Mike sat in the rather poorly lit Restricted section of the Royal archives. A look out of the nearby window showed that it was night.

After the fusing fiasco, he had decided to research the subject more thoroughly. In truth, he had barely read the first chapter before fusing with Cameron.

He had learned (in chapter two, no less) that once something was fused, it was difficult, if not impossible to diffuse them. It was also exponentially harder to diffuse ponies.

The process that was required to perform diffusion was slow, rather inefficient, and had a 50-50 chance of failure.

Mike was afraid to even think about what would have happened if the spell had failed.

The process required at least two unicorns, one to go in and separate the minds and one to actually reverse the fusion.

This meant that fusion couldn't be used willy-nilly.

Another thing that Mike found interesting was that the fused pony never lasted more than a few hours at the most. The sheer psychological stress of sorting through every memory, thought, and emotion was too much for them to handle.

I wonder why I didn't- I mean why Mickam didn't have that problem.

Cameron and Mike had both retained the memories of Mickam, but they didn't remember everything that went down while the fusion was active. Just bits and pieces.

Mike was beyond curious at this point. The book provided useful information, but it was extremely limited. He wanted to find out more, but that would require an actual testing session. And that would require taking the risk of staying fused forever.

He sighed and flopped on the floor, hitting the unforgiving stone with his head in the process.

"Ow!" He exclaimed as he felt a headache coming on.

Suddenly, he felt something click in his mind. He remembered everything that he had read.

It is difficult, if not impossible to diffuse two ponies from each other.

It is difficult, if not impossible.

Impossible.

"Screw logic, I'm the Hero of Will!" he said at the realization. "Thank you, possible concussion."

Next Morning…

"Have you seen Mike at all?" Cameron asked as he passed Naomi on the way out of the dining room after breakfast.

"Not since yesterday. He might still be in the library." Naomi answered.

"He really needs to take a break. Trust me, you don't want to see a sleep deprived Mike. It's not pretty." Jake said.

"Remember the Potato Incident?" Cameron asked.

"I still have the hole in my wall!" Jake replied.

Suddenly, Mike appeared out of thin air directly in front of them.

"Hey guys. There's some tests that I need your help on." He said.

"Do these tests by any chance involve fusion?" Naomi asked.

"Yes."

"Leave me out of it." She said as she walked in the opposite direction.

"Well, looks like you two are coming with me." Mike said.

"Do I get a say in this?" Jake asked.

"Nope." Mike answered as he teleported the three to a completely different area. The room was more or less what Cameron would think a lab looked like. There was everything a nerd would dream of. Beakers and test tubes littered the tables. Books were piled neatly in stacks. There was even an observation room.

"So you're going for the 'mad-scientist' look?" Cameron asked.

"Shut up, this was the only place that I could find that was actually private." Mike said. "It was apparently where three ponies died of unknown causes."

Jake's eyes went wide, as did Cameron's. They started to feel uncomfortable being in the room.

"Really?" Jake asked, freaked out.

"Nah, I just like messing with you." Mike said with a laugh. "The look on your face is priceless. Absolutely priceless."

Jake sighed in relief.

"So what exactly are we here for?" Cameron asked.

"My little project that I have been working on has to do with diffusing things after they have been merged." Mike explained. "Namely, ponies."

"But there's already a way. We already used the spell Celestia knew to separate you and Cam yesterday." Jake said.

"That spell is too crude for casual use. It has too many steps and requires brute force of ripping one mind from another." Mike said. "My way is much more… elegant. It uses only magic to separate the two and has one hundred percent chance of success."

"And you didn't figure this out yesterday?" Jake asked.

"I'm sure Mickam didn't want to risk the lives of Cam and I to experiment with it." Mike answered.

"And you're sure that this works?" Cameron asked.

"Yep. Let me show you." Mike said as he motioned towards a table with an orange and apple on its surface. Mike focused his magic and used the fusion spell on the two fruits.

