"DISCORD, YOU SHOULD KNOW ME WELL ENOUGH BY NOW TO KNOW THAT I DON'T LIKE SECRETS BEING KEPT FROM ME. SO SPILL. WHERE IS MY CUSTODIAN AND WHAT SCHEMES ARE YOU UP TO?"

For his part, Discord looked to Solaris like he was a total spoilsport, but as the moments passed he realised that it was a sentiment shared by everypony else in the chamber. So, after groaning with some irritation, he raised his hands. "Ugh! Fine! I was going to have this be a surprise for when he got back, but I guess you were the kind of foal who just loved to peek at his Hearth's Warming Eve gifts before the big day." He cleared his throat. "I, Discord, the master of chaos, in my generosity and goodwill..."

"DOUBTFUL," Solaris interjected.

Discord frowned, but continued all the same. "Long story short then, I've decided to aid you in restoring you to your former self, so you can, as you so often like to think, be a positive force in Equestria yet again."

Naturally, all were taken aback by that, with Luna especially seeming flabbergasted. "You...you mean...you can return Father to what he was before his...um..."

Discord chuckled. "Before his skelefication? You'd better believe it." Placing his claws upon his hips, he looked to Solaris with smugness. "And how will I achieve this, you ask? Why, it's simple. I've sent dear Flashy on the greatest quest of his career. To retrieve the legendary Alicorn Amulet. With it, your power will grow to its former levels, giving you the means to undo your own injuries and resume your living status." He sighed, sounding quite content with himself. "No need to thank me all at once. You can all form an orderly line, if you wish."

However, contrary to what he'd expected, the looks on everypony's faces were not ones of gratitude, but horror, with Sweetie Belle, of all people, being the one to voice their shared sentiment. "You what?! Are you out of your mind?!"

Discord blinked, his expression blank. "Okay...kinda hoped for a different reaction there."

Luna stepped forward, looking furious at him. "You fool! Do you have any inkling what you've just pout into motion?!"

The draconequus stepped back, looking to his fellows with surprise and confusion. "Hey now! What's all this about? I'm trying to do the old boy a favour here. He ain't getting any younger, if you haven't noticed."

"PUTTING THAT INSULT ASIDE FOR THE MOMENT," Solaris began. "YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THAT NOT ONLY HAVE YOU PLACED FLASH'S LIFE IN DANGER BY SENDING HIM TO THE FARTHEST REACHES OF THE MAP, YOU INTENDED TO HAVE HIM BRING BACK AN ITEM OF INFAMOUS DARK MAGIC? TO HELP ME?"

Discord rolled his eyes. "Yes! The alicorn amulet would increase your power many times over, and with that you could heal yourself in a way your current magic wouldn't let you!"

"THAT IT MIGHT, BUT DO YOU KNOW WHAT ELSE IT WOULD DO?"

"Make you infinitely more grateful, I hope?" Discord remarked under his breath.

"IT INCREASES POWER, YES. BUT AT A COST. THE USER'S VERY SOUL WOULD BECOME TWISTED AND CORRUPTED, HEIGHTENING THEIR AGGRESSION AND PARANOIA UNTIL THEY WERE NOTHING BUT PETTY TYRANTS, WEILDING POWER AGAINST ALL AROUND THEM."

Discord waved him off. "Pfft! That's just an old mare's tale! Nopony knows for sure that the amulet would do that!"

"Yeah, we do!" Sweetie Belle declared, hoof pointed straight at him. "Trixie used it years ago! Made herself super-powerful and super-scary!"

Discord looked to her, surprised. "Wait...seriously?"

"Seriously!" Sweetie Belle confirmed. "She threw Twilight out of Ponyville, locked the rest of us inside and turned the town into her own personal kingdom! It was horrible!"

Slowly, Discord scratched the back of his head, looking more than a little embarrassed. "I...hadn't actually heard about that."

Zephyr, who had been just as quiet as the other two new guards this whole time, seemed incredulous about that. "Really? All that time you spend with my sister and she never once mentioned it? It only happened, like, a month before you were let out of your whole statue thing."

Discord folded his arms, clearly insulted that Zephyr, of all people, was trying to school him on anything. "Well excuse me for not asking Fluttershy about every little thing that's ever happened to her." Then, a smirk came to him as he stroked his chin. "Trixie, you say? What, did she have some menacing cape or something? Because that wouldn't just been hilarious."

Sweetie Belle, with a courage the trio of stallion guards clearly weren't willing to display, marched right on up to the spirit of chaos and spoke to him with all the fury a child such as her could muster. "The whole town had to band together to stop her and get it off her! Twilight made sure it was far, far away so nopony could ever find or use it again!"

Discord shrugged. "Well, guess Flashy's got his work cut out for him then."

Here, Luna responded. "Discord, you will go to Flash this instant and bring him back safely. Who knows what kind of horrors he'd have to face on this foolish quest of yours?"

Discord's shoulders slumped. "Okay, maybe I put him in more danger than I needed to. But hey, he's a member of the Royal Guard, remember?" He gave the three stallions close by some side-eye. "A competent one at the very least. So maybe he'll succeed? Overcome the dangers. Besides..." He frowned, pointing to Luna. "In case you've forgotten, Lulu, you're one to talk given all the time you and your sister have sent ponies out into danger before."

Luna seemed downright insulted by the insinuation. "When we sent others out we never did so with the certainty that they'd be facing fatal danger. You, by contrast, most assuredly have!"

Discord bellowed out a dry and humourless laugh. "Ha! Oh, what, you saying ignorance makes your quest-giving any better?"

"ENOUGH!" Solaris called out, silencing all others. "DISCORD, I WANT IT PERFECTLY CLEAR THAT I WOULD NEVER HAVE USED THE AMULET. AND NOT JUST BECAUSE THE IDEA OF OWING YOU ANYTHING MAKES ME SICK TO MY STOMACH. OR AT LEAST WOULD IF I STILL HAD ONE." Taking a moment to appreciate the disdainful look Discord was giving him, Solaris continued. "I VOWED LONG AGO TO NEVER PARTAKE OF DARK MAGIC FOR ANY REASON, EVEN IF THAT REASON IS MY OWN RESTORATION. I HAVE MY OWN PLANS FOR THE LONG-TERM ALREADY BREWING, AND YOUR INTERFERENCE IS NEITHER REQUIRED NOR APPRECIATED."

Realising that he wasn't going to win this one, Discord folded his arms and have a childish huff. "Oh, very well then! If my plans aren't even going to earn me a 'thank you' then fine, consider the quest over."

He raised his hand, no doubt ready to snap and bring Flash back. However, before he did so, Solaris spoke once more. "BUT YOU WILL NOT RETURN FLASH TO US."

All looked to him with confusion, none more so than Luna. "But...why, Father? If you won't use the amulet, why allow Flash to go through this?"

"I HAVE...PLANS. NO MORE NEED BE SAID."

Discord, wide-eyed, gestured angrily to Solaris. "Oh, so when he makes super-secret plans, it's fine! But when I do it apparently I'm the worst person ever?!" He facepalmed himself. "That's it, I'm getting a coffee."

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