The Ultimate Pawn: Twilight Sparkle
Discord visited Fluttershy at her cottage, intending to have tea with her. He instead received dreadful news of a problem that he thought was irrelevant.
"My friends are going to battle tomorrow." The yellow pegasus failed to suppress a shiver.
"Doesn't Twilight have the army? She's Princess of Equestria, now. What about Celestia and Luna?" The draconequus encircled his serpentine form around Fluttershy.
Fluttershy shook her head. "They aren't enough."
"And why not?" Discord said accusingly.
"Have you read the papers lately?" Fluttershy pointed to the nearby table.
Her pet rabbit Angel brought it to him. It was such uncharacteristic behavior for such a mischievous bunny. This was more serious than he thought if that rabbit wasn't being a nuisance. The reports detailed three fortified cities lost overnight.
Their deaths didn't bother him, but now Fluttershy might even perish on the front lines. At least, Twilight had enough wisdom not to send herself and her friends at every threat to Equestria as she had during the first two years of her rule.
"Talk her out of it," Discord demanded. The other ponies could die, all he needed was her happiness. That wasn't exactly right because he still cared about her friends tangentially. Oh, and the pink one called Pinkie Pie. She managed to gain a minuscule portion of his powers by peering beyond the veil.
Fluttershy shook her head. "It's the best option we have."
"Oh, really? Have you tried asking me?" Discord sounded offended. He knew the war was going on, but he didn't care. It wasn't his concern, just Twilight Sparkle's. They couldn't be everywhere at once.
"You know that rock that prevents chaos magic? Well, Chrysalis has plenty of it."
"That was years ago. Mere rocks can't stop me," Discord boasted.
"You can fix this?" Fluttershy hugged him tightly.
"But, of course, my dear. All you had to do was ask." Discord knew what was going on, but he didn't interfere in pony affairs. They didn't ask him, so he just kept an eye on this situation. No, it was more than just one eye. He snapped his claws to summon the floating beerholder with multiple eyes. "Sixty eyes?" That was a surprising number of eye stalks.
Discord plucked an eyestalk from his creation. He drank the eye's alcoholic tears to learn what it had observed. This one recorded the fall of an entire fortress as the changelings brutally massacred the vulnerable ponies. He could hear their screams of anguish. Didn't they use to feed on love?
His desire to blend in with ponies caused him to offer her a drink by plucking another eyestalk. "Want some?"
"That's quite all right." Fluttershy tried to sound brave.
Fluttershy's refusal saved him since he didn't want her to witness such events yet she refused him because she was afraid of his creations still. For that reason alone, he pressed on, trying to convince her yet again.
"If it's alcohol that bothers you. Have this one." Discord placed the eyestalk in his paw back on his creation. This time he chose the one with tears, hoping that it would be easier for her if she took him up on the offer. If the eye cried less, the memories should be easier to digest. He snapped his claws to remove the alcoholic content. "Here."
"Please try it, Fluttershy," the beerholder said. "I want you to see what's going on."
"Does it hurt you?" Fluttershy asked.
Discord knew that was his cue to leave. He thought of the time that he spent with this specific creation. This creation shouldn't harbor animosity towards him. If his creation complained, Fluttershy knew just the buttons to push to make him improve their lives.
Oh sure, he never asked if the beerholder liked having detachable eyestalks or having his eyes collect drinkable tears. "Please don't complain. Please don't complain," Discord repeated over and over again. He had to give her an hour with his creation.
He anxiously glanced at his counterclockwise clock. "Come on."
"If you wanted to stop time, try watching a pot. I hear it never boils if you do," the clock said.
"Oh, you're one of those talking clocks, but great idea."
Discord summoned a stove so he could watch a pot boil.
"Do you really want to spend an eternity here at this moment? Watching me?"
Of course, the pot could talk. It was one of the requests Fluttershy made or rather forcefully saw to implementation. The very idea that time would permanently cease as long as he looked at it was too horrifying for her to bear. Now, if the pot talked, time still went on.
The pot was silent so time was still. Nothing in the world would change, and he couldn't do much since he had to keep looking at it.
"You know, if you didn't freeze time, you would be back with Fluttershy by now."
An hour passed before he even knew it. "But what would she say?" Discord needed her approval.
"You do this every time."
Discord couldn't shut the pot up either. She brought order to his chaotic realm with her totally unreasonable demands. He kept looking at the pot on the stove.
"I demand a break," the pot said.
