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Chapter 1 - A look into the past16,222 words
Chapter 2 - A simple game of chess13,674 words
Chapter 3 - A regrettable train of thought12,993 words
Chapter 4 - The answer14,144 words
Chapter 5 - A bitter victory14,011 words
Chapter 6 - Reawakening memories20,010 words
Chapter 7 - Princesses on the attack11,407 words
Chapter 8 - Cupid's Arrows10,134 words
Chapter 9 - Synergy15,249 words
Chapter 10 - The first lesson about love11,023 words
Chapter 11 - Confidence test13,103 words
Chapter 12 - Discovering new feelings17,451 words
Chapter 13 - Myth and Reality11,125 words
Chapter 14 - Hidden in the shadows13,764 words
Chapter 15 - Choosing a New Friend15,560 words
Chapter 16 - The secret ingredient12,881 words
Chapter 17 - Among us10,080 words
Chapter 18 - The well of lies15,645 words
Chapter 19 - At the altar11,265 words
Chapter 20 - Love spell12,277 words
Chapter 21 - The bitter end11,588 words
Chapter 22 - Magic duel12,869 words
Chapter 23 - A train full of mysteries11,250 words
Chapter 24 - The most beautiful smile11,644 words
Chapter 25 - Laughter and surprises12,677 words
Chapter 26 - Heart's Warming Night11,686 words
Chapter 27 - The second impression11,718 words
Chapter 28 - The forbidden fruit13,688 words
Chapter 29 - A dragon and his family13,416 words
Chapter 30 - A dragon's word is law17,480 words

Chapter 3 - A regrettable train of thought

A regrettable train of thought

Dusk had been engulfed in darkness. Without realizing it, he had fallen into a deep sleep, oblivious to everything that was happening around him. In his mind, Dusk floated in a giant library while reading his favorite books, one of his most recurring dreams. And he was so immersed in his imaginary reading that Dusk would have continued to enjoy that beautiful dream if it hadn’t been for a strange scream that pulled him out of his fantasies.

"DUSK! ANSWER BACK ALREADY!" Spike's scream could be heard echoing in Dusk’s mind, causing the lavender unicorn to finally wake up.

"Spike?" Dusk said in confusion, getting up and looking around unable to find his little brother.

Looking around, Dusk was even more confused to see that he was on his old bed, in what had been his room in Canterlot. Slowly, Dusk remembered that he had arrived here with Sunset Shimmer, and then... had he fallen asleep?

As he looked around trying to understand what happened, Dusk was surprised to see four scrolls on the bed. Then he opened them and saw that they were from Spike.

Each of the scrolls had been written very quickly, explaining how Sunset had come to Ponyville and manipulated Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie to make them feel bad about themselves. The more Dusk read, the angrier he got as he realized what Sunset’s plan was.

"Sunset used a spell to put me to sleep!" Dusk said furiously, angrily hitting the bed when he finally remembered what had happened that morning.

The last thing Dusk could remember was how Sunset had asked him to meet his friends without him being present, to which Dusk had refused. Then she had approached him and cast a spell on him without his realizing it.

"Ugh! How could I trust her again!? What kind of friend would use a spell to put his friend to sleep!?" Dusk said loudly and hitting his face with a hoof. Then, for some reason, he remembered the time that he had done just the same with his friends the time they were going to face Nightmare Moon. The anger then shifted from Sunset to himself, realizing how hypocritical he could be. “No, that wasn’t the same! Don't try to justify her!" Dusk chastised himself, denying that a part of him still expected Sunset to be a good friend.

Determined not to waste any more time, Dusk quickly got out of bed and ran to the door, ready to go to Ponyville to confront Sunset. However, as soon as Dusk put a hoof on the doorknob, he stopped, looked back, and went to the desk.

"By the time I take the train and get to Ponyville, Sunset can say many more bad things to my friends..." Dusk thought with a determined look, levitating the letters that Spike had sent him and starting to write an answer to motivate his friends. "Sunset tricked them into thinking that they're useless. But that's not true, they’re a thousand times brighter and more special than her… I hope this reminds them of that until I return to Ponyville." Dusk thought, finishing his letter and magically sending it to Spike.

After sending the letter, Dusk got up from the desk and quickly approached the door again. However, he stopped when he heard somepony knock on the door. Then Dusk opened it and was surprised to see that it was Princess Celestia's maid, Sweet Creme.

"Princess Celestia requests your presence at the castle, Dusk Shine." The blue-maned maid said, very ceremoniously.

"How did the Princess know that I was here?" Dusk asked.

"She knows everything." Sweet Creme answered with narrowing of her eyes, as it felt almost like an offense that someone implied that the princess didn’t know something.

Suddenly it seemed that Sweet Creme remembered something and looked carefully behind Dusk, as if she expected to find somepony else.

"Sunset Shimmer isn't with you?" Sweet Creme asked, trying to hide her concern.

"No, she’s not here. She…" Dusk replied, remembering again that Sunset was with his friends. And although he wanted to take the first train to Ponyville, now he must go to the castle before he could leave. “It doesn’t matter. Hurry, let's go to the Princess. If she requested my presence, it must be for something important." Dusk added quickly, closing the tower door. The colt quickened his pace so that he could see his teacher and then make his way to Ponyville as soon as possible.

Sweet Creme then caught up to walk alongside Dusk, remembering that her princess had asked her to escort him to the castle. As they walked, Dusk suddenly opened his eyes in surprise upon realizing something.

"How did you know that Sunset could be with me? Did you know that she went back to Canterlot?" Dusk asked, looking puzzled at the maid.

At Dusk's inquisitive gaze, Sweet Creme looked away and then pressed her lips nervously.

"She appeared the night of the Grand Galloping Gala, just as you and the Princess disappeared." She said with a pained look. "She… made me tell her where you and the Princess could be."

Dusk slowed his walking pace and slowly opened his eyes when he realized something important.

"Sunset knew what happened between my friends and I at the Gala!?" Dusk asked, looking concerned at the maid.

"I... I didn't tell her." Sweet Creme fearfully replied, then she put on a thoughtful and worried look as she remembered what had happened. "I didn't tell her, but… maybe she listened when I told the Princess what happened… I have the impression that she already knew when she spoke to me. She was very determined to meet you that very night."

"She knew about the girls' declarations of love… And she interrupted us on purpose!" Dusk thought angrily, and now more scared at the thought that Sunset could hurt his friends by making fun of their feelings.

"She has always been like this... She cheats and manipulates everypony in order to get what she wants." Sweet Creme added with a resentful look, as if remembering something from her past. That caught Dusk’s attention, who only then thought of something he hadn't thought of in years.

"Sweet Creme… Do you remember there was a time when you, me and Sweet Caramel used to meet at the castle to play? I always thought that you stop hanging out with me because I did something wrong, but... Was there another ulterior motive?" Dusk asked with some sadness, something that took the young maid completely by surprise.

Despite Dusk's gaze, Sweet Creme ignored Dusk and just kept walking. Then Dusk stopped her and looked at her with a pleading look.

"Sweet Creme, I need to know if Sunset did anything to keep you away from me that time. I can't trust Sunset again, and for that, I need to know all the bad things she did in the past. So that I don't fall back into her traps now in the present." Dusk said with a sad look.

The young maid looked scared, then closed her eyes tightly. She had a secret that Princess Celestia couldn't know, and Dusk was too close to the princess. She couldn't risk telling him. However, Sweet Creme understood that she owed Dusk something after what she and her sister had done to him the night before at the Grand Galloping Gala. Then she sighed and looked at him seriously.

"You... You must promise never to tell the Princess." Sweet Creme said with a guilty look, to which Dusk nodded. So, Sweet Creme started with her story.

