Once upon a time, before the formation of Equestria as we know it, darker things stalked the land...
Everypony has heard of the Elements of Harmony. Since their defeat of Discord, you can't get away from them! But fewer, far fewer, are those who know of the Elements of Discord - the ultimate sources of his power and desire to create chaos, and which were forced to find a new host after his redemption...
Throughout all of time and space, across Equestria, Earth and the Forgotten Realms, in the furthest reaches of all systems and galaxies and universes, the Elements of Harmony are hailed and revered. They may not be known as such, instead being called such names as 'Christian Qualities', or 'Eternal Tenets', and may not appear in the same form, but the idea of them is the same. They are features and traits to which all right thinking sentient beings aspire, and which should never been taken for granted once gained.
Their existence in Equestria, with which we must now concern ourselves, is of an ancient kind. The Earthen dimension was settled only within the last six thousand years by sentient beings, and is young in contrast; consequently the Elements of Harmony have yet to fully subdue the more irrational and distasteful actions which occur in that world. The Forgotten Realms are of unknown pedigree and age, and vary greatly in their adherence to Harmonic Principles. But even here, the Elements are known.
Equestria is unusual for a dimension in that it is, to use a technical term, 'in reciprocal harmonic balance'. Since the reformations of Luna and Discord, and the defeat of Tirek, the realm has enjoyed relative peace and prosperity, with few non-Elemental circumstances occurring. Of course, crimes are committed and ponies grow old and die, but these sadnesses are balanced by the power of the Elements, and by the friendship of their equine embodiments.
This was not always the case, however. In dark prehistory, before the Elements of Harmony became understood and followed, Equestria was under the subjugation of a different set of Elements. Few today are aware of their existence, and even those who have heard of them frequently dismiss them as a myth. But recent events within the realm have led the majority of ponies to question their past beliefs and come to the conclusion that such things exist.
They are known as the Elements of Discord, and act as counters to the Elements of Harmony. Whilst the Elements of Harmony preserve such qualities as kindness, loyalty and honesty, the Elements of Discord are bastions of such traits as anger, fear and paranoia. They are the original Elements which existed before the creation of Harmony, and which held sway over Existence until their ousting from time and space at the Battle of the Reach of Zogar. There they and their harbingers were destroyed by the Followers of Harmony, and peace began its long reign throughout the dimensions.
Discord was gone, but not forgotten. In all realms a memory remained of the dark times, when one could not trust an acquaintance or a neighbour, or tell friend from foe. Times when insanity, brought on by the sheer weight of malevolent forces, was not uncommon. Times when betrayal was commonplace, and even expected. Although these times had past, those who lived through them remembered them. They told their progeny of the Discordant Era, who listened with wide eyes at the tales of woe they were told. These stories struck a cord with most, ensuring that such times did not again return.
But the Elements of Discord and the consequences of their ruling had been not unkind, even beneficial for some, and these blackened souls yearned for a harking back to the days when they could take advantage of the fear of the world, and use it for their own ends. The tales their children learnt told of how life had been better in the old days, when one was free to do as one pleased without adhering to the principles of Harmony. These young ones would also go on to wish for a new era of Discord, and pass such wishes on to their children. Thus, a different memory of the Elements of Discord was created.
Time passed, thousands upon thousands of years. Still the memories remained, both the good and bad, of the days before Harmony. But these memories had changed. The Followers of Harmony became complacent, proud of the peace which had lasted so long, and self-assured with their own abilities to maintain it. They came to lose the realisation of how hard won the battle had been, and how easily the Elements of Discord could rise again. And still the Harbingers waited, scheming and yet impatient, waiting until the time was right for springing the trap.
In the Earthen Realm Discord was able to grasp a hold quickly and easily, before being ousted by Harmony. Again this happened, and it carried on happening. Every time one set of Elements gained the upper hand on Earth, the other would snatch away the victory. This continued from the time when the first sentients, known as 'humans' lived on Earth, until the present day.
Equestria, in contrast, had no such backwards and forwards disbalance of Elements. The Elements of Discord remained quashed, and the Elements of Harmony victorious. But familiarity breeds contempt and, slowly, the Followers lost the caution they had once had. The Elements of Discord were able to free themselves from ignorance, using the wishes and actions of hardhearted ponies to fuel their ambition. They were able to coalesce into a single, physical, material body. With none of the beauty and symmetry which graced the other sentient species of Equestria, this new creature was instantly recognisable. He need not be described, as I am sure all my readers are aware of whom I write.
Discord kept the name given to him by the separate Elements, and was more powerful than any of them had been on their own. He became a very real threat to peace and unity within Equestria, causing strife and upset for years. Eventually, after beginning the corruption of Princess Luna and throwing the land into disarray, he was defeated by Princess Celestia in the Battle for Harmony. But that was not his last gasp; months later Princess Luna was exiled for the attempted assassination of Princess Celestia.
A sigh of relief breathed across Equestria like a summer breeze, releasing earth ponies, pegasi and unicorns alike from the fear of a return to the Dark. It was felt that Discord had finally been beaten, and could never return again. But all were deceived.
Although encased in stone for a thousand years, Discord retained his cognitive functions. He held a deep seated grudge against the Princess for depriving him of his newly found freedom, and was prepared to do anything to feel avenged. Celestia, aware of the likelihood of these feelings, communed with the Elements of Harmony to find a solution to the inevitable war which would arise. It was decided that Harmony would find a body to inhabit also, a pony with the right qualities to be able to fight back Discord when the time came.
For years Harmony and Princess Celestia searched, trying in vain to find the perfect pony. Eventually they came to the conclusion that a pony with the right innate qualities in their purest form could not be found, and instead settled upon finding six different ponies, who would each have the required character for one of the six Elements. As the thousandth year since Princess Luna's banishment approached, five young ponies were discovered. Honesty, Kindness, Laughter, Loyalty and Generosity now all had an equine embodiment. But the sixth Element, Magic, had nopony. Magic was the most important and most powerful of the Elements, for without it the other five were weakened. It was imperative that the right pony be found before long. Celestia knew that Luna, or the Mare in the Moon as she was now known, would be able to free herself from her imprisonment on the thousandth anniversary of the defeat of Discord, and without an embodiment for Magic, there could be no hope of a second victory.
