Discord winced as a horrified scream ripped itself from Luna's throat. She beheld the lifeless body of her husband. A near eternity of future potential happiness fled from her with the passing of her love. Their foal would grow up never knowing their father. The man's life had been cut short by a reflex of violence born of fear.

The entire scene descended into a type of chaos that even he could not fully comprehend. That was unacceptable. Grumbling to himself, he turned ethereal and began entering the minds of the others nearby. He had a primal need to understand this new chaos.

The Lord of Chaos went first to his mate. Celestia was aghast at the sight of a life so easily taken by violence. She was no stranger to death, but this one hit her much harder than normal. Chris was a goofball and a prankster who matched Discord, but his heart had always been in the right place, even through his mistakes. It obviously pained her greatly that the one who had given such love and forgiveness to her sister, who had made her so happy, who had shared such a deep connection with Luna, had been taken from the universe with such speed. His vivacious, flawed, but loving and carefree nature snuffed out like a flickering candle.

The Draconequus' attention next snapped to Artex. Artex felt cold inside. So many things he had lost in his life and now his brother in-law, a man he was closer to than even his own blood brother, was lying dead because of his willingness to do everything within his power to reunite the families torn by the storm which ripped them from their home world. He felt the tears leap to his eyes, unbidden. He felt his chest swell with power as his sorrow quickly morphed into anger and rage at the injustice of it all. Clenching his left hand into a fist, he sprang through the portal, his right hand having already activated the Shock Blade he tore from his belt.

Discord shifted his focus. Cloud Cutter felt his stomach drop out at the sight of Artex' brother in-law lying in a growing pool of blood. He felt sick, knowing he had all but done the same thing to a different innocent person. He choked out a sob as he bit onto the hem of Chris' left pant leg and pulled his body back through the portal. The portal was meant to be hope, had now turned into a symbol of meaningless death.

While Luna screamed and cried, while Celestia did her absolute best to fix Chris' already dead body, while everybody else was in a blind panic, Discord began working. Captain Joyner still had his ring off and Discord's power was the highest it had ever been. Through the haze of his mind from the maelstrom of pure magical might, he realized what had happened to his best pranking buddy, one of the few who could truly appreciate the nature of chaos. Chris' death had set off a type of chaos that Discord had never been witness to before. Certainly he had heard about it, but to see it, to be involved with it, was something completely different. There was nothing, at all, fun about this new type of chaos.

Discord knew he could not bring back the dead once the soul was gone, and Chris' soul, just like all others, had departed immediately upon death, called to the 'Place Beyond Places'.

Discord made a decision.

Raw power surged through him, enhanced greatly by the Captain's passive Noun and Verb. The spell he began forming was going to be something new, something that went against the nature of the universe itself. Discord began weaving together the different components of his spell. He called forth his will to form the magical powers into what he needed. He had no idea how much power it would require to achieve the effect he desired, so just to be sure, he concentrated and began pulling in every bit of power he could hold and more. He pooled everything within himself, the spell was nearly complete. He was filled with all the magic he could hold, but it was not enough.

It was close, but he needed more.

As the main spell was still forming, Discord weaved two additional spells together. He finished the two lesser spells and cast them out, tendrils shooting out of his body and tapping into the magic of Celestia and Luna, siphons to pull their magic into himself. As he filled with more and more power, the self-proclaimed Lord Of Chaos felt his body begin to tear, rupture, and deteriorate as he channeled as more magic than he ever had before. He felt it when the blood began running from his nose, but he ignored it. His vision began to tunnel as finished preparing the spell. Steeling himself, he raised his lion's paw, 'I hope this works.'

An alabaster face turned toward him and he heard her cry out, "DISCORD STOP!"

But it was too late.

He snapped his fingers.

.etale oot saw ti tuB "!POTS DROCSID" ,tuo yrc reh dreah eh dna mih drawot denrut ecaf retsabala nA ...

Chris noticed the colossal crowd of people staring at him in awe, "Uh...?"

Chris heard a commotion behind him and pulled his head back through the portal, belatedly hearing the reports of the firearms that had been aimed at his head. Chris ducked and fell onto the ground, just as Artex grabbed him by the waist and hauled him away from the portal. Celestia was knelt down on the ground next to Discord, who had collapsed into convulsions. The Draconequus' eyes were rolled up as foam and blood seeped from his nose and mouth, jetting out with each jerking convulsion. Celestia's horn lit up and she and Discord vanished in a flash of golden light.

