//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: Shattered Worlds // Story: Back To The Future IV: The Return of Discord // by Dr Dash //------------------------------// Twilight and her friends were stunned into silence as Discord entered the room. Not even Celestia spoke, she simply glared at him with a look that quite possibly could disintegrate a lesser being. “Yes, it’s really me!” Discord exclaimed as he gleefully skipped about the room. “Your old buddy Discord! Oh, I’ve missed you all so much!” He began to shape shift into each of the ponies, mocking them in their own voices. “Princess Snore-Lestia, the most boring ruler since the invention of the measuring tape!” “Rainbow Crash! The so-called ‘Queen of the Skies.’ Hah! You couldn’t fly your way out of a paper bag!” “Flutter-Cry, the timid! Oh no, I’m looking at you! You better hide behind somepony who’s actually USEFUL!” “Air-ity, the most stuck-up pony this side of Manehattan!” “Crapple-jack, the annoying country bumpkin!” “Pinkie Pry, the nosy! You’d throw a party for a tree if you heard that it had grown an inch!” “And last but not least, Twilight Sprinkle. The useless garnish on top of this ice-cream-sundae of FAILURE!” Discord snapped back to his own body, and began rolling on the floor laughing, amused by his imitations. He cackled with delight at the sight of the saddened ponies, and could barely compose himself as Celestia confronted him. She motioned for Twilight and her friends to cover their ears. Then, taking a leaf from her sister’s book, Celestia's royal Canterlot voice boomed through the castle and echoed into the sky. “HOW DID YOU GET FREE?” she demanded. “AND FOR WHAT PURPOSE HAVE YOU COME HERE? TO GET REVENGE WITH YOUR CHEAP PARLOR TRICKS AND MOCKERY OF MY SUBJECTS?!” The ponies cowered in fear from Celestia’s anger, and her white-hot gaze stunned Discord into silence. It didn’t last long. “Celestia, my dear! No need to ruffle your feathers!” he said, grinning. “I have no clue how I got free. One minute I’m being blasted into eternity by your little entourage, the next, I’m in a field somewhere.” He paused, and glanced down at the ponies, who were still shaking from the intensity of Celestia’s fury. Fluttershy’s tail was poking out from under the rug, and her form beneath it still had her hooves covering her ears. “And I didn’t come here for revenge, you silly filly! I came here to give you fair warning.” “Fair warning of what?” asked Celestia, having reverted to her normal voice “That my revenge has already been set in motion.” he said. Discord pulled out his golden pocketwatch, popping it open to show the cuckoo clock inside. “In fact, if I timed this correctly, we should begin seeing the effects in 3...2...1...” At that exact second, several things happened. First and foremost, the bird sprang out of Discord’s watch with a loud BONG, and shot back inside, the hilarity of which sent Discord into yet another laughing fit. As he did so, the entire castle shook with a mighty tremor, powerful enough to knock loose the massive chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Twilight happened to notice, and cast a protective bubble around herself and Spike, not having enough time to extend it to her friends. Luckily, the chandelier missed them entirely, but fell to the floor with a mighty CRASH! Celestia jabbed Discord in the chest with her horn, the anger visible in her intense stare. “WHAT. DID. YOU. DO?” she demanded, each word punctuated with a thrust of her horn. Discord smiled, and pointed his lion paw at the window. “Why don’t you take a look?” Ponyville had fallen into disarray. Though the shaking had stopped at Canterlot Castle, it seemed that the world itself was vibrating. Before their eyes, the ponies watched as large pieces of the earth and sky began to disintegrate, leaving behind an inky black void. The sun and moon shot through the sky as time itself started to unwind. Celestia, unable to cope with the rapid increase and decrease of her power, collapsed to the floor. “I’m still not going to tell you exactly what I did,” said Discord to Twilight, who stood, determined to face him, “but I will give you a lovely riddle to think about.” He hummed a slight tune, and turned to face the windows, reveling in the chaos he had caused. “In order to find the change I made, think of the stories your friends have told. Find the missing link, you see, the common thread they no longer hold. If you succeed in this endeavor, the world must be put back on track. But to do so, is no easy feat. To fix the future, you must go back.” Discord flew across the room to Celestia’s throne, where he sat, admiring the mayhem he had caused. But before Twilight could confront him about the riddle, yet another disaster struck. Her friends began to disappear. “What’s going on?!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash. The color drained from her mane, and she began to become transparent. “What'd you do to me?!” she yelled, shooting across the room towards Discord. However, she passed right through him. “Oh...” she gasped, as she faded into nothing. “RAINBOW DASH!” the others exclaimed as they started to fade as well. Twilight was paralyzed with shock as her friends slowly began to vanish, one by one. In what seemed like an instant, they were gone, lost to the fabric of the universe. Celestia managed to stand, and worked her way over to Twilight and Spike, who were still underneath Twilight’s protective spell. “Princess! My friends! Theyre...” she sobbed “They’re gone!” “I saw, Twilight. There is only one reason this for this occurrence.” whispered Celestia, as she too began to slowly fade. “Discord must have altered the past. You have to find out where! You must save Equestria. For me, and for your friends...” Celestia's voice petered out as she vanished. The destruction of the world had finally caught up to the castle. Nothing but darkness was visible outside as Twilight lay on the ground, crying. Discord got up from the throne and looked down at Twilight. As the room itself began to disappear, he flew to her bubble and sat upon it. “Well, I guess we’ve hung around here long enough!” he said, amused. “Time to go see our new home!” Discord snapped his fingers, and Twilight, Spike and himself vanished instantly. The final remnants of the castle were sucked away. And then, there was nothing.