Big Mac waited patiently as the train began to slow to a strained halt as it pulled in to Canterlot's main station. No matter how many times he made the trip, he still marveled at the sheer size and grandeur of Equestria's capital city. Staring out the window, he could see the bustling streets filled with mostly unicorns, going about their daily business while wearing fancy clothes. The mid-morning sun gleaned gently through his window, as the grin he wore soon faded. He had been making these trips once a week for six months now and they were starting to drain him emotionally as well as physically.

As the train came to a halt, the large farm pony arose from his seat stretching a bit. After a moment, the stiffness left his joints and he made his way out of the railroad car and onto the station platform. It only took a moment for the Royal Guards to greet him with a royal chariot. He never spoke to them, simply nodding his thanks. Their faces never changed, but secretly he suspected they were relieved by the fact that he did not want to make small talk. He was there for a purpose, and idle chitchat was not it.

As the guards landed the chariot near the palace entrance, he stepped off, once again in awe of the size and beauty of Princess Celestia's castle. Shaking his head to focus on the matter at hand, he turned and traded nods with the Royal Guard pegasi before they took to the air. Before he could turn back to the door, he heard it creek open slowly revealing Princess Luna, flanked by two of her own Royal service ponies. She gave the stallion a warm smile, as she stepped aside to invite him in. Big Mac returned the smile, if only to be cordial. He didn't really feel like smiling, but how could he not reciprocate royalty? In the six months that have passed since the incident, the princess and the farm stallion had grown quite close, thanks to their weekly visits. At first, it was hard, since the worry regarding his sister seemed to hold him in a vice-grip. As time went on, however, he started to become more relaxed. Granted, it also helped that his sister was making progress.

"I trust the trip from Ponyville was uneventful, Big Mackintosh?" the Princess asked.

"It was just fine, Princess Luna," he answered, humoring her need for formalities.

They continued to make their way into the castle; Princess Luna led him down what had now become very familiar corridors to him.

"Oh, please, Big Mackintosh, how many times have I told you, you can just call me Luna?" she said sweetly.

"Probably the same amount of times Ah've said that you can just call me Big Mac, Ah reckon?"

The princess of the night stopped dead in her tracks, and stifled a giggle with her hoof. "Very well… Big Mac," she stated.

Her soft smile left her face after that last comment. It was time to get down to business, as they continued down the hallway.

"How is she today? Do ya think she can come home yet?" Big Mac said with a bit of dejection in his voice.

He knew it was going to take time to heal, but he also knew that it's tough to separate your head from your heart. He had so many emotions after he found out what happened. He was relieved that his sister wasn't harmed too badly. He was also angry with her for not telling him anything sooner, and he was worried about her recovery. From what her friends told him, and the reactions he saw, what they went through had been one of the most horrific experiences any pony could ever endure. He had so many thoughts and questions, but in the end, he knew this was the best place for her. He missed her terribly at the farm, but if anyone could help his little sister, he knew it would be the princesses.

"Healing takes time, Big Mac. Although they all may look fine on the outside, the emotional scars will take much longer to fade. They have all made great progress, especially your sister. She is a very strong mare. You should be proud," she said as they stopped in front of a closed door.

"Pardon me, Luna, but that doesn't answer my question," he retorted.

She looked into his eyes for a moment before shifting her gaze to the ground, as she used her magic to open the door. She called out to the mare sitting quietly on the bed looking out the window. "Applejack, good morning. Your brother is here," she said in the lightest tone she could muster.

"Big brother!" Applejack exclaimed as she leapt off the bed and raced over to her kin.

They embraced tightly as Big Mac replied, "How are ya, little sister?"

They broke the hug and went to go sit on the deck. Princess Luna began moving towards the door of the room to leave.

"I have some other duties to attend to, but please take all the time you like. If you need anything at all, one of the guards will be right outside the room," the alicorn stated.

"Thanks, Luna," Big Mac said as he looked back.