In desperation, the Princess set up a Royal School of Magic, created to teach young unicorns from across Equestria the finer points of magicological study. Many were the pupils who gained their cutie marks at her School, and many were those whom Celestia thought almost perfect for the rôle one of them would have to play. But none were quite as good as Magic expected, and so the vacancy remained unfilled.
With barely fifteen years to go until the coming battle, Princess Celestia was beginning to lose hope. She knew there would be unicorn out there, somewhere in time and space, who was right for the rôle. But she was running out of time.
Then one day a young, purple filly named Twilight Sparkle came to the Royal School of Magic for her entrance exam. She was clumsy and unpractised and somewhat obsessive, but Magic saw great potential within her. The other Elements of Harmony were in agreement, and gave Celestia the sign she needed to know that Equestria's future was safe. Through a remarkable series of events all six of the embodiments, including the newest and youngest, Twilight, all received their cutie marks simultaneously. The Princess could breath freely once more.
And when, on the thousandth anniversary, Luna reappeared in Equestria from her exile on the moon, the Elements were ready to defend their world. With Discord trapped inside his granite prison and unable to fight, Luna was reformed with relative ease. The lost sister was met joyfully by almost the whole of Equestria, and peace looked to remain for a long while.
When Discord was accidentally freed by the arguing of three young fillies the fate of the realm hanged in the balance. For some time Harmony and its six embodiments were unable to defeat the wild, chaotic nature they were presented with, but were eventually able to again defeat the Master of Chaos and free Equestria from his clutches.
Princess Celestia had no secure way of permanently entombing Discord, and he was far too powerful for her to destroy entirely. There were two options available to her. Either she carry on with her present plan, having the Elements of Harmony defeat Discord whenever the need arose, or she could try to have Discord reformed.
When first Celestia thought of the latter solution she pushed it out of her mind; it was impossible, surely? But the more she thought about it the less unreasonable it seemed. Perhaps she could play on Discord's weaknesses, encouraging him to feel unwanted and undervalued. But first she would have to show him, and make him understand, what friendship actually was.
After much discussion with her sister Princess Luna, and after communing with the Elements of Harmony for their collective opinion, Princess Celestia was decided. She would have the embodiments try to reform Discord, with the Element of Kindness, a pale yellow pegasus mare named Fluttershy, taking the central rôle.
The following few days were difficult, both for the Princesses and the Elements. Discord refused to be reformed, instead taking advantage of Fluttershy's kindness by forcing her to agree never to use the her Element against him. Unfortunately for him, and as the Princesses had wished and expected, he came to regret losing the one friend he had ever had, and willingly returned Equestria back to normal.
The Elements of Discord realised that they had been forsaken. The creature they had created no longer needed them, and they came to see that they would be better served in a new form. Whilst Harmony had found the six embodiments to be perfect carriers for the Elements of Harmony, the Elements of Discord were able to seize upon the slight imperfections in their characters. Applejack became the carrier of the Element of Untruthfulness, in direct contrast to her Harmonious Element of Honesty. Fluttershy was possessed by the Element of Anger, and the jovial Pinkie Pie by the Element of Fear. Rainbow Dash, possibly the weakest of the six Harmonious embodiments, became the Element of Betrayal, again in contrast to her Element of Harmony of Loyalty. Rarity became the Element of Self Pity, and Twilight Sparkle the Element of Paranoia.
At the time no-one but Princess Celestia noticed anything amiss, and she kept her thoughts to herself. She thought it odd that the Elements of Discord should so easily be forsaken and left by their former host, and was aware that they were likely to be still in existence, probably in an ethereal form. But, for the time being, it was enough for her to enjoy the relative serenity that came with knowing that the Discordant Elements' most powerful form was denied them, for they were only a threat when together. Apart they could be dangerous, yes, but far less so than when in a single body.
“Hey Twilight!” A cyan-coated pegasus called down from her lofty position. “Catch!”
Below her on the ground a purple alicorn looked up in time to magically grasp the cricket ball the pegasus had thrown. Twilight grinned. “Can't catch me out that easily, Rainbow!”
Twilight, Rainbow Dash and their five best friends were all gathered in the park for a late summer picnic. It was an impromptu affair suggested at the last minute by Pinkie Pie who, never one to miss out on a good time, had felt it too nice a day to spend indoors. It would have been, as she put it, “a crime.”
And she was right. The sun shone, birds chirped, little animals scurried about happily and there was a slight breeze, perfect for keeping everypony cool enough to be comfortable and yet warm enough to feel at peace.
Despite all this, Twilight had at first refused to join the others on their picnic when they'd come calling in the late morning, pleading the excuse that she had too much reading to catch up on. But at the behest of her little dragon companion, Spike, she had eventually allowed herself to be persuaded, and was enjoying the gorgeous day as much as everypony else.
Getting ready to throw the ball back up to Rainbow, she paused when the cyan pegasus shouted down, “Come on Twilight! Why don't you fly up here instead?”
Twilight frowned. She had only been an alicorn since her crowning as the fourth Princess a few weeks ago, and was still uncomfortable using her wings. Rainbow was forever trying to get her to fly, and although Twilight was grateful for the encouragement, it could get a little wearing at times.
Fluttershy, sitting nearby stroking her bunny friend Angel, quietly spoke. “Don't get cross Twilight, you know-”
The Princess, not hearing Fluttershy, flung the ball up to Dash as hard as she could, forcing Rainbow to fly higher to be able to catch it. “Looks like I don't need to fly!” she said.
“I know Twilight,” Fluttershy began again. “But you know-”
“Excuse me, Fluttershy, darling,” broke in a pretty white unicorn sitting on a rug next to her. “Please could you pass me the sandwiches? They're so far away and I'm so comfortable...”
Fluttershy smiled wanly and stopped stroking Angel. “Of course, Rarity.” She reached forward and passed the plate of sandwiches over to Rarity, and was graced with a lovely smile in return.
