Manehattan. Rainbow Dash was driving Rainboom around town while Fleetfoot looked around at the ponies who were still working on the reconstruction of the big city. The ponies were already leaving town, because it was recently announced that Discord was once again planning on using it as an arena for the next tournament. The Second Lieutenant sighed.

"To think that just a few months ago this town was completely different..." she said.

"Don't worry, Fleets!" Rainbow Dash said. "We will make Discord pay for everything he did. We will kick his sorry snake tail for good!"

Fleetfoot smiled. "Of course we will. It's what the Wonderbolts do!"

"Damn right!" she quickly looked around. "Where are we supposed to go, though? Discord's flyer said it would be in Manehattan, but it never specified where--"

She stopped talking when Fleetfoot poked her shoulder. Rainbow Dash turned to look at her companion, who was pointing to the right side of the road. She looked at where her Senior was pointing at and saw it; a small building, some kind of shop. It could have been easily missed and ignored if it wasn't for the giant Discord head mounted on top of it. Rainbow Dash turned the car and parked in front of it.

"What the hay is that?" she asked.

"'Discord's Little Shop of Dreams'." Fleetfoot read the bulletin billboard located a few meters away from the main building. "'Lamps, figurines and other trinkets to make your home, sweet home a little more unusual', what the...?"

"I just wanted to make a living!" both Rainbow Dash and Fleetfoot yelped when they realized those words were uttered by the giant head. "Hosting a tournament isn't enough to put food on the table, you know?" he looked around for a little bit and raised an eyebrow. "Where is everypony else?"

"It's none of your business!" Rainbow Dash said with crossed forelegs.

"I mean, I know your two Wonderpartners as well as some other important figures from Equestria were called by Princess Twilight and her Adviser to keep the chairs of the council warm until they can locate the true counselors, but I expected to see at least half a dozen more contestants."

"Well, I must say, I'm also a little surprised by this..." Fleetfoot said.

"Maybe they were scared off by my awesomeness!" Rainbow Dash said while crossing her forelegs and puffing out her chest.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, Dash, but it's more likely that they were scared off by the Dolls." Fleetfoot shrugged. "I mean, even I was a little jumpy when I saw that giant black truck coming toward us!"

"Well, I wasn't." Rainbow Dash pouted. "And that was the second time I faced that behemoth!" she shuddered, being reminded of what happened when she first beat Darkside.

"So, Discord, since we're the only contestants, does that mean we win by default?" Fleetfoot's eyes and masssive grin sparkled.

Discord chuckled. "Fortunately, no!" Fleetfoot frowned. "I was planning on making this tournament a little different. Not only a battle, but also a race."

"Race?" both mares asked at the same time.

Discord nodded. "A race to the top! First pony to reach the last floor would be crowned this month's winner!"

"Top of what?" Rainbow Dash pointed at the shop. "It's not hard to reach the top of this tiny thing, I can do it in ten seconds flat!"

Discord chuckled once again. "No, not my shop. Well, yes, but not the way it looks right now!"

The ground began to shake and cracks started to appear on the ground surrounding Discord's shop. Rainbow Dash engaged reverse gear and drove as far away as she could from the area. Mere moments later, the building began to rise, pieces of the asphalt hanging from all sides. It was slowly revealed that the shop was located on the top of a much larger building hidden underground, easily taller than any of the skyscrapers in Manehattan and much larger. It had twelve sections from bottom to top, each painted with a different color.

"Whoa..." they both said at the same time, their mouths hanging open in awe.

"Welcome to my greatest creation since Twisted Metal itself! Inside, you will find many different levels, each with its own Boss. Once ever boss is defeated, we shall meet in my shop. Good luck, my little ponies!"

The wonderbolts looked at each other. Fleetfoot adjusted her goggles and nodded. Rainbow Dash put on her own goggles and nodded back before stomping on the accelerator. Just as they were about to reach the ramp that led to inside the building, an explosion forced Rainbow Dash to turn around and miss her entrance.

"You didn't thought it would be this easy, did you?" a female voice coming from inside the open door of the first level asked. Lights were switched on inside the metallic monstrosity, revealing that the dark entrance of the tower had a glass wall. The inside was filled with water and, swimming around without a care in the world was a grey seapony mare. "This is the first challenge: drive past me and to the second level." she chuckled. "Of course, I doubt you can do that!"

Panels opened on the walls, revealing two machine guns and two rocket launchers. The machine guns started shooting its many bullets at Rainboom, but Rainbow Dash quickly dodged the metal shower, hiding behind metallic bulletin billboard, which had fallen meters away from its previous location.

"I know her. That's Pisces!" Fleetfoot said. "Discord, I knew it! You had something to do with the disappearance of the Council, did you not?"

He laughed. "Welcome to my best challenge, the Zodiac's Concealed War Council!"

"That bastard. Dash, we're gonna take him down, and we're gonna take him down hard!"

Dash smirked. "The bigger they are, the awesomer they fall!"

Rainbow Dash accelerated Rainboom and, after dodging a couple of Pisces' missiles, she turned their car and drove toward the ramp. Pisces tried shooting a couple more missiles at them, but Rainbow Dash was really good at dodging. Pisces screamed when Rainboom smashed through the glass, but stopped once her face connected with the windshield. Water poured out of the hole on the glass until the room was almost completely drained.

Fleetfoot poked the seapony laying on the hood of their car.

"Is she... Dead?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I don't think so!" Fleetfoot answered. "Just knocked out."

"But she will be if we don't find her some water to breath!"

"Seaponies don't breath water, Dash. But she will dehydrate if she stays out of water for too long. Luckily, there is still pently of water left here, we can just left Pisces somewhere and she will hang on for a few more hours."

Both mares jumped out of the car and gently placed Pisces on the floor. The moment her body touched the water, the grey on her scales began to fade and she was one again colored light blue.

On the other side of the room, a metal door with the Pisces symbol opened up, revealing an elevator. The Wonderbolts jumped back into their car and entered the elevator. The moment the were inside, the doors closed and the elevator began to rise.

The second floor was a dark hallway. The only sign of light was the bright, open door at the end of said hallway. The pegasi looked around, but there was nothing else there. They shrugged and Rainbow Dash accelarated.

"Wait!" Fleetfoot said.

"What is it?"

"Go slowly. I don't trust this place!"

Rainbow Dash nodded and engaged the first gear, not going faster than 3 mph. A good thing too, because when they were close to the middle of the hallway they felt the left front wheel sink a little, a spiked plate fell from the ceiling and smashed the floor a few feet away from where they were. The Wonderbolts screamed!

"Wh-What the buck just happened?!" Fleetfoot asked.

"How the hay should I know?!" Rainbow Dash replied.

