The Aftermath...

by DonWitherThestral

Rating: everyone
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Sad, Comedy, Fluttershy, Random, Crossover, Main 6, Discord
Length: 2313

After Discord saves Equestria from Bill Cypher invasion, the Main Six choose to follow the instructions on his last note, as a way to honor his memory.

The chaos and weirdness has ended.
The sky, that moments ago was a broken mess of unnatural colors and breaches between realms, is once again blue and clean, like nothing ever happened. Where bubbles of unimaginable horror floated, now clouds drifted, having recovered their territory.

The hundreds of ponies turned into stone and used as bricks for a macabre throne, are free to move again. And the Mane Six have returned from their imprisonment as mocking banners. After the final battle between the embodiments of chaos and weirdness, nothing is out of place. And that, is the strangest thing of all.
After all, if Discord won, where is the big party? The hundreds of banners with his face? The rambunctious and chaotic... everything? Where is he? Shouldn't Discord be already here gloating and boasting his victory?

Why is there only a note?

Published 2024-08-02 23:40:01 UTC
Last updated 2024-08-02 23:40:01 UTC

...is not the end.

For any doubts or questions, read the author notes at the end.

Everything was quiet. The screaming heads were no more. The inverted thunders and winds that played in reverse, had become silent. The horrible visions and nightmarish sounds that escaped from beyond the rip between realms, that had turned the sky in to the color equivalent of smashing your head on a piano while choking on a kazoo, had all disappear, like a bad dream.

Worse even, because after a nightmare there are sequels that follow: your fight or flight instincts are on high alert, your skin is covered in goosebumps, you're afraid of returning to your bed in case the nightmare is awaiting hidden under your pillow... But there, at that moment, after what, probably, was the most horrific, terrifying, and mind bending fight Equestria has ever witness, there was nothing... no hearts beating like a drummer after their fourth coffee, there wasn't a single drop of adrenaline running through anypony blood, no goosebumps covered skin, no cold sweats running down your back... there wasn't a new fear in their hearts, a new trauma waiting to reveal itself the next time the ponies went to bed. That night Princess Luna wouldn't have to worry about any extra work, even after all the horrifying beings, escaped the realm whose name she once use as hers, had roamed the city of Canterlot.

The ponies that had been turned in stone, like a mockery of they nation preferred punishment for villans, and then piled on top of each other, like a sick game of tetris to build a macabre throne for a sickening and macabre demon, now walked and hugged each other, like they only came out from watching a horror movie.

Even the Bearers of Armony, the ones who had try to stop the dream demon from another plane, and in turn where use as decoration banners for a sick joke, now rested confused, not by the experience they've live, or the aftereffects of their transformation... but for the lack of something around them. The lack of someone.

There was no doubt in the hearts of those six ponies, that there was only creature in Equestria, probably in the whole world, that could have defeated such a demon, master of weirdness and ruler of nightmares. And yet... he wasn't anywhere to be found. Not only was he lacking, but his chaos too. After such a battle, undoubtedly there should be massive concentrations of chaos everywhere. Chunks of earth floating around in triangular orbits challenging each others to chess games, inverted ice cream cones (strawberry flavored only) riding jellybeans running around ketchup geyser, a chorus of penguins with rusty hinges for voices and towels as instruments playing a symphony dedicated to their savior the all mighty olive oil... not even the signature candy cotton clouds raining chocolated milk. There was nothing.

Soon the girls began to talk among themselves, trying to find what was giving them that 'wrong' sensation. They did tests, each on her own specialty, trying to discover the reason behind the whispers of 'wrong' that echoed on the back of their heads.

Pinkie Pie was bouncing, and jumping. Hidding in hedges and jumping into barrels, she trie to head dive a few times in flower pots, only to end with a new bump in her forehead. Anytime time she found a reflective surface she stare deeply at it, apparently trying to challenge her reflection to a blinking contest, other times she will just smile and stare, confused, like she was watching herself smile for a first time. But no matter wat she did, her coat and mane just seemed less... there wasn't a specific adjective that could nail the description, but something about the party-loving, cupcake-making, unexpected-happiness-bringer pony, wasn't there anymore. Her bouncy steps, her smile and her bubbly-puffy mane, all seemed less... no, they weren't less of anything. They were more. More realistic. Her mane didn't look anymore like a cotton candy explosion frozen in time, and more like a time consuming hairstyle. Her body didn't defy gravity with each bouncy step she did, she just could get as high, and last as much as any other pony. And her widest smile could no longer deform her face like pink chew gum.

Rainbow went for a flight, easily reaching her top speed and doing her usual tricks. And each and everyone of them went perfect, even those she had practiced less, where easier to do than ever before. There wasn't any unexpected air current, no micro-changes in the air, no turbulences whatsoever, or any type of resistance that she normally had to adjust for. All her natural pegasus magic, that guided her to do all the fine adjustments needed to keep her in the air, had nothing to do. The air was perfect, all currents were always on her favor, there wasn't any irregularities that force her to turn or to position her wings in any different direction. It probably was the easiest flight of her life. And she hated it, no effort, no difficulty, there wasn't anything that made her tricks complex or spectacular, worthy of her great talent. In these conditions any pegasi could do the same tricks she had worked so hard to perfect.

Rarity found herself examining herself in a pocket mirror, (where did she keep said mirror its a mistery for another day), making sure that, after such draining and weird experience, her extensively cared mane and coat weren't damaged or dirty in any way. Of course, just as she confirmed everything was on its place, Rainbow choosed to dash next to her in a inverted u-turn pirouette, dragging behind her a cloud of dust and leaves. Naturally, the only rational course of action that Rarity could take, was to scream her lungs off and close her eyes praying to Celestia that the damage was minimum. You can imagine her surprise once the dust settled and she only needed to do a little shake to get rid of the dust and leaves. Even her mane returned to her favored style without barely any effort. Just to make sure nothing was out of place after a DashTM related incident, she took a look at her reflection in the mirror, only to be horrorized by what she saw on the other side of the glass. Rarity Belle was at her best, but her best no longer meant what she remembered, her unique, her rarity, were no more. Her best was now the same as any other pony.

