Oh right, my own commentary goes up here.

For whatever reason, I think many of you will hate this chapter.

Biggest thanks to the Skittles for editing as always.

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"..."

"... Well, well, well. We meet again, Twilight Sparkle."

"... Uh ... Discord?"

"I can't believe you still have the audacity to ride on my back, after what you had done."

"Discord."

"And sure, it is fairly obvious you didn't come here by free will, but if you had a shred of manners left--"

"Discord, would you please listen to me?"

"Yes, Twilight, my dearest betrayer?"

"... Right, um... where in the Equestria are we?"

"Funny you should mention it because, I've a feeling we're not in Equestria anymore."

"You know perfectly well that is not what I meant."

"Well either way, our current situation, seeing as only the two of us are here, is rather awkward and, for at least one of us, quite shameful, don't you agree?"

"I could care less about that now! We'll deal with social awkwardness and issues later, we first need to get out of... whatever this place is! You did this, didn't you! Why did you bring me here, anyway?!"

"Hold your horses, or should I say ponies, dear. I haven't done a thing; I was brought here against my will as well. At least, I think so. In one moment, my body felt ticklish and 'poof'! I found myself here, with you enjoying a ride on my back. Seriously - manners. You lack them."

"Well, it's the same for me, I just kind of... um, 'poofed'. Do you have any idea about this place?"

"Well, it does look rather unusual and yet so very familiar at the same time."

"That's the best description you can find? This place looks like some sort of realm only you could create."

"I think I already told you, a while ago as well, that I can't turn ground and sky upside down. Though I must admit, whoever or whatever did this, deserves at least a nice bouquet of flowers."

"Discord..."

"Oh fine, fine. Let's look around a bit, shall we?"

The world the two had found themselves in was indeed literally turned around. High, high above them, right after the sea of fluffy clouds, they could make out the unlimited amount of solid ground, with trees, river and flowers, even an occasional house or two. No matter how hard they tried to reach it though, it seemed eternally distant.

Underneath them was the sky. The sky acted entirely unnaturally as a solid land. The moment Twilight tried to put a hoof down on the apparently invisible, airy surface that now acted as ground, it would crumble and then grow up again, or disappear completely - it was highly unstable and constantly changing; nopony's short legs, or any legs whatsoever were made for walking on such a surface.

Clouds were floating by them, only a hoof or two away. Occasionally, they would encounter a chunk of land floating around as well, the kind the pair could thankfully stand on - but all of them were either too small or held nothing of interest. There was, however, a huge cloud that took up literally half of the sky in front of them. Not wanting to get lost in its misty depths, Discord didn't go right through it.

"Well this is boring." The Spirit finally noticed after they kept rounding the cloud like a race track for about good ten minutes, with no end in sight - the cloud was simply huge. "I mean sure, it is wonderfully weird and totally and absolutely amazingly done, but I had hoped to reach the Land of Upside Down through my own magic one day." He pointed upwards. "Though, looking down at the sky and up at the ground does induce a rather weird, nauseating feeling, don't you think?"

"No way I'm looking down for more than a second." Twilight deadpanned. They were silent for a couple of moments.

"Hey, Discord?"

"Hmm?"

"Look, I... about what happened..." She was cut in the middle of the sentence.

"It's alright." The Spirit assured. Even though he seemed really honest about it, she decided he was wrong - only a few minutes ago, he had been calling her a betrayer.

"No it is not alright." She protested. She could hear Discord sigh.

"Well of course it isn't, Twilight Sparkle, but still, in a way, it is."

"Uh..."

"I am not - well, not entirely - angry with you anymore, you knucklehead. Goodness, do I need to spell it out to you?"

"You... you're not?"

"No, I'm just... look, we'll discuss this when we get out of here." Discord finally told her, this time turning his head to give her a short, sincere smile. There was something in it that helped Twilight's sorrowful mood she was in for the past day. Suddenly she felt that the good old draconequues she knew and loved was back, if even a little piece of him.

"OK." She simply said. Both of them already felt a bit better from just that one, small conversation. Twilight opened her mouth again, not sure what she wanted to say, when she suddenly heard him say:

"Ah-ha! I spy with my little eye~"

She could help but chuckle, despite rolling her eyes. "Not the time for games, Discord."

"Something that begins with 'L'!"

"Oh, for the love of--"

"Wrong! It isn't 'love', it's 'land'!"

"What?"

