Chapter Thirteen: A World in Chaos! Discord's Twisted Games begin!
Chapter Thirteen: A World in Chaos! Discord's Twisted Games Begin!
"OOOH, I like that title! It gives off a nice little 'What's it mean?' kind of vibe!" Discord chuckled, snapped his fingers, and conjured a floating 'Foreshadowing' sign. Bage grit his teeth, wanting to knock the smug look off of Discord's ugly muzzle, but he knew it wouldn't do any good. Discord was simply too fast for him to hit; it would be like Rainbow Dash trying to race her own shadow.
"Oh come now, Bage, wipe that look off your face. I know what's going through that little brain of yours. You want to sock me one, give me a big shiner-" Discord made his eye turn purple, giving off a light glow "-just so you can take out some of your anger. But I'm afraid you'll have to wait for that. You see, I've been waiting for this for over a thousand years, and I'm not going to let a little chimp with anger issues get in the way of me finally getting to let loose. If you want to beat me, you'll have to play along just like the others." Bage could feel his anger boiling over, imagining all the ways he could turn Discord into a puddle.
"Oh, believe me, I'm gonna do a lot more than that. I don't have time to deal with your bull-" Bage grimaced, biting back the intended word when he noticed Discord's coy smile "-honkey right now. As I'm sure you're aware, I just lost someone close to me, and I'm not in the mood to play around." Discord grinned, his eyes lighting up with mischievous intent. His mind raced with ideas, each one more hilarious than the last.
"Oh yes, I'm more than aware. It's actually why I'm free in the first place. The last time there was a death in Equestria, the Windigos were still around. See, I couldn't help but overhear your little discussion with 'Dryce' here, and I'm intrigued by these 'wish orbs,' and I want to see them for myself. The power to grant any wish is quite impressive, something I could have done if the sisters hadn't ruined my fun." A cartoony image of Celestia and Luna wearing 'Party Pooper' t-shirts popped into existence, as a tiny crayon rainbow blasted the cartoon Discord, turning him to stone. Twilight and the others looked at each other, confused but on edge. Dryce, meanwhile, wasn't sure what to make of any of it. He cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention.
"Sorry, but how exactly did you overhear our conversation, when you were nowhere near us?" Discord wrapped around Dryce's body, resting his elbow on Dryce's head.
"Now that, my dear frost demon, is a trade secret. In a way you can understand, I am Discord, spirit of chaos and disharmony, so I can essentially do whatever I please. That includes-" Bage shot a blast at Discord's head, which he avoided by sucking his head into his body, but it did interrupt him.
"Turning the very fabric of reality into his own personal ball of yarn. I read all about you, and I asked Celestia about you as well. You terrorized Equestria over a thousand years ago, and you enjoy causing ponies suffering for your own twisted amusement." Discord popped his head back out, frowning.
"Yes, I suppose that sums it up beautifully, although it's rude to interrupt people. If your parents were still alive I'm sure they'd be disappointed in you." Bage about popped a blood vessel at that, the urge to turn Discord into a pretzel becoming harder to ignore. "As I was saying, yes, I can play with reality like a foal with a rubber ball. But I can also mess with time, space, gravity, and all the other laws of physics, whenever reality needs to tap out." Discord snapped his fingers, making a wrestling ring appear, as another Discord had an animated instance of the word 'reality' in a chokehold, as it tapped frantically to ask for mercy. Another snap caused it to disappear. "I can't pull reality apart too much, or might not spring back. Time and space, on the other hand, are much more hardy. Gravity is even more so. I can do as I please with gravity, and it hardly minds! As for your question, I simply dropped a line." He pulled a line down from a passing cotton candy cloud, as it gave off little sparks of electricity, traveling along a winding path to another Discord, pulling wires and plugging them into other points on a large wall of wires. "Aaah, the days of operators. Simply plop in a bit, and you can call anyone in the multiverse. Very handy, they were. Of course, they had an upcharge of five bits for anything past dimension █████████-Alpha. Thankfully I never had to make a call that far, mostly because that dimension sucks." Discord unwrapped himself from around Dryce, flying over to Bage and resting on his hair. "As for you, Mr. Saiyan, I have to say I do enjoy the chaos you've caused simply by being here. You cause chaos without even trying. Very impressive, if I do say so myself. And I do!" Bage swung at Discord, and to his credit, he managed to hit him, but Discord simply shattered into a flock of butter-flies, those being flies made of butter.
