The Ordinary Ponies

Chapter 17: The Rise of Discord-Part 3

The labyrinth was flattened in an instant, leaving only a large pit and the five ponies on the field. Discord appeared in front of them, with victorious laughter and crazy expressions, as if mocking their failure, especially Twilight's.

“Well, well, well, there's a pony breaking the 'no fly' rule.” Discord snapped his fingers randomly, and the ponies’ wings and horns returned. “The game is over, you couldn't find the elements - I won, the storm of chaos is coming!”

Twilight was a bit dazed. Did they fail? But then she remembered what Mr. Miracle had said and knew that the game wasn’t over yet, it was not the time to give up.

“No, we didn't lose!” Twilight shouted loudly. “It's you who broke the rules, not us. We're not done yet.”

“Oh? Should I explain to you again that the one who flew away is Rainbow Dash?”

“If it weren't for your mischief, could she regain her wings? You know it!”

“Okay, okay, even that, you haven't been able to find the elements either. You've failed to solve the puzzle.” Discord conjured a sofa and sit there started eating wrapping paper rather than popcorn inside.

“We haven't failed, we know where the Element of Harmony are.”

“You know? Hahaha...” Discord almost burst into tears. “Then you can just go find them. I won't waste my time here - I need to have some fun,” he snapped his fingers and disappeared.

Immediately, chocolate rain began to fall in the sky, and looking into the distance, entire Canterlot was also about to face a crisis of chaos.

Twilight looked at her friends who were arguing with each other, sighed deeply, and felt helpless and tired. But as soon as she thought of Princess Celestia’s entrustment and Mr. Miracle's final reminder, she knew she couldn’t give up. The whole Equestria relied on them and the Elements of Harmony.

“Girls, we need to go back to Ponyville and find the elements.”

But they were all busy arguing, and none of them were listening. Fluttershy kept pretending to laugh and angered Pinkie. The angrier Pinkie got, the happier she became; However, Applejack's incessant running of trains gave Rarity a sense of crisis, and she kicked her in order to monopolize the diamond.

“Stop, everyone stops!” Twilight felt like she was going crazy too. “Before one of us says words of regret.”

“Tsk tsk tsk, poor Twilight, are you mad?” Fluttershy flew over with a mischievous smile on her face. “Is it because you feel useless because you couldn't defeat Discord? It's okay, anyway, when you have no horns in the labyrinth, you’re already useless, hahaha!”

“What are you laughing at! Don't laugh at me!” Pinkie interrupted sternly, jumping over and looking at Fluttershy. “Whoever dares to laugh again, I will smash her!”

“Oh? Ha-Ha!”

“I told you not to laugh!”

“Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha!” Fluttershy finished speaking and flew into the air before Pinkie's hooves hit her. “How can you smash me? After all, you can't fly – Ha-Ha-Ha!”

“Don't laugh, I said don't laugh -”

Pinkie was jumping on the ground, while Fluttershy was hovering over her head, deliberately pretending to laugh. Twilight looked to the other side and saw that Applejack was forced back by Rarity's hooves, looking panicked but still full of lies.

“I guess Princess Celestia will need it, you have to offer it...I was sent by her, give me the diamond.”

“Don't even think about it! If you want to touch 'Tom', ask my hooves first!” Rarity kicked her one hit after another, and her fists lightning fast.

In a fit of anger, Twilight cast a spell on all her companions, and in an instant, they all floated up and settled in the air. “It is much better...Listen to me, no matter what negative emotions you have now, the elements are the most important. We need to hurry back to Ponyville, understand?”

She paused for a moment to ensure that her friends had calmed down before releasing the magic. They didn't continue arguing, but their eyes still looked hostile towards each other. When Fluttershy passed by Twilight, she even gave her a tail slap.

“Okay, okay, for the sake of this magic, I'll come with you,” Fluttershy said without looking back.

“If you're willing to help me carry the diamond, I'll come with you. But don't even think about stealing it!” Rarity pushed "Tom" and followed Fluttershy.

“I'm really fed up with it. As long as you don't come looking for me, it's not a problem to do anything,” Pinkie frowned and said.

“I can go, but first you have to say to the flower of my cousin's friend, the son of my seventh aunt!” Applejack continued to perform steadily.

Twilight let out a long sigh and walked ahead, unsure if she could hold on all of this until the end of the matter.

……

In Ponyville, Princess Luna and Princess Celestia looked at the chaotic scene in front of them and sighed, just like long before. Differently, this time they didn't have the Elements of Harmony, everything relied on Twilight.

“I guess Discord is coming soon, we don't have much time left,” Mr. Miracle suggested.

