Discord woke the next morning feeling refreshed and ready for the day. He snapped his fingers and a window appeared, displaying his dimension, the swirling purple and blue vortex endless to his view. He pushed the glass open and took in a deep, exhilarating breath.
“Ah, another glorious chaotic morning!”
A dark blue creature flew by, its body similar to an angler fish, its tiny wings flapping and its arms tucked in tightly beneath its belly.
“Morning Kevin!” Discord called, waving as it passed.
Kevin roared and waved back before continuing on his way, his teal tongue wiggling freely in his open jaws.
Humming a disjointed tune, Discord literally popped into his kitchen and set to work making a scrumptious breakfast. He had fifteen house guests to feed, after all; not including the demon spawn, that is.
There was a soft pop as Cordy appeared, sitting at the table in a lovely red robe, a horrifically puce green and orange checkered ascot sticking out under his chin. A pair of spectacles rested against the bridge of his nose as he read the morning paper from the Mirror World.
“Need any help?” he asked, sipping a cup of strawberry milk; his go-to.
“No, thank you,” Discord hummed, his tail manning the egg pan while his hands took care of the pancakes. “The kitchen was more than eager to lend a hand. The knives practically sang when I asked them to get started on the fruit.” Said knives were happily chopping up apples, oranges, and bananas into separate bowls.
“You don’t usually have a lot of guests,” Cordy muttered. “Myself and your Fluttershy being the main ones.”
“Well, yes,” Discord said, flipping a flapjack. “In case you hadn't noticed, not many beings from this world are eager to be my friend.”
Cordy frowned. “If it makes you feel any better, I seem to elicit the same cautionary instinct in humans. I may be a Count but I’m a loner. My social interactions exist within my work: someone makes a deal and I walk away at the end of it amused from the adventure it brought.”
“Vast hidden mansions, no servants, anything we could ever need or want at the snap of a finger…” Discord shook his head. “And yet we lacked the one thing we truly needed. Thank creation for Fluttershys!”
“I’ll happily drink to that!” Cordy cheered, lifting his glass. Discord summoned his own chocolate milk to partake in the toast. Afterwards, Cordy narrowed his eyes playfully, a sly grin climbing his cheeks. “So, considering the out of tune humming I heard, is it safe to assume that you and Fluttershy stepped over the dating threshold last night?”
Discord twisted around to face the stove, adding another pancake to the already huge stack before pouring more batter into the pan. “We might have,” he said, peeking back at him with a large smile.
Cordy set his paper down and leaned forward, his tail wagging behind his chair. “Go on; spill!”
Gleefully shaking his fists, Discord squealed and happily launched into how Fluttershy prompted him to ask her a very important question. “We had to work past all the Tirek nonsense but the end result was worth it!” he finished.
Cordy laughed. “So, did you… you know?”
Discord’s grin slipped into a disapproving frown. “Delancy, you insult me. Like you I prefer the old fashioned ways of courting- with a little chaos mixed in. Besides, Fluttershy is a lady. She wouldn’t give herself away on the first date.”
Cordy held up his hands. “I meant no offense, Discord. I was merely curious. Times have changed, after all.”
Discord shifted his gaze back and forth. “You and your Fluttershy haven’t…?”
Cordy folded his arms and smirked. “I don’t believe that’s any of your business.”
“Then why are you so determined to weasel your way into mine?”
“Because you seemed eager to share,” Cordy said. “And, as stated before, I was curious. Tell me, how similar are you to a stallion?”
“Hear your own words,” Discord growled, throwing a blueberry at him, “Mind your own business.”
Cordy laughed, dodging the projectile. “Oh, come on; you know others are sure to wonder how you and Fluttershy have se-”
“Does the T-Rating mean anything to you?” Discord interrupted. “We are not going to get into discussing how ‘the birds and the bees’ works between me and Fluttershy. As far as I’m concerned, that business is between the two of us and the two of us alone so shove off!”
“Fine, fine. If I were really curious I could just find something M-Rated anyway.”
Discord slapped his paw to his face and groaned. “Can we please move on?”
“Sure. To answer your unspoken question, no, Flutterbunny and I haven’t done the deed either; we have to save something for the wedding night.”
Discord whirled around. “Wedding?”
Cordy shrugged. “Eventually. We’ve discussed marriage but she’s young and needs to live a little longer before taking on such a binding commitment. Say, does yours know about… it?”
“No,” Discord hastily answered. “And I’m not going to bring it up until after this nonsense is over.”
“Probably a wise decision,” Cordy muttered, returning to his paper.
Discord scraped the eggs out of the pan into a large bowl. “Is yours…okay with it? The Commitment?”
“Surprisingly, yes,” Cordy said, his paper ruffling as he turned a page. “It took a few conversations before she was, though. After you tell yours, give her time, Discord. That’s the best advice I can offer. That said, I think she’ll eventually accept.”
“How can you be so sure?”
Cordy smiled over the rim of his paper. “She’s a Fluttershy. Need I say more?”
