Time Turner was just coming back home from buying food in the market, thinking about what he would make for dinner. Absentmindedly, he opened the door, freezing at the entrance when he caught sight of a hippogriff sitting in a chair at the end of the room, reading a book.

She looked at him before closing the book and letting it fall to the floor. "About time you showed up."

Standing up, she walked towards the annoyed pony. Turner sighed and closed the door, leaving his saddlebags next to it. She was not someone he wanted to deal with; but it seemed he didn't have a choice.

"River. Long time no see."

He met her halfway, Chronos Watcher and Chronos Warrior staring at each other. After a few seconds, Time Turner rolled his eyes and walked past her, towards his lab.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" The pony asked sarcastically.

The hippogriff hovered in front of the pony and stopped him with a claw pressing against his nose, earning an annoyed look from him."There was a complication as I pursued my targets."

Time Turner swatted the claw aside; River turned around and hit him with her tail across his muzzle. Rubbing his face with a hoof, Turner groaned and followed the feathered pain in the flank.

"I needed a place for someone to rest while they healed, and your house was near, so..." she finished. River didn't want to be near Turner more than she had to; they couldn't stand each other and more often than not ended up arguing and fighting.

The last forty seconds were a good example of that.

"So they finally assigned you a new partner?"

"I don't need a partner."

Turner rolled his eyes. "River, did you seriously just say that? That phrase screams 'I need a partner right now'," He deadpanned before getting serious. "Wait, then who's in here with us?"

Opening the door to his bedroom, River gestured to the mare currently resting on it, looking troubled.

Time Turner walked closer. Unicorn; older than a filly, but still a few years from becoming an adult. A fiery mane; I hope she doesn't have a similar character... he though as he checked her over, noticing the bloody towels laying at the side of the wall.

"What happened?"

"I was pursuing my targets in a plane between universes when we crashed into her; she seemed to be traveling through some sort of portal... bridge... something? I don't know what it was," she answered quietly, not wanting to disturb the sleeping pony.

"So young and already getting in conflicts of epic magnitudes. Just like you, River," Turner commented as he checked the unicorn's temperature, not needing to look back to know a rude gesture was being thrown at him.

Picking up the towels, he proceeded towards the washing machine with one important question for River.

"Seriously, did you have to use my bed?" He whispered.

"It's the only bed in the house!" She countered.

With a silent groan, Turner closed the door and left to wash the bloodstains off the towels.

"She didn't look too hurt," he mentioned as he prepared the washing machine.

"I asked Tic Tac for help; her wounds were... strange, and within the range of what she's allowed to heal." River mentioned, looking to the side. Remembering how broken the unicorn was as she called for help...

River hoped she would survive, because her death was something she didn't need on her conscience.

Turner groaned as he turned on the machine. "You know she dislikes that nickname."

"Too bad."

The earth pony massaged his temple. Let it go, Turner, it 's a lost cause...

River shifted her weight, impatient. "As soon as she's better, I need to go and check if there's been a change in the timeline, or if I can return the unicorn to whatever path she chose."

Turner looked pensive for a second. "I have an invention for that. We can use it to check that point if it's not too far away in the timestream."

River looked at him warily. "Does it work? Without exploding?"

In a private room on Canterlot Castle, Discord and Celestia were sitting on a table, facing each other. The princess took notes and reviewed everything Discord had just told her as the Spirit rested his head in his talon, the opposite paw drawing patterns in the air that a fleet of paper planes followed, swapping formation with every turn.

Apparently, obligatory reunions with Celestia to review how he was getting along with the rest of Equestria was one of the conditions for his 'reformation'. Discord didn't remember agreeing to that.

Then again, listening to Celestia giving speeches of moral rectitude, or whatever they were called, was boring. And after the last centuries, he didn't pay attention to boring.

Celestia took notes while listening, the perfect picture of a student paying attention to their teacher. The temptation of throwing something at that face was growing rapidly, so Discord decided to finish his report.

"...so I finally managed to convince her that the book uprising was an accident. No permanent damage done to Ponyville, and Twilight just hates me a little bit more."

"I wouldn't say that she hates you, Discord."

The draconequus raised an eyebrow as he summoned his cup of juice. "I bet you a moon that if she were to turn me to stone right now, her only regret would be at failing you in trying to convince me of being an asset to Equestria."

