didn’t want you to get upset with her if you found out. But after seeing her like that, there’s no point hiding it now,” I said.

I yelped as I was suddenly yanked by Twilight’s magic, skidding to a halt in front of her. I dared to look up at her, and she was close to having her mental breakdown.

“Charles, you are definitely not helping me right now,” she uttered through her teeth toward me, then pat me really hard on the head to hide her disdain before lunging toward each of her friends. “This is serious! If I don’t turn this letter in on time, I’ll be tardy! TARDY!!!!!”

The girls all looked at each other, neither of them not even the least bit concerned about being late for any little thing as a big deal. “...Right. Missing one letter is not that bad,” Rainbow said, the wrong choice of words to a powerful unicorn who could magically blow up at any moment.

“Rainbow’s right, sugarcube,” Applejack added. “No offense, but you’re gettin’ yourself worked up over nothin’.”

I facepalmed; yet another poor choice of words to tell an overly studious scholar with a penchant for scheduling and listing everything in her daily life a fortnight in advance several dozen times. “This is not nothing. This is everything!” Twilight shouted. “I need you guys to help me find somepony with a problem I can fix before sundown! My whole life depends on it!”

The picnic was filled with silence as Twilight’s anger was simmering into a boil. It was eventually broken when Pinkie Pie laughed at the nonsensical dilemma Twilight was putting herself in. Again, not the right thing to do when someone takes something this small so seriously.

“Oh, Twilight, you’re such a crack-up!” Pinkie laughed, not intending to sound insulting, but Twilight took offense as her cheeks burned red with anger.

“Come on, Twilight. Have a seat and stop sweatin’ the small stuff.” Applejack patted a spot on the picnic blanket to help the unicorn relax.

That did the exact opposite. We all watched Twilight let out strangled growls, fed up with her friends’ lack of help, and with a loud, disgruntled groan, she ran off and teleported back to the library. I shook my head in disappointment, wishing the girls noticed something was wrong before what I was afraid of happening would come true.

“Wow. I’ve never seen Twilight so upset before,” Fluttershy said.

“Oh, what a drama queen,” Rarity huffed.

I leered at the fashionista, and with a snap of my fingers, I turned her fainting couch into a fainting quilt. She yelped as she flopped to the ground and looked down in confusion at her flattened sofa. That might have been a bit too mean, but sometimes, Rarity can be a bit too self-absorbed with herself and be hypocritical. She can defend herself in a fight, so she’s not always a damsel, but still, calling someone else out for being a drama queen when she herself was a bigger one was just rude.

“Charlie, that wasn’t very nice!” Fluttershy scolded me.

“See!? I knew he’s starting to do this stuff on purpose!” Rainbow exclaimed, pointing a hoof at me.

“That time, I did,” I said to Rainbow before I pulled the sofa-turned-quilt out from under Rarity. Hopefully able to change it back, I dragged the “blanket” away, and with a flick, it regained its full, three dimensional form. I then turned to look at the girls, some of them amazed that I was already learning how to use my chaotic magic this well so soon. “Rarity, you were distressed over a missing ribbon earlier today! You call Twilight’s stressful cry for help dramatic when you freaked out over a misplaced piece of fabric!?”

“Well, you didn’t have to be rude doing that to my fainting couch to prove your point,” Rarity muttered.

“But it looks like he’s getting good at his magic now!” Pinkie said. “Now, let’s give him a challenge. Make me an ice cream sundae tree filled with all types of ice cream flavors, the bark made out of triple choco-chunk pieces with the sap made out of fudge, and the leaves made of sprinkles and shaped like Gummy!”

“No, Pinkie,” I chided. “Don’t you girls see what Twilight’s going through? Someone who grew up studying her heart out to be Princess Celestia’s student? She looks up to her, and she’s afraid of failing! Even I thought she’s overreacting! But she takes it very seriously because she grew up constantly learning and studying everything and anything she could get her hands on! She’s afraid of failing something that’s not even an assignment, and telling someone who’s about to emotionally blow up to calm down wasn’t helpful!”

“Then here’s an important lesson she should learn: learn to take a chill pill and be lazy for a day,” Rainbow muttered.

“You’ve been helping her find a friendship problem?” Fluttershy asked me.

“Well, I do have one: why she doesn’t want to trust me, and why she’s trying to avoid my advice,” I said. “We need to stop her and actually calm her down before she makes all of Ponyville go crazy with a problem she’ll create to write that letter, and time is running out!” I pointed to the sun in the sky, but I frowned when I heard it tick and watched its position change again. “Consarn it, Princess Celestia, what are you doing with the sun today!?”

“Maybe the little fellah needs to settle down a little bit, too,” Applejack uttered.

And they still don’t believe me. I sighed and ran off toward the library.

“Wait, Charlie, where are you going!?” Fluttershy called out.

“If you guys won’t help me fix this, then I’ll do it myself!” I didn’t turn back, half expecting Rainbow Dash to swoop in and carry me back, thinking I was going to cause trouble.

Thankfully, I was still moving, but I surely wasn’t going to make it to the library. She was probably going to find Smarty Pants, her old doll as a filly, so I had to reach the section of the park where the Cutie Mark Crusaders were playing, and were going to be the first few victims of Twilight’s “brilliant” plan. Clock is ticking, Charles! Clock. Is. Ticking!

Panting heavily, I ran through the bushes and out into the field the Crusaders were playing, only to be smacked in the face by the ball they were playing with. It hit me hard, sending me flying back into the bush with a grunt, leaving me in a slight daze.

“Uh oh! Scootaloo, Ah think ya accidentally hit somepony!” I shook my head, then felt some small hooves pull me out. “Sorry about that. Didn’t mean to-”

When I was up on my feet and out of the bush, I was staring at three gawking fillies: Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo, otherwise known as the Cutie Mark Crusaders. I didn’t budge an inch for fear of making them run away screaming in terror. Although, with Scootaloo being much like Rainbow Dash, she probably wouldn’t flee and try to tussle with me. My eyes glanced at each filly, trying to gauge their reaction. I finally broke the ice, giving them an awkward grin and a wave of my hand.

“Uhh...H-Hiya?” I uttered sheepishly.

I was met with more silence before Sweetie Belle pointed her hoof at me. “...Is that a baby Discord in front of us?” she asked.

I fell over in disbelief, startling the fillies as I just immediately plopped on my front without warning like an anime character hilariously does over something baffling. “Geeze. Did he really get hurt that bad?” I heard Scootaloo question. “It was just a rubber ball.”

I got back up on my feet, still baffled that these three weren’t terrified of me. At least they didn’t intentionally try to attack me with a pointed weapon. And these three do a lot of dangerous stunts, so what else was I expecting?

“You three...aren’t scared of me?” I asked.

“Well, Applejack did tell us what happened when she went to stop Discord,” Apple Bloom said. “Or, you...uhh, but...ya ain’t...Discord?” The farm filly rubbed her head, already going cross-eyed from trying to put the pieces together. At least Applejack was honest and possibly told her family about me. “Ah don’t get it. We saw Discord’s statue on our school field trip to Canterlot Castle, then Discord ran amok, he was beaten, but he wasn't and you took his place. And ya ain’t Discord, but your name is...Chuck?”

“It’s Charles, actually,” I corrected.

“I’d prefer Discord Jr.,” Scootaloo said, to which I gave her a blank leer in annoyance.

“Well, I think he’s adorable!” I gawked at Sweetie Belle at the compliment. Out of all the things I’d be called, adorable was NOT what I expected from the most innocent of the Crusaders. She grabbed my cheeks in her hooves and squished them, startling me as my face burned with an awkward blush. I’m never going to get used to this amount of attention, am I? “If this was Discord as a colt, who would ever think he was evil? And Charles is a cute little colt, aren’t you?”

I gently pulled Sweetie Belle’s hooves off my face. “I-I’m not a kid. I’m fifteen years old, and the real Discord tricked me into this form.”

“Fifteen!?” the fillies shrieked in surprise.

Oh, NOW they’re shocked by me. At least it was by my age, and they seemed to understand a bit more than the Elements of Harmony, the princesses, or the Royal Guard. Seems like the adults in this world are much more ignorant than the kids, almost like my world sometimes.

“You’re way older than us!” Scootaloo said.

“Maybe by a few years, but not THAT old,” I grumbled. “You three are about as old as my sister.”

“You have a sister? Is she like you?” Sweetie Belle asked curiously.

I had no idea how to answer that. It was already a lot for them to take in that I’m Discord’s heir and was turned into a younger version of him, and telling them I was a different sort of creature from another world might be too much for them to comprehend. We were getting off topic, despite making a good impression on the Crusaders.

“As much as I like to play twenty questions with you girls, I was actually looking for you three,” I said.

“Ya were? Why?” Apple Bloom asked.

Behind the girls, I saw movement come from the ball they were playing with. It suddenly inflated and popped, shocking us as I grimaced in fright.

“That’s why,” I said.

Twilight had definitely lost it. She definitely looked like a psychopath who escaped a mental institution, forcibly grinning with her mane a tangled mess and a bug-eyed look with shrunken pupils and irises.

“Hi, kids!” she greeted creepily, her left ear twitching as her eyes slowly trailed over each of us.

“Uhh, Twilight?” Apple Bloom uttered. “Are...Are ya-?”

“Great! Just great! Absolutely fantastic!” Twilight interrupted with a nervous giggle and slowly approached us.

“Is she alright?” Scootaloo asked me.

“Obviously, no,” I said.

“And you all seem to be doing great, too! And you’re hanging out with Charles!” Twilight said. “Not a good idea hanging out with a little chaos monster, but you three were having quite a lot of fun, right!?” Ok, as much as that comment hurts, she’s clearly not in the right mindset. “You three girls seem to be doing so great as friends that you don’t need help from another GOOD friend!”

She leaned her head awkwardly toward us, her face twitching as we lowered ourselves closer to the ground, honestly being terrifying more than hilariously crazy witnessing this up close. “Umm, Twilight, I think we need an adult,” I said.

“I am an adult! And a very responsible, NOT TARDY, adult!” Thankfully, Twilight moved her head away from us as she expressed how “not tardy” she was, but we still needed someone to help us with her behavior. Then she pulled it out; her old doll, Smarty Pants, which was a sort of Raggedy Anne donkey with blue and white polka dot pants. “This is Smarty Pants! She was mine when I was your age, and I wanna give her to you girls!” Twilight gave Smarty Pants to Apple Bloom, who awkwardly held the old doll. “And she even comes with her own quill and notebook, for when you want to PRETEND she’s doing her homework!”

Twilight then levitated a small notebook and quill, giving them to Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle respectively. “...Umm, great?” Scootaloo uttered.

“Yeah. Great,” Apple Bloom agreed nervously.

“...I...really like her...mane?” Sweetie Belle commented.

“I’m so glad you like her!” Twilight said. “I just hope the fact that there are three of you and only one of her doesn’t become a problem! I’d hate to cause a rift between such good friends.”

And I’ve finally had enough of crazy Twilight, especially with that weird face she made when expressing with intense emphasis about the Crusaders being good friends. “Twilight, I can’t take this anymore. You’ve officially lost it!” Twilight froze, slowly turning her head to look at me, her manic grin gone as she looked at me with utter disdain. Using my telekinesis, I took Smarty Pants and her “accessories” from Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo, and set them on the ground in front of the adult unicorn. “You need to learn to chill out and stop freaking out about being tardy! Everyone’s late at some point or another! Even trains might not run on time because of complications with the engine, weather, or something on the tracks! No one’s perfect! Not even you! So drop it before you do something you’re going to regret!”

Her face remained angrily stoic, which only made it creepier than crazy Twilight pretending to be happy. All that bravado I had telling her off quickly disappeared with that blank stare. I had no idea what she was thinking, but if it involved turning me to stone, then I was in real trouble.

“...I see what you’re trying to do to me,” she uttered bitterly. “You were planning this all along, weren’t you?”

“Huh?” I mumbled, confused.

“Don’t play innocent with me, ‘Charles’,” she said. I was suddenly lifted up in the air by her magic, held up at eye level to her. “You appear and cause so much trouble in Equestria, distracting me from any friendship problems to write to the princess. And on the day when my next letter is due, you conveniently joined me, and you knew exactly what was going to happen to me.” Twilight chuckled and shook her head, then glared at me with those insane eyes and a scary, curled grin. “You set this all up so I could fail, and you ‘helping’ was meant to keep distracting me.”

“W-What?” I asked. “That’s not what I-”

“Well, I’m onto your little game, Discord,” she said. “You’ve ‘helped’ me so much today. But maybe I can ‘help’ you.”

I didn’t like where this was going. Swallowing nervously as I stared crazy in the face, I glanced around while my body tried to twitch desperately to curl into a ball.

“...I...I think I really need an adult right now,” I said.

“I am an adult,” she said darkly.

Before I knew it, I was encased in a magic bubble, and then flicked several yards away. I yelped as I was bounced and rolled around in the enchanted bubble before it came to a complete stop. I was expecting a lot worse, but it was going to get so much worse if Twilight cast that “Want it, Need it” spell on her doll. When the world stopped spinning, I pondered how I was going to break out of this bubble. I pushed against it, but despite it stretching, I couldn’t pop it. Not even with the sharp talons of my eagle claw.

Maybe I could try teleporting? It might not be a good idea after now starting to get used to the chaos magic, but if I want to stop Ponyville from going on a rampage over a doll, I had to give it a shot. The only problem is how teleporting actually worked. Do I imagine the location with my mind and snap my fingers? I know how it felt after Discord warped me to this world in this new body of mind. Taking in a deep breath, I imagined myself out of the bubble, then closed my eyes and snapped my fingers. Within seconds, I felt my body pop out of existence, then reappear right outside of Twilight’s magic bubble, flopping on the ground with a grunt after misjudging how high I wanted to appear from. At least I got used to the weird warping sensation.

I got back on my feet and ran back as fast as I could. I could already see Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo fighting with each other, but thankfully, Twilight didn’t cast the spell yet. She was panicking and finally had the idea, making me pump my tiny limbs harder than ever before.

“Oh, you’re going to LIKE Smarty Pants. And you’re going to like her more than ANYTHING!” Twilight proclaimed, holding her doll out to the tussling trio.

Twilight had her horn lowered and aimed right at her doll. I wasn’t going to make it! I had to try teleporting again. With a leap, I snapped my fingers, disappearing and reappearing in front of Twilight. I wasn’t able to warn her as the hearts she released from her horn flew at me. As they struck, I froze stiff as I was hit by Twilight’s spell instead of Smarty Pants. I fell to the ground after the spell was complete, grunting in discomfort, but nonetheless worse for wear. I heard Twilight gasp when she saw me, shocked and infuriated at my surprising leap to take her enchantment in her doll’s place.

“Ok, I’ve had enough being abused,” I grunted as I stood back up.

“What did you just do!?” Twilight shrieked.

“Trying to stop you from losing your mind,” I grumbled. Oddly, I looked around me, seeing hearts popping up around my body. Twilight didn’t seem affected, though I’d chalk that up to her being the caster and being immune to her own spell. My ears twitched when the fighting coming from the Crusaders stopped, which made my blood run cold. “...Oh...I also...got in the way of the ‘Want it, Need it’ spell.”

Warily, I looked behind me, and immediately regretted it. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo were staring at me, but their eyes quickly turned into hearts.

“I want him!” Scootaloo said.

“Ah need him!” Apple Bloom said.

“I really like his mane!” Sweetie Belle said.

Letting out an audible gulp, I looked back to Twilight, who was still flummoxed by what just happened. “...Help,” I squeaked.

Suddenly, I was jumped by all three fillies, but then they all started fighting amongst each other with me stuck in the middle. A dust cloud picked up around us, hearing the Crusaders arguing with each other over me while they yanked and tugged parts of me to try to take me away from each other. I cried out for help from Twilight to fix this. I don’t know what she’s doing, but if there’s ever a friendship problem to solve, it’s right now!

By some miracle, I managed to slip away, stumbling out of the dangerous wrestling match I’ve ever been a part of. “Hey, there he is!” Apple Bloom exclaimed.

With no time to rest, I scrambled back to my feet and ran away. “Twilight, for goodness sake, do something!” I shouted as I ran circles around the unicorn while the three fillies were practically at my tail.

“Why did you ruin my plan!?” Twilight exclaimed. “I’m running out of time! I could have had this solved right away!”

“You wouldn’t solve anything!” I screamed angrily. Skidding to a halt, I snapped my fingers, creating a wall of pink cotton candy. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo ran into it, getting themselves stuck in the sticky confection. With more time bought for me, I marched up to Twilight, thrust my hand out to forcefully push the unicorn onto her back, and hopped onto her chest. “Creating a problem with the ‘Want it, Need it’ spell, which isn’t properly controlled in your mental state!? Think, Twilight, THINK! You’re so obsessed with this stupid letter that you’re not even thinking about what you’re going to do to the whole town!”

“H-How did you even know what the spell was-?” I slapped my bear hand against her muzzle, silencing her before I heard anymore of her brain dead excuses.

“No! Shut up! I’ve had enough!” I interrupted. “I had been trying to help prevent this from happening! I KNEW what was going to happen, and despite me being around, everything that was slowly making you go psycho-bonkers crazy was happening regardless! I thought you knew better than to judge others by who they looked like instead of getting to know them when you all met Zecora! And if you so much as think I was responsible for making you lose your mind, then you’re the worst excuse of a friend when I’ve done nothing but try my hardest to help you, and you refuse it because I’m ‘Discord’!

“Now before this gets any worse, get rid of this spell on me before Big Macintosh shows up and gets affected by this spell, too!” I barely got a muffled response from Twilight. She glanced away from me, looking shocked and puzzled at what was behind me. I had a sinking feeling she was looking at a certain somepony who decided to pop in to check on the commotion. “...He’s right behind me, isn’t he?”

“Eeyup,” I heard the low, single-worded response from the strong Apple stallion.

I looked up and saw the hearts in Big Mac’s eyes. Before I knew it, he picked me up with his teeth by the scruff of my neck, then began to trot away from Twilight with glee.

“Help! I’m being kidnapped!” I cried out. By some miracle, the Crusaders managed to eat their way through my cotton candy wall, then charged at Big Mac to “save” me. Big Mac ran into town, making other ponies see me and be affected by Twilight’s spell. Soon, all of Ponyville went mad, some fighting against each other while others swooped in the middle of the chaos and steal me away, only to repeat the cycle all over town. “This is getting insane! I need an adult!”

“We are adults!” the grown up populace of Ponyville chimed in, taking a moment to stop fighting to respond before getting back into the fray.

“...Not like this!” I managed to free one of my hands, quickly snapping my fingers and attempted to teleport back to Twilight. I succeeded, plopping in front of the frantic unicorn, but the other girls were there too to see what got the town in a frenzy. They all turned their heads to look at me. “No! Divert your eyes!”

Before any of the Mane Six could be under Twilight’s spell, Twilight miraculously came to my rescue, forcing their heads to turn away from me. “He’s right! Don’t look at him!”

“Who? Charles?” Applejack questioned.

I quickly snapped my fingers and created a cardboard box to hide under. I sliced open a slot for me to see, hoping the enchantment wouldn’t affect anyone if part of me was visible.

“What’s going on with the town?” Rainbow asked. “Everyone’s fighting over...something.”

“It’s me!” I exclaimed. “They’re after me!”

“Whatever for?” Rarity asked. “What did you do?”

“Nothing! It was my fault!” Twilight said. “I was trying to cause a friendship problem by enchanting my doll with a spell, but Charles appeared in front of me and took it instead!”

“Why did you try to enchant your doll?” Fluttershy questioned, looking a bit upset at Twilight for causing me a lot of distress.

“I had to do something!” Twilight explained. “I had nothing to report to Princess Celestia! I thought if I couldn’t FIND a friendship problem, I’d MAKE a friendship problem! And it only got worse when Charles tried to stop me, and I didn’t listen to him!”

While I thought I was safe, I didn’t realize how much of a magnet I was under this spell’s charm. The box was suddenly lifted off of me by one of the charmed ponies, which, as my unfortunate luck would have it, was Ponyville’s ditziest, but my world’s most popular background character in the show, Derpy Hooves.

“Found you, my muffin!” I heard her cheer.

A loud alarm blared around me as I winced, along with a red exclamation mark that popped above me for a brief second. I was then snatched up by Ponyville’s best mail mare, screaming in terror as my random chaotic surprise alerted the other charmed ponies. I don’t know if the others tried to help me or couldn’t because of Twilight’s spell, but I needed someone to save me before I was literally pulled to pieces by every single pony in Ponyville.

“TWILIGHT SPARKLE!!!!!” In a bright flash of light, I was blinded by it while also feeling something ethereal wash over me.

Groaning, I opened my eyes, anticipating someone to scoop me away. Instead, everyone seemed confused, wondering where they were and why they were all scuffed up and slightly bruised. They all soon looked at me, which got really awkward as the whole town finally met me. With some more awkward silence, everyone left and headed back on their merry way like nothing ever happened.

“...Well, thank goodness that’s over,” I uttered. When I looked up, I just now noticed the sun had finally set and it was getting darker. Behind me, I heard a familiar voice clear their throat. Looking behind me, I winced at Princess Celestia’s presence, and she did not seem happy with me. “Oh no…”

Without a word, she carried me in her golden aura, then turned to head to the Golden Oak Library. Perfect. Twilight caused all this, and I was the one who was going to take the blame. I did see Twilight follow us eventually, her head hung low, feeling ashamed for letting the princess down. I wanted to point out what took Celestia so long to get down here and explain how Twilight exaggerated the friendship reports as due assignments every week, but I kept my mouth shut. I already looked like I was in enough trouble while being in the center of a mob of ponies fighting over me.

When we arrived back at the library, we were upstairs in Twilight and Spike’s bedroom. Celestia set me down on the floor in front of her while Twilight sat beside me. She refused to look her mentor and ruler in the eyes to avoid her disappointed gaze.

“What happened?” Celestia asked, finally speaking up after several long, quiet minutes. I didn’t know how to explain it, and Twilight was afraid to say anything. Celestia wouldn’t believe me, but she’d believe Twilight. “I was a bit busy today when Spike sent me a letter, warning me about what you were doing, Twilight. I glanced over it when he mentioned Charles was the one who gave me the warning, but the moment I took a small break, I looked through my telescope to see Ponyville, and caught sight of a ruckus going on. Thankfully, nowhere in the town to cause any collateral damage, but this is still very serious.”

Surprised, Twilight looked over at Spike, who was hiding in the corner eavesdropping after seeing us come in. I was disappointed that Celestia didn’t believe me after reading a letter Spike sent, but then again, she’s only giving me the benefit of the doubt after yesterday. That’s probably thrown out the window after what she saw. Twilight glanced at me, her eyes no longer crazed, panicky, or filled with dread. She clearly looked guilty, and for a moment, I thought she might have actually believed me when I said I was trying to help stop her from the cataclysm of her friendship problem she came up with.

“...It was my fault,” Twilight admitted. I saw the startled look on Celestia’s face as she looked at her faithful student. It was rare to see Celestia ever express her emotions or reactions after ruling a nation for over a thousand years, but away from the eye of her people, she’s just a normal, sentient being. “I always sent you a friendship letter every single week ever since I moved here to Ponyville. You asked me to send you a report if I ever found any, and I was never late or tardy. I completely forgot about it when Discord was free and caused so much trouble, and...when Charles appeared.”

“You mean...it wasn’t…?” Celestia looked at me, baffled, but I kept my silence. “But...everypony in Ponyville-”

“He got in the way of a spell I was supposed to cast on my old doll, Smarty Pants,” Twilight interjected. “I tried to create a friendship problem, but Charles was trying to stop me and help me. I...I didn’t want to listen to him, or have him around me, because…” She looked at me again, then back to Celestia. “...Because...I thought he was trying to trick me...just like he-...No. Like Discord had. To my friends…”

“He kinda knew what was going to happen,” Spike said as he stepped in. “Charles didn’t tell me what it was, but I didn’t think it would be that crazy.”

I was surprised. I didn’t expect Twilight to finally see me as me, not as Discord. Maybe everything I did for her finally clicked in her head and she realized how horrible she was as a friend. Celestia remained silent, pondering all this information as she no longer seemed to blame me, but was still doubtful of me and my chaos magic.

“...Well...I actually thought that Charles was responsible for…” The princess trailed off, dismissing the subject around me. “Twilight, I never said you had to send me a friendship report every week. You’re already a wonderful student. I didn’t need a letter every week to know that.”

“Y-You didn’t?” Twilight asked in disbelief.

Suddenly, we heard the front door slam open downstairs, along with several hoofsteps climbing up them. “Wait! Princess! Don’t punish Twilight!” Rainbow exclaimed.

“It wasn’t her fault!” Applejack added.

“And it wasn’t Charlie’s either!” Fluttershy quickly said, ensuring that I wouldn’t take the full brunt of whatever they thought Celestia’s sentence would be to me or Twilight.

“We didn’t listen to Twilight, and we should have taken her feelings more seriously like Charles had!” Rarity explained.

“And if we actually listened, Twilight wouldn’t have gone all coo-coo crazy and thrown all of Ponyville into chaos!” Pinkie added.

The girls all tried to explain how it was all their fault for not helping Twilight with an issue she took very seriously. Celestia quickly raised her hoof, silencing everyone, hearing enough. As she lowered her hoof, she looked at me, then back to her student and her companions.

“I suppose all of you have learned a valuable lesson today,” she said. “I will forget Twilight and Charles’ ‘punishment’ on one condition: I would like all of you to report your findings on the magic of friendship, but only WHEN you happen to discover them.” It took a moment for the girls to realize Twilight was off the hook, and Twilight would no longer have to worry about a deadline for the princess’s friendship letters. I’m sure she didn’t mean me as well with the brief glance toward me, but, again, I said nothing to avoid getting banished to the already set sun. The girls celebrated their relief as Celestia approached the outdoor balcony of the tree house/library. “Now that that’s settled, I must head back to the castle. I’ll be expecting some mail.”

She hopped up onto the railing, but took one final warning glance at me before taking off. Once she flew off and was out of sight, I let out the breath I didn’t realize I was holding. I’ll take that as the only free chance she was going to give me before the next random disaster occurred. While the girls recounted the lesson they all learned today and Spike wrote it out for them, I just walked out to the balcony for some fresh air. After that horrendous backfire of a magic spell, I couldn’t help but feel an odd satisfaction from the chaos, which was a bit bothersome. I really hope I don’t enjoy witnessing or being a part of something like that again. If Discord liked it, then he really is twisted in the head.

I didn’t know how long it was while standing outside and looking at the town while deep in thought. I heard a set of hooves approach me, but where I expected Fluttershy to carry me and take me back to her home, it was Twilight as she sat beside me. To be honest, I was still miffed that she saw me as Discord, thinking I was out to get her while she was in her crazy phase. At least she admitted she was the one who screwed up and didn’t put the blame on me.

“...Did you...really know?” she asked. My ear twitched, but I didn’t look at her. “About...everything that was going to happen today, I mean? With me going around Ponyville to...what just happened a moment ago?”

“To quote the stallion who has your Smarty Pants doll right now, eeyup,” I said, somehow startling Twilight as I spoke exactly like Big Macintosh with his simple one word responses.

“Wait, what?” Twilight uttered. She popped away in a flash, possibly teleporting back to the park where she forgot all about her doll, then reappeared a few minutes later with a shocked frown. “...I can’t find Smarty Pants...You mean...Does Applejack’s brother really have-?”

“Yup. Must have found it after Princess Celestia freed everyone from that spell,” I said. “Some things were different from what I know, but all in all, everything happened just like it had.”

Struck with silence, I looked at Twilight, who just stared at me dumbfoundedly. “...Spike said you knew,” she uttered. “You knew what the spell was called, and...you knew Zecora, but Discord never met her...How did you know?”

“Do you really want me to tell you? Because if you lose your mind again, I’m sealing you in a magic bubble until you calm down enough,” I warned. Twilight winced, immediately feeling guilty for trapping me in a bubble to prevent me from creating a mess she was going to cause. She hesitated, but slowly nodded her head, her curiosity beating her loss of rational thought. “Fine. I told Spike, and he’s promised not to tell anyone else. You keep this to yourself, too. Deal?”

“O-Ok,” Twilight uttered.

“Alright.” I sighed, bracing myself for her to go “coo-coo crazy”, as Pinkie Pie put it. “In my world, your world is actually a cartoon show. All of your adventures since you met the others, befriended them, found the Elements of Harmony, and stopped Nightmare Moon are known throughout everyone who actually enjoys it. I was one of them, along with my little sister. There’s a lot more ahead that neither of you know about, but you all teach some pretty important morals, have some pretty catchy songs, and some surprisingly good action and animation meant to be viewed only by little girls who like colorful talking ponies. So basically, your world exists as a creation from someone else’s mind, but it actually exists in some other dimension.”

Twilight took it all in, visibly disturbed by the fact that she, her friends and family, and her world were all another world’s creation. At least she wasn’t freaking out and questioning everything. She probably had enough worrying for today now that Celestia finally shed some light to her woes. Twilight appeared to accept this, but there were a dozen questions in her head she wanted to ask me.

“...Do you know what’s going to happen next?” she asked curiously.

“Yes, but I’m not telling,” I said.

“Because you don’t trust me,” Twilight said dejectedly.

“It’s actually because I don’t want to deter what’ll happen next, and it’ll give Princess Celestia a real reason to turn me into stone,” I said. “Even though I’m still sore about today, that doesn’t mean I hate you. I just want you and the others to trust me while I’m trapped in this body after Discord tricked one more victim before I ‘took his place’.”

“Oh. I see,” Twilight mumbled. We both sat in silence again. This is becoming very awkward between us, and I think Twilight’s finally reconsidering loathing my guts and accepting me as a friend. “...You said you have a little sister?”

“Yeah,” I said. “She’s a few years younger than me.” She seemed interested in my sibling, and I knew just what she was about to say before she opened her mouth. “And I know you have an older brother, who’s also part of the Royal Guard, a captain no less, and you love him to death.”

Twilight’s mouth hung open in shock. “Y-You know about-?”

“Shining Armor. Yeah. I know quite a bit about all of you,” I said.

“...That’s...terrifying,” she said.

“You know what else is ‘terrifying’?” I asked. “You have a fear of quesadillas.” The look on Twilight’s face almost made me burst out laughing. I revealed to her her most hated food, without never even mentioning it to anyone. “Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone about your hatred of cheesy, gooey quesadillas. I’m not as sadistic as Discord.”

“Good,” Twilight said, sighing heavily in relief.

“Charlie, it’s starting to get late!” Fluttershy called out. “We’d better head home!”

“Ok!” I called back. I was still a little annoyed at being treated like a kid, but it’s Fluttershy. I’ll let her treat me however she pleases because she’s just that nice. I owe her that much for coming to my rescue the other day. “Guess I’d better get going.”

I stood up and stretched my tired limbs before walking back inside. “Charles.” I stopped and looked back at Twilight, wondering what else she wanted to say to me. “...I’m really sorry for how I treated you,” she apologized. “You’re not like Discord after all...I hope you can forgive me and we can...start over?”

She grinned sheepishly, half expecting me to say no. I grinned back and gave her a silent nod to reassure her that I’ll forget her behavior toward me to start afresh. I headed back inside, watching Spike blow a breath of his magic fire on a scroll that was the group’s friendship lesson everyone learned to Celestia. As the rest of the girls began to leave, I said bye to Spike before following Fluttershy back to her cottage.

It was a crazy day today, with the literal crazy adventure Pinkie mentioned earlier that was surely not going to be the last. Never thought I would actually be involved with an actual episode. And besides making up with Twilight a little and earning her trust, I befriended Spike, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. Kinda wished I met the Crusaders in a better way, but at least they weren’t afraid of me. Now all I had to do was get Rainbow Dash and Rarity to like me, though that would be a problem with Rainbow Dash after that dumb deflating metal wall incident.

