Madness is what Twilight saw, and she was hard pressed to dismiss any of what she'd seen outright. She wanted to deny everything, and sure it was still possible that Discord was leading her on, pushing her into the outcome that he wanted, but what Twilight saw had shaken her deeply—far more than she wanted to admit to the draconequus.

Sitting there before Discord's intense and expectant gaze, the mare didn't have the mental clarity to properly challenge his words. Her emotions were scrambled and scattered, and if that was indeed Discord's intent, he'd been completely successful in throwing Twilight off-kilter. Unable to form a proper response, Twilight simply settled for listening to what the mismatched creature had to say, just as he wanted and much to her own frustration.

Discord must've noticed her resignation because his eyes suddenly lit up and a satisfied smirk replaced his serious expression. Twilight frowned at that, but Discord only chuckled, crossed his arms and leaned forward, his smirk growing smug.

"Oh? Finally ready to listen to wise old Discord are we?" he teased, "or do you need more convincing?"

Twilight grimaced.

"You've made your point abundantly clear, Discord," she replied curtly. There was still something they hadn't discussed and with nothing else to fall back on, Twilight decided it was time to bring it up, "I'm still not sure I completely believe what you've shown me, but it's clear you're not going to let me go until you've said what you needed to say, so I suppose it doesn't matter whether or not what I saw was real—"

"Now you're getting it!" Discord laughed, "though I assure you that was a very real mess—"

"But there was no guarantee it was my mess," Twilight interjected, finally starting to find her stride once again, "for all I know that was something you conjured up from an alternate universe, or maybe several."

"Perhaps," Discord replied without missing a beat, "I could spend more time attempting to prove all that nonsense was real, but this has gone on long enough as it is and frankly I don't particularly care if you believe me or not. Like you guessed, I'm not sending you back regardless."

"Exactly," Twilight concluded, "we can both agree its pointless to discuss the situation any further, so I'd like to move onto Salvatore and how he fits into all of this," Twilight's frown deepened, "what are you planning on doing with him and what does it have to do with me?"

"Ah Salvatore," Discord sighed, "he was my next order of business anyway, so I guess I'll humor you," he raised his talon as if to snap and Twilight found herself tensing for what would happen next, only to be surprised when Discord gave a thoughtful frown and let the talon drop back down with a huff and mutter to himself, "no... best to just get this over with."

Twilight was about to ask Discord what he meant when he refocused his attention back on her, leaning over the table that had reappeared between them.

"I may not look it, but I'm a very busy draconequus—one who's already late for another little meeting, so I'll try to keep this short," he sat back up and cleared his throat, "the truth is, I've been watching the two of you while you've both been holed up in that overgrown tree trying to find a way to undo my magic."

Another smirk crossed his face and he gave Twilight a pointed look as he spoke.

"One of the real reasons I intervened when I did was because you actually weren't too far off from 'cracking the code' as it were," he chuckled at the mare's astonished expression, "oh yes, no matter the universe you never cease to amaze me with that wit and ingenuity of yours, Twilight Sparkle, whether you turn out a noble hero or a vicious tyrant."

Twilight had known she was onto something regarding the nature of chaos magic before she was whisked away by Discord, but to hear the draconequus himself admit as much filled her with a strange sense of pride and accomplishment. It was the same feeling she would've gotten from hearing the same sort of praise from Celestia back when she was just a filly under the alicorn's tutelage.

Twilight shuddered at the thought, though whether from the memory of what she'd been told about Celestia's fate or because it was Discord who'd made her feel this way, she wasn't sure. As she wrestled with her thoughts, Discord continued on, another frown crossing his face.

"Honestly I wouldn't have cared all that much if you had succeeded in circumventing the restrictions I placed on the magic I gave Salvatore," he explained, "in fact, I myself thought of doing that very thing not too long ago."

Twilight blinked in surprise.

"You... you were?" she asked, both dumbfounded and wary, "you were just... going to give Salvatore complete access to the chaos magic inside him?"

"Oh Faust no!" Discord guffawed, "not all of it! That'd be a nightmare!" he sighed and shook his head, "no, just enough to make things... interesting if you will."

"How do you mean?" Twilight asked, "what are you planning?"

"Oh never you mind that," Discord answered with a dismissive wave of his paw, "the important thing is that there are some aspects of the spell I put into place that I'd rather you not tamper with, for all our sakes; primarily the bits that keep his magical presence hidden from any other Discord wandering about."

