Ponyville was gone. In its place, a squirming, shapeless mass bubbled and heaved. Mottled in a number of colors that shouldn’t have existed, it propagated itself like a time-lapsed slime mold, spreading over ever more of the countryside. The town’s occupants had been evacuated. Three princesses had not been so lucky.

Floating above the ruins, the last alicorn and the only draconequus discussed their tactics.

“We know my powers can’t alter it,” said Discord, “and flashy energy blasts aren’t my style.”

Twilight didn’t look away from the great blob, eyes narrowed in thought. “As long as you introduce a massive influx of chaos magic at the same moment as when my spell hits, that should stop it.”

Discord hummed to himself. “I’m normally all for uncertainty, but I’m not sure I like relying on a ‘should’ here. Can’t you and the girls throw that glitzy Rainbow Power of yours at it?”

“We tried that.” Twilight pointed a hoof at a few crystalline branches poking out of the ooze.

“Ah. Well.” Discord cracked his neck. It took a few seconds for him to get all of it. “Then fire at will, or whatever it is we’re calling this mess.”

Twilight closed her eyes. “On my mark.” Her horn glowed, rapidly brightening. When light was streaming out through her eyelids and her horn was encased in a pillar of magic taller than her, she shouted, “NOW!”

Discord still waited. Not out of hesitation, but to give the enormous beam time to reach the blob. Just as Twilight’s spell first brushed against its target, he clapped his paw and talon together.

The beam made contact and light twisted around the ooze kaleidoscopically. There was a deafening, bone-shaking groan, like the scream of reality itself.

Twilight swayed about the sky, scrambling onto a cloud and sinking halfway through before her body decided it was solid. She gasped out, “Did it work?”

Discord sat by her, taking in the sight and working the cramps out of his wrists. The light had returned to normal, and huge bubbles had formed along the mass’s entire breadth. They burst as one and didn’t close, gasses escaping with a sound like a dozen dragons’ flatulence. “Congratulations, Twilight!” He raised his voice over the din, halfway to shouting. “We’ve made the world’s largest whoopie cushion!”

A few more seconds, and the town-eating menace ran out of gas, limp as an uncooked pizza tossed over the town. Twilight leaned over the edge of the cloud, taking it in. “It worked. I really wasn’t sure.”

Discord nodded, frowning. “It’s dead, then?”

“I’m not sure if it was ever alive.”

“Well, that’s good. I hate killing things, especially interesting things.”

Twilight glared at him. “It would’ve overrun all of Equestria.”

Discord smiled back at her. “Right, interesting. Granted, I've come to appreciate how that would be problematic for the pony population, but still.”

Twilight just grumbled and plopped her chin back on the cloud. “What did you do to it, anyway?”

“Not to it, just the space it occupied. For that, I made pi equal five for a split second.” Discord winced as he moved his lion paw from side to side. “Not easy, even for me, but you never said how massive an influx you needed.”

“Well, it worked. Can you get the other princesses out of there?”

Discord fell back onto the cloud. “In a few minutes. They’ll be fine. Not even Lovebutt actually needs to breathe.”

“Discord…”

“Well, she doesn’t. How did this happen, anyway? I wasn’t here for that bit.”

---

In a tent in the evacuation camp, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack glared down at the Cutie Mark Crusaders. “And what have we learned, girls?” asked Rarity.

“If I’m not sure what the recipe calls for,” said Sweetie Belle, “don’t add everything in the kitchen.”

“And?” said Applejack.

“Don’t add any potions either, especially not just to see what happens,” added Apple Bloom.

Dash crossed her forelegs, hovering above them. “And?”

“Liquid rainbow is not a toy,” said Scootaloo.

Just outside the tent, Spike belched out a scroll. He grabbed and unrolled it, nearly tearing it. “We did it,” he read. “They did it!”

Everypony nearby cheered. Several trotted through the camp, spreading the news. Only Pinkie Pie, still weeping into Fluttershy’s shoulder, wasn't cheering.

“It’s okay, Pinkie,” said Fluttershy, stroking her friend’s mane. “They’ll clean it all up, just you wait and see.”

“It tasted terrible, Fluttershy. It tasted terrible!”