One would think that Ponyville, in its centuries-long history, had seen plenty of strange events. One wouldn’t be too far off, but the vast majority of said events had occurred since the previous Summer Sun Celebration and the thankfully brief return of Nightmare Moon. Since the start of spring in particular, the town had seen itself briefly in the grip of a possessed unicorn performer, two visits from the Spirit of Chaos himself, a charity rock concert that swiftly turned into a small family reunion, and the ascension of one of its newest residents from humble unicorn to Equestria’s fourth reigning alicorn princess, in no particular order. Some experiences were more enjoyable than others, but the town and its citizens had become accustomed to them and acted accordingly, with some taking it in stride better than others.
As another Summer Sun Celebration came along, this time celebrating the restoration of the Equestrian Diarchy after a thousand years, the townsfolk found themselves excited and looking forward to the parties to come.
Alas, as is often the case in situations like this, what could go wrong would go wrong.
“Girls, look!” Terror clear in her green eyes, Roseluck pointed skywards with a hoof and declared what was already clear as day, “The sun and moon are out at the same time! It’s day and night!”
“Worse!” Lily Valley directed their attention to another problem in the sky. “There are nasty-looking black clouds in the sky!” A flight of pegasi attempted to beat the clouds off, only to be pelted with lightning bolts or find themselves caught on the clouds’ thorn-like spikes. “And the Weather Team can’t get rid of them!”
“Even worse!” Daisy turned their attention earthward as thorny black vines sprouted up from the ground all around them. “These hideous plants are invading the whole town! The horror! THE HORROR!”
As per their usual wont, the Flower Trio went into overly dramatic gasps of terror and fainted at the sight before them. Granted, the mares tended to overreact, but in this case, their reactions were warranted, as Ponyville itself and Equestria as a whole hadn’t seen a crisis quite like this before.
The situation didn’t discourage Rarity from rolling her eyes as she trotted past the three mares. “Honestly, darlings, pull yourselves together!” The three looked up with sad expressions as she continued on, but got back to their hooves as their routine was done.
The unicorn was a self-admitted drama queen at times, but she was also experienced enough to know that there were occasions where such things were acceptable and others where they were not. This was not the time for that sort of histrionics. It was the time for an entirely different sort. “Oh, this is so horrible!” A scream shouted out, and she called out, “And whoever just let out that Wilhelm scream, shame on you! That’s a horrible cliché!”
“But it’s a fun cliché!” She paused in surprise as Pinkie Pie slid along one of the vines, flying off and landing beside her as she stopped near the entrance to Ponyville’s town hall. “Why else to do you think it shows up in movies all the time?”
“Aside from very lazy sound editors?” Her horn sparked uncontrollably, and Rarity daintily wiped off a hoof with a Pinkie-provided moist towelette before licking said appendage’s tip and applying it to the misbehaving one. “But enough about that! Whatever’s going on is causing my magic to go haywire!”
“Well that settles mah question!” Applejack charged up to the two, Fluttershy beside her and Rainbow Dash swooping in from above. “Us earth ponies are tryin’, but we can’t kill these durn’ weeds!”
“All my animal friends are terrified! None of this is normal!”
“And these clouds are giving us pegasi way too much trouble!” The rainbow-maned athlete looked about and declared, “This is crazy! It’s like the Everfree Forest’s taking over!”
“Rainbow Dash, let’s not be rash! We both know that’s unlikely.”
“You got a better explanation fer what’s goin’ on, Rarity?” Applejack looked about as the vines only seemed to grow larger and more clouds rolled in. “Whatever’s goin’ on, if’n we don’t stop ‘em, they’ll cover half ‘a Equestria ‘fore too long! Maybe Twilight’ll know…!”
“INCOMING!”
The gathered mares looked up and moved to one side as three shapes started to become clear in the sky, two mostly golden in color and the third primarily a familiar shade of lavender. As they closed in, the girls instantly recognized the third shape as that of their friend, Twilight Sparkle, the equally familiar form of her dragon companion Spike holding tight to her back, while the other two ponies following her were clearly members of the Royal Guard. With many frenzied flaps of her wings, the young alicorn came in for a landing and skidded to a halt on her four bare hooves, her crown and Element of Harmony somehow managing to stay upon her head. She sighed with relief and then looked to her passenger. “You okay, Spike?”
The little dragon woozily sat up and flashed a thumbs-up. “A-OK, Twilight!” He then slipped off her to one side, stretched out his limbs and dug his claws into the ground. “Oh, sweet mother earth, how I missed you!”
Twilight rolled her eyes as the two guards landed beside her. One, a large pegasus stallion easily matching Big McIntosh in build with a light olive coat, approached and formally reported, “Excellent flying, your Highness.”
His associate, a silvery-grey thestral mare, gave a fanged grin and a teasing look through the sun visor on her helmet. “Yeah, but your landings could use a little work.”
“Twilight, thank goodness!” Rarity and the rest of the bearers rushed up and gave her a quick hug in greeting. “We’ve been at a loss to deal with this calamity! Please tell me that Princess Celestia sent you to deal with this nasty business?”
