"Beauty is when you can appreciate yourself. When you love yourself, that's when you're most beautiful."
- Zoe Kravitz
Fluttershy was sitting at her vanity, brushing her long, pink mane and humming a sleepy tune. Her brushing slowed when she looked in the mirror. In it, she saw a meek little mare with a very tangled mane. She lowered her eyes as she continued brushing.
Then she caught another glimpse of her reflection. This time, she had to a do a double-take.
The mare in the mirror wore a twisted expression. Her eyes were red and her teeth were ground together in fury. Her muscled shoulders bulged around her face, making her look even more menacing. Dropping her brush, Fluttershy gripped the edges of her stool in terror.
Then all of a sudden, something cold touched her shoulder. Closing her eyes, Fluttershy brought her hoof to the object and felt that it was an eagle's talon.
She breathed a sigh of relief. "I was hoping you'd come."
There was a low chuckle. "Are you purposely having nightmares just so you can see me?"
She opened her eyes. "No, no! I'm actually having a nightmare now."
Looking in the mirror, she saw the claw on her shoulder, but everything else behind her was a dark shadow.
"Though you can hardly call this seeing you. Why do I always dream of you in the shadows?"
A lion's paw appeared in the mirror as it cupped under her chin. "I can never see your face. Kind of evens the odds, don't you think? Anyway, what has you so frightened tonight?"
As the paw moved slowly to her mane, Fluttershy gazed sadly at her reflection. "M-Me." The paw stopped moving. "I'm frightened of…myself."
There was a scoff. "Trust me. I know frightening, and there's nothing frightening about you."
"Not me. The other me. And…well, maybe the real me too. It's just that no matter how many times I look in the mirror, I'm not," she hung her head, "happy with what I see."
There was silence for a moment. "You don't think you're pretty?"
She shook her head. "It's not so much what's on the outside, it's just…I'm afraid of what's on the inside."
She lifted her head when laughter echoed throughout her surroundings.
"What's so funny?"
"Oh, I didn't mean to chortle. It's just so funny you should say that, because I've never seen what you look like on the outside, and I'm not afraid of you."
She sighed. "You're the God of Chaos. You're not afraid of anything."
"Well, that's true." He paused. "Actually, no, it isn't. I am afraid of one thing."
"What's that?"
She let out a small gasp as the eagle claw took a strand of her hair between its fingers. She felt something press against the strand. Then she heard the sound of someone inhaling, but there was no snout in the mirror.
"I'm afraid that I won't get out of this stone prison, and that I'll never be able to put a face to your voice."
"I thought you said it didn't matter what I looked like."
"It doesn't, but it'd still be nice to have some idea of what you look like. I already know you're a pegasus. But what else?"
She hung her head again. "There's…not much to tell."
"Ridiculous! There's plenty to tell! Tell me about your mane, your eyes, your coat color! Anything that would make it easier to pick you out of a crowd!"
Gulping, she replied, "W-Well, uh…my m-mane is…pink?"
"Pink." There was a heavy sigh. "I always did like that color. So vibrant, so lively."
"My coat is yellow, and my eyes are…well, some think blue, some think green, but it's more in between. Like a…"
"Teal?"
"Yes, yes. A teal."
Another sigh came. "You sound beautiful."
She shook her head. "I wouldn't get your hopes up."
His claw cupped her chin and slowly lifted it so she could face the mirror. Fluttershy gasped in surprise. The mare in the mirror was dressed in a gorgeous green gown, her pink mane was braided with daisies, and her face was practically sparkling! Fluttershy lifted her hoof to the glass, not believing that this was her reflection.
"It will not matter what you truly look like. To me," the voice whispered in her ear, "you are the sweetest, kindest, most beautiful creature ever to come into existence."
The reflection had pink in its cheeks.
"If you'd let me out," he said, his paw going down her back, "I could tell all this to your face."
Fluttershy frowned. "Oh, but I don't know how."
"All you have to do is accept my gifts."
She blinked. "Accept your gifts?"
"Of course. Let me out…" She gasped as his paw wrapped around her middle. "…and I will be at your disposal."
She closed her eyes, breathing sharply as his claw tangled in her mane.
"Anything you desire," he said, his warm breath on her neck, "and it will be yours, my…"
The sharp buzzing tone of her alarm clock snapped her out of the dream. Fluttershy sat up in bed and slammed her hoof on the digital clock. Sighing, she flopped back onto her pillow, smiling and blushing fiercely at the dream she had just had.
While Applejack was flipping apple flapjacks on the stove, her ears picked up on some humming. As the hums grew louder, they became a series of "la-la-las." Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Fluttershy twirling into the kitchen. Her eyes were blissfully closed as she sang and got plates out from the cabinet. It was a miracle she didn't drop anything in her trance.
