ATC's Scrapbox

by AdmiralTigerclaw

First published 6th of January, 2012

collection of random ideas and plot ponies

This is my scrapbox. A simple collection of random pony-related plot tribbles and vague, silly ideas. There is no storyline, no real format. Many of these may not even be more than a page. But ideas are for sharing. Laugh, cry, get a kick out of them, whatever. But don't take anything here seriously and try to mark it as such. That defeats the purpose.

One Thousand Years Ago, there was a war that changed the world...

What really happened between Celestia and Luna a thousand years ago? Did the younger sister spontaneously just SNAP one day and decide to bring about eternal night? Or was something more sinister at work? Word of God had suggested that Luna had been transformed into the nightmare with a spell that could not be reversed. But, who cast that spell? Were they equipping her for battle?

Here is what 'really' happened all those years ago...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCRRH1DMpPM

"Oh her?"

"Yes. I know her..."

"She's my sister after all... It happened long ago."

...

"Did you know, there are three kinds of ponies?"

"Those who have strength."
"Those who live to fly."
"And those who can read the flow of magic."

"Those are the three."

"But her?"

PROJECT EQUINE

[PRINCESS, WE CAN NOT AUTHORIZE A RETREAT! INTERCEPT THEM!]

We figured you'd say that! THIS will cost thou extra!

"A thousand years ago, there was a war that engulfed the world."

[THERE'S A LARGE SCALE BATTLE TAKING PLACE NEAR EVERFREE CASTLE!]

- THE SKY IS PACKED WITH PONIES!

[PRINCESS! GET OVER THERE AND PROVIDE COVER!]

Hey Sister, this kind of thing is why they need us!

"She was a pony they called Midnight Wing Luna."

"This mare was her sister."

[GRIFFON FIGHTERS APPROACHING! TAKE THEM DOWN AND SECURE OUR AIR SUPERIORITY!]

They've come to greet us with the dawn!

"SHE is the Mare I seek."

[THEY'RE FASTER THAN ANYTHING WE'VE COME ACROSS!]

These are Everfree Fighters! Stay sharp!

- A horn AND a wing, I've heard of this pony...

- It's a great place for you filthy mares to be buried!

[WARNING! UNKNOWN PONY APPROACHING!]

This is Everfree! Discord's words hold no meaning!

"And so... With the words of Midnight Wing..."

"The curtain rises."

"It was a Cold and Snowy Day."

ACE COMBAT LUNAR: THE MIDNIGHT WAR

We WILL survive Celestia!

The sun peaked out from behind the moon, free from the darkness for the first time in twelve hours. Celestia breathed a sigh of releif as he guard flew up to join her.

"We did it!" he announced. "Now the war is finally over!"

The guard's worn armor clanged slightly as he pushed himself up and over the princess, leveling off on her right.

"I've got a mare back at the castle," he continued. "I'm going to propose to her when we get back. I even got her flowers."

"WARNING!" a telepathic shout ripped though their minds. "Unknown pony approaching at high speed! BREAK! BREAK!"

There was a flash of light as the guard tried to jump in front of his princess, and suddenly, from a cloud, a vicious bolt of lightning lashed out. There was barely even time to think, let alone react before it struck the hapless pegasus head on. He didn't even manage to scream before he was knocked clean out of the sky.

Celestia's pupils shrank to prinpricks in horror and shock as she helplessly watched her most loyal guard plummet lifelessly towards the canopy of the Everfree Forest.

After several long moments of disbelief, her eyes drifted back to the clouds ahead where the bolt had come from. There was somepony out there... It was a mare, midnight black, clad in armor. The most shocking part was that it had both wings and a horn...

"So..." the telepathic voice caught her attention. "Have you found a reason to fight yet..."

"Sister?"

!!!?

Operation: ....
1510 hours. 31 December
Everfree Forest

Eagle Eye: Confirmed continued partial eclipse of the sun! Celestia, continue your mission! Engage!

EE: Stand by, we're analyzing the situation.

LUNA: Here comes the night...

EE: Keep your sister busy. I'll run a magic analysis and fill you in A.S.A.P.

LUNA: Those who recieve the most praise start to feel they can do no wrong.

LUNA: I bet you do too sister...

EE: Phase one analysis complete... Magical power from your sister detected. She's controlling the eclipse!

LUNA: Do you see any friends up here? What have friends given us?

LUNA: We're going to start over from scratch. That's what Eternal Night is for.

LUNA: There's only one way sister. You've got to fight for what you believe in!

LUNA: They don't actually care about us. They just want us to run the cycle. That's all there is to it.

LUNA: It's time...

EE: DANGIT! Confirm total eclipse of the sun!

LUNA: Too bad sister...

LUNA: This twisted game needs to be reset.

LUNA: We'll start over from zero with Eternal Night. And trust the future generations to appreciate it.

EE: This is Haywax! Listen up Celestia!

EE: We've completed analysis of your sister's transformation.

EE: Codename: Nightmare Moon.

EE: This mare is protected by a magical defense barrier. Her only weakness is the tip of her horn. You'll have to attack her head-on with the Elements of Harmony.

EE: Go, take down Nightmare. You're the only one who can stop her...

EE: Friendship Element of Magic, I pray for your success...

Nightmare Moon: You and I are opposite sides of the same coin.

NMM: When we face each other, we will finally see our true selves.

NMM: There may be a ressemblance. But we never face the same direction.

EE: Celestia! Go for the tip of her horn! Use the Elements!

NMM: Now we find out who is the better ruler!

NMM: Looks like we both have a lot of power left...

EE: Use the elements from head on!

NMM: Go on!

NMM: Fire your magic COWARD!

NMM: Get ready...

NMM: COME ON!!!!

Celestia blinked as the magic from the Elements struck home. The two princesses were still jousting head on with each other. Nightmare Moon spun one way, prompting the elder sister to twist the other, another burst of Elemental Magic lashing out as she raced past. She could feel the tremendous power she had to stop. It was now or never...

The two passed, less than a wing's length from each other. Celestia could hear her heart beating as the Elements worked their magic. Then they were past each other. Celestia glanced over her shoulder just in time to see the flash of light. Then after a few seconds, a beam of light shot away from the surface, high into the sky above. Then, with a brilliant flash, the moon changed, an image of a unicorn's head imprinting on it.

It began to move at this time, the sun emerging once more from behind the lunar body, it's warming rays cast a glow upon the princess. She continued to fly, shocked at what had just happened. Her own sister, perpatrator of this entire fiasco? It couldn't be. But there was no doubt about it. She knew that magic anywhere. And now she'd...

"Mission accomplished Celestia!" the telepathic voice interrupted her thoughts. "Come on, let's go back to Canterlot. We wouldn't want to keep anypony waiting."

Celestia let herself frown at the elated tone in his voice, but quickly buried it. It couldn't be helped if he was happy. It wasn't his sister that she'd just banished. It was her sister. And his job was simply to help her win.

As she glanced up, a single tear rolled down her face.

"I'll see you again, sister. I will save you."

"Somehow..."

The most POWERFUL stallion in Equestria

Prince Blueblood is our favorite unlovable snobbish pony. As a unicorn noble, he considers himself to be ABOVE such things as work and dirt. And his attitude reflects a level of spoiled that’s almost satirical. Wait, who are we kidding? It IS satirical.

But what if it was really just an act. What if he used it to cover up a job of far greater importance? One appointed to him by Celestia herself. What if he was…

The most POWERFUL Stallion in the Universe!

Prince blueblood smiled haughtily as the camera focused.