A New Breed of Evil

I opened my eyes, hearing a whole lot of chaos around me. And it wasn’t the normal sort of chaos I expected that came from Discord. Sure, there were some parts of the area distorted by gravitational imbalances, objects looking different and out of place, but it almost looked like a warzone. Discord might have been devious, but most of his chaos is somewhat harmless. It’s like the world was evaporating in its destruction.

“What the heck is going on?” I uttered, bewildered. “Is this…a dream? I doubt this would be a nightmare for Discord, but it’s still…bizarre.”

“NO! Get away from me!” My ears twitched, hearing Discord’s voice, and he was…afraid? I looked to where his voice came from, and he was running straight toward me. He definitely seemed panicked as he ran on all fours, fleeing from something. “Just leave me alone!”

“Discord?” I flinched as he barreled toward me and he didn’t seem to notice my presence in his path. I braced myself, but as I heard him run through me, his body phased through mine. Confused, I looked behind me where Discord was headed, only to be apprehended by…a black bipedal cat and a white deer? They wore what looked like armor meant for royal leaders in battle, but I’ve never seen other sentient creatures like them in the show. Not even in the movie, and the only sentient cat that I’ve seen was Capper, the con artist who resided in that shady port town in the middle of a desert. “What in the world is going on?”

“Diiiiscoooooord~.” My body froze and trembled at the sound of a sickeningly sweet, but devious feminine voice echoing from behind me. I was too scared to move, and I don’t even know why, or who that voice belonged to. Below me, the ground began to fade away, leaving me floating in a slowly decaying world. I flinched when something grabbed my body, staring down at a massive blue claw picking me up between two digits. I was forcibly turned around to face what grabbed me, their presence making my heart stop and my stomach drop in absolute fear as I looked into the yellow, cat-like eyes peering through a green mist this creature veiled itself in. “There you are, Discord. Thought you could run away from me forever?”

“...W-Who…What are…?” I tried to speak, but for some reason, I couldn’t get the words to come out.

“You will never get rid of me, Dizzy dear,” the creature said with a dark, creepily alluring chuckle. “You’re mine. Forever.”

It began pulling me into the mist, my body finally scrambling to break free from this monster’s firm grasp on me. “N-No! Wait! I’m not Discord!” I screamed in vain. “Help! Somebody help me!”

I woke with a gasp, panting heavily as I sat in Fluttershy’s bed. I’ve never had nightmares that intense, but I could still feel the adrenaline from the fear that…creature left in me. I have no idea what it was, nor where it even came from, but it was like I knew what was in that mist. I’ve never had a nightmare startle me that badly to wake me like that, and after being here for about a week, I would expect to be used to seeing strange dreams that could be fabricated by Discord. It felt so real; I could still feel that monster’s claws squeezing my sides as it hoisted me up. Once my heart settled down, I just let out a sigh, seeing it was already morning, and needed to get ready for whatever may happen today.

After climbing out of bed and putting the sheets and comforter back together by hand, I made my way to Fluttershy’s bathroom. I realized I hadn’t taken a bath or a shower at all since I arrived here, and I probably needed one. If human B.O. was bad, I have no idea how bad a draconequus would smell without any hygienic care. Thankfully, it was in the next room in the hall, and I helped myself inside.

Part of me expected there to be some fish or amphibians making a home in Fluttershy’s sink or bathtub, but it was a normal, clean bathroom. Even she had a need for cleanliness, especially when I forget that she and Rarity usually hang out together at the spa once a week. Snapping my fingers, I created a footstool to help my tiny body up into the tub that was twice my height, each step making a different squeaking sound as I climbed up it. Before jumping in, I turned on the hot water to warm it up, then twisted it back a bit while adding some cold water to cool it and make my shower pleasantly warm. I may be a chaotic deity in child form, but I’m not THAT insane. At least I don’t go insane.

With my shower ready, I jumped into the tub and let the water soak me. Once my fur and scales were wet enough, I glanced at some of the bath products Fluttershy had. She had quite a bit of conditioner, but with a mane and tail as long as hers, she definitely needed it more than Rarity and her curly hair. I didn’t have much thick or long hair. Although, I could make my own kind of shampoo or body wash. I shrugged my shoulders and gave it a shot, snapping my fingers and letting my magic randomly pick me a hopefully nice smelling soap.

A gray bottle popped into existence, no label to describe what scent it would have to add to the mystery, and a brush to help scrub hard to reach spots. I took a curious whiff, but to my confusion, I didn’t smell anything. My nose wasn’t stuffed up. Maybe no scent is chaotic enough and it would still get me clean? Hoping that was the case, I squeezed out some light blue colored liquid soap that was inside on the brush, then scrubbed myself while rainbow suds lathered over my body. I began humming “Winter Wrap-Up” while enjoying my shower, which reminded me of the season four premiere when Discord was summoned and he was in the middle of a shower. Maybe that’s why I decided to sing that song.

“Charlie, breakfast is ready. Are you-?” I didn’t even notice Fluttershy walk into the bathroom. I didn’t even remember closing the bathroom door, or moved the curtains to give me some privacy. When I looked at her, we both stared at each other awkwardly before she squeaked and backed out of the bathroom. “Oh, I’m sorry,” she apologized meekly, closing the door slightly while leaving it ajar. “Umm...Breakfast is ready when you’re done, Charlie.”

“...Ok,” I called back. When I couldn’t hear her hoofsteps, I felt so embarrassed that I wanted to just melt into the tub drain with the running water. A part of me wanted to be funny and let out a high-pitched scream while desperately trying to cover myself, but my lack of giving myself privacy threw that out of my brain, not to mention the fact that I would have done that to Fluttershy. I just finished showering as quickly as I could, dried myself off normally with a towel, and headed downstairs for breakfast. Fluttershy had some oatmeal and some apples on the kitchen table, looking just as embarrassed as I was for barging in while I was taking a shower. “...Uhh, sorry. I thought I forgot something important before jumping in.”

“I-It’s ok,” Fluttershy assured. This really shouldn’t be awkward since we’re creatures who don’t wear clothes, but in retrospect, realizing that I had BEEN naked these last couple days, I felt so much more self conscious after that awkward scene. I began eating some oatmeal, which tasted pretty good, until I heard Fluttershy sniff the air. “Umm, what kind of...shampoo were you using?”

I looked up at Fluttershy, swallowing my mouthful of oatmeal before responding. “Something I made up,” I answered. I took a whiff at myself, but I smelt nothing. At least I didn’t smell bad. “But...I don’t smell anything...What do you smell?”

“Oh! It’s not bad!” Fluttershy quickly said, thinking she was offending me. “It smells a lot like honey.”

“Honey?” I asked. “Weird.” I was about to take another bite, only to notice that the sounds of the morning critters had vanished. Fluttershy noticed as well, along with what was beside the table on my right. Glancing to my right, I saw the other animals eyeing me, including Angel, their noses twitching curiously while staring at me awkwardly. “...And this is even weirder. Did I do something to turn me into a magnet for animals?”

Angel was the first to vocalize his and the others’ strange behavior to Fluttershy, which surprised her. “Huh? He smells like...carrots?” she asked, which baffled me when she said she caught a whiff of honey from the body wash I materialized. The other animals told their caretaker what they thought, which further confused her when she glanced at me every so often. I smelled myself again, but I found nothing odd or off about my odor, especially after I just got cleaned minutes ago. “...Ummmm...Charlie, what...can you smell?”

“Nothing?” I said, already feeling my head starting to hurt while fathoming what the heck I did making that soap.

As much as I’d like to experiment on that with everyone else, I just shook my head and chalked it up to me messing up with this seemingly harmless chaotic spell. I waved my paw at them, getting them to go back to eating their breakfast while I continued eating mine, but they refused to budge. I ignored them and continued eating while Fluttershy dug into her bowl. While eating, I realized something seemed...a bit different in the kitchen. It wasn’t the layout of the entire room that was different; it was how it all looked. I know the show had some brighter and colorful settings, including some of the background stuff like buildings, flowers, trees, etc., but now, the colors are a slightly darker shade, bolder, and I can see thick outlines around Fluttershy, the animals, and my own hands. Maybe my vision is acting weird after my shower, or when I woke up this morning?

“Is everything ok, Charlie?” Fluttershy asked, snapping me out of my daze.

I hesitated for a moment. I didn’t want her to think I really have lost my mind if I was seeing things in a different way.

“Uhh…Y-Yeah. Just…had a weird dream before I woke up,” I said, not exactly lying, but I decided to be vague with the weird dream I saw.

“Like…a nightmare?” Fluttershy asked. She seemed curiously worried, but then began to rub her eyes after I saw them start drooping a little. “Ooh, I’ve been having the same awful nightmare all week. I haven’t got much sleep.”

“No. It was more…chaotic,” I said. Oddly, I have noticed Fluttershy getting more and more tired every day the last week. She even passed out once while feeding some of the chickens out back, only to wake suddenly with a scream despite no one spooking her awake. If she’s been having the same nightmare every night, maybe there was something troubling her. “Maybe we should see if Twilight can help solve these nightmares you’re having.”

“I think you’re right,” Fluttershy agreed.

We finished breakfast as quickly as we could and headed out. Fluttershy let me ride on her back, even though I said I could walk fine on my own, but she insisted. It’s not like I could say no to Fluttershy’s kindness since that’s basically her Element. I didn’t want to tire her out with me weighing her down, assuming I’m that heavy as a draconequus child. As much as I wanted to ask what her nightmare was about, my dream was still clear in my mind. Dreams usually don’t leave an impression for that long after waking up, but that thing I saw really rattled me. It felt so much worse than the chaos I’ve seen Discord come up with, and he’s already a psychotic genius who can end up a bit too gullible when he thinks he’s got the upper hand.

Oh, come on. I’m not THAT psychotic. And I sure as hay ain’t THAT gullible.

Confused, I looked around, thinking I actually heard Discord talking to me in my head. “What the…?”

“Charlie, is something wrong?” Fluttershy asked.

Before I could answer, neither of us noticed Rarity walking toward us, bumping into Fluttershy as they both yelped in surprise. I nearly fell off Fluttershy’s back while both mares were a bit startled from the unexpected bump.

“Oh my, terribly sorry, darling,” Rarity apologized. She was wearing a pink and white splotch patterned head scarf and a pair of sunglasses. They fell askew before she fixed them but I noticed she had bags under her eyes. She looked just as tired as Fluttershy and she was trying to hide it from the public. “I must have zoned out. I didn’t get much sleep last night. Or the whole week.”

“You too?” Fluttershy asked, peaking both of our curiosity.

“I’ve had these awful nightmares that woke me up anytime I was deep asleep,” Rarity explained.

“M-Me, too,” Fluttershy said, surprising the unicorn fashionista.

“Really?” Rarity uttered.

“That’s…a bit odd,” I mumbled. We all winced as we heard a crash further ahead. From the dust cloud, Rainbow Dash and Twilight were piled over each other, and Spike was there, but he was clear from the crash site. We approached them, along with Applejack by her apple stand nearby, and she looked just as exhausted as Rarity and Fluttershy. “Applejack, you don’t look so good.”

“Ah’m just tired, Spike,” Applejack said, mistaking me for the baby dragon.

“Uhh, I’m Charlie,” I corrected.

“Oh. Right. Sorry, sugarcube,” Applejack said. “Kinda hard to focus without any proper sleep.” She then took a sniff of the air as she walked beside Fluttershy. “Or that really nice, but strange scent of fresh cut red delicious apples.”

“I don’t smell that, but I do catch a hint of a lovely exotic perfume,” Rarity said, then looked at Fluttershy. “Fluttershy, what are you wearing? It’s so divine.”

“Umm…it’s not me,” Fluttershy said.

I raised my paw with a sigh. “It’s me. I created some special soap when I took a shower, and apparently, it has a different fragrance to everyone.”

Rarity and Applejack looked at each other, surprised by the strangely chaotic soap I concocted. We met up with Twilight and Rainbow Dash after they got back up from their tumble.

“It’s ok, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight said as she brushed some dirt off her coat. Seemed like Rainbow Dash didn’t mean to crash into Twilight again, even though she should really practice her stunts a little higher in the air and AWAY from town. “I should have been paying attention.”

“I’m a little off course today, too,” Rainbow said. “I haven’t been sleeping that great. All week, I’ve had-”

“Nightmares!?” Twilight interrupted with shock, making Rarity and Applejack wince from the shrill exclamation from the unicorn.

Now Twilight and Rainbow Dash had the same exact nightmare problem Fluttershy, Rarity, and Applejack has? This can’t be a coincidence. And if Pinkie was suffering from this nightmare insomnia as well, then something really fishy was going on.

“What is happening?” I mumbled. “I don’t remember nightmares affecting them until much later than this.”

“Remember what now?” Applejack asked.

“Uhh, ignore me,” I said sheepishly. I hopped down from Fluttershy’s back and walked over to Spike. Strangely, he wasn’t tired or sleep deprived if Twilight had awful nightmares. Is it only affecting ponies? “How did you sleep, Spike?”

“Slept like a log,” Spike said. “But this day is getting weirder and weirder. Have you been having nightmares all week?”

“Just one before waking up abruptly,” I said. “No other bad dreams the rest of the week.”

“How can we all be having nightmares all week?” Twilight asked. She picked up a book she had dropped when Rainbow accidentally crashed into her, flipping through the pages to find her answer. “This is unheard of.”

“What about Pinkie Pie?” Spike asked. “Maybe she hadn’t had any nightmares.”

“Welcome to my slumber party!” Pinkie greeted us.

Yeah, she definitely looked exhausted as well, and Pinkie was meant to have an endless supply of energy in her body. It was late in the night as Twilight planned to have all the girls, including Spike and I, meet together to solve this issue. And Pinkie came up with an interesting slumber party idea. At least this would be Twilight’s second slumber party in her life, though not for fun with this mysterious nightmare epidemic going on between the girls.

Pinkie had set up her room in Sugarcube Corner for the impromptu slumber party. There were some simple party snacks like chips and salsa, sodas, and some candies for late night sugar rushes to avoid sleeping. Along the floor were several sleeping bags, each one matching us, including me of all things. Mine was a weird, plaid patterned color, which definitely felt like something Discord would curl up in. Even Pinkie’s pet alligator, Gummy, was dressed in pajamas like Pinkie, who didn’t have a care in the world while staring off into space like the strange reptile he was.

“I don’t think there’s going to be much partying tonight, Pinkie,” I said.

“Well, if anything can chase away those heebie-jeebie dreams, it’s a girly night of fun!” Pinkie said as she hugged several pillows, then glanced over to where Rainbow Dash and Rarity were sitting. “Right, Rainbow Dash!?”

When I looked at the duo, I couldn’t help but snort in amusement. Rarity had made herself busy with Rainbow Dash, giving her a slumber party makeover. Her own mane was rolled up in hair curlers while she gave Rainbow a mud mask with some cucumbers over her eyes, tied her hair up to avoid getting it messy from the green cleansing mud, and one of her hooves was given a hooficure. Just from the frown on her face, she looked absolutely miserable.

“Super. Duper. Fun,” Rainbow grumbled. While blinded by the cucumbers, she didn’t see Pinkie clutch one of the pillows in her hooves, and with a laugh, she threw the pillow at Rainbow. It smacked her in the face, splattering the mud and cucumbers off her face, even undoing the hair clip keeping her mane up. Wiping off some of the mud, she faced Pinkie with a smug grin and a challenging gleam in her eyes. “Oh, this means war, Pinkie Pie!”

Rainbow zipped off and grabbed some pillows, getting into a massive pillow fight with Pinkie as fluffy cushions of all sizes flew across the room. Rarity was annoyed that her hard work beautifying Rainbow Dash was ruined, ducking on occasion to avoid the incoming bombardment of pillows. Even though I felt like joining, one of the only fun perks of having a slumber party that wasn’t girly, now wasn’t the time to have fun.

“There’s got to be some kind of connection between our dreams,” Twilight said, surrounded by a few books around dreams, both in psychology and their different meanings they show the dreamer.

“Sounds like an old coinky-dink to me,” Applejack said while fluffing up her pillow.

“After such a fun party, I’m sure we’ll all sleep like baby dragons tonight,” Fluttershy said.

Speaking of sleeping dragons, Spike was already conked out for the night, and the slumber party barely started. I get he’s called a baby dragon, but isn’t he a bit older than the Cutie Mark Crusaders? And he’s also sleeping in a basket instead of a sleeping bag, barely phased by the loud pillow fight between Rainbow and Pinkie or the flung mud facial of Rainbow's splashing through the room. Maybe he finds it more comfortable sleeping in something like that until he’s old enough for his own bed.

Sadly, the fun for everyone didn’t last long with how tired the girls were and how desperate they were to get some much needed sleep. The girls all curled up in their sleeping bags, getting themselves comfortable for, hopefully, a pleasant sleep.

“I sure hope we’ll sleep as heavily as Spike,” Twilight said. “Goodnight, everypony.”

The girls all murmured their good nights while Pinkie said good night to every single pony individually. I thought it was funny how Pinkie addressed Rainbow last, and I was somewhere in the middle. I got an annoyed look from Rainbow Dash before she buried her head in her pillow to sleep. I began to get comfortable, finally not taking up Fluttershy’s bed she willingly offered to me. When I rolled over, I looked at Twilight, who seemed to glance at me for a moment, like she was hoping I knew what was happening to everyone.

I just shrugged my shoulders, unable to tell her even if I did know the root cause. She seemed a bit disappointed that I didn’t know, even after last week when I told her I knew everything that would happen during her little episode. Despite the unfortunate news, she was too exhausted to worry as she settled in for a hopefully pleasant sleep. I got myself comfortable in my sleeping bag and stared at the ceiling.

“Let’s hope I don’t have that nightmare again,” I mumbled before closing my eyes, following the others into dreamland.

I woke up some time, grumbling irritably as nature began to call. I curse this tiny body Discord put me in and this tiny bladder of mine. Shuffling out of my sleeping bag, I crept out of Pinkie’s room to find the bathroom. Thankfully, it wasn’t too far away while fumbling down the hall. If I thought a new body with different animal parts was disturbing, I had to get used to my new anatomy down there. As long as I didn’t get turned into a girl, I didn’t have to learn how everything works downstairs.

After taking care of business and washing my hands, I stumbled back into Pinkie’s room. When I opened the door, I stifled a gasp when I saw a strange black, smoke-like mist creep in through the closed window. There wasn’t a fire in the building, and the mist flew toward the girls, creeping into their ears, which made their faces scrunch up and mumble in distress, like they were having a bad dream.

“Is that what’s causing their nightmares?” I muttered in shock. I soon saw what looked like physical dream bubbles appear over each mare, showing the awful nightmares they were having. There wasn’t one around Spike, which meant this thing was specifically targeting the Mane Six. “What is this thing?”

Twilight’s nightmare had Princess Celestia dismissing her as her personal student. Applejack’s nightmare had her whole farm completely barren with dead apple trees and dry, infertile soil, disappointing all of her extended family as well as her siblings and Granny Smith. The animals in Fluttershy’s nightmare all ran away from her in fear. I even saw myself running away as well, which felt so heart wrenching to witness me running away from someone who was so nice and innocent. Rainbow’s was probably just as bad; the Wonderbolts flew over her, and she had a dejected look while her wings looked pretty badly banged up, her dream ruined by one major crash that left her permanently grounded. I would say that Pinkie’s nightmare was bad since her dream had her perform for a crowd while doing all sorts of silly things at once, but it didn’t warrant much of a nightmare if most of those ponies looked like they came from Canterlot.

For Rarity, that was where this weird mist seemed to harbor around more as I witnessed her dream. She was holding out a new pair of saddlebags for Twilight, but Twilight seemed appalled by the new bags, even though I thought they were nice enough for someone like me to wear, if I was big enough.

“Yeesh! No thanks, Rarity,” Twilight said as she walked out of the boutique.

“But I made it just for you,” Rarity said, clearly hurt that her generous gift she worked hard for Twilight was immediately shot down.

The dream transitioned out in town, where Twilight was wearing a new saddlebag made by a pony who looked a lot like Mabel Pines from Gravity Falls. I knew the show made a lot of different pony references for certain characters in the background, but I don’t recall a pony Mabel. She had the same turtleneck sweatshirt, the same hairstyle and color, even the braces on that cheerful smile on her face. And she made Twilight a huge pink saddlebag, which was bedazzled with gems in no diverse pattern, something that I thought was a handmade zipper on the side underneath Twilight’s name, which wasn’t even spelled right and had a heart at the end. What made it worse was that everyone else in the Mane Six were impressed by this random mare’s “quality” work, and Rarity was in the background watching this with a broken heart and tears running down her face.

“Whoa! That’s two hundred percent cooler than anything I’ve ever seen!” Rainbow complimented.

“Maybelle, you’re so generous!” Pinkie added, which only added more pain to the actual fashionista being completely ignored by her friends. “I don’t know what we’d do without you!”

I heard Rarity moan as she shifted in her sleeping bag, her sleep mask she had been wearing being pulled off in her distressed movements. “She didn’t even spell your name right,” she mumbled in her sleep.

As the nightmare got worse as the world began to spiral around Rarity’s dream. All the girls began to turn away from Rarity as Ponyville was lost to a swirling void with the same mist creating her nightmare.

“We don’t need anything from you, Rarity!” Pinkie said.

“And we never will!” Applejack said.

The other girls agreed as they disappeared, leaving Rarity to try to chase after them. “No, wait! Please, let me help…Don’t forget about me.”

As Rarity in her dream broke down in despair, the mist seemed to flare wildly, casting a wind that began to blow everything around and grow in size. The others awoke with a start, most of them still trying to process what was happening while Rarity screamed in terror as she opened her eyes. The mist grasped her in its clutches and shot out the window.

“Rarity!” Spike cried out.

“What’s going on!?” Pinkie exclaimed.

We all quickly rushed out of Sugarcube Corner, watching the mist fly toward the moon. I thought I was seeing things, but I thought I saw the moon flicker with that same smoky mist around one side of it.

“Rainbow Dash, go after her!” Twilight said.

“I’m on it!” Rainbow immediately shoots off to chase after Rarity, being the only one who’s fast enough in the air to catch up to this unexpected nightmare creature.

Wanting a closer view, I snapped my fingers and created a pair of binoculars. They were comically long, but they served their purpose as I watched Rainbow Dash catching up to the mist monster and Rarity. Rainbow managed to catch up, but the mist was smacking her away and fled at a faster pace, forcing the pegasus to use all of her speed to burst into a sonic rainboom.

“Oh my goodness, oh my goodness, oh my goodness!” I heard Fluttershy whimper.

“Charles, is she gainin’ on Rarity!?” Applejack asked.

“I think she’s almost got her!” I watched Rainbow squinting through her speed, reaching a hoof out to Rarity as she did the same. I thought she was going to make it, but the moment their hooves were only a couple inches away from each other, Rarity and the mysterious mist poofed away in the blink of an eye. My jaw dropped, physically smacking the ground as I watched Rainbow frantically fly around in shock. I lowered the binoculars and picked my jaw up, shaking my head in disbelief. “...It got away…”

The others gasped, and judging from the shock in Spike’s voice, he was probably the most devastated having his crush be taken away by this strange creature. Rainbow zipped back within a few seconds, and with no reason, she came stomping over toward me.

“What did you do!?” she questioned.

“I didn’t do this!” I exclaimed. “I saw that weird mist fly into Pinkie’s room and go into your heads! I even saw all of the nightmares you were having!”

“But why did it take Rarity!?” Spike cried, breaking down in tears as he panicked about his beloved unicorn’s safety.

“I need to tell Princess Celestia about this,” Twilight said.

We all immediately headed back to the library to figure out what this ethereal creature was. Twilight got to work writing the letter to Celestia, and Spike was bawling his eyes out. I materialized some tissues for the poor dragon, although I do hope his crush with Rarity eventually dies out when he gets older. Once the letter was finished, he managed to blow his fire breath into the scroll to send to the princess while still blubbering. All the while, I could still feel Rainbow glaring daggers at me, truly believing I was responsible for that thing making them miserable and kidnapping Rarity.

“Rainbow, it’s not Charlie,” Fluttershy scolded.

“How would you know, Fluttershy?” Rainbow questioned. “He could have gotten used to his magic to make us miserable!”

“Ah don’t think chaos works like that if dreams can be just as crazy as our minds make them,” Applejack stated bluntly.

“Say, that icky smoke thing looked really familiar,” Pinkie pondered curiously.

As Pinkie pointed that out, the other girls seemed surprised, and agreed with Pinkie. “Hey, so did Ah,” Applejack said. “It was in mah nightmare.”

“I saw it in mine, too,” Fluttershy said.

“Me too!” Twilight added. “There has to be a link between this strange mist and our bad dreams. It makes perfect sense.”

“So if it isn’t really the kid’s doing, you’re telling us this smog monster somehow got into our brains?” Rainbow questioned.

“Brains!?” Pinkie gasped, quickly clutching Applejack in fear, to the apple farmer’s annoyance. “ZOMBIES!”

“It can’t be zombies, Pinkie,” I said. Twilight glanced at me, expecting me to really know despite how desperate the situation was, but I have no idea what this mist was. It wasn’t the Tantabus, Luna’s own personal nightmare created from her guilt of her actions as Nightmare Moon, since that was only able to exist in the dream realm. That’s when an idea came to mind. “Wait. Maybe Princess Luna can explain what’s happening to you guys, and if she knows what that thing is.”

“Why Princess Luna?” Fluttershy asked.

“She’s known as the Princess of the Night,” I explained. “She watches over ponies while they sleep, so she probably watches their dreams.”

“You are correct with your assumption.” Surprised, all of us turned to see both Luna and Celestia in the library, somehow teleporting to us without any warning. I half expected Celestia and Luna to leer at me, but with the circumstances not involving any chaos, they seemed to know what it was that took Rarity from us. “I believe a dark energy has been infiltrating your dreams. Luna may provide the answers you seek.”

Luna refused to look at us, almost like she was afraid or anxious to tell us. “So what in tarnation is goin’ on here?” Applejack asked.

“And more importantly, how do we get Rarity back?” Rainbow asked.

“Honestly, I do not have a clear answer for you,” Luna said, startling the girls.

“But you’re the protector of dreams!” Twilight exclaimed. “You must know something! Anything!?”

“Only that evil, dark forces have taken your friend to the Nightmare Dreamscape,” Luna said.

Twilight and her friends looked horrified, but I was left confused. The only dark forces I know of happen much later in the show. There were no other groups except for the changelings, and they reform at the end of season six.

“Then let’s blast on up there and get Rarity back! We’re wasting time!” Rainbow exclaimed.

“It is not that simple,” Luna said. “You do not know what they are planning.”

“Who?” I asked. “What dark forces are out there?”

Luna hesitated to respond, even though she knew something terrible was possibly happening to Rarity as we speak. “Luna, these ponies can be trusted,” Celestia said, urging her younger sibling to explain. She glanced at me, then back to Luna. “Even Charles at this point if they invaded his dreams as well.”

“Umm…I think they were only going after Twilight and the others,” I stated. “Spike and I were relatively fine.” Despite that bit of news, Luna still remained silent. She must be afraid to tell us if it had anything to do with her as Nightmare Moon. She still regretted her transformation as that evil pony she became in her loneliness and bitterness toward Celestia, and if there was something she made as Nightmare Moon that created this nightmare mist, she’d feel much more alienated and revered to the public as the Nightmare she was before. I kind of know that feeling, to my misfortune. I approached her, hopefully able to share some common bond to get in her good graces and put her trust in me as Charles, not Discord’s chaotic heir. “Princess Luna, I won’t judge you. What you did in the past, it’s all in the past. You were alone and no one appreciated you, but now, you had six ponies free you from that dark side of you, and you live in a time where ponies will most definitely appreciate you.”

Surprised, Luna stared at me. She thought I was joking, but even with my different colored eyes, I know she can see I was being absolutely sincere. I knew how tough her life had been, both in the past and trying to fit in with the present times. Even if she doesn’t want to trust me by my appearance, I know she definitely believes I have all my faith in her getting us any information that she can give about what we’re up against.

With a sigh, she hung her head, slightly ashamed, but she was willing to cooperate. “Something is happening,” Luna said. “Something I had hoped would never come to pass. When I was trapped as Nightmare Moon, I thought I could show everypony how special I was by making them fear me. The Nightmare Forces somehow knew exactly what to say to convince me…to give me their energy and hate.”

“‘Nightmare Forces’?” I asked. “I’ve never heard of that.”

“You haven’t!?” Twilight exclaimed. Everyone looked at the unicorn in confusion, but I quickly glanced at her with a grimace. I told her and Spike I knew what was supposed to happen from the show’s perspective, but no one else. Realizing her blunder, she giggled sheepishly. “R-Right. Obviously you couldn’t. You’re another creature from another world in a tiny Discord body.”

“Well, I’ve never heard of them, either,” Fluttershy said.

Applejack, Rainbow, and Pinkie agreed with Fluttershy as they have never known Nightmare Moon ever having herself a private, ethereal army created from nightmares. I’m really going to have to make it up to Fluttershy one day for saving me, intentional or not. No wonder Discord likes her that much.

As if I would ever like being friends with any of these ponies. Maybe Pinkie Pie, because she’s just as chaotic as me.

Startled, I looked around frantically after hearing Discord’s voice again. That was the second time that’s happened. I scratched my head, trying to figure out what that was about before I just ignored it. Thankfully, no one else noticed my little freakout, otherwise I don’t know what I was going to explain to everyone that I’ve finally lost my sanity and hearing things.

“After my curse was broken by the Elements of Harmony, I believed the forces of darkness would wither and die, but I was wrong,” Luna continued. “Legends says that IF the Nightmare Forces can harness enough strength through the cycle of the new moon, they are granted one more chance.”

“‘One more chance’ to what?” Twilight asked.

“To claim what Nightmare Moon promised: an all powerful kingdom of their own,” Luna said.

“Then it’s time to take action, not shuffling our hooves!” Rainbow said as she slammed her hooves together, clearly itching for a fight against a force she can’t physically deal with.

“Rainbow Dash, I don’t think you’ll be able to land a hit on these Nightmare Forces if they can turn into smoke or mist,” I said.

While Rainbow stared blankly at me for killing her mood, the rest of the Mane Six were still confused by why the Nightmare Forces attacked them with these nightmares. “Why do they even care about a flyin’ feather about us?” Applejack asked.

I thought the answer was obvious if these Nightmare Forces were a part of Nightmare Moon. When I looked at Luna, she seemed to look traumatized, staring into space. She quickly shook her head, snapping out of her flashback.

“Together, you possess the Elements of Harmony, which have defeated the dark forces before,” Luna said. “Now they will come after you; the only ponies who can defeat them…and destroy your home.”

As scary as this ethereal force was, Twilight wasn’t going to let a friend down and be held hostage. The others were on board, all except for Fluttershy, as she would with a scary situation like this. Maybe this could be my chance to prove to Celestia that I can help if my chaos can affect the Nightmare Forces and fully trust me.

“If we have to face our fears to get Rarity back, then that’s what we’ll do,” Twilight said to Luna.

“But it will be incredibly dangerous to enter their domain,” Luna reminded everyone. “And what of Ponyville? They will attack without a moment’s notice.”

“Don’t worry, Luna,” Celestia assured her worried sibling. “I will help Ponyville prepare for their arrival. And the Elements of Harmony are powerful. They brought you back to me, and I’m certain they will stop this monstrous force.”

“I hope so,” Luna mumbled.

“Umm, one question, if I may?” Fluttershy asked. “How are we supposed to get to the moon?”

“Ok, hear me out!” Rainbow said. “We get an enlarging ray and shoot me with it! Then I’ll carry you all to the moon, and SURPRISE!!! A million ponies will jump out and stomp those moonies to bits!”

Everyone stared blankly at Rainbow Dash, including me. I found that idea hard to believe, and that’s if I can actually make an enlarging ray from my magic, or just make her big myself. Not to mention the fact the moon is out beyond this world’s atmosphere.

