Discord's Resignation

Chapters

Chapter One: “The Announcement”
Chapter Two: “The Power”
Chapter Three: "A Fraction of Infinity"
Chapter Four: "Seeing as He Saw"
Chapter Five: "Detached"
Chapter Six: "New Events"
Epilogue: "Infinite Realms"

Chapter One: “The Announcement”

A guard burst into Celestia's throne room and exclaimed, “Princess! It appears Discord has escaped again!”

Celestia immediately began writing Twilight to tell her to gather her friends, and that the Elements of Harmony would be needed once again.

Twilight received the letter, and in only a matter of hours had all of her friends on the train to Canterlot. When they arrived, Celestia greeted them hurriedly, “I'm glad you all made it so quickly,” she paused and levitated the box containing the Elements of Harmony in front of them. “To my surprise they were all still were I had left them. I don't know what game Discord is playing at, but we haven't heard word of any chaos anywhere.”

The six bearers of the Elements of Harmony quickly took up their respective Elements. Twilight looked at Celestia, eyes blazing with passion, “don't worry Princess, we have dealt with him before, and we will again.”

Celestia looked uncertain, but still proud. “I know you will my student.”

They all stood there for a moment. Suddenly the awkwardness of the situation struck. Up to this point they were all preparing to fight Discord, but where was he?

Twilight scratched at the ground for a moment before saying, “so... where is he?”

Celestia blushed slightly. “I am not sure, no one has seen him since his escape.”

Everyone fell silent again, not sure what to say. After a few moments Pinkie Pie had an idea, “maybe he hasn't got free, maybe somepony stole his statue.”

Everyone stared at Pinkie Pie, momentarily stunned at the brilliance of such an idea. Celestia thought about it and answered, “that may be the most likely answer, as I have never known Discord to not jump straight on making chaos.”

Suddenly the disembodied voice of Discord surrounded them, “you see, that's just what I mean, I've gotten so,” he paused for a moment, “predictable,” he said the final word almost in a shudder.

Celestia nearly jumped, everyone else did. Celestia spoke unsure, “what are you up to Discord?”

Discord finally appeared, hovering about a foot off the ground. He chuckled slightly then wagged his finger, “oh nothing special, just thought I'd see if I could get in some last confusion before I retired.”

All of the Element bearers and Celestia simultaneously in their confusion asked, “retire?”

Discord looked around seemingly in confusion, “well of course.” He looked around a bit more then realized the cause of their confusion. “Oh that's right, I haven't told anyone yet, silly me.” Discord then disappeared, and suddenly his voice could be heard by everyone across the world, seemingly in their mind. “Attention all sentient forms of life... is this thing on? Anyway, this is the Lord of Chaos speaking, Discord.” Suddenly clapping could be heard. “No, no, your too kind. Well down to business,” the clapping stopped. “You see folks, I have had a good long run. I have been spreading chaos since before Princess Celly here was born.” Celestia looked irritated at the name. “But sadly, I think I'm loosing my touch, getting old if you will. Why just today Celly made a statement about how I normally do things. Well long story short that means I'm not really doing my job. Because of that, I have decided,” suddenly a drum roll could be heard, “that I am stepping down as the Lord of Chaos,” suddenly a booing crowd could be heard, “fret not, for I will choose a new Lord of Chaos, someone who can prove to me that they are worthy of the title. So in three days, I shall host a contest, all beings wishing to participate may, and to the winner goes all the powers of the Lord of Chaos.” There was a long pause, “uh... that is all.”

After a minute Celestia, sure that Discord was done, spoke. “This is most troubling, I'm not sure what to make of this.”

Twilight looked optimistic, “but Princess, isn't this the perfect opportunity to finish Discord once and for all? If we win his powers we won't have to worry about them ever again.”

Celestia shook her head, “yes, 'if' is certainly the word. IF one of you, myself, or my sister wins this contest, then I will not worry. However, if anyone else wins, then who knows what will happen. This is still all assuming Discord is even telling the truth.”

Twilight understood her worry, but the mood wouldn't get Rainbow Dash down. She jumped forward, and with bravado said, “we'll win it for sure!”

The three days passed quickly. Discord's voice once again was suddenly heard across the world. “Hello again everyone. I have given you three days to decide. Everyone able and willing to participate, please think very hard about winning.”

Across the entire world there was silence. Nearly everyone everywhere was focusing on the idea of winning ultimate power.

“Good, let's begin.” At that, the incredible number of people wishing to participate found themselves in a large meadow. The crowd stretched for as far as the eye could see. Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and the Bearers of the Elements, all found themselves scattered amongst the crowd. There were at least a million people here. There would be no way for any of them to find each other in short order. After several moments the crowd began to mutter, then gradually got louder, until finally the sound became nothing short of a roar.

In the sky, Discord leaned down, a giant looming over the entire crowd. “Welcome one and all!” The crowd fell silent immediately at his now booming voice. “You have all come for one thing, my power. Is that right?” The crowd was silent. With an irritated look and tone Discord said, “I SAID, IS THAT RIGHT?” The crowd began to murmur a general consensus of yes. Still annoyed Discord continued. “Well then, you better be ready to fight for it. You got less than a one in a million shot, and everyone out there will be gunning to take you down. More importantly, remember this. THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE!”

The crowd was still uneasy, but several of them shouted in excitement at that statement. Discord smiled at their enthusiasm. “Now down to business.” All of the crowd was suddenly teleported in such a fashion that they were in a single file line that went on for miles on end. In front of everyone of them was a single table, on it was a cake. “This is your first contest, on the count of three, everyone begin. Ready, THREE!”

Across the vast line, everyone sprang forward and began hurriedly eating the cake in front of them. Apple Jack and Rainbow Dash did what nearly everyone else did, they jumped towards their cake and began shoveling it in their mouths and chewing as fast as possible. Rarity, Fluttershy, and Princess Celestia steadily ate the cake, as if it were any other meal. Twilight and Princess Luna both stared at their cake for quite some time, unsure of their tasks. Discord said to begin, but not what they were actually supposed to be doing. After about five seconds, they both decided it would be better to eat it than not, and began eating at a pace similar to that of Rarity. Pinkie Pie slowly walked over to her cake, and looked it up and down. After a few seconds of sizing it up, she jumped straight into the air, opened her mouth wide, and swallowed the cake whole, a trick she had developed working at a bakery for so long.

