Twilight sucked in a deep breath, then coughed as she inhaled a mix of sand and air. An oppressive heat surrounded her on all sides, and even with her eyes closed, a bright light hurt her eyes.

Despite all this, none of it came as a surprise considering that she'd just been dead. She wasn't sure how she became dead, beyond the obvious of being slammed through a building at high speed, but she was pretty certain that she had been, even though what happened last time she'd died hadn't happened this time. That was odd, as was this entire line of thought, but it was all she had to cling to right now. Apart from that, all she had to do now was hope it wasn't the fires of hell she was waking up to.

"Trixie?"

"Getting some rest I'm afraid."

"Luna?"

"Yes, it is me." Luna smiled at Twilight as the smaller alicorn fluttered her eyes open, "Welcome back to the Circen desert."

So that explained the crazy heat at least. Nothing else, but it was a start. "What happened? Is everyone alright?"

"We are all fine, thanks to you. Unfortunately a near third of Zanzebra was destroyed in the explosion, but lives claimed by it were next to zero thanks to you holding the portal from collapse for so long. Indeed, I believe we can reduce the number of casualties by one now you are back with us."

Twilight closed her eyes again and sighed. She supposed she should be happy that she saved as much of Zanzebra as she did, but hearing that a third of a city had been destroyed by a single spell didn't sound like a victory. It only sounded good when compared against the destruction of an entire city, and everyone in it.

"What's happening in Zanzebra now?"

"Clearing up so rebuilding can begin. Their fallen are being honoured, and there is much talk of improvements that can be made to the city considering how much of it is now a blank slate, so to speak. The important thing is that Zebrica remains free."

"For now," Twilight said glibly. She brushed a hoof over the sand weakly and sighed, "How long before Faust is creating portals like that in Equestria? Is she going to hold Equestria hostage using threats of wholesale destruction?"

"You know I can't answer that, Twilight. I'm surprised she did such a thing at all, or was even able to. Clearly the chance to destroy all of us was too good an opportunity for her to waste. Besides, you managed to reduce the damage caused by a significant amount alone. I doubt such would happen again if we were all there to do what you did."

The answer was surprisingly reassuring to Twilight. Maybe things would go better in such a situation so long as she wasn't alone. Maybe with help she could've reduced the power of the portal to the point it collapsed into little more than a puff of warm air.

"Did you encounter Faust or Celestia in the astral realm?"

Twilight paused, unsure about the sudden change of direction. "I don't think so. I don't really remember being there to be totally honest. I couldn't tell you if I was there at all."

"That is likely for the best. Now rouse yourself Twilight. Now that we have the crystals we can finally produce this oubliette, and finally put an end to Faust. Starsy is running over the final preparations for the spell, and with your help we should be able to complete it."

Twilight nodded, and began to attempt the surprisingly complex set of movements required to go from horizontal to vertical, and found them just as hard as she expected them to be. Thankfully Luna seemed to be patient enough to let her sort it out in her own time, although a little help would've been nice. It was hard to deny that compared to the last time she'd died, waking up nice and warm in a desert was hooves down a massive improvement over waking up covered in your blood, surrounded by bodies in a freezing cold morgue.

For the most part the others were glad to see her up and about again, although most of them were still unsure how to approach the whole 'waking up from the dead' thing. The notable exception to this was Moondancer, who did little more than scowl for a few seconds, then return to her book.

"Didn't I tell you to not die?" Trixie said to Twilight after a minute of waiting for the others to welcome her back. "Was that one little thing too much to ask?"

"Evidently so. I would say that I'd like to see you try to get away from that explosion, but I'd be lying because you wouldn't have got away, and you'd be dead. Permanently."

"Alright, fine, but could you have maybe done something to protect yourself? Or maybe not buried yourself in rubble? Spending almost two days looking for you in the rubble was excruciating, and then finding little more than a pile of mush wasn't great either. I'm glad the two days you've spent in the desert was worth it, but- But- I've really lost track of where I was going with this. Give me a moment."

Twilight was surprised at the span of time that had passed since the battle in Zanzebra. "Four days? I lost four days? Was I really that bad?"

