0-0-0-0-0

"Good morning, Miss Pinkamena."

"It's about time you got it right," Pinkamena said sourly to the recovery wing's receptionist, who bit back a retort. Paper Pusher took a deep breath through her nostrils, forcing a little smile.

"Here to see your friend?" she beamed at the dour mare, and Pinkamena's eyes narrowed dully.

"Is it any of your business?" Pinkamena snapped, scribbling her name onto the clipboard and throwing the pen back onto the desk.

Paper really needed to ask for a raise.

Pinkamena pushed a lock of her flat and oddly grey-tinted mane from her face, scowling as she slowly trudged down the hall. The morning sunlight pouring in through the windows just seemed too happy. It wasn't doing anything for her mood.

Pinkamena knew the routine; the same as every day. She would come in to visit a silent Rainbow Dash, who would either lay there staring up at the ceiling the entire time or blankly recount her need for 'Master' again. And again. And again.

But they called Pinkie crazy.

Pinkamena's frown deepened as she turned another corner. She knew that they all called her crazy behind her back. They were probably mocking her right now, calling her names and laughing at her.

What right did any of them have, ridiculing her? After what she'd been through; after what she had to do for her poor, poor Dashie…?

She shook her head slowly, vacating her face of expression as she approached Rainbow Dash's familiar wooden door. She didn't need to be carrying in that kind of anger and hate to her friend, who was supposed to be recuperating.

But Pinkamena didn't harbor much hope any more.

Rainbow Dash never got better. She would just lie there the whole time, and Pinkie would sullenly drag herself home again to ponder whether or not life was really still worth living at all, and start another wretched day anew.

Pinkamena knocked once, and nudged the door open morosely with her hoof, silently entering the room.

At which point, Pinkamena received a very, very pleasant surprise.

"Hiya, Pinkie Pie!"

Pinkamena's mouth hanged open for a moment, and she took in the sight to let it truly sink in.

Rainbow Dash sat up with her back propped against a few pillows, the blanket tucked up to her thighs as her forehooves were folded neatly in her lap, tapping against each other impatiently. More eye catching, though, wasn't just the fact that she was actually sitting up; Rainbow Dash had the biggest, goofiest looking grin Pinkie had seen anypony wear since… well, herself.

The morning sunlight drifted in warmly through the opened window, the curtains billowing friendlily as if to complete the picture.

"… Dashie?"

"You're normally here a little earlier, Pinkie," Rainbow Dash forced a smile, the flabbergasted mare suddenly noticing that her mouth was still hanging open. "Making Dashie – I mean, making me wait so long, I was wondering if you'd show up at-oof!"

Pinkamena threw her hooves around Dash's neck, and she could have sworn that she saw the pink party pony's mane begin to inflate a little. It had almost regained a little of its previous bounce and spring to it, a couple of frizzles rising here and there.

"Rainbow Dash!" Pinkie squealed, a miniscule grin beginning to appear on her own face. There was just something… off about Dash's smile, it seemed a little too unnatural. Regardless, Pinkamena hugged her again. "I-I just – wow! Look at you! I mean, sitting up, and-and, and talking, and-"

"Pinkie Pie," Rainbow Dash strained without much effort, but smiled a little wheezily. "You're asphyxiating me."

"Say what now?"

"I can't breathe, Pinkie."

"Right, right," Pinkamena pulled away slowly, her somber expression returning all too soon to her face. "Sorry, Dashie."

"Don't worry 'bout it," Rainbow Dash replied gruffly, clearing her throat. She shortly returned to tapping her hooves together edgily, the plastic smile still plastered to her face.

It made Pinkie Pie a little uneasy, but she shrugged off the feeling as a hint of relief trickled into her. Rainbow Dash was smiling. Now if only she'd get up and fly again…

"I can't believe – I mean, what's up with your… well, this?" Pinkamena waved her hooves haphazardly, her curiosity getting the best of her. "The other day, you were all like 'blargh', and now you're all like 'Hiya, Pinkie!' and I'm all 'whaaaaaaaaaaat?' and that is way –"

"Oh, you know," Rainbow Dash lied nonchalantly, cutting her off. "I'm just feeling a little more like myself, is all."

Pinkie could tell that she wasn't being completely truthful, but decided not to press the matter for fear of worsening her condition. All that really mattered was that Rainbow Dash – her friend, her Dashie – was better again. That somehow, she was going to be okay.

It was almost like a spark began to burn in her chest, brightening her from within and scaring away the shadowy fears.

"Ooh, this is great!" Pinkamena hugged Dash again, nuzzling against her shoulder. "I can't wait to tell Rares and AJ that you're finally up again; before you know it, you'll be flying again in no time, and you can show me around the Rainbow Factory, and we can throw a 'Glad You're Back Dashie' party that –"

"Uh, actually," Dash edged away from her touch a little, and rubbed one of her wings uncomfortably. "If-if it's all the same to you, I-I still don't wanna fly, really."

Pinkie Pie stared at her for a full beat before she remembered it.

"Right, right," she pronounced slowly. "Wing."

"I mean," Rainbow Dash said quickly. "It – I mean, I know it looks fine, but-bu it feels... I mean, whenever I try, it just…"

She held her hooves before her agitatedly, gripping at the tip of her wing in them.

"… Dashie," Pinkamena said softly. "Your wing isn't broken anymore. Discord fixed it for you when we came back. I don't know why it's so hard for you to just get over that."

