At this point, word had already gotten out about the naughty, blue pegasus stallion that was causing a ruckus at the Ponyville Fair. Thanks to Somnambula, all the security officers were now aware of his true identity, but other ponies had already begun to worry when they heard what happened with the three bullies. They had twisted the story to make it sound like Stormy was the one doing the bullying and left out Cozy being involved.
All of Stormy’s friends and his father were worried about him. They looked everywhere and shouted his name, but he never came back. Stormy was hiding on a large cloud just outside of the fair. He peered out over the edge of the cloud, watching as the guards kept flying around, looking for him. He could just barely hear his name being called over and over again, but he was not brave enough to go down there; not after hearing he could be arrested.
“What have I done?” he said, as he paced about. “I screwed up big time. I never should have touched that hourglass. UGH! Why am I so stupid?! I just wanted to ride the Leviathan and now look where it’s got me!”
Just as he finished speaking, a loud explosive sound could be heard off to the side. Stormy turned to see a bright flash of light and a glowing object, zooming forward at high speeds. It missed him and drove right into the cloud, leaving behind two trails of fire in the air as if they were tire tracks. It spun around as it skidded to a halt. Stormy stood back up and saw that the object was a sleek, silver, sports car. It had ice building up on the outside of it like it had just come out of a freezer. There were jet engines in the back, spewing out steam. Around the car was a hodge-podge of cords and other custom mechanical details. Suddenly, the driver’s gull-wing door opened up and out stepped Discord. He was wearing a long, yellow coat, a red Hoofwaiian shirt, a clear neck tie, two watches on both arms, and a reflective visor over his eyes. His hair was white and frazzled. Lifting the visor, he looked around carefully at his surroundings. He did a double take after noticing Stormy.
“GREAT SCOTT! Storm Streak, is that you?!” he gasped.
“Uh…Discord? What’s with the get-up?”
“How are you older? What year is it?”
Discord then stretched his neck back into the car and looked at a console on the dashboard with three sets of dates in glowing digital letters.
“1989 A.H.? Wait a minute, I’m still in the present! If I’m in the present then that means…”
He then turned back and looked angrily at Stormy.
“You used the Hourglass of Kronos, didn’t you?!”
“Heh. Surprised?”
“Surprised? Of course I’m surprised! I told you not to use it!”
“Well I really wanted to go on the Leviathan, Discord. I’m sorry. I couldn’t help it.”
Discord slapped his face with his lion paw and stretched his eyelids down, while groaning. He then snapped his fingers on his eagle talon and made the car and outfit disappear.
“Well I hope you’re happy. Judging by the look on your face, I’m guessing you regret it now.”
“Yeah, I caused a bit of a scene down there. I tried to turn myself back, but the hourglass is gone!”
“Oh, that’s right: the hourglass was on its last use. After that, it disappears.”
“It was on its last use? Why didn’t you tell me before?!”
“I forgot to mention that one little detail, but does it matter? I specifically said it was dangerous and would cause you trouble, but you didn’t listen!”
“Well you can change me back, right?”
“I can’t change you back! The hourglass was the thing that turned you this way, so you have to touch it again. My magic will not suffice.”
“WHAT?! Are you sure there’s nothing you can do?”
“I’m afraid not. I mean I suppose I could rebuild the hourglass, but its magic is quite foreign to me. Maybe if I could harness its spell…of course then I’d have to summon the power of nearly 1.21 gigawatts…”
“What the hay is a gigawa-”
“SHHH! They’ll hear you!”
Discord pushed Stormy down into the cloud and crouched as several officers flew close. After the officers were far enough away, they both got back up. Stormy watched them leave, sat down on the edge of the cloud and sighed.
“Guess I really am gonna be stuck like this forever,” he said. “Before I learned about the hourglass, Daddy told me to be thankful for who I am. I should’ve listened to him. I just wanted to go on a stupid ride at the fair, now I’m gonna go to jail.”
“Just what did you do that would make them send you there?”
“Well I didn’t follow the rules that you can’t fly in the rides zone, so the cops chased me around and then I wrecked part of the setup for the ride. They also think I was picking on these dumb kids earlier, but that never happened. All I was doing was standing up for Cozy Glow cuz they were picking on her.”
