Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship, frowned at the scroll that floated mere inches from her snout. The roll of paper hadn’t appeared in a puff of green smoke like messages or letters addressed to her usually appeared and Spike wasn’t in the general vicinity to sneeze one into existence. So it was suffice to say that Twilight Sparkle was suspicious of this particular scroll. Primarily because it was changing color every other second.
It could possibly be from Celestia, Twilight mused to herself. But… I’ve never seen a letter like this before. It could just be a prank… But I’ll never know if i just sit here.
Against her better judgment, Twilight opened the scroll and began to read:
Dear Princess Twilight Sparkle,
I am writing this letter to you as a sort of olive branch (Olive branch will be included in a later letter. Greece is so hard to get to from my house!).
Cakelestia has been bugging me about being a bit nicer to you and your friends especially since you don't have access to the elements anymore. (Honestly, it hurts a little bit. If I was going to do something I'd have already done it by now... probably. I've never been much of a long game person you know.)
Within this letter is the location I wish for us to meet to reconcile our friendship in the form of a ‘game’. (Specifics will be disclosed upon your arrival.)
I'm still not sure what we'll do but winging it has always been my specialty to be honest. And yes, I will provide the food and the drinks. As well as the cotton candy chocolate milk rainclouds. Anyway I hope to see you there.
Signed,
Q. Discordinton, Esq.
P.S. I have taken the liberty to send similar letters to the rest of your ‘charming’ group in an attempt to mend ties with them as well.
P.P.S. Please tell Cessy that I’m perfectly capable of writing a letter on my own, and I don’t need her to watch over my shoulder as I write this. I’m a big draconequus and I don’t need a babysitter. If you could include that in your next friendship letter or whatever, that would be muchly appreciated. :)
Twilight’s frown deepened as she read the letter. She believed Discord was truthful in his claim of Celestia’s urgings to pick on the Mane Six less after being parted from the Elements of Harmony. However, the Alicorn Princess wasn’t confident or certain about the method in which Discord planned to ‘mend ties’.
Twilight sighed and rolled the scroll up before placing it on her work table. Although she had misgivings about attending Discord’s little ‘get-together’, Celestia had been the one who made Discord write the letter in the first place. A small smile touched Twilight’s mouth as she magicked her window open and leapt into the sky, altering her course to fly in the direction of Discord’s meeting point.
At Discord’s Meeting Point...
“Hey, Twi!” Pinkie Pie squealed as the Alicorn Princess landed in the forest clearing that had been marked in her letter. “You got the letter too?” Twilight smiled as the pink Earth Pony cartwheeled around the clearing with reckless abandon.
“Yes, Pinkie,” Twilight replied. “I see you received one as well.”
“Oh, yeah,” Pinkie said, stilling wheeling around the clearing. “I was eating cake, like I usually do in the evening, but then this strange scroll floated in the window. So, I asked myself, ‘Pinkie, who would send a colorful floating scroll in the middle of the night?’ And I answered myself, ‘Well Pinkie, it must be somepony important.’ I skimmed the letter enough to read about a game and a place, so, here I am, waiting for everypony else to show up. Hey, can you keep count of how many cartwheels I’ve done?” Twilight was just about to politely decline her friend’s request when a bush rustled behind her. The purple pony turned to see Applejack and Rarity trotting through the dark foliage.
“I say,” Rarity declared. “What a dismal place for a meeting spot.”
“Ya’ll got that right,” Applejack agreed. “Knowin’ Discord, he’s probably got some weird plan in the works.”
“No kidding,” Rainbow Dash snorted as she landed beside the orange Earth Pony. “I still don’t trust him after that issue Tirek caused a while back.”
“I think it’s wonderful that he’s trying to reach out to make amends,” Fluttershy whispered.
“Wonderful or not,” Twilight said. “Discord isn’t here.”
“D’you think he’s just pullin’ our tails?” Applejack asked.
“Oh, my dear friends!” a jovial voice cried. The Mane Six all swung around to see Discord holding a sad mask over his face as he hovered several feet above the ground.
“I am wounded to discover your lack of trust in me,” Discord sobbed. The chaotic being flung himself against a tree and proceeded to bawl into a tree branch. Fluttershy flew over to Discord and laid a hoof on his shaking shoulder.