“Did you skip science class when you were a filly?” I remarked.

“Hey, what I did in school is none of your business!” Rainbow argued. “Why don’t you make me big instead?”

“Can you breathe in space!?” I questioned. “I don’t know if it’s possible to create air in an endless vacuum, but I’m not that crazy enough to venture out in space without suffocating from a lack of oxygen!”

“I have a way,” Celestia said.

We all gathered on a hill outside of Ponyville as we waited for Celestia to get what she needed to get us to the moon. The binoculars I created didn’t reach all that far to the moon’s surface, even when I tried to increase its zoom with my magic. I couldn’t see anything but the moon’s surface, not even a hint of the Nightmare Forces. I poofed the binoculars out of existence as Celestia returned with Applejack, the farmer carrying a lasso in her mouth.

“Oh man. Don’t tell me we’re actually going to lasso the moon and pull it closer to the Earth,” I said.

“That is exactly what we’re going to do,” Celestia said.

“How is a regular ol’ lasso gonna do that?” Applejack asked skeptically.

“With mine and Luna’s magic, we should be able to shorten the trip for all of you,” Celestia said.

The Princess of the Sun’s horn lit up in her golden aura, enchanting the lasso as it glowed brilliantly. Manipulating the rope, Celestia gave it a twirl, and with a hard throw, sent the lasso flying swiftly through the air. The enchantment she cast enhanced the length by several hundred thousand miles, the loop stretching out as well, and it wrapped itself around the massive diameter of the moon. With the lasso firmly held, Luna lit up her horn, surrounding the moon with her magic aura. All of us grasped the rope, and with Luna’s signal, we began pulling while she helped drag the moon closer.

“Ugh! Using my powers to bring the moon closer to the Earth is harder than I imagined!” Luna grunted as she kept her concentration.

“Hey, couldn’t Charles just use his magic to bring the moon here?” Pinkie asked, sitting on the sidelines with a drum in front of her, “boosting morale” rather than helping us pull a giant space rock toward us.

“Yeah, sure!” I stated sarcastically. “How about I accidentally turn it into a giant cheese wheel!? Or merge it with the planet and destroy more than just Ponyville!?”

“Oh. Then keep pulling, ponies!” Pinkie shouted, then smacked her drum in a rhythm to help motivate our pulling.

After several minutes, we finally managed to bring the moon closer by roughly several yards away from the surface. “There, that should be enough,” Celestia said. She tied the other end of the lasso around a sturdy stump, anchoring the moon. “Everypony without wings will need to use sure footing to climb up. I will begin preparing Ponyville for the inevitable should things go wrong. Good luck, my little ponies.”

Celestia flapped her wings and flew back into town to warn everyone about the incoming threat. I looked at the rope curiously, and felt a little bit terrified. I have never done much balancing shenanigans as a kid, especially on something so thin like a rope. I wished I did a little bit of flight practice throughout the whole week of nothing crazy happening.

“This is your last chance to change your minds,” Luna said to us. “The dark forces that took Rarity will use all of their power to scare you. They will unravel you with your greatest fears.”

“When we’re together, the Elements of Harmony can overcome anything,” Twilight said.

“As long as we get Rarity back, it’ll all turn out just dandy,” Applejack added.

I was a bit hesitant, but if Rarity got hurt, I probably wouldn’t forgive myself if I couldn’t do anything with the power I have, even if I’m still learning about it. While Luna, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy were freely able to fly up toward the moon, Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie, Spike, and I had to tightrope walk up. I had to force myself not to look down while my hands gripped the lasso tightly while slowly inching my way behind Applejack.

I heard metal clanking from behind me, and I chanced a glance behind me, only to see Spike balancing behind me while wearing a suit of armor, complete with a shield in one hand that’s as big as him, a lance, flail, and a sweeping broom in another, and he had a heart shaped ruby pendant around his neck. “Why are you wearing all that?” I asked.

“We need to be prepared for anything!” Spike said. He wobbled slightly, and I noticed the rope giving way beneath the extra weight. “This is Rarity’s safety we’re talking about!”

“Dude, that much weight is going to break the rope!” I said.

“Nonsense,” Spike scoffed. To add to my fear, the bravely stupid dragon jumped on the rope like it was a trampoline. “This knot’s as solid as-”

The last jump he landed, the line snapped, sending those of us that were grounded falling from several thousand feet midair. Thankfully, we all didn’t fall too far down as Fluttershy caught me on her back, then helped hold up Pinkie with Rainbow Dash by both her forelegs, Luna grabbed Applejack’s hindlegs, and Twilight was held between the two earth ponies while Spike clung onto Twilight’s tail. At least the sudden drop slipped Spike out of his pointless armor and weapons, but he was clinging on desperately to that ruby with his other hand.

“Spike, grab my hoof!” Twilight called out. “I can’t hold you with my magic!”

“But the ruby! It’s for Rarity!” Spike exclaimed.

I resisted the urge to facepalm while holding onto Fluttershy. “Just a little longer, then my magic can guide you down,” Luna said, still concentrating despite using all her strength to keep her grip on Applejack.

“Spike, just drop the ruby!” I said. “You’ll find another one you can give Rarity when we’re NOT on a rescue mission!”

Spike still refused, but his grip on the gem slipped. “Noooo!” he screamed, just as Twilight managed to reach her hoof out to him and grab him. Sighing, I rolled my eyes, snapping my fingers to make the thin string connected to the Ruby turn into a pair of wings. Luna’s magic surrounded us, helping us safely float down onto the moon’s surface. The ruby flew into Spike’s hands, returning the string back to normal. “Thanks, Charles! You’re the best!”

“Don’t mention it,” I said. “Next time, save your knight in shining armor fantasies in your head.”

Spike giggled sheepishly, giving an apologetic look for snapping the rope on us. We were already here anyway, and no one else got hurt at the very least. We floated down to the moon, where we landed down in a really dark section of the lunar body. I could barely see past my nose with how dark it got as we got closer and closer to the ground.

“AHHH! Yellow-eyed monster!” Pinkie shrieked, then I felt something thwack my head with a weird squeaking sound.

“Ah! Hey, that’s me!” I shouted.

“Oh. Oopsie. Sorry, Charlie!” Pinkie apologized.

Luna and Twilight lit up their horns to give some light in the darkness. I saw Pinkie giving me a sheepish grin, holding a giant foam hammer behind her back, and quite terribly with it being as tall as Celestia.

“We must hurry,” Luna quickly ushered. “They’ll know we’re here.”

“And who is ‘they’, exactly?” Twilight asked.

“When the nightmare energy came back to life, it needed a form to take,” Luna said, giving us another little lesson that I didn’t know existed in this world. “Unfortunately, the peaceful inhabitants of the moon became its victims and are now trapped under its spell.”

“There are creatures that live on the moon?” I asked. “Like…aliens?”

“They are more like the wildlife back on Earth, though more ethereal while still holding a physical form,” Luna described, which made Fluttershy gasp in horror.

“How could they do that to sweet little animals!?” Fluttershy asked.

“They are not sweet anymore,” Luna uttered, grimacing with guilt.

If these moon creatures lived on the moon for as long as time itself, Nightmare Moon’s banishment and the nightmare that corrupted her would have spread its influence to all these creatures. I’m still puzzled by all this new stuff that I never knew existed. None of this was ever mentioned in the show. And what I finally noticed after first arriving here, Luna looked more like how she appeared in the first season’s premiere when she was freed from Nightmare Moon’s power, not the darker blue alicorn known throughout the rest of the seasons after. I knew her actual design wasn’t finalized until season two in the “Nightmare Night” episode, which explains her lack of appearance throughout the rest of season one.

While pondering these curious changes in events, we trekked along the moon to find where the Nightmare Forces were holding Rarity. Pinkie tried to make a game of I Spy to pass the time, but there was nothing but darkness, moon rocks, and craters or mountains. Kind of what I expected from a giant hunk of rock orbiting the planet. Or, for this world, being moved to make night and day in Equestria. I looked around a bit, noticing something off about this shroud of darkness around us.

“Umm, does anyone else get the feeling we’re being watched?” I asked.

“What makes you say that?” Rainbow asked.

We all froze and huddled together, hearing low growling coming from the dark fog surrounding us outside of the light from Luna and Twilight’s glowing horns. “Uhh, call it a hunch,” I squeaked. Through the darkness, we watched as different smokey creatures with glowing eyes of red and blue stepped into the light, their forms as small as rabbits to as tall as buffalo. They completely surrounded us, and I don’t know if there’s any way we can defend ourselves from creatures that exist in an ethereal form of nightmares. “Ok. Backup plan. Fluttershy, do you think you can talk to them?”

“I-I don’t know,” Fluttershy mumbled, shaking in fear. “I d-don’t think I can…”

Luna gasped and looked to her right. “Something is coming…” Suddenly, the darkness was pushed away for a moment, revealing what appeared to be a castle out in the distance. It had several curved spires coming from the main tower and was glowing an ominous blue light. The source of this dark mist also seemed to come from that very castle, and a huge cloud of it was headed for us like soot and ash rushing down from an erupting volcano. “Run! I have no power over this nightmare mist!”

“You heard her, move them hooves!” Applejack exclaimed.

“No need to tell us twice!” I shouted as we all ran for our lives. I sprinted as hard as my legs could carry me, but this mist was flying toward us much faster than we thought, maybe even faster than Rainbow could fly. I yelped as I tripped on a rock, tumbling to the ground, looking back for a brief second to see the mist coming toward me. “Oh, crab baskets!”

I shut my eyes, waiting for some psychological torment to attack me in the immediate nightmare I would be thrust in. I heard screams of terror around me, forcing me to squint my eyes to see what was happening. I seemed to be in a city that was littered with chaos; buildings warping or bouncing around, street lamps and benches twisted or turned into something completely different, roads patterned randomly in different checkered colors or patches of ground that didn’t fit with a city-like setting, something that would be like a wonderful dream for Discord. I looked down at myself, suddenly confused by my body having grown and slimmer, almost exactly like Discord’s mismatched features and height. Standing up, on two legs rather than four, I glanced down at myself, only to stumble when several random boxes and bags from different stores appeared in my arms.

“Hurry along, Dizzy! I have so much more window shopping to do!” That familiar voice from that nightmare the other night had called out to me. I turned my head to where it came from, gawking at the sight of a quadruped creature I have never seen before, where I saw what this female “monster” looked like. Underneath the fancy clothing she wore, she seemed to be like Discord with her body displaying different animal parts, but with much less compared to the draconequus. Her fur was a dark purple and shifted to a reddish hue going down her legs and tail, which ended with a scary scorpion stinger at the end. Her neck had some pink fluff, she had two normal, curved back goat horns sticking out of the white hat on her head, a tiger-like face with the three black stripe marks along her cheeks, and the back of her neck was like a cobra’s hood with the inner part of it a bright green. I couldn’t see her eyes due to the sunglasses she wore, but if her voice matched with the creature I vaguely saw in that dream, then they have to be the same yellow feline eyes that peered through the mist. “Don’t dawdle, Dizzy!”

“‘Dizzy’?” I uttered.

I yelped when I felt myself being tugged by an invisible force, following beside this strange female draconequus, assuming she’s the same species as Discord. Who was this creature, and does Discord know her? I don’t recall him ever having any family. Is she related to him? Was she his girlfriend? If they were a couple, that’d be a disastrous match made in Tartarus. I kind of thought he would have gone out with Fluttershy with all the not so subtle hints he drops whenever he’s around her.

As I followed whoever this was through a corrupted city of chaos, I watched ponies running away from us and screaming in terror while avoiding the random path of chaotic destruction around them. “Oh, look, sweetums! How lovely!” I looked to where she was talking about, a claw pointing to a display case of a clothing boutique. I flinched when she just punched her hand through the glass like it was nothing, grabbing a red scarf on a mannequin torso and taking it for herself. “This is mine now.”

She put it on and showed it off to me, or Discord, or whatever the heck was going on in this weird nightmare. “Uhh…Looks…good on you?” I responded awkwardly.

She ignored my compliment as she looked toward a building across the road. “Oh darling, look at that absolutely hideous building full of endearing school fillies,” she said with delight. I looked at the building, noting the sign that was hanging around the corner that read “Celestia’s School for Orphans, Waifs, and Generally-Underprivileged”. “Wouldn’t it look so much better as a towering inferno? Maybe we can put our thrones atop it. Matching ones…Oh! With cupholders!”

“Wait, what!?” I gawked at this crazy woman, watching her horns glow and unleash a spell in a dark pink magic aura. It struck the orphanage, melting and warping it as a fire roared on the roof of the building, with two thrones of red and gold sat untouched by the flames. I heard the foals scream and cry in fright, unable to escape with no one to save them. I heard this monster laughing in psychotic joy, but I ignored her, dropped all her random shopping, and ran toward the building. Snapping my fingers, I created a long ladder with different colored steps with candy cane legs, quickly scrambling up the ladder like a hasty spider to rescue the terrified kids. “Hang on! I’ve got you!”

As scared as the foals were, they instantly reached out to me as their only saving grace. Grabbing each one and holding them all close to my chest, I turned the ladder into a slide as we safely slid down onto the street. I didn’t expect much of a thank you from them, seeing how scared they were and ran to find a pony adult to help them. I was going to give that monster a piece of my mind, but the moment I turned to face her, she was already in my face. I balked at her deadly gaze, all my bravado quickly vanishing in less than a second. She also seemed to grow in size, further intimidating me as my spine bent backward as I was locked onto her yellow-eyed gaze.

“Dear one…you dropped my new scarf,” she growled.

“...B-But…you were going to-” Before I could meekly explain why I dropped her belongings, I felt my body quickly, and quite forcibly, change into a light brown puppy.

She grabbed me, smushing her snout against mine while giving me a loving gaze. “You know how I feel about my things. Is this just another one of your rebellions, sugar-lumps?” Ok, calling me THAT definitely hinted that Discord had some sort of fling with this crazy woman. How could Discord LOVE someone whose idea of hilarious chaos was nearly burning and killing innocent ponies, especially foals!? “It’s the thrones, isn’t it? I know you’re afraid of commitment, but I know you’ll change your mind eventually. You’ll never be over me, and you know it to be true.”

She only cared about Discord, nothing else around her or who she ends up hurting to have fun. Discord seems so much more tame than this monster. Or maybe I should call her a demon instead with her dead heart pining for the real draconequus. This nightmare was trying to scare me, but her actions only made me furious. What fear I did feel washed away as I glowered at this creature.

“Lady, I have no idea who you are, but you are far worse than Discord,” I said. “You almost killed a bunch of children, and you think you could win him over by hurting innocents!? Discord doesn’t cause carnage or destruction with his magic to this magnitude, unlike you!”

She just laughed, amused by my words and began nuzzling my snout again. “Aren’t you adorable, trying to act all menacing with such a cute, fluffy, widdle-?” I snapped, both from the condescending and my jaws, chomping this beast’s nose as hard as possible. She dropped me with a startled yelp, quickly grabbing her muzzle in pain, annoyance, and anger. Part of me told me to run away, but I was going to stand my ground. Snapping my fingers, I returned to my normal, pint-sized Discord body and materialized a massive hammerhead hat on my head. While strapping it on tightly, she stared at my strange accessory in confusion while still holding her bitten face. “What is that?”

“I call it the hat of discipline,” I answered. “Do you live in a cave!?”

I quickly reared my head back, making the large piece of iron grow several times bigger, then just as swiftly slammed my head down. She didn’t have time to react as I smashed her into a pancake, barely hearing her yelp before getting flattened. After crushing her, I let out a gasp as my eyes saw white for a moment. When my vision returned, I shook my head to snap back to my senses, finding myself back on the moon. Around me, I saw Twilight, Rainbow, Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Applejack on the ground, seemingly asleep as a faint blue aura radiated around their bodies.

“Charles! You’re awake!” To my right, I saw Luna and Spike were still awake, or they managed to find a way to break free from their nightmares brought by that cursed mist.

“He broke free much sooner than I thought,” I heard Luna mumble.

“Are the others trapped in nightmares, too?” I asked.

“Yes. What came after us placed all of us under a nightmare curse,” Luna said. “They need to realize that what they are seeing is only an illusion of their fears, otherwise they will be trapped in their nightmare forever!”

Looking back at the girls, I had a hunch I knew what their nightmares must be. I snapped my fingers and created a dream catcher, but I held it up and saw within the opening of the spiritual trap what the girls were dreaming of. As I thought, they were having similar nightmares that they were having earlier tonight.

“Alright. Let’s wake them up,” I said, dismissing my dream “watcher” as Spike, Luna, and I hurried to snap them all out of their nightmares.

Starting with Twilight, who was distraught at being disowned by Celestia for failing to perform her friendship duties, she was able to see it was all just a facade after some encouragement from us. I saw the aura shoot out from her head when she woke up, which must have been what happened to me when I broke out of my nightmare, even though that seemed to feel like more than just a random vivid dream or nightmare. We found Rainbow next, who was afraid of losing her ability to fly and be a Wonderbolt, but we reminded her it was a dream and fought back, flying away and was back to her cocky self. Then there was Pinkie, but she didn’t need much help against her dream audience heckling her and broke free of the curse on her own. Fluttershy needed a bit more convincing with how easily frightened she was, but with a quiet yell at the animals that feared her and were turning on her, she was awake and freed, hugging me tightly as soon as she saw the real me again. Applejack, however, seemed to have it the worst, considering her nightmare could have been a reality if her family’s farm went under. She was still hesitant to fight back, but after reminding her she was a much better farmer than the nightmare forced her to believe, she believed us and broke free.

We weren’t out of danger just yet. We may have escaped from our nightmares, but we were still surrounded by the Nightmare Forces. Even though their nightmare curse won’t work anymore, I still have no idea how we’re supposed to fight creatures made of pure dark magic. Sunlight? Light magic? A simple flashlight?

“You want some more!?” Rainbow exclaimed, goading the creatures to attack us. “We’re not afraid of you!”

“Aw, but some of you are afraid. Isn’t that true…Luna?” Startled, not thinking that any of these things could speak, I looked toward where the eerie voice came from. Out of the many spectral mist creatures, one of them was a dark blue with red eyes, and there was another floating next to that one that was a dark shade of gray with yellow eyes. And it was hard to tell by their forms with their wispy bodies, so I had no idea what creature they were supposed to look like. “Is that what you’re going by now?”

“That is my name,” Luna responded. “My past as Nightmare Moon is long gone.”

“But there is something you fear,” the blue nightmare creature said as he and his gray friend hovered closer to Luna.

“Come back as Nightmare Moon and we will spare your friends,” the gray one said, who seemed to sound more like the incompetant villain’s sidekick to the first one.

“After all they’ve done for you, this is how you will repay them?” the blue one asked in amusement, floating closer to Luna as she turned her head away from him. “Of course, you know our other alternative.”

Luna winced and shut her eyes, clearly dreading this other alternative to ceasing their invasion. But, knowing how devious some villains are, especially those in large groups, they’re definitely not going to keep their word.

“No! You can’t!” Luna begged. “These ponies saved me. Rarity saved me…I will go-”

“No!” Twilight interjected. “You aren’t going anywhere, Princess Luna!”

“Yeah!” Rainbow agreed. “Like we’re gonna let some goth-loving bunny take another one of our friends!”

Shocked, Luna looked at us. “I’m…your friend?”

“Well, duh!” Pinkie said. “All of us are! Even Charlie!”

“We all trust you,” Fluttershy said. “We know you would never lie to us.”

Luna seemed to doubt Fluttershy’s words, but she didn’t have much to dwell on the prospect of making friends from her actions when the blue mist creature in charge hovered before us again. “Well, I see you have some real friends here,” he said with a hint of sarcasm. “Friends who would do anything for you.”

The gray nightmare monster took notice of me and Spike, both of us keeping our distance from it if it tried anything. “Hey, Larry, look at these little dragons!” he called out to his companion. The blue one growled, creating a hammer from its body and smacking his cohort hard in the head, clearly annoyed with the gray one’s dumb, distracted antics. “Sorry, Shadowfright…”

Sighing and dragging a hand down his face, the one called Shadowfright didn’t let his partner deter him from his speech. “And these friends won’t be dissuaded.”

“No way, buddy!” Rainbow challenged.

Shadowfright smirked in amusement, then flew back over to Luna, ignoring the rest of us. “This is your last chance, ‘Luna’, before they find out what you let happen.” Luna didn’t face Shadowfright, refusing to respond. She wasn’t giving in, which was a good thing, but I could have sworn I saw a tear about to fall from her eye. What else did she do that made her feel so much more guilty than she already was? “Well, my pony friends, I can see that we will not be able to make an…arrangement. Luckily, we came prepared.

“We will get the kingdom we were promised!” We heard many of the Nightmare Forces letting out approving noises at Shadowfright’s claim. If things turned out well in the future, I highly doubt these guys would win against us. Before I could call them out, a sudden explosion of magical, bright light blue energy erupted in front of us. We stepped back in surprise, and through the magical eruption, a pair of slitted blue eyes opened inside. When the smoke dissipated, all of us gasped as we recognized the figure before us. “Now, the Elements of Harmony will be destroyed forever, and Ponyville will be defenseless! Meet our new queen: Nightmare Rarity!”

If I earned a bit from the amount of times my jaw would literally drop out of my mouth, I would probably be rich beyond my wildest dreams. Our hearts dropped at the sight of Nightmare Rarity’s form, but I couldn’t imagine how much Spike was feeling right now. Rarity was just as tall as Luna now, but her fur was a dark black instead of white, and her longer, billowing mane was a slightly darker shade of purple with white streaks. She may not have had wings, but her horn was much longer and thinner, probably about three to four times longer than a normal unicorn’s horn length. And her cutie mark had smaller white stars around her three blue diamonds.

Nightmare Rarity chuckled, her voice definitely changing to a more ominous tone. “It’s true. Your powers defeated me before, little ponies, but what will you do now that I’ve taken one of you?” she asked. “Without all of you, your Elements of Harmony are powerless. Bit of a pickle, isn’t it?”

I picked up my jaw, fumbling around with putting it back in place while my brain tried to process this villainous Rarity. I know she wasn’t as helpless as she appears to be, but whatever these Nightmare Forces did to break her and have a new Nightmare Moon return and possess her, these monsters were dead serious about getting their revenge. Some part of Rarity still had to be in there somewhere.

“Rarity?” I notice Spike stepping forward, getting the nightmare unicorn’s attention. “It’s Spike. You know, your little Spikey-wikey?” Nightmare Rarity’s eyes widened slightly, and I saw them begin to change. Of course! Spike adores Rarity and does anything for her, no matter how tedious or strenuous, and she enjoys the attention she gets from him, seeing him more like a little brother than a friend. “We…I…You’re the best. Please come back.”

“...S-Spike…” I thought Rarity’s platonic love for Spike would have broken through, but our hopes were dashed when the mare’s gaze quickly turned into a glare, her horn flaring as she looked away from Spike, pushing Rarity back inside. “ENOUGH!” she shouted, stomping her hooves down harshly into the ground, forcing Spike to step back. Nightmare Rarity avoided Spike, focusing all her attention on the possessor’s former victim. “Luna, Luna, Luna, you had it all. How foolish you were to give up your power. And for what? These weaklings?”

“You’re wrong!” Luna exclaimed, but her glare faltered when Nightmare Rarity approached her.

“If you had taken my offer and became Nightmare Moon once more, your precious ponies would be spared,” Nightmare Rarity said. “You’ve done this to them, Luna. And they will never forgive you.”

Luna grimaced at the harsh words. I had enough watching Luna being put down, both by herself and the monster that had once taken over her that now resided in Rarity. I split both mares off with a wall made of moon rocks, taking the Nightmare aback, and I climbed up a flight of steps on Luna’s side. I climbed up to the top, standing at eye level with the baffled nightmare unicorn.

“Leave her alone!” I shouted. “You’re the one who influenced her when she was upset that no one ever appreciated her! You took advantage of her loneliness to give you your promised kingdom, but that’ll never happen!”

Nightmare Rarity eyed me curiously. I didn’t think she’d be frightened by my appearance, but I didn’t like the way she looked at me either.

“What sort of creature are you?” she asked.

“Never heard of Discord?” I asked back. She quirked a brow at my response, but considering this thing was once a part of Luna, I could see that she recognized the name. “But I’m not Discord. I’m his heir.” Snapping my fingers, I created a pair of giant forceps, gripping both ends in both hands. “And we’re getting Rarity out of there one way or another. I suggest you open wide and say ‘Ahh’ before you try anything funny.”

Nightmare Rarity didn’t flinch at my bluff, even when I snipped the forceps a few times to prove I wasn’t messing around. I kind of was, actually; I don’t know if I have the power to pull out a specter or a parasitic entity with chaos magic. She chuckled in amusement, making me wilt slightly.

“How adorable,” she said. “But Rarity is gone. What the Elements of Harmony failed to destroy is now in full control of this mare.”

“Yes she is!” I argued. “She reacted to Spike reaching out to her! You may have one of the Elements, but that doesn’t mean you still can’t be beaten!”

“Your attempts will be futile, no matter how much you try.” I thrust my forceps at Nightmare Rarity, only to have them blasted out of my hands by the Nightmare’s magic beam. Stunned, I was suddenly snatched out of the air by Nightmare Rarity’s bright blue aura, forcefully dragged off my perch and floated a few inches in front of her. “You are a mere child who does not understand the full extent of the powers he has. Even as Discord’s offspring, you can’t even hold a candle compared to me. You’re as useless as the Elements of Harmony now.” I yelped as she flung me back into my rock wall. The others gasped as I hit it, which weakly broke through as the pieces all began randomly floating away without any gravity to them, and I tumbled back until I came to a stop at Luna’s hooves. “It doesn’t matter what any of you say or attempt to do; I am taking Ponyville, and all of you are powerless to stop me.”

As I got up, shaking my head with a groan, Nightmare Rarity ordered her Nightmare Forces to charge us, and all the creatures obeyed. Luna quickly grabbed me and flapped away, leaving me next to Spike before shooting off to blast some of them with her magic. The others tried to fend them off as well, which surprised me when I saw Rainbow taunt Shadowfright, and when he dove at her, he slammed into the ground when she zipped away at an impossible ninety degree angle to veer away from him. Apparently, these things can be physically grabbed, but it doesn't help much when their bodies can stretch and morph with their ethereal forms.

The gray creature who Shadowfright talked with began to stalk Twilight, ready to pounce her while she was distracted zapping the other nightmare creatures. “Oh no you don’t!” Spike yelled and dove forward, grasping the gray nightmare’s tail and held it tightly. “You took one of my friends! I’m not letting you take any more!”

He noticed Spike trying to pull him away, then began flailing his tail wildly to shake the dragon off. “Let go!”

“Not until you give up!” Spike said.

I leapt in to help Spike, managing to latch myself onto the Nightmare Force’s tail with him, which I immediately regretted as we both yelled and clung on for dear life. “Why did I tag in!?” I questioned myself.

“S-Surrender now, and we’ll take it easy on you!” Spike said, but I doubt we would be that threatening when we’re holding on to what feels like a mechanical bull gone haywire.

“How kind of you, little dragons.” He suddenly stopped, then without warning, he flicked his tail like a whip, flinging the two of us really hard into the air.

We both screamed as we were sent sailing almost a mile away from the battlefield. I really, REALLY should have practiced flying sooner rather than later! We began falling to the ground, and there was nothing on the moon that would be considered safe enough to land. Thinking quickly, I repeatedly snapped my fingers, creating several cotton candy clouds in our path. We fell into and through each one, slowing us down a bit while coated in sticky strawberry fluff and chocolate milk. After falling through the last cloud, we bounced against the ground a few times before rolling to a slightly painful, but safe enough to not splat on the moon and suffer serious injuries.

We both groaned as we sat up, taking a moment to settle our nerves after such a terrifying freefall. “That’s it. If we manage to save the day, I’m taking flying lessons,” I uttered. Shaking off the moon dust and the sticky mess of chocolate milk-filled cotton candy, I checked on Spike to see if he was just as rattled. “You good, Spike?”

“Shaken and sore, but I’ve got tough scales,” he said. Seeing how sticky he was from my innovative parachute, he used his long dragon tongue to lick himself clean. Now I see why Twilight was disturbed by that when she got those cupcakes during her little friendship letter freakout. After he was spotless, he checked on the ruby around his neck. “Phew. Not a single scratch.”

“I still can’t believe you want to give that to Rarity while she’s possessed by Nightmare Moon,” I grumbled, but after saying it aloud, maybe Spike giving her something as a sign of affection could help her fight back against the Nightmare. I looked around where we landed, practically in what feels like the middle of nowhere after getting flung so far from the others. We heard something above us, watching a blue blur zip back down to Earth, which seemed much farther away as the moon drifted away after Spike snapped the lasso. “Uhh…You don’t think that was Luna, do you?”

“Why?” Spike asked. “Did…did the others lose?”

“I have a sinking feeling, but…probably,” I said. “Without the Elements of Harmony, I don’t think anyone in Ponyville could stand up to them.”

“Don’t you know what’s happening?” Spike asked. “We save Rarity and stop the Nightmare in the end, right?”

I sighed and hung my head. “Sadly…this didn’t happen in the show.” Spike gasped in surprise, but I didn’t blame him. “I don’t even know who I keep seeing in my nightmare. It’s so weird.” Looking at the ground, I picked up a rock and observed it, then looked back to Spike. “I don’t know if you can see it, but, somehow, the world just looks…aesthetically different right now.”

“...H-How?” Spike questioned.

“Before, all the colors I saw back on Earth were bolder and brighter, but now I’m seeing everything’s kind of…grainy, and I see outlines around everybody. It’s like I jumped out from flash animation and into a-” I paused with my odd description, glancing back at the moon rock and my hand. Again, my jaw fell off my face, too distracted by the realization to notice Spike grimacing and staring at my detached muzzle. “...A comic book.”

“Uhh, what?” Spike questioned.

I dropped the rock, spinning around while staring at our surroundings as I looked back at the strange changes in the world that I never noticed until now. “The show also had a comic book series, with their own plots and stories that weren’t canon with the cartoon’s!” I exclaimed in a panic, completely forgetting about my rambling mouth on the ground. “No wonder I didn’t know what was happening: WE’RE IN A COMIC PLOTLINE! I’ve never even read a single one of those issues!”

“There’s comic books about us, too?” I didn’t hear Spike ask as I was having my own “Lesson Zero” moment.

“We were supposed to go into ‘Nightmare Night’ after ‘Lesson Zero’!” I continued. “How did I not see that Luna looked like her earlier design before she looked like how she’s supposed to throughout the rest of the series!? That should have been my first clue the moment I woke up in this world! I thought Discord brought me to Equestria that went with the show’s narrative! THIS THREW EVERYTHING COMPLETELY OUT OF-!” The rest of my ranting was suddenly muffled, feeling something clasp onto my flapping gums. I touched my face, completely forgetting I lost my mouth in my shock. “Hmm?”

“Dude, I don’t know what exactly you’re going through, but…maybe have a chaotic freakout when we get back home,” Spike said. I looked at him, where he was holding my mouth in his hands with one of them keeping my mouth clamped shut. “If Luna was forced to escape and the girls are in trouble, it looks like it’s up to us to save the day.”

He did have a point. I slowly nodded, putting this ordeal behind me for now until I can get some answers about my jump between the cartoon’s continuity and the comic’s. Spike handed back my mouth, which I gladly took and smashed it into my face. With a few twists and adjustments, my muzzle melded back to my face good as new.

“I don’t know what else we can do, but I don’t think overpowering Nightmare Rarity with brute strength will help us win,” I said, then pointed to Spike’s giant ruby. “We’re going to strike her heart instead.”

Spike let out a gasp in horror. “We’re going to stab Rarity through the heart!?” he exclaimed, making me facepalm.

“No, you lovestruck idiot,” I groaned. “I’m talking about you and your present for Rarity.”

