Fight to the Finish

Previously on MLPT_…

                “So I’m sure you’re all ready with some crazy magic act to take me down, right? Oh that’s right, the Elements no longer exist so that’s clearly out of the question, not that you would’ve been able to aim at me because gravity is working only on you and I can roll this town back and forth like a ship so that no matter how you try to come at me, you won’t be able to use your magic,” sneered Discord.

                “Discord, stop being such a coward and face them alone!” demanded Luna.

                “Irony is bittersweet for your dearest friends will be cowards if they don’t attack me. Either way, they’re finished!” replied Discord.

                “Unhand them you diabolical fiend!” shouted a voice.

                “Who the hay could that be?” asked Applejack.

                “Just call me Super Pony,” said Super (Super Pony, the 2007 San Diego Comic Con Pony fan name for short) as she landed on the “ground”.

                “As if I’m going to hand them over to a pony in that ridiculous outfit,” retorted Discord.

                “You will and by my hooves!” demanded Super before firing her laser vision eyes at Discord and taking the CMCs safely to the ground.

                “Golly, now that’s a special pony,” said Applejack in amazement.

                “Thank you ever so much, Super Pony,” said Twilight.

                “It’s all in an Equestria day’s work,” replied Super before flying away.

                “What now, Discord? You have nothing to hide behind,” questioned Bright Eyes.

                “Oh nothing but an invisibility spell. Now you cannot fight what you cannot see. However, I can see you,” stated Discord before disappearing.

                “We know what we must do and that’s bring Discord down and we have the perfect idea in mind. Even Discord cannot defend against what he doesn’t know about,” said Melody.

                “INTELLIGENCE!” shouted Bright Eyes.

                “SERVICE!” yelled Starlight.

                “ADVENTURE!” declared Patch.

                “LUCK!” announced Clover.

                “MUSIC!” proclaimed Melody.

                “KINDNESS!” shouted Sweetheart.

                “Last but not least, COOKING!” finished Bon Bon. *A new rainbow appears in the ponies’ respective colors and surrounds Ponyville, returning it to normal and destroying Discord*

                “At last, we have Ponyville again,” smiled Twilight.

                “I have to admit, I don’t even think my Sonic Rainboom could compete with that,” said (Rainbow Dash).

                “Oh my, what a turnaround for this place. I’ll certainly hope you’ll all be back in school first thing Monday?” remarked Hackney.

                “Yes Ms Hackney,” answered the Tales gang.

                “Are you ready with your report, my faithful student?” asked Celestia.

                “Absolutely princess. Though I think we all learned a lesson here. Sometimes in order to solve a problem, you have to work backwards, even if that means going in a direction that seems illogical. It’s also important to be mindful of your friends’ feelings if you don’t like something they have or give to you,” replied Twilight.

                “Luna and I are proud of all of you. Your combined teamwork has vanquished Discord once and for all,” rewarded Celestia.

                “Not to mention that we now have our town back to normal,” added Luna. [Inside their school the following Monday…]

                “I was quite impressed with the show you all put on last week and brought this town back to the way it should be and in your honor, I’ll be hosting a party tonight and you students have rightfully earned it,” said Hackney before the class cheered.

                “You can’t give thanks to just us. Our friend Twilight and her friends also helped us return to our normal selves and if that hadn’t happened, we’d still be stuck in that mess,” protested Starlight.

                “Why yes of course. The party is to celebrate Ponyville’s return to normal and all are invited,” replied Hackney. [That night, at the party…]

                “Good job, everyone. This shall be a day to remember forever,” said Bright Eyes.

                “We truly have the greatest town in the world,” added Sweetheart.

                “I wouldn’t have it any other way,” said Starlight before she and the others hug.

The Element of Surprise

[On Discord’s cloud lair_…]

                “It’s going to be oh so fun having their hopes raining down on them like chocolate rain. Of course, it’ll be effortless since they don’t have the one thing they once relied on. It’s too bad for them that they can’t go back in time and get the back, although since I thought of that idea, I’d see it coming and therefore that whole thing would be pointless anyway. Now to put things in another direction, literally. I’ll just flip the town upside down,” said Discord to himself. *He uses his magic to literally turn the town upside down* [Down below…]

                “I’ve heard of turnin’ a frown upside down but this ain’t right,” remarked Applejack.

                “Wait, how are the buildings not falling down?” asked Twilight.

                “It’s not exactly like we’d be going inside right now anyway,” pointed out Bright Eyes. *Discord appears and stands flat on the “ground”*

                “He’s…….standing on the sky?” questioned Melody.

                “No, that’s the ground that has essentially become the sky. We’re actually resting on the sky,” corrected Twilight.

                “So I’m sure you’re all ready with some crazy magic act to take me down, right? Oh that’s right, the Elements no longer exist so that’s clearly out of the question, not that you would’ve been able to aim at me because gravity is working only on you and I can roll this town back and forth like a ship so that no matter how you try to come at me, you won’t be able to use your magic,” sneered Discord.

                “Oh yeah? Well you’re only half right,” smiled Luna.

                “I need a map because I’m lost with what he just said,” said Apple Bloom.

                “Just where would you find a map to Upside-down Town?” asked (Scootaloo).

                “I thought this was called Ponyville,” protested (Sweetie-Belle).

                “This is Ponyville but of course it’s upside down so I kinda thought it needed a nickname since it looks nothing like what ponies will think it does now,” explained (Scootaloo).

                “So what was all that stuff about needing a map?” asked (Sweetie-Belle).

                “I got confused with what Discord was talkin’ about,” replied Apple Bloom.

                “Wait a minute, that’s it! We gotta confuse Discord,” whispered (Scootaloo).

                “You three confuse me? You can’t even reach me let alone confuse me. I make the rules to confuse everypony so I will not and cannot get confused. Speaking of which, you’re all obviously confused because no such elements outside the previously existing Elements of Harmony actually exist,” protested Discord.

                “Well then you’re a bit behind on your knowledge. These ponies’ elements may be gone but ours are ready and working,” stated Patch.

                “They…..have elements?” questioned (Rainbow Dash).

                “Guess so,” shrugged Twilight.

                “Boy howdy, this’ll be a right dinger of a show,” remarked Applejack.

                “You can’t be serious. Even with your so-called new elements, you’re no match for the pull of gravity,” retorted Discord.

                “Is that so?” questioned Starlight as she and her group touch the “ground”.

                “How are you standing there? This is supposed to be my home field advantage!” protested Discord.

                “This is supposed to be our town,” replied Bright Eyes.

                “The magic of these ponies’ elements has its own magnetic field that is designed specifically to counteract your town rotating abilities so no matter what way you move this town, these ponies are standing firmly on the ground as you are,” explained Celestia.

                “Alright, are you guys ready to kick some Discord tail?” asked Patch.

                “Yeah!” cheered the others. *They all power up their magic and fire it at Discord before retracting it*

                “Apple Bloom!” cried Applejack.

                “You wouldn’t dare attack me with the very lives of these three on the line, would you? Attack me now and you’ll put them in danger too.  There’s also Choice B in which you simply give up and I’ll carefully set them down on the ground,” said Discord.

                “Now what?” asked Clover.

                “Y’all better let go or face my Apple Sting,” warned Apple Bloom.

                “Discord, stop being such a coward and face them alone!” demanded Luna.

                “Irony is bittersweet for your dearest friends will be cowards if they don’t attack me. Either way, they’re finished!” replied Discord.

 TO BE CONTINUED...

Knowledge is Power

Previously on MLPT…

                “So are you ready to finally accept defeat?” asked [Bright Eyes].

                “Not when we’ve come this far,” replied Applejack.

                “It’s as far as you’ll go for with me, there’s a game to be played,” said [Bright Eyes].

                “We can handle any kind of game,” said (Rainbow Dash) boldly.

                “Too bad it’s between Twilight and your former friend Bright Eyes. The game is called Quiz Quest and I’m going to ask questions for you both to answer. The first pony to answer and get it right gets 2 points but if wrong or they don’t answer within the given time limit, they lose those 2 points. If either pony’s score falls to -10, they lose and if that happens to be you, Twilight, I win because I’m hosting this game,” smiled Discord.

                “Y’all can’t lose, Twilight. Equestria is now in your hooves,” called Applejack.

                “What now, Twilight? You’re 1 question away from defeat!” laughed Discord.

                “Bring on the last question,” demanded Twilight.

                “As you wish. How many rainbows in a color?” replied Discord.

                “70,” replied Twilight quickly and confidently.

                “That’s………right…….,” stated Discord puzzled.

                “Big deal,” remarked [Bright Eyes] before her score and Twilight’s scores change.

                “Martin Luther King Jr is a quote by what?” asked Discord.

                “I have a dream” Twilight stated. *The scores change again*

                “What’s in 70 score and 40 years ago?” questioned Discord.

                “The Giddyupsburg Document,” answered Twilight.

                “This can’t be happening. I was on top until this point!” said [Bright Eyes] angrily.

                “What was that you were saying about me being stupid? Well guess we know where we stand now, don’t we?” questioned Twilight to [Bright Eyes].

                “Leave the questions to me. What is the 81 of  square root?” snapped Discord.

                “It’s 90,” answered Twilight before she and [Bright Eyes’] scores change.

                “One final question and if Twilight gets it right, she’ll regain her friend’s normal behavior and face me but if not, more questions ahead. Tell me when 1944 started,” stated Discord.

                “Battle of the Hooves!” shouted Twilight.

                “Outsmarted by a dimwit,” facehoofed [Bright Eyes] before being returned to normal.

                “So you managed to prove yourself worthy of facing me, even after being on the ropes of defeat. However, I can assure you that your winning streak will come to an end but that will take place tomorrow so until then, good day ponies,” remarked Discord before disappearing.

                “That was a right dinger of a good job, Twilight,” remarked Applejack.

                “You all are basically the reason I won. I was down to the final question that would’ve made us all lose but I managed to get that one and all the questions I needed afterwards to win the game,” explained Twilight.

                “I probably won’t bother looking good for tomorrow’s brawl with Discord because I’ll simply just lose it during the battle anyway,” said (Rarity).

                “Very well done, my faithful student but you know it’s not over yet,” reminded Celestia coming over.

                “We’ll give Discord such a hind whoopin’ that he’ll feel the pain for years,” proclaimed Applejack.

                “How’s that going to happen without the Elements of Harmony?” asked (Rainbow Dash).

                “Yeah, you and Rarity are the only two with magic powers, Twilight,” agreed Apple Bloom.

                “Uh guys, what’s going on?” asked Ace.

                “What’s up with Bon Bon? She’s suspended in mid-air with some kind of glowing light,” pondered Bright Eyes.

                “I don’t know if I like this,” stated Bon Bon scared. *A necklace appears around her neck and she lands back on the ground*

                “No way, is she….,” started Twilight.

                “I believe so, Twilight. It’s like I said. Sometimes magic happens where you least expect. Bon Bon, you represent the element Cooking,” said Celestia. *the other 6 Tales ponies lift into the air, receive their necklaces and land safely on the ground*

                “So are we all elements of something?” asked Melody.

                “Indeed you are, Melody and you represent the element of Music. Bright Eyes, you have the Intelligence element. Clover, you’ve got the Luck element. Sweetheart, you represent Kindness. Starlight, you have the element of Service. Finally, Patch, you have the element of Adventure so now take down Discord!” declared Celestia.

Battle of the Brains

[In Ponyville…]

                “So are you ready to finally accept defeat?” asked [Bright Eyes].

                “Not when we’ve come this far,” replied Applejack.

                “It’s as far as you’ll go for with me, there’s a game to be played,” said [Bright Eyes].

                “We can handle any kind of game,” said (Rainbow Dash) boldly.

                “Too bad it’s between Twilight and your former friend Bright Eyes. The game is called Quiz Quest and I’m going to ask questions for you both to answer. The first pony to answer and get it right gets 2 points but if wrong or they don’t answer within the given time limit, they lose those 2 points. If either pony’s score falls to -10, they lose and if that happens to be you, Twilight, I win because I’m hosting this game,” smiled Discord.

                “Y’all can’t lose, Twilight. Equestria is now in your hooves,” called Applejack.

                “No pressure, Twilight, you can do it,” cheered (Pinkie Pie).

                “Now let’s begin,” interrupted [Bright Eyes].

                “What’s the 49 of square root?” asked Discord.