Discord sighed, shaking his head. “You know, there have been cases where friendship is as far as it goes."
“Yes, but those never had the thought of potential romance passing through their subconscious,” he argued. “Ours did. If you ask me, it’s Fate. Nothing we can do can change that.”
The sound of multiple sets of hooves and feet started drawing closer, forcefully ending their conversation.
Cordy began to chuckle. “I guess if you make it, they will come.”
Discord rolled his eyes.
“Something smells great!” said Mirror Rainbow Dash, the first to enter the kitchen with Rainbow Dash flying by her side.
Discord snapped his tail and a large dining room suddenly appeared, attaching itself to the kitchen. The table inside was long and spacious, mismatched plates, cups, and cutlery already set and ready for the hungry guests. The food appeared with a second snap along with condiments.
“Ladies, you honor us with your presence,” Cordy said, snapping his paper away and scooping his Fluttershy in for a kiss. “Good morning, Bunnylove.”
Mirror Fluttershy smiled. “Morning, Cordy. Nice ascot.”
He smirked. “Nice jammies.”
Fluttershy entered the kitchen. A furious blush made her cheeks all aglow when she caught sight of Discord. The draconequus smiled, blowing her a kiss with his tail. A heart flew off the tuft and zoomed over, popping on her cheek. The buttercream pegasus giggled.
“Alright, keep it to yourselves, lovebirds,” Applejack teased as she walked with Mirror Applejack into the dining room. “Holy June bugs! Is that Zap Apple Jam?”
“Of course it is,” Discord scoffed, pulling out Fluttershy’s chair to his immediate right before sitting at the head of the table. “Oh, and while we’re on that subject, your family owes me at least half the profit you make from it.”
“Say what now?”
“Zap Apples,” Discord said, pointing to himself. “My invention.”
“You’re joking!” Rarity gasped.
“No way!” Rainbow Dash shouted.
“Why didn’t I see it before?” cried Pinkie Pie, eyes wide. “Of course you made them!”
Discord chuckled at Applejack’s speechlessness. “Oh, come on," he said, piling eggs onto his plate, "You’ve heard that old green mare tell you the story since foalhood. I’m sure you can connect the dots.”
“The whole process is one hundred percent chaos!” Twilight muttered, utterly floored by this revelation.
Fluttershy frowned. “But it happens in the exact same order every single time. That’s not chaotic.”
Discord sighed, leaning his head on his eagle talon. “You’re right, Fluttershy. The zap apples were one of my foolish attempts to get ponies to like me; had to -unfortunately- throw some order in there somewhere. Your grandmother, Applejack, is the only pony who ever figured out all the steps. Remarkable mare, that one. She's on the very short list of ponies who have my respect.”
Applejack didn’t know how to handle this. She was too busy staring at the zap apple jam jar, her thoughts very far away.
“AJ?” Rainbow Dash questioned, gently poking her shoulder. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” she weakly mumbled before angrily glaring at the draconequus. “Why didn’t ya say somethin’ before? Yer not gonna take us to court or anything, are ya?”
Discord waved his hands frantically, panicking slightly. “Woah, don’t jump to conclusions! I was only joking about taking the profits. I don’t need bits."
“Then why did you-”
“I thought that was obvious,” he interrupted, shrugging. “I like getting a rise out of you ponies.” Fluttershy coughed, giving him a knowing frown. “And I wanted to be recognized as the apple’s creator,” he reluctantly admitted, rubbing his paw over his eagle arm.
The farm pony was mortified. Discord sighed and sincerely snapped an apology card in front of her, the words ‘I’m Sorry for the Unwanted Surprise’ written on it in bold blue letters.
Applejack looked at the card before looking at Discord, her eyes hard and calculating. “I’m not sayin’ I like having the rug pulled out from under me like that but I think I can speak for the whole Apple Family when I say we give credit where credit is due. Next Zap Apple season, I’ll be sure everypony knows where the apples come from.”
Discord shrugged, piling a stack of pancakes onto his plate. “It's no big deal.”
“Discord,” Fluttershy prompted, seeing through his lethargic façade instantly. He scowled, stubbornly folding his arms. Her stare hardened.
“Oh, alright, fine!” he grumbled, giving in. “Pushy, adorable…” He cleared his throat, allowing his sincerely to poke through. “Applejack? It would really mean a lot to me if you told them.”
Applejack glanced at Fluttershy and then at Discord, a smile on her face. “I Pinkie Promise that I will.”
Pinkie Pie produced a cupcake out of nowhere and tossed it at her. She performed the motions and everypony laughed.
“Slight subject change,” said Mirror Rarity, pointing to a bottle. “Can you explain why there’s Bar-B-Q sauce on the table?”
“Because it’s Discord,” Sunset answered, pouring a healthy amount of ketchup over her eggs.
The draconequus grinned. “You know, you’re starting to grow on me, Shimmer.”