“...Oh.” Realizing how he misinterpreted my phrasing, Spike giggled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. “I-I knew that.”

“Come on, Romeo,” I grumbled, grabbing the dragon’s wrist, dragging him with me to begin our trek to find that castle we saw in the distance. “Let’s save your Juliet and the rest of the girls.”

It was going to be a long, long, VERY long walk across the moon to Nightmare Rarity’s castle. Hopefully, we will get there soon without needing to climb a mountain or two. Even if the girls had the Elements of Harmony with them, they wouldn’t have worked without Rarity. No one else could replace them if Twilight thinking that Spike could replace Rainbow Dash with the Element of Loyalty against Discord was proof enough.

As we walked, Spike began singing a song about himself and saving the day. I knew songs out of nowhere were a thing in the show, but I didn’t think they’d happen in the comics. I wouldn’t even know what rhythm he was going with or what the tune would be, but I just ignored it. We walked past some geysers spewing out smoke, but no sign of that massive castle structure built out of the very orbiting asteroid it stood on. Spike began slowing down, panting a bit and messing with the timing of his “heroic” song. I knew he still had some baby fat, but he really should lay off the gemstones if he goes off on another misadventure in the future.

“The most famous dragon…you ever liked…his name is-” Spike collapsed, wheezing slightly as he stopped to rest against one of the geysers. “Spike…Spike…Spike~”

“Ugh. I could have sworn that castle was somewhere in this direction,” I said as I scratched my head.

Oh, I knew you should have taken that left turn at Albuquerque.

“Albuquerque? We’re on the moon.” After a few seconds, I blanched when that voice sounded like Discord. “Ok, that’s the third time I heard his voice! Have I really lost my mind!?” Just as I was about to question my sanity, I shuddered when I felt something slimy crawl up my tail. “Ugh! What in the world!?”

Looking at my tail, I saw a strange mass slithering up it. Leaning closer, I saw an eyeball staring back at me, and it looked like it was a part of my tail? I know Discord had a weird sense of asymmetry with his body, but nothing like a weird, slimy lump that’s staring right at me. I grabbed it, feeling the squishy thing in my fingers as I lifted it off of me and held it up closer. It blinked, and I saw some of its body shifting colors like a chameleon, its back turning yellow like my eagle claw.

Spike began giggling, seeing him also covered in these same moon slug creatures crawling over him, their bodies camouflaging with the dragon’s scales. “S-Stop! That tickles!” Spike laughed as he squirmed. Well, at least he’s no longer wheezing and out of breath. He sat up, letting out an awed gasp when he looked up. “Hey! Look!”

I looked up as well, this time keeping my jaw from dropping when I saw we were right next to the lunar castle. “Huh. How about that? We’re here,” I uttered.

“So, this is where they’re at?” Spike asked.

“Yup. And I bet it’ll be crawling with Nightmare Forces,” I said. “We’ll need to be stealthy and avoid detection if we have any hopes of getting the girls out. My magic would only make us stand out and do something random…” Looking at the moon slugs, feeling more of them beginning to crawl up my legs, I grinned as a light bulb appeared over my head. “I got it! These slugs can conceal us as we sneak in!”

“I was thinking the exact same thing!” Spike said. We already had a huge group of the little friendly slugs around us, and they were all looking at us curiously. “Are you guys ready to join me on a quest to save a damsel in distress!?”

The slugs all blinked, but didn’t give much of an answer. “You mean ‘us’,” I corrected. “And I’m not sure if they understand you.” To my surprise, the slugs all slithered up to us and crawled up our bodies. Their slimy skin shifted to our colors before changing to match the castle walls. “...Ok, maybe they do.”

“You can’t say no to rescuing a princess,” Spike said with a laugh.

“At least she’s not held in the clutches of a fire breathing dragon,” I said. I winced when I realized what I said. “Uhh, no offense, Spike.”

“Eh. None taken,” he said with a shrug. “Now, let’s save fair Rarity.”

I just rolled my eyes and let Spike have his fantasy. As long as he doesn’t make me his trusty steed. We approached the base of the castle and began to climb up the craggy mountain. As we reached the carved castle portion, a balcony above us seemed to have some flora growing over the railing. I’m kind of surprised to see plants growing on the moon, but since there’s oxygen around here, it seems to make sense that a world filled with magic could make this giant hunk of rock habitable.

As we grabbed onto the sturdy vines, we carefully climbed up to the side of the railing, our slug friends camouflaging us to help us blend in. “There will be no more mistakes!” Spike and I froze, keeping as quiet and still as possible when we heard Nightmare Rarity speak. “We must strike while those meddling ponies are locked away.”

“But my queen, aren’t the ponies still a threat?” I heard Shadowfright say.

“Oh, my dear Larry. My dear, simple, unamusing Larry,” Nightmare Rarity said to her right hand entity. I guess he hated his real name that much and preferred the more menacing name of Shadowfright, and the Nightmare was definitely condescending toward him for his questioning. “I picked this pony vessel for a reason: to render the Elements of Harmony powerless!”

“Supreme one, may I ask why you chose this pony in particular?” Shadowfright asked. “That yellow one seemed like an, um, easier option.”

Oh, heck no. They did not suggest having Nightmare take over Fluttershy’s body. I’ve seen mean Fluttershy, I do NOT want to imagine Nightmare Fluttershy running amok. Quietly, Spike and I continued climbing, peeking over the railing. There was Nightmare Rarity, directly in front of us, and behind her were Shadowfright and his doofy accomplice, who I might just call George just to give him a name. The dark unicorn was wearing a slightly pale blue circlet and choker with a blue diamond in the center of her forehead and neck, showing off her regality as a queen of the Nightmare Forces.

“It was her mane, right?” George asked. “That pony Rarity had great hair.”

Annoyed, Shadowfright gave George a sideways leer, then wrapped its arm around his friend’s mouth to shut him up. “I chose Rarity specifically,” Nightmare Rarity said. “She had, shall we say, self-esteem issues?” I had a feeling that’s what got Rarity. That nightmare of hers involving her generosity being unappreciated really did affect her. And she must have been pressured into accepting Nightmare to avoid feeling that pain of rejection from her closest friends. “I needed a being that was…pliable. Rarity was so eager to help. So generous with her gifts, but she had a deep, dark secret. Although, I was sure she would cave.”

Spike and I glanced at each other. So she was able to fend them off, if only for a short while before being influenced by her fears.

“She was a bit stronger than we had hoped,” Shadowfright said.

“Well, sometimes a little force is necessary,” Nightmare Rarity said.

“And what will we do with the prisoners once we’re victorious?” Shadowfright asked.

“For now, leave them in the dungeon,” Nightmare Rarity said with a wave. She began to move away from the balcony railing, her hench-mists staying by her side and their attention no longer looking out at the empty scenery. “Or we could always lock them up and throw away the key!”

The mare and Shadowfright laughed at the idea. “Good one, my queen!” Shadowfright said, kissing up to his benevolent ruler.

“Key? Uh, I know I had it here a minute ago.” George seemed to be looking around for something, but shrugged and continued following the mare and his cohort.

That gave us an opening to sneak inside. Spike and I kept out of their sight, successfully creeping inside and found the spiral stairs leading down. We had to get the girls first, then we’ll save Rarity and finally put an end to this living nightmare.

“Spike~. Spike~. Spike~.” I grumbled as I heard Spike begin to sing his dumb song.

“Spike, now’s not the time to be singing about your-” I turned around to scold him, only to flinch when, out of nowhere, I saw George hovering right behind us.

Quickly snatching Spike, I held us against the wall, hoping he didn’t catch us as the slugs did their thing and helped us blend into our surroundings.

“So those two little dragons are in the castle?” Darn it, we got caught! I thought he was going to capture us, but to our confusion, he seemed to double back and look upstairs. “‘Larry’s sidekick?’ Not for long…”

George flew away, leaving us be. Spike and I remained quiet for several more seconds before we finally let out the breaths we were holding.

“Ok, definitely the dumb evil sidekick type,” I said. “What a stroke of luck.”

“We better hurry before he decides to come back with guards,” Spike said.

Continuing down the stairs, we came across a crossroads with a passage to our right and more stairs leading further down to where a dungeon would be in a castle. As the moon slugs crawled off of us, I looked downstairs, only to grimace when I saw that same smoke that took us into nightmare land billowing along the steps.

“Oh crud, not that again,” I mumbled. I used my magic to create some gas masks, hoping these can filter out enchanted mist. After placing mine on, I gave Spike the other. “Here, Spike. Don’t want us to get caught in a-” When I looked to where he was standing, I gasped when I saw the dragon go right down the hall, which also had that same mist flowing from within. “Spike, no!”

I hurried in after him, but as soon as I entered the room, I felt something grab me. Just as I was about to scream out for Spike, only to have a wispy tendril rip off my gas mask and gag me. My whole body was tightly bound up by Shadowfright’s form. I forgot unicorns could teleport, and Nightmare had some pretty powerful magic under her belt. George must have really warned them that quickly, which explained the mist trap she left if we went either direction.

“Don’t squirm, runt. Watch as we have your friend devote his loyalty to his new queen,” Shadowfright taunted in my ear, snickering quietly while I tried to squirm out of his vice-like grip.

Spike walked forward to a dais made out of stone, and waiting behind it was none other than Nightmare Rarity. I don’t understand how he was still moving despite being under the effects of the cursed nightmare mist, but when Spike looked around in awe, his eyes were closed. He was sleepwalking. When he reached the top of the steps, he let out a gasp, reaching a claw out to nothing.

“M-M-Me? King?” Spike said aloud.

I had no idea what he was seeing, but if I were to take a wild guess, this empty, barren room was meant to be like a royal throne room in Spike’s mind. Nightmare Rarity smirked as she stepped up to greet the dragon.

“Why, of course, my little Spikey-wikey,” the mare said, masking her voice to sound like the real Rarity.

“Rarity! You’re…You’re ok!” Spike said with glee.

I struggled, my shouting muffled as I tried to tell Spike it was a trap, but Shadowfright was keeping me tightly bound and gagged, especially my hands. If I couldn’t snap my fingers, I can’t make anything out of thin air with my mind. I knew some things could come out, but it was random and for random convenience for some random situation.

“And why wouldn’t I be? I’m a queen now,” Nightmare Rarity gloated as Spike hugged the mare’s leg, where she returned the hug with her free hoof.

“That’s amazing,” Spike said. “But what about the other po-?”

“Oh, hush!” the mare interrupted, giving Spike a gentle boop on the nose. “You are far too cute to be thinking so much! Besides, I have a question for you.” I shook my head, continuing to struggle. I couldn’t even bite Shadowfright’s limb around my muzzle. He constricted me tightly, making me grunt and forced my head to stay still and watch Spike getting tricked by the Nightmare. He knelt down before her, bowing slightly as he was accepting something through his closed eyes. He thought it was a crown, but what I saw that shocked me was a collar on a chained leash, possibly infused with magic to make Spike Nightmare Rarity’s slave. “Will you, Spike, forget the past and be my king?”

I thought for sure he was going to say yes in his lovestruck stupor, bracing myself for the inevitable brainwashing and seeing a possible Nightmare Spike transformation. “...Wait a minute. Did you say, ‘Forget the past?’”

“Why, yes I did,” Nightmare Rarity said.

“But I don’t want to forget my past,” Spike said. “What about our friends? I know you don’t want to forget about them.”

I was surprised Spike was able to snap out of his infatuation to notice the mare’s words. “But Spike, don’t you want to be my king? Forever?”

“Y-Yesss…” And I had to jinx it.

“Then you will serve me, and only me.” I wish I could just shut my eyes and avoid watching this demon of an entity manipulating Spike.

We were possibly the girls’ only hope of escaping, and we got suckered into a trap. I knew this was too good to be true. We got this far, only to be outmatched by a smarter, powerful eternal shadow monster.

“Wait a minute.” Just as I was about to admit defeat, Spike pushed aside the collar from being placed down on his head, then held up the heart-shaped ruby necklace to Nightmare Rarity. “Rarity, what do you think of my necklace?”

“It’s cute,” she answered.

“Cute? Just ‘cute’?” Spike questioned. “Nothing else?”

“Not my color, really,” Nightmare Rarity said, wondering where the dragon was going with his questions.

But I knew exactly what was happening, and I think he finally figured out what was going on. “That’s the first time I’ve ever hated you saying the word ‘cute’, Rarity,” Spike said. He was upset, but he stood defiant, swiping his hand and tearing something that was on him in his dream and pointed a claw at Nightmare Rarity, startling her and Shadowfright. “But you’re not Rarity! Not MY Rarity! NOOOO!”

Spike woke up from his dream, causing Nightmare’s leash to dissipate into mist along with the curse she trapped him in. When he opened his eyes, he gasped as he saw Nightmare Rarity looming over him, glaring bitterly at him for breaking her spell after getting so close to enslaving him. Blue ethereal flames appeared around her, giving her a menacing appearance in the eerie glow of the blue lighting. She snatched the necklace from Spike’s neck, startling him.

“Seems you’ve discovered my little secret; not only can I create your nightmares, but your dreams, too,” Nightmare Rarity said.

“But-but Rarity…I-I lo-love…” Behind Spike, I saw a pair of gray, smokey arms rise up from the dias, revealing George’s sneaky smirk.

“Oh, p-p-poor Spike,” the Nightmare mocked, angering the dragon. “Can’t get the words out?” He tried to leap at her, only to be grabbed and held in front of the mare while he struggled to attack her. “Don’t worry. It’s too late for Rarity anyway, let alone your friends.”

“I will never help you! Never!” Spike roared, gritting his teeth as he grunted and struggled from George’s grip. “Throw me in a dungeon for a bajillion years! I don’t care!”

“Help!?” Nightmare Rarity scoffed. “What could a silly, deluded little dragon possibly help ME with?” She chuckled, stepping down from the dias and walked over to me and Shadowfright. Spike stared at me, almost forgetting about me as he saw me bound and gagged by the Nightmare mist monster’s body. Nightmare Rarity looked at me with a sadistic grin under those sparkling blue eyes. “Besides, this nightmare has only just begun.”

I leered at her, but as I squirmed and tried to break free, Nightmare Rarity’s horn glowed and she zapped me with a spell, knocking me out my vision went black.

I had no idea how long I was conked out for. As I stirred, I could still feel my hands and fingers bound together. When I opened my eyes, I was staring out at the moon, back on the balcony Spike and I snuck onto. I was sitting in some sort of chariot, and there were hundreds of Nightmare Forces gathered around with Earth high above us. To my left, I heard Spike grunting, bound by a smoke-like rope while wearing a cloak bearing Rarity’s three diamond cutie mark on the forehead of the hood. I was also bound by the same cloudy bindings, and my hands were clasped together in a pair of special handcuffs keeping them and my fingers tightly together, making it impossible for me to snap any of them to unleash my magic.

“Spike? What happened?” I asked.

“What happened is that you two brats have been a thorn in our queen’s side for far too long.” Hovering in front of us, Shadowfright smirked down at us. He was dangling Spike’s ruby pendant mockingly at him. “Lucky for you two, our queen has a use for you two.”

“I’m not doing anything for her!” Spike exclaimed. “She took my Rarity away forever!”

“Well, you see, that’s the problem,” Shadowfright said. “Apparently, there is a wee bit of that dreadful pony left in our vigilant, yet glamorous leader.”

“What!? You’ve gotta set Rarity free!” Spike begged. “Your ‘queen’ is a monster!”

“Not a chance!” the mist creature shouted, making Spike flinch. “You will watch as your beloved Rarity destroys your home along with all the love you have for her. Then the transformation will be permanent.”

To emphasize his point, Shadowfright squeezed the ruby with all his might, causing it to shatter and break into pieces. As much as it upset Spike, my thought about Spike’s love for Rarity to help break her out of Nightmare’s hold was found out by her smarter right hand man. Shadowfright tossed the gem’s pieces aside as Spike watched them fall, his gift lost to the moon.

“Are my ears burning? Because with how hot I look, I should be on fire!” I looked to my right, where Nightmare Rarity strutted up to the chariot. She was wearing a set of golden battle armor with gemstones embedded in her boots, helmet, and an odd accessory around her neck that was the type of thing an evil villainess would wear to show off her evil and royal nature. Even though she was a creature of darkness, part of Rarity’s fashion flair obviously showed in her armor. “I think we’re about ready to ‘acquire’ our new kingdom, starting with Ponyville.”

“You’re not going to win,” I growled.

Nightmare Rarity laughed at my threat, but she didn’t sound like she was mocking me; she was…amused. “Au contraire, I have already won. The Elements of Harmony are useless with me in control of Rarity and your friends locked away, and Equestria will not be able to stand against me or my army. Not even the princesses themselves will be able to touch a single hair of my mane.”

“I could stop you,” I said. “Take this stupid thing off my hands and I’ll show you what I can really do.”

Shadowfright and the other Nightmare Forces guffawed at my threat. Nightmare Rarity, however, just silently stared at me for a moment before she finally moved closer. Her face lowered to mine, much closer to my liking as I leaned back against my seat in the chariot. What unnerved me was that she wasn’t angry or cross with me for standing up to her despite me being helplessly bound; she gave me a soft, warm smile, and her eyes seemed…eerily gentle as she stared into mine.

“Why do you insist on helping these ponies?” she asked me. I thought the answer for her would be obvious. “You are Discord’s heir; a child with so much power at the tip of your little hooves. He could cause so much chaos in the world, and you are the one who is to uphold his legacy by serving the ponies who turned him to stone for a thousand years?”

“...I-I’m…not really his ‘son’,” I explained. “He picked me to take his place. I’m not from this world.”

“So, in other words, he chose you as his replacement to take the brunt of the ponies’ wrath for HIS misdeeds,” she summarized.

“Well…I guess, but I did agree to do it after being promised I’d have his powers,” I said. “He tricked me into looking like this-”

“And the Elements of Harmony, Celestia, and Luna immediately judged you as that ‘monster’ in the blink of an eye.” My eyes widened in shock. How did she even know what happened to me? Through Rarity’s memories? But the only moment I’ve seen Rarity appear in her eyes was when Spike tried to reach out to her earlier when we got surrounded. Nightmare Rarity tittered at my expression, then gently rubbed my head. “Sometimes, dreams and nightmares can stem from memories. When I rendered you unconscious, I saw the most terrifying moment of your life in only the first week since you ‘awoke’ as Discord’s heir. That fear still haunts you, doesn’t it?”

Well, obviously getting turned to stone after waking up in a new world is terrifying, but what startled me was how she hinted at when I first “woke up” as Discord. “...Y-You mean…you know…about me? The…The real me?”

She silently nodded, but continued to rub my head in an assuring way. “Equestria is not really the friendliest kingdom in all the world if they would wish to turn a child into a living statue,” she said. “They turned away from Luna and focused more on Celestia. Heh, even against each other before Hearth’s Warming was ever founded as a national holiday. If you think I’m awful, what about everypony else?”

“It was a different time back then! Things take so much time to make a better change!” I argued. “Fluttershy likes me! She saved me!”

“Only because she is too innocent to even bear a single nasty bone in her body,” Nightmare Rarity countered. I was about to respond, but she spoke up before I could get a word in. “And don’t say that little dragon next to you is your friend.”

“I am his friend!” Spike argued. “We may not have been friends for that long, but he’s pretty cool!”

“And what of the other Elements?” Nightmare Rarity asked, being surprisingly calm despite both our arguments. “They either give you the benefit of the doubt, or just outright don’t want anything to do with you. What kinds of friends won’t give anypony a chance?”

I didn’t want to believe her for a second. The girl will get better with judging others, as well as everyone else, but it did hurt a bit knowing some of them don’t trust me when they don’t know everything about me, only by what I look like. Nightmare Rarity continued her little manipulative spiel as I looked at Spike. While I did, I noticed our little moon slug friends had found us, crawling up into the chariot. We both glanced back at the Nightmare and her army. Luckily, they were all distracted by their queen’s words about how friendship was nothing but a farce and how gullible some of them can be.

Looking back at Spike, I gestured with my head for him to break out and let our slug friends take his place. I think he got what I was thinking, though he must have thought I actually would turn my back on them after Nightmare Rarity’s “convincing” arguments. Wiggling my hips, I managed to give my tail a bit of room, shifting it to reach out to Spike with a confident grin. He smiled back, swishing his tail to latch with mine into an alternative to a handshake with our bound limbs.

While we still had one more chance, the slugs slithered around Spike, slipping him out of his smoky bindings with their slimy bodies, then bundled up to Spike’s form and changing color to match his scales and spines. It was a crude imitation, but it would have to do. Spike saluted to me, then quietly exited the chariot and snuck away from our foes’ sights. I hope he finds the girls and frees them. Among all the Nightmare Forces, I didn’t see George anywhere among their ranks. Not even with Shadowfright.

Speaking of, Shadowfright approached the chariot and stared at the Spike slug replica. “The silent treatment?” he asked after a moment of silence. “Clever, but your silence won’t save Rarity once your love is gone.”

I ignored the urge to roll my eyes when he didn’t realize that wasn’t the real Spike he was mocking. Nightmare Rarity settled herself into the chariot, sitting in front of me.

“Now is the time for Nightmare rule!” Nightmare Rarity proclaimed, sending her troops in an uproar of cheers. As the mass of cloud bodies flew on ahead, the chariot being pulled by a couple of them, we flew off to the Earth. The invasion was underway. I only hope everyone in town is able to protect themselves. “You have been quiet for a while now, Charles,” she said to me, snapping me out of my thoughts. “Have you thought about what I said about those ‘friends’ of yours?”

Putting on my best childlike innocence act, I looked up at her. “I have,” I said. “And you know what? You are right. They didn’t show me any kind of friendship at all.” She smirked at my words. I was a terrible liar, but I guess being a draconequus, I’m able to fake it really well, and I didn’t even need my hands to make it possible. “Equestria’s not as nice as I thought it was.”

She rubbed my head, “consoling” me, thinking she already won me over. “I know. The truth can hurt sometimes. Nopony likes creatures like us because they’re afraid of our power. And they’ll do all they can to stop us from proving how horrible they are toward every creature, sentient or non.” Removing her hoof from my head, I looked down with a pout before that same hoof lifted up my chin. “You have so much power in you, and it’s obvious Celestia and Luna fear you. That’s why they want to instill fear in you by using a power that’s not their own. You’re stronger than an alicorn princess by leagues compared to what they claim to have. You should be free to spread all that chaos in that cute, little body of yours.”

I looked at the Earth as we got closer and closer to the atmosphere, no doubt the Nightmare Forces casting a menacing shadow around the moon above Ponyville. “I could…be free to do whatever I want?” I asked. She answered with a nod. I glanced down at my cuffed hands, a bit nervous to fully unleash my power when I’m still worried about it going out of control. I only hope everyone, especially Celestia and Luna, doesn’t think I’m going to be the next chaotic deity that Discord was when I turn the tables on Nightmare. “...If I help you take over Ponyville…will I be free to spread chaos?”

“Why, of course, darling,” Nightmare Rarity assured. “And no repercussions, no turning to stone, no judgements. On my word.”

I looked back up at Nightmare Rarity, gave her a sinister smirk, then bowed my head. “I will do whatever you ask of me, my queen.”

Her amused laughter sealed the deal, hook, line, and sucker. I heard her magic ignite, followed by the cuffs disappearing and freeing my hands. Rubbing my sore limbs, I looked up just in time to see us getting closer and closer to Ponyville.

“I know I can handle all of them on my own, but wait for my signal to really give them a shock and spread your chaos however you please,” she said.

I nodded, bracing myself for the backlash I’ll surely receive when all of Ponyville sees my alliance with the Nightmare Forces. I can only hope Spike will explain to the girls, especially Rainbow Dash, that I was still siding with them if they manage to get broken free. Actually, how would they even return from the moon? It was already back in the planet’s orbit, and Celestia and Luna were back on Earth, so they couldn't bring the moon back again until Nightmare Rarity was defeated.

The moment we were hovering several hundred feet above Ponyville, a blue beam of magic fired at us from the ground, but Nightmare Rarity easily deflected it away with her golden boot. “Really? Must we go through all of this again?” she questioned with a roll of her eyes. “Boring.” I winced as the magic beam deflected back to the ground, almost hitting Mayor Mare while leaving behind a small crater. “Still trying to fight back your fear and anger, Luna? Give into the darkness! Join the party.”

Peeking around the chariot, I saw everyone in Ponyville ready to stand their ground. Luna and Celestia were there, with the younger princess bearing golden armor almost similar in design to the royal guard’s.

“I will defeat you! Alone!” Luna proclaimed defiantly.

Nightmare Rarity chuckled, glancing toward her soldiers. “Have fun.”

The Nightmare Forces flew off with a battle cry, zooming down to attack the town. I expected the worst, but somehow, I was surprised to see them managing to hold their own. Even beating and humiliating them with many of them not having any fighting experience at all. How did we lose so easily? Outnumbered? Unprepared for what we would be facing? Plot convenience?

Looking away from the battlefield, Luna was back in the air and was about to dive toward Nightmare Rarity, but she paused when she saw me with her. “Charles!? Why are you-!?”

“He is on my side now,” Nightmare Rarity laughed. “You fools would not give him the courtesy of giving him freedom as himself, but you all treat him like the dreaded monster that was Discord instead! He has pledged his loyalty to me, not you miserable backstabbers.”

“You lie!” Luna dove down again, aiming straight for the Nightmare.

Nightmare Rarity just smirked, then looked at me. “Take care of her for me, Charles,” she ordered sweetly.

Without hesitation, I looked at Luna, silently apologizing, then lifted a hand and snapped my fingers. Within seconds, Luna’s gold armor suddenly felt heavier on her body, making her drop in the air slightly, forcing her wings to flap harder to lift herself from her chaotically enchanted armor.

“You know, gold’s not a very durable metal to craft armor,” I stated. “It’ll dent and just weigh you down. No protection whatsoever.”

“W-What? W-Why are y-you-!?” She then cried out in pain as Nightmare Rarity blasted her with a spell, causing her to fall and crash to the ground.

“Such a disappointment, Luna,” Nightmare Rarity mocked. “You shouldn’t get distracted by your own failures.”

“Luna!” I heard Celestia cry out. Peeking down at the ground, I grimaced as all of Ponyville surrounded the downed alicorn princess. With her armor heavily weighted, she nearly created a pony-sized indent a couple inches in the ground. As some of the ponies helped take off her armor, some of them scraped and bruised from their confrontations with the Nightmare Forces, Celestia spotted me and glared intensely with a burning hatred. “You…”

“Oh, crab baskets,” I mumbled, knowing all my trust and credibility was gone with Celestia now, and she didn't realize I’m only playing along until the time was right.

The chariot landed on the hill overlooking the shocked and weary ponies as they looked at us. “Time to wave the white flag, anypony!?” Nightmare Rarity called out, thinking she’s already won. “Might be time to pack in the towel before somepony REALLY gets hurt! And it won’t be from me.” She let out a mock gasp, holding a hoof to her face. “Oh wait, Luna already did.” Luna was slightly winded, but was freed from the armor I made much heavier for her to handle. Even though everyone else was powerless against Nightmare Rarity, or even me, they all kept their ground, protecting Luna as they leered at us. “Ha! How quaint! You’ll all still protect her? After she betrayed you and let your town be destroyed?”

Stepping forward, Sweetie Belle out of all the ponies stood beside Luna as she began to wake from her daze. “Yes! Forever!” she said.

The other two Crusaders stepped forward, though they were really hurt seeing me standing alongside the Nightmare after just becoming friends with them “Charles? What are ya doin’ with her?” Apple Bloom asked.

Before I could utter a response, Nightmare Rarity wrapped a hoof around my barrel and pulled me closer to her. “He has become my loyal servant, little ones,” she announced. “No longer shall he hold back his true potential in order to befriend those who only see him as a shadow of the former Lord of Chaos! He has no use for ponies who despise him just by the way he looks! All your fighting will be futile against a child of chaos and the Nightmare!”

I could only give the fillies an apologetic look. They look so disappointed in me. If my sister was among them, I think she would hate my guts for siding with a villain as cruel as the Nightmare. Maybe it was a good thing the Elements of Harmony are useless now; I was definitely going to be turned to stone after this if Rarity was freed.

“No…Do not believe her words,” Luna said. “She must have manipulated poor Charles.” She winced slightly, staring at all her subjects and older sister around her. “I will fail us again. My bitterness and anger had transformed me into Nightmare Moon before, and I fear it could happen again. It is my burden.”

Celestia looked away from me and at her sister, startled to hear her claim. “No, Luna.” She helped Luna back on her hooves, the lunar princess staggering slightly from the strain of her armor earlier, where I’m going to get an earful for. “This isn’t your burden to bear alone. Nightmare Moon was also my responsibility for her existence. If only I listened to your cries for attention long ago, this monster would have never been born.”

“And you’re one of us!” Scootaloo said. “You’re trying to save us, and we’ll all do the same for you!”

The other ponies all voiced their agreements with the pegasus filly. Luna looked at her subjects in awe, like she had never been praised for anything in her life. I think she took what I said much earlier tonight, how ponies ideals toward the princesses were far different today compared to those a thousand years ago. Then she glanced at me, the so-called traitor who took her down and insulted her, but when our gazes met, she could see I hold no malicious intent while being held next to the Nightmare beside me.

“...With all of you beside me, maybe I don’t need to fear my past…or my future,” I heard Luna utter. Getting her second wind, she stood strong and faced Ponyville and her subjects. “My dear friends, if we are to fight together, then I must be honest with you. I’ve been hiding my fear and my past from you, but now there is no hiding. It lies in front of us, and I cannot face it alone. If you can forgive me, I swear I will never abandon you as I abandoned the denizens of the moon. I will never let my fear of becoming Nightmare Moon stop me from defending you!” Her magic suddenly flared around her horn after her speech, her aura surrounding her body in a brilliant display that startled all of us. When it faded away, the town, Celestia, and I marveled at Luna as she now looked just like how I’ve seen her in the show: her fur was a darker blue, her mane and tail billowed like Celestia’s and glittered like it was part of the starry night sky above, and her size grew slightly to where she was just a head shorter than her older sister. “Together, we will defeat the nightmare energy, and it will never hurt anypony ever again!”

While the crowd cheered, sticking with Luna and the boost of morale she gave, Nightmare Rarity growled, glaring daggers at her former host no longer intimidated by her presence or the constant reminders of her past. She was almost squeezing me closely to her side, making me gag as she seemed incredibly irate and ready to blow everyone up with her magic.

“You are all fools!” she shouted. “Love! Trust! Friendship! Bleh! Try power! Fear! Darkness!” Lifting me up, she held me out the ponies and shook me, making my eyes roll and jingle aggressively. “Even chaos! With this child under my wing, you have no hope of winning with your ‘magic of friendship’!”

My head spun around as I wearily lifted a finger. “Actually, I’m-” I said with a dazed slur, only to be unceremoniously dropped to the ground.

“Can’t you see!? You have NOTHING left!” the Nightmare exclaimed. “I’ve even taken your dragon!”

“Uhh, then who’s the young whippersnapper flying through the air?” I heard Granny Smith in the crowd say.

Shaking my head and getting control back in my spinning eyes, I looked up to the moon with Nightmare Rarity, Shadowfright, and the other Nightmare Forces. Floating down to Earth, Spike was being carried down by George, to mine and the others’ surprise. Although, with George being the left out villain sidekick, it would have been obvious he would have defected and joined the heroes’ side.

“What!? How did he-!?” Nightmare Rarity and Shadowfright looked back at the chariot, where the Spike doppelganger was still seated. Realizing the jig was up, the slugs slithered out of the melded mass they created, shocking the Nightmare tyrant. “Slugs!?”

“What is that dingus doing with that dragon?” Shadowfright grumbled.

Trying to save face, Nightmare Rarity looked back at her foes, still believing she’s going to win. “No matter. Our finest soldier…what’s-his-face has him!” Ok, maybe we don’t know his name, but I at least gave him one in my head. “Or should we be shaking in our horseshoes?”