After several minutes, most people had finished eating, though, there were some who were still eating. Discord announced in a booming voice, “I've seen enough.” The tables and the cakes disappeared, leaving some to literally bite their tongues. “You are all so terrible at this. Almost all of you just ate the cake. What was the point in that, what did you accomplish?”

The entire crowd once again sat in silence. After a few moments of looking disappointed at the crowd Discord straightened up. “Well, there were a few of you out there who actually took this challenge seriously. As for the rest of you,” he paused and raised both hands in front of him, “BEGONE!” He clapped, and nearly all of the millions of people found themselves back were they had been taken from before the contest began.

Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and five of the Bearers of the Elements, found themselves back at Canterlot where they had all gathered before Discord took them away. Twilight was the first to speak, “I don't understand, what did he want us to do?”

Rainbow Dash looked upset. “Yeah! I ate that cake faster than anyone out there!”

Twilight looked at her, “but Dash, he never said what we were supposed to do, you just assumed it was a eating contest.”

Apple Jack stepped forward, “well it WAS cake, what the hay else were we s'posed to do with it?”

Twilight shook her head, “I'm not sure, but it seems that we failed to do whatever it was he wanted us to.”

Fluttershy took a timid step forward, “well, not all of us. Pinkie Pie isn't here.”

Everyone else looked around the room. She was correct, Pinkie Pie wasn't with them.

Twilight looked worried, “I hope she's alright, who knows what Discord is doing to the remaining competitors.”

Princess Celestia bowed her head, “let us all hope that for everyone's sake, it is something that she can handle and overcome. She would not have been my first choice for who I wanted to receive Discord's power. But now it seems as if she is our last hope of keeping it with someone that I trust. Hopefully, whatever she is going through is not too painful or difficult for her to handle.

Back in the large meadow like area, several of the now hundreds of contestants were running from the others. Pinkie Pie was merrily chasing one of the runners down. When she caught up with him she jumped on top of him. He was pinned to the ground. He began to beg, “no please, I'll do anything!”

Pinkie Pie gave a wide smile, and with no remorse said, “sorry, it's nothing personal, just the game.” She reached her hooves towards him and quickly began to tickle him. He began laughing hysterically. He manage to between gasps say, “no... please... stop!”

Pinkie Pie giggled slightly. “Just say mercy silly!”

“OK, OK, MERCY!” At that the colt was teleported away, back to wherever he had come from before the contest had started.

All around there where other contestants being chased pinned and tickled into submission. In particular, their was a fast Gryphon who had started chasing people down, and using her feathers to tickle them. After a few more minutes, there were only three contestants left. Pinkie Pie, the Gryphon, and a gray coated blonde Pegasus. Discord, now back to his normal size, came down and began clapping. “Well I must say you three are impressive. Now for the finale. The three of you will now think of the funniest word you know and try to make each other laugh.”

The three finalists sat in concentration for a moment. Pinkie Pie was the first to speak, “oh, I know!” She paused and looked around, smiling broadly, “PICKLE BARREL!” She burst out laughing and began rolling on the floor. The other two finalists didn't even crack a smile. Discord smiled slightly. The blonde Pegasus chimed up, “MUFFINS!” There was a slight pause, and then Pinkie Pie burst out laughing once more. They all stared at her for a moment. She got up and said, “sorry.” Finally the Gryphon looked confident. She inhaled deeply then yelled, “HIPPOPOTAMUS!” There was another brief moment of silence. Then both the Gryphon and Pinkie Pie began laughing at the word.

After chuckling some Discord looked around at his three finalists. “Well I must say I am a tad bit disappointed in you. The winner here is obvious. I mean really, you didn't even crack a smile!” He said as he looked at the blonde Pegasus, who then promptly vanished. “You on the other hand actually laughed some.” The Gryphon looked unsure of what was going on, thinking she had already lost for her outburst. “Unfortunately for you, it was quite apparent that our dear Pinkie Pie here has a considerable deal better sense of humor.”

The Gryphon was dumb struck. “What do ya mean? She laughed at every word, I only laughed at mine!”

Discord looked confused. “That's exactly my point my dear. She laughed at every word. She is obviously more suited to chaos then someone who doesn't laugh at,” Discord paused and snickered, “pickle barrel!” He and Pinkie Pie both started laughing while the Gryphon remained with her mouth wide open. “Well that's that I suppose.” The Gryphon was sent back to whence she came, and Pinkie Pie and Discord teleported into the middle of all of Pinkie Pie's closest friends.

Twilight looked concerned. “Pinkie Pie, are you OK?”

Pinkie Pie smiled broadly. “Well of course I am! It was a blast!” She turned to Discord. “Can we do it again?”

Discord chuckled. “Certainly, you can do it anytime you want from here on out.”

Celestia eyes grew wide with excitement. “Do you mean to say that she has won?”

Discord turned to Celestia. “Well of course, why else would I be here?”

Chapter Two: “The Power”

Everyone stared at Discord in anticipation. He merely floated there, seemingly unaware of the rising anticipation by everyone in the room, besides himself and Pinkie Pie. After what seemed like an entire minute, Celestia couldn't take it anymore. “Well? Are you going to giver her your powers or not, Discord?”

Discord blinked, then landed on the ground. “Oh right!” He laughed. “Would you believe I had completely forgot what I was doing here?”

Everyone sighed with relief, realizing that Discord wasn't up to no good. He slowly made his way over to Pinkie Pie. “Now my dear, are you sure you're ready for this.” Discord sounded almost as if he was concerned.

Pinkie Pie smiled broadly. “Ready for what?”

Everyone, Discord included, looked dumbfounded at this question. Discord asked, “you do remember why you just went through my contest, don't you?”

Pinkie Pie frowned a little, then cocked her head side ways. “I don't remember at all! I had a lot of fun though.”

Celestia looked as if she could faint. Everyone else just kept their mouths wide open. After a few seconds of staring at her Pinkie Pie got a defensive look on her face. “What? It was a lot of fun!”

Discord chuckled and leaned down to whisper in her ear. After a few seconds she laughed. “Oh yeah! I completely forgot.”

Discord straightened up, and loosing his normal tone of gloating and pride said, “are you ready?”

Pinkie Pie seemed to pick up his serious look. “I am.”