                “70,” answered [Bright Eyes].

                “That doesn’t even make sense,” protested Twilight.

                “Points for [Bright Eyes]," said Discord.

                “That’s impossible, 70 is bigger than 49. There has to be a mistake,” declared Twilight.

                “No mistake, not here. Bright Eyes just knows the reverse logic behind my questions,” replied Discord.

                “Reverse logic? What’s that supposed to mean?” asked Starlight.

                “It’s nothing Ms Hackney ever taught us that’s for sure,” said Melody.

                “How many dozens in a doughnut?” asked Discord.

                “21,” answered [Bright Eyes].

                “Only three left before Ponyville is lost. I can’t watch anymore,” moaned Clover.

                “Right again, Bright Eyes,” commended Discord.

                “Not so smart now, are you?” questioned [Bright Eyes] to Twilight.

                “When was 1776 signed?” continued Discord.

                “The Equestrian Declaration of Freedom,” replied [Bright Eyes].

                “Wonderful, another right answer!” proclaimed Discord excitedly.

                “Call a timeout, sugar cube!” suggested Applejack.

                “A timeout when you’re losing? That figures. What kind of strategy could you possibly come up with to questions you don’t know the answer to?” remarked [Bright Eyes].

                “Not that it’ll do you any good so fine, one thirty second timeout,” obliged Discord in a more-or-less uncaring manner.

                “Now I just need to figure out what’s behind Discord’s questions. Discord asked in the first question about dozens in a doughnut, which is just switching places of the words where it actually makes sense. All I have to do now is figure out what the actual logical question would be and then apply that to Discord’s question. That’ll ensure that I get the questions right!” thought Twilight.

                “I sure hope Twilight used those thirty seconds to help her out,” said (Rainbow Dash) worried.

                “Of course she did, just look at her facial expression. She’s confident now!” replied Applejack.

                “Though in order for Twilight to get ahead, she has to get at least the next three questions in a row correctly and based on the crazy thinking of Discord’s questions, that’s very difficult,” concluded Starlight.

                “Now that you’ve had your silly good-for-nothing break, it’s time to return to the game,” said Discord.

                “I’m all for it,” said Twilight confidently.

                “She’d better be because if she loses confidence, that could throw her game completely off,” worried Clover.

                “I don’t think I’d do that well under pressure either, dahlings,” said Rainbow Dash.

                “Ahem!  If you don’t mind, this game is back in session. Can you star upon a wish?” interrupted Discord.

                “Yes,” answered [Bright Eyes].

                “Bingo!” proclaimed Discord.

                “So much for her thirty seconds strategy,” remarked Bon Bon.

                “Now hold on there, Bon Bon. This game ain’t over yet so why not keep rootin’ for Twilight anyway? Discord may be gettin’ to her now but she’ll find a way out,” corrected Applejack.

                “What now, Twilight? You’re 1 question away from defeat!” laughed Discord.

 TO BE CONTINUED...

Rational Roulette

[In Ponyville’s center…]

                “So you don’t believe in bad luck, do you? Well you’re about to experience some when you lose,” remarked [Clover].

                “Y’all are mistaken. That comment refers to you not us,” protested Applejack.

                “Do we need to spell it out for you? Whose town has been under the power of Discord?” questioned [Bright Eyes].

                “That wasn’t luck at all. It wasn’t ever down to a game of chance,” replied Twilight.

                “Pinkie Pie is lucky for no matter how many sweets she eats, not one pound is added to her frame,” explained Applejack.

                “Oh it’s just a matter of time before that changes,” snapped [Clover].

                “Has Bon Bon been restored to normal yet?” asked (Rarity) arriving.

                “Absolutely and Bon Bon herself even helped out a bit because we could see her struggling mentally with Discord’s spell,” answered Twilight.

                “I’m gonna miss those giant treats. Wait, I can make some of my own,” stated (Pinkie Pie).

                “No offense, Pinkie but we’d rather you not because we wouldn’t know what to do with it all and it’d take a good deal of ingredients to make even one,” warned Twilight.

                “Y’all are welcome to make normal sized treats though,” added Applejack.

                “Enough! It may have seemed like it wasn’t luck but when you consider that you could’ve been having a nice normal life if it weren’t for Discord your theory is null,” retorted [Clover].

                “Looks like the only way we’ll get through to you is with teamwork. Time to hustle, everypony!” declared Applejack.

                “Break a leg and I do mean break a leg,” sneered [Clover].

                “We’re only breaking the spell Discord put on you,” replied (Rainbow Dash).

                “I won’t allow it. I like being this way. It’s  much better over how cowardly I behaved before,” replied [Clover].

                “You only think you like it this way because Discord told you lies,” protested Melody.

                “You’re just jealous because you’re not winning this battle right now,” snapped [Clover].

                “No we’re not, you’ve been brainwashed since day one. You saw how the others just mysterious left only to come back acting like you are now. You’re not being yourself at all,” protested Twilight.

                “Now stop bein’ silly and allow Twilight to remove the spell,” demanded Applejack.

                “That’d go against everything I currently stand for and that’s delivering bad luck wherever I go and speaking of which, you’re now both under a ladder, which is bad luck,” protested [Clover].

                “So what? It’s like Twilight said. It isn’t really true that it’s bad luck if you stand under a ladder. You might as well say it’s bad luck to stand in front of a door because accidents happen there too,” questioned Starlight.

                “Not bad luck, eh? We’ll see about that,” said [Clover] before getting in front of the ladder and shaking it but it lands on her instead, knocking her out.

                “Now’s our chance, Twilight. Do what ya gotta do,” cheered Applejack. *Twilight rushes over and converts [Clover] to normal*

                “Klutz. It was her own dumb idea that allowed you to bring her to normal,” remarked [Bright Eyes].

                “Ooh, my head. Where’d this ladder come from and does it have anything to do with the sudden headache I know have?” asked Clover.

                “Don’t worry, Clover, you’re free from Discord now,” assured Melody.

                “You’re not out of danger though and I’ve saved the most intelligent amongst us for last,” reminded [Bright Eyes].

                “For ponies without your Elements of Harmony, you’re proving to be quite effective, not to mention a thorn in my side,” stated Discord.

                “Come on, guys, get our Bright Eyes back,” urged Bon Bon.

                “Trust me, we will,” assured Twilight.

                “Oh will you? How can you be so confident without knowing what I have in store?” questioned [Bright Eyes].

                “She knows that nothing you do will be enough,” explained Apple Bloom.

                “Yeah, you and that evil Discord are going down,” added (Scootaloo).

                “How cute, you have a cheering squad. However, they’re dumber still to think that you all actually have a chance at winning. They’re meaningless and so are your thoughts about winning,” replied [Bright Eyes].

Food Fight

[In his cloud lair…]

                “They certainly are proving themselves here but it’s not over yet for with Bon Bon up next, she’ll dish out more than just nasty comments,” said Discord. [Down on Ponyville grounds…]

                “Alright, Bon Bon, it’s time for you to revert to your normal self once and for all so you can stop complaining about our friendship speeches,” declared Twilight.

                “Since you all like sweets, how about I give you some of mine? Oh and they aren’t normal sized sweets either so good luck blocking my colossal doughnuts!” said [Bon Bon] before catapulting said item into the air with Twilight narrowly dodging a direct hit.

                “Why throw these away, especially at this size?” questioned (Pinkie Pie) before digging in to the giant treat.

                “You were lucky with that one but I’ve got a little cake for you too,” said [Bon Bon] as she launched the cake into the air where it lands on (Rarity).

                “I just had this hair washed an hour ago!” fumed (Rarity) before leaving again.

                “Watch out, sugar cube!” called Applejack.

                “I’m already on it, Applejack,” replied Twilight struggling to use her magic to lift the heavy pie away from her body.

                “It ain’t steady, Twilight!” Applejack called again.

                “I……know……..Applejack,” said Twilight under her own might. *The pie wobbles more, then finally flips over*

                “Bull’s-eye!” said [Bon Bon] excitedly.

                “Marvelous work, everypony, especially you, Twilight because you’ve literally taken one for the team by failing to keep the pie suspended in the air and now you looks show for all your hard work,” commended Discord.

                “Can it, Discord!” snapped Applejack.

                “Now to finish you all off!” proclaimed [Bon Bon] after loading a massive bowl of ice cream onto the catapult.

                “Think about what you’re doing, Bon Bon,” called Starlight.

                “I already did and I’m loving it,” replied [Bon Bon].

                “You’re harming your friends,” added Melody. *[Bon Bon’s] hoof trembles on the catapult’s launcher string*

                “What’s wrong with me? Why can’t I pull the trigger as easily as I did the past few times?” questioned [Bon Bon] to herself as the ice cream in the bowl begins to melt.

                “Isn’t she supposed to have fired that bowl of ice cream by now?” asked (Pinkie Pie).

                “I don’t think she can. I think her inner conscience is holding her back,” replied Starlight.

                “Bon Bon, remember all these treats you loved. The sundaes you ate at the Ice Cream Shop, the candy bars you often bought,” urged Twilight.

                “I………remember……..those………sweets…….” recalled [Bon Bon].

                “You were in my Ice Cream Shop daily for a sundae after soccer practice,” added Starlight.

                “What’s this? Those ponies should be covered in ice cream by now! What’s happening?” questioned Discord.

                “Come on, Bon Bon, the ice cream’s melting!” ordered [Clover].

                “Ignore these losers and reload your catapult,” added [Bright Eyes].

                “They’re……..my……..friends……cannot……harm……..them,” strained [Bon Bon] as Twilight heads over and converts her to normal.

                “She might as well return to normal since she already was on her way there anyway,” muttered [Clover].

                “That leaves just you and me so go out there, Clover and give them their worst luck ever,” stated [Bright Eyes].

                “Oh I will. I’ll give them more bad luck than what you get for breaking a mirror,” grinned [Clover].

                “Y’all believe that superstition hooey? Ain’t no way it’s true. There are plenty of cracks inside the barn in Sweet Apple Acres and not once has Granny Smith broken her back in all the times anypony stepped on a crack,” protested Applejack.

                “None of it even makes sense. Why should breaking a mirror give you bad luck 7 years later and how is a ladder bad luck just by walking under it? You just have to watch where you’re going. That doesn’t mean you all won’t have a different kind of bad luck, one that inevitably grants us a normal town and life,” added Twilight.

                “Twilight has much to learn about our powers but she’ll see that first-hoof,” thought [Bright Eyes].

Mending A Problem

[At a Discord-style bowling alley in Ponyville…]

                “Yes, strike one!” cheered Discord after his ball lands in the gutter.

                “Hey Twilight, what’s that doin’ in Ponyville. We ain’t never had one of those before,” asked Applejack.

                “You girls need to get out more. It’s a bowling alley but even I’ve never seen one like this before.  Discord didn’t knock down any pins yet it came up as a strike on his scoreboard,” explained (Pinkie Pie).

                “This is one that takes the least amount of effort for the most amount of points. Of course, I have a chocolate rain bowling ball to partake in this chaotic game,” explained Discord.

                “So a strike is a gutter ball and a gutter ball is a strike? What’s the point of the pins then?” asked (Rainbow Dash).

                “There isn’t any point but you couldn’t knock them down easily anyway since they’re made of cotton candy clouds,” replied Discord.

                “Ooh, ooh, I love games! Can I play?” remarked (Pinkie Pie).

                “Ha! You wouldn’t even be able to stand on the lane because it’s made of soap, which makes it almost impossible not to get a strike,” retorted Discord.

                “Besides, we don’t have time to mess around. We still have four ponies not yet brought to normal and Discord himself still needs to fall,” added Twilight.

                “Not to mention that you really don’t want to be playing Discord’s games,” agreed (Rainbow Dash).

                “Where exactly have you been, Rainbow Dash, under a rock? After all you all have been playing my game since I arrived. My game is creating chaos and you all unwillingly gave me what I wanted by actually trying to reason with your former friends and I enjoyed every minute of it so thank you for providing me with quality entertainment,” corrected Discord.

                “We ain’t playing your game no more, Discord,” snapped Applejack.

                “Oh I most certainly think you will, that is if you hope to have all of your friends and your town back to normal,” protested Discord.

                “As long as they don’t take part in any action, I’m happy,” remarked [Patch].

                “Then we’ll just have to give you the most of our actions as we return you to normal. You ready, Twilight?” declared Applejack.

