Applejack stood outside Sugar Cube Corner, anxiously waiting for Pinkie Pie to open the door.

After what seemed like hours, the door swung open, revealing the pink party pony standing in the doorway.

"Hey, Appleja -!"

"Have ya seen Apple Bloom?" the farm pony inquired, interrupting.

Pinkie blinked, then shook her head.

AJ groaned. She was about to go when Mr. Cake's voice boomed out the door, "PINKIE! COME BACK HERE AND HELP US! WE NEED THIS ORDER DONE IN HALF AN HOUR!"

The pink mare flinched an put a hoof to her mouth, motioning for AJ to be silent. As soon as Applejack had clamped her lips shut, Pinkie took her hoof and led her up the stairs, moving quicker than a speeding bullet.

She opened the door to her bedroom and AJ followed her in. She carefully closed it behind her, not daring to make a sound.

"What in the hay was that for?" the farm pony inquired, in the loudest whisper she could bother to muster.

Pinkie hopped onto her bed before replying. "They're making a cake."

"Ah know that."

"Yes, and they want me to help."

AJ rolled her eyes. "Ah know that, too."

"But making cakes includes sweet things, sweet things that go into bowls, bowls that always have mixture left behind, mixture that needs to be cleaned out by a professional!" she elaborated, gesturing towards herself.

"...Huh? Pinkie Pie, it ain't compulsory fer ya to eat the leftover mixture."

"What!?" Her eyes widened in genuine surprise. But, then again, it was hard to tell what was real and what wasn't when it came to Pinkie. "Oops. Oh well." She turned away. "I don't want to be near sweet things anyway, because then I'll just eat them without meaning to."

"Whad'ya mean? Why can ya suddenly not eat sweet things?"

"Because! Because...because I like them!" the earth mare sobbed, while the other just wore a blank expression.

"...Yeah. That's why ya eat 'em in the first place," she stated flatly. "Look, I'm sorry, but I really need to go and continue mah search fer mah sis." She started towards the door with an urgent stride.

"Why? Apple Bloom's at Rarity's."

Applejack stopped, then turned. "What? I thought ya hadn't seen her!"

Pinkie started laughing in bubbling snorts. "Well of course I haven't seen her, silly! Spike and Rarity just came round earlier with a big order of ice cream, and she explained it was required to cheer the Cutie Mark Crusaders up."

The orange mare let out a huge sigh of relief. "Oh, that's great...ah...ah was so worried...oh, dang it!" She stomped her hoof. "I bet she's real angry with me 'bout what ah did yesterday...I need to see her...but she probably needs time to go over it, or else she'll be too upset to talk things through prope -"

Pinkie interrupted her friend's argument with herself by covering her mouth. She pulled her into a hug.

When they broke away, Applejack vocalised a pressing question, "Why ain't y'all eatin' sweets 'n' stuff anymore?"

"Oh, well...they make me happy, and I can't be happy, not when Fluttershy's stuck in a rock-candy prison and - oh, there I go again. I don't wanna be happy when one of the most important things in my life isn't here. It's taking all the will power I have to not revert back to my moody Pinkamena alter-ego. I keep all you guys in mind, but...Fluttershy was so lovely and...sometimes I...I just...snap." She had tears in her water-blue eyes. "I shout at ponies who did nothing to me, all because I don't have one of my friends...I keep telling myself that she is just one pony, but...oh, Applejack, I miss her...so...much!" Tears stained her cheeks, straining her voice. She gulped, trying to clear her eyes. "So I'm stopping myself from indulging things I like until I can enjoy them with Fluttershy, when she comes back! I'm thinking of writing a letter to everypony in Equestria for her returning par -"

"Wait, you actually think she's gonna break free?" AJ looked astounded, but Pinkie nodded all the same. "That ain't gonna happen any time soon, sugarcube. Ahm sorry, but it's true."

Pinkie ruffled her friend's mane. "Aww, don't be so glum, Applejack! Everything always works out, in the end! Just like you and Apple Bloom - she won't hate you forever!" she assured, then cocked her head. "Speaking of her, what did happen between you two yesterday?"

The earth mare darted her eyes to her hooves, ashamed. "Sh-she brought up the subject of Fluttershy, and...ah...ah blamed the fact she was gone on her, the poor filly. Ah told her it was her fault, and...ah got carried away, and locked her in her room. At the time, it seemed like that best thing, keeping her confined so she couldn't go causing more trouble...ah was real tired, hadn't slept properly for days, so Mac and Granny stood guard of mah own room to ensure I got some well-needed shuteye. Then, this mornin', ah straightway rushed to let mah sis out, but she was gone. Curtains flyin' in the wind."

Pinkie giggled. "Don't worry, you aren't the only who's got problems with dealing with current stuff."

