Rise of the Dark Queen

by Black Kyurem

Chapter 7: Discordtopia

"That's right!" Discord stood triumphantly in the Canterlot town square where all the theme parks rides and attractions were littered around. And with the snap of his fingers, the giant sheet covering Princess Celestia's castle came off, revealing that the castle had a shape of Discord's head carved into the top. Below the head flashed the words "Discordtopia" in bright neon letters! "Welcome, ponies, one and all, to Discordtopia, my famous amusement park, named for me of course! Do you like it?" Pinkie Pie gasped in excitement.

"Oh my gosh!" she squealed. "Discord, you outdid yourself! I could live here!"

"You see?" said Discord, grinning from ear to ear. "Your friend Pinkie Pie likes it! Don't you? After all, theme parks are supposed to be fun! Right?" Twilight took a look around and was apparently somewhat unimpressed.

"Well, try telling that to the residents who are supposed to live here!" The rich and sophisticated ponies had been stuck on rides such as roller coasters and tilt-a-whirls and being the socialites they were, they were completely freaking out. And this even included Fancypants and Fleur dis Lee.

"Tch," sneered Discord. "You're just in a rut because you like to disagree with the ever-so-random Pinkie Pie. Admit it."

"That's not true!" snarled Applejack. "Pinkie Pie is our friend!"

"What's this?" said Discord, pretending to be shocked. "Why, Applejack! I'm surprised at you! I thought you never told a lie." Applejack scowled, but Discord merely laughed at this.

"All right, Discord!" snapped Twilight. "This isn't funny anymore! Fix this right now or else!"

"Or else what?" said Discord, his turn to be unimpressed.

"You swore to the princess that you would use your magic for good!"

"Hm? I did, didn't I? Well, I also followed up saying to myself 'most of the time'."

"You...!!"

"Oh please, Twilight Sparkle. I'm afraid I just can't help myself. I am the spirit of disharmony, after all. You should know by now that I'm a complete prankster! Besides, why are you worried about these no-good sophisticated snobs anyway. All I wanted was to show them a little fun! So it's not MY fault their manes are standing up on end."

"They don't deserve this!" insisted Twilight. Discord gave her a very dull stare.

"Okay, seriously, Twilight," he said. "You're starting to get on my nerves. Let me ask you something. What does 'fun' mean to you?"

"What? Well... there's a difference between fun and putting somepony through so much agony!"

"Oh, for the love of Princess Celestia!" snarled Discord. "You think that what I'm doing is agony?!" Discord then pulled out a handkerchief and pretended to be sad. "Oh, Twilight, you're hurting my feelings!" He blew into his handkerchief as Twilight scowled.

"So, it was you this whole time," accused Applejack. "You started that whole 'legendary mark' hooey and set up those innocent fillies, pretending to be this 'Director Q'." Discord shrugged and giggled nervously. "And ah'll bet you irritated those Timberwolves and framed mah sister and her friends!"

"Hm?" Discord looked puzzled. "What are you talking about?"

"Quit playin' mind games with us!" demanded Applejack.

"Come now," snorted Discord. "I admit, I did set up those little fillies, but why would I frame them so they would get... exiled from Ponyville, thus reading my signs... That's not a bad idea, actually."

"How could you?!" screeched Rarity. "You monster!"

"I didn't do it!" insisted Discord. "I only played my part after they were banished from Ponyville. Besides, they became a smash-hit success in Mares In Black, don't you think?"

"All right, that's enough," said Rainbow Dash. "Discord, what have you done with the Princess?!"

"Oh?" said Discord. "Why, she's still inside her castle, of course, but I should tell you that-" But before Discord could finish, Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash charged into the castle. Discord and Pinkie Pie remained behind.

"I wanna ride the roller coaster!" squealed Pinkie Pie. Meanwhile, the other four ponies discovered that the interior of Celestia's castle had been transformed into a giant fun house!

"Oh, man!" said Rainbow Dash. "The princess could be anywhere!" Just then, they heard her screams of fright.

"Princess Celestia!" said Twilight in horror.

"Well," said Discord, showing himself. "I thought she would be a little more enthused. She's the one always calling the Grand Galloping Gala awful."

"Stop this right now!" demanded Twilight.

"What are you going to do, turn me into stone again? Newsflash, my little ponies! It appears that you're one pony short and without her, your Elements of Harmony are useless!" Rainbow Dash then got all up in Discord's face.

"And just what do you know about this?!" she demanded. "Did you turn Fluttershy into that Dark Queen?"

"She's... the Dark Queen?" Discord was actually surprised for real this time, but Rainbow Dash might not have been convinced. "Oh... my poor Fluttershy... lost to the darkness."

"That's right!" said Rainbow Dash. "And don't forget that Fluttershy helped you realize that friendship is more important to you than a bag of tricks!"

"Wait... what? Fluttershy did...? And you...?" Discord suddenly laughed out loud. "Oh my goodness! That was the most side-splitting thing I've ever done in so long! Kindness is truly such a thing that can get in the way of life, isn't it?"

"No..." said Twilight. "Don't tell me... you..."