Discord slowly raised his right hand and looked around the room. After a moment he closed his eyes and snapped his fingers. For a few seconds everyone stood there in silence. Discord stood there with his hand raised, and Pinkie Pie seemed no different. Twilight was the first to speak. “Is that it? She has all your power now?”

Discord laughed extremely hard. After several moments of trying to catch his breath he looked at Twilight with a bemused expression. “Do you honestly think that I could give her ALL of my power at once? That was merely the connection, that was the beginning. I will now slowly lose my power, as she will slowly gain it.”

“Well how long will that take?” Twilight asked irritated.

Discord shrugged. “It took me four full months, but there's no way to tell how long she will take. But while I'm still me, I think I'll take a vacation. There's a nice universe not too far from here with more beach side than there is other land!”

Everyone looked at him confused. He starred back for a moment. “OK look, I have done my part, I reigned chaos for a few thousand years, then passed the torch, now I deserve some me time. I think I have earned the right to skip this universe for something a little better.”

Celestia looked at him coldly. “So that is it Discord? After terrorizing my world for longer than I can remember, you are just going to leave?”

Discord look was almost melancholy. “My dear Celly, I have known you since you were born. I have caused more chaos then even someone as old as you can possibly imagine. But yes, I'm afraid that I am calling it quits. This is the last you'll see of little old me.”

Celestia looked irritated. “That is not what I meant Discord! I could care less about never seeing you again, but,” she hesitated, “but could you stay and help her learn to control your power?”

Discord looked touched. “I didn't know you cared that much. Unfortunately even if I wanted to help her 'control' her power, it's beyond my reach. It's chaos power my dear, not magic. Not only is the word control not in its vocabulary, the power comes in different for everyone. I couldn't help her any more than any of you can.”

Celestia looked desperate. “Please Discord, there must be something you can do to help her on her way.”

“I'm sorry, the closest thing I can give to advice is try new things everyday, and eventually you'll figure it all out.” At that, Discord snapped his fingers and was gone.

Celestia stepped toward Pinkie Pie. “Pinkie Pie, please come with us, my sister and I need to speak with you in private.”

Pinkie Pie began following Princess Celestia and Luna, while her friends stared after them, curiosity burning. When they arrived at Celestia's throne, both Princesses looked at Pinkie Pie. Celestia was the first to speak. “Pinkie Pie, do you understand the power you now hold?”

Pinkie Pie shook her head. “I don't think anyone does. I don't understand how normal magic works.”

Celestia paused, unsure of what to make of that profound statement. Luna recovered more quickly. “What sister means is, do you understand the amount of power you will soon come to wield?”

Pinkie Pie nodded her head. “All of Discord's right?”

The longer this conversation went on, the more nervous Celestia got. She looked wearily at Pinkie Pie. “Yes, but do you understand the amount of harm that those powers may cause?”

“Harm?”

Princess Luna motioned for Celestia to come closer, and began whispering in her ear. “Sister, we think that the pink one may be too naive to understand the concepts that we are trying to address. Perhaps it would be better if we were to simply let her friends watch over her for any problems.”

Celestia looked livid. She couldn't possibly imagine letting anyone with Discord's power simply roam free. She looked down at the smiling Earth pony, and her heart sank a little. The smile on Pinkie Pie's face reminded her of how much the young pony had done to help all of Equestria. She couldn't bring herself to actually try to keep her bottled up. Celestia sighed. “Alright, Pinkie Pie, please be careful with your power. Please fetch Twilight, I wish to ask her a favor.”

“Oke doki!”

Pinkie Pie went and got Twilight. “Twilight, please from now on watch over Pinkie Pie, and ensure that her powers develop smoothly. Also, from now on, please begin sending me regular reports on her progress.”

“Yes princess,” Twilight said bowing her head.

Pinkie Pie and her friends began making their way back to the Ponyville train. On the way, her friends couldn't help but ask her questions.

“Do you feel any different,” Rainbow Dash asked, being forward as always.

“Nope,” Pinkie Pie replied.

“Have you tried doing anything with it yet,” Twilight asked.

“Yep.”

All five of her friends stared at her, waiting for more. After several seconds Apple Jack had grown impatient. “Well, what'd ya try to do?”

Pinkie Pie smiled. “Wellllll..... I tried to make a little chocolate rain.”

“Pinkie,” Twilight shouted, “you can't just mess around with that kind of power!”

“Not even a little,” Pinkie Pie asked innocently.

Twilight put her hoof to her forehead and sighed. “Pinkie you need to be careful. When you get all of Discord's power, you will be able to do anything.”

“I know.”

“That doesn't worry you?”

“Why should it?”

“Because you will have to be careful all the time. Because it's so easy to hurt someone when you can do so many things.”

“But won't I be able to also undo whatever I do?”

Twilight lowered her head. “You can't make them forget.”

Everyone stared at Twilight. Unsure of what she was referring to. Pinkie Pie walked over to her and gave her a hug. “I promise I'll be careful.”

Twilight smiled a little. “I'll be there to help if things go bad.”

After a few moments of silence Rarity couldn't help but speak her mind. Something had been bothering her since Pinkie Pie had told them that she had tried to make chocolate rain. “I'm sorry, but am I the only one who found it odd that Pinkie Pie couldn't make her chocolate rain?”

“What do you mean Rarity,” Fluttershy asked.

“Well, it's just that how do we know that Discord actually gave away his powers?”

Everyone stopped and pondered on this for a moment. After a few seconds of thought, Twilight decided to apply the scientific method to the question at hand. “Perhaps a test is in order. Pinkie try to make something else, like a cake, appear here.”

Pinkie Pie focused for a few seconds. Nothing seemed to happen. “Pinkie, are you trying to make cake appear?”

“Uh huh.”

“Let me try,” Rainbow Dash said, as she pushed past Twilight and began whispering in Pinkie Pie's ear.

After a moment Pinkie Pie began laughing hysterically, while everyone else stared. After a few seconds of laughter she slowly regained some measure of calm. Still fighting giggles she said “OK, OK, that sounds good.” She then looked straight at Twilight and began focusing hard.

Twilight looked got very nervous. “Pinkie, what are you doing?” Pinkie Pie didn't answer, she just kept focusing on Twilight. “Rainbow Dash, what did you tell her to do?” Rainbow Dash snickered a little as Pinkie Pie continued to focus.

After a few more tense seconds Pinkie Pie finally stopped staring intently at Twilight and merrily announced. “Done!”

