//------------------------------// // Prologue: The Sleepover // Story: The Destiny Propeller // by Zum1UDontNo //------------------------------// “Quiet. “If this day could be described in one word, it would be quiet. “The sky was completely clear, save for a few wispy clouds that the Weather Patrol missed their first time around. The sun was beaming down, not uncomfortably hot, but just enough to remind you of its presence. The blue of the sky was perhaps the purest blue it has been in ages. “As one pony might say: everything was perfect, cheer was filling up the place | And I saw that everypony had a smile upon their face. “And it was true. “This was one of the happiest days in a long time. The Elements were resonating with their bearers, no ponies were going through heartbreak or anger… Even Princess Celestia rose the sun with a spring in her step. “Truly, this was a perfect day. Absolutely nothing could go wrong, right? “It was a perfect day… and I intended on keeping it like that. “For those of you unfamiliar with me (all zero of you), allow me to introduce myself. I am the reason this story exists. I am the savior and/or destroyer of worlds. I am the bringer of fun. “I am… Discord.” “Uhh, Discord? We all know it’s you.” Discord started, looking around. He was in the Crusader’s clubhouse, alongside Apple Bloom, Button Mash, Scootaloo, Spike and Sweetie Belle. He cleared his throat awkwardly. “Ah, right. Sorry, Spike. Just got caught up in the story for a second there.” “Nah, s’fine,” Apple Bloom began. “Ya were jus’ excited to tell it. Ah’ll say, you sure got me wit’ that introDUCKshun, though. Ya really know how ta kick off a-” Discord cut Apple Bloom off and worriedly exclaimed something he had just realized. “Oh, no no no no no! I have just realized! I can’t tell a story like this; there’s no campfire!” Sweetie Belle gave him a flat look in response. “Discord. We’re inside. Having a campfire is asking for trouble. Besides, not all sleepover parties need a campfire, you know. ...Unless… Is this going to be a scary story?” She shuddered and leaned into Button, who looked just as worried as she did. Discord smiled at the scene, before continuing. “I know that, but it still wouldn’t feel right. Here, allow me.” The gloved hand on his tail snapped, and suddenly there was a raging bonfire in the centre of the clubhouse. Everypony present (except Button, who merely stared in shock, and Spike, who wasn’t scared of fire) screamed. Amidst all the panic, nopony noticed that the fire gave off no heat, or that Discord was sitting on the fire as if it were a solid object. “Alright, everypony. Calm down. I assure, this fi-” “WATER, GROUND OR ROCK!” Button yelled at the top of his lungs. “WE NEED ONE OF THOSE THINGS TO PUT OUT THE FIRE!” “Yes, very clever Button, but you see-” “I’VE GOT IT I’VE GOT IT!” Scootaloo ran toward the fire and rapidly began flapping her wings, trying to blow out the fire. Needless to say, it didn’t work. “Quite valiant of you, Scootaloo, but-” BANG! “WHAT IN THE HAY IS GO- WHY IS THERE A FIRE IN THE CLUBHOUSE!?” Applejack barged in, first yelling about the racket and then yelling about the fire. “DISCORD, AH TOLD YA, YA CIN ONLY STAY HERE IF YER ON YER BEST BEHAVIOR! SETTING TH’ CLUBHOUSE ON FIRE AIN’T YER BEST BEHAVIOR!” “ENOUGH!” Everypony stopped their panicking and looked over at Discord, who was wearing the most irritated face imaginable. More than that, even. “How can none of you see that this fire is not a fire?!” Everypony looked confused at that. Apple Bloom tentatively stuck her hoof into the fire, then her whole head. Applejack called out to her, but was surprised to see her completely unharmed. “He’s telling th’ truth, y’all. This fire ain’t a real fire, it’s an illu-shine.” “Illusion.” “What are ya, a dictionary?” Discord breathed a sigh of relief and turned to Applejack. “See? I was never doing anything wrong. Why, I wouldn’t dream of it! They invited me to their sleepover, and I won’t betray their trust!” Applejack squinted at Discord, then sat down. “Alrighty, then. Prove it,” she drawled. Discord looked at her, a question mark in comic sans appearing over his head. “Prove what?” Applejack smirked. “Prove to me that you were on your best behavior, by doing what you were gonna do before I came in.” Discord smirked right back, then laughed. After a few moments, he explained. “I was