“Ah hah hah hah hah!” The laughter echoed through the ruins and wreckage of the once proud capital. The dust hung in the air for a few moments, before suddenly sprouting wings and fluttering off, revealing the creature within.

His head was horse-like, with a goat and reindeer horn protruding from his forehead. A single long fang, a goat beard and thick, bushy eyebrows. His right arm was thick and furred, like that of a lion while his left was the claw like that of a griffon's. His right leg was like a dragon's, and the left leg of a goat. His right wing was like a bats, while his left wing was that of a pegasi. His body was long and serpentine, going from gray to brown to red at the tip, that was scaled and had a little tuft of white fur.

Twilight, the purple alicorn with a dual colored purple mane, stared at him with wide, frightened eyes. “D-discord,” she said weakly. “N-no, it... how? W-we couldn't... how did you... Trixie! How could you?” she screamed at the blue unicorn across the room.

“Win? Quite easily,” the mare said, chuckling. “Thanks to the help from the little princess over there.” She gestured to a white unicorn with a purple mane.

The princess, Rarity, groaned as she looked down. Around her neck a golden necklace glittered. However, the gem inside it was now cracked and oozing black smoke. “What did you do to my element, what--”

“Now now, there's no need to fight,” the creature said as he stepped off the remains of the stone pillar he had been standing on. He looked around at the unconscious unicorns that were strewn across the floor. “My my, Avatar, you sure do like to make a mess of things, don't you?” He shook his head and tut-tutted.

“Discord! I don't know... how you did all this, but... but... yah!” She threw her head forward and fire shot out at the creature. It engulfed the creature and for a few seconds she held the flame going. When it died, the creature was nowhere in sight. “I... I did it,” she said softly. “That was so... easy? How--”

“Really, you must be more careful with that fire,” Discord said from behind her with a shake of his head as he ate a small melted graham cracker between chunks of chocolate. “You could hurt someone. Or somepony.”

“Enough of this!” a blue pegasus with a rainbow mane yelled. She surged forward. Discord disappeared, leaving only his chocolate behind. It exploded on the mare, leaving her coated in it as she crashed to the floor, though the chocolate poofed out to cushion the fall. Discord stood over her and shook his head.

“My my. Rainbow. Always so quick to charge in, aren't you?” He reached down and picked her up by her wing, making her yelp. “The loyal one, correct? Though, I can't help but wonder how loyal you'd be if your friends didn't react the same.” He paused and then let her go. “Blind, too? See, this is why you must be more careful. Why, I--” A rock slammed into his face, making him stumble back and hold his nose. “Now that wasn't very nice, Applejack.”

The earth pony with an orange mane glared back at him. “Ah wasn't tryin' tah be nice. Get away from mah friend.” She lifted her hoof up as... Discord popped out of the ground under her hoof instead of a rock.

“What is it with you hot headed types? All about fighting and throwing things.” He grinned slowly. “Element of honesty, are you not? Kind of a waste, isn't it? Since when has a little lie ever caused any harm?”

Applejack stared down at the creature, before driving her hoof down. His head burst, filling the air with balloons. A small pink earth pony with a wild, darker pink mane giggled wildly at the trick. One of the balloons hovered over. “See? Now this pony gets it. Isn't that right, Pinkie? After all, there's just soooo much in this world to laugh about. Almost makes it too easy.”

“What... what have you done to my element, you monster?” Rarity asked, looked down at the gem. “It was...”

“Done to it? Why, nothing you need to worry about.” The darkness spilling from it took the form of Discord's head and left arm as he gently patted her head. “And generosity. You've had to give up so much to join Twilight, haven't you? Then again, it's not hard to give up things when they aren't how you want them, is it?”

“Leave her alone!” Twilight yelled before charging him. He disappeared, making her run into the princess. “Ahhh! S-sorry!” she said as she fell back on her flank.

Rarity stumbled back, before shaking her head. “I-it's quite alright. Look!” She held up her element, the darkness gone. “I-I think it's fixed. Your element must have done it when we crashed into each other!”

“Oh dear,” Discord said, before smiling to the last member of their group, a small yellow pegasus with a pink mane. “I guess this means it's time we fight, isn't that right, Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy gulped and took a step back.

He chuckled. “Come along, my dear. What good is kindness without the courage to use it?”

“Discord!” Twilight yelled before turning on him. “It's time for you to pay for what you've done. All those lives you've destroyed, all those-- AHHH!” She let out a yelp as suddenly two unicorns dropped on her. A dark blue one with a clear, flowing mane and an older, larger white one with a clear flowing mane.

“Sister!” the two said in unison, confusion etched on their faces.

“Sorry, my apologies,” Discord said with a wave of his hand. “It just didn't feel right with just the seven of us here. I had to bring the princesses, for old times sake.”

