//------------------------------// // Chapter Four: Succulent Succubus // Story: Discord's Discount Disguises // by MythrilMoth //------------------------------// All eyes were on Applejack as she sauntered through the town, swaying her flanks and moving with slinky, catlike grace. She espied a dark pegasus stallion wearing a bomber jacket and shades. His pale mane rippled in the light breeze. Licking her lips, she sauntered over to him. "Hello there," she purred. He reared back slightly, wings flaring out as he took stock of her. "Uhh...evening, ma'am..." She walked a slow circle around him, examining him from every angle. "What's your name, dark and sexy?" "Uhh...Easy Glider," the pegasus said. "Mmm...I like that name...I'm a pretty easy glider myself..." She came to a stop in front of him, flicking the tip of her tail across his muzzle. "You and I...we could make it...rain," she purred. "Uhh...I'm not part of the weather patrol, ma'am," he said. Applejack tackled him to the ground, pressing her muzzle against his. "That's not the kind of rain I meant," she said. "Maybe I should spell it out for you." She leaned down and spelled out a word in his ear. The pegasus' eyes widened. Applejack hopped off and offered him her leash. He stood up, dusted himself off, took the leash in his mouth, and flew off into the woods with her. * * * * * "Ink Blot's journal. Same time, same place as last entry. Still don't know what's going on. Doesn't seem to be a normal pony in this town. Hrm. Whole town of superheroes, supervillains, and assorted crazies...haven't seen anything like this since Hung Dong. Almost starting to question my own sanity. Almost. Know it's not me that's crazy, it's this place. Hrm... "About to interrogate somepony. Scum better talk." Pinkie darted out of the shadows and seized a grey mare whose black mane was tied in two long ponytails, topped with tightly-wound round hair buns secured with big round pink ornaments. She wore a white bodysuit with a flaring blue skirt and collar flap, with a big pink bow on her chest and another one at the base of her tail. The bow on her chest had a golden brooch with four small round gems, each a different color, at the compass points. The mare wore white boots on her forelegs and red boots on her hindlegs; the front boots had ribbed red cuffs at the top, while the back pair were topped with white trim and tiny pink treble clefs. A gold tiara with a pink gem in the middle sat upon her brow, and tiny white feathers were interspersed in her bangs. "Start talkin'," Pinkie growled. "KYAAAA!" the mare screamed. "Ha-hanase!! Korosenai de! KOROSENAI DE!" Pinkie punched her in the face. "Talk like a normal pony!" "WAAAAAA! TASUKETEEEEEE!" "Hrm. Gonna have to do this the hard way." Pinkie drew back a hoof to administer a severe beating... A rose struck her hoof, leaving a deep cut just above her fetlock. Pinkie stared as the rose embedded itself in the ground, stem-first. She tracked the direction from which it had come and saw an off-white unicorn, clad in a black tuxedo and top hat, standing atop a nearby roof, her opera cape flapping in the breeze. Her electric blue mane peeked out from beneath the brim of a tall top hat, and her eyes were hidden by purple glasses. "TAKISHIDO MEGANE-SAMA!" the mare Pinkie was holding screamed. The sheer pitch and volume of her shriek made Pinkie wince, forcing her to let go. "Ima da, Seiraa Merodi!" the tuxedo-clad unicorn shouted. "Hai!" The grey mare removed her tiara, which began to glow and sparkle. And spin. And started to actually look pretty dangerous. "MERODI TIARA...BUUMERAN!" She threw her tiara at Pinkie, who was forced to scramble out of the way. She watched, wide-eyed, as it tore through a rainbarrel as if it wasn't there. "Hrm. Screw this." Pinkie fled into the night, the ink blots on her mask shifting wildly. "Couldn't understand crazy mare anyway." * * * * * "That...was...incredible..." Thunderlane panted. Of course, as the commander of the Wonderbolts, he was used to having mares fall all over him, and he'd gotten more than his share of sweet tail, but this...this was the most incredible mare he'd ever been with. She was also the first batpony he'd ever done it with. Funny...she had wings on her head, too. Was that normal for batponies? The batpony mare smiled down at him, licking her lips. "Oh, yes," she said. "Absolutely delicious..." She rose to her hooves and sauntered away, her leash trailing around her hooves. She paused, looked back at him over one shoulder, and purred, "Thanks for the meal..." Thunderlane pushed himself to his hooves. Standing was more of an effort than usual. Had that incredibly sexy batpony mare really worn him out that badly? He adjusted his glasses, straightened the Wonderbolts pin on his bomber jacket, and took off into the sky. Or tried to. Nothing happened. "What the...?" He tried to flap his wings, but they hung limp and useless at his sides. The muscles refused to budge. "I...I can't fly...?" * * * * * That 'Easy Glider' simpleton had been...adequate as a lover. He seemed to be the type who cared more for his own pleasure than that of his partner. But that was fine with Applejack. After all, she'd gotten what she wanted from him. She'd gotten his magic. With a lazy smile, she took wing, soaring over the crowds, using her keen night vision to search for her next meal... * * * * * Fluttershy glided low over the crowds, eyes full of worry and distress. "Oh, this is hopeless," she said quietly to herself. "Everypony's completely under Discord's spell..." She glanced up at the sky, where she could just barely see the mischevious