April 1st is coming, and Discord wants to make the most of it!
Discord discovers April 1st is Prank Day, and is determined to partake in the annual pony custom. Can Twilight survive the day? *** Not related to any other stories I've written, though be sure to check out Fluttershy's Prank Day. *** Thanks to ItIsASillyLittleGame for helping improve this story. *** The cover art comes from the What About Discord? episode of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. *** My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is owned by Hasbro.
“Oh, Rainbow Dash is fine. She’s busy all week training for the Wonderbolts’ new season. She says that this year’s show will be the best ever.” Fluttershy lifted her cup from the saucer and took a sip of tea. She wondered, “Discord, have you ever been to a Wonderbolts’ show?”
“Me? No. Of course, I was a little busy being Celestia’s lawn ornament for a thousand years.”
“I think you’d like it. They do all sorts of dangerous stunts in their shows. They’ll be coming to Ponyville in a few weeks and we're all planning on going. You’re more than welcome to join us.”
“I’ll consider it,” said the draconequus in a disinterested tone.
“Pinkie is just happy that Rainbow Dash will be back on Saturday. She has a special surprise for her,” giggled Fluttershy.
“Oh? What’s that?”
“Well, you remember those cookies that turn a pony’s mouth rainbow-colored?”
“You mean when you pretended that everypony was a cookie zombie and scared the living daylights out of Rainbow Dash?” asked Discord, suddenly hanging on every word of Fluttershy’s and bearing a devious grin upon his face.
“Well, Pinkie kept a box hidden all these months. She’s going to slip Rainbow Dash a few cookies when she’s not expecting it.”
“Oh, is that all?” Discord leaned back in his chair, losing interest in the unimaginative exploits of a certain pink pony. He began taking a sip of his tea.
“Well, that’s just one of several things she has planned for Prank Day.”
Pfffffft! Discord spit out his tea. “Did you say ‘Prank Day’?”
Fluttershy, her face and chest dripping with tea, said, “Oh... um... did I?”
Discord snapped his fingers and in an instant half a dozen towels flew in and dried the pegasus off. “Prank Day. That sounds like a lot of fun.” He paused to consider the implications, then turned to Fluttershy. “How come I’m only hearing about this now?”
Fluttershy, suddenly nervous, stammered, “Oh. Um. Well... given that you... um... well... like to... um... spread chaos and take things... a little too far... it was decided... um," Fluttershy cringed, "not to tell you.”
“Not tell me about Prank Day! Not tell the Lord of Chaos about a holiday practically tailor-made for him?” Discord showed a bit of anger, then suddenly became hurt. “Fluttershy, I can’t believe you’d go along with this. I thought we were friends.”
Looking guilty, Fluttershy explained, “I didn’t want to keep it a secret, but the other ponies insisted. Twilight convinced them that we shouldn’t tell you. They think you take things a little too far. Remember the Grand Galloping Gala?”
“That all worked out in the end.”
“Or when we returned from Yakyakistan and found Twilight’s castle a giant board game?”
“Well, that was Guys’ Night.”
“Or when you pretended to be sick and made Princess Cadence and Twilight take care of you?”
“Okay, okay. I get the point. Still though, how could you not tell me about my favorite holiday?”
“Your 'favorite holiday'?” asked Fluttershy, a tiny bit of sarcasm underlining her voice.
“Well once you'd mentioned it, it became my favorite holiday. Ooo, I’ll have to start planning right away. I must come up with a special prank to get back at Twilight.” Fluttershy let out a small gasp, but Discord was too busy thinking to notice. “How did this holiday start by the way?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Well, I know one pony who would.” Standing up, he said, “I must be off.”
“Dis–.” But before she could finish, the draconequus had already flashed away.
~~~
Princess Twilight Sparkle sat happily reading in her private castle library. In front of her face a brand-new book about magic theory hung in a purple magical aura. Upon her desk lay several piles of brand new books sent by Princess Celestia from the Royal Canterlot Library, all neatly organized by subject. On either side of the desk stood stacks of thick volumes sent by Princess Cadence from the national library of the Crystal Empire.
She read:
…It has been argued for centuries that magic is neither inherently good nor bad. Rather it is in the application and intent of the caster behind the magical spell that determines its legal and ethical implications. However, this argument is predicated on the premise that magical spells are derived in a vacuum. In order to truly evaluate magic’s implications, we must consider the spell’s conception. How was the spell discovered? What was the intent of the creator? What types of magic were used in its inception?
Let us explore these issues in a case study. Consider Starswirl the Bearded’s spell for...
Twilight quickly turned the page, but instead of text she was greeted with an image of Discord. Confused, she looked to see if two pages stuck together, but she had turned precisely one page. She leaned in to determine if pages had been torn from form the book.