“I am Blueblood,” he began. “Prince of Equestria and keeper of the secrets of castle Everfree.”

The unicorn then turned his head to an earth pony standing next to him.

“This is doorstop,” he continued. “My faithful servant.”

Then the stallion stood up straight as he continued to narrate.

“Fabulous secr-“

The unicorn prince was interrupted by a loud explosion behind him. As he spun in surprise, a large green dragon swooped by, blasting parts of Canterlot castle with flame. A moment later, a blue unicorn in a star-decorated cloak and hat appeared in a flash of light, unleashing a swarm of parasprites. She was quickly joined by an enraged hydra and its many snarling heads.

Then the sky suddenly darkened as the moon drifted across the sun, casting the land into into shadow. From the darkness, a figure of a winged unicorn emerged, eyes glowing with magical power, reflecting coldly off her battle armor.

Then at last, there was a sickeningly demented chuckle as the non-corporeal image of Discord appeared in the sky, menace visible on his features. Then with a sweep of his taloned arm, pink clouds scattered across the land, delivering a chocolate downpour as he openly laughed in amusement.

Blueblood’s eyes narrowed in anger at the display ravaging the land of Equestria.

Rearing back on his hind legs, he raised his head until the unicorn prince had his horn pointing mightily at the sky. Then he shouted.

“BY THE POWER OF FRIENDSHIP!”

A bolt of brilliant blue lightning lanced through Discord’s demented clouds, striking the unicorn upon the tip of his horn and enveloping him in a flash of light that washed away the darkness of the eclipse. All the attacking creatures halted their actions to look at the display of power in surprise.

As the flash faded, where Blueblood once stood was a large, muscular, winged unicorn stallion, his eyes glowing white with incredible magical power and his short, blond mane blowing in a wind that didn’t exist.

“I have THE POWER!!!!” he shouted, his voice echoing impossibly across the land.

The stallion dropped to all fours, his hooves cracking the ground and kicking up dust around him as he took an aggressive stance. His wings fluttered a little and then tucked themselves away.

Six ponies quickly rushed to his side, two unicorns who’s magic glowed brightly about them, a pair of pegasi who quickly swooped in to provide assistance in the air, and finally, two Earth ponies looking ready to rumble. Each one sported a mysterious jeweled ornament that glowed with an inner power.

Only three ponies know about his secret.

His friends, the Sorceress… (Twilight Sparkle)

Fancy Pants, and Derpy.

Power is my Mind

What IS Discord?

Many believe his title and take it at face value. ‘Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony’. A malicious prankster out to reap havoc far and wide with his Q-like power. But perhaps, upon closer examination, people are wrong about his nature. Many apply the emphasis of the ‘chaos’ in his title to what he is.

But I ask you, what is his NAME? Names have meaning, and first and foremost, his name is Discord. Discord does not mean chaos. It means disagreement, disharmony. This is not a creature OF chaos; he just likes to cause it because he’s being disagreeable. Remove the word chaos from his title and he is really ‘Discord: Spirit of Disharmony’. The chaos part was something he added for flair, perhaps even to confuse those who might attempt to see through him and discover his weakness.

True Chaos is primordial. It is entropy, and it is raw power. Discord’s chaos was little more than wacky-land silliness. For all of his power, for all of his cruel jokes, Discord was all but harmless.

Perhaps the question should be where did he get his power? Because it’s not magic. And where did Discord come from?

“Twilight!” Applejack panted as she caught up with her friend. “Get away from that thing! You know what happened last time he got loose!”

Twilight Sparkle stared up at the statue of Discord, his face frozen in a mask of terror from the moment the Elements of Harmony had unleashed their magic upon him.

‘You can only touch as much power as your mind can handle,’ the creature’s voice echoed in her thoughts once more. ‘I discovered that the hard way. I tried to touch it, to grasp it. But I was never meant to. I overestimated my mind and my will. And for that foolishness it nearly destroyed me, nearly left me a mindless vegetable. Whatever I had been was shattered. My form changed to reflect it as I became this Chimera. But I survived; I found sanctity in the utter madness of the truth. The madness that Equestria was one big, BORING joke. A big spinning ball of monotony and stagnation. So I set out to show everypony that joke. That’s what happens when you behold true power. I am not evil Twilight Sparkle. Evil beings destroy. While I have always laughed at my jokes at the expense of other ponies, never once have I physically brought permanent harm to them. As I had told Celestia that day, I don’t turn ponies into stone. She is powerful, wise, and kind. I will grant her that much. But she does not understand. None of you do. Of course, none of you ever bothered to ask…’

“Why?” Twilight mouthed the final word the Draco- No, the Chimera had spoken into her mind so many days ago.

‘Remember, Twilight Sparkle,’ the echo of the voice continued. ‘Even the most powerful magic is little more than a light show without the mind to control it. The mind shapes it, gives it form. Chocolate milk raining from cotton candy clouds, hedge mazes that retract on a whim, or even turning dirt roads into roads of soapy water… It’s all so simple, so childish. And yet, nopony appreciates how horrendously complex it is. If you’ve ever baked a loaf of bread in your life, you must surely understand just how complicated a process it is to change one thing into another. And you must also realize just how much power and focus it takes to move even a medium sized rock. The mind is the key Twilight Sparkle. You came so close to understanding that when you freed your friends from my influence. The mind is the key, the power… And your mind is strong.’

“My mind is the power,” Twilight muttered to herself.

Then she stepped forward, approaching the statue of their most dangerous foe.

“What are you doing?!” she heard Rainbow Dash shout.

She lowered her head. What had the chimera said had freed him the first time? Three fillies having a childish argument in his presence? Of course. Discord was freed, by simple discord.

Well, Twilight had something a little more potent than mere childish bickering. A LOT more potent. The unicorn touched her horn to the stone, closing her eyes.

Down she reached, deep into the depths of her consciousness. She mustered the emotion buried there, a feeling she kept behind her mind’s closed doors. Something she had started to feel when discord had done his worst, something she had felt ashamed of even against him. But if this is what it took, so be it. If this is what he wanted, he could have it.

“ALL OF MY HATE!” Twilight snarled, her eyes snapping open.

‘CRACK!’

The sound was like a tree branch breaking in a storm. Twilight jumped back to see the sudden long fracture that had erupted where her horn had touched the statue. It traveled with frightening speed; spider-webbing out across Discord’s petrified form. For just a moment, apprehension made every muscle in her body tense. After all, this creature had nearly-

No, what’s done is done. It was too late for second thoughts.

The fractures widened, covering the entire statue before the stone began to crumble. She could hear her friends gasping in horror. But strangely, she no longer felt the same horror. Discord had ‘done his worst’ to them once. Yet, now she understood. His worst was not THE worst his power could do. His reign of terror little more than super powered practical jokes.

Had she been that blind? Too preoccupied with just stopping him to even realize how he’d messed with her friends, and then too upset to realize what it was. The cruel logic she had attuned herself to from years of study saw right through Discord’s game this time. No friendship, no magic, no emotions to cloud her vision from what the others couldn’t see. Just the facts filtered from a stream of data flooded with opinions.

Discord was a spoiled rotten child who just spent over a thousand years in cosmic timeout.

“TWILIGHT SPARKLE! WHAT HAVE YOU-” the sound of Princess Celestia cut off as she heard her mentor land somewhere behind her. The sound replaced by a gasp of shock. The stone was crumbling away now, revealing the colored fur, the scales, and every other assortment of animal hide that covered the creature.

With a sudden gasp as if emerging from a deep pool, Discord took a deep breath and relaxed, the terror his features had been frozen in being replaced by a simple, blank look.