Rainbow Dash stared at her friend then; she stared at her long, and she stared at her and hard. Dash didn't show a smidgen of emotion, her face as blank as the walls around her.

"… You know, Pinkie… I think I just want to go back to sleep, now."

The mare gave her a wavering, pained expression, and tugged at the ends of her flat mane in her hooves.

"… My name is Pinkamena."

"Sure, Pinkie." Dash said expressionlessly, rolling over and turning her back to her. "It's not you… really," Rainbow Dash said without turning to face her, her voice slightly muffled. "I just really want to get some more sleep now."

"… Okay, Dashie."

Pinkamena hung her head, sitting miserably on the edge of the bed beside her for a while. Why was it so difficult for Rainbow Dash – or anypony, for that matter – to get better? Didn't anypony care about how she felt? Pinkamena took in a deep quivering breath, and stood to leave. She shook her head as she did so, her thoughts heavy.

Of course, nopony asked how she felt because it didn't matter how she felt. The only thing that mattered was that her Dashie was getting better. Even if it didn't really seem like it very much, her Dashie was getting better. And Pinkamena would be there for her, just like every day, and sooner or later she would see –

Pinkamena bumped directly into the draconequus as he entered, knocking the breath out of him.

"Oh! Uh… h-hello, Pinkie Pie," Discord shuffled uncomfortably out of her way, and she stared up at the saddlebag-toting draconequus. "You're… still here, I see."

"She was just a little late!" Rainbow Dash perked up immediately upon his arrival, dropping all pretense of sleeping. Pinkamena rapidly grew suspicious, slowly looking back and forth between Discord and her dear friend, who had apparently just been feigning drowsiness.

A couple of stray thoughts pried at the edges of her thoughts, but Pinkamena dared not think of them.

Such things were silly.

And Pinkamena Diane Pie was a serious, serious pony.

There was a tense, awkward silence hanging in the air, which Pinkamena was the first to break as odd looks were shared all around.

"Yeah," Pinkamena said slowly, mistrustful expression plain on her features as she slowly exited the room. "Just a little late. You know busy ol'me."

The sound of the door latching quietly behind her as she began her trek toward the hospital's entrance once more left a foul taste in her mouth.

0-0-0-0-0

"Well?" Rainbow Dash asked breathlessly as Discord quietly closed the door behind him, rearranging Fluttershy's borrowed saddlebag on his shoulder. "Did you bring it?"

"Yes, yes," Discord waved her off with a small sigh, his shoulders slumping heavily as he slid the saddlebag down his arm and letting it flop onto the chair beside Rainbow Dash's bed. "It just took me a little longer than I thought it would."

"Why?" Dash tilted her head curiously. "Since when did you stop doing that whole 'now you see me, now you don't' teleport-y thing?"

Discord paused momentarily, and considered telling her the truth. He shook the urge off internally, thinking. It would only complicate matters further, and right now, all that was important to him was Rainbow Dash's recovery.

"Oh, you know," Discord rubbed his aching lower back, sitting heavily beside her as he released an unsteady breath of air. "Twilight seems to think I need more 'exercise', or something to that effect."

Again, he wasn't technically lying, but it still made him feel… tainted for having been partially dishonest to her.

Rainbow Dash started to open her mouth to speak, but Discord conveniently fell into a violent coughing fit, hacking and wheezing into the crook of his elbow as he strained for breath.

"Discord…?" Rainbow Dash tugged at her sheets fitfully. "A-are you… okay there?"

"Peachy," he gasped, shaking his head violently. He cleared his throat once more, forcing all expression from his face. "I told the doctors that I was allergic to exercise."

Rainbow Dash giggled, covering her mouth with one of her hooves and instinctively causing Discord to grin. Perhaps it was just something about the way her slightly scratchy voice sounded when she laughed, or maybe it was just the ambient tension; either way, Discord never really expected to cherish that sound quite so much.

"Maybe sitting around in a rock for a thousand years wasn't so great for your physique," Dash teased him, earning a cock of the eyebrow.

"Hey, I've got great physique."

"So, you're telling me that it's just old age kicking your flank," Rainbow Dash snorted.

"Gee, you sure know how to make a god feel a thousand years sprier."

It was true, though; he did feel old. His muscles ached, his chest always hurt, and he was always so tired.

Perhaps letting Twilight Sparkle deprive him of his power wasn't such a great idea after all.

He shook the thoughts from his head, noticing the impatient drumming of the pegasus's hooves across her lap.

"… Well?" she pried restlessly. "Did you bring it? Did you?"

"Oh, hold your horses," Discord grumbled, reaching jadedly toward the bag. "I've got it, I've got it. I already said, it just took me a while. You whipper snappers could learn some patience, you know."

"Now you really do sound old," Rainbow Dash frowned, but perked up again rather quickly when he revealed what he'd brought along in Fluttershy's borrowed saddlebag. Precisely what she'd requested him to.

Rope.

"Yes!" Dash squealed and clapped her hooves together excitedly, her wings rustling behind her in anticipation. She scrambled from beneath the sheet, dancing back and forth anxiously and eliciting a couple of squeaks from the bed.

"Now, hold on just a moment," Discord held up a single talon, quietly relishing the mildly confused and agitated expression on her face.

"Everypony makes me wait!" Dash stamped her hoof against the mattress, resulting in a slightly less than effective creak. "Come on, ya' old coot; enough foreplay already!"

