Staring up at the night sky, Discord had many questions permeate his mind, as he felt the soft breathing of the pink earth pony now asleep on his chest. What had happened while he was gone? He didn't feel that he was gone for that long. An invasion, maybe? No, he had looked around and everything seemed normal. There was something about the way Pinkie Pie looked at him. Pain, sadness and despair seemed to pour through her eyes. Then there was what she managed to say through her tears. The phrase "help me" uttered over and over again until, probably from exhaustion, she drifted off to sleep right on top of him. The Draconequus was intrigued to say the least. With the snap of his fingers, he was instantly standing beside Pinkie Pie's sleeping form, which now rested on a pillow.

'Sleep tight, my dear. I am going to get to the bottom of this, and then we are going to have a little talk,' he thought to himself as he took to the night sky.

'Perhaps tracking down the remaining elements will give me a better understanding of why I was released,' he contemplated, as he entered the castle.

It was easy to make himself invisible to the night guards who roamed the castle grounds. After all, he was the lord of chaos. He found himself quickly in front of a door while sensing a very familiar spirit behind it.

'Why, hello Fluttershy!' the Draconequus mused as he phased through the door.

Oddly, he expected to see the timid Pegasus asleep in the posh bed before him, but not only was she absent, the bed had looked perfectly made. Where was she? He had definitely felt her presence. Was he slipping? As he pondered, he noticed a crack of light coming from what could only be the bathroom. His invisible spirit crept through the door, and, as he rematerialized, he again took in his surroundings. Fluttershy was in the bathtub, curled up in a ball holding her head. She was sniffling, with whimpers exiting her throat at random intervals. She was having a nightmare.

'Let us see what this is all about, shall we?' Discord thought as he put a finger up to Fluttershy's forehead.

He closed his eyes to concentrate, and once he had synchronized with her mind, he opened them to reveal nothing but darkness. Just as quickly as he had opened his eyes, however, he found himself in the center of Ponyville. It seemed to be a beautiful day. The sun was shining, the sky was blue. The only strange part was there were no ponies around.

'What kind of nightmare starts out with a beautiful day? Mine, maybe, but I'm not exactly your average celestial being,' Discord thought to himself.

"Fluttershy! Come on! We have to hurry!" a voice suddenly rang out behind him.

Turning around, he saw Twilight Sparkle run right past him. The lord of chaos was good enough with his magic to hide his presence, and was only here as an observer, so he wasn't surprised that he went unnoticed when Fluttershy ran past him as well, right behind Twilight.

"Wh-Where are we going?" Fluttershy cried, taking labored breaths as she tried desperately to keep up with the unicorn.

They seemed to be sprinting towards the library. The Draconequus remembered it from before. It was where he'd hidden the elements of harmony after his first escape. He followed right behind them as they entered the tree house. He barely caught sight of them entering a door as he phased through the outer walls. He kept pace with them, and soon found himself in what seemed to be a basement. The lord of chaos stopped short and took in the sights around him. There were wires and cables everywhere and there were these odd, diamond-shaped machines on the floor at the bottom of the staircase. There were three of them, and they each had doors on them.

'What… are these?' he asked himself, fascinated with the technology before him.

Twilight stopped dead in her tracks, as Fluttershy came to an abrupt halt behind her. There was a sense of foreboding in the air, as Discord looked on. He had a bad feeling about this. Something was off about this dream.

"You know why we are here, Fluttershy. You have to get in the pod," Twilight uttered as she turned around.

Fluttershy screamed at the sight of her former friend. The bottom half of her jaw was missing. The now jawless Twilight crept closer to the Pegasus, as the pink haired mare tried to scurry away. The library around them disappeared, and they found themselves surrounded by darkness. The yellow mare soon found herself up against an invisible wall as she screamed and cried. Twilight's features melted away, as if her flesh was nothing more than candle wax, revealing a monster with mandibles and extra legs sticking out of its sides. The monster used its legs to grab the terrified pegasus and pin her up against the hidden wall.

"Pretty face…" it uttered as it opened its mouth slowly.

"NO, NO, PLEASE, PLEASE, NO, STOP, PLEASE…" Fluttershy cried hysterically.