Discord sat down next to Stormy and did his best to comfort him.
“I suppose there’s a lesson to be learned here. Remember how I said magic won’t solve all your problems?”
“Yeah, I remember. You were right, Discord. Now I wish I hadn’t done it. That stupid hourglass made me like this, but I could’ve just left it. I wish it was never left down in that hole where I found it.”
“Stormy, there’s something you need to know.”
“Yeah?”
“Well you see, the hourglass is-”
“HEEEEELP!!!”
Discord and Stormy’s ears perked up and they looked out of the edge of the cloud. The wind had blown them closer to the rides and they saw where the voice was coming from. The last car of the Leviathan that Stormy hit earlier had come undone and was dangling while the ride had come to a halt in midair. A colt was hanging by both hooves from the car with his friends holding on behind him.
“Oh no, those kids are in trouble! Er…wait a minute…” Stormy said as he looked closer at the colts.
“You know these guys?”
“Yeah, they were the ones picking on Cozy! Still…I should save them…”
“Well you’d better hurry up or I’ll have to use my powers to do it.”
“SOMEPONY SAVE US! WE’RE SLIPPING!”
Stormy looked at the colts and thought hard about what to do. They may have been bullies, but they were in trouble, and if he didn’t save them, he would be no different. He had been an adult for several hours just to have fun; it would be a shame if he ended the day as a bully too. Discord was about ready to snap his fingers to save the kids himself, but Stormy finally got up and took off from the cloud at blinding speeds. The colt hanging from the car finally slipped and began to fall, but Stormy swooped right in and caught them just in time. He flew through the air and turned back around to let them down in front of a crowd of cheering ponies.
“PHEW! That was close!” said one of the colts.
“Thanks, dude! We could’ve…wait…you’re that guy from earlier!”
Stormy looked firmly at them as they all noticed who he was.
“But…you saved us.”
“Yeah, but only because I had to,” he said. “I almost didn’t save you guys after what you did to Cozy Glow, but since I don’t like bullies, I didn’t want to be one either. You know she didn’t used to be very nice to me back when we first met, but I still stood up for her, cuz she said sorry. Maybe you guys could do the same?”
The colts all lowered their heads. One of them scratched the back of his head nervously while the other poked around in the dirt.
“I guess you’re right.”
“We’re sorry.”
“I’m not the one you need to apologize to,” Stormy said as he pointed behind them.
The colts all looked back and saw Melody with Cozy hiding behind her. They all looked bashfully at her and finally made their apologies.
“We’re…we’re sorry,” said one. We just weren’t happy with what happened to our parents the other day.”
“Can you forgive us?” asked the other.
Cozy smiled and slowly stepped out from behind her mother. Melody happily watched her daughter, as she did her deeds of making up to those she once wronged.
“I forgive you guys,” Cozy said, softly. “And again, I’m sorry for what I did as the Sorceress.”
“It’s okay. We know it wasn’t really you that kidnapped our parents.”
Stormy smiled as the colts and Cozy spoke to each other. He looked back to see Discord giving him thumbs up. Unfortunately, Stormy forgot he was out in the open and did not see everyone else arrive on the scene.
“STORMY!” Flurry shouted as she rushed in with all her friends.
“We’ve been looking everywhere for you!” Annie told him.
“Hey guys,” he replied, bashfully.
“We see you still haven’t followed our advice about turning yourself back,” Chip added.
“Sorry, but the Hourglass of Kronos disappeared. I don’t think I’ll ever turn back now.”
“WHAT?! You’re gonna be like this forever?!” Pumpkin shouted.
Discord then walked in to calm down the children.
“Actually, kids, there’s a simple solution to this,” he started saying before being interrupted.
“STORM NIMBOSTRATUS STREAK!!” shouted Rainbow Dash behind Stormy.
Stormy tensed up and he felt goose bumps all over his body. He felt a presence behind him and slowly turned around to see his mother mad as ever. Thunder was next to her, holding Misty in his arms. Lightning Flash was standing behind Thunder, scared to see his mother react this way. Scootaloo was also next to Rainbow Dash. Clearly she had already told her everything.