"That day you took Sunset to the castle, the four of us played and had fun together. Nothing made me or my sister suspect Sunset's true personality. So, after we said our goodbyes, Sunset came back to the castle saying she wanted to spend some more time playing with us. The three of us went to our grandpa's room where we stayed while we received our training. However, Sunset insisted on doing something funnier, more daring… So, she convinced us to go to the Princess's room. Her Majesty was not there, as she was taking a bath. But still, my sister and I were scared to death for trespassing. Although Sunset fearlessly entered and insisted that we enter as well."

"Yes... She’s usually very persuasive." Dusk said, looking away with rancor.

"Once we entered the room, we stayed only a few seconds until we heard a noise and we all escaped. The three of us ran to hide in Grandpa's room… It was only then that we realized that Sunset had brought the Princess's crown with her." Sweet Creme said with a guilty look as she remembered. "Caramel and I were terrified, but Sunset put on the crown and pretended she was a queen. The more Sunset played, the less afraid we were, because she spread that security. So much so that even my sister and I also put on the crown for a moment to imagine what it would feel like to be a Princess... We were so distracted in our fantasies that we jumped in shock when we heard somepony knock on the door. It was one of the guards who was looking for the crown. With the shock, none of the of us knew who had had the crown in the end, and we didn't see it anywhere, which we thought was fortunate, since the guard didn't see us wearing the crown either. Then Grandpa Kibitz called us and asked us to leave the castle while the guards searched for the lost crown. However, before we left, Sunset approached a guard and told him that he should look for the crown in Grandpa Kibitz's room. Caramel and I were horrified that Sunset gave us away. However, neither of us had been able to find the crown after the guard surprised us, so we thought that even if they searched again, they couldn't find it. But…"

"The crown was there." Dusk said, guessing Sunset's trick.

"When the guard surprised us the first time, it was as if the crown had disappeared. However, when they went to check the second time after Sunset told them, the crown was in the middle of the room in plain sight!" Sweet Creme continued telling the story. "Seeing that the crown was in his room, Grandpa Kibitz looked at me and my sister with a look of deep disappointment. Then… he blamed himself and said that he had taken it."

"The next day, a small ceremony was held announcing that Grandpa Kibitz was resigning from his position as royal majordomo… But my sister and I knew that our grandpa loved his job and he would never quit, so he most likely did it after blaming himself for stealing the Princess's crown. We tried to talk to our grandpa, but he refused to talk about it, he only made us promise to never to do something so stupid again and to always be faithful to the Princess. However, despite what grandpa asked of us, we were determined to tell the truth. Although Sunset was at the farewell ceremony with the Archmage. She told us that our grandpa had already been expelled and if we told them the truth, they would also expel us too, and that… we would end the long legacy of royal maids that our family has. That was all it took to convince us not to tell anyone the truth. However, that wasn’t enough for Sunset. She then thought it was her duty to inform the Princess of what really happened so that she wouldn’t have dirty thieves as maids. So Caramel and I begged her not to tell anyone the truth... I still remember the smile she had knowing that she had gotten away with it… She told us that she wouldn’t tell anyone about the theft of the crown if we… promised never to see you again. That's why it was… that we got away from you."

"But… that was all Sunset's fault! She stole the crown and blamed you two!" Dusk exclaimed in irritation that the maid didn't want to tell the princess the truth.

"We had no way to prove it. Besides, you forget something important…" Sweet Creme said, looking seriously at Dusk. "We are royal maids. We’re not just any pony. Never mind that my sister and I hadn't taken the crown from the princess's room. We allowed Sunset to do it, and that will forever stain our honor as maids… As well as the guilt we feel for making our grandfather leave because of us."

Dusk lowered his eyes and was annoyed again when he saw how manipulative Sunset had been. She had used the loyalty the Sweet twins felt for upholding the honor of their family to make them turn away from him. It reminded Dusk that, as Spike wrote in his letters, Sunset seemed to be doing the same with his friends in Ponyville... Whatever the princess asked of him, he had to do it quickly, and return to Ponyville soon! Before Sunset did something wicked to her friends!

Finally, Sweet Creme and Dusk Shine arrived at the castle, specifically, the palace garden, where Celestia had said that she would wait for him.

"Thank you for escorting me here... And for telling me your secret." Dusk Shine said once they reached the palace garden. "I... I'm sorry we couldn't have been friends when we were foals."

"I... I'm sorry too." Sweet Creme said with a sad look as she took one of Dusk’s hooves in her own. "If it’s any consolation, my sister and me enjoyed your company before we had to end it. And I also regret what happened at the Gala. I didn't want to interrupt those important moments between you and your friends, but the Princess believed that it was the best for you." Sweet Creme added, turning and walking out of the garden.

"What? Wait… Princess Celestia asked you to interrupt my friends' declarations!?" Dusk asked, surprised at this new revelation.

"No, I wasn’t the one who gave Sweet Creme that order." Celestia said suddenly, walking through the garden to the colt’s surprise. "As much as I would like to discuss that, right now there are more pressing matters to attend to." Celestia added with a serious look, something that immediately alerted Dusk to the seriousness of the matter.

"I-I’m at your service, Princess." Dusk said with a small bow, anticipating that the princess had called him there for something very urgent.

"Strange phenomena have begun to occur throughout Equestria. Changes with the weather, disappearances, uncontrolled magic... It seems this all started on the farthest shores of Equestria, but they seem to be getting closer to the heart of Equestria." Celestia said with a serious face as she walked through the garden, making Dusk accompany her. "I don't know what may be happening, if it’s some foreign enemy invading or some magical being attacking us. So I sent Luna to investigate the West Coast in Vanhoover and Cadance to investigate the East Coast in Manehattan. However, I fear that soon I too will have to leave to investigate other possible… sources of the occurrences."

"Other possible sources... Are you planning to go to Tartarus!?" Dusk gulped, guessing that the princess was going to go to the most dangerous place in all of Equestria.

" There are great evils that remain locked there, and I must verify that nothing has escaped." Celestia said, looking with a reassuring look at her faithful student so he wouldn't worry. "By leaving, I cannot leave the kingdom's capital unprotected, so I’ll leave Canterlot in your care, Dusk." Celestia added with a small smile, which perfectly contrasted with Dusk's face of fear and amazement.

"You want me to take care of protecting Canterlot in your absence!?" Dusk asked in shock.

"The commander and captains of the Royal Guard accompanied Luna and Cadance to guard the shores, so in terms of power and magical ability, there is no one more apt to protect the capital in my absence than you, Dusk." Celestia said with a fond smile. "Officially, Canterlot will be under the protection of Prince Blueblood, but we both know that he’ll not be able to… respond adequately if someone were to attack." Celestia added, turning her eyes upward, imagining an army invading Canterlot and Blueblood running in fear.

"But I... I couldn't..." Dusk said nervously, unsure of the great responsibility that the princess planned to leave on him. Then his eyes widened when he remembered that he had to return to Ponyville, and with this that the princess asked him, he couldn’t leave Canterlot for maybe days until the princess returned. "I... I need to get back to Ponyville."

"If it's for your friends, I already sent a letter to Spike, asking him and your friends to come to Canterlot to keep you company in this difficult task." Celestia said, guessing what Dusk seemed to be thinking. "I don't know how long I'll be away, so I think it will be best if you and your friends are together. Besides… surely Sunset Shimmer is in Ponyville planning something against your friends. So once they are here, no one will be able to enter the castle and you and your friends will have enough time to talk alone." The princess reassured him.

"You knew that Sunset was in Ponyville!?" Dusk asked.

"No, but I thought that's what she would do. Sunset may be a very clever mare, but she’s not the only one who can read the movements of the other ponies and guess what they’ll do." Celestia said with a hint of pride, smiling mischievously at Dusk.

Understanding that Celestia had taken the time to call his friends and thus help him solve his emotional problems, Dusk sighed in relief, grateful to have a teacher as attentive and intelligent as the princess. However, the smile of relief vanished from Dusk's face when he saw that Celestia had suddenly stopped walking and was looking straight ahead with a terrified look. He looked where Celestia was looking, but he didn't see anything strange, just a broken pedestal in the middle of the garden.

