Flash had been staring long and hard at Discord for a few moments, and doubtless the spirit had expected some sort of gasp or overt reaction after dropping the big reveal he did mere seconds ago. Naturally, he was disappointed to see Flash maintain his usual stoic attitude towards him. As for the stallion himself, he continued to be wary of just what his current colleague was up to, and so finally decided to humour him with what little knowledge he had on the subject. "I've heard of it...but only a little. The amulet is meant to be some sort of ancient magical artefact, yes?"

Discord seemed satisfied that he knew that much at least. "Indeed it is. And a notorious one at that. It is an object capable of massively increasing the power of those who wear it. Whatever ability you have, that thing will improve it far beyond your wildest dreams."

Flash's eyebrow remained arched after hearing that. "And how is that supposed to help the king exactly? In case you hadn't noticed he seems to be pretty well covered on power."

Discord waved him off. "Pfft! What you've seen are mere trifles, my lad. I assure you, his true power is lost to him in his present state. But with the amulet, he would be restored to the magical prowess he once possessed."

"And...that would give him the means to heal himself?" Flash asked, his curiosity growing.

"Correct! About time you got the picture!" Discord declared happily.

Flash, after frowning to that attitude, looked again to the chamber doors. "Well...I suppose it would remiss of me to dismiss any way of getting my current charge out of a bad situation." After thinking on it another moment, he sighed, looking once more to Discord. "Alrighty then, let's try it out. Bring the amulet here."

To that, Discord nervously twiddled his thumbs. "Yeah...about that."

It took no time at all for Flash to get his meaning. "You can't summon it here?!"

Discord pointed to him. "Hey! Don't go blaming me for that! I already tried earlier! Wherever it is, it's clearly got some kind of anti-Discord protection over it."

Flash blinked. "That's...that's an option?"

Folding his arms, Discord pouted. "More frequently than you think. Chrysalis' kingdom was immune to my power until her throne burst apart. And after I was freed from stone a second time the Elements of Harmony had a charm placed upon them by dear old Celestia to make them impervious to any effort on my part to hide them." He looked away. "I have no idea who did this to the amulet, but clearly they're a careful sort."

With that revelation, Flash started rubbing his temples. "Okay...so you can't heal him yourself and now you can't bring in the one thing that could. Gotta say, Discord, your plan isn't looking too good right now."

In response, Discord took on a more characteristically wicked smirk. "Unless, of course...I had help with it."

Looking him right in the eye, understanding dawned for Flash. "You want me to go out and get it?! Why can't you do it?!"

Discord shrugged. "Hey, if the embodiment of chaos goes missing for too long you ponies tend to ask questions. But if some random, unimportant guard goes? That's another story."

"Gee, thanks," Flash replied with obvious irritation.

"Look," Discord continued. "Solaris needs this if he's going to be any kind of positive force in Equestria again. If it came from me, he'd just reject it. Centuries of mistrust and all that. But you? One of his own, precious ponies? Well, that just might be the ticket to getting him to going along with all this."

Flash's certainty remained as shaky as ever, but in the face of an argument like that he had little ground for debate. "I suppose...if it'll help him, and Equestria in the long run, it's worth a try at least."

Discord patted him on the back. "That's the spirit! The somewhat half-hearted spirit, granted, but spirit all the same!"

Pushing Discord's paw away, Flash looked to him sternly. "Okay, I'll go along with this for now, but I can't just go off into the blue with no direction. I'll need to investigate the amulet's whereabouts, and I'll also need to gather some additional forces to accompany me."

That piqued Discord's interest. "Oh? Getting together some sort of super-cool taskforce or the like?"

"Not exactly. It's not recommended for the Royal Guard to go far afield unless we go in significant numbers. And if I'm hunting down some ancient, magical artefact I have to assume some dangers are on the way." He tapped his chin as he pondered that. "I have a few friends in the guard who'll likely be on-board with this plan. And I know a few other names that might be useful, given that we're going in blind here."

Giving a slight bow, Discord gestured to the direction that led out of the hall and into the palace proper. "Well then, don't let me keep you, good Sir."

Flash shook his head. "Not so fast. First of all, if any of this turns out to be a trick, or makes things worse for anycreature, please know that I will be blaming you for this debacle!"

Folding his arms, Discord mulled that over before nodding. "Tough, but fair."

After a pause, Flash exhaled. "Also...I'll need to arrange a replacement to assume my duties for the king during my absence. Somepony trustworthy and capable who can do all Solaris requires of them. Who has the knowledge and awareness of the wider world so they can satisfy all the burning questions he no doubt has after his centuries-long entombing here."

At that very moment, the monarch in question bellowed from the other room. "SENTRY! ARE YOU COMING BACK OR NOT? I DON'T PAY YOU TO STAND AROUND AND DO NOTHING!"

"You don't pay him at all, Father," Luna's voice could be heard replying.

"WELL THAT EXPLAINS THE LACKLUSTRE PERFORMANCE RIGHT NOW."

Flash stood absolutely still during all that, after which he took a deep breath before looking back to Discord. "On the other hoof, I know a trio of stallion who've been dying to prove themselves useful, and I'm sure the good king would be delighted to see some variety in the guard."

"Why Flash!" Discoid exclaimed. "Who knew you could be so...impressively devious?"

Walking away, Flash did his best to maintain a nonchalant look. "I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about."

Next Chapter: The Cast Expands Estimated time remaining: 50 Minutes