Somehow, Discord managed to suddenly round the huge cloud that blocked their path so much and in the distance, Twilight could clearly see a large, wide piece of land, as wide as the cloud they just rounded was...

"Discord, look! The cloud!"

"Mm?" The draconequues lazily looked over at the giant cloud and as just as surprised when he saw it rapidly dispersing.

"What do you think caused that?"

"...I have a feeling we'll find our answer on land." Discord said, obviously not telling the entire truth of the matter. Twilight let it go, for now.

"Land ahoy, Captain!" Discord  laughed before zooming as fast as he could towards it. Twilight held onto him for dear life. It took them no longer than a minute to get there.

"Well, I'll be---" Discord observed the land in surprise. Once she got off his back and finally met the firm ground, Twilight could see why.

This piece of land, very illogically but thankfully, had its own normal sky - Twilight was getting seriously dizzy from the previous setup.

They found themselves in a peculiar land that Pinkie Pie would definitely move into if she could - the trees were coated in sugar and made of what seemed to be jelly; flowers were literally replaced by lollipops and their petals by candy. Grass seemed the same as always, but was extremely soft, almost like it was fake - and, Twilight noticed with surprise, it let out random noises when stepped on. Each step she took would mean a different noise, such as a balloon popping, or horn honking, or a weird 'squee' most likely produced by a toy or a clown's nose. A single path that led through the party engulfed land was made of chocolate. All in all, as fun and tasty as it looked, it definitely didn't suit Twilight, who quickly hopped onto the Spirit's back once again after the last step of her hoof produced a flatulent noise.

"What IS this place?" Twilight's voice was filled with both disapproval and amazement. As Discord continued to float down the path, they could make out a small house in the distance - upon approaching it, they realized two things - one, there was not a living soul in there and two, the house was made entirely of cakes and candy.

"This place almost screams of Pinkie Pie." She finally spoke. "I wonder if she had anything to do with-- Oh no way, Pinkie can't even do magic. But this place is just so... her."

The Spirit was silent, but his face was giving away something else. Something that almost looked like shock.

"Discord? Are you alright?" Her genuinely concerned voice made him snap out of it.

"I... I have to check something out. We do, in fact." Twilight had only a millisecond to take a better look of the candy house as they zoomed right past it. They passed next to several large tables that seemed to be set up for an upcoming party, with plates and drinks already prepared - there were even decorations on the sugary trees and balloons stuck to the ground.

It would appear that the land Twilight affectionately dubbed 'Pinkieland' ended very abruptly with a thick, extremely high forest of sugar-coated trees that at some point turned into normal looking, tall oaks. Not wanting to miss anything, the Spirit decided to fly through it, instead of flying over it. On the way the encountered several small clearances with various different looking houses and cottages, but nothing caught their interest too much - except for one house with a bigger yard that had been literally round and entirely painted in blue, with numerous bubbles drawn on it. It had weird, round flowers growing in the yard, but Discord didn't stop for them to have a better look.

Discord halted soon after - once they got out of a forest a huge meadow upon which the Sun was shining appeared before them. It was covered in the greenest, most lush grass Twilight had ever stepped her hoof on, filled with the most colorful and wonderful flowers Twilight had ever seen - the meadow's most noticeable feature was its animals. Or to be more specific, the variety and number of them. Bunnies, squirrels, butterflies, ducks, every possible critter, countless of different bugs, the wonderful singing of thousands of different birds hidden in the shade of nearby trees and bushes, or flying in flocks over the half cloudy sky... It all reminded Twilight heavily of Fluttershy.

"Oh, dear." The Spirit let out a sound as if he just realized something.

"What is it?" Twilight turned to face him. He was fidgeting.

"Um... well, I am, kind of, sort of, the one to blame for us appearing here.

Twilight immediately frowned and Discord couldn't help but to laugh at it.

"But you said you had nothing to--"

"Indeed; not willingly, was what I said." Discord grinned sheepishly. "You could say that my... personal conflicts brought us here."

"Discord, what in the world--"

"We're dealing with my... oh what should I call it... well, myself, Twilight Sparkle."

"Yourse-- what?"

Discord cleared his throat for a dramatic effect. "You see, doesn't this meadow remind you of somepony?"

Twilight frowned, at this point wondering if he just read her thoughts.

"Of... of Fluttershy." She replied and the Spirit clapped his hands.

