As I approached the two guarded doors leading to the main throne room, I felt a bit proud of myself; I finally got to see what it was like to take down an actual bad guy. Well, I didn't really do that much, but I still felt almost felt as much a hero as the 6 girls walking beside me. With the added fact that, the minute the doors swung open and we stepped inside, the place was filled with hundreds of ponies smiling at us helped solidify it. I smiled a bit, beginning to wave back softly.
I proudly wore my newly made scarf and shirt, hand-crafted the previous week by Rarity herself. The scarf showed off a bright array of pinks, purples, whites, and yellows while the shirt had a mostly orange design, with stripes and jets of cyan strewn around. She said she made it for me as a “gift from all of them”, but in reality, I just think she wanted me to have something to wear. It didn't really matter to me though, as I had something to keep me warm and somewhat fashionable.
Some seemed confused as to why I was there, but I just kept walking until we all stopped in front of Celestia herself. She began her speech, "We are gathered here today to once again honor the heroism of these six-" She stopped and was seemingly taken aback once I cleared my throat, but immediately composed herself and continued, blushing ever so slightly. "Ahem, seven friends, who stood up to the villain Discord and saved Equestria from eternal chaos."
The crowd cheered as Celestia turned to reveal the brand-new stained glass window hidden behind two drapes, detailing the defeat of the god of chaos at the hands of the six. I felt Rainbow lean over to me, “Hey, don't let this fame get to your head, rookie. I still don't know why the princess invited you, you barely helped!”, she slyly joked.
I smirked, “Not my fault you're still mad at me for tackling you before you could run away from regaining your memories.”
She pouted a bit, “Well, it's not mine either you played dirty by being all buddy-buddy with him, hay, ya almost convinced us you were on his team!”
I shook my head before giggling, “Jeez, a bit barbaric though. Dontcha think? Guy gets sealed away and we mock him with a window, while he's supposed to be the nasty one.” We both snicker quietly before turning to the crowd, smiling as confetti and streamers rain down on us. Everything finally seemed right in my life, no longer having to deal with the monotony of my old one with scarcely any friends. I had a whole reputation to my name with probably hundreds of ponies that at least knew who I was now, along with six wonderful friends who helped each other through thick and thin. Looks like things might start to look up for me, and maybe I'll even get to be the hero someday…
KA-BOOM!
My thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a large explosion, followed by a low rumbling noise as a tall, slim figure appeared behind the window. The object then crashed through it, sending hundreds of glass fragments flying while ponies cowered in corners, some running out of the room. The object turned out to be the newly made statue of Discord, slowly cracking open as pieces of dark magic ripped chunks of stone off of him. I couldn't help but to just stand there in shock as the princess stood her ground next to me, the others scrambling to find their elements.
After a while, deep cackling filled the room as a lounge chair complete with an umbrella and a small glass of lemonade appeared next to me, Discord relaxing and sipping out of it. “Ah… I guess it's true what they say. You DO only miss things you take for granted once you lose them.” He slowly stood up, stretching as he suddenly looked down at me. “Isn't that right, Nebula? After you tried to fool me to believe you were my ally and, dare I say, even a friend of all things?”
I began to step back as the Draconequus snapped his fingers and teleported, jumping at the feeling of a hand on my back before I'm surrounded by my six friends. Celestia was the first to approach him, "Let him go Discord! He had nothing to do with your defeat."
Dash butted in, "Yeah, if you want trouble with him, you're gonna have to go through us again!" All six girls nodded.
Discord all but laughed as I was levitated into the air, flailing a bit, " Oh, heavens no, I've learned my lesson from the six of you already. I'm only doing you a favor by disposing of this cretin for you!"
"But he's our friend!" Twilight shouted, her eyes beginning to narrow, "For these past few days he's been there for us, spending time with us and helping us do things around town, he even helped us in defeating you! So, unless you want to be sent to the moon in stone, I suggest dropping him!"
He only cackled harder, sending shivers down my spine as I felt my whole world breaking down. This wasn't supposed to be happening.
"Oh girls, can’t you see he's tricked you into a sense of security? I understand if you find it hard to believe, so I'm here to open your eyes to the true knowledge this... creature has." He snapped his fingers summoning two objects to his side; a small vial filled with a golden, glowing liquid, and Spike.
Twilight flinched and began to panic, "M-my truth serum potion! Spike! So help me, if you damage EITHER of those two..."