"My, my, some pony's in a good mood today," Applejack said as she flipped over a flapjack. "You're even singin' in front of me."
"I am in a good mood today," Fluttershy said as she seated herself at the table. "I haven't had a sleepless night in ages! And it's all thanks to…"
She trailed off, but Applejack didn't need to hear the rest. She looked at her roommate warily.
"You were dreamin' about…him again, weren't you?"
Fluttershy looked down at her hooves "Would it be so bad if I was?"
Sighing, Applejack flipped some flapjacks onto the two plates Fluttershy had gotten out. "Look, I know our victory against the Sirens last week was a real breakthrough for ya, but…" She set the plates down as she joined her roommate at the table. "Has it ever crossed yerr mind that this…connection ya have with Discord might be…dangerous?"
Fiddling with her fork, Fluttershy said, "He hasn't…seemed dangerous so far."
Applejack raised an eyebrow. "Need I remind ya he did try and enslave the world with his chaos?"
"But that was in the past. What if…?" She spoke quietly. "What if he's changed?"
"Sugar," Applejack said slowly, "I've met enough gods to know that they can't go against their nature, and Discord's all for chaos."
"So? That doesn't necessarily make him bad. And after being in stone for thousands of years, don't you think he's learned his lesson by now?"
"Ya can't know that for sure."
"Neither can you."
Shutting her eyes, Applejack released a sigh. "I just want ya to be careful, okay?"
"Alright."
The earth mare started eating her breakfast. "So, ya got any plans for after work today?"
"Well, I do plan to stop by the museum for a little while…"
Dropping her utensils, Applejack said, "Uh…actually I was…hopin' we'd go out tonight! To celebrate, uh…life!" She winced. "And, uh, afterwards maybe we could do some nightly patrol together?"
Fluttershy blinked. "You're asking me to go on nightly patrol with you?"
She nodded. "Yup!"
"But…you never ask me to go on nightly patrol with you. Or any pony for that matter."
Applejack gulped. "Well, uh…you've just made so much progress that…I feel I should take ya along and give ya some pointers, you still bein' new and all. It'll be fun! Just us gal pals, ownin' the night, beatin' up purse snatchers and muggers!"
Fluttershy tilted her head curiously at her roommate. Applejack was clearly hiding something. She just wasn't sure what.
"I…guess that would be fun," Fluttershy said.
Applejack let out a sigh of relief. She still hadn't told Fluttershy about Demeter's warning to stay away from Discord's statue. With all the sympathy towards Discord building up in Fluttershy, Applejack was even more convinced that telling her she was the key to his freedom would only convince her to go to him even more. And, call her crazy, the heavy amount of red in Fluttershy's cheeks gave Applejack cause to suspect that what her roommate was feeling was more than mere sympathy.
"Have a nice day!" Fluttershy said, giving the customer a smile as she handed him his cat. "Remember to come back in six months!"
As the customer left, Doctor Fauna stepped up to the front desk. "I must say, Fluttershy, I've never seen you in such a good mood! Usually you're too terrified to talk to the patients' owners!"
"I know, right?" Fluttershy said with a squeak. "I don't know what it is about today, but I just feel so cheery and…confident!"
Doctor Fauna smiled. "Well, are you confident that you can take your lunch break now?"
"Are you sure? I wouldn't want to leave you to take care of the animals all by yourself."
Her boss waved her hoof. "We don't have that many appointments this afternoon. Go, have your break and I'll have mine when you get back."
"Okay, Doctor Fauna."
With a skip in her step, Fluttershy grabbed her saddlebag and left the clinic. As soon as she stepped outside, she inhaled the fresh air of the city.
"Ah, what a beautiful day," she said with a sigh. "I'm in the mood for something baked. I should go swing by Applejack's cart and say hello."
She was about to walk down the street when something caught her ear. It was the sound of several dogs barking.
"Strange," she said, looking back at the veterinary clinic. "We don't have that many dogs staying with us today."
The barking grew louder, causing her to turn her head. A stampede of dogs was running up the street, barking frantically!
"Oh, goodness!" Fluttershy approached the edge of the stampede. "Um, excuse me? Hello? Are you all okay?" But the dogs were running too fast to pay her any heed. "What's gotten you all so frightened?"
She squealed as a dog pounced on her, knocking her over. Barking on top of her was a white poodle with poofy purple hair. But that wasn't the strangest part. The dog was wearing a costume and mask that bore a striking resemblance to…
"Radiance?" Fluttershy asked.
The poodle barked and nodded rapidly.