Nobody spoke, too thunderstruck save for Twilight.

Discord blinked, reaching up to rub his eyes, then stretched, causing several joints to pop loudly as he did so.

“You know,” he began in a simple, conversational tone. “You could have just gone with irritation, or perhaps smoldering anger and petty jealousy. But Hate…”

Discord glanced around, noting his audience for a moment.

“Hate is like hot sauce,” he declared. “It adds flavor, but you’re not supposed to down the bottle.”

“Discord!” Celestia finally found her voice. One that hinted at the impotent rage she was controlling. “What have you done to my precious student?”

“Done?” Discord glanced at Celestia, a frown crossing his features. “Celestia, you above all ponies should know I was powerless to DO anything trapped in that statue.”

“Don’t lie to me Discord,” the princess advanced in an almost predatory fashion. “My student would never-“

Celestia the snail couldn’t really finish the statement. All the ponies recoiled in horror.

“I am many things,” Discord glowered at the mollusk of the sun. “Menace, monster, fool, trickster… I even make liars out of ponies.”

Then the chimera approached the diminished form of Celestia, long contained flickers of anger smote in the pits of his eyes.

“But I am NOT a liar,” he continued in a threatening growl.

“Could have fooled me,” Applejack glared.

The chimera’s head glanced up at her remark.

“Ah,” he smirked, though this one wasn’t his usual smirk of fun, but one hiding far more anger. “You would be one to speak about honesty, wouldn’t you?”

Applejack opened her mouth to reply….

Except she no longer had a mouth.

“I’m afraid the ADULTS are speaking at the moment however,” Discord continued in a tone that was genuine venom. “That should prevent you from interrupting us again. If anypony else wants to interrupt. I can assure that what I did before was mere card tricks to what I am fully capable of when angered. So I suggest you leave me to-“

Discord was cut off as he found himself smacked right to the ground by an irresistible force of power.

“You will turn them back.” The tone from Twilight Sparkle was firm, but devoid of anger one would have expected. It held the strength of a command, but lacked any of the pretenses a command would have had. It was a statement of fact.

“Oh?” Discord turned, his expression drifting toward a grin as he turned to face the mare. “And why would I do such a thing? Hmmm?”

“Because I said so.”

Discord blinked… Then he choked, a laugh barely escaping his throat. He tried to contain his mirth. The very idea that a pony was ordering him around and expecting him to listen with a reas-

“This isn’t a joke,” Twilight’s tone was that same factual monotone as before. “Neither was what you did to them. And nopony is laughing.”

Discord stopped, once again blinking. Was this really the same-?

“It’s not funny,” Twilight repeated. “So you will turn them back.”

The chimera stood in place, regarding Twilight with an ever growing look of perplexion. Then after a moment, he leaned down, stopping only when he was inches from her face, gazing into her eyes. Twilight kept her expression firm, her only seeming reaction to take a much deeper breath than before.

They kept this pose for a good thirty seconds before Discord allowed himself to slowly raise back, now looking confused.

“Something has changed in you Twilight Sparkle,” he announced as glanced around. “Is it possible you understand?”

Then he frowned, continuing to narrate his thoughts.

“No. You wouldn’t have come to me if you did…”

Then he leaned down, this time his face losing the mask of whatever emotion he was trying to play at, revealing a genuine expression of curiosity.

“Why are you here?” he asked.

“I’m here for my answer,” Twilight replied evenly.

“Your answer?” the chimera asked. “But you never asked me a question. What answer do you want?”

“Why?”

Discord blinked.

“Why is the sky blue,” Twilight began. “Why do you seek pleasure in hurting others. Why is happiness so important? Why do you have powers that allow you to change the world itself on a whim, but yet you can’t fight off the Elements?”

Then she took a breath, closing her eyes.

“Why are WE here?”

Silence, for several seconds. The ‘Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony’ slowly coiled himself back, as the young mare kept him locked in her gaze.

“Why?” he mouthed after a moment, his features changing from confusion to delight. “Why? Such an amazing question. Simple, yet complex. One with so much meaning and force that it is power unto itself.”

Then Discord dropped to all fours, seeming to stalk forward as he started circling twilight.

“Your friends will be returned to normal,” he commented idly. “But you will be the one to do it.”

Twilight lost her composure for a moment, her guard thrown off.

“What?” she asked.

“No!” Discord snapped like a beast. “Not what… Why.”

Twilight took a deep breath and glared at the Chimera.

“Okay,” she breathed. “WHY?”

Discord grinned.

“WHY? Are you asking me?” he seemed to mock the very statement. “You’re already much closer than you think.”

“Why, do you say I’m close?” Twilight asked. Discord started to look almost giddy with excitement.

“You can feel it,” he replied. “It’s there on the edge of your mind, staring back at you while you stare right through it.”

“Why do you speak in riddles?” Twilight asked with a hint of annoyance. “Why must you resort to tricks?”

“I speak in riddles because the answers you seek cannot be learned by being told,” Discord replied honestly. “You must discover them yourself if they are to have meaning. Try again Twilight Sparkle. Why is a powerful question, but like a spell, you must find the right use for it.

Twilight paused to think for several seconds. Through the entire exchange her friends had watched in morbid fascination, expecting Discord to unleash his usual trickery at any moment.

“Why-” she continued again. Discord practically giggled in anticipation. “-is my mind so important?”

“For that answer,” Discord commented almost immediately. “Simply remember that which you have already learned.”

The mind is the key. Twilight frowned. Her mind was her key, no… Her mind was her power.

“Why…” she took a breath.

“Why is my mind power?”

“THAT…” Discord grinned. “Is an excellent question.”

Then the chimera stopped circling her, raising himself to his full height.

“Notice,” he pointed out. “How you just asked that question. What did you just call your mind.”

Twilight gazed up at him, his features suddenly clouded with confusion.

“WHY,” Discord glanced at the audience for a second, his raised tone causing the other ponies to step back. “-Is your mind POWER? Notice that in that statement, you did away with the sense of belonging. You simply equated your mind to power. And when you have two equal things in mathematics, what is it you can do with them?”

Twilight stood transfixed as she mulled over it. Then as it slowly started to slide into place, her expression melted from confusion, to utter shock.

“Reach within’ Twilight Sparkle,” Discord crossed his arms, looking like an instructor evaluating his student. “What you seek does not reside out here in the material world. Reach deep. You may have to use your magic the first time.”

Twilight Sparkle shut her eyes, reaching deep within’. A touch of magic to push... Her mind, her will… There was something tangible about it. Like levitating a parchment and quill. A kind of feeling of-

Twilight gasped and fell over, the feeling of an anvil having struck her head. Her mind reeled for a moment as she tried to make her eyes focus on the two blurred images of Discord looking on her with a satisfied smirk. Behind him, her friends had been apprehensive as they all fidgeted in place.

“What-…” she gasped. “What was…”

“Did you feel it?” he smirked. “You touched it, I can tell.”

“So much…” the unicorn closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

“Amazing isn’t it?” Discord seemed to be melting away into his usual habits. The sly smirk and the floating were telltale signs. “If you want to know, my secrets, you’ll have to grasp it. Only then can you get that answer.”

Twilight sat up, trying to steady herself as she glanced at the greatest terror Equestria had ever known. But she had seen greater. In just that instant she had felt a force so terrible that she was certain now that Discord had always been playing very, VERY nice.

“I…” she blinked, looking down. “It’s just… I can’t…”

Discord frowned.

