Shining Armor and his friends wasted no time, and reached the palace labyrinth in the span of a few seconds.
"Well, here we are." Shining Armor said, out of breath.
"It looks pretty big to me, and the elements could be anywhere inside those walls." Big Macintosh commented.
"Are we gonna have to search every nook and crany of that place until we find what we came here for?" Thunderlane asked nervously.
"Of course not." Soarin replied, showing off his wings "Because Discord forgot about these babies! I'll just fly up, comb through the labyrinth, and we'll have The Elements of Harmony ready and waiting! Discord won't know what hit him!"
"Sounds like a plan Soarin!" Shining Armor nodded "Let us know if you find anything."
"You mean when," Soarin corrected "cause this'll just take a few seconds!" And with that, he rocketed away as fast as his wings could carry him. Unfortunately, he hadn't gotten very far when there was a sudden flash of white light. When said light faded after just a second, Soarin's wings had disappeared. Soarin was shocked, and plumeted to the ground.
"Are you alright Soarin?" Fancy Pants asked.
"I'll live." Soarin groaned, rising to his hooves "It's times like this that make me glad I'm a Wonderbolt."
Just then, there was another flash of light, and Thunderlane's wings disappeared as well. Thunderlane was, understandebly, freaked out.
Another flash followed, and Shining Armor and Fancy Pants suddenly felt a little bit different. "Your horn! My horn!" they both cried out.
Yet another flash, and now Big Macintosh and Braeburn felt like they weren't the same. "Uh, cousin Big Macintosh?" Braeburn asked "Did you feel what I just felt?"
"Eeyup." Big Macintosh replied "Feels like someone drained us of our earth pony magic, and I think I know who's behind it all."
All of a sudden, there was a tremendous burst of light, and Discord finally revealed what he really looked like. When the ponies got a good look at him, they were frightened. They had never seen a creature like him before.
"Oh, you should just see the looks on your faces." Discord taunted "Absolutely priceless, and here I am without a camera."
Shining Armor plucked up courage "Enough is enough Discord, give us back our wings, horns, and earth pony magic! They don't belong to you!"
"Oh relax, you'll get them all back in due time." Discord explained "I simply took them to ensure that there will be no 'cheating'."
"What do you mean?" Fancy Pants asked.
"It's quite simple really." Discord replied "I've decided that this labyrinth is the ideal place to hold a little game. I call it, 'Discord's Amazing Labyrinth Puzzle'. Get it, amazing?"
"That's not funny Discord." Shining Armor snapped.
"Yes, well anyway." Discord went on "Now a game must have rules in order to ensure everyone has a fair chance. Otherwise, there's no fun, and that would never do. Now then, the first rule of the game is, no flying, and no magic of any sort."
"The first rule?" Soarin replied, incredibly uneasy with the terms.
"Correctamundo Soarin." Discord said eagerly "The second rule of the game is, everypony has to, or else the game is over, and I win. The third rule is, you may enter the labyrinth on your own or as a team, but you are not allowed to tell anyone if you find The Elements of Harmony. It wouldn't be much fun if one of you got lucky and ended the game early. The fourth rule is, if anypony should at any point delibertly or accidentally wander out of the labyrinth, it counts as an automatic forefit on their part. And finally, the fifth rule is, you cannot take shortcuts. You can wonder down any path you choose, but should you come across a dead end, you must turn around and start over. Break any of these rules, and you're out of the game. With that being said, let the games begin! Good luck everypony, you'll need it! T.T.F.N, ta-ta for now." And with that Discord vanished into thin air.
Most ponies in this situation would be worried, but not Shining Armor. He quickly took charge and calmed everyone down. "I know this looks bad guys, but we've come too far to turn back now. We're going to play Discord's game, and we're going to win. Because there's one thing we have that Discord can never take away!"
"And that would be what?" Thunderlane asked.
"Our friendship of course." Shining Armor explained "As long as we work together, we can overcome anything!"
"Shining Armor's right!" Soarin cheered "There's nothing we can't achieve if we all stick together!"
"So, are we ready to beat Discord at his own little game?" Shining Armor asked.
"YEAH!" the other stallions replied.
"Alrighty then, let's do this!" Shining Armor shouted, and he led his friends to the labyrinth's entrance. "Ready?!" Shining Armor asked, his friends noded. "Good." Shining Armor replied "We're going to stop Discord-"
"Together!" the six stallions all said at once, and with that they boldly stepped into the labyrinth ready for anything, or so they thought.
Then, suddenly, one by one they were all seperated as walls popped up all around them. In a matter of seconds, they had all been cut off from one another.
"Stay strong guys!" Shining Armor encouraged "Discord's just trying to break our spirits, but we're not gonna let him rattle us. Not like this! Are you all okay?"
"Eeyup." Big Macintosh replied.
"I think so." Thunderlane nodded.
"I've felt better." Braeburn commented.
"I'm just fine." Fancy Pants stated.
"I'll live." Soarin said.
"Good." Shining Armor replied "Here's the plan, we'll set off and regroup in the center of the maze. Is that clear?"
"Of course." Big Macintosh replied.
"I understand." Thunderlane nodded.
"You betcha." Braeburn said eagerly.
"Clear as crystal." Fancy Pants commented.
"Yes sir!" Soarin stated.
"Okay then, let's move out!" Shining Armor ordered, and the six stallions did so. They had no way of knowing that Discord was laying in wait for them with his own special batch of "obstacles".
From far above, Discord looked down on Shining Armor and his friends. He had heard everything "Oh Shining Armor." he said to himself "You should know that it's not going to be THAT easy. Not if I have anything to say about it!"