"Another day, another project..."
After the Grand Galloping Gala disaster and the group went home, they all began to settle into regular life again. Now it's been two weeks since then and nothing has happened. Right now, Xavier was returning from the spa after doing a job over there.
"You know, it's been a while since something's came up. I know I shouldn't complain since I shouldn't worry or jinx anything, but I can't help but think about what's going to happen next." Xavier thought as he walked through town, waving to anypony who waved at him. Soon he arrived back at his home and entered.
"Welcome back Xavier!" He was greeted by Jasmine sweeping the floor. Smiling, Xavier returned the greeting with a wave. "Cali's making lunch, she should almost be done."
"Like now." The two looked at the kitchen entrance, seeing Cali standing in front of it. "Nice timing, Xavier."
"Thanks for cooking for us, Cali. You really don't have to."
"Well maybe it's to repay your kindness for letting me live here. Now come on, it'll get cold." The three entered the kitchen and sat down at the table to enjoy lunch, some simple spaghetti. "So, it's been a bit since anything happened."
"Yeah, I was thinking about that while walking." Xavier admitted. "I know I shouldn't think about it, but I just do."
"Well, with how often they seem to come up, I don't blame you." Jasmine said.
"Yeah, I guess it'll come eventually. For now, I guess I should just count my blessings." After a while of eating and small talk, the three began to clean the kitchen. As they were however, something strange caught their attention.
"You're seein' this right?"
"Yep. I think our problem revealed itself."
What they were looking at was the fridge open, and standing in front of it was what appeared to be a golem made of various fruits and veggies. After a bit of staring, the golem suddenly lunged at them, scaring the three. If it wasn't for Jasmine nailing it with a tornado, it would have landed on one of them as its pieces were scattered across the room, making a mess.
"What was that?!" Cali asked shocked.
"I don't know." Xavier replied. "Maybe we should ask Twilight." The three nodded at each other and, after Xavier and Cali grabbed their stuff, they went outside. When they did, they were shocked to see a bunch of pink clouds zooming all over the place. "Okay, this is not normal!" One of the clouds then went over them and poured rain on them, ruing their moods.
"SERIOUSLY?! WHY?!" Cali yelled at the cloud, getting a taste of the rain. "Wait. Is it raining... chocolate milk?" This caught the other's attention as they took a taste themselves.
"I-It is. Huh?" Xavier was confused at this point. "This has never happened before." Xavier looked around some more before seeing Rainbow fly by. "Rainbow? Hey Rainbow!" Xavier ran after her, prompting Jasmine and Cali to follow. After running after her for a while they found themselves at Sweet Apple Acres, only to see even more chaos. They were looking at the orchard full of oversized apples that pulled the trees down, spindly legged animals, constantly popping corncobs, and tons of pink clouds raining down chocolate milk. As they were looking at the chaos, they saw the rest of the girls and Spike. "Girls!" Xavier yelled out as they three went over to them, getting their attention. "What's happening?!"
"I-I don't know!" Twilight admitted. "Everything is making no sense and not even my failsafe spell works!" Twilight was panicking so much that she couldn't think straight. It wasn't until Xavier grabbed her face to hold her steady.
"Twilight, calm down. Panicking will get us nowhere. Now we need a plan." This managed to calm her down enough to start thinking.
"I got it! Rainbow, Jasmine, can you two corral all of the clouds into one corner of the sky." The two nodded and went into the sky to get to work. With both their efforts they created a large tornado to contain the clouds, but it looked like they were struggling to keep them from flying out. "Applejack, Xavier, I need you two to bring those high-strung clouds down to earth." The two knew what to do as they pulled out their rope and grappling hook respectively. The two took aim and launched their tools at the cloud, Applejack's wrapping around the cloud and Xavier's grappling hook managed to get a hold onto the cloud. The two began to pull the clouds downwards as Twilight began to whisper into Fluttershy's ear.
"Oh dear. I hope none of the animals see these delicious chocolate-filled cotton candy clouds. I'd hate to have to share them." Fluttershy said out loud, alerting the animals nearby to the clouds that Applejack and Xavier were tying to a fence post. As they were doing that, Pinkie was eating the cloud.
