"Please, you have to do something!" Sunny repeated desperately.

"Wait, Trixie? You mean that unicorn magician? Just what's going on here Sunny?" Twilight asked, completely lost.

"There's no time! She's trying to hold off the-" Sunny was cut off as the sound of a massive explosion echoed through the forest. In the distance a brilliant burst of magical light illuminated the trees, and in the middle of it all, Twilight thought she saw something...

A unicorn, falling to the ground.

"Pinkie, stay here with Sunny!" Twilight shouted. If anything, she could trust Pinkie to keep him safe. Twilight charged off towards the light, hoping she might get there fast enough to provide help. Her step slowed as she approached where she guessed the light had originated.

Surely, if based on the intensity of the light and the projected shadows it had to be right...

Her front hoof caught on something and sent her hurtling to the ground. Quickly, she pulled herself back up, brushing the dirt off of her face.

What had she...oh...

Lying on the ground form was the still body of a unicorn, their expression locked in pain. Twilight ignited her horn to try and get a better look. What she saw didn't help.

"Oh no..." she whispered into the still air.

No color remained on the unicorn except for a uniform gray. So dull it almost seemed to be drawing the color out of the grass and trees surrounding them. Just looking at her felt wrong, unreal.

This was very bad, the last time Twilight had seen something like this it had been because of...

Discord.

Twilight quickly glanced around, suddenly noticing the sensation of being watched. She focused more power into her horn as she crouched closer to the downed unicorn. She could feel something, circling closer and closer to them, but then it stopped. Twilight sensed the presence waiting before them both...yet it did nothing.

Well she wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. In a moment she lifted the unicorn off of the ground and placed her over her back. In the next moment she was off, running back to Sunny and Pinkie. She found the two of them holding on to each other for comfort, Pinkie smiled down at the young cold while Sunny...Sunny just looked tired.

"Trixie!" he yelled as Twilight drew up alongside them. "Is she all right? She isn't..."

"She's okay Sunny...well, she's breathing at least," Twilight answered, setting Trixie down on the grass. "But I'm not sure how long she may stay that way. There's something out there...something strong. But it's not attacking us yet."

"Why wouldn't they...oh," whispered Sunny, softly nuzzling Trixie's head, as if trying to wake her. "They're hurting her...but she's still fighting them with everything she has. She's protecting us...protecting me..." His gaze shot up to Twilight.

"We need to get out of these woods, right now!" he told her. "She can't last forever, not against that sort of pain. But if we get out of the woods...she might get better."

"Good idea Sunny," Pinkie said. "Twilight, can you use your magic to get us all back to Ponyville?"

"Maybe..." Twilight replied, unsure. The last time she'd done a teleportation like that was when she had to send herself, Spike, Rarity, and Rainbow all the way from the Dragonlands to back home. It was possible, but putting such a strain on her magic was always dangerous...

Then again, from the look on Sunny's face, staying here was going to get very dangerous.

"Okay, stay close everypony," they all gathered around her as she began to focus her spell. As her magic grew, she felt the presence gather around them as well. It was pushing forward, struggling against something. It seemed so desperate, so strong...

So terrible.

In its strength Twilight saw her friend captured, pulled screaming into the woods, but the screaming didn't last. The gray spread along their bodies until they stared blankly into nothing, lost to the world.

"You're not going to get my friends, any of them!" she shouted. Twilight felt the presence surge forward, almost angry, but it was too late. The spell broke loose, consuming them in the brilliant glow of her magic.

The next instant, they were all standing outside of the woods, staring out across the homes of Ponyville.

"We made it...that's...good," Twilight said, when all of a sudden, the world began to swim before her eyes.

"Twilight!" Pinkie exclaimed as the unicorn slumped over, joining Trixie on the ground.

Twilight didn't mind though, her friends were safe, that was all that mattered.

I have seen them, running through the woods.

That voice echoed though the void where Twilight found herself. She knew this place...she'd been here before.

It was...it was...the knowledge eluded her.

They live, every mother, father, and child. They have lived through all these years.

So deep and monotonous, the voice continued to speak.

"Who? What are you talking about?" Twilight tried to ask, but the words were muffled in the blackness, and the voice seemed not to notice.

They are lost, and there is nothing anyone can do...

"Who?" Twilight called again, but the voice was growing more distant. Something was pulling her away, another voice.

