Twilight approached the statue, a look of near-revulsion upon her face as she examined its twisted features. His head was drooped low, his face twisted into an expression of false despair, a stark comparison to the one of shock and surprise he had worn during his previous imprisonment.

"Woe is me, Master of Chaos and Deceit..." Twilight effectively spat at the statue. She despised everything about the loathsome creature that had almost fooled them all with crocodile tears and empty pleas. He was chaos incarnate. He was evil.

And yet, looking upon the despairing visage of the statue, she couldn't help but feel the tiniest bit sorry for him. This was the third time he had been sealed in stone over his lifetime, and if being turned to stone by a cockatrice was in any way similar, Twilight reasoned that even he wouldn't be enjoying it in the slightest.

She shook her head and regained what little she had let slip of her composure. He had made his choice, and she knew that although he was sealed, he could still see and hear the things that happened around him, "So, care to explain what that was all about last night?" Her tone was blunt and clipped as she continued, "After all that's happened recently, I think you of all... creatures, would be the least on my mind." She stared at the statue expectantly for several seconds, "What? No malicious laugh? No ridiculous monologue about chaos? Nothing!?" She kicked at the grass under her hooves for a moment, then strode around the statue, deliberately slowly, "Well, if you have nothing to say, I guess I'll just take a look around. If you don't mind, Discord." Venom effectively dripped from her voice.

She sauntered around the statue, scanning it meticulously until something caught her eye. A crack, small and unnoticeable to anypony not looking for anything suspicious, ran a few centimetres up his back. She approached slowly, then hovered a hoof over it, hesitant to touch it directly for fear of some sort of wicked trap. Magical energies were escaping from the crack, but they were weak.

"Nothing the Princess can't fix. Nice try though, I'm sure Celestia will find it just as amusing as I do!" She trotted back around to his front, cocked her head to the side and smiled sweetly. Nothing. He just stared back at her pathetically with those miserable eyes. A surging, inexplicable anger rose within her at the sight, "Why do you even look like that, huh!? It was your fault! You don't even have the right to look so sorry for yourself after what you tried!" she huffed. After a moment, she took a deep breath, willing her anger to leave her. Even if he could hear her, she was still shouting at a statue, and to anypony else it would probably look rather odd, to put it politely. She exhaled loudly and closed her eyes for a moment.

Then she went stock-still, almost paralysed, her blood running ice-cold as she heard it.

"Twilight Sparkle..."

The unicorn snapped her eyes open immediately and glared up at the statue, expecting an attack. Nothing came, 'W-Was that really him!?' she thought to herself hurriedly. Deciding to test her theory, she closed her eyes again.

After a few seconds, she heard him speak again, "Twilight Sparkle, I would prefer if you kept your eyes closed. This is tiring enough as it is..." he spoke wearily.

Twilight was taken aback by his tone, but quickly recovered, shouting out loudly into the darkness that seemed to somehow extend far beyond that of her closed eyelids, "What do you want with me!? What are you planning!?" In an instant he was before her, standing in his normal colours, no longer encased in grey stone, "How did you!?"

He turned towards her, but his face still wore a sad expression, similar to the one his statue bore, "To put it simply, I didn't." he spoke matter-of-factly. "If you were to open your eyes now, you would see me in all my stone-grey glory once again." She regarded him warily and he huffed, "Go on, open your eyes. But please make it the last time for a while. I can't keep this up for long." Twilight did so, and as promised was met with the sight of the draconequus' statue once again, nothing had changed. She was perplexed now, and after a moment hesitantly closed her eyes once again, "What do you want, Discord?"

He didn't smirk, or laugh, or proudly announce his plans as she had expected him to. His voice and expression remained unchanged as he spoke, "I want to tell you the truth, about everything."

"What, exactly? I'm in no mood for games, Discord."

He glanced sadly into her eyes for a moment before speaking, "About your dream. About Celestia. About what happened with Calamity." He paused and drew a sharp breath, "And why I'm really sealed in this infernal rock..."

Twilight didn't buy it, "We both know why you were sealed! You deceived us! You were never reformed! You tried to start an all-out war! And as if that wasn't bad enough, you even lied to the only one who trusted you! Your only friend!"

She spoke no further, Discord's expression had flipped from sadness to rage, and her ears began ringing slightly even before he bellowed at her, "I DID NOT LIE TO HER!"

Silence descended upon the pair before Discord eventually spoke up once again, his wrath apparently subdued, "Sorry. But it's the truth..." Twilight swore she could hear a sniffle or two coming from his direction, but she had seen his crocodile tears before, her resolve remained strong, "Even if you don't believe me, listen to what I have to say. I have the answers that Celestia wouldn't give you, and I have the reason why she wouldn't, too. If you'll only stay, and listen."

She knew she shouldn't trust him, that everything was all part of some elaborate scheme, but the emotion with which he had roared at her, the sadness in his voice, the promise of answers, they all felt very real.

She came to her decision a long time before she admitted it to him, "... Okay, I'll listen. That's it. No spells, no favours, nothing. Got it?"

Discord nodded gratefully and began, "Let's start with why I was actually sealed, that will set us off nicely. I trust you remember what happened when you arrived that day?" Twilight nodded, of course she remembered, how could she forget? Poor Fluttershy had been devastated.

She cast her mind back...

[Four months earlier]
"Thank you all for coming on such short notice, I trust that you have the Elements of Harmony?" Celestia spoke regally. Before her stood the Bearers of the magical artefacts of which she spoke.

