Chapter 4
Previously, on Avatar...
Envy blinked incredulously before it glared "Who the hell are you!?"
The guests in the vestibule instantly went pale at the arrival of the strange monster "It's Discord!! He's free again!" One male guest shouted as the rest began to scream and run in a panic.
Gluttony watched the guests run away to the different halls of the castle before turning back to the monster with a blink "Discord?" He parroted in confusion.
Greed examined the monster's features "Wait a second..." He perked up in realization "You're just like that statue I saw three months ago!"
Twilight turned to Greed in shock "You've seen Discord before, Greed?"
Discord crossed his mismatched arms with a smile "Of course this one has seen me! Our meeting could've gone better, though..."
Greed sneered "So you ARE the statue?"
Discord shrugged "Well, more or less I was trapped inside of a statue, but I digress..." He placed an eagle claw on his chest "My name is indeed Discord, Spirit of Chaos and proud of it!" He grinned jubilantly at the group "So nice to see your faces again, my little ponies! Except foooor...." He pointed a talon at each of the former homunculi "You, you, you, you, aaaand you."
Gluttony smiled innocently at Discord "Are you a chimera?"
Discord shook his head "No, my pudgy little friend, I'm actually what you would call a draconequus! Hopefully you'll remember the term, given your obvious simplicity..."
Pinkie glowered at Discord "Hey! Don't pick on Gluttony like that! He's still learning!"
Celestia stared down Discord, and the draconequus stared back with a wicked smile "How did you manage to escape!?" Celestia was caught off-guard when she noticed Discord mimic her words in a mocking tone the moment she spoke.
Discord snickered to himself and spoke "You see, that's the best part!" He swooped down and picked up Greed to show the group while the avaricious pony struggled in his grasp "This one here was the key to my escape! And to think, out of all the ponies in Equestria, it was the Element of Magic's boytoy that managed to do the job!"
The group stared in disbelief before Twilight whispered "Greed, you did this?"
Greed went to speak, but Discord covered his muzzle with a paw "I know, shocking, isn't it? But don't think he's the one to take all the credit! He had help from another!" He spotted the jealous pony hovering next to Rainbow Dash with a grin "Envy, was it? So nice to see you and Greed trying to kill each other. It reminded me of how there are still traces of chaos in this world!"
Rainbow Dash glared at Discord "What makes you think Envy would willingly free the likes of you!?" She snapped indignantly.
Discord rolled his eyes "Sheesh, I've only gotten out of my prison again and everypony's so hostile! Would it hurt to at least be a little friendly once in a while?" He smirked at the group "If I'm not mistaken, it's what you ponies thrive on, correct? The Magic of Friendship?" Discord lightly tossed Greed in front of the group and held up his arms as he turned his back on the group "But I suppose you have every right to discriminate against little old me, I mean, after all..." He shifted his head entirely to face the group, as if imitating an owl "Who could love a monster like myself EXCEPT for myself, hm?" He said with a wide grin.
Greed growled as he stood up "Don't know where you get off making a fool out of me, but if I'm the one who brought you into this world, I can damn well take you out of it!" He said as he tore off and tossed aside his ruined tuxedo, ignoring the cries of Rarity, and went into his Ultimate Shield form. He pawed at the ground "Say your prayers, you damn beast!" He said as he galloped towards Discord without hesitation.
Twilight gasped and held out a hoof "Greed, don't!"
Discord watched Greed with a smug smile before he snapped the fingers of his lion paw. While Greed charged at Discord, the shimmering silver on his body was gradually replaced with a light tan. The draconequus then held out his lion paw the moment Greed aimed his horn, and the avaricious pony instantly bounced away after his head collided with the paw. Discord tittered after the failed attack "That tickles!"
Greed recovered with an incredulous look in his eyes "What!? I was locked onto you!" He examined his hoof "I should-huh!?" He looked at both of his hooves with disbelief.
Lust was just as surprised while she observed the scene "He turned Greed's Ultimate Shield into rubber with a snap of his fingers!"
Sloth groaned "You're a pain..." He said as he burst into a destructive blur towards Discord, who easily teleported before the indolent pony could even reach him. Sloth then crashed into a wall while Discord reappeared and hovered up to him.