"Guards!" Celestia screamed in fright, running to where the broken pedestal was.

In just two seconds, five armed guards appeared quickly upon hearing the call of their princess, running towards where she was. They surrounded her to protect her, threatening Dusk with their spears, since it seemed that he was the only one who was there besides the princess..

"Guards, what happened to the statue that was here!?" Celestia demanded, causing the guards to worry, since they had never seen her in a frantic state.

"Uh… apparently somepony broke that statue at the Grand Galloping Gala, your Majesty. The morning report informed us that some small pieces of rock had been found next to the pedestal." One of the guards answered, remembering the report from that morning.

Celestia's face turned paler than it already was upon hearing that. Then she looked up at the sky, where the sun was highest, and only then did she realize that at this time of day the sun should be closer to the horizon, since it should be close to sunset. In the notice of that, Celestia quickly activated her magic and tried to move the sun. For several seconds Celestia concentrated and increased her magic, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t move the celestial body.

"I knew it... it started like this before... How did it not occur to me that HE could be the cause of this disaster!?" Celestia whispered, speaking more to herself than to the others, with a very scared look.

"Princess?" Dusk asked concerned, seeing the princess so lost in her thoughts.

"I made a mistake sending Luna and Cadance this far. The enemy is closer than we thought." Celestia murmured to Dusk and then turned to her guards. "Guards, get ready! We’ll mount defense here in Canterlot."

"Yes, Princess!" The five guards said automatically. None of them knew what was happening, but if it was something that scared the Princess of the Sun herself, it meant that it was very serious. Then the five guards ran to warn the rest of the Royal Guard.

"You’re not leaving Canterlot?" Dusk asked, still very confused by everything that was happening, and by what the princess wasn’t telling him.

"I need to stay here protecting the capital. And you now have a much more important mission." Celestia said approaching Dusk and looking at him seriously. "You must return to Ponyville immediately and take care of those valuable items you have with you."

"Valuable items? Are you referring to the Elemen-?" Dusk asked until he was interrupted as Celestia quickly put a hoof in his mouth to silence him.

"Don't say it, Dusk. There are ears everywhere, and the enemy we face… It can be anywhere." Celestia said, looking carefully at Dusk. Then, with the same hoof with which she had silenced Dusk, she moved it to caress the face of her beloved student. "You must be careful, my dear. I can't give you more details for now. Just go and take care of what I just asked you… They may be our only hope against the chaos that lies ahead."

After the princess's request, Dusk ran out of the castle and immediately went to the train station, where he gave the station supervisor a letter signed by the princess, indicating that a train should leave immediately for Ponyville. Without reproach upon seeing the princess seal, the supervisor ordered that the next train to arrive be boarded by Dusk and returned immediately to Ponyville.

While waiting for the arrival of the train, Dusk's curiosity to know what they were up against was enormous. However, his loyalty and trust in his teacher outweighed his curiosity, and if the princess said that they couldn't speak aloud and that the enemy could be anywhere, only that was enough for Dusk to follow his teacher's orders without hesitation.

Finally, a train arrived at the station and Dusk immediately stopped in front of one of the doors, waiting for all the passengers to get off to get on as soon as possible and go to Ponyville. But that impatience to get on the train vanished when he saw precisely from the same train he was thinking of getting on, Spike and his friends got off. The ponies (and dragon) froze when they saw each other, as if none of them had expected to be there.

"Girls… why are you here?" Dusk finally asked after the shock of seeing his friends there, since they hadn’t seen each other since the night of the Grand Galloping Gala.

"Uh... the Princess sent us a letter asking us to come to Canterlot." Spike said, raising an eyebrow in confusion when he saw that none of the mares had answered Dusk's question.

Only then did Dusk remember that the princess had told him that she had summoned his friends before discovering that the enemy attacking Equestria seemed to be already in the heart of the kingdom.

The train whistled, announcing the emergency departure of the Ponyville-bound train. Then Dusk looked scared at his friends and pushed them back to the train.

"There is no time to explain, we must return to Ponyville immediately." Dusk said as the train began to move, managing to board just before it began to move faster.

Once on the train, Dusk sighed in relief. However, that relief was only temporary, as he only needed to lift his head to realize that for some reason the atmosphere around him felt very tense. As if his friends weren't able to see him directly in the eye. None of them had said a word, not even when Dusk had pushed them back to Ponyville when they had just arrived in Canterlot. That was definitely worrying, but Dusk couldn't be sure what was the reason for the dower attitude of his friends. Was it because of what Sunset had told them, or because he abandoned them after the Grand Galloping Gala without giving them an answer to their feelings?

"This is the first time that we’ve been alone since they told me their feelings!" Dusk realized. But then Dusk remembered the princess's fearful face and the mission she had been entrusted with, which made Dusk shake his head as he realized that there were more important things to worry about at that moment.

"Girls… There are… There are many things we need to talk about, but for now we should focus on getting back to Ponyville. The Princess gave us an important job, and I think…" Dusk said, trying to speak calmly to explain to his friends what had happened to the princess and the danger to which all of Equestria seemed to be exposed. However, all of Dusk's words fell on deaf ears.

"What if one day, one of you decides to declare your love for Dusk? Poor Dusk wouldn't know what to do or what to say if one of you fell in love with him." The words Sunset had implanted in the minds of the five mares. Words that echoed over and over again when they realized that Dusk seemed to keep avoiding the topic that mattered so much to them, giving reason once again to the cruel words of Sunset Shimmer.

With that in mind, the five mares kept dull looks, and while Dusk kept talking, trying to explain to them the seriousness of the situation; the five mares simply turned around and sat on the train seats. As if unconsciously no one could pay attention to Dusk's words at that moment, which made Dusk freeze as he didn’t understand their reaction.

"What's going on?" Dusk whispered in concern, not understanding the behavior of his friends.

"Give them a minute, I think what Sunset told them still hurts." Spike replied. Then he and Dusk approached some seats and sat down. Next, Spike began to tell his brother what had happened after he sent his last letter to Dusk.

"She made a Sonic Rainboom!?" Dusk shouted in amazement, so much so that a couple of ponies that had also boarded that train carriage were startled by the sudden shout. However, none of Dusk's friends sitting in the other seats were affected by the exclamation. It seemed that each of them was lost in their own thoughts and concerns.

"Yeah, it wasn't as good as the original, but it did freak the girls out." Spike said with a worried look, continuing with the events that occurred later, with the arrival of Dusk's letter and Sunset's final words.

"I knew it... I should never have allowed Sunset to come back into my life." Dusk said, hitting his face with his hoof after Spike finished telling what happened.

Suddenly the train carriage went dark and brightened rapidly. Without warning, the carriage went dark again and then illuminated in a multitude of shifting colors. This lasted only a few seconds before the carriage was lit normally again.

"What was that?" Dusk asked, looking at his side only that Spike was no longer there. "Spike!?" Dusk yelled looking around. Then he stood up and looked back, where he saw that only he and his five friends were still in the carriage. Both Spike and the other passengers had disappeared.

“Terribly sorry, but I hardly find background characters as amusing as the real stars of the show." A male voice said suddenly, echoing throughout the carriage.

Immediately Dusk ran to the center of the carriage where his friends met him. Despite their insecurities, the mares knew that they all needed to stick together if they ever hoped to stand against whatever strange and potentially dangerous situation they found themselves in.

"Who are you!?" Dusk shouted, looking towards the ceiling of the room, lighting his horn to be able to defend his friends from any surprise attacks.

"Who am I?" The mysterious voice said, with a mocking tone. "Well..." Suddenly a red curtain fell in the front of the carriage, then a music very similar to a music box began to play. The red curtain rose and showed that there were now a variety of puppets, all moving and dancing mechanically to the music while singing a song...

"Hehe, Haha, Hohoho!