“Sorry, but no.” The young alicorn looked among her friends and reported, “Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are both missing.” At Rarity and Pinkie Pie’s gasps and the exchanged glances of surprise among all her friends, Twilight elaborated, “I’ve had the Royal Guard continue the search for them and asked Canterlot’s local government to try and keep the population from panicking, but something tells me that their going missing and all of this mess are parts of the same problem.” She prodded her crown with a hoof and added, “We’re going to need the Elements to put this right.”
“Somehow that don’t surprise me.” Applejack looked to the two guards and asked, “And who’re these two?”
The guards stood at attention and removed their helmets, the stallion revealing a dark green buzz cut and the mare a short, light indigo mane. “Lieutenants Silver Bullet and Pixie Dust. Given the disappearances of both Princesses, we insisted upon accompanying Princess Twilight.”
“Plus we’ve got a buddy out in the Crystal Empire who’d have our flanks if we let his marefriend get hurt.” Pixie Dust quickly replaced her helmet. “Trust me, you don’t want to see him angry.”
“Oh?” Instantly curious, Rarity approached the newcomer mare as she lifted up her sun visor and restored her catlike robin’s egg blue eyes to visibility. “The two of you know Flash Sentry?”
“We went to the academy together.” Silver Bullet turned to Twilight as he replaced his helmet and asked, “Princess, if we may?”
“Of course. Come on, everypony!” A quick dash led the group to the Golden Oak Library, and Twilight’s magic swiftly opened its main door and allowed them entrance. On display in a carefully-crafted magical case were the other five Elements of Harmony, which quickly found their way to their owners. “Now, I got a briefing out in Canterlot before I left, but…”
“Do we really need to go over this? The Everfree’s attacking, Twilight!”
“Ma’am? These things aren’t coming from the Everfree.” At Rainbow’s perplexed look, the stallion explained, “From the looks of things above, these vines are originating outside the Everfree’s perimeter. Ponyville looks to be the epicenter for all of this, and they’re spreading in all directions, including into the Everfree.”
“And I’ve got a good idea of where to start looking for the cause.” Twilight led her friends and her escorts out of the library and into a clear space, took a deep breath and shouted, “DISCORD! I WANT A WORD WITH YOU!” Her horn then glowed, followed swiftly by her Element of Harmony doing the same, ribbons of rainbow energy flowing out from it and weaving through those possessed by her fellow bearers. In a circle, the six mares rose up, Pixie Dust lowering her visor as the energies beamed out from the elements straight into the middle of the circle and produced a bright flash of light.
“Ugh! How does this always happen – I take a little time to enjoy a refreshing shower, and suddenly, I get summoned!” Standing before them with a washcloth wiping off his face was the Spirit of Chaos himself, Discord, who tossed aside the washcloth as he finished drying himself. The towel flew off, flicking water about, and he turned his attention to those who’d summoned him. “Princess Twilight Sparkle, what a delight seeing you!” He coiled about her and added, “Congratulations upon the coronation and earning your wings, by the way, you totally deserved it. I’d have attended, but the whole thing seemed so…” He yawned to punctuate his point as he finished, “…boring.”
“Yeah yeah, good for Twilight, now come on!” Rainbow flew up to the draconequus and barked, “Clean up this mess!”
Discord looked about in surprise. “Mess? You call this a mess?” He laughed, pulled out a camera and started taking snapshots. “Here I was thinking that you’d redecorated! Ponyville hasn’t looked this interesting since my first visit here!” The camera disappeared as he settled next to Fluttershy and gave the yellow pegasus a gentle hug. “But as it is, you should all recall that I’ve reformed. Just ask dear Fluttershy.” He released her and added, “With that in mind, shame on all of you, launching such foolish accusations and impugning my good name without even a shred of evidence to go on. Would you do the same to Princess Luna? Trixie? Sunset Shimmer? Honestly, what sort of friend does that to a fellow?”
“They ain’t done…” Applejack paused in her protest and amended, “Wait a second, how the hay d’ya know about Sunset?”
“Oh, I’ve simply been paying attention, listening in, doing a little light reading, that sort of thing.” The familiar message journal with Twilight’s cutie mark emblazoned upon the cover in his paw and claw, the Spirit of Chaos noted, “I must say, she’s having an interesting time of it of late. A shame I can’t be over there; her world’s version of Black Friday sounds like it’s right up my alley.”
“Discord!” Twilight took a quick cleansing breath and asked, “Could you please return that to me? There’s private information in there that isn’t mine to share.”
“Of course, seeing as you asked so nicely.” Discord handed back the book and noted, “Still, all of that suggests a rather speciest trend. A pony, particularly one with a horn, shows up and says they’re sorry, and suddenly, you’re all quick to forgive, but a fellow like me? I get deprived of a nice shower, have unfair accusations thrown my way, and my personal space is violated.” He pouted and turned away in an indignant manner. “At least Twilight asked politely to have her magic book back.”
Fluttershy quietly flew up next to him and gave a gentle nuzzle. “Now Discord, despite how it looks, I don’t automatically think you did this. But I’m hoping that you may be able to help us figure out what’s going on.”
