"Uh oh..."

The mutter was barely a whisper, but Twilight heard it nonetheless, along with its tone of worry. The balloon had just risen to the height of the clouds and looking around she saw the only pony who attention was focused far off in the distance. It was Rainbow Dash.

"What's the problem Rainbow Dash?" she asked, though she wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer.

"Well...I was looking out away from Canterlot, and I may have seen a cotton candy cloud..." Rainbow Dash replied after a moment.

"Oh no...where exactly?" Twilight moved next to the Pegasus, straining her eyes as she scanned the horizon.

"I don't know, I think it's hiding behind some of the normal clouds. But it's not that bad right? The clouds were just the beginning of Discord's chaos last time, and it's only one." Rainbow Dash said.

"I don't think Discord will do the same thing twice. To tell you the truth...I think he's taunting us, letting us know that he's still out there while we scramble around trying to find out what to do," Twilight explained, her expression growing dark.

"Well ah jus' can't stand it!" Applejack shouted, pacing back and forth in the small space allowed to her. "I wish Discord would jus' let it all loose, at least then we would know what we were up against!" Rarity placed a hoof on the earth pony's shoulder in an attempt to calm her.

"Don't worry dear, we'll put an end to that ruffian. Once we get Sunny back from his clutches we'll find a way to get the Elements back and give him a piece of our minds!" They all could not help but smile at Rarity's bold declaration.

"Good point Rarity. Now hold on everypony, we're almost at Canterlot," the balloon drew closer to the shining city, right up next to the shining shield. Twilight was worried it might block them, but they passed through like it wasn't there.

The shield must be for blocking Discord and his magic only, she realized.

They rose up to the air docks, and with a rather unceremonious thump, landed on the solid wooden platforms.

Twilight and her friends quickly stepped off into the harbor, worriedly looking around at the empty docks.

"Um...shouldn't there be more ponies here Twilight?" Fluttershy asked.

"Well...maybe the Princess asked them all to return to their homes for safety?" Twilight guessed.

"Yeah, sounds good. Now come on everypony, we need to get to Trixie!" Pinkie shouted before rushing off, forcing her friends to follow quickly after her.

The group of them stampeded through the empty streets, their hoofsteps echoing eerily around them. Twilight found herself scanning the homes, trying to find some hint of life.

The only things that greeted her were locked doors and shuttered windows.

Finally, they reached the entrance of the castle. Thankfully, someone was already there waiting for them.

Her midnight blue mane flowing out behind her, Luna, the Princess of The Night, smiled at them upon their arrival.

"Ah, Twilight Sparkle. It is a pleasure to see you and your friends," she greeted happily.

"And it's great to see you Princess!" Twilight gave a quick bow. "Where's Princess Celestia, and is it my brother who's making this shiled, and what are you doing to prepare, and can we..." the Princess raised a hoof, stopping twilight's questions.

"My elder sister is standing guard by Discord, she is the last line of defense. As for your brother, he is projecting this shield from the top of the castle with all of his strength. We have done all we can to prepare. Celesita expected all of you to arrive at any moment and placed me here to wait for you. So I ask, why have you come to Cantelot?" she lowered her hoof, allowing Twilight to respond.

"We need to see Trixie as soon as possible, is she still in the castle infirmary?" Twilight answered after taking a few moments to focus her thoughts. "She may help us stop Discord!"

"And how could she do that?" Luna questioned.

"There's no time to explain everything Princess!" Pinkie Pie cut in. Twilight simply stared in horror at the pink earth pony. "We have to stop Discord as soon as possible!" Surprisingly, Luna gave them a quick nod.

"That is wise indeed Pinkie Pie. As for Trixie, we moved her to a private room, something safer. I can lead you to it if you follow me," Luna replied.

"Of course Princess, lead the way," Twilight agreed, and then they were off into the castle.

Still there were no other ponies to see. No maids, secretaries, or guards. It almost felt as if they were in another world entirely.

"So princess, what'd you tell those other ponies to keep them safe while Discord is roamin' the countryside?" Appplejack spoke up as they ran through the castle corridors.

"Celestia informed them all that a 'training exercise' is currently is currently in progress. She figured they would believe such a fable due to the recent changeling attack, but I myself don't believe it will last very long," Luna answered.

"Well I guess a lie is better'n panic in the streets," Applejack offered. "Anyway, where'd you end up moving Trixie to exactly?"

"She is in one of the upper floors, you will see soon enough," the Princess replied vaguely. They continued to follow her, up a flight up stairs, then down a hallways.

Up another flight, then another hallway.

Another flight, then a hallway...

Again and again and again...