He’s Discord, he’s Discord, the amazing lord of chaos.

He’s Discord, he’s Discord, everyone give a cheer, Hooray!

He’s modest, clever and so smart, he barely can restrain it.

With so much chaos to give you, there is no way to contain it, to contain it, to contain, to contain, to contain!

Hehe, Haha, Hohoho!

He's Discord, he's Discord, he's the one that you're about to meet.

He's Discord, he's Discord, he's the genius who just can't be beat.

The magician and draconequus wiz, the best darn guy who ever lived.

The great Discord, here he is!"

Just as the music ended, a large throne rose between the puppets, however, there was no one sitting on that throne.

At the strange and bizarre image that they had just seen, the six ponies were left puzzled, not knowing what all that strange spectacle had been and where it had come from. Only Pinkie Pie seemed to be a little more amused than her other friends by that crazy presentation, but despite that, she was also silent. It wasn’t until some applause was heard in the back of the train carriage, the six ponies seemed to awaken from their stupor.

"Bravo! Wasn't that just magnificent? I was worried it was getting dodgy in the finale part. Maybe it would have been better if it ended with a big explosion." A huge draconequus said sitting in the last seats of the carriage, a creature that almost all ponies were unaware of, except Dusk, who at some point in his studies, had read about these strange and powerful creatures. But up until this moment, he thought that they were just a myth. The strange creature also wore a top hat, strange, huge and round dark glasses, and a long red jacket.

"Who are you!?" Dusk asked, taking a step forward to protect his friends.

"Seriously!? Didn't you listen to the song!?" Discord said, raising his eyebrows and pretending to be outraged, snapping his fingers and shedding his strange outfit. "My dear Dusk, I am Discord, the Lord of Chaos." The draconequus added, rising from his seat and raising his claws so that the six ponies could see his marvelous and magnificent figure.

"The Lord of Chaos!?" Dusk repeated, recognizing Discord's title before his name.

In his classes of old history of Equestria, an ancient legend was told about a strange being called the Lord of Chaos, who had brought confusion and destruction to Equestria, until he had been stopped by the alicorn sisters and the most powerful beings of the ancient Equestrian alliance.

"This is the being the Princess was afraid of! We have to get out of here! We have no chance of beating him without the Elements of Harmony!" Dusk thought with terror, understanding the gravity of the situation. If it was required of several powerful magical beings to defeat this being of Chaos a thousand years ago, perhaps not even the Elements of Harmony would be enough to defeat it this time.

"Oh, it won't do any good to teleport yourselves away from here." Discord said smiling when he saw that Dusk's horn lit up with magic, without succeeding. "Take a look outside." Discord added, pointing one of his claws towards one of the car windows.

Unable to avoid looking where Discord was pointing, the six ponies were shocked to see what was behind the windows. Apparently they were no longer on the train tracks, not even on the ground! The only thing they could see outside was a dark space full of stars, as if the train was traveling through outer space.

"Do you like it? Welcome to the Train of Infinity!...Hm, that sounded better in my head, although I suppose that the other name was taken." Discord mused after he instantly changed into a train conductor outfit. Then the draconequus reached toward the fourth wall of the carriage, raising an eyebrow. "With so many references in this story, the author better be paying copyright." Discord whispered, speaking to an invisible audience.

"Dusk... What do we do?" Fluttershy asked the colt, trembling after seeing that they seemed to be floating in space.

"Stay together." Dusk whispered, looking quickly at all his friends, not knowing what to do in the face of such a show of power by the Lord of Chaos. What he did know, however, was that whatever they were facing, they were stronger if the six were together.

"Sorry, this is my train, so you must follow my rules." Discord said with a wicked smile and raising one of his claws to snap his fingers. "And the rule of this train is: only one passenger per car." Then Discord snapped his fingers and a huge flash blinded them all for a second.

The next thing Applejack knew was that she was alone in the carriage, although she wasn't sure if this was the same carriage she had been in a second ago.

"Dusk? Girls?" Applejack called out as she looked around, getting no response.

Realizing that she was alone, Applejack was afraid of what might have happened to her friends. However, before fear totally engulfed her, she closed her eyes and calmed down, knowing she would achieve nothing by panicking. Then she walked to the front door of the carriage, thinking that if her friends weren't in that carriage, they might be in another.

Just before Applejack opened the carriage door, Discord's claw appeared next to her head and he moved his fingers, casting a strange spell, which caused Applejack's eyes to roll as she entered a trance.

"How curious, I thought I would have to look more thoroughly to find your fears. But apparently someone already did it for me." Discord's voice whispered just as his claw disappeared and Applejack's consciousness returned.

As soon as Applejack opened the door and went to the next car, she was surprised to see that she was no longer in a train car, but in a huge garden in the middle of the night. It took Applejack a second to realize that it was the garden of the royal castle, where she had been the night before at the Grand Galloping Gala.

"What the hay is this!?" Applejack said, looking back to see the door through which she had entered had disappeared.

Then the country mare saw that behind her were only the castle walls, where the ponies enjoyed the Gala as if nothing strange had happened. Not only that, but Applejack also noticed that she was wearing her ball gown, which left her even more perplexed.

"Applejack?" A familiar voice said behind her..

Turning around, Applejack saw Dusk, wearing his gala tuxedo. Everything was exactly the same as they had been the night of the Gala, just at the moment when...

"Dusk... I love you." Applejack said involuntarily, as if her mouth had moved on its own.

Those words were enough to make Applejack's heart race and she forgot what had happened minutes before, believing she was on a train. None of that had really happened, she had returned to that important moment in her life, everything was exactly the same. Only this time, no one would interrupt them.

Hearing Applejack's words, Dusk blushed and looked away nervously.

"Applejack, I… I have to be honest with you, as you always are with me. I... I see you only as a friend." Dusk answered with a sad look at Applejack.

"Oh... Uh... I... I get it..." Applejack said slowly, lowering her gaze and feeling her heart break. "W-We're friends… I shouldn't have mixed things up…" Applejack stuttered, trying to be strong, but feeling devastated and ashamed.

"I told you that I’ll always tell you the truth." Dusk said, moving a little closer to Applejack. "I’m a unicorn from Canterlot. You’re just a country mare. How did you ever think we could make a good couple?"

"Y-Yeah... I-It was very silly to believe it, hehe..." Applejack said, trying to laugh to hide her pain when she heard those words. She knew that the fact that Dusk rejected her was a possibility, but she never imagined it would hurt so much.

"How is it that you confused our friendship like that!? What would my parents say if I took an earth pony like you and said she's my girlfriend? It would give them a heart attack!" Dusk laughed at such an absurd idea.

"Please... that's enough." Applejack whispered, unable to avoid closing her eyes and shedding tears upon hearing all those words from her beloved.

"But it’s the truth! You taught that to me! Always be honest!" Dusk said staring at Applejack. "What did you think? That I would drop out of school, marry you, and become a farm pony? I always knew that you were dumb, but I had no idea you were this idiotic!"

"Please..." Applejack begged between sobs. She knew that it was all true, but she still didn't want to hear it.

"A mare without manners or studies, has poor grammar, likes to get dirty, and only knows how to talk about apples... I could be with any of the girls, but being your coltfriend... That would be ridiculous!" Dusk said with a look of disgust.

"Stop!" Applejack screamed, unable to bear the cruel truth anymore.

"Yes, Yes! Enough of all the honesty." Discord said surprisingly, appearing on Applejack while she was crying and touching her with one of his claws, causing Applejack's eyes to roll and her fur to lose a bit of its color, a sign of a manipulated mind.

Meanwhile, in another of the cars, something very similar had happened with Fluttershy. She freaked out when she saw that she was alone on the creepy space train. But after realizing that her friends might be in danger, Fluttershy closed in on the door to go to the next car. At that moment Discord's claw acted on Fluttershy's mind to search for her fears before she entered the next car.

