Rainbow Dash isn't sure what's going on, why it's happening, or even what species she's supposed to be. All she knows is that it's Nightmare Night and Ponyville has gone crazy.
Crazier than usual.
In a bad way.
Point is, it's a problem, and she's going to fix it... somehow.
Honorable Mention in the Transformation group's Autumn Pony-to-Human TF Contest.
This was fun. Although, MythrilMoth did this premise already:
- MLP: FiM
- Comedy
- Thriller
Discord opens a costume shop in Ponyville for Nightmare Night. But is he on the up and up?I'm not sure if he would be upset or flattered, didn't know him very well. Still, it was written during the time of year when dead things return, so I think it's a fitting, if unintended, tribute.
"Gunmother."
Solid.
I remeber this one! I disliked most of them but I think I have this one 2cd? Is there a folder with the other ones?
9968855
Well they both stole it from Buffy, so...
This was such a fun story! Lots of great worldbuilding, and a hoot to read!
Plus, I've been nursing a headcanon that Fluttershy is a forest ranger for some time--though, in my HC, Fluttershy uses her position as an excuse to cuddle ALL THE ANIMALS, and ignores all her other responsibilities because they involve going out into the scary woods all by herself...
In any case, it was a lot of fun to see that premise developed!
Awesome story! Thanks for writing it!
Say what again?
And I now want to see a follow up to this explaining this, it's gotten me curious.
Really enjoyed this, and would love to see these couple of dangling plot threads followed up on at some point, there's at least another two stories worth of potential in just those two sentences
Tremendous fun! I very much enjoyed reading this.
Hahaha! My turn of phrase has now entered fanon officially!
…I mean, Discord has a point. They asked him to help, so they don't really have anyone to blame other than themselves.
I'm going to go out on a limb here and say her sewing circle is composed of spiders.
So, I'm taking it that the second law of robotics never made it into Equestria?
Mmm
9968855
As Kai noted, that may have been a case of us both drawing from the same well. I suppose I might have been subconsciously drawing on Moth's story, but my primary inspiration was the relevant episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Hence the mention of the Hellmouth.
Knowing Moth, he'd probably have gotten a kick out of this, especially the references involved.
9968871
Sometimes the trick to a horse pun is realizing the horse pun was there the whole time.
9968877
There's a link to the collected entries in the results thread.
9968907
Ah, but what's scarier? The forest full of huggable critters or the town full of judgemental ponies?
9969037
It's an entirely logical turn of phrase. We certainly can't call them "emeritus" unless there's been something very strange going on for the last millennium.
9969190
Rest assured, most of Ponyville's on Discord's side for this one. Even Fluttershy was more worried about it spiraling out of control than anything else. Goodness knows Discord has a tendency to let that happen.
Of course. Where did you think Rarity got those trained star spiders for Twilight's accession ceremony?
Certainly not into the Chargers of the Old Republic book series.
...I have many questions, but I like where this is going.
Return to your true forms being a bit spiritual...I think someponies in the area may have just won the lottery. Though fewer than you'd think, it IS Equestria and magical medicine is a thing.
Kinky. This is the moment I knew who that was, as if there was any doubt.
Isn't that the best way to derive things from Chaos?
Much appreciated.
Wow... Discord was an actual unqualified success with his magical shenanigans? I think this is an historic occasion!
Fair.
Though really, it would be better set to Swan Lake.
I believe Princess, Second Grade, outranks Mayor. Point goes to Shy.
Even considering her costume, I was thinking that both Lyra and Bon Bon would normally be uncomfortable with the "Master" business. But then I went back and read...
...which is accurate and sweet.
Your stories are always dense with astute observations. I would be bitter, were I not so busy being entertained.
I’m with Discord on this one. I’m honestly not sure what the Mayor was expecting when she asked the literal embodiment of Chaos to spice up a holiday based around costumes and being scared.
I do, however, know what I got. Namely, a very enjoyable story. All according to cake.
I liked it. :D
Delightful. So BonBon gets to be the long-lost human for a change rather than Lyra?
I feel a bit sorry for Derpy: judging from the Tantabus episode, she'd enjoy walking around town as a giant something-or-other: and she turns into a giant robot which can do absolutely nothing until it gets a pilot.
So, if you weren't wearing a costume at all, you'd just become...,more yourself? In some cases (like Pinkie) that could have frightening results.
9969190 Oh, I'm sure they have, it's just that HK-47 (or 8N-X2 in this case) made sure nopony survived trying to install them into his/her core. (Well, there was that one time with the Exile, but HK-47 refuses to talk about it )
Now this was a hoot, I'm impressed by Discord's ability to multitask the job of keeping that mess on a (mostly) nondestructive level.
And I'd be fascinated to see a follow-up on the Lyra-Bonbon matter.
It wasn't until the author's note that I finally figured out how you got Gunmother from Gundam. Well fucking done, sir.