As Twilight and Rainbow continued their game, Fluttershy turned to Rarity again and spoke. “Where are Applejack and Pinkie? They were here-”
“They went off down to the river with Spike.” Rarity had rather a bad habit of interrupting the yellow pegasus, and seemed oblivious to any upset she could have caused. Fluttershy blinked and stopped talking.
A few quiet minutes went by with those on the ground enjoying the silence. Twilight had eventually flown up to Rainbow and they were seated on a small cloud, deep in conversation. Their voices were too far away to be understood but added a soft, background murmur which Fluttershy found very soothing, almost inducing her to sleep.
At that moment Pinkie Pie appeared, bouncing up the slope from the river with Applejack trotting along behind; both earth ponies were dripping wet.
“Oh my goodness!” Rarity was shocked. “Whatever happened to you two?”
Applejack grinned as she plonked herself down on the grass. “Pinkie and ah just had ourselves a little water fight,” she explained. “Y'all should come and join us! Water's lovely.”
Rarity shuddered. “No thank you, Applejack, I would much rather stay here in the dry. Thank you anyway.”
“Oh, that's a shame.” Pinkie was still bouncing up and down, making the ground underneath her increasingly saturated. “Where are Twilight and Dashie? They'd enjoy the water!”
Suddenly the sound of raised voices made everypony look round; Spike pointed. “Look, up there!”
High above those on the grass, Twilight and Rainbow appeared to be in the middle of an argument, waving their hooves at each other. They were speaking loud enough now for their friends below to hear.
“Just stop it!”, Twilight was saying.
“I'm only trying to help, Twi!” Rainbow swooped around Twilight, but the alicorn was able to turn around in time to face her.
“Why does it matter to you anyway?”
“I'm just trying to help!”
“I know! You keep saying that! But why do you want to? What's it to you?”
Rainbow Dash muttered something inaudible and Twilight groaned, face-hooving. “Argh! You're impossible.” She turned and dived towards where the others were standing, pulling up in time for a soft landing. “Hey girls, hey Spike,” she said.
No one else spoke. Rainbow was still hovering overhead, scowling, and Twilight's smile looked rather strained. Finally Rarity piped up. “Is everything... alright, Twilight darling?”
“Yes, of course! Why wouldn't it be?”
“Well, it's just that we heard some sort of... altercation between you and Rainbow, and...” She trailed off as Twilight's smile finally disappeared.
“It was just a little dispute, okay? Just leave it.”
Pinkie, who had stopped bouncing as soon as the argument had become heard, look inquiringly at Twilight. “Do you want to come and play in the water with me and Applejack? It's fun!”
Twilight sighed. “Sorry, Pinkie. I think I'll go home now. I've still got a lot of reading to catch up on, and... I feel cold.”
“Don't you think you should put things right between you and Rainbow?”, asked Fluttershy.
The Princess shook her head. “It's Rainbow who's at fault here, not me! She can apologise when she's ready.”
“But Twili-”
“I said no, Fluttershy! Don't you get that!?”
Fluttershy stepped back and hung her head. Twilight leapt into the air without another word and flew swiftly back off to her castle, Spike running behind. The uncomforatble feeling left by their departure was broken by Applejack. “You know, Fluttershy, you really shouldn't let ponies treat you like that. If they get the ahdea you're a pushover-”
For the first time in many months, the pale pegasus stood up tall. “I am not a pushover! You may think I am, Applejack, but I'm not!”
“Hey, Fluttershy, you know ah didn't say that!”
“But it's what you were thinking.”
“It was not!” Applejack felt shocked at herself, for that was what she had been thinking. But the feelings of her friend were more important than perfect honesty, weren't they?
Fluttershy frowned but didn't speak. Pinkie Pie broke in: “Come on guys, this is no fun! Let's do something fun, come down to the water with me!”
“Ah don't feel lahk doing that anymore, Pinkie.” Applejack looked around the three remaining ponies, noticing that Rainbow was nowhere to be seen, probably somewhere above the thickening clouds. “Ah thank y'all for invahting me, girls, but ah think ah'll be going now. See y'all later.” She trotted slowly off in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres.
“Oh,” said Pinkie, eyes downcast. “Does anypony else want to come and play with me?”
Rarity, taking pity on the saddened earth pony, also stood up. “Alright then, Pinkie, I'll come down with you. But only to watch, not to get wet!”
Pinkie smiled again and boinged off down to the river. Rarity turned to Fluttershy, who was still frowing at the retreating figure of Applejack. “Are you coming, Fluttershy?”
“No, Rarity, I think I'll stay here.”
“Oh, but Fluttershy, darling-”
Fluttershy shouted. “No! I am not a pushover, Rarity, and you won't make me change my mind! Just go.” She turned away and began stroking Angel again.
Rarity, surprised at the uncharacterfulness of Fluttershy's response, wondered slowly down to find Pinkie.
She found her at the water's edge, preparing to leap in. Rarity, who had brought her rug down with her, laid it carefully on the soft grass and lay down gracefully upon it. She liked Pinkie, but found her antics somewhat too energetic at times. Not like Fluttershy, who could always be counted on to provide soothing support. Which made Rarity think: when was the last time Fluttershy had actually become angry with her? The unicorn spent a few minutes deep in thought, trying to remember another time when she and the obliging pegasus had fallen out, eventually deciding she couldn't think of a single one.
She was just drifting gently off to sleep with these thoughts floating round her head, when she was rudely brought back to reality by what felt like a deluge of cold water. “Eugh!”
“Sorry, Rarity!” Pinkie was peering anxiously at the sopping wet unicorn. “I was jumping in the water from the bank and then I thought about jumping from the tree so I climbed up but the splash was much bigger than I thought it'd be and it got you all wet and I'm sorry!”
Rarity, who had been wearing one of her favourite frocks, was not to be appeased. “You've simply ruined this dress Pinkie! I shan't be able to wear it anymore, just look at the state of it!” She stood up.
“Oh, please Rarity, don't go!”