"Yeah, and insomnia don't help much."

"Neither does anorexia, but oh well. The sun'll come out, tomorrow!" Pinkie sang, beaming a grin far too wide for her face. She changed tunes,

"My name is Pinkie Pie,"

She stood up, her voice bolder.

"And I am here to say:
I will make AJ smile and I
Will brighten up her day..."

She clasped AJ's shoulders, hauling the pony to her hooves too.

"Try to forget recent...
...Events that include stone.
Cuz' I'll show you you're not meant to
Stand in this all alone."

The party pony burst into a crazy jig, holding a hoof out to show her friend was welcome to join her - all the while managing to maintain balance, Celestia knows how. Reluctant, Applejack followed her friend onto the makeshift dance floor and copied her moves, even joining in the song, for she had heard it before. The high-pitched hyper voice and deep, county accent merged wonderfully for the chorus.

"Cuz' I love to see you smile, smile, smile,
Yes I do."

They pressed their hooves together so they were able to stand on their hind legs and dance.

"It fills my heart with the sunshine coming tomorrow,
Yes it does."

They simultaneously changed the lyrics, both on the same wavelength for once. Pinkie was never one for being predictable, but those close to her had learned a thing or two about the way her mind works.

"Cuz' all I really need's a smile, smile, smile,
From a happy friend of mine."

They would've continued, but AJ stumbled on her two legs and fell right on top of her pink dance partner. They were laughing, regardless.

As soon as the bubbles of hysterics had quietened down enough to speak - for Applejack, anyway -, the orange mare did so, "You'd better get a head-start on those party invitations, Pinkie Pie."

She was able to stop giggling to answer, "Really? I thought you said there wasn't any point to it."

AJ chuckled. "What can I say? I'm feelin' optimistic. C'mon, I'll help you."

"Really?!"

"Yup. This party is gonna be the biggest and bestsest in all of Equestria!"

It took Discord a matter of seconds, after waking up, for him to realise that all that had happened between him and Fluttershy - everything said, done and discovered - had been a dream.

He dragged his paw down his face, clearing the sleep out of his eyes.

A dream. Why, Luna? Why couldn't it have been real?

His eyes moved to the real Fluttershy. Coincidentally - though she was lying perfectly still with a slow, steady breath - he caught her taking a fleeting glance at him, betraying her act of somnolence.

In a perfect world, the moment their eyes met would've been longer - or, at least, feltlonger - so Discord could enjoy her gaze for a second or two.

It didn't.

Oh, for goodness' sake. Hypothetically, the dream could become reality, for he could easily reenact it. Kept just as an idea, it was brilliant; simple; easy.

He could have her as a friend in no time.

His previous doubt lingered, however. Having doubt was limiting, and Discord hated to be limited, what with his seemingly limitless chaotic magic and all. Willing them to leave didn't work - not that he had expected it to, anyway.

He felt that pang of longing, a want for her kindness, a need for her compassion. The fact he had previously been too caught up in his own game to truly relish in the open-hoofed welcome she offered to him had been stupid. Idiotic. Blind.

For Equestra's sake, he wanted her friendship so darn much. He found her interesting, something he had never before felt about a pony. He couldn't help by adore her rare acts of courage, one of which had been displayed to him the first one he had spoken directly to her.

That day in the labyrinth, Fluttershy had struck him as unusual. Discord had expected a pony so naïve to succumb to his manipulation with the wave of a hand that preferably hadn't been temporarily magically empowered by it's owner.

But no. She had stood up to him, despite him being her enemy. She had shown bravery and faith in her core belief that her friends loved and accepted her for who she truly was.

Later on, she had stood up to them when they doubted her method of reforming. They were darn right to have, but she had been so wondrously hopeful back then that she defended him anyway.

It looked as though the reforming had worked after all.

In one momentous spur of optimism, he was positively certain she would accept his offer of friendship if he gave it to her.

It will work. It will.

He took a deep breath. "F-Fluttershy?"

Only her ears naturally moved in response to the sound and, aside from that, she remained motionless.

"I know you're awake, so don't bother trying to pretend you aren't."

Fluttershy's dreary eyes opened and focused on him.

"I've been doing some thinking..." He gulped; this may have been that hardest thing he'd ever had to do. "And...I've decided to...to let you reform me. Properly, I mean. And, in due course, possibly even...befriend me." He bit his lip, watching her eyes grow wider with his every word. "Maybe I'm not wording myself correctly: I...I want you to reform - no, to befriend me, Fluttershy. I want to have you as a friend. P-p...lease?" Discord waited for her answer, the last of his hopeful confidence eradicating.