As the door shut behind them, they made their way out onto the deck, and took seats by the table just overlooking the palace garden. They just sat there for a moment, eyes averted from each other. This was the hard part. Talking to his sister about this had gotten easier over time, but it was always a bit awkward beginning such a conversation.

"So, how are ya feelin'?" Big Mac started.

"Well, Ah am doin' a might bit better than Ah was. The nightmares have pretty much gone away, but Ah don't think Ah'll ever be rid of them completely. The Docs say Ah'll be able to go back to Sweet Apple Acres pretty soon, and that Ah'm makin' a lot of progress. Ah'm eatin' better, although, Ah'd trade all of this fancy-shmancy cookin' for one o' Granny Smith's fresh baked apple pies. Don't get me wrong, Ah'm forever grateful for what the princesses have done for me and mah friends, it's just easy to get a bit homesick is all," the farm mare replied.

Big Mac eyed her curiously. He could tell that his little sister was holding something back. There was something in her inflections that told him she wasn't being her usual truthful self. After all, being the one time bearer of the element of honesty made her a terrible liar.

"AJ, Ah can tell that something else is botherin' ya. What is it?"

For the first time since they sat down, she turned to look at her brother. She saw him smile at her. He was doing his best to comfort her, and by now, she knew better than to keep everything inside as she had done before. With a sigh, she continued.

"Ah miss her, Big Mac," she said as she stared down at the table in front of her.

"Ah miss Twilight Sparkle. Ah know, it's strange right? Ah mean, she did some terrible things to me and the rest of mah friends, but Ah just can't help wanting her to walk through that door, and show me a new spell, or say somethin' all sciency. After everything that happened, Ah guess Ah just miss mah friend," she said.

The last sentence choked her up a bit, and soon she began to feel tears form in her eyes. Big Mac was at his sister's side in an instant, as she reached out to hug him.

"Ah know things can never go back to the way they were, but that doesn't make it feel any better, ya know?" The orange mare whispered.

"Ah know, AJ. Ah know," Big Mac replied.

Over the next few minutes, they just hugged each other, with Applejack expressing her emotions, just as the doctors taught her to do when she felt them building up inside of her. After that, Big Mac let his sister go, and bid her farewell, letting her get some rest. As he exited the room, he found Princess Luna waiting by the door.

"How is she?" the Princess of the Moon asked.

"She is better, but Ah think she still has a little ways to go. It's just so hard to see her like this. Ah'm her big brother, ya know? Ah just want to rush in and save her, but how can Ah do that when the problems are in her head? Engraved in her memory like that?" he answered.

"As I said before, she is a strong mare. Moreover, she is that much stronger for having the support of her big brother. Believe me; I have seen the change in her and you just being there for her is helping to get her through this. I just wish I could say the same thing for the others." Luna looked away as they made their way back down the hall.

"Speaking of which, how are everyone else doin' Luna?" Big Mac inquired.

"Believe it or not, Rarity actually had the toughest time letting her guard down. She had convinced herself that it was un-ladylike to release her emotions at all. After a while though, it became clear what the real source of her issues were. She was obviously traumatized from the incident, with nightmares, waking up in cold sweats, etc… However, it became clear to us that she had developed hatred, not of Twilight Sparkle herself, but of what she called Twilight's 'selfishness.' She blamed Twilight for only thinking of herself, and not caring about what her friends had to face. She has been learning to forgive, and is finally starting to move on," she said.

They turned and made their way down another hallway, as Princess Luna continued.

"Fluttershy's recovery has been both mental and physical. She was the most hurt, at least out of her friends. Although she has recovered from her physical injuries, she is still having much trouble dealing with the events that occurred. She is an easily frightened pony, and she went through one of the most painful and agonizing things a pony can go through. The doctors have been using her natural ability to help animals to get her mind focused on other things," the Moon Princess continued.

Big Mac sighed in relief after hearing how Fluttershy was doing. He was worried about all of them, of course, but next to his sister, he was worried about Fluttershy the most. He thought that she would take it the worst given her nature.

Princess Luna turned to go down another hallway, with Big Mac following her. She began to speak after watching Big Mac's reaction.