“I'm sorry, Pinkie, but I simply must go straightaway. This is not the sort of weather to be outside in wearing wet clothes.” Feeling put upon and determined to be inconsolable, the unicorn left without another word, ignoring Pinkie's pleas for her to stay.
She had been right about the weather. Whilst the ponies had been in the park, and particularly after Twilight and Rainbow's altercation, dark clouds had been gathering. Sweeping slowly in from the north, they brought with them a colder wind, and the expectation of rain.
Fluttershy had left with Angel some time ago. Only Pinkie Pie was left now; her presence being the only reminder of the picnic which had started off so well. Heavy drops of rain began to fall, wetting the riverbanks ever more so than Pinkie's splash had done. She sighed, holding back tears. Crying was alien to her, the Element of Laughter, and she didn't understand why she should feel like doing so now.
But then... her friends had all left her, alone in the rain. Twilight had said she was grateful for the picnic, but had gone home early anyway. Spike had gone with her. Rainbow Dash, supposedly Pinkie's best friend, hadn't even bothered saying goodbye. Fluttershy and Applejack had argued for the first time in years, with the orange earth pony leaving early too. Fluttershy had snapped at Rarity and then gone home, and Rarity had become cross at Pinkie and left...
Pinkie began to feel rather sad, and somewhat unsure. What if Rarity never forgave her? It had been one of her favourite frocks, Pinkie knew that. What if Twilight and Rainbow didn't make up, and Fluttershy stayed mad at Applejack? Pinkie didn't want that. She wasn't used to not being able to fix things; normally ponies cheered up when she was around. But that hadn't worked today. What if she was losing the ability to make others smile? What if she'd forgotten how?
As the rain became slowly heavier, the young pink earth pony began slowly walking back to Sugarcube Corner. She felt tired, confused and – afraid.
Twilight slammed the door of her bedroom behind her. She felt tired after all the flying she'd done, and a little ashamed at the way she'd stormed off. It wasn't fair to take out Rainbow's insolence on the others, after all.
A soft 'knock' on the door interrupted her thoughts. “Twilight?” came a familiar voice. “Can I come in?”
“Of course, Spike.”
The baby dragon opened the door slowly, stepped inside and went and sat down by the big, arched window. “It's getting cloudy out there.”
The Princess made a noncommittal noise of agreement. “Hmm.” She hadn't really thought about it, but now that Spike mentioned it, it did seem to be getting darker outside. “Perhaps it was a good time to leave anyway.”
Spike didn't say anything, but looked down at the floor.
Twilight sighed. “I know you didn't like the way I spoke to the others. And I know I shouldn't have taken it out on them, it's just... Rainbow was being so annoying!”
Spike looked up inquisitively. “Yeah Twilight, what was that all about?”
“It's nothing Spike, really. She was asking me things I didn't want to answer and refusing to accept my replies. It's none of her business, anyway.”
The purple dragon, curious as he was, knew better than to inquire further. Instead, he turned back to the window, unable to let out a small gasp of surprise at what he saw. Twilight went over to see what it was that had interested him so much.
It was the sky. It had been almost clear blue when they left the park, and had clouded over slightly by the time they got back. But now it had completely changed. Storm clouds were gathering in the distance, and a wuthering wind could be heard through the thin glass. Mist seemed to be rolling in towards Canterlot in the distance, and thunder was audible over the moors.
“Wow, Spike, it looks like we left at the right time.” At this, he nodded in agreement.
Instead of watching the weather any longer, Twilight suddenly got up and headed towards the door. “I'm off to do more studying, Spike. I don't want to get behind, that would be...” She left the sentence unfinished, hanging in the air like a tiding of evil.
He may have only been a young dragon, but Spike knew when something was wrong with his best friend. Something had bothered Twilight, and he wanted to know what it was. But how to find out without directly asking her?
“I know,” he thought. “I'll ask Rainbow Dash.”
* * *
Meanwhile, the rainbow-maned pegasus in question had not been having a good time. Though she'd left the park after the argument in relatively clear skies, she found that before long it was becoming increasingly difficult to fly straight. The wind kept buffetting her to the side, and the fog which seemed to have formed was making it dangerous to fly with any speed.
“This is getting weird,” she muttered to herself, swerving to avoid a wind-tossed paper bag. “I don't remember the weather team scheduling a storm for today...”
She hovered in the air for a moment. Should she go straight home and stay indoors till the storm passed? Or go and find the weather ponies to find out what was happening?
In the end, her curiosity won her over, and she winged off towards the Ponyville Weather Board's headquarters. On her arrival, however, she found the building all but deserted. Only a single grey, yellow-maned pegasus could be seen, darting skittishly around the area. Rainbow landed nearby and called over. “Hey, Derpy!”
The friendly postmare turned round in surprise. “Oh, hi Rainbow!”
“What's going on, Derpy? I didn't know there was a storm scheduled for today.”
Derpy looked even more surprised. “Oh, is that what it is? I did wonder...” She shrugged. “I don't know where anypony else is. I have a message for you though, from Scootaloo.”
After taking the note from her, Rainbow read it through. The grey postmare had hoped she might read it out loud, but Dash ignored her hopeful glances, reading it to herself.
“What did it say?” asked Derpy.
“Oh, nothing to worry about.” Dash tucked the message in her left pannier with some of the things she'd taken to the picnic, and promptly forgot about it. Derpy was concerned; it was well known that Rainbow was like a sister to Scootaloo, and would never ignore a message in such a way. The postmare knew it had been important, because of the hurried way in which Scootaloo had written the note. Still, hers was not to reason why, hers was but to deliver the post and not ask questions.
The cyan pegasus seemed lost in thought. Derpy was anxious to continue her rounds, but wasn't sure if it would seem rude to fly away. As it happened, however, Rainbow flapped her wings and disappeared almost as quickly as she'd come, without another word.
“Oh,” said Derpy to nopony in particular. She blinked in surprise again, and flew off to finish her rounds.
* * *
On the outskirts of Ponyville, an orange earth pony gazed wearily out into the rain. Applejack had been walking slowly through the village centre when the heavens had opened, and she had galloped from there to the farm without stopping. The rain had come at a particularly bad time for her, just as the apple-bucking season was approaching. She and her family had planned on beginning the bucking on the morrow, but if the rain kept up through the night it would be impossible to do so.
