//------------------------------// // Chapter 30: The Mastermind Revealed // Story: My Little Pony, Friendship is Magic: Stallion Edition // by SuperPinkBrony12 //------------------------------// Princess Celestia was in a state of disbelief. Something like this had never happened before, and she had no idea what to do, except pace nervously back and forth once again. "I don't understand this at all." she muttered to herself "That door is protected by a lock that can only be opened by my magic. No one else should've been able to have access to it. This doesn't make any sense at all." Just then, an eerie laugh split the air. Almost as if it were taunting Princess Celestia, and indeed it was. "Make sense? Oh, come now. What fun is there in making sense? It's quite boring if you ask me." the voice chuckled. Princess Celestia quickly recognized who the voice belonged to, and her mood soon changed from one of shock, to one of anger. "Discord! I should've known!" she said crossly "Show yourself, now!" The voice laughed once again, before it spoke "Did you miss me Celestia? Well, I've missed you." In a flash of white light, one of the stainless glass window displays of Discord came to life. It quickly began to move from panel to panel with the greatest of ease, as if the laws of reality had no effect on it. "You know, being trapped in stone for thousands of years, can make a guy feel pretty lonely." the voice went on "But then again, you wouldn't know that, would you Celestia? Because unlike you, I don't turn ponies into stone! And for the record, I never banish them to the sun, or even the moon!" Princess Celestia was cross, but she seemed to be unaffected by Discord's mind games. "Your attempts at making me look like a monster are futile Discord." she spoke up "Luna's banishment still weighs heavily on my heart, you and I both know that. So drop the act, I'm in no mood for your games! What have you done with The Elements of Harmony?! I want answers and I want them now!" "The elements? Oh I just 'borrowed' them for a little while." Discord explained, snapping his fingers. With another flash of white light, The Elements of Harmony disappeared from the window display directly beneath Discord "I'll gladly return them to you when I'm done, assuming I feel like it." "That's not funny Discord!" Princess Celestia snapped "You'll never get away with this! You were defeated once, and you will be defeated again!" Discord did not appear concerned by the threat, he merely replied "Oh, I've forgotten just how grim you can be Celestia. I must say, it's really quite BORING. You should lighten up and look on the bright side. After all, didn't you once consider my chaos to be a fun little distraction?" "I don't know what you're trying to pull Discord, but it won't work!" Princess Celestia said crossly "Even if I once did not mind your chaos, that time of foolishness has passed." "Just as I thought, you've grown soft in the time since I was imprisoned." Discord taunted. This made Soarin angry "How dare you! No one talks like that to Princess Celestia and gets away with it on my watch!" He rushed towards the stainless glass window that Discord was currently in, hoping to teach him a lesson he wouldn't soon forget. "Soarin, wait!" Shining Armor shouted, but it was no use. Soarin flew smack into the glass window, while Discord remained completely unharmed. "Ah, you must be Soarin, the Wonderbolt co-captain known for his loyalty." Discord said. "You got that right!" Soarin snapped "And you should know that I'll always be loyal. Loyal to my friends, loyal to my teammates, and loyal to the princess." "We'll just see about that!" Discord threatened. "Don't bother arguing with him Soarin." Fancy Pants encouraged "You're talking to a stainless glass window that can't talk back." Just then, Discord appeared besides Fancy Pants "Ah yes, you're Fancy Pants, the stallion famous for his unending generosity." he said, speaking in the same tone he had used with Soarin "I am delighted to meet such a famous pony." "So you know who we are, whoop de frickin do." Big Macintosh said crossly. "Oh, I know more than just that, honest Big Macintosh!" Discord said sternly. "You seem to know everything about us." Shining Armor spoke up "Not just who we are, but what elements we represent." "Ooh, look at the big brain on Shiny!" Discord teased "But you're right Shining Armor, I know your elements like the back of my hand. Thunderlane's is kindness, your's is magic, and Braeburn's is my personal favorite, laughter." Braeburn was chuckling alongside Discord, this made Shining Armor cross. "Braeburn!" he said sternly "Whose side are you on?!" "Your side of course!" Braeburn replied, in between fits of laughter. "Then why are you laughing along with old tall, dark, and ugly over there?" Shining Armor asked. "Ugly indeed!" Discord snorted "You're just jealous because you don't have a body that's as amazing as my own." Braeburn continued to laugh. "Mind telling me what's so funny?" Shining Armor asked sternly. "Just look above you Shining Armor." Braeburn chuckled "He's dancing on your head." And indeed Discord was. He was dancing atop Shining Armor's head in one of the window displays, laughing while he did so. Princess Celestia was not amused. In fact, she looked like she was about ready to lose her patience "Enough games Discord!" she snapped "I'm not gonna ask you again, where are The Elements of Harmony?!" Discord stopped dancing "Oh, so boring. You're a real buzzkill Celestia, you know that." he said seriously. "Out with it already!" Celestia shouted "Or so help me, I'll search every inch of Equestria until I find you! I may not be able to turn you to stone anymore, but this time I won't hold back!" That seemed to change Discord's mood pretty quickly "Okay, fine. I'll tell, but I'll only tell you my way. So listen carefully." he began to speak in riddle "In order to retrieve your missing elements, just make sense of this change of events. Twists and turns are my master plan, then you may find the elements back where you began." And with that, Discord disappeared from the room. All of the stainless glass windows went back to how they had been just a few minutes ago. "What do you think Discord meant Shining Armor?" Big Macintosh asked "You know, with the whole 'twists and turns' and ending up 'back where you began'?" Shining Armor said nothing, he thought to himself for a moment. And as he did, he looked out to the nearby palace labyrinth. "Twists and turns, twists and turns." he muttered to himself "No, it couldn't be that obvious. Could it?" "Well?" Big Macintosh asked. "I have an idea, but I'm not sure if it's what Discord meant." Shining Armor admitted. "Just tell us what it is." Fancy Pants encouraged "Any potential lead is better than no lead at all." "Okay, I guess." Shining Armor said with a sigh "Judging by what Discord said, I think he may have hidden The Elements of Harmony in the palace labyrinth. But don't quote me on that." "The labyrinth sounds like a good place as any to start our search." Soarin said firmly. "Even if it's not where The Elements of Harmony are, we could still probably find a clue that will guide us to their location." Thunderlane suggested. "I say we give it a shot!" Braeburn added. "Well, if that's what you guys really want." Shining Armor said "It appears my decision has been made." Princess Celestia smiled "Good luck on your quest my little ponies. May the power of harmony watch over you, always." "We won't let you down Princess Celestia!" Shining Armor stated boldly "Come on guys, let's go!" And they all raced out of the hallway as fast as they could. Little did they know, that they were charging right into a trap.