“Hello Twilight,” said the image.
“Wha!” Twilight stumbled backwards, dropping the book onto the marble floor. The flat image inflated until half of Discord extended from the page. “Discord! Don’t ever surprise me like that again!”
“Would you prefer I just appear out of thin air?”
“What do you want?”
“Two words: Prank Day.”
Momentarily surprised, she quickly retorted, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, I think you do,” insisted the draconequus as he stepped out of the book.
“Fluttershy!” muttered Twilight.
“Oh, don’t be so hard on her. She let it slip out during our Tuesday Tea. Quite frankly I’m surprised she kept it a secret from me for this long.” He paused for a moment. “Now that I think about it, it makes sense why Celestia always has some sort of ” he made air quotes “ ‘Special Mission’ for me every April 1st. Last year I spent a week in Saddle Arabia.”
“You cause enough trouble on normal days. We could only imagine what sort of mayhem you would unleash on the unofficial holiday of Prank Day.”
“But the holiday was practically made for me. The Spirit of Chaos. The Purveyor of Pandemonium. The Lord of Lawlessness. The Earl –”
“The holiday has nothing to do with you.”
Discord deflated to the sound of air escaping from a balloon until he lay as a lifeless heap upon the floor. In an instant he disappeared and suddenly in a flash the library transformed into a college classroom. Discord sat in a row of chairs, pad of paper in hand as he eagerly took down notes. He wore large black-framed glasses upon his face and sported a blue sweatshirt that read “State”. A confused Twilight stood behind a lectern at the front of the class, a mortarboard residing on her head. Discord excitedly raised his hand. “Professor Twilight! Professor Twilight!”
Snapping back to the moment, Twilight responded, “Yes Discord?”
“Can you tell us how Prank Day was founded?” Suddenly another Discord raised his hand, “Can you derive the equation for the perfect Prank Day prank?” A third Discord raised his hand, “Will this be on the final exam?”
“Well, normally I would love to give a long lecture on a historical event. However, specifics on this topic are rather limited.” The Discords all let out a moan. “What the history books tell us is that the holiday originated over a thousand years ago, about a decade prior to Nightmare Moon. While Equestria’s capital lay at the Castle of the Two Sisters, a massive prank was played. Details are rather sketchy, but it seemed to involve cake, the Royal Guard, and a large number of parasprites.”
“Is that all?”
“I’m afraid so.”
The room flashed back to a library. “All these books and that is all you have for the history of Prank Day?”
“Well, it is an unofficial holiday. Ponies generally play pranks on one another and then shout ‘Prank Day!’” Her eyes narrowed. “The pranks are good natured and no one gets hurt. Nopony ever takes things too far.”
“Well it’s a good thing I’m not a pony,” said the draconequus dismissively.
“Discord!”
“Fine, fine. But I plan on partaking in this delightful holiday of yours. You insisted I learn about friendship, but shouldn’t I explore other aspects of Equestrian culture? You wouldn’t want to deprive me, to condemn me to an eternity of cultural ignorance, would you?” A small, weak Discord stood before Twilight, producing the biggest eyes and poutiest lips he could muster.
“Fine. But use restraint. Ponies aren’t ready for your full-blown chaos.”
Discord lay in a chair, a buzzing sound coming from near his arm as another Discord stood over him wielding some sort of power tool. Finally Discord got up and hovered over Twilight. Pulling up his fur, he revealed a large heart tattoo on his arm that read “Mother.”
“'Mother?'” asked Twilight.
“Oh, wrong one.” He spun around and pulled his fur down, revealing a large tattoo on his flank that read “Restraint.” “By the way Twilight, you’ve just been mooned!” he cackled.
“Dis–!” But before she could finish, the draconequus had already flashed away.
Spike trotted down the sweeping grand staircase and across the vast entrance hall. The little dragon swung open the main door to the castle. “Princess Cadence!” he exclaimed.
“Good afternoon, Spike,” greeted the pink alicorn, flanked by two Crystal Guards. “Where is Twilight?”
“She’s upstairs in the library,” replied Spike. “She said you were coming for tea, so I’ll show take you to the dining room.”
Princess Cadence nodded then turned to her guards, “I will be with my sister-in-law for a while. You two go enjoy yourselves in town,” she told them, being met with salutes in response.
Spike led the Princess across the entrance hall and up the stairs to the dining room. “Wait here while I go get Twilight,” said the young drake before turning and trotting out of the room.
Princess Cadence marvelled at the room she found herself standing in. Smooth walls featured a pattern of light and dark purple hues while pillars of solid crystal framed each wall, the light casting each facet in a different shade. Beautiful paintings and large tapestries hung on the walls. Elsewhere in the room stood columns made of pure white marble, supporting vases overflowing with fresh flowers. Cadence had not been misinformed when she was told Rarity helped decorate the dining room.