draconequus silhouetted against the moon. "Oh, when this is over, I'm going to have very stern words with him...!" She heard screams and a loud crashing noise, and sped off to investigate. The screams were coming from Sugar Cube Corner; there was a gaping hole in the front of the building. "Oh...oh dear..." She flew in and found a dozen ponies crowded against the walls as Big Macintosh, dressed as Flankenstein's Monster, rampaged through the store. Swallowing nervously, she summoned her newfound alicorn magic, enveloping Big Macintosh in a soft blue-green aura. Grimacing from the strain, she slowly pulled the enraged, thrashing stallion out of the store. She flew down and landed in front of him. "Now, Big Macintosh," she said patiently, "I know you're not yourself right now, but you really shouldn't go around scaring everypony. You're bigger than they are, and you could really hurt somepony if you're not careful. Do you understand me?" "Rrrgh?" "I said, do you understand me?!" Fluttershy repeated, giving Big Macintosh the Stare. Big Macintosh whimpered and lumbered off into the night, groaning. Letting out a deep sigh, Fluttershy turned and walked into the partially wrecked store. "Um...is...is everypony okay?" "Oh, Fluttershy dear! Thank you so much. Big Macintosh just...just tore in here and went berserk! It was so horrible..." Mrs. Cake stood up from where she had been shielding the twins. She looked around at the store and frowned. "Goodness, what a mess...and Big Mac is usually such a nice pony..." "You'll have to forgive him," Fluttershy said. "He isn't himself at the moment. Nopony is." She looked around. "Oh, except...except you all, apparently. None of you are wearing costumes...that's a relief." She moved over to an empty table. "Do...do you mind if I sit and rest for just a moment? I'm a bit tired." "Of course, dear," Mrs. Cake said. Behind her, Pound Cake flew up and batted at a hanging streamer, while Pumpkin Cake tottered around on the counter, slobbering all over an inflated balloon. Mrs. Cake brought Fluttershy a glass of punch, which Fluttershy gratefully seized in her magic and sipped. Mrs. Cake stared at Fluttershy. "Oh my...umm...when did you...become a..." Mr. Cake walked in from the back. "What's been going on out here?" he asked. He saw Fluttershy and gasped. "Again? Seriously?" "Fluttershy...I mean...Your Highness?" Mrs. Cake asked uncertainly. "What's...what's going on?" "Discord," Fluttershy muttered. "His costume shop turned out to be the setup for a big prank on the entire town. Everypony's turned into whatever they dressed up as for Nightmare Night." "Oh my," Mr. Cake said. "That's...that's..." "A disaster," Fluttershy said. "It'll wear off at midnight, and Discord promised nopony will be permanently harmed by his prank, but...oh...I'm just so mad at him I could scream!" She took a deep breath and let out a muted squeak. After an awkward pause, Mrs. Cake asked, "Feel better, dearie?" "Not really," Fluttershy said. Mr. Cake stepped closer, examining Fluttershy. "So...uh...just as a guess...you dressed up as an alicorn princess?" Fluttershy nodded. "It was Discord's idea." Her eyes widened in realization. "It was Discord's idea...!" Her cheeks turned faintly pink. "He...he wanted me to be a princess tonight!" She stared down at her silver-shod hooves. "No...it's not enough that I'm a princess. He wanted me to be a princess, but...but still be me." She frowned. "But...but why?" Mrs. Cake tilted her head. "So...you have it all...alicorn magic and everything?" "I seem to," Fluttershy said. "I...don't really know how to use it very well, though." She looked around the room at the ponies who were gawking at her, grumbling about yet another crazy thing happening in Ponyville, or...calmly having snacks. "Umm...you should all just...just stay put here until midnight. And...don't worry about the damage to the shop. I'll make sure Discord fixes it." "What about you, Fluttershy?" Mr. Cake asked. Fluttershy stood and stretched her wings. "I...guess...for the time being, I'm the only princess in Equestria who can deal with this. Twilight's not in her right mind, Princess Luna's become Mare-Do-Well, and Princess Celestia is a supervillain." There were a LOT of gasps at that one. Mrs. Cake paled. "That's...that's bad." "Oh, don't worry. She's forgotten she has magic," Fluttershy said. "Twilight forgot she was an alicorn until I pointed it out to her. Right now, Princess Celestia thinks she's the Mane-iac." She shuddered. "Which still makes her dangerous, but...but not as dangerous as the Mane-iac with alicorn magic." She trotted for the open front of the store. "If I find anypony else who isn't caught up in this, I'll send them here for safety, okay?" Mr. Cake nodded. "Sounds good. Good luck out there." "Thanks," Fluttershy said nervously. "I'll need it." * * * * * Rarity glared at the mare with the crazy mane. She levitated a cigar out of her utility bag, lighting it with her magic, and chomped down on it. Out of the corner of her mouth, she said to the costumed mare beside her, "She don't look like much, but she's scrappy. Got a plan?" The masked mare shook her head silently. "Don't talk much, do ya bub?" The masked mare shook her head again. "Great." Rarity watched as the Silver Soarer was seized by the Mane-iac and thrown against the front of a building. "Funny, I don't remember Silver Soarer bein' that much of a wimp." She sighed. "Well...enough jawin'. Time to get back to work." She leapt toward the Mane-iac; thick, powerful claws extended from her hooves. "You need a haircut, lady!" she yelled as she descended into madness...