Dazzleglow, Twilight, and Starlight combined their abilities to cast a spell that, with Starglow’s guidance, was able to find the creature they were looking for. They couldn’t see it directly, but they could feel its powerful presence in the otherwise empty space between universes. Meanwhile, Wind Whistler, Gusty, Galaxy, and Star Catcher devised a spell that could permanently trap the creature in the nothingness. With so many minds working on the task, they were able to formulate the spell fairly quickly. However, it was a complex spell that would be quite difficult to cast.
As they finished annotating the spell, the horizon was lightening up. The sunrise had a full rainbow of colors, as though they were seeing it through a prism. The air instantly felt warmer as the first rays of light struck the top of the mountain. Curiously, it seemed the glowing ponies preferred to sleep during the day, and they all agreed it would be best to rest before attempting to cast this demanding spell. Brightglow returned to the top of the mountain and led the ponies back down through the tunnels that ran through the mountain. She showed them all to rooms, chambers with a door out the back that led to a glass—or maybe crystal?—patio overlooking the mountainside.
Dazzleglow asked if they would be willing to double up on rooms to save space. They agreed, and once again Wind Whistler ended up in a room with Fizzy. There were two mattresses in the room. They closed the door to the patio, leaving the room in darkness. Tonight’s spell would be a dangerous risk. This might be Wind Whistler’s last chance. “Fizzy?” she said.
“Yeah?” Fizzy said. Wind Whistler caught just a glint of her pink, crystalline eyes.
Wind Whistler had liked Fizzy for as long as she could remember. Growing up, Wind Whistler had always felt like an outsider, excluded by the other fillies. Every filly except Fizzy. Fizzy was always friendly to Wind Whistler. It seemed she admired Wind Whistler’s intellect, and even though she was often confused by Wind Whistler’s verbose way of speaking, she always loved to have Wind Whistler around.
Growing up, things had changed a bit. Wind Whistler was still an outsider to other ponies, and Fizzy was still her friend. But Wind Whistler’s fondness for Fizzy had only augmented. In her teenage years, she had started to notice just how pretty Fizzy was. Her teal coat went perfectly with her wild, fluffy mane of green, white, and two shades of pink. And her eyes, the way one facet would catch the sunlight and the others would refract, showing flashes of rainbow in a sea of pink… Wind Whistler could get lost in those eyes. Later, Wind Whistler had started to feel magnetically attracted to Fizzy’s effervescent personality. Her kindness, her fun-loving nature, even her airheaded tendencies. Wind Whistler loved to be around Fizzy, and she had caught her thoughts dwelling on Fizzy when she was nowhere around.
But Fizzy was the same as ever: friendly to Wind Whistler. But she was friendly to everyone. Wind Whistler feared that if she confessed her romantic feelings to Fizzy and Fizzy didn’t reciprocate, she might lose her best friend. So she kept the status quo. And once again her fears were outweighing her desires. “Sleep well,” Wind Whistler said. “Don’t worry about tonight. I have a feeling everything will work out.”
“Thanks, Wind Whistler,” Fizzy said. “Good night.” Wind Whistler held back a chuckle; it was actually morning. But she closed her eyes, trying to expel her doubts. If all went well, they would soon be home.
* * *
Wind Whistler stepped up onto the platform at the top of the mountain. The sun was setting, its myriad colors reflecting on the salt plain surrounding the mountain. She, Fizzy, Gusty, Shady, Galaxy, Dazzleglow, Starglow, Twilight Sparkle, Starlight Glimmer, Star Catcher, and Sunny Starscout had all gathered to cast their spell and trap the creature in the void, preventing the prophesied destruction of this world. They decided that their strongest spell casters were Twilight, Starlight, Dazzleglow, and Sunny. Wind Whistler wondered how Sunny would cast spells without a horn, but in a flash of light she suddenly had ethereal, golden wings and a horn.
The others were basically there to watch. While some of them had limited spellcasting abilities, they decided that too many minds focusing on the same spell would interfere more than help. The four spellcasters gathered around the Fallen Star. Their horns lit up, and a black circle appeared above the Fallen Star. The void. The four of them seemed to be under a lot of strain, and for a moment of the black circle shrunk. But they stabilized it, all of them sweating and panting. Glowing chains appeared, crisscrossing over the black circle over and over until it was completely covered. Then a giant magical lock appeared. A key locked it and dissipated in a puff of mist.
“That should do it,” Twilight said. The twisted ball of chains started to shrink and disappear.
A boom cracked through the air. A shockwave floored Wind Whistler. Her ears were ringing. She dizzily stood up. The black circle had appeared again, the chains nowhere to be seen. “Is everyone alright?” Wind Whistler said.
An iridescent film appeared around her, and she was lifted into the air. It was one of Fizzy’s bubbles. “Fizzy, what are you doing?” Wind Whistler said.
Most of the other ponies were floating in bubbles as well. The black circle had split into five circles, floating over Fizzy, Twilight, Starlight, Dazzleglow, and Sunny. From each circle, a series of white lines descended to the bodies of the five ponies like puppet strings. All five ponies—the only ones Fizzy hadn’t trapped in bubbles—spoke in unison. “Well, this place looks like fun,” they said.
“Hmm, no, that’s the wrong vibe,” Twilight said.
“All five speaking in unison is too…” Starlight said.
“Orderly,” Dazzleglow finished.
“But which voice is the most…” Sunny said.
“Me!” Fizzy said cheerily. “Yes, that’s the one.”
“Fizzy, put us down!” Gusty said. She reared her head back to pop the bubble with her horn.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Fizzy said, her head snapping towards Gusty. “Or she might boil your blood.” She spoke with her own voice and her own carefree inflection, but the words certainly weren’t hers.
