The six mares were still deep in thought. Every idea they had come up with always had a negative outcome. The key thing they had to remember was since Discord tried to take over Equestria before and failed, he would no doubt be better prepared this time. If there was one thing Discord wasn't, it was stupid. As much as they hated to admit it, Discord was in no way incompetent. He had already captured the Princesses, and he knew that the Elements wouldn't bother him this time.
The only problem was he hadn't gotten rid of them yet. They had figured that Discord would either separate them like before, take Twilight away due to her powers, or just imprison them somewhere. None of those things happened. Had Discord forgotten about them? Did he not remember they were the ones to send him back to his stone prison? Twilight came up with the conclusion that since the Elements were no longer in their possession, he didn't see the six ponies as a threat. The girls were starting to run out of ideas.
"Ugh! How long have we been here? Equestria is in trouble, and we're just sitting around doing nothing. We've got to take action sooner or later!" Rainbow groaned angrily.
"We can't take action unless we have a plan. We won't be able to take on Discord and expect to win just like that. Discord is extremely powerful. He could throw anything at us," Twilight countered.
"Could we take the Elements back? Unless...you don't want to," Fluttershy suggested meekly.
"And have the Everfree take over again? I don't know about you, but I think we've got enough on our plate," Applejack responded.
"Maybe, we could throw him a party! Remind him what it means to be a friend!" Pinkie suggested merrily.
"Your idea could work if we weren't dealing with a megalomaniac who thought friendship was a waste of time. Now, that he's taken over, what makes you think he'll just give it up?" Rarity replied.
Twilight got up and began pacing. "Ugh! This ridiculous! Has Discord really given us no options? There has be something we can do! We need help, and it's not going to pop up on the doorstep." Coincidently, after she finished saying that, there was a knock on the door.
"Wait a second, I haven't taken down the force field yet. No one should be able to get within fifty feet of the library," Twilight looked over to her friends. Another knock was heard.
"Do you think it's Discord?" Fluttershy squeaked.
"Why would he knock on the door? Wouldn't he just barge in or turn the library upside-down?" Pinkie asked.
"Well, Discord or not, we need to find out who that is," Twilight took a deep breath and headed towards the door. The other five cowered behind the table, well minus Rainbow Dash who was hovering above at a safe distance.
Twilight unlocked the door and opened it. To her surprise, it was Discord. She jumped back and aimed her horn.
"Discord! You better leave in the next ten seconds, or I will blast you. Have you come here to dispose of us? Well, it's not going to hap--" Discord silenced her by putting his tail around her mouth. Twilight was about to fire when she noticed his appearance. Discord all of a sudden looked...weak. Some of his body parts were damaged. He looked like had been in a fight with a hydra and lost. Something was definitely wrong here.
"Oh, thank chaoticness! You're all still here. Seems that insolent hybrid didn't take care of you yet. Which I'm...kinda surprised at. I mean, if this were really me, I would have taken you down in a heartbeat. Regardless, you're all okay, and that's what's important," Discord said relieved.
Twilight and the girls all looked at each other unsure. "Um, what are you talking about?"
Discord sighed, "I knew I would have to explain this sooner or later. Okay, look, I'm going to give it to you straight. That Discord is not me. You know, the one that subsequently took over Equestria but a few hours ago. He and I are not the same. We're two separate beings. I'm the Discord that was reformed. The one who neglected to tell you about the plunder seeds. Basically, I'm your friend."
The ponies' faces were a mixture of disbelief, skepticism, and incredulousness. Rainbow zoomed up to Discord.
"Yah, right! What makes you think we'll believe you?"
"Ever the brash one aren't you, Rainbow. To be honest, I really can't prove it. I had hoped you would believe me, but it seems I was wrong," Discord was about to turn away.
"I do believe you."
"What?! Twilight, how can you possibly buy his story?" Rainbow shouted.
"I can just...feel it. I can't explain it, but it doesn't seem like he's lying," Twilight looked back at Discord. "Well, Discord, if it is true what you've said, could you please explain why there's two of you, and why one of them has taken over Equestria?"