“Actually, you probably should,” Spike said. “Take it away, Jerome!”

“Jerome?” I uttered.

The gray smoke creature, whose actual name was Jerome, lowered Spike down, and began to spiral around like a cloudy twister. “That’s right, Larry! My name is Jerome!” In a brilliant flash of light, blinding us for a moment, the smoke monster we saw now had a physical form, and for the umpteenth time today, my jaw flopped off my face and hit the ground. Jerome looked like…some kind of alien lion? I have no idea how to describe it: his skin was a brighter gray, two curled and very long eyebrows that look more like antennae, a similarly long, thin tail, a wispy goatee, and the inside of his ears and underside had a light blue, almost scaly look to them despite his body looking smooth. He’s almost like a lunar alien lion, but unlike me, he isn’t the weirdest creature in this world. “And that’s not all!”

Above him and Spike, several glowing lights hovered down to join them, and in those lights were Twilight, Rainbow, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie. And in Fluttershy’s hooves, there was a weird, fluffy alien cloud rat. Figures she’d find a new animal friend on the moon. Somehow.

Nightmare Rarity was seething with rage. One of her soldiers betrayed her, and rightfully so if he was treated like dirt. But one thing that was bothering me was how the hay the girls were glowing like that!? They don’t have the Elements of Harmony, and without Rarity, they shouldn’t be glowing! I’m lucky my head didn’t roll off my shoulders as well from all the shocking moments I’ve seen tonight.

“Silly scary lady, friendship is stronger than fear will ever be!” Pinkie proclaimed, and how true it is in this world.

Luna seemed relieved to see them as she ran up to them, and the girls didn’t seem that upset when they saw me standing next to Nightmare Rarity, so Spike must have told them my crazy scheme. “You’re all ok!” Luna said.

“Psh! Who could possibly stop us!?” Rainbow Dash gloated.

“Now show us what ya got, princess!” Applejack said.

“Certainly!” Using her magic, Luna gathered her aura and began absorbing the lingering harmony light radiating from the five Element bearers.

As the light intensified, the Nightmare Forces backed away in fright. Luna unleashed that light in a shockwave, quickly washing over all of them and transforming them just like Jerome had. They were all revealed to be different creatures underneath their smokey forms, more bright and colorful while also looking a bit more alien than any of the normal animals on Earth. All of the Nightmare Forces were shocked, and they no longer had any malice to them thanks to the Elements’ power.

“How!? What is happening!?” Nightmare Rarity exclaimed. She looked down at me, still snarling, but believing she still had an ace in the hole, she began laughing. “No matter! I still have Charles, the draconequus foal you all resent! You made a mistake treating him so poorly, and he will reign his chaos down on all of you pitiful ponies just like the real Discord!”

“Yeah, I don’t think so.” Confused, the Nightmare looked down at me. I snapped my fingers while wearing a sly smirk, stripping her of her armor pieces, and turned them into an alicorn-sized cage, trapping her inside. Startled, she looked around her prison, then glared at me with a scowl. “I can’t believe you actually believed me. You realize you were trying to manipulate a child when I’m no ordinary child, right?”

“Why, you little-” Quickly snapping my fingers, I shut her up by making the cage smaller, almost cramping her in with a grunt.

“Also, I’m fifteen! I’m smarter than I look!” I exclaimed. With Nightmare trapped, I backed away while Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow, Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Luna surrounded the mare. With five of the Elements emanating Harmony magic, I wasn’t going to risk getting caught in the crossfire. “I told you you wouldn’t win. Now, we’re only going to ask you one more time: give Rarity back.”

“...Never,” Nightmare Rarity growled.

I sighed and shook my head. “The bad guys never learn,” I said. “Alright, girls, it’s magical rainbow time!”

With a nod, Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow, Fluttershy, and Pinkie closed their eyes, focusing their mysterious Element powers, and blasted Nightmare Rarity with different colored beams. The harmony immediately dispelled my cage, turning them back into armor while also striking the mare as she let out a yell. She grunted as her dark magic struggled to fight back against the slightly weakened magic of friendship, but it was still strong enough to keep her in place. Luna approached Nightmare Rarity, her own horn glowing brilliantly as she lowered her horn to the possessed unicorn’s, adding a bit more power to aid the Elements’.

“Your darkness cannot survive in the light,” Luna said. “Loosen your grip on generous Rarity’s heart and let her speak.”

As Nightmare Rarity continued to fight back, all of us who weren’t completely concentrating with their magic could see the real Rarity begin to emerge within the Nightmare. “My friends! You came for me!” we heard her say, overjoyed and relieved. “You didn’t forget me!”

“Geeze, those things really sucked on your brain, didn’t they?” Rainbow said.

“You mean, you didn’t replace me with an ill-fashioned with braces!?” Rarity exclaimed in shock.

“That was all just a nightmare!” I called out. Surprised, Rarity looked at me, hoping me explaining for the girls would help keep their focus on getting rid of this demon of darkness possessing Rarity. “Who else could replace the pony who would give something to someone who really needs it and feel good doing it!? If anyone throws away something you made for them with all your heart, then they’re not friends! They all care about you! Everyone does!”

“I thought that you’d stop forgetting about me if I stopped being fabulous…I want to help…Always!” Her negative thoughts from her fears made the Nightmare growl, strengthening it as Rarity was beginning to fade away. All of us gasped as the Elements’ power was failing, and Rarity was getting plunged back into the darkness as Nightmare Rarity began to reform. “Please, no! I don’t want to go back! It was so cold and lonely! And I wasn’t helping anypony! I was hurting them! HELP!”

“No! Rarity!” Twilight cried out.

The light from the Elements began to fizzle out from the girls, leaving them nearly drained. In the dark mist, Nightmare Rarity reformed, slamming her front hooves down to blow the remaining mist away with a sadistic cackle.

“There is no power that can stop me now!” she gloated. I tried to trap her again, but when she fixed her gaze on me, she immediately trapped me in her magic aura. “And you, you little backstabber, you won’t get the upper hoof on me again!”

I grunted, struggling to make my thumb and finger snap to make anything chaotic. Suddenly, I cried out as I felt a painful shock wrack my body. I thought I heard Fluttershy call out my name, but through my spasming twitches from the magically conducted current flooding my nervous system, I also felt her aura grip tightly around my neck and cut off my oxygen. When I regained feeling in my arms, I clutched them at my throat, struggling to breathe. She wasn’t choking me to death, but she was suffocating me enough to keep me from fighting back. I was about to black out, we have no chance of stopping the Nightmare now, and Rarity was going to be lost to us forever.

No chance? Ha ha ha ha! Really!? Do you even remember who you are!?

Again, I hear Discord’s voice. Am I having a near death experience?

No, you’re just being tortured through asphyxiation by a unicorn possessed by a dark spirit. Why are you letting her do this to you? You have more power in your pinkie finger than she does in her whole being!

I…I don’t want to lose control.

Well, then I guess I must have chosen the wrong heir. You’ve done barely anything chaotic since you got here.

You…chose me…at random…

That may be, but as the new Lord of Chaos, you can do ANYTHING. No other powerful being can stop you unless you keep hesitating and don’t fully embrace the chaos. Stop holding back, and show these ponies you hold more power than any of them combined. Unless you want them all to see you die.

…No…No. I don’t…I don’t want to die. I’ve been in this world for only a week. I swore to Rarity we would be there for her. I know I’ll just lose control, but if Discord thinks I can’t handle it, a human, who he views as a species that can be just as chaotic as him, then I’ll show him I have what it takes to be his heir! On my terms!

My eyes shot open, glowing a brilliant yellow as I let the chaos magic flow around me. My hearing returned and I could breathe again, Nightmare Rarity’s aura dispelled and fading away from my body in a flurry of sparkles. I heard her and everyone gathered around the two of us gasping in surprise as I looked down at her. With my body levitating by my chaotic might, I grinned at the power flowing through me. My grin grew wider and more sadistic, curling up to most of my face as I suddenly felt so much more power than I ever thought I could imagine having. And from the shocked and horrified look on Nightmare’s face, she regretted forcing me into this state.

“W-W-What…What is happening?” Nightmare Rarity uttered.

“You just unleashed the beast,” I responded, my voice echoing and mixed with Discord’s tone. Raising my hands, I threw them down and aimed them at the Nightmare, unleashing a beam of energy that had a distorted, purple plaid-like void within it. She jumped away in a panic, my magic striking the ground, but it already began to spread along the ground around us all. The grass transformed into a random checkerboard pattern, grew all sorts of sweets like an overgrown forest from candy canes to massive marshmallow boulders, and the night sky turned dark and twisted. I ignored the startled cries and gasps from everyone else; my focus was only on the Nightmare and the sadistic glee I had to make her suffer for causing my friends so much misery. In a flash, I wore a pair of scrubs, a doctor’s coat, and a pair of sterile rubber gloves, one blue and one red. “Prepare for your examination!”

“W-What’s going on?” Twilight uttered. “What’s happening to Charles?”

“And why did he say that last part in a weird, Germane accent?” Pinkie questioned.

“No. He’s unleashed all of his chaos, and it’s taken complete control of him,” Celestia said.

“He’s lost his mind,” Luna summarized.

I appeared in front of Luna, making her shriek as I temporarily slipped out of my magicked doctor’s clothes. “You are correct! That is one hundred percent correct!” Catching the Princess of the Night completely off guard, I grasped her face, pulled her toward me, and gave her a big, loud, and face-sucking kiss. Parting with a loud smack, I laughed like a Looney Toon, bouncing and floating like a hyperactive rubber ball around Luna and the other ponies nearby. I didn’t care if I startled everyone or left Luna an awkward, dazed mess of confusion, but I rolled with this sudden delight of insanity before zipping back into my doctor’s outfit, glaring down at Nightmare Rarity like a mad doctor. “Now, let’s remove this nightmare tumor from our generous Rarity. NURSE! SCALPEL!”

Popping beside me in a flash, at random out of the populace of Ponyville and the two princesses, I picked Rainbow Dash as my “nurse”. Confused, she wore a skimpy nurse’s outfit with a skirt that barely reached her cutie mark, and in her forelegs was a huge scalpel clearly bigger than Celestia by size.

“Wha-!? Hey!” Rainbow exclaimed.

“Oh hush, Rainbow, you LOVE dressing in style!” I gushed. Taking the scalpel from Rainbow, I patted her on the head, then teleported her back to her friends, making her continue wearing the nurse outfit. I gave the scalpel’s blade a bit of a glance from a slight angle, giving my nod of approval before going back to mad doctor mode. “Time for SPIRITUAL SURGERY!”

I dove down at Nightmare Rarity, my comically large scalpel rearing back to slash down on the mare. The Nightmare turned into a cloud of mist, backing away from me to avoid the large, thin blade, which hit the ground and made a funny squeaking sound without breaking the earth beneath it. As she reappeared, she began shooting a barrage of spells at me to stop me. Using the scalpel like a bo staff, I let out random yells and battle cries as I deflected each beam.

“I! Will not! Be bested! By an insane brat!” she shrieked. She managed to shoot my scalpel out of my hands, which broke down into styrofoam peanuts when it hit the ground. Feigning a look of shock, she tried to blast me again, but I smirked, held up my hand, and caught the magic spell like a baseball. I think she realized that she was now completely outmatched and regretted trying to kill me, assuming she did try to kill me when she was force choking me with her magic. “H-How? W-What kind of magic…were you holding back!?”

My doctor’s outfit was now replaced by a black undershirt, a blue and white jacket, and a red and white cap, the brim concealing my eyes. Still holding the magical energy from the Nightmare in one hand, I lifted the brim of my hat, revealing my glowing eyes with a wide grin.

“Pure. Unadulterated. Chaos,” I responded. Turning my cap backwards, I readied myself for a pitch, mixing chaos magic in Nightmare’s molded sphere of energy. “And lucky you, YOU’RE the one who brought it out of me!”

Giving a hard throw, I sent the blended magical ball hurtling toward Nightmare Rarity faster than she could blink. It struck her in the chest, making her cry out as she was enveloped in a veil of chaotic energy. Rolling up my sleeves, I stamped my feet like I was preparing to charge at full speed while floating in midair, then sped off into the distorted energy.

The inside was much bigger than the outside as I flew through the void I created within Nightmare’s possession. Her screams of agony as she was surrounded by my magic was music to my ears, but I was also listening for another voice lost within the Nightmare energy. And there it was, the sound of a mare sobbing, afraid and alone; Rarity. Soaring through the ether, I found the Element of Generosity in the center of the void, darkness slowly closing in around her. Clenching my fist, I quickly opened it, shrouding my hand in chaotic energy, then reached out and touched the darkness, making it fade away into confetti and sprinkles. Finding herself no longer surrounded by darkness, Rarity looked up and gasped when she found me floating in front of her.

“C-Charles?” she uttered.

I reached my hand out to her, realizing it was still coated in chaotic magic before shaking it away and reached out to her again. “Let’s get you out of this nightmare and back to reality,” I said, unnerving the unicorn slightly with how calm I was compared to the insanity I threw myself into. Slowly, she moved her hoof toward me, and I gently grasped it as I guided her out of the void of Nightmare’s energy. As we began to make our escape, we heard a shriek as an ethereal mist came hurtling at us from behind. The Nightmare was clearly not happy, but neither was I. “Oh, put a sock in it!” For the first time while unleashing all of my chaotic power, I raised my hand and snapped my fingers. Appearing in the Nightmare’s face was a bomb clock, causing her to stop and stare at it while it ticked down to its eventual explosion. “See ya, Nightmare! Wouldn’t wanna be ya!”

Grasping Rarity’s hoof tightly, I flew off at breakneck speeds out of there, hearing Rarity scream in surprise while dragging her behind me. I could imagine the look of confusion on Nightmare’s face before it turned into startled shock when she realized just what it was. With no time to react, the explosion blew up in her face, which began distorting the distorted realm I created to dive into the possessed mare’s body. We both heard Nightmare’s death cry reverberating throughout the void before we finally shot up in the air, back to reality, and the darkness from the Nightmare energy faded away.

Everyone let out a collective gasp in awe, everyone happy to see Rarity back to normal again and the Nightmare defeated by the small draconequus child that was me. I floated us back to the ground, where her friends immediately ran up to Rarity in a collective group hug.

“Rarity, are you ok!?” Pinkie asked.

“I-I’m fine,” she said, shedding tears of joy as she embraced all of her best friends. “I’m so glad you all will never forget me.”

“We never will,” Twilight reassured.

“And don’t ya forget it,” Applejack added.

“Rarity!” Sweetie Belle came running up to us as the girls broke up their group hug.

Rarity saw her little sister and caught the filly in a tight hug, both unicorns relieved to be together after such a terrifying event. When Spike came up to Rarity after reuniting with her sister, the mare gave the baby dragon a kiss on the cheek for his heroic efforts to bring her back and save the others back on the moon. He was stunned, caught off guard, but he grinned dopely while I added some silly hearts popping around him to emphasize his lovestruck daze and bashfulness. Hearing hoofsteps behind me, I tilted my head back to see Celestia and Luna approach me, the latter looking a bit awkward after that cartoonish lip-smacking I gave her.

“Charles? Are you…still sane?” Celestia asked nervously, her voice clearly expressing caution in the chaotic state I’m still in.

I turned my body around while my head was still staring at them at an upside down angle. “Never better!” I answered with glee, then twisted my head back on straight. “I feel so full of energy and chaos, I want to do something even crazier!” She clearly did not like that answer. Before I could make anything else happen, I suddenly felt drained as the glow in my eyes faded away, and the chaos I had spread quickly turned the town back to normal. My vision grew blurry as I stumbled, my head spinning as my limbs felt like jelly. “Maybe…after a little…nap,” I uttered before falling over and blacking out.

Luna Eclipsed

Sunlight and the faint sounds of a rooster crowing somewhere woke me up. I didn’t want to wake up, though; I felt so exhausted, and my body demanded more sleep. Fighting against the urge to sleep in, I squinted my eyes open. I was back in Fluttershy’s room, sleeping in her bed again, although I sort of remembered I didn’t just fall asleep normally. All I can gather from my memories was the Nightmare returning, giving the girls nightmares for the whole week, possessing Rarity and turning her into Nightmare Rarity, and I even got the chance to explore Equestria’s moon, which was once inhabited by nightmare creatures. I think I was being force choked by the Nightmare before blacking out, nothing else after.

I tried to get comfortable and get a bit more shuteye, but I felt something was grabbing me. And I don’t think comforters can grab things, unless I was sleep-chaos casting. Something shifted behind me, making me flinch. I heard a familiar, quiet voice mutter something as it held me a bit tighter like I was a stuffed doll. I think I knew exactly who my mysterious sleeping companion was. I rolled over as best as I could, and I squeaked, finding myself snout to snout with Fluttershy.

She began to wake up, cursing her inner alarm clock for taking care of some of the early riser animals around her home. “F-Fluttershy?” I uttered nervously.

“Hmm?” After waking up slightly, she looked down at me, ignoring my brightened cheeks and the awkward stare I was giving her. “Good morning, Charlie.”

“...Why are you holding me?” I asked.

Realizing where her hooves were, she didn’t seem all that embarrassed like I was and just giggled. “I guess I couldn’t help myself,” she said.

She let go of me, thankfully, and I sat up. I let out a small grunt as my head started to throb, my body aching. I know I got strangled and thrown around a couple times, but I shouldn’t be this exhausted if I was resting in bed. With Fluttershy. Even though she insisted on me taking her bedroom while she slept on her couch downstairs. Did I get hurt?

“Uhh…What happened to me?” I asked Fluttershy.

“Umm…I don’t think anything serious happened yesterday,” she said. “You helped me feed the chickens, we bumped into Pinkie Pie when we went into town for some groceries, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo talked with you for a little bit.”

That’s…not what happened? “Wait, you’re saying it was a normal day?” I asked.

“Yes. Why?” Fluttershy asked.

“But…what about the nightmares you and the girls have had all week?” I asked. Fluttershy looked at me, confused. “You know? The nightmares that haunted you by a part of Nightmare Moon that never got destroyed by the Elements of Harmony? She had Nightmare Forces who took Rarity to the moon and we went off to rescue her?” She tilted her head, clearly still baffled. “She got possessed and turned into Nightmare Rarity? Equestria was in danger with the Element of Generosity taken over, leaving the rest of the Elements of Harmony to be useless to her invasion?”

“...Was that…what you had a nightmare about?” Fluttershy asked. “I heard you tossing and turning last night when I checked on you. I laid down next to you and you calmed right down. I didn’t know if you were going to have another nightmare and stayed, but I eventually fell asleep.”

Well, I couldn’t blame Fluttershy for her concern, but it still didn’t help the fact that she was cuddling me while I was unconscious. Or…asleep? I shook my head, trying to make heads or tails of what really happened yesterday, even though it was very clear for me.

“But I wasn’t dreaming. Everything I said actually happened,” I said. “How do you not remember anything?”

Fluttershy pressed the back of her foreleg against my forehead. “Are you getting sick? You’re not running a fever.” I leered blankly. I would know if I was ill. “Is this a strange chaos sickness or something?”

“I’m not sick,” I grumbled.

“Are you sure? I don’t even know what kind of sicknesses you can get,” Fluttershy said. She removed her leg from my head and climbed out of bed. “I’m going to make you some soup just in case. You get some more sleep, Charlie.”

I wanted to protest, but Fluttershy was already out of her bedroom, rushing to make me some soup for my mystery illness. I don’t know how she could have forgotten what happened. There’s no way she’s the type to suppress anything traumatizing, even though she’s scared of a lot of things right now. I could try to ask the others, but Fluttershy wouldn’t let me leave her house until I was in perfect health.

Nature began to call, much to my annoyance, so I climbed out of bed and hurried to the bathroom. After taking care of business, I climbed up a cartoonish stool to reach the sink and began washing my hands. I occasionally looked up at the mirror, letting out a sigh.

“Did I really just dream that?” I asked. As I took a closer look at my reflection, I squinted at myself. “Wait a minute. What’s…?” Last I saw, from my body to the environment around me, everything had a black border around them like the comics. But now, everything was back to the normal cartoon style I’ve seen from the show. I looked around the bathroom, scratching my head while I was left even more puzzled. “Everything’s…normal again?”

“Define ‘normal’, Charlie boy.” Flinching, I heard Discord’s voice, and it seemed to be coming from the mirror. I looked back at my reflection, still seeing a confused me. I blinked and rubbed my head, but when I looked at the mirror again, I saw my reflection giving me a snide smirk. I thought my magic must have made it act on its own while out of my control, but I was far from accurate. “With chaos, nothing EVER is considered normal.”

“What in the hay?” I uttered in shock. My reflection, who spoke with Discord’s voice, grabbed his face with both hands, then began stretching it out. Though the scenery looked really grotesque, I was more shocked to see it pulling and growing itself to a fully-sized Discord. My jaw dropped when I realized that it really WAS Discord, who gave me a little, cheeky wave with a big grin on his face. “Discord!?”

“Why, yes! In the glass!” Discord said, chortling at his cheesy pun, even as he tapped on the mirror.

“Charlie? Are you ok in there?” I heard Fluttershy from behind the closed bathroom door.

I looked at Discord, who was waiting for me to come up with an excuse. He wants me to reveal him, but knowing him, he was going to disappear and reappear later when I was alone again. I was already treated like a pawn for his “retirement”, if that’s what he really calls it, but if I call him out, I’ll be called crazy…Even though I technically am a bit crazy with this body and chaotic magic.

“Uhh…Just…talking to myself!” I said, hoping Fluttershy will believe me, and if she didn’t hear Discord’s voice.

“Talking…to yourself?” Fluttershy repeated.

“Chaos magic going a bit out of control, but I got it!” I quickly responded.

“Ooh, I’d love to see you try to corral your own magic if you think it’s that easy,” Discord said.

I glared at Discord, though my dirty look didn’t intimidate him. I just didn’t want Fluttershy to hear him, and he was just acting like the snarky chaotic deity he is.

“Oh. Ok. Are you still feeling sick?” she asked. “The soup should be ready soon.”

“Y-Yeah! I guess I was just tired!” I said. “I’ll be out in a bit!”

“Ok.” I listened carefully for Fluttershy’s footsteps to fade downstairs before I turned to scowl at Discord, who was filing his claws with…a cactus?

“You know, if you keep scowling like that, your face is going to be stuck like that forever,” Discord said.

“Why are you here!?” I exclaimed. “I thought you were retired!”

“And I thought you remembered what I told you before you agreed to be my heir,” he countered. “I’m retiring elsewhere, and I did say a part of me would reside within you to check in on you. Did you not hear my comments in your head the other day?”

“Comments?” I did remember hearing Discord’s voice out of the blue at times, but I thought I was going insane. The smirk on his face from my reaction said a lot. “...So…you were watching everything? Since I first got here?”

“I was. But you haven’t spread too much chaos yet,” he said, almost sounding disappointed in me. “Need to work on that when you grow into your new body.”

“Then…that means yesterday…that really did happen…Right?” I asked nervously.

“Mhmm,” Discord hummed with a nod.

“...How?” I asked. “I jumped from the cartoon, to the comics, and now I’m back in the cartoon.”

“Well, that’s a little something called dimensional hopping,” Discord said. “With chaotic powers, you can travel just about anywhere in any realm. Even alternate realities of the same world.” Dimensional hopping? I mean, I knew Discord was able to bend reality and possibly pull some weird stuff that belonged to some other dimension or world, but I don’t remember using my magic to take me to the comic book universe of My Little Pony. “Oh, but I forgot to mention that it happens randomly, so you might need to take notes on where you are between realms.”

I just blankly stared at the nonchalant draconequus in the mirror, because OF COURSE that was the answer he would come up with. “...Seriously?”

“Obviously. Chaos runs wild and does what it wants. You can stop it, but it can’t be perfectly controlled by just anypony,” Discord said.

“So, when I fall asleep and wake up, I could wind up in some alien universe that might not be Equestria without any warning!?” I exclaimed. “I thought I was just taking over your place as ‘Lord of Chaos’ while you’re retired, not EVERY existence of you in multiple realities! You couldn’t give me any more instructions about how chaos actually works, or maybe give me some kind of manual so I could learn to expect something out of the ordinary!?” Discord gave me back the same blank stare I gave him a moment ago, raising a brow quizzically. Of course, the obvious answer for his silence to my questions was already stated by what he said earlier. I sighed and rolled my eyes. “Chaos does whatever it wants and it can’t be fully controlled.”

“Bingo,” he said.

I just shook my head, pinching the bridge of my nose with an exhausted sigh. “Figured…I still have no idea what happened to everyone. Did Nightmare Rarity win?”

“Oh, she lost, alright,” Discord said, forcing me to look back at the mirror and his snarky grin. “And it was hilarious!”

“You saw what happened?” I asked, but I grimaced, the answer quite obvious if Discord was in my head. Or at least a part of him. “Don’t answer that.”

“Let’s see if this might jog your memory.” Discord snapped his fingers, creating another mirror within the mirror he was in. It flashed for a moment like light was reflecting off it before the image started to come through clearly. Discord had a bag of unpopped popcorn in his hand, munching down a handful and leaving a mess, even though I couldn’t see his lower half. “This feature already has five stars for its creativity, and you’re the main star, Charlie boy.”

I dreaded seeing what was going to happen. The “feature” started with what I last remembered before I woke up; getting choked by Nightmare Rarity and held helplessly in the air. I’ll finally get to see the outcome of the Nightmare’s return in the comic universe. I saw myself on the verge of passing out, struggling to breathe with her aura wrapped tightly around my neck. I thought I may have just passed out, but boy was I wrong. Suddenly, my eyes had shot open, glowing yellow, and I was grinning…which turned into a very wide, creepy Cheshire Cat-like grin. Then, all hell broke loose.

Ignoring what everyone was saying, I saw myself firing a beam down at Nightmare Rarity and began to spread chaos around the ground, just missing the mare. Although the chaos spread in one spot in Ponyville, it was a portion of something Discord had created before during his return. My jaw hung open at what I was doing, too busy focusing on watching me going nuts with my chaotic magic to see Discord grinning at me like he was a proud father.

Strangely enough, most of the weird outfits or phrases I said, even in the exact accent for some of them, came from a lot of references to video games or shows I’ve watched or played before. The doctor’s outfit and the German accent I made when threatening the Nightmare was the Medic from Team Fortress 2, with the mismatched gloves matching the colors for the red and blue teams. The clothes I swapped into after catching Nightmare’s magic was similar to Ash Ketcham’s from Pokemon. I even turned my hat around backwards like he did when he throws his Poke Balls. And all the random antics between them came right out of Looney Toons.

Speaking of, I wished I didn’t see this all when I saw what I did to Luna. She commented about me losing my mind, which I clearly had, I nearly sounded like Daffy Duck with my remark. And then, to my shock, embarrassment, and fright, I pulled Luna into a cartoonish, loud, kiss. Right on the lips. If my face weren’t literally on fire at this moment, then the burning blush made me glad that I was no longer in that universe right now. Discord laughed at that scene, tossing his snack all over in his laughing fit. Maybe that’s why I repressed it…or, whatever happened to me, my magic did that at random. It didn’t help that Discord kept rewinding that scene over and over, me smooching Luna, whooping like Daffy, and flying and bouncing around like I consumed a massive lake of coffee.

“Ok! Ok! I’ve seen enough!” I exclaimed, covering my embarrassed face to avoid seeing my lips on Luna’s while she looked absolutely mortified.

Thankfully, Discord showed some mercy, poofing away the mirror, but his guffawing didn’t help any. “That was priceless! I’ve never seen insane chaos like that since I was little!” Discord said, hugging his belly as he continued laughing. I wanted to smash my head against the sink, hoping to rattle the part of Discord in my head, but I don’t want to end up with a concussion and a worried Fluttershy looming over me twenty-four seven. I lowered my head, bumping it against the edge of the sink with an exhausted grunt. “Finally you take my advice and unleash your full chaotic potential, and you are a prodigy! Although, rescuing Rarity at the end was still a bit goody-goody, so you lose points there.”

“Gee, thanks. Didn’t realize that was a pop quiz,” I grumbled. What Discord said did bother me a little; if that memory that was wiped from my mind was unleashing my chaos to the fullest, I’m more afraid of using too much of it if I turn into a My Little Pony version of a Warner Bros. cartoon character. Along with the random popping in and out of other random universes in or out of Equestria, maybe being Discord’s heir was a poor choice. “Oh, what have I gotten myself into.”

“Oh, don’t pout.” I looked back to Discord, who was now holding a doll in one arm, for some reason. It wasn’t a pony doll; it looked like a human school girl, wearing a Japanese schoolgirl outfit, the blazer a warm gray, the skirt a pleated dark blue, a red ribbon tied around the collar of her blazer, black thigh-high socks, and white slippers with pink tips. Her hair was pretty long, tied in a high ponytail with a white bow, and coral brown in color. The end of her hair was slightly curly, and two prominent strands beside her bangs hung over her chest. “You’ll get used to it. Eventually.” I was a little perplexed by the random doll over his slightly encouraging words. His ear twitched as he looked down at the doll, holding it up slightly to hear…something that was coming from it. I don’t know if he was pulling my leg, but it was like the out of place doll was talking to him, but it just looked like an ordinary anime girl doll. “Haha! Oh, no no. At least, not yet. But soon, though. He’s still new to all this.”

“...Uhh, what are you doing?” I asked.

Ignoring my question, he lowered the doll out of sight. “Now, I expect you to spread a bit more chaos than you’re not doing right now,” he instructed. “Don’t tarnish my status by being TOO chummy with these ponies. The Discord you thought you knew is not one to let friendship weigh down his freedom. Even this…weird romantic sort of relationship with Fluttershy and me.” I snorted a little at the disgust expressed on his face. I knew there were hints that Discord from the show had some deep-seeded feelings for Fluttershy, from his first friend ever being the animal loving pegasus, his guilt for betraying her and the girls to help Tirek, and his overprotectiveness and almost animalistic fury when Chrysalis attacked again and kidnapped the girls. “Seriously? What did THAT me even see in her? I would have taken my chances with Pinkie Pie. She also has special powers involving the fourth wall, but it’s more for comedy’s sake and randomness than chaos.”

Speaking of romantic interests, I remembered the other draconequus from the nightmares in the comic book Equestria. She seemed to have an obsessive thing for Discord, almost to a point of being highly possessive and abusive from the type of “chaos” she could cause.

“Uhh, I have a question, actually?” I asked.

“No, I am NOT going to try to pursue Pinkie Pie as a potential lover,” Discord immediately responded.

“No, not that!” I exclaimed. “But…it is on the subject of…relationships.”

Discord rolled his eyes and sighed. “Fine. What is it?”

“I had a nightmare before waking up and realizing I was in another version of Equestria,” I started. “And there was another I was forced into while on the moon.” Discord silently stared at me with a quirked brow, though his reaction confused me. He watched me go absolutely bonkers when going fully chaotic, so I would have assumed he saw the nightmares I had or was thrust into. “...You…saw those, right?”

“...I am the Lord of Chaos, not the Lord of Dreams,” Discord said in an annoyed tone. “That’s Luna’s job. If anyone can look into dreams, she clearly knows how.”

“...Ok. Uhh, anyways, while on the moon and we were engulfed in this nightmare mist, I found myself as you in some city that was chaotically altered.” He chuckled slightly, clearly amused by the dream I was in that was supposedly a nightmare to me. “But I wasn’t the one causing chaos. At least, alone.” Discord’s grin faltered, turning into a frown and his eyes widened slightly. “I was walking with…I think it was a female draconequus, but she wasn’t as…mismatched with as many animal parts as you were. It was like I was walking around as her slave, carrying a bunch of things she stole from shops like her personal pack mule, and…I think she was…in love with you?”