A blinding flash appeared that caused the three to look away. When they looked back, on the table was what seemed to be a regular apple.

"Did it work?" Jake asked quizzically. Mike answered by slicing the fruit up and showing the inside, which was the same as an orange's.

Mike focused his magic again and there was yet another blinding flash.

On the table now were a sliced up apple and orange.

"See? Nothing to worry about." Mike said.

"But that's just fruit. That's completely different from separating two ponies." Jake said.

"Do you even know if this would work on actual people?" Cameron asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"That's where you two come in. I need to test the spell on you two and find out if it works." Mike said.

"Wait! I am not fusing with Cameron!" Jake exclaimed.

"I have to agree with Jake. I don't exactly enjoy the idea of me dying from a failed experiment." Cameron said.

"I promise that nothing bad will happen. I swear." Mike said.

Jake and Cameron looked at each other.

"I'll do it in the name of science. Besides, it kind of sounds cool." Jake said.

Cameron sighed. "If I die, I'll kill you, Mike."

"Alright then. Jake, you shouldn't feel a thing. Cameron, you know what's going to happen." Mike said.

He focused his magic on the fusion and closed his eyes to shield them from the bright flash that followed.

As the light began to subside, Mike brought his notebook and prepared to jot down his observations.

He saw the crumbled heap of a single pony on the floor. It appeared as though the spell was cast correctly.

He studied the features of the pony.

He was taller than Mike by perhaps seven or eight centimeters, he couldn't tell without the pony standing up. He had Jake's reddish-brown mane, but black was found on the edges of it. His coat was a light tan.

Upon closer examination, Mike saw that the pony also had wings. He began to write down notes.

Subject appears to have features of both fusees. Some traits of one are more dominant than the other's. For example, mane color of subject appears to be predominantly Jake's, but the edges are Cameron's.

The pony remained unconscious for another five minutes.

After fusion, ponies enter a state of unconsciousness. This may be the sign of some kind of mental fatigue or the attempt of the mind to sort through the thoughts or memories of the two fusees.

Another minute passed before the pony's eyes slowly opened. He looked around for a second before turning to Mike.

"You okay there, buddy?" Mike asked. The pony opened his mouth to say something, but no sound came out. "Can you say something?"

"Yes." The pony finally said. "Words… jumbled. Confusing."

Mike took note of this.

"What do you mean by 'confusing'?" asked Mike, intrigued.

"Difficult… finding right word." The pony answered. "But getting easier."

"Okay then. Are you finding any difficulty with thinking?"

"No."

"Then the fusion seems to be fine." Mike said with a sigh of relief. "What's your name?"

The pony thought about the question and tried to piece together a name for himself.

"Jack. Name's Jack." He said. He tried to stand up, but his legs were wobbly and he tipped over.

Note: Movement becomes temporarily impaired after fusion.

Jack tried standing up again, only to meet the same result as before.

"Crap." He muttered as he hit the floor. "Third time's the charm."

On his next try, he managed to stay standing. Surprisingly, walking seemed to be easy for him.

"How do you feel, Jack?" Mike asked.

"Pretty good, actually." Jack answered. "You're Mike, right?"

"Yep. Do you remember everything Jake and Cameron knew?"

"Not everything. I'm still sorting through the memories." Jack answered.

"Fair enough. Jack, I've got quite a few questions to ask you." Mike said.

Somewhere in the depths of Discord's Prison…

"Bored bored bored bored bored bored bored." Discord repeated to himself. Really, it was an understatement of what he really felt. He hadn't been able to do anything in the last few thousand years.

He was locked in a place that was the equivalent to, if not infinitely worse than, solitary confinement. He could feel his sanity slowly breaking into small shards like a mirror. He had been unable to do anything except watch the world change around him.

Under Celestia's rule, Equestria was practically a utopia of peace. Ponies didn't normally have problems, and when they did, they were small and easily dealt with.

