Disclaimer: I do not own any of the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic characters. They are owned by Hasbro.

Long, moonlit night strolls were considered by most ponies to be romantic affairs for two star-crossed lovers to put away their troubles for a time, and enjoy each other's company. For Trixie, it was nothing of the sort. An upcoming show, the biggest of her life, weighed heavily on her thoughts, and she needed this time to calm her mind. Plus, a walk in the world famous Canterlot Sculpture Garden would take her to a certain something that she needed to see.

Trixie, formerly the Great and Powerful Trixie, turned her head back and forth to gaze at all the different statues around her, each of which represented a different aspect of harmony. Friendship, loyalty, forgiveness and many others passed her by as she trotted through the garden. She would have found the experience of being in this place inspirational had she not had her mind focused on tomorrow night.

'This is it, Trixie,' the light blue unicorn thought to herself as she made her way through the darkened hedges. Only a few firefly filled lights, hanging from wooden poles, lit the grounds below them, just enough for the showmare to see by. 'This is your big comeback. You can't screw it up. It's taken you too long to get to this point and there are no more second chances.'

The harsh sounds of her hooves clopping against the ground, much harder than was necessary, broke her out of her musings. Trixie frowned and forced herself to trot at a more sedate pace. She couldn't allow that particular nervous habit of hers to potentially chip a hoof on a stray rock. It would be one of many things that she didn't need to deal with in preparing for the following night's show.

"Calm down, girl," Trixie said aloud, hoping the sound of her voice would quell the growing unease that she felt. "You'll do fine. In fact, better than fine. To really impress those stuck up nobles, you need to see that statue. Everything will be perfect once you do."

Trixie grinned, now imagining the shocked looks of the aristocracy before her. "I can't wait to see their faces. I'll bring the worst threat this world has ever seen right before them. They'll never see it coming. Tomorrow, I'll knock 'em dead! The premiere showing at the Grand Galloping Gala!"

Trixie's face lit up with a joyous grin, reared up on her hind legs and neighed in delight. Finally, her chance had come! Just a little more research and she'd have the most perfect performance of her life! A surge of excitement coursed through her, and with that, Trixie lowered herself down to all fours and took off into the depths of the sculpture garden.

"Ugh. What a hideous beast."

It had taken some time to find, but Trixe now stood before the stone statue in the absolute center of the garden. She gazed up at the misshapen form of a draconequus, its already gruesome form made all the worse by the horrified expression it had on its face. It was hard to look at and not grimace what with all the random parts of other animals making up its body. She could certainly see why this thing was called Discord.

"Creepy," Trixie muttered but didn't hesitate and began circling the statue. She took in ever detail, all the way from its goat horn and deer antler, down its serpentine like body to finish at the lizard and goat appendages that made up its legs. She swished her tail back and forth as she went, causing some dust that had accumulated on the statue's feet to flutter off. One such dust particle, slightly larger than the rest and emitting a weak, brown glow, managed to land on the tip of Trixie's horn as she passed by a second time. She didn't notice.

After a few orbits, she sat down in front of the statue and concentrated. A soft light, colored a light purple to match her eyes, surrounded her horn. Soon, an image began to take form just above her. The image began with an outline of the draconequus, but more details were added in as the unicorn focused more of her magic into it. Eventually, hovering just above her, a transparent but otherwise perfect copy of the statue resting above her.

'Much better than those fireworks I used to use,' Trixie thought with a smile. 'But this is just the start. Now that it looks right, let's add some color. Can't impress anypony with it being all grey.

'Let's see, what did that window in the tower look like again? Ah, like this!' She focused harder, using the color scheme of the stained window depicting Discord to, as the teachers would say in school, "color within the lines."

In moments, she finished her work. The draconequus was no longer just a grey figure with a stone texture. Instead, a light brown covered the fur on the serpentine body, a deep red flowed down the dragon like tail, yellow and green spread across the hands and feet and finally, yellow filled in the eyes with a set of asymmetrical red pupils. Trixie's illusion was finished. Discord had come back to life.

"Not bad, my dear."

