"So, what's the plan?" Discord asked in the passenger's seat. "Pull into each driveway one at a time, going door-to-door and asking if the kid is home?"
Sandra scanned both sides of the street as she drove. "Asking people what, exactly?"
"Oh, I don't know, maybe something along the lines of, "excuse us but has your son or daughter claimed to have been abducted by flying ponies lately?'"
Sandra was quite for a moment. "I think I should do the asking. You should probably stay in the car."
Discord turned to her and raised an eyebrow. "Why is that? You still don't trust me, is that it?"
She glanced at him. "It's not that; it's just, I really don't think anyone has even seen a..." she trailed off.
"Draconequus."
"Right... I don't think there are any humans who have ever seen a creature like you before. For that matter, there are some humans that still have trouble believing the whole 'colorful ponies from another dimension' thing. Seeing you might only confuse them more."
Discord folded his arms. "I don't see what's so hard about believing there other forms of intelligent life out there."
"It's hard for a lot of people to believe. Waking up one morning to have your entire world changed... it can be horrifying," Sandra said in a sad tone.
They were quiet again for a few moments, then, Discord looked over to her again. "It happened to you, didn't it?"
Sandra didn't answer. What good would come from telling him? But Discord continued.
"Someone you knew was converted? A friend, family member?" he asked. "Someone you-"
"Stop," she ordered in a stern voice.
"I'm sorry," Discord said, sincere. "It must've been someone very important to you."
She gripped the wheel a bit tighter. "He..." She hesitated. She could feel the pangs of regret, despair filling her stomach up, rising into her throat to choke her. "You wouldn't understand," she finally said.
"Why wouldn't I? Do you even know who I am?"
"This happened to my world, not yours. You didn't watch everything you had, the one person you loved most in the world..." tears formed in her eyes. The feelings wouldn't stop but her voice did.
Discord closed his eyes. "I know what it's like to have your world changed. To be told that everything you know is wrong... and everything you were so very sure of was all a lie."
Sandra didn't respond to him but he had a point. She didn't know anything about the strange creature sitting next to her as she drove. It scared her but at the same time, she had no choice but to go along with him and hope their plan was successful. If it was, she would have her husband back.
"A long time ago, I ruled the other world, the one that's infringing upon your own. Equestria was my playground; I could go wherever I wanted, do whatever I wished whenever I desired. I could change the world on a whim. But one day, somepony told me what I was doing was wrong. I resisted, fought back. And for that I was imprisoned in a statue."
Curiosity got the better of her. "Then why are you here now?"
"One day, they released me. They needed my magic for something; they figured it could help them," he sighed. "It's strange; ruling the world one day and being ruled the next. I ruled Equestria in a state of total chaos. The things I'd done put a lot of ponies in peril. So they rose up, challenged me, struck me down and turned me to stone. They were called heroes for it... making me the villain," he said in a somber tone.
"So, what are you doing now? Why are you helping me?"
He rubbed his chin with his paw. "I'm not entirely sure why. But if there is a cure, some other option to conversion, it should be pursued. Forcing people to undergo conversion... seems like something I'd have done a long time ago."
"If you felt this way, why didn't you try to stop it sooner?"
"When the conversion bureaus themselves came under fire, everypony retreated beyond the barrier. We didn't think conversion would ever come up again. Then, one day the Director of Conversion received orders from Celestia to start the process again but this time in secret. Instructions were to continue conversion by any means necessary, even against the wills of the humans. We were told we would be saving humanity."
"Saving humanity?!" Sandra slammed on the brakes. Discord braced himself as the car skidded to a halt. Sandra turned to him. "You're erasing my entire species! You're going to replace humans with, with, just more ponies! How is that saving humanity?!"
Discord dropped his gaze to the dashboard. "I was told it was better than the alternative. What they're doing at the conversion center, it just reminds me too much of my old self. But who was I to judge if I thought it was wrong? If I tried to do anything about it, they'd only see me as a villain again. Back to my old ways and I'd be set back in stone. So I went along with it, along with everything... until I found an alternative. Maybe, if it works, they'll listen to me. I can do something heroic for once."
"That's why you're helping me do this? So you can be the hero?" she put her foot on the gas and started driving again.
He chuckled. "I'm no hero. The ponies will only ever see me as the spirit of chaos, a crazy former tyrant who realized the 'error of his ways' and was given a second chance," he gestured with his hands as he orated. "Sadly, I can't change a thousand years of history with a snap of my talons. But I might be able to stop the past from being repeated."
"Being a hero's not about changing the past. It's about doing what's right, right now regardless of what everyone around you is doing." She glanced over at him. When did she start trying to be inspirational? "You can't snap your... talons and change the past. All you can do is try to change the future." She tried not to make the play on words but couldn't help it while concentrating on driving.
Discord laughed at the statement. "You humans really are hilarious sometimes, you know that?" he shook his head. "Well, I suppose you're right. I fear what'll happen to us both if you're-
Something stopped Discord midsentence. He turned around, twisting his upper torso 180-degrees while his lower half remained seated, looking behind them.
"What is it?"
Discord turned back around. "Nothing. Just some earth pony following us." He paused momentarily, thinking. Slowly, he turned to Sandra who looked back at him. The two were caught for a second, staring back at each other with the same perplexed gaze. "You don't think..."
Sandra slammed on the brakes again and rolled down the passenger side window. The pony following them ran up to the side and braced his hooves on the door, panting.
"Oh thank goodness, I-" the pony stopped when he noticed Discord.
"You need a lift?" Discord asked.
"What... who..." the pony began backing away nervously.
Discord quirked an eyebrow. "I think this might be our guy."
Sandra leaned forward, looking around Discord. "Hey! Are you that... kid from yesterday?"
The colt's expression changed the moment he saw Sandra. "Yes! I'm Nathan! We were at the conversion center yesterday!"
"What happened to you? Did they get you again?"
"No, I... I don't know how this happened."
Sandra thought back to when she bumped into the kid. He'd been hit by some kind of gas, covered by it when they were trying to escape. A vapor form of the serum? Did it have some kind of delayed reaction?
"Weren't you immune?" Sandra asked.
Nathan shyly looked down, uncertain. "Yes, I think but... I don't know... maybe when that creepy doctor dropped that pink crap, I inhaled it and that did something to me."
"Maybe..." Sandra thought to herself. If there was no immunity to the vapor form of the serum... "All right, get in. We're going back to that conversion center."
"Thank you," Nathan said. Discord snapped his talons and the passenger door to the SUV swung open. The young pony climbed in and the car started moving again. "Do you think they have some kind of cure there?"
Sandra gripped the steering wheel tighter, new determination surging through her hot and cold. "We're going to find out."