"Darn!" a third voice said, coming from behind. Rainbow Dash and Fleetfoot turned aroundand noticed that a grey pegasus mare with black mane wearing glasses and holding a notepad was sitting on the backseat. "I really expected you to accelerate first and think later." she started writing on her notepad. "Note to self: Wonderbolts are not addicted to speed and think before they act."

"You're Aquarius!" Fleetfoot said. "So you, too, are under Discord's mind control."

She chuckled. "Mind control? Puh-lease! I am not some weak-minded simpleton, nothing can lay one speckle of magic on my brain."

"Then why are you helping Discord?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Discord?" Aquarius began to laugh uncontrollably. "I was personally asked by Princesses Celestia and Luna to prepare some booby traps for you, terrorists!"

"Terrorists?" both mares looked at each other, confused.

"Yes! You gals are Wonderbolts, the worst terrorists Equestria has ever seen since Lord Tirek! But not anymore." she spread her wings, revealing C4 bombs strapped to her, and there were only 15 seconds left before the explosion. "Without its leaders, the Wonderbolts will be an easy prey. Praise the Royal Sisters!"

Their eyes widened, but the Wonderbolts acted immediately; they jumped to the backseat and Fleetfoot immobilized Aquarius the best way she could while Rainbow Dash unbuckled the strap of the C4 belt. Aquarius tried to struggle, but Fleetfoot wouldn't let her go. Rainbow Dash succesfully unbuckled the strap and threw the C4 bombs out of the window, then quickly jumped back to the driver's seat and engaged reverse gear, then drove until the back of the car bumped against the closed door of the elevator. The explosion of the C4 bombs was big, but the radius of damage caused didn't reach the location of the car.

"You might have escaped this time, but the Princesses will punish you for your attempts against--" she was knocked out by a punch to the face given by Fleetfoot.

"Go to sleep." she said.

The unconscious Aquarius slowly turned once again purple, all the grey on her body vanishing.

After slowly driving past all the spiked plates, avoiding them just by not going too fast, Rainboom reached the end of the corridor, which had a glass door with the Aquarius symbol on it.

"What are we gonna do to her?" Rainbow Dash asked, pointing at Aquarius.

"Let's take her with us. If she wakes up and forgets about the booby traps, we'll have to explain why Aquarius was never found!"

"Good thinking."

Their car then entered the elevator.

When the doors to the third floor were opened, a pony jumped and landed on the hood of Rainboom. Her body and mane were already grey, - dark grey and light grey, respectively - so the only hint that she had been brainwashed by Discord was the fact that her usually red eyes were also grey. Strangely, though, her horn was still colored brown.

"Alright, you two!" she said, pointing at the mares. "This is the end of the line! Nopony gets past me!"

"We'll see about that." Dash said with a smug grin. "So, what's your challenge?"

"Nothing too complicated, I'm a cut-and-dry type of pony. Let's just cut to the chase; you have to stop me before I wreck your car." she then pierced the windshield of the car with her horn, then charged a spell. The spell she cast was a light spell, and it forced the drivers to shield their eyes with the wings.

"Ugh, Capricorn was always the short-tempered one..." Fleetfoot said while still rubbing her eyes. "Still not as scary as Scorpio, though! When that mare wants to intimidate, she--"

She was interrputed by the sound of something slamming against metal. Then the sound repeated a few times until they had recovered enough of their vision to see what was going on. Outside their car, Capricorn was boucing around and piercing Rainboom with her horn, opening several holes in it.

"Not my car!" Rainbow accelerated and drove away from that spot. Capricorn just stood there, smiling. "Alright, let's do this, you little goat mare."

She accelerated and drove toward Capricorn. Capricorn also ran toward the car. A collision was imminent, until Capricorn jumped and landed on the roof of Rainboom, then proceeded to pierce it repeatedly with her horn.

"Do something!" both mares yelled at each other. That's when one of the doors of the backseat opened. They looked behind them, expecting to see Capricorn in there, but instead noticed that Aquarius was missing. The horn attack coming from above had also stopped, and both mares rolled from the roof to the hood. Aquarius had immobilized her, but Capricorn was resisting.

"You two, get out of here!" Aquarius said. "I'll handle this one."

The Wonderbolts nodded. Aquarius jumped from the hood and Dash accelerated, driving toward the metal doors with the Capricorn symbol on them.

"That's for all those times you embarrased me in the meetings, you freak!" was the last thing they heard the purple pegasus yell before the doors closed behind them.

"Huh. That happened!" Fleetfoot said.

"So, how come you know so much about those Zodiac ponies?" Dash asked while the elevator ascended.

"Duh! I'm a Wonderbolt. It's part of the job to know a lot about many ponies."

"Huh, for real?"

"Yup! Well, we're here."

The doors of the fourth floor started to open. But even before the were completely open, an arrow was shot at them, passing perfectly through the hole on the windshield and piercing the backseat.

"Wow, lucky for Aquarius she got off the car on the last stop." the Senior mumbled. "And I can already guess who we're up against this time."

"Took you long enough." the light grey earth pony mare said while grabbing another arrow from her quiver. She looked at ther car full of holes and chuckled. "This is the best Equestria could muster?"

"We kicked many flanks already!" Rainbow Dash said. "You're just another stone in our way!"

"You might as well step away, Sagittarius, unless you want to get hurt." Fleetfoot added.

Another arrow went through the hole in the windshield, hitting the exact same spot the other arrow was stuck to.

"Let's make this interesting,what do you say?" Sagittarius said, already holding another arrow. "Let's see if I can shoot an arrow in each hole of your car! If I miss, I'll let you through. If I don't..." she smirked. "I'll give you one chance to turn around and leave right now. What do you say?"

"We came so far already! You expect us to turn around now?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Sagittarius raised an eyebrow. "Far? This is the fourth floor, you're not even halfway through our Concealed War Council!"

"Whatever! The distance doesn't matter." Fleetfoot said. "What matters is that we came here with a purpose, and we're not leaving until we finish what we started."

Sagittarius shrugged and shook her head with a cocky smile. "Suit yourself." she jumped up and shot another arrow, this one going through a hole on the roof. "Two down, twenty left."

Rainbow Dash accelerated, trying to drive away as far as she could from the archer. Sagittarius sat down on the floor with her back turned to Rainboom and yawned, then pointed her bow at the car without turning around and shot another arrow, this one going straight through a hole on the side of the car.

"Nineteen!"

"How the hay did she--"

"Don't let her skills distract you, Rainbow Dash! Just drive away, I have a plan."

Rainbow Dash nodded and kept driving in circles around the room, but that didn't stopped Sagittarius, who kept shooting more and more arrows.

"Eighteen."

"Seventeen."

"Twelve."

"Ten."

"Seven."

"Three."

"Two."

