A Crisis In Ponyville
Written By: RCharge
Edited by: EverfreePony
Morning arrived in Ponyville just like any other day. Rarity woke up in her bed and stretched her forelegs above her head. No sooner than she did, she winced as her back cracked from the gesture. “Ow… oh by Celestia. This is the last time I’m going to sleep on my back like this. This is simply dreadful!”
After she made her bed, Rarity headed into Sweetie Belle’s room. “Sweetie Belle! Time to get up!” She noticed a conspicuous Sweetie-shaped lump in her sister’s bed. Rarity trotted over, her expression now bordering on bemused. “Sweetie Belle! If I told you once, I told you a thousand times! When I say get up, I mean get--” Rarity gripped the sheets and threw them off. However, instead of being greeted by the sleeping body of Sweetie Belle, only a pile of pillows arranged in the vague likeness of her sister was found.
“Sweetie Belle? Now where did that mischievous filly get off to?” Rarity muttered as she rubbed her chin with a hoof, “Oh, I do hope she’s alright. What if she got hurt?” She looked around the rest of the room for her sister. She trotted over to a toy chest in the corner of the room, opening it. To her dismay, she found toys, but no Sweetie Belle. She threw open the closet and riffled through a couple of piles of discarded pamphlets and diagrams detailing cutie mark crusading attempts of varying scale and design, but the filly wasn’t there either.
Rarity, by the time she called off her search, was in full-on panic mode. Her breath came in shallow, ragged gasps as her head darted back and forth. “Sweetie Belle! Okay, this isn’t funny anymore! Come out! I know you’re in here!” When a second sweep produced the same results, Rarity galloped out of her sister’s room in a hurry. She rushed downstairs and was about to leave the boutique when her stomach growled. She decided that a quick detour to get a drink before she left wouldn’t hurt.
Rarity darted into the kitchen, coming out with a half full glass of orange juice in a shaky hoof. She gulped it down in one fluid motion and tossed the glass aside. She leapt off of the porch and galloped down the street. As she ran, she immediately noticed that something was off. She stopped, glancing around. Then it hit her. She couldn’t see the School of Friendship over the adjacent houses. Rarity came to a full stop for a brief moment and stared at the vacant spot above the rooftops with dismay and bewilderment. She could have sworn that the building was there yesterday.
“That’s strange,” Rarity said as she scratched her head while she stood there. “Maybe I’m just at a bad angle?”
She took a few hurried steps down to a side street to get a better look. “No, it’s definitely missing alright. Uh… oh no! What if Sweetie Belle was inside?” Rarity groused as she forced her legs to start moving at an increased pace. Deciding that she would get nowhere just standing there gawking at the missing school, Rarity made her way towards the Castle of Friendship.
She galloped as fast as her legs could carry her and her destination soon came into view. If she knew anything about Princess Twilight Sparkle, she probably already heard about this and was hopefully coming up with a solution. Rarity frantically knocked on the front door of the castle and hoped that someone was home. Much to her relief, Spike answered the door almost immediately with a bemused expression.
“Let me guess… the disappearance, huh?” Spike asked as Rarity glanced left and right.
“Yes! I am simply fraught with worry! I cannot seem to find Sweetie Belle! Would you happen to know where she is?”
Spike rolled his eyes. “Sweetie Belle? I was talking about the school... not your sister. Have you not noticed that?" Without missing a beat he gestured grandly over to where the School of Friendship once stood. The waterfalls were still flowing and the banners were still sitting in front of the pools that the water flowed into, however, the school had indeed vanished without a trace. The small dragon crossed his arms and heaved an almighty groan as Rarity looked down at him with a frantic look in her eyes.
“Oh… yes, the school… right! How could I not notice it, Spike? It’s literally the third biggest building beside the town hall and this… gaudy castle!”
Spike rolled his eyes at that. “Oh come on, Rarity! The castle isn’t that much of an eyesore.“ He turned around and gazed upon the castle fondly. “I think it’s a work of art. Also, the fact that it’s made of gemstone probably helps influence my decision on that a bit and--”
“No time for that, Spike!” Rarity interjected as she cantered in place. “I came here to see if--”
“Spiiike!” Rarity was interrupted when a loud bellow of a familiar purple alicorn could be heard, before she teleported next to him. “Have you seen my lesson planners? I need to take them over to the school and give them to the teachers!”
“For the last time… I haven’t seen them, Twilight!” Spike groused as Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Maybe you left them on the writing desk in the library again.”
“Oh, you’re right! Thanks, Spike! This is why you’re my number one assistant!” She patted him on the head before she teleported away. Spike just grumbled as she left.
“--Twilight was home. Well… guess that answers my question then. Can I come in? Maybe she knows where my sister is…”
“Probably. Hey, can you also tell her about the missing school? I’d tell her myself, but I’m not in the mood to deal with it right now. I already know what’s going to happen anyway. She’s gonna freak out about it, like she always does.”
“Oh, I’m sure it can’t be that bad… right?” Rarity quipped as Spike rubbed his claw along his face.