How many floors did the castle have? Twilight could not believe the castle reached such heights. Yet Luna led them to even more stairs.

"I don't mean to complain," Rarity finally said. "But is it going to be much further?"

"Not much further, do not worry. We shall all be there soon..." Luna's voice suddenly seemed...distant somehow. "You can talk to Trixie and find out a way to bring the Elements back from the moon."

"Uh, Princess," Applejack slowed down slightly. "How did you know that's where the Elements were? I don't recall Twilight putting that in the letter to Celestia." Applejack's words seemed to cut through to Twilight's mind. She found herself stopping in the hallway, like a fog had been removed from her eyes.

Slowly, her gaze traveled over to a window, and looking through it, she realized there was nothing beyond it. It was just glass framed up against a wall.

Something was wrong.

"Princess Luna...if you knew we were coming to Canterlot, you probably saw the balloon rise from Ponyville. Why did you not meet us at the air docks, rather than the castle?" she made herself ask.

Luna almost seemed to freeze in place, a cold shimmer traveling through her body. Slowly, her head turned to face them, staring them down with dark powerful eyes...

And wicked grin curled around her face.

"Oh, I would recognize that tone of questioning anywhere. You've finally seen through the illusion haven't you?" the voice was still Luna's but underneath it were the tones of someone far more sinister. "About time, I was wondering how far you silly ponies would let me lead you on." Her smile grew wider while her body started to shimmer, blurring away to nothing. Replacing it was the long serpentine body of...who else?

Discord.

"Isn't there anything that can keep you away?" Rainbow Dash complained. "How did you even get through the shield?"

"Oh yes, now that was a very good spell. Your brother actually impressed me Twilight Sparkle," Discord upper half faded into a wall, his head popping out next to Twilight. "A shield to block anything even related to chaos magic. Anything even slightly me. Of course there was only one solution, I just had to stop being Discord."

"But that doesn't make any-"

"Now there you go again with that whole 'making sense' nonsense. When are you going to learn..." he face shifted into a perfect replica of Twilight's. "That your rules don't apply to me?" His face changed back to normal as he pulled the rest of himself out of the wall.

"But I guess it doesn't really matter what you think, because I need your help to answer a question of mine," he said, crossing his arms across is chest.

"Is it...a nice question?" Fluttershy asked warily.

"I guess that's for you to decide. The question is...can two Pegasus ponies save four of their friends from crashing into the ground at terminal velocity?" Discord tapped his hoof against the floor of the hallway, which immediately began to fold away, revealing to them exactly where they were standing.

High up in the empty air over Canterlot with nothing nearby, not even clouds, to support them.

"Toodle-loo," he waved goodbye right as they began to fall.

Twilight could not stop the piercing scream that escaped her throat as she approached the increasingly solid looking ground. She was barely able to register the screams of Pinkie, Applejack, and Rarity joining with her.

After a few seconds Twilight managed to shut her mouth. She needed to focus! Discord hadn't taken away her magic this time, is she could just prepare a spell she'd be able to-

Unconsciously, she glanced back at the ground and her spell fizzled.

This was not good...

Thankfully, she felt two powerful hooves wrap around her body, slowing her descent.

"Now would be a good time for another of your plans Twilight!" Rainbow shouted over the rushing wind. "I think Fluttershy might have a panic attack over choosing from the other three!"

"O-okay," Twilight replied, tearing through her brain in an attempt to figure something out. "Just hold me steady and point me towards everypony else. I should be able to grab them my magic and slow their falls. If Fluttershy can get a hold of them then we might be able to land without getting hurt!"

Rainbow didn't even respond, simply angling her to get a better view of her friends. Fluttershy was frantically flying around her other three friends trying to grasp at their hooves, but it was obvious she wasn't strong enough. Her wings barely supported her when she held two hooves, and reaching for a third only made the first slip free from her grip.

The ground didn't care, seeming to move towards them faster than before.

"Okay...just need to try and relax..." Twilight took a deep breath, remembering her old lessons with Celestia. Her horn ignited with magic as the spell traveled over to her friends. It wrapped around them all and began slowing their fall.

She wasn't sure if the spell would be enough, they were so close now...

Twilight gritted her teeth slightly in concentration, pushing that thought aside. She needed to keep this spell even or one of her friends might fall free...

Fluttershy, thanks to the spell, managed to grab hold of everypony. She flapped her wings furiously, slowing them down even further.

It wasn't quite enough.

They crashed into a small field of grass outside the city. Not at a dangerous speed, but certainly not a safe one either.

"Oh no..." Twilight muttered as her spell evaporated. "Get over there Rainbow Dash!"

