Princess Cadence jumped reflexively as a letter appeared before her with an audible pop. Setting down her breakfast, she unfurled the scroll with her magic and began reading.

Cadence,
I'm sorry about being so late back, but something of grave importance has come up involving my sister and her friends, as well as the safety of Equestria itself; it might be a while before I can come home. I'm in a serious hurry, so I don't have long to write what's happened. I promise you I'll fill you in on the details when I return.
- With love, Shining

'Twilight and her friends? Aunt Celestia really ought to give them a break after everything they've been through. Surely somepony else can save Equestria for once?' She sighed and set the letter down on the table gently. She couldn't shake the feeling something more was going on as she looked out the window at the steadily rising sun, 'Hurry home, Shining, I miss you already...'

"Focus, Twilight. Remember everything Celestia did to you, everything she took away, everything she made you leave behind."

Twilight's eyes blazed blood red almost instantaneously and a low crackling sound began to fill the air.

"That's it. Now concentrate. Don't let your emotions control you. Control them. Guide them. Use their power for your own intentions."

She scrunched her eyes closed for several seconds in intense effort, before opening them and roaring in pain and anger, plates of armour beginning to appear on her form.

"Twilight, focus! You're losing control again!"

Sparks of magic began shooting around in her immediate area dangerously, many ricocheting off the magical shield that Discord had placed around her beforehand. Twilight ducked her head, "I... I can't do it!" She shrieked and discharged a powerful beam of magic from her horn. It collided with the barrier mightily, almost exploding before Discord even had the chance to suck the spell into the barrier itself.

He snapped his fingers, and the aura around Twilight dissipated, the glow in her eyes slowly receding. Once the last of the volatile magic was drained Discord removed the barrier. Twilight stood shakily and looked at him with a defeated expression, "I just can't! Every time I remember I just get so filled with hate. I get so sad and angry and I just can't control it!"

Discord evaluated her passively, "You're improving. You can manage a few seconds, compared to nothing when you tried earlier, which is definitely more progress than is to be expected of somepony who's never done this before. However, I fear you're pushing yourself too hard."

Twilight looked around in shock, "You are talking to me, right? I need to push myself harder, this is pathetic!"

Discord rolled his eyes and conjured a mirror before her, "Unless you want to melt your horn, I don't advise it."

"Wha-" She looked at her reflection, and saw the dark charred streak that trailed all the way from the base to the tip. She raised a hoof and poked it tentatively, "Gahh!" She gritted her teeth against the pain and tried to stop herself from swaying as her vision swam from side to side.

"That's proof of magical over-exertion right there. I get how desperate you are to learn all this, but if I ask you if you feel well enough to try again, don't lie to try and speed up the process, you'll just injure yourself... Here."

A bucket of water appeared beside Twilight, which she hesitantly dipped her horn into, hissing as the cool liquid enveloped her injury. After almost a minute the pain subsided, and Twilight brought her head back up, "... Thanks. And I know, but I'm not going to make enough progress if I don't keep trying."

"Well after that you'll have to go easy on your magic for a day or two, at least." She stared down at the ground sadly as she realised that her drive to improve had inadvertently resulted in her shooting herself in the hoof, so to speak. "As you said, I don't think the problem is your magical capabilities, it's your emotions getting the better of you. Maybe we can figure out a solution later on... Let's head back. You can recover whilst I deal with Pinkie."

"Okay..." She trotted closer to him, giving the 'training cave' one last glance before they were whisked away back to their temporary residence.

Pinkie turned and trotted to the centre of the room, looking towards one of the corners expectantly. Fluttershy glanced around at her, "Umm, Pinkie? What's wrong?"

"Aaany second now..."

"What do you mean-"

A flash heralded the arrival of Discord and his 'student in chaos'. Pinkie was inches before them when they appeared, spewing out words before they could even get their bearings, "How did it go!? Did Twilight learn some awesome spells that'll totally kick flank!? Did you blow up a mountain!? Did you blow down a mountain!?" Twilight shook her head in amusement at her friend's antics, even if they did highlight her lack of progress, "Did you attack an enemy stronghold!? Start a war!? Raise the dead!?"

Discord raised an eyebrow, "Pinkie?"

"Yep?"

"I think you're going off on a tangent here."

"You think?"

He smirked at her, "Just a little. No glorious battles to report today, I'm afraid."

"But Twilight learned some killer moves, right?" She leaned towards the unicorn expectantly, "Ooh! Your horn's all black! Is all the dark magic seeping into you and permanently changing your appearance? Because that would look amazing!

Twilight just stared at Pinkie, dumbfounded, "... It's a burn, Pinkie..."

"Oh, you mean like some sort of dark brand from the deepest depths of hell?"

"... No, I mean like a burn, from accidentally burning myself."

"Oh... So no awesome powers then?"

Twilight shook her head. Fluttershy stepped forwards nervously, "A-Are you alright?"

"I'll not be casting any spells for a few days, but other than that I should be fine."

"Does it hurt?"

She nodded, "I only touched it gently and the pain was incredible. I don't even want to think about what would happen if I tried to cast any spells right now. This really is dangerous magic."

"I think I might have something that could help. Sit down please, Twilight." Fluttershy trotted over to her saddlebags and rummaged around inside them alongside Angel as Twilight took a seat. She returned with several cotton pads, bandages, and a small bottle of ointment.

"What's that, Fluttershy?" Twilight tried to read the label obscured by the pegasus' mouth.

"Oh, it's lotion for your burn. Don't worry, it shouldn't hurt." She said after removing the lid from the bottle and pouring some of the contents onto one of the pads.

"Are you sure it'll work? I mean, it is a magical burn after all..."

Fluttershy nodded as she took the pad in her hoof, "It's specifically for treating those. Hold still please, Twilight..."

Twilight did as she was told and squinted as Fluttershy's hoof drew in close, "Be careful..." She gritted her teeth in anticipation of the pain, but it never came. Instead, she felt a pleasantly soothing, tingling sensation begin to spread up her horn, surprising her, "A-Ah!"

Fluttershy whipped back her hoof immediately, "I-I'm sorry! D-Did I hurt y-you?"

"No, that just wasn't what I was expecting is all. It actually felt quite... nice."

"Shall I finish applying it?"

"If you don't mind."

Fluttershy shook her head, "Of course not, please hold still though."

Twilight almost nodded before heeding Fluttershy's words and keeping her head still. A few seconds later she felt her horn tingling lightly again and sighed happily, she could practically feel it mending, "Mmm... That actually feels so much better already. Fluttershy, how did you know to bring this?"

Fluttershy pulled the pad away carefully and discarded it before proceeding to wrap the bandage around Twilight's horn carefully, "I-I actually brought a lot of medicines with me. I guess we're just l-lucky I have this."

"Not that I'm ungrateful or anything, but why did you bring a bunch of medicines along?"

"Oh, I h-had them just sitting around a-and I thought it would b-be a good idea to bring them along since I didn't bring much else..."

"Fluttershy, I don't mean to pry but... What were you doing with magical burn ointment if you're a pegasus?"

Fluttershy abruptly stopped wrapping the bandage and sighed as she failed to come up with a believable cover story, "... A l-long time ago I-I wanted t-to b-be a d-doctor and help p-ponies..." She shook her head and continued wrapping the final section of the bandage, "I-It was a stupid idea... I already knew m-my talent, and I couldn't do both at once. I would've n-needed training, and experience, and way m-more time than I had on my hooves... Eventually I j-just accepted it and gave up." She tied the bandage into place and stepped back, "All done. Just tell me if it gets uncomfortable and I'll re-wrap it for you."

Twilight found herself unable to say anything in response, instead just giving her an appreciative grunt as she thought over her friend's denied hopes and dreams once again.