                “She can’t outrun me so let me try, Twilight,” interrupted (Rainbow Dash).

                “I’ll just stay put and wait for the right moment to move,” protested [Patch].

                “Not if the rest of us distract you first. Twilight, mind givin’ us a boost with your magic?” replied Applejack. *Twilight uses her magic to split the others into a circle around [Patch]*

                “Doesn’t matter how many of you there are, I’m not moving,” insisted [Patch].

                “Well we are. Everypony tackle her!” declared Applejack. *Each pony pounces on [Patch] until she is tied up*

                “Let me go now, there’s too much action going on here! I can’t take it!” ordered [Patch].

                “Too bad. Now it’s time for you to return to your old self,” said Twilight before applying her Personality Reversal spell that she used on the previous ponies.

                “Patch, you’re back!” declared Starlight.

                “Was that a dream? If so, it was the MOST AWESOME dream EVER!” said Patch excitedly.

                “Well we all sort of had that one, Patch,” corrected Melody.

                “Figures, dumb minds think alike,” retorted [Bright Eyes].

                “We’re losing them!” bellowed [Clover].

                “Save me for last because I’ll last longest,” ordered [Bright Eyes].

                “I’ll go next because I’m more determined than ever before to put an end to their ‘oh we’ll save the world by beating you and blah blah blah’ nonsense,” insisted [Bon Bon].

                “It’s not nonsense, Bon Bon. What they say is completely true and deep down I think you know that,” said Sweetheart.

                “She does know that, Sweetheart. It’ll just take some major effort for her to remember that after breaking Discord’s spell on her,” explained Starlight.

                “No wonder Melody hated hearing you guys! My ears are hurting from all this sappy talk!” yelled [Bon Bon].

                “There’s plenty more where that came from little missy and that’s part of the Whoopin’ Yer Behind package,” replied Applejack.

                “Two can play at that game and it’s a game where I’ve got nothing to lose,” protested [Bon Bon].

Heat of the Moment

[In Ponyville…]

                “Getting the weak ponies back to normal doesn’t prove anything except that you all want to take the easy way out,” protested [Clover].               

                “How could we be takin’ the easy way out when none of y’all made it easy to begin with?” questioned Applejack.

                “I wouldn’t expect a dumb pony like you to know that so that’s no surprise. Though if I told you, you probably still wouldn’t get it so I’ll refrain from bothering,” remarked [Bright Eyes].

                “We need a better plan. Come on, everypony, let’s head to Rarity’s Boutique to strategize,” suggested Twilight.

                “A better plan would be to give up,” called [Clover].

                “Now that’s what we call takin’ the easy way out,” Applejack called back. [At (Rarity’s Boutique…]

                “Rarity, I think you have a problem with your air conditioning. It’s mighty warm in here,” remarked Applejack.

                “Oh no, your cat won’t like this at all,” realized Fluttershy.

                “You guys like the new room temperature? I felt like making you all sweat this problem of yours out even more so I disconnected the air conditioning in here. It’s a scorching 90 degrees but I love it,” said [Starlight] coming into the room.

                “Ugh, this is not good for my looks at all. Reconnect that air conditioning or face my unfashionable wrath!” stated (Rarity).

                “Stay cool, Rarity. Let’s not get worked up over this, even it if it isn’t what we want right now,” warned Applejack.

                “Easy for you to say, Applejack. You don’t know how hard it is to maintain the shape of my hair,” protested (Rarity).

                “Then you probably don’t want to be here, which is too bad because it doesn’t get any better in any other building thanks to my doing,” sneered [Starlight].

                “You messed with the controls of everyponys’ rooms?!” questioned Twilight.

                “Oh yes. I figured I’d not leave any building left out of my routine. Plus now it doesn’t matter where you go but outside as you’ll be uncomfortable in all indoor areas,” replied [Starlight].

                “I can’t have customers if you drive them away with a disconnected air conditioner! Twilight, let’s cool down this hothead!” declared (Rarity).

                “How ironic, when it’s you all that are suffering from this indoor heat wave,” protested [Starlight].

                “We’re more than enough for you. Two on one isn’t in your favor so you will be brought to normal,” added Twilight activating her magic in unison with (Rarity).

                “What’s a little magic going to do when you’re all under my dry spell?” questioned [Starlight] before she’s hit with the magic from the two ponies and collapses.

                “That did it, alright,” smiled Twilight.

                “Twilight, be a dear and bring her outside while I reconnect the air conditioning to bring some fresh air into this joint,” instructed (Rarity).

                “I’m on it, Rarity,” said Twilight with Starlight levitating above her and bringing her back to the rest of her friends. [Elsewhere…]

                “Look, Starlight’s back to normal!” declared Melody.

                “How can you truly tell?” asked Sweetheart.

                “Her colors are normal,” replied Melody. *Starlight awakens*

                “What am I doing here and why does my head hurt?” asked Starlight.

                “Good on ya, Twilight but where’s Rarity?” asked Applejack.

                “She had to restore air conditioning to her boutique first,” explained Twilight.

                “Mighty impressive, ponies. You’ve managed to restore almost half of your friends to normal but there’s still much to go and even when you finish, you’ll have to contend with me and that’s when the ultimate chaos will begin,” said Discord.

                “Beginner’s luck,” said [Clover] unimpressed.

                “Their sweet little plan is actually working?! How on earth is this possible? They’re just weak sappy ponies,” questioned [Bon Bon].

                “Whether you like it or not, we’re winning this battle and we’re not stopping until all of our friends are rescued,” declared Twilight.

A Change of Heart

[In Ponyville…]

                “One down and 6 to go,” remarked Twilight.

                “Make that 7 to go, 6 ponies and one hideous being named Discord,” remarked (Rarity).

                “So glad you feel that way about me, Rarity, though it’s too bad it’s the wrong time to be saying that when I still have the upper hand,” stated Discord.

                “Oh look, here comes the Three Stupids,” remarked [Bright Eyes].

                “Bright Eyes, it’s us,” protested Ace.

                “Well we know that but obviously Teddy is the weakest link with his teddy bear. What a complete loser,” remarked [Sweetheart].

                “I can’t believe your own girlfriend is talking to you that way! Teddy, you should do something about that,” insisted Lancer.

                “I hope I hurt his feelings because he’s not worth my time,” added [Sweetheart].

                “Not worth your time, huh? If that’s how you really feel then fine, I don’t need you!” yelled Teddy.

                “Teddy, she’s not being herself. She’s under a spell and maybe you can break her out of it,” coerced Melody.

                “Not this stuff again,” groaned [Bon Bon].

                “Well what’d you expect? They’re too stupid to say anything but that,” replied [Bright Eyes].

                “How about you try doing a Sonic Rainboom and then we’ll see who’s stupid,” snapped (Rainbow Dash).

                “We’ve stood up to your insults so how does that make us stupid?” questioned Twilight.

                “Your best counters have been lame friendship speeches, duh!” sneered [Sweetheart].

                “Plus I bet you can’t even do that Sonic Dud,” remarked [Patch] to (Rainbow Dash).

                “It’s Sonic Rainboom,” corrected (Rainbow Dash).

                “Whatever, that still doesn’t make it any more believable,” replied [Patch].

                “So what are you, Teddy, a coward? Maybe you should run home to your widdle teddy bear?” questioned [Sweetheart].

                “Which one of you changed my girlfriend?” asked Teddy loudly.

                “I did, and what are you going to do about it?” questioned Discord.

                “We’re going to return her to normal, just wait and see,” replied Ace.

                “If we put our magic together, we can free her from Discord’s power,” said Twilight. *She and (Rarity) pool their magic and fire it at [Sweetheart] changing her back to normal*

                “Oh great, we lost another one but she was weak anyway,” remarked [Bright Eyes].

                “What’s truly going on?” asked Sweetheart.

                “Sweetheart, you’re back,” said Teddy.

                “Back from what?” asked Sweetheart.

                “Being my friend,” replied Teddy. *They hug*

                “I can’t believe two of our members have been returned to normal by a bunch of sappy ponies,” complained [Bon Bon].

                “Sweetheart, you’d better stay back. It’s getting dangerous,” warned Twilight.

                “Who next, Twilight?” asked Applejack

                “We should work with the hardest first so it’ll get easier as we go,” replied Twilight.

                “So then you want to come after me? Well I’d rather send in Patch instead and she’ll make it the dullest battle you’ve ever been in,” retorted [Bright Eyes].

                “We’ll convert her back to normal in 10 seconds flat. How’s that for an uneventful battle?” proclaimed (Rainbow Dash).

                “That won’t even be worth watching,” said [Patch].

                “It’ll be very much to the point and be awesome,” protested (Rainbow Dash).

                “More like dull and uneventful,” remarked [Patch].

                “You don’t know anything about action do you?” asked (Rainbow Dash).

                “I don’t do action and I find ponies that take part in action to be totally insane because it’s totally stupid. Why go off on some lame adventure where nothing happens until the bitter end when you can simply stay out of it instead?” answered [Patch].

                “You have totally lost it. Adventure always saves the best part for last and that’s what we’re going to do here when we give that Discord the sting of defeat once more,” snapped (Rainbow Dash).

                “While your mouths are on autopilot, ours are telling of your defeat!” announced [Clover].

Discord’s Distraction

Previously on MLPT…

                “What have we here? Must be the deepest mystery I’m ever about to solve!” proclaimed Hooves (using his last name to avoid confusion with Sherlock Holmes, the actual detective this pony parodies).

                “Twilight, ain’t that Sherlock Hooves, famous pony detective?” asked Applejack.

                “He may be our only hope at getting out of here so we’ll need to attract his attention somehow,” concluded Twilight.

                “Rarity, make a sign with your magic,” instructed Twilight. *(Rarity) slowly makes letters with her horn’s magic*

                “It’s a message, dahlings,” stated Rainbow Dash.

                “I wish I could read it,” sighed Skywishes.

                “Look, it’s coming together,” said Minty.

                “Stand back, everypony, I’m saving these ponies!” declared Celestia aiming her horn at the containers. *she charges at the containers with her horn lit up with magic and shatters the glass containers*

                “What’s this? You dare to intervene?” questioned Discord.

                “You’ve made your last noise today and it’s time that I finish the job,” declared [Melody].

                “Well then let’s see you try,” said Twilight.

                “Same to you, though I’m more certain you’ll fail,” replied [Melody].

                “Actually, that applies only to you because good always triumphs over evil,” said Twilight before being tackled by [Bon Bon].

                “Hold her there while I give her mouth a sticky situation,” ordered [Melody].

                “This is the nastiest thing I could ever do and I’m loving it,” remarked [Bon Bon] while [Melody puts the tape on Twilight’s mouth. *Twilight activates her horn and fires her magic at [Melody].

                “Let’s reel her in, Twilight!” declared Applejack, tying up [Melody’s] hooves with the rope.

                “Untie me at once!” bellowed [Melody]. *She gets hit by Twilight’s magic and becomes her normal self*

                “Good aim, Twilight, ya did it!” cheered Applejack.

                “What happened?  Why does Twilight have tape over her mouth?” asked Melody.

                “Y’all are fine now so let’s get the tape off Twilight,” replied Applejack. *They pull the tape slowly off*

                “What happened with all my friends?” asked Melody.

                “You sure ask a lot of questions. Guess you’re not that smart,” retorted [Bright Eyes].

                “You’re a traitor and you need to be punished!” declared [Clover]

                “It appears somepony has a bit of bite left in her and has neutralized the effects of my spell on her,” concluded Discord appearing before them.

                “You made me turn my back on my friends and now you’re going to return them to normal!” yelled Melody.

                “How quickly we forget that it is you that decided to go backstage where I had free will to turn you against your friends,” corrected Discord.

                “Well then I’m going to help Twilight get my friends back to normal,” proclaimed Melody.

                “They’ll never remember you, not for anything except being a traitor to them and they couldn’t be more right,” snapped Discord.

                “We’ll just put duct tape on both of your mouths for attempting to change our current ways,” grinned [Sweetheart] picking up the duct tape.

                “Y’all can have it provided we tie it around all of you,” stated Applejack twirling the rope. *The other ponies split up*

                “Corral them, Rainbow Dash and Applejack,” instructed Twilight.

                “Will do,” replied Applejack and Rainbow Dash together before going off to do as told.

