Two months had gone by. Twilight had learned much. She'd learned not just Chaos magic, but forgotten chapters in pony history. Many of the bloodier ones had been almost entirely erased. When she got out, she'd have to find a way to bring some of this knowledge with her. Ponies deserved to know the truth. She had been surprised to learn Discord felt the same way. Before his imprisonment, which he insisted was a result of a huge misunderstanding, he had been a hugely prolific teacher. His lessons had been criticized as unorthodox, often wholly unrelated, and at any and all hours, but had been considered incredibly beneficial to pony kind by many. Often, books she found discussing his unusual methods praised them as much as they crucified, but none seemed to feel he had been overtly evil.

Her mentor, as it were, had kept true to his promise not to let Twilight become bored. He had brought in new books to the library, regularly beefing up various sections depending on his interests in the moment. Still no teleportation books had appeared, but this hadn't stopped Twilight at all. Instead, she'd resorted to working on understanding the theory behind Chaos magic. She was getting close, she felt, to being able to start trials.

Toiling away, page after page, and hour after hour took its toll, however. If Discord hadn't seen fit to arrive in a puff of purple smoke in a magician’s outfit, complete with a top hat, she'd likely not have gotten up for some time. Instead, where there had been a shelf there was now a pond which had a small waterfall tinkling itself in. Twilight looked up. After the past couple months, things like this were just a fact of life. She noticed there were some sort of shimmery fish swimming about, and without thinking a bolt of magic shot from her horn. The fish swam up next to each other and embraced using their fins. The unicorn smirked.

“What do you think, Discord? Cuddlefish.”

The pond turned back into a table where three copies of discord sat, staring around disapprovingly before holding up score cards that read 5, 5, and 7 respectively. Twilight snorted, but the waterfall had woken up her bladder and she decided it was as good a time as any to go for a walk. Discord didn't appear to feel like following, winking when Twilight hesitated to leave, materializing a full pitcher water to pour back and forth. She gave an amused but annoyed smile as she walked out of the library.

Twilight couldn't help reflecting on her situation. As miserable is she felt, Discord was working hard to keep her entertained and her spirits up. The biggest issue he had was his inherent selfishness. He wanted Twilight to feel better because HE wanted her to feel better, not because she felt bad. His motivations always struck her as so strange, but she had come to understand him as the spent more and more time together. She had begun trying to share friendship lessons with him, but so far had seen minimal improvement. She could only hope it would get better in time.

That wasn't to say Discord made no effort. Him and his various temporary copies would do all sorts of things to help keep Twilight amused. Lately he had taken to full theater productions of some obscure plays written in old Ponish that Twilight would have never had exposure to otherwise. The funny thing was, when Discord wanted to put away the silliness, his flair for the dramatic made him an excellent theater director (and actor, she supposed.) He'd also sit with her to watch the performance, and have an depth discussion afterward. Twilight had to admit, for a warden, Discord was good company.

Finding the bathroom typically proved to be a nightmare, but had gotten easier over time. The cave seemed to have a life of its own. The floor, walls, and even ceiling would routinely shift colors, their consistencies changing as you stepped onto them. Her new-found grip on chaos magic seemed to prevent a lot of the earlier issues, such as doors melting away before she could touch them, or the knobs trying to snap at her if she used a hoof instead of magic.

Normally the bathroom (perhaps bathrooms, she'd found several, and no two seemed to look the same) would be the seventh door she tried, regardless of placement. The other doors could be fake, fall off the wall, lead to rooms full of junk, or any other number of things. She also swore Discord had some sort of intentional spell to make doors scarce when she began searching for them, sometimes it could take ages to find 7 doors.

Twilight made her way down a hallway with an uncomfortably fleshy feel to the ground, her discomfort only enhanced by the pinkish hue. She looked up. There was a chandelier that had an uncanny resemblance to a uvula. Suddenly on her left a large section of wall sloughed onto the floor with a wet thump. Startled, she looked up at the new opening, pleasantly pleased to see a new pair of doors before her. Lucky number six! This time, however, she pulled and nothing happened beyond feeling a distinctive resistance from the door. It was locked.

Twilight hadn't run across a locked door at any point. Discord seemed to have strange rooms rearranging themselves at the drop of a hat. She frowned. Of course, she needed the bathroom, and instead of something else ridiculous the damn door was locked. Studying the door, well, doors, it was a huge pair of French doors that looked remarkably old and felt sturdy, she notes there didn't seem to be any other booby traps. Just the lock.