Fluttershy met her eyes with his. Goodness, he really looked like he meant it. But she knew all too well how he had played this card on her before, and she didn't want to believe it a second time.

"No." His immediate reaction was strikingly poignant, but she forced herself to continue, already feeling her eyes sting, "I...I can't. As much as I might want to, I...I just...can't. The reason I'm here," she gestured around the cell, "the reason I haven't seen my friends in over a week, it's all because...because I believed that lie. I...can't, and...don't..." The tears streaming down her cheeks finally got the best of her, halting the pegasus' speech. However, Discord was able to finish for her:

"You don't trust me."

Fluttershy shook her head sadly. "No." She sniffed. "I don't..."

The draconequus turned away harshly. He felt betrayed, as if this was all somehow unfair for him. But, alas, it wasn't. She had every right to deny his offer, every reason not to accept it.

He felt crushed, wanting to be elsewhere, or asleep, or dead...just anywhere, anywhere but with her.

"Yet."

The sound of her voice made him jump; she had walked across to 'his side' of the cell without him even noticing. He looked at her in confusion.

She explained, "I don't trust you, yet. If what you say is true, and you do in fact want to be my friend, then you'll be willing to figure out a way to earn my trust first. I cannot deny that I would love for that to happen, therefore I am willing to give you a second chance."

"But...you already...you already did..."

"Did I give you a chance to redeem yourself before the Princess assigned me to do so?" He shook his head. "Well, there you go then. I'm sorry that I can't trust you now, I mean...you really do look like you mean it, but...I can't. I'm sorry."

Sweet Celestia, she was brilliant.

Discord scooped her up in his arms and held her tightly to his chest. "Me too," he murmured, not just to get a tingling déjà vu sensation running down his spine, or to recreate the dream. He meant it. He regretted bringing her here. Truly, sincerely, honestly; he meant it.

Fluttershy pushed herself out of his grip to face him. "What did you say?" she inquired, urgent.

"Me too," he said, blinking. "I...I'm sorry, too."

A look of terror came across her face. She shook her head. "Coincidence, coincidence, coincidence," she muttered, beginning to pace as she reassured herself.

"Are you okay?" he asked, and stood up.

Fluttershy looked at him, calmer from the concern in his voice in spite of the fact it could very well have been faked. "Oh, nothing really...it's just...y-you said exactly the same thing, with exactly the same meaning, in exactly the same position in the dream I had last night...or whatever time I was sleeping last." She forced a smile.

Now it was Discord's turn to be confused. "W-what?"

"It doesn't matter!" Fluttershy exclaimed, in a little too harsh a manner.

"No, no; it really does." This caught her attention and gaze. "You see...I had that dream, too."

Her eyes widened. "B-but...I...y-you..."

"The one where you called me a monster and your voice kept echoing around, and then you started playing in the grass like a schoolfilly?" The draconequus crossed his arms.

The mare confirmed with a nod, blushing slightly. "So...we can share drea -" She gasped. "Oh. Oh." Fluttershy beamed at him. "Then you were provoked into taking over Equestria! You weren't just bad all along! You...you did look back with that heartb-breaking expression..." The last sentence was barely audible.

She took a leap, aided by a flap of her wings, to wrap her hooves around his neck.

"You know what? I'm beginning to trust you already."

"To undo the effects of any Element bearers, previous or current - without using the Elements themselves -, two(or more) separate and powerful magical sources must form a strong bond between one another, a harmony stronger than that shared by the Elements of Harmony," Twilight read aloud the moment her eyes found the spell.

She turned to Luna, who was sharing the same seat she was sitting on. "What does it mean by..." she checked the page, "'Two or more separate and powerful magical sources'?"

"What do you think it means, Twilight?" Luna replied, answering her question with a question.

"I...by 'magical sources', it of course means objects, whether they be animate of inanimate, that are able to do magic. And...errr..." She checked the spell again. "By 'separate' it means...uhh...magical sources that aren't already connected, which eliminates the possibility to just use two Elements of Harmony, and...those magical sources must have strong magical powers," she analysed.

Luna stared at the other princess in admiration. "I can see why my sister considered you as her star pupil; when you're assigned a task, you rush to finish it as quickly and efficiently as equinely possible!" she exclaimed. "But, also, you sounded like you were in an entrance exam. You're a princess too, now. I'm no longer your royal superior. Frankly, I shouldn't have even been 'your royal superior' beforehoof, for," she paused while she took two majestic flaps of her wings and raised her voice to her Royal Canterlot one, "WE TREAT ALL OUR SUBJECTS AS EQUALS TO OURSELVES!" she boomed, then replaced herself on the chair.

Once Twilight recollected herself from her stunned surprise, she spoke, "I have a strong feeling that you only brought that up so you could use your Royal Canterlot voice."