Suddenly, a white milk-like substance shot out of the creature's mouth spilling over her face. She screamed and tossed her head back and forth, as her skin started to melt. Blisters formed almost on contact, as her fur began to burn away. Steam had started bubbling up with her epidural layer disappearing, spilling to the ground, like white hot metal.

Discord eyes went wide at the display. He had never seen such a violent nightmare before. He quickly exited the pony's mind before she woke up, and with a flash, he was standing before her in his invisible state. She was thrashing about wailing at the top of her lungs. He just stood there before her watching her suffer. Irritation, misery, and even pain were all things he was quite familiar with, but this was torture. Torture on a level he had never known possible. This mare was clearly a broken shell of her former self. He was both frightened and intrigued by the notion. His pondering soon ended as he heard the clattering of hooves against the marble floor. He became intangible again and exited the room quickly.

Nurse Redheart had heard what had happened in Ponyville, and volunteered to help with the recovery of her friends. It had been a long, hard road, and each of them was making progress. However, there had been some setbacks as of late, and after hearing the screams coming from Fluttershy's room, she had a feeling that this was going to be the worst of any of them.

As she entered the room, a stench hit her right in the face, almost knocking her back. She pushed through it, and was soon by Fluttershy's side.

"Fluttershy! Fluttershy! Wake up! It's just a nightmare! Fluttershy!" she exclaimed, reaching over the tub to shake the pegasus awake.

After a few minutes, the thrashing and bawling had died down and the animal loving mare's eyes shot open. She looked up, relieved to see the smiling face of Nurse Redheart. Her senses returning, she breathed deeply in an effort to calm down.

"It's ok, Fluttershy. You were just having a nightmare. You're safe now," the nurse pony whispered in the most calming voice she could muster.

"It shouldn't be called a nightmare," Fluttershy whispered back.

"What do you mean, sweetie?" the earth pony asked, stroking the yellow mare's mane softly.

"A NIGHTMARE IS FAKE! IT'S NOT REAL! YOU WAKE UP, AND ITS OVER! THIS REALLY HAPPENED AND I CAN'T…I CAN'T…" she screamed back.

Suddenly, her eyes went wide. A putrid scent invaded her nostrils as she sniffed the air, and a look of horror quickly crossed her face. Fluttershy looked down slowly and whimpered at the sight of her coat matted with a golden, foul liquid. Feelings of mortification and humiliation replaced the fear she had mere seconds ago.

"I… I can't get it out of my head," she whispered softly.

Nurse Redheart's gaze softened, as she silently continued to try to comfort her friend, gently petting her. She was taken aback when Fluttershy grabbed her with her front hooves, embracing her in a tight hug. What she said made the nurse's heart break.

"Make it go away. Please, just make it go away," the yellow pegasus whispered, feeling the tears well up in her eyes again.

Nurse Redheart was at a loss- there was no easy fix for this. She couldn't just give her some medicine, or a bandage. Therefore, she did the only thing she could do for her friend. She returned the hug, and let Fluttershy quietly sob into her shoulder.

Discord flew down the dimly lit corridor struggling to process what he had just seen. Despite invading the pony's mind, he now had more questions than answers. He knew from his experience with the elements of harmony that Fluttershy had issues with being timid, but he had no idea it was that bad. It didn't seem right, and the agent of chaos himself was asserting that notion. Celestia, as much as he was appalled to admit it, kept her land in order. Nothing like this was something he saw even under his reign and Celestia did not seem to be the type to allow such violence. He needed more information. He saw another room where he sensed another of the elements. He floated in undetected, and quickly saw the unicorn known as Rarity.

Just like with Fluttershy, Rarity was not in bed, but rather by the mantle of her fireplace, which was on the opposite side of her room. There was no fire going, but Discord could make out a picture frame that the unicorn was staring at, as the moon illuminated the bedchamber. Curious, he circled around behind her to get a good look upon what she was gazing. It was indeed a picture frame, and it contained a picture of Twilight Sparkle.

'Her again? But why her, of all ponies? Maybe because she was their leader?' the Draconequus thought to himself.

His attention soon moved back to Rarity, as she stared at the photo. Her gaze seemed to be cold. It was a look that he recognized: Hatred. She began to speak, her voice dripping with venom.