"Exactly! And-- oh goodness, just look up there! Who does THAT remind you of?" He suddenly looked up, his talon pointing to something. Twilight followed his motion. Somewhere up in the sky, not too high and clearly visible, was a sky city very similar to Cloudsdale - only it was bigger and its shape was much more... edgy. From what they could see, still being on the ground, it had extremely high cliffs, countless of dangerous looking mountain peaks and several big slopes; as well as numerous cloudy rings all around it. It looked almost like some sort of training ground.

"That's where Rainbow Dash resides!" Discord exclaimed in excitement. Twilight felt completely lost.

"I'm sorry, but I still have no idea what you're talking about."

Discord sighed, exasperated. "Have you never studied a pony's... consciousness and psychology and such?"

"Well, not to details like this, no I haven't, Mister." Twilight noticed. "This looks solely like a work of magic."

"And it is, it is." Discord confirmed, floating around and observing. "It is a very powerful, very rare and very hard branch of magic. I myself wasn't aware I had it in me."

"Speaking of which... Discord, do you know why you gained your powers back?"

Discord was silent for a moment or two, seemingly in thought.

"I can't say for sure, Twilight Sparkle." He started. "But from what I know of our species and our rather awesome magical ability, it seems that I sort of... relearned it." He shrugged playfully.

"But how is that possible?" Twilight continued to wonder. "Nopony can master magic that fa--"

"Exactly, Twilight. No PONY. That's another thing you can put into your precious draconequues research. Aside from being undeniably handsome and charming, we're also a species of many... geniuses. Yes, I believe that's the appropriate title." He snickered satisfyingly, prompting Twilight to roll her eyes. "A small fraction of magical ability Celestia gave me was just enough. Ever since, all the wishing to do greater magical deeds, all the growing, suppressed power I had in me started to leak through... until it quite literally leaked, according to your sketches." He chuckled good naturedly.

"I guess even Princess Celestia doesn't know much about the draconequues, huh." Twilight dared to admit her beloved mentor had a 'flaw'.

"Not even Celestia, my dear." Discord confirmed. Twilight was silent for a while, simply rethinking his answer and pretty much being surprised by the simplicity of it. As they crossed the colorful meadow, she realized he still hasn't explained his theory on "dealing with himself", so she opened her mouth to ask and right in that moment, she tripped and landed nuzzle first into the dusty ground. Wait... dusty?

"This must be the territory of Miss Applejack." She heard him say. And really, once Discord lifted her from the dusty ground, she realized she was on the edge of a valley - valley filled with most beautiful, mature apple trees she had ever seen. Its fruits were clearly visible even from the distance, bigger and redder than most apples Twilight had seen in Applejack's orchard. Behind the trees was a rather large, even fancy looking farmhouse, as well as a firm, tall water tower. It looked pretty much like what Applejack dreamed of having one day, Twilight figured, once the products of the Apple family reach a higher level of fame - it looked firm, safe and like a proper home for such a big family as hers.

And so little thinking cogs started to turn in Twilight's head. The Rainbow Dash's 'home'? The 'territory' of Applejack? Two pieces of land that so undeniably looked like perfect homes to Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie? Even the house of bubbles that, although Twilight didn't say anything about it, seemed to scream "Derpy Hooves".

Twilight gasped as the realization hit her. That huge cloud... it moved the moment they finally spoke to each other, the moment they finally achieved some sort of temporary but honest truce. Everything in here changed and shaped itself according to him and the way he felt. What he felt.

"We are inside of your hear--"

"Don't. Get. Cheesy on me; for the love of Chaos and everything that is Harmonic, don't." Discord facepalmed. "Besides, you're not. Not literally, anyway. Hearts pump blood, you should know that. Let's just assume we're in my mind, because technically, we really are."

Twilight couldn't help but laugh. "Fine, fine. Still, that's quite sweet, you know."

"What is?" Discord frowned, feeling quite vulnerable at this point.

"Well... the level of care you have for your friends, I suppose." She spread her hooves to point out the giant dream-home Applejack seemingly deserved in Discord's opinion.

He growled. "You just had to go and say it, huh."

"I like being blunt sometimes." Twilight beamed. "But... how did we get here in the first place? And I mean, I could understand how you did, but what about me?"

"I... I don't know." The ignorance seemed to be one of the thing Discord despised as he practically snarled. "I think we'll just have to continue and see where the path takes us. The answer is definitely around here somewhere."