busy setting up the mood for the story. No story is complete without a fire. ...And no, Sweetie Belle. It won’t be a scary story. You can keep leaning into Button if you want, though.” Sweetie Belle and Button both breathed a sigh of relief, before looking at each other. It was only after a few seconds that they realized how close they were, and they quickly scooched apart, faces burning. Discord, while amused by the embarrassment they shared, was slightly disappointed in their separation. “Oh, come now. I said you could keep leaning into him if you wanted to.” Around them, reactions were varied. Sweetie Belle’s face was as red as Apple Bloom’s mane. Apple Bloom herself was trying to hold back giggles, alongside Applejack. Scootaloo had long since given up the battle and was lying on her back, laughing hysterically. Button’s face was a mixture of mortification, fear and a strange kind of hope. Spike was busy stuffing both claws in his mouth to keep his mirth back. Once they had gotten over their embarrassment, Sweetie and Button glared at Discord. Discord smiled sweetly and spoke even sweeter, like a voice of poisoned honey. “You can’t blame me for teasing you. I mean, it’s so obvious that you’re both madly in love with each other-” they both flinched at that, their faces shining a brighter red than ever before- “and I’m just doing my part to help. ...Oh, dearest me. Did I happen to say that out loud?” Once her throat worked again, the white unicorn squeaked out, “Y-you don’t know that! You’re the Spirit of Chaos, n-not love!” Discord chuckled to himself, albeit a little quieter and more forced than normal. He paused a small amount before saying, “Ah, my little pony. Sure, I don’t have Ukuthatheka’s powers of romance, but I know love when I see it.” He stopped as he saw everypony except Spike looking at him in confusion, and elaborated. “Ukuthatheka, just so you know, is my cousin, the Spirit of Love and Lust. She’s more commonly known as her preferred name, Attraction.” Spike continued for him. “Ukuthatheka, or Attraction, is a fellow Draconequus. There are multiple Draconequus, but they all have two things in common; their born name is much more complex than their preferred name, and they’re all the spirit of something good and something bad. From what I recall, Discord here represents both Fun and Chaos.” “You’re quite right on that one, Spike. I prefer to go by Spirit of Chaos, since Spirit of Fun is rather cheesy, and not quite detailed enough. ...For those of you wondering, my born name is Sokwahlukana. Have fun remembering that.” Applejack let out a low whistle. “Whoa, Nellie… Wasn’t expecting that one. ...So, uh… What happened to this Uk… Uku… ...Attraction?” Discord suddenly frowned and looked away. When he spoke next, his voice was low and hollow. “...Ukuthatheka was an amazing Draconequus, and always my favorite. She was the closest thing to a friend I ever had… And if I hadn’t been so shy back then, I would have been able to tell her…” He sighed loudly. “Her powers of romantic observation didn’t work on other Draconequus, so she wouldn’t know unless I told her... Now it’s too late. Ever since then, I’ve tried pushing her memory to the back of my head. Just thinking about her is painful… Not just her loss, but the knowledge that I missed my only chance to… to...” He closed his eyes and turned away. Everypony in the room went deathly silent, the dropping tears of a Draconequus being the only sound. It was as if a switch was suddenly thrown, and they realized Discord had lost a lot more than they knew. And the whole time, she never knew… Button got up and wrapped his forearms around Discord’s leg. Opening his eyes in surprise, he looked down with a questioning glance, although he made no motion to remove Button. Button simply leaned into Discord’s body, as if his presence there could help, could somehow cure the mixmatched creature’s mixmatched heart, or at least help it to beat again. Which it did. Everypony else got up and crowded around Discord, communicating their emotions without words. He knew they were sorry for him, and they knew he knew. The fact that ponies other than Fluttershy were showing such emotion for him was almost too much for him to take. He sniffed, and whispered a quiet “thank you.” Two simple words, but they held so much meaning. For the first time in a very long time, he felt completely