Twilight was near a nervous breakdown. “What, what did you do,” she yelled as she looked at herself to the best of her ability.

Rainbow Dash looked Twilight up and down. “I don't see it Pinkie, are you sure you did it?”

“Well, if I did it right, then it should happen in three, two, one.”

Twilight braced herself to be turned into something, or be teleported away to somewhere. After a few seconds of her eyes being clenched shut, she slowly opened them. Everyone was staring at her. Actually, it seemed as if Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash was staring at her feet. She slowly looked down to see a snake at her feet. “AH,” she yelled and jumped back.

Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash began laughing hysterically as Twilight stood on top of the nearest train seat staring down at the snake. After a few more moments she realized it was rubber. “DASH,” Twilight yelled angrily at Rainbow Dash.

“What,” Rainbow said between laughs, “I didn't do it.”

Still looking angry she regained some of her calm. “How did you even know I was afraid of snakes?”

Rainbow Dash looked over at Fluttershy. Twilight gave her a glare, and Fluttershy sank behind Rarity.

Twilight looked back at Pinkie Pie. “Well that at least confirms it, you have some power.”

Rainbow Dash looked over at Pinkie Pie. “Oh this is going to be fun.”

“Dash,” Twilight said as she shot a waring look to Rainbow Dash.

“What, I just meant the parties she will throw,” Rainbow Dash said with as much innocence as the plans running through her mind would allow.

Pinkie Pie got a broad smile. “OOOOO I SHOULD throw a party!!!!!”

Everyone shot Rainbow Dash a look, and Rainbow Dash sheepishly smiled back.

“I'll call it the 'I'm the new lord of chaos' party!”

Twilight interjected. “Pinkie, maybe you should take it slow, you don't know how hard it will be to control your power. You might want to get used to it before you go try and throw a party.”

“But...” Pinkie Pie began but trailed off.

Rarity quickly stepped in. “What Twilight here means is, wouldn't you rather know more about your new powers so you can entertain your guests with it?”

Pinkie Pie perked back up. “Ya! They'll love so see some neat tricks!”

Twilight let out a small sigh. Keeping Pinkie Pie from going crazy with power was going to be more difficult than she realized.

Chapter Three: "A Fraction of Infinity"

Chapter Three: “A Fraction of Infinity”

The next day Twilight woke to Pinkie Pie making lots of loud noises down stairs. She knew she would regret bringing her into the library, but how else was she supposed to watch her? When she went down stairs she found Pinkie Pie surrounded by a kitchen. Twilight didn't have a kitchen. “Pinkie Pie! What is this?!”

“Oh, sorry Twilight, I thought since you were letting me stay with you and all, I would make you some breakfast.”

“Where did you get all of this?”

“Well, I wanted it here, and it just kinda appeared.”

“YOU MADE ALL THIS,” Twilight yelled in alarm. She was not expecting Pinkie Pie to develop so much power literally over night.

Pinkie Pie dropped her head a little. “Well not on purpose, at least not at first. I thought about making you some toast for breakfast, and then the bread appeared. Then I thought about a toaster, and that appeared. So I toasted the bread, but then I thought you would want some milk with it. When the milk appeared it was warm, so I thought about a refrigerator, and then that appeared. And well, after an hour this all came too.”

She was surrounded by more than just a toaster, a refrigerator, and breakfast. She also had shelves attached to the wall with plates and glasses, and an oven cooking some muffins. Twilight looked at what used to be her study. “You just thought about it, and it appeared?”

Pinkie Pie raised her head back up. “Well yeah, I couldn't help it, the things just kept coming.”

Twilight sighed, knowing it wasn't Pinkie Pie's fault. “Well can you get rid of it?”

“I'll try.” Pinkie Pie concentrated for a moment, but nothing seemed to happen.

After a moment Twilight asked, “well?”

Pinkie Pie looked at her in frustration. “I can't get rid of them. It's not as easy as making things.”

Twilight sighed again. “Well they can't just stay here, I don't have room for all this stuff.”

At that moment Spike came down the stairs sniffing the air. “Are those muffins?”

“Yep,” exclaimed Pinkie Pie, happy for the distraction from her inability to disperse the kitchen she had summoned.

“Those smell good can I have some?”

“Sure.” Pinkie Pie walked over to the oven and opened the door. She looked at it for a second as she felt the heat pour from it. Then suddenly a pair of oven mitts appeared beside her.

“Pinkie!” Twilight was beginning to get frustrated.

“Oops, sorry!”

Spike looked at Twilight. “Whats the big deal?”

“The big deal is, she can't get rid of any of this stuff.”

Spike walked over to the oven and picked up a muffin, being unaffected by the heat. He began eating it. “So, I still don't see the problem, these are delicious.”

“Spike, it isn't about the food, it's about the kitchen, IN MY STUDY!”

Spike looked around at the new kitchen, while Pinkie Pie kicked the ground looking embarrassed. After a few moments of thinking and eating another muffin, he had an idea. “I'm sure someone around town needs this stuff. I'm sure if we tell them they can have it, they'll move it out of here for us.”

“Spike you're a genius! I'll go ask around town to see if anyone needs this stuff. In the meantime, Pinkie please don't make any more stuff.”

“OK!”

As Twilight ran around town, Spike couldn't help but abuse his new infinite source of food. “So Pinkie Pie, you can make anything right?”

“I think so.”

“Maybe you could make me some gems to eat?”

“I'll try.” She sat their for a moment concentrating. Suddenly a large blue crystal appeared in front of Spike.

“Oh man that looks delicious!” He reached out grabbed it and shoved it in his mouth. After biting down he got a funny look on his face.

After a few seconds of slow chewing Pinkie Pie was getting curious. “What is it Spike? Does it taste bad?”

Spike shook his head then swallowed. “No it's not that...” he paused thinking. “I think that that was candy.”

“Candy? I tried to get you a gem like you asked.”

“No, no, it was good. I just didn't expect it to be that sweet.”

“So it was good?”

“Ya. Actually, can I have some more?”

By the time Twilight got back with several ponies eager to claim their new kitchen wear, she found Spike laying on his back covered in blue gems. “Spike what is this?”

He groaned a little. “Pinkie Pie made me some candy gems.”

Twilight looked over at Pinkie Pie who got a defensive look. “Hey you asked me to!”

Twilight groaned a little and turned to the six ponies that were behind her waiting for their free stuff. “Does anybody want some free candy while you're at it?”

