Chapter 28

Spike knew he was dreaming when he was staring at the world's biggest gem, next to a river of ice cream. Sadly Spike knew he couldn't try and eat any of these because he'd know what would happen, as soon as he took a bite out of anything Twilight would wake him up saying he's been eating his pillow again.

"But that gem looks so delicious" Spike thought to himself, the sunlight was beaming on the gem as if begging to be eaten. Spike found himself walking towards the gem.

"We wouldn't do that if we were you Spike" A voice said, making Spike turn around.

"Oh hi Princess Luna" Spike said with an embarrassed smile.

"How do you feel?" She asked. Spike waved his hand in dismissal.

"I'm fine really, well except for the fact that the world's biggest gem is right here and I'm not allowed to eat it" Spike said and turned back to the gem, placing a hand on it.

"We can assure you Spike, this is far from being the world's biggest" Luna laughed.

"There's a bigger one!?" Spike asked in disbelief.

"Tell you what Spike, we will ask our sister we can show you it if not eat it" Luna suggested.

"Really!? Yeah!" Spike cheered as he hugged Luna.

"Does this mean you forgive us?" Luna asked. Spike broke from the hug and looked confused at Luna.

"Forgive you? For what?" Spike asked.

"We assumed you'd be upset with us for overworking you earlier" Luna admitted.

"It's alright, really" Spike tried, seeing the guilt look in Luna's eyes. Luna took a deep breath.

"If you insist, but what about Twilight Sparkle?" Luna asked.

"Right, this wasn't exactly a good first impression huh?" Spike admitted as he scratched the back of his head.

"Perhaps she won't permit our training any longer" Luna thought out loud.

"Don't worry Luna, I'll convince her. Besides, I really want to practice my healing fire!" Spike said with a smile. Luna thought a little.

"Was it tiring to use that much fire?" Luna asked.

"No, I just never released my breath for that long before" Spike replied. Lune thought again, then she had an idea.

"You know Spike, when we were younger, our mentor had taught us to use the flugelhorn" Luna informed. Spike's jaw dropped, literally, this was a dream after all.

"You mean like the ones at the Crystal Empire?" Spike asked.

"Yes, one of the key requirements for playing the flugelhorn correctly is having good air support" Luna said.

"Air support?" Spike asked.

"Yes, we needed to learn how to play for long periods of time, so that also required we learn how to effectively use our air so we don't run out" Luna continued.

"Like the way I ran out of air when using my fire?" Spike asked.

"Yes, the way we overcame this was by learning to take quick deep breaths and to not use more air than required" Luna responded. Spike thought a little.

"So I need to learn to play the flugelhorn?" Spike asked, making Luna chuckle.

"Not necessarily, but I will assign you some breathing exercises" Luna told Spike, making Spike tilt his head in confusion.

"We need to exercise our breathing?" Spike asked.

"You need to exercise how effectively you use your air" Luna corrected.

"How will I do that?" Spike asked.

"Whenever you can, you inhale for 4 seconds and exhale for 4 seconds. Make sure you use up all your air when doing this. At first it'll feel tiring but then it'll become easy." Luna said.

"Ok, can I do it here?" Spike asked. Luna shook her head.

"Any training here will be pointless, this is a dream so you won't me exercising your physical body" Luna explained.

"Alright got it, inhale and exhale for 4 seconds when awake" Spike thought out loud.

"Until we deem fit, you will continue doing this. In the meantime, we will continue improving your strength" Luna told.

"Darn. I-I mean great." Spike corrected with a sheepish smile. Luna giggled.

"You know, this training isn't mandatory" Luna reminded.

"No! I need to do this! I need to learn how to protect everypony." Spike said with a determined smile.

"Spoken like a true warrior, now we must depart for now" Luna said as her horn glowed.

"Alright, see you later Luna" Spike said and waved.

"Farewell" Lune replied as she flashed away. Spike turned back to the giant gem.

"Looks like it's just you and me…" Spike went. He was making a decision, don't eat the gem, or wake up eating a pillow.


"Alright, 2 minute break" Screwball called out. As soon as she said that, Fluttershy collapsed, breathing intensely.