Discord watched as Sloth brought himself out of the rubble and shook his head in mock disappointment "Tsk tsk, Sloth! Somepony's really got to bring you down to size! Lucky for you, I can handle that easily!" He laid a talon on Sloth's forehead and began pressing down on it. As he did so, Sloth began to shrink, receding into his enormous tuxedo. When Discord's arm was deep in Sloth's tuxedo, he fished out what appeared to be Sloth in the form of a colt "Tadaaaa~!!"
Greed watched in surprise as he cancelled out of his Ultimate Shield form "Sloth!?"
Rarity gasped "My goodness! Sloth's been reduced to a child now!"
Discord dropped the indolent colt onto the floor, and he picked himself up sounding like a tired child "What happened? I feel weak..." Fluttershy galloped over and brought Sloth into her forelegs while Discord laughed in amusement.
Gluttony growled at Discord "That's not funny! Change Sloth back right now!"
Discord shrugged "Wasn't exactly shooting for comedy, but fine, whatever..." He snapped his fingers nonchalantly, and Sloth was brought back into his regular size, much to Fluttershy's surprise as she struggled with holding the indolent pony before she was crushed under his weight. Discord saw this and snickered loudly "Now THAT'S comedy!" He bursted into raucous laughter at Fluttershy's misfortune.
His laughter was interrupted when he noticed a long and sharp object near him, dodging out of the way to see that it was Lust's extended horn. He poked the end with a claw while he ignored the glare on her face "Intriguing...You're entirely different from the ponies I've seen in my time..." He looked towards the rest of the former homunculi "In fact, you all seem to have some unique features aside from Greed..." He stroked his beard with his lion paw "Mind if I peek inside your heads for a bit?" He smiled mischievously as he snapped his talons and winked out in a flash.
The entire group looked around warily for Discord, until Greed felt a twitch in his head, followed by a clouded feeling that bothered him. He brought his forehooves to his head and grunted, earning the attention of the group "What's going on!?"
"Stay cool, Greed. Just gimme a minute..."
After a short moment, the feeling in Greed's head subsided "Urgh...What did he just-"
A grunt from Lust was heard as the group turned to the lascivious mare holding her head with a hoof "Something's happening to me now..."
Wrath growled "Discord must be going through our minds at a breakneck pace! We have to repel him before-" The furious pony grunted as he now held the same feeling as he tried to stand straight "Damn..."
Celestia went to act as her horn glowed a bright yellow. She aimed for Wrath in hopes of pulling out Discord, but was stopped when he heard an 'eep' escape Gluttony's lips. She turned to see the voracious pony looking around and sniffing the air, trying to locate Discord. She cursed herself as she watched this happen 'What could he be up to this time?'
Envy looked around "Where is he coming from!? There's no way he could-" The jealous pony grunted and clenched its eyes shut as it held brought its forehooves to its head.
"*laugh* It's so much fun to interrupt ponies sometimes! Or should I say, changelings?? ...Wow! You have quite the history behind you, too! Most interesting!"
Envy's eyes shot open the moment the feeling subsided "Where is he now!?" The jealous pony darted its head and looked around.
Sloth was the last to have his mind invaded after he moved himself off of Fluttershy, but he ignored it while he uttered a tired groan "What a pain..."
Twilight glared at the ceiling "Cut it out, Discord!" She shouted.
On cue, the draconequus teleported in front of the group with a laugh "This is amazing! And to think I was the only monster here!!"
Twilight scowled at Discord, and he instantly ceased his laughter and got in Twilight's face with a devious smirk the moment she snapped "What are you talking about?" mimicking her words in the same mocking tone as before.
Discord then distanced himself back with a smug smile "Well, why don't I tell you all?" He waved a claw towards the former homunculi "These six ponies that you've come to accept as your own kind are not exactly who you think they are!"
Applejack frowned "Yer actin' like we don't already know that! Celestia already mentioned they're from another world!"
Discord nodded "Yes, we already know that..." He leaned in with a wicked look in his eyes "But did these ponies ever tell you what they've actually done in their world?"