“Niece, what's going on?” the white unicorn, Celestia, asked.

“Auntie, this... this is Discord. He's...” Rarity struggled to find the right word. “Something else.”

“GET OFF ME!” Twilight yelled, her frustration growing. Everything was just so... weird. She could feel herself being sucked up into his... whatever he was. Throwing her off.

“What? Avatar? Oh! My apologies!” Celestia said before climbing off the alicorn.

“... I have won!” the other mare, Luna, said. She pinned the mare down, before being yanked off by her tail.

“Mother. Now is NOT the time,” Rarity hissed, glaring down at the dark coated unicorn.

“But... I... a-apologies...”

“Ugh, really?” Discord shook his head. “Where's that fire, that spunk? That 'take what I want' attitude? I thought--”

“DISCORD!” Trixie yelled, stomping a hoof. “You're forgetting something.” She spread out her dark, clear purple wings in emphasis.

“Ugh. Always so pushy, this one. I see why you drove her out of town that time,” Discord said before snapping his fingers.

Trixie let out a loud scream and fell to the ground, rolling around in pain. From her sides, dark purple wings, true wings, began to grow out and replace the ones of magic. She laid there for a few moments once it was done, whimpering. “T-there, s-see? I-I totally... h-have all the power... I-I want now... Oh hoh... hoh hoh... ow...” Her horn glowed and a little puff of fire shot out. “W-what? Discord! We had a deal!”

He chuckled. “What? I said I'd give you the avatar's power. If you want to learn how to use it, you'll just have to practice.”

“That's, that's not fair!”

The spirit shrugged and looked back to the eight ponies that now opposed him. “You were saying?”

Twilight just stared, her mouth hanging open. This... creature was just... there were no words. She had no idea what was going on anymore, did he really just GIVE Trixie those kinds of powers? With a snap of his fingers? That didn't even, how could he? He wasn't even being actively hostile. Rude, yes. But hostile? She then glanced to Luna. She thought about all those ponies who had died. Who were still dying. The fight that was going on not that far from them. Everything. It all boiled down to this creature.

Behind it's jokes, strange behavior and... oddly comedic movements, beat a heart of pure darkness. She would not allow it to destroy any more lives. “Girls, to me!” she said swiftly. Her friends quickly gathered around her. “Discord. For all your crimes, for all those lives you destroyed, we'll end you.”

He chuckled softly and held out his hands in a peaceful manner. “Whatever for? I'm completely innocent. It wasn't I who killed and enslaved the Fire Tribes. In fact, I find murder to be so boring. Not my style at all, once someone dies, the fun ends. I didn't try to wipe out all those other nations, or capture your little friends, or even summon an ursa minor to destroy Cloudsdale. Oh, you must tell me what you thought of them. I was going to go animal crackers, but I felt gummy bears suited them so much better.”

Twilight stared at the creature, opening and closing her mouth a few times. This wasn't at all how she imagined this fight would go. Though, frankly, she'd never imagined this fight would happen at all. “No. You've twisted and turned these poor ponies into monsters. Made them cruel and--”

“Objection!” Discord said, suddenly appearing in a black suit, thick rimmed glasses and with his hair slicked back. “I did nothing of the sort.” He picked up Luna and dangled her in the air.

“Unhand me you-- mmph!” Her mouth was suddenly zipped shut.

“Just look at this poor, defenseless pony. All she ever wanted to do was be as powerful and loved as her big sister. It wasn't her fault that everypony wanted her sister to rule. Why, such a thing can drive a pony to madness.” He grinned, his eyes turning purple. “Why, all I did was give her the drive to pursue her goals. How she went about it was her choice.” He dropped the unicorn dismissively. He then grabbed Celestia, pulling her into the air. “Now, if you want to see me change a pony into some kind of monster...” A dark, purple glow enveloped the unicorn as she screamed.

Twilight surged forward, sending a gust of wind out as she head butted the creature. He bounced back into place like rubber, sending the alicorn toppling back through the air with a shriek. He did, however, drop Celestia. “Really? You could have just asked nicely.”

The avatar laid on the ground, confusion on her face before slowly getting up. “Enough, Discord. No more games, no more excuses. This ends now. We will-- GET BACK HERE!” she yelled. She just stared in disbelief as the creature ran away. He was actually running away! From them! She could hardly believe this was the evil, wicked, impossibly mighty creature they'd spent the last year trying to stop. None the less, she knew appearances had to be deceiving. It kept throwing her off. She knew she should be angry and chasing after him, but--

“Ack! He's getting away! Come on, girls!” She couldn't allow herself to be distracted. If Discord won now, who knew what would happen to the world? She paused again before galloping after him, her friends following after. She just wished she couldn't notice that he was skating barefoot on the grass. And that Pinkie was somehow doing the same. One thing at a time.

