Canterlot Gardens, Midnight...

All was quiet and peaceful in Canterlot, as Luna's beautiful and mysterious moon cast its light onto the sleeping populace. An incredibly old Earth pony whistled a jolly tune as he pushed a cart filled with various gardening tools in front of him.

He was the Royal Gardener, or as he liked to call it, The Royal Weed Whacker. As the Unicorns constantly used their magic to shape the hedges and rosebushes, he didn't really have much to do, except pull weeds and make sure that there weren't any moles digging up the roots. He didn't mind though. To be honest, he preferred the silent work, as it gave him time to think, something he couldn't do in the hustle and bustle of the day. His name was Grass Trimmer, and he had been the Royal Weed Whacker for over thirty-five years now.

He made his rounds around the garden, tugging weeds, and cleaning the bird waste off of statues, making sure that all was perfectly clean. He smiled thoughtfully, as he came upon an infamous statue of a creature that was a medley of various body parts.

"Wonder what's going on in yer head?" Trimmer wondered, as he wiped a particularly large piece of feces off of the statue's eye. "Chances are, probably nuthin'. I mean, yer just a stature, now aren'cha?" He cackled slightly, and spit on the statue's face.

"That's what I think of yer chaos. I hope I don' live to see the day you get freed again..." He laughed, and trotted off, whistling as he went.

He didn't notice the small cracks that had formed on the statue's back...

An insane laughter could be heard, echoing throughout the silent night.

XHXHXHXH

Ponyville Town Library, the next day...

Twilight Sparkle yawned, and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. Using her magic, she levitated a small hairbrush to her mane, which she then attempted to organize. The smell of sizzling vegetables wafted in through her open door, and she felt her mouth start watering at the enticing aroma. Her stomach grumbled, urging her to hurry and finish brushing her hair so it could attack the meal which awaited her.

"I know, I know!" Twilight grumbled at her stomach. She finished putting the last strand of hair into place, and then trotted down the stairs, saying, "Good morning Spike! Breakfast sure smells good!"

The baby purple and green dragon looked up from the pan he was currently poking with a spatula. He gave Twilight a big smile, and said, "Thanks!" He hopped down from the stool he was standing on, and he tipped the pan's precious contents onto a plate. "I've been up all morning, working on it for you!"

Twilight walked over to the plate, inhaling deeply. "It smells great Spike! But how long have you been up?"

Spike grinned, and said, "Since eight!"

Twilight raised an eyebrow, and asked, "What do you want Spike?"

Spike blushed, and turned back to the stove, saying, "What? Your number one assistant can't just decide to do something nice for you?"

Twilight just stared at the small purple dragon.

He sighed, and turned off the stove. "Fine...Can we go to Canterlot today? I haven't had any of Pony Joe's doughnuts in FOREVER! And as much as I like Pinkie Pie's cupcakes, they're just not the same!" Spike drooled, as he remembered the taste of what could arguably be called the greatest doughnuts in all of Equestria.

The lavender unicorn giggled, and started eating her meal. "Of course we can go. I've been meaning to get some new books for the library anyways. Maybe we can see if the others want to come too, I'm sure they'd love to actually get a tour of Canterlot!"

Spike chuckled. "Yeah, because when we went to the Gala you all kind of went crazy, and when we went there for Rarity, they only saw the garden!"

Twilight grimaced, and said, "You're never going to let us forget about that, are you?"

"Nope!"

XHXHXHXHXHXXH

After breakfast, Twilight and Spike gathered the rest of their friends, and extended the invitation to go to Canterlot to them.

"Wah, I'd love to Twi!" Applejack had said, while bucking the apples off of another tree. "Ah just gotta get these apples into the barn, and Big Macintosh'll take care of the rest!"

"Oooooh! Canterlot! We can get more of those really yummy doughnuts!" Pinkie had said, skipping around in happiness. Spike grinned when she said that, and couldn't have agreed more with her.

"Well I do believe that I am running low on certain fabrics that can only be purchased at Canterlot...I would love to go!" Rarity exclaimed, already packing a set of saddlebags with seemingly random articles of clothing.

"Oh, um, I guess if you really want me to, since the animals are all hibernating for the winter," Fluttershy stated quietly, a small spark of excitement in her eyes.

Rainbow Dash didn't even need to be asked. If there was even a slim chance of seeing her heroes, The Wonderbolts, then she would go.

As all of the Ponies met at the library, a large chariot pulled by four of the Royal Guards of Princess Celestia herself landed just outside. Twilight looked at the chariot in confusion, and said, "But I didn't ask for a chariot! I was jut going to teleport us all there!"

One of the Pegasi walked away from the main group, and in a stern voice, said, "Princess Celestia requests that Twilight Sparkle, and the rest of the Elements of Harmony, report to Canterlot Castle for an Emergency Meeting with The Princesses."

"But I didn't get a letter or anything!" Twilight said, right as Spike belched out a tongue of green fire that shaped itself into a sealed scroll.

"Oh...Never mind," She said sheepishly, after reading the scroll. She turned to the rest of her friends, and said, "Girls, it looks like we're gonna have to go sight-seeing later. Right now, we're needed!"

The ponies all agreed, although Rainbow Dash huffed a little in annoyance, and they jumped into the chariot, wondering what could possibly be happening now...

XHXHXHXHXH

Princess Celestia and Princess Luna both sat in their thrones, anxiously waiting for the Elements to arrive.

"Tia?" Luna said hesitantly, looking at her older sister.

"Yes?"

"Do you really think that we can do anything now? I mean, Discord-"

She was cut off, as a Royal Guard opened the door to the throne room, and announced in a loud voice, "Your Majesties, Twilight Sparkle, and friends, have arrived."