The element bearers traded glances before looking at the former homunculi. Discord continued while holding up a claw "You see, my little ponies, these ex-homunculi were actually brought into Tartarus for a reason!" He smiled down at the former homunculi "They've committed several acts that would've made you disown them all in a heartbeat! Manipulation, deception, the murder of countless innocent lives, and let's not forget back when they tried to accomplish their father's goal! They were lucky to escape with their super powers, but you're already aware of that..."
Fluttershy was shocked "B-But that can't be! The homunculi are our friends!"
Discord spread his arms out "Well, of course they were for the longest time, but that doesn't mean they don't have skeletons in their closet! Duh~!" He said as he made a stupid face.
Rarity glared at Discord "You're just trying to sway us again like you always have!!"
Discord shot Rarity an unamused glance "Need I remind you of your little scuffle with the changelings in Ponyville?"
Gluttony perked up "But how did you-"
Discord held up his claws with a smile "Mind reading!" He then pointed a learning claw "Anyways, their experience in combat is evidence enough for their crimes!" He turned to Envy with a grin "I must say, I'm practically fond of Envy! Starting a war with nothing but a disguise and a bullet! You've caused as much chaos as I have in my time!!"
Envy felt heavy as it tried to manage a glare at Discord "Sh-Shut up!"
The princesses unfurled their wings and flew up towards the ceiling as Celestia's horn began to glow "Discord, we won't let you have your way with Equestria again! With or without the Elements, we shall stop you a third time!"
Discord watched the princesses try to go on the offensive with a bored glance "Yeah, about that..." With a snap of his fingers, there was a bright flash, and it receded to show that each of the princesses were not only shrunk to miniature size, but were trapped in a flask. It floated down into Discord's lion paw as he looked at them with a taunting smile "Oooooh, look at you three! You're just adorable!"
Twilight glared at Discord as her own horn glowed "Let them go!!"
Discord rolled his eyes with an annoyed groan "You ponies always say that thinking it actually works! Can't you be more ORIGINAL with your lines as I am my acts of chaos?"
Greed stepped up to Twilight's side, sharing a glare at Discord "We'll gladly take them from you if it means beating you down!!"
Discord chuckled "Oh, simple little Greed! Can't you see that you and your little friends are outmatched?"
The group came together and stood tall, save for Blueblood, who was busy hiding behind Sloth again as they looked up at Discord. Twilight snapped "You forget how friendship defeated you before, Discord! We'll use it to beat you again!"
Discord waved a claw "Please, Twilight! Your fellow elements, your brother, and..." he stole a small glance at Blueblood and shrugged it off "him are one thing, but how can you even manage with..." He pointed at Greed "A pack rat..." The draconequus stated different insulting nicknames to each pony.
"A harlot," Lust leered at Discord.
"A cranky old pegasus," Wrath held back wanting to hurt Discord for his remark.
"A lazy mass," Sloth did not react to his insult as he stared blankly.
"Envy," Envy was surprised it had no insult, but it knew that Discord was one to press buttons on the fly.
Discord looked among the group to see that Gluttony was nowhere to be found "Say...Where's fatty fatty two-by-four, can't fit through the kitchen door?" A raging scream from above Discord was heard, and he looked up to see Gluttony soaring down at him with his mouth wide open. With his free eagle claw, he snatched Gluttony from the air and kept him in his grasp "There you are! You're a wily little scamp, aren't you?"
Pinkie looked worried while the voracious pony rested in Discord's paw "Gluttony!!"
Discord smiled "Oh, I wouldn't exactly despair, Pinkie! It wasn't just the princesses I was here for, after all..." He said as he snapped his fingers, causing Lust to wink out of existence before she could notice.
Gluttony gasped and flailed about in Discord's grasp "Lust! Lust! Give her back!!" Before he could further lash out, the voracious pony was teleported out of Discord's paw.
Blueblood peered out and looked around "What's happening!?" He yelped when Sloth instantly vanished, fully revealing the ignorant prince as he shivered in a fashion similar to Fluttershy while staring up at Discord.
Wrath bared his teeth in displeasure "He's capturing us one-by-one!" He turned to Twilight with a serious look in his eyes "Find the elements and stop this madness befor-" The furious pony was teleported away before he could finish.
