My Little Pony: Nine Elements
Book 2
Written by Brandon Nell, Blake Hawkins, and Rachel Ravens
Chapter 1: The Return of Harmony Part 1
It had been two days since the Gala when it happened. Ponyville School was in its summer school program.
Cheerilee hadn't suspected anything would happen when she arranged for a field trip to Canterlot, more specifically to one of the city's most famous landmarks. Her students had all been eager to get their permission slips turned in so they could see the famous sculpture garden on the grounds surrounding the royal palace. The intent was to use the various displays to promote historical awareness, though the opportunity to get away from the classroom for a day had been a plus.
“I want to start our field trip here, in the world-famous Canterlot sculpture garden,” she said to her class. “That one over there represents friendship.” She gestured a hoof to three ponies standing in unison, all appearing to be huddled around something. Then, she gestured to a statue of three ponies similar to, but, also different from the previous three carrying a flag. “That one represents victory.”
Scootaloo couldn’t help but comment out loud. “How cool would it be to have that for a Cutie Mark?”
“Ah suppose it would be,” Apple Bloom said. “If’n ya were actually victoryful at somethin’.”
“The word is ‘victorious,’” Sweetie Belle corrected. “Victoryful isn’t a word.”
“What are you?” Scootaloo asked. “A dictionary?”
Cheerilee quickly intervened. “Now, girls, you promised you’d be on your best behavior today, as did everypony else.”
“Sorry, Miss Cheerilee,” the three fillies said.
“I wish Spike was here,” Sweetie Belle said. “He’s usually the one to keep the peace between us.”
“Plus,” Apple Bloom added. “After what Applejack told us ‘bout the Gala, he could use a nice day out.”
“After what she told us,” Scootaloo said. “I don’t think he’d want to be near Canterlot for a while after what he experienced at the Gala. I don’t blame him.”
“In the here and now, everypony,” Cheerilee said. “This statue in particular is what I want all of you to see.” She stopped in front of a rather strange statue that depicted a creature that nopony had ever seen before. And it appeared to be in a pose as if it were singing. “Now, what can anypony tell me about this statue?”
“Well, it’s got an eagle’s claw,” Apple Bloom observed.
“And a lion’s paw,” Scootaloo added.
“A snake’s tail,” Sweetie Belle commented. “And a lot of other different body parts from different animals.”
“All of those answers are correct,” Cheerilee smiled. “This creature is called a ‘draconequus.’ He has the head of a pony and the body made of all sorts of different creatures. Now, what do you suppose he represents?” Puppy Dog Tails raised a hoof. “Yes, Tails?”
“According to legend,” the young colt said. “That creature represents chaos and disharmony, also known as Discord. He was created to alter the laws of physics as we know them through merely thinking. A snap of his claws could turn the entire country upside down.”
“Why would anypony want to create something who could do that?” asked Sweetie Belle.
“From what I’ve read,” Tails explained. “He was created by Grogar, who wasn’t a pony, and who created all monsters we know from bedtime stories.”
“That’s just a bedtime story, though,” said Scootaloo. “Who knows if there’s any truth to back that up.”
“We all thought Nightmare Moon was just a bedtime story, too,” Tails said. “Look how that turned out.”
“Fair point,” Apple Bloom shrugged.
“Uh, Miss Cheerilee?” Sweetie Belle said. “Are there supposed to be cracks on the statue?”
“It’s probably from wear and tear, Sweetie Belle,” said Cheerilee. “Now come on, there’s another statue this way.”
The colts and fillies trailed after their teacher. They were just in time to miss something rather startling. The crack grew and some energy seeped out. Suddenly, the Crusaders seemed to start arguing over what the statue really represents for no reason.
“It means confusion!” cried Apple Bloom.
“No, it means evil!” Sweetie Belle jumped in.
“Chaos!” Scootaloo snapped.
The three fillies started attacking each other. Many of the fillies and colts, including Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, backed away in fear. Cheerilee looked closer and noticed a sickly green aura covering them. Thinking quickly, she dragged the three fillies away from the statue and once they were five hooves away, the aura dissipated, leaving the three fillies utterly confused as they found themselves in positions that would suggest they were physically fighting.
“This is not good…” Cheerilee muttered to herself. “I need to alert the princesses…” She addressed her students. “I’m afraid the trip will have to be concluded for now, students.”
“What?” the Crusaders asked. “Why?”
“Please, just trust me on this one,” Cheerilee sighed.
The fillies tried to protest, but, their teacher was very firm on the matter. They were heading back to the schoolhouse.
“Think Spike’s night at the Gala was this bad?” Scootaloo asked.
“Worse,” Apple Bloom trailed. “Applejack n’ Caramel told me everythin’. A lot o’ ponies hated him just fer bein’ there.”
Sweetie Belle shuddered. “Rarity didn’t sugarcoat any details, either.”
None of the students noticed the crack on the draconequus statue growing as light poked out. “Spike…” a voice whispered.
Later, Rainbow Dash was dealing with a bizarre weather problem.
“Come back here!” she called to a cloud.
This cloud, however, wasn’t like any Rainbow had seen before. It was a sweet sugary shade of pink. Not even the clouds at sunrise or sunset were this color. “Gotcha!” she landed smack bang in the middle of the cloud… and it was very, very sticky. “Ew! What is this?!” She shook herself from the worst of the substance. It still gummed up on her legs. However, it also produced a very sweet smell. Curiously, she licked it. “Cotton candy?” Suddenly, a new set of clouds appeared over her head. A drop fell out of it. “Wait a second! It's not supposed to rain until tomorrow. You can't just–” A bucketload of drops fell down. “You did!”
As with the case of this cloud being unlike any ordinary cloud, the rain that poured wasn’t like any ordinary rain. The rain was chocolate milk.
“Hey, Rainbow!” Applejack cried. “What’s goin’ on with this rain? Ah mean, chocolate milk? Chocolate milk rain?”
“I haven’t got a clue,” Rainbow said. “We’ve been getting crazy weather reports all over Equestria. Cloudsdale’s suffering a massive cola storm right now!”