The regal Alicorn nodded her head, and said in an authoritative voice, "Show them in."

The Guard bowed, and opened the door wider, allowing the confused ponies to enter.

"You are dismissed," Princess Celestia said to the Guard. He bowed once more, and left, closing the door behind him. Once he was gone, Celestia looked at the six friends, and said, "It is good to see you all once again, but I'm afraid we don't have much time, so I'll just get straight to the point: Discord has escaped his prison once again, and the Elements of Harmony are nowhere to be found. We discovered this when we found the Royal Gardener, Grass Trimmer, encased in stone and...other substances."

Everypony gasped, and Celestia continued, saying, "He has already started to spread chaos through Manehatten, Appleloosa, and a large section of the Everfree Forest has been showing signs of Discord's brand of magic."

"But wait," Twilight said when Celestia stopped to take a breath. "Why hasn't he tried to attack Canterlot, or even Ponyville, like he did last time?"

Princess Celestia shook her head, and Luna answered, "We can't say for certain. Discord has always been unpredictable, always acting in the better interest of Chaos."

"Oh, I should say so Princess Looney!" A voice suddenly said in a gleeful voice. Everypony in the room gasped, and looked around, searching for the speaker. "Oh, My Little Ponies! It is soooooo good to see you again!"

One of the tapestries shifted, as if blown by a gentle breeze, and the draconequs appeared form behind it, a mad smile on his lips.

"Discord!" Celestia snarled, her horn already glowing. Luna stood beside her sister, as they charged their magic, watching the Spirit of Chaos warily.

"Oh really, Celestia, you simply MUST learn to lighten up a little bit! So what if I turned that gardener into a statue, and had birds relieve themselves all over him?" Discord said, examining his nails. "If he wasn't going to take proper care of my stature, then he needed to be taught a lesson!"

"What do you want Discord?" Luna shouted, almost slipping into the Royal Speaking Voice (also known as Caps Lock).

Discord laughed, and replied, "Oh, just the usual. Chaos, revenge, and a nice little summer home on the beach!" He snapped his fingers, and a red and yellow Hawaiian shirt appeared on him, as he sipped on a coconut drink.

"Well don't get too excited Discord!" Applejack called out, glaring at him. "We beat you once, we can do it again!"

"Yeah! Bring it on you big pile of meanie!" Pinkie said, hopping next to her farmpony friend.

He laughed, and said, "Sorry, but I'm in a bit of a hurry today! I still have to clip my toenails, make a few cotton candy fog banks (because clouds are SO second season) and of course, make sure that you can't find the Elements! Arrivederci!" He vanished in a cloud of twinkling lights, and left the ponies with worried looks on their faces.

"Wait, why didn't he give us a riddle like last time?" Rainbow Dash asked, gulping audibly. She wasn't ever one to back down from a challenge, but she didn't like their chances without the Elements...

"Princess Luna did say he was unpredictable," Twilight responded.

Luna nodded, and said, "I fear that our power may not be enough to deal with this threat. 'Tia, do you have any ideas?"

Celestia was silent, as she considered the idea that had come to her last night, when she found out about Discord's escape, and then subsequent theft of The Elements. It was a slightly desperate move, but from what she knew of Discord...It might be their only chance.

"There is one solution that I have been considering..." Celestia answered hesitantly. "But I'm afraid it might be too risky to try..."

"What is it?" Luna asked, worried by Celestia's hesitance. Her sister was always one who could make swift, decisive movements and choices for her ponies, and if she was hesitant...

"It would require both Twilight Sparkle, and I, and perhaps you as well Luna, but...we could summon warriors from another universe to fight Discord for us, while we search for the Elements of Harmony."

Everypony started talking at once, causing an incredibly loud racket, until Luna spoke in the Royal Speaking Voice, and called out, "QUIET!"

Luna looked to her sister, and said, "Are you sure 'Tia? Summoning spells are incredibly difficult, and if we aren't completely focused, we might accidentally summon something worse than we intended."

Celestia nodded, and said, "I know. But I'm afraid it might be our only hope of stopping Discord. Twilight? If you are willing, I'd like to start the spell now, instead of later."

Twilight nodded her head, and eagerly said, "If it will help stop Discord, I'll gladly do it!"

The Princesses were unsurprised by the answer, and they stepped down from their thrones, until they stood in the center of the room, where Twilight met them. "I assume you are already familiar with such spells Twilight?" Celestia asked, as her horn glowed.

"Yes. We simply need to pool our magic together, and focus our thoughts on who we want to summon."

"Good. Now remember: Focus only on three things: A group that works well together, a group that can do the impossible, and a group that has enough wit to counter Discord's chaos!"

They all closed their eyes, and focused, touching their horns together. Lights started flashing, and a sudden burst of wind started shaking the tapestries. Applejack had to hold onto her hat, in order to stop it from flying off of her head, and Pinkie had pulled out a small kite, and was currently flying it in the wind.

With a final flash, the three magic users were suddenly pushed against the walls, the force of their magic causing them to be launched. Twilight was the first to recover, as she looked at the brave team of heroes in front of them...

"Who are they?" She asked, her eyes widening.

Celestia looked over, and gasped in surprise. She turned her head to Luna, who winced, and said, "I might have been distracted...That insult, 'Princess Looney,' just wouldn't leave my head."

All of the ponies looked at the group in front of them, as a gray form with incredibly long ears stood up, and took in his surroundings. He munched on a carrot, and shook his head.

"I knew I shoulda taken that left turn at Albuquerque!" Next Chapter: Meet the Tunes Estimated time remaining: 22 Minutes