Trixie blinked. She looked around to see who had snuck up on her and had spoken. "Who's there?" Despite turning in a full circle, the unicorn didn't see another soul in sight.

"I think you will do nicely."

"Show yourself to Trixie!"

"Gladly. But first, I need you to go BOOM! for me. Heh, heh, heh."

"Trixie will not!" she retorted hotly and quickly dispelled the image of Discord. Her horn glowed brightly, ready to fire off one of the new spells she had learned just in case she came across something bigger than herself. The incident with the Ursa Minor would never happen again. "Whoever you are, you'll be sorry for messing with me!"

"We'll see."

Unfortunately, nothing could have prepared her for what happened. The small speck of brown light that had landed on her horn grew brighter, finally drawing her attention. Her eyes widened in surprise.

"What is this?"

She frantically shook her head to try and dislodge the light but it held fast. Panic and worry covered her features as she saw the glow pop into tiny sparkles that seeped into her horn. After a few seconds of nothing happening, Trixie relaxed slightly and sighed in relief.

And then her whole world went white.

Princess Celestia whipped her head towards her window. White light streamed through it and filled her room, overpowering the warm glow coming from her fireplace. Almost immediately following that, she felt an enormous surge of magic. Celestia discarded a set of quill and parchment she had been levitating in front of her, jumped to her hooves and dashed to the balcony attached to her room. In the distance, about a mile away, a huge column of white light erupted from the ground and pierced the night sky farther than she could see. Its brilliance shown almost as brightly as her sun during the day.

It only took a moment for her to know where the light was coming from and it filled her with dread.

"Discord."

Briefly, Celestia considered teleporting directly to the garden but decided against it. Popping next to the column might disrupt it with the residual magic that teleportation caused and possibly make it unstable. Celestia didn't even want to think of what would happen then. Instead, she spread her wings and flew as fast as she could towards the Canterlot Sculpture Garden.

Trixie's body hovered lifelessly above the ground, surrounded by a pillar of chaotic magic. Not that she was even aware of this, or much of anything for that matter. The thought of even trying to move was beyond her ability at the moment. The sensation of pure power cursing through her was all that she was capable of feeling.

Just as suddenly as it had happened, the white light surrounding her vanished. Trixie hovered briefly in the air, a tired and glazed look to her eyes, before she landed with an undignified plop on the dirt path beneath her. There she remained motionless, the only evidence that she still lived was the slow and steady rising of her chest as she breathed. Blessed unconsciousness finally allowed her to rest from the ordeal.

The glade was still and quiet. No living creature in the area dared break the absolute calm that had descended. That is until a finger on the stone draconequus' eagle claw twitched.

Slowly, the hands of the statue began to creak and groan as they moved, the screech of stone grinding against stone breaking the silence of the garden. The lion paw and eagle talon strained and pushed as they reached up towards the head of the statue. The hands managed to grab hold of the face that had been frozen in horror. With a sickening crack, the hands wrenched the head in the opposite direction it had been facing, leaving it at an angle that would have been the death of any flesh and blood creature. Even so, the hands repositioned themselves and repeated the action from before, only this time jerking the head in the other direction. The hands removed themselves, revealing that the expression of the statue had changed to that of a grimace rather than of terror. The hands once again moved, this time placing themselves behind the wings of the creature's back. With a strained heave, the hands pushed and the whole statue bent in half, backwards, as it stretched itself as much as it could.

"Ooooohhhhhh...," the draconequus managed to moan from its mouth. "Being stuck in stone is terrible for my back."

Discord smiled as his movements became much more fluid and raised himself into a standing position. Using his mismatched hands, he began brushing his body as though he were dusting himself off, flecks of stone falling to the ground as he went. As his stone prison began raining down his form, more and more of his true self was revealed. Finally, he finished and hopped down from the pedestal he had been standing on. With one last stretch to the sky, Discord took stock of his surroundings.

"Celestia put me back in the same spot again?" He tsked in disappointment. "That self-righteous twit really has no sense of originality."

