Discord: Third Time's the Charm

by jasontaylorblogs

Chapters

• My Personal Agenda
• My Claim to Fame
• My Personal Vendetta
• My Ultimate Victory?
• The Scars of Our Past
• Making My Amends
• My Closing Remarks

My Personal Agenda

I can’t rightfully complain about what’s happened to me.  After all, I am free again.  But do you have any idea how disorienting it is to wake up without having a clue where you are or how long you’ve been asleep?  At least the first time I was petrified I could keep track of everything around me.  This time, I had no clue just what was going on or what had happened while I was gone.

I remember it like it was today.  The six ponies that embody the detestable Elements of Harmony managed to free themselves from my little curse and gathered the elements together.  They stood before me, their minds set on defeating me and restoring their home to normal.  I simply laughed, thinking that their little gemstones wouldn’t be enough to stop me.  Boy, did I eat my laugh!

A nice, beautiful, disgusting rainbow burst from the group of pesky ponies and swallowed me whole.  The rainbow swarmed around me and my body slowly started turning back to stone.  I felt the tingle of a thousand needles gently pricking me as the stone encased me again.  With a horrified expression on my face, I was once more nothing but a statue.

And then, in what seemed like the blink of an eye, I awoke to find myself lying in some unknown location, the moonlight enveloping me and making my gorgeous features shine brightly.  I looked around to find myself in a disgustingly ordinary garden.  When I looked up to the sky, I was greeted with a headache-inducing sight:  Princess Celestia’s castle floating in the same spot it had for years.  I quickly realized that I was in the Canterlot Royal Gardens, obviously used as some sick decoration to fancy the place up.

Memories flooded back to me in an instant.  The ponies, the Elements, Celestia, everything came back.  I laughed as I stared at the huge castle above me.  I was free once more, able to wreak my special brand of havoc on the citizens of Equestria.  This time, things would be different for me.  I wasn’t going to let the ponies get their precious Elements again.  I was too cocky last time, and it led to my downfall.  So of course, the first thing I needed to do was steal the Elements from the castle’s vault.

Of course, I stopped to examine myself before going anywhere.  There was no telling what Celestia may have done to me while I was petrified.  She could have split me in to a million pieces to ensure I could never be revived, for all I knew.  I contorted my body in all sorts of crazy ways, trying to examine my wonderful parts to ensure that they were all there.

My precious eagle claw and lion arm were both still intact.  That was good; I would need them for snapping my fingers when I used magic.  You know, to show off.  My adorable goat and lizard legs were both in tip-top shape.  How else would a chaotic demon get around without flying?  Then of course my Pegasus and bat wings were completely hole-free.  This bad boy was still aerodynamic!

I summoned a mirror so as to look upon my handsome face.  My goat horn and deer antler were both just as shiny and majestic as I remembered them.  The single long fang extending from my upper jaw glistened in the bright moonlight.  The thin, split tongue of a snake protruded from my mouth as I mocked my own worries.  My well-groomed white goatee hung from my chin in such a way as to say ‘I am one bad dude!’  Ah, and my snake-like tail flailed wildly in excitement as I realized that I was truly free again.

After a careful examination of my own physique to ensure I was fully intact, I looked up at the castle that loomed above me.  Such a beautiful building if I’ve ever seen one.  Shiny white walls accompanied by glistening blue windows.  Golden rods and roofs dotted the massive structure, only adding to its wonder.  My face twisted in anger as I realized that I had been defeated in this castle not once, but twice.

I chuckled to myself as a plan developed in my wonderful brain, “Yes, I won’t be playing games this time…”

With a snap of my fingers, I was off to begin my reign of chaos.  The first thing I needed to do was dispose of the bothersome gemstones that had caused me to be beaten twice already.  If I disposed of them, then I would be completely unstoppable as far as Celestia and the other pesky ponies were concerned.  Let me tell you:  I was very right with this assumption.

The first thing I needed to do was infiltrate the castle and make it to the vault where the Elements were held.  I had to be sneaky enough to get past all the residents and guards, so as not to alert Celestia and her cheeky subjects to my presence.  The best way to do this was to disguise myself as a guard and use all of their benefits to enter the vault inconspicuously.  Once I was in the vault, nothing would matter.  So long as the Elements couldn’t be used against me, I was perfectly safe.  After all, not even Celestia’s power could stop me on its own.

I never expected infiltrating the vault to be quite as simple as it was.  To be honest, it caught me completely off guard when they didn’t even notice I was a new guard!

After merely an hour of being restored to my power for a second time, I set my plan in motion.  With a snap of my fingers I appeared just outside of the guards’ barracks within the castle.  I quickly contorted my body and conjured up a special suit of armor for myself, identical to an ordinary guard’s outfit.  Placing it on me so that it would fit my form, I snapped my fingers and become a pony-esque creature.  The only features that would have given my identity away were my weird wings and lack of cutie mark.  The armor easily handled this problem for me.

Clearing my throat and doing a voice check, I rapped on the door a few times in a rhythmic style.  It opened, and I could feel the eyes lock onto me as I entered through the threshold.  Nopony said anything as I entered.  To them, I was just another nameless rookie hired on in a last ditch effort to increase security.  

A white stallion with a blue mane and blue eyes approached me with an angry look on his face.  He stamped a hoof and spoke with a commanding tone, “Do you have any idea how late you are, rookie?  Rookies aren’t allowed outside the barracks at night—Princess Celestia’s orders.”

I thought for a moment as to what to say.  It was awfully late, and I needed to keep up a special persona for this dangerous mission.  I forced myself to blush and chuckled, “Sorry Captain, guess I didn’t get the memo.”  I’m almost certain that addressing that pony with such respect nearly made me vomit on the spot.

The stallion’s serious expression faded and gave way to a smile.  He laughed, “It’s okay, man.  Just don’t let it happen again.  Celestia’ll have my hide if something happens with one of the guards.”

I joined in with the laughter of the group of guards, trying to pretend I actually cared about the pony’s well-being.  After I was finished with my mission, Celestia would be the least of this goody-two-shoes’ problems.  I simply faked a laugh and went on my way.  I found a small bed upstairs in the barracks that appeared to be unclaimed by a guard and rested on it.  All I needed to do was wait for the bothersome mules downstairs to head off to dream land.  Then I would be able to get to the vault in the veil of the night and enjoy myself a little chaos.

So I waited for nearly three hours, pretending to sleep on the small, uncomfortable bed.  My armor didn’t help matters any.  Finally, I heard the sound of the stallion’s voice call, “It’s lights out, fellas!  We have an early start tomorrow!”  

The faint glow that came in from the doorway of the staircase faded, and I heard the sound of the door shut as the stallion exited the barracks.  I waited for just a few minutes as the chatter from below quieted down and eventually silenced completely.  I laughed in my head as I thought about how simple it was to blend in.  If that stallion was the captain of the guard, I didn’t want to meet an actual rookie.

After the chatter had ceased, I felt it was high time to begin setting the next phase of my plan in motion.  I snapped my fingers and, in a silent poof, I was standing right outside the barracks.  I chuckled under my breath, “Next stop, the Elements of Blahblahblah.”  I rolled my eyes as I started my trot to the main gate of the castle.  I wasn’t going to risk warping in front of the chamber or inside of it.  If there were guards stationed in either location, they would immediately know something was up.

A smile graced my succulent lips as I continued my trot through the majestically horrendous castle.  I stopped just outside of the main chamber that led into the Elements’ resting places.  Seeing no guards in the vicinity, I conjured a small mirror into my hoof and began looking my pony-esque face over carefully.  The sight disgusted me.  My beautiful features had been replaced with a mahogany-colored mane and coat.  I felt like vomiting again at the loss of my wonderful appearance.

With my vanity appeased, I approached the door to the Elements’ chamber.  With a grin across my face, I shoved open the large purple doors and entered into the small chamber.  At the far end, six brightly-colored gems shined with a disturbingly gentle glow.  Although the last time I had seen them they were embedded in jewelry, these were simple gems that sat on pedestals.  I approached them slowly, waiting for them to react to me.  I knew they would recognize me through my facade, and was ready for retaliation.

It was a good thing I prepared myself, because I was struck right in the chest with a beam from one of the gems.  I couldn’t tell which one because they were all glowing, but that’s not important.  One of the gems reacted and shot a beam of light right past me and into the large chamber behind me.  I followed the beam with my eyes to see it wind its way through the cracks in the doors of the large chamber.  It was going to try and alert Celestia.

I sighed as I changed form back to my magnificent beauty, “I guess disguises won’t help me now.”  I snapped my fingers and appeared beside the gems, their power emanating from them.  They had a little juice, but not enough to rebuke me.  Without being possessed by their physical incarnations, the Elements were completely useless.

I reached my claw out and snatched the purple gem.  I stared at my reflection in its surface.  I noticed my eyes fill with anger as an image appeared in my mind.  An image of a purple unicorn with a purple mane.  I laughed, “Twilight Sparkle, you meddling little mule!”  I gripped the gem tighter and heard a slight cracking sound.  I noticed a chip in the side of the gem.  The Element of Magic was cracking under pressure, in more ways than one.

A voice boomed through the chamber as a white light filled the room.  I would recognize that voice anywhere.  Celestia stamped her hoof as she commanded, “Release the Element, Discord!  You have no idea what may happen if you don’t!”

I looked at her, tightening my grip on the Element.  I laughed, “Silly little Celestia.  Nothing will happen to me if I destroy them.  Heck, nothing will happen to me if I eat them, either.  I think destroying them is a little less bad for the digestive tract, though.”

Celestia stamped her hoof.  The Element of Magic let out a small electrical charge, attempting to cause me to lose my grip.  It didn’t work.  I held my claw up in air, making sure Celestia could see.  I squeezed with all my might and the Element crumbled into particles of dust.  I heard a horrified gasp escape Celestia’s royal lips.  I couldn’t help but smile.

I laughed, “Don’t you see, sweet Tia?  The Elements are powerless without their holders!  Now that they aren’t here, I can easily destroy them!  The power of Disharmony is simply too powerful for the Elements to counteract!”  I lifted the red Element into the air, tightening my grip once more.

Celestia exclaimed, “Stop this madness, Discord!”  A beam of magical energy shot from her horn.  I laughed as I lowered the Element in front of me.  The magical beam hit the Element and absorbed into it.  Celestia watched in shock as the energy traveled up my arm and into my body.

I stood up tall, feeling the magical energy surge through me.  “You’ve made a horrible mistake, Tia!  Thanks for the food, but this is only an appetizer!”  I used my new-found extra energy to crush the Element of Loyalty without hesitation.  It fell to the pedestal as dust.

Another alicorn entered the chamber and shouted at me, “You simply must stop this insane act!  Have you no idea what will happen to our world if the Elements are destroyed?!”

“Ah, Luna, it’s been ages, hasn’t it?  I heard you turned on Celestia yourself?  Did you actually take my advice?” I mockingly laughed at the black alicorn.  I lifted the blue Element into the air in similar fashion as the previous two.

“Stop!”  Celestia charged at me with full speed.  I pointed the Element at her and focused my power into it, increasing it tenfold.  The beam of magic swallowed Celestia and sent her flying into the wall near the door.

I tossed the Element of Laughter in the air.  I laughed, “How fitting that the Element of Laughter would be destroyed by its own self?”  With a loud laugh, the Element dropped into my mouth, and I crunched it once.  My face contorted in disgust as a bitter-sour taste filled my mouth.  I choked the dust down and laughed, “Well, I’ve definitely lost my appetite!”

Luna knelt by her sister’s side, a worried expression on her face.  She looked at me with a fire in her eyes.  “How dare you harm my sister?!”  She leaped to her hooves and started charging at me.

I scoffed, “If you wanted to try one, all you needed to do was ask nicely.”  I lifted the orange Element up and sent it flying at Luna.  It met her head-on and sent her flying to her sister’s side.  The Element of Honesty shattered on contact with her head.

