I was somewhat confused when the princesses sent me back to Ponyville in order to make a new friend at about the same time as they had sent a letter requesting that Pummel Fist come to the castle to use his 'services,' as the letter had specifically said. Alice and I flew towards the town, and we saw something glowing red soar past. I would have guessed that it was a phoenix, but its body wasn't glowing. Instead, I assumed that it was Pummel in one of his fire bird Pokemon forms.
"...Ali, Altaria?"
"I think so too, Alice. They're probably hiding something from me that's already been in plain sight. But we'll just leave it at that until further evidence is revealed... Oh? What could that be?"
We touched down in the square, where we noticed Spike at some kind of stand. Before I could read the sign, Spike pressed a button on the stand, flipping the sign so it read 'Aromatherapy.' "Oh, hey, Princess Peach. Would you like to try some aromatherapy? Free samples!"
I gave it some thought. "That's really kind of you, Spike. I would be happy to try some, but I'm a little busy right now. Besides, you might want to restock your inventory. It seems lacking."
"Okay, maybe next--wait, what did you mean by inventory?" I knew that colorful vocabulary would confuse Spike.
"Oh!" I stumbled and fell, releasing my grip on the vegetable in my hand. "Oops!"
Spike rushed to my aid. "Are you okay, Princess?"
I got up and brushed myself off. "I'm okay, Spike. Sometimes, it can be tough walking in heels, especially on roads made of stone tiles such as here." I just happened to take a glance at the stand, with its original sign flipped into position due to my well-tossed vegetable. "Oh, what do we have here?"
Spike gasped with horror. "This was Discord's idea!"
I put my hands on my hips. "I should have known it was one of Discord's antics. He should really stop sticking his nose in other creatures' business. Especially Pummel's. Discord, show yourself if you know what's good for you!"
Spike asked me, "Do you really think he'd show himself? He's Discord!"
"Good point." Since Discord was the mastermind, I did what should be done to masterminds: I pulled back the curtains on his scheme (literally)! I discovered Discord behind invisible curtains, where he was playing the famous person who pretended to be Oz. "What do you have to say for yourself?"
Discord then near-quoted the famous line: "Uh, do not pay attention to the draconequus behind the curtain!"
I giggled, "I was hoping you'd say that. But that's besides the point." I bashed him on the head with my frying pan. "You should know! All of Pummel's friends knew his secret ever since the MLP Roborygon incident a couple weeks ago!"
"First of all, the stuff that happened when you went into the TV world was non-canon to this Equestria. Second of all, of course I knew, because I'm familiar with parallel worlds, but the others in this world had no clue. I just left out the part about Pummel's friends knowing his secret in order to cause a little chaos. And third of all... who keeps a frying pan in hammerspace?!"
I answered with a smile, "What self-respecting heroine doesn't keep a strange but powerful close-combat weapon?"
"Touche."
Spike asked, "Where did you get that surprised turnip? Did Discord give it to you?"
I replied, "Good guess, but no. I learned how to pull turnips out of the ground ever since Mario, Luigi, Toad, and I adventured through Subcon in Mario's dream. It's a long story." I hopped on Alice, pulling Discord along by the ear. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go teach somepony a lesson."
Therefore, we made a return trip to Canterlot Castle. When we made it back, the guards stopped us, as I somewhat expected, not just because of Discord being with me and Alice. "The princesses are having a private meeting with Pummel Fist. We must ask you to come back later."
I'm used to dealing with guards by now, so I didn't let them stop me. "I have some valuable information that the princesses could use. This information cannot be bestowed to them if I cannot speak to them personally."
"We can relay the information to them. Do you not trust us?"
"I can deal with these guys," Discord boasted.
But I said, "Not now. I can handle this. I mean, Alice can. Discord, you might want to put your ears somewhere that noise can't reach them."
"If you say so." Discord took his ears and gobbled them up. My, what a pig he can be, and that's coming from someone who knows who Applejack is! "Mmm, tastes ear-y (eerie)!"
"Okay. Alice, would you please treat our noble guards to a song? This time, make sure that it doesn't do them harm."
As I had hoped, Alice used Sing rather than Perish Song. I knew so because, even though I had covered my ears, I was still able to hear the guards. "What a peaceful... song... *yawn* It's... soothing... *yawn* Good night, Luna... *thud*"
"Good job, Alice." I turned to Discord before pointing to my ears.
Discord nodded before forming new ears from his own skin. "That was pretty devious, Princess."
I grinned mischievously. "Not as devious as Alice's Perish Song. That move kills, hence the name. Anyway, let's go. Alice, please wait outside for us."
We walked down the hallway, ready for whatever we would have to face. Predicting what Pummel and the princesses were probably doing, I had plucked another turnip earlier.