"Fine, I'll just summon a different one." Discord sent the first one away. The replacement appeared on top of the stove. "Oh no."
"Flutterdays, it's Flutterdays…"
That pot certainly put a damper on practice makes perfect. The song Monday was his first, but practice made things better, right? Left to his own devices, his creation managed to stumble their way to Friday, gaining infamy within his realm.
Discord looked away. Of all the pots he could summon, it was one that really wanted to sing. "Forget it." Just using another one wasn't an option, something about fair employment practices.
Only three minutes passed since he arrived in his realm. There were fifty-seven minutes left until the hour passed.
He hadn't broken this rule since the last ten inspections she decided to do, but with the ongoing war and the threat of Fluttershy going to the front lines, he rationalized himself into an exception. She might even charge off with her newfound knowledge. With a snap, he appeared in Fluttershy's cottage again.
"Anything complaints?" Discord asked.
"Just one," Fluttershy said.
"One?" Discord counted himself lucky. She didn't scold him for coming back early.
"He wants a break, some time off."
"So, I need two of them." Discord snapped a duplicate into existence. This beerholder had no eyestalks yet so it looked like a floating ball with a mouth and one large eye. He took half of the eyes from the other one and planted them on his new creation. "Happy?"
"No," the beerholder said. "You get sidetracked. How else did I end up with sixty eyes this time?"
"Then what do you want? And do you still want him?"
Fluttershy forcefully took hold of his talon.
"I'm sorry," Discord said. Unmaking something was unnecessarily cruel so she forbade it. "I didn't realize it sounded that way. So, what do you want?"
The beerholder described a method of reproduction that involved sleeping. If he wanted another one, he could simply dream one into existence.
"Are you serious?" Discord asked.
"And what's wrong with that?" Fluttershy said.
"Overpopulation."
"In the infinite realm of chaos? Do they even eat anything?"
"Fine, fine. Granted."
"If it isn't too much to ask, I'd like another name. Something suitable for foals."
"I can't think of one," Discord said. "You can work that out with Fluttershy at a later date." He snapped both of them away. "We were talking about a war." He wrapped his tail around her.
"Can you do something about Chrysalis?" Fluttershy asked.
"Yes," Discord said enthusiastically. He had no idea what he could do, but there had to be something so Fluttershy didn't have to involve herself.
"Will you do something about this?"
"You still don't trust me." Discord untangled himself from Fluttershy.
"I'm sorry." Fluttershy hugged him.
"You don't have to worry about it. I'll start working on a solution right away."
"Be safe, Discord."
The draconequus teleported to Canterlot Castle where Twilight Sparkle presided.
"My services are available! The cavalry has arrived!" Discord walked over Twilight Sparkle's strategy map, knocking the pieces they've carefully placed aside. She was at a table talking with her top military advisors.
"So, you don't have a plan." Twilight did her best to hide her irritation, but he could still see it.
"Don't put it like that." Discord wrapped his paw around her neck.
"If you had one, you would've already been out there fixing things. If I had one where you could help, I would've already asked for aid."
"Bah! Who needs you!" Discord teleported back to his realm of chaos.
His Fluttershy was in mortal danger. There had to be something he could do. If he acted upon the land, that would only delay Chrysalis's advance.
"Why don't you make her a goddess?" a very old book said. "Everyone knows that they can't do anything or should anyway."
That stirred ancient memories within the draconequus. It happened in ages past. The quest for power of King Grimtalon. It was before Celestia and Luna. Eventually, Discord humored his request and granted him untold power. No one saw or heard from the gryphon ever again.
"Thanks for reminding me," Discord said. "Can I do it again?"
Discord appeared on the battlefield where ponies and changelings clashed with each other. He forcefully took one armored changeling back to his realm of chaos or that was the plan except he ended up back in his realm without the captive.
With another snap, Discord was back on the battlefield again. This time, he tried to grant a changeling the power of invulnerability. His chaotic gift allowed the changeling to cut through the defenders with ease once he realized he could no longer be harmed.
The proof of concept was sound, but would his plan work? He needed all his power lest he fail when he tried. This single test was more taxing than he anticipated. Discord appeared back at Fluttershy's cottage.
"Please, get Twilight to delay her plans for two days," Discord said.
"Two days?" Fluttershy nuzzled him. "Bring us there right now."
Discord teleported them both to Canterlot Castle.
"Twilight, Discord needs two days to work his magic," Fluttershy said.
Twilight paced back and forth in the room.
