"So...superpowers?" Spike asked with a small smirk as Twilight paced in front of her castle, waiting on their friends to arrive.
"No one said superpowers, Spike," Twilight said with a scowl to herself, never ceasing in her stress-induced walking, "It's just that certain creatures, not ponies exclusively, are showing unexplained and abnormal abilities for no yet-apparent reason."
"So, yeah, superpowers," Spike repeated, a bit smugly.
"UGGGH! That makes no sense!" Twilight groaned, throwing her head in the air.
"...Huh, almost expected Discord to pop out at that," Spike mused, stroking his chin.
"Ohhh, if he did do this, then I hate it! The sheer logistics of giving different powers to all these various different creatures! Gah! Spike, I know I'm going to have soooo many episodes just trying to rationalize a pattern that probably doesn't exist!" Twilight fumed, breathing heavily for a moment.
"Twi, you okay?"
"WOW!" Spike yelled, jumping on the equally-shocked-Twilight's back, looking to the surprisingly sneaky pegasus, "Rainbow! What the hay, you'll give a drake a heart attack!" Spike complained, clutching his chest tightly as the mare blushed with a downcast look.
"Sorry...," Rainbow said meekly.
The Alicorn-Dragon duo blinked and shared a look at that, "Dash, did you switch minds with Fluttershy?" Spike asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Wouldn't that make her Fluttershy?" Twilight pointed out.
"So you do acknowledge these are superpowers?" Spike asked with a triumphant smirk.
"I'm resigned to that summary until we have more data," Twilight deadpanned as Spike blew a raspberry.
"I didn't switch minds!" Rainbow answered with a very uncomfortable look, "It's just...I can't fly," She answered in a subdued voice.
The two had concerned looks at that, "Why? Did you sprain your wings?" Twilight asked in concern.
"No, nothing like that...," Rainbow answered awkwardly.
"...You have a superpower related to your wings, don't you?" Spike asked bluntly, getting a weak nod.
Twilight face-hoofed, "And my friends are affected as well," She muttered with a sigh.
"You guys too?" Rainbow asked curiously.
"Not me, but Twi's got some kind of invulnerability or metal skin or something," Spike informed with a smirk.
"You don't know that," Twilight retorted through gritted teeth.
"The pile of broken metal stuff with skull-shaped dents begs to differ, Your Denseness," Spike snarked smugly.
"...Moving on! Rainbow, what is wrong with you?" Twilight asked, ignoring Spike's snickering.
Rainbow raised an eyebrow at the strange exchange, but acknowledged the question nonetheless, "I'm...not sure exactly how to explain it, but...every time I open my wings...something happens," She informed slowly.
"...Is it something embarrassing or gross?" Spike asked cautiously.
"No, I just hate not being able to fly...and I'm a bit worried I won't be able to anymore with...this," Rainbow answered, raising one of her wings ever so-
*ZAP!*
-slightly.
Twilight jumped back as an electric bolt shot out of Rainbow's wing, leaving a scorch point in the ground that, thankfully, didn't catch fire.
"...I'm pretty sure that makes you a literal Wonderbolt," Spike commented with wide eyes.
"Very funny," Rainbow Dash said with a small glare, "Twilight, you know what's happening?" She asked hopefully, biting her cheek, resisting the urge to do ANYTHING with her wings.
"Not exactly, but you're not an isolated case," Twilight answered, stroking her chin, "Ponies in Canterlot have strange things happening as well, according to Princess Celestia. I have to assume that's happening to others in town and possibly throughout Equestria," Twilight admitted.
"Well, that's good, I guess," Rainbow mused thoughtfully, "At least if I'm not the only one going through it, I know other ponies might figure out what this is and what to do about it," She elaborated before frowning in concern, "Think the others have it?"
"Hello-Twilight!-Hello-Rainbow!"
"We brought Fluttershy!"
The trio blinked as they looked toward the new arrivals. There stood Rarity and Pinkie Pie, both smiling- Pinkie's obviously wider, but Rarity's did seem more energetic than normal. Between them, they were holding a disoriented and swirly eyed Fluttershy on their backs.
"...What did you two do to her?" Rainbow asked in surprise as Fluttershy sat on the ground.
"So...fast...and...sudden...," Fluttershy whimpered out, looking just a bit green.
