Discord finished remembering the drunken conversation he had with Settler and looked back to a very angry looking Praiseworth.
"In my defense," Discord said in an attempt to justify himself "It was all his idea. I was merely the yes-man."
"I know it was Settler's idea and I'm angry with him enough as it is, but the fact that you weren't there with him and Flurry Heart meant they got captured by Chrysalis and are now going to be executed!" Praiseworth shouted.
"When exactly did they go out to try and take down Chrysalis?” Discord asked. “Because the morning after we had our discussion, I was hungover, then I got a call on that very afternoon from somepony wanting me to collect a package and deliver it to the Badlands. Afterwards, everything went all pear-shaped because I had the misfortune of encountering Tirek on my travels."
"We're running out of time here so are you going to save them or not?"
"Of course we're going to save them!” he turned towards his alicorn ally. “Right, Luna?"
"Where has Chrysalis taken them?" Luna asked.
Discord then moved the map towards Luna's face and pointed at Chrysalis' territory in the southeast corner. Praiseworth then walked towards the map and pointed to a more specific location within Chrysalis' territory closer to the southern edge.
"Chrysalis has built an arena within the Forbidden Jungle. She usually captures former members of her hive and forces them to change into her most hated enemies so she can have the satisfaction of killing them again," Praiseworth explained.
"It appears we can save your family after we have delivered the package to whoever Discord promised it to in the Badlands." Luna said, noticing just how close the Badlands is to the Forbidden Jungle. "However, I will not help in taking down Chrysalis."
"What?!" Both Discord and Praiseworth shouted in unison before giving each other a look.
"I've made it a rule of mine to never use my power again lest the other villains hear of it and hunt down my family," she said.
"And yet Tirek seems to know about you and your family" Discord deadpanned.
"That's different. I hid away while his brother was still ruling and, after Tirek killed Scorpan, he found out about me and had his henchmen keep an eye on me ever since. Not once did I try to fight him. Not even after I had met Morning March."
"Oh, for Scorpan's sake!" Discord exclaimed. "Look, if you help us out, I'll pay you double!"
"Pardon?" Luna tilted her head.
"You're in debt to Tirek, right? If I pay you double, you won't have to worry about being in debt to him again for a long time," he said.
"Well, if you insist..."
Luna and Discord headed due south for the train station, hoping to take the Friendship Express all the way to Canterlot, if indeed that could still be done. When they arrived at the train station, it looked like it had been through a war, with charred remains of train tracks and dying embers of flame strewn about. The only structure still standing was a guard tower carved from stone in the midst of a puddle of lava. An earth pony was hanging on for dear life, his white coat dirtied by mud and his black mane dishevelled and burnt.
"Are you okay?" Luna called to him.
"Lava demons!" the pony said in a quivering voice. "They're here! I climbed to the highest point but everyone else. Th...they..."
Luna quickly used her telekinesis to help the shaken earth pony down and away from the puddle of lava surrounding the tower. Discord looked unamused.
"Oh, so when it comes to saving strangers, it's perfectly fine to use your powers. But when my friend and one of your own fellow alicorns are in danger, suddenly you don't want to use your powers! What gives?!" Discord said.
"None of Grogar's forces are around, nor are any other felons. I only helped him down. I didn't need to fight anypony."
Luna then continued walking forward while the Earth pony she rescued started kissing the ground, happy he has returned to land. As Luna walked forward, she pondered on what Discord said, noticing he mentioned a "fellow alicorn".
"Wait, what fellow alicorn do you mean?" Luna asked.
"Why, Flurry Heart, of course!" Discord said.
"Flurry Heart as in the daughter of Cadence and niece of Twilight Sparkle Flurry Heart?”
"Is there any other?" Discord said.
"I thought that monster Sombra killed her along with Cadence and Shining Armor!" Luna said.
"Well, about that..."
500 years in the past, Discord was waiting for Twilight and her friends (Fluttershy especially) to show up at Canterlot Castle, knowing that Sombra's forces have laid siege to it. Growing impatient, he conjured a watch on his wrist to check the time. Suddenly, he heard a misty sound and a haughty laugh from directly behind him.
"They're not coming, you know," a deep but prideful voice said.
Discord turned around and noticed Sombra standing behind him, wearing a smug grin on his face.
"Being a former villain myself, I know how this works,” Discord said. “You monologue for a bit, the heroes show up to stop you, and then they go out for some shawarma."
"Do you really think your friends could possibly defeat me?! I am Sombra!!! I am invincible! All beings shall soon bow before me! Ahahahahaha!"
"I'm no psychoanalyst but I believe your biggest weakness is your overconfidence," Discord deadpanned.
"Your faith in your friends is yours, Discord!"
"Not really. They have beaten you before and they can beat you again," Discord said.
"Actually, it was Princess Cadence and Shining Armor that have defeated me the first time, which is why I'm having my forces capture them as soon as they retake the empire so I can have the pleasure of executing them myself. And their little alicorn filly too."
As Sombra let out another malicious cackle, Discord thought about the suspicious lack of heroes kicking down the door to win the day. It's not like Twilight and her friends to show up this late. He decided to quickly teleport to Ponyville to see if perhaps they were there. All he found there were some charred and impaled corpses against a burning red sky filled with smoke from the remains of houses that were. He teleported back, shaken by what he had seen.
"Like my work?" Sombra gloated. "Since one of your friends is related to Cadence and Shining Armor, I believe now would be a good time to save them. Unless of course, you want her to be angry with you forever because you stood there idly while allowing her relatives to suffer a painful death."
"I'm certain Celestia and Luna are helping Cadence and Shining Armor out," Discord said.
"Ohohoho, I heavily doubt that. But if you want to check, by all means, do,” Sombra said. "After all, I will be too busy redecorating to be going anywhere so I'm sure you're friends will have arrived by the time you get back."
Feeling uncertain, Discord mulled over his options. Should he quickly teleport over to the Crystal Empire or should he wait for Twilight and her friends to show up?
Well, they have done things like this numerous times before, Discord thought.. Really, the only time in which they were in trouble was when Chrysalis returned. I know almost for certain they can handle this on their own. Why would I need to wait?
After a quick thought and a snap of his fingers, Discord teleported north to the Crystal Empire.