“Fear?” he asked. “Come now Twilight Sparkle, after pushing past the fear of punishment for releasing me again, and the fear of my powers themselves, you balk a little touch of the unknown? That is the reason we have the question WHY. You have stuck the key in the lock girl. All you have to do is to turn it.”

“I can’t,” Twilight’s face started to lose its color. And not the kind Discord usually caused. Her breath coming more and more unevenly.

“Hmmm…” the Chimera frowned, leaning down. “Fear of falling can be a problem for those who like to fly.”

Twilight’s panic-stricken expression crossed with confusion as her eyes drew up to his rapidly widening grin.

“They spend their lives standing by the edge of a cliff,” he continued, examining his talon arm innocently. “Longing for the sky.”

Then Discord turned, his features growing sinister.

“Sometimes, all they need is a little push…”

He reached out, and Twilight’s eyes widened as the ‘Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony’ extended one of his claws.

“TWILIGHT!” her friends all shouted in panic.

‘Tap…’ Discord touched Twilight right on the top of her head, and her mind exploded. Forcefully she was plunged deep into the abyss she’d barely felt the edge of. It was like nothing she’d ever known. Fire and ice, light and dark, strong and weak. It felt so much like magic, but had a nature all its own. It was everywhere, yet nowhere. The contradictions warred with each other, vying for domination. Already she understood how it could be maddening. Even now, what felt like an eternity of instants, she could feel that thread of her mind she knew as Twilight Sparkle reeling and losing itself in the swirling tumult of unbridled chaos.

Chaos?

The name felt so worthless, yet so right. The power of chaos, twisted and warped into a point too small to see, yet so vast and powerful that it overwhelmed any poor sod who was fool enough to touch it. The hurricane of conceptual images swirled around Twilight Sparkle as she latched on to the word. The only meaning against an unstoppable tide of meaninglessness. It pressed on her from all sides, crushing, squeezing, suffocating...

Twilight screamed.

The blast blew Discord right across the courtyard, depositing him behind the rest of Twilight’s friends. They all stared in shock at the otherwise near invulnerable master of mischief as he rubbed his head.

“What just-” Rarity couldn’t finish her question.

“WHAT IS THAT?!” Rainbow Dash pointed at the massive purple aura around Twilight. It was bright, yet seemed to cast no illumination; edges seeming to absorb light instead of emit it. Twilight’s eyes themselves were glowing much the same way they had done when she had wielded the element of Magic.

“That,” Discord’s voice began as he crawled to his feet. “Is power.”

Then he slinked forward, snaking uncomfortably close to the pegasus as he waved at Twilight with his hand.

“Limitless Power.”

Back within’ the realms of what had been Twilight’s mind, the unicorn thrashed at the darkness around her. Chaos, chaos everywhere. It burned, it froze, it hurt. There was too much chaos. Too much. If only it would move away from her, give her mind a moment.

“GET AWAY FROM ME!” she howled at the hurricane of force. However voice meant nothing. If anything, the chaos itself seemed to scream back, as if mocking her.

“LEAVE ME ALONE!” she shouted again. Yet, it was unrelenting. Twilight felt fear well up in her mind. Fear she would be stuck with it forever, or until it snuffed her and absorbed her into the stream. She could feel mental tears coming on as the force closed in, ever tighter. Why… WHY did it have to be like this? Why was it so hard?

WHY!?

… Why?

Twilight examined the simple, powerful question.

Why did it have to be so hard?

Why DID it have to be so hard?!

Twilight clamped onto the word with all her will. WHY? Was the chaos so hard to control? WHY was it too much? And WHY wasn’t she in control. She was only in her own mind.

HER mind.

HER power.

They were one in the same.

“I said…” Twilight summoned her will.

“STOP!” she snarled into the courtyard with a force that shattered the windows as high up as the castle tower. In an instant, the power surrounding her body flared brightly, nearly blinding the onlookers. Then it subsided, drawing in around her until it had nearly vanished. Save for her eyes, which glowed brilliant golden white in their sockets.

“Ow…” Rainbow Dash forced herself to her feet, her ears still ringing from the percussion. “What happened?”

Discord, who seemed unhindered by such mere things glanced up at the figure of Twilight. He could sense her now, a deep abyss beyond anything any of the other ponies could understand.

“I…” Twilight’s voice resonated as loud as if she were inside their minds. “I think I get it.”

“Behold,” Discord presented the unicorn to her friends. “True power.”

“Uh… Girls?” Twilight looked around. “I’m going to… Oh, I’ll just do it. It’s easy enough.”

There was flash, and Celestia stumbled in place, her normal form restored. A moment later Applejack gasped a sigh of relief from the mouth she’d always spoken with.

“Tarnation!” she breathed. “I don’t ever… I mean. What just happened?”

“What did you do to Twilight?!” the Princess demanded, stamping her hoof at Discord.

“You still ask the same tired questions Celestia,” the chimera tsked. “The WRONG questions. Always ‘WHAT’, never ‘why’.”

“It doesn’t matter why,” Celestia glared. “My student-“

“Your STUDENT has come into contact with the very power I myself possess,” Discord interrupted the princess. Then he glanced at Twilight’s form.

“And she seems to be in control,” he provided. “Bravo miss Twilight. Bravo. I spent days in the madness before I learned what I could hold.”

Then he looked back at Celestia, a sinister smile on his features.

“Looks like you’re out of the job.”

Celestia’s brow furrowed in confusion.

“What?” she asked.

“I don’t need you,” Discord slapped his face. “I just need a recording that says ‘what’ all the time…”

Then he paused.

“I know!”

Discord snapped his fingers, a record player appearing in his hand.

“What? What? What? What? Wha-”

‘CRASH!’

“On second thought,” he muttered as he dusted his claws off, you do have one redeeming quality…”

Then he spun to Celestia once more.

“But you’re obsolete,” he continued. “Out dated, out of warrantee, out of service, expired, rendered a redundancy. You are no longer needed.”

Celestia’s eyes grew as he continued to grin as if laying on the greatest punchline of any joke.

“And now that the student has surpassed her teacher, I think you would look better in something I can mock at any time… Like a Snow globe. Oh, you’ll like snow globes.”

“No,” Celestia started to mouth.

“Nothing personal,” Discord hissed. Then he stopped. “Actually, it is… You locked me in a rock for a thousand years after all.”

Discord snapped his fingers.

There was flash, and Discord grinned at his handiwork, staring right into the golden eyes of Twilight Sparkle.

“Wait, that’s not-,” he stood up to his full height and turned. Celestia was right where he left her, several dozen feet away.

“I could have sworn I just,” he snapped his fingers again. Another flash of light and he was once again staring into those golden orbs.

“No,” Twilight’s voice resonated firmly. “You will not pick on the weak anymore.”

“Pick on the weak?” Discord laughed. “I recall that Celestia was never a weak princes-“

Then he stopped.

“Your SANE,” he stood in shock.

“VERY sane,” Twilight’s voice echoed. “And I’m VERY upset that you would willingly risk my sanity after all that talk about not hurting anypony.”

“What’s a little sanity?” Discord waved it away. “I turned out okay.”

“You pushed me into a nightmare of mental power,” Twilight’s glowing golden eyes narrowed ever so slightly. “I was not ready and you know it.”

“You would have tried eventually with the same results,” Discord snapped back. “There is no preparing for-“

“The PAIN?” Twilight asked. “I would have liked a little warning. Is that what broke your mind? The pain? Agony? Your mind trying to grasp at anything it could understand in a maelstrom of thoughts and concepts? You said it made you what you are now. A deranged mental wreck wrapped up in a super-powered package with the maturity of a child.”

