//------------------------------// // Second Chapter : The Show // Story: The Mane Six Go To Brony-Con // by MerlosTheMad //------------------------------// Pinkie slid out onto the stage, waving left and right with one hand. The crowd exploded into applause, standing again from the rows of chairs lined up in the massive hall. Then, just as quickly gasps rang out and the applause slowed, then stopped. Hushed whispers rippled through the crowd. A great deal of them averted their eyes, rather openly. “Hi everypony, we’re back and looking super duper norma-” Pinkie Pie was cut off, suddenly levitated up in the air by Twilight’s magic, then set back down facing Twilight. “Pinkie, Rainbow, would you two behave?” Twilight chastised. For some reason, parts of the crowd cheered that, causing Twilight to look around the poofy hair style separating her from them. They all quieted again after she looked. The podium stranger spoke up. “Well, well, this is interesting. It seems we’re having technical difficulties, folks! Of the clothing variety...” He chuckled deeply, his voice filling the entire room with what appeared to be a microphone. Twilight shot a glare at him, briefly wondering what his words had meant. Her attention was pulled back by Rainbow, glaring up at her from her own shorter stature. “You’re not the boss of me… Besides, Pinkie's the one that just ran out here, not me. I just got dragged out,” Rainbow scoffed. Pinkie gasped, doing a poor job of looking offended by the accusation, then laughed and leaned over on Rainbow Dash’s head. “True, my bad entirely, Dashie. Sorry!” she apologized happily. Rainbow ducked away and swiped at her friend. “You said you’d stop that!” Her hands balled up into fists. Pinkie tilted her head coyly, wearing a clueless expression. “Stop what?” she asked, just as Applejack and Rarity both caught up. Twilight frowned at both of the other mares. “Would you girls stop fighting? We need to work as a team, and everypony’s staring at us! Okay, just follow my lead…” Applejack grumbled behind her, “Twi’, I don’t mean to be a pest, but I’m havin’ severe second thoughts about this plan o’ yours. This body… bounces, like way too much. Can I be a pony again now, please?” Twilight sighed, “No, AJ,” and became very aware of how much whispering was going on from the crowd now, as well as the weakly suppressed snickers coming from the stranger at the podium. What is he laughing about? she wondered. “Alright, let’s figure this out. Rainbow, Fluttershy- Fluttershy?” She turned around, looking for the other pegasus. “Oh, there you are.” Fluttershy was hidden beneath the sheet, and the moment she approached her friends, loud sounds, like the sort you make when seeing something cute, filled the concert hall. “Aaaw!” cried the crowd. Fluttershy locked up mid step and almost fell over, eyes wide. Rarity took notice, and approached the other pony, offering her support. Twilight nodded now that her friends had all arrived, and ignored the crowd. “Great, okay, if anything goes wrong, you two have to fly us out of here, alright? I would have said it back there, but somepony was in a hurry.” She frowned at Pinkie quick, then turned from the group. Pinkie put on a sheepish look and shrugged. “Oops?” she said, while Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and saluted Twilight. “Twilight, are you and your friends just about finished?” The stranger named ‘John’ asked from his podium suddenly. He was leaning casually on it with one arm, grinning smugly. “I do hope so, I’ve entertained the bronies as long as I can I’m afraid,” he said lamentedly. “Yes, we’re done planning, and we want to know what’s going on and who you are!” Twilight narrowed her eyes, then began to lead the way back to the center of the stage. Her voice had been loud, but had not filled the auditorium at all like Pinkie’s had earlier. Upon reaching the center, the crowd had fallen completely quiet again, desperately trying to hear everything said. “Oh ho, well, there’s no need to get upset.” John put a hand over his chin and turned to regard the audience with a coy look, earning subdued laughter from them. “And come now,” he started, turning back. “You know who I am, Twilight.” The admission got raised eyebrows from the mare. “But let’s save proper introductions for now, hm? I believe you girls are, ahem, missing something rather important under the circumstances...” He chuckled, and strangely turned away, covering the side of his face with one hand. “Come now gentlemen, it’s rude to stare.” “What’s going on now?” Fluttershy squeaked out quietly, poking her head out into the open just long enough to get a look. She calmed some at seeing everybody looking away. “Uhm, are they- Why are they looking away?” After a second, she added, “Are they embarrassed?” Twilight growled and stomped her way over to the podium. “Look,” she tossed one angry glare out over the crowd for a moment, “I don’t know what your game is, but it stops here!” John raised an eyebrow at Twilight. “Alright, well, how about we chat then and handle business now?” For just a moment, his eyes flicked yellow, and he clicked a button on the podium to turn off the microphone. Meanwhile, back at the group, Rarity was busily studying the crowd. Things felt very off, and not just in the way they had their first trip on stage. There certainly seemed to be something missing, and she thought she recognized it. “Hmm, if I had to guess, it would be that we aren’t wearing any of those clothes everypony has on.” “Everybody,” Fluttershy corrected, then dipped back under her table cloth. Rarity looked over at the other girl, then ahemed and continued. “I think this might be a somewhat formal event. Or, perhaps they even wear clothing at all times much like penguins?” Applejack scratched a hand behind her head, thinking on it. “This does look like a big fancy event if I had to guess…” She looked doubtfully out over the crowd again; those in it close enough to hear began snickering, which earned a stern look from her. Rarity shook her head. “No, Applejack, you see, penguins as I hear it demand that clothing be worn at all times in public! It’s positively nauseating to them as I understand it to go out unclothed.” She sighed. “If only Equestria was like that… My designs truly would go out amongst the world then.” She looked up dreamily, only for Rainbow’s exasperated sigh to interrupt. “I’m not dressing up just because I was foalnapped by things that want me to.” Rainbow folded her arms and crossed her legs, sitting in a strange position with her back to the crowd while floating in the air. This simultaneously earned a couple gasps, as well as cheering. Naturally, much of the rest of the crowd looked as well again and followed suit. Rainbow hunched over further and shuddered. Rarity stepped over in front of Dash. “Now, Rainbow, from what we understand of the situation this is Discord’s mischief.” She looked over to Twilight and the disguised draconequus. “I’m sure I just saw his eyes over there as he was speaking to Twilight; it’s got to be him. So, in that vein of thought we should respect the local’s practices until things are sorted out.” Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie all agreed and nodded to some form or another. Rarity turned and called over to the podium. “Twilight! I do believe some clothes are in order.” Twilight’s eyes widened where she stood as Rarity repeated what Discord had just finished saying. “See?” John said plainly. “I really don’t care myself, but seeing as you’ve changed things up in a way I couldn’t predict, very nicely done by the way, you’ll have to adapt to the situation. I think you’re fortunate they haven’t acted out there yet, really. Then again, as I said, they do all think this is an act. I’m sure most of them think you were holograms a moment ago. Now? They think you’re paid actors.” John finished, smiling wide, and Twilight spotted what was definitely one, pointy tooth at the edge of his mouth. “So,” he began again. “Same rules as always, Twilight. Play fair, and you might just win.” Another deep chuckle made its way out of him. “Twilight!” Rarity called again from the stage’s center. Twilight exhaled angrily. “So, you could have given us clothes if it was so important, why didn’t you?” John chuckled again, tilted his head ever so slightly. “Can’t give myself away just yet, Twilight Sparkle. That would blow my cover.” He grinned bigger. “Doing so would ruin the surprise.” Twilight glared deeper, wondering what he meant, then frowned and whirled around away from ‘John’. “Alright, Rarity. One clothing spell coming right up, no problem!” She could have sworn she heard disappointed sounds from somewhere in the crowed, but ignored them. “And you, I’ll be right back.” John waved after her with one hand, smiling. Twilight reached the girls, then lit up her magic, a purple glow surrounding her hands. “You were right about the clothes, Rarity. Our host confirmed as much, and a few other things… Apparently he’s playing some sort of game with us I don’t understand yet.” Her hands lit up with a purple light, which then shot out towards Fluttershy. “We’ll have to play along for now,” she finished. From beneath her tablecloth, safely hidden from the world in relative darkness, Fluttershy yelped, only to be suddenly out in the open light. She was also now surrounded by an outfit made up of a canary yellow shirt, pink trousers, and shoes. She looked down at herself, now in the open, then out at the crowd, and realized they were suddenly all watching her; on top of that, her hiding spot was gone now. Her hands slowly reached up and grabbed her hair, then pulled it over her eyes. The remnants of the table cloth all floated over to the other mares, still bathed in Twilight’s magic. Twilight looked over Fluttershy’s outfit, hummed, then decided to try a more Equestrian style next rather than copy the most common outfit from the crowd.  Pinkie Pie was next to be targeted, as well as Twilight herself. Purple light flashed into white, which left both mares fully clothed. Pinkie opened her eyes, smiling already. “Ooooh!” She called, and looked down at herself while turning this way and that. A decidedly pink, skirt-like dress, cut just above her knees now hugged her hips. The entire ensemble was, in fact, predominantly pink and adorned in several spots with her cutie mark. “Nice job, Twilight!” she exclaimed, tugging on some parts to move it around a little. Twilight smirked, inspecting the modest lavender blouse and skirt she herself wore, a match to the design Pinkie had on. Not bad. I need to hurry though. She turned to get back to it. Rarity was next to be covered in a flash of light, and then suddenly wore a fancy white garment with a periwinkle colored skirt that flowed down to her ankles. She opened her eyes. “Oh my.” Her hands ran down her sides over the smooth material, then nodded appreciatively down at herself and at Twilight. “You’ve been paying attention to me at the spa, haven’t you Twilight? This gown is simply gorgeous.” She admired the long split that ran up its side, giving her a bit of free movement with her odd new legs. “Very nicely done,” she complimented. “A pity they don’t last longer than an hour or you could help me run my business.” Twilight rolled her eyes, smiling a little more, then got back to it. It took everything she had to ignore the constant chuckling coming from the podium. Rainbow Dash, meanwhile, had tried flying away, making things difficult, but only postponed the inevitable in the end. “Aw, come on!” she cried, dodging away from the strip of cloth this way and that. “I hate getting dressed up!” By now, the entire crowd was watching the girls on stage once again, and began calling out encouragingly to Rainbow, who faltered and looked out at them in surprise. “What the-” In that moment, the cloth nabbed her, wrapping around her shoulders. “Ah!” After a brief flash, Rainbow was now wearing a simple blue shirt with a tall collar, simpler blue, denim pants and both were adorned with her cutie mark. “Ah, this sucks.” She fell back onto the stage with a thump and glared at her former hooves, now covered in incredibly uncomfortable footwear. Twilight sighed towards the stubborn pegasus, then turned to Applejack. “Ready?” she asked with a confident look. Applejack looked over at the others plaintively before responding. “I ‘spose, Twilight. Nothing frilly alright?” Twilight laughed a little, nodding. “Deal,” she answered. The crowd had followed the transpiring events intently, and a few at the front may have overheard