"That's it. Concentrate, concentrate. Move it over there, set it down, and there! Much better," Adagio said to Trixie as she sat the last rock on top of a pyramid she had Trixie make. She had never expected Trixie being a unicorn in this dimension; but took it as an opportunity. With Trixie having magical abilities; she could offer extra help and protection for which they sorely needed. It was a risk. If Trixie decided to turn on her and Aria, there was little they could do to protect themselves. But the needs of the moment out weighed the possible dangers of the future.

It had been nearly two months since she and the others had crossed over to Equestria. A very long and painful two months. It had been over thirteen hundred years since she and Aria last had their earth pony forms (and the first time for Trixie); and getting used to them again was a literal pain. Their muscles ached and getting used to having no fingers was a major hurtle. Compounding this was the fact they had to stay away from most major towns and cities out of fear of getting caught and stick to traveling the back roads and woods.

Another big pain was their diet. Before, Adagio and Aria would routinely eat wild flowers and grass and drink from streams. Now doing so seemed repugnant to them. With more than just a little bitterness; Adagio realized she had become human not only in body, but mind as well. Her human form, the ways and customs of the other world, had all become ingrained inside of her. It was the body she had had the longest. And looking around; everything had changed so much in their absence, that this place was truly not her home. Not anymore. All she wanted to do was to find some more gems and go back.

"Is that all? Am I done?" Trixie asked, annoyed. She guessed she should be grateful. Adagio was teaching her how to use her magic. She never would have guessed she'd have these abilities. And, at first, she was marveled and enthralled by them. Now she was almost bored. Plus the training left her with terrible migraines. The price to pay, she supposed; but still.

"Yes. Go find Aria and take a break. We'll start walking again in a hour or so." While frustrated with their current situation, she knew better than to push, the others or herself, to the breaking point. All were sore, all were tired, all were hungry, and they still had a couple hundred miles to go. They needed to make time, but they also needed to conserve their strength.

Trixie walked off and Adagio walked over to the rock pyramid she had Trixie make and knocked it over with a sigh and then sat down. The sky was a bright blue, the sun shone high in the sky, the meadow they were in was picturesque; but she couldn't care less. Her plan was technically working, but so what? She felt tired and defeated. Her mane was clumped and dirty from not being able to take care of it. Plus going to the bathroom out in the open and not being able to wipe afterwards made her feel sick and dirty.

She also missed Sunset.

In all her years, she had never considered herself a sexual person. Oh, she wasn't above using sexuality as a means to get what she wanted; but she had never been attracted to anyone before. Even when she had tried to seduce Sunset, it was more out of habit than any real desire. But in the days that followed, all she could was think about how much she wished Sunset was here. Was it attraction or just respect? She couldn't say. Maybe just a desire to have someone new, someone she regarded as a near equal, to talk to. She just knew she was beginning to regret the whole matter and was starting to think about giving up.

"My, my. What a sad little pony we have here."

Adagio turned around in shock to see who had spoken. As soon as she saw the miss-mash of body parts; she instantly knew who it was. "Chaos Bringer," she spat out.

"Oh my! No one has called me that for centuries. But then, you are centuries old; aren't you, uh, what's your name again?" He was sly, slick, he oozed faux charm. But underneath it all was the heart of a lying beast.

"Adagio Dazzle. And you would well to remember it."

"Ah, ah, ah. Don't get snippy me with 'Adagio Dazzle'. I've come to bring you an offer."

"An offer? HA! I know how these 'offers' end. I made one with Trixie over there. You dangle a carrot in front of someone long enough to get where you want and then beat them to death with it when you get there. Not interested."

"Oh? You are in Equestria now sweetie; subject to it's rules. Subject to it's rulers. Subject to the ruler who raises the moon, rules the night, and can enter . . . your . . . dreams." Adagio gave Discord a shocked and frightened look. She had never considered that. Discord went ahead once he saw his message got through. "Who do you think has been hiding you from our dear, sweet, Princess Luna? Why me of course."

Adagio hated where this was going. "Alright, Chaos Bringer; what do you want?"

"Discord, if you please. It turns out that old Discord, the lord of chaos, has been, well, neutered. Alas, I am but a shell, a parody, of my former self. And I am BORED OUT OF MY MIND! I need excitement. I need to feel the old spark again. Sadly I did for a while; but the one who 'relit' it also extinguished it. And took my magic to boot. If it hadn't been for Twilight . . . "

"You know Twilight?" Adagio asked shocked.

"Yes. Small multi-verse; isn't it? But, as I was saying, if it wasn't for her, I'd be a magic less husk; rotting under the rule of Tirek. I should be grateful for that. Mmmmm, nope, not in the least."