"Only. Two. Minutes?" Fluttershy asked, wiping the sweat from her forehead.

"Yeah, you're making incredible progress so I don't want to wait for too long" Screwball said as she summoned a towel and handed it to Fluttershy.

"Thanks" Twilight thanked as she wiped her faced.

"Don't worry, once you learn the basics then everything else will come more smoothly" Screwball encouraged as she summoned a glass of chocolate milk and handed it to Fluttershy.

"Um, if it's not too much trouble, can I get water instead?" Fluttershy asked.

"Right" Screwball said as the glass flashed purple, revealing water.

"Thanks" Fluttershy thanked as she drank the water.

"Rest up, we still got work ahead of us" Screwball nonchalantly said as she summoned herself a cup of chocolate milk.

"Um, Screwball" Fluttershy began.

"Yeah?" Screwball asked as she drank the chocolate milk.

"Um, if you don't mind, can you tell me more about you and Discord?" Fluttershy asked, hoping to have an extended break. Screwball smiled at the memories.

"Ahh those days, when Dad was a statue and everypony still called me Diana" she said as she threw the cup into her mouth and chewed it.

"So what happened?" Fluttershy asked as Screwball burped.

"Right, where did I leave off last time?" Screwball asked.

"You were waking up after you saw Discord and Luna" Fluttershy reminded.

"Oh yeah" Screwball said.


*Flashback*

The little filly slowly opened her eyes and was immediately reminded of the chilling atmosphere, the whole house looked like it hasn't been used in years, maybe centuries. Lucky for her the sun was emitting light through the windows, or as much as it could because the windows were covered in overgrown plants.

"I hope I wasn't asleep for long, my parents are going to kill me" she thought to herself.

Don't forget to take something

The filly flinched a bit and looked around, that sounded like Discord.

Don't tell me you're not used to this by now.

"It still surprising" she thought. She then remembered that her parents requested she bring something. "You have anything you wouldn't mind me taking?" she thought.

Just look around till you find something

"Thanks for the help…" she said out loud as she began looking. She was sure that she wouldn't go into any of the rooms, who knows what she would find? She decided to just look in what she assumed was the living room, as she looked around she saw something underneath a table. It looked like a chest.

"Hey, can I check in this chest?" She thought. No response.

"Mr. Discord?" She called. Still no response. She decided to just help herself as she pulled the chest. It looked extremely dusty but she didn't want to get dust on her face too so she didn't blow it off. She tried to open it, it was locked.

"Oh fiddlesticks, how am I going to open this now?" She thought to herself. Wait, she had magic now. She shuddered at the memory, even while dreaming the pain felt very real. She focused her magic just like Discord told her.

"Imagine the lock opening, imagine the lock opening" she kept telling herself as she felt her magic forming. She then felt the magic release her and opened her eyes.

"What?" She thought when she saw the lock still in place. She was so sure her magic did something. She sighed and turned away but then she felt some water hit her head.

"Is it raining?" She thought as she wiped the water off her head. Wait, even in the darkness she noticed how the water looked darker than usual. She then felt another drop of 'water' hit her head, then another, then another.

"What's going on" she thought as she angrily wiped the water off her head. She then looked up and gasped. Was that a cloud? A purple cloud? Was it raining? She eyed the 'water' then tasted it. It tasted like chocolate.

"Did I summon this?" She asked herself as she backed up to get out of the chocolate rain. Discord did tell her that chaos magic is unpredictable at times, especially when you don't know for sure what you're doing.

"How is this going to help me?" She thought to herself. Then she had an idea, a stupid idea. She jumped up and grabbed hold of the cloud to bring it down to her. She then ripped off a chunk from the cloud and stuffed it into the lock hole.

"Hope this works" she thought to herself as she did her best to wiggle the cloud chunk inside the lock. She was about to give up until she heard a *CLICK* and the lock fell.

"Hah!" She cheered as she opened the chest. There she saw a hat, a blue hat.


*Present*

"By pure luck, it was the famous Starswirl Hat that so many people tried to replicate" Screwball explained.