"Right here, Princess!" Twilight nodded to her saddlebag. She sounded eager to please, but her expression was all business, "Why did you summon us, Princess? Did something happen?"

Celestia gave a slow nod, "Yes, and it is something only the six of you, as the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony, can put right."

Applejack spoke up, "It must be mighty serious then! Right, Princess?"

Celestia managed a small smile, "Absolutely, Applejack. Though I don't think anypony is in any danger at the moment."

The others seemed perplexed by this, and Rarity took it upon herself to clear up the confusion, "Whatever do you mean, Princess?"

Celestia seemed to be deep in thought for a moment, then she glanced up at them and spoke resignedly, apparently unable to find a better answer, "You should all see for yourselves..." She stepped down from her throne gracefully and motioned for the others to follow as she trotted past them.

A few minutes later they were in the statue garden, and all - save Celestia - were surprised to see a large, magical, rectangular mass standing upright in the centre, shimmering slightly under the sun's rays. As they closed the distance they realised that the construct was having energy channelled into it by no less than twelve unicorns at once, and that it had an inhabitant. Within the large cuboid stood Discord, frantically looking in every direction, flailing his arms in the little extra room he had, shouting manically, "I demand that you release me this instant! I've done nothing wrong! This is a mistake!"

Of all the mares present, only Fluttershy showed any real concern, letting out an "Eep!" before galloping the last few meters, resting her forehooves against the magical prison. The others simply shared a look of contempt, they had all known this would happen eventually.

Discord glanced down at the new arrival, his demeanour changing immediately, a smile gracing his features for a moment, "Fluttershy! It's good to see you! What are you doing here? Not to say you're unwelcome or anything, I'm just wondering what my favourite little pony is up to!"

Fluttershy blushed slightly at the endearment before speaking up, "I-I'm not too sure myself, to be honest. The Princess summoned us here on short notice. I-If you don't mind me asking, why are you inside this box?" she asked with a confused tilt of her head.

Discord pouted and folded his arms awkwardly; having not enough room to move them freely made it look rather ridiculous, "Oh this? It's all just a big misunderstanding!" He stopped, then bared his teeth at the nearest casting unicorn, "A VERY BIG misunderstanding, actually! At the Princess's word they just trapped me in here! Didn't even give me time to explain myself!" his words effectively tumbled over one another, and somehow everypony present imagined them literally doing so, forming a large alphabetical heap. As he stopped to take a breath a look of realisation snapped across his features, "Wait, you said 'us', does that mean the others are here too?" His eyes quickly grew wide with panic.

Fluttershy gave him a slightly concerned smile and nodded as he looked past her and pinpointed her friends. For a moment, he drew himself back against the other side of the shape, preparing to bellow out enquiring exactly why she was smiling. Then he put the pieces together. They were here on short-notice. She didn't know. He exhaled deeply and regained his original composure, his voice taking on a dejected tone, "And you brought the Elements of Harmony..." At this he tipped his head forwards momentarily until his lone antler clacked against the barrier.

Again Fluttershy nodded, though she looked thoroughly concerned now, "What's wrong, Discord? You said it yourself, this is all just a misunderstanding right? There's no need to get so upset." she soothed. Discord raised his head slowly, momentarily pausing to share a weak smile with his only friend, before raising it further and meeting the glares of the other Bearers and the Princess herself.

Fluttershy turned and noticed the looks her friends wore, "W-What's wrong, everypony?"

Celestia glanced sympathetically at the yellow pegasus, understanding just how difficult this would be for her, "I have summoned you here today because Discord has once again become a great threat to Equestria, and must be sealed in stone once more." Silence reigned for several seconds, before being punctuated by a loud click as the lock box containing the Elements snapped open.

Fluttershy's expression was one of absolute disbelief, "W-W-What!?" she squeaked as if physically injured by the words the Princess had spoken, "Why!?"

Celestia looked away from Fluttershy and resumed staring at Discord, "Because," She glared at the draconequus with a fire in her eyes that made the raging inferno of her own personal star seem like a cool breeze in comparison as she spoke, "Just this morning he almost succeeded in single-handedly instigating an all-out war with the Griffon Kingdom!"

The five that stood by Celestia inhaled a sharp collective breath that turned into a hiss after the original shock had worn off. Subtle changes could be noticed in all five as they affixed their collective gaze upon the draconequus. Twilight had taken to glaring at Discord with nothing but contempt, Applejack had pulled the brim of her hat down a few inches so as to hide her features, and Rainbow Dash was grinding a hoof deep into the earth beneath her. Rarity was giving him a glare that promised him the only 'generous' thing he would be receiving from her would be a generous beating, and Pinkie was twitching somewhat, throwing her head to the side at random intervals to keep her slightly less bouncy mane out of her face.

Fluttershy simply wheeled around and stared up at Discord, tears welling up in her eyes, "Y-You didn't, did you!? P-Please tell me that's not true!"

Discord's eyes went wide as he began waving his arms frantically in the little space he had, "It was an accident! I'm telling the truth! Nopony will even give me the chance to explain anything!"

Rainbow Dash leapt forwards, aided by a burst from her wings, landing directly beside Fluttershy as she barked at him, "What's there to explain!? You lied to Fluttershy and the rest of us so that you could get into the castle, and the first opportunity you get to try and kill everypony in Equestria, you take it!" Fuming, the pegasus stomped her forehooves into the ground furiously, one after the other.

Discord reared back, a look of shock on his face, "I did no such thing! How dare you even make such accusations!? You don't even have any idea of what actually happened!" Both were now pressing their faces against the spell, glaring at each other through a veil only centimetres thick.