"Is that you?" Fluttershy sat up. "Who did this to you?"
Radiance the Poodle turned around and pointed her nose down the street. Standing there, laughing maniacally, was the Great and Powerful Trixie. In her hooves was a small black statuette of a dog's head.
"Yes!" Trixie cried, hoisting the statuette into the air. "With the Head of Anubis, all of Maretropolis will be turned into dogs! And then they will see that the greatest magical equine who ever lived…no! The greatest magical equine who ever will live is the Great and Powerful Trixie!"
She laughed again as sparks emitted from her horn.
"Not so fast, Trixie!" the Masked Matter-Horn shouted, swooping down from the sky. "I should've known it was you who had stolen the Head of Anubis from the museum! Return it now," she powered her horn, "or suffer the consequences!"
"You're too late, Matter-Horn!" Trixie said with a smirk. "Or should I say," she pointed the statuette at the alicorn, "Matter-Hound?!"
Before the Matter-Horn could react, a red beam shot from the statuette's eyes, striking her instantly. When the light diminished, in the alicorn's place was a purple basset hound with dark purple spots, still in the Matter-Horn's costume. Having no wings, the Matter-Hound dropped to the ground. She got up immediately and barked furiously at Trixie, who only laughed.
"Aw, look at you!" she said teasingly. "You're so cute and threatening! Ha!" She kicked the basset hound hard. "Who's great and powerful now, pup?"
Fluttershy gasped in alarm. Turning ponies into dogs was one thing, but to kick a helpless little pony-turned-dog just for fun? Already, she could feel the blood boiling inside her.
"Not yet, Fluttershy," she growled, glancing at her flower bracelets. "Hold the anger in a little bit longer."
She quickly dashed into the nearest alley. Meanwhile, Trixie was still taunting the Matter-Hound.
"At last!" she cried, pointing down at the fallen dog. "The Great and Powerful Trixie has defeated her greatest foe!" She placed her hoof on the dog's belly to prevent her from rising. "And to think all Trixie needed to do was steal one little statue so she could turn you into a pathetic little pup!" She raised the Head of Anubis above her head. "And now, with the Masked Matter-Hound out of the way, there's no pony powerful enough to stop the Great and Powerful Trixie!"
"How about me?"
Confused, Trixie turned to see Saddle Rager scowling a few feet away from her. "Who the heck are you?"
Saddle Rager puffed up her chest. "I'm Saddle Rager! And I'm here to defeat you!"
The unicorn blinked a few times and then cackled. "You think you can defeat the Great and Powerful Trixie?!" She pointed at the basset hound. "Not even the Masked Matter-Horn could defeat Trixie! How can a weak little thing like you defeat some pony as great and powerful and amazing as Trixie?!" She glanced at the Head of Anubis. "Oh well. You'd make a nice Chihuahua anyway."
She aimed the statuette at the pegasus and fired. Saddle Rager didn't even blink as the beam bounced off her. Squealing, Trixie ducked so the reflected beam wouldn't hit her. She looked back at the now dog-shaped carrot dog cart in shock.
"B-B-But…how…?"
Saddle Rager narrowed her eyes further. "You may have the power of Anubis," she said as her eyes started to glow red, "but I have the power of Discord."
Trixie fell backward, quickly catching the Head of Anubis before it could hit the ground. "Did you say D-D-D-Discord?"
The pegasus nodded. "And do you know what I really hate?" Trixie's jaw dropped as Saddle Rager started growing. "I hate two things!" The muscles in her legs doubled in size, tearing through her costume. "When some pony messes with my friends," she said, her voice much deeper now as her shoulders broadened, "and when some pony messes with poor, defenseless," she now towered over the unicorn, "ANIMALS!"
Saddle Rager let out an angry roar, making Trixie scream. Springing to her hooves, she attempted to run away. Saddle Rager stomped after her, not even bothering to run. She caught Trixie in her hoof and brought her to her face. Trixie grinned awkwardly.
"Would it help if I said I was sorry?"
The monster roared into her face. Trixie shut her eyes as her hat was blown off. But that wasn't all that blew off. The Head of Anubis flew out of her hooves and hurdled towards the ground.
"No!" Trixie shouted, igniting her horn.
But Saddle Rager threw her hard into the air before she could try to catch the statuette. Trixie screamed as she was propelled through the sky. She stopped only when she crashed headfirst through the concrete roof of Balkham Asylum and into a prison cell.
Meanwhile, the Head of Anubis hit the street and shattered into millions of pieces. Saddle Rager shut her eyes as she was blinded by a flash of red light. When it went away, all the dogs had been transformed back into ponies.
"Saddle Rager saved us!" some pony said.