Twilight, because next they shouted, “All the frills!” and “Frills for days!” The last strip of the cloth made their way around Applejack, just as Twilight lost her concentration. A bright flash of purple and blue sprang out across the stage. Rainbow opened her eyes, then collapsed onto the floor, laughing uncontrollably. “Pffa-ahahahaha!” She rolled from side to side, and was joined by the crowd, as well as Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and to some degree Twilight and Fluttershy. Though, Fluttershy merely had a hand over her mouth to keep from being too loud. Applejack scowled. “What the- Twilight! What did I just say!?” she burst out with a yell. Unable to help it, her cheeks bloomed red so fiercely she could actually feel it. Hugging Applejack’s hips was the gaudiest, poofiest, girliest frilled dress that had ever been created. It cascaded down to the floor, then trailed out behind her for a full meter. Lining the edges and tips were bows and ribbons, far outnumbering those that had been on a certain dress that Rarity had once upon a time stuffed her into; that dress didn’t even come close in terms of embarrassment. Twilight laughed nervously and held up her hands in a plead for mercy. “U-uh, sorry, AJ. I got distracted and…” Applejack reached up and pulled her stetson down around her eyes, happy at least that it had remained atop her head. “Oh, put me out of my misery. Twilight, fix it now…” After another second, she mumbled, “This is the worst possible thing you could have done.” Twilight giggled more, but managed to get the hat off of Applejack’s head. “Oh, it is not. Just give me a second and I’ll fix it.” Her hands were already aglow once more. Even as the clothes surrounding her changed into something lighter, and decidedly more utilitarian, Applejack couldn’t help but stare morosely out at the crowd of strangers all laughing at her expense. Frowning, and her anger building, she took a step out toward them the very second Twilight was done. “Now hey there, you all listen up!” Applejack, now in denim pants like Rainbow and sturdy jacket, stomped her boots and squared herself up against the hundreds of creatures watching her. “It’s fine to laugh with somepony in good fun, or with a friend, but makin’ a show out of somepony’s embarrassment is not alright! That’s just poor manners, yah hear?” Applejack pulled up her hands and planted them firmly on her hips, glaring out across the multitude of strangers. They all quieted down, or gasped quietly as one. A couple kept chuckling, enjoying the act, but were hushed by others rather quickly. Applejack turned to give the other girls a brief look, found them surprised, then turned again and continued. “Now,” she began slowly. “That’s better. I expect an apology if you all don’t mind.” She nodded solemnly, tipping her hat to them for good measure. The crowd seemed to pause, then happily cried out, “We’re sorry, Applejack!” There were other cries as well, but they were drowned out by the majority. A few chuckles made their way out of Applejack. “Well, thank you kindly,” she replied, then continued. “Now, as we all know it’s perfectly alright to laugh with somepony, and, I happen to be laughing right now.” She let a few more chuckles rolled their way out and was quickly joined by the crowd, followed by a huge round of applause. Unable to help it, Applejack brightened up and smiled. Still, she backed up rather quickly, and ducked behind Twilight after a single wave of a hand. “Twilight, did you figure out what the hay is going on yet?” she muttered, not ceasing her smile towards the crowd. Twilight turned to the taller mare and shook her head. “Not all of it, now that we’re done though I’m going to go talk to Discord right away.” The crowd began yelling and cheering again slowly, and they seemed to want attention. She had to ignore them though. Pinkie Pie was busy doing cartwheels, however, which seemed to sate them somewhat. By the podium, Discord seemed content to merely wait, watching. Twilight continued, looking back at him. “And I am sure it’s him. Wait right here.” Before Twilight had gone more than a step, Discord began clapping slowly in an exaggerated way, bringing Twilight to a halt. “Bravo, Twilight, bravo girls.” He chuckled again and turned to the large crowd. “Let’s give the girls another big, round applause for the unorthodox entertainment.” The crowd’s cheering grew again, leaving the six mares with nothing to do but wave or smile sheepishly, hopelessly confused. Discord continued when it quieted some, his voice still projected by the podium. “Now,” he began, pausing slightly to fix Twilight with a rueful grin. Oddly, this got more cheering or laughter out of the crowd, which made the girls nervous. “I believe that some questions are in order. Wouldn’t you all say?” He turned and looked into the auditorium. All six ponies gasped as the loudest outcry from the creatures yet boomed around the massive room. It went on, until a sudden bit of movement made them all stop. All of the girls had either covered their ears or began getting nervous, except for Fluttershy, who had instead crouched low to the ground. Immediately the creatures in the auditorium had reacted to this. Applejack looked around. “Well now what?” she asked, and was answered a moment later. Various sad sounds came from the crowd, and many of the voices began apologizing loudly with, “Fluttershy! No! We’re sorry!” and “We didn’t mean to scare you, Fluttershy!” Twilight gaped, searching the crowd in confusion. I gotta get to the bottom of this, she thought pensively. Meanwhile, Fluttershy slowly peeked out from between her hands. “Oh,” she whispered. “That’s okay…” Most of the crowd didn’t hear her, but someone at the front yelled, “She says she forgives us, guys!” The crowd began cheering again, then shushed itself moments later. Rainbow Dash scratched a hand behind her head, at a total loss for words. “I’m confused,” she admitted openly. Applejack nodded. “You and me both, Dash. Twilight, ca- Oh.” She cut off, spotting her friend. Already storming over to the podium, was Twilight, both of her arms rigid at her sides. The crowd gasped as Twilight stomped up to John De Lancie, then poked him in the chest with one finger, hard. “You’ve got a lot of nerve, you know? My