“If’n ah was a pegasus,” Applejack called. “Ah’d be doin’ what ah could ta help!”
“I think you actually might be able to with these clouds,” Rainbow said.
“How?” Applejack called, slightly confused.
“Take a look at them,” Rainbow said. “Tell me what you notice that’s different about them.”
Applejack, after briefly looking them over, called out. “They’re pink like cotton candy?”
“They are cotton candy,” Rainbow said. “I crashed into one. I know what I’m talking about.”
“Hey,” Applejack said, suddenly getting an idea. “Maybe ah can lasso ‘em!”
“I’ll try to get them in range,” Rainbow said. “You’re good with a lasso, but, the range is still limited.”
“Thanks, Rainbow,” Applejack smiled. “We’ll work together on this!” Rainbow dashed off to gather some clouds.
Rarity, meanwhile, had shown up to help out. She was wearing a rather lavishly decorated light purple rain poncho complete with a matching umbrella.
“I’ll do my part as well, darlings,” Rarity called. “As long as I don’t get wet.”
“Do ya even see how things’re goin’ right now?” Applejack said. “Ah’d say gettin’ wet’s the least o’ yer worries.”
“I suppose you have a point,” Rarity said. As she was about to get out of her umbrella, she caught sight of something unusual. “Applejack, darling, are you trying out a new fertilizer for your trees?”
Applejack looked confused until she followed Rarity’s gaze and saw the apples in the trees getting nearly triple the normal size.
“What the-?!” Applejack yelped in alarm. “Ah like our Sweet Apple Acres apples ta be big n’ juicy, but, that’s just too much!”
The weight of the apples caused the trees to bend over as if they were rubber. The corn fields in the farm started to explode, the kernels popping into popcorn. A very unfortunate Caramel ended up buried in the popcorn.
“Help!” Caramel cried with only a single hoof still free.
Rarity saw the situation and used her magic to part the metaphorical sea of popcorn off of him. Caramel saw he was freed and made his way to the mares.
“I may not remember a lot,” Caramel said. “But, I’m pretty sure nothing about this is natural.”
“Believe me,” Rarity said. “This is absolutely not normal. Your name may be Caramel, but, being buried in popcorn is not how caramel corn is made.” They heard munching. They looked around and saw Pinkie eating popcorn.
“As far as unnatural disasters go,” Pinkie said with a full mouth. “This is a delicious one!”
“You might like it,” Rarity said. “But, we would like things to return to normal.”
Just then, various rabbits, including Angel, arrived to partake in the popcorn and giant apples. However, doing so gave them freakishly long legs. Pinkie saw this and looked at the popcorn she held in her hooves. She then nervously put the hoofful of popcorn down. Fluttershy arrived to see if she could calm the rabbits down. However, she was not prepared for the freakishly long legs.
“Oh, dear,” Fluttershy said, slightly uneasily. “Um, it’s okay to be excited about all of this, but, um, I don’t want your tummies to get hurt from this… oh, dear.”
Meanwhile, Rainbow was drifting by, stuck to a cotton candy cloud. “Okay,” she said. “Maybe I could’ve thought this through better.”
At that moment, Twilight and Spike arrived. They had heard of the chaos going on and they offered to help.
“I’m pretty sure this violates every law of physics ever,” Spike said.
“Yer not wrong there, Spike,” Applejack said. “It’s like Mother Nature decided ta do whatever.”
“Don’t suppose you know of any spells that’ll help us, do you, Twilight?” Rainbow called.
“Well,” Twilight said. “I came across a spell that can undo any spell within a one mile radius. I can’t make any promises it’ll work, though. It’s a recent discovery.”
“I got it right here,” Spike said, holding the book.
Twilight checked the book for the steps required to cast the spell. “Okay,” she said. “Here goes nothing.”
The ponies and Spike stood back, making sure Twilight had space to cast her spell. She closed her eyes, illuminated her horn, and a magical ripple effect glimmered around her. Once the spell was done, she opened her eyes. Unfortunately, she saw that nothing had happened.
“It didn’t work!” Twilight said. “Did I do something wrong?”
Spike checked the book. He then noticed something. “Wait, there’s a warning written here,” he said. “‘This spell is useless against chaos magic.’”*
“I’d say that’s the kind of magic at work here,” Twilight said as she looked over the situation.
“What can we do?” Fluttershy asked, growing more nervous.
“Well, I can tell you what you’re not going to do,” Spike said. “Give up. You girls defeated Nightmare Moon. Surely you could handle unnatural weather.”
“We’ll try thinking of something,” Pinkie said. “And don’t call us ‘Shirley.’”
“We should start by getting this mess cleaned up,” Rarity said. “Rainbow and Applejack have been doing a good job at rounding up these cotton candy clouds.”
“Getting stuck in the process,” Rainbow said.
“And Rarity did help get me uncovered in popcorn,” Caramel said.
“Ah was fixin’ ta lasso them clouds,” Applejack said. “Then, them long-legged critters showed up.”
“Hmm,” Twilight said. “Maybe they can help us.” She directed her attention to Rainbow as she freed herself. “Rainbow, can you corral the clouds into one big one?”
“I’ll do it,” Rainbow said. “Not touching them, though.”
“Fair enough,” Twilight said. “Rarity, you and I will use our magic to levitate the popcorn into one big pile.”
“Understood,” Rarity said. And she did as Twilight said.
Rainbow, meanwhile, managed to create a vacuum cage to compress the clouds into one without touching them.
“Got ‘em!” Rainbow said.
“Applejack,” Twilight said. “Use your lasso to bring that cloud down to earth.”
“On it, sugarcube,” Applejack smiled and she got to work at once.
As Applejack lassoed the cloud, Twilight whispered to Fluttershy. After Twilight finished, Fluttershy nodded comprehendingly. She then turned to Pinkie. “Can you help me round up the animals?” she asked.
“Sure thing,” Pinkie smiled as she stood up on her hindlegs and saluted with her chest puffed out. Seconds afterwards, the chest muscles fell to Pinkie’s belly, making it look round. Pinkie looked at it and simply shrugged before getting into action.**
When all of the food items were gathered together, Fluttershy innocently called out.