“No, no,” the cream-colored pegasus crooned. “We trust you.” Fluttershy glanced meaningfully at the other ponies. It took several seconds for the rest of them to understand Fluttershy’s look but when they did, there was a chorus of apologies and a great deal of coughing. Discord peeked through the crook of his elbow and leapt away from the tree.
“Well, seeing as you’ve all arrived,” he crowed, cracking his knuckles. “Let’s get down to business.” The Mane Six balked and looked at each other in confusion.
“Business?” Twilight asked. “What business?”
“Why, this business,” Discord elaborated, clapping his hands. Before the ponies could even begin to berate Discord, they had all been whisked away.
The Mane Six were speechless as they sped through the air at breakneck speed across an ocean none knew the name to. Sturdy bubbles of magic protected the group from the biting oceanic winds. After recovering from the initial shock, Twilight glared daggers at Discord, who was leading the group with leads of light.
“Is this one of your tricks?” she snapped. Discord looked over his shoulder and chuckled.
“My dear, Princess,” Discord said. “This is no trick, I assure you.”
“Well, we don’t believe you,” Applejack grunted. The other ponies voiced their agreement, except for Fluttershy who remained silent. Discord sighed.
“Very well,” he groaned, snapping his fingers. There was a bright flash and all the ponies found themselves on solid ground in the center of a circle of stones. A decrepit looking sign leaned against one of the larger rocks and read, ‘Discord’s Playground’ in thick bold letters. Twilight fumed with rage.
“Discord,” she growled. “Where in Equestria are we?” Discord looked around, as if puzzled.
“But,” he muttered, “didn’t you see the sign?” He pointed at the old board.
“Yes,” Twilight said. “I saw it. But why are we here?” Discord clapped his paw and claw together.
“Aha!” he crowed. “Because plot demands it. My plot, I mean.”
“What do you mean, ‘plot’?” Rarity sniffed.
“Weeeeeeeeeell,” Discord elongated the vowel. “There is a whole complex reason behind this, but explaining would take a great deal of time and to be honest, I’d talk myself to sleep. So, I shall be brief...or perhaps boxers if you prefer. What I’ve done is taken you to a place where we can have a little fun.”
“Fun?!” Pinkie cried. “Fun?! In what way is this FUN?!” Discord poofed and appeared beside Pinkie Pie to shove a cotton candy chocolate milk raincloud into her face before reappearing on top of one of the stones.
“Okay,” Discord declared. “Now that we have silence, I shall continue. And interruptions will not be tolerated.” He steepled his mismatched fingers in front of him, a paper tri-folded screen appearing before him. “It’s rather simple, really. You see, while I was back in the Canterlot gardens in that little statue, I remember seeing a group of young ponies playing a sort of game together. One where all those involved would take on the role of a great hero.” Rainbow Dash perked up at the mention of ‘hero’.
“What kind of hero?” the blue pegasus asked eagerly. Discord grinned. That’s the tompony and Fluttershy. Two down, four to go.
“Oh, I’m not sure,” the chaotic being sighed. “Being trapped in stone limited my ability to see what transpired clearly. I did see that they were having fun.” Pinkie Pie stopped chewing on her cotton candy chocolate milk raincloud and began to listen more intently.
Rarity scoffed. “No offence, but as beautiful as the Canterlot gardens are, I’ve no intention of ruining my perfect mane by running around in the dirt and grass.” As if to prove her point, she tossed her head slightly, sending a ripple through her violet mane.
“Oh, but my dear marshmallow-colored friend!” Discord appeared next to Rarity in a flash. “And here I thought you would love the delightful costumes I had in mind for all of you!” He snapped the fingers on his clawed hand, and six sets of themed clothing appeared in the air behind him; each on its own pony-shaped mannequin. “Now, the designs aren’t finalized, but I’m sure a pony as skilled as yourself could help an old curmudgeon like me out, no?”
Rarity looked over the clothes, a faint shine glimmering in her eyes. “Well, I suppose…”
“Excellent!” Discord spun away, snapping the costumes back into whatever nowhere they had come from. “There’s always time for that later.” This is easier than I expected, Discord thought with a hidden chuckle. That just leaves the princess and the Apple.
Twilight stepped forward, spreading her wings like a sort of shield. “While I’m completely behind the seven of us playing a game together, don’t you think it’s a little childish to just run around in costumes-” She was interrupted by Rarity’s half-insulted cough. “...As fashionable as they will, I think we’re a bit too old to play pretend like unruly foals.”
