Scroll 2- Chaos and Chompies
Fluttershy’s cottage
As the morning air blew past the two of them, Calvin and Fluttershy soon landed on the outer edge of the Everfree forest; a few hoofsteps away from her cottage as the human boy returned to his normal form. He felt quite exhausted after flying as the Griffon named Sonic Boom. Plus, having wings was a bit of a new experience for him as he fell down onto the grass.
“Oh my! Are you okay?”
“Heh… Yeah. I just need a quick breather,” Calvin told her, “Who knew that flying could be so much of a workout?!”
“Actually, for pegasi and other creatures with wings, flying is a professional sport. Rainbow herself even competes in a few races every once in a while.”
“Does she?” Calvin replied back. “Well, I’m not quite sure if I’m up for a race against her. She might leave me in the dust if I even tried.” The boy soon returned to his feet as he and the mare walked to the front door. Before the human opened the door though, the Pegasus stopping him for just a minute, sighing a minute and looking a little nervous as she began to speak again to the human boy.
“Before we go in, I need to let you know something. I… have someone living with me so please, don’t be freaked out by him.” Fluttershy said in a whisper like tone.
“You mean like a roommate?”
“… You can say that. He’s kind of a goofball at times and can be a bit… silly.” The Pegasus said. But it wasn’t until the two of them heard a booming voice from inside the cottage that Calvin got an understanding of what she meant.
“Back, you vile creatures... BACK I SAY!!! You shall not use those fangs of doom against me!!! I am Discord. Knight of Chaos, and protector of Lady Angel!”
Calvin then looked back at Fluttershy, quite startled, like she was. “Does he normally act like that?”
“I honestly don’t even know where to begin when it comes to Discord. He’s a spirit of chaos and mischief.” Fluttershy told him. Before Calvin could say something else, another thing caught his attention. Some growling like sounds and a moaning noise. When he opened up the door, the two of them were treated to the sight of Discord in a cardboard box covered in tin foil like he was a knight, a bear in a dragon costume and a little rabbit with a blond wig on its head, like it was suppose to be a princess.
“Discord… What are you doing?”
“Oh, I’m sorry, Fluttershy. I was bored, so I thought I would do a bit of Roleplaying with Angel and Henry while you were gone-.” The Draconequus stopped talking at the sight of Calvin, then got closer and narrowed his eyes, looking at him with a serious face. “Flutters, who is this little fellow?”
“Oh, this is Calvin. He’s going to be staying with us for a little bit. He got bruised a bit after crashing into Rainbow’s house.”
“Isn’t her house made of clouds though?” The Spirit of Chaos asked.
“Yeah, but the roof and floors are solid so anypony who can’t walk on clouds don’t easily fall through it.” Fluttershy said, but the Spirit’s gaze was more focused on something else: the Necklace around Calvin’s neck. It sort of reminded him of the Elements of Harmony, but it also felt different because of the magic that surged from it.
“That is an interesting trinket that you have there. Can I take a closer look?” However, Calvin shook his head, backing up a little as he grabbed his necklace with his right hand.
“No thanks. It’s kind of… Important.”
“Important? How exactly is such a tiny stone important?” Discord asked, puzzled. “Does it give you superpowers or something?”
Calvin stood silent for a minute, then backed up a bit. His best guess for this guy to get off his back was to give him a demonstration. But… he wanted to make sure that Fluttershy was okay with it first. “Hey, Fluttershy?”
“Yes, Calvin? What is it?”
“Would it be okay for me to give Discord a demonstration of what I can do?” The young boy asked. He had his hands at his sides as the chaos spirit used a snap of his talon to make all the roleplaying costumes and everything else disappear in a flash. “I think it would be better than trying to explain everything to him.”
“I’m okay with it. Just… nothing too crazy.”
‘Guess no Giants or Trap masters then.’ The human thought to himself. In comparison to height, Giants were the tallest of the five classes of Skylanders. Coming behind that was Trap Masters, Swap Force, Superchargers, and then the normal skylanders. Thinking of one of the Light skylanders this time, he said the characters phrase to himself in a soft whisper. “Time to Shine”. Seconds later, he was covered again in a white light that lasted for a few seconds, but the transformation was what surprised the Draconequus the most.