“Oh my~” she said, doing her best to sound convincing. “There is quite a delicious looking amount of food over here. I sure hope someone helps to clear it up.”
That caught the attention of the critters.
“Yeah,” Pinkie said, joining in. “All this sweet fluffy cotton candy and some yummy nummy popcorn~” Pinkie resisted the temptation to sample the aforementioned food items. “And some big juicy apples and some creamy delicious chocolate milk. Would be better with some dollops of whipped cream, but, what can ya do?” Her belly gave an audible gurgle. “Not now,” Pinkie whispered through her teeth to her belly as if it were another pony.
The critters were so captivated by Fluttershy and Pinkie’s words that they swarmed around the large dessert ball and partook in the delightful goodies. The ponies and Spike gathered together.
“The plan worked, Twilight,” Spike smiled.
“I’m afraid this is a temporary solution,” Twilight said. “Unless we find the source, things aren’t going to improve.”
“Though, who or what is the source?” Rarity pondered.
“Uh oh,” Spike said as he started feeling gassy. “We might find out sooner than we’d like!” He then burped emerald flames.
From the flames, a scroll emerged. Twilight opened the scroll and looked at the message upon it. After she finished reading, she gasped.
“Girls,” Twilight said. “We need to get to Canterlot as soon as possible! Princess Celestia needs us!”
“Uh, mom?” Spike said. “Is it okay if I stay here? I’m still sore from the Gala.”
“Of course, Spike,” Twilight said. “Besides, this could be dangerous. I’d never forgive myself if something happened to you.”
“Thanks, mom,” Spike said, giving Twilight a hug. “I’ll be safer at home. Good luck, you guys.”
As Spike headed off, the mares made their way to the train station. Unknown to either party, a pair of yellow and red eyes appeared on a tree and looked from side to side. Once he saw his pony friends out of sight, Spike made his way back to the Golden Oak Library.
“Hello, Spike,” a mysterious voice said.
Spike heard the voice. He looked to his left and he looked to his right. He couldn’t see the owner.
“Uh, hello?” Spike answered in an uneasy tone.
“Tell me,” the mysterious voice said. “Is it true that ponies judged you for what you are?”
“For the most part,” Spike said, still unsure of who the voice belonged to. “Most of the ponies in Canterlot can’t get past the fact that I’m a dragon. Here in Ponyville, though, a lot of the ponies didn’t let the fact that I was a dragon bother them.”
“Do you honestly believe that’ll last?” the voice asked.
“It might, it might not,” Spike said. “But, I know I can always count on Twilight and her friends.”
“Can you really?” the voice asked. “What assurance do you have that they won’t turn on you one day?”
Spike was beginning to lose his patience. “Okay,” he demanded. “Cut to the chase and tell me who you are!”
The owner of the voice then materialized himself into being. He had a long snake-like body, horse-like head, a snake tail with a tuft of fur on the end, a green lizard leg, a cloven goat hoof, a lion paw, an eagle claw, one long fang, different-sized pupils, bushy white eyebrows and beard, a deer antler, and a goat horn. On his back was one bat wing and one blue bird wing. “Let’s just say I’m a creature who knows what it’s like to be considered a freak,” the creature said.
Meanwhile, the mares had made it to Canterlot. Thankfully, the trains were running like normal and Canterlot wasn’t as afflicted with the chaos. They made a mad bolt to the inside of the castle throne room where Princesses Celestia, Luna, and Canis were waiting for them.
“Oh, thank goodness you–” Celestia began before she noticed something. “Wait, where’s Spike?”
“Back at the Golden Oak Library,” Twilight explained. “After the events of the Gala, he’s not eager to come back here for a while.”
“I can understand his reasons,” Luna stated. “But, with Discord free, these are not ideal circumstances to leave him to his own devices.”
“Beg pardon, yer highness,” Applejack said. “But, who er what is Discord?”
Celestia gestured to a stained glass window display that depicted a strange and mismatched creature. Said creature was dangling an earth pony, a pegasus, and a unicorn over what appeared to be a pit of flames. “Discord is the spirit of chaos and disharmony,” she explained. “Over the course of more than a thousand years, there have been several occasions where I have been forced to do things I deeply regretted for the greater good. Turning Discord to stone was the first of those things and the one that I regretted the second most - topped only by banishing Luna to the moon. Discord wasn't always that bad if that's what you're thinking of asking. The first few years, he kept his chaos down to harmless levels that were actually rather amusing. It was only after he got tired of getting harassed by bigots and started striking back that he started showing how dangerous he actually is and that Luna and I were forced to take the steps that we did.”***
Luna sighed. “And now, he’s returned. Just as Sterling predicted.”
“Who’s Sterling?” Rainbow asked.****
“Never mind that,” Luna said.
“And you summoned us so we can help, right?” Twilight asked.
“In a manner of speaking,” Celestia admitted. “We need you six to use the Elements of Harmony to stop him.”
“Us?” Fluttershy asked. “Didn’t you and Luna use them before?”
“Yes, but, I am still not up to full strength yet,” Luna said. “Even if I was, giving into Nightmare Moon has severed my connection to the Elements of Honesty, Generosity, and Loyalty.”*****
“And I willingly forsook my connection to all the Elements of Harmony to ensure my sister would return,” Celestia explained. “They passed on to all six of you.”
“That would make sense,” Rarity said. “We did use them against Nightmare Moon so that Princess Luna can be returned to her elegant normal self.”
“And now,” Luna said. “The elements are powerless utilized by anypony other than yourselves.”
“Since we each embody an aspect of the elements,” Twilight said. “It would make the most sense.”
“Ooh!” Pinkie said. “Looks like the Mane 6 are back in action!”******
The other ponies just looked at Pinkie in confusion.
“Mane 6?” Rainbow asked.
“Well, yeah,” Pinkie said. “We have manes, there’s six of us, and we’re Equestria’s main line of defense. Hence, Mane 6.”
“We’ve never discussed calling ourselves that,” Twilight said. “I don’t think we should. It makes it sound like the world revolves around us.”
