Chapter 2
*3rd Person POV*
“Twilight! TWILIGHT!”
“Hm? Wha-?” Twilight rubbed her eyes, rudely awakened from slumber. This was the one day all week she’d been able to sleep in. “Spike? What is it?”
“It’s the map!”
“Are we being summoned? Where are we headed this time?” She groggily opened the curtains and stretched.
“It’s the Tree itself. I think something’s wrong!” Now with some light in the room, Twilight could clearly see the anxiety engraved in his face. That face, so full of concern and dread, looked too old to belong to her little baby dragon. Something must have really rattled him, for Spike to look this scared. She didn’t hesitate to jump out of bed.
“Show me.”
Twilight galloped along behind Spike as he sprinted for the throne room. The map was active, and indeed advertised a new location. All six of their cutie marks orbited the Tree of Harmony itself, but when Twilight looked back to check, noticed that hers wasn’t flashing. It was as though she was disconnected from it, somehow. Not only that, but the glowing images projected by the map were distant and faded, and sort of sickly in appearance, and they flickered dangerously, as though they’d disappear for good at any moment.
“That’s odd...”
“It’s never done this before. What’s wrong with it?”
“I don’t know, Spike,” Twilight confessed. She grasped her already-packed saddlebags in a deep pink aura. “I’ll go collect the girls, and we’ll see what’s wrong with the Tree.”
“Be careful,” Spike clung to her leg. Twilight gently smiled, and nuzzled him back.
“I will Spike. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” She finished securing the strap on her bag and bolted out the door. She’d put on a brave face for Spike, but deep down, panic was welling up in the pit of her stomach. Trouble with the Tree usually meant the fate of Equestria hung in the balance. She just hoped it was nothing serious.
“Girls, you know I love these little excursions as much as the rest of you. I just wish we could take a train to the Tree instead of hiking through all this... nature. I just had my hooves shined.”
“The fate of Equestria just might be in the balance, and you’re worried about your hooficure?!”
“Let’s not argue, girls. We’re almost there.”
“Fluttershy’s right. There’s the stairwell,” Twilight rolled up her map and returned it to her bag. She could manage without it from here.
“Last one down’s a rotten egg!” Pinkie squealed, starting to zip down.
“Hold yer horses, there,” Applejack got ahold of her tail before she could actually go anywhere. “The Tree called us here for a reason. There could be somethin’ mighty dangerous down there. ‘Till we know what we’re up against, I think we should stick together.”
“I like that idea,” Fluttershy squeaked.
“I agree with Applejack. Let’s stay close until we know what’s down there,” Twilight nodded, volunteering herself to go first. The other mares huddled close, shuffling down the cold stone stairs as one unit.
Paranoia began to set in as they slipped into the darkness of the Tree’s haven. Every rustle, every bump set the girls on edge. Not even “giggling at the ghostie” seemed to help. It got to the point where Twilight was sure one of them was going to bolt in pure hysteria. She herself was uneasy; the Tree should be giving off a faint light to illuminate their passage, but she couldn’t see her hoof in front of her face. Something was definitely wrong. She was tempted to ignite her horn, but she thought better, considering how jumpy they already were. She didn’t need to add a bunch of dancing shadows into the mix.
At last, they could see some faint light up ahead. But something was wrong. This didn’t feel right. And the eerie red glow ahead didn’t help things.
“T-T-Twilight? Wh-Wh-What’s t-that?”
“If I had to guess... probably the reason we’re all here.”
“So? What are we waiting for? Let’s go kick that creepy light’s flank!”
“Rainbow, wait!” But it was too late. The pegasus had already taken off... and just as quickly turned tail and retreated.
“WHOA!” It didn’t take long for the others to realize why. She was being chased by an enormous, glowing plunderseed vine.
“Rainbow!” Twilight cried. She charged her horn, and fired a blast at the vine. It shrieked with agony before withdrawing. Twilight cocked her head. Even her most powerful blast hadn’t been enough to chase the plants away the first time. At best, they had just broken off, not retreated. What was different this time? And why were the plants glowing?