"First of all, I don't want to turn you into an asset; I just your help with something important," she explained as Discord drank and drank, briefly wondering just how much liquid that cup had before moving on. "And about Twilight... I'm not asking you to be friends. I certainly don't expect you to be best friends tomorrow."

"So you're smarter than you look."

The princess ignored that. "It is not easy to forgive, or to move forward. From what you showed me, you utterly defeated the Bearers using the aspects of themselves they dislike or try to keep buried, and made Twilight believe her friendships were over-"

"Yes, I know, I was there causing it, is there a point to this?"

Celestia grabbed a blank page with her hooves, crumpled it into a ball and threw it at the draconequus. Discord just stared in bemusement as the projectile bounced off his muzzle while the alicorn smiled mischievously at him.

"You hurt her, you hurt them, and they may resent you for that. Giving the first step to forging a bond of friendship is not easy in those conditions; if you do want to be friends with Twilight, you may have to take the first step."

Discord was silent for a moment. "You know, for a piece of wisdom coming from you, that wasn't mind-bogglingly boring."

"I'll take that as a compliment," she chuckled.

Chryssie growled. "Discord, don't compliment one of your torturers."

I am not. Scratching his muzzle, he lifted an eyebrow at Celestia."What makes you think I want to make friends with the other Bearers?" He asked; Discord couldn't see that happening with most of them.

"Don't you desire a place where you can fit in, where you can share great experiences with others and form good memories? Equestria may be that place, if you give it a chance. What do you say?"

Discord just looked at her, the fleet of paper planes passing behind him and forming a very obscene word for a few seconds before swapping formation.

Celestia wasn't impressed, simply rolling her eyes at the gesture. She had been called worse many times in her first years as a ruler, when she was still young and inexperienced, not to mention less imposing. Among other things, being twice the height of the average pony tended to have that effect.

I do wonder why I am this tall; Mother is barely an inch shorter than Luna...

"Equestria is not my kind of place, Celestia. You are all so..." Discord struggled to find the right word,"...immature. And not in a good way."

The Princess of Equestria, for the first time since the bachelor party of her last Captain of the Royal Guard, found herself speechless, eyes wide, nose twitching and jaw hanging.

Discord stared back, both amused and weirded out at her face. "What?"

"You. Are calling my subjects immature. You." Celestia gestured at all of him with both hooves, "I mean... you!"

"Which should tell you that ponykind still have so much growing left to do." He pointed out.They would probably be slightly more mature if you had let me finish my rule, but oh well.

"Ours is a job of sacrifices, with no one to say 'thank you', and many to condemn you. For change is never easy and rarely welcome." Eris spoke sagely, ignoring that Chryssie was mocking her from behind. She did notice Meridian and Zero trying not to laugh. "Of course you wouldn't take my words of wisdom seriously, you ingrates."

Meridian snorted. "Like I needed your wisdom back when I was Discord."

Meridian, you were the worst.

"THE worst." The other six emphatized.

"...Whatever."

"Anyway, are we done here? I have better things to do, like planning ways to overthrow you. You know, to keep the mind sharp," The draconequus smiled mockingly.

Celestia nodded, rubbing her forehead with a hoof. "Small steps, Celestia. He's less of an enemy with each day."

"I won't reach a point where I'll become a gallant hero that will steal your heart, either."

The princess froze for a second. "Did I said that out loud?"

The squad of paper planes shot towards the table, stabbing the wood and forming an elegant 'YES'.

"Now, if you excuse me I'll... find something fun to do."

Discord slowly faded away with an evil, exaggerated chuckle.

"... He's going to annoy me for the rest of my life." Celestia summed up, letting herself fall back to the chair with a groan. "The things I do for Equestria."

What followed was a long four days of Discord pranking the alicorns in every way conceivable... that wouldn't get him turned into a lawn ornament again.

The first day, Luna's breakfast jumped and hugged her face as Celestia's dinner ran all over the room. And they ran out of cupcakes.

The second day, the throne refused to let someone sit on it, instead going to the garden to take a nap. Luna found herself with a beard of cream that didn't get away until two in the morning. And the Royal Cupcake Maker was sick, so there weren't cupcakes available.

The third day, Celestia couldn't find her horn, cleverly hidden under Luna's pillow, so the sun rose a bit later. And, due to some whimsical, ancient rule, only the currently sick Royal Cupcake Maker could make cupcakes for the royalty and nobility present in the castle, so there weren't any cupcakes that day. Again.

