"Discord!" I hissed through clenched teeth. "Where did you come from?"
"Heh. I was about to ask you the same thing! How did you escape? And what happened to your hair?"
"Never you mind that. And where exactly did I escape from?" I asked slyly, trying to get him to reveal his lair.
"Hah! What kind of fool do you take me for?" he said, laughing.
"An overconfident one," I said with a mischievous grin. I was going to get him to give me that location, or die trying.
"Don't underestimate me, young Twilight," he growled menacingly. His face went dark with evil.
"Let me guess -- you have abducted the others," I postulated, trying a different tactic. I shifted my weight on my hooves, readying for a sprint or a teleport. He was approaching me slowly, and I was backing, not paying attention to where I was going.
"Ding, ding, ding! Give the lady a cigar!" he exclaimed proudly. Maybe I could appeal to his vanity...
"So I don't suppose you would tell me where they are?" I asked coyly. I think I might have gotten him with this one. I prepared myself to try to read his thoughts...
"Now, Twilight, why in Equestria would I even contemplate that? Why should I tell you where they are? Not that it matters that much, as you'll never find them. No, I'm not going to tell you where they are!"
His thoughts were very loud, so it took little effort to see the picture of his lair I intercepted. "You already did! Thanks! Bye!" I shouted, laughing, and then a flash of light and a purple POP were all I left behind.
"GRRRR!" he growled in frustration.
---------------
I appeared in his lair with a flash of light and a purple POP! I looked around to see several cages at the back wall, along with a table and chairs in the center of the room. I had no idea what this was for, it just happened to be there. I saw each cage had one of the Elements in it, except for an empty cage at the end. I assumed it was for Rainbow Dash, as I had failed to locate her. I wondered how much time I had before Discord showed up. If I was lucky, he might do my work for me and bring Rainbow to his lair. I thought to myself, "He can't be THAT stupid -- can he?"
"Twilight! You're here!" came a voice from one of the cages. It was Applejack.
"That's not Twilight, darling," Rarity said to her.
"Mike! I was wondering if you might come back!" said Twilight. "Wow, your hair! I want that done to mine!"
I teleported into the cage with Twilight, and saw that an inhibitor ring had been placed on her horn, preventing her from using magic. I removed it, and placed it in a pouch I conjured up, which I decided to wear around my neck. "Shh, I don't know how much time I have left. Don't let him see you use your magic. I'll take care of the rings on the others," I whispered to her. "If you can, surreptitiously remove the locks from the cages. If I predict this correctly, he should be showing up with Rainbow in a few minutes."
"How'd you come back?" she asked.
"The Princess summoned me," I said. "No more talking, time for action." I teleported to the next cage, freeing Pinkie Pie, then Rarity, then Applejack, then Fluttershy. I teleported outside the cages, and started breaking the locks, or at least trying to. I was startled by another POP, from about ten feet behind me.
"Heh, I thought you might show up here," he said. He had placed an inhibitor ring on Rainbow's left wing, and was holding her tightly with his lion's paw.
"You release her at once!" I shouted at him.
"Okay," he said, and dropped her on the floor. "Now tell me, false Twilight, what you intend to do?"
"Thanks for saving me the trouble of finding Rainbow Dash," I said. "You have unwittingly sealed your fate." I teleported to Rainbow, grabbed her, and teleported over to Twilight's cage, a good 25 feet away from Discord. I removed Rainbow's inhibitor ring.
"Twilight, did you get those locks?" I asked.
"Yeah, now we can use the Elements of Harmony on him!"
Each of the Elements left their cages, which shocked Discord. He stood still long enough for the Elements to use their magic on him. I will have to admit, it was an extremely impressive sight to see this magic up close and in pony.
"NOOO! NOT AGAIN!!" he shouted as he was turned back into a statue.
It hadn't even been a minute after this that another flash of light, and this time a golden POP ushered in the arrival of Princess Celestia.
"Well, Michael, I see you managed to get the Elements together, and you didn't even need my help!" she said, smiling.
"Well, I got lost trying to find Rainbow, and then Discord got the drop on me," I said, bowing my head.
"What matters is that they are all here, and that Discord has been subdued once again," she said.
"Yeah, and he freed us from those nasty inhibitor rings!" said Pinkie Pie.
"Wait, you said 'he'?" asked Fluttershy. Applejack looked at me quizzically.