“Consider it a thank you for letting us stay here,” she said, smiling. “And for the game console. But did the game have to be Tirek’s Revenge? That’s a bit on the nose, don’t you think?”
“The game was my idea,” said Cordy, dipping a banana in Bar-B-Q sauce. “I thought it might be a good motivating factor, since you’ve beaten it before.”
“I suppose that’s a logical explanation,” Mirror Twilight muttered, pushing up her glasses. “As long as you don’t calculate the vast amount of times Sunset died before actually succeeding.”
“Well, that got morbid really fast,” Mirror Pinkie Pie said cheerfully.
“Don’t worry,” said Pinkie Pie, drowning her pancakes in chocolate syrup. “We’re the heroes! None of us are going to die. This isn’t a Joss Whinnydon tale.”
"Let’s change the subject again," Discord suggested. "How did you all sleep last night?”
“I, for one, slept beautifully," said Mirror Rarity.
"As did I," Rarity agreed. "I must compliment you, Discord; I can’t remember the last time I slept so well. I could swear that bed was made for me.”
The others expressed similar affirmations.
“Flurry Heart slept all night too,” Shining Armor stated, looking at Discord like he held the key to his freedom. “You wouldn’t mind if I kept that crib, would you?”
Discord chuckled. “Be my guest.”
“I think he should be asking me since I’m the one who did all the dirty work,” Cordy reminded, pouting slightly.
Mirror Fluttershy lightly kissed his cheek. “You know that we’re complementing both of you. Discord gave the order and you performed the magic. It was a team effort.”
The rest of breakfast was filled with cheerful camaraderie but later, as the table magically cleared itself, Twilight brought the group back to the murky situation they were in.
“We need to figure out how to reach our allies without Tirek and the princesses knowing what we’re up to,” she said. “Starlight, Sunset, and I stayed up last night bouncing off ideas.”
“Shall we return to the council room then?” Discord suggested.
“That would be helpful, given I’m going to need a really big map,” she said, nodding.
Discord snapped and everypony and Rainboom was back at the very long table in the same chairs they occupied before. Flurry Heart was in a huge magically safe playpen with enough toys to occupy her for hours. With another snap, a large map of Equestria and the surrounding lands appeared, Discord nodding when Twilight voiced her thanks.
“Alright,” she said, flying up so she was next to the map. She saw a set of markers resting at the base. “Can I?” she asked, gesturing to them.
“That's why they’re there,” Discord smiled encouragingly.
She uncapped the red marker and began marking the map’s surface. “Our allies are here, here, here, here, and here,” she said, circling each one. “The hippogriffs are the furthest away. With their love of the sea, I’m sure they’ll be using that as their way to travel to the Summit. They’ll be traveling north towards the Celestial Sea and probably making port in Baltimare to take the train the rest of the way to Canterlot.”
“Do you know how big that sea is?” Rainbow Dash complained. "Trying to find them will be like searching for a needle in a haystack! We could completely miss them.”
“Which is why we’re not going to intercept them until they reach Baltimare,” said Sunset. “There’s no use wasting our resources on looking for them when we know where they’ll eventually be.”
“We’re going to stick together in pairs,” Twilight revealed. “Twilight and I will be waiting for the hippogriffs. The Pinkies will go to Yakyakistan. Rarities and Applejacks will go and persuade the dragons. Rainbow Dashes, you’re more than a match for the griffons in stubbornness; make them bend. Fluttershys, the changelings will respond best to kindness.”
“Hang on!” Discord protested, “There’s no way I’m letting Fluttershy go back into that swiss cheese monstrosity! Thorax may be a friend but that place holds terrible memories.”
“And I’m not about to let my Fluttershy loose in a world we hardly know anything about!” Cordy said, looping a protective arm over Mirror Fluttershy’s shoulders.
Twilight sighed. “I figured you'd say that. I can’t stop either of you from going but you’re our strongest allies. I don’t want to compromise you if something were to happen to us.”
“Are you expecting an attack?” asked Mirror Applejack, her eyebrows drawn down with worry.
Twilight shook her head. “No, but I believe anticipating a surprise is better than stumbling into one.”
“Hang on, what are Starlight and Sunset going to be doing while we’re running all over the place?” asked Mirror Twilight, looking up from the notes she’d been taking.
“We’re going to be preparing my old town,” Starlight answered. “It’s the perfect base for everycreature to gather. There’s a cave entrance near the sea that leads directly to the village if they follow this path.” She pointed out the road winding through the mountains, highlighting it and the cave entrance with the blue marker.
“I know yesterday I said we would gather in Ponyville but this is a much better option. Staying within the protection of the mountains will keep us fairly close to Canterlot but will also keep us hidden,” said Twilight, turning to Flash Sentry. "Starlight's old town is also closest to the Crystal Empire. I want the Crystal Army to attack Canterlot from the west while we come from the east. The west is more open so they’ll attack you first but it will divert Tirek and the princesses from another attack coming from the mountains. That being said, they’ll be expecting us. If we’re not there, they’ll quickly assume you’re a diversion.”