She shot another arrow through a hole on the roof, this one almost piercing Rainbow Dash's thigh, but leaving nothing more than a scratch. Sagittarius smirked.

"One!"

The only target left now was a lone hole on the passenger's door. Rainbow Dash looked at Fleetfoot, sweating bullets. Fleetfoot simply smiled and nodded.

Rainbow Dash accelerated one more time. Sagittarius grabbed the last arrow on her quiver and aimed.

"Victory is mine!" she shot that final arrow, which soared gracefully toward that last hole. Rainbow Dash had pulled the brake lever, bringing Rainboom to a sudden halt, but Sagittarius had already predicted that, and the route of the arrow remained unchanged.

"Yours? I don't think so!" Fleetfoot said with a smile. Sagittarius gasped, her cocky smile changing into an expression of despair.

"I-I... You... How did...?" Sagittarius was now breathing faster. "But-But my aim is perfect. I-I'm the best archer in all of Equestria, I..."

"I know you're a great archer and all..." Fleetfoot raised her right foreleg, which she had convinently put out of the open window and covered the hole on her door; and it now had an arrow piercing it. "...but I don't think you have what it takes to shoot an arrow all the way through flesh and bone!"

Rainbow Dash's eyes widened. "Fleetfoot, you..."

Sagittarius placed her hoof on her chest, still breathing heavily. "Mercy... Please... I've been..." she lost balance. "A fool." and fell unconscious on the floor. Her coat slowly regained the usual light brown tone.

"What are you gonna do about that?" Rainbow Dash asked, pointing at the arrow.

"We can go to an hospital once this is all over." Fleetfoot said.

"B-But what if it gets infected?"

Fleetfoot extended her hoof in front of Rainbow's face. "Want to pull it out? You're welcome to try!"

"What?! Of course not, I'm no doctor! I would probably make it worse."

"Then let's keep going!"

"At least break the shaft or something, that wood sticking out of your hoof is making me nervous. There are some bandages on the glovebox, too."

"Sure thing, Dash!" the pegasus opened the glovebox and her eyes widened. "Is that--"

"Yup!"

"So you're gonna--"

"No doubt!"

Fleetfoot grinned. Rainbow Dash slowly drove toward the door with the Sagittarius symbol on it while Fleetfoot tended to her wound. Once the shaft of the arrow was gone and Fleetfoot bandaged her foreleg, they went to the next floor.

They could feel the heat even before the doors were opened and, when they did, the Wonderbolt duo was introduced to an inferno. The only parts of the floor that weren't covered in flames were the chains hanging from the ceiling and a very large platform parked on their side of the room. A mad laughter echoed through the room, so loud that even the crackling of the fire wasn't enough to muffle it.

The pegasi looked up and saw an unicorn mare hanging from one of the chains on the ceiling. Discord's brainwashing spell was supposed to turn her completely grey, but she was still a few shades away from losing the bright red of her coat.

"Welcome to my paradise, fillies!" she said while jumping from one chain to another. "So, how does it feel to see your final resting place in advance? Shocking? Terrifying?" she giggled. "Comforting?"

"See?" Fleetfoot said. "I told you Scorpio was scary."

"You only have two options now!" Scorpio said while creating a flaming number 2 with her magic. "One: you step right into one of those platforms and make this fun for me, or two: you accept your fate and dive into my sea of flames. So, what is it gonna be?"

"As if we came here to give up!" Rainbow Dash said while engaging first gear. The moment all four wheels were on the platform, it began to move, slowly carrying the car to the exit on the other side of the room.

"You just sealed your fate." Scorpio grabbed onto one of the chains of the platform. She stared at Rainboom with a vicious smile while the pegasi glared at her. She pointed her horn at the car and charged a spell.

"DODGE!" Fleetfoot yelled. Rainbow Dash engaged reverse, dodging a fire ball on the last second.

"It will take five minutes for us to reach our final stop." Scorpio said before jumping to another of the four chains holding the platform. "What do you think will kill you, my fireballs or your recklessness?"

Fleetfoot and Rainbow Dash looked back, noticing how close they were to the edge of the platform.

"Better be more careful from now on, Dash."

"On it!"

Scorpio kept firing her spells, but Rainbow's reaction time was impeccable. Scorpio was getting angrier whilst Rainbow Dash's smile was getting more and more smug. Scorpio looked at their destination and noticed they were already halfway through the ride.

"You are pissing me off!" she said before grabbing one of the chains hanging from the ceiling with her magic. She pulled it as hard as she could, finally tearing it off, pulling a piece of the metal ceiling with it. "Round two!"

She jumped from the chain she was hanging onto, grabbed the chain she was levitating in midair and dived toward the competitors. Rainbow Dash moved Rainboom out of the way just before Scorpio could hit them with her new weapon, which struck the platform with the heavier end, denting it a little. She quickly spun around with her chain, succesfully hitting the driver's door with the sharp metal, piercing the body of the car and almost cutting Rainbow Dassh as well.

"This crazy mare means business!" Rainbow Dash said.

"Let's just beat her and hope she never gets brainwashed ever again!" Fleetfoot said.

Scorpio swung the chain one more time, this time hitting the passenger's door and Fleetfoot grabbed it with her good hoof. The unicorn tried to pull it, but the Wonderbolt was stronger than she looked, even when injuried.

"Do it, Dash!"

Rainbow Dash stomped on the accelerator. Scorpio gasped, let go of the chain and tried to dodge, but it was far too late and she was hit by the car, being thrown to the other end of the platform. Her dark red coat turned back into bright red.

"And another one bites the dust." Rainbow Dash said.

"You mean ashes, right?"

Both chuckled a little. That's when the platform reached its destination.

"So, do we take her with us? She's gonna roast if we leave her here."

"Good point. But I know her far too well, even when not under Discord's influence, she might still be a threat."

"So, what is your plan? Carry her in the trunk like a corpse?"

"This might sound like a good idea, but it would even make her angrier. Let's just leave her in the elevator!"

Rainbow Dash agreed with a nod.

The sixth floor was bare. The walls, the floor, the ceiling, everything looked so plain that it hardly looked like a challenge. The room would also be empty if it wasn't by the cloaked figure sitting alone in the middle of the room, illuminated by the light of a candle.

"So, who are we up against this time?" Dash asked Fleetfoot.

"That's Libra." she said. "He's... A mystery! Only talks when necessary and likes to keep things to himself. I think I heard him talk, like, once or twice! That's why we need to be careful, we don't know what he has in store for us."

"I've been expecting you." he spoke, startling the mares. "Fear me not, fillies, for I am not a foe."

"How the hay did he heard us?" Rainbow Dash asked, surprised.

"The same way you heard me." Libra spoke once again. "The emptiness of this room makes any noise much louder."

