//------------------------------// // The Story // Story: Nightmare at Canterlot High // by SuperBlackdeth666 //------------------------------// That late afternoon, as Rarity and Sweetie Belle's mother was doing the dishes and their father was reading the paper, their two daughters burst in through the front door in a fit. "Mother, Father!" Rarity cried out. "Trixie died in class today!" "It was awful!" added Sweetie Belle. "Really?" their mother said, in an unexpectedly carefree tone. "Aw, that's too bad, girls. 'Course, I don't see what that has to do with Groundskeeper Discord," she added, chuckling. A long pause ensued, during which the sisters exchanged confused glances over their mother just having mentioned that very name. "Um... we didn't say anything about Groundskeeper Discord, Mom," pointed out Sweetie Belle. "Oh... right," their mom said haltingly. "Forgot to tell you about that." "Why don't you girls sit down, while your mother and I tell about the whole shebang?" offered their father, who sounded just as carefree. "That Discord was a real riot," he laughed. "You should've seen how he pulled that stunt right off!" Rarity and Sweetie Belle pulled up their chairs, eager to hear more. "This is a story about accidental death, and revenge from beyond the grave," began their mother in a dramatically creepy voice. "It all started on the thirteenth hour, of the thirteenth day, of the thirteenth month." "Thirteenth month?" asked Sweetie Belle. "Yep," said her father. "We were at the high school to talk about the misprinted calendars they bought. Everyone went nuts about it!" "So that places the actual month to January, am I right?" clarified Rarity. "You've got it, kiddo," commended her mother. "Now where was I? Oh, yeah..." Rarity's parents shivered as they made their way into the cafeteria. Looking at the calendar, her father groaned, "Brrrr. Crazy Smarch weather... Isn't there a thermostat around here?" As if in answer to his question, the two of them both noticed the thermostat on the wall. Attached to it was a note. It read, "Do not touch - Discord." "Hey, good advice," chuckled Rarity's father as he cranked the thermostat all the way up from COOL to WARM, to HOT, and finally to the red area. Meanwhile, in the boiler room, Groundskeeper Discord was trying on his best suit, admiring himself in the mirror in a generally narcissistic manner. "Ah, Discord, you dashing devil," he said to his own reflection, straightening his bow tie. "Tonight is the night that you shine. The parents will love you. Nothing beats today's colorful fashion… Hmm?" Just then, he saw the flames rising up in the furnace –something that struck his attention, as he thought the thermostat had been set to cool. As he walked over to investigate, the furnace suddenly spat out a large fireball as if it were a dragon, with the bulk of it engulfing Discord. Screaming in agony as the flames licked his skin right off, layer by layer, he ran to the door and tried to open it. But alas, it was locked. Meanwhile, in the cafeteria, Principal Celestia and Vice-Principal Luna were going through items on their budget plan, while the parents were seated at the lunch tables, ready to cast their votes. "Alright, ladies and gentleman," droned Celestia, "our next budget is... $12 for simple doorknob repairs." "Nay," all the parents replied. Meanwhile, back in the boiler room, the knob to the door fell off by itself. Still on fire, a desperate Discord made his way to the fire extinguisher, took it and aimed it at himself. At the same time, Luna was saying to the parents, "Shall we recharge fire extinguishers? Remember: this is a 100% free service of the fire department." "Aye," said Rarity's parents in unison. All the others answered, "Nay." At that same precise moment, Discord pulled the trigger to the fire extinguisher. All that came out was a tiny amount of dry chemicals. "Oh, come on!" he groaned. Finally, in sheer desperation, Discord managed to kick the door down. He ran down the hall, trailing fire all the way, and burst into the cafeteria. "HELP!" he screamed in anguish as the flames got down to his very bones, burning them to the nth degree. "PLEASE HELP ME!" "Discord, please," Celestia admonished, paying no attention to the fire. "Wait your turn. Mr. and Mrs. Cake have the floor." As Discord continued to burn to a crisp, Mr. Cake began to say, "My wife and I would like to see sweets put on the cafeteria menus, just so that the kids will enjoy some nice desert right after lunch." "Yes, we'd hate to see our Pound and Pumpkin cake disappointed when they come to learn here in C.H.S.!" Mrs. Cake cheerfully added. Luna, realizing the seriousness of Discord's predicament, looked worried. She whispered to her sister, "Uh, Celestia?" "Not now, Luna…" "But don't you think we should've told Discord to just run outside and..." Suddenly, Discord let out a particularly long, bloodcurdling shriek as an explosion of flames erupted from his body, which collapsed, having been reduced to nothing more than a skeleton. "...roll out on the snow," Luna finished. "Remind me to write a new fire drill procedure tomorrow," Celestia flatly replied. Just then, Discord's charred, immolated skeleton rose and stood up, still alive. Shreds of clothing hung from his bony arms and legs. His shoes were partially tattered. His yellow-red eyes glowed with rage and hatred. And yet, none of the parents were the least bit terrified over a skeleton that still had life in it. "You shall all pay for this," Discord growled, menacingly, "with your children's lives!" "Oh, this is rich," Rarity's dad snickered. "How are you gonna get 'em?" added his wife. "Skeleton power?" "No, even better! I'll strike where and when you can't save them!" After a dramatic pause, Discord uttered with a wicked grin, "In. Their. Dreams!" As his demented laughter echoed across the cafeteria, Discord's skeleton then collapsed into a red pile of ashes. Instantly afterward, a nearby dustpan suddenly swept the ashes up and dumped it into the waste bin... by itself, without being held or controlled by anybody. A long silence ensued, in which everyone exchanged worried glances over the connotations of what had just transpired. Trying to lighten the mood, Luna nervously laughed, "Well, he always knew how to make a big exit." "And that is why the whole incident has been covered up in the first place," Rarity said later that evening at Sweet Apple Acres after she and Sweetie Belle told the other girls what their parents just said. "Not to mention why Discord chased me as a furnace," asserted Sweetie Belle. "It's like he wanted to show me how it felt to be burned." "Ouch!" groaned Apple Bloom, shivering at the thought. "I guess we'll just have to cross out 'Wings of Fire' as our next music video," Scootaloo shrugged. "Girls, do you know what this means?" exclaimed Sunset, getting everyone back on-topic. "The next time we fall asleep, we could..." "Have a huge party that's bigger than the last Fall Formal?!" interrupted an excited Pinkie. "No, Pinkie Pie," sighed Sunset, shaking her head. "The next time we fall asleep, we could..." She gulped very weakly before finishing in a low, scared whisper, "die!" At that point, Granny Smith, the Apple family matriarch who had been half-listening in on the conversation, scoffed, "Heh! Welcome to mah world, young'un!" At that instant, she fell asleep on her rocking chair, snoring loudly. "But there's something else you need to know about Discord," Sunset began to say, doing her best to move on. "Back where I'm from—in Equestria—he's..." Then, quite unexpectedly, Pinkie Pie finished in a very fast pace, "…a dragon-horse with the face of a pony, a deer antler on the right, a blue goat horn on the left, a long fang, a snake tongue, a lion's right arm, a eagle's left claw, a lizard's right leg, a goat's left leg, a bat's right wing, a Pegasus's left wing, a horse's mane, a dragon-like tail, and the same white bushy eyebrows, goatee, and eye color as the Discord from this world that can create chaos?" Sunset was largely taken aback. "How do you know that?!" she gasped. After a moment's pause, Pinkie Pie smiled innocently, answering, "Just a hunch!" Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "Obviously…"