Princess Celestia and Princess Luna each released a magic laser, and wherever the two beams hit, things instantly returned to their original state; But these two new-changed things seem “abnormal” in the chaos.

“It's not difficult to restore the curse, but it will probably cost much more time to restore entire Ponyville,” said Princess Celestia.

“No matter what, we have to do it.” Princess Luna didn't want to give up and fired two more lasers. But compared to the entire chaos, this was really a drop in the bucket.

Mr. Miracle looked at the rainbow upside down in the distance and had an inspiration.

“Your Royal Highness, can you make prisms?”

“Prisms? Oh - I understand!” Princess Celestia cast a spell on a floating building, and the shattered glass of the window floated before her eyes. She further cast another spell, and these glasses melted into two huge transparent crystals.

Then Princess Celestia released a restoration spell on one of the prisms, scattering the light into a large area. With a slight change in direction, the restoration light curtain scanned the entire area like an eraser, restoring everything in front of her to its original state.

“Clever!” said Princess Luna joyfully, and she followed suit.

The restoration magic of the two princesses quickly swept through the streets and alleys, turning the chess table back into flat land, the cotton-candy rain cloud back into white clouds, the card house back into residential buildings, and the long-legged animals back to normal...

Seeing this situation, the previously tormented ponies approached the streets one after another, paying high respect to the two princesses.

“Oh my goddess, they are Princess Celestia and Princess Luna!” “We're saved!” “There's nothing to be afraid of anymore.” ...The ponies then burst into enthusiastic cheers.

Princess Luna looked at the cheering crowd in front of her and sighed, “Being admired by the ponies must be very good, right?”

“It's really good...but there's never been a time like this.”

“Because the scale and extent of this time are far greater than before?”

Princess Celestia shook her head and said, “No...it's because this time, we're doing this together.” After speaking, she turned to Princess Luna with a smile.

Princess Luna was taken aback and blinked, not knowing what to say. Perhaps her sister couldn’t fully understand her, but neither could she.

“I'm sorry,” Princess Celestia pondered for a long time before finally saying these words.

“It's okay, at least you know now that royal guards need reform –”

“Not only for this, but also for the past,” said Princess Celestia seriously. “I’m sorry, sister.”

Princess Luna suddenly felt a slight choking in her throat, a faint sour sensation spreading from her throat to her nasal cavity, and then tears moistened her eyes. “I also want to say sorry, sister.”

Both princesses saw each other's tears and smiled at each other.

“Well, I'm not used to these emotional moments...” Princess Luna smiled. “Speaking of the guards, do you still think weapons are a bad idea now?”

“It seems that I have to admit those weapons do have a purpose for their existence,” said Princess Celestia helplessly.

The repair process was long, but not very tense. They just chat while repairing. Ironically, it was this crisis that created the opportunity for sisters to coexist, and Princess Celestia could confide in her sister this time.

After a long time, they repaired an entire street that ran across Ponyville. Just a few more times, it would be as beautiful, leisurely, and full of laughter as before.

But at this moment, a burst of disharmonious laughter came from all directions, and the sound was like thunder. “Dear two little princesses, do you have to be so disappointing?”

“Discord!” The two princesses gritted their teeth.

Immediately after, the figure of Discord, full of contradictions and chaos, appeared in front of them, and the ponies around them were scared and hid back inside.

“Why don't you understand the concept of 'vitality'? It's me who turned the boring Ponyville into an amusement park, but you always want these boring ponies to return to their previous boring lives.”

“Discord! You have no chance to sing!” Before the two princesses answered, Twilight's voice came from the entrance of Ponyville. “Once we obtain the Elements of Harmony, your chaotic rule will come to a complete end!”

“Is that so? Then I'll wait for your ‘good news’.” Discord put on a pair of sunglasses on his head. “But I have to remind you that there are six Elements of Harmony, and you only have five now - I doubt if you have enough magic to defeat me.”

“Twilight, go get the elements quickly. We'll hold him back here,” Princess Celestia shouted decisively. Then, Twilight and her companions headed straight to Golden Oak Library, but Discord didn’t want to stop them.

“My little princesses, you should understand: without the Elements of Harmony, you are not my match.” Discord looked indifferent, as if the alicorn princesses were no different from ordinary ponies in his eyes. “With just a snap of my fingers, everything will return to what I hoped for - full of 'fun'. The time it takes for you to restore something is enough for me to spread chaos for several kilometers.”

Upon hearing this, the two princesses furrowed their brows. He was right, the chaotic magic was so unreasonable, without the elements, they couldn’t stop him at all. But that didn't mean they would surrender or give in. Some things must be done even if they are destined to fail.

