In the days following Tirek’s demise, all was peaceful in Ponyville. No monsters attacked the city, political conflict was at a minimum, and the town’s locals heroes, the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, soon returned to their normals lives like they did at the end of every adventure. Princess Twilight spent a good week resting from her epic battle. And in this time of supposed rest the chaotic spirit who watched over the village vanished.

    At first, no one took notice, ‘tis the way when someone only appears when they wish to be seen. After a fortnight of no sightings, the yellow pegasus who called it her friend invited it to have tea with her. When three o’clock came on that Tuesday afternoon, no one came.

    The friend of the spirit became worried and rushed into town, straight to the giant crystal tree that rested in the midst. She opened to doors to see Twilight scrunching her face at a cup of coffee made from ingredients Celestia sent. Apparently she would need to learn how to like the stuff to survive royalty. When she noticed Fluttershy in the entrance, she set down her cup and trotted up to her friend.

    “Ah, Fluttershy!  Nice to see you this afternoon. What brings you here today?”

    “Well, um, I have a problem… assuming you don’t have one.”

    “Fluttershy, you know me. If you have a problem I’ll help you fix it, no matter what I have going on.”

    “Are you sure.? You look awfully tired and I’d hate to interrupt your beauty sleep.”

    “It’s three in the afternoon. Also, I just had some coffee. I’m good to go.”

    “Okay. You see, Discord is missing. He hasn’t been seen for sixteen days and he didn’t come to the tea party I invited him to. I’m worried.”

    “Go find Spike and sent him a letter. He should respond quickly, or else I’ll write Celestia. Spike is upstairs reading a new comic book.”  Fluttershy nodded and left the room, and Twilight went back to her endless piles of bureaucratic paperwork.

    Fluttershy stayed calm until the doors closed behind her, but then proceeded to run up the stairs until she found Spikes room and knocked. “Spike, it’s Fluttershy.”

    “Give me a second!  Spike jumped up and opened his door. “How may I help you Fluttershy?”

    “I need to send a letter to Discord.”

    “Alright. What do you want to say?”

    “Ask him, ‘Are you alright?’”

    Spike scrawled the message out and breathed green fire onto note. The thirty seconds that passed felt like an eternity, but at last a message popped out, followed by a second one. In big red ink, the words “Return to sender” were written. Indeed, the scroll that followed was the letter Spike had just written.

    “Can we try one to Celestia now?”



    The letter back from Celestia only said, “Let me ask him myself.”  After ten minutes of waiting for a reply, Fluttershy returned home to feed her animals dinner. Spike returned to reading the newest issue of Power Ponies where an entire army of diamond dogs was raiding Manhattan, ending on a cliffhanger where the team was struggling to work together and Matterhorn lost his horn. After the exciting issue, Spike went to find grub and instead found Twilight napping at the dinner table with her head in the pasta.

    Spike found himself some more spaghetti with gemballs and wolfed down the meal; a little too quickly it seemed, as his stomach soon ached… wait a minute. He burped and a reply from Celestia came on black parchment with a lime green seal. He opened it to see the message forwarded from Discord:  “Send Friendship.”

    A second letter came up, this time actually from Celestia. “Discord lives at the very top of Canterlot Mountain. Twilight, you should hurry and go to him. I fear what he will do in his secluded insanity.”

    Spike looked up and said, “Uh, Twilight?”

    Twilight grunted and lifted her head from her plate.

    “You and Fluttershy need to climb Canterlot Mountain and help Discord.”

    Twilight perked up at the work help. “You mean he’s in danger?”

    “Take a look at the letter yourself.”  Spike tossed the letter across the table and Twilight read it.

    “Oh, we should leave for Canterlot at once, the next train will be leaving soon. Wait, who will take care of the castle?”

    “Leave that to me.”

    “Are you sure you can handle it?”

    “Of course, how hard can it be?”

    Twilight winced at the last statement which normally meant that Murphy’s law was about to take effect, but since she was in a hurry she did not feel like arguing. She grabbed her saddlebag packed specifically for emergencies and ran out the door to find Fluttershy.

[hr]

    Flying up the bottom part of the mountain would be easy, but after a thousand feet the wind would become too much for the average flier, which unfortunately is exactly what Fluttershy and Twilight Sparkle are. Therefore, part one of their voyage would be flying and part two would good old fashioned vertically scaling the mountain.

    Twilight led Fluttershy away from the train station and walked to the edge of town closest to the axis of the mountain. “Are you ready for this Fluttershy. It’s just a few hundred feet up, shouldn’t take too long to fly. Then we can rest, eat breakfast, and climb tomorrow. By my calculations we’ll be there by this time tomorrow.”

    “Ready.”  The two took off; Twilight slightly faster as her wings were slightly larger than her peer’s. At first flapping to gain lift was easy, but after propelling herself up three hundred feet Fluttershy was becoming visibly tired. Twilight looked up towards the ledge they were aiming to hit, still another two hundred feet above them. She started to beat faster and glided around her immediate area. After a minute she found what she was looking for.

