And here I thought laughter made you happy…

The memory still sent chills running down Pinkie Pie's spine and left a bad taste in her mouth. It wasn't a bad-candy bad taste, more like a discomforting taste; it tasted like discomfort.

Uncomfortable was exactly how she felt as she stood before Discord, his great size imposing, despite his stone face being frozen in shock forever.

She looked up to meet his eyes.

"I still haven't forgiven you, you know," she said.

She was met with no reply, no response. She had expected none, but having it reaffirmed only made her feel more uncomfortable still.

She cleared her throat and continued, "What you said, it… it hurt me a lot." Absentmindedly, she found herself tracing patterns in the dirt path with a hoof. "I want to forgive you, though."

She glanced down at the pattern she had made. Three balloons. Her cutie mark. A gentle breeze ruffled her fur, running its delicate fingers through her mane. It didn't touch her drawing, though.

Pinkie smiled and met Discord's gaze again. "You're probably wondering what I'm doing here if I'm not here to forgive you." She left just a second for a reply she knew she wouldn't hear. "Well even though you're a big meanie pants, it must get pretty boring here all on your own…"

She tried to imagine what Discord's reply would be, but all she could hear was that one memory.

"I thought I'd talk with you. I know you're not a pony who can talk much, but I guess that's for the best." Pinkie paused as she shuddered at her own words. Frozen in stone forever, unable to speak, no cupcakes, and no friends. She couldn't imagine anything more horrible. "But you deserved it."

She hated how she felt like she was trying to justify such a horrible fate.

"You tricked all my friends. You said some mean things. I said some mean things…"

An uneasy frown tugged at her lips. "You made me say those mean things."

She sighed and walked around the statue, looking at it from every angle. He really was an amalgamation of just about every creature in Equestria. It didn't seem very chaotic, though; more silly.

"Are you a bad pony?" she asked as she completed her circle. "Are you an evil pony, Discord?"

She imagined him scoffing as she referred to him as a 'pony', but she ignored him.

"I think everypony needs someone to talk to. Everypony needs friends. Even bad ponies."

Pinkie stopped suddenly. She gave the draconequus a thoughtful look. "You don't know what it's like to have friends, do you."

Just the idea made her sad. It just seemed impossible, but Discord had underestimated the power of friendship. The results of that were right in front of her. She wondered if he would ever understand just how amazing it was to have a friend. She walked up closer to Discord and placed her hooves by his paws.

"It's amazing," she breathed, lowering her voice so that no one could hear but the two of them. "There's nothing better than making a friend laugh." A shiver ran through her. "The right kind of laughter," she corrected.

She sighed. Maybe Discord would one day understand. Even if he didn't deserve to.

"I should go," she whispered. "I'll be back again sometime."

She took a few steps back and straightened up, a familiar wide smile returning to her face. "I mean, even if you are a big old meanie pants, you still need somepony to talk to." She beamed proudly. "And that pony is me!"

As she left, she felt a little better than when she had arrived.