Applejack was now by Rainbow's side, "Like it even matters! Ya can't worm your way outta this one! Tryn'a explain that ya almost started a war by accident!? Ah ain't buyin' it!" Twilight glanced up at the Princess, who nodded back at her. A purple aura surrounded the Elements, which then floated and attached themselves to their corresponding owners. Rainbow Dash and Applejack huffed, turned, and cantered back to fall in line with the others.

But only five stood by the Princess, and only then did the others realise that Fluttershy was missing. She had faded into the background during the exchange, as she so often had a tendency to do. Now she stood, her head hung low, her body heaving steadily in time with her quiet sobs. They couldn't see her face though, she had been facing Discord the entire time.

Discord's expression had turned to one of agony as he tried to summon up the right words to offer comfort to his only friend. He came up with nothing, the unfamiliar pain he was feeling in his chest interfered with his thoughts, and he instead resolved to shooting a threatening but defensive glare at the others, warning them to keep their distance. Had he not been sealed by one of the most advanced barrier spells in existence, it would have worked. At that moment, none of the Bearers felt comfortable with their odds of winning should the draconequus break free. Drawn up to near full height, even in the tight confines of the barrier, eyes piercing, fang bared, his mismatched features contorted into a stance that simply spoke, 'If you take one step closer I'll rearrange you to the point where you'll wish you looked like me!' It was by far the most intimidating thing they had ever seen.

Twilight, however, was quicker to respond to her friend's plight than her own fears and was by her side almost immediately, reaching out a hoof to comfort her, "Fluttershy?"

The pegasus span around so fast Rainbow could've sworn she saw the sound barrier ripple slightly, "Don't touch me!" she screamed, louder than the others had ever heard her before. Twilight reflexively jumped back a few feet, startled and taken aback by the spontaneous outburst that had caused even Discord to flinch, "Don't you dare say my name as if you're my friend! That goes for all of you!" Fluttershy snapped the Element from her neck and hurled it in their general direction, narrowly missing Twilight's head, "You won't even give him a chance to explain! You've never trusted him! Ever since the beginning each and every one of you has done nothing but try and get rid of him!" Tears of anger now streamed down her face, and with every few words she spoke she took another deliberate step towards the frozen Twilight, "What's worse is that you expect me to just break my promise to him as if it was nothing! You didn't even ask how I felt! I'm his only friend, the only one who'll even give him a chance! No! There's no way I'm going to put him through that again, just because the six of you are too arrogant to even listen!"

Said six were absolutely horrified. They wouldn't have expected such an outburst from anypony present, never mind Fluttershy. Between that and the fact that she had just plainly insulted the Princess and her friends without even a second thought, and that she was still stepping furiously towards Twilight, nopony knew how to appropriately react. Celestia was the first to snap from her daze as she realised what might happen should Fluttershy and her student meet. A glow of pure white promptly surrounded the pegasus, immobilising her where she stood.

A bestial roar from somewhere behind her was heard, "Celestia, if you dare lay a hoof on her I swear I'll kill every last pony in this damned castle!"

Celestia shot Discord another blazing glare before she slowly stepped towards the pegasus, "Fluttershy, you need to calm down. Look at what you're doing to your friends."

Fluttershy was preparing to let another verbal missile fly, but as she looked up into the horrified and hurt faces of her friends her stomach turned to ice. The realisation of what she had just said, and what she had done, hit her with force. As Celestia released the spell, Fluttershy collapsed onto her haunches, her face a mask of absolute horror as she tried to comprehend the situation she had gotten herself into. Then she wept quietly into her forehooves, curling herself up into a ball, trying to make herself as small as possible.

Celestia trotted slowly up to her, setting herself down beside her and speaking softly, "It's alright, Fluttershy, we know how hard this must be for you, and none of us blame you for it, do we?" The Princess turned to the others quickly and gave them a look that told them that they didn't, or else; Fluttershy was hurting herself enough right now, she didn't need it from those closest to her too, regardless of what she might have said.

The five nodded and slowly approached as the pegasus unfurled herself and stared up at the Princess, "Really?" The Princess smiled in response and nodded reassuringly, as did the others.

They stayed like that for a few moments before Celestia's face grew serious once again, "Fluttershy, I'm sorry, but the spell won't last forever, even the best magicians get tired eventually. I have to ask you this time, as I should have done in the first place, will you seal Discord for the sake of Equestria?" The Element of Kindness, now slightly stained from where it had embedded itself in the dirt, levitated beneath her face. Fluttershy looked at it, a few remaining tears falling onto it, washing the dirt away, as if her tears were paying her penance and washing away the terrible things she had said.

"P-Princess..." she didn't look up, "I w-want to help you, I r-really do, b-but I can't just break a promise to a friend, e-especially when I'm the only friend he has... Friendship is magic, remember? Besides, c-couldn't it have been an accident like he says?"

Fluttershy's voice contained more than a trace of hope, but it only served to make the next part even more difficult for the Princess, "I'm sorry, Fluttershy, I truly am. If there were any other way to go about doing this, I would, but the fact of the matter is that what Discord did was certainly no accident. And although I believe that the magic of friendship is one of the most important and powerful things in existence, I simply cannot allow your friendship to take precedence over hundreds of thousands of innocent lives being at risk if he goes free. Again, I'm sorry, and I know this is too much to ask of you, but for the sake of my subjects - your friends and family as well as that of everypony in Equestria - I command that you do this." Celestia's expression became pained and she bit her lip slightly before she spoke, "Or suffer the consequences of your negligence..."

