Sugarcoat let out a soft, annoyed grunt as she walked through the hedge maze outside Canterlot Castle. She had noticed a bit of activity in the area as she was walking by, and had intended to only glance into the labyrinth for a few moments before continuing on. She certainly hadn't expected to get lost that quickly, and yet here she was with no clue where the entrance she'd walked into had gone. She made a mental note to herself to ask Princess Celestia for the address of the ponies who had made the maze so she could give them a piece of her mind, but that would obviously have to wait until she found the exit.
Sugarcoat groaned again as she turned a corner, a corner she was certain she'd already turned before. As she trudged her hooves through the dirt, her ears perked. There were sounds coming from the end of this corridor. Voices, although she couldn't make out what they were saying or who they belonged to. At this point, any change from the solitary searching was welcome, so she took off down the path as quickly as her hooves would take her.
The sight that greeted Sugarcoat was stranger than anything she'd seen since being transported to this world. Gone was the soil that had covered the rest of the maze's ground, replaced with a fine white powder. Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be sugar. Sugarcoat resisted the temptation to lift a hoof and lick the sugar from it as she gazed over the clearing.
"Do you like this little oasis?" a haunting voice asked suddenly.
"Actually it's kind of annoying," Sugarcoat responded, eyes darting left and right in an attempt to locate the source of the voice. "It's a gigantic waste of sugar and it's going to attract tons of ants. Whoever made this section of the maze really needs to have their pay docked." Sugarcoat was not about to be pushed around by some disembodied voice.
"So cold and blunt..." the voice called out, almost mocking the unicorn. The sugar towards the end of the enclosure began to swirl, gathering together and gradually forming the shape of a large pony head. The sweet creation grinned a toothy grin at Sugarcoat. "Such an abrasive tongue...I do hope you know the effect such bluntness has on your friends."
"My friends?" Sugarcoat asked. As if in response, the field of sugar around her began to rise up, forming the shapes of familiar ponies. Color began to drip into the pony forms to accent them further.
"I can't believe Sugarcoat would say that to me..." the grainy form of Twilight Sparkle said sadly, her voice surprisingly authentic. "I try to be nice to her and all she does is hurt my feelings and tell me I'm not smart..." She sniffled pitifully, leaning into the orange pony next to her.
"It's okay, Twi," the false Applejack said. "She says the same things to me too."
"To all of us," the impostor Rarity said. She also moved to console Twilight, who had begun to cry sugary tears.
"We're just trying to be her friends..." fake Pinkie Pie moaned.
"And all she does is push us away," Fluttersugar sighed.
"Well if she's gonna be like that to us, then we don't need her!" the fake Rainbow Dash said, crossing her grainy forelegs. The others all grumbled and agreed, throwing out little barbs about their shattered friendship with Sugarcoat.
"Aww..." the giant head cooed, staring Sugarcoat down. "Look where your bluntness has gotten you...sometimes it's just easier to be less honest, isn't it?" The head's eyes began to swirl, but Sugarcoat seemed unfazed.
"They're more like acquaintances," Sugarcoat said plainly. "If they can't take the way I talk to them, then they need to grow backbones." The head looked surprised that it hadn't gotten to her, but wouldn't let up.
"Surely you can't really feel that way," the head sneered. "You spend so much time with them."
"Who cares?" Sugarcoat asked. "I'm spending time with you right now and you certainly aren't my friend. If you think I care about them, you're more stupid than you look. And considering you're a giant head made out of sugar, that's saying something."
The head frowned, letting all of the pony forms melt back into the ground. Its form began to swirl once more, a creepy laugh echoing in the clearing as it began to take the form of a horribly mismatched creature. The mishmash of claws, talons, and horns cackled as it colored itself in, staring down at Sugarcoat.
"You're a tough egg to crack, aren't you?" Discord asked. He snapped his fingers, and an egg colored like Sugarcoat appeared in his lion paw. With one quick motion, he crushed it in his grip.
"Eww...now why in the world did I do that?" Discord asked nopony in particular as he waved his dripping hoof in the air. "I guess the yolk is on me, hm?" He let out a guffaw, clutching his stomach in mirth. After a few moments, he stopped, noticing that Sugarcoat was not laughing. He let out a little hmph. "No respect for comedy in this one."
"I laugh at funny things," Sugarcoat stated.
"Oh, you are a card," Discord said, flipping a deck of cards in Sugarcoat's direction. The queen of hearts landed in front of her, its face replaced with hers. "But never mind that. We've got other business to attend to." He poofed a briefcase into existence, opening it up to reveal a number of headshots of Twilight and the others. "You're saying that these ponies aren't your friends?"
"They're not bad," Sugarcoat said. "But they're not my friends." Discord quickly turned away from Sugarcoat, pointing the tip of his tail at her.
