Story Shuffle (v.ii) MLP Collectable Card Game

by abrony-mouse

Standing Harmony

Author's Note:

This isn't an ordinary story - it is a synopsis of an MLP episode based on the pony collectable card game elements using the rules set out in the main story page. The words in brackets and the symbols are explained there so you might want to read that first!

The cards that made the story:

First Mane character, character element, character theme and helpful events: Discord – no trouble

Critters (music in treetops)*;Discord - Sneaky snake*; Big mac – bark worse than bite*
Tom – roling rock *2 Defenders of equestria; Sonata Dusk – siren’s call*

• Dilemmas and disruptors

Tough love* , foodfight* Spike – excessive; Squizard*; Starlight glimmer – exposed inequality*; Industrial revolution*

Second Mane character, character element, character theme and helpful events: Octavia – standing ovation

Daisy, lily and roseluck*; Appblebloom - remarkable; Royal peacekeeper*!; Rarity generous pony*; Matilda full of hope*; Dance fever – dancing machine; Fancy pants – respected aristocrat*; Aloe - magic touch*; Braeburn – good seed; Hughbert jellius – sticking around;
Joe – sticky glaze*!; Solo performance; Hearts as strong as horses*; It’s gonna work*

Problems elements (brackets = mane character solving each problem)
2Mob mentality* (Discord) equal or else (Octavia); blankest flanks (Octavia), trading traditions (Discord); Emergency dress order (Discord); Unreasonable demands (Octavia); Utterly transformed (Octavia); pony napped* (Discord)

Misc game elements:Discord was the winner but it was a very close game.

Discord (Discord – mostly harmless) complains that Equestria has not sent a friendship ambassador to the chaos dimension and accuses Celestia of negligently failing to appease a dangerous neighbour (Defenders of equestria) as well as bias against chaotic creatures (Starlight – exposed inequality; Equal or else). Against the advice of her royal guard (Royal peacekeeper) Celestia decides to send a delegation (Rarity -generous pony), but – not knowing much about the chaos realm - she consults Discord on the sorts of creatures that live there and what they would like to see (Trading Traditions).

Discord tells her, truthfully, that chaotic creatures love music and so Celestia decides to send a musical delegation (Octavia – Standing Ovation; Emergency dress order). Discord invites the delegation to the premeire event of the chaos realm’s calendar – the “Great Gallumping Gaga” (Dance fever – dancing machine). What Discord fails to mention (Discord - Sneaky snake) is that the patrons of the Gaga are extremely snooty about harmony – which they see as the height of bad taste (Fancy pants – respected aristocrat). At first all is well as the patrons applaud the soloists (Solo performance) but as the band begin to join in the song (Hearts as strong as horses, Its gonna work, Music in treetops) the crowd begin to praise their talent (Blankest flanks) and some desultory clapping breaks out (Mob Mentality) – a sign of deep disdain in chaos-land.

The ponies stubbornly play on (Hughbert jellius – sticking around) until the crowd become so incensed that they rise to a standing ovation and throw roses onto the stage - equivalent to throwing rotten vegetables in chaos-land (Foodfight; Tom – rolling rock). Some of the more nervous members of the delegation try to bolt (Daisy, lily and roseluck – wilt under pressure). Discord is angry: at the Gaga-goers for not giving harmony a chance and at the ponies who gave up on harmony. He sticks the scared ponies in place (Joe – sticky glaze) and scares the patrons into backing down (Big mac – bark worse than bite). He requests that the ponies try a new piece, which he invents on the spot (Unreasonable demands) and sends them away to learn it.

Most of the musical ponies are unable to comprehend the piece and the frightened fillies from before plan to defy their orders and leave (Industrial revolution). Eventually only one virtuoso, a cellist named Octavia, remains (Braeburn – good seed; Matilda full of hope; Appblebloom - re-markable). Once Discord finds that some of the ponies have left he captures and returns them (Ponynapped), transforming them into instruments for good measure (Utterly transformed; Aloe - magic touch; Tough love; Spike - excessive). Discord produces a few musicians of his own as replacements, including a siren singer (Sonata Dusk – siren’s call) and a squid drummer (Squizard). The show resumes with the virtuoso and replacements. Most of the choas denizens remain unimpressed by the music, but a few give harmony a chance - impressed by Discord's effort to spread harmony in the void.

"How does it go again... ah yes. Dear," Discord begins but is immediately cut off by a flash of magic and the appearance in his home of a funny brown creature with antlers with a familiar wavy mane...
“Yes it is I, Celestia, Princess of the Deers,” she says to an astonished Discord. "And today I learned from my friend Discord that it is when your friends seem most unlike you and when your are least connected, that friendship is most important and the struggle to understand each other is at its most profound." A gobsmacked Discord can only watch as the deer then gaily prances out of his door to a fanfare of transformed musical instruments.