"We didn't quite have to scrape you into a bucket," Luna said slowly, "but it wasn't much better."

Twilight's rear sank to the floor, her imagination giving her quite the horror show. She knew she'd left fleeing the collapsing portal too late, but she didn't think it'd be that bad. That said, she had sailed at some speed through a solid wall, and she'd only assumed she was passing out at the time...

"I'm sorry."

"Don't apologise," Cadence said quickly. "What you did saved thousands of lives, as well as all of us. We're just glad you could come back from that."

While Twilight appreciated Cadence's words, the bitter snort from Moondancer had her pinning her ears back. "Not everypony agrees with that."

Trixie patted Twilight on the back, "Screw Moondancer. You're back, and you saved all those zebras, so definitely a net gain."

Twilight looked around the room at all of them, passing over them all until she landed on Ember, to whom they owed their lives too. It seemed like a good time to say that what was done was done, and that the zebras would recover. They needed to think on what was coming next, and that was finishing the oubliette, making their armour to fight Faust with, and freeing Equestria, Saddle Arabia, and Mareitania from Faust. They had what they needed, so it was time to get to work.

"Can we finish the oubliette now we have those crystals?"

"That's currently up for debate," said Starsy. "To contain a power like Faust's, the spell would have to be stronger than herself. I'm not currently convinced that even you four alicorns could make the spell strong enough."

"So we need something, or someone else to make it stronger?" Twilight asked, getting a nod from Starsy. "What about Discord?"

"Good heavens no," Starsy said quickly, almost unable to say the words fast enough. "Introducing his power to the spell has the potential to cause catastrophic problems with it. We need this to be guaranteed to work."

"Sooo... not Discord then." Twilight wracked her brain thinking of other options. She even tried to tap her hoof while doing so, but found herself unable to move with that degree of precision as yet. It was like being drunk, except totally sober and able to witness the horror of a body slowly coming back to life. Unnerving was perhaps a simpler thing to call it, even if it was a little underwhelming.

"I'm afraid the only thing I can think of with that kind of power is the Elements," said Luna. "Unfortunately we already know they won't work against Faust."

"Are you so certain of that?" Nightmare asked back. "They mightn't work directly against Faust, but all they're doing in this case is strengthening a spell using their raw power."

"My father did say the Tree of Harmony might be able to take indirect action against Faust," Ember added. "Would this count?"

All of them waited on Starsy for an answer, even though he was probably less knowledgeable on the Elements than others already in the room. He um'd and ah'd for some time before quietly declaring that he simply didn't know.

"It'd be a gamble to use the Elements. If the time comes to entrap Faust, and their strength was useless against her, then we might have blown our only chance."

"Let's not forget that four of the Bearers are currently imprisoned in Ponyville," Moondancer pointed out. "We'd have to free them before we could complete the oubliette, which is risky in itself."

"But not impossible," Luna countered. "We might have to change the order of our attack, but if we were to conduct a raid on Ponyville with the griffons before our main attack, we could do it. We could free them."

Nightmare shook her head at Luna's suggestion, "With Faust and Celestia free to stop us? Not likely. We'd have to plan something to distract them first, and it'd have to be something good."

"Or the attack on Ponyville isn't the only thing we push ahead of schedule," Rainbow said excitedly. "You want to find Celestia, right Luna? And do what you have to to get her away from Faust? What if you did that while the rest of us go after Ponyville?"

"Not on my own." Luna glanced towards Nightmare, "I was developing my own plan for that, but I would need the help of a certain other pony in this room. Unfortunately that still wouldn't be enough to distract both Faust and Celestia."

"Fleur has a plan to take out the Shades in Canterlot," Twilight told the others in the room. She hadn't thought about it much herself, and was rather ashamed of the lack of contact she had kept with Fleur, and Shining, and her parents. Perhaps she needed to fix that. "She said she was going to use it as a distraction for us when we were ready to attack, so this might be the perfect time for it to happen."

"This seems like overkill just to get your friends back. No offence," said Trixie. "Surely a stealth mission would be better so we can keep the element of surprise for our main attack?"