"Then perhaps I'm approaching this from the wrong direction," Discord said, his face appearing on his tail. "Let's flip the script a bit." With a level of agility surprising for a creature of his size, Discord did a quick flip, landing to face Sugarcoat. "Perhaps this will have a bigger effect." A snap of his talon opened a portal in the air in front of Sugarcoat's face, and what she saw made her jaw drop.
"I'm so glad she's gone," Sunny Flare said, relaxing in Sugarcoat's old dorm. "Wasn't she so annoying?"
"Totes," Lemon Zest replied. "The way she was always insulted everyone all the time? Such a pain."
"She wasn't awful," Sour Sweet said gently. Then she sneered. "She was worse!"
"I bet you're especially glad she's gone, huh?" Sunny asked, looking to Indigo Zap. "She was your roommate. You had to deal with her like ten times more than we did." All eyes turned to Indigo, who was sitting on Sugarcoat's bed. She smirked lightly.
"She really shouldn't have lost her grip on my hand," Indigo said in a mocking fashion. The girls laughed and laughed.
The portal closed, leaving Sugarcoat stunned, mouth hanging open.
"Ohh, how sad," Discord moaned, holding out a handkerchief. "That's just the effect your bluntness has on others, isn't it? You should really cut that out." He reached over and dabbed a tear from Sugarcoat's eye, and as he did so, her colors began to dull, spreading from the point of contact until she was left a bland gray.
"It's okay, little Sugarcoat," Discord cooed. "You won't have to worry about that anymore."
Oh snap. The Sugarcoat has gotten rekt.
Yikes! Discord sure knows how to push buttons. Something tells me he's going to be in for it when Sugar Coat's friends catch up to him.
Then she promptly starts beating him over the head with his human counterpart.
Meh, I was expecting Sugarcoat to give Discord advice. Not that he would have accepted such advice, but if she gave Discord blunt truthful advice that Discord did not take, then it would be his own problem.
Having all the common sense in the world can't save you from the being that lacks any sense at all.
It would be cool if Sugarcoat managed to beat Discord to a bloody pulp before Twi and the girls do their thing.
You would think Sugarcoat would have seen Discord's ploy immediately after he tryied to sway her with the fake Mane Six. . .(shrugs)
AAAAAAHHH ITS BACK! Proceeding to read.
Edit: Oh my gosh. Discord...da'fck? I mean...holy crap, that was cruel...but he did actually manage to get to Sugarcoat, so that's a thing.
First off, yay it's back.
Second, oooohhhh dear. Shit is going to go down.
(What the hay would a Discorded Sugarcoat even look like?)
Eep. That won't be easy to fix.
This is gonna be epic...
Welp, my body is ready. I wonder if Discord actually knows about the human world, or if he's just pulling her memories to make a scene that'll discord her. I guess that makes Sugarcoat weaker than Fluttershy, too. Discord DID have to basically blunt force discord her.
A lot of people think Blueblood was responsible for it because his Cutie Mark can be a cartographer's symbol
Okay, I only have two things to say...
1. I didn't actually expect Discord to get to Sugarcoat, but that was very well played! I applaud him! Also, I applaud Sugarcoat for being able to resist him that first time!
2. Please, oh please, tell me that Sugarcoat not-so-secretly ships Fluttershy and Discord in the same way she ships Rainbow Dash and Applejack...
6597720 Even if he hadn't been able, he could've turned her by force, like he did with Fluttershy.
6597699 Yeah. A bit strange that she believed it. But perhaps it just emotionally affected her too strongly because unlike the ponies she does think of those as friends. Or something.
Poor Sugarcoat! If this fic goes beyond Discords reformation, I'll bet she really lets him have it.
6597690 there's always part 2.
6597726 maybe something compared to happy happy sunshine and flowers?
Ouch!
6597951
Naw Sugarcoat is Discorded. All she can do is kick the statue at the end and say what a jerk he is.
As she is now, she is very close to Discorded AJ. That is no fun.
Nice to see that even if she apparently knows all about what's going down here, Sugarcoat isn't infallible. If that is the case, though, I'm a little surprised she believes a word Discord says for even a second, as she must be fully aware of what he's trying to do. (Unless this is all part of the plan that might only exist in my own head?)
On the other hand? Discorded Sugarcoat. Anticipation ensues.
6597953
Go f yourself.
6599641 *plays the flute* >:3
6599650
*Narrows eyes*
We've got the music, makes you move it
Got the song that makes you lose it
We say "jump", you say "how high?"
Put your hands up to the sky
Isn't this just painful to read?
6599672 nope!
6599676
To sing?
i wonder will discorded sugarcoat dance around every issue and never get to the point?
Good to see something get under Sugarcoat's skin. The whole "solve an episode's problems with meta knowledge" was making her fairly one note.
Shit, Discord was not holding back with her...
Is it bad I'm checking every half hour for an update? I'm just so excited!
Wait what
I forgot just how unnerving Discord screwing with ponies' heads was.
I did not see that coming. I guess Sugarcoat really does have a heart; not that it helps her in this case.
6600598 I'll say. Call me cruel, but this is a nice change of pace.