“AGH!” Stormy squealed as he jumped back and covered his head. “Mommy, Daddy, hey… I…uh-”
“Just what makes you think you can turn yourself into an adult and ride these rides you’re not supposed to be on?!” yelled Rainbow Dash.
“Scootaloo, you told her?” Stormy asked Scootaloo.
“I said on the condition that you turn yourself back into a kid, but I saw you still flying around like this, so I called up your mother.”
“Well how did Daddy find out I was an adult now?”
“We told him,” Pound said.
“Well mostly Chip with his brutal honesty,” Pumpkin added, nudging Chip.
“Wait, you’re actually a kid?!” one of the colts asked.
“Yup, only seven years old.” Rainbow Dash told the colts. “And now he’s in big trouble!”
“Storm, I told you to be thankful for who you are! That doesn’t mean using magic to get what you want!” Thunder added. “Just what is this hourglass thing you found anyway?”
“Oh, that would be the Hourglass of Kronos, Thunderhead,” Discord told them. “It’s an artifact which can change somepony’s age, but it’s actually-”
“And to top it all off: you disobeyed the guards and caused a scene!” Rainbow Dash continued.
“I don’t know who made that hourglass, but you should know better than to touch something like that! Just what were you thinking!” Thunder continued.
“Stormy, will you be like this forever?” Lightning Flash asked.
While everyone was talking, Discord looked back and forth at them nervously. He couldn’t take it any longer and finally revealed everything.
“Oh for goodness sake! I DID IT! I MADE THE HOURGLASS OF KRONOS!” he hollered.
Everyone stared at Discord with their mouths open wide. Discord calmed himself down and continued.
“I created the artifact and cast a spell on it that would turn anyone that touches it into their desired age. The magic was my own this entire time. I wanted to wait and see when he’d learn his lesson to admit this.”
“Wait, that was you that did all this?!” Stormy asked.
“DISCORD!” Rainbow Dash bellowed.
“Oh come on!” Thunder joined in. “Discord, you don’t just do this to our son without our permission!”
“Look, I meant no harm!” Discord said, raising his hands. “I was hanging around the fair, saw what happened to him with the Leviathan and thought I’d help teach him a lesson. I didn’t mean for it to go as far as it did. It’ll be fine. I can still turn him back. The hourglass vanished like that, just so he could know he made a huge mistake using it in the first place.”
“Let me know when you feel like teaching my son a lesson, or just don’t do it at all if it could become this much of a catastrophe!” Rainbow Dash said, getting up in Discord’s face.
“Mommy, Daddy, it’s okay,” Stormy said, hanging his head.
Everyone else then turned their attention to Stormy as he came clean.
“Discord was right to teach me a lesson. I should’ve known better than to touch the hourglass and cheat my way into riding the Leviathan. I wish I never did any of this. I should’ve just waited till next year to ride it.”
Rainbow Dash flew down and landed in front of her son. She appeared more concerned now than angry.
“Storm, you gotta just get used to things being like this when you’re a kid, buddy,” she told him, putting her hoof under his chin. “I wasn’t always satisfied with things when I was your age either.”
“Did you do the things I did today?”
“Not exactly, but I did some pretty stupid stuff back then. Your dad’s had his fair share of mischief too, but we both grew up, and that’s not something some magical hourglass is going to change for you.”
“Well… I’m sorry. I really am. I promise I’ll never use magic to make myself older or anything ever again.”
“And do you promise to not disobey the rules next time or wreck the rides?” asked a voice behind him.
Stormy looked behind to see the security officers that were chasing him earlier. He was shocked but quickly responded to the authorities before him.
“Er…yeah, I’m sorry, officers. I was just really enjoying being an adult and thought I could get away with anything. I really am still seven years old.”
“And we’re sorry we lied to you about what he did. He was just scolding us for bullying his friend. We got what we deserved,” said one of the colts.
“Apology accepted, boys,” said the other officer.
“Wait, you guys knew about that too?” Stormy asked.
“I told them everything, Storm Streak,” Somnambula said, landing next to him.
“Thanks, Somnambula,” Stormy replied, bashfully. “Well everypony, I’m glad we’re all okay now. I guess adults really do have rules to follow after all.”
“You mean like what I told you before in my song?” Thunder said, nudging Stormy.
“Yes, Daddy. You were right.”