“Well,” Discord stood up straight. “I NEVER…”

Then he turned and started to walk away.

“I’m leaving,” he announced.

A flash of light and Discord was gazing right into Twilight’s eyes once more.

“You will stand still and face me when I’m talking to you,” Twilight’s resonant voice commanded FACT, and nothing more.

“Stop DOING that,” Discord shouted as he jumped away. Or would have, had he not been locked in place by the raw domination she was having over his form.

“I will NOT,” Twilight glared. “You will answer me.”

“I should think not!” Discord snapped indignantly. “I showed you how to touch the power, how to grasp it. At best you shouldn’t be able to form coherent sentences for a week. Let alone override MY power.”

“You showed me how to touch the power,” Twilight nodded. “I followed what you did until you shoved me in.”

“Then you should be a gibbering wreck like I was,” he snapped.

“Maybe,” Twilight smirked. The glowing of her eyes made it eerie even for Discord. “But I think I found the mistake you made. And did something you didn’t.”

“And that was?” he asked, irritated.

“I asked WHY,” Twilight seemed to relish the irony. “Why couldn’t I handle it? Why COULDN’T I handle it, just because I found it for the first time? I didn’t just ask why discord, I actually searched for the answer, it was the only way not to lose myself. Like you lost yourself.”

The chimera frowned.

“And what did you discover?” he asked.

“My answer,” Twilight’s voice seemed proud. “I understand your riddle. I found my power. Found how, WHY it was connected to that chaos you touched. I solved the riddle.”

“Then what is your answer, Twilight Sparkle,” Discord asked. Twilight’s eyes flared, and there was a thump that seemed to darken the sky.

“My mind is my power,” she resonated in a haunting tone, probably deliberate. “POWER is my mind. When uncorrupted by other elements, my mind becomes PURE power.”

Discord tried to take a step back.

“And I see right through you,” Twilight continued. “Your power is your mind, tied to the primordial chaos of existence. You kept asking why until you hit it, and then it hit back, and you faltered. I KNOW you now Discord. I know what you really are. I know your limits now. And I’ve seen what you’ve seen.”

“Nopony knows where you came from,” she continued. “Why you’re here. But I figured it out. You’re not a spirit. You’re not disharmony or chaos. Those are concepts you appointed yourself. Titles born of a fractured mind. A mind warped while attempting to protect itself from the chaos it hadn’t been prepared to touch. A mind of a PONY who had once been, and then, only a great mind, from a great pony, one who’s existence predates Equestria itself.”

Even Celestia was watching in mute fascination at this point, her eyes locked on Discord as the creature literally stood there, face screwed up like a child who’d been caught with his hoof in the cookie jar by his mother. She could feel the force Twilight was exerting, holding Discord on the spot with so much raw mental power that she was certain she could feel it giving her a migraine.

“A pony who vanished from history for no reason,” Twilight continued oblivious to her friends. “I read the books, and I know who you are now…”

Discord suddenly stumbled back, released from the hold of Twilight’s gaze as she let the glow die.

“Starswirl, the Bearded,” her features were sad, pitying even. “Look what you’ve done to yourself…”

Yes, I know there's a Lord of Nightmares Ref. in there... The concept of this fragment came from that.

A book fit for a pegasus

Rainbow Dash’s new adventure into the realm of literature has left her with the desire to fill a void she never realized she had. A sense of imagination long dormant in the deepest corner of her mind. But now that she’s tasted it, just finishing one book series won’t be enough. What kind of books will she hunt down once she runs out of Daring Do?

Rainbow Dash frowned as she pulled a dusty old book from the corner of the flying section. It’s title was fading, but she could still make out the word ‘ace’ on it. Given the section she was in focused on flying, she figured it had to be something good about some legendary pegasus.

Pulling it down and trotting over to a table, she carefully parted the pages, making sure it was going to stay in one piece as she read the delicate script on the first page.

“Chapter one,” she began... “The Nightmare.”

Rainbow Dash blinked... Nightmare? Not, Nightmare Moon is it? With no further hesitation, Rainbow Dash turned the page.

“I saw my death in my dreams,” she read, “Many times…”

It was dark, ponies were fighting every which direction, lightning and thunder ripping about as they used the very weather itself for weapons.

“Magic to Spectrum Leader,” the voice crackled over a telepathic link. “Bogies are confirmed hostile on a direct course for Mareami.”

There was something out there in the dark, fast, mean. Where was it?

“You are cleared to engage and destroy…” the telepathic voice continued.

“A nightmare I’ll never forget…”

Then, there it was! Out of the shadows, its bestial form like a giant cat with wings, claws extended for the pounce. It was too late to react as the creature turned sharply, it’s beak open in a predatory smile as it prepared to snap the neck of its next victim. There was only time to throw a hoof up in a feeble gesture of defense, but even that… That could never hope to stop it…

Colonel Rainbow lowered her hoof, blinking away the terror, now only an echo in her heartbeat.

Glancing around, she noticed she was still in formation, the other pegasi with her as they raced over the countryside. She could see them now in the distance, ponies, other pegasi, fighting everywhere in madness. There was a group coming up, looking to be in trouble.

Nightmares brushed aside, she angled to the right, adjusting formation and prepared for a dive. The mission was clear. Down all hostiles and protect the city from attack.

Colonel Rainbow reached up with a hoof and pulled her goggles over her eyes. She could already see the first target sweeping in below. She waited until her enemy was lined up perfectly, snapped her wings, and pounced.

“Spectrum One!” the voice of her wingmare snapped. “Spectrum one! Tally Bandit One O clock!”

Talk about stating the obvious.

“He’s mine Scoots,” Rainbow replied. That was all she had time to say as her opponent broke hard to the left, seeking shelter from a lightning bolt as it struck one of the nearby buildings. The colonel rolled to follow, unwilling to be thwarted by such a simple attempt.

“I got your back boss,” Scoots replied as she focused. The pegasus in front of her refused to go down easy, zipping through buildings and trees trying to drive her to make a mistake. However, Colonel Rainbow did not humor her opponent today, dropping her enemy from the sky with a bolt of lightning right to the wing. She had a limited amount, but being fresh to the battle, had plenty left.

“Spectrum,” the telepathic voice warned. “Bandits are heading for the mill!”

Plenty to use on the next pegasus that zipped into her vision. No sooner did the first opponent go down than did she set her sights on this one. He too wove a course in an attempt to out-fly her, but ultimately, proved not to be the best pegasus to ever take the sky when she accidentally smashed through a windmill blade.

Rainbow flinched as one of the wooden beams that scattered from the impact struck her right in the wing, almost taking her down with her opponent. Luckily, it didn’t feel like anything was broken as she managed to right herself.

“Spectrum leader,” Scoot’s voice called in concern. “Colonel?”

Rainbow grit her teeth, the stinging sensation starting to fade.

“I took some shrapnel,” she replied. “I’m okay, but my wing feels a bit bruised. I’m going to do some checks. Watch my tail.”

Scoots came back a second later. “Go for it Dash,”

“WHOA…” Rainbow Dash lowered her book. “That’s one serious pegasus. Last time I busted a wing I went down on the spot and spent the next few days…”

Then she grinned, raising the book back up.

Spectrum squinted through the flash as four simultaneous bolts of lightning struck her targets. Each pegasus went down, knocked cold from the strikes. Suddenly, Spectrum two could be heard shouting off to one side.

“Colonel!” she heard her wingmare shout. “It’s HER! That jerk eagle!”

“BLAST!” Colonel Rainbow snapped as the griffin let go of a lightning bolt and turned. There was no time to turn as the harsh blue-white glow grew too bright to look at.