"Do you have a mute button? I would really love to smash it into dust if it means shutting you up. What are you even planning, anyway?!" Discord rolled his eyes, before teleporting next to a display board.
"Well, if you must know. I USED to have a mute button, but I sold it for a golden backscratcher. As for your second question, I suppose I've kept you all waiting long enough. To put it simply, I've teleported the elements of harmony to a remote location, and if you want to find them and defeat me, you'll have to pass a series of trials. Trials that I've perfectly crafted to push your core values to their limits. Dryce will be exempt, of course, since he was just hit by the elements, and therefore I couldn't do anything to him even if I wanted to. The rest of you, however, will have to participate. The rules are simple-" Discord snapped his fingers, causing Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy to lose their wings, and Twilight and Rarity to lose their horns. Bage also felt as if all of his energy had been drained from his body, and he fell to his hands and knees "-Flying and magic are banned, as well as ki abilities. No cheating allowed, unless it's done by me. In addition, all of you must play, or you lose. And I win. Does everyone understand?" Bage growled as he struggled to push himself to his feet, undoing his weighted armor and clenching his fists. "Perfect! Now, just as a show of good faith, should you all win and find the elements, I'll help you start your journey to Namek. After all, I'm not heartless. If there's nothing else, LET THE TRIALS BEGIN!" Discord snapped his fingers, causing the entire group to be transported to another area. Bage looked around and saw that they were in a massive room with doors all around them, 6 in total.
Bage (Power Drained) Power Level: 250
Discord lowered himself down on a small platform, holding a large lollipop with a wire attached to it, running up to a large speaker. "Fillies, and gentle-saiyan, welcome to the Trials of the Six! Behind these doors are a series of challenges, meant to test your very selves, the harmonic principles that make you who you are! Only one of you can enter each door, except for Bage. You may choose which of your 'friends' you wish to accompany. However, you can only choose one, and once you enter their door, you can't leave until they finish their trials. Understand?" Bage scowled but nodded. "Wonderful! With that, please go through the doors adorned with your cutie marks. Bage, choose who you shall accompany. Farewell, and good luck! You'll need it." Discord snapped his fingers and disappeared, leaving the group alone.
"When I get ahold of him, and I can actually hit him, I'm going to make him beg to be turned to stone," Bage spat as he cracked his knuckles, the popping sounds reverberating throughout the room. "I guess I'll head with you Twilight, you're the de facto leader of our little group." Twilight nodded, but Rainbow Dash scoffed.
"Hey, what about us?" She stamped her hoof in protest.
"What about you? It doesn't matter who I go with, I'm too weak to be of any help. The only one I'm stronger than is Fluttershy, and that's only just barely." Bage reached into his pocket and pulled out his scouter, placing it on. "It's been a while since I've used this, haven't really needed to." He hit the button to turn it on, and it let out a series of beeps.
Scouter Online
Detecting Power Levels
6 Power Levels Detected
"Cool, it still works. Let's see, what's everyone's power level?" He panned it over each of them, scanning their power level.
Rainbow Dash Power Level: 450
Applejack Power Level: 620
Rarity Power Level: 255
Fluttershy Power Level: 175
Twilight Power Level: 920
Pinkie Pie Power Level: Error
"Huh, Pinkie Pie just gave an error message. I guess I shouldn't be surprised," Bage muttered, tapping the button a few more times, but getting the same reading.
"So what's that thing say about our power levels? I bet I'm the strongest." Rainbow Dash rubbed her chest, smirking.
"Actually, you're the third strongest, after Applejack, at 450." Rainbow deflated at that.
"Aw come on."
"Applejack is at 620, Twilight is the strongest at 920."
"WHAT?! The egghead is stronger than me? No fair, she doesn't even work out!" Bage shook his head.
"Your power level isn't determined by raw strength. It's determined by your innate power. Twilight is the highest due to her latent magical abilities. If it makes you feel any better, you're the highest of any pegasus I've seen." She perked up a little at that. "Rarity is at 255, and Fluttershy is at 175. That's actually around the average for unicorns and pegasi." Twilight tilted her head at that.