"His... wait, so that's what that was!" Twilight exclaimed, her eyes wide with realization, "with such a massive concentration of chaos magic I was wondering why Discord—the Discord of my universe hadn't shown up to investigate."

"Yup," Discord nodded, "if I know me—and I'm fairly certain I do—I would've been all over that chaotic anomaly in a heartbeat, but thanks to this me, that me was none the wiser, and I'd like it to stay that way," his expression turned stern as he looked across the table at the unicorn, "you might've gained a bit of insight into how chaos magic works, but you're still an amateur—less than that even. I can't have you messing with something you don't fully understand because if something goes wrong, it might affect more than you could ever imagine. There are worse things out there than the complete annihilation of a universe y'know."

Twilight wanted to argue against the fact, and while she disagreed with Discord's last statement, she couldn't disagree with the rest of what he'd said. Despite her extensive research into the subject, there was only so much knowledge she could extract from studying Salvatore's case alone. Not to mention she lacked experience in actually using the unpredictable magic. The more she thought about it, the more Twilight realized just how dangerous her dive into the subject of chaos magic really was.

Sure she was desperate, and really saw no other way out of her situation, but for the consequences to not even cross her mind... that wasn't like her at all. Normally Twilight was far more careful when delving into new magic, but in her isolation and desperation, she'd let herself slip.

"...You're right," she admitted, her eyes falling to the table, "I guess... I just wanted to leave. I wanted Spike back, I wanted some semblance of my life back, even if I had to use chaos magic to get it."

"And I completely understand that believe it or not," Discord replied with a surprising amount of kindness in his voice, "when it comes to chaos magic, just about anything is possible. The problem is that chaos magic rarely gives you what you want," he leaned forward and smiled knowingly, "I'll let you in on another little secret you may not know about chaos magic..."

Twilight's ears perked up and she lifted her head to give Discord a curious frown, her interest piqued despite herself.

"Far more often than not, chaos magic will give you what you need rather than what you want," Discord explained, "you just have to be willing to think outside the box a bit and you can make chaos magic work for you rather than the other way around," at Twilight's bemusement he shrugged, "of course for most, chaos magic is just bad news all around, but eh, what are you gonna do?"

Twilight gave Discord's words some thought and found herself growing angry. While what he'd said could have been true, the unicorn failed to see how she'd needed Spike to transform into a massive vicious spider and attack her and her friends. What need was there for that?

No matter how she tried, Twilight couldn't see the sense in it.

"But I digress," Discord continued on, unheeded by Twilight's sudden bitterness, "the long and short of what I have planned for you is to keep our mutual friend company on his little vacation across the grimverse."

That snapped Twilight out of her darkening mood and she stared at Discord in bewilderment.

"You want me to... keep Salvatore company?" she asked, hardly daring to believe what she was hearing, "but how? Why? What would that—"

"Oh a few reasons," Discord interjected, "for one, it'll do wonders for both his sanity and yours, trust me. I trust Sal to take things in stride, but I'm starting to think that if this is going to work, he might need someone, or somepony to keep him on the right track. Don't want him going mad from the stress or falling to darker influences along the way now do we? That'd be rather counterproductive to my plan."

"Well... I mean that makes sense I suppose," Twilight conceded, "but still, I hardly think I'm qualified to—"

"As of right now, you're the only one qualified for the job," Discord cut in before frowning suddenly, "well, aside from that meddlesome Doctor, but this isn't about him," he disappeared and reappeared by Twilight's side. He pulled her into a one armed hug and poked her in the chest, "you're the only one so far who's formed a bond with Sal, and you of all ponies should know how important something like that is."

"I... but Salvatore, is he even..." Twilight sputtered, still caught off guard by the sudden turn of events, "w-what about my home? I need to find out what really happened, Discord!"

"I told you what really happened," Discord pointed out, "and I also told you there wasn't a snowball's chance in Tartarus that I was sending you back into that world to die needlessly. I have a use for you, and I'm sure Salvatore wouldn't mind you tagging along either. You are best pony, as far as he's concerned at least."

Twilight opened her mouth to ask what Discord was talking about, but stopped herself, remembering that Salvatore had been a fan of the 'show' and that she had indeed been his favorite 'character'. The thought made her frown and she forcefully pulled out of Discord's grip before turning back to him.