I picked up the pink and green Elements and started to juggle them.  The two fallen princesses looked up at me with teary eyes.  I chuckled, “Would you care to inform me what kind of punishment you want?  I mean, treason is a serious crime in Discordia!”

I caught the Element of Kindness in my eagle claw and the Element of Generosity in my lion paw.  I crushed them with minimal effort.  The two princesses looked at me with anger and sorrow in their eyes.  They couldn’t speak because of the paralysis magic I had cast on them, but I knew what they wanted to say.  Or at least, I knew what I wanted them to say.

“What, is Discordia not a good name?  Perhaps I ought to think of a new one?  Got any ideas, Tia?”  I laughed as the two let out silent sobs.  

So, the Elements were no longer a problem.  I was simply surprised by how easy it was to dispose of them.  I wondered if the Elements’ embodiments would continue to be as such, or if the destruction of the elements would rid the six ponies of their trademark characteristics.  I cast the bothersome thoughts from my head as I thought about all of the awesome chaos I could conjure up now that the Elements couldn’t stand in my way…

My Claim to Fame

So I stood there, like a pillar in a hallway, cradling the dust of the Element of Generosity in my paw.  I stared at the two princesses that lay before me, tears falling from their eyes as they realized they had been defeated.  Without the Elements of Harmony to counteract my Disharmony, there was no way for me to be beaten.  My dear sweet Celestia lay beside her sister, both paralyzed and powerless to stop me from making my next move.

I bounced from one side of the room to the other, allowing a smile to cover my face and excitement to fill my demeanor.  I bounced to the princesses’ sides and laughed, “I guess the Age of Chaos has finally arrived, eh?  It only took a few thousand years more than expected, but it’s finally here!”  I reached down and placed my claw on Celestia’s face.  I looked her in the eyes and grinned.

She stared back into my eyes with anger and sadness.  She tried to speak, but the paralysis was just too powerful for her muscles to allow any extreme air passage.  Luna attempted to kick me, but her leg fell short a few feet.  Once again, the spell was too much for her.  I bounced away from the duo of defeated damsels and landed on the pedestal that had once housed the Elements.

My eyes shined as I cheered, “Today’s the day the party finally starts, Tia!  I always told you this would happen someday, but you never believed me!”  I snapped my fingers, conjuring a small pink cloud above the duo.  With another snap, drops of brown liquid started falling from the cloud.  I laughed, “Care for a little chocolate rain?  I heard from the pink pony that it’s delicious!”

Their faces flushed red with embarrassment and shame.  My heart fluttered as I realized that this was really happening.  I was truly free, and chaos was truly mine to spread as I wished.  The two princesses that had sealed me away so long ago were now immobilized on the ground, powerless to stop my onslaught of chaos.  I felt a small pinch in my gut and realized that, although I was an almighty deity at this point, I still hadn’t eaten in a few thousand years.  Unless you count a cotton-candy cloud the last time I fought the ponies.

I practically squealed in excitement.  I bounced up and down, my thoughts of spreading chaos taking over my conscious movement.  I laughed, “Imagine all the fun things you’ll get to watch me do to your precious home!  I mean, the possibilities are endless!”  I snapped my fingers and watched as the wall behind me twisted into a new shape.

It went from being a wall to being a large glowing circle.  The circle displayed images of the world the two princesses had ruled for oh-so long.  The beautiful orchards and prairies of Equestria flashed before my eyes, and thoughts ran rampant of just how much better I could make them with my special brand of Discord flare.  I felt my eyes tear up as I imagined all of the ways I could have fun with the majestic land of Equestria.

Celestia managed to choke out, “This…isn’t possible…”  Her voice was filled to the brim with hopelessness.

I bounced from foot to foot, laughing, “It sure isn’t possible, is it?  But that’s the beauty of chaos!  The impossible becomes the truth!”  I snapped my fingers and the cloud of chocolate rain vanished, much to the princesses’ delight.  I smiled slyly as I noticed something move out of the corner of my eye.

An arrow flew past my face, sticking into the circular image in front of me.  I turned to look at the origin of the arrow.  There were at least a dozen armed guards staring at me from the door of the chamber.  The same dozen guards I had deceived earlier that night.  The white stallion knelt beside the two princesses, trying to break my spell with his own magic.

“If they could tell you themselves, you’d know your magic is useless.  So are your weapons.  Actually, you’re pretty much useless all around.”  I snapped my fingers and the dozen guards crashed to the ground in pain and awe.  The white stallion looked at them with a confused expression.

“Wh-who are you?”  He looked at me with fear, barely able to talk after what he just witnessed.

I lifted my chin in the air and waved my claw at my chest.  I spoke calmly, “I, my fine friend, am the being that will now be running this place.”  The stallion stamped a hoof at me.

He stood up and lifted a small sword from the ground where I had knocked the other guards down.  “Over my dead body!” he screamed as he charged at me with the blade.

I scoffed, turning my back on him, “If you insist.”  I snapped my fingers and a small projectile burst through the ground and pierced the stallion’s armor right in the chest.  I watched as blood spewed from the stallion’s back, the projectile exiting his body.

The stallion stopped dead in his tracks.  He fell over on his side and groaned in pain.  The other guards tried to get up and join him at his side, but they were paralyzed by my magic as well.  I walked over to the stallion and stomped my goat hoof onto his chest with force.  He screamed in pain, “Agh, st-stop!”

I shook my head in disappointment.  “Tsk tsk…To think that you’re the captain of the Royal Guard simply amazes me.  You can’t even handle a little pain.”  I applied more pressure to his chest.  He screamed even louder, which made me cringe with joy.

He groaned in agony, “Please stop! It h-hurts!”  With every plea he offered, I returned it with more pressure.  Eventually, the pain grew so severe that he couldn’t offer any more words.  I delivered a kick to his chest that sent him flying to the side of the princesses and guards.

I laughed, “Power is an amazing thing to hold, is it not, Tia?  Oh well, I shouldn’t let the power get to my head, though.  Okay, play time is over, my little ponies!  First thing tomorrow morning, chaos will run rampant in this world!”

Luna groaned, “W-why…?”  Her voice faded before she could finish her question.

I felt like being a smart-aleck, so I laughed, “Why wait until morning?  That’s a very good question, Luna!  Why should chaos have to wait for daylight?”  I snapped my fingers and a small pink cloud covered the ceiling of the room we were in.  I conjured an umbrella in my claw and opened it.  It opened upward, the opposite of a traditional umbrella.  I laughed as the chocolate rained from the cloud.  I bounced my way past the group of ponies that lay helpless on the floor.

I passed through the threshold of the room and into the larger chamber.  I turned to look at the poor victims of my magic.  “Assuming you all don’t drown in chocolate, I’ll gladly be back to free you in the morn.  Arrivederci!”  I snapped my fingers and disappeared from their sights.  I decided to pay the throne room a visit and give it my own special brand of decoration.

I appeared in the all-too-familiar throne room of the castle.  The sight of the throne and the decorations on the walls brought back bittersweet memories of the time I once spent living there.  That was a time that was best forgotten for me.  I began surveying the room, trying to decide exactly how I wanted to move everything around.

“Hmm…I think this should go there.” I thought out loud as I moved the throne to the ceiling.  I mean, chaos doesn’t make sense.  Making sense is very boring to me.  Why not mix things up and sit on the ceiling for a change?

I snapped my fingers every few seconds, finding another change that needed to be made.  Instead of blue-glass windows, why not have stained-glass illustrations of me crushing the Elements of Harmony?  After all, that was a high point in my life.  I also decided to turned the curtains green and make them look like bears piled in the middle of the air by the windows.  Oh, and I could never forget how I changed the red-carpets into invisible tiles over seemingly-endless pits.  That should get a few scares from some ponies!

I spent a good hour and a half trying to make the throne room perfect.  By the time I was finished, it was the epitome of chaos and confusion.  I even altered the statues of Celestia to look a bit more fitting of a servant than a leader.  After I finished tweaking every aspect of the room to fit my liking, I noticed sunlight pouring in from my beautiful windows.  I laughed as I remembered the ponies I left trapped in the Elements’ chamber.  Just as I was about to snap my fingers and go see how they were doing, my stomach let out a loud growl.

I quickly looked around the room, making sure nopony heard the loud grumbling.  I had forgotten in my egotistic state that I was the only creature currently in the room.  I decided to eat something before addressing my adoring soon-to-be-servants, and conjured myself some of my most favorite breakfast dishes in all of Equestria:  a raspberry jam and egg sandwich.

I scarfed the tasty morsel down in a hurry, eager to go check on the dear sweet princesses and the guard I had so brutally damaged earlier.  After all, I had told them I would be back in the morning to save them from the chocolaty doom that awaited them.  I opened my umbrella again and snapped my fingers.  

Once more, I was in the room where the Elements had rested.  I noticed two things odd about the room compared to earlier. For starters, the ponies I had left paralyzed in the room were no longer there.  At some point during the hour and a half I was gone somepony must have arrived to remove them from the chocolate downpour.  The second thing I noticed was that the window to my left had been left wide open and the chocolate poured from it as the room filled up.

I can’t quite remember when it happened, but at some point while I surveyed the room a fire was lit in my chest and my anger intensified.  I don’t remember why, because I knew that nopony could stop me or my magic.  Wherever the rescuers had taken the paralyzed ponies, they were still paralyzed.  At any rate, my mind raced with all sorts of thoughts as to what could have possibly happened.

I heard a loud shriek come from a few halls away, and decided to go ahead and check out the source.  My chaos hadn’t spread outside of the Elements’ room or the throne room, so whatever caused the scream must have been a natural occurrence.  Focusing my thoughts on the scream, I snapped my fingers.

I found myself in the main hall, just outside of my precious throne room.  A comparatively small alicorn knelt beside the white stallion I had damaged earlier.  Beside him lay all of the paralyzed guards and the two princesses.  Behind them were a few dozen guards, all of which too occupied with their friends to even notice my appearance.  It was the new alicorn that had let out the scream.  She held her hoof firmly on the stallion’s chest, applying pressure to the wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding.

I sighed, “Tsk tsk tsk, my little ponies.  You really ought to know better than to try and flee.  And to think I was actually going to cure your paralysis.”  I shook my head in mock-disappointment, trying to attract the attention of all the ponies.

The alicorn looked at me and screamed, “You did this, didn’t you?!”  Her eyes were filled with fear and sorrow.  All of the guards turned their attention toward me, attempting to intimidate me by making an offensive formation.

I laughed as I shrugged my shoulders, “Of course I did.  I also made the chocolate rain.  Of course, I’m extra proud of my work in the throne room.”  I snapped my fingers and let the large door to the throne room fly open.  The few ponies that were able to look looked into the room with shock and awe.  “Do you like what I’ve done with the place?  I think it looks marvelous!”

The ponies were speechless as they observed all of the fine decorations I had altered in the room.  They took special notice of the Celestia statues I had altered.  Or, at least, I wanted them to take special notice.  At any rate, the ponies had looks of horror on their faces as the reality of what was happening hit them.  Not only had I defeated the princesses, but I had also—according to the stained-glass windows—destroyed the Elements of Harmony.

“I’m the ruler of chaos and disharmony, Discord, at your service milady!”  I appeared beside the alicorn and took a pointless bow.  I even reached down and planted a kiss right on her hoof.  She leaped back in fear and disgust.  I laughed, “I suppose it’s time to rid these ponies of my spell, eh?”  I snapped my fingers and the magical glow around the collapsed ponies disappeared.  My paralysis was no longer in effect.

Celestia and Luna leaped to their hooves, the anger obvious in their eyes.  They both charged their horns for an attack.  Celestia shouted at me, “You shall pay for what you’ve done, Discord!”

The pair of alicorns let the magic flow from their horns.  Without even flinching, I took the full blast of the magic beams, barely even fazed by them.  I yawned as the beams passed right by me.  I waited for a few seconds for the light to clear before I addressed the two insolent alicorns that had attacked me.

With a bored tone I said, “Your pathetic magic is no match for my omnipotent chaos.  You ponies should have learned that a few thousand years ago.”  I snapped my fingers and the two collapsed to the ground again, writhing in pain as an intense heat filled them.