Pinkie looked away from them and up at Discord, "Well, that story was... interesting."

Discord scanned her for any trace of sarcasm, and shrugged when he found none, "Quite. Now then, I think it's about time we paid Pinkamena a visit, don't you?"

"Y-Yep... Wait, what do you mean we? How are you going to see her?"

He waved a paw in front of her face, "Hello? Discord? Chaos? What fun is there in making sense? Any of this ringing any bells?" An obnoxiously loud bell toll startled the other occupants of the room, save Pinkie, "Besides, I did effectively create her."

"Oh yeah... So you'll be inside my head with me?"

"Pretty much."

"Then hold on a second, I have some cleaning up to do..." She stared blankly at the floor for a few seconds before looking back to him, "All done!"

"What did you mean... cleaning up?" He seemed almost hesitant to ask.

"It's always a mess in there if I don't! It's party planning central in there!"

"Well that mercifully prevents what could've turned out to be a very awkward conversation."

"Huh?"

He pinched the bridge of his nose, "Never mind. Are you ready?"

"Yep!"

"Then sit down, unless you want to collapse."

She did so, and cheered as Discord made himself comfortable on his cloud, "Ready!"

Discord smirked over at her, "Set, GO!" He snapped his fingers, and the room around them disappeared into darkness.

To say the inside of Pinkie's mind was colourful would be a gross understatement. Streamers lined what Discord imagined were once plain white walls, the floor was a constantly shifting kaleidoscope of colour, and balloons of every shape and size floated around everywhere. "Pinkie?"

"Yeah?"

"I thought you said you'd cleaned up in here?"

"I did, silly! Can't you tell?"

Discord shuddered at the thought of how things must have looked before; all the colours were making him feel ill as it was, "Never mind. Lead the way."

"Sure thing!" She approached one of the walls and brushed the streamers aside, revealing a door, "This way!" She flung the door open, causing Discord to shield his eyes and ears at the overwhelming bright light and cacophony of sound that flew out at him.

"... If I were locked in here for any length of time I'd probably become mentally unstable too." He stepped through the threshold, and the door slammed shut behind him.

Then shrugged and laughed at its own perception of itself, and disappeared completely.

'Too many Pinkie Pies!' was his only thought as his eyes adjusted to the room around him. Dozens of perfectly symmetrical Pinkie Pies were crowded around desks full of abstract parts and blueprints, each distinguishable from the next only by the uniforms they wore, and the number tags pinned to said uniforms.

Discord had never seen anything like it, "Pinkie..." He whispered to her, "What is this?"

She slowly waved her hoof across the entire room, "Welcome to the 'Party Perfection Room'! This is where I come up with new ideas for parties, and invent and re-invent new party machines. Pretty neat, huh?"

His gaze followed her hoof across the room as he listened in on the conversations they were having.

"... And it's official, it's not a party if you're the only attendee. We need to go back to the drawing board and completely rethink the party planning system. Taking into account the number of guests is top priority after that incident..."

"... If we overclocked the party cannon's reloading matrix to offset the relatively low chamber capacity we could lower net confetti consumption by 15.6 percent whilst still maintaining a constant stream..."

"... Preliminary testing on the PC Mark Two has been postponed indefinitely, the boss is preoccupied with something 'too important' to give the project the green light..."

Discord turned to the only Pinkie that wasn't in uniform, who had steam blowing out of her ears, "Umm, Pinkie?"

"I'll give her 'too important'! She stomped a hoof, causing the entire room to shake, "Number 4638, over here, NOW!"

A Pinkie in a white lab coat trotted over nervously, whilst the others in the room just shrugged and got back to work, "Y-Yes, boss?"

"It's up to me to decide which projects are the most important, is that clear?"

She trembled slightly and lowered her head, "Yes, boss. Sorry, boss."

'Real' Pinkie sighed and motioned for 4638 to come closer, whispering to her as she did so, "Look, your project is on the top of my list at the moment, but there's a genuine reason why I can't give it the go-ahead."

She raised her head slightly, "Why's that, boss?"

"You mustn't tell any of the others, but there's a real risk that we could be on our last legs here."

"Wait, you mean-"

"We're on the verge of shutting down. The number of parties I'm expecting to hold in the near future is, for the first time in years, back at rock farm level."

Lab coat Pinkie gasped and placed a hoof on 'real' Pinkie's shoulder, "You'll find a solution boss, I know it."

"I hope so, 4638, I hope so... Now, back to work with you, and not a word to the others!" She cantered back without a word.

'Real' Pinkie watched her go, "I can't get a read on her. She's brilliant, and kind most of the time, but if she doesn't have things her way she becomes a real pain."

Discord shook his head in disbelief as he eyed the room once again, "You cannot be serious..."

"She's definitely one of the prettier employees though. The way she flicks her hair when she's stressed is just mesmerising."

Discord slapped himself around the face to stop himself trying to delve too deeply into the working's of Pinkie's mind, "PINKIE! We have a job to do! Remember!?"

She shook her head rapidly, "Oh, yeah, it's just over here." She fished through the confetti on one of the walls and pulled open a door similar to the one from earlier, except no light or sound escaped from this one. Pinkie gulped and trotted through, and Discord followed.

The door closed itself fearfully and shivered.

The lighting here was dim, the air was cool, and the colour scheme consisted entirely of a single boring whitewash.

Discord welcomed the change of scenery, though some of the colours from earlier still swam around his peripheral vision for several seconds, disorientating him. Pinkie stepped towards the only edge of the room with anything of note at all. A huge metal door dominated the majority of the wall, and four Pinkie's with blank expressions, and dressed in guard outfits stood to the left of it, another four to the right. One stepped forwards to greet the 'real' Pinkie as she approached, "Boss?"

"Anything to report, 1041?"

"Actually, no. That's why we're worried, boss. She hasn't moved an inch since last night, and she's been unusually quiet. Except for one thing..."

Pinkie's eyes widened slightly, "And what would that be?"

Fear began seeping into 1041's stoic expression, "She's been laughing intermittently out of nowhere, and saying your name, over and over."

Pinkie scowled for a moment in thought, "Me and Discord are going in, alone. Wait here until we leave."

The guard Pinkie opened her mouth to protest, but relented and gave an affirmative grunt at the 'real' Pinkie's fearsome expression. 'Real' Pinkie trotted to the door and pressed a hoof against it, causing some out-of-sight machinery to sputter into life, the sound of groaning metal echoing around the room as the door was slowly raised to allow entry. Discord stepped up beside her, and the two shared a short, apprehensive glance before stepping into the hallway beyond. The door thundered back into place behind them as Pinkie stomped a hoof. They pressed on into the gradually darkening hallway.

A chilling laugh stopped them dead in their tracks, "Pinkie... You're finally here! And look who you brought along! How entertaining... Come, now, don't be frightened! Just a little more trotting and we'll be able to see each other face-to-face after such a long, long time. I can hardly wait..." Another, longer laugh reverberated from the end of the corridor, fading slowly.

Discord turned to his companion, "Your choice."

Pinkie nodded and gulped, "I need to put things right."

"Very well."

They kept moving, ignoring the laughs - which were slowly increasing in volume - as best they could. A set of metal bars came into focus at the end of the corridor, and Pinkie tried her best to keep her nerve as they drew ever-closer to the doorway.

After what felt like an eternity, Pinkie stopped before the bars with her eyes closed, gathering her resolve. When no voice addressed her from within, she slowly opened her eyes and took a deep breath as she saw the figure sat in the centre of the room, staring blankly at her. She had a rail-straight mane, dark, empty eyes, and a cold, calculating expression.

"P-Pinkamena..."

Pinkamena looked up at her and curled down one corner of her mouth in apparent disappointment, "It's been a long time, Pinkie." She turned her head to the side a fraction, "And from what I've heard, and remember, I owe just as much of this to you as her, Discord."