“So we’ll need to be with the Crystal Army,” said Applejack, catching on.
Twilight nodded. “We will, yes. The Rainbooms, however, need to stay with the allies. The princesses and Tirek don’t know about them. They’re our ace. They will lead the allies through the mountains while we stay with the Crystal Army and join our forces as soon as they’re able. We’ll then leave the allies to take on the rest of Tirek’s minions while the sixteen of us head into the castle to take out Tirek and the princesses.”
“I’m assuming a more in-depth battle strategy will come into play after we’ve gathered these allies of yours,” Cordy said while sucking on a lollipop.
“That’s the plan, yes,” Twilight confirmed. “As to getting us ponies to the Crystal Army, I was hoping you’d help with that Discord.”
“Gladly,” he said with a wave of his talons. “It’ll be a snap.”
“Good. I think meeting them near the Galloping Gorge will be the best place,” she said, looking at Flash Sentry. He nodded in understanding.
"What day should we meet you there?" he asked.
"Nine days from now," said Twilight. "That'll give us two days to coordinate with the allies."
"Do you think the yaks can travel with the Crystal Army?" Pinkie Pie asked.
Twilight studied the map. "I think that'll be okay. But I'd rather not let them be seen with the Crystal Army on the day of the battle."
"I could always snap them to the other side," Discord offered.
"That would actually be very helpful," Twilight smiled.
"Um, Twilight?"
"Yes, Twilight?"
Mirror Twilight pushed up her glasses. "Won’t humans stick out like sore thumbs in your world? If we're going to be tromping around, shouldn't we be ponies?"
"You're right," Twilight said, frowning. "But for the fight I think it would be best if you’re humans; that’s how you’re used to using your abilities.”
“I could change them back when the time comes,” Cordy volunteered.
“And if that’s the case I'm not sure how inconspicuous it'll be seeing two of us side by side," voiced Applejack with a skeptical frown.
"I agree,” said Rarity. “Maybe we should split up the pairings?”
"I can't believe I overlooked that!" Twilight muttered, smacking her forehead.
"Well, it was really late last night," Starlight defended.
Twilight turned to the chalkboard and started listing everypony's name followed by a list of the Rainbooms.
"Okay, who is going with who?" she asked.
"Sunset and I will stay together," said Starlight.
"Can I go to the Dragon Lands?" Mirror Twilight asked, her hands eagerly clasped together, her eyes shining excitedly.
Twilight chuckled. "I think that'll be fine. Rarity and Applejack will go with you."
"I'm not fond of splitting the Fluttershys," Cordy voiced.
"Then we won't," said Discord with a shrug. Twilight began to argue but he cut her off. "Oh, please, Princess, like anyone would question why there were two of us with me around. Everypony knows I can duplicate myself and that Fluttershy reformed me. Why would I not do something silly and duplicate her too? The most any pony will do is give us a strange look before going about their business."
Twilight clearly didn't like it but she chose not to argue. "Fine. Rainboom Applejack and Rainboom Rarity can come with me to Baltimare. If anypony asks, 'Rarity' is there looking to open another dress shop and brought us along for advice."
"That would be believable since I’ve been considering opening another boutique somewhere," Rarity said with a smile.
“Looks like that leaves the Pinkies and the Rainbows,” Twilight muttered. “Rainboom Rainbow will go with Pinkie Pie to the yaks and Rainboom Pinkie will go with Rainbow Dash to the griffons. Did we miss anypony?”
They all looked over the chart.
“Looks good to me,” said Sunset.
Discord clapped his hands together. “Right, let’s throw on some disguises!”
“Wait!” Mirror Rarity cried, halting his snap. He looked at her questioningly. “The others might not care but could you please add clothes to my appearance?”
“Mine too,” Mirror Applejack quickly piped up.
Discord looked at the other women. “Anyone else?”
“Um, I think I’d like clothes,” Mirror Fluttershy voiced, hiding slightly behind her hair.
“Me too,” Mirror Twilight admitted, blushing slightly.
Mirror Rainbow Dash shrugged. “I could go either way.”
“I don’t mind being without!” Mirror Pinkie Pie giggled. “Running around with just fur could be lots of fun!”
Sunset leaned back casually. “I am a pony so…”
Discord chuckled before snapping his fingers. In a flash, the Rainbooms were back in their pony forms, comfortable clothes on the ones who’d made the request.
“Oh, Flutterbunny, you look adorable!” Cordy cried, picking Mirror Fluttershy up and holding her at arm's length.
She squirmed, slightly blushing. “Um, Discord, could you please put me down?”
“I’m sorry, my dear. I simply couldn’t resist!”
Discord smirked. “Am I going to have to change you too?”
“No, thank you,” Cordy smirked, snapping his fingers. A second draconequus appeared, looking exactly like the first except his mane had streaks of white running down the spine similar to a zebra’s. “How do I look? Dashing?”