"You and me both, sister!" Pinkie said, not getting the hint as all the animals nearby rushed the cloud, pushing Pinkie out of the way. "Hey!"
"And when y'all are done with that, feel free to have some popcorn for dessert." Applejack commented. As the animals were eating away at the cloud, the group were relieved that things didn't get out of hand.
"Phew, that was a close call." Cali said. "Good thinking Sparkle." As Cali was complimenting Twilight, Spike began to heave. After a few gags, he finally burped out a letter, Twilight taking it in her magic and reading it. After reading it for a bit, she gasped as she saw that the letter was urgent.
"Come on, everyone. Princess Celestia wants to see us all in Canterlot immediately!"
One Very Tense Train Later
Arriving at Canterlot castle, the group (save for Spike, he stayed behind) rushed in, seeing the princess on top of the stairs she was on at the Gala.
"Princess Celestia, we came as fast as we could!" Twilight called out, getting the princess' attention.
"Thank you, Twilight. Thank you, all." Princess Celestia thanked.
"Is this about the weather? And the animals' weird behavior? What's happening out there? Why isn't my magic working? Is there–" Xavier grabbed her face again.
"Twilight, please. Let the princess explain before bombarding her with questions." Xavier managed to calm her down again. Once she did, the princess motioned to follow, so the group did.
"I've called you here for a matter of great importance. It seems an old foe of mine, someone I thought I had defeated long ago, has returned." The princess led them through a hallway of stained-glass windows. As the group was walking, the humans and Fluttershy noticed something, a light refracting off of one of the windows. When they looked at it, they saw a creature, but it was incredibly bizarre. The creature was an amalgamation of different creatures, all put onto a tall body. "His name... is Discord." The four had different reactions to the image and title drop. Jamine was nervous, Xavier was worried, Cali was curious, and Fluttershy... well Fluttershy was scared like always. The four rejoined the rest of the group as the princess was continuing her story. "Discord is the mischievous spirit of disharmony. Before my sister and I stood up to him, he ruled Equestria in an eternal state of unrest and unhappiness. Luna and I saw how miserable life was for Earth ponies, Pegasi, and unicorns alike, so after discovering the Elements of Harmony, we combined our powers and rose up against him, turning him to stone."
"Alright, Princess!" Rainbow congratulated.
"I thought the spell we cast would keep him contained forever, but since Luna and I are no longer connected to the Elements, the spell has been broken."
"No longer connected?" Twilight questioned. After a bit more walking the group reached the end of the hall, where a double-door was.
"This is Canterlot Tower, where the Elements are kept inside since all of you recovered them." She made a determined and serious expression on her face. "I need you to wield the Elements of Harmony once again and stop Discord before he thrusts all of Equestria into eternal chaos."
"First, a question." The group's attention was directed to Cali and Jasmine, the former with her hand up. "What exactly are the Elements of Harmony?"
"Their powerful relics." Xavier began to explain. "Each element represents an aspect of harmony, and together they can do amazing things. When I first woke up here, me and the girls went into the Everfree forest to find them."
"Really..." Cali had a face of curiosity on her, so did Jasmine.
"But why us?" Twilight asked, confused as to why they had to. "Why don't you-"
"Hey, look! We're famous!" Pinkie pointed towards one of the stain-glassed windows which displayed Twilight, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack aiming magic towards Nightmare Moon. In the window was also Xavier in his orange hoodie, his sword pointed upwards like he was leading.
"Whoa, you all are on there!" Jasmine commented excitedly, leaving Xavier to turn away and blush.
"You six showed the full potential of the Elements by harnessing the magic of your friendship to beat a mighty foe." Celestia explained. "Although Luna and I once wielded the Elements, it is you who now control their power, and it is you who must defeat Discord!" The group looked at each other concerned, but it didn't take long before Twilight turned to the princess.
"Princess Celestia, you can count on–"
"Hold on a second!" Pinkie cut Twilight off. "Eternal chaos comes with chocolate rain, you guys. Chocolate-!" Pinkie was then cut off by Cali grabbing her ear.