Pinkie gulped again, "P-Pinkamena, me and D-Discord are here bec-"

"I KNOW WHY YOU'RE HERE!" She screeched at the top of her lungs, causing the cell bars to rattle, "... Don't treat me like a fool, Pinkie. I see everything you see, hear everything you hear, feel everything you feel. For instance, you're pretty scared right now, aren't you?" Pinkie nodded quickly, eliciting a grin from Pinkamena, "Good girl. Now, you're here to make everything between us alright again, aren't you?" Pinkie nodded again, fighting back tears as she did so, "Well then, I think the most important aspect is trust, right? Of course it is! So, if you really want to fix things you'll trust me enough to step into my... lovely cell, won't you? Oh, and you too, Discord."

Pinkie glanced at Discord, Pinkamena, and the cell door in turn, before making up her mind and tapping the door gently, causing a complicated system of inner locks, years in the making, to open with several dozen audible clicks. The last lock unlatched with a gentle sonorous ring, and the door slowly opened inwards of its own accord. Pinkie fully expected Pinkamena to seize the opportunity and escape, but she didn't. She just sat there, beckoning her in. Smiling.

Pinkie stepped inside, Discord close behind. Pinkamena waved a hoof at the floor before her, "Please, do make yourselves comfortable." Pinkie glanced rapidly between Pinkamena and the door, eventually pushing it shut behind her, the locks falling back into place quickly.

Pinkamena smiled up at her sweetly, "Excellent. Now, do take a seat."

Discord sat before Pinkamena, and Pinkie followed suit. Pinkamena levelled her jailer with a cold stare, though her smile remained unchanged, "Before we begin, I have to ask, Pinkie, why the theatrics? We both know you can instantaneously come and go as you please." Pinkie shifted uncomfortably, causing Pinkamena's grin to stretch even wider, "Oh, don't be like that, Pinkie! We can trust each other, right?"

Pinkie's mane deflated slightly, "I d-didn't want t-to get here quickly... I w-was scared..."

Pinkamena slowly reached out and brushed her hoof against Pinkie's mane, "Ah, I see... Though I can't possibly imagine why..." Pinkie's eyes widened further, and her pupils constricted into pinpricks. "Oh, you poor thing... Don't be shy. Come on, where would you like to start?" Pinkie scrunched her eyes shut and shivered. Pinkamena stopped smiling, "I don't understand, Pinkie. How come you'll talk to your several thousand imaginary friends, but you won't talk to me? I'm real, Pinkie..." She moved her hoof down to Pinkie's face and began stroking her cheek, eliciting a whimper from her, "See? I get sad, and lonely, just like anypony else does. I have wants, and needs, just like anypony else does." She stopped rubbing her cheek abruptly, "And you know what else?"

After several seconds of silence Pinkie whimpered, "W-W-What?"

She was met with a viciously sharp slap to the face, "I get ANGRY when somepony locks me away for no reason, just like anypony else would!"

Pinkie was already crying by the time she slapped her other cheek, "I get ANGRY when somepony steals my life, just like anypony else would!"

The third slap came swiftly, "I get ANGRY when the only pony I thought I could trust BETRAYS ME, and then punishes ME for hating her!"

Pinkie still made no attempt to defend herself as the fourth slap came, "I HATE YOU!"

Or the fifth, "I HATE YOU!"

Or the sixth, "I HATE YOU!"

Or the seventh, "I HATE YOU!"

By the eighth Discord had seen enough and intervened, snapping his fingers and creating a barrier between the two, "Enough. We get the point, Pinkamena."

She just laughed in response, breaking the barrier with ease and striking Pinkie again, "I'm more powerful than you here! Your magic has no influence over this place unless I say so!"

Discord snapped his fingers again, this time causing Pinkamena to freeze in place, "I might not have any influence over the surroundings, but I still have complete influence over my own magic; or have you forgotten what you are?"

She shot a blazing glare at him, "How could I forget!? I was so close back in the sculpture gardens! I could've been free! And you forced me all the way back in here!"

Pinkie raised her head from her hooves and faced the glare of her other self, "Pinkamena... I'm so, so, so sorry!"

"SORRY DOESN'T FIX ANYTHING YOU STUPID BITCH!"

"I know..." She took a deep, ragged breath, "Discord, let her go." He glanced over at her momentarily but complied with a sigh and a shake of his head.

Pinkamena just laughed in disbelief, "What do you expect? A hug? Some of that 'magic of friendship' crap?"

Pinkie shook her head, sending several stray tears flying, "No, I just want to try and make things better for you. If hurting me makes you feel better, I won't stop you, I deserve it for what I've done to you..."

Pinkamena smirked, "Well... It's certainly a START!" She delivered a merciless punch down onto Pinkie's nose, blood spurting from it as it broke. A swift uppercut to her throat followed, causing Pinkie to gasp and stagger back, dazed, though her strangled cry just spurred Pinkamena on further. Grabbing her by the mane she dragged Pinkie to the barred section of the cell, delivering several blows to her ribs as she did so, before gradually slowing to a halt, pausing, and lifting Pinkie's face gently with a hoof.

And head-butting her, sending her sprawling backwards against the bars. Then she span and delivered a powerful buck to Pinkie's exposed stomach, causing her to collapse and vomit onto the floor beneath her head, choking on multiple occasions as she wept whilst doing so.

Pinkamena backed away in disgust, "You're so fucking pathetic! You couldn't even show some dignity and stop crying - even if it did hurt - could you?"

Pinkie spat out a mixture of blood and bile, still weeping, "I'm not just crying... because you hurt me..."

"Of course you aren't, you're crying because you're a scared little filly who doesn't understand how things actually work in the real world."

Pinkie shook her head, "I'm crying because... I hurt you, too, and you'll... probably never forgive me... for that..."

"No. No I won't." She continued to watch as Pinkie struggled to stand.

Discord shook his head sadly at the display, "There's nothing more you can do here, Pinkie, let's go."

Pinkie grunted in pain, "Okay..." She turned to Pinkamena, an apologetic look could be made out where her face wasn't swollen, "Don't worry... I'll be back, so you can... continue..."

"I look forward to it. I'll be sure to prepare something a little more painful next time."

Discord walked over to Pinkie and helped her up, but she stepped away from him unsteadily afterwards, "I know it's not... much but..." She tapped her hoof against the floor weakly, materialising a few basic items of furniture out of nowhere, and a small brown package in the centre of the room. Pinkie nodded to Discord, and the two disappeared.

Pinkamena looked around her cell, noting the sudden absence of any of Pinkie's bodily fluids, and the plain wooden bed, table and chair than now stood against the far wall, "I'm not accepting your charity, what a joke... What's this?" She trotted over to the package and picked it up. It was no bigger than her hoof, but it felt quite heavy. She unwrapped it slowly, and was hit by an emotion she hadn't felt in over a decade as she beheld the contents. Anypony else would've seen a small, insignificant rock, and interpreted it as a cruel joke, but she knew better. She examined it in detail, and found not a single error in its design. It was a perfect replica of the final rock she had been turning before Pinkie took control all those years ago, down to the last minute detail, 'She remembered that? Why?' As if in response to her question, a small label fluttered out from beneath the rock and landed face-down on the floor beneath. Hesitantly, she reached down and turned it over in her hoof:

I've never forgotten. I betrayed my best friend that day. I can never atone for that. Pinkamena, if you're reading this, I just want you to know that I don't expect you to forgive me. I don't deserve it.

But I'm truly, genuinely sorry regardless.

-Your betrayer, and jailer, and monster, Pinkie Pie

The emotion resurfaced again, even if it was only brief.

A sharp, stinging surge of guilt.