                “You think you’ll outsmart us? We’ve got a few tricks up our hooves just for you,” said [Bright Eyes].

                “Maybe but what we have is much dirtier than you’ll ever scheme,” added (Rarity).

                “It’ll be 20% better too,” finished (Rainbow Dash).

                “Last I checked, none of you throw good insults so allow me to give you one of mine. When compared to us, you all are total wimps,” remarked [Sweetheart].

                “We don’t do insults because actions speak louder than words but I’ll let my rope do the talkin’,” explained Applejack before tossing her rope around [Sweetheart’s] hooves.

                “We’re far from beaten and we have just the being with us to take you all down once and for all!” declared [Clover].

Sherlock Hooves

[Outside Ponyville….]

                “What have we here? Must be the deepest mystery I’m ever about to solve!” proclaimed Hooves (using his last name to avoid confusion with Sherlock Holmes, the actual detective this pony parodies).

                “It’s a total mess in there,” remarked Wendy, Hooves’ companion.

                “It’s chaos, my dear Wendy. Nothing in there can actually be put together such that it makes sense so it’s therefore complete chaos. Come along, Wendy, there’s work to be done here,” explained Hooves before he and Wendy enter Ponyville.

                “Look what the dork dragged in. It’s a little early for Halloween,” remarked [Sweetheart].

                “You do not know the great Sherlock Hooves, the most famous pony detective in Equestria?” questioned Hooves.

                “Famous for what, dressing badly?” questioned [Melody].

                “So what do you do for a living?” asked [Patch].

                “Why I solve mysteries of course,” replied Hooves.

                “You haven’t solved the biggest mystery of all. Why you’re here in the first place when this town is fine without you,” sneered [Patch].

                “ So, are you babysitting that pony as part of your mystery solving and what can she do besides get in your way?” asked [Clover].

                “I’ll have you know she helps me in solving my mysteries. Her questions lead to other questions that eventually solve the mystery. Mind if we have a look around?” replied Hooves.

                “Actually, we do. There’s too much noise here as it is and we don’t need anything solved other than the problem of you being here, which we’ll solve ourselves,” retorted [Melody].

                “I have a right to be here as much as you do!” protested Hooves.

                “Well well, the great Sherlock Hooves has arrived. It’s a shame that you aren’t needed here,” said Discord.

                “Balderdash, we’re having a look around and that’s final!” insisted Hooves.

                “There are several containers, Sherlock,” pointed Wendy.

                “Why so there are, good eye Wendy. Why there appears to be ponies trapped inside as well and they don’t look to happy in there. What puzzles me is what’s inside the containers besides the ponies,” remarked Hooves.

                “Don’t worry about them, they’ll be taken care of shortly,” assured Discord.

                “Yeah, so you can take your dumb side-kick with you on the way out,” added [Bright Eyes].

                “How on earth did you ponies get this way? In my travels I have never seen ponies so disrespectful,” questioned Hooves.

                “That is a mystery you won’t be solving. So either you leave now without saying a word or you join these ponies on my side,” snapped Discord.

                “I say, what on earth are you? You’re several parts of animals combined as one!” remarked Hooves as he studied Discord.

                “All you need to know is that I mean business so leave now or be forced to join these ponies in my reign of chaos and I know all too well of your interests,” replied Discord. [Meanwhile inside the containers…]

                “Twilight, ain’t that Sherlock Hooves, famous pony detective?” asked Applejack.

                “Ew, it certainly is. I’d recognize that hideous attire anywhere,” remarked (Rarity).

                “He may be our only hope at getting out of here so we’ll need to attract his attention somehow,” concluded Twilight.

                “How can we do that when Discord is in the way?” asked (Rainbow Dash).

                “Wait a minute, the other ponies can help us. Rarity, use your magic to attract their attention,” ordered Twilight. *(Rarity) activates her magic horn and the other ponies nearby see it*

                “Look, our friends are in trouble, dahlings,” spotted Rainbow Dash.

                “We must hurry and hope we aren’t too late. Otherwise, we might seal their fate,” added Zecora as she and the others rush over. *The ponies try speaking but the other ponies can’t hear them* [Back inside the containers…]

                “Rarity, make a sign with your magic,” instructed Twilight. *(Rarity) slowly makes letters with her horn’s magic*

                “It’s a message, dahlings,” stated Rainbow Dash.

                “I wish I could read it,” sighed Skywishes.

                “Look, it’s coming together,” said Minty.

                “Stand back, everypony, I’m saving these ponies!” declared Celestia aiming her horn at the containers.

TO BE CONTINUED...

The Coming Tidal Wave

[In the Everfree Forest…]

                “Say farewell to your precious forest,” announced Smokey before setting the trees ablaze.

                “You have reached the point of no return. It is time for you to pay for the trouble you have churned,” said Zecora.

                “I don’t want to return. I had full intentions on setting these trees ablaze. It’s all because of that environmentally friendly pony named Safety Sam and his stupid commercials on TV. Time and time again he’d tell us that we’re the only ponies that can stop forest fires and I got sick of hearing it so I dedicate my life to trashing the one thing he loves,” explained Smokey.

                “You’re destroying these animals’ homes. Without the forest, where will they roam?” protested Zecora.

                “Oh well, it’s their fault for being where I’m trashing,” snapped Smokey.

                “What if this was your place? How would you feel with no living space?” questioned Zecora.

                “Like I’d ever choose to live here. It offers little protection from anything,” snorted Smokey.

                “You still don’t understand. You may not live here but the animals must find shelter wherever they can,” replied Zecora.

                “Tough break for them because this forest is no more,” said Smokey. *Water is thrown on the fire, putting it out*

                “Sure about that because I’d say it’s far from that,” said Shores. (Tidal Shores for short).

                “You always have to come in and ruin my fun don’t you?” asked Smokey annoyed.

                “I do what is necessary to keep you out of trouble because you were once a good pony,” stated Shores.

                “You’re just as sappy as Safety Sam. I can start fires anywhere anytime,” boasted Smokey before the flames on his body are put out.

                “A pony with water in her mane? Now it’s certain that the forest is saved,” smiled Zecora.

                “Get lost before I have you arrested by the Special Hooves Police!” threatened Shores.

                “Alright fine but that doesn’t mean I won’t come back!” warned Smokey as he walks away. [Back in Ponyville…]

                “Where the hay is Smokey Flame and the fires he started?” asked Applejack.

                “You don’t have to worry about either of those, I took care of them both,” replied Shores.

                “Just great, another pony for good instead of evil,” pouted [Bon Bon].

                “Looks like someone sprang a leak. Maybe we should apply duct tape?” suggested [Sweetheart].

                “That’ll shut her up instantly,” grinned [Melody] as she applies the duct tape.

                “I love it when another pony’s plan falls apart and mine works. It is the best gift I can receive,” said Discord. *Tidal Shores tries speaking but her voice is muffled*

                “So glad I can’t hear you. You’d ruin my perfectly quiet day,” remarked [Melody].

                “I think for once we can agree that she’s better off not talking at all. There’d be too much garbage about doing what’s right,” agreed [Bon Bon].

                “It’s good to have bad luck on our side for a change,” added [Clover].

                “Why should we stop at this one pony when there are several in this town that also have that dumb speech on their minds?” questioned [Bon Bon].

                “I’m ready with round 2,” said [Melody] unraveling more duct tape and heading over to Twilight and her friends.

                “Don’t you lay one hoof on my faithful student!” snapped Celestia.

                “Then I’ll use it on you instead! Once you’re removed of any convincing friendship speech, there will be nothing between those others and us,” countered [Melody].

                “No you won’t because we’re standing by,” protested Twilight.

                “That’s too bad because we’re one step ahead of you,” stated Discord before transporting Twilight and her friends into several glass containers respectively.

                “Where’s your magic now?” questioned [Sweetheart]. *Twilight uses her magic but it backfires and she becomes temporarily powerless*

                “At long last, nothing stands in our way for completing the transformation of the Chaos Capital of the World!” proclaimed Discord. [Inside their respective glass containers…]

                “We can’t let it end this way,” said Applejack.

                “I’ll say, Applejack. Ponyville is showing its ugly side right now,” remarked (Rarity).

                “It won’t end this way, guys. We just need to break out of here,” assured Twilight. *Chocolate rain begins pouring into the containers*

A Numbers Game

[In Ponyville…]

                “One way or another, dear Bright Eyes, you’ll be mine, especially if I have something you enjoy,” said Discord.

                “What exactly would that be?” questioned Bright Eyes.

                “Oh a more advanced math problem,” answered Discord.

                “You’re obviously baiting me into a trap, which I’m not falling for,” concluded Bright Eyes.

                “What if I told you I’d restore one of your friends to normal?” asked Discord.

                “Yeah right. Besides, you’ll still be short one friend,” protested Bright Eyes.

                “Oh just do it already! I’m sick of you all talking!” complained [Melody]

                “It’s not like it’ll be any more exciting either way,” added [Patch]

                “I know one of your deepest secrets, Bright Eyes and unless you want it exposed, you’d better solve my problem on the blackboard,” stated Discord.

                “You wouldn’t dare,” snapped Bright Eyes.

                “He’s bluffing, Bright Eyes. Don’t do it,” pleaded Twilight.

                “She’s right, Discord don’t know everything about us,” added Applejack.

                “Well well, you’re a bit stubborn but I know you aim to be an environmentalist so I’ve brought along a friend here to help you see things my way. They call him Smokey Flame and his one true desire is starting fires with his mane and tail, which I might add are literally made of fire. I’ve told him that if you don’t follow my directions, he’s free to start fires in nearby trees, which would put your future career to shame,” said Discord.

                “We can’t allow that pony to start fires anywhere so I’m gonna take him down myself,” said Applejack grabbing her rope and twirling it. *she races towards him*

                “Your rope is no match for my flaming mane,” said Smokey, aiming his flame at Applejack’s rope.

                “How about a little magic? Can your flames stop it?” asked Twilight joining her magic with Applejack’s rope.

                “Maybe not but since your friend isn’t listening, I can use my tail to start fires,” said Smokey.

                “You can’t, there are many live innocent animals there that I take care of that need homes there,” protested Fluttershy.

                “Well your friend should’ve thought of that before now,” replied Smokey before aiming his tail at the trees.

                “Wait, give me the problem,” interrupted Bright Eyes. *Smokey retracts his tail, then aims his mane at Applejack’s rope covered with Twilight’s magic, putting out the flame on his head temporarily*

                “I thought you’d see things my way, Bright Eyes,” grinned Discord.

                “Get back here, girl! This ain’t the way to go!” ordered Applejack.

                “I don’t have any other choice,” called Bright Eyes.*She begins solving the problem*

                “What’s your rush, my dear? Why must you put your feeble little mind under constant stress with things like this? You don’t really need to care about the environment. You really want to destroy it,” said Discord now disguised as the chalkboard. *Bright Eyes drops the chalk*

                “Destroy……..environment,” repeated Bright Eyes.

                “Oh no you don’t!” yelled Applejack twirling her rope and pulling Bright Eyes away*

                “What’d you pull me away for? I have an environment to destroy,” retorted [Bright Eyes]

                “That’s a load of hooey. There won’t be nothin’ left if you do that for nothin’ will grow,” replied Applejack.

                “Phew, glad I’m done with those dresses with but why is this place a pigsty?” asked (Rarity).

                “We’ve got more important things like getting these ponies back to normal,” answered Twilight.

                “Normal? What’s wrong with them now?” questioned (Rarity).

                “Discord put a spell on each of them,” stated Applejack.

                “Twilight, we’ll need the Elements of Harmony,” requested (Rarity).

                “We don’t have them anymore, Discord destroyed them,” Twilight told (Rarity).

                “He what? Oh it…….is…….on!” reacted (Rarity).

                “What do you propose to do, Rarity when you were no match for me the last time we met?” asked Discord.

                “No need to worry about them, they don’t have the brains to do it,” assured [Sweetheart].

                “They’re too sweet to even fight,” added [Bon Bon].

                “That doesn’t mean we aren’t,” said [Melody] before tacking (Rarity).

                “How dare you ruin my good looks!” scolded (Rarity).

                “Aw, is widdle Warity gonna cry and run home? You’re all powerless against us!” taunted [Sweetheart].

13^th Time’s the Charm

[Outside Rainbow Dash’s house…]

                “I can’t stand to see my dahlings go bad,” said Rainbow Dash.

