Shade ignites her horns to cast a spell. “Try using magic without those!”

Discord looks at his paw and claw. A thick slime encases his appendages. “You think you are so clever!” He sneers. With a snap of his tail he removes the Element Bearers horns and wings. “Try using magic without those!”

The mares cry out in shock at losing parts of their body, A roar erupts from Shade as she lunges at the draconequus. He rolls his eyes and blinks away, leaving a mountain of chocolate ice cream for Shade to crash into.

“Now, I’m a sporty kinda guy. I’ll give you all a clue to find your Elements. However, there are a few rules to the game.” Discord circles above them in a red canoe. “Rule one: no flying, no magic. Rule two: everypony has to play or the game is over and I win!”

The girls exchange looks of apprehension then nod in sync.

“Tell us the clue, Discord,” says Twilight.

A wicked grin spreads across his face, “To retrieve your missing Elements, just make sense of this change of events. Twists and turns are my master plan. Then find the Elements back where you began.” He blinks away in a flash and echo of maniacal laughter.

“What do you reckon he meant? Twists and turns and endin' back where we started?” Applejack questions aloud.

“Twists and turns... twists and turns... twists and turns!” Twilight paces in a circle as she thinks. Bumping into a hedge, she shakes off the disruption and gazes up at the towering green wall. “That's it!”

“No,” Shade deadpans. Before Twilight can rebuttal, Shade continues, “The labyrinth makes too much of a logical sense. We are dealing with the embodiment of chaos.”

“So where do you think it is?” Twilight inquires.

“I was thinking the Castle of the Two Sisters since that is where we found the Elements in the first place,” Shade answers.

“That sounds too obvious,” Pinkie chimes in.

“Exactly,” Shade agrees. She holds her fetlock to her chin as she thinks.

“Do you know how they were created?” Rarity asks Twilight.

“No, but Princess Celestia might!” Twilight exclaims.

Shade scoffs. “I doubt she will tell us flat out. She would be cryptic and we would have to look in a book or something.”

Twilight glowers at Shade. Then her eyes light up with realization. “‘The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide‘! We first learned about the Elements of Harmony from that book!”

“The Elements must be there! Let’s go!” Rainbow Dash leaps into the air—only to fall to the ground. “What the hay—oh...” looking on her back she remembers her missing wings.

Fluttershy rests a reassuring hoof on her friend. “Don’t worry, Rainbow Dash, we’ll get your wings back.”

“Darn tootin’! We’ll get y’alls wings and horns back,” affirms Applejack with a nod.

“Quite right!” Rarity adds.

Shade rubs the emptiness where her majestic horns had once occupied. A body pressing up against hers and fluffy mane on her face bring her back to reality.

“As long as we are together we can take on anything.” Pinkie Pie nuzzles Shade’s neck.

Comfort and peace wash over Shade. She kisses the pink pony on her forehead. “Nothing will stop us. “

Ponies running around the dig site try to cover up fresh excavations with tarps and burlap. Being in the jungle with the upcoming monsoons they have made doubly sure to pack enough materials to keep excavations as dry as possible.

Evanescence walks over to the cerise mare staring up at the cotton candy clouds. An expression of annoyance wears heavily on the tricorn’s face. A look which gives Evanescence a brief pause. She stops in her tracks when the tricorn turns towards her. Tears trickle down from poudrette gems.

“Having an allergic reaction to something?” Evanescence quips.

Deathly Belladonna turns away and begins to walk to a tent.

A frown tugs down on Evanescence’s face. She follows after the mare.

“Do you hate me?” Death asks the woman who enters the tent.

Evanescence scoffs. “You most certainly are not on my top ten list of people I love.” She notices the cerise mare’s shoulder and ears sag. “What is happening with the weather?”

“The other you has that under control.”

Those words hit her with the emptiness of the Void. A bitter cold begins to seep into her bones. Her strength begins to fade and the weight of existence weighs her down, making her collapse to her knees.

“What...” she croaks. Her vision fades. The overwhelming darkness switches to a blinding light.

“No one wants me. No one needs me.” Death’s voice echoes and thunders and whispers all at once.

Waves of emotion crash down on Evanescence. An eternity of bobbing on this tumultuous ocean of pure emotion passes. The dull pain of cold fills her entire being. She cries out in pain. She shouts with anger. Her eyes burn from the intensity of the light yet no darkness releases her from the pain.

Warmth pierces her self. Of all her senses that had come under assault, he sense of taste remains. The warmth covers her mouth. A familiar taste.

Cherry Pie watches the scene in the tent from the cover of wooden crates. Her teal eyes wide. Her breath caught in her throat at seeing Deathly Belladonna holding Evanescence’s heart In a bloody cerise hoof.

As Pinkie Pie prepares for a celebration of the defeat of Discord, Shade studies the statue of the draconequus.

“What’s on your mind?”

“This was too easy, Twilight.”

Twilight walks up beside Shade to examine Discord. The afternoon sun illuminates his chimeric form for her to study him clearly. His expression appears genuine enough.

“Maybe it was easy because you’re such a powerful pony?” Twilight smiles.

Shade raises an eyebrow at the lavender unicorn. “I know I am. No, this felt like a test. He is playing the long con.”

“Well, we beat him once, we can beat him again!”

Shade looks at the smiling mare. A small grin tugs at Shade’s lips. “Next time, I will not go easy on him.”