The Open Market

It was a peculiar day in Ponyville. No, it wasn’t one of those days where everything was just perfect and dandy. There was a slight crookedness to the position of the sun, an intangible strangeness to the shape of the clouds, and a funny feeling going around. Though, it is true that the day had begun like any other. First, with Princess Celestia raising the sun from her royal balcony in Canterlot. Everywhere across Equestria, ponies woke and began their days. In Ponyville, it always started with the sound of birds chirping their sweet morning song, followed by the bustle and shuffle of the little schoolponies trying not to be late for their first lesson, and finally, the townsponies trotting to their various social and work engagements with expectant smiles upon their faces.

Then, sometime around midmorning, it all went wrong. The familiar, wicked laughter started out soft, but grew louder with each minute. It echoed through the alleyways and whispered through the windowpanes of every cottage, café, and cake shop in town. The sound sent shivers down the townsponies’ spines, and sent them galloping straight back to their homes, waiting for the storm of chaos to pass.

But there was really nothing to fear. Discord the draconequus, the king of chaos and former tormentor of ponies, was now reformed—of all things! Unfortunately, he only had enough pony friends to count on one claw and one paw, so the residents of Ponyville still believed him to be an unpredictable terror. In fact, he was still unpredictable, but a little less of a terror.

“How unexpected of me to show up today!” he said, strolling through the streets with glee. “It’s been far too long.” Discord hadn’t visited Ponyville for a long while. The last time he’d popped up in town to see his new friends—Fluttershy, Princess Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity—he’d scared the colts and fillies of the school just by floating past. Discord’s friends had tried to comfort the young ponies and their angry parents, insisting that Discord meant them no harm. But the townsponies were still uneasy. What sort of kooky magic could he unleash on them for his own amusement? Would it be turning their homes upside down and lifting them into the sky? Perhaps Discord would transform the pet bunnies into scary long-legged creatures again! Or maybe he would simply change the order of the streets to watch the ponies stand there, scratching their manes in confusion, lost in their own town.

But Discord was not in Ponyville to cause trouble. He was here on a special, secret assignment. He took out the crumpled scroll that bore the Canterlot Castle crest and read it once again.

Dear Discord,

I’m glad to hear reports that you’ve been living well in Chaosville. Please send my kind regards to The Smooze. As you and I both know, your road to learning about the Magic of Friendship has been a rocky one. But one’s path in life is often full of detours, such as the incident involving Tirek. Today, I write to grant you an opportunity that I feel would further enrich your experience as a friend to all of ponykind.

This spring, the residents of Ponyville will join together for a common goal—the Spring Musical. I want you to partake in this community effort. If you are able to prove that you have worked as part of a team to make this event a success, I will gladly return a token of yours from days past. For it is only then that I can trust your commitment to becoming a permanent ally of Equestria.

Your Friend,

Princess Celestia

P.S. Do not tell anypony of this task.

When he’d received the letter at his cottage in Chaosville, Discord wasn’t sure what to do. He lived a quiet life in his tidy house. Why should he turn everything upside down just to help some little ponies? But then Discord remembered that he loved flipping things upside down, and also that he was quite bored. And then there was the little matter of this “item.” What could it be?

Discord had hidden several personal treasures and relics around Canterlot during his brief, chaotic reign over Equestria. In the days since he’d been freed from his statue in the gardens, he’d located almost all of them. Apparently, he was too good at hiding things, because a few still eluded the draconequus. If Celestia had accidentally found a simple-looking stone orb marked with the Crest of Chaos somewhere in the depths of the castle dungeons, then he would do anything to get it back. Discord’s heart quickened when he imagined holding it in his paw and claw once more.

But as much as he wanted his long-lost relic, Discord started to regret his decision to rush straight into town. He uselessly floated and aimlessly strolled and soon found himself just outside the Ponyville marketplace. Two Earth ponies trotted by with wagons hitched to their backs. They each had flowers for cutie marks and fresh bouquets of roses and lilies piled high in their wagons.

“A good day to you both,” said Discord, bowing dramatically and tipping a green top hat that had just appeared on his head out of nowhere. But rather than return his greeting, the flower salesponies screamed in horror and galloped back in the direction they’d come, leaving a trail of petals in their wake. “How rude!” Discord said, furrowing his bushy eyebrows. He picked up a fallen red rose and sniffed it. “With all the times I’ve visited, I practically live here in Ponyville! And yet these little ponies act as if they’ve never met me before.”

“Would ya like to live here?!” a scratchy voice exclaimed. “I can help with that.”

“Help with what?” Discord spun around. A stout yellow Unicorn with a thinning orange mane parted on one side had appeared. He had a cutie mark of a thatched cottage and a sneaky smile on his face. The pony held out his hoof, but Discord didn’t touch it.

“The name’s Martingale,” the pony said. “And sellin’ houses is my business. I can get ya into a new place as soon as today.” Martingale grinned, adding a wink for good measure. “If you’re interested, of course.”

“It seems that you’ve popped up at the perfect time,” Discord answered. “Something’s about to happen in Ponyville, and I must stick around for it.”