Fortunately, the pegasus had calmed down enough to shrink back to her original form, so the ponies weren't afraid to swarm around her.
"I'm so sorry!" Saddle Rager said, shrinking under their gaze. "I didn't mean to hurt any pony!"
Then she opened her eyes in surprise when they started cheering, "Saddle Rager! Saddle Rager!"
It wasn't long before reporters showed up.
"Saddle Rager! How does it feel to be the one to save Maretropolis single-hoofedly?"
"Saddle Rager! Is it true this is your first time saving the day alone?"
"Saddle Rager! Who does your mane?"
The Masked Matter-Horn flew in and landed in front of her friend. "Don't worry, Rager. I'll distract them so you can slip away."
"Um, actually," Saddle Rager said, slowly rising to her hooves. "I'd kind of like to…answer some of their questions."
The alicorn turned to her in surprise. "Really?"
With a small smile, she nodded and addressed the reporters. "If you could be so kind as to ask your questions one at a time, please?"
While Saddle Rager was reveling in her victory, Rainbow Dash was having a row with her boss in the sculpture gardens of the Maretropolis Museum.
"Mr. Fetlock," Rainbow said, struggling to keep up with the stallion, "we can't ignore the cracks any longer. Ponies are starting to notice! We should move the statue to a secure location until…"
"I've told you!" Mr. Fetlock said with a groan. "The statue of Discord is the centerpiece to this exhibit! I can't simply move it!"
"But Daring Do said we should…"
She almost ran into him as he suddenly stopped in front of the statue in question and spun around to glare at her.
"I don't care what Daring Do says!" he spat venomously. "She may have donated half of the exhibits, and assisted in securing this one, but she does not own this museum! I do!"
Rainbow blinked. "Uh…doesn't Twilight Sparkle technically own this museum?"
Mr. Fetlock growled. "I've kept this establishment afloat for decades! This statue has been here almost as long as I have! We've already had one exhibit ruined this week with the theft of the Head of Anubis, we're not ruining another!"
The pegasus nearly broke her spectacles as she smacked herself in the forehead. "There might not be any exhibit left if that statue breaks open!"
As they argued, a small ball of dark light pulsed within the statue of Discord's chest.
"What's the secret to your success?" a reporter asked, sticking her microphone towards Saddle Rager.
A lock of hair fell over Saddle Rager's eye as she shyly turned away from the cameras. She didn't like being the center of attention, but the victory and adoration from her heroic feat had instilled a newfound confidence in her.
"W-Well," she said with a slight blush, "m-my power comes from…Discord, actually."
The reporters turned to each other in confusion. Apparently, their knowledge of Gracian mythology was limited.
"Care to elaborate on that?" the same reporter asked.
"Oh, yes," Saddle Rager said, looking down at her hooves. "See, when I was a filly, I was granted my powers from a statue of Discord, the ancient Gracian God of Chaos. Whenever I become angry, I…turn."
"God of Chaos, you say?" said another reporter. "Would you call these powers a curse?"
She bit her lip. "I…I used to, but now…" She grinned slightly. "I feel like I was given these powers for a reason. I'm able to help so many ponies with my powers. I mean before, I had no idea I could stop an evil magician from turning every pony into dogs!"
"So you've come to accept the fact that your powers come from a god of chaos?" asked a third reporter.
Saddle Rager smiled further as she hugged herself. "Y-Yes. I guess I have."
"I don't care how realistic the statue looks," Mr. Fetlock shouted, "it is not the real God of Chaos!"
"And what if it is?!" Rainbow exclaimed. "Look, even if you don't believe me, you at least have to put it away awhile so no further damage is done!"
Neither of them heard the crackling noises.
"It wouldn't be damaged if you had found that vandal like I told you!"
"There's no vandal! It's cracking all by its…"
They were knocked to the ground as something exploded beside them. Mr. Fetlock cried out as stone shards struck him. Rainbow covered her eyes as dust blew into them. Lowering her hoof, she saw the statue of Discord standing before them.
Only he wasn't stone anymore.
His long, serpentine body was brown and furry. His long neck and pony head were gray, his lion paw and eagle claw were yellow, his goat's leg was tan, his dragon's leg was green and his snake tail was red and scaly.
He was standing tall, his body stretching out as he roared like a ferocious dragon. Mr. Fetlock crawled backward in fear while Rainbow clutched the lightning bolt pendant beneath her shirt.
Then Discord's scream turned into a disgruntled yawn. His eyes popped open, revealing gold irises with red pupils. He grunted as he stretched up his arms and wriggled his body around.