"Arguably, yes," Luna said thoughtfully. "It's also arguable that doing these things ahead of the main attack would give us a better chance to focus on the assault on Canterlot, rather than split it between other objectives. Separating Celestia from Faust before the assault would make things easier in my opinion."

"I agree with Luna," Twilight said to Trixie, giving her an apologetic smile. "With the griffons not having to split their attention between Canterlot and Ponyville, we stand a far better chance at getting the prisoners out. All of them. If Faust learns the Bearers are gone she might also increase security at Ponyville, making it harder to get the rest of the prisoners out. We already know she has the power to kill them all if she wanted."

Trixie held her hooves up in surrender, "Alright, alright, you've convinced me. It seems the decision has been made."

"Except it's not just our decision to make," Cadence interrupted. "If you want to plan this attack, you need to talk to the Emperor. Unfortunately you might also want to talk to Chrysalis as well, if she still wishes to join us."

"She has a point," Twilight said to Luna.

"There's also other preparations to be made," Starsy cut in. "You are yet to locate a crystal smith to forge your armour. I daresay you might want that before you tackle Faust."

Cadence nodded in agreement with Starsy, "I think I might know a few ponies who could help. Hopefully the crystal ponies are still in Baltimare."

"Then I shall approach the Emperor with our plans," Luna offered. "Perhaps we might have to arrange a meeting between us, him, and Chrysalis, if we are to properly plan this. Preferably on neutral territory."

"Perhaps Zebrica, if the zebras are willing?" Cadence asked questioningly. "Perhaps after what happened, and by having all of us there to plan the attack, they might be more willing to join us?"

"We can but ask," Luna conceded. "If only there was some way to get to the Sultan as well, to ask his intentions. I'm still not sure if I trust him to be on our side. Perhaps that can be your task when you are up to it, Twilight?"

Twilight nodded affirmatively, "I'll see what I can do. I might want to work out a better disguise though. Do you have anything that might help, Starsy."

"I'll have a look," Starsy said gruffly. "If you want disguises here though, you might want to take your changeling friend with you. Nightmare seems fairly good at it too."

"What are we supposed to do?" Rainbow asked, raising a hoof.

"You may accompany me to the Eyrie if you wish," said Luna. "Your presence, Ember, would also be appreciated."

Ember shrugged at Luna, "Sure, I guess?"

"Wait." Daring pointed a hoof around the room until it landed on herself, then Moondancer. "What are we supposed to be doing?"

"Moondancer will continue to assist me," Starsy told Daring. "I suspect there are still refinements to the spell that could be made. Perhaps Cadence would like your company?"

"Certainly," Cadence said with a smile. "I can't promise much excitement, but it'd be nice to have somepony to talk to. That can talk back at least." Cadence cooed at Flurry, "No offence, sweety."

Luna clapped her hooves together, "It seems we are decided then. Time will be getting on in a lot of places, so perhaps it would be prudent to wait until morning, and give Twilight more time to recover."

"I can use the time to contact Fleur and Chrysalis," Twilight said, "so that's not a problem."

"Very good then. Everyone rest up, because we have a busy day ahead of us tomorrow."

Luna drifted off out of the observation area, along with some of the others. The remainder returned to what they were doing before Twilight came back, leaving just one last pony to talk to.

"I like how nopony gave me a job," Trixie grumbled. "Either I'm expected to go with you by default, or I'm not exactly highly trusted."

"I'm sure they trust you just fine," Twilight reassured her. "Besides, where could I possibly go without you?"

"Wherever you've been for the last four days is one place."

"I- Yeah, alright, I'm sorry I left you again. I at least hope it wasn't as scary for you as last time?"

"I'd already stopped freaking out by the time we found you. I was starting to think you'd been vaporised, which was going to be a problem."

"Oh, well, I wasn't. How'd you find me, anyway?"

Trixie gestured with her head towards Ember, "Dragons have surprisingly good noses, apparently, although we had to use magic to narrow it down."

"I am so glad Ember agreed to come with us," Twilight laughed. She cocked her head and stopped laughing as Trixie's expression turned a little sorrowful. "What is it?"