patience has run out, Discord! I don’t know what’s going on, but I don’t like this. Send us back, now, before Celestia hears about this and-” She was interrupted. Cheering and applause rose up from the crowd again. Twilight clenched her eyes shut, then whirled to face them. “Would you all knock it off!?” She cried out. Her mane had become frazzled from shear stress. John De Lancie, meanwhile merely turned towards the crowd with a little, knowing smile and shrugged. “Uh oh fellas, it looks like ‘Lesson Zero’ is about to strike again.” Immediately, more laughter rang out. Twilight quirked an eyebrow and thought, Lesson what? “Hey!” Applejack yelled at the crowd, then stepped forward from where she’d been grouped up with Rarity and the others. “What did I tell ya’ll?” She gave them all a hard look, trying to get as many of the creatures in view as possible. Without pause, they all mumbled, “Sorry, Applejack…” and “It won’t happen again, Applejack…” among others. Discord chuckled again, still facing off against Twilight Sparkle’s baleful glare, and spoke up before she could say more. “Well, this is all fun girls, but don’t you think we should move on with the activities? This a convention you know, and keeping a tight schedule is very important. Lauren will be up here in just a moment, and we still need to let the audience ask questions!” He clapped his hands and spread his arms wide in a flourishing gesture. “So, let’s get some hands! Who would like to hear a few words from the Twilight Spar-” The cheers had already begun rising in volume again, though timidly and more controlled. Most members of the crowd all gave concerned or thoughtful looks to Fluttershy as they did. But, something loud, angry, and mildly frantic interrupted them. Twilight laughed loudly and shook her head, yelling, “No, no nonono no!” She looked out at glared at the entire crowd as one, somehow. “There will be no questions! I don’t know who you all are, why we’re here, or why Discord is helping you, but he is sending us home right now!” Everything was silent for a moment, seeming confused, then one voice in particular carried out through the room. “Booo! Bring back the boobies!” There was a loud smack as another crowd member slapped the back of the older man’s head. “Quiet, Dad,” it yelled back. Twilight panted, still catching her breath; she spotted Pinkie approaching in the corner of her eye, who then put a thoughtful hand on her shoulder. The other girls were close behind Pinkie. Together, they were all more or less positioned to make a stand against John De Lancie. The crowd, oddly enough, was muttering with… what sounded like praise, to Twilight. She began to gape at them. Why do they sound like they’re appreciative of what I said!? They really must think this is an act... Applejack suddenly spoke into Twilight’s ear. “Sugar cube, you need to calm down some. It won’t do us no good if you’re all in a huff while makin’ our plans. Also, I don’t wanna make this many aliens mad…” Pinkie blinked for a second, then gasped. “I knew it! We’ve been abducted.” The crowd began chuckling some, at that. Rarity shook her head, eyes stuck in a mild glower towards Discord. “Applejack is right, darling. We need to keep our cool. And Pinkie, there’s no such thing as aliens.” Applejack raised a hand, moving in front of Pinkie. “Now hold up there, missy. I’ve seen the crop circles to prove-” Twilight groaned again, though far more controlled now. However, John De Lancie’s deep chuckle caught the girls by surprise again and cut in commandingly. “Now, girls, you all know why you’re here.” He gave Twilight a pointed, exaggerated smile after that sentence. “Just a few questions to be answered is all I ask of you, and that’s all. Is that really too much to give your adoring fans?” He spread and arm wide out to his side. The crowd applauded the stranger, cheering some more. “After all,” John went on. “They’ve always wanted to meet Twilight Sparkle and her adventuresome friends in person. Can you blame them? They’re only human, after all.” He laughed more, the hardest one yet, slapping a hand to his leg. Only a couple folks in the crowd chuckled nervously along with John, but far fewer than before. Twilight tilted her head. “Human?” Twilight asked. “Nevermind I-” Twilight had opened her mouth to object, but just before she could get the words out, John De Lancie yelled, “Now! Who wants to ask the first question?” He looked out eagerly in the teeming throng of human beings. Right away, thunder broke out through the large room from a thousand plus voices. The mares, all standing upright, nervously stood shoulder to shoulder. “Twi’, you gotta get us out of this,” Applejack pleaded, smiling nervously outwards. Twilight groaned again, trying to get John to look at her. “I’m trying,” she shot back. Once again, John motioned for quiet, and calmed down the audience skillfully. “Everyone, please, you don’t expect them to answer anything with all of you yelling at once, do you? One at a time. In fact, I think we should address one of the girls at a time, as well. Miss Sparkle,” he said, then turned to his right. “Would you please use the microphone there at the edge of the stage?” Twilight looked in the direction the man pointed, then back at him, twice as angrily as before. “If I do this, you’ll let us go?” Discord grinned wide, then nodded. “Indeed.” He called out loud enough for all to hear. “With everyone present as my witness, I promise to release you in return for just answering some innocent questions.” He turned back calmly, hands folded in front of himself. Twilight stared a second, listening to the encouragement and kind pleads from the audience absently. But why? she wondered. Finally, she sighed and relented. “Alright,” she said, looking at the crowd of ‘humans’. “We’ll answer some questions…” “Excellent!” John exclaimed happily. “Who would like to go first? Applejack? Or Pinkie Pie? Fluttershy, perhaps?” he grinned, slowly panning his wolfish gaze over to the crowd, before then turning it on Fluttershy, who was crouched low behind both Rarity and Pinkie Pie. The crowd cheered immediately. “Hey,” Rainbow yelled. “Knock it off, Discord!” She glared and floated over towards him. “I’m not gonna let you bully my friends.” Her glare intensified. Discord sighed