"So, should we approach him?"

Fleetfoot nodded. "But do not let your guard down!"

Dash gently stepped on the accelerator, driving closer to Libra, then parking the car beside him, inspecting him. Libra wore a brown, dusty cloak with a hood. The cloak also had the Libra symbol painted on it. But what caught the rookie's attention was the pony himself, who had yellowed bandages wrapped around his entire body, even his muzzle and eyes, making him look like a mummy.

"So, you said you are not a foe. Why should we believe you?" Fleetfoot asked without looking away from him.

"You are injured." he said. "It may look like nothing serious now, but it will spread like a disease if not taken care as soon as possible."

"How did he...?" Raibow Dash asked again, more surprised than before. "His eyes are covered!"

"Libra was never a pony easy to understand."

"I was born in the nature and grew up with it. As part of it." Libra explained. "I have knowledge that is available to every living creature, but only a few stop to actually learn it. Years of meditation helped me achieve perfect spiritual balance. My chaos is my order, and my order is my chaos. That is why I need no eyes to see, nor ears to hear. " Libra finally got up on all fours. "And that is why Discord's spell is not effective against me!"

"You sound a lot like a zebra friend of mine." Dash said. "But with much less rhymes!"

Libra approached Fleetfoot and grabbed her bandaged hoof.

"Hey, what are you--"

"Not good." he said. "Not good at all. I need you to step out of the vehicle!"

"Why should I--"

"You can go, Fleets!" Dash said while gently pushing her toward the door. "He sounds like an ok guy!"

"But you... I... Discord..."

"Your wound is more seriously than you believe it to be!" Libra continued. "Would you rather have it treated or be stubborn and lose your leg?"

Fleetfoot gulped, then looked at Rainbow Dash, who winked at her. Fleetfoot sighed and opened the door, stepping out of the car.

"This might take a while." Libra pointed at the exit door. "If you want to stay, I won't forbid you, but time is racing forward."

"Will you be ok, Fleetfoot?"

"Don't worry about me, Dash, I had worse! Go on and kick some major flank! I'll catch up with you later!"

Rainbow Dash nodded and accelerated toward the door with the Libra symbol on it.

The seventh floor looked like a complete different place. Save for the dirt road that led to the other side of the room, every single inch of the area was covered in plants; grass, flowers, vines, trees, as well as a giant red rose the size of a full grown stallion with a light grey pegasus mare watering it.

"Welcome to my garden." the mare said. "My name is Virgo, first boss of the second half of Zodiac's Concealed War Council, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"You are... Surprisingly nice!" Rainbow Dash said. "Especially for somepony brainwashed by Discord!"

"Oh, don't let my politeness fool you, I am going to kill you!"

"...That killed the mood pretty fast! So, what is it gonna be? Race to the finish? Battle to the death? Obstacle course? Bring it on!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I am no fighter. But you can challenge my pet instead!"

"So, where is this pet of yours?"

Virgo patted the giant rose in front of her. "Right here!"

"...A flower? Really? I have to defeat a flower? That's the challenge?"

"You can come out now, Leorosa. There's somepony here to see you!"

The petals of the flower slowly began to open, revealing that it had sharp, white protuberances that looked like teeth. Its center had a hole the size of a little filly's hoof, from which a yellow liquid was oozing from. The moment the yellow drops touched the ground, it evaporated, but not without leaving a burn mark on the spot.

"What is that?!"

"My pet, Leorosa! She is a Lion Flower, an endangered species. But that doesn't mean she's not deadly. Leorosa, lunch!"

The flower thrashed about and the entire room started to tremble. Suddenly, the vines wrapped themselves around Rainboom and proceeded to pull it toward Leorosa.

"Oh, I forgot to mention!" Virgo proceeded. "Lion Flowers are parasitic plants. Once their roots intertwines with the roots of another plants, they become part of it!" she spun around with open hooves. "Every single plant in this room is part of Leorosa! From each and every blade of grass to every single sturdy tree."

The vines lifted the car above the main body of Leorosa. Rainbow Dash simply shrugged and pressed a button behind the steering wheel, revealing the rocket launcher on the trunk of the car, which shot a rocket at the predator. The explosion made the Lion Flower close its maws and shriek before dropping Rainbow Dash's vehicle to the ground. Virgo gasped.

"Forgot I had those, didn't you?" Dash asked with a smug grin.

Leorosa opened its bulb once again and squirted its corrosive liquid at Rainboom. Rainbow tried to dodge and, while she managed to avoid the deadliest amount, some droplets managed to hit the left side of the car, melting parts of the window and the door.

"Whoa!" she said.

"You hurt Leorosa you... You... YOU MONSTER!" Virgo yelled while petting the damaged petals of the plant.

"Those things aren't endangered, they are the danger!"

Virgo hugged Leorosa while still petting her. "Just... Get out of here."

"Huh. If you insist..." Dash drove toward the door with the Virgo symbol while the pegasus kept hugging and petting her flower, her coat slowly turning pink again.

"Mama will never let anything bad happen to you ever again..." she whispered to the Lion Flower as Dash proceeded through the door with the Virgo symbol and to the next floor.

Rainbow Dash had to cover her eyes when the doors opened because of the bright, flashing lights. She grabbed her trustworthy sunglasses from the glovebox, put them on then reopened her eyes.

"Wow, seizure warning!" she said while looking at the room that looked more like a club. Loud music was playing and all kinds of different colorful lights were flashing. In the middle, Rainbow Dash saw a stage with three mares dancing around a metal pole, which made her blush. In front of the stage was a single round table with a curved red couch behind it. Sitting on that couch was a grey earth pony stallion wearing a shirt, tie and sunglasses. He had a glass of champagne on his hoof and two mares sitting beside him, all of them laughing.

"Oh, master Leo, you are sooooo funny!" one of the mares said.

"It's just my nature, y'know?" he said while lifting the mare's chin. "I like to make mares smile, because it makes them so much more beautiful!"

She looked away, blushing but still smiling. "Oh, Master Leo..."

"Hey! Over here!" Rainbow Dash called.

Leo turned his head, looking over the back of the couch, then smirked.

"Well, my kittens, if you'll excuse me, I have a business meeting with that pretty mare over there." Leo said while shooing them.

"Awww..." both mares pouted, but then got up and jumped on top of the stage, soon joining the other three mares in their pole dancing session.

"So, you're Leo, huh?" she asked.

The stallion bowed. "The one and only! And you are the newbie Wonderbolt, Rainbow Dash, correct?"

"I don't like to brag, but..." she said with a smile.

"I was told you had a companion. Where is she?"

"Sadly, Fleetfoot and I had to part ways so, as my friend Applejack would say..." she pointed a hoof at Leo, trying to sport a southern accent. "It's jus' you an' me, hoss!"