"There's something else that happened while you were out, and I don't think you're going to like it." Trixie lit her horn and Sunset's journal floated in to Twilight's view. It was buzzing and flashing with a pale purple glow. "It started doing this yesterday. I didn't open it, it wasn't my place to, but Sunset's friends have to be wondering where she is by now."

Twilight took the book into her hooves and swallowed, finding herself afraid of what she might find, and also of the fact that time had run out for her to put off telling Sunset's friends about her death.

"Thank you, Trixie, I-um... need to be alone."

"Alright. I'll be nearby for hugs and comfort if you need me."

Twilight smiled her thanks, then took the journal up in her magic to walk unsteadily through the bookshelves to the private reading nook she liked, picking up a pot of ink and a quill along the way. She near fell onto a cushion, and set the book in front of her, and stared at the cover until she felt brave enough to open it.

Sunset, darling, how are you? I know it's only just been over a week, but it feels like forever since we've heard so much as a peep out of you. I know you must be busy, but we do worry about you so.

As for us, we're all doing well. There was an incident with a rather dubious theme park, and a magic phone which Applejack managed to sort out. She can be full of surprises that one. It bothered Twilight to no end finding out we were merely stuck in a room at the park, and not trapped in a phone in an endless white void. Again. I'm not saying it happens at an alarming frequency, but twice is too alarming by far. Once was more than enough.

Anyway, I digress. We would all love to hear back from you, so do write back soon.

Yours sincerely,

Rarity

To her own surprise, Twilight kept her tears at bay as she read, although her heart ached. She was going to have to tell them that Sunset was dead, and been for-

Had it only really been days? Or a week? It felt like far longer to Twilight, and it felt like all her grief had been pushed to the back of her mind so she could focus on other things. Even the fake messages from Sunset, or those things on the other side, had stopped because she didn't have time to dwell on it. Now she had no choice but to make that grief the very centre of her attention as she tried to tell Sunset's friends that Sunset wasn't coming back.

Rarity, it's Twilight. Pony Twilight, that is. Are you there? We need to talk.

Twilight waited, biting her lip and feeling increasingly sick as the minutes passed. If Rarity didn't reply now, they weren't going to really be able to talk until she got back from Saddle Arabia, which was far too long to leave this for.

Thankfully after another few minutes words started to appear on the page. Steeling herself, Twilight prepared for the worst conversation in writing she was likely to ever have.

Twilight? How unexpected to hear from you! Is everything okay? Has something happened to Sunset? Is she hurt?

You could say that, Twilight wrote, then immediately cursed herself for writing it, and for the sheer tactlessness it took to even think it, let alone actually write it down. Unfortunately there was no taking it back once it was in the journal.

I don't wish to sound demanding, darling, but if something's wrong, please tell me.

Twilight hesitated as her words failed her. Again and again she put her quill to the paper, and again and again she lifted it back off. She didn't know how to say what she wanted to, and was fairly certain there wasn't any good way to do it. Perhaps the best way was to be honest in this case.

I'm sorry, Rarity, but there's no easy way to say this, so I'm just going to have to be straight. Sunset was killed in an accident over a week ago. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, but it's been hard trying to grasp the idea of it myself, and I admit I was scared to tell you, because as soon as I did it meant I would have to face up to it as well. I'm sorry.

Twilight waited, and bit her lip as the wait went on, her chest growing tight and her eyes stinging with tears. It seemed she wasn't the only one crying either as dark splashes started to appear in the journal. Knowing Rarity it could only be mascara making those marks.

Scribbles started to appear on the page, single words that were crossed out as soon as they were written. Twilight felt guilty for dumping it on Rarity, but she knew herself well enough to know she'd feel guilty however gently she tried and failed to let Sunset's friends find out about Sunset's death.

Eventually the scribbles stopped, and Twilight was left wondering if Rarity had been unable to continue writing, or if she'd taken the time to tell her other friends. She was left to wonder for a few more minutes before a trio of words appeared.

I'm not dead!

Twilight blinked, and like that the words were gone, replaced with a single word, and a strange feeling of frustration. Twilight faced upwards, unwilling to look at the journal until she was sure her crazy was no longer going to present itself on paper in front of her. It took a minute, but she did manage to bring herself to look again.

How?