"Don't need to tell me twice," the Pegasus agreed, flying over to their collapsed group of friends. "Is everypony okay?" She asked, dropping Twilight off and skidding to a halt in the grass.

"I think I'm okay," Fluttershy replied weakly, pulling herself out of the pile. Gingerly she stretched out her wings, everything seemed to be in working order.

"'Fraid I can't say the same sugar cube," Applejack said, pulling herself off of the ground while awkwardly holding one of her fore-hooves up in the air. "I didn't land quite right and twisted this leg somethin' fierce. Still, could've been a lot worse, all things considerin.'"

"I just can't believe we fell for that meanie Discord's trick!" Pinkie bounded forward, apparently unhurt. "It wasn't even a good trick, some of us could have been seriously hurt!"

"I think that was the point darling," Rarity moved much slower, limping on one of her back legs. "And I must agree with Applejack, that could have been much worse."

"What I don't understand is why Discord let us keep our magic and our wings," Rainbow Dash said, walking back towards everyone. "He wasn't nearly that nice last time."

"Well...maybe he was trying to be more fair? We were awfully high up," Fluttershy offered.

"Or maybe...maybe it's because he couldn't!" Twilight said. "He's still only a part of himself, he has to be missing some of his power, enough so that he can't affect us directly, he can only fool us with his illusions."

"That doesn't seem to have made him any less dangerous though Twilight," Applejack said.

"But it means that we still might have a chance! Since Discord tried to stop us from going inside the castle, it probably means that he hasn't moved Trixie. So if we can just get back there everything should work out!" Twilight looked hopefully around at her friends.

"But what if Discord stops us and traps us in another of his crazy tricks?" Pinkie asked. "What if he makes us think we found Trixie but really it's just an empty room!"

"Well we've seen it once already, so we should be able to resist it a second time," Twilight replied.

"But what if we can't Twilight? What if we end up trapped for good? 'Should be able to' don't sound that reassurin' to me," Applejack said, shaking her head.

"Well do you have a better plan?" Twilight snapped.

"Actually, I think I've got something," Rainbow Dash stepped in. "But I don't think you're gonna like it..."

Ninety six...

This was a terrible plan!

Where had Rainbow Dash gotten this idea from, a Daring Do novel? Yes it made sense, but it was never a good plan to split the group up!

Ninety seven...

Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were taking the long route through the city while Rarity and Applejack were taking a more forward route towards the library library. They were going to serve as a distraction for Discord, and as an extra precaution, Twilight had cast an illusion spell on Rarity to disguise the fashionista as her.

Ninety eight....

"Can we move now?" Pinkie whispered, wearing an uncharacteristically serious expression on her face. Even her mane had flattened into a more streamlined shape. She had demanded to go with Twilight and she really couldn't refuse.

Ninety nine....

"Just a little bit longer..." she looked down at her own hooves which were temporarily enchanted to blend in with their surroundings just like Pinkie. Luckily the spell allowed her to see, at least a little, those under the safe effect. Rainbow Dash had told them to count to one hundred and then make a mad run for library. Hopefully, not even Discord would be able to keep up with them...

One hundred!

"Now!" Twilight ordered, and they were off, charging back into the silent city. Her eyes glanced back and forth among the houses, looking for any sign of Discord and his magic. But there was nothing...

The only thing she did notice was...Pinkie's hoof steps were falling further and further behind. The pink earth pony seemed to be stumbling along the stone roads. Was she...

"Pinkie...are you okay?" Twilight slowed down, trotting back next to Pinkie while keeping her gaze focused on the buildings around them.

"What...oh! Yeah, I'm fine Twilight. I just thought I saw...something..." the glimmer of Pinkie shook her head.

"Pinkie, this could be important, what did you see?" Twilight insisted.

"It was nothing Twilight, now c'mon, we need to go save Sunny!" Pinkie pushed ahead of Twilight.

"Oh Pinkie, how many times are you going to save Sunny before you realize just how pointless it is?" a deep voice sang out from empty streets. "I learned so much about Sunny from the minds of those sad little ponies. You saved him from death, from the Everfree Forest, and now you're trying to save him from me. Don't you think it would just be easier to just give in to the chaos?"

"Stay quiet Pinkie, he shouldn't be able to see us but he can-"

"Hear you? Oh absolutely, it's so funny how you unicorns always forget to take into account those little details with your spells," a deep chuckle. "But Pinkie, do you think it's ever going to stop? Do you really think Sunny is ever going to be completely safe?"

Discord couldn't tell where they were...Twilight guessed that he was trying to get Pinkie to talk to reveal their location. She hoped Pinkie would be able to figure that out too.

