AUTHOR'S NOTE:

I know some ponies are out of character. That's either because I don't like them (Applejack) or I don't know the character well enough to write very well for them yet, so my apologies.

Princess Celestia opened a small letter from her faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.

'Dear Princess Celestia,

We are in desperate need of your assistance! A black hole has opened up over Equestria, and Rain Lily is nowhere to be found. It is believed that she opened the black hole, but we aren't entirely sure how. According to Rainbow Dash, who was trying to catch her as she ran away, she had a panic attack mid-flight and lost control. She preformed a Sonic Rainboom, as did Rainbow Dash, but after that she kept accelerating until finally, she seemed to rip a black hole open in the sky. We have no idea where Rain Lily is, however, we have agreed that the safety of Equestria must be put before the search party should be sent out. We hope you agree.

With apologies, your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle.'

The Princess frowned deeply, slamming the letter back down on to the table.

"Luna, find Discord! I must go to Cadence's residence at once. As soon as you find him, I want both of you to meet me there! Understood?"

Luna peeked her head into her sister's door.

"Something wrong? Anything I should be informed about, sister?"

Celestia levitated the letter over to her sister, who gasped as she read it.

"I'll leave at once," Luna announced, galloping out of the room.

Celestia engulfed herself in her own magic, concentrating on Cadence's living room as hard as she could until she managed to teleport herself there.

"Cadence! I'm here. We need to discuss this issue immediately!"

Princess Cadence hurried into the room. Her mascara was smeared and Celestia could clearly see a dark tint where tears had been running down her niece's cheeks. Remembering that the poor dear's daughter had gone missing, apparently into a black hole, Celestia softened her tone. This was just as much a family crisis as it was a business affair.

"Cadence," She began gently, placing a wing over the worried mare's back comfortingly, "I need you to be strong. Not only for Equestria, but for Rain Lily. If you can't be strong, I'm not sure we can find her."

Cadence nodded, but her throat was too tight for her to speak. She was doing her best to remain calm and collected, but the thought of her only child being swallowed up into a black hole was too terrible. For all she knew, the little filly had been spaghettified inside of the massive gravity of the curse vortex whirling about in the sky.

Princess Luna soon arrived with Discord, following her sister's example and not bothering to knock before entering Cadence's home.

"I found him," She announced, gesturing to Discord, "However I'm not sure what good he can do."

Celestia smiled gravely.

"Well done, sister. I'm not sure myself, but I believe that he may be our best chance."

She turned to face Discord.

"Discord, if I'm not mistaking, a black hole is fairly chaotic. It breaks several laws of nature- for example, not even light can escape from its gravitational pull-"

She heard a whimper from Cadence, but continued on.

"-So, this leads me to believe that it falls under your power. You are, after all, the God of Chaos. Am I correct in assuming that it's within your power to stop it?"

Discord nodded, looking bored.

"You're right, Princess, but I'd like to know what's in it for me."

Fluttershy stepped forward.

"Um...Discord...I'd really appreciate it if you could fix the black hole. I'm afraid that some animals, or maybe even some other ponies, might get sucked in. I'm asking you as a friend. Also, we're really worried about Rain Lily. The sooner we stop the black hole, the sooner we can start looking for her. Please?"

Discord frowned.

"What do you mean, 'start looking for her'? Where is she?"

Cadence swallowed hard, using all of her might to keep her voice from cracking or shaking.

"We don't know. She ran away earlier, and we believe that she may have accidentally opened the black hole. She had a panic attack while she was flying, and lost control. For all we know, she's stuck in there."

Discord narrowed his eyes seriously.

"I need you to tell me something before I close the black hole: Did it look like it opened in front of her, like her magic conjuring it up, or did it look like she ripped it open, like a rock flying through the window?"

Cadence shook her head.

"Only Rainbow Dash can answer that question. Why do you ask?"

Discord sat down.

"Because," He answered darkly, "If it opened in front of her, she's gone. If it was more like a rock through the window, she's got a chance, but to save her I won't be able to close it all the way until I know where she is, or else she'll be as good as dead."