Leo chuckled. "That's one lovely accent right there, sugar. Tell you what, if you agree to be one of my companions, I'll let you through. What do you say?"

"Hah! You sit and wait."

"Well, I tried to bargain!"

Leo whistled. A door opened on the stage and a mare wearing sunglasses and leather jacket came out of it driving a black motorcycle. Leo kissed her cheek before she scooted over to the backseat so he could drive his vehicle.

"Ready, my dear?" he asked the mare.

She raised her spiked club and nodded.

"Finally, somepony who will fight me like we're supposed to fight in a Twisted Metal contest!"

"Ready when you are, sweetie!" he said.

"Stop calling me that!" Rainbow Dash said while stomping on the accelerator.

Leo accelerated as well, dodging her at the last second. Her gunner swung the bat, smashing Rainboom's window.

"Great job, kitten! You deserve a kiss!" Leo said. His gunner giggled. "But later. We have to beat our dear Wonderbolt first!"

Dash pressed a button, which lowered the front bumper, revealing two machine guns. Dash started to chase the motorcycle while shooting, but Leo was too fast for her.

"My offer is still up! Are you sure you don't wanna join us?"

"In your dreams!"

Leo turned around and charged toward Rainbow Dash. His gunner tried to smash Dash's windshield, but she manage to dodge. Since the mare swung the club pretty hard but didn't landed the blow, she lost balance. The gunner tried to cling to Leo, but this only made things worse and both fell off the bike.

"You useless piece of trash..." Leo said as he got up, the right lens of his sunglasses missing.

"I-I-I'm sorry, I didn't m-meant to--" the mare stuttered.

"SHUT UP!" he yelled. "I chose you to be my gunner because I thought you were the most competent of all these wenches, but looks like I was wrong." the mare didn't even moved, she just kept lying on the floor, shuddering. Leo grabbed the spiked club. "Excuse me, miss Dash, but I need to teach this whorse some discipline." he raised the club. "The old fashioned way!"

The mare closed her eyes, waiting for her imminent demise. But nothing happened. She opened one of her eyes and saw that Rainbow Dash had grabbed her Master from behind, restraining him while twisting the hoof holding the club.

"If that's how you treat your 'companions', your chances of having me as one of them just lowered from 'absolute zero' to 'a beating you will never forget'." Rainbow Dash flew up while holding Leo and, after spinning backwards a couple of times, flew back down. She flew up a split second before hitting the floor, but no longer holding the stallion, who crashed at full speed. "Now think about what you've done!"

She looked back at the mare. The other five had surrounded her and were making sure she was alright.

"Enough of this!" one of them said while pointing at Leo, who was slowly getting up. "Ever since we came here, you stopped treating us the way you used to! You treated us like you truly cared, but now you see us as your possessions. We tried to understand, see things your way, but now you've gone too far!" she clopped her hooves together in a very menacing way. "It's payback time!"

Rainbow sat back and watched as that mare and two others proceeded to give Leo the beating of his life. With each punch and kick, his coat lost some of the grey. When the mares finally stopped, his coat would be once again light yellow if it weren't for the bruises. He fell down, unconscious.

A cloud of green smoke overwhelmed Rainbow Dash the moment the doors of the ninth floor were opened and she began to cough.

"How I wish I still had my window..." Rainbow Dash mumbled as she flapped her wings, trying to disperse the green smoke, but to no avail.

She felt that something wasn't right. Rainbow looked to her right and there he was; sitting on the passenger's seat was a grey earth pony stallion with a blank expression, simply looking at her.

"Are you--"

She never finished that sentence. He immediately spun around and locked her neck between his hind legs, pressing herder and harder. Dash grabbed his legs and tried to free herself from his grip. He was strong, but her strength was no joke either, and she was slowly but surely pushing his legs apart.

The pony looked impressed, but his poker face soon returned and he clenched his legs even harder. With difficulty, she reached for the door handle and opened it, then flying out of her car with her attacker. She tried to shake him off in midair, but it proved to be quite a task, for his grip was so hard that she almost couldn't make him let go of her. But gravity eventually got the best of him and the grey stallion fell to the floor, disappearing in the smoke.

"What the buck just happened?!" she asked herself. "Where did you go?!"

She went back to her car, but this time she locked all the doors, then kept an eye on the broken window. She couldn't see him, but she could feel his cold gaze locked on her. She knew he was lurking, but there was nothing she could do at that time.

"Cancer is the name." she heard a familiar voice coming from within the smoke screen. "One of the most cryptical of all the Zodiac Council of Equestria, but easily the most ruthless of all of us."

Two silhouette approached Rainboom and she sighed in relief.

"Fleetfoot! Libra! Boy, am I glad to see you." she said.

"Hey, Dash!" Fleetfoot said while waving her hoof. It was still wrapped in bandages, but the arrow she had in there was long gone.

"Do not lower your guard due to our presence." Libra proceeded. "It is not wise to underestimate cancer under any circumstance. Specially now, when he has the advantage."

The junior Wonderbolt unlocked the doors and Fleetfoot boarded it, then hoofbumped her with her good hoof. Libra, though, did not moved.

"You're not coming in, Libra?" the senior Wonderbolt asked.

He shook his head. "Cancer must be stopped and I'm afraid your vehicle is not the best choice of weapon under these conditions. Cancer's legs are powerful; his signature move is gripping his foes with them, imitating the movement of a crab pincer. He can do much more damage to you than you can do to him." he grabbed from his saddlebag a round flask containing a pink liquid. "But some protection is better than none, so I advise you to stay inside your vehicle, no matter what."

Libra threw the flask on the ground and a wave of pink mist spread throughout the room. It was like both mists were fighting each other for dominance, countering each other until there was nothing but a faint sweet smell left on the air. Cancer was standing a few feet behind Libra, his back turned to him. Libra wasn't quick enough to dodge and was kicked away by Cancer's powerful hindlegs.

"Libra, are you ok?!" Fleetfoot asked.

"It takes more than physical blows to--" he said as he gotten up, but was interrupted by another kick, this one to his muzzle than sent him rolling a few more feet. The yellowed bandages were now stained with the red of his blood.

"We have to help him!" Dash said, already reaching for the handle.

"Come out and you will most certainly die." Libra said as he got up again. "Cancer is even crueler under Discord's influence. If you value your life and your mission, do not come out here."

Another kick to the face, but this time Libra didn't fell down. The bandages around his face came loose and fell down, revealing his light grey coat with dark grey stripes and bright golden eyes.

"He's a zebra?" Dash asked, surprised. "That explains so much, and yet so little."

"I had no idea." Fleetoot said with a smile. "That is so awesome!"