After explaining what I saw, I half expected Discord to make some sort of snide remark about “my” dream. Instead, he looked absolutely terrified, his jaw hanging open with fear in his eyes. For once, I think I rendered Discord speechless, and scared the daylights out of him by mentioning what I saw that came from a dream, or possibly a memory, that came from his mind, not mine.

“...T-That, uhh…W-W-What kind of nightmare is that?” he uttered, giggling nervously, but he was sweating bullets.

“Clearly not mine,” I said. “And the dream I had before waking up to that adventure had you running away from her, and I wound up getting caught by her monstrous hands in a veil of green mist. Didn’t know what she looked like until I was affected by the mist.” I figured a visual aid would help show Discord what she looked like. I hoped my magic didn’t flub it up and turn me into something else if using my imagination helps my chaotic creativity. With a snap of my fingers, I was surrounded in a flash of light, hopefully transforming to look like the other chaotic creature. Beside Discord, I could see my reflection; I was still me, sadly, but my color palette changed to look like her fur and scales, which seemed close enough. “Well, that was a flop, but she was as colorful as this, had a scorpion tail, and looked more like a lioness or tiger from the face down to her chest.”

It might not have been the best description, but Discord’s terror intensified. He clearly knew her, and he was afraid of her. Why? Who was she?

I waited for an answer as his eyes shifted everywhere but toward me, then he quickly snapped his fingers and created a hastily chaotic clock beside him, the hands spinning rapidly in opposite directions past numbers and random symbols that probably weren’t even numbers. “Oh, would you look at the time!? I’m going to be late for my surfing yoga class off the coast of Cantercun!” The clock disappeared and a Hawaiian shirt, a lei, and a pair of sunglasses appeared on him in a flash. “Causeplentyofchaosnowtata!”

“Wh-Hey! Wait! Who-!?” Before I could even touch the mirror, Discord vanished with a poof, leaving me alone with my reflection, and my body still a collection of clashing colors for a Discord child lookalike. Huffing in annoyance, I was left with more questions than answers. “He definitely knows who that is. But he’s the most powerful creature in Equestria. What could he be afraid of if the Elements of Harmony are the only things that could really overpower him?”

I’ll have to confront Discord about this sooner or later. He may have chosen me as his heir, but while he’s retired, I’ll spread my chaos however I well please. I’m the new Lord of Chaos, and this lord is going to use his chaos to help Equestria. Assuming I don’t lose myself to my full potential again. Kissing Luna like that still made me cringe in embarrassment. And, if it actually counted, that was my first kiss on the lips from any girl, and with an alicorn princess, no less.

Shaking my head, ignoring the heat from my blushing cheeks, I snapped my color scheme back to normal, turned on the water again, and splashed my face to distract my thoughts. All I should be concerned about is going all out with my magic until I’ve gotten the hang of it and expect to wind up in another universe if I so much as blink. I probably shouldn’t tell the girls this revelation since it’s already confusing enough to process, even for me. I may also need to take notes, too so I don’t lose my sanity. Once my nerves and thoughts were settled, I left the bathroom and went downstairs to join Fluttershy and eat some soup. I was actually getting hungry, and I could smell it as I hopped down the steps.

In the kitchen, Fluttershy stirred a ladle in a pot filled with the soup she made. From the smell, she seemed to be cooking up some tomato soup. Not a bad soup to have when sick, though asking for chicken noodle soup would be out of the question in this world, considering the vegetarian diet ponies live by. Although, with there being griffons in Equestria, they eat meat, so long as it didn’t come from anything sentient and living. I won’t risk asking that of Fluttershy, even though she has a few small omnivorous or carnivorous creatures she takes care of. Oh, and Harry the BEAR, too.

“Soup’s ready,” Fluttershy announced, to the joy of my empty stomach. I hopped into my seat and helped set the table with my magic, being careful not to let any of the utensils run off and hide from us. Lost a dish and a spoon last time, but we found it eventually. Fluttershy poured some of the soup in a pair of bowls, and on the side was some crispy, buttered toast. “How are you feeling, Charlie? Better?”

“Yeah. I think I was still pretty exhausted, that’s all,” I said, lying a bit even though it was half true.

“That’s good.” I started digging into the soup, and it was delicious. I reached for a slice of toast and munched on it, although I somehow avoided the crust when I bit a piece, leaving an open spot around the “frame” of the toast. I know Discord ate just the crust of his sandwiches just to be random, but what I did seemed really ridiculous. “I’m glad you’re not sick. I don’t want you to miss any of your first holidays in Equestria.”

“Oh? What’s coming up?” I asked while staring dumbly at my toast.

I didn’t notice Fluttershy hesitating while I pondered how to eat the rest of my toast. “...W-Well…umm…I-It’s…N-N-Ni…N-Nightm…”

Glancing up at her, seeing the trepidation on her timid face, I pieced together what she was trying to say. “Oh. Nightmare Night,” I uttered. She nodded her head, a little ashamed being afraid of a spooky holiday when that was the whole gist of a holiday like that. I completely understand, though. Not everyone enjoys a specific holiday that everyone else likes. “Where I’m from, we call it Halloween. Lots of similarities between them, though: dressing up in costumes, spooky decorations, trick-or-treating around the neighborhood to get free candy.”

“...O-Oh…H-How…interesting…” That didn’t seem to help Fluttershy. I grimaced a little, dunking my toast in my soup and nibbled on it. I managed to eat the bit of crust I somehow missed on my first bite while it was coated in the warm, creamy soup. “I…I don’t want you to…miss out.”

“I can handle wandering around just fine on my own,” I insisted.

“But you’re still so young.” I don’t know how many times I have to express I’m older than I look. But, no matter how badly I want to shout it to the heavens, I can’t be upset with Fluttershy. It wasn’t her naivety; she’s more concerned about me, who looks like a young colt and a completely different creature from her, and my safety. She believes I wasn’t Discord, or his actual blood-related son, but her preventing me from being independent like I was a toddler was a little bit bothersome. “Maybe one of our friends can be your chaperone.”

Well, it was better than nothing, and I’m sure one of them will let me roam around to enjoy the festivities. “I guess that’s…fine,” I said. I chomped up the rest of my toast, then continued slurping up my soup. We finished our breakfast, and I helped Fluttershy with some of the dishes. “So, who exactly would be…watching me?”

“I think I know just the perfect pony,” Fluttershy said.

“Is it Twilight?” I asked. “Or maybe Applejack?...Pinkie?”

“Are you serious, Fluttershy!?” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. To be fair, I did not expect Fluttershy to suggest Rainbow Dash, which was a terrible choice considering she doesn’t trust me as far as she can sonic rainboom me to the moon. We flew to Rainbow’s cloud house, or rather, Fluttershy flew while she clutched me in her forehooves and held me to her chest, woke up Rainbow from one of her morning naps, and she was much more grumpy after Fluttershy asked her to watch me for Nightmare Night. I just blankly stared at nothing, questioning how fate led us here, and if Discord’s laughing his tail off during his weird activity in Cantercun. “No way! Can’t you ask somepony else!? I’m not foalsitting on the best holiday in Equestria!”

“You need to get to know Charlie a bit better and trust him,” Fluttershy insisted. Rainbow turned away with a huff, the obvious reaction to that response from her. Fluttershy hovered closer and held me out to Rainbow, who turned her head to look at Fluttershy with a raised brow. “Come on, Rainbow Dash. He’s adorable. How can you say no to him?”

“I want to say that this wasn’t my idea,” I said to Rainbow Dash.

“Can’t you let Twilight or Pinkie watch him for you?” Rainbow begged Fluttershy. “I know you hate Nightmare Night because it’s scary, but I have so many good pranks to pull that night! I don’t want to be weighed down by the twerp!”

“I’m only a few years younger than all you girls!” I exclaimed. “...At least, I think? How old are you two?”

“You never give him a chance to see that he can do some good, and he’s not like the real Discord,” Fluttershy reasoned. Rainbow pouted, still refusing to budge. I glanced up at Fluttershy, silently pleading with her to choose someone else, but she had a small grin on her face when she looked at me. “Maybe he can help you with some of your pranks with his magic?”

Rainbow and I both winced, glanced at each other, then back to Fluttershy. “Him? Help me? With his freaky chaos?”

“Me? Help her? With chaos?” I repeated, dumbfounded.

“As long as none of the pranks are harmful, I’m sure you two will get along just fine with some imaginative pranks you can come up with,” Fluttershy said.

I kind of was thinking going on a pranking spree with Rainbow would help me gain her trust and friendship. But for Nightmare Night, it sounded perfect. I think I caught a glimpse of Rainbow’s eyes flashing with intrigue at the idea. Part of me hoped she’d say no, but with all the creepy and crazy things I’ve seen on the internet, I’ll do more than just startle ponies with random lightning strikes from a cloud. She looked at me, eyeing me warily, then to Fluttershy’s wide-eyed, begging stare and that heart-attack inducing, innocent smile.

After several long seconds, Rainbow caved and let out a sigh. “...Just for Nightmare Night,” she said.

“Good! I promise you won’t regret enjoying Charlie’s company!” Fluttershy cheered, giving me a squeeze while the act made me let out a random wheeze that sounded like a squeaky toy. “I’ll drop him off in the morning on Nightmare Night so you can prepare. And so I can prepare for the night.”

“Great,” Rainbow muttered.

Fluttershy flew off, bringing us back to her cottage, feeling proud for me and Rainbow finally going to get along. I really hope we do. Better brush up on all the horror stuff I’ve seen the last several years and help Rainbow pull off the best pranking spree and make this year’s Nightmare Night spooktacular.

The days seemed to pass very quickly, and Nightmare Night was upon us. I’m kind of hoping my magic didn’t also include random time skips in whichever world I wake up to, or whatever else Discord eluded to tell me. At least I didn’t sleep hop into another dimension. As far as I know.

Early morning on the spooky holiday, Fluttershy was quick to wake me up, rushing and panicking to get herself prepared to stay indoors and away from the decorations already being set up in town. It was weird for her to hold herself in her home when it’s a bit far out of the town proper. It’s not like the foals were going to take a bite out of her for some candy, but with Ponyville’s tradition to offer candy as tribute to a statue of Nightmare Moon, there might be some adults in scarier costumes. I kind of want to ask Fluttershy why she doesn’t like Nightmare Night, but it’s best not to pry.

Right now, I was still half awake, barely hearing Fluttershy telling me to be on my best behavior before hastily dropping me off at Rainbow’s cloudy abode, then fled back to her cottage faster than anyone had ever seen her fly. I flopped onto the soft cloud lawn, honestly expecting to fall right through, but with my magic, I could stand on clouds like a pegasus, griffon, or other flighty creature with some latent magic to make such a feat possible. They were pretty soft for them being made of condensed water vapor; soft like the softest pillow, but a little bit moist if given enough pressure.

Standing in front of Rainbow’s front door, I sighed, having prepared all my good, scary pranks to give some impression to the pegasus. Raising a hand, I knocked on the door, leaving behind light thudding sounds. I thought of making up a doorbell with my magic that made weird sound effects to get her attention, but the soft knocking was able to be heard as the door opened up.

“Wow. Flutters actually dropped you off this early,” she said, then shrugged. “Figured she wanted to prepare herself as soon as possible. Well, come on in, I guess.”

Nice welcome. I must have interrupted one of her morning naps. Although, Rainbow prefers to nap anywhere that’s NOT her home. I followed after her, getting a much closer look inside her cloud house. The outside was quite fancy for a building made of clouds, like some ancient Greek architecture, not really fitting for Rainbow, but pegasi were considered the warriors of the three pony tribes throughout history. The inside was much more modern than the outside, walking into a living room with enchanted furniture for the pegasus resident.

Rainbow headed upstairs, probably to her room to get something. I set myself on the couch, snapping my fingers to summon a scroll, which held my list of the many pranks I had prepped for tonight. I know the only prank Rainbow’s going to do for this year’s Nightmare Night was spooking everyone by kicking a lightning cloud over her unsuspecting victims. I’m keeping my lips sealed about my knowledge of the show’s outcomes from the others. Twilight and Spike understand, even after Twilight’s manic episode, and I don’t want to risk changing too much of what’ll eventually come.

Eventually, Rainbow Dash came back down, and she was now wearing her costume for the night. She was dressed like one of the Shadowbolts from the season one premiere, the same ponies Nightmare Moon pretended to be to divert Rainbow Dash away, only to prove to Twilight her representation of the Element of Loyalty. It was all black with zigzagging yellow lightning bolts around her hooves and neck, and her eyes were hidden behind the yellow lens built into her costume’s flight suit, leaving her muzzle, mane, tail, ears, and wings to tell who was wearing it. I could see the stitching sticking out in some places of the outfit, clearly handmade and a little bit sloppy, but it wasn’t a bad costume for Nightmare Night.

“Alright, twerp, we have some time to kill before the real fun begins,” Rainbow said. “Not saying it’s going to be fun if I have to carry you around all night…Please tell me you know how to fly.”

“No. I’m still getting used to having them,” I said. “You ever had extra limbs you didn’t know you could move, and it feels awkward like you grew another pinkie toe that also had another use besides existing?” Rainbow Dash gave me an odd look at my example, then sighed and hung her head in annoyance. “I’ll learn how to fly eventually. And maybe learn levitation since Discord never used his wings often either.”

“Great. That means I’m not going to get everypony this year,” she grumbled. “I’ve got this thunder cloud with plenty of lightning bolts to shoot off and spook unsuspecting groups. And with you clinging to my back, I can’t kick it hard enough and enjoy hearing their reactions.”

“Well, you don’t have to,” I said. “I’m perfectly fine wandering on my own while you fly around spooking everyone with your thunder cloud.”

Rainbow seemed fine with that, but she frowned, leering at me behind her outfit’s lens’. “Oh, I see what you’re trying to pull. You think you can get away without being watched by anypony!” Where exactly was I going to go? Back to Fluttershy’s? Hide in the Everfree Forest? Teleport to Canterlot Castle and take over the throne? There were going to be adults among the foals, including our friends, so obviously everyone was going to see me walking around unsupervised. Sometimes, I swear this pegasus doesn’t think properly before coming to conclusions. “Well, I’m keeping an eye on you from the sky while I’m pranking, and I’ve got pretty good eyesight. Nothing gets past Rainbow Dash.”

I just gave Rainbow a blank, deadpan stare, giving her a thumbs up. “Cool. You got it,” I said, making sure the sarcasm was very, VERY clear for her to hear.

She looked satisfied, thinking she won over me, clearly missing my retort by a mile. I caught her looking at my list, immediately catching her interest.

“What’s that?” she asked.

“Oh, just a little list of prank ideas I brainstormed for the holiday.” Unfurling the scroll, I let it roll down, hitting the couch, down to the floor, and it kept going. The paper went up and over other furniture, crawled on the walls and ceiling, making sharp angled turns that seemed impossible without it tearing up, even over and around Rainbow’s form a couple times. I could tell her eyes were watching the scroll, slightly dumbfounded, only to be annoyed when the scroll finally came to a stop, the end flopping right over her head on booping her muzzle. I smirked at her, my real list not that insanely long, but it was funny catching her off guard. “And that’s only page one.”

“...You’re joking…right?” she asked.

I rolled the scroll back up, the overly-lengthened piece of parchment swiftly reversing back to me, “accidentally” sweeping Rainbow off her hooves when it whizzed by her legs. “Yeah. I am.” She sat up with a scowl, watching me finish rolling the scroll, then flick it, revealing the actual length of less than a foot of paper. “Being a prankster enthusiast, I think you might like the creepy, scary jokes I had in mind. I even had to practice transforming a bit to get some of them down perfectly.”

“Was tripping me up one of your pranks?” Rainbow questioned skeptically.

“Not exactly, but you were in the scroll’s way,” I said. “If you’re curious, stick around from the skies and watch me.”

I knew that if I wanted Rainbow to really stick around and see what I have in store, I had to goad her interests and challenge her. Judging from her pursed lips, I definitely got her hooked with my ideas.

“You’re not going to turn the whole town upside down with one of those, are you?” she asked.

“I swear, none of these pranks will cause trouble. Just some good scares,” I promised.

“...Ok. But I’m still gonna keep a close eye on you, otherwise it’s the princesses and stone city for you,” Rainbow Dash warned.

I just sighed and nodded my head. I was getting sick and tired of her having that threat weigh over my head, and Celestia still giving me that same benefit of the doubt is a constant reminder not to do something too stupid with my chaos.

Hours of anticipation later, and awkward silence with Rainbow for most of the time at her house, Nightmare Night was in full swing. The moment the sun began to set, Rainbow Dash carried me down to the ground, to her chagrin, and we went in search of some potential prank victims. The whole town of Ponyville was decorated for the holiday: light fixtures with a dim glow hanging from the light poles and rooves, skulls, fake spider webs, and jack-o-lanterns with different face carvings adding to the creepy atmosphere, and everyone was in their costumes, ranging from the fitting theme of the evening to silly or adorable costumes for the fun of it.

I passed by some foals who were laughing and running from house to house, trick or treating to get some free candy from the neighbors. Halloween was always the best holiday: free candy, and dressing up in cool costumes. I did see some colts wearing outfits that were supposed to be scary, but it was as adorable as seeing the fillies in their more harmless, girly costumes, like a fairy princess or a ladybug. I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going when someone rammed into me, causing us both to stumble to the ground, candy spilling out around us.

“Oops! Sorry!” My ears twitched, recognizing the young, British accent that came from the colt who bumped into me.

After scrambling our limbs out from each other, with mine somehow getting tangled with themselves in the flop, looking apologetic toward me was the little Trottingham colt, Pipsqueak, and he was sporting his pirate costume. “Uhh, it’s ok,” I said. Looking at my arms, I frowned, then pulled them, untying the painful-looking knot, but my arms slipped out like wet noodles. “I was too distracted with the decorations to pay attention to where I was going.”

“I know! It’s my very first Nightmare Night!” Pipsqueak said. He was clearly very excited, and he didn’t notice his candy bag around his neck had spilled his sweet treasure around us. “Is it yours, too? I haven’t seen you before.”

“Uhh…I suppose,” I mumbled. “I’m Charles.”

“I’m Pipsqueak! Pipsqueak the pirate!” he said with a salute. If there were other ponies that could beat the adorable scale in this world, Pipsqueak would probably be one of the many that can rival the likes of the Crusaders, Derpy, or even Flurry Heart or the Cake Twins, and neither of the baby ponies are even born yet. And, of course, with them being ponies, Alyssa was a sucker for the foals, including Pipsqueak. “What’s your costume?”

How was I going to tell this kid I wasn’t in a costume without startling the heck out of him? I mean, he should have seen me peel out my arms from the knot they got into. He’ll find out eventually, but considering the holiday, I might as well get into the spirit of things. For Pipsqueak’s sake, at least.

“Oh, is it not obvious?” I asked, giving Pipsqueak the slyest smirk I’ve ever made. “I am Discord, the Lord of Chaos!” I let out a maniacal laugh, something that Discord would be impressed to hear. I nearly broke out of character when a lightning bolt shot out of nowhere, adding to the effect as mini Discord to the colt. Either Rainbow added to the atmosphere and timed it while keeping her eye on me, or she just found a perfect victim to spook in the distance. “Behold, little pirate, and watch as I unleash my chaos upon the land!”

Snapping my fingers, I animated Pipsqueak’s candy by giving them legs. They lined up in a circle around me and danced, worshiping me as their chaotic overlord like a religious tribe. Pipsqueak was in awe if his hung open jaw was any indication. With a wave of my hand, I commanded the dancing candy to walk back to Pipsqueak and jump back in his bag, each piece flashing back to normal after settling back in their rightful place. He looked down at his candy, then back to me with a wide, open-mouthed grin.

“Wow! That was amazing!” he cheered. “How’d you do that!?”

“Lots of practice,” I said. “Just don’t eat them when they’re alive. You might get much more sick off one piece than a whole bunch.”

“Well, I don’t know who Discord is, but your magic is really cool!” Pipsqueak said. Oh, he has no idea just how dangerous this magic can actually be. Don’t ever lose that innocence, Pipsqueak. “And so’s your costume.”

“Heh. Thanks,” I mumbled sheepishly.

“Hey, Pippy!” Zipping up to us, Pinkie came to a stop before us. As I expected from the episode, Pinkie Pie was dressed up like a chicken. “There you are, silly! Oh, hi, Charles! Have you met Pipsqueak?”

“More like bumped into me,” I said.

“Neat! But we gotta get moving! Candy needs to be given, and I won’t stop until we get every last piece!” Pinkie proclaimed, adding in a few loud, shrill clucks like the big chicken she is. “Come on, Pipsqueak! Candy needs plundering!”

“Yeah!” Pipsqueak cheered, following Pinkie toward the library.

And I think I found my first official scare victim for the night, grinning maliciously. I looked up, spotting Rainbow Dash and her lightning cloud floating above the town. She followed me as I stuck to the shadows, sneaking around and out of sight from Pinkie and the group of foals she seemed to be chaperoning. Kind of a bad idea to have someone like Pinkie Pie watch some kids when she’s literally acting like the chicken she was dressed as, but it was better than Granny Smith creakily following them when she wanted to sleep.

While Pinkie was distracted talking to Twilight and Spike, both of them in costume as well; Star Swirl the Bearded and, to my exasperation, a dragon respectively. Spike could come up with a better costume than dressing like a dragon…when he’s ALREADY a dragon to begin with. I ignored my inner frustrations and snuck over to a little empty spot in town, not too far from the Golden Oak Library. I cracked my knuckles, wriggled my fingers, and snapped. Appearing in the several feet of land, I left a bowl of candy with a concoction of deliciously mixed chaos blend of sweets, which I personally tested and approved, closer toward the library, and several yards away was a little pit with a slightly torn metal grate, making it look closely enough to a sewer system. Sticking above the bowl of candy was a piece of paper that said, “Plz tayk just won!” and it had a goofy drawing of Discord giving the thumbs up and a wink.

Glancing up, Rainbow Dash watched me curiously. I grinned, hopped into the pit, and in a flash, I was in my disguise for this little trick. Now, all I had to do was wait, and luckily, I could hear whoever walks between my enchanted prank area. And I didn’t have to wait long, it seemed.

“Hey, lookee! Free candy!” I heard Pinkie say, to my glee.

“It says…please take just one?” one of the foals in Pinkie’s group said.

“Well, it is free candy,” another said.

I then heard some rustling of candy in the glass jar, some of the foals curiously eyeing the confections I crafted. They took a bite, and judging from the delight in their hums, I nailed their taste buds. I wonder if Discord could have been a major hit for Nightmare Night with his pranks and creating any kind of sugary sweet to hand out to the kids.

And waste my time using my chaos to feed a bunch of foals and give them a sugar rush? You forget I’m not that other Discord, Charlie boy.

Of course, Discord would chime right in, hearing my thoughts like a creepy voyeur.

Says the draconequus child hiding in a ditch spying on fillies and colts. Just what are you doing? This doesn’t look like spreading chaos.

I can’t really ignore Discord, but if he wants to stick around and watch this prank, I’d appreciate having no commentary when I’m trying to focus.

Prank? What prank?

“Wow, this candy’s so good!” Pipsqueak exclaimed. “I didn’t know chocolate cotton candy could taste yummy!”

“And all this candy is just sitting here without anypony to hand them out to,” Pinkie said. She paused, possibly shifting her eyes back and forth, trying to be sneaky. “It did say to take one…but it didn’t say take one of what.” And she took the bait. She snatched the bowl of candy, clucking away like she got away with it, but I rigged the candy bowl to slip out of her hooves and send it rolling toward me. I heard her yelp when the bowl fell, and it rolled off, keeping the rest of the candy safely inside. “Hey! Come back here, candy bowl! I want to eat your delicious sweeties!”

Along with Pinkie, I heard the foals after her while she chased down the candy. I wish I could see her running after it, trying to peck at it with her fake beak poking from her snout, and failing. The bowl fell into my pit, which I caught, and prepared the start of the show. Looking up, I saw Pinkie looking down at the pit curiously. She couldn’t see me, but I could see her. I made my eyes glow yellow, then leaned up closer, keeping my head from being seen by the others while she saw a creepy pony clown face staring back at her with a wide grin. With my face painted white with a big red clown nose, mostly bald but with red hair sticking out from the sides, and bright red paint around my muzzle, she can barely make out the silly, colorful clown outfit I was wearing in the pit. Basically, I was a ponified version of Pennywise the clown from the strange, but incredibly terrifying movie “It”.

“Hello, Pinkie Pie,” I greeted creepily, keeping my wide grin and an overly friendly, stranger-danger tone.

“Hi, creepy clown who lives in the sewers of Ponyville!” Pinkie greeted, though she lost her own normal smile as she looked around curiously. “That we seemed to have installed just today? Huh. Weird.” I could see the foals cautiously peeking around Pinkie to try to see me, too scared to know who or what lived down here. Good for them. “Say, have you seen a bowl of candy that rolled into your home?”

“You mean…this candy?” I asked as I held up the aforementioned bowl of sweets. “They look quite delicious. Do you want them back?”

Part of Pinkie wanted to say yes, but she had no idea if the candy had all fallen out. “Uhh…well, they might be a bit gross. They fell on the ground…in an icky sewer.”

“Oh. That’s too bad.” I took one of the candies, popped one in my mouth, grossing the chicken-dressed pony. “Maybe…a balloon instead?” Floating up beside me was a normal red balloon. “I got a whole bunch more.”

“Ooh. Do they float?” Pinkie asked curiously, my grin curling wider as she just uttered the magic word.

“Oh. They float…They all float…” My teeth grew sharper as I opened my mouth, bearing my incredibly sharp fangs as I let out a menacing breath. Pinkie’s expression went from curious to scared in seconds, but she was too late to try to flee. “And you’ll float too. You’ll all float down here!”

Lunging my arms forward, I grasped Pinkie’s forelegs and hauled her into the pit with me. I let out a demonic roar as she screamed, playfully batting at her while trying to gnaw my fangs into her flesh. She managed to break free, launching the grate from the pit while screaming at the top of her lungs.

“THE CREEPY CLOWN TRIED TO EAT ME! RUN AWAY!!!!!” Pinkie screeched, her hooves flailing while hovering in midair before zipping away.

The foals all joined in, screaming and fleeing from the “scary clown” before it came after them, the red balloon slowly floating up and away into the sky. I poked my head up, watching them run, successfully pulling off my It prank.

…Oh my…I didn’t know you had it in you.

Above, I heard Rainbow Dash laughing her head off, rolling around on her lightning cloud after the impressive display. I climbed out of the pit, snapping away the setup, but I kept my candy. I definitely wasn’t going to let that go to waste. Rainbow hovered down to earth after she could finally breathe from laughing so hard.

“Sweet Celestia, that was actually priceless!” she said, which I believe was a compliment from Rainbow Dash. I’m a bit surprised. “Where did you come up with that!?”

“I’ve got my resources,” I claimed, popping in another chaos candy. “But that was just the tip of the iceberg.”

“The tip!?” Rainbow exclaimed in shock. “How many more pranks are on that list of yours?” I materialized my list, though she winced when I was about to unfurl the scroll. “Uhh, nevermind. But…if any of your other pranks can scare everypony out of their costumes like that…maybe I’ll…give you a chance.”

“Really?” I asked.

“Very slim chance,” she quickly rephrased. “Just…don’t actually harm anypony with the rest of your pranks…And I wanna get in on some of them.”

Well, it’s a start with Rainbow at least, but she definitely wants to know how much more creative I can get. And thankfully, none of them end up with anyone getting hurt. I’m not that sadistic.

I’m curious to see more of these pranks, too. I wish there was a bit more chaos in it, but terrifying ponies like that was hilarious!

Rainbow and I hurried to find our next scare victim. I left out scaring any of the elderly or foals who were a bit too innocent for spooky frights that would scar them for life to avoid being an actual monster. We went down my list of favorite horror movie monsters and killers, reenacting their best scenes from memory, and I had Rainbow be my “victim” before chasing any onlookers witnessing them. It was all in good fun, and despite hearing Discord laughing and giving his commentary about his idea spreading more chaos in these pranks, I was at least impressing him enough to get him to stop berating me to do what he would have done.

I took a little break from pranking after scaring a few more ponies. Just because I have such strange, yet powerful magic at my disposal, it was a little bit exhausting. Rainbow went on ahead to spook everyone with surprise lightning while I sat and drank some conjured chocolate milk. It was odd how my chaos can create food and give some form of sustenance after using it in excess for about an hour, but I’m gonna chalk that up as chaos magic just doing whatever and making no sense, which made perfect sense…Yeah, it’s going to take a LOOOOOOONG while to get used to it with each new discovery.

After downing my second glass of chocolate flavored dairy juice, my ears twitched when I heard screaming in town. Although, the fun screams of terror weren’t what I was hearing; they were actual screams of terror. I nearly forgot that this Nightmare Night was part of the episode where Luna made her real debut appearance, and she’s probably made everyone run away after her speech to change the holiday to something that wouldn’t tarnish her image as a villain. I think Twilight’s able to help Luna cope with what this holiday is meant to be about, so long as Pinkie Pie doesn’t make it worse, being the screeching banshee who finds it fun to flee and be scared of Luna trying to fit in…Oh, who am I kidding? Pinkie’s going to be the solution, despite being the problem.

With my little break over, I headed to the center of town to find Rainbow Dash. This area had all the different spooky games: spider tossing, bobbing for apples, pumpkin launching, etc. Since I wanted to save the rest of my pranks with Rainbow Dash, I looked around at the different games, spotting Applejack in a scarecrow costume by the huge tube of apples for apple bobbing. I found it funny how Applejack’s costumes in the show were based around a couple of characters from “The Wizard of Oz”; Scarecrow now, and The Cowardly Lion much later in the series. I would love to see her dressed as The Tin Man or Dorothy, and Winona could be Toto, but she would probably get too antsy to stay put with all the excitement.

“Charles!” Applejack greeted me as she waved me down.

“Hey, Scarecrow,” I greeted back.

“Heard there’ve been some scary pranks goin’ around, and they’re somethin’ that Rainbow Dash couldn’t have come up with,” Applejack said, eyeing me with a knowing smirk.

Feigning ignorance, I looked around, then placed a claw over my chest. “What? Me? I mean, I would never. I’m just enjoying Nightmare Night like everyone else.” My innocent facade didn’t faze the apple farmer, nor did the sly grin on my face. “...Ok, it was me.” I snapped my fingers and transformed into my pony Pennywise cosplay, fitted with sharp fangs to make the silly clown persona look more terrifying. Just the guise I wore made Applejack grimace at the sight. “Since Fluttershy’s locked herself at home for the night, she suggested that Rainbow Dash ‘chaperone’ me, and I’m getting on her good side by doing something she likes.”

“Which is prankin’ ponies and scarin’ the daylight’s outta them,” Applejack said. I nodded, my neck movements making creepy clown squeaking noises. “...Uhh, ya wanna change back, Charles? Ah’m sorry, but…you’re kinda creepin’ me out with that look.”

“That’s the point.” I gave her a creepy grin, waving my hands like I’m itching to grab her and make her “float” like the apples in the wooden tub. I turned back to normal with a silly grin. “I’m finding this more fun than I thought. And I’ve got a few more ideas left to do with Dash this evening. Have you seen her?”

“Saw her zappin’ lightnin’ and startlin’ some ponies a while ago by Town Hall,” Applejack pointed out. “Don’t know where she went after that, though.”

“Well, it can't be hard to find a rainbow tail fluttering around in the night sky,” I mumbled.

While scoping the skies for Rainbow, I heard Pipsqueak run over toward us. “Hi, Charles!” he said, then hopped up and tried to pull his small body up to the edge of the tub to try bobbing for an apple.

He was about to fall in, but Applejack quickly caught him before he flopped into the water. “Careful there, partner,” she warned.

As I turned around, I flinched when I stared at Princess Luna, who was looking down at me. “Hello, Heir of Discord,” she greeted, irking me a little at the unfortunate title she gave me.