                “Sometimes I feel like none of my wishes would be enough,” said Skywishes.

                “You just need to wish hard enough, that’s all,” assured Pinkie Pie.

                “It’s just so hard with all the evil ponies, chaos and oh you know what I mean,” said Skywishes.

                “We do,” said the others.

                “We’d better help the others. There’s no telling what kind of danger they might be in,” stated Pinkie Pie. *The group races off to find them* [With Twilight and the others…]

                “Discord’s completely lost his apple marbles. Not to mention all our friends no longer provide that friendly lifestyle we’ve come to enjoy,” remarked Applejack.

                “What’s up with the sun? It’s like it fused with the moon or something,” stated (Rainbow Dash).

                “About time something more sinister took place here. I was going insane over all that sweet stuff you all were talking about,” said [Bon Bon].

                “Maybe for once I can have some peace and quiet while you all stare with your mouths open like you’re in a trance,” hoped [Melody].

                “Don’t count on that. They’ll probably have some stupid saying about friendship for it,” replied [Bon Bon].

                “That wouldn’t be stupid of them and from what I understand, these ponies are all talk and no action,” added [Sweetheart].

                “I’d prefer no talk or action!” yelled [Melody].

                “Me too, after all, adventures are stupid. The best way is to live life at its dullest,” agreed [Patch].

                “That does it, I can’t stand here and watch these ponies argue without doing anything. I have to take action,” said Twilight *She pounces on [Melody]*

                “Get off of me!” snapped [Melody].

                “Not until you’re back to normal,” replied Twilight.

                “Then why don’t I make you? After all, you ponies have made so much noise, I feel like hurting someone and you’re right in my sights!” bellowed [Melody].

                “You’re also in my sights and I’m going to make sure you hurt nopony,” declared Twilight starting up her magic.

                “I don’t need any help from your stupid head defect,” snorted [Melody], pushing Twilight aside.

                “They all have head defects. Just look at how often they let evil take over. It’s a wonder why their town isn’t overrun by it. Oh wait, it already is,” sneered [Sweetheart].

                “Guess luck just isn’t on their side,” figured [Clover].

                “It’s not on Melody’s side either because she can’t get anyone to stay quiet,” added [Sweetheart].

                “With everyone else under Discord’s spell, I’m all that’s left,” concluded Bright Eyes.

                “You also have us and we’ll join forces with you to end Discord’s reign,” said Twilight.

                “An interesting idea but it’s too bad it won’t work,” said Discord coming down from the sky.

                “Alright, the next pony to speak gets a world of hurt from me!” warned [Melody].

                “Oh good, that means only you all are affected because I’m not whole pony.  What now, Bright Eyes? I’ve taken control of nearly all of your friends and nothing you say will change my mind. You might as well give into my power as well, seeing as how your new friends cannot help you without their precious elements and even the mighty Celestia is no match for my latest scheme,” taunted Discord.

                “Don’t listen to him. He wants you to give in so that you’ll become a jerk like the rest of these ponies,” coerced Twilight.

                “I’m all out of options. I don’t have anyone else to turn to, not even you guys because your powers are gone,” protested Bright Eyes.

                “I wish you all the worst of luck in beating Discord,” proclaimed [Clover].

                “You also have us, the Cutie Mark Crusaders!” said Apple Bloom, (Scootaloo) and (Sweetie-Belle) simultaneously.

                “Ha, that’s very cute but none of you have any talent whatsoever so I don’t feel like any of you are even remotely a threat to me,” remarked Discord.

                “We’ll show you what we’re made of,” replied (Scootaloo).

                “For once I have to agree with Discord. Y’all ain’t powerful enough to stop him,” stated Applejack sadly.

                “We ain’t standin’ around no more, Applejack! It’s time for us to take action and get our cutie marks!” proclaimed Apple Bloom.

Ups and Downs

Previously on MLPT…

                “Oh my, what a mess here. I sure hope none of you caused this?” questioned Hackney.

                “I wish for once you all could keep your mouths shut!” said [Melody] angrily before walking away.

                “Melody, how could you say something so harsh? I thought they were your friends,” responded Hackney.

                “I’ve heard enough, literally!” replied [Melody].

                “What these ponies need is a good wake-up call and I know just where to get it,” said (Rainbow Dash) heading to the clouds.

                “Rainbow, we can’t just zap them back to normal and besides, you could seriously hurt them, which is bad even if they are currently being mean,” called Twilight. *Discord appears*

                “Face it, everypony. Chaos will reign supreme…….forever!” laughed Discord.

                “The biggest adventure is yet to come, the point where we take you down!” announced Patch.

                “That’ll be the day when ponies drive cars,” retorted Discord.

                “Who says we need to drive cars anyway?” asked Applejack.

                “Well duh! We just need to do that to stop Discord,” answered (Pinkie Pie).

                “You do realize how ridiculous that would be, right?” asked Twilight.

                “Further proving my point that you can’t win,” interrupted Discord. *Patch begins walking away*

                “Whoa there, Patch. Y’all can’t be walkin’ away into another trap can ya?” asked Applejack.

                “Are you kidding? I live for danger! If Discord is back there ready to make me into some kind of jerk, then I’m all for it,” replied Patch.

                “So are you also for losing your friends?” questioned Bright Eyes.

                “We can’t lose you too, Patch,” added Clover.

                “I can lose all of you. You’re all too loud!” said [Melody].

                “Look who’s talking, loudmouth,” taunted [Sweetheart]

                “Sweetheart, you’re really getting on my nerves. I’m just at about the point where I could consider hurting you!” bellowed [Melody].

                “Melody, can’t you please just talk it out with her? Violence isn’t the way to solve your problems,” said Fluttershy.

                “Fluttershy, I’m all for what you’re trying to do but they hate each other to bits. It ain’t gonna work,” replied Applejack.

                “Well someone isn’t so gullible after all. Guess you’re the smart one of the bunch and that isn’t saying much when you’re only smarter than your dimwitted friends,” remarked [Sweetheart].

                “Y’all got no right tellin’ me my friends ain’t smart, ya hear? My friends and I took down two powerful villains and what do you have to show for yourself?” protested Applejack.

                “So what? They duped you first. Twilight, you especially showed your stupidity by trying to fight alone against Nightmare Moon,” replied [Sweetheart].

                “Heavens to bitsy, Discord got another one!” announced Applejack.

                “Having a good time here on this so-called adventure? Well I’m not. The duller the better for me,” said [Patch].

                “I guess there’s just no reasoning with these ponies,” said Bright Eyes.

                “Yes there is. We must bring back their memories as friends. They may be cruel on the outside now but deep down they’re still your friends and friendship always conquers evil in the end,” stated Twilight.

                “You and your sloppy friendship stories, Twilight. Do you ever listen to yourself? If friendship conquers evil, why haven’t you beaten Discord yet, huh? That’s because you’re all too soft and that gets you nowhere in life. Look where you all are right now, losing at the hooves of a more powerful being,” ranted [Bon Bon].

                “It’s not over yet. We may lose a few friends temporarily but if that means taking down Discord and returning everything to normal, so be it,” said Twilight.

                “Hoping to get some kind of joy in beating Discord? It’ll be the dullest point of your career,” remarked [Patch].

                “Just you wait and see, we’ll have Discord down in a 20% more exciting way than you’ll ever know,” snapped (Rainbow Dash).

                “Oh dear, dahlings. No rainbows will make this a brighter day, not with several of our friends against us,” sighed Rainbow Dash.

                “You must all understand that you cannot give up, even when times are tough. That’s how the villain wins. You must build up the courage to face that evil and take it down so stand up and face Discord,” stated Celestia.

Hot and Cold

[In a nearby tree…]

                “The sweetest pony is now the most obnoxious pony, the one who liked music, now hates sound as a whole and of course lover of chocolate and sweets hates seeing sweets or anything to do with sweet, food or not. The last time I had this much fun was with Twilight Sparkle and that labyrinth,” said Discord excitedly. [Down below…]

                “Oh my, what a mess here. I sure hope none of you caused this?” questioned Hackney.

                “No, Ms Hackney,” answered Patch, Starlight, Clover and Bright Eyes simultaneously.

                “I wish for once you all could keep your mouths shut!” said [Melody] angrily before walking away.

                “Melody, how could you say something so harsh? I thought they were your friends,” responded Hackney.

                “I’ve heard enough, literally!” replied [Melody].

                “What has gotten into you Melody? You’re generally such a sweet student of mine but this is unacceptable. I hope your attitude changes before school is back in session, young lady,” said Hackney.

                “Don’t blame her, Ms Hackney.  It’s not her fault. We don’t have the full story but someone named Discord appears to have done something to her at a concert she went to,” explained Hackney.

                “Only we don’t think it was a real concert, more like a trap,” added Twilight.

                “We suspect that Discord, whom we saw earlier is probably the cause,” finished Starlight.

                “Bravo, bravo indeed. I do enjoy a tall glass of chaos,” clapped Discord as he appeared.

                “So you are behind this?” questioned Hackney.

                “You must be their teacher, Ms Hackney.  I take it you have seen the new personalities of your former students. Lovely, isn’t it?” said Discord.

                “How could you possibly call this entire mess you’ve made lovely?” asked Hackney.

                “Chaos’ beauty is in the eyes of its beholder. Though whether you like it or not, you’re stuck with it. So you can delve into past memories all you want but that will not change this town back to the dullness it once had,” said Discord.

                “That dullness is what made this town peaceful and welcoming to any pony that wandered in,” protested Hackney.

                “Before I forget, Starlight has a few words to say,” added Discord.

                “Hey Ms Hackney, hope you don’t mind I turn up the heat in the classroom, literally. Oh and don’t think the rest of you are out of this. I want you all to feel as uncomfortable as possible,” said [Starlight].

                “Enjoy your new enemy, ponies,” said Discord before disappearing.

                “Zecora, we need one of your potions,” insisted Twilight.

                “I am doing the best I can but Discord has turned my  house into a bowl of sand,” replied Zecora.

                “Well that’s just dandy. Now how are we supposed to stop Discord?” asked Applejack.

                “Well we can’t use the Elements of Harmony, not only because he’d see it coming but they no longer exist,” said Twilight.

                “Remember, Twilight, you may find the answer in an unlikely source,” said Celestia.

                “You just have to think outside the box,” added Luna.

                “Outside what box? There are no boxes around here,” protested (Pinkie Pie).

                “I’ve got a box in mind, a box filled without noise and I’m trying to be part of it,” retorted [Melody].

                “I heard there was a box with your name on it, Melody. Too bad it’s on Planet Loudmouth,” taunted [Sweetheart].

                “Then it’s a good thing I hit the ignore button from all of you. Just wish I could use the remote and mute all of your voices,” remarked [Melody] walking away.

                “Someone’s a little fired up. Guess I should turn it up more by making this place AS LOUD AS POSSIBLE!” said [Starlight] raising her voice.

                “Don’t make me come over there with duct tape,” warned [Melody].

                “Why would you? After all, that’d make noise too,” reminded [Sweetheart]

                “What’s the matter, Clover? Got the chills? Don’t worry, I’ll make it colder for you,” stated [Starlight].

                “What these ponies need is a good wake-up call and I know just where to get it,” said (Rainbow Dash) heading to the clouds.

                “Rainbow, we can’t just zap them back to normal and besides, you could seriously hurt them, which is bad even if they are currently being mean,” called Twilight. *Discord appears*

                “Face it, everypony. Chaos will reign supreme…….forever!” laughed Discord.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Heart of Terror

[On the roof of Bon Bon’s house…]

                “Alright, the first plan of action is to figure out which one of us will be the next target. Once we know that, we can put an end to our friends becoming jerks,” said Twilight.

                “Wouldn’t the weakest ones get done next?” asked Starlight.

                “They’d normally get done first so it seems unlikely that either Sweetheart or Clover would be next, no offense,” speculated Bright Eyes.

                “None at all taken, I’m glad I’m not next in line,” said Sweetheart.

                “Me either. I don’t want to be involved in being mean like Melody and Bon Bon have been doing,” agreed Clover. [On a cloud…]

                “Little do either of you know that I have indeed decided to take after the weak and the weakest link has already been chosen,” said Discord. [Down below…]

                “Hey look, it’s Spot, that frog we let go a few years ago,” pointed out Sweetheart.