It took about half an hour, but everything that Pinkie Pie made, including Spike's candy, was taken away by the ponies Twilight had brought in. Twilight closed the door as the last one took away the refrigerator. “That took way too long.”

Pinkie Pie smiled. “At least those nice ponies got some free stuff out of it.”

Twilight looked at her, mildly irritated with her optimism. “Yes, but I just spent all day running around trying to find those nice ponies. Now do you see what I mean Pinkie? You need to be careful with your powers.”

“I didn't do it on purpose!”

“I know you didn't,” Twilight said softening her tone, “I just meant that you need to try to make sure you don't do anything without thinking about it first.”

“I'll try.”

The next day Twilight awoke to the smell of muffins. Not again, she thought as she got out of bead. She went down stairs to find Spike eating several muffins, but no oven to be found. “Spike, where did you get those?”

“Pinkie Pie made them.”

Twilight looked at Pinkie Pie. “Did you make another oven then get rid of it?”

“Nope, I just made the muffins, that's it.”

Twilight looked down at the muffins Spike was eating. She turned back to Pinkie Pie. “Let me see you make one.”

Pinkie Pie closed her eyes and a muffin appeared directly in front of Twilight's face. Twilight was a little startled by its sudden appearance and staggered back, running into a nearby bookcase. All of the books fell down on top of her.

“Twilight are you OK,” Pinkie Pie asked as both her and Spike sprang forward to check on her.

She pushed several books off her. “Ya I'm fine, that just startled me.” She got up and looked at all the books now on the floor. “I just arranged those yesterday. It will take me all morning to clean those up.”

“Maybe I can do it!” Pinkie Pie walked over to the books and looked around at them. She closed her eyes and began focusing. After several seconds the books just vanished.

Twilight looked furious. “Pinkie Pie, what did you do with my books?!”

“Wait for it,” Pinkie Pie said as she stared up at the book shelves they had fallen from.

After ten seconds a single book appeared on the upper left shelf that the books had fallen from. After another second, another book appeared next to it. Then a half a second later two books next to it. After ten seconds the entirety of the five bookshelves was filled with books.

Twilight sat dumbfounded as she looked up at the perfectly organized books. “Pinkie, these are all in prefect order. It would have taken me all day with Spike's help to do that. How did you do it in under a minute?”

Pinkie Pie looked up at the books. “I have no idea, I just did it.”

Twilight stared at her, both angry and in awe at the explanation. “And you still can't get rid of things you make?”

Pinkie Pie shook her head. “How should I know, I haven't tried today.”

Twilight levitated the muffin that had caused the books to fall in front of Pinkie Pie. “Well then try.”

Pinkie Pie stared at the muffin. After a few seconds Spike jumped into the air and ate the muffin midair. Twilight looked at him angrily. “Spike!”

Spike looked up confused. “I couldn't help myself Twilight!”

“Your appetite is no excuse, if you wanted another you could have just asked.”

“No, I mean I COULDN'T help myself. I just did it, I wasn't even thinking about it.”

Twilight looked at Pinkie Pie. She looked away. “I may have thought the easiest way to get rid of it would be to have Spike eat it.”

Twilight's eyes got wide. “This isn't good.” She paced back and forth for a moment. “I think I should report this to Celestia.”

Spike pulled out some paper and a quill. “Ready!”

Pinkie Pie got between the two. “Wait! You are going to tell her it was an accident, right?”

Twilight nodded. “Of course, I'm not blaming you. I just think that Celestia would want to know about what you can do already.”

Pinkie Pie nodded her head solemnly. “OK.”

Twilight looked at her with concerned eyes. “Oh Pinkie, don't worry about it. Celestia is the kindest person I know. She just wants what's best for everypony. She wants to know how you are progressing so we can all help you control your power.”

Pinkie Pie perked up. “So you want me to use my power?”

Twilight hesitated. “Well, yes, but we want you to use it responsibly.”

“I'm responsible,” Pinkie Pie said in a semi-defensive tone.

“But your not used to this kind of power. I have had my whole life to grow accustomed to my magic, but you suddenly get all of Discord's powers thrust on you, and they seem to be coming in quickly.”

“Doesn't that just mean I need practice?”

Twilight knew that Pinkie Pie was right. There was no other way to get good at controlling magic, the closest thing to compare her new power to, but Twilight dreaded the thought of using that much power on purpose. “Yes Pinkie, but please be more careful.”

“OK!”

Pinkie Pie went to her room, hastily made in the back room of the library, while Twilight wrote her letter to Celestia. She sat down in the middle of the floor. She began to stare at an empty place on the floor in front of her. “Carefully,” she said. Suddenly there was a cake in front of her. She stare at it, unblinking. “Carefully.” The cake rose into the air. “Carefully.” The cake began to shrink, slowly at first, but after a few seconds it was to small to see. Pinkie Pie smiled at her accomplishment. She had made something disappear.

Most of the rest of the day went by uneventfully, as Pinkie Pie had stayed in her room all day practicing her new trick. When Twilight walked in she was startled to see Pinkie Pie summoning and then making disappear, a dozen or more cakes at once.

“Pinkie, that's incredible. Have you been in here all day practicing that?”

“Yep,” Pinkie Pie said with a smile.

“Aren't you tired?”

“No, my head hurts a little though.”

Twilight looked concerned. “Pinkie Pie, don't push yourself. You have all the time in the world to practice. Get some rest.”

Pinkie Pie nodded sleepily. “OK.” She pulled herself into her bed and went almost immediately to sleep. Twilight looked at her worriedly, then went to bed herself.

Chapter Four: "Seeing as He Saw"

Chapter Four: “Seeing as He Saw”

The next day Twilight once again woke to the smell of muffins. She saw Spike still asleep, and decided not to wake him. They had had a late night. She walked down the stairs to find Pinkie Pie merrily creating and then ripping from existence multiple items of different types at the same time. “Wow Pinkie, that's amazing. How many things are you making at once now?”

Pinkie Pie looked up at her. “Oh, I'd say...” She trailed off staring at Twilight with wide eyes.

“What is it Pinkie? What's wrong?”

She continued staring at Twilight for a moment before slowly opening her mouth again. “I...” She stopped as if in shock at her own words. “I can...” She hesitated, then blurted out her sentence. “I can hear myself!”