"I'm starting to understand why Xavier gets exhausted with you."
"Don't listen to her, Princess. We'd be honored to use the Elements of Harmony again." Twilight agreed.
"I'll help too." Xavier said walking up, surprising them. "I may not have any magic, but I can't let my friends risk their necks without me." Celestia nodded and turned to the door. Lowering her head, she inserted her horn into a small hole in the door and channeled her magic into it. This caused the door to glow and open, releasing a bright light that caused the group to cover their eyes. When they opened their eyes they saw that inside of the door was a very nice chest on top of a pedestal.
"Ooh!" Rarity gazed in awe. "You can keep the Elements. I'll take that case!"
"Have no fear, ponies and humans." Celeste encouraged with a determined smile as she took the chest with her magic. "I have total confidence that you will be able to defeat Discord with these!" She moved the chest towards the group and opened it, but to everyone's surprise, there was nothing inside. The entire group gasped in shock, even the princess was shocked as her magic cut off and dropped the chest, leaving only a hollow echo in the hall as the group stared at the empty chest with dropped jaws.
"Oh, well. If anyone needs me, I'll be outside in the chocolate puddles with a giant swizzle straw."
"Wait a minute- PINKIE!!!
After Xavier chased after Pinkie and brought her back, the group recovered enough to begin accessing the situation, that being...
"The Elements...they're gone!" Twilight exclaimed, staring at the empty chest.
"B-but I would've thought that this place is guarded!" Jasmine commented in a bit of a panic.
"It is." Celestia confirmed. "That chamber is protected by a powerful spell that only I can break! This doesn't make sense!" That's when a sinister laughter could be heard, unable to be pinpointed due to it coming from all around.
"Make sense? Oh, what fun is there in making sense?" A voice spoke out, sinister as it was snarky.
"W-who was that." Cali asked, eying around with her hand on her whip at the ready, and Xavier pulled his sword out, but he didn't extend it yet.
"Discord...show yourself!" Celeste demanded seriously.
The voice started chuckling again before saying "Did you miss me Celestia?" As the group looked around the hall to try and spot the villain, their gazes stopped onto one of the stained-glass windows. When they did, they saw that the image of Discord was moving. "I missed you too!" The image soon began to move out of the window and into another, revealing that Discord was the image. "It's quite lonely being encased in stone, but you wouldn't know that, would you? Because I don't turn ponies into stone."
"Enough! What have you done with the Elements of Harmony?!" The princess asked angrily.
"Oh, I just borrowed them for a teensy little while." He snapped his fingers, causing the elements in the window to disappear.
"You'll never get away with this, Discord!" Celestia exclaimed.
"Oh, I'd forgotten how grim you can be, Celestia." Discord chuckled, laying on his back casually like it's not any problem. "It's really quite boring."
"Hey! Nopony insults the Princess and gets away with that!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed angrily before she took off and flew towards where Discord was. Just before she reached the window however, Discord teleported away which led to Rainbow slamming into the window. When she pulled herself off, Discord reappeared, just as large as the window.
"Oh, you must be Rainbow Dash, famed for her loyalty, the Element of Harmony you represent." He said, describing her to a T.
"That's right! I'll always be loyal to the Princess!" Rainbow Dash smirked.
"Oh, we'll see about that..." He smirked evilly before disappearing.
"I can't believe we're wasting our time talking to a tacky window." Rarity commented.
"The beautiful Rarity, representing the Element of Generosity, if I am not mistaken?" Discord asked, reappearing on the window Rarity was in front of.
"So you know who we are, big deal." Applejack said in an irritated tone before she walked towards to Rarity.
Discord then enlarge himself on the window and said "Oh, I know much more than that, honest Applejack."
"You seem to know our strengths too." Twilight said, raising a brow.
"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 chuckled, and soon Pinkie began to laugh.
"Pinkie!" Twilight exclaimed, annoyed that she was laughing at a time like this.
"He's standing on your head!" She said pointing at Discord, the thing in question dancing.