"I hate you. I hate you for what you did to us. Can you see us, Twilight? We will carry these scars for the rest of our lives, and it's all because of you. You tried to kill your best friends, and now we are here in this converted loony bin. I wish you were here. I wish I could tell you exactly what I thought of you, you selfish foal!" She said, getting louder with each breath.

'Tried to kill them?' Discord thought, as his eyes widened.

Suddenly, the unicorn let out a guttural scream, as she unleashed her magic, and flung the picture frame across the room. It shattered as it crashed into the far wall. Almost immediately, one of the guards burst through the door.

"Miss Rarity! Are you alrig…" was all he was able to get out as she turned to him and glared.

She slammed the door right in the guard's face, and turned abruptly back to the now broken photo frame lying on the ground. She started to cry, tears streaming down her face.

"Don't you know how much I hate you for leaving? You were my best friend, and now you're gone, and you're never coming back!" she stammered out between light sobbing.

The lord of chaos stood there, his jaw agape at the display of emotion, and the admission of Twilight trying to murder her friends.

'Murder?!? Why, that was unheard of even in MY time! What has happened to this place?!? Celestia, what have you done?!?' he thought, gritting his teeth.

Done with this display, he took to the air once again. The elements were clearly broken. Still he wanted more information before confronting Pinkie Pie. He made his way to another door, and behind it was the sleeping form of an earth pony with blond hair, tucked neatly under her covers in bed.

'Ah, honest Applejack, I presume. Let us see what's going on inside that pretty little head of yours, shall we?' he mused, as he put a finger to her forehead.

Again, he closed his eyes, and when he opened them, he found himself in a house. It seemed a bit bigger than the ones he saw in Ponyville, but then it struck him that Applejack was an earth pony farmer, and this was her home. Farmhouses are usually a bit bigger than the domiciles he would normally see in town. Suddenly, he heard screaming, and as he looked around, he noticed a staircase on the other side of the room. The clattering of hooves on the wood floor broke his attention away from the steps, as Applejack ran right past him, and up the stairs at break neck speed. The chaos bringer quickly followed, his spirit flowing like the wind. He found himself on the second floor of the home, and just caught sight of the farm mare's tail as it entered the far room at the other end of the hall.

'You're not getting away that easily,' Discord smiled to himself, making his way towards the room.

As he phased through the wall, he saw a bed, window and dresser. It must have been one of the bedrooms. However, what stuck out was a large machine in the middle of the room. It was the same diamond shaped pod that he had seen in Fluttershy's dream, but this time, the inside was glowing white, and smoke misted lightly across the floor. He turned to see Applejack look on in horror, as she started screaming for what Discord could only guess was her family.

"APPLEBLOOM! BIG MAC! GRANNY SMITH!" she exclaimed.

She went silent as the entrance to the pod hissed. The locking mechanism released, and the glass door slid to the side. Applejack started to whimper as the white vapor now spread across the floor of the bedroom. She approached the object tentatively. Once she was right in front of the entrance, she stopped and gulped with a look of sheer terror on her face. Discord was still, not daring to move an ethereal muscle as he watched the scene unfold before him. Suddenly, a roar echoed from the chamber, as what could only be described as a monster leaped out of the cage pinning the farm pony to the ground. The skinless equine that emerged had seven legs, sticking out at random spots, with two faces on its side also wailing. Applejack screamed in terror as the beast spoke.

"You were supposed to protect us, AJ. Now look at us! Little Applebloom doesn't even have her cutie mark! How could you let this happen?!?" the monster said.

"N-No! This ain't right! Yer… yer all ok! None o' this actually happened!" Applejack stammered out while squirming under the grip of the horrid amalgamation that held her in place.

"It's not like you could have stopped me, right AJ?" a voice rang out from the entrance of the room.

Discord turned to view the new arrival. It was Twilight Sparkle. She had a twisted grin on her face, as she slowly stalked towards the helpless Applejack.

"I mean, you were so weak. All you did was cry into your brother's hooves. You didn't even do anything. I certainly expected more, but whatever. It's time to put you out of your misery." the purple unicorn said.