“Oh no, it definitely can be. You remember the last time something like this happened, right?" Spike groaned as he turned around. Flashbacks of Twilight using the 'Want it, need it' spell on her doll to create a solvable friendship problem darted across his mind. He shuddered and drove them out with a shake of his head. "That wasn’t exactly a fun time, and I just don’t want to have to deal with that right now,” he mentioned as he led Rarity inside.
Twilight reappeared in the library and hurried over to her writing desk. She’s just sat down and started reorganizing the planners when a loud pop caused her head to snap up from the pile of papers.
“Oh, good morning, Twilight! Fancy running into you here…” Discord said with a weak chuckle as he created an armchair and sat in it.
“Oh, hello, Discord...” Twilight groaned as she buried her muzzle in the lesson plans again.
“What? You aren’t happy to see me? Here I am getting all dolled up for you and you don’t want to talk with me?” He crossed one leg over the other. When Twilight looked back at him, he was wearing a two piece blue-colored tuxedo and slacks along with a black and white vest.
"... What do you want, Discord?" Twilight asked as she rubbed a hoof along her face.
Discord was about to answer when the stomping of hooves made itself known. A certain white unicorn with a curled lavender mane sped up to the duo, panting heavily. "Twilight!" Rarity bellowed as she skidded to a halt in front of the two. "It's absolutely horrible!" she moaned as she rested a foreleg against her forehead. "The school is missing, Twilight! Poof! Gone without a trace!" she said as she pressed the tips of her hooves together. “By the way, have you seen Sweetie Belle? She wasn’t at home this morning and she’s usually running around with the girls. I can’t find any of them and I’m kind of, sort of, maybe… freaking the buck out!”
Twilight began to space out, taking shallow, raspy breaths. As her face contorted into a grimace, her mane started to curl and her eyes dilated as she processed what Rarity just said. “The school… is missing?” Twilight paused for a moment. “The school… is missing. Oh… haha… the school is missing. Good one, Rarity! Always the kidder!” Rarity paused when Twilight said that. Deciding that now was a good time for drastic measures, she roughtly smacked Twilight across the cheek with a hoof to snap her out of it. “No time for that, Twilight! We have to find the school and Sweetie Belle!” Rarity exclaimed as Twilight rubbed her face.
Taking a few deep, calming breaths, Twilight turned to Discord with a raised eyebrow. "Gee… do you have anything to do with this, Discord?" she asked as the draconequus looked taken aback.
“Who, me? Twilight, I’m appalled! To think that out of all creatures you would accuse me...” Discord snapped one of his pawed digits and summoned a halo above his head, placing his talon against his body, “... of such a heinous crime!”
"Discord. You and I both know this is something that only you can pull off. Now stop stalling and return the school to its rightful place!" Twilight shot back as Discord rolled his eyes. He took them out off of his face, rolling them along the floor. He picked them up a moment later and placed them back in their sockets. Nearby, Rarity was watching the exchange. She was slightly perturbed at the draconequus’ antics, if her raised brow was any indication.
Blinking a few times, Discord reached up to the halo hovering above him and grabbed it. Afterwards, he bit into it like someone would bite into a cookie. “Here I am trying to make casual conversation with you and you start spouting off about how I’m responsible for this.” He took several more bites until he completely consumed it.
Without missing a beat, he twirled his talon and created a pair of glasses that he rested on his face. To complete the image, he reached behind his back with his paw to retrieve a newspaper. “After all… I am reformed now, I’ll have you know. These headlines here prove it! See for yourself!”
He held out the newspaper for her to see, pages raining down around Twilight with articles that talked about how ‘good’ he has been. Twilight poked her head out of the pile with a sour expression on her face. “Discord… I am not in the mood for your antics right now. I am very busy and the only thing you’re doing is distracting me. Clean this up!”
He sighed and opened the now empty cover of what once was a newspaper. The pile around Twilight grew legs and danced away towards the bindings where the pages all jumped back in. The newspaper reformed itself as Discord tucked it under his arm and concealed it behind his back again. The alicorn just huffed.
“Oh come on! Don’t you want my help?” Discord asked as Twilight rolled her eyes.
"No," she replied firmly. "I've had enough of you already," Twilight groaned as she fluffed her wings in annoyance. "I'm going to send a scroll to Daring Do and see if she's available. If she could find something as big as the Temple of Stars in a few days, this should be a cakewalk for her."
Discord's eyes lit up with glee. “Oh, I know how I can help! I’ll just bring that famous adventurer here myself! So… what’s her name again?” Twilight facehoofed. This was going to be a long day and she knew it.
“Her name is Daring Do, Discord… and I highly doubt that she’ll want to work with you to find the school that you’ve stolen!” Twilight jabbed Discord in his chest for emphasis.
“Pardon me, darlings… but if I may?” Rarity asked as Discord and Twilight both looked down at her. “Maybe we can come to an agreement, hm?” Discord pulled a handkerchief from thin air before he strung it in one ear and out the other to floss his ears. After a moment he pulled it out and snapped what earwax accumulated off of it before he made it disappear.