“Well, when you think about it–” Pinkie started.
“This is not important right now,” Canis said.
“Canis is right,” Luna said. “The fate of keeping Equestria safe from Discord’s chaotic rampage rests squarely on your collective shoulders. You can decide on the name of your fellowship once Discord is sealed.”
“We won’t let you down, your majesties,” Twilight said, genuflecting before the two royal sisters.
“Wait,” Pinkie said. “This chaos brings chocolate rain, girls! CHOCOLATE! RAIN!”
“It could also cause ponies to turn inside out for no reason whatsoever,” Canis said. “And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.”
Pinkie stopped and considered this. “Yeah, that would be bad,” Pinkie said. “Okay, I’m ready to save the world!”
The princesses led the young mares to a vault. Once there, Pinkie noticed a stained glass window display depicting the six mares using the elements against Nightmare Moon. “Hey, look at this!” she called. “We’re famous!”
“That might be pushing it,” Twilight said.
“This is Canterlot Tower,” Celestia explained. “Where the Elements of Harmony were stored after you recovered them.”
“They are locked in here with only a spell that Celestia and I can use,” Luna continued.
The princesses focused their magic. After a few seconds, the lock came undone and the vault opened. Safely tucked away inside is a dark purple jewelry box encrusted with various gemstones and studded with gold. Needless to say, Rarity was impressed.
“Keep the elements,” Rarity said. “I’ll take that case!”
“This isn’t a swap meet, Rare,” Rainbow said, rolling her eyes.
Celestia and Luna both levitated the case.
“Have no fear, ponies,” Celestia said. “Luna and I have total confidence that you will be able to defeat Discord with these.”
Celestia opened the case with her magic. However, the case was completely empty, leaving only a velvety pink lining. The ponies and Canis gasp in shock and horror.
“The elements are gone!” Twilight said.
“I don’t understand!” Luna gasped. “They were locked behind a spell that only Celestia and I could break!”
“It doesn’t make sense!” Celestia said worriedly. The mysterious voice from earlier cackled.
“Make sense?” The voice said. “What fun is there in making sense?”
“Discord!” snarled the usually docile Canis.
“Show yourself!” Celestia snapped.
Discord’s sinister voice chuckled. “Did you miss me, Tia?”
“I haven’t allowed you to call me that since your big reign,” Celestia said in an irritated manner. Suddenly, Discord’s depiction in the window came to life.
“Oh, right~” Discord said. “You told me to call you that as a sign of friendship~. Well, regardless, I’ve missed you. It was quite lonesome being encased in stone for over a thousand years, but, you wouldn’t know that feeling, would you?” The depiction moved to a different window. “No matter how ponies judged me, even I wouldn’t turn them to stone. Though, I must confess that the idea’s tempting.”
“Enough, Discord!” Luna snapped. “What have you done with the Elements of Harmony?!”
“Oh, just borrowed them for a while,” Discord said. “Among other things. You know, it’s your own fault for not securing them properly. What did you think would happen once I broke free? Don’t tell me you forgot who I am. What am I saying? Of course you have. You, Lulu, Sterling, and Gold Lily always were a bunch of goody four horseshoes, Sunbutt.”
“You’ll never get away with this, Discord!” Celestia challenged.
“Now, now, Celestia,” Discord said. “There’s no need to be so grim. This place is boring enough already.”
“Hey!” Rainbow snapped. “No one talks to the Princesses like that!” She then charged towards the window.
“Rainbow, wait!” Fluttershy called. “You could hurt yourself!”
Too late, Rainbow slammed into the window. Luckily, the glass and metal were both thick so there was no danger of the window breaking.
“Brash, reckless, stupid,” Discord said. “You must be the Element of Loyalty, Rainbow Dash.”
Once Rainbow was able to recuperate from the impact, she snapped back. “I’ll always be loyal to the Princesses and my friends. And I am not stupid!”
“I can’t believe we’re wasting time talking to this tacky window,” Rarity said.
“Never thought that the Element of Generosity would be so blunt,” Discord said. “But, it’s a pleasure to meet you all the same, oh so beautiful Rarity.”
“So, ya know who we are,” Applejack said. “That s’pposed ta scare us?”
“You tell me, Honest Applejack,” Discord said. He then proceeded to address the other mares.
“And you know our strengths, too,” Twilight muttered.
“Yes and you have a fascinating one, Twilight Sparkle, you embody the most powerful and elusive element… Magic. Sweet little Fluttershy represents kindness, while Pinkie Pie is a personal favorite of mine… laughter.”
Pinkie was trying and failing to avoid laughing.
“Pinkie, this isn’t supposed to be funny,” Twilight said.
“But, he’s dancing on your window-self’s head!” Pinkie said, busting out laughing.
“Enough, Discord!” Canis said. “Where are the elements?!”
“Ugh,” Discord groaned, rolling his eyes. “You really are so boring. Very well. I’ll tell you where they are, but, I’ll only do so my way.
To find your missing elements
Just make sense of this change of events
Twists and turns are my master plan
And find the Elements back where you began~”
“Of course he’d do it in riddles,” Canis said.
“And that’s not all,” Discord said before snapping his eagle claw and revealing a vision of Spike chained to a chair with headphones over his ear fronds, struggling. “I’ve found that, given the proper incentive, I can convince ponies to do anything.”
The ponies and Canis gasp in alarm.
“Spike!” Twilight shouted, tears welling in her eyes.
“What are you doing to him?!” Rarity demanded.
“Oh, just making him listen to opera music,” Discord said.
“I’ve been listening to this song for half an hour,” Spike said. “AND IT’S JUST THE END OF THE FIRST VERSE!!!”
“That,” Twilight snapped. “Gave us whole new motivation to find the elements! No creature captures my son and gets away with it!”
“Not being a very good mother,” Discord mocked. “You left him alone and unprotected when you knew something wasn’t right. Super irresponsible.”*******
Twilight growled angrily with a blind fury. Canis quickly jumped off Luna and hugged the young unicorn’s neck. “Don’t listen to him, Twilight,” he said. “That’s Discord’s strategy. He gets under your skin to make you angry, making you more likely to make a mistake. If you give in, you’re letting him win.”