After a short wait Twilight came into the room with Spike in tow. The purple alicorn walked up to the bigger one, and in a display of childish delight, both began:
Sunshine! Sunshine! Ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!
The two ponies went in for the hug. “It’s so nice to see you Twilight.”
“Cadence, I’m so glad that you could come.” Turning to Spike, she requested, “Would you get us some tea?”
“Right away,” replied Spike as he headed to the kitchen.
The two princesses walked to the table and took their seats. Cadence wasted no time in bringing up the reason for her visit. “So, you say you’re worried about Discord?”
“Two words: Prank Day.”
“He was bound to find out sometime.”
“Still, I’m worried about what he’ll do. With him things always get out of hoof.”
“Yes, I did hear about the Grand Galloping Gala.”
“When I came back from Princess Celestia’s goodwill tour of Yakyakistan, he had turned the entire castle into a giant game of Ogres & Oubliettes.”
Cadence glanced around. “Well, he cleans up nicely.”
“That’s not the point. Who knows what sort of mayhem he’ll unleash?”
“As a friend of Fluttershy’s, and dare I say it, a friend of yours, I think you owe him the benefit of the doubt.”
Just then Spike came in pushing a small tea cart. He passed out cups and saucers and placed containers of honey, sugar and milk in the center of the table. Picking up the kettle, he gave a quick smile before blowing a large green flame. Within moments the familiar whistle of steam escaping indicated that the brew was ready as scents of fresh tea wafted throughout the dining room.
“It’s been so long since I had your special dragon-fired tea,” lamented Cadence.
“I hope you like it,” replied Spike.
AHCHOOOO!!!
“Bless you,” said Spike and Cadence in unison to Twilight.
A confused Twilight looked back at the two of them and responded, “It wasn’t me.”
Confused, the three stared at each other for a moment.
AHCHOOOO!!!
The three glanced upwards towards where the sneeze had originated. Twilight took off and slowly flew around the room, seeking the source of the mysterious sneeze. After a moment something caught her eye and she sent out a powerful wave of magical energy, causing a ripping sound that echoed throughout the room. “Discord!” yelled Twilight.
“You’ve ruined my blind.”
“Your what?”
“My blind. It’s used to observe creatures in their natural habitat.”
“'Creatures in their natural habitat?'” asked an increasingly angry Twilight.
“Yes, I’m observing Twilightus Sparkleus.”
“Why are you watching Twilight?” asked Cadence.
“Hello Cadence, it’s been so long.”
“Yes....”
“Discord!” demanded Twilight.
“Well, in order to pull off the best Prank Day prank, one must know their victim – I mean target – I mean recipient.”
“How long have you been watching me?”
“Oh, not long.” He pulled out his notebook and started going through the entries:
0730: Twilight eats breakfast consisting of three scrambled eggs, whole wheat toast, butter, and red jam, likely raspberry. 0800: Receives biweekly deliveries of apples from Applejack: five red delicious, three granny smith, three jazz, two macintosh. 0830 to 1000: Final magic lesson with Starlight before she goes home to visit family. 1000: Studying in the lib–
“I get the point,” said Twilight flatly. “You have no right to spy on me.”
“Yeah, that’s just creepy,” agreed Spike.
“Discord, you should respect Twilight’s privacy,” counseled Cadence.
“Here I thought you were on my side,” said Discord to Cadence. "Very well, I won’t invade the private spaces anymore.”
“Dis–.” But before she could finish, the draconequus had already flashed away.
Twilight walked down the street towards her destination though her progress was, quite naturally, slow. As the Princess of Friendship, she greeted or was greeted by all the ponies she came across. But finally, she rounded the corner and saw her destination. Standing in front of her was a giant gingerbread house, the town’s favorite sweet shop and home to Pinkie Pie – Sugarcube Corner. Twilight walked up and used her magic to open the door, being instantly greeted with a rush of wonderful smells, from cookies to cake to ice cream and countless other treats. Taking a seat at a table, Twilight didn't have to wait long for a bouncing pink pony to come over and greet her.
“Hiya Twilight!”
“Hello Pinkie Pie.”
“What can I get you?”
“Oh, I don’t know. It all looks so good.”
“We have several specials today. We have white chocolate macadamian nut brownies, chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecake, and shoofly pie.” Pinkie giggled. “Shoofly pie. That’s a funny name for a pie!”
“Hmm, so many choices.”
A voice behind her said, “The white chocolate macadamian nut brownies are good, but the chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecake is to die for.”
Twilight spun around. “Discord!”
“Twilight!”
“Pinkie!” chimed in the pink pony.
“What are you doing here Discord!?” demanded Twilight.