"Twilight? Come back my student," startled, Twilight's eyes shot open to see the worried face of Princess Celestia. Glancing around, Twilight saw that she was back at the library, laying on one of the couches. Pinkie and Sunny were standing off to the side while Trixie had been settled on a hastily assembled bed of pillows.

"It seems I am being called down to Ponyville quite often these days," Celestia observed, stepping back. "I suppose there's a good explanation for why you deliberately disobeyed me? I was very surprised to receive a message detailing your latest adventure into the Everfree Forest."

"It's my fault Princess," Pinkie said, moving forward. "I thought that there was a way Twilight could use our connection to Sunny to find him in the woods. And um, well...I was right." She gestured to the colt who simply glanced away, hiding behind her. Sunny was never comfortable around the Princess.

"Yes, but you put yourselves in considerable danger. Dangers of the likes," Celestia waved her head towards Trixie. "I had hoped to never to see again."

"What is it Princess? There was some sort of terrible presence in the woods, it didn't want any of us to leave there. Discord hasn't escaped again has he?" Twilight asked.

"No, there would be quite a bit more pandemonium if that were the case," Celestia replied. "But as for the real reason...I have no idea. The only being capable of using chaos magic is Discord himself. Something like this should be impossible..." She sighed.

"Though I hate to admit it...the only way to find out more, would be to ask Discord himself..." she admitted.

"Is that even possible?" Twilight questioned.

"Yes...Discord is always watching, always aware. I think he would relish the chance to talk to another pony," she focused her gaze on Twilight. "I'm afraid my lecture on disobeying will have to wait until later my student. Right now, I will need you to accompany me to Canterlot, to speak with Discord alongside me."

"What? Why do you need me?" Twilight exclaimed.

"You have personally faced down whatever is haunting the woods, at this point you know more about it than anypony. Well...other than Sunny," Celestia leaned forward, whispering. "But I feel that letting Discord learn about him would not be the wisest decision." Twilight couldn't help but agree.

"So, when are we going to leave?"

"Right away, and we should take Trixie with us as well. Something tells me Discord will hate that something is spreading chaos without him knowing about it...and he may give us a clue as to how to return her to normal." Twilight nodded. With her friends she had been able to use her magic to awaken their memories, their old selves. But she had no such connection to Trixie, she could not define the unicorn with the scarce memories of her stay in Ponyville.

She stepped off of the couch as Celestia gathered up Trixie with her magic. The gray unicorn settled on to Celestia's back, her closed eyes never wavering as her sleeping body weakly drew in breath.

"Pinkie, can you watch the library and Sunny while I'm away?" Twilight asked as she and the Princess headed for the door. "And can you keep an eye out for Spike? I think he's at Sweet Apple Acres with the Cutie Mark Crusaders." She added as an afterthought.

"Of course Twilight, you can count on me!" Pinkie agreed immediately, saluting her. "And Twilight...be careful okay? Even as a statue you don't know what kind of weird tricky wickies Discord might be capable of."

"I will Pinkie, and one more thing," Twilight leaned closer. "Be careful with Sunny, even if not showing it, he's been through a lot." She glanced down at the colt. Twilight didn't think she'd seen him move since she'd opened her eyes. He just sat their, leaning against Pinkie's legs and staring at the ground.

"You can trust me Twilight," Pinkie smiled. "Now go, figure out how to save the world like you always do." Twilight grinned back, reassured, and stepped out of the library with Celestia.

Okay, Twilight had just left to go talk to Discord, nothing to worry about, and left her in charge of the library...

Exactly how did pony run a library? Pinkie had heard that sometimes libraries would lend books out to ponies...but the only pony she could remember ever borrowing a book was Rainbow Dash. And since Rainbow Dash wasn't here that meant...

Her work was done! Hooray!

Which meant she could focus on Sunny! She turned around to look at the small earth pony.

"So Sunny..." she paused, there had to be something she could say to bring up his spirits. "You okay?" The unimaginative words fell from her mouth before she had a chance to think of something better.

Sunny just shrugged.

"Yes...and no," he replied, keeping his eyes down. "Pinkie, who was Discord?" Sunny asked after a short pause. Pinkie was surprised, Sunny had been paying more attention to Twilight and Celestia than she'd realized.