The two continued to travel through the Applejack's valley until reaching, a batch of thick and dark trees that stood as a kind of a border between it and another piece of land. Soon after, they found themselves a small, fancy town Twilight immediately knew was Rarity's land. Here, the Sun was eternally setting and offered a romantic view. There were several places that were obviously made primarily for the purpose of a date - restaurants, a theater and cinema, dancing hall and a few other buildings, many of them shops with fancy clothing. Near the very end of the land was Carousel Boutique, looking bigger and a bit more extravagant.

"I don't need to guess who is this space meant for." Twilight snickered. Behind her, the Spirit let out a tired sigh, almost like this tour of his personal thoughts and feelings wasn't as fun as Twilight deemed it to be.

"Oh, oh! Where is mine?" Twilight excitedly asked, resembling a small filly about to receive their Christmas present. At this point, Discord already looked angry.

"Mind your own beeswax!" He snapped; but his bad mood couldn't take off the curious smile of the mare's face.

"I'm gonna find it~" She sing songed as she pranced towards the cherry trees of rose petals that swayed in the breeze in the edge of Rarity's 'land'.

Discord had little choice but to follow her. On their way, the trees got significantly different and a weak mist gathered at the ground, which was the first sign they were entering another area. Twilight suddenly gasped so loudly in her excitement, that the draconequus almost jerked.

"These are willows!" Twilight whispered mesmerized. Discord arched an eyebrow.

"You nearly gave me a heart attack over trees?"

Twilight's eyes almost popped out as she stared at him. "Willows are so magical! Great and soft, swaying in the wind... I adore them!" She claimed. For her it was a definitive sign that they were getting closer to area Discord had dedicated to her.

Twilight hardly thought of it as unpredictable when the Spirit suddenly stopped her.

"Do you really HAVE to see it?" He questioned, annoyance in her voice. Twilight merely put out a tongue at him, feeling playful, and continued on. Discord sighed in defeat.

But the further they went, the more noticeable and thicker the mist started to become. Twilight tried to use her magic to chase it away, only to realize in utter horror that her magic wouldn't listen to her - whether it was the area that prevented her from using magic, or was it that specific spell that simply malfunctioned, she couldn't tell. Discord seemed satisfied with this progress of the situation.

"Oh, you're so mean." Twilight bitterly concluded once she realized they were out of the forest - but the fog was by then so thick they couldn't see more then a meter away from their noses.

"What? It's not like I'm doing this on purpose."

"Oh you totally are! After all, you are in control here! We're technically inside of your mind, or something!"

"Well, do tell me then," the Spirit started impatiently, "were you ever fully in control of what and how you feel?"

"I am--- well, no, but-- Well, I crave to be!" She finally stammered out before turning away from him and heading into the fog. The Spirit chuckled and followed her closely.

"Slow down dear, you don't want to get lost."

"I can easily call for you."

"True, but my mind is a scary place sometimes." She heard him say, half jokingly and half trying to sounds creepy. While he utterly failed at that, the thought of being lost in a Chaotic mind was a bit unsettling.

"Oof!" Twilight suddenly hit something, like a wall or fence. It took her a few moment to make out a big tree and a few more moments to realize it was her library. To her surprise, this was the first house they encountered that had its lights on, as she could make out through the glassed windows.

"Oh, finally, a familiar place!" Twilight gasped - to her disappointment and surprise, though, the door was closed, windows too. Her magic couldn't open them, and Discord unsuccessfully tried to transport them inside.

"We can not enter." He noticed, earning a glare from Twilight.

"Well thank you, Monsieur Obvious."

"Which means the solution to our problem is inside."

"... that at the same time makes sense and yet, we don't really have any logical proof to support such a statement."

"Well, seeing as it is my mind we're residing in..." He smiled.

"Point taken." Twilight chuckled. "How do we get in?"

"Well, certainly not by magic." Another obvious point.

"Discord, don't you think it is obvious that YOU should open it... as you said, it's your mind."

"What do you propose?"

"Well, I do think this fog is to blame for all of it." Twilight admitted, and Discord rolled his eyes.

"This again? What does that have to do with--"

"Ask that yourself, not me. You should know answer better than me. It's your silly head, after all."

Discord and Twilight eyed each other intensely as he tried to count the choices he had. Once he realized he didn't have any other, he whined like a filly.

"But I don't wanna~~~!"

Twilight laughed out loudly. "Discord, you don't have to be shy!"

"I AM NOT SHY!" He almost roared angrily; at that moment, for the first time ever, Twilight had the honor to see a barely noticeable crimson color on his face.