Discord grinned, his tail pressing up Twilights chin, "Don't worry my dear, it is just a small test run to prove to you I'm serious..." He lifted Spike up by the tail, taking the opportunity of him gasping to open it completely and slowly counting 3 drops of it into him. He began to grumble as he held his head, muttering gibberish. Twilight and Rarity tried to run to his aid before being held in place by chains that had materialized behind them, both yelping and desperately pulling against them, "Give it some seconds." Discord pulled out a pocket watch and stared at it in mock boredom, Spike slowly beginning to come back to his senses, a small aura of yellow coming out of his eyes like beacons. "There we are! Let's see how well you did on your potion, Miss Egghead!"
Spike tried his best to squirm and run but was raised higher up into the air, being presented to the whole group. He began to hyperventilate and thrash around wildly, realizing what was about to happen. "D-discord, please! I don't want to do this! Not now! I'm not ready! don't make me say it! I'll do anything, ANYTHING!" His pleas fell on deaf ears as the biggest, most sadistic grin formed on Discords face before he asked one simple question.
"Innocent, young, naive Spike." He began, "Is there anything you would like to admit to this young fashionista here? Any thoughts or opinions at all?" He stifled laughs and chortles as Spike began to nod his head involuntarily, his body beginning to glow brighter by the moment before he finally opened his mouth to speak.
"Y-yes, there is. Rarity Belle, I love you! I always have! I think about you day and night, imagining ways to woo and surprise you. You're the kindest, sweetest pony I've ever met, and... and... I WISH TO BE YOUR COLTFRIEND!"
Everything seemed to freeze as the poor drake clamped his claws over his mouth, face turning beet red as he landed on the floor with a thud. He could do nothing but to just sit in pure shock and emotional agony, Rarity too stunned to even say a word. The only sounds filling the room was Discord’s mad chortling and another sound that nobody expected to hear; Me beginning to join in with him.
I froze, everyone staring daggers at me as I began to thrash around, the vial loomed ever closer to me. “Now, to out you for the phony you really are!” I squeaked at the feeling of my jaw being wrenched open, gagged at the drops making their ways down my esophagus, and wheezed as I began to feel… empowered?
It felt as though I could say or do anything and it wouldn't matter in the slightest! Beginning to chuckle harder and harder, I noticed my brown coat turning into an oil-like color, beginning to radiate with fits of uncontrollable magic. I didn't care though, finally letting out all of my innermost thoughts and the things that would probably ruin my new life forever.
“Hah, about time somebody finally made you say it, wimp!” I belted out, “And here I was thinking I would have you say it until after the whole wedding fiasco, but looks like ol’ jigsaw puzzle over here did it for me!
Everyone paused for a few seconds, Spike looking up at me nervously, “W-Wedding...?”
I raised my eyebrow a bit, before finally realizing what kind of position I was in, “Oh, right, you guys don't know about all of this. Well uh... to put it bluntly, I know a ton about you guys!”
The looks of pure bewilderment and shock I got was almost enough to snap me out of the trance I was in, but my body kept talking, even though my conscious and soul were practically begging that I would just pass out right then and there, “Don't worry, I don't know EVERYTHING about you guys’ life, but I do have some pretty big chunks of it.
For example…”, I looked over at Pinkie, a small glint of maliciousness visible in my eye, “Pinkamena Diane Pie, born on a rock farm and work there along with her other siblings until she discovered her talent by throwing her very first party inside a windmill! Other noteworthy attributes include being able to foresee into the future slightly and all around bending the rules of physics.”
Pinkie gave an audible squeak as her hair seemed to deflate, her whole body taking on a darker shade of pink as she slowly backed up, Applejack taking her spot.
The rest all seemed to be frozen in a state of utter shock and disbelief, except for the feeling of Celestia staring daggers at me. “L-Lucky guess, pardner,” AJ blurted out, obviously a bit disturbed, “But I betcha ya can't know EVERYTHING we've done!”.
I cocked my head a bit, a small grin appearing on my face as I leaned forward the best I could, “Oh really now? Arent you the one who worked so hard that they could barely stand straight from sleep deprivation and basically has a rivalry with the pony you're supposed to be friends with?”
Her face went pale as she stumbled back a bit, landing with a thud on the floor as I shook my head, “Don't you guys get it? There's nothing about you guys I don't know, I basically control your destinies! Might as well just throw in the towel now, because its only gonna get harder from here on ou-”
And that was it. Just like that, I felt myself black out momentarily and all of the feeling of power leave my being, my body slamming against the ground in a cruel wake-up call. As I regained control of my own actions, I quickly jumped to my hooves and started to back away from the now approaching mob, The Goddess of the lands on their side as well.
“W-wait, guys… I didn't mean to-” A lavender hoof makes me stop dead in my tracks as I felt my heart sink.
“Enough… we get it. Just go before we change our minds…”
Before I could get one last word in, I heard a snap come from behind me as my body was zapped away into thin air, leaving a group of shell-shocked ponies and one very confused and scared Goddess.