The fourth day, as the Princesses fought tooth and hooves to abolish that rule, Discord made it rain cupcakes all over the castle. Desperate for the sweet snack, many jumped and devoured them, only to discorver their changed fur color wen ingested. A race started to find one that would give them their original color, until it was discovered it washed away with water. The alicorns couldn't even take advantage of that for dinner, as zealot chefs gathered and burned the cupcakes. They justified their actions as following the teaching of the food god Abundance, who saw food with magic as sacrilegious.

So, no cupcakes for diner.

On the fifth day, Discord pretended to have gone away, so the Princesses would eventually lower their guard and he'd have the perfect moment to strike with his latest prank! ...that was still under development. But it was going to be great!.

The law abolished, the now recovered Royal Cupcake Maker was made a chef more, and he was happy they weren't reducing his pay, so the draconequus' plan couldn't include the shortage of cupcakes again.

Such plans were put aside, however, when the Spirit saw Celestia vanish in her room after using a reverse summoning spell.

Landing on the floor, he stared at the traces of magic, adjusting his eyes to see it. Where did you summoned yourself, Celestia?

With a snap, a spark of magic appeared and melted into the floor, expanding and filling the echo of the spell done hundreds of times before.

Silver examined the shining echo. "Ah, she wove the spell into the floor itself, renovating it periodically so it wouldn't fade or deteriorate and making a key to activate it whenever she wanted."

But who needs a key when you can follow the trail? With another snap, his magic left the spell and traveled after Celestia, the echo of the path taken visible now that he knew where to look.

As he followed, he realized it was leading him inside the mountain Canterlot rested on... and through many spells to protect against teleportation and portals.

Oh, Cellie, you should be more creative if you want to keep me out. Discord simply floated through the rock, now intangible. He didn't go too deep before he arrived at his destination:

A room filled with machines and books.

...I'l be honest with you all, I'm kind of disappointed.

"Well, what did you expect?" Silver asked.

Something more than a laboratory.

"A secret laboratory," Meridian pointed out. "Who knows what kind of projects she keeps hidden in here?"

A smile grew across Discord's face as he turned invisible, floating silently to the part Celestia was currently working on. rowing visible again, he made funny faces at her before shrinking as she turned around, now the size of a fly. The princess looked around a couple of times before shaking her hear and going back to work.

Now... what to check?

Chaos magic was a mysterious thing, a storm of possibilities beyond good and evil, whimsical yet mindful. In a moment of almost sentience, a thread emerged from Discord and, as the draconequus watched in surprise, shot towards a pile of scrolls neatly ordered in a bookshelf.

"Well, that happened," Nidhogg said after a moment of silence.

In an instant he was back to his normal size and in front of the bookshelf, the thread vanishing back into his body.

With a few sparks of magic and willpower, the scrolls floated out of the bookshelf and unrolled, revealing pictures of ponies with short descriptions and lines connecting them.

Now this is a puzzle...

"No," Silver said."It not a puzzle. It's a genealogical tree."

"... Yeah, now that you mentioned it, I can see it." Chryssie looked over the pages. "And it's definitely more than one. Discord, put them in order."

With a thought, the scrolls reorganized, each fitting and forming lines that extended all the way to the roof, forcing the Spirit to fold them to the side.

There must be hundreds in here-wait, is that Pinkie Pie?

A gasp and a book falling to the gound caught Discord's attention; turning around, he found Celestia looking at him in surprise, fear, and growing anger.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"

As a draconequus, Discord possessed incredible hearing. So, a scream that makes the entire room shake and breaks little pebbles from the roof hurts a lot.

And by a lot, I mean the Spirit cried in pain as his eardrums almost exploded, falling to the ground while cursing; the furious alicorn actually paused in her angry walk towards the draconequus for a second. What did he just call me? ...is that even an insult?

Discord groaned as magic repaired his battered ears. He glared at the alicorn."Primordial Chaos, Celestia! What's wrong with you?!"

Not many could stand up to the angry glare of a Spirit. Celestia glared back, even as she had to look up at the rising draconequus.

Ignoring the pain of her neck at having to hold the gaze of someone taller after centuries of dealing mostly with shorter creatures, the alicorn opened her wings slightly and snorted.

"What are you doing in my private laboratory, Discord?!"

"I was just following you to make another prank and saw you coming here. Not a bad place, welcoming notwithstanding."

Celestia stomped once, her hoof cracking the stone. "Leave. Now. And never speak of this place to anyone."