Discord suddenly lost his scowl and gave a jump for joy. His gambit had worked! The magic overload that he had managed to cause in the unicorn below him had allowed him to soak up all the access power and give him the strength to break free! It was a brute force method, not his preferred way of doing things, but it was certainly better than spending another one thousand years stuck in one place.

Despite being elated that his plan to get free was successful, he knew he didn't have much time before Celestia and her little pack of brats descended upon this garden and tried to put him right back where he had come from. As if he'd let that happen again. Getting turned to stone was so boring!

Acting swiftly, Discord snapped his eagle fingers. The discarded stone pieces that had trapped him rose up and quickly reassembled themselves onto the pedestal. In seconds, the statue from before he broke free was back in place, expression and all. That would keep Celestia off his tail for a bit. Dusting his hands in satisfaction, he then turned towards the only other being in the grove with him. He knelt down and patted the sleeping unicorn on the head.

"Thank you, dear," he said down to Trixie. "You performed splendidly. Perhaps I'll look you up again once I've got this place to my liking." Chuckling darkly, he rose back up-

-and then felt his body give out. He crashed next to Trixie and nearly joined her in unconsciousness. He groggily attempted to push himself back up but there was no strength in his hands to do so.

"W-what...what is hap...happening...to me?" Discord barley gasped out. His entire body felt heavy and it was a struggle to even keep his eyes open. He tried summoning his magic, an act that was as natural for him as breathing was for other creatures, but nothing happened. A sense of panic began welling up within him, a sensation that he was largely unfamiliar with. Only in the moments when his body had begun turning to stone had he ever felt this way before.

He had to do something quick or he'd be caught even before he'd had a chance to get away. He hadn't risked everything just so that he would return as a roosting spot for the birds! Using every ounce of strength that remained in him, he reached forward with his lion paw towards the unicorn next to him. With one last thrust of his furry finger, he managed to touch Trixie's horn. Immediately, he felt himself sucked into the protruding skull bone until there was no more trace of him.

A few seconds later, Princess Celestia landed from her frantic flight to get here. Right behind her, a pair of royal pegasus guards dropped down next to her. Celestia swiftly took in the scene, making sure not to miss a single detail. Discord's statue was right where it should have been but the unicorn at its base was not. She gave the statue a suspicious glare while trotting towards the sleeping mare. Celestia's horned glowed and began inspecting the unicorn with a spell that would detect any strange anomalies.

The results she got back were not encouraging. The mare was just exhausted but something about her horn felt...off. There was something there. Something...familiar. It was as if an object was just at the edge of her awareness but whenever she directed her magic to it, it would move to stay just out of reach. Celestia focused harder.

"Almost have you..." she said with some strain. "There you are-What? It's...it's gone!"

"Your majesty?" one of her guards asked in concern.

Celestia ignored him and cast her spell again. She scanned every inch of the unicorn's horn but could no longer detect the anomaly from before. It was no longer there. After a second search that provided the same results, she huffed in annoyance and stopped, regarding the pony resting before her.

Given what she knew so far, the quickest explanation for what had happened was that the young mare had lost control of her magic and had expelled it in that light show from earlier. The question that remained was how it had happened in the first place. Unicorns going critical were a rare occurrence. Something, or someone, had caused it to happen and the number one culprit was currently encased in stone. She hoped.

Deciding that answers could wait, Celestia turned towards her guards. "Take her to the castle and make sure she's properly taken care of. I'll stay here and investigate some more. Just keep an eye on her. I don't know what happened yet but I'm sure she's got a story to tell us when she awakens."

"Yes, your majesty!" her guards saluted in stereo. One of the guards carefully picked up Trixie and placed her on the back of the other. They then took off towards the castle and its infirmary.

Now alone, Celestia pivoted and glared up at the draconequus frozen in the throes of being sealed up. "I know you are somehow responsible for this, Discord," she hissed at the unmoving sculpture. "Whatever it is you're planning, you won't get away with it." She half expected the statue to give some sort of response. She became more worried when all she got back was the stillness of the night.

The first sensation that Trixie felt when she woke up was an exhaustion the likes of which she hadn't experienced before. Waking up tired was nothing new but feeling as though she was going to fall right back to sleep was not. She struggle mightily to stay conscious, groaning at the effort to do so.