Just as with Applejack, Fluttershy walked through the door and appeared in a very different place than she had expected: Sugarcube Corner. Realizing that, Fluttershy jumped out of shock and looked back, realizing that the door she had passed through had disappeared.

"What's up, Fluttershy? You look scared." Pinkie Pie said suddenly, approaching Fluttershy when she saw that she remained static in the middle of the room.

"Hah! That's not something new, she always looks scared about something!" Rainbow Dash said, laughing playfully as she ate cake at a table with her other friends.

"Girls!" Fluttershy yelled, happy to find her friends, running to where they were. "What happened!? The last thing I remember is that we were on a train and then that strange creature made you disappear.

"Strange creature?" Applejack asked. "You sure you didn’t have yourself a nightmare, sugarcube?"

"Perhaps I’m the strange creature." Dusk said suddenly, entering the bakery and giving Fluttershy a little kiss on her cheek. The yellow pegasus blushed completely. "You got ahead of yourself. I thought that now that you're my marefriend, you'd want to always come to parties together like couples do."

"Y-Y-Your marefriend?" Fluttershy stammered, feeling her brain refused to accept what she had just heard. Completely blushing when uttering those words.

"Yes... You don't need to rub it in our faces, darling." Rarity said, pretending to be upset, and then smiled. "Who would have thought that you would have the courage to declare your love to Dusk at the Grand Galloping Gala."

Fluttershy's jaw dropped, and she looked at Dusk in surprise.

"T-The declaration… You accepted it!?" Fluttershy asked in a mix of surprise and excitement.

"Of course, that's why we're dating now." Dusk said with a tender smile.

After hearing the confirmation of what she believed impossible, Fluttershy's jaw dropped for a few seconds, then she clenched her mouth tightly and turned around.

"I'll be right back!" Fluttershy yelled, sprinting toward the bathroom.

Once she was alone, Fluttershy pressed her hooves against her mouth to silence the happy cry she made, feeling happier than she had ever been. It had all been a bad nightmare! Dusk disappearing after she declared her love, the appearance of Dusk's old friend, that crazy train in space... Dusk had accepted her feelings! Dusk was her coltfriend! And her friends accepted it! Fluttershy couldn't be happier than right now.

After a few seconds, Fluttershy finally got out of the bathroom and into the main room. However, she stopped when she heard that her friends seemed to be talking about her.

"I'm really sorry, girls. You know that what I feel for you is much stronger than what I feel for Fluttershy, but… I just couldn't reject her." Dusk said with a melancholic voice.

"Don't worry, we understand." Applejack also said sadly. "We all know how weak and defenseless Fluttershy is. She couldn't handle rejection."

"Exactly, I… I didn't want to hurt her. She’s such a good friend, I couldn't break her heart." Dusk reasoned.

Hearing that, Fluttershy fell to the floor and began to breathe heavily. All the happiness she had felt seconds ago was gone in an instant. Everything she had believed was false. Dusk didn't love her, he was with her just because... he didn't want to hurt her.

"I know I'm with her out of pity, but as long as she's happy, I think everything will be fine." Dusk said with a somewhat tired voice. "It's the best we can do."

"No... That's not being kind..." Fluttershy whispered behind the wall she was hiding behind, crying as she discovered the truth. "Dusk wants to protect me... But he's hurting me more than ever." Fluttershy added as she closed her eyes, feeling betrayed and hurt.

"You see, a lot of kindness can be detrimental. Sometimes you have to be a little tougher to face reality." Discord's voice said, as one of his claws appeared above Fluttershy's head and altered her mind, causing the pegasus's fur to lose color.

At the same time in another of the cars, Rainbow Dash was flying at full speed, reaching the door of her car, crossing it and entering another empty car exactly like the previous one. Ever since she had discovered she was alone, she had flown to the door to look for her friends. But this was the tenth car she was entering, and they were all just as empty.

Before Rainbow Dash put a hoof on the next door to try for the eleventh time, Discord's claw lightly touched Rainbow Dash's head and searched for the memories he needed to follow through on his plan. Then Rainbow Dash got into the next car, and she was finally able to get into a different car, although this one was much more different than she expected.

Rainbow Dash was no longer on the train, somehow she had been transported to Canterlot Castle, the same night she had proposed to Dusk at the Grand Galloping Gala. In fact, she was wearing her ball gown and was just lying on top of Dusk, just as she had been before he disappeared after she confessed her love.

"You love me!?" Dusk said with a look of disbelief, looking at the pegasus from the ground.

"Uh!?" Rainbow Dash stammered, getting off Dusk so that he could get back up. "What happened!?"

"What happened was that you just said that you love me." Dusk said with a little embarrassment, scratching his head. "Look Rainbow… I like you, but I couldn't be with somepony like you. A relationship is built on trust and I… I don't think I can trust you."

"What!? What are you talking about!? How could you not trust me!?" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, feeling offended by what Dusk told her.

"What I mean is, I couldn't be with a mare that isn't even capable of keeping her own word." Dusk said, looking at Rainbow Dash nervously at the confused look of the pegasus. "Look what just happened with the Wonderbolts. How is it that you hide from them if your dream is supposed to be to fly alongside them?"

"I... I did it because I wanted to see you." Rainbow Dash shakily explained, hurt that Dusk looked at her with that distrustful look.

"But it was your dream! How could you so easily give up everything you believed in!? Do you realize how inconsistent you are!?" Dusk said seriously, looking at Rainbow Dash.

"I-It's not true... I... I'm following my heart." Rainbow Dash said nervously, increasingly scared of what Dusk was telling her.

"What about me? When I gave you a compliment, you said you didn't like me. You made fun of me and you said I was an egghead. And now you say you like me!?" Dusk said, looking at the pegasus with disgust.

"I-I didn't want you to think..." Rainbow Dash said, fearfully backing away as Dusk moved closer to her and glared at her.

"You’re just a mare without conviction, a mare who believes in nothing and changes her mind whenever it suits her." Dusk said with a look of contempt at Rainbow Dash. "You were supposed to be the representative of Loyalty. But being loyal isn’t just about not failing others. It means that you’re supposed to faithfully follow your own beliefs and principles. You need to be consistent between what you think, say, and do! Without lying to others or yourself!

"I... I didn't..." Rainbow Dash said, finally breaking at Dusk's harsh words, closing her eyes and shedding tears when she felt her heart break.

"Hiding the truth is not the best way to be loyal to yourself, is it?" Discord's voice said, touching Rainbow Dash with his claw as she cried, causing her mind to spin and her fur to lose color.

In another of the cars, Discord's claw was going through Rarity's memories just before she opened the door to her next car. Once the unicorn walked through the door, she found that she was no longer on the train, in fact she wasn’t even standing. Now she was sitting in the Cafe de Ponyville, having the traditional breakfast that she and her friends had once a week.

"How did this happen?" Rarity said as she looked around to try to understand how she had arrived here at the Café.

"How did this happen!? THIS is all your fault!" Rainbow Dash said with a slam of the table and glaring at Rarity.

"W-What are you talking about?" Rarity asked in fear, forgetting for a second that she had been on that magic train when she saw that not only Rainbow Dash, but her other three friends were also looking at her angrily.

"Don't play innocent! How dare you declare your love to Dusk at the Gala without telling us!?" Pinkie Pie accused in an uncharacteristically dark tone.

"I... I thought it was the right time." Rarity answered nervously, not understanding how her friends found out about her confession to Dusk.

"You’re a selfish pony who only thinks about herself!" Fluttershy yelled with tears in her eyes. "I thought we were friends!"

"W-We all wanted to be with Dusk Shine, I… I just wanted him to know my true feelings!" The unicorn tried to explain, seeing how all her friends judged her.

"You’re a vile and vain selfish mare." Applejack pointed at her accusingly. "You didn't even want to tell us what you would do! You knew that we all felt the same for Dusk, you took advantage of us and keep him just for yourself."