                “What would Spot be doing here?” asked Starlight.

                “He’s a long way from home, or at least where we put him,” said Sweetheart.

                “That’s what bugs me,” said Bright Eyes.

                “We’d better get him back there. It’s not safe for him here,” said Sweetheart getting down from the roof.

                “Here we go again,” said Starlight getting down too.

                “Sweetheart, how do you know this isn’t another trap?” asked Bright Eyes.

                “How could it be? Spot loves to hop so he probably had no idea where he was going,” figured Sweetheart.

                “I can lead you back to where he belongs, dear Sweetheart,” said Discord disguised as Spot the frog.

                “Did you say something, Spot? I had no idea you could say more than frog sounds,” remarked Sweetheart.

                “Follow me,” said Discord.

                “Let’s get you home, Spot,” said Sweetheart picking up the frog.

                “A talking frog? Sweetheart, this is most definitely a trick, put that frog down, it’s likely not even real!” coerced Bright Eyes.

                “Maybe not but I know what is real and that’s all of your inability to see such an obvious scheme in action,” said [Sweetheart].

                “Sweetheart, not you too,” moaned Clover.

                “Now you can’t consider me a push-over but I can say that all of you are just gullible,” added [Sweetheart].

                “Uh-oh, there’s only four of us left,” realized Patch.

                “Then we’d better act fast before this being strikes again,” said Starlight.

                “Ugh, what is with everyone? Can’t they see I HATE noise?” questioned [Melody].

                “What, did any of them offer something sweet to you? Glad it wasn’t to me,” retorted [Bon Bon]

                “Shut up right now!” bellowed [Melody]. *Twilight and her friends facehoof*

                “Please, stop fighting. I’m sure that’s what this Discord wants,” said Clover.

                “Well I can see that there’s one push-over left,” remarked [Sweetheart].

                “These ponies need a timeout and who better to give one than me?” said Pinkie Pie.

                “They’ll need more than that by the looks of things,” said (Rainbow Dash).

                “We need to remind them about friendship, dahlings,” said Rainbow Dash.

                “Yuck, I HATE friendship too. WAY to sweet. Who needs friends anyway?” snapped [Bon Bon]

                “This calls for drastic measures,” said Twilight.

                “Y’all gonna use a spell, Twilight?” questioned Applejack.

                “Oh yeah,” replied Twilight confidently. *She uses her magic to reverse the spell but nothing happens*

                “So what now?” asked (Rainbow Dash). *Dozens of eggs begin rolling by*

                “You had to ask?” questioned Twilight.

                “I say we scramble these eggs,” said Applejack.

                “How?” asked Twilight. *Applejack grabs her rope*

                “I’ve got a better idea on how to scramble the eggs, literally!” said (Rainbow Dash) picking up speed. *She smashes into the eggs and destroys them*

                “Way to go, Rainbow!” cheered Applejack.

                “Celestia-side up, anypony?” questioned (Rainbow Dash).

                “Got any Luna-side up, Rainbow Dash?” asked Twilight.

                “Nope, sorry Twilight,” answered (Rainbow Dash).

                “I think this mess just got a whole lot worse,” moaned Clover.

Recipe for Disaster

Previously on MLPT…

                “This is it, dear Melody, your once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet the Cleveland Bays backstage. Why not allow me to take you there with my backstage pass?” suggested Discord.

                “No way, it is them, I HAVE to meet them,” said Melody *She excitedly goes backstage and Discord disguises himself as the Cleveland Bays*

                “You’ve made the right choice my dear, now you should let your friends know about your new discovery,” said Discord before laughing. *He disappears along with the stage and [Melody] angrily walks away*

                “Maybe she’s just truly having a bad day?” asked Sweetheart.

                “Up until that concert, she was having a good day,” said Starlight.

                “Wait, what if that concert has something to do with her acting this way?” suggested Twilight.

                “What’s up with Melody, dahlings?” asked Rainbow Dash.

                “We’re not sure but we think it may have something to do with the concert she just went to see,” replied Bright Eyes.

                “Maybe it wasn’t a concert at all but she was told to think it was,” postulated Twilight.

                “Who would truly do such a thing?” asked Sweetheart.

                “Discord, that’s who. He’s not to be trusted so we need to keep our eyes and ears open to anything suspicious,” answered Twilight.

                “You sure know a lot about this Discord,” remarked Bon Bon.

                “Princess Celestia accounts for most of my knowledge of him and the rest comes from my friends and I’s experience with him but of course, I didn’t see everything he did,” stated Twilight.

                “You sure about that whole fake concert thing, Twilight?” asked (Rainbow Dash).

                “Not completely but it wouldn’t surprise me,” replied Twilight.

                “That Melody will need more than a manicure to fix her wagon,” said (Rarity).

                “She doesn’t have a wagon, does she?” protested Apple Bloom.

                “Listen here, Apple Bloom. That there Rarity said was an expression. She was talkin’ about putting Melody back to her old self,” explained Applejack.

                “Mmm, tasty chocolate cake,” said Bon Bon partially drooling and walking away.

                “Bon Bon, wait, that could be another trap!” called Starlight.

                “Don’t you know that if it’s too good to be true, it probably is?” questioned Patch to Bon Bon.

                “This is too good……to resist,” called Bon Bon before scurrying off.

                “We’d better follow her and make sure she does not eat that cake, not even a nibble,” said Bright Eyes. *They race after her* [With Bon Bon…]

                “That’s right, Bon Bon. This one-of-a-kind chocolate cake is right here waiting for you to dig in and I know you’re hungry. You haven’t had a thing all morning since all the stuff going on here made you forget about lunch. Why not take a bite?” said Discord disguised as the cake.

                “Don’t mind if I do,” said Bon Bon joyfully taking a bite.

                “Stop right there, Bon Bon!” yelled Bright Eyes as she and the others catch up.

                “I’d be glad to. I hate sugary foods, yuck!” said [Bon Bon].

                “That’s a relief,” said Clover.

                “Clover, she’s not being herself, listen to what she’s saying,” said Starlight.

                “I don’t know why you guys even have an ice cream shop here. That’s gotta be the worst idea for this town ever!” yelled [Bon Bon].

                “You love, ice cream, Bon Bon,” protested Bright Eyes.

                “No I don’t!” snapped [Bon Bon].

                “You ate an ice cream sundae yesterday, Bon Bon so we know you’re not being yourself,” said Patch.

                “Oh what do you know? I guess you haven’t been on many adventures lately  until now and I hope this is the worst one you’ve ever taken part in,” retorted [Bon Bon] before walking away.

                “That’s two of our beloved friends turned against us. Now I know something’s not right here,” said Bright Eyes.

                “What’re we supposed to do about it? We don’t even know who’s behind all this and even if it was Discord, we don’t have any proof,” said Starlight.

                “There must be a way. In fact, we can probably catch Discord in the act and prove it that way. We’ll just need to be in a place he won’t expect and have a camera handy,” said Twilight.

                “It’s worth a shot. Let’s give it a try. This being will regret messing with us,” said Starlight.

Bittersweet Music

[Up in the clouds above Ponyville…]

                “This has got to be my most ingenious plan ever. They’ve even added a little chaos for their town themselves down there, simply priceless! Of course, there comes a time when something new must be added in and I think it’s time they find out how quickly friends can turn on each other and dear Twilight has no idea that it’s happened before right in front of her eyes and she was clueless. Now all that remains is to decide whom to start with first. The intelligent Bright Eyes? Maybe the  lead singer Melody or even the so-called lucky Clover? The possibilities are virtually limitless and the fun is most definitely endless. Bright Eyes is of course the smart one and if I posses her now, she may easily foil it out of the gates but if I get her later on, she won’t know what to do for a situation like this and not even Twilight can help her because she has no clue about it herself! Now to put my plan into action,” said Discord. [Back down below...]

                “What a mess this town has become,” remarked Melody.

                “Well there’s plenty for me to write down in my diary,” said Bon Bon.

                “Yeah so much you’d probably get hoof cramps,” said Melody.

                “You think maybe there’s something we can do with all this?” asked Starlight.

                “Like what? If we take anything out, it won’t be there when Discord is beaten,” protested Bright Eyes. *Melody walks in another direction*

                “Melody, where are you going?” asked Sweetheart.

                “That awesome rock concert over there,” replied Melody in a more slow motion.

                “This is it, dear Melody, your once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet the Cleveland Bays backstage. Why not allow me to take you there with my backstage pass?” suggested Discord.

                “How do I know for sure the Cleveland Bays are really back there?” asked Melody.

                “Can’t you hear them practicing?” asked Discord before pressing “Play” on a speaker.

                “No way, it is them, I HAVE to meet them,” said Melody *She excitedly goes backstage and Discord disguises himself as the Cleveland Bays*

                “Melody,  before we begin the tour backstage, I have a question for you,” said Discord.

                “Sure, anything,” replied Melody.

                “What if I told you that noise is the worst possible thing you could imagine? Don’t you even know that noise can damage your hearing? You don’t want to risk that, do you?,” questioned Discord.

                “No, not at all,” answered Melody.

                “Then why don’t I arrange it so it never hurts your ears again?” suggested Discord. *He puts a spell on Melody*

                “What is that noise?” asked [Melody] (These brackets mean that the name inside them is under Discord’s spell). *Discord returns to his normal form*

                “How does it feel to be in a world free of noise?” asked Discord.

                “Quiet, I can’t hear myself think!” bellowed [Melody].

                “You’ve made the right choice my dear, now you should let your friends know about your new discovery,” said Discord before laughing. *He disappears along with the stage and [Melody] angrily walks away*

                “Melody, you came back. How was the concert?” asked Bright Eyes.

                “There was too much noise, I hated every minute of it. In fact, I HATE noise!” shouted [Melody].

                “Hate noise? Melody, you need some noise like when you’re hearing someone talk to you,” protested Starlight.

                “Stop talking, I don’t want another word!” yelled [Melody]

                “What’s wrong with Melody?” whispered Sweetheart to Bright Eyes.

                “Somethin’ ain’t right with that girl,” said Applejack to Twilight.

                “I know but I can’t put my hoof on it at all. Didn’t you guys say she loved that rock band?” replied Twilight.

                “She did but it sounds like she doesn’t like them anymore but she didn’t tell us anything beforehand,” answered Bright Eyes.

                “Enough! I’m off to find some peace and quiet, away from any chit-chat!” announced [Melody] before storming off.

                “Maybe she’s just truly having a bad day?” asked Sweetheart.

                “Up until that concert, she was having a good day,” said Starlight.

                “Wait, what if that concert has something to do with her acting this way?” suggested Twilight.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Sticking Together

[Near Rarity’s Boutique…]

                “Put your muscle into it,” demanded North Pole

                “It’s no good, we’re stuck together,” replied South Pole.

                “On three, we pull away simultaneously. Ready? 1……….2…………3!” stated NP (North Pole for short). *He and South Pole pull away and break free, landing with a thud on the ground that (Rarity) overhears and runs out*

                “What is going on here? I have sixteen dresses to make for Hoity Toity’s next show next week and I must have peace and quiet,” complained (Rarity).

                “Sorry, we got stuck together. See, are bodies are magnetic in certain areas and when those certain areas are close enough, we have no choice but to literally come together,” explained SP (South Pole for short).

                “Oh my that sounds utterly painful,” remarked (Rarity).

                “It is at times, especially when we want to just hang out together. It’s almost like we’re Siamese ponies but even though we were born with this special power we are still separate ponies,” replied NP.

                “Well at least if you need to find one another, you just need to get a feel for where your twin is,” said (Rarity).

                “At least neither of you suffered an accident involving the classic magic act,” remarked Glitter Glide.

                “Whahaha!” exclaimed Rarity in disbelief before fainting.

                “What’s up with her?” asked Loop-De-La.

                “Nothing, it’s just I wasn’t expecting to see such tragedies unfold here today,” replied (Rarity).

                “We may be divided but of you all I beg. To remember we’re all hoofed at the end of each leg,” sang (Pinkie Pie).

                “Ha ha, very funny, some respectable pony you are,” muttered Loop-De-La.

                “Huh? I love that song. I made it myself,” said (Pinkie Pie).

                “Well maybe you should’ve thought about any ponies that may have literally been divided like us,” replied Glitter Glide.

                “What happened?” asked (Pinkie Pie).