"Oh, Tartarus!" he said, pulling back his goat leg. "Do you have any idea how uncomfortable it was in there?" Sticking out his snakelike tongue, he rubbed it rapidly with his claw. "Ugh, I'm telling you, the number of birds and insects that have taken residence in here! Blech! Remind me never to eat bugs again!"
Rainbow stared at the creature in bewilderment, thinking, That's the Lord of Chaos?
She really thought he'd be scarier.
"Oh, it feels so good to be able to move again!" Discord said, pulling his lion arm over his chest.
During this stretch, his lion fingers snapped. After a brief flash of light, the ionic columns that held the ceiling behind him turned into cheese. Already the weight of the ceiling was pushing down on them.
Gasping, Rainbow dashed off to make a quick change.
"Alright," Discord said, snapping his other fingers, transforming a statue of Eros into gelatin. "That should do it. Now," he said, eagerly scouring his surroundings, "where is my sweet little savior?"
"My museum!" Mr. Fetlock cried.
Discord looked down at the stallion. Yelping, Mr. Fetlock jumped to his hooves, but was prevented by a snake tail which ensnared his waist. He was lifted up to Discord's eyelevel so that he was facing the God of Chaos upside-down.
"I know you," Discord said, pointing at him. "You're that Fetlock guy, right? You're the one in charge around here."
The curator's only response was a whimper. Discord saw that he was looking at the cheese pillars and gelatin Eros.
"Nice place you run here," Discord said, facing him again. "I suppose you want me to change everything back, right?"
Mr. Fetlock nodded dumbly, making Discord sigh.
"Very well. Consider it a thank you for keeping all those annoying brats from climbing on me."
With a snap of his fingers, the cheese columns were returned to normal, once again stabilizing the ceiling.
"T-The statue," Mr. Fetlock said, pointing to the gelatin. "The statue of Eros!"
"Ah, yes, Eros," Discord said, scowling. "Never quite liked that little imp. He and his meddling mother have been trying to set me up for eons!" He smirked. "Well, I suppose in some way, she…" He shook his head. "Never mind! Perhaps you can help me, mortal." He brought Fetlock closer to his face. "Where can I find the pegasus, Fluttershy Buttercream?"
The curator blinked. "D-Doctor B-B-Buttercream?"
"Yes! The mare who found me? The mare who visits me every day? Has the voice of a siren?" His eyes narrowed. "Tell me where she is, and I'll turn your pointless tribute to Eros back to normal."
"I don't know where she is!" Mr. Fetlock said with a squeak. "I mean…she hasn't been here in weeks!"
"Well then. Do you have any idea where she might be?"
"I-I don't know." He gulped. "Work, maybe?"
"Of course!" Discord smacked himself in the forehead. "She's a working mare, I forgot!" He looked back at the stallion. "Her healing center. Where is it?"
"Y-You mean S-Sweet Feathers' V-Veterinary Clinic? I-I think it's on Rover Street!"
He was suddenly dropped to the ground, causing him to cry out. Discord wore a huge grin on his face.
"Thank you oh so very much," he said, clasping his paw and claw together. "You have been oh so very helpful."
True to his word, the Eros sculpture was returned to its former marble.
"And don't worry!" Discord exclaimed as he flapped his wings. "I'll be sure to invite you!"
Rubbing his head, Mr. Fetlock looked up at the departing draconequus in confusion. "Invite me to what?"
By this time, the reporters had dispersed. Radiance was embracing Saddle Rager while the Masked Matter-Horn gathered the remains of the Head of Anubis.
"Oh, darling, you were simply fantastic!" Radiance said, pulling away from the pegasus. "You defeated that ruffian! Not to mention you handled those reporters very well!"
Saddle Rager blushed. "It was nothing, really."
"It was definitely something! I've never seen you so…so bold! And to think you conquered your camera shyness on top of it all!"
"Though I'm pretty sure Mr. Fetlock's not going to be happy about this," the Matter-Horn said, levitating the black shards into view.
"Whenever did you get so brave?" Radiance asked.
Saddle Rager shrugged. "It was simple, really. All I did was think about…"
"Discord's out! Discord's out!"
"Zapp?" the Matter-Horn said, pressing down on her commlink. "What's going on?"
There was a sound of Zapp taking a deep breath. "I'm at the museum. The statue of Discord…it really is Discord! And he's out! He's out!"
"What?" the Matter-Horn said.
"What?!" Mistress Mare-velous screamed through the device.
"What?" Saddle Rager said in disbelief.
"Cool!" came Fili-Second's voice. "We've never had to fight a god before!"
"Is Saddle Rager with ya, Zapp?!" Mare-velous demanded.