"He was...like an evil version of Celestia," Pinkie started, hoping that was a good comparison. "He may seem nice and do really cool things at first, like giving us chocolate rain and cotton candy, but he doesn't stop there. He can turn friends against each other with a snap of his finger! He made me think that everypony was laughing at me, then I turned all gray and super angry. I didn't think anything was fun anymore, can you imagine that?" She finished with a little giggle.

"Then, how did you stop him?" Sunny continued.

"Well he almost won, Discord had made Twilight give up on her friendships with all of us, but the Princess was able to bring back her faith in us. Twilight broke the spell and was able to bring us back to normal with her magic. It was so amazing! You should have seen us try to catch Rainbow Dash, it was all zoom! And then Fluttershy went super fast and then we got the Elements of Harmony which shot out a big huge blast of super powerful magic that...." Pinkie stopped, realizing she had started to ramble. "But the important thing is that you can't give up on friendship, it always wins out in the end, and it stopped Discord." She poked Sunny in his belly, which she happily saw brought a tiny smile to his face. Though it didn't last long.

"But enough about boring history, we still have some time left in the day. We can do whatever you want. Oh! Do you want to try pranking again? I've got some good ideas for Rainbow Dash or Rarity," she prodded his belly again but he brushed her away.

"Not really Pinkie...I'm sorry, I still don't really understand pranks. Is it all right if we just stay here for now?" Pinkie could simply not stand how gloomy he looked. He almost reminded her of...nope, don't think about that. New Sunny is Sunny and that is that.

"Of course, do you want me to read you a book or something?" she asked, hoping to do something for him.

"No...I just...I just..." he looked away. "Trixie was so ready to protect, to stand up to those voices, even if they were going to hurt her...and I couldn't do anything. I could barely even run. I don't know what I'm supposed to do anymore..."

"Sunny..." Pinkie glanced around, hoping somepony would show up to help her out, no such luck. "What happened to you in the Everfree Forest?" Sunny looked back at her, then took a deep breath.

"There were voices...Trixie brought me to them. They wanted something from me...and it hurt. They made me see things, my nightmares over and over again. I can't stop seeing them...and the more I see them, the more I think they may not be dreams..."

"What...what kind of dreams?" Pinkie found herself asking, though she figured she already knew the answer.

"I'm lost Pinkie...lost in darkness. Sometimes, there are a few lights, but they never last long. I am always trapped, no light, no sound, no anything. It all seems so real, like I was actually there..." he stared at her with pleading eyes. "Please Pinkie...they're not real are they? Please tell me they're not real."

Pinkie knew she had to be careful when answering him. She had to do that thing Applejack and Twilight were always telling her to do. Think before she spoke.

She thought for a few moments and came to a decision. She jumped forward and wrapped her hooves around Sunny in a great big happy hug. Actions could always speak louder than words, she learned that from Rainbow Dash.

"They're just bad dreams Sunny. You are you, and I don't want you to be anything else," she pulled back slightly and ruffled his mane. "And whatever you do, don't get captured again, I don't want you going anywhere." Another smile, good. Pinkie always prided her self on bringing smiles out of Sunny. In fact...she was good at bring smiles out of almost anypony!

"I'll try Pinkie," Sunny promised. "Thanks." He rested his head against her chest.

"That's what friends are for," she whispered to him, hugging him closer.

Everything was going to be okay...

"Are you sure that putting Discord back in the gardens was a good idea Princess?" Twilight asked as they trotted along the outside of the garden.

"To tell the truth, I'm not sure there is a perfect place to put Discord, even trapped as he is. At least last time his imprisonment lasted for over a thousand years, we can only hope it will do so again," slowly, the statue came into view. "Though I must say that I do enjoy this expression far more that the last one." Twilight couldn't help but agree with her, Discord's mocking face was permanently locked into a look of abject terror.

Very fitting.

They stopped before the statue, and Twilight felt her confidence waver slightly. Even as a statue, she could feel the power radiating from him. Pure chaos, held in check by the Elements of Harmony...but only just.

"So, how are we supposed to talk with him?" she wondered.

"It's a simple spell actually, the real problem is in what he says. He twists your thoughts with every word, as is his way," Celestia explained.

"But that shouldn't be a problem right? I was able to break through his magic before," Twilight said.

"Yes, but he never tries the same thing twice, Discord always has new tricks to try. Just know that I will be there with you."