Just then, the door leading to the sodden outside world opened, and Applejack's elder brother, Big Macintosh, lumbered inside. He was carrying on his back their grandmother, Granny Smith.
“Dearie me!” she groaned as Big Mac lowered her gently to the floor. “This is the worst time for rain to come! Still,” she smiled, “the pastureland was looking a bit dry. I reckon the rain may do more good than bad, wouldn't you say, Applejack?”
Unwilling to dash her grandmare's hopes, the orange farmer silently nodded in agreement, before turning away, shocked at herself. This wasn't like her at all! Normally she would never tell a lie, not even a 'white' one. But it was for a good cause, after all... so that probably made it alright. Didn't it?
She turned to Big Mac, who hadn't said a word since coming in. “Does it look lahk it's set in for the naht?”
He replied with but a single word: “Yyyep.”
Despite the unfortunate news, Applejack couldn't help smiling to herself. Big Macintosh was such a peculiar stallion. He hardly ever said a word, and yet managed to pack such feeling into the few things he did say.
She spun round at the sound of breaking glass. A guilty yellow muzzle greeted her gaze as she peered into the kitchen; her sister, Applebloom, was staring down at a smashed drinking glass. “Ah'm sorry Applejack! Ah didn't mean it, really ah didn't!”
“Ah know you didn't, sugarcube. Just be more careful next tahm, okay?” She bent down to pick up the broken fragments and put them in the bin, cutting her hoof in the process. “Youch!”
“Are you okay, Applejack?” Granny Smith had wandered in from admonishing her youngest grandfilly in the lounge and stood, looking down at the mess. Applebloom took the opportunity afforded to her and disappeared upstairs.
“Er, yes Granny, ah sure am! Nothing wrong with me!” Again, the orange mare was shocked at herself. Now she was lying without thinking about it, for no real reason! What was making her do this? “Say, ah think ah'm gonna go upstairs for bit when ah've finished here, alraht?”
“Sure thing, honey.”
After clearing away the rest of the glass, and being more careful not to cut herself again, Applejack went up to her room and sat down on the bed. She felt alright, but she knew she wasn't. Something was making her act unusually... still, it was probably nothing that wouldn't go away after forty winks. She shut the door and lay down in bed. The pitter-pat of the rain on the barrels outside her window, coupled with the soft rumble of thunder in the distance, was too much for her tired mind to withstand, and she drifted gently off to sleep.
* * *
Right on the far side of Ponyville from the farm, on the very edge of the Everfree Forest, the yellow pegasus who was Fluttershy flew slowly along. She didn't normally like flying, but it was quicker than walking everywhere, and the increasingly heavy rain had convinced her that this was a good time to get indoors in a hurry.
Angel bunny, huddled inside his carer's right pannier, peeped out for a moment. Unlike most bunnies outside of the Forest he was actually highly intelligent, and swift to realise when something was wrong with Fluttershy. He knew her better than anypony else, and was aware now that something had happened to upset her.
He didn't think it was just the arguments in the park. She never reacted that way unless something else had been bothering her beforehand. But, being unable to speak, he was not likely to find out what it was. Instead of worrying about it, he settled himself deeper down inside the warm pannier, and enjoyed the journey.
On their arrival at the cottage, Fluttershy was surprised to find the front door already open, with a familiar and welcome figure standing in the doorway. She called out a greeting as they approached. “Discord!”
“Why, hello there, sweet Fluttershy!” He was dressed in a fluffy pink dressing gown and was holding a steaming mug of tea in his left claw. “It's good to know you're alright.”
Although he rarely admitted it to anypony, Discord was in reality immensely fond of the calm, pale pegasus, and regarded her in high esteem. The sudden downpour had worried him about Fluttershy's whereabouts somewhat, and he was more than glad to see her return safely.
He gestured to the open door as she shook herself down and stepped inside. “I hope you don't mind me being her, Fluttershy, but the door was unlocked, and...”
Fully expecting an obliging answer, he was not prepared for how she replied. “I wish you'd asked me first, Discord, this is my house after all.”
“Why yes, of course, Fluttershy! It's just that you don't normally mind, and-”
“Well I mind now! And the door wasn't unlocked – how did you get in?”
This seemed rather odd of a pony who, under normal circumstances, was perfectly willing to allow anypony into her house at any time but, not wanting to upset her further, Discord tried to soothe her. “I just teleported in from the rain and thought I'd get-”
Once again, he was cut off. Fluttershy seemed really quite cross now. “Oh, I see! If the door is locked you don't take that as a sign that I want to be left alone, oh no! Instead you think it is alright to just barge in here like you own the place! And you have the audacity to welcome me in!”
Discord blinked; this was most unusual. He had not seen Fluttershy like this since his reformation, and goodness knows how long ago that was. “Well, er... I think I'll be going now, and-”
“Yes, you do that!” She stared unblinkingly at him as he hovered in the doorway. “Well go on! Don't let all the heat out!”
Still reeling with shock, the former Master of Chaos made his retreat. He closed the door and teleported to above the clouds, where he was free to think in peace upon what could have caused such a drastic change.
* * *
Sweetie Belle, meanwhile, was considering similar tactics. Her elder sister, Rarity, had come home to the Carousel Boutique shortly before, and was beginning to get rather wearing. Since her arrival she had done nothing but moan about how her “dress had been completely ruined” and how she would “probably never be able to make another one quite like it.”
Sweetie Belle groaned. She loved her sister dearly, despite their frequent differences of opinion, and it pained her to see her so put out. But to get so worked up, over a dress... it did seem a little extreme.
She sighed again, and Rarity looked up sharply. “Don't be like that, Sweetie! You know how long it took to make this dress, and now look at it! It's been destroyed!” She threw herself onto a fainting couch and began bawling.
Her younger sister was used to the occasional emotional meltdown, but not on this scale. She'd not seen her like this since... since ever, actually, especially over something so relatively trivial.