“Ugh, this story has been so boring lately, hasn't it? So dark and moody? Bleh,” Discord said as he came to a stop, glancing back to the ponies. “Don't you think it's time for a bit more fun?” He chuckled darkly before snapping his fingers.

The ground began to shake, making the ponies struggle to stand as they dug their hooves into the ground. Behind Discord, the dirt and mud began to rise up and be shoved aside. A strange black star, shaped like Twilight's cutie mark, began to rise from the ground. It took the ponies a few seconds to realize it was chocolate. It was attached to a building made of graham crackers, which was in turn attached to a tree made of crystallized sugar. Discord chuckled softly. “Come, come, let's play,” he said with another wicked grin. “I think you'll find you know the way.” He opened the graham cracker door and disappeared inside.

Twilight stopped and stared at the castle, gulping. “Let's... not do that.” She shoved her hoof out and a boulder slammed out, crashing into the castle. It bounced off harmlessly. She tried fire next, to similar effect. “Oh. That's...”

“Don't... don't forget about me, ow,” Trixie said as she limped towards them. “F-fear my new bending powers, yah!” She flung her head forward and a little ball of fire fell to the ground. She stomp her foot and a small piece of dirt bounced a few feet towards them.

“Now that's jus' sad,” Applejack said with a shake of her head, before stomping a hoof and burying the mare in mud. “Ah don't think we have much choice. He's got the power tah give that wind bag fire bendin', ah think he'll be able tah make his lil fort impervious tah anything we can do.”

Twilight gulped and slowly nodded. She pulled the door open and stepped inside. The walls and floor were made of candy as well. She held out her hoof and tried to bend the earth through it. There was no reaction. “I... think he's trying to cut us off from our bending. Girls, stick close.” They gave a swift nod and, together, they stepped into the candy palace.

The door slammed shut behind them, making them jump. A moment later torches lined across the hall came alight. “Welcome, welcome! If you wish to find me, well, I'll be on your precious little throne. I even brought your friend,” Discord's voice echoed through the castle.

“AHHHHH!” Spike screamed.

“SPIKE!” Twilight yelled before trying to gallop off. She was pulled to a stop by her tail.

“Easy there, sugarcube,” Applejack said with a shake of her head, her hoof pinning the alicorn's tail down. “We go rushin' off, we're gonna run inta trouble. As long as we're together, we got the elements. We'll be fine.”

“I just don't understand what happened,” Rarity said as she looked down at her cracked element. “It was so... but now it's just...”

“He's more powerful than anything we've ever faced,” Twilight said softly, before nodding to her friends. “Applejack's right. We need to go together, no rushing into things.” She took a deep breath. “Spike, I'm sorry. I swear I'm on the way. Just... be brave for a little longer.”

The friends walked through the castle and, to Twilight's surprise, nothing happened. The candy was harmless, the torches lit the way. In fact, the place seemed almost... normal. As normal as a castle made of candy could be, at least. Discord didn't even taunt them or anything. It was all so... strange. They kept close together as they walked and looked through the rooms.

“Is this really all he wants to do?” Rainbow finally snapped, shaking her head. “Some kind of all powerful and evil spirit, and he just wants to play hide and seek? This is a waste of time, we--”

“Don't underestimate him,” Twilight said quickly. “He's a spirit, yes. But look at how powerful he is. He's in our realm now, but look how easily he alters it. He's only just returned, too. If this is him while weakened... I don't want to imagine him at full power.”

The group hesitated for a moment with that thought, before walking faster.

They soon came to a room with seven thrones, six of them pony sized with their cutie marks emblazoned on the backs. Discord was sitting on the one with Twilight's cutie mark, besides the last throne, a tiny one, holding Spike. It was actually holding him to it with its arms. They seemed to be made of candy as well, jawbreakers.

“This is the end, Discord,” Twilight said as she looked back and forth, searching for some trap, some hidden... something. Anything. This was all too easy.

“Really? So you'd just like to surrender? That would make things quicker,” Discord said dismissively as he waved a hand and continued nailing his files.

“No, we're going to end you. What is this place? Why did you make us come here? Why did you bring Spike?”

“Why? Well, my dear,” a grin formed on his lips as he tossed the nails back against the wall. “What fun is winning without an audience? I'd have preferred something... bigger, but time is of the essence. Now, if you'll wait a few weeks we could--”

“ENOUGH!” Twilight said, stomping her hoof down.

“Oh dear, I do believe you are getting quite angry,” he said with a shake of his head. “Now, is that any way to act in front of your friends? After all, what good would you be without them?”

“That don't matter one lick,” Applejack said. “Cause we're about tah send yah packin' back where yah came from.”