"Of course Princess...start the spell please," Celestia nodded and waved her horn at the statue, the effect was almost immediate. Like a great wave crashing down, his presence surrounded them, crawling into her brain like a slimy, wriggling worm.

"Oh my my my, what do we have here? Oh look, I've finally got some company. Please tell me that Twilight's failed one of her tests and she'll be joining me in the garden, that would be so perfect," Discord's deep voice seemed to echo all around the glade, Twilight could almost imagine him slowly pacing around her, like a cat. "She'd at least help add to the feng shui."

"It is nothing like that Discord, we've come here with very important matters to discuss," Celestia stated from beside Twilight.

"Well now, how very serious, which means something very boring. Tell me Celestia, don't you ever think of taking a break from this whole 'ruling' thing? Just let the sun stay set for a day a two, what's the worst that could happen? You must be so tired after ruling for over a thousand years," Twilight could almost feel the anger from Celestia as she glared at the statue.

"I would never shirk my duties, you know that Discord," the Princess took a steadying breath. "And I think this will interest you. There is something out there using chaos magic, your magic." Gently, she laid Trixie down on the grass before the statue.

"Hmm...hmm...now that is most certainly...boring," Discord finally concluded after a few seconds.

"What? How can this be boring? There's something using magic to hurt ponies, your magic! How could you-" Twilight exclaimed before discord cut her off with a burst of laughter.

"I mean look at this, such shoddy work. Too much brute force, no fineness at all, they just tore out her spirit and left," another chuckle. "I could have done so much better."

Suddenly, Twilight felt his power gathering, focusing on her.

"But I suppose this finding is of some interest to me, where exactly did you find this poor pony?" he asked, his words seeming to circle smoothly around Twilight's mind.

"We were in the Everfree Forest looking for..." Twilight stopped before she said anything about Sunny. "Looking for new species of magical flora when we found her instead."

"The Everfree Forest? Now that is interesting. There should be nothing in those woods capable of this, unless..." Discord paused. "Oh, don't tell me you didn't...you did! Oh this is just delicious!" Laughter burst out of him, curling around Twilight and the Princess, blotting out any other noise.

"Enough Discord!" Celestia commanded, breaking through the laughter. "Exactly what are you speaking of?"

"Oh you know I just can't tell you that Princess. This joke has been building up for over a thousand years! At least let me enjoy the punchline," Discord almost seemed to plead, but his mocking tone betrayed his true feelings.

"I am losing my patience Discord," Celestia warned.

"But what exactly will you do if I don't tell you? Call up Twilight and her friends to turn me to stone again?" He gave a long over-elaborate sigh. "Still so boring. You sister was much more fun. She really knew how to cut loose and enjoy life, especially with that stunt of her a thousand years ago. A little shaky, true, but she has so much potential." Now Twilight could picture a grin on Discord's face, growing larger with every word.

"Enough..." Celestia repeated.

"Did you ever wonder about those thousand years Luna spent on the moon? How long she waited, hoping for her sister to come save her? Growing lonelier and lonelier as no help came? Did you still remember that day when you couldn't save her?" Discord's voice was a low hiss now. "Do you still remember how the Elements fell away from you, turning into dull stone as your sister was pulled away? Do you remember how weak you truly are?"

Celestia looked down, her eyes shut tightly. Twilight wasn't sure what to do, but before she could think of something the Princess's eyes blazed open, a deep fire burning within them.

"I remember that every day of my life Discord. Everyday I wish I could have done things differently, been a few moments faster, a little bit stronger. That I could have had that extra something needed to save my little sister. But I cannot let that dictate my life. My sister has been returned to me, and if those thousand years have taught me anything, it is that I can never falter in my duties again," she smiled, a fierce smile. "Not even when mocked by an overconfident bully."

"Aww," Discord sighed, pulling away. "No matter, I'll find your breaking point one day Celestia. But as for your little gray friend here...you and your sister really should have tried getting out of the palace more often." Discord took a deep breath.

"Before the two of you arrived to knock me off my throne, this whole land was joined together in wondrous chaos! Every day I brought something new to my subjects, great fireballs rolling through their little homes, taking away their little pegasus wings just as they learned to fly, and once giving them directions to food, but by the time they had arrived, it had all spoiled!" he could not control himself, descending into a fit of laughter. "But there was one day I was particularly proud of, the first day."