"Easy there, dearie," came a soothing voice from above her. "Don't be straining yourself. Just take it easy."

Despite the good advice, Trixie continued to force herself awake. Carefully, she placed one hoof down onto the bed she found herself in and pushed herself up. A moment of dizziness overwhelmed her and nearly sent her back down onto the comfy sheets.

"Miss, I really must insist that you remain lying down," the voice continued to urge, this time punctuated with a hoof to Trixie's shoulder to push her back down.

However, Trixe wouldn't hear any of that and brushed aside the hoof with one of her own. "Trixie is fine," she sighed out. She slowly opened her eyes and squinted as light pierced her irises. She blinked a few times to allow her eyes to adjust to the light. Eventually, she was able to open them up fully and looked around.

Another pony was standing beside her, presumably the source of the voice, a nurse from the looks of the cap and uniform she wore with a red cross stitched into them. That clued Trixie in that she must have been at some sort of hospital, saving her the effort of asking where she was. Seeing the beds lined up against the walls around her further confirmed her suspicions. However, the decor of the walls were much more elaborate and decorative than she would have expected for a room for healing. If she didn't know any better, she would have suspected that she was in some sort of palace.

Her mind became more active and it quickly filled with questions. 'What happened to me? How did I get here? Why do I feel so tired?' These things needed to be answered and getting more sleep wouldn't accomplish that.

Seeing that her patient was gaining a confused look, and not wanting to aggravate her further, the nurse spoke up, "You are in Canterlot Castle. You were brought here after you had collapsed in the sculpture garden. You were out all night and now it's noon. I don't want to rush you but I've been asked to let the princess know when you awoke."

Unfortunately, as the poor nurse spoke, Trixie's complexion became whiter and whiter. Each new revelation made the unicorn's eyes grow larger and larger until they took up the majority of her face.

"Noon?" Trixie screeched in a panic, launching to her hooves on top of the bed. "It's noon already? I have to get ready for my show tonight!" She made to hop off the bed but in her haste she got tangled in the sheets and crashed to the floor below. The sudden rush of adrenaline that she had gotten from her panic seeped out of her, causing her to slump wearily to the floor.

The nurse sighed and reached down to help Trixie back into the bed. The showmare was too out of it to put up much of a resistance. The moment her head touched the pillow, she was once more fast asleep.

A few hours later, Trixie finally stirred in her bed and awoke. She first noticed that she wasn't as tired as she felt the last time she had woken up. The second thing was that a new occupant was in the room besides the nurse, who was busy checking over a chart next to Trixie's bed. The unicorn's eyes widened yet again at the sight of her new guest.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, young one," Princess Celestia greeted at the head of the bed. "Looks like I timed my visit just right."

Trixie involuntarily gulped. Even though she had never met either of the princesses of Equestria in person, there was no mistaking the sight of the regal winged unicorn. The soft lighting of the room was enough to display her presence to those around her but there seemed to be an inner glow to the princess. As if any room that Celestia walked into would brighten no matter how dark the surroundings. She was both an imposing and comforting sight all at the same time.

"Feeling any better?" the princess asked soothingly.

Trixie wasn't one to be struck speechless very often. However, waking up to find the ruler of the kingdom casually chatting up with her was quickly sapping any manner of thought from her brain. 'Focus!' Trixie scolded herself before she clamped up completely. 'Obviously, she's here because she's heard about my exploits and wants to be sure the most powerful unicorn of her kingdom is well! Say something before you look foalish!' Trixie raised her head, took a deep breath and opened her mouth to answer.

"yes," she squeaked out.

'Nice one, moron.'

Celestia smiled, softening her expression and setting Trixie a little more at ease. Though Celestia never once took her eyes off the smaller pony. "I hope you don't mind but I have a few questions that I'd like you to answer for me. Are you feeling up to talking?"

"O-o-of...of course, your majesty," Trixie finally managed to get out. What else could she have possibly said? Tell her to bugger off?

"Wonderful." Celestia came around the bed and sat down next to Trixie's side. "Now, I'd like to know what you were doing last night in the sculpture garden. Take your time, dear."