She stayed like that, re-reading the note over and over again, for a long time. Each time, a memory of the relationship between them would crop up, and the guilt would stab at her heart relentlessly. "Pinkie..." She caught herself, looked at her trembling hooves, and spat on the floor in disgust at her own weakness, "Unbelievable!" She grasped the rock, drew back her hoof, and prepared to hurl it as far across the room as possible.

But she couldn't.

Pinkie jolted awake, raising a hoof to her nose slowly, confirming it was, in reality, undamaged. Though this applied to the rest of her too, she swore she still ached from the blows she had received. She glanced around to find Discord looking over at her quizzically, "Pinkie, what exactly were you trying to achieve by letting her do that to you?"

Pinkie wiped a residual tear from her eye and steadied her breathing slowly, "Nothing. I deserved it for everything I've put her through, that's all. It doesn't matter if she won't forgive me afterwards."

Discord shook his head at her misplaced sense of justice, "Well, I think it's safe to say we won't be making progress any time soon in that department."

Pinkie shrugged, "I dunno. I'm going back in a few hours anyways, so I guess I'll find out."

Discord let his mouth hang open, "You're doing that again!? Today!?"

"Yeah, and I think it's best if I go alone this time."

Discord slumped back in resignation, "Fine, but why?"

She averted her gaze, "I'd rather not say. There's a lot of things I expect her to say when I go back."

He shrugged in defeat and sank his face into his claw, "Fine..."

Twilight trotted over, Fluttershy beside her, with Angel atop her head. The unicorn raised an eyebrow at him, "What's wrong with you all of a sudden? What happened?"

Discord threw his arms up into the air - and caught them a few seconds later - with a weary sigh, rolling his eyes all the way around as he did so, "Oh, not much really. Pinkie just decided to become Pinkamena's personal punching bag for the duration of the visit."

Fluttershy gasped, and Twilight frowned at him, "And you just watched!?"

He spread his arms quickly, "I STOPPED her, and Pinkie told me to let her continue!" He sighed, "I'm far too old for this... Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to blow off some steam." Steam shot out of his ears promptly, "This entire day has been pretty mentally taxing so far." He shuddered and pointed at Pinkie, "Especially after seeing how the inside of her mind works..." A snap of his fingers caused him to vanish with a flash, leaving the others to question Pinkie.

Fluttershy examined Pinkie quickly, "You're not hurt, are you?"

Pinkie shook her head, "She hurt 'inner me', but 'real me' is fine, I think."

"Why did you let her do that to you, Pinkie!?" Twilight put her forehooves on Pinkie's and stared her straight in the eyes.

Pinkie stared back, "I already told Discord like ten seconds ago! I deserved it! I've done horrible things to her! She has every right to do what she did!"

"And what about your rights, Pinkie? You can't honestly expect me to believe that you did those things just to be horrible to her on purpose. You'd never do something like that intentionally!"

Pinkie looked away, "That doesn't matter. I still did all those awful things to her, even if I didn't fully understand what I was doing, I'm still responsible for what I did."

Twilight released Pinkie's hooves and stepped back, "Yes, you're right, and you should try to set things right. But letting her hurt you isn't going to solve anything!"

Pinkie rose and trotted over to her saddlebags, withdrawing a canteen of water and taking several gulps from it. She wiped her mouth and spoke, "Even if it doesn't, it still makes her feel better, that's all that matters to me."

Twilight shook her head, "Pinkie..."

Pinkie put a hoof over the unicorn's lips, "Twilight, let's not talk about it right now, okay? It's depressing and we all have other things to worry about. Serious things."

Twilight eventually relented, "Okay Pinkie, have it your way. But just so you know, I consider the well being of my friends to be the most serious thing on my mind; that comes before anything else."

They sat in silence for almost half an hour before Discord flashed back into existence. The next few hours were spent drawing up their plans for the immediate future, much to Twilight's relief.

"... So basically we need to keep moving east from here?"

Discord snapped his fingers, causing a dotted line to appear on the map that was laid out between them, starting at the San Palomino Desert and finishing just off to the east of Appleloosa, "Correct. I'll reveal more as we go, I'm still putting the final details together in my head, but we definitely need to head east."

Twilight prodded a hoof down onto the new destination on the map, then raised it and jabbed it towards Discord, "I'm not sure I like the fact that you have a destination in mind but won't tell us where, or why we're going there. Don't get me wrong, we're both on the same page here, but I hate not knowing."

He shrugged, "It's because where we go beyond there depends on several variables. Namely, how close Celestia's little toy soldiers will be behind us."

Fluttershy looked at Discord nervously, "S-Soldiers? You think she'll send the m-military after us?"

He nodded, "We're technically plotting to overthrow her here, so yes, I wouldn't be too surprised. That being said, they'll have to find us first." He winked slyly, "And I don't think we're in any danger of being caught just yet, are we? Unless her guards really, really like sand."

Twilight eyed him warily, "Alright, but you'd better fill us in on this plan of yours pretty soon. It's starting to look a little suspicious."

Discord just smiled and held out his arms to either side, "Would I ever lie to you?"

Twilight smirked slightly, but her tone remained serious, "Only if I ever gave you the chance." She yawned loudly, "I think I'll hit the hay soon. That training took a lot out of me earlier."

Pinkie sighed and trotted over to her bed, "I'd better do this before anypony tries to sleep then..."

Fluttershy sat in the chair closest to her, "I know you'll figure something out, Pinkie."

"Thanks, I sure hope so." She closed her eyes and exhaled slowly.

The ambient sounds of the desert wind outside, and the quiet breathing of her friends stopped. She knew she was inside the cell, she wasn't going to waste time any more. In the back of her mind she was grateful that her previous injuries had disappeared as she opened her eyes, bracing herself as she did so in expectation of a flurry of blows. They never came. Pinkamena was sitting in the same position as she had been during their previous visit, staring up at her blankly once again. Pinkie took a step forwards and spoke quietly, "I-I'm ready when y-you are..."

Pinkamena didn't respond, instead holding up the rock she had been gifted and gently tossing it to land by Pinkie's hooves. Once the clattering of stone on stone faded, Pinkamena finally spoke, though her tone seemed devoid of much of the malice it had held during their previous encounter, replaced by what sounded like confusion, "Why do you remember that moment so well, Pinkie?"

"... What?"

"Tell me! Why is it that you remember that moment so well? I've replayed that scene over and over in my head for years, and that," She gestured to the rock, "Is an exact replica. Flawless. Obviously, you've thought back almost as much as I have. Why?"

Pinkie's expression switched from fearful to pensive in a heartbeat, "... Because it was, until a few months ago at least, the worst day of my entire life."

Pinkamena frowned, "The worst day!? How!? After you locked me away in here you found your talent and passion, left the rock farm, and lived the life you've always wanted!"

Pinkie nodded solemnly, "All of those things are true, but in the process I lost - imprisoned - my only foalhood friend." She sniffed back the sadness as best she could, "And the only pony who will now never befriend me after what I've done to her, and rightly so..."

Pinkamena didn't visibly respond and kept her tone level, "So, you said something bumped it down the list of worst days of your life?"

"Y-Yes, only one other thing has ever happened that was worse than that day for me..." She looked at the floor as she remembered, "It was when Spike, and all those other ponies died... And the weeks afterwards..."

"I remember. I was close to escaping, the loss and anguish had weakened your resolve." She spoke objectively, "Then Twilight offered you a 'cure', as if I was some sort of disease. Tell me, Pinkie..." She stood up but remained in place, "What did you think I was, until Discord cleared things up?" Pinkie started and stopped several times before Pinkamena fixed her with a cold, judgemental stare, "I want the truth, Pinkie!"