Twilight looked completely confused at her statement. “What do you mean Pinkie? I can hear myself too.”

Pinkie Pie shook her head. “No... not like that... I mean... I hear... what you hear...”

Twilight stared at her wide eyed. “You mean you can hear your voice through my ears?”

Pinkie Pie nodded her head. “Echo! That's weird. It's hard to talk, hearing my own echo like that.”

Twilight had an idea. “Wait here, I want to go get Spike to see something.” Twilight ran upstairs to fetch Spike. He sleepily came down the stairs.

“What is it Twilight, what did you need me for so early?”

“It's not early, you just slept in. Anyway, I need you to whisper something in my ear.”

“Like what?”

“I don't know, anything.”

Spike stood on his tiptoes to reach Twilight's ear. “Can I go back to bed,” he whispered in her ear.

Twilight looked over at Pinkie Pie. Pinkie Pie nodded and said, “can I go back to bed?”

Spike blinked and stared at Pinkie Pie. “Whoa, that's creepy.”

Pinkie Pie looked at Twilight. “I can hear my voice from both of you, and each others in the other.”

Twilight placed a hoof on Pinkie Pie's back. “Slow down and take it easy Pinkie, we need to figure this out.”

“What's there to figure out? I can hear what everypony is hearing!”

Sensing the panic in her voice, Twilight decided it would be best if they were alone. “Spike please go back to bed.”

“You don't have to ask me twice.” Spike slowly went upstairs, and fell almost immediately asleep.

“What am I going to do?”

Twilight looked at her with worried eyes. “Is it that bad Pinkie? I mean, does the extra noise bother you?”

Pinkie Pie looked at her with sad eyes. “It's not that. It's how I sound to you. I don't sound like that at all. You hear me so... different. You and Spike both, you hear me so weirdly. I'm not even sure how to describe the differences, even between the two of you.”

“You mean we hear things differently from one another?”

“Yes. So, soooo differently. You here me as, well.” She grunted in frustration. “This is hard to explain.”

Twilight wished she could help more. “I don't know what to say Pinkie. I really can't understand what you're going through.”

Pinkie Pie perked up a little. “Maybe you can.”

Twilight took a step back. “What do you mean?”

“Please Twilight, I need someone to understand what I'm going through here.”

Twilight hesitated for a moment. “What do you have in mind?”

“I'll just make it so you can hear what I hear, OK?”

Twilight braced herself mentally. “OK, do it!”

Pinkie Pie stared at her for a moment, then smiled broadly.

Twilight opened her mouth and began to speak. “Did it... whoa.” She didn't expect to hear her own voice that way.

“I know, right?”

“That's... really... weird.”

Pinkie nodded her head. “Now imagine that with more than just me and you.”

Twilight shook her head slightly. “I don't think I want to... it's so... please make it stop.”

Pinkie Pie blinked. “Done.”

“Testing.” She let out a relieved sigh at not being able to hear herself from Pinkie Pie's perspective. “Please don't do that again.”

Pinkie Pie walked over and hugged Twilight gently. “I'm sorry, and thank you.”

Twilight hugged her back. “You're welcome. Now, let me go tell Celestia about this. She will be very interested to know about this peculiar development.” She stared at Pinkie Pie for a moment, expecting her to get worried about what she was going to say to Celestia.

After a few seconds Pinkie Pie shook her head. “I'm not worried, I can feel you only mean to do what's best.”

Twilight took a step back. “Now, that is creepy.” Twilight went upstairs to begin writing her letter to Celestia. While Pinkie Pie sat in the main room of the library and tried out her new trick.

She felt around town. Sensing each individuals mind around her. Occasionally she would listen in on the conversations. After a few minutes she had an idea. She looked up at the top of the stairs. She focused on Twilight's mind. After a few seconds of getting in synch with her she began to communicate. “Hey Twilight.”

Upstairs Twilight jumped, still in the middle of writing her letter. She looked around for a few seconds, trying to find Pinkie Pie. “Pinkie? Where are you,” she asked out loud.

“You don't have to say anything. I can hear what you are thinking before you say it. Besides you don't want to wake up Spike, he's having a nice dream.”

Twilight began to open her mouth, then shut it and began thinking her question. “Where are you?”

“Still downstairs.”

“Is this some kind of psychic link?”

“Sorta.”

“What do you mean sorta?”

“You say psychic and mean magic or something more unusual. It's much simpler than that. I just think about what I want you to hear and you hear it. Sorta like what we did early, except over a distance.”

Twilight was getting frustrated about the vagueness of Pinkie Pie's explanations. Before she could express herself, Pinkie Pie beat her to it. “I'm sorry I can't explain better Twilight, you just can't understand it. If it will make you feel better, we can talk with Celestia and explain it to her, so you don't have to.”

Twilight considered this for a moment. She began to wonder if Celestia would mind a surprise visit to explain the unusual circumstances. Once again however, Pinkie Pie was one step ahead of her thoughts. “No, not like that silly, like this!”

Before Twilight had time to mentally protest, she could feel Celestia had been added to the link. “What is this,” Celestia thought, as she quickly felt her mind being added.

Twilight hastily began to apologize. “I'm sorry Princess. Pinkie Pie wanted to show you something, and I didn't have time to warn you first.”

Pinkie Pie joined in. “Hiya Princess. Do you like it? I can talk to anyone anywhere!”

Celestia seemed slightly disturbed by the notion. Both Pinkie Pie and Twilight could feel the emotions she put off thanks to the link. “Pinkie Pie, please add my sister to this,” she paused, attempting to think of the word. Twilight's mind thought of the word link, and Celestia's mind agreed. “Yes link, thank you Twilight.”

“Oke doki!”

After a short pause Luna's mind could be felt. She was still asleep. Twilight and Celestia could feel the dream she was having. It was a happy one. Celestia felt bad for a moment, knowing that she would wake her sister from such a good dream, of which she knew she had very few. Twilight sensed this sentiment and asked Celestia, “Luna normally has nightmares?”

Celestia got slightly embarrassed. She knew she was not supposed to tell anyone that. Yet she didn't know how not to think about it while they were connected as they were.

Luna began to feel all of the mental activity around her and began to slowly wake up. “Sister is that you,” she asked out loud, lifting up her head and looking around her room.

“I am not there dear sister, but in your mind.”

Luna snapped wide awake. “How is such a thing possible?”