"Princess, you must reconsider. His plans only work ninety percent of the time," a general said. The general's ceremonial armor disappeared after a snap.
"Leave all of you," Twilight commanded.
"Be reasonable, it's far too big of a gamble."
Twilight summoned her magic and forcefully tossed her military advisors out of the room. "Two days, two days?" Her eye twitched. "That won't be a problem at all! Nope, no problem here. One week of careful planning out of the window."
"Twilight? I'm ashamed." Fluttershy stared at her.
"Come now, Fluttershy, there's no need for that." Discord summoned a giant rug and started sweeping the table underneath it with a comically oversized broom. "All insights are welcome. I'd like to think that I've matured."
"Does that mean you'll tell me the plan?" Twilight asked.
"Can you Pinkie Promise that it will work?" Fluttershy asked.
The pink miscreant was capable of leveraging the powers of chaos to a frightful degree. If Queen Chrysalis Pinkie Promised something, the changeling queen would be bound to her word or suffer terrible consequences despite the power she wielded.
"Of course not. Bye!" Discord snapped himself away.
Not even two months into the conflict, Queen Chrysalis already felt the burden of war. Deep within the hive, she sat in a chamber looking at a mirror that reflected her misshapen form. The necessary magics had the side effect of bloating her body. She was pretty much an egg factory at this point. Her children had enough of her spirit to act out her will. They weren't completely her, but enough so she felt a bit of everything they did.
"Are you sure you want to continue this, mother?" a changeling drone asked.
Her doubts were manifesting into reality. She incinerated her wayward son for daring to question her. The ear-piercing scream gave her some pleasure even though incinerating him was like stabbing her own leg. They were in the middle of a war. Of course, it was worth it! Equestrian unity was a sham, the other species withdrew their support when the first city fell. Fragments of her spirit returned to her as the changeling turned into ash.
Whenever she questioned her resolve, she reminisced on past events that led her here. Everything had to be worth the price to set her family free.
Time passed slowly when someone becomes stone. She was very much aware of the slow passage of time. It was like she was suffocating because she was unable to breathe but yet death never claimed her. Every waking moment took an eternity without any respite.
She had children alive but no one even came to visit. No one dared to even talk to her even though there was no way for her to reply. Year after year she languished there in an unmoving state. The thought of every child betraying her was too much to bear. There had to be an alternate explanation.
Equestrians had the elements of harmony which even changed the personality of Princess Luna. That was it, of course, her children never betrayed her. It wasn't their fault that Equestria mind-controlled them into docile obedient pony slaves. Why else would they do nothing when she languished as a statue for years, bound together with their most hated enemies?
The statue cracked giving her a breath of fresh air within years. Tyranny couldn't last forever. She teleported away from the scene to safety. Her children didn't simply lose their way, they had their minds taken from them. This went too far – she had to fix this. The first step was acquiring a swarm again since doing things alone was foolish.
One of her sons was standing guard near her former seat of power. She forcibly abducted him.
The changeling screamed upon waking far too soon.
Had her magic grown so weak?
He tried to teleport away, only for that to fail.
"You're going to help me free our family," Chrysalis said.
"What do you want, mother?" the changeling stammered out.
"I need you to help me start a swarm."
"How?" the changeling said. It was more proof that ponies corrupted his mind.
"Forgive me, my son." She turned him into an unwilling consort.
A mental ping drew her attention back to the present.
"Mom, I can't be hurt anymore."
She turned her attention to the changeling in question, subtly motivating him to go forward across the field of death.
Her antics finally drew the attention of the Lord of Chaos. He blessed one of her children with invulnerability for whatever his designs. It shouldn't have been possible since the armor her changelings wore repelled magic but she wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.
The battlefield had been a stalemate for quite some time with magical bombardments only to be repelled by magical shields. She learned to preserve her forces and not have them march across the field of death where artillery made short work of her army.
"I'm going in," he pinged her telepathically. Her heart pounded frantically as she watched him walk through the field of death. The arrows and cannonballs didn't halt his advance nor did he feel any pain or impact from them. Not even the might of Equestria could stop someone invulnerable to both magic and physical effects. A lone changeling was all it took to take over the base.
Her swarm surged forward to devour the ponies. After weeks of siege, she finally took over this city. The enhancements had a positive effect. Her children no longer needed love to live. It was more efficient to devour flesh instead. As her children ate, it was as if she was eating too. They were all part of her in some way.