                “It was supposed to be a routine magic act. The one where you’re magically split in half, then magically put back together. Well our performer made it a bit too convincing and couldn’t get us back together because it wasn’t an illusion. We were split in half and needed surgery to get ourselves back together so we take offense any time the word divided or split is used because we get reminded of that tragic day,” told Loop-De-La.

                “Oh good, here comes Twilight, she can help you…..I hope,” said (Rarity).

                “Is something the matter?” asked Twilight a bit puzzled.

                “Can you make us whole again, in other words without the stitches?” requested Glitter Glide.

                “I can try,” said Twilight. *she uses her magic on both ponies but nothing happens*

                “Drat, well thanks anyway,” said Loop-De-La.

                “I guess all the stuff going on in this town from Discord is messing with my magic,” figured Twilight.

                “Who’s Discord?” asked Glitter Glide and Loop-De-La simultaneously.

                “Long story but the short version is he likes to make a mess  of things by basically not having anything make sense,” replied Twilight. *Teddy comes up laughing*

                “You ponies should see these two ponies. Their butts light up,” laughed Teddy.

                “What are you talking about?” asked Twilight.

                “I’ll take you there,” said Teddy still snickering. [In the center of Ponyville...]

                “Please make them stop laughing,” cried Shimmer Shine.

                “It’s not even remotely funny,” added Graceful Glimmer.

                “Yes it is….OW!” said Teddy as Twilight pokes him with her hoof.

                “Sorry but you need to learn to respect others no matter how different they are and what you’ve done is gotten two ponies very upset,” scolded Twilight. *She heads over to the crying ponies*

                “You poor things, you deserve nothing more than kindness and respect,” said (Rarity).

                “Did Discord do this to you?” asked Twilight.

                “We don’t even know who that is but it’s not really our flanks causing the light, it’s our cutie marks. The light they create is so bright it makes it look like the light is inside but it’s not,” explained Graceful Glimmer.

                “You owe these two an apology, Teddy, now!” ordered Melody.

                “I’m sorry you two. I didn’t know it’d be that hurtful to you all or that what I said wasn’t true. I think it’s kinda cool that your marks light up. I’d almost want one myself,” replied Teddy. *The ponies hug Teddy*

Your Number One Fan

[At Twilight’s house…]

                “It’s doughnut,” remarked (Pinkie Pie).

                “Absolutely not, it’s a hula-hoop,” said Melody.

                “It’s some kind of time travelin’ device,” said Apple Bloom.

                “A trophy?” questioned (Scootaloo).

                “No, a ring,” said (Sweetie-Belle).

                “No, no, dahlings, it’s a portal to another dimension,” corrected Rainbow Dash.

                “Actually, it’s a fan,” stated Twilight.

                “It is?” questioned everyone else.

                “That’s a fan? Did you tickle a pickle?” asked (Pinkie Pie).

                “Says on the box that this is what this but it claims to have no blades, which is part of all the fans I’ve seen,” remarked Twilight puzzled.

                “Fans have blades? I’ve only seen fans at a concert,” said (Pinkie Pie).

                “What kinda crazy pony thought of this here device as a fan? Ain’t nothin’ like a fan I ever saw,” protested Applejack.

                “It DOES seem rather odd but it’s immensely popular in Investia, the town about 10 miles from Equestria that put this thing together, and another 20 miles from Grotesquia, the town where all Halloween costumes are made for Nightmare Night,” told Twilight.

                “Well shoot, I guess that makes sense but I can’t wrap my hooves around the idea of this being a fan,” questioned Applejack.

                “The instruction book says that it draws air in from below, then shoots it out the opening here,” explained Twilight. *She turns on the fan and and the others are thrown against the bookcase, then turns off the fan*

                “No fan of this ugliness is ever being placed where I live,” declared (Rarity).

                “Can’t say that I want one neither,” added Applejack.

                “Oh come on, I’m better than this……this…….thing,” said (Rainbow Dash).

                “I’m sorry, Twilight but I just can’t see myself having it with Angel living with me. It’s just not safe,” said Fluttershy.

                “Y’all can keep that doohickey of yours, Twilight because it ain’t on my most wanted list,” said Applejack as she and the others leave.

                “Maybe this wasn’t a good thing to buy,” sighed Twilight.

                “Cheer up, dear Twilight. So what if they don’t like it? It is an entertaining device nonetheless,” remarked Spike.

                “I don’t know. I can’t be happy with it if my friends aren’t,” protested Twilight.

                “You may be right about that. They’d probably feel the same way if you didn’t like something they liked,” pondered Spike.

                “You’re right, I should return it. After all, it didn’t seem to live up to all the talk,” said Twilight using her magic to teleport herself and the fan to Investia* [An hour later…]

                “Um, Twilight, how come your bookcase is full of newspaper articles?” asked (Pinkie Pie).

                “Discord must’ve replaced all my books with newspaper. Ugh, those books are priceless!” concluded Twilight.

                “Ain’t there some kind of book on Discord now?” asked Applejack.

                “If there is, I don’t have it, either because Discord stole the one I forgot I had or no such book exists. If there isn’t one, I’ll be sure to make one,” replied Twilight.

                “What would Discord want with a bunch of books?” asked (Rainbow Dash).

                “I don’t think he cares one way or another about books, just messing with yours since he knows you love to read them,” said (Pinkie Pie).

                “Twilight Sparkle, I come bringing bad news. Discord has ruined my potion for food,” announced Zecora.

                “That’s awful, Zecora,” said Twilight.

                “It is the saddest thing. It seems he is after the potions I bring,” added Zecora.

                “A zebra that makes potions? Well there’s something you don’t see every day,” said Starlight.

                “All part of my native land. I help out wherever I can,” explained Zecora.

                “Can’t you make a potion to get rid of Discord, Zecora?” asked Apple Bloom.

                “It ain’t that easy, Apple Bloom. We can’t predict Discord’s moves well enough to counter them that way but something will have to be done to weaken him before it’s too late,” replied Applejack.

Is That Your Vinyl Answer?

[In Ponyville…]

                “Well I’ll be, Princess Celestia and Luna!” announced Applejack.

                “Twilight Sparkle, we are aware of Discord’s presence here and of its cause. Derpy Hooves here couldn’t see where she was going and is at fault for the statue’s destruction,” explained Celestia.

                “Ah, Celestia and Luna, what a charming surprise. Observe all the glory of this town and fear not, more to come,” said Discord.

                “Not on our watch,” snapped Luna.

                “Well you weren’t watching the past few days and I’ll see to it that the rest of my plan takes full effect in the coming days but until then, farewell,” said Discord disappearing once more.

                “We know we can take him down, Celestia,” assured Twilight.

                “Luna and I have little doubt of that, Twilight as you and the others stopped him once before,” replied Celestia.

                “What in tarnation is goin’ on over there?” asked Applejack.

                “Come on, dudes, work it now. I’ve got the best beats in the house,” said Vinyl (Vinyl Scratch, fan name for the DJ pony in “Suited for Success”, for short).

                “This must be the DJ pony you all talked about before,” concluded Bright Eyes.

                “It is but we know so little about him besides that he’s the DJ,” stated Twilight.

                “Sup, pony friends, care to join the jams?” asked Vinyl from over the music.

                “We’re kind a busy right now, sorry,” said Twilight.

                “At least somepony is providin’ some upliftin’ stuff to put a positive mood here,” said Applejack.

                “Whoa man, what’s up with the record player? It’s a block of wood!” exclaimed Vinyl.

                “You’ve got cheese wheels for records,” pointed out Rainbow Dash.

                “I don’t do cheesy music. It’s just not my nature, dude,” remarked Vinyl walking away.

                “Simply marvelous. All my hard work is paying off,” said Discord clapping.

                “Wait until we beat you,” said Luna.

                “I’m not waiting for you to do anything, I’m making sure you do nothing to stop my plans,” replied Discord.

                “You can’t prevent everything,” stated Twilight.

                “Sure got dark of a sudden,” commented Applejack.

                “So you blocked out the sun using your combined powers, Celestia and Luna? Well I’m not even remotely impressed because my powers this time around don’t involve any celestial body,” retorted Discord.

                “You’re no match for the Elements of Harmony,” remarked Applejack.

                “How true but equally, you’re no match for me without the elements,” replied Discord.

                “I know where the elements are,” snapped Twilight.

                “Do you really? Well then I’m afraid you’d be mistaken because they don’t exist anymore,” said Discord.

                “What? Quit messin’ with us,” demanded Applejack.

                “I’m already doing that to your town and if you don’t believe that the elements are a thing of the past, feel free to look fruitlessly for them and now that they’re gone, I am free to bring chaos to your town as I desire,” said Discord.

                “You bring them back or suffer my skills!” demanded (Rainbow Dash).

                “It took all six of you to defeat me and if you’re fighting me alone, I won’t even break a sweat,” laughed Discord before disappearing.

                “Darn that Discord and his nonsensical ways,” said Applejack.

                “It’s true that the elements are gone but you may not be the only ones to posses special powers,” said Celestia.

                “What do you mean, princess?” asked Twilight.

                “Oh I think you’ll find out in due time,” said Celestia. [Later that night…]

                “So these elements were worn by you all and helped defeat this guy and Nightmare Moon? Those must be some powerful tools,” said Starlight.

                “If only they still had them,” said Bright Eyes.

                “Where do you think Discord truly put them?” asked Sweetheart.

                “You don’t think he’s telling the truth, Sweetheart? Didn’t you hear him?” asked Melody.

                “Well, not exactly. If he’s such a trickster, what’s to say he’s not truly lying?” replied Sweetheart.

                “I guess but in case it’s true we need another plan or we may need a new town,” said Bright Eyes.

Gary Trotter

Previously on MLPT…

                “Uh-oh, I’m moving,” said Melody.

                “Where are you moving to, Melody?” asked Sweetheart.

                “No, I’m sliding away from my spot in the classroom,” explained Melody. *The others reach out and bring her back, then begin sliding around themselves, crashing into one another*

                “Oh dear, I can’t let this happen to my students. Class, if you can get up, I’m dismissing class today because I can’t teach if you all can’t focus and you all can’t focus unless things are normal here,” said Hackney. *The class struggles to get up but falls*

                “Okay, on three we get up together by holding hooves. 1…….2……..3!” exclaimed Bright Eyes. *The class rises to their feet with minor struggling*

                “What will I do now?” asked Hackney. *she puts her hooves on her head* [Later that day….]

                “Discord must be stopped early so that any further damage is prevented,” thought Twilight.

                “Wow, have you guys read Gary Trotter’s book series?” asked Melody.

                “Who’s Gary Trotter?” asked Sweetheart.

                “He’s a fictional character and has several books on his adventures in Hoofwalks,” explained Bright Eyes.

                “Must be pretty popular then but I haven’t heard of him either,” said Starlight.

                “What’s the first book in the series? I want to read this,” said Patch.

                “Look for Gary Trotter and the Unicorn’s Horn,” replied Bright Eyes.

                “It looks truly long to me,” said Sweetheart.

                “Heavy too but it’s worth it. We’ll need something to do while we deal with this mess,” added Melody.

                “Doesn’t exactly interest me and I love magic, no offense,” said Twilight.

                “Why not?” asked Bright Eyes.

                “I love studying magic, not reading about it as a story,” explained Twilight.

                “Oh, well that’s okay I guess,” said Melody.

                “So you guys got those books too?” asked Ace.

                “They’re the best books ever,” added Lancer.

                “You guys like those books? Tell me you’re joking,” remarked Teddy.

                “Why yes Teddy we do,” said Ace.

                “What’s so great about them anyway?” questioned Teddy.

                “Maybe you should read about them first,” said Lancer.

                “I’m not going to waste my time, I have better things to do,” remarked Teddy.

                “Oh, like what?” asked Ace.

                “You know……stuff,” replied Teddy.

                “Whatever, Teddy, we’ll see you all later, bye,” said Lancer. *He, Teddy and Ace leave*

                “Applejack, any idea what the hay is goin’ on?” asked Apple Bloom.

                “Don’t y’all worry about a thing. We’ll take care of it soon enough,” answered Applejack.

                “Come on, sis, can’t we come?” asked (Sweetie-Belle).

                “Oh, no, no, sorry sweetie. It’s much too dangerous,” replied (Rarity).

                “Y’all always go on these big adventure thingies and we never get to get in on the fun,” complained Apple Bloom.

