//------------------------------// // Chapter One – Omens // Story: The Balance of Harmony // by Thornwing //------------------------------// Pinkie sighed. “I know the plants need water, but couldn’t they have waited for tomorrow?” “No, Pinkie,” replied a steadfast Rainbow Dash. “We have to keep to the schedule. If we wait till tomorrow, then next week’s weather planning gets thrown off track.” Pinkie Pie stared out the window of the Castle of Friendship watching the thunderclouds roll by. A steady rain poured over the town of Ponyville. Most every pony sat indoors watching the rain fall just the same. A few intrepid souls ventured outside to splash in the puddles or take a quick shower. For the Pegasi on weather duty, this was their time to shine. Twilight and her friends had just returned from their last epic adventure less than a week ago. The castle still didn’t feel like home to Twilight, but the team was doing their best to help make it so. The rain outside tapped on the window pane with a steady beat. Water stuck in small beads before clumping together and rushing down the glass in a hundred different paths. The shower had been going on for most of the afternoon. Rainbow Dash watched the cloud formations and kept track of the fliers on duty for this week’s storm patrol. Pinkie sat and tried to think about the beautiful rainbows that would appear once the clouds were gone. The rest of their friends found other ways to pass the time. Twilight curled up in the corner with yet another book from the castle library. Rarity checked out samples of fabric as she worked to plan out the color scheme for the castle’s interior decoration. Fluttershy engaged with a group of swallows, trying to convince them that the rain would only be temporary and that they could soon return to their nests. Spike worked through his dusting checklist whilst whistling a bouncy tune as he hopped from shelf to end table and back to shelf. “It should only be about another hour,” Rainbow Dash nodded. “The clouds look like they’ve rained off most of their water supply.” Pinkie’s hooves slipped slowly up her face while her head drooped lower and lower toward the window sill. “I just hope there’s still enough daylight left to get in a game of horseshoes once this rain sto—err… wait a second.” Pinkie’s last thought abruptly changed. She squinted and rubbed her eyes to try and get a better look out the rain-soaked window. “Rainbow,” she inquired, “why is it raining mud?” “Huh?” Rainbow Dash floated over to the window. “What do you mean Pinkie—it’s just water.” Rainbow popped open the latch on the window and stuck her hoof out into the rain. Brown drops started to coat her foreleg changing her normally light blue coat to a muddy brown mess. She brought her leg back inside and poked at the goop now coating it. Pinkie came in close and gave it a good strong whiff. “Hmmm… It doesn’t smell like mud. In fact, it smells like chocolate!” She bent down and gave Rainbow’s foreleg a giant lick. “Ewww,” Rainbow Dash squealed as she pulled back her splotchy brown leg, “that’s gross!” “Mmmmmm,” Pinkie gurgled before responding outright. “It tastes like chocolate too!” With the window wide open and one pony engaged in licking of the strange chocolate flavored rain off the other, the rest of the ponies and Spike stopped what they were doing and turned their attention to them. Pinkie stuck her own hoof out the window to get more of the chocolaty raindrops for herself. “What do you two think you’re doing?” said Spike. “You’re making a huge mess letting all that rain inside.” “But it’s so nummy,“ replied Pinkie. “I need to have more.” “What do you mean?” Twilight lowered her book onto the desk beside her and trotted over towards the fondue duo. She arrived at the window and helped Rainbow Dash haul in a front-half-chocolate-covered Pinkie Pie. Pinkie continued to gobble and lick at her hooves as she cleared off the last bit of brown liquid. Rainbow Dash wiped her foreleg on one of the curtains hanging beside the window. “Rainbow Dash!” scolded Rarity. “Those curtains are not to be used for wiping your dirty hooves. It’s a good thing they clash with the carpets and I’m going to be replacing them soon.” “I don’t think that’s our only problem, girls,” Twilight indicated as she pointed her hoof to the open window. “Take a look at that!” Fluttershy, Rarity, and even Spike sauntered over to the window. They each peered out through the downpour of