“Enjoying the wonderful food, of course.”
“You’re spying on me!”
“Now, now. I was here first, wasn’t I Pinkie?”
“Yes in deedy-doodle.”
Twilight huffed. “Fine. I’ll take a slice of chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecake – to go!”
“But Twilight –” protested Pinkie.
“To Go!” responded Twilight flatly.
~~~
Twilight sat happily reading a book in the library. The thick tome was one of several sent by Princess Celestia. In a letter a few days earlier, Twilight had mentioned to Celestia that she had read all the books in her own library. Though she meant it as just an off the cuff remark, Celestia had repsonded by sending a dozen thick books from the Royal Canterlot Library. Apparently she mentioned it to Princess Cadence, who also loaned two dozen books from the library in the Crystal Empire. It had only been three days, and Twilight was polishing off the last of the books Celestia had sent. She couldn’t wait to dive into the other dusty volumes.
The door opened, and a small blue unicorn entered. “Hello?”
Twilight stood up. “Yes, welcome to the Ponyville Library. I haven’t seen you here before. You must be new to town. What’s your name?”
The pony looked up, “You’re a princess?”
“Well, yes, I’m Princess Twilight Sparkle but I also run the town’s library.” The little filly just stared up in awe at Twilight. After an uncomfortable silence, Twilight prompted, “What can I help you with?”
The little filly swallowed, “The teacher assigned us a history report.”
“You mean Miss Cheerilee? Yes, she’s doing History Week in class. I will be speaking at your school tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
“So what is your topic?”
“The founding of Ponyville.”
“Ooo. I know just the book!” She led the little filly among the rows of bookshelves until they came to the history section. Levitating a particular book, she said, “I think you will find all – WHAAA!” She dropped the book onto the floor and the little filly cowered behind her. “Discord! What are you doing here?”
Dicord’s face occupied the space where the book had been sitting on the shelf. “Why patronizing the library of course!” he replied as he stepped out from the shelving.
“You’re spying on me!”
“This is a public library, is it not?”
“Well, yes –”
“And I’ve been reading the most interesting book.” He held up a copy of Pranks for Dummies. “Well, I must be off. So much to do before Saturday,” he said with a devious smile.
“Dis–.” But before she could finish, the draconequus had already flashed away.
Twilight walked towards the Ponyville schoolhouse, with a certain skip to her step this beautiful spring morning. She loved school as a filly, and now she was going to teach. Well, really to give a presentation on the Royal Sisters and her role along with the other Elements of Harmony in reforming Nightmare Moon and reuniting the two siblings. But still, inspring young and impressionable ponies. She had all her notes organized, slides prepared, and even a pop quiz drafted to gauge how well the foals listened. She was so excited!
She approached the little red schoolhouse. Foals were playing outside, enjoying the last bit before school started.
DongDongDongDongDong!
The foals stopped their play and hurried into the school. Twilight looked up to see a pink pony standing in the bell and happily ringing it by banging her head against it. Pinkie Pie sure loved to ring that bell!
“Hello Cheerilee!” greeted Twilight.
“Hello Princess Twilight!”
“I can’t wait to give my lecture on the Royal Sisters!” said Twilight as the two walked up the steps.
“Yes, I hope it isn’t too long, we had a last minute volunteer for a history talk.”
“Really? Who?”
“He –”
“Discord!” yelled Twilight.
“Hello Twilight!” he replied, a devious smile plastered across his face.
“Discord volunteered to talk about ancient Equestrian history,” explained Cheerilee.
“Yes, once I heard that this was History Week at Ponyville Elementary, I just had to discuss my experiences in the ancient past.”
“Discord you’re following me!” said a furious Twilight.
“Dear Twilight, would you deny these young eager minds the chance to hear about ancient history from someone with firsthand experience?”
Twilight looked out upon all the youngs foals sitting at their desks. “Fine!”
~~~
Twilight sat motionless, just enjoying the peace and quiet. And steam. After having to put up with Discord’s presentation, which she hated to admit was actually pretty good, she decided to get away from everything. She surreptitiously made her way to the Ponyville Day Spa, and, after a hushed conversation with a staff member, slipped into the steam room unseen. All she wanted was to be alone and relax, the warm steam melting her cares away. She let out a contented sigh.
“I agree, the steam really relaxes the muscles and cleanses the pores.”
“Dis–.” But before she could finish, the draconequus had already flashed away.
Twilight opened her eyes. She could see the various furnishings of her bedroom looming in the darkness. She rolled over and peered out the window to see it was still night, with not even the faintest hint of Celestia’s sun waiting behind the distant horizon.