"Rainbow Dash made a breakthrough two months ago, as you know. She wanted to throw herself back into her training to become a Wonderbolt immediately. The doctors would not allow that, which became a source of contention for her. She was extremely resistant to talking about her feelings, and apparently would sneak out at night to get some training in. I ran into her, and when I asked her to talk to me is when everything came out. She blamed herself for not being fast enough. She said that it was her job to fly to my castle and get my sister, but she failed. She thought that Twilight dying was her fault, and that if she upped her training, she could somehow make up for the mistake. Now that we know how the incident affected her, though, we have been getting her to open up more, and her trauma is starting to heal," the alicorn said.

There was a nervous silence in the air as they stopped again in front of another door. Big Mac looked at Luna inquisitively. Why were they all the way over here? It wasn't their usual route. After thinking about it for a moment, he realized there was one pony they had not spoken about yet.

"Luna, please tell me. How is Pinkie Pie?" he asked worriedly.

She signed, as she looked towards the floor before she spoke. "Pinkie Pie is the worst of all of them. Her hair is straight now, which apparently is some sort of sign. She has not uttered a word since the incident. It seems as though she has cut herself off from the world. She has not cried since that night, and she does not even smile. All she does is sit in her room and draw. The pictures are so random that the doctors cannot make any sense of them. Sometimes she draws a forest, and other times she just draws a circle. If this goes on any longer, I am not sure if we will be able to break her out of this state. She barely eats or sleeps, and when anyone tries to speak with her, she just stares out the window, not even looking in the direction of whomever she is with. It is very painful and tragic to watch, and it is affecting the progress of the others," Luna said.

Big Mac closed his eyes. Pinkie Pie was the pony that lit up everyone's life with her joy and smiles. To think of her in this state was maddening.

"Big Mac, can you do something for me?" Luna asked tentatively.

"Anything Princess, you just name it," he answered seriously.

"Would…would you talk to her? She will not talk to any of her friends, much less the doctors, and we are running out of options. Please, can you just try?" she asked, her eyes beginning to mist over.

Big Mac just nodded, as Luna opened the door with her magic. Big Mac walked in to find Pinkie Pie lying on the bed of her quarters, staring out the window. She didn't even acknowledge his presence. Luna closed the door behind him as he made his way closer to the former party pony. For what seemed like an eternity, he just stared out the window with her.

"So, you mind tellin' me what it is we're lookin' at, Pinkie?" Big Mac said.

She continued to stare out the window, as she laid her head down, slightly tilting it to the side.

"Look, Ah know things have been horrible, and Ah don't know what these doctors have been tellin' ya, but ya gotta know it hurts us to see you like this. You loved life so much, and to see you give up like this is tearin' us up. You may not think it but yer stronger than you may think you are. After all, you were an element of harmony, Pinkie. Ya helped beat Nightmare Moon, the Changeling Queen, even that Discord fella with all them powers. Ah know yer in pain, but there is no shame in admitting it. So, what'dya say, Pinkie Pie? Got a hug in ya for yer old friend, Big Mac?" he said as he turned towards her.

What he saw almost made him jump. She was staring back at him, her eyes wide. The large earth pony didn't quite know what to make of it, but decided to throw caution to the wind.

'If this is some sort of breakthrough, let's see it through.'

He nuzzled her softly as he whispered, "Ah know yer still in there, Pinkie. We all do, and we are just waitin' for ya to come back to us. Please, Pinkie. Ah know its tearin' you up inside, but if you keep them demons locked away, they'll destroy ya, darlin'. Ah know you might not be ready to talk yet, but just know that Ah'm here for ya. We all are. So take yer time, and whenever yer ready, we'll be waitin'."

He gave her a tender kiss on the cheek, and whispered again, "Take care, sweetie."

He turned around and made his way towards the door. It made a loud noise as it closed behind him.

Pinkie Pie sat up. How could she have been so stupid? It was right there. The answer was right in front of her face the whole time, and she didn't even realize it. She would have to wait until nightfall. By then, everyone else would be asleep and Luna would be out attending to her duties. Then she would have her chance.