He smiled and gently took a hoof. “Oh Fluttershy, so kind of you to give me the benefit of the doubt. Thank you ever so much.” He gave it a small, gentlecoltly kiss before releasing it. “That said, I can’t just tell you all what’s going on. It’d be horribly boring if I did, and besides, I can’t solve all of your problems. But perhaps somepony else can help?” Discord pointed towards the edge of town and amended, “Or some-zebra else? Whatever, you get my meaning.”
Twilight turned to where Discord was pointing and caught sight of an exhausted friend slowly trudging out of the woods, a bag slung on her back and pulling a small cart with both packed with assorted bric-a-brac. “Zecora!” As her friends rushed forward to help, she called back to the two guards, “Keep your eyes on him!” before rushing forward herself.
As she was relieved of her burden, Zecora sighed gratefully and looked to Twilight with a smile. “My thanks to you, dear friends, though our fears have yet to end. From my home I’ve had to flee, as the forest’s grown too wild for me.”
Applejack helped Fluttershy to carefully put aside the bag and asked, “Don’t suppose you can provide some answers ‘bout that?”
Discord quietly strode forward, the two guards and Spike in his wake, as Zecora reported, “I'm afraid this is a mystery to me as well, but I may have something that, if combined with a spell, will provide illumination to our harrowing situation.” She went to her cart and produced a potion bottle containing a bright purple mixture, its stopper decorated with a golden band depicting canid-looking heads with small red gemstones for eyes. “I do not dare to use it myself, the results would be tragic. The recipe is incomplete, and still requires dark magic.” She looked to Twilight and explained, “Princess Twilight, you can turn the potion from purple to white. After a sip, you may see why the sky is day and night.”
Twilight eyed the potion uneasily, but took a quick gulp before charging up her horn and infusing it with the required final ingredient. As the potion shifted to the desired color, she asked, “Why have this in the first place?”
“I hope you understand and will acquit, for to combat darkness, one must know it.”
“Ask me again if it works.” She held the potion flask aloft with her normal magic and took a small swig of it. She lowered it to the ground and thought aloud, “It doesn’t seem like it–”
Suddenly, Twilight’s eyes went wide and glowed with brilliant white light. Her movements were slow and sluggish as she looked from one side to another, and Spike approached uneasily. “What’s going on?!”
“Stay back, and keep from her way!” Zecora warned the dragon back and explained, “She’s having visions of another day!”
After what felt like an eternity of Twilight looking about, occasionally moving her hooves and flapping her wings, the glow faded from her sight and she shook her head. She looked to her friends and explained, “I saw Celestia and Luna, but…!”
“Where are they, dear?!”
“I didn’t see them now!” Twilight sighed and explained, “I saw them in the past, when Luna succumbed to the Nightmare and Celestia banished her with the Elements.”
Another yawn sounded as Discord snapped his claws and produced a folding chair and a small drink. “Another sterling moment in pony history.” He sat himself down and idly sipped at his glass, the liquid within going untouched. “A pity I was in stone for that one. I would have enjoyed watching that little spectacle, and the statue gardens in Canterlot didn’t afford me a very good view.”
Twilight frowned at the draconequus’ flippant remarks, but turned away as Zecora suggested, “Perhaps farther back still are the answers you seek. Another sip of the potion will give you a peek.”
The princess took another gulp, and once more, her eyes went wide and glowed, all beings present watching with baited breath. After what seemed like another eternity, she emerged from her trance and explained, “Alright, that time I saw Celestia and Luna use the Elements to defeat Discord…” She ignored the chaos-wielder’s gag and rolling of his eyes. “And then I saw them retrieve the Elements from the Tree of Harmony.”
The two guards looked between themselves, and Silver Bullet asked, “I’m sorry, what?”
“I guess it just became need-to-know.” Twilight turned to the two guards and explained, “The Tree of Harmony is a crystalline tree, located in a cave at the bottom of a ravine near the Castle of the Two Sisters. The ravine itself forms the castle’s border with the Everfree Forest proper. They called upon the Elements over a thousand years ago to defeat Discord after everything else they tried failed.”
“Okay, so three visions with the Elements in common. That’s a start.” Applejack approached Twilight and asked, “But we already knew all’a this thanks to the Princesses lettin’ us in on it durin’ that summit in the Crystal Empire. How’s it helpin’ now?”
“Maybe Twilight needs another swig of the potion?” Pinkie held up the flask for emphasis, some of the potion still swishing about inside it.
“No, I think I’m fine.” Twilight idly tapped a hoof on the ground, her gaze moving to the vines as she considered everything about her visions. “Celestia and Luna retrieved the Elements from the Tree. They used the Elements against Discord, but he didn’t put up a fight. He…” She turned to Discord sharply and declared, “Seeds!”
“Hmm?” His glass now all but gone, Discord slurped up the rest of it before dropping the actual liquid into a metal pot. “What about seeds?” He sealed the pot, and the whole thing rattled and shook, a muffled boom sounding from within.
“When Celestia and Luna confronted you, you offered them some sort of seeds as a snack! But most of the seeds you actually ate ended up getting spilled all over the place!”