“Well, that’s what I was trying to do… but Sparklebutt over there wasn’t listening to a word I said!” Discord began while simultaneously ignoring the death glare Twilight shot at him. “I was just going to suggest we consult Darung Doe--”
“For the second time, that’s Daring Do!” Twilight stomped a hoof for emphasis.
“Right… that. Anyway, all in favor of me calling her?” Discord didn’t wait for a reply. Instead, he raised his talon and snapped.
Somewhere out in Saddle Arabia, Daring Do was in the middle of her latest adventure. She had just infiltrated a Mareoccan temple in search of Dr. Caballeron and his latest artefact recollection attempt. As she entered the temple, she scanned her surroundings.
"Wow… this is probably one of the older temples I've been in…" Vines hung from tilted pillars and cobwebs settled in the darker corners of the hallway. As she made her way further in, one section gave her pause and she looked down. She noticed many of the tiles were uneven along this section of the floor. I bet this is Caballeron's doing… she thought to herself as she fluffed her wings. She hovered over the floor and avoided stepping on it altogether.
Past the next pillar, the floor returned to normal. She landed and continued on, with her head swiveling left and right as she kept a vigil for any traps. She turned a corner and thought that things were going to get easier. Unfortunately for her, the next room appeared to be devoid of a floor. Seeing numerous vines dangling in front of her, she leapt to one to test its durability. Her wings tensed and were ready to catch her if the vine gave way. Luckily for her, it appeared to be sturdy enough to support her weight.
She swung from vine to vine, gracefully dashing through the room. She nearly made it to the other side of the pit when one vine snapped under her. Caught off guard, she plummeted several feet until she landed rather roughly on a sandstone floor below with the wind knocked out of her.
After a few minutes, her strength recovered just enough to allow her to slowly rise to her hooves. Her eyes slowly adjusted to the low light conditions and she could have sworn she heard snoring close by. When she saw the source, she felt her blood run cold; she fell into a cragadile pen with at least fifteen sleeping cragadiles spread out among the floor.
Oh buck. I can’t fly around these things… they’ll hear me. I’m going to have to sneak past them… but how am I going to get out of here? Daring thought as she spied a ladder on the other side of the room. With a deep, shaky breath, she started tiphoofing across the room towards the ladder. Every tail she brushed against twitched, which caused her to freeze for a few moments. When the movement stopped, she started moving again.
A few times she had to climb over the sleeping beasts to progress. Every time, she maneuvered over their rocky hide very slowly in hopes that they wouldn’t wake up. After what felt like an hour, Daring finally reached the ladder and ascended it like her life depended on it. When she got to the top of the ladder, she released a breath she wasn’t aware she was holding and wiped her brow before moving on.
When she eventually arrived at the main area of the temple, she found the artefact still sat on a pedestal, untouched. “Huh. This isn’t like Caballeron at all. I figured that he would have been here already.” Daring took a few steps towards the artefact when she felt herself sink slightly. She had no time to react before a cage fell down from above and ensnared her.
As she pondered how to get out of the cage, she felt a sharp stinging pain on the back of her head. Emotions churned in her head; first bewilderment, which gave way to anger, and finally to acceptance. Suddenly her body felt heavy and her legs buckled. Before long, she crumpled to the floor in an undignified heap.
When she came to, her vision was blurry and unfocused. A pounding in her skull caused every stray sound to be amplified tenfold. She tried to rub her temple, but found that she couldn’t move.
As her vision slowly came into focus, she only saw the ceiling of a sandstone room as well as something swinging down towards her. A sound from nearby caught her attention. Turning, she noticed Caballeron looking down from an outcropping right across from her. When she assessed the situation, she found herself tied to a table and at his mercy.
“Ah… so you are awake now, yes?” Caballeron glanced at Daring as she let out an unamused grunt. “Ah, good! Now is the time that I finally rid myself of you once and for all, Daring Do!” Dr. Caballeron rubbed his pasterns together with barely contained glee and a wide smirk.
“Ugh… Caballeron! I knew something was fishy when I stumbled across an untouched artefact...” Daring said as her vision still swam from the strike to the head. “So, how are you planning on getting rid of me this time?” she asked as he laughed and amusedly shook his head.
“As you probably have noticed by now… there’s something slowly swinging towards you. I have set up an axe over this table… in a few minutes, the axe will come down and cleave you in half, Daring Do!” He laughed as he watched Daring squirm against the sturdy bindings that held her. The more she struggled, the less she seemed to accomplish. Eventually she grew tired as the axe swung ever closer, coming within two apple lengths of her body. “Any last words?”
Before Daring could say anything, she felt an itch in the back of her skull. It was a dull throb that eventually grew to an angry buzzing as the intensity of the pressure grew. The axe completed its swing. Suddenly Daring’s body felt as if it was on fire.
A bright white light abruptly encompassed Caballeron’s vision as magic flared to life around her body. Caballeron quickly shielded his eyes with a foreleg as the light nearly blinded him. The bright flash only lasted for a few seconds, but when it died down, Daring disappeared from right under his muzzle. The axe cleaved the table in two mere seconds after.