“Sister, do you remember what you said?” Princess Celestia smiled and asked.

“Remember - 'No matter what, we have to do it,'" said Princess Luna firmly. “Let's go, sister.”

“Oh, so touched...I ‘almost’ shed tears.” Discord wiped his eye bags with the lion's palm, but there were no tears on them. “Almost.”

“Wait!” As the battle was about to begin, a voice came from behind, which was none other than Mr. Miracle, who had been overlooked since the beginning. “Even if we don't have such powerful magic like you, it doesn't mean we can't play with you.”

“Hmm? Who are you?” Discord took off his sunglasses and looked over. It was just an ordinary colt, with black mane, light-brown body color, and no cutie mark on the flank. “Oh, I remember. You were also in Canterlot with those little girls. How do you want to defeat me with your weak hooves?”

Upon hearing the familiar voice, the three CMC poked their heads out from the buildings on both sides of the street.

Mr. Miracle ignored the gaze of other ponies and walked leisurely forward. “My only reliance is my mind and mouth - if that's what you're asking.”

Princess Celestia showed a worried expression, ready to step forward and protect him at any time; But Princess Luna comforted her with her eyes, making her calm for a moment - she believed in Mr. Miracle.

“Really? How are you planning to defeat me? I can zip up your mouth right now, but –”

“But you wouldn't do it because it's too 'boring', right?” Mr. Miracle smiled mysteriously. “I think you should know that even if you have the magic to achieve your thoughts, it doesn't mean everything can go as you wish. What you want is 'fun', but most of the time, simply and roughly changing reality doesn't always bring fun.”

“What do you want to say?” he raised his eyebrows in confusion and asked suspiciously.

“I want to play games with you. The rule is that I say one thing: if you can't do it, I win; if you can do it, I lose. I promise it will be fun, isn't that what you want?”

“Oh, I don't think so –”

“Don't worry, the rules are in your favor - if you win, I will immediately retreat and shut up completely. You can cause chaos at will; if you lose, just play the next round with me until you win. My only request is that during the games, don't torture those ponies.”

“So you were trying to buy time...Is Twilight really worth this big bet?” Discord holding down his chin, spinning like a windmill, as if he was thinking fiercely. “Okay, I'll play. I want to see what the chaotic magic can’t do.”

“Okay, then for the first round: Mr. Discord, please create a shield and a spear –”

“What's the difficulty? Just snap my fingers –”

“Please hear me out,” Mr. Miracle said calmly. “I want a shield that is the hardest, even the sharpest spear can’t pierce it; and a spear that is the sharpest, even the hardest shield can’t resist it. How about that, can you do it?”

Discord was about to say that there was no problem at all, but then he couldn't snap his fingers. The power of achieving one's wishes was indeed infinite, but the prerequisite for unleashing it was “imaginable”.

The conditions for shields and spears were mutually exclusive, and no one could imagine their nature - if he created the hardest shield, then the spear couldn’t be the sharpest; If he created the sharpest spear, then the shield couldn’t be the hardest.

“Fine, next round,” said Discord. “But no more this kind of contradiction, otherwise the game will end immediately.”

“No problem, Mr. Discorded. I guarantee every round will be different.” Mr. Miracle still had a confident look on his face. “In the second round, Mr. Discord, I would like to ask you to catch up with a turtle one kilometer away –”

“What's the difficulty? I can get in front of it at once.”

“Please listen to me. You need to chase it at a specific speed.”

“That’s not fair. If you want me to chase at a slower speed than it, I will never be able to catch up. Unless I take a shortcut.”

“No, no, no, I want you to chase after it with faster speed. Every time the turtle walks a distance, you only need to spend one tenth of the time to reach its position. How about it, is it simple?”

Discord smirked, and snapped his fingers to conjure a turtle. It was easy for him and the turtle both to move forward at two specific speeds. His speed would be ten times that of the turtle, how could he not do it?

But he just couldn't continue - there were still traps in this question. No matter how slow the turtle walked, he had to spend one tenth of the time reaching its position before and then continuing to chase, but the turtle's progress was continuous, not his.

This meant that when he finished the 1000 meter interval between them, the turtle would still keep moving forward during this period, eventually leading him by 100 meters; When he finished the next 100 meters, the turtle would still be 10 meters ahead; When he finished the next 10 meters, the turtle still led by 1 meter...

He could always spend one tenth of the time reaching the turtle's previous position and continue chasing with the remaining nine tenths of the time; But for the next nine tenths of the time, he always had to allocate another portion to continue stepping on the position before the turtle...

