Spike paced about the throne room. He had asked Applejack and Twilight to round up all the ponies that he needed. They had already gotten Strikefire. There was really just one more that he was waiting on. A certain filly who had a bone to pick the bad guys who took her mother away. Flake Frost. And just he was thinking of her the doors to the throne room burst open. Flake ran in with Applejack and Twilight behind her.
“Spike, is it true,” She asked, “Do you really intend to fight the Darkmares? If you are then you know I am coming with you. There is no way you are leaving me behind. Not this time!”
“Yes, Flake. I am going to fight the Darkmares and the Madness, but I will not be doing it alone. Normally, I would never let a little filly like you go on such a dangerous adventure, but these are strange times. I need all the help I can get.”
Flake smiled wide and trotted over to take a seat next to Cadance and Shining Armor. It was then that Twilight and Applejack arrived. Applejack leisurely trotted up the last of the steps that came up to the throne room. Twilight was close behind her, but not in the same condition. She was breathing heavy, panting, and exhausted.
“Come on now, Twilight, you can do it,” Applejack encouraged her.
Twilight pulled up one heavy hoof after the other and managed to get to the middle of the room before she collapsed onto the crystal floor. She rolled over onto her back and tried to catch her breath.
“That filly can run,” She said between breaths, “She ran at full speed over a field of ice and didn't slip once.”
“You do remember that I work on an ice farm, right,” Flake asked playfully.
“Enough about that,” Cadance said authoritatively, “Spike, we must talk about your plan. How can we fight this Madness?”
“With some madness of our own, Cadance,” Spike said with a sly smile, “And maybe just a hint. . . of chaos.”
“Did somebody just call me out? How sweet.”
The room dimmed a bit as small storm clouds formed overhead. They swirled and raged. The wind blew the manes of the ponies all about. A few bolts of lightning came down and then he appeared. The clouds parted ways and light shone through. Rays of light shone down onto the crystal floor and upon them stood the Lord himself. The Lord of Chaos!
Twilight's face had a look of annoyance on it, “Discord. Dramatic entrance much?”
“What can I say? I have to work that little bit harder to stay one step ahead of these Mad ponies all buzzing about Equestria. Oh, but your annoyed about your mane. Here, let me fix that for you,” Discord said in his usual carefree, chaotic manner.
Discord snapped his fingers and he changed in a flash. He looked the same, but was wearing some strange outfit. He had on a strange striped shirt with long sleeves. A small, black band was around the upper arm on both sleeves. An impressive handlebar mustache decorated his face. With this new look he focused in on Twilight, whether she liked it or not.
He reached over and spun her around. In a small purple Twilight tornado Discord had put her in a chair. Not just any chair, but a barber shop chair. He even put a sink behind it. Twilight was strapped in and her head was still spinning, so she could not refuse or fight back. Then Discord pulled out a pair of scissors and started in on her mane.
“So, how have you been, Twilight Sparkle? I hear you became a Princess since my last visit. That must be so exciting.”
“Discord! What are you doing?”
“You know, I remember when I was almost a princess. Well, not a princess per say, but a ruler of Equestria nonetheless. Ah, it was a grand time. However, it was not to last.”
“Discord! Stop this at once! I said stop!”
“You see, I was trapped in stone for my trouble making, but then I came back. I came back, only to trapped in stone again.”
“DISCORD! I swear if you don't let me out of this chair I will-”
Twilight's voice was cut off by Discord. He dunked her head into the sink. He snapped his fingers and a bottle of something appeared before him and tilted just enough to let some of the liquid pour out into the sink. Water rained down on Twilight's head as she was overtaken by a rising tide of bubbles and suds. With a wicked grin and chuckle Discord plunged his hands into the mess and swirled them around like the madman they all knew him to be. At one point a tentacle appeared, but Discord beat it back down so suddenly nopony could really even be sure it was there. After a few minutes of washing and few more of rinsing Twilight was finally freed.
“Done! Voila! You look great, my dear. Please, do come again.”
Discord spun the chair around so Twilight was facing the rest of the ponies. As the chair swung around to face them she heard a collective noise. GASP!!! Each of them looked at her with looks of shock on their faces. Twilight tried to look up, but she couldn't see her own mane. Not without a mirror. She looked around to find one, but there was none to be found.