"Dash –"

"Tie me up already!"

"Dash –"

"Hurry up and fuck me!"

"Rainbow Dash," Discord reiterated patiently, dangling the length of sturdy rope before her.

Rainbow Dash paused for a moment, and held her breath, even though her every fiber was screaming at him to pick up the pace. Couldn't he see that she had waited long enough?

"Still waiting to be satisfied," Dash sat down grumpily, her nostrils flaring a little.

… That is ADORABLE.

"Right," Discord nodded. "You don't have to wait much longer; I promise. Just let me get a word in edgewise, and I'll have you wrapped up tighter than a Hearth's Warming Eve gift." He took a deep breath, measuring how to best communicate his thoughts without giving too much away. He'd already laid a foundation; but she still needed a hoofhold, something to build with. After a moment, he spoke again.

"Now," he held the rope up before her, looping it. "I want you to tell me what you see."

"Rope. Duh," Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes.

The one time in a thousand years that I try to actually be serious, and suddenly, everybody's a smartass.

Le gasp! Discord, trying to be serious? Oh, woe is me, the world is ending!

Oh, not you, too!

Of course him too, he was already a smartass.

Nobody ASKED you!

Who, me?

No, not you, him! I mean, you! I mean, me!

Check out my waffle-hat, guys! Ain't it grand?

Discord pinched the bridge of his nose, letting out a long breath. As he rubbed his temples, Dash almost could have sworn he heard him talking to himself, but she must have just imagined it.

"Right," he said eventually. "It's rope. What else is it?" Discord asked, giving the length of rope a little shake.

"… Is this your way of subtly trying to tell me that you're limp?" Rainbow Dash asked slowly, tilting her head yet again.

"No," Discord gritted his teeth. "You get that it's rope. I get that it's rope." He took another breath, calming himself. "But what else is it? You want to be tied up; what exactly does rope associate with?"

"Control," Rainbow Dash recited automatically, expectantly edging a little closer so that he could begin.

She was thoroughly dissatisfied when Discord simply sat there, staring at her.

"… No," he said lowly. "No, no."

Discord had a furrowed, pained expression, only to be replaced with an annoyed demeanor. Rainbow Dash didn't think she'd ever seen the draconequus looking so… serious.

"No," Discord stated again, shaking the rope. "That's not what bondage is about. It's not about who has the power, it is certainly not about control. If anything, it's about a matter of trust."

Rainbow Dash blinked, taking in his words.

"Now," he said finally. "And I need you to be completely, one hundred percent honest with me about this, because it is very, very important; do you trust me?"

Dash opened her mouth to insist that, of course she did, but clamped it shut. She thought heavily on it for a while, staring at the rope before her.

Did she really trust Discord, or was she just using him to achieve her own ends?

And, as the thought hit her, did that really make her any better than Master?

For a long, long time, Discord thought that she couldn't find it in herself to speak again. However, after a while, she finally spoke up.

"Yeah." Dash pulled his snaky neck lower into a tight hug. "I trust you."

"Good," he nodded with a warm smile. "Then you might have just made this next part a little easier on yourself to understand."

Discord held the rope up between his talons, looping it around until it resembled a large, slightly wobbly number eight.

"This is just like an 'eight'. It will go on, for ever and ever. This," he began, pointing at it. "This is also you," and tapped the very top. "Right here, right at the top. No matter how you bend it and turn it, it's still the same rope. "

The draconequus slowly slid his talon down the side, and Rainbow Dash fought the sudden urge to shudder excitedly with the movement of his finger as he gently tugged the rope over her middle. It tugged her wings to her side, and her breathing caught in her chest.

"And this," he pointed as the rope wound to its center, crossing over itself and beginning the bottom loop. "This is where you're at in your progression, right now. Smack dab in the middle, with both sides clearly adjacent. Just because it's all one rope doesn't mean it'll hold together without the proper knots."

"And should you begin to relapse…" he ended dangerously, staring hard at her.

Discord pulled the rope at one end, causing the whole thing to fall slack in his talons and slip to the sheets.

"Everything you struggled for just… falls apart."

Rainbow Dash held his gaze for a full minute, glancing back and forth between him and the rope.

"… I think I get what you're saying," Dash nodded slowly, holding one end of the rope in her hooves.

"Good," he bowed his head. "Then you should know that I have nothing but the utmost faith in you to remain loyal to your duties, and stay focused on recovery rather than satisfaction."

Dash beamed at him, gripping the rope. "Yeah, yeah. I got it; add some knots, keep it taut."

Discord stood quietly.

"Well, I'm glad you learned something today. Now, if you'll excuse me…"

Before he could move any further, Rainbow Dash tugged at his tail playfully, forcing him to sit back down. She casually wrapped her forehooves around him from behind, leaning her chin over his shoulder as she held the rope between her teeth.

"You know," Dash said after she dropped the rope. "I'm still not satisfied."

"I got it," Discord deadpanned. "You need –"

"And I'll bet you aren't, either," she pulled at his cheek gently with her teeth, giggling.

"Gee, you sure know how to make an old draconequus blush."

"Blush all you like, ol' coot," Dash hugged him friskily. "Now, hurry up and stuff my cock pocket."

"… Okay, I have to admit. I have actually never heard that one."

"Well, I'm glad you learned something today," she laughed, and Discord was happy to be the one laughing with her.

0-0-0-0-0

"Good afternoon, Miss Sparkle."