Trixie swallowed to try to get some moisture in her suddenly dry mouth and took a moment to better collect her thoughts. She'd already messed up once and couldn't bear to continue appearing stupid.

"Trix-I mean, I-I just...wanted to get a look at that weird statue," Trixie began to explain. "I was going to use it in my show tonight. I wanted to make sure I got it as accurate as possible."

"Oh, really?" Celestia raised a delicate eyebrow at that admission. "What type of show were you planning?"

"I wanted to tell the story of how the Elements of Harmony defeated the spirit of chaos. I'm good with illusions you see and I use them to help illustrate when I tell it."

"I see..." Celestia trailed off, going into thought.

"Can..can I ask a question?"

Celestia was brought out of her musings by the timid voice. "Certainly."

"What...happened to me back there?"

The princess took a moment to consider how to answer. There were still things that didn't add up and she didn't want to reveal too much too soon. Eventually, she said, "From what I can gather, you lost control of your magic. It caused a huge surge of power and when we found you, you were passed out. Do you remember anything before that?"

Trixie shook her head. "No. All I can remember was that I was practicing and then everything went white."

Celestia hummed to herself. She didn't sense that the unicorn across her was lying so there was no point in trying to pry more information out of her. For now, at least. Standing to her full height, Celestia looked down at the recovering Trixie. "Thank you for taking time to speak to me. If you still feel up to it, I'm looking forward to your show tonight at the Gala. Are you still planning on performing?"

Trixie suddenly jumped to her hooves as though she had been laying on a spring, causing Celestia to rear back. "Of course!" Trixie loudly proclaimed, finally feeling her energy return. "Trixie wouldn't dream of cancelling after such an insignificant incident! We have a saying in the business she works in. 'The show must go on!' and Trixie does not disappoint!"

"Really," Celestia drawled. "Then it seems I'll have to witness this myself."

Trixie blinked. "You...will be there?"

"Why, yes. I'm curious to see what you can do with how Discord was defeated. It sounds interesting."

Trixie was left speechless for a time before her professionalism took over and kept her from making a foal out of herself in front the princess. "Y-yes, of course. Of course! It will be beyond anything anypony has ever seen!" She stood up on her hind legs and spread her forearms wide, appearing ready to start her performance at this very second.

Celestia chuckled at the sight of such an excited pony. Perhaps she was worrying over nothing and everything was as it should be. Still, there was that nagging voice in the back of her head that said that something was rotten in Stallmark. Keeping an eye on Trixie for a bit longer might be necessary.

Trixie paced back and forth behind the curtain of the stage she would be performing on soon. The butterflies flying around in her stomach had started the moment she'd arrived to get a quick rehearsal in, and hadn't left since. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had stage fright this badly.

But she couldn't help it! This was it! This was the show that would determine if she made it or not. After picking up the pieces of her act and struggling to make it this far, this was the night that held her future in its hooves.

In an attempt to calm herself, Trixie fussed with the hat and cape that she now wore. It was an ensemble that was close to what her old set had been, if a bit more purple. She missed her old hat and cape terribly but like everything else she had taken with her to Ponyville, it was now gone. She had gotten replacement garbs at some point but they never felt the same as her old ones. Perhaps if things went well, she'd be able to afford a better set that made her feel great and powerful once again.

'If things go well,' Trixie thought sourly. She then smacked herself in the head. 'NO! Don't think like that! You're Trixie! You'll knock those royal snobs right on their flanks! You can do this!'

"Trixie, you're on in five," a male pony called to her from the other side of the curtain.

Trixie adjusted her hat once more and took a deep breath. The churning of her stomach gradually settled down, replaced with an iron determination to make this the best night ever.

"Prepare yourself, Canterlot," Trixie said intensely to the ponies seated just beyond the curtain. "Because this will be a night you will never forget." With that, she strode through the curtain and onto the stage.