Twilight’s heavy panting gradually began to soften. Canis’ tranquil energy was helping to sooth Twilight, making her less angry.
“You always were a spoilsport, Canis,” Discord said. “Too bad you’re utterly useless without Lulu.” Discord’s remark was met with quiet yet intense stares. “Now, why don’t you guys attempt to find your precious elements while I go off and wreak some chaos? Toodle-loo~” And with that the voice faded away as the stained glass display ceased to move.
“I hate that guy,” Rainbow said.********
“What did that riddle mean, Twilight?” Applejack said.
“I’m not sure, Applejack,” Twilight said. “But, if we dissect it, we should be able to figure it out. ‘Twist and turns are the master plan…’” She then remembered the last part. “‘You’ll find the elements back where you began.’ That’s it!”
“What’s it, Twilight?” Fluttershy asked.
“We found the elements in the Everfree Forest,” Twilight said. “Specifically, in the Castle of the Two Sisters! I bet he hid the elements there!”
“But, how are we going to get there?” Rarity said. “Going there by hoof from here would take too long. Poor little Spike would be utterly tormented by the time we got there.”
“I believe we can assist with getting you girls there,” Princess Celestia offered. “Our magic can easily teleport you there.”
“Sister,” Luna said. “If Twilight’s theory is correct, Discord will have likely set up spells to make it harder to reach our old castle. Or have you forgotten that when we tried using our own magic against Discord, he was able to undo our spells with a mere blink.”*********
“You're right, sister,” Princess Celestia said upon realization. “Perhaps we can fly them over instead?”
“Either way,” Rainbow said. “We got to go quickly. We’re losing time here!”
“Thank you anyway, Princesses,” Twilight said. “But, I think it’s best we try doing this on our own.”
So, the six hurried out of Canterlot Castle. What they didn’t realize was that Discord was secretly watching them.
“We still haven’t worked out how we’ll get there,” Rarity said. “I can’t bear the thought of sweet little Spike at the mercy of Discord or lack thereof.”
“We’ll take the next train to Ponyville and hoof it to the Everfree Forest from there,” Twilight said. “Luckily, they have an emergency express.”
However, when Twilight and the others reached the train station in Canterlot they were dismayed to learn that the next train to Ponyville wouldn't be arriving any time soon.
"I'm sorry, miss," the ticket sales pony apologized in what sounded like a sincere tone of voice. "Transportation to and from Ponyville has been inexplicably temporarily halted. If you wish to get back to Ponyville, you'd be better off making the journey by hoof."
“Come on!” Rainbow shouted. “There’s no time to waste!”
“We must be on the right track,” Rarity said. “If the Castle of the Two Sisters wasn’t the right answer, Discord wouldn’t try to stop us from getting there.”
“So, what is the right answer?” Fluttershy asked. “I hope we figure this out, save Spike, and stop Discord so we can go home.”
Twilight was in deep thought. “Maybe I didn't think through the riddle properly. I thought for sure Discord was just playing games when he said 'twists and turns.' But, maybe he meant it literally." It was then that a new idea came to her mind. "I wonder if... no, it couldn't be..."
“What?” Applejack asked, sensing the concern in her voice. “What is it, Twi?”
Twilight gestured with a hoof. “There’s one place where there are twists and turns everywhere and you can end up back where you started: the royal hedge maze. Maybe that’s what Discord meant.”
“Well, anythin’s worth a shot,” said Applejack.
The mares all made it to the entrance of the maze.
“We have to go in there?” Fluttershy asked, nervously quivering.
“Nope,” Rainbow said. “Dopey Discord forgot that there are two of us that can fly.” She casually flapped her wings and she took off. Before she could fly over the labyrinth’s entrance, a poof of magic caused Rainbow’s wings to vanish. Similar magic made Fluttershy’s wings disappear. Though Fluttershy didn’t fly as often as Rainbow, she did use them, so, she was still surprised and shocked to see them vanish.
Suddenly, Twilight and Rarity’s horns vanished. The two unicorns noticed.
“Your horn!” Rarity and Twilight said in unison before noticing their own horns had disappeared. “My horn!” They both screamed with unease.
Applejack and Pinkie Pie began to notice that they too felt different. "Suddenly, ah don't feel like Bucky McGilacuddy n’ Kicks McGee’re listenin' ta me," Applejack remarked as she looked down at her back hooves. She then noticed the others looking at her strangely. “What? Y’all don’t name the strongest parts o’ yer bodies?”
“And it feels like my Pinkie Sense was turned off,” Pinkie said. “But, that’s impossible!”
The reason for why came into light as Discord materialized before them. He laughed with a mix of mischief and wickedness as a flash of lightning behind him crashed.
“You should see the looks on your faces,” Discord smiled, giddily holding his face. “Priceless~!” He chuckled once more.
“What did you do to us?!” Twilight demanded impatiently.
“Oh, I merely made sure all of you play fair in my game,” Discord answered. “I simply borrowed your personal strengths to make sure there’s no cheating. Including your Mystic Eye powers. This is the first rule of my game: no flying, no magic, and no earth pony strength. You’ll get them back in good time, though.”
“The first rule?” Rainbow asked.
“The second rule is,” Discord explained. “Everypony has to play or the game is over and I win.” He then snapped his eagle claw to reveal an illusion of Spike still chained to the chair and fidgeting uncomfortably.
“I really need to use the bathroom!” Spike cried.
“And if you lose or break any of the rules,” Discord said. “Your dragon will belong to me for all eternity. Or until the end of his absurdly long lifespan. Either way, it’ll be a long time. Good luck, everypony~!” He then vanished.
“I still hate that guy,” Rainbow said, annoyed.
“Don’t we all,” Applejack said.
“He better not hurt even one scale on sweet Spike’s little head!” Rarity said. “If he does, I’ll rip him to pieces!”
“Well, we can’t waste any more time,” Twilight said. “We have to do this. And besides that, we have each other.”