contentedly. “Was that what I was doing? Rainbow Dash, I apologize. Honestly where are my manners? Perhaps you would like to go first, then? You have well over a thousand fans here that all worship you, you know.” Rainbow’s ears would have stood up rigidly, had she still possessed them. Her eyes slowly looked out at the crowd, which had begun to slow chant her name. She stared blankly, too surprise to manage a reaction. “Fans?” she asked. A couple of voices cried out above the cheering and chanting, which Rainbow stared at and listened to intently. “Hey Rainbow Dash! Do you like baseball or soccer?” a random voice hollered out. Another responded to it quickly. “How the heck is she supposed to know what those are!?” The two voices were quickly lost in the mix, but their effect on Rainbow was deep. Just then, Twilight pulled Rainbow away, dragging her backwards by her collar. It was surprisingly easy to Twilight, she considered, and decided it was because Rainbow was so small. “Rainbow,” she started to say. “Hey, snap out of it. Look, we need you to keep them busy. During that, I’m going to keep talking to Discord and see if I can get more out of him, okay?” She turned to Applejack and the others. “If all he wants is for each of us to answer some questions, for whatever reason, so be it. But we can’t take that chance just yet.” She turned to the others. “Keep your eyes peeled, girls.” Rarity, Pinkie, and Applejack all nodded fiercely, getting ready for anything. Twilight sighed. “Yes, Fluttershy?” Fluttershy was busy shivering, her hand raised just over Applejacks shoulder. “U-u-uhm, can I not have a turn, please? I don’t like crowds…” Her eyes peeked out again, and she spotted several giant plush figures that were unmistakably representative of her. “Oh dear…” she muttered. Twilight frowned, but nodded. “We’ll see. Everyone understand? Wha- Rainbow! Are you paying attention?” Rainbow shook her head, suddenly hearing Twilight. “Uh, yeah, rye toast and extra daisies, got it. Be right back, Twilight.” Twilight facehoofed, or, facepalmed as was the current case. “Right, just go,” she muttered. Rainbow was already in the process of approaching the crowd, still somewhat shocked. I have fans somewhere besides Ponyville? She had always wanted to be well known across Equestria for being the fastest and best flyer ever. The competition was stiff, though. She wondered if it were actually possible these odd ‘humans’ could be real fans of her; there was only one way to find out. A nearby stand held up a similar device as to the one in the weird guy’s hand. It was recognizable to Rainbow, but different from the Equestrian equivalent she’d seen occasionally. She approached the stand and experimentally spoke into the ‘microphone’. “Ahem.” She was startled somewhat when her voice echoed out from all around her. Abruptly a very odd, comical sort of voice yelled out, “Oh my God we love you Rainbow Dash!” in an exaggerated way. All at once more words, hellos and applause rose up out of the huge crowd. Rainbow smiled sheepishly at one corner of her mouth, looking around at them and feeling a little unsure over all of how to feel. Perhaps a little strangely, the fact they weren’t ponies didn’t bother her at all. There were just so many of them; luckily she didn’t do stage fright. “Ah heh, uhm, can we calm down, guys?” she asked. Surprising her, the crowd did just that, with some quieting others until there were only whispers again. Wow, she thought, then slowly asked, “So, do you guys like the Wonderbolts?” Immediately a bunch of the crowd started shouting happily again, only to be quieted quickly by Dash. She growled, snagged the mic and flew up in the air several strides. “Hey! Keep it down guys!” she yelled. “One… uhm… human at a time.” “Person!” someone corrected. Someone else jumped up, raising both hands. “How are you flying?” he yelled frantically. Rainbow heard the word ‘fly’ and turned to look at the crowd-goer, one eyebrow quirked. “How am I- Well, duh, I have- Oh.” She turned around and looked at her wingless back. “Well, I’m a pegasus,” she corrected after her slight slip. “We can fly thanks to magic and just being all around awesome.” She zoomed around in a circle for show, then landed again. “Pretty neat, huh?” The crowd was dead silent, until someone else raised a hand. “So, wires?” he asked. Rainbow rolled her eyes, then changed the subject. “Hey, so you guys know all about me? And you’re fans of me? Because of some kind of show?” A roar of confirmation answered her immediately. She settled them again, smiling. “Awesome! Alright, well, if this is all about me then, let’s hear some questions!” Her eyes sparkled as hands shot up everywhere. Back near Twilight, she had hesitated from approaching Discord again just yet, because he seemed to be talking to some guard-like humans in blue uniforms. She spotted the telltale sign of him using magic on them from a distance just before they all turned around and marched out as one. “I don’t like this, girls,” Twilight muttered quietly. “He’s up to something, but what?” Rarity hummed thoughtfully, studying the human shaped draconequus from the relative safety of her group of friends. “I certainly haven’t a clue. Something about all this obviously entertains him. He’s not the type to help others without a reason.” Fluttershy piped up, looking around Pinkie’s shoulder at Rarity. “Oh, I’m sure he can’t be so bad all the time…” Pinkie turned from Fluttershy and beamed around at the others. “Yeah! He can be quite the riot, too,” she giggled. Twilight and Applejack harrumphed together as one, both of them folding their arms in firm opposition of the notion their friends had. “So,” Twilight went on. “I’m going to talk to him again. Anypony have any suggestions or want to come with me?” Applejack nodded. “I got yer back, Twi’.” “Oh, me too,” Fluttershy added in. “Maybe I can talk to him…” Rarity watched as Rainbow Dash took to the air again, creating ooos and ahhs amongst the crowd of humans. “Talk?” Rarity asked. “Well, he might respond better if we’re nice to him, right?” she suggested. Twilight groaned aloud. “When has that pest ever responded to talking, kindness, or logic at all? Can you name one time, Rarity?” She squared herself up against the other mare, eyes scrunched up and