Rarity managed to pause her tears long enough to squeeze out a sentence. “Do – hhuh – do be a dear and get me some ice cream, please, Sweetie darling?” She blinked.
Sweetie Belle turned and sauntered off towards the scullery, rolling her eyes. She wished she could be at the Cutie Mark Crusaders' clubhouse instead, planning the next cutie mark gaining effort. But no. She had to be here, an unwilling shoulder for her sister to cry on. Again. And the rain would mean that the meeting would have been cancelled anyway... she sighed, yet again, and carried the tub of ice cream back through to Rarity.
“Oh, th-thank you, S-Sweetie.” She gulped down a few mouthfuls between sobs and spoke again. “Y-you're always – so kind to me, S-Sweetie... not like those, hhuh, ponies who call them – themselves my f-friends! Who do they think they, huh, are?” She started moaning away at herself about how unfair almost everything was, from Pinkie Pie in particular to Equestria in general.
This was most unlike her. Rarity, the Element of Generosity, speaking about her friends like this? Something was wrong with her and, rain or no, Sweetie Belle was adamant that she'd find out what it was. After pulling on her wellington boots and tying a cape round her shoulders, she took a deep breath and disappeared into the wet, leaving a still-sobbing sister behind her.
* * *
And what of Pinkie Pie herself, the ultimate cause of Rarity's discomfiture? She was curled up tightly into a ball, crying softly to herself, alone. Alone in the attic of someone else's shop, in the place she called 'home'.
She'd lived there almost as long as she could remember. After a terrible accident had claimed the life of her elder sister, she had been sent away from the rock farm to live with her mother's cousins, the Cakes. Pinkie had come to regard the Cakes almost like family, but still she lived on her own in a tiny little space above the counter where she worked. Although she loved the Cake family dearly, they had never treated her as anything more than a benign, somewhat overexcitable employee, and she felt that deeply.
“What am I doing here?”, she asked herself. It was not unusual for her to ask such questions, but as she was the only one who ever heard, and as she herself was unable to answer, the questions kept pestering her, gnawing away at her mind.
She could speak to Twilight, of course. Equestria's newest Princess, the famous 'egg-head', would surely be able to help. But Pinkie wasn't sure she'd like the answer Twilight could give her. It would be complicated, probably, maybe too complicated for Pinkie to understand. And she didn't like things she didn't understand, because how could they be fun if she didn't understand them?
Which confused her even more, because she hadn't been fun earlier either. She had splashed one of her oldest friends and ruined a lovely frock into the bargain. Would Rarity ever forgive her? Could she? What if she couldn't? But Rarity was always so generous; Pinkie was sure she'd forgive her eventually. But all her friends were acting strange at the moment... what if Rarity never went back to being generous? What if Fluttershy always stayed grumpy and mean? What if Rainbow never came back to see Pinkie, and they were never friends again? What if...
“Stop it!” Pinkie could be very firm with herself when she needed to be, which wasn't often. “You know that worrying about it is no use... it's just that there's so much to worry about!”
She stood up, almost banging her head on the low ceiling of the loft. It was always dark in her room, no matter how many pink things she crammed in. Her only sources of light were a lavalamp on her bedside table and a tiny little skylight, which she could barely reach to see out of.
Standing on tiphoof she endeavoured to see look outside. Unable to do so, she moved her cabinet to beneath the 'light, stood on it, and tried again. The sight that met her was unbelievable, and at first she was certain her eyes must be deceiving her: the rain which had begun whilst she and Rarity were by the river had become a true deluge, covering everything as far as she could see with thick, heavy rain. Visibility was minimal, but from what she was able to see it appeared that several fields on the outskirts of the village were already becoming flooded.
“Oh dear,” she moaned to herself. “I do hope Applejack is alright!”
She stepped down from the cabinet, unsure of what to do for the best. Eventually the exhaustion brought on by fear overwhelmed her, and she drifted into a fitful, disturbed sleep.
As the following day dawned the storm continued unabated. Through the window of the royal throneroom in their castle in Canterlot, the Princesses of the Sun and Moon watched the continuing onslaught. An unscheduled storm was not unheard of, and sometimes the Ponyville weather crew would play a joke on the town and cause some unexpected precipitation to fall, but a storm of this scale? This was a historic event, and surely could not be the outcome of a pegasus prank.
Reports from foreign diplomats indicated that this was a global problem. The Saddle Arabians were experiencing floods for the first time since the banishment of Nightmare Moon, the ponies of Stalliongrad were telling of temperatures above thirty degrees Celsius, and the weather in the earth-pony town of Manechester, just a few hundred miles from Shetland, had apparently stopped raining for over a full day, a new record.
Turning to her elder sister, Princess Luna spoke. “What can have caused this? Even I, during my brief reign as Nightmare Moon, could not create such a storm in so short a time.”
The question was rhetorical, and no answer was immediately required. But something would have to be done, and quickly. If the unseasonal weather patterns continued for long, vast swathes of Equestria would soon be underwater. With no land available, the earth-ponies would be unable to grow crops, leading to eventual famine. Which led to another thought: There were almost no life forms anywhere on the planet that could survive without sustanance from somewhere, and all energy was derived, whether directly or indirectly, from the sun. As the sun was now covered, no energy could be produced meaning that, eventually, all life would necessarily cease.
But there was one creature which required no energy from an outside source. One being who was powerful enough to have created such a destructive and potentially catastrophic meteorological occurrence, and who would be able to survive when all other living things had been killed off.
The sisters, thinking in unison, came to the same conclusion simultaneously. “Discord.”
“I see we are of the same mind, little sister.” Celestia bowed her head. “I had hoped that Fluttershy's efforts and extensions of friendship had led to his reformation, but it is, of course, possible that this has not been the case. And now that the Elements have been placed back into the Tree of Harmony, we have no direct power to use against him.”
Frowning, Luna sighed softly. “We do not yet know for certain that this storm was caused by Discord. Although Equestria has been placed in a perilous position, such storms could, in theory, occur on their own. And we can see none of the random chaos which is usual when Discord has played a part in something's creation.”