We were collecting crystals from an exposed ley line essential to our mission, but something went wrong. Something broke that could've killed us all if Sunset hadn't managed to stop it. Unfortunately this was only a temporary solution, because as soon as she let go the crystal pillar would explode again. She volunteered to stay behind and hold it until we could get to safety.

She saved us all.

Twilight didn't, and wouldn't ever say that Sunset was the one that caused the problem in the first place, because any of them there could've done it. Rarity and her friends didn't need to know that either, and Twilight was sure they, and herself, felt better thinking Sunset died a hero. That part was at least true to a fashion anyway, even if the truth was more that she refused to let anyone else die for her mistake.

I understand. It sounds so like Sunset to do something like that, to give of herself so nobody else has to. Thank you for telling me, Twilight. I realise this must be as hard for you to tell us as it is for us to find out. I'll inform the others of what has happened, and I hope that we'll at least see you again.

You will, Twilight wrote quickly, not caring if she was interrupting Rarity to do so. I owe that much to Sunset, and I wish I could've told you this in person as well. Unfortunately, coming to see you might not happen very soon because we still have a job to do. One that got harder without Sunset. Before I go though, Sunset wanted me to tell you that she's sorry, and that she loves you guys so much, and to thank you all for giving her a chance after everything she'd done.

Twilight closed her eyes as more mascara blobs appeared in the journal. She wanted this to be both over, yet never end. Part of her was ecstatic to be talking to Rarity, even if she was a human version in a different dimension. Talking about Sunset was hard though, as was making promises to visit that she might not be able to keep. For the most part though, talking about Sunset kept her alive, after a fashion, and ending that meant she was gone again.

It was a privilege, always. Thank you, Twilight, truly. The others will be here soon, so I'm afraid I shall have to go and tell them the bad news. Hopefully I can do it as well for them as you did for me. Farewell Twilight, but do stay in touch, and hopefully we'll see you sooner rather than later.

Rarity.

Twilight closed the journal, a lot gentler than she had for a while, then hugged it to her chest. Her tears were falling freely now, and she didn't care to stop them. She knew she needed to grieve, rather than push on through distraction after endless distraction, and now seemed as good a time as any to let it all out. So she did. It was only the sound of hooves on the wooden floor that brought her out of it long enough to acknowledge the world beyond.

"Would you like a hug?" Trixie asked, smiling as kindly as she could. She hated seeing Twilight like this, and when she got a shaky nod from Twilight, she was quick to sit beside the alicorn and embrace her as she continued to cry. "How did it go?"

"Okay, I guess," Twilight sniffled. "That wasn't the sort of thing you can put a metric for wellness to. It's never going to go that well, and anypony that says it did is probably pretty heartless."

"Okay... a yes, no, or even a shrug would've been answer enough."

Twilight closed her eyes and sighed, "Sorry."

"No need to apologise. I just hope you're at least half as upset as this if I die."

"Don't joke about that! I'd be devastated if I lost you. Makes me wonder why I keep putting you in danger."

"Because you like to keep me where you can see me?"

"Keeping you out of trouble by putting you in danger is hardly the solution to anything. Especially since it doesn't work." Twilight softly butted the side of her head against Trixie, "Use your damn shields."

"I know, but instinct is a bitch."

"You can still try though. Now could you do me a favour and fetch the speaker stones for Fleur and Chrysalis? I might as well get them up to date on things before trying to get some sleep."

Twilight awoke what felt like scant hours later to the sensation of her hooves being kicked. Not hard, but hard enough to convey that the kicker wishes the kickee to wake the hell up now, but preferably in a quiet manner. Twilight cracked an eye open, and was rather surprised to find it was Cadence.

"What is it?"

"Princess business," Cadence whispered back. "I'd rather not wake the others, so please try to stay quiet."

Twilight sighed but did as asked, getting herself up and following after Cadence as quietly as she could to the portal chamber, and kept following her through the portal to Equestria. Luna was already there in Starlight Glimmer's old village, as was Nightmare, but the most surprising individual present was Discord, who was staring pensively in the direction of Canterlot, even if though wasn't visible from where they were.

"Discord? What are you doing here?"