Luna laughed. "You may be right. But seriously: you need to relax. I'm not your headteacher," she paused. "Or, maybe I am, and I'm just using this opportunity to asses your ability to behave accordingly!" Her voice ascended to a shout as she leaned towards the lilac alicorn, eventually provoking her to fall to the floor. They laughed again.

"Honestly now. Focus," the Princess of the Night said with mock seriousness. Seeing that Twilight immediately got back to work regardless of her joking tone, Luna decided to take action on this issue. "Okay, I want you to pretend I'm...Rarity."

"Oh, ummm...all...alright...Hello there, Rarity," Twilight waved, picturing Luna with Rarity's curled mane in her mind's eye.

"Twilight, darling, how lovely to see you!" Luna chimed, in an eerily good impression of the real Rarity's voice.

"H-how's Spike doing?"

"Oh, the darling little dragon is lovely, as always."

"N...nice to hear, Rarity."

"Twilight, darling, are you alright? You seem a little...on edge. I actually remember that Princess Luna informed me about it the other da - oh, look!" Luna shook Twilight gently as she pointed at...nothing in particular. "There she goes now. One seco - Princess Luna! Oh, Princess Luna!" The navy alicorn sang, then stomped her forehooves on the ground - soft at first, then gradually louder - to mimic the sound of a pony trotting towards them. Luna returned to her own voice, "Greetings, Twilight and Rarity." Her voice reverted back to the said latter's, "Twilight, just as you told me, is indeed acting strangely around us...almost like she's...intimidated by us...Twilight dear, are you okay?" Luna asked as she watched the lavender alicorn collapse in hysterics, desperately trying not to do so herself. Why? She didn't know.

And, because of that, she started laughing.

At some point during their fit of giggles, Luna hauled them both back onto the one chair. She briskly moved a hoof to he forehead, inaudibly telling Twilight to do the same. "At ease, soldier," she instructed, before they simultaneously saluted one another.

Twilight sighed happily. "I needed that. Now; spell stuff."

"Right! Yes, of course; 'spell stuff'." Luna grumbled, "Ugh. Boring stuff. Work."

"Sorry Wuna," Twilight pouted, patting the Princess' head. "It istime for work."

The Princess of the Night huffed.

"Now, Wuna, do you think you can tell me what this," she gestured to the line, 'a harmony stronger than that shared by the Elements of Harmony', "means?"

"A strong bond between the two magical sources, of course," Luna said, having given up her childish demeanour.

"What have you done with my Wuna?!" Twilight whined, grasping the alicorn's shoulders and smiling.

"I can assure you; she's fine."

"What magical sources can we use?"

"Hmmm?"

"You said about the magical sources. Which do you have in mind, preferably the closest and easiest for us to obtain?"

"Us? Who said it had to be us? Fluttershy and Discord have two magical sources; she has her Element and he has his chaos."

Twilight's eyes widened. "Of course! But...isn't harmony stronger than chaos?"

"Indeed, Twilight, indeed. However, the bond - or 'harmony' - they must form will even out their respective magical source's power."

"Luna..." Twilight began, unsure of what answer she would get once her question was vocalised. "Wh-what sort of...'strong bond' has to form?"

Luna sighed. "Well, as it stands, either a friendship stronger than the one you share with your friends - but that would most likely take longer, since you and your friends have been building your friendship for years. Which brings me to the other option..." She trailed off, her eyes drifting elsewhere.

Twilight was able to finish for her, however, "Love. They...they'd have to fall in love."

"Hypothetically, only Discord would have to fall in love, but...yes, I'm afraid so. And...if he doesn't, and the spell is cast, then...only she will break free."

Which is absolutely fine as far as I'm concerned, Twilight thought, but she didn't dare say anything. Instead, she brought up a different issue: "How will we be able to tell if they're even close to liking one another yet?"

Princess Luna thought for a while. "So full of questions, Miss Sparkle! When Discord was first turned to stone, and I was still connected to the Elements, I was able to enter his dreams like any other. I have faith that they'll come around even without our," she coughed, "aid, but...I suppose, i-if I transferred some of that power to you, th-then I could accompany y-you...Twilight, do you give me permission to hijack your connection with the Elements to get inside either your friend or a draconequus' head?" she asked dutifully, and Twilight nodded to play along.

She gasped. "Cadence showed me a spell once, one that allows you to analyse someone's emotions towards others...I'm sure I could find the book in my library, and...since we are entering minds, I expect the spell will work just as well when inside their dream, correct?"

The Princess of the Night nodded, and Twilight felt a weight fly off her chest.

Maybe this will turn out to be simpler than I originally thought.

Author's Notes:

Wooo! I got this chapter done fast!
Hope y'all enjoyed it!