The foreign alicorn shouted, “Please stop!  It doesn’t have to be like this!”  The alicorn’s voice quivered as she called to me.  She sounded innocent and sincere, almost as if she truly thought there could be a peaceful resolve to everything.

I snapped my fingers again and the writhing stopped.  I sighed, “Tell me, alicorn, exactly how else can this end?”

She hesitated here, obviously unable to come up with another solution.  “I-I’m not sure… But I’m certain it doesn’t have to end like this!”

I clapped my hands together, an amazing idea forming in my brain.  “How about this then, pony?  I’ll spare your lives…if you swear your undying loyalty to—and never ending love for—me.  Does that sound fair?” I laughed, lifting myself in the air with my wings, casually leaning back against the air.

The alicorn didn’t speak.  She simply turned her head and stamped her hoof.  That was a disappointing response for me.  I had almost looked forward to her accepting my terms.  Celestia managed to find her footing again.  Tears poured from her eyes as she sighed, “We shall never submit to you, Discord!”  She charged her horn for another magical attack.

I simply laughed as the magic beam hit me.  I gave Celestia a very angry glare as I said, “Perhaps you ought not speak for your subjects, Tia.”  I snapped my fingers and she collapsed to the ground once more, again in pain.  The rest of the ponies that had regained their footings stood by, watching as their great and powerful leader fell helpless to my power.

Luna stamped her hoof and charged her horn.  She screamed, “Y-you cannot win this, Discord!  You’ve been beaten twice before, and this time will be no different!”  I could hear the doubt in her voice as she unleashed a blast of magical energy.  She knew as well as her sister that fighting was a lost cause.  All she wanted to do was to keep a sense of hope in the minds of the useless ponies beside her.

I scoffed, “I’m getting tired of this tame game.  I think I’ll change up some things!”  I snapped my fingers and the floor completely disappeared from underneath the ponies.  The ones with wings quickly opened them, attempting to catch the ones that did not.  The foreign alicorn caught the white stallion, whereas Luna was forced to catch Celestia.  I laughed as I watched the rabble of guards fall into the massive chasm below us, landing with a splash in the river below the city.

Luna struggled to speak, using most of her strength to carry Celestia.  She coughed, “Stop this…Discord!  Please stop!”

There it was.  The word ‘please’.  At any other time in my life I would have despised the word.  At this point, however, I knew that mercy would not come back to bite me in the rear.  After all, I was too powerful for even an alicorn’s magic to affect me.  I sighed and snapped my fingers.  The floor rematerialized underneath us, and the two able alicorns dropped their cargo.  I looked at Luna in disappointment.

She muttered under her breath, “Th-thank you…”  I watched tears fall from her eyes.  The sight nearly made me feel sympathy for the princess.  That is, until I remembered how she and her sister had so spitefully betrayed me.

I laughed, “All of this could be avoided if you simply submitted to me!  After all, you know you cannot win!  I promise Discordia won’t be that bad of a world; in fact, you may find it a lot of fun!”

Celestia sobbed, “Never…  We will never submit!”  She attempted to lift herself up, but it was to no avail.  Between my attacks and her attacks, she had worn herself out.

Luna shook her head in disappointment.  The fatigue of the day’s events caught up to her, and she fell to her side in exhaustion.  She was always weaker than Celestia; the fact she had lasted this long in my little game amazed me.  The foreign alicorn was still kneeling beside the stallion, attempting to heal his wound.

I chuckled, walking over to the couple’s side, “You should just give up with all that nonsense, lady.  The wound can’t be healed by normal magic, and I don’t think your precious ‘love’ will do anything to help, either.”  I used my magic to seal the wound on both sides of the stallion’s body, and the alicorn leaped back in surprise.

The stallion coughed as he felt the wound close and the pain subside, “Why…would you help…me?”

I let out a deep sigh and walked a few steps away.  “Sure, I’m the ruler of chaos and disharmony, but I’m not a bad person.  I don’t like to harm other ponies unless they get in my way.  You got in my way, but not so much anymore.”  I turned to look at him, a mock-sympathetic expression on my face.

Celestia groaned, “Don’t believe his lies, Armor!  He’ll do whatever it takes to manipulate you!”

I shot her an angry frown and laughed, “She’s right, you know.  I’m simply a horrible person who loves to cause trouble!  But let me ask you something—Armor, was it?—do you like being a guard?”

The stallion looked at me with confusion, the alicorn rejoining him at his side.  He stuttered, “Y-yeah, why?”

I smiled as I carefully thought about my options of words.  “Then submit to me.  You can still be a guard for Discordia!  Or, allow me to put it another way.  You could be a guard for Discordia, or you could spend the rest of your life in the dungeon, rotting away.”  His face filled with an uncertain fear.  The alicorn looked at me with sad eyes.  The two princesses glared at me.

I snapped my fingers and caused the hall around us to melt away.  In an instant, we were staring at the sky and the acres of land surrounding the castle.  I waved my claw around, turning the ponies’ attentions toward our visible area.  I snapped my fingers again, and the entire surrounding area twisted and morphed into something a bit less majestic.

The mountain twisted and contorted into a large towering pillar of rock and snow, reaching ever upward to the sky.  The wide open field that sat below the castle town of Canterlot twisted and raised upward, forming small walls of dirt and grass. Before long, I had turned the entire surrounding area into that of a giant bowl of soup, with Canterlot as the soup, the field as the bowl, and the mountain as the spoon.

I laughed as the ponies beside me witnessed the area they thought was all-too-familiar altering shape and forming something completely foreign to them.  In essence, Canterlot was now a prison, with the once-was field as the cell and the mountain as the road sign.  I laughed as I allowed the walls of the castle to grow back around us and block out the view of the new prison.  The four ponies looked at me with fear and disgust.

I laughed, “Don’t you see?  My chaotic power is completely, totally limitless!  There is nothing I cannot do!  Wouldn’t you prefer to join me in this crazy new world that I will make, rather than sit and rot in a dungeon where you are completely unaware of the goings-on around you?”  My face contorted to one of a sympathetic frown.  I floated around the room, waiting for an answer from the distraught ponies.

I was caught off guard when I heard the stallion’s voice say, “Okay.  I…I submit!”  My eyes jolted wide open as I watched the stallion bow his head to me, the alicorn that had been comforting him trying to pull him back to the floor next to her.  His voice was sincere and his bow was genuine.

Celestia shouted, “Armor, what are you doing?!  You can’t fall for this wretched creature’s tricks!”

The stallion stamped his hoof, “Give it up, Princess!  You know better than anypony that this is a hopeless battle.  If what he just showed us didn’t prove that, then nothing will…”

I bounced from foot to foot as I finally made progress with the ponies.  My heart fluttered in my chest as I placed my paw on the stallion’s shoulder.  I whispered in his ear, “Very good, my friend.  Now that you’ve realized I’m the rightful ruler of this place, how about you help me gather up all of the citizens for a special assembly?”

The stallion shot me an angry glare.  He scoffed, “I’m not your friend, and you aren’t the rightful ruler.  The only reason I’m not against you is because I like living.”

I cheered, still bouncing from foot to foot, “What other reason do you need?  A forced minion is still a minion!  You three could learn something from this guy!”

The alicorn sighed, “If…if Armor believes that it’s for the best…then I’ll…”  Her voice faded before she finished the sentence.  Of course, it doesn’t take a genius like me to figure out what she was getting at.

I spoke softly, “Welcome to the herd, milady.  You’re on the winning team, now!”  I looked at the two princesses with a smug look.  They both turned their heads away from my gaze.

The stallion wrapped his arm around the alicorn as if he were trying to protect her from something.  They both had looks of regret and sadness on their faces, but that wasn’t any concern of mine.  The two ponies I really wanted on my team just simply refused to play fairly.  The five of us were all lost in different thoughts at this point.

We were all drawn back to reality as a loud banging sound echoed throughout the castle’s halls.  I could hear angry and terrified screams pour in from the front gates of the castle.  The four ponies looked at each other with uncertain expressions, not quite sure what was going on to cause the ruckus.  I laughed as I realized the cause of the commotion.

I was still bouncing from foot to foot in anticipation of the events that were soon to unfold.  I cheered, “I see the first group of guests has come to attend my coronation ceremony!”  I used my magic to lift Celestia’s tiara from her head.  With a mock expression of regality, I placed the tiara on my head and assumed a more proper posture.

Celestia bowed her head low in anger and sorrow.  She couldn’t stand the humiliation and shame she felt.  I laughed as I watched her sister do the same.  The two ponies beside me simply diverted their gazes, trying not to make eye contact with the princesses or myself.  The roar of the crowd outside the castle grew louder as the doors slammed open.

My face twisted in excitement as I magicked (I assume that’s a word, because I say it is) the five of us into the throne room.  I materialized signs all over the castle pointing the frightened and angry crowd of citizens directly to me.  I eagerly waited for them to enter the throne room and see the beautiful work I had done, and the fact that their precious princesses were now powerless before me.  Surely they would realize that I was their rightful leader upon seeing the powerless alicorns bound by my side.

In a single night, all of my dreams and ambitions were being realized.  It only took me roughly three thousand years more than I had planned, but my world of chaos would soon be created.  Without the Elements of Harmony, not even the princesses could stand up to my might.  Before long, everypony in Equestria would bow before me as their ruler, or face their fate as a traitor.  It felt good to have actual, limitless power again.

It would soon be time to test my power against the ponies that had defeated me before.  If they really did need the actual Elements to defeat me, then I would be invincible.  I had to test my theory out before I dug myself too deep into the comforts of chaotic life.  I just needed a way to get the ponies to come to Canterlot, despite the chaotic warping of the town itself.  Perhaps my beautiful Tia would do me such a favor?

My Personal Vendetta

I listened intently to the confused and frightened chatter of the ponies that had wandered into my precious throne room.  A few of the unfortunate guards from earlier had gathered with the crowds to control them and organize each group of ponies in a fashion to where everypony would be able to see me.  I watched as citizen after citizen gathered into my throne room, each carrying worried expressions and doubts about the wonderful décor.  Shining Armor, the captain of my new guard, called everypony to attention after the throne room had been nearly fully packed with ponies.

His voice boomed loudly throughout the room, obviously amplified by his magic so as to capture the attention of the guests.  “Attention everypony!  You’ve been gathered here for an…important announcement from our…new…ruler!”

The confused chatter grew louder as Armor spoke to the crowd.  With a snap of my fingers, the door to the throne room slammed shut with a loud bang, causing everypony in attendance to shut up and turn their attention toward me.  I sat comfortably from my ceiling-mounted throne, my features appearing upside-down to everypony.  Two chains fell from the armrests of the throne, each attaching to a large metal collar locked around the necks of the two princesses.  Their heads were bowed in shame and sadness.

With the crowd silent, I began to speak in a regal tone.  I said, “Ladies and gentlecolts, it is with great honor that I welcome you to my humble castle!  In case you are unaware, I am Discord, the new ruler of this land you call home.”  I took a bow on my throne, my head nearly hitting the ceiling.  The chatter began again, this time a little bit quieter.

I overheard a random mare in the crowd whisper, “Why is Princess Celestia chained up?”

Another stallion mumbled to himself, “Who does this goon think he is?”

I cleared my throat loudly and snapped my fingers again.  This time, a giant block of marble crashed to the floor of the throne room in front of the crowd.  Using my magic, I morphed the block into the shape of a small dragon, and allowed it to do the talking for me.  It bounced from one side of the room to the other as I controlled it.

“Perhaps you didn’t understand my meaning?  I am the ruler of this beautiful land!  I am your leader!  Have you nothing to say to this?”  The marble dragon shouted to the crowd with my voice, my hands waving around in the air on my throne.  The crowd’s chatter ceased as the dragon spoke.  I let out a silent laugh as the fear filled their eyes.

Shining Armor stepped forward from the door and sighed, “Today, our beloved Princess Celestia was bested in a battle against this creature.  He has claimed the throne for himself, and has rightfully proven that he is fit to rule our land…”  Just like we had rehearsed, Armor did an excellent job.  I could feel the regret in his voice!