"I-just-don't-know-what's-wrong-with-the-dear. She-seemed-to-be-having-trouble-walking-and-since-it's-an-emergency,-Pinkie-and-I-decide-to-carry-the-poor-mare-here," Rarity answered in a slightly rapid, but still understandable, voice.
"Yeah, Flutters takes her time some times, but it was almost like she had a big owie! We didn't find any, so we figured she must just be tired," Pinkie Pie answered in her usual hyper voice.
"...I think Rarity has it, but I'm not sure about Pinkie," Twilight noted with a raised eyebrow.
"Twilight, when are we EVER sure about Pinkie Pie?" Spike asked dryly.
"What he said," Rainbow said with blankly, seeing Rarity practically vibrate in place.
"Is-some-thing-the-matter-Dear?" Rarity asked with a head tilt.
"Super speed, nice," Spike mused.
"You don't know that," Twilight hissed to him.
"Pinkie, Rarity, are you two forgetting anything?" Rainbow asked evenly.
The white unicorn and pink earth pony both looked thoughtful for a moment before gasping, both blitzing away in blurs. Not as fast as Rainbow would have, but still blurs.
"I hate to see her leave, but I love to watch her go," Spike quipped with a smirk.
"...Well, Pinkie has it," Rainbow noted with wide eyes.
"So, you were saying, oh Princess of Omniscience?" Spike gloated.
"Fine, fine, I get it- no more denying they're superpowers," Twilight consented with a sigh, "Fluttershy, you okay?" She asked to the still-down pegasus.
"I'm fine, girls, the ride was just a bit bumpy," Fluttershy admitted shakily as she rolled onto her back, "I'm just going to lie here until the world stops shaking..."
"Take your time," Twilight said with a nod, looking to Canterlot to see if the Chariot was visible yet. The answer was unfortunately no.
"...You know, I'm actually glad I didn't get super speed," Rainbow commented randomly.
"Really?" Twilight asked curiously.
"Well, yeah, I'd go faster, but...look; one reason is because I've gotten this far on my own, so using a "superpower" almost feels like cheating. But not only that, it'd be BOOOORING! Yes, I get to go faster, so what? I'd rather get something new, to be honest...I just wish it wasn't messing with my wings," Rainbow ranted off, glaring at her folded wings at the end.
"Huh...that makes sense," Twilight admitted.
"Yeah, it'd be like me getting fire breath," Spike said with a grin.
"Or me telekinesis," Twilight joined in with a small chuckle.
"...Or a pegasus getting flight?" Fluttershy asked with wide eyes.
"Yeah, that would kind of suck," Rainbow admitted, blinking as she felt something on her neck. She looked over one shoulder and found nothing there. She looked over the other and still found nothing. Yet, she still felt it. Annoyed, she got up to turn around, finding only empty space. She scowled, wondering if Pinkie or even Rarity was pulling a prank on her.
"Hiiiiii~" A familiar voice sang above her.
She looked up and her jaw fell open as she came face to face with a flying Scootaloo, floating over her, "SCOOTS?! You can fly!?" She said in disbelief and joy. The giddy filly could only grin and nod rapidly. Rainbow plucked the young mare out of the air and hugged her close, making the orange-purple filly giggle in delight, "That's awesome, Scoot! How'd you pull that off?" She asked curiously, glancing at the wings with a raised eyebrow, "They don't look bigger..."
"I don't know! I just woke up this morning and I was flying!" Scootaloo cheered, flying out of the grasp in excitement.
Rainbow blinked, looking to an curious Twilight, who nodded as in to say, 'It's probably from the same thing.'
The fastest flyer in Equestria nodded, turning back to the filly, "Listen Scoots, as much as I want to celebrate with you, I got to go to Canterlot with Twilight. So keep an eye on the fort while I'm gone, okay?" Rainbow requested with a grin.
"You got it, Dash!" Scootaloo saluted before flying off.
Rainbow waited before her sister figure was out of hearing range before giving Twilight a blank stare, "Twilight, if we have to undo all of this, I am going to break whatever asshole is going to make me break that little mare's heart," She said flatly.
"No arguments, assuming someone did this all intentionally," Twilight acquiesced with a sigh, glancing to the other pegasus, "Fluttershy, you okay?" She asked in concern, the pink maned mare still lying on the ground.