jaw set in pure seriousness. Discord was not to be messed with or underestimated, that much she knew. The memory of her entire beloved Library filled with melted cheese was a difficult one to forget. “Admittedly, no.” Rarity replied tentatively. “I have an idea though.” She paused and pursed her lips, gathering her thoughts on how to make her case to Twilight in a way that would be seen as plausible. “Maybe we should just do what he says and give this a chance? Why, I bet if we do that and make things boring enough he’ll put us back.” Her voice was level, and measured, suggesting no leanings towards one motive or another. Twilight blinked, then put a hand to her chin in thought. “Hm...” She then looked up and scrutinized her friend for a few seconds. “You just want a chance to learn about their odd clothes and fashions, don’t you?” Rarity blushed slightly and averted her gaze quickly. “W-Why, Twilight, what makes you think that… Well…” She began muttering rationalizations and excuses under her breath. Twilight flopped her arms in defeat against her sides. “Alright, well we could do that I suppose. What about you, AJ?” She turned to her more honest friend for another opinion. “What do you think we should do?” Applejack looked down at her new shoes for a moment considering all of their options. To her, Rarity’s plan did have some merit. No matter how Applejack cut it, Discord was involved. After all, just leaving wherever the place ‘Bronycon’, didn’t seem like much of an option. Before she could start speaking, however, she was beaten to it. Rainbow Dash came walking over with a hand over her mouth and a fierce blush on her cheeks. Behind her, the crowd was yelling and oddly enough, by the sound of it, apologizing for something. “Alright, I’m done, those guys are weird,” she groaned to her friends. Applejack put on a confused expression. “Weird? How do ya mean?” Rainbow merely shuddered as her only response, then moved over behind Fluttershy, who sufficiently obscured her. Applejack then sighed and put a hand on Rainbow’s shoulder. “Now, Rainbow, you can’t judge others that you don’t based on preli- preliniment… pre-” “Preliminary,” Twilight added in absently. Applejack coughed and continued. “Right, you can’t judge others that you don’t based on preliminary impressions. I’m sure they’re perfectly-” Rainbow Dash began shaking her head furiously. “AJ, no! You don’t understand…. Look, at first, they just asked about my flying and the Wonderbolts… but then they wanted to know things like…” She paused to swallow hard, then continued. “They’re just weird, okay?” she repeated. John loudly spoke over his mic. “It was great talking to you Rainbow Dash! Myself and our friends, the bronies, thank you so much for your time,” he called out from the podium, grinning. “Now, who wants to go next?” Pinkie had been listening intently and watching for the most part. Her suspicions over the whole situation had been growing steadily, and now they were at their maximum. “Oh, me! Me me me!” she cried, then hopped out of her friend’s group and skipped her way to the microphone before anypony else could even object. “Hi again, everybody!” Twilight raised an eyebrow at Pinkie for a moment, then turned back to Rainbow Dash. “What exactly did they ask you?” Rainbow Dash met her friend’s stare, frowning, then shuffled about awkwardly. “Uhm… I don’t want to talk about it… Just listen. I bet they’ll ask more...” She raised a hand up and gingerly pointed back to the mic where Pinkie was now answering her own questions. At the mic, Pinkie laughed happily and pointed to a tall human near the back. “Do you really have balloons all over ponyville in case of a ‘balloon emergency’!?” he cried out. Pinkie rolled her eyes and rested one hand on her hip casually. “Well, duh! How else am I supposed to throw a party at the drop of AJ’s hat? Or any hat. Though it’s much more fun to use AJ’s.” She giggled, trading a glance back at Applejack quickly. Applejack heard, listening with the others, and grumbled, “Darn it Pinkie, you promised you'd leave my hat alone… She should use one of Rarity’s.” “Excuse me?” Rarity asked, incredulous at the notion. Applejack shrugged and averted her eyes. “What? This here hat’s a family heirloom, and you have about a hundred hats anyway.” Rarity opened her mouth to protest, but was drowned out by a cacophony of yelling from the crowd. Once it was over, Pinkie had picked another question asker. “Do you like any of your friends?” Pinkie blinked at the human, then laughed light heartedly. “Of course I do you silly filly!” she chirped happily. “I like them all very very much! My friends are some of the most important ponies in the world to me.” She held a hand up to her chin and hummed for a second then smiled again and spoke into the mic once more. “In fact, I guess now they’re some of the most important ponies to me in multiple worlds!” She giggled again, and was joined in by the crowds own energetic laughter. However, despite the majority response, some of the crowd had remained quiet. The human spoke again, having stayed standing. “Uhm, heh, no Pinkie... I meant like-like. Not just ‘like’.” Pinkie raised an eyebrow and tilted her head to one side somewhat. “But I like like like all my friends!” she giggled again, not understanding what the stranger could be getting at. More groans of exasperation floated over the crowd as the fan made a final attempt. “I meant like… more than friends?” “Oooooh...” Pinkie ooed thoughtfully, finally thinking she understood the question. “Well, there is Dashie…” she admitted openly. Without pause, the crowd began cheering and gasping throughout the open room. Back towards the curtain, still hiding somewhat, Rainbow Dash placed her face in her hands, cheeks burning. “See, Twilight? I told you!” she cried out in anguish. “No! Can we go back now?” she pleaded to anypony that would listen. At the mic, Pinkie merely smiled around at everypony, then, after nearly a minute of cheers, they quieted enough for her to say, “After all, she’s my pranking friend!” Her smile grew a bit more, then she giggled into the mic. The crowd was silent for a split second, as though the remark was sinking in, and then it was met by a mix of raucous laughter and loud groans. “She’s doing this on purpose!” one