//------------------------------// // 3 Rain of Chaos // Story: Errant Finale // by Doug Graves //------------------------------// Standing on the steps, idly greeting yet another noblepony - and bored out of her mind - stands Princess Celestia. Only her simple scrying spell leading back to her office, along with a steady breeze that slowly pushes one page of her reports off her desk at a time, gives her something to do. If you can call it that. A part of her, growing larger with every second, wants to break away from these insipid conversations and talk shop with Twilight Sparkle. Sadly, her student is stiffly standing next to her and has made no indication that is what she wants to do. Twilight is far too tense; perhaps she isn’t the only one who needs to spend some time with Doug later that night. Celestia sighs in disappointment, though you would never be able to tell by looking at her. This year’s Grand Galloping Gala is already off to a plodding start. She was so hoping it would be different, especially with inviting Herd Apple. Alas, even with the gaff of Spike and Twilight’s tickets, things had settled down far too quickly. Maybe she shouldn’t have stepped in so quickly, and let her student stew in her embarrassment. More likely, though, Twilight would have disappeared and only been coaxed out of hiding with promises of big, thick, and weighty books. Perhaps it has been too long since she has taken a consort; ten generations of ponies does tend to warp commonly held beliefs about what kind of pony she should be, or is. Or perhaps it is who her chosen consort is. Well, what’s done is done. It’s not like she can just go back in time and- Wait. A slight movement in the corner of her eye draws Celestia’s attention upwards. She halts her breeze spell in her office, and the scrying spell, freeing up more of her concentration. She carefully monitors the tiny bits and pieces of what could have passed for, and probably actually is, cotton candy. The cloud forming above slowly grows larger, grain by grain. Something seems to be growing inside the cloud, filling it like a pregnant mare’s belly. A prank? One of Luna’s? No, she would never work with something so bright and garish; her Sister could be so concerned about her image! Maybe Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash? Well, it is pink, and weather related. So it could be a teamup of the two Pranksters of Ponyville. A sly grin spreads across Celestia’s muzzle as she licks her lips in giddy anticipation; this is exactly what she was hoping for when she invited the Element Bearers to the Grand Galloping Gala! Well, that and she wanted to give them something nice to thank them for freeing her Sister from Nightmare Moon’s dark influence. She had hoped that by giving them almost a year’s notice they would be able to possess a modicum of tact, but based on Rainbow Dash’s performance - and, sadly, Twilight Sparkle’s - it appears that it is less the case. Though if this is the result instead? She certainly won’t complain. Everypony else? Well, they'll have to learn to love a little bit of excitement. Hmm; would it be considered nepotism if she has her quartermasters order a large amount of apples and other products from the herd of the stallion she is seeing? Ugh, so many rules she has to consider. And with the Council of Creatures riding her about Equestria’s recent diplomatic snafus nearly as hard as she wants Doug to ride herself, perhaps she shouldn’t toe the line of acceptable Princess behavior. Pity. Princess Celestia’s suspicion that something might be wrong is not triggered when the first chocolate raindrop hits her square between her magenta eyes. She merely nods at the noble fancifully dressed in front of her; the mare taking the hint to continue on her way and only sparing an amused glance. Celestia’s eyes cross, inspecting the offending drop slowly seeping into her coat. It looks delicious, but slightly out of range of her tongue. Perhaps if she stretches just a little further... Rain begins pouring down everywhere as the clouds above multiply like Doug and a herd of ponies. Especially as Twilight glances up at her, though neither are terribly put out by the rain. It's nice, a pleasant distraction, something new and interesting that she certainly wasn't expecting. She'll save that for a year from now. Ugh, she really needs to stop with these comparisons! Her sense that something is amiss is triggered, however, by Pinkie Pie pronking into the open courtyard, sticking her tongue out, and getting giddier