"If those are the average for unicorns and pegasi, what's the average for earth ponies?"
"300, give or take. I haven't had the opportunity to scan many earth ponies, so I don't have much to go off of," Bage replied. "Anyway, we should get going, the sooner we get this done, the better. As they all walked to their doors, Bage looked back at the room, just barely seeing something duck out of sight behind a pillar. Just as he was about to run out and confront whatever it was, the door closed. 'What the hell was that?'
---------------------------------------------
Trial of Honesty: Applejack
As the door creaked shut behind her, Applejack found herself standing in an expansive apple orchard that seemed to stretch endlessly. The vast landscape mirrored Sweet Apple Acres, only on an unprecedented scale. Rows of apple trees extended as far as the eye could see, each one an exact duplicate of the next. Applejack trotted through the seemingly endless orchard, marveling at the eerie uniformity of every tree, from the placement of apples to the intricacies of their leaves and even the texture of the bark.
"This just ain't natural. Each tree should be unique!" Applejack mused aloud, her brow furrowing as she examined the flawless apples that lay scattered on the ground after a swift buck to one of the trees. They were impeccable, lacking any imperfections or blemishes that usually marked the fruit she was accustomed to harvesting. A sense of unease settled over her. "I'm gettin' a bad feelin' 'bout this place, it's all wrong."
"Oh, as if you could do better?!" a voice retorted from behind. Startled, Applejack spun around to find an exact replica of herself, stetson and all, except completely devoid of color. "I'll have ya know I planted every single one of these trees, by mahself. No help at all, and it only took me an hour, hour and a half tops."
Applejack's ear twitched, a telltale sign that her honed instincts for honesty were tingling. "Really, ya'll planted all of these here trees, by yerself, with no help? In an hour? I don't believe ya."
The Apple clone scoffed and kicked her hoof, creating a small cloud of dust. "You callin' me a liar?! I've never lied in my whole life, not once."
Another itch, another lie. "Now I know that's a lie. Heck, I've told a few lies of mah own, I ain't proud of 'em, but I still told 'em." Appleclone laughed, shaking her head.
"Well, I guess I'm just a better wielder of honesty than, miss fibber!" The persistent itch intensified with every word, as if the very air was tainted with deceit. "In fact, I figure that iffin I were to walk out there, our friends wouldn't even notice the difference. Matter of fact, how do I know YOU ain't the clone? Everypony knows the real Applejack wouldn't lie, not once in her whole life. Maybe you should stay here, with all yer fake apple trees, and yer lies." Applejack stamped her hoof in frustration.
"Now hold on there, I ain't no liar, and I'm the real Applejack. Yer the fake here!"
"There's another lie. Ya'll just said you told a few lies, so you are a liar. Now yer just lyin' to yerself." Unbeknownst to Applejack, Discord was watching from above, puppeteering the fake Applejack while using his magic to corrupt the real Applejack.
The frustration within Applejack intensified with every word her doppelganger spoke. The itching had become unbearable, spreading from her ear to every inch of her body. It was an itch she couldn't scratch, a maddening discomfort that crawled beneath her skin. "I AIN'T NO LIAR! YER THE ONE SPEWIN' ALL THE LIES!"
"And now yer yellin'? That's a sign of a liar, caught in a lie. Just fess up now, 'fore ya go gettin' yerself any deeper." The itching reached its peak, tormenting her from hooves to muzzle, a relentless reminder of her internal struggle.
"No, I ain't a liar, I ain't!" The itching only intensified, and Applejack mentally begged for respite. "I swear I ain't a liar, please just make it stop!"
"Iffin ya want it to stop, just admit yer lyin' and it'll all be over." Applejack looked up, her skin crawling.
"Ya promise?" Applejack nodded. "Alright, fine. I'm... a liar. I've been lyin' this whole time." Discord grinned.
"And just what exactly have you lied about?" Applejack felt the itching receding.
"Everything, I didn't plant all those trees, and I didn't do it by mahself. I ain't even real, I'm just a fake, and I don't deserve to bear Honesty." A wave of grey covered Applejack's body as Discord's magic took effect, washing away every aspect of herself that made her honest. The clone dissipated, leaving Applejack alone, tears streaming down her face in the desolate orchard that seemed to echo with the weight of her revelation.