"I can't believe this is our enemy..." Cali groaned. When she said that, Discord took notice of her and the other two humans, making them nervous. He soon teleported into the window behind them.
"Although, I don't think I know these three." Discord admitted. The three of them looked at him hesitantly, not sure what to do. "You three are quite the display of chaos though..."
"Enough stalling Discord!" Celeste exclaimed angrily. "Now tell us, where are the Elements of Harmony?!"
"Oh, so boring, Celestia. Fine, I'll tell you, but I'll only tell you my way." Discord then began to slide around the room's windows as he began to speak a riddle. "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." Once he finished the riddle, he stopped right where he started the interaction as the image froze, showing that he left them.
"C-can we all go home now?" Fluttershy asked worriedly.
"What do you reckon he meant? Twists and turns and endin' back where we started?" Applejack asked. Twilight then began to walk in thought.
"Twists and turns...twist and turns...twist and turns...." Twilight began rubbing her chin with her hoof until she looked out a window, her eyes widening. "That's it! I bet Discord hid the Elements in the palace labyrinth!"
"The labyrinth?" Xaiver asked. "Are we sure this isn't a trap?"
"We have no other lead right now, it's the best shot!" Twilight said.
"Good luck, my little ponies. The fate of Equestria is in your hooves." Celestia said as she bestowed luck to the group.
"You can count on us princess." Twilight replied as the group ran to the labyrinth, the humans following behind. While one of them was expected, the other two were unusual to see, and Xaiver knew it.
"Um, you two are coming too?"
"W-well, I feel safer with you all. A-and, I want to help too." Jasmine answered.
"Me too. Consider this payback for helping me." Cali commented. Xavier couldn't help but smile seeing as how he had the same thoughts when Nightmare Moon appeared and he went with the girls.
"Your help is appreciated. Thanks."
After some running, the group were standing in front of the labyrinth, the hedges at an intimidating size.
"W-we have to go in there?" Fluttershy asked in worried.
"Nope!" Rainbow said as she walked forward. "Dopey Discord forgot about these babies!" She showed off her wings and took off. "I'll just do a quick flyover and we'll have the Elements in no time." As she was flying however, a flash appeared around her, and soon she plummeted to the ground. When she recovered, she saw that her wings were gone. "M-my wings!!" As she was panicking over her wing's disappearance, Fluttershy let out a scream. When the group looked at what happened, they saw that she lost her wings too. As they were panicking, another flash was seen by Twilight and Rarity. When they looked back, they saw that the two lost their horns.
"Your horn! My horn! AHHH!" They screamed at each other.
"What's going on?!" Cali asked. As they panicked, a crackling orb appeared in front of the labyrinth. The group backed away as the orb grew and burst, revealing the villain himself.
Discord
He began to laugh evilly at them all. Xavier and Cali got in front of them and reached for their weapons...
Only to find empty air where their stuff was. They soon realized that they didn't have their stuff anymore, not even Jasmine had her staff.
"Y-you all should see the looks on your faces! Priceless!" He laughed again, much to the group's annoyance.
"Give us back our wings and horns!" Twilight demanded.
"You'll get them back in good time. I simply took them to ensure there's no cheating. You see, this is the first rule of our game: No flying, and no magic." He stated, confusing them.
"Game?" Xavier asked suspiciously.
"The second rule is everypony has to play or the game is over, and I win! Good luck, everypony!" He laughed once more before vanishing.
"Well that's just great." Cali groaned.
"Never fear, everyone. We have each other!" Twilight said, raising the spirits of the group a bit.
"Yeah!" Rainbow agreed. "Like Twilight said, there's nothing we can't overcome if we all stick together!" The group's spirits were raised again as they went to the entrance of the labyrinth.
"Alright, let's do this!" Twilight announced as they stood outside the gate as they took a step forward. "Together!" Suddenly, a hedge wall formed in between the group, and soon more appeared as they panicked. In mere moments, the entire group was cut off from each other. "Stay calm!" Twilight exclaimed. "Everypony head to the middle as fast as you can, and we'll regroup there!"
"Got it." Xavier said.
"Guess we have no choice..."