"So why don't you do something about it?" Adagio snarled. She really hated Discord. She was born at the tail end of his reign and hated every millimeter of him.

"As I said earlier; I would, if I could, but I can't. Every time I try, my, what is that annoying voice in your head that keeps you from having fun? A conscience? - keeps me from doing it. But you, you are my ticket. I'll protect you from being found, you do what you need to do this realm, I sit back and enjoy the fun, then you leave and that's it. So do we have a deal?"

Adagio glared at him and spit in his face. "There's your answer. Do your own dirty work."

In a flash, Discord had Adagio on her back, his one claw wrapped around her throat. "Don't ever do that again or I will tare your throat out." He paused for a second and added, "To start with. Understood?"

Adagio's face flashed fear for a second then turned into a mask of pure rage. "You think you can threaten me 'Chaos Bringer'? Do you know what I've seen? WHAT I'VE LIVED THROUGH? I have seen whole villages wiped out. Parents forced to watch as their children, THEIR BABIES, are raped and murdered in front of them and then have their eyes gouged out as to insure that would be the last image they would ever see. I have seen more PAIN, more DEATH, more SUFFERING, than you could ever imagine.

"One night, not long after we had arrived there, a man snuck into the shack in which I was sleeping. I awoke to his hand over my mouth and a knife to my throat. He told me not to scream. Then he removed my bottoms and stuffed himself inside me. When he was done, when he removed his hand, I sang for him. I sang a song that made him take that knife, which had been at my throat, cut his member off with and eat it. Then, with that very same blade, stab himself through his own throat. I urinated on him as he died, in silence.

"My metal was forged in a fire hotter than any you could ever dream. So tare my throat out if thou wish; but I will not be threatened. And I will not be broken or made to heel. Do you understand, you impotent dog?" She stared him straight in the eyes, unwavering and unbroken; without fear.

Now an icy blast of fear went down Discord's spine. He had not been expecting this. Equestria had it's monsters, it's demons; but none like this. Where did you send her Star Swirl? Did you realize what monster you were making, you old fool?, he thought to himself. Discord let go and got off of her. "I can open a portal to the realm from which you came as soon as you find what you are looking for. You do what you want here. Just let me take a special friend with me first. You leave, I remake Equestria in my image, with my new bride, and neither shall we meet again. How is that?"

"I am going to reduce this plane to ash. You want it then, it's yours. I've found I've grown accustomed to the other world more. So do with this world as you will." Adagio stopped for a second and then asked, "How do you know so much about me?"

Discord smiled. "Well, I felt the magical disturbance you created when you first came through. I started protecting you then. And, when Luna could not find you in your dreams, Celestia called on yours truly to find you. She filled me in on everything Twilight had told her."

"Twilight is here?"

"No. She's trapped in the other realm. But she does have a book by which she can communicate with Celestia."

Adagio nodded. "So, will you teleport us to where the gems are?"

"I was. Then you ticked me off. So, no. I'm immortal, I can wait until you 'hoof it' there yourselves. See what I did there?" Discord starting laughing at his own joke until he saw Adagio just looking at him like she was about ready to rip him in two. "Hmm, no sense of humor. Fine! You find the place, the stones, I'll come get my friend, you do what you want here, I open the portal, and bye-bye."

"Deal."

Author's Notes:

Ok, so I went a little hardcore with this one. But I felt it was necessary. I wanted to juxtapose the evil that Adagio would have seen in our world and the "evil" in Equestria. Despite all the villains in the MLP universe, none were actually that bad. Which, considering the demo for this show is 3-8 year olds, is understandable. But since I'm going for an older demo, I can push the envelope more. Not much more. In fact that is as far as I plan to push it.

I also wanted to define Adagio more. So many times in fiction, villains are written really rather poorly. Their either the campy, OTT, pantomime Doctor Dastardly type; or a tragic villain made so by the bad actions of others. Adagio is none of those things. Yes she was assaulted, but that was AFTER she had already been banished. I just want to get in her head more and show her as a complete person. Well as complete as a figment of our collective imaginations can be.

And as for the assault; yes I struggled with that. For many, rape has become a cheap plot device to create drama (but then, what isn't). But the fact remains, as of this date, 1 in every 3 females and 1 in every 5 males will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime. Plus with Jarrod from Subway in the news, that had also influenced me. I know people who have been sexually assaulted and don't take it lightly. I know the long term damage it can cause. Plus it gave me chance to properly punish the person who did that.

I will say, if enough people, and mean like 3, message me and say, hey, no, I will rewrite that section from a full assault to an attempted one. Artistic freedom, yes, but respect for others feelings is more important.