"You have Discord's hat?" Fluttershy asked.

"Yup, now I just have it to remind myself" she said with a smile.

"Remind yourself of what?" Fluttershy asked. Screwball then did an evil smirk.

"It's to remind me that 2 minutes have loooooong past, it's time to resume" Screwball laughed. Fluttershy gulped, Discord couldn't be taking any longer than he already was.


*meanwhile, somewhere else*

Everything is in motion, now all you need to do is prepare the spell and capture one of them.

"Yeah I got it ready, it's pretty simple actually" she responded.

Perfect, when I give your cue, you head to the Evergreen forest, I'll get Discord to confront you and you do what we planned.

"Right, then you'll be freed?" she asked.

Hehe I'll be more than free, I'll be all powerful again, not even Discord will be able to contain me.

"Perfect, then I'll finally have my revenge on all of them!" she announced and laughed.

You ponies and your vengeance, that's probably the only chaotic thing you have.

"Oh I can assure you, I can do so much more…" she responded wickedly.

Yeah, just because of the book I showed you.

"Still, I could probably take over Ponyville all by myself now" she responded.

Oh believe me, Princess Sunbutt and her sister might not be able to stand a chance against us alone, but together… let's just say I never stood a chance, and neither will you.

"Right, which leaves one question, who should I go after Celestia or Luna?" She asked.

Sunbutt, her sister has her Nightmare Moon transformation which might prove difficult, also Celestia knows how to use the Elements of Harmony.

"Wait, if Luna has Nightmare Moon, wouldn't it be best to sneak attack her so she can't rebel against us?" she asked.

That'd be true, but little LuLu is a master of stealth, when she's alone there is no way to sneak up on her without her seeing you.

"Crud, and when she's with somepony they'll probably interfere with my spell" she agreed.

Right, but don't worry about LuLu, if you threaten to kill Sunbutt she won't dare fight back.

"Good, and I'll be able to take on the six of them" she added.

Wrong.

"Huh?" she went.

Twilight Sparkle was enough to deal with, but now they got 3 more potential threats.

"You mean Discord's mistake?" She asked.

Don't call our little Screwball a mistake, I'm hoping to convince her to join us.

"Not likely, she likes Discord a lot" she said.

True, but it's worth a shot.

"Anyway, who are the other 2?" she asked.

I'm not sure, I can sense them from Ponyville and Canterlot.

"From all the way there?" she asked.

Yeah, there's no guarantee they'll rebel, but it's safer to assume they will.

"Maybe I can take them out too?" she asked.

If you want, but the only one I can exactly pinpoint is the one in Canterlot, they're in the Canterlot Castle.

"Great, out of all places" she sighed.

Just get your flank moving, I'm anxious to show Discord how to really cause trouble.

"Whatever, just remember our deal" she said as she headed for the stairs.

Of course, I am a creature of my word.

"Gah! Tell Discord to clean up his basement more often!" she yelled when she ran into a spider web.


"No I insist, I feel bad for being so rude towards you" the stallion insisted.

"It's alright, Trixie has enough bits" Trixie tried as she showed him the bits.

"It's alright, it's just 2 apples" the stallion replied as he handed Trixie the apples she was trying to pay for. Trixie smiled at the stallion's generosity.

"Trixie thanks you for your hospitality" Trixie thanked.

"The pleasure is mine" he replied as he waved. With that Trixie turned and went back to her cart. Trixie has never experienced generosity like this, not even when she was famous. Everyone was waving, smiling, and apologizing to her, this was real respect, not just praise.

"Hiya Trixie!" Pinkie cheered.

"Hey" Rainbow greeted.

"Good day Pinkie, Rainbow" Trixie nodded as she placed her hat on the hat rack.

"Thanks for letting us into your cart" Pinkie thanked as she adjusted herself on the bed.

"Yeah, I honestly expected it to be rundown or something, no offense" Rainbow admitted, pushing Pinkie a little to get a bigger spot.

"Trixie assumed that too, but working on a rock farm does earn a lot of income" Trixie responded.

"Speaking of which, how are my sisters?" Pinkie asked, scooting near Rainbow again.