"I-I... When I w-was still small, after the rock farm I mean, I thought y-you were j-just an imaginary friend. When I got older, and you started..." She looked at Pinkamena, but she didn't show any indication of her feelings, "... Trying to break me down so you could escape, I realised that you weren't imaginary..."

Pinkie seemed fearful about continuing. Pinkamena didn't seem to notice, tilting her head slightly, "And?"

"..." She shuffled around on the spot ashamedly, "I thought I-I was delusional. Or m-mentally ill... Or even that I w-was g-going... insane..." She trembled as she tried to calm herself, "I know h-how i-it s-sounds, b-but I honestly had n-no idea you were r-real. That you c-could think, and feel." Tears fell down her muzzle, but she made no attempt to stem them now, instead focusing on saying what she had to say, "I w-would never, ever have d-done this to y-you if I'd known. It's wrong! I'd never do that to anypony on purpose!"

Pinkamena's stony expression softened ever-so-slightly at the revelation, but she quickly reigned in her cold composure and trotted up to Pinkie, "One more question, Pinkie."

Pinkie fought the urge to retreat as Pinkamena drew closer, but still lowered her head reflexively, "Y-Yes?"

Pinkamena placed a hoof beneath her jailer's chin and lifted her head so their eyes met, noting the intense fear in her eyes, "Is what you told your friends earlier true? Are you really willing to let me hurt you as recompense for your actions, and not just for your own personal gain in the long run?"

Pinkie shook as her legs almost gave beneath her, and scrunched her eyes shut in preparation for the inevitable beating she was about to receive, causing more tears to roll down her face, "Yes."

The air was thick with tension, the pregnant silence only broken by an occasional quiet whimper from Pinkie as her alter-ego scrutinised her.

"Open your eyes." She was too scared to even think twice and complied immediately. Pinkamena gazed deeply into Pinkie's terrified eyes, searching for a single hint of dishonesty, but all she found was raw fear, and absolute sincerity. She released Pinkie's chin, causing her to collapse onto her haunches as her shaking legs finally gave out. Pinkamena's voice held hints of confusion and sadness, "Just go, Pinkie."

Pinkie watched as Pinkamena turned and trotted back to her original position before sitting down facing away from her, "O-Okay..." She shakily climbed to her hooves, "D-Do you need anything before I go?"

Unbeknownst to Pinkie, Pinkamena's eyes widened just a fraction before she spoke, "I... just need time to think..." She turned her head just enough to fix Pinkie with a menacing one-eyed death stare, "So get. OUT."

Pinkie vanished without another word.

Following Pinkie's return to consciousness everyone had climbed into their respective beds. After a deliberate snap of his fingers, Discord had plunged the room into darkness, and everything was still, and silent, save for the sound of gentle breathing in the dark.

Everything remained still and silent for quite some time before Twilight sat up slowly and trotted as quietly as she could to the bathroom. After shutting the door with great care so as to make no sound, she trotted over to the small stream that ran alongside one wall and dipped a hoof into it, 'Freezing!' The sensation snapped her back to full alertness momentarily, but she soon felt the drowsiness closing back in again. She was tired, and she knew it, but she didn't care, 'If I stay awake the nightmares can't reach me... I can't go to sleep if the others... need to sleep, and I... don't want to... see those... things... again...' She felt the heaviness of her eyelids, the day's exhaustion taking it's toll on her as they closed slowly and her head tilted forwards, "... No..."

She splashed her hoof into the stream sluggishly, causing the ice-cold torrent to spray up into her face momentarily. She yelped slightly and backpedalled into the opposite wall, shivering as the droplets slowly slid along her form. In her moment of clarity Twilight reached up with a dry hoof to check that her bandage hadn't been soaked. Upon confirming that it wasn't she gave a relieved sigh and rubbed her eyelids vigorously, "They deserve to sleep. They've given up so much. The least I can do is give up a few hours sleep so I don't wake them..." Her eyelids began drooping once more, "Stay awake!..." Everything within the mare told her not to. She found herself giving in, and made a last-ditch attempt to remain fully conscious, lifting a foreleg to her muzzle and biting down upon it as hard as she dared. She gave a whimper, but didn't release the pressure. Pain was good - even if it didn't feel so - it meant she was still awake.

"I'm sure I read somewhere that ponies are herbivores, you know."

Discord's voice startled her into rolling across the floor, and almost into the stream, before she finally righted herself. She looked up and noticed him sitting on the roof with a curious expression, "Look, Discord, I'm tired and I can't..." She stopped abruptly, being snapped back to her senses once again as her voice adopted an accusatory tone, "Discord... What are you doing watching me in the bathroom?"

He looked confused for a moment, then deadpanned as he realised what she was insinuating, "Don't flatter yourself, Twilight. I came to investigate why our resident unicorn was talking to herself and whimpering in apparent pain, thank you very much."

She frowned at him, raising her whisper as loud as she dared, "So what? For all you know I could've been-" She paused, realising what she was about to say, "..."

Discord's expression fell into one of absolute dismay, "Thank you, Twilight, for successfully turning this brief exchange into the most awkward conversation of the week." He rolled his eyes as blood visibly rushed up to her face, "Let's steer this back on track, shall we? Care to tell me why you were trying to..." He intentionally avoided using the phrase 'eat yourself', given how it could be interpreted, "Bite a chunk out of your own leg?"

She turned away from him, trying to hide her blush, "I-It's nothing, really."

He was obviously unconvinced, "Uh-huh... I'm pretty sure I heard the words 'stay awake' whilst I was out there."

Twilight looked over her shoulder back at him worriedly, "I didn't wake the others, did I?"

"No, I don't think so." Seconds ticked by in silence, "Well?"

Twilight looked away, "'Well' what?"

He dropped down from the roof and levitated before her, "Don't play stupid, Twilight, you know exactly what I mean."

She shifted on her hooves uncomfortably before electing to trot over to the stream, staring into it and keeping her back to him as her blush subsided, "I've... been having nightmares ever since the fight with Celestia... Horrible nightmares." She sighed, "Luna took care of them before I left, but she can't now. I was having one last night before either of you arrived, and I can't just fall asleep now; there's no way I'm risking waking the others after all they're going through for my sake." Gently, she dipped the tip of a hoof just into the water, swirling it around and allowing the water to flow around it in turn, "Besides, I don't want to fall asleep anyway, all I see is my little brother being tortured by that bitch Celestia, over and over, and there's no way I'm going to willingly put myself through that."

Discord stroked his beard sagely, "Why didn't you just say so?"

Twilight removed her hoof and span around to look at him with wide, hopeful eyes, "Y-You can fix it!?"

He smirked, "Of course I can! 'I'm really terrible at following the rules', remember?"

The joy in Twilight's expression began to fade like a deflating balloon, "But... if you use your magic on me couldn't that cause me problems later, like what Pinkie has?"

He shook his head, "No, it shouldn't do. I'm not changing anything within you if I block your nightmares out with magic. It's more of a barrier against the nightmares, rather than a mind-altering magical procedure. Of course, it won't be permanent, I'll have to keep re-casting the spell every so often, but it's better than having me meddle with your brain, I'm sure you'll agree."

She bit her lip, considering her options, "So it's safe?"

"One hundred percent Discord approved, I assure you."

It didn't take her long to decide, "Alright then, can you do it now?"

"Certainly." He leaned through the air towards her and extended his claw, pointing at her horn, "Hold still though." She did so, and felt it connect with the end of her horn. A jolt of pain shot down it and caused her to jump back, though it was notably less painful than touching it had been earlier, "Done, I think."

Twilight seemed shocked by the apparent simplicity of it, "Really? Just like that?"