Fizzy’s horn lit up, and Gusty cried out in pain. “I get the point!” she shouted. Fizzy’s horn turned off.
Fizzy laughed. “This unicorn has no idea how strong her magic really is!” Wind Whistler felt her face grow hot. Something was controlling Fizzy, and that made her furious. Even worse, it had made Fizzy hurt Gusty. Wind Whistler’s heart was filled with unfettered hate for whatever this creature was. No one hurt her friends like that.
“The creature,” Starglow said. “It’s here.”
“Well I’m not really here,” Fizzy said. “But I’m coming.” She smiled eerily. Wind Whistler tried to smash the bubble with her hooves and get out, but she couldn’t get any traction on it. Fizzy’s head jerked towards her in a puppet-like motion. “Ah, Wind Whistler,” she said fondly. “You’re everywhere in this mare’s head. Did you know she… Actually, let’s not spoil that one. No time for chit-chat. I have an eternity’s worth of chaos to rain down on this place!”
Twilight, Starlight, Sunny, and Dazzleglow walked into a small group, the circles above them reforming into one. They all cast a spell at once, dark beams coming from their horns and feeding into the dark circle. Fizzy’s eyes gleamed as she stood watch over the ponies she had trapped in bubbles.
“Dazzleglow, don’t do this!” Starglow said from one of the bubbles.
Wind Whistler could hardly think. Her mind was consumed with rage. But she had to find a way out of this. For her friends, for this world, and most of all for Fizzy. She tried to cool down, letting a calculating, logical thought process take over. She put her anger aside, which also meant blocking out her fondness for Fizzy. No time to feel now. Her heart rate slowed, her thoughts became more focused. The logician had arrived.
This thing had to have a weakness. It could control ponies like puppets, and in fact it seemed to have practically limitless power, considering the spell it broke through to get here. Its origins were completely unknown, it was toying with them like a cat with its prey, it promised to bring eternal chaos…
Wait, she had read about a creature like this, in the Canterlot library. It sounded like Discord, a creature that terrorized Equestria before ultimately being befriended by Fluttershy, Twilight, and their friends. A plan began to form in her mind. It was a long shot, and even if it worked, she risked alienating her friends forever. But she had to try. For now, she needed to have a heart of stone.
“Discord!” she called out.
All five ponies’ heads turned towards her. “You know me?” Fizzy said.
“Yes, and I know that you don’t want this world,” Wind Whistler said.
“Well, you must be more of a distant cousin's acquaintance, because I very much do want this world,” Fizzy said.
“Take a look around,” Wind Whistler said. “The only magic in this world is right here. Once you conquer this mountain, the rest will be too easy. You want more toys to play with.”
“What are you doing, Wind Whistler?” Gusty said.
“She’s trying to throw another world under the bus!” Fizzy said. “But that’s not going to work out for her so well.” Dazzleglow cast a spell, and a portal appeared. Unlike the other portals, there was no rainbow effect, and they could all see through it clearly. On the other end was Paradise Estates. Sweet Stuff was rolling in the grass nearby.
“Great, look what you’ve done now!” Gusty said.
“Hmm…” Fizzy said. “No, there’s so much chaos here already. They don’t need my help. Let’s see.” Dazzleglow changed the portal. Now it showed Butterfly Island. “Yuck…” The portal changed again, now showing a lighthouse with a rainbow beam coming out the top. “No…” The portal shifted a few more times, showing different worlds that Wind Whistler didn’t recognize. There was even one with pastel-colored humans.
Dazzleglow changed the portal again, and Wind Whistler recognized Canterlot, nestled halfway up a mountain with a majestic waterfall cascading down from it. It was Twilight’s world, the first alternate universe Wind Whistler and her friends had visited. But the city seemed smaller than when they had visited it, and it lacked the prominent castle they had seen there. Perhaps this was in the past. “That’s the one,” Wind Whistler said.
“Is it?” Fizzy said.
“Yes,” Wind Whistler said. “There are countless sources of powerful magic in that world. And the ponies have managed to become quite prosperous there. It’s more fun to bring chaos to an orderly state, rather than to arrive at a place that is already in ruins.”
“You really do know me, Wind Whistler,” Fizzy said happily.
“That’s Twilight’s world, Wind Whistler!” Gusty said furiously. “You just sold out Rainbow Dash, and Applejack, and all the other ponies we met there.”
Fizzy laughed. “Thank you, Wind Whistler!” she said. “I’ll be sure to mention your recommendation to them.” A serpentine creature leapt out of the black circle. Wind Whistler caught just a glimpse of it before it flew into the portal Dazzleglow had opened. The black circle disappeared, and the five ponies Discord had controlled fell limply to the ground. The bubbles sank to the stone floor and popped.
“How could you be so heartless, Wind Whistler?” Gusty demanded, red showing in her white face. “You just doomed that world!”
“I did what I had to do,” Wind Whistler said weakly. She let the steely grip on her heart go. Twilight was standing up, looking shaky. Wind Whistler rushed to her and bowed. “I’m sorry, Princess!” Wind Whistler said. “I’ve unleashed Discord on your world.”
“Y-you what?” Twilight said.
“I led him to your world,” Wind Whistler said. “I calculated that yours was the one place where he would eventually be reformed. But I fear he’ll reign in an epoch of havoc first, or at least that’s what your history books say.”
“The creature was Discord?” Twilight said.
“Yes,” Wind Whistler said. Tears streamed down her face as all the emotions caught up to her. “All the suffering he causes in your world is my responsibility.”
“It’s his own responsibility,” Twilight said sharply. “You did the right thing.”
Fizzy stood up nearby. “Fizzy!” Wind Whistler cried. She nuzzled her friend fondly.
“Wind Whistler, are you crying?” Fizzy said.
“You’re alright,” Wind Whistler said, relieved.