person yelled out somewhere in the back. Pinkie tilted her head again. “I’m doing what on purpose?” She smiled again. “Okay!” she cried out happily. “Neeeext question!” Meanwhile, Twilight sighed and grabbed Applejack’s hand, dragging her towards the podium. “Come on Applejack,” she said gruffly. “Oh, wait for me.” Fluttershy muttered, trailing after. This left Dash to sidestep behind Rarity, who gave her a look for being silly, as she saw it. At the same time, Rarity was already thinking of a way or two for later on which she could use Rainbow’s blush against her. Moving towards Discord, Applejack retrieved her hand back and fell in alongside Twilight. “Alright, I’m comin’, don’t rush me,” she muttered to her friend. “So, he did say we just gotta answer the questions, Twi’. I was thinkin’, maybe we shouldn’t rush things?” Twilight began to answer her friend, already sizing up the ‘human’, John, that had brought them there, when someone at the front of the crowd, a mare by the sound of it, let out a piercing shriek. “Ah!” she cried out. “I knew it! Twi-Jack!” She then proceeded to cause a stir that fiercely competed with Pinkie Pie, who was busy performing show and tell with the various things she kept in her mane. Twilight and Applejack goggled at the strange mare pointing at them. “Who?” they asked together. A voice grabbed their attention. “Oh don’t mind her, Twilight, Applejack. Was there something you two wanted? Or did shy little Fluttershy wish to say something?” John De Lancie grinned at the returned ponies, once again standing beside his podium. Twilight narrowed her eyes and put a hand between John De Lancie and Fluttershy. “Look, Discord, I want to know what your motive for this is. What do you hope to achieve by bringing us here?” A few mutters came from the nearby crowd members again, paying close attention to what was being said rather than Pinkie Pie. John De Lancie raised an eyebrow and smiled at Twilight. “Achieve? My motive?” he asked, then laughed. “Why, nothing at all put like that,” he said curtly, then smiled again. Twilight, Applejack and Fluttershy stared at him, waiting for more. When none came, Twilight said, “Nothing? How can you want want nothing?” “Oh, well, “John De Lancie rolled his eyes and leaned against the podium. “I want all kinds of things, Twilight. Who doesn’t? Take these people for instance.” He gestured out to them and leaned next to his mic. “They wanted to meet you! Didn’t you all?” The crowd cheered briefly, while John De Lancie turned back to Twilight. “What I want, I guess, is to have fun, of course, as always. I suppose that’s a motive too, hm? Come now Twilight you know me. What else would I want?” He fluttered his eyes briefly, as if to accentuate his innocence. Twilight sighed, not really buying things. “I honestly wouldn’t know where to begin in order to answer that,” she replied back dourly. “Oh, well, I suppose if you have no further questions, you and your friends are just along for the ride, Twilight.” John De Lancie snickered and tapped his microphone, looking over to Pinkie Pie up on stage. “Pinkie, that’s quite enough. It’s somepony else’s turn, now.” He turned to give Twilight a fox-like grin. Pinkie Pie let out an aw of disappointment, but turned back to face the throng of humans. “Alright, thanks for being so nice, everypony! And wow, you guys are great I mean it! I can’t believe you’re having so much fun with just questions! I wish ponies knew how to have this much fun so easily.” The crowd laughed along with Pinkie, even as she approach Rarity, who was currently the only pony available nearby. Rarity looked around herself and picked up on her current position immediately. Pinkie slapped a hand on her back. “Your turn, Rarity!” she laughed encouragingly. Rarity gulped and tried to trade places with Rainbow, who still stood behind her. Suddenly, it was both mares that wanted desperately to move backstage and disappear. “O-oh, I’m afraid I can’t, Pinkie,” Rarity replied, holding a hand up to her forehead. “I’m afraid I’m feeling rather fa-aint!” Before she could stop herself, she was pushed out towards the microphone at the front of the stage, of course, by Pinkie Pie, who was laughing. “Knock uhm dead, Rarity!” Pinkie called. Rarity stared wide eyed out across the hall. She had examined many of the individuals from afar already. There are so many of them. They all know who I am, too. And they certainly are… different. She had intended to calm herself, but the thoughts combined with the quiet except for Twilight berating Discord, did anything but. She could feel herself begin to sweat out of sheer nervousness, and knew she had to act quickly. Chin up, darn you! The spotlight is where you belong, Rarity. Time to go to work! Rarity held the microphone up closer, springing into action. “Uhm, hello there,” she offered weakly, and felt better already. A cry came out from somewhere to Rarity’s left. “Do that thing!” the human demanded. Rarity blinked in surprise. When Pinkie or Dash had come up, the crowd had cheered them on immediately. Fluttershy hadn’t even needed to be upfront when she got cheered on. Fighting to keep her composure despite the obvious oversight, she addressed the ‘brony’ in question. “...I’m sorry? I beg your pardon?” Rarity asked, tilting her head in confusion. Another voice from her right chimed in. “You know, ‘the worst possible thing’?” they added in. Rarity wrinkled her brow at the other human and moved the microphone closer. “I do apologize, sir, but what do you mean?” “He means faint on your couch! Right there on stage!” Another cry echoed out, a mare this time. “It’s really funny, Rarity!” “You want me to faint!?” Rarity asked, shocked. “And exactly what couch do you mean?” She looked around herself for the aforementioned furniture, but could find no trace of it anywhere. “I really don’t understand.” “Can’t you summon it at will?” this voice seemed as confused as she was. “If you guys are real like Discord’s been saying then you can!” “Heavens, what gave you that idea?” Rarity gazed out into the faces of the crowd. Admittedly, most of them were snickering at what was now, obviously a joke being played on her at her own expense. “Oh, I see how it is,” Rarity remarked, her voice dripping with the insult that she felt. “I’m just