"No! That’s not true!" Rarity screamed with terror. "We all swore that we would do our best to make Dusk fall in love, and I… I just wanted him to love me as much as I love him."

"Well, congratulations. You got yourself a coltfriend. Hope it was worth losing all your friends." Rainbow Dash said as she stood up with her other friends. Then the four of them gave Rarity one last, withering glare and left.

"No... I didn't want this..." Rarity cried, watching her friends leave her.

"I can't believe what I just heard." Dusk said suddenly, appearing behind Rarity.

"Dusk!" Rarity said through her tears. She turned around but immediately she froze when she saw that Dusk was looking at her with the same angry look as her friends.

"The girls were right; I can't believe I thought I could fall in love with somepony like you." Dusk said looking with contempt at Rarity.

"W-What are you talking about?" Rarity said weakly, feeling Dusk's gaze pierce her like a knife.

"I felt like I was falling in love with you because you were the most generous pony I have ever met. But now I see that you’re just a selfish pony who only thinks about yourself." Dusk said with venom in his tone.

"No, I... I just wanted to be your marefriend..." Rarity said between tears, feeling that her heart ached as she was losing both her friends and the pony she loved.

"Now, you’ll be alone... All because of your excessive selfishness." Dusk said, turning around and leaving there too, leaving Rarity crying and breathing hard from the pain she felt.

"Sniff... It's not fair... I... Sniff... I just wanted to feel what true love was..." Rarity cried heartbrokenly, clenching her eyes and teeth tightly. "Is it so bad to want something just for me!?" Rarity yelled, feeling that because she was always generous, she could never have anything for herself.

"Yes darling... I’ll help you put an end to that pesky generosity..." Discord whispered as his claw touched Rarity's mind and her fur and mane became grayer and duller.

Moments before, in another of the cars, Pinkie Pie was about to go to the next car after seeing that she was alone. However, just as with her friends, Discord's magic acted on her mind and he searched for the memories that would make it easier to manipulate her. Something that continued to surprise Discord by how easy it was, as these five mares seemed to have their fears and insecurities very fresh in their minds.

As soon as Pinkie Pie advanced to the next carriage, she was surprised to see that she had been transported to the great ballroom of the royal castle, wearing her gala dress. In front of her was Dusk Shine, staring at her. They were both standing behind the stage, exactly like how it had happened on the night of the Grand Galloping Gala.

"Pinkie… what did you say?" Dusk asked, looking puzzled at Pinkie Pie.

"I... I..." Pinkie Pie whispered, not understanding what had happened, but knowing that something strange was going on. However, before she could react, her mouth moved automatically, as if she were reliving everything she had experienced that night. "I... I said I love you." Pinkie Pie said, reliving that feeling of nervousness and excitement that she had experienced that night by opening her heart and saying those words.

Dusk froze at the words, looking at Pinkie Pie without reacting. Then he finally lowered his head and put a hoof on his face.

"Pfft! It's a joke, right?" Dusk said putting his hoof over his mouth to try to hold back his laugh. "Haha! Jeez Pinkie, you're such a joker."

"Uh? N-No… It's not a joke!" Pinkie Pie said, surprised and scared by Dusk's reaction.

"Haha! It totally has to be a joke! Haha!" Dusk continued laughing, much to Pinkie Pie's horror. "Haha! No… I can't believe you thought I could like you! Haha!"

At Dusk's laugh, Pinkie Pie began to tremble with fear and embarrassment, and took a step backward. It made the stage curtain drop so that all the other ponies in the room could see them, which terrified Pinkie Pie even more when she saw how all the curious ponies saw with surprise how Dusk didn’t stop laughing.

"You don't know anything about love! Haha! Did you think that just because you did a silly dance for me I would fall in love with you!? Haha!" Dusk continued laughing, holding his aching stomach from laughing so much. "You’re so funny! You really are the perfect representative of laughter! Haha!"

Upon hearing Dusk's words, all the other ponies in the room, who had participated in Pinkie Pie's choreography, understood that her declaration of love had been a total failure, and they all began to laugh at that unfortunate and ridiculous pink pony.

"Stop..." Pinkie Pie said covering her eyes, starting to cry. She hadn’t only been rejected, she had been ridiculed and everyone saw her and made fun of her for having opened her heart.

Then Pinkie Pie ran out crying, pushing her way through the ponies in the room who were pointing and teasing her. But among all the laughs, the one that was heard the clearest and the one that hurt the most was precisely Dusk's laugh, who couldn't stop laughing, making her feel humiliated and emotionally devastated.

"PLEASE STOP LAUGHING!" Pinkie Pie cried as she kept running, in a room that seemed infinite and that never ended.

"No more laughter?... Wish granted!" Discord said with an evil smile, touching Pinkie Pie's head with his claw, causing something to change in her mind and her fur to lose color and shine.

Elsewhere on the Train of Infinity, Discord was preparing to attack his latest victim, the only stallion in that group of ponies. As soon as Dusk discovered that his friends disappeared, he ran to the door of the car to go in search of them. That's when Discord's magic claw appeared next to Dusk's head and searched Dusk’s memories for something fun to play with, so that he could manipulate him.

The seconds passed and it seemed that unlike the other mares who had their fears to the surface, Dusk's fears were more hidden, forcing Discord to take more time with this pony and dig a little deeper.

"Hmm… Oh! What a disappointment…" Discord said after checking Dusk's mind.

The words of the draconequus served so that Dusk managed to get out of the trance for a moment, turn around and summon his magic to defend himself from the Lord of Chaos.

"What are you doing!?" Dusk yelled angrily, pointing his glowing horn at Discord, feeling disgusted to feel that something had entered his mind.

"Oh relax, I was just reviewing your memories to see what to manipulate you with." Discord said with a shrug. "But the truth is, I don't like used toys."

"What does that mean!?" Dusk said angrily, then widening his eyes when he remembered something more important. "Where are my friends!?"

"The train hasn't arrived at the station yet, so they're obviously still on the train." Discord said chuckling, as if what he was saying was the most obvious thing in the world. "Tell me, since I'm not going to play with your little mind, how about we make a deal?"

"No way." Dusk responded immediately, secretly using his magic to try to locate his friends, but every spell he tried seemed useless on this train.

"It’s okay, I get it. Why don’t I give you a little bit of time to think about it and I’ll come back later!” Discord said with an evil smile, deciding to play a different game with Dusk. Then Discord snapped his fingers and disappeared from the car.

As soon as the draconequus disappeared, Dusk turned quickly and opened the door of the car. As he did so, he froze to see that at the bottom of the other car was a pony, who had also opened the front door of his car and was looking at the next one… It was himself! It was as if the next carriage was an exact copy of that carriage, with himself at the other end of the car. Then Dusk looked behind him and discovered that the back door of the train carriage had also been opened, and this time there was a pony exactly like him who in turn looked back, just as he did, making it impossible for Dusk could see his own face.

Immediately, Dusk understood that he was in a trap. However, he didn’t give up and he ran towards the next carriage, while his reflections from behind and in front of him did too, always keeping the same distance. No matter how many train carriages Dusk went through, it was always the same, entering the same carriage over and over again.

"This can’t go on forever… There must be an end!" Dusk thought, determined to keep running and crossing the train carriages, always with the latent fear of the phrase that Discord had said: 'This is the Train of Infinity', and if so... then Dusk had no way out.

Two days had passed since Dusk had been locked up. He was no longer trying to change cars. More than an infinite train, Dusk understood that the doors seemed to create a deformation in space that caused him to always return to the same car. And as much as Dusk tried to find the magic that activated it, he couldn’t counteract that power, so he finally just waited in the train carriage, thinking of all the possible ways he had to defend himself from Discord and rescue his friends, none of which looked very promising in the face of the Lord of Chaos’s overwhelming magic.

Being on alert, Dusk immediately lit his horn with magic to defend himself upon sensing a magical disturbance. Then Discord appeared right in front of him, as always, with a big, wicked grin.