He had been hoping that the return of Nightmare Moon would have been quite a show to watch, but it had turned out to be a dud. Nightmare was defeated by the Elements of Harmony, a celebration followed, yadda yadda yadda.

Then came the Heroes. They at first had seemed to be his ticket out of his prison, but apparently they had signed up to be goody-goodies. They even escaped the lovely little prison he had created for them.

"And I'm left here encased in stone." Discord sighed.

However, he had one last trick up his sleeve, his ace in the hole.

When he had first been imprisoned, he had had his magic drained away to nothing. At the time, he couldn't have performed a spell even if he had tried.

But through the years, he felt himself get a little stronger. He drew his power from chaos and disharmony, but the rule of Celestia and Luna had all but eradicated both of his sources.

However, there was still chaos in the world, even if it was a mere fraction of what used to be.

He drew power from everything he could find, let it be quarrels between two ponies or some destruction of property.

He felt as if he were trying to fill a bucket with a dripping faucet.

He bided his time and saved up his magic so that he could one day destroy his prison and escape. Unfortunately, he didn't have nearly enough power to break his stone encasement. It would take many more centuries of waiting for him to do that.

He didn't think he could maintain his sanity for that long, though.

"If only there was more chaos these days. I just need somepony to cause it." Discord said to himself.

An idea came into his head suddenly. He smiled and then burst out laughing like he was crazy.

"I can't believe I didn't think of this sooner." Discord said happily as he began to plan everything.

At the lab…

Jack sighed as he finished answering the barrage of questions that Mike had asked him. He didn't really want to answer questions, he wanted to move about. He wanted to find out what he could do, test his limits.

He stretched his wings, which were feeling cramped from lying on his sides. Flying also sounded like a good idea.

"Sorry about the boring questions Jack, but here comes the testing part." Mike said. "Give me a moment."

Just like that, Mike had teleported away.

Jack used this free time to his advantage and tried some basic flying. It felt good to actually move his wings. However the room was too small for any actual flying, which was what Jack really wanted to do.

Mike reappeared along with a mare. Jack tried remembering who the mare was, but the name eluded him. His thoughts finally snapped into place and he instantly remembered everything that Jake and Cameron knew about her.

So her name's Naomi. She's strong, smart, fast, and super cute. Wait, who's the one that thinks she's cute? Jake or Cameron?

"Naomi, this is Jack." Mike said. "Jack, this is Naomi."

"Nice to meet you, Jack." Naomi said.

"Same here." Jack replied.

"Anyway, what did you need me for Mike?" Naomi asked.

"I need to test the powers of the fusion. I want you to fight Jack." Mike said.

"I just met the guy." Naomi said.

"Don't kill each other." Mike said before teleporting to the observation room.

Jack looked over to Naomi, who shrugged. "I'm game."

"Alright. Ladies first." Jack replied with a smile.

"Gladly." Naomi said as her hoof connected with Jack's face. He rolled with the blow and jumped back. He spat a tiny bit of blood on the floor.

"Not bad." Jack muttered.

Naomi didn't let up though. She sent some blasts of energy towards him, but he dodged all of them and sped towards Naomi. It took him a fraction of a second to get from one side of the room to the other. He brought his hoof down to hit Naomi, but she dodged out of the way. She was so busy dodging the first attack, she hadn't noticed that Jack's leg was right under her.

Naomi tripped, but stood back up quickly. She turned and tried bucking Jack, but Jack had already moved out of the way.

Naomi knew that she wouldn't be able to hold her own in close quarters combat. She needed distance so that she could actually use her magic.

Jack sent a barrage of blows towards Naomi, who was barely able to block and dodge them.

She decided to use the blowback spell and sent Jack flying across the room. Naomi now had the distance she needed.

She sent a few sleep spells towards Jack, but he dodged them as if they were in slow motion. He was almost instantly next to her and kicked her in the gut. Winded, she tried teleporting to the other side of the room and set up a barrier.

