Chapter 7
"Come on, everypony, there ain't no time for dawdlin'!" exclaimed Applejack, as they all hurried off the train and into the Canterlot train station, with the Elements of Harmony around their necks, "We've gotta find Twilight!"
Then, as they exited the train station and ran out onto Canterlot's roads, they all suddenly noticed the land around them. The grounds were checked with red and white, like a chessboard, dozens of buildings, trees and ground spaces were either hovering or rotating in the air, and most of the roads twisted all over the place, leading to who knows where. Everything had been turned into total chaos, with a design very similar to Chaos Capital of the World 2.0.
"Well, Twilight-slash-Discord's definitely been here," said Pinkie Pie, watching a shoal of purple and yellow fish swim through the air, "Oh, Twilight-slash-Discord's too long a name. Why don't we call her Dis-light? Or Twi-cord? Or—"
"I don't think it's the bettermost time to be jawin' about nicknames, Pinkie Pie," said Applejack, firmly, "We've gotta get to the palace and make sure the princesses are OK."
Everypony else agreed, and they headed down the road towards the palace in the distance.
"Wow," said Fluttershy, looking around at the checked ground, rotating buildings, winged bushes and sneezing stop signs, as they trudged along the Canterlot roads, "This is certainly chaotic alright."
"Twilight thinks she's Discord, of course it's chaotic," said Rainbow Dash, rolling her eyes.
There was suddenly a flash of light beneath their hooves, and the group of friends all slipped over and landed smack bang on the now soap roads.
"Ow," whimpered Fluttershy.
"Twi-cord's turned the roads into soap!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie, struggling to get up.
They all struggled to get to their hooves. Discord grabbed his walking frame and they all carried on down the road, slipping and sliding on the soapy surface as they did so. There was another flash up in the sky and all the clouds turned bright pink. Chocolate milk began to rain down in places.
"It's gettin' worse, y'all," said Applejack, worriedly.
"Worse?" exclaimed Pinkie Pie, bouncing around and catching the chocolate milk in her mouth, "I think you mean better!"
"Ugh! I really can't believe this!" exclaimed Discord, furiously, as they all trudged through the soap roads, getting soaked in chocolate milk, "This is utterly preposterous! How DARE she do this to Equestria!? Cotton candy clouds and soap roads were MY thing!"
"Ahem!" snapped Rainbow Dash.
Discord sighed. "And also because it's evil, and we're against that," he said, tonelessly.
...
"Hmmm hmmmm hmmmmm," Twilight Sparkle hummed pleasantly as she conjured up dart after dart and shot them at the three princesses, all of whom were pinned to dartboards in the air, dressed in clown costumes and rainbow-coloured Afros.
Princess Celestia flinched as two darts jabbed into the dartboards on either side of her ears.
"Oh, this is so much fun!" laughed Twilight.
She clapped her hooves and with a flash of light, apple pies began to rain down from the sky, splattering the princesses with crust and apple sauce. Twilight burst out laughing again!
"Twilight, what is wrong with you!?" exclaimed Cadance, struggling to escape from her bonds, "What has happened to my sister-in-law!?"
"Twilight?" questioned the purple alicorn, "I am Discord, the master of chaos! And I will take Equestria for my own this time!"
"Discord?" exclaimed the three princesses, incredulously.
"I don't believe this!" exclaimed Celestia, "Discord would never betray us!"
"But, sister, if it is Discord," said Luna, "Why has he made himself look like Twilight? It doesn't make sense!"
"Make sense?" repeated Twilight, grinning, "Oh, what fun is there in making sense?"
She fluttered over so her face was almost touching Celestia's.
"How does it feel," Twilight purred, "To know that you've lost and I've won?"
She cackled again and fluttered back over to her throne. She stuck out her tongue, which elongated and wrapped round a cotton candy cloud, slurping the whole thing into her mouth. Licking the cotton candy and chocolate milk off her lips, she cackled again.
"Chaos!" she declared, "Is a wonderful, wonderful thing!"
"So is this where I'm supposed to say "Not as wonderful as friendship?" a voice said from behind, "Because I really don't think that's my thing."
Twilight and the three princesses all looked round. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Spike and Discord stood boldly on the soap roads with the Elements of Harmony around their necks.
Twilight's surprised expression changed to an amused one. She hovered up from her throne.
"Ooooh, now what have we here," she purred, floating over with her chin in her hooves, "The little hero ponies with their little trinkets of harmony. Ha ha ha ha ha ha!"
She zapped a beam of magic from her horn, and with a flash of light, two nearby trees turned into huge pink Venus flytraps, which snapped menacingly at the air.
"Stop it, Twilight, this isn't you," said Fluttershy, "You're our friend! And you'd never do anything to put anypony in danger."
"Oh, and what are you going to do to stop me?" exclaimed Twilight, in mock fright, "Blast me with your magic little necklaces?" She wiggled her hooves above her head. "Oh, how TERRIFYING!" she exclaimed, "Ha ha ha ha ha ha!"
She vanished and reappeared a few metres away in a Grim Reaper's outfit and scythe.
"Well, you've most certainly outsmarted me this time," she smirked, "I'm doomed!"