He smashed a hoof against the sandstone outcropping he stood on. “Curses! How does Daring Do manage to get out of these situations?” he groused exasperatedly.
When she regained her balance, she noticed that she was inside the Castle of Friendship. It only took her two seconds to realize why she was here. “Discord,” she groaned as the draconequus peeled a piece of his fur off of his body and wiped his forehead. He wrung it out right before he reattached it like nothing happened. “What is it now? You knew I was busy trying to thwart my arch-enemy’s plans in Saddle Arabia!” Daring facehoofed and heaved an almighty groan of displeasure. “You better have a very good reason to drag me away.” She squinted at Discord and waited for his reply.
“O-oh, but I do! I do!” he began so as not to invoke Daring’s anger. “Just look out this conveniently placed west-facing window!” He gestured to the aforementioned window and splayed his arms for dramatic effect. Daring looked outside and raised an eyebrow.
“... I don't see anything,” she simply stated as Discord released a breath he wasn’t aware he was holding. “Can someone bring me up to speed on what’s going on?” All eyes settled on Discord who was whistling to himself as he tried, yet ultimately failed, to appear to be guilt-free. “Well?”
“Well… you’re looking at where the School of Friendship used to be, Daring...” Twilight remarked as she pawed at the floor with a hoof. “It… kind of disappeared last night and--”
“Let me guess. You don’t know who took it. Right, Princess?” Daring tilted her head as Twilight nodded meekly. “Right… since my schedule suddenly freed itself up…” Daring said as she glared at Discord who coughed into his talon, “... I suppose that I can help you find the school. Now, do we have any leads?”
Discord created a wooden thinking cap with some tin foil embedded in the top of it. He plopped it onto his head and made a loud humming sound as if he was deep in thought. He shrugged slightly as Daring stopped talking. “I wish I did.” He lifted the thinking cap off of his head and promptly threw it away. “Even as a Spirit of Chaos, I can’t be everywhere at once… as much as I would love to be.”
“Since nobody knows… let’s start tossing ideas around. Anyone have a good place to start? Twilight asked as her eyes drifted across the collected ponies and Discord.
Unfortunately, it was around this time that Rarity decided to speak up, “Oh great. I have to work with this… this charlatan to find Sweetie Belle?” she groused as Discord looked at her and raised an eyebrow. “I’ll only tag along until I find her, then I am leaving!”
“Oh, that’s perfectly fine and… wait… what did you call me?” Discord rubbed a finger along the inside of his ear. He created a hearing cone and stuffed the receiving end in directly after. “I assure you that I am being about as honest as I can get! I really want to help you three find the school! Why would I still be here in the first place if I wasn’t?” They exchanged unsure glances, but when they looked back, Discord was in full survivalist gear which included a safari hat, vest, and hiking gear.
“Oh yeah… I’m sure you totally didn’t do it, Discord,” Daring chimed in as she rolled her eyes. “As much as you all want to help, I do my best work alone.”
“Girls? And Discord...” Twilight cleared her throat as she spoke up. “Maybe we should… focus more on the task at hoof?” Rarity trotted over and smiled at Twilight as she approached.
“Twilight… I really appreciate you trying to help. Really, I do. However… could you do something for me, darling?”
Twilight blinked and raised an eyebrow. “Oh, um, sure Rarity! … What is it?”
Rarity lowered her voice so only Twilight could hear her. “Let me try to get this back on track myself.” Twilight registered the tone of Rarity's voice. She immediately stepped back from the trio with an uncomfortable expression on her face. Having said her piece, Rarity turned back to Discord and leveled a stern glare at him. “Now… where were we? Oh right, now I remember. Discord… it’s great that you want to help. However, I think that this is a job that only me and Daring should undertake. After all, both Daring and I have a reason to be doing this. To say that we don’t trust you would be a bit of an understatement at best.“
Daring glanced at Rarity and shook her head. “Don’t sugarcoat it, Rares. He’s just going to derail our progress and make our job harder than it should be if we don’t keep an eye on him. He’s coming with us and that’s final,” Daring said as she flew up to be face to face with Discord. “Don’t try any funny business. We’re on a very important task, got it?” Discord rolled his eyes along the floor again. “Well? Let’s get going.”
Discord shifted his eyes left and right. "Very well! How about we start with an obvious place? Like Mareocco! Or Tartarus! Or..." he said as he ripped the gear he was wearing off of his body.
"Or, how about you take us to your home? If you're as innocent as you claim… then you’d have nothing to hide there. Unless you’re lying to us... but you wouldn’t do that. Right?" Daring shot back as she stared up at Discord.
Discord sighed. He ran his talon along his face which stretched like rubber before it bounded back into place. For a few moments nothing happened... until, “Oh, fine! You want to go and see my home that badly then… then we’ll go,” he groaned as he curled his fingers around reality and pulled. A tearing sound could be heard as he opened a portal to his home. Afterwards, he tossed Daring Do, Rarity, and Twilight into it.
When they exited the portal, only the black backdrop of the void greeted them. They settled on a floating rock in the ethereal darkness as Discord admired the area with great fondness. “Well, I hope you’re happy. Here’s my home, nothing’s here, let’s go…” Discord attempted to usher everyone back through the portal. However Daring was having none of that.
