//------------------------------//
// Let's play a game 
// Story: A World in Chaos 
// by Mocha Star 
//------------------------------//

With a shatter the stone around his body flew away then stopped turning to flower pedals raining across the area.

"Ah, a thousand and a half years in stone is suck a pain in the neck.  Thank you for freeing me with your lovers quarrel, if you're both into each other you don't need to fight over me."

With a snap of his fingers he was part of the floor looking up at them.  Jumping back they got into a fighting stance with the others, their element of harmony gems vanished from their necks and appeared in front of Discord as he sat on the pedestal where his statue was.  "Oh, certainly you aren't the new element users?  Last time it was Celestia and Luna, now it's you six?  Oh Puh-lease.  What can you offer in resistance against me?  Here, take your elements," they reappeared on them in different order with a flash of light."

"Discord, we're here to defeat you before you can destroy the world."

"Oh Twilight Sparkle, you jest.  I'm not here to destroy the world, only to make it more fun," he smirked snapping his fingers again every pony was in Canterlot Castle's throne room with Celestia and Luna.

"Discord!" The regal mares shouted in unison before he swiped his clawed hand at them making metal appear over their mouths silencing them.

"Oh, princesses how I've missed you.  You look simply amazing and haven't aged a day!  Tell me, how do I look?  Tired?  Groggy?  Maybe a little upset you trapped me in stone for 1,500 years?  Well I think its all the above and I think the most correct answer is for you to say 'I'm sorry.'"

Moving his head closer the sisters didn't even make a noise as he turned an ear to them.  "Oh, not in the mood to apologize?  I'm certain we can find the time for it later."  Snapping his fingers both sisters appeared in small hourglasses he placed in a pair of pants he was wearing before they vanished from him.  He took several deep breaths in like he was about to sneeze then sneezed, the walls to the throne room fell flat as though they were held by nothing while the roof remained in place.

"Oh, pardon me.  I must be allergic to celestial ponies."  He wiped his nose with Celestia's tail before making it vanish to unknown places.  "Well that was quite the sneeze, I must learn to control that someday.  So, my little ponies, how about a game?  I feel like tag, what do you say?"  Smiling and laughing jovially he winked and looked at the mares.  The guards were gone and their elements were replaced with tags tied to their necks with cloth cords.  "Find the clues and you'll find your elements.  I can't guarantee you'll find them but," he stood tall and saluted them with his bear arm, "Celestia be with you."  A laugh and he was gone with all his worshipers, except Night.

"Okay, let's find the first clue.  Let's all read our tags and see our riddles."  Looking down they couldn't see their own so they tried looking at each others.  "It's illegible!  What kind of game is that?  Illegible clues to find the only way to stop him."

"Okay, Twilight.  Let's just calm down.  There has to be an answer, let's think about what he said.  Allergic to celestial magic.  Clues about our elements. and again Celestia.  Maybe there's a clue in her room or on the throne.  Lets check quickly, who knows what havoc he's wreaking already."

Galloping and flying to the throne they looked it over and found nothing of interest.  "The door behind?" Rainbow suggested.  "Nothing."

"What about under the throne?"  Scootaloo asked.  Fighting the weight they toppled it and looked at a few adult magazines were laid scattered.  "Oh my, that's adult stuff isn't it?"

"Don't look Scootaloo or we'll have to talk for hours about it," Fluttershy warned as they turned away.  Rainbow stayed back and picked up a magazine and looked inside with wide eyes before slipping it into her saddle bag and joining the others.  Walking to the far wall they carefully left the throne room and down the hall, walking over flattened guards moving across the floor.  "They look like they're shouting at us, why?"

A huge crash and plooms of dirt and dust washed over them as the roof to the throne room fell.  "Woah, heavy." Scootaloo said.  Rainbow offered a hoof bump and they giggled.  

"Let's go everypony, we have a goddesses room to search."

Arriving at Celestias room they forced the door open and looked inside at the spartan setting.  "A bed and a dresser.  That's all she needs after thousands of years?"

"Well, she did have the vault and it was quite full.  I imagine she has everything she needs there.  So, now we have a bed and dresser to check.  Easy enough, Scootaloo and Rainbow check the dresser.  We'll check the bed."  All nodded and split up.  The more mature mares gasped at what they found under the bed while nothing of interest was found in the dresser save for a lot of socks and a picture of a stallion.

"We didn't find anything, did you gals find anything?" Scootaloo asked.

"Nothing you two need to know of."  Twilight said flatly.

"Well, for a mare over a thousand years old I'm surprised she still uses such archaic toys, I should offer her-"

"Enough night. Applejack shouted.  "We have a world to save and you're talkin' about... That stuff?  Get yer head outta the gutter and lets focus.  No clues, tags that we can't read and clues to where our gems are.  What've we got?"  All the mares looked down and poked at the floor.  Night gasped as she heard a hollow sound.

"A secret panel!  Twilight can you open it?"

With a nod Twilights horn glowed and the floor lit up in a trapezoid shape opening and revealing a mirror.  Holding it up she leaned her head to the side and floated it over and looked at her reflection.  Her entire body was distorted except now the tag was readable.

"Turn your eye to the light and be blinded by true sight."  She began letting the others read their tags.

"Open the book and find the path."

"Turn the key and the path will open."

"Down the hall and to the right be ready for a fright."

"The secret lies in the lies."

"Back to the beginning of the end."

"What in tarnation?  I don't see what the plan here is."  Applejack said.  "Wait, these all seem to be references to books!  Should we check the library?"  

"No, it's too direct to have us look in the royal library and how do we know it isn't a path?  One step leads to the next?"  

"That makes sense," Fluttershy said meekly, "maybe the library on Ponyville or the Everfree castle?"

"Are you okay, Fluttershy?  Ya sound a little more reserved than usual."

"I-I have anxiety issues and this is a cause for them.  I don't have my medication and w-what if we don't figure this out?"  She turned and hid her eye behind her bangs.

"Fluttershy, it's okay to be ants-ous.  I have it too, ya know.  I'll help you.  You're a great mare and like a mommy to me, thank you."

The others smiled warmly at Rainbows comment as Fluttershy turned to look at Rainbow.  "Thanks, I love you too.  C'mon, lets find this book or whatever."

Night turned and led the group from Celestias room and a loud crash and billowing dust flowed over them and down the hall layering the hall with speckles of marble and stone.  "Looks like when we find a clue the roof falls.  Something to watch for.  Well lets go outside and see what we can find."  Leading the girls through the castle they found the front door and opened it with some effort and looked in shock at what they saw.

"I-is that Canterlot?"  Scootaloo asked in concern.