A shrug. “I admit that I don’t have perfect table manners…”
“Discord, please.” Twilight locked eyes with the draconequus, a pleading expression on her face. “I wouldn’t have seen those visions if they didn’t mean something. I admit, the thought that you could be involved in all of this crossed my mind, but I also have faith that you genuinely care for Fluttershy, and for your friendship with her. I’m not asking you to help us on my behalf, but can you help us on hers?”
The Chaos Spirit regarded her, then grinned and laughed. “Oh, well done, Twilight! Polite and manipulative – you’ll turn into a wonderful diplomat yet!” He stood up and poofed the lawn chair and pot away. “You’re correct, of course. I was nibbling away at seeds when dear Sun-butt and Moon-tush arrived. I do that sometimes when I’m bored, nibble at something. I’d honestly thought for a moment that they’d given up attempting to reclaim Equestria from me, but those seeds were a backup plan, just in case they hadn’t.” He pulled off the goat’s horn upon his head and pulled a scroll from inside, then stuck the horn back on and unfurled the scroll to reveal a complicated set of formulae and drawings of a seed. “Those seeds were a little something I whipped up on my own. I call them ‘plunderseeds’.” He crumpled up the scroll into a wad and then ate it before continuing, “The plan was simple; if they don’t come after me, then I continue as I please. If they did, and whatever plan they had to bring me to bay failed, then same as option one. If they succeeded, then these little beauties would go to work and, within a few days or so, sprout into vines, drain the magic from the Tree and then trap them away.”
“So this is your fault!”
“Well yes, but I didn’t expect it to take this long for the things to grow!” He rolled his eyes and explained, “I don’t know everything! If I did, I wouldn’t have gotten turned into stone by the Elements in the first place, now would I?”
“Yeah, well, get ready to go back to being a bird bath, you big…!”
“Rainbow Dash!” Fluttershy moved between her two friends and protested, “Discord’s revealing all of this of his own volition. Doesn’t that mean anything?”
“Fluttershy, he’s the reason we’re in this mess in the first place!” Rarity looked up at the draconequus and continued, “Though this doesn’t explain why his contingency plan took so long to come to fruition. Something must have been holding his plunderseeds in check.”
“The Tree of Harmony.” Twilight looked among her friends and explained, “The Tree divested itself of a lot of its magic when it gave Celestia and Luna the Elements, but it still had enough left to continue providing balance between the various magical forces in our world. Those reserves must have been what kept the seeds from growing.”
Discord clapped. “Bravo, Twilight, a marvelous deduction!” He then floated upwards and grinned, “Now then, it seems you’re all left with two choices. Option one, you leave things as they are, and a good chunk of Equestria is overrun with plundervines. Or, and this is the option I like, you eliminate them all at once by returning them to the Tree of Harmony.”
“And get rid of the one thing we’ve got that can put the smackdown on you and any other jerk who decides he’s gonna take a bite out of Equestria?” Rainbow Dash shook her head and crossed her front hooves. “No chance, pal!”
“Hold on.” Silver Bullet stepped forward and asked, “Why can’t you just turn him back into stone and then return the Elements?”
“And why’d’ya let him loose in the first place?” Pixie Dust took her place beside her comrade and asked, “I mean, don’t get me wrong, Disky here’s probably all sorts of fun at parties…”
Discord grinned. “Well, obviously.”
“…But he did kinda throw all of Equestria into chaos. Twice. Why break him loose in the first place?”
Twilight sighed. “He got free months ago in the first place because Celestia and Luna’s bond with the Elements was finally broken after we bonded with them. Those bonds only lasted so long in the first place because the two of them are effectively immortal, barring illness or injury.” She stretched her wings and explained, “I may be an alicorn now, but I don’t have the same guarantee of a long lifespan, and I’m just as vulnerable as they are. And my friends and fellow bearers don’t have that amount of protection. If one of us dies, there’s no telling how long it would take for another bearer to be chosen.” She gestured to Discord and explained, “Reforming Discord seemed like the better option than just waiting for him to break free again.”
The thestral regarded the princess for a second, and then nodded. “Okay, I get that, but why not try to limit his magic?”
“Limit my magic? Please!” Discord popped up beside the guardsmare and explained, “Chaos, boiled down to its purest terms, is change, and you cannot force change upon someone, only encourage it. Believe me, if they could have limited my power, they would have done so through a method that didn’t involve turning me into statuary.”
“It was either petrify him or keep him loose.” Twilight sighed. “Which means we’ve got three options; return the Elements to the Tree…”
“And give up the only means we have to keep Discord in check.”
“Don’t return them, and let this continue, or…” She gestured to Discord and summarized, “Statuary and making him the next generation’s problem. Which I really don’t want to do. Bad enough Celestia was forced to do it; I don’t want to repeat that mistake.”
“Well, maybe there’s a fourth option?” Fluttershy flew up alongside Discord and asked, “Discord, you created the plunderseeds. Could you please get rid of them?” She gently hugged him and admitted, “I hate the idea of you going back to being stone, and I don’t think you’d enjoy it either.”
“Well of course not. If it wasn’t for Celestia taking the time to clean me every other week, I’d have woken up covered in pigeon goop.” The draconequus shuddered. “All of a sudden, I feel the need to take another shower.” He straightened up and noted, “I suppose I could always get rid of them, but…” He felt a tug and asked, “Is somepony pulling on my tail?” Everypony close to him backed off, and the tug continued. Realization struck him and he groused, “Oh poopy.”
With a cry of shock and alarm, Discord was yanked off his feet by one of his very own plundervines, the malicious plant whipping him about like a dog playing with a rope toy. Each blow against the ground was punctuated by a cry of pain, the gathered ponies (and dragon and zebra) watching with varying levels of amusement. While most who thought as she did were able to contain themselves, Rainbow Dash couldn’t hold back her laughter and guffawed loudly at the sight before her until she was elbowed in the gut by Fluttershy. “What? He brought it on himself!”
“We still have to help him!” Fluttershy attempted to fly in, but more vines sprouted from the ground, growths at their ends emerging and taking on forms resembling Venus flytraps. The growths expelled clouds of gas that quickly enveloped the captive draconequus, who hacked and coughed and spasmed with each fresh attack. “If only I knew how!”
The two guards looked to one another and nodded, Pixie Dust taking on a manic grin. “Don’t you worry, we know how! Stand back everypony!” The two quickly went airborne and produced a pair of chainsaws. The devices buzzed to life as they charged into the fray and attacked the marauding plundervines. The thestral cackled gleefully as they went to work and shouted, “Oh yeah! Let’s whack these weeds!”
Within minutes, the vines had been cut through, and with a final push were sent flat against the ground. As they went limp enough for Fluttershy to help Discord free himself, Silver looked to his partner and asked, “Seriously? ‘Let’s whack these weeds’?”
Pixie’s only response was a grin as Discord moaned, “Attacking me? The nerve! I created these things in the first place!” He snapped his digits on his lion’s paw, only for a popping sound to issue forth that, to human ears, would bring to mind engine backfire. He tried again with his eagle’s claw and the hairs at the tip of his tail, only to meet with similar results. “Well here we are again, me hoist upon my own petard.” He looked to the gathered bearers as they approached and grumbled, “It seems my creations decided that I was too much of a danger to them. That’s what you get when you put too much brains into a plant.”
“So now we zap him?” Twilight eyed Rainbow Dash, which prompted the pegasus to ask, “What? Like he wouldn’t kick us while we’re down!”
“Rainbow, I’m not arguing that he didn’t deserve some sort of punishment for all of this, but we can’t just turn him back to stone, and you already know why.” The young alicorn looked to the draconequus and reasoned, “But your magic isn’t working now, so you can’t get rid of the vines.”
“What do you think I was trying to do, summon a mariachi band?” Discord slumped. “Forgive me. The taste of my own medicine is a bitter pill to swallow, if you’ll allow a mixing of metaphors.”
“Well what about the chainsaws?” Spike pointed at the instruments wielded by the two guardsponies as they turned their tools off. “Those are working okay!”
“Yeah, but these things are powered by batteries, and those have limited charges.” Silver and his partner stowed away the chainsaws and added, “Plus, that’s not solving the entire problem.”
“He’s right.” Twilight looked among her friends and decided, “Like it or not girls, our only option at this point is returning the Elements to the Tree. We’d better get started.” She began trotting her way towards the forest, only to realize the others weren’t following. She turned back and asked, “What? What’s wrong?”
Her fellow bearers shared anxious expressions until Applejack stepped forward, “Sugarcube, none ‘a us are sayin’ returnin’ the Elements is the bad choice here.”
“If anything, it’s probably the most sensible alternative,” Rarity chimed in. “Even if it isn’t a popular one.”
“But in case you hadn’t noticed, things’ve done changed on us.” The orange pony looked to her friend and explained, “Look, goin’ inta th’ Everfree’s dangerous enough in normal circumstances, but right now, we’re dealin’ with these vines on top ‘a that. Plus, Celestia ‘n Luna are missin’, an’ Ah don’t think Equestria can handle losin’ another princess.”
“What AJ’s trying to say is that we’re more expendable than you, Twilight.” Rainbow Dash trotted up beside her friend as the others joined them. “We know what the Tree looks like and we’ve got a good idea where to find it, and we’ll feel a lot better knowing you’re safe here.”
“Relatively speaking, darling.”
Twilight looked among them, and then shook her head. “Girls, I understand what you’re trying to say. But you’re wrong; none of you are more expendable than me. I’m no more important than any of you just because I’m a princess now, and I hate the idea of my best friends charging into danger and me not being able to help them.” She smiled and added, “Besides, aren’t you all forgetting something? Since coming to Ponyville, I’ve conquered every challenge that’s come my way because I had all of you by my side. Nightmare Moon, Discord, Queen Chrysalis, King Sombra, the Nightmare Forces, we all defeated them because we were together, united as friends. And even the one time I was in danger, and you weren’t physically with me, you were still there in spirit.” She briefly looked up at her crown and added, “The Elements may have brought us together, but we’re as strong as we are because of the friendship we’ve formed. We’ll get through this obstacle the same way we got through all of the rest; together.”
“And on that note, you guys are definitely not more expendable than her.” Heads turned as Pixie grinned and declared, “Me and Silver are!”
The pegasus guard rolled his eyes at his partner’s remark. “Wonderful use of black humor there, Pix.” He stepped forward and continued, “In any case, we insist on coming along. You’ll need help in there, and besides, we’d be failing our duties if we didn’t escort Princess Twilight. We’re sticking close until the crisis is over, no arguments.”
Twilight’s friends looked among themselves, and Rarity noted, “Well, I do feel better about us having an escort from the Royal Guard. One wonders why we never had one before, to be honest.”
Twilight smiled. “Now we’re talking sense.” She looked past them and called, “Zecora, can you look after Discord until we return?”
The zebra nodded and declared, “I’ll do my best to render aid, despite the trouble he has made.”
Twilight nodded back and, with her friends and the two guards joining her, set off for the Everfree Forest. As they left, Zecora gave Discord a grin, prompting the Spirit of Chaos to remark, “One limerick out of you, and I shall be a very put out draconequus.”
The zebra said not a word, but nonetheless chuckled in mirth. T’was a rare thing indeed to see Discord brought down to earth.
-
“It seems like only yesterday that we were heading into these woods to find the Elements of Harmony.” Rarity sighed as the party made their way through the Everfree Forest, taking the most direct route they could to the Castle of the Two Sisters. “Of course, things were rather different that first time.”
“Aside from the fact that last time, there weren’t no plundervines curled ‘round the trees?”
“Obviously, dear. The last time, there were only six of us.” She smiled at Spike, who grinned back, then turned to the two guards and noted, “Perhaps this time will be a similar bonding experience. But enough reminiscing about us; I expect the two of you were rather busy around that time.”
“Maybe not as busy as you’d think.” Silver kept his gaze ahead as he continued, “The two of us and Flash had just graduated from Wing Point. We were on our first assignment, escort duty for a diplomatic party from Zebrica. Things happened, we got the diplomats where they needed to go, but we ended up cheesing off our commanding officer.”
“Guy was a jerk though, so don’t feel too bad.” Pixie gave a half-smile as she continued the brief version of the story. “Trouble is, he was a politically-connected jerk, and his buddies tried to set things up so that we’d get reassigned to the frozen north. Other strings got pulled, and we ended up getting an assignment in Canterlot; security detail for a member of the Royal Family.”
“That doesn’t sound like a bad assignment.”
“It was Prince Blueblood.” The thestral rolled her eyes. “The worst part wasn’t having to deal with him every day, though. The worst part was the one night he relieved us of duty. We missed out on all the fun at last year’s Grand Galloping Gala.” At Rarity’s expression of horror, she amended with a grin, “Don’t worry, he had it coming.” She sighed and continued, “But after that, he had us keep him in our sight in his every waking moment.”
“So, how’d you get out of it?” Rainbow eyed the two worriedly and asked, “Or did you?”
“We got reassigned after the changeling attack.” Silver smiled. “The four of us were the only ponies left standing when Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor repelled Chrysalis and her invasion force. You six… sorry, you seven aren’t the only ones that show what friends can do when they work together.”
“And there I was foolish enough to think that I had to go it alone.” Twilight smiled, glad that the girls had insisted on coming with her. “So, what happened to that fourth pony? I know Flash was transferred to the Crystal Empire, and you two were obviously in Canterlot, but what about them?”
“On her way to being a Wonderbolt. If you haven’t met her yet, you will soon enough.” Pixie Dust grinned and added, “Tell you the truth, I always thought she and Flash would end up together. Just as well they didn’t, though.”
“Oh? The two were close?”
“Eventually, but they fought like cats and dogs at first.” A troubled whimper sounded, and the stallion asked, “Miss Fluttershy?”
“Sorry, I’m just worried about Manny.” At his perplexed expression, she explained, “He’s a manticore we met the first time we came in here. I see him and his pride sometimes, when I visit with Zecora or look after another of my animal friends. I just hope he’s alright.”
“I’ve similar concerns regarding Steven. He tends to stick to the rivers in his travels, and he’s had more and more reason to visit Ponyville since then.” Rarity gave an anxious huff as they continued along. “All the more reason to locate the Tree and return the Elements.”
“I’m still not sure this is a good idea though. I mean, how soon until Discord’s back on his mismatched feet? And how soon after that until he decides to start causing trouble again? We give up the Elements and we’ve got nothing to stop him if he decides to give up being ‘reformed’.” Rainbow Dash emphasized that last word by making air-quotes with her wings.
“I know, we’re trading an immediate danger for a distant one, but we really don’t have much choice. We turn him to stone, he’ll break loose again somewhere down the road.” Twilight gave a hopeful smile as she noted, “And he did accept my request when I said please. All this might end up teaching him a lesson too.”
“Yeah, but Ah ain’t gettin’ mah hopes up.” The group reached the ravine that separated the forest from the castle, and Applejack surveyed the area. “Well, here we are.” Her gaze quickly found the cave, a multitude of vines entering it. “And there’s the cave. Now how d’we get down to it?”
“Those of us with wings can carry the rest of us down. We might have to take a second trip…”
“Ooh, stairs!”