Calvin had now turned into the Light Skylander known as Spotlight. A white dragon with Three Halo like rings on it’s body; two near the wing joints and one on the tail.
“Wow… That’s quite… amazing. What exactly did you do though?” Discord asked. Calvin and Fluttershy then took the time to explain what he told her, Rainbow and Twilight earlier from the transformations to what he was exactly transforming into, all while the spirit of chaos was drinking a chocolate shake and reclining on the living room couch. “So, let me get this straight… Because of that necklace, you can turn into these beings called Skylanders and also have control of their powers?”
“Pretty much. But the transformations only last for a short while. I think they could be extended the more I get use to it, but I don’t really know, to be honest with you.” Calvin replied back as the boy returned to normal. “I did just find out about these powers today and whatnot.”
“Understandable. I get what you mean.” Discord replied back. “If you would like, I can help you with that. I’ve personally transformed into a few things myself and might help you with that-.”
“Discord, Calvin is still recovering.”
“I know, Flutters.” The Chaos spirit chuckled a little bit as he replied back. “I was going to say once he’s fully healed. That way, he doesn’t accidently have his wounds open up on him.”
“He’s got a good point there, Fluttershy,” the boy said, “What better way to learn than from someone who’s had personal experience?”
“Discord uses Chaos magic. Yours is… something else,” Fluttershy remarked, “Maybe you should take a moment to lay down a minute.”
“I was doing that earlier,” Calvin replied, “What I think I need is some food. I haven’t eaten since breakfast, and I felt my stomach growl on the way over here.” Fluttershy nodded her head, telling the human to help himself to a bowl of fruit that was on the kitchen counter. Calvin found himself an apple and began to slowly bite into it, savoring the juicy fruit as he devoured it all the way to its core, tossing it into the trash bin that was nearby.
“Oh my!” Fluttershy gasped upon seeing him finish. “You must be really hungry by now! What can I get for you, Calvin?”
“Well… Do you have anything that can be a source of protein?” He then asked, catching both Fluttershys and Discord’s attention. “Like most of my kind, humans are Omnivores. So, our diet consists of sources of fruits, meats and vegetables. But I don’t eat ponies.”
“Oh… if that’s the case, then what are you exactly hungry for? Maybe we can find something for you in Ponyville.”
‘What the heck is that?’ Calvin asked himself mentally as he thought through his options. Either stay here and possibly starve, or go out with Fluttershy and Discord to see what kind of options for food were there. To him… the second one sounded a LOT more useful right around now. “Is Ponyville the town that’s not far from here?”
“Yeah, Twilight and our friends live there.”
“Okay, well maybe it won’t hurt to get a tour of the town. I’ll be lucky if I find some pizza there.”
“Actually, a new pizzeria opened up last week,” Discord replied to him as the three of them left the cottage. “The owner was quite nice. His name was Papa John’s if I remember correctly.” The comment got Calvin to chuckle a little to himself, causing him to think of the pizza restaurant that had the same name back home, but another thing soon got on his mind. One that wasn’t about food. It was about Master Eon. He wanted to ask him a few other questions, but he knew that there were even some things that the elder portal master might not know about. This would include one thing… Was he the only one who had this happen to him… or not?
Those would be questions he would have to save for later. As he went into town, many of the townsfolk watched him walk along with Fluttershy with worried or scared expressions. Some even proceeded to run into their homes and lock their doors. Calvin sighed. Despite being himself and being harmless, the other ponies were afraid of him. Fluttershy had seen the town act this way before when Zecora first arrived into town on the thought that she was a witch. But after some time, they were able to adjust to her.
Soon though, they came across Sugarcube corner, or what Calvin saw as a real life gingerbread house. Soon, the three of them were greeted by a very happy and very hyper pink pony that was just as bouncy as her mane and tail, with a mark of three balloons on her flank. Two yellow and one blue. She seemed very happy to see both Fluttershy and Discord, but gasped at the sight of Calvin. “Ooooh! Who do we have here!?”
“Pinkie, this is Calvin. He’s staying with Discord and I and is kind of new around here.”