"I came upon a little village of ponies, nestled deep within the Everfree Forest. It was so happy, so carefree, so...bland. I just couldn't let them be. And that's when a wonderful deal came to my mind. I'd give them a new world, my kind of world..."

"I gathered up every little pony and trapped them together in a world of my making, a world within their own minds."

"Now I couldn't just make it that easy, oh no, I added a fun little spin to it. By day they would run through the twisted terrors of their hearts, gleefully accepting the madness. But at night...I would let them remember. Remember who they were, who they had been, and more importantly, what they'd lost. They would scream and wail, try to find ways to save themselves or their families, but as the sun rose, they would be lost again."

"And then, the best part, with every day, they would lose a bit of themselves to the madness. The night would never restore everything. Soon, there would be nothing left of them at all!"

"Isn't it just grand? It took quite a bit of my power, but every second of it was perfect!" More cackling, loud and relentless.

"But when you were sealed by the princesses...your magic should have been cancelled," Twilight whispered.

"You'd like to think that wouldn't you? But magic is finicky like that. Oh I can just picture it now, those ponies trapped in endless madness for a thousand years, until even their spirits forgot what they were meant to be."

"All those years Celestia, and you never managed to find them, you are truly an example for all rulers," he mocked. "Then, to bring something new to the story, you and your friends came along Twilight Sparkle," she could sense his smile again, wide and cruel.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"When I was freed last time you hardly allowed me any time for fun, the chaos had barely begun to sink into the land before the power of the Elements tore it away. Perhaps because of that, their power sought out my old little spell in the woods. Still, I would guess the Elements were still not strong enough to break it. Instead, they simply loosened it a little, let something flow back..." a quick chuckle.

"You made them remember what they had been, that there was something other than their madness. But, this is just too great, they were still trapped! You gave a starving pony the scent of food, but no way to reach it! They spread outwards, looking for some shred of hope with the only thing they had, my chaos. It's so funny it you just stop to think about it..." Twilight couldn't believe what she was hearing, she and her friends had caused this to happen? "They must've found this one and moved a little too rashly..." Discord's presence fell back to Celestia.

"You know, I could probably tidy this up in an instant...with a little leeway..." he offered.

"Not a chance," Celestia replied in a instant.

"Right, we can just use the Elements to stop that spell!" Twilight added.

"Oh Twilight, and here I thought you were supposed to be the smart one. If you use the Elements to break that spell, to seal away my chaos, what happens to all those ponies? Won't they be sealed away as well? Will you put them in the garden here with me? Though the new scenery would be a plus..." Discord paused, as if musing on the picture of dozens of terrified pony statues.

"Is...is that true?" she turned to Celestia, who just shook her head.

"We can focus on a solution to this later Twilight, away from prying ears," she glanced back at the statue. "Thank you for your assistance Discord."

"Of course Princess, but allow me some parting words," the last part Twilight sensed was directed at her. She looked over at Celestia, but it seemed that she couldn't hear. "Do be careful now Twilight. Celestia has lived for so many years, you are not her first apprentice, and I doubt you shall be her last. Her little 'tests' can be...well I'm sure you'll find out for yourself. Run along now." Twilight wanted to ask him her a few more question, but the spell broke away, and he was back to being a simple hunk of granite. Still, Celestia made sure they had moved far away before starting any conversation.

"So, what do we do now Princess?" Twilight asked.

"We plan...and we prepare. Anything involving Discord, even distantly, is something to fear. I will send a message to the other Elements bearers and bring them to Canterlot. Before that though, we should make Trixie comfortable in the castle infirmary. Please keep a watch on her until your friends arrive," Celestia replied.

"Of course Princess, you can always count on me!" Twilight assured her. Celestia simply gave her a gentle smile.

"I know Twilight," she couldn't help but smile back at the Princess. Discord didn't know what he was talking about, he simply couldn't understand the connections they all shared together.

With all of her friends and the Princess, they'd be able to save those ponies, they'd be able to stop the chaos.

And then maybe, she could have a week in Ponyville without something disastrous happening. Happily, she followed the Princess as she gathered up the still form of Trixie.

Alone in the garden, a certain statue sat alone, and it laughed, a sound heard by no one but itself.

"Oh, how delightful, it looks like I'll be able to have fun this millennium after all!"