Twilight backed away from the mirror in a panic. She looked around her frantically, expecting the Royal Guard to come crashing through the door any moment now. If only she could find the door, she would know which way to run. As she twirled in a frantic circle, her tail knocked over the cane she had propped up against the bookcase mere minutes...hours?...seconds?... ago.
The cane swept a figure off the shelf as it fell over. The figure fell on Twilight's back, sending her into an even greater panic, (if that was even possible at this point).
Twilight shrieked and ran blindly around the shelves and between displays. As she passed the mirror again, she managed to snag the cover that had been on it, tripped and rolled right into the bookcase she had seen earlier that had started this whole mess.
The bookcase teetered and wobbled, and then before Twilight could summon a shield, all of the books tumbled down onto her head.
*SLAM*
"Oof!" Private Sentry groaned as he was flattened between the door and the wall.
Everypony (and dragon) fell silent as the door was flung open, and Shining Armor burst through.
Then they all responded at once.
"Sir!"
"Princess Celestia!"
"Shining Armor?"
"What is it, Captain?"
"Oww..."
Princess Celestia stepped forward and spread her wings.
Everypony fell silent as they waited for her to speak.
"Thank you." Princess Celestia said, smiling gently as she folded her wings and motioned for Shining Armor to go first.
Shining Armor bowed quickly, and held up a rolled parchment. "Princess Celestia, this was delivered to me a few minutes ago."
Princess Celestia took the letter and opened it. She read it for a moment before her whole demeanor changed.
"Leave us" She commanded. The guards bowed and quickly left, walking close together. (Almost as if one of them was trying to subtly keep his partner from landing on his face.)
"Who delivered this letter, Shining Armor?" Princess Celestia asked as she passed the letter to Princess Cadance.
"A cadet did. He was new, I didn't recognize him." Shining Armor groaned and smacked his hoof to his face, "The whole castle's practically on lock-down, and I don't think to question a cadet I don't recognize delivering mail? How could I be so stupid?!"
"It's alright, Shining Armor. There's nothing to be done for that now. At the moment, our top priority is finding out if our mysterious 'friend' is telling the truth."
"I can have a squadron ready in five minutes, or an army in thirty." Shining Armor said quickly.
"I don't think that's how we should play this, Captain." Princess Celestia said as she walked over towards the table. Using her magic to create a map of Canterlot and the crystal caves beneath them, she motioned for the others to join her.
"There." She said pointing to a spot on the map. "That is where you will be able to enter the caverns with the least chance of detection."
Shining Armor looked to where she was pointing and nodded. "I agree, but how does that change the need for troops?" Shining Armor asked.
"Because if this is a trap, I won't have anymore of my little ponies hurt. You will pick a few ponies Shining Armor. No more than five. And you will simply reconnoiter. Find out if this 'friend' of ours can be trusted."
Shining Armor nodded and went to select his ponies, but Princess Celestia stopped him. Leaning down so she could look him in the eyes, she said firmly, "This is not a rescue mission, Captain. You will not attempt to retrieve or contact your sister. Only find out if she is there. Do you understand?" She asked.
"But...!"
"Captain Armor. Discord has played us for fools twice now. I will not accept a third time. If you are unable to agree to my request, then I will send somepony else. Am I understood?"
Shining Armor stared at the ground, struggling to keep from saying or doing anything he would regret.
Princess Celestia placed a hoof under his chin and raised his gaze to her own. "Am I understood, Captain?" She asked again.
"Yes, Princess Celestia. I understand." Shining Armor said stiffly.
"Good. You are dismissed.", her voice softened as she stepped back, "Go pick your team. Have them back here in an hour to go over the plan."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Shining Armor said, bowing to Princess Celestia. His stance tightened as he turned to Cadance. "Princess."
Shining Armor said in parting as he bowed again. Before she could respond, he had marched out of the room.
"He's upset." Cadance said, looking at the doors her fiancée had just walked out of.
"Madder than a wet cat with a mouthfulla bumblebees." Applejack said.
"Yup." Rainbow Dash agreed as the others merely nodded their assent. Except for Fluttershy, who was hiding behind Rarity. (Well, she might have nodded. They weren't sure. Fluttershy is very good at hiding.)
"Regardless, I trust he will do what is right." Princess Celestia said. "Now, I am sure you are all wondering why I have called you all together..."
"Ugh...What happened?" Twilight groaned as she unburied herself from a pile of books. 'Did I make an structurally unsound bookfort?' She wondered. She pondered that possibility for a few seconds before shaking her head in denial. "No way. I haven't made a structurally unsound bookfort since I was a young foal. The possibility is just too improbable to entertain."
She looked around her and sighed. "Well, I can't just leave these here. The bindings could get cracked or pages could get creased or even *gasp!* torn! I need to pick these up immediately. It is my responsibility as an Equestrian Citizen. Not to mention a librarian!"
Nodding her head emphatically, Twilight started stacking the books in piles to organize as she replaced them on the shelves. After all, as long as they needed to be re-shelved, she might as well reorganize them while she was at it!
'Now, on to the next part of my plan.' Discord thought as he popped into his own dimension. He whistled a merry tune as he kicked off the hoof-guards and shed the breast-plate.
"Tralala lala..." Discord sang as he danced about. With a snap of his claws, he pulled up his diorama of the crystal caverns.
"What to do? What to do..." he wondered, stroking his goatee.
"Got it!" A light-bulb appeared above his head. It shone brightly for a second before flickering and sputtering out.
"Oh you...!"Discord scolded as he pulled the chain. It light up once, buzzed and went out again. Discord pulled it down and peered into it. It shone brightly, blinding him.
"Ahhh!"Discord cried, clutching his eyeball.
"I'm blind!" He pulled out his eyeball and blew off the smoke. Then he polished it with his elbow. He peered at it for a moment before plopping it back into it's socket.
"Ah, much better."
"Now you listen here" He said tapping the bulb with his claw. "you little..."
*Crack*
The light-bulb cracked and then slowly crumbled into a million pieces.
"Argghh!" Discord cried in frustration. Grumbling to himself, he went to the light-bulb pile and grabbed a new one from the bottom.
"Yeesh, how hard is it to change a light-bulb around here?" The whole pile then tipped over and the room flipped over.
"It's like a bad joke, and not even a funny one at that..." Walking over to where the pieces of the old light-bulb hung, he brushed them aside and screwed the new bulb into the air in it's place.
"How many draconequuses does it take..." Discord pulled the cord and the lightbulb shone brightly.
"There!" He said confidently, turning back to his diorama.
The bulb flickered.
"Don't even think about it." Discord said sternly. "Unless you want to join your friend over there in the stain-glass department..." He threatened.
The bulb wisely changed its mind and stayed lit.
"Now, where was I...?" Discord wondered. He thought for a moment before remembering.
"Got it!" Discord grabbed the strand on notes floating by and continued whistling.
"Ohhh... a little cave-in here..." He said as he floated rocks above one of the hallways.
"A few minions here..." He placed a few figurines around a corner.
"Some voices here..." He added a script to a wall.
"Ohhh, this is so much fun!" Discord laughed, clapping his paw with his claw.
Twilight froze.
All thoughts ceased.
The world stood still around her.
The words on the page flowed together and ceased to have any meaning. All the words but one.
Flosetsemenspoila
And the picture below them.
A small innocent looking purple flower. It was a simple thing, tiny, plain with five points. Easily mistaken for a daisy or a lily if one didn't know otherwise.
She reached a hoof to her mane.
In fact, if one wasn't careful, one could be persuaded that it was a mere decorative mane-piece. A harmless gift. A thoughtful present for good luck.
Twilight twirled the offending flower in question thoughtfully in her magic as she pondered this new revelation.
"One would be wrong."
Flosetsemenspoila
FLOS_ET_SEMEN_SPOILA
plunderseed flower
The flowering part of the plunderseed plant.
Blooms along the plunderseed vines.
A rare plant, thought to be extinct, or severely endangered. Not commonly found anywhere in Equestria, though there has been some possible cases noted in the Everfree Forest, located outside of Ponyville.
The plunderseed flower harnesses negative emotions and recycles them into the air around them. Should one have prolonged exposure to and/or come into prolonged contact with a plunderseed flower, common effects are the changing and darkening and/ or fading of coat and mane color as well as changes in mood, such as anger, hostility, depression, hallucinations, susceptibility, gullibility, insomnia and sudden urges for revenge, annihilation, conquest and world domination,..etc.etc.
Should you or anypony you know show signs of coming in contact with a plunderseed flower, please contact your certified healthcare professional/ provider, the royal guard, the local authorities, and/or the princess(es) of Equestria immediately.