“A perfect 10!” Discord declared, holding up a sign.
“How are we going to tell all of us apart?” asked Mirror Rainbow Dash, testing out her wings.
“Well, the ones in clothes will be easy,” said Sunset. “But you and Pinkie might want to wear your hair a little different. Like in braids or a bun.”
“I can do a loose ponytail,” Mirror Rainbow Dash said, trying and failing to pull up her mane. “Um, a little help here please?”
Sunset happily stepped in, using her magic to tie the rainbow mane together near the bottom. “Man, it feels good to use that again,” she said, looking up at her horn with a smile.
“Thanks,” Mirror Rainbow Dash said, tossing her hair back and forth. “Do you think it’ll hold?”
“With magic it should,” she assured, turning to Mirror Pinkie Pie. “Okay, Pinkie, how about-”
Her jaw dropped because Mirror Pinkie Pie was already pulling her hair up into two fluffy buns at the base of her neck. “What?” she asked.
Sunset shook her head while the others chuckled. “Nevermind.”
“I think it would be wise to spend a bit getting used to these new forms before gallivanting across the countryside,” said Mirror Applejack. “I don’t want to be trippin’ all over the place around other ponies.”
“I have a gym, if you’d like somewhere to practice,” Discord offered.
“That’s probably a good idea,” said Twilight, “but before we go there, we do need to discuss one last thing. Discords, we need to have a way to get back here in case anypony is in trouble or there’s an emergency.”
Discord looked at Cordy, the former shrugging his shoulders. “They could flip a bit?”
“Bits could get lost,” Discord muttered, shaking his head. “It needs to be something all of them could use.”
Cordy clapped his hands. “I’ve got it! They could tap the ground three times with a certain hoof!”
“And say my name!” Discord grinned, liking the idea.
“Um, what if we’re in a situation where we can’t speak,” said Starlight.
Discord frowned. “I hadn’t thought of that.”
“Could we simply think it while tapping our hoof?” asked Fluttershy.
Discord looked at her with stars in his eyes. “Fluttershy, I love you.”
She blushed scarlet. “Oh, um, I love you too,” she said, a shy smile on her face.
“Right then, tap their right forehoof three times and think my name,” Discord said. “Sounds simple enough. Can each of you remember that?”
They all nodded.
“Your hooves are going to feel a little funny,” he warned, “but it should only last for a moment. That funny feeling will come back if you need to make a chaotic getaway, however. And this is only temporary! I can’t have all of you popping into my dimension after this, unannounced.”
“And where, exactly, will we be popping up?” asked Applejack nervously.
“My living room,” Discord assured. “Can’t have you appearing someplace else; Kevin might think you’re an intruder and carry you off to the exit.”
“Who’s Kevin?” asked Rainbow Dash.
“An angler fish bat,” Discord said dismissively, holding up his paw. “Here we go!”
He snapped his fingers. Everypony gasped as their right forehoof suddenly took on a purple and blue glow. It lasted for three seconds before disappearing. The Pinkie Pies giggled.
“That was weird!” Pinkie Pie laughed.
“It was like using a ring buzzer,” the other agreed, giggling happily.
“Why did you include me and Shining?” Sunburst asked, looking at his hoof. “We’re just staying here, aren’t we?”
“Just in case you get lost,” Discord said with a shrug. “My house is bigger than it seems. Anything else you need, Twilight?”
Twilight was examining her hoof, obviously trying to figure out what spell he’d used. “I think we’ve covered everything.”
“Not everything,” Starlight said. Everypony groaned and grumbled out complaints. She scowled and said, “Have all of you forgotten that the princesses are evil now? The news of Equestria’s new ruler has probably already spread! Tirek might even have an arrest warrant out for Twilight. We can’t have you or Rainboom Twilight walking around for everypony to see.”
“But I don’t have wings,” Mirror Twilight said.
“You still look like Twilight,” she countered. “Any casual observer would jump to the conclusion that you are her.”
“Then what do you propose we do?” Twilight asked.
“Well, obviously we’ll have to alter your appearance,” said Discord. “Do you want to keep your wings or your horn?”
“Horn please,” she said automatically.
“Obvious choice,” he muttered. “Now for colors.”
“Colors?” Twilight cried, stepping back nervously, her face filled with worry.
“Oh, come on, you can’t stay that glorious lavender,” he said. “We’ll have to alter your mane too. Oh! How about a nice aqua blue?”
“Now hang on a minute!” she cried, flaring her wings. “I don’t really feel comfortable with this!”
Starlight placed a hoof on her shoulder. “I know you might not like it but we can’t risk you being captured again. We already had to ponynap you once. Tirek and the others will surely be more on guard if we have to make another rescue attempt.”
“And just because you won’t look like yourself doesn’t mean you aren’t you anymore,” Applejack consoled.
“Yeah, you’ll still be Twilight,” said Rainbow Dash.
“Actually, a change in name would probably be wise too,” Sunset reluctantly pointed out.
