//------------------------------// // The Great Element Heist // Story: The Day of Discord // by GJT_Productions //------------------------------// "Hmph, I spread all this chaos all over their kingdom, and I still can't draw those alicorns out in battle! I must be missing something, and I need to figure out what that is exactly..." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The draconequus Discord had poofed himself back into the vicinity of Canterlot, which was still being disrupted by the unusual clouds and their rain, seemingly out of frustration that the alicorns Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had not yet engaged him. As Discord refused to believe that the alicorns would be willing to play the same illogical game he was the master of, he realized that now he would have to do some research to figure out why they were remaining hidden. He decided the best place to look for clues was Canterlot's public library. After teleporting in with a magic "snap" to behind one of the pillars outlining the great circular hall in the center of the building, he immediately realized there were too many ponies still inside the library to avoid any reasonable chance of detection. Thus, for his next step he did another magic snap to remove a clock from a wall, repeating the time-stopping procedure he had done in Canterlot SuperMax before anypony had noticed it was gone and raise an alarm. "Hmmm, they have a very nice collection here. I'll have to remember to come back when the frame-dragging effect of the time stoppage won't be such a big concern..." Discord comments as he begins floating and slithering his way between the time-frozen patrons of the library to look for the information he sought... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ A FEW MINUTES LATER... "Well, the 'Celestia' section was a bust. Maybe I'll find something in the 'Luna' section..." Discord was muttering in irritation, floating in front of the library shelves and balancing the removed clock on his lion paw "hand" while the eagle claw "hand" pulled out one book, then quickly returned it to the place it had been on the shelf. The muttering continued as he searched the new section of the library: "Let's see... let's see... what's under that 'New Release' marker? Hmmm... 'The Legends of Nightmare Moon: Expanded and Revised Edition'? Now there's something worth checking out!" He pulled the new addition to the library's collection off the shelf, then did another magic snap to place himself laying on top of a bookshelf in the quietest corner of the library. This would allow him to read with little risk of detection, and as such returned the clock he had been holding to its previous position with another magic snap. The previously stopped flow of time resumed, albeit with some disorientation induced by the effect in any pony in the library at the time. Discord's muttering continued as he looked into the new book, unheard by the confused library patrons: "Legend of Nightmare Moon... heard that now and again while trapped as that statue... uh-huh, mm-hmm... ah-ha! So they won't be able to use them against me themselves, explains a lot... can anyone use it now... they're not even alicorns!... But, on the other hand, why take chances after what happened last time... gonna need to grab them myself... where did that alicorn put them, does this have it... ah-ha, Canterlot Tower!" With all the knowledge he needed to act now, he disappears from the library with a poof, dropping the book off the top of the shelf as he does so. It wasn't until much later that the librarian Dicentra Liber found the misplaced book that there was any suspicion of what had happened, and any such suspicions quickly got lost in the confusion of that day... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AT CANTERLOT TOWER... When Discord reappears, he is just inside the locked doors to the Canterlot Tower, bypassing the pair of guards that had been placed on Shining Armor's orders just outside the doors. Perhaps somewhat foolishly, Shining took Celestia at her word that the spell protecting the Elements of Harmony was unbreakable by anyone but herself and did not provide any more security than the pair at the door. This meant Discord could casually stroll - or float, or moonwalk, or even walk on his "hands", anything that tickled his fancy really - through the room, taking in the stained glass around him as he does so. "Oooh, this is all very intriguing, even if I don't like what it's depicting about me..." Discord exclaims, looking up at the stained glass as he walks on his "hands". He pushes off and flips back upright, transitioning into moonwalking as he does so: "At least now I know that story about 'Nightmare Moon' isn't a bunch of hot air. I'll have to come back here when 'the replacements' show up, that stained glass will make an excellent way to show off..." Discord stops in front of the door locked by Celestia's spell, spinning around to face the door from his previous orientation. Rather than just stick something into the hole in the middle to see what would happen, Discord instead looks inside the hole, muttering comments to himself as he does so: "Rifling, the groove spacing and width is too big for an average unicorn... and those alicorns think they have top-notch security. Really, all I need is an accurate enough imitation of the horn..." Discord backs up slightly and gives a maniacal chuckle as with a flash the end of his right arm changes into an imitation of Princess Celestia's horn. He inserts the horn into the hole, and with a twist the spell is temporarily suppressed to allow the door to open. Discord changes the right arm back to its usual shape, then gently pushes the door open. "Well, I don't see any fancy magic necklaces in here, but maybe that elaborate box is where she's stowed them away..." Discord comments as he extends his long, slender shape into the "closet" where Celestia had stowed the Elements of Harmony. He carefully reaches toward the elaborately-jeweled box, wary of the possibility of another trap being set for him, and carefully lifts open the latch, pausing just a moment to see if any alarms or other spells have been triggered. He is relieved, and a little surprised, when neither of these things occur. "What a joke of security... I'll just take these and lock everything back up..." Discord says with a evil grin as he swipes the Elements of Harmony out of the box. "Really have half a mind to just crush these things to dust, but I'd have more fun watching the shock and horror on those pony faces when they realize what's missing... I'll just hide these somewhere instead, don't know where yet, but I'll think of something..."