"I know you're not." She squeaked; the effort she put into not laughing at the flushed draconequus made her whole jaw ache and brought a whole new level of pain to her ribs. "But still, we have to enter somehow."

"Oh, fine, fine, for goodness sake--!" Discord took a deep breath to calm himself down, his eyes closing for a minute. Then, though very reluctantly and with a short pause, he clicked his fingers. To Twilight's surprise, it worked, as the fog started to slowly disappear.

"How come that kind of magic worked?" Twilight questioned.

"I guess sometimes actions speak louder than words." Discord said tiredly as the world before them rapidly unraveled. Once the sky became visible, Twilight gasped.

Unlike others, this piece of land was engulfed in night. A huge full moon provided more than enough light for everything to be visible. As the mist retreated, the trees emerged in the dark, gorgeous and almost literally sad looking willows, swaying in the light, gently breeze. There was a sparkling river nearby, dark and deep, reflecting the moon.

The most noticeable feature though, once the fog was gone, was definitely the sky; aside from the Moon, it contained not only numerous stars and constellations, but also big, colorful nebulae, far away dots of color that Twilight instantly recognized as other planets or bigger stars. It was like the whole beauty of the universe tried to fit into that one part of sky.

Twilight's jaw dropped as she gazed up. Instantly, she thought of all the researches she could do, if she only had her telescope and maybe a piece of parchment. As if somepony heard her thoughts, she suddenly noticed a small building in the distance - her keen eye instantly recognized it as an observatory.

"Discord, this is... this is magnificent." She simply couldn't help but notice it - well, it was impossible not to - this piece of land was at least double the size of other areas.

"Oh, shush." Discord waved his paw dismissively. "Let's just get this over with, or at least try to."

Upon a second try, the door opened. Discord ducked to enter through the tiny door, with the mare following him closely, still fascinated by the vast world of night Discord 'created' for her.

The moment they stepped in, the door slammed behind them. All the lights in the library vanished, the candles being blown out by a sudden, eerie wind that had no plausible source, as the windows were still closed. Twilight felt something old and familiar in that wind, something that shook her to the bone and that made her skin crawl. She found herself being scared.

"Discord." She whispered, not sure what exactly she wanted from him, or why did she call for him in the first place. The draconequus, though, didn't seem at all shaken and maybe even indifferent.

"Hmm?" He lazily replied, trying to get the candles to burn once again - and once again, his magic betrayed him.

"Discord, somepony is in here." Twilight knew it. That cursed, horrible wind marked the presence of somepony, somepony she met a while ago. Somepony who put that same fear she felt right now into her heart... only now, it felt so much worse.

"What are you talking about?" The Spirit chuckled. "There is nopo--"

"Can't you feel it?" Twilight cut him with a whisper - Discord frowned as he recognized the tone of fright her voice held. "That wind and that... that presence?"

"...no?" Discord simply stared at her, at the loss for words. If anything, he felt pretty good. In fact, for whatever reason, he felt so happy and jolly... and he couldn't say why, but he felt rather nostalgic of something at that moment. Like he was about to meet an old friend. "In fact, I feel brilliant!"

"...Oh... Oh sweet Celestia, no!" Twilight suddenly backed away, staring into the darkness of the library as if somepony was about to jump out at any minute.

"Now what has gotten into you, Twilight Sparkle?" Discord was tremendously confused by now.

"D-Discord... remember how you told me that we're here because... y-you have personal conflicts?"

"Of course I do."

"Well maybe," Twilight gulped, "maybe those, err... conflicts have manifested themselves in a... sort of a, um, 'living'... form?"

For a moment or two, they were silent. Both of them jumped when they suddenly heard slow, slow clapping.

"Bravo, bravo, Twilight Sparkle." A cold voice, incredibly similar, to Discord's, yet so much more sinister, spoke. "Once again, Celestia's little protegé did it.

Twilight did her best to silence a yelp and Discord stood next to her in what she could only define as an absolute shock. Down the stairs the being descended; one by one, candles regained their flame with each step the creature took.

To describe it as a more weird and sinister looking version of the draconequus was an understatement. The creature before them had dark, shining red eyes that had no place for any kindness, friendly disposition or even the ever chaotic playfulness. Its body was long, but its grace was lost - literally bent in a few places, like a badly folded piece of paper and skinny, famished. Its horns were crooked to funny angles and its sharp, crooked teeth were barred into a perfectly scary grin even the bravest pony couldn't look at without losing their cool.