Everypony was visibly shocked by this, even despite the necessity of Fluttershy's assistance, nopony could quite believe that the Princess would threaten Fluttershy with anything so harsh. But, as Celestia knew, the situation demanded it, 'I sincerely hope that she comes to her senses, if she won't help us now then all hope for a peaceful future is effectively lost...'

Everypony awaited the pegasus' response with bated breath.

After what seemed like an eternity, she spoke, quietly even by her standards, her eyes never leaving her Element, "I-I'm sorry, Princess, but I made a promise, and I have to keep it." She slowly pushed her Element towards the Princess in defeat, her hoof shaking, "I w-won't seal Discord again. I'll accept the punishm-"

"No! Fluttershy, no..." Discord's expression was heavy with sadness and shame, "It's... hurting me, seeing you go through all of this for my sake..." Fluttershy had stood up and was trotting towards him now. He kept opening and shutting his mouth rapidly, the words trying to rise from him felt alien somehow. Eventually he settled down and spoke with his usual composure, "Even though it was an accident, I don't want you to have to pay for my mistakes..." She had reached the magical cell now, and placed her forehooves onto it softly, "You have several friends who care about you, very much... Even if they could do with showing it far more often." Fluttershy was fighting to blink back her tears now, desperately trying to maintain eye contact with him. "I... I don't want you to leave all that behind, to be punished for being my friend..."

The others looked on sceptically, disbelief evident on their faces. Not shocked disbelief. No, it was much simpler than that. Discord was only doing what he did best, second only to causing chaos: lie, and the six of them didn't believe a word he spoke.

Fluttershy couldn't stand the burning in her eyes any longer, she scrunched them shut, forcing the stinging tears across her face. Discord was fighting a massive internal battle, trying not to lose out to an urge he had withstood for millennia. After several long moments, Discord sighed in resignation, opening his eyes and waiting for the pegasus to do the same. As she did so, he spoke with a surprising calmness, "Fluttershy, it's time..." More tears flowed, but she nodded slowly in agreement. Twilight, ever apprehensive, gently floated the Element of Kindness into place around Fluttershy's neck. Discord spoke again, "If this is it for me, if I remain here forever, then I have one favour to ask, Fluttershy..."

She lifted her head and suppressed another sob as she nodded, "Y-yes?"

"You're my only friend..." His voice nearly cracked at this point, and the struggle within him increased tenfold, "So please... don't forget me... I won't forget you, I promise I won't..."

Fluttershy nodded slowly, "O-Of course, Discord. I promise, I won't forget." both wore a sad smile now.

Discord relaxed himself as best as possible and spoke up, though his eyes never left his friend, "I'm ready whenever you are, Celestia..."

The Princess nodded to the others to begin and called to the unicorns channelling the spell, "Formation two. No matter what happens, nopony leaves until I say so." Within seconds a new barrier had formed, encompassing a rectangular area so that the Princess, Discord, and the Bearer's stood inside. The smaller barrier surrounding Discord then fell slowly, seeming to sink into the ground. During the several tense seconds following the removal of the inner barrier, nopony seemed to breathe, all expecting Chaos Incarnate to attempt some great escape. When he didn't, they shared a confused glance, then stepped forwards. Celestia couldn't help but enquire, "So... nothing? Really? No great escape? No taunts?"

Discord simply shook his head before finally breaking his gaze with Fluttershy and looking up, "No... But I will say this." He scowled at her now, his blood boiling, "One. You will pay for putting her through this, Celestia. I won't forgive you until she does." He glared at the Princess with obvious disdain, but then his tone turned almost melancholic, "Two. You and I both know what you've done, what you're still doing all the time, you're even doing it now... And in all honesty, it doesn't suit you. Stop, before it's too late." Everypony present looked between Discord and Celestia, utterly perplexed. "That is all." he finished.

Though she seemed slightly flustered, the Princess nodded and called out, "Positions everypony." All but one moved immediately, "Fluttershy?"

The yellow mare looked up at Discord quickly, who simply smiled weakly and whispered to her, "Go..." She tried to smile back before turning and trotting slowly towards her friends.

As she took her place and turned back to face Discord, more tears fell, "I-I'm sorry, Discord. I'm so sorry."

Discord tried his best to smile back, but the sorrow behind the words broke his heart, and he hung his head low before he spoke, "It's alright, Fluttershy. Do what you have to do..." A moment passed, then each of the Elements began to glow, getting brighter by the second. Discord subconsciously urged himself to get into a comfortable position at the very least, but found that he couldn't bring himself to move. His head simply hung low in sorrow and thought, 'I tried so hard, so that exactly this didn't happen. I've failed you Fluttershy. I couldn't even stop chaos from hurting my only friend. I'm... sorry.'

The intensity of the light was almost blinding now, reaching the final stages of the spell. With a flash, a glorious rainbow-hued beam shot towards the draconequus.

That was it, the realisation of what he had done broke him. The battle within himself was lost, and for the first time in over a thousand years, Discord cried. Only a single tear escaped, then the light hit him full-force, the familiar feeling of cold and dark enveloping him. Though he wasn't heard over the din of the spell taking effect, Discord spoke one final word before the stone made its way up to his face, solidifying his single tear as it went, "Fluttershy..."