Following this rule, he couldn't catch up with the turtle no matter what, because the distance was infinitely divisible. Even though it might seem like they have already made contact, it still couldn’t be considered “pursued”.

The key to this question was as mentioned before: turtle’s movement and spending of time were continuous, but not for Discord’s. Even if his speed was ten times that of a turtle, his movement and time meant that he would never catch up with the turtle.

“You’re a bit clever. I can't do this, so you win this round. But the next round - it's the same, you can't come up with a similar question.”

“No problem, Mr. Discorded. In the third round, please conjure my cutie mark - I mean, the real cutie mark.

“I can't, next round!” Discord’s expression became increasingly ugly. He didn't expect this ordinary pony in front of him to have so many whimsical ideas. This was also the first time he had been helpless in front of other creatures in this “strange way”.

The two princesses looked and listened in surprise, wondering if they could do those things, but the answer was no. But as the game progressed, they became increasingly worried, afraid that after Mr. Miracle's questions all were asked, Twilight might be still not prepared.

……

Inside the Golden Oak Library, Twilight and her friends had a fierce struggle to obtain The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide. Upon opening it, they found that all six elements were actually inside. Twilight’s whole body was dirty, her mane was disheveled, and face was covered in sweat and dust, but as long as she retrieved the Elements of Harmony, it was all been worth it.

“Necklace, necklace, necklace, necklace, crown! Let's go!” Twilight used magic to put the Elements of Harmony on her friends, ready to face Discord.

Spike reminded on the side, “Twilight, did you miss someone?”

Twilight turned around and realized they still lacked Rainbow Dash. “Yeah, Rainbow Dash is not here...but we must defeat Discord now. Who knows how long Princess Celestia and the companions can hold on? Spike, you can put on her necklace.”

“Who?! Me? No, no!” Spike retreated repeatedly. “You know this won't work.”

Twilight looked at Spike, then at the four gray friends, and let out a long sigh. “I...I don't know what to do...Although my friends are all here, I know they have left me...” She sat on the ground, burying her head in her hooves, tears streaming down her face. “Without their friendship, I couldn't have succeeded.”

As her tears flowed, her whole body began to turn gray. Spike looked at everything in surprise, anxious but unsure of what to do. At that moment, he remembered the sachet that Mr. Miracle had given him a long time ago, with the note: If Twilight loses confidence, do as I say above.

He hurriedly ran upstairs, took out the sachet that had already been stained with some dust, and opened it to see six sheets of paper inside. What shocked him was that each piece of paper corresponded to one pony - Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, with detailed stories and lessons learned from them. Did Mr. Miracle also anticipate this?

He ran downstairs with these papers and showed them one by one (actually forcibly taking pictures of their faces). At first, they all swept over listlessly, but then they began to take it seriously, as if an impulse deep inside forced them to do so.

“Generosity not only means being generous and selfless in everything, but also means that when jealousy comes, generosity will make you do the right thing,” Rarity read it out loud, and memories flooded in.

“The one who always smile when you're laughing doesn't necessarily mean a true friend; a true friend will be by your side when you're sad and make you laugh from the bottom of your heart with her,” Pinkie said.

“The truth may not always be beautiful, but even the worst truth is ten thousand times better than the best illusion. Only sincerity can forge friendship,” said Applejack.

“Sometimes we may lack courage and strength, but as long as we have friends by our side, everything becomes simple. Friendship makes us better,” said Fluttershy.

Their gray gradually faded away, and their eyes became clearer, and Spike cheered as he watched.

“Oh my goddess, it's like a long dream...Oh, who moved this ugly big stone? It seems to be me...I don't think we should talk about it again in the future,” said Rarity with a disdainful glance at the stone.

“I'm afraid the lies I told today are even more than the total back then,” sighed Applejack.

“I'm so glad I woke up...I'm sorry for everything I've done for me!” Fluttershy said awkwardly.

“I didn't laugh all morning! That's so unreasonable! But looking at the positive side, it's quite funny that my whole body turned gray – just like my sisters!” Pinkie laughed.

They looked at Twilight, who was still in sadness, and walked forward one after another, feeling both heartbroken and sorry. They put their hooves on her shoulders, and she suddenly turned around to see her familiar friend, familiar face, familiar voice –

“You’re all back!” Twilight hugged them, her gray color finally fading away and returning to her original state. “I'm glad to have you friends again.”

“Hey, don't forget me!” Spike also hugged them.

“I guess these papers were written by Mr. Miracle. The paper to me is exactly what he said at the beginning – ‘Never give up on your friends. Just as you believe in yourself, believe in them; just as you believe in them, believe in yourself.’”

“What should we do next?” Asked Applejack.