"Saddle Rager's with us on Rover Street," Radiance said. "The Great and Powerful Trixie had…"
"Then how did he get out?!" Mare-velous said.
"I'm not sure!" Zapp exclaimed. "Mr. Fetlock and I were just arguing and then the statue broke and there he was! In the flesh! Wait. Do gods have flesh?"
"But if Fluttershy was nowhere near him, then how…?"
She quickly stopped herself, but too late for her question to escape her colleagues' notice. Saddle Rager's eyes had gone wide and the Matter-Horn did not appear pleased.
"Hey, what's with the suddenly awkward pause?" Fili-Second asked.
"Mare-velous," the alicorn said slowly, "is there something you would like to share with the class?"
There was a gulp. "Uh…"
"Demeter told her that Fluttershy is Discord's Vassal who's destined to set him free, happy?" Zapp said.
"Rainbow!" Mare-velous hollered. "I mean Zapp, er… Ugh! I never know what to call ya when we're alone!"
Saddle Rager was frozen, unsure of what to say. The Matter-Horn was scowling hard.
"And just how long have you had this information?" she demanded.
There was a pause. "When we had to defeat the Sirens…" Mare-velous started to say.
"And you're only telling us this now?!" the Matter-Horn yelled, her wings shooting up in anger.
"We don't have time for this!" Radiance said. "That ruffian is on the loose, remember?"
The alicorn took a deep breath. "Right. Zapp, do you have a visual on Discord?"
"Yeah, he's right…oh no, wait. He's flying away."
"What?!" Mare-velous exclaimed. "Follow him, ya ninny!"
"Don't call me names! I'm going!"
There was a whoosh sound.
"Keep an eye on him and stop him from whatever trouble he causes," the Matter-Horn said. "We'll catch up."
"Fluttershy can't come," Mare-velous said.
"W-Why not?" Saddle Rager said, finally speaking up.
"You're his Vassal. The first thing he might come lookin' for is you."
"And his Chaos Amulet!" Zapp said. "When the statue was found, the amulet was removed from it and put on display in another part of the museum."
"Zapp," the Matter-Horn said, "go back to the museum and tell Mr. Fetlock to secure that amulet."
"But you told me to…"
"We might not stand a chance against Discord at all if he gets that amulet!"
Zapp let out a heavy sigh.
"Now," the Matter-Horn said, turning to Radiance, "who wants to go fight a god?"
Ponies gaped in bewilderment at the strange serpentine creature flying through the streets of Maretropolis, unsure of whether or not to run. Discord was glancing around at the tall skyscrapers.
"They've certainly upped the building codes since I was last here," he said. "Athena must certainly be proud."
With a snap of his fingers, the skyscrapers were instantly turned to cheese. There were screams as the cheese started to sag.
"Yes," Discord said, nodding. "Taller buildings were certainly a gouda idea." He stopped suddenly. "Ooh!"
He zipped down to a building he had not yet transformed. He pressed his face to the window of a bridal shop. His eyes focused on a particular white wedding dress on a mannequin. It was puffed up like a pastry, with a long translucent train and veil to match.
"So this is what ponies wear to their weddings nowadays, hmm?"
He poked his paw through the glass as if it were nonexistent. The clerk screamed as his lion arm stretched across the room, grabbed the dress and snapped it back through the window. In a flash, the dress was on his person.
"I don't know," he said, turning around. "Not exactly my color." Snapping his fingers, he changed the dress from white to orange. "Perfect! Now if only we had some…" He spotted a flower shop. "Flowers!"
He surprised the florist by lifting the display window up and snatching up a bouquet of lilies and chrysanthemums. He slammed down the window, shattering the glass and held the bouquet upside-down in his paw. Next to the flower shop was Bray Jewelers. Upon spying a particular article of jewelry, Discord skipped all subtlety and just broke through the window, setting the alarms off, to swipe the lovely piece.
"Excellent," he said, tucking the jewel away. "Now all that's missing is…"
He turned upon hearing a mare shriek. A yellow pegasus with a pink mane was flying away.
"Fluttershy!"
Stretching out his tail, he grabbed the mare and brought her to his face. She twisted in his grasp as she tried to escape. He frowned as he got a better look at her.
"Brown eyes," he said with a disappointed sigh. "Wrong one."
He snapped back his tail, tossing the mare across the street. Fortunately, having wings, she was able to fly away before she could hit something. Discord then caught a glimpse of another yellow mare in the window of an apartment building. Her back was to him as she was brushing her pink mane at her vanity. Grinning, Discord reached his paw inside and closed it around the mare's waist. She let out a yelped as she was suddenly pulled out of her bedroom.
Discord noticed his error immediately as she looked her over.
