"Well... Thanks fer yer help Twi..." said Applejack, trying to smile.

"Not a problem." replied Twilight.

A long silence followed, until it was broken by the concerned orange mare. "Ah... Ah'm really scared for ya Twi..."

"I know." she replied, trying to comfort Applejack.

"Are ya sure ya need to do this alone? We could use the elements of harmony again." pleaded Applejack.

Twilight sighed. "The elements of harmony would not help in this situation. They can intervene, they can push away, but they cannot kill. That's assuming the elements have even a small fraction of the divine power the alicorns have."

"And what exactly makes ya think that you can hurt Luna?" argued Applejack.

"Still working on that." answered Twilight as she looked off into the distant mirage of Canterlot city.

Applejack walked in front of her, blocking her view. "Can't we help? Ah mean, we're all friends! Our friendships saved Equestria Ah don't even know how many times!"

"It's different this time." said Twilight.

"How is it different? What about Discord? Ah remember he was evil and we stopped him! Ah also remember stoppin' Nightmare Moon, when we first became friends." said Applejack.

Twilight's anger got the best of her, she put her nose to Applejack's and shot her a death glare. Twilight refused to blink. "It's different because it isn't a game this time. Discord is nothing, an insect under my hooves. He turned buildings upside down and made chocolate fall from the sky. You think that's what we're dealing with now, Applejack? You think we can walk in, go through some friendship test, and come out victorious? Luna will kill you without hesitation. Crush your skull with magic, effortlessly. She does not care. Don't you get it? You won't turn gray, you won't have to say something honest, you will be gutted and tortured without being given the most minuscule ability to retaliate. If you come with me, element or not, you will die."

Applejack backed up and fell to her knees as realization and fear struck her like a lightning bolt. She hadn't considered at all how serious this was. Every time they went up against some villain in Equestria, the elements of harmony were there to help them, and friendship allowed them to overcome ridiculously easy obstacles. The illusion that they lived in a happy, fair world crumbled around Applejack. Friendship wasn't there this time. Friendship didn't matter anymore. This was terrible. Horrific. How could anyone disregard the life of someone else and end it without any consideration whatsoever? Evil. Applejack didn't want to believe what Twilight told her, but she knew that Twilight was right. This wasn't a game anymore. This was war. Pain in her chest took over Applejack as she cried in front of the purple mare.

"Why does this have tah happen, Twi?" she cried.

Twilight sat down next to the inconsolable earth pony and wrapped her foreleg around her neck. "I don't know. I'm sorry, AJ. I never wanted to become involved in it, but if I don't, there will be nothing for anypony to live for anymore. I'm sure night will last, however, I believe a figurative darkness will exist for as long as Luna is in power. I can't let that happen, even if it means..."

"No! Ya won't die, Twilight. Yer gonna live happily all your life, here with me and everypony else. We'll never die. We'll live ferever." pleaded Applejack. She returned the embrace with all her strength.

Twilight felt a tear roll down her face. "Applejack..."

Applejack wiped away her tears and rose from the dirt.  "Ah know Twi. Ah know you have tah do this."

Twilight could feel her heart tearing to shreds. Why does it have to be like this? Why do I have to lie to her? No. You know what you have to do, Twilight. Do not allow your emotions to turn you in the wrong direction. This is your fate, and you cannot change it. The pain she will endure is worth it, and you know that very well. Do not be weak. She can not know, she would not understand. Twilight got up and stood next to the orange mare as they looked deep into each others eyes.

"I have to go, AJ. General Aquarius is expecting my arrival in Canterlot by tonight. I'm so, so sorry. For all of this." she finally said.

"It ain't yet fault Twi. Please be careful, Ah don't know what Ah'd do if Ah lost ya Twi..." replied Applejack, a sad smile on her face.

You're probably going to have to find out soon.

----------

"Your highness!" exclaimed Aquarius as he bowed before the galloping mare infront of him.

"No time for greetings, I need an escort to the palace gardens and I need it fast. We must arrive before nightfall, Princess Luna can not know we are here." Ordered Twilight, as Aquarius quickly nodded and followed her.

"So how do you intend to get it?" he asked. Both him and Twilight were panting heavily, at full gallop towards the gardens.

"Easy. Discord is weak minded, I can simply ask for it." answered Twilight.

Aquarius was puzzled. "What? The former emperor of Equestria, who held his reign for nearly two thousand years? You believe he is weak minded?"

