Princess Celestia paced anxiously. She seemed to have recovered from her initial shock, and her ancient mind was wholly devoted to finding a way to defeat Discord. The other five mares said nothing, afraid to break the princess’s concentration. When a grinning Pinkie Pie shamelessly threw open the doors and strutted into the chamber, only Rainbow Dash spoke, annoyed that Pinkie wasn’t taking their problem seriously.
“And where were you for the last twenty minutes?” she said, her arms folded and a scowl on her face.
“You really should listen, Dashie,” said Pinkie Pie. “I was having fun in the rain!”
“Speakin’ of which,” said Applejack, “did y’all notice the sky cleared up?”
All of the ponies except the princess looked out of an open window and, sure enough, there wasn’t a cloud in sight. Maybe Discord really had given up his pranks.
“I, for one, am simply delighted that this Discord character is finished with his ridiculous display,” said Rarity. “I’ve fallen behind on a dress I’m making for a very important client, and I absolutely must return to the boutique. With your leave, Princess. We’ll have to hurry to catch the train back to Ponyville.”
“I agree,” said Fluttershy, “if you don’t mind, that is…”
“Girls, we can’t let our guard down!” said Twilight Sparkle. “Yes, the sky is clear, but who’s to say Discord won’t strike again? Don’t forget about the elements—they’re gone!”
“That chamber is protected by a powerful spell that only I can break. This doesn’t make sense!” said the princess. She kept pacing, and Twilight could tell that she was still thinking of a plan.
Suddenly, a mysterious cackle broke the tension. The mares looked around, but nopony was there.
“Make sense?” said a voice from nowhere. “What fun is there in making sense?”
“Discord! Show yourself!” commanded Celestia. She was angry. Angrier than Twilight had ever seen her. And Twilight could have sworn the Princess was afraid. Discord laughed again, and the princess searched every corner of the room with her terrible eyes.
“Did you miss me, Celestia?” said Discord. “I missed you!” With a flash of white light, an image of Discord in one of the windows began to move all on its own. “It's quite lonely being encased in stone,” said the image in a mock friendly voice, “but you wouldn't know that, would you, because I don't turn ponies into stone.”
Pinkie Pie didn’t like this dark, bitter side of Discord. Where was the funny prankster who gave everypony candy? Or the considerate friend who baked Pinkie a mirthday cake? Or the loyal subject who immediately cleaned up the sky upon learning that the princess was displeased? Were those Discords just masks to hide this ugly creature?
“Enough!” said the princess. “What have you done with the Elements of Harmony?”
“Oh, I just borrowed them for a teensy little while,” said Discord.
“You’ll never get away with this, Discord!”
“Oh, I’d forgotten how grim you can be, Celestia. It’s really quite boring.”
“Hey!” shouted Rainbow Dash, “nopony insults the princess!” Without thinking, she charged, but the image vanished in a flash of light, leaving Rainbow to crash into an ordinary stained glass window.
The glass Discord reappeared. “Oh, you must be Rainbow Dash,” it said, “famed for your loyalty, the Element of Harmony you represent.”
“That’s right! I’ll always be loyal to the princess!”
“We’ll see about that.”
Now Pinkie Pie was sure that Discord couldn’t be trusted. She didn’t mind that he had called the princess boring. The princess was boring. Only a boring pony could pass up chocolate rain. But no matter how boring the princess was, she was still royalty. She was the bringer of the sun and the wise monarch who had ruled Equestria in peace for a thousand years. If anypony deserved the mares’ loyalty, it was Princess Celestia.
“I can’t believe we’re wasting our time talking to a tacky window,” said Rarity.
“The beautiful Rarity,” said Discord, “representing the element of generosity, if I’m not mistaken.”
“So y’know who we are,” said Applejack. “Big deal.”
“Oh, I know much more than that, honest Applejack!”
“You seem to know our strengths too,” said Twilight.
“Yes, Twilight Sparkle, and yours is the most powerful and elusive element, magic. Fluttershy’s is kindness and Pinkie Pie’s is a personal favorite of mine: laughter!”