“It’s…Charles, Princess Luna,” I corrected. Applejack turned around, yelping in surprise seeing Luna and quickly crouching down to cower in fear at her presence. Luna didn’t appreciate being such an ominous presence toward her subjects, which means the night is going exactly how the episode went: Twilight helping teach Luna to be nicer, only to have Pinkie misconstrue what was happening and scaring the foals accompanying her, upsetting Luna further. When she looked back at me, I noticed something pop up in my lower peripheral vision, something my chaos magic is doing on its own, no doubt. I glanced down at it, staring quizzically at what looked like…command prompts? There were four different lines sectioned off around an orange circle, one phrase on the left saying “No response.” and the other three on the right side. From top to bottom, these lines were, “Give a friendly, but awkward greeting.” “Make an awkward joke.”, and “Babble stupidly like a lovestruck idiot.” “W-Wait, what did that last one say?”

“We beg thine pardon?” Luna asked, confused.

I flinched, forgetting that Luna couldn’t see…whatever the heck this was while expressing the last line of “choices”. “Uhh…” I saw the last choice being highlighted, like I was going to pick it, but I waved my hand around, trying to wipe it away, and ended up picking the first response on top instead, grinning awkwardly at her after it finally went away. “...So, how’s your first Nightmare Night going?”

“About as well as you would expect,” Twilight answered, seeing how Luna’s giving me the stink eye when I only wanted to engage in a nice, friendly conversation, despite the negative outcome so far. She approached Applejack, passing me and Luna while I stood awkwardly while she gazed down at me like I was a bug she was going to squish under her hoof. “Applejack, the princess is looking for a little advice on how to fit in around here.”

Applejack peeked through her hooves, giving Twilight a deadpanned leer. “‘Fit in?’ Really?” Twilight glared at Applejack, showing her she’s dead serious about wanting to help Luna get accustomed to the modern day life of the world and be a part of Nightmare Night. I even leered at her, too, threatening to scare her with another creepy, haunting iconic monster for the rest of her life. She quickly got back up with a nervous smile, surely not wanting to see Pennywise peering at her from the foot of her bed like a creeper. “Er, Ah mean…that’s easy! All ya gotta do is have the right attitude. Loosen up a bit, be positive, play some games, have some fun.”

“Fun? What is this ‘fun’ thou speakest of?” Luna asked.

Ok, even though Luna has been trapped on the moon for a thousand years, I still find her lack of knowing what fun was to be a bit strange. “You never had fun before?” I asked. “Not even as a filly?” Luna stared at us, still perplexed by the term. “...Wow. Uhh, ok. Well, let’s show you what fun is.”

I guess Luna must have lived a much more sheltered life than myself or other fans of the show thought. Even with fan made animations or stories, we all made Luna’s much younger self happy, carefree, and outright adorable. I just need to be careful and not accidentally call her “Woona”. She’d probably hate getting that nickname more than Nightmare Moon.

Twilight, Applejack and I led Luna to some of the games. Ponies cowered as she approached the different stands, stopping in front of the spider toss game. We explained how the game worked, then Applejack showed Luna how it was done. She gave the toy spider an underhanded toss, getting it to land on the web, just missing the center of it by a couple inches to the left. Luna gave it a shot, but her toss was a bit too light, her spider hitting the ground before it got close to the web. She didn’t give up and tried again, her next throw landing a bullseye, getting dead center on the sticky web net.

Ponies began warming up to Luna as they watched her have fun. No longer wearing a serious gaze and a stoic frown, or blasting everyone’s eardrums by using the Royal Canterlot Voice to converse with everyone to be heard and given attention, she wasn’t seen as the former villain she became. I still wished everything that happened last time didn’t happen in some alternate universe, but at least Luna was getting the positive attention she sought in the past.

After a round of pumpkin launching, Luna hitting her targets with perfect precision and ease, we went to try bobbing for apples, right after she announced Ponyville to call her just by her name. No titles of royalty, just plain old Luna. When we got over to the tub, we saw Pipsqueak try to bob for an apple, his tiny body barely able to support himself on the very thin edge of the wooden tub. He fumbled, lost his balance, and slipped into the water. Luna ran over to help get him out, fearing he wasn’t able to swim to rescue the colt. I realized this moment in the episode was where Luna snapped after a certain pink menace causes even more terror seeing her doing the things told in the story about Nightmare Moon on Nightmare Night.

“Hey, anypony seen Pip?” I twisted my neck like an owl to look behind me, where Pinkie Pie and the chaperoned foals were stepping closer to seeing Luna grab Pipsqueak out of the tub with her muzzle. “We lost him the last time we had to run-”

“Wait, Pinkie!” I called out, my body quickly turning in the opposite direction my head had, but I was too late to stop her.

She gasped when Luna had Pipsqueak in her mouth, then screamed. “Nightmare Moon is gobbling Pipsqueak! Everypony run!”

The foals screamed and ran away with Pinkie, and I could hear Pipsqueak cry out for help. “Help! My backside has been gobbled!”

I turned my head again, a little bit too quickly, and it somehow popped off my neck. “Ahh!” I yelped, then grunted as my noggin hit the ground. Oddly, I can feel the rest of my body, even move my limbs as I felt the stump of my neck. “Ok, seriously? Why does the body popping off thing happen right now?”

Well, it’s not my fault your head’s got a few screws loose. Ha ha ha ha ha!

I scowled at Discord’s comment. “‘Tis a lie!” Luna exclaimed, snapping me back to reality. I saw Pipsqueak run past me and my body, quickly commanding my limbs to come over and grab me. “Thy backside is whole and ungobbled, thou ungrateful whelp!”

I flinched, both with my expression and my body, practically feeling Luna’s hoof stomp the ground and lightning strike behind her. “Uh oh.” I glanced at my body, which seemed paralyzed from Luna’s bout of anger, and I had no control over it. “Hey, pick me up, brainless!” That snapped it out of its stupor, reaching out to grab me, forcing me to shut an eye to avoid one of my claws poking it. “Ow! Watch it. I’m not a basketball.”

My body lifted my head up, then set it back on the stump of my neck, twisting it a couple circles clockwise until it was set back in place. Once I had full control of my body, I heard screams coming from the whole town. Everyone was in a panic, and they were fleeing from a large group of spiders, which happened to be the toy spiders enchanted by Luna’s magic, and they were skittering around terrorizing everyone. It was mass chaos, and again, I wasn’t the one responsible for causing it.

You know, Twilight and Luna are able to cause all this chaos with their own magic. You could learn a thing or two from them.

“Shut up, Discord,” I grumbled.

“BE STILL!!!!!!” I stumbled as Luna yelled to the heavens with her Royal Canterlot Voice.

The screaming and hysteria ceased as everyone froze, bowing and cowering in terror before Luna. Her eyes were glowing white, having lost her cool, panicking to try to rectify Pinkie’s accusation, and no longer in any festive mood. The only ones who weren’t terrified were myself and Twilight, and some of the animated spiders that were still scurrying about the town with their creepy red eyes.

“Princess, remember! Watch the screaming!” Twilight advised, but Luna wasn’t having it anymore.

“NO, TWILIGHT SPARKLE!” Luna exclaimed in the booming voice of the alicorn’s surprisingly powerful pipes. “WE MUST USE THE TRADITIONAL ROYAL CANTERLOT VOICE FOR WHAT WE ARE ABOUT TO SAY!” Luna turned to face her subjects, stomping past them, ignoring their trembling bodies as they dared not look at the menacing princess looming over them. “SINCE YOU CHOOSE TO FEAR YOUR PRINCESS RATHER THAN LOVE HER, AND DISHONOR HER WITH THIS INSULTING CELEBRATION, WE DECREE THAT NIGHTMARE NIGHT SHALL BE CANCELED! FOREVER!!!!!!!”

Dark clouds had loomed over the town from Luna’s radiating magic in her angered state. Everyone looked up at her in shock after proclaiming Nightmare Night to be canceled forever as the princess flew off. It took a moment for the town to process everything before it hit them, especially the foals. The best holiday for spooks, scares, and free candy was going to be taken away from them, all because of Pinkie Pie’s random screaming and running from Luna and calling her her evil persona and Luna still new to the fact that some ponies find it fun to be scared. Pinkie had no tact, even when she had the right solution for Twilight to help the confused, troubled princess.

“I can’t believe this. Everything was going so well,” Twilight uttered.

“Luna needs to know the real reason why Nightmare Night was created, and it all isn’t just about who she used to be as Nightmare Moon,” I said. “Twilight, find Pinkie, and if you can, put a muzzle on her muzzle if she can’t stop randomly screaming at every single creepy thing in town.”

“But what about Luna?” she asked.

“I’ll talk to her,” I said. Twilight grimaced, knowing full well how the princesses don’t seem to trust me, or rather, Discord. “I know what to do. Just tell Pinkie to stop screaming. If she won’t listen, tell her Pennywise is gonna find her again.”

“Pennywise?” Twilight asked, confused.

“Oh, she’ll know exactly who that is.” I chuckled creepily, moving one of my hands down over my face, revealing a terrifying clown face with sharp fangs. I made Twilight jump in fright, making the bells on her costume jingle. I quickly moved my hand back up, turning my face back to normal before racing off to catch up with Luna. I knew where she would be heading, spotting her not too far from the town center, back on the ground and about to cross the bridge over the small river. “Luna! Wait! Hold on a second!”

She paused, but when I thought she would turn to look at me, I yelped as a lightning bolt nearly struck me, caused by her glowing horn. “We do not want you near us, Heir of Discord,” she growled.

My shock quickly turned to anger. “It’s Charles! And stop calling me that!” I demanded.

Feeling my body being engulfed in Luna’s aura, I yelped as I was snatched away, floating toward Luna, and held directly in her face. “WE SHALL CALL YOU HOWEVER WE PLEASE!” she shouted with the Canterlot Royal Voice. “THOU ART DISCORD’S FOAL IN SOME WAY, YET PONYVILLE HAS NOT FLED IN TERROR OF YOUR PRESENCE LIKE ME! THOU HAST HEXED ME WITH THINE CHAOS!”

Ok, I was not going to go deaf at the age of fifteen from this annoying loud voice. Snapping my fingers, I created a zipper around Luna’s muzzle, then magically zipped it shut. She glared at me after the surprising spell, mumbling angrily at me while she tried to unzip her mouth back open with her magic.

“First: stop using your Royal Canterlot Voice to speak to me before you rupture the eardrums of every living creature within a mile of your location,” I said while pointing one finger to list my grievances toward her anger being directed at me now. Using that same finger, I flicked her horn, causing her to drop me and grunt in discomfort, making her more furious toward me. “Second: the only chaos I’ve done was joining in the festivities and giving everyone a good fright. If you pin the spiders YOU clearly enchanted to unintentionally scare everyone on me to your sister, I’m getting Twilight to help back me up for being falsely accused.

“And third: I wanted to try to help you learn how to have fun on what’s supposed to be one of the best holidays ever created, but I…kinda lost my head for a minute.” Curiously, I rubbed my neck, just being absolutely sure it wasn’t going to detach or slide off with any subtle movements. Satisfied my chaos wouldn’t do that again, I looked up at Luna, who was still glaring at me for silencing her. “If you swear not to raise your voice to me and throw a tantrum like a child, I’ll get rid of that zipper, and we can talk like normal creatures.” Luna mumbled something, probably about how she’s older than me and doesn’t take orders from a child. “I only want to help. I know you’re struggling to fit in with everything new in this era, and you clearly don’t want to go back to being alone and seen as a monster by your subjects again. But what you did back there…you weren’t making things better by getting angry over Pipsqueak thinking you were going to eat him.”

Luna’s eyes softened, filled with regret as she looked away from me. Seeing she was calm enough to have a normal conversation, I snapped my fingers and zapped away the zipper, freeing her lips. She let out a sigh and leaned over the railing of the bridge.

“This cursed holiday is not what we wanted to be a part of,” Luna morosely said. I stood next to her and hopped up on the railing to join her. “Sister thought it would be a wondrous idea to be with our subjects on this eve. But all we have witnessed is ponies fearing our presence, running and screaming in terror, and reminding me of the evil mare I had become. We expected a glorious feast to celebrate the night, but everypony is in odd clothing, pretending to be other creatures, and hunting for sweets as they raid the homes of their neighbors.”

“And you wanted to try to change it to be more like a festival for the new you,” I added.

“Sadly, nopony would listen to our decree to do so,” Luna mumbled. “Twilight Sparkle had enlisted her aid in helping us to speak nicer. And have fun.” She let out a huff and frowned. “That feat is impossible with the Element of Laughter running around with the foals and causing a fracas when we are around. She even believed we stole the Element of Kindness’ voice to prevent her from screaming while I ‘gobble her up’. ‘Twas another bold-faced lie.”

Oh, right. I forgot Fluttershy got bothered to come out to help Twilight, though she was more afraid of being anywhere outside during Nightmare Night than meeting Luna. Although, from their last meeting with her, her taller, darker blue figure did seem a bit intimidating in the moonlight. And she doesn’t know the scary story made up about Nightmare Moon that helped name Nightmare Night.

“Well, the reason why Pinkie kept saying that was because of the tall tale that’s considered tradition for the holiday,” I said, getting the disgruntled princess’s attention. “Uhh, let’s see if I remember how it went. On this night, every year, it’s said that Nightmare Moon’s spirit comes down from the moon to gobble up the unfortunate ponies in Equestria. To avoid her, they dress up in costumes, tricking her and leaving the kingdom save from her spirit’s hunger. And to avoid her hungry wrath, they offer up candy from their trick-or-treating to a statue of Nightmare Moon so they don’t get eaten.”

“But that is not what we have done as Nightmare Moon!” Luna exclaimed, thankfully not using her enchanted voice this time. “We have been trapped on the moon for a millennia! We do not even have the means to project our very soul to bring fear to ponies!”

“It’s just a made up story!” I reasoned. “All of us know it’s not real. It’s just a fairy tale meant to be scary for the fun of it.”

Luna glanced at me, completely baffled. “...What did thou say? How does something meant to instill fear be considered ‘fun’?”

“That’s the shtick of the holiday: being scared and having fun while dressing in costume and getting candy,” I explained. Snapping my fingers, I zapped my bowl of mixed chaos candy in my hands. “I know Pinkie made things pretty difficult for you tonight, but she freaks out over even the cheapest of scares because she finds it fun…Although, that pony finds everything fun. Even watching paint drying for hours.” I chuckled a little bit, although I'm also a bit scared that I'll eventually see the herd of Pinkie clones running amok in Ponyville. I popped one of the candies in my mouth, then grabbed another and flicked it with my thumb toward Luna, who caught it in her hoof. “The foals love this holiday, too. They dress up and get candy, and some of them like getting scared for fun, too.”

“...Why do we not believe thine claims?” Luna questioned, staring at the piece of candy quizzically.

I hummed curiously, rummaging around my bowl for another piece of candy. Then, an idea hit me. Luna got to scare the foals to see that her number one fan, Pipsqueak, enjoyed being scared. And I know how I can make it more scary to add to the fun. I looked at Luna, wearing the biggest, impish smirk on my muzzle, unnerving the alicorn.

“How would you like to see for yourself with a little…prank?” I asked, taking another candy and slurping it in my mouth, slowly chewing on it with menace in each bite.

After going through my idea with Luna, I headed back into Ponyville, changing my bowl of candy into a trick-or-treat bag. I needed to find Pipsqueak, and maybe a few brave foal volunteers to join me. Passing by the adults taking down the decorations, believing Nightmare Night will officially be over after centuries of its founding, I found Pipsqueak with the Crusaders, the girls helping the colt despite being disappointed as well. I almost forgot they were in the episode, and I couldn’t believe I missed them while they’ve been with Pinkie Pie the whole time. Apple Bloom was dressed as Frankenstein, Sweetie Belle was Dracula, and Scootaloo was a wolf, or rather, a werewolf.

“Hey, guys,” I greeted.

“Oh. Hi, Charles,” Apple Bloom greeted.

“We’re not really feeling up to enjoying the rest of the night if Nightmare Night’s canceled forever,” Scootaloo said.

“I never thought my very first Nightmare Night would be my last,” Pipsqueak sadly sighed.

“Well, the night’s not really over yet,” I said, then held up my bag and shook the contents inside. “We still have a lot of candy. We can stuff our bellies full until we get sick.”

“How did you get any candy?” Sweetie Belle asked. “You didn’t go trick-or-treating with us.”

“And where’s your costume?” Scootaloo added.

“Charles is dressed like somepony called Discord, the Lord of Chaos,” Pipsqueak said.

The Crusaders stared at Pipsqueak, then to me. I gave them a subtle wink, giggling impishly as I wiggled my fingers maliciously. They seemed to take the hint, letting Pipsqueak believe I was a colt dressed in a very believable costume.

“The colt speaks true, the night is far from due.” I squeaked and turned around to see Zecora behind me. I don’t think she’s met me since I arrived in Equestria, and I don’t know if she’s heard about me from the other girls and she thinks I’m the real Discord, too. It was rare to see the zebra shamaness to see her hair hanging down instead of her traditional mohawk, her mane accented with fake spider clip ons and a black cloak shrouding her body, though she still kept on all her gold rings on her hooves and neck, along with her gold earrings. “We still have candy left to give, so Nightmare Moon might let us live.”

I blew a raspberry, pretending the story was just phony bologna. “I’d rather eat my candy than have the adults take it later after running away screaming,” I cockily said, digging into my bag and eating some of my candy.

“But…what if you get gobbled up?” Pipsqueak asked nervously.

“Bah. I can’t get gobbled. I’m the Lord of Chaos,” I claimed.

We then headed off to bring our candy offerings to the Nightmare Moon statue in the safest part of the Everfree Forest. Of course, we had some of the adults accompanying us, including Zecora, Twilight, and Applejack. On the way over, I ate up the last of my candy, making Pipsqueak worry about me, but it was going all according to plan. My bag was empty the moment we arrived, and the foals piled up the last of their candy before the statue. Pipsqueak was the last, letting out a sigh as his favorite holiday was going to end with his first and only time.

“Goodbye, Nightmare Night. Forever,” he said.

As Pipsqueak turned to walk away from the statue, the wind began to mysteriously pick up. Everyone looked startled at the strange weather, looking around cautiously, though they didn’t notice the statue come to life. Luna, pretending to be Nightmare Moon with glowing white eyes and fake vampire teeth, loomed over Pipsqueak, her shadow blocking the moonlight over him making him flinch in fright.

“Citizens of Ponyville! You were wise to bring this candy to me,” “Nightmare Moon” said, her voice loud enough to be intimidating. The ponies stared in horror at the alicorn, and Pipsqueak slowly turned around to join in their terror. She looked down at the offering, but her grin quickly changed to a scowl as she seemed disappointed at the amount of sweets before her. “What is this!? There is not enough tribute to satiate my hunger! Who did not make an offering!?”

That was my cue to be this act’s unfortunate victim. Looking shocked, I glanced at my candy bag and quickly turned it upside down. Nothing came out but a puff of dust, along with a comical dry wheezing sound. Grinning sheepishly, I giggled as “Nightmare Moon” leered at me, immediately finding me out.

“Uhh…I-I can explain?” I uttered.

“This small offering will not suffice, but I will devour this colt instead!” The alicorn swiftly flew at me, baring her fangs while laughing maliciously.

I tried to scramble around and flee, but I was caught before I moved an inch. “AHH! NOOO! HELP! I DON’T WANT TO GET GOBBLED!!!!”

She flew me into the forest, hidden under the veil of the dark shrubbery as I continued to scream. We could hear the foals scream in terror and run away, and without Pinkie the big chicken adding to the trauma. Luna transformed back to normal as we peeked through the bushes, watching the ponies flee. Luna spat out the fake teeth, looking very confused and conflicted by our prank being fun. We stepped out once the area was cleared out, and as traumatizing as it might have been, I couldn’t help but laugh a little as I made it convincing for them.

“I am not certain what you meant for it to do,” Luna said to me. “I feel terrible for frightening them.”

“Are you sure about that?” I asked.

Coming up sheepishly behind Luna, Pipsqueak had come back, he and the other foals not having gone too far to hide after the scary scene. He gently tugged at her flowing, ethereal-like mane, startling her and forcing her to look down at the little colt pirate.

“Um…Princess Luna? I know there’s not gonna be anymore Nightmare Night, but do you suppose maybe you could come back next year and scare us again anyway?” Pipsqueak asked.

Far more perplexed, Luna noticed the other foals watching from a distance. “...Child, art thou saying that thou…likest me to scare you?” she asked.

“It’s really fun!” Pipsqueak said. “Scary, but fun!” Luna’s jaw dropped in disbelief. She glanced at me, where I gave her an “I told you so” grin, then looked back at the excited colt. “Nightmare Night is my favorite night of the year.”

Luna’s lips curled into a smile, somewhat flattered now that she knew all the fear from everyone in town was all a part of the holiday, and was meant to be fun and entertaining. “Well then. We shall have to bring Nightmare Night back!”

“Yay!” Pipsqueak cheered, and catching Luna off guard, he lunged at Luna and hugged one of her forelegs. “You’re my favorite princess ever!”

He then ran off to the other foals to tell them the good news, leaving the stunned alicorn princess as she processed what her first number one fan said to her. “Well, look at that,” I said, snapping her out of her stupor. “Seems like you just became Pipsqueak’s favorite idol. And judging by their reactions to bringing back Nightmare Night, you’ve got several more.”

“They…do like me?” Luna mumbled to herself. She definitely looked like she would finally get some appreciation that she has been wanting for the last millennia. “OH, MOST WONDERFUL OF-!” And there go my eardrums as she exclaimed in her Royal Canterlot Voice her joy. And my ears had fallen off in the process, too. “I mean…Oh, most wonderful of nights.”

I picked up my ears and stuck them back on my head, rubbing the sore appendages as they rang from Luna’s high volume. “Still gotta work on the voice. And not using it within deafening distance.”

Nightmare Night was back in full swing with Luna declaring its return. Now without any fear from everyone when she was in their presence, Luna took part in the festivities without question, or tried to change a holiday tradition to her liking. She even asked me to help scare other ponies and spook them to get more into the spirit of things. It might be because she has a soft spot for Pipsqueak, being her biggest fan and favorite subject, but if kids like being scared on a night like this, she wanted to do her best to give the best to entertain her younger subjects.

It began to get late, and the celebration was beginning to wind down as everyone began to get tired from all the spooks and games. Rainbow Dash eventually found me, though she seemed a bit miffed, and her tail seemed a bit singed. Luna must have zapped her with lightning to scare her like she did to everyone else, giving her a taste of her own karma.

“Uhh, you good, Rainbow?” I asked.

“Don’t ask,” she grumbled.

I shrugged, though I couldn’t hide my grin. Since Fluttershy was probably going to refuse to come out until morning, along with recovering from her run-in with Luna after Twilight drew her out to help with her speaking mannerisms, I wasn’t going to get to bed at her place. I guess Rainbow Dash trusts me enough to crash at her place for the night, especially after seeing some of the pranks I came up with. She flew us back to her cloud house, her storm cloud finally out of lightning bolts and bucked into nothingness, and we went inside.

“That was a fun night,” I said. She muttered something, still sore about getting pranked back. When I glanced at her, I winced and turned away when she stripped out of her costume. Right in front of me. I mean, ponies don’t normally wear clothes, but she had company and couldn’t bother to take off her Shadowbolts outfit in her bedroom? “For goodness sake, Rainbow, have some modesty.”

She ignored me, fully out of her costume, and tossed it aside in the corner to clean later. “Fluttershy’s probably not going to get you until the morning, so you can crash on the couch,” she said. “Just don’t do any funny stuff in your sleep.”

Oh, trust me, I wouldn’t be able to control it if I tried. She headed off to her room with a yawn, partly glad I wasn’t offered to sleep in her bed while she took her couch. I know Rainbow’s not much of a neat freak, but after getting an unfortunate look at a cyan rump shaking out of an outfit, I’d rather not be anywhere near her bed. I tried to get that scene out of my head, even popping my head off my shoulders and shaking it hard to erase that memory, my brain literally rattling about in my skull with jingling sounds.

After reattaching my head, I hopped onto the couch, snapping myself a pillow comforter and a blanket cushion. As I got myself comfortable, I hoped Luna would give Celestia a bit of a good word for me after helping her fit in and enjoy Nightmare Night. Part of me wished the last time I helped Luna gave me enough credibility to show I’m on Equestria’s side, but after knowing I’d wind up in some other dimension, world, planet, or what have you, I wasn’t going to get my hopes up too high.

A Dream of Chaos (Part 1)

I had no idea what time it was, but whenever I wake up, I’m used to an alarm ringing in my ear to tell me to get up and start the day. When I opened my eyes, however, they shot wide open. Instead of sleeping on Rainbow’s couch after the fun eve of Nightmare Night, I was sleeping on solid ground, but surrounded by a void of sorts. Thankfully, it wasn’t as dark as a black hole. It was more like a kaleidoscope of dark purple and blue, physically warping and shifting in the background like it was alive. I swear this looked familiar, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.

As I pressed my hands against the “ground”, I looked down, confused as my mismatched body parts were now normal human hands. I turned my hands around, staring at my palms, then got to my knees and looked down at myself. Sure enough, I was human again, wearing what I could recall back home before Discord whisked me away: a blue sweat jacket with a red shirt underneath, blue sweatpants, and as I stood up, white and black sneakers with normal white socks on my feet. Moving my hands to my face, it definitely was human as I know how my own face looked, and then felt my head, feeling my short brown afro.

“I love this realm.” To my left, I saw Discord, in person, walk up beside me, his arms behind his back as he glanced around what I realized was his chaos dimension.

“Discord?” I uttered. I looked around the empty void, even up and down, unsure which direction really was what in this wide, vast, open space. “Wait…Am I dreaming? Or…is this real?”

“It’s very real,” Discord assured. “My home dimension of imagination and chaos, where anything and everything can be crafted by just a thought. And, a physical way for me to have personal chats with my heir so you don’t feel like you’re going crazy talking to yourself in a reflection.”

“Aren’t I already crazy enough?” I questioned in annoyance.

“No. Not even close, Charlie boy.” He looked down at me, seeming disappointed. “What you did during Nightmare Night was gold, but everything else…you have not even begun to realize just how much power you wield. And to call you my heir, you need to unleash more of that chaos to prove your worth to me.”

“What? But…you just picked me at random!” I exclaimed, confused. “You made me your heir to take over for you, but that doesn’t mean I have to spread YOUR chaos all over Equestria to your liking! You might be able to spot and create your own loopholes in your deals, but so can I!”

“I give you all this potential, and you squander it by helping those ponies,” Discord said with an annoyed huff. What does he even want me to do? After forcing me to wake up in his place as a draconequus, I was about to become his replacement AS a statue in the castle gardens back in Canterlot. He gives me a new life that would have ended so soon if it weren’t for Fluttershy, and he thinks I should listen to him after the fact? “I am upset that you would try to play the hero instead of the chaotic overlord, but still, all these ideas in your head, and you don’t unleash it. Are you really that scared of causing damage?”

“I’m afraid of living an eternity as a flock of pigeons’ outhouse mere seconds after ending up in your shoes!” I pointed out. “I’d rather not ‘squander’ my potential by suffering a punishment I never deserved!” I don’t even know if Discord was hearing me out or not, but hopefully something got through to him. Instead, he turned to his left and began walking off. “H-Hey! Get back here!”

I chased after him until he came to a stop. He snapped his fingers, creating a lifelike, still image of Ponyville through the endless void. We were at a familiar restaurant I’ve seen a few times in the show, where the girls were all sitting, frozen in time as they all had a conversation with themselves while ponies in the background were just a blur. I guess he just wanted me to focus on the Mane Six for some weird lesson.

“Equestria isn’t as perfect of a world as you, or even they might think,” he said. “Neither are they as the bearers of the Elements.” The land zoomed in on the table as it began to spin, slowing to stop on the girls in the order they sat: Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy. “The reclusive bookworm, the stubborn, hardworking farmer, the egotistical daredevil, the prissy fashionista, the wild and wacky party planner, and the timid animal caretaker. The ponies of the land all strive to keep Equestria in perfect balance, but you can’t have perfection with a little bit of chaos thrown into the mix.”

“Well, my world’s not all that perfect either,” I mentioned. “Not everyone lives in the lap of luxury or lives forever. People get hurt or die, they do horrible things to get them thrown in prison or be given a death penalty, and even with those trying to do some good in the world, it’s undermined by those who don’t give a damn. Maybe that’s why some of us want to create a perfect world to prevent the bad from tainting our innocence.”

Discord chuckled at my thoughts on what my world was like compared to Equestria’s. “Which is why I thought a human would be the perfect heir to take my place as I retire,” he said. “You are right that innocence needs to be spared, but even with a foal being as innocent as they appear, you never know just what they’re really thinking in their minds when a dark thought pops up.” He then pointed to me, mostly emphasizing how I appeared to everyone as a young draconequus. “You can never always judge a book by its cover.”

“And I’m getting them to believe that I’m not as bad as you,” I retorted with a smirk.

“...Not everypony.” Ponyville disappeared, and behind me, I saw the interior of Canterlot Castle’s throne room being formed. Upon their thrones were both Celestia and Luna, though Discord wanted me to focus on Celestia more. I wilted at her presence, still slightly intimidated by her since she still doesn’t seem to trust me. “Yes. Dear old, cake-loving ‘Tia. A majestic and motherly ruler with words of wisdom and a voice as soothing as a soft song. She cares greatly about her little ponies…except her own little sister a thousand years ago, and not even an innocent mini me who was visibly frightened out of his wits upon his arrival.”

I know Celestia wasn’t that heartless. She made a mistake letting the fame of being Equestria’s princess of the sun deter her own sister’s misery and desire to be praised for her duties as well. I would say it was some sort of sibling argument, but it escalated with Luna turning into Nightmare Moon, and I know Celestia regretted not helping her sister in her time of need until it was too late. And after everything Discord had done, spreading chaos throughout the kingdom and causing so much misery to her subjects, she sought the Elements of Harmony to put an end to his reign and bring peace back to the land. Seeing me in Discord’s place after Discord was turned to stone again, or so they all thought, she believed I was him and thought it was all a scheme to lower everyone’s guards and begin spreading chaos once again.

“...I’ll earn her trust one day,” I said, but with uncertainty.

“Wishful thinking,” Discord stated, sensing my doubt. The throne room disappeared, leaving us now in the middle of a grassy field. I looked back at Discord, and I didn’t like the way he was grinning at me. “But small talk isn’t all that I wanted to do with you today. In order to know if you do really have what it takes to be my heir, we need to work on you using your chaotic powers more.”

“I’ve been practicing on my own just fine,” I said. “And I’ve been doing it away from Fluttershy’s cottage and her animal friends.”

“Yes, yes, I’ve watched all that,” Discord said in annoyance, rolling his eyes and waving his hand, dismissing my claim. “But you haven’t been fully UNLEASHING your chaos properly.”

“I’m not losing my mind and acting like every Looney Toon character at once again!” I exclaimed.

“I wasn’t suggesting you do that yet until I know you’re ready to handle the insanity,” Discord assured, though I wasn’t sure if I should feel relaxed with what he’s got planned for me. “For now, why don’t you begin training here. Right now.”

“Huh?” Discord teleported away from the field, sitting in an outdoor lounge chair with a bag of uncooked popcorn and a massive cup of soda with a long, overly winding curly straw. Before I could ask what he meant, popping several yards from me were what looked like stallions in armor, but their bodies were shrouded in a void-like aura similar to the chaos dimension. I could hear the metal they wore clanking, along with the spears in the same aura pointing at me. “Whoa, whoa! Wait! What are you doing!?”

“Training!” Discord answered. “There’s gonna be a time when you won’t be trusted, so it’s best to get to practicing defending yourself from the royal guard hunting you down!”

“Are you crazy!?” I asked. Discord just chuckled, taking a slurp from his nth extra large beverage, where I can hear the liquid zipping around the insane amount of loops before his slurping sounds were heard. “Oh, right. Stupid question. You’re always crazy!”