I made the marble dragon disappear and laughed from my throne, “That’s correct, everypony!  I am the rightful ruler of this land of Equestria!  Would you like to swear your undying loyalty to me now, or wait until you get home?”  I leaped from my perch on the throne, landing with a loud thud in front of the crowd.  For the first time, the ponies were getting a closer look at their new master.

A stallion at the back of the crowd called out, “Why would we swear to you?  Princess Celestia will beat you!”

I noticed Armor slap a hoof to his face, letting out an angry sigh.  Apparently Canterlot ponies have no clue how to listen when another pony speaks.  I sighed, “My good sir, you are an idiot.  Can you not see what has befallen your precious princesses?”  I warped to the princesses’ sides, hanging my arms right above them.  I laughed as a black magical aura surrounded the two and they were lifted from the ground, completely immobilized.

The crowd let out gasps of horror as they realized the full extent of what they were witnessing.  If Celestia could stop me, she would have done it already.  The same went for Luna.  I laughed as I listened to frightened voices scream in fear.  Armor made a mad dash from side to side, attempting to quell the ignorant rabble of frightened ponies.

I let Celestia and Luna fall to the ground.  I warped above the massive crowd, letting out an extraordinarily loud roar.  The ground silenced once more, and most of them collapsed to the ground in fear.  With a smile on my face, I cheered, “Welcome to Discordia, everypony!  Whether you enjoy your stay or not is up to you.  I would suggest you try not to get on my bad side.  Oh, and I hope you enjoy a little chaos!”  I snapped my fingers and turned to see the center of the floor bulge upward.  A few seconds later, a giant geyser of pink liquid burst from the ground.

I materialized a cup in my claw and floated gently over to the geyser.  The ponies in the crowd were speechless as I dipped the cup into the geyser and gulped down what it caught.  I chuckled, offering the cup to the crowd, “Care for a little punch?  It’s quite sweet.”

Nopony made a sound.  Nopony moved.  In fact, you could almost say that they were paralyzed with fear.  I laughed as a single stallion shoved his way to the front of the crowd.  Or at least, I think he was a stallion.  He had on some unusual clothing and some purple sunglasses.  He stuttered, “Th-this is simply impossible!  This must be some kind of sick joke, right?”

I shook my head and laughed, “My good sir, of course this is a joke!  Everything’s a joke!  I mean, just look at that hairstyle of yours.  Funniest thing I’ve seen all day.”  His expression shifted to one of insult.  I continued, “Now, would you care for a little punch?”  A cup of punch materialized in his hoof as he lifted it up to check his mane.  Unprepared, the stallion dropped the cup and let punch pour all over his fancy outfit.

The stallion didn’t say anything.  Nopony did.  Everypony just stared directly at me, wondering what my sporadic behavior would bring next.  I heard the faint hum of magical energy and turned to see a beam of light shooting from Celestia’s horn.  I decided in the instant that I would have fun with this.  Just as the beam hit me, I let out a loud scream of pain and agony and magicked myself out of the sight of the ponies in the room.

The chains binding Celestia and Luna shattered and the geyser of punch subsided back into the ground.  The throne shifted to the floor, and the windows and curtains returned to normal.  The red carpet returned in place of the invisible tiles.  The Celestia statues shifted back to their original depictions.  The large door swung open, and as far as everypony knew, all the damage I had done had been reversed.

The ponies in the crowd sighed in relief.  The two princesses looked at each other with unsure expressions.  Armor scratched his head in confusion.  The other alicorn joined the princesses by the throne.  Celestia opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off when a loud explosion sounded from just outside the room.  Everypony darted to the side of the room to stare out of the windows.  They watched as a large clump of rocks crashed into the side of the building.

“Do you like it?”  I called to the ponies from the other side of the room.  I was scanning my claws for dirt and scratches.  After all, I had to be quick with changing everything back to normal in my short absence.

With hesitation and fear, everypony turned to see me leaned against the wall, kicked back like a greaser in a diner.  I smiled at the crowd of confused ponies as another beam of light crashed into me.  When the light faded, I rolled my eyes and wiped the smudge of energy from my stomach.  I shook my head in disappointment.

“Can’t you understand that I’m invincible now?  I own this place.  There’s no way to avoid that fact.  Just submit to me and I promise you’ll all be able to live happily in Discordia.”  I was growing tired of beating around the bush.  My smile faded and my eyes straightened.  I was serious at this point.

A mare called from the crowd, “If Celestia can’t beat you, then the Elements of Harmony will!”

My face adopted an angry frown.  I felt the rage boil in the back of my brain.  Snapping my fingers, I reverted everything back to its chaotic state.  I pointed to the stained-glass windows with irritation and impatience.  “Take a long look at these windows, ponies!  Tell me what you see!”

Everypony’s eyes scanned the windows.  Most of the eyes widened in horror as they interpreted the images on them.  The mare from just a second ago cried, “You…destroyed them?!”  I could hear the intense fear in her voice.  It was a sweet sound for me, and calmed my boiling anger slightly.

I laughed, bouncing from window to window, “That’s correct!  Won’t someone get that mare a prize?  I have not only bested your princesses, but I’ve also destroyed the Elements!  I am unstoppable!”  Most of the ponies fell to their plots in stubborn disbelief.

A voice called from the door to the throne room.  “You may have destroyed the Elements, but the ponies born with their power are still alive, correct?”  It was a snobbish voice, obviously one of the typical Canterlot types.  I turned my head to greet the owner of the voice.

I placed a claw to my lower lip in mock-consideration.  I laughed, “Why yes, I believe they are.  You’re late to the party, sir.”  I warped to the stallion’s side.  He was wearing a nice black suit and had a rather defined blue mustache.  I wanted his mustache.  It would’ve gone great with my goatee!

The stallion looked me in the eyes as I appeared beside him.  He scoffed, “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch, you beast.  So long as those ponies are around, you aren’t invincible.”  He didn’t flinch or waver as I moved closer.

I stopped to think about this for a moment.  He was correct.  I couldn’t be completely certain of my invincibility until I tested my might against the ponies that were born with the power of the Elements.  I scoffed, “If I’m something that can be stopped, then just try and stop me!”  I warped to my throne and took a seat there.  The two princesses stared up at me with blank, shattered expressions.  They knew it was useless.

Or at least, they wanted me to think they knew it was over.  They wanted me to let my guard down against the ponies that had bested me before.  But I wasn’t going to rest until I knew for certain that my immortal invincibility was fact against all odds.  I didn’t need an ace flying from somepony’s sleeves and making the house go bust, if you catch my drift.

I looked down at Celestia and back to the stallion by the door.  The rest of crowd stayed in their spots, afraid to try and leave.  I waved my claw in irritation at the princesses.  “Celestia, be a dear and write a message to that student of yours.  What was her name again, Sunset Twinkle or some other hoopla?”

Her eyes grew wide in anger.  She stamped her hoof and said, “Twilight Spar-!”  I cut her off in mid-sentence.

“No matter.  Tell her and her friends that if they wish to save you from certain death, they need to arrive here within three days.  If they do not show up, I will begin my reign of chaos without them!  And I would simply hate for them to miss the pre-conquest party!”  I grinned as the look of anger in her eyes subsided.

She bowed her head low and closed her eyes.  She sighed, “Y-yes sir.  Right away…”

The sound of those words escaping her lips made my heart flutter again.  I cheered, “Alright, everypony!  You’re all dismissed!  Return to your homes or works or wherever you spend your time!  You have three days until your worlds are flipped upside-down.  Please, do try and enjoy it!”  I waved my paw at the door, and everypony burst into action as they corralled out of the room.

There were five ponies left in the room when the crowd had finally scattered and fled.  Shining Armor and his alicorn lover; Celestia, who was busily writing her letter to the ponies; Luna, who tried to comfort her sister; the stubborn stallion that had confronted me after so rudely missing the party; and I all sat in the throne room, wondering just where all of this would be going.

To my delight, it didn’t take long for Celestia to finish her letter to Twilight Sparkle.  She magicked it up to me on my perch on the throne.  I smiled as I read the first few words.  Before reading the whole message, I took a mental note of all the ponies in the room.  Armor and his lover were cuddled together underneath one of the beautifully-colored stained-glass windows.  The stallion sat by the door with an angry glare frozen on his face.  The two princesses sat beside one another on the opposite side of the room of the other two ponies.  I could feel the tension between the two pairs.  Betrayal ran deep in their thoughts at this point.

I read the letter to myself, scanning it for accuracy and hidden meaning.

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

To my most loyal and faithful student, I am afraid that I must ask you to travel to Canterlot immediately.  There is a matter of utmost importance that requires your presence.  I cannot say here what the problem is; in the off chance this letter should be intercepted.  I shall simply say that our beloved land of Equestria is in grave danger.  Please, Twilight.  You and your friends’ presences are required here as soon as physically possible.

The lives of everypony are at stake!  Do not hesitate to stand out against whatever you may find upon arriving here!

With urgency,

Princess Celestia

I chuckled as I read the letter over a few more times.  I rolled the letter up and cast it back down to Celestia.  Resting my head on my paw, I laughed, “Very good, Tia.  That is acceptable.  It should definitely get their attention.  But don’t you think you should mention the three-day time limit?”

She looked at me with fire in her eyes.  In a burst of magic, the letter was gone.  I assumed it was some sort of automatic delivery system established using teleportation magic.  Then again, I could have been wrong.  So much had changed in the way of technology and terrain since the day I was sealed away so long ago.

I sat on my throne, the whole world flipped around, waiting patiently for any type of response to the letter.  After what felt like hours of sitting in the tense room, a green flame ignited in the middle of the air.  It choked itself out, leaving behind a rolled up piece of parchment.  Using her magic, Celestia threw the paper at me without even reading it herself.  She obviously couldn’t stand deceiving her ‘loyal student’.

I unrolled the parchment and read aloud,

Dear Princess Celestia,

We’ll leave for Canterlot immediately, your majesty!  We should arrive before nightfall if everything goes as planned.  Try and keep yourself safe until we arrive!

Your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle and company

I nearly fell from my throne in laughter.  The pesky ponies had taken the bait so easily.  Tonight would be the night I would finally claim true dominion over Equestria.  The five ponies in the room shared concerned looks.  I took a deep breath and continued laughing.  My mind raced with thoughts of just how exactly I would be ending this day.

By morning’s first light, only one of two things would be certain.  I would either be invincible and ruling Equestria, or I would be beaten and disposed of once and for all.  The latter of the two was unlikely, so I cast it away.  I let my mind drift off to all of the different cities and landmarks I would be able to twist and distort.  I let a wide grin cross my face as I realized that the entire world was my own personal playground.

But for some strange reason, I couldn’t shake this weird feeling from my gut.  I couldn’t quite place my claw on what it was, but it was a feeling that seemed all-too-familiar to me.  I had felt it once before, a long time ago, before my semi-loyal subjects had turned on me…

My Ultimate Victory?

I sat patiently in my awkwardly-positioned throne.  I promised three days to everypony, and that’s how long they would have.  After three days, if I were still in power, my chaos would rain upon the citizens of Equestria with a terrifying force of excitement and confusion.  I allowed the five ponies to go about their business as if I were simply a guest visiting the town.  The princesses went off to some far wing of the castle and were very probably contemplating an attack strategy.  Armor and his alicorn lover went about their daily business, not bothering to try and settle things between the princesses.  But the other stallion, the one that had confronted me earlier that day, stayed and kept his watchful eye on me.

I tried to inform him that his watch was not needed, and that by the end of the day everypony would see how invincible I truly was.  He refused to listen to me, and continued sitting by the door of the throne room for the few hours he needed to.  I was surprised by how quickly the bothersome ponies actually arrived in town.  It felt like mere moments ago I was reading Twilight’s letter to Celestia.  But before I ever realized it, the guards were scattering about the castle, trumpets blaring, and the four ponies of higher-esteem were once again by my side.  The sun had barely started to set when a chariot rolled up to the front gates of the castle and let the six ponies and baby dragon out.