"Yes. As I've said, this is infinitely easier than tinkering with individual cells and the like." He yawned loudly, "Guess there's only one way you'll find out if it worked though, eh? Goodnight, Twilight." He disappeared with a snap of his fingers, leaving Twilight to roll her eyes as she exited the bathroom to see him appear on his cloud not ten metres away from his original position. Quietly, she made her way over to her bed and shuffled into a comfortable position beneath the sheets, though her worries remained prevalent in her thoughts as she felt sleep try to take her, 'I hope it worked... Please let it have worked... I don't want to see... those things anymore... I don't want to... have to watch... those things... happen... Spike... Celes...' She was swept into the welcoming embrace of a tranquil, dreamless sleep before she could even finish.

Discord watched her drift off. The slight sheen of his teeth could just be made out as he grinned manically in the darkness. For the first time since his before original imprisonment, everything was playing out perfectly.

A small whimper drew his attention to Fluttershy. She was curled into a ball with tears leaving dark streaks across her face at semi-regular intervals, in time with her gentle sobs. He gazed upon her and felt that oh-so-irritating pain beginning to flare in his chest at the sight of his only true friend suffering. He drew his lips in tight, and his smile disappeared.

Almost everything was playing out perfectly.

The following morning had passed tediously. Other than Twilight thanking Discord for staving off her nightmares, nothing of any real note had happened. With Twilight's horn only just on the verge of being usable again, the unicorn found herself unable to do much except go through the plans they had discussed and reflect on her current situation. Fluttershy had kept herself occupied by sorting through the medicines in her saddlebags and re-arranging them into a logical order, but after doing so she found herself without anything productive to do either, and was currently laid by Angel's bed, petting him gently. Pinkie had been unusually quiet for the most part, only speaking up occasionally to break the extended periods of silence, and Discord was currently out creating chaos elsewhere.

They all jolted when Pinkie clapped her hooves out of nowhere and jumped up onto her bed, "Alrighty, I think it's about time I made another visit to Pinkamena."

Twilight looked up at her sternly, "I meant what I said yesterday. Don't put yourself in harm's way like that again! Your safety is important to us, Pinkie..." She glanced at Fluttershy for support, who nodded in agreement.

Pinkie relaxed onto the bed with a sigh, "I know, and I'm grateful for that... But it's her call, not mine." She focused and quickly slipped away into her mindscape before the conversation could continue further.

Twilight scowled and blew her mane upwards in exasperation at Pinkie's departure. She turned her gaze to Fluttershy, who looked back at her glumly, "She's j-just doing what she thinks is right, Twilight... I d-don't agree with it either, but we really shouldn't interfere; we've never g-gone through what she's going through right now, it must be very hard for her..."

Twilight's sour expression faded gradually, "I know, I just don't want to see her suffering. It's really been affecting her as it is, but she's trying not to show it."

Fluttershy glanced at the floor dismally, "I've noticed... All we can do is be there for her right now."

"But it's almost as if she wants to be hurt! Surely there's another way!?"

Fluttershy rose from Angel's side and gently placed a hoof on Twilight's shoulder, "If there is, it's up to her to find it..."

Pinkamena sat in her usual position in the centre of the cell. However, two things immediately struck Pinkie as different. The first being that Pinkamena was now sat in the chair she had been given during the first visit, though the table and bed remained against the back wall, apparently undisturbed. The second was that Pinkamena was still facing away from the cell entrance, just as she had been at the end of the previous visit, leaving Pinkie to stare at the back of her head, and her long, straight mane. Despite Pinkie being unable to see her counterpart's face, the image seemed strangely serene to her.

Pinkie shook her head and focused. She lifted a hoof and moved a step closer, the sound created by its gentle collision with the floor giving the impression that it was actually made of lead as the silence of the cell was shattered. She lifted the next, but paused mid-step as Pinkamena let out a melancholic sigh and spoke without moving an inch, "Don't speak, Pinkie. I'm still thinking. Just leave. Now." Pinkie hesitated, very nearly giving in to the temptation to ask questions before releasing a conflicted sigh of her own and vanishing.

Pinkamena looked down at her hooves. Unbeknownst to Pinkie, the replica rock had been nestled in them throughout the brief encounter, and indeed, ever since she had left the previous day. She turned it over in her hooves, and an abstract thought occurred to her, prompting her to raise an eyebrow at her own sudden unpredictability, 'It's so strange... Even something so cold can become warm to the touch, given time and something to spread warmth to it...' She smiled just a fraction before considering what she was thinking and letting her expression fall into a frown, 'But it will always turn cold again, just as soon as it is released and cast aside...'

Nevertheless, her hooves remained firmly around the rock as she adopted a passive expression and looked back at the wall, continuing her colossal internal debate.

Twilight looked up from the map to see Pinkie looking around in apparent confusion, "That was fast. What happened?"

Pinkie seemed perplexed, "I... I don't know. She just said she's still thinking and told me to leave."

Twilight rolled up the map and trotted over to her, "Thinking about what?"

Pinkie shrugged half-heartedly, "I dunno. It must be important though, she told me to get out straight away..."

Twilight's expression became one of deep thought, "Be careful around her, Pinkie. We don't have any idea what she might be planning."

"I don't think she's planning anything. She sounded almost sad and confused at the same time."

Fluttershy took a small sip from her canteen before joining them by Pinkie's bedside, "I-It sounds to me like she's making a decision..."

Twilight locked eyes with Pinkie, "Even if it doesn't seem malicious to you, you'd still better be careful, you never know."

Pinkie trotted over to the sofa and slumped onto it, still deep in thought, "I guess so..."

Twilight opened her mouth to speak, but barely formed the first syllable before Discord appeared with a flash, "Did I miss anything exiting?"

Twilight's voice dripped with sarcasm, "Oh, absolutely. While you were gone we had a physics-defying extravaganza of a party; zero-gravity and everything. Shame you missed it. Perhaps if you give us any indication other than a brief 'bye' that you're leaving we can arrange the next one to be held whilst you're still here."

Discord tipped his head back and gave a drawn-out sigh, "No need to be snide, Twilight. Besides, I thought students were supposed to respect their mentors?"

She smiled slightly, "That'll certainly be the day. Besides, I've already done that before, it didn't end well, remember?"

Discord capitalised on the opportunity to utilise some sarcasm of his own, "Really? Oh, yes, I'd totally forgotten up until this point! I thought we were all in the middle of the desert for a laugh!"

Twilight shook her head amusedly, "Okay, okay, let's not make a cycle of this. Things will be difficult enough without..." She trailed off as she caught a glance of Pinkie frowning at her, "... Pinkie? Are you alright?"

"You had a party? Like, just now? While I was out?"

Twilight noted the sinister undertones in her friend's voice and spoke quickly, "You were out for around a minute, Pinkie. How could we eve-"

"So you couldn't just wait a minute, huh?" Her eyes were darting between Twilight, Fluttershy and Angel rapidly, "You set up the best party ever, partied, and packed everything away after a single minute!? Did you just do this to make me and Discord jelly!?"

Discord, who didn't quite understand what Pinkie had meant, chuckled at the image of Pinkie being turned into a wobbling cube of jelly, and resolved to add it to his 'To Do' list.

"I thought we were friends, you guys... You don't just do this kind of thing without even telling everypony... Why did you even bring me along if you're just going to exclude me from all the fun?"

Twilight rolled her eyes, but started to panic as Pinkie's mane began deflating, "Pinkie, it-"

"Do you even want me here at all?"

"Pinkie-"

"Is that all I am to you, a joke?"

"Pin-"

"I bet you were all laughing at me, weren't you? That's just mean, you guys. Why would you even-" She was silenced as Fluttershy - who had trotted around to her unnoticed - gently pressed a hoof to her chin, closing her mouth, and used another to gesture at Twilight.