                “I’d love to kick some serious pony flank,” added (Scootaloo).

                “Oh like you three are going to be of any help. Blank Flanks aren’t good for anything,” retorted Diamond Tiara.

                “Yeah, it’s better if you let us take over, fillies with cutie marks, real cutie marks and not just ones made with arts and crafts,” added Silver Spoon.

                “Oh yeah? I bet we could do it 100,000 times better than you two,” said Apple Bloom.

                “Now don’t you listen to those two. They just wanna get you three rattled up for nothin’. They ain’t worth your time,” said Applejack.

                “Besides, you three didn’t win that talent show for nothing,” added Twilight.

                “This could be our big chance to prove ourselves and get our cutie marks,” said (Scootaloo).

                “Maybe being patient is our talent?” suggested (Sweetie-Belle).

                “I’m not so sure, considering how badly we want our cutie marks,” questioned Apple Bloom.

                “Yeah. Remember all those times we’ve tried and failed to get our cutie marks?” asked (Scootaloo).

                “Your times will come for each of you and I’m sure Discord’s time will come to an end,” said Twilight.

Jackson Michaels

[At school…]

                “Students, take your seats….uh at least as best you can as we seem to be having issues with everything in the room, or something to that extent,” said Hackney rather puzzled.

                “Where are all the desks?” asked Melody.

                “They’ve been replaced by bars of soap,” remarked Bright Eyes.

                “That can’t end well at all,” moaned Clover.

                “You said it, this can’t even be remotely safe,” said Bon Bon.

                “I say, Ms Hackney, what on earth is going on here?” asked Michaels.

                “Aren’t you the king of pony pop?” asked Starlight.

                “Naw, you just got me confused with my twin, MJ. He was the true king of pony pop. I just helped him out for a while. The name’s Jackson Michaels by the way,” explained Michaels.

                “What happened to him? Are you still friends with him?” asked Melody.

                “I would be if he didn’t have a tragic end to his life at 50. I tried warning him about the overdose but he insisted that he needed it to stay alive. Still occasionally brings a tear to my eye every once in a while,” replied Michaels.

                “Oh how tragic. I feel truly sorry,” said Sweetheart.

                “Thank ya kindly, but, harsh as it may sound, where he was headin’, there wasn’t much of a point to him livin’ that bad a life. Kinda like when your pet is in trouble. No need for it to keep sufferin’, just let it go,” answered Michaels.

                “It’d be just the most awful thing if I had to lose one of my friends,” said Clover.

                “Well, gotta run, Ms Hackney. I must say, this class of yours is pretty decent,” said Michaels.

                “Well I do educate them to the finest,” said Hackney. *Michaels walks out*

                “Bye,” waved the class.

                “Uh-oh, I’m moving,” said Melody.

                “Where are you moving to, Melody?” asked Sweetheart.

                “No, I’m sliding away from my spot in the classroom,” explained Melody. *The others reach out and bring her back, then begin sliding around themselves, crashing into one another*

                “Oh dear, I can’t let this happen to my students. Class, if you can get up, I’m dismissing class today because I can’t teach if you all can’t focus and you all can’t focus unless things are normal here,” said Hackney. *The class struggles to get up but falls*

                “Okay, on three we get up together by holding hooves. 1…….2……..3!” exclaimed Bright Eyes. *The class rises to their feet with minor struggling*

                “What will I do now?” asked Hackney. *she puts her hooves on her head* [Later that day….]

                “Boy am I sore,” said Melody rubbing her sides.

                “I never thought that class would be so painful,” said Bon Bon.

                “Not exactly the kind of adventure I long for,” remarked Patch.

                “What’re we supposed to do now? We can’t go inside our homes because we can’t even get to the front door. We took a boat to get to school,” questioned Starlight.

                “Can’t that same boat take us back home?” suggested Sweetheart.

                “Don’t know how much good that’d do when we can’t even get into our own homes,” said Bright Eyes. [Up on a cloud…]

                “Your problems are only the beginning, dear fillies. Wait until you see what else is in store,” said Discord. [Back on Ponyville grounds…]

                “Well we could always eat our way into Melody’s house,” suggested Patch.

                “Ugh, there’s no telling how long that’s been there,” remarked (Rarity).

                “Actually it’s only been there a day,” added Twilight.

                “That’s a day longer than I’d want to eat that for,” muttered (Rarity).

                “I went and got my potion of juice. Might as well use it with no better excuse,” said Zecora coming over.

                “What’s it do, Zecora?” asked Applejack.

                “Why it’s simple as you’ll see. It’ gets rid of food you don’t eat,” explained Zecora.

                “I won’t have a house then,” protested Melody.

                “You barely have a house now, Melody,” stated Bright Eyes.

                “Discord must be stopped early so that any further damage is prevented,” thought Twilight.

 TO BE CONTINUED...

A Tale of Two Holes

[Previously on MLPT…]

                “Have y’all seen the cotton candy clouds and chocolate milk rain comin’ down?” asked Applejack.

                “You know about this?” asked Melody.

                “We’ve seen it before and it’s the work of Discord, a drapernicus that used to rule this place and certainly made a mess here before,” explained Twilight.

                “A funny story about that. You see, dear ponies, somepony put me back up where my statue was and a sudden storm knocked me off that peak and left my statue shattered in thousands of pieces from the impact. It’s all thanks to those pegasai that bring in the weather each day. That’s right, Rainbow Dash, you helped free me from my stone prison and I have you to thank,” answered Discord.

                “How do we know ya ain’t fibbin’? asked Applejack.

                “What I hold my hands are the shattered stone remains of my statue but unlike last time, I’m not going back! I’m here to see to it that your town becomes Chaos Capital of the World once and for all!” replied Discord.

                “Go ahead and try, we beat you once and we’ll do it again,” snapped (Rainbow Dash).

                “Try all you want but without knowing what I plan to do next, trying has absolutely no value,” remarked Discord disappearing.

                “Twilight, there’s some place I wanna visit, you know to get away from this mess for a bit,” began Applejack.

                “Where, Applejack?” asked Twilight.

                “The place where I grew up. I wanna see if anything has changed since I left,” explained Applejack.

                “How will you get there with that gate in the way? Of course, I can use magic to get us there,” said Twilight.

                “Well what’re we waitin’ for? I’m ready to see the sights,” said Applejack. *They disappear and land in Manehatten* [In Manehatten…]

                “This place is filthy. Has nopony been here for hundreds of years?” asked Rarity.

                “I guess they just don’t yet have the money to restore buildings,” figured Applejack.

                “What’s over there, Applejack?” asked Twilight pointing in a direction. *They head over to see*

                “I ain’t been to this part of the town before. There’s somethin’ written here but it’s all blurred out and worn away,” stated Applejack.

                “It looks like a list of names but what’s with the giant pools?” asked Twilight.

                “Think maybe our other friends back in Ponyville have any ideas?” asked Applejack.

                “They just might but we can’t reach them because of the mess Discord created,” answered Twilight.

                “Ugh, that cross over there is well below beauty standards,” remarked Rarity.

                “Could Discord have done this?” asked Applejack.

                “Maybe but this almost seems out of even his doing,” said Twilight.

                “I hope those aren’t names of animals,” said Fluttershy. *Twilight uses her magic to bring the Tales gang to where they are*

                “Any of y’all know about this?” asked Applejack. *Sweetheart saddens*

                “What’s the matter, Sweetheart?” asked Bright Eyes.

                “Y’all know somethin’ don’t you? Well spill, girl,” demanded Applejack.

                “We….don’t like to talk about it,” stated Starlight.

                “Why the hay not? Did somethin’ terrible happen that caused this?” asked Applejack.

                “We agreed not to mention what happened here because of Sweetheart’s emotional problems involving it,” added Melody.

                “Well golly, then somethin downright awful must’ve gone down here and I guess it’s better off not knowing. We’d better get back to Ponyville,” said Applejack. *Twilight uses her magic again to take them back to Ponyville* [Inside Ponyville again…]

                “All this teleporting isn’t good for my health,” said Twilight.

                “Ooh, chocolate milk rain!” exclaimed (Pinkie Pie) excitedly, then opening her mouth to take in the chocolate-y substance.

                “Pinkie, we have no time for that, we have to stop Discord,” scolded Twilight.

                “Well duh! If we have time to stop Discord than obviously I have time to take in the chocolate milk rain,” protested (Pinkie Pie). [Meanwhile…]

                “You don’t think this is a sign of anything bad, do you, Skywishes?” asked Pinkie Pie observing the chaos.

                “I wish I wish I wish I knew, Pinkie Pie,” replied Skywishes.

Ponyville, Home of the Fillies

[At Twilight’s house…]

                “Boy howdy, Twilight. Sure feels good to whoop Nightmare Moon’s sorry flank again,” said Applejack.

                “You can say that again, Applejack. After all, I don’t think any of us are going to miss her anytime soon,” agreed Twilight.

                “The best part is nopony or animal got hurt,” said Fluttershy.  

                “She sure was cramping our style and way of life,” added (Rarity).

                “Even her second encounter with us didn’t help her at all. We just went in and gave her the sweet taste of defeat,” said (Rainbow Dash).

                “Wait a minute, we didn’t do this alone, we had help from those other ponies,” reminded (Pinkie Pie).

                “Oh right, I remember them. We definitely ought to go and thank them for their help,” stated Twilight. *They head out* [Elsewhere, at Melody’s house…]

                “Thanks to those other ponies, things are pretty well normal here,” said Bright Eyes.

                “If by normal you mean the pink clouds and chocolate milk raining down, I think I have to disagree,” protested Starlight. *The door bursts open*

                “Have y’all seen the cotton candy clouds and chocolate milk rain comin’ down?” asked Applejack.

                “You know about this?” asked Melody.

                “We’ve seen it before and it’s the work of Discord, a drapernicus that used to rule this place and certainly made a mess here before,” explained Twilight.

                “What exactly can we do about it?” asked Sweetheart.

                “Find him and put an end to his meanness,” replied (Pinkie Pie).

                “Hey, where’d the door go?” asked Melody.

                “Where’d you guys go?” questioned (Pinkie Pie).

                “Whatever this is, I’m breaking it down,” said (Rainbow Dash). *she backs up, then flies into the wall but it doesn’t budge*

                “Discord must want us out so we can’t warn them of what he’ll do next,” concluded Twilight.

                “Yuck, what’s been on your floor, Melody?” asked Bright Eyes.

                “Whatever it is, I didn’t put it there,” replied Melody. *Bon Bon sniffs the air*

                “It’s butter but why and how did that get there?” questioned Bon Bon.

                “All I know is my mom won’t be happy but how do I explain it to her that it wasn’t my fault?” asked Melody.

                “I don’t think she’ll be coming home now, the roads are rivers….of salt,” said Patch. *the others rush to the window*

                “This isn’t truly adding up at all. It seems to be coming out of nowhere,” said Sweetheart. [Outside…]

                “We have to find another way in,” said Twilight.

                “How the hay can we ask them with this wall in the way?” asked Applejack.

                “If it is a way in you need, just come with me,” said Zecora. *They start to move but Melody’s house turns into jello*

                “Well that’s one way to get out there but boy is my place going to need some serious rebuilding afterwards,” remarked Melody.

                “May I ask what is going on here? Everything occurring is so unclear,” demanded Zecora.

                “Maybe my magic can get them out,” thought Twilight. *She uses her magic and frees the Tales gang*

                “We’d better skedaddle  and find a better place until this mess is sorted,” suggested Applejack. *They bolt for the edge of Ponyville but a gate blocks their path*

                “What, you thought  I’d just let you go through without enduring my rounds of chaos? How naïve of you all,” scolded Discord appearing before them.

                “How did you break free when you were turned to stone?” asked Twilight.

                “A funny story about that. You see, dear ponies, somepony put me back up where my statue was and a sudden storm knocked me off that peak and left my statue shattered in thousands of pieces from the impact. It’s all thanks to those pegasai that bring in the weather each day. That’s right, Rainbow Dash, you helped free my from my stone prison and I have you to thank,” answered Discord.

                “How do we know ya ain’t fibbin’? asked Applejack.

                “What I hold my hands are the shattered stone remains of my statue but unlike last time, I’m not going back! I’m here to see to it that your town becomes Chaos Capital of the World once and for all!” replied Discord.

 TO BE CONTINUED...