The signs I had posted before for the angry mob were taken down, and every sign of commotion was erased with a snap of my fingers.  I didn’t want the ponies to expect me to be in the throne room when they arrived.  Celestia, Luna, Armor, and the alicorn greeted them as they entered the throne room with smiles.  I, naturally, was nowhere to be found, staying hidden until it was time to make my special debut.  The princesses led the six ponies to the throne, and they began a casual conversation as if nothing at all was wrong.

The ponies immediately took notice of the princesses’ strange behavior.  Celestia attempted to cast it off as a simple illness that had spread during the night.  I assumed the ponies were too stupid to realize what the stained-glass windows around them depicted.  The snobbish stallion still sat by the door, not saying a word to anypony.  I was almost tempted to light a fire and get him started, but I decided it best not to intervene in the meeting quite yet.

Finally, after minutes of waiting in the shadows, the topic arrived.  Celestia let out a sigh as she told the six ponies before her, “You must have noticed the terrain outside of the town.  How badly it’s been distorted and changed.”

Twilight Sparkle cocked her head to the side, suddenly remembering the strange formation they had seen as they flew in to town.  “Yes, Princess.  What exactly is that all about?”

Luna looked out of the closest window to the throne.  “And you’ve surely taken notice of the twisted flare of this room’s decorations, correct?”

The rainbow-maned, cyan-coated Pegasus scoffed, “Yeah, what’s the deal with this stuff, anyway?”

Celestia sighed, “Oh this?  This was just some silly prank that a unicorn thought would be funny.”  She lowered her gaze, attempting to avoid eye contact with the ponies.

The yellow-maned, orange-coated pony laughed, “Uh, sure did a good job, didn’t they?  This place is all sorts o’ messed up.”

Armor chuckled, “Yeah, he really outdid himself…”

Celestia looked at the ponies before her, “I’m terribly sorry to have brought you out here on such a short notice.  You must understand that we are in danger of a threat that we cannot identify at the moment.  I couldn’t risk not having the Elements of Harmony here in case of emergency.”

The pink-maned, pink-coated pony giggled, “That’s not a problem!  We’re always happy to help out!”

Celestia and Luna shared regretful looks.  Luna sighed, “We’re sorry for what we’ve done, ponies.  I hope you can forgive us.”

The pink-maned, yellow-coated pony asked with a timid voice, “Sorry for what?  You haven’t done anything wrong.”

The purple-maned, white-coated pony beside her nodded in agreement, “All you did was call for help.  What’s wrong with that?”

Celestia looked the ponies over.  She looked up at me in my perch before bowing her head low.  This was my cue.  She sobbed, “We’ve done much worse than that, my ponies.  We’ve failed you…  And Equestria.”

There it was!  The code word!  I practically squealed in excitement as I dropped from the ceiling of the room.  The six ponies leaped in place, turning to face me.  I greeted them with a large smile and open arms.  The six of them looked over to Celestia and Luna and then back to me.  They didn’t quite understand how I was standing before them.  They were also unsure of why Celestia hadn’t warned them about me.

The stallion by the door leaped to his hooves and shouted, “This is it, Discord!  The moment of truth!  Ponies, you have to send this guy back where he came from!”  I sent a burst of magical energy at the insolent stallion and watched him crash back into the wall.  He fell unconscious on the spot.  The six ponies scurried away from me, back against the walls of the room.  I opened my arms wide and started to laugh.

“I’m not quite sure why I attacked him.  He is correct, after all.  This is the moment of truth.”  I waved my arms at the windows around the room.  “Can you tell me what you see in these windows, little ponies?”  I grinned as their eyes darted about the room.  Each of the six windows depicted something that would very possibly fill them with fear.

I waited for a few moments to allow the ponies to try and decipher the images.  To my disappointment, they shared unsure looks and turned to Celestia and Luna.  I shook my head and slapped my paw to my face as I floated away from the group of clueless ponies.  Celestia sighed to them, “Perhaps…it’s best if…he tells you what they mean…”  She bowed her head and turned away.

I chuckled, “You silly little ponies, can’t you see?  The gorgeous figure standing in the center of the image is none other than yours truly!  And the little orb in my claw, why that’s an Element of Harmony!”  I pointed at the purple window, in which I was depicted crushing the Element of Magic.  I continued, “And these small specks here, these are the dust that the Element became!”  The ponies looked at Celestia, unsure of just what exactly I meant by that.

She refused to say anything.  Even Luna refused to speak.  The other alicorn started to say something, but immediately stopped herself.  Armor stamped his hoof on the ground and shouted, “He means he destroyed the Elements, Twilight!  The Elements of Harmony are broken!”  He stepped back to the alicorn’s side, looking as if he were about to cry.

Twilight Sparkle gasped, “B-But that’s impossible!  Right, Princess?”  She gave a confused and worried look to Celestia.

Celestia didn’t respond.  Instead, I laughed, “Of course it’s impossible!  But that’s the beauty of chaos and disharmony!  Something doesn’t have to be possible to happen!”  I warped to the ponies’ sides, each of them flinching in their own style.

The cyan pony, Rainbow Dash, stamped her hoof on the ground and stepped toward me.  She called my bluff, “There’s no way you destroyed the Elements, Discord!  Why don’t you just call it quits with your lies?”

I placed my paw on the pony’s shoulder and chuckled, “My dear pony, can’t you see that these aren’t lies.  If they were lies, don’t you think Celestia would tell you?  Or do you not trust your own all-powerful leader?”

Twilight scoffed, “But the Elements can’t be destroyed!  They’re supposed to be the most powerful things in all of Equestria!”

The white pony, Rarity, spoke with a tone of disbelief, “You must be mad to believe you could destroy the Elements.”

I shook my head and warped over to the door of the room.  I groaned, “If you don’t believe me, why don’t you see for yourselves?  C’mon, follow me, little ponies!”  I drifted through the doorway and headed for the Elements’ chamber.  The six ponies followed close behind me.  The alicorns and Armor followed behind them, not looking forward to what was to come.

It didn’t take long for us to reach the room.  I stood right outside the door and waited for everypony to catch up.  Once they had all gathered in the larger of the two chambers, I snapped my fingers and opened the door to the chamber.  I chuckled, “Ladies first.”  Keeping a close eye on me, the six ponies walked cautiously into the room.  The other four simply waited outside, not wanting to see their reactions.

I followed the ponies into the room and warped above the large pedestal at the far end.  Behind me, the wall was still flashing images of the different areas of Equestria.  The ponies stared in wild disbelief at the empty pedestal below me.  Twilight’s eyes filled with horror as she realized I had been telling the truth.

She stuttered, “B-But this i-is impossible!  Y-you couldn’t h-have destroyed th-them!”  The other five ponies watched as she fell to her plot in shock.

I laughed, “So you finally get it, don’t you Twilight?  This is it.  It’s all over.  The Elements are gone, and not even Celestia’s power can subdue me.  I am invincible!”

Rainbow Dash opened her wings and dashed through the air, colliding into me.  Unprepared for this sudden attack, I flew backwards into the large circular image behind me, actually feeling a slight stinging sensation in my back.  I also heard the wall crack behind me and the image fade away.  The wall returned to its original state, much to my annoyance.

I looked at the proud Pegasus with a dropped jaw.  I said calmly, rubbing my back where I had felt the sensation, “You hit me!  Celestia never hit me!”

Her expression changed from one of pride to one of anger as she scoffed, “Not so invincible anymore, huh?”  She flew back a few feet, readying herself for another charge.

I laughed, “Don’t be so quick to assume things, you cyan-colored nuisance!”  I snapped my fingers and she immediately collapsed to the ground in pain.  I could only imagine the burning sensation in her wings as I essentially readied them for removal.  A magical surgery was just as painful as a regular one.

A blast of purple magic hit me square in the chest, disorienting me and causing me to lose my focus on the Pegasus.  I looked at Twilight just in time to see another burst of energy leave her horn.  I laughed as I swatted the energy to the side, causing it to fly from the open window.   Raising my chin in pride of my blocking skills, I didn’t notice the orange pony, Applejack, as she started a mad dash at me.  She leaped from a few feet away and delivered a kick square to my stomach, causing me to lurch backwards into the wall.  Another stinging sensation filled the same spot as it had before.

I slapped the pony to the side with my claw, an anger starting to flare up in the back of my mind.  These games were starting to annoy me.  I snapped my fingers and a powerful gust of wind blew the six ponies from the small chamber into the larger one.  I warped to the other side of the door, watching the four regal ponies attempt to comfort the other six.

I spoke through clenched teeth, “If you ponies want to play games, we should go someplace with a little more room.”  I snapped my fingers and let the room around us melt away.  In an instant, we were all in a wide open field of grass and hills.

The pink pony, Pinkie Pie, sighed as she regained her footing, “That wasn’t very nice, meanie!”  She rubbed her head in disorientation.

The yellow pony, Fluttershy, helped Rainbow Dash to her hooves.  She looked at me and asked, “Why are you doing all of this, anyway?”

Seeing the gentle Pegasus’s expression made my anger dissipate slightly.  I sighed, “My reasons are my own, Fluttershy.  But I simply cannot allow you ponies to stand in my way and jeopardize my plans.”  I snapped my fingers and lifted Twilight from the ground with my magic.

Celestia’s eyes grew wide as my black magical aura wrapped around Twilight’s neck.  The helpless pony started gasping for air.  I snapped my fingers again, casting a magical aura around the pony’s friends so that they wouldn’t intervene.  Armor closed his eyes and turned his head away, clenching his teeth tightly.  The three alicorns stood in awestruck horror as they realized what was happening.

“I simply cannot let you intervene.  If I dispose of you now, there’s no chance of anypony stopping me.”  I lowered my gaze as I tightened my magical grip around Twilight.  Her friends squirmed in an attempt to attack me, but it was to no avail.  My paralysis magic was simply too strong for them.

After a few seconds, Celestia darted in my direction.  She stopped a few feet short and screamed, “Don’t do this, Discord!  They can’t hurt you anymore, not without the Elements!  Let her go!”  I could see the horror in her eyes and hear the desperation in her voice.  Tears swelled up in those horrified eyes.

I scoffed, “But if I kill them now, I have nothing to fear.  What if by some freak chance they are able to create another set of Elements using their own hearts, their own personalities and traits?    It would ruin everything for me.  Invincibility can so easily be mine if I dispose of them now.”  I looked back at Twilight, noticing her strength waning as I slowly choked the life from her.

Celestia stepped the last few feet up to me and placed her hooves firmly on my side.  I looked at her as she cried, “Please stop this, Discord!  You don’t have to do this!  Equestria is already yours, what more do you want?!”  Tears fell from her eyes as she screamed at me.  Those tears reminded me ever so much of that day so long ago.

I looked at the group of ponies gathered beside us.  They each had regretful, horrified, or sorrowful expressions glued on their faces.  They had already accepted what was happening.  The only one that hadn’t given up hope was Celestia.  I placed my claw on her shoulder as I sighed, “I want another chance to change to world.  This time, not for the better!”  I tossed her away, refocusing on the unicorn I had in my grasp.

That familiar feeling returned to my gut.  Those familiar tears called memories back to my mind.  I lowered my head and let out an angry scream as I let go of the unicorn’s throat.  I let my magical aura disappear and let the ponies regain their footings, clambering to Twilight’s side.  I couldn’t believe I was actually going to let them live.

I snapped my fingers and let the entirety of the castle reform around us.  We were back in the throne room, where we had been before journeying to the Elements’ chamber.  I cradled my head in my paw, wondering why this strange feeling wouldn’t go away.  Essentially paralyzed by their own fear, none of the ponies bothered trying to leave.  They were too focused on not getting killed to try and flee.

I felt my face flush red with anger as I thought back to those last few days we shared oh-so long ago.  I looked at the ponies with fiery eyes and screamed, “Leave me, now!  Don’t return to this castle ever again, unless you truly wish to die!”  The six ponies that had been helpless moments before leaped to their hooves and darted from the room, not taking time to say their farewells to the four older ponies.  