Celestia, peering out of the window, did not appear to be listening. Then she turned her head to her sister once more. “You may wish to rethink your last statement, Luna.”
The Princesses turned once more to look outside. What was there to be seen took Luna by surprise; whereas before the storm had been relatively normal, apart from its magnitude, this was by no means any longer the case. “Yes... I see what you mean.”
Pink clouds formed huge masses of weightless candy-floss, raining down liquid chocolate upon a terrain of brightly coloured squares. Those few ponies who had braved the storm were now floating around helplessly, unable to move under their own volition but slowly spinning around palm-tree lampposts. The parts of the castle visible from the throneroom window appeared to be turning into a mixture of gingerbread, leather, and swarms of vibrantly coloured bats that immediately flew underground, before reappearing again moments later as winged hedgehogs. And far away in Ponyville, just visible on the horizon, Twilight's castle could be seen to be rapidly growing, shrinking, and growing again, before vanishing entirely and teleporting to the tops of nearby hills made of solid, yet wet, water.
Celestia motioned to the view. “I think we have the evidence we need. Let us summon Discord.”
“Agreed.”
* * *
Discord reclined comfortably into a cloud, thinking about Fluttershy's highly uncharacterful behaviour of the day before. It was true that she had become annoyed with him in the past, but never over something so relatively trivial. There was that one time, of course, when he had turned Angel into a bunny-tree, but her reaction then was only really to be expected. Discord could never understand why Fluttershy was so fond of that aggravating rabbit, but it remained the case that she was.
But she had never intimated that she disliked having ponies (or draconequi) entering her house without asking when she wasn't there, so long as they didn't upset the animals or damage anything. And she was Discord's best friend; surely a less aggressive reaction would have been more appropriate in such a circumstance?
But what was it Twilight had said to him, about friendship? Something about “friends sometimes having arguments or falling out, but the friendship holding true...” Goodness, he was beginning to sound like a real princess's pet!
“But is that a bad thing, after all?” Discord thought aloud. “I mean, they've all been very kind to me, giving me this chance... but do I want a chance? Why do I want to be at the beck and call of a, let's face it, almost powerless alicorn? She can't even escape a tree, for chaos's sake!”
It was then that it occurred to him that the cloud had become somewhat less comfortable. Opening his eyes, he was surprised to find himself slowly sinking into sticky, pink candy-floss. Teleporting himself out above the clouds, he frowned. “Not that I mind a bit of randomness, oh no. But I'd much rather be the cause of it than the recipient!”
Suddenly the tinkling of a small silver bell became audible. Discord groaned. “I'd best go and see what her ladyship wants now.” With a small 'crack', and a flash of light, he was gone.
* * *
“Discord is on his way, sister, though he seems to be taking his time, somewhat.” The princesses were still in the throneroom, but had moved away from the window and were now seated upon their respective thrones.
“Do you think it wise to bring him here alone?” Luna voiced her misgivings, shifting slightly to gain a more comfortable position on the hard, stone chair. “Should we not also send for Princess Twilight and the other Bearers of the Elements?”
Celestia thought for a moment. “Yes, I agree with you. Despite not having the direct power of the Elements now that they have been reclaimed by the Tree, it is likely that some residual magic resides within their group still. And Fluttershy has always been able to convince Discord to change his course of action.”
The Princess of the Night smiled gently. “Indeed. It is plain to see that he holds her in high esteem, in spite of his attempts to hide his feelings.”
“I agree. It is decided then.” The Princess of the Sun turned to one of the Royal Guard stationed adjacent to her throne, issuing a command. “Take down a message.”
She waited until the guard was ready before continuing. “Write down this: “To Princess Twilight. I and Princess Luna require your immediate and urgent assistance at the Castle. Please come as soon as you receive this letter, and bring the rest of the holders of the Elements with you. Princess Celestia.” See that this is sent off straightaway.”
“Yes ma'am.”
As the dutiful soldier hastened to carry out his important task, Discord finally arrived, appearing with a flash of light which made the guard jump and almost drop the message to Twilight. “Hello ladies! So sorry to have kept you waiting, but I simply had to admire what you've done to the décor on my way over here. I must say I greatly prefer it over the older style.”
The frowns which greeted him as he approached the throned princesses would have been enough to curdle his blood, had he contained any blood capable of curdling. “Come now, ladies, why the long faces? Do you not find the random chaos appealing?”
“Stop joking around, Discord.” Luna was the first of the princesses to speak, her voice taking on a strong, resonant quality which only came to the fore when she was particularly riled. “This is your handiwork, and you know it! Have you any excuse?”
“I'm sure that I don't know what you mean, dear Luna! I sincerely wish I could take the credit for this wonderful transformation, but sadly that is not the case.”
Now Celestia stood up. “Are you seriously considering denying having played any part in this, Discord?”
“I am not merely considering, Celestia, I am stating a fact. I did not cause this chaos, delightful as it is, and am quite offended that you can find so little faith in me.” Discord pretended to wipe away imaginary tears from his eyes with a brown and grey handkerchief, temporarily conjured for just such a purpose.
“Stop messing about, Discord. I trust you realise the gravity of the situation we are in? Equestria will soon be under chocolate floodwaters an-”
She was cut off as Twilight, accompanied by her six closest friends, teleported into the chamber with yet another flash of light. Whatever Celestia had been about to say was immediately forgotten as an argument within the group, temporarily halted by the act of teleporting, but apparently already under full swing, broke out once more.
“Argh, Twilight, why did you do that! I've already told you, I've got stuff I need to be doing!” Rainbow Dash made as if to fly away, but was brought back down by Fluttershy, who barrelled into her from above, forcing her to the ground.
“Don't you dare go anywhere, Rainbow Crash! I haven't finished with you!” The usually calm and diffident pegasus sat heavily on Rainbow's side, precluding any chance of escape. Then she turned to Pinkie Pie who, on arrival, had retreated directly to a corner, and sat there quivering. “What's the matter, Pinkamine? To frightened to laugh? Not that you could make me laugh, even if you wanted to!”
This was too much for Pinkie, who burst into tears. She was not the only one to do so; Rarity had been quietly sobbing away in the background since their arrival, softly moaning to herself and eating spoonful after spoonful of vanilla ice cream.