The light faded slowly. As it did so, Celestia trotted slowly up to the 'new' statue before speaking to those outside the barrier, "It is safe. You may release the spell." Several weary sighs of relief were heard in response and the barrier sank into the ground in the same fashion as its smaller predecessor. Rainbow wore a triumphant expression, hovering a few feet above the ground, preparing to celebrate their hat-trick triumph over Discord, before a firm hoof was placed on hers and pulled her down to ground level. Rainbow turned to find Applejack wearing a solemn expression, though it wasn't aimed at her. Rainbow followed her gaze and felt the thrill of victory promptly vanish.

Fluttershy was splayed out on the floor messily, her two right hooves folded beneath her at angles that were uncomfortable to even look at, the rest of her drawn inwards slightly. Her pink mane - soaked through with tears - now clung to her face messily, and she was sobbing hysterically, taking huge gulps of air between each tremendous heave. Rarity was by her side but wasn't speaking, choosing instead to brush the hair from her friend's face gently.

After a few moments, Fluttershy gasped then sobbed into the unicorn's mane, "I broke my... promise Rarity. I'm... a bad friend... I should've... said no and..."

Rarity interrupted her gently, "You are not a 'bad friend'. You had no choice dear. Don't blame yourself."

The Princess stood by them now, gently setting herself down on the other side of the pegasus before speaking, "Fluttershy, I am so deeply sorry for what I have put you through. Can you find it in your heart to forgive me?" The sobs ceased momentarily and everything fell silent.

Eventually, she replied weakly, "Yes, but I don't know when. Not now."

The Princess nodded and offered one final apology before announcing that she was returning to her chambers. 'She does not want me here right now. It is understandable...' she mused sadly, then left.

The Bearers that had remained standing now trotted slowly over to the other two. Fluttershy was weeping into Rarity's mane once again, heaving violently as she tried to bring her sobs under control. Rarity's mane was as soaked as Fluttershy's now, but she didn't mind. Even though she considered her to be one of her closest friends, she had never seen the yellow pegasus so upset. They sat by her in silence, waiting for her to calm down.

Dozens of minutes passed before Fluttershy's tears began to stop. She raised her head slowly, her eyes, now red and puffy, met Rarity's, then the others'. She wore a pleading look, as if asking for forgiveness for what she had said, and done. She was met only with comforting smiles and expressions of acceptance from all present.

She took a calming breath and spoke, albeit shakily at first, "D-Discord was r-right... I really do have g-good friends..."

Rarity's smile widened slightly, and she hugged the pegasus before speaking, "Let's get you home, you've been through a lot today." Fluttershy nodded in response and slowly brought herself to stand, wobbling slightly on her two right legs, having laid on them for nearly half an hour in total, before Twilight reached out and steadied her. Fluttershy gave her a look of gratitude, then then turned towards the exit of the garden. Rainbow Dash led the way, Applejack following close behind. Pinkie hopped just in front of Twilight; and Fluttershy and Rarity brought up the rear.

As the last half of the miniature procession approached the exit, Fluttershy halted and glanced back at the statue of her friend sadly, whispering quietly to herself, "I won't forget, I promise..." She turned and followed the others.

Although he couldn't see much of the garden in his new position - given that his head hung almost to ground level - Discord had seen the yellow pegasus turn in his periphery, and a single thought occurred to him, 'Thank you, Fluttershy. I know you won't forget.'

Then all was still. All was quiet. And without Fluttershy there, Discord already found himself thinking,

'All is far too boring...'

[Present day]
"Yes, I remember. You kept lyi- insisting your innocence to Fluttershy."

She caught herself quickly, but not quickly enough. Discord drew a huge breath, then released it slowly, "No, no. I'm here to tell you the truth, not lose my temper. Though I do ask that you let me explain before you accuse me of lying again. Innocent until proven guilty and what have you..." Twilight remained silent, and Discord took it as his cue to continue, "Excellent. Now then, as you know, the day you were summoned to Canterlot was the day of the annual summit between Celestia and the Lord of the Griffon Kingdom... I forget his name, Giribon or Gladius or something. Griffon names all sound the same to me, no imagination put into them at all." He noticed Twilight's irritated expression and quickly got back to the topic, "Anyway, I digress. So the two of them were conversing in one of the royal suites when the trouble started." He sighed and rubbed his temples slightly, "And this is where things get complicated..."

"You see, when I first arrived here I told Celestia how things had to be if I were to remain in the castle safely. Just as Celestia and her sister move the Sun and Moon each day, so must I reach a certain quota of chaos caused per day, such is in my very nature. If I don't create any trouble for a long while, the chaos energy I don't use builds up inside me instead, eventually reaching dangerous levels and causing me what can only be described as excruciating pain; needless to say by that point holding it in is nearly impossible. The solution however, is relatively simple. If I cause a little benign chaos each day, it's usually enough to keep the amount of excess energy at a comfortable level. Chaos itself doesn't usually mind how it manifests, as long as it can cause trouble somehow it isn't very picky. Are you following this?"

The ever studious Twilight nodded slightly more enthusiastically than she had intended, but she couldn't help but be a little intrigued. She was being taught first-hoof how one of the most dangerous of magics in existence worked, and the knowledge could prove invaluable in stopping it, should it ever become a threat.