Twilight chuckled. "I know he is. Discord is nothing but a child in an adult body. He will have no response whatsoever when he understands that play time is over."

"Then what?" asked Aquarius.

"I will find a medium to imbue the elements into. Older and harder gemstones would do well, I have an old friend that collects and uses gems to make clothing. I'm sure she would give me some to store the elements in. I'd rather not be directly influenced by all five and slip into my own insane reality, the rest of Equestria following it." she replied.

"Imbue the elements of chaos into diamonds? That is impossible! No gem would be strong enough to hold them together. Ha! The day you walk up to me holding diamond elements of chaos is the day that unicorns will fly." he challenged.

"Do you underestimate me, Aquarius? If you think it's so impossible, then I'm sure you will fear me even more when I do it." said Twilight, winking at the elderly pegasus.

"I-I'm sorry your highness! I did not mean to offend you!" pleaded Aquarius, now realizing his mistake.

"Forget it. We're here." she said, as they walked up to the statue of Discord.

They both could hear the frozen draconequus' heart beating. It was a cold winter day, but being around the statue made everything somewhat warmer. Twilight stared into it's eyes for a few moments before focusing her horn towards the head of the statue.

"Now what?" asked Aquarius.

"Stand there and look handsome." said Twilight, annoyed at the interruption.

Twilight closed her eyes. Her horn began to glow red. Reality slipped away as Twilight removed herself from her physical body. She had gotten there early and she could proceed without Luna noticing. Stripping her soul from her own body was the easy part, now she needed to altar physics to let her do her work. With a fit of magic, Twilight stopped time. She could hold this spell for quite awhile, actually. She had practiced it in the library to get some work done quickly. Now she was safe for awhile, Luna would not come out to find her in the night for as long as Twilight wanted. She had won. Twilight had turned the hourglass sideways.

----------

Discord slowly opened and closed his eyes, becoming more and more aware of his surroundings. He rose from the ground, stretched his wings and let out a long yawn. Around him were cold, gray stones. He smiled and took in a deep breath, looking around at his stone furniture. There weren't many trees up in the mountains, so it was usual for draconequus' to build everything they have from stone.

Discord took in another helping of air, and smelled something delightful. He recognized this smell immediately - It was his mother's soup. Soup for breakfast was unusual, but he didn't protest. It was his favorite meal. She had made this soup for him since he was a small child, and she had yet to tell him the recipe. He eagerly walked into the kitchen to see his mother, his father, and Luna sitting at the table. There was an empty chair and bowl for Discord as well.

"Took you long enough to wake up, son." joked Romulus.

Discord laughed and took a seat. "You know dad, it would be a lot easier if you actually helped me hunt. There aren't enough goats on this mountain anymore, I think I've scared them all off."

All four shared a laugh. "Dissy, maybe you should ask the goats nicely." his mother suggested.

"Yeah. That would work." joked Luna. She planted a short kiss on Discord's cheek, and smiled at him. "Morning, hun."

Discord smiled back at her then returned his attention to his father. "It's a shame you have to leave so soon, dad. You and mom can come back and visit our humble abode anytime you wish."

"Oh, please. You and Luna can't always have house guests. Anyways, your mother and I need to tend to the farm back home." said Romulus.

"I know." agreed Discord, now drinking the remainder of his soup from the bowl.

"We really do enjoy it when you come over, Mom, Dad." said Luna. She was comfortable enough with her father and mother in law to call them that. Luna shared close relations with her entire family, from both sides. As did Discord.

"Oh well thank you Luna, that's very nice of you." said Veronica.

Romulus looked and Luna and smiled. "So, how is Aumean doing? She must be so busy, I could never imagine ruling such a large country as Equestria."

"Mother is doing fine, nothing really exciting happening lately. I've been raising the moon a lot more lately. She wants me and Celestia to be ready to take her place, she says she's getting too old to work anymore." answered Luna.

You failed them.

Romulus chuckled. "Did you hear that Discord? That makes you future king of the ponies! Who'd of ever thought, my son born a farmer would ever be royalty."

Discord laughed. "I don't think I'll be making many decisions. That's for Luna and Tia to do. I'll just be the most gorgeous thing in all of Equestria."

Luna giggled. "All of the world." she added, giving Discord another kiss.

Why did you ruin all of it? You're nothing.

A cold gust of wind blew into their cave. Startled, Discord flinched and closed his eyes. He rubbed them and looked up at the table to see his entire family... Wait. Something isn't...