Twilight rolled onto her back. She felt tired. Very tired. She had tossed and turned all night, fearing what the next day would bring. Oh no! It’s Prank Day! She shot up in her bed and used her horn to fill the room with an intense white light. Instantly her eyes felt pain at the sudden brightness, making her squint for a few moments until her eyes adjusted. She scanned the room for any signs of Discord’s work, but found nothing out of the ordinary.
Realizing that she would not be going back to sleep, she grudgingly climbed out of bed. She walked over to the lamp and flipped it on, ceasing her own magical light at the same time. She turned to the mirror, half expecting to find some horrible image looking back. Nothing. She began brushing her disheveled mane into something respectable. Well, one good thing about waking up early was that she could get a head start on that day’s reading....
The library lay dark and quiet. The main door swung open slowly and the light switch flipped on as Twilight cautiously entered, inspecting for any chaos. Finding nothing, she trotted over to her desk and picked up the book she had been reading the day before, The Duel: Bare vs. Hoofilton. She opened the page to where her bookmark was and started to read. Except, she couldn’t read. The text had changed! Instead of the Equestrian, everything was printed in Zebrecan!
She put the book down and reached for the next one, Mystic Magic of Marelin the Magnificent. But the text in this book was in Germane! She reached for the third book, Wisdom & Wit, but this one was in Griffon! Every one of the books Princess Cadence sent her had been changed to a foreign language. “Discord!” yelled Twilight.
Instantly a bed appeared above her. The draconequus pulled off his sleep mask and leaned over the edge, a small pink-maned yellow pegasus plushy in his arm. Yawn! “Good morning Twilight.”
“Don’t ‘Good Morning Twilight’ me. I know what you’ve done!”
Discord reached for an alarm clock that floated nearby. “Isn’t it a bit early to accuse me of stuff I didn’t do?”
“Discord!”
“What’s going on?” came a voice from behind her.
Twilight turned to see Spike in the doorway, rubbing his eyes. “Discord messed with my books,” replied Twilight.
“I did no such thing,” countered Discord.
“Yes you did!” pressed Twilight.
“What happened?” asked Spike.
“He changed all the text to a foreign language that I can’t read.” Twilight held up a book for Spike to read, but was surprised when he started laugh. “Spike, this isn’t funny!”
“After you went to bed, I swapped your books with foreign language ones I borrowed from Princess Celestia.”
“You did what?” asked Twilight. “But these are the books Cadence sent me.”
“Pffft!” Spike struggled to keep his composure. He took the book from the aura and removed the dust cover to show Twilight. “I swapped out the dust covers. See?”
Twilight looked down to see that, indeed, the hardback cover was of a different book.
“Twilight,” said Discord, “if you’re done accusing me of a crime I didn’t commit, I’m going back to sleep.”
“Dis–!” But before she could finish, the draconequus had already flashed away.
~~~
Twilight sat finishing her pancakes. After spending some time reading the right books in the library, she went to the dining room to eat. Maybe Spike had planned a special breakfast, or maybe he felt bad for his prank, but he had outdone himself this time. They were even better than Pinkie Pie’s Every Berry Every Chip Surprise!
“One more?” asked Spike.
“No thank you. I’ve had plenty.”
Spike collected the dishes and headed to the kitchen, leaving Twilight alone. She leaned back and closed her eyes, feeling much better with a full stomach. She felt happy, the pancakes’ associated sugar high taking care of her drowsiness. Maybe today won’t be so bad after all....
Knock! Knock!
Twilight opened her eyes. Somepony at the door. She got off the chair and headed down the hall. After descending the staircase, she trotted across the vast entrance hall and opened the large front door. “Applejack!” she greeted.
“Howdy Twilight!” replied the farmpony.
“What brings you by today?”
“Ah’m just here with yer twice weekly delivery of apples.”
“Ooo. I think Spike finished off the last of the apples yesterday.”
Applejack walked to her cart parked at the bottom of the front steps. Grabbing a heavy basket, she returned to Twilight. “Here ya go!”
Twilight looked down at the basket of fruit. “Uh, Applejack? These are pineapples.”
“It’s just a different type of apple.”
“No, they’re pineapples.”
“Pineapples.”
“Pineapples.”
“Pine-apples.”
Twilight leaned in and glared at Applejack. She could detect no deceit, nor any smirk, smile, or curl of the mouth. “Discord!” she yelled.
The draconequus appeared next to Applejack. “Yes Twilight?”
“Discord, you’ve hipnotized Applejack! ow she thinks pineapples are a type of apple.”
He transformed into a kaki shirt, green shorts, and a sash with a number of badges. ““I’ve done no such thing!” He raised three fingers, “Scout’s honor.”
“Ha-ha-ha-ha,” Applejack laughed. “Boy, Ah sure did get you good Twilight!”
“What?” replied Twilight.
