Spike's eyes widened as he realized he couldn't move his limbs. Absolute fear took over his entire body as adrenaline shot through his veins like burning magma. He could not move to run. He could not even tremble in fear, he did not control any of his body whatsoever. The worst was the silence. It was so dark, so cold. He felt like he was just floating.

"Wh-Where am I?" he finally asked the empty space around him.

You are within my world.

Spike was startled at the voice, but he couldn't flinch. This world would not allow him to. He did not expect an answer, he could not even make out where the voice was coming from. "What is this place? Who are you? How do I get out?"

My true identity is what you seek. You can escape this place, Spike, but your mind is the key. I've been wondering something for awhile now, my friend. Your mind, so locked away, repressed, and always in the worst of hurt. Longing. Depression. Grief. Guilt. How much more of this pain can you endure, Spike? How much of your grip on reality will you sacrifice in order to save your broken soul?

Let the games begin.

---------

Spike jumped to his feet and breathed heavily, flapping his wings and looking around at his surroundings. He was back at camp, Discord and Celestia now staring at him with blank faces.

"Are you okay, son?" asked Discord.

Spike ran up to Discord and pressed his face inches away from his. "How long was I asleep? Did any of you see anything? What happened?"

Celestia broke the staring contest. "Spike, you've been awake this entire time listening to my story. You never fell asleep at all, what was that outburst about?"

What?

No...

This is impossible.

It felt so real...

The voice was right. I am going insane.

Spike returned his focus to his two worried friends who just stared at him in silence. Eager to break off the tension, he tried to think of something to say. "So, what about the griffins? What happened to them?"

"You didn't know?" asked Celestia.

"Loo-Loo put targets on their backs, and what was once a great civilization, now wild animals that her blind followers killed for game. If there are any living griffins at this point, I do not know." added Discord.

"Yes. What he said." agreed Celestia.

"I overheard your little argument last night, Tia. You wondered how Twilight could use all of the elements of chaos." said Discord.

"What? You know why?" asked Celestia, now her attention set on the draconequus.

"The elements of chaos work differently than the elements of harmony do. Yes, you can still control them by being pure to the element they represent, but that is difficult and mostly contradictory when trying to use all five. The elements of chaos, as they are chaos, can be obtained by disarming someone who does indeed represent their trait, and hold an element." answered Discord.

"Disarming? You mean killing?" asked Celestia.

"Not quite. It can in some circumstances mean killing, yes. However, to disarm someone, is to render them defenseless. So all you need is the ability to kill them, and the element is yours." he replied.

"But where would Twilight have found these people?" asked Celestia, perplexed.

"I can name a few. She had obviously obtained the element of discord from me, when she came to me and unlocked me from my stone prison. Since she had control over my life, I had been disarmed, and she ripped the power of my element from me. So here I am. Boring. Another, would be your sister, the element of envy. When Twilight removed the influence of nightmare moon from Luna, once again, she had controlled Luna's life. Therefore, she had the ability at that point to steal the element of envy from Luna. In all honesty, I don't think Luna was anything but thankful at the time." answered Discord.

"Wait. Twilight set you free? When was this? Why would she do that?" interrogated Celestia, now pacing around in short lines while keeping her eyes locked with Discord's.

Discord looked off into the distance, annoyed by the questions. "It was thirty years ago, Tia. Just about a week before Twilight had broken into your library using the elements of chaos."

"Can you tell us what happened?" interrupted Spike.

Discord looked at Spike. "Do you really care? It's not like I understood why she would go through all this trouble for a few dusty books. Then again.. We are talking about Twilight Sparkle."

"Any information you have on Twilight could help us. We need to know how she discovered Luna's plan, and if she had ever formed a way to stop her, what it was. Twilight was the only pony who actually knew what was going on, and that was no coincidence. If we can figure out what Twilight was doing, maybe we can find a way of stopping Luna." answered Celestia, before Spike could speak.

"It's a long and boring story." argued Discord.

"We have all the time in the world." retaliated Spike.

"No you don't. You have fifteen hundred years." joked Discord.

"Discord. Get on with it." ordered Celestia.

"Fine, fine. Why must you make my life so miserable, Tia?" whined Discord.

"Because she can." answered Spike.

"Big dragon boyfriend to the rescue!" yelled Discord, flapping his mismatched wings to imitate Spike.

Celestia twitched and shouted at the top of her lungs. She cursed at the draconequus who stared at her in amazement and fear. She took a long pause before speaking again. "Sorry. Please tell your story, Discord."

Discord and Spike looked at the steaming Celestia, both of them subconsciously deciding how to respond to such an unusual outburst from the predominately calm alicorn. Discord wanted to burst out laughing, but he kept his cool and began speaking.

"I was minding my own business, doing perfectly normal statue things, when Twilight walked up to me..."