"Allow me to explain," said the Princess. "This version of Twilight you see here with the braided mane and tail is actually a male human who woke up in Twilight's body. He did not interact with you, Fluttershy, or you, Applejack, when he was here earlier. His human name is Michael Walker. He comes from a world of humans, across a dimensional barrier. When I found Discord had escaped, and abducted Twilight, I was forced to find Michael in his world, and transport him here to help defeat Discord. I placed my trust in him, and he has succeeded, not just meeting, but exceeding my expectations. The fact that he did not need my help otherwise is testament to his intelligence and courage."
"Princess Celestia, I am humbled by you gracious compliment. I did the best I could, given the circumstances."
"Michael, I appreciate your humility. Should you ever need anything, do not hesitate to call on me. You have my gratitude for your assistance. Ladies, we will teleport back to the Castle."
"What about him?" Rainbow asked, pointing a wing at Discord's statue.
"It will be placed back its original location, in the Royal Gardens."
We were all teleported back to the Castle, once again in the Royal Throne Room. I marveled at all the decorations on the walls, and the stained glass windows, which let in a kaleidoscope of color onto the floor. I hadn't really paid too much attention before, as I had been pre-occupied with other thoughts. Today was to be a day of celebration.
"Hey, Mike, thanks again for helping us out! We couldn't have done it without you!" Rainbow said, smiling at me.
"Darling, you were magnificent!" Rarity offered. I blushed at the compliment, and softly smiled at her.
"Ah don't know how ya did it, but ya done good back there," came Applejack's observation.
"Please, it was nothing special, you know I would do anything to help out, whenever or wherever it's needed," I said.
"You made me proud to be me," Twilight said. "When did you become so much like me? And can you braid my mane up like that?" I chuckled at her request, and nodded my head. She gave me a big grin in return.
"Twilight, I need to tell you this -- at the risk of repeating myself, it has been an honor and a privilege to have been you for as long as I have, even if it is just about 28 hours -- but I have come to the conclusion that being you is a tremendous responsibility, and that even though I have tried to live up to that expectation, I can not in good faith continue to BE you. Please understand that I have a VERY deep respect for you, and great admiration -- you might even call it love -- but I can no longer be in your body. Equestria itself is big enough for only ONE Twilight Sparkle, and no more than that. I hope that someday soon, we can meet again, but I must not be in your body. Thanks again for being so patient with me and compassionate. I believe I can honestly tell you these three words: I love you."
Twilight's eyes moistened, and then tears of happiness started flowing down her cheeks. "Michael, that is perhaps the sweetest thing ANYpony has ever said to me! I was worried I might not be able to live up to the expectations your example of me was showing everypony else! It seems to me that you do ME even better than I do me!"
"Please, Twilight, I am not that honorable. In my human life, I have fallen far short of the ideals I wanted to espouse, always wanting to live an honorable life. I have made many mistakes, and sometimes have a tendency to dwell on them overmuch, but as Twilight Sparkle, I wanted to prove to myself that I CAN be honorable. I set a very high goal, and I think I might have actually met it, but the truth is, that if ANY pony deserves Alicorn status, it would be YOU, Twilight."
"Michael, you flatter me," she said, blushing furiously. A few more tears fell from her face.
"This doesn't have to be good-bye, Twilight," I said. "I'm sure the Princess will be able to allow for my return, just in a different body."
"Michael, you are welcome back any time you wish. Please let me know when, and I shall bring you back with me."
"Saturdays are good," I said. "I don't have to work on Saturdays, so I can spend them with all of you, and strengthen the friendships I have begun to make here. I can't thank you enough for being here for me, for being so kind, generous, and compassionate. You all are wonderful, and I look forward to returning, either to help, or to join in festivities. I apologize for not being able to stay any longer right now, but I must return to my home. By your leave, Princess Celestia?"
"Very well then, Michael. I will return you to your home, even though you can do that yourself, whilst still in Twilight's body."
"Princess Celestia, I can no longer stay in this body. Please return me to my human form, back in my bed, next to my wife. I thank you once again for everything you've done for me!"
She smiled at me warmly, cast a spell to return me to my human form (which caused everypony to gasp in shock as they saw what I really looked like) and then sent me back home. Truly, I could not wait a six more days, but given how fast time goes by when I'm working, I knew it would come quickly enough.