"This world is so dangerous! I mean look at all the monsters that surround your little home of Ponyville, it's practically a death trap!" his laughter surrounded the both of them. "But how about this? A little deal of mine. You silly ponies stop in your ridiculous quest to stop me and I promise that little colt Sunny will be safe. Sounds very fair to me..."

Twilight kept her mouth shut, slowly moving down the street while trying to stay as quiet as possible. Looking back she was able to notice Pinkie right behind her, though her steps did not seem to be as sure.

"Oh...it is not wise to simply leave like that, you're going to have to give me an answer..." the stones in the road began to rise up and stack together, forming rough duplicates of Discord which blocked every exit available to them. "Because if I hear a no...well, I think I'll let your own imaginations fill in the rest..."

Twilight looked back and forth, looking for some escape. Maybe she could teleport both of them one of the roofs or...no, that wasn't stealthy at all...

If they were both careful they might be able to slip past on of the barriers...but a single slip up and they would be lost...

Pinkie had stepped away from her...

"You haven't learned a single thing have you Discord?" Pinkie yelled out, moving further away from Twilight.

"And what do you mean by that my silly little pony?" Another stone Discord rose up out of the ground, lazily stepping towards Pinkie's voice.

"Equestria can be so dangerous and scary sometimes. We had to face down Nightmare Moon, dragons, a changeling army, and even you. We always prevailed thanks to our friends...we won't ever give up them, or ourselves. We'll fight with everything we've got to protect Sunny! We'll succeed like we always have, and nothing you do can stop us!" Pinkie said triumphantly, waving one of her hooves at Twilight.

She really wasn't planning to...

"We'll just see about that..." Discord growled before suddenly leaping forward, his arm slicing toward Pinkie. Wish a gasp, Pinkie was able to dodge out of the way, running past another statue down an empty alleyway. Several of the statues leapt after her and all Twilight could do was stand there and watch.

"Can't even catch one little pony! Some master of chaos you are!" Pinkie's far off cry shook Twilight out of her stupor.

Pinkie had given her a chance, she had to take it.

With a deep breath, she charged down the now empty street, right for the castle...

The front door of the castle stood before her, and she saw no sign of Discord. That was good right? It meant that her friends hadn't been captured yet...

Or that Discord was just toying with her...

Still, she didn't really have much of a choice right now. Twilight ran as fast as her legs could take her to the castle infirmary. She found it soon, the strong smell of disinfectant burning her nostrils.

Now, just step into Trixie's room and-

The sound of hoofsteps reached her ears, somepony was walking this way! She frantically looked for a place to hide when she spied a pink mane at the end of the hallway.

"Pinkie?" she whispered.

"Twilight? Twilight I'm here!" Pinkie called. "Oh, there you are Twilight!" Pinkie ran down the hallway, enveloping Twilight in a warm hug.

"Pinkie! This is amazing, how did you get away from...wait..." Twilight quickly pushed her away. "How do I know you aren't some trick from Discord?"

"Oh...that's a good question..." Pinkie Pie paused for a moment. "Ask me anything, something only Pinkie could answer!"

"Okay...I've got a question," Twilight took a deep breath. "Who is Pinkie's best friend?"

"That's it? that's an easy one!" Pinkie smiled. "Everpony is my best friend!" Twilight couldn't help but smile too.

"Absolutely right, and absolutely something Discord couldn't have figured out on his own," she waved her hoof forward. "Now come one, Trixie should be right over here." Twilight tentatively pushed the door open, a small part of her mind expecting another setback.

But as the door swung inward she was rewarded by the sight of a blue unicorn calmly sleeping in bed. A look of quiet serenity completely covered the magician's face.

"Is she there, did we make it?" Pinkie asked, moving next to Twilight.

"Yes, we made it," Twilight replied.

"Oh...good," Pinkie made it a few more steps into the room before abruptly collapsing on the ground.

"Pinkie!" Twilight ran over to her friend. The earth pony could only grin weakly up at her.

"I guess I never answer Applejack earlier...I wasn't really okay after that fall. My back hurt a lot, but I could still run if I tried...but I don't think that made it any better. And Discord...he's really good at magic that hurts..." she said.

"Well why didn't you say anything Pinkie?" Twilight nearly shouted. "You could have stayed behind, we could have helped you!"

"I didn't want to worry any of you. I couldn't slow us down, not when we were so close to helping Sunny," Pinkie explained. "I'm not strong like Applejack...I can't fly like Fluttershy or Rainbow Dash, and I don't have magic like you or Rarity. All I've got is laughter...and my promise to see Sunny again...not a lot against Discord..."