Shining Armor stepped forward, putting a comforting hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “For the sake of Equestria, Twilie, you have to do this. I know you can.”
Twilight searched her big brother’s face and then looked over at Flash Sentry. He smiled and boldly said, “No matter what, you’ll always look beautiful to me.”
Twilight blushed and Shining Armor’s jaw dropped. He whirled around, facing his captain. “Wait a minute! You two?” He bellowed, gesturing wildly between them. Flash Sentry nodded sheepishly. “Since when?”
Twilight intervened before he could call down the full wrath of big brother. “Since the first Tirek incident,” she answered, pushing on his chest. “It’s mostly been long distance.”
“Though I’ve been trying for a while to coordinate a new armored guard for the Friendship Castle so I can transfer there," Flash Sentry revealed.
"Transfer?!"
"Shining, sit down," Twilight commanded. Discord helpfully conjured a cup of water and handed it to her. She nodded in thanks, forcing her brother to drink. "I'm not a foal anymore," she stated. "I can make my own choices when it comes to relationships. Flash and I haven't even had a lot of time to get to know each other because we live so far away. It's mostly been exchanging letters and seeing each other during visits."
"How did I not notice?" Shining Armor lamented. "Some Crystal Prince and former Captain of the Royal Guard; can't even see when my own Captain is making goo goo eyes at my sister!"
Twilight rolled her eyes. "He's going to need a minute. Let's just get this makeover thing over with, Discord. But don't take away my wings until we have to leave here! Which I'd like to do tomorrow, if that's okay with everypony."
They all nodded.
Discord circled around the purple princess, tapping his chin. “Right, any requests my dear?”
“Just make it tasteful,” she begged. “Nothing…weird.”
Discord chuckled. “Chaos is my forte, Twilight, but I’ll hold back for your sake.”
Twilight shut her eyes, bracing herself for the inevitable. Discord came to a decision and nodded to himself, grinning happily. He snapped his fingers and there was a burst of white light. Everypony gasped and Twilight opened her eyes.
“What? What?! Does it look bad?”
“It’s not bad,” Starlight assured. “It’s just…startling.”
“Yeah,” said Shining Armor. “You kind of look like Mom.”
“What? Really?” Twilight started looking over her shoulder, trying to get a better look at herself.
Discord pulled out a mirror from thin air. “Allow me.”
Twilight stepped forward to examine her reflection.
The deep blue of her hair had been changed to pure white, the stripes now a single purple strand. Her tail had a similar cut to Rainbow Dash’s, a blue ribbon tied near the top, and the bangs of her mane were a little wavy instead of straight. Her eyes were the same but her coat was a pale pink. The most stunning change, however, was her cutie mark, now six small purple stars.
“I…don’t recognize myself,” she confessed, flapping her wings and moving this way and that just to confirm that she really was looking at her own reflection.
“You don’t look bad,” Rarity assured.
“Just… different,” said Rainbow Dash.
“Do you like it?” asked Fluttershy nervously.
Twilight didn’t answer.
Discord frowned. “It’s not like I gave you a green horn or anything. Do I need to try again?”
“No,” Twilight finally decided. “I can live with it. I think it’s just… disarming. It’ll take some getting used to.”
“It’s only temporary,” Starlight reminded. “And it oddly suits you.”
“So, are we good?” Discord asked.
Twilight nodded. “I think so.”
“Excellent,” he said, cheerfully turning to Mirror Twilight. “Your turn!” He snapped his fingers and she looked exactly the same as Twilight except she still had glasses and wore clothes.
“This is… weird,” she admitted, staring down at her hooves. “I already don’t feel like myself and now this…”
Twilight walked over and gave her a hug. “I’m sorry. This is all happening because of me.”
“No,” she muttered, accepting the hug gratefully. “This is all happening because of Tirek.”
“And we’re going to throw him back in Tartarus the second this is over!” Sunset declared, knocking her forehooves together.
“As soon as we figure out how to use these pony bodies,” Mirror Rainbow Dash muttered, opening and closing her wings.
“Right, to the gym then?” Cordy asked.
“I think so,” said Twilight.
“You can do the honors, Cordy,” said Discord, waving his paw.
The other draconequus happily raised his lion paw and snapped, instantly teleporting them into a huge gymnasium. The floor was painted wood, three of the surrounding walls decorated with graffiti in exotic colors and styles. A whole slew of exercise equipment was scattered throughout the room, including several treadmills, exercise balls, heavy weights, and a large mat for yoga and gymnastics.
Cordy sent Discord a questioning stare after scoping out the area.
“What?” he said defensively. “I may not look it but I like to work out on a regular basis.”
“You must have great stamina,” he teased, wiggling his eyebrows. "That'll come in handy."
Discord rolled his eyes, sticking out his forked tongue.
One of the walls, made completely out of mirrors, had drawn the attention of Twilight and the Rainbooms; they couldn’t help staring at themselves.