Their smiles turned to frowns as the happy family before him turned gray and angry. They slowly walked closer to him, Discord flew back against the wall in fear. His heart was beating at light speeds, adrenaline rushing through his veins.

You're pathetic. You deserve every last bit of this.

"Why did you leave me? You ruined me. I went mad in isolation. How would you like a thousand years in solitude? Oh that's right, you got it." said the Luna look-a-like.

"I am disappointed in you. You tore this family apart. Get out of my sight, scum. You aren't my son anymore." added Romulus.

His mother did not add in the discussion. She turned her head away and cried, but she did not cry tears. She cried blood. It was a horrific scene.

"Come with us. Your life ends here." ordered Luna.

"No!" shouted Discord, he flew out of the cave as fast as he could, thinking he lost the trio. He tried to calm himself, but then he turned around. Why did he do that? What he saw made his heart sink. The three were following him, at the same pace.

The world as he saw it crumbled around him as the trio disappeared, along with everything else. He flew in complete blackness until he was stopped and frozen by an unexplainable force. He could move no muscles in his body. Fear overtook the draconequus as he tried to look around, but his eyes would not budge. He was at the mercy of whoever held him here.

"What.. What is this.." he said, still able to use his mouth somehow.

Twilight materialized from thin air in front of Discord, she laughed to herself then looked up at the draconequus. "You're fun to play around with, Discord. Such rich memories... Repressed feelings... It must be hard keeping up that tough-guy façade of yours. Married to Princess Luna? Ha. I can't say that she had no taste, after reading the book of your mind I can see exactly what she saw in you. You are quite the charmer, Dissy. Maybe when we get out of here..." Twilight smiled and winked at him.

Discord boiled with anger but his body did not allow him to show it. "Twilight Sparkle? How are you here? What is this place? What do you want?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Twilight asked. "That nice little fun part of you... The part of you who wants nothing but to play with the universe to his hearts content... There must be a name for that isn't there? How you not only want to, but actually can do it!"

"The element of discord." he answered. "How did you know?"

"It's blatantly obvious, not to mention your name sort of hints me here." replied Twilight, still laughing at the angry draconequus.

Discord was now confused. "Of all ponies, why in the world do you want my element?"

"I'm collecting them. Going to stuff them all in a box and label it 'Twilightz Stuff'." she said sarcastically.

"You expect me to just give it to you? Whatever magic your using to hold me here cannot last long, you are but a simple unicorn. Not to mention you have to use so much energy creating... Wherever we are."

"You don't have a choice, child. I am not using any energy to hold you, or making an illusion. You are still in the palace gardens, trapped in stone." she replied.

"What? That's impossible. If I am trapped in stone, Twilight, how are we standing here now?" he asked, growing increasingly nervous as he stuttered on a few words.

"We aren't standing anywhere. This is your own subconscious, Discord. I have complete control over your mind." corrected Twilight, once again beginning to laugh at the frightened draconequus.

Discord paused for awhile to consider what she said. "You're insane."

Twilight continued laughing. "I'm not the one who is trapped inside his own head with some purple unicorn appearing and asking for a mystical rock that lets you play with the laws of physics at your own will. Just saying."

"Fair point. You still aren't getting it, though." defended Discord.

"You annoy me, pest. You're nothing. You are no element of chaos, just a small child who wants to play games all day. Your arrogance is despicable." said Twilight. She had stopped laughing.

Discord let a chuckle escape. "You may be able to see my brain, but you know nothing. Let's play a game Twilight. I heard your little friends were going to be slain by little Loo-Loo."

"Really? You think that shit actually works on me? I couldn't care less about those annoying twats." said Twilight.

A sweat rolled down his forehead. He did not expect that answer. "Oh, but Twilight... Don't you just love the magic of friendship? What if I were to bring little Fluttershy here..."

"Do it." challenged Twilight, releasing her magical grip from Discord. "I'll kill her on the spot. This place isn't real, if you remember."

"Here are the rules to this game, Twilight Sparkle." said Discord as he approached her, stroked her main and laughed. "I'm going to keep you trapped here, as long as I want, and you will endure the most amusing punishment I can think of. How does that sound?"

"No thanks. The time for games has long passed." said Twilight, as she forced discord's body into a hanging position above her. She outstretched his arms and forced his neck upwards. A small cut appeared at the top of his chest, and slowly ran down his entire body. He tried to scream in pain, but couldn't. He had never felt anything this severe before, and this wasn't even real. The entire front of his body became drenched in blood almost immediately.