“And Discord, I know you’re the Lord of Chaos, but be a little conservative about it. Next time you wanna do something like this, you ask us first. Got it?” Rainbow Dash said firmly to Discord.
“I promise,” Discord said.
“Well we got here just in time. Glad that was all taken care of,” Spike said, with Buttercream, Tex, and Mr. Cake next to him.
“Hey guys. You saw that too?” Stormy asked as he realized they were off to the side all the while.
“The whole thing, kiddo,” said Tex.
“That was awfully brave of you to rescue them, Stormy,” Buttercream said, rubbing Stormy’s head as he blushed. “You’re one hunk of a stallion, but I think we would all really like our little friend back now.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right, but before I do…there’s one more thing I need to fix.”
Stormy looked back at the Leviathan where he had caused all the damage. He crouched down and then took off flying to the backdrop in a heap on the ground. Using his newfound speed, he zoomed around, putting the entire set back together in just a few seconds. After he was done, he fixed the last car of the ride by pushing in a small lever that had come undone. The worker ponies below cheered for him as he flew back to his family.
“Hey now! Look at you, taking after your ol’ mom!” Rainbow Dash told Stormy, elbowing him playfully.
“I am gonna miss seeing him like this, but thankfully we’ll see him again one day,” Thunder said, putting his arm around his wife.
“You guys want me to take a picture for the book of memories?” Spike asked, taking out a camera.
“Yeah, I guess just one,” Stormy responded, as he and all his family members posed quickly for a photograph.
The camera flashed and printed the photo out of the front. Spike held it in his claw, waiting for the picture to fade in. Stormy then walked back to Discord.
“I’m ready, Discord.”
“Alright, Stormy. I was lying of course when I said I couldn’t do anything about it. The spell isn’t that difficult for a creature of chaos like me; I Just have to do it the same way by reconfiguring the object I created that cast the spell. Are you ready?” Discord asked.
“Yup. I think I’m getting tired of being like this anyway. Fire away.”
Discord then held out his hand and the Hourglass of Kronos reappeared hovering above it.
“Go ahead and touch it and make your wish,” Discord said as he lowered his arm down to Stormy.
Stormy touched the hourglass once again, and the aura encompassed his whole body. He began to make his wish.
“I wish I was seven again…er, seven and a half...no that’s wrong too. Seven years and…uh…nine months? Okay, I wish I was the same age I was before I touched you the last-”
The hourglass already understood Stormy’s wish and began to cast its spell. Stormy shone brightly, and then the light faded out. He had shrunk back down to his original self and landed gently on the ground. He was dizzy at first, but he suddenly opened his eyes widely and smiled.
“YES! I’m a kid again!! WHOOHOOOO! Thank you, Discord!” Stormy squealed, as he hugged him.
“Oh, it was nothing. Just doing my job as the Lord of Chaos. I’ll take it easier next time though,” Discord said.
“Good to have you back, squirt,” Rainbow Dash, said, patting Stormy.
Somambula walked over to Stormy and put the Leviathan hat back on his head.
“And I must say you are a lot more grown up now than you were before,” she said, giving him a kiss on the cheek.
Stormy blushed and hearts floated out of his head. He then walked over to his parents with his ears down.
“So, should I be punished for everything I did today?” he asked.
“Well you did repair the damage you did and apologized to everyone,” Thunder said.
“How about we say that all the humiliation you went through today was punishment enough. We can all see you’ve learned your lesson,” Rainbow Dash said.
“Okay. Thanks, guys,” Stormy said as he smiled and hugged both of his parents with Misty Blitz and Lightning Flash joining in.
“Just one more thing,” Flurry said, standing next to Stormy. “I think a little friendship report to Twilight is in order.”
“A friendship report?” Stormy replied. “But this is the first time someone else does it on their own. You sure it’s okay?”
“Of course it’s okay, Stormy. Just speak from your heart.”
“Well, alright then.”
As Spike took out a quill and parchment, Stormy began to report on his lesson to Princess Twilight.
Dear Princess Twilight Sparkle,
Today I learned that even though we have to miss out on a lot of things when we’re kids, there’s still a lot of rules adults have to follow too. I tried being an adult today, literally, and it didn’t go so well. Now I wish I had just listened to what my father told me: that I need to be thankful for who I am and not just wish myself into an adult just so I can have this or that. I promise to be more careful and think before I act. I’ll enjoy being a kid for now, cuz someday I won’t be any longer.