Discord turned and gave Twilight a broad smile, "Wonderful to see you, Twilight! I hope you found your time being dead restful."

"I didn't see you there."

"Indeed not, because you weren't there either. If you had been, both Faust and Celestia could've found you, and I wouldn't put it past Faust to find a way to trap you there. So I intervened, keeping you out of the astral realm while you got some well deserved rest."

"You can do that?"

"With a modicum of effort, yes, but I couldn't hold you like that forever. Keeping you out long enough for your body to patch itself up took a considerable amount out of me, and I'm not as limitless as I like to make out."

"Oh, well, thank you," Twilight said, and she meant it. However, that didn't excuse the fact that Discord had completely bailed on them the moment he'd found out that Faust was free, and while it may have made up for it a little, it still left a lot of making up to do. "Where have you been? Why did you run away?"

Discord sighed and turned back to watch Canterlot. "I am sorry, Twilight, truly, but I know you've discovered enough about mine and Faust's history to work out that I had my reasons. It's absolutely killed me to have to leave Fluttershy for so long."

The lack of his usual antics was convincing enough to make Twilight think he was being honest. After all, why lie when it was him that came to them? It still didn't go anywhere near far enough to explain why Discord had run away though, which is exactly what Twilight told Discord.

"I ran away for your protection."

"I find that unlikely."

Discord rolled his eyes, "Could you at least give me a chance to explain before dismissing me completely?"

Twilight looked up into Discord's mismatched eyes, cocking her head slightly. "From what I've come to understand, you and Faust are the embodiments of chaos and order, respectively, and I see no reason to think that she could be more powerful than you."

"Power has nothing to do with it. This is more about our natures, and how it affects the world around us, including you. You're using sense and logic to formulate a plan to stop Faust, but as soon as I get involved, that begins to break down. Just having me around you would begin to introduce variables that could undo your plan. I wouldn't be doing it on purpose, before you think that, but it's more a side effect of being who I am."

"So you're saying you ran away to stop you accidentally ruining our plans."

"That's one hundred percent accurate."

Twilight raised a lone eyebrow, "Sounds more like your scared of her to me."

Discord waved his paw dismissively, "I'm pretty sure it's healthy to have some concerns about the embodiment of your antithesis, but fine, you're not wrong. She could always beat me. She could never stop me, but for some reason I could never fathom, order could always trump chaos on a temporary basis. I know the dragons told you of what we got up to before they decided enough was enough."

"They did."

"Then you can work out that as soon as I get involved, her odds of beating you increase."

"That makes no sense."

Discord shrugged, "That's the truth of it though. However, just because I haven't been around doesn't mean I haven't been keeping an eye on things, and I wholeheartedly agree with your intended plan."

"Because it removes your greatest rival?" said Luna.

"That's the funny thing, if you could call it that. I'd quite happily go back to hammering away at Faust, if it weren't for the fact that the consequences for the world are far from something I desire. Our exchanges over the centuries were quite entertaining. However, I've learnt my lessons well, thank you very much, and don't wish for a repeat of a thousand years ago."

"Then what, Discord?" Luna growled. "Speak plainly, or leave us be to get on with things."

"Ugh, so impatient. Fine, Order isn't order any more. Order is her end goal, yes, but she is getting there in a far from orderly manner. War, death, destruction, brain washing, mind control, and all the other things she's doing. Does that sound like order to you?"

"Sounds like a party to me," Nightmare snickered.

"In her quest to bring order to this world, Order compromised herself. She always was dangerous, even though I rather irnonically got most of the blame for it, but now it's at levels that threaten everything."

"How is that ironic?" Twilight asked, since she knew enough of Faust's and Discord's history to see why it wasn't.

"It's ironic because your very existence is because of chaos." Discord folded his arms and raised an eyebrow at Twilight, "You all think that order is laws and rules, living wrapped in the safety of society and thinking that there are certain ways things have to happen, but you'd be wrong. What Faust wants to do, the plan, that is order. Eat, sleep, reproduce, rinse, repeat, and try not to get eaten by creatures doing the exact same thing, but from a more lofty link of the food chain. The lives you live now, with your intellects, your cities, your magic, and your insatiable need to either befriend or dominate those you're different to is complete and utter chaos, totally different to what order intended. I should know after all, I caused it."