chocolate rain. Twilight motioned to have them look further up and over toward the horizon. The cause for her concern was pretty obvious. “Chaos clouds!” came the group’s response. The chocolate rain wasn’t the only oddity in the sky. The source of the sticky brown rain drops loomed overhead. Big grey thunderclouds that had recently been dropping their normal watery payload began to sprout large black thorns. Their rain water production turned to the brown, sticky liquid in the process. The weather team Pegasi could do nothing to stop the clouds as they spread across the entire field covering the skies above Ponyville. While the awestruck group all stared out the open window at the approaching black-thorned thunder clouds, a solitary figure galloped their way across town heading toward the castle. The rain coat covered, galoshes wearing pony charged up the front steps and into the castle foyer. Her rain garb unceremoniously tossed aside revealed a partially soaked Applejack. She bolted up the stairs taking the steps two and three at a time until she reached the upper landing. The clattering of hooves on crystal flooring echoed down the hallway as Applejack raced toward the sitting room. She slowed her approach as she skidded to a stop in front of the doorway to the room where the rest of her friends were gathered. “He’s back!” Applejack shouted as soon as she caught sight of the group clustered around the open window. “It’s Discord!” The ponies turned to acknowledge their friend as Applejack took a few more steps toward them, splashing a bit of chocolate rainwater from her hooves as she went. “The chaos clouds started attackin’ Sweet Apple Acres and spread in this direction as I ran to warn ya’ll.” “Applejack,” Twilight responded, “I’m glad you’re all right.” She avoided giving Applejack a hug noticing the wet mare’s fur, mane, and tail still dripping with the chocolate rain. She stopped a bit short of her and took a moment to ponder the situation. Raising a hoof to her chin, Twilight considered the source of the chaos clouds and the current downpour of chocolate drizzle that was coating the town and the castle in a delicious candy topping. “We need to stop Discord now before this gets any worse. Did you see which way he went? “Well,” Applejack replied, “I didn’t exactly see him anywhere. I just saw the clouds and the chocolate rain and knew he had to be up to somethin’. It’s just like him to throw a wrench in our rain day.” “How do we know this is all because of him?” Twilight moved back toward the window and peered up at the black-thorn cloud infested sky. “Isn’t it obvious?” interjected Rainbow Dash. “Who else do we know that likes to make it rain chocolate?” “Now Rainbow,” Fluttershy suggested, “we can’t just assume our good friend Discord would do something like this. I think he’s finally learned his lesson and is truly reformed.” “Even if he isn’t behind this invasion of chaos, we’d better find him soon,” Twilight stated uneasily as she watched the steady advance of the invading clouds. “Those clouds sure are moving fast and he may be the only one that knows how we can put a stop to them.” “Well, if you need to find me,” Pinkie called from the doorway, “I’ll be enjoying the deliciousness of this amazing chocolate rainstorm from outside.” Pinkie darted off down the hallway and was almost out the castle doors before anypony could object. “This chaos storm has Discord’s claw marks all over it!” exclaimed Applejack. Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Twilight settled into the throne room to discuss the best way to go about tracking down their supposedly, reformed, friend. Twilight had sent Rainbow Dash to retrieve Pinkie so they could all be gathered together for the important meeting. The four ponies sat in their high backed throne chairs and waited for the other two to join them. Spike was busy cleaning up the chocolate hoof prints that now formed a trail all the way from the front doors to the pool next to the sitting room window. “This has got to stop!” demanded Rarity. “I can’t take any more of these chaotic distractions. I’ll never be able to compose my castle color scheme with all this nonsense going on outside.” “I say we just whip out that Discord summonin’ spell of yours and settle this right now,” Applejack proposed to Twilight. “Now girls,” Twilight reminded, “we can’t assume that this is Discord’s doing. We haven’t even seen him since Tirek was banished back