Shade finds herself in a dark room. Her steady breaths fill the empty silence. A faint white light emanates under her hooves and the floor. She scans around her and spots a tall crystal sitting behind her a short distance away.

She ambles over to inspect the forlorn object. Her reflection greets her on one of the faces of the crystal. She nearly jumps out of her skin when the space around her reflects her image, as if she suddenly had stepped into a box with each side a mirror. A long blink and each of her images changes.

A closer inspection of her reflections reveal an earth pony and pegasus version of her self. Shade touches her forehead and she touches her horns. Her reflections mirror her actions. Their eyes also grow wide when looking past theirselves to a new pony in the mirror.

Shade quickly snaps her attention behind her to see the new pony. The mare is easily the size of Princess Celestia with new additions: three three-foot long horns protrude from her forehead, her mane and tail resemble black flames, she has the wings and tail of a dragon, cloven hooves like a centaur, a slightly pink coat which match her draconic parts, a fiery crown of black flames rests between her horns, and abyssal black armor protects the mare.

Shade takes an offensive stance and ignited her horns. The pony in the mirror copies her actions. After a few tense seconds pass, Shade dissipates the magic in her horns and stares at the pony watching her with familiar pale yellow eyes.

The powerful creature in the mirror glares past Shade. Cranking her head around, Shade stares at a mirror of purple flames.

“So this is where you were hiding?” a female voice purrs which drives spikes of ice into Shade’s back.

“As if I need to hide from you,” her voice snarls from behind.

The pony from before steps between Shade and the purple flaming mirror.

“So you get a new body and you think you can talk back to me?” the voice hisses. “I brought you into existence. I will take you out!”

The purple flames flare up and break free from the mirror reaching for Shade like a hand.

“Bitch!”

“No!”

Shade blasts the air with crimson magic. Lurching back she hits her head on the head board.

“Gah!” Shade grunts in pain.

“Wha?” Pinkie sits up throwing the covers off her.

Wood and tiles fall in front of the bed down from the new hole in the ceiling which allows early dawn to leak in. Wincing brings Pinkie’s attention back to the pony beside her.

“What’s wrong, Shadey-wadey?”

Shade rubs the back of her head. She levitates the book from her lap to deposit it on the bedside nightstand. “Just a dream. Didn’t even know I fell asleep,” Shade replies after a long moment of silence.

“Want to talk about it?” Pinkie asks as she cuddles up to Shade.

“Not really,” is Shade’s answer. With a quick spell on the ceiling nopony will be the wiser about the hole.

A kiss on the cheek makes Shade cock a curious look at Pinkie.

“It’s about time for work,” Pinkie says. After delivering a few more kisses she jumps out the bed.

“See ya later,” Shade calls out to the pink pony as she leaves.

“Love you,” Pinkie blows a kiss goodbye to Shade from the doorway.

Shade pretends to catch the kiss and place it in a pocket. “Love you, too, sweetness,” Shade replies with a warm smile.

Pinkie giggles and springs away.

Cherry Pie huffs and pants. “Why are we going back to the dig site?” she complains.

“Answers,” is Evanescence’s reply.

The ivory pony bulldozes down the brush that gets in her way. Cherry Pie struggles to keep pace with the mare. Since the morning they had been trailblazing through the jungle to reach the dig site.

“Are you even sure you’re going the right way?”

Evanescence‘s abruptness makes the grape mare crash into Evanescence. Burning yellow eyes glare into Cherry’s soul. Without taking her eyes off her, Evanescence bucks a helpless tree which crashes behind her and reveals the excavation site.

“Any more asinine questions?” Evanescence growls.

Cherry Pie gulps. “N-no.”

She watches the ivory mare storm off. She forgot how thin a patience Evanescence had, add on to her already aggravated state and Cherry should have kept her mouth shut.

Evanescence sees her quarry in a tent. She ignores the liquid falling from the sky until a strange scent fills her nose. Chocolate. She holds out a hoof which stains with brown drops.

Looking up causes her brows to furrow deeper as pink clouds begin to cloud the sky. Chocolate precipitation sprinkles from the pink clouds.

“This is not normal, yes?” Evanescence questions the grape pony stopping beside her.

“Right,” Cherry replies.

Shade, Pinkie, Twilight, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Applejack follow Princess Celestia down a hallway.