They remained in the room, unsure as to what to think.  Celestia lay on the floor beside her sister, tears pouring from her eyes.  Luna attempted to comfort her, but I felt that it was to no avail.  Armor and his lover left the room, trying to avoid unnecessary conflict.  Besides, Armor needed to see his sister off.  I thought to myself as I listened to the two princesses’ talk.

My mind drifted back to that time three-thousand years ago.  Anger swelled up in my mind and my heart began to ache as I remembered the words we had shared and the betrayal that had torn us apart…

The Scars of Our Past

I sat on my throne, my head resting gently on my paw, thinking about those days so long ago.  I remembered how everything had gone from perfect to broken in a matter of days.  Everything I had ever wanted sat right in front of me, and in a moment of weakness and mercy I allowed it to be plucked from my sight and stolen from me.  I was going to create a perfect, harmless, fun world…  But some ponies just can’t be happy with freedom and fun.  No, some ponies had to have law and order in their lives.  The one pony I thought trusted me to create such a perfect world ended up taking my trust and ripping it to shreds.  It is because of her that I am this way.

My two most loyal servants so easily betrayed me at the first sign of weakness.  Because of this betrayal, I vowed that I would someday seek out my revenge and return Equestria to the way it was while I ruled.  I never would have expected the myths about the Elements to be real.  My ignorance of the truth ended up being my downfall, and cost me three-thousand years of peace and happiness.  It was all because of that annoying, ignorant, insolent little filly…

It was a bright, sunny day.  I sat on my throne with a smile, a beautiful mare sitting at my side, awaiting my orders.  There were four guards in the room, ready to follow my every command.  The room was decorated with crystal windows and golden statues of the founders of Equestria.  A marble statue of me had been mounted above the doorway to the room.  The white-coated mare sat by my side, her beautiful multi-colored mane flowing majestically at her side.  She looked at me with a gentle smile on her face.

I returned her smile with one of my own.  The smile quickly faded as a loud banging sound erupted from the far end of the throne room.  The doors flew open and the guards were sent flying as a blue magical aura collided with them.  A short, thin alicorn filly darted up the path to my throne, something resembling anger in her eyes.  She had always been short-tempered and quick to succumb to temptation.  

She let a blast of magical energy fly from her horn and hit me.  The alicorn at my side immediately leaped from her perch, attempting to calm the filly.  I can’t remember the exact words that were shared by the two, but I remember their actions clearly.  The filly struggled free from the mare’s grasp and let another blast of magic out.  Again, it hit me.  The mare used her own magic to pin the filly to the ground.

I laughed as I broke the mare’s magical aura with my own.  I lifted the filly off of the ground by the throat, my aura wrapping around.  I scoffed, “This is the third time you have attempted to take my life, Lady Luna.  I am afraid there must be some punishment for your insolence.”

The mare’s eyes widened in horror as she watched me lift the filly from the ground.  The filly began to gasp for air and squirm as my aura choked the life from her.  The mare leaped to my side and planted her hooves firmly on my side.  She begged, “Let her go, Lord Discord!  She is but a filly; she is no harm to you!”

I waved my claw at the mare in an attempt to get her to remove her hooves.  I sighed, “Lady Celestia, you know I cannot allow such traitorous behavior to go unpunished.  What would happen if some over-zealous citizen decided to follow her lead?”  I tightened my grip on the filly’s throat.  She let out a squeak of pain.

Celestia applied more pressure with her hooves, her eyes filling with tears.  She sobbed, “Please, milord, you mustn’t!  My sister is a foolishly ambitious filly!  Please let her go!”  Her eyes were filled with genuine sorrow.  Of course they would be; the filly was her only remaining family.

I looked into those eyes and felt my heart flutter.  I sighed as I released the filly’s throat, “Very well then, Lady Celestia.  I will warn you but once more, little filly!  Attack me again and you shall be made an example of!”  Luna fell to the ground, catching her breath.  Celestia darted to the filly’s side.

The guards returned to their hooves and immediately secured the filly.  The largest of the four asked me, “Shall we escort this ne’er-do-well to dungeon, sire?”  He lifted the filly from the ground, despite Celestia’s protests.

I chuckled, “There will be no need for that, Captain Aegis.  Thank you.”  He let the filly go, Celestia catching her as she lost balance.  With a nod, the four guards returned to the door and assumed their posts.  I looked back at Luna as she fell to the floor.

Celestia whispered in her ear, “You simply mustn’t continue these foolish acts of ambition, Sister!  All they will do is send you to your death!”  She helped Luna to her hooves.

Luna spoke softly, “But Sister, things are getting out of hand!  The guards refuse to help those in need, and the criminals are running amok in town!”

Celestia shushed her sister with a hoof, and leaned closer to whisper something else.  I didn’t quite hear what she said.  By the look in Luna’s eyes, I assumed it was some sort of promise to speak with me on behalf of the troubles.  Luna lost her angry expression and stared at me with innocent eyes.

I laughed, “You’re dismissed, Lady Luna.  I would suggest you return to your room and reflect on your actions here today.”  She nodded sheepishly and trotted from the room.  The guards gave her stern looks as she passed.  I scoffed, “You’re dismissed as well, Aegis.  You and your guards can take the rest of the day off.”  They gave me uncertain looks.

Captain Aegis saluted, “Y-yes sir!”  He nodded to his soldiers and followed them from the room.  They shut the door behind them.

It was just me and Celestia left in the room.  She looked at me with gentle eyes.  She took a deep breath and started to say something, but a strange noise interrupted her.

“…you okay?”  A voice called me back to the present.  It repeated, “Discord, are you okay?”  I looked to my side to find the two princesses staring at me with somewhat-concerned looks.

I shook my head, trying to refocus on the events of the present day.  I scoffed, “I am perfectly fine, Tia.  What, are you really concerned about me?”  I smiled, trying to sound as condescending as I could.

Celestia gave me an angry glare.  She tried to hide her true feelings as she said, “Of course not!  But if something is wrong, then it is important we know…”  I could’ve sworn I heard Luna giggle at her sister.

I laughed, “I’m simply reminiscing to the days we use to spend together in this very room.  Do you remember them, Tia?”  I looked at her as her face flushed red.  Luna cocked her head to the side, trying to remember back to all those years ago.  The two of them, although they had been defeated and powerless to stop my upcoming reign of chaos, seemed somewhat content with how things were.  I guess if you can’t beat me, you should join me.

Celestia stamped her hoof, “Of course I remember them!  How could I ever forget?  But stop calling me by that name, Discord!  You have no right!”  She turned away from me, trying to hide the embarrassment written on her face.

I chuckled, warping to her side, “You really ought to lighten up, Tia!  After all, that was three-thousand years ago!”  I floated gently over to Luna’s side.  She looked up at me with anger in her eyes.  Those were the same eyes as all those years ago.

She turned her head away as she scoffed, “All I remember is some tyrannical dictator that nearly killed me!”  She refused to look back at me.

I shrugged my shoulders, “I did indeed try to kill you.  Twice, if memory serves correctly.  But both times it was your sister that came to your aid.  To think that you would end up betraying her yourself in the years to follow is simply mind-boggling.”  I looked at her as her face twisted in shame and guilt.

Celestia asked, “Why do you bring up the past so suddenly, Discord?”

I smiled as I said, “The eyes you gave me when pleading for Twilight’s life to be spared reminded me ever so much of the day your sister attacked me in this room.  You gave me those same tear-filled, big-sisterly eyes.”  She lowered her gaze to Luna, who smiled sheepishly as she remembered the day I was talking about.

Celestia smiled as she looked back at me, “I guess you still have a soft spot in that heart of yours for me, eh?”

I scoffed, rolling my eyes, “Maybe those eyes of yours are magical!  Do you remember that day as clear as I do, Tia?”

She turned her head to the side and closed her eyes.  She sighed, “Of course I do.  Luna charged into the room and attacked you.  You were going to kill her until I intervened.  You dismissed her and the guards.  And then…”  Her voice trailed off as she looked back at Luna.

Luna asked, “And then what, Celestia?”

I chuckled, “And then you made your promise, Tia.  Is that correct?”  Luna gave me a weird look.  Celestia didn’t say a word.

My mind drifted back to those events that transpired right after the guards shut the door.

Celestia took a deep breath and said, “Thank you, milord.”  She looked at me with innocent, loving eyes.

I waved my claw and scoffed, “No sense in being formal when there’s nopony around, Tia.  You’re lucky that I love you so much, otherwise that twerp would be feeding apple trees right now.”  I smiled and winked at her as she approached the throne.

She sighed, “I just wish Luna would learn to be patient…  Are you certain I can’t tell her about the p-?”

I shushed her before she could finish her question.  I snapped, “You mustn’t mention it at all!  Not here in the throne room.  Our secret is only safe in the comfort of our chambers.”

She smiled sheepishly.  “Sorry, I forgot…”

I laughed, “No sense in apologizing.  It was a simple mistake.  Have you heard the word yet, Tia?”  I materialized a small roll of parchment in my claw with my magic.  I handed it to her with an excited grin.

She unrolled the parchment and read the contents to herself.  She looked up at me with wide eyes and cheered, “They agreed to meet here?!  So the peace treaty is…?”  She slapped a hoof to her mouth, realizing that she was speaking out loud.

I nodded my head with a smug grin.  I magicked the letter back to my hand and put it away.  “The leaders of the Everfree and Changeling nations are meeting here in three days to sign the treaty.  Once I get the treaty signed, this whole place will be one big melting pot of happy-go-lucky creatures.  All because of my great idea of freedom and lenient discipline.  Most of the ponies seem content with these new laws, and so the neighboring nations have decided to sign with us!”  I waved my claw around as I spoke, obviously excited by my own success.

Celestia giggled, “Once the treaty is signed, all of the rumors of war will leave the citizens’ minds, and we can all rest peacefully in our homes.”  She bounced with joy at the thought of peaceful rest.

“And then…” I raised an eyebrow, looking at Celestia carefully, “…once I’ve cleared up all of this political nonsense, we can focus on making our relationship official.”

She smiled and cheered with joy, “I can’t wait!  It’ll be nice not to have to sneak around anymore!”  She looked at the door at the front of the room.  “The people just wouldn’t take too kindly to their leader being focused more on romance than diplomatic relations…”  She looked at me with innocent eyes.

I laughed, waving her closer to me.  I whispered, “Once everything is said and done, we can be together without fear.  If the price of a peace treaty is allowing a few criminals to go unpunished for a few weeks, then that is a sacrifice that must be made.”  I planted a kiss on her muzzle.  She giggled and flushed red.

We sat in the throne room and talked for a few hours about our plans for later on.  After the diplomatic meeting was finished and the peace treaty was signed, we could be together without worrying about what the people thought of us.  We made our plans for our wedding and how we would handle the publicity.  After all, a draconequus and alicorn being wed was something unexpected by everyone.

As she set the sun in the western sky, Celestia whispered to me, “We’ll be together forever as lovers and rulers…”  The moon rose in the east, and it was time for the two of us to part for the night.

Three days’ time would bring us all the happiness we could ever imagine.  If only those three days could have come sooner for us…

Tears fell from Celestia’s eyes as she sighed, “It just wasn’t meant to be, Discord.”

I looked at her, a feeling of sadness in my gut and a sympathetic expression on my face.  I said, “I suppose it wasn’t.  If only things hadn’t taken a turn for the worse at the most unexpected time.  We both know whose fault it is, don’t we?”  I shot an angry glare at Luna.  She returned it with a look of uncertainty.

She shook her head in disagreement, “We cannot blame her, Discord.  She only wanted what she thought was best for our kingdom.”  She looked at Luna with a sympathetic frown.

Luna’s eyes widened at these words.  “Wh-what are you talking about, Celestia?  What did I do?”  I could hear the fear grow in her voice.