Then with a jarring boom, every nerve in her body seized up as it struck, paralyzing her instantly.

As the colonel came to, she found she was falling slowly towards the ground, ponies from her unit dropping all around her. She was struck by something that revealed to be a lion’s tail as the griffin that had taken her own whipped by, pursuing her remaining squad mates.

Then with a sudden realization of horror, the creature turned hard, diving for her, claws outstretched, beak open to snap her neck. It was all she could do to throw her hoof up in futility.

“RAINBOW DASH!”

Dash jumped as Twilight shouted in her ear.

“I hear you Magic!” Dash snapped, slamming the book down. Then she paused, realizing Twilight and Spike were looking at her strangely.

“You know,” Twilight commented idly. “You CAN check the book out. It’s almost time to close for the night.”

“Huh?” Dash turned, looking out the window. The sun had already set and the evening shadows were deepening.

“Oh,” she turned to Twilight, a sheepish grin on her face. “Heheh... Sorry Twilight.”

Change is Good

The 'ponyfall' collaboration, while not the most well executed reverse HIE (EoE) stories in existence, do provide inspiration for scenerios of what-ifs for any decent writer.

Since what-ifs are my bread and butter when it comes to writing. I figured I'd touch upon at least a fragment of the ponyfall style,

The subject of this fragment (and if you guys like it, I could always expand.) is none other than her royal deceptiveness, Queen Chrysalis of the changelings. The plot device that causes this can be left up to imagination, but after that, we apply a little of my signature realism to the Ponyfall scenerio.

When you find an unconscious, naked woman at random, what do you do? Obviously some crazy people think the answer is to take them home and bundle them up. Any intelligent person however, gets straight to work contacting the authorities and getting the unfortunate woman medical attention. Because she didn't just fall asleep in a ditch naked... (Are you people flippin' insane?)

Other fun things to explore realistically... Is that no, you do not know who/what you actually have on your hands. Not right away, and certainly not in a manner you are going to believe right away either. If I found Chrysalis, I find it unlikely I would spot the connection, even with the hints staring me in the face. After all Chrysalis is not real. Why would I even THINK I had the possibility of having the real deal?

“Go faster.”

Where do I begin?

“We’re not going any faster.”

“But your ground machine is so fast! I want to see how fast it can really go.”

“Christi, we’re on a back road, already above the speed limit. I’m not in the mood for splattering all over a tree or getting a ticket. The cops LOVE to lurk around corners.”

I guess I’ll just start with right now.

“But-“

“I said NO.”

I was driving home, heavy one passenger. A young girl by the name of Christi. At least, we think her name is Christi. I was on my way home from class a week ago when it happened. I just happened to be glancing out the window after rounding a corner when something had flashed by.

For a second, I thought nothing of it until I realized the shape I had seen looked a lot like a prone body.

I know one thing; my anti-lock brakes do work as advertised. I hadn’t slammed on them that hard, EVER.

It turned out to be a young woman. From the looks, battered, bruised, and then dumped and left for dead. I never thought I’d ever have to use the ‘Evaluate a Casualty’ section of my old IET handbook on anyone ever in my life...

Luckily, while beat up, she was alive, and somewhat awake by the time I’d managed to get an emergency blanket out of my car and unwrapped. If you call rambling, incoherent, semi-delirious nonsense ‘awake’.

I’d rushed her straight to Scott & White from there. I can evaluate a casualty, but I’m not a doctor.

According to the doctors, she’d be fine. Aside from looking like she’d been struck face on by something large, she was mostly unhurt. However she seemed to have had a nasty concussion, and that made everything she told the doctors, and eventually the police when they showed up, sound like nonsense.

When the doctors had finished questioning me, and the police combing the scene I’d shown them, they hadn’t found a thing. No identification, no clothing, no evidence of anything beyond a broken tree branch...

And ‘SHE’ wasn’t helping with her delirious rants either. Claims of being queen, having to feed all her subjects, and cursing ‘them’, whoever they were for blasting her in the face with powerful ‘magic’...

A serious concussion, most likely needing her to be on continuous watch. That’s what all involved decided on.

I was allowed to FINALLY go home, after leaving the police and doctors my contact info in case they needed to question me on anything else.

And that’s the last I heard of them.

For about a week.

Then the call came in around noon.
‘Christi’, that’s the name it seemed she was responding to the best, appeared to be doing well. Well enough that she could be discharged from the hospital. Her ranting had died down, her conversations fully lucid and logical.

Problem is, she still could not give the doctors or police any meaningful forms of identification. No full names, no understanding of the term ‘ethnicity’, no next of kin, not even a blasted social security number.

‘Christi’ had no identity. And with no Identity, nobody could figure out anything to do. She couldn’t be kept in the hospital, and the police just aren’t set up to baby-sit someone like that.

Guess what they decided to do?

Oh yeah, you see where this is going.

Since they knew from bringing her in that I could be more or less trusted with her, they’d somehow decided to ask if it would be possible if I could care for her. (Compensated for with food stamps. ...Damn they’re cheap. I might as well tell them I have plenty of money to handle it.)

So before I let a long explanation get too long, I cautiously agreed to look after ‘Christi’... Or Chrysilla, or Christina, or whatever she was going to go by.

Let me just say, I’ve been around her for thirty minutes on the drive home, and already she’s proven to be a combination of, naive to the point of it being cute, and obnoxious as hell.

I mean, for Christsake... When we walked her into the parking lot, she freaked out at the sight of a truck parked nearby. Mainly the diesel engine it was revving.

It took ten minutes just to coax her out of the building and into my car.

But once she was in my car, it was...

Well, it’s like she’d never seen a car before.

“I’m ORDERING you to speed up,” her tone of voice suddenly shifted. I’m so glad I’d removed the passenger seat of my car to use as a flight simulation chair. It meant she was stuck sitting in the BACK seat, where she wouldn’t be RIGHT next to me acting bossy.

“NOPE!” I snapped back at her. “I’m afraid the inside of this vehicle is the sovereign territory of the dictatorship of me, myself, and I. No other authorities are recognized within’ its boundaries. Have a nice day.”

“PLEEEEEEASE?”

She’d switched from aggressive to pleading almost as if she were going down a list. Of course, by this point, it was transparent.

“HAH!” I couldn’t help but laugh at her reflection in my rear-view mirror. Her still-bruised features framed in unkempt hair that had a deep, pine-green dye applied to it. “Nice try. But you need to get it through your head. I’m NOT speeding up. It is DANGEROUS.”

“UGH!” Christi crossed her arms with a huff. “Why does NO ONE listen to me here?”

I scoffed, earning a scowl, but said nothing. Christi sat for a few minutes in silence as I drove the back road home. Before long, she started occupying herself with her hands. She seemed almost fascinated by them. I’d caught her staring at them with this odd perplexed look a few times already. She’d just sit there, frowning as she wiggled her fingers. Then she’d slowly, deliberately reach down to grab onto various things lying on the floor. More than once, she played with the handle to my electronics tackle box. At least twice, she became completely enthralled with rolling the window up and down.

Luckily, she hadn’t seemed to realize or figure out the latches on the tackle box, or the button on the seat belt.

Before long though, she became bored with the objects in the car and just sat, staring out as the scenery rolled by. At some point, it struck me that I hadn’t locked the doors. She hadn’t yet seemed to notice the door latch itself, but the very thought of her, in this strange naive state, trying to jump out of a moving vehicle...

I immediately reached over and slapped my lock, which acted as a master to the entire power lock group.