“Ah’m an apple farmer, how’d you think Ah’d ever confuse a pineapple for an apple!?”
“Well, uh –”
“By the way Twilight, I picked today’s paper for you,” said Discord. He handed her the latest copy of the Foal Free Press.
Taking it with her magic, she glanced at the headlining story on the front page. It read:
Princess Twilight to Abdicate.
She started to read:
Princess Twilight Sparkle is to abdicate her position as the Princess of Friendship, confirm sources within Canterlot Castle. The Princess has been facing a massive corruption probe -
Twilight looked up at Discord. “What did you do?”
“Again you accuse me!? You should go to the end of the article.”
Twilight looked to the very end of the article. She read:
The staff of the Foal Free Press would like to say to Princess Twilight Sparkle: Prank Day!
Discord said in a dismissive tone, “Really Twilight. Since when does a school newspaper publish on Saturdays? Oh well, I’m going back to my pranking!” Discord cracked a devious smile before he flashed away.
~~~
Twilight trotted down the street, eager to meet Pinkie Pie and Rarity at Sugarcube Corner. Maybe having lunch with her friends would take her mind off the pranks she experienced that day?
Coming down the street Twilight spied the conspicuous black and white stripped zebra Zecora. To think when she arrived in Ponyville the townsfolk had treated her with fear and suspicion. Even Twilight had succumbed to thinking Zecora was some type of witch, hexing and cursing her friends... Hairity... Rainbow Crash... Spitty Pie... Apple Teeny... Flutterguy. But it was all the doings of the poison joke that Zecora tried to warn them about.
“Hello Zecora,” greeted Twilight.
“How are you today Twilight?” asked Zecora.
“I’m fine.”
“You don’t sound fine.”
“Well, it’s just that – say, what’s going on?”
“What do you mean?”
“Normally you rhyme all the time.” Twilight frowned. “Nothing to fear, I’ll get Discord here. Oh, no! Now I’m starting to rhyme!” She facehoofed. “Discord!”
“Now what do you want Twilight?”
“You changed Zecora! Now she doesn’t rhyme when she talks!”
“Again with the accusations!” Discord sat in a chair, his hand on a Bible. Another Discord standing in a fancy suit turned to him and said, “Discord, do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?” The Discord sitting in the chair replied, “I do.” The standing Discord asked, “Did you put Zecora under a spell? Might I remind you that you are under oath.” The Discord in the chair replied, “No sir!” The standing Discord said, “Ladies and Gentlecolts of the jury, you heard his testimony.” A Discord rose from a crowd of twelve Discords and said, “The jury finds Discord not guilty.”
“Discord!” yelled Twilight.
Zecora chuckled, “Discord is free of crime, at least this time. On you I played a joke, please forgive me for the poke.”
“Zecora, you’re all better! Wait!”
Zecora chuckled some more. “Twilight let me be frank, my speech was a prank.”
“See?” asked Discord before he flashed away.
Zecora turned to Twilight. “Today you seem blue, tell me what troubles you.”
Twilight rubbed her brow. “Today’s Prank Day, and I’ve been expecting Discord to prank me all day, but every prank has been done by my friends.”
“You should find some cheer, this day comes once a year. Do not make a mistake, on this day you should partake.”
“Thanks Zecora, but I’ve seen enough pranks today.”
“I must be on my way, I wish you well today.”
“Have a nice day Zecora,” said Twilight as the zebra continued down the street.
Twilight walked down the street and rounded the corner to Sugarcube Corner. Maybe some lunch with my friends will take my mind off the day I’ve been having? She walked to the sweet shop and opened the door. Wonderful aromas of freshly bakes treats greeted her as she observed the main dining room filled with all sorts of ponies.
“Twilight! Over here!” waved Pinkie Pie.
Twilight made her way through the crowd to the table along the wall. She took a seat and greeted her companions. “Hello Pinkie Pie. Hello Rarity.”
“Twilight, so nice to see you darling,” responded Rarity.
“Yeah, Rarity and I have been waiting for you to come in.”
“Oh, it’s so good to see you two,” said Twilight. “I was delayed by some pranks.”
“Were any of these perpetrated by Discord?” queried a concerned Rarity.
“No, surprisingly enough. Although I’m sure he’ll pull some sort of prank,” said Twilight, noticing that drinks for everypony had already been ordered. “Until then, I’ll just have to be on my guard.” She levitated the cup and took a sip. Instantly her mouth felt as though it were on fire. “Ah, ah, ah!” Frantically looking around, she saw a large pitcher of lemonade sitting on the counter across the room. She grabbed it with her magic and, as if propelled by a giant rubber band, the pitcher came hurtling towards her. Splosh! A lot of the lemonade made it into her mouth, quelling the raging fire, but much of it drenched her face and mane. Pinkie giggled while Rarity expressed a look of shock. “I’m going to get cleaned up!” declared Twilight. With that she hopped off her chair and made her way to the restroom, ignoring the stares she was getting from the other patrons.