Applejack, who had been making unobtrusive movements towards the door, was halted by a glare from Fluttershy. “Where d'you think you're going, buster?”
“Er... nowhere!” The orange farm-pony sat down heavily on the ground and began whistling in an attempt to appear inconspicuous.
Twilight, meanwhile, appeared oblivious to the mayhem unfolding around her, and approached the Princesses, who were blinking in surprise, and Discord, who was barely able to restrain himself from clapping his hands together with glee.
“What have I done wrong, Celestia? Why have you called me here, is it something I did? Is it something I forgot to do? Are you going to be angry with me and banish me for ever? Oh, please don't banish me! I'll try and fix it, whatever it is! Don't send me away, I'll make it right again!” Then Equestria's newest princess actually got down on her knees and began almost grovelling for forgiveness.
After her first few attempts at gaining her former student's attention went unnoticed, Celestia was forced to raise her voice. “Princess Twilight! Listen to me!” This had the intended effect, as everyone in the room, including Discord, Spike, and all the arguing ponies, fell silent.
“That's better.” Celestia shook her head slightly, holding a hoof up to her temple. “I could barely hear myself think. Princess Twilight, what exactly is going on here?”
Twilight took a deep breath and tried to explain. “The weather in Ponyville is going crazy, the animals have all taken on unprototypical means of locomotion and keep flying into my castle, which is also teleporting about with no apparent primary purpose, and everypony is arguing, even Fluttershy, and I don't know why!” She gestured to the last named who, having heard what was said about her, shook a hoof at Twilight before returning to banging Rainbow's head against the floor.
“Luna and I may have an answer.” The Princess, desperately trying to ignore what was happening in the background, spoke directly to Twilight and lowered her voice enough that nopony else but Luna would hear; Discord had gone over to speak to Fluttershy, with his efforts rewarded by an angry glare. “We had thought Discord was responsible for the chaotic changes to the outside world, and now that your friends are displaying similar symptoms to those they had whilst attempting to reform him, I am more convinced than ever.”
Despite the importance of what Celestia had to say, and the conspiratorial tone in which she said it, Twilight did not appear to be listening. She was nodding in agreement with the Princess but kept mumbling to herself, and her eyes were constantly roving around the room, first looking at Celestia, then at Luna, then Discord, then the floor, the ceiling, back at Discord, out through the window, at her own front hooves...
“Twilight! Are you alright?”
The sudden question brought the young princess to her senses once more, and she started. “Oh! Sorry, Celestia, I was just...”
As her protégé trailed off in confusion, Celestia exchanged glances with Luna. It seemed that not only had her friends been affected, but Twilight herself was now under the same sort of spell and, if that was the case, would be unable to help the others revert back to their true natures. As she surveyed the arguing ponies in her and her sister's throneroom, Celestia decided that enough, as they say, was enough.
She called over to Discord, who by now was trying to force Applejack to speak the truth. “Discord! Come here.”
The draconequus rolled his eyes at Applejack, picked them back up again, and teleported to directly in between the Princesses of the Sun and Moon, placing an arm around each of them. “You know, Trollestia, it really is more polite to ask someone to come to see you, rather than to command... unless that's the sort of thing you do with your friends, because I am a friend of yours, aren't I, hmm?”
“I'm not too sure about that, Discord.” After sharing a glance with Luna to ensure that what she was about to say could be spoken on behalf of them both, and moving out of the chaotic being's embrace, Celestia continued. “Look at these ponies. They never act this way normally, and in fact have only done so in the past on one occasion.” She paused to frown. “That one occasion was when you meddled with their minds and removed their true natures, replacing them with their anticharacters. Only you have the power to do this, and so I think it is only reasonable that I come to the conclusion that you must be behind this!”
Discord let his mouth hang open in mock surprise. “Really? And here was me thinking that the phrase 'give a dog a bad name and hang him' also applied to ponies; how silly of me!” He sighed sadly, before perking up. “But wait! I've just remembered. It wasn't me who made this chaos appear, no matter how much you try to pin the blame on me. But even it was me who did this, you wouldn't have been able to do a thing about it... you don't have the Elements any more, do you?”
“No, Discord, we do not. Which is partially why I am so inclined to presume it was you. Now that we have no sure fire way of stopping you, I believe it is natural to assume that you took advantage of your freedom, and decided to make do without the friendship which has been offered you, instead choosing to revert to chaos.”
Discord bared his teeth angrily. “You think you're so high and mighty, don't you, Your Highness? You think you always know everything, and that you could not possibly be wrong! Well, I stick to what I said. I did not cause this predicament you are in, but do know how to end it. I was going to tell you how but, as you simply refuse to believe that I, Discord, could possibly have anything useful to say, I shan't take up any more of your time. Good day!” And he left without another word, leaving a loud 'bang' and the smell of fish and chips behind as he went.
Celestia rested her head on her hooves. “Luna, I don't know what to do. If it is Discord we cannot stop him, and if it isn't, then... I don't know what we'll do.”
Luna sat back down beside her sister. “We'll think of something. What we do know is that we can't remove the chaos and revert Twilight and her friends' characters back to normal, at least not in the same way we did last time. Twilight was unaffected when Discord imbued the others with their anticharacters, but now that she is also affected she cannot be of assistance to us. We must work this out for ourselves.”
Sighing in agreement, Celestia stood up once more, calling over to the third princess in the room and distracting her from scribbling feverishly into a notebook. “Twilight?”
“Yes, Princess Celestia?”
“Thank you for coming, you have been a great help. You may take your friends back to Ponyville now. I will let you know if we need you again.”
Twilight bowed and collected the five other mares and Spike together again. They were still arguing and fighting, and Pinkie and Rarity continued sobbing into their hooves. “Come on, girls, Spike, let's go back home.” After a slight delay when Rainbow Dash refused to coöperate, ending with Twilight having to physically hold her from taking off and flying away, the purple alicorn ignited her horn, recited the necessary spell in her head, and the group was gone, gone in a cloud of lavender smoke.