Pinkie Pie began to feel some glee at having so quickly learned to do such an interesting trick. Luna could feel her mental presence and sighed. “We should have known that to be the answer to our question.”

Twilight began wondering about Luna's nightmares, and Luna took notice quickly. “Sister! You swore an oath never to tell another soul of our night terrors!”

Celestia hastily responded in her own defense. “I am sorry, it was not my fault. They heard my thoughts!”

Luna was quite irritated, but felt her sister's remorse. “We understand...”

Celestia felt relived. “Now to the matter at hand, Pinkie Pie, how are you managing to do this?”

Pinkie Pie began to, wordlessly, recount the day's events, and all the things that had led up to the current situation. “And so here we are,” she announced proudly when she was done.

Celestia was desperately trying to keep a thought out of her head. No one could tell what it was, but everyone knew she was trying no to think of something. Twilight became concerned. “Princess what is the matter?”

Still successfully distracting her own mind with countless thoughts of seemingly unrelated things Celestia responded slowly. “Nothing my dear student, it is just... there are things I would rather current company not be made aware of.”

Luna grew suspicious. “Sister... are thou hiding something from us?”

Celestia's thoughts grew frantic. She could barley contain what she was trying so hard not to think about. “Pinkie Pie, may me and my sister have a few minutes to speak in private, we will come to Ponyville and talk with you in person shortly.”

Pinkie Pie was about to disconnect them when Luna's thoughts interrupted her. “No, I think that it will be a good thing to speak here, where you may not hide anything from us.” Twilight and Pinkie Pie could feel the small amount of malice coming from Luna. Luna was too busy enjoying having her sister in such a vulnerable position to care. “How about it dear sister, what is it that you have been hiding from me?”

Celestia mentally squirmed. She was beginning to try to think of a way out of this, and everyone else knew it. “Come now sister, what would I have to hide from you?”

“We are not entirely sure. Perhaps you may enlighten us?”

Pinkie Pie's curiosity got the better of her, and while the Princesses were going back and forth, she dived deeper into Celestia's mind. When she found the thought she was so desperately trying to hide she sat there for a moment. Unsure of what to make of it.

At that time, both the Princesses and Twilight realized what she had done. Luna mentally turned her attention to Pinkie Pie. “Well what did you find?”

“She was thinking of how well she could have ruled with this much power. How she could have been omniscient.”

Luna turned back her full attention to her sister. “Why would you hide such a thing from us?”

Celestia mentally winced as the remaining part of the information began to show for everyone. She was also thinking of how Luna would no longer be needed, because Celestia would be able to watch over everyone everywhere at all times.

Luna sat there appalled for a moment. Unable to think or feel anything but hurt at this. Celestia quickly began trying to explain herself. “I did not mean it to sound so cruel. It was not out of greed that I had this though, but rather out of compassion.”

Luna began to get angry at such a bold statement which she could only imagine to be a lie to undue the damage that had already been done, but she stopped when she felt the truth behind the statement. “Continue.”

“I was thinking of all the time that we have spent raising and lowering the sun. Always apart from one another. We never truly had time to be real sisters, not since our early years. I could not help but think of how wonderful it would have been, if I could have used that power to prevent us from ever needing to be apart again. I could have made the sun raise and lower itself. I could have watched over both day and night. All while spending all of your waking moments with you.”

Everyone else connected thoughts went silent. Nothing but raw emotion came from anyone. Luna, Twilight, and Pinkie Pie were all so deeply moved, not only by Celestia's words, but also by the emotions behind them, that they could do nothing but feel.

After several moments of the mental equivalent of silence Luna finally brought her emotions together enough to think straight. “We think it would be best... if we were left alone with our sister for sometime.”

Celestia agreed. “We will come to Ponyville to speak with you in person soon, but give us some time together first.”

Pinkie Pie then disconnected all of them, leaving them to the emptiness that was their own minds. Twilight stared forward for a second. She was having some trouble dealing with all the emotions she had just felt. In both senses of the word felt, she not only had to cope with her own emotions about the situation, but the emotions of others, and to make it even worse their emotions about her emotions, and their emotions about her emotions about their emotions. The cycle would continue on and on. She was trying to get her head around the infinite cascade of emotions to be felt by those connected in such a way, when suddenly she realized Pinkie Pie was standing next to her. “Ah!” She jumped slightly at her being there.

“Shhh... you'll wake up Spike,” Pinkie Pie said quietly.

They both silently made their way downstairs to talk. Twilight was getting prepared to ask how Pinkie Pie had managed to get upstairs so fast when Pinkie Pie decided to answer the unasked question. “I'm not really sure how I got up there, I just wanted to be there, and I was.”

“Are you still reading my mind?”

“More than that, I'm reading everyone's mind.”

Twilight wasn't sure what to make of this. “What?”

Pinkie Pie smiled ever so slightly. “It's hard to understand, and I wish you could see it Twilight.”

“Can't you show me?”

Pinkie Pie's smile broadened ever so slightly. “No, I wish I could.”

Chapter Five: "Detached"

Chapter Five: “Detached”

In one hour the Princesses had arrived at the library. Twilight ran out to meet them, frantic. “Princess! Somethings wrong!”

“What is it Twilight,” Celestia asked worriedly.

“Pinkie Pie... she... she isn't moving.”

They all three quickly made there way inside to find Pinkie Pie standing in the middle of the floor in the library. She was staring straight forward unblinking. She had a warm smile on her face, but for no apparent reason.

Celestia slowly walked over to Pinkie Pie and bent down to meet eyes with her. They both stared into each others eyes for a long minute, until Celestia finally blinked. “How long has she been like this?”

Twilight shook her head. “Not very long after we ended the link. She said something about wishing I could see it then stopped moving.”

“See what?”

“She said she was reading everyone's mind.”

Celestia looked over at Luna with a worried expression. Luna nodded knowingly. “Your fears are coming true dear sister.”

Celestia nodded. “Yes it seems so.”

Twilight looked back and forth between them. “What do you mean? What fears?”

“She is moving beyond normal consciousness. I realized that this was inevitable when she had us all connected. She is seeing everything at once. Imagine being able to hear and see everything, including people's thoughts.”

Twilight shuddered a little. Having already experienced being connected to just a few others, she didn't want to think about being connected to that many.