"Hello, Paper Pusher!" Twilight beamed at the receptionist, magically levitating the visitor's clipboard to sign her name. "How are the foals?"

"I don't have children," Paper deadpanned, picking up the clipboard after Twilight had signed her name.

"Right, right," the unicorn said distractedly. "Very well." she took off down at a brisk pace down one of the labyrinthian halls, only for the receptionist to call after her.

"Er… Miss Sparkle? Isn't your friend down the other wing?"

"Here for a different appointment!" she called over her shoulder, trotting further down the hall and making a sharp left turn. Twilight hated that she'd been pulled away in the middle of such a high-risk experiment, but if it concerned Rainbow Dash, she supposed she could leave the mystifying powers of limitless chaos alone for a few hours to converse with a doctor or two.

"Ah, Miss Sparkle!"

She almost missed the open door, beckoned in by the chocolate colored orthopedist.

"There you are, Mister White," Twilight said politely, nodding as he ushered her inside his roomy office. It looked fairly bland, aside from a pleasantly shined mahogany desk and a pair of filing cabinets in the corner. It seemed just a tiny bit more boring than the last few times she'd been in it, if that were possible.

"Please, please, have a seat," he said conversationally, pointing to the uncomfortable looking wooden chair before his swiveling opulent one behind the desk. Quietly, Twilight sat and awaited his explanation.

"Right-o," Egg White clapped his hooves together, letting out a breath of air and leaning onto his elbows, propping them up on the desk. "Doubtlessly, you're a very busy mare."

"Indubitably."

"And I am absolutely remorseful for pulling you away from what you are likely to assure me is very important work," he said without a shred of remorse.

"I'll take that at face value," Twilight said slowly, angrily noting his faint condescending tone. He certainly was taking his time getting to the point.

"Well, you see, it's about your friend."

"Obviously," Twilight replied. "That is why I rushed in the first place. And you're telling me what I already know because…?"

"Well," Egg White brushed back his short yellow mane smugly, not hiding his demeanor. "I just had my doubts that you really had any idea of 'alternative recovery methods' by royal decree."

"… I'm sorry, what?"

"That's what I thought," he said haughtily, fighting furiously to keep the grin off of his face.

"What is this all about?" Twilight tapped her hooves against the arm of the rickety wooden chair uncomfortably.

"Well, you see," White said leisurely, blatantly enjoying stretching it out for as long as possible. "Funny story. Just the other day, I was just minding my own business, trying to take a well-earned lunch break."

Twilight bit back her comment, annoyance rising.

"So, anyway," he droned on, "there I was, on my way to the cafeteria, and, wouldn't you know it, I just happened to stumble into the God of Chaos himself."

… Uh oh.

"And…?" Twilight ground her teeth. "I know he visits Rainbow Dash routinely. This was discussed with Fluttershy about her own visits, and –"

"Oh, no, he was quite on his own," Egg White cut her off, trying not to snicker. "As a matter of fact, the fellow was looking for some assistance. You see, he just so happened to be looking about for somepony to lock him in to Miss Rainbow Dash's room."

… No no no no no no no.

"Anyway," Egg White took his time, rolling his hoof regardless of the fact that by this point, Twilight was on the edge of her seat. "He tried convincing me to lock him into her room, on the grounds that it was for 'alternative recovery methods', or some other such nonsense. Can you believe he can't even tell the difference between an orthodontist and an orthopedist? Ha! Really-"

"Will you get on with it?" Twilight snapped impatiently, sweat beading uneasily.

"Right," White said huffily. "Anyway, the chap had me lock him in, ensuring me that I had reason to trust him. Evidently, since I am a bloody professional, I locked him inside; but I waited a tad, because I wouldn't trust that fellow as far as I could throw him."

Egg White took a deep breath, obviously taking pleasure in having somepony listen to him for once.

"So, there I was, expecting the worst and getting ready to call in security, when guess who should happen to meander down the hall? It was none other than Rainbow Dash, of course! The poor mare was tottering around a little; I remember thinking to myself, 'Egg White, have the janitor ensure that the stores of sedatives are still locked, remember what happened last time'.

"Anyway, Miss Dash saunters on over – well, it was more like an uncomfortable hobble, to tell the truth – on over to her room, unlocks it, and heads on inside."

"And?!"

"I'm getting there," Egg White drawled. "So, anyway, I sneak on over to take a peek in, because I'm thinking to myself, 'this should be entert- I mean, the safety of our clients is of the utmost importance.' So I sneak on over, and take a little peek inside, and guess who should happen to be doing the nasty with a clearly mentally unstable patient?"

At first, Egg White couldn't detect any noticeable or visible differences in the violet unicorn sitting before him. She appeared to have retained all the focus of a slightly-above average tree stump.

And then, as if beholding the drastic effects of an enraged violent volcanic eruption up close, Twilight Sparkle nearly exploded.

"DISCORD!"

I am so glad I wasn't a dentist.

0-0-0-0-0

As much as it pained Twilight to not rush out and find the accursed draconequus to bash his face into the floor until it cracked, she held her focus. For the most part, anyway.

"Uh… Twilight?" Spike asked nervously, tapping his claws together as the nearly frantic mare sped about the room. "Are-are you… feeling all right?"

"Absolutely, Spike!" Twilight spat viciously, rolling up her checklist. If she was going to do this, then wanton malevolence simply wouldn't do. No, she needed to take radical action, and she needed to do it efficiently. "Now, I think it would be best if you were… out for a little while."