Discord pulled a small grin at her curious expression, "It certainly seems so, always eager to learn, aren't we?" Twilight immediately collected herself and replaced her emotional mask, but said nothing. Discord shook his head, "Back to business then. So I informed Celestia of this and we came to an agreement, after she had consulted her 'little ponies' of course." he cringed at the phrase, "She would allow me to cause the occasional bit of chaos around Canterlot, provided I kept said chaos within certain parameters. In short, I couldn't harm anypony or cause anything other than a slight inconvenience to those involved. I was also made to train with Celestia once a week, to try and diminish the minimum amount of chaos I had to cause, which for the record was certainly not painless, especially to start with." He flinched at the memory of the first time he had tried to suppress the urge for several hours at Celestia's command, it hadn't ended well, "Of course, this was outside of when I was being taught - lectured on - how to use my powers for good."

He shook his head again and smiled slightly, "At least only half of those lessons were boring, it seems Luna has the same penchant for mischief as I do, especially when it comes to irritating stuck-up nobleponies..." a hint of admiration had crept into his voice.

Twilight cocked an eyebrow at him impatiently, causing him to cough with mock-awkwardness in response, "Moving on... So, on that day Celestia and I were scheduled to have another training session, and I only received word a few hours prior that she would not be attending due to the summit. She had also advised that I only keep the training light to prevent any disturbances. This caused problems though. You see, Celestia would always be there to gauge when it was best for me to stop, to prevent any unnecessary damages, as I had a tendency to get carried away and push myself occasionally despite the pain, the 'fireworks' when I released it all were well worth it anyway. After storing up a few days worth of energy in preparation beforehand, it didn't take long for me to reach the threshold of what was comfortable.

Strangely enough though, it didn't seem to be anywhere near as painful as usual, a small twinge at worst, so I decided just to push it a little. I closed my eyes and focused for what must have been almost an hour, but the pain never increased. I suddenly found myself feeling... elated, as if it were some massive accomplishment. I was resisting the urge to cause chaos, and it didn't hurt. I was ecstatic, proud, and strangely enough, slightly grateful to Celestia." Discord gritted his teeth a little as he said this before continuing, "So I went to seek her out, to tell her of my accomplishments, to be proud of myself for once. That wasn't so wrong of me, was it?" He asked, turning to the unicorn before him.

When Twilight realised the question wasn't rhetorical she simply scowled and replied dryly, "That remains to be seen. I'm not going to sympathise with you until I've heard the full story. Carry on."

Discord's eye twitched slightly at the mare's bluntness before exhaling loudly, "Fine, have it your way. I came to the realisation that Celestia could have been in any of the royal suites, so I began searching at random before realising that the area would be crammed with guards, so I just looked for a cluster, it didn't take me long to find them. However, in my haste I'd completely forgotten why the guards were actually there, and why she wasn't spectating my training in the first place." He shook his head, scalding himself for his own stupidity, "As it turns out, they were in one of the uppermost suites, not too far from yours if memory serves, and the guards would have certainly caused problems had I tried to simply waltz in, especially the griffon escort." He rolled his eyes and made a gesture as if he was accentuating huge muscles, "Instead, I simply went outside and turned myself into a cloud." He stopped abruptly, considering how ridiculous that had just sounded before noticing the incredulous look Twilight was giving him, apparently considering whether or not he was, for want of a better phrase, taking the piss.

"Yes, you heard me... A cloud..." He coughed and continued, trying not to look at the grinning unicorn who was no doubt revelling in his embarrassment, "And before you make any snide remarks, yes, I did check for any pegasi in the vicinity!" Her grin simply grew wider at his irritation, "Enough! Anyway, I drifted up to the balcony without incident and saw Celestia inside. Without a second thought I warped onto it and walked straight in, jovially announcing my recent progress. I wasn't expecting to be met with a horrified stare from Celestia, and a booming, 'What is the meaning of this!?' from elsewhere. It was only when I turned and noticed the Griffon Lord that everything clicked into place. Needless to say, when I realised what I had done I was mortified, to the point where words failed me, in fact."

He seemed downcast now, his pride wounded, "I knew something was wrong immediately. As Celestia now tried to defend my presence the pain suddenly washed over me full force, and although I desperately tried to fight it, I keeled over in seconds." He stopped and took a calming breath before continuing, "I was desperate not to let the magic escape there, but I couldn't leave, I could hardly move, and was only barely able to suppress my screams of pain. By the time I could move again Celestia was beside me trying to suppress the rising energies, and through our combined efforts we succeeded."

He grimaced, "For about five seconds. Then the pain kicked in again, even worse. I couldn't hold it in any more, no matter how hard I tried, though I only attempted to release enough to allow me to stand. As luck would have it, no immediate danger presented itself, the small measure of magic I released simply made a mess of the room, gave a few stray books the ability to fly, and animated the griffon figurines on one of the tables that represented griffon forces." Twilight was beginning to lose patience with him, and it showed. Discord caught her expression, but his own remained passive as he spoke, "I know how tedious and time-consuming explaining all this is, but trust me, it's necessary if you're to believe what I have to tell you afterwards. Besides, if it's any consolation, I'm almost finished."

Twilight gave a single impatient nod for him to continue, "As I was saying, a couple of the griffon figurines had animated themselves, and that proved to be the problem. I was in no state to control them, I was hardly able to move, so when they started dancing around and singing offensive songs on the table I paid them no heed. Then Lord What'shisface decides to chime in."

Discord's face twisted with disgust as he mimicked said Lord, "'Celestia, what is the meaning of this? What is this monstrosity doing here? What even is it, some sort of twisted jester!? And what have you done to my heirlooms!?' Of course, as soon as I heard this I turned the ugly little things back to normal, but he didn't stop there. 'Do you mock me Celestia? Do you mock my subjects!? Is this some sort of JOKE!?' Oh, and how he went on. All the while I'm trying not to pass out from having to suppress the energies and de-animate his damned statuettes!