--------------------------------------------------
Trial of Laughter: Pinkie Pie
Pinkie Pie entered the room with boundless excitement, her eyes widening at the vibrant display of balloons and festive decorations that adorned the space. The door closed behind her, muffling the sounds of the outside world, and she couldn't help but marvel at the spectacle laid out before her.
"OOOOH, look at all the balloons, and the party decorations! What's the occasion?" Pinkie exclaimed, her voice resonating with pure enthusiasm. However, the response she received was a huff from behind. Turning around, she spotted a figure seated at a distant table – a grey version of herself, with hair hanging down like a heavy curtain, concealing her face.
"Hi me! Why so gloomy? You're at a party, you can't be sad at a party!" Pinkie cheerfully addressed her gloomy counterpart, who glanced at her but remained silent. Undeterred, she continued, "Come on, turn that frown upside down! Look at all the balloons, and the streamers, and the cake!" Pinkie pointed towards a colossal cake with layers covered in decadent chocolate buttercream frosting. "Doesn't it look amazing?" Pinkie Pie wiped the drool off her face, gazing at herself.
"No," came the despondent reply.
"No? What do you mean 'no'? This place is great!" Pinkie expressed her surprise, but Sad Pinkie Pie shook her head and pointed to a list on the table. Curious, Pinkie leaned over to read it, discovering a list of invitees with x's marked next to each name – her friends' names at the top.
"I invited all our friends, and all of Ponyville, but nopony showed up," Sad Pinkie revealed, casting a shadow over the festive atmosphere. Pinkie frowned in response.
"Oh, I'm sure they had good reasons. They're all busy, and they can't drop everything for a party all the time," Pinkie reassured, though a small nagging feeling lingered in the back of her mind, elusive yet persistent. "Besides, the next time you throw a party, they'll all show up, and say how sorry they were that they missed this party, and then they'll party even harder!"
"This is the fifth time I've thrown a party like this, and nopony showed up at any of them. They all said they would, but then they didn't," Sad Pinkie sighed, resting her head on the table and absentmindedly drawing circles with her hoof. "Nopony wants to come to my parties anymore, so that means they don't want to be my friends anymore." Pinkie sat down next to herself, the nagging feeling intensifying.
"That's not true! Everypony loves your parties! Just because a few didn't work out, doesn't mean you should give up!" Pinkie cried, attempting to push aside the growing discomfort. "We spread laughter to everypony in Ponyville, it's our special talent!" Yet, with each word, the nagging feeling spiked.
"Then where are your friends, if everypony loves your parties? Some friends they are," Sad Pinkie muttered. Pinkie could feel the nagging feeling escalating, her head filling with an inexplicable heaviness, not the sugary lightness she was accustomed to. "It seems like they abandoned you, just like they abandoned me."
"They didn't abandon me! They had to go and do their own trials, just like I'm doing!"
"Are they? Or is that just what they told you, to get you to go away?" Sad Pinkie lifted her head, revealing a viewing window where her head had been. Pinkie peeked inside to witness her friends, minus herself, talking and laughing without her.
"I can't believe Pinkie actually fell for that! Trials of the Six? Come on, it's so obvious that was fake!" Rainbow Dash laughed, setting off a chain reaction of amusement around the table.
"Darn tootin'! Pinkie's never been too bright, but I figured she'd'a figured it out quicker than this!" Rarity struggled to contain her laughter.
"Oh, the poor dear is probably still wandering around that room, looking for us! I wish I could see it!" Fluttershy giggled quietly.
"I can actually get a word in edgewise, since she isn't here. I never liked how loud her parties were. It's nice to not have to get dragged away from my animals, off to some party she's thrown together, for some reason or another." Twilight gasped for breath, joining in the laughter.
"She didn't even question it when Discord teleported us. Even a unicorn foal could've seen that was an illusion!" Bage howled with laughter, drowning out the other five.
"That pink dope is probably stuck in a cake somewhere anyway, she won't even notice we ditched her! Good riddance!" Bage barked, holding his chest.
As the illusionary image faded, Pinkie felt as if every word was stabbing her heart, twisting and tearing. Tears streamed down her face as the nagging feeling had grown into a roar. "They... really just ditched me? This was all a trick? But I thought... I..." With the sound of a balloon deflating, Pinkie's hair fell flat, a wave of grey washing over her, drowning out the laughter that she had held so dear.