"Oh, yes I did!" sneered Discord triumphantly. "I faked it! All of it! You honestly thought Fluttershy helped me see the light? You honestly thought I needed a friend? Well, let me remind you. I am the master of chaos! I can do whatever I want! Princess Celestia was a fool to have me set free! She honestly believed she could have me tamed to bend to her will? Friendship means nothing to me! All that matters is that I'm free! Free to unleash all the chaos I want! And this time, your friend Fluttershy will not be here to stop me! She has given in to the darkness!" As Discord laughed a more geniuely evil laugh, Twilight's ears drooped. Unfortunately, it seemed to her and her friends that Discord couldn't be more than right. Fluttershy was Discord's only friend and she was now the Dark Queen terrorizing Ponyville. And without her, the Elements of Harmony were still useless. Not to mention, Princess Celestia was swept up in all the havoc Discord created. Things looked terribly bleak. But then...

"Discord!!" Discord stopped dead in his tracks, as he and the other ponies recognized that unexpected shrill voice. Standing at the entrance to the fun house glaring at Discord, there was Fluttershy, completely restored to normal.

"Fluttershy!" the other four ponies and Spike exclaimed happily.

"No..." stammered Discord. "It's not possible. You... How did you...?" Fluttershy just smiled triumphantly as Princess Luna entered the castle-turned fun house. "The Princess of the Night?! Oh dear... Canterlot being ruled by two princesses completely slipped my mind!"

"Princess Luna!" said Twilight Sparkle. "How did you do it?" Princess Luna smiled warmly.

---

In a flashback sequence, Princess Luna had arrived in Ponyville, having heard of Fluttershy's fall to darkness. She then confronted Fluttershy, who was still the Dark Queen.

"My dear Fluttershy," said Princess Luna. "What has happened to you?"

"That name means nothing to me now," hissed Fluttershy.

"You have only merely believed that kindness is just a tool that takes advantage of you and your life," replied Luna. "Your friends believed you were being too kind, but they were just upset. You must not be ashamed of who you are."

"Quiet!" snarled Fluttershy. "If you oppose me and my reign, I will destroy you too! And not even a princess of Equestria can stand up to my power!"

"We will see," said Luna. Using her magic, Luna highlighted the spot on Fluttershy's cheek that Twilight touched earlier, causing something inside Fluttershy to trigger. The Dark Queen writhed and screamed.

"You are the Element of Kindness," said Luna. "It may not be entirely your destiny, but kindness has always been a part of you. And I have not forgotten what you taught me. Relying on your friends is a sign of strength, not a weakness. If you ever feel that your kindness is taken advantage of, allow your friends to help you, especially if you fear that you will be cruel when standing up for yourself." In a flash of white light, Ponyville was restored to normal, and so was Fluttershy. In tears, Fluttershy threw her front hooves around Princess Luna and cried.

"I'm so, so sorry!" she wept.

"It's all right now, Fluttershy," said Princess Luna, stroking Fluttershy's back. "What matters is that you are yourself again." King Sombra's horn lay on the ground not too far from them. It then cracked and disintegrated into red powder.

---

Now Discord looked positively terrified. Apparently he did not expect Fluttershy to return to her normal self and now realized he was going to pay in full for his prank on Canterlot and seemingly revealing his true colors.

"No!" he pleaded. "Please, no! Fluttershy, I... I'm sorry! I-I didn't mean it! None of it! I just..."

"You've said enough," snarled Fluttershy. "I thought we were friends. But then you told my friends the truth!"

"Fluttershy, here!" said Spike, giving her the Element of Kindness, which then radiated brightly while she donned it. "Okay, we're all here!" he declared. "Let's do this!"

"Wait a minute, y'all," said Applejack. "Where's Pinkie Pie?"

"Wheeeeeeee!!" Pinkie Pie was riding a rollercoaster with a rich pony. "Isn't this exciting?! I'll bet you don't get this chance all that often! You should be feeling free!" The rollercoaster soon stopped to let Pinkie out, but it then took off again with the rich pony still on board. "Have fun for a second time!" Pinkie called out, and then started nibbling on some cotton candy. She eventually found her friends inside the castle fun house, who saw that she had been enjoying Discord's theme park.

"Oh, Pinkie," groaned Twilight.

"Sheesh, what's everypony's problem?" asked Pinkie. The other five and Spike just stared at her. "What, you want me to help take care of Discord? Oh, all right." She swallowed her cotton candy, stick and all, and then joined her friends.

"I think you need a big time-out to think about the things you've done!" said Fluttershy. "And when you decide you're ready to be good for real, let me know!" The six ponies activated their Elements of Harmony and fired a rainbow stream directly at Discord.

"Noooooooo!!" In a white flash, Discord was instantly turned back into stone, but this time, he was frozen in a begging and pleading pose with sad eyes. Fluttershy saw this and started to tear up. Canterlot was then restored to normal and Princess Celestia approached Fluttershy.

"You did what you had to," she said warmly to the heartbroken Pegasus. "But maybe one day, he'll learn his lesson and you will be able to set him free."

Comments

[Mist Shaker]

Like discord will ever show a change of heart.

[Fluttershyisacutegal]

tch