With each step she took, her features changed, and she became the same monster that Discord had seen in Fluttershy's dream. She stood over the trapped earth pony and opened her mouth slowly. The amalgamation that pinned Applejack down began to let out an eerie laugh as Twilight vomited a milky substance all over a screaming Applejack. Discord looked on as the same melting effect that occurred in Fluttershy's dream happened again. Applejack wailed and cried, as her skin melted from her skull, with what he assumed was a distorted version of her family laughing and aiding Twilight in her torture. Discord has seen enough. He exited the dream and found himself standing next to the farm mare's bed. Almost as soon as he left her mind, she shot up from her sleep and let out a short scream. She was drenched in sweat, taking in gulps of air as she tried to calm down. After a few moments, she curled into ball and cried quietly to herself as Discord looked on.

Suddenly, the lord of chaos noticed a streak of rainbow colors zip passed the window.

'Ah. That must be Rainbow Dash. What is she doing out there, I wonder?' The Draconequus mused as he took to the air after the rainbow-maned Pegasus.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Rainbow Dash shouted, as she soared higher and higher into the night skies of Equestria. Discord's eyes immediately went wide. How could she have spotted him? She wasn't even a unicorn!

"HALT! THE PRINCESS HAS GIVEN US STRICT ORDERS, MS. DASH!" he heard from behind him. The lord of chaos turned to see a few of Luna's guard ponies on the tail of the element of loyalty.

Rainbow Dash ignored them, as she climbed higher and higher into the sky. She didn't think she had anything to worry about. After all, she was the best young flier in Equestria. There was no way a bunch of lackeys, who were also weighed down by armor were going to catch the likes of her. Suddenly, however she found herself encased in a magic bubble. Her expression changed to one of surprise as she immediately began slowing down, and not of her own volition. Who had enough magic to stop her in mid-flight like that? Since it was the middle of the night, she was easily able to answer her own question.

"Let me go, Princess Luna! I was just going out for quick flight to clear my head!" the cyan mare growled.

The alicorn of the night sailed onto a cloud, as she brought Rainbow Dash closer. Her gaze softened as she looked upon the element of loyalty.

'Her pain seems obvious to everypony but her,' Luna thought to herself glumly.

Discord settled on the same cloud, still invisible. This was getting more interesting by the minute, and he was already quite intrigued by tonight's events. Luna being involved was sure to up the ante. He listened closely as the moon princess spoke.

"Rainbow Dash, I understand this whole ordeal has been terrible, but running to the clouds every time you feel hurt is not going to solve your problems," she said in the most comforting voice she could muster.

Rainbow Dash glared at her. Dash was many things, but she was no coward. She seethed at the insinuation that she was running away.

"Ms. Dash!" a commanding voice rang out.

The three of them turned to see the night guards touch down on the other side of the cloud. They immediately stiffened as they saw Princess Luna.

"No need to worry. I have everything under control here. Go back to your normal duties, please," the princess said in a calm tone.

They both gave a quick bow and flew back towards the castle. With that taken care of, Luna turned back towards Rainbow Dash, as she dropped the force field. The colorful pegasus didn't flinch at all as she slowly walked right up to the moon princess. Luna succeeded in hiding the smile that would normally have been on her face. Rainbow Dash truly was fearless. She walked right up to the alicorn, and looked her right in the eye. There weren't many Royal Guard officers who could do that, yet here was this young pegasus, bursting with confidence before her. Luna quickly frowned, however. She knew it was false bravado, and now she had to make the Cloudsdale resident see it for herself.

"Rainbow Dash, please-" she started, but was quickly interrupted.

"HOW DARE YOU CALL ME A COWARD?!? I DON'T CARE WHO YOU ARE, NO CALLS ME THAT!" she shouted in the princess's face.

Normally, the Royal Canterlot voice would have come out immediately to silence such disrespect. However, Luna had been learning a lot about patience since her return. She knew that here she needed to have some if she was going to get through to the rainbow-maned pony.

"What are you so afraid of?" she asked plainly.

"I JUST TOLD YOU, I'M NOT AFRAID OF ANYTHING!" Rainbow Dash bellowed back, clearly more exasperated than she was before.

"What are you afraid of?" Luna asked again, still keeping her tone under control.

"DO YOU HAVE A HEARING PROBLEM?" Rainbow Dash retorted.