With a flash of light, a grave and headstone appeared on the ground.
"Oh, woe is me!" Twilight exclaimed, dramatically, collapsing on the grave and putting her hoof on her forehead, "I will never forget that fateful day when those ponies used the magic of friendship to defeat the great master of chaos! Oh, how will I ever defend myself against their terrifying power!?"
Twilight burst into hopeless hysterics!
"I take back what I said before!" laughed Twilight, writhing in the air from so much laughter, "You ponies are HILARIOUS! Ha ha ha ha ha ha!"
"Now who does she remind me of?" said Applejack, tonelessly.
The others glanced at Discord with deadpan expressions.
"Oh, please," scowled Discord.
"Twilight, stop it," Fluttershy said to Twilight, "This isn't you. The real Twilight Sparkle would never do anything to endanger Equestria or any of us. You're our friend. I just know you're in there somewhere. And our friendship is stronger than that chaos magic!"
Twilight yawned deeply through Fluttershy's attempt to get to her.
"You ponies are so innocent," she sneered, grabbing Fluttershy under her arm and rubbing her forehead with her hoof, "It's really quite adorable!"
She vanished and reappeared back in front of her throne.
"Go ahead, try and defeat me with your little trinkets," Twilight drawled, dramatically, rolling her eyes, "Knock yourselves out. But do hurry up. I've got a whole lot more chaos to wreak!"
She zapped her horn at three houses, which all instantly turned into gargantuan card pyramids.
"Alright, everypony!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash, "Elements at the ready!"
"Check!" everypony said, in unison.
Fluttershy reached into her saddlebag and brought out the Switchy-Witchy Stone.
"Oho!" exclaimed Twilight, "What have you got there, my little ponies? A little token resembling the great and magical power of your friendship which you shall use to bring me to my downfall?"
She burst out laughing again! "I haven't laughed this hard!" she laughed, "In a millennia! Ha ha ha ha!"
"She's almost as annoying as you," Rainbow Dash said pointedly to Discord.
Discord gasped! "Impossible!" he exclaimed, "No one bests Discord!"
"Go ahead, blast me with your little Elements!" smirked Twilight, grabbing a hoofful of popcorn from the box she had conjured up, "Save Equestria from my reign of terror and let the magic of friendship last for all eternity!"
She burst out laughing again!
"Quick, Discord, use that spell you found in the book!" exclaimed Fluttershy, "Let's get our friend back!"
Discord snapped his fingers and the Element in Twilight's crown lit up with Twilight's bright pink magic. He and all the ponies around them began to glow with magical white light. Yellow butterfly outlines of Fluttershy's Element of Kindness flowed out from the place in her necklace. Purple diamonds and red lightning bolts flowed out from Rarity and Rainbow Dash's Elements of Generosity and Loyalty. Blue balloons and orange apples flowed from Pinkie Pie and Applejack's Laughter and Honesty. As the Elements vibrated, a glowing colourful rainbow joined the five together. The two ends of the rainbow curled round Discord, meeting at Twilight's Element of Magic and glowing with a bright rainbow light! He and the other ponies were lifted off their hooves (and lizard foot) and Discord's yellow eyes lit up with a bright white glow!
I don't think I could ever get used to this, thought Discord with a grimace, as he channelled the power of the Element of Magic in Twilight's crown and cast the spell he had found in the book.
The Switchy-Witchy Stone in Fluttershy's hoof lit up with a bright silver light, and started to vibrate! It hovered up into the air, glowing brighter by the second! It rose up into the air as the colourful beams continued to shoot out from the ponies' necklaces!
Twilight's jaw dropped, and the popcorn fell right out of her hoof.
"No!" she exclaimed, "What are you doing!? What magic is this!?"
"It's the magic of friendship, Twi-cord!" declared Pinkie Pie!
Six beams of brightly coloured light shot out from the Elements and joined in the middle, engulfing the Switchy-Witchy Stone in an orb of rainbow colours! Then one long blast of rainbow light shot out of it, and hit Twilight at full force! The rainbow colours swirled around her as she struggled to free herself from its power.
"No!" she screamed, "NO! NOOOOOOO—"
Her scream was abruptly cut off as the rainbow colours engulfed her body! Then both she and Discord glowed with the same pink-and-dark-blue light as they had before. The blue light surrounding Twilight and the pink light surrounding Discord both drained out of them and shot towards the Switchy-Witchy Stone, which zapped Twilight with the pink and Discord with the blue.
As the blue beam engulfed his body, Discord felt a huge surge of magic flow into him. His magic was back!
Slowly the light from the Elements of Harmony faded, and twenty-one hooves and a lizard foot touched back down to the ground. Discord rubbed his eyes.
"That's the last time I'm ever doing that," he assured the others, scowling. He took off Twilight's crown and tossed it over to Spike, who caught it.
There was a sudden moan from the ground. Twilight Sparkle rubbed her eyes with her hooves, as if waking from a long, long sleep. A spark of panic crossed her seven friends' faces. They slowly gathered round the purple alicorn, hoping with everything they had that the spell had worked.
"Twilight?"