"Oh, um, yes, it's just...I think I'm stuck," She confessed sheepishly, trying to roll over to no avail.
"Seriously?" Rainbow asked, getting a nod, "Twilight, you better do this. I might open my wings if I have to try too hard."
Twilight nodded in agreement, not wanting Fluttershy to get shocked, literally. She grasped the animal whisperer's hoof with her own and pulled back, surprised to find a lot of resistance, "I'll take a look," Spike said, jumping off before Twilight could even think to ask him. The Alicorn kept pulling, Fluttershy hissing lightly as Spike leaned over to get a good look under her, "What the...?" He mumbled in surprise, reaching his claw under Fluttershy's back.
"H-hey, that's starting to work!" Fluttershy exclaimed as she jerked forward a bit.
"Keep going Spike, we're almost ther-wow!" Twilight called, only to fall back with Fluttershy on top of her.
"We're-back!" Rarity and Pinkie Pie announced as they came to a halt right in front of the group, right where they had stood before leaving. They blinked, Pinkie grinning and Rarity smirking, as they took in the compromising sight.
"Are-we-interrupting-something?" Rarity asked with a teasing smirk to the two.
"No, Rarity, I just pulled Fluttershy up too quickly," Twilight answered with an eye roll as the blushing pegasus climbed off her without another word.
"Shy, did you go rolling in bushes or something? You got a loooot of vines in your wings!" Pinkie noted with a grin.
"I, um, don't know," Fluttershy noted, unfolding her wings to see all sorts of long grass and plant stems intertwining in her feathers.
"The-nature-look-suits-you-as-grand-as-always-my-dear," Rarity said with a smile as she pulled some of the greenery out of her friend's appendage, "Still,-you-really-shouldn't-make-such-a-mess-of-your-lovely-wings."
Twilight considered asking what the two speedsters went to do, but decided against it, "Now we just need to wait on Applejack," She commented to herself.
"No need, I'm already here, Sugarcube," Applejack called, walking out from beside the castle.
"Were you eavesdropping?" Rainbow asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Sorry, yeah. Got a bit too curious over this whole thing. Weird stuff going on back on the farm too," She answered apologetically.
"Dare I ask?" Twilight ask evenly.
"Scootaloo was droppin off Wiona before I got the message," Applejack answered flatly.
"So?" Rainbow asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I was already dealin with three other Wionas at the time," Applejack elaborated bluntly.
"...So you have a self-replicating dog," Spike mused, "She must be Tartarus to clean up after."
"Spike," Twilight scolded lightly.
"I hope he's wrong, but he might be right," Applejack admitted with a sigh.
"You-have-any-idea-what-they-are-talking-about?" Rarity asked to Pinkie Pie.
"Nope! But it sounds interesting and exciting!" Pinkie Pie answered cheerfully.
"Princess Twilight?" A formal voice called respectfully.
Twilight blinked as she turned to see a Lunar guard, a bat pony to be exact, approaching them with no chariot. Both things were vaguely odd, "Did something go wrong? Where's the chariot?" The Princess of Friendship asked curiously.
The bat mare smiled disarmingly at that, "No, nothing's wrong, your highness. But with ponies gaining abilities without warning, she thought it might just bit a little risky sending you on a chariot with ponies that might suddenly turn into a spider without knowing how to turn back," She explained sheepishly.
Everypony blinked at that, "Is...Really?" Rainbow asked in confusion.
"We're basically treating everyone like they might be a bastard child of Discord now," The night guard-mare answered with a nod, not joking in the slightest, "Now, Your Highness, Ladies? If you would please come close to me, I can get you all to Canterlot," She said with a smile.
"...How?" Applejack asked with a raised eyebrow.
Moon Punch just smirked.
Meanwhile
"Are you sure it was a good idea to not send over the chariot?" Luna asked curiously, watching as Tiberius acted very catlike in chasing the tendril that Celestia's shadow had become.
She wondered, was Celestia intentionally moving it just out of his reach or did the shadow, figuratively or literally, have a mind of its own?
"If it was just Twilight, I would have recommended just her coming on her own via wings, but the more we know about this, the better," Celestia explained with a thoughtful scowl.
"That and you're curious as to what abilities, if any, she and her friends have gained," Luna noted with a smirk.