“What is it? What did he do to my mane? What do I look like,” Twilight asked while freaking out a little.
“You look like a purple pony princess,” Flake said flatly.
“Your mane,” It's uh. . . ,” Shining Armor muttered.
“It looks really, um, really. . .um,” Cadance mumbled.
Strikefire only uttered one word, “Whoa.”
“Ya know, I just ain't sure what to say about that,” Applejack said.
“Discord,” Twilight hissed, “What have you done to me?”
“You look normal, Twilight,” Spike said, “Your mane is the same as it always was.”
Discord snapped his fingers yet again and before Twilight's eyes a mirror appeared. A tall, thin mirror with a Discord themed frame around it. He smiled as he floated behind Twilight as she saw herself in the mirror. Spike was right. Discord had not done anything to her mane, except fix it. In fact, it felt softer than ever. She would be getting that trick from him at some point. Or Rarity would be.
“Why, you ask,” Discord read Twilight's mind, “Because, dearest Sparklepants, you expect me to so something different. I wouldn't very well be the Lord of Chaos if I did what was expected of me, now would I?”
Twilight did not respond to him. She knew he was right, but she didn't want to say and feed his already inflated ego. She got up and out of the chair and walked through the mirror, which dissolved into dust at her touch. She walked over to Spike and stood beside him.
“Enough playtime, Discord,” He said seriously, “We need to talk about the Madness.”
“Have you called me here to ask for my help,” Discord said with some genuine curiosity, “Well, I am afraid I am all booked up.”
A flash of light later and a small book appeared in his hands. It was not a thick book, yet several notes and papers were sticking out from within the pages. Discord thumbed through it for a moment before finding the page he was looking for.
“Ah, yes. I have a party to crash tomorrow. Don't worry, it is not one of Pinkie Pie's, but it could be after I'm done. After that, I have this thing in St. Poniesburg. Can't get out of that. And then I have my semi annual three week nap. Can't avoid that. Missed it last year and nearly snapped. And when that is all said and done, I have this thing I promised to help with. It involves this girl and an egg. As you can see, I am all booked up for a while.”
“Really? The Lord of Chaos follows a schedule,” Shining Armor baited him, “How orderly of you.”
“Well, I might be able to squeeze this in,” Discord said with a glare, “For a price.”
“Name it,” Spike said.
“A kiss. A kiss, from dear, sweet Fluttershy,” Discord said sarcastically.
“Impossible,” Twilight said.
“Well then, I guess we are done here.”
“She was taken by Darkmares.”
Discord was right about to snap his fingers and be halfway across Equestria when Spike said that. Discord stopped in his tracks when he heard the words. His friend, his dearest friend, was taken. Fluttershy was the only pony who had ever given him a chance. He cared about her. Sometimes more than he would ever admit to. And hearing the news that she was taken. It did something to him. This new, strange feeling welled up in him. He did not know what it was, but he didn't like it. He had to get rid of this feeling. He turned around to face Spike again.
“What do you need me to do,” He asked more seriously than anytime before.
“Just think of Fluttershy, and how much you care for her,” Spike told him.
Discord did not argue. There was no more time for such games of his. This was not a time for his antics. Even he could see that. For now it was time for Fluttershy.
It wasn't hard for him to focus on Fluttershy. She was on his mind more often than he cared to admit. It had been a while since he had seen her. He was actually starting to miss her. He watched as Spike's eyes glowed green. He had heard all the stories about his power. But then a small white circle appeared in the green. That was new. Before Discord could react Spike had already plunged his hands into his chest, and his soul. Discord grunted as Spike searched for the way to find Fluttershy.
Mere moments passed by like hours. The sun was descending and the moon was rising by the time Spike was done. With a grunt of effort he pulled back his hands. His hands left Discord and they both stumbled backwards.
“By the power of Celestia, what did you just do,” Discord asked.
“That took a lot longer than it did with me, Spike,” Twilight said.
“His soul is more chaotic than he is. Took me a while to find what I was looking for,” Spike said back.
“My soul?! Just what were you looking for in my soul,” Discord demanded to know.
Spike held up his hand. Within his closed claws there was a light. A small, yet unbelievably bright light. Discord eyed this bundle of light with wonder. It was familiar to him. He had never seen anything like it before, but he felt like it was close to him somehow.
“I was looking for Fluttershy.”