As Pinkie Pie bounded down the staircase, Silver Bullet shrugged. “That works too. Pixie and I will fly on ahead and reconnoiter, see what we can find.”
“Go ahead, we’ll catch up.” The two guards swooped down ahead, Twilight and the rest following Pinkie Pie down the steep staircase. “Keep your eyes and ears open, everypony. We’re due to get trouble before too long.”
“Compared to what we’ve already got?” Applejack shook her head. “Ah know, it’s definitely feelin’ way too easy.”
The party reached the foot of the staircase and approached the cave, the two guards waiting for them. “Coast is clear, but you aren’t going to like what you see.” Silver nodded towards the inside of the cave, and Twilight stepped forward to get a better look. “I know I don’t.”
Twilight looked upon the inside of the cave, and stared in shock upon the Tree of Harmony. Plundervines had coiled tightly around it like pythons, its trunk and branches all but covered by the marauding plants. The tree itself was not the varying crystalline blues that it had previously appeared as in descriptions and illustrations, but appeared cold and grey. The vines oozing a sickly-looking liquid did little to improve the image. Fluttershy approached beside her and gasped. “The tree looks like it’s dying!”
“Those vines’re chokin’ the life outa it like weeds!” The party entered the cavern as Applejack examined the tree. “Guess if’n we’re gonna return the Elements, we’d best do it soon.”
“All right then. Lieutenants, cover me.” The two guardsponies nodded and readied their chainsaws as Twilight slowly rose up and activated her magic. One by one, the Elements were removed from their necklaces, and gently spun about Twilight as she removed the last gemstone from her crown. As it joined the others, their shared orbit accelerated, forming a rainbow-colored ring around her.
As if sensing danger, the vines went on the attack, stretching out from the tree and lancing towards Twilight. The two guardsponies moved to intercept, catching the vines in their chainsaws and holding them off as the young alicorn turned and focused her attention upon the tree, one element after another being returned to their original places from long ago. “Almost there…”
“Yikes!” One vine took hold of Pixie Dust’s chainsaw and wrenched it from her grasp, encircling it and crushing it in its thorny grip. As another threatened to do the same to Silver Bullet’s, the thestral called out, “Princess!”
“Got it!” The Element of Magic found its way home to the trunk of the Tree as the trunk opened up and accepted it. As it closed around the Element and held it in place, the tips of its branches shifted to secure the others. Bright light began to shine from each, and as the gathered ponies and dragon drew back, the Tree shone bright from within and the vines coiled around it were torn loose and reduced to ash. A wave of energy shot forth from the tree and went past them, doing nothing to the party but causing every vine in its wake to be disintegrated, including two bundles of vines located to each side of the tree that quickly revealed a pair of very familiar faces. “Celestia! Luna!”
With clear relief upon their faces, the two mares emerged and stepped forward. Twilight embraced them midway, both accepting the gleeful embrace. Luna smiled as she held the mare close. “Thank you.” She looked up and took all of the gathered party into her gaze and added, “All of you.”
“I know that giving up the Elements must have been very difficult.” The embrace ended, and the rest of the party gathered close as Celestia continued, “Doing this was a very brave thing indeed. And under the circumstances, necessary.”
“It will be difficult, but Equestria will find a way to survive without the Elements.” With more than a little remorse, Luna admitted, “It did so before Discord, and from my fall until my return. It can do so again.”
The light subsided, and those gathered turned their attention back to the Tree as it regained its original splendor, strands emerging from its branches and giving it more than a little similarity to a willow tree. The Elements on the outer branches glowed again, and streams of light flowed from them to the Element of Magic in its trunk, where two more strands made their way out. One went up the tree, along another branch, while the other made its way down the trunk, illuminating the impressions of Celestia and Luna’s cutie marks before making its way down an exposed root. Both streams caused a blossom to form, the one on the branch not blooming while the other did so, revealing something curious.
The three princesses gathered close, the others approaching and doing their best to get a good view of what the bloom had revealed. Before them was a silvery-blue chest, intricately-designed and with six keyholes arranged around it. Twilight looked to her fellow royals and asked, “What is this?”
Luna looked to her sister curiously. “Perhaps a replacement for the Elements?”
“Possibly.” Celestia examined the chest and took close notice of the six locks. “I don’t know where the keys are to this chest, but I do know this.” She smiled to her former student, then at the other bearers. “You won’t be finding them alone.” She stepped back, then cleared her throat. “Lieutenants.” The two guardsponies stood at attention. “I commend the two of you for your actions in this crisis, and for aiding and protecting Princess Twilight Sparkle. Without your aid, I suspect that her efforts would have been considerably more difficult.”
“We were simply doing our duty to the crown, ma’am.” Silver looked to Twilight and amended, “And it’s always good to help a friend of a friend.”
“And it was certainly nice to have them along for this little adventure.” Rarity sighed and prodded her now bare necklace with a hoof. “I’m going to miss having my Element. Still, one more piece for the jewelry box, I suppose.”
“Probably won’t be too hard for ya to track down a gem ‘n cut it ta fill the gap, neither,” Applejack helpfully suggested.
Celestia giggled. “They’re yours to do with as you please, though I think Twilight may be due for a new, less ostentatious crown.”
Twilight nervously grinned. “And I was just getting used to this one.” She put that aside. “But what about the chest? And that second stream of light in the tree?”
“I have some thoughts regarding both. For now, however, I think we’d all best get back to what we were doing. We all know a certain someone who needs to be brought to account for what they’ve done.”
-
“So, you gonna be okay?”
“Oh yes, of course, don’t worry.” Discord had recovered well enough from his encounter with the plundervines that he was able to sit up and summon up a small table and tea set, big enough to entertain himself, his caretaker, and their guests. “More sugar, anypony?”
“No thanks, Rarity says I get enough already.” Her fellow Crusaders and Zecora all declined as well, and Sweetie Belle continued, “So how soon until they get back?”
“Oh, probably not very long.” Indeed, the sky had returned to normal, the moon having been set and the sun now alone above their heads. The draconequus rolled his eyes and huffed. “Of course, once they come back, I’ll have the riot act read to me. Honestly, some ponies just don’t know how to have fun.”
“Well, all this was kinda yer fault.” Applebloom took a quick nibble from a biscuit and added, “‘Sides, all those vines made a big mess, and if’n yer right, Celestia ‘n Luna done got tied up in ‘em. Might’ve been fun fer you, but certainly wasn’t fun fer them.”
“Oh, true enough, I suppose.” A thought occurred to him, and he asked, “Speaking of, those times the three of you cause mayhem hunting down your cutie marks. How much trouble do you tend to see in those cases?”
“Depends, really. Most of the time we just have to clean it up, but sometimes we really step in it.”
“One incident to my mind does come, affixed with the name ‘Gabby Gums’.”
“Yeah, like that. And what happened with Babs.” Scootaloo sighed. “It’s probably going to take forever to get over all of that.”
Zecora laughed and gently smiled at the pegasus filly. “Mistakes were made on many parts, but forgiveness was in all our hearts.” Noticing Discord’s grin, she amended, “But one must acknowledge their misdeeds, if their quest for such is to succeed.”
The Spirit of Chaos frowned. Did she have to rub it in?
“Truer words have rarely been spoken, Zecora.” Heads turned and the three fillies charged off as the bearers, Spike, the guardsponies and the two princesses strode towards them. Siblings exchanged hugs as Celestia approached. “Now then, Discord. I believe you are responsible for this mess?”
“Yes.” He rose to his mis-matched feet. “I suppose now you’re going to punish me in some creative manner? Find some alternative means of turning me to stone?”
“The thought is tempting, yes. However, I can think of something worse.”
“Oh, and…?” Celestia stepped aside to reveal Fluttershy, a very disappointed Stare upon her face. This gave Discord pause, and he quickly gulped. “Ah. Yes.”
“Discord.” The yellow pegasus’ tone was stern, firm, and very much like a mother disciplining a misbehaving child. “Do you know what you’ve done?”
Cowed despite himself, he nodded. “Yes. I’ve done a very naughty thing.”
“And have you learned something from this?”
“…don’t leave my toys lying around where they can cause trouble?”
“And what do we say?”
“…I’m sorry.” With a snap of his eagle claw digits, the various bits of damage that Ponyville and its surrounding environs had suffered due to the plundervines was undone, and it was as if nothing had happened. He managed a deep exhale and noted, “I still can’t understand how you did that.”
The stern expression gave way to a smile, and Fluttershy gave him a gentle hug. “That’s the magic of guilt.”
“And hopefully, you’ll think twice before doing something like this again.” Twilight stepped up and added, “For now, however, thank you for listening.”
A brief expression of genuine surprise flashed upon his face, and Discord managed a small smile. “You’re very welcome, your Highness.” His hug with Fluttershy ended, he stepped back and declared, “Now then, if you’ll all excuse me, it’s time I retired to my home and got some proper rest. And probably another shower.” He snapped the digits of his leonine paw and vanished in a flash.
“Well take yer time comin’ back!” Applejack called after him. She looked up at the princesses and asked, “Pardon me speakin’ out’a turn, Highnesses, but ain’t there some better way’a handlin’ him then lettin’ him run ‘round wild?”
“Unfortunately, no. For now, Discord needs a chance to learn and grow, just as the rest of us do.” Celestia grinned and noted, “Besides, I’m not about to punish somepony for a simple practical joke. If I did, I’d be first in line for the judges.”
“And I would find myself with several days and nights of doing both of our tasks.” Luna shook her head and noted, “All’s well that ends well, and all of that.”
“For now, at least.” Celestia beckoned to the guards. “Now then, I think perhaps you may all be ready for the celebrations proper?”
“Amen ta that!” The Cutie Mark Crusaders cheered as their effective leader noted, “Bring on the Summer Sun Celebration!”
Author's Note
This was originally going to be a longer story and incorporate events from "Castle Mane-Ia". That'll become it's own story instead. It might be a little superfluous, but I needed to make clear that things had changed from the original canon thanks to earlier events in the Quiververse. Also, I wanted to pose my own reasoning behind why Discord was freed and allowed to remain free, and re-establish what was said in the original edit for the epilogue to "Six Nights (and a Day) with Sunset".