Libra used the bandages that were now hanging from his neck to wipe clean the blood on his muzzle, then removed his cloak and the rest of the bandages wrapped around his head, revealing his imposing striped mohawk.

"Violence is never my first choice." he said before assuming a fighting stance. "But sometimes I am compelled honor the name of the Fallen Caesar Style."

Libra was fast. So fast that Cancer only realized he had been kicked when he was already lying on the floor. The Wonderbolts were fascinated by such speed. Cancer got up and rubbed his muzzle with his hoof. When he looked down at it, he saw a bloodstain. This made a huge, creepy grin appear on his face. He turned back to Libra without making a sound, but his expression made it clear that he was laughing internally.

The fight was ferocious; Cancer's blows were strong and deadly, while Libra's blows were fast and precise. It was an even match between two different fighting styles. Libra's speed quickly earned him the upper hoof, though, for Cancer no longer had time to counter his moves and could only try to dodge. Libra tried to kick his face, but Cancer dodged. That was the zebra's plan, because the earth pony stepped right on where he had left his cloak. Libra pulled the cloak Cancer was stepping on, making him lose his balance, then finished the fight with strong blows on both sides of his head, making Cancer lose consciousness.

"You lack inner balance." Libra said as Cancer's coat turned back green.

"Great job, Libra, you're awesome!" Fleetfoot cheered.

Libra turned around and started to walk toward Rainboom, but fell down on his side.

"Libra!" both mares called before getting out of the car and running to his aid.

"Cancer sure was a formidable opponent." he said, still lying on the floor.

"You need help, fast!" Rainbow Dash said.

"Don't worry about me, focus on your mission."

"But your body, you--" Fleetfoot started.

"I can brew myself a healing potion." he said, pointing at his saddlebag lying not too far for where they were. "I just have to rest for a bit. Now go. Stop Discord and purge the fear that his game spread throughout Equestria."

The mares, though still worried about their ally, nodded and went back to Rainboom. They entered the elevator behind the door with the Cancer symbol and proceeded to the 10th level.

The next floor was split in two, almost literally. The left half of it was pitch black while the right half was bright white. A dark grey unicorn with light grey mane and eyes was walking from the dark side of the room to the white side. The pony was very androgynous, so neither of the Wonderbolts could say if it was a he or a she. The pony's voice was equally androgynous:

"You gals have no idea how long you kept us waiting, do you?!" s/he asked. "We've been sitting here, doing absolutely nothing for hours!! Do you know how bored we were?!"

The pony, upon reaching the other end of the room, suddenly turned around, revealing that the other side of its body was the exact opposite: his/her right side was light grey with dark grey mane and eyes.

"But that's okay." the pony said, all the annoyance in its voice completely gone. "You're here now, and that's all that matters. We are delighted to finally meet our opponents."

"Uh... Fleetfoot?" Dash looked at her teammate, confused.

"Yes, Gemini was never a pony easy to understand." Fleetfoot shrugged. "The sooner you get used to him, the better!"

"Him? I thought it was a mare."

"Sincerely, I'm not sure either. I just refer to Gemini as a 'he' because if he's a male, then the council is separated by gender equally: six mares and six stallions!"

The looked back at him(?), who had grabbed a deck and was shuffling it with his magic.

"We wish to play a card game, little fillies!" he said.

"What, we talking 52 Pickup?" Fleetfoot asked.

Gemini grinned. "No... More like 52 CUT UP!"

With his magic, Gemini threw all the cards at Rainboom. Rainbow Dash and Fleetfoot managed to duck, avoiding the barrage of cards that pierced their windshield and got stuck on the backseat.

"Wow!" Rainbow Dash said. "So this is why dad always told me ganbling is dangerous."

Gemini levitated his cards back to him, then proceeded to make them spin around his body like a belt.

"Your reaction time is impeccable!" he said. "We underestimated you Wonderbolts, but that was the last time."

Gemini attacked again, but they ducked once again.

"He's got magic cards, huh?" Dash asked. "This could be a problem! Any strategies!"

"TO THE BACKSEAT!"

Fleetfoot jumped to the backseat, carrying Rainbow Dash with her, just in time to avoid another barrage of cards coming from the broken window.

"We never leave home without a spare deck!" he said while levitating a third, fourth and a fifth deck around his body, creating a sphere of cards. "Or five!"

"This won't end well." Rainbow Dash said.

"GEMINI!"

Rainbow Dash and Fleetfoot peeked out of the window. They saw Gemini with a terrified expression. Following his gaze, they found the source of his fear: a dark grey unicorn with light grey mane and a brown horn. Her eyes were now red and no longer grey, meaning that she was no longer under Discord's influence. Behind her, Aquarius was adjusting her glasses, grinning smugly.

Gemini lost the focus on his magic and all his cards dropped to the floor, as well as himself, bowing before the mare.

"Y-Y-Yes, ma'am?" he asked, still trembling in fear.

"What did I told you about harrassing ponies?" she asked.

"I-It's a bad thing that only less educated ponies do?" he said.

"And did I raised you to be a less educated pony?"

"N-N-No, ma'am..." he said.

"Then will you stop bothering those mares or will I have to punish you?"

"I-I-I'm so sorry!" he said before he started crying on the floor. He didn't changed much once Discord's influence over him was dispersed, his light side only got lighter and his dark side only got darker.

"I am so sorry about this." Capricorn said while removing all the cards stuck on the car. "Gemini is usually very sweet, I swear!"

"Thank you for saving our flanks." Fleetfoot said, returning to her seat.

"Don't mention it. It's the least I could do after the way I behaved down there!" she bowed her head. "My most sincere apologies!"

"It's ok, it wasn't your fault." Rainbow Dash said while turning her head to look at Gemini, who was still sobbing on the floor. "He sure do respect you, don't he?"

"Well, he should. After all, he was born from my womb!"

"You're his mother?!" both Wonderbolts asked.

"Why are you surprised?!" Rainbow Dash asked Fleetfoot.

Capricorn chuckled. "Ponies usually react this way, saying I'm too young to be mother of a pony that age, but I'm actually 47!"

"You sure are full of surprises, aren't you Capri?" Fleetfot asked, earning a glare because of the nickname. "A-Anyway, you shattered Discord's brainwashing spell! That takes some serious skill! Was that some super-crazy-awesome unicorn magic?"

"Actually, no! I just scolded him in hopes that something would happen, and it really did. Well, that colt was always pretty smart, but very weak, both physically and psychologically, so it wouldn't surpise me one bit if his fear of my ruthlessness was what actually broke the spell!"

"Sorry to interrupt." Aquarius said. "But I really think you should get going!"

"Oh. Right. Yeah! On it!" Rainbow Dash said, revving the engines.

"You're most likely going to face Taurus next. He has one big weakness: he was never the sharpest pencil in the box. I'm pretty sure you can create a strategy based on that! Go for it, Wonderbolts!"