In all of her vast sight, Pinkie Pie could still concentrate enough to notice what was going on with one of her closest friends. She could see them gathered around her, Twilight and the two Princesses. She could feel Twilight's worry about her well being, and the Princesses angst of having so much power set loose. Pinkie Pie wanted to move her own body, but couldn't quite figure out how. Being everywhere at once was an odd sensation.

Twilight saw Pinkie Pie's smile twitch ever so slightly, and her eyes drop in what looked like irritation. “She moved!”

Celestia studied her closely. She had indeed moved. Celestia walked over and attempted to push Pinkie Pie. She didn't budge.

Twilight was curious. “What are you doing Princess?”

“I wanted to know if she could be moved.”

“Let me try.” Twilight began to focus on Pinkie Pie, attempting to use her magic to levitate her. Pinkie Pies body began to glow with Twilight's magic's signature purple glow, but didn't budge.

Both Celestia and Luna got in on it too, but not even all three of their magics combined could move Pinkie Pie's immobile body an inch.

Pinkie Pie wanted to laugh, she was watching all three of them try to move her body, without any success. She couldn't laugh though. She wasn't connected to her body. Such an odd sensation, not being in your own body, but watching it from everyone else's perspective. On top of that, she could feel everything that was going on. Not from her body, but practically from everything else. It was then she realized that her body seemed out of place. Everything else had a feeling to it. Everything else was there. Her body wasn't there. It just was. To them it seemed like it was there, but it wasn't. That is why they couldn't affect it with magic.

After several moments of trying to move her body all three of them stopped. It was obviously no use. They hadn't budged her one bit. Twilight looked up at Celestia. “What do we do now Princess?”

Celestia looked down at Twilight, unsure of herself. “I'm not sure.”

Pinkie Pie could feel Twilight's unease about Celestia being so unsure of herself. She wanted to help, she wanted to come back to them and tell them she was alright. But how? Her body was just, not like everything else. She could feel everything else just fine. She could move everything else. That gave her an idea.

Twilight looked at the Princess. She had never seen her unsure of herself before, and it worried her. If Princess Celestia didn't know what to do, then who did? Out of the corner of her eye she noticed a quill on her desk moving. “What is that?”

Celestia and Luna turned to look at the quill that was moving on its own. It wasn't surrounded by a glow, so it wasn't being controlled by magic. They all three walked over to the desk to see what it was writing down on the paper.

Hi guys, sorry to worry you like this, I just don't know what to do. I can't move my body at all, but its OK cause I can do anything else. So you guys should stop worrying about me and just go do whatever you need to do OK?

Love, Pinkie Pie.

As Pinkie Pie finished writing the letter she felt quite happy with herself at having thought of this solution. She watched the Princesses and Twilight read the letter as she finished writing it. It took them a second to comprehend what she was saying, but they understood.

Twilight looked up and around the room. “So you are still here Pinkie?”

Celestia put her hoof on Twilight's back. “No Twilight, she isn't here, she is everywhere.”

“Then why is her body still here?”

Celestia hesitated, once again unsure of the answer. Luna had a good idea though. “If we had to guess, it is simply because she is used to having a body. When we were Nightmare Moon, we could become like smoke, or be more than one pony at once, but it took concentration. We were so used to having a real body, not having one felt unusual.”

Pinkie Pie had never thought of it that way before. Luna was right. That body wasn't really hers, but it was something she was projecting out of habit. She suddenly realized that she didn't really have a body anymore. That made sense. Pinkie Pie slowly began to speak. “I... get it... now.”

Both the Princesses and Twilight jumped to hear her speak. They all stared at her body for a moment, waiting for it to move or speak again. Still staring straight forward, and still unblinking, she opened her mouth again. “This is a little weird but I think I got it.”

“Are you OK?” Twilight had no idea what to say, so she blurted out the question instinctively.

“Oh I'm fine. Wow I look weird huh?” Her body blinked, then turned to look at Twilight, eyes still wide open. “No that's not quite right either.”

“What are you doing,” Twilight asked.

“Luna made a point. This isn't really my body, I'm just so used to having one that it stayed. But now that I know that, I can make it do what I want, I'm just not used to it yet.”

Twilight was unsure of what to make of this. “So where are you?”

“Um, well, I guess what Celestia said before was right, I'm kinda everywhere.”

Twilight was still trying to get her head around it, but Celestia had already prepared herself for this sort of thing. “Pinkie Pie, so would I be correct in assuming that what you are seeing and doing now is exactly what Discord has always done?”

Pinkie Pie's body nodded mechanically. “Yup.”

Twilight couldn't keep a thought down. “Wait, if Discord didn't have a body, then how did the Elements turn him to stone?”

Celestia turned to her. “The Elements have incredibly strong...”

Pinkie Pie interrupted her. “They didn't.”

Luna, Celestia, and Twilight stared at Pinkie Pie's body, dumbfounded.

Celestia began slowly. “What do you mean Pinkie Pie?”

The Elements are kinda strong, but they can't affect me, and they couldn't affect Discord. He just let us think they worked, because he wanted us to win his games.

Twilight looked confused. “He wanted us to win?”

Pinkie Pie's body nodded, slightly less mechanically this time. “Yes.”

“How do you know all of this?” Celestia asked.

“I just do, I can feel it, it is like everything, it just simply is, and I just know.”

They all stayed silent for a moment. Know one knew what to make of all these new revelations.

Twilight was the first to speak. “I thought Discord said it would take months to obtain his full power.”

“It took him four months, it is hard to say how long it will take me, but I don't have it all yet.”

Celestia nearly fell over. She couldn't possibly imagine more power than she already had. “How much more is there?”

Pinkie Pie smiled, “you don't have to be worried Celestia, I wouldn't hurt anyone.”

Luna finally spoke again. “Then it is agreed.”

Celestia and Twilight turned to look at her confused. “What are you talking about sister?”

Pinkie Pie answered for her. “We have been talking mentally, she was worried about you getting worked up. So we came up with a plan.”

Celestia eyed Luna suspiciously. “What kind of plan?”

Pinkie Pie continued. “Everyone will fear me as long as they know I have so much power, Luna knows that I won't abuse it, but almost everyone else is afraid. I want everypony to be happy, not scared. Luna and I both agree, things can't stay the way they are.”

Twilight looked worried. “What are you planning?”

Luna looked toward her sister and Twilight, “it does not matter now,” she turned to look at Pinkie Pie, “do it.”

Chapter Six: "New Events"

Chapter Six: “New Events”