“That is definitely going to take some getting used to,” Mirror Applejack muttered, shifting from one hoof to the other and feeling her snout.
“I forget what I looked like as a pony,” said Sunset quietly, tilting her head from side to side. “Is it weird that I’m feeling slightly uncomfortable like this?”
“You’ve been a human for so long,” said Starlight, walking up to her, “I don’t think it’s weird at all.”
“What’s weird is being able to pick things up without fingers,” said Mirror Rainbow Dash, hefting a small dumbbell with her hoof. “Is this freaky to anyone else besides me?”
“An oddity for certain,” Discord happily sighed. “Isn’t it wonderful?”
“So how are we going to go about this?” asked Mirror Twilight, turning to the others.
“We should split into groups,” Twilight decided, “Earth ponies, Unicorns, and Pegasi. Discords, can you whip up some targets for the unicorns, some hoops and clouds for the pegasi, and a few trees for the earth ponies?”
“Dibs on the clouds!” Cordy called, flying up towards the rafters.
Discord pouted. “No fair!”
“Nothing sticky!” Twilight quickly shouted.
Cordy fell slightly in his flight. “Oh, why not?”
“Because they need to know what it’s like working with regular clouds,” she answered.
“You suck the joy out of everything, Sparkle,” Cordy grumbled, conjuring an array of fluffy white clouds and hoops near the ceiling and arranging them into an obstacle course.
Discord chuckled, snapping a few times to make technicolor trees for the earth ponies and a few Tirek-shaped targets for the unicorns.
“Now that’s something I wouldn’t mind hitting,” said Sunset, charging her horn and firing a magical blast into the nearest Tirek’s chest.
“Nice shot,” Starlight praised with a grin.
Mirror Twilight and Mirror Rarity looked at each other nervously.
“I don’t think I can do something like that,” the latter confessed.
“Not all unicorns excel in attack spells, darling,” Rarity assured. “My magic is nothing compared to Twilight and Starlight’s. But I do have enough power to lift somewhat heavy objects like boulders when I need to. In all honesty I mostly use my magic to enhance fashion.”
“And there’s nothing wrong with that,” Twilight assured. “In fact, we may need your help designing functional battle outfits for some of us.”
Rarity excitedly danced on her hoof points. “Oh, I would love that!”
“Why don’t you help Rarity learn the magic basics while we help Twilight channel her power,” Twilight suggested. “That way she can help you with any future projects we may need.”
“I think I can do that,” Rarity answered, eyeing a few smaller dumbbells resting on a shelf against the wall. “Come along, dear, we’ll start with those.”
Mirror Rarity began following her, wishing Mirror Twilight good luck.
Mirror Twilight bit her lips nervously as she turned back to her double. “Look, I know that here you’re an all-powerful alicorn and all, but I’m not you. I don’t think I have as much raw magic as you do.”
“Oh, you don’t,” Discord said, gliding effortlessly through the air, “but that doesn’t mean you aren’t powerful. I can sense the raw energy inside you. With practice, you’ll be as good as Shimmer over there.”
“You think so?” Mirror Twilight asked, watching as Sunset teleported from place to place, racing Starlight throughout the room.
“I have no doubt,” Discord smiled. “By the way, have you two thought of a new name for yourselves?”
The Twilights looked at each other and shook their heads.
“I’m sure we'll come up with something,” Twilight said, looking at her strange reflection again.
“How about Starshine?” Pinkie Pie said while bouncing passed, chasing after an exercise ball.
Twilight shook her head. “Nice suggestion but it doesn’t feel right.”
Rainbow Dash pulled out of a spectacular dive. “What about Cosmic Lavender?” she said before rocketing back up towards the ceiling.
“That sounds kind of pretty,” said Mirror Twilight.
“But we’re more pink than lavender right now,” Twilight argued.
“How about Rosy Stardust?” said Fluttershy, gently gliding towards the ground. Discord reached up and caught her, snuggling her into his chest.
“Rosy Stardust,” Twilight muttered, turning this way and that. “I like it. What do you think, Twilight?”
“It sounds nice,” she agreed, smiling.
“Rosy Stardust it is,” Discord smiled. “Great idea, Flutterbutter.”
“Fluttershy, get back up here!” Rainbow Dash called from a cloud. “You can hug Discord later!”
The yellow pegasus kissed her draconequus before hopping out of his arms and taking back to the air. She struggled for a minute but got her bearings and slowly climbed towards the ceiling.
“Not a strong flier, is she?” Mirror Twilight observed.
“No,” Discord answered, watching his pegasus, “but she tries her best and it’s always enough. Say, why don’t I leave you two to your target practice, hmmm? I’m more interested in what Cordy is up to.”
The other draconequus was up in the air, happily shaping an arrangement of clouds into a fluffy fort. Discord saluted to the Twilights before taking off, swimming through the air and easily avoiding Mirror Rainbow Dash as she zoomed around the aerial obstacle course.