"Luna, this is serious," Celestia scolded lightly.
"I know, Sister," Luna assured with a scowl of her own, at her sister's worsening behavior, "Is something wrong, Celestia?"
The sun princess sighed and nodded, "Just thinking too deeply on how badly this could go. We already know fire manipulation is an ability that has appeared. Imagine ponies, or worse yet fillies and colts, accidently setting places ablaze just by getting annoyed. And there's no telling what could...oh, by Star Swirl's beard, imagine the inmates in the prisons suddenly gaining these abilities!" Celestia said with a groan as she massaged her head.
"Sister, do not dwell on such possibilities just yet. For now, all we can do is try to prevent such things by getting a handle on this event and discovering how it is happening," Luna instructed soothingly.
Celestia let out a deep breath and smiled, "How did I make it a thousand years without you?" She asked lovingly.
"An obsessive amount of cake and tea?" Luna teased.
Celestia glared blankly at her sister for that, "I told you those stories were exaggerated!" She hissed before scowling, this time curiously, "Hmm, it seems like they should been here by now..."
"I'd give them another few minutes, then message Spike and ask the situation," Luna suggested...smirking as several bodies suddenly appeared, sprawled on the floor, "Speak of the Ursa, there they...Moon Punch?!" Luna cried in shock, seeing that everypony was disoriented, but Moon Punch was lying on her back, looking very unwell.
"Ugh, Princess, I'm dead, I'm dying, I'm dead...," The night guard groaned in exhaustion as the princesses raced over to the group, Luna going straight to her guard mare.
"Twilight, is everything alright?" Celestia asked in concern.
Twilight watched as Spike jumped off her back, running over to a potted plant to vomit into, "Define alright?" Twilight asked uneasily.
"Moon Punch is alright, just...near magical exhaustion, I believe," Luna called over in relief.
"This is what that feels like!?" Moon Punch asked in what felt like boneless agony, "Oh, Bucking dammit. I do not envy you horn heads...no offense, Princesses, and, er, Ma'am."
"Think nothing of it, Moon Punch. You are most definitely off duty for now," Luna assured with a smile.
"Thanks...turns out teleporting passengers is a lot harder than teleporting myself. Had to make a dozen or two smaller jumps between there and here..." Moon Punch grumbled, getting close to passing out.
"Guards, take her to the medical wing and inform the physicians of EXACTLY what happened," Luna ordered to the two nearby soldiers, getting salutes from both of them.
"We're fine, Princesses," Rainbow assured, blinking several times to get her vision straight, "Just...rapid teleporting seems to be a bit like a rollercoaster, without the fun part," She explained.
Celestia smiled in relief, taking a breath as her horn glowed, a faint golden light forming over all of them as their heads cleared, "...Pain relief spell?" Twilight guessed in thanks.
"Anti-hangover spell, actually," Celestia answered with a small smirk, "Works great on stomach issues in general though."
No one dared to think on why exactly the princess knew that spell, "...Am I imagining things?" Applejack spoke up with wide eyes at the solar diarch's hooves, "Or is Princess Celestia's shadow flexin like a snake in a muscle contest?"
Everypony looked down to see that, yes, Celestia's shadow was still moving about. Said Alicorn cleared her throat at that, "Safe to say, it seems that no race of pony is immune to this event, nor does it seem to be exclusive to ponies," She answered calmly.
"Excuse-me-Princess,-but-what-event?" Rarity asked curiously, getting raised eyebrows from the elder royals.
"Super Speed," Spike answered flatly.
"Ahh," Luna said in understanding, "Miss Rarity, you may not be aware of this, but you are actually speaking in a very...quick manner. And if Spike's words hold true, you are likely moving faster than you realized."
"Oh,-my!-I-was-wondering-why-everypony-seemed-so-sluggish-today," Rarity said in surprise.
"Princess Luna, has anything shown up with you yet?" Twilight asked curiously. The lunar princess just looked at Twilight and snorted...small whiffs of flames jumping from her nose, "...I'll take that as a yes."
"Twilight seems to be invulnerable at times," Spike spoke up, "She couldn't feel anything while asleep, but she felt me pinch her nose after waking up."
"Says the hatchling that used my skull as batting practice," Twilight grumbled under her breath, getting an eye roll from Spike. "We think Pinkie is the same as Rarity, but...it's Pinkie."