Applejack as a earth pony, and more important, as a farm mare, had a instinctual connection to earth. Many say that earth pony are stubborn, but the truth is that the stubborn one is the ground, earth ponies just learned to out-stubborn it. To take care of a field was to face hardship and setback after setback. Was to tame the ground until it accepted its new role as field, to clean up the rocks and pebbles that rest both above and underground and would difficult the growth of new roots. To take the weeds and keep them from returning to steal the nutrients the crops need. Then you have to divert water from rivers and springs so the earth can satiate its thirst. And that's just the tip of the iceberg of work that a farm pony like Applejack has to deal with in her day to day. But now, the ground almost feel like a trained sog, ready to obey any order its owner gives them. The few fruit trees that grew around the palace gardens, seemed to be waiting for her to approach to just drop their fruits. The whole thing tasted just same to Applejack as if she told a lie.

Meanwhile Fluttershy was busy trying to find Discord, a fear heavy in her heart. A horrific knowledge rested on her stomach, and she did everything on her power to ignore it. She knew her friend, her best friend. He was a jokester and a prankster, and too many times he's taken a prank too far, but he wouldn't disappear like this. Not after that battle, not after her and her friends where turned into banners. He may look, and in most occasions act, callous. But there was a heart inside him, one that did worry about his friends. And after such horrifying events, he would be here with her, making little chaos creations to entertain her. He would create his classic candy cotton clouds for Pinkie, try to ruffle Dash feathers, mess with Rarity mane, prank Applejack and tease Twilight. So why wasn't he here? Where was discord? In her search an unexplainable pull guided, more like drag her, to a single scroll on the ground. Despite it's simple and normal apparence, like any other paper anypony could have in their desks, it was the last item in the whole of Canterlot, and unknown to Fluttershy, the whole world, that still had a touch of chaos magic.

And Twilight. She could feel it in a much deeper way. As an alicorn and the Bearer of the Element of Magic, she could feel the mana fluxes around herself, the matrix of spells that surronded the castle, the thaumic trails of every spell that had been casted in the last days. And everything was wrong. No, not wrong... right. She couldn't belive what she was about to say, but... "There's to much armony." She immediately feel a bad taste on her mouth at saying that, or she would if everything didn't feel so right.

Twilight began to observe the nature around her. First the flocks of birds flying in perfect 'v' shape formations, each bird flapping its wings in syinc with the rest of the flock. Then she looked at the gardens around her, and noticed how the bees where flying around the flowers. Normally the bees would communicate through moves similar to a dance, each unique on its own way. But now, it was like seeing a hundred mirrors reflecting the same moves, again and again. Looking down the bushes she found herself being able to predict perfectly the order in which the dew droplets were going to fall. Twilight was horrified by how perfectly in sync everything was. What could be a dream to her; no disorder, nothing out of sync, everything following patterns... had turned into an horrifying vision. Her brain working overtime, trying to find a explanation for all of this.

"Twilight... s-sorry to bother you, but I found this lett-" Fluttershy tried to speak to Twilight, and like many other times, the alicorn was to entrapped inside her own mind to notice her friend. But unlike other times, Fluttershy was didn't have any of her usual patience. "TWILIGHT!!!"
Surprising not only her target, but also drawing the attention of the rest of her friends, she continued talking. "I've found this scroll." As she was talking, the contents of the letter that she had already read, became more and more true, turning into a dead weight inside her stomach. And how she wished it was literally.

"I-It's from D-discor-" The poor mare could finish her sentence, the damn broke and tears stated falling, sobs wreaking her body. Rainbow immediately got to her oldest friend side, followed by the rest of them. Only Twilight stood back, picking the letter and psyching herself to be ready to read its contents. Though by Fluttershy reaction, she had already an idea of what Discord wrote them.

My very dear friends. I wish I could write the stereotypical but hopeful "if", but the truth is that i can only write a realistic but pessimistic "when". Truth be told, the only hope I have is that I could give you enough time to scape and regroup. Contrary to popular belive, and what I myself have brag, I'm not invincible. And this one, is a battle in wich i can only fight to gain more time. Theres many things i wish i could tell you all, but i can stall more time, and there are important things you must know. Things you must do after you beat the one-eyed dorito, because theres no doubt in my heart that you will teach that freak what the magic of friendshipcan do, the same way you did to me.
Once you defeat him, everything will seem to return to normal by itself. But the truth is that things won't be right. This may surprise our purple egghead, but chaos is as vital for the world as Harmony. And if one of those disappears, the whole balance follows. You are smart, all of you, and you will notice how the world is just too right. This will only worsen each day. Untill everything and everypony are just cogs in a boring and lifeless machine. Unfortunately without me around to keep chaos, you'll have to find an alternative. Lucky for you, my home will have enough chaos stored up to keep the world balanced until you find somethingmore permanent. Fluttershy knows where I'd the entrance. You just have to enter and free the energy.
I apologize, because I'm too coward to write what im sure you already guessed. Im suppose that there are things not even I dare to joke about. I'm sorry, I'll miss you all.

Author's Note

Writing a fiction soon after the Death Battle episode aired? Nah.
Doing it in the one year anniversary? Nah.
Doing it in a random date without any prompt or reason? Yeah.
I still have planned at least another chapter, with a much longer author's note explaining all the reasons I decided to write this.
Any error or mistake I've surely done, please don't doubt to point it out. Thanks to your time and hope you like it.