"Moving out!"
"See you in the center."
"Yee-haw!"
"See you guys there!"
"S-stay safe..."
"What's that? Who's there? Girls! AAAAAHHH"
A While Later, With Xavier
When Xavier separated from the group, he was having mixed feelings about it. On one hand, he was determined to move forward and find the girls to help protect them, but on the other hand he didn't have his sword and was alone, while Discord could do anything to the girls. Right now he was at a fast-walking pace to keep ready in case anything happened.
"Something's off about this whole thing." Xavier murmured. "Discord doesn't seem like someone who is one-hundred percent truthful. I wonder..." Xavier stopped walking and put his hand on his chin to think. "Twists and turns are my master plan. Then find the Elements back where you began. Is there another meaning to it? Let's see, twists and turns obviously means the labyrinth, but the second part is odd, back where you began. Would that mean that the elements were at the beginning?" As he was thinking, he didn't notice that he was moving. It wasn't until he felt a breeze that he noticed, and when he looked up he saw that he was standing on a rotating platform. When he stopped he was shocked to be face to face with Discord, sitting on a metal chair. "What the- Discord?"
"Why hello there buddy, it's about time you arrived." Discord said with a smile. Xavier felt uneasy standing in front of him since he didn't have anything to defend himself and Discord could do anything.
"What do you want?" Xavier asked tensely.
"I just wanted to ask you some questions, really. Nothing evil here." Discord said as a halo appeared over his head. Xavier was doubtful, but he didn't really have an option.
"*sigh* Alright, fine."
"Excellent!" Discord said happily. "Now first of all, who and what are you."
"Xavier, and I'm a human." Xavier answered, though he was on guard
"Human? Why I've never heard of you before." Discord said with genuine surprise, though it was slight.
"That's because I don't know how we got here. I only woke up here a few months ago. The other two arrived later."
"Hmm, curious." Discord pondered. "Well anyway, next question." He said with a clap. "Now, why are you so attached to these, ponies?"
"What?" Xavier was confused and concerned about what he meant.
"I mean, why are you helping them? You aren't exactly like them." Discord said as he floated over to him, leaning on his shoulder like he was an old pal.
"Because they are my friends, that's why."
"You sure, or do they just see you as a weapon?" Xavier raised his eyebrow at him. "I mean, this sword says it all..." Discord snapped his eagle claw, making Xavier's sword appear. Xavier's eyes widened as he backed away, baring a scowl. "This thing just says, 'I'm the pony princess' mercenary'. Is that really what you want to be known as?" Discord said tossing the sword away. "Besides, what are the chances that those ponies leave you like someone else." Xavier's expression immediately changed into shock and fear. "You really didn't think that I didn't notice that look in your eyes?" Discord had a smug look on him. "You've lost someone close to you, didn't you? I'll let you know right now though; I don't have to be your enemy. We can be allies even." Discord walked over to him until he was a foot away. "If you do, I can reunite you with those you love. What do you say?" Discord reached out with his lion paw, offering Xavier a partnership. Xavier looked at it conflicted, but a few moments later he began to reach for the paw. As he did, Discord began to grow a small but sinister smile...
At least before Xavier swiftly swiped at the paw, knocking it away.
Discord's smile faded and grew into a confused look as he looked at Xavier, who had a serious look. "Listen up Discord, I don't care what you say about me, I don't care what you say about my bond with my friends, or even anything about them. But there is one thing you don't do, and that is to say I have even a slight chance to see them again. I lost that chance long ago, and even if I could, I don't deserve it. Now please, don't get in my way again." Xavier put his hands into his pockets and began to walk away. Discord looked at him in shock, but his expression was soon replaced with anger.
"What, you dare to defy me? I-"
"Yes, I do." Xavier said coldly. "I do defy you. I don't care if you are a god of chaos or whatever you are, I just care about my friends right now. I know I've lost people, and I know I've lost my chance at seeing them again, but I won't lose them. I want to protect them from people like you, so I'll do what it takes to keep them safe. Now, I won't say it again, leave me alone." Discord growled at him, but Xavier was unphased.