Fleetfoot and Rainbow Dash saluted her, and Aquarius saluted them back. They then went through the door with the Gemini sign and the Zodiac mares turned around.

"Up, now!" Capricorn commanded. "Wipe those tears, straighten your back!" Gemini did exactly as he was told to. "Come with us, make yourself useful! We gotta make sure all the others are fine!"

"Y-Y-Yes, ma'am..." he nearly whispered.

"CHAAAAARGE!!!" was the first thing they heard once they got out of the elevator. Rainbow Dash and Fleetfoot when they saw a bulky grey earth pony running toward them from the left side. He crashed against the car and sent it flying a few meters.

"What the buck just happened?!" Fleetfoot asked.

"How the hay should I know?!" Rainbow Dash asked back.

They looked back to where they were and saw the stallion pawing the ground. He once again charged at them, but this time they managed to dodge. Taurus didn't stopped, though, and kept running until he slammed against the wall.

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. "Did he just...?"

"I didn't really thought Aquarius was serious when she said he wasn't the sharpest pencil in the box, but that's just dumb!"

Taurus shook his head. "You will pay for making fun of Taurus!"

He charged at them once again, but they easily dodged again. This time, Taurus smashed against a pillar, creating a huge crack on it.

"Twice? And how in Tartarus is he still alive?" Fleetfoot asked, sounding indignant. "This is basically the worst strategy in history, and here we are, seeing it happen live and in color!"

Taurus shook his head again, now breathing heavily in anger. "Stop making fun of Taurus!" he pawed at the ground one more time and charged.

"Taurus, that's enough!"

He stopped in the middle of the run, then looked around.

"Virgo, is that you?"

The doors of the elevator opened, revealing a light pink pegasus with poofy yellow mane flying with her forelegs crossed. She had a slightly angry look on her face.

"Stop making a monkey out of yourself!" she said, flying to the stallion and landing in front of him, her forelegs still crossed. "And leave these mares alone, they said nothing but the truth!"

"But-But Discord said--" he started.

"Discord? You're letting him boss you around? Where's that big, strong, dependable stallion that would be no pushover and was always there to protect the weak and helpless? The stallion who nursed me back to health when I was attacked by a pack of Timberwolves in the Everfree Forest? The stallion who I always looked up to and treated me like I was his own daughter?" she presses her forelegs to his chest, her eyes moist with tears. "Where is he, Roid Rage?"

Taurus flinched when he heard his real name that hadn't been pronounced since he accepted the Taurus seat at the Council. He looked down and sighed.

"Taurus was that much of a fool, huh?" he muttered, the grey of his coat fading, and the brown of his fur and pink of his many scars returning. "Virgo, please, forgive Taurus!"

She smiled and hugged him. "I already have!"

"Awww, that's so sweet!" Fleetfoot said while wiping a tear.

"Let's get out of here before even I get all sappy." Rainbow Dash said while driving toward the door with the Taurus symbol.

"Well, this is it!" Fleetfoot said while the elevator ascended. "Our last challenge! We just have to beat Discorded Aries and we can finally have our wish."

"You know what we're gonna wish for, right?"

Fleetfoot nodded. "He won't even know what hit him!"

The elevator finally came to a halt. The mares looked at each other.

"This is it!" Rainbow Dash said.

"Let's have a go at it!" Fleetfoot said with a smile and a hoofbump.

The doors were opened, and the first thing they saw was a giant stone staue of Princess Luna and Princess Celestia. They were both standing on their hind legs and opposite to each other, but their heads were turned and they were touching horns.

"What in the--"

"Stop!"

Rainbow Dash immediately moved her hoof away from the accelerator and looked around, searching for whoever commanded her to stop. The pony was standing in front of the giant statue; a grey unicorn stallion who appeared to be in his early fifties. He was wearing a cassock and a long brimmed hat, as well as sunglasses with red lenses.

"Is that... Aries?" Fleetfoot asked, sounding very confused.

"This is holy ground!" he said, raising his hooves and pointing at the stone pricesses above him. "Nopony shall enter before offering a prayer to our benevolent rulers, the Royal Sisters!"

"I think he's gone nuts." Rainbow whispered.

Aries turned around and bowed. "O, almighty rulers of our land, forgive these lambs for their lack of respect. They have gone down the wrong path in life. But worry not, for I, a humble servant of your holy words, shall straighten them!"

"Yup!" Fleetfoot said with a nod. "Definitely gone nuts!"

Aries adjusted his hat and his glasses. "Those who mock me are mocking the Princesses themselves, and shall be punished accordingly!" his horn started glowing and suddenly dozens of candelabra spread across the room were lit; each candelabrum was placed in front of a bust of either Celestia or Luna. "Your sins shall be cleansed by the holy flames of the Royal Duo. Now come forward and receive your holy forgiveness!"

"We play along or...?" Dash asked, looking at her teammate with a confused look.

"Let's play safe!" Fleetfoot answered.

Rainbow Dash nodded and gently stepped on the accelerator. The moment the front wheels were out of the elevator, the closest bust - one of Luna's - opened its stone eyes, revealing two glowing red gemstones. A flammable liquid was released from a small tube on the statue's mouth, which turned into a fireball after touching the flames of the candelabrum. Rainbow Dash dodged the attack and the flames missed Rainboom by inches, but they just triggered another trap. The Wonderbolts triggered a total of five traps before Dash drove back to the elevator, which still had its doors open.

"Forget what I said, Aries hadn't gone nuts." Fleetfoot said. "He's downright insane!"

"Insulting a preacher carrying the good word of our benevolent rulers is one of the biggest sins a pony can commit!" Aries said. "Maybe far too big for the holy flames alone to cleanse. The immortal souls of the Princesses require a sacrifice. A sacrifice of blood!"

"The Princesses would never wish for such thing!" Dash yelled.

"I am their messanger. I know what the Princesses wish! And right now they wish for your blood and those incompetent fools sitting on their thrones and turning their sacred mission into a mockery to be brought down!" he levitated a bloodstained golden dagger with a dark blue handle from a inner pocket in his cassock. "But first things first!"

He slowly made his way toward Rainboom, levitating the knife in front of his muzzle, inspecting it closely.

"That's not fair!" Rainbow Dash said. "How come you can just walk past the traps without triggering them while we have to dance around them to survive?"

Aries grinned. "Unlike you, I have no sins left unforgiven." he removed his cassock, and the mares gasped; his body was covered in fresh cuts, all of them shaped like Luna's and Celestia's cutie marks. Some of them were still bleeding. "After hours of divine punishment, the Princesses finally recognized me as a pony worthy or their mercy, thus I shall not be harmed by their sacred flames!"