than a yearling opening their first Hearth’s Warming present. Her sense of dread only increases as Pinkie Pie rushes to the wall, finding one of the carefully inset gutters, and proceeds to imbibe the chocolate milk like a sow at a trough. Celestia knows that Pinkie Pie loves her pranks, nearly as much as Rainbow Dash, but she never knew the partymare to take this much pleasure in her own designs. Especially when the rest of the ponies in attendance are having nowhere near as much fun; they all scamper to and fro, hiding under awnings and throwing up quickly browning shields as they get covered in the sludge. Normally Pinkie Pie takes a bit more care to ensure everypony is enjoying the pranks. Unlike a certain other mare... When Celestia spots Rainbow Dash struggling with one of the pink clouds along with a few uniformed Wonderbolts she knows something truly is wrong. Chaotically wrong. More and more of the pink cotton candy clouds spontaneously generate in the sky and, worse, inside the castle, loosing torrents of chocolatey goodness. It flows down the steps, rivulets becoming streams, sloshing at her hooves. A name she never wanted to have to utter again, despite having the fiend’s statue prominently displayed in her gardens, escapes her lips. “Discord.” Next to her, Twilight gasps. The unicorn had been stoically bearing the rain beating against them, because that’s the example she set. “That’s an old foe of yours!” Celestia nods, her mane and tail growing damp and plump, filling with chocolate rain. They limply lay on her back and flanks, no longer flowing freely. “And if that is the case, it will be up to you and your Friends to defeat him.” Celestia draws in a quick breath. “You will need to gather them, and quickly. Return to me when you have them.” “I understand.” Twilight’s horn flares, though she does not teleport, instead collapsing with a cry of pain. “Twilight!” Celestia drops down, nuzzling her student’s smoking horn. “Are you all right?” “Oww,” Twilight moans, rubbing her horn. “The chocolate does not want to be displaced.” She takes a few breaths in and out, shakily getting to her hooves. “I’ll be okay, I think. Just no major magic from me for a little bit.” “Of course. Go with haste, and be safe.” Celestia turns to her guards, the closest finally responding to the panicking ponies around them and ushering them indoors, or to covered areas. “Princess!” Flash Sentry yells, wings flaring and coming to a stop next to her. “Shining Armor and Princess Cadance are on their way. Reports from all over Canterlot indicate chocolate rain pouring everywhere, inside and out. Worse, buildings are levitating into the air, and animals are going haywire!” Celestia nods. “Understood. Flash, organize a team of guards to evacuate the lower castle. Many of the rooms were not designed for internal flooding, and we need to avoid a disaster of titanic proportions!” Flash Sentry snaps a salute, zipping into the main castle entrance and shouting at a few of the guards along the way. He narrowly avoids a collision with Princess Luna as she barrels down the hallway. “Sister!” Princess Luna looks to the sky, just for a particularly well aimed drop to smack her right in the eye. She doesn’t even flinch, staring up at the pink blobs congregating above the two Royal Sisters. The rain around them doubles, the fun decidedly less so. “Is this?” “I believe so.” Celestia stares up at the rain, then at the pink mare still guzzling chocolate milk. Her stomach is inflating like a balloon, now firmly resting on the ground. And still she drinks; one hoof, then all four, no longer touch the ground, instead uselessly poking out and squirming around, trying desperately to keep her at the chocolate channel. Celestia meekly pulls her tongue further back into her mouth; would she be reduced to a quivering mess, intent only on imbibing more, had she partaken? A disgruntled Applejack storms into the entryway from outside, heedless of the rain soaking her sides through the dress. Fluttershy slinks behind her, trying to stay as close to the walls and dry spots as she can, her green dress now stained with mud and chocolate. Twilight and Rarity return from the castle, the lower guard sections if she has to guess; neither are wearing their Gala dresses. Rainbow Dash swoops down from above while trying to remove the pink cotton candy from her hooves and sides, even a little gumming up her wings. She strips out of her Gala dress, unceremoniously dumping it onto the ground. Applejack spots her white herdmate across