Luna stared right into the Pegasus' eyes. She leaned in, and still keeping her tone, asked one more time.

"What…. Are you afraid of?" She said.

Rainbow Dash's façade quickly shattered. She had already been holding back tears. Now, they were free flowing. Every time the moon princess pushed, it was getting harder and harder to hold it all in. Finally, she answered her.

"BEING HELPLESS!" she screamed as she turned away from the alicorn.

There was a silence in the air after the admission. Only a soft breeze briefly crossed the two ponies, as Luna stayed quiet, letting Rainbow Dash get her emotions out on her own. It was so hard to get her to open up, now that she was finally starting to be honest with herself, Luna tried to encourage her passively.

"I couldn't do anything! I couldn't save Twilight, hay, she beat me up twice, and I couldn't stop her! Everypony was counting on me, and I let them all down! I'm… I'm not good enough! Not to be the element of loyalty, not even to be a friend!" she said as she sniffled softly.

It was hard to see such a strong pony in such a vulnerable state, but Luna knew it was for the best. The more she talked about what was inside her, the faster she could deal with it and put it behind her. She approached Rainbow Dash and put a hoof on her shoulder, as the pegasus continued.

"Th…there was a time in the basement. Right before I escaped. A…Applejack tried to hold her off, and I couldn't see anything, but I was stuck on a cable. I could hear Applejack losing! She was fighting for her life, and I was stuck! I had to run away!" she cried, as she turned towards Luna, embracing her in a hug.

"I thought Twilight was going to kill me! My best friend! I thought my best friend was going to kill me, and I couldn't do anything. I was so scared!" she sobbed into the alicorn's shoulder.

Luna just held the young flyer, and let her sob softly, as Discord looked on. He could not believe what he was seeing. Every one of them had been through some traumatic event that revolved around Twilight Sparkle and Twilight herself was apparently dead. He needed to see Celestia. Surely, she hadn't succumbed to such heartbreak and madness as the others. Had she? Even though they were enemies, he knew just how strong Celestia was, and he could not see her lowering herself in such a way. He left the two ponies in their embrace, and descended back towards the castle to Princess Celestia's quarters. He slowed as he approached her window; the only light emanating from the room was the soft hue of the lit fireplace in the corner of the room. Discord crept inside, being as guarded as possible, not wanting to alert the Sun Princess to his presence. The chaos-bringer settled in the corner, watching her intently. She just stared into the fire. The look on her face was that of complete dejection. Even with only the flicker of the fire, Discord could tell that her mane had lost some of its natural color. It seemed to be greyer, as it whisked to her side. It seemed heavier, similar to the look on her face. For what felt like an eternity, Discord just watched, as the alicorn of the sun did not move a muscle. He then noticed that she had surrounded herself with scrolls, which lay about on the floor in a semi-circle. Discord heard a rustling as he turned his gaze towards the terrace. The doors opened revealing Princess Luna.

"Sister? What are you doing here in the dark?" she asked quietly as she walked in slowly.

Celestia didn't move, and just continued to stare at the fire. Luna had made it to her sister's side, and lay down next to her.

"Celestia. It's me. Please, just talk to me." Luna whispered, staring at her sister with concern.

"It doesn't matter, Luna. There is nothing I can say. Nothing anypony can say. I've been reading these friendship reports, trying to see what went wrong. Maybe I missed something. But, I don't think I did," Celestia said.

"Twilight was a very intelligent mare, Sister. She made her own choices, her own decisions. You, Rainbow Dash… you all seem to blame yourself for what happened, but Twilight made a mistake. She knew the risks and accepted them. I know it doesn't make anypony feel any better, but it's the truth," Luna answered.

"She was my student, Luna. I trained her. I was practically her second mother. This is just as much my fault as it is hers. I keep thinking, 'What if I had just let Spike stay?' 'Why didn't the rest of them come to me sooner?' But what's done is done. The past is the past, and nothing can change it." Celestia whispered solemnly.

Using her magic, she lifted one of the scrolls in front of her. She paused for a moment before thrusting it into the fire. Luna gasped at the act.

"Tia! What are you doing?!? Those are the last memories you have of her!"