"That pony is sick!" Rainbow Dash said. "And I think I'm gonna be sick, too. Ugh..."

"Aries was always very loyal to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna." Fleetfoot explained, then pointed at him. "But this? Discord turned his loyalty into obsession!"

Aries put his clothes back on then jumped on the hood of the car, still levitating the knife.

"Say your prayers, lassies!"

Without thinking, Rainbow stepped on the accelerator. The sudden movement made the preacher lose his balance and fall, but he stabbed the hood of the car and grabbed the handle, which kept him from falling off the car. This wasn't his best idea, though, for his clothes were set ablaze by the flames. Once they were on the other side of the room, Aries jumped down and started running and screaming.

"WHY?!" he screamed. "WHY, MY PRINCESSES?! WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?!"

Fleetfoot took off her Wonderbolt uniform and used it to put out the flames after Rainbow Dash removed his burning cassock, hat and shades. The flames were finally extinguished and, though Aries was covered in burn marks, his life wasn't threatened. His coat was no longer grey, but once again beige.

"He needs medical attention!" Fleetfoot said, carrying him to the backseat of the car. "Let's finish this as soon as possible!"

Rainbow Dash nodded. They entered the car once again and drove toward the door with the Aries symbol.

The top of the Zodiac's Concealed War Council was no longer Discord's shop; instead, it was just one large empty area surrounded by dark clouds with a metal throne in the middle made out of broken pieces from vehicles previously used on the tournament. They recognized parts from Friendship Report, Sweet Tooth, Cutie Mark Crossroader, Warhawk, Talon and even Darkside. Discord was sitting on it, eating caramel popcorn.

"Well, I guess I should be surprised but, in fact, I am not!" Discord said, eating all the popcorn in one bite - paperbag included. "Congratulations, you conquered the Zodiac's Concealed War Council, you are officially the best drivers! And that's your second time beating the competition, isn't it, Rainbow Dash? Then double congratulations to you! Now, what can I do for you?"

Rainbow Dash and Fleetfoot stepped out of Rainboom.

"Before you grant us our wish, Discord, I'd like you to think about everything you did. Think about every living creature that joined this competition. Every life you destroyed. Every heart you broke. Think about everything you did! What do you feel?"

The draconequus chuckled. "When I think about it, all I feel is..." he grinned evilly. "...amusement!"

Rainbow Dash chuckled dryly. "That's all I needed to hear. Well, here's my wish: bring every contestant here. Every single pony, griffon, zebra and diamond dog. Every living creature that participated of this dreadful contest. I don't want you to bring anyone back from the dead, just the living ones will do."

"Huh, that's a rather silly wish if you ask me, but if that's what you want..." Discord snapped his fingers. One by one, all the previous contestants started to pop up. The Zodiac Council of Equestria were the first, soon followed by Spitfire, Soarin', some noble figures from Canterlot, several ponies from many different places, the Flim-Flam Brothers, Gilda, Lightning Dust, all the bat ponies from the temple-arena of the seventh Twisted Metal, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara, the Pie sisters, the Apples, Fluttershy, Rarity and, finally, Trixie and Princess Twilight.

"What was the point of--" Discord interrupted himself when he saw Rainbow Dash retrieving her Element of Harmony from the glovebox. "No!" he looked around and saw that all the other five Element Wielders all had their Elements on. "No no no no NO!"

"Look deep into their eyes, Discord." Rainbow Dash said when her Element of Loyalty began to glow. "Feel the pain you caused them, and receive your punishment!"

The other five Elements of Harmony began to glow as well. The six mares started to levitate and a rainbow slowly connected all of them, forming a circle around Discord.

"Not this again!" Discord flapped his wings and tried to fly away, but the power of Harmony was faster and a beam of multicolored light hit him on the back.

"NNNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO--" Discord yelled while his body turned into stone, only ceasing when his mouth was petrified as well. The statue fell from the sky and on top of the throne, smashing it.

"It's finally over." Twilight said, approaching the statue. "You can no longer harm anyone!"

"What are we going to do with it, Your Highness?" Trixie asked, already levitating a quill and parchment.

Canterlot Gardens. Twilight Sparkle, Trixie Lulamoon, Rainbow Dash, Fleetfoot, Soarin', Spitfire, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Big Macintosh, Applejack and Rarity were all gathered around the statue of the Draconequus, who had a terrified expression on its face.

"Are ya sure this is the best idea, sugarcube?" Applejack asked. "Ah mean, wasn't this the place he was before he escaped in the first place?"

"I have to agree with Applejack on this one, darling!" Rarity said. "This hardly looks like a safe place for him to be."

"This is just a temporary place." Twilight said. "A place where I can keep an eye on him while I search for a spell that can open a portal to Tartarus." Twilight flew up tapped the statue's snout. "Enjoy the sunlight while you still have it, Discord. Soon you'll be Cerberus' new chew toy for aaaaaall eternity!"

"He deserves no less." Pinkie Pie said with her forelegs crossed. "All meanies must be punished accordingly!"

"Let's go back inside." Twilight said after landing. "Being near him makes me angry! And now that Twistd Metal is over, we can finally celebrate!"

All the ponies cheered before following the Princess back to the castle.

"So, how's the search for the Princesses going?" Fluttershy asked as they walked.

"Nothing so far!" Trixie answered. "But Princess Twilight is working on a spell that can..."

And that's all Discord managed to hear before the ponies were out of his hearing range.

"Tartarus, you say? Can't say I agree with your decision!" he thought. "I am not done yet! The chaos and disorder that my Twisted Metal spread across Equestria will never fade. It's only a matter of time until all that chaotic energy finds its way back to me. Soon, I'll be free once again! Ready your clocks, my little ponies! The countdown for my return has star--"

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a giant yellow road roller fell on top of the statue.

"Oops! My bad!" a grey pegasus mare with yellow mane and tail wearing a bright yellow outfit said before landing on top of the vehicle. She looked around with her crossed eyes an innocent smile on her face. "I finally got my own car! Can I participate now?" the smile was slowly replaced by a look of confusion. "Hello?"

"...Ouch..."

Author's Notes:

This was a fun ride! It was bumpy at some points, I ran out of ideas, suffered writer's block several times, had to put it on hold a few times because of things that I couldn't control, but fun nonetheless.
What do you think? Had fun? Was it too much for you? Too little? Let me know, I love comments!

And yes, Zodiac's Concealed War Council is a play on both Sweet Tooth's Carnival Of Carnage and Tower Tooth!
And if this chapter reminded you of Saint Seiya... Well, it reminded me too! I was actually halfway through Sagittarius' floor when I realized how similar it was.

EDIT: Over a year later and I finally fixed the mistakes in this chapter I could find. But I could have missed some, so feel free to kindly point them out!