Pinkie's eyes met Fluttershy's, before following the direction of her hoof and looking at Twilight, who spoke exhaustedly, "There was no party, Pinkie. I was being sarcastic."

Pinkie's sad expression was replaced by confusion momentarily before realisation dawned upon her. Fluttershy removed her hoof, causing Pinkie to look up at her, "... No party?"

Fluttershy smiled demurely, "No party."

Pinkie's mane re-inflated quickly, "Oh... Sorry about that then. But seriously, don't scare me like that." She hopped off the sofa and bounced across to Twilight, "Really though, Twi, everypony says sarcasm's the lowest form of wit."

"But the highest form of intelligence." Twilight quipped with a smile.

Pinkie frowned slightly, "I'd be careful if I were you. You get any smarter and we're gonna have problems soon enough."

"What?"

Pinkie shrugged, "Knowledge is power, and power corrupts. Any more intelligence and you'll turn evil on us any day now."

Fluttershy and Discord chuckled in unison as Twilight and Angel buried their heads in their hooves and paws respectively at Pinkie's convoluted train of thought.

Upon the removal of her bandage the following day, Twilight was deemed healthy and had returned to her training with Discord, although she was now noticeably more careful about over-exerting herself than she had been previously. She currently stood in the centre of the nullification barrier she had been practising in, panting heavily.

"Do you need to rest?"

Twilight nodded, "Just... for a few... moments..."

She dropped to her haunches as Discord released the barrier and stroked his beard, "I think I'll let you try your hoof at manipulating external chaos soon; you might find it easier. It will probably have to wait until we're out of this desert though. There's a significant lack of everything - including chaos - here. Well, apart from sand, of course, there's plenty of sand."

Twilight grunted her approval as she attempted to catch her breath. After several seconds she stood back up, "Okay, I think I'm good to go."

The barrier re-materialised around her at Discord's command, "Alright. I want you to think of your little brother for a moment." She glanced at him questioningly and noticed his serious expression. With some effort she recalled Spike's face without letting her sadness show through, "How do you feel right now, Twilight?"

She closed her eyes, "Sad... And hurt... And weak..."

He hummed, "Now imagine Celestia. Imagine what she did to him. Imagine what she intends to do to your friends if she finds us, when their only crime was supporting their friend in her hour of need."

The seconds ticked by in silence before Twilight drew a sharp breath and opened her eyes, revealing her now glowing, dark red irises, "She. Will not. Harm them!"

Discord smirked to himself whilst she wasn't looking, 'So much potential. No wonder you wanted her so badly, Celestia.' His smirk widened as the air around her sparked slightly with raw chaos energy, 'But she's mine now... My very own student in chaos.'

He dropped his grin as she looked up at him, "Good. Now focus, Twilight. It's no good saying that if you could end up hurting them in the process. Control your emotions. Bend their influence over you..."

A wise pony once said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. As such, after her fourth failed attempt to try and get Pinkamena to say anything other than 'Leave!', Pinkie had started doubt her own mental stability all over again. A fifth visit had earned her the marginally different response of 'Leave, and don't come back until I'm finished.' After pondering over it for some time - and coming up with nothing - she resolved to ask Fluttershy's opinion, "I just don't get it... What could be taking her so long to think about?"

Fluttershy hummed thoughtfully, "She's certainly giving it a lot of thought. Whatever it is, it's probably important."

"But should I be worried? Or happy? Or something else? What could it be? What should I do, Fluttershy?"

The pegasus rested a hoof on Pinkie's shoulder, "I think you should do as she says. It sounds like she needs time to think without any distractions. I-If it's a decision, like I think it is, it would probably be better if you just waited for her to make her choice. Even if I'm wrong, she obviously wants to b-be left alone, for now at least."

Pinkie thought it over for a moment, "I guess you're right. It's just... if it really is super important, what could it be?"

Fluttershy shrugged slightly, "I'm sure you'll find out eventually."

Pinkie smiled but stopped as she twitched slightly, and smiled giddily, "Three, two, one!"

A pair of silhouettes appeared behind her right on cue, the taller of the two placing his mismatched hands over both Fluttershy's and Pinkie's eyes, "Guess who?"

Pinkie hopped up and down slightly, "Oh, oh, oh! I know! It's Discord! It's Discord!"

Fluttershy shrank back a little, a mild blush on her cheeks, "D-Discord?"

He laughed, "Sorry, Fluttershy, but Pinkie was just a tad faster I'm afraid." He removed his hands and waved his arms in a wide arc, conjuring a multicoloured pinstriped suit and top-hat, "Which means that you, Pinkie Pie, have earned..." A drum roll sounded loudly, "Five hundred Discord points!" Thunderous applause - supplemented by the cheers of Pinkie herself - filled the room. Discord turned his head to the side and spoke quickly, and in a low tone, "A reminder that Discord points are completely non-redeemable and exist only as an intangible reward for the completion of childish games. Discord points should not be mistaken for any form of currency, possession, or indication of actual accomplishment beyond what a highly intelligent rock could hope to achieve." Pinkie had spent the duration of the disclaimer bouncing around obliviously. Twilight rolled her eyes but smiled as she met Fluttershy's gaze. Angel had seen enough and elected to hop purposefully over to Fluttershy's saddlebags before jumping inside and closing the top with the same fervour as one slamming a door.

After everyone else had calmed down, each took a seat and allowed themselves a moment to relax. Twilight tipped her head back and stared at the roof for a few moments before speaking, "Discord, there's something I've been meaning to ask you..."

He raised an eyebrow, "Ask away."

She lowered her head to look at him, "It's just, well, I've thought over what got us here in the first place quite a lot now, and I have a hunch already, but I need you to clarify something."

Discord furrowed his brow in thought, "Okay, go on."

"Back when we escaped, you broke that barrier spell with relative ease before we left, right?"

He nodded, "Right, but I thought we'd already discussed how that was possible?"

"No, no, no, I'm not asking about that. I want to ask about the last time you were sealed. The exact same barrier spell was used to trap and seal you back then, yet you've proven that you could've broken it whenever you wanted..." She voiced her conclusion confidently, "It was never the case that you couldn't break it. No, the fact of the matter is that you yourself decided not to." Discord's expression became less intrigued and more defensive as he realised what Twilight was about to ask, "Why?"

After several seconds of tense silence he held up his hands in defeat, "Okay, you got me, Twilight. In all honesty I was hoping you'd have overlooked this..." A hefty sigh escaped him, "Let's drop another drama-bomb then..." He leaned back in his chair, avoiding the gazes of the other three, "You're right, I could've broken that barrier, and I fully intended to perform a daring last-minute escape." His voice lowered as he spoke dejectedly, "Then Celestia delivered her ultimatum to Fluttershy, and I changed my mind."

Fluttershy's eyes widened in response, "Y-You... All that t-time you c-could have escaped?"

He sat up and forced himself to meet Fluttershy's gaze, noticing the slight sheen to her eyes, "Yes."

She looked away, "Then why? Why d-did you m-make me do that to you?"

"Have you forgotten what Celestia threatened you with?"

Fluttershy whipped her head back up, glaring at him through her mane, "I don't care what she said! I'd rather have suffered at her hooves than made you suffer at mine! Why!?" She took a deep, calming breath and shrank backwards into her seat, speaking softly once again, "Why did you put yourself through that again?"

Discord was well aware of all four sets of eyes staring up at him - Angel having poked his head out upon hearing Fluttershy's distress - and cleared his throat awkwardly. Twilight thought she saw a slight tinge of redness rise to his face, but she couldn't be sure, "Because, Fluttershy, regardless of what you say about suffering in my place... You're..." He stood and quickly turned his back to them, "You're my friend... and the only one in this entire world that I care about more than myself. I did what I did because, no matter what, your safety is... important to me... You are important to me..." He coughed and tried to hide his embarrassment at his own words, waving his claw dismissively, "Besides, I probably had an extended sentence coming to me anyway after all I've done."