Pony flesh was like ambrosia. While savoring the flavor, she missed the fact that someone was granting her power, subtly but sure. By the time she realized it, she felt stronger than before. It was the same sensation she felt when she attained the magics to sustain a ravenous swarm. Her children were cursed to know unending hunger but that didn't matter since they could still function. Misery didn't matter much if that's all they ever knew. The magic she acquired allowed her children to mature into adults within the hour since the front lines constantly needed replenishment.
With her newfound strength, Chrysalis wondered if she could end the fight herself. Just minutes ago, facing an alicorn in broad daylight would be suicide. It was a wonder why Twilight hadn't taken to the field herself yet, and neither had the other elements of harmony since her incursion into their lands.
Queen Chrysalis channeled her magic into a beam, aiming at Canterlot Castle which was very far away. Her shot in her underground lair was massive enough to knock one of the castle towers away. What was even more surprising was that she could see. The panicking faces of those self-righteous ponies were priceless. For the first time, she felt that victory was within her grasp.
She readied a second shot, this time determined to erase Twilight Sparkle from existence. Before she was able to fire, her world changed the next moment for lack of a better word – she was floating in complete darkness – no longer within the hive.
"Hello?" Chrysalis used her horn to create a light source. "Where am I?" Everywhere around her, she saw the unending darkness. Gone was her bloated form, she was now as she was in her prime.
She could still feel her children fighting in the war. Since no one answered her, she looked out of their eyes to survey the situation. Her body was gone from her throne room. Without reinforcements or herself, her plans would surely fall. She needed to get back there.
The expanse was endless – full of nothing. It was as if she was floating in space, only it was devoid of any stars or planets. In ancient times, she thought it was possible to reach the stars. Reality was a cruel mistress.
She was still powerful – so she fired blasts of energy, trying to escape her current location. They fizzled out into the void. She devoted her efforts to experimentation as the voices of her children grew silent one by one.
A fully grown draconequus crashed into her. "Why hello there, Chryssy, why have you summoned me?"
"Get me out of here," she demanded.
"I think not." Discord snapped his fingers. "Let's try this again." Once more, he failed.
"No more of that." Chrysalis shot a beam at his paw. It was enough to cause it to liquefy. This effect was surprising. She never intended for it to happen this way.
Discord screamed in pain. He looked at the portion of his body as it began to dissolve. A giant head appeared to bite the rest of his arm off. He let loose a feral roar that startled Chrysalis. "Okay, okay, we'll work together." He snapped his claw under duress. Nothing happened.
"Do you take me for a fool?" Chrysalis aimed another beam at Discord. He was barely able to dodge this one. What was odd was that the draconequus hadn't regenerated his appendage. Eventually, she grazed his tail.
The same bloody spectacle happened, with a giant head biting off his tail. There was another feral scream.
"I Pinkie Promise to help you escape from here." Discord moved his claw strangely, by sticking it into his eyeball. He pulled out the blood-soaked claw and snapped it again for no effect.
Pinkie Pie with a flat mane appeared and carried him away to places unknown. Even here, Twilight's friends were a nuisance.
It was a Faustian bargain for sure. Discord didn't know if it was worth the torture Pinkie Pie put him through. At least, she allowed him to regrow his limbs and even gave him a way out of his predicament. That didn't mean he got off lightly either. She literally skinned him alive while cackling maniacally then sent him back to Chrysalis. Pinkie Promises were absolute.
Discord snapped his claw to create the greatest board game in existence: Disboard. Every single creature in the world was a piece on the board. Some of them moved about independently. Without even explaining the rules, Discord began his first move by possessing Twilight Sparkle. His body would be safe from harm, hopefully.
However, even within the body of Twilight Sparkle, he was in enough pain for him to scream.
"Twilight, are you okay?" Spike said.
Discord took deep breaths. What should he say? How would Spike react to her being Discord? "I need painkillers. Where are they?" How was he to explain this? "Now!" He just had to act as an alicorn should. Bossy, demanding, uncaring, that should do it!
"Right away." Spike hurried off.
It didn't take long for Spike to return with pills and a glass of water. Discord eagerly swallowed them – hoping that it would give him relief. With his pain subsiding, Discord could concentrate on more important matters.
He couldn't even grant Twilight a tactical advantage since he didn't study the map well enough before possessing her. "We're leaving for Ponyville."
"What about your list?" Spike said.