to Tartarus. For all we know, this could be the work of some other crazy magic-wielding chaos-loving lunatic trying to destroy all life as we know it.” “You could be right, Twilight,” Rarity added sarcastically, “but it’s been almost a week now since the last major threat to ponydom was defeated. We’re practically overdue now, aren’t we?” “That’s not what I meant, Rarity. I just think we shouldn’t jump to conclusions when we don’t have all the facts.” Twilight lowered her head, delving deep in thought once again. Off in the distance a strained voice called out, gaining volume as it approached the throne room, “But I want more! Please let me go and get more. I promise I’ll eat all my dinner.” A quickly tiring Rainbow Dash hauled a not-so-cooperative Pinkie Pie through the open doorway and deposited the now mostly brown and incredibly sticky mare in her respective seat. Rainbow waddled over to her own chair, shook what chocolate she could from herself, and plopped down as well. “Thank you both for joining us,” retorted Rarity. “You’ll have to thank Pinkie for that one,” heaved Rainbow. “She put up quite a fight.” “Humph!” snorted Pinkie as she crossed her forelegs and buried her frowny face in them. “Can we get down to business here?” Applejack pleaded. “My trees can’t take much more of this chocolate shower they’re gettin’.” “Candied apples!” Pinkie yelled. “Stop it!” Rainbow countered. “I just don’t see how Discord could do this again,” argued Fluttershy. “He’s reformed now and he certainly was sorry about betraying us not too long ago.” “It sure would help if we knew where he lived,” remarked Rarity. “He does like to come visit me from time-to-time,” said Fluttershy. “Maybe I could whip up a bowl of his favorite veggie noodle soup and see if he decides to pay me a visit?” “Fluttershy,” reasoned Rainbow Dash, “Discord is not one of your pets. You can’t just expect to whip up a meal and have him appear out of nowhere.” “Oh but that’s what I do. I make up a bowl of his favorite carrot, cucumber, broccoli and noodle soup and he just shows up,” replied a satisfied Fluttershy. Twilight wasn’t paying a lot of attention as her friends debated the reformed-ness of the continually unpredictable Discord. She was trying to think of any other possible explanation for the sudden proliferation of chaos across Ponyville. She was drawing a blank. Princess Twilight… A voice rang through Twilight’s head as she sat and pondered their next course of action. Her ears perked up and she turned her head from side to side trying to hone in on the voice. “Quiet everypony,” came her sudden command. “I thought I heard something.” Twilight, we need you. Come as quickly as you can. Twilight leaped from her chair. “There it is again. Did anypony hear that?” The ponies all shook their heads. Twilight struggled to concentrate on what she had just heard. “It sounded like the Tree of Harmony—I think it wants us to come to the cave.” Applejack got up and walked over. “I don’t want to doubt your fancy voice hearin’ an all, Twi, but are you sure you’re feelin’ ok?” “I’m fine, Applejack. I know what I heard. I think the Tree of Harmony was just trying to communicate with me. I think we need to get to her right away.” Applejack nodded her head. “Well then, what are we waitin’ for? Let’s get a move on!” “If this is another one of those save the world missions, I think I’m going to scream.” Rarity slouched back in her seat. “Who would ever want to save the world from chocolate rain?” Pinkie Pie threw a hostile glare at Rainbow Dash. “It’s like the best thing ever.” Rainbow Dash threw down. “Go ahead, Pinkie. Eat all the chocolate rain you want. Just don’t complain when you’re puking your guts out later on.” “C’mon ya’ll—pony up!” Applejack pulled the feuding ponies from their seats and set them in the direction of the door. “We’ve got a town to save.” “We really don’t know anything yet.” Twilight turned in the doorway. “Let’s go see what the Tree wants and then we can worry about the rain.” “Careful, I just mopped the floor,” Spike called out from down the hallway. “Remember to clean your hooves next time.” “Thank you, Spike.” Twilight gave her assistant a momentary nuzzle as she walked past. “I have a feeling were in for a pretty hefty cleanup. Better keep your mop handy.” She motioned back toward the throne room as she scooted on by with all her friends in tow. Spike just frowned and trudged toward the mess that awaited him there.