Discord stared at this terrifying creature and realized it was the part of him he missed most of all. It was his magic. His chaotic, trouble bringing, cruel self. It was Discord bare of any personality he ever had, nothing but his body and Chaos in one. The fact It bore such a terrifying form unsettled him. The fact that a part of him was like that... he wasn't sure if he could accept it.

"Dissscord." It hissed. "What a pleasure it is to find you here. It was about time you visit me."

"You have to settle this now, Discord." Twilight started silently. "If you don't, you might lose control over this monster."

"Monster?" It chuckled darkly - Its laughter sent shivers down her spine. "Are you calling your friend a monster? The Power of Friendship sure has downgraded." Another chuckle. "But you are right, Twilight Sparkle. Your precious little 'test subject' has a job to do. So why don't you go and... play for a little while the grown ups do the talking?"

"I am not going any--" Twilight started, determined to stick to Discord despite the terrible fear that ate her insides. But It cut her off.

"Oh, that's what you think." It snapped its sharp, bony talons. Twilight suddenly disappeared and for the first time, Discord showed some emotion - in this case, utter rage. He snarled and was ready to launch at It.

"What in Tartarus--"

"Don't worry, my little draconequus." It spoke. "Your precious little friend is merely dealing with some problems of her own right now. In the meantime," it grinned, "let's talk."

Discord eyed It suspiciously, but didn't say anything.

"Come now, you missed me for so long. No embrace? No greeting? You've changed so much, Discord." It continued, now circling him slightly. "What happened to the good old days, hmm?"

Discord was in the middle of processing the fact he was talking to himself. How was he supposed to approach this problem? He couldn't destroy a part of himself, that simply didn't make sense.

"And I could even help you, if you only let me; we could do so much more, Discord. We could bring so much more... pain."

Well, that was new. He was fairly sure he didn't want to do that since the time he was a teen. Why bring it up?"

"All the power, Discord."

Ah, right. It was the sweet, sweet taste of utter control over everything and everypony.

"All you have to do is let me... take over for just a little bit..."

Why was it that power suddenly didn't matter? Was it seriously the fact he had friends?

"With your magical ability and my Chaos, there's no pony that can stop us."

Well, it was. Back then, he sincerely had no one. He never got any respect merely for the fact he was different. For the fact he liked to spice things up. For the fact he was the embodiment of Chaos.

What was wrong with a little Chaos? Eternal question that bothered him since the day he first got punished for his strange magical preferences. Staring at the creature before him, he realized he had found his answer.

The creature layed one of his bony hands on his shoulder.

"Let me in, Disco--"

"Oh, would you shut your oversized trap already?" Discord suddenly swat its hand away. The creature stared, his eyes holding no emotion, but surprise all over its face as Discord produced a mischievous smile. He flew up in the air, relaxing completely, the playfulness returning to his eyes. "If I have to listen to your booooring speech for another second, I'm seriously going to have to do something about it, and judging by your much too dark and serious personality, I suppose you don't like chocolate milk nor cotton candy." He chuckled. The creature gave him that sinister look one last time before grinning maliciously.

"So.... that's how it is going to be, my little draconequus?"

"I am no draconequus of yours." Discord mocked. "And yes, that is how it's going to be. Now be a good boy and settle down - talking to a part of me is entirely too cheesy and, I must admit, rather boring. Even I have my bad days, I suppose."

The creature snarled.

"If you're not going to go down the nice way--"

"Bring it on, Mr-I-can't-afford-dental-care." Discord challenged with a good natured chuckle. For a few second, tension was in the air. Then they both launched at each other.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Discord? Discord, help! Where are you? Anypony?!" Twilight wandered. Where she was, she couldn't tell - she literally couldn't because around her, above her and below her was nothing but black nothingness. It wasn't even dark, as she could see her own hooves perfectly well, but there was no source of light, no ground no sky, no air... no nothing.

She walked on, not sure if she was going to find anything that way.  

"Twilight? What is she doing here?"

Pinkie? And for real, a mare of bouncy pink mane was sitting comfortably on the floor, her hoover crossed before her as she observed her friend. Twilight couldn't tell whom was the question directed to, but at that moment, she didn't care.

"Pinkie Pie! Oh goodness, how nice it is to see you again, even if it isn't for real!"

"Oh it is nice, isn't it?" Pinkie replied snobbishly.

"Oh... hey there, Meanie Pie." Twilight bitterly noticed.