"It's been two days, what do you say? Are you ready to make a deal with me? You haven't even heard what it's about." Discord said, floating amused as if he were in an invisible hammock in front of Dusk.

"I'm not interested. Whatever you plan is, I’m not helping a being who only plans to unleash chaos in Equestria." Dusk said with a determined look, looking defiantly at Discord as he threateningly illuminated his horn.

"Huff... how boring you are." Discord said lifting one of his arm sleeves, making a clock appear on his bare arm. "Clearly you’re the type who needs all the time in the world to make a decision like an undecisive prick in the front of the line at Hayburger. No matter, I can wait. I'll see you in a few months." Discord said, snapping his fingers and disappearing again.

Locked where he was, unable to use his magic to escape, Dusk couldn’t do more than count the seconds, minutes and hours that passed. And so, the poor colt was trapped for another two months until Discord reappeared in the train carriage.

As soon as Discord appeared, he immediately noticed that loneliness was finally beginning to affect Dusk. His mane looked messier and his gaze also seemed more exhausted.

"It's been a difficult two months, hasn't it?" Discord said, amused when he appeared in the train carriage and saw an exhausted Dusk Shine.

"It's an illusion... I couldn’t have survived that long without eating or drinking any water." Dusk said, forgetting his fatigue and looking again defiantly at Discord.

"Hehe, poor Dusk, do you think this is an illusion? I assure you, all this is real, and your mind knows it, because little by little it’s weakening before the sad reality... that you’ll never be able to escape from here." Discord said, smiling wickedly. "So... Are you ready to hear what deal I want to propose to you?"

Unlike the previous time, this time Dusk wasn’t able to refuse immediately. This time he was just silent, so exhausted that he thought maybe he could hear the proposal this time before rejecting it. That made Discord smile with satisfaction when he saw that he was already beginning to diminish Dusk's mental resistance.

"The deal is: You tell me where the Elements of Harmony are, and I release you and your friends from this glorified reference that I call a train. What do you say?" Discord said with a fake look of innocence.

"I knew it! The Princess was right, Discord seeks to seize the Elements of Harmony! The Elements are the key to stopping it!" Dusk thought worriedly.

"You won't be able to keep me locked in here forever!" Dusk said angrily, immediately rejecting the proposal of the lord of chaos. "The Princesses will eventually come to confront you when they see that you disappeared an entire train!"

"Hehe, you still don't understand?" Discord said mockingly. "This is my train! And each carriage has its own rules of chaos. This one in particular is special in that it’s isolated from time. Here you can feel the passage of time infinitely, but outside of this carriage, not even a second has passed!"

Dusk's eyes widened in amazement and perplexity at the revelation. Was chaos magic powerful enough to be able to create something so complex!?

"Well, clearly you need more time to think on our little proposal. I’ll see you in about two paragraphs or so, though it’ll be much, much longer for you." Discord said, raising his claw and disappearing with a snap of his fingers, leaving Dusk completely terrified of what could happen...

A year...A whole year Dusk spent in complete solitude. He forced himself to sleep and meditate to prevent that loneliness from affecting his mind. Although the nerves and stress of it all was starting to affect his senses. Sometimes the days and weeks bled together, whereas other times a single minute felt like an eternity. Sleep had also become less as a respite as he was soon plagued by unending nightmares. Only this time there was no “Lady Night” to save him from such torment. Countless scenarios of his friends, his family, the princesses and the rest of Equestria meeting terrible and increasingly gruesome ends all at the claws of that horrid draconequus. It was torment for the lavender colt, and it felt even worse with the knowledge that not even a single second had passed outside his prison. To the rest of the world, his suffering was meaningless.

Finally Discord reappeared in the train carriage, right where Dusk remembered him having seen him disappear a year ago. As soon as Discord saw Dusk, he smirked evilly when he saw the effects of his abuse to the colt.. His mane was long and dirty, and his eyes were lost, as if it was difficult for him to tell if what he saw was real or not. More importantly though, this time his horn remained magicless as he was confronted by the Lord of Chaos. This time, Dusk just stared at him with dull eyes.

"So… are you ready to accept the deal?" Discord said with a wicked smile. "If you don't accept, you could end up dying of old age in this carriage, all alone."

Hearing that, Dusk stared at Discord, and to the draconequus' surprise, Dusk smiled.

"Hehehe… I wouldn’t count on that… I won't die like this." Dusk said with a tired laugh, remembering that due to the cockatrice he had seen in the eyes, he already knew how he would die. For the first time Dusk was grateful for having that curse, in order to verify that he would not die in a place like that.

After Dusk's laugh, Discord put on a serious look, since he was the one with the jokes, he didn't like others laughing at him.

"Well, you have proved your point. It seems that even threatening that you’ll die in complete solitude doesn’t change your mind." Discord said snapping his fingers, causing the carriage to shift suddenly. A brief self-inspection revealed that he had miraculously returned to the pony that first entered the train. His mane was well-cut, his mind no longer tired and ragged from extended isolation. Overall, he felt brand new...aside from the memories of his horrendous experience, that is. "Well, I suppose it’s time for a change in tactics. I think I’ll go ahead and place one of your friends in this time loop car. I doubt any of them have the same mental fortitude as you do." Discord added, looking askance at Dusk with a very evil smile. “Oh, but don’t worry, I’ll make sure to give you a view into their suffering. I wonder how long the timid one will last before she tears her hair out and claw at her eyes out of insanity.

Dusk turned pale at the threat. He had been isolated for over a year and he knew how brutal the damage was for the mind, being completely alone and isolated. He had barely endured it, always hoping that it was all an illusion and with the absolute certainty that he wouldn't die there. However, imagining his friends suffering what he had suffered made Dusk paralyze with fear.

"No!" Dusk yelled in a desperate voice, causing Discord to come closer and stare at him with a look full of satisfaction.

The promise Dusk made to the princess to not reveal where the Elements of Harmony were under any circumstances echoed in his mind. But what else could he do!? He had no issue risking his own safety and mental health, but what he couldn't do was sacrifice his friends!

"The Elements of Harmony are in a chest... in the Ponyville library..." Dusk said slowly, closing his eyes in pain. In that moment, he felt that he wasn’t only betraying the trust of the princess, but that he was also putting all of Equestria at risk.

Seeing that pained face on Dusk, Discord smirked and approached him with an evil smile.

"I thought as much...I already knew that as I was swirling my fingers in the little mind of yours. But I suppose I’m just the sort that wants to be extra careful." Discord laughed, moving the fingers of his claws in front of Dusk, who was shocked at that revelation. "The mocking, the torture, the threats... it was all just for fun. I just really wanted to see that pained face knowing that you were betraying all of Equestria just to save five mares… This time, friendship didn't save the little ponies… This time it was friendship that condemned all of Equestria to chaos, Mwahaha!" Discord laughed devilishly.

Then Discord snapped his fingers and a great flash blinded Dusk for a second. Once Dusk regained his sight, he saw that Discord was no longer there. Not only that, he looked through the windows and saw that the train was no longer flying through space and was the normal meadows and mountains of the everyday landscape of Equestria.

"Dusk, what are you doing standing in the middle of the carriage?" Spike said, sitting in his seat.

Upon hearing his little brother’s voice, Dusk immediately scooped up the dragon in a loving hug. An action no doubt driven by the memories of his year-long isolation. The colt then looked around to confirm that the other passengers were present. However, his blood ran cold when he noticed that five very important mares were missing from the carriage.

"The girls! Discord took them!? Maybe they’re in another car! We need to find them!!" Dusk exclaimed, removing Spike from the hug only to shake him side to side from his shoulders.

"Err-Err-Err… Stop!" Spike said as Dusk didn't stop shaking him, releasing himself from Dusk's grip. "Can you explain to me what the hay are you talking about?"