"What do you get out of this, Discord," she asked, her eyes narrowing slightly, "it's true that I might be able to help Salvatore, but I don't think for even a second that you're doing this out of the goodness of your heart, or even concern for Salvatore."

"How could you think that?" Discord replied in a mock tone of hurt, "of course I care about Salvatore! He's the centerpiece of this entire operation after all," he rolled his eyes at Twilight's growing scowl, "alright, so I do have another motive, but it's not something you or Sal need to concern yourselves with."

"I wonder," Twilight muttered.

"In any case, you'd be doing a lot more good helping Sal out than you would rotting away behind that barrier all alone," Discord continued, crossing his arms and giving Twilight a pointed frown, "I'm sure you could at least agree to that much?"

"I... guess," Twilight admitted begrudgingly. In all honesty, the more she thought about it, the more difficult a time she was having in arguing against the plan, but even so, there were still misgivings she needed to voice, "...but I still think there's some sort of catch you're not telling me about."

"I was just getting to that actually," Discord answered with a gleeful snap of his talons. Twilight gasped and shivered, feeling some fundamental shift in her being that she couldn't quite place at first. So focused on the odd sensation coursing through her body that she almost missed Discord's next words, "you see, the other reason I chose you out of anyone or anypony else is because thanks to that little stunt you pulled with the memory spell, you know Salvatore better than anyone or anypony else—that, and you also know about his task, something else I'd like to keep secret."

"D-Discord!" Twilight shrieked, staring at her hooves in horror as they gradually began to vanish, "what are you doing?! What's happening to me?!"

"Oh relax, you'll be fine, if a little less... corporeal than usual," the draconequus answered dismissively, "don't worry, I'll give you your magic back as promised, but I'm adding a few... chaotic touches. This is all just part of the process."

"But I never actually agreed to any of this!" Twilight shouted in a panic as her body grew more and more intangible, "Discord, stop! I don't—"

"I made the decision for you," Discord replied, "even if I hadn't, you would've eventually agreed on your own anyway, that's just who you are," he gave another shrug, "if you believe nothing else, believe that this is going to benefit both of you in the long run."

"Discord!" Twilight screamed in vain. Her body had almost completely vanished and a sudden drowsiness overcame her before she could say anymore, "Discord... what..."

"Sorry, Twilight, but things are going to be a bit different for you from here on out—both you and Salvatore," Discord replied, looking on with an oddly apologetic smile, "if all goes well in the end, I'll return you to how you were," through the growing haze of darkness, Twilight saw the draconequus give one last wave, "but hey, in the meantime I've thrown a few interesting perks into the mix for the two of you, so try to have a little fun, eh? Oh, and remember to think outside the box!"

And with that last bit of advice, Twilight's vision went dark and she vanished completely from Discord's sight. Discord meanwhile, stood where he was for another long moment, his smile dropping into a slight frown. He snapped his talons and vanished before reappearing outside his cottage, a violent burst of chaotic energy drawing his attention skyward to a sight only he could see.

"Well, that's three down," he muttered to himself, his frown replaced by a small smile as the flare of chaotic energy began to die down, "I wonder how many more it'll take?" he snorted, "here's hoping the gamble pays off. If he can save even one world with my 'gift' then good on him, but I doubt even that'll be enough."

With yet another snap he disappeared from the Realm of Chaos entirely, popping back into existence in the cloudless afternoon sky above Ponyville. He surveyed the peaceful scene of ponies going about their business with a contemplative expression. He turned to the large crystalline tree castle in the distance after a moment and gave a long weary sigh before cracking his neck a few times.

"I hope those two appreciate what I've had to go through to help them out," he grumbled irritably, "giving power is easy, but making sure someone doesn't break the fabric of all realities by accident isn't exactly a walk in the park, even for me. I'd rather take advanced courses on rocket science... and I depise science."

He yawned and gave a long languid stretch, before focusing his attention back on the distant castle. A wide smile crossed his face and he snapped his talons, poofing away to his next destination.

Now then, let's see if this fixes the issue, shall we?

Still working on the next chapter of Life is Magic, but I figure it's been long enough since the last chapter of this story so here it is. I'm probably gonna release another chapter of this once its actual turn in the story roster comes around.