"What do you mean, Meanie Pie?" Pinkie laughed an obnoxious laughter that certainly wasn't hers. "I'm your good ol' friend Pinkie! Always ready for a laugh!"

"Uh, right... so, what are you doing here, um, Pinkie?"

"What am I doing here? The better question is, what are YOU doing here, Twilight?" Pinkie noticed. "You should be helping your boyfriend over there."

"Wha-- Discord is not my--"

"Awww, she's blushing, shes blushing!" Pinkie once again laughed obnoxiously - from everywhere around her, faceless ponies popped out, laughing that same, disgustingly fake laughter. Twilight felt a lump in her throat.

"Pinkie, what's wrong with you?"

"What is it, Twilight? I thought you were up for a good laugh. I know I always am! So tell me, when do you plan telling that lizard about your stupid little crush?"

"It's not stu-- I mean--"

"Haaa, I knew it!" Another round of mocking laughter.

"Don't mock me! Stop it, Pinkie, just--"

Everypony pointed at her. Twilight slowly started to lose her head, suddenly not being sure what part of this all was a reality and was was the work of magic. She desperately tried to tell herself it was the latter, but that sickening laughter... it got to her too much...

"By the way Twilight, how is that book going? You know, the one you always mention you're writing about us and all the things that we did, as friends?"

At that point, even though stressed and disturbed by the current situation, Twilight had to frown, having no idea what the fake Pinkie Pie was talking about.

"What are you talking about, Pinkie? I mean, you know I love books, but, I never wrote a thing myself..."

"Twilight Sparkle, how dare ya to lie to yer friends like that!" Applejack appeared from the darkness. Her face was that of a stern parent. "And we were lookin'  forward to your stories so much... yer a disappointment!"

"No, no I swear, I never wrote such thing!" Twilight had completely forgotten about the fact anypony around her weren't in fact her real friends.

"Oh, she didn't lie completely, alright." Rainbow Dash appeared in the air with the book Twilight never saw in her entire life. Across its cover was her face alone with a smug grin she didn't know was capable of producing; it was titled "Adventures of Great and Powerful Twilight Sparkle".

"Like, she completely gave every single credit to herself. That's so twisted, Twi. I thought we were friends."

"What are you--- if I ever write such a book, I swear I'll--"

"Oh goodness, talk about greediness!" Rarity appeared in her fancy robe, carrying a copy of the supposedly written book. "Look at the price of that thing! I say Twilight dear, I know you need your money, but if anything, you could've at least kept the cost at a small fortune!"

"I could never overprice books, you know that well!" Twilight yelled out. "I even forgive anypony who returns the book late, because they probably can't help it and--"

"To think our dear friend Twilight," Fluttershy started, appearing behind her; she, of all things, didn't seem angry or bitter, but disappointed, "would do such a thing to both her friends and to the books she supposedly respects and loves... I thought you were a better pony than that, Twilight. I guess I was wrong."

Twilight was at that point openly crying.

"Hahaha - look at her, acting like a crybaby! What's the matter, Twilight? Elements of Harmony got your tongue?"

"No... no, I..."

"Why don't you just admit it Twilight... you're not fit to be an Element." Rainbow Dash said it like it was something she finally got out into the open. "You need something... different."

"Wha... what do you mean?" Twilight barely managed through numerous sniffs.

"Well, you're a dishonest, selfish and egocentric pony, Twilight." Pinkie Pie started, nuzzling her as she spoke. "Trust me, you can take it from your friends. But you know what? You deserve to be. One of the most powerful Unicorns to have ever lived, the very Element of Magic itself, schooled and tutored by Celestia... You're brilliant, Twilight. You're like a star."

"A... a star?"

"Definitely, my dearest, bestest friend! And so you know what? We had an idea! You could do a great service to the Chaos."

Twilight was silent. "... Me?" She finally gasped.

"Oh, definitely, Twilight." Fluttershy approached her, gently nuzzling her as well, to offer her comfort. "I've never seen anyone as powerful as you are, Twilight. The very display of your power sometimes scares me."

"True, true." Applejack threw in. "Yer powers are your biggest asset, Twi. You shouldn't let it go to waste."

"All you have to do to gain Chaos' guiding, powerful hand," Rarity appeared before her, "is to honestly answer: do you accept Chaos as your guide?

"Ho-honestly?"