"They're doing fine, but Trixie works during the nightshift so Trixie doesn't see anypony but Maud too often" Trixie admitted.

"Nightshift? For breaking rocks?" Rainbow asked.

"It's much more than breaking rocks!" Trixie and Pinkie yelled in unison, making Rainbow flinch.

"Alright jeez, why did you take the nightshift anyway?" Rainbow asked, pushing Pinkie away.

"You see when Trixie came to the rock farm seeking work, they were all lifeless and expressionless" Trixie started.

"You mean like Twilight when she's reading an intense book?" Rainbow joked, making Pinkie giggle.

"Trixie assumes so. When Trixie was negotiating workhours, Trixie suggested she works the nightshift because they seemed to work all day which rendered them in a zombie state" Trixie continued.

"Oh yeah! I remember Dad would drink coffee all the time!" Pinkie exclaimed.

"Isn't that bad?" Rainbow asked.

"It is, Trixie simply couldn't let this continue. They were reluctant but Trixie is a bargaining expert, so they agreed that they work the day and Maud and I work the night." Trixie concluded.

"Ohhhh, that's why they were so grateful in the letter!" Pinkie said as she pulled out the rock letter she received.

"That's a letter? All I see is dots and dashes." Rainbow asked.

"It's Morse code" Trixie clarified.

"You know Morse code?" Rainbow asked.

"Yup!" Pinkie responded, scanning the letter again.

"You should see them now, they're almost as energetic as you Pinkie" Trixie said.

"Wait… as energetic as Pinkie?" Rainbow asked in disbelief. She could just imagine a bunch of ponies running around in parties or 'being Pinkie', the image was both amazing and terrifying.

"I need to go visit them soon! I can't wait!" Pinkie cheered.

"Do you still work there?" Rainbow asked.

"Of course, Trixie has grown… attached to her workplace" Trixie responded with a smile.

"And by the looks of it, they're attached to you too" Pinkie added, putting her rock letter away.

"Then how come when you… tried to take us over… you made it sound like you hated working there?" Rainbow asked.

"Trixie might've, exaggerated, when using the alicorn amulet" Trixie admitted.

"Speaking of which, where is that thing anyway?" Pinkie asked.

"Didn't Twilight lock it away or something?" Rainbow asked.

"Not far enough, Trixie can still hear it calling to her" Trixie said, looking annoyed.

"Calling?" Rainbow asked, Trixie waved her hoof in dismissal.

"No need to worry, Trixie knows better than to ever wear it again" Trixie assured.


"What should we do?" Scootaloo whispered, staring intensely at the 'bandit' in front of them.

"Ah' don't know', run?" Applebloom whispered back, backing up to the cloud.

"But, where is Discord?" Sweetie Belle whispered.

"Girls, leave now" Rarity ordered, not taking her eyes of Discord's pony form. There were clouds forming above them, darkening their surroundings.

"We ain't leavin' you" Applebloom responded. Thunder began erupting.

"Yeah, besides this is sorta like a final boss? Right?" Scootaloo asked. Discord smiled at the idea then backed up onto the darkness.

"Girls, listen to me, I won't allow you to get hurt" Rarity sternly said, she was actually a little worried about what Discord would do. He wouldn't hurt them right?

"Well lucky for you, we won't get hurt. Bring it on!" Sweetie Belle yelled as she jumped in front of Rarity.

"Sweetie!" Rarity yelled. As if out of instinct, Rarity felt herself grab Sweetie Belle and lunged back just as a thunderbolt crashed where they just were. All of them looked completely shocked.

"Nice save" Scootaloo complimented just as more thunder began nearby them, barely missing them. Rarity's horn then began glowing and a huge shield sprang up around them, effectively blocking all the thunder.

"Say, since when' can you do that?" Applebloom asked, looking at the impressive shield.

"I didn't do that" Rarity thought to herself. Was this Discord? He did say 'play along' right?

"Where are you?" Scootaloo yelled loudly. The response she got was the wind intensifying.

"Ah'm starting to think we were way over our heads" Applebloom said, looking at the cloud that was outside their shield. Rarity began remembering her improvisation classes back when she was a filly, it felt so long since she's done this.