The six mares all stepped into the maze at the same time. But, as soon as they'd taken their first steps they were quickly separated one by one, walls were thrown up on either side of them that prevented them from seeing each other. Fortunately, they could still hear each other. "Is everypony alright?" Twilight asked and quickly received five different confirmations. "Don't worry, we'll be fine. Let's all meet up in the center as quickly as possible!" And with that, each mare set off along their own path.
Meanwhile, Spike was remotely watching the mares be divided while chained to his chair when Discord appeared next to him. “You’re the one cheating,” the young drake said.
“Not true,” Discord said. “This is my game, so, I made the rules.” He then leaned on Spike. “One perk to making the rules is I can bend them at my leisure.”
“That’s pretty much the traditional definition of cheating,” Spike said. “But, seriously, I need to use the bathroom.”
“Try being encased in stone for over 1,000 years,” Discord said. “That does the bladder no favors.”
Spike winced with discomfort, not only with his own need to use the bathroom, but, also seeing his friends in a stressful situation. Suddenly, his chains disappeared.
“You have five minutes,” Discord said. “Bathroom’s that way.”
Spike made a mad dash out of the chair and ran towards the direction Discord was pointing.
Meanwhile, Applejack looked around cautiously as she walked down her path. “Don’t y’all fret none, Spike,” she said. “We’ll get ya free.”
Little did she know that Discord was watching her. He used his magic to roll three apples onto the labyrinth’s ground on her path. Applejack watched the apples roll with much confusion.
“What in the hay?” she asked. “Ah remember Spike tellin’ me o’ Princess Celestia’s golden apple grove, but, these ain’t golden.” Applejack decided to investigate out of curiosity, forgetting that it had killed the cat.
She soon reached an in-labyrinth lake with three apple trees, each with a different type of apple growing upon its branches. Normally, such a location would whet the farm mare’s appetite, but, this particular one had an unsettling atmosphere. At that moment, some of the apples shook off of each tree and formed into three distinct piles. “What in tarnation’s goin’ on?!” Applejack asked in alarm.
“We are the guardians of the grove of truth,” said the pile of dark red apples.
"We've been expecting you," said the bright red pile.
“Ask us anything you want to know,” said the green pile. “Though, we must warn you. The truth isn’t always pleasant.”
Applejack gulped. “Ah’ll pro’ly regret askin’,” she said. “But ah have ta now. I didn't want ta say nothin' earlier, but, ah've got a real bad feelin' ‘bout this whole Discord business. How's it goin' ta end?”
“If the truth is what you seek,” said the dark red pile.
“Look into the lake,” said the light red pile.
“And take a peak,” said the green pile. All three piles pointed their eyes at a nearby pool.
Applejack gazed down into the pool, her moderate sap green eyes soon watching as an image took shape right in front of her. It appeared to be Ponyville, but, something about it was wrong. Buildings were upside down, the roads had been turned in black and white tiles and she and all her friends seemed to glaring and frowning at each other.
“I hope I never see you guys again!” shouted the vision of Rainbow, angrily.
“Me, too,” the vision of Fluttershy said.
“Fine!” the vision of Pinkie shouted.
“Fine!” the vision of Rarity shouted.
“It’s settled then,” the vision of Twilight said sternly. “Our friendship is over.”
The six mares all turned in different directions with their backs to each other. To say Applejack wasn’t startled by the idea would be untrue. But, what frightened her most was that in the vision, Spike was absent.
“Our friendship… over?” Applejack stammered, tears welling in her eyes. “N’ Spike’s gone? It… it can’t be! It just can’t be!”
“Search your feelings,” the bright red pile said. “You know it to be true.”
“This isn’t the first time you had to confront an unfortunate truth,” the dark red pile said. “Remember when you learned about what happened to your parents on that bridge?"
“Ah…” Applejack sniffled. It was clear that she went through a lot. “Ah just can’t believe it.”
"When all the truth ever does-" The green apples began.
"-Is make your heart ache-" The bright red apples continued.
"-Sometimes a lie is easier to take." The dark red apples concluded as Applejack could hear the familiar voice of Discord whispering to her. Before she even realized what was happening, she found herself losing any will to ever be truthful again. Her entire body dulled considerably, to the point where there was almost no color to be seen.
A patch of labyrinth opened up magically. Twilight walked by the opening, but, she stopped and turned back once she saw Applejack.
“Applejack!” the unicorn said. “Are you alright? You look a little dazed. And what happened to your coloration? Are you feeling ill? Who were you talking to?”
“Uh, ah’m feelin’ just fine,” Applejack said before gagging and looking around nervously. “N’ ah wasn’t talkin’ ta anyone.” At that, Applejack’s belly gave a painful rumble.
“That didn’t sound so good,” Twilight said. “It sounds like something upset your stomach.”
“Ah’m just… hungry,” Applejack said with her eyes darting around while gagging. “Yeah, ah must’ve skipped breakfast this mornin’.” The farm mare quickly changed the subject. “Why don’t we get a move on?”
Twilight reluctantly followed, but, in her mind she was very suspicious. Applejack wouldn't just lie out of the blue like that. I know I heard her talking to someone and I know she ate apple brown betties on the train to Canterlot, she thought to herself. Discord must be behind this somehow. I've just got to get to the rest of my friends before he does!
A short time later, Pinkie was walking through the labyrinth. Normally, she would be bouncing through, but, with the mission being more serious, her focus was more on helping her friends rescue Spike from Discord. “We’ll find you, Spike,” Pinkie swore. “And when we do, you’re in for a world of snuggles!”
As she carried on, she heard odd-sounding music. It sounded like laughter being played on an electric organ. She followed the voice and found a whole garden of bright colorful balloons. “A balloon garden?” Pinkie wondered.
Like Applejack, Pinkie was overcome with curiosity and decided to investigate.
“If I wasn’t so focused on helping my friends rescue Spikey-wikey,” Pinkie said. “I would be having so much fun here.” She found herself a bit unsettled by the large smiles on the balloons. “Though, those drawn-on smiles are a bit uneasy for me.”
Suddenly, she tripped and landed in mud. Eerie mocking laughter can be heard after the fiasco.