"I'm tired, Luna! I'm tired of constantly being reminded of my mistakes! Every time I looked up at the moon for a thousand years, I had the same questions in my head! ‘Why didn’t I see this coming?’ ‘Couldn’t I have done anything?’ Now, when I take on a personal student she does the unthinkable! I've had enough!" she seethed as she threw another scroll into the fire.

"TIA, THAT'S ENOUGH!" Luna shouted as she activated her magic putting the remaining scrolls into a magic bubble away from her sister's obvious rage.

"Give them BACK, Luna!" Celestia hissed, as she got up to face her sister.

"No! Not until you are thinking clearly! You are going to throw away something you should cherish just because you're angry!" Luna retorted forcefully.

"LUNA, I SAID DROP THOSE IMMEDIATELY!" Celestia bellowed as she dropped into a low stance, seemingly ready to attack.

"OR ELSE WHAT?!? YOU'LL HURT ME?!? AGAIN?!? AFTER ALL, IT'S WHAT YOU'RE GOOD AT, ISN'T IT BIG SISTER?!?" Luna screamed back.

Celestia's eyes narrowed, as she turned around. She huffed, walking to the other side of the room.

"Get out," she whispered.

Luna glared back at her, before turning around and exiting the room via the balcony, taking to the night sky, the scrolls with her.

Discord just stood there, his ethereal mouth agape after watching the scene unfold in front of him. He had pieced much of the story together, but now he needed direct information. He flew out the window and towards the sleeping mare he left on a pillow in the garden of statues.

As he approached her, the lord of chaos could see that she hadn't moved from the place that he left her. She must have been exhausted. Discord, however, was in no mood to wait for her to wake up on her own. After what he had seen and heard, it was time for a talk with the pink party pony. He snapped his fingers as the pillow disappeared in a flash.

"Wakey, wakey, dear Pinkie Pie," he said.

The earth pony yelped as she fell unceremoniously to the ground. She groggily began to look around as she started to mutter.

"Huh? Wha?" she slurred.

"PINKIE PIE!" He shouted in a voice that rival Princess Luna.

She jumped to her hooves, quickly shaking of the cobwebs, as she faced Discord. It took her a moment to realize where she was. She had been so tired, this was the first restful sleep she had since coming to the castle for treatment. When she finally saw Discord standing in front of her, her eyes went wide with fear. She had done it? It seemed like a blur to her, but the memories quickly came back to her and a look of embarrassment crossed her face as she looked away.

"Oh. Hi, um, Discord," she stated in a mousy tone.

"Pinkie, why did you release me? I have been around to see the other elements and even good ole' Celestia, and saying they weren't themselves would be putting it mildly. Now, explain yourself!" he stated his volume growing as he spoke.

Pinkie Pie's head drooped. She had to explain it. She had been trying to avoid reliving the nightmare ever since she got here. How ironic was it that her act of defiance would end that streak.

"I'll... I'll try. It's just…hard…" she said as she started to tear up.

As angry as Discord was, he knew he wouldn't get anywhere by rushing this. He had been patient watching the other ponies, he supposed he could wait a bit longer. Summoning up the most compassionate voice he could, he sat in front of Pinkie Pie and spoke again.

"What happened, Pinkie?" he whispered.

"A little over six months ago, right after Twilight's brother's wedding, she decided to stay in Canterlot to do some research in the Star Swirl the Bearded wing," she started.

She stood up as she continued.

"She came back with some book that had plans in it. The…the plans were to make these things called…Telepods. It… it would let a pony, or whatever was in one pod to teleport to another pod, even if that other pod was on the other side of Equestria. She…she said that it would revolutionize travel. But… it wasn't like magic. It…took you apart by your atoms, or something, and then…put you back together."

Discord listened intently as the pink earth pony continued. She was going a bit slow for his tastes, but he could see she was struggling. He sighed.

'I must be developing a heart after all these years. How boring,' he thought to himself, as Pinkie Pie continued.

"Wh…when she tried it on one of our pets, something horrible happened. I wasn't there, but I…I heard it… turned it inside out," she stammered out.

Discord's eyes went wide. At first he thought she was using a euphemism, but based on her story, he knew that she was being literal.

"Twilight was so broken up about it, that she did whatever she could to fix the machine, and… she did. It worked, but nopony would try it out, so…"

"She tried it on herself," Discord finished.