I sighed, “What you did, Luna, is single-handedly ruin everything I had worked so hard to create.”  I felt anger growing in my mind.  I couldn’t help but feel angry about the subject.

Luna looked from Celestia back to me.  She asked, “What do you mean, I ruined everything?!”

Celestia groaned, “You found the Elements.  You attacked him.  You ruined the treaty signing.”  She gave her sister a disappointed look.

Luna shouted, “That’s absurd!  If you hadn’t joined me, the Elements wouldn’t have worked!  And besides, this man was a tyrant!”

“I was no more a tyrant than you were a stallion, Luna!  I was going to unite our world and bring peace to everypony!  But your impatient ambition ruined that for all of us!”  I screamed, my claw hitting the ground hard in anger.  

Angry thoughts swirled around in my head as I thought back to the day of the treaty signing.  I remembered oh-so clearly how I had been betrayed so thoughtlessly by my own lover and how the Elements had stripped me of everything I ever held dear.  The fire in my eyes revealed just exactly how angry I was.

Luna started to say something, but Celestia shushed her.  I looked at the two with the fire in my eyes and shouted, “Would you two like to see just exactly what happened on that day so long ago?!  Would you like to witness how I remember everything?!”  I snapped my fingers, and the room around us melted away into one very similar.  Figures of ponies appeared all over the room, and the alicorns disappeared from view…

I sat on my throne, a wide grin on my face.  The door to the throne room was wide open.  Pony after pony gathered into the room and joined the crowd on either side of the main walkway.  The guards ensured that the ponies stayed in their designated areas.  Celestia sat beside me, a wide smile on her face.  Luna sat at my other side, her expression filled with discontent.  None of the ponies in attendance aside from Celestia knew anything about the treaty and the real reason the assembly had been called.  In hindsight, maybe they should have been informed.

Everypony had been gathered into the throne room to—unwittingly—await the arrival of the leaders of our neighboring nations.  The treaty would be signed, and mine and Celestia’s wedding would be announced.  In my mind, everypony would cheer and be happy.  The following evening, new laws would be introduced to restrict the criminal activity in town.  Slowly, I would set everything right with everypony.

But there will always be radicals trying to overthrow their leaders.  There was one such group of ponies in attendance that evening.  The leader of the group that referred to themselves as ‘The Celestians’ stepped forward from the crowd with a large megaphone in his hoof.  He called to the crowd of ponies, “Now is our chance, my brethren!  Today, we can unite and overthrow this monster that allows crime to run amok in our fair kingdom!”  

A group of ponies within the larger group cheered and shouted, and in an instant they were breaking from the main group and charging at the throne.  None of us were prepared for this attack.  The guards were easily overtaken, and the two alicorns were powerless to quell the rebels.  I was soon surrounded by the radical traitors.  They advanced; the rest of the ponies were in a panic about what they were witnessing.

I lifted myself from the throne and shouted in a booming voice, “How dare you attempt to claim my life, you insolent ponies?!  You all shall pay for this treason!”  With a wave of my claw, the entire group of rebels fell to the ground, paralyzed in pain.

I lifted the leader of the rebels into the air in the same fashion as I had lifted Luna a few days prior.  With an angry frown, I closed my paw and listened as the pony’s neck snapped and his body fell limp.  The rest of the rebels gasped in shock and fear.  The remaining group of ponies muttered in slight agreement with my actions.  They were content with their freedoms, and the radicals only threatened to ruin that life.

Luna screamed, “Stop, Lord Discord!  There’s no need for such violence!”  She dashed in front of me, trying to take my focus away from the rebels.

I scoffed, “Traitors must be dealt with, Luna.  I can’t have them ruining this day for everypony.”  I lifted another rebel into the air and ended his life.  Luna protested again, but I ignored her.  Another rebel died.

The crowd of ponies eventually calmed down, realizing that traitors, no matter the cause, had only one fate to accept:  death.  They returned to their organized state as the guards returned to their senses and reorganized the guests.  I killed another rebel.

Luna snapped, “STOP THIS MADNESS, DISCORD!”  An extraordinarily large blast of magical energy shot from her horn and engulfed me.  I felt a strange stabbing sensation in my back and a throbbing in my head.

I swatted the energy away from me with my own magic, the spell on the rebels breaking.  They scurried to their hooves and darted from the throne.  Too busy with the crowds, the guards were unable to stop the rebels.  Luna stopped her magical attack and followed the rebels out of the chamber.  The crowd of ponies looked at me with concerned expression.  Celestia darted to my side.

Aside from a throbbing head, I was unscathed by the magical attack.  I shouted, “Guards, find them and kill them!  All of them!  The rebels and Lady Luna alike!”  I slammed my paw on the arm of the throne.  Celestia bowed her head and sighed in disappointment.  She knew she wouldn’t be able to save Luna after a display like that.

The guards nodded and darted from the room, chasing after the treacherous swine.  I looked at Celestia with a regretful frown.  I didn’t want to kill Luna, but it needed to be done.  She accepted this as she nodded at me, a fake smile crossing her face.  The rest of the ponies waited patiently as the guards dragged one rebel after another into the room.  Each rebel met their fate as they were returned to the room.

Finally, the last of the rebels had been executed.  Without saying a word, the ponies in the crowd knew it was over.  Their freedom would not be jeopardized by ignorant and insatiable ponies.  After waiting a few more minutes, Luna had still not been returned for her punishment.  I assumed she had simply escaped, being smarter than an average rebel.

The crowd settled down and the guards removed the bodies of the rebels that had met their fates.  Celestia sat by my throne once again, waiting for the moment when Luna would be dragged through the door by a guard and executed by my hand.  To her pleasure, that moment did not arrive.  The sun began to set in the western sky once more, and I felt the presence of several powerful creatures approaching the town of Canterlot.  I knew it would only be a little while before the treaty was signed and we could move on with our lives.

Just as I began to settle my nerves and relax, the door to the room burst open again, and the stubborn screams of a captured filly filled the room.  Captain Aegis dragged Luna by the hooves to the front of my throne.  Her wings were bound and her horn disabled by a magical wrapping.  She let out screams of fear and defiance as Aegis let her go and walked away.  He bowed low to me, waiting for what was to come next.

I wrapped my magical aura around the traitorous filly’s throat and lifted her in the air.  Celestia clenched her teeth and turned her head away as her sister’s screams became muffled and choked.  I tightened my grip and the screams became gasps for air.  The squirming stopped and gave way to desperate attempts to save oxygen.  

I sighed, “This…This…I bear you no remorse, Lady Luna.”  I tightened my grip.  Just as I was certain her neck was about to snap, three beams of differently-colored light burst from her body and shattered the bonds and magical aura around her.

These beams of light gathered together and manifested themselves into gemstone-like objects.  The gems were orange, purple, and blue.  They emitted a strange and mesmerizing light that tore through my magical aura as if it were butter.  Luna caught her breath as the gems circled around her and gently lowered her to the ground.  She looked at me with a fearful smile, unsure of what was going on and what the gems were.

Celestia looked at her sister with awestruck eyes.  Luna looked at me with fear and uncertainty.  I looked at the gems with horror and disbelief.  Of everything I had ever witnessed, nothing had ever been able to overpower my magic.  Suddenly, these gems appeared and easily dispelled me.

Luna called to her sister, “I’m not sure what this is, Sister, but surely you see this man’s tyranny now!  If even these strange gems are determined to stop him, surely he is bad!”  The crowd behind her considered what she said.  They nodded in agreement.

I looked at the crowd with horror.  I was losing the only ponies that still believed in my system of ruling the kingdom.  All because of Luna and those magical gems!  Celestia stepped over to Luna’s side.  The gems reacted and began to glow different colors from before.  From the three existing gems, three new ones split out.  They were red, pink, and green.  The three new ones circled around Celestia and started to glow.

I looked at the two with horror.  Could this have been planned all along?  Did they intend for all of this to happen, just so they could take me off guard and end my life?  I never would have suspected Celestia, and she knew that.  Celestia looked at me with innocent eyes.  The six gems started to glow, and Luna’s eyes shined a bright white.  Focusing power into her horn, she let out a beam of concentrated magic straight at me.

Celestia made a movement just before the white light clouded my vision.  I felt the pain of a thousand needles stabbing me all over my body.  The light faded, but the pain continued to pulse through me.  Celestia and Luna lay on the floor, exhausted, their energy drained by the gems.  Tears poured from Celestia’s eyes.  I looked down to find my body slowly turning to stone.  I looked at the two alicorns before me, something in my mind snapping.

I screamed in anger and pain, “This betrayal shall not be left un-avenged!  I shall be back one day to reclaim this throne!  The Age of Chaos will be mine one day!”  My mind snapped.  Suddenly, feelings of happiness and love were wiped from my brain.  The only things I could think about were anger, revenge, and chaos.  Whatever those gems were, they had to be destroyed before I could seek my revenge.

I heard Celestia sob, “Forgive me, my love!”  She tried to lift herself from the ground, but it was to no avail.  The gems had drained her of all energy.

The last thing I heard before my body was completely sealed away was the voice of Captain Aegis as he re-entered the room.  He called, “Milord, the diplomats have arr…”  He never got to finish his sentence as he noticed my body becoming stone.  His jaw dropped and his confusion stopped his thoughts.

Behind him, two powerful-looking Changelings entered the room, followed by a single insect-like creature.  If I had only lived another hour longer, my dreams of a perfect world of peace and love with Celestia would have been realized.  But Luna and Celestia betrayed me, and my dreams were stripped from right under my nose.  I made a mental vow to get revenge by any means.  I had no choice now…

The two alicorn sisters let out sobs of regret and anger as they witnessed how they had stripped me of all my hopes and dreams.  Luna was especially saddened by the sight of this memory, realizing that it was because of her that I had become the monster I am.  The two of them were unable to say anything as I plopped back down on my throne.  The anger and hatred was obvious in my eyes and expression.  I refused to speak, wary of just how easily I might snap at them.  I didn’t want to scar them worse than they already were by the memories I locked away in my head.

I wasn’t certain which of us had it the worst.  Luna had to face the reality that I only existed as I did because of her stubborn acts of defiance.  Celestia had to face the fact that she had betrayed me in cold blood and allowed our promise to go unfulfilled.  I had to live with the regret of never being able to create my perfect world, and instead live with the insanity that that day had unlocked in my mind.

Which of us truly had it worse?

Making My Amends

The rest of the evening was spent in silence between the three of us.  The moon had raised high in the sky before the two princesses decided to leave my presence and return to their own chambers.  I sat in my throne, very quickly growing tired of the strange perspective I was given from my perch on the ceiling.  I sighed, and the throne room was reverted to a semi-normal state.  I kept the windows as they had been, simply because I was proud of my handiwork in destroying the Elements.

And then a thought hit me:  The Elements of Harmony were destroyed, so why were those six ponies still the same?  The Elements had been created in a single instant by Luna on that day so long ago.  Could it be possible for those ponies to create another set using their own qualities?  I tried to cast those thoughts away, knowing they would bring nothing but more anger to me.  Just as I tried to cast them away, Armor burst into the throne room with a concerned look on his face.

He stomped up to the throne and said, “All transportation into and out of the city has been cancelled, thanks to your little stunt.”  He pointed hoof out of the window to the giant wall of dirt that surrounded the city.  “So those ponies you hate so much can’t leave.”

I looked at him for a second with an expression of disbelief.  This pony was addressing me with such disrespect.  I soon realized what he meant by what he said, and a nice little plan started forming in my head.

I laughed, “No matter, Armor!  In fact, let the ponies stay here, in the castle!  Give them room and board, for all I care!”  He looked at me with uncertainty in his eyes.  I continued, “Tell those little ponies that I would love nothing more than for them to stay here in the castle!  And tell them I would like to speak with them first thing in the morning!”  I waved my claw, a smile growing on my face.  I had just devised a cunning plan to rid myself of any threat the ponies could possess.

Armor stepped back a few feet.  He cocked his head to the side and asked, “Are you sure about this, Discord…  I mean, after that show earlier, do you actually think they’ll trust you?”