The party pony beamed widely as Celestia rose an eyebrow, "I see. I take it your...ability has something to do with your wings, Rainbow Dash?" Celestia asked patiently to the unusually quiet and subdued mare.
"They shoot lightning whenever I open them. At all," Rainbow all but grumbled as Applejack patted her on the withers. "I think Flutters makes plants grow," She added in, the pegasus nodding a bit.
"Applejack, has nothing changed for you?" Luna asked curiously.
The farmer smirked a bit as she feigned thoughtfulness, "Well...maybe just a few things," She admitted, oddly playful as she stood up, as if to pace...
"Though, nothing to get too excited about," Another Applejack said, sitting right where she had been.
Absolute Silence.
"...What. The. Buck!?" Rainbow said in shock and awe, "That is SOOOO- Oh, hay! Pinkie, hug me, don't let my wings ope-"
*ZAPP!*
Rainbow winced as she scorched the marble floor in her excitement, "...Sorry, Princesses, Twi? Could one of you magic up some rope or something before I burn the castle down?" She requested apologetically.
"It's quite alright, Rainbow Dash," Celestia assured, even as Twilight did as Rainbow requested, who gave her a sympathetic look...before rushing over to the Applejacks.
"FASCINATING! Exact copies, down to the simplest details!?" Twilight asked in amazement, looking over them keenly.
"Yep, and we even got the same mind. Albeit, staring at you from two places is a might bit weird, Twilight, "Applejack, the one on Twilight's right, admitted before she walked back into her other self and merged, "Not exactly sure how I'm doing and undoing it, to be honest. Just sorta...happens."
"So. Much. I need. To know," Twilight said with a massive grin, Applejack scooting back a tiny bit.
"Twilight Sparkle," Luna called calmly, though also a bit amused, "It might be best to get a handle on your own powers before taking interest in the mechanics of others."
"Yah, breathe, Twilight, breathe," Spike advised, patting her withers, prompting her to take a deep, calming breath.
Applejack, no longer mildly worried about ending up being dissected, stepped back to the group, "So, Princesses? No sliver of an idea as to what caused this mess?" Applejack asked curiously.
"Yeah, this could be awesome, but I'm guessing this'll be annoying to figure out how to control," Rainbow added in, motioning to her wings.
"That is partially why I asked all of you here," Celestia answered patiently, "When was the last time any of you saw Discord?"
All eyes went to Fluttershy, her answer most likely the right one. She only looked slightly nervous at all the attention, "Hmm, he did say he was heading to Chaosville about four days ago."
"Right before any of this happened, and to the one place we can't physically get to. How convenient," Twilight commented in annoyance.
"Oh, oh, I saw him than too!" Pinkie Pie cheered, suddenly at Fluttershy's side, "He said the Harmony was smelling funny and he didn't want to be sneezing all over the place!"
"...The Harmony smelled funny?" Twilight repeated skeptically.
"Well, he is the Spirit of Chaos and, at the very least, formerly Disharmony," Luna reminded with a shrug, "That might be the truth for him."
"Wait...please, please don't tell me we got these powers from a Draconequus induced cold!" Spike pleaded before face-palming.
"For now, we must assume it's something more permanent," Celestia pointed out with a scowl, "This...may also be Discord's intentional doing. Whether for underestimated mischief or as a misguided gift to Equestria, it is hard to say," Celestia mused.
"Fluttershy-dear?-Has-Discord-mentioned-anything-about-trying-to-help-ponies-or-pull-a-prank-recently?" Rarity asked curiously.
The pegasus looked up thoughtfully, "Nothing about a prank, but he does muse about trying to help ponies...he's had a few bad moments since Tirek...but he never mentioned anything like this…except for maybe the double-marks," Fluttershy answered, mumbling at the end.
"Double-marks?" most of the room asked with raised eyebrows.
"Hmm? Oh, yes, Discord sometimes doesn't like Cutie Marks, something about limiting potential, but he said once he'd like the idea of a pony having another mark showing their next best talent," Fluttershy explained.
"Not a horrible idea," Luna consented with a shrug, "But not exactly what we're looking for."
"Are we really sure this is Discord?" Rainbow spoke up with a scowl, "I know I'm not usually his biggest fan, but the guy usually likes to bask in whatever he does, even if you can't prove it's him."