Twilight dried off the lemonade, but to her dismay discovered her mane and fur were now sticky, causing her to use wet paper towels to clean off. It was then she discovered that something had happened to her horn. It wasn’t straight and stiff, but floppy. “Discord!” she yelled in frustration.
“Twilight how – Wow! You don’t look so good.”
“Discord what are you doing here!?”
“Why you called me here,” he said matter-of-factly.
“But this is the Mares’ Room!”
Discord looked around and realized where he was, then quickly flashed away. Twilight stood there, sticky and angry. She finished cleaning herself the best she could, but always her eyes were drawn to her limp horn.
After fifteen minutes of cleaning, Twilight walked out of the Mares’ Room and made her way through the crowd to rejoin her friends. Her frustration and anger were evident to all.
“Twilight dear, take a seat,” said Rarity calmly. Twilight sat down in her chair across from her friends. “We must apologize to you, for Pinkie and I did not coordinate our pranks.”
“Your pranks! But it was Discord who spiked my tea and ruined my horn.”
“Actually,” began Pinkie Pie, “I was the one who put hot sauce in your tea. I didn’t realize it would make your mouth that hot. I’m sorry.”
“And Twilight,” continued Rarity, “Pinkie didn’t realize that I had slipped poison joke into your tea. That’s why your horn is limp.”
“Why?” asked Twilight.
“It was meant to be a harmless prank, and an excuse to take you to the spa. After hearing of your past few days, I thought it would help you relax.”
“So Discord had nothing to do with it?”
Rarity and Pinkie Pie exchanged glances, then Rarity said, “No darling. He pulled pranks on both of us, but this was not his prank.”
“Ugh!” Twilight put her head down on the table.
“Are you okay Twilight?” asked Pinkie Pie.
“I hate this day,” moaned Twilight.
“I’ll have none of this,” proclaimed Rarity. “We are going to have a good lunch, then I’m taking you to the spa. They already have a poison joke bubble bath prepared for you.”
“Really?”
“I wouldn’t pull a prank on you without being ready to make it right.”
“And I’ll get you the most delicious, scrumptious-rumptious treats,” said Pinkie Pie.
Twilight smiled. Even though they had pulled pranks on her, Pinkie Pie and Rarity were friends indeed.
~~~
Twilight and Rarity exited the Ponyville Day Spa. Rarity looked just as happy as when she normally finished at the spa. Twilight, on the other hoof, looked completely different. Her mane and coat had been cleaned, hooves trimmed and polished, wings preened, and horn back to its normal straight shape. She turned to Rarity, “That was a relaxing few hours.”
“I’m so glad to hear it darling,” she replied.
“After that massage, I don’t feel like I have a care in all of Equestria.”
“That’s what I wanted to hear. Given the past few days, you seemed a bit... stressed.”
“Well, Discord has been following me everywhere. And I know it’s just a matter of time before he pranks me.”
“He has you on edge dear.”
“I guess you’re –” Twilight stared up in the sky. “Diiiiiscord!”
Suddenly the draconequus flashed in front of the two mares. “Yes,” he said with a devious inflection.
“Would you care to explain that!” she pointed up to the sky.
“My, my, Discord. You certainly make your pranks conspicuous.”
The three stared up in the sky to see four clouds hanging over Ponyville, all a portrait of Twilight’s head. One featured an angry Twilight, one a surprised Twilight, one a Twilight on the verge of a nervous breakdown, and one of a Twilight sticking out her tongue and looking completely goofy.
“I didn’t do it, I swear,” replied Discord wearing a white robe. Using his majestic white wings, he rose a few feet off the ground. Suddenly a halo appeared over his head to the sound of a heavenly choir.
“Well, if you didn’t do it, then –” The gears started turning in Twilight’s head.
“Twilight, who else is good with clouds and loves pranks?” asked Discord.
“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight looked about and spied a low-lying cloud with a rainbow-colored tail dangling from the edge. The three approached the cloud. “Rainbow Dash!”
Yawn! Rainbow Dash leaned over from the cloud. “Oh hi Twilight. What’s up?” Twilight angrily pointed to the sculpted clouds. “You’re only now seeing that? I did that hours ago.”
“Twilight and I have been spending the afternoon at the spa,” explained Rarity.
“Oh, well, Prank Day!”
“Rainbow Dash!” exclaimed Twilight.
“I must be off,” said Discord. “Still so many ponies to prank. Don’t you agree Twilight?”
“Dis–!” But before she could finish, the draconequus had already flashed away.