Rainbow Dash noticed how each of the former homunculi were disappearing and turned to Envy "Envy! Wherever you're going, please just stay strong and don't let Discord get to you!"
Envy stared before it narrowed its eyes at Rainbow Dash "You better stay strong, Rainbow Dash..." The jealous pony was then teleported, leaving the cyan pegasus to be confused. She could not distinguish if Envy's tone was serious, encouraging, or distant.
Greed, knowing that his siblings have been taken, assumed he was next. He leered up at Discord while standing next to Twilight "You take me with them, and we'll only kick your ass from there! You might've read our minds, but you don't know our full capability together!"
Discord tilted his head at Greed before he looked away in disinterest, waving a dismissive claw "Oh, don't flatter yourself, Greed. I don't need you!" He spoke in a flat tone.
Greed was instantly perplexed at the draconequus' statement "What?"
Discord turned to Greed with a look of slight disgust "Remember when I peeked into your mind? Well, what I've dug up turned out to be pretty boring, if you asked me. Aside from your many battles, I've noticed a little tidbit that made me wonder if you'd even be the right candidate on my team for my little game!"
Pinkie piped up "Game? What game?"
Discord held up his free claw in a halting motion at Pinkie "In due time..." He looked back at Greed "Anyways, while I myself consider you freeing me to be your greatest act of generosity yet, you basically disappoint me with how you actually value friendship over whatever you wish to claim for yourself! That's just stupid! I mean, do you even have your priorities straight?"
Greed bared his teeth "Fuck off! I won't let you take my friends away from me for whatever it is you're planning! You don't tell me how to live my life!"
Discord rolled his eyes "As expected coming from your mouth of all ponies..." He shrugged with a frown "I could've given you Equestria and more, but you just had to go soft for these ponies..."
Twilight stood at Greed's side "Don't underestimate him, Discord!"
Discord chuckled "That was also expected! I actually find your little relationship quite humorous! But perhaps I should stop wasting time and explain the rules of my impromptu game I wish to play with all of you!"
Blueblood whimpered "Does your sadism know no bounds!?"
Discord ignored Blueblood and cleared his throat "I shall start out with a simple and possibly typical statement: I have your elements with me along with five of the ex-homunculi! But what makes this fun is you're going to look for both in a race around Equestria!"
Rarity was spooked "You expect us to go around the world with this!?"
Discord smiled as he continued "I've hidden the elements in certain areas around Equestria! Some are near, and others...not so much. And the best part is that you'll have to deal with every single obstacle waiting for you in your travels!"
Pinkie Pie frowned "What about the princesses? And the homunculi?"
Discord patted Pinkie's mane with his lion paw "That will be a secret to be revealed at a later time, and let me tell you, you all might enjoy what awaits you in the near future!"
Greed snarled "Like hell we will! All you'll be doing is screwing with us at every turn!!"
Discord shrugged "Well, them's the breaks! Good luck with your new game to play, my little ponies! You're gonna need it!" He cackled in amusement.
Twilight growled at his laughter, and the draconequus instantly stopped the moment she spoke "You won't get away with this!" She was caught off-guard once more as Discord mimicked and mocked her words before he laughed again, snapping his fingers as he teleported away with the princesses.
Fluttershy whimpered "Not again! Now we have to fight Discord, and he's more scary than ever..."
Rarity grimaced "I can't believe we'll have to scour all of Equestria in order to defeat him this time! It could take months before we finally beat him!"
Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth "I'll pummel that jerk if he tries anything on Envy!" She turned to the rest of the group "C'mon, everypony! We don't have time to waste!"
Twilight frowned "But we don't know where to start! We don't have any leads to go by if he's actually going to make a game out of this!" On cue, a scroll appeared in front of Twilight out of thin air and unraveled itself while it floated, revealing its contents to the group. Twilight read the scroll intently
"The game begins, and to save time,
Each clue will be given to you in rhyme.
Take the train to find your roots,
And be sure to bring some combat boots."
The group, even Twilight, were perplexed at the first clue that paved the way for their newest and most treacherous adventure.
End of Chapter 4