Incerely,
Storm Streak
“Great job, Stormy! Also, it’s pronounced sincerely,” Flurry told him.
“Er, yeah, what she says.”
Everyone around them laughed, as Spike rolled up the scroll and blew fire on it to send it to Canterlot.
“Alright kids, there’s still some time left at the fair before we head home,” Mr. Cake told them.
“Who’s up for some peach shortcakes over at the School of Friendship Food Booth?” asked Scootaloo.
Everypony cheered and walked over to the food booth for refreshments. Cozy walked back to the colts and welcomed them to join her and Melody. They smiled and followed her in. Stormy watched them happily. He stopped and looked back at the Leviathan as it started up again with kids riding in it. He was going to miss riding on it for the rest of the week, but he knew he’d be old enough for the next fair.
“I’ll see ya next year, old friend,” he said.
He turned back to the food booth to see his dad give him a wink. Stormy winked back and flew over to join everyone.
In Canterlot, Twilight Sparkle had just finished reading Stormy’s letter.
“That little Storm Streak sure is something else,” she said. “He really is a lot like Rainbow Dash: brash and reckless at times, but still good at learning from his mistakes.”
The door then opened and a royal guard entered with two changelings next to him. Twilight put the letter in a chest full of other friendship reports and closed it to direct her attention to the visitors.
“Your highness, I have excellent news: Starswirl the Bearded has finished the Changeling Necklace,” said the guard.
“Perfect, Lieutenant! Just in time for Pinkie and Cheese’s wedding!” Twilight said as she got up to meet them.
“This is Antenna and Pronotum. They’ve volunteered to help you test it.”
Antenna, the small, fuzzy female changeling that resembled a bumblebee stepped forward with the necklace.
“We worked carefully with Starswirl on this, Princess,” she said. “Anyone who wears the necklace will be gifted with the ability to see through changeling disguises.”
“If you see anyone with a green aura surrounding them, that’s how you know it’s a changeling,” said Pronotum, the taller male changeling that resembled a shiny green scarab beetle.
They held the necklace out to Twilight and she put it on with her magic. Both Antenna and Pronotum then transformed into ponies while Twilight used the magic of the necklace. In her vision, the royal guard did not change, but both of the ponies before her were covered in a green light, indicating that they were changelings.
“It works wonderfully,” Twilight said. “I think Pinkie’s wedding will be fine, but since I’m going to be there, I will most definitely be using this to make sure nothing goes wrong.”
“King Thorax hasn’t received any reports about Chrysalis’s activity lately. Whatever she has planned, it’s probably not going to happen for a while,” said Pronotum.
“Nonetheless, that necklace will definitely come in handy should problems arise,” Antenna added.
“Thank you both for coming to help me test it.”
Twilight bowed respectfully as the changelings did the same and turned around to leave. The guard escorted them out of the throne room and closed the door behind him.
“That will be all for now, Lieutenant. Thank you for the escort,” said Pronotum.
“My pleasure,” the guard replied as they left to go through another door.
He turned around to reenter the throne room to discuss things with his princess. Suddenly he felt a blunt force against his back and he fell to the ground, unconscious. A black changeling had attacked him. It was none other than General Scutellum. He used his magic to move the guard away. Several other changelings were hiding behind a pillar and hid the guard while one of them gave Scutellum a small insectoid device with a hologram of Chrysalis being projected.
“My queen, we have just successfully infiltrated the castle. I’m on the move.”
“Excellent,” said Chrysalis on the other end. “Me and my drones are entering Ponyville right now to seize the others. I need that necklace or our plan is doomed to fail. Get me that necklace, Scutellum.”
“I will not fail you.”
Scutellum transformed into the guard he just attacked. He slowly opened the doors and entered the throne room.
“Princess Twilight?” he said.
“Yes, Lieutenant?”
“Apologies if I am interrupting anything, but here’s something we need to discuss.”
The doors were locked behind Scutellum, as he walked forward to confront Twilight.
To be continued in “My Big Fat Pink Wedding”