I warped from my seat to his side and chuckled, “My dear stallion I am a changed dragon-beast-creature-thing!  Events of the last few hours have altered my way of thinking!  There’s no sense in holding a grudge when the past can’t be changed, so why not make amends?”  I floated away lazily, laughing to myself.  Yes, I needed to make amends with the six little ponies that I had tried to kill earlier that day.  I mean, I’ll be completely honest here.  I hate the thought of being friends with them, but I need them to understand just what exactly I’m doing so they don’t get the wrong ideas.

Just like Luna did on that day so long ago.  Maybe if I had announced the treaty signing, everypony would have loved me more and those rebels wouldn’t have stepped out.  But that wasn’t important now.  The past is the past, and should stay there.  I needed the ponies on my side so that they wouldn’t turn against me and the Elements wouldn’t return to stop me once more.

Armor saluted me with a confused look in his eyes, but still trotted from the room as if he were going to follow my orders.  I sat on my now-upright throne and rested my head on my paw.  It seemed to me that I had some sort of apology to write to those pesky ponies in the hopes they would accept it.  I couldn’t believe I was going to go through with this, but sometimes sacrifices must be made!

At the same time, I would also need to fix relations with Celestia and Luna.  I needed to forgive them for what they had done, and find some way to get rid of the tension between the three of us.  They both had reasons to avoid—not only me, but—each other.  I laughed as I thought about all of the things I could do to easily sort everything out in the morning.  I conjured a piece of parchment and pen in my claw, and began busily scribbling down the words that came to my mind.  I thought ever so hard about this.

I’m not sure what it was, but something in me snapped the day I was betrayed.  I became a monster in my own respects.  I was obsessed with revenge and chaos and disharmony.  But having to relive that day in my memories made me realize what kind of creature I had been before that day.  The insanity would still be there, but I wanted to try and be like the king I had been.  I wanted to be able to stand up to my lost potential.  I sat in the throne room through the night, writing sentence after sentence, specially written for the two different parties I would need to speak with.

I would have to forgive Luna and Celestia, whereas I would need to apologize profusely to the other six ponies.  Tomorrow would be interesting for me, to say the least.

The following morning came sooner than I expected.  I was so busy thinking about what to say and writing it down that I didn’t even notice the sun rising in the sky as morning drew nearer.  Just as I had asked them to, the six ponies entered the throne room at the first sign of morning light.  Armor and his alicorn lover accompanied them, hoping to try and avoid any sort of violence.  I could tell that the ponies were worried, especially Twilight.

I greeted them with a large smile.  I said, “Let me start by saying I am deeply sorry for the events that transpired yesterday evening.  I hope you can find it in your precious hearts to forgive me for my rash behavior.”  I clasped my hands to my chest in a melodramatic manner.  I immediately realized that that was a mistake when Rainbow Dash snapped at me.

“What are you trying to pull, Discord?”  She had an angry tone in her voice, her eyes fixated on me.  I returned her angry stare with one of genuine innocence.

I shook my head, “I’m not trying to pull anything, dear pony.  I am sincerely sorry for what I did. I simply wanted to-…”  The ponies were glaring at me with the same angry expressions.  I looked down at my parchment, realizing that nothing I had written would prove my apology to be sincere.  

Armor turned to his sister and said, “I think you ought to hear him out, at least.  I mean maybe he really does want to apologize.”  He looked at me with uncertainty in his eyes.  In my head I thanked him.

Twilight scoffed, “You actually think this thing cares about us?  What’s gotten into you, Armor?”  She looked away from me briefly to address her brother before returning her angry glare to my direction.

I scratched my head, trying to think of something to say to calm the ponies.  Nothing came to mind.  I was just about to give up and dismiss them when Celestia and Luna entered the room.  Celestia’s voice sounded calm and regal as she said, “Twilight Sparkle, I am disappointed in you!  Haven’t you learned that everypony has a chance for redemption?”

I believe we were all caught off guard when Twilight snapped, “Maybe so, Princess, but this monster isn’t a pony!”  The spite in her voice as she said the word ‘Princess’ made my gut churn in unfamiliar disgust.  How could such a loyal subject address her princess with such disrespect?

Celestia’s jaw dropped as she was left speechless by the attitude.  Luna stepped up and said, “Everypony, pony or not, can redeem themselves, Twilight!  What somepony did in their past shouldn’t label them in their future!”  I chuckled as I realized why Luna was saying this.  She was subtly trying to repay me for what she had done.

Twilight turned away from the two approaching princesses and scoffed, “Maybe so, but the past doesn’t mean yesterday, Luna.  He tried to kill me not one full day ago!  How do you expect me to forgive him?”  Her friends looked at one another.  They nodded in agreement to Twilight’s comment.

The alicorn stepped forward and said, “He did try to kill you, that’s true.  But at the same time, people change.  Can’t it be possible that he had some sort of revelation that changed the way he thinks?”  She smiled sheepishly as she looked from me to Armor to Twilight.

I lifted myself from the throne and stepped toward the large group of ponies.  Twilight and her friends took steps back as I took steps forward.  I sighed, “You don’t have to accept my apology if you don’t want to.  I can understand not wanting to, after all.  Let’s face it; it’s hard to forgive a guy who tried to choke you to death.  Ain’t it, Luna?”  I looked at her and she turned her head away.  

Luna sighed, “Maybe it’s not the easiest thing in the world…  But you can’t let your past grudges get in the way of your future, Twilight.”  She looked at Twilight with a sympathetic frown.

Twilight scoffed, “Look, I don’t know what’s gotten into you ponies, but I know you’re on his side!”  She shot angry glares at all four of the older ponies.  To my dismay, they all seemed a bit shaken by that glare.

I shrugged my shoulders and spoke softly, “If nothing I can say or do will change your mind, then that’s fine.  You have no reason to accept my apology.  At the same time, I would think you would enjoy making a new friend.”  I floated away gently.  The ponies cocked their heads in slight confusion.  Me, a friend to them?  That’s preposterous!

Celestia asked, “What do you mean by that, Discord?”  The ponies looked at her.

I shook my head and sighed, “Having to see that day over and over again in my mind has really taken its toll on me, Tia.  I remember how things used to be.  I remember the king I used to be.  I may be slightly more insane than I was back then, but I really want to go back to the way things were…”  Celestia and Luna shared sheepish smiles of confused happiness.

Luna stamped her hoof and said, “You aren’t lying, are you Discord?!”

I looked her right in the eyes.  I smiled, “Of course not!  I was a good king, after all!  The kingdom under me was peaceful…up until the time of the treaty signing.  If I can return the kingdom to that peaceful state, then I see no reason why I shouldn’t try!”  I plopped back on the throne.  The six ponies looked at the princesses with confused expressions.  Armor and the alicorn shared the sentiment.

Celestia cheered, “Y-you mean this, right?”

I lifted my hands in the air and chuckled, “Of course I do.  I heard about the Changeling invasion a few months back.  Just think:  If we made peace with them, such nonsense could be avoided in the future!”  I laughed.

Armor’s face twisted in what would be considered disgust at the mention of the Changelings.  The alicorn beside him did the same.  Celestia and Luna looked at each other with bright eyes.  Could it really be possible for me to be back to my normal self?

Twilight interrupted the mixed emotions with an annoyed comment, “What are you talking about?  Peace with the Changelings?  Peace treaties?  A good king?”  Her friends were just as uncertain.

Celestia took a deep breath and explained everything to the ponies.  She explained her old relationship with me, the kingdom as it was under my rule, the treaties that were supposed to be signed, the truth behind me being sealed away by the Elements, how the Elements came to be, and the leaders of the Everfree and Changeling nations.  She went into painful detail about the day I was sealed away, and how if I had lived only an hour longer, the peace treaty would have been signed.

Luna and Celestia sat on the floor and told tales of how castle life was back when I ruled.  Although she had despised me, Luna always liked the freedom she had in the castle.  Celestia enjoyed her time here as well.  While I ruled, there wasn’t much crime and hardly anypony went wanting.

The eight ponies that had never known me before looked at me with blank, disbelieving expressions as Celestia and Luna told them the tales of my regal and righteous rule.  I couldn’t help but blush as the duo hyped me up to be an amazing king.  The blush faded when the subject came up as to why Luna tried to betray me.  She hesitated as she told about how she thought the kingdom was going and how much she disliked me.  I could tell by the way she spoke that she hadn’t forgiven herself for her rash behavior.

Finally, the stories ended.  I felt a wave of relief wash over everpony as the hostilities evaporated into the words spoken by the princesses.  I was happy to see the smiles return to the ponies and hear the laughter erupt as funny tales of misadventures and mishaps were retold.  It felt nice to be in a room with happy ponies that were slowly starting to not dislike me.  For the first time in three-thousand years, I was happily enjoying conversation with all of these ponies.

Luna looked up at me and sighed, “Discord…I’m sorry for-…”  I knew what she was going to say.

I shushed her, waving my paw around.  I laughed, “The past is gone now, Luna!  There’s no sense in worrying about it.  We can always wonder how things would be if our actions had been different, but nothing will change the past.  Let’s let bygones be bygones and forget our petty squabbles.”  The ponies smiled at me, a sense of security and trust filling the room.

What was it about these ponies that made me feel this way?  The day I was betrayed, I never would have thought these feelings were possible to have.  But here I am, three-thousand years later, sitting on my throne, surrounded by what I would assume were semi-loyal ponies.  With their help, I would have a chance to create my perfect world.  I would simply have to work at it one piece at a time…

My Closing Remarks

I think I’ve had enough of this silly little journal.  Twilight was right when she said it would help me get stuff off my chest…but I don’t think these kinds of things are my forte.  I’d much prefer to conjure a storm of chocolate rain over writing a journal!  At any rate, I have to thank you for reading this.  Now you know just exactly what kind of poor misunderstood draconequus I really am…  Oh well, I guess things are good in the end.  After all, I have the mare of my dreams; I’m co-ruler of the kingdom I once ruled; and I have a dozen wonderful ponies to help me along my way!  It’s been about two weeks since I was freed from the stone again, and I still have no idea how it happened.

Oh well, I don’t guess that matters too much right now, eh?  The Elements aren’t around to seal me back up, so that doesn’t matter.  It amazes me to think I’ve been writing this thing for almost three hours, and I’m already bored to death of it!  Twilight told me she was going to read this to make sure I was ‘doing it right’, so I’ve been stuck in this quiet room with the book all day!

I can only be stubborn for so long, so I had to write something…  Oh well, I do feel better letting all of these pent-up thoughts out.   Oh, and all that nonsense I wrote earlier about Winter Wrap-Up and the laws of nature?  Well, let’s just say I wanted to catch your eye, so sue me if you want.  I can imagine the look on your faces when this journal stops so suddenly that you hate me for not writing more.  But hey, consider this my own special brand of chaos:  Leaving you all wanting so much more!  I guess I could tell you a bit more about what’s happened since the day we all put the past behind us…

Okay, so Celestia and I have rekindled our old flame, much to Luna’s evident disgust.  Twilight and her friends are trying their best to get used to having me around, but a couple of them are having problems.  Twilight keeps trying to act like a teacher and trying to get me to do good things around the place, but I can’t really complain.  It’s nice to have somepony to vent to that isn’t Tia.

I also very quickly learned not to wander the castle at night.  You might just stumble upon a certain couple in the middle of having some midnight fun…  I shudder every time I think about that one incident where I walked…  Never mind!  Anyway, just try not to follow the noise you hear at night in this place…  What happens behind closed doors needs to STAY behind closed doors.

I think I’ve ranted on long enough about everything here in the castle.  I’ve already started using my super-special-awesome magic to help out some of the more under-the-weather areas of Equestria.  I’ve added a spring of water here and a fertile orchard there.  It’s nice to help the ponies.  I think I’m finally getting the hang of using my magic in a non-destructive way for the first time in three-thousand years.

I think Twilight’s here to see how much progress I’ve made on this thing.  Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.  I may write in you again someday, but don’t count on it!

…Did I ever mention how much I love chocolate rain?