"I fear that I have misled you, my little ponies. I thought that by sealing him away I was doing the right thing. But I see now that it was nothing but selfish pride that drove me to such an extreme."

Twilight and the other ponies exchanged worried glances. They didn't like to hear their princess talk like this with such regret in addition to what she'd just revealed to them.

"I beg your pardon, your highness," Rarity began. "But what has happened that you question yourself now?"

"Yeah," agreed Applejack. "Discord did nothing but make all kinds of trouble, and not just for Ponyville."

"Aww, I don't think he was so bad. I kinda really really reeeeeeally miss the cotton candy clouds and the chocolate rain and the…"

"Pinkie Pie!"

"Okay, okay. Geez."

"Princess Celestia, you know I would never question you, but Rarity has a point. Something's happened. Something bad."

"Aye, Twilight Sparkle." Celestia sighed heavily then turned away from her favorite student and her friends. "Follow me. Let me show you what my error in judgment has caused." She led them out of the throne room and up a narrow flight of stairs that coiled along the walls like a serpent. Although they trusted their princess with their lives, the ponies felt their unease grow the higher they climbed. What could possibly be so bad that the Guardian of Harmony herself would even consider releasing Discord from his stone prison? They continued to ponder this even when the stairs gave way to smooth stone one more.

The Astronomy Tower, Twilight thought in awe. Despite her curiosity about the heavens and her diligence to learn all that she could, she had never ventured to this part of the palace before. Why on earth would she bring us up here?

"Behold, my dear ones." The princess thrust her glowing horn skyward and the ceiling rippled away like a dream. In its place swirled images of planets, stars, moons, and fiery suns, all alien, all surreal. They seemed to almost dance together in a cosmic waltz nearly as old as time itself. It was beautiful. "Tragic, isn't it?"

Rainbow Dash broke the silence first. "Are you kidding me? This is so awesome!"

"It's so big," Fluttershy whispered, torn between wonder and terror at realizing just how small she really was in the grand scheme of things.

Twilight tilted her head as she observed the illusion. Everything appeared to vibrate…no, tremble. "Something's…off."

"Right you are, Twilight Sparkle." Celestia turned pained eyes to the vision above. "The universe is out of balance. I had thought that by containing the spirit of chaos I was protecting not only Equestria, but the whole world. In my arrogance, I failed to see the bigger picture."

The ponies waited in heavy silence until their princess's sadness became too great to bear. Twilight stepped forward first. "Princess, we don't understand."

Celestia's gaze softened as she looked upon her pupil, love radiating from her eyes. "By imprisoning Discord, not only once but twice, I have upset the balance of all things. There is no such thing as pure evil or pure good, dear ones. One cannot exist without the other, and to take one away is to destroy everything. There is no light without darkness. No joy without sorrow. No harmony…"

"Ooh! Ooh! I know this one! It's candy, right?"

Applejack let out an exasperated sigh. "No, Pinkie Pie. There's no harmony without chaos."

"Pffft! Duh! That's what I said! Discord's the embodiment of disharmony and he's the one who turned things into candy, heretofore the answer's still candy!"

No one chose to argue; once Pinkie had her mind made up (especially if it involved sweets) nothing in the world could change it. "In order to set things right again I must release Discord." She let the ponies express their disagreement (most vocally) for a moment before silencing them with a look. "Fear not, my little ponies. I will release him, but on my terms." The hurt and regret soon left her voice as she found her inner strength once more. "If he wishes to remain in Equestria things will need to change…and that is why I need your help, dear ones."