Luna turned and checked on her husband, "Are you alright, Christopher!?" she nosed and nuzzled him, checking him for injuries, not paying any attention to the shield she had placed over the portal.

Chris shook his head, "What the hell just happened with Discord?"

Luna blinked, "I have no idea, but what do we do about that?" she asked, gesturing to the portal.

Chris blinked, looking at the portal and slowly stood up, "Oh, shit." he muttered, "It-it should have closed the second Discord lost his grip on the wand." He closed his eyes and concentrated on his magic. Nothing happened.

Chris opened his eyes and bit his lower lip, "Well... what to do about this?"

* * *

The D.H.S. began a facial recognition search before the President was even hustled into his limo. They were always on alert. Every live broadcast, they were tapped into. The second the portal opened up, they had already been recording. The agents sifted through the recording and caught the perfect screenshot of the face that popped through the portal. The computer began performing the facial recognition immediately. With only a little more than seven billion faces to sort through, it would not be long before they had a match.

* * *

"General!" A young Pakistani army Lieutenant shouted suddenly.

General Hiriboshi and many of his staff were tuned in to the broadcast in one of the many ready rooms. They had gathered, in order to honor those who perished and remember why they had worked so hard to destroy The Event. People shouted in surprise and many rose to their feet when the portal opened. The room fell silent as the General was addressed.

General Hiriboshi remained calm as he spoke, "I saw it." He kept his voice relaxed as he processed the information, "Somebody else already has similar portal technology to what we're trying to use."

"Do you think somebody leaked information?" an older Russian Captain asked.

The General shook his head, "No. The effect of the technology we just saw on the broadcast is too different from what we're trying to utilize." the General pointed to the portal displayed on the television, "This portal is in the shape of an oval. The portal we have is in the shape of a dome. The portal from," he gestured to the television, "Whoever made this, is like a hole in space while ours is more like a portion of a fishbowl. Did you notice the expression on the face of the man who put his head through? He was surprised. Shocked at where the exit came out. Put the pieces together."

A stern-faced Colonel from Nigeria did not take long to answer, "A test?"

The General nodded, "That seems to be the case, but there is more to it. Who could have developed such technology? How could they have done it? Even if they used satellites to view the center of this facility and saw the portal, there is no way somebody could have developed the technology so fast. That leaves only one possibility as far as I can see. We still need to have some of the scientists analyze this footage. These people were already working on this kind of technology and managed to make a breakthrough. It has nothing to do with us." He pointed to the television, "This is something else entirely."

* * *

John Vacca, Chris' brother, sat at his desk at the naval amphibious base in Norfolk when his phone rang. A synthesized voice spoke into his ear, "Call from, waifu." John reached up and tapped the bluetooth in his ear, "Hey babe." he greeted his wife, "How was the memorial?"

"Turn on your television! Look it up on WAVY TV 10! For God sake look! Take a look at the internet!" she shrieked.

John winced and pulled the bluetooth out of his ear. Putting the device back in, he opened a new tab, "And I'm looking for what, exactly?" he asked in a dull tone. His wife was prone to excited outbursts, but she had never called him in a panic before. John was generally calm. It was very rare for him to become worked up over anything.

"Anything that shows the memorial ceremony! Hurry up before it gets taken off the air!" His wife answered frantically.

John clicked on the WAVY TV 10 website. It loaded and he was met with the words, 'Breaking News: Memorial Ceremony Interrupted By Unknown Man.' Mildly curious and very irritated that somebody would interrupt the memorial where his brother lost his life, John clicked on the news brief and the video played.

John watched with slackened jaw as the face of his dead brother emerged from a hole in the air directly behind the President. He blinked and clicked the pause button icon. Mind swirling, he dragged the cursor back a few seconds and clicked the play button icon again. He waited for the right moment and paused it, peering closely at the screen, 'My God... it's him... it's Chris... it's Chris! IT'S CHRIS! HE'S ALIVE!'