    “Fluttershy, come over here!  There’s a hot air current that we can glide with!”  Twilight waited for Fluttershy to come over then spread her wings to max lenght and went soaring upwards on the thermal. In no time at all, she had ascended the full height she had intended and flapped herself forwards only to be caught by a blast of cold wind knocking her to the left. She did a barrel roll and shot forwards towards the ledge. 

    The wind added to her momentum and she was forced to brake to avoid hitting the ledge face first. She stuck her hooves upwards, catching the ledge above her and scrambled upwards. She lifted herself up a few inches, but then her left hoof slipped off and her right one began to slid backwards. Twilight was losing ground, but then another hoof grabbed her and pulled her up the mountain.

    “Thank you.”  Fluttershy had a much easier time making it to the ledge and had pulled Twilight to safety. Both ponies pulled a water bottle out of their saddlebags and began to drink. After they had their fill, Twilight began working on starting a fire and Fluttershy took out her blankets. After a light snack, the two looked out at the view.

    “Wow!” exclaimed Fluttershy. “She looked to the left side of her view. “I can see Hayseed Swamp. I’d love to go and visit sometime to see the wildlife.”

    “Me too. I’ve heard great things about researching the plants for cures to diseases. They have some of the world’s top medical ponies there and I’d love to see how top-notch their labs are.”

    “I can also see Ponyville on fire.”

    “You what!” shouted Twilight. “What has Spike done this time…”  She looked down to see that Ponyville was completely unharmed. Fluttershy was giggling with her hoof over her mouth.

    “I’m sorry Twilight, I couldn’t resist.”

    “I see Discord has rubbed off on you.”  Both ponies silently looked up and stared at the top of the mountain. They still had a long way to go before saving Discord.

    “Twilight…” mumbled Fluttershy after what seemed to be an eternity of staring upwards.

    “Yes.”

    “Do you think we’re too late?”

    Twilight was hesitant to answer, but eventually choked out the word “No.”  By this point it was late and it was time for the ponies to hit the hay. Both of them were tired and instantaneously fell asleep.


    
    Waking up took about as much time as falling asleep. Not so much because of Twilight’s alarm clock spell; more so the giant flaming boulder that fell and nearly hit Fluttershy. Twilight jumped to her feet and saw that the rock had disappeared and in it’s place were hundreds of flying lobsters that were flying eastwards into the sun.

    Looking up, Twilight saw that no more boulders were coming. “Huh,” she said. “I guess that’s Discords way of telling us to wake up.”  She reached into her bag and pulled out a glimmering orange rope. “After the Power Ponies incident, I got the idea for a magic rope. Applejack says she doesn't need one, but for us it will help by grabbing onto a rock big enough to support our weight up at the next ledge.”

    Fluttershy nodded and Twilight sent the rope upwards until it finally stopped moving. Twilight gave it a tug. Secure. Using magic, Twilight soldered the bottom end of the rope to the ground. It wouldn’t do any good to have the rope blowing around. She could already feel the morning wind yanking her mane.

    Twilight was letting Fluttershy go first. They both clipped their saddlebags to the rope and began to climb. It was easy enough at first. Even with the wind the rope was taught enough to stay close to the mountain. Even though climbing was tough work, there were plenty of small ledges to take a break on. By lunchtime Twilight estimated that they were almost there.

    They ate in relative silence. Much of their view now was blocked by low-hanging clouds and both were too tired for small talk. When they were ready to head off again, the weather took a turn for the worse.

    “Twilight, snow!”  Indeed there was snow, although by this point only light flurries.

    “Let’s hurry up then and try to beat out the storm. Normally I wouldn’t recommend this but we’re in a hurry.”  Both clipped up again and Twilight attached the rope to their current ledge. Never hurts to be too careful. Except that one time with Applejack…

    Fluttershy’s tail brushing against Twilight’s face as she took off snapped her focus back into place. Twilight began taking her first step when a snow drop flew in her mouth and landed on her tongue. Instead of cooling it, a sharp burning sensation hit her tongue. She let out a yelp of pain.

    “What is it?” asked Fluttershy before getting some snow in her mouth too.

    “It’s snowing hot sauce. Don’t talk!” cried Twilight, getting more snow in her mouth. She opened one wing and tried to cover her face with it. The wind shook her and her face nearly collided with the mountain. “That won’t work,” she thought. She closed her wing and scrunched up her face.

    With every passing step the storm got worse because they were getting closer to the cloud. If Twilight’s eyes were open, she would see as much as she could with them shut. The hot sauce snow on her coat felt weird but thankfully not too cold or too hot. Twilight squinted open one eye to see how far they had yet to climb.

    Agony!  Her eye started to burn and she attempted to force herself to cry it out, but dehydration was taking it’s toll. She had to push on even with the pain in her eyeball. Not enough snow got in to her eye to do permanent damage. She had to keep climbing. For Discord.