“Wait? New? Like as in NEW PONY!?!” Calvin’s nod of the head led to the Party Pony zipping back inside the Gingerbread house like she was in the road-runner looney toons cartoons. Fluttershy and Calvin looked at each other in confusion before slowly entering the small bakery. Soon though, the two of them were greeted by a yellow stallion named Carrot Cake, who greeted the two of them as Fluttershy ordered a muffin for each of them. As they ate the sweet treats though, they heard a loud clash of pots and pans in the back of the room.
“I’ll go check on Pinkie.” Discord offered as he used a talon snap to have himself disappear into the back room. For a moment, everything seemed okay, but then, Calvin began to hear Discord begin to talk. “Oh, why hello there little guy. Are you lost? You just look so cuddly… Would it be okay if I call you squishy?”
Five seconds later, a massive chomp and a series of loud screams erupted from the back.
“OWWWW!!! BAD SQUISHY!! BAD SQUISHY!!! GET IT OFF!!! GET IT OFF!!”
“Discord, are you okay-?” Calvin’s question was interrupted when Discord warped back into the dining room with something chewing on his lion paw. It took Calvin three seconds to realize what in the world it was before the spirit of chaos warped out again. And when he realized it, something clicked in his mind that this was going to be a major problem.
A Chompy. Little green creatures with huge sets of teeth. They might look harmless alone, but when in groups, they can cause major problems. “Hey, Fluttershy? Where did Discord go?”
“Probably outside, why do you ask?”
“I just got a bad feeling that something bad is going to happen-”
Before Calvin even got up out of his seat, Discord returned to the room. “Sorry about that. Hey Fluttershy, can I ask for your help on something? Some weird creature bit me earlier, and I was wondering if you can-.”
Before even getting to what he needed help with, another scream was heard. This time, as Discord turned around, his jaw dropped. The single creature that he thought he put in a bubble was running around again. Only this time, there were more of them. Ten to be exact, as they were seen chasing some of the townsfolk. Including Pinkie Pie, who was calling the one that was nibbling on her tail “Gummy”.
“O-oh my-! W-what are those things-!?” Fluttershy freaked out, hiding behind Discord.
“Oh great… Discord, what exactly did you do to the chompy you encountered earlier?”
“Chompy?”
“The green monster with the teeth that’s running around outside and causing havoc?” Calvin said. “These guys are known for causing a LOT of trouble, and Skylanders have to deal with them constantly. Now, because you left that single one alone, you gave it the opportunity to multiply, and now, there must be almost over a hundred of them out there!!” Calvin was now having to step outside into the chaos and panic. Someone had to do something to stop them, and he knew that he was the only one up for the job. Grabbing his pendant, he said one statement.
“Whip up a STORM!”
A small whirlwind soon twirled around the boy as the transformation began to take effect. This time as the Air Skylander named Free Ranger. A Storm Chicken with a pair of blades that can shoot out crescents of wind and also shoot lightning from his eyes. “Fluttershy, stay inside. I’ll take care of the monsters.”
With that, the young boy entered the fray, using the first chance he got to shock the first few chompies that were going at them with a bolt of lightning before attacking some other ones that were trying to bite his newly formed tail feathers. Using his second ability, he formed a small twister by his feet, blowing the enemies away from him before proceeding to attack them again. Now, all the chompies in the area were now focused on him.
“You want a piece of me? Well, come and get it!!”
As he quickly dashed out of town, the chompies followed suit. Ignoring the other ponies in the town to chase after the chicken. When Calvin got far enough, he started to fight using his blades in combination with his lightning and wind abilities. The number of chompies began to decrease over time. But at points when Calvin thought that he was done, a few more continued to keep on popping up. This kept on happening for a few more minutes until he saw the source of the problem.
A Chompy pod that was in a garden behind an elementary school. Along with an earth pony that was trying to scramble to her hooves after the Chompies spawning from it started trying to go for her tail. Calvin quickly tried to hurry on over, attacking the first Chompy and proceeding to take on the others after slicing through the plant pod three times. Another lightning shock took care of the final chompies that were lying around. Turning around, he could clearly see an adult mare and two children.
“T-thank you so much, mister-!” The youngling with what appeared to be a Tiara on her head said to Calvin. Shortly after that though was when he got back to his human form, catching both the kids and the teacher off guard.