"Grr, fine. My plan is still in motion though. You joining me was just going to make my life easier. But since we're enemies, you'll get no mercy." Discord snapped his lion paw and disappeared with a flash. Xavier didn't care however as he kept walking, not looking back with a dark expression on his face. As he was walking away however, he noticed his sword inside of next to a hedge. The position made it look like Discord forgot about it when he threw it away. Picking it up and pocketing it, Xavier continued forward in hopes of finding his friends.
With Jasmine
Jasmine was not having a good time. While most of the group was okay with going alone (Except for Fluttershy), Jasmine was hesitant to. Out of the entire group, she was the most vulnerable since she wasn't as strong, fast, or smart as any of the others. And since she didn't have her staff to use her magic, she was even more vulnerable and scared than she would be. As of right now, she was walking around the labyrinth aimlessly and fearfully.
"Mmm, why did I come here?" Jasmine asked worriedly. "I don't know what I'm doing, I don't even know what I'm looking for. Oooh, I don't like this..." As Jasmine was walking, she heard something to her left. Turning, she was surprised to see a bunch of clouds floating around a small opening. Curiosity getting the best of her, she walked into the area. Looking around for a bit, she didn't notice that a certain snake tail was slinking about. As she was walking, she managed to trip and fall on something. When she looked at what she tripped on, she became scared when she saw that it was Discord's tail, and it was hanging out of a cloud. The tail retracted into the cloud, and a moment later Discord emerged out of it. "D-Discord?!" Jasmine began to scoot away.
"Yes, that's me." Discord said as he sat onto the cloud, crossing his legs. "And how are you, miss..." Discord sat there waiting, prompting Jasmine to say her name, but she was hesitant.
"J-J-Jasmine." She replied shakily.
"Hmm, quite a scared one. Don't worry, I won't hurt you." Discord said as he went to ground level. "Instead, I want to talk." Jasmine didn't move from her spot on the ground. "You see, you humans are fascinating to me. I've never seen something like you before. Your kind seems quite resilient, but are also weak, all in your own ways. Yet you seem... different from the other two." Discord began to tap his fingers together. "I mean no offence when I say this, but you seem quite weak compared to the other two. They look quite capable compared to you, and seem most confident in themselves, after all..." Discord snapped his paw, summoning Jasmine's staff. "They didn't look as scared as you did when they lost their little trinkets." Jasmine looked down, almost in shame. "But I can help you. If you join me, I can help you show them you are stronger than you look. C'mon, what do you say?" Discord held his paw out, waiting for Jasmine's answer. Jasmine looked away for a moment, thinking over what Discord said. After a bit though, Jasmine came to an answer and looked at him.
"I'll pass." Discord immediately looked confused and angry at her. "Sorry, but the others haven't said anything about me other than nice things." Jasmine got up off the ground and looked at him in the eyes. "Besides, all of them are amazing in their own ways, I don't mind that I'm weaker than them. That doesn't mean I can't help them though." Jasmine had a face she never had before on her, a determined smile was on her. "I'll continue to support them any way I can. I may not be able to do much for them, but I can still help. Right now, they need my help looking for the Elements to defeat you." Discord's eye twitched and he growled.
"Grr, you humans are starting to get on my nerves. It would be so much easier for you if you just joined me. No matter, my plan is still working, you'll fail eventually. For now, continue to struggle, I'll show you that joining me would've been easier for you." Discord then teleported away, the clouds disappearing as well in a flash of light. As soon as he left, Jasmine sighed in relief.
"*phew* That was scary." Jasmine said, her bravery finally wavering. "I thought I would die of a heart attack..." As she was recovering, she noticed that her staff was on the ground. "Hmm? He left it behind? I guess he was kind of angry when he left, he must have forgot to take it..." Jasmine didn't dwell on it for too long however since she finally felt safe as she picked it up and strapped it back onto her back. With renewed confidence and will, Jasmine continued into the maze, determined to find her friends and the elements.