"Forget it. More important matters came up." Discord wanted Fluttershy's support in case things turned hostile. It was a miracle that Twilight didn't expel him from her body yet. Could she even do that? Not that he had much experience with this.
"Okay." Spike scratched his head. He followed Discord. "And, we're going by balloon?"
"How else would we go there?"
"Teleportation? Flight?"
"I'm not feeling well."
"Shouldn't you be resting?"
"It's fine, Spike. Thank you for your concern." Discord's eye twitched.
They took an hour to arrive in Ponyville. Without caring about Spike, Discord took a leisurely stroll to Fluttershy's cottage with no sense of urgency.
"Fluttershy?" Discord knocked.
"Twilight? What are you doing here?"
"I just wanted to see you again. It might be the last time that I ever do," Discord cried.
"Fluttershy?" Applejack knocked.
Discord saw the rest of Twilight's friends gathered together. Pinkie Pie was staring at him – maybe she even knew who he was. He found himself encased in a magic field created by Rarity.
"You will bake a cupcake with me," Pinkie Pie said. She definitely knew. There was no doubt anymore.
"As soon as I can," Discord said.
They had him surrounded.
"It's me, Discord. Things went horribly wrong."
"Discord, will things be okay?" Fluttershy asked.
"I don't know. Let me explain…" Discord explained the convoluted chain of events. He was sure to leave out what Pinkie Pie did to him, for fear of further abuse.
"That's the stupidest plan I've ever heard," Applejack said.
"Thanks, Applejack, some friend you are," Discord said. "I don't know how long I have. I don't know what Chrysalis will do either."
"Let's play O&O," Pinkie Pie said.
Discord blinked. It was that easy for Pinkie Pie to take control of the group. None of them objected either. Most mammals have a last meal, he was having his last tabletop role-playing game session. As if she was controlling access to his chaos magic, he ended up granting Angel bunny as well as a bear the ability to talk.
Was it her way of saying sorry? The talking pets made Fluttershy happy. Discord ended up playing the most overpowered character in the game since he had incredible luck.
"Are you cheating?" Applejack asked.
"I'm not." Discord rolled yet another natural twenty. "You can throw it for me if you want?"
Applejack stared the twenty right in the face. "Ah, don't get it. No one rolls twenty twenties in a row."
"I hate to say it, but she's right," Rainbow Dash said.
"Are you forgetting about the gambler's fallacy?" Spike said. "Calm down, Applejack, Rainbow Dash."
The low rolls kept happening for everyone else while he kept having natural twenties. It didn't take long for him to catch on. He was causing it – in a sense. In a way, he had control over everyone's rolls by wishing for what he wanted to happen. It was fake – artificial yet he wasn't using his magic to cause it to happen.
"It can't be." He shed a few tears. "The dice just end up whatever numbers I want it to be. Does that mean I'm cheating after all?"
"I thought it would make you happy," Pinkie Pie said.
"I was. Until I realized this. How are you doing it?"
"My element is laughter. My lips are sealed."
"Pinkie Pie, you did this?" Applejack said.
"Winning a game is one way to cheer someone up."
"Did you think he wanted it to happen this way?"
"He did, that's what he secretly wishes for, but I messed up, okay?"
The game proceeded normally. Well, as normal as could be except Angel bunny kept getting high rolls. There was an easy explanation this time: lucky rabbit feet.
"You," Chrysalis said venomously, "will not escape this time."
Discord's skin was still missing. The lord of chaos tried to pick up a piece on the board. He tried to possess someone as he had before. The look of despair on his face was something to treasure. She remembered the exquisite taste well. When he snapped his claws, he failed to do anything.
Why was she standing here wasting time when she should be attacking him? She rectified her mistake at once by charging up a magical attack.
"Now, now, be reasonable." Discord threw up his hands, trying to placate her. "We can talk this out."
"Begone!"
The draconequus still had the mobility to dodge, but he couldn't keep that up in his weakened state. It didn't take long for one of her shots to score a hit. Gone were his cries of agony. No – her shots were passing right through him. A grin on his face told her that he realized the same thing.
"What have you done?" Chrysalis said.
"Nothing at all." Discord smiled. "You're here for eternity." He was much more at ease. Although, every so often he winced from the pain. "We'll be having so much fun together."
The board itself was impervious to her attacks. She tried earlier during his absence after she realized that she couldn't hop into the body of a pony. Nor could she pick any of the pieces up.