“My dear Princess Twilight!” Discord feigned shock and dismay, holding a paw over his heart. “Now, when could I have ever given you the idea that I would ever be unruly?” He put a finger over Twilight’s mouth before she could respond. “No, I think you’ll find I have rules a-plenty for this little game of mine.” He reached behind his back, producing a rather sizable tome; hardcover, with pages wrinkled by age and use.
Twilight’s previous posturing wilted as her eyes grew wide. “Is that… Is that a copy of Caverns and Cutie Marks First Edition?”
Discord’s grin grew wider. “None other than. I’ve had quite some time to study it in the time since I’ve reformed; with Fluttershy’s help, of course.” He spared a wink towards the yellow pegasus before twisting the hook on his catch further. “Naturally, I’ve memorized the lot, so if you wanted to take it home with you as a parting present once we’re through…”
Twilight wiped a thin trail of drool away from her mouth. “Gahh…”
“I’ll take that as a yes.” Discord handed the tome over to the young Alicorn, who was suddenly surprised by just how heavy over 12,000 pages of text can be. With a soft chuckle, he turned to his last target: Applejack. Now this one will be difficult. I’ll have to use all of my whiles to get her to agree to-
“So,” Applejack said, “when’d we start?”
Discord blinked in surprise. “Beg pardon?”
Applejack jerked her head at the other ponies; each caught up in their own fantasies. “Ya’ll obviously already got that lot. Now, I still don’t trust ya as far as I can buck ya, but I doubt you wouldn’t do anythin’ that’d put ol’ Fluttershy in danger. So, when’d we start this hoo-haw?” Discord was speechless for a moment. Then he recovered from his surprise and cleared his throat.
“Hem, well, in that case...” He stroked his chin. “Right now I assume. That is, unless you six have other plans.” Discord eyed the Mane Six. The ponys shuffled their hooves and looked everywhere but at Discord. Fluttershy stepped forward and smiled gently.
“Let’s start now,” she said, placing a hoof on Discord’s arm. Discord returned the smile and snapped the fingers of his clawed hand. The outfits he had displayed before returned and drifted to hover before a specific pony.
“You each have been given pre-decided roles,” Discord explained. “By putting on your respective clothing, you will receive benefits and weaknesses specific to your role. Put simply, those with magic can use their magic, except on a very limited scale. The rest of you should be told about your roles in due course. Now, time to split you up.” The ponies froze.
“Wait,” Twilight said in puzzlement. “When did you decide when we were to be split up?”
“Oh, it wasn’t my decision,” Discord defended, raising his hands palms outward. “It’s a rule. Now, off you go.” Before anypony could cry out in rage or so much as lift a hoof, Discord clapped his hands. The ponies and their clothes winked out of existence as they were teleported to their respective starting points. Discord sighed and cracked his knuckles as he reclined on his stone.
“Three parties,” he mused. “With two members each who know each other very well… Rather small… I mean, the typical size for a party is three to five… Oho… Now that’s a thought… Alright, you’ve made your point. Let’s get three more saps to make this a little more interesting...”
Meanwhile… Elsewhere… Northwest…
BRE~!
BREEEEEE!
Clunk… Clunk… Clunk…
“Hey, careful,” a bespectacled person pointed out. “That beam supports the roof, you know.”
“I swear...” a short sitting figure muttered.
“Hehehe,” a tall, broad figure giggled, placing his free hand on a knee.. “What is that, the third double touch in a row?”
“I want you to know,” the short figure grumbled, “I hate you both.”
“What’s the score now?” the tall fencer asked, straightening to face the short figure as he gripped the handle of his weapon, his smirk hidden behind his mask.
The short figure leaned over to look at the screen; upside-down from his viewpoint. “We’re at three all.” He stabbed a finger toward the two fencers. “DON’T. DO THAT. AGAIN.”
“I’m working on it,” The one with glasses spoke stepping back onto the strip and reassuming his on-guard stance. The tall fencer chuckled behind his mask before turning back to face his bespectacled opponent.
“Indeed,” the tall fencer agreed, squaring up to settle into a relaxed posture.
The short figure sighed, sitting back in his chair. “Right.” He held out a hand, marking the mid-point between the two fencers. “Prêt?” The two fencers tensed, readying themselves for the coming clash. “Allez!” The two figures started moving swiftly towards each other. But they never met. A sudden flash of light filled the attic where the three were fencing and they disappeared.