“You’re welcome. Hey, do you have any idea how that plant was growing out of control?”
“Umm… No, not really.” The mare said. “We were supposed to be having a class project where you were taking care of a plant for a week-
“I have a small hunch on who’s plant it might’ve been, Ms. Cheerilee,” one of the children said. This one being one with silver glasses and a well brushed mane. “I heard that Apple Bloom and her two friends were going to Appleloosa this weekend. Maybe it was theirs?”
“Let’s not assume just yet, Silver Spoon. Let me go have a look and see.”
As she went to look at the garden both of the little ones trotted over to Calvin and introduced themselves, while he did the same in turn. The two ponies names were Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara; both of them were really grateful for his heroism. As they got to talking a little bit though, Calvin started to notice that they had a certain judgement against this “Apple Bloom” figure.
“Anytime something goes wrong, we know that those three have something to do with it.”
“That doesn’t necessarily mean they’re bad ponies,” Calvin told the two of them, “It just means that they made a couple of bad decisions. You wouldn’t want someone to get on your case when you did something wrong now, right?”
Just when he said that though, all three of them could hear Cheerilee deeply sigh. “… No wonder things got this out of hoof. I should have known.” By her forehoof was the sign that had the names of Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. The three fillies that Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were just talking about recently. However, something seemed off to the boy as he got a little closer. Something unusual stood out in the soil that wouldn’t be commonly seen in a garden such as this one.
They almost looked like…… spines.
“Ms. Cheerilee? Did you happen to see anything like this in your soil when you originally planted these flowers?” He asked, showing the spine.
“N-no. That wasn’t there before.” The teacher said.
“If that’s the case, then I believe I might’ve found your problem,” the human began to explain, “Even though the creatures that you saw look like squeaky toys, Chompies have a full on skeletal structure. This looks like a spine that had been planted in the soil, given the roots that are still stuck to it. Something tells me that the three fillies that you mentioned earlier planted this because they thought it was a seed for a flower. But, as it turns out, it was the exact opposite.”
“So… this was all…?”
“An accident that could’ve been a lot more problematic if left unchecked.” Calvin finished speaking.
“Wait… are you saying that nopony is to blame for this?”
“I highly doubt that Apple Bloom would want to have caused townwide chaos, Diamond Tiara,” Ms. Cheerilee told the filly, “Apple Bloom is a good filly. It’s just that sometimes, she does things with her friends without thinking if something is going to work or not.”
“That’s why the tortoise won in a race against the hare,” Calvin said.
“I’m sorry, what?” Silver Spoon asked, puzzled.
“My bad. What I mean is that ‘slow and steady wins the race’. If you rush something, you’re bound to slip up for it, unlike someone who takes their time in order to do something right the first time.”
“And just when I thought those three learned from that one Hearts and Hooves day…”
Calvin didn’t quite understand what Cheerilee meant by that, but just rolled along with it. Soon, Fluttershy and Discord caught up with him, and the three of them were soon going back to the cottage. That’s when Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon began to talk amongst themselves as they walked away.
“So, Diamond? What do you think of Calvin?”
“Well, he’s okay I guess. Better than those blank flanks. What did you think of him?” The question though caused Silver Spoon’s cheeks to flourish bright red as she looked back at her friend.
“I-i think he’s…… cute.”
Unknown Location
In the darkest corners of the world, a storm was brewing around a floating castle that looked like a haunted mansion. The walls appeared to be close to crumbling, and the sounds of a loud laughter, like a howling hyena, echoed the building as the front doors closed with a loud SLAM!!!
The laughter came from no other than Kaos himself. A dark portal master who was an excellent strategist, but his plans always seemed to fall flat anytime he was close to being successful. Despite this though (and his ongoing hatred for trees), he was as crafty as he was cunning. And... he had just came up with another well thought out plan.
“GLUMSHANKS!!” He called out to his loyal minion, who came hurrying in a few seconds later.
“Yes, Lord Kaos?”
The response though, only got the goblin to receive an angry glare. “What is it with you always calling me “Lord” Kaos all the time Glumshanks? Why haven’t you tried spicing it up a little? The Arkeyan Conquertron referred to me as Emperor when we going after the Iron Fist of Arkus.”