This time, she could move the pieces. Chrysalis studied the sprawling board in front of her. It was pretty much the world broken up into tiny squares. The pieces were living creatures or they appeared to be anyway. She tried moving Celestia or Luna but they wouldn't move. They were too heavy for her to even lift. Meanwhile, the pieces themselves moved autonomously.
Discord went inside the Twilight Sparkle piece earlier. Chrysalis weighed her options. If she could take over a piece, which one should it be? The changeling blessed by Discord could be one, but he was likely to revoke his blessings if she tried that route. Only one option made sense: Twilight Sparkle.
Chrysalis tried to possess Twilight Sparkle. She found herself in Twilight's body – and she was in a cell.
"You think you can hold me?" Chrysalis said. Her pesky friends were there. The five of them were outside the cage.
"Chrysalis, leave her alone," Fluttershy said.
"Get out of my way!" She fired off a beam, only for it to bounce around within the cage.
"Nice try, darling," Rarity said.
It didn't help that Twilight's spirit was wrestling her for control of her body. The more magic she used, the more her control was slipping.
"Hold on." Twilight was strong enough to force her to talk. "I should have her out of my body soon."
"This body is mine!" Chrysalis yelled. "You will all pay."
Her control was slipping as time went on. Twilight's pull became strong and stronger. She tried to teleport out of that cage. It actually worked as if she left Twilight herself behind. No, that wasn't it. A hoof moved autonomously, enough to indicate that Twilight could move limbs now. She probably didn't have long so she had to make her time count. The best thing she could do with her body was to grant her forces an easy kill. That was one of her aims when she started her conquest.
She flew in the direction of the front lines. No one was trying to stop her at least, not even Twilight herself. Aside from that one incident, there were no more interruptions. The army didn't question their princess when she said she had a plan to end the war. Part of her expected a quick death as she crossed the battlefield. No magical attacks came despite herself issuing the command to her children. They had to have heard it. When they came within sight, they didn't attack her.
"Kill me," Chrysalis commanded when she landed. At long last, the great alicorn will fall. Twilight wasn't even fighting against her fate. She closed her eyes, not willing to look death in the face even in the body of a puppet.
"Mother, we love you," the changeling said. Changelings were still empaths even after all she did to her body. Before her very eyes, the changeling transformed into a state corrupted by the magic of friendship. What made it worse, was that it was like losing part of herself.
"Begone!" Chrysalis tried to fire a beam, that didn't even materialize. She was in an alicorn's body and didn't have access to changeling magic. "Die." She had to stop the corruption before it could spread throughout her hive. An alicorn's body didn't really possess the strength to strangle someone, but that didn't mean that she didn't try.
The rest of the swarm advanced towards the very angry alicorn, enveloping her within a hug. Their embrace sapped her will to fight. They were her family, and part of herself.
She was corrupting her own children by just possessing Twilight. More and more of them started to transform. They were displaying affection towards the greatest enemy in existence. That was enough for her to let Twilight Sparkle go. Part of her spirit lingered within Twilight's body.
Chrysalis watched Twilight on the board – she wasn't fighting the changelings, and neither were the changelings attacking her. They were still referring to Twilight as their mother.
Something was happening within her as so many of her children changed. The magic of friendship was consuming her. Part of her mind was consuming the other, for the changelings were parts of herself. "No!" she cried out with rage.
The unconscious draconequus fell on the board, jolting her from her thoughts. That certainly made a mark on the board as pieces scattered.
"You did this," Chrysalis yelled. "Undo this, now!"
His skin was still missing. The impact seemed to have woken him.
Slowly, Discord reached for Pinkie Pie. His body vanished once again.
Just like before, Chrysalis couldn't do anything to the board.
Discord reluctantly possessed Pinkie Pie's body since she threatened unspeakable torment if he didn't. It felt like a waste of a turn given the fate of the world was probably still at stake.
He took hold of his surroundings. He was in the pink pony's body inside Sugarcube Corner. All he had to do was hastily make a cupcake. The fate of the world was at stake, he couldn't linger here.
"Twilight is going to throw a huge party," Pinkie Pie said. "The war is over."
"The war is over?" Discord blinked. "How?"
It shouldn't be possible. She was talking to him yet he was controlling her body. He was trying to bake while his skin was missing. Every so often when objects made contact with Pinkie Pie's body, it made him scream in agony.
She guided his movements and gave him confidence when he lacked experience. Through the pink pony's guidance, he was able to mix a bowl of cupcake batter. When the bowl accidentally brushed against her chest, he screamed. Nothing fell to the floor because she took control, just long enough to prevent anything from breaking.