"You raise a good point, Rainbow Dash," Celestia admitted with a nod, "But it is still strange that Discord hasn't responded, in any fashion, to my attempts to summon him," She added on with a scowl.
"Ummm, Princess?" Applejack spoke up awkwardly, "Begging your pardon, I don't know much about magic like this, but...isn't it possible that whatever is happening to everypony, includin you yourself, makes it so Discord can't feel the summons?"
"That...is a possibility," Twilight mused as the Princesses blinked and turned thoughtful.
"Assuming that Discord isn't behind this, he would still be a boon in sorting this debacle out," Luna mused with a scowl.
"Hey, is it just me or is it getting a bit chilly in here?" Pinkie asked idly, looking around the throne room.
"Yes,-I-do-feel-a-bit-of-a-chill-as-well," Rarity seconded, rubbing her hooves together.
"Yeah, I'm feeling it too," Spike agreed with a shiver.
"Okay, Spike's a reptile, I get that, but what's with those two?" Rainbow asked in confusion.
"Another ability?" Luna suggested.
"Or super-speed makes them hyper aware of temperature differences," Twilight mused, rubbing her chin, "...And now I feel it," She admit it, starting to see her breath.
"I imagine somepony has stumbled onto an ice or weather related power," Celestia mused, scowling as she glanced to her throne and saw the waters around the dais starting to freeze and the flowers wither, "...Something isn't right."
"Ummm, why is there ice on the ceiling?" Spike asked in worry.
Everypony immediately looked up, seeing that there was indeed water solidifying rapidly along the throne room's ceiling, "....That can't be good," Applejack summarized
"Everypony get behind my sister and me and stay together!" Luna urged. Celestia formed a shield while Luna blew fireballs from her nose and used her magic to hold them, keeping them warm from the frostbite that would surely come at this rate.
By the time they had done this, the throne room doors were frozen solid and the stained glass windows were starting to creek and crack.
"Twilight Sparkle, are you POSITIVE this isn't your unintentional doing?" Luna asked over her shoulder as Twilight used some spells to help insulate the heat in the room better.
"Yes, I think so, why?" Twilight asked with a scrunched brow.
"Because we have not seen an ability with this range and potency yet, Twilight," Celestia answered with a scowl, "It would make sense if this was powered by an Alicorn."
"........" Twilight paused at that before her eyes went wide, "Oh no....."
"Umm, girls?" Fluttershy spoke up nervously, "Wh-what's that?" She asked, pointing to the air in the middle of the freezing royal room.
Twilight numbly walked forward to stand by her fellow princesses, her eyes gleaming at the odd shimmer of intense light floating there. There was something...unnatural about it, almost wrong.
"......It's a portal," Twilight whispered.
"How can you be sure?" Celestia asked in concern.
"I...don't know, I just do," Twilight answered, confused by her own words.
Spike spoke up at that point, "But...if it's a portal, than whe-"
*SLINK!*CRAWWWWWWWWWW!*
A slash through the air was replaced by howling winds rushing to a void. It was almost like thunder without end. And as the vortex kept up, the ice and windows broke, being sucked in with the wind. Yet the cold remained, intensified even, forcing it to refreeze together in midair, only to shatter again to refreeze once more. For what felt like hours but was only a few minutes, this continued until the winds finally came to a halt.
Celestia tentatively brought down her shield, eyeing the icy formation forming n the midst of the room. It looked like a giant ice sculpture, somewhere between a spider web and a whirlpool, large curved beams of ice forming to a solid ball of ice at the center, with smaller ones in-between them. And the way the sun shone off the ice and frozen pane glass....
"Beautiful...." Rarity whispered in appreciation, Pinkie Pie awing over it.
"What. Was. that!?" Luna asked, confused and alarmed.
"Perhaps this...portal failed to form properly?" Celestia suggested with a head tilt at the structure. Honestly, if it wasn't in her throne room, she would be calling it an excellent if extreme work of art as well.
*Creeeeeeee*
"Well.....that wasn't ominous at all," Rainbow muttered as everypony took a step back.
"Maybe it's just going to break?" Applejack suggested hopefully.
"I...wouldn't be too sure of that," Twilight commented, "Fluttershy, be ready," she whispered to the pegasus.