As night fell over Equestria, the lights in the castle went out one by one and Pinkie Pie stayed on her balcony waiting patiently. She knew she couldn't just accomplish her mission right away. It required her to be cautious, an attribute she learned admittedly from the doctors. She hated what they were doing to her. Why keep talking about the worst thing that happened in your life? Just thinking about it made her unable to function normally. The images of one of her best friends mutating into a monster, beating her, trying to kill her; it was too much. Her brain just shut off whenever she thought about it. Couldn't they understand that? She was sad that she was making her friends sad, but how could they expect her to smile? To ever smile again? She knew that there was only one way to be normal again. She needed her best friend back. Without her, the days seemed to revert to when she was working on the rock farm as a filly. Everything was dark, cold and distant, and the reality was, it would never get better no matter how much time went on. It was really nice to see Big Mac today though. She was always astonished at how gentle he was despite his size and enormous strength. She would have to thank him if this worked. After all, it was his idea in the first place.

After a few more hours, it was the middle of the night, and it was time for Pinkie Pie to make her move. She brought the sheets she had tied together out onto the balcony and attached them to railing, using them as a rope. She hugged the makeshift rope as she went over the side. Luckily, the sheets held and she quickly found herself a few feet from the ground. The pink earth pony leapt and stabilized herself after making contact with the ground. As she walked through the gardens, she was amazed at the beauty of the statutes located within it. The small lamps had lit them in conjunction with Luna's natural moonlight giving them two soft hues creating a surreal atmosphere. Finally, she came to the statue she was looking for.

'I… I'm not sure how to do this. I'm not sure if I should do this. I mean, I know everyone says he's evil, and he's pretty bad, that's for sure, but I just…'Pinkie Pie let her thoughts trail on as her eyes began to water.

Little did she know, she was doing exactly what was necessary to release her target. The conflict within her had reached a boiling point, and the stone figure in front of her started to crack. After a few moments, there was a bright flash of light, and standing before her was the Draconequus himself. Discord had returned to Equestria.

"Oh, sweet, sweet freedom, I'm back at last! I can't wait to start making things the way they should! Or rather the way they shouldn't!" he stated excitedly as he began to laugh manically.

"But, before I start my reign of chaos, who do I have to thank for setting me free from this awful prison? Anyone, anyone?" he asked, looking left and right.

There was a short period of silence before he looked down. What he found intrigued him. The only pony in the vicinity was Pinkie Pie.

"Well, isn't that interesting! I never thought I would be freed by an Element of Harmony! Granted, if one of you were to free me, it would be the Element of Laughter after all. Well, Pinkie Pie, I am in your debt! Granted, that doesn't really mean anything, since I rarely repay my debts…" Discord rambled.

Pinkie Pie looked up at him. He was her hope, but also her undoing. Everything she felt over the last six months began to spill over, as tears started to drip from her eyes.

"What's this? The element of laughter is crying? And apparently, has also chosen a new hair style," the Lord of Chaos went on.

He stopped for a moment as he looked into her eyes. Something wasn't right. He remembered how Pinkie Pie was, and the mare in front of him didn't remotely look like her. There was sadness, a despair that he had never seen in a pony before. It confused him. After all, he hadn't been away that long.

"Ummm…" he started tentatively.

She couldn't take it anymore. She had held everything in for six months, and she had to let go. She tackled the Draconequus, burying herself in his chest, and did the thing that everyone around her had wanted. She cried. She wailed and screamed, matting his coat with fresh tears. Discord had been around for thousands of years, and for what seemed like an eternity, he felt something very unfamiliar: Confusion. He just stared at the little pony cradling herself into his chest, unsure of what to do. In between her body wracking sobs, she finally spoke.

"Help me…please…please, help me…"

Hey, everyone! Well, I decided to do a sequel to “Twifly” and I hope you all enjoy it! I had this idea before I finished the first one, so I decided to give it another shot. Please rate and review!