To cut a long story short, it escalated from being about his subjects to being about honour and respect, of which he was showing neither at the time I might add. Celestia must have seen where the conversation was going, because right as he was about to start talking of war she roared at him. Very, very loudly. Luckily for those outside the room had been magically soundproofed beforehand in preparation for the meeting. I don't remember exactly what she said, something about his family owing her a debt from long ago, and that he was bound by his code of honour to repay that debt by forgetting everything that had happened since I arrived. He begrudgingly agreed, and Celestia erased his short-term memory after a few minutes of his theatrics.

Whilst he was addled by the spell Celestia simply told me to 'expend all the energies immediately, then wait', and teleported me into the caves beneath Canterlot. Not a moment after I had turned several dozen crystals into a multitude of desserts, cutlery and explosives - and a combination of the three on more than one occasion - I found myself 'poofed' elsewhere. One moment, I'm sat in the caves, the next I'm sat in the statue garden, my most hated part of the castle! But, no, not bad enough yet! Nearly four hours later the elite magicians appear out of nowhere and throw up a top-level barrier spell, cramming me into a bloody box! After that, well... you know the rest..."

Twilight cocked her head to the side as if expecting more, "That's it? Nothing you've just told me has shocked me very much, and I don't think I've gained any answers I couldn't simply ask the Princess for."

Discord squinted a little as he spoke, "You're not reading between the lines, Twilight Sparkle. I would've thought someone as intelligent as yourself would have noticed a few things... off, about the situation I was in."

She raised an eyebrow sceptically, "Such as?"

"Such as the pain only kicking in when Celestia was around. I've told you, I'm not going to lie. I won't twist the story to make Celestia seem like some sort of monster, but I think it's more than a little convenient that only in Celestia's presence did I lose control."

Twilight simply regarded him dismissively, "You really expect me to believe that? Why am I even here any more? I should just get the Princess down here now to shut you up."

Discord drew himself up to his full height and bellowed in outrage, "Ever since I started speaking you've disregarded everything I've said as a lie! Yet I've told you nothing but the truth! WHY WON'T YOU EVEN GIVE ME A CHANCE!?" he sounded as much wounded as he did enraged.

Twilight found the mask of passiveness she had being trying to wear disappear. The question had struck a deep nerve. "Why? WHY!? Because you almost started a war! Because you sent your pet to destroy Ponyville! Because you killed over a hundred ponies in half an hour!" She seethed with rage as she prepared to deliver her final sentence, "BECAUSE YOU MURDERED MY BROTHER, YOU BASTARD!" Tears streamed down her face, and she glared intensely at the draconequus. Discord was stunned by the revelation, even doubted it, but the look on her face was one of pure sorrow and hatred. She was telling the truth. Silence reigned for several minutes, broken only by the occasional deep breath or hiss made by the unicorn as she tried her best to stem the flow of tears.

When Discord finally decided to speak, his voice was laden with pity, "Twilight Sparkle..." She didn't respond, but looked downwards instead, "I know you won't believe this, but I never intended to unleash Calamity again, at all. He followed me into this dimension after his banishment, I did not summon him, I promise you. I... I'm... sorry, for your loss. I truly am." Silence regained control of the mindscape for many more minutes as his words sank in. Twilight's broken features tightened when she looked up at him, gauging his expression.

When she was certain of the sincerity of his words, she let fresh tears flow and spoke, her voice cracked and weak, "I don't believe you... How? How else could it have happened? It had to be you..."

The darkness that surrounded the two rippled slightly, Discord's reply was heavy with sympathy, "I don't have enough energy to sustain the spell, Twilight Sparkle. Come back tomorrow and I will explain everything, I promise." Her expression was one of furious internal debate as she looked up at him. Discord continued pensively, "If you don't, I understand. But I wish to ask a favour if that's the case."

Despite herself, Twilight still managed to shoot him an inquisitive glance, "W-What?"

Discord hung his head dejectedly, mirroring his statue's pose almost perfectly, "Please, thank Fluttershy for me - for not forgetting me - when you next see her..." his voice reverberated as his form slowly faded from view. Then there was nothing, only silence, darkness and Twilight. She sighed and focused on opening her eyes. The first thing she saw was the statue, still miserably hanging its head, though she didn't feel any anger towards it now, nor any pity. She felt confused, empty even. Shaking her head, Twilight turned noiselessly and looked to the sky, it would be getting dark soon, and she had a visit she ought to make. 'Besides, the walk might help clear my head...' she thought to herself as she set off towards the exit.

Discord watched her leave his peripheral vision, then he was once again stuck staring at the same infernal patch of earth he had stared at for the past four months. He pondered what she had told him, 'Her brother? But he's the prince of the Crystal Empire, surely she can't mean him... She mentioned other ponies before her brother, though, as if he wasn't one... I wonder... The dragon? Was that Spike!? No, he's far too young. Unless...' A terrible realisation dawned upon him, 'No... Celestia, surely you didn't use that?' He was deep in thought now, 'Even by my standards, Celestia, that's just plain cruel. She considered him a brother, and you used that on him then didn't even tell her...' Discord inwardly released a mighty heave of a sigh, if she did return tomorrow, the revelation could prove disastrous, 'The one time I force myself to tell the truth, and Celestia still manages to complicate everything!'