“What was that?!” she snapped in fear. FEAR! Can you believe it?

“You’re leaning on the door,” I replied. “I’m just locking it so you don’t accidentally fall out.”

Christi blinked at me confused for a moment, then glanced down.

“I’m tied to this seat by this insane harness,” she pointed out.

“Better safe than dead,” I shrugged back.

We crossed the railroad track, 2243 coming to an abrupt end at 183. Christi appeared a bit unnerved at the sound and vibration, but started to relax after she made eye contact with me in the rear view mirror. I used the time spent at the light to watch her in the mirror. Again, it’s like she’d never seen anything even remotely modern before. There was no hiding the curious eye she gave as she watched the traffic pass in front of us. Nor the way she cringed back a bit when one of those happened to be an 18-wheeler barreling by at fifty miles per hour, just feet away. The draft off the vehicle was strong enough to shake my tiny car in place.

Like I said, it was almost cute... It’s just she had this odd, almost caustic attitude about her when she wasn’t too busy being awed by everything that moved.

The light went green, allowing me to cross the highway safely. I noticed that while we were just cruising, Christi was fine, but whenever we had stopped and started, she did become a bit apprehensive, grabbing the handle next to her.

And she wanted me to go faster... HAH! Not on THOSE curves...

“Where are you taking me?” she demanded at last, her eyes darting between the various buildings.

“Home,” I replied. “The doctors and the police would like me to take care of you until they can get this mess sorted out. So you’ll be staying with me.”

“Really?” she asked. “You’re going to take care of me? That’s... sweet of you.”

Stop sign, left turn signal, clear left, clear right, clear left... Rolling. I could do this in my sleep. (Not that I would.) Something about the way she said that last part. I was a bit preoccupied driving, but my brain latched on to it. The tone in particular... It sounded so... scripted. Like every food service employee I’d ever known.

I knew exactly two versions of that tone.

Version One, the ‘I’d rather not be here and I’d like to call you SO many names right now, but can’t because I have to make ends meet.’ Tone.
And...

Version Two, the ‘If I butter you up, you’ll give me a big fat tip, right?’ tone.

I distinctly picked up version two. Just the way she said that. After the way she’d been acting the last half an hour, it contrasted so hard compared to even her transparent little attempt at begging that I couldn’t help but not miss it.

Part of me, the sinister, paranoid part, wondered if maybe her lying in the ditch, looking like something had just beaten the shit out of her, was without a perfectly reasonable cause. Not that I’d go so far as to speculate what actually happened. But the idea that maybe the way she was trying to be two-faced and for some reason, not quite concealing the fact at least put me partially on my mental gua-

Right turn, almost missed it.

-guard.

After all, I had a felon convicted of fraud living across from me for three months. After having my trust bite me in the ass on that one, any unusual behaviors tipped me off.

After another minute of driving, I parked my car in the driveway, killing the engine.

“We’re here,” I chimed, moving to unbuckle and open the door.

“This is your home?” Christi asked in surprise as I crawled out of my seat. “I thought you lived in a castle like that place we left...”

“Castle?” I stuck my head back in the door. Now THAT one was just out there. “The Hospital?”

“That was a hospital?” she blinked back. The tone seemed sincere. So much so that I was getting more of The Weird Vibes from her. “That place was HUGE!”

“Yeah,” I stepped away. “Hospitals are like that... And my house is just a house. Come on.”

I turned to shut the driver-side-door...

“WAIT!”

And stopped at the shout.

“What?” I asked.

“I’m still stuck in this harness!” Christi complained. Oh you’ve got to- she hasn’t figured that out YET?

“Just push the button,” I replied back.

“Button?” she asked. The young lady glanced around frantically. “Button?!”

I wish I could say I’ve never met people this clueless before but...

“Here,” I walked around to the other side of the car, opening the rear passenger door. “I got it.”

I reached in, firmly grabbing the buckle where it stuck out of the seat and gave the brightly marked, easy to spot orange button a push.

‘Click!’
The shoulder harness snapped free, retracting up and away. Christi jumped in her spot as it moved.

“Jeez,” I looked at where she’d grabbed my arm, her eyes locked on the harmless device. “Aren’t you jumpy?”

It was almost funny. Even the way she looked at me, just for a moment, looking like a terrified animal before she tried to hide it. Her mood swings were unpredictable. One moment she was bossy, the next curious, then afraid, and then back to obnoxious and bossy. That concussion probably knocked a lot of screws loose...

“It’s a seat belt,” I stated firmly. “It doesn’t bite. It’s designed to do that.”

I felt like I was explaining the concept to a two-year-old, but couldn’t resist reassuring her as to the function and purpose of the device as I calmly reached over her shoulder and grabbed the harness. Pulling it and releasing it several times to show her that it did the same thing, every time.

“See?” I asked. “Nothing here’s going to eat you. Now relax.”

My arm was ‘returned to me’ after a moment, allowing me to back out and assist Christi in scrambling out of the vehicle.

“Let’s get inside and get out of this heat,” I continued as she glanced around the neighborhood. I could already feel the sun baking me in my own clothes. It just never seemed to stay pleasant very long in Texas. It was either blistering, or winter. Or both... Yeah, I went there. Welcome to Texas, don’t like the weather? Wait a minute, it’ll change.

About half way to the door I stopped, turning to Christi and she followed me, seeming to be unsure of something. It’s like she was afraid of something.

Then a thought struck me.

“Oh by the way,” I began. “We’ve got a dog here. He’s big, but more annoying than scary. So stay calm.”

Change is Good: Final Confrontation

EDIT: Addition of a short, painful fight with two goddesses... Does not end very well.

A continuation of the 'Change is Good' scenerio. The idea that sticks in my head is that after 'rehabilitating' the queen over a period of a few months, the human who's perspective the reader shares gets dragged with her back to her home.

Except, the same mechanism that made her a human reverses the process and makes the human a changeling. And with no concept of how changeling magic works, he struggles to help her make peace with Equestria, without the slightest ability to change shape, or even use TK.

Having not realized how much 'love' energy he's been absorbing, he's got quite a stockpile when the confrontation goes down quite messily in canterlot court. The queen came asking forgiveness for her selfish actions. The princesses kneejerked that it was another coming attack and struck first.

The 'powerless Changeling' can only look on in horror as his months of kindness and teaching get blasted to the floor.

And he snaps.

"What the hell..."

"WHAT THE HELL?!"

Both of the princesses removed their attention from Chrysalis where she lay cringing on the floor. I had worked so hard to rehabilitate- To point out the error of her ways. And they just went and blasted her full on without provocation!

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" I snarled. It sounded funny in this changeling body.

"BE SILENT LITTLE ONE," Luna thundered. "THIS DOES NOT CONCERN YOU UNLESS YOU WANT TO JOIN HER. BE GRATEFUL WE TAKE PITY ON YOU FOR YOUR LACK OF POWER."

"NO!" I snapped, stomping one of these deformed hooves. "NOT YET... I'm not done yet... We're not finished here."

The princess of the night turned, stepping towards me in a deliberately measured move meant to intimidate. But I felt no such threat from her. I was too angry at what had just transpired. Good Guys or not, kind princesses or not, understandable or not... There are some things you just don't do, and that was one of them.

"Sure," I continued. "She made a mistake. She gathered an army, launched an attack, and tried to conquor Equestria. But she did it for her subjects. Like you raise the sun for yours. And she learned from that mistake. Learned that she could do better, BE better. She came to ask forgiveness, and what do you give her?"