~~~
Twilight sat in bed reading. After confronting Rainbow Dash, she returned to the castle and locked herself inside. Still, she was not about to let her guard down. She was going to stay up all night so as to not be surprised by Discord.
Yawn! She looked over at the clock and saw it was 10:59 PM. Only one hour left! Or should she stay awake until Celestia rose the sun? Maybe Discord would say Prank Day only ended at sunrise? She turned back to her book, about the war between Prance and Germaney:
...In response to these defeats, the Prench forces fell back from the border. Several retreating columns converged on the town of Saddle. The army reformed to lift the siege of Merens.
Yawn!
Realizing the vulnerability of the Prench forces, the Germanes were quick to move their forces to trap the Prench in the valley. Von Moyle divided his forces to cut off all –
Yawn!
– avenues of retreat. These forces moved rapidly before the Prench could respond to their movements.
Yawn!
Realizing they were surrounded, the Prench abandoned their plans to raise the siege –
Yawn!
– and instead attempt a breakout.
Yawn!
Twilight laid the book upon her chest. She felt extremely tired. Having not had a good night’s sleep the night before, she was more tired than normal at this hour. Her eyes closed. Instantly she snapped back from her drowsiness. She took the book and continued reading:
Twilight opened her eyes to see the rays of Celestia’s sun filling the room with light, indicating is was a beautiful spring day. Twilight felt something heavy on her chest. Looking down, she saw the thick book she had been reading the night before spread before her. Setting the book aside, she slowly climbed out of bed. Twilight walked over the dresser and, with some hesitation, looked in the mirror. She saw her normal image. Well, her mane was a mess and needed to be combed, but it was her normal image. Her fur and feathers were purple, her mane was dark purple with a pink streak, and her horn was straight and stiff. Nothing was amiss.
After combing her mane, Twilight cautiously walked down the hallway, looking for any sign of mayhem. She opened the library door and peered in. All the books, save her personal stack at her desk, sat neatly arranged in the bookcases. She walked to the top of the staircase. Nothing out of place in the entrance hall.
“Twilight!”
“Yes Spike?” she said with some concern.
“I’m glad you’re up. I have breakfast ready.”
“Oh, okay.”
Twilight followed Spike to the dining room. He headed off to the kitchen to fetch breakfast, while she took her seat at the table. Twilight could smell Prench toast and she could hear sizzling barley strips. She sighed in happiness at the peace and quiet. Looking down, she found a note on her plate written in syrup:
Prank Day! – Discord
“DISCORD!!!”
~~~
Fluttershy carefully placed a flower bulb in the hole she had dug. She pushed extra dirt to fill the hole completely and packed the earth down. She reached over and picked up a watering can, then sprinkled water over the now-buried flower bulb.
Discord was on his knees a few feet away, planting some flowers. “Really Fluttershy, I wish you’d reconsider my offer.”
“Discord, I told you I want to plant flowers around my house.”
“But the Venus flytrap is a flowering plant. Ooo, I could make a special one for you that talks. It could be a new friend.”
“But it might eat some of the lovely bugs that fly around my home.”
“I’m sure you could teach little Audrey to behave.”
“Audrey?”
“Well, shouldn’t a plant have a name? You name all your animal friends.”
“Well, I suppose you’re right.”
“About the flytrap?”
“About naming plants. I can imagine –”
“DISCORD!” came a voice from behind the two of them.
Discord and Fluttershy turned to see a visibly angry Twilight running down the path towards them.
“Oh my. Twilight is everything alright?” asked Fluttershy.
“Discord! What did you do!?”
“What do you mean Twilight?” asked Discord innocently.
“Is the crystal of my castle rock candy? Did you hide something valuable of mine? Did you sneak a monster into my home? Did you switch the sugar and the salt? Discord! What! Did! You! Do!?”
“Twilight, what’s going on?” asked Fluttershy.
“At breakfast this morning I found his note. It read: Prank Day!”
Fluttershy turned to Discord. “Discord, what did you do?” she asked in a concerned, though calm, voice.
Discord said with a smile, “Nothing!”
“What?” asked Twilight.
“I did nothing.”
“What do you mean you ‘did nothing’?” demanded Twilight.
“That’s just it. I did nothing.”
“Discord, could you explain?” prodded Fluttershy.
“After hearing about how Twilight thought I shouldn’t learn about Prank Day, I decided to get revenge by pulling a prank on her. I observed her for three days to determine the best prank. She knew a prank was coming from me and she was all on edge. So, I decided the best prank I could do would be – nothing.”
“You mean you didn’t prank Twilight?” asked Fluttershy.
“Oh, I did. It was nothing.”
“Dis–!” But before Twilight could finish, she was interrupted by the giggling of Fluttershy.