I asked, "Ready, Discord?"
"Ready, Peach."
After I very slightly opened the double door, I blindly chucked the turnip in. Then I listened... Nothing. I risked taking a peek and saw... That's strange. The whole front side of Pummel's body was black. Ashen. As if it was hit by... a laser. If that was from Celestia, I hoped it wasn't at maximum power. I shut the door and thought about my next move. They seemed innocent, but to be sure... Snap!
Hearing my signal, the turnip transformed into Discord, surprising the trio. "I like your new look, Pummel. You look very... radishing.
Pummel stared at Discord. "Uh... I don't get it. Why use a radish pun?"
Discord deadpanned. "You mean you didn't notice me transform from a radish?"
"All we saw is you as you are right now."
Before Pummel had a chance to explain why, I made a dramatic entrance with my Peach Bomber. "You can drop the act, princesses. I knew what was up before you did!"
Pummel pleaded, "Please forgive them, Princess Peach. They thought only I knew my secret, and not my friends also."
Luna asked, "Is that so?"
"That is indeed so," Discord replied. "You see, Pummel's secret was previously revealed to you two, his friends, the Mane Six, and Spike in a parallel dimension, thanks to Roborygon. I know, because that dimension's counterpart of me told me all about it. He even showed me the whole adventure they had on tape! Although, while I interrogated Roborygon, he told me that they had learned more about Pummel's secret, which you read in the paper. Anyway, after the reveal, Lucario said that Pummel had recently quashed that secret recently."
I added, "Don't worry about punishing Discord, Pummel. I already took care of that."
"Did you slam him with your frying pan?" Pummel asked with a grin.
Celestia looked at me. "You have a frying pan?"
I nodded. "As I said to Discord, what self-respecting heroine doesn't carry a powerful--and sometimes strange--close-combat weapon?" I demonstrated by giving Discord a circular face with my frying pan.
Celestia chuckled, "You do make a good point."
"Now, let's get back to business." The princesses stiffened up at my remark. "That was very naughty of you to send me away while keeping the real reason why you did from me. But it was still a good thing that you did send me away, since the real reason happened to be private matters in my opinion."
"We understand. Our apologies for upsetting you."
I giggled. "The truth is, I'm not mad at you. Honestly, I thought that you would be mad at Pummel for having such a strange quirk."
Celestia relaxed upon hearing this. "Well, that's a relief. Next time, we'll be sure to tell you the truth."
"Well, duh," I replied as I poked Celestia on the snout.
Pummel looked so adorably shocked that I did that, like someone used Icy Wind directly on his spine. "Did... Did you really just boop the princess of the sun?"
"Why can't a princess have fun every once in a while?"
Discord sneaked closer to me. "You know, Peach, I'm starting to like you more and more."
"Don't push it. You still have that frying-pan face I gave you. If you're not careful, my tennis racket will turn your head into a discordant waffle."
"You might be good at visibly humiliating me, but you should've been there when Pummel Fist sent me packing."
"I could easily guess what happened. Only Pummel could punch you from Ponyville all the way here." Discord flinched and couldn't move! Tee hee, things sound much more dramatic and humorous when they're said in Pokemon form!
Celestia said, "Now we need to continue our previous activities with Pummel. Why don't you go back to Ponyville, this time to really make friends?"
"I certainly will. Pummel, can you please take care of Discord for me?"
Pummel grinned. "You bet. It's time to tango, 64-style!" He grabbed Discord by the tail and began to swing him around and around. "Let's-a go!" He let go, launching Discord into one of the stained-glass murals without leaving a scratch. "Before you ask, princesses, Roborygon will explain what I meant by 64-style later."
"I'd better go now. The guards are probably waking up now from Alice's Sing."
Celestia and Luna looked concerned. Luna asked, "I beg your pardon?"
"Alice is my Altaria, a bird Pokemon with cloud-like feathers. One of her moves is Sing, which can lull opponents to sleep. The guards wouldn't let me in, so I had Alice use Sing to get by."
The princesses looked at each other with wide eyes. Luna finally said, "We should get tougher guards."
As if on cue, the guards burst in. "Princess Peach, you directly disobeyed our command not to intrude on the princesses!"
Celestia replied, "At ease, guards. As it would happen, she and the rest of Pummel's friends already knew about his curious activities, due to a previous happening."
I began to go on my way. "Now I really do believe I should be going, so the princesses and Pummel will no longer be bothered. My return to Ponyville will also be a chance for me to make a new friend." Before I left the room, I turned to the guards. "Oh, and you might want to invest in some earplugs so you won't fall victim to slumber-inducing songs again."
The guards blushed for a moment. "We appreciate the suggestion. But don't think we'll forget what you did." Guards: they are tough on the outside, but they do have a soft side!