somepony to be laughed at, like Applejack, am I?” The crowd gasped, then began shaking their heads ‘no’ and apologizing at once. It was obvious they realized that they had done wrong. Still, Rarity continued. “Well then! Maybe if you all do not wish to speak to Miss Rarity as though she were a lady, then perhaps she doesn’t want to entertain your questions! Hm?” She leered forward out towards the crowd, bending slightly at the waist while panning her disapproving look towards as many faces as she could. Several voices amongst the crowd continued to apologize to her, while others began saying things to try and change the subject, or to say even still more varied things. Rarity’s offended look thinned slowly until it was more of an unsure frown. She looked briefly towards her friends, whom all seemed busy in their own way, then back to the crowd. “All right, now everypony just calm down… I’m not that upset.” She brushed her hair back with one hand, lips pouted slightly. “After all, you did apologize rather profusely.” The crowd began to applaud, but was interrupted quickly. “But!” Rarity began. “That is not to say you’re off the hook. I’m going to lay down some rules.” The humans in the audience traded looks between one another, slightly confused or stared intently. Rarity continued. “First, I would like to ask some questions of my own after each one I answer.” She gave Twilight a quick look, but the other pony was still preoccupied. “Second, when you ask these… questions, I must ask that you keep them respectful.” She looked back at Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie. Pinkie certainly seemed no worse for wear, but Dash still had her back turned to the audience. Just what did they ask her? If only I had been listening. Rarity turned back to the audience. “And I reserve the right to add further stipulations as this goes on,” she declared, then sighed to gather her will. “Now, questions, everypony?” she asked. Immediately a forest of hands and arms rose up to answer Rarity; she picked one that was very close to the front. The human asking seemed interesting to Rarity, based purely by his thick accent and dark toned body. “I would first just like to compliment both you and John De Lancie for setting this whole thing up. I’ve been a fan of My Little Pony for more than a decade, and I never expected to see another con like this in my lifetime.” He received murmurs of approval and a pat on the back from an adjacent human. “I literally grew up watching Rarity, and her friends adventure so this is all really enjoyable. Anyway, my question is-” Rarity stared at the stranger, eyes widened and her thoughts muddled. What the human had said troubled and confused her so much, that she entirely missed the question he had asked. “I-I’m sorry, darling could you repeat that?” The human chuckled, then repeated, “I asked, is there actually a gender inequality in Equestria? Are mares born more often than stallions where you’re from.” Rarity quirked an eyebrow, then hummed in amusement. Well, Rarity, he did profess to think we’re not real just then. This simply must be more of Discord’s work. But why would he tell an alien race about us just so they think we’re fictional? She filed away the thought and got on with answering the human stallion’s question. “I mean no offense sir, but that’s a very silly, question. The answer to which is simply-” Meanwhile, back at the podium, Twilight had endured enough of Discord’s nonsense, or John’s, or whatever his name was. “Discord… Just answer the question,” she growled. John De Lancie chuckled. “Discord? Now what makes you think I’m Discord, anyway?” He grinned, twirling the inactive microphone he held absently in one hand. “Stop changing the-” Twilight cut off and deadpanned at him for a long moment, then brushed her loose mane back with one hand. “Really?” she asked, in complete exasperation. She sighed and squeezed the bridge of her nose out of sheer stress. “Discord, just answer Twi’s question,” Applejack butted in sharply. “We’re doing what you want so the least you can do is explain why you’re doing this a lil’ better.” John rolled his eyes. “Honestly, you girls don’t know how to have fun at all. I’ve left plenty of clues if you’d just look for them. Even outright said things!” Twilight scowled up at him. “The whole situation doesn’t make sense though. You said you wanted to have fun. This,” she gestured around herself, “hardly seems like your kind of fun. What’s your angle?” John sighed. “I would say you’re trying my patience, Twilight, but your ability to over think things never ceases to amaze or amuse me.” He settled a refreshed look of delight on Twilight. “But, I digress, I simply can’t in good conscience tell you everything or my fun would be ruined, and then, I might as well just return you to Equestria like that!” He chuckled, folding his arms across his suit. “And that would be no fun at all.” Twilight frowned, then dourly replied, “Yeah, and we sure wouldn’t want that, would we?” John nodded solemnly. “Oh heavens, no we wouldn’t.” Twilight sighed. She shared a brief look with Applejack, then faced Discord once again. “So we’re really just stuck here until we finish answering questions?” John rolled his eyes and sighed in exasperation. "Yes! Is it so hard to think I'm being straight forward and honest, dear Twilight?" He then smirked ruefully. “You're always so direct with us nemesis types, so boring,” he drawled back to her. “By the way, it’s somepony elses turn I do believe. It seems our little Miss Rarity is quite finished.” He chuckled, pointed one finger out towards Rarity, who was busily stomping back towards Pinkie and Dash. Twilight frowned, but turned to Applejack. “AJ, can you go, please?” A whimper from Fluttershy got them both to look towards her for a moment. “Because, well, you know,” she finished, frowning a little. Applejack nodded. “I understand, Twi’.” She sighed and cricked her neck. “Let’s get this over with.” Walking away with long steps, she took a second to glare back at Discord, then stepped up to the microphone. I wonder what they asked to get Rarity in a huff like that, she thought warily, and began eying the crowd suddenly as though they were a pack of hungry timberwolves. Applejack gulped. What have we gotten ourselves into...