“I’m not going anywhere, Discord. Not until I get to the bottom of this.” Daring wormed out of his grasp as she trotted across the rock to a bridge suspended over the hungry maw of the void below. At this Rarity simply sighed.
“As much as I don’t want to work with that product of a foal’s fiction novel… she does have a point, Discord. We have to find the school and return it.” Rarity followed suit and began to trail her. Twilight simply shrugged and caught up with the others as they started to cross the bridge. Discord groaned and floated behind them.
When they neared the other side of the bridge, Discord rubbed his hands together with barely contained glee. When the quartet crossed the bridge, they suddenly found themselves in the main plaza of Mareocco.
Mares wearing gandouras tailored from silk as well as stallions wearing djabellas with harem pants trotted by. Market stalls with goods ranging from vegetables to ceramic kitchenware dotted the area as the residents went to and fro on what appeared to be daily errands. Loud bells announced the time. None of the citizens even batted an eye at the sudden appearance of the quartet, apparently not noticing or caring at the moment.
"Wait… what? How did we end up here? What’s going on?" Twilight asked as her head darted left and right. Daring glanced back at Discord who wiggled his talons.
“One would think that you’d know how my home works by now, Twilight. Portals open and close of their own volition… even I don’t have control over that aspect…” Twilight groaned, but Discord seemed to ignore it. “On the plus side, now we can investigate! Maybe your arch-nemesis stole the school, Daring?”
“You really think that Dr. Caballeron stole it?” Daring asked incredulously. “That makes no sense, Discord! It would be literally impossible for him to do that!”
“Yes, that is correct!” came the voice of Dr. Caballeron as he trotted into view. Daring coiled her body like a spring, but before she could pounce, Caballeron spoke again, “Now, don’t worry, Daring Do… I’m not here to capture you. This time…” He cleared his throat. “However, no… I did not take this so-called ‘school’ of yours. In fact, I regularly donate towards projects and organizations that promote higher learning for foals. You didn’t hear this from me… but I would never stoop so low as to steal an institute of learning. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.” With that Dr. Caballeron went on his merry way.
“Well, that went nowhere. Have any other bright ideas, Discord?” Daring said as they crossed the plaza.
Discord smirked as the world blurred around them again. Soon, they found themselves back in his home. Twilight’s mouth opened and closed a few times as her brain tried to process what just happened. “But… huh? What... where? Why?” A few strands of Twilight’s mane stood on end as she tried, yet ultimately failed, to figure out how this was happening.
“Okay… so this place was a bust. What about… what about that Starlight Glimmer character?” Discord looked down at the others as he tugged on his goatee. Silence followed as the quartet slowly crossed an island made of what appeared to be cotton candy. It was sticky, yet solid enough to support their weight.
Fortunately for him, it seemed like his luck hasn’t run out yet. “... What about Starlight Glimmer? I thought she was reformed?” Twilight repeated as Daring and Discord both exchanged wary glances. “I mean… she was given a second chance…” Twilight offered somewhat meekly.
“I never heard of this ‘Starlight’ pony… what did she do?” Daring scratched her head.
“Well… she kind of... brainwashed an entire town and everyone that visited into thinking that everyone was equal and no longer needed their cutie marks…” Rarity rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, “... at least until we reformed her, that is.”
“You know… for once I think Discord is onto something.” Daring gestured to him before continuing, “If she did this once before and failed at it… who’s to say that she wouldn’t try something like that again?” she sighed long-sufferedly. “As much as I hate to say it… I agree with Discord. I feel it would be worth it to check and see what she’s up to.”
As they crossed over the next bridge, the world blurred around them again.
Several moments later, they appeared on the outskirts of Equal Town. Since the days of Starlight Glimmer brainwashing the residents, the town hasn’t changed all that much. Several new buildings, such as a new bakery, library, and town hall were added to the small hamlet. More residents have moved in because of this, but the appearance of the town remained much unchanged. Brick and mortar cottages dotted the single strip of cobblestone road that encompassed the area in its entirety.
When they arrived at the plaza, Rarity and Twilight were surrounded by adoring members of the hamlet. Several asked for autographs, but most of them were just content to give the duo hugs and words of gratitude. Discord caught sight of what passed for town hall and floated over, with Twilight, Rarity, and Daring following shortly after. A few quick knocks produced the visage of Starlight Glimmer as she poked her head out.
“Oh… h-hey Twilight! Long time no see! I see you also brought Discord and Rarity! Who’s your friend? I don’t recall seeing her before.”
Daring tipped her hat in response. “Daring Do, adventurer extraordinaire at your service,” she prattled off cordially as Starlight nodded her approval.
“Nice to meet you! So, what brings you to Equal Town?” Starlight flicked her gaze between the quartet with a puzzled expression.
“Can we come in?” Rarity asked as she took a few steps away from Daring. “We have… a few questions for you.” Starlight swallowed heavily, but stood aside to allow them to come in. After the door closed, she gestured to a few seats in front of an office desk that she settled behind.