Discord nodded and leaned back in his chair. “Oh, very well. You've come this far. I do believe I should at least offer you the privilege of the first shot. If you would be so kind?” He pulled out a bucket of popping corn, tossing them into his mouth as they sparkled. “Oh, that tickles.”

Twilight blinked a few times. How could this thing possibly be a threat? No matter. She shook her head as her element began to glow. “Very well. Goodbye, Discord!”

The other elements began to glow as well as the group was enveloped in a purple, magic orb. They began to rise from the ground, the magical energies surrounding them. Twilight's crown glowed brilliantly as she pulled her head back.

“Oh, as if it would be THAT easy,” Discord said before holding out his hand.

Rarity screamed, darkness erupting from her element again. The purple magic around them began to darken and shake as the element bearers were assaulted by its foul magics. Twilight struggled to control the magic, her horn flickering and her element shimmering. She held out her hoof and tried to send out the blast at Discord.

Then the spirit was there, directly in front of them. “I win.” The remaining five elements cracked.

“NO!” Twilight screamed, gathering the magic in her horn. They'd come too far, worked too hard. Slowly, she pushed the darkness back. “You don't win!” Her friends power joined with hers as, inch by inch they drove the evil away. “Today the world is saved!” She gave a mighty battle cry before thrusting her head forward. The magic shot out, enveloping Discord in a rainbow of magic.

“NO! Impossible!” he screamed, struggling to shake off the power. “You can't! You mustn't!” The magic swirled faster and faster, enveloping the creature. The group fell to the ground, exhaustion enveloping them. Then the rainbow dispersed.

Discord lay on the ground, a stone statue staring with a horrified expression.

“W-we did it,” Twilight whispered, a triumphant grin on her face. “We finally did it. We've won!”

“A little help?” Spike asked, looking up at them.

“Huh? Oh! Right!” the alicorn said as she stepped towards the chair.

There was a rumble. She froze. “What... was that?”

“Sugarcube, what exactly was holding this here castle together?” Applejack asked nervously.

“Discord. His magic was... oh.” Twilight ran to Spike and gave the chair a mighty buck. It crumbled under the attack and she picked the dragon up in her magic and tossed him on her back. “Come on girls, we're leaving!”

There was no objection as the group ran out the way they came, galloping down the halls as the building collapsed around them. They made it down to the ground floor, when suddenly the tunnel ahead of them collapsed, blocking them in. Twilight stepped back and turned to the stairs. “We'll go back up, we can try escaping out a win--” There was a crash as the stairs began falling apart., raining jagged shards of candy down on them. “Come on!” She turned and galloped towards the nearest door, her friends following behind. They barely made it into the room as the stairway collapsed behind them. Unfortunately, they were now trapped, with the roof beginning to crack. “Oh no, oh no no no no!” the alicorn said as she looked around.

“Twilight, calm down,” Rainbow yelled.

“What are we going to do? I can't--”

“Teleport us out of here! Remember? Use the elements!”

Twilight froze and stared. How could she miss that? The BLIND could literally see it. She shook her head. “Okay, everypony get ready!” she ordered. Their elements crackled, but refused to come to life. “Come on, come on!” she yelled, pacing in a small circle around her friends. “Activate, work! Please!” she begged as a small tile fell down besides her. She struggled desperately to get it to work, but her magic refused. There was a terrible crack from above and she looked up.

The roof collapsed in as her element came alive, blinding everypony. When she could see again, she was outside. “We... we did it! We're out!” She had only a moment to see the castle before it collapsed into a small pile of destroyed candy. But it didn't matter, they'd won. “Girls, we--”

The words caught in her throat as she looked around. None of them were with her. She was all alone. Spike wasn't even on her back. It took many seconds before her horrified mind could process what happened. She turned towards the rubble, her eyes widening. “No. No no. No please no.” She galloped towards it, tears forming in her eyes as she galloped over the shards of candy. Her horn glowed as she began picking up and throwing every chunk she could, before jumping back. She stomped a hoof down and the ground began lifting up, tossing aside huge chunks of the debris. “No no no no!”

She stopped when her world fell apart around her. A small blue hoof stuck out from the rubble, covered in blood and crushed from the collapsed building.

Twilight fell on her flank, staring at the destruction ahead of her. Every ounce of energy drained from her. It wasn't possible. It couldn't be.

“Ah hah, I've done it!” Trixie yelled as she jumped. “Prepare for the might of--” Her wings didn't hold her for long as she face planted into the ground. “Ow...”

Author's Notes:

For those who are curious about the descriptions of ponies, instead of names: It's the first chapter, so I tried to give a little bit. I tried to keep it down though. Hope you all are looking forward to the new book.