    “Twilight, I’m out!”  Fluttershy’s voice sent a wave of relief and she started to climb faster until she could no longer feel the snow pelting her from all angles. She dared open her eyes. At first she was taken aback by how bright the world was, but she could see properly. The cloud was below them and the ledge they were climbing to was only ten feet above them.

    The two finished climbing up and immediately took out their water bottles. With their hydration replenished, both ponies began to cry the natural tears of joy from a job well done, rinsing the hot sauce out of their faces. After a good ten minutes of rest, they were ready to move on.

    “There’s a door over there,” said Twilight and they both started marching towards it. To Twilight’s dismay, the door had a large lock in the center the shape of Discord’s head but not keyhole in it. The red wood of the arched double-door was embellished by gold swirls and squiggles, almost symmetrical but with slight enough differences to drive the average onlooker mad. The gold frame had the word “Welcome” printed across.

    Twilight was about to say something but then the lock opened itself and fell to the ground. The two ponies glanced at each other and ran inside… only to be stopped by another door, identical to the first in every way except with purple wood and lime green embellishments. This one did not open as they approached.

    “What now?” asked Fluttershy.

    “I’m gonna try blasting it.”  This decision nearly knocked Twilight’s left wing off when the magic bolt reflected off the door and flew into the sky where it probably hit a cat or something.

    “There’s an inscription above the door, but I can’t read it.”  Twilight looked up and grinned.

    “It’s a good thing Discord’s taste in literature is similar to mine, this is from a book. It simply says ‘Speak friend and enter.’  I just need to say the word friend in the right language.”  She rotated her head back to the door. “Mellon!” she shouted and the door opened as she planned.

    “There’s another door,” said Fluttershy. This one was orange and black. “I can read this one I think. It says ‘Only the true act of friendship.’  What does he mean?”

    “Of course!  The first door opened because coming to him was an act of friendship. Now we need to do something else.”  They both stopped to stare at the door. Neither pony knew what to do. After a long while, Fluttershy spoke up.

    “Twilight, what were some of your more memorable friendship lessons?”

    “Don’t cheat, don’t lie, formal parties suck, fight for my friendships, love conquers all, sometimes it’s best to let others save the day…”

    “That’s it!”

    “What is?”

    “I have to go back. It’s a test, and he wants you to go in alone.”

    “No, he wants you. You’re his best friend, not me. I barely bothered to care for him when he was sick.”

    “Twilight, I’m afraid I have to put my hoof down here. You’re going in to him and I’m turning around whether it’s alright with you or not.”

    “No, I’m not going.”

    “He wants you. Think about it. His letter said ‘Send friendship.’  You are the princess of friendship. Also that last door was based on a book that I’ve never read. He knew you would have.”

    Twilight started to cry again, this time out of defeat. Deep down she knew Fluttershy was right:  Discord wanted her.

    “There, there, Twi. I know you can fix whatever is ailing Discord. I’ll be waiting right outside. Go on now.”  With that she turned around and walked outside to the mountain air.

    Even after the door was unlocked, it took Twilight a minute to compose herself to see Discord. He just had that effect on her. She stepped forwards into the darkness.

    “Hello Twilight.”  Discord’s voice was nothing like the maniacal voice he normally sported. This voice was weak and defeated.

    “Hi Discord. How are you?”

    “Oh, you know.”  In the darkness several candles lit themselves up. The red flames revealed Discord laying in the air looking grayer than usual.

    “What’s wrong Discord.? I came to help you.”

    “I was just thinking after the battle of Tirek that all my friends hate me now. After I betrayed you and all.”

    “Nonsense!  You saved us in the end!”

    “True, but was it me who really needed to do it.? You traded your powers for everyone else too. Any one of your friends could have helped you. I just volunteered first. I’m a waste of space in your life.”

    “Discord, you don’t mean that!”  She inched her way forwards and started persperate as she got closer. “That’s interesting,” she thought. “It’s much hotter in here. It must be one of Discord’s tricks.”

    “Oh, but I do. You never valued our friendship.”

    “Ever since I had to take care of you I truly did.”

    “You don’t mean that.”

    “Yes I do Discord. I came up here to save you. Isn’t that proof enough?”

    “You came up here for Fluttershy, not me.”

    “No.”  By this point Twilight was in a deep sweat. It was a weird feeling for Twilight. Something was beginning to come over her.

    “Prove it!”

    Twilight leaned forwards, face nearly touching Discord. The hormone levels in her body started going off the charts. Was that it.? Was this all some plan to seduce Twilight.? At this point she didn’t care.

    “How?” she whispered into his face.

    “I’m glad you asked.”  Discord’s body began to regain color. “You see, the Hayseed Swamps are a great vacation spot and I was wondering if you’d be interested in a timeshare opportunity…”



    “DISCOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRDDDDDDDDDDDD!”