//------------------------------// // Chapter 2:1 - Harmony's Return, Part the First // Story: Camaraderie is Sorcery // by FireOfTheNorth //------------------------------// Chapter 2:1 – Harmony’s Return, Part the First “Akiya, ity eri nana sindirristro sappiyir noya’i, lassima eisik fillist mer Prisindirristro’nadat kotir tegginteggin oro noya’i. Equus kotir ekkkerrinekkerin nof lassima ditte’i kier kotel feitayir huringa. Monstrurak’i kotir baskin, nof mer Balzi nof Selez yekir rusoel fori’i’r guro’i pasan mer cavan. Teis noya’i fefrikka, etei Ye fefozzotir noya’i ur presen kiero hus. Ye Eirenir noya’i’Tol rei lanis kier premir noya’i runel nana banni’i, uri bammigel mer nana Sanniskror recitrey noya’i’r okra. Ity noya’i mak dinksis eri nana untan, Ye soryir oro noya’i kiero tieri pem bammigel mer Casiye nof Selez feassi feye’i’r mathis. Nof hut eri’i koto sigil tieri kotir nana hut noya’i nof tekriel eri pallial recitrey uf’r okra nof gelorel mer dagon nof nieran’r dreituyab’i etei rei epok,” High Priestess Rubius quoted the Word of Faust from the steps of Cant’r Laht Cathedral in the pre-dawn darkness. “And lo, when this great cataclysm shall come upon ye, many of those separated in the first Cataclysm shall be rejoined to ye. The world shall be reordered and many things that were will no longer be. Terrible creatures shall be abundant, and the Sun and Moon shall cease traveling their courses through the heavens. But be ye not afeared, for I shall not abandon ye even in that day. I shall bestow upon ye a gift that shall allow ye to do great things, even move the great celestial bodies on thine own. When ye tire from this great task, I shall send to ye those who can move the Sun and Moon without the aid of others. And of these there is one who shall be great among ye and take this burden alone and keep the cycles of day and night for an age,” a lesser priestess translated for her so that those who didn’t understand of the Language of the Horns could still understand what she was saying. “So spoke Saint Origenn the Prophet many thousands of years ago, conveying to us Faust’s own words,” Rubius continued her speech in Low Equestrian, “We have seen the fulfillment of this prophecy! When the Conjunction shook the world, it caused sun and moon to cease their motions until the first sorceresses discovered magic and used it for many years to restore the cycle of day and night, as prophesied. We have also seen the coming of the one spoken of, who is still with us and has moved sun and moon through the heavens for an age. I speak, of course, of Celestia.” At the mention of her name, the ancient sorceress appeared near the steps of the cathedral. There were no cheers now as there had been during the summer solstice ceremony the previous year in Ponieville. The crowd assembled in Cant’r Laht was quite a different crowd of ponies than those who’d come from far and wide across the Dominion’s holdings to see the oldest living sorceress. While it held its fair share of the unmannered poor who tried to scrape out survival in the ivory city, the crowd near enough to the cathedral’s steps to see the Matron of Sorceresses was overwhelmingly mages and nobility, with the burghers behind them providing a wide barrier that kept the lesser denizens of Cant’r Laht far away. The change in scenery was also a factor in everypony’s behavior. Cant’r Laht Cathedral, worldwide seat of the Church of One, was not Ponieville’s Mayoral Keep, and High Priestess Rubius, Faust’s Own Chosen and Supreme Bishop of the Church, was not Mayor Mare. Even the rowdiest of Cant’r Laht’s denizens were cowed by the imposing high priestess and the soaring stone and stained-glass structure behind her. And though most sorceresses had their skepticisms of the Church of One, airing them here would be social suicide. All would stand in silence and listen to the High Priestess, just as they did every holy day. “On this, the first day of the one thousand and first year of the Fourth Age, we celebrate the continual rising and setting of the sun by Celestia each day by witnessing the act of sunrise,” High Priestess Rubius went on, “I give you Celestia, Matron of Sorceresses in Cant’r Laht, Keeper of Day and Night, and Guardian of Sun and Moon.” Celestia ascended the steps up to the cathedral as Rubius stood aside. She had mostly respected what the matron of sorceresses had asked of her this year. As the summer solstice ceremony cycled location, every four years it would be held at Cant’r Laht Cathedral and every four years the Church of One’s High Priestess would quote the same prophecy and give the same introduction. This year there was the opportunity to reinterpret the prophecy (as many in the Church had) of speaking also of Luna. However, any mention of Luna would surely also lead to mention of Nightmare Moon and why Celestia had taken on responsibility for both Sun and Moon, and she didn’t want that. Luna was having enough difficulty readjusting after her long exile without having the public being reminded openly about why she’d been exiled in the first place. Rubius hadn’t complied with her request to change her titles, though that was probably because the Lodge of Sorceresses had requested just the opposite. They refused to grant Luna any titles of her own, even if it would diminish Celestia’s titles, out of fear that it would be the first step toward the reinstitution of the old diarchy. One immortal alicorn sorceress ruling them they could put up with, but two was out of the question. So, Celestia still in official decrees had to include the full titles she’d used for a thousand years, but in personal correspondence she omitted Night and Moon. Not that she wasn’t still Keeper and Guardian of them respectively, but really it should’ve been Luna who owned those roles. Her sister refused to raise the moon and arrange the stars as she’d once done, though, so the burden still fell upon Celestia. She had to convince her to take up her old responsibilities again, but so far her attempts to do so had been unsuccessful. “My beloved subjects, it is with great joy that I raise the sun in your sight and today usher in a new year on this, the summer solstice,” Celestia announced. The pre-dawn darkness lightened as the sun rose over the White Mountains to the east and everypony turned to watch. For important events, Celestia probably would have given a longer speech, but she had been doing this for a thousand years. Ponies came in the thousands to see her raise the sun, not to hear her speak about how she was the only pony with the power to do so (though some of the leaders of Equestrian’s other nations could stand to be reminded of that fact). As the sun came into view, ponies finally cheered, or applauded with their hooves on the paving stones. High Priestess Rubius said a few more words to which Celestia didn’t pay attention, and the crowd began to disperse. As usual, there would be celebrations in the city after the summer solstice ceremony, but they would not be held at Cant’r Laht Cathedral. Most ponies would join the festival held in Edict Square outside the Lodge of Sorceresses, but some nobles would host parties on their own estates and the most favored would attend the feast at Cant’r Laht Castle. Among those who would be feasting with Celestia were the six ponies (and one small dragon) in the front row of the crowd. After their participation in the Seventeenth Trade War, the Brave Companions had returned to Ponieville for the remainder of the year. As the anniversary of the first time they’d all come together grew near, Celestia summoned them again to Cant’r Laht. Her recent dreams haunted her, and the beginning and ending of years always seemed to attract troublesome events. Ever since Twilight Sparkle had sent them here, the Elements of Harmony had been safe in Cant’r Laht, but Celestia believed it was time for the Elements to be taken up again, or at least to have them nearby in case of a crisis that couldn’t be solved without them. If she was right, one would be coming soon, but hopefully not so soon that it couldn’t wait until after the summer solstice feast. *** During the feast, three little fillies frolicked through the castle’s private gardens. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle had convinced their respective sisters to let them accompany them to Cant’r Laht for the summer solstice ceremony, and of course they couldn’t leave Scootaloo behind in Ponieville. Despite the purpose of holding the ceremony in Ponieville every four years being to keep countryponies out of the capital when it was here, plenty of ponies had traveled to Cant’r Laht for the solstice, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders had stood with them during the event. However, they were not invited to the feast at Cant’r Laht Castle, which suited them just fine. It wasn’t something that interested such young ponies who spent every waking moment scheming up new ways to get their cutie-marks, and Cant’r Laht provided them with plenty of fresh ideas. After they’d had a meal in one of the castle’s smaller dining rooms, they’d rushed outside to play and look for ways to cause mischief. “Look at all these statues,” Sweetie Belle commented as they entered a portion of the garden crowded with sculptures. “Pfft, it’s just a bunch of unicorns,” Scootaloo said disdainfully, “In Trotstagor there are much better statues of pegasi.” “Well, this is Cant’r Laht. Besides, I’d like to see you make a statue better than this,” Sweetie Belle said huffily, pointing at one sculpted to look like a knight raising a flag, “Maybe I should try. I might even get my cutie-mark for it.” “Boooring,” Scootaloo said, rolling her eyes, “Being a knight could be cool, though.” “Is that what th’ statue’s for, y’think?” Apple Bloom asked, examining it more closely, “Celebratin’ a knighthood?” “Actually, that statue represents victory,” a familiar soothing voice said as a nun trotted up to the trio, “More specifically, the victory of Cant’r Laht over the Thornbad Uprising.” “Sister Cheerilee!” Apple Bloom greeted her excitedly. Cheerilee had been one of the Ponieville ponies traveling to Cant’r Laht for the summer solstice ceremony, though her journey was not specifically to see Celestia raise the sun. It was part of her pilgrimage to the center of the church she served, but she had felt the call to leave the cathedral for the afternoon to come to the castle. Part of it was that she suspected these three fillies would be loose and unsupervised, and she knew just how much trouble they could get into together. Under her supervision, all would be well. “Hello, girls. Peace be with you,” Cheerilee greeted them, “Are we admiring the statues of the palace’s private gardens? Few ponies are allowed here, though today is an exception.” “See, Scootaloo!” Sweetie Belle called from near another statue, “They aren’t all unicorns!” Scootaloo and Apple Bloom rushed over to the statue Sweetie Belle pointed out and Cheerilee followed calmly behind. The statue was actually three statues: an earth pony, a unicorn, and a pegasus standing in a circle touching their hooves together in the center. The unicorn was clearly a sorceress, the pegasus a knight, and the earth pony a court official. “Those are three of the Founders, the ponies who joined together on the first Hearth’s Warming,” Sister Cheerilee lectured the foals, “Their statue represents unity, for their cooperation saw the joining of all three pony races together for a common cause.” “What’s this one represent?” Apple Bloom asked as she hopped over to a statue half-hidden behind a bush. “That is … I’m not really sure,” Cheerilee said as she stared at the strange statue, “I’ve never seen anything like it.” The statue in question was nothing like any of the others in the garden. For one thing, it wasn’t a pony, but a serpent-like creature with a plethora of parts from other animals attached to it. Its head was vaguely pony-like, but with a deer antler and goat horn sprouting from it. Limbs were borrowed from a lion, an eagle, a goat, and a dragon, and wings from a bat and a pegasus. It looked quite a bit older than the statues around it too, and cracks crisscrossed its surface. “I bet it’s confusion,” Apple Bloom suggested. “Just because it confuses you doesn’t make it confusion,” Sweetie Belle said haughtily, “It obviously represent evil.” “No way, it’s got t’ be chaos!” Scootaloo put in her two pence worth. “How is that diff’rent from confusion?” Apple Bloom objected. “It just is, okay!” Scootaloo said vehemently. “I still say it’s evil, maybe it’s even supposed to be Ruthus himself!” Sweetie Belle said. “Actually, it represents discord and disharmony,” the castle guard assigned to watch the trio of fillies said as he found them at last, having lost them after they’d slipped away. “I think the three of you have a good understanding of that,” Cheerilee said sternly, looking down at them. “I’m sorry, Sister,” the guard said to Cheerilee, “They got away from me, but I’ll stay on them from now on. Thank you for watching them.” “Not at all. I know these fillies and how much trouble they can be, but I don’t mind continuing to keep an eye on them,” Cheerilee said, “Maybe we should go someplace else, though.” “As you wish,” the guard said, and led the way while Cheerilee brought up the rear, keeping the Cutie Mark Crusaders between them. As they trotted away, the trio of fillies continued to try to justify their interpretation of the statue to each other in tones they thought were low enough that the adults couldn’t hear. Nopony noticed as the statue they left developed another crack along the back of its neck and pebbles fell to the ground, nor the slight sound of a quickening heartbeat. *** After the feast, the Brave Companions trotted through Cant’r Laht, letting Twilight Sparkle show them more of her previous home. The summer solstice festivities would last all day and well into the night, so they were not lacking in company on the city’s streets. City guards were stationed around Cant’r Laht, making sure ponies didn’t have too much fun, though they looked like they’d much rather join in the revelry than simply watch it while on patrol. Twilight had once looked for her brother whenever the guards were out, but he’d been promoted to Captain of the City Guard recently, so she wasn’t likely to see him out on a standard route anymore. A tingling came over Twilight’s body as her family’s ancestral home came in sight: Haltrotsun Manor. She’d spent more of her time living with Celestia in Cant’r Laht Castle than here, but she’d still consider it to be her home. The standards of House Haltrotsun fluttered from the walls, proudly displayed for the solstice. Nopony would be home at the moment, her mother and father off attending a feast at the manor of a noble with greater status than them, but she still intended to visit. Strangely, the building seemed a bit larger than it had been the last time she was here, though maybe that was because of her time spent in Ponieville becoming accustomed to its architecture. She rapped the door with its knocker, but nopony came to answer the door. The Haltrotsuns didn’t have many servants, but it was peculiar that all would have been allowed to leave and celebrate the solstice. Then again, with nopony home, they may have simply decided to take off anyway. Nopony had cast any protective spells on the door before leaving, and Twilight was easily able disengage the lock with her magic. “Hello? Is anypony home?” she asked as she stepped inside. Nopony answered, though a few toads hopped across the floors; somepony had left the door to the gardens open again. That, or her father had taken to studying amphibians as his latest passion. The sense of the house being just a little bit too big was more acute within, where all the furniture seemed meant for large ponies and the ceiling too high. The hairs on the back of Twilight’s neck prickled. Magic was here, though that wasn’t surprising, but she couldn’t determine the purpose or source of it. “I must be honest, darling, I expected … more from a noble estate,” Rarity commented as she watched Pinkamena chase one of the toads. “Something is not right here,” Twilight said apprehensively, a moment before Zebrikaanian fireworks seemed to go off in her head. The magic was strong, and it was everywhere, and the sorceress struggled to center herself in the storm of power that permeated everything. When she opened her eyes, she seemed to have shrunk to half her previous size, as had everypony else in the room. It wasn’t them that were shrinking, though; the manor was growing, quickly enough now for Twilight to notice. “Get outside!” she yelled, unsure of what was going on, but sure that she didn’t want to let the house grow so large that it would take a day to return to the door. The Brave Companions scrambled toward the half-open doorway, Twilight Sparkle scooping up Spike on the way. Haltrotsun Manor continued to grow, but they eventually reached the threshold … and came to a sudden stop. Looking outside, they found themselves looking down at the street, the path from it to the manner meeting it at a right angle. Rainbow Dash was the first to attempt a jump and struggled with establishing down before she figured out how to fly in this strange space. She came back for Rarity, Fluttershy flew down with Pinkamena, and Twilight teleported herself, Spike, and Applejack to the paving stones, though they landed several paces away from where she’d intended and were facing the wrong direction. “Twilight, what’s going on?” Fluttershy asked fearfully, looking around her. Nothing seemed to make any sense. The streets of Cant’r Laht led off at crazily impossible angles, as if the entire city was reflected in a shattered mirror. Above them, a swirling whirlpool opened up and a torrent of water poured down, only to abruptly redirect itself to smash through a mage’s tower, the rubble turning to butterflies. Cant’r Laht swung out from the Titan’s Horn, until they were looking down at Onon’r Laht far below, then abruptly snapped back into position. The streets were level again, mostly, and Haltrotsun Manor had returned to its normal size, though it was now upside down. Eyeballs with bat wings fluttered by and Rainbow Dash stared at them quizzically, until a pony on a broom zipped past her through the air. Ridiculous. Brooms aren’t balanced and stable enough to support flight. Every young sorceress learns that soon enough if they have the idea to try Defying Gravity. Wait, what? “Chaos magic,” Twilight answered the druidess who was trying to hide behind her own mane. There was no other explanation. Chaos magic, like necromancy, was banned for good reason. Mages would normally shape the chaos of magic into order with their spells, but chaos magic was an out-of-control outpouring of energy that disrupted the very fabric of reality and could have disastrous long-term consequences. The uninhabited Chaos Lands of the Eastern Continent were proof enough of that. To be able to cause such unimaginable chaos that was currently affecting Cant’r Laht, though, would require an extremely powerful sorceress, perhaps even one on the same level as Celestia. But there were no such sorceresses, were there? Except for Luna. “We have to get to Celestia,” Twilight Sparkle told her friends as the chaos continued around them, becoming greater by the second. *** Somehow, they made it to Cant’r Laht Castle without falling into the random abysses that seemed to pop up or the bizarre creatures that now roamed the city’s streets. The castle was fairly stable, all things considered, and the reason became evident as the Brave Companions entered the throne room. Celestia sat alone upon her throne, sweat beading her brow as she intently kept the chaos at bay with her magic. “You have made it safely,” the ancient sorceress breathed a sigh of relief, allowing herself a brief respite now that magical wards were in place around the castle, “I tried to clear your path here as best I could.” “Celestia, what is happening out there?” Twilight asked abruptly, “What sorceress would do this?” “Come with me,” Celestia commanded as she pulled herself up from her throne. The Brave Companions obediently followed, but concern was written on Twilight Sparkle’s face. She had never seen Celestia like this; there were few who had. The Matron of Sorceresses always presented herself as an all-knowing, unbreakable being of infinite power, but her struggle to fight the chaos magic consuming Cant’r Laht had caused part of that façade to chip away. Twilight was seeing a new side to her mentor, and it was unsettling. “In answer to your questions, my dear apprentice, there is no sorceress causing the chaos outside. That kind of magic is far beyond the ability of any pony,” Celestia explained as she led them into the castle’s treasury. Spike hopped off of Twilight’s back to gaze greedily at the gold, precious jewels, and various valuables stored here, but nopony seemed to notice. They were too transfixed themselves by the hoard Celestia had acquired in her millennium-long reign. Chests filled to bursting with coins and gemstones were plentiful, but there were also antique sets of armor, magical relics, ancient tomes, and crates of more mundane possessions that Celestia found valuable for personal reasons. “An old foe of mine has returned, my first true enemy. I thought he had been defeated centuries ago, but he has returned. His name … is Discord,” Celestia said, gesturing to a tapestry in very poor condition hanging on the wall. It featured a creature identical to the statue the Cutie Mark Crusaders had only recently argued over in the castle gardens. In this depiction, though, Discord was not an immobile chunk of stone. He was alive and malevolently poised over an earth pony, a unicorn, and a pegasus. Puppet strings ran from the ponies to his claws, and his gleeful smile as the world behind him erupted in nonsense sent a shiver down some of the Brave Companions’ spines. Fluttershy gave a small squeak and recoiled at the sight of some of the other tapestries around the room that also depicted Discord. “Discord is the mischievous spirit of disharmony and chaos, perhaps the most powerful of the Great Ones who entered our world during the Conjunction. While the other Great Ones were sealed away in Tartarus, so far as we can tell, Discord bided his time and waited until there were none who could oppose him. For twelve centuries, more or less, he held control of all Equus, holding it in a perpetual state of unrest and chaos,” Celestia explained morosely, “Sixteen centuries ago, Luna and I stood against him. Together we wielded the Elements of Harmony and encased him in a stone prison we thought would last for all eternity, but it was not to be. His stone prison has been weakened, both by time and because Luna and I are no longer connected to the Elements. In the aftermath of your defeat of Nightmare Moon, I visited the Three Palaces of the Two Queens, and did what I should have done long ago. Discord could not be allowed to remain out of sight, so I had his statue, as well as these tapestries, brought to Cant’r Laht so that I could keep an eye on him. The chaos has begun here, but it will spread if it is not stopped swiftly, and soon the whole world will be Discord’s domain again. Even now, the scars of his first reign are still fading; the Chaos Lands remain uninhabited. We cannot allow Equus to suffer under his rule again.” “You’ll stop him again, right?” Rainbow Dash asked, “You and Luna?” “We cannot,” Celestia admitted with a shake of her head, “Only the Elements of Harmony are powerful enough to contain him, and we are no longer the bearers of them. That honor falls upon the six of you, as does the responsibility of stopping Discord before he plunges the world into another millennium of chaos … or longer.” “But, how are we supposed to use the Elements of Harmony?” Twilight Sparkle asked with concern, “I studied them, but the reason I sent them here is because I could not figure out how they function in any way. They do not follow any of the usual rules of magic!” “The perfect weapon for fighting a creature who refuses to follow any of the usual rules,” Celestia said with a knowing smile, “How did you wield them to defeat Nightmare Moon? The way will come to you when the time is right, just as it did to Luna and me.” “Your Grace, I take it that you’ve brought us to the royal treasury because the Elements of Harmony are here?” Rarity inquired. “Indeed, Rarity, I have kept them safe for the six of you in preparation for a day like today,” Celestia said as she gestured to a locked and sealed chest that practically hummed with magic. Twilight Sparkle could sense hundreds of wards placed around the chest to protect its contents. It took Celestia a solid minute to dismantle them, but she was still able to do so far more quickly than any other sorceress could have. Maybe my worry about Celestia was unjustified, but that means this Discord is on a whole other level entirely. When Celestia opened the chest at last without fear of magical repercussions, though, she gasped. It was completely empty, with no sign of the amulets or circlet containing the Elements of Harmony. “This is impossible!” Celestia said, gripped with dread, “The seals and wards were intact, so the Elements should still be here. This does not make any sense!” “Oh, Celestia,” a chuckling voice came from all directions at once, “What fun would there be in making sense?” “Discord!” Celestia fumed, her mane waving angrily, “Where are you? Show yourself!” She and the other ponies turned around and around, looking for the source of the voice. Twilight even tried to search it out with her magic, but it was no use. Nothing seemed to be working the way it should’ve right now, no doubt due to Discord’s chaos magic. One of the tapestries fluttered to get their attention, and the representation of Discord woven into it waved playfully. “Did you miss me, Celestia?” tapestry-Discord asked, his voice now centered on that particular version of him, “You must have, to drag me from the Everfree Forest, where I was out of sight and out of mind, to be closer to you here. Really, it was a poor decision to bring the Lord of Chaos to your private gardens, then host a summit with all the bickering rulers of Equestria right next door. Not that I’m complaining, since it considerably lessened the time I had to spend in that awful prison you trapped me in. It’s not very comfortable being imprisoned in stone for so long; not that you’d know, since I don’t turn ponies into stone! Well … except for that one time, or was that in the future? Linear time is so boring, I wish I was even more unbound than I already am.” “Enough!” Celestia yelled, “If you’re here to gloat, go ahead and do it! You’re the one who took the Elements of Harmony, aren’t you? Where are they?” “Not to fret, not to fret, as you are well aware, the Elements are beyond my ability to affect,” Discord said as he moved to another tapestry and juggled the Elements of Harmony in his claws, “I’m simply borrowing them for a little while. A game’s no fun if it’s over right at the start, wouldn’t you agree?” “I’m not playing your games. You won’t get away with this, Discord. You’re going to lose,” Celestia said. “Oh, really?” Discord said, rolling his eyes, then sprouting more eyes all over his body so he could roll them too, “Rather cliché, isn’t it? You’re just as dreary and boring as the last time we met, though there’s somepony missing from this picture. Ah, yes, your dear sister whom you imprisoned in the moon for a thousand years. Now, as you can clearly see, I was able to bounce back from my imprisonment quite well, but there’s only one me. Do you think Luna will ever recover from what you put her through? It’s been one of your years, and things aren’t looking better for her than-” “Enough!” Celestia fumed, and the temperature in the room went up a few degrees, “If you have nothing useful to say, then begone!” “Temper, temper, temper,” Discord said, waggling a finger and keeping his cool while Celestia seemed ready to burst into flames, “You really must relax, Celestia, and I have just the ticket. It’s worked well for you, after all.” A slight flash seemed to come from the tapestry as Discord snapped his claws together. Panicked whinnies came from the Brave Companions and they stepped back from Celestia, who was now a statue, frozen with a shocked expression on her face. Discord had moved to another tapestry and they whirled to find him, where he was absentmindedly inspecting his claws. “So that’s when I turned a pony into stone,” Discord said, “I knew if it didn’t come to me, then I would come to it.” “That’s it!” Rainbow Dash said furiously, drawing her sword, “No more of this!” “Rainbow! Wait!” Twilight yelled as the Hunter shot toward the tapestry of Discord and sliced her sword though it, separating his body in two. “No! To end like this! Defeated by a toothpick! Oh, the draconequinity! If only you’d killed me before I’d turned Celestia to stone forever!” Discord wailed as his parts separated and red and purple threads spread out like blood from the cut, then smiled and pulled the tapestry back together, “Ohoho, I had you going there, didn’t I? You must be Rainbow Dash, loyal and true, bearer of the Element of Allegiance!” “Yeah, what of it?” Rainbow Dash asked as she stared at Discord, who was now striking a pose complete with salute, “If you think you can tempt me away with my dreams like Nightmare Moon did, you can forget about it. I’ll always be loyal to my friends.” “We shall see,” Discord chuckled before vanishing from the tapestry. “Twilight, darling, we’re wasting our time talking to this Discord character,” Rarity advised, “We need to find wherever he’s hidden the Elements of Harmony.” “Ooh, fine deduction,” Discord said as he appeared on the tapestry behind the blacksmith, causing her to jump in surprise, “Yes, I’ve hidden the Elements of Harmony somewhere within your reach. Well done, Rarity, the Element of Charity, if I’m not mistaken.” “So, y’ know who we are. How is that s’posed t’ help y’?” Applejack asked. “Oh, honest, trustworthy Applejack, I know much more than just your names. That’s easy enough for anyone to learn,” Discord replied as he flicked the nose of tapestry-Celestia, who was now stone just like the real one, “No, I know far more than that.” “Like our strengths,” Twilight Sparkle addressed the ancient being of chaos, “Which Elements of Harmony we each possess.” “Yes, Twilight Sparkle, she who has been gifted with the most powerful and elusive element, sorcery. Then you have your druidess friend Fluttershy with compassion, and Pinkamena Diane Pie, who is the bearer of the Element of Mirth. Mirth was always a personal favorite of mine, though alas, ponies don’t seem to share my sense of humor,” Discord said as he shish-kebabbed a few on the tapestry, “I know your Elements and your strengths. Strengths, however, can easily be turned to weaknesses if you know how.” “I am inclined to agree with Celestia and Rarity, in that you have nothing useful to say and are just wasting our time,” Twilight Sparkle said, keeping tight control of her voice as she thought about her mentor, “Why are you still here? Do you intend to give us some hint of where you have hidden the Elements of Harmony?” “Very good, very good!” Discord said, clapping his claws together, and a crowd of Discords appeared behind him, also applauding, “Yes, I will tell you where I have hidden the Elements of Harmony, but only in my way. Get ready, get set, and make sure you take this down. Hm-hm. To find your missing Elements, just makes sense of this change of events. Twists and turns are my master plan. Then find the Elements back where you began.” Spike nodded to Twilight that he’d copied down the riddle onto the parchment he always kept handy, though he’d had a bit of trouble with the quill trying to fly away. With a flash of light, Discord vanished from his tapestry, leaving all the ancient wall hangings just as they’d been when they’d first arrived here, except that every instance of Discord was missing and every instance of Celestia was now made of stone. “What d’ y’ think he meant by that riddle?” Applejack asked, once they were fairly certain that Discord was gone, “Twists an’ turns an’ returnin’ t’ th’ beginnin’?” “Twists and turns,” Twilight said thoughtfully, “Earlier he said that the Elements were within our reach. It must be! Discord must have hidden the Elements of Harmony in the castle’s labyrinth!” “Let’s get going, then,” Rainbow Dash said, “And let’s just hope he hasn’t done anything to the castle in the meantime to keep us from reaching the labyrinth.” *** Rainbow Dash’s fears had proven mostly unfounded. Chaos was beginning to seep into Cant’r Laht Castle now that Celestia had become a statue, but her wards still held. Twilight Sparkle tried not to think about how her mentor was now encased in stone and unable to help her. She was determined that Celestia would not be a statue forever. However, to undo Discord’s spell, they would need to defeat Discord. Chaos magic, however powerful it was, was also notoriously fragile, and things usually returned to exactly the way they had been after it was dispelled, so long as too much time hadn’t passed. Time was also difficult to determine except by perception, since Celestia was no longer moving the sun through the sky. Twilight also suspected that Discord was moving the sun himself, since it was now in its mid-morning position and the chaos had broken out when it was nearly evening. In any case, they had to find the Elements in the labyrinth as quickly as possible if they wanted to undo his magic without any unfortunate side effects. The castle labyrinth was familiar to Twilight Sparkle, since she’d spent much time here when living with Celestia. She knew every twist and turn of the labyrinth (as well as where all the secluded spots that were good for reading were), but she had the feeling that that wouldn’t help her anymore. The labyrinth had grown a great deal since Discord had been freed, and now seemed almost as large as Cant’r Laht usually was. The hedge maze also veered off at strange angles that defied logic, forming a truly daunting puzzle. “How are we supposed to find the Elements in that?” Fluttershy asked, staring at the labyrinth as it rearranged itself. “Twilight, you can sense the Elements of Harmony with your magic, right?” Rainbow Dash asked. “If I am close enough to them, I should be able to,” Twilight answered, “With all the chaos magic around, though, I will need to be pretty close.” “Well, it’ll be a low flyover then,” Rainbow Dash said as she stripped off gear to shed extra weight, “I’ll carry you over the labyrinth, and we should be able to find the Elements of Harmony in no time.” “Not. So. Fast,” Discord’s voice boomed out. The draconequus materialized out of nowhere, appeared in front of the entrance to the labyrinth. His full height was several times that of a pony and he overshadowed them (a fact helped by the fact that he moved the sun behind himself so that his shadow would fall over them). His bushy eyebrows were titled into a stern frown, but his lopsided teeth were arrayed in a gleeful grin. “Discord! What is this about?” Twilight Sparkle demanded to know. “It slipped my mind earlier to lay out the rules for our little game,” Discord smirked. “But Celestia said that you don’t follow rules,” Fluttershy remarked before going back to hiding behind Pinkamena. “When I’m not the one making the rules, yes,” Discord said, stretching his neck over Pinkamena to address Fluttershy directly, “On my honor, I can guarantee that I always follow my own rules without exception, however.” “Let us get on with this,” Twilight Sparkle said, thinking about how much time could be wasted if she let Discord keep talking like he had in the treasury, “What are your rules?” “The first rule is no wings or magic allowed,” Discord said, returning his neck to its (more) normal length, and Twilight and Rainbow Dash paled, “As the brave monster-hunter pointed out, that would make things far too easy for you.” “What else?” Twilight Sparkle asked. “Everypony must participate, or the game is over, and I win by default,” Discord said smugly, “That’s it. It’s a simple game, with simple rules. So, what do you say? Everypony who agrees to the rules, raise your hooves in assent.” “Doesn’t seem like we have much choice,” Rainbow Dash grumbled as she raised her hoof, and the others did the same, with varying levels of reluctance. “Excellent! Let’s get this game started, then,” Discord said joyously and snapped his claws together. Twilight Sparkle suddenly felt very hollow inside. Her magic was gone entirely, and it felt incredibly wrong for it to have vanished just like that. When Discord had laid out his rules, she’d expected to have to try to get by without using her magic (or not get caught doing it, if that was possible). She hadn't considered that it would be stripped away from her entirely so that she didn’t even have the possibility of doing magic. The sorceress who could no longer do sorcery stared at the ground and breathed heavily as she tried to adjust. When she looked up, things were worse. Rainbow Dash seemed paralyzed, staring at her back, which was now completely devoid of wings. It seemed that Discord had taken the ‘no wings’ rule literally as well. Nearby, Fluttershy clung to Pinkamena, bemoaning the loss of her wings. Twilight jumped with a start as she realized that one member of their party was missing. “Spike!” she called, before whirling to face Discord, “Where is Spike?” “I’m afraid he won’t be joining you in your little gallivant through the labyrinth,” Discord said as he produced spectacles and a giant document from thin air, “As you can clearly see in Rule 1, Article II, Subsection D, Paragraph 6, dragons clearly fall under the ‘no wings’ rule as winged creatures.” “Spike has not even grown his wings yet!” Twilight said furiously. “Hey, I just make the rules, I don’t enforce them,” Discord said with a shrug, “Good luck, everypony!” With a snap of his claws, Discord vanished again, leaving the Brave Companions standing disoriented at the entrance to the labyrinth. What other surprises did he have in store for them before they could reach the Elements of Harmony? It seemed impossible, but Twilight Sparkle remembered that a year earlier she’d also been in an impossible situation. Not only that, but the five ponies who’d helped her then were with her today. “We can do this,” the sorceress said confidently, and the other Brave Companions turned to look at her, “As long as we are all together, nothing Discord can throw at us will stop us from reclaiming the Elements of Harmony and imprisoning him again. He is only delaying the inevitable.” “Twilight is right,” Rainbow Dash said, snapping out of her obsession with her missing wings, “We’ve got this.” The others nodded their agreement, comforted the same way Twilight had been. Together they stepped into the labyrinth, prepared to do anything to stop Discord. Abruptly, hedges rose up from the ground as the labyrinth reshaped itself. Everypony was cut off from everypony else, but they could still hear each other’s screams and nervous whinnies. “It is going to be okay, everypony,” Twilight assured them, and looked around, “Do you see that flagpole in the distance with the red banner? All the labyrinth’s paths used to converge there. If they still do, then we can meet up and regroup. Try to reach it.” Everypony expressed that they understood before taking off toward the banner. Twilight’s memory of the maze’s structure was still correct in that regard; all paths would converge at the flagpole, but there was an awful lot of ground (and other types of surfaces) for them to cover on the way there, and anything could happen on the way. *** Applejack galloped through a hedge tunnel, searching for a sign of her goal through the foliage but seeing none. She knew the flagpole was in this direction, but she’d lost sight of it after crossing under the bushy arch. The farmpony put on a burst of speed as she spotted light in the distance and charged out of the tunnel. When she looked in the direction she’d last seen the flag, though, it was nowhere to be found. She gave a groan as she turned around and found it in the opposite direction as before. Crossing through the tunnel again likely wouldn’t help, so she searched for another path through the maze. Over the top of one of the hedges, she spotted a familiar sight. Apple trees, in Celestia’s palace labyrinth? Surely they couldn’t be here naturally, but she wanted to inspect them anyway. Navigating the maze, she came upon a small grove of the trees surrounding a stone basin and pillar. As she approached the fountain, apples fell spontaneously from the nearby trees and rolled across the ground on their own. Where they converged, the fruit rose to form pony-shaped figures, one a golden yellow, the second a glossy red, and the third a dazzling green. “What are you doing here?” the yellow figure demanded, its voice like the wind rustling the leaves. “Who are you?” the green one demanded. “I am Applejack o’ th’ Brave Companions,” Applejack answered. “The Element of Trustworthiness, of course,” the red figure said. “Of course, you are drawn to this place,” the green apple-pony added. “Who are y’? What is this place?” Applejack demanded, “If y’ve got anythin’ t’ do with Discord, I’ll have naught t’ do with y’.” “This is the Grove of Truth, and we are its keepers,” the red figure announced. “That is the Fountain of Truth, and we are its guardians,” the yellow one said. “You may ask us one question, past, future, or present,” said the green one. “But be warned …” said red. “… that the truth …” continued yellow. “… may not always be pleasant,” finished green, with nary a break in their speech. Applejack stared down the apple-creatures. This was most likely part of Discord’s magic, but maybe it wasn’t. It wouldn’t surprise Applejack one bit to learn that Celestia had a Fountain of Truth in her private gardens; maybe it had magic beyond Discord, just like the Elements of Harmony. If she had the opportunity to ask a question of these beings, it could be very useful to take it. “Whatever I ask, y’ will answer truthfully?” Applejack asked. “We will not answer …” “… the Fountain of Truth will …” “… and the Fountain of Truth …” “… cannot lie.” “Okay then,” Applejack said, approaching the fountain and trying to think of what would be most worthwhile to ask, “I have th’ feelin’ that e’en if we win Discord’s ‘game,’ he’ll try t’ trick us anyhow someway. What awaits us at th’ end o’ our journey?” The smooth, mirror-like surface of the fountain began to ripple as Applejack finished uttering her question. She found herself gazing at a scene that was both familiar and not familiar. She and her friends were standing in Ponieville, but it had been twisted and rearranged just like Cant’r Laht. Rainbow Dash was missing, but Spike was with them again. Applejack’s face creased with concern as she observed the confrontational expressions on everypony’s faces in the vision. “I’m done with this!” Pinkamena yelled, her voice bubbling up through the water, as if coming from very far away, “I don’t ever want to see any of you again!” “The feeling is mutual,” Fluttershy snorted as Pinkamena ran away, “You’re all a bunch of failures that aren’t worth knowing, anyway.” “I could’ve beaten Discord if it hadn’t been for all o’ you!” the vision-Applejack yelled, and the real Applejack gasped. “Fine! Leave then! Give up! See if I care!” Twilight Sparkle yelled as they all went their separate ways, “I do not know why I bothered with you anyway!” “What? No! It can’t be!” Applejack exclaimed as the vision faded and she stumbled back from the fountain, “All o’ us losin’ our friends like that? It can’t be!” Hovering above, Discord let out a chuckle that didn’t reach the earth pony’s ears. “Right where I want you,” the draconequus whispered to himself. “It can’t be true. It can’t be,” Applejack repeated, trying to convince herself, and she looked up as one of the keepers of the grove placed a hoof made of apples on her back. “When all the truth does …” the glossy red keeper said with a said shake of its head. “… is make your heart ache …” the dazzling green one continued. “… sometimes a lie is easier to take,” the golden yellow keeper finished. Applejack didn’t even hear the resounding snap of Discord’s claws as she gave in. If the truth was too terrible to face, what other choice did she have? Her mind felt fuzzy and the color seemed to drain from her coat as the chaos magic permeated her, stripping her of the defining quality that had granted her an Element of Harmony. To kill her would be too easy (and not particularly fun); Discord had other plans in mind. “Applejack!” Twilight Sparkle called out as her path brought her to the Grove of Truth, though the grove was now devoid of trees, talking apples, and the Fountain of Truth, “I thought I heard you over here. Was there trouble?” “Not in the sli’est,” Applejack said confidently as she whirled around to face Twilight, before trotting past her, “Everything is just fine an’ as it should be.” “Did she just …” Twilight wondered, “No, Applejack is probably just trying to keep her spirits up. What reason would she have to lie?” *** Pinkamena bounded through the labyrinth, appearing to have nary a care in the world. She paused in her bounding for a moment to appreciate that there was ground both beneath her hooves and above her head. Curious, she jumped as high as she could and found herself falling upwards. She managed to turn around before hitting the ground, but the moment her hooves touched the soil, she found herself sliding down a slope. Hedges whipped past, and she tried and failed to stop before she crashed through one. She landed not completely ungracefully on a wooden stage. The bard blinked in surprise at the large crowd of ponies assembled before her. “Song! Song! Song!” they began to chant as they spotted her onstage. Pinkamena spotted the flagpole with the red banner and began to trot toward the edge of the stage. “Song! Song! Song!” the crowd demanded, their voices getting louder as they crowded around the stage and blocked her escape. She needed to keep moving, she knew, but she’d never had so many ponies begging her to perform before, even if this was probably just some conjuring of Discord. Well, maybe just a ditty. Pinkamena produced her lute and began to strum a few notes, the crowd cheering before quieting. She began her song but didn’t get a single word out before the strings on her lute snapped, springing back to slap her across the face. The crowd was silent for only a moment before they burst into raucous laughter. “Hey, what’s so funny?” Pinkamena asked, feeling hurt in more ways than just physically. “Why, your misfortune, of course,” Discord said as he appeared onstage next to her, dressed like a troubadour with a floppy hat, “What’s the matter? I would think the Element of Mirth would appreciate laughter?” “They’re laughing at my expense,” Pinkamena protested. “And? Ponies laugh at you all the time, including your friends,” Discord chuckled as he produced a flipbook with illustrations of past events and began flipping through it, “Oh, Pinkie, your antics are always good for a laugh.” “That’s because I like to make my friends smile,” Pinkamena said with a hint of uncertainty as she watched the scenes flip by, “They laugh with me, not at me.” “Are you really so sure about that?” Discord asked, cocking an eyebrow and gesturing out toward the crowd. It was only now that Pinkamena recognized her friends were a part of the audience, laughing right along with everypony else. Could it really be true? She didn’t want to believe it, but now that she thought about it, did anypony take her seriously? How much of their laughter was directed at her, and not just when she was trying to entertain them? “Stop it,” Pinkamena said weakly to the crowd, “Stop laughing at me.” “Oh, come on, where’s that mirth now?” Discord asked as he grabbed the corners of Pinkamena’s mouth and forced them up into a smile, “I thought you liked it when ponies laughed at you?” “Not. Anymore.” Pinkamena said as the sound of snapping claws echoed through the air. Just like Applejack before her, Pinkamena gave in to Discord, and was changed by his magic. Her coat faded, her mind dulled, and the laughter of the crowd became even more grating to her ears. It was a relief when they disappeared, leaving her in an empty section of the hedge maze. “Pinkamena!” Twilight Sparkle called out as she nearly passed by without noticing her friend, “I was hoping we would find somepony else soon. Are we glad to see you!” “Why? Need a good laugh?” Pinkamena asked confrontationally, but Twilight was too excited at finding her to notice at first. “Actually, I think we could use some lightheartedness right about now,” Twilight admitted. “I wouldn’t give you the satisfaction,” Pinkamena said angrily as she stormed past Twilight. “I have never seen Pinkamena so upset. What do you think is going on?” Twilight asked Applejack. “Pinkamena has always been like that,” Applejack said, which was clearly not true. Something strange is going on in this labyrinth. If I were a betting pony, I’d place the blame on Discord. We’ve got to find the rest of our friends before this somehow gets worse. *** As Rarity trotted through the maze, careful not to look to the left or right, where ground could be seen at a perpendicular in the distance, she considered that this was how things were likely going to be from now on. She hadn’t asked for much out of life, just a steady profit and successful career as a clothier and the chance to rise above her station to enter the noble class. So far, neither had come true, but she’d seen more than she’d ever expected as a Brave Companion. She should have known that a trip to Cant’r Laht for the summer solstice ceremony would not go according to plan, but she never could have anticipated that instead of attending an audience with Celestia or presenting her latest designs to Hoity Toity, she’d be gallivanting through a maze whose structure defied logic searching for the magical artifacts she and her friends had found a year earlier. While she was thinking over her lot in life, she wasn’t quite paying attention to where she was going and ran straight into a stone wall. Of course, it didn’t help that the wall only came into being a fraction of a second before she ran into it. As she picked herself up off the ground where she’d fallen and dusted off her dress, her eyes fixated on the wall just ahead of her. A bright gemstone peeked out of the stone face, and two more were revealed as she ran her hoof across the wall, dislodging the outer layer of rock. They were splendid, and together could be the highlight of the dress she was planning to present to Hoity Toity for approval before her departure from Cant’r Laht. No, Rarity! You’ll never even have a chance to speak to him unless you stop Discord, and for that you must find the Element of Charity. The gems are probably not real anyway. Is anything real here anymore? She forced herself to turn away from the wall, the gems seeming to glow more brilliantly as she did so, and she trotted away. Suddenly, she found herself on the ground again and looked back to see that she’d tripped over a leather bag on the ground that hadn’t been there before. Curiously, she pried it open and found tools for breaking stone. Well, if it won’t take too long to pry them free … Several minutes later, she sat with the rubble of the wall around her, her body covered in stone dust, but it was worth it. The three small gemstones had proved to be only parts of a magnificent diamond larger than her head. She looked at it gleefully as it shimmered in the light, a fortune she could hold in her hooves, enough to buy everything she ever wanted. “Well, well, Rarity,” Discord chuckled to himself as he hovered above the oblivious blacksmith, “That’s quite a treasure you’ve found for yourself. With all that work you put in to get it out, I imagine it’s not something you’ll be willing to share with anyone.” Twilight Sparkle picked up her pace as she thought she heard a snap resounding through the air nearby. Rounding the corner of a hedge, she spotted Rarity, her coat drained partially of color like Pinkamena and Applejack. Rarity didn’t notice the other three appear, as she was too busy caressing the large rock in front of her. “Rarity! There you are!” Twilight exclaimed, then raised an eyebrow as the blacksmith didn’t respond, “Why are you stroking that rock?” “Rock? Rock!” Rarity said, sounding offended and clutching the stone tighter, “This diamond is mine! All mine! I dug it out myself, so keep your eyes off of it! Don’t even think about trying to take it!” Twilight Sparkle frowned with concern. It seemed everypony around her was going crazy, something she knew was not at all unlikely given their foe. At least they were still themselves and her friends, though, right? *** Fluttershy darted from one hedge to another, steeling herself each time. She was not a naturally courageous pony, and she was beginning to realize, like Rarity had, that her future likely would contain many harrowing adventures. The druidess didn’t know if her heart could take much more excitement. She spotted movement out of the corner of her eye and tried to bury herself in the hedge, scratching herself up with the branches in the process. She gave a little gasp as she spotted what it was that was floating by, but it was a gasp of excitement, not one of fear. “A nightingale butterfly!” she exclaimed, bursting out of the hedge and nearly tripping as her druidess robes caught, “Wait up! I’ve never seen one of you before!” “Oh, Fluttershy, it looks like your friends have abandoned you,” the butterfly said with a thin reedy voice once she caught up to it. Peculiar. Since the sonic rainboom, she'd always been able to communicate with animals, but never had she been able to hear them speaking in pony language exactly. Maybe it was just a side effect (and a welcome one) of Discord’s magic. He’d made enough changes to what was normal that there was no reason he couldn’t have allowed her to hear animal voices in her own language. “That is, if they ever were your friends, really,” the butterfly continued. “Oh, I’m certain they haven’t abandoned me,” Fluttershy said with real confidence, “They would never do anything like that.” “It must be because they feel sorry for you, as weak and helpless as they believe you are,” the butterfly said, “Surely that must irk you, knowing they don’t believe in you.” “Oh, not at all,” Fluttershy replied, “Compared to the others, I am weak and helpless, in most things at least. I’m happy they understand that I can’t always do what they can.” “Still, it must hurt when they point it out, and it makes you want to point out their flaws too, if only you had the confidence, right?” the butterfly said, looking frustrated. “No, not really,” Fluttershy replied, “I wouldn’t want to do anything like that, especially to ponies who just want me to be the best I can.” “Oh, for the love of ravens and writing desks!” the butterfly exclaimed as it transformed into a fuming Discord, “No one is incorruptible, even if I have to do it by force!” With a snap of the draconequus’s claws, a torrent of chaos magic flooded Fluttershy’s mind. Her virtues were scrubbed away and replaced with their equivalent vices, and her coat faded in color. Discord stomped off mumbling to himself before vanishing. “Fluttershy?” Twilight Sparkle asked with trepidation as she spotted the druidess sitting alone, “Oh, Fluttershy, I am so pleased we found you. This labyrinth, Discord’s magic, something is getting to everypony. Everypony is acting just awful.” “Looking for a shoulder to cry on? Well, you won’t find it here!” Fluttershy snapped, “Why don’t you just use that magic you’re so proud of, great and mighty sorceress, and fix everything?” Twilight Sparkle stood in shocked silence. Fluttershy had never spoken to her, or anypony else that she’d seen, in such a fashion. Something is terribly wrong, it’s getting to all of them. How long before it gets me too, or has it already? *** Rainbow Dash stalked the labyrinth, greatly missing her wings. What kind of a Hunter couldn’t fly? Surely one that was doomed to a quick death. Something flashed up ahead, and she waited to make sure it wasn’t a trap before pursuing. The Hunter picked up her pace as she recognized the object hovering in the air at eye level as the Element of Allegiance, her Element of Harmony. The red diamond zipped through the maze, Rainbow Dash in hot pursuit, until it exited the maze and zipped over a layer of clouds. Without thinking, Rainbow Dash charged ahead and instantly plummeted through the clouds. Ropes hanging down from the cliff edge she’d charged over caught her as she fell, and she found herself suspended upside-down. She ceased her struggling as she spotted Discord lounging on the underside of the clouds. “What are you doing here?” the Hunter demanded to know. “Moi?” Discord said innocently, “I’m just taking a little respite. After all, it’s not I that needs to make a difficult decision upon which balances the entirety of everything they stand for.” “What are you babbling about now?” Rainbow Dash demanded. “Babble? I never babble,” Discord said, looking hurt, “I’ve got an important message to deliver to you.” “Please say it isn’t in rhyme,” Rainbow groaned. “It is,” Discord said with a grin and cleared his throat, “A weighty choice is yours to make: the right selection or a big mistake. If a wrong choice you choose to pursue, the foundations of your world will crumble without you.” With a snap of Discord’s claws, Rainbow Dash got a glimpse of what he meant. The Hunters of the Order of the Falcon, her order, were driven back by nightmarish monsters they’d never seen before. All across Equestria, the same thing was happening to other Hunter orders, until they all found themselves in Cloudsdale. Even there, they weren’t safe, though, and Cloudsdale was torn down from the sky and dashed into a million pieces as all the Hunters perished. “No, it can’t be true,” Rainbow Dash said as the vision faded, “The Hunters … obliterated.” “Unless you help them,” Discord whispered in her ear, “They don’t know they need you, but you do. You can’t help them without your wings, of course, but that would mean leaving the game. The decision is yours to make: save the Hunters, save Equestria, or wander this maze for all eternity. I know what I’d pick in your situation.” *** The other five Brave Companions continued through the labyrinth, searching for Rainbow Dash. Twilight Sparkle looked up and tried to smile as she spotted the flagpole they’d set as their meeting point. Somehow, she’d become burdened with the rock that Rarity still insisted was a diamond. She’d thought that maybe helping her with it when the blacksmith complained of tiring out would help improve her mood, but Rarity was keeping a close eye on the rock and continually reminded the sorceress that it was all hers. The rest of her “friends” weren’t much better. Pinkamena would snap at anypony that tried to talk to her or express any kind of happiness in her general area. Fluttershy seemed bent on insulting everypony and laughing at Pinkamena just to get under her skin. Applejack continually denied things that were obvious or spouted off things that were blatantly untrue. She didn’t know what was going on, but she wanted it to end. “Look at that, Rainbow Dash is abandonin’ us. I always knew that she would,” Applejack said. “How many more lies am I supposed to stand?” Twilight asked as she rolled Rarity’s rock off her back. “Twilight, darling, it’s not a lie,” Rarity said after running to grab her stone before anypony else could. Not her, too! Twilight Sparkle gasped as she trotted into the clearing with the flagpole. There, over the hedges, Rainbow Dash was flying away. That’s impossible! Rainbow Dash would never abandon us! What is happening! She found Rainbow Dash’s sudden change in devotion to be not the most pressing problem as the ground rumbled beneath her hooves. The labyrinth disappeared, the hedges sinking into the earth and vanishing. The flagpole they’d been trying to reach crumbled to dust and drifted away in a zigzagging wind. A great rent filled with indescribable colors tore apart the sky above them and was mercifully hidden by a ceiling of clouds a few moments later. Frogs, worms, and fish began pelting down from them as the Titan’s Horn split in two and Cant’r Laht twisted into a pretzel around the two peaks. “Well, well, well, looks like somepony broke the rules,” Discord said spitefully as he appeared, “Dear, loyal Rainbow Dash took her wings and left the game, so the game is over.” Discord snapped his claws, and Twilight Sparkle felt her magical abilities return, but she was too paralyzed to do anything with them. Fluttershy’s wings also returned, but there was no sign of Spike. This can’t be it. This can’t be the end! “Oh, but it is the end, Twilight Sparkle,” Discord replied to her thoughts, “You didn’t find your precious Elements of Harmony, and you can’t defeat me without them. You’ve lost, I’ve won! I, Discord, Lord of Chaos, Pontiff of Disharmony, the Mad God, Emperor of Entropy, am back! All the world is mine, so let the chaos begin!” To be continued …