Jack pounded on it, each time causing a larger crack. In the mean time, Naomi caught her breath and tried planning her next move. She was amazed at Jack's speed and knew that she couldn't maintain long-range fighting forever.

She also knew that even if she did manage to land any kind of attack, Jack would dodge it as if it were nothing.

With a final punch, Jack broke through the shield and rushed at Naomi. As he was about to hit her, she used the Deflection spell and sent Jack flying across the room and into a table. Books were scattered all over the floor.

Naomi used the precious seconds of time to send more knock out spells towards Jack. When she looked again, however, he was gone.

"Where did you-"she started, but was silenced by a quick thump on the back of her head.

"I win." Jack said as Naomi hit the floor.

"Good job, Jack. That's the last thing I needed to take notes on. I'll diffuse you right now." Mike said.

"Aw, can't I stay for a little longer?" Jack whined.

"Sorry, but I need to talk to Jake and Cameron and discuss this entire thing. See you later, Jack." Mike said as he horn was surrounded by a crimson aura. A blinding flash later, he was gone and Jake and Cameron were on the floor.

"How do you two feel?" Mike asked.

"I feel like my jaw was hit with a hammer." Cameron said.

"Same here." Jake said.

Sure enough, both of them sported the same injuries that Jack had taken during his spar with Naomi.

Note: Injuries transfer after diffusion.

"See? What did I tell you? You both are fine, nothing to worry about." Mike said.

"Tell that to my teeth." Cameron muttered.

Somewhere back on Earth…

Discord couldn't stay out of his prison for long, he knew that. He needed to be quick with his plan and be back before his magic ran out and he was stuck in this world forever.

He had taken an appearance of a human, no longer a mismatched assortment of animals. His eyes still had to trademark yellow and red, which would probably strike fear into any he encountered.

Really, taking form of a human was like putting on an old shirt that he never had an occasion to wear.

His clothing was nothing remarkable, a black polo and khaki pants. He sported some brown loafers and a watch. He looked positively normal, at least by human standards.

He stroked the white beard that he had chosen to keep.

"Where to? Ah, right. 320 Auburn Hill Road." He said, remembering the address of the person he was going to visit first.

With a snap of his fingers, he was already at the doorstep of the house. To him, walking was extremely overrated. Too mainstream.

He knocked on the wooden door and waited before a man with rather great girth came and opened it.

"If you're from the church or bank, get off my property." The gruff man said.

Discord cocked an eyebrow. "No. I'm actually here to see your son."

"You want to see the runt? Fine by me." Fat-Man said. "Ryan, get your butt down here."

"Whatever." Replied a teenage voice which Discord assumed was Ryan's. He came down the stairs slowly, as if he didn't care.

He came outside and Fat-Man slammed the door behind them.

"What do you want?" Ryan asked.

"I need your help with something, young man." Discord said. "My name's Discord."

"Stupid name." Ryan said.

What a gentleman. I like him so much, I could just smack him. Discord thought.

"I don't mind it really." Discord said. "But back to the subject matter. I know you hate this place. Your home, your neighborhood and everybody in it. I know you hate the people who bully you and the people who just plain misunderstand you. What if I told you that I could send you somewhere else where you could just have fun and leave this behind? Where you could actually have friends."

"Where? New York?" Ryan asked.

Discord smirked. "Yes. New York. All you need to do is help me."

"With what, old man?"

"All in due time, my friend. All I need is your promise to help me." Discord said. He held out his hand.

Ryan thought about it for a while. "What the hell. I really don't care at this point." Ryan said as he shook Discord's hand.

"Wonderful! See you when you wake up." Discord said as he snapped his fingers. Ryan simply vanished from the face of the earth.

And now for the other two. Discord thought, chuckling.

Next Chapter: What happened? Estimated time remaining: 42 Minutes