Twilight focused her energy on his paws and talons now. She slowly ripped each of his nails from their sockets, one by one. Discord was now crying uncontrollably, unable to speak. His wings, legs, and arms moved forward in unnatural ways, then finally... Snap.

His body fell to the floor as Twilight released her grip on him once again. He breathed heavily, his avatar slipping away. He coughed blood and looked up at the smiling unicorn. "You..."

At that instant, she healed the draconequus to his former self, and froze his body for the third time. She walked up to his face, then began to boast. "Did you really think you're better than I am at this?"

"How..."

"You're pathetic, Discord. You don't represent chaos. You don't deserve your element. Give it to me." ordered Twilight.

He didn't respond, just continued to stare into the unicorn's angry eyes with fear.

"I can set you free, in return for you handing it over without any trouble." said Twilight, in a seductive voice. "You can escape this stone prison. Live a happy life. You no longer have to deal with the ponies any more."

Discord was surprised. Could he really return to a simpler life, before he became influenced by the element of discord? He hadn't lived like that for thousands of years. He weighed his options for awhile, then the thought of another torture session with Twilight came to him. "You amuse me, Twilight Sparkle. Impressive show back there. I will accept your offer."

"Good that you came to your senses. Let's get out of your head now, yes?" joked Twilight, as she smiled at Discord.

"I would like that." he said. They both laughed as the black, empty world faded around him.

----------

Twilight returned to her physical body as time began ticking normally again. She focused a beam of energy on the center of the statue as it began to crack. Aquarius looked at her confused, he hadn't known that she had been inside Discord's mind for six hours. Since she had stopped time, it appeared to Aquarius that the both of them had been standing there for only a few seconds.

Discord broke free from his stone prison, gasped and kissed the ground. He looked up to see Twilight smiling at him. She winked, and touched her horn to his forehead. He felt a surge of energy rush through him. It wasn't painful, it felt... Good. Clean. As if his blood had just been taken out, and replaced with brand new blood. Pain and depression within his mind dissipated. A massive weight had just been lifted from his shoulders. For the first time in three thousand years, he felt... Happy.

"Wasn't so bad was it?" she asked.

"No... Not at all Twilight. That was... Amazing. Thank you. Thank you so much." he said.

"What are friends for?" she asked.

"Mhm. By the way, that was quite a brutal performance back there. I didn't know you had such a dark side." joked Discord.

Twilight giggled. "It had to be done, there was no other way to convince you. Trust me, I'm still the nice Twilight Sparkle you know."

Discord smiled. "Speaking of that, you never exactly finished your thought. I mean, after you called me quite charming..."

Twilight blushed. "Oh my, quite bold are we now? You know, Aquarius is standing right here."

"Erm.." Aquarius stood there dumb founded. "Am I missing something, your highness?"

Twilight and Discord both broke out in laughing fits. "You may return to your post, General." she said.

Aquarius stared at them for a few moments before walking off. "Uh... Okay Miss. Have a... Good night?"

Discord looked at Twilight. "So. What exactly did you need my element for anyways?"

Twilight sighed and looked at the ground. "I fear that dark times are approaching Equestria. Princess Luna has been involved in some... Wrong activity. I recently spoke to Luna about it. I could not read her mind, but she was angry. She was hateful. Evil. I asked Aquarius about it, and he said that Luna had plans to overtake the country in a final plot of revenge against Celestia. I can not allow that to happen, and I believe that only the control over all eleven elements can stop Luna."

Discord looked off in thought. "Seems like something Luna would do. Every single damn day we were married. 'Oh Discord people like Tia more, why cant people love me??' - It got so unbearably annoying. That's why I left Luna in the first place." Discord paused and looked at Twilight. "To put yourself in harms way, to protect everyone else... It's quite a noble cause indeed. You have my best wishes, Twilight Sparkle. Good luck."

Twilight smiled and blushed again. "Thank you. Now, we best get going before nightfall. If Luna sees either of us here..."

"It won't be good." he interrupted. "Good night, Twilight."

They turned to leave, but Twilight turned around. "Wait, Dissy. Before you go..."

He turned around and looked at the purple mare, raising a brow.

"Whenever Spike isn't around for the night, please, drop by the library. We can do some... Studying." said Twilight, her cheeks turning scarlet red. Discord smiled at her before spreading his mismatched wings and preparing to begin his ascent.

"I might just take you up on that offer."