His joy was short-lived though. His mind latched onto the fact that his brother had appeared directly behind the President. He pressed his hand to his ear, "Baby," he addressed his wife, "Go get the kids and lock all the doors."

"What!?" she asked him, "Why?"

"Just do it. Now." John replied, "It won't be long before somebody else recognizes Chris' face. They probably already have it. I'm contacting the news. If there's a news crew at the house, make sure they're recording live and stand outside with the kids. No matter who comes around, no matter what they say or order you to do, stay within sight of the camera."

John hung up the call and dialed the number for 10 On Your Side.

* * *

"I've got a match, sir!" the D.H.S. agent said loudly.

His supervisor walked over and peered over his shoulder, "Chris Vacca?" He read farther down the page and his eyes bulged, "He disappeared with the first group that were killed by The Event?"

"Apparently not, sir." the agent replied.

"As of right now, this man and anybody who is connected to him in any way are to be considered threats to national security. Family, friends, acquaintances, the janitor from his kindergarten, everybody. Take them into custody. We're getting to the bottom of this. Somebody has to know something and one way or the other, we are going to find out what."

* * *

The tires of John's car squealed as he turned onto the street where his home was situated. His stomach dropped out when he saw the five bodies of the news crew lying on his front lawn, their hands in cuffs as they lay face-down on the grass. His wife was being held down by three men in black suits while a fourth still held the button of his taser down, sending continuous electricity through the woman's convulsing body. Their two children were screaming in terror, crying for their mother, as they were held harshly by two other men in suits.

John exited his car and ran toward the men, already knowing that there was nothing he could do.

* * *

Many hours later, Discord stirred. He cracked open his eyes and beheld the bed which he and Celestia had shared numerous times. He hurt all over. Everything which composed his being sent him reports of injury and pain. He winced at the numerous painful sensations.

The pain slowly faded away from him and he managed to turn his head toward the source of warmth to his left. Celestia lay next to him, her mane and tail not flowing. Her pink mane merely flowing around her head as her head reclined on the pillow. She looked haggard and exhausted as she slowly breathed in and out.

Discord slowly, painfully reached over and laid his lion's paw on her back, trying to pull her close. The feeling awoke the solar Alicorn. She smacked her lips and groaned in discomfort at having to utilize so much of her magic to save Discord. She grunted as she stretched her neck, the sound of popping vertebrae echoing through her chambers.

She blinked and yawned then turned and looked at her lover. Discord wilted even though Celestia said nothing, nor expressed any disapproval with her expression, "Are you angry with me, Tia?" he asked quietly.

Celestia laid her head back down on the pillow, "I'm surprised and concerned," she admitted in a somber tone, "You violated the natural order, Discord. There was a good chance that nothing would have been able to save you. It took everything I have to make you whole again. What could have happened to make you do it? I know you used Control and Time for a few seconds, but the spell was not on yourself, it was on the entire universe. Such a spell would have killed anybody else, even me. It almost ended you. What could have been worth the cost?"

Discord sighed and shook his head, "I couldn't let Chris die."

Celestia gasped quietly, "Die?" she asked softly, "What happened?"

Discord hummed in a low tone, "I saved him. That's all that matters." Discord's eyes closed in sorrow, fearing his next question, "Have your feelings for me faded into oblivion, Tia? Did you finally find the reason you needed to hate me again?"

Celestia leaned over and kissed him softly on the lips. Separating after a moment she spoke again, "Far from it." she confessed, "And I never hated you, even when your power was running rampant. We stopped you because you would not listen to reason, it was never about hate. Anger, yes, and more than a little fury at the needless pain and confusion you were causing, but neither Luna nor I ever hated you." She nuzzled him tenderly, "Knowing you now, as who you are instead of the threat you posed, even if you relapsed, I would be incapable of hating you. Even if we were forced to stop you again, it would be done through sorrow... never hate."

* * *

Catalyst and Starburst were busy trying to console Full Spectrum. The young woman was curled into the fetal position sobbing pitifully. The only words she could manage to speak were a repeating chant, "It's starting. It's starting. It's starting. It's starting." The two Ponies glanced worriedly at one another, concerned for the women they cared for. Catalyst felt her fear surge at the young woman's words, 'What has happened?' she wondered.

Author's Notes:

Stealth upload.