"Shoot," he grumbled. "You're not even a pegasus. Oh well. Any idea how to get to Rover Street?"
"Put me down!" the mare screamed.
He shrugged. "As you wish."
He tossed the mare over his shoulder. Sadly, this mare did not have the wings nor the magic to save herself. Covering her eyes with her hooves, she prepared to hit the sidewalk. Zapp swooped down in time to catch her and set her down safely on the sidewalk.
"Yeesh," Zapp said, putting her hooves on her hips. "I knew the guy was evil. I didn't think he was sloppy."
As she took her pendant in her hoof, Discord tugged on the collar of his dress. "Is it just me? Or is the mortal world a lot warmer than I remember?" He squinted up at the sun. "Ya planning to burn these mortals alive, Apollo? I always knew you'd crack one day. What we need is some shade."
As he raised his fingers, dark clouds started forming overhead. He looked at his fingers in confusion.
"Odd," he said softly.
Just then, a bolt of lightning struck his rear, making him jump. Now, there are few things that can actually hurt a god. Lightning was not usually one of them, unless it had come directly from…
"Zeus," Discord said, rolling his eyes as he massaged his posterior. "Figures. Just when I'm starting to have fun, who should come to crash the party? None other than…"
But as he turned around, he was surprised to be met with a costumed mare with a seriously bad haircut he could respect. Raising his eyebrow, he said, "…not Zeus?"
"Break time's over, Discord!" Zapp said, flapping her wings as she brought her bolt up higher. "Once my friends get here, you're going back in that statue where you belong!"
As he cocked his head, Discord's eyes fixated on the pendant in her hoof. "Well. This is certainly new." He rubbed his chin in interest. "How is it that a mortal mare is able to wield Zeus' Lightning Bolt? What are you? His demigod daughter?" He smirked. "His latest mistress, perhaps?"
She gagged. "I'm no one's mistress and I'm no one's daughter!" She paused. "Okay, I am some pony's daughter but…" She shook her head. "It doesn't matter who I am! All you need to know is that I'm the mare who's gonna fry ya!"
Discord leaped out of the way as another bolt of lightning struck behind him. "You may have Zeus' powers," he said, raising his claw, "but you're still no match for me."
Before he could snap his fingers, a golden rope closed around his wrist. "What the…?"
He cried out as he was suddenly pulled to the ground. Looking up, he saw Mistress Mare-velous standing over him, the rope hovering at her side.
"How 'bout a little Zeus and Demeter?" Mare-velous said.
He stared at the rope. "What? Was there a Free Divine Relics Giveaway I missed?"
"I'll be the one askin' the questions here," Mare-velous said, stepping on his claw. "How did ya get out?"
Discord smirked. "You may have Demeter's rope…"
Something tapped her on the shoulder. Snapping her head around, Mare-velous saw Discord's eagle claw hovering beside her. Gasping, she looked down at the rope and saw Discord's arm was now handless. He grinned as he proudly stood up. His claw then flew up and snapped back into place.
"…but you're not as clever as her," he said, flexing his fingers.
"Hello!"
Discord yelped as he suddenly found a pink mare in a white suit perched on his shoulder.
"By the way," Fili-Second said, "love the dress!"
He summoned a flyswatter to shoo her off. Before he could make contact, she zoomed down to the ground. He was amazed at her lightning speed.
"And what are you?" he asked, crossing his arms. "Some spawn of Hermes?"
"I ain't no spawn to no one, buster!" Fili-Second shouted.
She zipped up to him and started punching his stomach really fast. To Discord, her punches had no effect. He simply watched her with a yawn.
"Clearly," Discord said, picking her up by her head, "while you do seem to possess unique abilities for a mortal, they are of no divine origin whatsoever."
Another lightning strike caused him to drop her. He glared at the singed fluff on the tip of his tail.
"That's it," Discord said, turning to Zapp. "Since you like playing with electricity so much, I sentence you to an eternity as an electric eel!"
He snapped his fingers and in a flash, Zapp's mane was thin and sleek. It appeared to be in the shape of a squiggly eel sticking up from her head. Discord looked at his fingers in confusion.
"That's…not what I meant to do."
He snapped his fingers again, but all it did was make Zapp's tail shaped like an eel. Discord's eyes widened as he felt around his neck.
"My amulet!" He padded his paw and claw around his body. "Where is my amulet?!"
Before he could search any further, he found himself imprisoned in a glowing pink birdcage.
"And for your crimes against fashion," Radiance said as she marched into view, "I sentence you to an eternity as a canary with no fashion sense!"