Since leading the group from the throne room, the Princess speaks, “I've called you here for a matter of great importance. It seems an old foe of mine, someone I thought I had defeated long ago, has returned. His name... is Discord.”

Fluttershy recoils with a squeak from the stain glass window of Discord. Shade walks up to the window to examine Discord.

“Discord is the mischievous spirit of disharmony. Before my sister and I stood up to him, he ruled Equestria in an eternal state of unrest and unhappiness. Luna and I saw how miserable life was for earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns alike, so after discovering the Elements of Harmony, we combined our powers and rose up against him, turning him to stone,” Princess Celestia says.

Rainbow Dash zips up into the air with a hoof pump and cheers, “All right, Princess!”

Princess Celestia’s small grin fades as she continues with grim sincerity, “I thought the spell we cast would keep him contained forever, but since Luna and I are no longer connected to the Elements, the spell has been broken.”

Twilight’s face twists with confusion. “‘No longer connected?’” she repeats.

Princess Celestia stops before a door that stands taller than the regal alicorn with gold framing the multi-color doors.

“This is Canterlot Tower, where the Elements are kept inside since all of you recovered them. I need you to wield the Elements of Harmony once again and stop Discord before he thrusts all of Equestria into eternal chaos,” she explains.

Shade narrows her eyes at the alicorn at the obvious change in topic. “Why are you ‘no longer connected’ to the Elements of Harmony?” Shade questions as she steps up to the alicorn.

Pinkie’s voice exclaims when Princess Celestia opens her mouth to speak, “Hey, look! We're famous!”

Everypony turns to the stain glass window the pink party pony is looking up at. The window depicts the seven mares using the Elements of Harmony to purify Nightmare Moon.

“You seven showed the full potential of the Elements by harnessing the magic of your friendship to beat a mighty foe. Although Luna and I once wielded the Elements, it is you who now control their power, and it is you who must defeat Discord!” Princess Celestia says.

“That’s one way to describe your sister,” is Shade’s snide remark.

Twilight rolls her eyes at Shade. She steps up to the princess with determination, “Princess Celestia, you can count on—“

“Hold on a second!” Pinkie exclaims. “Eternal chaos comes with chocolate rain, you guys. Chocolate rain!” she further emphasizes as her eyes bulge from their sockets.

“I’m with, Pinkie. I don’t see any problems with Discord being free,” Shade inputs.

“Don't listen to her, Princess,” Twilight says dismissively. “We'd be honored to use the Elements of Harmony again.”

“You don’t speak for me, Sparklebutt,” Shade snaps. The ivory tricorn glares up at the ivory alicorn. “The princess only cares about her own power and position. Discord may be the opposite of Harmony but without him there is no Balance in the world.”

Princess Celestia stares at Shade with a steely expression and eyes. “He is a menace that needs to be sealed away. He will bring about the destruction of Harmony.”

“I find it kind of suspicious how there is no mention of Discord in any books. We only have your word to go on. Your problems have a nasty habit of resurfacing.” Shade states.

“Discord’s greatest trick is pretending to never have existed in the first place. He erased all traces of himself,” Princess Celestia explains.

“Whatever,” Shade huffs. “Fork over the elements. He’ll be one lest obstacle in my way.”

Princess Celestia frowns at Shade’s last comment. She then turns to the door to unlock it. She channels magic into her horn and inserts her horn in a hole in the middle of the door way. The door lights up with magic as mechanical sounds echo behind the door. Shade takes note of Princess Celestia’s wide grin when the door opens.

“Ooh!” Rarity awes. “You can keep the Elements. I'll take that case!” she states when the sapphire blue chest containing the elements comes into view.

Princess Celestia turns to face the group. “Have no fear, ponies. I have total confidence that you will be able to defeat Discord with these!” she exclaims as she opens the case to the group.

Everypony takes a collective gasp at the empty case.

Princess Celestia releases her grip on the case in her shock. The empty case falls to the floor with a hollow thud that echoes down the hall. Silence descends upon the group.

Pinkie shatters the silence. “Oh, well. If anyone needs me, I'll be outside in the chocolate puddles with a giant swizzle straw!” She begins to canter away.

Shade laughs and follows suite. “Glad you have your priorities in check, Pinkie.”