“What’s going on?!” Pinkie asked.
One particular turquoise balloon drifted up to Pinkie. Discord’s voice is heard. “What’s the matter, Pinkie? I thought you would be used to this by now.”
“Okay,” Pinkie said, deadpan. “That explains everything.”
“Oh~” Discord’s voice said. “So you don’t need your precious Pinkie Sense to tell when things are amiss.”
“Say, if you could turn off my Pinkie Sense,” Pinkie said. “Do you think you can remove one of the side effects of my medication? It keeps making me think we’re all characters in an internet story series thought up by a nerd with too much free time. And I don’t even know what an internet is.”
“Gladly,” the Discord balloon smirked. “If you give up this pitious attempt in trying to defeat me.”
“What?!” Pinkie said. “No way! I won’t double cross Spikey-wikey!”
“Then, it’s no deal,” Discord said. He then started to chuckle. “I can see why your friends all laugh at you, that’s for sure. You’re so cute when you're trying to be serious”
“My friends laugh with me,” Pinkie said. “It’s not the same thing. Normally, being called cute is a compliment to me, but, it loses all meaning coming from you.”
“Are you sure they laugh with you?” Discord smirked. More laughter began echoing. It wasn’t bright fun laughter. It was a menacing mocking laughter. Balloons began surrounding the mare. She began to feel dizzy, feeling lightheaded with unease and stress.
Suddenly, five balloons had the faces of her mare friends. They all laughed mockingly at her.
"No! Make it stop! Don't laugh at me!" The pink party pony started to roar and growl as she tried to block out the laughs, but, to no avail.
“Aww, poor little Pinkie,” the Discord balloon said, feigning comfort. “And here I thought laughter made you so happy.”
As a new sense of frustration and suspicion took hold of her, Pinkie stood up, shook off the mud, and declared in a low tone of voice. "Happy? I don't think so! Not anymore!" And just like that, the balloons all popped one by one. As this happened, Pinkie lost her coloration like Applejack.
Twilight and Applejack came up to the entrance leading to the part where Pinkie was. Twilight smiled with relief when she saw her, but, she also noticed the discoloration on her once pink friend.
“Pinkie,” Twilight said. “What happened to you?”
“What do you care?!” Pinkie growled angrily. “You’re probably going to just take it as a joke and laugh at me!”
Twilight was caught off-guard. “This is hardly the time for jokes,” she said.
“Ah’d say it’s a perfect time fer a joke,” Applejack lied. She gagged again.
Pinkie simply huffed and trotted off.
The sooner we find the elements and help Spike, the better, Twilight thought.
Meanwhile, a frantic Rarity was searching the maze. Her mind was occupied largely by Spike’s well-being.
“Wherever you are, Spikey-wikey,” Rarity said. “I’ll not rest until you’re safe and sound out of Discord’s clutches!” Knowing the severity of the situation, Rarity avoided being dramatic. “I vow that once you’re free, I’ll treat you to an ice cream sundae with emerald sprinkles.”
She was so focused on Spike’s well being that she didn’t see where she was going. She ended up walking face first into a stone wall. Luckily, she wasn’t fully injured. She shook the dizziness off and looked at the wall in question. She saw three diamonds embedded in the wall, glimmering brilliantly in the one beam of sunlight poking through the thick gray clouds. In the diamonds were reflections of Discord.
“Today’s your lucky day, Rarity,” Discord smiled. “You’ve found the one thing in Equestria that can rival my face in sheer beauty. Tempting, are they not?”
Rarity was starting to become mesmerized. “Oh, yes…” Rarity said in a hypnotized manner.
But, her head was so focused on helping Spike that she did her best to shake off the mesmerized feeling. “No!” She shouted. “I’ll not let you trick me! I must walk away, help find the elements, and rescue my beloved Spike from…your…”
Unfortunately, the temptation was too great for Rarity to just walk away from. She practically bolted back to the gems. “MINE!” She began digging away, any concern for Spike pushed to the back of her mind.
As she chiseled the stone wall into rubble, her coloration began to fade. The visualization was mostly prominent on her mane, tail, and eyes, as she already had a pale-colored coat. The effort expended left her rather dirty, but, she paid it no mind.
“It took a lot of work,” Rarity said with a slight tone of deviousness in her voice. “But, it was worth it. Who knew that three little diamonds would turn out to be a big beautiful hunk of a diamond~”
The “diamond” was really an unremarkable boulder, but, Discord’s influence warped Rarity’s perception, so, she didn’t see it this way.
At that moment, Twilight, Applejack, and Pinkie came across Rarity. Twilight saw Rarity cuddling up to the boulder.
“Rarity,” Twilight said. “What are you doing cuddling up to that boulder?”
Rarity was briefly brought out of her stupor.
“Boulder, nothing!” Rarity scoffed. “This big glistening rock is a diamond~! It’s all mine, you hear me!”
“What would Spike say if he saw you acting this way?!” Twilight said in frustration.
Twilight didn’t notice, but, for a split second, Rarity’s coloration returned upon hearing Spike’s name.**********
“You’re right,” Rarity said, her voice sounding more genuine. “I should let him have this beautiful gem.” However, Discord’s influence quickly returned. “And leave him to keep it and possibly devour it on his own?! Never!” She put the boulder on her back.
Something’s wrong, Twilight thought. Even if that boulder WAS a diamond, Spike doesn’t eat diamonds because they’re too hard for his teeth. Rarity knows that.
“Nopony else touch it!” Rarity snapped. “I know where you all live.”
I hope Fluttershy and Rainbow are having better luck, Twilight thought.
Meanwhile, Fluttershy was wearing a face of unbridled determination to rescue Spike.
“I may be in an unfamiliar place,” Fluttershy said. “But, I can’t let my fears get the better of me. Spike needs our help and by golly, we’re going to help him.” She held a hoof to her heart. “Once he’s freed, I’m going to treat any injuries he has and hold him close,” she vowed.
As she walked on, she saw three pink butterflies fly through her part of the labyrinth. While she was worried for Spike, she couldn’t resist smaller creatures and despite her best efforts, succumbed to her curiosity.