“Let’s get outta here!” Pinkie gripped Twilight’s shoulders and dragged her back the way they came; an entire wall of plunderseeds was now encroaching on their position to avenge their injured member. Twilight was so overwhelmed, she couldn’t quite comprehend what was going on.
“Wait! But what about the Tree?”
“What Tree? We can’t even get to it,” Applejack pointed out.
“We can’t just leave! We have to fix this! We don’t even know what’s wrong.” Twilight pleaded, beginning to squirm and wriggle out of Pinkie’s grip.
“Don’t worry, Twi. I got you covered. I just got a quick glimpse, but I think I found the problem.”
“So?! What is it?”
“Can we please wait until we’re all safe back in our homes?” Rarity panted, tears of exhaustion and fear beginning to ruin her mascara. Wait? Twilight didn’t have time for that. She charged her horn, and the lot of them disappeared in a flash of light.
Once the girls had landed safely back in the castle, Twilight immediately spread her wings and skidded to a halt, causing poor Fluttershy to slam into her rear. The other girls continued running- it took them a moment to realize where they were. Then, Rarity collapsed in a hysterical heap, Rainbow’s wings played the role of an emergency parachute, and Applejack skated across the crystal floor.
“Owie!” Pinkie, on the other hoof, had reacted too late and wound up slamming face-first into the wall.
“You’re back!” Spike darted forth to give Twilight a “welcome back” squeeze. “Did you figure out what’s wrong with the Tree?”
“Yeah! The plunderseeds are back, and they’re bigger and scarier than ever!” Pinkie shouted upon having finally dislodged her face from the structure.
“Plunderseeds?! But how’s that even possible? You returned the Elements of Harmony to the Tree so it could defend itself.”
“That’s what I was trying to say,” Rainbow spoke up. The usually cocky mare’s expression was grim. She wasn’t laughing now. “The Element of Magic was missing.”
“What?” The color drained from Twilight’s face.
“Are ya sure, sugarcube?”
“Positive.”
“What do you mean, missing? How can it be missing?”
“Somepony must have stolen it!” Rarity was on the verge of fainting.
“But who would do such a thing?” Twilight glowered.
“Who else do we know that uses plunderseeds?” Fluttershy’s pupils shrank to pinpricks of black.
“No! Twilight, don’t!” The alicorn was already casting a spell. “It wasn’t him, Twilight! I know it wasn’t! Just-!” Discord abruptly appeared before them. Before Twilight’s summon, it appeared as though he had been tidying up his home, judging by his crouched posture and the feather duster in his paw. He froze, glanced around, and upon noticing his company, put on a big, gappy smile.
“Ladies! What a pleasant surprise! But you really should warn me before you do that- I could have made myself look a bit more presentable.” With a *POOF* his cleaning attire disappeared.
“Where’s the Element of Magic?” Twilight demanded.
“Twilight-” Fluttershy desperately tried to get between them and make herself heard.
“Why, with the Tree of Harmony, of course. Don’t you remember, Princess? You put it there yourself.”
“Stop playing dumb, Discord. We know what you’re up to!”
“Well, that appears to be more than I know. Please, enlighten me.”
“We found your plunderseeds at the Tree.”
“What are you after this time, Discord? The usual, ‘chaos in Equestria’ deal? I thought our friendship was more important to you, now.”
“What?” He shook his head as though to clear it of a haze. “What are you talking about?”
“Girls, Discord isn’t to blame, I’m sure,” Fluttershy stomped.
“Well, do you have a better explanation?”
“Well, no... not at the moment. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t one.”
“Let me get this straight. The Tree of Harmony is under attack by plunderseeds? AGAIN?!” Discord didn’t seem to care so much that they had wrongfully accused him as that the plunderseeds had turned up at the Tree yet a second time. Finally deciding to give him the benefit of the doubt, the girls all nodded. Discord snorted in irritation. “How unoriginal.”
“Seriously?! You aren’t bothered that Equestria is in real danger? Just that somepony stole your act?” Discord ignored her, lost in his own thoughts.