at peace. Eventually, they stepped away. Discord sniffed again, and a scrapbook appeared. Sorting through it, Discord spoke again: “As far as I know, she was the only Draconequus who suffered this fate. All the others were fine… unfortunately. “You see, not all Draconequus were good. I’m sure you know that; I was quite the bad apple myself. I’m sure you’re appreciate the analogy… But, one Draconequus stood out to me as the worst. It may have been simple rivalry, but I remembered him as pure evil. His name, both born and preferred… is Monotony.” Button gasped and jumped up, smiling and shouting. “Ooh, ooh! I know him! That’s the guy I defeated and saved the world from!” Everypony was, quite understandably, rather surprised by this information. Button had saved the world from somepony? Discord and Sweetie Belle were the only ones who didn’t react in shock. Discord laughed for a few seconds before clearing his throat; Sweetie Belle just smiled and started to lean into Button, but then looked at Discord and decided against it. “No, Button’s not lying,” he assured everypony. “He really did save the world from Monotony. That’s actually the story I wanted to te- oh, goodness me! I completely forgot about why we were here! The story! “Okay, enough time has wasted, the fire- I can’t believe that caused all this- is ready, and everypony is present. You can listen if you want, Applejack. Now, I’ll begin. This story took place back before I was reformed. In fact, I was still a statue. No questions, Apple Bloom, I’ll explain. Now, like I said, it happens while I was a statue. As you also know, it involves Button Mash. I suppose I chose him because, well… Button, you reminded me of myself.” Discord raised a paw to Button’s mouth to block a question. “Admit it, Button. You’re fun. You don’t really care what others think of you. You do what you do because it’s what you want to do, and because it’s what you think/know is best. Asides from the obvious physical differences and your lack of desire to conquer all of Equestria, you're really quite similar to me. How fortunate for you. “Anyway, I chose you because of these reasons, and for one more reason; your passion. You loved video games, and still do, in fact. That’s a powerful passion. I knew it would be good for what I had in mind.” Scootaloo was getting annoyed by Discord’s rambling, sidetracking and stalling. She decided to cut straight to the chase. “Discord, stop rambling, sidetracking and stalling and just cut straight to the chase!” Discord laughed, and happily obliged. “Of course, my mistake. Now, I was a statue, so I asked somepony close to me to help out. Screwball. A creature of pure chaos; my finest creation. “Just so you know, she’s pinkish, with a purple and white mane, and vortex swirly eyes. The important thing, however, is what she wore on her head. The Destiny Propellor. A propellor beanie, a chaotic device of my own creation. It takes a pony's passion and special talent, and manifests it into reality. It’s sort of like a unicorn’s horn for non-unicorns. Screwball already had a bunch of chaos magic in her, so the beanie only increased her power. Because of this, I was able to have her remove it to give it to another, while still allowing her to keep her powers. “This was important for my plan. I needed to give that beanie to somepony, so they could do what I cannot and save Equestria while letting Screwball follow them, to make sure they don’t abuse their power. “But who? If I gave it to one with dark intentions, such as Trixie or Diamond Tiara, they would abuse its power and I would be forced to have Screwball take it back. If I gave it to one of the Princesses or one of the Elements, I would be helping a former enemy. If I gave it to a pony with a… Let’s say “weaker” passion, like Donut Joe, it would go to waste. Even if I found a pony who was none of these things, they could easily refuse to wear the beanie on fashion grounds. I needed somepony who would be both worthy and willing. Button Mash was the best candidate, what with his good heart, strong passion and, let’s say ‘accepting’ fashion sense. “Alright, now all the exposition’s out of the way! The story itself. Button, I know you and Sweetie already know most of this… but bear with me. I’m sure the others are also willing to hear it. Now, here we go. This is how Button Mash saved Equestria from Monotony..."