Discord stared at her for a moment before exploding in laughter. "Oh, this is precious! Do you think you can order me?"

The laughter died in an instant, and Discord's muzzle was pressing against Celestia's, the Spirit of Chaos glaring at the alicorn. "I do not serve you, Celestia. And I never will. So don't treat me like on of your subjects, because I won't tolerate that from someone I hate."

Celestia faltered for an instant at the venom of that last word and she stepped back, breaking eye contact.

"Still, what are you doing here?"

Discord shrugged, "I'm curious. I saw you do a reverse summoning and follwed the trail."

The princess just took a deep breath. As she tried to order her thoughts, Discord glanced back at the genealogical trees, full with ponies and information of their skills and magical affinites and best possibles partners-

"Waiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitaminute. Have you been secretly controlling the bloodlines of your subjects in an attempt to create powerful ponies you would use for slightly nefarious and/or benevolent purposes?"

'Geez, you can't trust in a ruler,' Chryssie quipped before noticing the looks the other six Spirits were giving her. 'What?'

"No!" Celestia denied, enveloping the papers in her magic with a simple thought. "It's... not how I would word it." She finished rather quietly.

Discord gestured for her to continue.

"I... have been playing matchmaker."

The draconequus snorted, a bit amused. "That's what they call it these days?"

She glared at his mocking smile. "We both know how dangerous the world is! And you know it better than me. I wanted ponies that would have the power to face those dangers, while my teachings would make sure they wouldn't be evil."

"Being a statue does not make keeping up with the times easy, but I'm pretty sure that last part of your plain didn't exactly work," Discord pointed out, but Celestia ignored him.

"I have strived to create a more harmonious society, free of the evils that plague every living being. It's not an easy road, but I believe they are getting there," Celestia turned back to Discord, resigned to reveal one of her greatest secrets. "I don't have my mother's knowledge or resources, but I learned enough from her to know that there's a biological aspect when a prodigy at magic is born. Secretly, I searched for those that showed great magic, or the potential for it, and worked to try and make sure they would fall in love and form families with carefully chosen partners, so their children could equal or surpass them."

"Did you force them to?"

Celestia looked at him with utter seriousness. "I care for all of my subjects, Discord. I would never take their freedom. I heavily nudged the couples to be together, but if they refused to or fell in love with others, I just let them be and moved on."

"And all without anyone knowing," he guessed.

"Most of them were convinced that it was destiny itself the one bringing them together," she admitted with a small chuckle that morphed into a sigh. "It wasn't a perfect plan, and not every child was above the average, but the number of magical prodigies is around fifteen times larger than it was when I was accepted my position."

"Centuries of carefully selected breeding to adquire the desired traits in the offspring, having in count it wasn't enforced but done subtle enough that the subjects never realized it was happening and could back down..." Silver muttered to himself, doing calculations on his mind, "With around a dozen subjects as the starting amount if those scrolls were completely accurate... there are hundreds of ponies out there that could reach the ultimate arcane potential of their species."

Nidhogg whistled. "What I wouldn't give to eat one; flesh rich in magic has an taste unlike any other."

The other Spirits groaned in disgust at that. Discord ignored them as he realized something.

"Twilight is one of them." It wasn't a question.

Celestia put the papers back in their place with a bittersweet smile. "My faithful student... she is going to be great, if my mistakes don't ruin her future."

Discord blinked at her choice of words. Now that's interesting.

The Princess of the Sun took a deep breath, prepared to use her best resource to ensure his secrecy. "Can I trust you won't tell a word about this place and my projects?"

"Weeeeell..." Discord made a show of thinking it over. "It would be fun to see your precious ponies react to this particular information-"

"I'll give back your greatest treasure if you promise to keep this a secret."

My-... what?

"Bribery? After probably stealing your greatest treasure? Wow, with every minute here Celestia looks less like a paragon of virtue," Chryssie commented.

"She never stopped looking like a bother that would make a delicious snack with the right spices. And what treasure is she talking about?"

I... I don't know.

"You don't know, or you don't remember?" Kevin asked.

His greatest treasure... those words filled Discord with a longing for something so precious it hurt his heart to not have it, yet the void that consumed most of his memories gave no hint as to what it was.

He had to have it.

"Deal," he accepted impulsively.

This was a risk, but Celestia had to take it. Showing him trust first could convince him to help her; and she needed his help.