Discord squinted at the unicorn. "Speaking of fashion, is that what ponies are wearing nowadays?" His face lit up with inspiration. "Well, if I must keep up with the times…"
Swiftly, he ripped off his dress and veil, revealing an orange jumpsuit underneath. On its chest was a big red "D," which matched his red cape and mask.
"Ooh," Radiance said in admiration. "Those colors really do match your complexion. However, is the mask really necessary if we already know who you are?"
"Is that what this thing is for?" Discord asked, tearing off his mask. "I thought it just looked cool." He tossed it aside. "Oh well. Now that I'm properly dressed for the occasion…"
He gripped the glowing pink bars and snapped them as if they were toothpicks. Radiance's jaw dropped as he slithered out of the cage through the hole he had made.
"But the…" Radiance stammered, pointing. "How did…?"
"God of Chaos!" Discord cried, flying above the heroes. "Hello? You really think these little parlor tricks are going to get the best of me?"
He didn't see the ice beam coming. He landed on the ground encased in a giant ice cube. The Matter-Horn fluttered above him.
"Nope," she said with a smirk, "but that might."
Just as she said this, something glowed red inside the ice cube. Discord broke through the ice, his body covered in flames. The Matter-Horn flew back in alarm.
"An alicorn?" Discord said as the flames extinguished. "Seriously? Those things are even rare amongst us gods!"
Shaking off her shock, the Matter-Horn narrowed her eyes. "Then this should be a rare experience for you."
She shot a laser beam, but Discord surprised them all again by splitting his head in half to let the beam through and then reformed his head again.
"Uh, how exactly are we supposed to beat this guy?" Fili-Second asked.
"Zapp," the Matter-Horn whispered to the pegasus. "You studied Gracian mythology. How do we defeat him?"
"Yeah," Zapp said, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly. "We'd kinda need all twelve of the Olympian Gods' Gifts to put him back in stone."
The alicorn gritted her teeth together. "What?"
"Zeus' pet is right, Ali-Horn," Discord said, hovering upside-down. "Unless you've got ten other divine relics handy, I'm pretty much indestructible." He flipped onto his belly. "What, were the gods too scared to face me themselves that they sent a bunch of wannabe demigods to do their dirty work?"
As he laughed, Mare-velous tightened her rope. "I really don't like this fella."
"We might not be able to destroy you," the Matter-Horn said, "or turn you back to stone, but that doesn't mean we can't stop you from destroying Maretropolis! Power Ponies! Hit him with everything you've got!"
As they charged at him, Discord simply cracked his knuckles. "This should be amusing."
While the battle raged on, Saddle Rager was hiding behind a mailbox. Her teammates had told her to stay away, but she couldn't resist coming to see him. After seeing him in a frozen state for over a decade, and only hearing his voice in her dreams, she yearned to see him in person.
His appearance was no surprise. She knew every inch of his body. However, it was so different seeing him in color. He was like a patchwork quilt of different animals. Having cared for many different types of animals, the sight was impressive.
The way he acted as the God of Chaos was not what she had expected. He was so lively, so flamboyant, so…juvenile. It was the complete opposite of how he had behaved in her dreams. She had mixed feelings watching him battle her friends. So far, it seemed like he hadn't done anything too destructive. Was attacking him really fair?
"Look, this is fun and all," Discord said, yawning as he created a hole in his stomach to dodge another one of Matter-Horn's rays, "but I really must be going. You heroes wouldn't happen to know where I can find Sweet Feathers' Veterinary Clinic, would you?"
"Fluttershy's clinic?" Fili-Second said. "Oh sure, just go two blocks down, around the corner and then another five blocks down!"
The other Power Ponies shot her angry looks. Fili-Second put her hoof in her mouth.
Discord's facial expression changed into one of elation. "You know Fluttershy?" He snatched Fili-Second by the tail and raised her to his face. "Good. Then you can help me find her!"
Zapp's mane frizzed with sparks. "You leave Fluttershy alone, you monster!"
The storm cloud above her head became bigger, and the pegasus was blazing with electricity. Gasping, Saddle Rager jumped out from behind the mailbox and shouted, "Zapp, no, stop!"
Discord's ears perked up and his head turned in her direction. "Fluttershy?"
While he was distracted, Demeter's Lasso looped around him. With a strong tug, his arms were pulled to his sides, forcing him to drop Fili-Second. Discord followed as the rope dragged him to the ground. He heaved a heavy sigh.
"Well, heroes, looks like you caught me. Question is, since you can't turn me to stone, what are you going to do with me?"
"Yeah, partner," Mare-velous said, turning to the Matter-Horn. "What are we gonna do with him? He's a god.We can't just take him to jail or Balkham like the rest."
The Matter-Horn rubbed her chin in thought. "You're not gonna like this."