"Aww, poor Pinkie Pie. And here I thought Laughter made you happy?" Pinkie looked up, seeing a balloon with a face on it staring at her.
"Not anymore." She plopped her head down onto the table, soaking the list of names with her tears.
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Trial of Generosity: Rarity
As the door behind her clicked shut, Rarity took the time to admire her surroundings. It was a lavish and well-decorated parlor, with a number of ponyquins adorned with half-finished dresses and suits. "These look quite inspired; I wonder why they've been abandoned. Surely there's somepony here that I can ask." She walked by the ponyquins and saw a door slightly ajar, the sounds of a sewing machine echoing from within. She pushed the door open, looking around for the source of the sound. "Hello? Is there anyone there?" A low mumbling was coming from a hunched figure, as they frantically pushed a strip of fabric through the sewing machine.
"It has to be perfect, have to make it perfect; it's not perfect. They think they can take it all from me; I'll show them, I'll show them all. It's mine, mine I tell you, all mine, nopony else's, mine." Rarity cautiously approached the figure, reaching a hoof out to tap them on the shoulder. The figure froze before turning to look at her. Rarity gasped when she saw that under the figure's ratty and patchy cloak... was her. Her once glorious mane had become disheveled and grey, and her eyes had bags beneath them. "What do you want?! You want to steal my designs? Steal my work?! Well, you can't; it's my work, MINE! YOU HEAR ME?!" Rarity fell back, the sheer intensity of the glare her duplicate was giving her freezing her in place.
"Steal your designs? Why would I do that?"
"Don't play coy with me, you gussied-up harlot! You thought you could come in here, steal my designs, and pass them off as your own? With your cheap mane do, and your cheap makeup? Well, I don't think so. These designs are mine, those dresses and suits are mine, everything is mine! Back off if you know what's good for you!" Rarity could only gape at the harsh words her double had thrown at her.
"Gussied-up harlot? Cheap mane do? Cheap makeup? I can't believe somepony that looks like me could be so... so... greedy and heartless! Your designs aren't even that good! They look trashy and half-finished!" Rarity felt a tightness in her chest, not quite painful, but it was just enough to be noticeable.
"Oh, you would say that! The last good design you made were those cheap costumes you made, and those only looked good after you added a heap of tacky gemstones!"
"TACKY?! WHAT GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO JUDGE ANY OF MY DESIGNS?! YOU'RE JUST A HALF-BAKED REPLICA OF ME, YOU STRUMPET!" The tightness intensified, like a vice around her heart. It was starting to become painful.
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A STRUMPET?! At least I don't look like a whorse putting out on a street corner!"
"YOU KNOW WHAT? MAYBE I WILL STEAL YOUR DESIGNS! I MIGHT ACTUALLY PRODUCE SOMETHING WORTH LOOKING AT, AND MAKE AN ACTUAL PROFIT!" The tightness became an iron-like grip as the faux Rarity burst into a grey cloud, enveloping her and seeping into her coat and skin, turning her mane the same shade of grey.
"Yes, that's what I'll do. I'll just take these designs and improve them. Make them perfect and show everypony just how talented I am. Then they'll shower me with their bits just for a chance to gaze upon my work!" Discord rested on a ceiling beam, chuckling quietly to himself as he watched the pieces fall into place. The enigmatic chaos master reveled in the unfolding drama, knowing that the real fun was about to begin.
I hated every minute of writing Pinkie's section, but it's an unfortunate necessity for the sake of the plot. I still feel bad though. 
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11768077
A more proper theory is that some DB YouTubers think that Goku got the heart virus when he was living alone in the forest for many years after Grandpa Gohan tragically died.
11768904
So in other words, he got it on Earth?
11768918
Yep.
ok chapter
11768918
If Yardrat is too soon compared to when the symptoms started, then it being something he contracted as a kid would be even more so. Besides, Goku only had delayed symptoms as a consequence of Trunks meddling with time. In Trunks' timeline, he died within a year after getting back from Yardrat.
11769713
In chapter 10, you weave what happens in the show in the first two episodes very well with your own story.
11769938
Ah. I get it.
11769894
I know that, tell to the person I was replying to.