The stage had been set up in the grand hall of the castle, one of the largest interiors in all of Equestria. The setup crew had done their work well, designing the stage to take up the entirety of the end of the hall, stretching from wall to wall. Trixie had plenty of room to do her thing. This would be the main attraction to end a rather dull Grand Galloping Gala thus far. Trixie had had to drudge her way through the lower entertainment circuits before getting noticed by an influential noble, but it had been worth it. Obviously, he had been entranced by her performances and made the right choice. The hall was packed with spectators, eager to see just what this up and coming actress could do. In the center of the room, a raised podium had been set up. Princess Celestia sat there on a plush pillow, patiently waiting for the show to start.

Trixie walked to the center of the massive stage and gave a deep bow. She raised herself back up and gazed out to the audience, adding a brilliant smile to dazzle them with her beauty. "Mares and gentlecolts!" she announced to them in a voice amplified by her magic. It easily carried to every ear of the large room. "And our magnificent ruler, Princess Celestia! Thank you for coming! Tonight, Trixie will perform to you a tale that is well known to you all but has never been told like this!"

Trixie began to dance around, punctuating her words with movements. Standing still was much too boring and would lose her audience quickly. Energy was what it would take to wow them in their place.

"It began on a day like any other. Celestia's sun shone brightly in the sky and the ponies of the world went about their happy lives. Everything was well in this marvelous land of ours. But, there was a foul wind that blew that day. From somewhere and yet nowhere, strange clouds began to appear. These clouds were colored an unnatural pink and instead of the life giving rain that we all need, they instead drenched the land in chocolate! This occurrence was strange enough but this rain not only muddied our lands but turned the plants and animals into grotesque parodies of themselves.

"Princess Celestia, in her infinite wisdom, saw these signs and knew what needed to be done before events spiraled out of control. She summoned the legendary sextet that made up the Elements of Harmony and was about to bestow upon them their individual jewel that marked their special trait-"

Trixie began pooling her magic, reading herself for the first illusion of the night. This was it! The moment she had been preparing for!

"-when he appeared!"

From her horn, a figure shot out, stretching far past the end of the stage and towering over the shocked ponies before her. This figure was made up of an amalgamation of several different animals that sent a shiver through everpony present. It spread it mismatched arm, legs and wings wide, appearing even larger to the masses. It threw its pony head back and gave a laugh that shook the walls of the hall.

"Discord!"

Trixie nearly lost control of her illusion from Celestia's rage fueled cry. The princess had sprung to her hooves and her horn glowed a brilliant golden hue in preparation to strike the spirit of chaos down where he floated before her. She spread her wings, ready to take off and bring the battle to him if necessary.

Quickly deciding that her trick may have been a little too convincing (and she couldn't recall adding in an effect to cause such laughter from her illusion), Trixie directed the image of Discord to land on the stage next to her. She was shaken a bit from getting such a reaction but recovered quickly and began speaking again. "Yes! The princess is right! The very same being that ruled our lands over a thousand years ago before our great rulers, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, sealed him up in stone. However, as you all well know, he had returned to spread his evil over all ponies of Equestria again!" Trixie was mighty relieved when she saw that Celestia, appearing a bit embarrassed by her outburst, settle back down into her seat.

Resisting the urge to wipe the sweat that had gathered just under her horn, Trixie concentrated again. With a flash of magic and stage lighting, six ponies appeared on the other end of the stage. These were much less detailed than Discord, since Trixie only had the stained glass window to go by, but each was identifiable by their colors, horns and wings. One particular purple unicorn was a little too familiar for her tastes but chalked it up as a coincidence. What were the chances that that showoff in Ponyville was the same one as the Element of Magic?

Trixie directed her new actors to face off with each other and her retelling began anew. Now that the setup was over it was time to really amp things up. The entire stage came alive as the showmare recreated the scenes that had played out in the palace hedge maze. As she spun her illusions, she narrated to the gathered ponies how the six Elements had been separated and picked off by Discord one by one. In the end, all but one of the six had been corrupted by his chaos and all seemed bleak. The tale continued as the scene changed to that of Ponyville and all the chaos that had descended upon that unlucky town.

'Served them right,' Trixie allowed herself that quick, bitter thought before continuing.