With Cali
Out of the three humans, Cali was the most indifferent in being split up from the others. She was alone for some of her life and was taught to fend for herself for another part. The only thing that was bothering her was the fact she didn't have her whip, but she knew she didn't need it. Right now, she was only thinking about getting out with the Elements...
"Whatever those things are." Cali said out loud, her arms behind her head as she walked. "I never got a description on what they actually looked like, so I'm on a goose chase." Cali continued to walk, about as aimlessly as Jasmine. After a while however, she encountered a large stone statue of Princess Celestia in a clearing. Cali stared at it for a bit and thought out loud. "How did I get myself wrapped up in this? I mean, I was an orphaned girl that was given up. Now I'm on a hunt for some magical artifacts to stop this 'entity of chaos'." As Cali was pondering, she noticed that something moved behind the statue. She immediately went on guard when she saw this and went to look behind it. When she did, she saw what looked like a yellow ball. Reaching down, she looked at it for a bit, but immediately dropped it out of shock when she realized it was an eyeball. The eye rolled away and stopped right in front of a goat leg, this leg belonged to discord as he reached down to grab it and inserted the eye into his right.
"Hmm, interesting. So you're an orphan, eh?" Discord noted. Cali's shock immediately turned to annoyance when Discord commented on Cali.
"Wait, you were spying on me? With your literal eye?! What is wrong with you!?"
"Oh don't worry, I won't tell anyone." Discord said, raising his right arm and his left onto his chest. "But I am interested in the fact that you seem quite adamant in helping." Cali's expression didn't let up, but deep own she knew he was right. "I mean, the way you talk about goose chases and what not make me think that you aren't committed in helping." Discord then snapped his claw and summoned her whip. "I will say though, you do seem to have a very interesting connection with this... thing. I've never seen something like it before, yet you seem to know how to use it. You humans are quite fascinating." As discord was observing the whip, Cali began to get annoyed at Discord's antics.
"Just what do you want?" Cali asked angrily.
"An alliance." Discord admitted, wrapping her whip around the horn of Princess Celestia's statue. "I simply want to team up with you. Think about it..." Discord went over to her and wrapped his lion arm around her shoulder and reached his eagle claw forward, as if he was displaying a new opportunity. "We team up, and we can rule this world. And there are benefits for you if you do. Like having anything you want." Cali raised her eyebrow at Discord's offer. "So what do you say, partners?"
"Prove it." Discord immediately became confused and backed away from her.
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me, prove it." Cali said crossing her arms. "How do I know that you are promising me this and not just throwing words around? For all I know, you could just be saying this to lure me into a trap and use me to stop the others." Discord grew angry at Cali's accusations. "To me, your words mean nothing, but your actions do. And from how you are, I can tell you aren't telling the full idea. I'm going to refuse, and I'm going to help the others find these Elements to stop you." Discord finally snapped and grew a scowl on his face.
"GAH, you humans are insufferable!"
"I take it you went to the others before me, huh?" Cali assumed, a smirk growing on her this time. "Well I'll tell you right now, us humans are a lot more stubborn than ponies. It'll take a lot more than a few empty promises to persuade us to change. Now please leave, you really are getting on my nerves."
"GRR, FINE! There is only one more in the way of my victory anyway. Enjoy your day, for it'll be your last without chaos." Discord then teleported away, leaving Cali alone.
"Bah, I should be telling you that..." Cali muttered as she rolled her eyes. Looking at the statue, she noticed that her whip was still wrapped around the horn. "Huh, I guess Mr. Chaos left you behind." Cali unwrapped her whip and reattached it to her belt. With her whip back, she walked away from the statue, hoping to find her friends. "Besides, I made a promise to keep them safe, and I'll keep it.
With Xavier Again
"Finally at the center..."
"After Xavier's encounter with Discord, he continued into the maze. As he was going through, he had time to both cool down from his anger and think more about Discord's riddle. Right now, he was sat down on the ground and thinking about it more.
"Now that I think of it, Discord said something about his plan being in motion. What did he mean by that..." His thoughts were interrupted by footsteps. Getting up, he drew his sword and braced himself as he turned to one of the entrances. His guard went down however when he saw that it was only Jasmine. "Jasmine?" The girl in question jumped in fright at the unexpected name call, but immediately calmed down seeing it was Xavier.