“Less talky, more chaos-y!” I wanted to show him a bit of chaos, but the chaos illusion stallions began to charge at me.

“Oh, crap baskets!” I made a run for it, but I don’t think my two legs were able to outrun anything on four, even if they’re magical constructs.

“Ugh! No! Don’t run away! Fight back!” I heard Discord shout, stuff his kernels in his mouth, and continued “encouraging” me. “Come on! You’re more powerful than those useless guards! All they do is stand around and patrol! Twilight has more battle experience than all of them combined! Even more than her own brother!”

I tried to ignore the annoying draconequus and just kept fleeing. If this were a real scenario, no way in Tartarus would I try to fight back! That’s going to give them more of a reason to use more lethal force! I could hear their hoofsteps quickly catching up with me, and I was running out of land to flee on. I suddenly yelled out in pain as I felt one of the spears lunge at me, hitting my arm. I stumbled and hit the ground as I grabbed my injured arm, but I didn’t feel a stab wound or any blood seeping out. Simulated or not, that still hurt like a-

I wheezed when a hoof suddenly slammed down on my back, pressing my chest hard into the ground. Thinking I was going to become a human shish kabob, I managed to snap my fingers, creating a steel dome around my body, trapping the guard’s hoof still connected to my back. I heard the sound of a metal spear tip clang and snap off the metal surface, saving me from getting impaled. Flipping over on my back, I shoved the dome, sending it and the trapped guard flying high into the abyss above us. Hearing the other guards moving closer to attack, I used my telekinesis to grab their armor, then fling them into each other, knocking them both out as they faded away.

Groaning, I sat up, rubbing my “injured” arm. “Son of a…That really hurt,” I grumbled. I looked at my arm, which was completely unharmed, though it really stung like I actually did get stabbed by a sharp spear tip. Getting back to my feet, I looked at Discord, only to see more chao illusions of pony guards appearing and surrounding me. “Great. More.”

“Of course there would be more! You can’t practice on just a few foes!” Discord called out. “No running this time!”

“Giving me no choice here,” I grumbled.

I wasn’t that physical, at least in combat, preferring to see the action on a monitor while playing a fighting game. I knew I had magic at my disposal, but getting attacked, running for my life, and trying to cast any spell I can think of to defend myself is a tough deal of multitasking when my brain’s running faster than my legs! The chaos guards were coming closer, inching forward with their weapons drawn. I’d rather deal with hypnotized ponies trying to pull my limbs apart from Twilight’s “Want it, Need it” spell again.

Thinking quickly, I snapped my fingers, sending a pillar of the earth rising beneath my feet, and when I was high enough, I stomped my foot down, cracking it into four symmetrical pieces that fell down on the guards. They couldn’t escape in time as they got squished, but I didn’t make them too heavy to kill them, just enough to keep them pinned. I floated back to the ground, quickly swimming the breaststroke to shift my direction away from the struggling construct dummies squirming their way out. As soon as I landed, I was blasted by a magic spell in the back. I staggered forward and looked behind me, gaping in shock when I saw a chaotic construct of Celestia swooping down, her horn glowing and ready to blast me again.

I ducked the next laser beam, hearing it explode as it hit the ground mere inches away from where I stood. I quickly rolled as she came charging toward me, narrowly avoiding getting run through by her horn. Scrambling back to my feet, I turned around just as the chaotic alicorn construct banked to the right, turning herself around for another attempt. Clenching my fist, I shot it up, launching several pillars of earth up in the alicorn’s path, making her swerve around the maze I was constantly creating to keep her as distant from me as possible. If Discord wanted me to harm Celestia, even if it was a fake, I’m not going to turn into a monster and kill anyone, especially if I became a wanted chaotic fugitive.

I also forgot she had magic. Getting fed up trying to fly around the pillars, the chaos construct launched a powerful beam, shattering every pillar in her way. I hit the deck before I got hit as well, glancing up to find her speeding off toward me once again. Keeping myself low to the ground, I snapped my fingers, feeling myself flipping over and hid beneath the surface of the ground. I could see everything above me as silhouettes, even the scrambling guards managing to pull themselves out of their own mess. Celestia slowed to a halt, looking around to search for me, leaving her wide open as she faced away from where I lay.

Taking inspiration from a move I’ve seen in Naruto, I shot my hands up, grabbed both of Chaos Celestia’s hind legs, then dragged her down into the earth with me. With her head the only part of her still sticking out, I shot myself out of the ground, watching her neck struggle as ninety percent of her body was buried.

Feeling cocky, I made a ninja hand sign. “Earth style: Headhunter Jutsu,” I recited. Sadly, my confidence became my hubris when the construct’s horn began glowing. She teleported herself back to the surface, shaking off the dirt on her ethereal body. “...Oh, right. Teleportation…Should have buried her ass up instead.”

Stunned at my lack of forethought, I was too slow to react as the alicorn ran at me, running her horn straight through my abdomen. I gagged as I was lifted up, knowing how Krillin felt in Dragonball Z when Frieza in his second form impaled him on his horn, and she added insult to injury by swinging her head and causing even more pain! She tossed me off, sending me flying toward Discord as I crumpled to the ground. I clutched my abdomen, but like the spear wound, I felt no deep puncture wound and no blood, just an intense wave of pain. I shut my eyes as the alicorn was about to finish the job, but I heard a finger-snapping sound echo throughout the chaos dimension. When I opened my eyes, the enemy pony constructs disappeared, and the ground beneath me faded away.

“As hilarious as that all looked, that was still embarrassing to witness you standing there as Celestia impaled you,” Discord said. Suddenly, my body lurched upright, and I was back on my feet, though my abdomen still hurt as I held where I got “impaled”. “I would have split in half, create a duplicate, and run off together while giggling before merging back together, or maybe ‘lift’ my legs, stretch them out, and create an arch for her to run through. Although, I wouldn’t recommend that with a long horn like that. Rise a bit too low, you’re gonna be feeling that for a week.”

“Oh, excuse me for not getting into a confrontation and trying to be creative while fighting for my life,” I grumbled. “I’m not a fighter, you know.”

“You didn’t have much trouble trying with Nightmare Rarity before,” Discord mentioned.

“I didn’t know what I was doing, and learning how to use your magic is like trying to play baseball in a lava pool!” I exclaimed. “And she was clearly stronger than me! Maybe if you taught me this before I woke up in Equestria, I wouldn’t have any issue with someone flinging me around like a ragdoll.”

“And ruin the fun of learning on your own?” Discord asked. As much as I wanted to complain about his philosophy, he did seem to have a point. While practicing for those pranks, I was having fun transforming and coming up with spooky ideas. Despite having to learn on my own for some of these unnatural powers, I was still miffed that I was basically thrown to the wolves the moment I woke up in Equestria. “Oh, don’t give me that sour face. I know you’ve been enjoying yourself.”

“Yeah, yeah, and don’t let the power get to your head. Blah, blah, blah,” I grumbled.

The ground beneath us disappeared, leaving us floating in the empty chaos void once more. “Answer me this, Charles: what makes a perfect world?”

That question seemed a bit random. Then again, chaos is random, so I shouldn’t have been surprised. I don’t know if Discord was asking me some sort of trick question, but I thought I would at least give my opinion on what a perfect world would be.

“Uhh…There’s quite a lot to mention,” I said. “No world hunger, for one. No war, deadly weapons, or even murder. No diseases or viruses. Maybe no currency to avoid poverty and-”

Discord quickly placed a clawed digit against my lips. “Wrong,” he said.

Confused, he took his finger away as I stared at the calm, sly grin on his face. “What? How was that supposed to be wrong? You asked me what I thought would make a perfect world, and I’m giving my opinions.”

“Whatever nonsense you spouted was more of a utopia, and we all know how well those kinds of civilizations last.” Ok, he’s definitely not helping by not making any sense. “Perfect civilizations that build themselves into a utopia prosper for a little while, but that perfection is always ruined in an instant the moment one key element rears its head. Can you guess what that is, Charlie boy?”

I was afraid to answer, because I know exactly what he wants me to say. “...Rebellion?” I answered. Discord frowned at me, wondering if I was taking his lecture seriously. Then again, Discord and seriousness do not go hand and foot. “Anarchy? A nuclear fallout?”

“Are you pulling my leg?” Discord questioned.

“Well, how will I know if I tell you the right answer when anything I say regardless would always be wrong?” I asked back.

Sighing, Discord rolled his eyes. “It’s chaos, Charles. What makes a perfect world is chaos.”

“There. Was it so hard to just give me a straight answer?” I asked.

“Don’t push it, kid,” Discord warned. I just shrugged in response. He wants to give me a hard time with his cryptic riddles and puzzles, I’ll do it right back with my dumb and clueless answers. He sneered at me for a moment before clearing his throat. “Anyways, regarding the truth of the matter, one world cannot have perfection without a bit of chaos thrown in the mix. If a world is too perfect, chaos comes to correct it when anyone wants it to or not.”

“My world isn’t perfect,” I stated.

“I know. That’s the beauty of it,” Discord said with glee. “You humans can come up with the craziest things, from all the insane religions about some fake god or gods over pointless beliefs to the things your minds can come up with, whether it’s fictional or made into a reality. If anyone could fill my shoes and be my heir, it would be one of you.”

“And…you picked me?” I questioned, still wondering why I was specifically chosen by the chaotic deity from a cartoon show. “You could have picked my sister, my parents, or any of my neighbors. Was I really just a random draw out of a hat?”

“Well, I didn’t want to pick someone who was too destructive with a power no mortal can possess without letting it control them,” Discord said. “I’m sure you’ve heard this phrase before, but it applies to a lot of abilities granted upon someone: With great power comes great responsibility.”

I gave Discord a blank stare. “...Responsibility? Chaos?”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. It makes no sense, but as the Lord of Chaos, there is actually quite a lot of responsibility when it comes to unleashing this power,” he explained. “One prime example was when I told you to unleash your chaos to thwart Nightmare Rarity, and you saw just what insane antics you could pull off.” Yeah, thank you for reminding me I warped into a literal cartoon character with untimely references, and the fact I gave Luna a huge, wet, cartoonish kiss that would have shamed other Looney Toon characters’ who did that to their silly bullying victims. “There was a reason why you turned into a young draconequus. Too much chaos of that magnitude will exhaust you, thus limiting how long you can unleash your power. That’s part of the reason why I want you to spread chaos.”

“So…I can have more control over it?” I asked. I guess that explained why I passed out and couldn’t remember what happened. Maybe Discord was smarter than he seemed, and this one was a lot more cunning than the one I thought I knew in the show. I’d like him to be less condescending and force me to learn stuff the hard way or when it’s convenient for me at the moment, but it’d be like asking an elephant you invite to your home to shrink down to the size of a mouse so it doesn’t destroy the house. Despite the helpful bit of advice, I didn’t want to be an inconvenience or a nuisance to anyone else if they saw me practicing with chaos magic. “...What would happen if I didn’t practice? Would I lose control and it goes wild on its own? But worse?”

“Chaos will do what it wants, so you may lose control of it a little bit,” Discord reassured me, though I highly doubt that nonchalant response was anything but. “You just need to keep firm and show chaos that YOU are the boss, and YOU call the shots.” His grin quickly turned into a frown, and he sighed heavily, his change in demeanor surprisingly concerning me. “...But, sometimes, you can get too much of a taste for it. Though your mind may remain sane, knowing just how much power you can unleash on your surroundings can cause devastation. That’s where Harmony tries to balance out the overwhelming growth of chaos to keep the world ‘perfect’.”

Was he talking about that other draconequus from those dreams? Whoever she was, her magic would have harmed a lot more ponies if she wasn’t stopped. I kind of wanted to press Discord on who this…creature was and if he really knew her, but I could see from the look on his face that he despised seeing chaos used in a way to cause bodily harm of that nature. Maybe this Discord is more of a neutral chaotic villain if he has some restraints.

Keeping the warning in mind, I looked around the empty void. “So, you mentioned you liked this place,” I said, hoping to divert the topic to avoid seeing an angry, disappointed draconequus seething with contempt. “You really make a home in such an empty…dimension.”

Suddenly floating in front of my face was a distorted, wavy key on a half-finished keychain. “Actually, this is YOUR chaos dimension,” Discord said. I looked back at him, seeing he was no longer moody, draping an arm over my shoulder. “You would not want to see my realm. It’s got quite a lot more to it than you might think. Whatever you think up, it becomes a reality in this place.”

“Really? This place is…mine?” I asked. “But…what about all the-?”

“Other living beings can create whatever they wish as well,” he interrupted. “Just as long as they aren’t left alone when you are gone. If their imagination is equal to or greater than your own, there may be catastrophic results and a new Lord of Chaos could be born.”

“Ah. So, don’t leave someone like Pinkie alone in this place. Gotcha.” I looked back at the odd key, which must be the “key” to this chaos dimension that Discord’s giving to me like he was my dad giving me the keys to my very own car. Although, a car might not pale in comparison to all this chaos magic making anything I think of a reality. I reached out and grabbed the key, which immediately evaporated in my grasp. It didn’t feel like a gag as I felt some kind of connection with it. “Huh. So, I’m able to freely come here whenever I want now?”

“Yup! It’s all yours, ‘son’!” It felt really awkward hearing Discord calling me his son. I may be his heir, but there’s no way I’d want to be related to him even if I didn’t have my real dad around. “Now you have a place for practicing now, so you don’t have to be afraid of getting in trouble with Princess Solar Gluteus Maximus, and you can renovate this realm as you see fit. Have fun!”

Discord teleported away, back to where he’s supposedly retiring, leaving me all alone in this realm. My realm. A world where I can let my imagination run wild and do and create anything I want without any repercussions. Now, I just have one thought in my mind.

“Where do I start?”

A Dream of Chaos (Part 2)

So many things popped into my head as my thoughts raced on what to start making first in my very own chaos dimension. I was so eager to get started, but I had no idea what to make come to life first. Should I just pop things in out of the blue and let it roll from there? Or maybe I should start small and build up one world before moving on to the next.

Pacing around the empty space, I pondered what I should make first. “What to do? What. To. Do?” I mumbled. Coming to a stop, I closed my eyes and wracked my head with the many different places I could come up with. “...Maybe we’ll start with some…exploring? Like…my very own galaxy?”

Suddenly, I felt my feet lose feeling with the ground, like I was floating. Opening my eyes, my jaw dropped when the kaleidoscope of the chaos void had changed to a vast, endless realm of blackness and small white dots everywhere I looked. It was obvious I was floating in the middle of space, completely weightless, but luckily, there was air in the “vacuum” of space. Whatever I thought of aloud, the realm was able to create what I envisioned.

Humming curiously, I looked in one direction, any direction, and held my hand up. “Let’s fill this empty space with some…uninhabited planets?” With a wave of my hand, I watched as a random sphere warbled into view, creating a huge planet that seemed almost similar to images of the Earth back in my world. “Huh. And…maybe an asteroid field for some space hopscotch.”

Pointing to several different spots around the outer limits of the new planet’s atmosphere, I popped in large bits of space rock all around the planet. Setting them at different heights, I was able to create an obstacle course of an asteroid field, the weightless gravity the only means of reaching each chunk of debris from their several dozen yard distance, and kept stationary to avoid floating off into the void or in the new planet. Don’t want to accidentally put a crater in my newly created world’s planet.

Looking outward from the first world, I phased in some other planets out in the distance, making my own small galaxy, along with a sun to provide some lighting for any life I plan to give to this chaotic cosmos. Along with the stars, I added in a few more creative space phenomena to make it much more beautiful. One such anomaly was a glowing nebula filled with purple energy radiating into a sort of spiral roll, almost like a void of electrical energy about to transport anyone inside to a whole other universe. Another was a trail of a green, glowing aurora of lights sloping down and around until it reached a bright mass of stars that gave off the impression of a softer light compared to the sun in this chaotic crafted galaxy of the same green hue. The last thing he added was near the Earth duplicate, finding a little color necessary to help make it pop; a winding rainbow within the atmosphere that climbed and fell as it circled the planet. Unfortunately, it looked like it was more like it literally popped out of a coloring book, contrasting with the realistic space world.

“Eh, work in progress,” I shrugged. I swam around the vacuumless void, admiring the view. “This is so cool…I wonder if I can make more ‘worlds’ without erasing this one.” While I was lazily floating around in the cosmos, I was headed for the swirling nebula and slipped inside, suddenly feeling gravity catch up with me. Yelping, I fell and landed on my back on solid ground, spying a small portal I somehow went through that appeared out of nowhere. “...Right. Chaos does whatever it wants.” Standing back up, I looked around at the new blank slate of a chaos void. “And it answered my question.”

Snapping a sign next to the portal to mark what world lies beyond, I looked out to my next canvas. Space may be a sight to behold, but otherworldly locales that feel out of this world sounded much more impressive. Creating a vast expanse of sky, clouds formed and began to swirl around a central point in the area. Magnetized by thin bolts of lightning striking down on the same spot, the clouds were safe to stand on as they glowed an orange light while leaving the sky above a calm, starry night. Around those clouds, I added in a vast stream of water that circled them, creating waves like an ocean as they crashed harmlessly at the border of the clouds. I left a few spots of the crashing waves to turn them into swirling tubes, leaving a spectacular view from within that showed a crescent moon. Stepping on the water, there was no depth as I walked on the surface, running my hand against the curling water tunnel, which was oddly warm to the touch.

Luckily, I saw the next portal in front of me as I believed I was done with this world, passing through and marking it as a meditative sort of realm. The next one I made was more inspired by the upcoming winter season. A field of snow floated into existence at my feet, clouds puffing in from above to sprinkle snowflakes to the ground. Glittering crystals of varying shapes twinkled in an out of existence in the background to add more wondrous beauty to the gentle snowfall. I bet the Cutie Mark Crusaders would love to have a snowball fight here, and it wasn’t too cold to make it unbearable to stay in for endless hours of fun.

For my next world, I craved some more earthly exploration and mystery. Though not as massive as my galaxy, it was still pretty expansive and split between two different regions. One side had a mysterious land of alien formations in the distance, separated by a vast, crystalized ocean. The constructs were polygonal and unnatural, and the ocean looked like it had cracks and would threaten to give out with enough weight to drop anything beneath the water. I gave it a few test hops just to be a bit reckless, but there was no give. The other end was a more natural, mountainous region with a lake in the center of the land. Two of the peaks had sharp edges that jutted out, leaving the gap between them almost ominous as the sun for this world was blocked by a mysterious eclipse, bathing the area in a creepy, red glow. I don’t think I intended for that to happen, but the mysterious sphere that blocked the sun moved away and returned everything to normal.

“Huh. Creepy,” I uttered. “Maybe later, when I do some more world building, I’ll make a friendly little group of goblin cultists who just want to summon their mighty overlord.” Putting that thought aside, I took a little stroll along the mountain range. There was already a path carved out from the earth, just a little hiking trail to admire the strangely beautiful side of what was supposed to be a creepy mountain. A glowing swirl of colorful gasses in an aurora up a set of stairs between a canyon gave the air and the rocky floor and walls a bright purple and blue color. “Wow. Maybe I should move this section with my otherworldly earth phenomena realm…Or the goblins like the bright colors and make this area their main home.”

So many ideas, but if I ever got into a conflict with these made up goblins or whatever I think up to live in any of these places, I don’t want to destroy them. As much as an open field to practice my chaos magic would be safe, if Discord wanted me to practice defending myself with this power, I needed myself a training field for hopefully not moral combat. Jumping into the next empty space of seemingly endless realms, I focused on building this one as my personal training ground.

There was darkness as the chaotic void vanished. In the center of the field appeared a glowing symbol that brightened the area, where I found myself in the middle of a circular dais that stretched out several yards until I could barely see the edge within the dim lighting. There were two pillars that sat a short distance away between me and the edge of the marble stage, small sparkles flickering all around me within the glow of the octagonal symbol before me. I probably should expand the light farther and see where the actual sides of this stage were, just in case I walk too far and wind up falling into the aether.

I figured that was a good point to stop at. For the adventurous realms, at least. As fun as it would be to explore fantasy realms I can make with my own imagination, I was going to need someplace relaxing. Someplace for me to take a breather, a pleasant nap, or a refreshing eight hours of sleep. Maybe even ten hours if needed. But the world’s most comfortable bed just won’t cut it; I need something…different. Weird. Dare I say, chaotically comfortable?

I decided to let the wheel of fate create this realm. Snapping my fingers, a portal appeared and flickered wildly in a multitude of colors, hearing rapid beeps changing in pitch with each color it passed. Might want to avoid using this out in public in case ponies suffer from epilepsy. The speed of the shifting colors and the beeping began to slow down until it stopped at the usual white color like the other portals. With a running start, I took off and dove into the portal with my eyes closed, wanting to surprise myself.

A few seconds later, I landed on something that was definitely softer than any material I’ve ever felt, wobbling on the surface like a water bed. It molded to my body, leaving me incredibly comfortable no matter how I laid. I could even lean over the edge of it in the most painfully cramped position possible, and I would have slept better on this than on my old bed normally.

I sat up and opened my eyes, my grin drooping to a confused, baffled frown. The realm was bathed in a dim, yet calming red glow, and…looked like the insides of a slime monster? Everything looked like it was made out of an elastic red gel, almost alive as it dripped and floated at a snail’s pace, similar to a lava lamp. Beneath me, the “bed” I flopped onto seemed to be more like a massive hammock of the same material.

“...Well, I did let my magic pick this place at random,” I said aloud. Poking at the bedding, I laid on my back and stared at the goopy slime ceiling. Humming, I felt no discomfort, no odd bumps or awkward bends that felt like giving me scoliosis. It was smooth, not slimy or mucousy, and did have a nice, comforting warmth that gave off the perfect temperature to sleep with or without a blanket or pillows. Sighing, I brought my hands behind my head and closed my eyes. “But I love it. Perfect place for a little siesta.”

After a few minutes, I had to force myself to get up from my new napping spot. I was really about to doze off, resisting that temptation to take a nap here and there while there was still much more to do in my own realm. Hopping off my new non-slime hammock, I made a portal back into the chaotic aether of the realm. Marking that realm specifically for a much needed unwinding in the future, I pondered what to do next.

I’ve got some explorative worlds, an epic training ground, and a random place to crash if I ever get mentally overwhelmed or incredibly tired. Maybe scratch off the mental part, since chaos seems to be insanely mentally overwhelming. I figured I made enough worlds for the time being, but I was going to need a house of my own. Discord made a home within his realm, so why not do the same?

I was getting a bit sick of seeing the warping purplish background, so a bit of nature was in order. From my thoughts creating my central home, a wide field of grass popped up from my feet and spanned several yards out, trees and bushes growing and blocking out the chaos void near the edges of the hundred or so yards of green. Within the empty field, I split the grass into a tiled walkway from the center and down a straight path leading to a portal that led to any of my other realms. Snapping my fingers, a simple house similar to my own popped in, the front door set up perfectly with my walkway. The walls were a deep blue with a black shingled roof, a pair of windows from the front, even though there wouldn’t be much of a view besides materialized foliage, even a few garden plots with some flowers along the front wall just to add a little more color.

Walking inside with a snap, I filled my new house with similar features that made it almost feel like my old home. The living room had the same couches, side tables, light fixtures, and the TV, though I made it a little more fancy and made it a thirty inch flat screen. Adjacent to the living room was the kitchen, the usual appliances and cupboards all set like I remember. Inside the refrigerator and cabinets, I made it so they would restock themselves, and none of the food inside would expire if I’m away for too long. Making sure to double check, I was glad that there were normal groceries and not sugary sweets fully stocked, although taste testing them to make sure they weren’t with different flavors would be on the top of my list if I’m feeling hungry. I’ve been dying to taste some meat after these last few months, despite being ok with the healthier vegetarian diet from Fluttershy’s cooking.

Walking through the hall, there were four doors; one at the far end, one on the left for the bathroom, and two other doors on the right. The closest room on the right would be where my bedroom was, slipping inside, and it had everything I left behind. There was my bed in the corner, my own TV with some game consoles, a simple dresser, a closet opposite of my bed, and a bedside table with a small lamp I used for some late night reading. There were a couple posters of some of my favorite games on one of the walls, so my room wasn’t too bare of anything on the pale white walls.

I sat on my bed and looked around, feeling like I was really back home. The room next door would have been Alyssa’s room, and the room at the end of the hall would be my parents’ room. But, sadly, it wasn’t really home. And it started making me feel a little homesick. Maybe when I master these powers, I really can travel between Equestria and my world for a visit. And reassure my family that I wasn’t kidnapped or ran away from home. At least, I hope they haven’t found out I’ve been missing for the last few months.

Getting up, I left my room, leaving the other two rooms bare, I exited my home away from home. I needed to take a stroll and clear my head. I can’t help but worry about what my family’s doing if they notice I’m gone. I passed through the exit portal, but instead of popping up in a random world I created, I found myself in the middle of a black void, but the only light came from a circular platform glowing a soft light blue color.

“The heck?” I uttered in confusion. “I didn’t make this place…Is my chaos magic doing it on its own again? I said you could do one realm, no more.” I feel like I was arguing with myself. I wonder if Discord went insane being by himself with nothing but his own voice, and a clone or two for random conversation. My bitter mood faded when the circular floor beneath me rippled, lighting the blackness with a faint blue, and, out of nowhere, there were several large shards of crystal that appeared and disappeared around me. They were more than just random aesthetics in this place; they showed different moments happening outside, but they were all beyond Equestria’s world. There were cities, villages, forests, mountains, all filled with other people, all sorts of wildlife, even sentient lifeforms from actual aliens to anthropomorphic animals that were the normal denizens of their respective worlds. I could even hear noises of busy city life, nature, and other random sounds as I glanced at each “window”. Slowly turning, looking at each crystal revealing a window to each different universe I can hardly imagine, I was in awe from the room of infinite dimensions I stumbled upon. “Whoa…What is this?”

“Whoa! What is that!?” Wait. That voice. Was that Alyssa!? Quickly looking around to where I thought I heard my sister’s voice, I found the source of her noises and rustling bushes from the many crystal dimension windows. “Is that…a Night Fury? Or a Light Fury?”

“A what?” Looking at the crystal, I saw a forest in the background, the left side from what I could see had a small gray dragon with a white underbelly and dark gray squiggle markings along its gray scales, blue eyes, looking very similar to what a Light Fury from the last movie of “How to Train Your Dragon”. The other side of the window, I gawked at the small, adorable fox that seemed to be where my sister’s voice came from. It had bright white fur, tufts of fluff on its chest and its ears that also had red tips, red paws, two red wave-like marks on its cheeks, short red eyebrows over its big brown eyes, a circular red marking on top of its head, and red fur around the dock of its tail that made it look like fire. Its tail wagged in excitement as it and this oddly colored Light Fury just stared at each other, studying each other. But hearing its voice and knowing exactly what a Light Fury and Night Fury were, those excitable eyes of hers definitely looked so much like my sister’s. “Alyssa???”

I thought I was imagining things and rubbed my eyes, but when I looked at the crystal again, it was gone. Panicking, I tried to bring it back, but I had no idea how these things worked as they continued shifting through different realms and dimensions, appearing and reappearing with something new. My fear turned to anger, thinking Discord had whisked my little sister away to some random world while bringing me to Equestria as his heir, and turned her into a brightly colored fox cub!

Just as I turned to stomp off and search for Discord, whether it was a fruitless endeavor if he’s off doing who knows what, one of the crystal dimension windows popped up in front of me. What made me stop was this schoolgirl sitting in the corner of a classroom, but she wasn’t alone as I heard chatter in the background, minding her own business with schoolwork or writing something down in a notebook. What was odd was that she looked familiar, almost like the random doll Discord “spoke” to a few weeks ago. She had the same Japanese schoolgirl outfit, the same long coral brown hair in the exact same style the doll had.

“What the…? Who is-?” The girl’s emerald eyes glanced up from her writing. I thought she was looking at someone who was talking to her, but she was by herself, and no one called out her name, whatever it may be. Was it possible she heard me? When she locked eyes with me, lasting only for one second, the crystal suddenly shattered to pieces, startling me. I jumped back as I watched the small shards crumble and fall into the emptiness below. “...The heck just happened?”

Baffled by the sudden destruction of a dimensional window, unsure if I broke it just by staring at it for too long, I left this realm and wound up back in my new home. I made sure to put an important sign marking this place. I wanted to see what else was out there beyond here, but after getting someone in a world to notice me, I’d rather not break anymore of them if they were valuable or important to this chaos realm. I was still dumbfounded seeing my sister finding a dragon, and if she really turned into a fox, but if that really happened, then where did she end up? Or did I really see something so out of place and my sister’s actually safe and sound back home?

I had far too many things to worry about, and I can only hope that what I saw was just to get me riled up for no reason. Hopefully I wasn’t away from Rainbow’s place for too long. Envisioning the pegasus’s cloud home, a portal tore open in front of me, not appearing in a flash like the others leading to my crafted worlds. Stepping through, I was greeted by blinding lights, then suddenly feeling nothing but air as my foot reached for solid ground, letting out a startled squeak and fell a few inches onto a cloud sofa, tangled up in my pillowy blanket from last night.

Peeking my head out from the covers, I watched the tear in reality seal itself back up, but I was back to being the little draconequus colt I arrived as. Great. I’m normal in my own world, but I’m stuck as this while I’m in Equestria. I miss being my normal height already.

“No no no no no! Where did he go!?” Hearing Rainbow freaking out, I stood up and looked over the couch, only finding a speeding cyan blur whiz by. She flew into the kitchen and searched through all her cupboards. “His weird blanket and pillow are still here, but he’s not! Fluttershy is gonna kill me!”

“Uhh, hey, Rainbow Dash?” I called out. She shot her head up, only to smack it against the ceiling inside of a cupboard she was looking in. I winced at the loud thud, hearing her yell and groan in pain. Removing her head from inside, she looked at the living room and stared at me, looking slightly relieved, but either still in pain or she was upset from my disappearance. “...Hi?”

“‘Hi’!?” Ignoring the bump on her noggin, she zipped over to me, sending me flopping back on her couch as she loomed over me. “What the hay was that all about!? I come downstairs to make breakfast, and you’re just gone! You gave me a heart attack!”

“Aww, I didn’t know you cared,” I said, slightly touched, but I wanted to tease her a little.

“Well, I don’t!” she exclaimed, puffing her cheeks as she glanced away from me. “I was more worried how Fluttershy was going to react when I had to tell her you mysteriously vanished. Since my house is in the clouds and you can’t fly, you shouldn’t have gone too far, but there was no hide or hair of your weird body!”

“...Would you believe me if I said I suddenly woke up in my very own chaos dimension and experimented with what I could do within?” I asked. Rainbow just gave me a blank stare, still annoyed that I up and disappeared on her for a while. “Well, I did. I can’t control this chaos just yet, so don’t give me that look.”

She just sighed, hopping off the couch. “Whatever. Just…leave a note or something.”

“How can I do that if I hop into any plane of reality against my will and without my knowledge?” I questioned. “I’d like to see you make any sense with what I got. And that’s asking for way too much.”

“Just hop on. I’m dropping you off at Fluttershy’s,” Rainbow said. Dropping the fact that Rainbow Dash actually worried about my well being just to save face, I hopped onto her back as she made her way to the door. “You tell nopony what you saw earlier.”

“So you do care about me,” I teased. She looked at me with an annoyed scowl, but she wasn’t fooling me. “Fine, Ms. Tsundere. I won’t say a word.”

Ensuring I won’t blab about Rainbow’s concerns for my well being, I zipped my lips, with an actual zipper appearing and sealing my mouth shut with the silver metal teeth. She rolled her eyes and flew off toward Fluttershy’s cottage as I held on tight. She may have warmed up to me a little bit, but she isn’t going to openly admit it to everyone else just yet. Maybe she will once I get used to my chaos and invite her and the girls to see my chaotic realm.