Twilight blinked at that, and found it very hard to dispute. Very hard. Especially when it's the embodiment of chaos telling you. Thankfully Discord continued, meaning she could ignore it for now, right up until it kept her up at night as she tried to understand it at some point.

"Anyway," he said, following it up with a sigh, "Faust needs to be stopped, which is why I'm here now. I know what your plan is, but there's a problem with it that I'm sure you're already aware of, and it involves the Tree of Harmony."

"Starsy thinks that the Tree could act tangentially against Faust," said Twilight. "Enough to strengthen the spell to hold her."

"And do you trust that?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Because the Tree of Harmony is still Faust's creation, and she might be able to undo its power from within her prison. This might also surprise you to learn, but you, Luna, Celestia, and even the happy accident here-

"Excuse me?" Nightmare growled, only to be ignored.

"-Are vulnerable while Faust has control of the Tree. If you really want this to work, the Tree needs something to finally free it from Faust, and to make it whole, like it always should have been."

"It needs you," Twilight said, getting a nod from Discord.

"What is that supposed to mean?" asked Cadence.

"Faust made the Tree of Harmony," Twilight began to explain, "but harmony is a balancing of order and chaos. Faust refused to let Discord near the Tree, so to make it work she had to synthesize her own chaos-"

"A mere imitation knockoff, I assure you," Discord said smugly.

"If we can introduce Discord's genuine chaos to the Tree of Harmony, it might give it what it needs to escape Faust's control, and make it effective against her."

"While also keeping it effective against me," Discord added quickly, giving Luna a pointed look, "if that's something you're worried about."

"Would that work?" Cadence asked Twilight. "It wouldn't harm the Tree? Or kill it? Or do something strange like create an extra set of Elements, like the Elements of Disharmony, or something along those lines?"

"I don't know," Twilight admitted. "Would anything like that happen?" she asked Discord.

"I very much doubt it. If the Tree were still in its infancy it might have some unusual side effects, but as a fully grown, big adult tree, I don't think so. Besides, we're not giving it anything it doesn't already have. It has chaos in it, just not the real deal."

Twilight pursed her lips, a growing concern prodding her mind. "If that's your plan, why not just do it before now? Why tell us? You know we were going to use the Elements anyway. In fact, we could have fixed this ages ago if you had!"

"No, you couldn't. If you blasted Faust with the Elements now, the best you might get is a reprieve, like what happened with me being trapped in stone, but Faust knows the magic of the Tree too well to be held for long. So here I am, supporting your plan, and telling you what I'm going to do. Because of you three," Discord stated, pointing simultaneously at Twilight, Luna, and Nightmare, growing an extra limb to do so. "Celestia too. The only one here that's safe is Cadence, because she's not bound to the Tree. At least nowhere near as significantly as the rest of you, so you and your squib are excused."

Cadence bristled at the term Discord used for her child, "Her name, is Flurry Heart."

"Yes, yes, and I'm sure no unkind ponies are ever going to call her Slurry Fart. Not once." Discord ignored Cadence as she huffed and puffed, "Anyway, as I was going to say, the reason I'm telling you is that since you're all connected to the Tree there might be a chance, however small, that what I'm planning to do may effect you as well. It might also affect the other Bearers, including Fluttershy, so don't think for a moment that I'm taking this lightly."

The three alicorns Discord pointed out gave each other nervous glances. "What kind of effects are we talking about?" Nightmare asked. "I'm only asking because I've had enough surprises over the last couple of years. I'm not sure I can handle more."

"I honestly don't know. It could turn the Bearers into alicorns, or it could strip you of your immortality, or just make you a few inches taller. It might in fact do nothing at all. I really don't know. It's up to you to decide though, whether you think the risk of side effects are worth it. Otherwise you're either going to have to make a new plan, or really hope the current one works, in which case I have to ask," Discord leaned forwards towards them, "are you feeling lucky, punks?"

Author's Notes:

I'm pretty sure that when I put this in here yesterday I had something clever I wanted to say in this little box. I'll be damned if I can remember what that was. Maybe I'll remember by next week.