Discord did a silly dance on top of an image of Twilight Sparkle, and the spectacle was so funny that Pinkie couldn’t stop herself from laughing. Discord was a bad creature, but he seemed so happy as he danced that Pinkie just couldn’t take him seriously. For the moment, there was no malice in his voice, and his eyes sparkled as laughter escaped his lips and mingled with Pinkie’s. Were his threats empty? Was he just a child who had tantrums now and then? Pinkie was confused, so she stopped laughing and decided to listen to Discord and the princess before judging which of them was right.
“Stop stalling, Discord!” said Princess Celestia. “What have you done with the Elements of Harmony?”
“Oh, so boring, Celestia! Really?” said Discord, pretending to be disappointed. By now, he was obviously enjoying himself, and he didn’t sound bitter at all. But whether he was a child playing or he was gloating over his prey, Pinkie couldn’t tell.
“Fine,” he continued, “I’ll tell you, but I’ll only tell you my way:
To retrieve your missing elements,
Just make sense of this change of events.
Twists and turns are my master plan,
Then find the elements back where you began.”
Discord’s voice faded into laughter, and his image fixed itself properly into its original window.
“What d’y’reckon he meant?” said Applejack. “Twists and turns and endin’ back where we started?”
“Twists and turns…twists and turns…” said Twilight. “That’s it! I bet Discord hid the elements in the palace labyrinth!” The princess nodded.
“Good luck, my little ponies!” she said. “The fate of Equestria is in your hooves.”
“Thanks, Princess,” said Twilight. “We won’t let you down!” Without delay, the six mares galloped out of the chamber, wondering what adventures lay between them and the Elements of Harmony.
As she galloped through the palace with her friends, Pinkie Pie wondered why Princess Celestia wasn’t going to help them find the elements. What a silly thing to wonder about. The princess must be protecting Canterlot from Discord’s tricks. What would all the ponies do without her?
Enjoy chocolate rain.
And?
“Come to think of it, why is Princess Celestia so mad at Discord?” Without meaning to, Pinkie Pie had spoken her thoughts out loud. The other mares stopped dead in their tracks and looked at Pinkie in wonder.
“What do you mean, Pinkie?” said Rainbow Dash. “Weren’t you listening to everything Princess Celestia said?”
“I mighta missed just a tiny bit,” said Pinkie, turning redder than usual. Applejack rolled her eyes.
“Discord is a spirit if disharmony,” she said. “Y’know what that means? It means he likes it when ponies don’t get along!”
“Pinkie,” said Twilight firmly, “Princess Celestia said that Discord ruled Equestria before she and Princess Luna turned him into stone. She said that under his rule, the ponies were miserable. That’s why he had to be defeated last time, and that’s why he has to be defeated this time.”
The others nodded, but Pinkie said nothing.
Before the ponies had even left the palace, Pinkie heard a tiny voice in her ear.
Pinkie Pie, it said. Where are you going?
Pinkie Pie fell three strides behind her friends.
“You ok there, sugarcube?” said Applejack, slowing down to match Pinkie Pie’s pace.
“I’m fine,” said Pinkie. “You should hurry. I’m coming as fast as I can.” Applejack gave her a reassuring look and caught up with the others.
“Discord?” whispered Pinkie Pie. “You are not a good creature, and if I become your friend, you’ll just hurt me like you hurt all those ponies before Celestia came along.”
Hurt? said Discord. When did I ever hurt anypony?
“But Princess Celestia told us you made all the ponies miserable.”
Did Celestia really say I made everypony miserable?
“Ya. Twilight said that’s why you got turned into a statue and why we have to defeat you again.” Discord laughed.
OHOHOHO That's just what I'd expect from Celestia's prize student. But do you really think this time is just like last time?
“Well…” Pinkie Pie was miserable but only because her friends’ advice not to trust Discord went against her instincts. But her instincts were better than her friends’, and now that Discord brought it up, he hadn’t done anything to make her miserable. Only Celestia was miserable because she had no sense of humor, and her friends were miserable because Celestia was miserable, and Pinkie Pie would not let them hurt Discord.