“It is quite an impressive feat, I’ll give them that. Handling a plunderseeds is no easy task, especially for ordinary ponies. Your culprit is most likely either a powerful chaos spirit, such as myself, or a sheer genius.”
“Well, let’s hit the books. See if you can find anypony, chaos spirit or otherwise, who’s been known to tamper with plunderseeds.”
“Yes, yes. Why don’t you girls head on down to your library? Do your research and all that cute pony stuff.” Discord began nudging them out.
“And you? Where are you going? We could really use your help,” Fluttershy looked up.
“I, my dear, am going to do some field work. Currently outfitted in clothing more suitable for a safari expedition than “field work,” Discord saluted, tore a gateway in the space-time continuum, and stepped through. The fabric of reality snapped taut behind him, and the girls were left to themselves.
“Do you think we can trust him?”
“He did turn on us the last time we gave him an important assignment.”
“He learned his lesson. He won’t do it again.”
“Here’s to hoping.”
Discord had stepped out of the continuum somewhere along the edge of the Everfree. He didn’t want to land too close to the plunderseeds right off the bat. As a chaos spirit, he knew how to handle them, but even Discord was smarter than blindly walking in like that. Once he had assessed the situation, he should be able to keep them at bay long enough to do a bit of investigating.
He began flying to the Tree, but he quickly tired of such an agonizingly traditional method of travel. He then began teleporting to speed things up, but got bored with that too. Finally, he discovered that a yellow-and-purple spotted bubble-powered car was a much more interesting way to get around. For his own entertainment, he even threw in a costume (a top hat and bow tie, to be exact), and hummed along to the vehicle’s built-in radio.
“Take a left in point five miles,” the car’s GPS directed in Discord’s own voice.
“Oh, hush,” the real Discord reprimanded. “This is my favorite part of the song!”
“Okay, but don’t blame me when you get lost,” the GPS shrugged.
“Shut up!” Fed up with the irritating device, Discord yanked it right out of the dashboard and tossed it out the open roof to the trees below. He heard a crash, and the yelp of a manticore, then the whir of his engine as it sped up to accommodate the GPS’s direction. “I think I know how to get to the Tree of Harmony on my own,” he grumbled, finally giving up on paying attention to the music. “Technology these days. Thinks its smarter than I am! Hmph!” (Of course, Discord was the only one in Equestria with access to such advanced technology, it being stolen from another dimension and all.)
Eventually, the automobile began its descent. Discord slid a pair of oversized sunglasses down his snout to get a better view as he sought out the ideal parking space. He finally decided that the back of the unsuspecting cragadile over there would do, and put on the brakes. “Now,” he removed his accessories and tossed them in the trunk, “let’s go see what the trouble is, shall we?” The cragadile gave him a queer look, but Discord took no note as he trotted down the stairwell to the Tree’s grotto.
“Hmm... something smells strange...” Discord ran a finger along the damp, mossy stone, and tasted it. “Now, that is peculiar.” He scampered down further into the dark crevice, interest piqued. A faint glow caught his eye, and Discord faltered, sliding to a halt. “No... it can’t be.” He hesitated, debating whether or not it would even be wise to continue.
“Come on, you aren’t going to chicken out now, are you?” A miniature version of Discord’s own self appeared on his shoulder, sporting a pair of devil horns and a pitchfork.
“Well, it may be the wisest thing to do, considering-”
“Listen to him! The guy’s gone soft!” A second miniature appeared on his other shoulder, this one also dressed like a devil.
“I... I have not!” Discord stomped.
“Come on, chump, buck up,” the first one sneered.
“Think of how disappointed sweet little Fluttershy will be when she hears you turned tail and ran from a few mutated plants,” the second pointed out.
“Fluttershy...”
An image of Fluttershy’s sweet, alluring face formed in the back of his mind. Those soft black curtains she had for eyelashes batted once, twice, thrice, and her mesmerizing teal eyes bewitched his very soul. She gazed directly at him, and Discord fantasized going in for a kiss. She was about ready to humor him, but at the last minute, her eyes turned away, and she pulled from his grasp.