I glared between the two winged unicorns as they now stood side-by-side, glaring back. Then glanced down where some small curls of smoke drifted from the queen's singed wings, the holes even more pronounced than before.

"THIS?!" I snapped my head back up. "THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE!"

"S- stop," Chrysalis choked out. "It... It's okay. I desserve it for what I did."

"Absolutely not," I turned to the pitiful changeling. "You already served your time, stuck in a world where you spent months afraid of everything that moved. You don't need to be punished twice for your actions. WE don't believe in it. I don't believe in it. They hit you without provocation... This time you desserve to hit back."

"And just what do you plan to do, Changeling?" Celestia fixated me with a firm warning gaze that promised I would join the queen on the floor if I continued.

"It's funny," I locked gazes with the princess. She was so much bigger... If only I had my own body, I'd be able stand level with her. "I have SO many ideas what I could do to you right now if only I had HANDS."

That earned me some confused looks. If only I had HANDS...

"You don't have to do this," the queen all but whimpered.

"I promised you that if you could change your ways that I would protect you," I kept my gaze locked on the princess in front of me. "You kept your end of the bargain. Now it's my turn."

My mouth was writing checks this body couldn't cash. Some corner of my mind was screaming to stop before I ended up a smoldering heap. But my rage wouldn't let me. I saw... green. Green rage instead of red. If only I had my body. IF ONLY I HAD MY BODY!

I saw more green, green flames.

Then I realized it was a reflection from a body mirror behind the princesses. That weird horn on my 'changeling' head. It was glowing. But not just glowing, it was on fire, burning with a green flame.

The queen had told me that to use changeling magic, she just had to 'WANT' something enough. To change form, she just wanted to take that form and visualize it. But that hadn't worked with me. We thought I was simply powerless because I never had that magic to start with. We thought it was just a body with me.

But looking at the flame in my reflection, it made sense. I couldn't use that power because I just didn't want it enough. I didn't WANT it enough to use it.

Now? Now I wanted something... I wanted it a LOT.

I want my old body so I can strangle some sense into these technicolor talking horses.

"Crissy..." I used my nickname for the queen. "Leave this to me."

I reared back on my 'hind legs', crossing my 'hooves' and drawing out all the want I could muster, visualizing what I really was. I felt the heat from my head, and saw the reflection flare. Both princesses stepped back as a burst of green fire ripped up around me.

The sensation was like falling and stretching a day after a heavy workout all at once. The world around me shrank slightly. The awkward sensation of standing improperly for a four-legged creature faded, replaced by the familliar sense of balance I almost thought I'd never feel again.

The fire fading, I raised my arm, curling my fingers in front of my face, loosening the tension and causing the knuckles to pop. The small group of nobles audibly gasped as I glanced past the two princesses and smirked at my reflection. THIS was a creature they'd never seen before.

Yanking my gaze back down, I impacted my fist into my other hand and squeezed, popping the rest of my knuckles. I KNEW how to use this body. In this form, everything I could find became an ad-hoc weapon. Even the princess' own bodies. All I had to do was get a grip.

"ENOUGH TALK..." I glared.

"Let's fight."

And in retrospect... Perhaps challenging two magically empowered Epic level creatures to a fist fight wasn't exactly my most brilliant move. But even though it hurt, it was strangely satisfying.

I think it lasted about two minutes. Something I mulled over as I lay wheezing with one eye swelling shut on the cold stone flagging of Celestia's throne room. Once I'd issued my challenge, Celestia had nodded and promptly shot a magic beam at me.

Thing is, I did something simple, I dodged. More adept to my own body than the previously clumsy footwork of the quadraped body I'd been stuck in for days, I had proven to be quite the little worm and had managed to slip in close to the sun princess.

Close enough to grab her with my bare hands.

But I learned very quickly that grabbing a magically charged horn belonging to a creature who reprisented a glowing nuclear furnace was foolish move. Burned the crap out of my hand... But despite searing my hand on the winged unicorn, I'd managed to yank her right off her feet.

I expected more honestly, physically, not just that magic insanity I almost got fried with. But I guess when you spend a millenia without doing any heavy workouts, you lose a bit of body toning. Of course, I wouldn't call her fat. In fact, she was disgustingly light for something that looked to be about my mass.

So despite burning myself, I managed to literally throw the pony princess on her side. And had it been a simple one-on-one, I probably would have bagged a victory on momentum alone.

But it was two on one, and Princess Luna, while smaller, was a lot more well toned than her elder sister. I think when she kicked me it broke a rib or two.

She sent me sprawlng, and that allowed her own sister to recover, but I refused to be dropped that easily.

Interesting thing is: They behaved so much like you would expect the 'good guys' to act. They hesitated to continue attacking me. Once I had been knocked down. Were this a fight between humans, chances are I wouldn't have been allowed to get back up. And for good reason. Luna learned rather quickly that just hittng me once wasn't going to stop the fight.

Because I got back up and tackled her full on... My hands, though one was burnt, proved to be useful as I got tangled up with her on the ground, grabbing tightly onto anything I could find.

When we finally broke the tangle, we each had a few new bruises to add to our counts. Hers from where I had done my best to find some part of her anatomy to punch, and me from getting battered by surprisingly iron-like wings. I'd like to think I came away the victor of that scuffle, seeing as I had come out of it with a fist full of feathers.

Of course, once seperated, and while I was distracted, Celestia tried another solar zap...

I don't know how she expected to hit me with it though. Or anyone who didn't stand still for that matter... It made the most distinctive whining sound like a distorted tea kettle.

I dodged, it missed...

Well, mostly. It knicked my side and burned a gash just above my waist. I was forced to duck away from the solar princess, using her own throne-room furniture to keep that laser-horn attack from roasting me. And from that, I had turned from bare-handed brawl to improvised weapons, procuring one of the candle staff... lamp thingies that were sitting on each side of the throne.

I got Celstia good with it too... right in the wing with a swing like I was holding a baseball bat. In the heat of the moment, I was rather satisfied at the distinct sound of a crunch on impact. But in attacking one princess, I left myself open to the other. Luna tagged me again. I'm sure it was this hit that gave me my black eye. She'd knocked me right in the noggin, causing me to topple off the raised section of the throne dais, and into the small fountain on its side.

And then she'd tried to jump and stomp on me. Which probably would have worked except adrenaline had taken over, and I was moving like a frightened, angry mouse.

I'd lost my weapon, but the water slowed Luna down as she splashed in it. I got a nice, clean right-hook to the Lunar Princess' jaw, or snout... er... It was her face. 'Nuff said.

But I think she had just about had it after that. Because the next thing I knew, she'd gone Jedi Master on me and simply threw me half way across the room with a telikinetic toss, her eyes glowing a frightening white. Then she'd yanked up the lamp staff I'd been using with that TK and knocked the wind out of me before I had a chance to recover. Probably cracked another rib...

After that, things went downhill pretty quickly. The princess finally got it into her head to weaponize her TK, and just beat the tar out of me at a distance until I quit trying to get up. The changeling transformation magic I'd managed to grasp to restore my real body faded, dropping me back into this near impossible to use body once more.

Still, as I lay, staring through one good eye at the now huffing princess of the night, I couldn't help but find it strangely satisfying and funny how the brawl turned out. I lost... I guess I knew I was going to lose. Mortal vs near goddesses after all... But I could tell from the way her own eye was starting to swell shut, and the way Celestia's left wing was now bent in a strange direction, that I'd successfully paid them back for their previous uncalled for actions.

"Heh..." I managed to breathe at the younger princess and realized how torn up I'd gotten in such a short time. "Well... That went about as well as I expected... But I guess we're even now."