Celestia summoned a box from a secret compartment in the laboratory, and something inside resonated with Discord. Something gripped his heart.

What... what is this feeling?

"Even though I shouldn't, I'll trust in your word. Don't break it." She passed the box to him, both noticing his trembling paws before he got them under control.

Discord just nodded and went away in a flash of light; the box was very light, but it felt so heavy in his soul. He needed time to think, and he wasn't going to do it near the alicorn.

A few hours later...

Beautiful music filled the park, notes dancing in the air as the musician practiced.

Octavia was a mare whose heart beat with the power and passion of the musical arts, whether it was like the elegant works of old or the powerful and energetic melodies of the present. She was always chasing after songs, her soul yearning for a masterpiece that would complete her existence.

Not to mention help her pay the rent; prices were going up in Canterlot. Again.

If this keeps going, I'll have to move to another city, she mused with her eyes closed as she went for a slower, melancholic song. Taking the train for the important shows will be less expensive than staying if I manage to find a place that doesn't like to squeeze the bits out of your saddlebags. The heart and jewel of Equestria Canterlot may be, but it sure is greedy.

As part of her frustration bled over her instrument, the notes grew more irritated, the tone more aggressive.

As the music slowed to an end, Octavia took a deep breath, gently caressing the strings of her beloved cello as her mind went over her current problem.

"Not bad."

"Ah!" The sudden voice startled her, and she went straight to panicked when the source turned out to be a floating, chimeric creature right at her left. "AHHH!"

"I'm more into rock and metal, to be honest, but your music's pretty good," Discord continued with a wince, massaging his ear as Octavia and her instrument fell to the ground.

"What are you doing?" Asked Chryssie.

I need a distraction. If I focus on the box, I'll go madder.

"You didn't even open it! You are dying to know what's inside, so gather your courage and do it, you coward." Kevin said, annoyed after hours of seeing Discord fret over the thing.

I can't! Not... not right now. Now shut up and let me talk!

After a few seconds of staring in shock, Octavia realized that there wasn't any danger. Discord was just staring back at her as he floated, eyebrow raised in amusement as he held a box in his talon, not giving even a hint of the discussion going on in his head. Clearing her throat, she got back on her hooves and picked up her instrument.

"Thank you. I, ah, apologize. You took me by surprise."

"Heh, taking others by surprise is fun. And you didn't run away screaming or tried to hit me, so there's nothing to apologize for," Discord said as he landed. He did notice the glances the mare tried to hide as she put the cello in its case. "I'm Discord, Spirit of Chaos. I'm a draconequus; you've never seen one before and you never will. My skill with magic is unrivaled, so don't be surprised if I can do things you consider impossible. I was chatting with Her Royal Bother and be gone as soon as possible, so you probably won't see me around much. And I'm currently single."

Octavia tilted her head to the side in confusion. "What?"

"There is no one like me in the world, so everyone comes up with the same questions when they first see me," the Spirit explained as he let himself fall backwards, the ground rising to meet him halfway and catching him with the softness of a plump mattress.

Octavia blinked before the last part came to mind. "Why do others ask if you're single?"

A cheeky smirk was her answer, and the mare just rolled her eyes. She put the case on her back and prepared to leave before stopping and turning back at the draconequus. "I'm sure we haven't met before, but you look familiar..."

"I spent centuries as a statue in the castle's gardens."

Octavia raised an eyebrow. "Now that you mention it, I have seen a statue with your appearance in the gardens, but I doubt it came to life and turned into flesh and bones... are you flesh and bones?"

"Oh, it's a long story; but I've got time. I have all the time there is, and then some." He summoned two glasses, milk and ice cream to make milkshakes. "If you are not busy, I could tell you."

Octavia thought it over. Accept a milkshake from a stranger, or going home to discuss with my landlord for the increase in the rent I'm sure is waiting for me?

It didn't take her long to decide.

"Sure, why not?"

A pillow materialized near her, and she sat in front of the Spirit. "Oh! Where are my manners? I'm Octavia; it's a pleasure to meet you," the mare introduced herself as she extended a hoof.

Discord put the box in the indetectable reality bubble he kept with himself to carry important things and took the hoof with his talon. "I don't remember the last time someone said that to me. Here's your milkshake, musician."

As the draconequus began his tale, Mini D observed them from the distance, giving them privacy. A bittersweet smile crossed their face at the nostalgic sight.

Author's Note

I need a better schedule.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and don't forget to comment.