“We need to retrieve Rainbow Dash and bring her back!” Twilight said firmly. “Only with us six, our friendship is complete, and the elements can exert their greatest power.”

So they quickly set off through the back door, but searching for Rainbow Dash throughout Ponyville was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Twilight suddenly remembered the time when Pinkie and Rainbow Dash played pranks together, no matter how she flew, Pinkie could accurately find her.

“Pinkie, we need you to find Rainbow Dash.”

“Let me try...” She licked her lips, not knowing which nerve had moved, but the strand of inverted mane on her head actually moved. “It seems to be this way! Follow me.”

Five ponies followed the instructions of Pinkie’s mane and twisted around, finally discovering Rainbow Dash lying on a cloud in the outskirts. As expected, she also turned gray.

Fortunately, the fire balloon was nearby. “It’s not a joke to catch her,” Twilight said.

Then they engaged in a tense and exciting chase, and Fluttershy unleashed unparalleled pulling force, finally catching up with and locked Rainbow Dash by Applejack.

Rainbow Dash struggled extremely fiercely, so they couldn’t show Mr. Miracle's paper to her, but Twilight could use magic to make her recall everything.

When Twilight's horn touched her, she couldn't help but recite, “Sometimes loyalty to friends means sacrifice, but the past, present, and future sacrifices for friends are always worthy.” Her gray faded away, and her momentum returned.

“Disgusted Discord, how dare he sow such discord between us!” she said angrily. “I’ll let him get real trouble and feel sorry for this!”

“Let's go back quickly, I'm afraid Princess Celestia and the others won't be able to buy too much time.”

……

On Mr. Miracle's side, although he maintained an inscrutable smile, he was actually sweating profusely. Even if he was very knowledgeable, there couldn’t be endless "paradoxical questions" that could trap Discord for a lifetime.

His questions have almost all been asked, so now he could only take a gamble.

“Round 33, Mr. Discord. I want you to take on the full force of the six Elements of Harmony,” he said, hoping that Twilight and the others would successfully regain their true nature, rather than just coming in gray forms.

“This doesn't - wait, did I hear it wrong?” Discord’s expression, which was already bored, suddenly shone brightly and then became sinister and cunning. “‘Take the full strike of the Elements of Harmony? No problem! Just watch it.”

He made a target on his stomach as he spoke, and then a bottle of sunscreen began to be applied, as if the radiance of the Elements of Harmony was just "sunbathing" for him.

“Discord, you will pay the price for your complacency!” Twilight and her five companions were just arriving at the scene, as if heroines had appeared.

Mr. Miracle breathed a relief-sigh upon seeing this; Princess Celestia said, "I'm so glad they can overcome the trouble of being bewitched. I was still thinking that if they were in trouble, I would return the weekly journal she wrote before to them.”

“Fortunately, she doesn't need them. Otherwise, Spike would have a stomachache,” Princess Luna joked.

“Alright, girls, let's get started – Friendship Is Magic!” With her solemn declaration, they all rose into the air, and each necklace burst into pure magic flashes, gathering energy at the center of Twilight's crown.

At this moment, Discord realized something was wrong - the colors of the six ponies were all normal, and so did the colors of the necklaces. Only then did he realize that he had miscalculated.

Before the powerful magic beam of the Elements of Harmony touched him, he looked over and saw the relieved look in Mr. Miracle's eyes. He half narrowed his eyes and said, “Just wait and see, we're not finished yet…”

Before he could finish speaking, he transformed back into a stone statue, his expression fixed on a comical face that was half angry and half shocked.

The powerful magic of the Elements of Harmony not only defeated Discord, but also dispelled all of his chaotic magic, restoring Ponyville, Canterlot, and Cloud City to the original state.

The two princesses hugged excitedly, and the surrounding ponies erupted into enthusiastic cheers once again. Princess Celestia took advantage of the situation and announced, “We are delighted to have defeated Discord. It is the brave actions and sincere friendship of these six ponies that have completely dispelled the crisis of chaos. They will be the eternal heroines of Equestria!” The ponies responded with overwhelming cheers.

“Of course, we will not forget a special pony. He used his wisdom and words that most ordinary ponies can’t do.” Princess Celestia looked gratefully at Mr. Miracle, who just smiled faintly and nodded in response.

Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle also came to the streets, vigorously promoting the fact that Mr. Miracle was the honorary member of CMC. He accomplished such a feat, and they felt honor too.

Amidst the joyous ponies, the two princesses nodded at them and whispered to each other.

“The next issue is reforming the guards, right?” Princess Luna whispered.

“Indeed, Shining Armor need to explain why he and his guards were useless in this crisis,” said Princess Celestia seriously.