“You’ve known me ever since you were a child, and now you’re asking me this?”
“SILENCE!! I have come up with a remarkable plan for how we will be able to beat the Skylanders!!!”
Glumshanks just raised one of his eyebrows in confusion. “Remarkable as in the sense that we’re going to get a lot of negative criticism for it?”
“On the CONTRARY, Glumshanks. The comments about my newest plan will be overwhelmingly positive!!”
“Well, someone has spent some time with his Thesaurus recently.”
“I don’t even like dinosaurs!!!” The Dark Portal Master yelled as he walked over to his own portal of power. Glumshanks followed him shortly afterwards, and the two of them came to what the portal was presenting to them. It was presenting the historical events of when the skylands was formed over twenty thousand years ago. Huge chunks from numerous islands were pulled into the grounds below, said to have been lost in the endless pit that lied beneath.
“Now, Glumshanks… There's an important reason why I’m looking at these historical events. Can you take a guess why?”
“Honestly, Master, I don’t know why. Why don’t you just tell me-?”
“I’m getting there, FOOL!” Kaos snapped. “During the events that were called “The Reckoning”, massive portions of numerous islands were stripped away. Leaving us with only what we have as of right now. Everything that is known to the Skylands remains afloat because of a invisible web of magic casted from the depths of Mt. Cloudbreak.”
“Master, are you saying what I think you are trying to say?”
“If you are referring to distorting the web, then no. It is impossible to do it. But, I believe that what got pulled into the depths below may be another story. From time to time, I’ve felt massive surges of magic go off down below us, which leads me to believe that there might be a living civilization all the way down there. Or to us… Unclaimed territory. It’s like trying to pick apples. You need to do it when they’re just ripe enough.”
“What are you saying? We’re going to invade an unknown civilization, just like that?”
“Only a fool would do something that reckless and not know what they’re up against. We would first have to do a reconnaissance mission, just to make sure we know what exactly we’re dealing with. And that, Glumshanks, is where you come in.”
The loyal minion swallowed what was in his throat and now looked at Kaos with a worried expression. “M-master?”
“Glumshanks, I want you to take the troll ship that we have in the docks and go down to the surface. Investigate and report back as quickly as possible. Time is of the essence, and if we learn about who and what we’re dealing with, the sooner we can make a passageway to the lands below for our troops.” Kaos told his loyal minion precisely. In was his way of making sure that there were no screw ups in his explanations.
“Am I-I bringing anyone else with me?”
“No, just yourself. If you use the resources in the transport to your advantage, then you should be fine… Why are YOU STILL HERE!?!”
“S-sorry master!” Glumshanks rasped as he ran out the door to the docks. Kaos sighed. If his loyal minion could just follow the simplest of directions, then they possibly might be getting somewhere.
Canterlot
Over the course of the day, Princess Celestia, her sister Luna, and Princess Cadence had felt something strange linger throughout the day. Something like a rift or tear in the magical plane that covered Equestria like a blanket. It might have been brief, but from the moment they felt it, they began to think that something was wrong. It was like when Discord used to cause trouble before becoming reformed, but different.
“Aunt Celestia,” Cadence stated, “I should go over there and make sure that everything is okay. For all we know, Twilight could’ve done a powerful spell on accident and is still trying to clean up the mess it might’ve made.”
“Very well. If you insist,” the solar alicorn replied, “I’ll write her a letter addressing our concerns. In the meantime, you should go see Twilight and have Luna come with you. I need to make sure to return to the courthouse, so I can continue with the sessions of today’s day court.” With that, both Alicorns proceeded to leave the hall of elements as Celestia herself summoned a piece of parchment and quill, beginning to write a letter to her student and fellow princess.
My Faithful Student,
Earlier today; Luna, Cadence and I felt a powerful surge of unknown magic for a brief moment around one o’clock this afternoon. We would like you to look into the matter alongside them since they felt the magic nearby where Ponyville is located. They should be arriving at your Castle momentarily. In the meantime, do the best you can in order to assist them to the fullest in their investigation regarding this matter.
Sincerely,
Princess Celestia
End Scroll 2