Twilight took a deep breath and raised a hoof. It was dark now, and she knew she couldn't stall any longer, having already taken the longest practical route back to her old home. She couldn't help but feel nervous, 'How long has it been since I last saw them?' Not once since her brother's wedding was the answer. Of course, they had been in touch over the mail, but only until her self-imposed incarceration within the library that had lasted almost a month. She exhaled heavily and knocked three times, each knock quieter than the last. She waited for a long moment before hearing the sound of movement inside. After what seemed like several minutes to Twilight, the door swung open, painfully slowly. In the doorway stood a unicorn with a mane streaked white and purple, her eyes wide. Twilight looked up at her mother's expression, 'Did I make a mistake, showing up here without a single word for a month?'

After several long seconds Twilight Velvet came to her senses and stepped towards her daughter, "Twilight?"

"Mum?"

The older Twilight dashed towards her daughter and enveloped her in a crushing hug, which was promptly returned. When the two finally released each other, the older unicorn practically dragged her daughter inside, excited questions tumbling out of the mare at a breakneck pace. They entered the living room to see Night Light reclining happily on one of the sofas, until he caught sight of his daughter and effectively leaped across the room to embrace her, "Twilight! Where have you been all month!? We haven't heard anything from you in ages!" The youngest pony in the room couldn't help but smile. Despite everything that she'd been through, knowing that her parents were still here and willing to listen to her made things seem so much better.

As they settled onto one of the sofas she tried to keep her tone from becoming too sombre, "Well... A lot has happened over the last few weeks. I'm sure you heard what happened in Ponyville?"

They nodded and her mother spoke up, "Yes, but we never got the details. We were worried sick about you! Had the princesses not assured us that you were fine and needed some space we would have been there straight away!"

The daughter of the two took a deep breath before speaking, "I guess I should fill you in then... You might want to get comfortable, this might take a while. It's not going to be easy to talk about..." Both parents lovingly wrapped a hoof around their daughter in response. "It all started back when Princess Luna visited us a month back..."

An hour later, Twilight had rounded off her story at her arrival at the house. Of course, certain parts had been omitted: the way she tortured Calamity so horribly; her resentment for the Princess; the meeting with Discord... Nevertheless, she felt much better having being able to get it off her chest. Many tears had been shed during the hour by all three, especially over the death of the dragon she had raised from a hatchling, "Twilight, we had no idea you'd been through so much... You should have came here sooner." her father soothed.

She nodded in response, wiping the last few tears away, "I know... But I was so sad, and angry, I didn't know what to do... I'm sorry..."

Both hugged her once again as her mother spoke, "Hey, there's nothing to be sorry about. We're just glad you're here now, that's all that matters."

They beamed at their daughter, and she couldn't help but smile back. Several minutes of relative silence passed before Night Light broke the silence between them, shifting from position on the sofa and taking an exaggerated breath, "So, now that that's out of the way, let's try and lighten the mood a bit shall we? Twilight, what are you going to do now you're here in Canterlot? Your brother is visiting on royal business this week, you know..."

Twilight laid awake as she usually did, scanning around aimlessly. Even in the dark she could see that the room hadn't changed at all since she'd left, with the exception of the bed she now slept in, the old one being too small. She mulled over the events of the day tiredly. Although she tried to focus on the few pleasant hours she had spent chatting with her parents, her thoughts inevitably drifted back to her meeting with Chaos Incarnate... "I DID NOT LIE TO HER!"... "I've told you nothing but the truth!"... "I will explain everything, I promise."

Despite her better judgement, the nagging urge at the back of her mind simply wouldn't dissipate, and the more she thought about it, the more she couldn't help but think, 'What if he really wasn't lying?' She hated the situation she was in, Discord telling her the truth, and accusing the Princess of lying? She rolled over and sighed, exasperated at her own inability to stop thinking and sleep. 'He knows something, but can I trust him? Do I really want to know what he has to say?' The moment she asked herself that question, her insatiable thirst for knowledge made up her mind for her. She wouldn't admit it to herself yet, but she fully intended to visit the statue garden again the next day.

Nearly an hour later, she began to sink into the depths of sleep, her last conscious thought a silent 'Thank you' to Princess Luna, her spell still keeping Twilight's nightmares at bay.

Princess Luna smiled as she felt the familiar presence of Twilight's mind in the dreamscape, happy that her friend was sleeping undisturbed once again. At least, until the nightmares haunting the purple unicorn plagued her own mind instead - such was the drawback of the spell. She groaned, and after a few minutes of the horrific images passed by she left the dreamscape, she would deal with those when she slept herself. Celestia was by her side now, smiling sadly, "Twilight Sparkle?" she asked.

"Yes, sister. Though the nightmares are a little less graphic than yesterday, apparently the time with her parents was exactly what she needed..."

"She has been through so much... Are you sure you can keep dealing with those dreams? I would be more than happy to-"

"No sister, it's fine, really. They're unpleasant, but I've been through nightmares far worse..." She smiled sadly, "Though something troubles me." Luna's expression seemed both confused and concerned now, "The signs in the nightmares have changed slightly. It seems as if she has an important choice to make. It could be very serious, considering the month's events. I worry for her..."

Celestia simply placed a comforting wing around her sister and spoke, "Do not worry, Luna. She is my most precious student, and I have the utmost faith in her. She will make the right choice, whatever it may be, I know it." Despite her show of confidence in her student, Celestia couldn't help but feel worried for her.

'Twilight, whatever you have to do, be safe...'

Author's Notes:

Edited as of 1/6/14. Wording of a great amount of dialogue and narrative improved across the board. Addition and removal of certain phrases performed to properly describe how characters are feeling, especially during Discord's recollection of events.