“Now... what’s the problem?”
“It seems that you had a thing for brainwashing ponies in the past, didn’t you?" Daring replied bluntly and crossed her forearms as Starlight glanced about nervously.
“Shhh! Shh, shh, shh!” Starlight pressed her hoof onto Daring’s mouth to keep her from explaining further. “W… we don’t speak about that incident here. Not anymore. It’s a part of the town’s past that has… remained unwritten.” As if to emphasize her point, Starlight teleported a heavy tome to the table and opened it to the founding of the town. “We’re… well, mostly I’m, trying to erase that social stigma from the town and make it a place where all ponies can live freely. I saw the error of my ways and I’m trying to mend it,” she said as Daring silently rolled her eyes.
Daring sat there for a time and listened to Starlight. However, an unamused grunt preceded her lightly smacking Starlight’s hoof away from her mouth. “Only because you’re waiting for the perfect moment to try again, aren’t you?” Starlight raised an eyebrow at this. “You heard about the School of Friendship and--”
“Well, actually… I used to work there as a guidance counselor,” Starlight interjected, which caused Daring to recoil in surprise.
"Yup! She sure did! Are you sure you don't want to come back?" Twilight looked over at Starlight with a hopeful expression.
Starlight laughed for a moment before her mirth was replaced with a sour expression. "Wait… you're serious, aren't you?" Twilight meekly nodded.
"You were the best pony for the job… and you still are," Twilight added as Starlight sighed.
“No thanks, Twilight… you and I both know why too…" She swirled a hoof in a circle as Twilight nodded in acceptance.
"Where was I? Oh right, now I remember… I was there to try and assist the students with bullying, school problems, or whatever they needed to come and talk to me for. Needless to say, it brought up some… painful, repressed memories about… well, you probably already know. So, I decided to move back to Equal Town in order to try and set things right. To try and ease this burden on my conscious.”
“So… you didn’t have anything to do with the mysterious disappearance of the School of Friendship?” Daring asked at last. “You… didn’t steal it so you could refine your brainwashing attempts on the students or anything like that?”
Starlight was silent for a moment before she laughed. “Oh, by Celestia no! Granted I hated that place. Granted... I wanted to smash my face into my desk. Repeatedly. Or at least when I had to sit through inane problems that made me want to. However, I didn’t have any reason to steal the school. At least… not now. Old Starlight might’ve wanted to try something that brash and foalish… but I’m trying to mend my old town’s outlook... not make it worse. You get what I mean?”
“Yeah. That only means that we have one last place to look…” Daring shot Discord a glare that caused him to wilt slightly under it, “... and some creature has stalled us for long enough. It’s time, Discord. No more stalling. Take us back.”
Starlight bid them goodbye as they left town hall. A bit of walking and they passed back into Discord’s home for the final leg of their journey.
Arriving back to the chaotic dimension, they passed onto another island. A griffon seemed to be heading in the opposite direction of them. As they crossed paths, Twilight stopped. “Gustave?”
The griffon paused. One talon raised itself to a handlebar moustache that he stroked a time or two as he processed who said that. “Oui! I am Gustave le Grand… who wishes to know, hm? Oh! Madame Sparkle! You have no idea how glad I am to see you!” He scampered over to the group. “I am, how you say it... utterly and completely lost...!”
Discord sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Oh, suck it up, Gustave!” Gustave exhaled roughly and raised a talon to retort, but Discord wasn’t finished. “What are you doing here anyway?”
“One minute I am in ze school… the next? I am out here, wandering aimlessly in hopes that I can find my way home,” he groused. Rarity rolled her eyes as Daring simply shrugged. “I cannot get out of here, Madame Sparkle! Please… let me go with you so I can at least retain a shred of my sanity!”
“Wait, what? Say that again…” Twilight said as Gustave raised an eyebrow.
“A shred of my sanity?” Gustave asked as he scratched his head.
“No, the first part, please,” Twilight replied as Gustave tilted his head.
“The part about the school?” Twilight nodded and gripped Gustave’s feathers on his chest.
She glanced at the others, then back to the griffon. “Do you remember how you got here? Do you remember where the school is?” Twilight asked hurriedly as he nodded.
“Oui! I have just come from there! Would you like for me to take you there?”
Twilight immediately nodded her head. “Yes! Yes, please do! I just want to find the school. Of course you can tag along with us.” Gustave scooped up Twilight for a hug, expelling the wind from her lungs in gratitude.
“Oh thank you, thank you, thank you! I shall make this up to you somehow, mark my words!” Gustave said as he released Twilight and settled in with the others as they continued on.
Eventually, the final island and the School of Friendship came into view. Discord took this moment to halt them at the front steps.
“Out of the way, Discord.” Daring tried to pass him, but the draconequus was having none of it. “You know as well as we do that you no longer have anything to hide from us. Step aside.”
“Fine. You were right, I took the school,” Discord shot back as he ascended the steps to the main entrance of the school. Rarity trotted after him and pushed herself into the foyer.
“Ah-ha! I knew you were behind this!” Twilight said as steam billowed from her nostrils. “Put the school back, Discord! Now!”