9969387
This was the scene I had in mind:
Fair point on accidents being the best way to work with chaos. As for the unqualified success, one house did catch on fire, and the damage probably would've spread further had Discord been allowed to have the whole night to himself. If nothing else, the fright-or-biters probably wouldn't have had any time to collect candy. As always, Fluttershy acted as a much needed safety valve for Discord's antics.
9969397
Fluttershy wears many hats, and Mayor Mare is always careful to address the lowest ranked one. Even if she needed the services of the First Disciple of Chaos. Plus, a good chunk of authority is acting like you have it even when you technically don't.
9969409
"I'm having too much fun to resent you" is one of the stranger compliments I've received, but I'll take it.
9969655
Translator's note: "Cake" means flan.
9969793
Given how this is Ponyville, where participation in most festivities is so expected as to be borderline mandatory, I actually hadn't thought about how the spell would affect ponies who weren't wearing costumes. I'm going to say Discord say them as unspoken requests for him to be creative.
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I don't have anything specific planned for this Lyra and Bonbon, but seeing how the latter's plight has intrigued several people, I'll certainly need to think about it.
9970104
Seconded! I kept thinking it was Gunbuster.
Discord, "I'm turning everypony into their true forms!"
They all become Hasbro executive shills and turn G5 into the original Sonic movie design.
Discord wails, "I SHOULDN'T HAVE MEDDLED!!"
that was a really fun read!
Hah! This was a lot of fun. Favorite parts were definitely the Gunmother joke () and Dash using speed magic to frequence-shift things so she can have a discussion with Flutterbat that's more than just "EEEEEEEEEEE."
Discord is lucky he fixed things when he did. The Twilight Conference was probably on the verge of figuring things out, and then he would have been in serious trouble.
I'm gonna have to read this for that title pun alone.
9970149
Point. Still, at least everyone enjoyed themselves this time. It's a major step up.
Forgot to mention, I do like the speed frequency shift to talk with Flutterbat.
I think this is the first time I've seen this specific application of "For Halloween, I'm going as myself".
9970245
This is the exact sort of thing Fluttershy tries to stop.
9970493 9971587
Speeding up one's perception of time carries all kinds of interesting consequences. EqG considers very few of them, but that just means we can freely explore the rest.
9970541
The plan was to keep throwing distractions at them and forcing them to keep the bureaucracy growing to meet the needs of their growing bureaucracy. But yes, they were on the verge of a breakthrough and befriending the various factions of the grand melee, which would not have ended well for Discord.
9971607
Who better than Dash to decide to go as the most awesome thing she could think of? Besides, EqG outfits on ponies are adorable.
Nicely done! Oddly enough, my favorite part was the explanation of where Fluttershy earns her income and what she does to earn her keep (it's not too far from my headcanon, although I had it that part of her government paycheck is for defending Equestria from existential threats).
Yes, I'm sure that the memory of trying to eat their friends and neighbors, longingly fantasizing about mass murder or being an inanimate object entirely subject to the whims of whoever is in the cockpit (to name but a few) will be looked on so fondly.
Yeah, have to be honest, I'm not keen on this one. Liked how it was going for the most part, but the ending of "Don't worry, they enjoyed it (during a period where I'd completely rewritten their minds and, therefore, what they enjoy), so that makes it okay that I altered their minds with neither their knowledge or consent!" kind of soured me.
That doesn't make this a bad piece - the fact I'd enjoyed it up until then and would likely have continued to had Discord's actions* been treated differently shows that this was very deserving of honourable-mentionhood. Nor should this be taken as a discouragement for others to read it - I freely admit that a large part of my negative reaction is due to the fact that this story just happened to trip my neuroses and phobias. But I feel I should be honest about, well, how I feel. I'm legitamately sorry that I'm being so down on the story (and, for that matter, taking a silly story seriously), it just... rubbed me the wrong way and I felt like I had to get my thoughts down. Again, I'm truly sorry.
*Yes, the Mayor's just as much on the hook for what happened and really should not have expected anything different. But that doesn't necessarily mean Discord's off the hook. After all, knowingly antagonizing a gun-wielding maniac does make it your own fault when you get shot, but that doesn't mean the guy who shot you is pure and blameless.
9974377
Entirely fair. I know I've run into stories where something rubbing me the wrong way soured an otherwise enjoyable experience. Sorry for running face first into one of your pet peeves.
9974899
Quite alright. I appreciate you being understanding about it and I'm glad that so many others can get enjoyment from it that I can't.
...I’ll just put on an Omnitrix and carry Thor’s hammer around next time Nightmare Night comes around, then. That’d be fun.
9977292
YES!!!
Great fic in general, but even before I read most of it, I was set to praise you publicisng the correct answer to the opening question - I've seen it asked far too many times.
Whelp.
Ha! The chapter and story titles have so much more meaning, given the situation at the end!
I guess if you arrive in Equestria young enough, you can forget that you're human??
That was a good story.
I have to admit, I was expecting a shocking twist.
Specifically, I was expecting rainbow dash to turn out to be a certain fan dressed as her.
Very very fun though! Discord is written perfectly, both in character and in voice, and the little exploration of what kinds of costumes ponies choose feels realistic and well thought out. Very nice!