A Break From Order

In the Hall of Princesses, Princess Celestia, Twilight Sparkle, and her friends, shivered as Discord's laugh echoed off the walls.

"What do you reckon he meant?" Applejack asked the others. "Twists and turns and ending back where we started?"

Twilight Sparkle's face contorted as she thought. "Twists and turns... twists and turns... twists and turns!" Her face lit up as she looked outside. "That's it! I bet Discord hid the Elements in the palace labyrinth!"

There was little Princess Celestia could do to help. No longer connected to the Elements of Harmony, she was powerless to stop Discord. She wished Twilight Sparkle and her friends luck and they ran off, leaving her alone in the Hall.

Celestia lamented. She didn't even think of Discord's magic when she cast her protective wards over the chamber from which he had stolen the Elements. She had put him and that part of her past behind her, as surely as her fight with Nightmare Moon. But now was not the time to brood; now was a time for action.

Out the window, she saw the hedge maze shift and bend around the ponies that entered it. What if her student failed to get the Elements of Harmony? Celestia shivered as she mentally relived the dark times of the past. Her subjects running from giant triple-jointed rabbits, the sun and moon randomly rising and setting, and the nights (or was it days?) spent researching a way to defeat him.

The Tree of Harmony! She and Luna needed to return there if they were to save Equestria again. She galloped down the hall, threw open the doors with her magic, spread her wings, and took off.

She hadn't even left the Hall when suddenly a rope net appeared in front of her. She yelped as it wrapped around her, sending her tumbling to the ground where she rolled to a stop. Looking up, she saw none other than the Lord of Chaos himself, Discord.

"Hello, Princess Celestia," he said, smiling evily down at her. "Long time no see!"

Celestia got to her feet and released a ball of lavender energy, which disintegrated the net. She then stood tall and tried to look menacing. "What do you want, Discord?" she demanded.

"I just came to parlay!" He insisted innocently. "I figured it was the least I could do, since I'm attacking your kingdom and all." Celestia just glared at him.

"As we speak, your loyal subjects are running through my maze..." With a wave of his paw, he produced a crystal ball, which showed Pinkie Pie running through tall foliage.

"I'm having a lot of fun with them," he said as the view switched to a running horn-less Twilight Sparkle.
Celestia looked horrified at the disfigured ponies. "What have you done?"

"Oh, nothing yet." The view changed to wing-less Fluttershy, backing up towards the view. "But it would be so easy for me to do more!"

Discord reached through the crystal with his talon and scratched Fluttershy, causing her to jump and run off. He retracted his claw and looked at stray yellow hairs that stuck to his nails before cleaning them with his breath.

"So here's my deal," he began, throwing the crystal ball over his shoulder, which shattered into pieces before disappearing. "I'll promise not to hurt any of your little ponies if you agree to be my personal plaything."

Celestia was taken aback. The thought of being his "plaything" was revolting, but she had sworn to protect the ponies of her kingdom, and Discord was surprisingly trustworthy when it came to his word. "What exactly do you have in mind?" she asked, suspiciously.

"Oh, well, just play some games with you of course! You do love games, don't you Princess? Or did your bureaucratic duties keep you from having any fun?"

"What kind of games?" she demanded.

"You know what I want," he said sinisterly.

Celestia knew. Though it was a thousand years ago, she remembered when Discord came to "parlay" back then. He offered to let her rule Equestria by his side as the Queen of Chaos. The catch was, she would have to share his bed, the way a King and Queen would. Luna was also included on the deal; apparently, Discord didn't mind having multiple wives. They had outright refused, knowing they were the only ones that stood a chance to defeat Discord and save Equestria.

This time, though, Celestia had complete faith that her faithful student and her friends could find the Elements of Harmony. All that she needed to do was to distract Discord long enough for that to happen. And she was confident she could be very distracting.

"You promise not to hurt anyone else?" she asked sternly.

"Would I lie to you?" Discord smiled mischievously.

"Alright," she sighed with defeat, looking at the ground, trying to give him her best defeated pose. "I'll do what you want. I'll be your personal plaything"

"Wonderful!" Discord delighted, clapping his hands. A ball and chain suddenly appeared shackling itself to her ankle. "Wait right there, I have some things to take care of." With a snap, he disappeared.

"By Luna's moon!" Celestia cursed. She tugged at the chain with her leg and stared at the black ball of metal that held her captive. Discord must have enchanted it to be impossible to move. She concentrated on a spell and her horn glowed but then blinked out as the ball and chain glowed. She sighed, knowing full well Discord had also used a magic draining material to restrain her. It would be easy for anypony else to take it off, but she herself was powerless. She called out for help, but guessed correctly that no pony could hear her.

She sat down in the middle of the floor, wondering what everypony else was up to. The guards were on high alert, but things weren't so topsy turvy outside that they would think something was wrong. Twilight Sparkle and her friends were probably still searching the hedge maze while Discord no doubt hid the elements in some deliciously ironic location. Her sister, Princess Luna would probably be searching for her, if she weren't still asleep.

With nothing to do, Celestia stared out the window. Dark clouds spiraled over the labyrinth; something was going on out there, but she had no idea what it was. She was a prisoner now. It wasn't her first time, and it certainly wouldn't be her last. In fact, she thought it odd how often it was that princesses were held captive. Still she trusted Discord not to hurt any of the ponies, so her sacrifice would not be in vain.

She thought of the royal agenda that was made moot with her captivity. She was scheduled to negotiate the export taxes to the Griffin Empire, hold court over some domestic squabbles about a missing sheep, and attend a charity tea party hosted by the Canterlot Elite to help raise funds for cross-eyed ponies. She chuckled, morbidly admitting that she was actually doing more for her subjects now than she was before.
Suddenly the palace labyrinth flattened and she could make out the ponies in the distance having some sort of fight. No doubt Discord was finished toying with them and had moved on. The ponies started walking in the direction towards Ponyville and she waited for Discord to return, but after several minutes, he still did not.

She became anxious. Where was Discord? She needed him to return so she could try again to distract him. When he was with her, she knew her kingdom was safe, but right now she feared for her subjects. She began to pace, waiting his return. She tried to cast a another spell to no avail.

She continued to wait for what felt like hours until at last the doors to the hall were flung open. In walked Discord with a self-satisfied grin. In his talon he held a chain that lead to a collar which was around Princess Luna's neck. As soon as the sisters saw each other, their mouths dropped.

"Discord!" they shouted in unison.

"You promised me that if I was your plaything you wouldn't hurt anypony else!" Celestia yelled.

"And I haven't hurt anypony," Discord defended, "yet."

"And thou hath promised me that if I wast thy slave, thou wouldn't let anypony starve!" Luna protested, still using the thousand year-old archaic grammar.

"And no pony is starving!" Discord pointed out the window at the chocolate rain. "In fact, thy subjects are well fed! I let them eat cake!"

The two captive princesses glared at him and he laughed maniacally. He gave a wicked grin and rubbed his lion paw against his talon. "And now for the fun part."