Pinkie Pie nodded as tears started to well up in her eyes. She used her hoof to wipe them away. She needed to keep it together. She needed to get through this. She continued.

"We didn't know that at first. She started acting really funny. She was… aggressive. But then she started to change on the…outside," the pink mare said between sniffles.

"Wh…when she went into the pod to transport herself… she didn't notice that a fly was in there with her. The computer…it…it fused them together. She started to become a monster! She threatened us… and… and beat us up," Pinkie Pie said as she started to shiver.

"She… she said that in order to cure herself, she needed to fuse with all of us. She…experimented… on our pets! It was horrible! She… she could spit acid, and used it to melt things and…"

"Enough! Why did you bring me back?!? What do I have to do with all of this?!?" Discord interrupted forcefully.

Pinkie cringed at the chaos-bringer's tone. This was going to be the hard part. She hoped with all her might that this would work. She was so desperate, she didn't know what she would do if this didn't work out. She summoned up all of her remaining courage as she spoke.

"W…well, I started thinking about you. How you could make cotton candy clouds, and chocolate rain. You…you could do anything! So, I thought that maybe you could… bring her back to us," Pinkie Pie said as she made a circle on the ground with her hoof.

There was silence. Discord didn't move. He simply sat there and processed everything that Pinkie Pie had said. After a few minutes, she looked up at him, and saw him smiling at her. What started as a small chuckle escaping his throat became a guttural, hearty laugh. The party mare was confused, but hopeful. After all, laughter usually meant something good, right?

"Pinkie Pie, you are hilarious! Did you really think that I would ever think about helping you?" he stammered between laughs.

"But…but…" Pinkie Pie quickly stammered, trying desperately to search for the words to convince him otherwise.

"You imprisoned me, locked me away, and now you expect me to just help you? And they say I'M crazy! Oh, this is too rich! You did all of this for nothing!" he said as he continued his howling.

"Wait…wait! Please you're the only one who can! I'll… I'll do anything you want! Just please help me!" she said nervously.

"Well, this has been quite fun, Pinkie Pie, but I must take my leave of you! I have some excellent chaos to create! Thanks again for freeing me, though!" he stated, as he got up and started walking away.

"WAIT! PLEASE DON'T GO! YOU HAVE TO HELP ME! PLEASE!" The earth pony started screaming at the Draconequus as he continued strolling away from her.

"And why is it that I have to help you, my dear?" he asked nonchalantly over his shoulder.

Pinkie Pie's eyes darted around nervously as she desperately tried to think of an answer.

"Be…because… BECAUSE IT WOULDN'T MAKE ANY SENSE!" she finally yelled.

Discord stopped dead in his tracks. He turned slowly, facing the shivering pink mare as he spoke.

"What did you say?" he asked seriously.

"W…well, you always say that you don't have fun making sense, right? Well, you're a villain. You've ALWAYS been the villain; so…so, wouldn't it NOT make sense for you to help?" she reasoned.

Discord was dumbfounded. She was right. It would NOT make any sense to help her. To help anyone, really. He was at a loss trying to find a suitable argument to counter Pinkie's proposition. As he continued to speculate on what impact Twilight coming back would have on her and her friends, it started to pique his curiosity. Perhaps he had been too hasty.

"This could be more fun than I thought. I'd have to be patient, of course, but what fruit this could reap! By losing, I could very well win! And on such great terms!'

He started walking back towards her. Pinkie Pie's confusion was written all over her face. She began to tear up again. She decided to make one last attempt. If this Draconequus had any measure of a heart, she would do her best to appeal to it.

"Please… I just want my friend back," Pinkie Pie whispered, tears streaming down her face. Her lower lip quivered as she looked down at the ground in front of her. She shut her eyes tightly, and was about to start openly sobbing again, until she felt a claw gently nudge her chin skyward. Her eyes went wide as Discord gave her a warm smile.

"Very well, Pinkie. I'll help you."

Well, here is chapter 2! I hope you all enjoyed it. I’m going to be busy for the next few weeks, so I’m not sure when I’ll be able to post more, but I will do my best. I know some of you had wondered about Spike. Don’t worry, he will be in this story, but I’m taking my time with this. He will be in it though.