Discord smiled, "You all might want to take a seat. This might take awhile."
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I suppose I'll start from the beginning. About six o'clock last night, I decided to take a stroll through the Everfree Forest. Frankly, I don't know why I chose the forest to walk through, but anyway, I had walked for about fifteen minutes when I came across a cottage.
Naturally, my curiosity got the better of me, so I went up to inspect it. I peeked into the window, and what did I find? A zebra shaman! I could tell by the native artifacts and bubbling cauldron. Of course, she spotted me and told me to come inside. Who am I to turn down such a generous offer?
I entered her, as I like to call it, workshop. She was reciting foreign incantations and a whole bunch of mumbo-jumbo. I found out her name was Zecora, and it turns out that you all know her. Do you know why she always speaks in rhyme? How does she come up with all these rhymes? Imagine if she said the word orange! There are no words that rhyme with it!
DISCORD!
Oh, right! Anyway, she brought me over to her cauldron. I forget what she said exactly, but I think it was something like, "My latest experiment is almost complete, but I need another ingredient to add into the heap. For you see, this potion will allow ponies to be free from their split personalities." Basically, the potion would separate beings into their individual personalities. One pony could be chipper as a ladybug, or as gloomy as a thunderhead.
Anyway, the last ingredient she needed was magic. She would have called you,Twilight, but since I was around, she decided to use my magic. Part of me was unsure, but since that part was so little, I went with it. I conjured up a big ball of magic and placed it in the elixir.
She began to stir it. The batch started turning different colors, and I couldn't tell if that was a good or a bad thing. The potion started to bubble. I looked over at Zecora and realized she was looking worried. I think she had forgotten that I harbored chaos magic, and that's what screwed everything up.
The potion exploded. It sent her and me crashing head-first into the wall. She got knocked out, and my vision was swimming. Some of her artifacts, mainly the heavy ones came tumbling down on me. At that moment, I began to feel weak. Not just because of the heavy objects that had landed on me. I felt something being drained from me. As I was nearing unconsciousness, I could vaguely make out the silhouette of a very familiar looking creature. My last thought before I fell unconscious was, Equestria's in big trouble.
I awoke about seven o'clock this morning. My body was bruised, and I felt like mud. I found myself in a desolate part of the forest. Thankfully, it was early enough, so none of the wild animals were out. As I sorted my thoughts, I realized that the potion had worked, but it had a negative outcome. The potion split me into two Discords. My normal self as one, and the other one...is everything I was before. The only difference between my old self and this Discord is that this Discord's heart is as cold as stone. Friendship will mean absolutely nothing to him.
I also found out that I had been deprived of most of my powers. That potion had taken a great toll on me. My wings were bruised so I couldn't fly. It seemed as if all my energy had been sapped out of me. I didn't get up for about an hour or two. When I finally felt some strength coming back to me, I headed towards the forest entrance. My leg wasn't in good shape, so I had to limp all the way.
I eventually arrived and noticed that I was already too late. My other self worked fast. I had to hope you guys hadn't been dealt with yet. With resolve, I headed towards the library, and now here I am.
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"And that's my story," Discord finally summed everything up. The girls were silent. Discord's story actually made sense. It wasn't farfetched, and it wasn't impossible. Discord's explanation was believable, and that meant he was believable.
"Wow! Girls, I think we can safely say that Discord's telling the truth," Twilight said with a genuine smile on her face.
"Oh, Discord! I'm so glad you're not evil!" Fluttershy flew up and gave Discord a hug followed closely by Pinkie.
"Yah, Discord's not a big meanie pants! Well, this one isn't anyways!"
"I'm glad you all believe me. But, we've got some major problems here. Most of my powers must have been transferred to the other Discord. We have to find a way to get rid of him, but at the same time we need to restore my powers. If I can obtain just a little bit of my magic, we might have a shot. Any ideas?" Discord looked around the room to see if any of them had come up with one.
Twilight's face lit up. "I've got an idea. But...it will be very risky." Everypony's face cringed with uncertainty. But since no one else had anything, they would have to go with it.