A fine sheen of perspiration developed over Trixie's coat but that only told her that she was giving it her all. She knew how to pace herself with her motions and magic. All was going to plan and all the cues and effects from the stage were going off when needed. She felt herself flowing with her story, knowing that her audience was enraptured by the spectacle she was giving them.

Finally, she reached her climax. The bearers of the Elements of Harmony were once again their uncorrupted selves and had gathered together to face off with Discord for the last time. Pouring her magic into a spectacular rainbow that swirled over the heads of those gathered, Trixie sent it towards the spirit of chaos. The illusion struggled briefly before its fate was sealed and Discord's image was slowly replaced by the sight of the statue that was right now displayed in the sculpture gardens. With a final "poof!" of magic, all the conjured displays on the stage disappeared, leaving Trixie the sole occupant. She took off her magician's hat and bowed to the crowd.

"And so did it end with harmony once again restored and chaos sealed away. The six brave ponies were honored for their duty to their country, forever immortalized within the grand tower of Canterlot for all to see. They are living legends for they still walk among us, ready to lend their strength and courage whenever it is needed.

"Glory to them! Glory to our princesses! And glory to Equestria!"

The roar of applause from the hall of gathered ponies rattled the windows and furnishings of the entire castle. Princess Celestia herself gave a vigorous clap of her hooves. The cheers and hoof stomping lasted for over a minute.

On stage, Trixie graciously basked in her well deserved moment of triumph.

"YES! YES! You did it Trixie! You did it, did it, did it! Who the mare? You the mare! YOU! YOU! YOU! YES!"

To say that Trixie was pleased with herself was quite an understatement. Dancing, cartwheeling and bouncing around her dressing room, all the while yelling how awesome she was, Trixie felt the happiest she had ever been in a long time. A very long time. Her energy and enthusiasm would have done a certain pink pony in Ponyville proud.

Her jubilation lasted a few more minutes until she was just too exhausted to continue. She plopped down on the provided bed and rolled over so that she was staring at the ceiling, a huge grin spread across her muzzle. She raised her hooves to the sky and imagined her name in lights above the archway that lead into the royal city. The Return of the Great and Powerful Trixie.

Tonight, Canterlot. Tomorrow, Equestria.

"Was there ever any doubt?" Trixie said softly. She giggled like a schoolfilly and turned over onto her stomach. Slowly, her eyes began to close as the day's events finally caught up to her. As excited as she was, it had been a trying time, and rest would allow her to meet the bright new future waiting for her when the sun rose. She was soon fast asleep, her smile remaining in place.

It was an hour later when Trixie's horn glowed softly. A clear mist began leaking out of the tip and began pooling in the center of the room. More and more of the mist spilled out and coalesced into a figure much larger than herself. Soon, the mist stopped coming and in the space next to her bed stood a much different being than anything else that lived in the castle.

Discord stretched out himself with a groan. "Ugh, it's cramped in there," he complained. He took a moment to continue loosening himself up, glad to be out of such a confined space. Once he felt limber again, he turned towards the sleeping unicorn in the bed.

"Well, little one, I must say I'm grateful for you letting me shack up in your horn for a while and letting me leech off some magic here and there. And, this is just between you and me, but I rather enjoyed that show you put on. Even if it was about me losing," he finished with a grumble.

The draconequus placed his taloned claw to his chin in thought and then smiled as he remembered one moment in particular during the performance. "Still, it was worth it to see the look on Celestia's face when I popped out. That was priceless! I just know she's going to have the most fitful sleep tonight!

"Did you like the laugh that I added?" he continued speaking to his unaware companion. "I thought it would bring a bit more authenticity to the whole thing. A proper spirit of chaos always has to cackle when revealing itself among you little ponies. I have a reputation to uphold, after all."

Finished with his one sided conversation, he stepped away and into the center of the room. "Well, it's been fun but I've got far too much work to do. Disharmony and chaos and all that jazz, don't you know. I'll put in a bad word for you once I've got this place buzzing. Ta ta." With that, he closed his eyes and snapped his lion fingers together, willing himself away.

When he reopened them, Discord found himself still in the dressing room.

The draconequus blinked stupidly.