As Discord and Twilight argued, Rarity broke away from the others and galloped into a separate hallway. “Sweetie Belle! Sweetie Belle, where are you?” she called out, her ears catching a high-pitched voice.
“Sis? Is that you? We’re in here!” Sweetie called out as Rarity kicked open a door and entered what appeared to be a study hall. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were huddled in a corner as Rarity approached. All three of them galloped up to Rarity and hugged her at once.
“Oh, thank heavens you’re okay! You three stay right here… I’ll be back for you when this is all over, okay? Rarity asked, and the three nodded. She left the room and returned to the others.
As Rarity rejoined them, she saw Discord pacing in a circle as he spoke, “I’m afraid I can’t do that, Sparkle. She wouldn’t like it…” he said as he waved his paw. Before Twilight could answer, she and the others found themselves in the Headmare’s Office.
“I guess the party’s over now!” Discord announced sarcastically as he threw his hands in the air. At the same time he conjured a party hat for everyone as well as animated noisemakers and several small tables with cakes and a punch bowl. The noisemakers made various sounds as miniature party cannons appeared, spewing confetti and balloons. All of a sudden, the punch bowl tipped itself over to empty its contents on the floor while the cakes deflated on the tables and the balloons popped themselves.
“Geez, you ponies are such party-poopers!” a voice groused as the headmare’s chair swung around to reveal a familiar pegasus filly with a chess piece for a cutie mark.
Twilight's mouth opened and closed a few times in disbelief before she found the capacity to form words. "C-Cozy Glow?" she announced as Cozy slowly clapped her forehooves together.
"And here I thought you forgot about little ol' me! Did you miss me?" Cozy asked as she batted her eyelashes at Twilight.
"B… but how? We had you imprisoned in stone and--"
When Twilight said this, Cozy just laughed and fluttered her wings. "Oh, that's adorable! You thought I didn't have a back-up plan for that, didn't you?" Twilight stared at Cozy and sighed long-sufferingly, but had no response to the question.
When Cozy was content with Twilight’s silence, she glanced at Discord who was cleaning up his mess. "Let's just say that I made a deal with a certain draconequus. He would let me out of stone and in exchange I would help him cause some chaos. I guess that was rather appealing… for he agreed wholeheartedly!"
Cozy cackled as Discord adjusted a collar that wasn't there while he worked.
“Alright… now that you have the school… what were you planning on doing with it, Cozy?” Twilight asked as the filly propped her chin on a hoof. “I mean… how much are you going to accomplish with an empty school?”
“Well, I’m glad you asked! I plan to…” Cozy stopped speaking as she scratched her head. “I… I mean I’m planning on…” Cozy tapped a hoof against the desk irritatedly. She had to admit that Twilight’s words made at least a modicum of sense. “Huh. You know… I didn’t really think that far ahead. I guess… taking the school was my plan...” Cozy looked up at Discord and simply shrugged. “Ah well, guess it's back to the drawing board. Hey, Discord…?”
“Yes?” he responded casually.
“Could you… fetch me a chalkboard and some chalk?” Cozy asked as she swirled a hoof on the desk. “I need a new plan!”
Discord reached off-screen to retrieve a miniature wheeled chalkboard that Cozy walked up to and began drawing on it. She waved away the chalk dust with a cough a few moments later. “Let’s see here… maybe I could turn it into a training area? Nah… would be useless without the others…” she decided as she erased it and started again. “Maybe I could team up with Starlight Glimmer and--”
“Um, Starlight’s reformed now, Cozy,” Twilight chimed in which made the filly pause.
Cozy blinked when she heard this. “... What did you say?”
“Starlight Glimmer is reformed, Cozy. She won’t be of any use to you,” Twilight said haughtily as she smirked at Cozy.
Cozy stomped a hoof on the ground in aggravation before she flew straight up to Twilight’s face. “Curse you, Twilight! And they say that she’s the unstable one!” Cozy flapped back over to the chalkboard and continued to scribble on it. “Okay! Plan C! I’ll just get one of the Tree of Harmony’s seeds and--”
“Um… the Tree is now a library...” Twilight chimed in as Cozy grinded her teeth.
“Argh! I’ll just destroy the bucking school! What do you have to say to that, Princess?” Cozy bellowed as she slammed her forehooves on the floor and snorted angrily.
“And how do you plan on doing that, Cozy?” Twilight asked as she glanced around. “You probably wouldn’t find anything useful out there in the void that is Discord’s home.”
“Well… well I’ll just bring it back! Yes, yes that’s it! I’ll bring it back to acquire the means of which to do so!” the filly said as she regained her composure. “Discord! Bring us back right now so I can finally destroy this school once and for all!”
Discord tried to argue the point. “B-but Cozy, I don’t think that--”
Cozy flew over to Discord and she shoved her face into his. “I command you to bring the school back! Now!” she shouted indignantly as he backed off slightly.
Discord exhaled sharply and gestured with his paw. Time seemed to freeze momentarily as the school reappeared in the same spot that it disappeared from. The draconequus looked out of the window to see the thatched roofs of Ponyville, then he cleared his throat.