"Discord! The Lord of Chaos! He appeared in the middle of the carriage and transported me and the girls to a magical train!" Dusk said almost hysterically, not believing that Spike hadn’t noticed his disappearance. Then Dusk looked towards the door of the carriage and grabbed Spike to follow him. "Come with me, I'll tell you on the way while we look for the girls."

Dusk and Spike ran to the next carriage while Dusk began to tell his little brother in more detail what had happened.

"Hey! Who are you calling a background character?!" Spike accused, offended when Dusk told him why Discord hadn't taken him along with Dusk and the girls.

In the town of Ponyville, most of the ponies were out enjoying that peculiar day, even though it was raining heavily on the town. And the reason for that was precisely because of that rain, since everypony was amazed to see how it rained chocolate instead of water. Of course, the foals were happiest with the phenomenon, who jumped up and opened their mouths wide to catch as much chocolate as they could.

"What should we do about this?" Thunderlane asked, who was flying over Ponyville along with the rest of the weather team.

"I don't know about you, but I plan to enjoy it before it's over." Derpy said smiling as she ate cotton candy that she had pulled from one of the clouds producing the chocolate! It was so nice of whoever made it happen!"

Discord smirked when he heard the comment while keeping himself hidden. Only moments ago, he had appeared in Ponyville after having fun with Dusk and his friends on the train. Now, before obtaining his great trump card, the draconequus took advantage of hearing how happy the ponies were with his chaotic little clouds.

"It's always nice to hear that someone recognizes your work." Discord said, pretending to shed a tear.

Discord had only created those clouds to amuse himself and confuse the weather pegasi but hearing that the ponies were enjoying his chaos magic caused a strange feeling within him, a strange satisfaction that he hadn’t felt for many years before being petrified.

"Brrr! I don't want to go soft." Discord said with a shudder. Then he snapped his fingers and all the roads in Ponyville turned to soap, causing all the ponies to start slipping and falling. " That's better."

After that, Discord finally decided to go for his prize and flew up to the huge oak tree that was the town's library. Like a ghost, Discord broke through the door and flew straight into Dusk's room.

"Let's see... the Elements... the Elements..." Discord said as he snapped his fingers over and over again. Each time he did, something disappeared from Dusk's room. One by one, the books, furniture, bed and desk disappeared from Dusk's room. But no matter how hard he searched, Discord couldn’t find the chest with the Elements of Harmony.

"It’s rude to enter somepony's home uninvited." A voice behind Discord said suddenly, which surprised him.

Turning around to see who it was, Discord put on a mischievous smile as he saw the yellow mare with the red and gold mane staring at him.

"Well, I've been locked in stone for a thousand years, so I suppose my manners may be a bit rusty." Discord said looking with interest at the mare that was standing in front of him. "Let's see... your name was Sunset Shimmer, isn't it?"

Hearing that the strange being knew her name, Sunset felt more uneasy than she already was, but her perfect poker face remained intact, without showing her true emotions. The truth was, Sunset was terrified. As an expert in magic duels, she had long ago learned to grasp the magic level of her adversaries, and she had certainly faced opponents who were very skilled and powerful. But this strange being came out of all scales, not only in power, but in the type of power. Unlike other unicorns, the chaos magic of this being was a totally different and terrifying aura. Sunset understood that less than a second, this being could turn her into a worm with a single snap of his fingers.

"So you know me. I suppose it’s good that you know the name of the mare that will turn you to stone again, Discord." Sunset said, pretending to be calm and looking carefully at the strange being's reactions to see if she was right. Seeing that the draconequus opened his eyes in surprise, Sunset smiled to discover that her guess was correct. "So you are the Lord of Chaos. I thought you were just a myth. In fact, your name doesn't even appear in ordinary history books. But fortunately, the Archmage kept very interesting books on the ancient history of Equestria. It’s the only good thing about having lived in the house of an ambitious collector of books and antique objects."

"Hmm, you had my curiosity, but now you have my attention." Discord said with an amused grin. "The truth is that I was also curious to meet the mare who made my job so easy."

"Well, that's how I am, always ready to help others." Sunset answered without a hint of hesitation, even though she had no idea what Discord was referring to. But for Sunset, this was just another chess match, one that she would lose in a single move if she showed any weak points.

"It was so cruel what you did with those five mares, even I couldn't have done better with my magic! Thanks to that, I could easily see their fears and attack them without suspecting anything." Discord bragged.

"I don't understand, why would someone so powerful go to the trouble to attack Dusk's friends…? There’s only one possible answer!" Sunset thought quickly, realizing what was happening.

"I know why you’re here... You seek the Elements of Harmony." Sunset said, staring at Discord, understanding that apparently the Lord of Chaos was afraid of the power of the Elements.

"Hmm... do you know where they are?" Discord asked in all seriousness. He was getting a little uncomfortable when he saw that despite everything, that mare still didn’t feel intimidated by his presence.

At that moment, Sunset smiled and used her magic, levitating a small chest that was behind her.

"When I learned that Dusk was keeping these valuable items, I couldn't help but take a look at them." Sunset said, smiling arrogantly. "It seems that Dusk used a magic key spell similar to the one I use in my journal to close this chest, but I'm sure-"

Before Sunset could finish, Discord snapped his fingers to draw the chest to him. However, that didn't happen. As soon as Discord used his magic, both Sunset and the chest were transformed into ripples and vanished, as if they were a mirage.

"Did you really think that I would face you head on without protecting myself first?" Sunset's voice echoed in the room.

"Huff... Another mare who wants to be the heroine." Discord sighed wearily, snapping his fingers and causing Sunset's concealment magic to vanish, showing that she was on the other side of the room, still holding the chest.

Then Discord snapped his fingers again, but Sunset immediately used her magic to counter Discord's, which surprised the Chaos Lord a bit.

"Wow, you’re strong. I haven't seen anyone counter my magic like this since I faced Celestia." Discord said with a shocked look. However, he quickly changed his gaze to a more serious one. "But I'll tell you the same thing I said to her. You just can't win."

Discord began to snap his fingers quickly to fire a barrage of attacks. Faced with Discord's attacks, Sunset had to use all her skill and concentration to defend herself and prevent Discord's magic from acting on her or the chest with the Elements.

Amazed at Sunset's stamina, Discord started walking towards her, always snapping his fingers and swiftly igniting his magic. Sunset was against the wall, sweating from the enormous effort of containing Discord's magic, feeling like her magic was running out due to the enormous amount of magic she had to use. Finally, Discord arrived in front of Sunset and smiled, knowing that this was the limit of Sunset's magic and that she couldn't hold out any longer.

"Stop!" Sunset shouted in exhaustion, breathing heavily but always keeping her poker gaze to show herself strong in front of others.

"What's wrong? Do you want me to give you a few seconds to rest?" Discord sarcastically asked, raising his claw to use his magic again.

"I... I still have a little magic left." Sunset said between heavy breathes. "If you attack me again, I’ll make the Elements disappear and they’ll go where you can never find them."

"Hahaha! And why should that be a threat? That’s precisely what I want! I want to get rid of those silly magic rocks!" Discord chuckled.

"Exactly... What you want is to get rid of it to make sure no pony uses it against you." Sunset said using the best bluff smile she had. "But if I teleport them away, you'll never know where they are. You’ll be able to rule Equestria for years, but you’ll have to live in fear. Always looking over your shoulder in fear that one day another pony will find them and use them against you."

Discord suddenly stopped laughing and put on a serious look. That made Sunset smile as she acknowledged that she was finally in control of the game.

"So...we’re at a stalemate?" Discord said, raising an annoyed eyebrow.

"Not at all, I would never dare to face the mighty Lord of Chaos." Sunset said, looking away and then looking straight into Discord's eyes again, with a big smile. "So tell me… Would you be interested in making a little deal?"

End of chapter 3

Author's Note:

Many thanks to 'Scribe of the Nightwings' for his help