Frowning, Discord once again called upon his disorderly power and attempted to teleport out of the room. He knew something was wrong when he remained exactly where he was. "What in blazes...?" Discord held out his talon hand and concentrated on summoning a cotton candy cloud, one of his favorite creations. Not a spec of pink appeared before him.

Forcing himself to remain calm, he pointed at a comb laying on Trixie's dresser, his thoughts on simply having it levitate to him. The fact that not a single hair from the showmare's mane stuck in the bristles even so much as drifted towards him spoke volumes. Dumbstruck, Discord raised his hands up and looked at them as though seeing them for the first time.

"I'm...out of magic?" he whispered to no one in particular.

Impossible. Ludicrous. This couldn't be happening. His entire being was magic. He wouldn't be standing here in this dressing room if his body was out of magic. He felt fine, nothing like last night when he had literally keeled over in an overwhelming sense of weakness.

Normally, Discord wasn't one to panic. The only times he could remember ever feeling that emotion were the times his body was being encased in stone. Now, he was getting that feeling again and he didn't like it.

He began pacing the room, intent on keeping his mind on figuring out what was going on, rather than losing himself to fear. "Let's see," Discord said to himself as he walked the room in circles. It helped him keep his wits in order to hear his own voice. "I know I had to strain a lot from being trapped in stone to get that pony to explode, but all the power she let out should have rejuvenated me. I was even able to make a replacement statue without any trouble. But that's exactly when I felt weak. Perhaps I didn't take in enough of her magic? Or maybe I used even more than I thought to start the whole thing? I thought hiding in her horn and stealing a little magic whenever she cast a spell would do the trick and it seems to have helped. But I still can't cast even basic magic. And yet I'm still alive..."

Discord stopped and pulled at his horns on top of his head in frustration. "Agh! This doesn't make sense!" He suddenly whirled and roared at Trixie, "And don't think the irony of that last statement is lost on me!"

Trixie's sleeping form didn't respond.

The (sort of) spirit of (semi) chaos heaved a long sigh and sat heavily on the floor. He placed his lion elbow on his lizard knee and rested his pony chin on the furry knuckles. He stared off into space, pouting at this latest turn of events. He should be raging and frothing at being so powerless, but Discord just couldn't summon the energy to do so. While it might make him feel better, the tiny portion of his mind that was still rational figured that it would be the quickest way for him to be found out by Princess Drool and the Elements of Lamery.

"This is intolerable," he muttered. "To think that I, chaos incarnate, have been reduced to this."

He sat there for a time, running through his options and not coming up with much that bode well for him. He certainly couldn't go walking through the streets of Canterlot, proclaiming his return. Despite the idiots that lived in this country, it wouldn't take long for somepony to point and say, "Hey, isn't that that big dumb meanie that got sealed up in stone?" No, he had to stay hidden until his power returned to him. That meant being patient, something Discord wasn't very good at when not stuck as a statue for a thousand years.

His eyes finally fell on Trixie, still dead to the world and completely oblivious to being in the same room with the creature that even Celestia had trouble dealing with. "I suppose if I have to be out of sight, it might as well be with you," Discord reasoned. The corners of his mouth raised up into a smile, the first he'd had since discovering his predicament. "At least you're interesting, what with being an actor and all. I myself have a flair for the dramatic, if I do say so myself. What do you say, my dear? Care to make a bargain?"

He rose to his feet, intent on doing this the correct way. His way. "I come before you to make a deal. I need your help so that I can heal. I propose that I stay in your horn until I am well and in return I will aid you with the stories that you tell.

"How about it?"

For a moment, the only movement Trixie made was the steady lifting of her chest as she breathed. Then, she shifted slightly in her sleep, dipping her head down into the crevasse of her legs for a better position. After that, she remain still.

"I'll take that as a yes."

Satisfied that the pact was done, Discord reached forward and touched the tip of the unicorn's horn. As before, he was sucked into the magic producing appendage, once again merging himself with the mare's life force. There he would stay until he was ready to take the world by storm.

Trixie, on the verge of reclaiming the title of Great and Powerful, murmured quietly about hay smoothies before returning to a deep sleep.