“Well… this was fun. However, I suddenly noticed the time!” Discord raised an arm where a wristwatch with him using his arms as the minute and hour hands ticked away. “I… have to be somewhere else!” he announced as Twilight looked up at him.
“What do you mean you have to be somewhere else? Where else is more important than here?” Twilight asked as Discord waved a talon to produce a humble tea set on top of a silver platter.
Why… I’m late for tea! I’m sure that Fluttershy is worried sick about me!” Discord said as he brushed imaginary dirt off of one of the sleeves of his suddenly returned tuxedo.
“Don’t you dare, Discord! We’re not through here!” Twilight snapped back as Discord raised an eyebrow at her.
“Well, then you can explain to her why I didn’t show up for tea this time!” Discord said as he gripped the serving plate tightly with his talon. Twilight simply smirked and she waved a hoof dismissively.
“Ah, so you are reasonable after all! We’ll talk later, I’m already late as it is! Toodles!” Discord curled in upon himself and quickly disappeared. When the others looked back to the desk, they noticed that Cozy Glow disappeared as well. Twilight sighed and shook her head as she wandered out into the main hall.
Before either Rarity or Daring could say anything, Spike pushed through the main doors and into the main hall of the school. “You did it! You found the school! Where was it?” Spike asked as Twilight looked down at him. At the same time, the Cutie Mark Crusaders burst out of the nearby study hall room.
“Wait… what are you three doing here?” Twilight asked as the three fillies scuffed the floor with a hoof.
“Well… Apple Bloom called me and Scoots to the school for an emergency meeting…” Sweetie said.
Scootaloo spoke next, “I guess Bloom over there thought that the school was closer, so she called us both there.” She shrugged lightly before she continued, “I told you that the clubhouse would’ve been safer, Bloom!”
“Well, how was ah to know that Cozy Glow was gonna steal the school, girls?” she asked as Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo simply shrugged.
“Yeah, I guess you do have a point…” Sweetie said as Scootaloo tilted her head. “Next time though? Maybe just host it at the clubhouse, huh Bloom?”
“Right. Sorry for interruptin’ you, Twilight. Now, what were you gonna say?”
“Huh? Oh, right! Well… Discord took it as a part of Cozy Glow’s plans.” Twilight sighed as she rubbed a temple. “All of my hard work to encase her in stone… gone! Poof! Like it never even happened...” Twilight groused as she trotted into the foyer and sighed. “Guess we’ll just have to chase her down. Again.”
Unfortunately for Twilight, Gustave took advantage of the silence and spoke up, “You are going to be paying moi for my services, are you not, Madame Sparkle?” Gustave asked as Twilight glanced at him and raised an eyebrow. “I have been, how do you say, confined in that wretched place for what seems like days! Surely a little compensation is in order, non?” Twilight shot Gustave a look as if to say ‘We’ll discuss this later.’ The griffon nodded and backed away.
Twilight rolled her eyes, but continued on undaunted. “Anyway, thanks Rarity... Daring! You two were a big help! Working alone with Discord wasn’t something I was looking forward to.” Twilight rubbed her forelegs together with an absentminded chuckle. “Sorry about Discord taking you away from your adventure like that, Daring…”
“Oh, don’t worry, Twilight. As much as I hate to say it... he kind of… did me a favor back there.” Daring coughed softly into the frog of her hoof. “Anyway, I need to return to Mareocco. Ahuizotl is still at large and I need to stop him... as well as Dr. Caballeron. Just remember… you’re free to call me anytime, as long as I’m not trying to foil Ahuizotl’s plans.” Daring tipped her hat and descended the steps. She spread her wings and leapt into the air, allowing the wind to aid in her departure.
“Hon hon hon! I cannot thank you enough, Madame Sparkle! I fear that I would never see the light of day again!” Gustave held a forearm to his forehead dramatically. “Now… about that compensation?”
Twilight simply facehoofed. “How much are you looking to be paid this time, Gustave?”
“Oh non, non, non! I do not wish for ze monetary payment,” he stated. “I wish for you to rehire me and pay me double my original salary!”
“But... guh… what? Okay, fine, whatever! As long as it gets you to leave, you can name your price! Just get out of here!”
“Ah, I am glad that you can see things my way, Madame Sparkle! For now, if you will excuse me… I must return to Griffonstone. My pastries… they will not bake themselves, oui?” Gustave paraded down the steps with self-assured strides. He spread his wings and gracefully took to the skies as the wind guided him out of Ponyville.
Rarity and Twilight stood on the porch of the school, both satisfied that the events of the past few hours were behind them. From the shadow of a nearby alleyway, a pair of eyes could be seen watching them.
“Oh… you may have won this time, Twilight...” Cozy Glow said as she rubbed her pasterns together, “... however, you won’t be so lucky next time…” She cackled as she leapt into the air. “Enjoy your peace and quiet… for it won’t last much longer...” She glided through the air, largely unnoticed by the residents of Ponyville, into the Everfree Forest outside of town as a mischievous smirk curled her lips upwards.