Feeling another twinge of nature’s call, Twilight chewed her lip. She really could have used the bathroom about now, she didn't often take breaks from studying and had a proclivity for drinking hot tea as she went, but she was drawn to this strange set of doors. If she left, she was confident she wouldn't find it again. Well, what could it hurt. She began to probe the lock with her magic. It was a complex lock, she could give it that, but not if somepony could turn it into marshmallows.

As it turned out, with a little chaos magic, this was very attainable. Also as it turned out, marshmallows make terrible locks. Twilight pushed through the doors.

There were a great many things that could have been expected on the other side. A toilet had been the first thought and hope, but failing that, almost anything would have made more sense than what stood before her. A quartet of small desks surrounded by numerous shelves, all nearly brimming over with books. The room was squat, barely taller than the shelves, with a blackboard on one of the back walls. Fluorescent track lighting provided plenty of light to the whole room, but she noted their were individual desk lamps as well.

She had found a secret library.

Twilight blinked in surprise. Was this where Discord had been pulling books from? And why would he hide it? It was dusty too, which was strange. Twilight had encountered very little dust during her time as a captive. She began to walk the shelves, occasionally taking out and looking through books. This library seemed very similar to the other one in some respects, she could recognize several of the authors. It wasn't as large, maybe a quarter of the size, but it was still lined with a respectable collection. Something about the place, maybe the dust, but more than that a feeling, positively reeked of disuse.

The thought bothered her until she stumbled onto a section that caught her eye. Chaos and Movement: A Labor of Love. A weird title, sure, but something in it called out. Nervously, Twilight took the book. She felt like she was doing something she shouldn't, and would be found out any second. Her eyes widened with surprise as she began to pour over its pages. There were detailed diagrams and spells, theory discussions, everything anypony could ever need to start learning chaotic teleportation. She began pulling other books near it. All over teleportation. This was her chance. She had to seize it.

Setting the small pile of books on a nearby desk, she began to read as quickly and accurately as possible. Teleportation was not something to be taken lightly. Casting it on a living creature as a first test would be stupid, particularly if you had anything to distract you. However, given her shortage of time and desperation to get home… Twilight supposed she'd have to try. Discord may have been a kind captor, and while she had a learned a great many things, she wanted to cuddle in her own bed again more than just about anything else in the world.

Speed reading like the wind, Twilight began to understand the spell. It was somehow both complex and simplistic, like most chaos magic tended to be. It would often have basic components with complex pieces holding it together. It didn't follow a set order the same way as harmonic magic, it was much more forgiving than most magic she was used to. Chaos magic required all parts of a spell, but typically would accept them in any order. There was no guaranteed beginning or end, but you couldn't let go before all the parts were ready, otherwise all Tartarus could break loose.

Unsure of how much time had passed or how long she would have, Twilight made the hard choice of making the spell attempt after only a couple read throughs. She was sure she got the basic theory now, and while she would have preferred to be able to test it, time just wasn't on her side. Discord could appear at literally any moment. The unicorn began to weave the spell. She worked quickly but with precision, carefully crafting each piece of magic. It didn't take long to put together. For a moment, Twilight held the magic, felt it out, made sure her intention was clear.

Home.

She visualized it with the most intensity she could manage. The library tree, proud and tall, surrounded by her best friends in Ponyville. The magic’s warm glow surrounded her, with eyes shut tight to protect themselves with the light. Soon, she'd be home, safe and warm, and this would all be a weird dream. Life would go back normal! She couldn't wait to see her friends again, to hug Spike, to talk to Celestia once more and figure out how they could handle Discord as a team. There had to be a better solution than imprsonment,

Truthfully, after this experience, she didn't want to see him encased in stone again. He wasn't exactly a monster, even if he had kidnapped her, but he would need work. These were problems for another time, however. There was a small twinge of concern. The spell seemed to be taking an awfully long time. It must have been a different one than she had seen Discord use. Perhaps magic went slower when teleporting. She had no way of knowing.

The magic began to wick away, leaving her horn, and setting her down lightly. When the brightness before her dissipated, she opened her eyes excitedly.

An angry pair of twin red irises in a sea of yellow glared back at her. They were all Twilight could see. The rest was pure blackness.

“I see somepony has been mucking around where she wasn't invited.” The Spirit of Chaos growled.

Author's Note

I bet no one saw this coming. Two updates? Yes!