"Aw, again?" Spike moaned, but quickly snapped his jaws shut when he saw the bloodshot, maniacal glare the unicorn gave him. He nodded quickly, slipping out the front door without another word.

Oh, Twilight was going to do this efficiently, all right. She was going to do this the right way, the mature way.

She had to do more than take action against Discord for taking advantage of her friend.

Twilight was going to make him suffer.

And, as she held the radiant crystal of barely contained chaotic energy in her hooves, the plan she carefully formulated slowly fell into place, piece by piece…

0-0-0-0-0

There was no warning.

One moment, Rainbow Dash was held in the draconequus's warm embrace. The next, she wasn't.

"And before you know it, the whole –"

And just like that, he was gone.

Rainbow Dash fell against the pillows at the sudden lack of support, blinking.

"W-what?"

She stared about the room in mild shock, trying to process what had just happened.

First, he was holding her tight and recounting a tale from long beyond her time, and then he was just… gone. Simply not there anymore.

Rainbow Dash struggled to right herself in panic, eyes rolling in her head. He just vanished, in midsentence. He was right there, she was holding him, and now he was gone.

"Discord?" she shakily said aloud, the disbelief ebbing into fear and despair. "Discord, this isn't funny!"

When she received no answer, her mind began racing even faster.

Why did he just disappear like that? After everything that had just happened, why would he simply leave her for nothing? It just wasn't rational.

Where could he have gone was also a question that assaulted her mind. Agitatedly pacing about the room, Rainbow Dash ran a hoof through her bedraggled multicolored mane. What was he playing at, just up and leaving her like that?

The more she thought about it, the angrier she got.

If anything, he probably would have gone back to his current housemate; yes, that had to have been it. He was probably just with Fluttershy.

He had dropped absolutely everything in the middle of a sentence as she was snuggling against him to go see Fluttershy.

And she tried to focus on that, to keep a grip on the anger, but such a ridiculous notion was one that didn't stand up to the fear riddling her that something horrible had just happened. Realizing that her breathing was much to heavy and rapid, Rainbow Dash forced herself to remain calm as she thought.

Fluttershy.

She had to start somewhere, so it might as well be the butter colored pegasus.

Carefully prodding the windows open, Rainbow Dash took a deep breath and stared out them.

She ruffled her wings uncertainly, a slew of painful memories flooding back.

Memories of pain, of agonizing destruction of her very identity, of broken wings and shattered hopes.

Instinctively, her wings clamped tightly to her sides, and she drew back with an involuntary gasp from the windowsill.

… So this is what it's like being Flutters, she thought dryly. Dash shook her head. Discord's sense of humor must have started rubbing off on her or something.

She had to stay calm, had to focus. Get to Fluttershy, find Discord.

Kick his flank for leaving her like that.

Kick it hard.

"Come on," Rainbow Dash said aloud to herself as she forced her legs to move closer to the open window. "You can do this. You have to do this," she instructed herself, breathing deeply.

On three.

"Miss Rainbow Dash, there's a 'Scootaloo' in the waiting-" the familiar sound of Nurse Redheart behind her prompted Dash to completely forgo counting and fling herself out the window, shrieking like a banshee.

Go go go go go go go!

Steeling herself and flinging her wings out to their full extent, Dash half-expected the flaring burn of sharp pain to yank her to the ground when her wings failed her. Instead, the warm currents of updraft lifted her high into the air, just as they had done so many times before.

She was doing it.

She was flying.

... Huh. That was easier than I thought it would be.

Cackling madly with exhilaration and glee as she sped through the air, Ponyville once again heard the sound of a Sonic Rainboom.

0-0-0-0-0

Tick.

Tock.

Tick.

Tock.

Tick.

Tock.

Discord blinked, his eyes adjusting to the sudden change of light. Also, the sudden change of everything.

One moment, he was lying next to Rainbow Dash.

The next, he was –

"Good evening, Discord," Twilight Sparkle swiveled on the spot, turning to face him. She bore absolutely no expression on her face, and in one hoof, held a very familiar looking and radiant crystal ball. Discord stood directly (and a little dazed) in the center of her study, the nauseating aftereffects of unexpected teleportation taking their toll.

The old clock on the wall filled the silence, and Discord tried to speak, only for Twilight to hold up a single hoof.

"No, no," she said quietly. A shudder ran up his spine as he watched her pace before him, deliberately and calculatedly. "No words, Discord. I don't want to hear a single – bucking – word – from your treacherous, filthy lips."

… What have I just gotten myself into?

"Discord," Twilight said almost noiselessly, a hint of danger in her voice. There was something… unsettling in the way her eyes bore into him. Something dark.

"I plead the fifth," Discord held up his paw defensively, only to jump when the unicorn yelled at him.

"SILENCE!" she barked, the eerie glow from the crystal ball containing Discord's very essence illuminating her face. After taking a moment to breath, she spoke again.

"Discord," Twilight spoke with barely contained hatred. "Do you know why you are here?"

"You ran out of raffle tickets?" he joked.

The long, cold silence he was greeted with left him feeling rather uncomfortable, and Twilight stopped her pacing to give him a level glare.

"… Discord," Twilight said quietly as she inspected her free hoof, "Do you have any idea of what Rainbow Dash went through?"

Before he had the chance to answer, she plowed on.

"Because I do, Discord. She told me everything. In every drawn out, horrible detail. She suffered, Discord. Rainbow Dash – my friend – has experienced such an awful amount of atrocities. She needs help, Discord. She needs her friends. She needs to recover."

"I-"

"And then," Twilight spoke a little more loudly, the vehement rage creeping back into her voice. He could have sworn the temperature dropped a couple of degrees. "And then, I find out that, after Fluttershy specifically asked me to entrust you more than I originally intended to, you sneak around behind everypony's backs and take advantage of Rainbow Dash!"

"Now, hold –"

"Shut up!" Twilight snapped, a sudden flare of violet glow emanating from the ball. "You've gone too far this time, Discord! I went the extra mile, I took the advice of my friends to give you another chance; I trusted you to change. And this is what happens!"

"But –!"

"I – said – quiet!" she screamed, her horn alighting as books began to fly about the room wildly. "You had your chance, Discord!"

Twilight immediately took a deep breath, flattening her mane and realigning all the books very, very carefully. A twitching grin had begun to work its way onto Twilight's face, and the sudden shift between paper-maelstrom and sudden silence was tearing at Discord.

"Now, I am a patient and understanding sort of pony," Discord tried not to snort when Twilight spoke carefully, her left eye giving a twitch as well. "In most other circumstances, you probably would have been sealed in stone by now."

A hint of relief speckled Discord's features, and his heart slowed momentarily. He hadn't noticed before that he was shaking a little. There were few things that he dreaded worse than being encased, imprisoned like that again.

"No, turning you to stone would be too kind. And after all," Twilight said casually, rubbing a hoof over the luminescent crystal ball. "Even though Princess Celestia seems to think that I have the potential to bring down the God of Chaos with a single spell, I don't personally think I could hold back that kind of power with just one spell."

The dreadful, dark look grew in Twilight's eyes again, and Discord resisted the urge to flee.

"I guess it's a good thing you don't have any power any more, hmm, Discord?"

"No, wait –!" he blurted as her horn lit up with a sudden lavender brilliance.

"No!" Twilight denied him as the spell flew from the tip of her horn, blasting the draconequus. "You wait."

And, as the dreaded obedience spell that he swore he would never be forced beneath again ripped Discord's mind to shreds, he had no choice but to comply.

"There's a good boy."

0-0-0-0-0

"Fluttershy!"

The yellow pegasus leapt so quickly that her hooves hit the table, causing her to hiss sharply. Rarity jumped nearly as high as she did at Rainbow Dash's sudden unexpected entry to the cottage, but recovered much more quickly.

"Rainbow Dash!" Rarity spluttered, eyes wide. "You seem to be… better."

"D-Dash?" Fluttershy blinked, rubbing her aching tendons. "I thought the doctors said you couldn't fly…?"

"There's no time for that!" Rainbow Dash said quickly, peering about the room in a near state of panic. "Where's Discord hiding?"

"… Hiding?" Fluttershy gave her a confused look, wiping her eyes as Rarity handed her another tissue. "Dash, I haven't seen him since he walked to the other side of Ponyville to see you today."

"That's not-" Rainbow Dash began, but cut short. "Wait, what? What do you mean, 'walked'? Was he serious about that whole 'exercise' thing?"

Rarity and Fluttershy stared at her for a moment, the pegasus pulling away from her for a moment to blow her nose again.

"Rainbow Dash, dear," Rarity began slowly, having comforted her friend to the best of her ability for the past hour and stretching her own aching back. "Discord wasn't walking around everywhere because he needed exercise. Didn't he tell you about having his powers stripped and his essence put in that crystal container?"

"Wait, what?"

"… Thhhhhhhhhhhhhat's a no, that is what that is," Rarity nodded with a deadpan.

"What do you mean, he had his powers stripped?"

Fluttershy cleared her throat, and said "Dashie, Discord – I mean, when you and Pinkie Pie came back, he was… he was so devastated. He wanted to do everything he could to be at your side, every day, and, um…"

"The princesses decided that he was only to be entrusted in those regards should he be deprived of power while doing so, for fear of any tampering with your mind," Rarity added helpfully. "The poor darling looked so terrible those first few –"

"Forget that!" Dash interrupted in a frenzy. "Where is he?"

"I don't –"

"WHERE'S DISCORD?"

0-0-0-0-0

Oh, Princess Celestia was going to be so proud of her.

Twilight finished packing up her weekly report supplies, carefully restocking the ink and properly replacing the quills. She could only imagine the look on her mentor's face when Discord himself delivered the report to her.

She had her doubts, for a split second when she had used the obedience spell on Discord; the pleading, the fear in his eyes when it had overwhelmed him.

But it was retribution that had to have been brought about by her, and her alone.

Discord harmed Rainbow Dash. He deserved the punishment.

And now, Equestria was free of one more monster.

Twilight quietly envisioned the social recognition that Princess Celestia would finally bestow upon her for managing to conquer even the powers of the God of Chaos by herself. Celestia would no doubt be the first to praise her for such undertaking such an impossible task, and succeeding with flying colors.

Speaking flying colors, no sooner was Twilight finished neatly putting away her belongings with no small sense of pride that Rainbow Dash burst in through the study window.

Twilight leapt in shock at the sudden intrusion, and Rainbow Dash tumbled to the floor in a tizzy before staggering up straight.

"I – Dash!" Twilight sputtered. "You're… shouldn't you be resting?"

Rainbow Dash's eyes flew about the empty room wildly, her breathing heavy.

"Where's Discord?!"

Twilight straitened herself, beaming. "You don't even have to worry about it, Dash," she said with a smile. Fluttershy, almost completely out of breath, stumbled in through the window shortly after Rainbow Dash did. Like her fellow pegasus, she was panting heavily, but each bore an equal look of concern.

Hardly moments after Fluttershy followed her in, Twilight heard the commotion of what sounded like Rarity having an argument with… Applejack? Definitely Applejack on the lower floor, mingled in with a grouchy sounding Pinkie Pie.

"Hey, she up there?"

"Move it, bumpkin! Dashie is flying; out of my way!"

"What do you mean?" Dash glowered at Twilight angrily, head whipping about as if she had him hidden behind her.

"Don't worry, Rainbow Dash," Twilight reassured her as the sound of her friends rushing up the stairs greeted her. "I already took care of the problem for you. You don't have to worry about enacting any kind of revenge against Discord," she chortled, and the others froze as they flooded into the room.

"Revenge?" Rainbow Dash said, confused. "No, Twilight. Where. Is. Discord? Did... Did you – what did you do?"

"Twilight, dear," Rarity attempted to keep her mane in place, gently nudging past a nervously watching Pinkie Pie, who was solely interested in Rainbow Dash. "I did try to assure the others that giving you the benefit of the doubt was the best course of action, but I am a wee bit worried myself. You wouldn't have happened to have seen Discord, would've you?"

"One at a time," Twilight said with a smidgen of pride. "I said, I already resolved the issue."

"What issue?!" Rainbow Dash stamped her hoof, demanding attention. "Twilight, where is he?"

A flicker of doubt arose in Twilight, but she quashed it.

"Look, Dash," Twilight explained to her slowly, as if she were stupid. "You don't have to worry about it; I already put Discord under the obedience spell. He's on his way to Princess Celestia as we sp-"

Rainbow Dash slammed into her, knocking her against her own desk and causing the dimly glowing ball to roll to the floor.

"You did what?!"

Pinkie Pie and Applejack held the furious Rainbow Dash back, allowing Twilight time to collect herself.

"Dash," Twilight wheezed. "You aren't in your right mind; he was hurting you, and he won't do it anymore!"

"What?"

"I'm not going to let him take advantage of you any more, Rainbow Dash," Twilight said defensively. "And now, he can't hurt anypony ever again."

Rainbow Dash faltered for a moment, sputtering.

"I-you-I – taking advantage of me?"

"Well, Dash, after the level of suffering that –"

"Taking advantage of me? No, Twilight!" Rainbow Dash yelled in despair, tugging at her own mane. "Twilight, he wasn't taking advantage of me!"

"Dash, you aren't right in th-"

"I AM JUST FUCKING PEACHY IN THE HEAD!" she screamed, straining at Pinkie's and Applejack's worried grip again.

Rainbow Dash took a deep, quivering breath, and said through her teeth "Twilight, as a consenting adult, I asked Discord. He never – never – took advantage of me!"

And, just like that, the tiny, nearly insignificant sliver of doubt blossomed into a mushroom cloud of dismay.

"... W-what?"

Twilight blinked, the full gravity of the situation weighing in on her.

Discord.

Discord hadn't taken advantage of her.

No, there had to have been some mistake.

How could – no, Discord had to have been in the wrong. He was the bad guy. All of the terrible things that Discord had done in the past…

All the pleading he had done.

The begging.

The crying.

"Oh, Celestia," Twilight suddenly felt light headed. "I-but-who could have possibly known?!" Twilight breathed, feeling as if she were going to be sick.

"I knew."

Every single head in the room quickly swiveled toward Fluttershy, who up until now, hadn't said a single word.

"What?" Rainbow Dash asked cautiously, a greenish pallor in her own cheeks as well.

"I-well, that is to say, um," Fluttershy began stuttering immediately as she became the center of attention, causing her to flush. "I mean, I-I knew. I knew, right from the very beginning. Discord-Discord told me everything."

"Everything," Fluttershy nodded to Rainbow Dash before she could speak.

"But…" Twilight began uncertainly. "Why? Why didn't he ask anypony else? How could-"

"Twilight," Fluttershy said sadly. "Discord told me everything because he didn't know how anypony else would react."

"So, he tried to avoid punishment by-"

"No, Twilight," Fluttershy cut her off again. "Discord came to me, not because he was afraid of being punished; Discord came to me because he was worried for Rainbow Dash."

The silence was so heavy that one could have heard a pin drop.

"I-I… I'm sorry. I am so, so sorry."

"Twilight," Rainbow Dash seethed with scarcely contained rage. "What – have – you – done."

0-0-0-0-0

Twilight was improving with her teleportation spells, it would seem.

In the end, Rainbow Dash found Discord.

In the end, though, they were still far too late.

In the end, Discord knelt before Princess Celestia, just as he had so very, very long ago.

"Discord…?" Rainbow Dash approached him softly, the clopping of her hooves quietly bouncing off the walls in the throne room. The greyed figure of the draconequus turned its bowed head toward her, his blank and colorless eyes staring directly through her.

"Yes, Master."

Rainbow Dash never would have guessed that two words; that two simple, insignificant little words could have stabbed at her heart so painfully.

"Twilight Sparkle," Celestia said almost soundlessly, her voice still easily heard in the vast throne room.

"Yes, Princess." Twilight bowed her head in grief, her semicircle of friends behind her acting as silent sentinels to her judgment.

"Twilight," the princess began slowly. "When Discord approached me, I believed that the worst had come to pass. I entrusted you with his jurisdiction, that you would act responsibly with so much power. And now, I find that you have acted rashly, out of emotion rather than logic. This is... unlike you, my student. I will give you one opportunity to explain yourself."

Twilight fought back the tears, shaking.

"I-I thought –" she stuttered, struggling to find words. "I mean, I-I was…"

Twilight was openly crying by this point, and her legs buckled beneath her.

"I thought I was doing the right thing," she sobbed into her hooves, and Fluttershy miserably put a comforting wing across her shoulder. Rainbow Dash simply hanged on to the unmoving Discord, weeping silently.

"Twilight Sparkle, regardless of your intent, all actions have consequences, and all must obey that fundamental law with equality." Princess Celestia looked down at her in disappointment.

"I-I understand," Twilight choked.

Applejack hid her face behind her hat, and Rarity appeared to be on the verge of fainting. Pinkie Pie continuously tried to get closer to Rainbow Dash, only to be quietly pushed away as the pegasus cried onto the motionless Discord's shoulder.

What would become of her now?

What kind of an abomination was she?

Is this what Discord went through? How Twilight had lorded his mistakes over him so cruelly; perhaps this was some form of karmic justice. Perhaps Celestia would turn her to stone instead. Deny her of her Element, cast her out into exile.

Maybe she didn't deserve anything less.

"Isn't… Isn't there any way to turn it around?" Rainbow Dash cried dismally, shaking the still draconequus. "Fix him, make him better?"

"I am not certain that there is a way to reverse the effects of an obedience spell," Princess Celestia said. "The last time such a thing happened, it was... highly unorthodox, and dangerous beyond belief. And even if there were... the obedience spell doesn't just force one's will onto another. It obliterates the mind completely, destroying all potential of resistance. Did you not learn of this in the study of such a dangerous spell, my student?"

"I-I rushed, I thought..." Twilight shook quietly, gripping at her own hooves.

After all he had done, after all he had given up for her own recovery… it just seemed so unfair. Unfair that she was completely powerless to help him in return.

Her friend.

And now he was gone.

If anything, it only made Rainbow Dash cry even harder.

It just wasn't fair.

It wasn't fair that Discord should have suffered so, it wasn't fair that he endured a torment worse than being turned to stone. It wasn't fair that he was so callously stripped of his powers –

"Wait."

"P-Princ-cess Celestia," Twilight forced out finally, straining to keep her voice in check. "I-I f-fully accept the resp-ponsibility of –"

"Wait!"

They turned to the frantic Rainbow Dash, wiping her tear streaked face with her wing.

"Rarity," Rainbow Dash thought desperately. "Didn't-didn't you say Discord had his… his 'essence' put in crystal, or something?"

Twilight's eyes widened, and she presented the barely glowing crystal ball to the Princess curiously.

"Wait, this?" Twilight asked. "Do you think –"

Before she had a chance to respond, Rainbow Dash had already flown across the shining tiled floor and snatched it from her hooves.

"No!" Celestia panicked, thrown back with the others by the force of the Sonic Rainboom emitting through the area. Even the Princess was knocked to the floor, the sheer force of the boom leaving her ears ringing as the ball containing the essence of the God of Chaos was violently thrown to the floor, and shattered into a million pieces.

To Discord, it was the equivalent of being reborn. A new light poured forth from his eyes as he experienced what could only be pictured as a form of awakening.

At which point, the ponies experienced what can roughly be equated to 'Hell on earth'."

0-0-0-0-0

To the ponies, it was as if the entire world had suddenly stopped and turned itself inside out. Colors shifting at random, noises of any and every sort immediately assaulting their ears, the still ground shaking as light flew from shadows and spun them all faster than they could keep up.

For Discord, it was a rapturous joy the likes of which he had previously never known.

That he knew of, anyway.

It was comparable to the universe imploding upon a single point, at which Discord grasped both alarming clarity of his own sentience and a complete lack of body. The essence remained, the chaos flowed through him still.

But no memory stood where ones should have.

The result was a brilliantly shining draconequus radiating light and shadows, twisting and writhing through the air until he grabbed his own tail, promptly freezing in place.

Along with absolutely everything else.

"… Interesting."

And with that, he was gone.

The deafening stunned silence of the throne room, in conjunction with the sudden return to the universe not being in utter turmoil and mind bending madness, threw them all off guard for quite a few minutes.

Rainbow Dash was the first to speak.

"... Can somepony tell me what the fuck just happened?"

0-0-0-0-0

I never thought that this story would continue.

And yet, here we are.

Author's Note:

I have gotten SO much flak over this... well, I suppose that it's a series now, isn't it?

I do repentantly apologize about the length of time it has taken for updates, you guys. Just when I said that absolutely nothing else could distract me from writing any more, regardless of how important...

Well.

My best friend just tried to put a gun in his mouth.

AGAIN.

When this story was written, the enormous, crushing number of downvotes and outright hate it received was so strong that it was almost enough to put me off writing it completely.

That being said, the positivity it gained was so unbelievably OVERWHELMING that it wouldn't seem fair to refuse to publish the story just because of that.

So...

What do you say, folks?

Let's stay in Wonderland, and see just how far the rabbit hole goes.