When the blinding flash of light faded again, Shining found himself back in the present. All his friends, Discord, and Zecora, were all looking him with looks of concern (or in Discord's case, looks of amusement). "Why are you all looking at me like that?" Shining asked them, looking all around. "Did something happen while I was gone?"
The stallions and Spike all exchanged nervous glances, none of them seemed to know how to best explain what had just happened. At last, it was Big Macintosh who broke the silence. "Kind of, it's really hard to explain. It's just... you were mumblin' to yourself, mumblin' 'bout all kinds of stuff."
"Oh, and don't forget about the uncontrollable sobbin'," Braeburn mentioned. "It was so weird."
"We were really worried about you, but nothing we tried seemed to affect you." Thunderlane added.
Discord, however, showed no signs of concern. He just smirked, slithered his way over to Shining Armor, and displayed a picture of him that somehow also had the sound of a foal crying. "Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but I, for one found it delightful," He boasted. "Sort of a one-pony theater piece, if you will. If you want my personal opinion, you really should consider taking it on the road. You could make a Bridleway career out of it, that performance rivals even Rarity in her most dramatic moments."
"You saying you saw what I saw?" Shining asked Discord, even though he doubted Discord would tell him if that was true.
"Perhaps I was tempted into taking a little peek," Discord half heartedly confessed. "But just for a moment."
Quickly changing the subject, Soarin spoke up and asked Shining. "So, what did you manage to find out? Any sort of leads? Heck, maybe you even found out who's rump we're supposed to kick and where we can find them."
"Any kind of lead at all would be nice," Fancy Pants commented. "As it is, we're pretty much fishing without a hook."
"Unfortunately, I didn't really find out much of anything. I did see something, from a long time ago," Shining confessed. "But the only connection it could possibly have to this crisis, is that I got to see how Celestia and Luna's old castle fell into decay, and how Luna was banished to the moon. It didn't give me any sort of leads, it was pretty much a dead end."
But Zecora quickly spoke up and told Shining. "Young Shining Armor, you must not get downhearted. Perhaps if you drink the potion again, you will learn how this all started."
"You want me to drink it again, even though I know what it does?" Shining asked.
Zecora nodded. "Perhaps farther back still are the answers that you seek. Another sip of the potion should give you a peek."
"It's not like we've got anything to lose, I say give it a shot!" Soarin encouraged.
But Spike was more reluctant. Even as Shining was levitating the potion up to sip it again, Spike nervously protested. "You sure about this? I mean maybe this isn't such a good idea? We could always get Twilight or Cadence and see if they've found anything."
Shining shook his head. "We really don't have a lot of alternatives, Spike. If there's even a chance that this potion could provide us with some much needed answers, I have to drink it. Aside from the flashbacks, there didn't seem to be any side effects to note."
"I still think this is a bad idea." Spike commented, but he was overruled. Everyone watched as Shining very slowly and very reluctantly took another sip of the potion.
Well, everyone except Discord, who just appeared in a director's suit and hat, and stood behind a movie camera. "Oh, I do hope he breaks into a song and dance routine this time around," He exclaimed. "You ponies always amuse me with those musical performances," Just then, Shining's eyes lit up in a familiar white light. "Ooh! And, we're rolling!" Discord happily remarked, as the blinding flash overwhelmed everyone.