Silence fell, broken promptly by the sound of hoofsteps approaching him from behind. Discord sighed inwardly, 'That didn't go as planned, did it?' The hoofsteps stopped, and stillness dominated the room for just a moment. He prepared himself for the unexpected, but froze nonetheless as he looked down at the pair of yellow forelegs locked around his waist.

"You're my friend too." Fluttershy audibly sniffed back her tears, "And all my friends are important to me. Please..." She released him, allowing him to turn and face her as she looked at him with genuine concern, "Tell me you won't ever do anything like that ever again."

Discord stared down at her for several seconds, but she didn't shy away or hide behind her mane as she usually did. After coming to the realisation that she wasn't going to stop until she got an answer he let his expression soften, "You want me to promise?"

Fluttershy nodded fervently.

"Fine. I promise I'll never to do 'anything like that' ever again."

She hugged him once again before he had the chance to evade her, "Thank you, Discord, for everything..."

Discord stood still and nodded as he stared blankly at the mare that held nothing but kindness in her heart, and felt his own twinge slightly. He had lied to her, of course he had. There would never come a day where he would consider abandoning her to suffer, of that he was absolutely certain. If it meant breaking a simple promise to keep her safe, so be it.

'Besides, promises are a ridiculous concept anyway...' He snapped back to reality as an inexplicable chill ran up his spine. He glanced around and met Pinkie's now glacial stare. Watching as she squinted her eyes further, another trickle of ice slid up his spine, and he remembered their bargain, 'Nopony breaks a Pinkie Promise...' He shivered and forced a weak smile, 'Except those ones...' Pinkie returned a sweet smile of her own, apparently satisfied that he got the message.

Discord forced himself to look away, noticing that Fluttershy was still adhered to his waist, and that Twilight was grinning at him with a raised eyebrow, "Alright, Fluttershy, don't push your luck. I don't really do the hugs thing all that well."

She looked up at him and squeaked before backpedalling, her voice falling from alarmed to barely a whisper as she spoke, "I'm s-sorry! I d-didn't mean to, I was j-just thinking..."

"If it was about taking this relationship to a new level, I think I'd rather we just stay friends." He grinned manically as she registered what he meant and blushed from ear to ear.

Fluttershy swayed slightly at the sudden influx of blood to her face, "N-No! I-It's not like that at all! I m-mean it's n-not... I don't... We aren't..." Her mane promptly hid her face as she fell silent.

Twilight rolled her eyes, "He's teasing you, Fluttershy, just ignore him." The pegasus retreated over to her seat, trying to suppress her blush and regain her ability to speak; Angel hopped up alongside her and glared daggers at the draconequus. Twilight shook her head, "You won't be keeping your friend for long if you keep teasing her like that you know."

He held up his arms innocently, "Relax! It's totally harmless, right Fluttershy?" Fluttershy didn't move from her position on the chair, her face still completely obscured by her mane as she mumbled something that the others couldn't quite make out.

Twilight lowered her voice to a whisper, "With anypony else, you'd probably be right. But this is Fluttershy, she's timid at the best of times! As her friend, you should know! She certainly doesn't need this from you right now, buster!" She prodded a hoof at him.

Discord deadpanned, "You're seriously taking that approach? I'm your teacher, your magical superior, an immortal incarnation of chaos itself, and I'm at least a thousand years older than you. Don't try to mother me, Twilight." He frowned as she rolled her eyes and pointed a hoof at Fluttershy - who now had Pinkie prodding her at regular intervals, with little overall effect on the near-catatonic pegasus - before looking expectantly at Discord.

After noting the state of the pegasus, Discord whispered back worriedly, "But between you and me, you might be right... just this once." She smiled smugly at him, causing him to glare at her menacingly, "I will quite literally wipe that smirk off your face, unless you do so first."

Her expression fell flat, eliciting a satisfied grunt and a victorious smile from Discord as he turned and walked to the sofa. Twilight stuck her tongue out at him behind his back, 'I am so going to enjoy using his own magic to piss him off on a day-to-day basis. Then we'll see who's smiling.'

Pinkie shot into a bolt-upright position in her chair, startling the others as she cried out, "I've got it!"

Fluttershy unfurled herself from her instinctual defensive curl on the chair, "Uhm... Got what exactly?"

The party pony looked between each of the room's inhabitants before settling on Discord, "Remember how you told me not to call you 'Discy' anymore?"

Discord already had a good idea where this was going, "Yes. And no, you may not call me that again."

Pinkie clapped her hooves, "I have something better! How about... 'Disco'!?"

Dread began seeping into Discord's voice, "No! You will neve-"

"No, wait! Hear me out! If I call you Disco, and Twilight's your student, then we can shorten her name too!"

Twilight scrunched her eyes in confusion, "... What?"

"Duh! If Discord is your teacher, and his name is Disco, then we can shorten yours to 'Light'!" She thrust a hoof into the air, "Then, whenever anypony talks about you two, they can call you the Disco-Light Duo! Get it? As in like, lights at a disco? Isn't it just great!?"

Absolute silence descended upon the occupants of the room, at least until Angel decided to make the first move. Showing absolutely no expression on his face whatsoever, he hopped from Fluttershy's lap, traversed the floor as quickly as is possible whilst walking with two paws folded, and dove into Fluttershy's saddlebags without a sound; once again making sure to 'slam' the top shut.

Discord stood abruptly, his face as blank as Angel's, "For the first time in my life, I think I actually have to agree with Angel on this one." He snapped his fingers, conjuring a comically large set of saddlebags in the corner of the room. Wasting no time, he marched over to them and jumped inside, vanishing from sight completely with a whoosh of air.

Pinkie shot across the room and peered over the edge of the bags, revealing the tunnelling abyss within, and the draconequus hastily falling through it, "Oh no you don't!" She took a step back and vaulted over the edge into the bottomless sack of vortex after him, "Wheeeee!"

Fluttershy and Twilight shared a bemused expression as Pinkie's voice faded from hearing range. The pegasus flapped her wings uncomfortably, "T-Twilight... What just happened?"

Twilight didn't even bother to respond. She rose just as silently as Angel had, and trotted absent-mindedly to the bathroom door. She stopped before it for a brief moment before making up her mind and bashing her forehead against the wood at semi-regular intervals, "Years, Fluttershy... years of exactly... I don't even know what that was!" Twilight gave the door a final, exceptionally hard headbutt before stopping and rubbing her forehead gently in an attempt to stave off an oncoming headache, "This is week one, and I think my IQ has already been slashed in half... I don't even know anymore Flut-" She winced and grasped her head as a migraine from hell - courtesy of Pinkie, Discord, and the bathroom door - hit her full-force.

Fluttershy approached her from the side, "Headache?"

Twilight groaned and sank to her haunches, nodding slowly so as not to make herself feel nauseous, "Headache..."

Fluttershy sighed and trotted over to her saddlebags, "Painkiller?"

"Painkillers. Plural."

Author's Notes:

Hey all, just a quick note to say that I've now finished school, so I should be able to work on the story a little more now :D

Because the contest is almost over, I'm gonna shamelessly copy/paste this A/N from last chapter to try and get any last-minute joins:

If you've been looking for more good Twilight stories, and a group that uploads them consistently, then may I ask that you visit the group via this link: Private Mikemarksman's Recruitment Roster , and quote something along the lines of 'Mikemarksman sent me here' on that thread after joining.

As always, feel free to leave comments/suggestions below, as well as any criticisms you can provide.

- Mikemarksman, still 'scoping out' potential recruits :)

EDIT: This is the map they were examining. I have marked their current location in red.