"You may hurt me, but don't hurt my sister!" Rarity confidently yelled. Just as Rarity yelled that, her horn began glowing and shot a beam straight up.

"Woah!" Sweetie Belle flinched. The beam went past the dark clouds then burst into a bright light that force them to shield their eyes. When they opened their eyes, each thunder cloud turned a beautiful shade of white and the darkness around them began to fade.

"H-How did you do that?" Scootaloo asked as the shield around them slowly evaporated.

"Purely talent" Rarity lied, smiling at herself. She hasn't felt this good since she was the star in a play back when she was a filly, it felt so good to be the star once more.

"Is, is he gone?" Applebloom asked, looking around. The response they got was a loud groan, making them flinch.

"Ugh, what happened?" Discord's voice went as he dramatically crawled from behind a tree.

"Discord? Are you ok?" Sweetie Belle asked as she ran over to him.

"Yeah of course, it'll take more than a knockout spell to stop me" Discord joked, getting up slowly.

"Thank goodness you're okay" Sweetie Belle sighed and smiled. Rarity didn't like how friendly Sweetie Belle was towards Discord, but it wouldn't be right to tell her otherwise so she let it slide.

"I'll ask again, what happened?" Discord asked, looking a bit annoyed.

"You should've seen it! Rarity totally scared off that creep!" Scootaloo exclaimed.

"She did?" Discord asked as he confusingly eyed Rarity.

"He is a good actor" Rarity thought to herself.

"Yeah, she made all the darkness go away too!" Sweetie Belle added happily.

"Yeah, sure, but seriously what happened?" Discord asked, not sounding convinced.

"Maybe if you weren't knocked out then you could've seen" Rarity harshly said then flinched, she suddenly heard how mean she was sounding.

"Ow my feelings" Discord joked as he placed a paw over his heart. Rarity just now realized how mean she is being towards Discord, he did just help and saved her sister from doom.

"Maybe I was being too harsh" Rarity thought to herself.

"Well anyway, ah'm glad that's over" Applebloom sighed as she hopped back on the cloud.

"Yeah, we didn't get our cutie marks, but that was still cool" Scootaloo added with a smile as she and Sweetie Belle climbed back on the cloud.

"By the way, how did you figure out that cloud so quickly?" Discord questionably asked. Sweetie Belle shrugged.

"It just came naturally to me" Sweetie Belle chimed. Discord scratched his head and snapped his finger.

"Well, I guess my assistance isn't needed, you have Ms. FluffyPillow to keep you company" Discord joked as he flashed away. Rarity frowned at the new nickname, but it was slightly better than marshmallow.

"C'mon Rarity, I'm ready to climb into bed" Sweetie Belle yelled. Just as Rarity turned and began walking, she tripped on something.

"Woah, you alright?" Scootaloo asked.

"Yeah, I just hit my head a little" Rarity responded as she swiped off the grass stuck to her head. When she noticed what she tripped on, she gasped. It wasn't just a normal gem, it was a tourmaline. Rarity couldn't believe it, how could this gem be here in the Everfree Forest? They could only be obtained when taken from a dragon, and even then nobody knew where they found it. In fact, scientist theorized it came from a faraway land, only a few were found in Ponyville, and yet Rarity was holding one.

"Rarity?" Sweetie Belle called, making Rarity snap out of her thoughts.

"Coming!" Rarity quickly responded. She looked at the gem, it shined brightly with the sun. She didn't want to believe it but she knew that it could've only been Discord, he must've intentionally put it there for her to find. As she climbed onto the cloud Sweetie Belle gasped.

"What is that?" She asked with a big smile or her face. Rarity looked back at the gem and smiled lightly.

"A gift from a friend" Rarity responded.


Oh boy, basement voice has plan and so do I. Wondering who it was talking too? Here's a hint, it isn't anybody who was mentioned at all, so think of any villains (or antagonist) who weren't mentioned yet. Summer break! So I shouldn't have any excuses for not staying on schedule for this. Unless I get the bad case of laziness. xD