“Choose your defense, Discord,” Cordy declared as he drew near. “I challenge you to a cloud fight!”
Discord grinned. “Ooooo, I was hoping you were going to say that! Rules?”
“Everything has to be made out of clouds, obviously,” Cordy said. “Three and a half strikes and you’re out. Winner gets the prize of two tickets to the next Skullcruncher concert.”
“A date with Fluttershy? Now that’s a prize I’m more than prepared to fight to the death for!” said Discord with a maniacal grin. “Let’s do this!"
They each set to work completing their defenses, Cordy a thick fort wall, Discord a fluffy pirate ship.
“Cloud land vs sea? I like the way you think, old bean!” Cordy complimented, dressing in revolutionary attire. “Shall we?”
Discord whipped up a pirate captain outfit, complete with eyepatch. “Humans first!”
Cordy launched a cloudapult, the round fluff ball flying towards Discord’s port side. The draconequus quickly spun the helm, sailing out of harm’s way. Snapping his fingers, he retaliated with cannon fire, making a hole in Cordy’s structure but failing at hitting the intended target, Cordy himself.
“Missed me!” he called.
Discord launched another attack, the cannonball this time smacking into Cordy’s chest.
“Hey!” he cried in protest. “That wasn’t fair!”
“Pirate!” Discord called back, self explanatory.
“Two can play at this game,” Cordy growled.
Yanking out a cloud rifle, he aimed and fired. The cloud bullet grazed Discord’s arm before he could dodge.
“Oh, it’s guns now, is it?” Discord muttered. “Fine. You want a gun show? I’ll give you a gun show!”
Yanking a bazooka over his shoulder, he looked down the barrel and called, “Oh, Delancy!”
Cordy’s eyes widened and he dived behind his fort as Discord launched the missile. The cloud projectile exploded the fort and sent Cordy flying. Discord didn’t wait for him to get his bearings. He grabbed a rope and swung off the deck into the air, pulling out a cloud sword. Cordy saw him coming and hastily yanked out his own blade and countered before Discord could land a well-aimed blow.
“Nice save,” Discord praised as the two landed on the ship’s top yard near the crow’s nest.
Cordy got into a fighting stance. “Shall we?” he smirked.
Discord spun his sword with his wrist before lowering and giving in to the charge. The spar was magnificent, the two lunging and parrying, dancing and flying around each other. Both managed to get in another hit after five clashing minutes. Discord, now hanging by his tail, watched as Cordy leaned against the mast on the next yard below, his chest heaving.
“I must admit,” he said, “this body is definitely something to get used to.”
“In your defense, you’ve done remarkably well,” Discord praised, “but I’m afraid those tickets are mine.”
He lunged forward. Cordy leapt away from the yard and took to the air, flying down to the ship’s deck and landing just in time to regain his balance and counter Discord’s second attack. The two clashed blades again and again, shouting out rousing insults and the occasional bout of laughter as they twirled around. A lump of coiled rope proved to be Discord’s downfall, however, as his cloven hoof stumbled into it and he fell onto the deck, Cordy successfully disarming him, his cloud sword clanging three feet away.
“The tickets are mine,” Cordy said, his pupils mismatched, a maniacal grin of triumph exposing his fangs.
He prepared to strike but Discord wrapped his tail around his dragon ankle, yanked him onto the floor, and twisted up onto his own mismatched feet. He removed the cloud sword from Cordy’s grasp and held it at his throat before flicking it upward and sideways. The blade wisped across Cordy’s cheek twice and vanished. Discord grinned, staring him down with a jubilant smirk.
“What was it about those tickets being yours?”
Cordy laughed, pulling them out of his pocket and handing them over. “Your winnings.”
Discord swiped them and helped Cordy to his feet. There was a sudden loud round of applause and they looked up, finally aware they’d drawn the eye of everypony in the room. Twilight had clearly done a spell that enabled the earth ponies and unicorns to sit on clouds, for a makeshift set of cloud bleachers had been erected and all the ponies were sitting in attendance.
“That was totally awesome!” Rainbow Dash cried, throwing popcorn into the air.
Where she got it was anybody’s guess; probably from Pinkie Pie.
“Are you two alright?” Fluttershy called.
“Just fine,” Discord called back, waving the tickets over his head. “Want to go to a Skullcruncher Concert with me next month?”
He watched as Mirror Fluttershy quickly explained that Skullcruncher was a heavy metal band. The others began to laugh and say that Fluttershy wasn’t interested when the yellow pegasus eagerly shouted back, “It’s a date!” surprising them all.
“You like heavy metal?” Rainbow Dash asked, positively floored.
Fluttershy blushed, hiding behind her hair. “What can I say, Dashie? The music speaks to me.”
Discord quietly chuckled, leaning against the ship’s railing. “That’s my girl.”
The ponies returned to their training shortly thereafter while the Discords set up lounge chairs and sipped chocolate and strawberry milk, happily enjoying the show of progress. It was a wonderfully chaotic afternoon.