"Oh Pinkie..." Twilight murmured. "Don't say that. You keep us all together, you keep us all smiling. Don't you think you can make Sunny smile again?" Pinkie's grin grew a little wider.

"Of course silly...I'll always have enough energy for that. But I'm going to need you help with the magic. Now hurry up and cast your spell," she said.

"Right," Twilight nodded, moving over to Trixie's bed. "Well Trixie, it looks like we need your help to save Discord. That should make you a little bit happy at least..."

Twilight closed her eyes, her spell already searching for the link between this body and wherever her soul had been taken.

She found it quickly...so very quickly. A golden lifeline between soul and body. Perhaps Sunny's influence was aiding her...but she wasn't sure.

Reaching out, she grabbed a hold of Pinkie and pulled the line, closing her eyes.

Just what sort of world would she open them to?

"Fear?" Sunny glared back as his other self. "It wasn't fear I just...accepted the truth. I'm not real...just a fake filled with so many memories I can't call my own..."

"I am happy here...this is where I belong..." Sunny said again. His other self's gaze seemed to burn at that.

"If that were true...then I would not be here," the other said, keeping his voice even.

"And what does that mean?" Sunny said, looking away from him.

"Discord is very strong...he changes your thoughts, makes you believe what he wants to believe. But he can't stop it all...there is always one small part he can't break. Enough to save them..." again he was in Sunny's face. Sunny didn't even hear him move. "I am that part, the part of you that still wants to fight, that wants to live."

"I am you, and you are me. If you would just remember you would realize how...wrong this all is. We broke our laws... changed ourselves to finally get away from the loneliness. We became you to have a real chance at living..." he rested a hoof on Sunny's shoulder. "You need to remember..." Those words were so quiet...so pleading.

"But I am afraid. I've seen those memories...they are so dark, so lonely and afraid. If I remember them all...remember what I was...what will happen to me? I don't want to be lost in it all..." Sunny drew back into the gray surroundings.

"You won't be, you will still be you. We will simply be...one," the other said.

"But how do you know that?" the gray began to warp itself around Sunny. "You said you're a part of me, the old memories. How do you have any idea of what's going to happen to me? You could be lying! Maybe you just want to be in control!" The other just stared at Sunny for a few moments before finally shaking his head. Her reached hoof out and the gray receded.

"You are right...there is no real way I can know what will happen to you...but I am still right," a step forward. "All the memories you have buried, and there are so many, are of simply watching life. Of watching it end, of watching the world change while doing nothing to affect it. The memories you have are of experiencing life. You have lived."

"These older memories..are nothing compared to that..." another step. "Your view of the world may be different...but you will not change."

"And then what?" Sunny asked.

"And then...we will have a choice to make..." the other replied.

"What kind of choice?"

"We'll have to choose our own dream...what we want from life," he paused. "What do you want?"

Sunny wasn't sure what to say. His own dream...what did he want...

"Happiness..." the word slipped from Sunny's mouth.

"For you?" the other said.

"No, for my friends...I want them to be happy no matter what..." Sunny replied, pictures of his friends coming to his mind.

"They won't be happy as long as Discord is here," Sunny nodded at the other's words.

"So I'll stop him then," Sunny declared.

"And do you know how?" the other stared directly into Sunny's eyes...and he knew the solution. He wasn't sure how...but he knew.

"That's...not very fair is it?" he whispered.

"Life rarely is," the other said back. "But it is that, or leave our friends in Discord's hands. Could you really do that?" Sunny stared down his other and Pinkie 's smiling face rose to the front of his mind. Her saw her smile fade as everything turned to gray...to nothing.

He could not let that happen. Not to her...not to anypony.

"If I need to remember to stop him...then I will remember..." Sunny accepted. His other self simply nodded, stepping forward and resting his forehead against Sunny's.

It didn't hurt...not even a little. That surprised him. It was more like...opening the blinds on windows he'd never noticed before.

The new memories shone through his mind...all those long years of darkness and loneliness. They were painful...but only an old echo, nothing truly real.

Through all of it, one image stayed constant in his mind. Pinkie and her friends, all gathered around him, supporting him.

His other self vanished...but then again, he had never really been there to begin with. It was only ever him...right?

"Something like that..." Sunny muttered, but now in the rough voice he used to have. He opened his eyes and the gray was gone, leaving only a white void with a simple door.

"Time to go..."

Author's Notes:

Back on schedule, as it were.
And no Luna, you don't get to be in this story, I'm sorry.

Can you see the ending from here? I think I can.
Will you like it? Now that is a different question entirely.

Either way I think I'll be happy to be done with story.