the entry hall. “Rarity!” Applejack howls, holding up one of her fancy boots, soaked in chocolate milk. “Ah told you Ah should have worn galoshes!” “I’m sorry,” comes the indignant reply, “but somehow I didn’t manage to forecast chocolate rain on what was supposed to be a perfect night!” Rarity turns to Rainbow Dash, horror instantly replacing her aggravation. “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?” “I didn’t do anything!” Rainbow Dash retorts, inches away from eating the cotton candy stuck to her foreleg. “It’s the Canterlot weather team, if anypony!” She pauses as Rarity races forward and gathers the ruined dress in her hooves, clear tears washed away by chocolate. “Oh. That.” Princess Cadance and Shining Armor rush into the entry hall from outside as Rarity wails about the dress. “We came as soon as we could!” shouts Princess Cadance, briefly nodding to Celestia and Luna. “What is happening?” Celestia regally holds herself up, though it is difficult to maintain the image with raindrops constantly splashing against her head. “It appears an old foe of mine, someone I thought defeated long ago, has returned. His name… is Discord.” Fluttershy cowers down while Twilight nods resolutely. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity mostly look between each in confusion. Princess Cadance and Shining Armor gasp, the latter stomping a hoof. “Then we’ll put an end to this!” Shining Armor gazes into Celestia’s eyes. “Just let me know what frequency to tune my shield, and we’ll force all of his chaos out!” “I’m afraid it won’t be that easy,” Cadance says, stroking Shining Armor’s back with a hoof. His hurt look is only somewhat quelled by her explanation. “As a creature of chaos, you won’t be able to force him out. Even your shield against the rain failed to stop half of them!” “Indeed.” Princess Luna gravely intones. “Discord is a spirit of disharmony. Before our Sister and I stood up to him, he ruled Equestria in an eternal state of unrest, and unhappiness. We saw how miserable he made life for Earth ponies, Pegasi, and Unicorns alike. Upon discovering the Elements of Harmony we combined their power to turn him to stone.” Celestia nods. “And, despite our connection to the Elements being broken a thousand years ago, we thought it would last forever.” “No longer connected?” Twilight gasps, looking to Luna. “You mean…” Celestia slowly nods. “Yes. When I used the Elements against my Sister, banishing Nightmare Moon, I lost my connection to them, perhaps permanently.” Celestia regards Twilight and the other Element Bearers. “Now, it will be up to you six to wield the Elements against him once again, and stop him before he thrusts all of Equestria into eternal chaos!” “You got it!” exclaims Rainbow Dash excitedly, even though she can’t raise to the air and pose due to the gunk in her wings. “But you guys!” Pinkie Pie cries out, now having difficulty getting her head low enough to guzzle more chocolate milk, her belly grossly stretched and limbs waggling around, unable to reach anything. “Eternal chaos comes with chocolate rain! Chocolate! Rain!” Twilight shakes her head. “Don’t listen to her. We’d be honored to use the Elements of Harmony again.” She motions to Applejack. The earth pony walks up to Pinkie Pie, inspecting the roughly spherical mare twice as tall as she is. “Just like a blue ribbon Apple apple,” Applejack says with a smirk, standing on her hind legs and rolling Pinkie Pie away from the wall. Pinkie’s pink tongue keeps stretching out and lapping at the milk falling around them, her protests muffled by the occasional dip into a chocolate puddle, her grunt of 'more!' followed by Applejack rolling her eyes. Twilight looks up at the main castle. “I assume the Elements are locked up in the highest room of the tallest tower.” “Perhaps not the most original of places.” Celestia turns to Cadance and Shining Armor. “Shining Armor, gather the guards and focus on relief efforts. Military force will be useless. Cadance, likewise, focus on keeping everypony calm. If Discord is up to his old tricks, then overreacting is more dangerous to us than any frivolous game he plays.” “Frivolous?!” An aggrieved Discord appears in between Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, hugging their rain soaked faces next to his. On his shoulders, barely clutching onto his twin horns, hang Lemon and Meringue; one of them looks ecstatic to be there, while Lemon merely grins wildly. “Does this look like the face of a creature whose efforts focus on the frivolous?”