"Why, naturally. Whoever saw a deal being made by lying?" Rarity sneered. Ponies around her chuckled. "Of course, you being such a dishonest mare in the first place, it can be hard; but we know you can do it; you're not the most powerful Unicorn for no reason. You definitely can be honest just this one time. For yourself. For us. For Chaos."

"Come on, Twilight." Applejack nudged her. "Say yes."

"Say it Twilight... please."

"For everypony."

"For the good of Equestria."

"For Chaos."

"Say it for Discord, Twilight. Spare him of your awful self. Maybe once you change, he'll come to like you as well. I most certainly am sure he will!"

Discord.

"Are you guys stupid?" Twilight suddenly felt very refreshed and collected. The Spawns of Chaos around her retreated in surprise.

"That wasn't very nice, Twi--"

"Oh, shush!" Twilight interrupted Fluttershy. "For ponies spawned by that awful... 'thing', I'd thought It could've planned something better. Sure, you were doing just fine at driving me completely depressed and very likely emotionally scarred, but whoever seriously thought I might even for a moment wish for even a fraction of that thing's power must be stupid."

Her words were echoing stronger and stronger in the darkness; she was so much into it she failed to notice ponies around her disappear slowly.

"I am an Element of Harmony - but I by myself mean nothing as an Element, OR as a regular pony, without my very best friends. And that happens to include that "lizard" Pinkie!" Pinkie gasped, and disappeared into the nothingness, with Rainbow Dash following closely.

"I refuse to be fooled like this! Return me to my friend! Return me to Discord this instant, and I just MIGHT decide not to kick your flank!" The last words were shouted, and the rest of the ponies disappeared completely, darkness fell onto her and she was spinning. She closed her eyes firmly, not knowing what was going on...

And then she landed into something.

"Ah, just the one pony I had to see!"

Twilight opened her eyes. Whatever caused it, the laws of probability wanted her to land into Discord's arms. He was smiling so widely. She hadn't seen that wide smile in a while. It was Adorable.

"Discord!" She threw her hooves around him, holding onto him like never before, at that moment, still excited, deciding never to let go of him again. To her surprise, he returned the hug just as firmly. It kind of, sort of, melted her heart into a jello.

Somewhere behind her, she heard a painful hiss.

"You mentioned you had to see me?" Twilight asked with a smile as Discord gently put her onto the floor. The creature was looking even worse than before, but also much angrier, and... weaker?

"Indeed. You see-- remember when you and your friends trapped me into the stone?"

"Uh... yeah." Twilight sheepishly recalled.

"No, no, that's a good thing memory! Well, back then, I was appalled by the idea that the Elements of Harmony can do such a thing to the all powerful Chaos I love and cherish so very much - NOW, though, I am using the very Elements to defeat this thing here!"

Twilight blinked. "But... you don't have the Elem--"

"Oh, I didn't mean your precious little jewelry. Besides, this is all in my mind, I don't need such things." He chuckled. "First, I went along with my favorite. Laughter." Discord snickered. "So I reminded myself of all the funniest things. Somehow, most of them included your facial expressions."

"Hey!"

"Like that time you almost fell off a cloud and begged me to leave you alone? Oh goodness, you were shrieking so much!" Discord laughed loudly - the Chaotic creature hissed in pain upon hearing it.

"But, I'll leave the description of my wondrous fighting tactics for later - the most important Element has finally arrived and I can finally sent my Chaos back where it came from! Which, in fact, is back to me."

Twilight gave him a strange look. "But, you have your own magic, don't you?"

"If I may quote," Discord returned her with an equally strange look, "All the Elements lead up to the greatest Element of all. And that Element, as powerful as it is, isn't Magic."

Twilight wasn't sure if she heard that correctly. Whatever the case was, she decided to roll with it, because those were the most wonderful words she ever heard him say. She wasn't even aware of the painfully big smile on her face or the happy tears in her eyes.

"So, let's show this awfully un-handsome Me just how I learned to control Chaos"" Discord grinned. Twilight nodded and Discord noticed something; the mischievous smile on her face. Very much like his own.

"Taste the Rainbow, freak!" Discord yelled out happily as he and Twilight both cast their spells - whether Discord or Twilight intended for their ray of powerful magic to really be rainbow colored or not was a mystery - and it hit the creature, engulfing him in the prismatic orb. As that happened, Twilight could hear Discord yelling "ow, ow, ow," constantly.

"Fighting myself was just a bit more painful than I expected!" She heard him shout out jokingly before the whole world of Discord's colorful mind collapsed.