Maybe they might know where the Elements of Harmony are, Fluttershy thought. She followed them. The sooner we find the elements, the sooner sweet little Spike is freed.
To the shy mare's surprise the butterflies actually began to talk. And they spoke in a voice that was instantly recognizable as Discord's. "Fluttershy? It looks like you've been left behind by your so-called 'friends' again."
Fluttershy instantly recognized Discord’s voice and shook her head. “No, Discord,” she said. “They didn’t leave me behind. I’m sure they’re doing their very best to find me, which they wouldn’t need to do if you didn’t separate us in the first place.”
“Well,” the Discord butterflies said. “They might change their minds out of frustration due to remembering how weak and helpless they think you are.”
"Oh no, I'm not weak and helpless," Fluttershy protested with a smile. "But, I know my friends enough to know that they're aware I maybe don't contribute as much in these situations as they do. I'm fine with not always rushing into danger. And I appreciate their understanding."
“Well,” the Discord butterflies said, beginning to grow vexed. “Surely it must bother you that they constantly point out your flaws, right~?”
Fluttershy merely shook her head again. “If they didn’t do that,” she said. “I’d never improve. Granted, it takes me a while, but, I appreciate them wanting me to be the best I can be.”
This caused Discord to get so fed up, realizing that if they kept this up, the scene wouldn’t go anywhere. So, he changed back to his normal form and stood angrily before Fluttershy.
“Oh, for goodness’ sake!” Discord snapped. He then tapped on Fluttershy’s forehead, causing her eyes to spiral and her coloration to dull instantly. “You’ve been kind for far too long, my dear. Time to be cruel! Arrivaderci!” With that, he vanished.
Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie, and Rarity arrived, with the latter still struggling with her “diamond.”
“Oh, Fluttershy,” Twilight said. “You lost your coloration, too?”
“She looks normal ta me,” Applejack lied, followed by a gag.
“I have a sneaking suspicion Discord’s affecting our friends,” Twilight said to Fluttershy.
“Well, that’s a crying shame~!” Fluttershy said cruelly. “Why don’t you wave your little horn and make everything better with your magic?”
Twilight was taken aback. “Uh…”
“Oh, that’s right,” Fluttershy said, feigning realization. “You don’t have one~” Fluttershy went to meet up with her friends, whipping Twilight in the face with her tail.
“Oh, coming to this maze was a terrible idea,” Twilight lamented. “Now, we’re no closer to saving Spike than when we started.”
Twilight once again didn’t notice that Fluttershy’s coloration returned to normal for a split second upon the mention of Spike’s name. “Oh, dear,” Fluttershy said gently. “We’ve got to help him any way we can!” Once again, Discord’s influence returned. “So that I can flick his silly little muzzle.”
Twilight was getting really worried at this point. “This awful labyrinth must be getting to everypony,” Twilight said. “Hopefully, we’ll find Rainbow soon. Her loyalty will help us.”
Meanwhile, Rainbow was running through the maze. Her face was radiating determination to save Spike.
“The elements have to be around here somewhere,” she said. “Find them and we can save Spike from that mix-and-match bastard!”
As she walked along, she saw a small white cloud float by her. It sparked and flashed primary-colored lightning.
“Okay,” Rainbow said. “That’s either the Elements of Harmony or Discord setting up a trap. Either way, it’ll give me a shot at his smug face.”
So Rainbow chased after the cloud. She soon arrived at a clearing with Discord casually lounging on a cloud hammock fastened between two trees.
"Oh, you found me," he said with fake concern. "Oh dear, whatever shall I do?"
“You can start by staying still while I kick your ass!” Rainbow said. “I’ve done plenty of dirty tricks myself, but, kidnapping is where I draw the line!”
“Hey, relax,” Discord smiled. “That whole him being tied up and being forced to listen to opera was a way to motivate you all into rescuing him. He’s perfectly safe, though… not like your friends and family in Cloudsdale.”
“Yeah and I always dress in style!”*********** Rainbow sarcastically retorted. “Cut the crap and put up your dukes!”
“Whatever you say, little miss fashionista,” Discord said, rolling his eyes. “It wouldn’t be a fair fight though. My bones are so brittle that I could shatter instantly with just a puff of air.”
“This coming from a creature that can do whatever with a flick of his claw,”************ Rainbow said. “Your BS powers don’t scare me!”
“Oh, these won’t…” Discord smiled. “But, this might.”
Discord snapped his fingers and showed an image of Cloudsdale crumbling as he chanted, "A weighty choice will soon be yours to make: The right decision or a big mistake. And if it's the wrong path you choose to pursue, the foundations of home will crumble without you!"
Rainbow tried to resist, but, Discord’s powers were too much for her.
“Cloudsdale…?” Rainbow stammered. Her normal brash bravado was waning at the vision before her. “No! Mom and Dad may be a bit overzealous with their cheering, but, they don’t deserve this!” Rainbow didn’t notice her coloration fading.
“Not to worry, Rainbow,” Discord smirked. “I have your wings ready right here so you can fly off and rescue them.” He snapped a wrapped box into existence.
Meanwhile, the five mares were walking through the labyrinth growing tired, but, Twilight was still filled with hope and determination.
“Rainbow’s our last hope,” Twilight said. “With her, we can’t lose.”
“Looks like you’re going to lose,” Fluttershy said meanly. “She’s taking off, abandoning us.”
“Okay, there’s no way that’s true,” Twilight said. However, she looked up and saw a grayed Rainbow Dash flying out of the maze with her wings. "No!" she gasped in horror, realizing what that meant.
At that moment, the hedge maze collapsed and sunk deeper into the ground until it was completely gone. Discord’s mocking voice was heard as he appeared before them.
“Well, well,” Discord said. “Looks like somepony broke the first rule of my little game.” He snapped his talons, giving the other ponies back their wings, horns, and magical abilities. "The game's over, my little ponies!" he taunted. "You didn't find your missing elements. And it looks like we might be due for a big old storm of chaos!" He pulled out a pink umbrella and unfolded it to the sound of a cat meowing as lightning struck all around him.
[To be Continued…]