The pink maned mare blinked, "For what?" she whispered back.
"Oh, you'll know it when you see him," Twilight answered uneasily.
*CRASH!*
Fluttershy didn't have time to question that, as something busted out of the ice formation, shattering and collapsing it as a result. All eyes watched the icy rubble cautiously. Most of them thought they had seen something just before the collapse. What, they weren't sure, but they were sure it had been there.
Just as the princesses were about to step forward, they went wide eyed as a limb emerged from the rubble. A talon, to be exact…a blood soaked eagle talon.
Bursting upwards emerged the torso of Discord, still half hidden in the ice and panting wildly. More alarming was his state of being. He was covered in patches of blood and other colored liquids mixed in. Frost clung to his fur and horns. There was an ice-covered slash on his torso, neck and two on his lion arm. His eagle talon was covered half way up and down the elbow, making disturbing popping and cracking noises as he moved it. And part of the membrane of his bat wings was missing.
Blood dripped from his lips as he glared with unsteady, rage-filled eyes at the ponies. His lips curled up cruelly as his murderous and crazed gaze turned toward Celestia.
"....Discord?" Celestia whispered in disbelief, seeing the mighty chaos god brought low and wounded so heavily.
"D-dick move, Celestia, dick move," Discord whispered, spitting out blood, that froze and stabbed into a chunk of ice. He clutched his talon arm with his lion paw, one eye wincing as he stepped fully out of the ice. The rest of his body didn't look much better, the cloven hoof having lost most of its fur to what looked like acid burns, while the draconic leg had teeth marks in it. The tail just lay limp, as if paralyzed. In fact, it might have been.
"Discord, what happened to you?!" Twilight yelled in horror.
"Oh, isn't it obvious, TwiTwi?" Discord asked with a hollow, broken laugh, "I lost my powers! Most of them, at least. A few random ones seemed to slip through whatever you did, Celestia, but really, if you want me dead, at least have the ovaries to do it outright," Discord mocked as he slowly treaded over the ice.
"Discord, please listen, this is NOT my doing!" Celestia replied urgently, not sure to be more worried for herself or Discord, who looked to be heading for Death's door.
"I mean, I get your love of ironic punishment, but really, taking away my chaos and leaving me to the ravages of my own Chaosville?" Discord asked with a scowl, ignoring her denial, as shards of ice began to rise around him, "That's cold, even for you."
"Ohhhhh, buck," Rainbow whispered, summing up most of their thoughts.
"Discord! Calm yourself!" Luna instructed with a glare, "We understand you have been through an ordeal, but we are not your enemies! You are hardly the first one today that something strange has happened to, let me assure you," Luna tried to explain, snorting fire from her nose.
"Oh, very nice trick, Lulu," Discord said with a grin that just didn't reach his eyes, "So, let me ask, how many were in on it? Come on, how many were on board with finally offing the Draconequus, once and for all!?"
"Discord."
The Lord of Chaos looked down to see Fluttershy had somehow gotten right in front of him, floating at his shoulder level. She stared up at him soulfully, placing her hoof over his heart, "It's okay. You can stop now. No one hear wants to harm you," She promised soothingly, much how she had done many other animals in the past, "You can rest now. You're safe now."
The mismatched creature stared at her for a moment before slowly giving her a lion-arm hug, letting out the pitiful groan of a tired and beaten animal. The mare wrapped her hooves around his neck, trying her best not to freak out about wanting to treat his injuries. He needed to be calmed down first.
"Well.....that was a bit too close for comfort," Spike commented numbly.
Discord sighed as he looked back up at the much more relaxed mares, "Okay.....you ponies got ten minutes to explain what the Tartarus is going on!" He demanded with a small snarl, ruined by his wincing, "......because, I'll probably pass out after that," He added on as he moved to sit down.
"Luna, melt the doors and get some doctors and medics in here," Celestia instructed urgently, eyeing Discord in a mixture of concern and wariness. She turned to Twilight, who was doing much the same until their gaze met.
They nodded in unspoken agreement. If whatever was going on had affected even Discord, then not only did this get a lot more complicated, but it also meant no creature was off limits: From the lowliest insects to the mightiest gods.
And if Discord could be taken down from his level, did that not many that somepony, someone could be brought up to those same heights of power? More than one? Further?
It was a strange, unknown world now.