"Oh, Xavier!" Jasmine ran over to Xavier and hugged him, getting him to blush again. "You're okay."
"Y-Yep, I'm okay." Xavier said, lightly pushing Jasmine off of him. "Are you though?" Jasmine nodded. "That's good."
"Is that Xavier?" The two's conversation was interrupted by another voice, one that was familiar to them.
"Cali? Yes, it's Xavier. And Jasmine's here too."
"Right, one sec." After a bit of time, Cali managed to make her way over to them. "There you are. Y'all okay?"
"Dandy." Xavier said.
"Good." Cali then noticed something. "Jasmine? You got your staff thing back?"
"Huh, oh yeah. I did." Jasmine admitted. "I got it back when Discord forgot to bring it with him." This caught the other's attention.
"You saw Discord too?" Xaiver asked.
"Y-yeah. He tried to convince me to join him."
"I'm guessing that he tried it with you too, Xavier? He did with me, and he left my whip behind as well." Cali asked as she patted the spot her whip was attached to on her belt.
"Yeah. He did." Xavier said as he narrowed his eyes. "I really don't trust this whole thing."
"I don't either." Jasmine admitted. "But for now, we should wait for the others."
"Right, we should-"
"Xavier, Jasmine, Cali! There you are!" The trio of humans turned over to one of the entrances to see Twilight and the others, but something was off. For one, all except for Twilight looked grey, angry, and acted differently. Rainbow wasn't there as well.
"Twilight, girls. You're all okay." Xavier said.
"Yeah, and what about it?!" Xavier leaned back as Pinkie got into his face, a very grumpy look on her face.
"Erm, what? Because I was concerned about you?"
"Well, QUIT IT!!!" Pinkie then walked off, leaving the three humans in concerned shock.
"What just happened?" Jasmine asked. "And why is Rarity caring that big rock?" Indeed, Rarity was just carrying a huge rock that was bigger than her.
"You shut your muzzle, Jasmine! I think you mean my beloved gem!" Rarity exclaimed, hissing at her before rubbing her face on the rock. "Besides, somepony like you would never understand jewelry."
"...What?" Jasmine was simply confused at what happened.
"Yeah, Jasmine. Somepony as dumb as you wouldn't get it." Fluttershy said in a mocking tone. This tone and comment shocked the humans.
"What in the- what happened when we were separated?!" Cali shouted.
"Nothing happened. Everything is fine." Applejack said, but Cali knew better.
"AJ, did you just lie?"
"Nope, I didn't" Applejack lied, and the three humans knew, and were all concerned.
"Okay, seriously. What happened?!"
"We can worry later, right now we need to find Rainbow Dash and the Elements." When Twilight mentioned the Elements, Xavier looked a bit unsure.
"Hey Twilight, I honestly think that-"
"Well, looky there." Applejack managed to get the groups attention. "Rainbow Dash is flying away. She's abandonin' us."
"Now I know that's a lie." Twilight said, glaring at Applejack.
"Actually, she's not kidding! Look!" Jasmine said, pointing to the sky. In the sky, they saw that Rainbow was actually flying away. Her color was also duller, indicating that she was also hit with whatever happened to the group. As she was flying away, the group (At least the ones who were acting normal) looked at her devastated, but Xavier was more so.
"Rainbow?" He muttered, his voice breaking. It was hard to dwell on it though, as soon the ground began to rumble, and before long the entire maze dissolved into the ground, leaving nothing but a crater.
"Well, well, well..." Discord's voice rang out, and turning they saw him flying and smirking behind them. "Somepony broke the 'no wings, no magic' rule." He snapped his eagle claw, his magic returning Twilight and Rarity's horns and Fluttershy's wings. "Game's over, my little ponies and problematic humans. You didn't find your precious elements." Discord then summoned an umbrella, opening upside down. "Looks like we might be due for a big old storm of chaos." As Discord laughed away at the group, Twilight, Xavier, Jasmine, and Cali all looked at him devastated, worried that things might be too late.