“You failed me, Discord.”
“Fluttershy!” Discord jerked himself out of the nightmare with a start. Heart pounding, he rested against the wall until he was sure it was only a trick of his own mind. Only then did he even attempt to stand on his own two feet.
“So? What’s it gonna be?”
“Shush! That was a pretty rattling vision.” Though they were both equipped with horns and pitchforks, one mirage seemed to be a bit kinder than the other.
“I... I won’t let her down,” Discord ground his teeth, fists clenched with resolve.
“Yeah! That’s the spirit!” The more malicious of the two apparitions hunched over Discord’s shoulder like a quarterback. The second specter just shook its head and vanished with a *PUFF*. “Go on, show those plunderseeds who’s boss!”
“FOR FLUTTERSHY!” Discord howled. He bared his fang, coiled up on all fours, and sprang forward. He didn’t notice that the runty phantasm had abandoned him.
“Well... that guy’s toast.”
Discord, meanwhile, blitzed through the glowing, thorny plunderseeds, keeping them at bay with a variety of different weapons. He couldn’t seem to make up his mind; he started out with a baseball bat, then exchanged that for a sword, and finally swapped out for a chainsaw. The vines shrieked and screeched with every blow he dealt, and doubled their efforts in trying to restrain the draconequus. That was something else new that Discord noticed. Regular plunderseeds would only go after the most powerful and ancient of creatures: Celestia and Luna. These plunderseeds possessed a self-defense mechanism, attacking anyone they deemed a threat. Perhaps it hadn’t been the smartest idea to come blundering in, guns blazing, but he was sure they would have started on the offense soon enough anyway.
He finally emerged at the Tree of Harmony, where the vines should have been at their thickest. Instead, they hadn’t touched the Tree, giving it a wide girth. But, just as the girls had said, the Element of Magic had been removed from the trunk. Without all six elements, the Tree should be powerless. So why hadn’t the plunderseeds gone in for the kill? This was all very uncharacteristic of the parasitic plants, and Discord was utterly confused.
Then, he noticed the hole in the ground. Part of the reason why the room looked so empty was because an entire branch of the plants had grown underground. At first Discord thought the plant might be making its way to the princesses, but something was off. It didn’t look like the plant had burrowed itself. It was almost like the hole had been there first. Was the pony responsible trying to direct the plunderseeds somewhere?
He barely managed to roll aside in time as another thorny tentacle struck from above. He’d gathered enough information. Now it was time to get the hay out of there! He took flight, but alas, didn’t get very far. One of the particularly sneaky vines managed to wind its way around his hoof, and yanked him back like a fish on a hook. Discord screamed in pain as the needles dug into his flesh, desperately trying to squirm away. More and more vines entangled his lithe body, and the more he fought, the more exhausted Discord felt. He couldn’t seem to access enough of his magic for an effective offense. It didn’t take him long to realize that they were feeding, feeding on his power, on his magic, and on his life.
Discord felt like he’d been hit by a brick wall. He’d been such a fool, thinking he could impress Fluttershy this way. This was the end for him. He’d never see her beautiful face again at all...
For the first time in his life, Discord felt real fear. Or perhaps that was just his heart smashing into a thousand pieces. If he couldn’t be with her... then at least he could save her. The plants were draining his magic at an extreme rate. Though he couldn’t expend a large amount of power at once, he thought he could draw up enough strength to send one last letter. It went something like this:
Dearest Fluttershy (and girls),
I believe I’ve found your problem. These are no ordinary plunderseeds- they appear to have been infused with a powerful magic. The good news is that the magic is so strong, you should be able to track its signature. I found a tunnel here that somepony deliberately placed, and the plunderseeds are traveling down it as we speak. I believe that whomever dug it is trying to lead the plunderseeds somewhere. I would look into it, if I were you.
Take caution. These plunderseeds are out for blood. If they catch you, they can, and will, kill you.
I love you, Fluttershy. I’m so sorry we didn’t have more time together. Please forgive me.
~Discord
A single tear slithered down his dirty cheek.
“Goodbye Fluttershy.”