"I did it!" Discord yelled when he placed cupcake batter into the oven.
"Don't lie to me again." Pinkie Pie ripped off his goat hoof.
He didn't even physically exist yet she was able to hurt him.
"There, there." The pink pony patted his head condescendingly.
He couldn't really see out of her eyes since tears were blocking the way. "How are you the element of laughter?"
"Sadism is funny and so is schadenfreude."
He never expected her to answer that honestly. "What would your friends think?"
"They don't know, and you won't tell them."
"That's what you think. Fluttershy will believe me."
It was as if he started bleeding. He was starting to feel light-headed.
"Not if she never finds out. All you have to do is Pinkie Promise not to tell anyone."
"Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye," Discord said, reciting the sacred words, and going through the sacred motions with Pinkie Pie's body. "Have you ever used a real cupcake?"
"Only if I have to. Why else do you think I came up with that?"
"What do you mean?"
"The element of laughter must be sated."
The cupcake was ready, far too soon.
"Don't forget the icing."
Discord couldn't move Pinkie Pie's hooves anymore. "What's the big idea?"
"Oh silly, you can't just hold a tray fresh out of the oven without any mitts. I'll take over from here but I want you to do something for me."
"What do you want?" Discord said.
"Take one of those Discord lamps, you can use that to take an extra turn. Do it before Chrysalis has a chance."
Pinkie Pie took control of her body. When she finished icing the cupcake and adding sprinkles, Discord felt his power return to him.
There was no reason to remain in Pinkie Pie's body anymore so Discord released his control. He was fully healed with his powers returned to him. Snapping in a lamp was a simple task. He plonked that onto the board.
Twilight was not having a day. Yesterday, Discord took control of her body where his oh-so-brilliant plan failed. Not only did it place him at risk, but turned Chrysalis into a goddess. Today, Chrysalis herself decided to have a turn. Not only that, she could feel her burning hatred as she tried to kill her son at first, then tried to strangle the life out of him. Topping that off, the changelings suddenly recognized her as their mother, even when Chrysalis stopped controlling her. She was flying back to Ponyville with over a hundred thousand changelings behind her.
This was sheer madness.
"Thorax, what are you doing here?"
"Hello, mother," Thorax said.
"How does this make sense?"
"You're asking me. I just know it to be so. They all want to meet you. I don't know what Chrysalis did, but you changed Twilight."
"She took control of my body despite all our precautions."
When she flew closer to Ponyville, all the changelings from the changeling kingdom were there to greet her. Pinkie Pie worked fast in turning Ponyville into a festive mood.
"Make it stop!" Twilight yelled. She heard incessant talking yet no one was talking nearby.
"What's wrong, Twilight?" Spike asked.
"I hear ponies talking yet I don't see any. Is Chrysalis trying to control my body again?"
"The gryphons found an ancient spell that should stop that if you want to try."
Twilight followed Spike as he led her to her castle. The book was something to be desired. It was written in a language that she didn't understand. "I don't suppose there's a translation?"
"They do have this pronunciation guide."
"And what's this supposed to do?"
"Stop anyone from taking over your mind."
Pinkie Pie barged into the castle. "You should come out and party, Twilight."
"Chrysalis might take control of my mind."
"Don't worry about that. Discord is here. They can't play the game at the same time."
Twilight blinked. "And how do you know about this?"
"He's at the party with Fluttershy."
"Really?" Twilight flew out of her castle. The changelings were feeding off of her when she flew outside yet it didn't hurt her.
Indeed, there was a massive party outside. She felt compelled to do a circle around Ponyville so every changeling could get a good look at her. Many ponies were eating cakes and other desserts. When she finished, she landed next to Pinkie Pie.
"How did you even set all this up?"
"Discord helped."
The draconequus wasn't that hard to spot. She flew down to meet Discord.
"Twilight, Fluttershy insists that I must apologize to you. My plan to stop Chrysalis was flawed. I – I – I'm sorry. There, happy now?" Discord said.
Fluttershy embraced him in a hug.
Discord was apologizing to her. Twilight could hardly believe her ears.
"So, Chrysalis will be trying to take over your mind or someone else's in a day or so when my turn is up."
"Is there any way to stop her?" Twilight said.
"Not that I know of."
"Great. Some book that I can't understand is my only hope?"
"Let me see it."
Twilight and Discord headed to her castle. Fluttershy tagged along as well.
"This might help." Discord caused a book to vanish.
"That's my pronunciation guide! I haven't had the chance to read yet."
He animated the letters in the book. "Now, you have teachers."
The language sounded strange and foreign to her. Without the aid of the letters themselves, she would've never arrived at the correct pronunciation. Twilight slowly recited the spell. Halfway through, her voice became loud enough for the entire world to hear. It was enough for her to stop, and question what she was doing. Never before had a spell amplified her voice like that. As if the world itself shuddered at her words
The dancing letters fell silent.
Twilight could feel Chrysalis prodding at her mind. The same sensation that she felt when Chrysalis attempted to take over the first time.
Equestria's rightful rulers made an appearance by teleporting into the castle.
"Twilight, we've come to support you," Celestia said.
"I shall keep her from your mind," Luna said.
Prodded on by her mentor, Twilight continued the lengthy incantation as best as she could. She found herself floating in space lit up by a board.
"I'm innocent," Discord yelled. "I would never hurt Fluttershy."
"Discord? What happened?"
"Look." He pointed to the board where a smoking crater remained.
"Where are we?"
"You joined the club of creatures too powerful to exist."
"What does that mean?"
Discord seemed to be searching for something on the board itself.
"I will have your head." Chrysalis appeared nearby.
"Pity, you're still around," Discord said.
"You killed them all. All the changelings. Gone."
Twilight stared at her hooves in shock. She didn't mean for any of this to happen. When Chrysalis attacked, she didn't try to dodge, but the changeling queen passed right through her. "Celestia, what have I done?"
"You used them all as fodder for your spell," Chrysalis said.
"Did anyone survive?" Twilight asked.
"Pinkie Pie is somewhere. Fluttershy must have too, right? That elements of harmony thing," Discord said. "Help me find her."
Twilight couldn't pick any of the ponies up as they moved about autonomously. She scanned the board for any trace of her friends. On the other hoof, Twilight felt stronger than ever before as if their strength became hers. "Time travel, that will fix it."
"That doesn't bring anyone back. You just replace them with copies," Discord said.
"What can I do then if I'm so powerful?"
"Trivial things really, like rewrite the rules of the universe. Control a single pony for a day. Oh, and before you try this, stopping the planet from rotating kills nearly everyone."
"How would you know?"
"I tried. Long ago."
"I can do that?" Chrysalis said. "How?" She tried to stretch her hooves to reach both ends of the massive board.
"Oops."
Twilight glared at him.
"What? I thought it would be funny. Reversing gravity is much better."
Twilight closed her eyes. She knew what she had to do. "If even the magic of friendship could cause so much harm–"
"Don't finish that spell. You don't know what you're doing," Discord said.
"Maybe, we're better off without any magic at all."
Magic was gone – as if she lost an intimate part of herself.
"No more magic, no more problems," Twilight said.
"Uh, Twilight, I think you just destroyed Cloudsdale." Discord pointed to the board. "Oh, that's not good. Did you know that pegasus ponies used magic to fly?"
Twilight saw the pegasi falling to the ground. She curled into a fetal position. "Make it stop!"
"Well done, Twilight Sparkle. Any more brilliant ideas?" Chrysalis said.
"Go away."
Discord snapped his claw. The board changed into the moon,
"How come you can do magic?" Twilight asked.
"Because it's not magic. It's chaos. That's still there." He changed it into the sun next. "Okay, the sun still exists."
"Earlier, you said that Pinkie Pie survived. Where is she?"
"If you want to find out, just break a Pinkie Promise. Fluttershy is probably with her too. She has to be."
"Are you serious?"
"As I can be."
"I Pinkie Promise to see Pinkie Pie again."
An enormous wooden box started falling from above softly as a feather.
"Do that again," Applejack said.
"It's my turn," Rainbow dash said. "You had your turn earlier."
"I must protest, darling. You've both played way too much," Rarity said.
"Pinkie?" Twilight opened the box. There were five ponies inside but nothing else. "How?"
"You know Fluttershy's not good with crowds? Since Discord vanished, I didn't want her to leave the party of the millennium so early so I had this box prepared. And well, the others found us inside here and stayed thanks to my Pinkie Sense. A doozy was going to happen. Anyway, your imagination is all you need."
"I'm not even going to ask how you got your hooves on Pandora's box or how you made it larger," Discord embraced Fluttershy. "Fluttershy, you're okay."
"Did something happen?" Fluttershy asked.
